“Hey, what did you do last night?”

“Not much, just stopped by the Booby Trap for a bit, and then went to the Insanity for a while. I heard the Dog House was fun, though.”

With the strong possibility of confusing almost any normal American, the above conversation could only make perfect sense to one small community-the students of Fairfield University.

Upon entering Fairfield, one of the first lessons students learn is the legacy of the beach houses, occupied off campus by junior and senior Fairfield students.

There are over 100 university-occupied beach houses, with crazy names such as the Smoking Bishop, the Albino Frog, the Naked Mormon and the Frozen Shamrock.

As time passes, students become more familiar and connected with the beach houses. Whether it is partying in them, living in them or planning to reside in them, the named beach houses serve many noteworthy advantages.

“Having the names makes it so much easier to find the houses. It’s so much easier to associate a name with a house than a street number,” said Julie Nicholson, ’03. “Plus, it gives each house character.”

“Without the Greek system, I find it is a useful and fun means to find your way around the beach,” said Pete Albert, ’03. “I would venture to say it is the invention of the century, besides Foosball.”

Along with its advantages for current students, the notoriety of the beach houses also exists for alumni of Fairfield University.

“Alumni that I have talked to remember what houses they’ve lived in,” said Colette Landers, ’03, co-president of the Student Beach Resident Association.

“I’ve talked to alumni that have been here over 15 years ago, and the houses have remained the same. Many of them were started or changed in the late 80s and have stuck over the years.”

Robert Brennan, a current landlord of one of the rented beach houses, as well as an alumnus of the university, recalls only two houses in 1965 where Fairfield students lived.

“In the mid-80s was when the beach houses hit their peak. I don’t think they always had names, but I know they did in the 80s,” said Brennan. “I would guess the names started in the 70s, when the kids started to flock off campus.”

The houses rented by students are scattered in location, many of their backyards facing out onto the Long Island Sound on Fairfield Beach Road, or on neighboring streets such as College Place, Reef Road and Rowland Road.

Cynthia Woll-Walsh, ’75, recalls living on Fairfield Beach Road in a house that was then called the Watford, but is now known as the White House.

“When we lived at the beach, it was nothing but Fairfield students,” said Walsh. “Some of the houses weren’t winterized. The SeaGrape was called the Nautilus and it was the hangout.”

Lantern Point, mostly referred to as “the Point,” is the most populated student section of Fairfield Beach Road.

“The Point is a fun place, because there are a lot of houses with parties, and you get to run into people and find out what’s going on,” said Chas Hayes, ’03. “It’s a unique spot where all these students get to live near each other, near the water, and in a nice area.”

Annual or even “out of the blue” parties celebrating various events sometimes take place near or on the Point, where a DJ might be found playing music to a mass amount of students crowded around kegs just waiting to be emptied.

“Parties at the Point are fun, because it’s the only time that a bunch of different groups get to hang out in one area,” said Cait Kraus, ’04.

The houses near or on the beach allow for an eccentric experience for many Fairfield students. The beach atmosphere creates a different environment compared to most Northeastern colleges and universities.

The exotic names, the water and the parties make the beach system at Fairfield an amazing experience.

“Getting to live on the beach, in addition to all the different names of the houses, makes living off-campus at Fairfield original,” said Alex Sabra, ’03. “My friends from home are always jealous once they understand the set-up of our off-campus housing.”

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