The Mirror reported earlier this year that Fairfield University was named as having the worst town-gown relations in the nation by the Princeton Review. However, the only people surveyed by the people at the Princeton Review were students living in the Fairfield Beach area.
Here is a hot tip: we are not just Fairfield Beach.
Plans are in the making to bring back the Student Advisory Board for the Chamber of Commerce to the town of Fairfield. It is a long name, but it has the most powerful members: the student body.
It formed three years ago, but was lost in the shuffle as other priorities with the students got in the way.
“There is a lot more going on around here than just the beach,” said Nancy Habetz, director of media relations, “Fairfield is not just that strip of beach.”
Habetz is leading a group of about 15 to 30 students that will meet once a month in hopes of discussing ways to make the relations between Fairfield University and the town of Fairfield better.
The most common misconception, according to Habetz, is that when people hear the term town-gown, they almost automatically think of beach relations. It is a proven fact that the majority of Fairfield town residents enjoy the fact that the university is here, she said.
“It is all about stereotypes,” said Chloe Tonini,’04. “All the town residents think that all we do is get drunk and wreak havoc on the town. How can they make that judgement if all I am doing is feeding my money into their economy by going to Stop and Shop and places like that?”
According to Patricia Ritchie, executive director of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, this shared economy is the foundation of the town and university relationship.
“The main purpose of the advisory board is to market the chamber and its members to the students,” said Ritchie. “We want to know what the student wants and we are willing to do whatever it is to make the students at Fairfield happy when they are in the areas of commerce in the town.”
“There is a list of about 20 shops and restaurants around town that will discount a purchase if one were to show a Fairfield University identification,” said Habetz.
It is the goal of the advisory board, which plans on allowing a town resident and professors to join the discussions, to air the frustrations between the town and the students.
“We are trying to determine what the town could do to be a more welcoming place for the students,” said Habetz.
FUSA President Karen Donoghue is greatly supporting this board. “We want everyone to get the information. You can’t expect anything to get better if people don’t know what is going on,” said Donoghue. “I got an amazing response from all types of students on this issue. It seems like they have a lot to say about it.”
The group of students will most likely meet once a month, under the supervision of Habetz, to talk about the issues. The Chamber of Commerce will even foot the bill for pizza for the board.
The Chamber of Commerce feels that Fairfield University is something very good for the community of Fairfield.
“It is a shame that all you hear about are the bad things,” said Ritchie. “We are not looking to point fingers at the students. We are looking to get an exchange of information… what do the students want to see in the town, etc.”
Although the board is not being formed to deal primarily with beach related issues, the board is willing to discuss the beach situation.
If a problem between the students and the town arises, the board would be willing to bring in a member of the community concerned with that issue and discuss it, Ritchie said.
According to Ritchie, the former group of students that first dealt with the town issues asked for a better way to get from the university to the areas of commerce in the town. Anyone remember the infamous FUSS Bus? “The possibilities are there for something great,” said Habetz.
This advisory board should not be confused with the SBRA (Student Beach Resident Association).
“Although we may discuss some beach issues, we definitely do not want to tread on their territory,” said Habetz.
Fairfield students would be pleased to know that Vincent Biondi, the most outspoken critic of loud student beach parties that have been a long-running source of aggravation for permanent beach residents, thinks that the beach is getting better.
He describes his views in the Connecticut Post as saying that the climate has changed. The Post says that he thinks the temporary court injunction against large crowds at Lantern Point where the big student parties like Clam Jam and the Luau previously took place was “an enormous help.”
It is the hope of Habetz to make Fairfield more of a “college town” in combining all the different people concerned with the town-gown relations.
Maybe someday you will find Fairfield University mugs and t-shirts being sold at local establishments, Habetz said. “I would like to see that.”
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