My first year at Cal State East Bay I heard it before I knew what was happening: the swell of excited voices just outside my window, accompanied by the heavy bass thump of A$AP Ferg’s “Shaba.”

Since I moved into the dorms at Cal State East Bay in Fall 2013, I always looked forward to the moment I could leave my room and meet up with a few hundred other students outside the Dining Commons for the Annual Block Party, hosted by the Resident Housing Association. Tired from the long drive from Southern California, the Annual Block Party was a welcome reprieve for new students like me, and a great way to kick off the year with new friends, classmates, and fellow residents.

Move-in day at Pioneer Heights for Fall 2015 was not met with the same gusto. The Annual Block Party was cancelled for the first time in five years. The first Block Party was held in 2009 and attendance averages 500 to 1000 students per year.

Current housing residents and students interviewed for this story say a physical altercation occurred between two non-students at the end of last year’s event and may have been a factor in canceling this year’s function. Kenrick Ali, associate director of Residence Life at Lassen Hall, confirmed that incidents in the past four years included physical altercations and drug and alcohol violations which required a response from University Police and Housing staff members.

“Unfortunately, these incidents negatively impacted the campus community and the start of a new academic year.” Hoping to start the year on a more positive note, RHA decided to redefine Pioneer Heights Welcome Week to exclude the Annual Block Party.

The Annual Block Party is not the first social function cancelled within the last three years at CSUEB. Local rapper and former student IAMSU! was scheduled to perform at the 2013 Homecoming Dance, but the performance was abruptly cut short and cancelled after attendees rushed the entrance doors.

Bay Fest, a campus concert festival open to the community, was supposed to feature Too Short, YG and HBK in 2012 but was cancelled due to “logistical concerns,” according to a public written statement from Associated Students Inc.

Theo Folorunso, a recent graduate also known as DJ Slay, is keenly aware of the decline of social events on campus. Folorunso has been a DJ for five years in the East Bay and has worked past campus events, including the Block Party. “Social functions have drastically gone down,” Folorunso said.

Folorunso was scheduled to DJ this year’s Annual Block Party, but found out via email from ASI Special Events Coordinator Marc Cochran that the Block Party was cancelled.

Two weeks before school started, Theo and his friends Tanee Asberry, Khalil Corbin, Austin Brown and Josiah Riley formed SKWAD, an East Bay party-planning group. SKWAD decided to throw the Pajama Jam in place of the Block Party. The pajama party was held at Russell City Grill and Sports Bar in Hayward to provide easier access for East Bay students.

“We all plan together. We all market together,” Folorunso said. “We basically all play the same role.”

The day of the party, a majority of students on campus seemed to be making plans to attend. It couldn’t be missed. As I slipped beneath the arm of the security guard, camera in hand, I was met with a room full of students from CSUEB clad in their pajamas. The pulsation of music and flurry of activity with dozens of people still outside waiting to get in was very familiar.

“We realized this was something bigger than us which is why we are going to throw a Halloween party,” Folorunso said.

The Halloween party is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 30 on Cal State East Bay’s campus. SKWAD is in contact with University Campus Police to discuss the possibility of using the Multi Purpose Room.