Mirror - Vol. 05, No. 02 - April 30, 1981

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■ ""It Mm Volume 5, No. 2, April 30, 1981 ^%
FAIRFIELD ^^ FMRFIELD UNIVERSITY, FAIRFIELD, CONN. 06430 MIRROR \^^^^ Incorporated 1977
Administration Takes Stand
Against Haig Protest
» P ™f *ijr*t
by Lauren Pennisi
and
Carl Gustafson
A University statement was
released in response to the peti-tion
written by the Jesuits at Fair-field
University, which appeared in
The Mirror (4/24/81). The statement
was given to The Mirror by Murray
Farber, Director of Public Rela-tions.
According to Mr. Farber, the
statement is the combined efforts
of Father Kelley and Mr. Farber. To
date, Father Kelley has refused di-rect
comment on the Haig issue,
except for his memo to the Aca-demic
Council. The University
statement appears here in its en-tirety.
"There is a minority viewpoint
on this campus expressing op-position
to the scheduled ap-pearance
by Secretary of State
Alexander Haig. Such opposition
is almost inevitable when a public
figure is invited to speak. Sin re a
university should be the center for
diversity, it can withstand
divergent views.
"Sec. Haig is to be honored for
his lifetime of service to the
United States. Presenting him
with a degree does not mean that
the University community neces-sarily
agrees with every action he
has taken during his long career of
public service nor is it an auto-matic
endorsement of his policies
of the Reagan administration.
"As a University, we do have the
responsibility to treat Mr. Haig
with the dignity and the courtesy
that the office of the secretary of
state deserves.
"There have been several peti-tions
concerning Mr. Haig deliv-ered
to the Office of the President
of Fairfield University. One was in-itiated
primarily by members of
the Politics Department; and they
have been informed that they are
free to absent themselves from
the commencement if their con-sciences
so dictate.
"The most recent one was sub-mitted
by 26 Jesuits. It should be
noted that only 9 are full-time em-ployees
of the University. The
other signers are associated with
the Prep School, are employed in
off-campus ministries or are gra-duate
students. They, too, are free
to absent themselves from the
commencement.
"All of those with dissident opin-ions
are urged strongly to re-member
that commencement day
is a special event in the lives of the
graduates and their parents. They
have worked hard for this day and
all concerned with commence-ment
are asked to remember them
in any actions or statements that
are planned. The graduates de-serve
to receive their diplomas in
an atmosphere that reflects the
traditions and warmth of Fairfield
University."
The University plans to stand by
this statement, without any per-sonal
comment by Fr. Kelley. Con-cerning
the decision rendered by
the Academic Council, the Univer-sity
has yet to issue any formal
statement.
>■- %~~
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With the food service contract up for renewal, this recent Easter special
dinner may be Macke's last. [Photo by Duane Bailey]
Macke Status
Remains Uncertain
Fr. Mooney Dispels
Commencement Rumors
by Lauren Pennisi
A recent interview with Father
Mooney, S.J., Academic Vice Pre-sident,
revealed that many of the
rumors circulating campus about
graduation have no basis in fact.
Mooney stated that each senior
will receive ten tickets. If more
tickets are required, seniors
should see Dean Vincent Murphy
and they will be provided.
According to Father Mooney, it
has never been suggested to con-duct
graduation services indoors,
therefore, mass and commence-ment
will be held on Bellarmine
lawn. Mass will be held in Gonzaga
auditorium only if it rains. Com-mencement
will be held in the
gymnasium only if it rains.
Father Mooney stated the main
concern is insuring graduates
have the people they want at com-mencement.
He feels that a lot
more people will be attending
graduation than in the past. He
also said many people in the Fair-field
community would attend just
to hear Haig speak. Since there
are 7,000 seats available, tickets
are to be used as a means of con-trolling
the amount of people. All
guests must possess tickets to be
admitted on campus. If people
without tickets were to attend, it is
possible there would not be seats
for people with tickets. Father
Mooney said, "Graduation is main-ly
for the seniors and their
parents."
The security department will
maintain a strict policy of check-ing
guests' tickets as they arrive
through the gates. In the past this
policy has not been as stringent.
All security officers will be re-quired
to undertake this task. Ac-cording
to Mary McCullough,
Assistant Director of Security, the
entrances to be used on gradua-tion
depends on the weather. All
entrances will be open if bad
weather prevails. The Northwest
entrance on Round Hill Road and
the two entrances on North Ben-son
Road will be used in good
weather. McCullough also stated
that security measures are not
finalized. Campus security has to
coordinate its activities with the
Fairfield police department and
the State Department, which will
be on campus the weekend before
graduation to determine the secur-ity
measures they want im-plemented.
Father Mooney stated that the
media present at graduation will,
be seated on a side section to
eliminate interference with com-mencement
services. There will be
a set timefor the press to take pic-tures
of Mr. Haig before and/or
after commencement.
Father Mooney stated that there
are future meetings to finalize
commencement plans. Dean Vin-cent
Murphy will hold a meeting
for all seniors on May 6th in Gon-zaga
Auditorium to hand out in-vitations,
tickets, caps and gowns,
and to organize the line up. Any
other information concerning
graduation will also be discussed
during this meeting.
Father Mooney concluded by
saying the graduation committee
is "trying to make it as orderly as
possible. It is an unusual gradua-tion."
by Elise Casagrande
During the past several weeks
rumors have been circulating con-cerning
the University's upcoming
decision on whether or not to re-tain
Macke food service or switch
to another company.
The process of investigating
and screening other food services
began in March at the suggestion
of Faifield University's auditors.
The process enables the Universi-ty
to decide if the quality of food
and service we receive from
Macke is comparable to that of
other services. Seven companies
other than Macke have given writ-ten
proposals to the University.
They are: SAGA from California,
ARA from Philadelphia, Custom
Foods from Boston, Lachman
from Long Island, Preferred Food
Service from New York, Scisco
from Bridgeport, and Sellers from
Massachusetts.
A selection committee compris-ed
of William Schimpf, Vice Presi-dent
for Student Services, James
Fitzpatrick, Director of University
Activities and Campus Center,
John M. Hickson, Vice President
for Business and Finance, and two
students, Jackie Franzel and John
Hennigan, are reviewing each
company's proposal.
The companies will be narrowed
down to four and each one will be
given the opportunity to present
their proposals to the committee a
second time. The committee will
then visit college campuses con-tracting
those services in order to
see them at work first hand.
Mr. Fitzpatrick explained that
the committee is not simply look-ing
for the food service offering
the lowest bid. "Our first priority is
to improve the quality of service."
Another major concern is cor-porate
support: the cooperation of
company executives with the
university. Housekeeping, sanita-tion,
and creativity with menues
are other important factors.
Fairfield University has not
gone out for bids since 1968, when
Macke Corporation was awarded
the contract. If Macke is not
awarded this year's contract, the
managers will probably be without
jobs. Macke manager Robert Ger-wien
expressed his feelings this
way, "It's a tough position to be in,
especially for those managers
with families."
The kitchen staff and student
workers will retain their jobs. No
matter what the outcome, Mr. Fitz-patrick
feels "that come Septem-ber
the students will definitely be
more satisfied with the quality of
the food and service provided by
this University."
Alumni Honor Students
Mr. Robert Brennan, President of the Alumni Association, stands with
the recent recipients of the Alumni Student Achievement Awards. From
left to right are Greg Mathls, James Haley, and D'Arcy Clark
[Photo by Millie Madrick]
by Dave Scott
Fairfield's Alumni Association
has selected three members of the
senior class as recipients for the
Alumni Student Achievement
Awards. The awards are presented
to those students who have made
significant contributions to
specific programs and the quality
of life at Fairfield University.
Those being honored are Greg
Mathis, D'Arcy Clark and James
Haley. The official presentation of
the awards will take place in the
faculty dining room on May 7. The
nominations were made by mem-bers
of the graduating senior
class, student organizations,
faculty and administration. The
final decision was determined by a
committee of alumni, students,
faculty and administrators.
Greg Mathis, a resident of Has-brouck
Heights, New Jersey, was
awarded for his dedication as
manager of the Fairfield University
basketball team, Vice President of
the Lacrosse Club Team, Director
of Operations at S.E.C. and assis-tant
to the orientation program.
Concerning the award, Mathis
commented, "I would like to thank
the Alumni Association and
school for this award. I feel that in-volvement
beyond books is very
important and should continue to
be recognized as an educational
area of campus life." After gradua-tion
Mathis plans to work in the
business field with a preference
toward finance.
D'Arcy Clark, a marketing major
from Colts Neck, New Jersey,
received an award for her leader-ship
as President of the Student
Alumni Association. Miss Clark
was also recognized for organiza-tion
of the Super Sports Competi-tion
and the mini-career series.
She is responsible for establish-ing
the series as a continuing stu-dent
alumni association opera-tion.
Miss Clark, upon hearing of
the award said, "I am grateful and
thank the Alumni Association for
this honor and the enjoyable ex-periences
gained working with
them." Miss Clark plans to pursue
a career in sales after graduation.
James Haley, a resident of Flor-ham
Park, New Jersey, was
honored for his direction as Presi-dent
of the Biology Society. Haley
was also credited for his member-ship
in the university's Pre-Med
Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Del-ta,
student legislation and the
campus folk group. Haley's aca-demic
excellence was recently
acknowledged by the nomination
of both him and Meg O'Donoghue
as class valedictorians. This fall,
Haley plans to further his educa-tion
at the University of Rochester
Medical School.
In the future, the alumni will an-nually
continue to honor those
seniors deserving recognition.
These awards mark the third con-secutive
year of the Alumni
Association's concern with stu-dent
achievements.