Dumping Grounds

Let me begin by saying thank you to the Santa Barbara Independent for the recent coverage of the tent city situation in the Isla Vista parks. While informative, it missed a few aspects that should be brought up.

The biggest question to ask is why has this come to be in I.V.? As a 33-year resident of Isla Vista, I may have some views that others outside the community don’t see.

I ride my bike to work quite regularly, usually leaving around 9 a.m., on a route that takes me up Embarcadero Del Mar to El Colegio. That’s when I see the budding tent city residents marching down the street toward Anisq Oyo Park with their belongings, ready to stake a claim. Where are they coming from? I get my answer when I get to the bus stop on El Colegio, I see them, two or three at a time, stepping off the MTD bus from Santa Barbara.