Aspen in the 80s, Three Years Later

Just beyond the cops arguing with disheveled frat boys, under a ripped plastic sheet and through the waft of cigarette smoke lies what many Santa Clara students call the best darty of the year: “Aspen in the 80s.” Darties (“day” + “parties”) occur on Saturday afternoons scattered throughout the school year in various fraternity backyards. Despite a low-temperature warning (which for California is anything in the low 50s), the threat of obtaining a Minor in Possession from looming cops, freshmen throwing up on each other and a 5 P.M. hangover, students flocked to Aspen in the 80s. The environment quickly turned stifling as hundreds of partygoers shoved their way in towards the free alcohol.

Students crowd a fraternity backyard at the now-infamous “Aspen in the 80s” party. Source: Taylor Cook

Flashback to January of 2021. COVID-19 still had the city of Santa Clara under a stay-at-home order. It had been 10 months since the lockdown began, and students near campus were itching for social interaction with their peers. Suddenly, off-campus student houses started to throw small gatherings, which eventually grew to mid-sized parties.

A sentiment of unrest festered among students who were still dutifully following isolation protocols and COVID-19 regulations. A vigilante group formed to seek justice against what they saw as careless peers. Proudly donning the image of Remy from “Ratatouille” pointing a gun at the camera, the Instagram account @snitchscu began collecting images of students at parties and submitting them with names to the school administration.

“See a party? The school and police not doing enough for you? Snitch SCU to the rescue!” read a @snitchscu post from Jan. 24, 2021. “We’ll be watching the google form in the bio for any parties you’d like to report, or if you want to let us know some names of attendees, names of party planners, or just any relevant information you can reach us at snitchscu@gmail.com. Happy snitching, wear a mask, and STAY THE FUCK HOME.”

Controversy struck when an off-campus fraternity decided to throw the now-infamous “Aspen in the 80s”-themed darty. Snitch SCU got hold of photos from a neighbor, revealing a backyard full of unmasked students. Outraged, Snitch SCU called for names and photos of people who attended the party to forward to the university administration. Friends turned on friends and many students faced consequences including monetary fines or academic probation for a year.

“It was the worst decision I've ever made in my life. I was there for 10 minutes, got one photo and then [Santa Clara] fined me $250,” an anonymous now-senior student said.

“I think you need to evaluate like, okay, like, I want a party. And people are dying. I think if you're going with just college students, it's probably fine,” said a junior who wanted to remain unnamed. “If you're going to party with the elderly, maybe do not do that.”

“It was a problem having parties during COVID. Obviously, they definitely shouldn't have been partying, but what did the city and school expect?” junior Josh Moses said. “There are kids looking to drink by any means possible. Of course, they’re going to drink.”

“I was here but I didn’t go because I was afraid of Snitch SCU, and I didn’t want to get in trouble,” senior Ellie Henrich said.

“My former freshman year roommate got a notice from the school because Snitch SCU ratted her out so she was on temporary academic probation from the school,” senior Natassja Chaabra said. “Personally, I got COVID.”