THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of September 30, 2020
Vol. 46 Iss. 3
COVID Cases Continue to Climb on Campus By Danielle Sondgeroth tives.” News Editor Self-testing may be safer for the This past week of health professionals testing yielded 19 new, involved, but it’s positive tests. 27 students likely that a large are isolated on campus in portion of students the Conference Cenare not performter. Nine students have ing the nasal swab been cleared to return correctly. It’s easy for to campus. Fairfield still students to not insert remains in Code Yellow, the swab properly or keeping the regulations far enough up their and policies previously nasal cavity, which implemented last week in could lead to skewed, place, including the new and even false, inter-residential guest results. The nasal policy and the “grab and swabs used for the go” dining requirement. tests are considerably Some students smaller than swabs seem troubled by the used in hospitals and rise in COVID-19 cases urgent care centers on campus over the past Data compiled from the Fairfield University COVID-19 Dashboard by Danielle Sondand aren’t able to be few weeks. In fact, some geroth. inserted as far into students believe that Fairsaid. “There are colleges and universities across the nose. field isn’t doing enough to America that test 100 percent of the student Concerns about Fairfield’s COVID-19 curb the spread of the virus, despite its current population each week, and Fairfield has the safety measures seem to be skyrocketing due efforts. funds for that.” to the spike in cases over the past couple of Schools all over the country have been Kathryn Kalaigian ‘21 is similarly worried weeks. Students are frustrated at the behavior testing a larger portion of the student populaabout the fact that not every student has been of some that has contributed to this spike. Most tion each week, with some schools even testing tested yet. of the cases on campus can be traced back to the entire student body. At Yale University, “I do wish there was more frequent testisolated incidents and specific groups of people both undergraduate and graduate students are ing on campus. I know many students who still that have spread the virus to their roommates required to get tested for COVID-19 twice per haven’t been tested, even though we’ve been here and friends. COVID-19 cases have also been week, especially if they are living in high-densifor a month now, which is a bit concerning. We prevalent in sports teams across campus, since ty dorms. Junior Brianna VanDermark is concerned shouldn’t have to seek testing elsewhere in order players come into close contact with each other to rid ourselves of our anxieties,” she said. during practice and often spend time together about the amount of students that are randomly Aside from the small sample size tested outside. tested each week. “As for the increasing number of cases, “I think Fairfield needs to be testing more each week, students are also concerned about the methods used to test students. Instead of I think that it’s partially everyone’s fault,” said of the student population,” she said. “[Other experienced nurses and doctors administering Drake. “I personally believe that all athletic schools] are testing every student each week. I tests, students are required to self-administer activity should be halted because it is the teams understand that’s expensive, but from a public their own COVID-19 nasal swab. This is a cause who are spreading the virus. Because of their health standpoint, it is a better way to track the for concern, especially for Anwen Su, ‘21. lack of masks during practices and when they’re COVID-19 spread.” “[Self testing] bothers me because a lot hanging out with each other, the virus is easily VanDermark is not alone in this sentiof people probably won’t do it right. Nobody caught and spread to other students. It makes ment. Kaitlyn Drake ‘23 is also wary of Fairwants to have something shoved up their nose, the most sense to shut down sports so that field’s low testing numbers. and we’re not trained in testing,” Su said. “It’s everyone else can be safe.” “I personally think Fairfield isn’t testing good that we have twice weekly testing, but we enough. We need to have, at the very least, 30 should have professionals testing us. Because of Read COVID on Page Three percent of the population tested each week,” she self-testing, we likely have a lot of false nega-
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COVID-19 Guidelines
Opinion Fairfield must strengthen its COVID-19 regulations to keep students safe. Page 5
Art of the Yard Sale
Vine Oh my goodness do we have some super cool yard sale adventures! Page 8
Professionals in the Pandemic
FUSA Poses New Parking Petition By Catherine Santangelo Editor-in-Chief “I’m currently unemployed and my work study documents are delaying me from working on campus. I commute everyday and only have enough money for gas and food at school since I don’t have a meal swipe. It’s been hard to get a job, and it’s not getting easier with my school schedule being busy and the pandemic. Also, all of my classes, except for one, required a book of some sort, and I have yet to buy all of them. It’s already difficult to manage so having to add the parking pass to that would be extremely stressful. It needs to be reduced,” said an anonymous commuter student. COVID-19 has negatively impacted so many people financially, and this is just one example of how it has impacted a Fairfield University commuter student. The Fairfield University Student Association sent out an email on Sept. 22 about a petition that has been formed by FUSA, the Commuter Students Association and the Beach Residents Advocacy Group to request that the Department of Public Safety and the Parking Office reduce the parking fee for commuter and beach students. The current fee for a parking pass on campus is $150, and the petition requests that it “be reduced by at least half for commuter and beach students for the 2020-2021 academic year.” In less than 24 hours of releasing the petition, it had already received over 800 signatures. Due to the effects of COVID-19, many people’s source of income has been seriously and negatively impacted, and as the petition says, “the price of the parking pass fee is intensifying their serious financial circumstances.” Many expected the price of parking to go down due to COVID-19, but it has remained at the same price. “This fight about reducing the parking fees has been ongoing since before I got here,” said Katherine Samonek ‘23, a commuter peer assistant who was involved in the creation of the petition. “It is gravely disappointing that this ongoing issue has continued to affect commuter
students, financially and mentally, with no attempt to resolve.” Samonek and others involved in this petition have been in communication with DPS and the Parking Office to attempt to reduce the price, but they found out that DPS and the Parking Office do not actually have control over what the price of the parking pass is, nor do they have the authority to change it. However, they did mention two arguments as to why the price cannot be reduced. The first reason that DPS and the Parking Office gave was that parking is not mandatory for students, and therefore students can choose to not have their cars on campus, which will save them from spending the money on a parking pass. Samonek and other commuters were not pleased with this reasoning. “Parking has never been optional for commuters,” Samonek said. “This is a necessity for us, not a luxury. To attend the classes we have already paid for, we need to pay an additional fee to get to them.” As the petition also states, “commuter and beach students, who have no other choice but to pay this fee in order to attend classes on campus, are being unfairly burdened by this price.”
Sports Deputy director of Athletics shows that sports professionals can excel during the pandemic. Page 16
Catherine Santangelo/The Mirror
Read Parking on Page Two
Parking lot B-2 is outside of the Barnyard Manor townhouses.