Fairfield Mirror 2/25/2015

Chapel Hill

MET Curator

Go Stags!

Opinion

Vine

Sports

The death of three Muslim students signals a rise in religious intolerance.

Former MET curator finds her niche at Fairfield’s Bellarmine Museum and Walsh Gallery.

Men’s basketball wins big on Senior Day.

Page 5

Page 7

Page 16

THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper

Week of February 25, 2015

@FairfieldMirror

Follow us!

FairfieldMirror.com

Vol. 40, Iss. 17

Capt. Phillips recounts hostage experience at sea

By Robert Joyce News Editor Retired merchant mariner and author Capt. Richard Phillips says he is not a hero.

In April of 2009, when four Somali pirates hijacked his cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, and took him hostage for five days aboard one of the ship’s lifeboats, Phillips said he “was just doing his job.”

Phillips, whose book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea,” served as the basis for the dramatization of his account by the 2013 film “Captain Phillips,” came to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Tuesday, Feb. 24 to share his own personal account of that treacherous week at sea.

He began by describing his memories as a young Bostonian taxi driver, unsure of what to do with his life until one day he picked up a customer in Charlestown, Mass., who was “looking for some action.”

Phillips got to talking with the man, an off-duty merchant mariner, as he drove him to Boston’s infamous Combat Zone, an adult entertainment district. Phillips became intrigued by the man’s profession, and soon after, he enrolled at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Not long after receiving his captain’s license in 1991, he was piloting ships across the globe.

PIRATES ABOARD According to Phillips, “Piracy is the second oldest profession in the merchant marine industry.” While traversing the northwest Indian Ocean, “piracy was a matter of when, not if.”

Then one calm morning, he heard the message over the radio: “Somali pirates coming to get you. Somali pirates coming to get you.”

Soon after, a small thin wooden boat with a high-powered engine fixed for speed

was spotted on the horizon, coming in fast.

As the Maersk Alabama changed course, the small boat changed course. When the Maersk Alabama changed course again, so did the small boat.

“It was obvious what was going on,” said Phillips, who was sure it was not just a fishing boat. He alerted his ship, armed the crew with flairs and ordered the ship locked down. Firehouses and rocket flares could not keep the armed pirates from boarding the ship with their tall wooden ladder, as they shot their AK-47 assault rifles at Phillips and his crew.

When the pirates made their way to the bridge, Phillips remembers them happy and excited, high-fiving each other because they had hijacked an American-owned ship. To them, this meant a wealthy ransom.

“It’s just business,” Phillips remembers being told by the pirates’ leader.

Phillips recounts how they kept demanding him to make the ship work, and to find the rest of the crew, whom he was able to keep hidden below in the engine room of the Maersk Alabama as he distracted the pirates and stalled for help. The leader of the pirates was then captured by Phillips’ crew, and a hostage exchange was set up.

“I knew I had to protect my crew, my ship and my cargo,” said Phillips. “I had lost control when pirates boarded my ship.

Losing control is never good for any leader.”

IN HARM’S WAY Phillips then described what most media got wrong: “I didn’t surrender myself to the pirates.” He says he did whatever he could to get pirates off of the ship. “Something told me this was the best course of action,” said Phillips.

Robert Joyce / The Mirror

Capt. Richard Phillips retells his experience with Somali pirates at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

The hostage exchange was botched; the pirate leader was freed and Phillips was not.

“Never trust a pirate,” he joked.

The pirates and Phillips would then find themselves in the Maersk Alabama’s lifeboat, cruising toward the Somali shore, the Maersk Alabama in pursuit.

“It was terribly hot in the lifeboat …

I didn’t care about food but water truly, truly, truly, became dear … I was on my

own, but I vowed not to give up,” Phillips recounted.

After attempting to escape by swimming away from the lifeboat, he was captured, beaten and bound.

With their handguns pressed against the back of Phillips’ head, click after click, the pirates repeatedly convinced Phillips he was to be executed.

READ

PHILLIPS ON PAGE 4

Students elect Anif McDonald ‘16 and Olivia Tourgee ‘16

By Enxhi Myslymi Managing Editor At a school with a majority white student population, Fairfield will have its first black Fairfield University Student Association President with the election of Anif McDonald ‘16.

“It feels amazing. I’m more than excited for the upcoming school year,” McDonald said. “I’m going to do all that I can in order to make sure all students feel comfortable at all times.”

While McDonald would have won the uncontested election regardless of the number of votes, he received 1070 student votes on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

“I can’t thank you all for the support and trust you have put in me,” he added.

McDonald will team up with Olivia Tourgee ‘16 as his vice president, who won the position with 806 votes.

It feels amazing. I’m more than excited for the upcoming school year. I’m going to do all that I can in order to make sure all students feel comfortable at all times.

-Anif McDonald ‘16 FUSA President-Elect

What was supposed to be an entirely uncontested election for president and vice president saw Class of 2018 President Závon Billups ‘18 launch a write-in campaign over the weekend, garnering 291 votes.

In his election ad, Billups explained his double-campaign: running for both Class of 2018 president and FUSA

vice president.

“My main objective if I were to receive the highest office is to work on changing the culture of our campus and in order to do that I would help redefine what it means to be a member of the Fairfield community,” Billups said in his ad.

The Class of 2016 also had initially one person on the ballot running for Senate, which increased to 12 after writein candidates.

Regarding McDonald’s win, FUSA President Alex Cucchi ‘15 said, “I am fortunate enough to be passing the torch to a good friend and a great leader.”

Complimenting McDonald’s work over the past three years, Cucchi added, “I am excited and proud of all that [McDonald] has done, and I know that FUSA will be in good hands going forward.”

Full-time students were able to vote through OrgSync, or near the Information Desk at the Barone Campus Center.

Election results were announced at the Levee that night.

News

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Page 2

Stags in the Kitchen stir fry healthy meals

By Jesse Erickson Assistant Sports Editor

Tired of eating out and eating unhealthily, students at Fairfield decided to brainstorm solutions to their cooking problems.

With the help of Professor Aaron Van Dyke, Paige Conlon ‘15, Lily Etemad ‘15, Marie Matta ‘15 and Matthew Rotondaro ‘16, pitched the idea of a cooking class to the University.

“A bunch of my friends and I live at the beach, so we have to cook every night and we don’t know a lot of recipes and we don’t know the basic techniques for cooking,” said Etemad. “So, we found out a lot of students were interested in this idea, and my research professor [Van Dyke] has a passion for cooking, so we spoke to him about it and we decided to team up to start this cooking class.”

After pitching the idea, several associations from Fairfield volunteered to sponsor the program named “Stags in the Kitchen.”

Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Fitzpatrick ‘70 and Sodexo decided to take part in funding the program so that students could attend the dinner series for free.

Culinary Director at Fairfield Chef Jacqui Lombard and Chef Matt Turner at Fairfield stepped up to become the instructors of the cooking class and from there, the group decided on what they wanted to do with the series. For the first class, which took place on Feb.17 in the Dolan School of Business’ kitchen, the group learned to make stir fry.

“We really wanted this series to be driven by student interest, so we got together with a couple of students who wanted to start the series. They brainstormed some ideas and that’s how we came up with stir fry,” said Van Dyke.

“Then Chef Jacqui, Chef Jim and I thought about what we wanted to do during the workshop.”

Although the stir fry section at Barone attracts many students, the most diffi-

cult part of the cooking process is already completed for the students — all of the ingredients have already been chopped.

In the first class, Lombard and Turner taught the students everything about the preparation of ingredients, from holding the knife, to julienning the onions and even mincing the garlic.

After being instructed, the group was allowed to design their own stir fry with any ingredient from the fridge. Some kept their ingredients simple, while others, like Matta, made zucchini noodles for the stir fry with the help of Lombard.

Like many others in the class, Matta attended the class in hopes to improve her cooking skills.

“I’m not really a good cook at all, so I don’t really like it, and I don’t like the amount of time it takes,” said Matta.

“I’m always looking for faster recipes and things that I can cook on the go.”

Lombard, a food enthusiast, understands the struggle that many students are placed with, whether it’s a lack of time to cook or lack of knowledge to prepare.

“The goal of these sessions is, one, to cook healthfully and safely, but most important, affordably and with a lot of flavor,” said Lombard. “If you have 20-30 minutes, you can have a great meal, and you have an excuse to touch base with your roommates.”

At the end of the session, students were able to enjoy their home cooked meals as they talked about what they were going to make at home and what their plans for the next session were.

“We are probably going to plan another session for next semester, at this point, perhaps even two sessions next semester,” said Rotondaro. “We’re going to do different food themes each time, like “Breakfast for Dinner” night, “Sunday Dinner” night and “Ultimate Burger Night.”

As for now, these Stags will be able to head home and cook a fresh and healthy meal in just about 20 minutes.

Jesse Erickson / The Mirror

Senior Nikki Cohen chops garlic and vegetables for a stir fry during the new Stags in the Kitchen program.

Jesse Erickson / The Mirror

Junior Michael Vessicchio learns basic cooking skills, including food preperation and kitchen safety, by getting hands-on experience in the kitchen.

Page 3

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

News

FUSA brings college experience to siblings

By Catherine Veschi Assistant News Editor During the weekend of Feb. 20-22, Fairfield students were encouraged to share their college experience with their siblings.

Sponsored by the Fairfield University Student Association, the annual Siblings Weekend featured numerous activities, including the award-winning comedian and juggler Marcus Monroe, an under-the-sea carnival, bingo and a movie night.

According to FUSA Chair of Programming Lindsey Hanley ‘15, over 70 siblings registered and attended Siblings Weekend this year, a slightly higher number than in previous years.

Freshman Emily Gaudet found the event accommodated for her sister’s age group well, who is a junior in high school.

“It gave her a good opportunity to get a good feel for college life,” she said.

However, Briana Morgado ‘18, felt that the amount of siblings in attendance could have been higher had FUSA advertised the event more, saying, “No one I’ve talked to knew about it.”

Despite this, Hanley viewed Siblings Weekend as an overall success.

“All of the events went off really well and everyone seemed to be having a good time,” she said.

Hanley acknowledged, however, that one of the most difficult tasks in organizing Siblings Weekend is finding activities that are suitable for a variety of different age groups, and that this is something that FUSA is looking to improve in years to come.

According to Hanley, FUSA faced a minor setback in planning the event when

Contributed by FUSA

Junior Emily Corwin (right) and her cousins enjoy cotton candy at the “Under-the-Sea” Carnival during Siblings Weekend. the original comedian they had booked had to cancel due to the weather, but despite this, “FUSA programmers did a great job troubleshooting,” and managed to book Monroe as a replacement.

Hanley attributes some of the success of Siblings Weekend to the fact that FUSA

changed the process this year, which took some of the stress off the programmers.

“In the past we would have the Special Events board plan the entire weekend, which is usually only 2 or 3 people,” Hanley said. “We restructured the entire programming board a bit for the 2014-2015

school year which led to the chair and vice chair of programming overseeing the weekend and working, while each of our 10 programming boards were responsible for an event or checking everyone in.”

Malloy’s budget proposes to cut private education funding

By Catherine Veschi Assistant News Editor Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut released his proposed budget on Thursday, Feb. 19, which contains several cuts with the intentionv of improving the state’s continued fiscal challenges. Among the cuts, Malloy proposed to cut private college students out of the state financial aid program, the Governor’s Scholarship program.

Malloy’s proposal would restrict not only the amount of funds that financial aid directors are able to award to those Connecticut students in need, but also who may receive these scholarships, according to Judith Greiman, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, to Connecticut by the Numbers.

According to Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Pellegrino, Ph.D., the legislators on the Appropriations Committee offered a public hearing on the proposed budget, giving people the opportunity to voice their concerns on “the impact such a cut would have on students and their ability to fund their college education.”

Fairfield students and college administrators were invited to join those from other schools, such as Quinnipiac, to travel to the hearing that took place on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at the State Legislature in Hartford.

Dean of Enrollment Karen Pellegrino stated, “The State of Con-

CPC helps develop networking skills

By Catherine Veschi Assistant News Editor

necticut has provided financial support in the form of grants to Connecticut residents attending private schools in the state.”

Although this support has decreased gradually throughout the years, “these grants provide an extremely valuable source of support to our Connecticut residents,” she added.

Malloy’s 2012 state budget also proposed a $5.8 million cut to

These grants provide an extremely valuable source of support to our Connecticut residents.

-Karen Pellegrino Dean of Enrollment private colleges and universities, according to the New Haven Register.

For Karen Pellegrino, it is important that students and the public voice their concerns over Malloy’s proposed cuts, saying that “the cuts that the governor has proposed are extreme.”

She added, “The proposal is not simply to reduce the amount of each school’s allocation, but to eliminate all grants to students attending private colleges and universities. It is important that Fairfield, as

In conjunction with the Career Fair on Thursday, Feb. 26, the Career Planning Center offered a Networking Workshop for students in the Aloysius P. Kelley Center.

The workshop, which took place on Tuesday, Feb. 24, was an opportunity for students to learn more about how to effectively develop relationships with potential employers.

Despite the workshop’s proximity to the Career Fair, the event received low attendance, with only one student attending.

According to the Assistant Director of Career Planning Sue Quinlivan, “60-80 percent of the job opportunities are hidden; they’re not announced.

“It’s more through employer relationships with individuals, employees that work there, friends of friends, [people] get referred and that’s how they get hired,” she added.

well as other private schools in the state, demonstrate the impact that this cut will make to our students.”

Should Malloy’s budget proposal be enacted, it would have a major impact on future students at Fairfield, according to Karen Pellegrino.

“This year, close to 300 current Fairfield students are receiving some form of grant from the state of Connecticut. If that funding was to be eliminated, there is the very real possibility that many of these students would not be able to attend Fairfield,” Karen Pellegrino stated.

Although Semina Kojic ‘18 was unaware of Malloy’s budget proposal, she agreed with Karen Pellegrino that it would have a serious effect on students attending private schools.

“People would have to pay more obviously and maybe some people wouldn’t be able to pay, and thus have to transfer to somewhere else,” Kojic said.

According to Thomas Pellegrino, a student-based rally protesting Malloy’s budget cuts is on the agenda for March.

“Students [should] plan to be there if [or] when a March meeting is scheduled,” Thomas Pellegrino suggested, especially if they did not have the opportunity to express their thoughts on the matter at the State Legislature on Tuesday.

Quinlivan stressed the importance of beginning the networking process at a young age, explaining that even though students might not have a specific idea of their career choices, “by talking with different people in areas that you’re thinking about … [this] will help you discover jobs that you hadn’t heard of before.”

Freshman Julia St. Germain, who attended the workshop, agreed that it is important for students to get involved with the networking process as soon as possible.

“I don’t think it’s ever too early to start, so that’s one of the reasons why I am here, to figure out the direction I can go,” St. Germain said. She added that while she already has a major picked out, like many other students, she doesn’t have a career picked out yet, and that networking is a great way to figure this out.

During her presentation, Quinlivan stressed the importance of creating a strong network through social media sites such as LinkedIn, which have made it easier for students to form as many connections with potential employers as possible.

For St. Germain, creating a strong network through social media is important because “the more people you talk to, the better.”

St. Germain felt that Quinlivan’s presentation on the steps students should take in forming a strong network of employers was effective in showing her additional ways to get it touch with employers.

For St. Germain, the advice Quinlivan gave on conducting an informational interview, where a student collects information about a job, in addition to a job interview, was “what [she] took away the most.”

Page 4

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

News

Compiled by Austin Wesolowski Information contributed by the Department of Public Safety.

Friday, 2/20 11:13 p.m. - Three males were discovered vandalizing a table in the second floor lounge of Claver Hall. The suspects attempted to flee, however DPS was able to catch up with two of three alleged vandals outside the building. They were referred to student conduct.

Saturday 2/21 4:59 p.m. - DPS responded to a loud and tropical social gathering in Dolan Hall, where underage drinking was discovered. The residents of the apartment were referred to student conduct.

Sunday 2/22 12:50 a.m. - An unknown male with short blonde hair wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants reportedly threw a bottle through a window of a residence of the Townhouses 12 block. The incident is under investigation.

1:54 a.m. - Three males who claimed to be Trinity College students were allegedly knocking on doors of Quad residences, awaking students and falsely reporting to residents that they were with Fairfield’s Maintenance Department. DPS was able to locate the individuals and issued criminal trespass warnings, along with notifying Trinity College of the incident.

12:35 p.m. - The south side card reader door in Campion Hall was found smashed by DPS on patrol. The incident is under investigation.

Monday 2/23 8:35 p.m. - A theft was reported at the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex field house, where $40 was taken out of a wallet and iPhone 6 was stolen while the owner was playing basketball there. The incident is under investigation.

10:44 p.m. - DPS responded to a report that drugs were being utilized in a residence of Campion Hall.

Upon arrival, DPS was able to locate suspected marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms. One student was arrested and five students were referred to student conduct.

Tuesday, 2/24 9:49 a.m. - Fairfield University’s fire marshal reported finding a wall inside of Kostka Hall scorched. The incident is under investigated as arson.

THE MIRROR Incorporated 1977

Shauna Mitchell, Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Calhoun, Executive Editor Enxhi Myslymi, Managing Editor Editors Robert Joyce, News Catherine Veschi, Assistant News Ariana Puzzo, Opinion Charles DeFilippo, Vine Allison White, Coffee Break Patrick Kiernan, Sports Matthew Schneider, Assistant Sports Jesse Erickson, Assistant Sports Angela Sammarone, Chief Copy Editor Online Ryan Wessel, Web Master Business Department Email: advertising@fairfieldmirror.com Jake Ruskan, CFO Christopher Murphy, Delivery Person Adviser Dr. Tommy Xie Contact Information Fairfield University 1073 North Benson Road, BCC 104 Box AA, Fairfield, CT 06824 General email: info@fairfieldmirror.com

Phillips shares personal, perilous pirate experience Continued from page 1 “I settled the affairs of my life ... I said goodbye to my wife, I said goodbye to my son, and I said goodbye to my daughter,” said Phillips.

By this point in time, the U.S. Navy had arrived on the scene, which added a lot of hostility in the lifeboat.

When the shots eventually rang out, Phillips was not sure to make of what was happening. SEAL Team Six had capitalized on pirates exposing themselves for the first time, killing the three remaining pirates on board.

Not long after he was aboard the Navy ship, where he finally realized he was out of harm’s way.

THE AFTERMATH According to Phillips, “the real heroes of this story are the military, the U.S. Navy SEALs.” What’s important, Phillips said, is to remember the inner strength to never give up hope.

“I don’t know where it actually came from, it’s why I talk

about it. It’s already in us,” he said. “I think it comes from our background, our growing up. It’s just there.

“We learn it school, we learn it in sports, we learn it in bands, we learn things there where we have to work through it. Not everything comes easy, so I think it’s important to remember that,” he added. “We all have pirate-like things that we have to deal with and we can all get through it.”

When asked if Phillips has since forgiven the pirates, he responded: “I harbor no will toward them. I know they had little to no opportunity or chance of advancement, and I think that’s how a lot of terrorism, crime, juvenile crime or gangs [exist], I think that’s how it comes about.”

Phillips’ theme of never giving up resonated with students, such as Joe Stanton ‘15.

“I really enjoyed listening to Capt. Phillips speak tonight,” Stanton said. “What I liked most about the talk was his constant emphasis on his mindset throughout the disaster: to not give up and to always be prepared for the worst.”

“Failure is only final if we give up or quit,” Phillips concluded. “It’s not over until you say it’s over, even when times look tough.”

False sexual assault report made at the Townhouses

By Robert Joyce News Editor The Department of Public Safety received a false report from an anonymous caller early Saturday morning claiming that a sexual assault had occurred at the Townhouses during a social gathering.

“It was reported that a possible sexual assault occurred during a party at the Townhouses. An investigation revealed no evidence to support the claim, however the matter is still

under investigation,” said Frank Ficko, associate director of Public Safety.

“We spoke to everybody — residents, people present — and it was determined that no evidence existed to support that claim,” said Ficko.

The residents of the Townhouse could not be reached for comment.

“Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Public Safety,” said Ficko.

THE NEWS: In the United States

By Patrick Kiernan Sports Editor

By Catherine Veschi Assistant News Editor

Denver, Colo. - Nineteen-year-old Shannon Conley is sentenced to four years in prison after attempting to fly to Syria to join ISIS. Ventura County, Calif. - At least 28 people were injured, including four critically injured, Tuesday morning when a Metrolink commuter train collided with a tractor-trailer truck on the tracks.

California - A recent class-action lawsuit filed against Nestle Purina PetCare Company claims that one of the company’s dog food brands containing toxins that are poisoning and killing people’s pets.

Stephenville, Texas - Ex-marine Eddie Ray Routh was found guilty of capital murder of Navy SEAL Chad Littlefield and “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle. Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Alaska - As of Wednesday morning, Alaska became the third state in the U.S. to allow marijuana use for persons 21 years of age or older.

By Angela Sammarone Chief Copy Editor

Washington D.C. - President Obama vetoed a bill approving construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, an oil pipeline in Canada and the U.S.

Middletown, Conn. - Ten students and two visitors at Wesleyan University were hospitalized Sunday from complications arising from the use of the drug Molly or from alcohol. Four of the students were arrested in connection with a drug overdose.

Stafford, N.J. - At least 15 were injured in a home explosion that was caught by a police car’s dashboard camera.

Georgia - Kelly Renee Gissendaner is the first female prisoner to be executed in 70 years. She was convicted in 1997 for a murder plot against her husband.

Contributed under Creative Commons

Opinion

Page 5

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Opinion

Editor Contributed under Creative Commons

Religious intolerance fuels deadly rampage

By Ariana Puzzo Opinion Editor On Feb. 10, 2015, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed in their home in Chapel Hill, N.C. The killing of these three young Muslims, two of whom were current university students, by 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks should be seen less as an isolated incident and more as an instance of religious intolerance.

Religious intolerance remains an ever-present issue around the world and has in recent years been increasingly aimed toward people of Islamic faith.

Yet, in tragic circumstances such as the recent Chapel Hill killing, it remains widely underplayed by mainstream media due to societal prejudices.

While those around Hicks claim that he did not harbor any hatred toward Muslims for observing their particular faith, his incessant denigration of the Islamic faith, along with a multi-

Editorial Board "The Hunting Ground" Shauna Mitchell Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Calhoun Executive Editor Enxhi Myslymi Managing Editor

tude of other religions on social media, calls to question the validity of stating that his actions are not representative of someone who is capable of performing such a hate crime.

However, despite strong suggestion that his actions were motivated by religious intolerance and spurred by hatred, CNN has reported that police and other leading investigators of the crime have chosen to focus on the killing primarily as “an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking.”

Choosing to focus on the more concrete motivator for Hicks’ crime and ignoring the hard reality is extremely harmful to the community of people who consistently experience violence due to their faith.

Additionally, doing so enables the continued ignorance of the larger issue at hand: religious intolerance and hate crimes directed at people who observe Islam in the United States are becoming more frequent and there are some people who willingly believe that a particular group of

The world is trying desperately to change around us. With our generation, we have changed the national opinion on gay marriage and made our voices heard about several other issues.

But there's one issue in particular that we, the Editorial Board, hold especially important: sexual assault, especially on college campuses.

In recent years, the issue of women’s equality has become fiercely debated and brought to the forefront of national attention.

Women have been fighting tooth

people deserve to be treated violently.

However, there is an additional issue that has remained widely unaddressed that needs to be considered when looking at religious intolerance in all circumstances.

The underlying social-ethnic issues that are undoubtedly connected to any killing where religious intolerance is present remains a key issue that most news outlets avoid when discussing the killing.

There is no doubt that if the ethnic dynamic between Hicks and the three victims had been reversed, there would have been a much greater concern by the public regarding if the killing was an act of terrorism, rather than if the killing was simply an unfortunate result of an ongoing dispute amongst neighbors.

The answer would certainly have not been deliberated for the amount of time that it has been for Hicks’ motives.

Given the ethnic dynamic, I am not surprised by mainstream

and nail to be heard, and whether or not they have been heard is irrelevant when we are simultaneously working against ourselves.

The false sexual assault report on Feb. 21 on campus suggests a troubling train of thought that could derail this entire movement.

There are daily reports of victims trying to get sexual crimes more widely convicted as women are carrying their mattresses around campuses until their attackers are put on trial.

There is a documentary at

media’s lack of coverage.

The unfortunate reality is that Hicks, the white, adult male, who has been indicted on three counts of murder and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, does not fulfill the demographic of a killer that is considered to be newsworthy.

Rather, the description of him by spokeswoman Carver Weaver at Durham Technical Community College as “an exemplary student” and Harris Teeter grocery store’s description of him as someone who “contributed to a positive environment” in his workplace only serve to further prove that there is inherent inequality present based on ethnicity in how we discuss and characterize suspects, as well as a dismissal of the growing issue that we are responsible for this unspoken inequality.

As I become more certain that the killing of the three young Muslims was a clear instance of religious intolerance, it also became clear to me how important it is that we continue the recent outpouring of support seen on

Sundance Film Festival called “The Hunting Ground,” which speaks specifically to the horrifying trend of unreported and uninvestigated sexual assaults on college campuses.

At Fairfield (as well as many other universities across the nation), false reports are setting us back tenfold, creating doubt in the minds of university officials, officers of the law and juries.

Let us be clear: False reports are not indicative a nonexistent rape culture. Women are still assaulted

social media.

The Twitter trend #MuslimLivesMatter promotes awareness that religious intolerance is not and will not be accepted.

It is also a strong indicator that many young people have grown weary of the lack of recognition given toward these constant hate crimes committed by people who are performing true acts of terror.

However, although social media is rapidly becoming the new platform for advocating social justice issues, the lack of mainstream awareness permits the persistence of religious intolerance, both as something that is exploited and ignored.

The senseless murders of these three young individuals deserves our attention and must serve to remind us that the underlying pervasive intolerance by many towards Muslims will only perpetuate the ethnic, religious and racial intolerance that has eroded our country and our world.

every day.

For every person who has fought to have their voice heard, those submitting false claims sound as the louder voices to the public.

Society will remember those false accusations more easily than they will remember the victim whose assailant got away.

They will not hurry to the aid of the victims.

They will assume the boy is crying wolf, and never come when he is in need.

Page 6

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Opinion

Yankee dilemma: To pay or not to pay

By Renee Nouri Contributing Writer Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees superstar and international playboy, has been facing more turbulence as he demands and wholeheartedly believes he deserves his $6 million home-run bonuses.

I strongly feel that all the marketing bonuses are completely worthless and invalid given ARod’s willing usage of performance enhancing drugs to get a leg up within the competition.

He was not thinking about how he represents the Yankees as a team or even New York as a state; just himself.

Knowing what we know now, I can’t help but disregard whatever records he has previously broken since anybody can get juiced up and knock a ball out.

Not only did A-Rod strongly deny any use of performance enhancing drugs, but he spent millions of dollars backing up his lies by doing the “only plausible thing” - buying stolen documents in an attempt to fight the MLB’s attempt to ban him.

The only successful outcome out of his “masterful” plan was getting tossed the longest suspension in baseball history.

Fortunately for him, the Yankees locked him up for another three years according to this contract that averages around $61 million for the remaining years.

Yet, here sits A-Rod pouting and throwing a fit. How could the Yankees steal $6 million right from under him?

A-Rod has 654 career homeruns under his belt; he only needs six more in order to tie Willie May’s 660, which would ultimately allow him to become eligible for the bonus.

Also, if a drug-free A-Rod can manage to tie Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds’ career home runs, he can rack up an additional $18 million.

So, he can potentially pocket a total of $24 million in bonuses, which is highly absurd.

How can a blatant cheater, who violated the MLB’s drug policy, still potentially be awarded that much money?

Home-run bonuses are already unordinary for a basic player, so why should a cheater be treated at a higher standard?

A-Rod signed the marketing deal back in 2007, but did so under false pretenses.

If one party breaks the abiding guidelines it would be deemed as invalid, which is exactly what it should be.

A-Rod even admitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration that he paid the former owner of a medical clinic in Florida, Anthony Bosch, $12,000 a month for steroids and PEDs. Bosch had a slew of troubles himself as he illegally posed as a

doctor who supplied steroid injections.

According to the report, ARod used these substances prohibited by the MLB for about two years.

The way he sidestepped around drug tests for so long was using his urine only mid-stream, which Bosch advised.

For some odd reason, this tactic worked because during the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, he did exactly what was advised and passed, allowing the Yankees to go on and win the series.

A-Rod did everything he could to achieve his dream of breaking Barry Bonds’ record.

Unfortunately it led to a situation that I don’t think can ever be fixed within his team and with his fans.

Personally, the $6 million bonus will be an upright joke if it is awarded to him.

Give the bonus to the truth athletes. Give it to the athletes that work endless hours in the gym; to the athletes that take care of their bodies and maintain a clean self-image to all those who follow in their footsteps.

I’m sure A-Rod is a gifted athlete, which is why he’s in the position he’s in.

However, by taking steroids and PEDs, the notion of him really earning and achieving his success cancels out.

Contributed under Creative Commons

Spider-Man continues to spin its web of movies

By Meaghan Conlon Opinion Editor Emeritus Spider-Man has recently been in the news again and, no, Peter Parker did not write the articles.

It was announced that Sony and Marvel Studios had made a deal that would place Peter Parker, aka SpiderMan, on the big screen with other A-list

superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and the rest of the Avengers.

Additionally, Sony announced there is to be another Spider-Man movie reboot to be released in theaters in 2017.

The news that normally would have had me jumping for joy was instead overshadowed by the annoyance of having to deal with yet another re-

Contributed under Creative Commons

boot of Spider-Man’s origin story.

I get it, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I don’t think I’m going to forget that lesson anytime soon.

However, instead of remembering it with sadness and in conjugation with beloved Uncle Ben passing away, I am more likely to gloss over his death and the iconic line as I grumble about seeing the same scene played out yet again.

I cannot think of a single reason to start with a clean slate for a third time.

The rebooted movie released will have the same storyline as two others before it and the audience already knows what’s going to happen; at this point they can probably write it themselves.

Parker will fail to stop the robber, his Uncle Ben will get shot by the same criminal and Parker will hold his uncle in his arms as those fateful words are whispered, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Perhaps I can get a job writing the script, as I seem to know the important scenes by memory.

Following the recent movies, “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” audiences were exposed to Gwen Stacy and the impact her death had on Parker.

These two movies had much more potential in moving forward and in introducing other important storylines and villains from the comics, including Mary Jane Watson.

Complex character development cannot happen in a single movie, and scrapping all of the past few cinematic years would do nothing but hurt the future of Parker.

Spider-Man is supposed to be joining the Avengers in the “Infinity War” installations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, set to release in a few years.

It would be so much better for the young superhero to already have a developed backstory that the audience was familiar with when throwing him into a larger cast of characters, some of

whom will be introduced to the audience for the first time, instead of being just another new face.

“The Avengers” is already a balancing act of power and screen time between popular superheroes, which is trouble on its own, without mixing in a healthy dose of new players.

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for Spider-Man to be on screen with the Avengers, and I’m interested to see how “Infinity War” is played out.

However, I just worry that his role will be diminished or overshadowed by the reboot.

The reconciling of a character that audiences are familiar with to a SpiderMan with a new, different portrayal can distract from the overall arc of the story “Infinity War” is trying to tell.

I look forward to seeing SpiderMan interacting with the other Marvel superheroes, and I’ll eagerly await that movie.

However, the new reboot is not at the top of my anticipation list.

After all, with the great power that I have to choose what I want to see, I doubt I’ll be blown away by the movie.

I have plenty of other things to keep me occupied and a responsibility to myself to be happy after all.

The Mirror welcomes the opinions and contributions of its readers: Letters to the editor must be timely and submitted by email to info@fairfieldmirror.com or Box AA. All letters to the editor that are appropriate will be published either in print or online. The Mirror reserves the right to edit letters and articles for content, length and grammatical error. Letters should be free of obscenities and personal attacks and should contain correct and factual information not exceeding 500 words.

The Vine

arts, entertainment, features Editor Charles DeFilippo vine@fairfieldmirror.com

Former MET Curator heads Bellarmine and Walsh

By Juliana Sansonettii Contributing Writer

F

ormer Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Dr. Linda Wolk-Simon assumed the role of director and chief curator of the Bellarmine Museum and the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery on Feb. 2.

Wolk-Simon worked at the Met from 1986 to 2011 as a curator of drawings and prints and as an assistant curator of the Robert Lehman Collection, a distinguished collection spanning 700 years of western European art, including many different forms of paintings, drawings, sculptures, enamels and textiles. She described the experience working for the Met as “a dream come true, great honor and privilege.”

Wolk-Simon described her experience working in different departments at the Met and her focus on Italian art.

Her responsibilities were researching collections, display placement, wall colors and answering questions for the public. With the advent of the Internet, she would also update an electronic catalog.

Wolk-Simon looks forward to her work with the Bellarmine Museum and the Walsh Gallery.

“I’m very happy to be working at a museum within an academic community. I’ve always believed that museums have a didactic function. I’m glad that I can work with students now, and I’m excited to be teaching, which is an opportunity that working at Fairfield affords.”

As director and curator, Wolk-Simon is responsible for overseeing and running both the Bellarmine Museum and the Walsh Gallery, while also designing and coming up with exhibitions.

Wolk-Simon went on to explain how she would like to cross the lines between different subjects and art. For example, she thinks it would be a great idea to incorporate things like science and literature as subjects explored in exhibitions at the museum, engaging with academic colleagues in many different disciplines to use such exhibitions and collections as teaching tools.

When asked if she intended to make any changes in the way the museum and gallery are run, Wolk-Simon replied, “I’m starting off with a beautiful gem of a place. The gallery and museum are very handsome. But museums are living entities. They don’t want to be frozen in a moment of time. There are always new approaches and ways to grow.”

She went on to elaborate that there might be opportunities to expand the museum's collection in small ways.

“I’m interested in exploring the topic of the Jesuits and art, which I think is a pertinent topic at Fairfield.”

Wolk-Simon is very pleased to I hope to heighten awareness of the Museum join the Fairfield community.

“I’m so struck by the comcommunity, but on a national level on par mendable and glorious combination of real intelligence and real kindness with other academic museums. on the part of everyone I've met. I’m - Dr. Linda Wolk-Simon very fortunate to be in such a place.”

The Vine

Page 8

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Dana Fuchs hailed as the new Janis Joplin

N

By Charles DeFilippo Vine Editor

ew York City-based vocalist Dana Fuchs is a powerhouse behind the microphone, full of charisma and Memphis soul. Fuchs has achieved success on and off the stage including her performance in the Broadway play “Love, Janis” and for her outstanding efforts as Sadie in The Beatles film “Across the Universe” (2007).

Not only did Fuchs star in the film, but also sang on the platinum-selling soundtrack,

including tracks like “Dear Prudence,” “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” “Helter Skelter” and “Oh! Darling.”

Fuchs portrayed acclaimed vocalist Janis Joplin five to six nights a week on Broadway which stretched her vocal limits. Ironically, Fuchs had been compared to Joplin many times before, but had never heard of Joplin's music because it was not played in her childhood home.

“I had to learn 19 songs in eight days for the play and I remember thinking, ‘Wow! Janis is 25 years old with such a wide vocabulary’ [of musical talent],” said Fuchs. “I couldn’t be Dana when I was on stage, so that would be the end of my inhibitions. If I had the feeling of Janis, why couldn’t I do that with my own music?” said Fuchs.

Fuchs will be kicking off her tour at Fairfield Theatre Company’s StageOne on March 6 at 7:45 p.m. She’s excited to return to “rock out with a listening audience” and describes her music as a “non-religious rock ‘n’ roll church” that will make the audience rowdier than Fuchs first experience in a black church, where people were jumping around singing. Fuchs immediately felt the music extend beyond religion.

“Music celebrates life and that is what I try to do,” said Fuchs. Each performance is “a revival, a place where we can forget about life’s hardships, or embrace them in a beautiful way on stage.”

Florida born Fuchs was the youngest of six and would absorb the musical influences of both her older brother and parents. Everything from Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles to The Beatles, Grateful Dead and Queen would shape Fuchs’ career. Fuchs attributes most of her musical influence to her Florida roots, growing up in a predominantly African-American school and being exposed to funk and soul, in addition to her first grade teacher who would play Donna Summers during class. When Fuchs moved to New York, blues music pushed her voice to new limits.

“At that time all of the blues clubs had the great reputation, not me,” said Fuchs. “I began performing at these clubs three nights a week which forced me to raise the bar. In this style, it is not enough to just look the part. The music has to be raw and authentic. You have to love the music and always think on your toes.”

Fuchs’ tour will travel to Mexicali Live (Teaneck, N.J.) on March 7 and Iridium NYC on March 10, before the band heads west and through Europe in April. At the end of the year, Fuchs plans to record a “deeper and darker sounding record.”

“My music is about life’s trials and tribulations, but this time I want to focus on what made me want to be a singer,” said Fuchs. “The record will feature an Otis Redding tune [which I have played live before] and similar influences. I have to grind it up a bit because I’m a rock ‘n’ roll child,” added Fuchs.

Parks and Recreation takes 'One Last Ride'

By Shauna Mitchell Editor-in-Chief The hour-long series finale of Parks and Recreation aired on Tuesday night after seven seasons of municipal government shenanigans.

Series finales are tricky, but Parks and Recreation really nailed it. The writers of How I Met Your Mother should take note: cheesy, happy endings are the way to go for comedy.

If this season was the epilogue to the series, the finale was the epilogue’s epilogue.

If nothing else, it reassured viewers that the characters we have grown to love were happy and successful to the very last minute of the show.

The finale itself took an interesting (and frankly, corny) approach, as Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the gang go on one last mission before leaving Pawnee: to fix a broken swing on a playground.

As they run all over City Hall, and later, the town, taking all the familiar bureaucratic steps to get the swing fixed, viewers get to peer into the distant futures of each person Leslie touched.

Yes, it’s a gimmicky metaphor for all of the lives Leslie actually affected during her tenure in the Parks Department, but it was a sat-

isfying conclusion, because it was thorough.

Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) both made appearances, and announced that they would be moving back to Pawnee with their two children.

The only character missing was Mark Bendanawicz (Paul Schneider), and to be honest his absence was a plus.

The latest season was unique from its other counterparts in that it only ran for seven weeks, but often aired two episodes on one night.

For that reason, the audience was playing catch-up for a lot of this season: Because it took place in 2017, it allowed writers to get creative with technology and pop culture references, but it meant redeveloping characters.

All of the characters, with the exception of crazy Craig Middlebrooks (Billy Eichner), had moved on from the Parks Department and were, for the most part, thriving in their respective livelihoods. However, the season was not without conflict.

The issues we witnessed this season were big ones, something we haven’t seen much from Parks and Rec, which usually focused on character relationships.

We followed April Ludgate’s (Aubrey Plaza) existential crisis

(something college students can definitely sympathize with), Tom Haverford’s (Aziz Ansari) longing for companionship, and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) overcoming old fears (IceTown, anyone?) to run for Congress.

Perhaps the most interesting story arc this season was the fight and subsequent showdown between Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) and Leslie, which eventually strengthened their friendship.

Leslie, in a commencement speech she gave in the series finale, talked about the good work of public service. She called it “small, incremental change.”

From getting a pit filled in to fixing a broken swing, incremental change has always been the backdrop for Parks and Rec. Perhaps that’s why this show has been as successful as it is: The small plot advancements did not dwarf the strong character development, and in fact they reinforced it.

What began as a spin-off of The Office grew into a series focused on tenacity and fierce friendship. It gave us a diverse cast of main characters who were more than stereotypes, and even turned stereotyping on its head, often addressing racism and sexism in a poignant and funny way.

Parks and Recreation has ended, but it has paved a legacy for

television shows, raised the standard higher. I’m looking forward to finding a new show that meets Parks and Rec’s standard.

The final season’s overwhelm-

ing theme has been moving forward, and that’s what we will do in the wake of the finale.

As Leslie Knope said, “Yes, I’m ready.” So am I.

Contributed under Creative Commons

The Mirror | Week of February 25, 2015

The Vine

Page 9

Oscars 2015: Fifty Shades of Neil Patrick Harris

By Charles DeFilippo Vine Editor

I

f you missed the Oscars this past Sunday there is a lot to catch up on. “How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris hosted The 87th Academy Awards ceremony with enough punchlines to knock you right off the couch.

Harris opened the awards with a heartfelt toast: "Tonight we honor the best and whitest — I mean brightest," joking about diversity. To follow, a large musical filled with film references from Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, Stormtroopers and Roman soldiers, with support from Anna Kendrick and Jack Black, who jumped out of the crowd and began singing halfway through the number.

Neil Patrick Harris was dressed in a variety of dapper suits, as portrayed in his “How I Met Your Mother” character, Barney Stinson. First, Harris wore a black tux and bow-tie and a suave red-suede suit to follow.

Each outfit, or lack thereof, made each moment of the Oscars full of humor and surprise.

The most shocking moment of the awards is when the camera followed Harris backstage where his red robe was caught in the dressing room door. Harris rushed to the Dolby Theatre stage, passing paparazzi and “Whiplash” drummer Miles Teller, who was behind the drum set playing a solo. The Crowd went wild as Harris appeared in nothing but his tighty-whities!

In turn, this scene was paying tribute to “Birdman,” where Michael Keaton, as Riggan Thomson, catches his robe on a theatre door forcing him to walk around Times Square in black socks and his underwear and Teller who starred as a drummer in the Birdman.

Photos Contributed under Creative Commons

Nutrition 101:

By Stephanie Piccolo Nutrition Columnist

Nutrition is important for each and every person, but proper nutrition is even more vital to those involved in recreational athletics. The biggest issue athletes face is large amounts of fluid loss because of increased perspiration, ultimately leaving them at risk for dehydration. It is important for athletes to properly plan out their meals and to make good meal choices to fuel their bodies. When you are exercising at a high intensity, what you choose to eat can greatly affect your stamina and performance. Athletes can plan their meals prior to heading to the dining hall at fairfield.sodexomyway.com, which I discussed in a previous article. The online resources can provide athletes with nutritional information that they can use to plan their meals by seeing what is being served for that day.

For athletes, it is not only what you eat that can greatly affect your activity, but even more importantly, when you eat. Eating before you exercise is actually very effective in improving performance. These meals and snacks should be high in protein and low in fat and fiber. They should be consumed in an adequate amount of time before exercise, but not too soon where they can cause an upset stomach. Also, these foods should be easily digestible. Some examples of proper foods are whole wheat toast, granola and fruit, just to name a few.

During your exercise, proper hydration through fluid intake is key. Throughout your exercise, large amounts of Photo Contributed under Creative Commons

Staying hydrated for the everyday athlete

fluids, specifically water, should be consumed. Sports drinks, such as Gatorade, can also be helpful in replenishing lost electrolytes.

If you choose to eat during exercise, opt for fruits or a snack high in carbohydrates. After exercise, it is vital to replenish your fluid and electrolyte loss to avoid dehydration.

Also, it is i mp ortant t o eat carbohydrates after to reload your glycogen loss and protein to repair your muscles.

As I have stressed, hydration is very important

for athletes. By keeping hydrated, you avoid fatigue and future health problems. For low to moderate exercise, water can satisfy your nutritional needs. For intense workouts that last more than an hour where you are profusely sweating, it is important to replenish your fluid and sodium loss, which can be done through a sports drink.

Page 10

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

The Vine

Let Dre Dress You

By Andrea Butler Fashion Columnist

Hey Stags!

Regardless of how cold it's been outside lately, spring break is still just around the corner. If you're lucky enough to have a trip to somewhere warm and tropical lined up, you'll need to break out those summer clothes! Here are some key pieces you should make sure you have packed in your duffel.

For swimwear, check out online retailer Venus. They have all the same amazing styles as Victoria's Secret, but are not nearly as expensive.

A big floppy hat makes you look effortlessly fancy and chic. The protection it provides from harmful UV rays makes it a practical choice, too.

Maxi skirts are perfect to take you from the beach to dinner on the boardwalk, and roll up easily for convenient travel.

An oversized tank works as a great bikini cover. H&M has a ton of different tanks for under $10 each.

Whether you're spending your break in Connecticut or Florida, enjoy the well-deserved time off!

Love always,

Dre

Contributed under Creative Commons

Album Spoiler: 'Smoke +

Mirrors' by Imagine Dragons

By Andrew DaRosa Album Columnist

I

magine Dragons' second outing. “Smoke + Mirrors,” proves the difficulty of crafting a sophomore album to follow an outstanding first. While sometimes the songwriting formula needs to adapt with the times, the direction Imagine Dragons has taken has proven weak and short.

The album does reach high marks, but it’s hard to ignore the missteps that the band has taken in an attempt to build on their massively popular “Night Visions.” While the formula for including different styles of music worked well for “Night Visions,” it fails for “Smoke + Mirrors” and sounds like a muddled mess at moments. “Friction,” easily the biggest mistake, tries to make itself different with its use of eclectic instrumentation and electronic influence (somewhat reminiscent of System of a Down). It forces the song along, rather than lets it flow melodically.

The title track, “Smoke + Mirrors,” aptly showcases Dan Reynolds vocal prowess, but lacks in the proper instrumentation to back him and falls into a trance that screams 80s love ballad. Speaking of love ballads, the album has a solemn feel to it that wears itself thin at times. In “I’m So Sorry,” Reynolds attempts to pull off a boisterous rock tune that falls flat with sappy lyrics that include: “So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go / you'll never be loved till you've made your own / you gotta face up, you gotta get yours / you never know the top till you get too low.”

It is noticeable that the album falters as a worthy successor to “Night Visions,” but there are instances where the album shows promise and delivers on the premise of being every bit as deserving as its predecessor. One such highlight was “Shots,” which masterfully blends a mixture of cool synthesizers, driving

Contributed under Creative Commons

Book Look:

By Georgina White Book Critic

guitars and Reynolds’s impressive falsetto into an excellent rhythm.

“Gold” feels like it could fit right into the mixed bag of “Night Visions.” The song feels tight and epic without losing its sense of its direction and carries itself properly, minus the awkward introduction.

“I Bet My Life” and “It Comes Back To You” are both impressive pieces in the Imagine Dragons repertoire. Both contain a stadium-esque feel that immediately breathes life into the album with rhythms and profoundly impressive choruses that hook the listener right through the song. It’s hard to listen to this album knowing the potential that this band has in providing their audience with anthems that fill arenas. They are able to write impressive pieces of work, but the vision for “Smoke + Mirrors” ultimately falls through and lends itself to disappointment.

While not a failure, “Smoke + Mirrors” fails to reach its potential, but also leaves listeners with the possibility that with this album will come sweet redemption and hopefully a better third album.

Though daunting in size, this popular book will sweep you off your feet with an unexpected and explosive opening. For fans of Donna Tartt and her popular debut, “The Secret History”, her recent novel will continue to captivate artsy and literary-minded readers. The novel is also already on its way to being adapted to either a television show or film by the producers of “The Hunger Games.” A New York Times Bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner, this book has been deemed the “it book” of 2014 by some and rejected by others who call it a children’s book for adults. My advice is to put the criticism aside and read this book. The author weaves a brilliant story using beautiful language and unforgettable characters. Although it’s 700 pages, you will find yourself deeply entrenched in the novel’s depth and highly crafted level of suspense.

The epic centers on the life of Theo Decker, who has undergone a horrific trauma while visiting

the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his mother. A vicious terrorist attack on priceless works of art and the people inside the museum enjoying them turns Theo’s life upside down as a result of his mother’s death and his survival.

Amidst the wreckage, he spots an old man on the edge of death attempting to speak to him. At his request, Theo wwabsconds with Fabritius’ 1654 masterpiece, “The Goldfinch.” As the novel progresses through his life, Theo moves from place to place meeting eccentric and off-kilter people: a young, welltravelled Russian boy, a reclusive furniture restorer and a charitable Park Avenue family, just to name a few. But what happens to the painting? You’ll be propelled along to find out if he continues to smuggle the masterpiece or chooses another option. The unforeseen events and circumstances that evolve make the reader’s journey worthwhile and rewarding. The next time you’re snowed in and caught up on class projects, delve into this masterfully told tale — you won’t regret it.

The Mirror | Week of February 25, 2015

The Vine

DJ of the month

Page 11

Koala On Campus Eucalyptus For Lunch

Contributed Photo

Name: Ryan Pomarico Grade: Freshman Major: Nursing Hometown: Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. Name/time of show: Intro to Indie Rock, Thursdays from 8-9 p.m Favorite artist, song, album, etc.: My favorite album is “The Money Store” by Death Grips Best concert: Definitely Outkast at Governors Ball last year. Seeing “Hey Ya” live was pretty insane.

Best WVOF moment: When I did “The Kanye West Music Hour” on my web show last semester.

Tell me a little bit about your show: I play mostly indie rock and alternative from the 70s until now. I also mix in some indie pop and rap that I think is really catchy or important.

If you could meet any musical artist, who would it be and why? Probably Carrie Brownstein. Sleater-Kinney is such an awesome band plus I am a huge Portlandia fan.

Faculty author transcends Irish heritage and discovery

By Juliana Sansonetti Contributing Writer

E

nglish professor at Fairfield University and author Dr. Nels Pearson spoke at the downtown bookstore about his new book, Irish Cosmopolitanism, on February 12.

Pearson explained the prem-

Contributed Photo

ise of his book to a crowd of both students and adults. With the help of PowerPoint, Pearson took the audience through his main ideas. He gave brief biographies of the three authors his book is about (James Joyce, Elizabeth Bowen, and Samuel Beckett) and discussed how their works evoked the essence of becoming truly Irish, which involves traveling within and beyond Ireland.

Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all people are citizens of one world. Pearson defines it as an “allegiance to universal humanity above national affiliation.” This idea shines through the works of Joyce, Bowen, and Beckett in that their Irish main characters discover their identity outside of Ireland.

“The coast is a significant symbol in both the book and on the cover,” Pearson explained. “It is a site of departure and an in between zone where you have both Irishness and the world overlapping.”

Irish Cosmopolitanism is

Pearson’s first solo authored book. He has always been interested in the three authors the book focuses on, and he has been fascinated by the debates over cosmopolitanism for many years.

“Gradually the intersection between these interests naturally evolved into a book,” he explained.

Pearson has been working with literature ever since he decided to be an English major his sophomore year of college.

“The further I got into my studies, the more it was clear to me that I enjoyed the research and critical thinking required to produce scholarly writing about literature.”

It is for this reason that Pearson decided to become an English professor, so that he could teach about literature on a college level and “research and produce scholarship in the form of articles in academic journals and other forums.” This, he explained, is an important part of being a professor.

Pearson finds that the students in his Irish literature classes find the subject of his book very valuable.

“In my classes we often discuss the some-

times complex relationship between national and international identity and experience in modern Irish writing, and those are some of the richest discussions.”

Sarah Markham, a senior who attended the talk, wished that she went to more author talks in the past because of how much she enjoyed this one.

“I liked it a lot and thought it was really interesting,” she mused.

After the PowerPoint, Pearson read some excerpts from his book and took questions from the audience.

As he quoted from James Joyce, his voice slipped naturally into an Irish accent and filled with emotion. It is evident that Pearson is extremely passionate about this subject, and this passion shone through in his writing as well.

Pearson is currently working on a new book on the role of water in Irish, English, and Scottish literature.

As a final comment, Pearson wanted to thank his students for giving him inspiration.

He eloquently stated, “Thanks to all my students for giving me the primary reason for pursuing knowledge in my field.”

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2014

Coffee Break

Page 12

COFFEE BREAK

Editor: Allison White

... As Overheard in Barone Compiled By Allison White Coffee Break Editor

“I can’t even leave the dorm because it’s like Antarctica outside.”

“I just told my professor that my laptop flew away so I couldn’t do my assignment.”

Scan the QR code below with a smartphone to read the rest of this week’s overheard quotes!

“Fish Fridays sound a bit frightening.”

“I miss meat already.”

“Barone is definitely my number one bae.”

“I didn’t realize the handicap button was broken until after my head hit the door.”

“Barone brings bountiful burgers … now that’s a tongue-twister.”

“It was a two cups of coffee kind of morning.”

“Losing your StagCard is almost as scary as losing your mom in the grocery store.”

Tweet us your #OverheardBarone comments @FairfieldMirror and be featured next week!

t ’ on

D

Ask Meg

Need horrible advice?

Submit a question to info@fairfieldmirror.com

Dear Meg, Since it is the season of Lent, it is time for me to give something up. I decided to give up my roommate. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make for these next 40 days until Easter.

When I told her, she laughed. However, after she came back from class and saw her bags outside, she didn’t seem too happy. Why can’t she encourage me in my time of sacrifice?

Dear Sacrificing Student,

Sincerely, Sacrificing Student

You have made a courageous choice in your Lenten promise.

Your roommate should be supporting you through this rough time.

Encourage her to put herself in your shoes and tell her to try to understand the sacrifice you are making. Remind her it is only for 40 days. She can totally find somewhere else to dorm.

Always keeping it real,

Meg

Play some...

Sudoku

How to play: Complete the puzzle by filling in numbers one through nine (with no repeats or missing numbers) in each column, row and 3x3 square.

Sports

Page 13

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

x

Because we have witty things to say ...

Patrick Kiernan Sports Editor

Patrick Kiernan, Jennifer Calhoun, Matthew Schneider and Jesse Erickson

The Pacquiao - Mayweather fight Best show on TV right now? is official. Thoughts?

Anyone catch the Oscars on Sunday?

Catch any Fairfield sports over the week?

Favorite video game character?

Pshh, The Walking Dead. Last episode was really good. Carl's still annoying as can be and maybe needs something bad to happen to him but aside from that, I'm content.

No. Not my thing. Next question.

Watched the men's basketball team win a great game on Senior Day this Saturday. Maybe it's a sign of good things to come.

Wow, this is maybe the hardest question I've had to ask myself.

Umm, as a SquareEnix fan, I'll go with either Sora from Kingdom Hearts or Tidus from Final Fantasy 10. I don't care if this answer makes me the nerdiest person ever.

Don't kick me out of 4x5, but I'm gonna say the Bachelor. The music, the pagentry, what a TV show.

Yes. And I want a Lego Oscar. I neeeed it.

Nope.

I'm personally a Yoshi fan. He's by far the best at Nintendo 64 Mario kart. Other than him, probably Zell from Final Fantasy 8. I mean his special attack was Devour. So cool.

Rocky would beat them both.

Definitely Game of Thrones, I love watching Daenarys and Sam kick some butt.

Yeah, American Sniper got robbed.

I saw the men's basketball team play and got the throwback jersey, can't wait to rep it at my intramural basketball games!

The Master Chief or the Arbiter, I can't decide.

Is this a wrestling match??? Or a Mexican restaurant?

Grey's Anatomy is the best TV show that was ever on television ever, but if I had to pick I 'd go with The Bachelor because the girls are crazy and somehow okay with their future husband kissing 20 girls.

I did, it was great and probably the reason why my spreadsheet for Economics is incorrect ... Ellen was still the best host of all time though.

Well, Pat told me to cover a lacrosse game where it torrentially snowed and I was so cold that I had to go and buy sweatpants and $15 GLOVES from the book store... #thankspat

WHO HAS TIME FOR VIDEO GAMES AND THEN ADMIRING VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS?

It's gonna be the greatest fight of all time. So glad that it's finalized. I predict Mayweather will win with Justin Bieber by his side acting like he's important.

I hope Pacquiao knocks him out and then continues to go at him Jennifer Calhoun once he's out. Maybe that can start Executive Editor to be retribution for all the women Mayweather has abused.

Matthew Schneider Assistant Sports Editor

Jesse Erickson Assistant Sports Editor

Your 2014-2015 4x5 Columnists:

Stag Spotlight: Softball's Brianna Levick '15 and Sammy Ruffolo '15 What are your team expectations for this season?

Levick: I think people will underestimate us this year. We’re young, but we’re good. We’re fast, and I think we’ll be good.

Ruffolo: I think we’re going to do pretty well.

We have a lot of freshmen and new legs, and I think we’ll be able to mesh well together.

Do you have a favorite professional team/player?

Who is the funniest teammate?

Levick: Mine is the Yankees, obviously, because of Derek Jeter. Who doesn’t like Derek Jeter?

Levick: Definitely a freshman. Kate Robinson, she’s crazy. She’ll come out dancing to anything.

Ruffolo: I like the Red Sox, but I don’t have a favorite player.

Do you have a favorite softball moment in life?

Have you ever met a professional baseball/ softball player?

Levick: I guess with my summer team. We lost only three games, and it was pretty cool.

Levick: Derek Jeter threw me a ball once because I made a cool sign.

Ruffolo: When I was playing when I was younger, my team won the national championship, so that was pretty fun.

Ruffolo: Miguel Cabrera, but a long time ago.

Ruffolo: Yeah, that was a good one. She’s really funny.

If you couldn’t play softball, what sport would you play?

Levick: I think volleyball looks fun. Sometimes, we’ll set up our own little net and it’s a good time.

Ruffolo: I’ll say volleyball too. It’s indoors.

We play for fun sometimes.

See even more answers at FairfieldMirror.com!

Inside the Sports section this week:

Photos contributed by Sports Information Desk

-Mayweather vs. Pacquiao shaping up to be historic (Page 14) -Ladies narrowly lose last home game (Page 14) -Schnider leads men's team past Manhattan (Page 15) -Women win despite midgame snowfall (Page 15) -Men's basketball wins big on Senior Day (Page 16)

Sports

Page 14

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Ladies narrowly lose final home game

By Alfredo Torres Contributing Writer

After a hot start in the first, the Stags struggled in the second half and fell to Marist at a score of 56-50 on Monday.

The Stags came off a loss at the hands of Siena, and looked to bounce back on their final home game of the season. The team started the game great on both sides of the court, beginning with an 11-0 run through the first 10 minutes of the game.

Fairfield outrebounded Marist and did great at contesting shots, as Marist went 0-5 from beyond the three-point line.

Guard Kristin Schatzlein ‘16 came out the game shooting, and was a big part of the early offense for the Stags, as she finished the half leading all scorers with seven points and added six rebounds.

“I was just really focused on beating Marist,” said Schatzlein. “We always lose by a lot here, so we wanted to make sure that we didn’t lose by a lot. We wanted to obviously win, so I decided in my head that I had to score and be a leader today.”

As the half rolled on, the Stags did a great job of causing turnovers, forcing Marist to commit seven of them by the end of the half.

Fairfield contested and limited shots as Marist finished the half shooting just under 20 percent.

The Stags entered the half with a 12-point lead, ahead 22-10.

“Very happy with [the first half.]

Defensively we played about as well as we could in the first half,” said head coach Joe Frager. “They’re a very, very hard team to guard and I was really happy with our effort. Even though we had a 12-point lead, I thought we had opportunities to stretch it even more.

"We missed some open shots in the last five minutes of the half that could have pushed that lead a little bit more because there’s no way you can hold a team like that down for a full 40 [minutes] the way we did in the first 20," Frager added.

As the second half started, the Stags struggled to score the ball consistently.

Just as Fairfield began to struggle, Marist started hitting shots. They started the half shooting over 60 percent from the field.

Led by Madeline Blais '16, the Red Foxes rallied back to tie and take the lead. Blais finished the game leading all scorers with 24 points, all from the second half, and converting five shots from three-point territory.

“Maddy Blais is a great shooter.

With the way they run offense, she is going to get open,” said Frager. “But then I thought we just had some breakdowns on three or four occasions. I don’t care how good a player is, you really can’t let that player go off for more than 20 points in the second half like she did.”

Marist held a two-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.

“In the final possession we had, we tried to get [Felicia] DaCruz ‘15 to the rim, maybe draw some contact, and she did a good job of that, but Tori Jarosz just rotated extremely well and came up with a big block for them,” said Frager of the final play.

After a couple of fouls by Fairfield to send Marist to the free throw line, where they made four shots and extended their lead to six, the Red Foxes came up with the win 56-50.

After the game, Frager spoke to his team and said. “I was really proud of the effort. I wish we had this overall effort today [against Siena]. I wasn’t really happy with our effort against Siena.

I thought they played their hearts out today and I thought they fought back.

We just talked about better composure down the stretch and I told them I was proud of the effort, and that we just got to get back to work tomorrow.”

Even though the Stags suffered a tough loss, Schatzlein has confidence as they head up north to finish off the last two games of the season and then head to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

“We’ll win both. If we play like we did in the first half, we’re going to beat them by a lot,” said Schatzlein. “I think we can go far in the tournament. I think we can win the tournament.”

ESPN’s Dan Rafael opines, the real reason that Mayweather decided to fight is for the large sum of money he will make.

According to Rafael, the bout “will see Mayweather receive the lion's share of a 60-40 money split in a fight that could gross around $400 million.”

While it may seem laughable that such highly-paid athletes will still try to command as much

money as they can, regardless of their current riches, the money did get the job done, so boxing fans should not care. As long as the fight lives up to the hype, who cares why Mayweather finally gave in?

Speaking of hype, those behind the fight are desperately hoping that this matchup will actually live up to expectations, unlike some overhyped matches in the past.

ESPN’s Nigel Collins discussed this in one of his articles, reminiscing about the match between Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya and how it wasn’t up to par.

“The so-called Fight of the Millennium between Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya turned out to be a dud.

Trinidad won a controversial majority decision in a tedious, tactical match best remembered for what it wasn't,” Collins said.

Will this match be a repeat performance of the Trinidad-De La Hoya flop? Will one of the fighters totally dominate the other, or will both not try their hardest? Both of these eventualities seem unlikely, but anything can happen.

However the match turns out, it should be one for the record books. You’d better start saving up now if you want to watch it, though, as it has been reported to cost $89 for standard definition viewing, and $99 for high definition viewing.

Contributed by Sports Information Desk

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao shaping up to be historic

By Matthew Schneider Assistant Sports Editor

One of the biggest fights in recent boxing history is set to take place on May 2. Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated boxer who is arguably the best fighter in the sport right now will take on Manny Pacquiao, another highly skilled boxer who is also in the conversation as the best current boxer.

The fight has been discussed for years now, with Pacquiao constantly asking Mayweather to fight him. As such, Mayweather finally acquiescing comes as a bit of a surprise. ESPN Analyst Skip Bayless is of the opinion that Mayweather was shamed into accepting Pacquiao’s challenge since refusing to fight him for so long made him seem cowardly.

“Finally, after Manny Pacquiao campaigned for this fight for five long years.

After Manny offered every compromise on Earth for five long years. After Manny publicly dared and dared and dared Floyd may or may not weather to take this fight. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. finally quit running because he was shamed into taking this fight,” Bayless said on ESPN First Take.

Though shame may not necessarily be the cause of Mayweather accepting the challenge, it is still strange that he held Contributed under Creative Commons out for so long, only to give in. Perhaps, as

This week in sports: Thursday, February 26 Women's Basketball at Iona, 7 p.m.

Friday, February 27 Swimming and Diving at ECAC Championships, All Day Baseball at William and Mary, 4 p.m.

Men's Basketball at Canisius, 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 28 Men's Lacrosse at Stonybrook, 12 p.m.

Men's Tennis at St. Peter's, 1 p.m.

Women's Lacrosse at Lehigh, 1 p.m.

Baseball at William and Mary, 2 p.m.

Women's Basketball at Manhattan, 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 1 Women's Tennis at St. Peter's, 1 p.m.

Baseball at William and Mary, 1 p.m.

Men's Basketball at Niagara, 2 p.m.

Contributed under Creative Commons

Sports

THE MIRROR | Week of February 25, 2015

Page 15

This weekend in Fairfield lacrosse: Schnider leads men's team past Manhattan

By Travis Day Contributing Writer As a result of another approaching snowstorm, the Fairfield’s match against Manhattan College was rescheduled and played this past Saturday at Rafferty Stadium. The Stags, coming off of a 10-6 victory at Providence, comfortably routed the Jaspers 15-4 on the shoulders of a five-goal game from Charlie Schnider '16 in the late-morning matchup.

“I'm really proud of Charlie,” head coach Andy Copelan said. “He's a fantastic player, and today was just his day. He was there to make plays for his team when they needed them.”

A first-period hat trick from Schnider placed the Fairfield offense, whose defense also

held Manhattan to only four shots and forced five turnovers. Schnider scored the first of the game in just over two minutes on an assist from T.J. Neubauer '16. Senior Tristan Sperry found Schnider less than two minutes later for his second goal, giving the Stags a 2-0 lead. Neubauer got on the stat sheet again with a goal of his own at the 8:07 mark. Manhattan answered right back with their first goal of the game from Nick Stutler, just seconds later to make it a 3-1 game. Fairfield would take a 4-1 lead into the first intermission.

The Jaspers struck first in the second period with Alex Abiog firing home an unassisted goal at the 12:38 mark. Manhattan nearly found the back of the net again with Jimmy Rogers' shot, ringing off the left post with six minutes left

Patrick Kiernan/The Mirror

in the half. Fairfield's offense found their on- the fourth period, holding onto the ball and switch and would begin to run away with this in putting up another trio of goals before the final the late minutes of the first half. Schnider found horn sounded. Senior Joe Rodrigues scored his the back of the net again at the 4:42 mark, with second goal of the season at the 13:23 mark beSperry making a phenomenal move around fore Dave Fleming '17 would put home an unthe side of the net, adding one more unassisted assisted goal of his own just over two minutes score just 30 seconds later. Another goal from later to make it a 14-4 game. Content to run out Sperry with 1:06 to go in the period would push the clock, the Stags would grind out the final minutes, ending with reserve Cameron Parker the Stags lead to 7-2 going into halftime.

Copelan's side held the advantage in shots '15 scoring his first career goal with 1:48 to play in the game, solidi(25-11) and ground balls fying the final 15-4 (17-10), while also forc- I'm really proud of score line. ing nine Jasper turnovers. Charlie [Schnider '16.]

Schnider scored Manhattan was stifled He's a fantastic player, five goals on eight into barely any possesand today was just his shots while dishing sion in the Fairfield half. day. He was there to “We pressed them make plays for his team out an assist. Senior McLinden hard,” said Copelan. “We when they needed them. Colin also contributed an wanted to play a lot of ofimpressive six assists fense to allow ourselves -Head Coach Andy Copelan of his own, while to get into a rhythm.”

Schnider continued his run in the sec- Neubauer tallied three goals.

“I am proud of the guys and I think it was a ond half, finding the top right corner of the net again, being a minute and a half into play great performance by us today,” Copelan said. to push the lead to 8-2. Freshman Drew Mur- “We just stayed our course and focused on playray fired home an unassisted goal just over 30 ing Fairfield lacrosse today, which is tough, seconds later with 12:50 on the clock. Manhat- gritty and winning the middle third of the field.”

Fairfield held an impressive 50-14 advantan would finally get on the scoreboard again, courtesy of Kevin Cox to make it a 9-3 score- tage in shots, forcing 20 saves from Manhattan line. It continued to be a game of runs for the compared to only four saves forced from Brad Stags, owning possession and answering with Nordstrom '18. The Stags also owned the 50-50 three more goals before the Jaspers would come battles, holding a 38-18 advantage in groundclose again. Senior Drew Federico found the balls, while forcing 20 total turnovers from the bottom left corner of the net on an assist from Jaspers.

“We're sitting at 2-1 right now, but the good Jake Knostman '17 at the 8:30 mark. Neubauer would score two more of his own before Jasper thing is that we have gotten progressively better Nick Strano pulled one back with 2:51 to play in each of the first three games,” said Copelan. in the third period. That was the last the Jaspers “And that's why you play them.”

Fairfield improves to 2-1 on the season, would see of the back of the net and the Stags would take a comfortable 12-4 lead into the last while Manhattan drops to 0-3. The Stags head to Long Island on Saturday, Feb. 28 to take on period of play.

Fairfield began to slow the game down in Stony Brook at 12 p.m.

Women win despite midgame snowfall

By Jesse Erickson Assistant Sports Editor Not even the snow could slow down the women’s lacrosse team as they defeated Rutgers University 11-10 on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Rafferty Stadium.

After being down 0-4 in the first 20 minutes of the game, Fairfield’s Colleen Reynolds ‘16 and Julieanne Mascera ‘16 changed the pace of the game for the team by putting some points on the board.

After a goal by Reynolds with 14 minutes remaining, Mascera posted back-to-back goals for the Stags, tightening the gap between the score to just a goal.

“During games, it’s hard to get that momentum,” said Mascera.

“And once you get that scoring momentum, it’s just easier to keep it going, so it was exciting getting the two goals.”

Fairfield’s defense was able to keep the Scarlet Knights out of their zone for the remainder of the half, allowing Jenna Fuchs ‘16 and Alex Fehmel ‘17 to score another two goals for the team. At the buzzer, the Stags were finally ahead 5-4.

At the conclusion of the first half, Fairfield outplayed Rutgers in shots per period (12-10), saves per

period (5-4) and even walked away with six draw controls opposed to Rutgers’ four.

At the start of the second half, Rutgers was determined to tie the game and get ahead. Just 20 seconds into the game, the Knights netted an unassisted shot to tie.

“Rutgers was able to play pretty well on their fast breaks,” said Mascera. “Going into the game, we knew they were a faster team and we knew they were going to take that to their advantage and

we saw that when they came out of halftime when they scored a goal in under a minute.”

Unsatisfied with the goal, Fairfield’s Captain Jamie Leone ‘15 fired back and scored her first goal of the half for the team, putting the Stags ahead once again 6-5.

Constantly attempting to get ahead, Rutgers edged the Stags and tied the game once again with another goal.

With the game tied 6-6, the snow began to fall even harder

which proved to be a problem for the Knights, but an advantage for the Stags.

“Rutgers has an indoor facility, so it definitely gave us a step above, but you just have to play the different aspects,” said Mascera.

“So even though people were slipping and falling, as an attacker, you have to beat out the defender and if they’re on the ground, you just have to keep going.”

As Rutgers’ defense struggled to keep up with Fairfield’s attack,

Jesse Erickson/The Mirror

the team was able to score another two goals, one by Scarlett Sulliman ‘17 and another by Leone. The two-goal lead was the biggest lead the team had seen yet in the game.

Rutgers scored another goal and the two teams played neck and neck. The game was tied 9-9 with nine minutes remaining before Fairfield’s Maeve Quinn ‘16 netted a goal, putting them ahead 10-9.

However, knowing how Rutgers had been playing the entire game, Leone fought to get another goal for the team, and that’s exactly what she did.

Leone scored her third goal of the game, which ultimately won the game for the team. With Fairfield ahead 11-9, Rutgers netted another goal, but wasn’t able to walk away with the win.

“We have so many strong players on the field and with the attacking end of the field, you’re comfortable with anyone having the ball and especially with Jamie Leone,” said Mascera. “Everyone is always really confident when the ball is on her stick, so it’s nice to always have her backing you up on the field.”

The women’s lacrosse team now holds a 2-1 record thus far in the season, and will travel for their first away game to play Lehigh University on Saturday, Feb. 28.

SPORTS 16

@MirrorSports Fairfield Mirror Sports

Sports Editor: Patrick Kiernan » sports@fairfieldmirror.com

Week of February 25, 2015

Patrick Kiernan/The Mirror

Men's basketball wins big on Senior Day

By Alfredo Torres Contributing Writer

After a streak of 10 straight losses for Fairfield men’s basketball, the Stags finally added a game to the win column. The Stags defeated the St. Peter’s Peacocks by a score of 57-43. Guard Tyler Nelson ‘18 erupted for his career-high with 26 points and five rebounds.

“He’s been an awesome kid to coach, he plays the right way,” said head coach Sydney Johnson. “He’s good, number one; [He] plays the right way [and is] extremely coachable. He’s just a fantastic kid and we’re looking forward to the next three years with him.”

Before the beginning of the game, as part of Senior Day, guard Steve Johnston ‘15 was honored for his hard work and dedication throughout his career as a Stag.

Along with his teammates, Johnston took the court one final time to conclude his

career at Webster Bank Arena. Both teams started the game aggressively and looked to move the ball. Through the first minutes of the game, both defenses were showing physicality and hustle. The Stags made it a priority to limit shots in the paint by defending the ball well and preventing any inside looks. The Stags struggled to score early in the game, but were able to draw fouls and shoot from the free throw line to keep the game close. They finished the half making nine out of 11 shots from the line.

“Everybody in the league knows [we’ve been] struggling to score, so if we can get free throws and easier opportunities then it helps us out. There’s no mystery we haven’t scored as many points as we liked and free throws helped us today,” said Johnson.

Although the Stags did a great job on defense, St. Peter’s was finding ways to knock down three-pointers as they finished the half with four, three more than Fairfield. As the half rolled on and the game continued

closely, Mike Kirkland Jr. ‘16 got hot. He would constantly get into position and convert in the paint. He also added a couple of shots from mid-range. Kirkland led all scorers at the half with nine points.

“Mike has shown some things, especially in conference play, where he’s a standout player,” said Johnson.” I think he was up for the challenge. He got going - great body language out of him - and we just continued to try to add things to his plate, in terms of low post scoring and passing, and he’s been doing all that.”

Fairfield finished the half strong, leading 27-26.

At the start of the second half, the Stags continued to push the ball offensively and contest all shots out of the hands off St. Peter’s. On defense, Malcolm Gilbert ‘15 came off the bench to contribute. Gilbert blocked five shots in the second half and was a vital reason as to why St. Peter’s struggled to score.

“Awesome. Just awesome. He just wiped out so many shots,” said Johnson of Gilbert’s play.

The home team increased their lead behind the stellar play of Nelson who added 19 points in the second half, including three shots from behind the three-point arc. Fairfield finished the half on a 7-0 run, where St. Peter’s failed to score in the final minutes.

The Stags scoring outburst in the second half followed by great defense led them towards victory as the Stags took the win.

After an important victory for the Stags, Johnson said, “It’s huge. We’re in this to compete and win. For the most part, we’ve been competing, but we haven’t won enough games. I hate losing, I hate it. Finally winning and having that pay off for us is a really good feeling and something we can build on certainly when we head to Buffalo.”

The Stags hit the road to finish off the season against Canisius and Niagara.