Issue 5

Observer the

OCTOBER 26, 2017 VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 12

www.fordhamobserver.com

Terror Within the Haunted Halls of Fordham

By ZOE SINKAUS Contributing Writer

Imagine: it’s a Friday night after an especially long and chaotic week. All you want to do is go to sleep. As you walk into your dorm, you realize all of your roommates went home for the weekend; you can finally have some peace and quiet. Eventually, you close your door and crawl into bed. But just as you begin dozing off, you hear your door repeatedly open and close. Your mind begins to wonder: is your brain messing with you? Could it be a draft? It couldn’t be a ghost, right?

For McMahon Hall resident Sam Tracy, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, this situation became a reality just a few weeks ago. “I was exhausted.

I had pilates in the morning, so I figured I would go to bed early.

While I liked the idea of having the apartment to myself, something just didn’t feel right, but I attributed it to being naturally paranoid and the spooky nature of October,” Sam recounted of the October night. She disregarded her uneasiness and quickly got ready for bed. Just like a typical night, Sam shut her door and laid on her bed with her back facing her door. That’s when she began to hear her door open and close, “My door has never shut all the way. The door just doesn’t fit the frame properly. So, I didn’t think anything of it at first.” Sam turned over to look at her door and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but when she returned to her position facing the wall, she heard her door open and close again. “This happened a few times, and the door only seemed to move when I was facing the wall. Yeah, it was strange, but it was also starting to annoy me.”

Sam got up and opened her door, but didn’t find anything.

“I’ve seen my roommate prop her desk chair against the door before, so I did that, and got back in bed. I figured that would stop my door from opening and closing.”

Sam paused to collect herself for a second, then continued, “But the opposite happened. I turned to face the wall and got comfortable, then all of a sudden the door began rapidly banging against the chair as if someone was violently attempting to break in.”

Instead of facing whatever was at the door head on, Sam decided to pull the covers over her head and tried to go to sleep. “I reasoned see CENTERFOLD pg. 8

COURTESY OF JACOB FLOAM

Former Trump adviser Roger Stone awaits introduction before speaking on Richard Nixon, free speech, and racism.

Roger Stone Blitz Draws Praise and Fury

By COLIN SHEELEY News Editor

“I revel in your hatred, because if I weren’t effective, you wouldn’t hate me.” – Roger Stone, quoted by the Fordham University College Republicans in their Facebook announcement post.

It was barely 30 minutes before Roger Stone was scheduled to speak in Rose Hill’sthe Keating Hall Auditorium on at the

By JACOB LINKER Oct. 10 at the inviGuest Writer tation of the College Republicans, It was recently free speech week. That means and there were fewpolitical activism has been taking over college er than 10 people campuses, and that’s a good thing. in the room. Public I’m not much of a partisan. I’m a registered Safety did not exRepublican but I voted for a Blue Dog Democrat pect a large crowd for Congress and for a Libertarian for Presifor the former dent in 2016. I’m not much of a fan of President Trump campaign Trump. I don’t really revel in the idea of just adviser (just 57 provoking and triggering progressives. So why registered as “Gobring somebody as controversial as Roger Stone ing” on the Faceto campus? Because it’s novel, because Roger has book event page), a unique perspective and because it got people to but in any case, come out. they were checking Fordham has a very apathetic political backpacks. culture. The College Democrat versus College One of the only Republican debates routinely get about 40 atpeople standing tendees at a school with over 8,800 undergrads. around before the The two clubs together have nearly 100 memevent was Jacob bers. A couple years ago Steve Forbes came to Linker, Fordham Fordham, but only 50 people came to see him College at Rose and all were fans. Last year Charles Cooke of Hill (FCRH) ’18, National Review came to campus, but only 80 and president of people showed – again all were fans. Aside from the Fordham Libone angry march the night after the election, ertarians, who there wasn’t a real attempt at organization or originally came protest. to the College ReAs a dedicated political activist on campus, publicans with the I feel as if it’s my duty to change the apathetic idea of inviting culture on campus.

Stone. Linker, who When Roger Stone came to campus, more doesn’t always asthan 400 people came out. There were Trumpsociate with the

FEATURES

Sleep No More The Chelsea production adapts Macbeth.

Page 14

College Republicans, said that his primary motivation for inviting him was the “uneventful and less than active” atmosphere of Fordham’s political scene. He liked that Stone, who has been referred to as a “dirty trickster” by multiple media outlets, is a hatchetman, that his behavior is

“a greater deviation from the norm,” and that he antagonizes.

“When’s the last time the College Democrats got a speaker that got emotion out of the crowd?” Linker said. In other words, Stone’s tendency for provocation is exactly what Fordham University needs.

As Linker tried to enter the auditorium, a Public Safety officer stopped him to check his bag. He held onto it. “There is alcohol in it,” Linker said. It was a gift for Roger Stone. “What am I supposed to do?”

Linker said rhetorically, backing down the hallway.

Stone, who acknowledges his love for a vodka martini and, has attributed some of his most vulgar statements to its influence. When ists and Socialists, Red-Caps and plain-old-reds, he tweeted in 2012 Black Lives Matter activists and backers of our that former CNN boys and girls in blue, and of course those who contributor Rojust wanted to see the spectacle first hand. It was land Martin was rowdy, it was heated, but most of all it was enera “stupid negro” getic. I’ll admit that at points in the night I had and a “fat negro,” to shout at the crowd so that Mr. Stone would be Stone digressed able to continue speaking, but that’s just a price four years later on for much greater victory. We stoked passions WBUR’s On Point and brought energy to Fordham political life. that it was a “twoFor days afterwards, I’d hear people talkmartini tweet,” and ing about Roger Stone having come to campus. that he regretted Many were disappointed that they missed out. his words. NeverOthers said it was great that University President theless, Stone has Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. had let him on stood by his claim campus, especially after the incident with Ann that his tweets are Coulter from a few years back, and the school neither racist nor recently banning the Students For Justice in Palsexist despite callestine, an issue I’ve commented on before. After ing former Florida that event, many students simply perceived the representative AlCollege Republicans as crazy or rude. I wanted len West was a something different with Roger Stone. Although “know-it-all negro” I’ll admit that many were offended, there was and CNN coma tremendous amount of passion in the Q&A mentator Ana Nasection, where a great number of people talked varro an “Entitled about Stone’s controversial past statements Diva Bitch.” and tweets. By bringing Stone to campus, we Inside the augave opponents of Trump a conduit to express ditorium, the few their views towards one of the President’s most audience members high-profile supporters. We turned an internal were spread out discussion within anti-Trump communities into among the several an outward manifestation of political passion.

Why I Brought Roger Stone to Campus

see OPINION pg. 7

see STONE pg. 2

ARTS & CULTURE

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Team dominates with 12-6 season.

Your guide to spooky cinema.

How many times do we have to say it?

PAGE 16

PAGE 13

PAGE 10

SPORTS

THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER

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News

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

Stone Event Tests Views on Free Speech

STONE FROM PAGE 1

hundred seats. Caleb Rodrigues, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, sat in the first row. He, too, was eager to see Stone speak.

According to Rodrigues, he had no idea Stone was coming until he opened an email statement from the University regarding the event. He thought it looked interesting and rode the subway up to Rose Hill.

At 5:01 p.m., two hours before Stone was set to speak, Fordham President, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. had issued an under the wire announcement “allowing the talk to proceed.” McShane asserted that although many of Stone’s views are “are demeaning to numerous individuals and groups,” antithetical to Fordham, “Jesuit notion,” and “civilized society,” he acknowledges his right to give his opinion. The College Republicans noted in their own statement that they were “pleased with the way in which the president was able to stand up for free speech.”

Twenty minutes to 7 p.m., students began to stream into the auditorium, carefully taking seats in the middle and right sections of the room. Protesters, many of them students from Lincoln Center, filed similarly into the left rows. Eric Chacon, FCRH ‘18, and a liaison with Fordham College Republicans, watched the groups wander in. He was satisfied with the turnout.

Chacon credited the large attendance to Stone’s political experience. “We felt that while most of us disagreed on, I guess, the character of Stone, we felt that he was a very large historical and political figure,” he said. “I mean, how many people do you get to say you heard that were interviewed by a congressional hearing? There’s a lot to be gained from listening to him.” He admitted, however, that at the time he had no idea what Stone was going to say or whether he had communicated that information with any member of the College Republicans’ executive board.

Stone was late in arriving to the event. At 7:25 p.m., he was quickly ushered through the doors of the auditorium, arms outstretched, beckoning cheers and hisses from the crowd, and selected a seat near the front of the stage. After introductions from Paul Cuesta, state chairman of the New York Federation of College Republicans, the mic was then passed to Sebastian Balasov, FCRH ‘18, president of the College Republicans, who thanked Linker, the Stone team and the Office of Student Involvement for their help in seeing the event through.

The key to understanding Stone, according to Balasov is that “you have to separate Roger Stone the character from Roger Stone.” And anyway, “You can deal with Roger Stone for at least an hour.”

With that, Stone stepped on stage. He wore a loose-fitting gray suit and a blue gingham shirt to match his pocket square. A dark tie constricteding his adam’s apple. The

breasts of his jacket puffed out like a bullfrog as he raised his arms again, reminiscent of but not an exact copy of the Nixon V sign.

“I am happy to be with you today. I am delighted with this turnout. I appreciate the kind words of the University President who hasn’t gotten a chance to get to know me,” Stone said, taunting McShane. Echoing Balasov, Stone said that McShane simply has him confused with the character he sometimes plays.

For the next 30 minutes, Stone managed to get through most of his talking points without looking terribly disturbed by protesters.

He began with his praise for President Richard Nixon, whose face he notoriously inked above the small of his back. As he listed the achievements of the former President, he was interrupted mid-sentence.

“Richard Nixon–” Stone began. “– broke up the Blackblack family!” a protester shouted. A roar erupted out from the left as Stone folded his fingers. “We are the party of Lin-

“ It’s up to you to surf

the web, to find your own information and to determine what you believe. I think this is the healthiest possible thing for our democracy.”

ROGER STONE , political strategist

coln,” he said. “We are the party of equality and anyone who doesn’t believe that, they’re welcome to leave.”

“Don’t interrupt or you’re going to get fucking kicked out,” another student said, under his breath.

He transitioned to subjects of non-interventionism, bi-partisan cooperation, racism, marijuana legalization and the opioid crisis, before concluding on what seemed to be the question hanging on everyone’s minds: free speech.

“The old media,” Stone said, “the CNN, the CBS, the ABC, the three networks until 2016, they had a monopoly as it were on political discourse. If they said something didn’t happen, it simply didn’t happen...it is not until the Internet comes into full play, that it’s fully utilized in our politics, that you have the rise of a vibrant, robust, alternative media, which means you no longer have to take what CBS tells you is the only possibility. It’s up to you to surf the web, to find your own information to determine what you believe. I think this is the healthiest possible thing for our democracy which is why some on tech-left want to put the toothpaste back in the tube. ‘Oh we can’t let you be on Facebook. You’re

COLIN SHEELEY/THE OBSERVER

Stone greets student applause with raised arms, alluding to a gesture of his childhood hero, Richard Nixon.

fake news.’ Well who is to say who is, what is fake news?”

“Facts!” several attendees shouted.

“It’s called the First Amendment,” Stone countered.

Soon after, the event shifted to a Q&A format. Stone took off his suit jacket as Chacon passed a microphone between lines of audience members. While several questions covered the more political aspects of Stone’s opinions, such as the Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and the future of the Republican Party, others grew increasingly irritated when some of their questions into his inflamatory, personal statements were sidestepped or otherwise completely denied.

“On what moral grounds do you think that any woman, LGBT member, or perhaps relative of someone

COLIN SHEELEY/THE OBSERVER

The executive board of the College Republicans huddles in front of a full house prior to Stone’s arrival.

who was a victim of gun violence should be listening to you tonight?” one member asked.

“I think they do want to listen to me,” Stone said pointing at the center-right. “Thank God for the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment. Is this compulsory for you to be here? You don’t have to be here.”

He spoke broadly about the two opposing camps that had formed in the auditorium as a reflection of a national epidemic. “Polarization already existed,” Stone said. “Politics is already vast and polarized.

We should work constructively with people on the other side, and we’d lose this problem.”

It went on like this for 20 minutes, questions rapidly dissolving into thinly veiled jabs at one group or the other, until some ceased to be questions at all.

“Do you see Fordham as an institution aligned with your values and beliefs?” a woman said. It had to be repeated several times.

“The Foundation for Individual Rights and Education, a nonprofit group that overviews civil liberties on college campuses, has ranked Fordham University as the top ten worst college for free speech, and I want to say that shows how courageous you are to speak here despite opposition,” another said, jerking a finger over his shoulder at the protesters.

“I have no complaints,” Stone said in reply. “I’d like to be [meet?] with all of you.”

Applause and condemnation lept as Stone made his final remarks, but soon after, students shuffled out of the auditorium. Eric Chacon was satisfied with the results. “People, they want to understand him more, how the political machine works,” he said. “Regardless of the emotions in the air, now we’re more educated.”

The emotions Chacon spoke of, however, were still hanging around the several pockets of students left in the auditorium. Stone, who had channelled the audience’s anger and

approval, had moved upstairs to give an interview with public radio. Students turned their emotions on each other.

An argument broke out near the left section between two men and a woman.“If you don’t want to hear him, don’t come! Kick them out!” one of the men said.

Another about police body cameras: “They already have footage!” one girl said. “I can’t believe these people,” another girl replied turning her back.

The air was stale, and that night it appeared that this was as far as “dialogue” would go. Standing around, Colton Hillman, FCRH ’19, and vice president of the College Republicans, felt the need to reiterate. “People deserved a right to say the things they wanted to say,” he said. “A perfect event.” He’s hoping to feature more speakers like Stone this year.

In a statement to The Observer, the unofficial student organization, Students for Sex and Gender Equality and Safety (SAGES), said that they were disappointed with the way the event had gone. “Inviting a speaker like Roger Stone can be and has been justified on the grounds of promoting free speech,” the statement read.

“However, it seems to SAGES that this justification is a hollow cover for the true reason for his invitation, a thrill those who would invite him seem to get in provoking people they deem merely overly sensitive; people who in reality deal daily with structural oppression which Roger Stone blatantly, actively and gleefully promotes.”

That being said, SAGES noted that following Oct. 10, “meaningful discussions sprung among students concerned about the presence of hate and bigotry on our campus, and our administration’s sanctioning of such hate.”

Additional reporting by Katherine Smith

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 26, 2017

News

University Chooses New Diversity Officer

By KATHERINE SMITH Asst. News Editor

In an Oct. 11 university-wide email, Fordham President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. introduced Rafael Zapata as the new chief diversity officer, special advisor to the president for diversity and associate vice president for academic affairs.

Zapata will be assisting head faculty, the chairs of departments and the directors of academic programs in implementing policies that improve personnel searches and help to develop “diversity-sensitive” programs, according to McShane. Zapata, the former vice president and chief diversity officer at Providence College, will also advise McShane on how to foster diversity within the college community.

The Faculty Senate and the Task Force for Gender and Diversity disagree with the hiring of Zapata, stating both during and after the selection process that candidate Mary Wardell should have been appointed. Additionally, they assert that the position of chief diversity officer is not being created with adequate amounts of authority in the administration to be fully effective.

The decision, made by the President’s Advisory Council, came after a year of preparation that included the appointment of a University Diversity Task Force. The Task Force recommended that the university should hire a new director of human resources that would also serve as the university’s chief diversity officer, but the council chose to hire Zapata as well as Kay Turner, the vice

COURTESY OF RAFAEL ZAPATA

Zapata assumes his new position under scrutiny of his ability to reach all aspects of diversity.

president of human resources.

“I believe that the work of these professionals will help us to expand and celebrate the diversity of the Fordham community in all its forms, including diversity of race, faith, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and identity, among others,” McShane wrote.

In addition to Zapata and Turner, McShane also announced that Juan Carlos Matos will now serve as the assistant vice president for student affairs for diversity and inclusion.

McShane wrote that his duty will be to serve as “a resource in diversity and inclusion” for several offices and

departments across the University, including Residential Life, Career Services and Campus Ministry.

Andrew Clark, Ph.D., vice president of the Faculty Senate, wrote that although he is happy with the creation of a chief diversity officer position at the university, he is unhappy with the council’s decision.

“The faculty who were involved in the interview process felt strongly that this must be a Vice President position to have the weight necessary to affect real change,” Clark wrote in a statement to the Observer.

The Task Force for Diversity and Gender, as well as other faculty in-

volved in the selection process, endorsed candidate Wardell for the “tremendous responsibility” of the position, according to Clark. The faculty did not find the other two choices suitable for the position, and recommended that if the university did not choose Wardell as their new chief diversity officer, they should reopen their search for more “qualified” candidates.

Micki McGee, president of the Fordham Faculty Senate, also endorsed Wardell in a letter to McShane and Anthony Carter, the chair of the chief diversity officer search committee.

“There is no doubt in the minds of faculty that Dr. Wardell could navigate the complexities of the chief diversity office position with grace, aplomb and determination, to the benefit of all of us currently at Fordham and all those whom we want to welcome and embrace at Fordham in the future,” McGee said. “We urge the administration to do everything possible to recruit Dr. Mary Wardell.”

McGee also addressed Zapata as a candidate, writing that while his enthusiasm, New York roots and knowledge and relationships with public and private funders were positive, faculty members were worried that Zapata would not be committed to all areas of diversity within the university.

“While there is no doubt that [the needs of young men of color] is a critical area for us at Fordham or elsewhere, serious concerns were expressed about his failure to address issues of inclusion and equity around gender, disability, and sexual orientation or identity,” McGee wrote.

Although the Faculty Senate and Task Force did not endorse the candidate chosen by the university, McShane remained positive in his statement.

“I believe this is a pivotal moment for Fordham,” McShane wrote. “One which brings us closer to the ideals we espouse—especially that of care for the whole person—and which makes us better able to carry out our sacred mission.”

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October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

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Underenrollment Jeopardizes GO! Trips

COURTESY OF CLAIRE CUMBERLAND

Michelle Lau, FCLC ’19 throws pottery in Nicaragua on a 2016 Go! trip. Less exotic destinations have been suffering from a lack of interest.

By STEPHAN KOZUB to home for her—the first project eral possible causes. Among them she is trying to steer the program News Editor she ever went on as an undergrad were GO! not seeming to be able towards framing their projects priwas a domestic trip, as was the one to “hit the sweet spot” in enticing marily as social justice and learning Global Outreach (GO!), one of she led as a project leader.

Fordham Lincoln Center students programs, rather than travel expeFordham’s signature service proThe GO! E-board and Cumber- to apply, a general lack of interest in riences. grams, has had a rocky start to the land, however, believe that they did the offered trips, and what she ob“The idea that it’s voluntourism semester. Interest in domestic proj- everything in their power to pro- served as “a little less of an excite- is not wrong all the time,” Cumects is down and project leadership mote the domestic projects and en- ment around domestic projects” at berland said. “We do our best and positions are unfilled; the Florida courage people to apply. both campuses. we work really hard here with the trip scheduled for the winter break “I obviously wish we had more “If you’re the average applicant, leaders and with the participants to has been cancelled, and the spring applicants because I believe in the what’s going to be enticing to you,” talk about that.” Among the ways break trip to Chicago is now hap- power of the projects, but I truly be- Cumberland asked. “Going to Gha- they try to address the issue is by pening in the summer. lieve GO! has done a lot of what we na for two weeks or going to Chica- reading articles on topics such as Claire Cumberland, assistant could do to try and race, privilege director of GO! at Fordham Lin- get applicants,” said and paternalism, GO! Florida was canceled and GO! Chicago coln Center, said this situation is Kathleen Stanovick, and having group a “bummer” as she sat at her desk Fordham College was postponed, but even though there is a lack discussions on in her office, located in Lowenstein at Lincoln Center the privilege that of interest in domestic projects, numbers re- comes with going 217.

(FCLC) ’18 and Pres“So far we’ve had to cancel Flor- ident of GO! at Linmain high for GO!’s international projects. on service trips to ida, which is really sad, because we coln Center. “This other communihad a leader who was already work- means extending ties as American ing hard on his project. He was a deadlines, having an college students. really great leader and took it like info session, lots of “Without a a champ when we had to cancel,” advertising and word of mouth.” go, where people may live or already doubt, those criticisms are valid, Cumberland said. “But it’s always Even though there is a lack of have been?” but I do wish there were some acsad to see a student work super hard interest in domestic projects, numWhen I asked her about con- knowledgment that there is converon something and then not be able bers remain high for GO!’s interna- cerns of voluntourism that may ac- sation around that and that we are to see it through to its end result.” tional projects. While Cumberland company this line of thinking, she working to minimize that impact as GO! Florida was cancelled be- did not want to assume one specific noted that such criticisms are “val- much as possible, as much as it is in cause too few students applied to reason for interest in domestic proj- id” and that GO! is actively working our control,” she added. participate, according to Cum- ects being so low, she pointed to sev- to address them. She also noted that Stanovick corroborated Cumberland. When applying for GO! projects, students are asked to rank their preferences for projects available for that season. This winter, the two projects were GO! Florida and GO! Camden. The applicant pool was too small to be able to field both trips, and GO! Camden was more frequently listed as a first preference. As a result, GO! Camden was selected between the two to be the only domestic project occuring this winter GO! Chicago, on the other hand, was postponed because not enough students applied to be project leaders. They needed to fill six positions across the board. They only got three.

As a result, they will do another round of leadership applications for summer projects on Nov. 27.

“With our domestic projects, it’s always a bit more of a struggle to get people to apply.

Particularly this year … [this] is something that I’ve truly never experienced,” said Cumberland, who has been an administrator in GO! since 2015 and actively participated in the program as an undergraduate COURTESY OF CLAIRE CUMBERLAND student at Rose Hill. The lack of in- Despite a significant drop in domestic Go! projects, international programs maintain popularity. terest in domestic projects hits close

berland’s remarks. “I think there’s a misconception about what GO! is, and we are trying to break the idea that GO! is voluntourism or a mission trip, but that is a hard first impression to erase,” she said.

To try and alter these perceptions of the club, the GO! E-board is planning to have more events that “demonstrate the aspects of GO!, like community and service, in a productive, modern way,” Stanovick added. “All in all, we want to revolutionize how people see GO!, what you can get out of it, and how it is something everyone should participate in.”

Even in years when interest in programs is high across the board, however, GO! may be forced to cancel projects due to safety concerns or logistical issues. In 2016, GO! Brazil was cancelled due to concerns with the Zika virus. In Spring 2017, GO! New Orleans was cancelled because no one in the group over the age of 21 was a licensed driver. In most domestic projects, there is an aspect of driving.

But while adjustments have already been made to upcoming projects to accommodate for the lack of interest, Cumberland encourages students to continue applying for programs.

“If you’re looking for an experience that fosters your learning and your growth in social justice, [while] on top of that building a true community of friends and people that you have this really intentional space built with...we have it here waiting for you,” she said.

“You have to take that first step into Lowenstein 217.”

Stanovick added that the domestic projects “offer a look [into] the United States’ systems of oppression,” and allows “an introspective look at your own life and the life of your fellow citizens.”

Despite the setbacks, however, Cumberland and the GO! E-board appear to be keeping their hopes and spirits up.

“I think we did everything we could in our power,” she said. “But it was just not our season.”

She paused for a moment, laughing.

“I feel like that’s a locker room postgame talk,” she chipped. “It’s not our season, man. We tried.”

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 26, 2017

News

The Gabelli School of Business Dean’s List for 2016-2017 Donna Rapaccioli, Ph. D., Dean Class of 2018 Menelaos Alexandrakis Marcela Alvarez Alexia Armetta Jacob Aronovich Madison Dowd Christian Failla Patrick Fuery Rodney Fung Tianlun Gao Joseph Gorman Bethany Hammer

Scott Hendrick Linda Infantino Rami Khazen William Koganov Tianqi Liang Matthew McCarthy Celine Merabet Paul Morris Anthony Norris Stephanie Perkons Alexandra Quan

Dillon Rebock Steven Romanello Karina Royzen Annie Rumanov Gabriela Toledo Katherine Tracy Dominic Umbro Jose Emilio Valcarcel Michael Veverka Jr. Rachel Yan

Class of 2019 Ryan Ayaz Dino Becaj Laura Besozzi Navdeep Cattry Alvise Cerciello Jonathan Coronel Jared Enochs Hayley Gorman Xiaochen Huang Griffin Hull Ilya Levyant

Margaret Ling Eleen Liu Wei Luo Dominic Maliaros Muhammad Malik Nattarean Ngan Sharita Passariello Adam Pinkhasov Jonathan Presslauer Vajra Ram Mohan Casey Shenloogian

Brenna Slane Margaret Smith Benjamin Stoller Ye (Tom) Tang Nijun Xie Yongji Yang Yao Yao Bernard Zhang Michael Zhang James Zucconi II

Class of 2020 Brandon Boogaard Nicola Campos Tigerlily Cooley Michael D'Arcy Sofia De Jesus Ulyana Erokhina Alexandra Gallagher Simei Gu Nathaniel Holcomb Siyuan Huang

Wei Huang Ryan Hubbs Rachel Keough Kyungheon Kim Kalydosos Kudayah Isabelle Lee Siena Mayer-Costa Alexa Montoya Eugene Ng Sarah Ramirez

Sofia Remez Ryan Remitio Christina Rudolph Christine Schwartz Shravan Wadhwa Yuan Wang Maya Wassermann William Wexler Tianyou Xu Songsheng Yu

5

Opinions

Opinions Editor Alex Seyad- aseyad@fordham.edu

STAFF EDITORIAL

O

York, such as Camden, New Jersey. So while the reasons students are applying for international projects may be well-intentioned and founded in a sense of duty, there needs to be a more consistent effort made by the student body to

“...if the Fordham community is to effect change in the world, we must recognize that that change starts at and includes our home.” acknowledge issues affecting communities within the country. With that recognition comes the effort and sacrifices required to address them.

In order to serve communities properly and truly be “men and women for others,” we must understand the values, customs and historical contexts of the communities we are helping. GO! has already initiated efforts to ad-

Observer the

MISSING THE POINT: DOMESTIC GO! TRIPS ARE IMPORTANT, TOO

ne of Fordham’s main marketing points has been the Global Outreach (GO!) programs, which send students to local and international destinations for service and learning opportunities. Over the years, numerous students have signed up for these trips to fulfill Fordham’s Jesuit values of social justice and community service. Unfortunately, some of these GO! trips–particularly international trips– become voluntourism opportunities for students. After all, visiting foreign countries at a relatively cheap rate and in an immersive manner can be rather enticing. For this reason (among others) there has been a significant decrease in student interest and participation in domestic GO! trips.

As a result, one trip has been canceled, and another one has been postponed.

The lack of interest in domestic projects also occurs in spite of their logistics. Domestic programs tend to be inexpensive in comparison with GO!’s international counterparts, and they are available in locations near New

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

dress issues of paternalism and privilege, a tremendous step in the right direction. But if the Fordham community is to effect change in the world, we must recognize that that change starts at and includes our home. GO! Florida has been cancelled, despite recently suffering hurricanes that have devastated communities.

In GO! Chicago, there are still three leadership positions left empty due to a lack of interest.

Student apathy is something about which members of this current editorial board have written in the past, and it is an issue that we continually push members of the Fordham community to solve. An active community is a strong community, and when this apathy extends to efforts that the university attempts to organize to assist those in need, our community is at its weakest.

The GO! Program and these communities need us to care, and even more so, we need to be introspective and ask ourselves if we truly care about our fellow human beings more than we care about getting to spend two weeks in a foreign country.

Editor-in-Chief Morgan Steward Managing Editor Reese Ravner Business Manager Michael Veverka Layout Editors Sherry Chow Loic Khodarkovsky News Editors Stephan Kozub Colin Sheeley Asst. News Editor Katherine Smith Opinions Editor Alex Seyad Asst. Opinions Editor Jordan Meltzer Arts & Culture Editors Maryanna Antoldi Sam DeAssis Asst. Arts & Culture Editors Lindsay Jorgensen Features Editor Carson Thornton Gonzalez Asst. Features Editor Jeffrey Umbrell Sports & Health Editors Mohdhobair Hussaini Alexander DiMisa Artemis Tsagaris Photo Editors Jon Bjornson Aseah Khan Comma Coordinators Erika Ortiz Elodie Huston Copy Editors Izzi Duprey Erika Ortiz Gianna Smeraglia Social Media Managers Angelika Menendez Andronika Zimmerman

A Captured Moment

Visual Advisor Molly Bedford Editorial Advisor Anthony Hazell PUBLIC NOTICE No part of The Observer may be reprinted or reproduced without the expressed written consent of The Observer board. The Observer is published on alternate Thursdays during the academic year.

Printed by Five Star Printing Flushing, N.Y

To reach an editor by e-mail, visit www.fordhamobserver.com

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

JON BJÖRNSON/THE OBSERVER

I stopped walking as soon as I recognized the melody. On the streets of Brooklyn late in the evening, I decided to investigate the faint call of Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “That Thing” echoing from somewhere around the block. I found a family: brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, all united on one stoop, sharing a peaceful evening. Befriending a fellow fan of Ms. Lauryn Hill is not difficult, and her music allowed me to immerse myself into the scene seamlessly.

• Letters to the Editor should be typed and sent to The Observer, Fordham University, 140 West 62nd Street, Room G32, New York, NY 10023, or e-mailed to fordhamobserver@gmail.com. Length should not exceed 200 words. All letters must be signed and include contact information, official titles, and year of graduation (if applicable) for verification.

• If submitters fail to include this information, the editorial board will do so at its own discretion.

• The Observer has the right to withhold any submissions from publication and will not consider more than two letters from the same individual on one topic. The Observer reserves the right to edit all letters and submissions for content, clarity and length.

• Opinions articles and commentaries represent the view of their authors. These articles are in no way the views held by the editorial board of The Observer or Fordham University.

• The Editorial is the opinion held by a majority of The Observer’s editorial board. The Editorial does not reflect the views held by Fordham University.

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Opinions

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

A Brunch with Death: Student Caught in Meal Limbo OWEN ROCHE Contributing Writer

UNDERGRADUATE DINING HALL—In the aftermath of what has been described by witnesses as “the greatest dining blunder in the past 10 years,” a local student has been taken into school custody, reportedly after attempting to acquire food in the undergraduate dining hall at 10:47 a.m. EST. The news has blindsided Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC), as it is common knowledge that from Monday to Thursday, the dining hall serves breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The No Meal Period (NMP) from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. has been a fixture of school dining policy since Fordham’s inception. The nature of the 30 minute blackout in meal coverage is largely unknown.

Popular speculation points to a spacetime anomaly necessitating daily stabilization, explaining the interdimensional time beings on Fordham’s dining services payroll.

Upon detection and subsequent apprehension, the 18-year-old Caucasian male perpetrator in question was led out of the hall in handcuffs, stomach growling in defiance.

“You don’t mess with the schedule. Rules are rules, and if people start eating whenever they want, we’ll have anarchy,” explained a dining hall representative on the condition of anonymity. “Who could possibly be hungry at 10:45 a.m.?”

The idiocracy—or boldness—of the student’s actions has rocked the university to its very core. Support for the mealtime terrorist has manifested in elevator grumblings and unabashed dorm rants—which, thanks to McKeon Hall’s strategically thin walls, have allowed for quick detection and suppression

by RAs. Conversely, support for the continued enforcement of the NMP has been resounding.

“It’s my job as an American to

uphold every last societal convention I’ve been raised on to the letter,” said one concerned onlooker, peering through the street-level windows of the dining hall. “Liberal universities have kids questioning too much, and they act surprised when students choose to eat a sandwich after 10:30 and before 11. 10:45? Typical leftist ignorance.”

He ran away, shouting “Ignatius was a witch” over his shoulder, before he could be reached for further comment.

It is, understandably, ludicrous to imagine the precedent that could have been set had the student been served during the NMP. Similar alarming incidents of rogue eating, most notably foolhardy attempts to eat dinner after 7 p.m. on Saturdays, point to a similar conclusion: opportunities to fill students’ hedonistic stomachs outside of regular operating hours spell doom for the university.

This has not deterred school officials, as rumors of closing the NMP swirl through the university. A potential restructuring of operation hours smacks of 1930’s appeasement policy—all those familiar with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” know the ramifications if an example is not made of this morning’s attempted 10:45 a.m. sandwich.

The 30 minutes between breakfast and lunch belong to no one.

Fordham must not bend to the demands of its ravenous students: the NMP is a time for reflection and meditation just as the hours after 8 p.m., 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and 6 p.m. on Sundays are undoubtedly meant for intellectual stimulation and full-bellied studying.

The university surely holds its breath as a verdict is deliberated.

In the meantime, students can rest easy knowing their full academic plates can be paired nicely with even fuller dining hall platters during normal operating hours. Fordham has put its trust in reason, tradition and cooler heads winning the day—one can only hope that rogue eating may prove to be just a passing fad.

Why Bringing Roger Stone Was Important

OPINION FROM PAGE 1

It’s not breaking news that politics can be an offensive topic.

If you believe in politics as a clash of ideals and fundamental values that you hold dear, then of course somebody is going to be offended.

Trump regularly offends many people’s sensibilities. Similarly, Mayor DeBlasio offends me when he talks about how much he hates private property. Hillary Clinton offends me when she fails to admit her election failures and instead blames others such as Bernie Sanders or President Obama. I’d still happily come by and see any of them if they came to my campus.

In fact, I’d be happy to help set things up for them. One person’s right to expression doesn’t end where another person’s feelings begin.

I’d like to thank the Fordham University College Republicans for working with the College Libertarians to bring Stone to campus. I’m sure the ridiculous United Student

Government investigation against the College Republicans’ effort to secure funds to pay for Stone will end in favor of the College Republicans. I’d also like to thank Stone for taking the time out to come speak at Fordham.

I’d like to thank Father McShane for allowing the event to take place and for the generous promotional efforts he gave us when he issued the university statement on Stone coming to campus.

His statement was a tremendous contribution to the evening’s success. In his statement he said that “If we err in this decision, we do so on the side of academic freedom” and “No point of view has the exclusive right to freedom of speech, and I encourage you all to use that right freely and wisely”. These are the liberal,as in liberal arts, values that make the country great.

As for the future, just wait to see who we bring to Fordham next.

www.fordhamobserver.com

Has Fordham Destroyed Student Representation?

JESSI CARLUCCI/THE OBSERVER

United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC) is one of the student governing bodies at Fordham.

can veto a club that promotes social justice without consulting the Opinions Editor student body that clearly favored the establishment of the club, what is to stop them from continuing to ignore What is the difference between us? If the Office of Residential Life student government in high school can freely rewrite the constitution and college? In high school, your of RHA and eliminate the studentclass president was probably placed elected senate, then can we still call in charge of spirit week and some it a student government organizaother school events but never really tion? At this point, had much say in the members of If the Office of Residential Life can freely re- these organizations administrative matters. Student being treated write the constitution of RHA and eliminate the are government in like puppets by the college is a differ- student-elected senate, then can we still call it a administration to ent story. In most give the students student government organization? universities, student the illusion that representatives and they care about our club leaders have opinions. For all a say in adminisof the Town Halls trative matters at various degrees. sues. After I left USG my sophomore and Pizzas With the President, what At Fordham, for example, United year, I was a part of the RHA senate will the administration change?

Student Government (USG) has the my junior year where I was able to Will they create avenues to allow for ability to approve new clubs on cam- see how much RHA does to serve more student activism on campus? pus, approve club budgets and vote Fordham Lincoln Center’s residents, Will they give us the microphone on many other matters that concern supply them with quality events and so we may voice our concerns? I the student body. In the past, these provide them a voice. It saddens think all we will get is contempt and issues have included banners put me to see these organizations are words that are supposed to make us around campus, the removal of the being compromised, and that their feel like the administration is doing Robert Moses statue and the deciability to take part in administrative what is best for us. sion to reject bringing a Chick-fil-A discourse is now in question.

Without uncompromisable stuto campus. While some of these The fact that administrators dent representation then all we can things sound trivial, the ability of have overridden the decisions of expect is more protests on campus. students to have a voice in the matstudent governments and, in the Whether that comes in the form ter is important for transparency case of RHA, completely overhauled of low student turnout at events or and democracy on our campus. The the previous system and replaced frequent protests in the plaza, we ability of the students to go against it with their own constitution and cannot expect to turn to USG or a Chick-fil-A on campus because of hand-picked executive board, shows RHA with our problems because at the company’s history of holding an that they have little care for how their heads are administrators who anti-LGBTQ stance is a huge win we perceive their actions or what will shut down those who are trying for student activists. Unfortunately, we have to say. The Observer has to speak up for the rest of us. Maybe these wins are overshadowed by reported before that the university I am being too cynical about all of unilateral decisions by administrawants to create greater transparency this, but on the other hand, tyranny tors that overrule student governamongst the various bodies on camis the first step towards destroying ment organizations like USG and, pus, but the administration’s actions democracy. most recently, the Residence Hall beg to differ. If the dean of students ALE X SEYAD

Association (RHA).

When I was a freshman, I was in awe of the abilities of USG and was easily convinced to run for senator.

My time on USG was entertaining, and at the end of the year, I felt that I was able to accomplish something on campus. We were able to push for the university to establish gender neutral bathrooms, among other is-

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Features

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

Fordham CENTERFOLD FROM PAGE 1

with the ghost. I basically said, ‘Hey, I have pilates in the morning, so I’d appreciate if you don’t do this tonight,’ and it seemed to work. The banging eventually stopped, and I was able to go to sleep. But, it was still the spookiest thing I’ve ever experienced.” Since this incident, Sam hasn’t experienced anything else in her apartment, but she believes someone definitely wanted to make their presence known that night.

Sam is not the only student at Fordham Lincoln Center who has experienced something strange. Another McMahon Hall resident, Jasmine Fontaina, FCLC ’19, recalled seeing a ghostly figure: “It was the night before Halloween. I just remember waking up and feeling a presence. I

looked near my bed and it appeared to be a person in rags with a black aura and smoke where their feet should’ve been.” When asked if she was as scared as Sam was, Jasmine replied, “No, I was more intrigued. It was magnificent really. It made me want to learn about the history of this building, and who the figure could’ve been.”

While Sam and Jasmine have first-person encounters of ghosts at Fordham, many students haven’t experienced anything. One of the people I asked about Fordham ghost stories even said, “No...Lincoln Center is too new and nice for ghosts. Try the Rose Hill campus.” So, that’s exactly what I did.

According to John Ancona, Fordham College at Rose

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 26, 2017

m Frights: The Ghosts that Haunt Our School Hill (FCRH) ’89, his friend Paul Cutajar had a spooky experience when he lived in St. John’s. “[Paul] was doing homework at his desk. His desk was against the wall, but he could look to the left out his window and see the courtyard. It was around 10:3011:00 p.m. He looked out the window and saw this guy in a cape walking toward the statue in the center of the court.

He had a candle extinguisher.

He was walking toward the statue as if to extinguish the light.” This intrigued Cutajar, the light was electric so trying to extinguish it didn’t make sense.

Ancona continued, “He stood up to take a closer look out the window. About 10 minutes later, his roommate walked in and found Paul on

his bed - white as a ghost.”

When Cutajar’s roommate asked him what was wrong, Cutajar repeatedly stuttered, “no legs, no legs” and pointed out the window. Finally, Cutajar’s roommate calmed him down enough to explain what happened, “When Paul got up to check the guy out, he had no legs. He floated to the middle of the court, then floated out of the courtyard.

Bizarre.”

Even though Ancona’s story happened during the late ’80s, it seems like the ghosts that haunt the Rose Hill dorms haven’t moved on. More recently, Tiffany Kato, FCRH ’07 alumni, recalled, “So, my friend used to live in North in a single. One night he called me completely

freaked out, saying he heard knocking in the room. I told him he was imaging things, and to go back to sleep.”

But, Kato’s friend couldn’t go back to sleep, “He calls me again later in the night, saying his bed shook and that he was going to sleep next to the guard that night.” The next day, Kato and her friend looked for clarity in one of the priests, “The priest was like ‘Oh, that’s so and so. I guess he moved to your dorm.

Come let’s go to your room.’

So, the priest grabs some holy water, the Bible, and candles.

We head over to the dorm, and we light the candles, and he opens the door and starts praying.” Unlike the other stories, Kato’s story has a happy ending, “All the freshmen

around us must have been so freaked out, but whatever he did worked. Nothing ever happened again after that.”

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, you can’t deny that these stories are strange.

Even though Lincoln Center is newer and smaller than Rose Hill, it still has history, which invokes something of the unknown. All I can say is: prepare yourself. You never know when you’re going to be the next to experience something going “bump” in the night at Fordham. Would you face the unknown with curiosity and astonishment like Jasmine, or would you go into a state of terror like Paul?

All photos by Jon Bjornson/The Observer.

Features

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www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 26, 2017

Opinions

10

Trump Needs to Take Puerto Rico Seriously exploitation of this situation allows him to score political points by displaying a glittering facade of his “America First” attitude, but he is sacrificing Americans to do so.

President Trump’s treatment of Puerto Rican Americans, reducing them to second-rate citizens, is not only unpresidential but also inhumane. Our citizens are in desperate need of relief and aid, and we should not let them be exploited for political gain. The fundamental basis of the government is to make sure the interests of the governed are being protected.

The leader of the executive branch is required to act as both the head of state and the head of government in order to guarantee that promise. To do this, the president must maintain a respectable platform in which he or she can attempt to unite all citizens under

AIZA BHUIYAN Contributing Writer

Sixteen.

Does this number hold any significance for you?

What if we assign an attribute to it?

What value do 16 American lives hold?

To our President, 16 human lives are just a casualty for a troubled island. He claimed that Hurricane Maria wasn’t a “real catastrophe like Katrina” because not enough lives were lost. How many of the 3.4 million lives in Puerto Rico must be lost for us to understand how increasingly alarming the situation there has gotten? It is inhumane even to compare the two natural disasters when a fraction of the population is facing a major national crisis. More than one million Americans have been deprived of water, 80 percent of the island is still without electricity and many citizens still lack the basic resources required to survive in its current hurricane-ravaged state.

Donald Trump has certain responsibilities as the President of the United States, one of which is to act as a beacon of hope for the Americans affected by natural disasters.

What is not included in the list of his obligations as President is to engage in victim-blaming rhetoric towards the leadership, infrastructure and citizens of Puerto Rico (especially when he has the highest position of authority there). His rhetoric continually contributes to the denial of agency, aid and mobility for those who are in dire need.

Puerto Ricans have diligently served the social contract they have with our nation; they pay taxes, they are law-abiding citizens and many loyally serve in the American armed forces. However, this social contract cannot be maintained on one end only. It is time to cease

MATT JOHNSON VIA FLICKR

President Trump’s response to the devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico has been widely criticized..

the exclusion of Puerto Ricans and truly grant them their rights as American citizens. If Puerto Rico were a state with ballots ready to cast votes for Trump in 2020, there is no doubt that Puerto RicanAmericans would receive the aid they need and deserve. It is crucial for Americans to recognize Puerto Ricans as American citizens and not as a colonized people in need of salvation.

President Trump’s rhetoric in response to Puerto Rico has been consistently disrespectful. On Oct.

12, Trump tweeted that the preexisting financial crisis in the the disaster-stricken island “is largely of their own making.” He also added that the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot be kept in Puerto Rico “forever.”

What he fails to acknowledge is that Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. By intervening in the situation and mitigating some of the problems in Puerto Rico, the federal government of the United States of America would not be

serving foreign interests. It would be serving the interests of its own citizens.

Prospects of political gain have motivated President Trump’s different responses to disaster relief initiatives in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. Texas and Florida voted for Trump during the 2016 election and there is a chance that they might vote for him in the next election. However, Puerto Rico is constitutionally unable to vote in any U.S. presidential election.

Trump’s rampant politicization and

If Puerto Rico were a state with ballots ready to cast votes for Trump in 2020, there is no doubt that Puerto Rican-Americans would receive the aid they need and deserve.

one flag. Ania Zolyniak, a student at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, put it beautifully; she stressed that the failure to do this would call the whole system into question. She further stipulated that we need to question if a “democratic system can run and continue running on a shining hill with the head of state doubling as the head of government.”

Dear Cultural Appropriators ALYANA VERA Staff Writer

Dear cultural appropriators: your act is getting old.

For what seems like the millionth time, culturally aware people all over the United States are reminding their friends, families and random strangers on the internet not to wear someone’s culture as a costume. Articles are written every Halloween to warn trick-ortreaters about the consequences of cultural appropriation. It would be foolish to think that Americans need to be reminded every year not to do the same things they inevitably do; a lot of the attention surrounding cultural appropriation amounts to lip service. Instead of rehashing the same concepts every year, there needs to be a review of the complexities of cultural appropriation and a subsequent debunking of viral posts related to it.

To start, let’s review the case of Japanese people affirming Katy Perry’s use of the kimono. A Twitter post went viral on Sept. 22 by showing screenshots of a YouTube video uploaded that showed Japanese opinions of foreigners wearing kimonos. The screenshots detail how grateful and happy the Japanese interviewees are that foreigners are wearing kimonos. This post would seem rather convincing to many, and the logic would be “well, if the group that I’m appropriating from approves my appropriation, is

it really that bad?”

This logic is faulty because it does not take into account the position of the Japanese interviewees. These people are the majority in their own country, where they were never vilified for wearing the kimono or holding onto their own culture because that was the dominant culture. The same can be said for viewing America through a Japanese racial lens.

Japanese-Americans see white Americans wearing kimonos very differently than how Japanese people see Americans wearing kimonos, and this is primarily due to the fact that it was not too long ago that Japanese-Americans were told to let go of their culture. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act essentially banned Japanese people from immigrating to the United States.

Before the act was passed, several men spoke before a Senate Committee and stated that Japanese immigrants “never stopped being Japanese,” positing that as a reason to ban them. In America, there is a history of Japanese culture being deemed as inferior and undesirable that one would not find in Japan.

For our next example, let’s suspend our understanding of what “viral” means, as this next tweet has not garnered as much traction as the last one. This one comes from Ann Coulter, a conservative political pundit. In the tweet, children are depicted in costumes with a series of descriptors that belittles the movement against cultural appropriation. The primary problem with this tweet is that it skews

having respect for other cultures as a ridiculous request or, at least, one that is taken too far. Coulter argues that those who advocate against cultural appropriation are illogical, irrational and overly sensitive.

This view is troubling, but not unexpected of a cultural racist such as Coulter, who tweeted that “Some cultures are better than other cultures.” Coulter cannot be considered an impartial judge of cultural appropriation, and whether or not it is rooted in respect or oversensitivity, as she evidently believes that there is a cultural hierarchy. It’s hard to fully appreciate and respect a culture if you are degrading it as “lesser.”

The problem with cultural appropriation is that people think like Ann Coulter—they believe that some cultures are inferior.

While it’s important to remember that cultural appropriation is never right and perpetuates stereotypes about certain cultures, it’s also important to interrogate the more complex instances of cultural appropriation. Many people find it easy to dismiss cultural appropriation because they view it as an overreaction independent from the long racial history of America.

Whenever posts arguing against cultural appropriation pop up, it’s hard not to feel that they are ineffective, as every year we still see cases of cultural appropriation.

Honestly, at this point, if you don’t know that cultural appropriation is wrong, then you are ignorant, whether blissfully or willfully. It’s frustrating having to

THOMAS HAWK VIA FLICKR

Costumes imitating real cultures are a point of debate every Halloween.

say the same thing over and over again without seeing any results, but the culture is changing. In McMahon Hall at Fordham University at Lincoln Center, there is a board dedicated to the topic of cultural appropriation and how wrong it is.

Like most conversations about race and culture, there needs to be

a concerted effort to not just react to cultural appropriation but to actively discuss it and work against it. Halloween is a chance to open up the dialogue of cultural appropriation, but hopefully this year we can take that conversation past the month of October and into our daily lives.

Arts & Culture

Maryanna Antoldi- mantoldi@fordham.edu Sam DeAssis- sdeassis@fordham.edu

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

Haunted Attractions Bewitch the City experience is a haunt any scare-enthusiast will love. Be sure to visit this classic Halloween attraction in North White Plains, New York, but prepare to be scared.

By ETHAN SHEA Contributing Writer

Little compares to the thrill of staring down a killer clown or cannibal. That being said, the Fordham community is in for a Halloween treat. Whether you crave a casually creepy stroll or a rush of adrenaline, you need not stray far. ‘Tis the season of spook, and from Westchester to New Jersey, there is no scarcity of scare.

Bane

Blood Manor Blood Manor, one of New York’s most popular haunted attractions, is just a stone’s throw from Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) down on Varick Street in Lower Manhattan. This house of horrors provides everything one could want from Halloween entertainment. The building consists of several rooms with themes varying from demented hospitals to torture chambers, connected by an entanglement of narrow hallways and passages. There will be surprises around every corner; as many frightening figures as possible will be incorporated into your visit, making a trip to the manor a chaotic encounter. There is no shortage of blood-thirsty killers, and this year, Blood Manor is tapping into the recently rekindled fear of clowns by inviting a horde of them to their residence.

If these terrors are not enough for you, on Nov. 3 and 4, Blood Manor is treating their guests to “Lights Out Nights.” On these days, you and a group of your friends will be given the opportunity to navigate the haunted halls of Blood Manor with nothing more than the guiding light of a single glow stick. General admission tickets to Blood Manor is $40 at the door or $35 plus a $3.50 handling fee when purchasing tickets online. With the help of New York’s premier scaring team, each and every guest is sure to have their fair share of screams at this abominable abode.

This Is Real If you are someone who is not particularly moved by the performances of run-of-the-mill haunted attractions, This Is Real may be a thrill for you to consider. But beware, This Is Real has earned a reputation as one of

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLOOD MANOR

There are scary attractions all around the city to enjoy this Halloween season.

the most frightening Halloween experiences in New York. To start, due to adult themes and graphic visuals, no one under the age of 18 will be admitted. All guests will be separated into groups of eight and be provided with up to 70 minutes to escape the room they have been locked in. Visitors will not be lonely in their chambers. The most terrifying residents of the city will be present and prepared to scare as they attempt to prevent their guests from escaping. The stakes will be high as those who were trapped before were not so lucky.

The creative minds behind This Is Real target the most intense adrenaline junkies with their one-of-a-kind theatrical encounter. If you wish to take part in the heart-stopping expe-

rience, This Is Real can be found on 153 Coffey Street in Brooklyn with ticket prices ranging from $95 to $110. With your purchase, you are sure to be treated to a unique experience far and away from a haunted house in the traditional sense.

The Haunt at Rocky Ledge The Haunt at Rocky Ledge is a 20-25 minute walk-through attraction filled with gore and scares that are sure to leave you screaming. This unique experience combines the indoors with the terrors of the woods and is filled with everything from torturous doctors to children of the corn. First, visitors will be guided

through narrow halls crawling with killers. If they are fortunate enough to escape with their lives, guests will find themselves outside where they will be vulnerable to the vast unknown of the surrounding darkness.

The only exit is through the terrifying trails of the only haunted cornfield in Westchester. In order to ensure a horrifying visit, groups will be limited to a maximum of six. There is no age restriction, but all patrons should be warned that upon entering they will be scared — there is no “SAFE” word.

The Haunt at Rocky Ledge is open all weekend nights in October and admission is $25. Tickets must be purchased on location as they will not be sold online. The Rocky Ledge

Bane is infamously known as the most frightening haunted house in New Jersey. This terrifying attraction is the only haunted house in the state that does not use animatronics. Instead, Bane employs over 100 actors who will not hesitate to tap into their guests’ primal fears. From claustrophobia to separation anxiety, Bane toys with the minds of all who dare to enter. This experience is more psychological than most haunted houses. For example, at one point, everyone is required to separate from their group. In 2016, this lonely portion of the journey caused more than 2000 people to quit before reaching the end. Although, what sets Bane apart from other haunted houses is that it is interactive. Guests will not just be walking like in a traditional haunted attraction. They will be forced to crawl and jump past frightening obstructions to their paths, so come prepared. If you refuse to follow the rules of the house, you will be asked to leave.

On Sundays, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the afternoon, there is the family-oriented Happily Haunted experience.

This attraction is for those who do not enjoy being scared but still would like to visit Bane. During Happily Haunted there are no actors roaming the haunted halls and each group is given a flashlight-guided tour of the premises. Happily Haunted is $8 per person. Bane is located in Livingston, New Jersey, and general admission is $28. Given the range of possible experiences, each guest will undoubtedly enjoy their visit to the scare-capital of New Jersey.

For a student at FLC, there is no excuse for having a dull Halloween.

Some of the most sinister holiday attractions in the state can be found no further than a train ride away. Even on a college budget, everyone in Midtown has access to a spine-tingling time, so be sure to check out these spectacular and spooky experiences before it is too late.

Celebrating Día de los Muertos in NYC

By ALEJANDRA GARCIA Contributing Writer

If you think autumnal festivities are limited to Halloween and Thanksgiving, think again. Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, comes around every year on the two days following Halloween: Nov. 1 and 2. Common misconceptions of this Mexican holiday may involve images of faces painted like colorful sugar skulls or gangly, leering skeletons, but Día de los Muertos is teeming with rich tradition and history; it holds its own weight in human history and is by no means “Mexican Halloween.”

Día de los Muertos has origins that predate Spanish colonization and is still celebrated by Mexicans and other Latin Americans to this day. Rather than being a solemn occasion for mourning the dead, Día de los Muertos seeks to welcome the deceased on their yearly visit home—families honor their dead loved ones with lively festivities and familial gatherings full of food, drinks and special traditions.

Altar-decorating is one of the most significant traditions of this multi-day holiday. It is common for Mexican families to build altars in their homes as a tribute to

their deceased loved ones. These altars consist of various levels and are full of candles, papel picado (decorative paper), cempasúchil (marigold) flowers and photos of the dead.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of taking part in the festivities, but don’t know where to start, consider attending “Mano a Mano’s” Day of the Dead celebration taking place Oct. 27–29. This is a free event taking place at St. Mark’s Church in the East Village, which requires participants to register online at no cost. The event offers Mexican folk art, papel picado, sugar skulls and pan de muerto. If you attend, you can try your hand at making your own paper flowers and take part in decorating a communal altar.

Musical entertainment by a mariachi group as well as other Mexican performers will also add to the celebratory spirit.

If you still haven’t gotten your fill of Día de los Muertos, the National Museum of the American Indian —located in the south side of Bowling Green in lower Manhattan—will host a free celebration on Oct. 28 12–5 p.m. There will be traditional dances performed by Cetiliztli Nauhcampa and interactive activities like decorating pa-

MBTRAMA VIA FLICKR

Día de los Muertos seeks to welcome the deceased on their yearly visit home.

per skull masks, decorating skeleton puppets and painting plaster skulls.

These festivities are sure to be vibrant and joyous, but they are more than mere entertainment.

They are a form of preserving an ancient tradition that honors those who have reached the afterlife. Día de los Muertos is a yearly reminder to hold your loved ones—both the living and the dead—close to your

heart. The cempasúchil flowers and candles that light the Día de los Muertos altars this November are sure to illuminate and rekindle the love between the living and the dead.

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Arts & Culture

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

Real Hauntings in Our Backyard First, Alice May Hall, a guest of Paris and Lewis, claimed that she had seen a gentleman in evening clothes and a coat who vanished as soon as she tried to tell Paris about him. Paris was reluctant to believe Hall, but about a week later he himself saw the same ghost.

It has since been found that Walter Gibson wrote some of his detective novels about “The Shadow” in the same townhouse shortly after Jimmy Walker lived there. He claimed that the “ghost” the residents saw was actually a psychic projection of The Shadow’s secret identity, Lamont Cranston.

By MAYA MOISEEVA Contributing Writer

October, otherwise known as the month of dropping temperatures and everything pumpkin spice, is the time of a major holiday: Halloween.

This time of the year, everyone can dig deep and come up with a costume near and dear to them, and all scare enthusiasts can openly enjoy the October fright. Luckily, Manhattan caters to every taste, and when it comes to scares, there are plenty for everyone to enjoy. For those who want to explore somewhere spooky this Halloween, here are four places in Manhattan famously known for their hauntings. Peek across the veil at your own risk.

SoHo’s Creepy Collection

House of Death

(129 Spring St.)

(14 W. 10th St.)

This brownstone, nicknamed the House of Death, is notorious for the 22 deaths that have occurred there since 1850. Paranormal sightings include an unidentified lady in white and the ghost of Samuel Clemens, more commonly known as Mark Twain. Twain was not one of the 22 individuals to die there—he merely occupied the JON BJORNSON/THE OBSERVER house from 1900 to 1901. Spotted by The infamous penthouse on 57 W. 57th Street where paranormal activity is reported to have occurred. a young girl and her mother in 1930, a voice was reported saying, “My name is Clemens and I has a problem here I gotta settle.” The house gained fame center is said to be haunted by the after which the bodyguards, hired tion by the unexplainable happenafter Jan Bryant Bartell came in con- ghosts of two lovers in a very un- by Crawford’s worried family, threw ings, Alsop committed himself to the tact with a ghost of a Civil War wid- healthy relationship. In 1922, Edna him from the window. She died right mental institution on the lower floors of the same house. ow, Reenie Mallison, during a séance. Crawford Champion married Albert away and he died soon after.

Later, Carlton Alsop, a radio and Her notes on what she encountered in Champion, the French cyclist who the house before and after the séance had come into money after founding film producer, bought the penthouse.

The Spooky can be found in her book “Spindrift: a spark plug company. After the ini- He found that his four dogs started Speakeasy tial fascination with his wealth wore suffering from nervous breakdowns, Spray from a Psychic Sea.” (12 Gay St.) The House of Death also has an off, she took on Charles Brazelle as a while he and his wife heard muffled lover.

Five years into the affair, Braarguing and clicking of high heels eerie connection to Fordham UniverDuring the Roaring Twenties, this sity. In 1987, Joel Steinberg, Fordham zelle allegedly beat Albert Champion when they were alone. Soon, his wife elegant townhouse was a speakeasy to death in a hotel in France— Edna grew disturbed and moved out.

Alsop College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’62, beat run by the mayor, Jimmy Walker his illegally adopted daughter into a Crawford claimed he died of a heart threw parties that filled the penthouse himself. Later on, Frank Paris, a pupattack.

Having taken his fortune, she with people, but some of the guests coma in the house. Several days later, peteer who created the Howdy Doody she was declared brain dead and was and Brazelle travelled to New York, noticed something was not quite right puppet, acquired the house with his bought the whole building at 57 W. with the house; a woman reportedly taken off life support.

57th St. and moved in immediately. noticing that something was follow- friend Ted Lewis and they noticed they couldn’t quite explain.

Petrifying Penthouse Brazelle turned out to be prone to ing her on the stairs and commenting things They could hear someone go up and jealousy—he used to lock Crawford that she “disliked practical jokes.” No (57 West 57th St.) up in the penthouse. One day after a one at the party owned up to setting down the stairs, yet they couldn’t find anyone in the house. There were at The penthouse in this medical big fight, he hit her with a telephone, that up. Eventually, driven to despera- least two sightings of the haunting.

This Collection of Style (COS) store in SoHo doesn’t seem out of the ordinary until you stumble upon an authentic centuries-old well in the men’s department. This well was involved in one of the biggest unsolved murders in New York history. The story states that Gulielma Stands and Levi Weeks were planning to elope on Dec. 22, 1799. Yet 11 days later, Stands’ body was found in this well with marks around her neck suggesting she had been strangled. Weeks was tried for her murder, but was eventually acquitted, some say only due to his defense team comprised of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Throughout the years, strange happenings have been reported in the building, and some believe Stands’ ghost still haunts the property.

Remember to stay safe on Halloween, Samhain or anything else you choose to celebrate at the end of October! While fall is a fine time to acknowledge death and transitional states of the seasons and of the soul, don’t let mortality bring you down and keep yourself positive. Be it a cup of hot chocolate, a movie marathon or a walk in the park, take advantage of these fall thrills before celebrating the frightening and the fascinating.

CAB Plans a Sweet-Themed Halloween Party

By MARYANNA ANTOLDI Arts & Culture Editor

Halloween is a time for people of all ages to dress up in costume and attend amazing parties. For students at Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC), the members of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) have got you covered.

Each year around Halloween, CAB holds a Halloween bash that all Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) and Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) are free to attend. And this year’s party definitely intends to be sweet, according to CAB Entertainment Chair Daniela Silva (FCLC ’20).

“This year’s theme is a Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory-type thing. It will be a lot of fun as per usual CAB events,” she said. “There will be a lot of candy, and it’s just going to be a fun place for you and your friends to hang out on Halloween.”

CAB President Anjelica Davis, FCLC ’19, believes that the theme is unique for the club.

“For the past couple of years, we’ve done more of a creepier vibe.

This year, we want to make it more lighthearted and fun,” she explained. “We want to use the room space to our advantage, and we want to make it a really exciting for our event.”

The party will be held in G76 on the garden level of the new Gabelli building. The room will be sure to

have decorations transporting you to the famous factory as well as lots and lots of actual candy. Students are encouraged to dress in costume, because there will be a contest with prizes for winners. The costume contest is one of Davis’ favorite parts of the event because of the

We really want “ to make sure that

because [we are] Campus Activities Board, the whole campus gets a say in what we’re doing both on and off campus,” - ANJELICA DAVIS ,

CAB president ASEAH KHAN/THE OBSERVER

This year’s Halloween party will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

incredible costumes that students have conjured over the years.

“Halloween has always been my favorite holiday,” Davis said, “and I think it’s also something that a lot of other students here get into as well because we’re such a creative campus. There’s a lot of imagination at Lincoln Center, and I think that really comes to our advantage.”

The party will also have plenty of Halloween-themed music and

fun games.

Unlike in past years this Halloween party will actually be on Oct. 31, which falls on a Tuesday evening. Silva believes that the change will give students a convenient option to celebrate the holiday while remaining on campus.

“Halloween’s on a...school night so people may not want to go out,” she explained. “If they don’t want to go out and still want to celebrate

Halloween, we want to be the people to provide that fun experience for them.”

The theme for the party was selected by all of the club members.

Davis hopes to encourage all students to make their voices heard and help select the events that CAB will hold on campus.

“We really want to make sure that because [we are] Campus Activities Board, the whole campus

gets a say in what we’re doing both on and off campus,” Davis said. “We want everyone to be able to speak their minds and create the events they want to happen, rather than just a very limited group of students coming up with things for everyone else.”

So, this year’s Halloween party will prove a sweet event for CAB, who hopes to plan many more fun events for students in the future.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 26, 2017

Arts & Culture

Spooky Frights for Movie Nights

By KEVIN CHRISTOPHER ROBLES Staff Writer

As October comes to a close, Halloween’s presence becomes nearly unavoidable. Harried parents rush to Party City, engulfed by frenzied consumerism, purchasing costumes for overexcited children. Candy stores are raided to prepare for everhungry trick-or-treaters, who doubtlessly will be afflicted with diabetic comas come the next morning. Most important, however, are the Halloween movies that will inevitably fill the airwaves in anticipation of that oh-so-scary holiday. If you spot any of the following films while flipping through channels or browsing Netflix, it is your obligation to stop whatever you are doing and watch. You will definitely not regret it.

“The Dark Crystal” (1982) “Muppet” creator Jim Henson and puppeteer Frank Oz’s masterpiece, “The Dark Crystal,” follows Jen, of the peaceful woodland Gemlings, as he goes on a quest to save the alien world of Thra, a place that is endlessly filled with strange, scary

beasts. The film spent close to a decade in development, plauged by numerous delays and budgetary issues.

When it was finally released in 1982, it was plain to see why it had such a troubled production. The special effects were astounding in their artistry, and many consider “The Dark Crystal” to be one of Henson’s best works and unsurpassed in cinematic history when it comes to puppeteering. Indeed, the work put into the effects rivals “Star Wars” in its revolutionary nature. Watching this film is like witnessing the greatest, most surreal puppet show of all time; there is nothing quite like it.

“Labyrinth” (1986) Darkly funny musicals are a dime-a-dozen, but “Labyrinth” manages to make clever use of David Bowie’s unique cultural presence in order to craft a world of wonders.

Directed by Jim Henson, with assistance from George Lucas and Monty Python’s Terry Jones, “Labyrinth” follows Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) as she maneuvers a fantasy land ruled by the Goblin King, played by Bowie. The film features perhaps Bowie’s

most iconic role and one of his best musical compositions in “Magic Dance.” Combined with Henson’s artful direction and the weirdly hilarious screenplay, it is no wonder that “Labyrinth” has gathered such a large cult following over the years.

As more people discover it, the film will assuredly attain more.

“Practical Magic” (1998) Alice Hoffman’s magnum opus, “Practical Magic,” received a film adaptation in 1998 that was both true to the text and amazingly funny. Directed by Griffin Dunne, the film follows the exploits of a cursed family of witches as they battle evil spirits and deal with the prejudice they face from regular humans.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play off each other incredibly well as two sisters whose only wishes are to live normal lives and to fall in love, though the film’s standout performances easily go to Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest as their mischievous but ultimately well-meaning aunts. These roles are among their most memorable and this film easily features Channing’s

best comedic performance since “Grease” in 1978. Romantic, mirthful and genuine, “Practical Magic” is the perfect movie for any budding couple.

“Scooby-Doo” (2002) Though not directed by him, 2002’s live-action “Scooby-Doo” is the brainchild of screenwriter James Gunn. Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar of “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” and Linda Cardellini, the film showcases what happens to the Mystery, Inc. gang after their final adventure ends in disaster.

Naturally, hijinks ensue, with the film containing one of the most unexpected, yet insidiously hilarious plot twists in the franchise’s storied history. Pioneering the self-referential approach before even “21 Jump Street” did, “Scooby-Doo” was written as a metatextual comedy that often bordered on parody. The film is never afraid to make fun of its goofy origins or poke holes into the premise of its parent show, making it the perfect training ground for Gunn’s comedic abilities, skills that would later help him make 2014’s “Guard-

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COURTESY OF IMDB

ians of the Galaxy” so influential and memorable. “Scooby-Doo” is irreverent, surprisingly adult in its themes and a galloping good time that foreshadows its writer’s continued creative genius.

“Frankenweenie” (2012) “Frankenweenie” is a unique cultural touchstone, a film so devoid of cynicism and so full of heart that it is a great shame that more people have not seen it. The latest in a long line of stop-motion animated films directed by Tim Burton, “Frankenweenie” features a humorous take on the cinematic mythology of “Frankenstein,” and is filmed entirely in black-and-white. Charlie Tahan stars as a young Victor Frankenstein, whose success at resurrecting his dog Sparky brings a world of trouble crashing down onto his head. Despite its admittedly bizarre premise, “Frankenweenie” is thoughtful, unyieldingly comedic and so soulful that it will kill your heart and then bring it back to life. Likely the best of Burton’s stop-motion repertoire, it stands proudly among the greatest horror-comedies ever made.

Not to be dramatic, but The Observer would literally die for the truth.

Come meet with us on Monday in LL 506 at 5 p.m.

Features

By COURTNEY BROGLE Staff Writer

Carson Thornton Gonzalez - cthorntongonzalez@fordham.edu

October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

Festive Pinterest Crafts That Will Spook Your Roommates 3

Spooky season is officially upon us! Although group costume organization and candy-fueled frenzies are undeniably enjoyable, the best part about Halloween is decorating your living space to get in the spirit. Living in New York is expensive, and the budget of a college student leaves little room for expenditures on festive room décor.

Luckily, Pinterest has a plethora of crafts t hat are not only affordable but incredibly goof-proof (which is especially helpful for those prone to attempting and failing pins they find). Here are some of the easiest and “spookiest” crafts you can do to spruce things up in your dorm.

1

Body Tape Outline

Bat Wall Decorations

To really turn some heads, grab some masking tape and scissors and create a body tape outline on your tiled floor. Either trace a roommate or build it from your anatomy knowledge after binge-watching “CSI” and “Law and Order,” and violà! You can even go the extra mile with some cheap “Caution!” tape online or in the Halloween section of a drugstore.

Give some life to your room, or signs of the afterlife, with simple paper bats on your wall! All you need is some black construction paper/cardstock/poster board, a pair of scissors, tape and a bat outline template, which you can easily find with a simple Google search. Fold the black paper in half and place the bat template against the crease.

Cut around the body (you can trace the outline on paper, but this is not necessary if you cut carefully). Once you finish cutting, unfold the bat and attach some tape to the back and hang on the wall.

2

4

Rice Krispies Ghosts

While it is not an actual piece of room décor, take a break from Pinterest-ing or schoolwork and enjoy a seasonal treat made of Rice Krispies, chocolate chips and vanilla frosting. The Pinterest article calls for white chocolate melting wafers, but they can be difficult to find, and icing gives the same effect with a sweeter taste. Then, flatten the treats, round out the top, and arch the bottom to shape them into ghosts. Ice the treats and add two chocolate chips for eyes. Allow the icing to harden a bit to make eating them easier by setting them in the fridge for about an hour. Share with your roommates, or eat them yourself!

Trash Bag Spider Web

Of all the crafts listed, this is the most difficult, but as long as you take it slow you should be able to make this successfully. Take a large black garbage bag and some scissors and begin by folding the top right corner even to the bottom of the bag and trim off the excess on the side. Fold twice into a triangle and once more to make a cone shape and trim the bottom into a semicircle. Draw blocky lines with a Sharpie marker and tape the open edge down to make it easier to cut the webbed design. Follow the tracings with your scissor and remove the tape when complete. Unfold and hang up your final

creation!

And of course, the creativity doesn’t have to end here. Pinterest has fun Halloween ideas for all skill and budgetary levels, so craft to your heart’s content with imaginative tutorials (or come up with your own ideas)! Have a spooky and safe Halloween!

All photos courtesy of Courtney Brogle.

“Sleep No More” Awakens Shakespeare in Chelsea

By JEFFREY UMBRELL Asst. Features Editor

Six years after its debut, the popularity of the British theater company Punchdrunk’s “Sleep No More” has yet to fade. The site-specific production is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” in which the cast moves freely through the five floors of the fictitious McKittrick Hotel. Scenes are performed without dialogue, and the audience is asked to remain silent. Each room of the “hotel” is meticulously decorated, and audience members are encouraged to pick up and examine anything they choose in the 100,000 square feet of space.

“Sleep No More,” one of many immersive theatre productions put on by Punchdrunk, first premiered in London in 2003. It has evolved considerably since then, running for a short time in Boston in 2009 before settling into its present location two years later. The New York location, despite being described on the show’s website as a “legendary hotel” that was abandoned weeks before opening in 1939, is in fact a block of converted Chelsea warehouses.

Punchdrunk has based many of its productions off of literary works.

In 2005, the company put on “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a one-to-one performance installation based off of the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Likewise, in 2007, it produced “The Masque of Red Death,” which was inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name. Other productions include

“The House of Oedipus,” in which “Oedipus the King” and “Antigone” run in tandem, “The Tempest” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“Sleep No More” differs from all of these examples in that, rather than being a direct adaptation of a literary work, it is merely inspired by one. It is not called “Macbeth;” instead, its title comes from the famous line “Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep.” Additionally, the plot has been greatly simplified (and the ending was drastically changed), although this is of course necessary, as the play is performed without words or a linear narrative structure.

Perhaps the most easily discernible theme incorporated from Shakespeare is that of guilt. A bathtub, stained red with blood, occupied one of the hotel’s largest rooms.

The production was dark, isolated, and claustrophobic; there was not a single window in the entire hotel, and each floor’s twisting corridors made it nearly impossible to maintain any sense of orientation. Consequently, the production felt quite confining and isolated, feelings that, as the play progresses, drive Macbeth to the brink of insanity.

The visual tone and general aesthetic of “Sleep No More” were highly reminiscent of of the 2008 Off Broadway adaptation of “Macbeth” starring Patrick Stewart (released on film by BBC in 2010), the entirety of which takes place in a Soviet-era military bunker. Despite their vastly different settings, both adaptations featured strikingly similar costumes, set pieces and lighting.

JEFFREY UMBRELL/THE OBSERVER

Intricate details covered the 100,000-square-foot “Sleep No More” set.

Beyond these few thematic references, however, “Sleep No More” featured few other connections to Shakespeare. The only scene explicitly recognizable from the original play was Lady Macbeth’s “Out, damned spot!” soliloquy, and there was a strange detective plot that was difficult to follow (something which would likely be less so with a second viewing).

Adapting “Macbeth” without dialogue is a bold and risky undertaking; the original play was written almost exclusively in dialogue. By removing such a foundational component of the play, the production chances losing much of its dramatic

and emotive power. The production consequently straddles a fine interpretive line. While any adaptation takes creative liberties with its source, and indeed it must do so, if it strays too far from the original play the production risks, in the words of a Huffington Post review, becoming a “highbrow haunted house.”

Punchdrunk’s comparatively high ticket prices have, of late, been a subject of criticism. The company’s newest production “Kabeiroi” was described by The Guardian as a “luxury” theater product. Tickets ran at £110 a pair, and the show was so exclusive that “even critics couldn’t get a ticket.”

At “Sleep No More,” the most expensive ticket, which includes priority entry, a table reservation at the on-site Manderley Bar and a complimentary bottle of champagne, costs $325 (the least expensive, comparatively, costs $145). There is a definite “luxury” element that distinguishes “Sleep No More” from the average theater production, luxury that is incorporated as a core component of the audience’s experience.

There is an unsettling feeling, then, that the production uses “Macbeth” as a means to justify its ticket prices. The association of Shakespeare with high art and intellectual culture is what distinguishes “Sleep No More” from an ordinary haunted house, “highbrow” or not. Regardless of content, the Shakespeare brand imposes one to grant the production an inherent value and thematic depth that it would otherwise have to earn.

This is not to say that “Sleep No More” did not, to a degree, earn these merits. On many levels, including the set design, acting and choreography, the production worked extremely well. However, the limited scope with which it treated “Macbeth” seems somewhat exploitative, and the ticket prices do seem to further promote a culture of exclusivity around Shakespeare.

There may not be much beyond the sound and fury of “Sleep No More,” but nonetheless the success of the production speaks for itself.

FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER DEAN’S LIST 2017

Rev. Robert R. Grimes, S.J., Ph.D., Dean The Dean’s List, published annually in the fall, is composed of student scholars who have received letter grades for at least 24 credits during the preceding academic year and have achieved high scholastic standing with a quality point index of 3.60. Below are the honorees of the 2017 Dean's List.

Quinn A. Abbate Sara Abdelbarry Catherine G. Abernathy Naika C. Accimeus Natassja J. Agina Christina M. Aguirre Samantha L. Ahearn Mobeen Ahmed Amelia C. Ahn Fikir Kilole Aklilu Saim Alam Soukaina Alaoui El Hassani Emily H. Allen Sophie Ambro Miriam Ambrosino Sarika Andavolu SaVonne D. Anderson Joshua T. Anthony Maryanna Antoldi Jade M. Appel Michael J. Appler Travis G. Aprile Kelly L. Armetta Christopher A. Artun Francesca C. Aton Gumana F. Attal Mariam A. Attia Mark F. Austria Natalie Avery Isabella K. Ayeras Melissa M. Aziz B. Akanbi Babatunde Alexandra E. Babin Wayne C. Babineaux Adam S. Bailey Fiona C. Ball Margaret E. Ball Cosima Balletti Thomas Maya E. Banitt Veronica R. Barczak Mary Baroska Dina Becaj Jilsime V. Beciri Surya A. Bedinger Elizabeth A. Bellitto Gladys Bendahan Tess S. Bender Ian C. Bennett Grace M. Bergonzi Katrina T. Bernhardt Isaac L. Bird Allyson R. Blatz Emily L. Blumenthal Ariana Boccanfuso Alejandro Bocija Jason M. Boit Briana J. Boland Asia I. Bonilla Carmen V. Borca-Carrillo Ava P. Braccia Kamillah N. Brandes Mikaela S. Brandon Shirina D. Braun Noor A. Brewster Douglas G. Brian Courtney M. Brogle Emily T. Bruno Ruby K. Buddemeyer Danielle E. Bufano Tyler D. Burt Virginia R. Bush Joanna Butler Antuan D. Byers Olivia M. Cabrera Kendall L. Cafaro Simone A. Cameresi Daniel A. Camou Napoleon Q. Canete, Jr. Brooke E. Cantwell Vanessa N. Cardino Terrence Carson Madelyn R. Casale Marie C. Cascione Jasmin E. Castillo Annalise M. Caviasco Shay S. Chang Joyce Chau Anne Chen Jiaming Chen Michelle Y. Chen Olivia Chen YiQing Chen Emma E. Childs Ranyi Cho Sherry Chow Elka N. Chowdhury Kenneth Chuen Sammi Chung Alexandra N. Ciobanu Elena D. Ciotta Mary G. Cleary Caroline L. Cocossa Vanessa Collado Andrew S. Connelly Nicolas Consuegra

Katherine A. Coombs Emma T. Copp Sara C. Crisman Stephanie K. Crouch Sophia Crowley Lydia G. Culp Emily M. Cunanan Dorian L. Cupero Sofia I. Dadap Alison B. Dalafave Ishan K. Datt Emily E. Davancens Anjelica R. Davis Kara A. Davis Chandler J. Dean Leah N. DeGruchy Ashlee M. Dell'Arciprete Carla M. de Miranda Malerie T. Dempster Eva E. De Nardi Minghui Deng India S. Derewetzky Anna M. DeRusso Nicole DeSimone Sabrina H. Diamond Joanna A. DiBiase Isabel M. Dimou George E. Dissinger Matthew S. Di Vitto Sanja Dmitrovic Dominique M. Dobransky Vanessa A. Dolfinger Andrew N. Donchak Xiaoxiao Dong Remington E. Donnelly Margaret E. Douglass Marisol Duarte Valerie A. Dubrovsky Leslie M. Edelstein Harrison W. Edwards Amanda K. Egan Ebba M. Ehrling Alexa R. Elmy Nora Elnagar Rania Elsanhoury Muhammad A. El Shatanofy Caroline M. Eng Sara B. Erickson Desiree R. Ewing Adam H. Fales Bianca Fantacci Jaryd T. Farcon Anthony S. Farrell Miranda Febus Trevor A. Fell Audrey R. Fenter Josephine Fernandez Rossy Fernandez Catherine A. Fernando Cristina M. Ferretti Sarah M. Figueira Lauren S. Fiorica Margaret A. Fisher Adele L. Fisk Janel M. Fitzgerald Francesca M. Flamminio Marisa Folsom Kylie N. Ford Ashlyn G. Frank Eleanor M. Frechette Jeffrey T. Friedman Haley M. Friscia Chuyao Fu Frances C. Fynan Tatiana Gallardo Adriana N. Gallina Frank N. Gallina Matthew C. Gallipoli Jingying Gao Sara I. Garcia Isabelle O. Garreaud Christina M. Gerbosi Mariel H. Gesualdi Alexandra N. Gillis Daniel Glotser Anastasia R. Gomez David B. Gonyer Sarah V. Grandinetti Sean Grishpan Casey N. Grittner Kaylie A. Groff Chloe L. Gronsbell Kristoff R. Grosfeld John M. Guerin Katherine E. Guest Sophie N. Guimaraes Davepriyan E. Gunaratnam Vincent S. Gunn Pallavi M. Gupta Nora A. Hafez Annika A. Hall Nathanial M. Hall Daniel P. Halpin Julie C. Hamon Heath W. Hampton

Caitlin R. Harding Erin L. Harding Lienne Y. Harrington McKenna Q. Harrington Chaudhary Harris Lilianna G. Harris Sequoia Harris Anika E. Hartje Brissot Amber M. Harvey Emma L. Hasselbach Andrew B. Haste Tylar M. Havens Yimin He Lara Heard Julia M. Heller Stephanie R. Henriquez Clarissa M. Hernandez Victoria A. Hernandez Angelica S. Herrera Anna S. Hertrich Tasha M. Hess-Neustadt Tori H. Hey Anna E. Hill Stone T. Hocker Rebecca K. Hodgson Kara A. Hogan Katrine Hoi Jensen Jurnee M. Holland Claire M. Holmes Brianna N. Holochuck Annabel E. Hope Julia H. Horner Kathryn E. Hornyak Mahbuba Hossain Sarah Grace Houston Tania Houwayek Nicholas A. Howard Stephen D. Howard Emily A. Howson Danni Hu Nina A. Hudak Samantha R. Hughes Thania Hussain Elodie M. Huston Catherine W. Imossi Sumire H. Ishige Lia F. Isono Jonathan C. Jackson Kyndal M. Jackson Sabrina D. Jen Carol W. Jeong Eileen Jin Ming Jing Juliana M. Johnson Leah J. Johnson Megan M. Johnson Rachel E. Johnson Brittany R. Jones Matthew R. Jordan Lindsay M. Jorgensen Sandra Jovic Eunice Jung Enisa Kahari Panagiota Kaloghirou Karen Kapoor Vincent R. Kappel Fatima Z. Karim Rebecca F. Karlin Emily Keil Sydney E. Keir Colleen P. Kelly Connor J. Kelly Nevin J. Kelly-Fair Phillip A. Kerger Alexander N. Khamechand Claire M. Kielsa Jennie Kim Ka Yeun Kim Madeleine L. Kim Narae Kim Su Yeon Kim Meagan T. King Kathleen L. Kirtland Maya R. Kitayama Lauriann E. Kormylo Catherine Korsh Maria E. Kouros Ariel C. Kovlakas Maria C. Kovoros Talia G. Koylass Stephan C. Kozub Emma L. Kreutzmann John Luke Krieg-Venables Anthony Krivonos Dana Kurylyk Elizabeth M. Landry Hunter R. Lang Jessica J. Lang Noel Langan Amelia C. Larwood Michelle V. Lau Victoria L. Leahy Atticus A. Leeds Sheena A. Legall Jennifer Lei

Gabriella E. Lennon Anthony Leuszkiewicz Alexandra J. Lewis Emily E. Lewis Dandan Li Rebecca M. Light Jiaxin Lin Qiaowen Lin Katherine S. Liu Rachel S. Liu Zizhu Liu Lucas A. Lonergan Marissa E. Lopez Magdalena I. Losada Olivia R. Lucas Rose A. Lyn Tony C. Macht Daniel M. Magaldi Stephen P. Mahaney Anastasia P. Mahoney Valasia Makridis Isabel G. Mallon Devin E. Malmad Isabelle M. Mann Jessica A. Mannarino Kassidy D. Manness Eugenia Mantikas Julia R. Marostica Samantha K. Marrero Danielle K. Marshall Annalisa Martini Lauryn E. Masciana ZenyRose M. Mateo Katie Q. Maurer Samantha R. Mayer Moira A. McAuliffe Henry M. McCall Alexander M. McCauley Margaret O. McCauley Brian I. McClain Emma A. McCrink John C. McCullough, III Morgan R. McDaniel Shaina J. McGregor Pauline C. McHugh Gianna R. Meaglia Linnae L. Medeiros Therese M. Meily Jack T. Meininger Luis E. Mejicanos Cristina N. Mendez Emily J. Mendez Angelika M. Menendez Juliet E. Mengaziol Jessica M. Mercado Alex X. Merritt Erica K. Messina Rachel C. Meyer Xiwen Miao Victoria Micalizzi Mason J. Millard Meagan A. Miller Katherine H. Mills Christian J. Minicozzi Olivia R. Miranda Satwick G. Misra Stephanie R. Mizrahi Sally Mo Diane S. Mohamed Luke Momo Claire K. Mondry Ciara Melissa T. Montalla Benjamin J. Moore Hailey M. Morey Samantha Moura Seyed Navid Mousavi Mariam Moustafa Blendi Muriqi Hannah F. Murphy Siobhan M. Murray Sandhiya Nadarajah Elizabeth L. Nadramia Paula Najas Christina E. Napolitano Gillian P. Nelson Annamarie N. Nistico Julie M. Norris Jessica R. Nosal Paul S. Novak Lucy M. O'Brien Thomas S. O'Callaghan Erin E. O'Flynn Carolyn C. Ogden Isabella A. Oliveira Gunar T. Olsen Alisia L. Ortiz Callan O'Shea Olga Ossipova Kathryn E. Ott Lauren P. Pagano Samuel L. Painter Douglas I. Pardella Cristina E. Pardo Kathryn A. Parker Alyssa L. Parks

Brooke M. Parrett Rebecca Parrillo Amber Parris Bartlomiej L. Paul Sasha M. Paulovich Alisha R. Peek Ann L. Pekata Nicholas A. Pellegrino Rachael M. Pelton Amber P. Perez Jorge A. Perez Maria J. Pieraccioni Maria-Elena Placakis Maria A. Pleshkevich Sabrina M. Polkowski Julianna R. Pollina Marina R. Poudret Daniel Prada Kelly L. Privette Joshua M. Ptak-Pressman Jenna V. Pulvermiller Taina B. Quiles Emma B. Quinn Michelle K. Quinn Nilofar Rahimzadeh Afsanul Raihan Sanjana Rajagopal Divina Ramgopal Samuel Rao Monica A. Ratnaraj Carmen L. Recio Deirdre J. Reed Lyric D. Reed Anderson Benedetto Regalbuto Alexa B. Reidenauer Tabitha C. Reynoso Alexandra D. Richardson Katharine P. Richardson Jillian H. Ridler Katherine A. Riley Ashley M. Rivera Brianna N. Rivera Madeline R. Rizzo Erika A. Robbins Jayanna R. Roberts Casey C. Robinson Claudia L. Rodriguez Maria P. Rodriguez Chandler L. Rominger Robert S. Ross Geena M. Roth Kylie A. Rothwell Eliana A. Rowe Bessie J. Rubinstein Danielle H. Rybinski Elizabeth S. Saballos Megan R. Sacco Caitlin E. Sakdalan Isotta V. Sala Arzu Salman Alexa A. Sanders Margaret E. Sanford Eleanor Y. Sato Brandon J. Satz-Jacobowitz Maria Sawiris Stephanie J. Scamuffo Joseph Scanlon Jaclyn M. Scerbak Simone N. Schade Charles E. Scheland William P. Schmidt Molly E. Schroeder Ashley N. Schumacher Rachel E. Schwarz Deanna Scorciolla Alexander M. Scott Sophia M. Scott Dana O. Seach Shanen T. Seale Nadia Semmar George A. Serobian Nicole G. Shapiro Tal N. Shashoua Valerie Shatilov Halina A. Shatravka Saima Y. Sheik Marley C. Shelby Emerson C. Sherbourne Micaela M. Shields Maria A. Shinas Caroline P. Shriver Yekaterina Shtulberg Connor C. Sick Sarwat Siddiqui Mega Sidharta Michael E. Singer Tatiana Sitaro Vanessa Smalley Kaitlyn I. Smith Katina T. Smith Agata M. Sobczak John Joseph Soboll-Mueller Jessica M. Son Austin A. Spero Alexa N. Spiegel

Jonah D. Stabinski Genia N. Stanescki Kellan C. Stanner Kathleen A. Stanovick Morgan P. Steward Isabella M. St. Ivany Ariel C. Strait Alexandra Strimbu Joseph F. Sullivan Emily Szymanski Gina M. Taddeo Tyler J. Tagliaferro Sarah Takash Jeannie Tang Molly C. Tarter Brett M. Taylor Kate E. Taylor Steven E. Thomas, Jr. Grace A. Thompson Sydney I. Thornell Carson L. Thornton Gonzalez Emily R. Tiberio Soultana S. Toskos Alexa G. Tovar Teresa Travnicek Brenda N. Ubaldo Jeffrey P. Umbrell Saya Uotani Jonathan K. Uy Lucia A. Vacchiano Magdalena S. Valenti Kathryn B. Valentine Keely C. Van Buren Juily A. Vasandani Claudia M. Vazquez Andy M. Vega John V. Venticinque Alyana M. Vera Luca R. Vettori Joslin B. Vezeau Shalaha T. Viba James M. Vicari Sarah R. Vidal Daniel Villar Anna Maria Voitko Mackenzie C. Voke Nicole J. Wagner Isabel L. Wallace-Green Caitlyn A. Walsh Linyun Wei Samantha Wei Zachery D. Weil Rayna J. Weingord Alison K. Welch Nicole K. Werpachowski Claudia B. Westby Fiona V. Whalen Abigail G. Wheat Sabrina T. White Haley P. Williams Christopher R. Wilson Kayce N. Wilson Justyna Witkowska Kayla E. Wolf Eamon A. Wolfgram Cesca G. Wolos-Fonteno Jessica Wu Ke Wu Vivian Wu Zixin Wu Jenna K. Wyman Xiaomeng Xian Siwen Xie Shengzhe Xu Angela M. Yamarone Mingxiao V. Yang Nicolette H. Yee Wei Yong Kathy S. Yoo Gabriella M. York Jialin Yu Yihao Yu Alaina A. Yuresko Anna Zahran Lourenco Claudia Zbrzeski Ana Zeneli Terrence Zeng Yihan Zhao Bingjie Zhou Wanting Zhou

Sports & Health

Sports & Health Editors Mohdshobair Hussaini - mhussaini2@fordham.edu Alexander DiMisa - adimisa@fordham.edu Artemis Tsagaris - atsagaris@fordham.edu October 26, 2017 THE OBSERVER

Fordham Water Polo Dives Into Success

By S.J. CYRUS Contributing Writer

When you think of Water Polo, the Bronx and New York City are not the first thoughts that come to mind. Despite this, at Fordham, we have one of the best teams in the country. It has been 20 years since the Fordham Water Polo Team has been ranked, but this 2017 season, they are breaking into the top 25 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Rankings.

All too often, football, baseball and basketball get more attention that any other sport. Here at Fordham, we should salute all excellence-including the Ram Water Polo Team. They currently have a 12-6 record, with four of the six losses coming from other ranked teams.

Water polo is played with six field players conducting offense and defense and a goalkeeper. It is played at a depth of about seven feet so the players’ feet cannot touch the bottom. Swimming is a tough enough task, but doing multiple tasks while swimming shows the resolve and athleticism of these student athletes. The success of this team has been a collective process led by a Gabelli School of Business graduate student from Rome, Massimiliano Mirarchi, and three seniors: Cameron Shewchuck, Gabelli School of Business (GSBRH) ’18, Ethan Vandeventer, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’18, and Alex Jahns FCRH ’18. The team is made up of by seven juniors, five sophomores and four freshman who represent current and future leaders of this team in the seasons to come.

“I am very happy to say that the water polo squad will be in great

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAM VARSHISKY

The Fordham Water Polo team, who is currently 12-6, looks to finish its season strong in November.

shape, not only after I graduate in May but for years to come,” said current captain Cameron Shewchuck. “We’ve got a lot of young sophomores and freshmen that are all improving at a rapid pace.

What’s even better is that the younger classes, including the incoming freshmen, will have very exemplary senior leadership next fall with seven more seniors play-

ing their last season of Division I water polo. Given the team’s culture and motivation I think the sky is the limit for Fordham Water Polo,” Shewchuck said of the future of the team’s leadership.

Collegiate sports incorporate personal growth within young men and women; things in this process take you from an adolescent into your young adulthood. They have

witnessed the growth of this young unit and will carry on the experiences from this season to lead the next group of student athletes to continue the success of this season into the future.

“My personal growth began immediately during our freshman campaign as I was thrust into the pool early and often coming off the heels of a 10-year club career. As a

freshman, my class had seven players but jobs and other opportunities saw four of those teammates leave our program,” Vandeventer noted. “To be one of the last three seniors with Alex and Cam is an unforgettable experience. We have all grown and developed into different role players on the team but know that after we are gone Fordham water polo is more than up to the challenge of competing with top teams.”

These men have also been battle tested coast to coast, playing in the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland to the West Coast Gary Troyer Tournament. Sophomore Jake Miller-Tolt, FCRH ’20, was a standout player in the West Coast swing tournament, amassing 19 goals and 18 steals during the tournament where Fordham ended with a 2-2 record.

The Rams now enter a tough stretch of home games as the season nears its final in November.

If they continue to stay focused and play well, they will where they started-in Annapolis, Maryland, where the Mid Atlantic Water Polo Championship will be hosted.

They show by deed that they are a special unit but also by inspiring words from Shewchuck. “In terms of my contributions to my younger teammates, I just hope that I, along with my other senior teammates, have taught them that the team is one big happy family,” the captain said. “You always have to stick up for your brothers in and out of the pool and always pick each other up when someone is down. I feel that the whole team has really grasped that concept and it makes me really proud to have been a part of the team for the last four years, I can’t

Studies Suggest Benefits of Daily Vitamin D monocytes. Finally, Vitamin D plays a role in preventing excessive inflammation.

As summer turns to fall, the freVitamin D has been observed to quency of coarse coughs, sniffling prevent infections like influenza and noses and violent sneezes increases. common colds in various studies.

The season of the common cold For instance, one study observed the and flu is here to stay for the comfrequency of infections of the Influing months, so how can Fordham enza A virus in school children durstudents and faculty fight off these ing the winter. Those children that illnesses? Fordham student Aitana took 1200 IU of vitamin D daily were Jordan, Fordham College at Linless likely to contract influenza than coln Center (FCLC) ’21 fights off the children who received a placebo. these illnesses with In a similar study, a cocktail of vitaVitamin D is one substance that can produce two groups of chilmins that includes dren with vitamin vitamin D. “When I many positive outcomes in one’s immune health D deficiencies were haven’t been taking during the and bone health, so do your immune system a observed them I get sick more winter months. One often,” she said. Jorgroup of children favor and take Vitamin D daily. dan said her cold/ was given milk that flu symptoms were contained added “very minute” when vitamin D and anshe takes the vitaseal the sides of the cells together, other group was given regular milk mins. Accordingly, new insights into so materials are unable to cross be- daily. The children that consumed vitamin D may hold the answers for tween them. Vitamin D promotes the milk with added vitamin D cona flu/cold free winter. the gene expression of proteins that tracted significantly fewer respiratoVitamin D is synthesized natu- are essential for the maintenance of ry tract infections than the children rally in your body via exposure to tight junctions. Vitamin D strength- that consumed regular milk. Anothultraviolet B light. One can also get ens your body’s natural barrier to er study followed 140 patients who their vitamin D from certain foods the outside world, making it harder were susceptible to respiratory tract such as fish, egg yolk, liver, and some for viruses and bacteria to invade. infections. They were given a much mushrooms. The National InstiAdditionally, Vitamin D can help higher dosage of 4000 IU of vitamin tutes of Health state that Vitamin D when an infection occurs. Many D per day for a year, and this group readily plays a role in not only bone types of cells contain a vitamin D saw significantly fewer infections growth but also immune function. receptor; when vitamin D binds to than the control group.

Analysis of vitamin D in the im- these receptors, gene expression of Granted that vitamin D helps the mune system suggests that the mol- several antiviral and antibacterial immune system greatly, what dosecule has promising effects on im- proteins begins. Specifically, vita- age should one take? John Cannell, mune responses for many infections. min D enhances the gene expres- a doctor on the Vitamin D Council, Historically, physicians unknow- sion for cathelicidin, which plays an says of the relationship between iningly utilized vitamin D to treat essential role in the innate immune fluenza and vitamin D: “Dosage will severe respiratory illnesses like tu- response. Some of the many func- depend upon age, latitude, season, berculosis. Before antibiotics, tuber- tions of cathelicidin include “wound skin type, body weight, sun expoculosis was treated at specialized fa- healing” and preventing the further sure and pre-existing [vitamin D] cilities called sanatoria, which were invasion of pathogens. Vitamin D levels”. These factors all correspond often located in sunny areas. The also initiates the secretion of hydro- with one’s ability to synthesize vitaconstant exposure to sunlight would gen peroxide, a molecule that causes min D on their own. For instance, help tuberculosis patients recover cells to burst as it decomposes, in someone living in a higher latitude

By LUKE OSBORN Contributing Writer

from their illness. Sunlight was not the sole remedy for tuberculosis at sanatoria; it is likely that vitamin D, synthesized in higher levels due to the sunlight exposure, was the cause of the recovery for sanatoria patients.

Vitamin D performs many functions in the immune system. The body’s first line of defense against a pathogen is the cells that line its cavities—the epithelial tissue. Between these cells are tight junctions that

ASEAH KHAN/THE OBSERVER

Taking Vitamin D daily can help fight off infections and other illnesses.

is less likely to synthesize enough vitamin D on his or her own. Solar radiation is less intense in far northern and southern latitudes, especially in the winter months. The review later states that the standard 1000-2000 IU of vitamin D may be sufficient. Nevertheless, people who are less likely to synthesize vitamin

D should consider a higher dosage.

There is compelling evidence to suggest that vitamin D can play a key role in your immune health this winter. Vitamin D is one substance that can produce many positive outcomes in immune health and bone health, so do your immune system a favor and take vitamin D daily.