For all the complaining we do about the University, this past Saturday served as an illustration of two very positive ideals not common to Fairfield: compromise and potential.
Around the World, though only open to the junior class (in theory), was the epitome of the college life we’ve all seen in the movies. So what was the compromise here, and why is it something worth contemplating?
For those of us who were present for the festivities, we know that Public Safety and Residential Life staff were also in attendance – though not in the same manner as students. However, they also weren’t doing what everyone expected, which was to shut down the party after 20 minutes.
Instead, they compromised. Officers and RAs stood around the location of each townhouse block, observing the ensuing debauchery… but only doing just that. They realized that we were going to party it up anyway, and only issued courteous warnings to students who were doing things that could be considered actually dangerous (such as standing on air conditioning units).
And you know what? The students compromised too. Speaking for a majority of the junior class, we were a great deal safer and more respectful to our fellow students, Public Safety officers and residential life staff. This is not to say that it was simply their presence that made us behave in a slightly more civilized way, but the fact that we were able to feel a level of mutual respect. Just look at how many people got arrested on Saturday… oh, that’s right: none.
Why can’t we do this every weekend? If college is supposed to be about the experience (an experience that will soon cost over $53,000), then we should be able to make such amazing memories as often as we want.
It’s a win-win for everybody. Obviously, the student interest in this idea doesn’t need to be expanded upon.
But for University staff? Think about it. We’re in college, which gives us more than enough reasons to want to de-stress on the weekends. So would you rather us drinking on the beach where we know we won’t get written up, only to get in a car with a drunk driver for the ride back? Would you rather kids drinking in extreme amounts in the privacy of a townhouse, only to be ignored by friends after initial signs of alcohol poisoning because of the fear of a write-up?
Or would you like to compromise? You get to observe us, you get to warn us if we start to forget our place, and we would encourage that you take away those of us who get dangerously rowdy.
But a word to students: If you want to continue this trend, continue to compromise. Something as simple as organizing a clean-up crew for the morning after would show the University that we really do deserve this level of respect and freedom on a regular basis.
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