Mirror - Vol. 30, No. 11 - November 18, 2004

              The
Contributed photo
The aftermath: A Dattco bus bringing seniors home from 200 Nights became lodged under an overpass on the FDR drive. The bus, which
had already been in one accident during the trip home, was on the cars-only highway illegally.
200 Nights bus wedges under overpass
BY ASHLEIGH B. EGAN
The already rainy night was made even
more dismal for a number of Fairfield Univer-sity
students who were on one ill-fated bus on
the way home from 200 Nights on Friday.
The bus in question got lost in Harlem,
hit a Honda Civic and then hit an overpass on
FDR Drive, a car-only roadway, on its way
home from the event in Manhattan.
Confusion spread amongst the 50 to 60
students on the bus following the accident on
FDR Drive.
"The bus driver tried to put the bus in
reverse and the ceiling of the bus was crack-ing,"
saidAmy Gasiorowski '05. "People were
popping open emergency exits and getting off
the bus onto the road."
Gasiorowski also said that the bus driver
did not appear to call dispatch after the bus
hit the first car.
The New York Police Department re-sponded
to the accident and tried to get
students back on the disabled bus, which was
now blocking the roadway.
Many students on the bus called Fairfield
University Public Safety.
Michael Lauzon, assistant director of
Public Safety, said that at approximately 1:30
a.m. they received a call from a male student
saying that the bus was lost. Around 1:45
a.m. he spoke to a female student who said
the bus had gotten into the first accident, and
Public Safety received a call around 2:20 a.m.
from a student reporting the accident with the
overpass.
One female student who was on the bus
said that she called Public Safety, and she
received a confused response that made her
think that the Public Safety department did
not believe her.
Lauzon's response to this claim was that
there was confusion, and that no one really
knew what was going on right after the ac-cidents.
He said that Public Safety received
at least 50 phone calls that night concerning
the bus accidents.
Dattco is to blame in the eyes of many
students.
SEE "ONE" ON P. 2
Getting a
Fairfield
education
later in life
BY JOCELYN POPOVICI
Three days a week, Louise
Dobson commutes from Westport to
New York City to pursue a graduate
degree from the Columbia Univer-sity
School of Journalism. Dobson,
who graduated magna-cum laude
from Fairfield University in 2003,
is fulfilling her lifelong dream of
becoming a magazine editor.
But it hasn't been easy for this
English-born, 41 year-old divorced
mother of two boys (ages 10 and
12). Dobson earned her degree
while holding down a part-time job
with a publishing house in West-port,
where she still works today.
"It's been a challenging and re-warding
experience," Dobson says.
"At times it has been a struggle to
keep up with the course load and
manage a family, but my children
see the value I place on education
and are very proud of me."
Lorena Morales, 30, is cur-rently
taking two daytime under-graduate
courses and one online
course at Fairfield, while working
part-time, six days a week, as the
art advisor and general manager of
the Southport Harbor Gallery.
The daughter of Columbian
immigrants, Morales is pursuing
her passion for art while fulfilling
her prerequisites for a bachelor's
degree and then a graduate degree
in art history.
SEE "ADULTS" ON P. 60S
No butts about it: Great Campus Smokeout arrives today
BY ALICIA CUTTONARO
The annual Great Campus Smokeout will be held today,
Thursday November 18, from noon to 8 pm in the lower
level of the BCC for those students who want to quit, know
a friend who smokes, or just want some additional informa-tion
about cigarette smoking.
Despite the wealth of information available about the
health risks associate with smoking like heart disease, lung
disease, addiction and cancer, cigarette smoking has decreased
only slightly over these years, according to Jeanne DiMuzio,
director of the Office of Wellness and Prevention.
Currently, about 15 to 18 percent of Fairfield students
identify themselves as smokers.
"I smoke because I enjoy the taste and feel of the ciga-rette,
and I think it is sexy and attractive," said Joanna Cella
'07. "I love the feel of smoking a cigarette, whether it is
after a meal or while I'm enjoying a couple of cocktails."
According to a recent study conducted by the Journal
ofAmerican Medicine Association, cigarette use is increas-ing
on campuses nationwide in all subgroups and types of
colleges.
Tobacco Free U, an organization that examines cigarette
smoking among college students, estimates that nation-wide
35.8 percent of college students smoke cigarettes.
Whether there are blizzard-like conditions, sub-freez-ing
temperatures, or torrential downpours, packs of students
can be seen lighting up outside their dorms.
"I must say that the only time I hate being a smoker is
in the winter," said Cella. "I have to put on 30 different
layers just to enjoy a cigarette, but those are things I have
to deal with while I'm a smoker."
SEE "ADOPT" ON P. 4
Katie McCarthy/Xhe Mirror
Up in smoke: Today is the annual Great America*,
Smokeout, where smokers attempt to kick the habit-fcrf
good.