a tradition lost in chaos
the end of halloween in isla vista
The Daily Nexus, 1999
Halloween in isla vista was one of the biggest parties in the nation...
Isla Vista, a small town adjacent to the University of California, Santa Barbara, is as "college town" as you can get, with 90% of its population being UCSB students. Students always come and go, so there aren't many traditions or much established culture, but one thing I.V. has had for decades is its well known Halloween parties, even rumored to be rated Playboy Magazine's choice as the number one place in the nation to celebrate Halloween in 1987, and actually featured in Maxim in 2004. The party takes place along Del Playa Drive, or DP, the street that goes along the oceanside cliffs of Isla Vista and notorious for being the place to be on a Friday night.
The street, lined with houses throwing parties, would be entirely packed with tens of thousands of students in costumes walking around to see where they would stop by next, which was usually the house most packed with people and the loudest music. In addition to the deafening music coming from every direction, the smell of alcohol mixed with the ocean breeze consolidate the young, wild and free feeling among the crowd. For the most part, it was good wild fun, until that good feeling was replaced by the "everything goes" mentality. In later years there grew a need for police officers to patrol the streets, new laws to be put in place, fences around students living on-campus housing, and police barricades blocking the streets most famous for partying during Halloween, but students still partied on.
“Halloween [in Isla Vista] evolved from a local holiday spirit event to the largest college party in California.”
- Santa Barbara's Sherriff Jim Thomas
People from Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and all over California flocked to the area for the weekend-long celebration, according to a 1993 Santa Barbara County Action Plan Report
But the party didn't last forever
Pictured is DP on Halloween night of 2019. As the last 5 years, the streets are empty, being even less lively than any average weekend in IV. With no parties in sight, the handful that were happening were kept discreet with the constant worry of being ticketed by law enforcement. As October 31st was a Thursday this year, other parts of Isla Vista were affected in their own ways for two weekends straight. Fences were up around campus housing, noise ordinances were in place, no guest police in University housing, DUI checkpoints, and barricades up along the streets that used to be known for partying.
halloween on dp over the years
Many students have been left frustrated and confused with efforts in recent years to entirely "shut down" Halloween. We made it our mission to dig in and find out the reasons behind the end of this infamous tradition.
Here's what we found.
Click the icon to see the data we collected (Excel)
Most people somehow related to UCSB know that the strict restrictions that are in place are our new reality because past Halloweens had gotten too out of hand, but it feels like no one really knows what used to happen. For essentially all of the current UCSB students, this tamed version of Halloween in Isla Vista is all we've known, only left wondering about what used to go down not that long ago.
Through an anonymous survey, we asked what exactly people thought about the current Halloween policies and how they've been affected. What we found is that students generally understand the policies are in place for the sake of students' safety, and a decent amount of students appreciate the changes, but overall feelings towards the restrictions are largely negative. Many students feel largely inconvenienced and feel the restrictions are too extreme, with quite a few students even stating they feel less safe with the increased police presence during that time of the year, with the constant feeling that any wrong move can spark a reaction.
The question is, however, could more information about the past change the students' minds?
The Daily Nexus, 1988
Besides the week before finals, it is very unlikely for anyone to come to Isla Vista on a weekend night and not hear parties or see people on their way to one. UCSB students have been famously known for their ability to work hard and partying even harder, generating a nation-wide reputation for its social life as well as jokes such as "UCSB stands for U Can Study Buzzed". Undoubtedly, part of this reputation was heavily influenced by Halloween weekend.
Between 1978 and 2014, it is safe to say that Halloween in IV has been a constant battle between law enforcement and whoever decided to party in Isla Vista. As a current student at UCSB, it can be quite hard to imagine a time where police officers would calmly roam with students along Del Playa Drive, and even take pictures.
But even before 1999, law enforcement has been back and forth when it comes to their approach with revelers. From 1980 onward, the number of attendees began steadily increasing by 1,000 attendees every year until 1985, when the number spiked to 10,000, and 1986 when Isla Vista could be seen filled with 30,000 people.
Regardless of the surprising growth, Tony Trento, Isla Vista Foot Patrol in 1985 said that "Although the crowd was larger than in the previous years, people were better behaved. The people that were there were pretty cordial to us. A lot of the kids that we stopped took it pretty well when we told them to drop (their) beer. They understood. There were no smart remarks --we just advised them and they went along with us. We're all out there to keep the peace and to have a good time. We want to enjoy ourselves." Beginning its exponential growth on a good note, however, wasn't enough to encourage the revelers from the next year to follow the same footsteps. Marked by cut feet, broken jaws, underaged drinkers, a few plunges from the cliffs and way too many reports of sexual assault and rape where enough to taint 1986's Halloween and show that Isla Vista's tradition was a local event no more.
The aftermath following 1986's Halloween originated many consequences for 1987, with the "Playboy myth" being one of them. With the attribution of things getting out of hand so fast, quickly came the gossip that a Playboy article had listed Isla Vista as a top spot to celebrate Halloween. To this day many people believe this was the reason for things getting too rowdy too quickly, but there is no evidence the article was ever posted.
Despite 1987's efforts to manage the crowd, 1988 demonstrates a duality between some students' excitement and other students' efforts to leave town and get away from the yearly craziness. Two freshmen reported to the Daily Nexus that they planned to leave the area on Halloween night and said that some people might think they're missing out on a lot of fun, but that fun can get out of hand. They were also worried about their personal property being damaged over the weekend, such as having their cars egged or windows smashed.
The end of the 1980s and the all through the 1990s was surprisingly filled with family-oriented activities such as trick or treating, haunted houses in fraternities and sororities, decorated houses, costume contests, Halloween-themed movie screenings and open concerts all throughout Isla Vista, creating a strong and welcoming community where students, children, and faculty were welcome to join.
The Daily Nexus, 1988. Many students planning to leave Isla Vista
News Channel 3 report on 2014's Halloween
Isla Vista's Halloween was hardly just for drunk (and dumb) college students. I say hardly because parties were nonetheless still happening every year. After a few more years of more rowdiness and out-of-towners (mostly) being out of hand, a no-tolerance policy was implemented between 1993 and 1997, that even though promoted other fun activities and decreased the number of problems on the street, as soon as the five years ended the party was back on. Claire Smith, one Daily Nexus writer even wrote back in 1997, "Police officers on horses and hundreds of extra deputies could be a thing of the past". How ironic.
The constant desire to keep out of towners away, barricades, blockages, and increased police presence during the holiday seem all too familiar with the current state of Halloween, however, many subtle things were changed along the way until we got where we are. For example, the open container ordinance didn't exist until 1986. In 1997, an IV Foot Patrol said "drink in moderation, drink in the park, and no fights", in regards to the event that would happen, suggesting that people could drink in the park --very differently from nowadays' laws. In 2003, the crowds were only expected to thin out around 3 am, as opposed to the current midnight rule in IV. It wasn't until 2009 that dorm residents weren't allowed to have visitors.
It wasn't until 2014 that all the obstacles that were thrown to the revelers finally took a toll on the students. Arguably one of the most difficult years for the University, it would be hard to party as if nothing had happened. The year started off with a Santa Barbara City College student being sexually assaulted in IV by a man she met at a party in February. Just a couple months later, a riot broke out during the annual Deltopia spring break party, where 225 people were arrested, 249 cited, and 48 received medical attention. One month later, in May, IV was terrorized by Elliot Rodgers, a student who killed six UCSB students in a stabbing and shooting rampage that left the community changed forever. After so many unnerving incidents, IV residents and the University were eager to rebuild Isla Vista.
The combination of such violent year and heavy rain on Halloween night made students abandon the costume and partying on a night that was known for becoming violent in the past, choosing instead a night of comfort and safety in their own homes, or choosing to go just about anywhere else besides IV. Especially after the discovery that Elliot Rodger planned to attack on Deltopia or Halloween, but gave up after seeing amount the police presence on the events in Youtube videos, students prioritized their safety that year. Halloween has been quiet ever since. Even now, in 2019, many students still choose to go elsewhere or to just stay and deal with the restrictions. Having not known the wild Halloween nights in IV, and only partially understanding why the restrictions were in place, to begin with, complaining about such restrictions has replaced the old days of rowdiness.
Halloween in Isla Vista, 2009. Shows the objectification of women, problematic costumes such as “Mexicans”, and homophobic remarks.
Halloween 2013, the last year of partying. Even counted with the presence of Chancellor Yang and his wife amongst the crowd
The Daily Nexus, 1978
"It can be fun for us too. Some of our younger guys are still pretty stiff, but a lot of our older guys are having fun getting their picture taken with people."
Sgt. Bill turner, 1999
Pictured: Halloween 2013
"We don't want to get rid of Halloween;
our goal is simply a fun and safe Halloween for all involved."
Halloween Committee Chair Pegeen Soutar, 1997
UCSB Archives, Halloween 1988
