Unofficial 2012

There was something different about this week, you could feel it in the air.  Even as early as Monday, something was amiss in the student population.  I overheard conversations in the elevator that went something like: "Yeah, I turned in that essay today, TWO DAYS EARLY, hammered it out last night."  "Aww, sweet!  Good work man."  Over and over again, in different forms, and with different classes, everyone was getting ready...ready for an extremely unproductive Friday.  Well, I guess that depends on how you define "unproductive", but you get the point.  Despite the ominous clouds that raced across the sky, the brief hailstorm, and heavy down pour, Unofficial 2012 was in full swing.The flow of students on the quad was tainted green and hoots and hollers could be heard everywhere on campus, even in the early morning hours.  Hours when most campus locations are usually dead quiet with sleeping college students.Green Street lives up to its name one day a year, and that day was today.  Window paint, leprechaun costumes, green margarita beads, and all other imaginable green apparel flooded every block, masking the usual orange and blue color scheme of campus.  Everyone had a bit of Irish in them.I as per usual did not participate in the Unofficial festivities, but that did not stop me from taking some photos of the campus town shenanigans.  So check out some of the shots below of U of I students showing that all of us are at least a little green at heart.An electronic sign, warns Green Street drivers to be wary of "heavy foot traffic"...drunk studentsA trio of musicians/singers perform for the students on Green Street.A student questions the legitimacy of free water being handed out on Green Street by Intervarsity students.A Leprechaun uses his cellphone as he stumbles down Green Street.A squad car patrols Green Street as students foot traffic begins to pick in the evening hours.Students help each other walk across Green Street as it definitely takes their combined coordination to make the journey.A student points out the Daily Illini live webcam to his friends on their way by the Illini Media building.A student reads the sign at legends while he talks to his friend on the phone outside.A slightly inebriated student walks in on a news interview with Champaign Mayor Don Gerard.Photos Copyright: JD Maloney