ABBIE MILLER
Editor-in-Chief
ABIGAIL JACOBSON
News Editor
Warning: This article contains mentions of violence.
SUNY Fredonia has become synonymous with several things: its concentration in music, the history of its teaching programs and FredFest.
First debuting 45 years ago, FredFest is an annual event held the weekend before “dead week,” or two weekends before finals week.
Up until 2015, the celebration of the school year was hosted by SUNY Fredonia itself as a school-sanctioned event.
National musical acts were brought in to perform, beer stations were set up to provide alcohol to those 21 years and older and students were contained in the grassy area between the Williams Center and the quads.
Since the weekend stopped being associated with the school, however, the event has changed dramatically.
FredFest now serves as a source of pandemonium for the local Fredonia, Dunkirk and University Police Departments, with an ever-growing spike in incidents ranging from sexual assault to shootings and stabbings to public intoxication.
In the past 10 years since FredFest stopped being school-sanctioned, a rising tension has also grown between community members wanting to protect their property and Fredonia students wanting to celebrate the end of their school year.
A poll aimed at detailing the general student body’s opinions was shared through YikYak and Instagram on Feb. 24. It received 110 responses, which will be summarized as follows.
Of the poll’s respondents, 71.8% of students had attended FredFest in the past and 28.2% of students had not.
When asked if respondents would attend a SUNY Fredonia school-sanctioned event to occur the weekend of FredFest, only 17.3% responded “Yes.” Approximately 54% of respondents replied with “Maybe” and 28.2% answered “No.”
Those who responded with either “Maybe” or “No” to this question were then prompted with a follow-up inquiry about which events would have to be offered at the school-sanctioned alternative to guarantee those students’ attendance.
The most popular suggestions to be included at a school-sanctioned FredFest were food trucks and musical performances from national artists (such as Flo Milli, Noah Kahan and other B-list musicians), each of which had 78.5% of votes.
Another idea to increase interest in a prospective on-campus FredFest was for the school to provide alcohol to students aged 21 and older upon review of ID, which 65.4% of respondents chose.
Considering the fact that FredFest is known to be an event that is heavily influenced by alcohol consumption, it is somewhat surprising that such few respondents chose this option as attracting students to a school-sanctioned version of the weekend. This suggestion may have received relatively few votes under this consideration because this would prevent individuals without an ID stating them to be 21+ from receiving alcohol, and thus somewhat deter underage drinking.
Other additions that would make students more likely to attend an on-campus FredFest include local act musical performances (50.5%), yard games (43%), crafts (34.6%), and athletic games (24.3%).
Just over 9% of respondents chose the option “Nothing could make me attend.”
When asked to supply their general feelings upon hearing that administrators and the local government are planning on cancelling the off-campus FredFest for a school-sanctioned rendition of the event, only 8.2% of respondents claimed to be “excited” and “interested in attending the new event that will be hosted by the school.”
In comparison, 58.2% chose the option “Upset, I am angry that this is considered a priority above other issues such as the boil water orders and budgetary deficit.”
As the second-most chosen response, 48.2% stated that they were “Sad, I think this prevents students from being able to celebrate the end of the school year.”
About 12% of respondents answered that they were “happy” with the proposed cancellation because they “believe it may make the area safer” and almost 40% claimed to be “neutral” about the topic, being able to “understand the viewpoints of being both happy or upset about the current state of FredFest.”
The penultimate survey prompt asked respondents what they felt was the most problematic and significant issue that currently occurs at FredFest since it has stopped being school-sanctioned.
The highest-voted answer was “Violence (shootings, stabbings, macings, etc.),” which received 88.8% of votes. Other popular concerns were “Disorder (people shouting, fighting, etc.)” (44.9%), “Littering” (37.4%), “General unsafety (people on roofs and/or doing illicit substances, etc.)” (34.6%), and “Vandalism” (31.8%).
Trailing with the least amount of respondent concern was “Underage drinking” (22.4%), “Public urination” (16.8%), “Loitering on/around businesses or others’ properties” (15.9%), and “Violation of open container laws” (12.1%).
To end the poll, respondents were asked to supply any questions or comments for the SUNY Fredonia administration or for the town of Fredonia.
One user discussed how FredFest is a way for their peers to celebrate the end of the semester before leaving to go home for a few months. They also mentioned how they heard that the majority of violence that occurs at the event is not done by Fredonia students.
“FredFest has been something I have very much enjoyed in the past and is something that I am so excited for after this very long semester … It’s a way for my peers and I to celebrate the semester before we go away for a few months or longer depending on the circumstances. It would be incredibly disappointing to have this celebration and bonding experience taken away from us. I have also heard that the major violence that has occurred was not from SUNY Fredonia students (I’m not sure how accurate that is though), so why should we get punished for something that our students didn’t do. There are bigger things for the school and town of Fredonia to be worried about (like the budgetary deficit, cutting of programs and organization of certain programs as well, and the boil water orders that happen AT LEAST once a semester, if not more, which impacts the whole town on a much larger scale). While I can acknowledge that there are some safety concerns, it is very disappointing to hear that an event that a lot of students look forward to for a long time is being considered to shut down.”
Some respondents mentioned that there are other priorities that are more important. One user stated, “the town has its priorities so wrong,” while another responded with, “Why are you so intent on fixing this when you can’t even make our water safe to drink? Where are your priorities?”
For some students, FredFest may be the highlight of their year, their last taste of freedom before the adulthood that follows graduation.
“Fredfest is a quintessential part of the year[-]end Fredonia experience. Whether there is an official FredFest or not, students will still celebrate it as they see fit. Therefore, instead of cancelling it entirely[,] there should be efforts by the university and town to encourage and reinforce responsible celebration while providing education on the consequences of poor and[/]or illegal behaviors.”
Michael Ferguson remembers when it was the college who hosted FredFest.
Although Ferguson has only been mayor of Fredonia for one year, he has seen the impact the infamous event has had on the community.
“I always thought it was a nice event for Fredonia college students … to socialize, to celebrate the end of the year and get ready for the last week [of school],” Ferguson said.
However, last year’s FredFest broke that straw.
According to Ferguson, “[it was] the shooting a year before … one stabbing led to three stabbings [and] fights where we found a couple of Fredonia State students basically with their heads cracked open on the sidewalk. That’s not FredFest.”
Ferguson says that business and small shops in Fredonia are scared and FredFest “is a nightmare [for them].” He adds that business owners are “constantly upset” that their properties are getting damaged and feel the need to close their businesses for that weekend.
“It’s not what any community expects … [that’s] not what normally happens in our community the other 362 days of the year,” Ferguson said. “We’re just trying to find a happy medium.”
Ferguson believes that, “you’re never going to stop it off[-]campus but it doesn’t have to [escalate].”
He wants to protect students, Fredonia police officers, residents and the businesses in Fredonia. He mentioned that after past FredFests, directional signs have been yanked out of the ground, post office boxes have been tipped over and local businesses have had windows broken. Some residents of Fredonia even go on vacation and get out of town so they don’t have to deal with FredFest.
“This is a college event for Fredonia State current students and hopefully future graduates,” Ferguson said. “We embrace that, but we need to get back to that for the safety of everybody.”
“We’re willing to work with everybody. We don’t want to enforce something that doesn’t necessarily have to be enforced, but if the people are going to continue to invite these people into the community, then we are not going to have any other choice,” he argues.
Ferguson believes that some of the community will be ecstatic that FredFest is being curbed. However, that’s not the mayor’s main goal. “We’re not here to destroy it and end it. We’re willing to work with the college to control it.”
In his opinion, the college has to take some responsibility because a majority of those who attend FredFest are Fredonia State students. He acknowledges that FredFest used to be an on-campus event but things have changed due to not having the population and money Fredonia had before.
According to Ferguson, they have caught certain sororities and fraternities inviting people through social media and “we’ve asked them not to do that.” The Fredonia police have gone door to door every year because there are certain fraternities and sororities that contribute to bringing in people from other colleges and areas.
“All I’m asking is that we find a way to make it safe, that we talk to our fraternities, our sororities and our students and say ‘Please … don’t advertise on social media,’” Ferguson said.
The Fredonia mayor has made it clear that he wants the college to take repercussions. Ferguson described an incident that occurred many years ago whereby a woman was at a house party and they were doing flaming shots. When she threw the shot back, her hair, face and the house were set on fire. According to Ferguson, the woman suffered third degree burns and was hospitalized for months.
“What were those repercussions? Those students never set foot in Fredonia State again and never graduated,” Ferguson said. “That’s not what we’re looking for.”
Ferguson would like to come up with a solution by discussing with the college, students and student body. “We either come to a solution where we [work together] with the college and the students and the student body [to figure out] how we can put on two days worth of activities on and off the campus,” Ferguson said. “Or, unfortunately, I put an eight o’clock curfew on the village and bring in the National Guard … Hopefully we don’t ever have to get to that point.”
Ferguson does not want to end FredFest. However, “if [these crimes continue], we’re not going to have any other choice.”
If FredFest was to be stopped, Ferguson is fearful of a negative response from students.
In fact, one of the poll’s respondents wrote, “Cancelling FredFest will make students more likely to hold some other event in spite.”
Another student added, “Best case scenario[:] they turn it back into a music festival. Worst case scenario[:] you make the students angry and you get a bunch of drunk students purposely messing up the town in protest.”
According to Ferguson, the next few weeks will be important in deciding what to do about FredFest. “We [either] can work together and make this a safe place for everybody, or the village does its best to make sure it doesn’t exist and we don’t want to do that.”
Ferguson has been told by some people that “you can’t touch [FredFest]. That’s important to the college.”
“We’re going to have to find some way to say, let’s do this. Let’s work together,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson would like to see FredFest back on campus with food trucks, local or regional music and activities for students. He mentioned the thought of a beer truck for those who are of legal drinking age. He would limit it to two tickets per student, with one ticket per drink. He also thought about the idea of checking on students on their way in and out to ensure that they are okay.
Some respondents seconded this alternative to make FredFest a ticketed event again:
“The University stopped being involved in the celebration, and since then, the University and the Village have no control over FredFest weekend. The weekend was once filled with beer, hot dogs, and national headlining artists on campus. Now, students have free rein and we’ve seen what they’ve done with it … My suggestion: make FredFest a ticketed event again. Fredonia students get one free ticket and can pay $10 or $15 for a guest ticket. Block off the Water Street Municipal Lot and have Fredonia Police monitor the event throughout the day. One of the bars downtown could potentially be part of the event and have an outdoor beer tent or a similar setup. Shut everything down around 8 or 9 o’clock at night, and students will either go home, gather with a small group of friends, or go to the local bars.”
Another respondent gave a similar alternative in an attempt to reduce the violence at FredFest. “[W]hen the sun goes down and everyone goes to the bars is the time most incidents happen. So don’t shut down [F]red[F]est … police the bars.”
With consideration to the potential changes that may be inflicted by the mayor and/or administration, The Leader will continue to monitor and provide updates regarding FredFest.