Feb 27, 2014 02:02 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Penn State will once again try to keep the student-created unofficial drinking holiday State Patty's Day alcohol-free by paying off downtown restaurants and bars.

This year, the Centre Daily Times reported, the school is seemingly having more success thanks to a new system for compensating establishments. What's more is the school plans to pay for these pay-offs using funds accumulated from parking ticket fees from past State Patty's Day events.

Like last year, downtown State College will be completely dry, but this year, beer distributors have joined in. According to a news release from Penn State, 34 of 35 bars and restaurants have agreed not to sell alcohol on Saturday, March 1. The one holdout is a restaurant that plans to serve alcohol to dinner guests.

The school also adopted a new method of compensation based on maximum occupancy for participating establishments, per PennLive.com:

Businesses with occupancy of 350 or more: $7,500

Businesses with occupancy from 250-349: $6,000

Businesses with occupancy from 100-249: $5,000

Businesses with occupancy levels less than 100: $2,500

Students invented State Patty's Day in 2007 since Saint Patrick's Day came annually during spring break. Since, it has become arguably the largest drinking holiday for the school.

State College community members and school leaders have long fought the excessive drinking that takes place on this unofficial holiday. Other precautions taken this year will be a full force of campus and town police officers downtown, a task force trying to deter local liquor stores and beer distributors from staying open that day.

The court system will process out of town offenders immediately and also seek the maximum punishment for alcohol related crimes over the weekend. Administrators at other central Pennsylvania schools will discourage their students from traveling to State College and parking violation fees will be spiked up to football game day prices.

Still, senior sociology student Allison Zeeger told the Daily Collegian that Penn State would not achieve a truly dry holiday.

"Just because the bars are closed, [students won't stop]," she said. "It'll just lead to more apartment parties."

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