As Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day approaches, University police and the provost’s office are finalizing the list of lecture halls that will need security.

Security will be present Friday in buildings with high capacity, including Foellinger Auditorium and the Lincoln Hall Theater, said Capt. Skip Frost of the University Police.

“The whole idea with us is just to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand,” Frost said. “We want to make sure that, if people are going to enjoy the day, they take care of their classwork first, and there’s no disruptions.”

John Marquardt, Assembly Hall event and safety coordinator, said Assembly Hall security has a contract with University police for Unofficial to ensure classrooms are kept under control. These security guards are not police officers, but they will monitor the lectures and contact police if disciplinary action is needed. Marquardt added that Assembly Hall is not involved in the development of policy or enforcement tactics. 

Assembly Hall security will check bags or identification of disruptive students. Although beverages are not allowed in the auditoriums, security personnel will collect any beverage containers to ensure classrooms are alcohol-free.

“We brief them what our expectations are … to make sure nobody’s bringing in drinks and nobody’s causing major disruptions,” Frost said. “They have the ability to contact us directly, so we can address any behavioral issues in classrooms.”

The classroom security procedures began a few years after the holiday was created in 1996, when students and visitors to campus were especially disruptive, Frost said.

“Years ago, we would have dozens of people highly intoxicated, running through the larger class venues or people bringing alcohol into the classrooms, people urinating in the aisle,  people throwing up because of their level of intoxication,” he said. “So that really was kind of the beginning of when we started to reformulate.” 

Students such as Kimberly Jones, senior in business, said she has not noticed much disruption in her classes during her time at the University.

“I would say that it has been very stagnant over the years,” Jones said. “The majority of people who actually attend class aren’t intoxicated.”

Jones said the classrooms could always benefit from more security, but other areas on campus should be the primary focus.

“I think the bars and University residential housing could benefit a lot more,” she said. “Many of the underage students who drink will live in these halls and need more regulation than those that have their own apartment.”

Jones said that while it’s not the primary responsibility of teachers to maintain order in the classroom, it should still be one of their concerns. 

“If teachers created an incentive, like having more tests that Friday, I think there would be less drinking, or it would at least stall pre-gaming,” she said. 

Frost said security will be placed in the classroom to ensure the event will not interfere with the institution.

“It’s one thing to blow off class and attend a bar or go to a party,” he said. “(But) when you start messing with the academic arm of the institution, the institution is not going to react very favorably.”

Chrissy can be reached at [email protected].