With clear skies and a nice breeze, conditions are perfect for continuing Unofficial shenanigans. Unofficial celebrations bring a bit of day drinking, time with friends and memories that will last a lifetime. For some, the celebration is just getting started, while others are already a few hours in.
“Today, we went to a (day party) from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; it was like an apartment crawl,” said Alexis Bond, sophomore in LAS.
For those partaking in the festivities, green is the way to go. Shamrocks and Irish green can be seen all over students and establishments. Some who are really in the spirit are taking it to the next level — a fact that Riya Patel, junior in LAS, can attest to.
“Today, we saw three guys dressed as leprechauns,” Patel said. “They had on like full-on suits. We took a picture with them.”
Unofficial can be a time for many to party hard, but it seems people aren’t going as hard as they used to.
“This year, I’m seeing people out, but I feel like I should be seeing more,” Patel said.
By midday Saturday, Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day was in full swing, with students and visitors packing bars, house parties and sidewalks across Campustown.
Large groups of students, clad in green attire and accessories, walked down Green Street, heading from function to function. Many carried borgs — gallon-sized alcoholic mixers — as they moved through the buzzing campus.
Unofficial offers plenty of ways to celebrate, said Sharika Kottapalli, senior in LAS. Many students start early, hopping between parties and bars as the weekend unfolds.
“We ended up having a pipeline,” Kottapalli said. “So (yesterday), we had breakfast at 7 a.m. and started rallying then. Some people pulled up (drunk) already. Some people went to (The Red Lion) happies afterward. I tried to go to The Red Lion and KAMS, but the lines were just way too long.”
Campustown bars are known to increase prices for entry and drinks over the special weekend. Some partiers also use LineLeap, a service that allows people to skip long lines — for a price. Line skips can cost anywhere from $15 to more than $30.
“I know someone who paid $30 for line leap, in addition to $20 cover,” Kottapalli said. “$50 just to get in is really bad.”
For some, the chaos of the weekend can come with unexpected setbacks. Kailen Shah, a junior at Purdue visiting friends at the University, found himself scrambling after realizing he had lost his wallet sometime during the festivities.
“I emptied my pockets, and then I don’t know if I put everything back in my pockets,” Shah said. “Today, that really affects me because I can’t really go out, I won’t be able to drive back home, all these things that come with losing your wallet. So I’m hoping it shows up.”
With hours left in the day and celebrations stretching into the night, Unofficial shows no signs of slowing down.
It’s Unofficial weekend, and the party is just getting started in Champaign-Urbana. Although the University is normally known as an academic powerhouse, students are showing the “study hard, party harder” motto as they retire their suits in favor of shamrock sunglasses and green party beads.
One student, Alejandro Barriga, junior in Business, mentioned how they plan to go to a friend’s apartment party and “have some fun, but study, make sure I study, you know.”
Drunken shouts from the pub cycle demonstrated that regardless of the looming midterm season, academics can be set on the back burner, and students can let loose for the weekend.
“I do have a test on Tuesday,” said Anushka Patel, junior in Engineering, after explaining her apartment crawl and day party plans for the weekend.
The cold and rain also weren’t stopping anyone from joining the festivities, as students from all over the state traveled to the University to wear green and celebrate this historical Irish holiday. When asked about their Irish roots, no one The Daily Illini spoke to met the criteria.
“No, I’m not Irish at all; I’m fully Mexican,” said Joelia Guzman, sophomore in LAS, while waiting outside of KAMS.
Students’ plans for the weekend varied from bar-hopping to apartment crawls, and before 10 p.m. hit, there was already an ambulance parked in front of the popular campus bar The Red Lion.
Sirens, mixed with the sounds of revving car engines, are part of what marks the start of Unofficial. As the night wears on and Green Street busies, the uniqueness of the campus starts to show.
“I love how U of I is the only college around us that celebrates (Unofficial) and so everyone comes here,” said Julie Kim, sophomore in ACES.
