As some students are going to bed after a night of partying, others are waking up to pick up the mess.

St. Patrick’s Day may only be one day of the year, but that won’t stop students from celebrating the holiday all weekend, which takes its toll on the downtown cleaning crew.

Randy Hann, maintenance supervisor for downtown Bowling Green, an organization concerned with maintaining and improving downtown and attracting customers and residents to the area, is taking extra measures to prepare for the influx of inebriated students.

The morning cleanup shift typically requires one person, but to counteract the surplus of litter, Hann will increase the downtown cleanup crew to four Thursday through Monday.

While some of the additional hands will come from Downtown BG staff, most of the help will come from volunteers, Hann said. The daily shift goes from 8 a.m. to noon.

The extra volunteers will be tasked with keeping streets clean by clearing it of beer cans, cigarette butts, Irish beads and any other litter resulting from the holiday’s festivities.

“We typically found with St. Patty’s Day, there’s a lot of additional problems because of people vomiting and throwing down their Irish trash,” Hann said.

While trash and vomit may bother some students, it doesn’t bother Michael Oiler, who is volunteering to clean downtown with some of his fellow fraternity members of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

“I’m not too worried about it,” Oiler, a junior, said. “We’ve done cleanup like this before.”

Sophomore Pat Gallagher, the community service chair for TKE, gathered several other fraternity members, including Oiler, to participate in the weekend cleanup.

Gallagher said this type of community service is in line with the fraternity’s philosophy, “Better men for a better world.” While TKE members are required to do 24 hours of community service a semester, Gallagher sees it as more than just a membership requirement.

“We like to view it as something that should be a part of our everyday lives,” Gallagher said. ”I believe this really kind of helps the greater community gain a better understanding of what greek life is all about.”

TKE members will volunteer for the Friday and Saturday shifts, taking a break Sunday to have their own festivities, Gallagher said.

Gallagher himself is doing the Saturday shift, while Oiler will work the Friday and Saturday shifts.

“All in all giving back is always a great experience,” Gallagher said.

Both Gallagher and Oiler see this service as a way for students to connect with city residents and dispel stereotypes residents may have.

“[We wanted] to show the community that students want to help, we’re not just there to go to the bars,” Oiler said. “They can see the caliber of person I am, the caliber of person [TKE members] are.”

Hann has been preparing for the added crew by making sure he has all the necessary equipment, from leaf blowers to safety vests. He experienced his first St. Patrick’s Day in the city this past year, and recognized the increase in partying warranted the increase in the cleanup crew.

“We really couldn’t get the job done if it wasn’t for volunteers,” he said. “I suspect that the party’s probably going to start Thursday night, and roll all the way through the weekend.”