Daily Archives November 7, 2007

For the past decade, women have out numbered men in admission rates and Fairfield is no exception. The University's undergraduate student population is 57 percent female and 43 percent male. This trend is also occurring at other prominent colleges and universities nationwide.

A fire broke out early Sunday morning at a beach house on Ocean Isle Beach in southern North Carolina, killing six University of South Carolina students and one Clemson University student, while there were six survivors also from USC, authorities said. Perched on stilts, the home sits about two blocks from the beach on one of a series of peninsulas, each by canals.

Fairfield officials often talk about diversity from an ethnic or socio-economic standpoint. But University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx is concerned with another type of diversity: religious. In a press conference Thursday, von Arx outlined the University's strategic plan to foster religious growth on campus, regardless of the religious background of the student who lives on it.

A case of assault and a hit-and-run accident put an exclamation point on the end of a week filled mostly with vandalism.

A new Dodge Charger is on loan to the Department of Public Safety for a one-week trial. According to Director of Public Safety Todd Pelazza, the Charger is on campus to test fuel economy and efficiency. "It's the first option we're looking into," he said.

Open VISIONS Director Philip Eliasoph anticipated the mixed reaction from audience members Monday night about William Bennett's conservative stance on the war in Iraq. "As we develop a roster of speakers for Open VISIONS Forums, we realize that controversy is always in the air," said Eliasoph.

Fairfield English professor Ruth Anne Baumgartner can remember paying $100 for all of her textbooks back in college. Today, students pay that much, sometimes more, for only one book. "It is not proportional at all," said Baumgartner. "It is shocking. We have created an out-of-control monster.

Fairfield alumnus Kathleen Murphy '84 has joined the likes of Oprah Winfrey and other female leaders in being named one of the most powerful women in business by FORTUNE Magazine. Murphy, who currently holds the position of chief financial officer of ING's U.S. Wealth Management division, debuted at No. 40 out of 50 on this prestigious list published by FORTUNE.

Women hate it. Class discussions have been devoted to it. It is the bane of one tour guide's existence. It is the column, "He Said." "This time he's gone too far" is what one Facebook group had to say about the feature writer, Dan Stanczyk '08. "He Said," which is traditionally a sharp, humorous criticism about a college-themed topic, is printed every week in the Coffee Break section of The Mirror.

FUSA President Hutchinson Williams '08 is synonymous with red wigs, face paint and Fairfield Fridays. But has the man behind the costume achieved what he told the student body that elected him he would? When Williams, who is approaching the midpoint of his second term, first ran for president in 2006, he claimed six broad campaign platform points: school unity, diversity, academics, improving student and town relations, FUSA unity and creating traditions.