The party started early for Cal Poly students at the second Morning on the Green celebration.
An organizer of the massive St. Patrick’s Day celebration said thousands of students crammed into the event at 5 a.m. and started leaving once the sun came up.
Whitt Ridge is a fourth-year student at Cal Poly.
“It’s 7:30 in the morning, and everybody is here," Ridge said. "Everybody at Cal Poly is here—you can’t get better than this.”
This year, there was an increased police presence at the event and in the surrounding areas near Cal Poly. Through March 16, the city is designated a Safety Enhancement Zone, meaning doubled fines and stricter enforcement to stop street parties from starting up. Nearly 20 law enforcement agencies, from the San Francisco Police Department to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, were spotted near campus.
To help keep everything under control, cars and pedestrians were not allowed to access many streets around the school.
Brendan Stratford is a resident who was turned away at one of the closed streets.
“[I'm] a little peeved," Stratford said. "I was also trying to just go in and see what was going on with the Morning on the Green situation, and it looks like we're going to have to go pretty far out of our way to get around it.”
Bradley Moruoka, who lives far away from Cal Poly, said the new concert did more harm than good.
“I live that way a mile or so, and you could hear the concert all night," he said. "A couple of years ago, when they didn't have it, you couldn't hear anything. I think, in some sense, it kind of spreads it further in the community, actually.”
Ridge said the party was just beginning for students over 21.
“I think after this, [I'm] probably going to the bars," Ridge said. "Connect with the homies and have a good time.”
Some people who had nothing to do with the Cal Poly celebrations were caught off-guard when thousands of students made their way downtown.
Sarah Blakley said she forgot about the celebration until she got there.
“We both came to downtown and were like, 'Oh, God, the children are out,'" Blakley said. "The college kids are out. We forgot. We're bracing ourselves.”
She said they’re trying to make the best of the circumstances downtown by avoiding the bars.
“We're like, 'Okay, let's go this way now, let's go this way, let's avoid that massive crowd.'”
Another Safety Enhancement Zone will be in place on March 17 and 18.
