Last year, the magical leprechaun enchanted UD with a friendly and fun atmosphere for all to enjoy. The letters home informed families of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic events.
Housing and Residence Life provided free food and drinks throughout the green-stained day, hoping to get some sort of nutrition into the stomachs of the blurry-eyed students. The clean-up crews swept up the remaining debris after everyone passed out at 9 p.m.
Let us now reflect on St. Patty’s Day 2013.
Needless to say, it escalated quickly. A 40 oz. bottle flew in the night with the intensity of Skrillex dropping the beat. Students took that act of idiocy and continued the trend. Glass bottles flew from lawns and sidewalks in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day.
Correct me if I am wrong, reader, but no reasonable and/or justifiable actions take place at 4 a.m. with half the student body boozed up with the entire Sunoco and UDF beer cabinet. As the windshields broke and containers littered the streets, UD police along with several surrounding counties’ departments put on the riot gear, broke out the paddy wagons, and took to the streets.
By this point, we have all heard of the professionalism (or lack thereof) displayed by law enforcement during the festivities. Shields, baseball bats and police batons seemed like pixie sticks and gumdrops until the president of the university got shoved back into a crowd. Police screamed at individuals innocently standing on their porches to get back into the houses.
St. Patty’s Day was unequivocally shut down by 8 a.m., with Lowes and Kiefaber monitored by the adrenaline-fueled men and women of UDPD. Yes, law enforcement was called to ensure the safety of students and non-students alike; however, how the police laid down the law did not directly relate to the reason for their being called.
Contrary to what administration expected, UD was not ready for the intensity with which law enforcement handled the day. The riot police response blew the entire situation out of hand.
By no means am I saying the students are in the clear. As a community, we acted poorly and did not live up to the joyousness of years past. We screwed ourselves over and ended the day early.
At UD, we have four days to dress in Ireland’s national colors and attempt to party like that ginger on the box of “Lucky Charms.”
Let us learn from the mistakes made this year, and better our partying for 2014. I hate to sound like your mother, but party hard and party responsibly. As we now know, it isn’t fun when the riot van drives into the Ghetto.
On a brighter note, Little Sibs weekend starts quite shortly. Pick yourself up, dust the glass off your shoulder and buy your drink of choice. Show these people how UD properly rages.
Cheers, fellow Flyers.
