Mirror - Vol. 35, No. 06 - October 07, 2009

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Week of Oct. 7,2009 | Vol. 35, hs. 6
-fairfieldmirror.com -
The Independent Student Newspaper
of Fairfield University
The Reflection of Fairfield
Is 4He Said/She Said' a Column of Shame?
Communication Opens Between Editorial Board
and 'He Said' Protesters
BY MEAGAN FIYNN
STAFF WRITER
The student body has been buzzing
over the controversy spurred by last week's
"He Said" article. Protestors and editors
met on Monday evening in an attempt to
better understand the role that The Mirror
plays at Fairfield.
The article, written by Chris Surette
'10, inspired a protest outside of The Mirror
office that was attended by several mem-bers
of the University community. Certain
language to describe the topic of "the walk
of shame" was deemed inappropriate by
those in attendance.
Leaders of the protest were invited
to attend an Editorial Board meeting
and present their concerns and requests
formally to the Editorial staff. Sarah Gatti
'10 spoke on behalf of the organizers of
the protest. Representing The Mirror were
Tom Cleary TO, Editor in Chief; Lily Norton
TO, Executive Editor; Chris Simmons TO,
Managing Editor; and Veronica Florentino
TO, Opinion Editor. Students and faculty
were also invited to attend the meeting
and were able to comment after the formal
discussion, which was facilitated
by Joe Defeo, director of Living
and Learning.
Both parties involved ex-pressed
a desire to find common
ground and to move The Mirror
forward in a positive direction. A
decision was made not to include
a stage or microphone so as to
keep the meeting in a traditional
Editorial Board meeting format.
Gatti began by explaining
how the protest initially began and how it
escalated. She then pinpointed the overall
concern of the group, saying, "This space in
our student newspaper is condoning and
glorifying activity that is counter-intuitive
to the student body and really harmful and
painful to people who have been involved."
Suggestions for
how the group feels
The Mirror should
"re-frame" the
space of the column
were also offered
by Gatti on behalf
of the protesters.
These suggestions
included creating
accountability for
the writers involved,
so the column no
longer presents the
vague, stereotypical
characters of "He
Said" and "She Said."
She also suggested
that The Mirror en-
ED BOARD |
PAGE 6
Photos by Peter Caty/The Mirror
Above, Shawne Lomauro '11 joins in the discussion with The
Mirror's editorial board. Photos to the left show students
looking on.
Senate Responds to 'He
Said' Controversy with
Certain Resolutions
BY DAN LEITAO
STAFF WRITER
Those upset with last week's "He Said/She Said"
column took their opinions further than a protest
outside of the Mirror office by attending the FUSA
Senate meeting on Sunday night. By participating
in the public input section of the Senate meeting, in
which any student or group of students can speak to
the Senate members about their concerns or ideas,
those upset with the column volunteered their opin-ions
on the subject.
Senate Chair Frank Fioretti '10, who spoke on
behalf of the Senate, said that the protestors were not
personally invited to the meeting. "They came on their
own free will because they're passionate about the issue
— they decided to speak to the Senate about what could
be done." In no way, he said, were they invited and
those involved with the "He Said" column shunned.
"It would not have been fair for me to invite one
SENATE I PAGE 6
Public Safety Releases Jeanne Clery Report
Alcohol Write Up's On The Rise Read More On Page 5
Perlitz Trial
Moving Forward
BY CHRIS SIMMONS
MANAGING EDITOR
Three weeks after being indicted by a
Bridgeport grand jury on seven counts of
travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual
conduct and three counts of illicit sexual
conduct in a foreign country, Douglas Perlitz
'92 will stand trial.
According to the U.S. District Attorney's
office, Perlitz will be arraigned on the charges
on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. before U.S. Mag-istrate
Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven.
Thomas Carson, the spokesman from
the U.S. attorney's office, would only confirm
this information and that Perlitz will have
new counsel when he gets to Connecticut. He
would not comment on whether the Univer-sity
had been notified beforehand or if any
other parties have been investigated.
The Connecticut Post reported last week
that Perlitz will be housed in Central Falls,
R.I. and that the district attorney's office will
ask Perlitz not to be released on bond.
According to the criminal docket for Per-litz's
case, he does not have counsel listed yet.
Three U.S. district attorneys will be represent-ing
the United States in the case.
The case has been assigned to Judge
Janet Bond Arterton.
Recap of indictment (selected points):
11. Between 2002 and 2008, slightly over
$2 million was transferred from the Haiti
Fund to an account that Perlitz controlled.
14. In order to persuade the children to
comply with sex acts, Perlitz provided the
promise of food and shelter and provided
monetary and other benefits, including
currency, cell phones and other electronics,
shoes, clothing, and other items.
19. If minors refused to engage in sex
acts, Perlitz would at times withhold benefits
or threaten to expel them from the program.
31. After allegations of long-term sexual
abuse by Perlitz surfaced, Perlitz used his
relationship with a religious leader and influ-ential
Board Members to continue to conceal
and attempt to conceal his illegal sexual
conduct.
INDEX
Opinion • Page 7
Features • Page 11
Arts & Entertainment • Page 13
Sports • Page 24
INSIDE THIS WEEK
The Mirror Redefined:
Check out what has ^Jir \/4TRRf~^R
changed with the
paper. See page 2.
Editorial: Boundaries
The Mirror's reaction to
the He Said Controversy.
See page 9.
WE'RE TAKING A BREAK!
THE MIRROR WILL BE OFF FOR
COLUMBUS DAY AND WILL
RETURN IN TWO WEEKS ON OCT. 21.