Last year, there were 42 criminal trespass warnings issued against guests of Fairfield University students.
Bans, or criminal trespass warnings, are given to people who are prohibited from stepping foot on Fairfield University soil under penalty of arrest.
According to Todd Pelazza, director of Public Safety, there are a variety of offenses that would cause a person to be issued a formal warning.
“For example, a student may have a former boyfriend/girlfriend that may have caused the student some concern for his or her safety and a complaint is reported to Public Safety,” said Pelazza. “An individual who was found responsible for vandalism or unacceptable behavior may be issued a criminal trespass warning. A person found with illegal drugs may be issued a criminal trespass warning…there may be other actions which would warrant a criminal trespass warning being issued to an individual.”
Fairfield students are expected to take responsibility for their guests. The Student Handbook reads: “Student hosts should be with their guests at all times. If guests violate University rules and regulations, the student host or hosts will be subject to disciplinary action, and the guests are subject to removal from campus and a criminal trespass warning.”
Pat Carney ’05, remembers a few years back when one of his guests was banned.
“My friend was from UNH and we went out around town for the night,” he said. “When we got back he ditched me and went into Jogues and stole a bunch of stuff. Campus security stopped him. He yelled at them and said something like: ‘don’t you know who I am? My older brother is a senior here.’ Public Safety looked at him and told him he wouldn’t be allowed to attend his brother’s graduation because he was now banned from campus.”
According to Pelazza, students can avoid having visitors banned by not allowing their guests to roam campus without them. He mentioned multiple instances of guests getting into trouble by wandering around without their hosts.
John Driscoll ’07 recalls a time when one of his friends got in trouble.
“It was early December, one of my friends from North Jersey was out in front of twelve block throwing snowballs at cars and broke a window,” he said. “Security saw it on the camera and came and got him. He had been drinking pretty heavily. It was 4:30 a.m., and they banned him.”
If a visitor wants to reverse a ban, there is an appeal process in place. The student host must submit the appeal in writing to the director of Public Safety, and the person issued the criminal trespass warning must also write an appeal.
This process may change as the entire judicial process comes under closer scrutiny.
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