March 17th.
St. Patrick’s Day: a day once known to people as a day of “the luck of the Irish”, a day where people get dressed up in their favorite leprechaun gear and just have fun roaming around.
However, what many people do not know is that St. Patrick’s Day weekend at Muhlenberg is easily one of the best weekends of the school year. While it may not be as big of a deal at other schools, and is frowned upon at schools such as Penn State, Muhlenberg tends to go “all out” for this holiday.
I remember being told when I was a freshman that St. Patrick’s Day weekend would probably be one of the most fun weekends during the second semester, if not all year. Every year, on a weekend that St. Patrick’s Day falls near, it is a commonality for students to get up extremely early, get dressed in all of their holiday attire, and go to what is known as “Benfer Bash”, which is when many students come together and socialize at Benfer, one of the student residence halls.
In order to make the best of this weekend, it’s probably most important to get up early. You don’t want to waste the day, because it’s not often that our school acts like Michigan State University or the University of Wisconsin on a regular game-day weekend.
You definitely want to dress up and find all of the decorations and goodies you can for this holiday. The more dressed up you are, the more fun you will have.
It’s also fun to go out with a bunch of people—expand your friend groups! Everything is always more fun when more people are involved and I guarantee that you won’t regret it. You’d be surprised at how many friends you can make this day. Last year during Benfer Bash, I went into some random person’s Benfer who is now one of my closest friends.
Most importantly, have fun! This is the one day a year where our school lets loose and the library is not a packed village like it usually is. Take advantage of this opportunity to have an amazing weekend, but always remember to stay safe!