Mirror - Vol. 27, No. 25 - April 25, 2002

              BAR EXAM
We crawl through the local
pubs for the best atmosphere
Page 9
AN INQUISITION
Seeking Homer attacks
20 Questions at The Levee
Page 16
Fairfield
April 25. 2002 MIRROR University
Volume 27, Number 25
Could the Levee go dry?
BY JEN MALCOM
From happening bar, to
snack bar and coffee bar? The
Levee, amid controversy, is
struggling to find its niche.
There is an investigation
underway concerning a discrep-ancy
on the part of staff mem-bers
and patrons at the Levee,
said Matthew Dinnan, associate
dean of students and permittee
of the Levee Pub.
According to Jerry
Aversano '02, the Levee man-ager,
a student on the staff en-dangered
the Levee policy
through an alcohol-related inci-dent
while bartending.
"A staff member had jeop-ardized
the operation by violat-ing
Fairfield University and
Connecticut state alcohol regu-lation,
policy and code," said a
statement given to the Levee
staff by an official.
The pub will remain open
limited hours for the rest of the
semester, according to univer-sity
officials. It will be closed
this Thursday and Friday, but
opened Saturday from
12:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.
"I need to feel comfortable
that the pub is being run effec-tively
and efficiently," said
Dinnan. "If it's not, I don't feel
comfortable unless a member of
my staff is directiy supervising
it."
Rumors have been flying
around campus that the Levee
is going to be shut down or even
taken over by something else.
But that's not true, according to
Dinnan. The Levee as a pro-gramming
entity is still active.
Events, like this past weekends
Junior/Senior Mug Night, have
just been moved to the campus
center.
Levee bartenders are
trained. They go through TIPS,
a nationally recognized training
program. But their job is not
easy, as they face a lot of peer-pressure
from underage friends
who want to purchase alcohol.
"If you're a bartender and
a student, there's a lot of pres-sure,
but it's the job to abide by
the law," said Dinnan. "The pub
is a legal entity. It's a privilege,
not a right, and it's subject to
university and state law."
The Levee is struggling to
find its place. It may be trans-formed
into a coffee bar or a
pizza place. It really depends
on what students want, said
Dinnan.
"If it's between coffee bar
and closing it for good, it sounds
like a good idea," said Gabrielle
Photos: Amy Womack
The Levee was shut down for the rest of the year, except for special events like Spam Jam.
Inset, a sign announcing the abrupt cancellation of Junior/Senior night last Saturday.
Roazzi, '04. "They need to get
some decent coffee there
though, not the charred beans
they brew now."
Focus groups met and dis-cussed
what they feel the Levee
should be. Among the sugges-tions
that were brought up were
giving the Levee a more living
room style, with more televi-sions,
and direct TV. Officials
hope those changes will bring
more students to the Levee.
"The Levee is in a great
location, it's a nice little build-ing
with a lot to offer," said
Dora DeNardo,'04. "I just wish
they did more with it."
"I wasn't here when it used
to be a bar, so I don't know what
it was like then, but I miss go-ing
there for lunch or dinner,"
said Jen Barrett, '04. "It was a
nice comfortable atmosphere
and had a lot to offer."
Other students are upset
with Levee Bar tradition wan-ing.
SEE "LEVEE" ON P. 6
Fairfield: What $32,660 will get you
BY LAURA PFIEFER
& LAURA WALSH
A 7.2 percent increase in
the overall undergraduate tu-ition
was announced by Univer-sity
President Rev. Aloysius P.
Kelley, S.J. on April 2, 2002
through a letter sent out to par-parents
are not
ents.
And
pleased.
"I am disappointed," said
L.W. Ulbricht of Medfield,
Mass., father of Sarah Ulbricht
'04. "I would much prefer to
see a fixed tuition for the four
years. It should be feasible to
Photo Illustration: Joshua O'Connell
The 7.2 percent tuition increase follows a 6.2 percent
increase last year.
have a budgeting plan that
would allow for this."
According to Doug Whit-ing,
assistant vice president of
public relations, the tuition in-crease
was triggered by multiple
factors, including a need for
competitive salaries. Pay rates
will be increased by two percent
in an effort to keep a competi-tive
edge among other private
colleges.
In addition, there has been
a decline in enrollment of the
graduate and continuing educa-tion
programs and an enhance-ment
in Food Services, includ-ing
an increase in cost for run-ning
the dining facilities in
Barone. These factors, along
with new large-scale Internet
connections in the campus cen-ter
and the newly renovated
Bannow Science Center, greatly
impacted the need and decision
to raise tuition costs, according
to Whiting.
Besides the overall tuition
cost, there will be a seven per-cent
increase in dormitory room
and board and four percent raise
in townhouse rental and apart-ment
living. Many students feel
cheated, considering town-houses
are being made to ac-commodate
an extra person in
both four and six-man houses
next year.
"I don't think it's fair that
townhouse residents who are
forced to have an additional
resident face an increase in
rental charge," said Marisa
Muzix '03. "They should get a
discount, like the freshman in
forced triples."
There is a silver lining,
however, said Whiting. While
students' tuition bills may be
growing in size, there will be an
increase in the university sanc-tioned
Financial Aid. A ten per-cent
increase from $16,079,000
in 2001-2002 to $17,600,000 in
2002-2003 will benefit many
students who receive financial
aid.
"We think that $17.6 mil-lion
is a good sum in scholar-ship
investments made through
the university and philan-thropy,"
said Whiting.
This makes many students,
including
Jenn Mochi
'04 who re-ceives
aid,
more com-fortable
with
the hike in
prices. "I
don't mind
the tuition in-crease
as long
as my finan-cial
aid increases as well, keep-ing
the same tuition-aid ratio as
past years," said Mochi.
In terms of monetary fig-ures,
the undergraduate tuition
will increase to $24,100 from
$22,430, room and board resi
SEE "TUITION" ON P. 6
v does
YOUR
money go?
Part ofa series
on how Fairfield
handles money.