There shall be no Clam Jam because of a court injunction issued last year. “The town has no way to authorize such an event… the courts have ruled that it is illegal,” said Ken Flatto, First Selectman of Fairfield.
FUSA President Joe Piagentini said, “the tradition of Clam Jam will never be the same” as a result of the injunction. However, he said that his administration is working with Flatto and the town for a more controlled and less populated party. Flatto has said that the town can do nothing but enforce the law as it is written.
Dean of Students Mark Reed advised that students “need to obey court orders.” The injunction stipulates that there can be no event “attracting more than 250 students to take place upon the common areas” at Lantern Point. “The court finds that… Klam Jam (sic) and other events held by Fairfield University students in the common areas at Lantern Point… constitute a nuisance,” according to the court order issued on April 26, 2001. A violation of the court order could result in legal consequences for student residents and the landlords of the Lantern Point Association.
Though the injunction is called temporary, Reed said that it is not temporary in the colloquial sense. The injunction remains in effect forbidding gatherings of 250 students and enforcing Town Ordinances for noise violation in common areas “until further order of the court.”
Reed said that there have been sincere, well-intentioned efforts by FUSA, the Student Beach Residents’ Association (SBRA) and Fairfield administration to heal the relationship between student and non-student residents of Fairfield beach. However, “this problem is 100 times bigger” than a particular FUSA or SBRA administration. It pre-existed these current administrations and will exist after they have left the school. It requires a degree of legal knowledge and historical perspective, Reed continued.
Flatto expressed reservations about the future of Clam Jam. “Large scale events like Clam Jam are not destined for the future,” said the First Selectman. Flatto said that the risk of injury and unforeseen complications were difficult to manage with such a gathering. Also, Flatto implied a desire to have a balance between social events for upperclassmen and the maintenance of good relations with non-student residents.
These sentiments were also expressed in the court order. The injunction reads that at a visit to Lantern Point “what impressed the court most… was the concentration of many small cottages… It was evident to the court that any boistrous (sic) activity at Lantern Point would intrude upon the senses of surrounding property inhabitants.” However, the injunction also expressed a willingness “to balance the needs of the students for recreation against the absolute rights of the plaintiffs,” non-student residents.
However, Flatto also said that the court action was not something enacted by town officials. Flatto also encouraged more on-campus events, such as concerts, which could help to alleviate the “town gown” strife. He said that it was “very important to have a variety of activities for students.”
Both Reed and Flatto described the year as relatively quiet. “A number of student beach residents have worked hard to represent themselves responsibly,” said Flatto. Both also referred to the increased police activity. Flatto said that the police department has been more “aggressive.” Reed differentiated the university’s policies from town enforcement, and said that students are entitled to the due process outlined in the student handbook when confronting university sanctions after police action. Reed made an analogy to further explain some of the strains on the university saying that if a 20-year-old Gap employee parked in front of garbage cans, “I doubt they (non-student residents) would call the Gap.”
Reed paraphrased Fr. Carrier from a homily some time ago. “We perceive from where we stand,” he said and said that the students and non-students at Lantern Point are standing in different places with different frames of references and have been talking past each other, at times.
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