Numbers provided by the Tybee Island Police Department and Tybee Island City Hall. Orange Crush started more than a decade ago. But what was once a university-sanctioned party has since taken on a life of its own. Young people flock from hours away to walk the beach, cruise the strip and have a good time. Many residents and businesses on the mostly white island don't like it.
Students say they're just blowing off steam and spending money like other tourists.
Police, meanwhile, are stuck in the middle, trying to control the thousands of vehicles that snake toward the island community for two days. In The Sun Tybee likes a good time. Summer sun brings people out by the thousands each weekend and everybody gets soaked at the annual beach bums parade. But residents like Michael Hosti see Orange Crush differently than other holidays. This year, Hosti is hiring two security guards to police his property on Saturday because he only wants customers in the small lot.