My school has the dubious distinction of being one of the top party schools in the nation. As such, our Halloween's here in Isla Vista are world-renowned, especially on the infamous Del Playa Drive. Incidentally, that's my street! So for Halloween (which lasted Thursday-Saturday) I had a front row seat of the madness unfolding before me. It was quite the experience.
The following Monday, our school newspaper had some interesting facts. From the long Halloween weekend here's some stats for some context:
We had an incredible 45,000 revelers from out of town (this is upswing of 60,000 people in a one square mile radius!)
There were 250 arrests (up from a mere 154 last year)
250 police officers from agencies around the state were in IV patrolling the streets (up from 150 a year ago)
560 citations were given (compared to 377 in 2007)
55 people were given emergency care (thankfully no deaths, which usually happens from people falling off the cliffs)
$1,000,000 in costs for police enforcement
50 cars were towed (on my street, there could be no cares parked on the street after 3:00 PM. Right after the stroke of 3:00, there was literally a dozen tow trucks driving around and towing cars. It was quite funny)
I wish I had pictures of how empty the streets were with no cars on them. During the daytime, IV had quite a festive atmosphere, which was pretty surreal to be apart of with all the out of towners descending on all the local food joints.
It was unbelievable to witness so much from the balcony of my house, with literally thousands of people on the street--solely pleasure-seeking. It broke my heart to see it, but God revealed his glory to wipe away the streets by inducing rain both Friday and Saturday night to scatter the partiers.
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