Despite popular belief, students come to Lantern Point, not just to party, but to praise. On Sunday, Sept. 30 Fairfield University seniors who live both on and off the beach were invited to attend a Eucharistic Ceremony presided by Fr. Michael Doody S.J. and Fr. Mark Scalese, S.J. The Third Annual Beach Mass was advertised to seniors and planned to start at 3 p.m. on at the Point. However, upon arriving to the beach they found themselves foiled by a wall of G-Force officers.
“When we got to the Point, we were told by security that we would not be allowed on the Point without Point Passes,” said Julianne Hulin ‘19, who played the piano at the mass. “It took a while to get cleared to be on the Point, and the mass had a delayed start because of that.”
Fr. Scalese, director of Campus Ministry, explained the situation in an email to The Mirror.
“Our Campus Ministry staff and student musicians did have trouble getting past the G-Force security personnel on Sunday afternoon,” said Scalese, “Evidently, there was some break in communication between the Fairfield Beach Association and G-Force. The FBA had given Campus Ministry permission to hold mass at Lantern Point on Sunday afternoon but G-Force had not been notified about it.”
What was supposed to be an innocent and honest gathering of the senior class to celebrate a traditional Sunday mass in a non-traditional setting ended up turning into a chaotic afternoon
“Upon our arrival, G-Force informed Father Mark that they had not been notified of the Beach Mass, and so they were not authorized to let us on to the beach,” said Bridgit Murray ‘19, who sang for the mass. “It was a little frustrating because it was definitely clear that we were at the beach for a school function, and were not there to cause any trouble. That being said, I understand that the G-Force members were just doing their job, and that the whole issue was just a miscommunication,” Murray added.
Seniors attending the service also noticed G-Force preventing Campus Ministry members from coming onto the Point. Senior Alanna Lobianco attended the mass and explained that the Campus Ministry group arrived in vans labeled “Campus Ministry” and were clearly University priests.
“I was appalled and upset because G-Force has been pretty strict this year. I’m all about them keeping us safe, but it’s ridiculous on a Sunday afternoon,” said Lobianco. “I think it was just way out of line and wasn’t handled correctly, which made them feel unwelcome.”
Despite the difficulty, the Campus Ministry staff members and seniors who wanted to attend the mass were eventually able to make their way past G-Force. According to Scalese, Murray and Lobianco, the encounter was the result of a miscommunication between the Beach Residents Advocacy Group, Fairfield Beach Association and G-Force.
Lobianco explained that as a member of BRAG, “Everything was done on our end. This was strictly miscommunication between G-Force and the Point association so they need to figure it out. We would love to have them again without the hassle because it’s not fair.”
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