Around 1,700 students congregated on the beach to drink alcohol, spend time with friends and jam out to live music for Clam Jam 2017. On Saturday, April 29, Fairfield University organized its third Clam Jam, according to an April 1, 2015 Mirror article; however, the tradition has been going on unofficially for many more years than that.
“I thought it was very successful,” said Assistant Director of Residence Life and Administrator of the Beach Resident Advocacy Group Pejay Lucky. “Students seemed to enjoy the performance, they seemed to enjoy the Red Bull sponsorship, the lines were much more orderly than last year, the check-in process went pretty fast [and] students didn’t have to wait in line too long.”
Clam Jam was sponsored for the first time by Red Bull, who provided free drinks throughout the event.
Junior Julia St. Germain, who had never been to Clam Jam before, commented, “I think for the amount of security, there is a lot of responsibility and good fun that goes along with it. I like how Red Bull sponsored it and set up a bunch of activities for people to do.”
White Panda, an electronic dance music group that remixes popular rap and pop songs, performed at the event.
“I believe White Panda added a different dynamic,” said Lucky. “Last year, it was just a normal DJ from the radio and he was pretty good, but White Panda brought a lot more energy.”
DJ Greg T ‘18, a favorite among the University community, also disc jockeyed the event.
Junior Ryan Pomarico seemed to enjoy the music, commenting, “It’s way better than I expected. There are a lot of big names that come through, like White Panda and DJ Greg. I’m really excited for them.”
Clam Jam was extremely popular among the student body this year. Lucky reported that the event sold out. Last year, only a little over 1,300 students bought tickets. This year, the event sold out with 1,700 tickets.
“With the rise, I think things went pretty well,” said Lucky. “There weren’t too many transports. Our students pretty much were well-behaved.”
As described by Assistant Director of Public Safety John Ritchie, two students were transported to the hospital for evaluations. In addition, there was one harassment complaint that involved a student flipping off their former roommate.
The Fairfield Citizen reported that 22-year-old Alexa Deblasio ’16, a former Fairfield student according to Ritchie, was arrested and charged with breach of peace. Deblasio scratched her boyfriend, a Fairfield student, on the neck. Ritchie added that this happened outside the Clam Jam venue and was not under the jurisdiction of DPS.
“Somebody said that someone flipped them the bird … if that’s the extent of our issues, I think we’re in good shape,” said Ritchie about the harassment complaint. “We didn’t take any action.”
Senior Jenn Nativo, who had never before attended Clam Jam, enjoyed the event.
“I like how everyone is in the same vicinity, it’s very community-like,” said Nativo. “I like how we can go in the water because it’s so hot out.”
Senior Sarah Rybacki, who attended Clam Jam last year, also enjoyed the event, even more than last year.
“I really enjoyed Clam Jam this year,” she said. “It was much nicer weather than last year, which certainly made for a fun senior year Clam Jam.”
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