To the Editor:
Campus Pipeline has proven that good news comes in trickles, and bad news comes in waterfalls. Upon signing on during the day on Wednesday, to check my email to see if there was an update from one of my professors, I noticed an email with the subject of “CLOSING INFORMATION” in big bold letters. My initial thought was to leave this for a later time since I had a paper to write. Curiosity and procrastination won me over however, and I opened the letter.
It contained the typical information about residence halls closing on this date by this time, etc., etc., etc. It also contained information regarding the Townhouses and Apartments during the Christmas break. The Townhouses and Apartments are meant to be a “Semi-Independent Living Community” on campus according to the university. Do all “Semi-Independent Living Communities” dictate to their residents whom they can have visit? Do they reserve the right to keep all people away from their homes who do not attend the institution and are not juniors or seniors? I do not believe so.
Before my current tenure here at Fairfield, a board of students came up with the Townhouse/Apartment Alcohol policy to cut back on the underage drinking that takes place on campus. They did not develop the TAPS program as a way to restrict the lifestyles of the Townhouse and Apartment residents. However, with this current news from the university, our basic First Amendment right to freedom of assembly is being surpressed on the chance that the Townhouse residents might decide to ring in the New Year with a bag of cheer.
I can understand the university’s desire to avoid any potential disaster that might occur involving alcohol and their students, underage or not, who are shoveling boat-loads of cash into Fairfield. Restricting the campus to prevent uninvited guests is thus an acceptable and expected measure. However, restricting the campus to only Fairfield University students of junior or senior standing is squashing the rights of the students as citizens of the United States to join together and enjoy a night filled with joyous laughter and music everywhere across the globe.
During my two and a half years here so far, I have seen the loss of some of the great traditions that made Fairfield University stand out in the eyes of many college students. Before even deciding to attending Fairfield, I had many friends from home asking when Clam Jam and Luau were so that they could plan their schedules around those weekends.
Now that I reside in a supposed “Semi-Independent Living Community,” shouldn’t I have the right to decide who I have come to visit me? Apparently not according to the administration of the university who has put a damper on what was going to be a full blown production of epic proportions. All because they are afraid of the off chance that there might be underage drinking occurring on campus.
Sincerely,
David M Hirx ’03
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