Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day

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Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day at C.O. Daniels in 2005. Photo courtesy of Kurt Groetsch.
Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day at C.O. Daniels in 2005. Photo courtesy of Kurt Groetsch.

Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day, or commonly known as Unofficial, is a local event on the Urbana-Champaign campus, which aims to replace the celebration of the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday with excessive drinking of alcohol.

Champaign bar owner Scott Cochrane created the event to increase business because the week of spring break on the academic calendar usually includes Saint Patrick's Day, which leads students to celebrate away from the campus.

The event is celebrated usually the weekend before the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday. Bars might open as early as 7 a.m., and students wear T-shirts with slogans such as "Drink 'til you're Irish" or "Irish I were drunk." One T-shirt slogan read: "Tap the keg, forget the class... it's Unofficial, so fill my glass!"

Cochrane planned to extend the event to two days in 2008. Cochrane owns The Clybourne, Firehaus and C.O. Daniels.

[edit] Arrests and citations

C.O. Daniels closed down mid-afternoon during the event in 2008.

Urbana and Champaign police ticketed 176 during the event in 2007: 119 for underage drinking, 22 for carrying open alcohol, seven for fighting, six for battery and five for resisting arrest. Most alcohol fines were $290; estimated fines from all violators totaled $44,000.

More than 2/3 of those arrested or ticketed in 2007 were students at different universities, such as:

Police ticketed 103 in 2006.

Female graduate student Caroline Yoon, 22, was killed when she fell off an accelerating motorcycle at Healey and Wright Streets dring Unofficial St. Patrick's Day in 2006.

[edit] University and cities response

Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart issued an emergency order restricting alcohol sales in Campustown in 2008 from February 29 to March 1. Schweighart is also the Champaign liquor commissioner, who has the power to close campus bars if necessary. Some of the orders provisions include:

  • Restaurants and bars can't serve alcohol until 11 a.m.
  • Pitchers of beer and shots of hard liqour are prohibited
  • All drinks must be served in paper or plastic cups
  • Residences are limited to one keg
  • Those purchasing a keg, seven cases of beer or 24 or more one-liter bottles of hard liqour must complete an "adult responsibility form," which indicates the address of where the alochol is to be served

Chancellor Richard Herman sent a letter to the parents of students, asking them to encourage their children to "act in their best interests and the best interests of the University of Illinois" in February, 2008. Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing and Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighardt signed the letter. Herman attended the Champaign City Council meeting February 26, 2008, to urge members to take a stronger stance against bar owners who promoted the holiday.

The housing department issued a no-guest policy to undergraduate residents during the event in 2008. People without an i-card were asked to leave.

Professor of law Francis Boyle filed a complaint with the Illinois Liquor Control Commission in 2008 asking state officials to suspend and revoke Cochrane's liquor licenses. The commission only has authority to do so with clear evidence of wrongdoing and a court hearing.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs sent a letter to the Greek Council in 2008 to promote responsible behavior during the event. The office forbade social events at the same time in 2007, but allowed some events in 2008.

[edit] Links

Retrieved from "http://www.uofiwiki.org/wiki/Unofficial_Saint_Patrick%27s_Day"
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