Church Point: Closed After Dark?

There has recently been some discussion as to whether or not the Point is off limit after dark, mostly as a result of the Class of 2011 Seven Wonders Tour.  During this year's tour a couch was burned (despite pleas from Jamie Phillips) which resulted in a nearby tree catching on fire.  The reason that the fire was so dangerous was, in my opinion, less because of the couch burning but mostly because of the location.  In recent years the Point has been eroding and the water levels in the Chesapeake were very high in May and June, which forced the bonfire to be held on a small patch of sand very close to the trees.  Obviously this could have been avoided if the couch hadn't been burned, but if there had been more sand it probably would have been okay.

Anyway, this was obviously a horrible situation and pissed everyone off.

I attended Alumni Weekend a month or so ago and had a great time, but I talked to some people who said that they were trying to hang out at the Point on Friday and Saturday night but were forced away by Public Safety.  A week later I heard similar things from others so I decided to ask the new Director of Public Safety Dave Zylak about it.

According to an email from Zylak Church Point is not closed after dark, and the Public Safety officers reported that they had not been asking anyone to leave.

CONFLICTING REPORTS!

So, either people were lying about being told to leave the Point (unlikely), Public Safety officers were lying about what they were doing (possible but unlikely), or real police were telling people to leave (unlikely).

So, we may never have a full understanding of what happened, but we do have confirmation from the Director of Public Safety that the Point is not closed after hours (unless if you are tryna camp there or damage the property or litter).  This may clear things up.

Water: Photos and memories

I searched around the photo archive some more and found some sweet photos of the waterfront and St. John's Pond.  The waterfront at SMCM is great and will always be one of the most memorable parts of college.  I remember once I jumped off the docks and swam over to The Point, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

This photo is from 1999 and shows the Cardboard Boat Race!  This Family Weekend event was replaced with the Bamboo Boat Race last year, which is kinda lame.  Anyway, this is an alumni council team, which is pretty cool.  I wish they still had an alumni council team for the boat race, I think it would be interesting.

Oh man, check out this kid getting ponded way back in 1971.  Didn't realize the tradition went back that far.  I have never been ponded during my tenure at SMCM, which I am thankful for.

It looks like they tied him up before throwing him in.  I think we should do this more often.

Another kid getting thrown in!  This is an odd place to pond someone from, as I've only seen it happen from this location once in my life.

Lastly we have this gem from 1970.  Really digging the style these guys have.  Also their facial hair decisions.  The path looks a lot less beat up here than it does today, which is kinda cool.

Graves!

I was wandering around the graveyard and noticed this grave, and that there was something strange about it, so I took a closer look.

How appropriate! Beer at a grave as an offering/tribute to the dead.

Yall, is this

• funny
• awesome
• sacrilegious
• stereotypical of a college
• would be better if it was keystone/40oz olde englishy
• stupid

I was thinking about taking it, since it was unopened, but I think the ghost of 'Purdy' would haunt me.