Calif. university alarmed over collapse at roof party
Officials at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo are investigating a pre-St. Patrick's Day party that ended when a roof collapsed. This comes after a recent crackdown on wild parties at the school.
It was only 6 a.m., but thousands of students were already partying, packed onto roofs when all of a sudden, a collapse. Photos taken afterward show what's left of the garage where dozens of students had gathered on the roof. Among them were Ashley Vong and Hayley Westphal.
"I started hearing cracking noises and then the roof was gone," said Vong.
"You had about three seconds of falling and then people were just on top of us," said Westphal.
At least eight students were injured.
After scenes like this were posted on social media, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a statement: "This event raises significant concern about the judgment exercised by both the party organizers and attendees."
In January, the university placed all fraternities and sororities on "social probation," banning all parties, after reports of sexual assaults and extreme intoxication of underage students.
The university and police are now investigating if any fraternity was involved in planning the event, which students refer to as "St. Fratty's Day."
"I think when you have that many kids going to a party, you kinda know what can happen," said Vong.
But no one expected what did happen.
"Hard lesson learned, yeah," said Vong. "Definitely," agreed Westphal. "Never again."