Fairfield Mirror 11/18/2015

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THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper

Week of November 18, 2015

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Vol. 41 Iss. 11

Students discuss pros and cons of housing lottery system

By Catherine Veschi News Editor For years, the Fairfield student body has wondered whether the randomized housing lottery system that the University uses is the most effective means of selecting housing yearto-year. Many of these students have proposed a system where, in order to determine the lottery numbers for housing, the housing association takes into account each student’s GPA, contribution to the community and the clubs and activities each student is involved in. In this system, each student acquires a certain number of points for how high their GPA is and how many clubs they’re involved in. Points are deducted for any demerits the student may have. This system is currently in effect at Pace University in New York.

For this reason, the Inter-residential Housing Association and the Fairfield University Student Association hosted an Open Forum on Wednesday, Nov. 11 to give students an opportunity to express their opinions on whether or not the University should adopt a non-randomized housing lottery system. “[Students] came to the FUSA Senate and they asked how we felt about changing the system,” said FUSA Chair of Senate Zoe Ferranti ‘17. “I didn’t feel that the 22 senators were enough of a student voice. Although we represent the student body as a whole, I thought that in order to give everyone a broader view of what the larger student body feels, was to call an Open Forum as soon as possible before we return to IRHA with any opinions.”

To begin the forum, Ophelie Rowe-Allen,

Catherine Veschi/The Mirror Students and faculty gathered in the LLBCC to discuss the current housing system and whether or not a new one should be implemented.

director of Residence Life, and Charles Sousa, associate director of Residence Life, gave a brief overview of how the housing lottery process currently operates for each class at Fairfield.

Next, students were given the opportunity to share their thoughts on the present system, and what they feel needs to be adjusted about the system, if anything.

In this discussion, several students brought up the unfairness of the current system, questioning why someone who has been written up multiple times should get a better lottery number than someone who has received no disci-

plinary action in their time at Fairfield.

On the flipside, some students, such as Steven Penna ‘17, argued that our current housing lottery system is the fairest system out there, because the complete randomness of it negates the possibility of any discrimination or outside factors creating unequal opportunities for students.

He added that a system like Pace’s introduces the idea of “student worth,” in that it bases a student’s value on their GPA and involvement in clubs and activities.

Sophomore Dana Saad responded that she

feels that the housing lottery system should be based closely on what happens in real life, saying that she feels a merit-based system gives students a better idea of what they will experience in life after college.

“As far as I’m concerned, the real world isn’t fair,” Saad said.

Other students showed concern with basing a housing lottery system on a student’s GPA. Sophomore Marina Lindland feels that this would spur competition among the student READ

IRHA ON PAGE 2

University announces two cases of mumps

By Meaghan Conlon Executive Editor Juliana Sansonetti/The Mirror In light of recent events at Mizzou and Yale, a forum was held to discuss racial issues on college campuses.

Open student dialogue discusses racial issues on college campuses

By Juliana Sansonetti Assistant Vine Editor

In an attempt to make it easier to discuss race in a safe environment on this campus, the Office of the Dean of Students hosted an open student dialogue on racial tensions last Wednesday in response to the recent events at the University of Missouri and Yale University. To coordinate this discussion, the Office of the Dean of Students collaborated with the Lucy Katz Dialogue and Resolution Program, a program named for the late Fairfield professor and the Robert C. Wright Chair in Business Law, Ethics and Dispute Resolution.

The event began with videos rehashing what has recently occurred at Yale University and the University of Missouri.

At Yale, there have been recent allegations that some

black students were turned away from a fraternity party because of their race. This and other allegations of racism at the university resulted in protests which had hundreds of student and faculty participants.

Also headlining news outlets were the incidents at the University of Missouri. Students on the football team demanded that President Tim Wolfe resign,because according to them, he has not been doing enough to fight racism on campus.

These nationwide issues, along with issues closer to home at Fairfield, were discussed at the event on Wednesday.

“At this school, we kind of live in a bubble,” said Joe Harding ‘18 who took part in the discussion. “Here, a lot of students are ignorant about what’s going on, not only at READ

MIZZOU ON PAGE 4

Fairfield students were the last to know of the cases of mumps that had occurred on campus, nearly a week after faculty and staff were notified.

On Nov. 3, the faculty of Fairfield was notified via email from the Student Health Center that there had been two cases of mumps found on campus.

While the email went on to say that these two students had fully recovered, the SHC recommended that any student or faculty member with possible symptoms should get tested.

This would have been no trouble for the faculty, but would have caused a problem for the students, as they never received any email or notification from the University about the viral disease until Nov. 11. Only students who attended Mass at the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola this past Sunday heard an announcement about the mumps cases.

According to Julia Duffy, director

of the SHC, there was never any intention to keep the information from the students. The SHC does not have the authority to send out emails campus-wide, so an advisory email was to be sent through Fairfield’s Marketing and Communications Division.

According to Jennifer Anderson, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications, the email was “absolutely intended to be distributed to the entire campus community that includes students, faculty and staff.”

When the SHC was notified on Nov. 11 by a Fairfield Mirror staffer that the students never received the intended email, the situation was rectified and an email was distributed 20 minutes later. The Marketing and Communications Division uses a customer relationship management (CRM) system for their email distribution, where any queries for an email distribution have to be pulled manually READ

EMAIL ON PAGE 4

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

News

IRHA considers different type of housing lottery Continued from page 1

body, creating animosity among students.

“You’re going to watch a whole university disintegrate in front of you,” Lindland said.

Sophomore Vicki Bresnahan doesn’t know yet what she wants the new housing lottery system to look like, but she does know she wants some kind of change to happen.

“I think if they figure out a process where it’s fair and it would help everybody, I think it would be a good thing. I don’t really like the random thing,” Bresnahan said.

Ferranti felt that the forum went well, bringing up valid points from both sides of the issue.

“I think there were definitely people from both sides of the spectrum; people

that want a system that’s not randomized and people that are all for the randomized system,” Ferranti said.

She added that minutes were taken at the forum, which FUSA will use to create a survey that will be sent out to the student body in the coming weeks to help them decide on what changes, if any, will be made to the housing lottery system.

Once results are gathered from this survey, Residence Life will send out a final statement saying whether or not the system will stay. This statement is expected to be released in March, according to Vice President of IRHA Matthew Turner ‘17.

Turner enforced the fact that this forum was simply a preliminary stage in the decision making process for a new housing lottery system, a decision that IRHA will ultimately make by March.

“Nothing is set in stone. This is just solely to see what the students want to change. This is really just the beginning of what we’re planning to do,” Turner said.

Sophomore Alex Arias felt that the forum created “a lot of open and honest dialogue” which she believes “led to a very successful conversation.” She continued, “I really do think that FUSA and IRHA and Res Life all set up a nice environment for all to express their concerns with the system right now.”

Lindland agreed, saying she “liked the fact that a lot of people weren’t afraid to voice their opinions,” because it made the forum much more successful.

At the end of the forum, an audience poll was taken by a show of hands and the overwhelming majority felt that IRHA should keep the randomized system the University currently uses.

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Students’ Opinions of the Housing Lottery System

I think Residence Life should keep the randomized housing lottery system.

I think Residence Life should enact a new housing lottery system based more on GPA and demerits.

I think Residence Life should enact a new housing lottery system, but not based on GPA and demerits.

Fairfield to offer Black Lives Matter course in spring 2016

By Meaghan Kirby Staff Writer In the aftermath of the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York and Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, among others, an idea to hold a course on race relations was born.

Next semester, Fairfield will be offering its first special topics interdisciplinary course called Black Lives Matter.

The idea for the class stemmed from a group of students in Dr. Kris Sealey’s Critical Race Theory class in the Fall of 2014, following the deaths of people of color across the country, specifically black men and women.

“This was right after the summer of Michael Brown and immediately after that there was Eric Garner on Staten Island. I was teaching this course on race theory and racism and police brutality and all this stuff was happening in real life. The students that I had in there were really moved and they were engaged and they had a lot invested in the course,” she said.

Specifically, a group of students in Sealey’s class used a group project component course to organize a demonstration at the Stag Statue on Dec. 5, 2014. The Stag Statue demonstration was followed by a die-in in the DiMenna–Nyselius Library on Dec. 10, 2014.

Out of these peaceful demonstrations formed Racial Justice is Social Justice (RJSJ), an advocacy group for creating social change on Fairfield’s campus.

“There was a student call for a space where they can make sense of all these [incidents] in an academic or intellectual way,”

Contributed by Amina Seyal ‘15 The demonstrations at the Stag Statue were one of the events that led to the decision to offer a Black Lives Matter course at Fairfield.

Sealey said of RJSJ’s advocacy for a course to unpack racial justice issues.

According to Sealey, RJSJ students and faculty members, including Sealey, came together to form a committee to answer that call, which resulted in the Black Lives Matter course.

Sealey cites the collaborative efforts between faculty, staff and students with being able to put together the course.

“The demonstration seemed to give voice to sentiments that have already been there. This has been an issue and a challenge and a difficulty for students of color on campus Contributed by Amina Seyal ‘15 for quite some time and I think Last school year, students protested police brutality in a demonstration at the Stag Statue. that demonstration happening helped students find a wherewithal and a Harding said that the committee wanted try. voice to say, ‘Hey, we need the help of faculty students to engage in the dialogue at Fairfield “I hope it will allow people to think about to help us move through this in a robust, intel- because many students believe that Fairfield’s the current situation. To learn about why our lectual way. We don’t want to talk about it. We affiliation with the Society of Jesus means that race is so discontent and to help seek a soluwant to understand it from a historical, philo- there aren’t race issues on campus, as the Jesuit tion for a better environment in which being sophical, economic, sociological perspective,’” mission is being practiced fully. black doesn’t make one lesser than another,” Sealey said, on the move to put together the “However, many students of color on Mitchell said. interdisciplinary course. campus don’t feel like that ideal is being pracHowever, Pelaez-Lopez is hoping that all Alum Alan Pelaez-Lopez ‘15, one of the ticed on our campus and so this class will students are attracted to the class, making it an four student organizers of the silent protest hopefully allow for students to engage in di- inclusive learning community. that occurred last year, is an active responder alogue that brings up the idea that racism is “My fear is that the course will actually on behalf of student concerns raised during pervasive in our community, even though we only attract students of color. I hope that peothe demonstration. don’t see it explicitly,” Harding said. ple take it as an invitation to learn about the “You know, after President Von Arx sent Pelaez-Lopez agrees with Harding in that complex relationship that the U.S. has with out the email, I was left short of next steps Fairfield needs the course, not only because black communities. At it’s best, I hope that the from the institution, so I really do feel that this it reflects the Jesuit values of the University, course gets filled with a mix of students: white course is a successful take away from some of but because it addresses racism on Fairfield’s students, students of color, those that agree, our demands,” Pelaez-Lopez said. campus. and those that don’t. If this happens, it will Sophomore Joe Harding, who both “I think that a similar course is needed only make it more fruitful,” Pelaez-Lopez said. helped organize the course and will be taking at every university, but as a Jesuit university, For the committee, making sure that the it next semester, believes that the interdisci- it is especially important for Fairfield to car- class acted as a safe space for students to learn plinary nature of the course is an important ry through with the course to reflect Jesuit about and engage with sensitive topics was imway to connect the campus to ongoing events values. On a personal note, I think it’s need- portant to their planning of the course. in the rest of the country and worldwide. ed because there’s a sense of silent racism on “That’s why we set it up as a seminar class, “We wanted the course to model the Fairfield. Students are very courteous, but the so that students are really the focal point of the Black Lives Matter course, which is at Dart- racism comes out in micro-aggressions,” Pe- class, to engage, embrace questions and put in mouth already, to be a seminar-based class laez-Lopez said. their own opinions, their own thoughts, their that allows for healthy dialogue on issues of Senior Shernice Mitchell sees the course own experiences in a learning atmosphere but race and racial injustices in the country and as a way to not only learn about race relations at the same time allow for it to be a safe space how it related to our campus, here,” he said. in general, but also students’ personal rela- for people to engage,” Harding said Harding, student leader of RJSJ and key tionships with race.

Sealey sees a bright future for the course. organizer in the December 2014 die-in, sees “There are many reasons to take this “[The committee] gave it the engine that the class as a way to put perspective on racism course, from learning about your own view it needed to become part of the institution and on Fairfield’s campus. Harding cites the overt on race to what sparked the Black Lives Mat- it really does look like it’s going to be part of racism displayed during and in the immediate ter course itself. Furthermore, a lot of people the institution. I really do expect this course aftermath of the two demonstrations last fall, don’t understand or have these discussions to be something that’s offered if not every year, as an example as to why a course like Black that shape our nation and this class would at least every other year or every two years,” Lives Matter is important to have on campus. allow for that,” said Mitchell, who’s taking the Sealey said. “[The racism] really hit home for us be- course next semester.

This course will be offered as part of the cause we felt like we weren’t safe on campus.

Additionally, Mitchell hopes the course Black Studies program and will be taught by We felt like our lives didn’t matter and weren’t will enhance the dialogue on racism both on Dr. Johanna Garvey on Mondays/Thursdays validated,” he said. campus and in communities across the coun- at 2:00 p.m.

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

News

News: In the United States

Page 3

By Catherine Veschi News Editor Compiled by Catherine Veschi Information contributed by the Department of Public Safety.

Tuesday, 11/10 4:13 p.m. - Three laptop computers were stolen from the Dolan Commons. One of the laptops has been located.

The case is still under investigation.

Friday, 11/13

6.

1.

8.

5:45 p.m. - Two individuals in Regis Hall were caught with a 30-pack of beer. The beer was discarded, and the individuals were referred to student conduct.

3. 5.

2.

7.

11:40 p.m. - A student was found near the Townhouse 8 block with bottles of champagne and Bacardi. The alcohol was discarded, and the individuals were referred to student conduct.

11:51 p.m. - A student picked up a piece of slate from the Aloysius P. Kelley Center West parking lot and threw it into the traffic circle, damaging the slate. The individual was referred to student conduct.

Saturday, 11/14 5:32 p.m. - Four Fairfield Prep students were found on Barlow Field in possession of suspected marijuana. The suspected marijuana was turned over to the Fairfield Police.

The four students are being referred to the Prep School’s Dean of Students for conduct violations.

Sunday, 11/15 1:47 a.m. - A student reported that the headlight of his Chevrolet was damaged near the Townhouse 6 block.

DPS has reason to believe that someone named Patrick is responsible. Anyone with more information is encouraged to contact DPS. 5:39 p.m. - A MacBook Pro charger was reported to have been taken sometime last week in the Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreational Complex swimming pool area. Anyone with more information is encouraged to contact DPS.

CAU TTIO N O I N U CA THE MIRROR Incorporated 1977

Patrick Kiernan, Editor-in-Chief Meaghan Conlon, Executive Editor Angela Sammarone, Managing Editor Editors Catherine Veschi, News Ariana Puzzo, Opinion Andrew DaRosa, Vine Juliana Sansonetti, Assistant Vine Colleen O’Connor, Assistant Vine Allison White, Coffee Break Alfredo Torres, Sports Nicole Funaro, Chief Copy Editor Gabriela Piatek, Assistant Copy Editor Meaghan Kirby, Staff Writer Online Michael Genovese, Web Master Business Department Email: advertising@fairfieldmirror.com Christopher Lapone, Director of Finance Albert Rosica, Director of Advertising Matthew Lazicky, Circulation Adviser Dr. Tommy Xie Contact Information Fairfield University 1073 North Benson Road, BCC 104 Box AA, Fairfield, CT 06824 General email: info@fairfieldmirror.com

4.

1. Salt Lake City, Utah – A church in Salt Lake City recently issued a policy preventing the children of married same-sex couples from receiving baptism, causing hundreds of Mormons to resign from the church.

2. Williamstown, Ky. – Construction has begun on a Noah’s Ark-themed amusement park in Kentucky.

The park’s founder predicts that the amusement park will attract 1.4 million people annually after it’s opening on July 7, 2016.

5. Cleveland, Ohio – Terrence J. McNeil, a man who federal officials have said professed his support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on numerous social media sites, has been accused of posting the names and addresses of members of the U.S. military online and was charged for soliciting the murders of service members.

6. San Francisco, Calif. – Javier Lopez Garcia, 25, was fatally shot by officers after he pointed a rifle from a construction elevator at them and toward St. Luke’s Hospital. Garcia was found to have stolen his shotgun minutes before pointing it at the police officers and hospital.

3. Indianapolis, Ind. – Jared Fogle, a former Subway spokesman who is famous for losing weight on a diet that consisted of Subway sandwiches, is expected to spend 12.5 years in prison for child pornography and having sex with two minors.

7. Washington, D.C. – After receiving an online death threat, Howard University, a historically black college, tightened their campus security. The president said that this incident is a reflection of heightened racial tensions on U.S. college campuses.

4. Miami, Fla. – Nouman Raja, the Florida police officer who killed black amateur musician Corey Jones while he was waiting for help alongside a highway after his car broke down, has been fired.

However, Jones’ family said that Raja should still face charges.

8. Columbia, Mo. – Nineteen-year-old Hunter Park of Missouri was charged with making terrorist threats on social media to shoot black students at the University of Missouri campus. In addition, court documents said Park expressed “deep interest” in the recent Oregon community college shooting massacre.

News: Around the World

By Zachary Durso Contributing Writer

Paris, France – Simultaneous attacks in the city of Paris, France killed at least 129 people, in what French President Francois Hollande states was an “act of war.” The attacks took place at bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a soccer game, and were perpetrated by shooters as well as suicide bombers.

Authorities are still attempting to determine the exact number of assailants, however the current investigation has pointed towards at least eight people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have left over 400 injured and 221 in the hospital, over 50 of whom remain in intensive care. French authorities are currently seeking a “dangerous suspect” named Abdeslam Salah in connection with the attacks, as well as investigating a video that shows a potential ninth attacker.

Beirut, Lebanon – The country of Lebanon remains in mourning following a pair of suicide bombings that claimed the lives of 41 bystanders, leaving more than 200 wounded. ISIL has taken responsibility for the bombings. Lebanese officials claim the attack was triggered by the war in Syria. Commentators, however, urge for a call to unity against ISIL, stating this attack was a “massacre” in the form of “blind terrorism.”

Antalya, Turkey – The leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies met for a weekend overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in Paris. Members of the G20 called for unity in their efforts to combat ISIL. European Council President Donald Tusk commented that Russia must focus more on ISIL militants, and less on “moderate Syrian opposition.” Members fear that Russian air strikes in Syria are attempting more to secure the Syrian president’s power in the country, rather than to hinder the plans of ISIL militants, and are therefore adding to the European migrant crisis.

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

News

“At this school, we kind of

live in a bubble. Here, a lot of students are ignorant of what’s going on, not only at Yale and Missouri, but also here.”

-Joe Harding ‘18

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Email complications delay mumps announcement Continued from page 1

Juliana Sansonetti/The Mirror Sophomore Aliyah Phipps spoke at the forum about racial issues.

Mizzou and Yale spark racism dialogue at Fairfield Continued from page 1

Yale and Missouri, but also here.”

The objective of dialogues such as this one is to inform and educate students about racial issues, so that they may become involved in ending racial discrimination.

However, it was brought up at the event that perhaps these kinds of dialogues are not reaching as many students as they should. Approximately 20 students, only about five or six of whom were white, and 20 faculty members attended the discussion.

“When we have these meetings, we always see the same people at them,” said Anif McDonald ‘16, president of the Fairfield University Student Association. “We have to have more events like this and invite everyone, not just during Black History Month, but every month, and even every week, so that it stays at the forefront of student’s minds.”

McDonald later said, “We as FUSA along with the members of Racial Justice is Social Justice spearheaded by Joe Harding ‘18 and Zavon Billups ‘18, are looking to facilitate more of these open forums just to get more of a feel as to what students are going through and how we can help them with their struggles.”

Sophomore Rachel Carlowicz, who did not attend the event, commented that she did not know that the event was happening and would have been interested in going had she heard of it.

“I think the school is inconsistent with letting students know about events like this,” she said. “Sometimes events are very well-advertised and we hear about them constantly for weeks ahead of time. Other times events pass by and I never even heard that they were going to happen.”

Some faculty members in attendance at the dialogue were Dean of Students Karen Donoghue, the Director of Athletics Gene Doris and the Director of Residence Life Ophelie Rowe-Allen, among others.

Also present were members of the Bias Response Team on campus, which is a group of administrators that investigates reports of racism, made either anonymously or by students whose identities are protected.

According to Rowe-Allen, a member of the team, students

are reporting incidents more and more often; however, the Bias Response Team is still unknown to many students, and, because incidents are not reported to the student body unless the incident is so extreme as to be considered a crime, many students are unaware of these incidents happening on campus. Many minor cases of racism are often overlooked for this reason.

Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Engagement Kamala Kiem, who moderated the discussion, said, “I think what distinguishes us [from Yale and the University of Missouri] is that we as a campus have been engaging in dialogue.

There’s more of an open communication between faculty, staff, administrators and students that exists here at this institution that probably did not exist at the University of Missouri or at Yale.”

Kiem cited the fact that Fairfield has implemented a new First Year Experience seminar on power and privilege and that the Office of Student Engagement piloted a Race Intergroup Dialogue group last spring 2015 and will be launching two groups for spring 2016.

Speaking on the recent events at Yale, Joshua Singleton ‘18, who attended the event and who has both observed and experienced racism on this campus, commented, “I think in terms of all predominantly white institutions of higher education, they have the potential, if they have a minority population, to have something happen like what happened at Yale. We associate these kinds of things with universities in the south, so it hit home, to think that something like that was happening at Yale. We sometimes think that Yale, with the kind of prestige it has, is somehow free from that kind of problem. To realize it’s not just happening at private schools, but it’s happening at state schools … it’s a widespread problem in that sense.”

Speaking of the dialogue, Harding said, “I thought it was really powerful, but at the same time, I was disappointed to not see that many white students there. I know that students are busy during the day, and I know that people have class, but in order to move forward in social justice work … we need the whole community to engage in dialogue. For that to happen, everyone needs to take part in these discussions as much as possible.”

for the mailing done through the office. In regards to students not receiving the advisory email, Anderson stated, “There was an error in pulling this particular query. It happens few and far between with the thousands of internal and external emails we distribute, but in this case, it happened.”

Senior Lily McLoughlin thought that “for something that serious, [an oversight like that] shouldn’t happen.”

A notice posted on the SHC website shows that this was taken seriously, even if students didn’t know for a week of the possibility of the viral disease.

However, those who attended Mass on Nov. 8 were aware of the cases of mumps on campus, as an announcement was made to explain a change in the normal Mass routine.

Father Mark Scalese, S.J., director of Campus Ministry, after reading the Nov. 3 email, received a separate email from Duffy asking if he had considered the implications of this spread of the disease regarding Holy Communion. It was discussed and decided that it would be best if the Church refrained from using the chalice during Holy Communion until after Thanksgiving, and to continuously monitor the situation.

“We realized that people are used to using the cup, so we had to make an announcement about it.

We went back and forth about the best way to do that,” said Scalese.

“We thought of saying, ‘We’re just not using the cup for the next few weeks,’ but we figured that’s going to raise some questions. I asked Julia Duffy what she recommend-

ed and she said something to the effect of ‘You could just say under the recommendation of the Health Center,’ but we thought that might actually raise more questions and alarm than anything because it’s so vague and people’s imaginations could run wild. We finally decided to just say it was mumps and take it from there,” said Scalese.

Sophomore Andrew Killian said, “If there was really nothing they could do to fix it, maybe just apologize. Looking into the future I hope that Fairfield notifies everyone as quickly as possible with ways to avoid [it] and a list of symptoms to be careful of. I know they did this for the mumps outbreak, but it was very delayed.”

As stated in the email, mumps is a viral disease that is spread by salivary contact; to prevent transmission, it is recommended to exercise good hand washing and not sharing food, drink or eating utensils. Duffy clarifies that not sharing eating utensils refers to unwashed cups or utensils. Unlike what has at times been seen at the Main Dining Hall, “There is no directive to utilize plastic or paper plates or utensils. The standard procedure that Dining Services utilizes to wash plates and utensils sanitized these items. There is no risk of mumps virus transmission from a wash/sanitized plate or utensil,” assured Duffy.

The students have been cleared as there have been no new cases reported. However, students experiencing any symptoms, such as swelling of the salivary glands, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and decreased appetite are urged to contact the SHC and seek medical attention.

Students compete for best elevator pitch at Business Plan Competition

By Zachary Durso Contributing Writer This past Saturday, students gathered at the Dolan School of Business to attend an interactive seminar on elevator pitches. This seminar intended to educate students on the proper deliverance of a business plan to a group of professionals. According to Patricia Pivarnik, a program coordinator for the Business Plan Competition, “The StagUp Elevator Pitch Contest is one of a listing of events throughout the year for students interested in participating in the StagUp Showcase (the Fairfield University version of Shark Tank).” Pivarnik explained that the intent of this event was to show how “the pitch of any business can make or break interest from investors so we want to assist students with getting the skills down on what it takes to deliver a compelling 60 second pitch.”

From how to dress, to what to say and in what order to say it, this event taught students all the “do’s and don’ts” of proposing business plans.

These professional lessons came prior to a friendly competition, where students were pinned against one another to try their hand at pitching an idea. This competition allowed students from all majors to apply the lessons they had learned in a real world situation, all with the added benefit of vying for a portion of the $2,500 that was to be awarded in prize money for the best pitches. According to Pivarnik this money come through independent donations

from alumni who have “invested both time and money” in the StagUp program.

The prize money wasn’t all that was on the minds of attendees, however. Students shared just what they expected to gain from this event.

“Elevator pitches, or any pitch in general, are used to convince people of ideas. It’s a great life skill in the business world, or anything you plan to do in life,” stated Alex Levy ’19.

The event began with an introduction to elevator pitches. It was explained in a thorough presentation by Dr. Mousumi Bose-Godbole, an associate professor of marketing at Fairfield.

A main point presented was that pitches are an important part of our careers. They are not limited to just products or ideas, but include ourselves as well. “Whenever you have gone for an interview have you ever experienced someone asking you, ‘So tell me a little bit about yourself ?’ Have you ever heard that? Most of us, or all of us, [have]. What is that? A pitch. A pitch not about a product, but about you,” said Bose-Godbole.

Students such as Tony Phantharangsy ‘16 expanded on this point when explaining why this event was so important. “Well for myself, as a senior engineer, right now I am in the business of interviews and such. The way I understand elevator pitches is that when you meet somebody, you should be able to get everything out there that you need them to know about you within the space of an elevator ride ... If you don’t know the key components of yourself odds are when

you talk to them they won’t know either.”

As the event continued, a Fairfield alumnus was brought to the forefront. Patrick Morrow ’04, explained to the group the real world applications of elevator pitches from his own personal experience.

Morrow, who has been working on his own product for several years, shared with the group the struggles he has encountered on his journey to get his product ready for sale, as well as pitch his idea to various sellers.

The students were then given specific details about Morrow’s product.

Due to legal concerns regarding a pending patent, The Mirror cannot reveal the nature nor specifics of this product. However, following Morrow’s description students were told this would be the item they needed Zachary Durso/The Mirror to pitch. Pivarnik stated in regards Patrick Morrow ‘04 spoke about his experiences with elevato Morrow’s participation, “Pat was tor pitches. able to tell his story in a way that was very relatable to the students. His story encour- themselves as enjoying their time spent at this aged the audience to think more seriously about year’s Elevator Pitch Seminar/Contest. entrepreneurship in their future. His venture Pivarnik was excited about the attendance. is something he has been working on over and “We had a strong showing of students considerabove a full-time job so it shows dedication in ing there were a couple of events on the day that both areas of your life.” conflicted. The students that did attend were Whether life lessons, or a monetary prize very engaged and very interested in pursuing was the intended takeaway, students presented the Showcase in 2016.”

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THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Opinion

Opinion

Editor Ariana Puzzo » opinion@fairfieldmirror.com

Flickr.com/ Creative Commons

Starbucks shouldn't showcase the 'true meaning' of Christmas

By Erin Joyce Contributing Writer With the end of Halloween and the beginning of the Christmas season, stores have quickly made the shift from fall to winter merchandise.

Following the seasonal trend, Starbucks Coffee Company has welcomed the return of their signature red holiday cup.

However, compared to previous years, the cup’s design lacks the usual seasonal décor of snowmen, snowflakes and ornaments.

The 2015 holiday cup has sparked controversy because of its lack of Christmas decoration. These previous cups, however seasonal they seemed, also failed to capture the true essence of Christmas.

Several people have tweeted and a few have made videos criticizing Starbucks’ new cups.

Most notably, the hashtag #boycottstarbucks has gained media attention, calling on Christians to stand up to the coffee house’s “attempt at removing Christmas from the holiday season.”

As a Catholic myself, I was amazed and frankly a little appalled to hear there was even a little bit of controversy surrounding the decorations on a coffee cup, which will undoubtedly be thrown away as soon as the drink runs out.

By stirring up controversy based on a cup’s design, I believe that we are belittling the true meaning of Christmas.

A lot of the controversy came from the idea that, by removing seasonal designs, Starbucks is attempting to remove the religious meaning of Christmas.

If we give a cup the power to take “Christ out of Christmas,” the Christmas spirit has been completely undermined.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that the boycott just occurred this year, while the cups from other years hardly emphasized the true meaning of Christmas.

Previous cups may have included snowflakes and snowmen, but Starbucks is hardly making a religious statement by removing the holiday symbols, which had more to do with the season than the holiday.

Dunkin Donuts, a major coffeehouse chain competitor of Starbucks, recently released their holiday design that proudly proclaims the word “joy” on every customer's cup.

While this delves a little deeper into the meaning of Christmas, I believe Dunkin Donuts is salvaging this moment to pick up disappointed Starbucks drinkers — but also missing the purpose of the holiday season. A cup cannot take away the religious meaning behind a holiday and therefore, people shouldn’t let it ruin their Christmas.

The notion of boycotting Starbucks also pulls away attention from the true spirit of Christmas time. While people have called upon Christians to rise up against this Starbucks controversy in order to profess their religious strength, I believe taking action against a cup proves the opposite.

Christmas is a time to be merry and caring. Take the opportunity to thank the barista at the Starbucks before thinking about how to trick him or her into writing “Christmas” on your cup.

Celebrate Christmas by being grateful that you are blessed enough to buy a ridiculously expensive cup of coffee.

The meaning of Christmas will be much more prominent if people act kindly than if a cup had an ornament design on it.

If I took anything away from the petty controversy, it would be that the meaning of Christmas is being lost in our society not because of a cup, but rather because of the fuss people are making due to the cup’s design.

If I could offer one piece of advice to everyone, especially those students at Fairfield who practically live off of the Starbucks on campus and in town, it would be to cherish the Christmas season, not by boycotting a coffee house, but rather by celebrating the fact that you are blessed enough to be able to afford Starbucks in the first place.

Fashion requires experience

By Pamela Kask Contributing Writer Recently, Tim Gunn, worldrenowned fashion consultant, made his opinions on the Kardashian-Jenner clan clear. He began by slamming Kanye West’s latest fashion endeavor, calling his fashion line “dumb,” and the Kardashians themselves, who West has become lumped with because of his marriage to Kim Kardashian, as “vulgar” and “distasteful.”

While Gunn’s comments were harsh, I can’t help but agree with them. As far as strange and annoying celebrities go, the Kardashians are in a class of their own.

They have no reason to be famous except perhaps for shocking publicity stunts, but it has gotten to a point where most of the things they do aren’t even particularly shocking anymore, yet they still end up plastered across magazine racks, newspaper stands and my Facebook feed.

Although millions of Ameri-

Editorial Board #PrayForParis Patrick Kiernan Editor-in-Chief Meaghan Conlon Executive Editor Angela Sammarone Managing Editor

cans are dedicated to “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” there are still many who feel, as do I, that they are far too present in our media for ridiculous reasons.

It can’t be denied that the Kardashians have connections in the fashion industry, but connections aren’t going to make their products up to standards, especially not Gunn’s standards.

Calling the pieces in West’s collection “basic,” Gunn says that he can’t understand why anyone in the Kardashian family is involved in fashion.

I completely agree. I believe none of the Kardashians are qualified to produce anything besides scandal, beginning with Kim’s infamous sex tape, her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries and all of the sisters and their multiple love affairs.

They certainly aren’t qualified to produce real fashion. They are simply following the typical READ GUNN ON PAGE 6

Blue, red and white lights have been emblazoned on international landmarks in the wake of the recent attacks in Paris. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant stated they were responsible for the terrorist attacks on Friday night that to date have resulted in the deaths of at least 120 people as well as over 350 wounded. At The Mirror, we stand in solidarity with all those who have been affected by this tragedy and hope to one day soon see an end to these senseless attacks.

Until peace is achieved, however, it is important for us to evaluate the situation at hand and understand how it affects us, students at Fairfield.

At the forefront of our minds after hearing of this tragedy was our fellow students studying abroad; our concerns were not only limited to

Fairfield students studying in Aix en Provence and those traveling in France, but all American and international students who found themselves in Paris over this past weekend.

There was only one reported American death so far — Nohemi Gonzalez from California State University.

News of Gonzalez’ death was a reality shock to the United States; for the first time since 9/11, U.S. civilians are feeling their own vulnerability.

On Monday night, it was reported by CNN that ISIL has threatened similar attacks on Washington, D.C., causing the U.S. to increase security. Although a specific attack has not been articulated, students should be aware of potential safety threats.

This is not the only reaction, however; what is heartening is how

the world has responded to this tragedy, especially on social media. Outlets flooded with immediate reactions to the attacks with images and words of prayer and hope in France at a time when spirits were as glum as possible. The hashtag #PrayForParis quickly started trending, as Twitter users, both verified and large and insignificant and small, took to support the tragedy. Likewise, Facebook gave users the option to shroud their profile pictures in the French flag for a week. And perhaps the unifying symbol across all media platforms was French graphic artist Jean Jullien’s hybrid of the Eiffel Tower and a peace sign. In spite of the divide in language, this symbol was one everyone was able to understand and pass on.

This social media movement has gone to prove that as millennials, we can show love and support on platforms that are often criticized as a site for bullying and shaming individuals.

And that is not to exclude the attacks that also happened in Beirut, Lebanon that should be brought in the same light as the attacks in Paris.

Just as we pray for Paris, we should also keep Lebanon in our prayers.

It is a sad reality when we must feel on edge about entering a restaurant, theater or sports arena because of the events of this past weekend.

Hopefully, France and the rest of the world can combat the attack in a way that makes the rest of us feel safe, so we won’t be faced with such apprehensions.

Opinion

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Stag-gering Opinions There’s been a surge in colleges and universities becoming testoptional. Did Fairfield being test-optional attract you to applying?

“Yes, because my SATs were low so obviously, I did not send my scores. Therefore, I felt like Fairfield saw me more as a person just because I didn’t send my scores because to be honest, if you send scores..."

Kaadiana Barnes ‘17

“Well, I think that ultimately it sort of did because I was not the best standardized test taker in high school. I had a good GPA and I was good in my classes and I worked very hard, but I didn’t have the best scores in SATs or ACTs..."

Alexander Gaito ‘18

“It didn’t. I was fine with my SAT scores and I didn’t think they were going to impact my application in any way, so I just sent them in.”

Katie Neumann ‘18 To see the rest of Kaadiana and Alexander's responses, go to Stag-gering Opinions at fairfieldmirror.com. Join the discussion by tweeting us with the hashtag #SATOptional.

Gunn can't make Kardashian fashion work CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 celebrity trend where one becomes famous and immediately creates a fashion or perfume line, whether or not one knows anything about clothes or scents.

Selena Gomez’s “Dream Out Loud” clothing line and Katy Perry’s “Killer Queen” perfume are other examples that support the idea that these items sell because of the celebrity name stamped across the label, not because of good quality.

Some could argue that all clothing sells because of names. It is certainly true that many companies, such as Ralph Lauren, Nine West and Jones New York are popular for that reason.

However, the difference between these brands and the Kardashians is that they had to put out the quality before they got the reputation.

The name Ralph Lauren is synonymous with classic, stylish and quality clothing, and the company had to work long and hard before they gained that reputation.

They deserve to reap the benefits. On the other hand, the Kardashians are marketing their items by scandal and stupidity.

West’s newest clothing line and

all Kardashian fashion products for that matter should not be considered high fashion.

I would even go so far as to say that it is a complete waste of money to buy their items, especially when I know that most of the people who will read this are like myself, and are shopping with a college student’s budget.

Save your money and buy clothing from a company that has earned a respectable reputation.

Most importantly, follow Gunn’s advice when he said, “If a Kardashian is wearing it –– don’t.”

Wikimedia.org/ Creative Commons

Page 6

Legal repurcussions won't lessen sexting scandals

By Ariana Puzzo Opinion Editor An undetermined amount of students in a Colorado high school were implicated in the exchanging of nude photographs.

The latest scandal has resulted in a police felony investigation at Cañon City High School. The act of exchanging and sharing nude photographs — or sexting — is a significant problem on many high school campuses.

Another recent case of sexting has resulted in the suspension of 20 Long Island students. The rise of social media has undoubtedly aided in students being able to save and share these photos in more secretive ways. The students at the Colorado high school were using a photo vault app that hides images.

The development of technology and its impact on sexting raise the question — how can we teach adolescents to drop the “I can get away with anything” mentality? There must be personal accountability expected from the students who knowingly distributed and saved compromising photos of their peers.

While many educators preach about the legal repercussions of sharing these photos, there needs to be stronger push to educate students on why these actions will not be tolerated, rather than immediately seeking legal action against these students, According to CNN, the photo vault app that the students used was described by the Colorado school’s Superintendent George Welsh as “a little bit like Snapchat,” in the sense that a person can choose whether or not a photo remains on the device.

The app itself is designed to appear like a calculator or media player, which only aids in students’ belief that they were successfully circumventing any consequences for their actions.

However, although these students knew that they were wrong because they were purposefully hiding the photos using the photo vault app, there is more to the issue than placing the blame on their wrongdoings and ending it there.

The main issue that most young people have is that they think they are “immortal” and that they will not get caught for their actions.

The Washington Post acknowledges that citing “peer pressure and willfulness” are easy ways to ignore the real problem — teenagers are more likely to take risks because their prefrontal cortexes, which influence judgment and moderate social behavior, are not yet fully developed.

In fact, according to The National Center for Biotechnology Information, studies have shown that “the adolescent brain continues to mature well into the 20s.”

The knowledge that neuroscientists have of when the brain fully finishes developing should change how we discuss matters of decision-making with adolescents.

The reality is that we, as people in our late teens and early 20s, are more likely to make decisions based on our emotions, rather than through reasoning and thinking.

Here at Fairfield, I read comments that students post on Yik Yak, boasting about something that they managed to do over the weekend that was risky.

One recent comment that I read on Yik Yak was “Just took a shot of fireball before class...u can say ready for the weekend.”

Whether these activities in-

volve getting away with underage drinking or something even more threatening such as students driving under the influence, I believe that parents, guardians and educators here at Fairfield and around the country must educate young people that their “immortality” is a facade.

One way that educators can raise awareness is by having students who have experienced consequences from behaving recklessly come and speak to them about how poorly thought out decisions can impact a person’s life.

According to CNN, Cañon City High School stated, “Charges could amount to a Class 3 felony if students took ‘a picture of themselves showing a naked private body part and sent it to another person, ... received such a picture and forwarded it to another person, or ... received such a picture and retained possession of it over time.’”

Clearly, the legal repercussions are frightening. Treated like child pornography, the act,

in many cases more the result of an incomplete development of the prefrontal cortex than an intentional criminal act, can result in life-altering complications, from jail time to becoming labeled a life-long registered sex offender.

We cannot fully dismiss the students’ actions, but rather than immediately label them as predators, I think that there should be mandated therapy instead.

I believe that most young people do not realize why their actions are wrong, and punishing them does not teach them that it is wrong.

Our legal system has not evolved at the same rate as technology, often opting to prosecute, rather than seek solutions that utilize education. I hope that educators understand that utilizing these two services in tandem will be more effective than simply suspending students for a certain period of time.

Additionally, these services should be put to use early, otherwise adolescents will continue to think that spreading these photos is acceptable. The mentality will not only be harmful when they are young, but will perpetuate as they get older and become independent.

A recent instance that occurred on our campus last year was when an account called fairfielduxxx posted explicit photographs of females on the “My Story” feature. The account has since been deleted, but gained attention by being promoted by students on Yik Yak. Additionally, according to The Mirror’s coverage of the situation on Storify, it was determined that the “best photo” would receive a cash prize of $100. At the time, I was unaware of this happening on campus, but it does not surprise me.

Adolescents who are not educated that their actions are wrong will become young adults who are unaware of the same reality. It boils down to the fact that without proper education and additional therapy after the situation requires it, there is no way to prevent the continuation of the behavior. Child pornography is a heinous crime, and there must be vigilance when dealing with any form of nudity regarding children. The line blurs in cases of consensual sexting between teens, a confluence of technology and immature impulse.

Some researchers, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have even gone as far as to label sexting as the “modern first base.”

It is modern, risky behavior that must be addressed through parenting and education. While perhaps impossible to completely prevent from occurring, much like underage drinking, increased education must be implemented to try and lessen the incidences.

The Mirror welcomes the opinions and contributions of its readers: Letters to the editor must be timely and submitted by email to info@fairfieldmirror.com or Box AA. All letters to the editor that are appropriate will be published either in print or online. The Mirror reserves the right to edit letters and articles for content, length and grammatical error. Letters should be free of obscenities and personal attacks and should contain correct and factual information not exceeding 500 words.

The Vine

Fallout 4 brings Boston to the nuclear age

Desktop HD Pictures/Creative Commons

arts, entertainment, features Editor Andrew DaRosa vine@fairfieldmirror.com

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THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

The Vine

'Fallout 4' welcomes players back to the Wasteland

By Andrew DaRosa Vine Editor

It has been over five years since Bethesda has taken us out of our seats and into the wasteland with the acclaimed Fallout series. In the meantime, the team responsible for games such as The Elder Scrolls and RAGE have craftily reinvented the Fallout series with Fallout 4, a tale of desperation, gun-running and hours upon hours of entertainment.

Fallout 4 brings the player into nuclear-holocaust Boston in the year 2287. Your character, a dweller of Vault 111, seeks revenge upon the group who stole his child and murdered his wife while in cryogenic freezing. From there, the plot takes you around Beantown and its surrounding neighborhoods, encountering old friends and new enemies on the way.

Despite playing the game for roughly 40 hours over the past week, I feel as though I’ve barely scratched the surface on my exploration. I’ve taken in the beautiful scenery while looting everything in sight. Speaking of looting, Fallout 4 encourages you to explore all your surroundings in order to search for materials to help build up not only your weapons and armor, but also your settlements, making all items virtually useful.

The crafting system is profound in this iteration of Fallout, allowing any player to transform their gear 180 degrees. This system encourages you to build up your crafting perks in order to have an overall more powerful arsenal. With a few touches of the Pip Boy, the ultimate wristwatch at your disposal that contains your stats and inventory, I could turn a simple pistol into a high-caliber sniper rifle.

Enemies are as varied as ever in this iteration of the series, having your character square off against anything from your simple pesky raiders to massive Deathclaws and Behemoths. Fallout 4 also introduces the premise of legendary enemies, who drop rare, exclusive loot that can make or break the progression of your inventory.

One of Fallout 4’s strengths lies in the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, the new upgrade dashboard that allows one to characterize and tailor their wasteland experience according to their strengths, whether it be the ability to pacify wild creatures with Wasteland Whisper or gain strength and endurance during the day with Solar Powered.

Bethesda also returns with the V.A.T.S. system, which allows the player to slow down time in order to get a more accurate shot at their enemy without completely stopping time, a complaint in early iterations of Fallout games. With this improvised system, the mechanics allow the player to keep the action going while the battle remains to their advantage. The gameplay as a whole allows for extremely smooth playing experience, showing almost no hiccups during the explorative journey.

Being from the Boston area, this journey had a twofold effect on my interac-

tion with the overall experience as I voyaged the Freedom Trail and Fenway Park (which has now been transformed into Diamond City), noticing the sharp attention to detail the developers implemented. Paired with this overarching sense of nostalgia came the signature soundtrack of the Fallout series, consisting of crooner tunes from the early 20th century.

As much as the game gets right, the game definitely experiences its fair share of bugs that spoil both the graphics and character models, but overall didn't impede on my enjoyment of the game. Fallout 4 also has an influx of repetitive missions that usually have your player wiping out raiders or finding new technologies, but that is expected from an RPG of this magnitude.

At the end of the day, Fallout 4 is beautiful and grittily visceral with its plethora of memorable missions and character arcs. There is no cap to the (mega)tons of fun to be experienced in the countless hours that you’ll end up investing into this memorable RPG and surefire candidate for game of the year.

Computer Bild/Creative Commons

Martha Stewart presents latest book on appetizers

By Colleen O'Connor Assistant Vine Editor

As Andy Williams famously put it, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, families start scrambling to put together a home-cooked meal made specifically to impress in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and all other family members.

And what better way to find award-winning recipes that will turn the whole family green with envy than to ask Martha Stewart herself?

On Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m., Martha Stewart will come to the Fairfield University Downtown Bookstore to promote and sign copies of her newest cookbook, “Martha Stewart’s Appetizers.”

“I didn’t know anything about her coming,” Alec Lurie ‘19 said about Stewart’s upcoming visit.

“I’m all in if it means she’s bringing food.”

This cookbook, published by Clarkson Potter, hit stores this past September. It has recipes for over 200 easy-to-make hors d’oeuvres and 30 cocktails and is already a bestseller on Amazon.

“Martha Stewart’s Appetizers” is merely the latest in her long line of bestselling books about cooking, entertaining and decorating.

In addition to her acclaimed writings, Stewart was also the host of the Emmywinning “Martha Stewart Show,” which ran from 2005 until 2012 and is where she talked about many of the same topics of her books.

“I’m excited about her coming right before Thanksgiving because her presence will put me even more in the holiday mood,” said Alyssa Hogan ‘19.

“She makes me think of family gatherings because she does crafts and party planning, so it’s perfect for Thanksgiving.”

This is a great opportunity for the town of Fairfield; however, campus closes the day Stewart comes, making it difficult for people going home for Thanksgiving who live far away to stick around for the signing.

Space is very limited for this event, so it is essential to sign up as soon as possible and get to the bookstore early if you want to see Stewart and get a signed copy of her cookbook.

The Roosevelts/Creative Commons

The Vine

Page 9

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Saitta Studies Abroad: Family in Florence

By Danielle Saitta Abroad Columnist

Throughout the semester, everyone had his or her families visiting them. Most of my roommates had one or both parents stay for a week in Florence and spent time with them in Venice or Rome for the weekend. Before going abroad, my mom and dad told me that they were going to visit with my uncle, brother and his girlfriend at the end of October. Conveniently, the dates that they were coming fell upon my fall break. Since it’s difficult for abroad students to go home for the holidays, we are given a break of 10 days. Most students travel the world through a popular travel agency called Bus2Alps and tour places like Berlin, Prague, France and Brussels in almost two weeks. With all my friends planning trips to different countries, I initially felt left out. I thought I would be missing out on their adventure while I was in Italy with my family. I missed home my first month abroad, but as time went on, I missed my family even more as I saw my roommates and friends with their parents. Even in college, I had never been so far from my family for so long.

I really started to miss my family when I would talk about them to the parents of my friends who visited. I would tell them stories and talk about their jobs for some time. Being so far from home has not only made me miss them, but also appreciate them. When we are teenagers, we don’t entirely understand or respect our parents. In my opinion, until we grow older, we don’t comprehend how incredible they are. For example, I remember talking about my mom and hearing her explain how she could only come see me during fall break because she’s studying biochemistry at Harvard.

Listening to my friend’s families applaud my mother made me think about how incredibly blessed I am to have both my parents. I felt ashamed that I gave them a hard time at first about wanting to come see me during my fall break. By the time the end of October came, I couldn’t wait to see my parents. Hugging my parents after two months was such a happy moment for me, I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. During the break, my family and I stayed in Rome for two days and then went to Florence. In Florence, there is a beautiful cathedral called the Duomo that reaches 114 meters high. Before my family came, I had never climbed to the top. However, my brother, his girlfriend and I challenged ourselves and climbed up the 463-step tower to the top. The journey was cramped, dark and dusty, but we made it. It was so worth it and unlike anything I had ever seen. To see the city up so

Danielle Saitta/The Mirror

high by yourself is one thing, but to be able to enjoy it with your loved ones is just spectacular.

After we spent a few days in Florence and Rome, we went to London. I can honestly say that London is thus far my favorite place I have gone. In addition to having no language barrier, a Chipotle and beautiful men, London is also just an incredible city to be in. It’s not true about the food being bland, or at least I didn’t experience bland food. If you like Indian food, then you would love the national dish of London, chicken tikka masala.

Legend has it that it was created for British soldiers stationed in India in the 1940s while the country was fighting for independence. One of the best places in London to get the dish is called Chor Bizarre. The restaurant is now so popular that another is opening up in late December in New York City called “India Accent.” After six days of exploring new places and foods, my mom and dad had to go home. However, my older brother had a conference for his job in Amsterdam so instead of going back to Italy early, I saw the city with him.

My brother and I have an age gap of 13 years, so it’s been difficult for us to remain close all our lives. Usually, I hate it when my brother lectures me, but at this point in my life, everything he said to me about life in general was so incredibly precious. I was going through a rough patch and for a couple weeks I had been bummed out at times, but Erik helped me through it after spending an entire day together. I learned that my brother, next to my dad, is the most important man in my life. He went through everything I was going through and for the first time ever, we communicated and bonded like we never bonded before. Since my brother is an electrical engineer, he travels constantly for conferences. With him traveling so much and with me at college, we were never able to spend together. In Amsterdam, it was the first time I was able to have a drink with him while talking about life. My time in the Netherlands has made my relationship with Erik stronger than ever. Now that I’m 21, he feels that he can talk to me as an adult now because I am mature enough to handle any criticism. Looking back on the events of fall break, I had an incredibly memorable time with my family. I saw and learned so much with them, and a nice bonus was that I didn’t have to pay for anything that entire week.

I urge all of you to appreciate the time you have with your families when they come to visit you at school or abroad. Sometimes you don’t realize how far from home you really are until you finally see your loved ones after a long period of time.

Physics and dance collide in 'Incarnations'

By Juliana Sansonetti Assistant Vine Editor

“It’s a Woman’s World” is a celebration of the women artists who deserve just as much esteem as their male counterparts.

Beginning with Theater Fairfield’s production of Rachel Crothers’s play “A Man’s World,” the three-part performance series curated by Dr. Martha LoMonaco, professor or visual and performing arts, was concluded on Sunday evening with “Incarnations.”

“Incarnations (Sketches for a Longer Work)” was an intriguing performance that incorporated both dance and physics through the collaboration of Emily Coates and Sarah Demers.

Coates is the Director of Dance Studies at Yale University and has performed internationally with New York City Ballet, while Demers, an associate professor of physics at Yale University, is known for her work on the ATLAS particle physics experiment at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Coates and Demers, who have been working together since 2011, paired together in order to expand the science curriculum for non-science majors at Yale, creating a science-art video called “Three Views of the Higgs and Dance” in 2013.

This video, which was screened at the Quick Center, appropriately summarized their science-and-dance-infused performance.

The event began on a leisurely note, with the two performers discussing their two disciplines, as if they were separate. Coates began a discourse on the history of the pirouette, the famous spin move in ballet, after which Demers began discussing the science behind the movements.

Coates then demonstrated the act.

After this demonstration, science and dance came together in a more tangible way, as Coates began to dance and Demers, while sitting on a stool watching, explained the science behind the dancer’s movements.

She spoke quickly about the torque, gravity, friction, force and inertia at work while Coates was performing.

“It’s hard to keep track of all the physics that is happening so rapidly,” Demers added with a laugh, in allusion to how quickly she had to speak to mention all of the scientific aspects in time with the dancing.

Hearing the science behind the movements was strangely soothing, and added an element of understanding that is not usually present during a dance performance.

Typically, when dance is performed, the idea of making it almost otherworldly is emphasized; however, in this performance, the opposite was true. Rather than focusing on the aestheticism of dance, its kinesiology was

explored.

Speaking on this portion of the performance, Diandre Clarke ‘18, who has been a dancer for the past five years, commented, “It was different, from a dancer’s perspective, to think of dance as a science. Usually you just think of dance as an art.”

“I want to inspire people who haven’t thought about physics as something that’s exciting and interesting and engaging before to think more about physics,” said Demers, “and if someone doesn’t have any exposure to dance … to start to see dance in a different way as well … Our goal isn’t to inspire other people to do what we do, but to inspire some interest and respect for our disciplines.”

“We are encouraging people to think cross-disciplinarily,” added Coates.

After the dance, it was Demers’ turn to take center stage.

Standing in front of a white board and writing out equations as she spoke, Demers talked about the science of movement as Will Orzo, the musical director of the show, emerged and demonstrated her points by pushing and carrying her across the stage.

Demers also spoke on physics, while Coates analyzed her hand motions.

The performance concluded with a screening of Coates and Demers’ video “Three Views of the Higgs and Dance.”

This video included interviews with multiple scientists about the Higgs boson particle and Higgs field, crucial elements of the particle physics theory.

This video displayed the beauty of human motion and science, coming together as one.

The video portion of the show was popular among audience members.

Sophomore Billie Watson commented that she “got a little lost during the physics talk, because [Demers] was talking very fast. I didn’t understand until they played the video, and maybe that’s what they were trying to do.”

Sophomore Katie Barrera agreed, stating, “I like how they did the dance aspect, and the video component brought home what they showed in the dance.”

Speaking on the larger themes of “It’s a Woman’s World”, Coates said, “In the dance world, there’s still advocacy to be done for women leadership in dance. In science, there’s advocacy to be done for the representation of women in science; we need more women scientists. It feels like Marti hit on something that’s also important to Sarah and me, thinking about advocacy for women in our respective disciplines.”

Contributed by the Quick Center

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

The Vine

ashionably airfield

Page 10

by Nicole Funaro

Kevin O'Connor '18 English with a buisness minor How did you put your outfit together this morning?

To be honest, I woke up within five minutes and getting out of the shower, I just kind of picked out these clothes, and thought, “Oh, OK, I guess I’ll look kind of nice today.”

Where did you get the pieces you’re wearing?

The pants are from Tommy Hilfiger, the shoes are Cole Haan and the jacket is Cotton On. How would you describe your personal style?

I guess I’m like the border of edgy and classy, not so much preppy. I would definitely say edgy and classy.

Do you have a favorite piece in your wardrobe that you wear all the time? If so, what?

Yes, definitely — my Tommy Hilfiger pants, a lot of collared shirts and this jacket. Also, a jacket from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Is there a reason why you particularly like Tommy Hilfiger?

I just think it just fits me nicely. I think it looks best on me. I like the slimmer look, and I feel like that’s just in nowadays.

Is there a trend you would like to try? If so, what?

I don’t think so. I’m really happy with my look right now. If anything, I want to try the fedora once in a while. The people who actually wear it — I just really like their style. I want to try it one of these days, but I’m not sure if it’s really me.

Is there a celebrity whose style you admire? If so, who and why?

Not really, sorry to say. I don’t really have a guy to go off of. It’s just me.

Nicole Funaro/The Mirror Sophomore Kevin O'Connor showcases the "edge" to his preppy look.

The Polished PHD/Creative Commons

Pop reigns supreme in'We Love Disney'

By James Della Rocca Contributing Writer “A new fantastic point of view.” That’s exactly what “We Love Disney” is — a reimagination of many classic Disney songs by various pop musicians. The artists featured range from contemporary pop icons such as Ne-Yo and Fall Out Boy to older pop artists like Gwen Stefani.

Fifteen songs were chosen for the album spanning the long history of Disney, fourteen songs coming from various movies and one, “It’s a Small World,” from one of the main attractions at the various Disney parks. The 14 other songs come from many of Disney’s popular musical films.

Most of the songs used on the album are popular songs from the most well-known Disney films. This includes “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” “Friend Like Me” and “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” from The Lion King. The album also includes lesser known songs from less popular movies such as “In a World of My Own” from “Alice in Wonderland” and “It’s Not Easy Being Green” from “The Muppet Show.” The inclusion of so many pop artists was probably to give the album more press and a better chance to succeed. The combination of popular Disney songs and the collective reach of each artist led to the success of the album, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 this week. By covering these songs, these modern artists bring songs from the listeners’ pasts into

the future, giving the listeners a good sense of nostalgia when they listen to these songs.

Many of the tracks are the artists’ take on the songs breathes a new life into them. In the opening track, “Friend Like Me,” Ne-Yo adds his R&B flair to the already outlandish vocals provided by Robin Williams in “Aladdin.”

Though the album does well in adapting these songs to the artists’ styles, not everyone was perfect. While the country influence helps in making “Let It Go” a newer version of itself, the complete change of “A Spoonful of Sugar” to a country tune doesn’t do justice to Julie Andrew’s original version. Ariana Grande’s voice in “Zero to Hero” lacks the soul that the Muses had on the song from Hercules. The background choir has more soul than she does for most of the song.

This album was released after the successes of two other compilations of Disney songs by pop artists in France and Australia released in 2013 and 2014 respectively, both of which were also released as part of the “We Love Disney” series. This type of compilation continues the idea of the Disneymania compilations of 2002 to 2010 of having mainstream artists cover Disney songs. The French album was the most successful compared to the others on its respective chart, peaking at No. 2 on the French album chart, while the Australian version came in at No. 66 on the Australian Albums chart.

Altogether, “We Love Disney” is a strong album that succeeds in putting new twists on classic songs from our childhoods.

Wikipedia/Creative Commons

The Vine

Page 11

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Inkwell Spotlight 'Last Sunrise'

By Marc Lee Executive Editor at The Inkwell

Cooking with Colleen: Obesity at 30,000 feet

By Colleen O'Connor Assistant Vine Editor

We stayed up all night to watch the sunrise.

That is my last memory of her.

After that night, things stopped mattering; life became a little less interesting, and the words that had once filled my pages so fluidly had dried up at the source.

All this because of one mistake, my mistake.

That morning she got on a plane to fly faraway, I never expected how far it would mean.

She had joined the Peace Corps and she had traveled to Afghanistan.

She never made it to the camp.

The transport she was in was headed toward a slum, and passed a dead dog in the road.

One tire went too close, and, an instant later, everyone in the truck joined that dog in the street.

She'd never see another sunrise again, at least, not with me.

"If only I'd agreed to go with her!" I yelled.

Peace Corps couples ship to less dangerous zones.

Too late though, because now she is gone, and I am alone.

Pixabay/Creative Commons

This past Wednesday, Nov. 11, Fairfield hosted Morgan Downey ‘68, past executive director of the American Obesity Association at the Aloysius P. Kelley Center for a seminar entitled “Obesity from 30,000 feet.” This seminar, which was open to the public and sponsored by the new Integrated Nursing & Health Studies Initiative, aimed to educate the public about obesity, currently the deadliest disease epidemic plaguing the United States, as well as the rest of the world.

In addition to his past work with AOA, Downey also publishes the Downey Obesity Report, which he includes on his website, www.downeyobesityreport.com, and conducts many forums about obesity to further educate the public.

In 2008, he held forums at both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention, which led obesity to be included on the national platform for the 2008 presidential election.

“Obesity is a global, multi-species problem that affects people of all backgrounds,” said Downey to start off the presentation. “It is relevant in a range of different fields, from health sciences such as biology and nursing, to fields such as communications and engineering.”

Downey’s presentation made use of many relevant statistics. He mentioned that “there are over 2.1 billion people considered overweight in the world, and this obesity

epidemic causes 3.4 million premature deaths” from medical complications such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. “No nation in the world has made strides to prevent obesity,” said Downey. Instead, he mentioned, the prevalence of obesity in the world has increased over the years.

Junior Will Lammey thought these facts were of great interest. “I’d say the biggest thing was the multitude of causes for obesity everywhere, how it affects different people in different ways,” he said.

The seminar was also interactive, as Downey would ask members of the audience questions about what they thought caused obesity. “I thought it was interesting that he did touch upon the idea that most Americans do think it’s better to exercise more and eat less,” said Layra Cintron Rivera ‘18. “I’ve always thought there’s evidence that that’s not true, like he was saying, so I just thought it was interesting that he brought it up as well.”

The issues Downey brought up are important in today’s society, as he stated that “the United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.” Downey also said that it is important to understand that the cure for obesity is not necessarily as easy as telling people to eat healthier to lose weight, since obesity is actually triggered by genetics and the environment more than anything else.

“Obesity is not necessarily a death sentence,” said Downey. In order to live a healthier lifestyle, Downey stressed that awareness of the disease must be raised.

'Spectre' proves to be a suiting sendoff for Daniel Craig

By Christine Ducey Contributing Writer Shoot outs, car chases, and plane crashes — “Spectre” has every quality of a great James Bond movie with a few extra bonuses. Director Sam Mendes, winner of an Academy and Golden Globe award for his film “American Beauty,” incorporates tremendous action scenes such as those in “Casino Royale” without creating all of the confusion of “Quantum of Solace.”

The duration of his suspenseful scenes seem longer than ever before, so be prepared to be sit on the edge of your seat with your heart racing for the greater part of the two and a half hour-film.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this movie, though, is the fact that Bond undergoes an inconceivable amount of head trauma, yet still manages to locate his latest enemy — a close acquaintance from his past. This character goes by the name of Oberhauser and is played by Christoph Waltz, who, despite being 59, has an innocent baby face that makes him physically fit for the role of a twisted killer that never recovered from conflicts in his upbringing.

However, Waltz’s acting wasn’t necessarily where it should be. Other minor “bad guys” in the movie, like Denbigh played by Andrew Scott, had smaller roles but bigger personalities that made their scenes more interesting to watch that Waltz’s.

While the villainous Oberhauser is a nice tribute to the past life of Bond, it doesn’t seem we are going to see any more of Daniel Craig in the future.

Daniel Craig has been Bond since 2005 and starred in four Bond films including “Skyfall,” a film so extraordinary it is sometimes considered the best Bond movie to date. Bond doesn’t say much, but Craig delivers the lines with so much eloquence and wit that the movie-watchers are GQ Magazine/Creative Commons

compelled to listen closely to every word. Mendes also cleverly utilizes light and darkness in the film settings to his advantage, although sometimes it hurts the viewers’ eyes going from a pitch black scene to a blinding white one in a nanosecond. In the darkness, there is suspense, confusion and fear for Bond. On the contrast, when there is light, there is often new information about Bond being revealed and the viewer can see hope for this troubled assassin.

Despite his talent, fans of the Bond films have suspected that Craig is going to step down from his position, with many pointing out plausible reasons for all of the speculation.

Firstly, in every film, Bond has a female-sidekick-love-interest by his side that helps him in his crime and then vanishes by the end of the film.

Madeleine Swann, though, is different. Portrayed by Léa Seydoux, Madeleine is the daughter of an ex-assassin who, moments before his death, made Bond promise that he would keep her safe.

Bond makes it his mission to keep her guarded, despite the fact that she is more than qualified to be her own bodyguard.

Swann seriously disapproves of Bond’s way of life and expresses throughout the movie how much she loathes his excessive use of guns. This leaves the viewer to question — will Bond give up being an assassin for the girl?

While the Bond movies will go on forever, this blonde may have encouraged Craig to tap out. Additionally, Craig is growing older. There are only two Bond actors that surpassed him in acting age; Roger Moore, who was featured in the 1985 film “A View to Kill” at age 57 and Pierce Brosnan, who was 49 in “Die Another Day.” Finally, this will be Mendes’ last time directing a Bond film, so it would be natural for Craig to leave with him.

“Spectre” has more than just the crying, drinking and indiscriminate killing of past Bond films—it brings the viewer to a place in Bond’s world that they have never been before.

Like most Bond movies, I found this film a little hard to follow. Different from other action movies, Bond films rarely have a distinct beginning, middle and end to the plot. While this confusion was sometimes aggravating, it ultimately made the movie better.

The viewer gets so engrossed in the story, trying to focus on what every character is doing at every moment, that it’s hard to justify looking up for a second, even just to use the bathroom. It’s near impossible to pick a favorite or least favorite scene because each moment is just another piece to this complex puzzle of Bond’s quest to save the lives of others by taking the life of one. Overall, I would rate this movie a seven out of ten stars; it is great for those who have and haven’t seen Bond films alike.

Coffee Break

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Page 12

COFFEE BREAK Editor: Allison White

... As Overheard in Barone Compiled by Alexis Dizenzo Contributing Writer

“Do they take StagBucks?”

Scan the QR code to the right with a smartphone to read more of this week’s overheard quotes!

“Can I sell my kidney for money to pay for college tuition?”

“Starbucks and Einstein’s should be a meal swipe.”

“I’m too nervous to go outside and face those turkeys again.”

“We are sitting in the sports section … you know, the long tables.”

“These tater tots are the only thing on point in my life lately.”

Tweet us your #OverheardBarone comments @FairfieldMirror and be featured next week!

Stags Trivia 1.Who is visiting the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts this week?

2.How many undergraduate students attend Fairfield?

3.Where does the men’s basketball team play?

DM us on Twitter @FairfieldMirror with the correct answers to these questions to win an exclusive Mirror giveaway.

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Sports

Page 13

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

SPORTS

Sports Editor: Alfredo Torres » sports@fairfieldmirror.com

Tim Wolfe resigns as Missouri president

By Joseph Imbriani Contributing Writer There are several problems that are common on many college campuses in the United States. Chief among these issues is racism, and it comes from people that should be looked at as authority figures in the school community.

Just recently, University of Missouri president Tim Wolfe resigned because of a domino effect that began with instances of racial vandalism.

What may have started out as an issue that could have been contained and eradicated turned into a campus-wide ordeal. Students believed that protesting was the best way to show their feelings toward this situation, and then following this, there was an announcement that said faculty members weren’t going to show up for work because of what was going on.

Even with all of this going on, Wolfe was not tipped off by the fact that all the signs were pointing out the door for him.

The main issue that tipped off the president of the university that he should leave was the influence of the studentathletes and, especially, the black football players. A major source of revenue for the school is its football team and the fact

that they play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). While the student population at Mizzou is just seven percent black, the football population at the school is 69 percent black. In solidarity with their Mizzou peers, all of the players demanded that Wolfe step down from his position as president of the university or they were not going to play in their game against Brigham

Young University. Financially, most people would think that the decision to be made would be to let the president of the university keep his job because he would be paid the rest of his base salary of $459,000 for that year. But if Mizzou forfeited their game against BYU, the National Collegiate Athletic Association would fine the program $1,000,000. So, the athletes that are sometimes believed to powerless had the school in the palms of their hands when it came to this decision.

In my opinion, Wolfe should have been removed from the position long before these allegations had surfaced. Wolfe’s tenure had a lot of issues that ranged from racial tensions to cost-cutting moves that included health insurance for graduate assistants.

He constantly refused to take action about obvious campus issues and said at the beginning of his tenure at Mizzou that he was going to run the university like a tech company.

Well, guess what Tim Wolfe? People, especially college students and faculty, are not computer programs and you can’t just push aside issues that are important on campus such as racism. These sorts of issues need to be worked out before students, athletes and especially faculty get involved in protests and strikes. I am glad that Wolfe resigned from Nurabadi/Creative Commons his position. It was a long time coming.

Highlights from the past week: The Fairfield volleyball team clinched at least a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship after a 3-0 sweep of the Manhattan Jaspers on Sunday in Alumni Hall. After a win against Iona on Sunday, they took the outright championship and secured their 10th straight victory. They finished the year 14-4 in conference play and 19-9 overall, and will have a bye into the semifinal round of this weekend’s MAAC Tournament. This is Fairfield’s 15th regular season title in the past 20 years.

The men’s basketball team took on the preseason nationally ranked No. 1 team University of North Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 15 in North Carolina. The Stags trailed by only eight points at halftime, and by just 11 points with 12 minutes left in the game en route to a 92-65 loss. Senior Marcus Gilbert scored a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Jerome Segura ‘18 added eight assists and five rebounds. The Stags will play their third straight away game at Northwestern University on Wednesday.

On Friday, Nov. 13, the Fairfield women’s cross country team returned to action at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Northeast Region Championship hosted by Boston College. The Stags were led by Kathleen Woods ‘16 who finished with a time of 23:27.7. Junior JacquelineAnn Willsey (24:08.6) and Sami Carey ‘18 (24:22.7) followed Woods as Fairfield’s top three performers. The Stags placed 34th overall out of all the teams that ran. They will wrap up their season on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York.

Junior Kelsey Carey was named the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week after posting 19 points off the bench in Fairfield’s 62-59 victory over La Salle to propel the Stags to their first victory of the season.

Carey shot nine-for-14 from the floor, and her 19-point performance was the most in a season opener since the 2008-09 season. Carey and the Stags will look to become 2-0 for the ninth time in program history and the fifth time in the last seven years when they travel to Loyola University Maryland for a game on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Photos contributed by Sports Information Desk

In this week's issue...

This week in sports: Wednesday, November 18 Women's Basketball at Loyola (Md.), 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball at Northwestern, 8 p.m.

Friday, November 20 Women's Swimming & Diving at the Terrier Invitational, TBA Men's Swimming & Diving at the Terrier Invitational, TBA

Saturday, November 21 Men's Cross Country at the IC4A Championship, TBA Women's Cross Country at the ECAC Championship, TBA Women's Basketball vs. Sacred Heart, 5 p.m.

Volleyball vs. TBD (MAAC Play-In Game), 5 p.m.

Men's Basketball vs. Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, November 24 Men's Basketball at Maryland Eastern Shore, 5:30 p.m.

- Patriots beat Giants to stay undefeated (Page 14) - Volleyball wins 10th straight against Iona (Page 15) - Women win close in first game of the season (Page 16)

Women's Basketbal vs. Hofstra, 7 p.m.

Sports

Page 14

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Patriots beat Giants in close game to stay undefeated

By Morgan Rosemann Contributing Writer

The New England Patriots have solidified themselves as a dynasty over the past 15 years. Having won four Super Bowls, they’ve been a winning machine under coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. But, only one other team in the NFL has consistent success when facing New England: the New York Giants. Last Sunday’s matchup between the two storied franchises brought arguably the best game of the season, as New England edged out a 27-26 victory over the G-Men. Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski nailed a game-winning 54-yard field goal with one second left in the game. It was another heartbreaker for the Giants (5-5), as they’ve now blown four fourth-quarter leads this season. Throughout the game, it seemed as though the Giants would pull off the upset, beating them on both sides of the ball. After Brady was intercepted in the red zone, the Giants’ offense marched 85 yards in four minutes to the Patriot five-yard line. QB Eli Manning hit wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. for a touchdown that would’ve given the Giants a 29-24 lead with two minutes left. But, the play was reversed, as it was ruled Beckham didn’t complete the catch after the ball was knocked loose. Instead, the Giants settled for a field goal to make it 26-24. It left just enough time for Brady and the Pats to get within field goal range, and the rest is history. Manning did all he could, throwing for 361 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. Beckham was limited for much of the game, but had an impressive 87-yard TD catch. He finished with four catches and 104 yards and a TD. Brady also didn’t disappoint, completing 26 of 42 passes for 334 yards, two TDs, interception and a lost fumble. Tight end Rob Gronkowski totaled 114 yards receiving to go along with five catches, including a 76-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter. The win improved New England to 9-0, one of two undefeated teams left in the NFL. The Giants came so

close, but it looks like perfection is eminent for these unstoppable Patriots.

In his first return to New York since being fired last season, coach Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills took down his former Jets on Thursday Night Football, 22-17. The Bills’ defense, having played well-below expectations so far this season, forced fourturnovers in their best performance of the season. The Jets were terrible for three quarters, and nearly made a comeback in the fourth. But a failed fourth down and goal conversion, questionable clock management by coach Todd Bowles, and turnovers cost the Jets a very winnable game.

Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick did not play well, completing only 15 of 34 pass attempts for 193 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.

WR Brandon Marshall was double-teamed throughout the game by the Bills’ defense, and limited him to three catches for 23 yards and a TD. Bills’ running backs LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams both had strong games, as McCoy ran for 112 yards on 19 carries. Williams had just 24 yards rushing, but had a key 26-yard receiving TD in the third quarter that made it a 19-3 lead. Both teams are now 5-4, and currently both hold the two remaining AFC Wild Card spots. It’s important to note that these two face each other in the final game of the season, which could very well decide their playoff fates.

The Carolina Panthers remain undefeated as they cruised to a 27-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans. It was another great game for Panthers QB Cam Newton, hitting 21 of 26 passing attempts for 217 yards and two TDs (one rush). RB Jonathan Stewart finished with 22 carries for 91 yards and a TD. At 9-0, they’re making people believe that this is not a fluke-start.

The season is already flying by, and soon the playoff picture will begin to form. So far, it’s the Patriots and Panthers that are the teams to beat.

Weekly 4x5 Because we have witty things to say ...

Patrick Kiernan Editor-in-Chief

Alfredo Torres Sports Editor

Your 2015-2016 4x5 Columnists:

Patrick Kiernan, Alfredo Torres, Angela Sammarone and Jesse Erickson

Down goes Ronda. What are Just when you think they're going your reactions to Ronda Rousey's to lose, Brady comes to win the first loss? game on Sunday, any thoughts?

Cubs' Kris Bryant takes home the NL ROY, Carlos Correa wins it in the AL. Are they deserving?

Men's basketball faced off against UNC this past Sunday, how did we do?

Double header for basketball against Sacred Heart University this weekend, any predictions?

Heartbreaking, but jeez did she get wrecked. Down like a sack of bricks. Almost as bad as that one Pacquiao loss where he was face down in the middle of the ring.

Eh, Ronda will get back out there and knock plenty more skulls.

First of all, went to the 'Grape for free food, didn't leave till about 8:30 p.m. five pitchers of beer later.

All in all, it was a fantastic game, probably best of the year to date. I only hope obnoxious Pats fans can appreciate that.

Wait, Rob Refsnyder didn't win?!?!

THE star second baseman for the New York Yankees who played in like 10 regular season games?!?!

Nah, they both deserved it.

About as good as you can imagine.

Next.

IDK you should all read B-Section which Alfredo and I labored over for your reading pleasure. Everything you need to know about this year's basketball teams. So go read it for Christ's sake.

I still remember watching the video on Facebook of her just getting a kick right to the face.

I felt the kick from my room — imagine Ronda.

Close but no cigar. Shout out to Eli Manning for having himself one hell of a game. Giants I see you, trying to injure Pat. Whatever it takes to win I guess.

The only time I saw them on TV, they were literally just launching dingers. Congrats to Bryant, bringing some hardwood to Chicago.

But Correa, I don't forgive what you did the to the Yankees.

Don't let anyone tell you different, we did good! Our shooters were on point, knocking down shots left and right. Down by only eight at the half, we held in there for a while. Congrats to Marcus for dropping another 25.

Clean sweep, first home game at Webster Bank Arena. Come through, show some love and wear red. Don't forget to read B-Section, because I literally worked all night.

Help me out here Fairfield!

All I will say is that if there's any team that will get the Pats nervous, I'm glad it was a New York team.

But I hope to be at the game in December when the Jets FINALLY end their winning streak. Here's hoping.

First wasn't sure what sport this was. Then I had to ask Pat what a ROY was. Neither of that answers the question, but deep down I'm sure everyone is deserving.

We performed as expected.

My prediction is that Fairfield school spirit will trump SHU because we have B-Section and they don't so ha we win.

I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. to finish watching that game and let's be real, it's not like we didn't expect that from Brady. What can't he do? He's unstoppable.

I once talked to a boy with the last name Correa, long story short, he was not a winner. Def not the type of boy you bring home to mom.

At least one of the Correas has something going for him.

I guess there's no avoiding these basketball questions but OUTSTANDING job to Alfredo for the latest B-Section! So glad I skipped that twice, but you're a star for getting though it!

The SHU Game is one of the only basketball games I ever attend and I'm very sad I won't be able to make it this year (however not that sad because I am living in Italy).

I'm pretty sure my mouth was wide open a good 10 minutes Angela Sammarone after I witnessed that video. Poor Managing Editor Ronda. She'll need to ice that for a while...

Jesse Erickson Italian Spy

Flickr/Creative Commons Tom Brady (above) threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants on Sunday. This win brought the Patriots' record to 9-0 as they are still in pursuit of a perfect season.

Oh my god. Nothing worse than talking the biggest game in history and getting knocked out. I was shocked and felt mortified for Rousey.

Sports

THE MIRROR | Week of November 18, 2015

Volleyball wins 10th straight contest versus Iona

By Alfredo Torres Sports Editor One day after clinching a share of the regular season title and the top seed in the upcoming Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship, the Stags looked to gain sole position atop the MAAC as they hosted the Iona Gaels on Sunday, Nov. 15. After dropping the first set of the match to the Gaels, Fairfield bounced back by winning the next three to take home the 3-1 match victory. “It wasn’t our best volleyball, but we came out and we got the win, which is important. But I think moving forward we all know that we have to play better volleyball in order to win a conference championship up in Albany,” said Megan O’Sullivan ‘17 of Sunday’s win.

Fairfield came out of the gate slow, trailing by two early. Iona would take advantage that they were up early and began to knock down shots left and right to increase their lead to eight, 16-8. The Stags would wake up and battle back to cut down the lead to four behind five early kills by O’Sullivan ‘17 and four digs off the hands of Megan Theiller ‘18.

Fairfield’s effort wasn’t enough as they dropped the first set 25-20.

“We want to be fighting on every single point and our effort wasn’t good enough in that first set. We obviously had to pick it up and play Fairfield volleyball and I don’t know if we ever did in the first set,” said head coach Todd Kress of his team’s effort in the first.

The second set of the match was a different story for Iona as they struggled to knock down shots as Fairfield woke up to play. With the score at 8-6, Iona would remain with six for a while as the Stags would score six straight points, making the lead 14-6.

After knocking just one shot in the first set, Akinola Oyinkansola ‘19 emerged to connect on five kills in the second, helping the Stags increase their lead and eventually pick up the 25-14 set victory to tie the match 1-1, holding Iona to under 40 percent from the field.

“I thought we had them out of the system from the end line. I thought we were

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Drop off box at

better in transition in our reset I thought that we got the ball to our middles in transition, which opened up Megan and Akinola,” said Kress of the team’s play in the second set.

We will also be at tables throughout the rest of the semester taking Once again, the Stags jumped out to teddy bear/stuffed animal & money donations an early lead over the Gaels breaking the game open as Fairfield led 19-10. The third set of the match saw seven kills from Theiller and four kills from Skyler Day ’18. Fairfield would take care of Iona easily with a set score of 25-15 to give them the 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth and final set of the match saw balanced scoring off Theiller, Day, O’Sullivan and Oyinkansola. With a seven-point lead, it seemed as if the Stags had an easy win, but Iona would fight once again to cut the lead down to four, 24-20. However, Fairfield would add the finishing touches to pick up the match victory 3-1 with a final set score of 2520. “We have a lot of passion and a lot of fight, not a lot of teams can lose the first one and have the will to fight and come back. Our team as a whole has come a long way from that. In the beginning of the season we lost that first match and threw it in the bag and called it a day.

That says a lot about our passion as a team,” said O’Sullivan of her team winning three straight.

O’Sullivan continued her strong play as she finished tied with a game-high of 14 kills alongside Day. O’Sullivan was effective on both sides of the court as she had a hand in six of Fairfield’s 10 blocks.

Theiller finished the game with a 13 kills and 16 digs for her fifth consecutive double-double. Oyinkansola added 12 kills while hitting a career-best .429.

With Sunday’s win, the Stags stand alone atop the MAAC standings with a record of 14-4 in conference play, 19-9 overall. The Stags finished the season winning 10 consecutive games as they finished with an 11-2 record at Alumni Hall. With the MAAC Championship set for Nov. 20-22 at Siena’s Alumni Recreation Center, Fairfield earned a bye to Saturday’s semifinal round as they wait Alfredo Torres/The Mirror for the lowest advancing seed which can Sophomore Sydney Buckley (top) finished the game with 37 assists and eight digs. Following Sunday's be either Niagara or the winner of the win, the Stags secured their 10th consecutive win to end the season with a 19-9 record overall for the matchup between Manhattan and Rider. top spot atop the MAAC.

The Info Desk in the BCC

@MirrorSports Fairfield Mirror Sports Week of November 18, 2015

fairfieldmirror.com

SPORTS 16 Sports Editor: Alfredo Torres » sports@fairfieldmirror.com

Women win close in first game of the season

Alfredo Torres/The Mirror In Friday's win against La Salle, Casey Smith '17 (above) scored 13 points, Kelsey Carey '17 (left) led all scorers with 19 off the bench and Lizzy Ball '16 (right) dished out seven assists.

By Alfredo Torres Sports Editor What better day than Friday the 13th to open the regular season? The women’s basketball team opened its doors to welcome the La Salle Explorers to Alumni Hall for the first game of the season. After coming into the game missing one of their most talented scorers in Kristin Schatzlein ‘16 due to injury, Kelsey Carey ‘17 came off the bench to lead the Stags with a total of 19 points to lead Fairfield past La Salle 62-59.

“It means everything right now because we’re just opening our season. We’re missing one of our starters, one of our best scorers Kristin Schatzlein, so this means more than people realize to us to get a win without her and to get it for one another,” said Carey after Friday’s win.

The start to the game saw domination from the Stags on both ends of the court; just five minutes into the game, Fairfield held a slim 3-2 lead all that would change once Carey checked into the game. “Just to pick up the tempo, obviously I go in any game hoping to score and get some stops, but honestly today I was just going in hoping to pick my team up and get scores,” said Carey.

Carey did more than just pick up the tempo — she took it all the way home scoring on eight consecutive points to give Fairfield the 11-2 lead with just three minutes remaining in the first. Carey would continue her production throughout the game to finish with a team-high 19 points off the bench. When asked about Carey’s play, head coach Joe Frager said, “She really is a starter, but as a coach sometimes you like to have that kid on the bench who can come right in and give you instant offense.”

The second quarter of play seemed no different than the first as Fairfield again locked down defensively on the La Salle offense. “That’s probably the one thing we stress the most at pregame was the need to get out to a really fast start because we knew how athletic this team was and that they were a very difficult matchup for us,” said Frager.

Fairfield’s defense limited La Salle to just nine points in the second quarter. While

La Salle struggled, the Stags’ offense exploded to increase their lead to 18 with a 33-15 lead heading into the half.

The Stags added another 20 to their lead through the first four minutes of the third.

But slowly the Explorers made a run to cut the lead down to six. “In the second half, when we got the lead I think our focus went a little bit and they really started pressuring us and attacking the basket. When we started to commit those hand check fouls, I think we lost our composure there in the third quarter,” said Frager.

Although the visiting team cut the lead, Fairfield was able to finish the quarter 5044. “We didn’t ease up, we didn’t let them get to our head and we just kept going at them no matter how hard they were coming at us,” said Carey of the team’s fight.

The fourth quarter saw La Salle become a contender once again, battling back down 20, leaving Fairfield to have only a two-point lead 1:19 left in the game. After a Casey Smith ‘17 miss, Samantha Cooper ’18 grabbed the offensive rebound but was fouled in the act of shooting which forced the forward to the charity stripe, where she knocked down both to give Fairfield the 61-57 edge with less than a minute left in the game.

After a Fairfield foul sent La Salle to the stripe, the lead was back to two when Kristen McLaughlin ’18 shot from three but missed, followed her shot and got the steal with less than 10 seconds left in the game. “That was a really big play. McLaughlin got the steal and now we got that new rule where you can advance the ball at the end of the game and that’s what we tried to do with the one tick on the clock,” said Frager of the team’s finish. Senior Lizzy Ball made one of two shots from the line to seal the 62-59 win.

“We got a win tonight without Schatzlein and that’s huge and also with Macey Hollenshead ‘18 being out with her injured collarbone. Lizzy never came out the floor tonight, Cooper didn’t come out the floor tonight so I thought it was tremendous effort against a talented team that’s going to win a lot of games in the A10,” said Frager of Friday’s win. The Stags will be back in action when they travel to Maryland to take on Loyola on Wednesday, Nov. 18.