Mirror - Vol. 33, No. 13 - December 06, 2007

              WEEK OF DECEMBER 6,2007
Vol. 33, Iss. 13 - 28 pages
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www.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.coM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Students confront trespassers, one armed
BY CHRIS HALISKOE
I PUBLIC SAFETY i
• RESPONDS" |
SEEP.3
EDITORIAL
SEE P. 5
j RE-EVALUATING ;
; REGIS
SEE P. 5
A Regis Hall first floor resident went to
bed Friday night expecting nothing more than
to sleep in late on Saturday morning. But the
resident was awoken by an incident that he
will not soon forget.
"Saturday morning; it was about 2:30
a.m.," said the student, who was granted ano-nymity.
"I heard some kids in the hallway."
The resident was awoken by three black,
male, non-students, Lavon Cobourne, Kar-eem
Boston and Warren ]~\
Knight, who had gained : INSIDE: :
access to the residence : ;
hall via a friend on cam
pus.
It was later discov-ered
that Cobourne was
carrying a .22 caliber
handgun.
The student said that
his roommate was awake
and in the hall. He came
into their room and said,
"Hey, some kids were in
our room."
The student said the
suspects were repeatedly
asking, "Where are the girls?"
Another firsthand account of the incident
claimed that the suspects were referring to
the females in question as "bitches." Public
Safety confirmed the derogatory comments.
As the suspects entered the room, the
student's roommate confronted thern^sayinjk
"Look, get out of my room."
Another three or four students then came
out into the hall. The students collectively be-gan
to ask the suspects to get out. The student
said, "This is our hall."
According to the student, the suspects an-swered
back saying, "No, this is our hall."
It was at that point that a fight broke
out.
The student explained: "Eventually one
kid on the floor said, 'I am going to break
it up. I am the Peacemaker.' He went to
shake [one suspect's] hand and [the suspect]
punched him in the face."
"Eventually, the kids left and someone
called the police," said the student.
Public Safety and the Fairfield Police
Department arrived on the scene quickly.
They located the suspects and lined them up
while flashing lights in their faces and asked
those involved to identify them.
"By then, rumor went out that the kid had
a gun," said the student. "During the time of
the fight, some kid was saying, I'm going to
pop you, I'm going to pop you.' Nobody took
SEE "ASSAULT" ON P. 3
Top: Peter Caty/The Mirror
Left: Mirror staff member
Not a typical night in
Regis: Three non-student
suspects, one armed with
a loaded gun, entered
Regis Hall on Saturday
around 3 a.m. Lavon Co-bourne,
Kareem Boston
and Warren Knight were
all charged with third-de-gree
assault and criminal
trespassing. The incident
has sparked concern
among students and the
University community
regarding safety on cam-pus.
See "Students" on
p. 3 for more informa-tion
on campus safety.
University sticks to long-term solution* to housing issues
BY CHRISTOPHER HALISKOE
At this week's FUSA Senate
meeting, Vice President of Student
Affairs Mark Reed, and Director of
Residence Life Deb Cady, presented
and answered questions regarding
the current housing situation.
The administrators came at the
request ofthe Senate in a written let-ter
by Senate Chair Tim Rich '08.
Sen. Dan Lamendola '09 said
the conversation was intended
to prompt the administrators to
answer questions regarding such
situations as the Off-Campus
Boarder Lottery and on-campus
residential planning.
"Overall, the goal that the
University has for student housing
remains the same," said Reed. "We
now want to increase the number
of beds by 250-350."
Cady said the reason for the
slow progress is because the school
is not trying to fix the immediate
problem with a "band-aid solution"
but is instead trying to provide a
long-term solution.
Cady and Reed said that a
committee has been formed to ex-amine
the current possibilities for a
long-term solution. The committee
also consists ofDean ofAdmissions
SEE "HOUSING" ON P. 4
Sour grapes:
Bar charges
cover, students
talk of boycott
BY KATIE BARRY
The senior class recently faced a
rude awakening — and it had nothing
to do with the fact that the year is nearly
half over.
Two-dollar Tuesdays, where all
drinks at the Seagrape Cafe are $2, is a
staple for seniors living at the beach.
However, the Grape has instituted
a new "DJ charge," a $2 cover required
for entry into the bar on Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
The Grape, notorious for cheap
drinks in large plastic cups, has never
had a cover charge, a feature many se-niors
appreciated. But because of rising
costs for the DJ to perform, manage-ment
said last Tuesday that extra funds
were required.
Miles Stevens, manager of the
Grape, agreed that the bar needs the
extra money to pay the DJ. However,
Stevens made no apologies and argued
that the Grape is still a great deal.
"Where else can you get $2 drinks
on a Tuesday? Nowhere," he said. "So,
you're paying $2 to get in, but you're
also not paying for $6 drinks."
However, some students said that
the Grape is simply trying to rip off
the hundreds of students who frequent
the bar, some of whom visit up to four
nights a week.
"Don't they make enough money
off of Fairfield drinkers?" asked Aimee
Trainor '08. "I don't mind paying it,
but I really don't think they need the
extra $2."
Lauren Wood '08 agreed: "I think
it's crap. That's one drink I'm paying
for before I even get in," she said.
Though the Grape's cover is less
than the Snickering Squirrel Saloon's
$5, other bars such as Bravo don't
have any door fee. But because of the
Grape's proximity to most of the se-niors'
houses, many have just accepted
the cover charge as another drinking
expense.
"The cover charge is ridiculous,
but it's still the only bar within walk-ing
distance ofmy house," said Kristen
Daly '08.
"Two dollars is cheaper than a cab
to Bravo," she added.
However, some students refuse to
accept the new charge without a fight.
"I guess they're going for a theme:
$2 cover charge, $2 Tuesdays," said Al-yssa
Ockerbloom '08. "But I'm not a fan
of it. Some students have been stewing
over it since it started, and there have
been talks of a boycott."
A comprehensive boycott has yet
to be planned, but Trainor also had an
idea to get rid of the charge.
"Whatever, I'll DJ," she said.
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