Last Sunday was supposed to be the final showdown between Fairfield University students and their neighbors, the town’s beach residents, at the annual Clam Jam.
It turned out to be a wash.
The Sunday before the end of spring classes has traditionally been the day of Clam Jam, when masses of students gather at Fairfield Beach in the vicinity of Lantern Point. However, it cannot be called Clam Jam anymore due to the injunction ruling in April 2001 that prohibited social gatherings of more than 250 students at Lantern Point.
In FUSA President Karen Donoghue’s mind, Clam Jam is dead. “I don’t think that it’s my business to tell students to go to the beach or not,” Donoghue said. “FUSA has nothing to do with Clam Jam, and that’s how it will remain.”
“There is no such thing as Clam Jam,” she added.
Last year’s Clam Jam was renounced via email by then FUSA president Joe Piagentini ’02.
Despite this mentality, many students were ready to hit the beach on Sunday after Spam Jam at the townhouses on campus, but were discouraged by the injunction and poor weather conditions.
Parties were contained within the beach houses instead of catering to a mass of people that, in past years, covered the beach and nearby paths.
“I don’t know of anyone who went,” Andrea Bazos ’04 said. “People were hesitant to go to the beach, knowing that they would be crowded inside beach houses. The rain seemed to dampen the festivities.”
In light of the injunction, the past year has been less bothersome to town residents. According to police records, this year’s special day went entirely without incident.
“As I understand, the event known as Clam Jam didn’t occur on Sunday,” said Attorney Joel Z. Green, who represents the town residents who filed the injunction.
“The residents and I are constantly monitoring the situation, and it appears that the injunction has reduced the nuisance behavior,” Green added.
Good behavior won’t lessen the beach restrictions, however. According to Green, the injunction stands until other legal action is taken.
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