CHARLES PRITCHARD
Staff Writer
It has been over a year since FREDFest was cancelled. For students just attending these last few semesters, the concept of FREDFest is one that is only whispered and talked about in past tense. But those that remember, remember the infamous letter Vice President of Student Affairs David Herman sent out.
“As you probably know, the campus and the village have struggled with FREDFest for many years,” Herman said in his email. “Over the last three years on FREDFest weekend, there have been more than 100 citations in the village, numerous campus conduct cases, injuries and reported sexual assaults.”
Herman also went on to mention how the majority of offenders are not the students themselves, but their guests.
But even with FREDFest cancelled, it doesn’t mean that there’s an end to the festivities.
Just last year, when the letter went out, people created a Facebook event page which reported that around 2,100 people attended.
“Yes, the on-campus portion of FREDFest may be cancelled, but it doesn’t mean the fun won’t stop,” the Facebook page read.
So what’s being done this year? And just what brings all these people out of the woodwork?
“It is important for the Office of Residence Life to maintain residence halls that are safe for both residents and staff,” Director of Residence Life Kathy Forster said. “So on April 29 and April 30, we have limited intervisitation for only registered Fredonia students. This means that we will not allow guests that are not Fredonia students to sign into the residence halls.”
Resident Life can only do so much for campus when this time rolls around, and it can leave them stretched thin.
“The Office of Residence Life is cognizant that the staff needs extra support during the weekend,” Forster continued. “We have a collaborative approach to handling situations, and we often use the University Police Department to assist. The RAs are aware of who to call for help, and we work as a team to promote a positive weekend for all.”
Resident Assistants are getting prepared for the FREDFest weekend, but it’s not just that weekend that should be looked at.
“I have been here for 35 years, so I’ve seen FREDFest morph and change over all those years. FREDFest has always been one of our favorite times of the year, but it has increasingly gotten bigger and more out of control,” Chief of University Police Ann Burns said. “Especially in the downtown area. On campus, we can control it fairly well.”
Something about living in the Buffalo area means that you don’t really get to see spring until mid to late April. So for this entire time, students have been cooped up and are now ready to cut loose.
“I’m not sure it’s FREDFest so much as it is spring and a warm weekend. It’s not just that weekend, but every weekend that the weather’s beautiful. That’s what’s going to happen,” Burns continued. “I drove down a couple streets downtown this past Sunday morning, and it looked like somebody had just thrown out all their garbage along the street.”
Around this time, people are ready to party and have fun as things start to look better, whether it be the weather or the end of the semester, and it’s not hard to find a good time.
“Today’s our hockey bar crawl, and it’s actually the 11th annual one. We do it every year, and it’s kind of a tradition for us,” Michael Freeman, freshman communication studies major and member of the hockey team said last Saturday. “When the weather starts to get nice, a lot of the guys around have houses and we’ll go hang around the backyard.”
With the campus empty and the students looking towards the town and village to find their fun, it becomes harder for the campus police to offer a helping hand.
“Nobody’s against the students having fun,” Burns said. “But when it crosses that line and becomes unmanageable or out of control, then it’s a concern not only to us, but village police and residents.”
The number one priority of the campus is to keep its students safe, but when the students aren’t on campus, there’s only so much that can be done and offered. The best that can be done is to offer a helping hand and hope the worst doesn’t come to pass.