For this year’s St. Patrick’s Day, in anticipation of large street parties, police fenced off Ezra Avenue, hoping to prevent the disruptive event from occurring.
In an email titled “Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Safely” sent out to UW students by Chris Read, associate provost, Read encouraged students to avoid street parties that sometimes became dangerous and often put a strain on both the city’s and UW’s resources. Read also stated that the university did not condone the street parties.
However, neither the shutdown nor the verbal warnings were enough to deter attendees from simply moving the party to Marshall St. and other locations. Imprint spoke with several students walking along the streets in the evening, who had come not just from UW and WLU, but other colleges and cities in Ontario as well.
- Photo “Marshall”
“Marshall was kinda busy so we went to our own friend’s party. We were at our friend’s till 5 pm…it wasn’t as busy as it was at like 3 pm, but it was still pretty compact and dense.” — Jose, third-year management engineering student at UW
2. Photo “Overwhelming”
“It was honestly overwhelming, I was in the middle and I had to get out, I couldn’t breathe. You’re shoulder to shoulder and it’s so muddy, I saw so many people fall in the mud, it was crazy.” — Sophia, BBA student at Laurier
3. Photo “Shut down”
“I think we’ll [party in the apartment the rest of the night], just because so far all the parties have been shut down because of COVID or the police have gotten there, so not much left tonight.” — Nina, BBA student at Laurier
4. Photo “Nothing”
“It’s quieter this year. I, years ago, did [security] over on Ezra St.and the party kept going until like 10, 11 at night but this is absolutely crazy, there’s nothing.” — Diane, security guard
5. Photo “Our Year”
“I feel like everyone’s been done with COVID for the past two years so they’re like, ‘This is our year to have fun’.” — Dino and Lars, Ryerson University
6. Photo “Phil’s”
“We’re going to Phil’s cause it’s St. Paddy’s, and we’re all from Europe so we all celebrate St. Paddy’s Day.” — international exchange student
