This year’s St. Paddy’s Day a relative success

By: Connor Mabon, Opinions Editor

The sun always seems to shine on St. Patrick’s Day, for the good ones at least.

If you remember last year’s celebration it was marked by overcast skies and the flashing lights of squad cars from 12 different police departments responding to what they dubbed riot-like behavior.

In 2014, it was different. Despite the minor incidents scattered about the day, this year’s St. Patrick’s Day was more or less a successful celebration for Ireland’s patron saint.

As expected, students creatively donned their vibrant green outfits and pretty much did what they do every weekend when the sun is proudly making its presence known, we drink.

The heaviest concentration of students was, as usual, on Lowes St. with other parties distributed throughout campus, but I failed to see what the university constitutes as a “large gathering.”

It seemed like the cops were overly anxious to break up any grouping of people exceeding 10 members. Their behavior reflected the stringent new policy in order to fulfill the expectations of the administration. Their goal was to control the crowd, and some may feel it was excessive. I personally lean toward the latter.

On the contrary, I do have to offer some credit to the campus police because they did a good job at maintaining relative order in the neighborhoods and keeping the peace amongst students. Those who truly acted way out of line were cited or booked downtown, and rightfully so. I consider these the bad apples that ruin the barrel, or in this case our student neighborhood.

Those who make the mistakes on a holiday like St. Patrick’s Day and get in trouble can blame their irresponsible consumption of alcohol. If anything, that’s what UD’s aggressive campaign should have focused on the most.

Overall, though, the actions of the Flyer community should demonstrate to the administration that we are indeed a responsible student body. We know how to have fun without causing major disruptions to the natural order of community happenings.

The pre-St. Patrick’s Day campaign could have very well helped to ensure this year’s success, but I think the majority of the credit should be reserved for the student body.

I believe it’s a shared sentiment amongst the many fellow Flyers that this St. Patrick’s Day celebration was much more controlled and reserved compared to the other ones. Yet, even with front yards in the Ghetto spilling over with enthusiastic students there was something in the air that weighed the traditional excitement down quite a bit.

I couldn’t tell if this was because of the new policy or the unnerving presence of police, but either way this year’s celebration felt different. I think it’s safe to say, though, that no matter what happens, UD students will always find a way to enjoy themselves on St. Patrick’s Day.

Let’s hope the sun keeps shining on this beloved holiday tradition.