Beer. Dim lights. Beirut tables. Basements. All of these have become synonymous with a townhouse party. However, a focus group comprised of students is being organized by Director of Residence Life Fran Koerting that may change townhouse partying policies as students know them.

Voters are faced with a unique choice this year, as an incumbent FUSA president at Fairfield University tries to protect his position from four other contenders. The candidates' ad campaigns started not while voters were out and about but rather in the dark of night.

Sophomores are angered that they will not be allowed to live off campus during the 2004-2005 school year, after a Department of Residence Life and Housing Policy kept them from being granted a release from their housing contract. According to Director of Housing Gary Stephenson and Dean of Students Mark Reed, the department's policy is to grant 400 students off-campus status, while other students will be provided a bed on campus.

The story of Mark Fisher '06 has become one of frustration: the frustration of a mourning family, of detectives and of one Fairfield student who is trying to defend her name. Four months after his murder in New York City, the investigation into the death of Fisher has gone completely cold, with both family members and investigators pleading for anyone with information to talk to police.

New York City Police said Sunday night that no arrests have been made one week after Mark Fisher, '06, was found brutally murdered after leaving a party in Brooklyn on Oct. 12. Police do have evidence pointing to specific people and a specific location, but it seems more evidence is needed before arrests are made.

For many guys, the Super Bowl is the highlight of the year. Bigger than the Stanley Cup, larger than the World Series, it's a joining of men around the world, sitting around a TV and watching extremely oversized men run around in tight pants hitting each other for three hours.

Although it seems that everyone from ages eight to 80 watches the Super Bowl, it is blatantly obvious that the event is geared toward a certain demographic of the population: men. The Super Bowl is the quintessential opportunity for men to get together to celebrate two teams of gigantic dudes beating the crap out of each other in the name of sport, and there is no better way to observe this sacred day than by throwing a party.

Congratulations, you have just graduated Fairfield University. Now here is a $25,000 loan you have to pay off. "I'm not looking forward to paying off my loans," said Brian LaBelle '05. "Having to pay 10 grand is a lot, especially when I will have to pay rent and car payments.

Did you really think that Charles F. Dolan and Thomas J. Walsh were Fairfield's only claim to fame? Just because the university doesn't have a building named after every graduate who has "made it big" doesn't mean the success stops there. Many graduates who don't have their names on Fairfield buildings yet are successful because of the hard work they put into their educations.