2008 Woodie Awards
Guilford celebrates a sober St. Patrick's Day
Brice Tarleton
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Goofordian News
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"It makes perfect sense to choose not to drink," said Dean of Campus Life Aaron Fetrow. "What most people don't realize is that alcohol is a depressant. Really, who wants to be depressed when they could be having a good time?"
On St. Patrick's Day, virtually every person at Guilford was wearing green. The cafeteria showed its support of the holiday with a collection of traditional Irish dishes including Irish stew, soda bread, poundies (a form of mashed potatoes), and cruibins (cooked pig's feet).
"Everybody wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day!" said sophomore Ryan Davis. "What better way to show it than by eating some delicious colcannon?"
The Saturday night celebrations included groups of friends gathering across campus to play games and discuss St. Patrick's myriad contributions to Irish culture. With monk-like asceticism, students drank bottled water and played Irish party games.
"Look, I don't need to drink to have fun. I feel sorry for people that do," said junior Pete Rey. "I just like to kick it with some good friends and enjoy their company. There's no need for me to drink; I'm high on life right now."
"Anybody up for some Uno?" said Rey to the crowd, causing squeals of excitement from the assembly.
Several suites in the Bryan dorm also invited members of Public Safety to join the celebrations.
"(Public Safety officer) Dale (Gibson) totally rocked at Musical Clovers!" said junior Tim May. "Then he and (Public Safety officer) Rhonda (Johnson) showed us how to dance the Funky Chicken. I don't think people appreciate how hard they work to keep this campus safe, and they're a lot of fun to hang out with."
Despite the school-wide effort to have a good time, a minority of students opted to intoxicate themselves. One first-year student was written up by an R.A. after he admitted to drinking several Bartles & Jaymes Melon Splash wine coolers. Campus Life requested that his identity be kept anonymous until judicial proceedings were completed.
"I don't know what I was thinking," said the student. "How am I going to get into grad school now? This is going to be on my record forever. I've disappointed my school, my parents and my friends."
Kym Teslik, the R.A. who wrote him up, said, "It's sad when something like this happens. It's disrespectful to his fellow students and to the holiday. Drinking isn't what St. Patrick's Day is all about."
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