Daily Archives April 2, 2008

The message delivered by Felipe Polanco '01 to an audience of senators seemed to sum up the frustrations of many student advocates, myself included. "Money. The administration's motivation is always money," said Polanco on Sunday night. During his time at Fairfield, administrators made the controversial decision to fire the in-house janitorial staff in favor of hiring an independent contractor.

When Ivy League schools announced plans to grant free tuition to students whose families make less than $50,000 a year, the Fairfield community wondered whether this University would take a similar step - and University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx did, just in time for Diversity Week.

In "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day," Frances McDormand stars as Guinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess who finds herself without a job, food or money until she meets Delysia LaFosse (Amy Adams), an upwardly mobile American actress.

Despite the premise of the movie, "21" is definitely no gamble. Throw your eight bucks down for the ticket, and I promise you'll cash in. Based on the bestselling book "Bringing Down the House" by author Ben Mezrich, "21" tells the true story of five MIT statistics students who use their impressive skills with numbers as a way to dominate the Las Vegas blackjack tables.

The music was loud, the sweat was pouring like rain, and the underage scenesters were plentiful at Toad's Place as Say Anything took the stage. The indie rockers hit the stage at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, performing "Skinny Mean Man," the first track off the band's new album, "In Defense of the Genre.

The Quick Center was packed with people of all ages; there were children and grandparents, students and adults, all excited to see the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre's production of "Swan Lake" Friday night. Presented in three acts, Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried (Alexey Petrov), who is celebrating his coming of age and is informed by his mother, the Queen (Yliya Ilyina) that he must choose a bride at a Ball the next evening.

The lights were dim and the air was stagnant. Students, locals and out-of-town guests packed the bar area, trying to get a drink before the show began. There was a buzz in the air as the crowd sat in anticipation, waiting for the band to take stage. Approximately 100 people crammed into the Acoustic Café in Bridgeport Friday night to support Fairfield students John Capogna '09 and Dan Vaughan '09.

If your friend down the hall doesn't have Facebook, you immediately assume there is something overwhelmingly wrong, and this person may need either a life or a formal invitation to join civilization. If, however, your lab partner has a MySpace, you regard said person as creepy, not mature enough for Facebook and un-cool.

Audio cassettes replaced 8-track tapes. CDs replaced audio cassettes. And now, digital downloads are starting to completely replace CDs. Today, as the primary outlet for music, the Internet provides more opportunities for music lovers, including pirating, purchasing and no driving to the store.

For John Capogna '09, his first priority is getting a college degree in finance. Somewhere in between, though, getting signed and touring the globe with his band, Jaime's Smile, wouldn't be a bad second gig. This Friday at 8 p.m., Jaime's Smile will play its first Connecticut set at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport.