U of I pushes parents to control day of drinking

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois recently sent parents a letter asking them to help efforts to control the annual Unofficial St. Patrick's Day celebration.

But one parent who is particularly close to the issue of young people drinking wants the university to do more.

Cynthia Cronin Cahill has two daughters at the university and is also a member of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. According to The News-Gazette, she asked at a commission meeting Wednesday why the university can't pressure campus bars to stop letting in anyone younger than 21.

Bar owners and others argue that those younger students will just drink elsewhere.

Unofficial St. Patrick's Day draws thousands of students from the university and across the region to a day of drinking.