The Future of Online Registration

By Vincent Ferrer’12 & Kristen Golen’12

Arduous and stressful. Annoying and troublesome.

By the time they graduate, many a Fairfield student would agree that this array of feelings can best describe registration for them at one time or another during his/her academic career.

However, University Registrar Robert Russo and his staff are working diligently to help change this description by adding significant modifications to the already successful process.

“Every semester we’re learning from the previous,” said Russo in an exclusive interview. “In the past we’ve had some times when the system would freeze up…too many students signed up at once,” he said. “This year we didn’t have one problem.” Russo took the time to explain the procedures of old and the advancements to come.

Freshmen Register?

In an effort to make the transition to college easier for incoming freshmen, the University will be establishing a new procedure. “We want to have them [new freshmen] register during orientation while they’re here with their advisors,” Russo said. This move will help to alleviate some of the add/drop traffic that occurs at the beginning of the semester, specifically from freshmen who are dissatisfied with their assigned courses.

With incoming freshmen being more content with their first semester courses, the Registrar’s office will have more time to tend to the needs of the current student body.

A major cause of the lengthy nature of registration lies in the staff’s need to deal individually with each spot that opens up in a course. Herein lays the next, more immediate modification.

Waitlist 2.0

“One thing we have coming down the road with our software is [an] automated waitlist,” Russo said. He detailed the current process of alerting a student to a course opening by email, waiting to find out his/her decision, and moving down the waitlist line if he/she no longer desires entry.

The new software, which was installed this semester but not in time for registration, should allow this process to operate seamlessly. “Our software, if a spot opens up, will send an automatic email,” Russo said. It will continue down the line if that student declines the spot until it is filled.

This addition will make an already-effective waitlist system even better. It is a mechanism utilized not only for filling in empty seats in certain classes, but also as a marker of demand for different courses. “I think the waitlist function is important,” said Dr. Mary Sallyanne Ryan, professor of communications, in an interview. “…It’s a good documentation of students that were interested.” Departments can then use this information to recognize where more sections are needed.

From On Line to Online

The registration process has come a long way in recent years, adapting to the technological trends of changing times and undergoing reconfiguration accordingly.

Dan Ryan’07, assistant coach of Cross Country, experienced a tremendous progression in the process during his time as a student. “My freshman year we all had to wake up at the crack of dawn… to sit in a line in the Registrar’s office in Canisius,” Ryan said in an interview. “I remember there were some crazy nursing majors who brought blankets and camped out the night before.”

Yet subsequent years would yield a much easier process. “Junior year I was at a clinical for nursing, and in the middle of the day I just went to a computer for registration in the hospital and then right back to what I was doing,” Ryan said. “Registering online was infinitely easier.”

Still the process had some kinks to be worked out, so then-Academic Vice President Orin Grossman created a committee to help refine the process. “A Registration Committee comprised of students, faculty and staff worked hard to evaluate registration options and recommend changes,” said Judith Dobai, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, in an email.

No Booklets, More Benefits

Doing away with course booklets all together this semester proved to be another step forward. Mary Frances Malone, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and former head of the now-disbanded registration committee, said in an email that “students on the committee suggested that we move away from paper.”

Russo detailed the cost-effective benefits of ending booklet production. “We figure on saving about $10,000 this year,” he said. It was also a matter of keeping pace with other schools. “We [Fairfield] were one of the few [schools] that still had the booklet.”

With the booklet online, it is easier to incorporate adjustments to classes. Russo also hopes to make certain messages that pop up during registration. “We’re going to try to, in the booklet, explain more the messages that students are getting on the system,” he said.

Back to the Future

Of course, registration will never appease every student. Fairfield University Student Association President Jeff Seiser’10, in a press conference-style discussion several weeks ago, advised that “The important thing is to plan ahead.” If all else fails, there's always the waitlist loophole.

Click Here for a numeric breakdown of this semester's Registration period

Reflecting on the 2nd Original Story with Kristen Golen'12: The Future of Online Registration

The goal for this piece was to have our readers find out new information about the online registration process here at Fairfield. We want them to find our story interesting from start to finish, and also have our web presentation set our story apart from the prior registration stories written for The Mirror. We knew that the only way that we would obtain our goal of seeking new information for our readers was by meeting with people such as Robert Russo and Dr. Malone. After we outlined our story, we knew that it was because of the helpful information we received from Robert Russo that we could finally consider our story ahead of the curve. We also made the executive decision to include Jeff Seiser's opinion, since his voice represents the student body as a whole. Although there were several horror stories that we came across throughout our research, most of them were worked out by administration. We thought it is beneficial to put a face to a person's quote whenever possible, this is why we put our assistant coaches profile as a link, also because he is a Fairfield alum.

While creating our final story, we focused our attention to chapter 12 of All the News, by Thom Lieb. It was quite difficult to think of ways to display an attractive online article for the “very exciting” topic of….registration. However, when we met with Robert Russo, he gave us enough information to create a detailed timeline of how Fairfield has updated their registration process since 1980. From the chapter, we also focused our attention to the information telling us how to use hyperlinks and primers efficiently.

At first we were going to present our story from the past to the future of registration, but since we did not think that it would effectively attain the reader’s attention, we decided to unveil the future for 2010’s registration process, backtrack to as late as 1980, and then end with talking about the future again.

We both agreed that this was quite a complex story to create, yet we feel that we have both become better journalists because of it. In order to complete our story, it required us to do the most research we had ever done for a story in this class. We had to be vigilant with who we selected to interview in order to make our story stand out from the many other registration stories that had been prior to ours.

The hardest part was to find a news peg that separated our story from the rest. We also had to be cautious about writing on registration only, and steering away from going into detail with Fairfield’s core. After we met with Robert Russo, our esteem for writing our story finally went back up. He gave us essential information that very few students and faculty knew. We also had a hard time deciding how we wanted to make it an advanced online story. After receiving all of our information from our interviewers and outlining all of our facts, we were able to sufficiently create an appealing online story.

We learned that there is no room for procrastination if one wants to be a successful journalist. Luckily, we have a very understanding professor that gave us an extension, which helped tremendously with getting down to the “nitty gritty” of our final piece. We continue to sharpen our skills of finding the perfect news peg. However, we know that as we take more journalism classes, we will be able to sharpen this skill by the time we graduate. We can both say that we are truly confident to turn in our final story.

Fairfield Football: A Failed Fantasy

A few pairs of field goal posts, a $1,000,000+ Astroturf field, and a couple of faded, black and white photographs that hang in The Levee are remnants of a failed enterprise: Fairfield Football.
As students look on at these artifacts and cheer for other schools’ teams, many cannot help but wonder: why did the program go extinct? Twice?

“I miss the program, obviously,” said Mark Spellman, Director of Strength & Conditioning for the Athletic Department, who helped train the team. An old Stags football helmet, a relic of the past, collects dust on a shelf in his office. “They had a passion for what they did, they worked hard at what they did…and they worked not only individually, but as a group to succeed,” Spellman said.

Barren Beginnings
Football first made its appearance on campus as a club team in 1966 according to newspaper accounts from the period. However it never really had strong student fanfare. Andrea Golen'80 was very active in student life during her time here, but she does not remember football as being an integral part of the school's social scene. “There wasn't much mention of it [the football team], and I don't think many people attended games,” she said.

Golen did note that there was school spirit present amongst the student body and that basketball games were well attended, but football seemed to fall under the radar. It was eventually cut from the school’s roster.

Once More, With Feeling
Under then-President Aloysius P. Kelley, Fairfield reinstated the football program in 1996 for several reasons, including to increase the male and black student population of the school as well as boosting school spirit. The team was placed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division I-AA level and, after only three years, won the MAAC Championship. Mirror stories from the era show head coach Kevin Kiesel was credited with essentially building the program from scratch and led the team to much of the only success it would have.

In the height of its glory days, the 1999 team posted a 9-2 regular season record and was ranked fifth among the nation’s Division I-AA non-scholarship programs. Two players earned All-American honors and in 2000, senior Steve Dogmanits led all of Division I-AA with a career-high 11 interceptions.

Hammer To Fall
Kiesel’s resignation in 2001 seemed to foreshadow the imminent end of Fairfield’s participation in the sport. By January of 2003, the Football program, along with Ice Hockey, was disbanded and players were left with the difficult decision of either transferring to pursue a chance at competitive play or finishing out their time here.

The primary reason for giving the program the ax was money. Simply put, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze for the athletic department and the annual $570,000 expenditure between Football and Ice Hockey was not transferring into greater attendance at games.

Alison Sexton, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, said the program did not offer athletic scholarships for potential players. Such a disadvantage made it very hard for the team to keep up with the highly-competitive world of recruiting.

Likewise, the resources needed for such a program were far too demanding on the University. “There were some years when we had close to 110 guys, so we couldn’t get all these guys into one weight room,” Sexton said. Moreover, facilities suffered a substantial amount of wear and tear from football as well as from the other teams. Following the program’s termination, a series of renovations were set underway including the creation of a $1,000,000+ Astroturf field in place of the old football field adjacent to the Walsh Athletic Center.

Another factor was remaining in accordance with regulations, such as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which calls for spending roughly the same on men’s and women’s collegiate athletic programs. Spending so much for a predominantly male sport meant spending more on women's sports equivalent.

Unsure As the Dust Settles
Any current-day hope for a third coming of football at Fairfield seem as empty as the bleachers were at football games, according to old yearbook photos. Yet in a non-scientific survey polling 30 students, 18 were for the return of a Fairfield football program.

“There’s a shortage of serious sports fans at this school and I think that's partly because we don't have a football team,” said Steve Flanagan'12. “At the same time, I feel like the success of our lacrosse team helps to take away from not having a football team. I think that void is filled.”

Reflecting on My First Original Story: Fairfield Football

Reflective Essay #1 – after first draft
This story is the first original one I have done for the course and so far it has been a relatively novel experience. I am still in need of some quotes from key staff members of the athletics department, as well as possibly more opinions from students and also from a faculty member. However, I feel the story is shaping up to be a good one. I have spoken with plenty of people about my story topic and they agree that it is something they would read.

Writing an original story is not necessarily harder than the deadline stories or 10 question stories we have been called to create, but I have learned that it does take significantly more time. The researching phase and “choosing an angle” phase proved to take much longer than anticipated. I do feel that the result will be a greater sense of accomplishment, that I have created a story not from scratch but from a more independent standpoint. I can be credited with rekindling an interest in this topic through my story and thereby influencing those who would otherwise remain unaware.

The goal for my story is not to prompt students to desire the creation of a football team, but instead to understand that it has been a part of Fairfield in the past, but to its short-lived time here is a testament to its being an unsuccessful venture. This is not the type of school for such a program, nor is the student body the correct type of audience to promote and foster a successful competitive program. Our athletic programs continue to improve with each year and such would be probably not be possible if the majority of funds were allocated to football. I hope students can come to discern on their own that although we don’t have football, we are better for it.

Problems I ran into with this story were few and far between. Since the story is taking much longer to do than any others we have done, the work has been divvied up over a long span of time. It has been hard to make time to interview members of the athletics staff, but I am confident in my abilities to successfully do so. I plan on sending another copy, before Monday, with the staff’s quotes included, to help fine-tune my story to an even greater degree.
Although it is a hefty assignment, I am enjoying the process of creating and bringing to life an original story idea. I have learned that a story can be good before quotations are added, but great once they are added. They add credit, breadth, and clarity to the topic/situation/etc.

Reflective Essay #2 – After additions – 11/11/09
Writing this story was a great and exciting experience because I was able to get to the bottom of facts, myths, etc. and uncover the truth. All along the way there were people prescribing to the own rumors and myths that they heard, so it was fun to be able to disprove some of these and discover that others were in fact true. It was a difficult process, but a rewarding one nonetheless and I think in the end it came out very well.

I had to make some judgment calls on what info was necessary and what info merely echoed certain points. The line “At the time of its dismissal, the program had 10 members on its coaching staff” had to be cut due to the lengthiness that the article was gathering. With a few more additions to go, the article was about 675 words. I was intent on stopping at 750, the suggested maximum, but I ended up going over a bit. I also had to do away with some unnecessary descriptions and keep only those that rang true to the story and were vital to reader engagement.

Some of the problems I ran into were a lot of what was already mentioned. The biggest thing was time and getting all the pieces together in one place. There were several components that took a couple of days to get put into play and I was able to recognize the trials and tribulations of putting together a feature story such as this. I had to go to Jack Jones, Sports Info Director, in order to talk to Mark Spellman the following day, who is always busy training our athletic teams in the morning, so I interviewed him during Lunch. I went to the Levee, the Library, the Athletic Department. I reached out to students and faculty for advice and opinions. I also was able to get in touch with the history of this University, if only in a minute way. It was a truly engaging experience.

As far as presenting this in an online version, I would have to include links to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s history page as well as a link to the Hall of Fame page with Steve Dogmanits, hidden in the depths of the University’s website. Also links to the bios of either Spellman or Sexton would be good as well as any YouTube or other video clips that may exist of recorded Stags Football games. If these could not be found, some photographs from the issues of The Manor that I looked at could be uploaded and linked in with the story. I think my title as is would work sufficiently, and a description to follow would summarize the reasons for the program’s cut as well as the mixed feelings on campus of its passing. Perhaps a video interview of Alison Sexton or some other member of the Athletic Department would also help present this information.

Open Vision Speaker Opens with 'Street Talk'

Frequent cursing, slang, and playfully jumping from one sensitive topic to another all seem like unlikely behavior from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. But that is exactly what Junot Díaz lives by and promotes: straying from the norm.

The Dominican-American author and MIT professor paid a visit to Fairfield this past Monday, speaking at both the Open Visions Forum and a special workshop held by the University’s celebrated “Gateways” English course. He presented himself in a manner that many may find as offensive, but that Díaz finds to be most effective in prescribing a deviation from society’s beliefs.

At the Open Visions lecture, Díaz admitted that he could not explain this material under a guise of formality. “We all have tons of masks, but in some ways the burden of keeping that mask on is a price I can’t pay,” he said.

He explained how his informal “street talk” allows him to better discuss his art. “I need that comfort for talking about something uncomfortable.”
Díaz led by example, dropping F-bombs throughout his sophisticated lecture and going “against the grain” by disproving preconceived notions of how people of his stature should conduct themselves. He described how society attempts to generalize experiences, cultures, and people, and how we can combat it.

“The only way to be free from any narrative, story, or history that bedevils us is to confront it,” Díaz said. “When you push deep into the thing, you can actually have a reckoning with it.”

It has been these past reckonings that have spawned the most influential works in the history of literature. “The absolute driving quality of all literature that survives a year is the act of particularity,” said Díaz.

At the workshop held for the “Gateways” course, in which a small group of Bridgeport high school students were in attendance, Díaz attempted to counter another of society’s mandates.


“Society tells you to make money,” Díaz said, but what’s more important is finding your passion, your dream, and pursuing it. “Nothing will kill a soul quite like living someone else’s dream.”

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Díaz was the third of five children; “the smart one,” according to his mother. Díaz recalled how throughout his childhood she implored him to become a lawyer or doctor and it was not until he was 27 that he realized he was on the wrong path. “It took me a very long time to stop dreaming my mother’s dreams for me,” he said.

In 1975 his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Parlin, New Jersey. He worked full-time to finance his years at Rutgers University and graduated with a BA in English. In 1995, Díaz earned his MFA in creative writing at Cornell University. Several of his works have been featured in The New Yorker and his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, earned the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, among other awards.

Díaz currently works as a professor of creative writing at MIT and he is also as the fiction editor for the Boston Review.

Surprisingly enough, Díaz’s message was heard and his use of inappropriate language was not mistaken for nonsensical vulgarity. Grant Haskell, a resident of Bridgeport, expressed this understanding.

“I enjoyed it [Díaz’s language] because it was varied and it helped him articulate his thoughts,” he said.

Miriam Sanchez and Cheril Perez, both sophomores of Dominican heritage, enjoyed how Díaz’s Wao and his demeanor “really portrayed Dominican culture,” according to Sanchez.

Edrik López, professor of English, also approved of Díaz’s diction. “I thought it showed an ability to be extremely intelligent while speaking ‘street language,’” said López, one of the coordinators of Díaz’s visit to Fairfield. López told how it was important for students to see an intelligent individual who strays away from the conventional archetype of “the erudite professor.”

For those in attendance, that archetype may be forever shattered thanks to Díaz. “I make art; I’m a f*****g artist,” he said.

Wine and Dine like a Pro: The Competitive Edge Dinner Experience (old story)

The knowledge you take away from a Fairfield education can open the door to a host of employment opportunities in the business world, but the way you carry yourself can slam that door shut right in your face.

Ann Marie Sabath, an expert on business protocol and etiquette, gave a number of helpful tips to help students walk through that threshold at last night's Competitive Edge Dinner. At the event, sponsored by the Dolan School of Business, the veteran etiquette coach informed students that their campus conduct will not suffice in the business arena.

A prime example would be students bringing their morning coffee to class. Sabath cautions against carrying over this practice to the business world, claiming that “it's extremely tacky for people to bring in their beverages.” She noted that the general rule to follow is “enough for everyone or not at all.”

Sabath also spoke about the importance of mixing, mingling, and working to expand one's social network. “You make your network for you,” she said. Deviating from the social cliques of high school and college life can help to increase your potential for future opportunities. She said that “the four people you spend the most time with, you will become,” so it is important to talk to many different types of people and bring out “the book inside of them.” This will help you to grow as a social entity.

Sabath recognizes that “as we continue with more innovative technology, there are new rules on etiquette.” However, she sees no valid excuse for a cellphone interrupting your potentially life-changing employment opportunity. She made it clear to “shut that darn cellphone off before you enter the building” on the big day of the interview.

The “everyday-is-game-day” mentality Sabath spoke of was just as important. “When you're off-duty, you're really on-duty,” she said. It is vital for students to keep this in mind when thinking about drinking on campus, candidly posting comments on Facebook, or partaking in any other less than honorable endeavors.

Sabath spoke with a well-versed, engaging demeanor during her presentation, and for good reason. She is the president and founder of At Ease Inc., a business and social etiquette training firm that operates out of New York City. Since she founded the organization in 1987, Sabath has trained more than 90,000 professionals, students, and clients. She has also authored 8 books on business etiquette, the most recent being One Minute Manners: Quick Solutions to the Most Awkward Situations You'll Ever Face at Work.

Aside from appearing on television programs such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and being featured in publications such as Forbes, Sabath has spoken at Fairfield University several times in recent years.

It was Sabath's goal “to be able to give students that confidence and savoir faire” necessary to succeed in business, but also in life. From the conventional consensus of the audience, she met her expectations. Enerida Ademi '13 said it best when she noted how Sabath's instructions on etiquette “could give you that boost to go out and meet new people.”

Reflecting on the Competitive Edge Dinner story

For this piece, I wanted to try out a different type of opening; a combination of Staccato and direct address. This served as a lure for the main focus I tried to detail: how campus mannerisms and conduct must be altered if one hopes to succeed in the job market. Ann Marie Sabath offered up some very enlightening device and I wanted to showcase some of the points most prevalent to the way I shaped my story. The dinner also had a lot to do with dining etiquette, but I think some of the overall tips she gave, for interviews and meeting with potential employers were of just as much importance to student readers. I want the audience to take away some of the lessons learned from the evening and perhaps spark an interest in them for pursuing more information on the topic.

The previous deadline stories have played the biggest role of my successful navigation through the brainstorming and writing process of this story. I was able to do a better job of deciding on a way to approach the story during the event, which made writing it a lot easier. Also, the knowledge of the various types of leads allowed me to experiment with creating a lead that didn't have to quickly sum up the event.

This was the most successful story yet in terms of execution. I was able to seek out and interview to a better degree both students and Ms. Sabath herself. It proved to be an enjoyable experience as well and I myself learned a great deal from the event. I also got to enjoy a great meal, which is always a plus. I felt that I could have gathered more quotes so as to have a more diverse variety, but I also feel that I was able to gather plenty of solid ones from the speaker.

What I found important this time around was the fact that journalists, outside of a large press conference or forum, can still work together to get information from a source. Two other students as well as myself were able to briefly sit down with Ms. Sabath and ask her a few questions. Even though the information is likely to show up in all three publications/stories, it was interesting to be involved in that type of cooperative journalist move. I learned that there still are some things I need to work on, such as a better way of quickly coming up with other questions for those being interviewed. It would also have made life easier if I had been more informed of the speaker's history. I had an idea, but few specifics going into event and I think more knowledge of her background could have led to more and better questions.

Reflecting on the Competitive Edge Dinner story

For this piece, I wanted to try out a different type of opening; a combination of Staccato and direct address. This served as a lure for the main focus I tried to detail: how campus mannerisms and conduct must be altered if one hopes to succeed in the job market. Ann Marie Sabath offered up some very enlightening device and I wanted to showcase some of the points most prevalent to the way I shaped my story. The dinner also had a lot to do with dining etiquette, but I think some of the overall tips she gave, for interviews and meeting with potential employers were of just as much importance to student readers. I want the audience to take away some of the lessons learned from the evening and perhaps spark an interest in them for pursuing more information on the topic.

The previous deadline stories have played the biggest role of my successful navigation through the brainstorming and writing process of this story. I was able to do a better job of deciding on a way to approach the story during the event, which made writing it a lot easier. Also, the knowledge of the various types of leads allowed me to experiment with creating a lead that didn't have to quickly sum up the event.

This was the most successful story yet in terms of execution. I was able to seek out and interview to a better degree both students and Ms. Sabath herself. It proved to be an enjoyable experience as well and I myself learned a great deal from the event. I also got to enjoy a great meal, which is always a plus. I felt that I could have gathered more quotes so as to have a more diverse variety, but I also feel that I was able to gather plenty of solid ones from the speaker.

What I found important this time around was the fact that journalists, outside of a large press conference or forum, can still work together to get information from a source. Two other students as well as myself were able to briefly sit down with Ms. Sabath and ask her a few questions. Even though the information is likely to show up in all three publications/stories, it was interesting to be involved in that type of cooperative journalist move. I learned that there still are some things I need to work on, such as a better way of quickly coming up with other questions for those being interviewed. It would also have made life easier if I had been more informed of the speaker's history. I had an idea, but few specifics going into event and I think more knowledge of her background could have led to more and better questions.

Reflecting on The Kite Runner story

I felt that the chance to attend such an event was a great opportunity and I had an enjoyable time listening to Khaled Hosseini. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a special workshop he held for my Special Topics: Gateway to Cultural and Literary Studies class, in which he spoke at length about all that went into creating his first novel. However, the Open Visions Forum was centered more on the climate of Afghanistan rather than his two successful novels. I saw along with the others in attendance how he spoke with passion and care about what was going on there, what needed to be done, and what is currently being done. I attempted to capture a bit of these themes in my story.

Going in with a plan of attack really helped me out for this story. I was able to plan out what I needed, pay attention for certain quotes that would aid this discussion, and alter my story as I saw fit. Knowing a direction I wanted to take the story before I left the Quick Center helped me out quite a bit and made this story's creation lightyears faster and more efficient than the Tom Baden story. Being exposed to the workshop he gave, hours before the Forums talk, I was able to anticipate what topics he might center the bulk of his talk on and it proved correct. Just to make it clear, I did not use any quotes from him during the workshop that he had for my English class. All the material comes directly from the Forums talk.

The creation of the story, to me, went according to plan for the most part. I think I did a good job and am finally starting to get the hang of recognizing what I need, what I want, and how to get both. The one major negative point that sticks out to me is that I was fortunate enough to get the absolute last question in to him while he was finishing up signing books before he left and although he gave a great answer, I wasn't able to get it down word for word, and it ultimately did not fit in with my story. It was exciting to have been able to have had a dialogue with someone so famous, intelligent, and dedicated to his cause. The interviewing process could have went better as well. I wish that I had better questions prepared for my interviewees, but I was fortunate enough to gather a few good quotes that I ended up using.

I learned to be a little more efficient in the way in which I approach these stories. I also learned the importance of even better preparation and just how much easier it can make my life. I still feel that I need to get better at crafting a solid story idea and knowing exactly what I'm going to write about before I leave the venue. All in all, I enjoyed the experience and felt that the writing process went well.

Flyin' High: Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini soars at the Open Visions Forum (old article)

The nationally recognized author of The New York Times #1 Bestseller The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, spoke about a subject very close to his heart and heritage at the Open Visions Forum last night: Afghanistan.

Hosseini, born and raised in the beleaguered country, shared his unique perspective on his homeland with the audience in an effort to better explain its current situation.

The Afghan author made it clear that the U.S. is “not going to win this[war] through military.” He mentioned how no foreign nation has ever been able to seize absolute control over the country on their own soil and that this time will not prove to be the exception. The U.S. Military's presence is helping in the counterinsurgency effort, but it will take a multifaceted approach in order to make the nation stable. “I think some of it[change] will come about because of education,” Hosseini said.

Hosseini also acknowledged that this effort is “not a 100-yd dash, it's a marathon.” The country has been invaded by foreign powers several times in recent history and its people have endured a great deal of suffering and loss. Hosseini stressed that “its going to take at least one generation, if not two” to start making substantial headway, but it cannot be expected to occur all at once.

Despite the hardships, Hosseini informed the audience that 85 percent of Afghans polled were optimistic about their future. They remain hopeful and “most Afghans don't view the Americans as occupiers.” Hosseini also felt encouraged by the government's reevaluation of its approach to policies as well as their awareness and acknowledgment that troops have misbehaved in the wartime setting.

Hosseini spent the early years of his childhood growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan until his family moved to San Jose, California in 1980. He earned his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego and kept up with his practice during the writing of his highly acclaimed debut, The Kite Runner. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, also garnered the #1 Bestseller status from The New York Times Book Review.

Having had the chance to escape Afghanistan earlier on and having experienced much success and fortune in his life, Hosseini feels obliged to use his new-found fame to aid his countrymen. “I felt connected to the issue of millions in refugee camps,” he said to the audience. Aside from shedding light on the condition overseas, he has also started his own foundation for supporting underprivileged children and women in Afghanistan. He was named a goodwill envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency in 2006 for his efforts.

The conventional consensus of the evening from faculty and students alike was one of positive acclaim for Hosseini's talk and his mission. “He's a perfect link” said Michael Brelsford'11, in reference to Hosseini's position as a native Afghan and a current American citizen. Dr. Kim Bridgford, Professor of English, noted Hosseini as “being both knowledgeable and clear about the subject[Afghanistan].”

Others like Meghan McGrath'12 felt enlightened by the Forum talk and were able to walk away with a new outlook on the widespread violence and misfortunes of the country. “I never really thought of the war as a means for social change for Afghan citizens,” McGrath admitted. “To me it has always been about the terrorists and what they did.”

Although it “appears to be an endless stalemate,” Hosseini reassured all in question that Afghanistan is willing to change and efforts there are having an effect. “It's a war-weary nation,” he explained, “a nation ready to get on with the business of living.”

10 Questions with Ben Heslin (old article)

Fairfield's Men's Cross-Country team has enjoyed one of its most dominant seasons in recent history, placing in all three meets held on campus. The team, predominantly made up of freshmen and sophomores, has flourished under the leadership of junior captain Benjamin Heslin. Heslin, a native of Kensington, CT, has been one of the Stags' top two finishers in all four 8k races run thus far in the season. He earned MAAC “Runner of the Week” accolades for his 7th place finish at the Victor Leeber Memorial Invitational and ran the 18th fastest time in school history at the Iona Meet of Champions this past September. As the team sits poised to compete at the MAAC Cross-Country Championships next Friday, the focal point of the season, Heslin took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions:

Q: Thanks for your time. So what made you come to Fairfield?
Heslin: It was a good academic school and the size fit what I wanted. I saw it similar to my high school. Also I had the opportunity to run on the Cross-Country team here, which played a large role in my decision.

Q:Wheres your favorite place to run and why?
Heslin: The Beach! Because... I like the water. I don't know how else to put that.

Q: Any pre-race rituals?
Heslin: I make sure I do the same warm-up routine every time.

Q:What were/are your goals for this season?
Heslin: I want the team to continue to improve and hopefully the hard work will payoff in the MAAC Championships on Friday, October 30th, 2009.

Q: What do you think about during those hour-long runs?
Heslin: I usually think about what I need to do during the day, and also the upcoming races.

Q:This freshmen XC class is one of the most talented the program has seen in a while. Who is your favorite freshman and why?
Heslin: I don't have a favorite freshman, I like them all equally. They each bring something different to the team, and in their own way.

Q:What is your proudest moment while being on the team here?
Heslin: Proudest moment would be the training runs when we work together and all succeed in the workouts, and how that translates into races.

Q: Your sister Erin is one of the best female runners in Fairfield history, having run the three best times in our school's history. Do you see a healthy sense of competition between you and her, given her success with the program?
Heslin: Her success motivates and pushes me to do well. Her past experiences as a Fairfield Cross-Country runner offer me ideas of what to expect as well as serving as a role model for me.

Q:You're an RA. What's the hardest part of being one?
Heslin: The hardest part is making sure the building is quiet so that people can sleep, even on the weekends.

Q:One last question. What's the best thing about Fairfield?
Heslin: The people.

Reflecting on the Whamond Story

My goal for this piece was to show how user-generated content, as detailed in Whamond's talk with our class and his answers to our interview questions, is a major part of online media. Tom Baden touched upon it, but Keith Whamond was able to better explain its impact since he deals with it in a more immediate manner. I wanted to inform a bit on its importance since many Commnications and English majors may end up going into this steadily growing industry. In that sense, I think it has great impact and appeal, as well as proximity because graduates are getting more and more involved in such endeavors.

I think what helped me get the most from this interview was having already experienced the interview process in this class and in knowing what to expect I was better able to prepare myself for it. Although the Tom Baden interview was different in many ways, it helped me to see how this could unfold and how to maximize one's time during the interview so as to get the most information and have the most flexibility for being able to change topics if need be.
I think this story is more focused than the Tom Baden story. It focuses on a narrower scope and utilizes more quotes from the individual being interviewed. I was better able to listen for and write down some great quotes. I feel that this helped my story a great deal.

For this interview, I went in with better questions(many of which got answered) and a better outlook on what was to come. However, I feel that I could have done a better job in crafting a direction in which my story should go. I found myself altering the direction of the story once again, and after several leads I changed my idea for the story.

I learned from this particular experience that I still need to work on going into the situation with more specifics in mind. I think I do a good job of adapting and creating a story based on what is available, but that there still is room for improvement.

Alum in Action: Whamond and the Winds of Change in Online Media News Coverage

Frequenting sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Skype could be seen as procrastination at its finest, but it could also be viewed as a ticket into the current job market for the news media, according to Keith Whamond '04, Executive Producer for the Connecticut Media Group at Hearst Digital

Whamond told how the rulebook of online media in today's world is ever-changing, but a knowledge of user-generated content sites will help put you ahead in the industry. The former Stag met with students of Dr. Simon's News Writing class last Monday to discuss this vital tool, which can be further developed in the University setting.

The Fairfield alum made it clear that the user-generated content many students already engage with at their leisure is a major part of online media's future. It can help rejuvenate a once-failing enterprise like Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which Whamond notes as being “the shot across the bow” in terms of utilizing this relatively new means of interacting with the news over standard print journalism.

Mastery of sites centered around this content such as YouTube and Skype, an online teleconferencing and videoconferencing service, is key; “it just takes a little bit of enthusiasm,” Whamond said. Surprisingly, this is a prerequisite that many resumes currently lack.“Once you get the potential of the medium, you level the playing field,” he stated.

Whamond detailed how user-generated input from a journalist's personal blog can help continue the news conversation between the media and the audience. Thanks to websites that make use of this feature, stories that may have gone unpublished now have can potentially have an audience, and potentially, an impact.

Whamond '04 earned his BA in English during his four years at Fairfield. He said he enjoyed the working environment that The Mirror provides and by his senior year he was named Managing Editor.

His online media career began as an editorial page assistant for The Connecticut Post and later as an online reporter for the Post's website. Soon after, Whamond took a position as an online editor for NewsTimes.com. He has been the Executive Producer for the Connecticut Media Group at Hearst Digital for the past 6 months.

Apart from being well-versed in user-generated content sites and the core values of journalism, Whamond stressed the upside of being fresh out of college and new to the industry. “Being young and not knowing the rules gives you a huge advantage,” he said. “Passion is the best thing you can bring to the table.”

Reflecting on the First Deadline Story of Tom Baden

I found this first deadline story to be very difficult to craft out of the wealth of information I gathered from the interview during class. I had an idea for a possible way in which to take my story going into the class, but after all was said and done I knew that my first idea would not fare well. My goal for the piece was to tell how Baden described the absence of college and high school student readers among the usual consumer populations of printed journalism and detail how they were attempting to attract them. I wanted to show them what steps are being taken and how someone with vast experience in the field of journalism feels about the current situation.

I knew going into it that this would be challenging because it is a novel experience. I felt like I was trying a bit too hard to include so many details, so I omitted what was borderline necessary. I tightened up the background information and only included a few facts I thought were key (what I thought would seem interesting to the reader and prevalent to what was already mentioned in the article.) The writing of the story was easier than the actual consolidating of the information and the choice of arrangement.

I felt that I was successful in creating a bit of conflict to lure the reader in to the rest of the story, a concept that the book mentioned in Chapter 2 if I remember correctly. The video on interviews that we watched in class was helpful to everyone who asked a question and then a follow-up to clarify. I believe that the question I asked Tom Baden was a solid one, but unfortunately it did not fit into how I ended up depicting this event. Having the background information already prepared made life much easier.

It was very interesting and rewarding to have had the opportunity to hear from one of the “gatekeepers” of the news and experience his take on this component of the media. I learned that I need to have a Plan B in terms of how the story can be written. I ended up having to rethink the way my story would go and that proved to be the most challenging aspect of writing this article.

Baden and the Future of Print Journalism

The world of print journalism, in the eyes of younger audiences, has stopped spinning. However, a seasoned veteran of the field ensures that newspapers nationwide are determined to revamp their traditional product to entice young viewers by adding more interactive and accesible content.
Tom Baden, editor of The Connecticut Press, met with Fairfield University students at a mock-press conference last Monday night to discuss newspapers’ use of interactive content and social networking sites to attract high school and college-aged potential readers. This part of the population particularly shies away from using printed news, making it apparent that traditional methods will no longer cut it.
A developing strategy, according to Baden, has been using websites like Twitter and Facebook to link to their paper’s content. Interactive news sites, such as “In Utah This Week” which allow for a user friendly news experience, are part of what he believes to be the solution. Scientific data based on tracking online usage has also proved to be beneficial to honing in on the consumers interests.
At The Post, the move has been to make the papers look and feel different by covering stories that appeal and are useful to younger readers. The online version will be updated to support a new content managing system, and the website as a whole will receive a “face-lift” very soon.
Baden admits that newspapers have been slow to oust their preconceived notions about their target audience’s interests. “I think we’ve all assumed wrongly that younger readers don’t want things more in-depth and in detail,” he stated. He added that they may also have neglected younger readers’ interest in the news in general and about their community.
Once a student at the University of Maryland, it was Baden’s involvement with the school newspaper that sparked his love of journalism. After earning his degree, he worked as a reporter for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, where he was soon promoted to city editor for the paper.
He later worked for the Newhouse News Service in D.C., covering the administration of the first President Bush, and was the editor of several other papers before signing on with The Connecticut Post in July of 2008.
As these non-traditional means of garnering the attention of teenaged readers continue to be implemented and improved upon, we are reminded stay in third person; keep yourself out of it by Baden about another reason for the target group’s lack of participation. “I think we need to do a better job of convincing the public that we’re fair,” he said. “We’re being honest.”