Letters to the editor: Tribune readers sound off on wild St. Fratty’s Day | Opinion

Time for homeowners to step up

The Tribune’s editorial suggesting potential cures for the out-of-control St. Fratty’s Day fell short. We tend to come up with relatively simple answers to complex problems. In my opinion, one very large factor is being ignored. There is a reason that the Poly Royal shenanigans as well as the St. Fratty’s Day hooliganism occurred in the same neighborhood. The majority of those houses are rentals — mostly to college students.

The owners of those houses could do a lot to end this nonsense if they were to feel a financial pinch. A special assessment district could be created whereby the owners of houses in that neighborhood would be assessed a significant amount, with monies used to pay for law enforcement, repair damages and clean up. If house owners don’t want to do this, they could band together to put an end to the nonsense.

Very strict and enforceable language needs to be inserted into rental agreements. Failure to comply would result in lease termination effective immediately. A financial burden on the backs of the landlords as well as the participants might have a better chance of avoiding future occurrences such as we have witnessed over the past decade.

Rob Rutherford

San Luis Obispo

Cal Poly’s dominance

The student population density of the Foothill Boulevard area of San Luis Obispo is now overwhelming. Student apartment buildings block the mountains from our view. Walking downtown on a Saturday night after a dinner out is something that non-student adults no longer feel comfortable doing.

The problem is not St. Fratty’s Day, it’s the dominance of Cal Poly in all of our lives. Of course, the yearly influx of students brings in a great deal of money that is very important to our town, but it has also steadily taken away much of the local atmosphere that made San Luis Obispo a singular place to live and visit.

Is this situation completely out of the hands of our city leaders? Is the growth of Cal Poly simply going to continue without any say on behalf of our local citizens? Can this be addressed, or do we just have to sit back and watch things get worse?

J. Thomas

San Luis Obispo

Lighten up, people

I wasn’t in San Luis Obispo to witness this year’s St Patrick’s Day, but I have worked the bars downtown on past St. Patrick’s Days. The turnout on Hathway this year was bigger than anticipated, which gave local law enforcement cause to be on edge. When St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday, it is bound to get this way. The biggest reason is because they have Saturday to get here.

Next year, St Patrick’s Day will be on a Monday. It won’t be as crazy, since it’s a school (and work) day. Before we knee-jerk react, how about everyone take a moment to remember what it feels like to have fun. And to have fun on weekends like this, like Memorial Day at Lake Havasu, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, New Year’s Eve in Manhattan, Spring Break in Ft. Lauderdale. If anything, SLOPD should feel relieved that they only arrested 12 and issued 156 citations. It could have been worse. Had they been too heavy handed, it could have been way worse. So, as we put the pin back in the grenade, just remember St Patrick’s Day won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2030. Cheers!

Charlie Bird

Los Osos

Make it official

I lived on Foothill Boulevard smack dab in the middle of the Poly Royal riots in 1999 and trust me, escalating the fight only make matters worse. It’s time to realize, since stopping this isn’t possible, perhaps it’s time to redirect it? What about a sanctioned St. Patty’s Day celebration on campus? Use the football field. Have bands and vendors and crazy college games. Serve food and beverages, have a row of Porta Potties and a row of Uber drivers waiting to deliver drunken people wherever they want to go.

Have it start at 3:17 a.m. like it does anyway and let it run all day. Have a huge cleanup day by the student groups the day after. Make it no charge, everyone welcome. Keep everyone safe, contained, let the party happen until they all wear themselves out. Have it co-sponsored by the City and Cal Poly and any other community group. It would be a lot cheaper than continuing to escalate police presence and vandalism repair.

Abe Lincoln

San Luis Obispo

Call a time out

I don’t understand why the Cal Poly Administration team hasn’t thought about revising the winter term calendar. It would seem the problem with St Patrick’s Day partying happens on many college/university campuses. What are those educational institutions doing to avoid the destruction of properties, looting and trashing facilities on-campus and off-campus?

My daughter attended CSU Chico and they calendared a school break around St Patrick’s Day. The dorms were closed. No classes or activities were held. It helped cut down on the destructive behaviors Cal Poly continues to deal with.

I realize Chico is on the semester system and Cal Poly is on quarter system, but certainly the winter quarter calendar could be adjusted. It would be worth a try.

Christine Enyart-Elfers

Arroyo Grande

Editor’s note: Cal Poly will switch to semesters starting in the fall of 2026.

Intolerable behavior

Spring Break has always been a release for the pressures of the academic requirements of higher education. After the pandemic’s impact on top of that and uncertainty about the future of young people in the current world, one can understand that students would want to party to just feel human again.

I am not an apologist for bad behavior. What some students and visitors did to property on- and off-campus last weekend was inexcusable under any definition of “release” of stress. It cannot be tolerated any more than bad behavior from adults and unfortunately makes a sad statement that young people don’t have the self control to change the direction of their future to make it better and more civilized. Sad day for Cal Poly and higher education.

Melvin Dorin

Cambria

Stop the hypocrisy

Saint Fratty’s Day is a sad commentary on San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly and University President Jeffrey Armstrong and the San Luis Obispo Police department for allowing students to unlawfully assemble, violating California Penal Code sections 407 and 408. Yet they never allow protests against the companies that produce weapons and come on campus to recruit students.

Please stop the hypocrisy. As a combat veteran I fought for the right of freedom of speech, the right to assemble and to be part of a more peaceful world.

Students, continue to raise your voices.

Rinaldo Caminada

Shell Beach