Fairfield seniors living at the beach are used to hearing angry accusations of rowdiness and excessive noise from their year-round neighbors.
But Fairfield President Jeffrey von Arx feels recent complaints by neighbors ignore improvements in the town-gown relations.
Father von Arx spoke Monday at a press-conference with news writing students and faculty.
He spoke just days after an Oct. 13 Connecticut Post article accused this year’s student beach residents of being more rowdy and having noisier partiers than those of past years.
The article then quoted the town police chief as saying things were actually quieter at the beach this year.
Von Arx agreed.
“We think that, despite what you may have read in the Post, the number of incidents has decreased,” he said.
He noted that he has received only one letter of complaint this year, which is much less than in the past.
Von Arx said there have been “very preliminary discussions” about building a new dorm on campus.
He said such a dorm would not be designed to reduce the number of students at the beach, but rather to accommodate the larger number of students admitted to the school.
Von Arx later added: “Preliminary discussions of a new dorm are not based on increasing the size of the class. They are based on the need to relieve overcrowding in our existing accommodations. We have no plans to increase the size of the student body or to bring more students back from the beach.”
The beach area used to be populated by about 1,000 Fairfield students and the University upheld a “hands-off” policy, von Arx said..
As time progressed, more and more year-round houses were built.
Students who did not live at Lantern Point found their neighbors tended to be families rather than fellow classmates.
To minimize this clash of lifestyle, Fairfield students who do receive off-campus permission must attend a presentation in which school officials emphasize good neighbor relations.
Students are encouraged to keep up communication with their neighbors and have respect for the different lifestyles.
A university representative also joins police in patrolling the beach on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Despite all of these efforts, the President said there is no way to please everyone.
Many Fairfield students agree, feeling kegs will be tapped and students will flock to the beach to party. Year-round residents will become frustrated and noise complaints will be called in to the police. This is simply part of life at the beach.
“There are some people down there who will not be satisfied until all the students are gone,” he said.
Yet von Arx stood firm in his resolve to protect students’ rights at the beach and the learning experience that comes from living off-campus.
“These are young men and women in transition to adulthood,” he said. “We think that this is an appropriate next step.”
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