Fairfield students are not alone as they mourn the fading traditions of Spring Weekend events. Many schools throughout Connecticut are tightening their grip on the policies regarding drinking during these annual festivities.
Quinnipiac University and UConn, for example, both have notorious Spring Weekend celebrations reminiscent of Fairfield’s own long-lost Clam Jam.
These parties are also undergoing policy changes similar to those occurring at Fairfield.
At Quinnipiac University in Hamden, the school’s “May Weekend” celebration traditionally featured a refreshment tent that provided beer to of-age students and unspoken allowance of drinking from open containers.
“It was basically a chance to socialize and hang out with your friends. You wouldn’t really get in trouble for having alcohol with you,” said Quinnipiac senior Sara Fiore. “It was a chance to unwind before finals, and students often include the alcohol in unwinding.”
Quinnipiac student Jackie Byrnes’ 09 said students would even play beer pong outdoors.
In 2006, however, the school implemented major changes to the event’s drinking policy, banning the beer tent and instructing security officers and RAs to enforce drinking policies concerning open containers just as they would any other weekend.
Students were initially upset by the news, but many said the event was not as drastically different as they had feared.
“Alcohol just had to be in these Pepsi cups that we use for soda at school and then no one would say anything. But you were not allowed to play beer pong in plain sight,” said Byrnes.
Seniors said that because of the change in format, they were less enthusiastic about this year’s event.
“The beer tent was a big draw for seniors living off campus,” said Fiore “It was a good way to get them back on campus and participating in other things that go on during the weekend, like the concert … now that I’m 21, I think it would be nice to have the same experiences seniors have had in the past.”
UConn’s Spring Weekend is an infamous celebration, one that The Daily Campus, the university’s student newspaper, referred to as “the most hyped up weekend at UConn and maybe even the entire state.”
The event features multiple big-name concert performances in addition to parties that annually attract thousands of party-goers from all over the region.
While much of their partying takes place in off- campus apartments, a party at x-lot, an on-campus parking lot, was very popular.
However, UConn has made an effort in the past few years to tame the weekend’s events, which have often resulted in arrests and property damage, according to statistics published by The Daily Campus.
The school increased police presence and required attendees to obtain bracelets to minimize the number of uninvited guests.
However, students still managed to party hard.
“The school, of course, doesn’t condone the drinking here, but they know what’s going on; so if an RA catches you with booze, they’re supposed to write you up,” said UConn junior Zach Molinaro ’08. “The cops have been great, though. They understand the magnitude of the weekend and really don’t give you a hard time unless you deserve it.”
Other students, though, are more wary of the increased regulation of this cherished annual event.
“The cops were drastically more strict than in previous years, and I imagine that this year they will be even more strict,” said UConn junior Tyler Raffauf ’08.
Nearby Sacred Heart has also undergone some changes in regard to their spring events.
All of the school’s Greek life events that had formerly spanned the entire semester now all take place in one Spring Week celebration, according to Sacred Heart junior Matt Tarro.
Most of the events also extend their invitations to the entire school population now, rather than exclusively fraternity and sorority members.
Overall, the trend has been for change over tradition. But students said they are still able to enjoy these spring festivities.
“In general it seems that a lot of schools are getting stricter, which is not great, but at least we’re not the only ones, and some of the changes are probably needed,” said Fairfield student Rob Zwillich ’08.
“Well as students get rowdier, schools need to stay on top of things,” said Mallory Reimers ’09. “It’s too bad it has come to losing tradition though.”
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