Disorder at Deltopia as college students remove clothing, leading to over 60 arrests by Santa Barbara police

Over the weekend, in Isla Vista, thousands of college students and young individuals partook in the annual Deltopia celebration, further solidifying The University of California, Santa Barbara’s reputation as a ‘party school’.

A litany of alleged offenses and medical emergencies quickly ensued – with The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office so far reporting 60 arrests.

That’s just since Deltopia started on Saturday, where, by noon, 19 revelers were said to be receiving treatment for various medical emergencies.

The arrests, meanwhile, for the most part stemmed from violations pertaining to drinking, large gatherings, and weapons.

This reputation was reinforced when law enforcement officers shared a photo of a seized handgun on the sheriff’s official X account, following the arrest of an individual who was on his way to the celebration.

The unnamed suspect was subsequently cuffed on charges of possessing a loaded firearm, just before 11am.

Festivities went on to resume Sunday as if nothing ever happened, with scantily clad students leading the charge.

Deltopia, a notorious city-wide festivity, is a yearly event that commemorates the commencement of UC Santa Barbara’s spring semester and has historically led to disturbances.

Seemingly in anticipation of such behavior, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office issued real-time updates about the festival – and how it was handling more rowdy participants on Saturday. 

‘First two arrests of the day at 9:20am for obstruction and contributing alcohol to a minor,’ the account wrote in its first arrest rundown, doing so over a snap of two cuffed suspects.

‘We would like to encourage folks to stay safe and follow the law,’ the office went on.

‘At 10:54 am, a suspect who was on his way to Deltopia was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm,’ it added.

A little over an hour later, the office revealed: ’19 patients were treated for medical emergencies.’

Later on, still hours from sundown, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Public Information Officer wrote how that had been ‘over 60 arrests [as of] 3:30 pm on Saturday.

Violations included being drunk in public, obstruction, festival ordinance, and the one weapons violation, officers noted.

The latter, they specified, stemmed from a gun that had been loaded at the time of the suspect’s arrest.

Meanwhile, Deltopia weekend – as it’s often stylized – is only about two-thirds finished, with statistics surrounding Sunday’s festivities still set to be released.

As it stands, this year’s festivities already appears historic when it comes to crimes, with last year’s version only seeing 32 participants arrested – all for relatively minor misdemeanors.

That said, some 256 citations were also issued – many for public urination and other unseemly violations.

Another arrest took place on Friday, cops said – with that suspect cuffed for public intoxication and obstruction. 

To curb overcrowding and unauthorized access, UCSB’s Transportation and Parking Services will prohibit overnight visitor parking until Monday, after the festival’s conclusion.