THURSDAY March 5, 2020
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 149 Issue 45
Celebrating 24 years of Unofficial Other green takes part in Unofficial UI Police Department advises taking precautions BY HEATHER ROBINSON STAFF WRITER
One aspect of this year’s Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day that will be different is the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois. W hile marijuana in emergency departments is not something the OSF Heart of Mary Medical C ent er specif ica lly tracks or reports, Leon Yeh, vice president of Emergency Services at OSF HealthCare, released the following statement: “Our emergency departments have not seen significant
changes in visits related to the legalization of recreational marijuana. We a nticipated that legalization would be unlikely to create a surge of new users overnight. While providers may ask about and test for marijuana and other drug use as part of a workup when necessary, we do not specifically track or report on usage rates.” Dispen sa r y stores, such as Sunnyside in Champaign, have seen constant business since its opening earlier this year, with lines of customers often out the door and around the corner. Due to the already f requent t r a f f ic at dispensaries, it is not possible to tell whether or not business has increased leading up to Unofficial weekend. According to Patrick Wade, communication director for the University of I l l i noi s Pol ic e Department, since recreationa l marijuana use is legal, it will
become less of a law enforcement issue at the event. “You have to be a certain age, (and) you have to transport a certain way, so as long as everyone is doing everything legally, that’s not really going to be an issue for us,” Wade said. As for ensuring safety, the UIPD advises the same precautions to be taken with marijuana as alcohol. “We don’t want people using marijuana and then going out and doing whatever to put themselves in danger,” Wade said. “We will tell people the same stuff: Don’t use so much of it that you’re going to put yourself in a position where you can’t care for yourself.” He added that the central issues in the past are mostly alcohol-related, and if there are any marijuanarelated differences to set this year apart from others, it will most likely be even less of a problem. Unofficial has had a reputation in the past due to intoxication-related incidents. This was enough to incite the University to send out messages to students’ parents, notifying them of the event. In addition, University Housing en forces a no-guest policy during the weekend of Unofficial. According to Wade, there has been a decreasing amount of difficulties the past few years at Unofficial,
which the UIPD a nt icipates to continue. However, the police a re not planning on pr ep a r i n g a ny differently from the past years and will continue to focus on recurring issues, such as incidents with traffic and fights. This weekend, police are going to be going out in larger numbers. At private apartments, some of the landlords will hire
additional security and also send out notes to their residents letting them know what’s expected of them. “There’s just going to be a lot more eyes and ears out there looking for issues, making sure people are being safe, and again that’s all in the interest of making sure our students don’t get hurt and that the business of the University can continue,” Wade said. hrr4@dailyillini.com
What does Unofficial mean to community? BY LUIS VELAZQUEZ STAFF WRITER
St. Patrick’s Unofficial weekend will take place once again on campus. Here are some quick facts on what to expect for this green series of events.
Q: What is Unofficial? A: According to “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day: The Official Story,” an article in the University of Illinois Archive, Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day started in the spring of 1995 by local bar owners in the Campustown area. “Each year, on a Friday a week or two in advance of the University’s Spring Break, it is estimated that thousands of young adult revelers take part in the celebration of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day in Urbana-Champaign,” wrote Rory Grennan in the article. Q: Where do people purchase Unofficial merchandise? A: Amanda Rivera, junior in LAS and AHS, said stores
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promote Unofficial merchandise weeks in advance to let students know about Unofficial. “The only place that has good sales is Te Shurt; that is because that’s the closest thing to campus, and it catches your eye,” Rivera said. “They usually have ‘buy one and get one’ or ‘buy two, get one’ (sales). They also keep up to date with the designs of the shirts.” However, Cindy Martinez, senior in LAS, said she remembers a popular Facebook group would sell Unofficial merchandise. THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO “With my group of friends, Students cross the intersection of Green and Sixth streets we usually make our own during Unofficial 2019. This green series of events offers shirts, and we all match, or I drinking festivities for students around campus. honestly just go to a Walmart and try to find a green shirt,” Martinez said. Q: What are the police doing to regulate Unofficial activities? A: Patrick Wade, communications director for the University of Illinois Police Department, said previous actions UIPD has done to decrease accidents are patrolling the community, such as looking for individuals who aren’t properly functioning to
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