Fairfield Mirror 3/13/2019

Women’s Basketball

Title X Changes

SingerSongwriter

Opinion

Vine

Sports

Title X Changes boost human rights.

Singer-songwriter performs for crowds of students.

Women’s Basketball stopped

by Quinnipiac.

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THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper

Week of March 13, 2019

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Vol. 44 Iss. 19

Decorated Basketball Coach Fired

By Julia Lanzillotta Sports Editor Fairfield Athletics Director Paul Schlickmann announced a change in leadership of the men’s basketball program on Monday, March 11 after a losing season for the Stags. Head Coach Sydney Johnson was introduced to Fairfield hoops in Apr. of 2011 following a four season tenure at Princeton University, his alma mater. Johnson’s termination is effective immediately.

Fairfield’s season came to an early end on Thursday, March 7 at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships when Fairfield lost to the Manhattan College Jaspers, 57-53. The four point deficit cemented the Stags’ record at 9-22 to finish off the disappointing 2018-2019 season.

Johnson contributed significantly Fairfield’s basketball program, as the first coach in four decades to collect four winning seasons in the MAAC. He tallied the most postseason victories in school history and racked up five winning seasons, again making him the only coach to do so in the University’s history.

Additionally, since his reign as basketball’s head coach, seven of his student-athletes have signed professional contracts. In the 2012-2013 season, the Stags recorded a trio of postseason wins, which is the most by any of Fairfield’s Division 1 teams ever. In December of 2016, Fairfield basketball registered the school’s only win versus an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team, Boston College, in its history.

In eight seasons as basketball’s Head Coach, Johnson registered a 116-147 overall record and a 68-84 record in MAAC play, according to the Fairfield Athletics website. The MAAC recognized 17 student-athletes during his incumbency for major award or All-Conference accolades.

On June 25, 2018 Coach Johnson signed a contract extension with Fairfield University through the 2020-2021 season following a 17-16 season, which ended with a four round playoff run. “He believes not only in Fairfield, but in the values we espouse institutionally and athletically for the holistic development of our student-athletes,” said Fairfield University’s Athletic Director Paul Schlickmann of Johnson at the time in a statement following the extension.

Due to the unexpected turn that this year took, however, school administrators felt that it was in the best interest of the franchise to part ways with Johnson.

“Fairfield University is on an amazing trajectory as an institution. We are committed to excellence in all aspects of the educational experience. As such, we have high expectations for the consistent success of our Men’s Basketball program and the multi-faceted impact it can have on our University culture. This is a coveted role that will attract high-caliber candidates. I am confident we will find a leader who can embrace and implement our shared vision and values,” noted Schlickmann.

“I want to thank Coach Johnson for his commitment to Fairfield.

He has led our program with integrity, served as a great mentor to our Read Johnson on Page 14

Creative Commons/ Wikipedia Creative Commons/ Wikimedia Commons

Sydney Johnson served as Men’s Basketball coach for a consecutive eight seasons

A Win for Women

By Devan Markham Contributing Writer

On Friday, Mar. 18, 2019, students trickled in to the Lower Level John A. Barone Campus Center to celebrate Women’s History month with the Second Annual International Women’s Day Fair, co-sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Student Engagement.

Students explored a variety of tables composed of student clubs and organizations that either are women-centered or speak about women’s issues. Along with the colorful posters, interactive activities and knowledge about International Women’s Day, the fair also welcomed vendors from local businesses owned by women.

Amber Atwood, program coordinator for the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, welcomed everybody as they arrived and announced that this year’s theme for International Women’s Day is gender balance, using #balanceforbetter.

“The fight for gender equality and gender balance is not one, even though some people think it is, and it’s important for everyone to think about it because gender balance is what makes communities thrive,” said Atwood.

Atwood introduced the fair’s three main events that would take place: a spoken word performance by Aarushi Vijay ‘22 and special guest speaker Tonya Oden McNair, who is a licensed social work and program manager for the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services for Individual and Family Supports Division West Region. She was then joined on a panel by Janie Leatherman Ph.D., chair of politics and director of humanitarian action at Fairfield University, Katie Byrnes, campus minister for social justice and community engagement at Fairfield University and Diandre Clarke ‘18, Fairfield University alumna, current graduate student in Dolan School of Business and chief executive officer of Simply Belle, an organization that empowers young women on the local level. The panel discussion was led by Jasmine Raghunandan, program coordinator for the Office of Student Engagement focusing on graduate, part-time and international student life.

Vijay explained that her performance was a acknowledgment of the years of oppression that women have suffered in the past. While the audience’s response to her performance gave her a boost of confidence, she still fears that women have a long way to go.

“I would say it’s still not an equal world and I think we are still fighting for it,” said Vijay.

Vijay wished that more women and men would acknowledge Women’s History Month Read Fairfield on Page Two

Kate McCabe/ The Mirror

Sean Crosby beams after winning in seat for class of 2021 in FUSA Senate.

New FUSA Senate Elected

By Julia Crews Assistant News Editor On Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. The Levee came to life with Fairfield University Student Association Senate hopefuls and their supporters as they awaited the results of the 2019 Senate Elections.

The stakes were the highest for the Class of 2022, which was the only class that had more than five candidates that were running for the class’s five senate seats. “I’m here because I take an active stance in student politics including contraceptives on campus, inclusivity and the environment,” said Fiona Tynon ‘22. “By ‘inclusivity’ I mean that I want more events with all grades as the target audi-

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THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

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Three Incumbents Lose in Senate Election Continued from Page One ence, and I want freshmen to be encouraged to take classes and socialize with students from other classes.”

After the room spent almost a half hour spent anticipating and eating free pizza, FUSA Chief Justice and President-elect Claire Monahan ‘20 stepped up to announce the winners. The future senators from the Class of 2020 are: Luke D’Agostino with 89 votes, Justin Mercado with 77 votes, Brian Gozzo with 77 votes, Bradd Cyr with 62 votes, and pending write-in candidate Teresa Sauer with 34 votes. According to FUSA, there were 155 votes in total, and nine were counted as invalid due to mismatched ID and name.

As for Class of 2021, the winners are Sean Crosby with 96 votes, Angelica Miceli-Kaya with 92 votes, Alexia O’Brien with 83 votes, Ali Haidar with 80 votes, and Colin Townsend with 54 votes. There were 161 votes in total, and two were counted as invalid due to mismatched ID and name.

Haidar said he was, “Glad to be back in the senate, and excited to work with the new individuals in the senate in order to grow on what Kate McCabe/ The Mirror Kate McCabe/ The Mirror we’ve built this year.”

“I know this is what people are here for,” Monahan said before The FUSA Senate election party was held at The Levee where pizza was provided to all students. reading off the Class of 2022’s future senate members. They include Nwachukwu Ibekwe with 169 votes, Vincent Gadioma with 154 votes, open for three days, as opposed to in the past when it has been open only for one day. In the spring Casey McCombs with 138 votes, Jack Stalzer with 134 votes, and Tyler Heffern with 134 votes. There of 2018, 119 people voted in the Class of 2020 and 183 in the Class of 2021. In the fall of 2018, 246 were 391 votes in total, and seven were counted as invalid due to mismatched ID and name. Heffern first-years voted. and Stalzer are incumbents. Sarah Bowden, Amelia Kedik and Alexander Vulcano, are current senaThough the start of the next term is to be determined, the new FUSA Senate will convene at tors who ran but did not get re-elected. least once before the end of the semester. The next General Senate Meeting will be held March 13 at “I’m here to listen to the complaints of my class and change things,” said Ibekwe, who received 6:30 pm in the Lower Level of the John A. Barone Campus Center. the highest number of votes out of all the candidates.

“I hope our campus can become closer,” said McCombs when asked what she would do with Disclaimer: Claire Monahan, Executive Editor of The Mirror and FUSA President Elect, did her upcoming term. “I want more community involvement.” not contribute in any way to this report.

Voter turnout has improved this year. This was the first time that the FUSA Senate ballot was

Fairfield Celebrates Women Around the World Continued from Page One

and women in general. She argues that women just tear each other down because they are taught to do so when in reality, women need to support each other.

Atwood expanded upon to some of the ways that women are still oppressed in today’s society. She believes that oppression begins for women at a young age.

“I think a lot of young girls are told that they can’t do certain things: they can’t play sports, they can’t do science or math, they can’t be engineers, they can’t be astronauts, and that stays with you,” said Atwood. “When you grow into a woman, if you are told as a child that you can’t do these things, you just automatically don’t even think about doing those things, whereas boys are told that they can. So, we just have to change that mindset starting from when they are children.”

With the idea that women still feel that they are being oppressed after so many years, students just like Julia Nojeim ‘19 are fighting to raise awareness of issues women continue to face today. Nojeim, along with the Students for Social Justice, plan to raise awareness of the issues that women face in the workplace, whether it be in government, industry etc. Their goal is to promote different ways that woman can be treated equally. Their poster board display even included to acknowledge a handful of women they thought to be influential: Michelle Obama, Oprah, Emma Watson, Demi Lovato and more.

Nojeim commented that, “It’s great to build community that way. Just seeing all these different groups on campus come together that share the same values for promoting women equalities and it’s nice to know that everybody is fighting for the same cause.”

One student at the event, Kajal Gopwani ‘21, reflected on the importance of International Women’s Day. “I want to celebrate the elegance of womanhood and I wanted to get people an idea that international women’s day is for women to project their voice, for giving them equal rights, and for giving them support that they are amazing, strong, and they are beautiful as they are.”

Gopwani, who also advocates for women’s rights, wanted to express that women need to be aware of how strong they are and that they have support among other women. She mentioned very real challenges that women continue to face on a daily basis: sexual assault, domestic violence, bullying, pressure of the ideal standards of woman especially on social media.

Gopwani feels that because so many women are still facing these issues today, that women can teach each other by mentoring, supporting and embracing their qualities and who they are by being strong, developing skills and supporting each other. This is essential for women to succeed.

According to Tonya McNair, the guest speaker, if women want to see change and want things to change, women have to get involved. To see the change, women have to be the change.

PEN America CEO Discusses Free Speech

By Daniel Messier Assistant News Editor

for coverage he dislikes,” and that he exhibits “antagonism toward the press that we’ve long associated with authoritarian rulers around the world.” Nossel stressed that one of the most important facets of free speech is the ability to give or receive information, further claiming that Trump violates the rights of journalists and audience when he “discredit[s] the press.”

Nossel also discussed free speech on college campuses, saying, “Free speech is more than saying whatever you want, it is making sure that every student has the ability to participate.” She emphasized the “Free speech is under the greatest threat in recent memory,” importance of listening to others’ opinions, especially speakers who said Suzanne Nossel, PEN America chief executive officer and free come to campus with opposing views. Regarding visiting speakers speech activist who gave a talk on March 11 in the Charles F. Dolan and lecturers, Nossel said, “If outcry shuts down a lecture or speech, School of Business Dining Room. The talk was titled only the loudest voices prevail.” She stated that instead “Whose Freedom, Whose Speech: Free Speech in the of protesting the speaker with the intention of getting Age of Donald Trump,” and addressed the current issues their invite rescinded, it is more beneficial to have a facing free speech in the United States. dialogue with that person in which more voices can Among the issues facing free speech that Nossel be heard. addressed were technology and social media. While she “I think Nossel was very well spoken and remains an advocate for free speech, Nossel addressed highlighted a lot of very interesting points about our concerns that it is being used in ways that violates the current understanding of the news, the first amendfree speech of others, and that the first amendment is not ment and our role as students and citizens in engaging always enough to protect free speech. Nossel called social with this kind of content,” said Olivia McEvoy ‘19 via media a “breeding ground for hate speech,” and then statemail, who attended the event for a News Media and ed, “These platforms are not subject to the First AmendDemocracy Class. “She also gave us insight into a rement.” Nossel pointed out that the First Amendment port (to be released the next day) on fake news during only restricts government intervention of free speech, but the midterm elections, a topic that was very intriguing that technology tycoons such as Mark Zuckerberg are to me.” McEvoy is referencing PEN America’s report free to decide what is and is not able to be said on their entitled “Truth on the Ballot: Fraudulent News, The platforms.

Midterm Elections, and Prospects for 2020” that came She also addressed ideological polarization, out on March 12, the day after Nossel spoke. The reignorance and indifference as prime threats against free port reached a number of conclusions involving topics speech. Nossel declared that “free speech is like the air such as domestic disinformation as well as the effects we breath, vital and unnoticed,” and also pushed for “a of Russian disinformation in American elections. non-partisan movement to protect free speech.”

Nossel made it clear that she believes that every Nossel also focused heavily on the Trump adminperson, Democrat or Republican, should be in favor of istration, and, in her own words, “President Trump’s esfree speech. She also made it clear that every student calating campaign to discredit the press.” She discussed at on every campus should be concerned about how their length a suit that her organization, PEN America, is filing university addresses issues of free speech. against President Donald Trump. PEN America, of which “I think that Nossel brought up a really strong Nossel is the CEO, is an organization that advocates for point when she addressed free speech overall: it is human rights and free expression around the world as something that is protected, but often not sufficient.

Creative Commons/PEN America well as within the United States.

So I guess when looking at Fairfield’s campus, just as I PEN America’s suit claims that President Trump Creative Commons/ PEN AMerica would any other institution, it is important to look for is “using the machinery of government to retaliate or what more can be done,” said McEvoy.

Suzanne Nossel is a human rights activist and CEO of PEN America. threaten reprisals against journalists and media outlets

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THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

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The Mirror Reflects on this Week in Social Media Compiled by Julia Monteleone Information contributed by the Department of Public Safety.

Wednesday, 3/6 11:29 p.m.

A decorative art piece was stolen from the Levee. Two students were identified and the art piece was returned.

6:36 p.m.

A harassment complaint was filed involving two students. The matter is under inwvestigation.

Thursday, 3/7 7:25 p.m.

A DoorDash employee complained that a student pointed a laser pointer at him while he was delivering their food. The student was referred to student conduct.

Friday, 3/8 6:58 p.m.

A laptop was reported stolen from the John A. Barone Campus Center Mezzanine.

Saturday, 3/9 12:39 a.m.

DPS discovered multiple ceiling tiles ripped off the ceiling of The Levee bathroom.

1:18 a.m.

Drug paraphernalia was discovered in Gonzaga Hall while DPS was responding to a medical call.

1:03 p.m.

Two students were documented for public urination.

A student was documented for disorderly conduct.

DPS discovered a student in possession of narcotics.

The student was referred to student conduct.

There was an incident of vandalism to townhouse bannisters requiring maintenance.

12:04 a.m.

A narcotics were found in Gonzaga Hall. The room was identified and student was referred to student conduct.

5:04 p.m.

A student reported his car vandalized while parked at the townhouses. Scratches were found on doors and fenders.

THE MIRROR Incorporated 1977

Lexi Thimble, Editor-in-Chief Claire Monahan, Executive Editor Katherine Klima, Managing Editor Editors Sheila McCombs, Chief Copy Julia Monteleone, News Julia Crews, Assistant News Daniel Messier, Assistant News Catherine Santangelo, Opinion Gracianne Eldrenkamp, Vine Molly Lamendola, Assistant Vine Julia Lanzillotta, Sports Editor Business Department Email: info@fairfieldmirror.com Michael Hoffman, Director of Finance Advisor Professor Matt Tullis Contact Information Fairfield University 1073 North Benson Road, BCC 104 Box AA, Fairfield, CT 06824 General email: info@fairfieldmirror.com

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THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

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OPEN VISIONS Forum: Katz for Kids

By Andrew Murphy Contributing Writer

Creative Commons/Wikipedia

Joette Katz is a former supreme court justice in Connecticut.

On the night of Wednesday Mar. 6, the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, as part of the Open VISIONS Forum, hosted speaker Joette Katz to engage in a conversation entitled “Listening to the Kids: Challenges for Youth in Connecticut.” Katz, a former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice, recently retired from her position as commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families. Accompanying Katz on the panel this evening were Dr. Margarita Munoz, MD, the Psychiatric Medical Director of the REACH program at Bridgeport Hospital, and Dean Robert Hannafin of Fairfield’s GSEAP program.

Justice Katz explained that when she first began her term in this position, Connecticut’s child services were seen as lacking by the public. Katz highlighted the decrease in institutionalized children over her term. Katz decreased the number of children sent to institutions when left without parents from 33 percent to 7.8 percent. Additionally, Katz noted how this significant decrease in reliance on institutions allowed for 90 million dollars to be saved, with the majority of this money being recycled into community investment.

Katz also sent 46 percent of children who were removed from their homes to other family members, drastically improving this number from the 14 percent when she entered office. Katz emphasized how when a child has to leave their own home setting, much of the subsequent trauma results from where they get placed next.

This night provided rare insights from the perspective of the commissioner of the DCF. Katz’s eight year term lasted four times longer than the two year term of most commissioners.

Katz cited her loyalty exemplified through publicly defending her employees proved to be an effective strategy to gaining their confidence and trust. Katz and her department developed new methods of approaching children and families in need, making relevant services

We have a huge problem around race.”

“

- Joette Katz, Former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice available. Katz also expressed how she made a point to make systematic changes regarding her department’s approach to race. “We have a huge problem around race,” stated Katz. Therefore, before she left office, Katz had officially added racial justice as a part of her agency’s mission.

Other issues discussed by the panel included mental health, substance abuse and the justice system. The issue of mental health, which the panelists acknowledged still possesses a very toxic stigma, lies at the root of much of the problems which cause these children to end up leaving their homes.

Regardless the issue, the emphasis on helping children, families, and adults with whatever issue mental illness or traumatic experience plagues their life emerged as the night’s common theme.

On this night, the conversation concluded with a firm emphasis having been made on supporting and embracing those children, families, and other people suffering through any of the discussed hardships.

Dean of Students Office Surveys Sexual Assault

By Sabina Dirienzo Chief Copy Editor Emeritus

The Office of the Dean of Students sent out a “Campus Climate Sexual Assault Survey” on Jan. 24, asking students about their experiences, or lack thereof, with sexual assault. The survey included questions asking students whether their partner had ever “threatened [them] with a knife, gun, or other weapon” and whether they themselves had ever committed or attempted to commit sexual assault.

Dean of Students Will Johnson responded via email to questions brought up by the Campus Climate survey.

He confirmed that, despite the detailed nature of the questions and the original email stating that every survey link was individual to a student, survey responses will remain confidential and are not attached to a student’s NetID. Additionally, Johnson stated that, “Following guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Office on Violence Against women, we will not release the number or names of students who responded “yes” to being sexually assaulted or having sexually assaulted (or having attempted to do so) someone.”

For the statistics on number of reported crimes, individuals may refer to Fairfield University’s Jeanne Clery reports. Jeanne Clery reports are required by the federal Clery Act, which “requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.”

The University’s 2018 Clery report states that there were six sexual offenses, one incident of dating violence, and zero instances of stalking or domestic violence reported to the Department of Public Safety in 2018. However, in 2014 the Department of Justice found that only 20 percent of campus sexual assaults are reported, meaning that the actual number of sexual offenses could be significantly higher than six. Since the number of students who admitted to having experienced or committed sexual assault will not be released, the Clery report will remain the only public data on this matter regardless of results.

Johnson stated that, “The [Campus Climate survey] data is collected by the Office of the Dean of Students with the assistance of the Office of Institutional Research. The data will be used to examine the prevalence of and student perceptions with respect to sexual misconduct on our campus.”

These offices will, according to Johnson, use the data to “evaluate any trends by comparing this year’s results against those from the previous administration of the survey just over two years ago.”

Johnson explained that after the data is reviewed, the results will be shared with the University community. However, this is unlikely to happen until later in Spring 2019 or early in Fall 2019.

“In general,” Johnson said, “the survey results will help us to evaluate our current training requirements, programs, and initiatives. The information will help us to identify any gaps and needs moving forward.”

IRHA Showcases Stags’ Talent for Community Pride emotional version of “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles, a performance which earned her a tie for first place with the following performer, Lena Mazzo ‘21 from 40 McCormick Rd. who sang “A Million Reasons”

by Lady Gaga. With a smile on her face and dance moves, Mazzo both captivated the audience and Students came to the Dogwood Room to support their residence halls on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 8 made them laugh a few times. “I’m very flattered,” said Cotumaccio after Mazzo ended her perforp.m. when the Inter-Residential Housing Association presented the first ever “Fairfield’s Got Talent.” mance by walking up to the judges’ table and serenading him.

As audience members were welcomed with pizza, Sweet Harmony, Fairfield’s women’s a cappella Next was commuter Deja-Lee Tam ‘22 , who sang “Never Enough” by the Greatest Showgroup, sound-checked in preparation to open the show. man cast. And finally, offering a change in pace, Aarushi Vijay ‘22 Sophomore D.J. Ciampi, RHA’s director of of Campion Hall closed the show with a reading of a poem she community outreach, hosted the event. “Part of IRHA’s wrote titled “Bottles,” which left the audience momentarily speechmission is to build community here, and I can sense that less. here tonight,” he said to the audience, which was made After a myriad of talented performers, the judges had a chalup of students who had come to cheer on the representalenging task ahead of them. As the show ended and they began to tive from their residence halls. Over the past few weeks, put their heads together to tally up the points and decide a winner residence halls on campus have been holding preliminary (or two), Ciampi said to the audience, “I hope we can make this a talent competitions, the winners of which would compete tradition.” in the show. Many of the students cheering in the audiAll performers received a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, and ence had actually lost their respective competitions to the once the winners were announced, Dutilly and Mazzo were given performer.

25 dollar gift cards to any restaurant in Fairfield of their choosing.

Co-Presidents of IRHA James Cotumaccio ‘20 “I started taking voice lessons when I was eight years old,” and Ashley Kasperavich ‘20 served on the judging panel said Dutilly after her win. “I wanted to perform tonight when some along with co-director of marketing Audra Connolly ’20. of my friends in IRHA said I should try it.”

First up was Clarissa Rotonto ‘22 from When asked about her song choice, she lit up. “I’ve loved Julia Crews/ The Mirror that song and Sara Bareilles for so long. I even saw her in the musiGonzaga Hall performed “Bound To You,” by Christina Aguilera. “You’re just like Christina,” exclaimed CotuMaddy Dutilly ‘22 serenades the judges with Sara Bareilles song. cal she wrote,” she said, referring to “Waitress” on Broadway. maccio once the song had ended.Senior Sunny Hong from It was hard to reach Mazzo at first through the Southside followed with a charming rendition of “Yours” crowd of students that had surrounded her to express their adoraby Ella Henderson, uplifting the room with heartfelt lyrics such as, “If I’ve been feeling heavy, you tion and congratulations. She gave out many hugs before having any moment to answer questions. “I chase me from the dark.” After the performance Connolly said, “You could really feel the emotion.” sang in high school, and when I heard about the talent shows I was motivated to perform,” she said. “I Changing the mood, Madelyn Dutilly ‘22 from Jogues Hall then sang a compelling and love being on stage.”

By Julia Crews Assistant News Editor

Opinion

Opinion

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

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Editor Catherine Santangelo» catherine.santangelo@student.fairfield.edu

Life and Religious Freedom 'Trump' All in Title X Changes

By Matthew Breton Contributing Writer

The Trump administration has issued controversial changes to Title X, the federal grant program for family planning, in its continued efforts to improve women’s health and protect religious liberty. This action fulfills one of President Trump’s core campaign promises and ensures that taxpayers will no longer be forced to indirectly fund abortion through Title X federal grants. This move exemplifies President Trump and Vice President Pence’s unambiguous commitment to life and religious liberty. Despite protecting human rights, the new Title X rule has been met with a wealth of misplaced resistance.

There was a loud outcry when Trump’s Press Secretary first announced the proposed rule change for Title X in May of 2018. The action was postponed until recently and the criticism has resurfaced. The New York Times has cited concerns over access to contraception and other healthcare for low-income individuals, even describing the plan as cruel. Planned Parenthood along with most critics are referring to the move as a gag rule due to the section that makes it illegal for providers in the program to refer patients for abortion. Among all the criticism, some of it valid, there is a pattern of missing the point. When the New York Times refers to this rule as an example of the effort of “anti-abortion advocates,” they are ignoring or downplaying the foundation of the issue. The real battle is being fought over religious liberty and the dignity of all human beings, which includes the unborn.

Twenty-one states recently filed lawsuits against the Trump administration rule. A similar challenge was heard by the Supreme Court in 1991: Rust v. Sullivan, which re-

sulted in a ruling that upheld regulations services for patients in the way they are accustomed to. However, the funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. These regulafor Title X will not be cut whatsoever. tions prohibited employees in In fact, the funding has increased facilities that receive Title X consistently, and there is no reason to suspect that it will not funds from counseling pacontinue to do so. Any threat tients on abortion. HHS of access to contraception and stated in the issuance of other health services will be the final rule that “from short term and mostly a matthe start, Congress was ter of switching facilities. clear that Title X funds There are federally qualified cannot be used to support health centers that outnumabortion.” Many Ameriber abortion centers. cans voted for Donald J. This new rule is for the Trump because they knew greater good and for the intehe would nominate originalist judges to the Supreme gral development of the country Court who would honor the and its citizens. The right of a huFounders’ intentions. These 21 man being to freely exercise their restates will waste taxpayer dollars to ligion is affirmed not only in the First find out that the American people have Amendment to the Constitution, but not relinquished their liberty, even if in other major declarations on human they were told they should in the name rights. Article 18 of the Universal Decof healthcare and progress. laration of Human Rights and the SecIn the wake of the new Title X ond Vatican Council Declaration on Rerule, federal funds for family planning ligious Freedom both affirm as much. It will be directed away from Planned is a clear-cut violation of human rights Parenthood if they do not restructure when taxpayers are forced to participate their facilities to separate abortion in the termination of life in the womb, from other health services. This reespecially when it is contrary to the structuring, in the short term, may moral demand of their conscience. create an obstacle to receiving health Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons

Serena Goes 'Crazy' for Female Empowerment in Nike Ad

By Kallan Hook Contributing Writer

of respect for all athletes. Being an athlete is about supporting and empowering your fellow athletes, regardless of what sport one plays.

This ad not only reaches out to audiences of older female athletes; the young generation of future Olympians and athletes will see this ad and be inspired as well. Growing up in an environment where I was constantly told to “stick to ballet” or “only boys can play football,” I felt inferior to the male athlete. As a young girl, my gender should not be a precedent for what sports I can and cannot play. If a young girl wants to play a contact sport that has been traditionally seen as a “men’s sport,” let her. If a young boy wants to try dance or cheerleading, let him. One’s inferiority complex of being unable to adapt with the changing social climate should not be an excuse for the imbalance of equality between male and female athletes. As for the Nike ad, seeing one of the greatest athletes in the world challenge the traditional role of women in sports, not only empowers young athletes, but give them the motivation to break the barriers and compete in whatever sport they want to. Those individuals who are still subjecting woman to only partake in “feminine sports” are the same people who are consumed by their insecurity and fearfulness of a female having greater physical strength and endurance than themselves.

In 2019, where women have broken glass ceilings and continue to show strength in numbers, it is time to stop ridiculing female athletes for being too emotional or masculine in their sports. Stop demeaning a woman’s emotions in order to satisfy your need to feel superior. Rather than having a woman be invalidated by hysteria and the idea of her being crazy, we are finally taking crazy back.

Serena Williams is taking back the word “crazy.” On Feb. 25, Nike premiered their new "Dream Crazier" campaign that featured Williams speaking over a montage of female athletes. The video highlights athletes from different sports smashing their tennis rackets, doubling over in anger and saluting the flag. It ends with Williams promising young girls that we should “show them what crazy can do.” In a social climate where women are constantly challenging the patriarchy and epitomizing the idea of the future being female, Nike has once again created an ad that is much needed.

Nike’s montage embodies the new era of female athletes. No longer are competitors going to be shamed if they are too muscular, too emotional, too passionate or too feminine. 2019 is about taking back every piece of slander and criticism that women have experienced. If Williams is taking back “crazy,” so is every other woman. Female athletes are constantly subjected to a double standard of showing emotion in their sport, which is commonly confused for mental instability and hysteria. When a male athlete is combative with a referee, he is passionate, but when Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes in the world, questions a referee, she is compared to an ape. A male athlete is not criticized for what he wears to compete, how often he clashes with the referees or how many times he lashes out of frustration.

In competition, all athletes are held to high standards, however there lies an inequality between female and male competitors. The disparity between athletics creates an inexcusable imbalance Pictured: tennis star Serena Williams

Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons

Editorial Board "What is Your Water Damage?"

Lexi Thimble Editor-in-Chief Claire Monahan Executive Editor Katherine Klima Managing Editor

Before I wrote a 3,100 word article on water damage, I didn’t spend much time looking up at the ceiling. Now after writing that essay, no matter what room I’m in, I always pause and take a minute to look above. Everywhere I look I see red flags; I see a story behind the problem.

In the corner of second floor Donnarumma by the window, near the office for the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, there’s a portion of the ceiling tile missing with that telltale brown circular outline. In the lower level of the John A. Barone Campus Center, on the ramp to the bathrooms, the paint of the ceiling is peeling off, and whenever it rains water drips onto the carpet below.

In the Daniel and Grace Tully Dining Commons, near the main food serving station where there was once a water damaged ceiling tile, there is now a ceiling grate with a trashcan perennially afixed underneath. In the classroom in the ground floor of Bannow, where I have gen-

eral physics three times a week, there are spots of black mold growing above the trash cans.

What haunts me most however is the ceiling of Bannow 334. By the door when you first walk in there’s a strip of water damaged tiles, near the front of the room in the corner another tile and most alarmingly the tile above the projector looks like its one day from falling down. Every day since publishing my article I have asked the question what is going on with Bannow 334?

I know the answer will take a great amount of conscious effort towards moving the unmovable. It means sending emails to people who don't want to talk to you. It means interviewing as many people as it takes to get the whole story.

It's doing the hard work of journalism – but it’s all in pursuit of a worthwhile fight.

I don’t want to write long articles in the paper; all I want is to have structural issues addressed and the damage repaired – my investigative work is a means to an end. My goal is for

students to learn in classrooms with ceiling tiles not stained with water damage growing mold, is that too much to ask?

I have seen the problems of this school, the injustice, the complacency and I cannot look away.

But I am just one person with one set of eyes. I want to hear from you the reader, what roof are you trying to fix? Where have you seen injustice on this campus? What problems are allowed to endure because it seems they are just too difficult to fix? What makes you shake your head and wonder, “Why is this still happening?”

I want to know! Email me please, claire. monahan@student.fairfield.edu. I can’t promise I’ll have the solution but I can promise that I will be there with you.

You and me together, asking questions, knocking on doors, sending email after email… let’s pour a bucket of water on your leaky roof and see where it drips.

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

Opinion

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Rotten Tomatoes is Anything but 'Fresh'

By Tyler Zikias Contributing Writer Fandoms can be a positive and nurturing experience for multiple mediums of entertainment. It can be a place to meet new people who share the same passions and for these people to communicate in a healthy way about why they love what they do. Fandoms can be powerful due to a large body of people all fighting for the same cause. On the other hand, toxic groups of people from certain fandoms can also lead to disaster for major film releases. The extremely harsh and negative backlash from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in 2017 drove members of the cast off Twitter and even caused a decrease in box office sales after the film’s debut weekend. Fandoms can be petty and brutal online, doing anything they can to spread an agenda, mainly on top film review aggregator sites. This unnecessary practice has become known as “review bombing.”

Review bombing is the process of leaving negative reviews for a piece of media in order to try and harm its popularity or sales. Some notable instances include the negative reviews and hate comments about the all female cast for 2016’s “Ghostbusters,” and for the all African American cast of 2018’s “Black Panther.” Most recently, Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel,” which was released on Mar. 8, 2019, experienced review bombing. A few weeks before the film’s release, the star of the film, Brie Larson, spoke out about her experience with press tours to promote her movies. The Daily Beast quoted Larson during a sit down with Keah Brown, a disabled journalist, stating, “I started paying attention to what my press days looked like and the critics reviewing movies, and noticed it appeared to be overwhelmingly white male.”

It was this realization that caused Brie Larson to make strides in making her press pool more diverse. Her quote, like most news today, was taken completely out of context and spread across the internet for ravenous fans to dig into. Most interpreted this as Larson having a problem

man v. Superman” and “Suicide Squad,” saw their release in theaters. Both were among the most anticipated movies of the year and the DC fandom were gearing up to love these movies regardless of their actual quality. I know this because even before the films were widely released, critics began posting their reviews online, and the Tomatometer score swayed in the favor of both films being “rotten.” Before fans could even see the Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons film, they were already sending death threats to critics and review bombing the films with positive reviews to show that critics don’t know what they are talking about. Again, this was before the movies were even released to the public, so the Audience Score is deemed useless because almost 99 percent of the audience members reviewing it had yet to see it. Even today, both of these DC Comics films post a 27 percent score on the Tomatometer, but hold positive scores from the audience.

My point about the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score boils down to the site being used as a target for the agendas of fandoms. Rotten Tomatoes is arguably the biggest review aggregate site for films on the internet, and the site makes it easy for any person to post a review about anything. Some of the reviews included in that score may be from users who haven’t even seen the movie. The Audience Score system is Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons a bitterly-used and unreliable form of deciding whether to see a movie or not. I would recommend using IMDb, which is a site that features user scores that are often reflective of a differently. Rotten Tomatoes provides users with a star rat- film’s actual quality due to the site not allowing reviews being system, allowing the user to grade a film anywhere from fore a movie is screened. I would also recommend Metacritzero to five stars. However, the score works the same as the ic which is a site that most people think Rotten Tomatoes is.

Tomatometer. Reviews of a film with a score of three point Metacritic takes the actual score from critics and averages five stars or higher are considered a “fresh” review. Many them all together, coming to a score that is more reflective users fail to see how the system actually works which is why of the film itself and not a percentage based on how many I will never acknowledge the Audience Score. This is mainly people thought it was “fresh.” Hopefully, Rotten Tomatoes will learn from the past three years of poor fandom experibecause of the potency of fandoms on the internet today.

Three years ago, two major DC Comics films, “Bat- ences and deeply think about reworking their system. with white males, and many began boycotting the film. The review bombing began shortly after Larson’s comment, with the film reaching as low as a 31 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes before the film was even released.

This is easily the harshest review bombing seen in recent memory, with 2016’s “Ghostbusters” Audience Score only dropping to 58 percent on the day of release and “Black Panther” obtaining a still positive 75 percent Audience Score next to its 97 percent Tomatometer score from critics. That being said, it seems that the editors at Rotten Tomatoes took notice. They stripped users’ ability to post reviews about the film before it was officially released. This rule makes sense, but I still ask, “Why did a rule like this just get implemented?” I am not the biggest fan of Rotten Tomatoes because their system is often misread by most users, seeing the score on how good a movie is, rather than what it actually is. Rotten Tomatoes compiles reviews from verified critics all over the internet and deems their review either “fresh” or “rotten.” The fresh scores are divided by the total number of reviews which will provide the “Tomatometer” score. So, if a film has five reviews and four of them are “fresh,” the film receives an 80 percent score.

The audience score works a lot

Beauty Industry is Going Vegan for All the Wrong Reasons

By Lucy Crager Contributing Writer Veganism has taken over, and more and more people are choosing to become anti-animal product consumers. Now going to lunch with my friends is a vicious battle over vegan values. People are not the only ones falling victim to this trend because now veganism has come for the beauty industry. The introduction of vegan beauty products is proof of that.

Vegan-beauty is a fraud. Going vegan is putting on a facade of betterment. Everyone I know who takes on the vegan lifestyle makes sure to tell me, “Yes, I am vegan now!” in a prideful voice that emphasizes the misconception that being vegan means being healthier.

However, putting a vegan label on something doesn’t automatically make it better.

“Chips are accidentally vegan, but they’re not healthy,” said Sunny Subramanian, an animal lover and vegan advocate who introduced plant-based beauty in 2007 on her blog “Vegan Beauty Review” in a New York Times article. “It’s the same with makeup. Just because it’s vegan and cruelty-free doesn’t make it healthy. Its ingredient list can be chock-full of unhealthy chemicals and fillers.”

Despite it being known that vegan beauty products can still have unhealthy ingredients in them, the beauty industry will most likely market their products as healthier because they are vegan. They will say that their products are an instant way to feel healthier and happier.

Don’t get me wrong, being vegan does have its health benefits, but none of them will make

you wake up a week into the diet with a six-pack of abs and glowing skin. Even if that did happen, the whole point of refraining from consuming animal based products shouldn’t be to better yourself, it should be to protect the animals. Ironically, the one thing a vegan diet does ensure, which is animal protection, is usually the secondary concern when people take up the lifestyle. The beauty industry is no different in this sense because their primary reason for going vegan is not to help animals, but to help their industry.

In a New York Times article about the introduction of vegan beauty, there was not a single statistic about animals in the whole piece. The article is titled “Why You Should Care About Vegan Beauty” and failed to even mention the component about saving animals, which is the main reason for why we should care about vegan beauty. Going vegan is supposed to be a selfless choice, but for so many it is just the opposite.

Nothing is wrong with going vegan if you are doing it for the right reason. Making the decision should be a matter of personal ethics, not personal fitness. It should be about our environmental responsibility, not a stunt to try and look good for spring break. There is a huge misconception about being vegan in today’s society.

With the beauty industry falling victim to the veganism trend, there is no avoiding it. According to the Chinese New Year, 2019 is "The Year of the Pig.” Ironically, The Econo- mist declared 2019 the “Year of the Vegan.” There is no dodging this nutri-bullet of veganism. Get ready to say bye, bye to porky and hello to vegan-beauty.

Creative Commons/ Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons/Pixabay

The Vine

arts, entertainment, features

Editor Gracianne Eldrenkamp gracianne.eldrenkamp@student.fairfield.edu

r e t i r w g n o S r e g s l Si n a e H s i l l i W e n h p d a n D A c i s u M h g u Thro ith S tudents w s e r Sha

MollyLamendola/TheMirror Photo Taken from @daphnewillismusic Instagram CreativeCommons/OpenClipArt

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

The Vine

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Daphne Willis Performs Inspiring Concert

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By Molly Lamendola Assistant Vine Editor bhbhbIf you’re ever booking an event on campus and in the market for a closed-off, intimate space, the Lower Level of the John A. Barone Campus Center would not be it. With three separate entrances, two stairwells and a wrap around upper decking, there’s no possibility of privacy.

But, as cheers and congratulations echoed throughout the Lower Level as singer-songwriter, Daphne Willis, revealed to us that she would be three years sober this Sunday, I discovered this wasn’t an event to be placed in the shadows somewhere where privacy was possible.

The Collegiate Recovery Program and Counseling & Psychological Services asked Willis to perform “An Evening of Hope and Resilience,” on Thursday, March 7, to remove the stigma from struggling with addiction and bringing all that were together to celebrate and heal together using music.

Willis, with her shaved head, brightly colored geometric jacket and just general down to earth attitude, healed and recovered from a decade of struggling with a cocaine and alcohol addiction through music and family.

She decided, one morning, that it was up to her to get better, even if she was only getting healthier to make sure she was around to take care of those who cared most for her.

Her songs reflect her story all on their own, though it did help with understanding when she stepped back and engaged with the crowd, telling us the story behind each.

She began the performance with, “I’m Enough,” singing and strumming her guitar with the audience’s heads and feet moving along to the beat she created on stage, listening and feeling the lyrics. A beautiful song, but it Daphne Willis performing in LLBCC. isn’t until after the last note was played that she

reveals to us the meaning behind the song - a pattern seen throughout the evening.

“I’m Enough” is a song focused on self-worth, as Willis hadn’t truly discovered how much she personally struggled with self-worth until she started formulating the lyrics to this song, and discovered how much material she had inside touching on the message of worthiness.

She wrote the song because she believed self-worth is not usually explored by artists, but it remains the base of so many issues. She often felt like she wasn’t worthy enough to take steps towards her recovery.

However, it was writing this song, and then performing it in front of so many young faces, that she began to discover that everyone is enough to deserve healthiness.

She uses other songs, “Forgiveness” and “Somebody’s Someone” to work through her turbulent and often damaging relationship with her brother, stating that her favorite therapy exercise was writing letters that she would never send about how much she struggled dealing with his issues.

Often she had to establish boundaries between him during the times he was homeless or estranged from the rest of the family.

It was only after she had put all the letters and thoughts into songs and played it for him when he was in prison, that their relationship truly started to heal. Through him and her songs she discovered that addiction or any kind of mental illness didn’t pick its victims by affluence or education; it affected all. Even her brother, who came from a happy, loving family, struggled with that which was inside is head.

The night ended with the last string strummed, and the seemingly safe collective space that was created just below that large stag head on the wall.

As Daphne Willis was able to show us, though there is vulnerability in songwriting, and bravery in standing up on a stage in front of a crowd full of people and sharing her sometimes dark past, she does it to make it easier for others to come forward and share their story. So we can all be better together.

Taiko Drumming Group Drums up Applause

By Brandon Robles Contributing Writer Upon entering the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, my attention was quickly diverted to the stand outside the Kelley Theatre for “Kodō” merchandise.

A table was set up with “Kodō Evolution” t-shirts, DVDs, and pamphlets for a visitor's guide to Sadao Island, Japan, home to Kodō themselves. Two monitors were set up, showcasing some of the band’s performances.

The DVDs in stock featured some of the band’s performances, labelled “Dadan”, “Legend”, and “Eternity.” A CD was also available, featuring the band’s latest audio recording labelled “Kaden.” As I walked into the theatre, I found my seat and waited patiently for the show to begin.

To understand Kodō’s style, it’s best to start at their origin. The band started in Sudao Island, performing with taiko drums starting in 1983. The band’s name can be translated as two different meanings: “heartbeat” and “children of the drum.” Overtime, the band has become a progressively dynamic band whose performances can be attributed to their broad musical spectrum, all while relying on taiko drums. “Kodō Evolution” is a celebration commemorating 35 years since the band’s formation and subsequent fame in Japan, Europe and America.

Directed by Tamasaburo Bando, the show itself was done through 16 performers and various taiko drums, as well as other instruments such as flutes and gongs. Performing nine songs in total, the band was able to convey the tone of the song through intensity. With the exception of songs “Ake no Myojo” and “Yuyami”, most of the songs followed a certain f o r m of in-

tense feeling put into every beat played.

You listened to a quiet and calm tune emphasized by lighting, and suddenly there was a barrage of fast beats that got louder every second. With “Ake no Myojo” and “Yuyami”, the darkness only helped the audience feel the atmosphere of the song. “Ake no Myojo” recreated sounds of water flowing and soft gong sounds to deliver a feeling of serenity, whereas “Yuyami” quite literally used the dark to portray a performance with lanterns dimming and brightening.

Every performer put their all in into every song and every variety of atmosphere available from upbeat and comedic to epic and powerful.

To put it simply, Kodō brought a unique touch to the Kelley Theatre with their taiko drumming. Each song was followed by a unique show that brings out the tone it gives off. Breaking usual musical limits, the band is more than capable of doing whatever is in their talents. Kodō performed Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. for all to visit for the price of $5.

Photo Contributed by Takashi Okamoto

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THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

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Laurie Halse Anderson 'Shout's at Bookstore

By Mimi Loughlin Contributing Writer “I usually write out of rage,” said Laurie Halse Anderson. “I prefer fire coming out of my fingertips.”

Anderson has mastered the art of working with fire. She lights the fires of her soul and instead of getting burnt, she turns the flames into prose and poetry.

Anderson is a New York Times best-selling author who writes for children, teens and adults. Her books have sold over 8 million copies. Her books “Speak” and “Chains” were National Book Award finalists, and “Chains” was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Laurie Halse Anderson visited the Fairfield University Bookstore on March 11th to celebrate the release of her latest novel: ”Shout”, a memoir told in poetry. Anderson was interviewed by Meg Wolitzer, a successful novelist whose latest book, “The Female Persuasion”, was turned into a movie with Glenn Close.

Anderson explained how “Shout” is divided into two sections. The first section of “Shout” details the world that her parents came from, and how she grew up in a culture of silence. It tells the story of her rape at age 13, and how that act of sexual violence influenced the rest of her life.

The second part of the novel is what Anderson calls her ‘rage on the page’: the stories of survivors she has met. After years of book events, so many people have come up to Anderson and shared the stories of their own personal traumas. She wove many of these stories together into poetic narratives.

“Sexual violence is every single place we look. I’ve never met a woman, including some of my friends who are nuns, who hasn’t experienced some level of sexual violence.

Women who are victims of sexual violence often completely change their life path depending on the timing of the violence,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s words produced a powerful effect in the women in the audience. During the question-and-answer session at the end of the event, there was a young woman who said that she had been assaulted. She wanted to know how to find the courage to tell her story, and she wanted to learn how to help empower other women.

Anderson told her that it was important to find someone whom she could confide in, and then discussed her own life. After 23 years of silence, Anderson went to therapy because she realized she wasn’t being a good mom to her daughters. Telling someone how she felt is how she transitioned from being a victim to being a survivor. Anderson also said that listening to survivors is one of the most important things you can do to support and empower them.

Women supporting women was a major theme of the night. Women of all ages gathered to hear Anderson’s words, and the emotional support was palpable in the air. During one pivotal moment of the event, Anderson was asked if she ever worried what people

thought about her. Anderson laughed. “No way! Life is too damn short.”

Another memorable moment was when Anderson said that people are like inflatable balls. If you find something to fill your life with, whether it is art or poetry or anything else, you will be strong enough to bounce back from anything life throws at you, and you will not break if you hit the ground. You will only rise up again.

As Anderson writes in her book, “When one suffers, all are weakened, but when everyone thrives, we dance.”

Photo Taken from @fairfieldubooks Instagram

Laurie Halse Anderson's books on display at the Fairfield Bookstore.

Brie Larson Stuns Audiences As Captain Marvel

By Tyler Zikias Contributing Writer “Captain Marvel” is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and stars Brie Larson as the titular Marvel Comics heroine in her first film appearance in the Marvel cinematic universe since the film was announced in 2014. The movie follows Carol Danvers (Larson) as she tries to uncover her past, after a series of events lead her from fighting an intergalactic war between two species, back to Earth. There, she meets Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the two work together to stop an impending invasion as well as help Carol piece together her memories. Ever since the postcredit scene in “Avengers: Infinity War,” I have been hotly anticipating the arrival who is supposed to be the most powerful character Marvel Studios has ever brought to the big screen.

I am a huge fan of Brie Larson from her work in “Room” and “Short Term 12,” both phenomenal movies I would highly recommend. Also, the film was rumored to be a prequel set before the first “Iron Man,” and would further elaborate on a younger Nick Fury’s time with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.). All of the information seemed to be pointing in the right direction to “Captain Marvel” being one of the studios’ best films.

While it isn’t one of the best superhero movies, “Captain Marvel” is a solid entry into the MCU that introduces new ideas and what should be a fun and interesting character for the studio to use in future films.

Brie Larson, despite the ridiculous backlash she has faced, is great as Carol Danvers. She’s intelligent, witty, and incredibly powerful. Her skill set is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the MCU. A lot of people have issues with her performance, but I think she delivered on everything the script called for. However, the chemistry between Carol and Samuel L. Jackson as a young Nick Fury is where the movie really shines. The two play off each other in a natural way that isn’t too forced and is certainly something I want to see in future movies. Of course, I have to mention Goose the Cat, who steals every scene he’s in. The interactions between Fury and Goose are easily where this film earned its laughs. Like most Marvel movies, “Captain Marvel” is hilarious with a lot of solid humor that never feels out of place. Even one of the film’s villains, Talos, played brilliantly by Ben Mendelsohn, has a lot of great lines and is probably my favorite part of the film.

The best thing about “Captain Marvel” for me was easily how streamlined the story was.

There aren’t a ton of moving pieces and the focus is directed towards Carol at all times. There are mentions of a war between the two main races of the film, but it all comes from Carol’s struggle to identify who she is. It was nice to be surprised by a story of a Marvel film that isn’t “this evil guy is trying to kill the universe.” It was refreshing to not have a throw away villain and have the main focus be on our hero.

Moving into the negatives, this film often struggles with some of its characterization, as well as being bogged down by a slow opening. It was really hard to get into Carol’s character because the film throws you right into the action. Normally this would be a good thing, but when the actions on screen are shown without context, the viewer tends to not care. Thus, the first 15 minutes of “Captain Marvel” are based around an operation gone wrong that I cannot remember the purpose of it being shown. It drags the movie down as a whole and it makes it even harder to relate to Carol’s character for a while. It isn’t until the end of the movie that her character is semi-realized and the viewer can feel some sort of satisfaction with where she’s come from. It’s incredibly hard to

relate to a character in which you have no idea who they are, what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

Overall, “Captain Marvel” is nowhere near the upper echelon of Marvel movies or as good as I wanted it to be, but it certainly is a solid base hit that I would be happy to watch again. I’ve seen a lot of complaints that this film feels like an early Marvel movie because of a lack of focus and an overall unawareness of where they want this character to go. While I can see where this mindset comes from, I think back to another character who had a rather rocky start in the MCU. Captain America was no one’s favorite Avenger after his first movie, but with more entries in his trilogy, Cap grew to be a fan favorite. I can see the same thing happening with Captain Marvel when the studio introduces her into more interesting stories and scenarios. “Captain Marvel” feels very similar to the first Captain America film. It’s definitely a stepping stone for bigger and better things to be done to her character.

Grade: B

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THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

The Vine

Fashion Influencers to Follow

By Eleanor Davis Fashion Columnist at The Point Running a fashion magazine, I spend a lot of time online. I’m constantly discovering new influencers and finding trends I love. Instagram is a great platform for sharing your own personal style. The ability to share a photo, tag brands and write a caption is just enough to draw people in without overwhelming them. These are the influencers, companies and people who have had the biggest impacts on my fashion over the years.

Who What Wear gets me everytime. Everytime I try and be productive and check my email I end up on their website. They send me multiple emails a day covering everything from what Kim Kardashian is wearing to what trend will be big next week.

They keep up-to-date on all my favorite celebrities fashion choices and trends, plus they have shopping guides– it’s a great place overall to get outfit inspo. This couldn’t be a better reference for fashion help and I would highly recommend adding yourself to their email list.

My idol, Arielle Charnas has the life I want in 10 years. Founder of a successful brand, mother of two and wife to a handsome real estate agent, her style and life are to die for.

New York socialite, fashion savvy blogger Charnas never lets me down. Her style ranges from street style to classic chic to trendy. She runs a blog called Something Navy, which recently launched as a clothing brand through Nordstrom, and you should probably follow her on Instagram. Bonus: she has two adorable daughters that are both always perfectly dressed.

NYC born and raised Jamie Grimstad has influenced my fashion since before I knew I cared about fashion.

Jamie Grimstad first popped up on my radar when a mutual friend told me to follow her on Instagram. I’ve followed her for five years and her content is always fresh and inspiring. She introduced me to my current favorite brand, Glossier, and has a millennial style that is very up-and-coming in the fashion world. Millennial style is a term I use to describe the look of an on-the-go yet fashionable young person.

Coming in with a whopping 15 Instagram followers, last but not least, my biggest fashion influence...my mom.

She will forever influence my style more than any “influencer” ever could or can. My mother, born and raised on the main line in Pennsylvania, will in my opinion always be the best dressed woman in the room. My mother’s style is somewhere between- mainline preppy meets Nantucket meets classic Audrey. I will never have the eye for style that she has. My mother can make blue jeans look chic and pearls look cool. I still let her pick out my outfits, not kidding.

She always picks out the best things when we are shopping. You like that sweater? Thanks, my mom picked it out for me. She is classic and her style is one I’ll always admire.

Photo Taken from @whowhatwear Instagram

Model for Who What Wear Instagram Account.

The Mirror Abroad: Kickin' It with Kat

By Katherine Klima Abroad Columnist Since it’s March, the month of St. Patrick’s day, and being that I am in the Ireland– it was only natural to travel to Dublin, Ireland for two weekends in a row. Now, why would someone want to travel to a city two weekends in a row? To be honest, I don’t know. But, Dublin is wild so if you get to go twice in two weeks– do it, man.

On March 2, I travelled alongside the rest of Fairfield University’s Galway Study Abroad program for the highly anticipated weekend trip to Dublin, and then on March 8 I traveled with my longtime pal of nineteen years to Dublin for the weekend. So by now I hope I know the city pretty well.

Dublin is the capital of Ireland and the largest city in the country. Out of the 4.784 million people that populate Ireland, 1.345 million live in County Dublin.

Besides having one of the largest populations, Dublin is rich with so much Irish history and culture.

Through the school, we got to see a lot of Dublin’s historical sites. On our first day in the city, we visited 14 Henrietta St., which is a beautiful old Georgian home which had originally belonged to a wealthy family but was later turned into tenements, which housed various impoverished families in Ireland. We would then check out Dublin Castle. I really thought Dublin Castle was going to be an actual castle, but to be honest it is the ruins of the castle. Either or, it’s super cool to check out because the grounds have the country’s state buildings which have been important for various national events like the presidential inauguration.

After Dublin Castle, we would head for Trinity College to check out the Book of Kells. It’s essentially a famous 9thcentury gospel manuscript. However, my favorite part of seeing the Book of Kells was being able to see the Long Room– which is the university’s old library. Being an English major I was all different kinds of excited being in a room that felt like the library in “Beauty and the Beast.”

On my second day in Dublin through the school, we got to check out a lot of historical aspects of the city that had a great deal to do with Ireland’s rise as an independent nation such as the historic 1916 rising to the Irish Civil War. We had gone to Glasnevin cemetery and Kilmainham Jail. Usually

cemeteries are not my cup of tea, but

the famed Irish beer is made to Guinness’ most famed advertisements– including my favorite, the iconic fish riding a bicycle which entails “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” The animatronic fish they have is super freaky, but super cool.

You also get a complementary Guinness drink you can either learn to pour yourself at the Guinness academy or just simply get from a bartender and chill up top at the factory’s Gravity Bar– which overlooks all of Dublin. The view is spectacular, 10/10. Also, side note, if you hate Guinness but still want to drink your free Guinness, ask the bartender for some black currant. Makes the whole thing a lot sweeter (you’re welcome).

Speaking of Guinness– Dublin’s nightlife. The nightlife in Dublin is a kind of nightlife I will never fully be able to express in words. While Galway is known for it’s good pubs and wild times, it has nothing compared to the absolute insanity that is Dublin after hours. I’ve never seen anything like it. For example, I could hear the pub across the street from my hotel blasting Disney songs until 2 in the morning. If you love big crowds and wild times, then you must go out in Dublin. However, if you hate all things that come at you in close proximity, stay out of the way.

One of the must-see and most famous bars in Dublin is The Temple Bar. Located in the Temple Bar neighborhood, it’s one of many entertaining and exKatherineKlima/TheMirror citing pubs along a strip. Temple Bar is a legendary bar that has great music and good vibes. It tends to be Kat Klima drinking a pint of Guisness. on the top of many tourists lists, so the crowds around Glasnevin cemetery has a lot of famous Irish figures bur- The Temple Bar tend to get super crazy. ied there like famed Irish revolution leader Michael Collins Speaking of pubs, one of my favorites I did get to see and Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell, so it was was for dinner called the Brazen Head. The Brazen Head is definitely cool to check out. Only drawback was the fact it the oldest pub in Dublin and when I went, it was through a was heavily pouring during our tour and I got sick from said storytelling program where we were served traditional Irish graveyard. According to Google I have bronchitis, but we’ll food while a man came in and told us the history of Ireland, see about that one. As for Kilmainham Jail, it’s where many but also retold some interesting Celtic tales. Besides that, two of these revolution leaders were held and it’s also where men other men came in and played a bunch of classic Irish hits who participated in the 1916 rebellion were executed. If you like “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Molly Malone.” love history these are areas to definitely check out.

Overall, my two trips to Dublin really got to show me One thing I did both trips to Dublin and one thing that this historic and iconic city. While I do love my home away is a must see for everyone is the Guinness Factory. Even if from home here in Galway, Dublin was pretty awesome and a you don’t like Guinness or beer in general, still go. The in- must see for anyone traveling to the Green Isle. teractive museum is full of fun things to check out like how

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

The Vine

Inkwell Spotlight Heart Beats Time

CreativeCommons/Flickr

By Margaret Moore Contributing Writer at The Inkwell And so Time Marches on.

Here’s the thing About Time.

It has a Big ego.

It thinks It’s untouchable, Unstoppable, Invincible— That it can Just quickly Whiz on by And go wherever it may please Like white dandelion petals Dancing in the spring breeze.

Time, Though, Hasn’t Accounted for the Power Of the Heart.

The heart Works its Magic And Freezes Time In the Wee Hours As Saturday night Collides With Sunday morning While Old friends Finally Sit together Once again And

Laugh As they Remember That Funny Moment which life bore A Decade Ago. Time Halts At life’s Latest Intersection Where Paths are Crossed By old pals For the first time In years, And Minutes Suddenly move Forward And Backwards All At Once.

Sure, Time Marches On Relentlessly Like a soldier In the Armed forces, But The heart Preserves The beautiful Meaning Of all the moments That Decorate Life’s winding courses.

Page 11

'Apex Legends': Fresh Take on Battle Royale Games

By Joseph Titone Contributing Writer at Video Game Club Battle royale-styled shooters have been all the rage in the gaming community for the past two years. This craze started with South Korean developers, Bluehole, and their release of “PlayerUnknown’s Battleground” in 2017 and Epic Games’ “Fortnite” in that same year. This love of battle royales has only increased with the release of Respawn Entertainment’s “Apex Legends” a few weeks ago. This game became an instant hit in the gaming community with gamers comparing “Apex” to “Fortnite” and even going as far as to say that it’s better.

Now, first things first, battle royale games have never really been my type of game. I found them to be somewhat pointless and just not a fun experience overall. That being said, “Apex Legends” has changed my opinion on the genre.

The gameplay itself is reminiscent of “Titanfall”, with very fastpaced scenarios that require decent reaction time. This should come as no surprise, as Respawn Entertainment also developed “Titanfall” and its sequel, “Titanfall 2.” The gameplay is also very reminiscent of the “Halo” franchise with the floaty jumps and tight controls. The fast pace of the game makes for interesting firefights between squads with rash decisions running rampant in everyone’s approach to tactics.

Another great quality is the use of unique character abilities. As a Pathfinder main, I find the use of his grappling hook to make the fast gameplay very interesting. The game also has ultimate abilities that improve the upon the regular abilities.

Anywhere from creating ziplines to creating large protective shields make the gameplay all the more interesting. All this being said, “Apex Legends” is not a game for the weak. It took me a solid three games before getting my first kill. I began to wonder if the game itself was just hard and I couldn’t figure it out. But as I played one game after the other, I realized the issue that I was having: the team dynamic wasn’t there. How well one does in a match is almost completely dependent on how well a team works together. This squad-based system that the game employs can act as either the most efficient method of having fun or it is the bane of the player’s existence. The main issue with the squad system is the lack of communication that is going to occur if one is unfamiliar with the team they’re playing with. But this isn’t necessarily the game’s fault as this has more to do with the choice of the player.

However, this game is not perfect. One major issue I found with “Apex Legends” is the gap between the weapon

rankings. The game suffers from a major balancing issue where high tier weapons make decent midtier weapons look like peashooters. When I found myself facing enemies with high tier weapons, I had no chance of leaving the exchange with a victory. Also, “Apex Legends” suffers from the same issues that plague every battle royale game. Those issues being: getting killed in the beginning of a match, getting killed by an opponent extremely far away and never seeming to find good gear at the right time. All in all, I’d rate “Apex Legends” a solid 8/10 due to it being a fresh take on the battle royale genre and the unique style of play that comes with the parkour-esq mobility of the player.

Eat Kale this St. Patrick's Day

By Sabrina Trueheart Nutrition Columnist Lucky for us, Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up on March 17 during spring break. Some of us may spend this holiday eating Lucky Charms cereal, Irish-inspired foods such as corned beef and cabbage or even drinking beer. A variety of foods and drinks are enjoyed on Saint Patrick’s Day, and while everybody should eat what they please, consider incorporating one of the greatest green superfoods in your celebration: kale.

Despite your kitchen smelling funky and your family and friends accusing you of losing your mind, kale is one of those vegetables that has more health benefits than almost any other vegetable. My fiery passion for kale started about four years ago when Jeff Mauro of the Food Network released a recipe for barbecue kale chips. I’ve always wanted to try kale, but knew that if I didn’t love the taste of uncooked spinach or broccoli, I probably would not love the taste of uncooked kale.

My mom decided to use Jeff Mauro’s recipe for dinner one night, and that’s when I became obsessed with kale.

From then on, my family bought me bags of kale chips, cooked kale chips and bought me cookbooks with a ton of recipes that included kale. I was hooked on the superfood.

I even considered naming my future child Cale, and while that was shut down by nearly everybody I know, that idea is still not completely out of the question.

Kale is known for its incredible nutritional value.

It is packed with vitamin K, which supports bone health and blood clotting (before you get nervous, it is normal

for blood to clot, as it prevents excessive bleeding). Not many foods contain vitamin K, so kale is a gift to all of us. Kale has a very high amount of antioxidants and is incredibly high in fiber. According to nutritionalvalue.org, one cup of kale contains 32 percent of your daily intake of vitamins A and C. To sum it up, eating just some kale everyday would support your immunity, growth and development, blood health, bone health, hair, skin and nails – kale does it all.

Not many people enjoy the taste of kale on its own.

Personally, kale has to be sautéed or baked ever so slightly for me to thoroughly enjoy the taste. If you want to eat kale but are not a fan of the taste, try finding a kale chip recipe, or sautéing the kale in just a dash of olive oil and spices. Incorporating kale into your meals is one of the best ways to go. If you’re cooking fajitas, include kale in your fajita vegetables!

Or, if you’re cooking stir fry, turn it into a kale stir fry! There are plenty of ways to enjoy this amazing food.

Kale isn’t the most popular food, but it truly encompasses what a superfood is supposed to be. I’ve found that people either love it or hate it, but those who hate it without even trying it are just going to be haters. If people make fun of you for eating kale, just remind them that Beyonce loves kale. Maybe if they hear that Beyonce loves kale, they’ll want to love kale as well.

CreativeCommons/Pixabay

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

Coffee Break

Page 12

Coffee Break Cursed Images Brought to You by the Creative Commons

By Julia Crews Assistant News Editor

Whenever the Coffee Break Team needs an image from the internet, we use a website called Creative Commons, on which we can search for images that are in the public domain and considered fair use. Over the past few months, we’ve come across some images that made us wonder why they’re in the public domain, or why they showed up when we searched a certain term. We hope that you’re as puzzled and entertained as we are.

Creative Commons/Flickr

Above: searched term was “time.”

Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons

Above: searched term was “couple.”

Left: searched term was “beauty.”

Creative Commons/Flickr

Creative Commons/Flickr

Above: searched term was “happiness.”

Creative Commons/Flickr

Above: searched term was “news.”

Creative Commons/Flickr

Above: searched term was “college.”

Sports

SPORTS Sports Editor: Julia Lanzillotta julia.lanzillotta@student.fairfield.edu

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

This Week in Sports:

Page 13

Weekend Update

In Case You Missed It: Thursday, March 7th -Women's Basketball defeated Niagara, 74-69, MAAC Championship Round 1 - Men's Basketball lost to Manhattan, 5753, MAAC Championship Round 1 Friday, March 8th -Women's Basketball lost to Quinnipiac, 63-48, MAAC Championship Round 2

Photo Contributed by Sports Information Desk

- Women's Lacrosse lost to Denver, 20-4 - Baseball defeated Delaware, 3-2 - Softball swept Stetson Invitational,

Senior Courtney Hankins of the Fairfield University softball team (8-3) earned recognition as this weeks Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week following a clean sweep at the Stetson University Invitational in DeLand FL. In 2018, she was named MAAC Player of the Year and she started this season as one to watch, as she was named the 2019 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Additionally, she landed herself a spot on the Stetson Invitational All-Tournament team. Hankins was instrumental to the success of her team during the five-game run, finishing with a .444 batting average, and tallying eight hits in 18 at-bats with a pair of home runs. Five consecutive wins comprises the longest winning streak of the 11 game season, setting a healthy pace for the spring. In these 11 games, the senior banked four home runs and 15 RBI, owning a .351 batting average.

The Stags take the field again in New Haven against Yale University on Wednesday, March 13 at 2:30 p.m.

3-2, 6-5 (DH)

Upcoming This Week: Friday, March 15th -Baseball at Brown, 3 p.m.

-Men's Lacrosse vs. Utah, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 16th -Baseball at Brown, 12 p.m. & 3 p.m. (DH) Sunday, March 17th -Men's Tennis at Charleston, 11 a.m.

-Women's Tennis at Charleston, 11 a.m.

-Softball at Hartford, 12 p.m.

Photo Contributed by Sports Information Desk

Sophomore Trey McLoughlin was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after throwing a career high seven innings and racking up nine strikeouts, which was a personal best that almost doubled his previous record of five set during the 2018 season. He claimed his first win of this season in Delaware, and simultaneously became the first pitcher on his team to toss seven innings in a game. In addition, he managed to only walk a single batter. McLoughlin has struck out 17 batters this season, which is a team best. The baseball team returns to the field during a four-game series at Brown University starting on Friday, March 15 at 3p.m.

In this week's issue...

- Baseball Claims Two Wins in Delaware (Pg.15)

- Women's Basketball Eliminated in Second Round of MAAC (Pg. 15)

-Women's Basketball Suffers Tough Loss to End Regular Season (Pg. 15) - A Hidden Gem of FairďŹ eld's Club Athletics (Pg. 16)

- Women's Lacrosse Stopped by University of Denver

Sports

Page 14

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

Johnson Let Go After Eight Years

Photo taken from Sports Information Desk

Former Head Coach of the Fairfield University men's basketball team, Sydney Johnson, who was relieved of his duties after the Stags finished a devastating season with a 9-22 record.

The Mirror reached out to graduating seniors Jonathan Kasibabu, Matija Milin and Thomas Nolan, who did not respond to our request for a statement. Schlickmann replied to The Mirror’s request for comment with original press release.

The search commences for the 13th head coach to lead Fairfield University’s men’s basketball program. This individual will accept that role effective next fall for the 2019-2020 season.

One of the largest executive search firms, Ventura Partners, Inc., will aid Fairfield in the nationwide hunt for the Head Coach Position, led Katy Young Staudt.

Continued from Page One

community,” said Schlickmann. “We wish him and his family the very best in the next phase of their journey.”

Johnson’s parting statement reflected the honorable and dignified character that he possessed throughout his time at Fairfield on and off of the court. “I can’t thank Fairfield University, Mark Nemec and Paul Schlickmann enough for the opportunity I was given to lead the men’s basketball program for the past two seasons. My family and I will always be indebted to the Stag Nation for the memories over the years. I wish our student-athletes, alumni and fans all the best moving forward.”

Weekly 4x5

Because we have witty things to say ...

Julia Lanzillotta Sports Editor

Lexi Thimble Editor-in-Chief

Your 2019-2020 4x5 Columnists:

Julia Lanzillotta, Lexi Thimble, Claire Monahan & Alicia Phaneuf

How do you feel about Odell Are you ready for midterms this week?

Beckham Jr. leaving New York?

Where is the best place to get food on campus?

What is your favorite show to binge watch?

Do you have any fun plans for spring break?

Good for the Browns! Maybe after I'd like to make myself believe 17 years they'll finally make the that I am. playoffs.

Einsteins hands down... if only I could use meal swipes there.

Gilmore Girls. In my past life I grew up in Stars Hollow.

I'm going to Chicago for the first time! So excited for the St. Patrick's Day parade.

He's most likely living his best life Barely!! so...good for him?

I spend a whole lotta time at the Stag, it's pretty quality.

One Day at a Time KILLS ME every time because everything Rita Moreno says is ~iconic~.

I'm going to Miami with three of my best friends, and I'm excited but I don't think I'm ready for the craziness.

I am cruising into my impending doom.

Colony food truck.

The Office John Krasinski has my heart.

Try to break the world record for longest nap.

I'm just keeping my eyes on the prize.

Leaving for Disney in T-3 days!

Off campus.

The real question is how does Claire Monahan everyone feel about Claire leaving Executive Editor Connecticut #springbreak .

Guess what, I still don't know

Alicia Phaneuf sports.

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

My favorite series of all time is Gilmore Girls, but I'm currently watching Orange is the New Black and loving it!

I'm excited for my FIRST trip to Disney (and Harry Potter World)!!

Sports

Page 15

THE MIRROR | Week of March 13, 2019

Baseball Claims Two Wins in Delaware

Photo taken from Sports Information Desk Fairfield Baseball won the first two contests of their three-game match at The University of Delaware, but dropped the final game 7-4.

By Michael Hoffman Chief Financial Officer In their third series of the season, the Fairfield Stags (2-7) got into the win column for the first two times all season in their series win over the University of Delaware Blue Hens (1-13). In game one, Fairfield used a ninth inning rally to edge out a victory, 3-2.

Junior Austin Pope started the game for the Stags, throwing five innings, striking out four, and allowing two earned runs. As a whole, the Fairfield pitching staff was excellent, keeping Delaware scoreless from the fourth inning on. Senior Bobby McNiff, Eli Oliphant ‘20, and Nick Grabek ‘21, combined for five scoreless innings, keeping the Stags in the game until their offense rallied in the ninth inning.

Fairfield coach Bill Currier praised his bullpen after the game, "The three relievers did a nice job coming into the game to close out anymore Delaware runs.” Oliphant picked up the win, and Grabek came in to shut the door, earning

his first save of the season. Fairfield tied the game when Tim Zeng ‘19 drove in the tying run with a ground out, while also advancing the go-ahead run in Tom Ryan ‘19 to third base.

Leadoff hitter Dan Ryan ‘20 drove Tom Ryan home with a two out RBI double, giving the Stags a lead they would not relinquish.

In game two of the three game set, Fairfield took it to Delaware, beating them 8-2. After giving up a first inning home run to Delaware third basemen Jordan Hutchins, Fairfield only gave up one more earned run.

Sophomore Trey McLoughlin got the win, only allowed two earned runs, while striking out nine over seven innings. The offense got going after a four run fifth inning, capped off by an RBI double by first basemen Anthony Boselli ‘19. Boselli added to his big day with a three-run homerun in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach for the Stags.

Shortstop Jack Gethings ‘19 also added two hits, including an RBI double in the seventh.

Coach Currier spoke to the all-around Fairfield vic-

tory. "We had timely hitting, good defense, and solid pitching today," Currier said. "Boselli really sealed the deal down the stretch.” In Game 3, Fairfield failed to close out the sweep, losing to Delaware 7-4. Michael Sansone ‘22 threw six innings, giving up five hits, three earned, and striking out four in the no-decision. Josh Arnold ‘22 took the loss in relief, giving up three earned runs on five hits in an inning and two thirds.

Fairfield stormed back from a 4-0 deficit, led by three RBIs by center fielder Dan Ryan ‘20, including his first homerun of the season. Delaware used a run in the seventh, two runs in the eighth, and shut-down relief from game 1 loser Derek Wakeley ‘20 to earn their first win of the season.

The Stags get back on the road towards the end of next week, starting a three game series with Ivy League opponent Brown University (1-9) on Friday, March 15th, and then travel to Virginia to take on the James Madison University Dukes (9-4) on March 19th and 20th.

Women's Basketball Eliminated in Second Round of MAAC

By Emma Unterkoefler Contributing Writer

By Julia Lanzillotta Sports Editor Women’s Basketball Triumphant in First Game of MAAC Championships The Fairfield University women’s basketball team topped Niagara University in the first round of the MAAC Championships on March 7 with a score of 74-69. With this win, the Stags advance to face top-seeded Quinnipiac University.

Fairfield started the game with intensity as they scored 27 points in the first quarter, which is a season-high for any quarter. At the end of the first quarter, they led by a significant margin: 27-14. Senior Casey Foley led the charge as she converted her first three shots, which were three-pointers to complement her four assists.

In the second quarter, the Stags continued to dominate and control the tempo of the game. The Stags recorded 17 more points while Niagara added 19 points. At half time, Fairfield led 4433. In sum for the second half, Khadidiatou Dijou ‘19 led the team with six rebounds and three field goals. Additionally, Katie Armstrong ‘18 and Lou Lopez-Senechal ‘22 each scored five field goals.

The second half was pivotal for Niagara, but Fairfield remained

calm to secure the win. By the end of the third quarter, Niagara closed the deficit to two points. In the fourth quarter, Niagara found the lead at 62-61. However, this seemed to light a flame for the Stags, as they responded with a seven-point run bringing the score to 68-62. In response, Niagara was able to cut the deficit to three points in the final minutes, but this was not enough as Fairfield held on for the victory. Junior Sam Kramer was key in preserving this lead as she converted six foul shots during this period. The final score was 74-69 in favor of Fairfield.

The point leaders of the game were Lopez-Senechal with 20 points followed closely by Foley with 17, and Armstrong with 16.

Fairfield sought to build on their momentum heading into the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Championships as they faced two-time defending champion, Quinnipiac University, on March 8 at 1 P.M. The top seed proved to be tough competition, when Quinnipiac ended Fairfield’s season when the Stags were crushed 63-48. The Stags trailed behind the Bobcats by as many as 14 points multiple times during the first half.

Foley left her heart on the court, not yet ready to accept the end of her basketball career, and tallied 18 points in attempts to keep her team afloat. Joining her in the double digits was first-year LopezSenechal who amassed 11 points in her 39 minutes of play.

Although the season ended too soon for Fairfield, the Stags still completed the year with incredible MAAC recognition. Lopez-Senechal was the ninth Stag to win the MAAC Rookie of the Year award while Senior Khadidiatou Diouf was named to the All-MAAC Third Team.

Photo taken from Sports Information Desk

Senior Casey Foley plays her last collegiate basketball game against Quinnipiac University at the MAAC Semifinals in Albany, N.Y.

@MirrorSports Fairfield Mirror Sports

Week of March 13, 2019

fairfieldmirror.com

SPORTS 16

Sports Editor: Julia lanzillotta » julia.lanzillotta@student.fairfield.edu

A Hidden Gem of Fairfield's Club Athletics

Contributed by Alicia Phaneuf Team pictured with Fairfield Alumna choreographer Nicole Landi after a clean sweep at Endicott (left). Hip hop group in costume at a Deleware competition where they placed third in the category (right).

By Julia Lanzillotta Sports Editor Fairfield University is known for their Division 1 Athletics, but not very many know of the competitive dance team that we have right on campus.

Fairfield Dance Fusion represents our school at competitions all over the New England area for the entire academic year. They compete in a variety of dance styles including jazz, hip-hop and lyrical. This year they even broadened their stylistic horizons to tap, forming a small group of five. Senior Morgan Carrozzella, Brianna Napoli ‘19, Alicia Phaneuf ‘19, Nicole Porter ‘19 and Danielle Minieri ‘21 are pioneers in this genre of dance here at Fairfield, and they are expanding their levels of expertise for future Stag dancers to come.

Captains Napoli and Carrozella expressed to us how important it is to have a team like theirs on campus. Carrozella expressed how Fusion allowed her to continue doing what she loved while also being able to manage the workload of a full time student. “I was someone in high school who always thought I wanted to go to school for dance because that’s what seems right, but I’m so glad I chose Fairfield because I was able to be a part of this team.

Fusion has allowed me to still keep dance as a part of my life but not have it consuming my life completely which I love.”

She also described the connections built through close-knit team as one comparable to a family. She said, “My favorite part about it is that we really are a family. I have met some

of my best friends through this team and have made memories that I will never forget.”

Fusion has brought in some amazing choreographers who collaborate with the student-athletes to create award-winning numbers. Not only is the troupe a powerful group for collegiate dancers, but it is also a mode in which we can keep our alumni network strong.

This year, two of the group dances were choreographed by Nicole Lambi ‘17. Lambi’s creativity resonated with the judges of the Endicott College Dance Competition, and each of her two numbers entitled “No Money” and “Breathe” earned notable accolades. “No Money” won first place in the Hip Hop category, while and “Breathe” captured the highest honor as well, but this time in the Jazz category.

The group even called upon professional dancer, Michelle Montana, to choreograph a lyrical routine. This professional exposure is so valuable to the young dancers on our campus who are looking to break into such an intensely selective industry.

Fusion most recently competed at a Delaware Dance Competition hosted by Delaware Dance fever called “Evolve” on Saturday, March 2. They left with a first place ranking for tap in the open category, choreographed by Captain Brianna, and third place in the Hip Hop category.

Fairfield Dance Fusion is a group to watch, and holds tryouts each semester for dancers who look to continue competing and are interested in doing so at a university level.

Editors note: Alicia Phaneuf is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Mirror.

Women's Lacrosse Stopped by #11/13 Denver

By Kaitlyn Strada Contributing Writer

On Friday, March 8, the women’s lacrosse team (4-2) took on visiting No. 11 University of Denver (4-1) at Rafferty Stadium, but were defeated 20-4. Following the Stag’s Sunday victory over University of New Hampshire, the women’s lacrosse team came to the field with determination to play in front of 276 fans. The women’s lacrosse team was coming off a 14-11 win against New Hampshire.

Unfortunately, the Stags fell the nationally ranked Denver team. The Stags’ goals were split between redshirt Brooke Gallagher ‘19 and Taylor Mitchell ‘19, each scoring two goals throughout the game.Mitchell scored her first goal in the first half with Gallagher’s first goal following twenty minutes later. They each scored their second goal in the second half just six minutes apart.

The defense fought hard, especially Kennedy Slater ’21 and Maggie Reynolds ‘21.

Throughout the game, they each recorded three ground balls against an offensive Denver player.

The Stags won 9 of the 23 draw controls, and 11 of the 30 ground balls. Although Denver scored 20 goals, goalkeeper Oliva Conquest ‘22 saved five shots. There were two penalties dealt to Denver, and one handed to the Stags in the first period.

Midfielder Jillian Winwood ‘21 expressed in an interview the benefits of playing a nationally ranked team.

“It was a tough loss, but we gave it all we had,” Winwood said in the post-game interview. “In tough games like that, it comes down to playing for pride and the people next to you.”

The women’s lacrosse team is back in action on March 20, taking on Sacred Heart University (2-14).

Following their last out-of-conference game against Sacred Heart University, the women’s lacrosse team is just one game away from beginning MAAC conference play.

Their first conference game is scheduled for Wednesday, March 27 against Quinnipiac.

Following last year’s exciting 14-10 MAAC Championship win against Canisius College, the women’s lacrosse team is determined to begin conference play. The previous championship rematch will take place at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, Apr. 20.

Contributed by Sports Information Desk The women's lacrosse team gathers following a tough loss to Denver.