Issue 16 Fall 2020

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September 30, 2020 VOLUME XL, ISSUE 16 Online-Only Edition

New USG Leaders Plan for Year Defined by COVID-19

By KATRINA LAMBERT and ALLIE STOFER News Editor and Asst. News Editor

COURTESY OF LOREEN RUIZ AND ROBERT SUNDSTROM

Robert Sundstrom, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’22, was elected the vice president of the United Student Government (USG) on Sept. 23, filling the position left vacant from the spring 2020 USG elections.

Sundstrom said that he received a call with the news from USG president, Loreen Ruiz, FCLC ’21, while doing homework.

“I was just ecstatic,” Sundstrom said about the win. “I think I told her how excited I was probably 25 times. I was thrilled.”

In addition, Aastha Aggarwal, Gabelli School of Business (GSB) ’22, was elected as junior class senator for GSB. She ran unopposed with three write-in votes.

Aggarwal, who is new to USG, said that she decided to join because she feels as though there is a lack of contact between GSB and FCLC students. She said that

Loreen Ruiz and Robert Sundstrom are taking on the challenge of running the United Student Government from opposite sides of the country, as Sundstrom is on campus and Ruiz is at home in California. "With our enthusiasm and organization, I am looking forward to seeing what we accomplish this year," Ruiz said.

see USG RESULTS page 4

2020 Emmys Are a Start, Fordham Ranks 203rd in Social Mobility But There’s More to Do for Diversity Initatives

By TYLER BEY Contributing Writer

“I think representation and showing your heritage, showing how the path of life you’ve taken depending on your own culture has made you who you are, should be showcased,” Eduardo Hernandez Cantoral, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24, said.

Cantoral is a first-year Fordham Theatre student currently studying remotely from home in Mexico City. After finishing a theatre assignment, we began discussing the lack of representation

in the entertainment industry. I asked him if it made him angry.

“It does. It does,” Cantoral said. “It’s unfair that people have to work more for the same goal. It should be an open ground.”

With Fordham Theatre’s history of discrimination in the classroom, is there hope for the entertainment industry as we move forward with worldwide initiatives for inclusion, diversity and acceptance? This year’s Emmys surprisingly suggest that maybe Hollywood won’t drown in a sea of its own white-washing. see EMMYS page 18

GABE SAMANDI/THE OBSERVER

The new U.S. News and World Report for top national research universities placed Fordham at 66th, up from last year’s 74th.

By STEPHEN BRAGALE Contributing Writer

Recollections From a Revolution: My Semester as a Student in Hong Kong Page 8

Fordham placed 66th out of 389 schools in its category in the U.S. News and World Report’s (USNWR) 2021 list of national research universities. This is an improvement from last year’s ranking of 74th, amounting to a 2% increase. University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., addressed Fordham University’s new ranking in a Sept.

13 email to the Fordham community.

Fordham placed 203rd in the “Social Mobility” sub-ranking, putting the university in the bottom half of schools in the category.

USNWR began to include “social mobility factors” in its ranking formula in 2018. This sub-ranking was created with

two main factors in its methodology: it calculates the graduation rate of students who received Pell Grants and it compares the result with the graduation rate of students who do not receive Pell Grants.

In 2018, USNWR said Pell Grants are awarded to students from families with annual household incomes under $50,000, and that “most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000.”

Despite this progressive change to evaluate schools’ inclusivity of different social classes, the best college research tools offered by USNWR are kept behind a paywall, even though the news organization already profits off of the private information of registered users of their website.

Bob Howe, assistant vice president for communications and special adviser to the president, said that rankings were a bit misleading. “A rank of no.

203 puts us at no. 23 among the top 70 schools in the U.S. News, and no. 34 among the top 100; as well as no. 6 among private schools in the top 70, and .no 8 among all schools in the top 100—we are tied with Princeton at #203, after all,” he said.

“But just to show you how subjective the rankings can be, the Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) ranked Fordham at #15 nationally for social mobility two years ago.”

That 2018 CHE article rated Fordham 15th in mobility rate among 4-year private non-profit institutions. The article focused see RANKINGS page 5

News

Features

Sports & Health

Opinions

Arts & Culture

International students unable to choose their preferred plan Page 2

Students and professors struggle with online class workload

How to discern facts from fiction in COVID-related news and reporting

PCS students can’t participate in USG, and this needs to change

Celebrate at one of the Latinx Heritage Committee's events

Page 12

Page 15

Health Care Denied

Increased Difficulty Page 3

Viral Misinformation Page 6

Call for Representation Latinx Heritage Month

The Student Voice of Fordham Lincoln Center

2

News

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

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International Students’ Health Care Denied

Students petition for a change to policy preventing international students from obtaining their own coverage

By KATRINA LAMBERT News Editor

A change to Fordham’s health insurance policy now requires students to purchase an Affordable Care Act (ACA)-compliant insurance. This requirement has disrupted international students’ plans for attaining the health care waiver and using their own preferred insurance plan.

International students are not generally subject to the ACA as it is a U.S. federal law. Non-residents, including international students or scholars with F, J, Q, or M visas do not need to obtain coverage that is compliant with the ACA standards.

However, since Fordham added compliance with the ACA to their own requirements, international students are now subject to the same standards issued in the ACA. International students were notified of the change to Fordham’s student health insurance policy last spring. However, many assumed it would not affect them because a popular health insurance, UnitedHealthcare, is based in the U.S., qualifying it for ACA approval.

“The only difference we had was we bought it through a broker, not directly from United Healthcare itself, so it turned out to be for international students only,” Levy

Li, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) at Rose Hill ’21 and an international student from China, said. Purchasing through a broker meant that it wouldn’t be compliant with the ACA since it is considered not underwritten in — or financed by — the U.S. According to Li, their health insurance was approved by the university-issued health insurance company, Aetna, which qualified them for the waiver.

The waiver allows students to use their own insurance and refunds all fees from the university health care. Fordham students are given a deadline to submit the appropriate information on the plan’s webpage to either register for the university health insurance or waive the fees by showing they have their own insurance. This year, the deadline was Sept. 10.

Shortly after the students had received the confirmation from Aetna’s webpage, they were informed by Maritza Rivera-Garcia, the health insurance compliance administrator, that their insurance plan did not meet the university’s new requirements.

Li said that he and a few other international students emailed Rivera-Garcia for clarity on why their insurance does not qualify for the waiver. “However, we did not re-

COURTESY OF GLOBAL TRANSITION

In addition to living in a foreign country during a pandemic, international students are now faced with a change to Fordham's health care requirement, forcing them to purchase an ACA-compliant policy. This usually means a higher premium for students to pay.

ceive any positive feedback, and her response did not justify the reason specifically,” he said.

Consequently, Li and 48 other international students signed a petition requesting the university consider students’ reasons for choosing the health insurance that best suits them, removes the requirement for health insurance to be underwritten in the U.S. and take “a more proactive role in school health insurance contract negotiations with brokers and insurance companies.”

Zifan Li, GSAS ’21 and an international student from China, wrote the petition letter. He said that his plan has been accepted by the insurance department in the past few years prior to the mandatory compliance with the ACA, therefore it was proved to satisfy the other waiver requirements.

“I can guess that the broker who provides the Aetna plan does not want to see many international students waive their plans,” he said.

The signers of the petition prefer their choice in health care because it suits their medical and financial situations better than the university health insurance. The cost of Aetna is $3,401 per year, whereas UnitedHealthcare is much less expensive. Levy Li’s plan only costs $1,200 for the year and Zifan Li’s costs $1,290.

Not only does UnitedHealthcare have a lower premium, but it also has a higher reimbursement rate, no deductible and includes vision coverage; Aetna has no vision benefits and a higher out-of-pocket payment if the coverage exceeds the limits.

Additionally, there is a $150 administrative fee to Fordham if students purchase the student health insurance. This fee funds medical services and resources on campus, including tests and vaccines, according to Gregory J. Pappas, assistant vice president for student affairs.

The UnitedHealthcare student insurance is able to provide comprehensive benefits at a lower cost because it is designed with a younger, healthier population in mind and for a limited time, according to their website.

On Sept. 3 at 10 a.m., the petition was emailed to Fordham President Rev. Joseph M. McShane,

S.J., Vice Chairs of the Board Don Almeida and Mary Anne Sullivan, Vice President Martha K. Hirst, and the Office of International Services.

The students requested that their issues in the petition be resolved one week before the waiver deadline, Sept. 10; however, this did not happen. After the petition was submitted, Levy Li received an email back from Pappas. Later in the week, Pappas acknowledged the petition and agreed to schedule a town hall meeting for all international students and administrators to attend in order to answer further questions. The date for the town hall has not yet been established.

“ We don’t have family

here, and 99% of the international students do not have insurance sponsored by an employer at this time. ”

Levy Li, GSAS at Rose Hill ’21

In the meantime, international students were required to drop their purchased health care plans and enroll in Aetna. Some students received a full refund from their health insurance company, but others who have already used benefits from their coverage had to absorb the prorated cost of their plan in addition to the university health insurance fee.

In his emails to Pappas, Levy Li routinely asked for a reason why Fordham denied their health care plan, since this plan had been approved in the past.

“The insurance department feels that the Aetna plan is the best plan, however, we feel that our plan is the best plan with equal or higher benefits & coverage, and we can prove this,” Levy Li said in an email to Pappas.

Pappas responded that the university has found that students with less expensive plans end up paying more annually in the long run.

Therefore, by issuing a requirement that all Fordham-alternate health insurance plans be compliant with ACA, it aims to guarantee

that all Fordham students will be subject to the same changes and coverage. ACA, Pappas said, has the “most universally-available and clearly-defined levels of adequate medical coverage” in the area.

On Fordham’s health insurance website, it is listed that for international students seeking alternative health care plans, their plan must meet the following criteria: It must maintain insurance coverage equal to or greater than the university-issued insurance with no additional exclusions, the insurance company must be headquartered and operated in the U.S. with a claims office also in the U.S., the plan must be compliant with ACA which includes inpatient hospitalization and outpatient benefits in NYC, and the maximum benefit payable under the plan must be unlimited.

UnitedHealthcare meets all of these requirements, except for that it was not underwritten in the U.S. and thus not compliant with ACA. “We take this as a very serious issue,” Levy Li said. He explained that domestic students can waive Fordham insurance by using a family plan or employer-sponsored plan, but there is a disparity for international students who cannot default to a U.S.-issued plan. “We don’t have family here, and 99% of the international students do not have insurance sponsored by an employer at this time.”

The university admitted to this imbalance in an email from Rivera-Garcia: “While both our domestic and international student populations are subject to the same insurance requirements, internationals may experience more difficulty obtaining alternate insurance than their domestic classmates.”

Pappas later addressed that Rivera-Garcia will be available to meet and discuss alternate non-Fordham health insurance plans with the international students that are ACA-compliant as well as affordable.

“If the administration is unable to solve this, I will feel disappointed,” Zifan Li said. “If they did not take any proper actions, I would begin to suspect how Fordham provides a Jesuit educational experience to all students.”

Kat Ehring contributed additional reporting to this article.

First-Years Adjust to an Unprecedented First Semester

By CHLOE ZELCH Contributing Writer

First-years have officially begun their first semester at Fordham, greeted by a myriad of changes and protocols related to the novel coronavirus, but they’re still trying to have as normal a semester as possible.

“The adjustment to freshman year has been much less difficult than I expected,” Lily Carlisle, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24, said. “When it comes to academics, I think Fordham ... is doing the best it can to accommodate everyone.”

Dean Conor O’Kane, assistant dean of first-year students, has been in contact with first-years since the summer, noting how adaptive the Class of 2024 has been.

Nate Dallimore, FCLC ’24, feels similarly to Carlisle, noting that “overall I’m happy with the way things are going, taking COVID into account.” However, he has found that there are a few challenges associated with hybrid instruction at Fordham. Dallimore expressed his frustration with the technical difficulties associated with Zoom classes, issues with using the new electronic ID cards

and the structure of orientation.

Several members of the Class of 2024 have expressed complaints about orientation. Carlisle felt that the experience “was a little disappointing. I didn’t really feel like there was a lot of information I gained from the orientation activities.”

She elaborated that she and her roommate, Eva Gelman, FCLC ’24, were left in the dark on where to pick up mail, how to navigate the dining hall and where to find important locations such as the bookstore, IT office and health services.

Although they both had toured previously, Gelman and Carlisle thought that orientation would be the best way for them to get their bearings at Fordham.

However, opportunities for firstyears to integrate with their community members have abounded, both online and in-person. With clubs and other events running mostly online, some first-years are taking advantage of these social distanced social options. A variety of events have been put on, from Zoom game nights to sunset dinners on the new greenspace behind McMahon Hall.

Dan Patterson, associate director for first-year experience, acknowledged that Zoom events can

CHLOE ZELCH/THE OBSERVER

First-year students have not had the college experience that they had hoped for, and some felt left in the dark with vital orientation information.

be exhausting when the majority of students are already spending class time on their computers. The turnout for these digital events has been small, but as Patterson said, “We’re getting at least a few, and for those few the impact is significant.”

Gelman has not been attending school sponsored events: “I just didn’t really have time or energy ... mostly, I can’t picture any events that could be held in both a fun and socially distant way.”

Instead, she has chosen to social-

ize with a small group of friends she met on her floor and through social media in a safe, COVID-19conscious manner.

The Office for Student Involvement also hosted a virtual Club Week, which Patterson said was a success. “It was a great way to make it equitable for students that were on campus and remote,” Patterson said, as clubs hosted themed Zoom meetings each day.

Gelman explained she joined clubs during club week and that

it “was really nice to have a chance to get introduced to clubs without being committed right away, and now that I'm in the Comma, I love it!”

As first-years continue to integrate into Fordham and navigate their first semester, Patterson acknowledged, “You’ve been cooped up in your house for the last five months, but we’re still wrestling with how to establish and maintain a safe community.

It’s certainly a challenge.”

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THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

News

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Strain of Online Learning Is ‘much greater than anticipated’

Students and instructors cite growing workload of online learning as a cause for imbalance between school and life

By JOE KOTTKE News Editor

Two months into the fall 2020 semester and students are still adjusting to the new normal sparked by the coronavirus and the shift to digital learning. Students say they are facing heavier workloads and more screen time — a stark contrast to the latter half of the spring 2020 semester.

Over the summer, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) Dean Laura Auricchio and Fordham College at Rose Hill Dean Maura Mast co-chaired a working group with instructors to plan for online courses. The group was formed in response to student concerns about “a notable reduction in the quality of our education” in the spring semester.

Auricchio said neither she nor Mast anticipated the increase in workload for students and instructors this semester, as it was not a problem in the spring, but they also did not want students to “feel cheated” out of up-to-par coursework.

“We wanted to provide a substantive education. I am afraid that we might have gone too far,” Auricchio said.

“ I’ve never had to

study this much or do so much classwork in my in-person classes and the combination of the extra workload, an internship and regular work can get crazy at times. ”

Samantha Rizzo, FCLC ’22

Students and Instructors Acclimate to Greater Workload Diana Silva, FCLC ’23, said she has professors who are working hard to adapt classes while others don’t “notice how much work they are giving us.”

“I legit spend all week doing schoolwork,” she said. “Since the workload has increased, all I do is schoolwork and work. It’s a bit heavy on mental health to be honest and I wish it wasn’t so much. I don’t even have my own personal downtime like I used to.”

Samantha Rizzo, FCLC ’22, agreed that the workload this semester is greater than usual. She said classes with a concentration on asynchronous components tend to

have more assignments and larger time commitments.

The increase in labor-intensive work is not only occurring for students but for instructors as well.

“It is 10 times as much work,” Shiloh Whitney, professor of philosophy, said when comparing her current workload to a traditional semester. “It takes a massive amount of preparation.”

An ongoing course called Flex1000 on teaching in a hybrid environment is available to all instructors. The course covers technical issues and how to build community digitally. Anne Fernald, special adviser to the provost on faculty development, and Steven D’Agustino, director of online learning, lead the course twice a week.

Whitney was one of the few hundred instructors who took the course: “There was a huge challenge to meet a sudden and more massive demand for access and resources and that absolutely didn’t go perfect, but there was also a lot of hard work done.”

Leo Guardado, professor of theology, described the process of teaching virtually as “much more work.” He now has to create his presentations, produce one full recording without interruptions, edit and rewatch the lectures, upload the videos and finally email his students the information.

“All of those steps take up to four hours just to create a 20-minute video; it’s hours of preparation and hours of rereading content. It is a whole new level of preparation,” Guardado said.

“Translating an activity online requires a lot more imagination in creating experiences for learning,” Professor Diane Detournay, a lecturer of English, women’s studies and American studies, said. “The labor becomes more time-consuming. It is radically different. It is a different type of work, so it feels intensified because of being in front of a screen 12 hours a day.”

Rizzo also said she spends most of her day on the computer for class, homework and her remote internship. Her “break” is when she goes to work in-person at a local mall. “I’ve never had to study this much or do so much classwork in my in-person classes and the combination of the extra workload, an internship and regular work can get crazy at times.”

In response to students’ reactions about the reality of the fall semester, the Office of Institutional Research concluded an optional survey on Sept. 25, inquiring about students’ experiences.

“The No. 1 takeaway from the

survey for me is that the work is much greater than anticipated,” Auricchio said. In response, she is collaborating with Mast to help “course correct.”

“ It is important for courses to be challenging, but the workload must be reasonable. ”

Leo Guardado, professor of theology

A Shift in Time Commitment Since the spring semester, Whitney cut down to leading only one live session a week per section, and Guardado broke up his class into three groups of 12, who all attend class for 30 minutes twice a week.

“The whole semester is a pedagogical experiment, like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks,” Guardado said.

Guardado said his students are doing the same amount of work as they would be doing in person, as he has created shorter assignments with more creative opportunities.

Whitney developed her course to have nine hours’ worth of work each week for her students.

Whitney also said she designed her course so that both she and her students have weekends off from work.

“I wanted to make a course that is challenging for students, so they get to learn something meaningful and be proud of themselves,” Whitney said. “It is important for courses to be challenging, but the workload must be reasonable.”

According to Fordham registration information, a traditional upper-level class entails two hours and 30 minutes per week of formal instruction, plus an additional three hours of preparation work, totaling an average of five hours and 30 minutes of work per class a week.

Fordham has to legally meet the criteria of both the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education when planning the amount of time students engage in instruction and additional classwork.

For the 2020-21 academic year, the NYSED did not change the requirement of at least 15 hours of instruction and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments per semester. The Middle States Commission requires “regular and substantive interaction” for distanced learning. Neither of the institutions

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY MADDIE SANDHOLM/THE OBSERVER

Spending the majority of the school day in front of a computer screen has become the new normal for many students.

set a maximum for coursework or instruction, only minimums.

“At times it feels like I’m doing way more work, and it’s not the professors’ fault but really just the online format, because we have to spend extra time doing what we would have been doing in an in-person classroom setting,” Ali Bernstein, FCLC ’22, said.

“In addition to the type of homework that would normally be assigned, we’re also watching a classlength video lecture and meeting for Zoom discussion or doing blackboard discussion assignments in lieu of a dynamic in-person classroom discussion.”

Bernstein said she can visibly notice her fatigue from everyday life activity being converted to screen time for class, homework and clubs.

“I got a job thinking I could manage both because last semester wasn’t too bad,” Silva said. “It was manageable. But then professors started giving so much work, and I don’t think they understand that we don’t just sit at home and do nothing all day and wait for class.

We have other things and extracurriculars in the mix as well.”

“ It was a scramble;

we were operating in crisis mode, but there is a possibility of a more vibrant online experience now. ”

Diane Detournay, a lecturer of the humanities

Impact on Finances, Job Responsibilities and Learning Experience

Increased workload and frustration are not isolated to students. Professors are spending a lot more time creating new online material and adapting their lectures.

The abrupt shift to online courses in the spring led to grace-giving accommodations being implemented, such as the option for students to elect to receive a pass/fail grade for any class and instructor lenience on attending live sessions from across the globe.

“It was a scramble; we were operating in crisis mode, but there is a possibility of a more vibrant online experience now,” Detournay said when comparing the two semesters.

An emphasis on curriculum has led to many losing sight of the fact that the global turmoil is deeply impacting everyone, according to Detournay. “I find myself having to do a lot of carework for friends and others. All of the labor required for that gets no recognition. It makes the idea of balance difficult.”

Over 280 Fordham employees signed a statement on carework in

August, asking the university to acknowledge the burden it places on instructors.

In addition to responsibilities outside work, Whitney said that the move to online teaching created complications in fulfilling her professional responsibilities.

“Teaching is a third of the job and it takes half of your time during the school year, so the summer is important for the other elements,” she said in reference to tenured professors also having to complete research and service requirements.

“I think I and a lot of people lost the summer for the research part of the job. It is a problem for people still on the tenure-track.”

She said the online form of education prompted new financial stressors as well. “Permanent faculty have had our pay frozen by the university (so no raises even for inflation), and now the administration is pushing to take away the university's retirement contributions too.”

Whitney said the changes feel demoralizing. “We're working harder than we ever have, and on top of that, we're being asked to shoulder the burden of cost-cutting measures,” she said.

Detournay is a fifth-year lecturer and part of Fordham’s contingent faculty.

“We are unionized and have collective bargaining rights, which is so critical during these times,” Detournay said. “I think there has not been enough recognition on the part of the institution that what appears to be small cuts to salaries or benefits have huge life consequences. If you are already living on the brink, any cut can be devastating.”

Planning for the 2021 Spring Semester Looking ahead for plans in the spring — assuming that in-person classes will be a possibility — Auricchio said grappling with a mixture of online and in-person students will be another challenge. A possible solution would be offering two sections of a class at the same time, one being online and one being in-person, she said.

If tasked with making course decisions in 2021 similar to those made this fall, Guardado said he would only return to teaching in-person if he was allowed to conduct it with a full class. Since the hybrid model is “twice as much work” to accommodate two groups of students, Guardado would elect to keep his entire class fully online if going fully in-person is not a possibility.

Auricchio said she is committed to finding solutions for students: “If we don’t know about a problem, we can’t fix it. There is nothing we want to do more than to help.”

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News

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

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2020-21 Fall Election Winners Announced

Sundstrom fills the USG VP slot and first-year senators make goals to improve students’ experiences USG RESULTS from page 1

her plans for the upcoming year are to be available to every GSB junior at Fordham and work to create events for all students.

“What I feel is kind of lacking at Fordham right now is representation of Gabelli School of Business more in USG council because I feel like Gabelli students are not very extracurricular driven just because of the accelerated pace of the curriculum,” Aggarwal said. “It would really help out everyone to just create more activities and events.”

Brigida Caruso, GSB ’24; Djellza Pulatani, FCLC ’24; Bianca Georgescu, FCLC ’24; and Cort McElroy, FCLC ’24, were also elected as USG first-year senators for their respective schools.

“ I know this is a very

unique first year experience, but I want to reassure the student body that USG will do everything to ameliorate the situation. ” Bianca Georgescu, FCLC ’24

Caruso echoed Aggarwal’s goal to create more contact between GSB and FCLC students, as well as wanting to focus on becoming more environmentally conscious.

“I intend on mending the gap between students and faculty, as well as the divide between GSB and FCLC students,” Caruso said. “This coming year, working alongside the facilities committee, I will focus my efforts in creating a more environmentally conscious student body and create more access to sustainable resources on campus for my peers.”

Three out of six candidates were chosen for first-year senator positions. The lower turnout for first-year candidates this year was likely due to remote learning. The first-year class senator for GSB had only two candidates, and one student was chosen for the position.

Both Pulatani and Georgescu said that they want to focus on making all students feel welcome.

“I intend to follow through with my 7-point campaign plan, wherein the needs and wants of students are met,” Pulatani said. “My main priority for this year is hearing out all student concerns and making sure Fordham Lincoln Center is a place where all students feel safe, welcomed, at home.”

Pulatani’s plan, which she outlined on her Instagram, includes amplifying student voices, raising awareness of social justice issues and keeping Fordham administration and students accountable for acts of discrimination, racism and sexual harassment. She will also focus on creating more sustainable dining options for students as well as work with nearby grocers to receive discounts for students. Her final focuses include creating COVID-19 support groups for students and working

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

Robert Sundstrom, FCLC '22, was elected USG vice president with a total of 147 votes from the student body.

to create functional spaces on campus for all majors to use.

“I know this is a very unique first year experience, but I want to reassure the student body that USG will do everything to ameliorate the situation,” Georgescu said. “As for now, my top priority within USG is to work more on inclusion and create a platform where people from every learning mode( online, hybrid or in person) feel welcomed and accepted.”

As a part of her campaign

promise, Ruiz publicly released the election results to The Observer and on Instagram. Out of 245 votes cast, Sundstrom gained 147 votes for vice president, with opposing candidate Joe VanGostein, GSB ’22, gaining 97 votes. Two were write-in votes.

Sundstrom said that after Ruiz called him, he reached out to VanGostein to commend him on his campaign and thank him for pushing him during the election race.

MADDIE SANDHOLM/THE OBSERVER

“I think both of our campaigns pushed each other to be better and address more student needs. We both talked a little bit and are really excited to work together this semester,” Sundstrom said.

VanGostein will retain his position as secretary for USG and plans to continue his initiatives for combating racial injustice on campus along with the rest of the USG members.

“The cookie doesn’t always crumble the way you want it to in life but I’m still happy to be involved in USG as Secretary this year and I look forward to still pursuing my campaign objectives and helping Robert pursue his,” VanGostein said.

During his campaign, Sundstrom outlined the ways he hopes to increase inclusiveness and Fordham pride on campus.

He said that he will expand his office hours and frequency of communication to Fordham students, as well as make the health resources Fordham provides to students more easily available. Sundstrom has also been meeting with various diversity groups and he hopes to promote these groups’ activities to a wider audience.

After the election, Sundstrom also said that he hopes to host joint events with the Commuting Students Association to make sure students feel as though they are still a part of campus.

He said that he plans to do this through events open to all students such as virtual “Jeopardy!” which was held last semester.

Sundstrom also stated that he is very excited to work with Ruiz because they ran on similar platforms of inclusiveness and Fordham pride.

“That was something we talked about on the phone yesterday; how excited we both are to really get things done and enhance the attitude towards United Student Government at Lincoln Center and really get done what we promised to do,” Sundstrom said.

Ruiz said she is looking forward to working with Sundstrom this year.

“With our enthusiasm and organization, I am looking forward to seeing what we accomplish this year,” she said. “Despite the circumstances, I am confident that we will be able to serve and engage the Fordham community. Both Robert and Joe are excellent people and I am glad to have them on USG!”

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News

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University Moves Up in National Rankings But Down in Social Mobility stantly recognizable by experts on the matter,” he said.

Malave also sees how Fordham’s increased overall ranking can help his career. “For me, life after Fordham comes down to searching for the dream job in academia itself as a professor ... the university bearing a more prestigious image would directly impact the success of my goals in a most positive way,” he said.

RANKINGS from page 1

on the rate of students from families in the bottom 20% of household income distribution who made it to the top 20%.

Only the top three schools on the private-institution list would have made the top 20 on the public school rankings.

USNWR uses multiple factors to calculate its ranking system.

These factors include student outcomes, faculty resources, the academic reputation of the university and student selectivity for the previous entering class.

A 2018 study from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education criticizes the USNWR’s ranking system for not giving the most weight to factors that students and families are most concerned with.

This year’s ranking list uses data from 2019 in its calculations, meaning that key issues of 2020, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the movement for racial justice, are not reflected in this year’s USNWR ranking system.

Fordham University officials have a history of labeling college rankings as arbitrary.

Loreen Ruiz, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21 and United Student Government (USG) president, said that USNWR’s formula should consider categories that are important to students, such as racial diversity on campus.

“I've spent my summer and fall semester listening to stu-

“ These factors can be

ANDREW DRESSNER/THE OBSERVER

Some students and faculty believe that rankings do not mean much since the deciding factors used do not reflect recent concerns. Others say that an increase in the national ranking can help with careers after graduating.

dents,” she said. “They have made it clear, and I agree with them, that diversity—particularly racial diversity— in both Fordham's student body and in its hiring of staff and faculty should be a priority.”

Ruiz said she has heard concerns about student health on campus. “In the middle of this pandemic, students are especially concerned about their health: Whether it’s having the ability to get tested for COVID-19 at any time or having adequate mental health support, I think it’s paramount that rankings consider how schools foster students’ physical and mental well-being,” she said.

Fordham University officials have a history of labeling college rankings as arbitrary. Howe said that ranking systems fail to capture the quality of a university.

“Imagine ranking the mu-

seums in New York City: how could you measure the American Museum of Natural History against the Metropolitan Museum of Art?” he said.

“They’re both large, worldclass museums adjacent to Central Park. They offer very different experiences and of course very different collections: it’s apples and oranges. The same is true for university rankings, even if you’re just comparing liberal arts institutions. They offer different physical settings, with different strengths in academic areas, different social climates, different student bodies, and different extracurricular activities. This is why enrollment professionals are so focused on a student’s ‘fit’ for their school: they want to recruit students who will thrive at their institution, and who

will succeed at their academic goals.”

In a January 2019 email, McShane said that higher rankings increase the value of a Fordham degree, help with fundraising and make it easier to recruit the best students and faculty.

Students’ reactions to these college rankings have also varied in the past. While some students ignore these rankings altogether, Daniel Malave, FCLC ’23, said that he sees the benefit of Fordham’s increased ranking.

“Certainly, college rankings within national lists matter to me because it is indicative of not only the university’s academic reputation, but also their ability to foster successful networking cliques between students and industry experts as well as demonstrating the university’s ability to become in-

hard to measure, which is why I encourage prospective students to take time to learn about the student experience at potential universities rather than being so fixated on rankings. ”

Loreen Ruiz, FCLC ’21 and USG president,

Meanwhile, Ruiz said the value of her Fordham education cannot be represented in a ranking system.

“Personally, my favorite parts about Fordham are its kind and caring community, as well as its array of student organizations and support mechanisms,” she said. “From Campus Ministry to Counseling and Psychological Services, I believe that Fordham offers support and social opportunities for every student. These factors can be hard to measure, which is why I encourage prospective students to take time to learn about the student experience at potential universities rather than being so fixated on rankings.”

University Announces Free Courses for Summer 2021

By MICHELLE AGARON and GRACE GETMAN Asst. News Editor and Social Media and Newsletter Editor

Full-time students can now take up to two classes at no additional charge this summer through Fordham. University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., announced the opportunity in response to challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic in an email sent to the Fordham community on Sept. 15.

Fordham’s 2021 summer offerings will be expanded to include a greater number of courses required for graduation, undergraduate research opportunities, internships that carry academic credit and opportunities through the School of Professional and Continuing Studies.

Free Summer Course Offerings Bob Howe, assistant vice president for communications, was not able to provide a definitive format for the summer courses due to the unpredictability of the pandemic.

However, he stated that the university will most likely offer a mix of in-person, hybrid and fully online courses.

The email also mentions the addition of “special-topics courses” that are not available during the academic year. Howe said that the university is currently working on these courses; relevant information will be shared as soon as it is available.

In the email, McShane said that “The University itself has ... likewise been challenged to adapt, and quickly, as never before.”

This announcement followed McShane’s State of the University

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

All students enrolled at Fordham this academic year will be able to take up to two online courses this summer for free, either in-person or remotely.

address on Sept. 14, a comprehensive look into the university’s antiracist efforts, pandemic response, endowment, admission demographics, ranking information and student and faculty achievements.

McShane stated that the university is continuously committed to providing a “world-class Jesuit education” to students.

Kyan Hejazi, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’22, said that the move for free summer courses was “extremely exciting but frustrating because people will be out of NY by then — they should have made this decision a long time ago COVID or not.”

Fairfield University, a Jesuit institution in Connecticut, also offered free summer courses to students but the proposal was implemented this past summer. To support incoming

first-years in the transition to online classes at college, the administration decided to offer one free online course and expanded course offerings significantly.

“ Two free courses

doesn’t put a bandaid on a comparatively subpar remote education, a global health crisis, and an economic recession. ”

Gabby Etzel, FCLC ’22

Despite the anticipated success of the two free online

courses, some Fordham students remain unimpressed with the university’s attempts to address student complaints about increased tuition and fees.

“Two free courses doesn’t put a bandaid on a comparatively subpar remote education, a global health crisis, and an economic recession,” Gabby Etzel, FCLC ’22, said. “The university responded to our plea for a reduction in tuition like it was charity....and the free courses are perfunctory and borderline insulting.”

Changes to Housing Fees and Refunds McShane also announced that room and housing fees for the fall 2020 semester will be adjusted on a pro rata basis to reflect the

end of hybrid learning at Thanksgiving break. Previously, pro rata refunds were only to be issued if the residence halls were to close earlier in the semester because of the pandemic.

According to McShane, Fordham’s financial aid budget has been “increased significantly to alleviate the economic impact of education expenses on families experiencing sudden and extreme financial hardship.”

The university has also been waiving late fees and deferring financial holds on overdue student accounts, and it has committed to working with families to resolve financial challenges.

McShane said all non-essential university spending has been slashed and all salaries have been frozen. He acknowledged that while the university seeks to avoid further cost-cutting actions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “they are a distinct possibility given the challenging budget picture.”

“Besides getting partial refunds on our spring 2020 dorms, this is the first time since the COVID pandemic started that Fordham has taken its students’ needs into account,” Aysesu Yilmaz, FCLC ’22, said. Given the unprecedented economic and academic difficulties during the pandemic, this new plan for free credits is going to be very helpful, and has restored my faith in Fordham.”

McShane ended his email by saying that as a result of the actions the university has taken, he believes that “students will experience an outstanding, transformative Jesuit education this school year, delivered by dedicated and innovative faculty, despite the circumstances.”

Sports & Health Editors Aiza Bhuiyan - ebhuiyan@fordham.edu Patrick Moquin - pmoquin@fordham.edu

Sports & Health

Do Blue Light Glasses Really Work?

By MAGGIE MCNAMARA Asst. Sports & Health Editor

Online classes got you down?

Tired of staring at a laptop screen all day, eyes straining, head aching? You’re not alone. With much of the world faced with an unprecedented amount of screen time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people are turning to blue light glasses to cure the physical ailments that accompany hours upon hours of looking at a computer.

But what exactly are blue light glasses? And, more importantly, do they really work? While their popularity is only growing — the blue light glasses market value is projected to jump from $22 million in 2020 to $38 million in 2026 — some research suggests that they might not be as helpful as most people seem to think.

However, Medical News Today says that there simply is not enough research to conclude that blue light glasses do everything they’re supposed to. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) reports that, in short, blue light glasses just aren’t worth the purchase.

Even though medical professionals are warning against this hot commodity, the issue they’re intended to solve is still one that’s received rigorous scientific study.

Blue light is a specific wavelength of light emitted by the sun, electronic devices and LED lights.

Harvard Medical School reports that, during the day, it has been shown to improve mood, attention span and reaction time. However, at night, these potential benefits give way to several drawbacks, including the disruption of circadian rhythm, the body’s biological clock.

Some studies have also linked exposure to light at night to conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cancer, but it should be noted that this does not mean that light exposure causes these conditions.

In short, the most immediate ramification from blue light is its impact on sleep. Fordham students burning the midnight oil might experience negative effects from studying off of a computer screen at night: Light exposure suppresses the body’s flow of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that is important for sleep.

While all types of light do this, blue light has a more powerful effect.

Blue light glasses, which have special lenses that block blue light, are touted by manufacturing companies to be a cure-all, allegedly saving users from eye strain, eye disease and a poor night’s sleep.

But how much do they really do?

September 30, 2020

THE OBSERVER

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

The AAO report states that computer-generated blue light, for one, has never been shown to cause eye disease. It also notes that eye strain from digital device use isn’t caused by blue light but by other factors, such as the fact that we generally blink less when looking at a screen.

Blue light glasses also aren’t necessary to improve sleep, and

one can take other steps such as reducing device use close to bedtime and turning one’s devices to night mode, which typically changes light emissions to softer red light.

If your eyes hurt from a day’s worth of Zoom meetings followed by a long night of studying, there are different, more cost-efficient methods outside of blue light

glasses that can help alleviate the strain. Enabling night shift mode on your computer could create the same effect at no additional cost.

The general consensus seems to be that blue light glasses are not integral to maintaining eye health and sleep during this highly digital time, and you may want to save your money for something else.

Testing Misinformation: Staying Informed and Safe in the Internet Age During a Pandemic

By GUS DUPREE Asst. Sports & Health Editor

There’s a virus currently spreading at unfathomable speed.

It indiscriminately targets community members and, although seemingly harmless, it has potentially fatal consequences. It isn’t COVID-19; it’s misinformation on the internet, and, like the coronavirus, it needs to be addressed and combated in order for us all to stay safe.

In times of public emergency and anxiety, it’s not uncommon for hysteria and ill-informed rumors to take flight. History is full of instances where rumors and assumptions, particularly those in already unstable environments, give way to mass hysteria and needless suffering, from the Salem Witch Trials to the peculiar “Dancing Plague of 1518,” when hundreds of Strasbourgers took to

the streets in a jittery, involuntary dance for days on end.

Glenn Hendler, professor of English and American studies at Fordham, defined misinformation as any statement on a topic that experts on said topic clearly agree is false. Hendler gave an example of misinformation by referencing scientific consensus on climate change, explaining that “There is a range of opinions about how much, and there are different theories about the mechanisms for that contribution, but no disagreement that it’s happening.”

In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hendler blamed online misinformation for the United States’ relatively poor performance in handling the coronavirus than other countries, stating that “the harm (misinformation) does is killing over 200,000 people so far, and sickening way more than that.”

Environments marred by troubles and violence provide the necessary conditions for misinformation to spread unchecked.

In dealing with the pandemic, the Fordham community isn’t immune.

The Instagram account @ lc_sinners previously shared messages from students claiming they were only allowed to be tested twice at Fordham’s on-campus testing facilities.

Maureen Keown, director of University Health Services, clarified that on-campus testing is currently concentrated “on getting students through the second round of required tests and on testing of students who are not well or students who may have a possible exposure.”

A community-wide email from Vice President for Administration Marco Valera also provided further clarification about test-

ing on Sept. 29. It explained that the university’s testing facilities are restricting their acceptance of walk-ins due to higher rates of testing going over weekly testing capacity.

On-demand testing will resume in the near future on a caseby-case basis, according to the statement. Students who schedule their test in advance will not be limited as long as they wait 7 days before testing again.

On Sept. 28, @lc_sinners acknowledged the conflicting information after speaking with members of @letstalkaboutitfordham, another Fordham-centered Instagram page.

“We are in talks about having a more accurate take of the fordham-testing situation on their page,” read the statement from @ lc_sinners in the post.

Zoe Demacopoulos, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)

Key:

Percentage of Responders Who Believe Each Statement is Accurate

Age 18-24

Age 25-44

Age 45-64

Age 65+

40%

28% 25% 20%

24% 21%

20% 12%

13%

12% 6%

Humans originally got coronavirus by eating bats

21%

19% 12%

11%

7%

Taking antibiotics is effective in preventing COVID-19

20%

6%

Only people older than 60 are at risk for coronavirus

There is a cure for coronavirus that is being withheld from the public

False Claims Regarding the Coronavirus SOURCE: THE COVID-19 CONSORTIUM FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC’S POLICY PREFERENCES ACROSS STATES VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES GRAPH BY ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

’21, felt uncomfortable about the spread of misinformation within the Fordham community. “I have been very disgruntled and irritated with people spreading information around campus without fact checking it,” Demacopoulos said.

Social media plays a large role in circulating misinformation.

The World Health Organization pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic is the first virus of its scale to break out during today’s era of social media. The use of social media and the internet acts as a double-edged sword, allowing for an “infodemic,” or overabundance of information where misinformation and disinformation, information that is intentionally wrong, can quickly circulate.

Contrary to popular belief that older people are the most vulnerable to misinformation on the internet, a New York Times survey found that people under 25 are the most likely to fall for COVID-19-related misinformation about the virus’s severity and origins. Respondents under 25 had an 18% probability of believing an untrue or misleading statement about COVID-19.

In comparison, respondents 65 years or older were half as likely — 9% — to fall for and believe misinformation about the coronavirus.

Now, Fordham Lincoln Center’s United Student Government (USG) is also making it a priority to address misinformation and keep students up to date.

Loreen Ruiz, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’21 and president of USG, stated that “Fordham has made it clear that it is committed to continuing their implementation of measures regarding transparency, and USG is in direct conversation with administrators across departments to make sure student feedback is heard and considered seriously.”

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

Sports & Health

Le Tour de France’s Youngest Racers Are Like Us, but Superhuman

7

By JILL RICE Copy Editor

Imagine flying down a mountain in the Alps at 60 miles per hour, riding a bicycle among a group of 180 other athletes, all of you tired from riding a hundred miles the day before, and the day before that and the day before that. This is reality for a very select group of people — college-aged men in pro-level cycling.

Most Americans don’t pay much attention to European sports, and cycling is one sport that’s much more centered around Europeans and South Americans than U.S. citizens.

Le Tour de France, the most famous of the three Grand Tours held in Europe every year, spans three weeks in July (COVID-19 forced this year’s Tour to be held in September instead) when 180 cyclists compete to be the fastest and strongest in a group of already-elite riders. Each day, or stage, is around 100 miles long, and every rider must finish the stage within a time limit in order to start the next day.

The riders compete for four possible jerseys: yellow for the rider with the best time over all stages; polka dot for the rider who reaches the most summits the fastest, earning mountain points; green for the rider who finishes sprints the quickest and/ or most often, earning sprint points; and white for the rider aged 25 or younger as of Jan. 1 with the best overall time.

The 26 young riders of the Tour, all between the ages of 21 and 26, compete together with the world’s top cyclists, including country champions, Olympic champions and world champions.

The oldest rider in this year’s Tour, Alejandro Valverde, was competing at the junior level when the youngest was in kindergarten.

On Sunday, Sept. 20, Le Tour de France ended with Tadej Pogačar winning the Tour itself

CHABE01 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Tadej Pogačar proudly sports the yellow jersey on the last stage of the Tour de France 2020 in Paris. At 22, he is the youngest rider to win the event since 1904.

and wearing the yellow jersey, as well as the mountains competition and best young rider competition. The first person to ever win three jerseys in one year, he is also the youngest rider to win the Tour since 1904 — he turned 22 on Sept. 21.

Le Tour de France is truly any man’s race; it seems to depend on luck and stamina more than age or even experience.

Pogačar was the third-youngest man in the 2020 Tour, beating his Slovenian countryman Primož Roglič by only a minute in the 87-hour race. Benoît Cosnefroy, another competitor in the young rider classification, held the polka dot jersey for 15 stages. Mads Pedersen kept the 2019 World Champion jersey, and Egan Bernal won last year’s general classification in the Tour. Although 22 of these

26 young men finished the Tour, most were not top contenders, finishing hours after the winners.

Instead of going to college, the young riders enter junior then professional circuits and travel the world, expending all their energy on a bicycle in order to race in competitions that last a day, a week or as long as three weeks. These guys are the upand-comings, the names you’ll see on cycling leaderboards for the next 10 years.

I tried hard to find some kind of connection between the Tour de France and Fordham. Alas, there’s really no link. Why is that? Few professional-track road cyclists would go to school in the Appalachians, let alone in New York City. Some riders go to college specifically for cycling teams (at schools anywhere from

Boulder, Colorado, to Ghent, Belgium), but many in the Grand Tours skip over collegiate cycling in favor of junior teams.

So while we’re here at Zoom University and our only experience of cycling is dodging the cyclists of Central Park who think they belong in the Tour, guys our age from around the world are competing against 30-yearold champions. Their lives are difficult to say the least, though I wouldn’t say living through a pandemic is easy for anyone.

These white jersey contenders have faced many challenges as young riders and as athletes during the pandemic, but most have succeeded in completing the world’s most important cycling race.

Seeing Pogačar and the other young riders — our peers — mature into the next years’ cham-

pions is inspiring; similarly, following the racers’ personal and physical journeys is exciting because of their athleticism and the beauty of the country of France.

The Tour is held next year in July on NBCSN, and I hope you watch it with me — it’s never boring, the racers and commentators are always entertaining, and it’s a thrilling sport to compete in and to watch.

Cycling is a sport never to be missed, especially right now, since it has races worldwide and is still competing safely even during the pandemic. Even in an uncertain world, the quality of racing remains consistent and will only continue to improve.

Le Tour de France 2020 is a race to be remembered and the defining moment of Pogačar’s career, at least until he beats another record.

A10 Basketball Set to Return to the Bronx

By PATRICK MOQUIN Sports & Health Editor

In two weeks’ time, basketball players will finally retake the court at Rose Hill. On Sept.

16, the NCAA Division I Council voted to move forward with the 2020-21 college basketball season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Practices will begin on Oct. 14, with the season officially starting on Nov. 25.

This new plan represents a 15-day delayed start to the season and gives the NCAA, conferences and schools more time to prepare for a very unique season.

The vote will also reopen gyms across the country, which, like the Rose Hill Gymnasium, have been shuttered since students returned to campus in late August.

Student men’s basketball manager Garrett Kuhlman, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill ’22, said that the team was excited and grateful to return to the court. He went on to say, “Amid the COVID pandemic, I know the guys can’t wait to get out there and compete this year.”

In a press release, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt said, “It is a grand compromise of sorts and a unified approach that focuses on the health and safety of student-athletes competing towards the

2021 Division I basketball championships.”

The decision also determined new scheduling guidelines for a revised season. Men’s and women’s basketball programs can now schedule up to 25 regular season games (or 24 and a threegame special event in the case of men, and 23 and a four-game special event in the case of women). In both cases, this is a reduction of four games from the usual maximum number allowed to compensate for the lost 15 days.

Beyond scheduling logistics, there are still many questions regarding the season to come, and it seems that the solutions to these problems will differ by the school and area.

In Fordham’s case, there is currently no set schedule for either team. The Atlantic 10 (A10) conference has released the Rams’ scheduled opponents for men’s and women’s conference play in 2021, but there are no set dates for those games. In addition, opponents for non-conference games in November and December have not been released.

Most importantly, Fordham administration has not yet determined attendance policies for fans at home games. For an extremely brief period last spring, several sporting events took place without fans before

the season was eventually canceled, but there has not yet been a need for long-term sporting event attendance restrictions.

Even if fans are permitted to sit courtside, Fordham will still likely follow phased reopening guidelines set forth by the state of New York.

The NCAA vote may have only contributed to the persistent uncertainty in college sports, but Fordham basketball players and coaches are rejoicing all the same: They have a season again.

The teams don’t have much more than preliminary, unscheduled matchups to look forward to at the moment, but that’s more than enough after last year’s disappointments. In separate cancellations, the men’s team lost the chance at a run in the A10 Tournament, while the women’s team was unable to compete in the 2020 Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).

For the men, Kuhlman said that “goals going in are to not only compete, but also to improve on last year’s success later in the season moving forward.” Meanwhile, Stephanie Gaitley, the successful women’s basketball coach, will be preparing an extremely promising team for another A10 championship.

After a championship victory in 2019, last season’s team fell in

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Fordham men’s basketball team plays against Richmond in February 2020. Practice for the 2020-21 college basketball season will begin on Oct. 14, and the season is set to start on Nov. 25.

a heartbreaking A10 Tournament semifinal defeat to Virginia Commonwealth University, ending their 2020 season. Any chance at retribution in the WNIT was dashed by the pandemic.

In an interview with Amsterdam News, Gaitley said, “There’s going to be nothing sweeter than raising a trophy in spite of all the adversity. Let’s get after it.”

My Experience Studying Abroad

STEVIE CORTEZ Contributing Writer

As I lay bleeding on a smokefilled street in Hong Kong, with Molotov cocktails and unidentified projectiles whizzing over my head, I wondered if this was really how my study abroad experience was going to end. Although I was in pain, I didn’t want to go home yet; my friends were still on the front lines. Who would tell their story if they were arrested, or killed?

Since the beginning of the 2019 protest movement in Hong Kong, millions have risked their lives to protest against the Chinese government. They believe their freedoms are being encroached upon by a government whose ultimate goal is to control Hong Kong.

In the fall of 2019, I studied abroad at the City University of Hong Kong. The resulting semester was perhaps the most valuable in my life, but not because of academics: I was able to attend and document the pro-democracy movement alongside my fellow students.

During this time spent interviewing protesters in the pro-democracy movement, I realized that people are ready and willing to die for their freedom, and that Hong Kong’s story is absolutely worth telling. It’s a classic fight between good and evil with an underdog, a seemingly unbeatable enemy and lots of heroes. I know because I was lucky enough to meet them.

For those unaware, Hong Kong is not a city. It’s a Special Administrative Region of China. This means that while it is technically part of China, an agreement made in 1997 allows Hong Kong to have a separate governmental system.

The common slogan for this arrangement is “One Country, Two Systems.”

It is an arrangement that Hong Kong’s protesters believe is dissolving every day as China grasps

at

control of the region. Before 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. This aspect of its history contributes to a special cultural identity, one that enjoys a high degree of freedom of expression and embraces many Western values.

Furthermore, Hong Kong has a free market economy and boasts a successful international financial market. The region has its own currency, language, social media sites, celebrities, music, movies and public school curriculum. In fact, fewer than one in 10 Hong Kongers identify as primarily Chinese, according to survey data from June 2019.

Its uniqueness alone, however, is not the reason why Hong Kong has captivated news cycles around the world for almost two years.

It has held the global spotlight because it is the battleground of a vigorous fight for freedom, free speech and autonomy against one of the richest and most powerful governments the world has ever seen.

During this time spent interviewing protesters in the pro-democracy movement, I realized that people are ready and willing to die for their freedom, and that Hong Kong’s story is absolutely worth telling.

The catalyst for the initial protests was the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill in 2019, which would make it legal for Hong Kongers to be extradited to China.

China has a 99.9% conviction rate.

Read that again. 99.9%.

It requires no stretch of the imagination to wonder why Hong Kongers fear the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill. Couple the

statistics with the fact that Hong Kongers are especially vulnerable to being ill-favored by the Chinese government, it’s easy to see why this bill was so hotly contested.

My first encounters with the protests weren’t the famous marches, but rather small shows of unity in my neighborhood. The mall nearest my university was particularly busy with demonstrations. Fliers posted on the university campus and its surrounding parks announced protest times and locations in both English and Cantonese with eye-catching, student-designed art. I remember reading a flier for a “music protest” and deciding to attend out of curiosity. Participants were urged to bring instrumentsand to be prepared to play “Glory to Hong Kong,” the unofficial anthem of the protests. That day, musicians young and old played in the mall while shoppers gathered to sing along.

It was powerful, and it made me feel like I was witnessing something extremely important, something pure. I decided I was going to see more.

The first march I attended was with a friend born in Hong Kong.

Jack, like most protesters, was polite yet adamant that I leave his name and pictures out of my writing. Fear of government surveillance, facial recognition software and retaliation is the norm. I was lucky to have Jack, since he clearly knew the geography of the city

and could help give me insight into the mindset of someone fully invested in the fight. He told me how China has been slowly chipping away at Hong Kong’s government, trying to control more and more aspects of Hong Kongers’ lives. We laughed about the nicknames for police and protesters and at protest-related memes.

Before we set out to join the march, we waited in a restaurant for Jack’s other friends. When they joined us, we ate and talked the way people our age would at any meeting. No one acted as if we were about to advocate for, or even risk, our lives. It wasn’t a heavy moment. This was life in Hong Kong, marked by duality.

The first part of the march was like any other protest, perhaps even like one you might encounter in New York City. It was raining; people were walking together, carrying signs and chanting slogans like “Reclaim Hong Kong” or “Hong Kongers, Add Oil.” “Add oil” means to keep fighting, to persist.

It’s a common saying turned political by the protesters. Another surprisingly common rallying cry was “Do You Hear the People Sing?” a song from “Les Misérables” about the French Revolution. We marched for hours, and as the sun grew low in the sky, the police emerged.

Most of the larger marches have permits from the government approving their activities and specifying a start-stop time

and route. Most protesters leave before the deadline, but it isn’t easy to fully disperse thousands of people in a small area. As soon as the clock strikes on the stop time, police become combative.

On the walk home from the protest, the streets filled up again with people going in the same direction, likely toward their own neighborhoods. Suddenly we heard shouting, and as I turned around I saw a projectile fly through the air. This was the harbinger of Hong Kong police: tear gas.

I remember running with the crowd and being confused. I didn’t understand what had prompted this attack. I was overcome with stimuli: shouting, the pounding of my Doc Marten boots on the cobblestone, the passing of streets I didn’t recognize and then the smell. I smelled fireworks, but more sour.

Even thinking about this smell brings me back to the streets of Hong Kong. Tear gas attacks your mucous membranes: your eyes, nose, throat, lungs. I couldn’t stop coughing, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was angry: No one had attacked, no one had provoked and there were children here!

How could they use this poison?

Time would reveal how much more brutal things would get.

The brutality soon sparked a wildfire, and protesters began to mobilize. These people weren’t the peaceful marchers I had seen

d During the Hong Kong Protests earlier, but a new breed wearing helmets and gas masks. They set up barriers between themselves and police and threw rocks and bricks to keep the police at bay. I couldn’t believe the demonstration had become an exchange of violence so quickly. The police were trying to silence the dissenters, but it was clear they would not go out without a fight.

Protests continued through the fall semester almost nonstop, but in early November, a breaking point was reached, and the ensuing chaos changed the lives of millions. A general strike was announced for Nov. 11, and demonstrations were planned throughout the city. In order to get people to stay home from work and school, protesters disrupted traffic and the train systems. Police quickly set out to clear the blockages but were met with firm resistance by protesters.

That day, a 21-year-old protester was shot with a live round by police. Police drove their motorcycles into crowds of protesters. Tensions ran so high that a pro-China supporter was lit on fire.

The environment on campus promptly changed. Classes were canceled, graffiti was sprayed inside the buildings and security cameras were ripped out of the ceilings. Suddenly every student was a protester, every day-to-day activity halted. A turning point from which there was no return had been reached. It was obvious that the students at City University had chosen their side in the conflict. This alliance made them a target; it was rumored that police were moving in on the universities

to arrest students suspected of protest-related activities.

In response to these rumors, students began fortifying the residence hall areas and the campus.

The night of Nov. 11 was the first night of many I would spend wide awake, listening for the sounds of advancing riot police officers.

The next morning I woke to the smell of tear gas drifting through the windows of my dorm room.

Police gathered on the street outside the residence hall were launching tear gas inside the gated residence area. I was shocked: Our campus was being invaded.

At this point, other international students began to leave. I was disappointed with their decision to abandon the local students we had befriended throughout the semester, who had told us their hopes, dreams and fears for Hong Kong. I wondered who would tell their story if the international community left. There were no CNN cameras here, but this campus was where history was unfolding.

I was lucky enough to find someone who spoke Cantonese to help me conduct interviews of protesters, and from then on I lived to capture the story of Hong Kong.

I was granted exclusive access to besieged campuses in the height of their crises, using secret entrances blocked off by protesters guarding their schools. I operated on no sleep for days. I saw blood on the same streets I had walked through weeks before.

On the night of Nov. 17, as I tried to reenter the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, I was caught up in a standoff between protesters and police. Tear gas clouded my vision, and the fine mist of a nearby water cannon hung in the air. Protesters used umbrellas in a Spartan-style formation to hold a line opposite to the police. They crept forward and were pushed back by the police and their weapons. I crouched to the far side of the commotion, in the area where the press and medics gathered in their brightly colored vests. I assumed this skirmish would

disperse eventually, and I’d be on my way. I was wrong. Luckily, my GoPro and iPhone were rolling.

Above the chaos I heard a boom and then felt a heavy impact on my left leg. I knew immediately that something had happened, but all I could do was turn and run with the rest of the crowd as they retreated. As I regrouped with my translator in a safer area I began to feel pain, the wetness of blood and the warmth of swelling.

Volunteer medics (truly selfless heroes) cleaned and dressed my wound. I suspect I was shot with a tear gas canister; however, these weapons are not intended to be shot straight into a crowd, but rather

in an arc trajectory. A tear gas canister to the face can kill.

All I know is that whatever broke my leg that night and left me with a scar was fired by the Hong Kong police. As the anniversary of the November university seige approaches, I reflect not on my experience but the experiences of those who suffered worse fates. My inability to check on the well-being of the people I interviewed haunts me; my admiration and concern for them was infinite even in the small time we interacted. I’ll never know if they’re OK or if they were arrested or critically injured.

Newly implemented government restrictions have slowed the

momentum of the movement, but I know Hong Kongers won’t give up.

I also know that the trauma faced by the young people of Hong Kong won’t disappear, or at least it hasn’t for me. Occasionally when a door slams I feel my adrenaline surge, undoubtedly from the long nights spent on high alert. I despair at the way Hong Kong’s fight for freedom has dwindled in the news because the world has so much to learn from the courage of its tireless protesters. I am certainly thankful for my time with them, despite the mental and physical costs. I know one day I will return to Hong Kong. Hopefully, I will see it set free.

PHOTOS BY STEVIE CORTEZ/THE OBSERVER

Opinions

Opinions Editors Emily Ellis - eellis14@fordham.edu Haley Smullen - hsmullen@fordham.edu

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

Observer the

STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Sophie Partridge-Hicks Managing Editor Marielle Sarmiento

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DESERVE CHANGES TO HEALTH CARE REQUIREMENTS

W

hile Fordham requires all students to be insured before they come to campus, securing health care is easier and cheaper for some students than others. Due to Fordham’s insurance requirements, international students have less flexibility seeking alternative health care plans than domestic students.

As per Fordham’s newest insurance policy, in order for international students to waive Aetna’s plan, their insurance carrier needs to be compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), meaning that it covers benefits such as emergency visits, hospitalization, ambulatory care and more. One of those standards, however, is that the policy must be financed in the U.S. A nonU.S.-issued health care plan is not financed by the U.S., even though it may be equal to or greater in quality than an ACA-compliant plan.

Previously, international students had been able to achieve equal or better coverage through less expensive venues. The ACA requirement now limits international students’ choices in finding cost-efficient plans.

Considering we are in the midst of a pandemic, international students need access to quality health care and should not be forced to pay more than they can afford for it.

Generally, international students are not subject to the ACA since it is a federal law and is therefore not applicable to non-residents.

However, Fordham is holding international students up to these standards, even though it is costing them extra money.

In response to Fordham’s new insurance policy, in-

ternational students started a petition asking for cheaper insurance options and for open communication with the Fordham administration. The petition asks for the removal of the requirement that health insurance is underwritten in the U.S. and urges the university to take a more proactive role in insurance negotiations. Fordham needs to read and address this petition in order to ensure that international students receive health care that is affordable and accessible.

Fordham needs to read and address this petition in order to ensure that international students receive health care that is affordable and accessible.

Not only is Fordham’s health insurance a more expensive plan than those at many other colleges, but it also comes with an added $150 administrative fee. These extra expenses are not feasible for international students, who have found more affordable alternative plans that meet all the other requirements Fordham sets except for being ACA-compliant.

International students already pay more for college than most domestic students ever will. The American higher education system is one of the most expensive in the world, and international students don’t receive federal aid, so they can only rely on scholarships to ease the burden of paying close to $80,000

per year. Adding expensive American-financed health insurance on top of these costs creates an extra financial burden, especially when students could pay thousands of dollars less for options financed out of the country with sufficient coverage.

International students should not have to pay any more money than they already do because of the new ACA-compliance requirement, which is not even enforced by all New York colleges.

International students shouldn’t have to overpay for insurance in order to access emergency and often life-saving medical care. The petition’s demand for “more affordable and comprehensive health insurance” is incredibly fair, considering the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic. Fordham has a duty to ensure that international students have access to both reasonably priced and effective health care.

Moreover, since international students can’t default to their parents’ plan like their domestic counterparts, the pool of affordable insurances available to international students at Fordham narrows with every new regulation. The fact that domestic students have more freedom of choice when it comes to waiving their insurance leaves international students at a disadvantage even after the pandemic is over.

Fordham needs to address the petition by international students and adjust health care requirements accordingly. International students should not be left in the dust as Fordham plows forward with its COVID-19 protocols.

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Take the Observer’s anonymous survey to share your opinions about the upcoming election and the United States political system.

NYC Needs More Protected Bike Lanes CLARA GERLACH Contributing Writer

I love biking, especially to commute. Before the pandemic, I biked to campus frequently and I fondly remember riding a Citi Bike to high school to the other side of Manhattan with a friend, skirts and hair flying, making the beautiful trek across the 72nd Street Transverse.

There was only one problem: There aren’t any bike lanes on either side of Central Park, making the commute more dangerous than it had to be.

So, yes, biking is the most fiscally and socially responsible thing we can do.

There is a dire need for protected bike lanes in New York City. These are lanes that have some sort of barrier between the car and the lane. It’s located next to the roadway but made distinct from the sidewalk. This is the best type of lane as it affords bikers safety from neighboring traffic. Barriers can include parked cars between the lane and the roadway, as seen on sections of Central Park West. According to People for Bikes, the main hesitation for people to get on their bikes is safety, and so these lanes are disproportionately the best way to get more people riding.

definitely not safe. When going out, people are reverting to driving or hailing cabs to avoid public transport, which greatly increases the amount of pollution generated per person.

Adding more bike lanes would create a greater incentive for people to cycle from point A to point B, as it might be faster than calling an Uber or Via, reduces the chance of getting the virus and is much cheaper.

Cycling to school or work is not a viable option for those less abled or who must travel a greater distance, but by getting people off the road and out of public transportation, we are creating a safer environment for them to commute traditionally. This means that with the personal choice to use a bike we can use our privilege to both reduce our carbon footprint and help other New Yorkers.

If it wasn’t so dangerous to bike in the city currently, it would be a cost-effective way to get around. No bike? An annual Citi Bike membership costs $175 a year. A person who purchases a $145 monthly pass from the MTA would save money in just 60 days of biking instead of taking the subway. I recommend having a normal card for rainy days, though.

A good bike and lock on Craigslist can cost about the

same as two months of the MTA unlimited rides monthly pass.

Additionally, the MTA is warning that they are raising prices, making these numbers even more dramatic. So, yes, biking is the most fiscally and socially responsible thing we can do.

How To Make Bike Lanes Safer Since 2010, the number of unprotected and protected bike lanes have dramatically increased, especially in Manhattan. However, we don’t have nearly enough lanes to create a sustainable network where one can reliably expect to get from point A to point B using only bike lanes.

Protected or not, we need to safeguard these lanes not only with barriers, but also with legislation and fines.

The adage “If you can drive in New York City, you can drive anywhere” is doubly true for bike riders who navigate fast traffic and reckless drivers. It isn’t fair

to expect drivers and bicyclists to stay on the same pathways. Bikes cannot reach the speeds that cars do, and riders are vulnerable as they have no external protections like the body of a car — at most, they may have a helmet.

When lanes are not protected, riders are at risk of slamming into open car doors or traffic.

Protected or not, we need to safeguard these lanes not only with barriers, but also with legislation and fines.

Not everyone respects bike lanes; pedestrians and vehicles obstruct the lanes and place riders in danger of crashing or force them to go into traffic.

Nine years ago, YouTuber Casey Neistat popularized the fight against lane obstructions. After receiving a ticket for not riding in a bike lane, he deliberately stayed in the bike lane, even at risk of potentially causing serious injury to himself.

Unfortunately, this kind of violation still isn’t truly ticketed or taken seriously. Vehicles and construction crews can block the lanes, driving bike riders back onto the roadway. By discouraging blocking lanes, bike riders can have a safer experience and not worry about obstructions.

While an expenditure like this may not seem cost effective, this is a public good that has numerous health and societal benefits.

According to research on injury prevention in the Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, bike lanes “simultaneously address multiple public health problems” and “investments in bike lanes are more cost-effective than the majority of preventive approaches used today.”

Additionally, the study found that spending money on bike lanes in 2016 returned an increase of 10% in ridership.

One can only imagine how that number would increase with the current need for personal transportation.

It is also important to acknowledge that there is a huge lack of Citi Bike stations as well as bike lanes in poorer areas of the city.

The privilege to ride to work and to make a difference shouldn’t be determined by where in the city you live. The roads in poorer areas, neglected and full of potholes, aren’t pleasant to drive on, let alone ride. We need a better network of lanes all across the city, allowing for all of us to make a change and stay protected.

New York City is behind on the times. This is a public good that truly is cost effective for the city. The clock is ticking and people are more than willing to ride.

All that we need are more lanes.

Why Bike Lanes Help the Climate and Save Money In an age of increasing climate change, and the need for personal transportation because of the fear of COVID-19, it is imperative that all of New York City — not just Manhattan — increase the number of bike lanes, protected by both infrastructure and fines.

With climate change, there is a large incentive to reduce personal carbon emissions. In New York, the MTA provides an avenue for public transportation, reducing the number of cars in the city. Anyone who has ridden into a packed subway can testify that it is something that residents and tourists alike take advantage of.

However, being packed like sardines is not pleasant and in the times of the coronavirus,

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

New York needs to create more protected bike lanes, like the one pictured above, and to ticket bike lane obstructers in order for biking to be safe and accessible.

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Opinions

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

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Education Without Representation: Why Are PCS Students Unrepresented in Student Government?

MICHAEL LEIFER Contributing Writer

I’ve often fantasized about being a great man. Academia provides many outlets for this fantasy, but now I rather wish I had kept my aim closer to the ground.

My trouble began when I announced my candidacy for vice president of United Student Government (USG) here at Fordham.

I filled out a Google Doc confirming my intent and was well on my way to the halls of power.

Then I was immediately disqualified. No Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) student, it turns out, is eligible to hold any elected USG position.

Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies is designed for atypical students who may be older, military veterans, committed to day jobs or nontraditional in some other way. Anthony Davidson, the dean of PCS, writes that PCS is for students “beginning studies at a later point in their lives.”

So why can’t they join student government?

Fordham’s leadership differs from American government in many ways, but converges on a central point: The most powerful figures are unelected. The combined authority of the USG president, vice president and senate cannot approximate the power of a single Fordham dean.

USG members do not send campus-wide emails discussing Title IX, preferred-name policy or Austin Tong’s speech because

Fordham’s official (non-student) hierarchy holds the only real power over such decisions.

However, it’s precisely because Fordham’s deans don’t have personal conversations with every single student that meaningful representation can be important.

Although PCS students can become “general members” of USG, this only affords them a half-vote on matters in which senators enjoy a full vote. This is not as controversial as one might expect, largely because the power of such votes are of questionable influence. As it stands today, USG is not endowed with the authority to enact significant campus-wide changes.

Bestowing titles like “senator” and “president” on Fordham students does more to cultivate the idea of power than its reality.

USG presidential candidate Leighton Magoon, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’17, wrote in 2015 that he noticed “a disconnect between USG and our fellow students.” He urged students to rediscover USG and get “involved in the conversation” because “that is what United Student Government is here for: to provide that outlet.” A Fordham graduate is armed with the ability to enact change in the real world, but arming USG with the power to change campus requires the organization to stand for something more than “an outlet” for “conversation.”

Traditional Fordham College and Gabelli students pay larger student activity fees which provide greater access to clubs. USG, technically speaking, is a club.

Keith Eldredge, dean of students, clarified the matter.

He described the activity fee as a “significant” consideration in prohibiting PCS involvement in student government. “Generalizations never fit every specific situation (but) structures (at Fordham) are set up to meet the least common denominator. PCS hasn’t had the same level of demand for a student government structure (or) for extensive clubs and organizations.”

The desire that arose in the 2000s for “more extensive student government” generally came from “traditional-age students.”

PCS students, after all, enjoy a substantially discounted activity fee. Eldredge admitted, however, that this reduced fee still goes “into the same pot” that funds USG. He also observed a change, starting about “four years ago,” where a greater demand emerged from PCS students to participate in campus activities.

Eldredge did say that he would be open to a representative student government for PCS and specified that he would look toward the deans of PCS to support such an endeavor: “It’s a conversation I’ve had with Dean Vernazza and Dean Bach over the years.”

Eldredge stressed the importance of genuine student interest, saying, “We don’t want to create some structure that students don’t want.”

When asked about the importance of student government at Fordham, Eldredge said, “Part of what we try to do at Fordham is have a developmental educational

experience that’s beyond just the intellectual knowledge you get in the classroom.”

Although he admits that faculty do a lot of “experiential education,” he said, “part of my job on campus is to focus on the out-of-the-classroom experience for students; teaching folks to engage in their community, take ownership in their community, and to help establish what they’d like their community to be. My experience is that this works better when there’s some kind of structure (and) some kind of organization.”

I couldn’t agree more. The experience of running for elected

office is exciting, and there should be no financial calculus that deprives certain Fordham students of the right to participate. But the hard truth is that few, if any, PCS students have demanded change.

PCS students can write for The Observer, they can participate in many campus activities and they can generally access the same quality education as their traditional peers.

However, if PCS students desire representation in student government they have to ask for it. It’s time we demand equal representation in USG so that all students are included.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA STERN/THE OBSERVER

Why We Love the Apocalypse: Thoughts from a Climate Nihilist on the California Wildfires GRACE GETMAN Social Media and Newsletter Editor

It is Wednesday, and California is on fire.

I sit here and wish it were more surprising for me — skies the color of blood, thousands evacuated from their homes amid a pandemic. But it’s not. The news is there on my phone for me to vacuously consume one moment and disregard the next. I think that after looking at the photos, I ordered a coffee from Starbucks. I don’t really remember because the moment dissipated so quickly.

Like my entire generation, I have lived my whole life waiting for climate change. But there’s only so long you can bear to think about the apocalypse. I sink into the anxiety of climate change and float right out of it because looking at the way the world is changing is like looking into the sun.

It’s 2 a.m. and I’m looking at the photos again, and this time I can almost taste the ash. Apathy turns to disgust as I realize I am able to synthesize record-breaking wildfires and hurricanes into a normal part of my day the same way I do a cup of coffee.

I sit at 2 a.m. and I think about why my mother calls me a bad environmentalist.

The truth is I am a bad environmentalist for a simple reason: I am a climate nihilist, and I am ready for the apocalypse. I don’t think that climate change can be prevented or that the world can be saved because climate change is already here.

California is on fire. Fiji is sinking. Greenland’s ice sheets have passed the point of no return. We

are frogs in a boiling pot of water, but we as a society refuse to acknowledge this. Why? Our discussions around climate change revolve around saving the earth, of the individual actions we can take that — combined — will come to our rescue before any actual damage can be done. Real climate change is a can we kick down the road, always something that is there to prevent or that is lying in wait for a future generation.

This is a fantasy. Climate change is not coming. It’s not going, either. It’s here.

Our reusable water bottles and bags and straws won’t save us.

The notion that individual action can save us from our climate catastrophe becomes ridiculous the first moment you think about it, a cotton candy vision that disintegrates on your tongue.

According to a 2016 report from the United Nations Environment Programme (before the United States dropped out), even if all pledges from the 2015 Paris Agreement are implemented, we will still see temperatures rise by 2.9-3.4 C above pre-industrial levels by 2030, far above the compact’s goal of 2 C. If you listen to the Union of Concerned Scientists, addressing climate change is a question of

magnitude, not prevention. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reports that even if we ceased all carbon emissions today, Earth’s warming would continue for decades, if not centuries.

This is not to say that we should do nothing, or that I am calling for us to give up. Real, meaningful change can occur in our lifetimes to mitigate and buffer the desolation of climate change. Rather than hand-wringing or staving off the truth by running up the clock with increasingly grandiose visions, we need to have conversations about adaptation.

BRUHMONEY77 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The sky in Salem, Oregon, on Sept. 8. The wildfires there, as well as in California and Washington, have further heightened discussions about implementing climate change policy.

About resiliency. About what it’s going to look like to live in a hotter and more disaster-prone world. About how we can reorganize our society to cause actors — primarily corporate — to internalize the true costs of their actions, rather than the centuries-old status quo of passing it on to the next (poorer, less white) person.

About what our world is going to look like with California in ashes and Fiji sunk and Greenland’s ice sheets gone and we can’t look away any longer.

Climate change is not just an issue of our generation — it is the issue.

And this is why we love the apocalypse. We love the apocalypse because it means that the crisis is here and we don’t have to wait for it any longer. Millions like me have pored over the pictures of orange skies and dispossessed communities, horrified at what we see but unable to look away because we can finally lock eyes with the beast that has loomed so long over us. We say that it’s not the fall that kills us, but the sudden stop at the end. That’s not true at all.

It is the fall that kills us, every time.

We live in a world where we’ve already forgotten that our president was impeached this year and we give out hand sanitizer as a wedding favor and we order coffees while California is on fire. And it’s almost a relief now, because the sharp cuts of disaster seem easier to bear than the ropes of tension that curl up waiting for one.

Get up, move up or grow up — these are our choices. A new reality is here, and it doesn’t care about your feelings.

Are you willing to own up to it?

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THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

Opinions

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Why Amy Coney Barrett Should Be Appointed Immediately BRANDON SAPIENZA Staff Writer

The Constitution makes it abundantly clear that it is imperative for the Senate of the United States to fulfill its lawful duty by advising and consenting to a president’s Supreme Court nominee.

After the death of judicial icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the need for this law is especially relevant.

Senate Republicans have every right to push the nominee through as quickly as possible.

Democrats have strongly contended that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues’ actions are nothing short of hypocritical. In 2016, following the death of the legendary Justice Antonin Scalia, former President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the court during an election year.

The Senate, controlled by Republicans, refused to bring a vote to the floor because the people elected a Republican Senate majority to uphold conservative values. Adding Garland to the bench would be adding a judge famous for judicial activism, contrary to the constitutional role of the court.

McConnell said in a Washington Post op-ed, “It is today the American people, rather than a lame-duck president whose priorities and policies they just rejected in the most-recent national election, who should be afforded the opportunity to replace Justice Scalia.” So for those shouting hypocrisy at McConnell, the American people elected a Republican Senate majority to fulfill a Republican agenda, not the one of the Obama administration.

Ultimately, this is unequivocally a power grab and Democrats would surely do much of the same if the roles were reversed.

Four years later, enter Amy Coney Barrett.

President Trump nominated Barrett, a judge he also appointed to the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017, on Saturday, Sept. 26. Barrett’s selection is a major win for conservatives. As an originalist as well as a former clerk of the late conservative icon Antonin Scalia, Barrett fits the mold of exactly what most conservatives want to see on the bench: a judge who sees the Constitution as a “dead” document and will interpret it as such instead of using it to fulfill the norms of modern society.

This decision has been met with hostility by Democrats and they have threatened to pack the court with liberal justices to do their legislative bidding. Legally speaking, this goes against the purpose of the Supreme Court as highlighted in Marbury v. Madison which, aside from deciding on the legality of statutes and hearing cases, is to determine the constitutionality of laws. A packed court would all but guarantee that Democratic leaders will attempt to use the court as a second arm of legislation, an idea many of their Democrat colleagues have been opposed to.

Democrats have already gone on the attack against Barrett, her legislative record and, most sickening of all, her faith. The media has been quick to pounce on Barrett’s self-proclaimed orthodox Catholic faith. In just another example in a long line of media malpractice, articles even denoted People of Praise (PoP), the Catholic organization Barrett is a part of, as a “Handmaid’s Tale”-like group due to its rules that mimic those of the Bible, specifically the New Testament.

In its report on Barrett, Religion News Service breaks down PoP, which is also a papally recognized group: “Every member of People of Praise receives practical advice and spiritual direction

from another member. This is often referred to as ‘headship.’”

In the past, these leaders were called “handmaids,” a reference to the Virgin Mary who called herself “handmaid of the Lord” in Luke’s Gospel. The media has successfully misconstrued this to represent some sort of oppressive state in which women are subservient to their husbands.

On its face, the group Barrett claims membership to is nothing but clear-cut and biblical. However, media narratives that have been accompanied by images of the Handmaids from the hit Hulu series and novel it was based off of have dominated the conversation.

The reality is that Barrett’s Catholicism has been the main topic of discussion, as opposed to Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s Catholicism, because of her stance on abortion.

Democrats have notoriously advocated for access to abortion with the claim that abortion is a right for women. As the party has become more progressive, some have even advocated for late-term abortions when the fetus is as old as 24 weeks, a scientifically viable stage, in cases where the mother’s health is in jeopardy.

Barrett’s judicial record clearly does not indicate that she decides cases based on her faith and her stances on issues have been made quite clear. She, like millions of other Americans and Christians, however, believes that abortion is an immoral practice. “A judge must apply the law as written.

Judges are not policy makers and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold,” Barrett said at her nomination ceremony.

In a win for conservatives and other pro-lifers, her conservative judicial values give credence to her belief that no judge is bound by precedent and is only obligated

to read the law as written, allowing wiggle room for a possible overturn of Roe v. Wade. ”I don’t think the core case, Roe’s core holding that women have a right to an abortion, I don’t think that would change,” Barrett said at Jacksonville University in 2016. “But I think the question of whether people can get very late-term abortions, you know, how many restrictions can be put on clinics, I think that will change.”

Under no circumstances do Democrats want Roe v. Wade overturned. Instead, Democrats believe that access to abortion is a federal issue that should be publically funded. It should come as

no surprise that Democrats would go after Barrett at any angle that they can to save access to abortion because to them, destroying the reputation and life of a dedicated public servant is a small price to pay to get their way.

Barrett’s likely confirmation to the Supreme Court is the first step Republicans need to take to stop Democrats from destroying the systems that have governed us since 1789. With measures being attempted by Democrats to add more states to the union, pack the court and even infiltrate religious liberty, a strong conservative woman soon to be on the bench like Barrett will force Democrats to come to a grinding halt.

RACHEL MALEHORN VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

On Sept. 26, the president nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. She is currently a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

Why the Death Penalty Is Immoral and Un-American What historical literature can reveal to us about the cruelty of the death penalty RILEY MOORE

Contributing Writer

It can take your money, steal your time, send you to war, but, my god, don’t let it kill you. We Americans are in a strange position of building highways, national parks, middle schools and electric chairs.

The United States currently has 2,000 inmates on death row, which ought to prompt a moral emergency on the basis of repudiating human sacrifice and oppressive state power.

The history of capital punishment is not confined to the vibrating bolt; gas chambers were introduced in the States in 1924 as a humane method of execution compared to hangings. Murdering prisoners is woven into American history.

However, if the United States would have indulged WWI poet Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” where he describes his comrades as drowning “under a green sea,” while fumbling to fasten on a mask, perhaps we would’ve scrapped the project before it started. The hideous cruelty of “guttering, choking” and “drowning” on poison is not just inflicted by the enemy — it is carried out by the state.

Unfortunately, we paid little attention to what Owen had to say.

In 2015, Oklahoma introduced death by nitrogen gas as an alternative to lethal injection. Five years prior, in Utah, Ronnie Gardner

was put to death by firing squad.

The immediate association of gas chambers and executioners with 20th century fascism is accurate, but there is no excuse to ignore the contemporary cases in this country.

If citizens wish to have control over the state and not the other way around, they should make sure they know which end of the barrel they stand on. It is barbaric to lodge bullets into our countrymen’s hearts, blister their lungs and poison their blood when we get the right guy. A state-sponsored killing of an innocent man, on the contrary, can lay seeds for revolution.

The establishment of capital punishment is self-defeating. The state exists to prevent murder, not carry it out.

Support for the death penalty, it ought to be noted, is un-American.

After publication of “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764, Italian criminologist and enlightenment thinker Cesare Beccaria convinced founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin that state executions have a perverse message.

Why would law permit precisely what it wishes to prevent, Beccaria asked. The pens which forged the republic are anti-death penalty, yet America pretends capital punishment is a legitimate enterprise.

America ought to adhere to its founders’ reasoning.

State murder is, unfortunately, ubiquitous.

In “Reflections on Hanging,” British novelist Arthur Koestler elucidated the “hanging days” celebrated in the 18th and 19th centuries. Koestler also states that during King George III’s rule, over 100 public executions took place every year in London. Crowds gathered with a vim, spry attitude to see the man’s feet dangle.

Shopkeepers, tailors and the like talked about the event as if it were a football game or a new film premiere. The influence of Victorian-era British policy echoes in our courtrooms today.

The dark tale of escorting a man to his death, as democratic socialist George Orwell documents in his essay “A Hanging,” shows the reverse end. Orwell’s aid in “cutting (a) life short when it is in full tide,” is a recognition of the cruelty and backwardness of executions.

The utilitarian argument for capital punishment regards the death of a guilty man as a lesson or symbol of what is to come for those who commit similar crimes.

Murder a murderer, and you have fewer murderers on the whole.

But why not teach a harsher lesson? Why not, as defense lawyer Clarence Darrow inquires, “boil them in oil, as they used to do?

Why not burn them at the stake?

Why not sew them into a bag with serpents and throw them out to sea?” If the goal is to prevent cruelty, we should see to it that we do not embody the attitude we wish to dispel.

Darrow points to the previous hanging of “old women for witchcraft” and killing those who “worship God in the wrong way.” The celebration of human sacrifice can be owed to the religious. Christians walk around with a symbolized machine of death around their neck, foolishly believing it a sign of love and forgiveness. What would be in fashion if the Messiah was killed in this generation? Jewelry of a death chair? A syringe?

The United States was built on Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom — the groundwork for the First Amend-

ment and separation of church and state. Pope Francis altered the Catholic Church’s position on capital punishment, throwing a blanket ban on the death penalty.

Bringing in Christian dogma to support capital punishment, in other words, is equally un-American.

This is not only a matter of the head, but of the heart; You should ensure your heart wants others to pulse as well. Civilization demands the abolition of the death penalty.

Do not let the state kill you. Keep belts where they belong — on the waist.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Enlightenment thinker Cesare Beccaria wrote about the problems of state executions in “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764.

Rubberneck The

SATIRE SECTION

THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

Opinions

14

7 Things That Are NOT Your Fault: Blame It on Astrology JESSICA YU Staff Writer

None of us are perfect, obviously — we all have to confront our humanity once in a while.

But don’t worry: If you believe in astrology, you’re in luck, because guess what. All of your mistakes can be explained by your natal chart. Don’t believe in astrology?

Maybe I can help ...

1. That Time You Were an Hour Late to Your Friend’s Birthday Perhaps you over-napped for 15 minutes. That could have been remedied by shortening your shower time or not having a fullon Ciara dance party while you got ready. But then your cat barfed all over your new Moroccan rug and, as if he was feeling left out, your dog decided to contribute to the “annoy your owner movement” by pooping on the door mat. Great.

When you were finally done cleaning, you saw that the cute bartender you matched with on Tinder messaged you and you just had to check the message, even though you had no intention of responding within the next hour.

On top of that, the F train was delayed, and you forgot the gift, so, basically, it was one big mess.

Is Mercury in retrograde? Probably. When you finally showed up, you apologized profusely, and later that night, you bought everyone a round of shots because you could sense that the birthday girl was still annoyed at your tardiness.

But what she doesn’t understand is that it’s soooo not your fault.

It’s just your nature to be late. You are an Aries, one of the five zodiac signs that are late to everything!

She really should have forgiven you sooner.

2. Your Slipping GPA Forget the fact that Zoom classes have a few disadvantages, like when your professor’s internet cuts out five minutes into the philosophy class you did not want to take in the first place. If your grades have been on a downward curve since March and you’re seeing numbers that are closer to your parents’ ages than what your parents expect of you, don’t bother examining the external factors.

Just look at your birth chart.

According to this incredibly eye-opening article, unless you are an Aries, Virgo or Capricorn, you are doomed to a lifetime of laziness, incompetence and failure to reach career goals. In other words, don’t even bother trying. Ha! As if you were trying to begin with. And if you are part of the holy trinity of astrology-proclaimed hard workers, keep up the all-nighters. Don’t you dare take a pee break that’s longer than two minutes.

3. Not Getting Over Your Ex You know that ex of yours? Yes, that one. The one that still creeps around in your mind, even though it’s been a year since you guys met on a supermoon night. You’ve seen other people since the breakup.

You’ve had some severely awk-

ward hook-up moments, like when you broke their $2,000 bedside lamp (seriously, who pays that much for lighting?) or when you accidentally said your ex’s name in bed (oops — and yes, still that ex).

But you’ve also had some amazing one-night stands with strangers that you wish were dateable. Not to mention some really cool places you’ve been to on dates with really cool people (hello, East Village tattoo artist with ocean eyes).

Yet no amount of lunar eclipses can change the fact that any little thing still takes you back to that ex of yours, like when “Memories” by Maroon 5 plays on the radio (such an emotionally charged song; change my mind), and you wonder why the hell you’re not quite completely over them yet.

Well, perhaps it’s because you will never be as astrologically compatible with anyone else. Are you a Sagittarius? And is your ex a Libra? Well, there you go. Unless you meet someone on the cusp of Libra and Scorpio, with Capricorn rising, Aquarius moon, Centaurs Pluto and Gryffindor Venus, you might never, ever find love again.

4. Slut-Shaming Your High School “Friend” You’re scrolling through Instagram, as you do each morning with your coffee, and you come across a scandalous picture of this girl you went to high school with — she’s such a Leo! She’s smiling in a blue Zaful bikini, kneeling on the beach and facing the camera, semi-naked.

The 34 comments under her post tell her she looks absolutely stunning, but you quickly screenshot it and send it to a group chat. Within minutes, you and your girls are taking turns dissing her with oh-so-clever burns like, “Who does she think she is? An IG model?” and “Her butt is probably flatter than a pancake,” as if that’s important.

No, it’s not highly anti-feminist.

No, of course you are not completely tearing down other women.

And no, it is not the internalized misogyny that you probably should work on. It’s just that your zodiac sign makes you jealous easily! Are you a Scorpio or Virgo? Or even a Gemini, Libra or Taurus? If so, then it is totally okay. Keep up the insults! Go ahead, call her a slut or an attention whore! She deserves it for provoking your natural jealousy.

5. Your Impulse-Shopping Habits Oops, you did it again. What was it this time? The $300 Hypervolt massager you saw a hot NFL player use, even though you haven’t lifted a single weight since last December? Well, it was a new moon which means a fresh start, so you were probably setting intentions to start working out again, right?

Or was it two more throw pillows to add to the five you already have on your bed (can someone please explain to me why anyone needs more than four pillows on one surface)? Or the blackhead-removing kit that has five-star reviews on Amazon, despite the fact

that you know you should leave your blackheads alone? Or your favorite influencer just came out with a clothing line and it would be a crime if you didn’t support her business.

Yup, very valid. It’s okay because your bank will understand when you explain to them that your debt is simply because you’re an Aries, so you’re impulsive, reckless and irresponsible with money. Chances are, they’ll clear the misunderstanding right up.

6. The Third Time You Got Alcohol Poisoning It started out with just a margarita at dinner. You’re catching up with an old friend at your favorite taco place, so why in the world wouldn’t you share a couple of cocktails to get the fun started?

Plus, it was the summer solstice, so all the more reason to celebrate.

But one hour of reminiscing the good old times turns into another, and before you have time to remember regrets of mistakes past, you find yourself at the EDM club down the street. You still don’t like EDM, but that’s an irrelevant nuisance. You’re here for the stroke-inducing flashing lights, the sweat of bodies pressed up against you, and maybe even some attention from middle-aged men.

It may have been around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. when you blacked out, but you cannot be sure. When you wake up again, you’re in a hospital bed, IV tube in your hand. All you have are the few belongings you miraculously managed not to lose and a handful of incredibly embarrassing videos, including one of your friends taking turns sticking their hands down your throat to help you throw up. Don’t worry, three times is not that bad and no, you don’t need to talk to someone about the problem you don’t have.

You’re just a water sign. It had been a hard week and you were emotional, which was certainly fixed by all the drinks you threw back.

7. Your Vanity A few months ago, a friend of a friend analyzed my Co-Star chart.

I sat there, too nervous to eat my dinner, biting my nails in anticipation, while she made indistinct noises like “ohhhh,” “hmmm” and “eeeh?” Finally, she put her phone down and told me, okay, so you’re a Leo. Right, I knew that. And then she informed me that I am in Leo in all aspects, especially in my so-called love language. To translate, she basically told me that not only do I seem self-absorbed and vain, I also am self-absorbed and vain in practice, especially in my relationships. Ahhhhh. Eureka.

So that is why I cannot commit!

That makes sense since it certainly cannot be any real issues like unresolved internalized homophobia.

It’s my Leo-ness.

So excuse me while I go stare at myself in the bathroom mirror for the next five hours, because I love myself and only myself.

What’s that? You think it’s a waste of time? No, babes, I’m just following my destiny. Can’t you see? It’s written in the stars.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY CLEO PAPADOPOULOS/THE OBSERVER

Arts & Culture Editor Ethan Coughlin - ecoughlin7@fordham.edu

Arts & Culture

September 30, 2020

THE OBSERVER

Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month at Fordham

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY LARA FOLEY/THE OBSERVER

By VANESSA SCACALOSSI Contributing Writer

Fordham’s Latinx Heritage Committee and Student Organization of Latinx (SOL) are hosting online and hybrid events throughout the month to celebrate and uplift the Latinx community during Latinx Heritage Month. Latinx Heritage Month occurs from Sept.

15 to Oct. 15 to recognize the accomplishments and influences the Latinx community has contributed to the United States. The committee is hosting events ranging from cultural exploration to open discussions about issues that the Latinx community faces. They plan to take participants through Latin America and explore its rich history through cooking classes, panels, trivia and more.

Past Events: 9/17 La Noche de Baile The committee hosted a hybrid dance workshop with Candela Latina, Fordham’s Latinx dance group, to explain the cultural and historical backgrounds of and demonstrate different dances. For example, salsa originated in the 1900s in Cuba and was popularized in the 1950s by Cuban exiles and Puerto Ricans in New York City. The Afro-Caribbean-influenced genre spread internationally in the ’80s, followed by reinventions of the music by contemporary artists, including Marc Anthony, La India and Victor Manuelle, who began to mix salsa with pop. Another style of dance, bachata, emerged from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s.

The genre was banned by Rafael Trujillo, an anti-Black dictator, from 1930-61. The Dominican elite viewed the genre as lowclass, leaving it solely to be played in bars and brothels until the ’80s, when it became popularized. For those who may have missed out on this event, you can go to Fordham Latinx Heritage’s Instagram post to learn about the origins of salsa and bachata in more depth.

9/23 Latinx X LGBTQ+ Dialogue The Latinx X LGBTQ+ Dialogue event was led by Lincoln Center Cultural Programming Coordinator for Latinx Heritage Month Kaylin Bridglall, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, and featured Latinx Heritage Month committee member and Asst. Arts & Culture Editor for The Observer Vicky Carmenate,

10/6 Afro-Latinidad Panel Discussion Time and Place: Online, 2-4 p.m.

Latinx Heritage Month is still in full swing despite the pandemic, with events happening online and in-person.

FCLC ’23, and alumna Angel Quiah-Londoño, FCLC ’20, as panelists.

“ We want to be a voice and resource for the Fordham Latinx community. ”

Kaylin Bridglall, FCLC ‘21 and Lincoln Centre Cultural Programming Coordinator for Latinx Heritage Month

They discussed gender, sexuality, culture, religion and identity and followed with a Q&A session. Quiah-Londoño explained how impactful it was to be asked questions based on her experiences. “It felt like not only were they listening, but they seemed to understand the things that I go through based on the questions.

One of them asked what it’s like to date, and I feel like they asked that knowing that it’s hard, so that was nice,” she said.

Bridglall said the event was a “very open, honest and candid conversation that allowed the participants and panelists to explore the intersectionality of these identities ... Overall, it was a very intimate safe space to tackle difficult topics and it was all thanks to the amazing panelists.”

9/24 Let’s Talk about ICE Annabel Filpo, FCLC ’23 and the event planner for SOL, led a discussion over Zoom regarding current events with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The discussion was used as a safe space for the attendees to share issues they have

experienced with immigration, as well as to draw connections about the intersectionality of racial issues in America today.

“We focused on the abolition of ICE. We talked about how connected it is to the corrupt prison system,” Filpo said. “It was a very fluid conversation that covered a range of topics that ended up connecting society’s view of immigrants and immediately deeming them to be criminals and lower class and not even worthy of basic human rights.” The committee also directed attendees to their #AbolishICE story highlight to learn more.

In an attempt to make the celebrations all-inclusive, the upcoming events are designed to accommodate everyone’s interests. The past events were very successful, leaving the committee feeling proud and excited for what is to come.

Upcoming Events: 9/30 Un Viaje de Café Time and Place: Outdoor Plaza, 12-2 p.m.

This event is taking place on International Coffee Day. The committee invites the attendees to “take a trip around the world” with a coffee tasting sourced from various Latin American countries.

During the tasting, there will be a discussion focused on the history of Latin American coffee.

10/1 ¡Vamos al Cine!

Time and Place: 12th Floor Lounge, Lowenstein Center, 6-8 p.m., Hybrid Event The committee is hosting a movie night. On their Instagram

ZOOM

story, students were asked to choose between the films “Selena” (1997, dir. Gregory Nava), “Instructions Not Included” (2013, dir. Eugenio Derbez), “Qué León” (2018, dir. Frank Perozo) and “Frida” (2002, dir. Julie Taylor). “Selena” was the winner.

10/5 ¡Cocinemos Juntos!

Time and Place: Online, 7 p.m.

The committee will “travel” around Latin America through a series of cooking and baking classes. Students are encouraged to request any recipes they are interested in trying.

For this upcoming event, Sofia Ubilla, FCLC ’21, a Latinx Heritage Month committee member, will show attendees how to make pastelitos de guayaba, a delicious puff pastry with a sweet, fruity filling that originates from Cuba. She will also be making a sweet beverage to complement the dessert. The ingredients will be announced in advance on the committee’s Instagram page, @fordham_latinx.

The committee plans to continue to post cooking tutorials on its Instagram throughout the year, but if ¡Cocinemos Juntos! is a success, they would love to host more events. There are already tutorials posted on its Instagram highlights for how to make tres leches and cuatro leches. Tres leches is a Mexican cake that is soaked in condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. Ubilla added an optional fourth type of milk, dulce de leche, to make cuatro leches. Ubilla takes you through the process step-bystep, from making and soaking the cake to the assembly.

An open dialogue will be held through Zoom regarding Afro-Latinidad’s role in Latinx culture. The event will be facilitated

by Juan Carlos Matos, vice president for student affairs for diversity and inclusion, and the panel will consist of student representatives from a variety of cultural clubs. Attendees are encouraged to view this meeting as a safe space to express their stories or obstacles they have faced regarding their culture and identity. The @fordham_latinx page on Instagram has made several posts to inform students about Afro-Latinidad.

10/13 Latinx Open Mic Night Time and Place: Online, 7 p.m.

This event is open to the entire Fordham community, but it is intended to provide a creative outlet for Latinx artists. Stories, songs, poems and more are encouraged to be shared. The performances can be original or honoring the work of other Latinx artists. The committee is accepting inquiries and submissions for this event on its Instagram account.

10/15 Cultural Trivia Night Time and Place: McNally Amphitheatre, 2-4:30 p.m., Hybrid Event Test your knowledge of Latinx pop culture, food and history during this Kahoot trivia night. Prizes will be awarded to the first place winners for each round, each receiving a gift certificate to various Latinx-owned businesses. It is a perfect opportunity to have fun and show your support for local businesses in the community while engaging in some friendly competition.

Bridglall shared, “The committee is very excited about creating fun events and safe spaces for the Latinx students at Fordham to celebrate and appreciate their culture.

We love the work that we do and the events we host.” She also thanked those in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and its graduate intern, Lilibeth Ramos Flores. “We want to be a voice and resource for the Fordham Latinx community. We hope to celebrate the month with the true Latinx spirit and passion,” Briglall added.

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Arts & Culture

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

A 10-Block Walk for Change

Art initiative will turn UWS vacant storefronts into an open gallery

By SAFET BEKTESEVIC Staff Writer

“Closed” signs abound in stores that used to be centers of activity.

As the city witnessed the closure of businesses, its streets became eerily static. In response, a local art initiative strives to utilize the space of vacant storefronts to display artwork, and in doing so instill a sense of renewed confidence and hope in the Upper West Side.

Starting Oct. 26, the project, called “Art on the Ave,” aims to offer pedestrians a free, 10-block, physically distanced gallery walk from West 67th to 77th Streets along Columbus Avenue. The open gallery will exhibit artwork made by artists from underrepresented communities in the art world.

By utilizing street space in this manner, the project aims to showcase material in a way that is directly accessible to pedestrians of all backgrounds, most of whom may not be expecting to encounter an exhibition while walking down the street. The highly localized exhibition will feature artwork in an environment closer to the street and will need to be understood in relation to the context of a NYC neighborhood.

For one, the gallery in the street will not rely on the architectural demands of a conventional museum, will not require an admissions fee, will be open at all times and, most importantly, will attempt to bridge the gap between the art space and the civil space. The new sense of openness will also prove refreshing.

Professor Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock, programmer for the Ildiko Butler Gallery, endorsed the concept of a street gallery by explaining, “Art can read as more accessible and integrate into our everyday world when removed from a museum or gallery context, and uniting the often rarefied world of high culture with our ordinary trip to the store to buy groceries can produce a significant impact.” In this sense, the exhibit will ideally be able to influence what takes place on the street and will be able to generate real, positive change in the community. An exhibit of this kind

“ Art can read as more

accessible and integrate into our everyday world when removed from a museum or gallery context.”

Stephan Apichella-Hitchcock, visual arts professor

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY LARA FOLEY/THE OBSERVER

proves especially valuable when it comes to providing an opportunity to think about others and to be sensitive to them at a time when social distancing keeps people away from one another physically, psychologically and emotionally.

The exhibit and its effects, however, will certainly be temporary.

Associate professor of visual arts Mark Street celebrates the idea: “I’m excited about any initiative to restore life to those spaces.” However, he warns that the initiative alone, albeit exciting, does not seem to indicate lasting or systemic change.

“What I’d like to see long term,”

Street explained, “is real support for exhibition spaces, rent control for cultural institutions, and nutsand-bolts support for working artists (including rent controlled studios like at Westbeth).” Art on the Ave will hopefully open avenues for investigating the role of art in our current circumstances and prompt further, more concrete action.

The notion of having art facing the street implies getting a message out, making the invisible visible and engaging the viewer when they are in a non-artistic environment — in essence, advocating for

an art that is committed to social life in its ubiquitous dimension.

The guidelines for submission indicate that the artists need to “be guided by the notions of perspective, healing, and telling a new story” and that the artwork should reflect values of inclusivity, empathy, equity, growth, action and activism. According to the project’s website, the show will include an online guide with information about each piece of art and the artists’ bios.

In terms of technical requirements, the artwork needs to be two-dimensional, no larger than

36 x 60 inches and valued at up to $5,000. The deadline for submission is Sept. 30 by midnight. All applications must include a 500word artist statement, an artist bio, a resume and an image of the artwork. More information can be obtained from the project’s website, artontheavenyc.com.

Once up, the exhibition will last for three months, a timespan within which it will not just liven up storefronts but also generate meaningful discussion. The exhibit will hopefully give way to the beginning of a healing process in the community.

Stand-Up at Home: Stove’s Comedy Club’s First Livestream of Fall 2020

By WARREN CHRISTOPHER GREEN Staff Writer

Have you been bored at home recently? Do you ever mindlessly scroll through social media after hours of mentally draining Zoom lectures? Yeah, me too. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a group of students dedicated to bringing entertainment to the entire student body, no matter where in the world they’ve been slowly regressing into social hermetism?

Guess what — there is.

The event was carried just like any stand-up show, except everyone was sitting.

On Sept. 18, Lincoln Center’s Stove’s Comedy Club held their first virtual event of the semester — Stove’s Virtual Stand Up Show. Having proved the competence of a virtual platform for comedy in the previous obstruct-

ed semester’s Zoomprov and End of Semester shows, Stove’s is determined to continue their practices of jubilance-spreading via YouTube livestream during this strange time.

The club’s President Natalie Grammer, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, spoke about the transition to a fully online platform, noting that “last semester we didn’t really have a choice but to do a digital end of semester show.

It was either do that, or throw out all the work we had been doing.” In regards to this semester, “the board made the choice to go completely online for this fall, knowing that all the shows would be virtual ahead of time.

We had to adapt improv and sketches before, and the standup we did was just one-liners.”

For this specific show, the main concern was, “how do we make a show that people want to sit through; hearing people laugh being a very important part about doing stand-up.”

Hosted by characters Lil Newton, embodied by Stove’s Satire Liaison Charlie Friedlander, FCLC ’22; and Pythagoras, rein-

carnated as the club’s secretary David Fresolone, FCLC ’22, the event was carried just like any stand-up show, except everyone was sitting. Comedians took the spotlight, i.e. the Zoom speaker’s view window, for an allotted amount of time to share what makes them laugh.

Rife with magnetic and acute puns, Lil Newton and Pythagoras, accompanied by their stuffed co-hosts “Even Lil’er Newton” and “Aristophanes,” respectively, introduced the first performer, Stefan Valenti, FCLC ’22.

In a casual yet layered set of Gen Z’s favorite kind of comedy — self-deprecation — Valenti managed to insert a few subtle brags about how great his social life has been lately before returning to anecdotes of hereditarily indoctrinated existential dread. His bit was effortless and universal, a great way to start the show.

Up next was Stove’s Treasurer Casey Brennan, FCLC ’21, whom I had the opportunity to speak with after the show. Her set was seamlessly fluid, sliding from one bit to the next during breaks

for chortles. She hit topics like inadequate sex education and anti-social tendencies, which we can all relate to. My favorite line: “Speaking of genitals, there was a fire in my apartment last year.”

Brennan was also in charge of the stream. She mentioned that, compared to last semester’s first virtual event, “It’s a lot easier now, knowing what we’re doing.” The show was streamed using StreamLabs, an open broadcast software that allowed for a background display and easy audio/visual broadcasting. In the past, they had streamed to Twitch simultaneously but decided to keep this event contained to YouTube. Although the event was a success, she notes that in-person stand-up is far superior: “I think the nature of standup is so based on being live and so based on audience reaction that it’s hard to just do it over Zoom.”

After Brennan, Stove’s Vice President Julianne Holmquist, FCLC ’21, performed a bit about the backwardness of the world right now for “C-plot” people and “consumption girls” amid a

pandemic. Then newcomer Juliana Castello, FCLC ’24, jested with jousting and poked fun at the relatable parental relationship in quarantine, while her parents watched from the other room.

Isabella Gonzalez, FCLC ’23, gave a hilarious and fast-paced set involving a glitter-filled “Euphoria” phase, after which Sajani Patel, FCLC ’22, gave a critical set about corporate tokenism and performative diversification.

Rob MacPherson, FCLC ’21, jabbed Aramark and his love for “Temperature” by Sean Paul; Marielle Sarmiento, FCLC ’21 and managing editor at The Observer, touched on bullying and getting bullied; Robert Sundstrom, FCLC ’22, offered an exciting set about male privilege; and Natalie Grammer, FCLC ’21, killed me with possibly my favorite quote from the entire event: “I doubted myself so much, I lost the ability to perceive my corporeal form.”

The live performance is available on Stove’s YouTube account.

Their next virtual event will be their highly acclaimed Improv Show on Oct. 16.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

New York: Putting the ‘in’ in Dining

Arts & Culture

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What Fordham foodies can expect from their first indoor dining experience in months

By AASTHA AGGARWAL Staff Writer

The New York dining scene has been a business debacle for the past five months. The city has been a battleground for civil authorities and restaurant owners on a daily basis.

Given the prevalence of successful outdoor dining, some restaurants with access to the requisite outdoor space have managed to survive the onslaught of arrears of rent and other associated fixed costs.

With the days getting progressively chillier, outdoor dining may soon lose its sheen even though it’s been extended for a year. Even though the average New Yorker’s appetite for dining is unparalleled, it is too far-fetched to visualize a New York couple gleefully chattering their teeth while food is being served to them on a snowy winter evening.

Indoor dining is set to open on Sept. 30 at 25% capacity for all restaurants. That being said, in order to minimize the transmission of the virus, enhanced filtration systems with a high price tag will be incorporated along with 6-foot social distanced seating.

While theoretically indoor dining fits perfectly into the puzzle of post-COVID life, we need to consider the practical costs of implementing this newly instituted dining experience. Besides the exorbitant NYC fixed costs of operations, restaurants need to pay their experienced chefs and waitstaff a hefty salary to preserve their quality and image. In doing so, they will most likely end

up racking losses while only operating at a severely limited capacity. Although the massive losses can be offset until the chilly winter days, these operational conditions spell uncertainty and dread for a lot of restaurants.

Indoor dining is set to open on Sept. 30 at 25% capacity for all restaurants.

Nobu, a popular Japanese eatery in Midtown, is all set to open its indoor dining on Sept.

30. The management team has had to develop the logistics of implementing this scheme.

On another cheerful note, Le Botaniste, a health food chain, is all set to implement its indoor dining scheme on Sept. 30 with aplomb. While measures are being taken to introduce barriers between tables, the management is optimistic about the future of indoor dining given that they are participating in the prevention of the coronavirus in a spirit of solidarity. “If we can prevent the spread of COVID 19 in any way while instituting the indoor dining conditions, we would be proud New Yorkers,” Le Botaniste’s manager said.

While restaurants are ambivalent toward these new measures, restaurant-goers have mixed feelings about them, too.

“I feel like the atmosphere is going to change. Reservations will be hard to come by. I will have

to make connections and tip well at my favorite spots,” Alex Leibovitz, a native connoisseur and student at Dartmouth College, said.

“Probably not a good idea for anyone to go if they are in a high risk group or frequently around people who are. That being said, eating out in NYC can be expensive, and part of the appeal is the energy, environment, etc, which isn’t quite the same with masks and 25% capacity,” Asher Booz, a fre-

quent restaurant-goer, said.

Fordham students also remain ambivalent. “They have that in Connecticut and its fine (in Connecticut) but NYC is not ready,” Alex Gardner, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’21, said. This is understandable, as New York City is only the most densely populated city in the United States. We wouldn’t want to trigger a second wave of COVID-19.

“I would go for indoor dining

if it’s important, like a family dinner or friend’s birthday,” Annie Wu, GSBLC ’22, said.

While indoor dining is currently in its nascent stage, the fate of New York’s dining scene can only be known in the recent future and is not to be hypothesized. Despite the glaring shortcomings of this new era of dining, we must appreciate the resilience of New York restaurants and restaurant-goers who haven’t lost their appetites, even in these testing times.

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

Nobu, a Japanese restaurant, is expected to begin indoor dining following the New York City guidelines on Sept. 30.

Reopening the Underground Market

The empty tunnel comes back to life as vendors open their doors to eager customers

By GABRIEL GARCIA Staff Writer

As COVID-19 cases have stabilized in New York City for the past several months, various industries have gradually begun to reopen.

Restaurants have been slowly coming back over the past few months, aided by outdoor dining and, more recently, partial indoor dining. Now the Underground Market at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle train station is among their ranks.

When I was on campus back in late August for orientation training, the absence of the Underground Market, also known as Turnstyle, felt almost dystopian. The Underground Market did not simply have closed storefronts — the entire area was literally locked down as if it were in a cage. Combined with the similar disappearance of nearby Fluffy’s, the burden that this pandemic has put on so many small businesses became something I could relate to personally.

Walking around the mostly empty tunnel of the market on Sept. 22, I saw many familiar places that are still open, including Boil Boil Ramen, which only allows for delivery from Seamless and UberEats; the Asian food place Yong Kang Street; Underground Wine and Spirits; the hair salon QB House; Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics; the smartphone repair and case shop Cellairis; Doughnuttery; Pressed Juicery; Russian Dumplings; Dog & Co; Panda Bub-

ble Tea; Isa’s Dumplings; EZ Paella; and a vending machine where masks, gloves and wipes are sold.

However, many businesses in the Underground Market have yet to reopen. Closed locations include Pasta by Hudson, which opened a new location in Chelsea; the Taiwanese restaurant Zai Lai; Arepa Factory; Mulberry and Grand; Chick’nCone; Hotel Chocolat; and Bolivian Llama Party, which still has a location in Sunnyside Queens.

The most tragic places I saw were Merchant’s Gate and Champion’s Pizza. Merchant’s Gate had a paper taped up saying they closed March 16 out of concern for COVID-19, and the letter ends saying they “can’t wait to see you all again soon!” The sign on Champion’s Pizza said they would be temporarily closed for two weeks and reopen on March 30. Both are physical reminders of how naïve we were when this crisis began.

Besides the loss of actual vendors, there is also no seating available. While it’s possible that seating may return with the partial reopening of indoor dining, the lack of seats does sully the vibe and makes the area feel more like a hallway than a place of commerce.

While it is very unfortunate to see all of these businesses closed, it is important to remember that these closures may only be temporary. I saw for myself how Black Iron Burger is in the process of reopening. Furthermore, one article states that the Underground Mar-

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

The Turnstyle Underground Market is finally in the process of reopening its restaurants and stores after being deserted since March.

ket will not officially reopen until Oct. 15. It is possible that some of the businesses that are closed now will use this month to better prepare for reopening.

Since information about the Underground Market was scarce, I went down there to discover information myself. The first person I talked to was an employee at Dylan’s Candy Bar named Alana. Alana did not know when the Underground Market officially closed but said that it reopened on Sept. 15. The biggest change that Alana noticed is that many stores didn’t come back and that the market is a “complete ghost town” compared to pre-pandemic times, a stark contrast to Columbus Circle above.

Alana was also concerned about unmasked people experiencing homelessness, and hopes

more customers will come. Alana assured me that the store is clean and wiped every hour.

Dylan’s Candy Bar also has student discounts if you bring your Fordham ID. Since I wanted more conclusive information on when the Underground Market closed, I asked a Pressed Juicery employee when the Underground Market closed, and they replied that March 15 or 16 was when most places shut down. The Turnstyle Underground Market Facebook page showed that they were cleaning facilities as late as March 20, the same day that New York state’s lockdown began.

The Facebook page hasn’t posted anything since. I reached out for comment but didn’t receive a response. In any case, this does mean that all the businesses at the

Underground Market have been closed for six whole months, so one can only imagine the financial dilemma the vendors have gone through.

The last person whom I talked to was a man named Alex, the owner of a brand new place named EZ Paella. I asked Alex why he decided to open a business at the Underground Market at this point in time. Alex told me that EZ Paella actually opened 15 days before the pandemic started and was forced to close because of state orders. Alex admitted that it’s a challenge starting in these conditions due to a lack of foot traffic, but Alex feels proud to help Underground Market come back stronger. Alex and other vendors are bringing back not just the Underground Market, but the city as a whole.

18

Arts & Culture

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

How the 2020 Emmys Honored and Failed the BIPOC Community

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CAITLIN BURY/THE OBSERVER

EMMYS from page 1

The 2020 Emmys were unlike any other in the award show’s 72year history. Due to social distancing measures, the ceremony was unconventional in format. Awards were delivered live to celebrities’ houses, making the event nearly an entirely virtual experience. Writer and director Ramy Yousef took to Twitter to share his hilarious, socially-distanced Emmy experience.

In the now-viral video, an intern dressed in a hazmat suit is seen waving goodbye to Yousef, as the “Ramy” creator didn’t win the prize this year. Interns were sent to every house to preserve the illusion, making this year’s Emmys truly unorthodox.

It’s no secret that award shows like the Emmys, Golden Globes and Academy Awards can be exclusive.

Let us not forget the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag invented by April Reign in 2015 going viral again in 2016 after no people of color won in any of the acting categories.

In a “60 Minutes” interview, Fordham Theatre alumnus Denzel Washington, FCLC ’77, discussed his experience with award shows’ failure to include Black people: “I’ve been the guy at the Oscars without my name being called ... I’ve been the guy at the Oscars when everybody thought they was going to call my name and they didn’t.”

However, partially due to our changing landscape over the conversation of Black equity and inclusion over the past few years, we’re seeing dynamic shifts in award show nominations and the elitist towering gates of the entertainment industry beginning to rust and crumble.

In 2015, Viola Davis became the first Black woman to win an Emmy in the lead actress category for her performance in “How to Get Away with Murder.” In her speech, she explained that “the only thing separating women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” and that Black people and other people of color cannot win Emmys for roles that do not exist for them.

It’s no secret that award shows like the Emmys, Golden Globes and Academy Awards can be exclusive.

Although the actress was talking about the Emmys, every marginalized person watching the awards knew exactly the implications of her statement.

“In my mind I see a line. And over that line I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women, with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line,” Davis said, quoting Harriet Tubman.

The “line” that Davis is referencing is the divide between Black artists and non-Black artists, between the haves and the have-nots. It’s the great limbo most Black folks and people of color find themselves suspended in for their entire lives, swimming through that thick molasses, screaming in the hushed static of

centuries of racist forces.

It took 66 years for a Black actress to win the prestigious award.

If that’s not a testament to the exclusionary efforts this industry enforces, then I don’t know what is. Although it took 66 years for the first Black actress to win an Emmy for the leading category, it wouldn’t be long before a second Black woman would take home the prize.

On Sunday, Sept. 20, mere seconds before the winner of the Best Actress in a Lead Role was announced, Zendaya, looking stunning in her custom Giorgio Armani pearl embroidered dress, tensed up in anticipation. Her team in the back huddled together moments before Emmy host Jimmy Kimmel revealed the name hidden in the envelope.

When Zendaya was bestowed the award for her work in “Euphoria,” her family and team behind her went crazy! It was the same reaction I’ve seen my humongous Black family exude at football games when my cousin’s number is called out after scoring a point.

Once everyone calmed down, a shaky Zendaya gave her speech.

After fighting back tears, the “Euphoria” star gave thanks to both HBO and her family and acknowledged the importance of being young and raising your voice during this time. “There is hope in the young people out there. I just wanna say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets I see you, I admire you, I thank you.”

Zendaya is the youngest Lead Actress winner at the Emmy awards ever and the second Black woman to do so. This fact alone is

a step closer to the other side of that line, toward the lush green fields and lovely flowers Tubman described. The landscape is changing.

Zendaya isn’t the only young Black star to win an Emmy recently. “When They See Us” star Jharrel Jerome also took home the prize for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie last year, making him the youngest star to win in that category.

In the limited series directed

by Ava DuVernay, the true stories of the discriminatory treatment of the Exonerated Five, also known as the Central Park Five, by the criminal justice system is put on the screen in gripping truthfulness.

In his acceptance speech, he thanked director DuVernay and his family in the Bronx — as he spoke, his mother pumped her fist in excitement from the audience. But of course the LaGuardia High School alumnus saved the best for last: “Most importantly, this is for the men that we know as The Exonerated Five. This is for Ramon (Santana), Yusef (Salaam), Antron (McCray), Kevin (Richardson) and King Korey Wise!”

As Jerome spoke those five names, the men rose proudly, their fists rising in Black Power.

DuVernay found and wrote the kind of story Davis urged America to bring forth in her 2015 speech.

As Jerome stood in a triumphant victory pose, dedicating the award to the Exonerated Five, I realized the difference between now and any other time. I realized that we no longer have to fight to cross a line drawn to keep us out.

We can create our own pastures, green fields and rose gardens. The landscape is changing and so are its ambassadors.

There were 35 different Black actors nominated for awards at the 2020 Emmy Awards. Nominees included heavy hitters like the astounding Regina King, Mahershala Ali, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett and many more.

Yes, the landscape is changing.

On Sept. 8, the Oscars’ instilled diversity requirements that are taking effect in 2025. One of the requirements is that “a film must have either at least two leadership positions or department heads be from underrepresented groups and at least one be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.” The colossal, elitist walls of the entertainment industry are beginning to open, and more space is being made for a greater variety of stories.

Toward the end of my conversation with Cantoral, I asked him what the connection was between his desire to act and seeing representation: “I think acting is a way of expressing or showing a side of you to someone else, to the public,” he responded. Looking out my window in the McKeon dorms, eyeing Lincoln Center, one of the city’s artistic heartbeats that has gone quiet, I can hear the breaths of my classmates ready to revive the world again.

If we’re not let in through America’s already-established spaces, we’ll make new ones and be a part of a movement erasing the inequality of opportunity for everyone, whether this industry is ready for our stories or not.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER September 30, 2020

Arts & Culture

19

Ram Jams: ‘Spilligion’

By ETHAN COUGHLIN Arts & Culture Editor

Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B On a Playlist With: Dreamville, Buddy, Chance the Rapper, Kenny Beats, Ari Lennox Four years after their last project, Spillage Village is back with “Spilligion.” If you’re asking “Who is Spillage Village?” you may know the members by their individual names better. The group consists of EarthGang (Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot), JID, 6lack, Mereba, Hollywood JB, Jurdan Bryant and Benji.

They came together during their time at Hampton University and have released four albums since 2014: “Bears Like This,” “Bears Like This Too,” “Bears Like This Too Much” and “Spilligion.” When they weren’t releasing albums as a group, the members were working on their individual projects and 2019’s Grammy-nominated “Revenge of the Dreamers III,” the collaborative Dreamville label album, the label that most of the group is signed to.

The album was initially unplanned and ultimately came to fruition thanks to their quarantine free time. EarthGang took to Twitter on March 18 to announce the coming of the album that wouldn’t arrive until Sept. 25.

The album opens with “Spill Vill,” a skit that features Atlanta

comedians Desi Banks and Kountry Wayne talking about the morality of their pastor when Big Rube steps in to offer his wisdom on their situation. This skit sets up the religious themes that the rest of the album builds on.

The album was initially unplanned and ultimately came to fruition thanks to their quarantine free time.

Moving into the next track, “Baptize” sees EarthGang and JID on a track with Kanye’s protégé Ant Clemons. The artists do not shy away from difficult conversations even if the music stays upbeat.

On “Baptize,” EarthGang’s Johnny Venus raps, “Police, they beat me, we storm the same streets. / We storm the same block, won’t stop ’til we free,” referring to the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd.

A line that stood out to me specifically in this song was Johnny Venus’ bar saying, “My verses will live if I die from slugs.” This haunting line is especially impactful during a time like this when so many young

rappers like Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD have tragically lost their lives.

Mereba’s angelic vocals open the next track, “PsalmSing,” and announce her arrival on the album. While Mereba takes each of the verses alone, the chorus of the song features her, JID, Benji and Johnny Venus singing in unison to mimic the sounds of a congregation singing.

The entire project features more singing than I would have expected, singing from artists that I wouldn’t have necessarily expected. JID carries the chorus of “Ea’alah (Family),” showing off a musical side of him that I didn’t know he had.

The next two songs, “Mecca” and “Judas,” are easily my least favorite on the album. “Mecca” is very tacky to me and the chorus is incredibly basic. The repetition of “Spread the love all ’round the world” is a little too on the nose for me.

Despite strong features from Chance the Rapper, Masego and Buddy, “Judas” still falls below the rest of the album to me. The intro to this track is an interpolation of “Hit the Road Jack,” but ultimately throws off the entire song for me.

While the whole cast and all the features give strong performances on this album, it is EarthGang’s Johnny Venus that I would award the MVP to for this project. Appearing on every single song on the album, both his rapping and singing

SPILLAGE VILLAGE RECORDS

is excellent, and he provided the glue that holds the album together.

This group of young artists is so exciting and continues to improve with every release. Though it may be years before we get another Spillage Village album, I am excited for more projects from each of the individual acts.

The Bottom Line: There is no better time than now to stop sleeping on Spillage Village.

The Peaks: “Psalm Sing,” “Oshun” and “Shiva” The Valleys: “Mecca” and “Judas” The Verdict: 8/10

Brooklyn Book Festival 2020 Goes Virtual

The book festival will be celebrated online for the first time in the event’s 15-year history

By KRISTEN SKINNER Staff Writer

COURTESY OF BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL

Lasting until Oct. 5, the 15th annual Brooklyn Book Festival celebrates published literature and the literary community.

The 15th annual Brooklyn Book Festival kicked off Monday, Sept. 25, and will last until Oct. 5, with everything completely virtual this year. The weeklong program of events is New York City’s largest free literary festival and features a multitude of authors, readings, cultural events and performances, most of which are free.

Lulu Schmieta, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21 and a copy editor for The Observer, attended the Brooklyn Book Festival in the past and claims it is one of her favorite events in the city.

“The festival is essential to New York’s book scene, and it brings so many facets of the book world together for readers and writers,” Schmieta said.

The festival originally launched in 2006 as a one-day event to provide a major free literary program for New York book-lovers. The event has since expanded, and this year’s festival aimed to celebrate published literature and to support the literary community by providing programming that allows readers to connect with local, national and international authors, publishers and booksellers.

According to its website, the event aims to foster “creative dialogue among the authors,” and provide a platform for distinguished authors as well as new writers.

Some of this year’s famous authors at the festival include Lee Child, Salman Rushdie, Mia Couto, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Joyce Carol Oates, Adrian Tomine, Emily St. John Mandel, Claudia Rankine, Marie Lu and Colson Whitehead.

Events of the week consist of readings, discussions, performances and films for a range of ages and interests.

Some of these events include Latinx Storytelling Across all Genres, a viewing of the documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces,” and a panel discussion of writers, journalists and climate change activists about the importance of bringing about storytelling regarding the environmental crisis our world is facing.

Schmieta said she walked away with a deeper understanding of the book publishing industry. “It is made up of small presses, university presses, literary journals and magazines, awards, and nonprofits,” she said.

In addition to the Bookend and Cultural Events and multitude of children’s and young adult events, Virtual Festival Day will take place on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

This will be a full day of more literature readings, discussions and webinars.

One of these events includes a discussion on racism, classism, distrust and surveillance with award-winning novelist Kelli Jo Ford, 5 Under 35 honoree Tracy O’Neill and New York Times bestselling author Kelly Reid.

One of the webinars features writers Tom Philpott, Saru Jayaram, Marion Nestle and Deborah Madison, who will discuss farming, food deserts and consumerism. Other events on Virtual Festival Day will include discussions on grief, life in the pandemic and art, as well as fictional stories about crime, love and coming-of-age.

It is clear that the Brooklyn Book Festival offers topics of interest to any age as well as events on a multitude of days at many different times. If you are looking for a fun way to learn more about the topics that appeal to you or are looking for new titles of books to read, be sure to check out this week of programming.

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Crossword: Fortune’s Fools

ames

Hint: The circled letters (in order) reveal the theme of the puzzle

ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS

By GILLIAN RUSSO

Fun & Games Editor Esmé Bleecker-Adams - ebleeckeradams@fordham.edu

September 30, 2020 THE OBSERVER

ACROSS

DOWN

1. wood-cutting device 4. visual or performing, for example 8. not bright 11. ___ smear; test for cervical cancer 14. light brown 17. boxer Muhammad 18. in a ___; sulking 19. photographer Wyman 20. everlasting 22. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in 1963, with 24 Down 25. spur into action, of memory 26. doughnut-shaped cereal unit 27. flowers which “by any other name would smell as sweet” 28. capital of Nebraska 30. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in 2012, with 13 Down 31. large pitcher 32. actress Diane 33. at the same time (2 Wds.) 35. telecommunication system: Abbr.

36. be placed atop (2 Wds.) 37. mix 38. outer limit 42. increase speed (of an engine) 43. young ’___; children, informally 44. makes a snake noise 47. primate in the hominoid subgroup 48. cured meat similar to pepperoni 51. related to the opposite of dilation (of the eye pupil) 53. customary 55. Trevante Rhodes and André Holland in 2016, with 32 Down 56. comedian DeLaria 57. with a heavy heart 59. openly resist a government or system 60. having a satisfied appetite 63. tree native to New Zealand which the Maori believe wards off evil spirits 64. U.S. nonprofit advocating for those over the age of 50 68. unit of corn 69. performed ballet or the salsa, for instance 71. one of Jupiter’s moons, and the sixth-largest in the Solar System 73. fed. government group responsible for unemployment benefits and wage standards, among other things 74. semi-hard cheese named after a town in North Holland 76. Spanish “moon” 77. what elected officials need 78. “___ Mia!” musical 80. Photoshop brand 82. manual boat propeller 83. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1996, with 66 Down 84. fall, for one 87. 40 years old, in the case of composer Manuel Miranda (2 Wds.) 90. “___ Well” by Taylor Swift (2 Wds.) 91. the body’s chemical energy source: Abbr.

92. popular breakfast food 95. satyr god in Greek mythology 96. lock counterpart 97. painter Chagall 99. responsibility, or “the joke’s ___” (2 Wds.) 100. group of three lines of poetry 102. pouch containing fluid 105. ___ by; complied with 108. sheets of paper folded to create four book pages each 109. prefix with graph or legal 110. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in 2015, with 98 Down 113. continent, with North or South 115. form of protest in which occupiers refuse to move 116. alternate type of lightbulb using iodine or a similar gas 117. feathery accessory 118. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman in 2001, with 102 Down 120. not paying attention 121. weight units, in the U.S. 122. program which gives hirees a stake in the company: Abbr.

123. direction from New York, NY to Montpelier, VT 124. portable memory cards: Abbr.

125. form of “your” en Français 126. begun: Abbr.

127. Samoan currency from the English cent, worth 1/100 tālā 128. what the pancreas and peas have in common

1. holy 2. permits 3. writer Elie 4. type of snakes, one of which may have been the cause of death of 22 Across 5. genetic instruction copy: Abbr.

6. headings 7. neuron cluster located in the basal ganglia in the brain, named for its striped appearance 8. mustard named for a French town 9. one who is admired by many 10. attractive to iron, nickel and some other metals 11. Green Bay football team 12. ninth month in the Hindu calendar 13. see 30 Across 14. main character Vega of Nickelodeon’s 2011 “Victorious” 15. DiFranco and Skywalker (for short) 16. nonprofits independent of nationality: Abbr.

21. Austrian physicist Josef who worked with Hans Thirring 23. literary contraction meaning “above” 24. see 22 Across 29. comforted 32. see 55 Across 34. ___ à ___; regarding 36. shape again or change the character of 37. branch of Islam 39. beaver’s construction 40. report card summary: Abbr.

41. moray or conger, for example 42. undercooked, of meat 45. ultimately arrive (at): 2 Wds. 46. cultural club at Fordham 48. deposit of rock fragments 49. ___ of; beating in a race, perhaps 50. sign between Virgo and Scorpio 52. “How I Met Your Mother” protagonist Mosby 54. Swedish sheep breed whose wool has been used for carpets 57. thoroughbred parent 58. third of the twelve minor prophets in the Old Testament 60. spurn 61. skin condition resulting from clogged pores 62. gossip, slangily 63. groove left by a wheel 65. let in 66. see 83 Across 67. “Allegory of the Cave” theorist 70. without companions 71. Late Triassic dinosaur discovered by Ricardo Martínez in 1991 72. piece of jewelry intended for protection 75. mothers, for short 77. Fordham’s intercampus shuttle, for example 79. supporter 81. physician, for short 82. peanut and canola, for example 83. Gyllenhaal and from State Farm 84. singer Smith of “The Thrill of It All” 85. landing hour for a plane: Abbr.

86. Spring Weekend month: Abbr.

87. praiseworthy 88. Irish language 89. makes wealthy 93. rats and gerbils, among others 94. suffix in organic chemistry, with “ethyl” for example 98. see 110 Across 101. rough 102. see 118 Across 103. singer Grande 104. site of a famous film festival 106. bring about 107. French department where Grenoble is located 108. splendid meal 109. hole 110. therefore 111. ___ over; pass (an object) 112. reading and writing classes in elementary and middle school: Abbr.

114. large gatherings of people 115. brain inflammation disease: Abbr.

119. atom with a net electric charge