Irish Illini is the Irish student philanthropic group at the University of Illinois. They host many social events on campus, and are associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and the infamous Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
It is a common misconception, however, that the Irish Illini are the organizers of the tradition of Unofficial. “The main thing we do is sell t-shirts,” said Charlie Knibbs, Irish Illini President. “We call them the official unofficial t-shirts. The money goes to our charity events like Relay for Life and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.” The local bars are actually the main source of Unofficial planning.
About two years ago Irish Illini was suspended as an RSO for “[advertising] the availability of alcohol for their members.” This left the group with a slightly tarnished reputation, but has been doing a lot of charity work recently to improve. “We do a blood drive every semester,” said Knibbs, “and for St. Baldrick’s our members are going to get donations to shave their heads.”
You can find the Irish Illini on their Facebook group and through their email listserv. Their Facebook group, with over 1000 members, is where members sign up to be on the listserv and plan future events.
This is the second in our series on Unofficial. Check back for more stories in the future.
January 20th, 2010 at 7:03 am
[...] Programs Office: Unofficial The Quad: Irish Illini Unofficial: U of I [...]