Mirror - Vol. 12, No. 02 - September 17, 1987

              Features
The Incredible Shrinking... 5 A&E
Joe Jackson stumbles 9 Sports
Stag Tracks returns 10
MIRRORy The
Fairfield
Volume 12, No. 2 Our Second Decade Thursday, September 17,1987 The Image of Fairfield
O'Neil new Dean of Students
By Jeanne Lynch
Staff Writer
Almost a month has past since the
position of Henry Krell was filled by
Father Lawrence O'Neil for the position
of Dean of Students. Father O'Neil,
formerly the Director of Career
Placement, is the acting interim Dean of
Students. He approaches this job with
27 years experience in both the teaching
and counseling areas. It is not known
how long Father O'Neil will remain in
this position, but during his time as
Dean he has definite objectives and ideas
for the job.
The responsibilities of the Dean of
Students are varied. The Dean supervises
both minority students' and international
students' counseling services. He also
acts as the counselor to the handicapped
students. Another main aspect of the
Dean's position provides for the
enforcement of disciplinary sanctions.
This office calls for an ability to counsel
and guide while at the same time
demands strict adherence to the rules.
Father O'Neil has the background and
knowledge to handle this multifaceted job
competently.
Starting at Fairfield Prep as a
scholastic 27 years ago. Father O'Neil
worked as a teacher. He returned to the
Prep as a priest working as the
Admissions Director and then as the
Director of Guidance. From there. Father
O'Neil became what was known as the
Dean of Discipline, but today is referred
to as Assistant Principle. In, 1972,
Father O'Neil came to the University as
the Director of Career Planning. He
regards this most recent transition in a
positive light. It is an opportunity to
utilize his past experience in guidance
and discipline.
There are issues which Father O'Neil
currently sees as nedding his direct
attention. During his time as Dean of
Students, he desires to see a decrease in
the consumption of alcohol by the
students. "I'm afraid for the students'
bodies." One of the ways he plans to
deal with this problem is to attack it first
through education. He would like to
inform people about the possible health
risks involved in heavy drinking. If
education and counseling are not enough
to deter the overindulgers, he states he
must unfortunately resort to strict
disciplinary measures whenever
necessary. Father O'Neil's philosophy
can be summed up by three simple
words: interested, fair and firm. He
plans to enforce the rules of the student
handbook rigidly. "It will be a switch
for me to go from being the good guy in
Career Placement to the bad guy in
Student Services." He does not
particularly embrace the idea of being
known for disciplinary actions alone and
is quick to point out that he is more than
willing to hear all sides of any issue.
Although he understands and recognizes
the needs of the students, he feels he
must act in exact accordance with the
rules of the University.
In his years that he has been at
Fairfield, Father O'Neil has developed a
deep rooted love and respect for the
campus as well as for the people who
make up Fairfield. "Disrespect in any
form will trigger my firmness." He
plans to make it well known that any
type of destruction or defacement of the
dorms and property will be dealt with
severly. He stresses the importance of
mutual respect among students and
between the staff and students. This is
another point which Father O'Neil sees
to be requiring his attention. He plans to
bring about awareness of the
significance of respect for the University.
Father O'Neil is deeply impressed by
both the the intellectual and moral
qualities Fairfield students exhibit. He
views the student body as being reflective
of fine families and strong backgrounds.
His desire is to see the students become
more involved and aware concerning
social issues. "If the students learn to
fully develop the talents they have and
are able then to share them with others;
both my job and the University's job is
complete." He has watched Fairfield
grow through the years and has
participated in multiple roles during his
career here. It is uncertain as to how long
he will fill this position, however,
Father O'Neil is certain that while he is
Dean of Students, issues will be handled
fairly and with the student's best interest
always in mind.
Changing of the guard
Father Lawrence O'Neil ISF M
(photo by Andrea Whitehouse) IJS M
Dr. Robert P. Stepsis
Academic VP seeks changes
By Chris Michailoff
News Editor
Dr. Robert P. Stepsis Has taken over
as Academic Vice President of Fairfield
University. He arrived on June 15, and
lived on campus during the summer. Dr.
Stepsis succeeds Fr. Christopher
Mooney, S.J., Academic Vice President
since 1980, who resigned at the end of
the academic year.
In his new position, Dr. Stepsis
will have charge of the entire
University's academic resources, while
overseeing the deans of each school.
Dr. Stepsis was interested in
Fairfield University, and when he saw a
position open, he applied for it. One of
the reasons Stepsis was attracted to
Fairifeld was because he feels, "Fairfield
has an enormous potential." Fairfield's
potential lies in "its being placed in a
very favorable location," as well as the
school's ability to attract "bright students
and a strong faculty."
One of the first jobs Stepsis will
undertake is to review the core
curriculum. He is not overly concerned
with the size of the core, but he wants to
insure that, "the core is reflective to what
students' needs are to meet the challenges
of the 80's." He also will try to qualify
the core against the goals of a Jesuit
education. According to Stepsis, the
ideals of Jesuit education are compelling
since, "they place importance on the life
of the mind; not as an end but as a means
to public service."
Stepsis promisies, "not to be a laid
back administrator, but rather a man of
action." Part of this will be an overview
of the faculty, especially in the fine arts
department. He is very interested in
getting to know the students, and
contends that his door is open "to
students' individual problems."
Dr. Stepsis served as the Associate
Vice President for Academic Affairs at
Trinity University in Texas. He holds a
B.A., Magna Cum Laude, in English
from the University of Notre Dame, and
a Ph.D. from Harvard, in medieval
literature.
Fr. Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., the
University President, commented that he
was pleased with the selection of Dr.
Stepsis, adding that he "has a well-articulated
philosophy of education
compatible with Fairfield, and has
considerable academic administration
experience, as well as an understanding of
Jesuit goals."
Class overloads, course conflicts contribute to registration problems
By Chris Michailoff
News Editor
This semester has been
marked with long lines of
students trying to get into
classes at the registrar's office.
The process of registration has
been designed to accomodate
the undergraduate school by
providing them with the
opportunity to choose five
classes and alternatives. Course
conflicts will arise when a class
reaches its maximum limit, and
students cannot register for a
particular class.
Freshmen are pre-registered
for their first semester courses
after acceptance into Fairfield.
All other students register in
November for the spring
semester, and in April for the
Fall semester. Dr. Keith
Martin, Dean of the School of
Business, expressed puzzlement
on the problems with
registration since, "the number
of courses is established based
upon the demand for a class
based upon past demand."
Therefore, if the supply of
classes was low in proportion
to the demand, more sections
would be added. "Offering more
sections presents a problem,"
according to Dr. Martin, "since
the classrooms are at %100
utilization rate, it would be hard
to add more sections."
Dr. Robert Stepsis, the
newly appointed Academic Vice
President, feels that there is a
problem with the registration
process, and he was "amazed at
the lines of students outside the
registar's office." Stepsis
further commented, "I do not
want to see this happen in the
future."
Robert Russo, the
University Registrar, says that
the lines during "drop/add" week
have not been excessively long,
compared to the past. Russo
noted that where problems occur
is in the School of Business
since it has its own core
requirements. "Students feel
they have to get an Intro to
Marketing or Management class
in the fall of their junior year,
but they can take it in the
spring." Dr. Martin said, "The
system of registration is a well
thought system." He also
contends that every effort is
made to accomodate the
students, to ensure they have
the proper classes to graduate."
"There are more problems
with schedules in the fall then
the spring," according to Russo.
A reason for this rests with
students who take summer
classes, and teachers who leave,
or switch their class schedules.
Dr. Stepsis said, " It is my
responsibility to make sure that
the changes are minimized."
Dr. Martin responds, "it's
frustrating on our part when
students don't follow through in
the classes they are scheduled
for."
Both Russo and Stepsis are
looking into the problem of
registration. Stepsis has
proposed a new system for
"drop/add" week, which will be
more responsive to the students'
problems. The registrar's office
would first handle all students
who are unable to get classes
due to problems outside their
control. The next day student's
who couldn't get classes because
they were abroad would go to
the registrar. Then the
registrar's office would be open
to regular "drop/add" problems.
Stepsis feels this method
prevents different groups from
competing against one another.