THE MIRROR Week of April 10, 2024 | Vol. 51 Issue 9
Independent student newspaper
fairfieldmirror.com
Students Voice Spring Concert Disappointment BY MAX LIMRIC Editor-in-Chief
Shea Burns/The Mirror
DPS staged a “Mock Crash” near the traffic circle by the BCC. The “Mock Crash” is part of a planned list of events for the inaugural DPS appreciation week running from April 8 to the 11th.
DPS Engages with Community in Inagural DPS Appreciation Week BY SAMANTHA RUSSELL Executive Editor
INSIDE
As the weather becomes warmer and student activity increases on campus, university safety becomes even more important. To acknowledge those who work to maintain safe Stags, Fairfield University’s Department of Public Safety (DPS), a DPS Appreciation Week is taking place from April 8 to April 11. Fairfield University Student Association’s (FUSA) Health & Wellness Committee has collaborated with DPS to coordinate a series of events demonstrating and celebrating the efforts of Fairfield’s public safety team. An appreciation week for DPS has never taken place before, and Sergeant Mike Santos conveyed his gratitude for the recognition. “We’re very happy about it,” he said on behalf of the department. “It’s nice to know that people realize we are a part of the community,” and even the education process, he added. DPS is composed of 29 fulltime highly-trained first responders, stated by the university’s website. The public safety department conducts foot, vehicle and bicycle patrols and provides state certified Emergency Medical Technicians, a Sexual Misconduct and Assault Response Team and a 24 hour escort service. Five events took place
throughout the week, starting with a DPS Open House on Monday, April 8 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Guests were invited to visit the DPS office in Loyola Hall and talk with officers, not without free pizza and a raff le in addition to discussion. On Tuesday, April 9, a DPS Virtual Training took place from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Barone Campus Center (BCC) room 200. For an hour and a half, students had the opportunity to partake in DPS’s Virtual Reality Training System and were offered safety materials such as whistles and pens. Santos reported the event as “very well attended.” He continued, “I think students got a new understanding of our responsibilities on campus.” Santos has worked as a DPS officer for 35 years. He described that the department has evolved in terms of incidents and investigations. Crime has expanded past mere acts of vandalism and intoxication and faulty fire alarms. Investigations have also grown to be taken more seriously, and occur much more frequently. “The mission here is to keep everybody who steps on this campus safe … outsiders and insiders,” he said. On Wednesday, April 10, “Learn Your Limit” takes place. From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., an educational demonstration about
the severity of car crashes will occur at the Tully Orchard and Traffic Circle. Community members are invited to attend as the importance of seatbelts and the consequences of intoxicated driving are reinforced. Staying with the topic of safe alcohol consumption, a “Thirsty Thursday” will be held April 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of the BCC. Students are welcome to stop by for some mocktails – nonalcoholic drinks – with DPS and FUSA’s Alcohol & Drug Awareness Representative. To initiate some camaraderie and finish off the week, a cornhole tournament challenges students to take on DPS in the classic American pastime. Through Life@Fairfield, students can sign up for the tournament with their team members. The game takes place on April 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; if a student team can claim victory over the security professionals, they are entered into a raff le for a variety of prizes, ranging from a Stanley cup, a Spikeball net and Beats headphones. The vision statement for DPS declares: “Our vision is built on integrity and service: to ensure that our students, faculty and staff continue to learn and work in a safe environment that grows from Honor, Dedication and Commitment.”
Minutes after FUSA announced 2 Chainz and Kaliii as the Spring Concert performers, students took to Fizz to voice excitement, as well as overwhelming disappointment. On the day of the announcement, Fizz, the anonymous student forum, was abuzz with students wondering when FUSA would announce who the performers were going to be. Students shared posts reading, “Dear FUSA, You’re kinda late to the party, in terms of telling us who’s performing this year!” At 4:02 p.m. on April 5, FUSA sent the email with the subject, “You’ll Want to Open this FUSA Email …”; however, students expressed regret at the choice of a performer this year. Fizz’s most popular post for three days straight read “Upvote if you’re not buying 2 Chainz tix.” The post received 1,900 upvotes at the end of the day Tuesday and continues to be one of the most popular posts of the week. This post is tied with “Upvote if [you’re] disappointed with the FUSA performers, which also received 1,900 upvotes. Tickets went on sale for all class years on Saturday, April 6 at 12 p.m., less than 24 hours after the announcement was made. Students then quickly brought into question the ticket prices, sharing on Fizz, “My $75,000 in tuition really couldn’t cover any of that $55 ticket?” Seniors Maddy Kitlas and Riley Nicholson both agree they will not be attending the concert, citing the price increase as a primary reason. “There’s been a price increase since when it was at Bridgeport arena and senior week is too expensive already,” they state. Students on Fizz then suggested extreme measures, in what could be a joking manner, “Upvote to defund FUSA until they get us a decent concert.” FUSA President Aliyah Seeanuth ‘24 explains the rise in ticket prices. “Bringing the concert back on campus is more costly than off-campus due to labor, production, security cost and more.” She hopes that by rebranding the Spring Concert to MainSTAGe, it will “provide Fairfield students with an overall exciting, fruitful and memorable experience going forward. She concludes, “We hope that this rebrand draws anticipation to the concert each year
the same way a longstanding festival might, ultimately engraving the tradition.” Many students question 2 Chainz popularity. Junior Melina Kaniclides believes that “2 Chainz is really talented, however, I think it would have been cool to have someone who is more recognizable for their individual work than features on others’ music.” Seeanuth points out that 2 Chainz is a Grammy award winning artist with numerous hits. “We feel that songs such as ‘I’m Different’, ‘It’s A Vibe’ and ‘No Lie’, as well as his collaborations with artists such as Drake, Ariana Grande, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, ensure that he will have an electric performance for the first concert in the Arena.” Posts on Fizz remind students of Fairfield University’s size compared to other schools that host bigname artists. “Don’t forget we’re Fairfield, not a 40,000 undergrad campus. How high of expectations did y’all have?” Other schools with a similar undergraduate population to Fairfield, such as Marist College with 5,510 undergraduate students, is hosting Saint Motel and Baby Tate, a relatively unknown combination of artists who receive substantially more monthly listeners on Spotify compared to 2 Chainz. Quinnipiac University will host Flo Rida, who performed at the Spring Concert two years ago. Still, Kaniclides looks forward to attending the concert in the new arena: “I am thrilled that the Spring concert is being hosted in the arena this year and I cannot wait to attend!.” FUSA utilized survey results to inform their choice to move the concert on campus and Seeanuth referenced results from FUSA’s post-concert survey last year, in which students indicated wanting the concert to be on campus. As of right now, Seeanuth claims that “ticket sales have been strong for the first concert in the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. We’ve sold over 500 tickets thus far and expect to sell out.” She concludes by encouraging students to “secure tickets before they are gone. Sales end on Wednesday, April 17th!” Even though many students express disappointment, others harbor optimism for the concert, as Jenna LaRochelle ‘25 declares that “even though I don’t know any 2 Chainz songs, I’m going to vibe regardless.”
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