THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of March 8, 2023
Vol. 49 Iss. 15
Stagathon Breaks Fundraising Record for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital By Kathleen Morris Assistant News Editor
Photo Contributed by Aliyah Seenauth ‘24
The Seenauth-Vargas platform focused on student diversity, health and wellnes and Stag spirit.
Aliyah Seenauth ‘24 Elected as FUSA’s First Woman of Color President By Julian Nazario Copy Editor, News Editor
Fairfield University, a predominantly white institution, elected Junior student Aliyah Seenauth on Feb. 28 as the first-ever woman of color to serve as the 76th Fairfield University Student Association president with an overwhelming majority of the votes cast by students of all classes. A week after her win, Seenauth confessed that she remains in shock after the contentious election. “I am still in shock, I’ve definitely processed it but I don't even know if I’m excited, overwhelmed … I’m still very in shock,” expressed the newly elected FUSA President. She also pointed out the waves of congratulations and kindness she received from students, faculty, staff and friends once she was announced the election winner and how it resembles the “point” of her campaign. “It means a lot to me because it feels like my whole point of it all was to feel like I'm not doing it by myself. So it's like for everyone else to be very supportive of me, I really appreciate it,” said Seenauth while describing how little things, such as appearing on the Mahoney Arena jumbotron as FUSA’s president-elect and vice president-elect during last week’s doubleheader games “means a lot”. However, the most considerable excitement over her win comes from her family, which she describes as feeling “excited” and “over the moon”. Another focus that Seenauth wants to highlight is the ability she now has to “give back” by opening the room for more students of color to be part of her historic win. Karen Donoghue ‘03, FUSA’s first female president and current Vice President of Student Life, congratulated Seenauth’s win and reflected on the significance of being a “first”. “As we continue to celebrate women’s history month, I want to congratulate and applaud Aliyah’s most
recent victory in the FUSA election. Aliyah has accomplished something that has never been done at Fairfield, breaking down a barrier for future women of color. This ‘first’ message to other women of color [is] that they should believe in themselves and follow their hearts and minds to do great things.” Donoghue continued by saying that “my hope for Aliyah is now that she has broken down a barrier, she helps other women and women of color do the same at Fairfield, and continues her path of success.” Fairfield’s Black Student Union president, Mekaylia Ingram ‘25, describes Seenauth’s win not only as a win for student minorities but also as a personal gain. “Being a Black woman and having Aliyah as President means so much to me,” said Ingram. “She represents not just Black women, but many other students of color, first-generation students, students in healthcare and just the student body as a whole.
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INSIDE
It means a lot to me because it feels like my whole point of it all was to feel like I’m not doing it by myself.” - Aliyah Seenauth ‘24, FUSA President-Elect She has been a force since she stepped on campus and has stopped at nothing to enhance the student experience.” Her Vice President, Junior student Zach Vargas, revealed more personal and behind-the-scenes details on the duo’s campaign and the significance of the win to him. “I think the first emotion that I felt [after the win] that is the most positive one is relief. With the process, there was a lot of fun. From
our preliminary conversations regarding our initial desire to run to getting our photos taken to planning out our Instagram. It was very, very exciting,” commented Vargas. “It didn't feel like a chore, but based on the events that transpired and stuff that turned against us, everything was a battle, and us winning meant that battle was over.” A Campaign Filled with Challenges This election cycle saw the rise of Fizz, the anonymous made-forcollege-students application that has rapidly spread through campus, and unsurprisingly, students also used it to talk about the 2023 FUSA presidential election. However, the comments, which escalated after the FUSA debate, were mostly personal attacks involving the Seenauth-Vargas campaign, which prompted the FUSA Court and both campaigns, with Seenauth being the first one, to release statements condemning the harmful comments. “During the course of this election, we have seen a substantial amount of cyberbullying on the social media platform ‘FIZZ’ on the basis of race, gender, identity, appearance and more […] The Court, as well as FUSA, finds this to be completely unacceptable and will not stand for it continuing,” said the Election Commissioner and the FUSA Court in a statement sent to students on Feb. 27. When discussing the challenges that her presidential campaign confronted, Seenauth emphasized how Fizz’s arrival coincided with the presidential election. So for them, it was not a shock to see how the student population started to approach the election in the app, but not that the harmful comments posted wouldn’t happen if the individuals were saying those things in person. “We were distraught about comments that were posted on Fizz and all honesty because we knew they didn't speak truth to who we are. But we felt we had to learn in a very hard way that people are gonna say whatever they want,” said Seenauth. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
On Mar. 6, Fairfield’s sixth-annual Dance Marathon culminated as students, who sported T-shirts reading “Kids Can’t Wait,” lifted large white posters to reveal seven colorful numbers: $31, 584.53. The numerical total represents a yearlong fundraising endeavor to benefit the patients and families of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, located forty miles from campus in Valhalla, N.Y. The Fairfield Dance Marathon, known as Stagathon, was hosted at the Dolan School of Business Event Hall and is part of an effort of over 400 universities involved in raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Hilary Sparling, the Manager of Central Development Initiatives for the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, explained that “Maria Fareri Children's Hospital is a 136-bed advanced pediatric center that cares for the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Connecticut's most seriously ill and injured children.” “Maria Fareri Children's Hospital is home to the area's only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Level I pediatric trauma and burn care programs, and its Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,” Sparling said. “The mission of MFCH is to set the standard for family-centered care within an environment that promotes healing and wellness to children and their families” Alaina Tarrallo ‘23, the Executive Director and self-proclaimed “cheerleader” of Stagathon, encapsulated the mission of this year’s marathon in a single slogan: “Grow Together”. “When we are little we are all asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Our mission is for every child to be able to grow up, grow strong and grow smarter,” Tarallo articulated. Tarallo reflected on the incredible stories of the Miracle Children, including a nine-year-old retinoblastoma survivor named Trevor. This fall, Trevor had the opportunity to tour Fairfield Engineering’s facilities and the new Innovation Annex.
Tarallo shared, “He wants to be an engineer when he grows up, but I want to be like him when I grow up.” “These kids are the coolest humans I know,” Tarallo exclaimed. “Many of our Miracle Children have gone through more trials than many of us will go through in our whole lives. They are strong, resilient, optimistic and brave.” The DSB Event Space was bursting with music, provided by DJ Tristan ‘26. Tarallo describes the joyous function as “a big dance party to celebrate our Miracle Kids and families.” Sparling reiterated Tarallo’s message, as she conveyed that,“the children truly feel like rockstars at the event and seeing the smiles on their faces is particularly poignant knowing the hardships they've experienced.” Tarallo explained that the impact of the event is two-fold, serving both as “a final fundraising push” and an opportunity for Miracle families to “share their stories of their time at Maria Fareri, which is the most inspiring part of the day.” A key component of fundraising is raffle ticket sales, with items donated by a collection of local businesses. The sponsors this year included Nichols MD of Fairfield, AR Workshop, Fairfield Dermatology, Playa Bowls, Background Coffee, Crumbl Cookies, The Two Oh Three, The Granola Bar, Garden Catering, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Pure Barre and Kendra Scott. Rebecca Ziobro, a sophomore and Stagathon’s Finance Chair, emphasized the significance of contributions made by the Fairf ield community. “An important goal that I, along with my committee member, Luke Davidson ’26, had this year was to raise greater awareness for Stagathon’s mission among our neighbors in the Town of Fairfield,” Ziobro commented. “Over the last month, we went door to door in a few neighborhoods surrounding campus, fundraising and gaining support for Maria Fareri. Our neighbors were very generous towards our mission, and we are so very thankful for their support.” CONTINUED ON WWW.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.COM
Kyler Erezuma /The Mirror
The event served as a gathering place for both students and patients.
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