THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of October 5, 2022
Vol. 49 Iss. 3
The Mirror Hits 1,000,000 All-Time Website Views By Madison Gallo Executive Editor
Tommy Coppola / The Mirror
The Mirror reached 1,000,000 website views on Sept. 28, 2022. After the merge between The Voice, a University-supervised student publication, and The Free Press and Review, an independently published student newspaper, The Fairfield Mirror was created. The Mirror added an online edition in 2000, and today, students can access the weekly edition of the article online and in print across campus. A 2017 article written by the CT Insider discussed The Mirror’s role on Fairfield’s campus and how the digital age has affected the paper. Mirror Editor-in-Chief Emerita Jesse Erickson ‘17 was quoted in the CT Insider saying that being online “[makes] it a lot faster” while recognizing that the print edition is a “campus tradition.” The paper can also be found online at Issuu.com/FairfieldMirror. Follow The Mirror on its social media accounts @FairfieldMirror on Instagram and @TheFairfieldMirror on Tik Tok. Thank you for all of the suppor t over the years, and we look forward to a million more.
Fairfield University’s on-campus arena was named Leo D. Mahoney Arena last Wednesday, Sept. 28. Board of Trustees member and daughter of Leo D. Mahoney Shelagh Mahoney-McNamee ‘87 contributed the gift, which is the largest by an alumna of Fairfield.The arena will be home to the University’s basketball and volleyball teams, as well as concerts and other large events.
Leo D. Mahoney Arena Named After Largest Alumna Gift By Tommy Coppola Managing Editor
Fairfield University has finally unveiled the namesake of the building formerly known as the “Arena and Convocation Center,” which will now go by “Leo D. Mahoney Arena.” Leo D. Mahoney was part of Fairfield University’s Trustees Advisory Council in the 1990s. The businessman, father and husband to Joan E. Mahoney passed away at the age of 82 in 2010, according to his obituary from boston.com. The newly-named facility draws its support from donors of the University and will honor Mahoney via its name.
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I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my alma mater, that has given me so much both personally and professionally, and to honor my father, with this dedication.” - Shelagh Mahoney-McNamee ‘87
INSIDE
According to an official press release from FairfieldStags.com, “The $51 million project will be 100 percent donor funded.” The gift comes from Fairfield University Trustee Shelagh Mahoney-McNamee ‘87, the daughter of Leo D. Mahoney.
According to the press release, she has two children currently attending Fairfield University and two who have already graduated from Fairfield University. Her other child is an alum of Boston College, a fellow Jesuit university. “It is an honor to be a part of this new chapter in Fairfield's history,” Mahoney-McNamee stated, according to the press release. "I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my alma mater, that has given me so much both personally and professionally, and to honor my father, with this dedication.” On June 28, 2022, The Mirror reported that the official name of the arena at the time was “Arena and Convocation Center,” but was commonly referred to as “Arena 100.” However, Deputy Director of Athletics Zach Dayton confirmed that the “Office of Advancement has been working on all named spaces.” Included in these spaces is the return of the George Bisacca Court, which is named after Fairfield University’s former athletic director. Mahoney Arena will be home to Fairfield University’s basketball teams, as well as its volleyball team. According to the press release, university events and concerts will also be held here. The women’s basketball team will play their home opener on Nov. 18 against Stonehill College followed by the men’s basketball team which will play their home opener against Saint Peter’s University on Dec. 3. The new season will be preceded by the return of pre-season festivities, which was hinted at by members of the Fairfield community during the cornerstone placement ceremony that took place on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, at 5 p.m. “We are eagerly awaiting its grand opening on November 18,” Fairfield University Student Association President Jordan Gale ‘23
stated during the ceremony. “And we’re looking forward to packing the Red Sea in December.” Gale continued his speech to the crowd by sharing what the arena’s construction means for students. To him, it signifies “coming together with our friends and peers to cheer on our fellow Stags” and “cheering with you all this winter.”
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As students, it is truly inspiring to see what can be achieved when there is a need and there is a vision for constantly moving Fairfield forward.” - Aliyah Seenauth ‘24
Fairfield University Student Association Vice President, Aliyah Seenauth ‘24, built off of Gale’s statements with her own take on the importance of the new facility. “As students, it is truly inspiring to see what can be achieved when there is a need and there is a vision for constantly moving Fairfield forward,” Seenauth expressed. After Seenauth’s speech, Fairfield University’s Vice President for Marketing and CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Covid Cases Re-emerge Across Campus By Julian Nazario Assistant News Editor
President Joe Biden recently declared “the pandemic is over” in an interview with 60 Minutes. Hi s s t ate m e nt , along with the continuous downward trend of COVID cases that have occurred during the summer, has made many believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is a thing of the past. At Fairfield University, that belief is translated into the elimination of weekly testing for unvaccinated or asymptomatic students; the low prevalence of mask usage between students, faculty members and other employees; and the reinstatement of in-person, full-capacity sports and extracurricular activities. For many, t he first activity that hinted at a return of normalcy for the fall semester to the Fairfield campus was the celebration of the overnight First-Year Orientation hosted during the last two weeks of June 2022. The event, as a Mirror article from June
2022 hig h lig hte d, was the first to be celebrated since the summer of 2019. Then, three weeks into the fall semester an email from the university’s Dean of Students, William Johnson, Ph.D. informed students of the existence of multiple active cases of COVID-19 on campus. According to Johnson’s communication, during the week of Sept. 28, Fairfield University had a total of 16 active cases of Covid, with 15 attributed to students and one to an employee of the university. He a ls o st ate d that during the previous week, the university had detected 39 cases. “I think that they are pretty good and manageable, considering how many people there are on campus and that no one is wearing masks,” said first-year resident Johanna Lydon when asked about her thoughts on the amount of COVID cases reported by Dean Johnson. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
News
Opinion
Vine
Sports
Find out when the arena will host its debut game.
Ranked: the best and worst bathrooms on campus.
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What are the best movies to watch during the Fall Season? Page 8
New Era: Women’s basketball enters season with new coach and new arena. Page 16