Trying to shake the PARTY school definition?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
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<p>@themanlaar haha, “swift conclusions”? How many years in a row has UCSB been ranked in the top party schools by Playboy magazine? 10? 15? That’s not swift bro. UCSB’s current rank is #2 but with the party riot I have to believe you’re about to take home the gold.</p>

<p>The ‘not a sponsored UCSB event’ defense is really weak as well. If UCSB truly wanted to change their party school image they could start by suspending UCSB students that were arrested during the party riot. Serious offenders (i.e. party rioters that attempted to hurt police) should be thrown out of school. </p>

<p>The City of SB plays a big part in this as well. They have long maintained that Isla Vista is not their problem and that combined with UCSB management’s arms length attitude has created the Island of Lost Children. IV has become largely unregulated and unsupervised and the result is non-stop party party party.</p>

<p>If you say “UCSB” to someone their first thought is not ‘ranked #9 in physics’ it’s ‘PARTY school’. That’s a problem for anyone connected to the school.</p>

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The same reason the California so-called hi-speed rail runs thru towns nobody wants to visit instead of taking a direct route between 2 major population areas. Politics. People looking after their narrow self-interest torpedo the greater good. </p>

<p>Many people would love to see Isla Vista improved but my bet is it will never happen. Believe it or not, the original plan was along the lines of what you’d like to see.

The</a> local property owners salivated at the thought of having a captive student population that would have to rent from them, so they killed a plan that would have been better for the University and the students. </p>

<p>My feel is that this will never really change. UCLA struggled under restrictions from its neighbors until it finally decided in the late 1980’s to put student housing on campus. They had legal battles with the community that didn’t want to see it, but finally prevailed. Back in the day UCLA was primarily a commuter school (the parking structures are actually the largest buildings on campus, or so rumor has it) but these days they promise housing for 3 years to all frosh. A similar plan would be ideal for UCSB, and they in fact built a large grad student housing project on part of the land that was part of the athletic field. But opponents have a much stronger card to play in stopping more on-campus housing at UCSB than they did at UCLA. Being on the coast it falls under the purview of the Coastal Commission, so the landlords could easily tie up development for years if not indefinitely. </p>

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<p>Wheaty, that isn’t my point. My point is that regardless of the party school reputation that has been put upon UCSB for many previous years, having witnessed other school’s party and social events there isn’t much that is really all that different. Plus all of those rankings seem to just cite Deltopia and Halloween as big, not referencing anything else. Yes the rankings can make people have a negative view towards the school, but those negative views are based in nothing more than reading a short paragraph at most.</p>

<p>Trust me, the school is doing what it can to change the reputation. An ordinance was passed just recently to make it so that an unregulated event at a singular location with music that can be heard by 500 people or more will be shut down. And also like I said, many students and faculty met together and will be meeting together many more times in the near future to help make change for the better. And with regards to throwing out serious offenders, the student body seems to want that. To think that no one is trying to do anything is to be wrong.</p>

<p>And with regards to IV being unregulated, that is wrong as well. Like I just said, new ordinances have been passed to help curb the bigger issues and more will surely be coming as well in the near future.</p>

<p>To someone that isn’t looking for people to hire, that may be the case due to how the media tries to make UCSB look like a party school. But for employers looking to hire recent graduates, they realize UCSB is a great school. There’s a reason why so many companies and firms are recruiting out of UCSB. At the end of the day, that is what matters more that anything else.</p>

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<p>@mikemac‌
“Being on the coast it falls under the purview of the Coastal Commission, so the landlords could easily tie up development for years if not indefinitely.”</p>

<p>Thank you, you just clarified this whole issue for me with this one sentence. That explains everything. Current landlords do minimal maintenance while 10 kids pay full rent to all live in a 2 bedroom house (living room, dining room, etc all converted to beds.). And these same landlords can block any campus construction by using the Coastal Commission against the school. Click, it all makes sense now.</p>

<p>One possible solution might be for the Regents to fundraise specifically to buy up property in IV. In time large areas could be leveled and replaced with university housing. USC has successfully expanded university housing while improving a problem neighborhood with a similar plan.</p>

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<p>@‌Wheaty

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<p>Well, I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone wanting to go to UCSD to go to a party. Compare that to the facebook page for deltopia someone set up. And 80% of arrests were out of towners, and only 18 of the 100 arrests were actually during the ‘disturbance’ the rest were more party related. Since UCSB doesn’t have this problem the other 363 days of the year, only when out of towners are known to come in, I think my point has more support than yours.</p>

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<p>Easily, by looking at their academic and research record.</p>

<p>I am not in favor of the kid who drove up from LA hitting the police officer in the head with a back pack of bottles, obviously, nor of those thugs videos saw jumping up and down on the car and tipping it. I am absolutely behind the police for arresting them (my jury is out on the rubber bullets and tear gas, since I don’t know how bad it was.) However, I think one of the original causes of the event escalating was because of the ‘clamp down’ reaction that occurred to the point of banning music in people’s back yard, and banning a party originally on a beach with no violence, where the competition was to bring the most creative floatation device. I think real thought should be put into channeling the traditional party into a constructive celebration of spring, back on the campus beach where UCSB can monitor it, perhaps requiring wrist bands, students only and one guest, student groups pledging post party clean up, and student fees going to porta potties and security, not to surveillance cameras.</p>

<p>This clamp down of freedoms youth traditionally enjoys makes people resentful and then everything is seen as escallation. To be trite, think of the opening scenes of ‘Footloose’, the town where no kids were allowed to listen to rock music or dance, so the kids went just over the town line and got plastered and became wild in defiance (yeah, ok, Hollywood, but stopping music is a stupid way to go after this.) The disturbance portion of deltopia was completely unacceptable, but even Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon had beach parties, and I hope I never get so old and dried up that I start thinking the beach party itself is to blame.</p>

<p>And my kids and their friends were shocked, but actually looked more into what Isla Vista and UCSB were like after this hit social media. Instead of dragging them unwillingly to Spring Insight, they are now looking forward to checking out what it is really like, and two of their friends who HAD been going to Tufts and UCSD are now registering to go and check it out as well, and are now thinking about going. They really DON’T want what happened at deltopia, and will be asking about it, but in looking at the actually fairly unusual combination of high academic achievement and engaging social life, they have become intrigued. So now it is up to UCSB, and the Isla Vista they actually find this weekend.</p>

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<p>Oh those pesky out-of-towners! I love the whole “it wasn’t us” defense. Okay so exactly who invited these non-UCSB people? Who set up the website/Facebook/Twitter/Insta pages? Was that an out-of-towner too? How many UCSB students invited their non-UCSB friends? At what point do UCSB students accept responsibility for the party riot’s (poor) planning, invitations, and execution? </p>

<p>Jeez, do I sound like a dad or what? That’s it mister, you’re grounded! :)</p>

<p>Seriously, I just want UCSB to fix Isla Vista and shed itself of that academic boat anchor. UCSB has all the attributes needed to become a top 25 university but in my opinion the Island of Lost Children continually casts the university in an unfavorable light.</p>

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<p>Oh @Wheaty. You are sure swayed by reputations of schools. I can’t say I read Playboy, but if that poll is the reason you are certain UCSB is a poor school, then I’m glad your children don’t attend. Please put them at a school that has a reputation you like better since that is very important to you. Employers are not swayed by reputations and Playboy polls. In fact, the engineering company my husband works for says they will hire a UCSB engineering graduate over any other school including UCLA. Just one example of an employer not swayed by reputations. @themanlaar has made very valid points that I do not need to expound upon but perhaps you should read again with an open mind. So, if you purpose on this thread is to bash UCSB, please stop. It’s not constructive.</p>

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<p>@Wheaty I assume it wasn’t UCSB students who set up the facebook page since they only had to lose from it. Why do you assume they had any connection to the facebook page at all? </p>

<p>Why do you want UCSB do to anything? What stake do you have? I have two sons considering going there, and my primary concern from this, since it is the first time there has been this sort of violence there in about forty years, and law enforcement took care of it, is that there might be overreaction, making it a less desirable college experience in the future. </p>

<p>I think it is terrific that the UC system is so excellent and diverse that it has universities high achieving students who want to avoid partying can enjoy attending as well as universities high achieving students with a relish for social activities can enjoy attending.</p>

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<p>I live and work in SB/UCSB. The university excels as an institution of learning. Awesome facilities, renowned research and development, esteemed faculty. The Isla Vista Deltopia scene is an embarrassment to the hard working students, faculty and 99% of the IV residents. Stuff like that will never be allowed to happen again, trust me. Yes, UCSB has a party rep—but it’s a weekend (and not every weekend) thing. Studies come first. Remember the student demographics: bright, very high achieving driven kids, many with solid plans for their futures. That’s what makes the university. </p>

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<p>Thought I would add my two cents to the discussion. Here is the perspective from a dad whose daughter was admitted to UCSB class of 2018. First, I am truly saddened by the Deltopia riot and can say it (along with UCSB’s party reputation) will very likely end up being the reasons my daughter attends a different school. She was accepted into UCSB’s Honors Program in the College of Letters and Science. She is pre-med and plans on studying neuroscience. We first visited the campus last summer and came away with a very high opinion of the campus. The location cannot be beat - it is paradise. The campus felt like a college campus (unlike some we visited) and was filled with friendly happy students (many riding bicycles). The dorms were very nice as well. Last month we were thrilled my daughter was accepted and went to Spring Insight on 4/12 primarily to get a feel for the academics and re-visit the dorms. We spoke with many students who all did an excellent job of selling us on the academic strengths of the university. </p>

<p>The icing on the cake was when my daughter was approached by Dr. Stuart Feinstein, the Co-Director of UCSB’s Neuroscience Research Institute. He overheard her say “neuroscience” and what followed was a 15+ minute one-on-one discussion about the institute, his teaching philosophy, research opportunities, and academics at UCSB. By the time the conversation ended, my wife and I agreed it would be a wonderful opportunity to study with him and his colleagues. I found myself wishing I was 20 years younger so I could sign up for the program!</p>

<p>Despite the many positives, my daughter remains concerned that the school is too much of a party school. Yes, the freshmen dorms are far away from IV and she can easily chose to stay away. But after freshmen year, much of the housing is in or near IV. She has another 2 weeks to decide and part of me is hoping she picks UCSB. (My wife and I trust her completely and have no concern that she would be sucked into the party scene). Her other options include UCSD, UCD, and a couple of private schools. </p>

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<p>UCSB was always known as a party school. Note that ‘party school’ does not mean RAGE school. Deltopia and Halloween are not ‘domestic gatherings’, and the newsworthy part clearly isn’t given the less than 10% citation rate for UCSB students out of those given. Personally, were I there, I’d likely check one out early in the evening to see what it was like, and leave not long after. After that, I’d avoid it the way I do Thanksgiving parade traffic on Hollywood Blvd. That isn’t a party, except as a curiosity, it seems to be a madhouse. I think once to scratch my sociological interest would be plenty. </p>

<p>However, my niece went there, was an EMT and TREATED people who drank too much at those parties. She confirmed that the vast majority who needed her services were NOT from UCSB. She had a wonderful time there and tried to get back for her residency after law school, but the double residency blind match has her in a hospital associated with an Ivy, back east. (However, she did get her first choice practice area, surgery.) She didn’t feel she had to avoid social life for a student, she loved the social life at UCSB and was constantly busy. She just avoided those two events (except in the line of duty as an EMT.)</p>

<p>I do agree those two events, which are what people seem to ‘take away’ about the party school image, should transition to on campus fairs or something, with deltopia back to the beach, where they can be limited, and students can have normal student fun. (Taking AWAY traditional parties or an overbearing ‘clamp down’ would be a very poor idea, imho). </p>

<p>Santa Cruz was always the ‘artsy, Birkenstocks’ UC. Davis was always the ‘Ag school’ UC, and UCSB was ALWAYS the ‘social’ UC. That is a skill as valuable to students as any on their resume, and should be celebrated, not squelched.</p>

<p>However, those two rages are not UCSB parties, by this point, they are two in a link of major parties in the west like coachella, and UCSB students pay the price. Much better to attend such events in someone else’s back yard. I hope they work out a way to deal with those two events; whatever they did in 2013 for Halloween seems to have worked pretty well. (I understand there were community pre party meetings planning for it.)</p>

<p>Look at how the students put on the ‘extravaganza’ with NO problems. It is simply limited to UCSB, not the surrounding world. <a href=“EXTRAVAGANZA 2017”>http://aspb.as.ucsb.edu/extravaganza/&lt;/a&gt; There are no such problems with the normal weekend parties not in exam time, and those, imho should just be left alone. </p>

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This is an amazing thread. Thank you for the insight on UCSB that you all have provided. As a freshman accepted to UCSB’s class of 2019, I’d like to ask: how’s it been after a year? Any notable updates or information that potential Gauchos should know?