A couple months ago, Tony wrote an interesting post for his series about the Top Ten Things You Buy When You Buy a Home in Fairfield. It was all about this being a college town, and all the great things the two colleges bring to the town. Click here for that post.
At the time, I agreed wholeheartedly with Tony, because I’ve believed it for the thirty plus years I have lived in this town. But (you knew there was a but coming), I’m starting to change my mind due to some recent events.
I started feeling this way after over 100 underage drinkers were busted at Bravo’s Restaurant on the Post Road. Here’s how it looked on the 11:00 news:
Bar Caught With 100 Underage Drinkers – ABC News
After all the shock and awe, let’s get back to reality. Put thousands of teens in a situation where they have little responsibility and live far from parental oversight (uh, college) and you are going to get a higher propensity for underage drinking. It happens. We did it when we were in college, things haven’t changed. It doesn’t make it ok, we just need to come up with a better alternative. When it comes to drinking alcohol, you are not going to change the behavior of college students with laws. Right or wrong, for most students, drinking is part of the social scene.
The problem is that we have these kids drinking all over Fairfield. The Seagrape learned their lesson years ago. But the beach is still a haven for loud parties. Most of these kids leave the parties with their fair share of alcohol in their systems. We don’t want them on our roads. Why do they go to the beach? Because it’s easier than getting into a downtown bar. But it’s up to our police force to monitor the beach, the roads and the bar scene downtown. Oh yeah, the Fairfield University police do help out, but by and large the responsibility lies with our officers.
I have a problem with this. I pay taxes. A lot of taxes. Town costs are going up including the tab on the police department. How many man hours do they spend keeping the town safe from college students? That cost needs to be transferred back to the universities. Not through an invoice or payment. Nope. Sacred Heart and Fairfield University need to have on campus bars, like just about every other college in the US. Just build them. This way any drunken and disorderly conduct happens on campus, and it’s a campus police problem. Thus, part of the ugly side of being a college town stays within the campus environs. (Yup, Sacred Heart also needs on-campus places to get bombed. Have you heard about the party with two tons of sand in the basement?). You say campus police are stretched? Hire more. If the budget is tight at the university, bill the parents. Have you seen the cars these kids drive? Their parents are wealthy. If I paid less in taxes, maybe I could afford one of those shiny German SUVs like the college kids.
In his article, Tony also mentioned that the universities bring in “creative, well-educated” people. Then I read a post on the Fairfield Mirror, and was floored. I’ll link to the post in a few sentences, after a warning. This post is offensive and describes date rape. It’s not for the faint of heart. Here is the “He Said” column by Chris Surette. . This is what the universities bring to Fairfield? This is good? It’s not creative.
Tom Cleary, Editor in Chief at The Fairfield Mirror, goes on to defend Surette in a “Letter from the Editor”. He has to do that, because he allowed it to go on the site in the first place, so he’s got to cover his ass too. If Surette had posted this to his myspace account that’s one thing, but the school paper? That lacks judgement from the editor of the paper. Do the universities teach judgement? In Surette’s defense, Cleary states the article is “a representation of the views of Chris Surette, based on satirical and stereotypical thoughts of men.” So the men at Fairfield University feel this way? What parent is going to send their daughter to a college that openly degrades women? Father, we have a problem.
Do you think this is a problem? Anyone want to open an on-campus bar? Tired of seeing Fairfield on the 11:00 news? Tell us in the comments below.
Thanks, Ed, for bringing this to the community’s attention.
This has been a problem ever since universities were born in medieval Europe. Until early in this century Cambridge and Oxford had not only their own police but their own prisons! And they watched over (and incarcerated) not only the students but even the town girls who met them in pubs and tempted them.
Although town/gown problems are always an issue in college towns, the interests of the town and campus have to be brought into harmony by frequent and effective exchamges between the police and community leaders on the one hand and campus authorities on the other.
Perhaps now that the community has been shocked into awareness by the incident at Bravos, our leaders will get their heads together — or at least out of the sand.
Leonard, I truly appreciate your comment. A prison? hmmmm….
Harmony. That’s an ideal situation. And any longtime resident, especially in the beach area, will know we’ve tried that path.
I’ve lived in this town most of my life. And the time I was away was at colleges (ECSU and UConn) and living in Charlottesville, VA (home of UVA). In each of these cases, the universities had/have a backbone and took responsibility of the underage drinking problem. I’m sure underage drinking is still a problem at these institutions, and will not likely go away in my lifetime, but campus police respond to the issues and deal with it. The burden is not placed on the town. That’s the real issue. Sacred Heart and Fairfield University do not take ownership of situations like Bravo’s.
I’m not kidding when I suggest they open bars on campus. To me, the universities are not serious about changing the status quo unless they at least consider this. All I see right now are two large institutions turning their heads away from their obligation.
I lived here in Fairfield all my life, and I recall the problems over in the beach area during the school year with the Fairfield U students….especially with the infamous “Clam Jam”! The university slid the problems under the rug for years up until a few years ago….there’s still issues down that way but things are much better. Now, Sacred Heart is starting to experience was Fairfield U did……and here’s my question: though the school is in Fairfield, a lot of the students reside in Bridgeport….soooooo which police dept gets involved? One or both?
College students partying/drinking isn’t going to change any time soon either.
Oh and PS…..I went to college in upstate NY, and I wasn’t a big partier…..though where my college was, it was definitely a collegetown w/ an Ivy League school ‘across the Hill’!
As a recent graduate of 08′ I want to announce that one large reason upperclass students left campus to go drinking in bars and clubs is the sheer fact that they don’t have public safety breathing down their necks. It comes with the independence of being 21 years of age.
If you’re going to create a drinking atmosphere for upperclassmen to ‘prevent’ situations caused from drinking – put yourself in the students shoes first… If you are a student, you want to get buzzed or most times hammered with your friends and classmates without being monitored AND you want to be within a reasonable and [cheap] distance to get back to your comfy bed… i.e. the grape provides/ed both, hence the Grape is it’s a multimillion dollar asset to the owner.
The problem I see with ‘on-campus bars’ is the sheer fact that – god forbid someone gets messy… they’ll automatically be brought to discipline for getting beligerent. The only answer to this equation is giving the students what they want. If you want to control the scene then you should provide some type of drinking location that is university-owned, yet unsolicited as such. You need to offer drink specials that will attract students to attend week in and week out. AND. You need to let the students learn from their own experiences. This is college, the stage of life that expresses what one has learned about independence and maturity.
As a recent graduate of Fairfield (Class of ’09), I agree with you on a few points but I also take particular offense to a few of your points and suggestions.
First and foremost, I agree that underage drinking and college drinking are problems that plague most colleges and universities across the nation. Something needs to change so that there can be a happy medium between college students and the rest of society. How we go about that, I am not sure (lower drinking age to 18? Maybe or maybe not). Unfortunately, that is the only point I can say that I am in agreement.
You suggest that Sacred Heart and Fairfield Universities open up on-campus bars. I am not sure where everyone has been on this one, but Fairfield U. does operate an on-campus bar, “the Levee”. They have drink specials and also serve pizza from Angelo’s (formerly Mike’s Pizza). I don’t think that opening three more on campus bars is the answer to the problem. I think that going off campus has some mystique that on-campus bars could never fulfill. Plus, if you accidently have one too many and are picked up by Public Safety, you now have a disciplinary problem on your hands. To say that students drink too much and are out of control (this happens) as if this never happens to mature adults…you are ignorant. Adults, how about that Christmas Party where you had one too many Grey Gooses and started caroling (off-key) down the street or on New Years when you had too much Dom and got on top of the piano and started singing Auld Lang Syne. To paint students as sinners and claim yourselves as saints is foolish. Many people like to drink…students and mature adults alike….the same nonsense happened when you went to school…
You then raise the issue of taxes. Your solution to this one is to open on-campus bars and have “campus police” deal with the issue. (As I said earlier, on-campus bars will not solve this problem.) I find it offensive that you suggest the University raise tuition to pay for all of the costs associated with the students around town… “have you seen the cars these kids drive…their parents are wealthy.” That suggestion and implication is appalling. Not every student’s parents earn seven figures and drive BMW’s. How dare you undermine the families and students that have to take on loans and financial hardships to get through an institution such as Fairfield University (Do you know the tuition?…$51,560 for 2009) Just because there are students (many) that drive BMW’s and Mercedes, please do not undermine those that don’t.
Back to the issue of taxes…if Fairfield U. was not in the picture, your taxes would be higher. Think of all of the revenues the town gets related to students and the local business who thrive on student business. You are right…it would be cheaper not to have the students involved in the community…wrong.
I think the problem in the town of Fairfield is the fact that many people buy into this great community with very high expectations. Home values are quite high and it is not cheap to live here. When students go parading past your multi-million dollar home around 2 am, you get angry for the lack of respect. I agree there is a lack of respect there, but if you bought a home in this town in the last 30 years you have no right to open your mouth and complain. I would first complain to your real estate broker for not informing you of these potential issues. Someone did not do the due diligence. You are entering a college town and should expect the nonsense that comes with moving into a college town. It would be as if you built your house across from the railroad and found the midnight-express to be bothersome. A Latin expression sums this up perfectly…caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware for those not well versed)
Here is my simple suggestion…the community and students need to come together with University Administration to find a solution (we need a “sit down”) and quit bickering. Playing the blame game and who did what will not answer the problem at hand.
Ed, clearly I do not think that on-campus bars are the solution…any other suggestions
[...] seems that story I posted a few weeks ago about the Fairfield University columnist was prescient (I even [...]
This post is just insane. Of course any college is going to involve its share of rowdy and occasionally drunken students, but the positives of having a University in your town far outweigh the negatives. Fairfield U. offers a world-class library open to the general public, programming, events and lectures that are free and open to locals, beautiful grounds where residents often times take a stroll, their kids to sleigh ride etc. It is ignorant for people to complain about the students while taking full advantage of all the great things that a University offers. NOT to mention the 5,000 or so extra customers that the University brings into town. Get some earplugs and stop whining.
Truth – Did you read the post? I want the universities to take up more of the responsibility for their students when they get rowdy. Both universities are hands off when things happen off campus. That’s not my experience with other college towns I’ve lived in.
Earplugs? You slay me.
As a Fairfield grad and resident for many years I can definitely see where people are coming from with their hard feelings towards drinking and rowdiness with the student body. However, I find myself on the other side of the argument. When looking at other college towns, especially with large state universities, it could be much worse. It’s college. Kids are away from home for the first time. They can be irresponsible, obnoxious and they will drink no matter what. If you shut down one bar or party, they will find another one. Be glad Fairfield U students aren’t violent or vandalize homes as is common in other college towns. However, when I was a student at FU, we did have residents trespassing onto our property and video taping us through our windows to “prove” there was underage drinking going on. Too bad we were all 21/22 and they were invading our privacy.
Also, I take offense at the comment that Fairfield does not bring in “creative, well-educated” students when you read too deeply into a farcical column about one night stands in college. I not only partied my fair share in college, as most do, but I also went on to get a PhD at MIT. Fellow Fairfield grads from my year are already CFO’s or have started a successful business on their own. Don’t put all of us in the same category as uneducated and with lack of judgment. Students work hard and like to blow off steam by having a good time. Yes, it can be inconvenient for taxpayers and Fairfield residents but that doesn’t change the fact that Fairfield beats out Boston College, Villanova and Holy Cross for education. Just because you’re getting older and don’t want to deal with it anymore doesn’t give you the right to say Fairfield doesn’t offer top notch education.
And on-campus bars? Not a chance.