As the Beastie Boys song goes, you gotta fight for your right to party. 

That’s what UC Santa Barbara students did on Wednesday as they spoke out against the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office proposal for a 72-hour amplified music ordinance for Deltopia weekend. 

A large crowd of people attended a town hall at the Isla Vista Theater to hear about the ordinance, the history of Deltopia and the impact that the unsanctioned street party has on public safety.

A long line stretched from the theater to the Isla Vista Foot Patrol office as residents, business owners and students waited for the town hall to begin, and for the free Chick-fil-A provided by Associated Students. 

While the Sheriff’s Office said the ordinance is an attempt to reduce large, dangerous crowds along Del Playa Drive, E.J. Raad, a third-year political science major at UCSB and external vice president for local affairs with Associated Students, said it’s an attempt to end the tradition completely. 

“I’m of the opinion that just trying to end it and then having us pick up the pieces is not going to end well,” Raad said. “It will just make things less safe, less organized and more chaotic. So, to put it very simply, I believe that if the county wants to make Deltopia a safer event, instead of trying to control Isla Vista, they need to work with Isla Vista.”

Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Schmidt shared that at this year’s Deltopia, there were 84 arrests, 485 citations issued, one firearm seized from an out-of-towner, 57 patients treated at a medical tent and 25 patients transferred to Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, leading to the hospital having to turn away patients and send them to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. 

“What we’re trying to do is not cancel this event,” Schmidt said. “We want to keep the celebratory spirit up, but we need to do better. We need to do better by having a permanent event that is attractive to the student community, that can reduce the out-of-town crowds from all the harm that’s occurred the last 16 years.”

While all residents acknowledged that there needed to be changes for the sake of safety, there were concerns that the ordinance was not the way to make Deltopia safer. 

Virandra Singh, owner of Mesa Pizza in Isla Vista, advocated to turn Deltopia into a sanctioned event, saying it would encourage safe behavior and set clear expectations. 

“I’ve seen this firsthand. When we opened Mesa Pizza with a beer and wine license, I feared property damage or theft, but since opening, we’ve had zero issues,” Singh said. “Students have been respectful and responsible, and my staff have consistently said IV customers are some of the nicest they’ve ever served.”

Katherine Carmichael, board member for the IVCSD Board of Directors, argued that there’s no evidence that the ordinance will subdue Deltopia activity, and she was against increasing police presence in Isla Vista. 

“I also don’t believe that this is a good time to bring hundreds of additional law enforcement officers into our community and force people into the justice system for minor offenses, especially considering everything that has been going on in our country and our communities with immigration enforcement,” Carmichael said.

Henry Sarria, an Isla Vista resident since 1987, said he supported Deltopia, if the event was only for locals because of bad experiences he’s had with visitors during Deltopia.

“Have you ever had to hold a crying young woman that was sexually assaulted?” Sarria asked the crowd. “Have you ever had to fight off an attacker from a young woman who was in the process of being sexually assaulted? I had to do that. It was an out-of-towner in both cases. I’m sorry, but I can’t support out-of-towners coming in and ruining our community.”

After the town hall, Spencer Brandt, board president of the Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors, announced that they are postponing a planned discussion on the ordinance to Dec. 1.

“This week’s town hall made crystal clear that a more collaborative approach is needed to address health and safety during major community events,” Brandt said in a statement. “Therefore, I am postponing the Sheriff’s Office’s request for the IVCSD Board of Directors to take a position on their proposed Deltopia amplified music ordinance from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1.

“I am continuing discussions with the County and UCSB, and students and long-term residents with the singular goal of fostering greater health and safety in Isla Vista through an organized, permitted event.”

However, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will make the final decision on whether the ordinance goes into effect. The board is set to vote on the ordinance Jan. 13.