Mirror - Vol. 34, No. 22 - March 19, 2009

              WEEK OF MARCH 19,2009
Vol. 34, Iss. 22- 16 pages
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The IRROR WWW.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.COM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Peter Caty/The Mirror
Fairfield politics professor John Orman's play "Helen Keller Speaks," a staged one-woman play based on
her writings and letters, was performed on Saturday.
BY MEGHAN SCHELZI
Helen Keller has often been portrayed as a silent
12-year-old girl who became a American icon for
her ability to overcome her disabilities. This past
weekend, John Orman, chair of the politics depart-ment,
portrayed Keller differently.
In his newly released play "Helen Keller Speaks,"
Orman showed that there is more to remember Keller for
than the disabilities that bound her.
"The play was about the radical side of Helen Keller,"
said Orman.
Because of the popular drama production of "The
Miracle Worker," Keller has been frozen in people's minds
SEE "ORMAN" ON P. 3
Just-Us tries to find
footing as new program
BY ANNIE ROONEY
The most recent living and learning community, Just-Us,
is on its way to becoming Fairfield's newest residential col-lege;
however some delayed construction renovations have
led the residency down an unexpected road.
Originally intended to be located in the Jesuit Resi-dence,
Just-Us is now being relocated to
Jogues Hall.
The community will still be providing
the same programs and events, but Jogues
will offer a slightly different experience
due to the limitations of the building. The original plan to
have suite style rooms, a common lounge and a Sodexo
dining area with its own cafeteria has now been nixed in
the process of moving to The Quad residence, which of-fers
double rooms, communal floor bathrooms and smaller
lounges on each floor.
Joe DeFeo, director of living and
learning and formerly the associate direc-tor
ofthelgnatian Residential College, also : JOEJJEi'EO
remains positive considering the setback. • p- 6
Although it is a "dynamic shift," De-
Feo said, "It is still doable to provide all sophomores with
the same opportunities."
These intentional communities are still a place where
residents can expect a meaningful, fun and safe environment
according to DeFeo.
On another positive note, the building switch has
INSIDE:
:A LETTER FROM
SEE "STUDENTS" ON P. 3
TmMlRRQR IN BRIEF
"Chattin' with Chapin" —
Do you still wet your bed?
You're not alone. See p. 6.
Who is Dan Lamendola?
Find out about the current
Senate chair. See p. 7.
"British comedian forming
a new 'brand' of comedy" —
Russell Brand brings his act
to new heights. See p. 9.
"The difference is defense"
— Coverage of men's
lacrosse. See p. 16.
Former Fairfield student sent to Uzbek labor camp
BY TOM CLEARY
As the Uzbekistan government continues
to crackdown on moderate Muslim groups in
its country, a former Fairfield student, Abdul
Dadahanov, has been caught in the crossfire
and now finds himself in a labor camp, staring
down eight years of prison-life, according to a
CNN.com article.
The 32-year-old was arrested and accused
of being a member of what the Uzbekistan gov-ernment
declared an extremist religious orga-nization.
The Uzbekistan government has been
known to persecute independent Muslims.
Academic Vice President Orin Gross-man
and the University asked the Uzbeks to
allow Dadahanov to attend graduate school at
Fairfield rather than go to prison, also offer-ing
housing to his wife Aziza and young son
Abdulrahmen.
"We made the offer of admission in the
hopes it would be helpful to get him released
from prison," Grossman told The Mirror.
"He is well qualified to attend,.although I did
expedite the process because of the Human
Rights issue.
"A number of Human Rights organiza-tions,
including Amnesty International and
others, have been involved with his case and
I believe it is important to be helpful on these
matters of social justice," added Grossman, who
said he met Dadahanov a few times at events
that honored visiting students.
When Dadahanov arrived at Fairfield
University in 2001, he expected to study busi-
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ness. But after the 9/11 attacks,
he decided to seek an entirely
different education.
Dadahanov, a Muslim who
came to Fairfield as part of a
program to give scholarships to
students from the former Soviet
Union, decided there was a better
way to spend his time. He thought
it was important to help heal the
divide between Americans and
Muslims, while also bringing
back the lessons he learned in
the United States to those in his
homeland, according to his aca-demic
adviser Katherine Kidd.
"He said, 'Dr. Kidd, I have
to do something to tell people
that this is not what Islam is about.' He said, 'I
want to be part of things that are done here to
bring healing to people after 9/11,"' said Kidd,
a retired Fairfield professor who previously
ran the international studies department, to
CNN.com.
Dadahanov spent two and a half years at
Fairfield before leaving to return to his home
country of Uzbekistan.
Kidd also remembered Dadahanov con-stantly
saying that he would like to make his
"country and community better and stronger."
The results of what he learned in America
have possibly played a role in Dadahanov's
imprisonment. Forum 18, a religious watchdog
group, told CNN.com, that he and "four other
Uzbek men were convicted of dissemination
Contributed photo
Dadahanov, center, with the Skartvedt family, who
hosted him during his studies at Fairfield.
of information and materials containing ideas
of religious extremism, separatism and funda-mentalism,
calls for pogroms or violent eviction
of individuals aimed at creating panic among
the population."
Forum 18 added that it is not a unique situ-ation
as the Uzbeks have tried to stop members
of Nurchilar, a moderate Muslim group that
descends from Turkey and follows the writing
of a 19th century Sufi theologian.
"The government has almost a paranoia of
any independent religious activity, particularly
those related to Islam," said Sean Roberts,
a Central Asia expert at George Washington
University to CNN.com.
SEE "FORMER" ON P. 4
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