Mirror - Vol. 35, No. 07 - October 21, 2009

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Week of Oct. 21, 20091 VoL 35, i89.7
■ fairfieldmirror.com ■
The Independent Student Newspaper
of Fairfield University
The Reflection of Fairfield
Fr. O'Neil Passes
Away at 79
BY TOM CLEARY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
For the past 50 years, Fr.
Laurence O'Neil served the
Fairfield Prep and Fairfield
University communities as a
teacher, mentor and friend. On
Monday morning O'Neil passed
away at St. Vincent's Hospital in
Bridgeport at the age of 79.
"Fairfield University
and Fairfield Prep have been
blessed with his warm Irish
humor, selfless devotion to
the Jesuit mission, and utmost
concern for students," said Uni-versity
Presi-dent
Fr.
Jeffrey
von
Arxin
a press
re-lease.
"He
leaves a legacy of thousands of
people whose lives he touched
and often changed significantiy
through his priesthood and the
several important positions
he held on campus. He will be
missed."
O'Neil, a Westfield, Mass.
native, joined the Jesuit order in
1948, following in the footsteps
of his three uncles. He was as-signed
to Fairfield Prep in 1955
as a teacher. While there he also
spent time as assistant athletic
director, dean of students and
after five years off for stud-ies,
he formed the first formal
guidance program there. O'Neil
moved on to the University in
1972, working as the director
of Career Counseling. He was
named Dean of Students in
1986, a job that was supposed
to last just one year but turned
into seven.
His last assignment at
Fairfield was one that O'Neil felt
was his most fulfilling, serving
as the chaplain for alumni and
the athletic department. He
performed weddings and said
funerals for alumni, also reach-ing
out to those who were ill.
"[He] came to be well-loved
by players, coaches, and
the Athletic Department staff,"
von Arx said. "His office on
the second floor of the Walsh
Athletic Building was much
frequented by those who sought
his advice and counsel."
An avid sports fan, O'Neil
could always been seen at
sporting events throughout his
career at Fairfield, especially
once he took over as chaplain.
"I knew Fr. O'Neil for a
long time," said men's soccer
head coach Carl Rees. "He was
ever present at our games and
in the Walsh Athletic Depart-ment.
He will remain in my
heart and in the hearts of all
those he touched throughout
his long time here."
Photo Illustration by Meghan Schelzi
Parking Ban Aimed at Students
BY KERI HARRISON
NEWS EDITOR
It came as no surprise that the
Princeton Review named the Uni-versity
as having some of the worst
town-gown relations of any college in
the nation. The Fairfield Police Com-mission
illustrated why last Wednes-day
when they imposed an overnight
parking ban on Veterans Park on Reef
Road. According to a Connecticut Post
article, the ban was targeted at party-ing
Fairfield students.
The parking ban, which restricts
cars from parking in Veterans Park
from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m., wa,s a re-quest
from the Parks and Recreation
Committee and the Fairfield Beach
Residents Association.
Fairfield Police Chief David Peck
said in the Post article that he felt it
was a problem that needed to be ad-dressed.
"It's year-round residents who
deserve our attention," he said.
He continued to say that since it
is mostly college students who park
their cars in that lot at night in order
to party at the beach, if the lot is no
longer available, they will either use
public transportation or stop coming
altogether.
According to the Post article, The
Fairfield Beach Residents Association
President Paige Herman said, "First of
all, ifyou don't discontinue using this
as a parking lot for Fairfield Univer-sity
students, the cars will continue to
come."
"It's not our responsibility to pro-vide
parking for students who go and
party at the beach," she continued.
Fairfield students did have some
support in the voting, however; both
Commission member Donald Kleber
and Commissioner Arthur Hersh
voted against the ban.
Senior Allie Quinlan, a beach
resident, did not think the ban was a
good idea.
"This is actually my first hearing
of the parking ban, but that seems
very unfair," she said.
"Many seniors from campus
want to come down to the beach to
be with their friends, [and] there is
such limited parking to begin with
that they should be allowed to park at
Veterans Park," Quinlan continued.
Kristen Koldras TO, who is also a
beach resident, agreed.
"The ban is another thing that
takes away from fellow classmates
enjoying the beach, especially those
seniors that live on campus," she said.
"It's already hard enough to find a
spot without it but now it becomes a
major inconvenience."
"I think it's just giving students
another reason to drunk drive," said
Michael Conley'10.
Elysse Ruschmeyer '10 is riot
happy with the parking situation at
the beach, especially nowwith the
new parking ban.
"I just think it's obnoxious
because there is already not enough
parking and there is no reason for it
all, except that they don't want us liv-ing
at the beach."
He Said Controversy Heating Up On
He Said Reaches Beyond Campus
BY MEAGAN FLYNN
STAFF WRITER
The controversy sparked by offensive
language in the "He Said" column has
had serious implications for both The
Mirror and the Fairfield community on
and off campus.
A student protest against language
in the column has created a buzz that
has gone far beyond the walls of the
University. Both editors and protestors
have cited the high parent and alumni
response to the article in question, prov-ing
that current students aren't the only
ones affected by language appearing in
the independent paper. Now, the issue
has permeated larger scale publications,
such as the Connecticut Post.
The Post covered the issue this week,
detailing both the language used in the
"He Said" article and also the protest that
followed. The Post's article, which was
published on Sunday, accurately portrays
the conflicting feelings that students,
faculty and staff have been experiencing
in the recent weeks.
"They can publish (what was writ-ten).
The question is whether they should
or not," Journalism Professor Jim Simon
was quoted as saying, in response to
whether or not the ethics code of The Mir-rorwas
violated. Simon also noted that
this situation has been "a good exercise
for both protestors and editors," accord-ing
to the Post article.
In contrast, the article also touched
upon FUSA's response to the contro-versy,
which was recently outlined in
two separate resolutions from the FUSA
Senate.
"Jeffrey Seiser, president of FUSA
and a senior from Torrington, said stu-dent
government isn't looking to censor
the paper, but ensure better judgment
by the student editors. In his view, the
paper did breach its ethics contract by
printing content that was sexist and
vulgar," said the Post article.
While this ethical debate will likely
continue throughout the year, and may-be
even for as long as the column exists,
the question still remains if The Mirror
will face any serious consequences from
administration. Dean of Students Tom
Pellegrino acknowledges the necessity
for an independent student newspaper,
but has been working closely with The
Mirror's Editorial Board to ensure that
the paper proceeds in a more respon-sible
way that benefits both The Mirror
and the University at large.
"This University wants there to be
a student newspaper on this campus.
It should be an independent paper. It
should be a paper that is free from cen-sorship,
but it's also a paper that I want to
have act responsibly as an independent
corporation, including adhering to its
own prescribed journalistic standards —
to my mind, that has not happened here,"
said Pellegrino.
Pellegrino and Editor-in-Chief
CONTROVERSY I PAGE 6
& Off Campus
Harassment Charges Filed
Against Surette
BY PHILIP J. MORTENSON
STAFF WRITER
The fallout from the "He Said/She Said" article
on the topic of the "walk of shame" has caused "He
Said" author Chris Surette to receive "harassment
complaints" submitted to Public Safety.
Director of Pubic Safety Todd A. Pelazza con-firmed
that complaints had been filed and offered
a statement on the matter. "The issue has opened a
very important dialogue, and it
issues of free speech versus
some may deem offensive be-
The complaints against
have been sent to the Dean's
for final adjudication.
The controversy has
caused Surette to
receive countless
interview requests 1
from much larger
publications such as the
is exploring
what
havior."
Surette
office
CHARGES I PAGE 6
INDEX
Opinion • Page 7
Features • Page 11
Arts & Entertainment • Page 13
Sports • Page 24
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Bloomberg Comes to Business School:
DSBge.snewad- Jjjg ^IRROR
vanced terminals.
See page 3.
Online Exclusive:
A group protested againsi
Doug Perlitz.
See page 2.
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