Mirror - Vol. 27, No. 19 - February 28, 2002

              A BIG HEAP
A mound of information on
Fairfield's compost pile
Page5
MOVIE MAGIC
The creative minds behind
Lord of the Rings speak out
Page 17
Fairfleld
Februarv28,2002 MIRROR University
Volume 27, Number 19
Glassceilingnomore
/ KarenDonoghide becomes first femalepresidentof^FUSA
Karen Donoghue, left, defeated Yin Farisello by 11 votes Tuesday night in the presidential elections.
BY CHRIS WOOD
After over thirty years as a co-ed
institution, Fairfield University will soon
have a woman at the head of the student
body.
Karen Donoghue made history
Tuesday when she became the
organization's first female president
since the institution first admitted
women in 1970. She just barely edged
out fellow junior Vin Farisello by 11
votes-565-554.
"I feel thankful for the people that
voted for me, and the people who were
on my team," Donoghue said after the
results were announced on the ground
floor of the Barone Campus Center.
The photo-finish left some doubt
about the result.
"On any other day, it could have
gone either way," Farisello said.
Some see Donoghue's victory as a
sign of change in the university commu-nity.
"When it comes down to it, people
recognize my sex as a symbol of change.
But if someone voted for me, I really
wish that people recognized that I was
qualified for the job...I won't let people
down," she said.
Current FUSA president Joe
Piagentini '02 also agreed with the im-
Photos: Joshua O'Connell (left); Amy Womack
plications of Karen's victory.
"My administration was about
change, and I think that we demonstrated
this through this year's election,"
Piagentini said.
Though Fairfield's newest president
was visibly emotional and excited, her
focus on the big job ahead didn't seem
to flinch.
SEE "NUMBER" ON P. 6
Herewegoagain... Construction beginson
newathletic field
BY MIKE THEILE
A new field. New tennis courts.
Relocated light towers.
This is all part of Fairfield Univer-sity
improving its athletic facilities, due
in part to a legal settlement with neigh-bors
that was approved on Feb. 12.
The new athletic field will replace the old intramural area. Photo: Amy Womack
The tennis courts will be moved to
the front of the Walsh Athletic Center
while the old courts will be removed in
order accommodate plans for the new
entrance.
A new soccer and lacrosse stadium
will be added to the campus and Uni-versity
Field will be placed where the
track field now exists. The field will have
bleachers similar to those at Alumni
Field and will be lighted. There will also
be an extended track that surrounds the
new field. The turf lacrosse field will no
longer be used for games, only for prac-tice.
The lights will be taken down from
the turf field and be moved over to the
new University Field.
The lighting structures on the cur-rent
turf field have caused disturbances
with the neighbors who took the univer-sity
to court over the lighting affecting
their privacy.
"We have had problems with Col-lege
Park before," said Douglas Whit-ing,
associate vice president for public
affairs. "They beat us in court and re-stricted
the use of the turf field to day-light
hours because the lights were
against zoning laws."
At the February 12th hearing, the
Fairfield town planning and zoning com-mission
approved the university's plan
to add the new field and tennis courts.
The residents of College Park, who were
once again concerned about their own
privacy, also approved of the new field.
"We worked out an agreement with
the neighbors to accommodate the Uni-versity
and to respect their privacy," said
John Fallon, Fairfield University's attor-ney.
Now both sides feel that the new
field construction is a step in the right
direction.
"We just ask the university to re-spect
what it is like for private homes
for families with young children, be-cause
of the effects of sound and light
SEE "NEW FIELD" ON P. 4