Mirror - Vol. 19, No. 02 - September 29, 1994

              The
FairfieldMIRR®R Volume 19, No. 2 Thursday, September 29, 1994 Fall is here!
Caitlin Whelan
News Editor
Joining the ranks of 249
colleges and universities and 53
educational associations, Fairfield
University is one of the youngest
universities to be granted a chapter
of Phi Beta Kappa. Founded in
1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest
and most prestigious academic
honor society in the United States.
In a recent University
press release, The Rev. Aloysius
P. Kelley, S.J., University
President, said that the approval
serves to recognize the academic
credentials of Fairfield, deeming
it worthy of granting its
outstanding undergraduates
membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
Of the country's 3,000
colleges and universities, less than
ten percent have been admitted
into Phi Beta Kappa. Additional
universities in Connecticut
include Yale, Weslayan, Trinity,
and the University ofConnecticut.
Phi Beta Kappa creates a new
chapter at Fairfield
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Chapters of Phi Beta
Kappa are comprised of faculty
members selected formembership
as undergraduates. Ten to fifteen
percent of the top seniors are
inducted into the honor society,
along with a selected number of
juniors. The new Fairfield
chapter, consisting of 26
individuals ofthe faculty and staff,
will choose its first members next
spring.
Fairfield was considered
for membership in 1992, when a
three-member Phi Beta Kappa
team visited the campus to speak
to faculty, administrators, and the
student body itself. At that time,
fifty-three schools were being
considered, seven of which
became finalists.
A triennial meeting was
held by 450 delegates in San
Francisco before the vote of
approval. Factors influencing the
final decision included the fact
that Fairfield has increased its
enrollment of minority students
to nearly ten percent; that almost
one-third of the faculty and four
department chairs are women;
SAT scores are consistently
higher; athletics do not
overshadow the academic
environment; that the library and
honors program have been
improved since 1991; and that the
visiting team found "no evidence
of infringement upon academic
freedom."
Students are reacting
favorably to the membership as
well. "I think it's a great step for
the university," one student
commented. "It puts the school's
reputation on a much higher level,
and makes it even more
respected."
Fairfield
climbs to
No. 2 in
U.S. News
survey
Caitlin Whelan
News Editor
Fairfield University
has once again been named in
the US. News & WorldReport
survey as one of the top
universities in the North, moving
from No. 3 to No. 2. Fairfield
scored 99.3 out of a possible
100, according to the Fairfield
Citizen-News ofSeptember 21 st.
Fairfield trails seven
tenths of a point behind
Villanova University in
Pennsylvania, and 5.6 points
ahead of Alfred University.
Among the other schools
included in the top fifteen are the
(Continued on page 3)
Multiculturalism and diversity
hits Fairfield University
Michael Garofoli
Contributing Writer
Just in the nick of time.
Just when it seemed as
though diversity was extinct from
the Fairfield University campus,
a presentation was given on
Friday, September 16th, to raise
the awareness of students and
faculty concerning multicultural
and diversity issues.
There has recently been
•much discussion over the issue of
Fairfield University's cultural
diversity. Since a strong majority
of the school's student body is
comprised ofmiddle to upperclass
whites, people associate Fairfield
as not being a diverse college
institution. "This is why Dr. Pace
came to speak," uttered
communications professor Dr.
Denice Yanni.
The two hour
convocation, held in the
University's Oak Room, was
presented by Dr. Cynthia Pace, an
educator and speaker from
Southern Alabama. Nearly two
hundred and fifty members of the
Fairfield community gathered to
listen, as Pace enthusiastically
portrayed her messages to the
audience.
"I think of myself, not
as speaker, but rather, a facilitator.
I actively seek to facilitate the
adoption of cultural diversity
through all races, creeds, and
backgrounds," Pace said.
After the distribution of
information packets and index
cards to the members of the
audience, Pace asked the
participants to write down their
definitions to the terms
"multicultural community" and
" n o n - d i s c r i m i n a t i n g
organization." She proceeded to
have some sample definitions
from the audience read, and then
gave her meanings of the term.
"These are necessary
terms to understand in order for
actual cultural diversity to take
place," Pace explained. "A
multicultural community is one in
which all participants are working
toward making the environment
one in which each individual feels
that his or her cultures are
understood. This is the type of
community we must seek here at
Fairfield and all throughout
society. We must attempt to
become an 'organization' which
does not discriminate, but rather,
appreciates," she added.
Pace also argued that
communication is key to bridging
cultures in a society. "We are all
different, and we all communicate
in different ways," she said. "But
we must try to speak to those of
different cultures, we must
converse with them, and we must
try to understand and accept
them."
After Pace had spoken
foranhour, she broke the audience
into small groups, enabling
individuals of varying
backgrounds to introduce
themselves and discuss their
heritage and certain diversity
issues, like racism. This tactic was
very well received by members of
the audience who felt actual
interaction with diverse races
greatly illustrated what the
presentation was all about.
"It's one thing to talk
about certain methods of
discussing peoples' heritage, but
to actually out them into action at
the same time was very clever,"
Greg Martin '96 said. "This
program was put together and
planned extremely well."
And just in the nick of
time.
Students head for the
shore in annual
FUSA beach cleanup
Chris Cipriano
Staff Writer
At what has become an
annual tradition, now in its fifth
year, approximately 50 Fairfield
University students converged on
the Town Beach this past Sunday.
Their goal was to clean up debris
and litter left on the beach from the
summer beach season.
Beginning at noon, the
students branched out from Lantern
Point and began collecting the
garbage left behind from summer
vacationers and Fairfield students
themselves. Armed with plastic
bags and gloves, the students
embarked upon the two hour task
of collecting fast food containers,
cigarette butts, bottles, caps.and
even a child's shoe.
Coordinating the FUSA
sponsored event was West Long
Branch, NJ sophomore, Elena
Pienkowski. Pienkowski stated that
the purpose of the clean-up is two-fold.
"This event gives us a chance
to clean up the environment while
strengthening our relationship with
the townspeople. The beach is an
important part of life in Fairfield. It
is the least we can do."
According to a news
release, the most recent cleanup in
the spring netted 969 items which
included 125 cigarette butts, 23
pieces of lumber, and 15 fast food
containers. Pienkowski was not
sure whether or not the latest trash
roundup figures would be
tabulated.
Brian Moran '96
mentioned that the clean-up is a
way for the students ofFairfield to
repay the town residents for
allowing them to live at the beach.
"It's a way to help out. The
residents think we takeover...(it's)
a peace offering."
Another student
commented, "While building a
tighter and better relationship with
the town, we are cleaning up the
environment and a place where
many of our students live."
FUSA President, Chris
Pilkerton reaffirmed the
importance of this event for the
relationship between students and
townspeople. "This shows the
community that we all care about
the upkeep of Fairfield because
we are all members of this
community." ,
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