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Photos from Friday’s festivities NEWS, 4-5A
The Daily Illini
Monday March 4, 2013
www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 142 Issue 113
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Fear and Loathing on
BY DANNY WICENTOWSKI WEBSITE EDITOR
Editor’s Note: The following article includes profane language and the consumption of alcohol. The names of individuals involved have been changed. Alex is the kind of friend you want around on Unofficial. Sitting on an office chair on Friday afternoon in his dorm room, he takes another long pull of whiskey from a stainless steel flask before handing it to Claire, the petite girl in army boots and black tights sitting on Alex’s bottom bunk bed. Alex and Claire are 19 years old. Also 19 is Dan, who sits near the window with a PBR in his hand. Toby, a 20-year-old with a mop of blond hair, lounges on the futon waiting for the flask to make its way to him. Soon they will be joined by Hazel and Kenny, both 20. A $140 receipt from a local liquor store barely tells the story of how much booze is in this room: bottles of vodka, tequila, gin and liqueur make up most of the bill, and it’s rounded out by a 12-pack of Blue Moon, a case of PBR and a box of Franzia wine. However, the receipt doesn’t include the alcohol the group already stockpiled: 20 more bottles of Blue Moon, 30 more cans of PBR, mint schnapps and Everclear. All in all, Alex estimates there’s around $200 worth of alcohol at their disposal today. The booze wasn’t that difficult to acquire. Everyone knows
somebody over 21. Alex’s girlfriend is over 21, as are her friends. For an underage party animal like Alex, acquiring alcohol isn’t about loitering in front of a liquor store and hoping a kindly stranger or homeless person will buy you a six-pack; it’s about using your personal social network of friends and relationships to get your hands on the good stuff. Alex is the kind of friend you want in a jam. The kind of friend who immediately knows that the soft knocking on the door is somehow wrong, very wrong, and although that knocking doesn’t sound like the sharp rap of police knuckles, he doesn’t hesitate to flip off the booming stereo and stare the room into silence. Everyone goes quiet. The soft, almost listless knocking continues. There are no more jokes, no more loud, braying laughs from Alex; no, now there is just the work of secrecy and disposal. This is something Alex is good at, and he gingerly tiptoes a bottle of vodka to a backpack in the corner of room, trying to minimize noise. Cans of beer are shoved back into the fridge or behind furniture, and Alex secures two bottles of Blue Moon, his flask and a bottle of gin inside his leather jacket. After a white-knuckled 90 seconds, Alex cracks open his door about eight inches. “Hey, are you guys doing anything?” says the RA. He has a
How this story was reported The reporter of this story followed a group of University sophomores, all underage, during the afternoon and evening of Unofficial. All names in this story were changed to protect the identities of the students. Following policy of The Daily Illini, at no time did the reporter conceal his status or the purpose of his presence. Only those students who gave full consent to participate in this story were quoted. Although of legal age, at no point did the reporter drink or facilitate consumption of alcohol in any way.
PHOTOS BY DANNY WICENTOWSKI THE DAILY ILLINI
Top: Hazel, 19-year-old University sophomore, laughs between drinks from a friend’s flask on the evening of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day on Friday. Bottom Left: Alex, a 19-year-old University sophomore, grasps a bag of wine to his chest while celebrating Unofficial. Hidden inside Alex’s jacket are also two bottles of Blue Moon beer, a bottle of vodka and a flask. Alex on Friday toasted: ”We have a handle, two fifths and Franzia. God bless this country!” Bottom Right: Underage students hide bottles of alcohol in a drawer under a bed in their dorm room during.
soft voice that matches his knock. He says he heard bottles clinking and conversation coming from inside the room about drinking and drug use. “It sure did take you guys a long time to open the door,” he says. Alex replies that no, there’s nothing going on in here. As for talk of drinking and drugs? Those were just jokes. The RA doesn’t seem convinced. He tells Alex that he will have to inform his boss about this anyway and that Alex should be careful. The RA leaves, and Alex clos-
See UNOFFICIAL, Page 3A
Student’s print shop capitalizes on Unofficial shirts BY EMMA WEISSMANN STAFF WRITER
While many students turned to print shops like Custom Ink or University Tees to print their T-shirt designs for Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, Brandon Johnson, senior in LAS, took a different approach. Johnson is the co-owner of Silky Screens Print Co., a print
shop he started with his brother five years ago in Loves Park, Ill. Since coming to the University, Johnson and his brother have not only been designing shirts but printing them as well. “My brother started screen printing for fun in the back of our family’s bike shop, ‘Bob’s Bike Shop,’ Johnson said in an
email. “From that, we started taking in small orders and saw a market.” The company printed approximately 650 T-shirts for Unofficial this year, up from about 150 to 200 in 2012. The company’s total growth Friday was about $6,200 with a net profit of $2,800, marking it as the second busiest time of year for the
business. Although the company runs all year round, Unofficial is usually behind both football block and fraternity rush when it comes to sales, Johnson said. “Football block throws everything out of the water because you have frats and sororities,” Johnson said. “Unofficial would be my second biggest (in sales)
this year. But, in the past, it hasn’t been.” He credits the rise in business to the three student ambassadors he hired this year from his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, and their efforts to publicize the T-shirt designs over social media. Devlin McKay, ambassador for Johnson and sophomore in
Seniors’ last holiday
BY JACQUI OGRODNIK STAFF WRITER
Instead of participating in Unofficial on Friday, many students spent their time either helping others or organizing alternative events. Members of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship spent most of the day handing out cups of water on the corner of Green and Sixth streets and in front of TIS College Bookstore, 707 S. Sixth St. “It’s meant to help people stay hydrated since alcohol dehydrates you very fast,” said Aaron Zhao, sophomore in Engineering. Lucas Hsu, sophomore in Engineering, said the group members were also concerned about alcohol poisoning. “By handing out water, we make sure that people don’t just have alcohol in their body,” Hsu said. “They can stay safe while having fun on Unofficial.” Members said people were appreciative of the group’s offer. “Some people have been like, ‘Yes, I want some. Thank you very much. This is a great thing!’” said Christina Crusius, freshman in LAS. Other students found ways to pass the day without involving themselves in the usual Unofficial activities.
BY LAUREN ROHR STAFF WRITER
Dan Phalin: It’s rewarding to help Unofficial participants Every year on Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, thousands of students participate in the drinking and partying festivities that are associated with the holiday. Instead of celebrating in the more traditional way, Dan Phalin, member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, spent his Unofficial making sure students that do participate that way are being safe. The group set up a table on Green Street and handed out water to passersby. Phalin said Unofficial participants often forget to pace themselves and drink water. “So we’re there, reminding them to stay safe and make smart decisions about drinking,” he said. “If people don’t remem-
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Students promote nondrinking events
Students spend last Unofficial not drinking, partying
INSIDE
LAS, said the team advertised the shirts through Facebook but also used fliers and word of mouth. “We started this program called Silky Screen Ambassadors,” McKay said. “The idea of it is when (Johnson) leaves, we will maintain a relationship
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The Interns and EpilepC DJ together at the Heartland concert on Unofficial at Canopy Club. Senior Sunghoon “Rami” Moon founded Heartland in 2011. He said he spent most of Unofficial preparing for the show. ber to stay hydrated on their own, we are out there trying to keep them hydrated the best we can.” Members of the fellowship started this tradition before Phalin came to campus, he said. He has helped out every year. “I love doing it,” he said. “I spend my Unofficial with some truly great people, and we’re helping people, which is always rewarding.” Although he said he enjoys interacting with so many different people throughout the day, Phalin said he wishes Unofficial could be celebrated under different circumstances. And he wish-
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es it wasn’t so strongly affiliated with drinking. Even so, Phalin said he will miss the commotion caused by the holiday, as Friday was his last Unofficial on campus. “Thinking about how this is my last year — I really love doing this,” he said. “I’ll really miss doing this, and I’ll miss all the great people at Intervarsity that I get to spend my day with.”
Min Spends quiet Unofficial with friends For Eunji Min, celebrating Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day has
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not been a priority in past years. Even so, as her time on campus is winding down, she said she wanted to spend her last Unofficial with people she cares about. Min said she spent her day tutoring students, as she does every Friday. Afterwards, she and a friend went to Murphy’s Pub for dinner. Although her plans were low key, she said she thought it was important to do something fun for her last Unofficial. “I’m going to miss the campus and the students and this kind
See SENIORS, Page 3A
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Residents of Busey-Evans Residence Halls who did not participate in Unofficial enjoyed an evening of craft making and nail painting. The event was organized by Busey residents Corinne Pennock, senior in LAS, and Annette Merkel, sophomore in LAS. “We wanted to give an alternative, nondrinking activity to those who don’t drink so that they don’t feel left out during Unofficial,” Merkel said. Presby Hall also hosted an alternative Unofficial event for students. The event was held in the dining hall and featured a “Super Smash Bros.” tournament, “Kinect Sports,” music and free food. The six-hour event was attended by about 15 people throughout the night. “It was all about delivering a high-quality event to people who were looking for something … different to do the night of Unofficial,” said Jason Yue, one of the event organizers and a freshman in Engineering, in an email. “Not everyone partakes in the (Unofficial) spirit but want to celebrate the holiday. We achieve that goal by hosting an event that people can come to enjoy.”
Jacqui can be reached at news@dailyillini.com.
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