Students drink for made-up holiday

A student-established drinking holiday will take over Penn State University this weekend.

By: Aaron Moselle
newsroom@whyy.org

A student-established drinking holiday will take over Penn State University this weekend. [audio: 100225AMPATTY.mp3]

State Patty’s Day was dreamed up in 2007 because St. Patrick’s day fell during the University’s spring break.

Now in its fourth year, the all-day drinking event has taken on a culture of its own, complete with green T-shirts, green pizza and of course, green beer.

Penn State Annemarie Mountz says the festivities hurt the Unversity’s image.

Mountz: It’s not a holiday. It’s an excuse that students came up with to engage in dangerous drinking practices and goes against what we like to do here at the University.

Mountz says local bars are protesting this year’s State Patty’s Day by refusing to open earlier than usual.

One bar, The Lions Den, will not be open at all on Saturday.