Emergency medical calls slip for State Patty’s Day
Centre LifeLink EMS said the department responded to 32 percent fewer calls during this year’s State Patty’s Day weekend compared with 2018.
The agency responded to 34 calls between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Sunday. About 75 percent of those calls were alcohol related. In 2018, there were 50 calls, 80 percent of them alcohol related.
State College police said Monday they were still compiling their final statistics from the unofficial Penn State drinking holiday, but police Lt. Bradley Smail said Sunday the department received about 100 calls between Friday afternoon and Saturday night.
“As far as State Patty’s went (Saturday), it seemed to be a little bit more mild,” Smail said. “Just generally speaking from officers coming in, they’re saying it seemed to be a little less busy than it has been in years past.”
Police worked alongside state police and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board throughout the weekend. There were 18 citations issued Saturday, 14 of them for underage possession or consumption of alcohol.
Students first celebrated State Patty’s Day in 2007, and arrests peaked in 2011 at 337. That number plunged by more than 50 percent over the next seven years.
Both State College and Penn State police have taken various steps over the years to reduce the impact of the weekend, including sending letters to borough rental property owners with safety tips.
State College borough Manager Tom Fountaine and Penn State Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims also sent a memo to members of the State College Tavern Owners Association asking them to help “impede the negative excesses that State Patty’s Day encourages.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 4:50 PM.