Mirror - Vol. 17, No. 17 - March 11, 1993

              The
FairfieldMIRRORV Volume 17, No. 17 Thursday, March 11, 1993 Have a Great Spring Break
Campus Mourns Loss Of Beloved Professor
Megan Harvist
Assistant News Editor
It has been said that we
should have a forest planted in
memory of Dr. Salvatore
Bongiorno, instead of merely a
tree. Dr. Bongiorno will be
remembered by many, not only as
chair of the Biology Department
and a member of the faculty since
1971, but also as a wonderful
person who was very concerned
about the people and the
environment around him. "He was
really concerned about the land.
He watched every building on this
campus go up and mourned every
tree that came down," commented
Dr. Phyllis Braun, a biology
professor who has known Dr.
Bongiorno for 20 years as both a
student and as a colleague.
Dr. Bongiorno collapsed in a
stairwell at the Bannow Science
Center on the way to class on
Thursday, March 5th. He was
found shortly after 9 a.m. by two
nursing students who began
applying CPR and dialed 911 to
bring the University Security,
Fairfield police and fire
department, and an ambulance to
the scene. He was then brought to
St. Vincent's Medical Center
where he was pronounced dead at
10:05 a.m. The cause of his death
has not yet been determined.
The death of this 53-year-old
professorcame as a shock to many.
Dr. Bongiorno seemed to be the
perfect picture of health: he loved
the outdoors, rode his bike to
school every day, and was a
vegetarian. Karen Onufer, a senior
who took him for ecology, was
working in the emergency room
when he was brought in. "I
couldn't believe that it was him,
even after I saw them bring him
in," she said. "He had always
seemed so healthy."
Dr. Bongiorno's sudden
death has affected many of his
students, predominantly biology
majors. Wendy Precious,'93, who
had him as a teacher for three
years, feels as if she has lost a
friend as well as a great teacher.
"He showed us the personal side
of him, not just the science," she
said. "That was very instrumental
to our learning. The biology
program just won't be the same
without hkn."—Another senior
biology major, Sue Jacovanco,
feels that Dr. Bongiorno was the
best teacher she has ever had. "He
taught us that there is more to
education than just books," she
commented.
Several masses have
been held in honor of Dr.
Bongiorno. There was a memorial
mass held on Thursday night at
10pm and a mass on Saturday at
11 am in the chapel preceding the
funeral. Almost every member of
the faculty was present for the
funeral as well as many students.
At the mass, several professors
spoke on behalfofDr. Bongiorno.
Dr. Walter Petry, who had known
him for 22 years, was one of the
speakers. "He is one ofthe greatest
people we've ever had here at
Fairfield," he said. "He was a
perfect model because he
practiced what he preached and
always remained committed to
nature."
Dr. Bongiorno is
described as a man who was very
committed to nature. According
to Dr. Petry, he never killed any
insects. If he ever found a
mosquito in his house he would
put it in a box and take it outside.
How fitting it is that he was buried
in the jeans and flannel shirt that
New Proposal Says
Seniors Can Stay
Megan Harvist
Assistant News Editor
The word has come
from FUSA that they have been
successful in their attempts to
create a policy that would allow
seniors in the townhouses to stay
the night of graduation. Neil
Robertson, vice-president of the
Student Issues Committee, which
has been handling the issue, says
that the committee has come up
with a proposal that he says has
backing from the administration.
"I am very confident that this
will be approved by the
administration and would be very
surprised if this was not resolved
by April 1," he said.
The proposal put forth
by the committee will not cost
the students anything and
involves a legal bonfire and an
additional senior week event the
night of graduation. The event
will include food and drink and a
large part is being paid for by the
university. "Administration is not
pressingforafee," Robertson said.
"They are being very supportive
of us, but they want us to do our
own work." An idea of UNITE,
University Townhouse
Experience, is to have a fundraiser
to cover the costs of any police
needed.
"There are a lot ofpeople
on both sides of this issue with
different ideas," said Robertson,.
"It is our job to find a happy
medium." The committee, started
this year by Steve Shannon, the
FUSA president, meets every
Thursday night in a closed
meeting. It is comprised of
different student representatives
from organizations such as
UNITE, IRHG, FUSA senate and
cabinet, the Council of Student
Organizations, and the Student
Beach Residence Association.
"This enables us to get ideas from
many different groups and a good
cross section on how the students
feel," Robertson commented.
This year, the committee
has had to deal with two major
issues: the Townhouse Alcohol
Policy and the Townhouse
Graduation Policy.
They are very optimistic
about having two proposals
approved by the administration
by the first week of April.
According to Robertson, they are
dealing with the graduation policy
first because it is a more pressing
issue right now and the alcohol
policy won't go into effect until
next year.
Jen Bracco '93, the
president of UNITE, says that
students have been very
responsive to these ideas. She
plans to get more students'
feedback before drawing up the
final proposal. "I might think that
an idea is good, but the 500 other
seniors might not agree with me,"
she said.
he used to wear to ecology labs.
He was known for his
interest in environmental issues
that took him from southwestern
Connecticut to northwestern
Spain. He focused most of his
research on salt marshes,
wetlands, and birds. To emphasize
the impact of garbage on the
environment, he frequently took
his classes to the landfill site in
Fairfield and the sewage treatment
plant. "He had a very strong sense
of justice - not just for human
beings, but for all of nature. He
wanted a balance in everything,"
commented Dr. Donald Rice, a
professor of biology who has
known Dr. Bongiorno since he
first came to the University.
Dr. Consolacion Garcia-
Devesa Bongiorno, the assistant
professor of modern languages at
Dr. Bongiorno in his
first years at
Fairfield.
the university, was married to Dr.
Bongiorno. Their daughter Minia
is a graduate student at Brown
University. "I would like him to
be remembered as a very gentle
man with a rough cover," Dr.
Garcia-Devesa commented. "He
fought ardently for what he
believed in. He is the most honest
and gentle man I have ever met."
A scholarship for
minority students in biology is
being created in Dr. Bongiorno's
name. This seems to be an
appropriate way for him to be
remembered because of his
concern for his students. "He was
always worried about his students
and helped them with any
problems they were having," said
Mrs. Anne Ulicki, his secretary.
"We will all miss him very much."
God will not seek
thy race;
Nor will He ask
thy birth;
Alone He will demand
of thee:
"What hast thou done
with the land
that I gave thee?"
- Persian Proverb
From the office of
Salvatore F. Bongiorno
Dana Felmlee to Take
Over as Editor-in-Chief
Debra De Shong
News Editor
For the second year in a
row, a woman has made thejump
from Features Editor to Editor-in-
Chief. Junior Dana Felmlee
will be cracking the whip over
The Mirror staff beginning April
1 and says she is "really excited
about it."
With Felmlee in the top
spot, students can expect some
changes in the next year. "I would
like The Mirror to be more ag-gressive,"
she said. "We are not
PR for any organization on cam-pus
and I would like to see less
fear and a little more journal-ism."
Felmee's predecessor,
Claire St.Louis said, "Dana has a
totally different personality and I
think that will show in the pa-per."
St. Louis is confident that
Felmlee will continue to produce
a high quality paper.
This marks the fifth
woman in a row to have the top
job and Felmee said,"If any guy
would like to write for the paper,
he's more than welcome. We pick
the best people."
Felmlee is an English
major from Medford, New Jer-sey.
She transferred here from
St.Mary's at Notre Dame where
she spent her freshman year. As a
sophomore, Felmlee was a Fea-tures
staff writer and eventually
worked her way up to Features
Editor.
Although planning on
law school, Felmlee enjoys jour-nalism
and can't wait to dive in as
Editor-in-Chief.
f?
^
Ho-Hum
Resnick Sings
Same Old Tune
page 3
\ fr
JJ
Origins of
Lenten Sacrifice
are Fishy
page 5
\
%
tr
# ^
Memories ofDr.
Salvatore
Bongiorno
page 10
^ fr
JJ ^=
Rock and Roll
All-Stars
page 11
^\
JJ
% Stags and Ladies
Bow Out of
MAACs
page 16
^ ^