Mirror - Vol. 36, No. 04 - September 22, 2010

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Week of Sept. 22, 2010 | Vol. 36, Iss4
■ fairfieldmirror.com ■
The Independent Student Newspaper
of Fairfield University
The Reflection of Fairfield
BY Gillien Murray
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Safe. It's a word used often and it is often
taken for granted. As the 2010 school year
begins, both new and returning students flood
campus with hopes of epic parties and accept-able
grades. But are they thinking about how
. safe they are?
Public Safety is. Every year, in accordance
with state law, Public Safety conducts a uniform
campus crime report for the previous calendar
year. This report must be consistent with the
FBI's uniform crime reporting system.
Assistant Director of Public Safety John
Ritchie said, "We don't think the numbers going
up on the report are a direct result of more in-cidents
occurring, but of more incidents being
reported."
Ritchie is referring to a rise in incidents in
two of the ten crime categories: sexual offenses
and larceny. The other eight crime categories
include criminal homicide, robbery, aggravated
assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson and
hate crimes.
"Larceny is when there is no forced entry,"
Ritchie explained. "These people are being
invited in. This weekend alone we caught two
student-aged men with an estimated $3000
worth of personal property in their vehicle."
On a college campus it is easy to get so
caught up in throwing parties, being friendly
and letting guests into your home that you don't
personally know. It is the
nature of campus life, but LARCENY | PAGE 5
Larcsny
■ 2009
Dan Leitao/ The Mirror
Muslim Holiday In Campus Ministry
BY Sarah Hassan
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
At a time when Muslims are faced with many challenges
as a result of the Ground Zero mosque controversy, the Eid-
Al-Fitr celebration and dinner held at Fairfield University is
not only a testament to the increased diversity oh campus,
but a demonstration of the collaboration that still exists
between people of different faiths.
The event took place on Monday evening in the
McGrath Commons and was hosted by the Muslim Student
Association of Fairfield University that began in the spring
semester of 2009.
The MSA began the event with an introductory lesson
on the significance of this religious event to the Muslims,
both on campus and all over the world.
Eid-Al-Fitr, or the festival of the breaking of fast, hap-pens
at the end of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the
Islamic lunar calendar. During this month, Muslims abstain
from food and water from sunrise to sunset and perfect their
relationship with God through the offering of extra prayer
and charity to the poor. .
This introduction was offered by Heba Yousif, the new
Muslim Chaplain at Fairfield University. Yousif, a student at
Hartford Seminary, is one of the many chaplains throughout
the country who serves as advisors and representatives for
the Muslims on college campuses, hospitals, prisons and
other settings.
A Question & Answer session followed the lesson that
allowed the audience to pose any questions they might have
to a panel.
"The event was a good opportunity to start a dialogue,"
said Dr. Martin Nguyen, assistant professor Of Islamic
Studies in the Religious Studies department and one of the
speakers in the panel.
One of the questions posed was whether or not the
Quran, which is the holy scripture of the Muslims, condoned
the actions of the terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks.
Dr. Nguyen said that from an academic point-of-view,
the Quran is a complex text that must be thoroughly exam-ined
and that any educated individual who does so will find
EID-AL-FITR I PAGE 5
BEER-O-NOMICS
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FALL CONCERT PREVIEW
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*Cheers & Boos %
CHEERS AND BOOS IS BACK!
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