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EDITOR
2009/2010 Community Bulletin Board.
May 17, 2010 Message: haha i love just reading the posts on this site, especially
parents who try to bring down IV because their son or student couldn't handle
it. Doesn't that reflect of the parents and how they raised their children, if
you treat your child like an inmate of course when they come here there going to
be out of control, its the first time in there lives their responsible for their
own well being and don't have there helicopter parents hovering over them. Yes
your kid may be book smart and have the grades to get into this university but
do they have the maturity and responsibility the parents were suppose to instill
in them years ago. Personally I love this place, it is one of the most beautiful
spots to go to school. I'm sitting in the library writing this and i have a
ocean view,. You don't get that anywhere else. Big 4 accounting firms recruit
right out of this school simply because the students are not only book smart but
they are also social and outgoing instead of plain and dull. Many of you are
reading this calling BS but its the truth, don't get me wrong i can party like
the best of them, but i also hold down 2 jobs and 16 units and have a
internship/job lined up for when i graduate next year.
This school is built to test our limits and
temptations we will have in real life. But if your student is focused and wants
there goals bad enough, nothing will stop them best
reguards, Signed Class of '11 Editor's
comment: I am sure that the Big Four are looking for people who know how
to roll joints, use cocaine, and are experts at sexual assaults and cover
ups.
May 2, 2010 Message:
Thank you for your work. I was not
aware of it when I just recently made my decision not to send my son to UCSB. It
was his first choice.
He is young and
relatively inexperienced and I just did not think he had the emotional or mental
maturity to handle what he would be in for with the heavy social
scene. Your site only confirmed my decision, for
which I am grateful.
I will explore
the site., but wonder if you can address the dorm situation along the same lines
as the party scene. For instance, Santa Catalina looks paradisical, lie a
country club, but it seems too ideal, to open. Thank you. Signed BDR
Editor's commments. We get loads of comments about the dorms.
Noise, booze, drugs, sex -- pretty much anything goes.
May 1, 2010 Message: Thank so much for making this website. I thought
I was the ONLY student at UCSB who wanted to leave because the partying (In my
opinion) is INSANE. I am over joyed that you are trying to show people what a
dirty environment isla vista has grown to become. I came here as a freshman in
Fall 2008 and I actually ended up leaving the school in April 2009 because I
could not handle the lifestyle. All of the sex, drugs and partying made me so
depressed. Before I got to the school I had never partied and I didn't plan on
it. Let me just say that going to UCSB and trying not to participate is
extremely difficult. All of my roommates and people that I met were obsessed
with getting trashed and hooking up. I did experiment with drinking, but I have
remained a virgin (by choice, not because I am religious). It is so depressing
because IV and UCSB look so beautiful. We are right by the beach, the weather is
beautiful and many classes that I took were very interesting. However, after a
few weeks of experiencing the party madness I became disgusted of the place. I
kept up a great GPA because I didn't get trashed on the weekends, but I only
knew one other girl who wasn't into hooking up and taking 7 shots per night. I
am currently debating on whether I should come back to UCSB . I ended up taking
my sophomore year at OCC by my house because I was over the way of life in sb. I
even had a lease on an apartment with my roommate set up, yet the thought of
returning to IV and dealing with partying made me feel sick to my stomach. I
came up to visit her recently and we went to a mutual friends house. We were
bored so I asked what we could do in IV and our friend said, "Well you could
drink, get high, or hook up with guys." and he wasn't joking. I am so angry at
UCSB for condoning this lifestyle. They do nothing to try and stop the sale of
alcohol or punish those who go too far with partying. I am seriously considering
transferring to a lower ranking UC riverside, just to get away from UCSB. So
many girls wear trashy dresses and the guys basically end up getting lucky at
every party. Sex is considered to be super casual and almost every morning my
freshman year I heard about who was having sex and how many people everyone was
sleeping with. It was horrifying. I am all for having fun and even a few drinks,
but UCSB takes it to an unhealthy level. I really admire this site and I wish
you the best of luck. Do you have any advice for me on if I should return to
UCSB? If I do I would try to find other activities besides partying (which seems
hard). Thank you again. Signed JG
April 2010
Message: First off, GREAT SITE! I'm glad I'm not the only one able to
see all of the destructive behavior in IV. I've
said it to many other people and I'll say it again, many of these students are
delusional. They believe they are
"living life" and that there is nothing wrong with their
actions/thoughts, but to me it's simply a pathetic excuse and justification of
their indecent and (personally) immoral behaviors.
They act as if they're the only ones on the planet, not considering the
many other residing families with children.
I work at the IV teen center and these kids need a lot of attention, not
drunken morons and skanky girls to model off of.
It's a culture of selfishness with no self-control. I don't see how it's
fun to laugh at a friend who is so intoxicated that his/her body shuts down.
It's sad and pathetic. Keep up the good work guys, your voices have not
been heard. It's a fight uphill,
especially against kids who think they're smart (but not wise).
They believe they're adults simply because they can drink (haha), but
you're fighting for a great cause. God
Bless, guys! Signed LT
Message: I just want to say that your site is sad. I feel that life is tough
and UCSB life can be too, but then again so can life at any other school, or no
college at all. actually i think life could be way worse. I have been at UCSB
for three years now and I am graduating earlier than four years...with no summer
school... no AP tests, just hard work. I just want to make sure parents realize
that UCSB is in no way a bad influence on their children, IV definitely can be,
but not UCSB. That distinction should be made a little more clear i think. i
have lived in downtown Santa Barbara
for the past three years and I dont have to deal with any of the unnecessary
details of IV, but I also miss out on lots of great events, and no i dont mean
parties. students collaborate on so many good causes and being focused in an
area like IV just helps sprout some
of the great changes that do happen. Those things shouldnt be overlooked.
Unfortunately, the parents that keep they children away are just not sure if
they did a good enough job for their kids to survive life. Let it happen and
encourage the positive things. Make your kid live in Santa Barbara, or Goleta,
outside of IV, if that would make you feel better. And for the record I have
never done drugs in IV, got drunk in IV or in trouble in IV, but its definitely
happened elsewhere... so is it really IV? i dont think so, its just life. Good
and Bad. Where did you guys go to school again, UCSB and where? anywhere?
Signed CG
Message: Please note that the Sunday Feb.7, 2010 Santa Barbara
News Press Article "SLO Villa owner cries foul"..UCSB student retreat
called a dangerous boozy affair that left damage in its wake. A must read for
your site but no a surprise with the typical "Animal House " attitude
and lack of respect for others peoples property by many UCSB Students.
Signed WC
Message: You guys are a bunch of losers that are trashing an amazing
place probably because you were the only ones out of twenty thousand that
couldn't get any ass because you were too busy breast feeding off your mom since
you couldn't manage leaving home to go to college. Signed FU
Message: Its crasy, how closely related is the party scene in Sb to some LA
areas (SC,Cpt,Lwd,Lb,SUrgate,prmnt). Makes me wonder how bad is the drop out
rate. Im still transferring their though.....
Message: I enjoy how this site responds to only portions
of the arguments that disagree with them. Furthermore, I
enjoy how these partial responses usually completely miss the point. Such
practices really lend themselves to credibility. I'm really shocked more people don't take this site more seriously.
Signed MP
12/12/2009 ( SUBMITTED BY THE EDITOR OF THEDARKSIDEOFUCSB.COM) thedarksideofucsb.com believes that both sides of the
prevalent argument on THE ORANGE JUICE BLOG (as demonstrated by the
discussion between the posters) are off-point.
It is not appropriate
to blame a parent for the behavior of an adult child. It is also not
appropriate to completely absolve a parent from all responsibility. Good parents
sometimes have rotten kids. Rotten parents sometimes have good kids and
there are a thousand permutations in the middle. Moreover, this line of discussion obscures
the true nature of the issue: How do we stop the deaths of young people at
party places such as UCSB/IV? This should be our focus.
There is plenty of blame to go around
but the nexus of all the blame is the complete failure of UCSB to even
acknowledge that there is a problem – if we don’t admit that there is a problem,
we cannot find a solution.
Clearly, someone like Noah Krom would
not be thought of as the type of person who would engage in the alleged behavior
that culminated in his death. He comes from a good family and enjoyed every
economic and social advantage. Undeniably, police agencies should not be so
callous as to not even investigate the report of a potentially fatal fall from a
cliff that has been the site of many deaths. Surely, young people (UCSB students)
should not be so uncaring as to merely accept the fact that “who cares if some
dude went over the cliff, let’s get back to our party.”
What we know is that Noah was found dead
at the bottom of the cliff many hours after he fell. What we don’t know
is what caused him to engage in the behavior that is, at least in part,
responsible for his death. What social forces allowed Noah to think that
his conduct was appropriate and acceptable. What we don’t know is whether the police
department’s failure to adequately investigate the incident contributed to his
death – could Noah have been saved if he were found immediately after the
fall? We
also don’t know to what degree the cavalier attitude of the locals to aberrant
behavior contributed to Noah’s death. Without knowing the causes (and all of them)
of Noah’s death, we cannot work to stop other tragedies from occurring.
The public should have all the
information surrounding this death and the deaths of all UCSB students. Yes, it might
embarrass the family, the university, and the community as a whole. I, for one, am
willing to accept some short term embarrassment if it might save a life.
I would again like to extend my sympathy
to the Krom family.
And while I am saddened that the publication of the causes of their son’s
death may be painful and embarrassing, I would like to assure them that
understanding the root causes of their son’s death could save someone’s child
from a similar fate.
This is not and should not be a political
issue; it is a moral issue. Signed, The Editor of the Dark Side of UCSB
12/12/2009
Message: One thing's for sure: If a young person dies in Santa Barbara, there
is a chance that NO toxicology report will be issued. Remember the
tragic death of Noah Krom, last June? There is still no released toxicology report
over six months later!
An Orange County blog operated by Art Pedroza, The Orange Juice Blog, is
inquiring to why the death of a son of an OC political candidate is being
neglected or maybe even being covered up. There are a pair of stories running right now,
for anyone who is interested. Comments are always welcome there.
UCSB student asks why their newspaper
stopped covering the death of Noah Krom
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/12/ucsb-student-asks-why-their-newspaper-stopped-covering-the-death-of-noah-krom/comment-page-1/#comment-113193
What
really happened to Noah Krom?
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/12/what-really-happened-to-noah-krom/comment-page-1/#comment-113189
Signed Red V Editor's comment: We posted a comment on the
orangejuiceblog.com
12/9/2009 Message: The
crime statistics posted on this site do not necessarily indicate that more crime
is being committed. Rather, they indicate that more arrests have been made. The explanation is
that the IVFP's budget has grown substantially in recent years and more police
on the street mean more arrests are made. This is not at all unique, if the
budget is increased at any police station in any college town nationwide the
result is going to be higher crime statistics.
I am an alumni of UCSB and I lived in
Francisco Torres my freshman year and Isla Vista the next three years. My
parents knew I was going to a party school, but they trusted me enough to make
good decisions. Did I party excesively? Yes. Did I make mistakes? Sure. Did I do
anything uncharacteristic of a young adult between the age of 18 and 22 that has
recetnly been emancipated from parental control? Absolutely not. This website
seems to be ignoring the obvious. Kids will be kids. They will do stupid things,
and they will pay the price for their actions. Part of growing up, speaking from
experience, is that a lesson is best learned the hard way. I had the best time
of my life in Isla Vista, but I also learned that partying like its your job
doesn't pay very well. It seems cliche to say that one partys in college to get
it out of their system before entering the proverbial "real world," but there is
a lot of truth to that. College is the segue between childhood and responsible
adulthood. The unfortunate and inevitable consequence of this transition is that
students are going to make mistakes, sometimes big mistakes, sometimes worse.
This is a fact that can't be changed no matter how many statistics or videos you
post. Telling an 18 year old not to party excessively is as futile as telling an
18 year old to abstain from sex or telling a german shepard to stop being a dog.
In fact, your approach is dangerous in its futility. Rather than telling
students practical ways to stay safe while partying. For example, girls, don't
buy drugs by yourself at 2 am. To preemptively deflate your counter argument, I
am not saying it was her fault she was attacked. I am only saying it was a poor
decision to go buy drugs at 2 am.
Also, I am offended by the name of
your website. You claim to acknowledge that SBCC is part of the problem, yet
your smear campaign is aimed almost entirely at UCSB and its administration.
Again speaking from experience, I can assure you that the VAST majority of
problems in IV are caused by SBCC students that don't have the grades to get
into UCSB and come to SB on their parents dime for the sole purpose of partying
and fighting.
Finally, I would like to address any
parents that may read this. If you don't trust your kid to make good decisions,
don't send them to UCSB. They will be exposed to drugs, alcohol and sex and
there are plenty of online colleges they can go to that will shield them from
reality. If, however, you trust your kid and dont think it is unreasonable that
they want to go to a fantastic university in a virtual paradise, send them to
UCSB with sound advice on how to make good decisions.
By the way, I graduated in four years
as did my older sister (who also lived in FT and IV the following three years).
We both partied and got good grades. I am now at a top tier law school and she
is at a top tier medical school.
P.S. I understand your website has at
least one UCSB student working for it, but it would appear the vast majority of
the Darkside's employees have never actually lived in IV. Sure, you've "been"
there as you site claims, but only to get the damning proof you required for
your site. You can not possibly understand IV culture and the unity and sense of
comradery one feels when living amongst so many young adults of duel aspirations
to have fun and to get a great education. It is a remarkable culture and I doubt
there is anywhere else like it in the world. Signed MP
Message: I thought you posted within 24 hours?
Do you only post comments that support your cause and crude opposition comments
that support your point? If in fact you do not post every reasonable comment
made, wouldn't it be fair to say you are also required to surrender any claim to
credibility? What is this, Fox News? Signed MP. Editor's comment: We are on break -- just like the
Nexus. As to your long post above, you make our point -- you just don't
believe the system can or should be changed. Your belief is that somehow
people 18 to 22 who attend UCSB should be exempt from the law -- they should be
allowed to" segue" through a period of lawlessness (without consequences)
to adulthood. What other group of people 18 to 22 should be exempt from
the law? How about gang-bangers? How about drug-dealers?
Should being a UCSB student exempt you from criminal behavior?
As to your no harm no foul attitude, try pushing that on the parents who have
lost (means dead) children at UCSB. Regarding you comments about SBCC is
part of the problem. we agree. Regarding you suggestion to rename
the website, would you approve of: "the feckless Yang, UCSB cover-up, SBCC
criminal babysitting service dark side of the violence, drug and booze soaked
IV.com" website.
12/6/2009 Message: This
is a ridiculous website. I dont know what it is you are trying to do -
fight world hunger and childhood cancers - don't slander a public
institution.
And if you are so very interested in improving UCSB and IV - donate
money. Create a
drug/booze free roller rink. Do something pro-active. Because this isnt
it. And it
makes you look small. Signed Anon. Editor's
comment: Apparently you didn't read much of our website. We have donated
thousands upon thousand to sponsor alternative events (means no booze or drugs).
We have also demanded that UCSB dedicate a part of its Fund for UCSB to address
the issue -- the do not.
December: Message: This
website is ridiculous and completely untrue. The "crime" in which you speak of
comes from drunken people who forget they're not allowed to carry alcohol out in
the streets, if you read the police blotter it is very rare that anyone gets
into serious trouble in IV. For those big events in which serious damage has
occurred, (Floatopia, Halloween) nearly 100% of the trouble is caused from out
of towners, and not the students/residents of UCSB/Isla Vista. You need to stop
placing the blame on the environment and allow individuals to take personal
responsibility for their own actions. Many of these "sexual assults" you refer
to are just dumb girls who get to drunk and are oblivious to who's bed they wake
up in the next morning. But at the risk of sounding whore-ish they claim it was
an "assult". We're in college, at an amazingly beautiful academically
outstanding institution. You can try to make Isla Vista sound like a terrible
place, but there is no where else I would want to spend my 4 years in college. I
absolutely love it here, as do thousands of other people. No one ever FORCES you
to drink here, and I have never once been pressured to try drugs. Granted, much
of the socialization centers around drinking and going out, but that does not
have to be the case, there are plenty of other clubs and organizations to get
into. For anyone who is thinking about coming to UCSB, I have two words of
advice "DO IT!". Despite what this ill-informed website will tell you, it is an
absolutely amazing place to spend your college years. Signed
K. Editor's comment: In the interest of
the writier's personal safety, we are taking great care to not release his
identity -- call rape and sexual assault victims whore is not a good idea.
For a more factual information try watching this video.
11/6/2009 i read the questions posted and they do
not sound like from actual people. can you add a bit more credit to them?
i understand the annoymous part, but manybe ask for graduating year and if they
are an iv resident or not Signed YB. Editor's
comment: All of our comments are taken directly from emails sent to us via the
website. We do not use names but leave in any identifying information
within the body of the email. See entry below as an example.
11/6/2009
Message: Hi, I love you site I fully support
all your claims and hope you can spread the word! Current UCSB Sophomore
Signed BH.
10/16/2009
Message: Our son is now a senior at UCSB and we have all learned a lot - the
hard way. We
have a good relationship with our son he said that just about everything in IV
revolves around drinking and he simply can't get away from it although he has
tried, especially after one of his friends in IV died in June as a result of
drinking. Our
son has many good friends but they all drink at every opportunity and he can't
seem to find many (any?) kids who don't drink. When he comes home he is relieved to be away
from the pressure to "party" all the time. At least we know not to let our other
kids attend UCSB and we have warned many friends not to send their kids there
because of the terrible drinking/drug situation. It is too bad the
administration and police don't care enough to clean up IV. Signed
RC Editor's comment: Well said.
Our best to your son, and we hope that he can be of some positive
influence on his friends -- it is clear that the UCSB/IV glitterati will
not.
9/14/2009 I'm
going to UCSB as an incoming freshmen need any help??? Signed
HM. Editor's comment: Stay sober, don't do
drugs or commit other crimes and you should be OK. Oh, stay out of IV when
the party scene is on full blast.
9/14/2009 Message: There
is tons of information of this site and it is all incredibly insightful, so
thank you to the sponsors for allowing this dialogue to take place. That said, I
have a number of points I want to make.
To the parents who decide their students attendance, that
is just wrong. The student is the one who will be attending the university so
they deserve some form of input; however, the importance of parents in both
financing college and providing valuable experiences is great as well. It is a
delicate balance I hope more parents think about.
To the alumni who must deal with the
tarnished reputation of UCSB, I would like to extend my hopes that the ways of
IV residents change to restore UCSB's name.
To the
"students" who major in drugs, sex, and drinking, I hope you see the effects of
your actions. You're hurting your body, your relationships, and pouring money
down the drain, all in the name of fun. How much partying will you remember
versus how much course material will you remember and use...It's all about
priorities.
To the
administration, I wish a far more punitive approach was taken to students who
demonstrate this kind of behavior. Not only would it cut costs from the programs
the University is trying to throw at the problem (CASE is a fat joke-One
counselor portrayed partying/drinking/drugs as a good thing).
IV is a blight on UCSB's reputation as
a quality research and education institution and the problems there MUST be
curtailed. Signed J
9/14/2009 Message: At first, I thought
this site was taking action in a very misunderstood way; the majority of the
students, from what I have seen from speculation, are actually hard workers - if
not, how could they have gone in the school in the first place? But then again,
I read that this site was to address the few who are inclined to do whatever
they want. This (behavior) is very wrong, and I'm glad you are keeping your head
up amidst this "supposedly" tough environment. Is all of this due to the
school's not caring about the few, but watching the majority?
I am an incoming freshmen there for
the fall of 2009, and I felt sickened by most of the things I have read here,
and almost, even felt bad for sending my SIR here. I don't plan to "party till
i puke", nor do
I plan to get a DUI and wreck a life. What I truly want is a great experience,
and I believe that is what UCSB can offer me. Your goal is to make UCSB a better
place, but why not address the majority of the serious students? Is this another
example of how a D can outshine several other exemplary notes?
You say you want to improve life in
UCSB, yet wouldn't one possible resolution be bringing in "good" people to UCSB?
With their judgment, they could influence peers to act for the better, not for
the worse. As you all know it, true friends, in sobriety, look out for each
other, no? ;). As again, I am an incoming freshmen that may possibly be
naive to what I have yet to see, but I'll thank you for the warning and
definitely look out for my back when I am out in IV. Signed
C.
9/14/2009 I was
viewing your website and wondering why you have the article about the ucsb
graduate who was fatally struck by a car near sbcc. I can't see how that
incident makes ucsb and IV a bad place. I suppose if you were trying to paint
the victim as drunk and stumbling in front of a car, which didn't happen by the
way, then I suppose it might make ucsb graduates look bad, and if that was your
intention, then you are a very bad person. One should respect the deceased and
not use their death to paint a bad image of their alma mater. I also wanted to
thank you for devaluing the reputation of my alma mater, I really appreciate
that. I agree that IV has its problems, but any logical person would know that
your approach to solving them is completely counterproductive. And just to let
you know, ucsb is continuing its climb in the us news and world report's
rankings. Why don't you put that up in the news section of your site. I truly
hope you email me with some explanations, because I'm very confused by your
logic. Signed SW. Editor's
comment: As far as we can tell from the news accounts, both parties
had been drinking. Alcohol abuse at the UCSB/IV scene has caused the death
of dozens and dozen of people over the past few years. We would like to see the
abuse slowed down just a little bit. Perhaps this is too much to
ask?
9/14/2009
Message: I stumbled across this site on accident. I am a UCSB graduate
that attended from 1992-1994 and again from 1996-1998. In the
meanwhile, I took a two year leave of absence after getting accepted in Berkeley
again as a Junior. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to
go to Cal because it could never be Santa Barbara. You want to
talk about crime and assault, then try visiting Berkeley at night and you'll
then realize what a wonderland UCSB is.
When I lived in Isla Vista (Trigo,
Pasado and DP), I never even carried a key to my house because it was so safe
there. We never
locked the doors. I was there during the last major
Halloween before the police ruined it and it was insanely fun. For 99% of the
people there, it was safe as well.
People need to understand that college
is a place to prepare you for LIFE. It isn't there to babysit and shelter
people. This
site is doing a huge injustice to UCSB though I don't think it is your intention
to do so.
When I was there, women would have no
problem walking outside at 2am in the morning because it was so safe. The level of violent
rape (someone jumping out of the bushes) there at the time was absolutely
miniscule.
So why all the rapes, fights and
injuries?
It is because people are idiots. When you attend UCSB, you are an ADULT. So people need to
start acting as such. Should a woman be able to walk
completely naked down the streets of Harlem or Compton at night without being
assaulted? Of
course she should. However, that is utopia and not
REALITY.
At UCSB, women need to take accountability for their actions as
well. It
is really quite simple: Don't place yourself in a potentially bad
situation.
What does this mean? This means either don't go out to party
at all or if you do go out, take proper measures. These measures include items such as bringing
along RESPONSIBLE friends to make sure nothing happens to you, not
over-drinking, only drinking from bottles or cans that are still completely
sealed to ensure drugs haven't been placed in the drink, etc, etc, etc. If women would do
those things 100% of the time, then the level of sexual assault at UCSB would
plummet in a free fall.
Fights happen for the exact same
reason... people out of control with their drinking. People dying
by falling off of the cliffs from too much alcohol. Etc, etc, etc...
This is where natural selection takes over. If people are so ignorant that they
choose to place themselves in these situations, then they pay the price.
If you want to be 100% sure you don't
get hurt at Halloween, then don't go. If you want to make sure you don't get in a
fight on DP on your way home, then there are other places to live besides IV
(Goleta, FT, Santa Barbara, etc). If you don't want to be sexually
assaulted, then take proactive preventative measures well before the situation
can even possibly come to that point. And so on and so forth.
As for the booze and drugs, ugh. The DEA sure has a
handle on the drug issue here in the US don't they? The drug issue
can NEVER, EVER be solved. We need to wake up and realize that fact. You can go to 99% of
high schools in this country and find commonly used drugs. Once again, it is up
to the individuals THEMSELVES to decide if they want to partake or not. If you are around
someone doing drugs and you don't want to do them, then pick up your feet and
leave... simple as that.
The facts are that if someone chooses
to attend UCSB because of the university's superlative academics, then they
could schedule all of their classes during the day and spend their off time in
the library on campus or in a nice Goleta apartment studying and they would
NEVER be placed in one of the dangerous situations that are being alluded to
here.
People need to stop hand holding
everyone.
If the world would have it your way, they'd stop the Running of the Bulls
in Pamplona because someone might get hurt. They'd cancel all 4th of July parties in the
US because someone might get drunk and hurt someone or get burned from
fireworks.
Indy Car, F1 and NASCAR would be banned because someone might crash. They'd end all
karate classes because someone might get injured. Etc, etc, etc...
Let these students grow up and face
the realities of life.
You learn just as much in college when you are outside the classroom as
when you are in it.
Students make mistakes while in college so that they can learn from them
and hopefully don't replicate them later on in life.
So if you want to help reduce the rate
of sexual assaults at UCSB (which is admirable), tell people to use common sense
and to think before they act. Tell women what the realities are and educate
them as to how to prevent it. If they then choose not to heed that
advice, then they are on their own and the hand-holding needs to stop. If you
want to help reduce the rates of alcohol and drugs, then educate people to the
realities. If
they then choose not to heed that advice, then they are on their own and the
hand-holding needs to stop. And so on and so forth.
College is a place to graduate from
adolescence into adulthood. I don't know of too many adults that hire
babysitters to watch themselves when they are home alone. Thus, we don't need
to babysit these adults either. Provide them guidance, yes. Babysit, no.
Peace.
**TS Editor's comment: There you have it ladies. Stop
dressing provacitvely, acting slutty, and getting drunk and that should solve
most of the problems.
9/14/2009 as a
fellow web developer, i understand the difficulties of running a website with
all original content. I just wanna say that you guys suck why not devote your
time to actually making some sort of difference. Why don't you go become a cop
and arrest my high, drunk ass when i stumble around iv every weekend.
Signed AK Editor's comment: And who
says the kids at UCSB aren't intellecual?
9/13/2009 I am
currently a student at UCSB, and no, I am not going to start by saying that you
guys are all racists, republicans, or just plain assholes. Because, honestly, no
one deserves such harsh words like that. But I do find a problem in the
overwhelming bias that your website has. Yes, I know it is called “the dark
side” for a reason, but you make it seem like UCSB is a horrible, lewd,
dangerous place. Come on, this isn’t some bad neighborhood in Oakland. To me,
Isla Vista is can be related to the island of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan: one
square mile of 18-22 year olds, living without parents – of course some shit is
going to go down. We are young, and definitely not accustomed to such freedoms,
so we indulge to the fullest, and before we learn all the rights from wrongs, we
sometimes indulge in excess. I am no way making excuses for crimes that are
committed, but you make it seem like it’s on the daily. The overwhelming
majority of UCSB students I’ve met are politically proactive (what about that
death cab concert we won for registering the most voters in the country!),
environmentally-conscious (regular adopt-a-blocks, beach cleanups, and the
all-around consensus that floatopia created too much trash this year), creative
(hello, new downtown iv!), super friendly (thank you to micheal h., who found
and returned by expensve, simcard ready phone when I lost it one night on dp),
and helpful (thank you to all the fellow volunteers that worked at the mac
during the jessusita fire).
I guess what I’m trying to say is, it would be more beneficial to those
parents and prospective students out there if you actually mentioned
accomplishments the community is making towards bettering themselves, instead of
hating on Chancellor Yang every chance you get. This website is no better than
those of neo-nazis and those of the far right (or far left) if it doesn’t do
more than spew out its own propaganda. p.s. If the Dalai Llama doesn’t
have a problem with UCSB, neither do I!
THE BEST OF THE BEST FROM
PRIOR YEARS:
Message: i think you are doing a very good
job at revealing what UCSB really is. The UCSB catalogue simply does not portray
UCSB in any way it actually is. Isla Vista is simply a place where you can have
fun and be promiscuous, yet it offers no incentive to move forward in education.
I do admit in enjoying the party scene and have been through my share of booze
and debauchery though. Your opinions are not even that radical, given how much
corruption is handed down from upper "elites" who make a profit from this
student ghetto. I think you should also create more editorials about how
corrupt the living situation is.
COMPILATION OF
PARENTS/ALUMNI COMMENTS:
"Went to IV on Friday
night. My son will not be attending USCB - thanks for the
info."
"The Nexus would be an
embarrassment to most schools. Apparently, not UCSB. Very strange
that they attempt to be a serious school and yet the public image of the Nexus and the party school label scream the opposite.
"
" I have read quite a
few campus papers, including UCLA, USC, and of course, I keep up with my own
Alma Mater. I have searched online for other campus newspapers and none
seem to have any kind of sleaze like the Nexus. Only the Daily
Nexus has made itself a sleazy publication, not worthy of any kind of
journalistic efforts. I even pulled up other campus newspapers, and
searched for "sex" and other choice words that appear in the Daily Nexus and found that the only references to "sex"
in other campus newspapers had to do with either crime or something
descriptive with a scientific reference."
"Decided to take your
advice and went to IV and UCSB (not during the parents visit). My eyes
have been opened. Chancellor Yang's presentation about the school high
moral code and how they "look after" the students was BS if not an outright
lie." My daughter will be attending another school. She will not be
attending any UC and most certainly not UCSB."
"As an alumni, I am
continually embarrassed by what I read in the Nexus
and what the party-school image does to devalue my degree. After twelve
years of giving, I have stopped my contributions to UCSB and my child will not
be going there."
"graduated last year and
now in grad school back east. now that i am in a real school, it is very
obvious how lacking ucsb is. wished i hadn't wasted five years
there"
"How does the Daily Nexus get away with their sleazy columns? I'm
shocked at "Hump Wednesday" and is there anyway that we can get rid of this
piece of junk? Why not turn this newspaper into real journalism? Are we, as
taxpayers supporting this kind of smut?"
"Took one look at your
site and thought you were a nut. Took one look at IV and decided that I
need to look again. After talking with the IVFP, looking at the crime
stats, and visiting IV on a weekend, I came to the conclusion that your site had
a lot to offer. UCSB/IV is a trashy place (the school and IV).
The capper was when I took your advice and browsed the online Nexus. What a scummy place run by scummy
people."
"My daughter was sexually assaulted the weekend we did
our visit to the area. She never told us until recently." A
pox on UCSB."
Message: "UCSB’s Faculty Legislature voted on 6/7 that
students repeatedly taking fewer than 15 class units per quarter could face
expulsion. Because half of UCSB students allegedly graduate behind schedule –
taking more than four years – the school is losing about $10 million in
additional annual funding from the University of California, claim UCSB
officials. A standard quarter load is 16 units, or roughly four classes. The new
rule takes effect in September 2008." -- Santa Barbara
Independent
This will have a greater impact on the UCSB/IV party
culture than anything previously discussed on this site. It will mean that many
students will have to take classes on Fridays on Mondays -- and some
unfortunates may actually be forced to get up for classes that begin at 8AM. Oh
the HORROR!! Signed: CB Editor's comment: We
agree. Of the "students" who cause the worst problems, most are not
full-time honor students. Notice how close the vote was?
Scary!
Message: Thanks for your courageous website. I
lived in IV in the 1970's, while I atended UCSB off and on. I lived on Del Playa
and witnessed the things you describe (well, some of them, anyway) and was
disgusted and horrified, especially in light of the authorities' turning their
heads the other way when bad things happened. I would guess that things have
gotten worse, in light of the departure of the folks with "hippie values," who
deplored violence and irresponsible substance abuse, which seem to have become
the norm in IV. The trouble with IV is that it is a true student ghetto, with
few permanent residents, and, as a low-rent area, it attracted placements by
county welfare agencies, which did not add any stability to the culture of IV.
The idea of SBCC students choosing to live in IV is new to me. No doubt this is
due to the high cost of Santa Barbara real estate. Junior college students,
unfortunately, represent a less mature segment of the college student
population, with fewer demands placed on them for academic achievement. There is
not much hope for IV to improve radically any time soon, unfortunately, and I
would hate to live there now. Signed Q.
Message: I looked at UCSB, visited with my parents
and then went to DP on Friday night. This was two years ago. I chose another
school and am very happy that I did. One of my friends decided on UCSB. He went,
he partied, and now he is a rehab facility.! Your site is right on. UCSB
is not what it is cracked up to be. Sign CC. Editor's comment: Thanks for the post and we hope your
friend is able to overcome his addictions. Between the sexual assaults and
drug/alcohol dependency, over 500 students a year are in crisis at UCSB.
Far too many are a result of young people "buying" into the glamorization of the
party scenes and the Admin's complete failure to stop
it.
Message: after viewing your site, please consider
'that one person' saved...we've decided to send our daughter to either Cal Lu or
Pepperdine...UCSB just doesn't sound like the place we'd want her. Signed
C Editor's comment: Glad to provide a point
of view that you found helpful in the decision process. We have received
hundreds of similar comments from parents. Our best wishes to you and your
family. Both of the schools you mentioned are great schools and do not
come with the stigma of the "party school" image of UCSB.
Message: I left UCSB after my freshman year.
Went to a great school, graduated with honors, and have not been sorry for even
a minute. IV is a cesspool and the people who live there know it.
They just don't want to admit it. They want to party and get wasted so
they are willing to excuse any bad behavior. Signed AD.
Message: “Editor”- I want to thank you for
actually posting my opinions about your site. I am impressed you so openly let
us (the “majority of UCSB students”… to use your own words) voice our opposition
to your clearly one-sided rants against Isla Vista and UCSB. I also want to
state this, I am perfectly glad you reference me to prospective students
considering UCSB. If people don’t clearly see through your statements, and if
they don’t agree that UCSB offers an excellent balance of leisure, studies, and
drinking, then UCSB is not the place for them… they should attend a school in an
environment that does not promote social interactions and develop fully rounded
students. Additionally, I absolutely agree with something you said; that my post
is “typical of the majority (at least as represented by the emails we get from
UCSB students) of students at UCSB”. Thank you for admitting that you are in the
minority (the majority is not impressed by your site), and that you are likely
among those who can be counted as incorrectly choosing UCSB for their education
(your bad). The majority of UCSB students are happy with UCSB and Isla Vista. We
get (or have received) an excellent education, we enjoy our lives, learn how to
meet and converse with random people at parties (a valuable skill for when we
further interview for jobs and meet new people in life… in that we can actually
carry an interesting and likable conversation), and finally we experience/live
life and get the ubiquitous need to “party” out of our systems. I wish you had
chosen the proper school for yourself to attend, and then we would all not be
reading your minority opinions here. One final question: Do you have a
job… one you are happy with? I am not sure you do. People with real commitments
don’t have time to maintain a site like yours, update it with new articles and
respond to emails. I wonder if it pains you to know how much fun I had as an
undergrad, how many things I experienced, how little I worried about the
“all-important” GPA, and yet, how much better I think I must be doing then you.
Does it hurt to know that I was 100% less of a tight-ass then you, and yet I got
an excellent government research job straight out of college and am now getting
a PhD from Cornell, in a department ranked in the top 10 world-wide… and yet I
am still having fun on weekends and tonight I’ll be sleeping next to a gorgeous
blonde undergrad… unlike you. -ERS. Editor's
comment: First, the majority of UCSB students work hard and do not party
excessively. It is a minority (albeit fairly large) that create the
problems. Also, the good people tend to "look the other way" at the
excesses. The admin definitely keeps it head in the sand so that it can
attract more student money. This is why IV/UCSB is such a dangerous
place. We are not opposed to having a good time. We are opposed to
the dangerous excesses. If you read our tongue-in-cheek editorial, it has numerous links
to the crime issues and to information about why some serious students are
leaving UCSB. As to your personal attacks, you couldn't be more
wrong. There are several people involved with the site. I am paid
staff and carry a full schedule with a 4.0 GPA and have a great social
life. All of the founders of the site are successful people with advanced
degrees. The publisher is a retired CEO of a public company
with four children and six grandchildren (one of whom is currently in the UC
system). He has been a UC supporter for almost 50 years. You
sound like a child throwing a tantrum. Can you put forth an argument without the
name calling and constant references denigrating women? We wish you
well at Cornell and hope that at some point you will
mature.
Message: First, this site seems like
it was run mostly by former college students who had a bitter experience during
their education as a result of their own social awkwardness, rejection and
exclusion from the party scene and ridicule from other students. Trying to
stop rapes, assaults and robberies is one thing, but trying to stop the party
scene in Isla Vista all together is selfish and close-minded. The majority of
the students come here simply because they enjoy partying and know how to
balance it with their education. For those who don't enjoy this lifestyle, there
are hundreds of other good four-year schools in California and the nearby
states. On a second note, the only mention I see of cops
anywhere on your page is on your welcome screen. In all of your self-righteous,
one sided postings. You never talk once about improving the Isla Vista Foot
Patrol. You rant and rave about the dangerous behavior of college students but
do not mention at all the unethical tactics used by Foot Patrol. This is not to
say all cops are unfair, just those in Isla Vista. If you had ever spent more
then one weekend in IV, you would be writing about the tendency of the IV foot
patrol to constantly violate various rules associated with law enforcement and
basically disregard the standards most cops follow. You know, those little
incidents like entering houses and fining people without a warrant, not reading
people their rights when they are arrested, taking out of town visitors from IV
on Halloween and dropping them off on street corners in downtown with no way to
get home, pulling people over in Isla Vista simply for driving on a Friday
night. I could keep going on with examples and stories I've heard. If you want
to see for yourself, I suggest going to IV on a Friday night and casually
following around foot patrol to see if their behavior and treatment towards UCSB
students seems appropriate and ethical for officers of the law. Keep in
mind that if you ever do make a major difference (which I highly doubt) the
money you raise will be going to a corrupt, inexperienced police force with an
"above our own laws" attitude. You may want to focus some of your propaganda on
improving this along with your campaign to ruin the weekends of UCSB
students. Try to respond to this completely for once. I see on most of
your responses on the community board that you tend to respond to only what you
feel like responding to and rather then actually debating you make the same,
exact sarcastic/snide comments and generalizations over and over. Signed
MP. Editor's comment: We apologize for
our snide and sarcastic comments. You need to read our most recent
editorial entitled "The Village Idiot(s)." As to your comments
about the IVFP, apparently, you haven't read our site. We would be
happy to write about the abuses of the IVFP. The problem is that they seem
to exist more in the alcohol and drug addled minds of the party-till-puke
UCSB students than in reality. There are no significant complaints about
the IVFP. We have the statistics. I f all these poor people are
merely walking around doing nothing and the IVFP is abusing them, where are the
complaints? We have spent time in IV on weekends and the only
abuse we saw was the abuse that the party-people heaped on the police. Try
reading this postings from our website: Ms Crazy or try reading our very first editorial. In short, if the IVFP violates
your rights, complain. Send us a detailed and specific account of what the
IVFP did to you, including the report number, and we will print the
story. Like we told Ms Crazy, put up or shut
up.
Message: I loved your piece about Jessica Binkerd.
When I read about the victim's mom trying to help her get a reduced sentence I
was appalled. So sad, yet she had to pay, otherwise i truly feel that she would
not have learned a thing. Your points were very well taken though, about
forgiveness being 'a personal' act, but having nothing to do with the
administration of justice. BTW - I googled her name today and the reports i read
said that she had a blood alcohol level of 2.0, a pretty small distinction i
know, but i thought that I'd mention it. Keep up the thought provoking
work Signed AF.
Message: I am the mother of a
UCSB Student. He has asked his dad and I to help him transfer to another UC. His
views on IV appalled his father and I. The fact that he is aware of all the
partying and how it could effect his studies. Along with this site and my sons
information we are more then happy to have him leave UCSB. This site is right on
the money I have been to IV and to a college party with my son. It is out of
control, and the streets are crazy. Thank you for this site it has really
enlighten me. Signed IKB.
Message: Kids living in Isla Vista don't want the
situation to change. Administration will begin to change its tune once it begins
taking over IV. UCSB will continue to grow and slowly creep into IV. See
the grad complex forming on El Colegio? Administration is the only way to save
IV. Signed Dwyer. Editor's comment: Of course
the kids don't want to change it. Sex, drugs, booze, and a non-stop
party. The current change pending to the master plan call for substantial
growth of IV. This will pass no matter what anyone wants so that UCSB and
developers can make money. All the talk about low income house is just
plain bullfeathers. The lost profits on the low income units will be
offset by the income on the other units. The last thing IV needs is to
grow in population and density. However, it is inevitable because UCSB
wants it. As long as UCSB can shirk responsibility for the
mess in IV, it will continue to make money off of it.
Message: Reading this website reminds me of the thing that I hated
most about IV. Ignorant, self-absorbed people who think that they are entitled
to do whatever they want. Look at the asinine comments that UCSB students post.
These people aren't bright, they aren't fair, and they certainly aren't right.
Makes me wonder. At least my graduate degree was from a school that doesn't have
the party image. Signed Embarrassed for UCSB Editor's comment: Nuff said.
Message: RE: Frimpong rape allegations. If the girl was raped,
my sympathy goes out to her, as rape is disgusting and anyone who commits the
crime should get the maximum penalty and sentence. I do know Frimpong
personally, and he would never hurt anything or anyone (unless of course there
was a soccer ball involved.) That is why everyone is trying to protect him.
Which brings me to another point, why would anyone out of all the people in IV,
and the rest of his former teammates on the UCSB soccer team choose him to
accuse of rape. Of course, I would like to see him be innocent, as if he is
guilty it would surprise everyone. I would also like to tell you to get your
facts right on the case. I understand that the whole point of this site is to
show how bad Isla Vista is, but this is a legal case that should not be decided
by the public. The second allegation is not a rape allegation, so dont print
that he raped two girls, because as of right now, he did not rape anyone. I am
not trying to protect the suspect that did commit the "alleged" rape, but if you
put yourself in his shoes, because only him and the girl knows what really
happened, how would you react to all of the "facts" of the case. We will all
find out when the DNA comes back from the lab. Until then, dont spread facts
about the case that you are not 100% sure of. Once again, my sympathy does go
out to the girl if she was raped. Editor's
comment: We notice that everyone is saying he didn't do it. There
has been an effort to raise a $25,000 defense fund. How do all of the
people who are defending him know he didn't do it? Can you image how the
victims feel when their fellow students call them liars and raise money to help
free the man who they believed assaulted them? I haven't seen any money
raise for the victims. Nor have I read or heard any public statements like
"I know he did it because she wouldn't tell a lie. Seems to me that the
Women's Center should be raising holy hell over the attitudes floating around
UCSB's good ole boys network. BTW, how is this poor student come up with
$250,000 bail. At the least he had to post $25,000 in cash. How
about one of you hotdogs over at the Nexus do a
little reporting and find out.
Message: Hi! My husband found your site and suggested I take a
look. I really like your writing and your thought processes. I would like to
make one or two comments, the first of which is a correction, because I can tell
you care about integrity of your information.
The first is that Jessica has ALWAYS taken full and total
responsibility for Alex's death. She has never said it was not her fault. What
she has said is that her memory of the wreck was that someone stopped or slowed
quickly in front of her, and she swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid
rear-ending the car in front of her at high speed. This may well be the
dillusional memory of someone with a very high BAC, but it is her memory. She
still takes total and full responsibility for Alex's death and has from day
one.
The second thing is that Jessica did stop drinking. After
spending a month in a wheel chair with two broken legs and a month on crutches,
her friends finally got her out of the house. They took her dancing and some
drinking -- a beer or two -- but no one was getting drunk. This is the sworn
testimony of one of her good friends (and a friend of Alex's also, by the way)
at the sentencing hearing. Jessica drank a little at first, and eventually quit
drinking altogether.
However, she did post party pictures on her MySpace. Let
me tell you, People (I really want to say "Kids," 'cause it feels more lovingly
parental, but some "20-somethings" have objected to being referred to as "kids,"
even lovingly, by this 50-something.) But, let me tell you, your MySpace can
land you in prison, and I don't mean jail, I mean PRISON, the BIG house. And
that's what happened to Jessica. She never did anything illegal after the wreck,
but her posting of pictures of herself, to share with her friends, having fun
with friends - with alcohol in some of the photos -- after she caused Alex's
death, did her in. The DA printed them in full color and pounded her on the
stand about every one of them. You should have seen her on the stand. I have
never seen such courage or presence. She never denied her culpability or lack of
judgment and never broke. The judge, on the other hand, never got past the
photos.
Jessica signed up with an AA counselor and, before being
shackled in front of her mother and father and escorted out of the courtroom,
she was attending several alcohol substance therapy programs.
Jessica is a first-time offender, a rape crisis
counsellor, a caretaker of autistic adults, and what the probation officer
called "a good kid." It reminds me of the proverbial good girl who had sex once
and got pregnant.
But, enough about Jessica! Let's talk about -- Alex?
Loved to drink. Drank a LOT in Isla Vista. He had been drinking with Jessica all
evening and asked HER for a ride home. Contrary to popular belief, Jessica did
NOT knock Alex out, wrap him in a pink blanket kept in her trunk for just such a
purpose, and belt him into the death seat. They walked together to the car, not
staggered, but walked. (That is Jessica's memory of it.) Jessica fiddled in her
purse for her keys, called a friend to say they were leaving the party, and they
drove off together. Two consenting adults. They BOTH made bad choices, because
they had been drinking so much. Yes, I, too, wonder who let them drive away?
Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Let's remember that from now on.
So, now. Me. Alex's Dad, Roger. My husband, Alan ( Alex's
father for 19 years.) My mother and father, Alex's Nani & Gramps. We all
feel the same, and have from the beginning. When I assumed that whoever was at
the wheel of that car had simply passed out and run straight on into oncoming
traffic, I felt the same way. So I guess you could say it is unconditional
compassion for anyone who kills a friend, colleague or even a stranger because
they screwed up and made a very bad judgment call. Due to his or her own
negligence. My first thought of this young woman was, "Man, she is going to
suffer from THIS for the rest of her life." Don't you feel that way? When you
hear about a drunk-driving fatality, don't you always look to see if the driver,
the person at fault, survived? I do. What an inhumane burden to shoulder for the
rest of your life. And on top of that, she is involved in a dramatic and
traumatic incident -- fatal car crashes are no picnic in the first place, even
if you weren't the driver. I know. I was in one when I was 16. My sister and
cousin died in front of me. So on top of severe damage to her body, and trauma
to her mind and dealing with having killed someone, she has to think about being
a felon for the rest of her life, getting an attorney, pleading to the court,
and maybe going to prison. And exactly HOW does she pay the bills?
So, as a mother, as the letter on my blogg
(http://AtTheHearth.WordPress.com) says, my heart broke for Jessica. Somehow,
she became one of the kids for me, just like all the other young men and women
in Alex's extensive but tight Santa Barbara friend family.
We asked for leniency (probation) for her, because, as
Alan said, "it's the right thing to do."
I also know that, there but for fortune, go so many of
us, including Alex. Now the work ahead of us is to create a multi-fasceted
program of social change, marketing change and tool use. We DO need to start
using breathalyzers. We DO need to say, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."
We do need to get 5% of the alcohol companies' marketing budgets and create
get-home-safely programs. It CAN be done.
Just think, if every 6-pack came with a little
breathalyzer, some people might never use them, toss them in the trash (recycle,
please), but think of the MESSAGE it sends. Let's make it OKAY to give your
friend a hard time for not using his breathalyzer before he gets in his car
after a few drinks. Let's teach ourselves what .062 or .20 FEELS like. Let's
take back responsibility for ourselves and for one another. Let's show each
other we care about one another, and risk the relationship in order to keep our
friend alive.
Ahhhh, but I ramble. Love to you all, Susan, Alex
Baer's Mom
PS One more thing, cut Paige Reid a little slack.
She is a gentle soul (as opposed to some of the rest of us) whom my son loved.
Their relationship was causing him to turn his life around in terms of sobriety,
albiet not quickly enough to save him. She has been brutalized by the loss of
her daily, loving companion. Paige is looking for some good to come out of
Alex's death. She will help make that happen. Paige, Caleb Day and Reid
Spencer are putting together a concert "Another Way Home" at sOhO on April 13.
Maybe you can encourage people to participate. Free brealalyzers?? Not
tempted? Editor's comments: Thank you very
much for taking the time to post your comments. Our best wishes to your
family and to Jessica's family as well. I hope that everyone can emerge
from this tragedy.
Message: Once again the UCSB community ignores real
issues. Instead on focusing on the death of a student and the 5 year
jail sentence of another student who is responsible for the death, they focus on
Cedarwood. What a shame. It makes me ill to view this sick and
twisted culture where death, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and sexual assault
are all be ignored while the activist (minority complaining groups) divert
attention to social sophistry. When will the rank and file have enough of
this BS. I suggest the Nexus ignore this bunch of losers and report on the
stuff the majority of students want to read about. I agree with the
editorial of this website. UCSB is responsible for the
evictions. Lower enrollment, and while you are at it, get some serious
students. Signed Disgusting. Editor's comments: There are plenty of serious
students at UCSB. The problem is that they are cowed by the politically
correct who run the institution and the student
organizations.
Message: Come on! It's sad that
Jessica Binkerd got prison but whose fault is that? Jessica's! Do you really
think a person who kills another human being and then proceeds to party it up in
the Wildcat every week can explain anything about the dangers of drinking to
teenagers.
If her family had any
sense they would have put her in a treatment program the day after the accident.
Maybe they tried. She never thought she was an alcoholic because none of her
freinds told her she was. She drank while she told people she was "helping them"
make good choices in a bar. Give me a break! If she drove drunk that one night
you can bet she drove drunk ALOT!
It sounds to me like
Jessica had a world class crew of enablers working hard for her, telling her it
was okay, and its just a simple mistake. Maybe if all those wonderful close
friends took her by the scruff of her neck in college and shook her into reality
she might have getten the point and none of this would have happened.
I don't know if she
deserved 5 years but she certainly did nothing to deserve probation or a few
months in jail. She worked hard for her prison time. If she looked even a little
interested in feeling bad instead of looking like the UCSB party girl until the
end, she never would have gone to prison.
Its sad. Sad for her
Jessica, sad for her mother, sad for everyone. But Alex is dead. He will never
be more than a memory and that is because of Jessica. Maybe the next few years
of sobriety will force her to grow up instead of hiding in her haze of
intoxication.
Come on UCSB, see this
for what it is...A REALITY CHECK! Signed Fedup
Message: Jessica Binkerd is a friend of mine and is now doing time
in a prison that she does not desirve to be in. She will have to live with a
mistake that will haunt her for the rest of her live but the DA and Judge
decided that wasnt enough to ruin her life. They have her a sentence that was
just plan rediculous. jessica has the kindness hearts I have ever met and the
brightest smile I have ever seem. She is beautiful and the law is trying to
extinguish the light that burns inside her. If I can help it, I will not stand
by and let the DA and Judge feel confortable in the decision they have made.
They made a poor decision. If any of you know Jessica, please voice your opion
to me or on here or anywhere. We need to be heard!!! Signed Cuddy.
Editor's comment: Jessica was sentenced on
1/26/2007 to just over five years in prison for the death of her passenger, Alex
Baer, when she crashed her car while driving drunk. She was
convicted for felony drunk driving. See our updated editorial for more comments.
Message: The Cedarwood protests are a joke. It was all
about getting money from the landlord. You are right, if the student activists
want to protest the real culprit, they should protest UCSB and the CC.
Without high demand, the landlords would not remodel local housing into student
housing. Signed RB. Editor's comment:
Seems very simple. I wonder why more people refuse to understand this
simple concept? .
Message: I am responding to your "sad
commentary" article. I thought it was pretty good until you started attacking
everyone at the end. Who are you to say anything? I am a friend of Alex's, I do
not live in SB anymore. So, it was out of my hands AND i'm sure most others to
decide whom he got a ride home with.....also, you should really get your story
straight before ranting and raving about what happened.
I saw the "party till you puke" attitude and it is way
out of control. The fact of the matter is it is never going to stop. UCSB trys
every year to do something whether it's dry fraternities, upsidedown cups, or
Bills Bus, nothing will stop college students who are just so excited to be free
from parents or whatever. Do you know how many students fall off the cliffs in
IV every year beacause they are so drunk? atleast 4. It is really sad, and no
one really reports on them either.
All we can do is hope that people will take
responsilbilty for their actions. Whether its driving drunk or even a drunk in
public. And just because you have "gotten away" with it once, twice, or even ten
times, it doesn't mean that you will NEVER get caught. And when you do, you
should be prepared to pay the concequences no matter what they are. - AS
Message: I am responding to
your "sad commentary" article. I thought it was pretty good until you started
attacking everyone at the end. Who are you to say anything? I am a friend of
Alex's, I do not live in SB anymore. So, it was out of my hands AND i'm sure
most others to decide whom he got a ride home with.....also, you should really
get your story straight before ranting and raving about what happened.
I saw the "party till you puke" attitude and it is way
out of control. The fact of the matter is it is never going to stop. UCSB trys
every year to do something whether it's dry fraternities, upsidedown cups, or
Bills Bus, nothing will stop college students who are just so excited to be free
from parents or whatever. Do you know how many students fall off the cliffs in
IV every year beacause they are so drunk? atleast 4. It is really sad, and no
one really reports on them either.
All we can do is hope that people will take
responsilbilty for their actions. Whether its driving drunk or even a drunk in
public. And just because you have "gotten away" with it once, twice, or even ten
times, it doesn't mean that you will NEVER get caught. And when you do, you
should be prepared to pay the concequences no matter what they are. Signed AS. Editor's comment: Dear AS. Thanks for
posting the comments. I am truly sorry for the fact that we have to meet
(even if only online) because of the death of a friend. We agree with your
comment that someone who drives drunk should be prepared to pay the
consequences. However, while we agree on the fact that the UCSB/IV party
scene is out of control, we do not agree that it cannot be fixed. In
truth, UCSB does nothing to stop the party. They merely give it lip
service. They take no effective action to tone down the party scene (and
save lives) because it works for them. It brings in lots of money for
them. It would be easy for them to stop the party. Start expelling
people who are felons or who are dangerous. UCSB already has the
rules on the books to take action, they simply refuse to do so. UCSB
expels almost no one. They don't want to look judgmental. One
thing I have learned about UCSB students is that they want to graduate -- they
want the UCSB degree. They want the good job that the degree helps bring
to them. If they knew that excessive partying and committing crimes
would get them expelled, they would mitigate their behavior. UCSB can
control the party scene, they just refuse to do so. What is even worse is
the fact that the UCSB attitude ( you can do anything you want and get away with
it) carries over after graduation. The drunk driver in this case will pay
a horrible penalty in her life for buying into the UCSB ethos. When you
get to the real world, UCSB's look the other way policy cannot protect
you.
Message: your site sucsk, i know lots of people
that drink more that Jessica Binkerd and never have any problems. she just got
unlucky. she should not have to be locked up because a bunch of assholes like
you want to destroy the iv party scene. she wasn't even drinking in iv fuck you.
i hope your kids get fucked up and have to go to jaiil. drinking should
not be a crime, war should be a crime. Signed NG. Editor's comment: Here you have it, another UCSB
intellectual. Apparently not even killing someone should be a crime if it
gets in the way of the UCSB/IV party
scene.
Message: I
haven't had a lot of time to go through your web site, but I have had the
opportunity to read the question & answer section. From that alone I
encourage you to continue to bring up the "dark sides" as you see them. There is
no excuse for some of those who attack your efforts in order for them to justify
bad behavior. And yes, it is a problem at almost all university/college
campuses. Those that are close to them can pick up the mantle and follow your
lead on behalf of their cause. I would suggest that the dark colorization of
your web background may send a macabre perception that perpetuates an image that
could be misunderstood. Lighten up. There are many wonderful aspects that UCSB
has to offer. My daughter was one of those that enjoyed the UCSB scene for four
years prior to her graduation in 2001 as well as her mom and me on our visits.
Continue to talk to the issues but don't become disillusioned that your efforts
will change the poor behavior of immature young "adults" that are on their own
for the first time. Good luck, Signed RK. Editor's note: Thanks for the email and your
comments. We are glad to hear the your family had a good experience with
UCSB -- most do. Our site is design to address the few you ruin it for
everyone else and the administration complete failure to address these
issues.
Message: Very interesting site. You are wasting your
time. The UC sytem is completely corrupt and very powerful. Keep having fun, but
don't expect to change anything. Signed IVK.
Message: I support your efforts to discourage the
out-of-control nature of life on campus and in the community. Please continue.
Your site is an original and positive force and resource.
As a 1984 Cell Biology/Physiology graduate who
successfully survived the UCSB experience, and as one who did study while
actually enjoying my time on campus, in IV and on DP, I look back fondly at
those years.
After graduating and spending one more year at UCI, I
worked as a medical technologist in research and then moved on to air pollution
chemistry in Los Angeles. The UCSB education more than adequately prepared me
for the modern analytical laboratory workplace. And now, working for the past
ten years with a multinational chemical company as a lab manager/chemist, I look
to UCSB as a source of new talent for industry and academia.
One thought as I view the campus, now from afar, in
Northern California. Please fight the Darkness of Bad Grammar! Read and write in
clear English. Please!!!
I confess that I cringe when I see the grammar of many
who write in the Daily Nexus on-line edition. And
furthermore, the subject matter of the majority of the reporting and opinions
focuses inordinately on the "dark side" of UCSB, most often with a flippant
attitude toward it. The so-called "Weather" column is incoherent and inane. If
the Daily Nexus content and syntax, aside from the writings of "Liberty Belle"
and a few other thoughtful individuals, are a reflection of tomorrow's
workforce, we may be in more serious trouble than I originally thought.
Finally a supportive word to the wise targeted toward
"Dark Side" readers presently at UCSB, from one who has long since passed
through the system - -Moderation. Please. For the benefit of the collective
student health and mind, practice moderation There is an entire life ahead of
you. Sincerely, KF Editor's comment: Couldn't have said it better. Thank
you for providing some guidance tempered with time.
Message: I hated UCSB,
I was a student there and find out that more than 95% of the guys there all
smoke pot, and mostly all the girls and guys there all binge drink. I took an
Ochem midterm there and the average was a 20% which is sad, because nobody there
studies; I got the highest score of course. That is why I transferred to UC San
Diego and never looked back. Signed VT. Editor's comment: The Princeton Review recently ranked
UCSB as number #3 on the “Their Students (almost) Never Study” list.
UCSB slipped two rankings in the overall ratings to #47. While the party
image may have attracted a lot of students to UCSB over the years, it is now
holding the school back. UCSB would be a better and safer school if it
discouraged the out-of-control party scene.
Message: I have been reading the series of
articles by Jill Messina. They are very good and what I find interesting is that
there is not a single criticism of her on this board. I suspect the reason is
that everyone knows that she has spent time in IV. Her comments could have been
written by a hundred different students except for one thing. Unlike Jill, they
don't have the guts to admit (to even themselves) that they live in and help
create what your site artfully refers to as a cesspool. For all you UCSB party
animals who write this site and demand that they be sued or shutdown for libel,
what say you about Jill's columns? Why so silent? Signed GG. Editor's comments: We agree, where are all the
lawsuits for libel?
Message: Here are two emails we received the same
day.
"If you really spent a lot of time in Isla Vista or
listening to people who live there, you would know that 9 times out of 10,
violence, rape and desctruction are perpetrated by immature SBCC wannabe
gangstas. You seem to be blaming UCSB students.. while it is the City College
douchebags who really have no reason to be there who cause all the
problems. PLEASE address this difference on your website. PLEASE delve
deeper into this scourge and help us all. Signed BH"
"I find it extremely unsettling that this website talks
down upon SBCC and the "bonehead" classes that are taught there. SBCC is one of
the top Community Colleges in California and not everyone who goes there is
lazy. Many students are seriously attending SBCC as a less expensive alternative
to completing their General Education. Please keep your negative opinions to
yourself until you have fully researched SBCC and all the excellent programs of
study and transfer resources available there. Signed Tom."
Editor's comments: First, we have always said that
SBCC and the out-of-towners contribute to many of the problems; however UCSB is
the nexus. Second, we realize that there are plenty of serious SBCC
students. However, there are way too many who come to be part of the
party scene and cause problems. If you want to save money, IV is not the
place to live.
Message: WAT A BUNCH OF
FAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Message: Instead of telling us students how we are
such bad people why don't you spend you time trying to improve this place like
getting rid of shady landlords and cops that actually want to make a difference
without being fucking assholes that walk all over us thinking they own the
place. So fuck you dark side of ucsb i hope that our school trys to shut down
this website because it is destroying our community Signed
JS.
Message: Watching your footage of "mobs, alcohol,
fights" and etc. in Isla Vista not only makes me embarrassed but angry. I value
the school that I will be graduating and have had many great experiences at
school and in Isla Vista. I no longer live in I.V. because of my intolerance to
the blatant stupidity that is present most days of the week, but I do not
support a website that fails to recognize a few things. 1) Isla Vista is a
community of UCSB students and City College students. I think it is extremely
unfair to blame UCSB officials for the "dark side of UCSB" when plenty of the
antics that you describe as being a significant part of UCSB belong to the SB
City College and to their students. Therefore, Isla Vista is a shared problem
that involves many public and private parties 2) All individuals living in Isla
Vista are adults. Therefore, I think that parents must be given much more
responsibilty in instilling proper values in their children who are sometimes
the despicible adults that make IV the cesspool that it can be.
My school may have its faults, as does each and every
school, at any level of education, but UCSB and its students are not completely
to blame. I would appreciate it greatly if the ills of the IV slum could be
referred to the "dark side of IV" so that people from outside of the university
community don't come to associate the slanderous material of your website with
one of the country's best public schools. Signed J.M. Editor's comment: Thanks for the interesting
email. You seem to agree with us regarding what we see as aberrant
behavior. You just think that UCSB shouldn't take the rap for being part
of it. We agree that SBCC and the out-of-towners contribute to the
problems. Almost all of our articles and editorials say just that.
Try reading this editorial. However, UCSB created IV and has benefited from the party school
image. Now, people are beginning to wonder about the quality of the school
because of the mayhem that it helps to sustain. If everyone in IV is an
adult, then way is there all the "blatant stupidity?" The truth is that 18
to 20-year-olds are easily manipulated. Left to their own devices, you get
IV -- Lord of the Flies meets Real World TV. Do you think that parents
taught these hooligans to behave the way they do? I wonder what IV would
look like if only ten percent of the parents of UCSB students came to town for a
weekend. The university and SBCC have an obligation to set the tone of the
university and to exclude people who poise a threat to other students. If
you don't believe me, try reading the UCSB General Standards of
Conduct (SW, 101.00) which reads in part: "
1. Non-Academic Conduct
"Students are expected
to comply with all local, state, and federal laws.
... In instances when the health and safety of the
individual or members of the University community are involved, the campus
disciplinary process will be implemented immediately upon notification of the
charges."
The tone at UCSB is to "party till
we puke" Everything from simple drunkenness to felony assaults are
ignored by the school. They (the administration) know that if they
take meaningful action against students, it will highlight the problems at
UCSB. They prefer to ignore the issues. UCSB could be a really
great school but it is being held back by its party school reputation. A
reputation that it uses to recruit more party animals.
Again, thanks for an honest and
interesting email. While we may disagree upon who is responsible and how
to fix the problems, at least we acknowledge the problems -- we are both
way ahead of the Chancellor's
office.
Message: What shocked me the most as a new transfer this
Fall was the campus newspaper, the Daily Nexus. I
have trouble believing something like that could be published by any institution
of higher education. It openly glorifies idiocy, and I am dismayed that the
college admission process is so flawed that this is the best university I could
get into. Signed P.
Message: I'm currently a UCSB student who left IV for
various reasons; I must say that I do find all the activities I did while living
there to be tremendously memorable.... couch burnings, lawn chair/bbq/tiki
torch/gnome stealing, underage drinking, pot smoking/selling, 4am
Freebirds....ahhhh, fun times! Would I do it again? FUCK NO! For me, I believe
that UCSB/IV allowed me to figure out what I'm all about. I've changed since my
first two years here...I've gotten older, more mature. I still go into IV for
parties, and every time I see a half naked girl freezing her ass off, just for
the sake of being "hot"...or rather skanky, and guys drunk off their asses
yelling, "Heeeeeey baby..." Signed BS. Editor's
comment: Good for you, you matured.
Message: I have a perfect proposal to
eliminate the dark side of UCSB. Remove College of Letters and Science ( except
Physics department) and leave the College of Engineering and Material Research
Lab alone. There you go. Signed M. Editor's
comment: Very funny. Well, not really. Perhaps a study of who
creates the problems at UCSB would reveal some truth to your comments. Thanks
for taking the time to write.
Message: I think that your website is a step in the
right direction, the problems of IV have been getting worse for years. I
attended UCSB from 1980-1984, and have lived in IV and Santa Barbara since.
There were problems in the 80's but things have become much worse since then.
The core reason for the dramatic fall in quality of life in IV is the constant
increases in enrollment of UCSB. Huttenback's plan to double the student body in
the 1980's to create the "Harvard of the Pacific" has turned a bad situation in
IV into a disaster Signed MG. Editor's
comment: Thanks for the email, you are spot on. We say it all the
time, UCSB created and continues to add to the problem. UCSB proudly
announced an increase in new freshman -- great, more overcrowding, more
problems, more mayhem.
Message: Thank you The Dark Side for spreading the word.
I truly wish that students, parents and couples would research about violence in
IV. Speaking from personal experience, I would advise prospective students Not
to live in IV. A few years ago I transferred from local community college to
SBCC in hope to go onto UCSB, my boyfriend transferred into UCSB. Looking for
cheaper rent and making only one trip down to I.V. we leased an apartment
together (big mistake). I worked every day and went to SBCC at night and I must
say it was impossible to sleep in I.V. with parties 24/7. Sadly, my golden
boyfriend got involved in going down to D.P. regularly, perhaps on influence of
his new UCSB friends, and our relationship ended in Domestic Violence. He moved
and hid and I was left to pay off entire lease on the Apartment, and My Parents'
credit history got threatened if I was not to pay.
There is not a moment of doubt for me, that certain
atmosphere at UCSB, constant parties, and I.V. environment influenced my
Ex-boyfriend into act of Violence. There was nothing UCSB did to help me, not
even to tell me where he was hiding while he continued to attend UCSB. UCSB
powerfully "looked after" and "protected" him from paying for his crime, after
all he was a good student, and I was the just a Victim.
The one vague phone call from someone at UCSB asked if I
would wish to appear for UCSB originated "On-campus" trial of my ex-boyfriend,
that is after Restraining Order from the court. I was not going to be a puppet
for students studying "criminal law," nor was the person calling looking for
positive answer.
Ironically, for my
degree, UCSB is one of the top schools. And now, few years past, recovered
victim, living in a Quiet small studio in Goleta, I await admission to study at
UCSB. To this day I never visited D.P. and will never do. I know where the
Violence comes from, and choose to be away from it (even for a price). I truly
wish that students, parents and couples would research about violence in IV.
Thank you The Dark Side for spreading the word. Signed T, -I.V.
Domestic Violence Victim. Editor's comment: Dear T, thank you for sharing your story. It is truly
shocking how UCSB has set up a system that protects criminals. You are
right about their fake on-campus justice system -- it is merely window
dressing. We see the same scenario over and over. A
student comments a crime but remains in school, seemingly without penalty.
Our advice is to find the next best school in your major and transfer.
.
Message: I read you site last spring and thought
it was all BS. Now that I am a freshman here, I understand a little more. After
only a few days of the noise, booze, drugs, assholes, and wannabes, I am fed up
already. This is a great school? May have made a mistake.
Signed NF Editor' comment: Thanks for
the email - stay safe and don't go over to the Dark
Side.
Message: Your site is great! The UCSB/iv community is
rotten to the core. I spent four years there. Yang is clueless. Signed
jg.
Message: This is probably the most biased website I have
ever seen. There is not one mention of the great acheivments of the university
or its students. I encourage visitors of this site not to be mislead and to
check information from the IVFP and UCSB instead, they are much more legitimate
sources. Signed -P Editor's
comments: Riiiight, and if you want to know how the war in Iraq is going,
all you need to read is the Dept of Defense website. Get real.
UCSB does not publish anything about the dozens who have died in IV over the
past few years. Perhaps you didn't read our current article about
UCSB entitled UCSC Rankings.
Message: Thus far, the University has tried two
strategies in response to the Dark Side: intimidation and stonewalling. Both
approaches have failed completely, and the cost of this failure is being imposed
on the students, alumni and faculty whose careers are linked to the school and
its reputation. Time is not on the University’s side in this contest; sooner or
later there will be another lurid, tabloid-worthy incident in IV. When that
happens, the University will get to watch the Dark Side’s editor hold forth at
length on Oprah or Geraldo or wherever, while the unlucky spokesperson from
Cheadle Hall cringes and shucks and jives in response.
Why not opt for a better
outcome? The Dark Side’s editor is neither unapproachable nor unreasonable.
Wouldn’t the University do better to acknowledge that IV does have some serious
problems, and invite the Dark Side to join with UCSB, Santa Barbara county,
Santa Barbara City College, and other members the community who have an interest
in solving them? signed CB. Editor's note:
Here are the videos in question: Fights video, Crowds video, Cops video, Booze and Drugs
video.
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