| °

Participants in Unofficial St. Patrick's Day 2010 started early. In spite of the campus bars not opening until 11 a.m., early starters like these two were milling around Campustown by 8 a.m. With a large portion of the student body participating, along with up to 18,000 out-of-town visitors, "Unofficial" has become a well-known--and some might say infamous--event at the University of Illinois. Started in 1996 by local campus bar owner Scott Cochrane, Unofficial quickly evolved into a daylong binge drinking party, attracting people from other campuses and communities. Campus and city authorities have put restrictions in place to help curb some of the more destructive practices from past Unofficials.