Cal Poly spent over $1 million on St. Patrick’s Day weekend
May 5, 2025

Photo by Jeff Specht
By KAREN VELIE
Cal Poly spent more than $1 million on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, that’s on top of the $112,000 the City of San Luis Obispo spent on public safety, according to the Mustang Daily.
Following years of vandalism, injuries and arrests; Cal Poly hosted a 6 a.m. music festival that attracted thousands of students on St. Fratty’s Day. Students leaving the concert encountered large numbers of law enforcement officers and deputies who ordered then to stay off the roadways.
The operation resulted in many students gathering on campus and downtown and not in residential neighborhoods.
Of the $1,167,157 Cal Poly spent, $657,657 was spent on the on-campus concert, $419,660 was spent on police and security, and $89,840 on other expenses.
From March 14 through March 17, San Luis Obispo spent $86,000 on overtime pay and $29,000 in expenses during the zero tolerance operation focused on stopping the rowdy and destructive St. Fratty’s Day parties that have frustrated neighbors of the Cal Poly’s campus for years.
The street party had grown exponentially over the past several years with major impacts to the neighborhood, including property damage, personal injuries, and illegal and dangerous behavior. In 2024, an estimated 6,500 people gathered on residential streets where they broke mutiple car windows, fences and alcohol bottles.
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