Digital News Report

Digital News Report- April 20th is around the corner and for UC Santa Cruz that means hundreds if not thousands of people are preparing to visit the campus to celebrate the unofficial pot holiday.  Last year the university responded by shutting down the campus to anyone who didn’t have official business, yet thousands of people still crowded the Porter Meadow by the late afternoon.  The university has repeated the mantra, “this is not a university sponsored event,” continuously for years.

Every year there is an awkward face off in the meadow as university staff and police attempt to discourage the festival.  The first few wayward pot smokers who make their way to the meadow tend to uneasily shuffle their feet or play Frisbee until enough of a crowd has gathered to simply walk by authorities without a problem.  Once the floodgates open, the streams of people that flow into the meadow are unstoppable.  The crowd only grows each year as the university takes more and more steps to end the gathering altogether as many have started showing up just to watch the spectacle.

This year the university has gone above the student’s heads directly to their parents.  In an email sent to first year students’ parents, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Felicia McGinty urged them to, “talk with [their] student about his or her plans for 4/20. Ask direct questions about the choices they make and express your expectations regarding marijuana, alcohol or other drug use.”

The university will also block off roads, limit bus service, tow illegally parked cars, and ban overnight guests on campus April 18-20.  In the letter, McGinty says that the event has become, “a concern for both the University and surrounding community,” due to its large size.  Similar techniques have done littler to deter the spectacle.  Thousands of people walked up Empire Grade right past the barriers.

UC Santa Cruz isn’t the only university that has 4/20 gatherings, but in a 2004 Rolling Stone article, UCSC was described as a stoner paradise in an article called, “The Most Stoned Students on the Most Stoned Day on the Most Stoned Campus on Earth.”  Since then the university has attempted to shake that reputation.