THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of September 20, 2023
Sr. Thea Bowman Hall Officially Opens, Flooding Issues Reported
~---m :-_-
~.rn10 .
. .
.
._·.... .. -: _·: j :: ~: _·. _·
.
••
_· ;'.:;=.
:-::. : ~
:: . •
-~-----
Photo Courtesy of @Fairfieldu Instagram
The new building officially open on Sept. 8, housing over 125 sophomore students, RAs and staff.
BY JULIAN NAZARIO Copy, News Editor Fairfield University officials unveiled on Sept. 8 a new six-person, suite-style sophomore residence hall in the western area of The Quad during a blessing event. Named after Sister Thea Bowman, an African American woman from Canton, Miss. who dedicated her life to “spreading the joy of the Gospel and promoting cultural awareness and racial reconciliation,” the building will house the Sophomores Give Back program and is part of the efforts made by the administration to expand the campus housing capacity as Fairfield continues to grow. Jennifer Anderson ’97, MBA ’02, the university’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, said in a statement to The Mirror that the campus community was “thrilled” with the opening of Bowman Hall. “We had a blessing ceremony and it was wonderful to see the community – students, faculty and staff – come together to celebrate the opening and visit with the student residents,” said Anderson. “We are excited that the residence hall will house the Sophomores Give Back program, which offers second-year students an opportunity to ‘give back’ to the Fairfield residential community through service, programming and mentorship.” The blessing, performed by Campus Ministry Director Fr. Keith Maczkiewicz, S.J.,‘04, better known to the community as Fr. Mac, was part of the “Fairfield Friday” events
that culminated with the Fall Activities Fair. While many students celebrated the opening of the new residence hall in The Quad, Bowman Hall residents were restricted from using the elevator later that night due to water leakage from the walls and the elevator. This issue, however, was isolated only to the first, second and ground level of the five-story building Other students have reported issues with the design of their showers, a concern that the Office of Residence Life recognized in an email on Sept. 7. “We are reaching out today because over the past few days, there have been several showers throughout Sr. Thea Bowman that have flooded and caused leaking into the units below,” stated Res Life. “We are currently working [with] our facilities team and the contractors to address the issues.” The office also told students that to avoid flooding, residents should “be mindful of when using the shower and make sure the shower head is not pointed directly at the shower curtain.” They also advised residents to make sure the shower’s drain is “clear of hair and debris.” “With new construction, it is not uncommon to make adjustments post-opening, and the University is in the process of doing so with the design of the showers,” said Anderson when asked about the issues reported by the students within days of their move-in. In the communication to students the day before the building’s blessing, Residence Life staff
@FAIRFIELDMIRROR
D m X OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE... FAIRFIELDMIRROR.COM
Vol. 50 Issue 1
NEWEST SOPHOMORE RESIDENCE HALL
.
FOLLOW US!
detailed the steps they were taking to permanently address the flooding issues with the showers. “We started the work today [Sept. 7] with the lowering of the shower curtains in all of the suites. Starting tomorrow [Sept. 8] at 8 a.m. the contractors will begin checking the bathrooms and start shower threshold installation. They will be continuing work on Saturday morning starting at 8 a.m. and again on Tuesday morning, hopefully completing all of the work before the end of next week,” said the statement.
“
With new construction, it is not uncommon to make adjustments post-opening, and the University is in the process of doing so with the design of the showers.”
-Jennifer Anderson VP of Marketing and Communications
It is unclear what has caused the recent flood issues in Thea Bowman Hall. The Mirror reached out to the Office of Residence Life for an explanation and an official response to the student claims, but the office has not responded for comment. Managing Editor Max Limric works as a Resident Assistant for Residence Life, and thus did not read, edit or have any part in the creation of this article before publication.
Student Nursing Association Food Drive Reaffirms Commitment Community BY SAMANTHA RUSELL Assistant News Editor
nursing students for a career in nursing while also engaging in aspects of their local community. The club works closely with its members to develop the skills needed to make an impact. Aside from being introduced to clinical proficiency, being paired with an upperclassman mentor and hearing from various nursing professionals, SNA nurses partake in various community service projects and charity events. “We have a lot of different community service activities that we are
Fairfield’s student nurses took to the beach this past Sunday – but not in their bathing suits. Hoping to kick the academic yexar off by giving back to others, the Student Nursing Association (SNA) hosted a food drive open to cans and connections. The event supported Operation Hope’s Food Pantry in Fairfield. Senior nursing major and SNA President Miriam Dupree stated the event was all in efforts to arouse excitement towards the club. “Our big “[It’s] mostly to get people exinitiatives [are] cited about the events that we are to give back to the going to start to do [and the] people that we’re going to be with,” she community in any said. “It’s a great way to connect way we can.” with other student nurses through -Miriam Dupree ‘24 this club, and also just [to get] excited about giving back to the comSNA President munity.” From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., people were invited to not only drop off committed to every year to not oncanned goods, but to “stay a while” ly help our community but to also and meet other student nurses. help our student nurses kind of get Mentorship and community rela- a feel for helping other people,” said tions remain key values to SNA, so Dupree. Getting connected with establishing those mutual connec- community patients through activities like blood pressure screenings tions early on is crucial. The club celebrated a full bin is another key component of SNA of cans following the event. A vari- and aids in achievement in and out ety of food was contributed, com- of their scrubs. Dupree added that SNA ofplete with canned vegetables, soups and a six-pack of chicken Ramen ten merges with other clubs to Noodles. All canned goods were help nursing students find time for donated to Operation Hope’s Food things other than their workload Pantry. Eight student nurses gathered for the hour’s festivities, eager to meet new faces. Dupree also organized two raffles for members of SNA who left a donation: one for medKyler Erezuma/The Mirror i c a l - t h e m e d Students received donations from students and beach b a d g e s – residents for Operation Hope’s food pantry. brains, lungs and hearts–and one for Littmann – which adds up very quickly. PreStethoscopes. viously, they joined Fairfield’s Art The club buys stethoscopes Club to paint pumpkins and create from Littmann each year, which cards for hospital patients. has established a mutual support This food drive was the club’s of both organizations. “We help first time working with Operation them out, they help us out,” report- Hope’s Food Pantry. Dupree noted ed Dupree. that “food drives are always helpAn overarching purpose ful,” and said she was simply seekof SNA is to prepare Fairfield’s ing a local organization to give back
“
INSIDE
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
News
Opinion
Vine
Sports
‘The Mezz’ Gets MuchNeeded Makeover
Perspectives on the State of Fairfield Housing
What are Stags Most Excited for This Fall Semester?
Pickleball Joins Fairfield Intramurals
Page 3
Page 5
Page 8
Page 15