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THE MIRROR | Week of April 13, 2016
News
Students attracted to Fairfield’s financial aid offerings CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In addition, Pellegrino mentioned that the increase in tuition is matched by an increase in the amount of total financial aid given to students. “Although the increases [in tuition] have leveled off in recent years, financial aid is still increasing above the rate that tuition increases,” Pellegrino said, explaining that the amount of financial aid given to students has increased more rapidly than the tuition. In the past couple of years; however, both the increases in tuition and financial aid have been leveling off, providing for more consistent increases in tuition and financial aid, Pellegrino said. Pellegrino added that the Office of Admissions isn’t consciously choosing to give students more in financial aid in an effort to combat the increasing tuition. Rather, “we recognized that we perhaps had not done as much in terms of financial aid as we needed to, so we had to put more resources into financial aid in order to make this an affordable choice for students.” Junior Tim Cobau sees this as a trend that has been happening at universities all over the nation, explaining that “while college sticker prices keep increasing, actual prices are much more static.” He added that since many universities have given more in financial aid, while the sticker price of tuition is increasing, the actual price of attending isn’t increasing by much. However, for Chloe Lazar ‘19, the fact that tuition is increasing by a more consistent and less drastic percentage each year
had little impact on her decision to attend Fairfield. “One of the reasons I chose Fairfield was because it was the school that gave me the most money and the leveling off didn’t play any role in my decision,” Lazar said. Cobau agreed that the rate of increases in tuition had little influence on his decision to attend Fairfield. “Personally this does not impact me that much because I have a good scholarship here and I receive a decent amount of financial aid from both Fairfield and from the government,” Cobau said. Despite the increasing tuition and corresponding increase in financial aid given, Pellegrino explained why the University has a high sticker price that the majority of students don’t have to pay due to merit scholarships and financial aid. “There’s something in people’s perception that, people like to get a scholarship. They like to be rewarded in that way. For whatever reason, this makes the school more attractive for prospective students,” Pellegrino said. For Sarah Foley ‘18, the merit scholarship she received from Fairfield when she was accepted into the University was the deciding factor in choosing Fairfield as her home for the next four years. “I wouldn’t be able to attend Fairfield University if I didn’t have my merit scholarship,” Foley said, saying that for many students, like herself, financial aid and merit scholarships are the only reasons why attending Fairfield is financially possible.
Percentage change of tuition at competing institutions
The graph displays the percentage that tuition increased at each university from the 2015-2016 to the 20162017 school year, with Fairfield experiencing the smallest increase in tuition at 2.5%.
Drug bust results in four arrests and five infractions By Juliana Sansonetti Assistant News Editor Four Fairfield students were arrested on April 1 and five were given infractions for possession of drugs after a large-scale drug bust that led to the Department of Public Safety finding cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana and prescription drugs in residence halls. DPS obtained information on drug use that led to intelligence on
several rooms that reportedly contained drugs. This led to several arrests, according to Assistant Director of DPS John Ritchie. These rooms were in Claver and Jogues halls, along with a townhouse. After finding drugs, campus security called Fairfield police. The arrests were made on Friday morning, around 11 a.m. According to the Fairfield Daily Voice, the following students
were charged for drug related violations. Dzemal Ganic, 22, of Fairfield, Conn., was charged with possession of a hallucinogen or less than four ounces of marijuana and use and possession of drug paraphernalia. James Brown, 19, of Hoboken, N.J., was charged with possession of a hallucinogen or less than four ounces of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance or less than four ounces of marijuana.
Jack Crowley, 20, of East Quogue, N.Y., was charged with use and possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of narcotics and possession of a controlled substance or less than four ounces of marijuana. Brian Mason, 20, of Norfolk, Mass., was charged with use and possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance or less than four ounces of marijuana. Ganic, Brown, Crowley and
Mason were released and are scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Bridgeport, according to Fairfield Citizen. Brown, Crowley and Mason are to appear on April 18 and Ganic will appear on April 15, according to the Daily Voice. Ritchie commented on the affair, stating, “DPS always discourages abusive behavior. We encourage students to take pride in their campus and take action to clean it up, figuratively and literally.”
‘Around the World’ event discarded for racial insensitivity How do you feel about the change in the townhouse event from Around the World to the Townhouse Time Travel?
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 received backlash from the student body, who had been hoping to keep the event the same or to even change the theme to “Around the U.S.A.” “The new theme seems really limited to me,” said Katie Talamelli ‘17. “People liked that the old theme was so versatile being that there are so many countries to choose from, whereas decades doesn’t give students the option to be as unique and creative.” She continued, adding that she would hope that after an event like the “ghetto party,” students would be more culturally aware. “I think that in light of what happened earlier this year, students have to be aware of how they are portraying other cultures and backgrounds,” said Talamelli. “I would hope that if we were allowed to do ‘Around the World’ or even my suggestion of ‘Around the USA’ that people would simply be a little bit smarter about it.”
However, the University felt that ‘Around the U.S.A.’ would still cause similar cultural misappropriations on a smaller scale. In order to prevent any of these issues, Cullen stated that “we [RHA] did not want to leave any room for this type of cultural appropriation in order to ensure that every student within our community felt safe and could enjoy the event.” For those looking to express their opinions and ask questions about the event, the RHA co-presidents, Cullen and Monica Wojtal ‘17 will be holding an open forum on Wednesday, April 13 in the Dolan lounge at 11 a.m. Although the theme has changed, the event will be conducted in a similar way. The event, which is only open to the junior class and those living in the D-town area, will take place on Saturday, April 23. As stated by Cullen, there will be music by Fairfield’s own DJ Greg T, lawn games, free good, prizes and a decade-themed candy shop.