The city of Urbana is responding to Unofficial activities as it anticipates a large number of students will participate in the festivities. The community is also emphasizing a commitment to safety for residents and students, though officials say it does not require as much attention as other parts of campus.

Mike Bily, police chief for the Urbana Police Department, said the department will work in tandem with University police and Champaign police to ensure the safety of the community. The Urbana police “will make sure that everybody behaves responsibly just like every other weekend of the year,” Bily said.

He added that there has been relatively little activity in Urbana compared to Champaign. Because there is only one campus bar in Urbana — the Canopy Club — the area typically does not experience as many disturbances.

Mike Armintrout, marketing manager for Canopy Club, said the club will not be promoting Unofficial and has never done anything in the past to promote the holiday. Canopy Club will still admit individuals under age 21, however, it does have to abide by alcohol regulations put in place for Unofficial.

Armintrout said the club will be adhering to service policies like the rest of the bars, following rules that prohibit the service of pitchers and straight shots of alcohol.

The venue will feature two shows Friday.

“The hope is that people keep their wits about them,” he said. “I’ve never understood the premise of the holiday.”

Armintrout added that he does not see Unofficial affecting business at Canopy Club. The bar at the establishment will still be open on Friday night, and the staff will deal with intoxicated individuals on a case-by-case basis, he said.

“It will be another day and another two shows,” Armintrout said.

Lt. Skip Frost of the University Police Department said a large influx of people come from out of town to the University for Unofficial. Fifty-six colleges were represented during last year’s event, with 60 to 70 percent of enforcement contacts, such as arrests, tickets and driving under the influence violations, from non-University students, he said.

“It’s kind of hard to eliminate it. We can’t stop students from inviting people from out of town,” Frost said. “Unless we shut the town down, we can’t stop students from inviting their friends.”

He added that Facebook, Twitter and MySpace make it easier for students to invite friends from other schools.

Urbana City Council members voiced their concern about Unofficial activities.

“The city of Urbana is not home to most of the campus bars, so the city of Champaign has a much larger presence and has taken the lead in past years at changing the liquor regulations for the event,” said Brandon Bowersox, Ward 4, in an e-mail. “We coordinate with Champaign and work to support public safety and try to prevent anyone from getting hurt on this day.”

Charlie Smyth, Ward 1, also agreed in an e-mail that Urbana does not have special laws for Unofficial because there is only one campus bar in the area. However, the city does vigorously enforce the noise ordinance and underage drinking laws within the community.

Smyth added that he wants to remind students to keep in mind the safety of others.

“If everyone behaves responsibly and lawfully, everything will be okay,” Bily said. “Historically, we know that doesn’t happen. Our hope is that there’s little impact on Urbana residents in the community.”