The Champaign Police Department hosted a joint news conference Tuesday along with the University’s Office of Student Affairs, University police, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and local police to discuss tactics for diminishing risks associated with Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day.

“We want to make it clear that this event is not sanctioned by the University or the cities of Champaign and Urbana,” said Rene Dunn, spokeswoman for Champaign police. “The costs associated with staffing this event with police officers and city personnel has been expensive and a drain on our resources.”

Officials emphasized that those who plan to host parties for Unofficial should keep them as exclusive as possible and only serve alcohol to those who are of age. Lt. Brad Yohnka of Champaign police stressed that the police will be cracking down on parties that provide alcohol to underage drinkers.

“If we do find problem and nuisance parties, the host this year will be facing state charges and not just city ordinance violations,” Yohnka said. “The message to anybody who wants to host a party is these three points: Keep it small, keep it legal, and allow only invited guests in. It’s the uninvited guests who come into town that really have no destination who cause problems, especially if they are underage because they cannot get in to the bars, so they’re going to crash parties.”

Yohnka also emphasized pedestrian safety. Last year, police noticed a lot of near misses of students getting hit by a vehicle. University student and former Illini Media employee Brad Bunte was involved in a fatal accident with two motor vehicles on Unofficial last year.

Yohnka said police will be stepping up traffic enforcement this year and putting up more signs to warn drivers of areas with high pedestrian traffic.

Renee Romano, vice chancellor of student affairs, stated that the school, Champaign police, University police, Urbana police and emergency services throughout the county have been working together for months to come up with a plan to minimize disruptions within the community. She said it is ultimately up to the students to keep this event as safe as possible.

“We can’t be everywhere, so we rely on our students to be responsible and to call authorities when they need help, or when they see someone who they think might be in trouble,” Romano said.