INTRO TO FAKE PADDY’S DAY – Laina and Lydia

A group poses for a photo after tossing around a football in Kent, Ohio, on Summit Street, March 16, 2019. Editor’s Note: Everybody in this photo is over 21. 

Editor’s Note: KentWired granted anonymity, meaning people didn’t have to give their names if they didn’t want to. 

Kent’s annual Fake Paddy’s Day started out relatively quiet. At 7 a.m., snow gently came down while people ordered their morning coffee at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. In some areas, police began to patrol the streets, preparing for the day that had yet to begin. 

Here and there, people dressed head to toe in green walked around, but the pace didn’t really pick up until around 8 a.m. 

As the sun began to rise, blanketing Kent State in an orange glow, the snow went away and college students came out in large groups to take on the day. While some began to make the journey to their events they had planned months before, others already started, tossing a football on the side walk along Summit Street. 

Many dressed in their green regalia, braving the cold, making the long trek from their apartments to their destination. There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air for another year of Kent’s very own holiday. 

For some, they might have been experiencing the day for the first time. But for others, it’s their last Fake Paddy’s Day of their college career. 

“It’s like our last hurrah because I know that when we graduate, we’re not going to be able to wake up at 6 a.m. and go this hard,” a senior Kent State student said.