Mirror - Vol. 36, No. 20 -March 09, 2011

              FREE I Take one THE ^MIRROR
Week of Mar. 9w, 2011 | VoL 36, iss 16
Perlitz Accounts
to Go Toward
Victims
BY ALEXANDRIA HEIN
NEWS EDITOR
• fairneldmirror.com
The Independent Student Newspaper
of Fairfie Id University
The Reflection of Fairfleld
The Connecticut Post reported that a
federal judge has ordered the government
to seize the remaining $42,000 from Doug-las
Perlitz's accounts to provide education,
counseling and other services to his victims
of sexual abuse in Haiti. Perlitz is currently
serving a 19 year and seven month prison
sentence for the conviction of the pro-longed
abuse of 16 students.
U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arter-ton,
the same judge that sentenced Perlitz
in December, will conduct another hearing
next month to decide how the money will
be divided among the victims. Representa-tives
from Kids Alive International, which
has been providing for the boys since the
closing of Project Pierre Toussaint, will be
present.
According to the article, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Krishna Patel and the chairman of
the Haiti-Fund Michael McCooey claimed
that the Kids Alive supervisors in Cap-Hai-tien,
Haiti were being threatened by some
of the victims amidst rumors of large cash
payouts. McCooey said that Fairfield Uni-versity
and the Order of Malta each agreed
to provide $11,000 for various programs
periodically.
That may not be happening, as The
Connecticut Post reported that Arterton
said she was "leery" of the court handling
money that came from private institutions.
She went on to suggest that the organiza-tions
look for other ways to disperse the
money.
Child Abuse advocate Paul Kendrick
told The Mirror that "those responsible for
ensuring the care and safety of these boys
while they attended Project Pierre Tous-saint
have barely scratched the surface of
what must be done to restore all that was
taken from the former students."
Kendrick then blasted both the Order
of MaltaandFairfield and said, "No more
half measures. No more giving a little
financial support here and there to appear
generous." He suggested that those with the
power to do so should be concerned with
building a new school. He also said, "It's
time for von Arx, Miller and everyone in-volved
to sit up straight and pay attention."
Perlitz, 40, is a graduate of Fairfield
University and founded Project Pierre
Toussaint in 1997. The project took boys off
the streets and provided them with clothes,
food, water and education. He was the face
of the project until 2008, when the Haitian
Board of directors decided to remove him
after allegations of the sexual assaults
surfaced.
During his sentencing, Arterton said
that Perlitz's defense argument that he
provided positively to society is akin to dig-ging
a well to provide water for people who
need it, poisoning the well, and still expect-ing
to be praised for digging the well.
Student protestors blocked the stairwell of Jogues Hall on Friday as a form of protest.
Mirror File Photo
Elevator Out;Jogues Students Stand
BY MIKAELA TIERNEY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Last Friday, a group of students filled
the staircases of Jogues Hall in protest of
the termination of elevator service for the
remainder of the academic year due to
excessive damages,
About 30 students - both Jogues resi-dents
and other Fairfield students - lined
each level of the staircase in the building
in a visual demonstration, highlighting
the impact the lack of an easily acces-sible
elevator has on disabled residents.
Residents can now access the elevator
only by visiting either the Residence Life
or Public Safety Offices to sign out a key
to operate the elevator.
By restricting the access of such fa-cilities
and equipment, Residence Life is
infringing upon Fairfield students' rights
as outlined in the Americans with Dis-abilities
Act (ADA).
"Is it a right or a privilege?" asked
Shawne Lomauro, Resident Assistant on
the fourth floor of Jogues. "They're treat-ing
it as a privilege right now, but it IS a
right."
The ADA was turned into law in 1990
in order to protect the rights of disabled
Americans across the country. It outlines
a number of important requirements in
all areas of public life to ensure fairness
and equality to all. In section 35.133 of
the Maintenance of Accessible Features
section, the ADA outlines that "a public
entity shall maintain in operable working
condition those features, of facilities and
equipment that are required to be read-ily
accessible to and usable by persons
with disabilities by the Act or this part."
It continues to note that "this section
does not prohibit isolated or temporary
interruptions in service or access due to
maintenance or repairs."
Initial damages first occurred last
semester around the end of October. An
unknown individual or group of indi-viduals
had burned obscenities into the
ceiling of the elevator car with a cigarette
lighter. Fire Marshal Joseph Bouchard has
been a part of this ongoing case from the
beginning.
"Arsonists start small, but it gen-erally
leads to something larger," said
Bouchard. Students were warned that
possible repercussions would occur if the
damages persisted. Bouchard is "always
concerned" when an elevator is involved
in dorm damages because "smoke and
flame and heat can spread rapidly" and
cause serious problems.
Similar arson-related damages oc-curred
again in the Jogues elevator in
the beginning of February, causing the
elevator to be shut down for two weeks
as a warning. When service was restored,
residents were warned that if any more
incidents were reported, the elevator
would be turned off indefinitely. On Feb.
17, after a report was issued about an at-tempt
to pry the buttons off of the eleva-tor
panel, the elevator was turned off for
the rest of the academic year.
According to an e-mail sent to Jogues
residents from Area Coordinator Ange
Concepcion on Feb. 17, the elevator was
shut down because "someone tried to
pop the buttons out of the elevator with a
screwdriver," causing "significant damage
to the buttons and the panel." However,
the decision to shut down the elevator
was not made by Concepcion; it was a
joint decision between Bouchard and
Residence Life.
"It's a shame we all have to suffer
for a few people's actions," said Shannon
Mascia, Vice President of Jogues Hall. She
PROTEST! fA§§5
ST. PETER'S GAME SEE PAGE 20
Peter Caty/The Mirror
Derek Needham '13 drives to the basket against Ryan Bacon '11
from Saint Peter's College in Sunday's loss.
INDEX
Opinion • Page 7
The Vine • Page 9
Coffee Break • Page 15
Sports • Page 20
is CLASSIC
ROMANCE STILL
ALIVE? P. 8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
STAG STOCK P. 9