Mirror - Vol. 32, No. 16 - February 01, 2007

              WEEK OF FEBRUARY 1,2007
Vol. 32, Iss. 16-24 pages
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The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
IRHA Set to Move Spam Jam From Townhouses
BY JESS MITCHELL
Last year, Spam Jam — the out-door
festival at which juniors and seniors tradi-tionally
ring in the spring season — nearly
took place without alcohol.
This year, there will be beer, but if the
plans put in place by the Inter Residence Hall
Assembly are executed, students who want
to drink will have to do so in an enclosed
beer garden, roped off from the rest of the
festivities.
IRHA, an organization composed of
representatives from various residence halls,
plans to combine Spam Jam, typically held
on the townhouse lawns, with May Day, a
similar festival for underclassmen that is
traditionally held on the quad, and hold one
joint event at Lessing Field.
INSIDE:
EDITORIAL:
SAVE SPAM
JAM, P. 8.
The move comes
a year after RASOR/
UNITE, the organization
that represented town-house
and apartment
residents until it was
disbanded at the end of
the academic year, failed
to obtain a liquor permit.
A student acting independently of the
organization stepped forward and assumed
the liabilities of the liquor license.
Ashlee Downing '08, chair of the IRHA
committee charged with planning the event,
said the goal is for students to venture outside
the beer garden and participate in the activi-ties,
food and music on the quad.
"Furthermore, there are more practical
reasons for this change. For one, it will make
it easier for staff such as the Area Coordina-tors,
RA's and Public Safety for the event
to be combined," said Downing, an R.A. in
Jogues Hall who has never attended Spam
Jam.
Deborah Cady, director of residence life
and associate dean of students, said combin-ing
Spam Jam and May Day into one spring
day for all ages would bring the whole cam-pus
together to celebrate a common pride in
the University.
Hosting a larger, day-long event offering
food, music and entertainment in one central
location for students, faculty and community
members is possible if IRHA combines its
resources, Cady said.
"The Office of Residence Life is in-vested
in providing fun and safe community
SEE "STUDENTS" ON P.6 Photo Illustration by Mari Heenan/The Mirror
Trying to
Shed an
Unpleasant
Image
As Black History Month
Opens, School Has New
Setup for Diversity Programs
This article is the first in a series com-memorating
Black History Month. Next week:.
How far have African-Americans come in
higher education?
BY KERI HARRISON
Cultural diversity among Fairfield stu-dents
and staff members has long been an
issue on campus.
The Princeton Review ranked Fairfield
among the 20 campuses with the most homo-geneous
student body and the least race/class
interaction last year, and the University has
struggled to shed its image as a culturally
limited institution.
But in several measurable ways, the Uni-versity
has moved to become a more welcom-ing
place for students of color.
The latest administrative change —
which was implemented at the beginning of
the spring semester — was the division of
the Center for Multicultural Relations into two
separate entities.
The Center was divided into the Office of
Student Diversity Programs, which is aimed at
facilitating a connection and communication
among the student body, and the Office of
Institutional Diversity Initiatives, which will
deal with issues affecting the institution on a
larger scale.
Lari Mazon, director of the Center for
Multicultural Relations will head the Office
of Institutional Diversity, and William John-son
will lead the Office of Student Diversity
Programs.
Mazon said he hopes to integrate large-
SEE "" ON P.4
Public Safety's Newest Tool: Facebook?
Student Alleges Public Safety Found Out About Bash from Web Site
BY ANDREW CHAPIN
Your townhouse was throwing a 21st birthday party when
Public Safety knocked at the door. The officers document you
but not for a noise violation; apparently, they "heard" about your
party on Facebook.
According to a townhouse resident who wished to remain
anonymous for fear of incrimination, that's exactly what hap-pened
on Friday, Jan. 19.
"He [the public safety officer] said he knew about our party
before it happened because kids in Campion were talking about
it all night and [he said] we really shouldn't put parties up on
Facebook if we didn't want to get written up," said the student,
who insisted that a noise complaint was not made against their
house.
"They [Public Safety] said nothing about noise," the student
said. "They heard about the party through the grapevine."
According to the Public Safety incident report, officers
entered the house after noticing more than 24 people in the
townhouse.
Upon entering, they confirmed their suspicion and also found
one person in the basement.
Director of Public Safety Todd Pelazza vehemently denied
that Public Safety checks Facebook to "bust" parties.
"We have not been using YouTube or Facebook to break up
parties," said Pelazza who, after a "quick browse" was amazed
at the material students post on Facebook.
Pelazza said he also hopes students understand the ramifica-tions
of using such sites as Myspace, Facebook and YouTube.
"These sites are public domains," he said. "Once things are
posted, they are there for the world to see."
Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino disputed the argument
entirely.
"There are plenty of good, permissible uses of Facebook
and YouTube," he said. "And yet, we know that students across
the country also use these spaces to threaten, harass and intimi-date
other students. Where should we draw the line (if at all)
between permissible versus impermissible uses of the Internet
SEE "FACEBOOK" ON P.6