The history of the relationship between Fairfield students living at the beach and year-round residents is well documented. Because the residents take issue with the noise and litter created by parties students hold, we have been forced to deal with an injunction that limits the number of people who can gather for parties and has ended Fairfield traditions such as Clam Jam.
The recent business class project that organized a group of students to clean up the beach after the “Forgotten Path” party is a step in the right direction for easing relations between the groups. If students want to be respected by the residents, they must make the effort to clean up after parties and make the beach livable. However, it should not take a class project for students to get involved.
Fairfield police and town residents showed they were willing to allow student gatherings at the Point during the past few weekends without complaint. This showed everyone that the residents can be understanding. The recent events at the beach went by without students causing any major disruptions and we can only expect relations to improve if we continue to show them respect.
This respect alone is not enough to ease tensions between students and residents, however. Everyone has to make a conscious effort to take responsibility for their actions and defy the stereotype put upon them. It will take the cooperation of the entire student body, not merely the actions of a dozen students, to prove the stereotypes wrong.
Both sides are clearly willing to make an effort towards improving the relationship, but this issue will never be resolved without compromise. Students at the beach will never stop partying, nor will beach residents cease efforts to control gatherings near their homes. While each side’s attitude for the past few weeks has been encouraging, it can only be seen as one small step in restoring trust and bridging the gap between students and residents.
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