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The seasonal Glee Concert leaves its audience in awe.
Prince George of England should be able to determine his own identity.
The Stags upset Boston College 66-58 on the road.
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IRROR
Independent student newspaper
Week of December 6, 2017
@FairfieldMirror
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Vol. 43 Iss. 12
Parking Garage Opens Months Before Anticipated By Jacob Buttiker Contributing Writer
Juliana Sansonetti/The Mirror The parking garage was built in order to supplement the limited space behind Alumni Hall.
It is no secret that parking here at Fairfield University causes headaches for everyone, from students to staff members. In an effort to solve this issue, the University has just recently completed construction on a new parking garage that sets out to alleviate the problem. Because everything ran smoothly with construction and delivery of materials, the new garage was completed several months ahead of schedule and the building is now open for use. The goal of the new parking garage is to lessen some of the overcrowding that takes place in the lot behind Alumni Hall, according to Associate Director of the Department of Public Safety Frank Ficko. Designated as a green zone, the lot is to be used by graduate students and off-campus students, such as seniors who live on the beach and commuters. Ficko added that those students with green parking passes will be encouraged to park in the new garage, as they will face penalties if they are found to be parked in the lot behind Alumni Hall, which is a blue lot that is intended for Fairfield University staff only. However, Fairfield students did express some concerns regarding the new parking garage. “I think it may be an issue because it might cause more traffic around an already pretty tight area,” said Katrina Wiesler ’19. Unfortunately, options on where to put the new building were limited due to the relatively small nature of Fairfield’s campus. Ficko explained some of the details regarding the specifications on the new garage. “Coming in at three stories tall and with a total of 257 parking spaces, we are hoping that it will ease the parking issue on here on campus,” he said. Sporting a sharp design that fits in nicely with the rest of Fairfield’s aesthetic, the parking garage is a welcome addition to Fairfield’s campus. Students expressed pleased opinions with the overall look of the building as Christopher Dinno ‘19 said, “I’ve never seen a parking garage that looked so modern, I think it’s a great design.” The all new parking garage, however, is just one piece of the puzzle in Fairfield University’s Campus-Wide Master Plan, a plan that sets out to address the major issues on campus and improve student life for all of Fairfield’s students. Other projects mentioned in the plan include the new dormitory that is being constructed next to Regis Hall. The new dorm, deemed the Ignatian Residential College Program will be a residential college with the goal of housing sophomores to accommodate for larger class sizes, said Ficko. A new school of business is also in the works for Fairfield , a multi-million dollar project that is set to be erected somewhere on the hill across from the Dimenna-Nyselius Library. According to Ficko, construction for the new building is planned to begin this December and crews hope to break ground sometime in early 2018.
Alumni ‘Reconnect with Fairfield’ at Annual Mass By Juliana Sansonetti News Editor
At Masses on Sundays, current students can typically look around and spot their peers in the seats; however, on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m., the seats were instead filled with alumni, both recent and those who graduated long ago. This was the annual Alumni Advent Mass that is put on by the Fairfield County Alumni Chapter of the Alumni Association each year on the first Sunday of Advent. President of the Fairfield County Alumni Chapter Joseph Delaney ‘03 MBA ‘04, who organized the Mass, as well as the reception with Santa afterwards in Bellarmine Hall, shared his thoughts on the event. “I believe it’s a great opportunity for alumni to stay connected with the values they learned at Fairfield U,” said Delaney. “The spirituality of attending Mass reminds us of the Jesuit values we learned about. And it’s a great way to stay connected with families in the University community. Meeting Santa is a great way to start the holiday season.” Delaney also described the event as “a great way to reconnect with Fairfield.” The Mass was presided over by Rev. Charles H. Allen, S.J. The reception with Santa occured in Bellarmine Hall this year, rather than Alumni House, which is where it is usually held. At the reception, they had refreshments and food, as well as activities like coloring for the children to do while they waited to see Santa.
First-year Lauren Casieri looks forward to the day she can bring her children to the reception. “My parents are always proud to talk about their colleges, but their colleges have never really had anything to include alumni and their kids, so I think that would be a cool thing to bring my kids to someday,” Casieri commented. Like every local alumni chapter during the holiday
season, the Fairfield County Alumni Chapter asked that each family bring a teddy bear to the reception for the Teddy Bears with Love Drive, according to Delaney. Sophomore Chelsea Proehl, who co-coordinated the drive, commented, “I’m here for the children. It’s a great event, we got 70 to 80 families this year.” Delaney said that 170 people registered for the event, Read Families on Page
Juliana Sansonetti/The Mirror Fairfield University alumni and their families gathered in the Egan Chapel for the annual Alumni Advent Mass to reconnect with the core Jesuit values they learned during their time as students. Alumni brought their families and children to attend Mass with them.