We lived in the ‘happiest place in America’ for 16 years. Then our new frat house neighbors terrorized us
The quaint Californian town Oprah, once called “the happiest place in America,” is plagued by a flood of feral college students determined to cause a bloodbath in the neighborhood.
Located on the coast about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, scenic San Luis Obispo is known in part as the home of California Polytechnic State University.
But the peaceful coexistence between students and residents has degenerated into disputes over noise, vandalism and shocking harassment caught on camera.
Kathie and Steve Walker, who have lived with their children in the city’s picturesque Alta Vista neighborhood for 16 years, say their lives have been ruined by rowdy students who have occupied dozens of houses on their once peaceful street.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” stay-at-home mum Kathie, 61, told DailyMail.com. “I love our city, but it has been ruined by the fraternities that have taken over the area.
“They have things called ‘dayges’: a daytime rager.” Hundreds of people fill the backyards, bringing slides, DJs and porta-potties. These things last for several hours well into the night, about four days a week.”
The longtime resident compared her situation to Neighbors, a 2014 comedy starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron that centers on a married couple’s struggle against a brotherhood after they move in next door.
“It’s like that, but with steroids,” she said.
The quaint California town Oprah, once called “America’s happiest place,” is plagued by a flood of feral college students determined to cause a bloodbath in the neighborhood. (Image: A neighborhood student party on ‘St. Fratty’s Day’ in March 2024)
Kathie and Steve Walker, who have lived with their children in the city’s picturesque Alta Vista neighborhood for 16 years, say their lives have been ruined by rowdy students who have occupied dozens of houses on their once peaceful street.
Scenic San Luis Obispo is located on the California coast, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It has recently been overrun by fraternities
Kathie said Cal Poly students pack the small streets of Alta Vista, with boomboxes blasting loud music throughout the valley, often until about 4 a.m.
She said the worst students come from Delta Epsilon, Kappa Sigma and Phi Sigma Kappa.
Alarming videos posted online by frat members illustrate her point, showing thousands of students swarming multiple backyards while stomping on rooftops and drinking beer.
Other clips show students rushing through hallways where walls are badly damaged, with large chunks of drywall scattered across the floors.
Meanwhile, beautiful green rolling hills and sandy beaches, punctuated by towering peaks like Cerro San Luis Obispo mountain, frame the carnage.
Kathie is a fourth-generation resident of the city and a graduate of Cal Poly herself. She said that while she respects students’ privilege to party, the low density in her neighborhood does not allow for fraternity houses.
Additionally, Kathie said she has experienced cyberstalking and shocking targeted harassment from some students, as captured on camera.
Security footage taken from the front of their home in June 2024 shows two partygoers shouting obscenities at Kathie after she walked out of her house to see what was causing the noise in the middle of the night.
Kathie and Steve Walker live in the once peaceful neighborhood with their four children
Steve Walker is an EMS pilot and he often has to call in sick to work after being kept up all night by the out-of-control frat boys. He met his wife Kathie when they were in flight school
After a brief pause, you heard a frat boy yelling towards the house, “Hey, Kathie Walker, come on!”
“F–k you, Kathie Walker,” said another. “Hey, if your name is Kathie Walker. You’re a b—h. Suck my d—, b—h… Big-t—ied, gray-haired s—t. Kill yourself.”
The couple said they often face this type of harassment and have been told multiple times that they “don’t belong” in the neighborhood they’ve called home for the past 16 years.
Pictured: SLO Police Chief Rick Scott
‘I’m tired a lot and it’s stressful. It worries me when they post my name on social media and tell people to come to my house. That was scary,” Kathie told DailyMail.com.
The massacre also threatens the Walkers’ livelihood. “My husband is an EMS helicopter pilot. He has to fly around a medical team and patients,” Kathie said.
“If he can’t rest because of the parties he has to call in sick, and that affects our income,” Kathie added.
The San Luis Obispo resident said student activities have deteriorated in recent years, partly due to the inaction of officials, including Police Chief Rick Scott, who began his term in 2021.
“He embraces the zero-harm policing method. They don’t enforce the ordinances that much,” Kathie said, adding that Scott even told a resident that “someone would have to die” before taking action against the fraternities.
The Walker family used to enjoy a peaceful existence in San Luis Obispo, California
Pictured: Student graffiti in San Luis Obispo is just a small symptom of the city’s student problem
Meanwhile, beautiful green rolling hills and sandy beaches, punctuated by towering peaks like Cerro San Luis Obispo mountain, frame the carnage.
Frat ragers often take place in multiple houses, meaning students take to the streets loudly all night long, often until 4 a.m., in the once peaceful neighborhood
“The police just dismiss them (the student parties) as if they are not happening,” she added.
“My husband is also an army veteran who trained in Sandhurst and Zimbabwe. He compares the lack of action by the police with the authorities in Zimbabwe.’
DailyMail.com has contacted the Chief’s office for comment.
In the meantime, the city and university authorities appear to be passing the buck. “The city council ignored me,” Kathie said. “They blame Cal Poly, but Cal Poly says it’s the city’s responsibility.”
Kathie said the fraternity’s chaos started a decade ago, and it has gotten so bad that many longtime residents have felt forced to leave their homes.
“The frats took over the neighborhood in 2015,” she told DailyMail.com. ‘On “St. Fratty’s Day” in March, so many people piled onto a roof that it collapsed.
‘There were three students in the city then, now there are sixty factions.
‘People have moved. One of the city council members who was once mayor of the city moved away because of the frats.
Crazy videos captured on security cameras show the fraternity massacre in SLO, California
Frat Ragers go all night several days a week, causing tension with families in SLO
Kathie said their small town was flooded with 7,000 students because of St. Fratty’s Day.
‘She has lived in the country for forty years. Last year her tenants were terrified because there were a hundred people on the roof and they were afraid it would collapse.
“The owner went to the police chief last month and said I’m very concerned about St. Fratty’s Day.
“He told her that either someone has to die or there has to be major property damage before anything happens. The forty-year-old resident is now being sold.’
Kathie said 2,000 people left their city of about 47,000 for “St. Fratty’s Day” in March 2022.
This number rose to 7,000 last year, when the parties got so out of hand that students flattened power lines and collapsed a sewer in a family home.
The Walkers are preparing for an outpouring of about 10,000 students and sororities this year. “It makes me anxious,” Kathie said.
SLO Code Enforcement recently investigated 17 locations where fraternities operate in quiet zones designated for single-family homes and two of them were found to be in violation, city officials told the San Luis Obispo Grandstand.
“To my knowledge, we have issued one citation in the last year regarding illegal fraternities,” Interim Deputy Building Official John Mezzapesa told The Tribune.
San Luis Obispo police told The Tribune they receive an average of about two complaints per weekend about the fraternities.