It hosts some of the best off-campus activities and represents over 400 Fairfield University students who call Fairfield Beach home this year.
The Student Beach Resident Association was founded by students and administration during the summer of 1992, not only to help coordinate social events but to also organize students living off-campus. But in recent years there has been little collaboration between the SBRA and any on-campus organization, perhaps because SBRA is seen as nothing more than an organization to plan unruly parties.
SBRA is continuing to struggle to define its role at Fairfield University. The university has made some attempts in the past to recognize the legitimacy of SBRA more directly by sponsoring 200 Nights. But after administrators attended the senior count down until graduation, they decided it was no longer a gathering which the university felt comfortable associating itself with.
As a residential housing organization, SBRA is, in at least one respect, equal in the eyes of the university. In 1992, four organizations were established to represent upper classmen. SBRA, UNITE, RAZOR and the Commuter Council serve as the voice of those students who live in the beach, townhouses, apartments or at home.
However, SBRA has historically been the most controversial of these groups. SBRA’s problems with creditability may be in conjunction with a recent decline in strong leadership within the organization. No folder of contacts or record of procedural accounts has been compiled and passed down from year to year.
“We really weren’t given anything from last year’s SBRA council,” said Colette Landers, ’03, co-president of the SBRA. “I know they tried to increase the legitimacy of the association last year and we are trying to continue in that tradition. Duane (Melzer, coordinator of off-campus students) is working really hard with us. We write everything down, try to establish permanent contacts, and have juniors on the council, all in attempt to leave a more concrete legacy. We want to help change the negative view some of university has of us.”
Despite the fact that SBRA struggles to create a concrete past, the percentage of tuition that is allotted for activities is still divided equally among all four residential groups.
Jon Stark, residence area coordinator and supervisor of UNITE and RAZOR, says this works out to approximately $25 to $26 per student. This year SBRA received approximately $10,000 to $10,400 from the university.
Upon receiving this funding, SBRA puts this money, along with fees collected from students living at the beach, into an account that is used to help fund social gatherings, such as 200 Nights, South Norwalk trips (night time excursions to SoNo) and the Mock Wedding (a faux wedding followed by catered reception).
SBRA has been a victim of its own successes. Negative publicity has accompanied the achievements of such well-attended events as Clam Jam and the infamous Luau. A temporary court injunction limits that number of individuals gathered at Lantern Point to 250, and poor town-gown relations have made planning events such as these increasingly more difficult.
Controversy continues to plague some of these functions. Discrepancies have arisen over whether beach events should be considered strictly for off-campus students or if they are senior functions that should be open to all seniors, regardless of where they live.
Out of the four major events that SBRA plans – 200 Nights, South Norwalk trips, the Mock Wedding and 30 Nights – only one, the Mock Wedding, is strictly for off-campus students.
Certain events are limited to strictly on or off-campus students because there would be too many students if the events were opened to the whole senior class.
“Almost every hall I called said they typically hold 200 to 250 people,” Landers said. “If we opened [the events] up to the whole grade we are talking about two times that.”
Landers said it was nearly impossible finding a hall that could hold the 500-person capacity that the upcoming 200 Nights would demand. The organization is considering charging on-campus students a little extra for their tickets in an effort to compensate for the fact that they were not subject to dues that went towards deferring the cost of tickets.
Stark said he would consider a co-sponsorship of events such as this only if there would be shared planning responsibility.
However, SBRA is not sure if they want to consider that option.
“I’m uncomfortable inviting kids that could potentially mess things up down here and then go home to their town house leaving us trying to mend fences,” Landers says. “Plus, Mock Wedding is a chance for all of us who live down here to get together and celebrate all the work we put into being here.”
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