Establishments Go Alcohol-Free For 'State Patty's Day' At Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Nearly three dozen downtown bars, restaurants and bottle shops agreed to halt alcohol sales to counter an early St. Patrick's Day celebration created by Penn State students, the most aggressive effort yet to curb drinking on the unofficial "State Patty's Day."
In exchange, each business will receive a $5,000 subsidy to account help account for lost revenue.
A committee comprised of university and community leaders announced the move Tuesday and listed 34 establishments that it said supported Saturday's "alcohol-free zone."
State Patty's Day was created in 2007 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day when it fell on spring break that year. But the holiday no longer falls during the break.
School leaders and residents have grown weary of a weekend that has become synonymous with excessive drinking and property damage.
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