By Brandon Addeo | The Duquesne Duke
Duquesne students braved pouring rain on Saturday to join the city of Pittsburgh in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Clad in green and sporting shamrock apparel, many students celebrated Irish heritage by watching the city’s parade or travelling to the South Side, as well as celebrating on campus.
This led to increased police patrols to combat alcohol violations, according to Duquesne police Capt. Mike Kopas.
“We did have extra patrols out to act as a deterrent and show a presence,” Kopas said. “I believe it was very helpful.”
Kopas said the festivities were “rather quiet” in terms of student misconduct.
“We had a few alcohol-related incidents,” Kopas said. “It was pretty much an uneventful weekend for St. Patrick’s Day weekend … [it was] nothing more than any other weekend.”
Three police vehicles could be seen outside St. Ann’s Hall on Saturday morning. These officers were responding to an alcohol-related incident, according to Kopas.
Kopas said the small number of violations was a result of planning by the Duquesne police.
“We felt we had enough police officers out to … avoid any potential problems,” Kopas said. “I think we accomplished our goal. We had very minimal incidents, which is a good thing.”
Kopas added that aside from the increase in officers, Duquesne police did not alter any strategies in law enforcement in anticipation of this past weekend.
Bag checks were conducted throughout the past week in campus dorms to enforce alcohol policies, though no set schedule for checks was in place, according to Assistant Director of Residence Life Matthew Ireland.
Duquesne students of age 21 and over may sign in one case of canned beer, one fifth of liquor or one bottle of wine into dorms once a week, according to the Duquesne code of student conduct.
In South Side, 10 people were arrested on Saturday for charges including disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, resisting arrest and assault, according to Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler.
Another 12 people in the South Side received citations for disorderly conduct, public urination, public intoxication and open containers of alcohol. Two businesses in Market Square received alcohol citations, and an aggravated assault was reported in the North Side, Toler said.
In expectation of increased student travel, the Duquesne Student Government Association sponsored an additional Loop Bus which took students to Oakland and the South Side Saturday night from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., which was announced in a mass email on Thursday.
