THE MIRROR Student newspaper
Week of February 19, 2014
Vol. Vol.39, 38,Iss. Iss.18 23
www.fairfieldmirror.com @fairfieldmirror The Fairfield Mirror
About 80 students and faculty packed the presentation room in the Aloysius P. Kelley Center to capacity on Tuesday, Feb.18 to listen to Tom Dewolf and Sharon Morgan give a presentation on race.
Putting slavery in perspective generations later By Angela Sammarone Copy Editor Tom DeWolf and Sharon Morgan arrive at Richmond, Va., their last stop on a road trip through 21 states spanning 6,000 miles. Outside the Manchester Docks on the James River, DeWolf wants to show Morgan the Slave Trail, which he saw two years earlier with colleagues from Coming to the Table. But Morgan, appearing instantly disturbed, refuses. She expresses her horror, mentioning the darkness of the canopy of trees
above, the blood that had been shed on the very ground she would step on. Morgan’s discomfort was palpable, but she would go and partake in what would be another stop of her healing journey from the trauma of the legacy of slavery. “I look through the tunnel of time and recoil at the absolute agony of the people who were brought to this place, stripped of their humanity, and reduced to beasts of burden,” Morgan said of her experience at the Slave Trail. DeWolf, a white male and descendant of the largest slave-own-
ing family in US history, and Morgan, a black female and descendant of a line of slaves from both sides of her family, compiled their travels, dialogue, opinions and hardships in their coauthored novel, “Gather at the Table.” DeWolf and Morgan underwent a three year journey, chronicling their experiences together as the son of a slave trade and daughter of slavery, animating their story for Fairfield students and faculty at the jam-packed Aloysius P. Kelley Center on Tuesday night. Pictures, film clips, road trip footage and an-
imated reenactments of their time spent together brought the dialogue of race to the forefront of everyone’s mind as the audience listened to the authors’ “meaningful platonic relationship with someone of the ‘other’ side.” Sophomore Yenny Rua said, “Reading the book beforehand, it was powerful seeing the clips and pictures they provided. It brought their story to life.” Freshman Tyler Paci agreed with Rua, and said, “It was great how they were able to incorporate all backgrounds into their story
and make it so everyone could make a personal connection, not just if you are black or white.” Before DeWolf and Morgan even met, they each expressed their own interests in genealogy and discussions about racism. Morgan grew up in Chicago, though her family is from the South – Mississippi and Alabama. In 1969, the year her son was born, Morgan first became interested in genealogy. “I wanted to find out where I came from and provide READ
RACISM ON PAGE 4
Fairfield.edu is still a work in progress By Robert Hagstrom Assistant News Editor
Senior Julian Focareta hits a rail at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association N.J. Conference final regular season competition held at Hunter Mountain during the weekend of Feb. 8.
INSIDE
READ
SKI TEAM BRINGS EDGE TO FAIRFIELD ON PAGE 16
NEWS:
In the three weeks since its launch, the new Fairfield University website has shown features that have strongly differentiated it from the older, more familiar website. A Fairfield Mirror poll of 62 votes showed that since its release, 52 percent of students like the new website as opposed to 48 percent that don’t. The website cost over $200,000, which will be paid over three years, according to Catherine O’Donnell, director of marketing for academics and admission. The new website launched on Jan. 24 after around a year of planning and articulating by the university faculty and staff who hired two outside website development companies to complete the project. One of the main features of the new website is that it is now mobile friendly. A central aspect the university
OPINION:
wanted to have with the new website, O’Donnell said was to be “compatible with all mobile devices.” “I am happy with it. I think it’s a lot quicker and easier to navigate and find what you are looking for,” said Alex Morgan ’17. “It’s a better presentation of Fairfield online.” The planning for the new website started in the fall of 2012, according to O’Donnell. She said the university put out a Request for Proposals where faculty, staff, administrators and a steering committee searched for six companies to lead this project. “It is definitely a new outlook. It is revitalized and much more modern,” said Keniel Brown ’17. “It seems more attractive to look at and you can still find everything you need on it.” The two companies that were chosen, 160 Over 90 and Terminal Four, were essential in helping Fairfield release the new website. A central reason behind the new website, according to O’Donnell, was
THE VINE:
that it was time for a change. “Our university had outgrown the old website,” she said. Before making the transition to the new website, the older one was in place for around five to six years, said Deirdre Bennett, assistant director of student affairs communications. According to O’Donnell, 160 Over 90, a company that had previously worked with other higher education institutions along with Nike Tennis, Mercedes Benz and American Eagle, among others, headed the design element of the website. Terminal Four was responsible for the infrastructure of the website. The company “hosts and holds the content of the website,” O’Donnell said. O’Donnell said that 160 Over 90 designed the website to correlate with the Fairfield community. They based it on intellectual development, personal enrichment, and a sense of community. But their work with Fairfield isn’t over yet. Read MOST on Page 3
SPORTS:
Professor profile: Dr. Jay Valentine
Attacking ‘privilege’ reifies differences
Fulbright scholar recalls protest in Egypt
Schneider: update on US hockey
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