St. Fratty’s Day concert was a hit. What will Cal Poly do for an encore in 2026? | Opinion

Cal Poly got it right.

It kept rowdy partiers off the streets on St. Fratty’s Day by hosting an early morning concert that attracted an estimated 6,000 students.

The outcome was even more impressive when you consider how high the stakes were. Had the inaugural event been a dud, good luck getting students to come to another “Morning on the Green.”

Some partiers did venture into the neighborhoods near campus on Saturday, but they were met by hundreds of uniformed police officers who warned them to leave or face arrest.

It worked. Neighborhoods that were routinely trashed in previous years were relatively quiet. And unlike last year, there was only minor damage to campus buildings, plus just a handful of arrests.

We call that a win.

Credit goes to all involved: the university, the city, law enforcement, neighborhood residents and students who were willing to break with tradition by attending an on-campus party rather than descending on the neighborhoods, making life hell for residents.

True, they were offered incentives, both negative and positive.

The city and the university spent weeks warning of the serious consequences students would face if they attended illegal street parties. Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong even hinted at expulsion.

“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 warned in a widely circulated letter.

The warnings were backed up with heavy security on Saturday; close to 300 officers from 24 law enforcement agencies as far south as Ventura and as far north as San Francisco were on duty.

No major incidents were reported in the neighborhoods. As it turned out, one of the biggest security breaches occurred at the outdoor concert, when students who weren’t able to get tickets broke through barriers set up to control access.

It was a foreseeable problem. Attendance had been limited to 5,000 people, and those tickets were scooped up in just three minutes. Students who didn’t score tickets were told they could wait in a standby line, which set the stage for confusion.

Cal Poly administrators had the good sense to eventually allow everybody in; the alternative would have been chaos.

In a way, busting through barriers was a good sign: Students were willing — excited even — to attend the concert in lieu of gathering on the streets.

Cal Poly should capitalize on that.

Start planning an encore for 2026.

Next year, go bigger. Hold the event at Mustang Memorial Field. It seats 11,075 — even more if you let students on the field.

Don’t bother with tickets. Check student IDs at the entrances. Ensure that any Cal Poly student who wants to attend will be able to.

And don’t skimp on the entertainment. As this year proved, students are more likely to turn out for well-known performers, as they did for EDM (electronic dance music) artists Galantis and Zhu.

Stock more beer for the over-21s. (There were reports that beer ran out.)

Start the headliner acts earlier, so they can wrap up as the sun is rising, not well after.

And keep supplying free breakfast food. That was a nice touch, as were the light-up swings and teeter-totters.

Granted, all this won’t be cheap. (Cal Poly has yet to release a cost estimate for Saturday’s event.)

But neither is bringing in 300 police officers. That level of security shouldn’t be necessary in the future, as partying in the neighborhoods dies off.

Plus, moving the party off the streets will earn the university goodwill from locals living near Poly, as well as from the entire community.

Consider, too, the injuries, arrests and liability that can be avoided in a more controlled environment.

Moving the party to campus was the right thing to do.

While the culture surrounding St. Fratty’s Day won’t change overnight, this was proactive step that could evolve into a new Cal Poly tradition.

Congratulations to everyone who helped make it a success.