Mirror - Vol. 08, No. 07 - September 27, 1984

              'The Image
of
Fairfield"
FAIRFIELD W \ [MIRROR1 Nonprofit Organization
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 32
Fairfield, Conn.
Volume 8, No. 7 Thursday, September 27, 1984
Beach Fight Continues
Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut 06430 Incorporated 1977
by Martin Healy
This past summer has been one of activity by
the Fairfield Beach Road Association. Headed
by Mr. Robert Werner, the group has succeeded
in restructuring a relatively old and obscure or-dinance
prohibiting the establishment of board-ing
houses in the county. While the primary
purpose of this law was to lessen tha health risk
due to overcrowding, its recent revitalization is
an effort to drive Fairfield students off the beach
forever.
Originally, the ordinance stated that no more
than three unrelated people can live in one house
together, but like many similar laws in Eastern
states, it was rarely enforced. Now, with com-plaints
from permanent beach residents seem-ing
to reach a climax this summer, the law has
been amended to a more realistic and therefore
enforceable maximum of five unrelated people
in a house. In a phone interview with Health
Department official Art Leffert, he stated that the
amended ordinance "was not aimed primarily at
the Fairfield beach area, but the county in gener-al."
He conceded the strong lobbying effort of
Werner, yet insisted the amendment was made
"to comply with changes in fire and safety laws."
Concerning enforcement of the law, he admitted
that the issue had not come up for discussion yet
due to "more important matters" pending, and
estimated that enforcement would not begin "at
least for a couple months."
One of the most fervent complaints by the
beach residents has been of the large shuttle bus
rumbling down the length of the Beach Road until
early morning, rarely carrying enough pas-sengers
to the very end to make the trip econom-ical
and frequently keeping residents up due to
the noise. In an effort to pacify those complaints,
university officials have halted late night runs by
the big bus and utilized the smaller buses to a
greater degree. Other complaints are due to the
raucous behavior at parties and students using
other yards "as their outdoor privacy." To this,
F.U.S.A. president, Fran Kenneally has proposed
a student-run hotline. "By using students to an-swer
phones in a work-study capacity," he ex-plains,
"irate residents can call students who will
in turn call the noisy party and tell them to keep
the noise down." The plan, effective only with stu-dent
support, is yet untried.
Despite the effort to increase enforcement, the
ordinance is still fraught with loopholes. In addi-tion
to the five unrelated people, guest laws al-low
for "two or more guests" to reside in the house
at any one time. The general nature of the term
'guest,' as well as the indefinite period of time a
guest can be in the house gives the law almost
unenforceable flexibility. However it does serve
notice to students living at the beach and univer-sity
officials that permanent beach residents are
deadly serious.
An ancient housing ordinance mandating that no more than five unrelated people reside
in a house at a time, has of late stirred controversy among beach residents.
[Photo by Gerry McPartland]
Financial Aid Increases
by Chris Tyler
According to Larry Wielk, Assistant Director of
the Financial Aid Department, there has been a
Campus Seminar Develops Leaders
by Christine Ryan
A large Sunday afternoon turnout greeted Mr.
Jim Fitzpatrick and other administrators at Pen-field
Pavilion for the fifth Leadership Program.
The meeting was open to any club official or
moderator, plus anyone who may desire a posi-tion
in the future and wanted to learn more.
Participants received a booklet "In Pursuit of
Leadership" which Mr. Fitzpatrick, Assistant Dean
of Student Activities called "filled with the essen-tials.
. .We are here to outline and to clarify cer-tain
sections, but the booklet answers most of the
questions."
Fitzpatrick opened the meeting with an analy-sis
of problem solving measures that a club may
take. These included delegating work, decision
making, financial management, relationships and
persuasion, adaptability, stress tolerance, initia-tive
and risk taking. He stated "By and large, peo-ple
on campus are very, very friendly." So he
emphasized using them as resources. He de-clared
that he likes "to look at clubs and organi-zations
as preparing students to serve their
communities in the future."
Peg Alexander, Campus Center Graduate As-sistant,
was the next speaker. She went through
the handbook by sections and outlined each, as
calling the manual "a good resource to have."
Fran Kenneally, FUSA president, outlined his
views of clubs in general. His two major points
were that student apathy "doesn't exist" at Fair-field
but that club officials must actively pursue
members and knock on doors. He also pointed
out the derivation of the word 'education'. 'Duco'
in Latin means to lead and 'educo' means to lead
out of darkness. He emphasized that group lead-ers
are there to educate, not for a power trip.
The next part of the discussion was centered
on most clubs' major concern: money. John Man-cini
spoke as club coordinator, and stressed that
he was there as a reference. He stated that the
three most important words for smooth operations
of anything were "planning, organization, and
follow-up". Mancini feels that the most important
section for the future is the follow-up. If club offi-cials
do not leave people behind them to take over
the reins in case of their absence, the club may
fold.
Due to the FUSA deficit, the entire club budg-et
is only $16,000. The most any organization can
ask for is $1000, $200 less than last year, the dead-line
for submission of requests is October first to
Suzanne Machler the appropriations chairman.
"We all have to tighten our belts." Mancini stat-ed.
In addition, every club must do fund-raising,
or they will not be allocated funds.
Once the money is disbursed, the check must
be picked up in Bellarmine Hall. When dealing
with the club checking account, every check must
be approved by the club's moderator. In terms of
print shop usage, all club leaders should check
with Mancini to see how much money is left in
their printing account before charging it. The ap-propriate
forms are in the FUSA office.
Mancini mentioned his idea for a new monthly
newsletter for club happenings and announce-ments.
Any club with ideas for articles should sub-mit
them to his box in the FUSA office.
The meeting ended with a cookout on the
beach outside the pavilion where club represen-tatives
could discuss more than business.
trend of increased financial aid over the last five
years. The figures for the past academic year total
in the neighborhood of 1.7 million dollars. Some
of this money comes in the form of federally fund-ed
loans and grants, but Fairfield University also
supplies grants and scholarships on the basis of
need, academic excellence, and both.
Presently, Fairfield University offers a variety
of full and partial scholarships. The President's
scholarship and the Headmaster's scholarship
are full tuition scholarships and can be applied
for at the onset of freshman year. Athletic scholar-ships
are also offered by the University. Most of
the funding for the scholarships comes from the
University's endowment. Although the principle
of the endowment cannot be touched, the interest
earned on investments, made with the endow-ment
can be used to fund the financial aid
program.
Fairfield University has fared well in the tide
of rising tuition costs. The institution has not been
hurt by the cut back in federal money available
for loans and grants. "This is primarily due to the
increase in the endowment and some very good
investments made by Fairfield University," com-mented
Mr. Wielks. He went on to add, "Fairfield
University has made a conscious effort to in-crease
the availability of University funds because
of the cutbacks." One of the difficulties faced,
however, is late payment of tuition bills. The
money received can be placed in interest bear-ing
accounts and create more revenue available
for student loans, grants, and scholarships."
Recent landscaping adorns the lawn area in front of Nyselius Library.
[Photo by Gerry McPartland]
F.U.S.A. Cabinet Begins Work Year
by Carla Angelone
Last week's general FUSA meeting held on
Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7:00 p.m. drew a crowd of
interested students that nearly filled Gonzaga au-ditorium.
This however, was by no means a turn-out
typical of a FUSA meeting. Just a few years
ago, the number of students interrested in stu-dent
government was only enough to fill one of
the small rooms in the lower level of the Campus
Center. The Fairfield University student seems
to be different.
"Change is what FUSA is all about," states Fran
Kenneally. As the president of FUSA, Kenneally
explained at Tuesday's meeting that the purpose
of Fairfield University Student Government is to
effect change. When a student decides to become
part of FUSA, "they become agents of the organi-zation,
and therefore take on the responsibility
to effect change".
"Student Life", part of the executive branch of
the operation, is headed by vice president Joe
Mannion. Its purpose is to become aware of cam-pus
concerns and then to develop a system to
address these problems. Mannion coordinates
the five chair positions of Housing, Food and
Health, Commuter Affairs, Academics, and Club
Coordinator. "The goal of the system," says Man-nion,
"will be to establish a strong unified voice
that will represent all Fairfield university students."
These divisions of FUSA, as their names reveal,
act as a Mason between the student body and the
administrative arm of the university which han-dles
each affair. Their spokesmen voice the con-cerns
of the student and evaluate the main-tenance
of standards acceptable to the majority
of the population.
Vice-president, Jim O'Connor is responsible
for "Student Activities" which generates en-thusiasm
for all sports on campus and must pro-gram
events geared towards life outside of
■campus. O'Connor, who shares the position of
vice-president with Mannion, re-emphasized Ken-neally's
point that although FUSA can be a fun
and rewarding experience, there is a definite com-mitment
involved. "The commitment of the stu-dent
joining FUSA is not 40 hours a week, but
it is putting in the time necessary to get the job
done," he stated. Student activities is composed
of all the committees responsible for planning,
organizing, and running different campus events.
These activities include Oakrooms, concerts, spe-cial
events for fund-raising, arts and lectures,
coffee houses, and sports and leisure. Following
Kenneally's additions, the FUSA Cabinet for
1984-85 is now comprised of 24 positions, includ-ing
that of the president. Kenneally's goal with
these additions was to make FUSA more availa-ble
to the student. Students interested in getting
involved should visit the FUSA office in the Cam-pus
Center on the Ground Floor between 9 and 5.