Fordham Observer Issue 2 2012

SPORTS

LITERARY

The Rams look forward to a new season on the diamond.

PAGE 18

Writers share individual strength in verse and prose.

PAGES 16-17

POETRY AND NONFICTION

BASEBALL PREVIEW

THE OBSERVER www.fordhamobserver.com

FEBRUARY 16, 2012 VOLUME XXXI, ISSUE 2

PHOTO FEATURE

USG Creates Financial Board

By GABRIELA MENDEZ-NOVOA Contributing Writer

Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)’s new Student Advisory Board for Financial Aid held its first meeting of the 2012 school year on Jan. 27 to discuss Fordham’s enrollment and financial services. The group formed last year in response to growing dissatisfaction with Financial Services at Fordham with the goal of facilitating student feedback on financial issues.

Associate Dean of Admission and Director of the Lincoln Center Enrollment Group Patricia Peek and Vice President of Enrollment Services Peter Stace collaborated with United Student Government (USG) representatives to discuss future projects aiming to enhance correspondence and communication about financial matters with Fordham students. According to Peek, the board is made up of USG members as well as representatives from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies and the graduate schools.

Enrollment Services used to be a closed area and is now a renovated and more open and inviting space. Reflecting on what she considers a successful first year, Peek said that their collaboration “resulted in the renovated space on the second floor providing students with more gracious and accessible options for interaction with staff.”

Peek also pointed out that more effective phone and documentation processing systems have been installed as a result of the board’s efforts. These improvements in service are expected to provide students with more efficient and personal one on one assistance.

Looking toward the future, USG President Ryan O’Toole, FCLC ’12,

SARA AZOULAY AND LUCY SUTTON/THE OBSERVER

This week’s photo feature depicts scenes from both inside and outside this spring’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Left, a model from Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. label. Right, models showcase design work from the Academy of Art University.

Online Housing Lottery a First for McMahon Hall

By HARRY HUGGINS News Co-Editor

For the first time at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)’s McMahon Hall, the residential housing lottery will be conducted online. The new process, which the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) hopes will be more efficient and convenient than the previous system, was used last year at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH).

While ResLife is still sorting out the details on the various deadlines for registering, they are confident that the new system will be easier for students with

busy lives, according to Housing Operations Assistant Michelle Costantino. To advertise these coming changes, ResLife is using the slogan, “One Click Away.”

“We want to emphasize the efficiency and that we’re meeting students’ needs,” Costantino said. “Nowadays everybody is in internships and classes and has so many other needs.”

The major change this year will be taking a process that required residents to be physically present at the lottery and making it accessible to those with busier schedules.

“In past years, it’s always been that all these people are

coming into one room and hoping to get their apartment,” Costantino said, “but we’re hoping that online is going to be a lot easier to do it from their apartments, from class, wherever is most convenient.”

To make the process more convenient, ResLife will be making a change to the role of groups in the housing lottery. Instead of requiring all members of a group who wish to live together be present at the lottery, or at least to have all the members’ IDs with one person, there will be group leaders in charge of going online at the designated time and picking the room.

see FIN AID pg. 3

Costantino assures residents that the group leader will be responsible for representing the wishes of the whole group, not just one person. “There is one prime person, but it’s a group that everyone is in accordance with,” Costantino said.

Katie Howe, FCRH ’13, participated in Rose Hill’s online housing lottery last year and experienced a mostly painless process.

“Everyone was able to do it,” Howe said. “It was a lot easier than going to the lounge and picking a room off a board. It wasn’t like everyone in your see LOTTERY pg. 3

ARTS & CULTURE

Inside OPINIONS

KOMEN

Thoughts on the Planned Parenthood funding backlash. u PAGE 5

FEATURES

SLEEP STUDY

Do college students really get eight hours of sleep a night? u PAGE 15

ARTS

MAKING COMICS A behind-the-scenes look at a comic book publication. u PAGE 8

Act on a Subtext: Arctic Art at Fordham’s Center Gallery

By JACKSON GALAN Contributing Writer

In 2007, documentary photographer Subhankar Banerjee photographed a slaughtered caribou, capturing an eerie moment in time; a period of time that might as well be as frozen as the sub-zero environment around him. But with this one photograph, Banerjee exposes a land that has been somewhat shrouded in mystery.

Over a decade later, the “Museums, Methods and Materials” class at Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) will present select photos from Banerjee’s “Arctic Subtext”

exhibit, which will hang in the Center Gallery from Feb. 17 to Mar. 23.

The artist and activist, as well as distinguished visiting professor, was born in Berhampore, India. The country’s vibrant cinema culture fostered in him a love of visual art and societal exploration. After a youthful foray into painting, Banerjee decided that life as an artist was financially inviable. He secured a bachelor’s degree in engineering before immigrating to the U.S., where he earned masters degrees in physics and computer science. He wound up in Seattle, working for Boeing.

But his passion for visual art did not die. After traveling, camera in-

THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER

hand, throughout America and Canada, Banerjee left his career in science to pursue “a long-term photography project in the American Arctic.”

The images portray swaths of land and sea, migrating caribou, indigenous hunters and mysterious tracks. Visually, the work is striking. From Banerjee’s arial perspective, you might confuse a heard of marching caribou with a line of ants.

Which is one reason the exhibit contains more than photographs.

Each image is coupled with an explicative text that goes beyond simply

see ARCTIC pg. 9

2

News

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

Briefs METRO

Houston’s Body Returns to Her Hometown According to The New York Times, Whitney Houston’s body returned to Jersey City, N.J. last Monday night, Feb. 13. The iconic pop star’s body was found last Saturday submerged in a bathtub at the Beverly Hill Hilton hotel. Her funeral is planned for this Saturday, Feb. 18, at the New Hope Baptist Church where she first started her singing career.

Martha Stewart’s Dog Wins at Westminster On Feb. 13, Martha Stewart’s chow chow, Genghis Khan II, took home the blue ribbon for Best in Breed at the Westminster Dog Show, the Associated Press reported. Genghis Khan II will compete next for Best in Group.

If he is successful, he will be eligible to compete for World’s Best Breed.

NATIONAL

Obama Receives China’s Leader-in-Waiting into the White House On Feb. 14, President Obama hosted China’s future leader, Xi Jinping.

According to Reuters, Obama still is not backing down on his vow to keep pressuring China to develop its human rights policies. While the meeting was peaceful, the growing tensions between the U.S. and China economic and military forces still remain.

Apple Responds to Human Rights Activists According to The New York Times, Apple Inc. announced on Feb. 13 that it is having the Fair Labor Association inspect the working conditions of its factories. Apple is doing this in response to labor organizations who accuse the factories where Apple products are made of exercising unfair labor practices. Apple said that if factories do not meet their labor standards, they will stop working relations with them immediately.

INTERNATIONAL

National Museum Suffers From Political Pressure According to The New York Times, on Feb. 13, several men stole a variety of different valuable artifacts from a National Musuem in Malé, Maldives. The robbers took a collection of coral and lime figures, including a six-faced coral statue and a one-and-a-half foot-wide representation of the Buddha’s head.

According to authorities, the men believed the artifacts in the museum were illegal to have due to Islamic law. The country had followed strict Islamic law for years and concluded that religious idols cannot be brought into the country. Investigators are still collecting evidence and have not made any arrests.

Boy Saves Whole Family From Fire in Trinidad According to the Trinidad Express Newspapers, on Feb. 12, Shrelon Callendar, a five-year-old boy, saved his family from a deadly fire that engulfed their home. According to authorities, Sherlon saw the flames from afar and quickly notified his father about the smoke he saw spreading through the building. “At about [1 a.m.], he ran into my room yelling, ‘Daddy, Daddy, look smoke and fire!’w said Stevelon Callendar, Shrelon’s father.

Once Stevlon saw the flames, he quickly helped evacuate the other members of the household. There were no injuries and authorities say the fire was due to faulty wiring.

Compiled by Richard Ramsundar and Rex Sakamoto

www.fordhamobserver.com

New Lincoln Center Library Building Plans Progress Quickly

By MONIQUE JOHN Managing Editor

Fordham’s plans to rebuild the Leo T. Kissam Memorial Library in the law school have reached new heights. The architectural firm Kevin Hom PC has recently been contracted to design the new library for all students at the Lincoln Center campus to be located in the current law school. In addition, Robert S. Allen, head of access services of Quinn Library, has now formed a committee of library staff members and fellow colleagues to formulate ideas on what will be featured in the design.

“It’s [about] adapting space that makes sense in running a library…

The entire library needs to be analyzed in how it serves students and faculty patrons so that it all makes sense in trafficking each surface area,” Allen said.

Currently holding seven members, the committee has done walkthroughs of the library and will be drafting a “wish list” of features such as group study rooms and elevators to facilitate moving books. Allen has plans of expanding the committee’s membership.

After the new library in the current law school building is redesigned, it will be used by undergraduate and graduate Fordham students.

Built in 1961, the layout of law library must be changed for it to adhere to fit the modern building codes. The double height book shelves that now sit in the library are unfit to serve disabled students and violate standards of the American Disabilities Act. Once that is rebuilt, materials within Quinn Library will be transferred over. A portion of Quinn will eventually be used by the law school to house its less used books. It is undecided how the remainder of Quinn’s space will be used. School officials are also not sure how areas within the current law school build-

CHARLIE PUENTE/THE OBSERVER

Fordham College at Lincoln Center’s construction site has reached new heights on the outdoor Plaza.

ing aside from the library will be reorganized. However, Brian Byrne, vice president for Lincoln Center, stated that the aim is to maximize the space already within the building.

In another part of the construction on campus, builders are now erecting steel beams for the seventh floor for the new building that will house the new law school and student dormitories along 61st Street.

Fordham also plans to begin turning the parking lot that currently sits on Columbus Avenue into a park within the next 12-18 months. Byrne said that the building plans are right on time and within the budget but emphasized that there are still many decisions to be made.

“We’re still working to interest

donors for parts of the building, including naming opportunities,” Byrne said.

In past months, some Lincoln Center students found the noise from the new building’s construction loud and disruptive.

“I still hear the construction from my apartment in McMahon,” Matthew Ortiz, FCLC ’12, said. “And now that the structure is getting taller, it’s beginning to block my view.”

Faisal Alsawwaf, FCLC ’12, on the other hand, has not had any problems. “It hasn’t bothered me at all; I’ve hardly noticed it,” he said.

“You have great needs for the students—graduate and undergraduate—down here, and that’s clearly going to be the priority in redesigning

the building...It will make a remarkable difference for student life,” Byrne said. “We’re very hopeful for that.”

“It’s a big opportunity for this campus,” Allen said.

Byrne said it is possible that Student Affairs may reach out to students to get their feedback on building plans as they become more finalized in the future.

One student expressed her enthusiasm for the changes to come on campus.

“I think it’s kind of exciting that we’re expanding, especially as a small school in the city,” Svetlana Siforova, FCLC ’15, said. It’ll make the campus and our resources better and will be better than other schools in the area.”

Endowment Grows Despite Economic Woes Fordham Funds Increase as Endowments Reach Above Average High

By REX SAKAMOTO Asst. News Co-Editor

Since the end of the Great Recession, the economy has picked up over the past year and a half, which has been ref lected in an increase in college endowments.

Recently, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund released a study that found college endowments across the U.S. increased by 19.2 percent during the 2011 fiscal year. According to Bob Steves, Fordham University associate treasurer, Fordham’s endowment increase was greater.

Steves said the University invests its endowments and similar funds in a larger pool of investments. On June 30, at the end of the fiscal year, the market value of Fordham’s pool was approximately $462.1 million. In comparison, the Huffington Post reported that Harvard University had the largest U.S. university endowment at $31.7 billion.

Pellissippi State Community College had the smallest endowment at $5.7 million.

The term endowment is used fairly loosely. According to Steves, “the endowment is a collection of various funds collected and invested by the university and inf luenced by the donor.”

This means that the endowment

$462.1 mil.

Market value of Fordham University’s pool in 2010

$31.7 bil.

Harvard University’s endowment

$5.7 mil.

Pellissippi State Community College’s endowment

ENDOWMENT STATISTICS is an umbrella term for all the money from donors as well as various resources. Donors usually give because they value the education their university provided them with and wish to give back.

On June 30, 2011, Fordham’s return on investments was a gross profit of approximately 23.4 per-

funds are also used for general operations that allow Fordham to function on a day-to-day basis.

It is the Finance and Investment Committee’s responsibility to diversify investments. Investing in multiple assets diversifies investments. Using a spending formula, the Board of Trustees

On June 30, the market value of Fordham’s pool was approximately $462.1 million. The return on investment was a gross profit of approximately 23.4 percent.

cent, which is above the national average. A return on investment calculates the efficiency of an investment. The growing number of gifts and resources helps Fordham’s endowment to increase.

Some donors give money specifically for scholarships or to endow department chairs. Endowment

is able to determine how much Fordham is allowed to spend.

Endowments are usually given as gifts from alumni. Past alumni donors include stock investor Mario Gabelli, CBA ’65, who donated $25 million in September of 2010, and actor Denzel Washington, FCLC ’77, who donated

$2 million in October of last year. Fordham named the Gabelli School of Business after the former.

In 2011, Washington appointed Phylicia Rashād, known for her role as Claire Huxtable on the NBC sitcom “The Bill Cosby Show,” as Fordham’s first chair professor in the theatre department. Washington’s donation helped pay for a professor that Fordham would not have otherwise been able to afford. Dana Walsh, FCLC ’13 and a student of Rashād, said, “The class gave us a personal connection with our alumnus…It felt like a little piece of Denzel.”

She added, “In theatre, most of your learning comes from your experience…and we were able to get a little piece of the experience she had.”

Steves said, “in ’08 and ’09 [Fordham] took some losses, but in general there has been a sustained increase in investment activity and contributions.”

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

USG Continues to Meet with Financial Aid FIN AID FROM PAGE 1

said that one of the suggestions this new board had was improving the Fordham website’s financing section to make it clearer to students. In the past there have been instances of poor communication with students, like a letter sent in summer 2010 that left many confused about their finances.

O’Toole also said the board “discussed the need to be consistent in communication online and through the mail, and the administration said they would work to ensure there were less discrepancies between those forms of communication.”

The Student Advisory Board suggested further development plans for the upcoming months. According to Peek, these include development in correspondence and communication, the continuation of student surveys and possibly “the use of web and social media to communicate with students.” The board does not have a set date for the next meeting, but plans to continue meeting throughout the year as new issues arise.

News

3

Calendar THUR., FEB. 16

CSA Coffee Break 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Student Lounge

NSO Info Session 11:30 a.m. - noon Student Lounge

Portlandia’s “Feminist Bookstore” 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Student Lounge

CSA & CSS Dinner Outing 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Max Brenner

FRI., FEB. 17

CSA: UrbaNight!

JACKSON GALAN/THE OBSERVER

Financial Aid and USG continue meeting to improve communication and relations with the student body.

7 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Cafeteria Atrium

MON., FEB. 20

President’s Day: No School All Day. TUE., FEB. 21

Follows a Monday Schedule

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY HUGGINS

Fordham IT continues to upgrade their online services to include Google Docs and Google Calendar, among other applications.

Mardi Party!

7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Student Lounge

Fordham Adds Google Apps to Gmail

By RICHARD RAMSUNDAR Asst. News Co-Editor

Since the addition of Google Gmail for Fordham, many updates have been made, including the addition of Google Docs and Chat. Although the applications became available for Fordham Gmail in early January, many Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) students were unaware of these updates implemented.

According to Patricia Carlucci, Fordham IT director, “Just recently we have completed a set of upgrades that allows Gmail and Google Docs to be accessed directly at Google, in addition to the portal.”

Upgrades have been made due to student response to Gmail.

Previously, Google Docs could only be accessed by logging onto the Fordham portal, which some students found inconvenient to use as opposed to being able to directly use it from Google.

“Google Docs and Google Chat were added to address the wishes expressed by the students for added functionality,” Carlucci said.

According to Dylan Kaufman, Fordham IT consultant, the main difference between using Google Documents with a Fordham account compared to Google’s website is that students and faculty will not have to deal with advertisements that usually appear on Google’s site.

Leon Nisnevich, FCLC ’15, said, “It’s inconvenient to log into the portal because mobile devices don’t display the Fordham portal very well. It’s annoying to log in to the portal only to access my Gmail when I should be able to do that through Google’s site.”

Nancy Glynn, Fordham IT communications specialist, said that the decision to add the apps was made last year and was implemented during October of 2011, but IT needed time to test the applications on Fordham’s portal.

Glynn said, “In mid-October

we decided to [turn on] the service to coincide with the students’ return for the spring term. We used the time prior to the roll out testing and preparing documentation and communications for the launch.”

According to the workers at FCLC’s IT office, the apps were up and running even during the break, but some students only recently became aware of the new Google apps. Glynn said the app upgrade was advertised via Groupcast email, portal posting, website posting, iTV message, newspaper ads and f lyers in residence halls.

Zubaer Mohsin, FCLC ’15, said, “Until a friend told me about it, I didn’t know about Google Docs because I never had to use it nor didw I see the email. IT could’ve told professors to let us know about the apps and the professors should include it on their syllabus.”

Michael Macalintal, FCLC ’15, said that he knew apps were added, but didn’t know that Google Docs was included. He said, “I found out about the apps through a notification that appeared when I logged into My.Fordham.”

According to Carlucci, the apps are supplied by Google Apps for Education, which is a suite of products that is provided to higher education institutions at no cost. More upgrades by Fordham IT will make it possible for the school to provide more services over the next few months.

Google Docs allows students to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms and share them with whomever they choose. According to Kaufman, both teachers and students can share any documents they choose just by linking their email accounts. Kauffman also said, “It is good for collaboration.” As well as that, students can import files including word documents, PowerPoint slides, PDFs and much more.

WED., FEB. 22

Rainbow Alliance’s It’s Elementary Part 1 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Student Lounge THUR., FEB. 23

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY HUGGINS

The McMahon Hall housing lottery is now available online to provide convenience for students.

Logon for Lottery LOTTERY FROM PAGE 1

grade in one room. The program didn’t freeze or anything, which was impressive.”

According to Howe, only one thing could have been better. One of the residence halls filled up faster than it normally would have, mainly because of the new way of ranking groups.

“All the groups went on the lowest person’s lottery number instead of averaging it like they were supposed to,” Howe said.

“My friends were supposed to get a four [-person suite], but those all went so they got a six instead.”

According to Costantino, this is because the system is designed to benefit residents based on class priority. The new process takes a group’s lowest lottery number and uses that to decide the group’s rank, allowing all members of a class to have the equal chance of getting their desired room as anyone else in that class (i.e. rising seniors vs. rising seniors).

One other new aspect this year is that students currently studying abroad will be able to join a group from their current locations without needing a student to fill in as a proxy like they do now.

Although FCLC’s ResLife is still determining exactly how the lottery system will rank groups, most aspects of the pro-

cess will remain unchanged.

Under the new system, current McMahon residents will still pay the mandatory $200 housing deposit first, sometime in late February, and the lottery will still be open only to current residents. Non-freshmen will again be able to retain their rooms with three-fourths of the current roommates.

Student reaction has been mixed, as Jeffrey Cipriano, FCLC ’14, explained. Since he always heard fellow residents describe the old lottery process as “inconvenient, obnoxious and a hassle,” Cipriano welcomes the new process.

“I think it’s important that the seniors have more f lexibility with housing,” Cipriano said.

“They’ve lived here so long; they should have preference. At the same time, there’s such a limited space here that it can be problematic when sophomores are forced to live together [when they can’t get the room they wanted].”

ResLife will release further details later this month and offer information sessions to help ease the transition to the online housing lottery.

“We are encouraging as many students to come as possible,” Costantino said, “just because it is a new process, and we want everyone to be familiar with what to do.”

Relay For Life’s Purple Dance Party 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Cafeteria Atrium

Gyro Lunch Noon - 2 p.m.

Student Lounge

Compiled by Rex Sakamoto

Crime TUE., JAN. 31 At 10:15 a.m., two students had a dispute in the Quinn Library.

One student complained that the other was talking too loud on his cellphone. They immediatly had an argument, in which one student threatened the other. The incident was reported to authorities and there were no injuries.

Compiled by: Richard Ramsundar

Opinions

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

STAFF EDITORIAL

TECHNOLOGY WILL ADVANCE FORDHAM

W

e are undoubtedly living in a tech-savvy world where colleges are increasingly moving toward the worlds of multimedia and online.

According to the article “Online Housing Lottery a First for McMahon Hall” on page one, the university has made a conscious effort to adjust to this change. With the housing lottery online, picking rooms is now less timeconsuming and more convenient for students.

In addition, our emails have been upgraded to allow for better features such as Google Docs and greater customization with new Google apps.

While we appreciate the strides Fordham has taken to embrace technology, we can’t help but think that we’re still behind. Some universities, like St. John’s, offer students free laptops. As we continue our transition to this wireless and paperless world, there are a few things that we feel would benefit our growth as students here.

We could cut back on textbook use and instead offer E-readers as an affordable option for students. We lay out hundreds of dollars

“If we can implement Google apps...why not re-evaluate the tools we use in the classroom?” each semester for textbooks that we won’t look at again after classes finish in four months.

Offering more E-reader textbook options would not only save money and space in our bags, but would also save paper and allow for a better learning experience as we could then look up words and highlight text digitally. If we can implement Google apps for our emails, why not re-evaluate the tools we use to learn in the classroom as well?

Our IDs are also due for an upgrade. Smart IDs could recognize students via scanners or turnstiles at all Lincoln Center’s entrances, like NYU has with their dormitories. This would cut down the stress on security guards who must check every student who currently

must raise IDs as they rush to classes or into McMahon. If properly carried out, such IDs could be a better way to keep intruders out of our school. In the near future, students could load up their new IDs with Ram Van passes instead of keeping track of paper slips.

It’s time that not some, but all professors, allow laptops in class. We admit that they can be potentially distracting but the benefits of laptop use far outweigh the risks. They allow students to take notes, look up terms and ideas discussed during lectures and serve as a resource without wasting paper on handouts.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could write our midterms and finals on our laptops, too? All of us are comfortable with typing; in fact, most of us type faster than we write.

Our university prides itself on its successful alumni, Fullbright scholars and everexpanding campuses. But the technology its students use every day is what it needs to invest in. Speed and function, not abstracts and aesthetics, are the priorities of its students.

That may not be as easy to brag in a Fordham brochure but it is the reality of our time.

Politicians Shouldn’t Deny Students Right to Vote RYAN O’TOOLE Staff Writer

Recently in states like Wisconsin and Maine, new laws have been passed whose goal is to suppress student voting. Proposals to restrict students’ ability to vote have been announced or approved in Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New Hampshire and South Carolina. These attempts and occasional successes to suppress voter turnout and registration among students and young people are among the most despicable actions I have recently seen state governments take.

Since the majority of young people vote for Democrats, all of these proposals have been written and supported by large swaths of Republicans across the country. To them it makes perfect sense to try to suppress voter registration and turnout among young people; in many swing states and college towns, students’ overwhelming support for Barack Obama in 2008 was the deciding factor in his victory against John McCain.

Republicans are terrified of a repeat and are doing everything they can to ensure that young people have a difficult time voting.

Of course, one of the infuriating aspects of this effort is the cruelty of the Republicans, who don’t seem to realize that their legislation would not only prohibit Democratic students from voting but also Republican ones.

President Lyndon Johnson said in 1965 during the debate over the Voting Rights Act that the history of the United States has been oriented around the expansion of the right to vote from only rich white men to eventually all men and women, regardless of race or age. Even so, this country has committed some serious sins throughout its 235 year history by trying to prevent Americans from equally participating in our democracy, and Republicans across the country are trying to move us backwards by doing the same.

Although many Republican politicians claim that these voter registration laws simply aim to

JAY REITER/MCT

New Hampshire Republican State House Speaker William O’Brien has supported the attempted suppression of students’ ability to vote.

eliminate and prevent voter fraud, the true motivation behind them is to prevent Democratic-friendly groups from voting.

Many of these voter ID laws also threaten minorities’ and disabled Americans’ rights to vote. This blatant attack of American citizens by a political party is absolutely unconscionable. We elect our politicians to represent all Americans, not just those who elected them. Public service should be about promoting the public good for all, and limiting who can vote does nothing but destroy the public good.

The federal government and the Obama administration have been diligent in fighting these laws. In December, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Depart-

ment of Justice was blocking South Carolina’s recently passed voter ID law in order to protect the voting rights of young people and minority voters. He recently gave a speech in which he said that “we must remain ever vigilant in protecting this most basic and important right.” We must be vigilant ourselves by researching our own state’s voter registration laws to ensure that our right to vote is not restricted. We must speak out to our state and federal governments.

America’s young people are under assault from many fronts these days. State governments are cutting funding for public universities and tuition costs continue to increase at most colleges. Federal student aid continues to be threatened by

budget cuts, and unemployment among young Americans is markedly higher than that of the average population. It is time for students and young people to fight back for our rights and protect the ability of all Americans to attend college, consistently shown as the best path to a well-paying job and a prosperous future in this country.

In New Hampshire, Republican State House Speaker William O’Brien justified his party’s efforts to suppress youth voting by claiming that students and young people “don’t have life experience, and just vote their feelings.” Really? The last time I checked, extremist Tea Party voters also just vote their feelings. So do extremist liberals. So do independents. There is nothing wrong with

just voting your feelings.

As for the life experience comment? I don’t know about Speaker O’Brien’s experiences, but millions of students these days who are “just voting their feelings” are mired in student loan debt, which just surpassed credit card debt as the biggest collective debt that Americans hold.

Sometimes students’ feelings are frustration about tuition costs and decreased financial aid, and sometimes those feelings make us want to vote for candidates who actually support our nation’s young people.

All students at Fordham and across the country need to get angry about these laws and use their feelings to make their voice heard at the ballot box.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Opinions

5

Planned Parenthood: Protecting Women’s Rights Susan G. Komen’s Decision to Pull Funding Results in Backlash THE OBSERVER Fordham College at Lincoln Center 113 West 60th Street Room 408 New York, New York 10023 Tel: (212) 636-6015 Fax: (212) 636-7047

Editor-in-Chief Faith Heaphy Managing Editor Monique John News Co-Editors Laura Chang Harry Huggins Asst. News Co-Editors Richard Ramsundar Rex Sakamoto Opinions Editor Colleen Thornhill Asst. Opinions Editor Sara Azoulay Arts & Culture Co-Editors Mike Madden Katie Lockhart Asst. Arts & Culture Co-Editors Brian Bruegge Olivia Perdoch Features Co-Editors Mario Weddell Darryl Yu Asst. Features Editor Clint Holloway Literary Editor Matt Petronzio Asst. Literary Editor Salma Elmehdawi Literary Staff Zoe Simpson Bianca Leggio Sports Editor Randy Narine Asst. Sports Co-Editors Jasper Chang Joe Sporacio Copy Editor Matt Petronzio Asst. Copy Editor Anna Luciano Layout Editor Amanda Fimbers Asst. Layout Editor Tayler Bennett Layout Staff Ariella Mastroianni

AMY BUCKNAM Contributing Writer

The initial decision of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, America’s leading breast cancer organization, to pull funding from Planned Parenthood has since been reversed due to massive backlash from the public primarily though social media. As someone strongly in support of protecting women’s rights, I was outraged when I first read of Komen’s announcement that they were going to violate the right to health care by stopping the funding of breast cancer screenings and diagnostic services at Planned Parenthood. And yet, I was more confused by the decision to pull funding.

It blew my mind that a foundation centered in research and prevention of breast cancer would not support Planned Parenthood, an organization dealing wholly in women’s health.

They would cut funding that would be used for breast cancer screenings and other breast-health services. Is that not what Komen is all about, ending breast cancer?

I’m quite sure that it would be beneficial for their cause to have as many institutions providing such services to women as possible. Komen, after all, claims to be working to “save lives, empower people” and “ensure quality care for all,” according to their website. If these are amongst their goals, it seems clear that Planned Parenthood, with their agenda to provide affordable health care to women of all incomes, would be a wise investment to maintain.

The reason Komen stated for abruptly cutting funding was extremely vague — something about a new policy of theirs that prohibited giving grants to institutions under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. Yet there is no proof that Planned Parenthood was under such investigation. Sorry, Komen, but I’m not buying it. In fact, no one in the media did, and the real reasons for the cease of support have surfaced:

NATALIE CAUDILL/DALLAS MORNING NEWS /MCT

Komen’s recent actions have done more harm than good to women’s health, according to many critics.

pressures from anti-abortion organizations and a right-wing former politician who was calling the shots for Komen.

The main force behind the push to defund Planned Parenthood was the vice president of public policy of Komen, Karen Handel. Prior to being hired as the foundation’s VP last year, Handel openly opposed pro-choice organizations, specifically Planned Parenthood, on her failed campaign for governor of Georgia in 2010.

I don’t understand why Komen hired this woman. With all due respect, Komen, while you have a heavy hand in the funding of the Planned Parenthood institution, you probably should not have appointed someone who so ardently opposes it as the vice president of your organization. That, in and of itself, was a red flag.

What Handel was attempting to do was use her position of authority to advance her own pro-life political agenda. The price of this would be the lives and well-being of nearly one million women who annually seek

breast care services from Planned Parenthood. Many of these women are low-income and depend on the institution as a means of affordable health care. This move would have cut such women off from life-saving resources, thus countering everything the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation stands for.

Planned Parenthood abortion procedures make up a mere three percent of the services the institution offers, according to their 2010 annual report. None of Komen’s money, as in zero dollars, goes towards abortions, contraception or anything other than breast cancer screenings and diagnostic procedures. Cutting funding to Planned Parenthood would be meaningless for Handel’s pro-life protest anyway.

Handel, nevertheless, continued to show her opposition after resigning from her position as VP last Tuesday.

She wrote in her resignation letter to Komen CEO Nancy Brinker that was released to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “I openly acknowledge

my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen’s future and the women we serve.”

Come again? Ending vital health services, such as breast cancer screenings, at affordable costs is the best decision for the women you claim to be serving…through your foundation against breast cancer? That just seems a bit counterintuitive to me.

Judging by the overwhelming Twitter and Facebook responses to this decision, I am not alone in thinking it was ridiculous. The negative public feedback and bad press obviously pressured Komen to rethink their move and continue funding Planned Parenthood.

After all was said and done, I actually found hope in this whole ordeal.

It just showed that, while there will most likely always be a bunch of powerful individuals running our lives with little regard for our well-being, there could also be a much greater group fighting back and refusing to allow such injustices to occur.

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Opinions

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True Heroes Go Unacknowledged in Celebrity Culture BIANCA JEAN-PIERRE Staff Writer

As Fordham students, many of us are inspired by legendary and contemporary writers, artists and musicians, along with actors and dancers. Unfortunately, if I asked teenagers and young adults across the country who they admire most, the results would probably sound a lot more celebrity-centered.

When I say “celebrity,” I don’t refer to those who perfect their craft over a lifetime of dedication. I refer to those who use their fame just for the sake of being famous without contributing anything to society that is commendable and rightfully praised by today’s youth.

Many teens and young adults idolize Kim Kardashian, whose 72-day marriage received national attention, but what about Mohamed Bouazizi? He set himself on fire in Tunisia due to his frustration with the government, resulting in what might have been the catalyst for the Arab Awakening, and practically no one paid attention.

It’s okay to indulge in a little celebrity gossip every now and then, but disregarding everything else occurring in the world for something as insignificant as the name of Beyonce’s newborn child is not okay.

The greater the limelight shines on these trivial celebrities and their even more trivial situations, the greater the false sense of superiority that is associated with them.

In an article on “New York Magazine’s” website titled “Stardom’s Changed. So Have Its Benefits.

And Invoices,” writer Mark Harris discusses the alarming trend in giving the most mediocre public figures an undeserving extension to their 15 minutes of fame. He discusses historian and writer Daniel J. Boorstin’s 1961 book, “The Image: A Guide

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

Public figures like Michelle Obama exemplify the qualities that should make for a true celebrity.

to Pseudo-events in America,” which introduced the concept of the “pseudo-event.”

The pseudo-event occurs when reproduction or simulation of an event becomes more important or “real” than the event itself. Many celebrities feel a false sense of superiority due to the pseudo-event.

They haven’t proved themselves worthy of the praise they receive, yet in flaunting their expensive clothes at five-star restaurants, celebrities show they crave the attention.

However, there are more than a handful of social activists who put their lives on the line daily for a deserving cause. True artists and innovators exist whose intellectual capabilities and compassion result in products and services geared towards a more progressive society.

There has to be a clear distinction between who is worth admiring and who is not.

First Lady Michelle Obama, for example, has held many fundraisers and events during this past year to

raise awareness about the alarming obesity problem in our country, especially among the youth, and the struggles of families who have members serving in the armed forces.

These are concrete issues faced by relatable everyday citizens and led by a powerful woman who has proven herself to be an admirable public figure.

Through hard work and ambition, First Lady Obama molded a successful career for herself and her desire to contribute positively to so-

ciety through public service is highly commendable. This is the kind of person whose groundbreaking news I would rather be bombarded with on my media outlets.

Then there’s Justin Wedes, a Brooklyn high school teacher who was a primary force behind many of the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations in Zucotti Park. Of course, being a high school teacher is not as glamorous as being Kim Kardashian, but organizing an act of public resistance in response to greed and corruption is far more newsworthy than a 72-day marriage and mediocre reality show.

Perhaps Lady Gaga falling on stage at her concert or M.I.A flipping the bird at the Superbowl are easy subjects to just laugh about and get over while sprawled out on your couch and munching on Doritos.

I’m sure these topics are much more appealing and easier to digest than Occupy Wall Street, which to most is just “that protest where people like, camp out or something?” Despite the carefree nature of the nation’s most trivial issues, ground-breaking events like Occupy Wall Street deserve just as much attention, in fact even more.

Celebrities and politicians alike are branding and selling themselves to us. As a consumer society we easily buy into these images. To remove the notion of profit and superficiality from American culture would be asking for a utopian society, which is far from realistic at the moment.

Teenagers and young adults need to make more conscious decisions in whom they choose to follow and mold their lifestyle choices after.

There is no need to block all of your favorite gossip blog pages from your computer or avoid E! and VH1, but do take a little time out of your day to acknowledge everyday heroes across the globe who are changing the world in unimaginable ways.

Oscars Nostalgia: Best Picture Nominees Rightly Embrace the Past SOGAND AFKARI Staff Writer

Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” exemplifies why Classic Hollywood (pre-1960s) was the pinnacle of filmmaking. My generation criminally underrates this time period in American cinema. However, there may be hope for my peers yet.

This season the Academy of Motion Picture celebrates the style and the history of the golden age of Hollywood cinema era by highlighting the excellence of “The Artist” and a few other equally notable films. My generation has been mostly blind to films of old, but now the Academy and critics everywhere are making my peers see their significance.

Often times, students my own age perceive “talkie” and silent pictures from Classic Hollywood to be creatively backwards. Prejudice against the sound and color (or lack thereof) within a film deprives moviegoers of the opportunity to get to know the ingenious film giants who preceded today’s Hollywood elites.

Modern-day Hollywood seems ready to change that perception judging by the nomination of “The Artist,” a mostly silent film, for Best Picture. “The Artist” has received acclaim around the world and has 10 Oscar nominations under its belt. It makes my generation an offer that’s hard to refuse: to watch a silent, black and white movie that has been embraced by popular culture.

“The Artist” is a stylistic and historical relic of Classic Hollywood. Everything from the comical dog to the chiaroscuro lighting

(extreme contrast of light and dark) to the opening credits is an allusion to canons from that era. Even the delicate balance between expressive body movements and the subtle intensity of the actors’ eyes is a signature of the 1920’s. The characters represent figures from all areas of a 1920’s studio lot.

This time in film history, as Hollywood moved from silent to “talkie” pictures, was instrumental in ruining the careers of many silent film icons and knows no equal.

“The Artist” engages audiences not only on a stylistic level but also on a historical level by contextualizing this period in Classic Hollywood.

Prior to the success of “The Artist,” my generation often dismissed Classic Hollywood for multiple reasons: boredom with silent pictures, a lack of glaring sexuality within the films and the inability to get past the black and white image.

What my generation fails to note is the wonder of these qualities.

Although there were limits on sexuality in film, studios managed to get around the strict guidelines—how else can one explain the success of Marilyn Monroe? The actress’ sexual prowess was clearly on display in black and white pictures like “Some Like it Hot.” Marilyn Monroe the icon is now experiencing resurgence in mainstream culture thanks to the film “My Week with Marilyn.” Although Monroe has always been a wellknown, the film gives modern audiences a window into her life outside the Hollywood lot and a glimpse at the Norma Jean beneath.

While “The Artist” and “My Week with Marilyn” bring the stars of old back to into the mainstream,

Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” exemplifies the style of filmmaking back in the day. With its melodramatic plot and its grand landscape shots, the film exemplifies the style of old Hollywood. “War Horse,” which is also nominated for Best Picture along with “The Artist,” explores the sentimentalized relationship between Albert and his horse, Joey. Emphasizing heroism and self-sacrifice, the film is right out of the war propaganda machine of post-war Hollywood.

Film critics like A.O. Scott of The New York Times highlight “War Horse’s” ode to classic movie making. The final scene plays out like a tribute to “Gone with the Wind,” with a golden sky warmlyoverlooking the English countryside. Prioritizing loyalty to one’s family and country over one’s own interests, this film plays to the most relatable aspects of the viewer’s life.

It isn’t just sappy war movie. It’s a story of courage and determination helping the main characters overcome impossible odds.

Although I am a proud cinephile of “old movies,” I am not prejudice against contemporary films.

(I enjoy “Bridesmaids” as much as the next person). Many of the films nominated in this season’s Oscars are simply “talkies” that happen to be in color. These films deserve their respective acclaim (i.e. “Hugo”).

But like Gil in “Midnight in Paris,” we can all enjoy the modern a little bit more by appreciating the art of the past. Hollywood has realized it, and in time, audiences will, too. Just seeing the films nominated for Best Picture will help any viewer realize the power of old Hollywood.

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“The Artist” is just one of the year’s Best Picture nominees that harkens back to the Hollywood filmmaking style of yesteryear.

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THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Opinions

7

Toddlers and Tiaras: The War on Pageant Mothers COLLEEN THORNHILL

Opinions Editor

I thoroughly enjoy reality TV. Look for me on a Thursday night, and I’ll be awaiting the 10:00 p.m. showing of “The Jersey Shore.” If you want to know what I’m doing on a Sunday night, no need to ask—I’ll probably be watching a re-run of “Real Housewives” or “The Millionaire Matchmaker.” Despite these favorites, there are a few shows I refuse to succumb to, one of them being “Toddlers and Tiaras.”

Just one of the many jewels TLC has presented us with, “Toddlers and Tiaras” follows the lives of pageant moms and their toddler or elementary-school aged children as they perm, tease and tweeze their way into the limelight. I think the show is purely an exploitative tool.

It uses kids for higher ratings, and I can’t believe the mothers allow their children’s worst moments to be televised.

Recently, I went to the taping of a talk show hosted by a white haired fox (who will remain unnamed for legal reasons) and the whole show revolved around these children and their moms. The host encouraged the audience to ask questions of the parents, but it felt to me that he was just inviting the parents to be attacked.

The focus of the discussion became about the pageants themselves, rather than the fact that these children have their childhoods recorded for the world to see. Audience member after audience member accused these women of bad parenting, suggesting their daughters would be forever scarred not from having their childhoods aired on national televi-

sion, but by the pageants themselves.

And that’s when I lost it.

I don’t like the idea of putting one’s child on television, but the audience seemed to miss that point altogether and could only criticize the pageants. I found the audience’s total disgust for the pageants themselves another point entirely. Before I knew it, I found myself defending the pageants and forgetting about the television factor.

Apparently, this audience thought every girl who ever joined a beauty pageant would end up anorexic, depressed or suicidal. They wouldn’t be healthy. Or feel confident. Or become well-adjusted human beings.

One mother featured on the show taught her daughter the importance of healthy-eating through calorie counting. Well, hold the presses, how dare she want to prevent childhood obesity. Another mom fed her daughter skittles occasionally to keep her energy up during pageants.

My mom used to give me smarties sometimes, and I didn’t form any long-term addictions.

Some audience members wondered at the girls’ adjustment to school, as if the girls spend every day on the pageant runway. Did this audience not realize that these girls live normal lives most of the time?

The show captures their lives for only a few days at a time.

I took dance for 13 years. If cameras had been there to capture the two weeks leading up to dress rehearsal and the final recital, I’m sure it wouldn’t have looked any prettier. I threw tantrums, but I was also fouryears-old when I started. It wasn’t exactly the best-behaved phase of my life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my parents were teaching me dedication and hard work and how to stick

COURTESY OF DISCOVERY PRESS

Photo-shopped images like this one are the kind that make a pageantry look like an event that puts children on display like dolls. by something even when I didn’t feel hurt them; it encourages them to step the most inclined to do it. back up and try again.

These girls aren’t learning the Some moms, admittedly, do go importance of make-up. They’re overboard, and I don’t condone their learning how to stay confident when choices. June Shannon, one of the in a room full of other girls. They’re mothers from the show, thinks it’s learning how to hold their head on okay to feed her daughter “go-go high, even if they fail. Failing doesn’t juice,” a mix of soda and an energy

drinke. Despite the hilarity of the YouTube clip featuring Mrs. Shannon and her daughter Alana “Holler for a Dollar,” she clearly needs an intervention. The show, however, makes it seem like every mom on the show is whipping up these concoctions.

Another mom made a questionable decision with her daughter’s costume, letting her wear Julia Robert’s hooker ensemble from “Pretty Woman.” I couldn’t believe she’d let her daugher wear such an outfit. This mother and and “go-go juice” mom immediately become the focal point of the show and give the other mothers a bad reputation. But most of the mothers are just letting their girls have fun in age-approriate dress-up clothes while getting to ham it up on stage.

It’s easy to criticize these parents from the comforts of the couch.

One woman in the audience of the talk show I attended asked why she wouldn’t just enroll her daughter in a sport. Girls asked me all the time when I was younger why I didn’t do sports, and the honest truth was I didn’t like them. I didn’t see the point of chasing a ball around on a big field. Yet for some reason, I found dancing fun.

These mothers just want their daughters to have fun and enjoy themselves. Every once in a while, a rare mom stood up in the audience and said her daughter, too, was in pageants and by her request. I was in dance by my request, and when I was ready to quit senior year, my parents let me. These girls aren’t being scarred for life; they’re being prepared for it. The regrettable point is that such life lessons have to be televised. That’s what critics should be arguing.

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Arts & Culture

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

Behind the Scenes of Marvel: Anatomy of a Comic Book

By JASPER CHANG Asst. Sports Co-Editor

Comics allow readers to hold an imaginary world in the palm of their hands. In a mere 20 pages, we bear witness to new galaxies— some with their own laws of gravity, some with alien species that may be benevolent or malevolent to humankind and some with creatures of meta-human powers and abilities that defy the laws of science.

But the astounding universe of comics would not be possible without the dedication of editors, artists and writers. Jordan D. White, editor for the X-Office of Marvel Entertainment, explained how a comic is made. While White assists on “X-Men” comics, his primary job revolves around the “Deadpool” comic series, which involves a meta-human dubbed “a merc with a mouth.” White explained

a master script. A master script contains the characters, lines, actions, sound effects, captions and the overall concept for each page. the steps in creating a comic book which, while complex, are ultimately a rewarding process.

First Step: A writer first pitches

their story idea to the editor in casting. Writers email or call White about their potential story idea, explaining the concept in a few sentences. When a writer tells an editor their idea, this is known as a pitch. For example a pitch could be, “The heroes of Earth once stood united, but a civil war now dawns upon them. Captain America against Ironman, whose side do you choose?” White uses his judgment to discern if the story idea fits the Marvel Universe.

Second Step: Once a story idea

Third Step: The master script

is then sent to a penciler who will make sketches that properly portray the scenes within the master script. It is the penciler’s job to transform words into elaborate, eye-catching sketches.

Fourth Step: These sketches are

sent to the inkers for inking. Inkers further develop the penciler’s sketches into black and white renderings of the final artwork. Inkers do not color in the artwork—that task is left to the colorist.

Fifth Step: A digital copy of the master script and the inked draw-

ings is made and both are sent to the letterer and the colorist. The letterer will insert the script into the proper place of the drawings. The colorist will color in the drawings. After that, these works are composited together for final production. This all takes about two months.

Sixth Step: After an editor thoroughly reviews the final product, it is sent to print for publication. In a rough estimation, given by White, a single issue takes about three months to complete. However, as White said, “It takes about three months for one issue, but we’re working on roughly 40 other issues, each with different stories and characters.”

A recap, a page that comes at the beginning of a comic to tell readers what happened in previous issues, is not simply a summary of prior issues. Instead, a recap tells the important points of the comic series so new readers are up to date on what is going on. It allows a reader to pick up any issue, say issue #17 “Dark Wolverine: Daken,” and be able to read it with a clear understanding of what has come before.

Recaps invite new readers to pick up any comic. For instance, “General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross” was determined to rid the world of the Hulk at any cost. His relentless drive to do so ultimately led him to become what he hated most… a hulk.” In two short sentences, about a dozen issues of the “Red Hulk” were summarized.

A cover is the first piece of artwork any reader will see. A single issue may have different covers, called variants. All variants approved by the editor, are published.

Variants offer different covers to the same issue and allow collectors to have a complete set of a particular edition.

The long process required in making a single issue may sound tedious, but there are several fun aspects to comic making. White points out that the story, the artwork and the final production are the best aspects to comic making.

“A good story is always fun to work on. A good story is never boring,” White said.

is accepted, the editor and the writer will work on an outline, which is eventually developed into

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Comics may capture the eye, but the work that goes into each issue usually takes about three months, undergoing various stages like writing a script and inking.

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THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Arts & Culture

9

MONTHLY MUSIC REVIEW

February Album Release Grab Bag

By MIKE MADDEN Arts & Culture Co-Editor

TENNIS/FAT POSSUM COURTESY OF DUBSPOT

Dubspot treats the everyday music enthusiast to a number of classes centered around the production of electronic music as well as DJing.

Dubspot: Reviving the Electronic Music Scene One Beat at a Time

By AMANDA SERVER Contributing Writer

Located on 348 W. 14th St., the world-renowned electronic music institute, Dubspot, is a school for musicians and aspiring students, which teaches them how to produce and make electronic music.

In 2006, founder Dan Gioveconceived the idea after he attended a music conference hosted by the Thievery Corporation. Giove said the conference presented a wealth of information, but it lacked a focus on electronic music.

Giove explained, “They taught me so much in a short amount of time and it was then I realized that there is really no place or medium for people to learn how to produce electronic music.”

In 2003, Giove and co-founder JP Solis bought a musical studio after his experience at the Thievery conference.

In the studio they collaborated with other electronic artists on how to revive the faltering sub-culture of electronic music in New York City.

With an abundance of creativity and innovativeness, their collaboration spawned the first learning sessions of Dubspot. They decided to take that one session a beat further by opening it to the public, thus causing a centralization in the electronic music industry.

Now a center exists, where like-minded individuals can learn the production process of electronic music and help it flourish. “[We] keep the classes small, between six to ten students, so that the instructors can give everyone personal attention. It is a very relaxed and inspiring atmosphere, Rasmus Kajerbo, a production intern at Dubspot said.

“There are people here of all ages, from all backgrounds. We have ten year-old music prodigies and 40-year-old retired Wall Street workers. Music knows no bounds.”

The teaching staff is one of the biggest appeals about Dubspot. Every instructor is a professional DJ or producer with years of diverse experience.

They offer insight about creating music as well as tips about working in the industry.

“We are amazed by it but it’s true

that people travel from all over the world, from California to Denmark, to France to attend courses here,” Solis said.

Jack Stykes, a student who traveled from Belgium to attend Dubspot, claimed he was first attracted to the school when he heard that one of his favorite DJs, DJ Shiftee, was teaching a few demos here.

DJ Shiftee wasn’t the only one contributing; Steve Nalepa, who designed the online curriculum, teaches most parts of the course through streaming videos. Some assignments by the curriculum required a student to complete a 4 track LP, enter a remixed song into a remix contest and create a commercial.

The newest feature of the online curriculum involves insider industry tips coupled with invaluable information and advice about self promotion, which is a huge factor in success now.

Another essential part of the Dubspot community is demo sessions.

Demos are one of the biggest perks of Dubspot, because you don’t even have to be a student to attend.

Their close relationship with many artists and music companies allows them to host a variety of demonstrations like a recent one with famous DJ, RJD2. Other demos instruct people on how to use new software.

Dan Giove said places like Dubspot are necessary to help aspiring artists because all of the new software and hardware available has really changed the industry.

“In the past, for DJs at least, it was all about what records you had. That’s why Jamaican DJs used to bleach their records, so others couldn’t see what they were spinning,” Giove said. “It was why techno DJ’s in the eighties would lie about where their tracks came from.

Now everything is available to everyone. All the new production software and technology has shifted music to where artists really need to be adding their own unique production to everything they do.”

Solis said, “Our main interest is sharing good music with the world and here we all work together to make that a reality. Dubspot is a great place to find your style and gain musical confidence.”

Tennis

JOHN TALABOT/PERMANENT VACATION

John Talabot

“Young & Old” released Feb. 14

“fIN” released Feb. 6

In the summer of 2010, the Denver-based lo-fi husband and wife duo of singer Alaina Moore and guitarist Patrick Riley aka Tennis, allowed listeners to travel along with them as first mates via headphones, with the pair sailing up and down the Atlantic seaboard. The result of that trip is their successful debut album, “Cape Dory”; a set of songs that grew out of an East Coast summer and watered by the splashing white-capped waves off the South Carolina coast.

“Dory” was a front-runner in the pack of breezy beach albums that came out that year, featuring lyrics of love under a mossy moonlight in the Palmetto State or sailing to an unknown cove.

Whereas “Dory” is adventurous in the sense that Tennis sailed the high seas for inspiration, their recent album, “Young & Old,” ground the duo a good distance away from the eastern seaboard in Nashville where they’ve traded in their sea legs for a bit of sixties soul.

Produced by Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, “Young & Old” still retains the group’s signature? and the Mysterians’-like organ and surf punk sensibility but clearly lets it all hang out. “Young & Old” is the sensual string bikini needed to garner some wanted attention versus “Dory’s” simple but safe one piece.

The tempos vary from spontaneous Phil Spector sputter to thumping groove that allows the group to dial down and sink into an attitude that is one part beach bingo and another Motown soul. Moore’s vocals, particularly in “Petition,” are more head swiveling and finger wagging on “Young & Old” giving her the title as a contender for one of the most talented yet under appreciated female voices out there.

But what’s great about this album is that you can still dance and bounce like a “Scooby Doo” character while wearing black Ray Bans and smoking a Lucky Strike cigarette. It’s sweet yet loose and punchy enough to be considered semi-aggressive. “Young & Old” is the buxom and brown eyed pin-up with a bee hive haircut from 1965 who asks you to have a go at it on the beach; a full on, straightforward assertion where there are no questions asked, besides thinking how you’ll get sand out of your bathing suit the morning after.

John Talabot’s “f IN” is something of a gift and a curse. It’s one of the most catchy house albums to come out in recent years, rivaling Four Tet’s “Ringer” as well as Caribou’s enveloping textures on “Odessa.” But for the Spanish producer, the idea of a curse is just that—an album so good, he’s going to be expected to release a second that is even better or successfully matches it.

The Spanish producer stays true to the traditional course house music has taken since the early 1990s. Although minimalist, the genre has room enough for melodic shifts in tone and attitude, something Talabot has captured perfectly with “f IN” through samples and various loops that epitomize the early ’90s club scene.

Centered in Barcelona, the Spanish inf luence matches the opportunity given to make it original and Talabot’s own, complete with beats that could easily be transferred onto the most nostalgic of Tropicale percussion and rhythm.

Talabot also recruits from his circle of electro pop friends featuring Madrid artist Pional on “Destiny,” a sexual in-thedark romp that is straightforward in its musical pattern but questionable in terms of how long you want to dance to the one track, whether it be all night or for the next week.

Talabot also gets help from Delorean’s Ekhi Lopetegi on “Journey”—a sentimental shift that really dances nicely on the playfulness of Lopetegi’s voice, sounding like an unreleased Delorean track. “f IN” is the type of album you don’t want to over analyze; it needs to simply be played in its entirety. Much like a 24hour dance party set on the beaches of Ibiza, the album needs to f low and be listened to as one collective. Separate songs work just fine, but the real reward is in the transition each song either shares or deviates from one another.

HEARTLESS BASTARDS/PARTISAN

Heartless Bastards “Arrow” released Feb. 14

Heartless Bastards’ new album, “Arrow,” lurches and huffs and puffs just like the buffalo pictured on the cover of their album.

The buffalo is a gentle but fierce beast if it gets pissed off, but the same could be said for Bastards’ singer Erika Wennerstrom whose Cher-on-steroids howl is not to be messed with. “Arrow” is more of continuation of their acclaimed third studio album, “The Mountain,” where the southern garage rock card was played and played again. With “Arrow,” a leisurely stroll from their original home of Dayton, Ohio, through stretches of Midwest America glory, to their present pad of Austin, Texas, can be heard in each step, drag of the guitar case and smell of road kill carcass.

“Arrow” is dialed down from “The Mountain” but not by much.

Every song has some sort of soaring guitar work that exemplifies the Bastards’ formula for three chord rock riffs reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

Wennerstrom toils with Americana in the way farmers toiled with the Dust Bowl, plucking away acoustic ballads like “Low Low Low” and “The Arrow Killed the Beast.” There’s a noticeable amount of dirt and grit on “Arrow” that “The Mountain” lacks.

From that journey from Dayton to Austin, I’d like to think Wennerstrom stopped at a local Baptist church for a shower, but got a Gospel lesson instead.

But everything isn’t honky tonk and tumble weeds; the group explores the sides of T. Rex in “Got to Have Rock and Roll” while “Down in the Canyon” might as well be “Down in the Pits of Hell,” a track the boys of Sabbath would be impressed with. “Arrow” is a solid rock album that sticks to what the Bastards’ do best, and that’s simple songs with no dizzying effects or over the top drives of distortion. Wennerstrom’s inner 13-year-old learning how to play guitar comes out, constantly rediscovering the music that has moved her through the years while also paying an indebted homage to it.

Center Gallery Showcases Arctic Work of Documentary Photographer CENTER GALLERY FROM PAGE 1

SUBHANKAR BANERJEE

Photo of slaughtered caribou.

naming the piece and identifying its dimensions. “At first,” said Jo Anna Isaak, the John L. Marion Chair in Art History and instructor of Museums, Methods and Materials, “the images appear benign, but upon closer inspection, each presents a prob-

lem.” The “subtexts” delve into those problems, answering some questions and raising others. In this way, the work aims to transcend aesthetic appeal and engage environmental, political and sociological issues.

Banerjee’s decision to work with text and still photographs–as opposed to documentary film, the me-

dium-of-choice for raising awareness about things–makes Arctic Subtext a standout exhibition. “Photography is a powerful medium,” said Banerjee, “it slows us down, makes us think philosophically.” Unlike a documentary movie, in which the filmmaker determines the pace of information, Banerjee’s presentation allows the

viewer to explore both the visual image and its narrative text at any pace.

The large, sweeping prints contain a wealth of visual information made even richer by its text. Where a documentary asks the viewer to sit back and absorb, Arctic Subtexts requires that one stand up and act.

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Arts & Culture

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

Austrian Cultural Forum Exhibits Occupy Wall Street Art

By BRIAN BRUEGGE Asst. Arts & Culture Co-Editor

On a summer day a few years back, an artist named Dread Scott walked down Wall Street with an apron of bills pinned to his shirt.

“Does anyone have any money to burn?” he asked repeatedly to those around him. Their amused curiosity turned to shock when Scott removed a lighter from his pocket and began to set fire to the money, one bill at a time. A few people even took up his proposition and handed over their own bills to be set in f lame.

Scott was eventually arrested for disturbing the peace, but the entire performance was captured on tape. The video, titled “Money to Burn,” is now being shown as part of “It’s the Political Economy, Stupid,” an exhibition now on display at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY).

The show features artwork that is meant as a commentary on the economic crisis, and frequently critiques capitalism. Though not officially associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, the two were born from the same environment and ref lect many of the same sentiments.

Perhaps the most curious part about the exhibition is that it’s being housed in the Austrian Cultural Forum—a branch of the Austrian Consulate. The stated goal of the ACFNY is to serve as the “cultural embassy of Austria in the United States” by housing artwork and performances from Austrian artists. Due to the fact that several of the artists involved are of Austrian descent, the ACFNY was happy to house the exhibition.

NATASHA MAHADEO/THE OBSERVER

“It’s the Political Economy, Stupid” at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York exhibits works commenting on the current state of capitalism.

One piece that demonstrates this is Linda Bilda’s sculpture, “Labor and Capital,” which depicts capital as a shark engaged in an awkward dance with labor. The two make an uncomfortable partnership; the large and unmanageable shark causes labor, depicted as a female dancer, to struggle to hold up the sheer weight of capital. A light shining on the sculpture casts a mysterious shadow onto the opposite wall that obscures the sculpture’s form.

“I look at art as a tool to change things,” Bilda explained. That sentiment accounts for the heavily political messages that are found throughout all of her work on

display. Another of her pieces is a mural, depicting corruption as the result of disjointed thought, speech and actions. “I want to dedicate my work as a political tool,” Bilda stated as she talked about the meaning of the work.

While most of the art carries this weight of political commentary, a few pieces on display take a more ambivalent look at the economic downturn. Julia Christensen’s “How Communities Are Reusing the Big Box” looks at how the buildings for large retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target become used for other purposes after the stores go out of business.

The most engaging work is of-

ten that which is most subtle, as is the case with Jan Peter Hammer’s film, “The Anarchist Banker.”

The 30-minute film has the appearance of an unscripted news interview with a member of the high finance world. In fact, it is a carefully scripted discussion in which the character of the banker discusses his view that lawless greed is the ultimate expression of freedom. The way the interview unfolds subtly critiques this Randian viewpoint, as we slowly become aware of the extreme consequences of the banker’s philosophy.

The work on display comes from all different parts of the

world in response to the global financial crisis, so it is strangely appropriate that they are now being displayed together in Manhattan, the birthplace of the Occupy movement. Gregory Sholette, one of the exhibition’s co-curators who has also been active in the Occupy movement, is especially enthusiastic about the timing.

“When we started the concept of the show, we [said] that somehow we need to push back against the crisis and these artists represent one attempt to do that.” When the Occupy Wall Street movement started, “it was almost like… we got our wish,” Scholette described.

Had enough?

Didn’t think so.

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Arts & Culture

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

PHOTO FEATURE Observer photographers documented the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week both on the runway and outside on the streets.

SOFIA ALVAREZ/THE OBSERVER

LUCY SUTTON/THE OBSERVER

AYER CHAN/THE OBSERVER

AYER CHAN/THE OBSERVER

JACKSON GALAN/THE OBSERVER

HARRY HUGGINS/THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Arts & Culture

11

PHOTO FEATURE

AYER CHAN/THE OBSERVER

SARA AZOULAY/THE OBSERVER

LUCY SUTTON/THE OBSERVER

JACKSON GALAN/THE OBSERVER

KATHERINE FOTINOS/THE OBSERVER

KATHERINE FOTINOS/THE OBSERVER

CHARLIE PUENTE/THE OBSERVER

Features

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

NY CHALLENGED

More Than a Movement: An Inspiring Dance Sans Pants MARIO WEDDELL Features Co-Editor & Asst. Photo Editor

If you’re confident, you can get away with a lot. That’s especially true in New York. This city respects people who know what they’re doing, even if they’re just pretending. I kept the power of confidence in mind the other night, when my friends (“Bonnie” and “Clyde”) and I started a pants-less revolution at a bar near Lincoln Center.

We were celebrating the Giants’ Super Bowl victory, blue face paint and all, and went out for a few drinks after the game.

The night was pretty calm, until Bonnie told me that the last time they were at this bar, Clyde wore his jeans around his ankles for an hour, and nobody had noticed.

It sounded like a challenge. I accepted.

I stood around in my boxers for a half hour, unnoticed. I even ordered a drink, and had a PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARIO WEDDELL/THE OBSERVER full conversation with a guy who The desire to take one’s pants off in a crowded bar is surprisingly contagious. But is anyone really surprised? remained oblivious until Clyde couldn’t take it anymore, and told him to look at my white thighs. I Bonnie declined because, as she an’s boyfriend to join us, but he join us, citing advantages in mowas invisible to everyone else. It put it, she wasn’t wearing the right responded with, “No underwear,” bility, temperature and general was frustrating in a sense, because underwear for this sort of thing. and f lashed his nether-cheeks at mood. More people were starting Bonnie. He possessed an entirely to notice the dance-sans-pants by half the thrill of doing something Finally, a woman approached us.

“What are you guys doing?” different brand of confidence, one our table, and we looked so constupid is the fear of being caught she asked. I didn’t know what to that we weren’t quite ready to at- fident that they couldn’t help but with your pants down. loosen their belts. Bonnie found But I didn’t just want to match say so I pointed at Clyde. Clyde tain, so we didn’t push it further.

And then a young man saw us. a large t-shirt and put it over her Clyde’s accomplishment; I wanted said something unconvincing to surpass it. The lack of aware- about the Giants winning. Bonnie And he took his pants off. And he underwear so she could join us.

There were about eight of us ness in the bar was becoming a saved us by calmly explaining that was wearing a Speedo or somejoke. So I started dancing, to see if this was a pants-free zone. The thing, which made his support at this point, rebelling against I could get away with it. And I did woman nodded. Then something that much more meaningful. A decency and sensibility by exposfor a while, so Clyde pulled down magical happened. She took her few minutes later, Bonnie con- ing our thighs to the world. Like his jeans and started dancing, too. pants off. Bonnie told the wom- vinced another inquisitive lady to any revolution though, there were

detractors who supported the old ways. An uptight aristocrat in a North Face coat told us to pull our pants up. He was quickly booed and chased away, as Clyde informed him that the pantsfree zone happened to coincide with the hater-free zone. We had strength in numbers.

Still, as the revolution gained ground and our notoriety increased, new problems surfaced.

Newer recruits were a bit odd. One man kept trying to show everyone how he was “f lopping around like a deep sea fish” in his boxers. As Bonnie put it, “…we saw some fin, unfortunately.” And the mayhem didn’t stop there.

Someone was doing pushups.

People were posing for group pictures. A young woman started spanking an older woman. It seemed like we were losing control, and any minute now, the governing power would sniff us out and put a stop to the movement.

Finally, the bartender noticed.

He caught my eye across the room. He pointed at my pants around my ankles, and put his hands out as if to say, “What the hell are you doing?” This was it, the moment when our cause would come crashing down on the Robespierres of legwear. The end was near. I had to act fast.

I mustered all the confidence I could, pointed at his pants fastened around the waist and put my hands out in the same judgmental fashion. My response was clear: “No, what the hell are YOU doing?” A thoughtful look came over him. I held my breath. Then he shrugged, looked at his coworker and dropped his pants.

INTERN SPOTLIGHT

Interns Gain Unique Experience in the World of NYC Communications

By CLINT HOLLOWAY Asst. Features Editor

New York City has a lot to offer, with its endless array of art, film, fashion and entertainment. For Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) students, the advantage of being in such a culturally vibrant environment is the opportunity to land a top-of-the-line internship. This week features two students who found Big Apple internships in the industries they love, show business and fashion.

ALLIE GUERRA FCLC ’14 Major: Communications and Media Studies Intern at: Parshegian Planco LLC

AUDREY GREENE FCLC ’14 Major: French Intern at: W magazine

Take, for instance, Allie Guerra, FCLC ’14. She is currently interning at Parshegian Planco LLC, a bi-coastal talent management company. She found out about the opportunity and was eventually able to obtain it with the help of Fordham.

“I got an e-mail through the Fordham University theater department,” Guerra said. “I followed up, went in for an interview, and shortly after was told I got the job.”

The once-a-week position certainly has its share of banal endeavors such as “making sure faxes work, and other basic secretarial office work,” but it also has very interesting, exciting aspects. “My main task is reading scripts and writing synopses, so that they can decide which of their talent the script would be right for,” Guerra said. “So it’s really cool to know that in a couple of years the scripts I am reading now will be on screen.” As someone with a keen interest in film and television, doing this also gives her a sense of hope for the future of the industry. “Sometimes I have to read really bad scripts,” Guerra said.

“But I also get to read some that are really cool and cutting-edge, so it’s cool to see that there is still innovation.”

The internship also offers its fair share of unexpected benefits and perks that only those high up in the business would be able to experience. “One of the coolest parts of my job has been getting to read a script by Darren Aronofsky,” Guerra said.

But she is well aware of the pragmatic advantages that the opportunity, as well as the prime geographical location, has given her.

Audrey Greene, FCLC ’14, was able to acquire an internship at W magazine’s fashion department through a source outside of Fordham. “I found it online, through a website called ed2010.com. It has a lot of different magazine internships.” The internship is a perfect fit for Greene, who has passionate aspirations to break into the field of fashion journalism. “I definitely want to go into the fashion magazine industry, I’m very set on that particular path,” Greene said.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to have a full-time job at a magazine in the future.” Despite the façade of effortless glamour that the industry evokes, the demands of the position are as unpredictable as they are grueling. “It’s definitely different every day, and I work extremely long hours,” Greene said. “I help track all of the clothing samples, help out with clothing requests and other administrative tasks.” Despite the hard work, Greene is quick to point out the rewarding and enjoyable aspects of her position. “I enjoy seeing clothing come in, and knowing I get to be involved in a small but important part of the magazine.” Greene is also quick to point out the extraordinary advantage that comes with going to college in New York City in comparison to other campuses. “All of us at Fordham are extremely fortunate,”

NATASHA MAHADEO/THE OBSERVER

“I’m working where the real stuff happens,” Guerra said. “So being able to get experience and build a relationship with my boss is great. It’s a stepping-stone to another opportunity. I’ve already got my foot in the door.”

NATASHA MAHADEO/THE OBSERVER

Greene said. “I’ve talked to friends at other schools, and they can only intern during the summer, if that. Whereas we have the opportunity to intern yearround.”

14

Features

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

WORD OF MOUTH

The Meat and Potatoes of an Argentinean Restaurant

By DARRYL YU Features Co-Editor

A dimly lit setting filled with nicely carved wooden tables and chairs, Argentinean steak house Buenos Aires has the look of a very posh and stylish restaurant. As a typical poor student, I normally avoided expensive restaurants, but my food-curious nature got the better of me. How did Argentinean steak taste? Was it more peppery? Did it have a unique texture?

With burning questions like this going through my head, I decided to give Buenos Aires a try.

The first thing I noticed was the service. In my past reviews, service was a not a big factor when I rated restaurants, but after eating at Buenos Aires that may have to change. I was met with the usual friendly greetings and smiles from the waiting staff, but I was surprised when they started handing out complimentary dishes, ranging from a free plate of duck pâté to a refreshing glass of wine. I was so happy with the initial amount that I almost forgot I didn’t order yet.

I normally grab cart food or a quick sandwich for dinner, so it was nice to experience a slice of New York City fine dining.

Impressed by the friendly staff at Buenos Aires, I hoped the food would live up to its great service.

To start the night off I ordered some chorizo. Though it wasn’t something to rave about, it had a nice, slightly peppery taste.

I wouldn’t recommend trying it on its own, but instead mixing it with some chimichurri (an Argentinean meat sauce made up of parsley, mince garlic and olive oil), to give a nice smoked f lavor to the meat.

Not long after my chorizo, the Bife de Costilla (rib-eye steak) arrived with a side of mashed potatoes. After much anticipation, I was stunned to find out that it tasted exactly like “regular” steak. I expected a whole slew of new f lavors and Argentinean spices, and I was left slightly disappointed. Not to say it wasn’t a great steak. It was soft and tender, but it had nothing new to offer my excited palate. My waiter suggested I try some chimichurri sauce to add some more f lavor, but that just made my steak oilier. On a bright note, the serving size was just right. It wasn’t too small, as is often the case with upscale restaurants. The side of

mashed potatoes didn’t really stand out and needed an extra kick of f lavor.

Despite the average food, Buenos Aires did offer a great dining atmosphere. Over the candlelit wooden tables I could hear laugher and interesting chatter while we were eating. All around, between brick walls and walls covered in paintings, people were dressed in their best outfits having a good time.

As I stated earlier, the whole luxurious New York thing is still very foreign to me. I normally grab cart food or a quick sandwich for dinner, so it was nice to experience a slice of New York City fine dining. As one college student to another, if you’re in the mood for a night of luxury with a few drinks, I would suggest the Buenos Aires Steakhouse.

In regards to a full fancy dinner, Buenos Aires isn’t my personal benchmark for really good

KATRINE ALCANTARA/THE OBSERVER

Buenos Aires Restaurant offers higher-end Argentinean fare.

luxury food. I’m sure there are many other fancy restaurants out there that could easily eclipse the food at Buenos Aires for a cheaper price. I had hoped to experience something new and memorable at Buenos Aires but sadly it didn’t leave a memorable impression on me. For the price I paid I felt I should have gotten something unique but instead I felt let down. Despite this, I was happy with the service and was glad to at least try something new that night. This goes to show that just because something looks fancy

from the outside, doesn’t mean the food is the same.

IF YOU GO

Buenos aires

$$$$ out of $$$$$ Where: 513 E. 6th Street- New York , NY, 10009 Darryl’s Recommendation: S an Juan argentinian wine with Chorizo (I f you want a quick snack)

New Facebook Feature Is the Timeline of a Lifetime But is that what users want? For some, the though of having one’s entire life easily accessible on Facebook’s Timeline is a scary thought.

By ALEX ARMERO Contributing Writer

As a son or daughter, imagine being able to see a parent’s childhood flashbacks. Imagine, being able to see the youthful banter between the parent and their best friend back in grade school, move through pictures of high school parties during their “glory days” and see how that young squirt grew up to be the person now known as mom, dad, grandma or grandpa.

It’s a hard thing to imagine, but Facebook is making it a possibility.

Last September, Facebook slowly rolled out their latest redesign, the Facebook Timeline. Although there was the usual uproar over the optional change, many Facebook users have finally embraced the new look that dramatically alters the appearance of users’ profile pages.

Starting with the dominating image at the top of each profile page, the most obvious change is that the Timeline is a lot more visual. The simple addition of an image adds a welcome element of personalization to the ordinary blue color palette. Facebook seems to be entertaining the idea of customizable profile pages, without deteriorating to the disorder of MySpace.

Another change is the consolidation of anything the user doesn’t consider an important story. Wall posts, comments, links and pictures are emphasized, while basic information, friend lists and old photos are moved to their own pages. Longtime Facebook user, Arthur Esteves Ferreira, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’13 said, “I like the new Timeline,

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

The new Facebook Timeline offers a more visual and organized social networking experience.

it’s much more convenient and it looks nicer. When you first open the page, everything is laid out for you. But then when you scroll down everything is definitely more organized.”

However, somewhat strange was the decision to place the Timeline in the center of the page, forcing content to alternate from side to side as one scans down the page.

Finally, one of the most notable additions is the list of months and years at the top right of the page.

Clicking on a date scrolls the Timeline backwards to the selected period. Unfortunately, this is usually a time where bad hair, braces and

general awkwardness were unavoidable, but the feature is a welcome one nonetheless.

But aside from the trendy cosmetic changes, the life-encompassing Timeline forces users to consider the deeper, long-term implications of having a Facebook account. Assuming Facebook retains its popularity after its multi-billion dollar IPO, eventually a user’s profile will actually come to reflect their entire life. Anything the user publishes during their time at Facebook will be visible for generations to come. A user’s children and even grandchildren will be able to click through their family members’

profiles, and for just that instance, see life through their eyes.

But is that what users want?

For some, the thought of having one’s entire life easily accessible on Facebook’s Timeline is a scary thought. Natalie Loh, FCLC ’13, gave up her Facebook account long ago and said, “Facebook’s Timeline could never really represent a person’s life because it only includes stuff they choose to include. That candid photo they chose to delete?

That’s raw, that’s their life and not having it up there makes for an incomplete picture.” To many users, Facebook is a home for all that is fleeting; a place for brief thoughts,

spur of the moment ‘likes’ and passing photographs. To turn those momentary ‘likes’, wall posts, comments, pictures and links into something more profound is an unsettling thought. To present a human being’s whole existence in such a manner, beginning with the date of their birth, doesn’t seem right. Having a lifetime of fleeting content on display could prompt unwanted judgments about an individual and their temperament.

An older Facebook Timeline could paint an inaccurate picture of a person, or alternatively, form an uncomfortably candid portrayal.

And after all, should a Facebook Timeline really be used as a judge of character?

The Facebook Timeline design does introduce some novel elements to profile pages. But the Timeline also forces users to consider some of the ramifications of what it would mean to live in a world where Facebook has existed for decades, and what it would mean to be able to look back on a lifetime’s worth of friends, memories and status updates.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Features

15

Meet Blogger Hannah Richtman of The Fashion Hash

By SARA AZOULAY Photo Editor & Asst. Opinions Editor

Many say that creativity is dead because of the Internet; others say that it has just been refurnished into a different kind of art — the art of blogging. With people making blogs every day, it’s tough for any blog to make a classy, creative and unique name for itself. But that is exactly what Hannah Richtman, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’13, has done with her fashion blog, The Fashion Hash. Her fashion blog has paved the way for different opportunities such as being featured in an H&M article or trying out new products and clothes. Most recently, Richtman was featured on the notable fashion site, whowhatwear.com.

There is a certain spark in Richtman when she talks about fashion, especially when she explains her love of her newly bought boots during her interview with The Observer. While her boots are cute and fashionable, they hold a higher significance for Richtman; they were the first purchase she made with earnings from The Fashion Hash. Through collaborations with sites such as H&M and commissions from products that she sold via her blog, she was able to earn money. Her blog remains untainted with ads, something that Richtman chooses to do so that the Fashion Hash is her own personal brand. Richtman is a junior pursuing a major in communications and media studies and a minor in visual arts at FCLC. This academic combination fuels the content of her blog by mixing visual aspects with her own journalistic approaches to the fashion industry. The Fashion Hash joins photography (some of Richtman’s own), fashion, food and lifestyle. The simplicity of her posts makes it easy for readers to enjoy current stylish trends. “Classes [at Fordham] have helped me a lot in working with my blog and maintaining it,” Richtman said. “I’ve taken a lot of visual art

COURTESY OF HANNAH RICHTMAN

Hannah Richtman, FCLC ’13, is the creator of a popular fashion and style blog, The Fashion Hash.

classes that have really helped me because photography is the main part of my blog. I think that having good visuals is what keeps people coming back.”

Richtman also uses the skills from her communications and media studies major by having a segment on her blog entitled “Hash of the Month.”

Richtman explained, “Every month I try to do something that I call ‘Hash of the Month,’ where I find someone who’s young and up and coming. [Someone] kind of like me. I like to involve other people in my website.” So far, each person she’s featured on her blog has been a photographer. One photographer

she featured was Katie Mccurdy who shoots photos for the Urban Outfitters catalog. In this way, The Fashion Hash is not only a dose of fashion photos, but it’s a source for new information on young hip people in the fashion industry. She also attempts to guide her readers around the best places to shop in New York City. Recently, she was invited by the popular thrift store, Beacon’s closet in Brooklyn, to search their racks before the store opened to the public.

Richtman is originally from Milwaukee, Wis., and planned on going to school for theatre. She realized her love of styling and switched her focus to fashion. The change of heart led her to Fordham and New

York City. New York City, the biggest fashion capital of the world, has helped Richtman discover her own personal style that led to The Fashion Hash. “Being in the city and feeling this pace and the energy, it makes you want to get dressed and want to look good. When you walk out of your house, you want to have that kind of confidence. I originally created the blog just for an outlet to express my personal style and write freely and then it started getting a readership and evolved from there.

It’s now more of my style, my life, what inspires me, interior design and collaborations with different brands,” Richtman said.

The success of her blog is de-

served, as it seems that Richtman is always looking for an excuse to expand her style and encourage others to do the same. The blogging lifestyle has become an actual career option these days and Richtman hopes to explore more of it. “When I first started my blog, I never thought of it as a career. I’ve started blogging and styling professionally and it’s been wonderful. I hope I can keep the Fashion Hash running and keep meeting new people and going to new places,” Richtman said. Richtman is currently studying abroad in Sweden where she continues to blog on The Fashion Hash.

Counting Sleep: Examining Student Shut-Eye Statistics

By FREDERIC ADOR Contributing Writer

If one applies the “Quiet Hours” policy in the McMahon dorms, students should sleep from 11:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. This appears to be Fordham’s ideal sleeping schedule: eight hours and a ha lf of quiet and nourishing sleep. But when walk ing in the corridors of McMahon after midnight, it is common to hear the subt le sound of video games, laughter and loud hiphop. With a ll the noise and activit y, one wonders how much students rea lly sleep.

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study, part of the American Time Use Survey, students do sleep for more than 8 hours per night during weekdays. The BLS asked more than 50,000 persons aged 15 and over about their daily activities and the time they dedicate to them.

This way, they were able to determine that the average student in the United States sleeps for 8.4 hours each day. Put into perspective, an 8.4 hours of sleep average represents more than a third of a day. Arthur Esteves-Ferreira, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’14, said, “I do not think I k now anyone who sleeps that much.”

Unlike most people, Courtney Cambria, FCLC ’15, said, “I sleep for eight to nine hours each night but my roommates go to sleep at 3 a.m. and wa ke up at 9 a.m.” While some people sleep

COURTESY OF AMERICAN TIME USE SURVEY

The Bureau of Labor Statistics graph shows the average time college students spend on certain activities.

for the recommended amount of time, the BLS study points out a general average of 8.4 hours, meaning that for ever y student sleeping for 6 hours, there is another one that sleeps more than 10 hours.

A bizarre detail of the BLS study is the student’s age bracket. Certainly a 15 year old and a 49 year old will not dedicate the same amount of time to sleep.

Elizabeth Ryder, FCLC ’14, said, “People of older age of ten

have other responsibilities,” including ta k ing care of children, which “changes the way they manage time.”

Kelsey Garcia, FCLC ’12 and resident advisor at McMahon Ha ll, agreed: “This could be

ver y stereot y pica l, but I think that [older students] want to sleep more than someone who goes out and wastes his time.”

Many students sacrif ice their sleep during the week and compensate during the weekend.

Esteves-Ferreira said, “I’m doing about si x hours of sleep [during the weekdays], but I can sleep up to 10 hours per day during the weekends.”

Another way of putting up with lack of sleep is napping, which students do not a lways include in their sleeping hours.

Molly Spater, FCLC ’15 said, “I ta ke naps sometimes, especia lly when [I have classes] from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or when I go to the g y m.” Garcia added, “I k now people who sleep for like f ive hours at night and then go nap for an hour.” It is common to see people sleep in the librar y or in the lounges.

Most people agree that the BLS study does not ref lect their sleeping habits, nor their friends’. The 15-49 age bracket troubles a lot of students: “How is it possible to compare 49-year-old students with 15 year olds?” wonders Eric Pang, FCLC ’15. Despite these confusions, a lmost ever yone agrees that students need to sleep more.

With midterms drawing near, let’s hope ever yone gets the most sleep they can before lowering the national average again.

Literary

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

WIFE MATERIAL

By SALMA ELMEHDAWI Asst. Literary Editor

I am the white wash her, blending in with the walls.

Not tall or broad, you can fit me onto a flat hand like a saucer a receptor passive, nice.

I will meet you with a quiet smile, my fat hard teeth under wraps beneath thin lips that were once expansive, the color of wine a dog’s underbelly.

My voice once drowsy tipsy spinning on its own laughter, is now straight as seam.

Struggles to fit in the needle, pin hole kind of love.

The kind of love that gets tired of trying to fit in itself.

I am the wife material the grocer was waiting for, I stock the shelves with my new self.

I cross my ring finger until all my fingers are ringed fingers.

Chained up self, I am the newest self.

All my past selves have been given fake names and sent off.

Sometimes, in the dark my new self gets mistaken for spotless sheets, making it wish it crept into the getaway car with the others

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARIO WEDDELL/THE OBSERVER

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THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Literary

17

LOKI SAILED THE HUDSON

By ZOË SIMPSON Staff Writer

I told him, Won’t be sailing anymore This salty island put twelve hundred miles between me and my bikini— Can’t relax on a painted metal dock But ferries—we all love that ocean spray Brooklyn poetics, Staten Island History feels like sailing feels like home Yes sir, my father’s from here

RETROUVÉ

By BIANCA LEGGIO Staff Writer

I visited my mom in D.C. the other day. She was there for a conference and I live only four hours away, so we thought, “Why not?” We made a trip of it. That’s not what is important to remember, though.

What matters is that there she was, my mama, my mama with worry lines and creased brow lines, tall and crackly, here she was, this mama—this mama except different. I got to the hotel room before she did and when she walked in, she looked tiny, petite in the way that a young girl is petite, each detail precious and small. Her clothes looked too heavy for her, as if for the first time I understood the reality of the body beneath. She called my sisters soon after arriving, letting them know she’d arrived safely and that she was with me, their middle. My mom doesn’t make short phone calls, so I settled down on the bed to watch her and to imagine my sisters on the other end of the line (pup, too). She had her head propped up on the pillow opposite me, and she was talking and talking and I watched her and I noticed there was something new. Her smile, that happy, life-blooming smile, that was new. Her whole face looked soft and young and pink—it looked free. There she was. There she was with her far-away one, giggling with her home-ones, and it was then that I realized that this must be exciting. Having all different types of closeness with the ones she was closest to. I pushed myself up off my own pillow and made myself a chin support with my hand, scooting closer to her face so that I could watch that smile a little more closely. This young, young, bright smile as she listened to her children speak.

Later, I had to go back to a restaurant because she’d forgotten the receipt and as I went about my mission, she waited for me on the opposite street corner. When I came out of the restaurant—no luck, the waiter had already forgotten who we were—I had to wait for the cross signal to rejoin her. There was that inevitable awkward moment: you’re separated from someone you’re with who you know is waiting on you both of you knowing that there’s nothing either of you can do so you just wave and smile sheepishly. After that moment had passed, she of course looked away, hands cupped in the pockets of her brand-new pea coat, peeking her head this way and that to look at the tops of buildings. But I didn’t look away, realized this was the perfect opportunity to see her and to see me. So I stood, watching her, trying to make myself understand that where everything had really started for me was actually inside of her, a tiny little fleck being nourished and cherished by this woman now waiting at the crosswalk. I tried to make myself remember that we had once quite literally been inseparable, that the first home I had ever known was standing right across the street. But it didn’t work; I couldn’t make sense of it. She was the tiny one now, and I was large, with long legs that could fold up inside of nothing. We were far, far away from each other, separate and different, big and small. My mama and I.

AL SEIB/MCT

Sports

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

New-Look Baseball Team Ready for Upcoming Season

By MAX WOLLNER Staff Writer

After narrowly missing out on an Atlantic 10 (A-10) playoff spot last season, the Fordham Rams baseball team, fueled by a new coaching staff, new talent and a new mentality, looks poised to take their 2012 campaign deep into the playoffs.

The most notable offseason move was the hiring of the new head coach, Kevin Leighton. Leighton brings years of experience and success to the Rams.

Before joining Fordham, Leighton spent six years as head baseball coach of the Manhattan Jaspers, where he won more than 30 games every season.

In addition, Leighton led Manhattan to its second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MACC) championship, as well as a second appearance in the NCAA tournament.

When asked about the impact Leighton will have on the team, lefthanded pitcher Jeff Trimmer, Gabelli School of Business (GSB ’14) said, “Coach Leighton emphasizes good baseball. He’s very committed to winning and I think that will help the team stay focused both on and off the field.”

In addition to Leighton, Fordham hired Siena College’s former assistant coach Jimmy Jackson to take over the role of pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Jackson spent the past two seasons at Siena College as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, where he brought in the two largest recruiting classes in the program’s history. During Jackson’s tenure as pitching coach the team lowered their earned run average (ERA) by two full runs each season, and in his final season the team increased their win total by 12 games over previous season.

It is often said that pitching and defense, not offense, wins championships, and with Jackson guiding the staff, a championship could be in the cards. “If there’s one thing that’s really going to help us, it’s the coaches,” Trimmer said. “Constantly running drills, refining our defense, these guys

COURTESY OF FORDHAM SPORTS

The Rams are hoping that their offseason additions will help them make the Atlantic-10 playoffs after falling short last season.

want to win just as much as we do and it really creates a strength surrounding the team.”

With a new-look coaching staff, the team is now working on changing its mentality about winning. Leighton said, “I want to teach the team that winning on a consistent basis is important.”

In response to the shift in mentality Trimmer said, “Last year, we made

some pivotal mistakes that cost us some games. To fix this, Coach has told us that we have to focus in every game. We have to have the mentality that every game matters and we can’t afford to lose.”

This “win now” mentality will undoubtedly be helpful to this relatively young team that features five new starters. “We’ve got a lot of talent but we have to fight hard in every game

and we have to learn not to let our guard down,” Trimmer said.

With this new mentality in place, the next goal is a championship, which will motivate the Rams all season long.

This year the A-10 championship will take place at Fordham so it is crucial that the team performs well to get there. If they make it, they could have a potentially dangerous home field advantage.

The expectations are high going into next season as the Rams look to build on their recent success. Currently, the Rams are ranked seventh out of twelfth in the A-10—one rank shy of a playoff spot—but they are ready to prove those critics wrong and make it to the postseason. The Rams will begin play on Feb. 17 against Western Carolina University.

New York Rangers in Prime Position for Deep Playoff Run

By MICHAEL MCMAHON Staff Writer

The 2011-2012 New York Rangers, with more than half the hockey season over, sit atop the Eastern Conference. Four of their players and their coach were named to the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star Game. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 Winter Classic and achieved their best midseason start since the ’95–’96 season. This team is more than good. They are hungry.

Though the city saw a 54-year Stanley Cup drought come to an end in 1994, their last Eastern Conference Championship game came in 1997, with all-time great Wayne Gretzky.

Just making the playoffs will likely not be enough of a victory for a team that has seen its fair share of qualifying seasons over the last fifteen years.

Having entered the playoffs as no better than the number five seed since 1999, the Rangers are itching to have a little home-ice advantage, and it’s certainly within reach. They lead the conference in points, and are nine points ahead of second place Boston.

The Rangers have also dominated their division rivals, the Flyers (the Flyers are second in the Atlantic Division), having defeated them again on Feb. 5 for their fourth consecutive victory over them this season. They currently hold all tiebreakers, with less of their points coming from overtime than any other team in the east.

Fordham College at Lincoln Center student Jessica Polins, FCLC ’14,

Having entered the playoffs as no better than the number five seed since 1999, the Rangers are itching to have a little home-ice advantage.

JIM MCISAAC/NEWSDAY/MCT

The Rangers currently sit atop the Eastern Conference with 79 points, 9 more than the second place Bruins.

though admittedly not a Rangers fan (she enjoys cheering for the Islanders), declared, “I’m definitely happy that they’re doing so well, the reason being that they’re from New York and they’re keeping Boston in second. I really wouldn’t care too much, but any New England team is worse than one from New York.”

The promise goes even beyond this regular-season’s statistics for these Rangers. The 1994 Stanley Cup Champion team and the 2012 version have a few things in common. Both

teams had four players named to the All-Star Game, and in both games a Ranger was named MVP (Marian Gaborik in 2012, Mike Richter in 1994). The ’94 team was the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and this year’s Rangers are poised to finish that way. For Rangers fans, the similarities are all-too noticeable, and the consequences of another year of waiting are ominous, drawing concerns of another multi-decade drought.

The Rangers are currently led by new Captain Ryan Callahan. Cal-

lahan has led by example, posting 23 goals, matching his career high with 17 games to go. Sniper Marion Gaborik has rebounded from a very subpar 2010-2011 season by leading the team in points (49) and goals (27). Furthermore, the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, whose one of the hottest goaltenders in the game, guarding the net. Lundqvist has been nothing short of spectacular this year, as he’s tied for the league lead in save percentage (.939) and is second in goals against average (1.81).

The dominance is not without a weak spot, however. The Rangers are looking to tighten up what have been some serious power play woes. Their 16.7 percent success rate currently ranks 26th in the league, but they may look to new acquisition Casey Wellman to improve their success, as Wellman, an American Hockey League player to this point, was 6th in the AHL with nine power play goals.

The Rangers may also look to add a top six forward before the February 27th trade deadline.

With the New York Giants bringing home the Lombardi Trophy, the Rangers have a shot at the unique distinction of bringing their home city its second major championship of the year. They have the top-notch play of a handful of All-Stars, and they have their division-rival’s number. They are number one on the ESPN NHL Power Rankings. There is good reason for great hope in New York this year. The Rangers just might take it all.

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THE OBSERVER February 16, 2012

Sports

19

Eli on Top of NFL but Still Looking Up to Peyton

By MICHAEL MCMAHON Staff Writer

The 2011-2012 season in the National Football League has ended, and the dust is beginning to settle.

Eli Manning sits on top, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, while his brother Peyton was unable to take a snap all year, and so the inevitable question has come up: Who is the better Manning?

It is an understandable debate.

Eli has now surpassed Peyton in Super Bowl victories, twice defeating the Patriots, a team that has given Peyton fits over the stretch of his career. Eli plays in a bigger market, and the nature of his championships simply carries a greater dramatic magnitude. Eli has better playoff statistics when comparing each player’s first eight seasons, especially considering that Peyton took nine years to win his first and only Super Bowl. Naturally, a case is going to be made for the younger brother as the better brother, but anyone making that case does so blindly.

We know that championships rule the day in the NFL. Terry Bradshaw (212 touchdowns, 210 interceptions) is in the Hall of Fame, and Donovan McNabb (234, 117) probably never will be. But maybe it is time that we step back from the trophy-clutching ways of discussing players in the NFL. After all, it is a team that wins a championship, and the best team doesn’t necessarily have the best quarterback.

Eli has always had things that Peyton has not, including an aboveaverage and sometimes phenomenal defense combined with a consistent running game. Since 2006, the year of Peyton’s championship victory, the Giants have had a Top 15 defense four times, while the Colts have only had one twice. Moreover, the Giants average ranking in rushing yards per game in the same span is 11th, while the Colts are a distant 26th.

Perhaps the most telling fact about each player’s relative value is the NFL Most Valuable Player scoreboard. Peyton Manning is the all-time leader in NFL MVPs won; Peyton won his fourth for his great 2009 season. Eli has yet to win the

LIONEL HAHN/ABACA PRESS/MCT

Though Eli won his second Super Bowl, he still has a ways to go to catch up to his older brother.

award It doesn’t get any easier for the younger brother when looking at the numbers. The statistics are heavily stacked against Eli. In his career, Eli has only twice posted a season passer rating above 90, while Peyton’s season rating has only

twice been below 90. By the end of Peyton’s seventh season (Eli’s in his eighth), he had broken the record for touchdown passes in an NFL season by tossing 49; Eli has never had more than 31. In fact, Peyton’s career average touchdowns per season are just a half-touchdown below

Eli’s career high. Peyton’s career completion percentage (64.9) is over six points higher than Eli’s (58.4), and the former holds a much higher career passer rating (94.9) than the latter (82.1).

It is certainly possible that one day, Eli will stand firm as the bet-

ter Manning. He is just entering the second half of his career, while some speculate that Peyton’s career may be over. His playoff record is better, and there’s no reason to believe he’s slowing down any time soon. Eli might get there; he’s just not there yet.

Branden Frazier Coming Into His Own in Sophomore Season

By RANDY NARINE Sports Editor

Rams point guard Branden Frazier, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’14, spent his days as a kid with a baseball glove and bat in his hands. It wasn’t until Frazier was 10 years old that his brother got him interested in basketball. From that instance, Frazier has never looked back.

When Frazier developed his passion for the sport, he started shooting hoops on the playground of P.S. 20 elementary school in Brooklyn. The point guard shaped his game after the words his brother told him, “Always keep your head up no matter what you do. It doesn’t matter if you miss a shot or turn the ball over, always keep your head up. Never let your opponent or anyone in the crowd see a sign of weakness from you. Be mentally focused and always be prepared.”

It was at Bishop Loughlin High School that Frazier was introduced to organized basketball. He played basketball all four years of high school, the final two for the varsity team. Frazier truly excelled during his senior year, leading his team to the city championship. Though the team fell short, losing a nail-biter, Frazier said the loss was his “most memorable high school moment” and a “great way to cap of his career.” The point guard’s efforts that season earned him All City honors.

“ I want to give my mom everything she wants in the world and I feel basketball can take me there.”

BRANDEN FRAZIER, FCRH ’14

Frazier had to make a quick transition from high school to college ball, as he started from day one. “It was tough coming in to Fordham and having to start,” Frazier said. “I had to play a big role on the team but I think it helped me grow a lot.” He ended a strong rookie campaign finishing third on the team in points per game (11.0) and second in assists (90) and steals (17).

Now, in the midst of his second season with the team, Frazier plays a much larger role. He is the team’s primary point guard and the player who runs the entire offense. “I’ve improved a lot as a player,” Frazier said. “I’m better at driving to the basket, getting teammates open, being a coach on the floor and just being a leader everyday.”

Frazier draws his inspiration to play from his family. “My family drives me and I love to see them

come out games and make them happy each time I’m on the floor,” Frazier said. “’Also I want to give my mom everything she wants in this world and I feel basketball can take me there.”

While he is on the court, Frazier looks to his “other family” for support. “Kervin Bristol (FCRH ’12), helps me the most on the team by making me focus every time we step on the floor,” Frazier said. “He makes me smile, but he can make me mad to hype me up to play better. He’ll tell me things like ‘We got to get this money boy!’”

Outside of basketball, Frazier is your average college student.

He loves spending time with his teammates, whether it’s going to get food or just sitting around talking. In his free time, Frazier loves watching television, especially “Everybody Hates Chris”. Frazier finds the show “crazy and hilarious,” and because it’s set in his home borough of Brooklyn, he can “relate to it.”

At the end of his Fordham career Frazier “hopes to have his jersey lifted or his name in the record books.” He said, “I just want to leave Fordham with everyone knowing I was here.”

As for the future, Frazier’s number one goal is to play basketball professionally. “I just want to be able to play somewhere, either in the NBA or overseas.

LUCY SUTTON/THE OBSERVER

Branden Frazier is currently leading the Rams in assists per game and is second in points per game.

20

Sports

February 16, 2012 THE OBSERVER

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Can Lin Revitalize an Underperforming Knicks Team?

By JOE SPORACIO Assistant Sports Co-Editor

Going into the season, Knicks fans were hopeful that Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire could come together to help bring the Knicks their first championship since 1973. No one expected it would be Jeremy Lin, the second year guard out of Harvard, who was waived by two other teams this season, that would be the catalyst behind kick-starting a Knicks season that seemed all but doomed.

Last year had a great feel to it, with the Knicks clinching a playoff birth for the first time since 2000.

After months of speculation midseason, on February 21, 2011, Carmelo Anthony was traded to New York, with teammate Chauncey Billups. The combination of Carmelo, Amar’e and a somewhat healthy Billups put on a spectacle during the second half of the season and gave Knicks fans something to look forward to in 2012.

Yet, this season has seemed quite bleak.

To assemble an even better team, in the off-season, the Knicks acquired former Mavericks center Tyson Chandler and signed him to a large 58 million dollar contract.

In order to fit Chandler under the salary cap the Knicks waived point guard Chauncey Billups and replaced him with Mike Bibby. As the season continues to unfold, this appears to be the move that has been key to the Knicks’ woes.

Finally, the Knicks also signed point guard Baron Davis to a oneyear contract, worth $1.4 million in an attempt to sure up the guard position, but Davis has yet to play

this season.

The Knicks struggles this season and even in the past are often blamed upon the game plan of Coach Mike D’Antoni, but the system may not be the problem; the problem is the lack of a point guard. D’Antoni’s “seven seconds or less” method of playing basketball has been backfiring this season. The seven seconds system pushes the pace of the game in an

Jeremy Lin, the nowstarting point guard, has finally received playing time and has breathed life into a battered team. attempt to profit from early mismatches or quick pick and rolls.

When playing this style of offense, players make quick decisions and quick catch-and-shoot plays that put pressure on the opposing defense. The Knicks try to make points in transition before the other team’s defense has a chance to set up. This method was effective for D’Antoni when he was coaching the Suns, but it has not been working for the Knicks. The reason for this is that this system requires that you have the kind of point guard that can read a defense and make intelligent, quick decisions.

The point guard position has remained a problem for the Knicks since the start of the season. Mike Bibby was signed this off-season,

yet he might as well not have been signed. Coach D’Antoni benched him after a string of dismal playing. Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert had also attempted to fill this role, yet neither was effective. Fans were preparing to wait excruciatingly long for the return of Baron Davis from injury, but with the Knicks at 8-15, the season was not looking very bright. The future for Knicks fans looked grim with an anemic offense, an injured Davis, a hurting Melo and Amar’e losing his brother to a car crash.

Yet, all this changed with the coming out of the party of the Knicks newest start, Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin, the now-starting point guard finally received playing time and breathed life into a battered team. Lin has since led the Knicks to six straight wins, averaging 26.8 points per game and 7.8 assists per game over the span of the winning streak. If Lin can maintain this production at point guard, the Knicks can revitalize their offense. Lin is exactly the type of player than can get Stoudemire back on track and help take some pressure off of Carmelo Anthony.

Coach D’Antoni was impressed by the performances, saying “The biggest thing is, he’s (Jeremy Lin) got a point guard mentality. He has a rhyme or reason to what he’s doing and players can kind of play off that.”

Fans certainly hope the Lin can give Amar’e and Melo some help and be a presence on the court. The shortened season is still young, and it looks like there may still be quite a lot of fight in this 2012 Knicks team. Will it be enough for another playoff berth? Time will tell.

CHUCK MYERS/MCT

Jeremy Lin has been the catalyst behind the Knicks 6-game winning streak.