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University Hosts #HopeLivesHere Event
By Andrew Murphy Staf Writer
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Over ffy students gathered around the Stag Statue at Fairfeld University on the evening of Tursday, March 25 as part of the #HopeLivesHere suicide awareness and prevention campaign. Staf from Campus Ministry, Counseling and Psychological Services and the Student Health Center organized this event, leading a candlelight vigil in honor of those who lost their lives to suicide. “Tonight is about reminding people that there is hope, that they matter, and that we are with them,” said Mark Celano PhD, a psychologist with Counseling and Psychological Services. Campus Minister Katie Brynes began the evening with prayer. With Celano speaking next on the importance of this vigil, and the initiative in general. Suicide remains the tenth leading cause of death worldwide, leaving about 800,000 victims annually, and the second leading cause of death amongst those 15-24 years old. Celano spoke about how the feeling of hopelessness contributes more to suicide than any other factor. He also emphasized how just by being there for somebody, a person can help alleviate this feeling. Students in attendance received green wristbands that say “Fairfeld U Cares” and “#HopeLivesHere”. Tese wristbands, just like the green ribbons tied around the trees in the center of campus, serve as a reminder that people struggling with depressive or suicidal thoughts are not alone. Melina Calle, a Post-Doctoral Fellow from Counseling and Psychological Services, concluded the event by reading the names of victims that attendees asked to be recognized. One of those victims remembered was Julia Ryder ‘13, who took her life while on-campus during her sophomore year.
Photo contributed by Melina Calle
Students at the #HopeLivesHere event organized by Campus Ministry, Counseling & Pyschological Services and Student Health Center.
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FUSA’s First-Ever Sustainability Week Comes to a Close
By Madison Gallo Head News Editor
By Sydney Weis Contributing Writer
The Fairfield University Student Association hosted its first ever Sustainability Week beginning on Monday, March 22 and ended on Friday, March 26. When FUSA President Vincent Gadioma ‘22 and Vice President Tobenna Ugwu ‘22 ran for office in Spring of 2020, they identified sustainability as a major part of their campaign platform. Coming into office, they identified three key ways they can tackle the issue of how to make Fairfield more sustainable. The first of the three points is advocacy. To fulfill this, Gadioma and Ugwu have worked closely with the Campus and the Faculty Sustainability Committees to “ensure that the University has sustainability at the forefront of every major decision,” according to Ugwu in a statement to the Mirror. Their second point was to “amplify the work and voice of students and groups on campus who are passionate about sustainability.” The last point aims to change campus climate around sustainability. Sustainability Week combines all three of these points, but focuses mainly on changing the campus climate regarding sustainability. “This week, we hosted both in-person and virtual events, and raffled off reusable water bottles to all of the attendees,” Ugwu said. He continued by saying, “We worked in partnership with the Fairfield University Art Museum to host a bird drawing and painting competition, where students had the chance to draw birds that were local to the town of Fairfield, either from a catalog provided by FUAM [Fairfield University Art Museum] or by going outside to draw a bird in nature.”
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Te next steps for students who were unable to participate in the initial lottery were emailed to afected students on March 23. Tis stated that a supplemental lottery would open on March 23, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. and close on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. But it went on to state that, “only groups of four or eight are valid to select housing in the Supplemental Lottery.” Te Mirror reached out to the Ofce of Residence Life about the situation. Meredith Smith, the associate dean of students and director in the Ofce of Residence Life said that this wasn’t a unique situation, and that there is a supplemental lottery and a post-lottery process built into the schedule each year. For the groups participating in the secondary lottery options, they can either stay together in their original groups and “be placed in housing as more spaces become available” or reformat to ft in the open spaces on campus. In the March 15 email, Residence Life stated that groups that remained together and entered the waitlist did run the risk of being split up due to lack of availability. According to the On Campus Housing Lottery Booklet for 2021-22, specifcally for the class of 2023, there were 55 four-person living options, 69 fve-person living options, 52 six-person options and 2 8 options for groups of eight. However since Class of ‘22 selected prior, these numbers were subject to change. Sophomore Caroline McConville is one of the students who was notifed her group would be unable to pick in the initial lottery. “It was honestly really disappointing when we were emailed only four days before picking that our group was too large and splitting up or adding would be our only option,” McConville said. She added that, “we just wish communication was sooner and more transparent with the fact there were so many groups and we were told so soon to when we were supposed to pick — our excitement for a townhouse was torn away.” Smith stated that it just happened that, “Tis year, the fve-person and six-person confgurations were the most popular with more groups entering the lottery than we have units available.”
She goes on to reiterate the point that, “All juniors and seniors who entered the lottery will have housing next year.” Sophomore Kayla Brosnihan who was also unable to participate in the initial lottery said, “If the number of housing options and students was already known by [the Ofce of Residence Life], they should have informed the six-person groups they needed to split during roommate selection versus four days before actually picking.” Some students in groups who were able to participate in the initial lottery also commented on the selection process this year. Sophomore Giulianna Gentili stated, “I’m so excited that the lottery went well for my group, but it’s disappointing that not all of my friends were able to live close by.” She continued, “I think the changes in group numbers made it difcult for everyone to get a situation they’re happy with.” Sophomore Carly Manzi echoed Gentili’s statements. “I’m really glad the housing lottery worked out in my favor, but [the Ofce of Residence Life] should have been more clear about the number of housing available,” Manzi said. Te room selection process for supplemental housing will take place Friday April 9 at 9:00 a.m. and will “continue until all housing is selected.” Several students cited concerns with class size during the housing process. Sophomore Kaitlyn Capone, who was also part of the group that could not participate in the initial housing selection stated that, “[Te Ofce of Residence Life] is very descriptive with housing information, but should have been more clear with communicating exactly how many houses were available, especially since the Class of 2023 is bigger than the previous years.” Smith said she and the Ofce of Residence Life do not foresee class size being an issue and that they “have carefully planned for this contingency.” Te school opened Barnyard Manor in the Fall of 2019, and is working on adding a third block to this area that opens next Fall. Junior Caroline Kavanagh was unable to participate in the initial housing lottery last year when she was a rising junior. “My group and I felt confdent that we were going to get a good number because of the dedication we had to our Build-a-House project,” Kavanagh said. “However, we were all a little disheartened when we did not get Build-a-House.” Te Build-a-House Program is an opportunity for upperclassmen to create their own living and learning community with the establishment of their own thematic townhouse or apartment. Additionally, any groups accepted to be part of the Build-a-House program are given priority during the picktime process of the housing lottery, according to the Housing Lottery Booklet that states, “Seniors BuildA-Houses/Seniors will receive the best individual priority lottery numbers, followed by the Junior BuildA-Houses, and then the junior class.” Afer her group was not accepted as one of the Build-a-House groups, they did not receive a lottery number and had to enter the supplemental lottery. Her group chose to split up to get another lottery number. “As far as [the Ofce of Residence Life] is concerned, the communication on their end was subpar,” Kavanagh said. “We had to send several emails to get a straight answer, and we had to call [the Offce of Residence Life] to confrm we would get a townhouse at all.” She said they “were ensured they would get a townhouse in the supplemental lottery,” but that “there weren’t any townhouses lef” when her pick time came about. Now Kavanagh lives outside the gates of campus, in a campus-owned house on North Benson Road, the same road the University is on. “Don’t get [me] wrong, I liked the way everything worked out,” Kavanagh said. “But we wish that [the Ofce of Residence Life] communicated with us a bit better about our situation.” Students who want to further discuss the lottery and any other concerns with on-campus living for the 2021-22 year should contact the Ofce of Residence Life at residencelife@fairfeld.edu or 203-254-4215. Tere they can schedule a time to meet with a Central Staf member to further discuss issues, questions, and concerns.
- Caroline McConville ‘23
