We stand. We drink. We leave.

This is the motto adopted by Penn State students, referring to the consecutive weekends of THON, State Patty’s Day, and Spring Break; however, the middle weekend isn’t as widely accepted as the other two.

“The weekend between THON and Spring Break has been a challenge,” the State College Police Department said in a statement issued this week. “[It] results in more crime, more criminal arrests, and more alcohol overdoses than a typical winter weekend.”

Without formally acknowledging it, the State College Police Department is referring to State Patty’s Day. A holiday celebrated weeks before the official St. Patrick’s Day, by thousands of Penn State students who put on their finest green clothes, embrace whatever Irish heritage they have, if any, and drink from dawn to dusk in celebration of Saint Patrick.

It’s an interesting concept to grasp. Why celebrate so early? I didn’t know the answer in my first Spring semester, and I’d bet there are plenty of students in the same boat I was in.

It started in 2007, when Penn State scheduled Spring Break to overlap St. Patrick’s Day, one of the biggest day-drinking holidays. Students were up in arms about it, and one student, Joe Veltre, took initiative. He created a Facebook group, which at the time was “hip and happening”, to birth the first State Patty’s Day.

Thousands of students flooded the group, and the movement to have State Patty’s Day on Friday, March 2, 2007, grew strong. This new holiday received so much support that the group’s admins sold merchandise, including T-shirts, shot glasses, and magnets, at the HUB.

Additionally, local bars caught wind of the rescheduled drinking day. None of them officially moved their St. Patrick’s Day festivities from the actual holiday, though they “planned” on an excess of patrons for March 2nd, and The Phyrst ordered their iconic green beer for the early celebration.

According to the Facebook group, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), a division of the PA State Police, came to State College and threatened to shut down any bars that opened early to accommodate the student-led celebration.

Despite this, the first State Patty’s Day was a total success, enough of one to do it again next year.

This time around, the celebration had a sponsor: Safeguard Old State (SOS). Veltre and SOS teamed up to ensure the tradition continued safely. Working with campus organizations, the goal was to encourage administrators to embrace SPD as a part of the natural drinking culture in Happy Valley.

2008’s celebration was not embraced at all, resulting in 262 police calls and 50 arrests.

The numbers kept climbing throughout the next few years. In 2009, 311 calls were received by State College Police, 79 arrests were made, 14 persons with DUIs were arrested, and 21 people reportedly experienced alcohol poisoning. This marked the end of SOS’s support for the holiday and the start of community dissent.

An opposing Facebook group called “End the State Patty’s Day Tradition” was created to air community grievances. Nonetheless, the student-led holiday continued in 2010. State College Police received 365 calls, arresting 160, twice the amount of last year, and 103 people found themselves at Mount Nittany Medical Center for alcohol-related treatment.

This set the stage for the biggest State Patty’s Day yet. In 2011, numbers hit their peak, but opposition grew stronger. Nearly 500 calls were received, 234 arrests were made, and 104 citations were issued by the police. The community created a walk program, an alternative to day drinking, which nearly 500 people participated in. Additionally, eight bars showed their disapproval of the holiday by not selling alcohol.

2011’s State Patty’s Day flew too close to the sun, and, just as Icarus did, the holiday began its descent. In the years that followed, restrictions were put in place. The university paid bars to close, the IFC banned parties, visitors were reduced to a one-guest-per-room rule, sororities had a “mandatory day of service” to prevent day-drinking, and local organizations came together to counteract the makeshift holiday with a regulated festival.

The numbers started to fall for the first time since State Patty’s Day’s inception. In 2013, the crime level dropped 37%, and in 2014 it fell 47% from the previous year, with only 102 arrests made. As of last year, the crime rates were down 90% from their peak in 2011.

The Borough of State College has maintained these declining numbers through extensive fines, such as $750 in an undisputed noise violation. Also utilizing undercover police officers that roam downtown State College, distributing public intoxication and underage charges, to discourage any disorderly behavior.

This year’s State Patty’s Day will unfold under the same pressure from the community that’s been trying to disband it for nearly a decade. So for those participating, drink responsibly, be safe, and don’t give them a reason to.