As anticipation rose and buses lined up outside of the Leo D. Mahoney Arena for the annual University-sponsored event Clam Jam, an email from the Office of Student Engagement was sent out at 11:34 a.m., only 26 minutes before the event started.
The subject line read: “CLAM JAM CANCELED”. Inside the message, the passage explains that “due to unsafe weather conditions,” Clam Jam was canceled completely, with no plans for rescheduling—despite the event’s previous “rain or shine” description.
OSE followed up by noting that “For our seniors, the University will be planning a free event for seniors during Senior Week. More details to come.” Juniors, however, are out of luck.
In the initial email regarding the event’s original description, OSE wrote that tickets “would not be refundable past April 25.” For seniors, tickets were $85 whereas junior tickets were $90. The price included a musical performance, transportation, food and an open bar for those of the legal drinking age.
Luckily, OSE noted in the recent cancellation email that they will be providing all ticket-holders a full refund, informing students that the money will be issued within the next “48-72 hours.”
Clam Jam already stirred up frustration weeks prior to the cancellation, as guest tickets were not permitted following poor behavior at Santa Con 2022. This choice additionally caused ticket prices for upperclassmen to increase by around $15 from the usual cost.
Now, disappointment spreads yet again.
“I was looking forward to experiencing my first Clam Jam and was disappointed to see it was canceled,” Chloe Falls ‘24 said. “However, the weather was pretty miserable so I understand why they chose to cancel it.”
“I was super bummed it was canceled, especially because the flyer said ‘rain or shine,’” Lucas Smith ‘24 stated.
Junior Rylee Harrell added that “It’s honestly the best thing they could have done since the weather was so bad—if they had gone through with it, it would have been greedy.”
“While it sucks not having Clam Jam, it makes sense that [juniors] don’t get another event because it’s in the middle of finals.” Harrell continued, “We don’t get a free week like seniors, so between studying and people moving out, I don’t think it would have been worth going to.”
For seniors who lost one of their last college experiences, the responses differ.
Senior Jenna Budicini shares, “I think that the university made the right decision canceling it with our safety in mind although I think this could have been done in advance as opposed to only a couple hours before it was supposed to begin,” and continued, “The weather forecast unfortunately looked bad for days leading up to the event so I think that the university could have made this call earlier and we would not have all been so blindsided by the information.”
Senior Anna Mercurio added that her “initial reaction was ‘this is bull,’” and that the “University handled it poorly.” Furthermore, she states that the “senior-only event better be good.”
“I believe the university made the right call to cancel—what I don’t understand is why they didn’t do it sooner,” Jake Cartisano ‘23 expressed. “Everyone knew there was rain in the forecast well before Saturday. I believe there could have been more precautions taken or an email sent the day before telling students that the university was considering canceling if it was raining or windy.”
He continued, “They had mentioned in previous communications the event was rain or shine, so it is upsetting that they didn’t do anything in the days leading up to Clam Jam. Maybe a large tent for everyone to gather under or at least an email the day before to properly manage everyone’s expeditions leading up to Saturday.”
Students like Jenna Budicini ‘23 are just grateful to get something in exchange for Clam Jam.
“I am very happy that the University is offering an alternate event for the seniors as this year’s Clam Jam would have been our last one,” Budicini added,” I look forward to hearing what this event is going to be.”
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