Welcome to Isla Vista: A Citizen's History
How is Isla Vista to be remembered by the literally hundreds of
thousands of people who have lived there and to be viewed by the
hundreds of thousands to come?
It is definitely a unique place, but is it something special?
I’ve always thought so. What follows are some of my recollections
of the events and institutions that tell the story of the Isla
Vista I came to know.
This is not the only viewpoint on Isla Vista but it is an honest
portrayal of the 20 years I spent there (1972-92) as a community
activist during a period many people call the best of times. Despite
the heartbreak of failed campaigns, the brightness of the vision
remains of a vital, clean-energy town based on mutual respect
among its citizenry and run electorally by a perpetually youthful
majority of the brightest young people in the state.
Today, Isla Vista drifts in the chaos of ineffective rule by
the County and University – like an Iraq with a minimal
body count.
This story was first self-published on newsprint in 1990 as a
64-page booklet and was banned at the UCSB Bookstore. It was launched
April 26, 2002 as a web site, with Genesis Augustine Lodise as
the principle webmaster. It still averages over 600
hits/day. Many photographs
and charts have been added to this version and there have been
some minor corrections in text.
This story is dedicated to all of those who have fallen under
the spell of The Isla Vista Adventure.
Updated October 2006
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