Mirror - Vol. 33, No. 17 - February 07, 2008

              WEEK OF FEBRUARY 7,2008
Vol. 33, Iss. 17 - 20 pages
FREE - Take one IMTDDrill www.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.coM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Five Fairfield students arrested
Marijuana found on
campus, sophomore
charged
BY JESS MITCHELL
One student and one non-student were arrested
for drug possession in two separate incidents on
campus last Wednesday night.
Fairfield Police said officers responded after
Public Safety located marijuana on both individuals:
Michael Ignagni '09 and Nicholas Gran.
Ignagni, a townhouse resident, was at a friend's
townhouse when Public Safety responded to a fire
alarm at that location.
Public Safety reported the marijuana finding to
the Fairfield Police, who then arrested Ignagni because
he "had a plastic bag containing marijuana" around 10
p.m.
Police said they searched Ignagni's residence
after he told the police he "might have more" mari-juana
in his townhouse on the seven-block, but they
did not find more in the house.
Non-student Gran, of Waterford, Conn., was
charged with possession of marijuana and received
a criminal trespassing warning after Public Safety
officers found three Ziploc bags of marijuana on him
at around 12 a.m.
Public Safety officers had responded to a mari-juana
odor on the fourth floor of Campion Hall, where
Gran was hanging out, according to police.
Court dates for the two individuals were on
Tuesday. At press time, results had not yet been
released.
Peter Caty/The Mirror
Busted for blazin': Police made two arrests on cam-pus
for posession of marijuana last Wednesday.
Go online to
fairfieldmirror.com
for updated coverage
Fire alarm leads to investigation of fake ID operation
BY JOE CARRETTA
On Dec. 4, the smoke from a smoldering candle swirled
upward in an unoccupied room on the second floor of Dolan
Hall, alerting Public Safety to -»
investigate what had set off the
smoke detector.
This incident spurred
police investigation into a / .
false identification oper
ation, which resulted in
the arrest of a Fairfield
student, according to
a police report.
Public Safety
officers discov-ered
a lami-nator,
spray
adhesive, a
license cut- J§
ter and six
fake New
York
State
driver
licens-es,
all|
of the*
necessary
tools to conduct
a fake identification
business, according to a
Connecticut Post article.
Taras Kulynych '09 was
charged with conspiracy to commit
first-degree forgery, the article said. He
was released on bond pending arraign-ment
in Superior Court.
Frank Ficko, associate director of
Public Safety, declined to discuss the
particulars of the case.
When The Mirror contacted Ku-lynych,
he referred comment to his lawyer,
Robert Bellitto, who said that he does not discuss his clients
while they are involved in pending cases.
"As of right now, the case is pending, and no further
arrests have been made," said Lt.
"The University takes seriously all forms of intentional
misrepresentation or providing of false information," he
said.
"Honesty and integrity go to the heart of our mission
as an educational institution, and we therefore react quickly
to issues of dishonesty arising both in the classroom (e.g.,
academic dishonesty) and outside the classroom,"
Pellegrino said in an e-mail.
According to many students on campus,
fake licenses are not hard to come by
^^fe and many use them on a consistent
§^ basis.
Kevin Manke '10
said he had false iden-tification
last year and
paid for it with a night
in jail after police
raided the bar that
was formerly
known as
The Blue.
The bar,
located in
Bridge-
' INSIDE':'' Michael Walsh of the Fairfield
Police Department. "Fairfield
University security officers were
the first on the scene, but to my
knowledge, there was conclu-sive
evidence in the room that
false identifications were being
produced."
Dean of Students Tom Pel-legrino
said that student confiden-tiality
and the school's privacy policy prevent him from
answering specific questions concerning the case.
EDITORIAL
SEE P. 7
FAKING rr AND
MAKING IT
SEE P. 7
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Photo Illustration by Katie McCarthy.
port, is now called The Snickering Squirrel
"That was the worst night of my life. There were so
many kids in there using fake IDs," he said. "The admin-istration
cannot do much to stop kids from getting them.
If one kid who makes them get arrested, another will pop
up eventually."
Paulina Rys '10 agreed, and said she thinks about 60
percent of her friends have a fake ID.
"I think a big reason for fake identification usage is
the drinking age," she said. "Kids do it because to go out
to most bars and have a good time, you have to be over
21."
The popularity of fake IDs on college campuses makes
SEE "POLICE" ON P. 6
Diversity grant helps make Fairfield a 'safe space'
BY SARA QUIGLEY
Imagine witnessing a friend being
assaulted, harassed, victimized or simply
isolated because of his or her sexual ori-entation.
Lauren DiGiovine '07 and her class-mates
remember a time when homophobic
hate crimes a were common occurrence at
Fairfield University.
Michael Barrett '07 recalled his fresh-man
year at Fairfield, when he was afraid
to be himself despite support from family
and friends.
"I was afraid. I never want another
student to feel that way again," he said.
Such discrimination led DiGiovine
and Barrett, as well as Michelle Holmberg
'08, to establish The Collegiate Closet: A
Policy Report, a student diversity grant
project, last year under the supervision
of communications professor David
Gudelunas.
"As an alum, I can now say I went to a
university that wants to pursue what's right
and important," Barrett said in reaction to
Fairfield's acceptance of the Policy Re-port
and recent implementation of a "safe
space" program for GLBT (Gay Lesbian
Bisexual Transsexual) and questioning
students.
"I am beyond happy to see the re-
Katie McCarthy/The Mirror
Safe zone: A flag representing GLBT stu-dents
hangs in the BCC, marking the new
diversity grant to encourage acceptance and
inclusion for all students.
search conducted by students resulting in
real policy work," said Gudelunas.
"When we researched and wrote that
report, we hoped it would be more than a
study; we intended it to shape policy. It
has, and that is great," he said.
As a result of the group's efforts and
the increased number of GLBT and ques-tioning
students at Fairfield, the office of
student diversity programs has recently
announced the launching of the safe space
program, which is a proposal within
the Policy Report aimed at diminishing
homophobia throughout the University
.. . . SEE "ALUMS" ON P. 6