Young was one of many students flooding the sidewalks and front yards of East Lansing on Thursday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Supply chain management senior Patrick Pollet said the warm weather and how close the holiday fell to the weekend definitely improved the day.

“You can’t beat it,” Pollet said. “It’s the best time for St. Patty’s. We’re coming right off of spring break, and everyone’s still in party mode. It’s the way to start the weekend off right.”

Police also were out and about patrolling the sidewalks and roads, making sure the holiday spirit stayed good natured and within the boundaries of the law, East Lansing police Capt. Tom Johnstone said.

The day required extra staff to go out on patrol. Every officer in the department came dressed in full uniform and prepared to walk the streets. Johnstone was among them going from bar to bar, making their presence known.

Johnstone said this year’s St. Patrick’s Day was not out of the ordinary in terms of activity, and there only were a few parties that required police intervention throughout the day.

“Most people were following the rules,” he said. “(Having everyone on patrol is) a good way to remind everybody why they were here in the first place.”

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the MSU Police Department also increased the number of officers on patrol Wednesday and Thursday nights because of the holiday.

McGlothian-Taylor said additional officers were put on special assignment Thursday night following the men’s basketball game against the University of California, Los Angeles to prevent any NCAA celebrations from getting out of hand.

MSU alumni Tom Stack spent his St. Patrick’s Day reliving his college days. Stack said the day was not so much about the drinking but about the people.

“It’s not about alcohol,” Stack said. “It’s just out having fun with good friends and pacing yourself throughout the day.”

East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said although East Lansing has a high concentration of young adults who were more likely to drink, student activities were not a problem for the community.

“We have a town that has to learn to deal with (drinking) around all kind of occasions,” Staton said. “We have some issues, (but) we’ve found that the community seems to be doing a better and better job without harming themselves or others.”

Staton said educational efforts from Olin Health Center have helped reduced the number of alcohol-related incidents on the holiday compared to several years ago.

“There is plenty of education in the community and campus about drinking responsibility and about partying responsibly,” Staton said. “I’d like to think that some of that message gets through.”