THE MIRROR Student newspaper
Week of March 12, 2014
www.fairfieldmirror.com @fairfieldmirror The Fairfield Mirror
Vol. Vol.39, 38,Iss. Iss.21 23
Mentor to be shut down despite faculty opposition Mirror Staff Report Fairfield professors have become increasingly vocal about the decision that, they say, would effectively delete 10 years of data, software development and reporting algorithms. Mentor, a course management, registration and information hosting platform, is set for official shutdown on March 30. Since last August, faculty have questioned the reason behind Chief Information Officer Paige Francis’s decision to shut down the widely used course management system. Francis made the decision to shut down Mentor because she said flaws in the coding posed security risks for Fairfield. Some faculty have called the emergency shutdown a “manufactured crisis.” At the request of the Academic Council, the Educational Technology Committee completed a five-month-long investigation, the implications of which 55 faculty members called “unfavorable” in a letter to the editor featured in the Feb. 19 issue of The Mirror. The ETC report, which investigated how and why the decision to shut down Mentor was made and the appropriateness of said decision, culminated in a request from the ETC rather than a conclusion: “… We recommend that CIO Francis and ITS: 1.) honor Fairfield’s contract with Axiom Education, work with it to fix any remaining concerns in Mentor, and restore it to full functionality; or 2.) demonstrate the severity of Mentor’s alleged flaws in a transparent and convincing manner that justifies turning it off permanently,” the ETC report stated. According to Dr. Michael T. Tucker, professor of finance, the Mentor system was developed by Dr. Curt Naser, professor of philosophy, in collaboration with “hundreds of faculty and administrators at the university” over the course of 10 years. “[Mentor] does what we need it to do. At any point if we
needed something added, [Naser] modified or added to the software. There is no such interface with Blackboard,” said Tucker. Although Tucker’s statement is accurate, Blackboard’s website does have a section where consumers can suggest new features. Blackboard did not respond to The Mirror’s requests for comment. While Mentor started simply as a course management system, the developers at Axiom Education – a company Naser founded – added other features to meet Fairfield’s specific needs.
I get what they’re asking for, but we’re not going to be able to show them the smoking gun that they’re looking for; this is just based on about 100 years of expert experience in this field. - Paige Francis, Chief Information Officer “I was chair of the Dolan School of Business Assessment Committee that over the course of the 10 years helped Professor Naser configure Mentor as a premier assessment tool,” said Tucker. “When we started creating our accreditation mandated assessment of learning we looked for existing software. It did not exist.”
After helping Naser create this pioneer software, Tucker said the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business cited their “work ... as an example of best practices in the educational field.” Francis and her staff began work at Fairfield 15 months ago, meaning that her department has had no prior experience working with the software. “I mean we’re all new basically, so there is no preconceived notions coming into this, there is no conspiracy theories involved in this, there’s none of that,” said Francis. The ETC investigation determined that claims about problems with Mentor were invalid. The inconclusive report was not enough to convince Fairfield administrators that Mentor was safe. However, Francis confirms all FERPA violations, a security flaw which originally raised questions with the Mentor system, have been fixed by Axiom Mentor. The unresolved issue of problems in the “back-end of the system,” remain. The ETC report was published with no conclusion as to what “back-end” issues in the software were. Professors against the shutdown of Mentor say they have never been told what those “back-end” issues are, specifically. “From what we can tell, after the shutdown, ITS did not spell out what Axiom Education would need to fix in Mentor, nor did it give Axiom Education the opportunity to do so,” Fr. Mark Scalese, S.J., chair of the ETC, told The Mirror. For Francis, an explanation to these “back-end” issues is difficult to explain to those who are not experts in the field. “I get what they’re asking for, but we’re not going to be able to show them the smoking gun that they’re looking for; this is just based on about 100 years of expert experience in this kind of thing,” said Francis. READ SHUTDOWN ON PAGE 4
Senator hosts talk on sexual assault
Juicy J scheduled for spring ‘14 By Danica Ceballos Executive Editor
INSIDE
Classes will be over, summer will be just days away and Juicy J is scheduled to be in Alumni Hall. On Wednesday, April 30, the last day of classes for spring semester, rapper Juicy J is scheduled to be the main performer at the FUSA spring concert. His opening act is expected to be announced later today. Most recently known for his part in Katy Perry’s hit “Dark Horse,” Juicy J has been gaining popularity based on his frequency on top hits charts. He may also be recognized from the song “Bounce It” with Trey Songz or his new single “Talkin’ Bout” with Wiz Khalifa and Chris Brown. Tickets will go on sale Monday, March 31. They are $25 for students and $40 for guests. FUSA is also offering a package for $30, which will include both a ticket to the concert and a ticket for the Dogwood dance on Friday, April 11. FUSA will implement the 18 and over rule, as they did with Bingo Players in the fall. “Last year Kendrick Lamar was a huge success and he really blew up from there. We think Juicy J has the potential to do the same,” said FUSA
Vice President Alex Cucchi ‘15. “He has been notable in the media lately ... and he fit right into our budget. … I think he is going to be a hit.” The decision to book Juicy J was made by six FUSA members: President Alex Long ’14, Vice President Alex Cucchi ’15, Head of Programming Lindsey Hanley ’15, Vice Chair of Programming Kalee Brunelle ’14 and Directors of Concert Dominic Paolino ’14 and Katie Donahue ’15. After beginning their search in mid-December, they sent their bid in January. Based on the price and popularity of Juicy J, all six members were in agreement that he was the best pick for the concert. “It wasn’t difficult to decide on our performer,” said Hanley. “We knew it was who we wanted.” Long added, “We’re extremely excited to host Juicy J.” While the FUSA members all assumed that Juicy J would be popular among students, reactions are mixed. Some students are excited to have this top-hits rapper coming to Fairfield. “I think it’s great. You know, he’s not the most popular, but he’s not like somebody that nobody knows so it will definitely bring a lot of people,”
NEWS: New portal well received by students
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By Robert Joyce Staff Writer
Photo taken from Creative Commons
Juicy J will be headlining this year’s FUSA Spring Concert. said Everett Reed ’17. “They like his music so it’s going to sell a lot of tickets, bring a lot of money to Fairfield and maybe use that to help better Fairfield or even get better people next semester for the fall concert.” Others, however, are not as enthusiastic. “I can’t say I’m enthused. It’s kind of a swing and a miss if you ask me,”
OPINION:
said Joe Marino ’14. “It’s been four years here, eight concerts and there hasn’t been one yet that I’ve really been legitimately excited to attend, and this really isn’t an exception.” FUSA has come close to selling out their last three concerts. Ticket sales will prove if Juicy J was the right choice for FUSA’s spring 2014 concert.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal hosted a roundtable discussion about sexual assault Friday in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room with students, faculty and administration from Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac and other area schools. Congressman Jim Himes also spoke on the panel along with Laura Cordes, executive director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. At the event, Blumenthal asked for insight on “underreporting [of sexual assault], what the reasons are, what can be done, for example through bystander intervention, to prevent the behaviors that may lead to sexual assault, whether it is drinking or other kinds of behaviors.” According to Blumenthal, “the first thing to understand about sexual assault is that it’s a crime – it’s a heinous and horrific crime. “Sexual assault is absolutely unacceptable and intolerable, whether in the military or in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and so we have an obligation, all of us, to do something about it.” READ CHANGING ON PAGE 2
THE VINE:
SPORTS:
Crisis in Ukraine not to be ignored
Performing for Change fosters open dialogue
Sad end in Springfield for Stags basketball
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