If there is one certainty at the beach, it is that students always hope that spring comes early, while townies would be happy if it snowed all the way through commencement.
With warm weather comes the desire to hit the beach, the desire to be outside, the desire to plan yet another Clam Jam. However, with sunny weather hitting the shores of the Long Island Sound soon, does anyone really know the fate of the beach (let alone Clam Jam)?
Unfortunately, it seems like the information superhighway that is FUSA’s “open door policy” only swings one way.
Is the beach injunction permanent? Do Fairfield University students have any ability to have this removed? Where are Kevin Hayes and Tim Healy when you need them?
This winter, things have been fairly quiet along the beach’s eastern front. Fewer reports of problems at the beach have graced the pages of The Mirror and even the townspeople seem to be a little bit more content with the status quo.
However, in an ulster-unionist way, the non-student residents of Fairfield beach have made it clear that they will not give an inch.
Recently, The SeaGrape Café was denied a zoning permit to expand their operation to include patio dining tables. Before the board voted, they were bombarded with pleas from town residents to deny the request, despite statements from The Grape’s chef, Gary Deeves, that the tables would only be available in the summer (when students are gone) and would only be open till 10 p.m..
Colleen Sheridan, president of the Fairfield Beach Road Association, was quoted by The Connecticut Post as saying, “(the outdoor seating) would do nothing to alleviate the existing problems, but would only exacerbate them by encouraging more noise, more patrons, more parking problems and more disruption in the neighborhood.” The board denied The Grape’s request, 4 to 1.
A petty victory (wouldn’t more students in The Grape mean less wandering the streets?), although a victory nonetheless.
It does not matter if students cared about outside seating at The Grape. What matters is that the main argument that was given by the FBRA (as documented by the Post) is that this would lead to more drunken students. This is how university students are perceived?
If FUSA is the student government of Fairfield, why are they not fighting for or informing on the subject that all students care about?
The Mirror has been editorializing the static state of student activism at the beach since September. Warm weather is coming, it is time someone explained to students the current situation at the beach.
Yet in the end, The Mirror is certain of a few things: Townies are not going to be happy until we are all gone, the current FUSA administration will turn a deaf ear, and the first day of spring will always be on March 21st.
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