Taming the Bay to Breakers party

By Colleen Sinsky

There are few things in life worth waking up for at 5 a.m. on a Sunday, but if you haven't experienced the Bay to Breakers debauchery yet, it's something you need to do during your time at Santa Clara.

Everything from the sardined Caltrain ride up to San Francisco at sunrise, to being in the middle of the most unique, chaotic and happy mass of people in the world is impossible to experience anywhere else.

This year's Bay to Breakers will be the 98th anniversary of the 12K footrace, which draws 65,000 participants and 100,000 spectators each year. Santa Clara students have been part of this crowd for years, making the annual drunken pilgrimage on the third Sunday of May to the streets of the city to join in the moving party that doesn't actually look anything like a race.

We can take advantage of the fact that we live so close to a throbbing Mecca of culture, but are still able to take the train home to our quiet Santa Clara bubble.

Bay to Breakers is an enthusiastic embodiment of everything that makes San Francisco unique. The event is ageless, raceless and classless. It's a day-long reminder that there's no better way to deal with the failing economy, global warming and the California budget crisis than uniting to hit the streets with tens of thousands of fellow participants.

For a short time, social barriers are blurred, personal space is ignored and we're all friends -- though alcohol is undoubtedly a major contributor to the massive amount of friendliness.

At one steep spot in last year's race, my friends and I helped out a homeless man by pushing his shopping cart uphill for a quarter of a mile. It seemed like a totally natural thing to do at the time, and it wasn't until later that I thought back about what an odd but great situation it had been.

We all need a drastic break like this from the monotony of work and social expectations, to get off campus and outdoors and reconnect with the passion and energy that makes us human.

As great a tradition as Bay to Breakers is, there's been recent controversy that has threatened to tame a lot of what makes the race unique.

The sharp divide between the real runners and those of us there to party creates not only traffic flow problems, but also a huge shortage of funds for trash disposal and portable toilets. Last year, race organizers put out only 500 portable toilets for all 165,000 people along the course.

Naturally, prohibitively long lines and participants relieving themselves in residents' front yards became a huge problem, which has been used to defend the race's proposed ban on alcohol.

Registered runners pay $44 to enter, which covers their timing chip and runners bib as well as a portion of restroom and cleanup costs. It's the mass of unregistered partiers bringing up the rear who get to enjoy the benefits of Bay to Breakers without having to pay anything.

To combat the freeloader problem, the group Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers, which has a following of 12,500 on Facebook, has created a flush fund, where participants can donate any amount toward putting in more portable toilets.

The group's founders urge the parade participants, as well as the runners, to officially register, or at least donate toward the cleanup fund. If the residents, race organizers and city officials can put up with a massive party in their backyard, it really is the least of participants' civic duty to donate to the cleanup.

Last year, an incredible 35 tons of trash was left behind after the race, which cost a quarter of a million dollars to clean up. In February, race organizers and city officials announced a zero tolerance policy regarding alcohol and floats.

Since then, a series of meetings and compromises have slightly loosened the original restrictions, but with conflicting information and often changing rules there's a good possibility that the police won't be as likely to ignore the hundreds of kegs in shopping carts as they were last year.

Bay to Breakers supporters are trying to put more of an emphasis on an after party and float corral in Golden Gate Park. According to the San Francisco Examiner, the goal of race and city officials is to follow a plan that "protects the host neighborhoods while preserving the unique spirit of the race."

As Santa Clara students, we should work toward upholding respect toward our Bay Area by practicing basic responsibility. We don't litter on campus and should exercise the same courtesy on the streets of San Francisco. Follow the pace the race rule if you choose to drink alcohol, and be conscious of your environment.

Don't be a freeloader. Consider donating to the cleanup effort -- I felt much better after my $20 donation to the flush fund. Lastly, a challenge against the traditional "Tortilla Toss" at the start of the race -- I have to admit that throwing tortillas is more fun than you'd expect, but even in the height of the festival atmosphere, it's hard not to feel guilty about stepping all over food that so many are lacking.

Idealistic? Probably, but it's an insignificant sacrifice on our part that speaks toward a higher goal than tossing food like trash. If we respect the city and we each do our part toward civic responsibility, we can continue to have the same indescribably weird and amazing experience Bay to Breakers has provided in the past.

Advice for first-timers: Eat a good breakfast, wear a costume that lets you carry your cell phone, some cash and a water bottle and put at least a little bit of thought into how you'll find your way back to the Caltrain station at the end of the day.

Colleen Sinsky is a junior economics major.