Mirror - Vol. 20, No. 01 - September 21, 1995

              The
FairfieldMRR©R Volume 20, No. 1 Thursday, September 21, 1995 Welcome back!
Mannion, 18, passes away
in Kostka residemce hall
Christine Hamel
News Editor
On Sunday September
17, Kevin Mannion,18, died
despite the efforts of a residence
hall advisor, police, fire, and
medical personnel who tried to
revive him. He was a freshman at
Fairfield from Annandale,
Virginia who was majoring in
engineering.
Mannion was seen early
Sunday morning in Kostka and
Claver Halls between 2 a.m. and
4:30 a.m. He and another
freshman from Dolan then went
to sleep in his Kostka suite.
Around2p.m. the other freshman
awoke and was aware that
Mannion did not seem to be
breathing.
With the help of other
students, local police, fire, and
campus security came to the scene
while an residence hall advisor
who recently completed a course
in CPR began resuscitation. The
emergency medical services team
took over but could not revive
Mannion who was taken by
ambulance to St. Vincent's
Medical Center.
As stated in the
Connecticut Post on Tuesday,
Mannion was declared dead at
4:15 p.m. at St. Vincent's Medical
Center from cardiopulmonary
arrest according to Police Capt.
Robert Comers, the department
spokesman.
A report is expected
from the State Medical
Examiner's Office in a few weeks
for the official cause of death.
His previous health history is also
being reviewed.
"I would encourage
everyone to help the freshmen in
dealing with this tragedy so soon
after arriving at Fairfield,"
commented Fran Koerting,
director of programs for new
students.
On Sunday evening, Rev.
Paul Holland, S.J., assistant
University chaplain, Anne Cole,
director of the health center, and
Dean of Students Gwen Vendley
provided counseling in Kostka and
enabled several students to relocate
to other residence halls.
Murray Farber, director of
public relations, said in the
Connecticut Post on Tuesday,
"Students have been advised to
contact AnreCole for further
counseling."
"Kevin's father told me
that he was at a school that he was
excited about attending. It's a
tragedy for him, his parents, and his
brothers and sisters," remarked
William P. Schimpf, vice president
of student services.
The wake is set for tonight
in Springfield, Virginia. The funeral
is scheduled for tomorrow morning
in Annandale, Virginia.
"Out of all fairness to
Kevin, his family, his friends, and
those directly involved in the
situation, we need to be sensitive
and be a voice of reason by not
speculating or spreading false
rumors about anything. Our
thoughts and prayers are with Kevin
and his family," stated FUSA
President Mark Reed.
Convocation celebrates diversity
Christine Hamel
News Editor
As a result of the racial
incidents that happened on campus
last year, and to celebrate the spirit
of diversity, the community of
Fairfield University presented an
academic convocation and lecture
by Randall Robinson. The first
annual University - wide
convocation was held on September
8, 1995, at 1:00 p.m. in Alumni
Hall. Afternoon classes were
canceled for the day so that students,
faculty, and administration could
attend the event all together.
This year's convocation
was quite different from, previous
years. In the past, the convocation
has been only for first year students.
This year, everyone was invited to
attend the gathering. According to
Fran Koerting, director ofprograms
for new students, "I was really glad
that students were willing to give it
a try and to see what convocation is
all about."
Immediately following Fr.
Carrier's invocation, Dr. Alan
Katz, chairperson of the
committee on multiculturalism
and diversity, spoke first and
welcomed everyone to the
convocation. During his
opening remarks, Katz said "that
convocation was also the first in
a series ofevents this year which
will focus on the meaning and
value of a multiculturalism and
diversity on our campus."
The convocation is
only one part of a series of
activities. There will be lectures
and movies that will go on
throughout the year dealing with
multiculturalism, diversity, and
co-educational programs. Spike
Lee will be on campus next
month and his movie "Do the
Right Thing" will be shown.
After Katz's speech,
the Glee Club performed our
"Alma Mater" and "From Sea to
Shining Se;i- Next. Fairfield
University Student Association
President Mark Reed '96
discussed his ideas and feelings
on multiculturalism and diversity.
"Some of the greatest lessons we
learn this year will come from our
interaction with each other as a
university community. None ofthis
is possible, however, if we do not
take the time to listen to one another,
give someone else a chance in the
spotlight, or challenge our usually
false assumptions we make about
people or events." said Reed.
The Rev. Aloysius P.
Kelley, S.J., University president,
introduced our guest speaker
Randall Robinson. A Harvard Law
graduate, Robinson worked as Ford
Foundation Fellow in Tanzania and
then served as a public interest
lawyer in Boston. In 1975, Robinson
became an aide to Missouri
congressman William Clay and later
for Michigan's Charles Diggs.
Robinson spoke
at Fairfield previously to mark the
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King
J' He became a national figure
when he and two companions
continued on pg 3
Campus Crime
Report: Are we safe?
Kristen Finello
Staff Writer
Along with the Student
Handbook and a class schedule,
a copy of the 1994 Uniform
Campus Crime Report was
waiting in every student's
mailbox when the semester
started. The report, prepared by
the Security Department in
compliance with federal
regulations, charts the numbers
of criminal occurring on
campus.
According to the
report, there was one aggravated
assault, 24 incidents ofburglary,
107 larceny-thefts, 3 motor
vehicle thefts and 4 incidents of
arson oncampus during the 1994
calendar year. Taken at face
value however, these statistics
can be misleading. For example,
it must be noted that the report is
not an exhaustive list of every
single incident that has occurred
on campus. Instead, it reports
only the occurrence of Class 1
crimes, those considered to be
the most serious including
murder, arson, and assaults.
Another source of
confusion when interpreting the
statistics is that many people
are unsure of the distinction
between a burglary and a
larceny-theft as "the theft of
property from a common area."
For example, a student has
something taken from a bag left
unattended in the mezzanine or
the library. The forced or
unforced entry into a private
room or office from which
something is taken constitutes a
burglary. Finally, a robbery is a
theft that involves physical
contact between the victim and
the perpetrator. As the report
indicates, larceny-theft is the
most prevalent crime at
Fairfield, as well as on campuses
across the country.
Another common
source of confusion is the
statistics on sexual offenses
occurring on campus. Griffin
encourages students to read the
text accompanying the crime
report which describes in detail
what constitutes forcible rape
and forcible fondling. Griffin
also noted that since rapes are
traditionally under-reported it
is very difficult to get an accurate
count of the incidents. Said
Griffin, "What we are reporting
[in the Uniform Campus Crime
Report] are those incidents that
are reported to us." Therefore,
sexual offenses that are dealt
with by the Counseling Center,
but not reported to the Security
Department are not included in
the statistics reported.
In regard to alcohol
violations, the report indicated
that there were no arrests for
alcohol violations in 1994.
Griffin noted that there is an
important distinction between
write-ups and arrests for
offenses such as underage
alcohol consumption. An
offense documented by a
resident assistant becomes a
case for the Judicial branch and
does not typically involve the
Security Department. Arrests
are only made when the Fairfield
Police become involved in the
matter. Only these arrests by the
Fairfield Police are included.
The Security
Department encourages
students to make time to read
and understand the Crime
Report in order to remain
informed about incidents
occurring on campus. In
addition, Griffin said that
students should keep their copies
as a reference in the even that
they are the victim of a crime.
Included in the report are the
telephone numbers of many of
the resources available to
victims.
Security has planned
some programs starting in
October, which is National
Crime Prevention Month.
During the week of October 16
security officers will be in the
Campus Center answering
questions and distributing safety
whistles. On November 1, there
will be a self-defense class
offered in the Oakroom from 7-
9 p.m. In addition, security will
continue providing safety
programming in the residence
halls.
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