Monthly Archives October 31, 2007

Ken Flatto, the long-time Democratic first selectman for the town of Fairfield, is defending his incumbent position during next Tuesday's election. In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Flatto talked about the town's relations with the school.

What would it take for you to kill another person? That was a question posed in front of an audience of baby boomer "students" by Harry Stout, professor of American religious studies at Yale, during the third of four lectures at the One Day University program at Fairfield.

What do 15 extra pounds, never-opened philosophy textbooks and large amounts of debt have in common? They all likely belong to young adults who graduated from top dollar universities throughout the country. The average student loan debt for graduating seniors nationwide is $21,000.

Fairfield has been taking a number of precautions in an attempt to avoid being hit with an outbreak of the new antibiotic-resistant variety of staph infection. The action comes after numerous other schools have been afflicted with the infection. The most recent of these facilities of higher education was Iona College, which suffered a small epidemic.

In the passageway of a Metro-North train headed for Grand Central Station, Jocelyn Boryczka, politics professor and director of peace and justice studies, stood in front of 56 members of the University community. "You have the right to free speech in the United States of America," she said.

The middle of the fall semester is upon us, which can only mean one thing: football season is in full swing. This forces students to answer one key question: Should I spend my Sunday doing homework or watching the NFL? Most Fairfield students choose football.

Who are those students who constantly take the seats in the last few rows at Quick Center and Oak Room lectures? They are students who either have lecture requirements or extra credit options offered from professors. But besides boosting the final class grade, there is much to be gained from attending these lectures.

Halloween is the time of year when, between the scary movie marathons, the haunted houses and the ghost stories, many people find themselves a bit more afraid of the dark than usual. Of course there are also the common superstitions that scare people every day of the year: black cats, walking under ladders or stepping on cracks.

The scale by which we measure ourselves is unto itself a measure of who we are. This thought was far from my mind though as I read the flyer announcing the San Diego Chicken Challenge. Visualizing 30 inches of chicken sub, I wondered why I had accepted this assignment.

Whether the winning candidate of 2008 will be the first woman in Hillary Clinton, the first black man in Barack Obama, the first Italian in Rudy Giuliani, the first Mormon in Mitt Romney or the first Hispanic in Bill Richardson, is yet to be determined; but the odds are pretty good.