Spring means many things here at Fairfield: warm weather, finals and parties at the beach. But have you ever wondered what happens to all the cups, cans and trash left all over the beach?
A group of students, organized by Dave Parrott ’05 and Kate Sheerin ’05 got together on Sunday, April 25 to clean up the area of the beach along the “Forgotten Path.”
“We chose the twenty-fifth because we knew the beach would be an absolute disgrace after the ‘Forgotten Path’ party, and it worked well,” said Sheerin.
About 12 students volunteered to help out in spite of the rain that fell for most of the day, according to Sheerin.
“I was more than happy to help out,” said Lauren Fedechena ’05. “I don’t live at the beach this year but I’m going to next year and I want it cleaned up too.”
Sheerin and Parrot organized the students as part of a service product for Dr. Mainiero’s Leading and Management class, but they also had other sources of motivation.
“We just wanted to show the community that Fairfield students are not just here to destroy the beach,” said Parrott. “A large percentage of us do actually care about the community we live in.”
“Before this, I didn’t even think about who cleaned up the beach after us,” said Marisa Caban ’05. “Now I will definitely be more careful with what I do with my garbage because it is unfair to whoever has to clean up.”
The group filled up over 20 trash bags with beer cans, bottles, cups and other trash.
The organizers hope that actions such as the beach clean up will create a more positive image of Fairfield students who live at the beach.
“The beach cleanup was just one way in which Fairfield students could display [that we care] to our neighbors,” said Parrott, who is also a member of the Student Beach Resident Association along with Sheerin.
“SBRA unjustly gets labeled as a group of party planners when really we work hard to make the Fairfield beach community a better place for both students and year-round residents to live in,” Parrott added.
After the success of the beach clean up, Sheerin has hope for the future.
“It was actually really fun and Parrott and I are going to try and make a beach cleanup a more frequent event down at the beach next year and for years to come,” said Sheerin.
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