Last year, State Patty's Day was an epic display of unity from the student body. This year, there is again a call for this tradition to continue on. Thus, Safeguard Old State (SOS) has taken the responsibility of ensuring that this student-created tradition again becomes a reality.
This year, State Patty's Day will be held March 1. In future years, we will leave the decisions about the holiday up to a Coordination Committee open to all students.
SOS recognizes that in order for this tradition to continue on at Penn State, it can not lie in the hands of mere Facebook groups. Instead, our goal is to see that State Patty's Day be embedded as another Penn State tradition like that of Blue and White weekend or Arts Festival.
Safeguard Old State is not looking for the university to sanction the day but rather give students the choice of alternative programs such as Irish Bands during Late Night at the HUB. Our goal is not for the university to condone alcohol consumption but rather to find a middle ground.
Some students may believe that working with the university may take away from State Patty's Day. However, this proved to be effective for Paternoville who formed a coordination committee.
Paternoville's committee was able to work with the university to create a middle group that satisfied the wishes of all parties involved. That is what we are attempting to do with State Patty's Day.
The message we are offering is simple, if students are already organizing on Facebook and this tradition is going to be a reality once again, why not work with us to offer alternative programs and responsible behavior?
It was extremely disappointing to see the Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon take negative shots at a student organization who is attempting to work with the university.
Mahon was correct in saying, "Safeguard Old State can not rewrite history." SOS may not be able to rewrite history, but we absolutely can help write the future. Last State Patty's Day there were no major incidents of injury and Safeguard Old State wants to help ensure that it stays that way.
Members of SOS and I have taken the initiative to meet with many administrators and student leaders across campus and will continue to do so.
Late Night Penn State was very open to the idea and it is our greatest hope that they will offer students another appealing alternative.
University Health Services also took a mature approach. While University Health Services does not condone the tradition, they still gave us material about responsible drinking to hand out around the day.
In the next few weeks we also have meetings in place with Student Affairs, the chiefs of university police and State College police and State College Mayor Bill Welch.
Safeguard Old State and I are really looking forward to this, as it is a day of fun and unity. We will continue to safeguard student traditions and ensure a better Penn State experience for generations to come. See you all March 1.
