Mirror - Vol. 32, No. 14 - December 14, 2006

              WEEK OF Decqrfaer 14,2006
Vol. 32, Iss. 14 - 16 pages
FREE-Take One MIRROR WWWFAIRFIELDM1RR0R.COM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Photo Illustration by Mari Heenan/ The Mirror
Cunliffe on doorstep ofMLS draft
BY TOM CLEARY
For Alex Cunliffe '07, leading the men's soccer team to
the NCAA tournament was the main goal this season. Now,
after accomplishing that goal, he's looking to reach a personal
goal: playing professional soccer.
Playing in the pros has always been a dream for Cunliffe.
When the senior soccer player received the news that he had
been selected to participate in the Major League Soccer (MLS)
player combine, that dream was suddenly closer to reality.
He will now have a chance to prove to the 13 MLS teams
that he belongs in the league.
The mid-fielder, who led the Stags in scoring this year,
was honored to have the chance to compete against the nation's
top college players.
"Being invited to the MLS combine is a huge honor for
SEE "CUNLIFFE" ON P. 5
Gay students navigate
mix of acceptance and
ignorance at EU.
BY JAMES NGUYEN
As a gay student, senior Michael Willis feels that there
is no hostility towards him, but there is some tension when
there is discussion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual andTransgender
(GLBT) topics.
Yet, Fairfield did not make the list of the top 100 schools
offering the friendliest climate for GLBT students as pub-lished
in a book by The Advocate, a widely popular source
of information for the gay and lesbian community.
"I might talk about sexual orientation in political discus-sion
but I never really openly talk about me being gay because
it shouldn't be an issue amongst friends and peers," said
Willis. "A strong majority of the people here are not hostile
and [are] rather friendly. On occasion, they might improperly
use terms such as 'gay' or 'queer' but that doesn't mean.they
are, for the large part, unfriendly."
Director of the Center for Multicultural Relations Larri
W. Mazon says that even the use of such improper terminol-ogy
should not be tolerated.
"The threat of violence, although subtle, is minimal on
this campus," said Mazon. "It's our responsibility as adults
of this campus to take a tough position on mistreatment.
Period."
Mazon feels that increasing acceptance of the GLBT
students parallels the development of discussion groups
among the straight community.
"I don't think this campus is GLBT unfriendly," said
Mazon. "But there is a level of ignorance where the idea
of sexual diversity that has not been fully processed by the
straight community."
An example of such an opportunity for discussion will
soon take place as of the recipients of the diversity grant
award plan on conducting campus-wide survey research on
attitudes towards GLBT individuals.
SEE "EU." ON P. 4
Condom distribution sparks debate throughout campus
BY ANDREW CHAPIN
World AIDS Day was a sweeping success
on campus, but on Friday, Dec. 1, pamphlets
were not the only prevention material dis-tributed.
Members of Dr. Renee White's AIDS in
America class handed out condoms and dental
dams on the main level of the Barone Campus
Center, forms of artificial contra-ception
generally frowned upon
by the Roman Catholic Church.
Fr. Michael Doody, direc-tor
of campus ministry, felt that
AIDS prevention on campus was
not a justifiable reason to hand
out contraception.
"Do I agree with everything
the church says?" Doody asked.
"No, I have some issues with
what the Church says, but I'm not
going to pass out rubbers outside
COMMENTARY
CONDOMS ON
CAMPUS:
PREACHING
SAFETY OR
HYPOCRISY?
PAGE 12
the cafeteria."
To Doody, it wasn't so much the prin-ciple
of the issue but the Catholic ideals of
this university.
"We are a Roman Catholic institute; we
are an academic institute; we are the Academy,
open to ideas and the exchange under the aus-pices
of Roman Catholic Church," he said.
However, Elizabeth Otter '09, a member
of Dr. White's class, felt that the decision to
hand out contraception on campus
was supported by the ideals of the
University. Otter was responsible
for obtaining the contraception
through Planned Parenthood in
Bridgeport.
"It is very clear in the (mis-sion)
statement at many different
times that our University's mission
is to 'Foster in them (students) ethi-cal
and religious values and a sense
of social responsibility," she said.
Otter felt that AIDS
awareness qualified as an
ethical issue.
"I believe that HIV/
AIDS education is an ethical
issue and I feel, especially
after taking the AIDS in the
U.S. class, a deep sense of so-cial
responsibility to educate
my fellow students about all
ways that HIV/AIDS can be
avoided," she said.
Meanwhile, White, felt
the issue at hand raised an
important question for the
University.
"How can a university
allow for academic freedom while sustaining
its main tenets, philosophy and mission?"
she asked.
White, though, felt that understand-ing
the facts is essential in dealing with the
problem.
Katie McCarthy/ The Mirror
Wrap it up: rubbers rub administration the wrong way
"I do think that it is important to identify
what research indicates and whether research
is both valid and reliable," she said. "Empiri-cally-
driven research shows that condom use
SEE "VON ARX" ON P. 5