One of the biggest University of Illinois events of the year took place on Friday and Saturday: Unofficial St. Patrick's Day. This event was started by a bar owner in town many years ago. Somehow he got permission from the city council to open his bars at 11:00 a.m. for two days and invite students to "Drink 'til you're Irish." Now, students come from many other campuses, students skip class on Friday, and lines at bars on campus stretch down the street (yes, my Utah friends, there are bars on campus).
Some of the green t-shirts that I saw this weekend express the sentiment of the holiday: "Irish I were drunk," "Unofficially Wasted," etc.
From the school newspaper, The Daily Illini:
- Forty-seven citations have been issued as of 7:30 p.m. Friday for underage drinking or possession of alcohol
- 150 vehicles have been taken into possession
What I've been reading: Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott. These books charmed me when I read them as a 10-year-old; this month my book club read Eight Cousins and I understand why I loved them so much as a kid. There's a definite feminist sensibility in the story of Rose Campbell -- the main thrust of the story is that she is transformed from an ultra-feminine, sickly little girl into a tomboyish, strong, healthy young woman. Even though it's a bit dated (1874) and a bit moralistic, I'd recommend it to any 10-15 year old girl.
Posts
2 comments:
I'm so glad that I missed this year's Unofficial. There is so much trash in the yards of houses around campus. I was home sick in bed and I know I didn't miss a thing.
We saw a lot of green T-shirts this weekend too, but for a different reason. One of our favorite punk bands (Hawk Nelson) had a concert on Friday as part of their "Green T Tour" and a lot of fans were wearing green.
Post a Comment