Yearly Day Party Put to Rest

By Liz Wassmann

To many Santa Clara students, a day party is the quintessential way to spend a Saturday in spring quarter. Neon bro tanks, warm beer and hours of sun comprise a fun-filled, if fuzzy, afternoon.

Yet this spring quarter may bring an end to the beloved tradition. The Santa Clara Police Department has been trying to send a strong message to students that they will not tolerate day parties.

After SCPD issued tickets and fines for a day party at the off-campus house Maples on March 3, the annual "Cinco de Maples" day party will not happen this Saturday.

"As a whole we are choosing to not do 'Cinco de Maples' because it wouldn't be worth the extra heat it would bring from the police," said junior Maples resident Michael Schlessmann.

At the day party in March, SCPD handed out at least 11 tickets to minors in possession of alcohol, according to an official letter from SCPD addressed to the house's residents and landlord Rebecca Basulto.

On April 15, nearly six weeks after the party, SCPD fined 20 students $150 each for consenting to a party, according to fine recipient Trevor Wright.

Sgt. Jerry Rodriguez, head of nuisance control for the SCPD, talked to Basulto and found that throwing the party would violate the lease, according to Maples resident David Steenson.
Furthermore, the letter to Basulto from SCPD states that additional disturbances requiring police presence within a one-year period will result in additional fines. Specifically, the landlord will be charged $500 for maintaining a public nuisance.

"Cinco de Maples" is not the only party that will be canceled due to police action this year. Wright, who also founded th3clara.com, which documents Santa Clara's off-campus party scene, shared that there will be fewer parties this year, since students are scared that the police threats are true.

The threats and fines have increased this year because of the surge in citations and hospital transports in the last seven to eight months.

Furthermore, SCPD is being pressured to crack down on the day parties.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control gave a grant to the police department to reduce the number of parties, and the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services are also pressuring the police.

When talking to Wright, Sgt. Rodriguez reported feeling fortunate that no one has died yet from the partying, and said he wanted to send a strong message to keep it that way.

For the past three to four years, the student body and police department have had a good relationship, but relations have started to sour, according to the residents involved in the incident.

"Students will party either way," said Wright. "There might by dry parties during the day, where students pregame too hard and too quickly."

Contact Liz Wassmann at ewassmann@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.