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UCSC Takes Security Measures for 4/20
4-18-08|Santa Cruz Sentinel|By J.M. Brown

UC Santa Cruz officials will restrict visitor and vehicle access on campus Sunday in anticipation of thousands gathering to mark the so-called 4/20 cannabis culture holiday.

According to a memo sent to faculty and staff Thursday by Executive Vice Chancellor David S. Kliger, UCSC will take numerous measures to block unauthorized vehicles from entering campus and parking, as well as parking along Empire Grade, the 1.2 mile stretch between the main and west gates. Students also will not be allowed to have overnight guests tonight or Saturday.

The once student-only gathering to smoke marijuana in UCSC's Porter Meadow is now known nationwide, and has grown to 5,000 strong over the years as word has spread through articles in Rolling Stone and other magazines, as well as Web sites such as Wikipedia and YouTube. The spike in attendance was also closely timed with a vote by Santa Cruz residents in 2006 to make marijuana use a low-priority crime for police.

The university reminded students in an e-mail Thursday that it does not condone the gathering, which is named for the day or time of day well-known among regular marijuana users internationally for toking up. The e-mail warned students that using marijuana could land them a police citation and campus judicial write-up.

But, UCSC spokesman Barry Shiller said the campus does not intend to ramp up its police presence, and has made no arrests and issued few, if any, student judicial citations for marijuana smoking during past 4/20 events. Still, he said, "The presence of pot and large crowds of people breaking the law is not something we're thrilled about."

Keeping students from participating has proven difficult due to the crowd's size, so UCSC has focused on restricting throngs of outsiders through special security and traffic measures. Admittedly, however, Shiller said the campus can do very little about people who walk on to campus outside the gates, though unauthorized people are subject to being thrown out.

"The increasingly large crowds that have gathered in recent years present safety risks for participants, whether students or people not affiliated with the campus," Kliger wrote. "This activity also violates a number of campus regulations designed to provide for the well-being of our campus and the neighboring community."

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