Last Spring Weekend, Kristen Van Vleck ’10 remembers being cold, walking through a sparse crowd on muddy grass, listening to unfamiliar music and seeing two students in a roped-off square clutching red cups with both hands.
FUSA project coordinator Ashlee Downing ’08 said she hopes this year’s Spring Weekend will be more of a success.
“This year, I want to make sure there is something going on from Thursday through Sunday. I want students to have a fun experience for the whole weekend,” she said.
Downing, who held the first meeting for the event last Friday, hopes that more student organizations will become involved and that everyone will be on the same page during the organization and execution of Spring Weekend.
All 86 student organizations on campus were invited to attend the meeting and contribute to the decisions regarding the event, but less than a dozen actually attended.
Downing said she was upset at the low turnout and commented on its effect on the choices of events for the weekend.
“It is difficult to gauge the wants of students when they don’t come out to the meetings we hold,” she said.
Unlike many larger colleges, which have alcohol as the centerpiece for their spring weekends, Fairfield pieces the event around carnival games, free food and local college bands.
The event will be held April 24- 26.
President of UMOJA, a student diversity club, Jacqueline Mylroie ’09 did attend the meeting and had some suggestions for this year’s event.
“There should be some events later in the day so that kids will stay for the entire event, not just leave after 10 minutes,” she said.
Another club officer present at the meeting, vice president of the Italian club Tom Vitlo ’09, agreed with Mylroie.
“Personally, me as well as a lot of kids there left after they came and got something to eat because a lot of the activities didn’t appeal to them,” said Vitlo.
A hot topic of discussion at the meeting was the issue of the beer garden, which did not go over well last year.
“Everyone just wants to drink and have a good time,” said Sean Clores ’10. “My brother goes to Holy Cross, and he said there’s just parties everywhere during their weekend.”
Instead of being able to roam freely with their drinks, of-age students were forced to huddle in a “beer garden” that many students said looked more like an animal pen than a nice place to enjoy a drink.
“I think they should keep tradition, but try to do something a little better for the upperclassmen,” said Mamadou Diakhate ’08. “Kids are going to drink anyway, so they should at least make it fun for them.”
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