Posted: 9/27/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Josh Birnbaum The Daily Illini Students party before noon on Friday, Mar. 3, 2006 at Healey Gardens apartments on Fourth St. in Champaign. The Irish Illini were suspended shortly after that Friday, Unofficial St. Patrick's Day, for announcing drink specials to their membership, and reportedly encouraging underage drinking.

Media Credit: Margaret Pepple Irish Illini President Patrick Boyle comments on business as usual.

Media Credit: Margaret Pepple Boyle says the group is about much more than a few nights of drinking.

One of the largest social clubs on campus is back. The University suspended the Irish Illini last spring after the group sent an e-mail to members telling them about drink specials available at their Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day bar crawl. Posting availability of alcohol is against the Registered Student Organization Code. Irish Illini President Patrick Boyle says that although some changes will be made about how events are publicized, the club will go on much as it has before.

"I'm no longer allowed to say anything about the availability of alcohol and drink specials and what not. We can still have events, we will still have events, our happy hours, our bar scramble, which a lot of people were wondering about. we are still doing that. There's nothing saying we can't have a party, we can't have a bar crawl. We'll be going on just as we did last semester."

The annual bar crawls may be the Irish Illini's most visible activities, but Boyle says the group is about much more than a few nights of drinking.

"I think we got a bad rap last year. A lot of people just think we're a big drinking club. A lot of people don't know the other things we do. We're also a big philanthropy based club. Last year alone we gave over three-thousand dollars to charity."

Boyle credits communication with the RSO Office about the group's other activities and goals allowed the clubs' reinstatement.

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