Author Heather Manning

The college tradition of chain-smoking in diners at 3 a.m. is under threat by a bill passed in the Connecticut state Senate that may ban smoking in bars, restaurants and all workplaces with more than five employees. A statewide smoking ban hits home with students at Fairfield because of the recent ban on smoking in any building, including the residence halls, which was enacted this academic year and met with frustration by student smokers.

Reggae legend Bob Marely once sang, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery/ None but ourselves can free our minds." His words always ring true, but never more so than now, as February is Black History Month. Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson started Black History Month in 1926 with the goal of ending the general public's ignorance and distorted image of African American history.

Next year can be an amazing year for Fairfield University. But, it will require creative leadership and dedication. FUSA is just one organization among many with a strong budget for programming. As FUSA President, I vow to work closely with all other organizations on campus to seek out the best programming that can be found.

I am running on a ticket with Jillian Grant who is seeking the position of Vice President of Programming. We have big ideas for next year: we plan to establish a system in which students can access evaluations of professors written by other students, which we feel will be invaluable during registration time; we will strive to improve attendance at all school sporting events as well as strengthen overall school spirit; we will work to increase the prominence of student art, especially in the campus center; we would like to create more attractive weekend programming, as well as allocating funding for weeknight events; we will work to make necessary renovations to the Levee, as well as increasing its prominence among the student body; through new and creative ways of funding, we will allow for the formation of new clubs, as well as strengthening existing ones.

Haven't you always wanted something named after you? Now that you mention it, kind letter I received in my campus mailbox, I have. Let me read on and discover how I could go about this. Oh, there's the catch, it will be named after our whole class. A couple of days ago I received a nice note given out to all members of the class of 2003, informing them that if we pledge to raise $25,000, we will get something on campus named after us, "in our honor.

When I came to Fairfield University, I was determined to make the most of my time here and to give back as much as possible to the university community. Reaching out to others through Board of Governors, the FUSA Executive Board, Orientation for '05 and '06, Hunger Clean Up, and Residence Life has taught me how to motivate and lead others to put proactive changes into effect.

To the Editor: The Class of '00 football players entered Fairfield University in 1996 with the intent and the dream of building a winning football program for at FU. In only three years, through hard work and undeniable determination they won the MAAC. Yet it went largely unnoticed by both the faculty and the students, and is perhaps one of the reasons for the school's decision.

An Open Letter to the Constituents of Fairfield University, From two great years in Claver to living off-campus, my time at Fairfield U. has been great. As your president, I hope to make sure that all students have the same positive experience that I was fortunate enough to have.

Year: 2005 Major: Sociology Hometown: Providence, RI Activities: 2005 two-term Class President, lector, member of the Skill Program Platform: Make teacher evaulations available prior to registration; be an ear to the students; hear what programming students want.

Year: 2004 Major: Marketing Hometown: Hackensack, NJ Activities: 2004 two-term Class President, Facilitator, Dean's Student Advisor Round Table for the School of Business Platform: Soon-to-be disclosed. Why do you want to be FUSA president? "I have tremendous love and pride for Fairfield University and I can think of no better way to show my dedication than to be its primary student voice.