(Darty – noun – A daytime party, often hosted on the beach.)
Every student at Fairfield who goes out on weekends has a strong appreciation for the Saturday darties. They yield prosperous opportunities for one to reward themselves after a grueling week of using ChatGPT, where there’s freedom to get sloshed next to a large body of water. Unique to Fairfield, The Point has become a beacon of hope for good times, where senior-owned beach houses can show off. It’s great and better than some other venue options; there’s no cover. All we need are some generous hosts, which the seniors this year have taken the initiative to provide.
Here’s the thing: police have to be on site during a darty. There’s really no way around some sort of law being broken at any given time. We all know what’s going on, and to be fair, the police have generally been chill. As long as you find your way into a crowded area, which tends to be anywhere inside the vague walls of people surrounding the mass of the partygoers, there really aren’t consequences for what goes down (with police, everyone else around you still sees).
For context, I grew up with several law enforcement officers in my family who have instilled a strong appreciation and understanding for what they do. The job means they have to do what’s best for a situation, which may not be popular. To be fair, the student body isn’t exactly innocent. Having spoken with Fairfield faculty off the record about the consensus of homeowners in the area, many times, students can be seen publicly urinating on another person’s property and leaving trash strewn everywhere, even past the beach and into the suburbs.
But Fairfield, whether they like it or not, is a college town. Now more than ever, there’s a precedent set that Stags have to deliver on. SantaCon last year was a historic event of epic proportions.
According to town estimates, over 20,000 people made it to the shore. Darties aren’t a potential mess; they’re an inevitable collection of littered butts and cans. Yet there are procedures in place, such as sports teams doing community service by clearing the coast of trash, that remedy and counter any footprint left behind.
All this in mind, the Sept. 13 arrests of Fairfield students for hosting a darty presents a conflict. Obviously, this was a potential all along; no person with a basic understanding of how police operate thought they wouldn’t choose to act at some point. But usually that would resemble authorities making their way through the crowd and telling people to disperse. Maybe after a stern conversation with the tenants of the local houses, the darty would be shut down. We’d either walk or Uber back to campus, the end.
However, arresting two individuals on disorderly conduct may have been excessive.
The police issued a statement reminding students that unwanted students arriving and escalating the party beyond control is the host’s job and responsibility. But then again, is it deserving of multiple arrests? Though I won’t confirm or deny my presence at this event, I have it on good authority that the overall size of the gathering wasn’t especially outrageous, at least considering how much potential exists.
Even with its massive scale, they only handed out infractions at SantaCon.
So, I’m at an ethically compromised spot. As a student, I want to say that the police crossed a line and unfairly leveraged a serious incident against a student to make a point. No matter what they do, darties aren’t going anywhere.
But on the other hand, I not only understand the role law enforcement plays in these situations, I can appreciate it from a townie’s perspective of wanting to keep their homes clear of unwanted shenanigans. Then again, they can’t move somewhere classified as Stag Country and not expect to see some wildlife.