Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
Campus Blotter: 160 Arrested in Irish Frenzy at Penn State
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 10:00 am
In this week's Campus Blotter we learn that administrators at Penn State University flunked their Reverse Psychology test while the campus erupted in a drunken melee.
In recent weeks, school officials had pleaded with students to put an end to their annual "State Patty's Day," an early celebration of St. Patrick's Day characterized by generous quantities of green beer and puke.
It's a ritual that boasts a rich history dating back to 2007, when St. Patrick's Day fell during Penn State's spring break, prompting outraged students to invent a bonus holiday to ensure they didn't lose their buzz.
And how did the student body respond to this year's requests to tone it down? By tearing it up like never before, of course -- to the tune of 160 arrests, more than twice the total of 2009's fest.
All told, police at Penn State and the surrounding town of State College responded to more than 400 calls, and EMS took on more than 58 party-related emergencies over the last weekend of February.
Among the highlights:
* Jason Graham punched an officer after a foot chase that started with Graham firing snowballs at two vehicles, including a cop car.
* Ione Williams fought with bar staff after they objected to her urinating at the front door of their establishment.
* A drunken 19-year-old was cited for grasping a street sign for support.
* A man was hospitalized with 15 stitches and a black eye after his ear was bitten in a fight.
More than half of the arrests involved non-students and visitors to the campus, who provided a boon to the local economy and fodder for insightful quotes from local law enforcement.
"The trend seems to be going the wrong way," State College Police Captain Dana Leonard pointed out to the Daily Collegian, Penn State's student newspaper. "Everything is upward trending in the past three years -- calls are up, alcohol overdoses are double. It's a disturbing three-year trend."
Analysts believe it mirrors a much older trend, in which college students across the country imbibe disturbing amounts of alcohol for uninterrupted periods of up to eight years. Thus far, the only known deterrent is graduation.
Dig up last Friday's Campus Blotter: Albany Students Popped for Running Illegal Bar.
Tags: Campus Blotter, Pennsylvania
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