Posted: 09/05/07

Senior Week 2007
The damage done

Larry Frisoli | photo editor
lfrisoli@smcvt.edu

Every year, the graduating class of St. Michael’s College is invited to stay on campus after classes end. To wrap up the end of spring semester, the head of the current student government works to organize a week of events for the graduates to be. This ritual known as senior week has been a tradition for years and has included activities such as nighttime cruises on Lake Champlain aboard the ship The Spirit of Ethan Allen III, as well as a golf tournament on the course at Burlington Country Club, a hoedown dance in front of the 300 townhouses, and a bowling party at Champlain Lanes.

During the Class of 2007’s senior week a number of acts of vandalism were reported at Champlain Lanes and the Burlington Country Club. Those in charge say the damage from the vandalism of senior week tallied thousands of dollars last May, which might affect future senior weeks at St. Michael’s College.

Bowling for trouble

On Friday, May 11, vandalism took place at Champlain Lanes, a bowling alley in Shelburne, Vt.  Final exam week ended and members of the senior class enjoyed a night of bowling, videogames and drinking.  However, as the night progressed, staff from Champlain Lanes say a few seniors became destructive.  Michael Longe, the owner of Champlain Lanes, says that although the seniors damaged property, he has no problem renting out his facility for the St. Michael’s community, since he has been doing it for 15 years.

Inside bowling alley Champlain Lanes, in Shelburne, Vt. Larry Frisoli, photo

“The class of 2006 was much better,” Longe says. “This past year they tore signs off the walls in the bathroom, stole bowling balls and stole bowling shoes.”

Along with the stolen and damaged property, Longe says his staff had a hard time keeping the seniors from bringing beer from the bar area down to the approach lanes.  According to Lounge’s staff, as the night went on, the seniors continued to grow more intoxicated, and refused to comply with basic rules of the bowling alley.  The Champlain Lanes staff decided to close the bar early to deter the drunkenness. Longe says he needs to keep alcohol out of the bowling area because the wood panels on the approach lanes are porous and maintaining the wood quality is of the utmost importance.

“The next morning, we got there very early in the morning, and for about two hours, worked on the approach lanes,” Longe says.

After the St. Michael’s College class of 2007 left Champlain Lanes, Longe says a few pairs of bowling shoes and three or four bowling balls were missing.  On top of the theft, the bathrooms, bar, and approach lanes were left substantially sullied. Despite the vandalism and theft, he welcomes the St. Michael’s community back to Champlain Lanes for future events, Lounge says.

“I understand that they’re going to raise hell, and that’s OK.  When they start destroying things, then it’s just sad,” Longe says.

Lauren Remmes, the 2007 senior class president, was involved in the planning and execution of last year’s senior week.  Remmes says that she had scheduled extra workers for the Champlain Lanes event to keep control of the crowd.

“Our class has been known for damages, pushing the rules,” Remmes says.

The bathroom wall inside Champlain Lanes where a sign hung before senior week '07. Larry Frisoli, photo

Rocking the boat and wrecking the course

During the last week in September of 2006, the senior class hosted a nighttime boat cruise on Lake Champlain aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III.  The event was well received by the senior class, but during the night of celebration the ship was damaged by students pulling down ceiling panels.  During senior week, seven months later, the ship was filled with familiar faces from St. Michael’s College.  This time, there were no severe damages reported.

Gwendy Lauritzen, the vice president of the cruise company Spirit of Ethan Allen, says her company has no problem working with the St. Michael’s Community in the future.  Although the boat was damaged by St. Michael’s students, there is no bad blood between the school and the company.

“It’s over, It’s done, It’s taken care of,” she says.

The morning after the senior week boat cruise on Lake Champlain, a golf tournament was scheduled at the Burlington Country Club.  Although 96 golfers had signed up ahead of time in foursomes, more seniors arrived than were expected.  Remmes says that many of the seniors were possibly hung-over or still drunk from the night before.

“Seniors showed up with 30-racks and coolers,” Remmes says, “Nobody from the course seemed to take notice.”

Although this golf outing was part of the senior week activities, it was organized outside of the event’s budget and required additional money from the participants.  Each foursome received two golf carts and were assigned a tee time. 

Throughout the morning, a few golf carts were damaged and there were “donut” tire marks carved into some of the course’s putting greens.  Remmes says the cost for the damages were in the thousands.

“I don’t think that after what our class did that they’re going to let college kids back on the course," says Aaron Dickie of the class of 2007.

In response to the vandalism, the school took action by holding a meeting the next morning with Remmes and several members of student affairs.  The culprits were sought out immediately and some students came forward and took responsibility for the vandalism as participants or spectators. 

The resulting fines from the damages on the golf course were given to the students who were exclusively involved in the acts of vandalism.  The problem was quickly resolved, Remmes says, because many of those who were at fault came forward and cooperated.

“Its’ embarrassing what happened,” Dickie says. “It would be a shame if what happened last year took away from next year’s senior week.”

What’s next?

This year’s senior class might see some changes in the senior week events in the spring, says Kate Kozlowski, 2008 class president.

Members at Burlington Country Club teeing off. Larry Frisoli, photo

“We’re going to fight to have everything the same,” Kozlowski says, “We really want to make everything enjoyable for the seniors.”

Although the Spirit of Ethan Allen III and Champlain Lanes both experienced vandalism from last year’s events, both companies anticipate hosting the same events this spring.
Both Remmes and Dickie say it is very doubtful that there will be another St. Michael’s College golf tournament in the immediate future, and future vandalism caused by the senior classes will continue to reflect poorly on the school as a whole.