COVID-19
Eye Communication
Opinion
Vine
Fairfield student exclaims COVID-19 restrictions are too strict and ruin the social scene.
How to utilize our most prominent facial features. Page 8
Page 5
Men’s Lacrosse Captains Named Sports Graduate student Jake Tymon, Taylor Storough ‘21 and George Elmquist ‘21 Page 16
THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of March 3, 2021
Vol. 46 Iss. 14
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Stags Strive to be More Sustainable By Andrew Murphy Staff Writer
Fairfield University’s 2015 Campus Sustainability Action Plan has served as the framework for most environmentalist efforts on campus in recent years. This initiative, a product of the University’s Campus Sustainability Committee, embodies the strong interest in environmentalism amongst university community members. “The Campus Sustainability Committee should serve as a clearing house for members to raise ideas and plan for their execution,” said David Frassinelli, Chair of the CSC and Vice President for Facilities Management. “‘Sustainability’ covers a very wide range of activities,” said Kraig Steffen, Ph.D., Head of Environmental Sciences and associate professor of chemistry. “A major goal of the original Campus Sustainability Plan was to help coordinate all these efforts. Our greatest challenge is communicating between all the different constituencies considering sustainability efforts on campus.” Both men cited the introduction of Terracycling here at Fairfield as a particularly interesting accomplishment by the CSC. This company recycles products that conventional recycling services will not such as personal care products and white board markers. Leaders for Environmental Action at Fairfield (LEAF) Club President Hope Marino ‘21 will manage the collection of these items and subsequent distribution to Terracycle. “There are a number of changes we have made to the
facilities that have impacted energy consumption significantly,” continued Frassinelli. Entities across all factions of campus-life have been producing results: the Facilities Department continues their campus-wide transition to LED bulbs, First Year Experience groups include sustainability in their educational segments and the Office of Residence Life has decided to provide recycling bins for all freshmen and sophomore dorms. “We are way ahead of where we were just ten years ago, but we still have much to do across the University to maximize our efforts,” asserted Steffen. Fairfield University Student Association Vice President Tobenna Ugwu ‘22 said, “Fairfield’s current efforts are a step in the right direction, however, there is always room for improvement. I think there is an opportunity to shift the campus climate, to ensure that sustainability is an important part of initiatives and policies. FUSA has been working with the administration to see where Fairfield can improve, in order to achieve this goal.” In the Fall 2020 semester, FUSA created their own Sustainability Committee to create a better, more unified communication between students and the Campus Sustainability Committee. CONTINUE READING ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY ON PAGE 3
Photo contributed by FUSA
Service Opportunities Go Virtual By Nicole Maher Contributing Writer
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many activities across the Fairfield University campus to turn virtual, and service opportunities have been no exception. Katie Brynes, the Campus Minister for Social Justice and Community Engagement, spent the past year providing university students with service opportunities that can be done virtually while still impacting their surrounding communities. There are currently over 50 virtual service opportunities listed on the Life@Fairfield page. Certain opportunities emphasize the importance of serving local communities which has been a focus of Fairfield since Brynes began working here five years ago. Byrnes described how the poverty and wealth distinction between Bridgeport and Fairfield is the largest in the country. “This gives us an important responsibility being on the Fairfield side of that to make sure we are being of service to the world around us,” Byrnes said. She has worked to include service opportunities such as the program linked to the Reading While Remote Learning campaign. This particular program works with many students in Bridgeport to ensure they have access to the internet while learning from home. “The education programs have provided devices for the kids,” Byrnes described. “But it’s a problem if they don’t have access to free wifi.” Other virtual programs have allowed Fairfield students to serve communities previously unreachable, such as the Boston Public Library’s Anti-Slavery Manuscript Project. This service opportunity allows students to assist in the translation of hand-written documents so they can be included in the library’s searchable canon. In addition to educational and academic programs, Byrnes has also worked to include a number of creative service opportunities. “Our students like to do things with their hands,” she said. “They spend a lot of time in their heads during class.” CONTINUE READING ABOUT VIRTUAL SERVICE ON PAGE 3
Contributed by Katie Byrnes
Students drop off food donations to Prospect House. .