Asylum not Abuse
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Asylum seekers deserve our protection, not our abuse.
Soweto Gospel Choir to take the Quick Center stage.
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THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of December 5, 2018
Vol. 44 Iss. 12
@FairfieldMirror
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Students Stand in Solidarity with Custodians By Claire Monahan News Editor
Non-Tenure Track Faculty Committee and Dr. Irene Mulvey, Ph.D., professor of mathematics and curAttending a Jesuit rent president of the Faculty Welfare university, students frequentCommittee. ly hear about the core value The event also featured local of cura personalis, or care of labor organizers. Tom Wilkinson, the whole person, but does Vice President of the Connecticut this principle extend to the American Federation of Labor and workplace? Students, faculty Congress of Industrial Workers, and staff packed the Mezzanine spoke about the history of labor of the John A. Barone Campus unions in America. Alberto BerCenter on Nov. 29 to examine nardes, a member of 32BJ, which is the treatment of workers on an affiliate of the service employees campus. international union, William Lynn, The event was organized business manager and international by Fairfield University Workers trustee of international union of opUnited, which is a group that erating engineers Local 30 and Todd hopes to reinforce the conLeveen, shop-steward, also spoke at nection between all workers the event. on campus. “Whether you’re Two students spoke at the cleaning a bathroom or teachevent, Julia Farrell ‘20 and Sean ing anthropology, you matter,” Tomlinson ‘19, as members of the said a member of FUWU Dr. Students and Workers United club. Maggie Labinski, Ph.D. assisThey spoke about the working tant professor of philosophy. conditions of the custodial workers Labinski explained the on campus. purpose of the event was to Farrell and Tomlinson depromote solidarity and to help scribed an environment in which get rid of the divide between staff are under constant stress. faculty and staff who, “stand as Workers are asked to complete a collective voice.” unreasonable amounts of work and The event began with are sometimes not given the proper an introduction by the emcee equipment necessary to complete Rocky Reilly ‘20, “Our group their work. [FUWU] is committed to the Farrell cited the example of idea that in order for Fairfield Claire Monahan/ The Mirror someone being asked to sweep but to be ‘the modern, Jesuit, Students, faculty and staff gathered to discuss Jesuit values and workers’ rights over pizza in the BCC. only being given a dustpan and not Catholic University’ everyone – a broom. One issue that was raised by sacchi contends, the issue of workers’ rights should be of the including our workers – must be Tomlinson was that custodial staff are required to do strenusame importance as abortion. treated with the utmost respect and dignity.” ous work even while pregnant. In regards to not paying workers a fair wage, Cosacchi The first speaker was Dr. Daniel Cosacchi Ph.D., Tomlinson detailed a culture of silence among the said, “the Church has a word for that, it’s called sin.” The a Canisius Fellow and a lecturer in the religious studies custodial staff. Workers were issued warnings that they crowd replied with a vehement applause. department, spoke on the Catholic Church’s position on should not speak to students. Those who went to the UniOther members of the faculty who spoke at the event workers’ rights. “The dignity of the worker has been at the versity’s Human Resources department to complain about included: Dr. Sonya Huber, Ph.D., associate professor of heart of Catholic social teaching for over 1000 years,” said english, Dr. Elizabeth Hohl Ph.D., assistant professor of Cosacchi. Read Some on Page Three the practice in the history department and member of the Under the principles of Catholic Social teaching, Co-
Fairfield Alliance Honors World AIDS Day By Julia Monteleone Assistant News Editor “I’m from Queens, N.Y., I love Italian food and binging Netflix shows,” was the first thing that Miss Bella said to attendees in the Oak Room of the John A. Barone Campus Center, flashing a smile. The Fairfield University Alliance had an event in commemoration of World AIDS Day on Dec. 3, 2018. This was the second Alliance event the guest speaker attended, Miss Bella, who put on a performance at The Levee last year during spring 2018. Before Miss Bella’s presentation began, David Bogdan ‘19, a health and human biology major, gave a presentation to discuss the science behind HIV and AIDS. Throughout his speech, Bogdan explained a complicated disease in terms that all of the students in the room could understand. He described what makes HIV such a difficult disease to cure because it has the fastest mutation rate in the world. The presentation was a great way to open for the later animated talk from Miss Bella. Miss Bella is not only a drag queen but also an HIV advocate who travels across the country to talk about HIV and AIDS. “World AIDS Day spreads awareness and it’s important to talk about it. In everything you do in life really — communication is key,” said Miss Bella. She herself has been dealing with HIV for many years, and feels that she is a vital voice in breaking down the stigma of the disease. Throughout her talk, Miss Bella discussed her story, not just focusing on her HIV but also how she first found her love for drag. Miss Bella has been a drag queen for almost 10 years, first encountering drag at her alma mater Rochester Institute of Technology, “I felt one of the reasons why I kept with drag after finding out I had HIV was that I felt I could use my platform to do outreach,” said Miss Bella. Today she is healthy and her HIV is virtually undetectable thanks to the development of treatments that help those diagnosed live normal lives free of sickness. She herself works for Northwell Health,
where she not only does outreach but helps do free HIV/AIDS testing on Fire Island in Long Island, N.Y. Throughout Miss Bella and Bogdan’s presentations, one thing became clear: getting tested for HIV/AIDS as a sexually active college student is extremely important. Bogdan explained the ways in which the diseases can be transmitted in his presentation: “intravenous drugs and shared needles, unprotected sex, non-monogamous relationships, positive mother to their babies — finally those who don’t get tested.” Bogdan emphasized the importance of students knowing the ways in which they can practice healthy sexual Julia Monteleone/ The Mirror behaviors. President of the Fairfield Alliance Madison Ortiz ‘20 hopes that Miss Bella gives her presentation discussing her HIV. exactly is the major takeaway for students in attendance of the event. “A main topic we wanted to hit during the presentation was the topic of prevention and there’s no way to prevent these circumstances from happening if we don’t talk about them. I hope that talking about it more with not only bring awareness but knowledge,” said Ortiz. The Fairfield University Health Center does free HIV/AIDS testing, and students are encouraged to ensure their safety and health by getting tested.