Mirror - Vol. 30, No. 16 - February 03, 2005

              GOING TO THE JON
A first-person account of
a trip to The Daily Show
Page 14
DASTARDLY DISEASES
The horrors of STDs
and how to protect yourself
Page 15
The
1 airfield University's Student Newspapei
Sodexho workers rally against cut in hours
BY MEGAN J. MAHONEY
Some Sodexho workers and
their union have inflamed an al-ready
tense situation by protesting
an annual reduction of work hours
as other employees maintain that
their treatment is fair and good.
While already fighting the
reduction of hours that went into
effect Jan. 16 and preparing to
negotiate a new contract, the
workers themselves are divided
while within the tense triangle of
Fairfield University, Sodexho and
the worker's union, Local 217.
"We have heard Sodexho
is going after benefits at other
shops," said Joe Milorv, a Sodexho
employee and vice president for
Local 217 union steward. "That is
something that worries us work-ers."
In an effort to spread support
for the fight against the hour cuts,
some employees have recently
been wearing white stickers on
their shirts with black lettering
which read, "We deserve the right
to earn a living."
A petition was also circulated
which read, "As members of the
Fairfield University community,
Chris Donato/The Mirror
"We deserve the right to earn a.living": A Sodexho worker speaks to concerned faculty and students
about the impending cut in hours at a meeting in front of Jazzman's Cafe last Tuesday.
we deserve the right to earn a liv-ing,
free health insurance and to
care for our families."
On Thursday, Jan. 20, MilOrv,
union organizer Monica Bunton,
and 35 to 40 employees marched
up Bellarmine Hill to present uni-versity
President Rev. Jeffrey von
Arx with a three-page petition.
"We were told by the secre-tary
that this wasn't the way to do
it, we couldn't see von Arx, and
to come back with only one or
two people," said Milorv. "So, we
went back the next Tuesday with
a few people but we were told we
still weren't doing it right."
"I believe von Arx was there,
but the secretary said he was indis-posed,"
he added. "We asked to set
up a meeting but she said we had
to submit a formal letter and only
one person."
However, not all employees
share Milorv's fervor. In fact,
some not only do not want to join
in the fight, but they also disagree
with the reasons behind the fight
itself.
"Most of the union employees
do not want this fight. Sodexho
treats us very well and so does the
university," said a Sodexho union
employee in an anonymous letter
to The Mirror. "Most employees
are guaranteed 40 hours a week, so
it only affects a few people.
"The union is doing this only
because our union contract is up
this year and they want to create
havoc on campus," they added.
According to university of-ficials,
no benefits will be lost
and all workers who have been
guaranteed 40 hours a week will
retain those hours.
"The two main fights are the
cutting of hours and the contract
negotiations," said Bunton, the
union organizer for the workers.
"The fact is that both are bumping
up against each other now."
SEE "UNIVERSITY" ON P. 6
Is Fairfield's campus too open:?
BY KELLY SHEEHAN
You drive through the front
entrance of Fairfield University's
campus almost every day without
a second thought. There usually
isn't someone there who stops
and questions you, but you're
glad they don't. In fact, you find it
a little annoying when the Public
Safety officer in the booth does
ask for your StagCard- it's your
school, and your semi-permanent
home, after all.
But when there isn't a Public
Safety officer patrolling the gate,
have you ever wondered who
could wander onto Fairfield's
campus? According to Director
of Public Safety Todd Pelazza,
an officer is posted at the main
entrance of the university and the
exterior gates are secured every
day between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
"This is done to have greater
control of who is coming onto
campus with vehicles at night,"
James Scholl/The Mirror
Is it enough? Although Public Safety ensures all gates on campus
are under close watch , some students still feel unsafe.
said Pelazza.
But in 2002, CNN's helicop-ters
swirled above the university's
quaint campus, showing the na-tion
what happened during broad
daylight when Patrick Arbelo '01
strolled through the unguarded
gates and held a class of students
hostage in Canisius, claming he
had a bomb.
"Security is extremely in-consistent
when it comes to their
policies at the gate," said Kaleena
Bello '06. "At times, they require
everyone to have an ID in the car
and refuse entrance because of
this, while at other times, which I
have witnessed, they have let cars
SEE "STUDENTS" ON P. 9
Mike's heads to The Levee
BY RYAN BLAIR
Mike's Pizza, a popular local
restaurant and long-standing tradi-tion
of Fairfield's students, will be
opening a pizzeria in The Levee,
the university's seldom-patronized
campus bar.
"I couldn't be more excited
than to have Mike's Pizza here;
it's something we've been trying
to do for years," said Matthew
Dinnan, associate dean of students
and coordinator of the effort,
as he announced the agreement
at a press conference Tuesday
afternoon.
"We're really looking forward
to this," said Bobby Giagkos of
Mike's Pizza. "We tried to do this
last year and the year before. It's
great that it's finally happening."
The move-in will be com-plete
by early March, according
to Dinnan.
Part of The Levee in its cur-rent
form will survive the revamp.
While the pizzeria will be owned
and operated by Mike's, the bar
will continue to operate under
the management of the Office
of Student Life and University
Activities.
Under the agreement, Mike's
will be open from 11:00 a.m. un-til
midnight seven days a week,
and the bar will be open seven
days a week from 4:30 p.m. until
midnight.
Other features of the new
campus dining venue include
eat-in and take-out options, the
same menu as the original res-taurant,
and the acceptance of
StagBucks.
Also, The Levee will be look-ing
to hire four or five new workers
to cover the hours of operation,
which will essentially double from
the previous number.
Dining dollars will not be
accepted at Mike's since they are
part of the Sodexho system, but
StagBucks will be.
SEE "LEVEE" ON P. 4