Mirror - Vol. 31, No. 26 - April 20, 2006

              WEEK OF APRIL 20,2006
Vol. 31, Iss. 26 - 20 pages
FREE - Take One MThe _ RROR WWW.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.COM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Photo by Katie McCarthy/ Illustration by Marl Heenan
RASOR/UNITE officials remain tight-lipped
BY ASHLEY PHAN
Mechanical bull. Giant inflatable twister.
Big kahuna waterslide.
What's missing from this? Kegs.
Tuesday night, the ongoing rumor of a
non-alcoholic Spam Jam was confirmed by
several members of RASOR/UNITE, a group
that represents the interests of the townhouse
and apartment residents.
According to the RASOR/UNITE mem-bers,
no one agreed to sign for a temporary
liquor license, which is required in order to
provide alcohol at the event. Two people over
the age of 21 must sign: a signer and a backer.
Last year, Fred Fretta, the former townhouse
coordinator, signed the license.
Michael Dominello '06, president of
RASOR/UNITE, refused to confirm or com-ment
on the alcohol situation. According to
Dominello, the group has a budget of $ 16,000
to fund the event, alcohol excluded.
SEE "FUERS" ON P. 6
The Incredible Inflating Grade
AVP comments on higher ed. epidemic
BY ANDREW CHAPIN
Earning undergraduate "straight A's" is
a problem that some critics see as a potential
threat to the higher education system.
"There is something inappropriate in the
spectacle of mature adults showering young
people with unbelievable praise," said Har-vard
professor Harvey Mansfield, a national
crusader against elevated grades. He made
the comment in the April 6, 2001 Chronicle
of Higher Education article entitled "Grade
Inflation: It's Time to Face the Facts."
Mansfield feels that teachers refuse
t o acknowledge their leniency
because they do not want
their students to think
negatively about them.
"Grade inflation
has resulted from the
emphasis in American
education on the notion
of self-esteem," he said.
However, Fairfield University Academic
Vice President Orin Grossman said that
Mansfield's assessment is not applicable to
Fairfield.
"Unlike the prestigious Ivy League
schools, which tend to hire purely on research
skills, we really do hire faculty members who
care about teaching," he said. "That is one
reason why our grade inflation has been less
pronounced than at those schools."
However, Grossman could not deny the
existence of grade inflation in the academic
world today.
"The number of students getting A
grades has dramatically increased at most-schools,
while at the same time, professors
complain that students don't write as well
as they used to or that they don't study as
SEE "ALMOST" ON P. 5
Conan over Cronkite?
Students turn to infotainment
BY KATE MCGANN
The Duke lacrosse scandal. The im-migration
problem. Bush's plummeting
approval rating.
There are countless issues that are
making news and affecting our world
every day.
But a recent poll by the University of
Toledo indicates that college students may
not be taking the news - or their primary
news source - very seriously.
In a story from the U-WIRE, students
were found to depend heavily on entertain-ment
TV for their news.
"With little or no time to read the
newspaper or watch CNN during the day,
many students tune in to shows such as
'The Daily Show,' The Colbert Report'
or 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' after
the rush of the day subsides," according
to the story.
It also insinuates that college students
may have "fallen into a dangerous trend
of using such humorous shows as their
primary source of news."
Politics Professor John Orman dis-agrees.
"There is no cause for concern in our
democracy. Many older adults are watch-ing
these shows too," he said. "If the survey
showed 90 percent of all young people only
get the news from the entertainment shows,
then we might be in trouble."
Fairfield students, however, do not
SEE "STUDENTS" ON P. 6
Katie McCarthy/ photo illustration
Please recycle: An increasing number of students are turning to alternative sources,
such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," for their news.