[DeltAlum]

St. Patricks Day, 1965...

I was a first semester Freshman. Young and not all that bright. I hadn't even pledged yet. Some friends of mine from Ohio State were visiting me on campus, but I had a date and arranged to meet them after women's "hours." (Women had to be in the dorms by 10:30 on weeknights and 12:30 on weekends in those days)

There was a riot going on "uptown." There were always riots on St. Pattys day at our campus in those days. I believe that's the main reason the university changed to quarters so St. Pats falls during Spring Break. Everyone from the "big schools" in Ohio and Michigan who were already on break stopped at our little party school campus on the way Florida.

My date and I went to an off campus apartment with her roommate and date and drank a lot of vodka. I mean, a lot of vodka.

In our stupor, we figured it we could just skirt the riot, get the girls back to the dorm, skirt the riot again and get to the BBF (an Ohio version of fast food hamburger places) to get some french fries, everything would be OK. Real brain surgeons.

We managed to accomplish that, and met up with my pals from OSU and were sitting in the BBF while the riot was going on outside. Women from the private dorm across the street were "flashing" the crowds out their windows.

There was a special duty rent-a-cop or something in the restaurant. The place was packed, and everybody was chanting "Cops eat (well, you know) and clapping their hands in cadence. The four of us were just sitting there clapping our hands (and not yelling), and sort of staring blankly into space, eating our greasy french fries.

Well, the cop didn't like us, I guess, so he came up to us and said, "You guys...out!" On the way out, he gave me a huge shove with his baton and I almost tripped down the three stair to the sidewalk.

I suspect I may be the only guy to ever get thrown out of the BBF for minding my own business and eating fries.

The cap to the evening came when we got down to my dorm and found my room mate passed out on the Green with an empty bottle of Kesslers in his hand. We hauled him up four flights of stairs and left him in the shower. Sure glad he didn't drown.

Like I said, young and stupid.