THE MIRROR Student newspaper
Week of October 16, 2013
Vol. 38, 39, Iss. 23 7
www.fairfieldmirror.com @fairfieldmirror The Fairfield Mirror
Gay atheist kicks off LGBTQ history month By Angela Sammarone Contributing Writer
(From left to right) Seniors Grace Leoning, Elizabeth Girgenti, Allie DeLuca and Brittanie Milang at the Inn.
‘SoCo’ last to recover from Sandy By Robert Joyce Crime Beat Reporter
Six Fairfield students have finally moved into the beach house of their dreams. For the past month and a half, seniors Brittanie Millang, Allie DeLuca, Elizabeth Girgenti, Grace Leonnig, Pierelle Eppie and Jazmin Maldonado have been living at the Inn at Fairfield Beach on Reef Road, awaiting the reconstruction of “Southern Comfort,” the ocean front home located at 705 Fairfield Beach Road.The house received extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy. The students originally made the decision to live in Southern Comfort during late September of 2012, signing the lease and making their first down payment. One month later, the home was nearly destroyed beyond repair by Sandy. Despite the damage and the option to back out of the lease, they elected
Landlord Sue Gould stands at the doorstep of “Southern Comfort.”
to remain as the eventual tenants of the property after being assured by their landlords that the reconstruction of the home would be completed by the beginning of the school year. Unfortunately, because
of numerous unexpected delays, the home has just now become livable again. According to the students, they received inconsistent timetables from landlords Sue Gould and her
husband regarding the reconstruction process. They said that the landlords first informed them the project would be completed by May 1, which soon became June 1, then July 1, then Aug. 1, etc. “We really weren’t concerned until we finished school,” said Girgenti. They even attempted to find another home to rent, but were unsuccessful. When the six girls found out that their home was not going to be ready by Sept. 1, they made the decision to temporarily live at the Inn for what they believed was going to be two weeks at most. A month and a half later, they finally were able to move out of the Inn, and they couldn’t be happier. All of the six girls agree that living at the Inn has been a struggle. Due to obvious space constraints, READ STORY ON PAGE 2
Bridgeport hospital now digital By Salvatore Trifilio News Editor
INSIDE
While students struggle to see the immediate effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Bridgeport Hospital Yale New Haven Health has already finished the “huge undertaking” of transferring paper to electronic medical records. On Oct. 10, Associate Professor of Philosophy Curt Naser, Ph.D., and Michael Werdmann, M.D. of Bridgeport Hospital, gave a talk on the ethics behind electronic medical records to a crowd of about 30
NEWS:
Fairfield residents at the downtown bookstore. “[Electronic medical records], it’s like your credit cards,” said Naser, “how that [information] gets used and who’s using it, are pharmaceutical companies perusing your medical records to sell more drugs to you through your doctor?” While both Werdmann and Naser discussed the many advantages and disadvantages of transferring to electronic medical records through the incentive program established through the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Naser believes consum-
DPS holds female self defense classes
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OPINION: Page 5
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What you should know about electronic medical records
ers must be most aware of how their newly digitized information is used in the public and political domain. Hospitals and other medical centers are eligible for up to $44,000 in government funding to convert records to digital copies under Obamacare. According to Director of the Student Health Center, Julia Duffy, Fairfield’s medical facility, which still uses paper records, is not eligible for the Medicare incentive. Although the medical center doesn’t
A student’s take on the government shutdown
Apart from the common controversial conversation of homosexuality and religion, LGBTQ history month’s keynote speaker encouraged students to talk about the subjects in dialogue, not in debate. On Oct. 10, the eve of National Coming Out Day, Fairfield’s gay advocacy club, Alliance, hosted famed author and self-proclaimed “faitheist” Chris Stedman, who spoke on his lifelong struggles. Stedman, who also titled his book “Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious,” talks about his story as an ex-evangelical Christian turned gay atheist and his goal to bridge the gap that divides religious and nonreligious voices through interfaith dialogue. Stedman grew up in a family that didn’t practice religion. He became a born-again Christian at age 11vafter reading accounts on individuals’ suffering, like in “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Soon after, Stedman came out as gay — the only openly gay student in his high school — and was bullied. “I realized I became a Christian because I was looking for a community that cared about justice and suffering,” Stedman said. “I didn’t believe in the doctrine; I just accepted God as part of the package deal.” From then on, Stedman identified as atheist. As students waited for the talk to begin, Stedman looked out at the audience inside of Gonzaga’s auditorium and asked for everyone to shake the hand of a student they did not
They notify doctors of possible allergic reactions that may be caused as a result of a new preAllows software, such as Epic’s, to create large databases allowing researchers to expedite The sharing of information between doctors will no longer be of issue as medical records
EMRs are now available on multiple private devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets, which are often misplaced. EMRs are stored on database servers, which can possibly be hacked, as does any electronically stored information. Private information can be released in certain situations without the patients’ consent.
THE VINE:
SPORTS:
“Glee” episode addresses lead actor’s death
Volleyball continues winning streak
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