Mirror - Vol. 20, No. 15 - February 29, 1996

              The
FairfieldMIRR®R Volume 20, Number 15 Thursday, February 29, 1996 The Image of Fairfield
Vandalism on the rise at the beach
Jen Panaro
Arts and
Entertainment Editor
Numerous incidents of
vandalism have occurred on
Fairfield Beach Road within
the past several weeks. Stolen
cars, broken mirrors and torn
off license plates have resulted
from the random acts, all which
have occurred between the
hours of "12:30 a.m. and 7:00
a.m.
At the end of January,
senior Nicole Rivard stepped
outside onto the Point Parking
lot on Fairfield Beach Road to
discover her car missing. She
notified the police, but her
vehicle has yet to be located.
"When I realized the car was
stolen, it completely surprised
me because my car was an
older model. It seems like it
could happen to anyone. Now
I use a Club even on my rental
car," Rivard said.
On Saturday
February 17, junior Sarah
Breyek and junior Brian
O'Sullivan.both Fairfield
University students had their
license plates ripped off their
cars, as well as their antennas
broken off. Breyek's car was
located in her garage and
O'Sullivan's right outside in
the driveway. "It's pathetic
that we can't even feel safe in
our own home," Breyek said.
"Why someone would do
something like this is beyond
me. It's a hassle when things
like this happen."
The other two
incidents occurred this past
Thursday night. Two beach
residents, Seniors Jen Yurt and
Kate Golding went to their cars
in the morning to find that their
side view mirrors had been
ripped off.
All of the victims
reported the vandalism to the
Fairfield police but no
information is available at the
time as far as any suspects.
Glenn Griffin,
associate director of the
Fairfield University Security
Department, said that over the
past several weeks numerous
vandalism incidents have
occurred on campus as well.
Side windows have been slashed
out of several cars, but nothing
inside has been taken. "We
didn't know whether this was
an attempt at a burglary or
whether it was just an act of
Solidarity with Women addresses
their role in the Church
JoAnn Gometz
Assistant News Editor
A decree entitled,
"Jesuits said the Situation of
Women in Church and Civil
Society," served as the backdrop
for a lecture and panel discussion
on Monday night.
Rev. Howard Gray
presented the introductory
address, giving background on
the document, as well as an
explanation of its purpose.
He commented that the
first draft presented to the 233
international delegates at the
34th General Congregation was
found to be somewhat dramatic
by certain members of the group,
and the wording was then
changed to make the document
acceptable to all concerned.
Gray said that some
North Americans and western
Europeans have found the
document to be too soft, and
encouraged the audience to
remember that approach of the
people and the Church
throughout the world varies
greatly, so this decree was
written to apply to all of them as
nearly as possible.
According to Gray, the
document is addressed to the
Jesuits, rather than to women,
although the leader ofthe move
for the document did consult
several women, including at
least one who is involved with
the United Nations, to get their
input and response to the
decree.
Gray stated that the
document is, "Modest, not a
theological treatise nor a
pastoral plan, nor a political
statement, but an apostolic
sensibility to what women
have to say."
Personally, Gray said
that he was enthusiastic about
the decree, and finds it
important to call attention to
the ways in which women's
concerns could help the
Society ofJesus to better serve
the Church as people of God.
Dr. Margaret Farley
spoke about the challenges still
facing the relationship of
women and the Church, but
complimented the Jesuits on
making such a statement.
Dr. Nancy Dallavalle
provided constructive
criticism on those issues,
especially women's
ordination, and the importance
of women's experiences in the
Church.
Caroline Lennox
expressed hope for the future
in the form of more female
models in the church, changes
in liturgy, and a greater
provision for the education of
females by Jesuits at the high
school level. She stated that
the document held much
promise for the "twenty-somethings."
According to
Moderator Dr. Mary Frances
Malone, Farley summed up the
feelings of the panel when she
said that the document showed
that the Jesuits "got it" when it
came to listening to women's
voices.
All agreed that the
lecture and discussion were
well received by the audience.
The program was
sponsored by the Jesuit
Community, the Office of the
Academic Vice President, and
the Committee for the
Celebration of 25 Years of
Undergraduate Women, and
was influenced by the
leadership of Fr. Michael
Boughton, rector of the
Fairfield Jesuit Community.
anger," Griffin said. "We could
have driven by and scared them
away before anything was
taken."
There does seem to be
a link between the crimes
occurring at the beach, campus,
and town. Last year there was
one night that three vehicles
were stolen on campus, one in
town, and one at Sacred Heart
University. "Most incidents,
however, are random acts of of
vandalism," Griffin said.
"We've got a pretty good case
now. In Jogues someone
damaged the laundry machines
beyond use." This incident is
under investigation.
Although the random
acts of violence cannot be
completely stopped, there are
things that can be done to
prevent them. Taking out
stereos or locking them in the
trunk, taking CD's and
valuables out of eyesight and
parking in lit areas are all ways
to increase safety of your
vehicle. If you see something
suspicious or someone lurking
around, don't give them the
benefit of the doubt and notify
security or police. "The Club is
a good idea, although it is not
completely foolproof, unless a
person really wants your
vehicle, they'll move onto
someone else's," Griffin said.
Hopefully whoever
has been committing these acts
has moved on. "People should
stop and think what they're
doing. I had a sweater and CD's
stolen and although it's not a
car, it's still scary to think people
could do this," junior Allison
Fountain, beach resident said.
WE ARE THE
CHAMPIONS!
photo by Mark Conrad
Forward Shannon Bowman tries to put one up during Monday
night's game against Iona. Fairfield beat Iona with a score of 82-67.
Coverage begins on page 16.
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