• For the first time in four years, St. Patrick's Day fell on a weekday when classes were in session.
• DPS says student celebrations were relatively calm.
• The university held an alcohol summit the same day to discuss alcohol use.
• As part of the summit, a panel of students and staff discussed the role of alcohol in Marquette's culture.

Marquette's first St. Patrick's Day with classes in session in four years was met with both celebrations and frank discussions about the role of alcohol on campus.

Department of Public Safety Lt. Paul Mascari said the student activity on Tuesday was rather calm considering the culture of the holiday.

"There was a little more activity than there would be on your average weekday, but it wasn't too bad," Mascari said. "Overall it was a relatively quiet day."

Mascari said the good student behavior was reflected in the DPS Reports from Tuesday.

"People were out at the bars all day, but it seems everyone was enjoying the day responsibly," he said.

Arthur Orville, a junior in the College of Business Administration, was one student who spent the holiday enjoying the campus bars.

"St. Patrick's Day is actually my birthday too, so I had a little extra celebrating to do for my 21st," he said.

Although Orville said he wasn't waiting in line for the bars to open at 6 a.m., the festivities did keep him away from his classes on Tuesday.

"I didn't have anything too important going on in class, so I decided to take the day off and just enjoy it," he said.

For Jake Hartlmeier, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, Tuesday was just a normal school day.

"I went to all my classes, and I was even in bed by 10 o'clock on St. Patrick's Day," Hartlmeier said. "It's a little ironic, but I was a better student on Tuesday than I have been all year."

As some students used St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to go out on a weekday, the university used the holiday as a platform for a discussion about alcohol use on campus.

As part of the 2009 Alcohol Summit, which ran through much of Tuesday afternoon in the Alumni Memorial Union, a panel of students and university staff members discussed the role of alcohol on Marquette's campus.

The panelists agreed that alcohol is a significant part of the Marquette culture but were uncertain how to change it.

All believed the use and abuse of alcohol is both common and widespread on campus.

"(Alcohol) is such a part of the community in so many different ways," said Gabe Brackman, a senior in the College of Engineering.

Sue Cooper, a crime prevention officer with DPS, said students' drinking habits can make it difficult for DPS to keep them safe on campus.

When students were warned to exercise more caution in their drinking in the wake of several robberies around campus last spring, DPS "did not see any change in the behavior of our students," Cooper said.

"That was a very frustrating time in our office," she said.

Brenda Lenz, the assistant director of the counseling center, said one factor contributing to the dominant presence of alcohol on campus is that it is difficult for moderate or non-drinkers to have their voices heard.

Panelists said many students come to college expecting everyone on campus to drink, and this makes it difficult to convince them otherwise.

"It's a struggle to say to (freshmen) that there's a voice out there that doesn't want to drink," said Brackman, who is a resident assistant in Abbottsford Hall. "You're looked at funny sometimes."

The portrayal of college alcohol use in the media and on social networking sites is a significant reason why students come to college with the assumption that all students drink, said Kalyn Gigot, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

"Because Facebook and movies and television and ads are so prevalent and so pervasive, it's really difficult to get that message across (that you don't have to drink)," Gigot said. "It's definitely an uphill battle."

Abby Koker, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, agreed, saying the information students get from media influences "perpetuates the culture (of alcohol) at college."

But changing these perceptions and drinking habits is difficult, because while the campus provides a lot of information about drinking, students tend to ignore it, Gigot said.

"In many regards, it goes in one ear and out the other," she said.

One challenge is that many campus events billed as drinking alternatives aren't appealing enough, said Alex Smith, a junior in the College of Business Administration.

"We need to find programs that aren't necessarily an alternative to drinking but that people actually want to go to," Smith said.