Mirror - Vol. 37, No. 03 - September 21, 2011

              FREE I Take one
Week of September 21,2011 lvoi.37.iss3
THElrfMlRROR
fairfieldmirror.com
The Independent Student Newspaper
of Fairfield University
The Reflection of Fairfield
The Sea Grape, Top College Bar in America?
BY CHELSEA WHITTEMORE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Krunkle.The Shot God. Bob.
You may know Robert Manere,
the new owner of the Sea Grape, by
one of these nicknames.
Maneretookownershipfrom Can-dice
Lavine and herhusband this summer
and lias big goals forthe upcoming year.
"Betterfood Cleanliness Fun,"he said
He feels as though the legendary
Fairfield U. beach hangout has started
achieving these goals only five weeks
into ownership."! want the kids at
Fairfield to know that this is their bar. I
amjust the caretaker here," he said.
Manere, 51, grew up in Weston,
CT and said "[he] remembers the bar
when [he] was a kid." He has never
owned a bar but has "owned other
restaurants around here."
His goal: to make the Sea Grape
theTop College Bar in America.
"I want this to be the hottest place.
Everything has to befun,"he said.
So for the reviews have been good.
"The food there is really good,"said
Karl Bratty '12."lfs a good place to go at
night or even during the day to eat'
"It is a great bar to go to since all
of my friends are always there," said
Marie Doherty '12."I go in and am
surrounded by people I have grown
close with over my 4 years"at Fairfield.
"It's the most convenient place to
go since it's within walking distance.
All those years of cab fees are over/'
said beach resident Shayna Abbott'12.
The bar stands between a parking
lot and a motel, with a white metal fence
keeping drunken invaders outWhen
walking inside, the floor feels a bit sticky
and the mood lighting is very dark. The
only thing shining bright is the arcade
games lined up in the back.
The large bar is the center of
attention, literally, and the open space
around it looks much biggerwhen Ws
not taken over by Fairfield University se-
CONTINUEDI PAGE 2 Staff Photographer
The Sea Grape Cafe located on Reef Road on Fairfield Beach.
A"Halo" in Memory ofKenni
Fairfield celebrates the life of a beloved student and friend
BY NICOLE DAVIDOW
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Come join the Fairfield com
munity in celebrating the life of
Kenni Nwajagu'12thisweekina
memorial service being held
this Friday at 8 p.m. in the
Egan Chapel of Stlgnatius of
Loyola. Nwajagu was 21 years
old when he passed away on
June 30,2011. All are invited
to attend the student-orga-nized
memorial service.
When Nwajagu arrived
onto Fairfield's campus in 2008,
his one-of-a-kind personal-ity
could not go unnoticed.
Nwajagu was a film major with
an aptitude for the arts. He was
easy to talk to and got involved
in many activities around
campus. As a result many of his
classmates remember him as a
loving friend with an exception-al
spirit and sincere enthusiasm
regarding the things he loved
most
Nwajagu spent the early
years of his childhood grow-ing
up in Nigeria. His father recalls
that even at the young age of six, his
Principal nicknamed him"Kiri Kiri
Star" because he had such a natural
talent for acting, which he displayed
in his school's plays. At seven years
old, Nwajagu moved to the United
States of America with his family.
In a beautiful biography of
Nwajagu's life written by his father,
his father explains just how easily
Nwajagu adjusted to life in America.
Nwajagu quickly embraced numer-ous
opportunities to become an ac-tive
member in his community and
build his character, working hard to
As Nwajagu grew up, in ad-dition
to focusing on his academ-ics,
writing, directing, producing,
and/or acting in films and movies,
Nwajagu also found time to indulge
himself in some of his favorite hob-bies.
These included reading,
listening to his favorite
musical artist, Beyonce,
and watching Harry Potter
movies.
Nwajagu's interests in
film and performing arts
continued to develop during
his time at Fairfield. All of
Nwajagu's hard work and
talent was recognized in May
2011 at Fairfield University's
Cinefest There, the movie,
which he was responsible
for producing/This is Me,"
earned the award for Best
Picture. He and his co-direc-tor
walked onto the stage to
receive the award accompa-nied
by the sound of a stand-ing
ovation filled with praise,
Contributed Photo support, and encouragement.
Kenni Nwajagu was a member of the class of 2012. Nwajagu was loved by
his fellow classmates because
become a true leader at a young age.
Not only was Nwajagu ac-knowledged
and awarded for such
leadership efforts, but he was also
recognized for being involved in
his church, excelling in school, and
pursuing his dreams by participat-ing
in programs like Original Works
Inc., an after school program for
aspiring actors.
he was a true friend to so many. A
Facebook page created in his mem-ory
demonstrates how Nwajagu's
peers truly admired him.
Friends and family remem-ber
him as a"great person"with a
"bright smile and contagious laugh."
He will forever be remembered by
the lives he touched here at Fairfield
University.
The Latest "Situation"
BY MAGGIE ANDREWS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It has all the drama, scandals,
and suspense of a reality show.
But instead of playing out on MTV,
this never-ending episode can be
found in newspapers and on the
nightly news.
Welcome to the reality that is
many students'first time voting in
a Presidential election.
ChuckTodd, an influential
political analyst for NBC News,
compared the race for the White
House to reality television while
sharing his opinions of the upcom-ing
Presidential election. He spoke
to a packed audience at the first
Open Visions Forum event of the
year on Tuesday.
It's hard to believe that the
campaign season has started
again, with the election of Presi-dent
Obama still a recent memory.
However, several Republicans'
campaigns are in full swing to
gain the party's nomination, and
already the serious contenders
have been narrowed down and the
stage is set for what Todd believes
will be a very negative campaign.
While negativity and mud-slinging
constitutes countless
hours of The Real Housewives
franchise, how does political
bickering affect voters? According
to Todd, the voter turnout among
young adults decreases as the
political tension increases. Petty
arguments and name-calling are
commonplace on television; this
demographic doesn't need to look
to the Presidential candidates for
their daily dose of controversy.
Todd's credentials make him
more than qualified to gauge the
state of our nation's politics. A
Chief White House Correspondent
for NBC News, co-host of "The
Daily Rundown,"and a political
analyst for "NBC Nightly News
with Brian Williams,""Today,"and
"Meet the Press/'Todd is consid-ered
one of the 50 most influential
journalists in the United States. His
hope is to educate and be acces-sible
to the average American in
order to create informed citizens.
With homework, clubs, and'
the new season of our favorite
television shows, who has time
CONTINUED PAGE 3
Maggie Andrews/Contributed Photo
Laura Zervoudakis interviews featured speaker Chuck Todd for News 64
INDEX
Opinion • Page 7
The Vine'Page 9
Coffee Break-Page 16
Sports • Page 20
OPINION:
BENDING THE
RULES OF THE
GAME P.7
NEWS:
GO GREEN! A LEAF
COLUMN P. 3
BALLROOM
DANCING A HIT
p. 9