Mirror - Vol. 18, No. 12 - February 03, 1994

              The
FairfieldMIRROR Volume 18, No. 12 Thursday, February 3, 1994 Happy Groundhog Day!
Pilkerton Edges French
For Election Victory
Jennifer Luongo
News Editor
Students elected
Chris Pilkerton to the office of
FUSA President this past
Tuesday. Pilkerton defeated his
competitor, junior Erica
French, by a narrow margin of
seventy-three votes; 724 to 651.
Pilkerton, who was
also elected to a seat on the
. District 4 RepresentativeTown
Meeting this past November,
will be new to the executive
branch of FUSA, having
previously served in thejudicial
branch as a member of the
student court.
One of the first tasks
on Pilkerton's agenda as
President is to involve the
whole Fairfield community in
issues and decisions that will
affect students.
President-elect Chris Pilkerton photo: K. Guterl
"I want to meet with
members of the administration,
faculty and student groups to
increase involvement and make
some real decisions about
Fairfield University."
Current FUSA
President, Mark Resnick, feels
that the responsibilities of the
FUSA President have increased
in recent years and that Pilkerton
will have to immediately "fine
tune his goals, platform, and
vision."
Resnick, Pilkerton, and
French were all very pleased with
the student turn-out for the
election. More than 1400
students voted, topping last
year's election by about two
hundred students. Both
candidates had many
supporters who worked long
hours in preparation for the
election. Pilkerton said, "I
really want to thank everyone
who has put in so much oftheir
time."
With the election
behind him, Pilkerton will be
working overtime during the
next two months in preparation
for his inauguration on April 2.
He and Resnick will be meeting
this Friday to set up a transition
team that will help prepare
Pilkerton forhis upcoming term
in office.
Looking back on the
past few weeks, French has no
regrets about her campaign. "I
wouldn't change anything I
did," she said.
Guarasci Quits School,
Heads Home to Canada Brian Keegan
Sports Editor
The men's basketball
team suffered a significant blow to
its program Monday afternoon,
when highly touted center Peter
Guarasci withdrew from Fairfield
University for personal reasons.
Guarasci, a 6'9"
sophomore from Niagra Falls,
Ontario, officially quit early
Monday, before Fairfield was
scheduled to play the University
of Maine that evening at Alumni
Hall. Surprisingly, the departure
of Guarasci did not come as a great
shock to many, especially head
coach Paul Cormier.
"It was an adjustment
decision," said Cormier after
Monday's loss against Maine.
"Peter hasn't been a real happy
camper."
Guarasci was not having
an exceptional year on the court,
averaging 4.3 points per game,
along with 4.5 rebounds per game.
He posted almost identical
numbers in 27 games last year,
averaging 4.5 points per game and
4.3 rebounds per game. Despite
his early struggles, Petercame into
this year with a renewed sense of
confidence after being named to
the all MAAC rookie team in his
first season here at Fairfield.
However, it was evident early on
this year that Guarasci still was
not comfortable with Fairfield in
general.
"Peter was homesick
last year. It [collegejwas an
adjustment that he had to go
through," said Cormier. "We
thought that at the end ofthe year,
making the MAAC rookie team
would increase his self-esteem.
At that point, he thought the right
thing to do would to be to come
back. Obviously, though, Peter
was still down. Ifyou're nothappy
in an environment, it is hard to be
involved."
This could be a classic
case of basketball burnout.
Guarasci had not had a serious
break from the game for quite
some time. Upon completing
finals last spring, Peter only
returned home to Niagra Falls for
one day before he went off to
training camp for the Canadian
National Team. He qualified for
the team, and spent the majority
of the summer traveling around
to such places as Puerto Rico and
Argentina, following the grueling
training schedule of the National
team.
* The timing of this event
could not have come at a worse
Peter Guarasci has headed back north to his home in Niagra Falls,
Ontario due to personal reasons. photo: Sports Information
time for the Stags, since the team
is currently in the hunt for the
MAAC conference title.
"I am disappointed that
anyone who makes acommitment
would make a change in that
decision," stated Fairfield Athletic
Director Dr. Harold Menninger.
"Having him [Peter] finish out the
season would have been better for
[the team]." -
While players refused to
comment on the whole situation,
there is little doubt concerning the
character and commitment that
Guarasci possessed while he was
here at Fairfield, both on and off
(Continued on p. 3)
Campaign
Controversy
Overshadows
Elections f94
Christine Folchi
Editor in Chief
Lyn Campanella
Features Editor
Jennifer Luongo
News Editor
Lou Spadaccini
Asst.Commentary
Editor
The campaign is over,
and the big story isn't necessarily
the results, but what happened the
weekend before the election.
Verbal harassment, campaign keg
parties, and a NY Times reporter
stirred up a storm of controversy
in an otherwise sleepy race.
It all started lastTuesday,
January 25. Three hours before
press time, Kelly's suddenly
pulled a $448 full page Mirror
advertisement for Pilkerton's
campaign that advertised 50 cent
drafts and 25 cent "Pilkerton"
shots, which had to be asked for
by name. This was pulled because
election rules prohibit a candidate
from spending more than $300 on
their campaign ($100 coming
from the University, the other
$200 from the candidate's
campaign contributions and own
resources).
"Pilkerton Night at
Kelly's" was held anyway on
January 27, complete with the
above mentioned drink specials.
Chris Pilkerton stated that the $200
in campaign contributions was
donated in full by Tom Kelly,
owner of Kelly's of Black Rock.
[Kelly became involved in the
election when he met Chris over
winter break at a Fairfield
Women's Basketball game and
they began speaking about the
election.]
Saturday, January 29,
Pilkerton's opponent Erica
French, began receiving harassing
phone calls at her townhouse at
5:00 pm which did not stop until
2:50 am. She estimates 30 phone
calls, not including hang-ups. The
callers outwardly stated "Pilk for
Prez" and claimed to be Pilkerton
supporters. She attempted to get
Caller ID hooked up, but the
services were not available to her
until Monday morning. Security
went to her townhouse to
investigate the situation, and and
is currently in possession of
recordings from her answering
(Continued on p.3)
fT
\
Pilkerton
Beats French
by Narrow
Margin
:^ fr
JJ
\ Who would
you write in for
FUSA
President?
^ 4
fr ^
Response to
Rush
Overwhelming
^
fr
JJ
^\
Fairfield Faces:
Dr. Lane
^
fr
J)
"\ Philadelphia
Reviewed &
The River
Phoenix Story
fr-
Guest
Columnist
&Goat
^
i- -i