Overheard conversations prior to class usually cover a wide variety of subjects, but talk around campus at the beginning of this week is about the Mardi Gras weekend that wasn’t.
One of the most recognized events in college towns took a backseat to life this past weekend in San Luis Obispo, as the excessive partying was held to a minimum.
Cal Poly students seemed either unaware that this past weekend was Mardi Gras, or couldn’t find a way to unleash themselves during the lone weekend before Ash Wednesday.
“I knew it was Mardi Gras, but nothing was happening,” business freshman Erin Diamond said. “The city was dead.”
“It’s amazing that it was so quiet. There used to be parties everywhere with a Mardi Gras theme, but it just isn’t what it used to be,” psychology senior Liz Sbranti said.
For the last five years, in what may be a sad period for some people’s college pride, the City of San Luis Obispo has proudly proclaimed that the “party is over.”
In a campaign that began following the Mardi Gras riot of 2004, in which the town was swarmed by young people, breaking windows and reaping havoc.
The city council declared that Mardi Gras celebrations in San Luis Obispo were over and asked for the police department to stop it, Captain Dan Blanke said.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department was asked to present a three-year plan to eliminate the carnival-like atmosphere in the city. The most dramatic and noticeable approach to fixing the problem came in 2005 when about 450 police officers were patrolling the streets. The normal amount of vehicles patrolling the streets is 12 to 14.
“You really couldn’t look right or left without seeing a police car,” Blanke said.
It was an effort that couldn’t be done by the local police alone. So, highway patrolmen from as far as Sacramento came to help and the FBI also helped coordinate the initial crackdown, he said.
This weekend the police department had 20 cars on patrol.
“We put more (police) on patrol, because we weren’t sure what to expect,” Blanke said. “We didn’t hear any advanced talk and nothing came up in our Internet searches. But, we are in the business of being safe rather than sorry.”
Each year since the riots, the celebrations have become less and less chaotic and forgotten by more and more students. This year, however, may have marked the death of the carnival in SLO.
“I think people have forgotten about it,” graphic communications senior Michael Foote said. “The city really shut it down.”
According to Blanke, this was the Mardi Gras that wasn’t. The level of activity was normal for an average weekend, he said.
“As far as we are concerned, Mardi Gras is basically dead and we want the memory of it to fade away,” Blanke said.