Following the year of problems in 2010, the city of Davis cracked down on Picnic Day, creating a safety zone in the downtown and just north of it to crack down on nuisance issues – with heavy enforcement and massive fines. The city brought in heavy reinforcement from outside of the area, and there was the covenant of local businesses that would limit alcohol sales.
Despite the 2011 tragedy with the death of Scott Heinig at a house party, things mainly calmed down. The number of citations increased with the heavy enforcement, but the nuisance problems were largely abated.
The danger was that, once the memories of 2010 faded, things would go back to business as usual. That is what has happened. The police reported an increase in calls for service this year, with 502 of them during the enforcement period.
Police Chief Landy Black called on council to expand the safety zone. Moreover, unlike past years, there was a shortage of outside agencies sending in police officers. Finally, only 57 merchants signed onto the agreement this year, with some very notable omissions such as the Davis Graduate.
Still, as the Davis Enterprise put it in an editorial this morning, “While 2015’s Picnic Day was a far cry from the rowdy drunken scene downtown Davis used to be, there are signs that we may be losing ground on the progress made in the past few years.”
However, despite the problems, I think we need to have a sober assessment here. We can in fact enforce things to the hilt – but that enforcement is likely to bring additional problems that I will discuss shortly. We can accept that there will always be some parties getting out of hand. Deal with the troublemakers as we can and move on with our lives. Or we can simply say this is too much trouble and end Picnic Day.
Of the three options – I prefer not go the first route that the Enterprise and Police Chief seem to want to go.
The first two years of Picnic Day following 2010’s problems, I was on the street walking with cameras and recording devices. My view in 2011, in particular, is that the police themselves were a problem.
Everyone was so conscious of avoiding the incident that would end Picnic Day that it was pretty calm outside. But you had dozens of out-of-town police officers, expecting to come into riots or something.
The result was hordes of police officers standing on corners of downtown streets with nothing to do. So a domestic couple’s argument outside of Davis ACE resulted in ten law enforcement officers descending on the surprised and unsuspecting guy who had just had a verbal argument with his girlfriend. I saw people taken down to the ground for little provocation.
In 2012, the Department of Fish and Game would Taser a guy in the alleyway. While they were cleared of that, the incident is warning that bringing in police from outside this community is a recipe for problems. As one police lieutenant told me this week, the outside police officers do not understand our community or sensibilities.
My interaction with police in 2011 and 2012 were that Davis Police Officers were friendly – they’d smile, say hi. The out-of-towners were rude and abrupt and triggered more problems than they solved.
So, when I hear that DPD wants to expand the safety zone and wants additional police officers available, I caution that in the ideal situation, where all is calm, you will have a bunch of out-of-town cops who are “bored” and looking for some action.
Back in January of 2012, the Davis Police pushed for a Minor Alcohol Preclusion Ordinance. At the time, the police pushed it out of the belief that the police did not have a tool to regulate the private consumption of alcohol by minors.
“It helps us in our equal application of the law and it closes a loophole that seems to be in existence between current city ordinances and state laws,” Chief Black told the council back in January 2012.
“Right now it is illegal for someone to provide alcohol to a minor and it is illegal for someone to have alcohol in his possession in a public place,” he continued. “However, there is no reasonable or appropriate way for the police department to deal with a minor who has alcohol in their system in a public place. It’s that alcohol in their system in a public place which complicates the issue of public safety in our communities and it has contributed to the nuisance things that have plagued our neighborhoods, especially those closer to the downtown area and the campus areas.”
The students were strongly opposed to it. Other than Mayor Joe Krovoza, the rest of the council was concerned about the lack of support and buy-in from students who had assembled, as well as concerns about the civil liberty implications of the ordinance. They ended up creating an adhoc committee out of the Human Relations Commission, ASUCD, Neighborhood Groups, UC Davis officials and Davis Police officials.
The group met for about three months in the spring of 2012. I was on that committee, and we finally worked out a compromise that was less intrusive and would have protected civil rights, but the students were still concerned that the ordinance would become an open invitation for the police to pull over any student.
UC Davis was still reeling from the pepper spray incident the previous November, and so, very quietly, the initiative died by neglect.
The current arrangement has worked to prevent the worst problems. Increasing enforcement seems less likely to solve the remaining problems and more likely to bring about unintended consequences. Yes, they can expand the safety zone and push the problems further out into the neighborhoods if there is to be any impact at all.
I think we seriously need to take one of two approaches – either keep things as they are and accept that once a year there may be parties that get out of hand, with excessive noise and drinking. Or end it all together. Increasing enforcement will just create more problems than it solves.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Picnic Day should be ended. For me and my family it has been a day not to cross over the freeway into central Davis due to the rowdy behavior. I do not want my children to see the behavior of the college students as they are young and impressionable. When our junior high school and high school aged children observe the drunken behavior they may emulate it to be like the more mature college students. In the 80’s Black Family Day celebrations got out of hand and it was cancelled. It is time for Picnic Day to have the same fate. Our town should not be terrorized by out of town drunks so that a few businesses can make money.
there are clearly places that kids can go and not have to worry. go to those, and one day a year, avoid the bar/ restaurant scene. doesn’t seem too much to ask.
I don’t think they have very many problems on campus.
Why should I have to avoid the downtown? It becomes inundated with out of town jerks looking to get drunk and make asses out of themselves. All so some bar owners can make money fueling these jerks with more alcohol. This causes the police department to bring in extra officers from other jurisdictions plus probably every able bodied Davis police officer to deal with the mess. If you look at the Davis police arrest log for the picnic day weekend and compare it to any other weekend you will see the wasted resources. How much does it cost to pay for these cops (overtime) and then the jail having to deal with those who get arrested. When irresponsible bar owners open at 6:00 am on picnic day offering $1 beers and encouraging the nine drinks before 9:00 am just to make money something is wrong. Picnic day is supposed to be an open house to show off UCD. It has evolved into a drunken party where people come to Davis who could care less about UCD and only care about getting drunk and rowdy in my hometown. I do not like it. It is too much to ask the residents of this town to ask the residents to avoid the downtown so that jerks can make money off of jerks while costing the city money in law enforcement costs. I would rather see them using these law enforcement resources to catch the thieves that are stealing in this town or for additional resources to address the homeless problem.
Wasn’t there also a shooting death at Black Family Day?
Yes, I think it was at the Rec Center on campus.
Logic, along with statistics, tell us that as long as Picnic Day continues, criminal activity will increase:
Higher attendance every year (which is encouraged) means a higher number of trouble makers. Simple math. The root of the problem is the increasingly larger numbers of youthful individuals (because of increasingly larger attendance) basically looking for no supervision whatsoever. I really don’t see any way around it – Picnic Day as was known in the past, has already dug its own grave. It’s too bad it had to come to this. I really enjoyed Picnic Day 10-15 years ago but now I won’t go anywhere near it!
it seemed pretty tame this year. i think people do protest too much in this town.
Davis Progressive has it right…
I wasn’t in town, but I’ve heard reports that Picnic Day was tame. Maybe the town was extra vigilant?
I guess I was a student in a different era, as we were sober until hitting The Pub on Friday at 4 or 5 PM, and then didn’t drink on Saturday until after dinner.
An excerpt from the Davis Enterprise, April 27, 1965
Just wondering when civic disruptions at Picnic Day were at an acceptable level.
probably never. it’s kind of the greek syndrome… the greeks were always convinced that the younger generation was somehow more corrupt and immoral than the previous one. it turns out we always believed that the world was imperil by the next generation and yet, the world has survived.
D.P.: the greeks were always convinced that the younger generation was somehow more corrupt and immoral than the previous one.
When in fact one modern understanding is that the pre-frontal cortex isn’t fully developed until about age 25. That’s the part of the brain that is involved in executive function and responsible behavior.
that’s a good point that would support both the persistent observation about the next eneration and the fact that the doomsday implications don’t come to pass.
Up until they cancelled “Pioneer Days” up at Chico. They needed a new venue to get stupidity out of their systems. What can you expect from ‘Chico State’ folk, as they live in a town where Velveeta is in the ‘gourmet food’ section of the stores. Kidding aside, there was an uptick about the time there was an huge uptick in Chico, which did end up cancelling their Picnic Day equivalent. Don’t know if it came back.
Picnic Day should be focussed on campus, as most of the problems have been off-campus. The campus focus seems to have been ‘lost’ ~ 15 years ago. Don’t know why, but that’s what it seems.
Another thought for investigation, if you are so inclined, David. Look at the # of “liquor licenses” in the vicinity of UCD in, say, 1985 (when the worst things I remember were “silly string” and water balloons) and 2010 to present. Seems there have been a huge increase, but am not into the ‘downtown scene’, so I may be wrong. I do find it “telling” that the Graduate didn’t sign on this year. Is Rochelle still an owner?
i believe she got divorced, i’m not sure if she retains any assets in the grad.
The first part of your response was TMI, Davis P.
you asked if she was still an owner, she may not be based on the divorce, so not tmi.
Weather also affects the day. We had rain numerous Picnic Day’s in the 80s and 90s which had a dampening affect. There have always been the large frat party’s, but 2010 seemed to be the perfect combination of student population growth, the campus marketing to outside communities, bars irresponsible promotions (drinking starting at 8 or 9AM), and very hot weather, which draws both crowds and incentives early drinking for more people.
“… the campus marketing to outside communities…” “Campus” [UCD], or downtown davis business owners, particularly ‘restaurants’ where alcohol is served at “discount prices”? If it was UCD doing the marketing, therein lies many problems…
When there was serious discussion of ending PD in 2012, I thought I read that ASUCD and some campus units were advertising PD on Sacramento radio stations … and I’d imagine the morning radio guys would pick up on that, too, to drive ratings. This is the type of thing I think we stopped doing.
I also saw that year when I was trying to see who was coming, that other schools had buses coming to PD while not even being from Davis or even alums. What is that about if not trouble?
One can find data/info/justifications/solutions, etc. for both sides of the fence. “Back in the day” as I understand it, liquor had to be bought in S. Davis. And there were fewer establishments downtown serving it so PD was probably more of a campus activity, than a downtown draw. Now it seems one can buy liquor on practically every corner.
You got it right… as a land-grant state campus, there used to be a 3-mile “dry zone” for retail sales. Jakes and L&M, on Chiles, were across the street from each other, and were the only nearby places you could buy wine or stronger spirits (the other ‘near’ one, was Frenchy’s, in Woodland).
Funny thing about Jakes and L&M… during the “Gallo boycott”, during the 70’s, Jakes removed all Gallo products from their shelves, to attract the “socially conscious”. L&M promoted Gallo products, to appeal to the red-necks/reactionaries. Both stores were owned by the same entity. Gotta’ love private sector free-enterprise. Both stores increased their revenues, by playing on ‘philosophies’.
Picnic Day 2.0
I have been actively involved in planning and participating in Picnic Day events and activities for 30 years now and have served as an alumni board member for UCD and organized fraternal events for picnic day for decades. In addition, I own a business on 1st street and thus experience the full impact of Picnic Day.
Picnic Day is an important part of the Davis culture and a critical link to our past. It provides a wonderful opportunity for alumni to revisit UCD and our town. It is also an important day for our community and college to showcase what is awesome about our town to parents and guests. It is important and needs to be preserved.
We have this great event for our alumni, parents of students and members of the community, its a great event, so what is wrong with Picnic Day?
A lot actually… Most specifically, the same problem that ruins most great parties. Uninvited guests. People with no affiliation with Davis, its students, our town or university. They come for the “open party” and cause the overwhelming majority of the issues that our police have to confront, and the downtown store owners have to clean up after the next day. The problem is not on campus. The problem is downtown and usually later in the day and into the night.
If you visit the bars downtown on Picnic Day as the day wears on, the crowd becomes very un-Davis… groups of guys hailing from Fairfield, Woodland, West Sacramento, Vacaville and Sacramento come into town in packs. Drinking, shouting and heaping abuse on anyone who doesn’t share their view on how the party should be… They come looking for trouble, and our police force has to respond- David is correct that with a lot of out of town police officers, they can take a trifling matter and turn it into a full take-down, but the environment is toxic and that kind of confrontation happens.
How do we fix it?
By going back to our roots. Picnic Day is a UCD campus event that is tied to our community. Lets keep it that way. I would propose that on the UCD campus we have dozens of “check-in” stations run by ASUCD where volunteers can check any of the following:
-UCD student ID
-Check your name as an alumni (and update the UCD database at the same time)
-Check your invitation to Picnic Day letter sent to parents and alumni (these are already mailed out by UCD)
-Check any drivers license showing you are a davis resident
-in short, anything showing you are affiliated with the event
They then give you a wristband that is the ONLY way to access the bars in downtown Davis that afternoon and evening. No wristband, no admission. The bars have more business than they know what to do with- the lines are huge and the amount of security prodigious already. A simple filter like this wristband would make their job a lot more manageable. I would propose haybales surrounding downtown Davis with people checking wristbands on the way into downtown as well as at the door of bars. This doesn’t have to be a fortress, just an early way to let people know that they had to have their wristband or they don’t get to go downtown or into the bars. The vast majority of trouble makers would be annoyed and just go home.
A crew of rowdy guys from out of town who show up for the “party” having missed Picnic Day on campus would have no way to get a wristband and would be turned away early. We advertise this heavily that there is a new policy and within a year or two we either have bozos from out of town having to attend Picnic Day and actually learn something before they go boozing, or they just stay home.
Its our party and we can and must decide who we want to attend.
“Its our party and we can and must decide who we want to attend.”
interesting ideas, i wonder if they are legal.
Interesting you left out families of HS students who want to check out the campus as where they’d like to attend college. The “legal ” part is pertinent (another commenter) in the City limits [probably NOT]. UCD has long asserted “permission to enter is revocable at any time” (still are some plaques to that effect at some entrances, unless they’ve been removed in ~ the last 10 years), and I think, push come to shove, it’s enforceable.
Just as the “no dogs” policy, after I complained about almost being attacked by a faculty pooch sleeping under a desk in a room I was supposed to check, the signs disappeared off the whole building by the next day. Fortunately I grabbed a photo of them so when the boss said, “Sign? we don’t have no stinking sign” I was able to document they tore them off.
Campus policy be damned. Still says no dogs.
Interesting proposal Mr. Hart. Has this idea ever been floated to the City Council or campus?
I know current junior college students in the Bay Area who as 20-year-olds now know Picnic Day as the place to go get wild ala Pioneer Days.
place to go to get wild? this town was not wild. so i question whether you know junior college students who told you that.
I like it. Everyone needs to carry papers and expect to have them checked.
One question though… what happens when a checked person lacks proper papers? Can we deport them?
Cute… a little surprised you didn’t weave “overcompensated” government employees in that comment, but it is Sunday, a day of rest.
I don’t see a need to end Picnic Day. I do think that an increased level of law enforcement has to be maintained in strategic circumstances, but that doesn’t mean we have to bring a siege mentality to the whole city.
My wife and I enjoy the parade, and sometimes wander onto campus afterward just to see the goings-on. We stay away from downtown later simply to avoid the crowds, so my perspective on the downtown situation isn’t clear. However, since we live a block away from a large fraternity that holds an annual Picnic Day party, we were very appreciative of the “midnight raid,” a swarm of police vehicles with lights, sirens and PAs telling the post-party crowds that were lining A Street to “get in your cars and leave.” It worked smoothly, and within half an hour the street was quiet and we were able to sleep.
Telling drunk people to do the above is a good idea?
There was more going on than just downtown, or at the frats on Russell. There were a number of very large parties in Central West Davis, along Anderson and west of there. Stanford Drive at one point had approximately 800+ people partying, which the police had to clear out. These areas were outside of the special enforcement zone.
Across the street from our house, a party that started at 10 am had a number (20+) of drunken people on the roof by 11 am. The police shut that down, but by noon, there were many people drinking on the grounds of the elementary school behind that house. The police had to respond to that situation as well. I’m amazed that the landlord would allow such activity, since the first drunk that fell off the roof would certainly threaten his ability to retire after the parents’ negligence lawsuit.
Is it the landlord’s responsibility to prevent buffoonish behavior? Is it illegal to go onto a roof drunk, I don’t know, I think this falls under the stupid category. When were landlord’s turned into nanny’s?
down at cal poly kids were on the roof when it collapsed, i doubt the owners will get sued.
Even if the SF landlord lives in Davis [many don’t] how would they know unless someone tells them? As a landlord who lives in Davis, I’d pursue a -two-strike stance. First time, tenant pays for all damages, fines, etc. [and probably non-renewal of lease] Second time, I’d be looking for ways to terminate the lease, with any penalties, ASAP.
David said that the Grad did not sign on to the PD agreement this year. If so, did they start serving alcohol before 11 am? I recall that in 2010 and some years before, they opened at 6 am and were serving $1 Bud Lights or other non-beers to the first 1,000 customers or some such thing. Did that happen this year? Or, in what other manner did they violate the agreement this year? I’d sure like to hear what other local watering holes didn’t sign on this year who had in previous years.
I am not inclined to support those bars/restaurants with my business that did not agree to the covenant with the city/police. Opening at 6:00 am with beer specials just fuels the alcoholic frenzy that ruins picnic day. If the bars cannot be responsible then we should just cancel picnic day.
One question you should probably ask is which bars opened at 6 am – if any
I believe that Cafe Bernardo did not sign this year (I don’t know if that is different from previous years). AND they had a sandwich board advert on the sidewalk several weeks before Picnic Day advertising their drink specials. I really like Cafe Bernardo, and was upset to learn that they were purposefully part of the problem. I’m still trying to figure out how best to express my displeasure beyond voting with my wallet.
Paragary Restaurant Group
1403 28th Street, Sacramento CA 95816
Office Phone: 916.452.3335 Fax: 916.457.5146
Randy Paragary Owner randy@paragarys.com
Cafe Bernardo Davis cbd@paragarys.com
I was told by a friend that Bernardo was requiring proof of Davis residency for admission on Picnic Day. I can’t verify that, nor do I have any details as to hours etc., but if it’s true it would seem to be a mitigating factor in favor of their favor.
Make that “…a mitigating factor in their favor.”
“Opening at 6:00 am with beer specials just fuels the alcoholic frenzy that ruins picnic day. If the bars cannot be responsible then we should just cancel picnic day.”
As someone who has no economic interest in this, I do not believe that the irresponsibility of the few should shut down Picnic Day for all who enjoy it. Picnic Day is a 20 + year tradition for my family and is a celebration of what the University has contributed to us. Our Picnic Day starts with the parade which we follow onto campus. We then frequent many of the displays, orchids, insects, firehouse, and dog fields this year. We usually have a picnic on the grass, listen to bands and then slowly wend our way back across campus and through downtown. As of about three to four this year, downtown was an easy stroll with only a few people even approaching rowdy along our route.
I would hate to see all of the good aspects of showcasing the campus ended because people do not like the thought of subjecting their children to bad behavior. The answer to this problem is simple. Pick your specific events, go onto campus only, and avoid downtown altogether or skip picnic day completely if that is your preference. It’s not that difficult.
“… I do not believe that the irresponsibility of the few should shut down sugary drinks for all who enjoy it…” [substitution of bolded words for “picnic Day”, mine, not Tia’s]. Mirror time.
hpierce
No mirror needed to see that packaging something as a default selection ( not limiting the sale thereof ) is not the same as limiting the promotion of drunkenness with six am liquor deals.
Unless of course you are intending your argument as “smoke and mirrors”.
Our 2010 Letter to the Editor (Davis Enterprise) still relevant today.
I and my spouse have been around the same time as you (1972). I only differ slightly in my remembrance… Jake’s and L&M were in town, but 3 miles from campus. Believe the bars/restaurants went to ~ 1 AM. They were not open “early” [but, then again, we never sought ‘drinks’ before 6 PM]. Other than that, you pretty well captured what I remember.
Picnic Day – It is what it is, accept it, or end it.
My only defense for not having seen this for what it is, is having been distracted by an out of town trip over the weekend.
The headline summarizes the needlessly dichotomous thinking about this one day a year. Picnic Day is not just “one thing” to be accepted or rejected. It is a host of things, some appropriate for one age group, some appropriate for another, and some appropriate for no one.
For the five year old, it may be the magic of bubble or horses at the parade. For the eight year old it may be the chemistry show, or the bugs, or the fire trucks. For the 10 year old it may be the doxie derby or the agility tests. For parents, it may be the chance for some good outdoor fun time with their kids or another family. For out of town families, it may be a showcase not only of UCD but of the community where their kid is attending school.
Yes there are after hours parties that call out the police. But picnic day is not just one thing to be accepted or ended. It is a whole host of activities that changes over time as others have pointed out quite eloquently if more negatively than I would have characterized it. Why is either blind acceptance or flat out rejection the only two options we can imagine. This is an event that has evolved over time. Why cannot we not accept an evolutionary improvement as a third alternative ?
The way David framed this issue surprised me. The either/or — accept it or cancel it — seems to derive solely from his distaste for increased law enforcement. Public intoxication is more than just a nuisance issue. In fact, binge drinking by young adults is a clear public health issue as well as a public safety issue.
The key issue is that the steps that were being taken by the community are falling by the wayside. Evidently nobody is leading on this issue any more, perhaps because we haven’t had any more injuries or fatalities or mini-riots. Is that what needs to happen before some council members or downtown merchant associations will step up?
Over the years I’ve been in Davis since 1974, listening to public comments from my customers on the days before and after Picnic Day, opinion has become overwhelmingly negative. I don’t think it needs to be cancelled, but I certainly don’t agree with the ‘accept it or cancel it’ dichotomy.
You and Tia raise a good point. Obviously I was responding to the Chief’s comments as well as the Enterprise’s. If the discussion goes in the direction that you two have taken, then I am fine with that. If however, we focus on more enforcement, I’m reluctant.
I agree with Tia, that this is an event to showcase the best of UC Davis. Different ages experience different things.
But I think that it is not supposed to be an adult party, either. The only one I attended as a staff member was a while back, but everyone on campus seemed to have a drink in their hand, and we were working! Keep all the good, and if the town has go dry for a few days, then so be it?
I used to work with a guy (UCD ALum) who never drank at the bars around town… During his days there, He would down a bottle of something then drive to the bar! He said drinks were too expensive. By the time the booze hit, he was at the bar..
The owner of the Davis Grad informs me that they opened the grad for a big soccer match at 9:30 on Saturday but did not sell alcohol until sometime after 10:30 (at half time). They followed the covenant other than serving a few minutes early for the soccer fans. Small crowd at noon- 15 to 20 people. He said they were busy for the Warriors game, but other than that it was a usual Saturday and little public intoxication that they saw.
I was also told that Rochelle Swanson no longer has ownership interests in the Grad or Our House.
Thank you for the answer to my question that did not include extraneous and/or personal information that I didn’t think we needed.
Yeah, no kidding! That earlier post made the hair on my arm stand up.
I refuse to give money to any of the businesses that convert to night clubs at night. They can all go F— themselves. These businesses brought in sub-woofers about eight years ago, it has become difficult to sleep before 2:00am since then even though I am almost 1/4-mile from the nearest club.
When they started at “Pasta?”, I called every week for a year to have them stopped via the noise ordinance, one officer (after a year of the cops flushing my requests without explanation) told me they couldn’t site the night clubs because the deep bass that shakes structures wasn’t detectable on their sound meters at that distance. Also, when I called the City, I was told it was illegal for businesses to operate as night clubs in the City of Davis. If this is true, it sure as hell isn’t enforced.
Cancel Picnic Day? Right . . . I cancelled it years ago by simply making sure I am never in town on that day.
What I can’t avoid is Davis every Thursday night, and your above comment is much more applicable to “Little Friday” in downtown Davis. The scene started bad and has grown increasingly worse. It spills over into adjacent neighborhoods with noise (sub-woofers from restaurants-turned-money-machine-night-clubs for three hours), drunk drivers (people have learned to park in adjacent neighborhoods and walk to clubs so they can drive away afterward undetected by the cops), and drunk behavior (passing through neighborhoods on foot from downtown yelling, breaking things, tipping garbage cans as little Friday is our garbage night). If anything should be “cancelled”, it’s “Little Friday”.
Several weeks ago around 1:00am on a Thursday night (Little Friday) I found a young couple who’d just met at the bars downtown fornicating in the alleyway behind my house, not deterred by the cold weather, nor by the hard, broken pavement, nor even pausing when a car shined its lights on them. How do I know they just met? When the guy finished her off and was putting on his pants, he said to the young woman: “Welcome to Davis!”.