Painting the campus green

From drinking at a bar to rallying for a cause, students in green took to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day from all angles on Thursday.

“I’m BYO-ing my classes,” said a School of Nursing freshman who wished to remain anonymous due to the legal implications of underage drinking.

Though often a drinking-oriented holiday, some spent the day working toward more sobering causes. In Houston Hall and on Locust Walk, the Rotaract Club of Philadelphia raised funds to buy medical supplies for the Iganga-Lubira Medical Health Center in Uganda by selling Irish apparel.

In greater Philadelphia, the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association held the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Parade, which dates back to 1771. It is the second-oldest annual parade celebrating the holiday in the country, second only to the New York City parade.

Closer to campus, Riepe College House had a small reception of corned beef sandwiches and other St. Patrick’s Day fare. Other college houses, however, did not hold similar events to observe the holiday.

Coordinator of Harrison College House Jennifer Hook suggested that the holiday’s close proximity to spring break might account for the lack of observance. “Everyone’s just coming back and catching up on schoolwork,” she said.

While Smokey Joe’s Tavern at 40th and Locust streets featured $2 pints and special corned beef melt sandwiches, Cavanaugh’s Restaurant and Sports Bar — at 119 South 39th St. — decided to lay low.

Cavanaugh’s manager Brian Pawliczek explained, “I did all my craziness these past two Saturdays,” after participating in Erin Express 2011 — Philadelphia’s largest St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl. Patrons of the restaurant watched March Madness basketball games while listening to Irish music for a low-key celebration.

At the Blarney Stone on 3929 Sansom St., the party started with Kegs and Eggs at 10 a.m. but died out early. “It’s a ghost town” at Blarney Stone, College freshman Shana Mansbach said at 8:40 p.m.

Not to be outdone, Penn Hillel will sponsor the Jewish holiday that parallels St. Patrick’s — Purim­— this weekend with a “Purim Crawl.” The holiday is associated with costumes, masks and drinking.

“There will be a block party where you can go to four different houses,” associate director of Hillel Debbie Yunker explained. “People will be pre-gaming before [the event] and will be in costume. It’s really fun.”

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