Mirror - Vol. 30, No. 21 - March 17, 2005

              WEEK OF MARCH 17,2005
Vol. 30, Iss. 21-20 pages
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The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Fairfield man arrested for townhouse burglary
BY STEVEN M. ANDREWS
While most Fairfield University stu-dents
were relaxing at home or soaking in
the sun last Wednesday, a 21-year-old man
was arrested after allegedly throwing a rock
through a townhouse window in a brazen
attempted burglary.
Public Safety officials suspect that Rich-ard
Rosario, of Fairfield, was responsible for
many of the recent burglaries on campus, due
to the similar break-in method.
Rosario has been charged with second-degree
burglary, attempted second-degree
burglary, criminal trespass and possession
of drug paraphernalia.
The arrest came after a Public Safety
officer heard the sound of breaking glass at
roughly 10 p.m. on March 9 in the area of
townhouse blocks 1 and 7.
Following the source of the noise, the
officer confronted Rosario, who fled on foot,
according to Associate Director of Public
Safety Frank Ficko.
A Fairfield Police detective joined
the chase, which Rosario led off campus
through Round Hill Road onto Mill Plain
Road, where the officers lost track of him.
Westport Police were contacted and they
brought a police dog to the scene.
Using a backpack and jacket Rosario
dropped during the pursuit, the dog picked
up the scent and led officers straight to
Hunter Road, where Rosario was hiding in
the back of an unlocked car.
A syringe and spoon was found in his
jacket, according to the Connecticut Post.
Rosario has been charged with burglary
for breaking into a townhouse the previous
evening by throwing a rock through a window
and stealing three laptops, according to Ficko.
Fairfield police recovered two of the laptops
after executing a search warrant. The laptops
are being held as evidence, but Ficko expects
they will be returned after the investigation
and any possible trial is completed.
SEE "PUBLIC" ON P. 7
LUCK OF THE DRAW
Katie McCarthy/The Mirror
Take your pick: RAs guide a group of townhouse hopefuls through housing decisions
at Tuesday's sophomore pick night. For a related story on roommates see page 17.
Constitution passes despite low turnout
BY STEVEN M. ANDREWS
After months of preparation,
rewrites and edits, the Fairfield
University Student Association's
new constitution finally came be-fore
the entire undergraduate class
for final approval on March 3 and
passed by a vote of 128-9.
The constitution, which makes
sweeping changes to the student
government's structure, as well as
simplies and clarifies the rules, was
voted on by less than five percent
of the student body. However,
those who created it do not see this
necessarily as a problem.
"On the bright side, most
people tend to come out and vote
when their government isn't fairly
representing them, or when they
disapprove of what is going on,"
said FUSA's Vice President of
Senate Brett Ritterbeck '05.
"I view the low voter turnout
in such a way that the students are
pleased or at least content with the
way they are being governed, and
they put their trust in us to do what
we have to do in order to represent
them," he added.
SEE "FUSA" ON P. 4
Res Life offers RAs
study abroad option
BY GREGORY HILL
Thinking about becoming a
resident assistant but want to go
abroad? Can't decide whether to
work as a student teacher or have
an internship?
A recent change in the RA
application process allows stu-dents
to partake in a position
as an RA one semester while
participating in the study abroad
program, student teaching or in-ternships
the other semester.
"I am highly concerned
about maintaining and getting
higher quality RAs," said Laura
Cantrell, assistant director of
Residence Life.
Of the 91 applicants, 48
positions need to be filled and
five applicants wish to go abroad,
according to Cantrell.
Of the 19 returning RAs,
two wish to go abroad.
"I do not think a slight
change in the staff will strike
discord," Cantrell said. "This
year for various reasons, we
have changed five RAs during
the year. We are looking to hire
the most qualified students first
and foremost."
Last semester, two RAs
resigned or were dismissed from
their positions in Residence Life
staff.
During winter break, three
more RAs resigned from the de-partment
for personal reasons.
According to Cantrell, the
Residence Life department was
concerned with how students
might react to an RA swap mid-year.
However, this was weighed
against the experience and guid-ance
of an RA who studies
abroad would give to the floor.
"Over half of the students
changed this year with the study
abroad program," she said. "With
that much movement, the entire
community altered and having
RAs who could understand the
changes a student feels going
abroad and returning is important
to that population."
The current agenda is to
have year-long RAs on freshmen
floors in Jogues, Regis and Cam-pion.
If students are swapping
for study abroad, internships or
student teaching, they have the
possibility to work in Kostka,
Claver, Gonzaga or Dolan.
"I would not want the entire
building staff to change," she
said, "but one or two staff mem-bers
would be wonderful. They
could help the students apply to
study abroad, prepare to travel,
or even in the process of adjust-ing
back to Fairfield,"
Cantrell sees the change
as an opportunity for RAs who
have studied abroad to help
sophomores prepare for the
study abroad process and juniors
undergo it.
SEE "CURRENT" ON P. 6
LUCK Of THE IRISH
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