The party is over. At least that’s the general sentiment of San Francisco city officials and residents of the Castro District, home of the city’s annual Halloween Party that traditionally draws crowds exceeding 100,000 people. This year, Halloween revelers in San Francisco will have to party elsewhere.

The decision by the city to cancel the Halloween celebration has met with both approval and scorn by community members and former attendees.

In years past, the party was a common Halloween destination for Stanford students. In 2003, the Toyon Eating Clubs, senior and junior classes and several Greek organizations chartered buses to the Castro for the event. Several hundred students made treks on their own as well.

Students who have attended the party in the past bemoaned the decision to cancel the event.

“The first time I went to the Castro party was in my freshman year at Stanford,” said Aditya Singh ‘07. “From a tradition standpoint, the experience was amazing. It was wonderful to see all the different costumes and people enjoying themselves. There were several concerts and bands playing — it truly was a highlight of my freshman year.”

City leaders originally hoped to offer an alternative event to the Castro celebration, but plans to hold another event on the Waterfront or in AT&T Park’s parking lot fell through. City officials are now encouraging people to stay home for Halloween, saying that there is “no reason to come.”

David Perry, a San Francisco public relations consultant overseeing the campaign for the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, is running a $40,000 city-funded public relations campaign to tell people that this year, “the Castro is not where it’s happening.” The “Home for Halloween” campaign has also launched a Web site — www.homeforhalloween.com — to inform people about alternative Halloween events in the Bay Area.

Some students think crowds may not be deterred.

“I really agree with the premise of the campaign — it’s a good idea,” said Haley Berka ‘10. “But honestly, I think people will continue to go to the Castro. It is a very culturally San Francisco event, and it is hard to change a tradition.”

The Halloween Party started in the 1950s as a costume party for children, and steadily grew from a party for the city’s gay community and their families into an attraction for people from all over the Bay Area. Over the years, moving the famed Castro party has been subject to annual discussion as violence has increasingly defined the event. Drawing large and wild, inebriated crowds, the party has been marred by violence and hate-speech against the gay community, culminating in the stabbing of four revelers in 2002. The last straw came last year when a gunman opened fire and shot nine people, including innocent bystanders.

“A lot of people say to me this sounds like a tough-love message,” Perry said. “I have no problem with that. If there’s something I can do to keep my community safe, I’ll do it.”

Perry has been a Castro resident for the last 20 years. He attended the Castro Halloween party regularly until seven years ago when he stopped going.

“I love the Castro,” he said. “But the tipping point was reached for me and others in the community with the shootings last year. It is no longer safe. All I can say is that without exception, I don’t know of any resident who wants the party to continue.”

To aid in the effort to keep the Castro safe, 17 businesses, restaurants, bars and clubs in the Castro agreed to close for Halloween night. Jerry Cooper, manager of the winebar Swirl on Castro, said he agrees with the mission and objectives of the “Home on Halloween” campaign and his doors will be closed on Oct. 31.

“Since I’ve been here for the past two years, we have not sold alcohol on Halloween,” Cooper said. “The party has outgrown the Castro. I’m in full support of ‘Home for Halloween.’”

There will be an aggressive “no tolerance” policy in the Castro on Halloween this year with a significant increase in police presence. Additionally, there will be no parking allowed on Market and Castro streets and the San Francisco Municipal Railway, which has traditionally brought thousands of revelers into the Castro, will close the Church and Castro subway stations at 8:30 p.m. The California Highway Patrol will perform alcohol checks for motorists who drive into the neighborhood, and the Taxi Commission will instruct drivers to encourage passengers not to go to the Castro and not to pick people up there.

While some students were disappointed in the party’s cancellation, others supported the “Home for Halloween” campaign.

“I personally wouldn’t go,” said Vern Taylor ‘07, STEP ‘08. “It’s dangerous and I think it is a good decision to cancel the party. But at the same time, it doesn’t really solve the problem.”

Singh agreed that the violence was cause for worry.

“The shootings do raise security concerns, but I hope the party is able to open up again. It is a very distinctive San Francisco event,” he said. “It is an experience most students should have before they graduate.”

Perry is hopeful, though, that his efforts will not go to waste.

“Enough is enough. Nine people were shot in my home,” he said. “A party that was once ours has become an excuse for violence and bigotry, so much so that we do not even feel safe anymore. We are staying home for Halloween, and we want others to as well.”