If you’re a Western movie buff, the chances are you’ve seen the 1966 classic “spaghetti western” film called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, starring Cint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone. The reason I mention the film is strictly due to the title. Whenever I think of debriefing or reviewing a collaborative project or task at work, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” keeps me on point when thinking of discussion points and where to improve after the task is done. As far as St. Fratty’s Day goes, I can only think of the bad and the ugly.
There is nothing good for the neighborhood that comes from this unlawful assembly. There is a lot of bad and ugly. High-risk behavior, particularly when large quantities of alcohol have been consumed, entitlement, as well as the lack of respect for people’s property.
Article
The Mustang Daily wrote an article titled St. Fratty’s 2024 Recap: Property Damage, DUIs and Unruly Gatherings. The article covers the bad and ugly side of St. Fratty’s Day. It describes how a fraternity member came back to his apartment to find random strangers helping themselves to his belongings, including his camera. In a separate incident, a tenant of a house located at the epicenter of the illegal gathering also describes their ordeal as belligerent people climbing onto their roof.
Terrifying
The tenant also wrote a letter to an SCLC administrative personnel to distribute to the SCLC, describing her terrifying ordeal. (The email was not distributed to SCLC.) The house occupants barricaded their door as people were trying to force their way into their home. So many people were on the roof that they were afraid it would collapse on top of them. They called the police for help numerous times and were hung up on. Eventually, SLOPD came and issued a citation to the tenant for the unruliness in her yard. When she asked for help in getting the people off the roof, SLOPD officers said she would have to do it herself.
Damage
Regarding media coverage of the 2024 St. Fratty’s Day damage, most of the coverage covers damage to Cal Poly property. There was some coverage of the damage to property in the neighborhood, although not all damage was reported to authorities. Regardless, the damage did occur. And with regards to the guy doing pull-ups on a wire, it was a power supply line to the house – an electrical wire – not a telephone wire. You can clearly see where it enters the snorkel on the roof. Although telephone line sounds “less dangerous”. The Mustang news article also mentions broken fences, gutters ripped off of homes, and broken backyard furniture. Just what possesses people’s minds to invade yards and destroy stuff?
The damage not mentioned is that a homeowner had their house sewer line collapse in the front yard. Just imagine the weight of a crowd in your front yard to collapse your sewer line. Now, you have to fix it. Or a neighbor who came home late the night before St. Fratty’s Day from lobster fishing and couldn’t find parking so he parked on Bond Street. Being new to the area, he didn’t know about St. Fratty’s Day. The next day, he found his car vandalized, scratched up, and its windshield broken. It was never reported to SLOPD. What’s the use? It’s just the collateral damage of St. Fratty’s day. Right?
This all is “the ugly” associated with St. Fratty’s Day. It’s not fun when a drunken mob breaks your stuff, and the City or Cal Poly allows a neighborhood invasion. But on the plus side, the police said “nobody was seriously injured or died,” according to KSBY. That’s where we are at as a community, celebrating that nobody died. Is this even real life? It’s less than two months away from St. Fratty’s Day 2025; let’s see what this year brings.