The police checkpoints and traffic cones on Tybee have come down, and while it may take a bit longer to clean up the beach and the island’s back streets, the weekend that has become a bane to many local officials — Orange Crush — is now history.
Local, state, and federal officials were on alert for any trouble stemming from the long-running rite of spring for students and alumni of historically Black colleges and universities. Initial reports indicate that the weekend on Tybee passed largely peacefully.
Due to the unusual number of law enforcement agencies involved in the event, the tally of arrests made on Tybee over the weekend, as well as citations issued, was still being compiled on Monday, Tybee Island Mayor Brian West told The Current.
But absent any startling numbers, what is most likely to endure is the political symbolism that the event represents, after the successful legislative maneuvering by municipal officials and state lawmakers this year. A new law now casts doubt on the future of the event, especially on Tybee, where it was born more than four decades ago as a gathering for Savannah State University students and alumni.
Local lawmakers moved to curtail the event following the monumental traffic jams and management disarray of 2023 that came after years of organizational chaos and criticism about the annual event.
Unable to legally ban Orange Crush from Tybee outright — the beach is public — local officials and state lawmakers cobbled together legislation for this year’s session of the Georgia General Assembly. The law subjects organizers of unpermitted events associated with Orange Crush — a loosely organized and highly decentralized event to begin with — subject to lawsuits to recoup costs related to security, traffic control, and medical and sanitation services.
As the bill made its way through the legislature, West insisted that the bill had been written to apply to festivals throughout Georgia. So did state Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah), who co-sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) who along with Reps. Ron Stephens and Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon), sponsored it in the House.
The measure easily won approval, and Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law earlier this month.
As Orange Crush got under way in Tybee on Friday, Sen. Derek Mallow (D-Savannah), a co-sponsor along with Watson of the “abatement of nuisances” bill, told Georgia Public Broadcasting that he had reassured other Democratic lawmakers that forcing Orange Crush out of Tybee was not its aim.
“Listen, this bill is not designed to stop Orange Crush,” he recalled telling Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) and state Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) before the floor vote on the bill.
Some local lawmakers raised questions about the motivations of some of the sponsors.
Chester Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Commission, told The Current that the legislation’s target was Orange Crush. West himself said, “My goal is to stop that activity from happening here. This is a vacation destination for families.”
It’s too early to know whether — or how soon — the City of Tybee Island or any other nearby municipality will file lawsuits against organizers of unpermitted, Orange Crush-related, events.