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Fairfield’s field hockey team defeated Quinnipiac University on Sunday to win the 2015 MAAC Championship.
Traditional fiddle music meets modern performance aesthetics at the Quick Center with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. Page 7
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THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of November 11, 2015
@FairfieldMirror
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Vol. 41 Iss. 10
Labor issues surface on campus By Catherine Veschi News Editor
Catherine Veschi/The Mirror Students receive orange parking tickets if they violate the University’s parking policy in any way.
Students evaluate parking policy By Zachary Durso Contributing Writer
She continued to comment on instances where students came from off campus Students around campus are notic- and could not find parking spaces in the ing much more frequently the all too fa- busy non-resident parking lots. This is miliar orange envelope slipped beneath something characteristic of the height of their windshield wipers as they approach the day. Often in these cases, frustrated their cars here on campus. students park in lots they are unpermitIn regards to this increased tick- ted to park in order to make it to class eting, Director of Public Safety Todd on time. Pelazza stated that he has not seen this Senior Valeria Aguillon stated in increased distribution in regards to these crowded parking infraction issuancparking lots, “I feel like es. “I do not have the cur- I think the ticket- the parking situation rent data, however I do not ing is heavy and is not well-thought feel that there has been a out. The number of tremendous increase in the most of the time commuter students far number of parking tickets it is extremely outnumbers the numissued this year. We do enber of parking spaces. unfair. force our parking policies It’s absurd,” Aguillon -Valeria Aguillon ‘16 added, “I think the on a regular basis.” Pelazza noted as a side ticketing is heavy and that most tickets distributed here on most of the time it is extremely unfair.” campus are issued to vehicles that are DeStefano added that often it is either completely unregistered to park beach students who are hurt by these here on campus, or vehicles that have crowded lots, having to park in a ranparked in areas for which they are not dom spaces in order to make it to class. permitted. Pelazza replied in reference to this, Students such as Katie DeStefano “We have designated lots for both resi’16 disagree with this, however. “I think dents and non-residents. It is extremely that students have definitely been tick- important that our community adhere to eted more frequently,” DeStefano stated. these policies in order to have available
parking areas. My question is why are students frustrated if they are parking in unauthorized areas and then receive a ticket. Student need to plan accordingly to get to class on time.” DeStefano argues on this point that the University often closes parking lots for various events without giving students notice. She feels in these situations that students had no way of planning accordingly. “There was no notification for when the library lot closed last week. Students had no way to prepare to get to class early and even if they did, all the lots were full and they would be ticketed for parking in lots different than their sticker. In these situations you can’t penalize kids for getting to class … there should be exceptions for these kinds of days.” Meditz Hall residents, like DeStefano, are not the only students affected by parking policy at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, however. Senior Kristin Torres, a resident of 47 Mahan Road, said, “The situation we have with the Mahan small lot and the Quick Center is unfair. If we park any further than the dotted line we get ticketed beREAD
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In the early hours of the morning, students can find janitors cleaning the bathrooms of their residence halls, making sure that the dorms are as clean as possible for the beginning of the school day. Recently, these workers received news from ABM, their employer, that all employees whose shifts begin at 6 p.m. would start working instead at 11 p.m. This change in shift only applies to the janitorial staff at Fairfield, who are represented by the Service Employees International Union, according to Sonya Huber, associate professor of English and a chair of the Fairfield Welfare Committee, an organization that is designed to enhance the economic and professional status of the faculty at Fairfield. This change in shift means that the janitorial staff would have to work overnight, a shift that is much more inconvenient, despite some having worked for Fairfield for the last 15 years. In addition, the janitors will no longer be assigned to work in a specific building, but will have to move as a group from building to building, which many of the janitors are concerned will cause transportation problems. “Many of us feel that it is simply not right to move these dedicated workers to the third shift, where they will be invisible and isolated, and connections with their coworkers — the faculty, staff and students — would be broken,” Huber said. “Third-shift work plays havoc with families and sleep patterns, ultimately jeopardizing the health and well-being of employees,” she continued. Rona Preli, the president of the FWC and an associate professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at the University, added that “They [the janitorial staff] understand that their union is making these changes and that the changes are primarily aimed at cost saving. However, the changes to the employees’ schedules will impact many of the older staff that have been with the University for years.” Sophomore Tori Marek feels that it’s not fair that these changes affect the schedules of workers who have been with Fairfield for years. “I don’t think that it’s fair that these employees have likely had the same hours for their time here. They will now need to change their lives around, which can have a big effect on their personal lives and families,” Marek said. Associate Professor of Communication Gisela GilREAD
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‘Flavors of Asia’ brings diversity to campus By Meaghan Kirby Staff Writer The Fairfield community ate, danced and immersed themselves in various Asian cultures during the sixth annual Flavors of Asia event on Friday night, sponsored by The Asian Student Association (ASA) and South Asian Student Association (SASA). “Flavors gives us the opportunity to showcase different aspects of Asian and South Asian culture such as food, clothing, and performance,” said SASA Co-Vice President Lupa Latif ‘16. The event, which counted as FYE Inspire
credit, was held in the Oak Room and packed with 130 guests who tuned in to see dance performances by Fairfield’s hip-hop dance team, Remixx, Team Leggo, a local dance group from Double Up Dance Studio in Fairfield and a martial arts showcase from Fairfield’s Martial Arts Club. Since the event started six years ago, its popularity has increased due to positive reception for the event and for the past couple years the turnout has been steadily over 100 people. “The main focus of the event is for students to experience the culture and traditions that make up the Asian continent,” said SASA
co-president Damini Patel ‘16. Sophomore Brendan Zimmerman agreed with Patel, saying, “I think Flavors is an important event on campus as it gives the University a chance to showcase the diversity found within the student body and celebrate Asian heritage and culture as well.” For ASA president Novy Thaib ‘16, Flavors of Asia promotes the importance of diversity on Fairfield’s campus. “It is important to the Fairfield community to learn about different kinds of cultures READ
DANCE ON PAGE 2
Javier Rivilla/The Mirror Sophomore Sophia Bolanos got a henna at “Flavors of Asia.”