Mirror - Vol. 19, No. 01 - September 22, 1994

              The
FairfieldMRR®R Volume 19, No. 1 Thursday,September 22, 1994 Welcome Back!
Fairfield University copes with tragedy
Loss ofMatt Pellegrino felt throughout community
Caitlin Whelan
News Editor
On the night of
Wednesday, September 7,
students, faculty, and members of
the Fairfield community gathered
at a memorial service in the Egan
Chapel, after a tragic accident early
that morning left Matthew
Pellegrino, 20, dead and seniors
Tania Dnistran, Julie Cwikla, and
Jessica Parodi hospitalized.
The four Fairfield
students were the victims of a one-car
accident on North Benson
Road, just before the entrance to
the campus. Pellegrino, who was
driving the car, was "traveling north
on North Benson Road when the
vehicle suddenly veered to the right
and struck a tree," according to
Fairfield Police Captain Robert
Comers.
The Jeep Wrangler hit the
tree at approximately 49 miles per
hour. Three of the passengers,
who were not wearing seatbelts,
were thrown out of the vehicle.
Tania Dnistran and Julie Cwikla
were taken to Bridgeport Hospital.
Jessica Parodi and Matthew
Pellegrino were taken to St.
Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport,
where Pellegrino was pronounced
dead on arrival at 1:50am. The
Vlatt Pellegrino, the year before his
from Fairfield Prep, 1991.
graduation Photo: Fairfield Prep
- Development Ofiice.
cause of death was Blunt Trauma
Injury, said Capt.'Comers.
The incident has left the
University community shaken.
Gwen Vendley, Dean of Students,
said that her initial reaction was
one of "absolute horror. And also
one that I think every parent feels,
that this could have beenmychild."
Vendley added, "I feel agony for
Matt's parents, for such pain is not
going to go away."
FUSA President Chris
Pilkerton said that unon hearing of
the accident, he was shocked.'You
never think it could happen, but it
does." As for the effect on the
other students of the University,
Pilkerton stated, "I think it will
make people think twice. It has let
people know that we're not
immortal."
A scholarship fund has
been established by Fairfield Prep
in memory of Matt Pellegrino,
which will provide need-based
scholarships to Prep students.
Pellegrino, from Weston, CT.,
graduated from Fairfield Prep in
1991 and was a student in the
School of Continuing Education.
His death has left an impact
throughout the University,
particularly those who remember
him as a friend.
"He was always joking,
always making people laugh," said
Mary Lou Albert,' 95. Jon Sabol
'95, also a friend of Pellegrino,
added, "He was always smiling.
You remember his smile most of
all."
Dnistran, 21, of
Metuchen, N.J., and Julie Cwikla,
21, of Newtown, C.T., sustained
multiple injuries and were listed in
fair condition shortly after the
accident occurred. Parodi, 21, of
Lake Ronkonkama, N.Y., was
listed in critical condition with
severe whiplash, a broken thigh,
and lacerations on her hands and
face. The three girls have since
been released from the hospital,
according to John Hennesy, FUSA
Vice President of Government
Operations.
The cause of the accident
is still under investigation and has
yet to be determined, said Capt.
Comers. Official reports will not
be available for another three to
four weeks.
With many questions still
left unanswered, Chris Pilkerton
organized a conference on the
afternoon of September 15 to
"discuss the tragedy and what the
community needs to do to recover
from its effects."
"I was pleased with the
turnout," Pilkerton stated later. He
wanted students to get the message
that "we have to watch out for each
other. They are not going to let this
tragedy pass without thinking about
it.... From the reaction I've seen so
far, this is what students are looking
toward."
Dean Vendley also feels
the meeting was a "positive step in
the right direction," adding, "The
student body has been splintered,
and through this he is trying to
draw people back in, naming the
sorrow and giving form to it. He is
telling students to be supportive
and protective of one another."
Vendley feels that students still do
not have the fundamental question
of 'why?' answered.
The University
community is left to mourn an
individual who will not be soon
forgotten. "I believe Matt's life,
brief though it was, was a
completed life," Vendley says.
"Some things that no one achieves
in life, he achieved very young.
All of us come here to learn, but
there are those among us who are
teachers. Through his death, Matt
was a teacher among us. Not a
teacher you would find in a
classroom, but a teacher of the
heart."
ASA hosts FIND conference on campus
Lynn Nugent
Staff Writer
The Asian Student
Association (ASA) of Fairfield
University has recently added
another success to its long list of
achievements. Due to the hard
work and perseverance of its
members, the Filipino
Intercollegiate Networking
Dialogue, or "FIND" will hold
its annual dialogue on campus
November eleventh through the
thirteenth.
FINDis an organization
founded by and for Filipino
students which seeks to link
members of individual campus
Filipino groups on the East coast.
Its goals include offering support
to students of Filipino descent,
providing a network of
communication and interaction
between the various Filipino
student organizations in the
United States, increasing
awareness of issues relevant to
the Filipino community, and
seeking to promote and preserve
Filipino and Filipino-American
cultures.
FIND unites the
Filipino student community
twice yearly during a fall dialogue
designed to encourage interaction
and discussion amongst Filipino
and Filipino-American students,
and a spring conference at which
students participate in workshops
and activities facilitated by
professional speakers. Both
events occur on the campus of an
East coast college or university.
Last spring, eight
Fairfield students attended the
FIND conference held at Rutgers
University. It was during this
week-end long event that some
student leaders were inspired to
bring the conference to Fairfield.
Lyra Espineli '95,
president of ASA, along with
Jennifer Delos Santos '95, the
organization's social
coordinator, and Brian Remigo
'94 , bid chairperson, are those
individuals who have dedicated
countless hours to bring this goal
to fruition.
After meeting extensively with
administration, the students
began formulating a detailed
proposal highlighting the
advantages of holding the 1994
FIND Dialogue on the Fairfield
University campus.
They were required to
outline their ideas regarding the
type of activities, discussion
groups, and entertainment
opportunities they felt would
result in a successful FIND
dialogue.
The students
supplemented their written
proposal with a video presentation
show-casing Fairfield's scenic
campus. In July the three-member
team traveled to Virginia to
present their proposal to FIND's
fourteen member steering
committee, the organization's
decision-making body.
The perseverance and
dedication ofthese three Fairfield
students paid off. Fairfield was
chosen as the sight for the 1994
Dialogue over such formidable
competition as Brown University
and Johns Hopkins University.
In November
approximately 250 students from
a wide variety of college
campuses will travel to Fairfield
to participate in FIND's dialogue.
Delos Santos describes
the relationship the Fairfield
community and FIND will have
as "symbiotic." She explains, "As
much as FIND has to gain from
visiting Fairfield, the University
itself will benefit a great deal.
Many of the students we spoke
to during this process had
actually never heard of Fairfield
University. Now, students from
all over will have the opportunity
to come here and see what
Fairfield is all about."
Espineli adds that," The
Dialogue is not limited to just
Filipino students of members of
ASA. It is open to everyone and
we encourage everyone to
participate."
ASA wishes to express
their gratitude to the
administration for their help in
this endeavor.
Any student able to
house a visiting student during
the weekend of November 11
through 13 should contact Lyra
Espineli at X7107 or Box 372.
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