Monthly Archives March 26, 2008

Are the stresses of college life getting you down? Not feeling yourself lately? You aren't alone. During the 2006-2007 school year, 17.5 percent of Fairfield University's undergraduates utilized the counseling and psychological services on campus. The national average use of college counseling centers is 9 percent.

Tuesday, March 18 7:30 a.m. A door to Southwell Hall was discovered to be broken, with the glass shattered. A walk-through was conducted, but no one was found and nothing inside the building seemed to be out of order. Wednesday, March 19 12:38 a.m. The Fairfield Police reported a suspicious motor vehicle near the townhouses to Public Safety.

When Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal scrutinized Fairfield's financial aid practices last year, the University settled the issue by adding $75,000 to its financial aid funds, while not admitting to any wrongdoing. Blumenthal spearheaded an ongoing investigation into whether or not Connecticut schools have received gifts or donations from loan lenders in exchange for the schools putting them on preferred lender lists.

Mike Stahl '10 and Jeff Seiser '10 will embark on challenging, yet already-traveled, paths as respective IRHA and FUSA presidents next semester. But the real challenge for the recently elected rising leaders will be the attempt to unite those paths. "I would call it a disconnect and am not quite sure why [it] exists," said Seiser, who went on to say that IRHA and FUSA should be working together to best represent the students.

Hectic. Fierce. Difficult. These are the words Susan Clancy '11 used to describe the process of applying to college during her senior year of high school. "I thought there was definitely some real competition," she said. "Kids were all doing so many activities and getting their resumes ready to apply to college.

If you think the incoming freshmen look younger and younger every year, get ready for a shock. The youngest class in Fairfield's history - a group of 36 infants, toddlers and preschoolers - is expected to join the University community beginning in the fall.

Strep throat. The flu. Mono. College students aren't always the healthiest individuals - and usually not the richest either. With the rising importance, and cost, of health insurance, Fairfield has implemented a new "hard waiver" health insurance policy to ensure that all students are covered.

Resident Assistants are a visible and large part of the Fairfield community, present from the very first day freshmen move into their dorms. However, due to a new Residence Life policy, some RAs may be less active next year. Starting at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, RAs will no longer be allowed to hold major positions in several Fairfield organizations - specifically president and vice president of either FUSA or IRHA, editor in chief of The Mirror, and the presidential position in any "large organization" on campus.

When measuring success, baseball players have homeruns, scholars have their grade point averages and New York City chefs have Gael Greene. Greene took to the Quick Center stage Monday night for the eighth Open VISIONS Forum of the semester wearing a signature hat, one that she wears to obscure her appearance from anxious restaurateurs when eating in their establishments.

Trying to be remembered for more than catchy pop/punk songs, Fall Out Boy will be making history this week as the only band to perform on all seven continents in less than nine months. To obtain this record, the band will be performing at King George Island, a scientific colony in Antarctica, on Wednesday.