Students prepare, party for St. Patrick’s Day weekend

From left: Stockbridge sophomore Laurel Branstrom, Zeeland junior Kam Shaw and Ludington junior Sam Borashko walk down Main St. arm in arm on St. Patrick’s Day. (Melissa Bloem/Staff Photographer)

Central Michigan University students partied while painting Mount Pleasant green over St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Some students decided to prepare, rather than party, on Friday and Saturday so they could celebrate all day long on Sunday.

Bloomfield Hills sophomore Anna Grace prepared for the Irish holiday by decorating her house with lots of green and four-leaf clovers.

“I’m also going to the store and picking up the needs for Sunday and the liquor and also making sure I finish all of my homework now because I know that I’m not going to do it on Sunday,” Grace said.

Grace celebrates her Irish heritage every year, and, this year, she figured she would roam around Main Street and see what was going on.

“I’ve been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day every year since I’ve been born, having usually either roast beef or doing something involving Irish things, some Guinness beer, good stuff like that,” Grace said.

Midland junior Zachary Kucharek planned to celebrate with his friends on Saturday since the actual holiday fell on a Sunday this year. They planned on going to the beer tent at O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill, 2000 S. Mission St., before partying on Main Street for the rest of the night.

“We threw a deposit down on a keg,” Kucharek said. “We have a Keystone Light green beer keg. We’re ready to go … We’re going to have a good time.”

Likewise, the boys of Kappa Sigma Fraternity hoped to do just that as well. Senior and president of Kappa Sigma C.J. Lewis and his fraternity threw a St. Patrick’s Day bash at their house on Main Street. They prepared by setting up a fence and creating a guest list to monitor the size of their party.

“Throughout the day, we’ll try to keep it under 100 in our house,” the Stockbridge native said. “We tried to set it up one guest per one brother.”

However, on St. Patrick’s Day, not everyone was drinking. Goodrich junior Terrance Elizondo said his plans for St. Patrick’s Day involved alternatives to consuming alcohol.

“Well, for me, drinking has never really been that big of an excitement for me,” Elizondo said. “I’ve never been a big drinker.”

Elizondo decided to hang out with his fraternity brothers of Kappa Sigma. While most of them party, Elizondo made sure they were all staying safe. As a residence assistant at the Towers, Elizondo said he’s been through the training process of knowing what to do in a situation if people start getting out of control.

“If something is to go wrong, I know what to do,” Elizondo said. “So, I’m not putting it in somebody’s hands who doesn’t have any clue of what to do if a bad situation happens.”

While some look at the holiday as a drinking fest, Elizondo questions if students even know the true meaning of the holiday.

“Most people don’t even know what St. Patrick Day is really about,” Elizondo said. “They just go out and think it’s about getting hammered and being Irish when there’s a lot more to it. They should probably research it, look it up. If you’re going to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you should at least know why you’re doing what you’re doing.”