UC Santa Cruz vice-chancellor warns parents to “talk with your student about 4/20″

SANTA CRUZ – Campus leaders are reaching out to parents of first-year students in an effort to curb the annual unsanctioned April 20 “4/20″ marijuana festival this year.

According to a recently-sent e-mail from Felicia McGinty, vice-chancellor of student affairs, delivered to inboxes of UC Santa Cruz freshman parents, “I encourage you to talk with your student about his or her plans for 4/20. Ask direct questions about the choices they make and express your expectations regarding marijuana, alcohol or other drug use. Although students may not initiate discussion on this topic, your opinions and expectations can influence their behavior.”

The letter also details plans to ban overnight guests on campus from Friday, April 18 through Monday, April 20 – the day that the impromptu event annually attracts thousands to Porter Meadow at 4:20 p.m. to eat, inhale or otherwise consume copious amounts of cannabis. In past years, a gray haze quickly formed over the meadow as thousands of revelers lit up and continued smoking throughout the late afternoon. While many of those participating are UCSC students, many, campus leaders have said, are not.

University of California at Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Seriously.

To further discourage the event, the letter said, UCSC will limit bus service to campus, tow illegally parked cars and further discourage those not affiliated with the university from showing up. Last year, neither parking tickets nor barricades across campus entrances could stop those who wanted to join the celebration.

In her e-mail, McGinty wrote: “While similar ’4/20 celebrations’ occur simultaneously on college campuses across the United States, over the past four years the event here at UCSC has grown in numbers, with many of the participants being visitors with no investment in our UCSC community. The growth in scale of this activity has become a concern for both the University and surrounding community.”

Parents wanting more information can e-mail studentaffairs@ucsc.edu.

You let your child go to a school which has a banana slug for its mascot and now you’re just getting around to the “don’t smoke pot” conversation?

Stashers, I want to encourage you to email Student Affairs at ucsc.edu, but let’s not have them turn us away as ranting potheads.  Instead, send an email as if you were a concerned parent.  That will take them more time to politely answer, instead of just hitting “delete” in their email program.  I’ve sent this email:

I recieved your email and was SHOCKED to find out you have a pot smoking festival on your campus!!!!!! I didnt pay $25000 to send my daughter to some hippie commune!!!  Why should I have to have a talk bout what shes doing on 4/20 to keep her away from YOUR POT SMOKING FESTIVAL??? How bout you just NOT have the festival?

I’ll let you know what kind of answer I get.