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The Reflection of Fairfield
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A Fairfield University student remains in critical condition after being badly burned in a car fire. Part-time student Justin Hervey, 23, of Armonk, N.Y., was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital last Thursday evening after he and his Chevrolet Tahoe caught fire near Tunxis Hill Park in Fairfield, Conn. According to a Connecticut Post article, a Little League baseball game was in progress when coaches and parents noticed Hervey on fire near the field. Hervey had pulled into the parking lot when the car started having trouble. Coaches immediately rushed over and tried to extinguish the flames. This quick thinking was “heroic and should be applauded,� said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Bisson in the article. Hervey was still conscious when emergency personnel arrived on scene.
As of late Tuesday night, Hervey’s condition remains critical, according to Bridgeport Hospital spokesperson John Cappiello. Hervey’s sister, Stephanie Hervey ‘13, said that her family is hoping for the best. “He’s still in critical condition,� she said. “He will be for a few months, but . . . he’s pulling through right now so hopefully he will continue to do so.� Word about Hervey’s condition spread to the University community the day after the incident. In an email released to the community on Friday, Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Pellegrino wrote: “We are monitoring his situation closely and University staff members have extended support to his family, who is with him at this time.� Pellegrino also offered students and faculty counseling options. Because the accident is currently under investigation, little
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information about the cause of the fire is available, according to a Fairfield Fire Department official. However, in a Hartford Courant article, Sergeant Suzanne Lussier, a
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Fairfield Police spokesperson, said that the fire originated in the passenger compartment of Hervey’s car. Stephanie called Hervey the
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By Martin O’Sullivan Editor-In-Chief
SEPTEMBER 11| PAGE 3
Jeaninne Nocera/The Mirror
“shining star� of the family and “the best brother I could have ever asked for.� Hervey’s family asked that people continue to pray for him.
After months of debate and protest, full-time faculty members of Fairfield University have reached an agreement on the future of their collective salaries and benefits. On Friday, Sept. 6, faculty members gathered in the Kelley Center for a General Faculty meeting. During this congregation, they voted on the most recent Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the 2012-13 school year. The MOU serves as “a contractual document that specifies all faculty compensation,� as stated by Dr. Irene Mulvey, professor of mathematics and former secretary of the General Faculty. One hundred forty five faculty members voted in favor of the new MOU, with 70 voting against it and two citing abstention. With an approximate 2-1 vote, the MOU is considered to be approved by the General Faculty. Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, a member of the administration, expressed positivity towards this latest occurrence. “I was pleased to see that the faculty voted to accept the MOU that was the result of collegial conversations between elected representatives of the faculty and appointed members of the administration,� he said. Although some faculty members did not agree with the new standards laid down by the revised MOU, the general disapproval is less than that of the previous MOU
meeting held on April 27, in which 185 faculty members voted against the version in review at the time. So why was it rejected in the first place? In MOU of the 20112012 school year, the administration promised to maintain the faculty’s compensation rank within the 95th percentile. Since its introduction in 1994, this standard of compensation is meant to serve as a means of economic security for faculty members. In a previous Mirror article, Mulvey described this benchmark as a “standard of our profession since it compares our compensation with other schools in our category.� In the original version of the 2012-13 MOU, the administration cited its intent to distance itself from this benchmark, which lead to its unanimous rejection by a General Faculty vote. Fitzgerald explained his understanding of this situation: “The past few years have been difficult for most every member of the Fairfield University community - faculty, staff and students. We have all sought to prioritize students, allocating additional financial aid to those whose family financial situations deteriorated significantly. We also limited the tuition increase this past year to a figure below the rate of inflation.� In the aftermath of the rejected MOU last April, faculty members and students gathered on May 9 to
MOU | PAGE 5
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