THE MIRR R Independent student newspaper
Week of February 12, 2020
Vol. 45 Iss. 15
Getting Candid with the Candiates: FUSA Presidential Election
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Groundhog Day
By Lexi Thimble Editor-in-Chief With election day two short weeks away on Feb. 25, the nominees for the next Fairfield University Student Association President and Vice President have officially been announced. The three tickets consist of: Noelle Guerrera ‘21 for President running alongside Ali Haidar ‘21 as her Vice President, Vincent Gadioma ‘22 for President with Tobenna Ugwu ‘22 as his Vice President and Sean Crosby ‘21 for President with Angelica Miceli-Kaya ‘21 as his Vice President. They will spend the days leading up to the election party at The Levee speaking with students, participating in the Presidential Debate on Feb. 18 and articulating their campaign platforms. Each of the candidates spoke with The Mirror about these platforms, and the issues that are important to their identity as nominees. Sustainability was a major topic brought up by all three tickets, with the candidates aligned on their need to help Fairfield contribute positively to the environment. “I think Fairfield does try its best currently [with sustainability], but I think they can do even better. Specifically, I want to get designated cardboard recycling areas in every trash room. In addition, I hope we can get metal straws as the gift for first-year Convocation next year,” said Gadioma. Other sustainability ideas from Gadioma included increasing other recycling efforts and conserving electricity by relying on natural sunlight on sunny days in buildings like the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, where many of the walls consist of glass windows. Crosby and Miceli-Kaya stated via email that they, “want to take action in making the FUSA office paperless by the time we graduate as a first step into saving our planet. We also want to find a conclusive reason as to why both trash and recyclables are disposed of in the same truck, therefore negating the purpose of distinguishing between trash and recyclables in the first place.” Guerrera and Haidar concurred, agreeing that they felt environmental issues were becoming an increasingly important topic of concern among students. “[Students feel a] need for our university to be sustainable and to be thinking about the future and protecting our environment,” Guerra said. “That was something this year I’ve spent a lot of time working on with administration, but it’s no easy feat. It’s hard to change a university and how it runs, there’s a lot of variables that need to be considered, and it’s a huge undertaking and that needs a lot of dedication and time to make sure Fairfield is sustainable.” Sustainability is actually just one of Guerrera and Haidar’s five-step campaign platform, which includes student life, Tully improvements, advocacy, genuine passion and sustainability, or Photos taken from noelle.and. STAGS for short. ali, sean_angelica2020 and vinny. Haidar explained the idea of genuine passion further. “Given the experience we’ve had on FUSA and on non-FU- toby2020 Instagrams SA activities, we really are dedicated to the student body and to Fairfield University as a whole,” Haidar said. “This is seen through our actions, through our words...we really want to continue the differences we’ve made over the last three years as we enter our senior year. That’s something I think separates us from a lot of tickets running, that we have the experience under our belt but also the vocation and passion for it, so there’s nothing fake about it.” The candidates also spoke to their leadership experience on campus, both in terms of the roles they have held and the skills they took with them from those roles. Continue Reading Candidates On Page 2
Opinion Groundhog Day is a silly but fun and carefree holiday. Page 5
Women’s Basketball
Sports Appreciation for Fairfield Cheer shouldn’t be sidelined Page 8
92nd Oscars
Vine The 92nd Academy Awards wins and loses when showcasing diversity. Page 16
DPS Delights in Dodgeball for a Cause Second annual tournament raises money for the Special Olympics By Danielle Sondgeroth Contributing Writer Music blared from Alumni Hall on Saturday, Feb. 8, as members of the Fairfield community came together for the DPS Dodgeball Tournament. This was the second annual tournament and it aimed to raise money for Special Olympics Connecticut. Ten teams gathered on the basketball courts for a single elimination tournament following a few round robin games. The teams came from all over the Bridgeport areas, representing the Fairfield and Bridgeport police and fire departments, the correction department of the Greater Bridgeport Area, DPS and Fairfield University’s G-Force Security unit. As more and more teams were eliminated, cheers filled the room with every win paired with a combination of handshakes, butt slaps and high fives. Players became more competitive as the tournament became more and more passionate, with some people throwing up their hands in frustration of letting out audible sighs and grunts of disappointment. Aside from these occasional outbursts, the games remained jovial and full of camaraderie as teams laughed with each other and joked around. Each round was a mad melee of flying dodgeballs, with some hitting the surrounding stands with fervor. The teams came with a variety of creative names, including “Cell Block 6” and “Hard Time Targets” for the teams from the
Bridgeport Correctional Center, and “Average Slows” from Partners Café. Jim Simonelli, a Fairfield University DPS officer, was one of the organizers of the event. “Myself and Officer Melanie Kaninski kind of spear-headed the event and we’re the ones that put it together,” he said. “This event will raise over $5000.” Simonelli said he was proud of the event and excited that the Fairfield community was involved, including the local businesses that sponsored it in conjunction with the University. The final bracket was a best of three rounds, pitting the Fairfield Fire Department against “Cell Block 6.” Players launched dodgeballs at each other to the pulsating beat of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.” A brief but heated argument broke out between the two teams over a player who believed he wasn’t out after getting hit in the leg with a ball. However, after only a minute, the teams let it go and continued on with the game. In the end, the Fairfield Fire Department won after winning two rounds in a row. They now have won both of the annual tournaments and Danielle Sondgeroth/The Mirror plan to continue their winning streak according to one of The dodgeball tournament took place at Alumni Hall on Feb. 8. the team members. At the very end of the tournament, the MC went up from the crowd, the teams headed to the Levee for some announced that the event had raised well over $5000 and after a cheer well-deserved lunch.