Will Cal Poly students who didn’t get concert tickets head to St. Fratty’s parties instead?
Some students may be headed to the streets once again this St. Fratty’s Day, after tickets to Cal Poly’s alternative event were all snapped up within three minutes Wednesday.
The “Morning on the Green” music festival was organized by university and student leaders in hopes of drawing students out of the neighborhoods — especially after last year’s St. Fratty’s Day celebration resulted in nearly 7,000 people blocking the streets around Foothill and California, resulting in safety concerns, vandalism and community frustration.
The event will include a beer garden and performances from student DJs and EDM artists Zhu and Galantis.
But after the 5,000 available tickets were claimed quickly Wednesday, some students said they are resorting to other plans.
The Tribune spoke with several students on campus Thursday — and while some are planning to avoid the chaos, others said they’ll be heading to the streets early March 15.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department has strongly discouraged the block party this year, saying officers will be issuing citations and fines with no warning and will be making arrests for violations like public intoxication and driving under the influence.
Students report varied St. Fratty’s Day plans
None of the students The Tribune spoke with Thursday were able to land tickets to the concert — and they all reported mixed St. Fratty’s Day plans.
Kennedy Martin, a fourth-year theater major at Cal Poly, has a performance the day of the party. Martin’s friend Isaac Lewis will also be going to the show. The two said they plan to skip the party.
“We also were planning, if we had time outside of that, we were going to try to be at our friend’s house who’s local in Osos, so that we wouldn’t be on campus,” Martin said.
Cal Poly freshmen Jordan Rivera and Kaylie Leung said they wanted to get tickets but weren’t able to. Their consolation was that none of their friends were able to get tickets either, they said.
“I think it’ll be a fun, fun weekend though,” Leung said.
“Especially with it being our first St. Fratty’s,” Rivera added.
Second-year students Avalon Van Leeuwen and M.J. Lundberg also weren’t able to land tickets.
“Them being sold out is like, what’s the point?” Lundberg told The Tribune. “Like, you’re trying to get people off the streets. Why are they sold out? There should be enough for a whole bunch more people.”
While Van Leeuwen has a logging competition in Northern California the day of the event, Lundberg has plans to party.
“I will be going out to the streets,” she said, adding that she thought at least one fraternity house would be throwing a party beforehand.
Similar claims also flooded Cal Poly’s Yik Yak, a college-oriented social media site, according to screenshots sent to The Tribune by a resident of a neighborhood near the university.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if more people go to the block party than last year,” wrote one user, commenting on the sold-out event.
“It would be really funny if the block party was on a completely different street this year to pull a fast one on SLOPD, that would be hilarious, right,” wrote another.
Other users appeared to joke about the damages that occurred in the dorms, particularly Muir Hall, last year. The 2024 damages resulted in the evacuation of at least 300 students.
“I couldn’t get tickets to the concert featuring two people I’ve never heard of. What a shame,” one post read. “If only there were some buildings I could cause massive damage to to vent my frustration.”
“Thanks Armstrong,” another user wrote. “Muir is getting destroyed first, then I’ll consider leveling either Freemont (sic) or Tenaya next.”
One poster said they think this is the last St. Fratty’s, considering the university’s history with controversial block parties, including Poly Royal in 1990 and Mardi Gras in 2004 — both of which erupted into violence.
Are students selling their St. Fratty’s tickets?
The demand for tickets to the March 15 concert was obviously high — and some students may be taking advantage of that.
Two students that The Tribune spoke with Thursday had seen or heard of students trying to resell their free tickets for money.
Van Leeuwen said she’d seen people trying to sell their ticket on the social media app Snapchat.
“I think people are doing that because they realize, like, only maybe, like, a small amount of people are going to the concert because they got sold out so quickly,” said Lundberg. “So, they’re like, ‘I’m missing out on the going out to the streets with my friends.’ So they’re just selling it just to go back out to the street.”
Freshman student Sydney Leung heard the same thing.
“I heard like, people are ... reselling them for, like, upwards of $100 and I think that’s a little insane for some free tickets,” she said.
A Yik Yak user advertised their ticket on the social media app for $500, or best offer.
Anyone buying tickets, however, may end up sorely disappointed.
According to university spokesperson Keegan Koberl, re-selling tickets is not allowable.
“Your ticket is non-transferable, which means you cannot forward your ticket to another student or take a screenshot of it,” Koberl wrote to The Tribune, quoting the university’s St. Patrick’s Day website.
On the day of the event, students can verify their identity with either their student ID or by logging into their Cal Poly portal.
Students will also have to provide a government ID to confirm they are 18 or older to enter, or at least 21 to enter the beer garden.
At 6 a.m., however, students in line without tickets will be let into the event — even if it means that students with tickets get left out.
“Ticket holders who show up after 6 a.m. are basically treated the same as ‘non-ticketed,’” university spokesperson Matt Lazier told The Tribune.
Armstrong reacts to student threats
Students who do go to the block party may be jeopardizing their future at Cal Poly, Armstrong said in an op-ed sent to The Tribune on Friday.
Armstrong referenced students’ threats to flock to the block party and destroy university property, as well as an opinion article published in Mustang News that claimed the sold-out event and increased police presence could result in riotous conditions.
“I believe in the intelligence and quality of our students and trust this sort of entitled thinking comes from a very small minority of students,” Armstrong said.
He urged students to consider their actions carefully. While college is a time to have fun, he said, it’s also a time to learn how to be responsible.
“For those who can’t exercise self-control and act with decency, the university and city will hold you fully accountable for your actions,” he wrote.
If students choose to participate in vandalism, unsafe behaviors or drunken gatherings, “then Cal Poly is not the right place for that student,” Armstrong said.
“Make the choice to celebrate in a way that will not endanger your safety, negatively impact those around you, or risk your future at Cal Poly,” he added.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 2:58 PM.
