Penn State, State College preparing for State Patty’s Day this weekend. Here’s what to know
Both Penn State and State College Borough are preparing this week for the annual tradition of State Patty’s Day, a student-created drinking “holiday” that often sees increased crime and arrests downtown.
The 15-year-old event, slated for Saturday, will again see law enforcement agencies “work together to maintain a robust law enforcement presence throughout the weekend,” according to the university. In a news release, Penn State officials also said patrols will include uniformed and plain-clothes officers focused on liquor law enforcement in residence halls on campus and rental properties off campus.
A spokesperson for the State College Police Department acknowledged staffing will be increased this weekend. And, per the university and emails obtained by the CDT, a number of apartment buildings intend to add extra security this weekend.
“For many years, this annual occurrence has produced more problematic behavior in our community than any other event, despite the many good efforts of student, university and borough leaders to mitigate against the resulting harm,” Damon Sims, vice president for student affairs, said in a written statement. “I remain optimistic that better sense will prevail and that we will continue to see the excesses State Patty’s Day engenders fade away.”
The impact of State Patty’s Day — created in 2007 when the traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebration fell during the week of spring break — has declined considerably since its heyday. In 2011, during State Patty’s Day weekend, Penn State and State College police combined to receive 647 service calls while making 309 arrests — with a majority of SCPD arrests coming from out-of-towners. Last year, likely due in part to pandemic-based restrictions, those totals fell to 271 service calls and 36 arrests, which include citations and criminal complaints.
It is unknown how many calls or arrests are fielded on normal non-football weekends. A police spokesperson said those statistics need to be counted by hand and the department did not have time to formulate those numbers by Friday.
Borough officials also declined to comment when asked whether they anticipated calls and arrests to climb compared to last year’s State Patty’s Day, considering the loosened pandemic restrictions this time.
Still, both the borough and university are taking precautions. A joint letter from State College Police Chief John Gardner, Penn State Police Chief Jason Zajac and another university official was sent to student residents and others Tuesday to request they refrain from having guests at their apartments and homes this weekend. The letter also reminded students that State College police will continue to forward student charges — such as disorderly conduct, underage drinking, public drunkenness, etc. — to Penn State’s Office of Student Conduct for review.
Another Tuesday memo, from Sims and borough manager Tom Fountaine, was addressed to the State College Tavern Owners Association and asked owners to “impede the negative excesses that State Patty’s Day encourages.”
“By avoiding a Mardi Gras atmosphere in town,” the letter continued, “we might discourage the problematic behaviors seen in years past.”
Other precautions taken and outlined by Penn State include residence halls prohibiting guests this weekend and Greek organizations not being able to host social events.
In the 2020 edition of State Patty’s Day, before Centre County experienced its first COVID case, there were 326 service calls during the “holiday” weekend, or roughly half the number compared to 2011. Total arrests also fell by about 75% compared to that same time period.
Penn State and the borough hope that trend continues this weekend.
“We ask that you respect and care for your neighbors and do not participate in this dangerous event,” Fountaine said in a news release, alluding to drinking and social gatherings during a pandemic. “One weekend is not worth putting yourself or others in danger.”
