Of course this past Saturday was one of the most anticipated days of the year for us Stags.
Clam Jam 2012, a piece of a long-lived tradition to kick off the summer for Fairfield, faced some obstacles this year that made it more difficult for students to get to the biggest beach party this time around.
How about those green, plastic bracelets? Distributed only to beach residents, these trinkets made it difficult for non-beach residents to spend their day with their friends on the beach.
Many students stopped by our local 16 Handles shop on Post Road to buy similar green bracelets that did not have the same lettering as the ones given out for the Point. Although these fake Point bracelets worked for some people to get to the party, many students were turned down by security and police, claiming that they forgot their wristband, or their friend in one of the houses had their bracelet.
Although students weren’t too pleased with the extra precautions that were taken by Fairfield Police, security, and the Fairfield Beach Residents Association, the authorities were definitely pleased with the outcome of this year’s bash.
The president of the Fairfield Beach Resident Association, Paige Herman, said in a report to the Fairfield Citizen that they “couldn’t be happier with the actions Lantern point [took] this year.” Even though dozens of people got into trouble with the authorities for not respecting an open container policy, only two students were taken to the hospital for intoxication.
But, I mean, we all did what we have to do to get to this party. Come on, we weren’t going to miss Clam Jam for not having a plastic green bracelet. Whether it was going under a chained gate, or hopping a fence, we made it in, and jammed out on the most fun day of the year for Fairfield Stags.
The festivities started earlier this year than in years past, with the idea that the earlier we all get to the Point, the harder it would be for security to stop us from partying.
The Fairfield Beach Residents Association said that parties began around 8:30 a.m. in the morning, and by 10:00 a.m., 250 people were already at Lantern Point. The breezy weather didn’t stop anyone. Although in past years, the weather has been much warmer than it was on Saturday, it didn’t prevent anyone that I know from wearing our new summer tank tops and sun dresses. The sun was shining, and once you got into the crowd, the body heat, or rather, beer blankets, really warmed us up when the wind and breezes off the Sound left us chilled.
So, how does Clam Jam 2012 compare to last year? Kelly Flynn ‘14 talks about her experience of Clam Jam. “I think it was a really good effort on security’s part this year, but after hopping three fences, I still made it in without a wristband and had a good time. I’m saving the green band I found on the floor for next year’s Clam Jam, just in case.” Sophomore Marco Raffaelli says that Clam Jam was “fun” while being “very contained” and also knew a lot of people that couldn’t get in because of the tight security. Many students did not think that Fairfield Police and FBRA did as much as they hoped to do to contain the festivities of the Stags.
We can’t predict the future, but we can only hope that security won’t become even tighter for next year’s Clam Jam. Only a few more months until we get to experience the Fairfield Beach fun again as Stags in 2013!
I’m already counting down.
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