College Park, the university section of the Carolina Cup, may have had music loud enough that nobody even noticed the national anthem had come and gone. But it was still a shadow of its former self.
A slightly off-the-track aspect of the annual horse race, College Park was best known for its big university parties. Students came from as far as Florida to take part in this aspect of Greek life — dressing up, hanging out with friends and feeling good about yourself. It acts as an escape from the impending end of the spring semester.
This year, however, was the last chance students had to experience it. In February, race organizers announced that 2018 would be the last year of College Park. While to some the Carolina Cup is known for its fun, relaxing atmosphere, the college student presence is more known for overly drunk and sometimes underage students being escorted away by the authorities.
Yet relaxing in the sun at a tent rented by USC's Delta Upsilon fraternity, the Cup appears to only be the former. There was no slamming down shots or shotgunning beers. Instead, members were firing up the grill while enjoying their drinks with complementary cigars. The fraternity even had a bus to shuttle everyone the half hour to and from Columbia so no one had to drive. Looking beyond the tent, however, there were still signs of the drunken stigma.
There were only about 30 tents rented in College Park this year, and Delta Upsilon was the only USC organization with its own tent. Just a few years ago, the Park filled up with 100 tents. With USC one of the closest schools to the Cup, a decline in USC students has contributed to the falling attendance as a whole.
“I knew it was the last year, but I definitely wasn't expecting this,” said Johnny Steverson, a fourth-year accounting student. “This is very bare ... just not as lively as it was last year.”
The main suspicion for the dwindling turnout at the Cup is not any loss in hype. Students point to an overly oppressive police presence as responsible for the drop in popularity. Kevin Sheehan, a fourth-year accounting student, has been coming to the Carolina Cup for three years and says there used to be four times the amount of students as there were this year.
Yet even as participation has decreased, the amount of police presence has stayed the same. That presence included at least six cities this year from Kershaw all the way to Irmo, along with members of USC police as well.
“They really ruined a good thing,” says Sheehan. “Whoever’s in charge of it, they just over-policed it.”
While College Park is coming to an end, organizers will just be replacing the section with different branding. And policing aside, members of Delta Upsilon were determined to see their Carolina Cup experience through to the end and not let what may feel like a criticizing eye ruin a springtime party.