Issue 6 Spring 2020

Observer the

@fordhamobserver

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April 8, 2020 VOLUME XL, ISSUE 6

Online-Only Edition

Former Fordham President O’Hare Dies at 89

By SOPHIE PARTRIDGE-HICKS News Editor

COURTESY OF FORDHAM NEWS

On the morning of March 30, University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., emailed the Fordham community to share that the Rev. Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., the 31st president of the university, had passed away. He was 89.

William Sceney, O’Hare’s nephew, confirmed that he died from complications of liver cancer after his health began to decline after Christmas 2019.

O’Hare was born on Feb. 12, 1931, in the West Bronx, New York. His father Joseph O’Hare worked for the New York Police and his mother Marie was a teacher for New York City’s public schools.

He was the only Bronx-born president since Fordham was founded in 1841 — a point of pride, according to McShane’s email.

O’Hare joined the Society of Jesus when he was 17. In an interview with the New York Times in 1998, he described his faith as “not an otherworldly kind of spirituality — it’s the kind very geared to involvement in the present time.”

The Jesuits assigned O’Hare to live and learn in the Philippines.

O’Hare pictured in front of O’Hare Hall, a dormitory at Rose Hill. O’Hare built four residence halls during his tenure, including McMahon Hall, which changed Fordham from a commuter school to a predominantly residential community.

Club Sport Athletes Face Lost Spring Season

USG Presidential Candidates Debate Online

By GUS DUPREE News Editor

ZOOM

USG presidential candidates Loreen Ruiz, FCLC ’21, (above) and Robert Stryczek, GSB ’21, (below) discuss their hopes for Fordham Lincoln Center’s future.

The online debate took place on Friday, April 3.

For the first time in the history of Fordham Lincoln Center, the United Student Government (USG) hosted its presidential debate entirely online due to the coronavirus outbreak. Presidential candidates Loreen Ruiz, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’21, and Robert Stryczek, Gabelli School of Business ’21, answered questions before an online Zoom audience on April 3.

In preparation for the debate, both candidates discussed their respective platforms and shared their thoughts on the unique nature of the debate.

Robert Stryczek, current USG vice president, said he hoped to improve student engagement on campus if he were elected as president.

“In terms of what I would like to accomplish, increasing involvement is always at the top of my list.

We have such a great community at Fordham and I always want to get more people to join it,” he said.

Stryczek wishes to facilitate easier communication within and between student groups and organizations. As USG president, he promises to “continue streamlining processes to help club leaders and events hold the events they want” in a more prompt and easier manner. see USG page 3

COURTESY OF FORDHAM SAILING

Fordham Sailing has won many events in recent years, as it did in the 2019 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta.

By PATRICK MOQUIN Sports & Editor

Eddie Harrison, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill ’22, described a team meeting discussing potential postponement of the sailing season as “the most depressing meeting I’ve ever been a part of.” It wasn’t until he went home that all remaining spring regattas were canceled.

The term “club sport” carries a certain connotation of casual, inconsequential competition, and in some cases, this is accurate. In sailing, it couldn’t be farther from the truth, as Fordham competes in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) in the Middle Atlantic conference (MAISA).

Harrison said, “Sailing’s a club sport for Fordham, but we’re

On our website Online Town Hall

Sports & Health

Opinions

Arts & Culture

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The mental and physical benefits of stretching

Students need to maintain social connectedness while living apart

Student-written plays aim to move forward virtually

Page 4

Deans Eldredge and Auricchio host an FCLC Town Hall on Zoom

Stretch More, Stress Less

see O’HARE page 2

Physical vs. Social Distancing

one of the top club teams in the country, and all the ICSA teams compete against each other, whether they’re varsity or club.”

Sailing is technically a club sport at Fordham, but it competes like a varsity team. In 2019, the team reached the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship and finished 11th see CLUB SPORTS page 5

Studio Shows Postponed

Page 6

The Student Voice of Fordham Lincoln Center

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News

April 8, 2020 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

Honoring Fordham’s Longest-Serving President

O’HARE from page 1

He graduated in 1954 from Berchmans College in Cebu City, where he earned a master’s degree the next year.

He returned to the United States in 1959 to continue his theological studies at Woodstock College in Maryland. In 1968, he received a doctorate in philosophy at Fordham.

In 1975, O’Hare became Editor-in-Chief of America, a Jesuit magazine. There, he wrote a column for the publication which received four Catholic Press Association Awards. The Rev. Matt Malone, S.J., current editor-in-chief of America Media, referred to O’Hare as a “towering figure in the history of America magazine.”

O’Hare was inaugurated as president of Fordham University on Sept. 30, 1984, and served for 19 years, the longest-serving Fordham president.

Vice President for Administration Rev. George J. McMahon, S.J., presided over the inauguration ceremony and read letters from former President Ronald Reagan and Gov. Cuomo to congratulate O’Hare.

“Your distinguished career in the Jesuits order and in the field of education speaks for itself,” Reagan wrote.

In his letter, Cuomo described O’Hare’s appointment as “a homecoming as well as an inauguration; a Bronx-born, Bronxbred philosopher and writer and professor and priest coming back to where he began.”

In his inaugural address to the university, O’Hare touched on Fordham’s identity as New York City’s Jesuit university.

“It is a common working assumption at Fordham that religious faith and critical intelligence are not contradictory habits of mind. It is important that the Catholic idea of relating faith and reason not disappear,” O’Hare said.

O’Hare became president of the university during economic and cultural instability in the Bronx, and many credit him with leading Fordham’s comeback.

Financial support for the university increased dramatically

COURTESY OF PETER FREED/FORDHAM NEWS

O’Hare shows student leaders the construction plans for what is now known as the Walsh Family Library.

throughout O’Hare’s tenure: The Observer reported that the university’s endowment increased from $36.5 million to $271.6 million, and donations from alumni and friends increased 300%.

Fordham’s applicant pool also increased from 4,500 in 1995 to 11,000 in 2002.

“ I doubt there are

many university presidents who knew as many students by their first names. ” Rev. Robert Grimes, S.J., Former Dean of FCLC

COURTESY OF FORDHAM NEWS

O’Hare with his mother and father.

He also oversaw the construction of the William D. Walsh Family Library in 1997 and four new dormitories on the Rose Hill campus.

Lincoln Center’s first residential hall, McMahon, was also constructed in 1993.

The New York Times reported that before O’Hare’s presidency, 70% or more of Fordham’s students were commuters. When he retired, 70% lived on campus.

It was also under O’Hare’s leadership that Fordham instituted its core curriculum, intended to expose students to multiple disciplines, which is at the heart of the Fordham academic experience today.

Rev. Robert Grimes, S.J., former dean of Fordham College Lincoln Center, lauded O’Hare’s commitment to the Fordham community.

“I doubt there are many university presidents who knew as many students by their first names,” he told The Observer in 2002.

In April 1988, former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch appointed O’Hare as Chairman of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, an initiative devised to reduce the

influence of money in city politics and expand citizen engagement.

He was reappointed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 1994 and again in 1999.

He served alongside Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“Father Joseph A. O’Hare was one of my heroes,” she said in a statement for America magazine.

Koch often praised O’Hare for his contributions to the Fordham and New York City community.

When O’Hare retired from Fordham, Koch even expressed how he hoped the pope would remove the restriction of elected public office for priests, as he thought O’Hare should be the next mayor of New York City.

O’Hare never did run for political office. In a statement this week describing O’Hare, Mayor Bloomberg said, “one of the very best never ran for office — but he has left a mark on politics like no other.”

On top of his political work, O’Hare remained committed to civic engagement and served as a leader to the Jesuit community.

During the civil war in El Salvador, six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter were shot and murdered in 1989. O’Hare was among the delegation of Jesuits that traveled to the country to pay respects.

“He was a national and international authority on Jesuit higher education,” McShane wrote. When O’Hare retired as president of Fordham in 2002, he told The Observer that his greatest accomplishments were how he “affirmed a better understanding of Fordham’s identity as a Catholic institution and the reform of undergraduate education.”

He was awarded 10 honorary degrees over the course of his career.

In the same interview, he said the most rewarding part of his job was “the opportunity to get to know so many people, the privilege of representing Fordham and seeing the respect we receive.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, O’Hare’s burial and funeral were kept private. However, McShane confirmed that a memorial Mass will be celebrated for O’Hare in the University Church when the Fordham community is able to reconvene safely.

Zoom Classes Prompt Questions on Cybersecurity

By JOE KOTTKE Asst. News Editor

In the rapid shift from face-toface to online classes, many colleges and universities are utilizing Zoom Video Communications to convene for lectures and clubs — including Fordham. Problems have now arisen with the platform, such as data sharing with third-party companies and “Zoombombing,” where attendees of public meetings are able to broadcast inappropriate content such as pornography.

The increase in concerns over Zoom privacy follows the company’s dramatic takeover of digital communication, with its stock value doubling since the beginning of 2020, and the service used daily by over 200 million people.

In a message to Zoom users on April 1, Founder and CEO Eric Yaun confirmed the videoconferencing service is working with over 90,000 schools around the world to deliver remote education.

On April 4, Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza banned the use of Zoom in New York City schools due to “security and privacy” concerns, according to Fast Company. Instead, Carranza is opting to use Microsoft Teams, as it is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act..

In an interview with CNN Business, Yaun said they are “still in the process” of working with the New York City Board of Education by further enforcing security settings and lowering the risk of Zoombombing.

“We recognize that we have fallen short of the community’s – and our own – privacy and security expectations. For that, I am deeply sorry,” Yaun said in his April 1 address. “We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home.”

Matt Chen, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’22 and a computer science major, said that the move to online classes via Zoom has put students and faculty alike into a “difficult and frustrating” situation.

“We already live in a surveillance state and our private information is already exposed,” Chen said. “It is hard to come by somebody our age who has their information truly ‘secure.’”

According to Chen, he has professors who are choosing to not make their class sessions public to combat Zoombombing; instead, they are admitting each student individually into private conferences. Chen said he has spent up to

Zoombombing can occur in any unprotected meeting, allowing for the anonymous spread of potentially offensive messages.

15 minutes waiting to be admitted into a Zoom lecture for this to happen.

Shaya Phillips, interim chief information officer at Fordham; and Jason Benedict, associate vice president of information security

ZOOM

for the university, spoke to The Observer about student data earlier in the semester prior to the pandemic.

According to Benedict, there are three types of data his office uses: public, sensitive and confidential.

“All of our faculty have end-

point protection, which you might know as anti-virus. We also protect against unintended sharing of student data by technologies that make sure that student data isn’t inadvertently shared with folks outside of Fordham,” Benedict said.

In addition to student concerns over data protection, the online semester brings forth questions about online free speech, as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) named Fordham its April “speech code of the month.”

FIRE cites that Fordham’s Information Technology (IT) usage policy cites “any IT Resource, including email or other communication system to intimidate, insult, embarrass, or harass others” is prohibited.

FIRE argues that it is easy for a student to claim to be insulted or embarrassed over online learning, as classes are completely conducted on Zoom.

To try to combat these concerns, Zoom has published an abundance of resources, including an address on Zoombombing, confirmation that they have removed the software development kit that sent information to Facebook and guides for educators on setting up their classroom.

Yaun also promised to host a weekly webinar on privacy and security updates on Zoom.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER April 8, 2020

Fordham Students Lose Internships and Jobs as Global Crisis Continues

By BRIELLE CAYER and ALLIE STOFER Staff Writers

Regine Anastacio, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, didn’t know her internship would be at risk when New York declared a state of emergency. So, when she was forced to leave her position with global talent agency Management in late March, she was taken aback and disappointed.

“I miss it a lot,” Anastacio said of her role as a digital content, marketing and image archiving intern, a job she’d held since February. “It would’ve been nice to continue to work there because it was something I really enjoyed and have wanted for such a long time.”

Anastacio is not the only student struggling with the loss of an internship. As the coronavirus spreads, more Fordham students are finding themselves in similar situations. With states implementing stay-at-home orders, many offices where students work are closed.

“On one hand, it’s good for employees to stay home and be safe, but on the other hand, a lot of these students, like me, need the money to support their housing/school/ lives and it is hard to earn during this time of quarantine,” Anastacio said.

On March 12, Anastacio’s internship was put on hold when the office closed. Later, technical limitations concerning the job’s required hardware did not allow her to work from home.

Anastacio said, “At the time, I wasn’t too worried about it because I wasn’t fired or anything and I thought that this quarantine lockdown wouldn’t be too long,” Only 10 days later, on March 22, Anastacio’s internship, along with many others at Management, was canceled due to the loss of clientele.

As a communications and culture

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS/THE OBSERVER

major, this was a significant letdown — the position was ideal for her intended career path in digital marketing.

“This was one of my dream internships. It was helpful because I got to learn a lot about the fashion industry from a marketing standpoint and I was able to hone in on my organizational skills,” Anastacio said.

Although Anastacio was not financially dependent upon her internship, she relied on it to gain experience and contacts. She lamented her lost opportunities, saying, “I was finally working in an established fashion talent acquisition agency and I was looking forward to creating new connections within the fashion industry.”

Still, Anastacio acknowledged that she is grateful for having the time to explore other internships in the future. “Thankfully I’m just a junior and this doesn’t impact my career or future too hard,” she said.

“I hope that seniors that are graduating are able to land on their feet after this and I know that they definitely have the potential to do that.”

For Andy Vega, FCLC ’20, the cancellation of his internship threw a wrench in his plans. He was interning for the second semester in a row as a talk programming intern for the SiriusXM show “Bennington” before the program was suspended on March 15. The internship was extremely important for his future goals to “work in video/audio production and eventually have a career in comedy as a writer/actor.”

“The SiriusXM internship has been particularly helpful in learning about the radio industry,” Vega said. “Working with a small team within a large company has made it easy to network and improve my technical skills.”

When the program ended, the human resources department sent an email to interns announcing that “the internship was suspended until further notice.” As of now, the program is still suspended, and Vega does not expect it to start again, as everyone is still working from home.

In addition to internships, student jobs were affected too. Gabe Carrillo, Gabelli School of Business ’22, had been working at the Fordham Law School mailroom, a job which began the first week of spring semester. After everyone left campus, Carillo’s job ended since mail no longer needed distributing. Carillo also lost a portion of his income because he is not a part of the work-study program.

Carillo explained that the loss of his job led to him losing skills and contact with professors.

“While not very specific to my career goals, it did help me with my time management, organization skills, as well as getting to interact with a lot of professors that taught in the law school and learn of their lives and how they got to where they are,” Carrillo said.

Aside from affecting students with local internships and jobs, the outbreak of the coronavirus has also impacted those preparing to intern abroad. Loreen Ruiz, FCLC ’21, planned to participate in the Fordham in London Summer Internship Program. When the Fordham Study Abroad program was canceled mid-March, she was devastated.

“Through the program, I would have spent my first month in London taking an international business class, and the second month at an internship placement,” Ruiz explained. “As a result of different circumstances, I haven’t been able to secure internships in relevant fields of interest in past summers, and so, this summer I was really hoping to get an internship in an area that I wanted to work in.”

With the program being canceled, Ruiz has to scramble to make new arrangements. “I don’t have alternative plans for a summer internship now that my program has been canceled,” Ruiz said. “I’ll be reaching out to organizations that I’ve worked with in the past and see if they need any help.”

In a time of so many unknowns, Fordham students are struggling to deal with the uncertainties in the workplace. The internships provided students with hands-on learning experiences that they are unable to get in the classroom.

Without these opportunities, students will enter the workplace with not only less experience, but also fewer contacts.

“It’s such a complicated situation,” Anastacio said. “Obviously, we shouldn’t be going out anywhere and don’t need to be spending money but personally, it does give me anxiety about what I’m going to do after this quarantine period.”

Uncertainty Over Summer 2020 Courses

By MICHELLE AGARON Staff Writer

Over the past few weeks, Fordham students were forced to come to terms with completing their spring semester online. As new projections about the longevity of the virus and its spread are being released, returning to Fordham in the near future is becoming less likely.

Fordham has responded to this uncertainty by changing the structure of their summer school courses for 2020. The summer school staff communicated this change to students over email on March 27 and through an update on Fordham’s website.

Summer courses at Fordham are split into two sessions: Session I runs from May 26 to June 25, and Session II runs June 30 to Aug. 4. All courses in Session I will now be conducted online in a synchronous/asynchronous format: students will meet for a portion of their originally scheduled time slots with additional coursework to be completed at another time.

Session II is currently still slated for on-site meeting, but this plan is subject to change as the coronavirus situation develops. Fordham will not house students for Session I and has not officially decided whether to do so for Session II. Students who were planning to register for summer courses are reporting second thoughts. For those who can’t fathom another semester of online classes, their only option for receiving in-person courses is by registering for Session II. Yet neither the administration nor students are certain that this opportunity will be possible months down the line.

ANDREW BEECHER/THE OBSERVER

As the coronavirus outbreak threatens summer plans, Fordham has made arrangements for the first session to take place virtually.

Olive Zoda, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’23, looked forward to taking a Spanish course this summer to accelerate her foreign language requirement so that she would be able to study abroad in Spain by spring 2021. After learning about the switch to online courses for Session I, however, she decided to try for Session II despite her reservations about a possible shift to online learning.

“I find it really hard to learn separately from my classes and professors, since a lot of my classes were discussion- or collaboration-based, so not being able to be in person with the other people in class and my professors has pretty much ruined the dynamic of the class or any potential to learn from it,” she said.

“As for summer sessions, I don’t know what could make this better.

I don’t think online classes could ever be conducive to real learning. The only thing I can think of is hopefully having professors be more available/responsive with emails and office hours,” Zoda continued.

For other students, the shift to online summer courses does not pose as much of a problem. Wes Green, FCLC ’21, was planning on registering for two courses — a historical distribution class for his English major and the fourth Eloquentia Perfecta (EP4) requirement to be able to double major in English and music. When signing up for these two courses, he was fully aware that they would be exclusively online.

“I’m not worried about taking summer classes online because many of my current seminar-style English classes have gone online and they are working out mostly well. I feel confident that the online nature of the courses wouldn’t affect the take-away I had from the class as long as I apply myself fully,” he said.

Green hopes to return to New York City as soon as it is safe, as his job is located there and he is still paying rent for his apartment.

Given that his classes are online as it is, their virtual nature does not act as an impediment to his learning.

Although no professor has withdrawn from teaching a course during Session I or II, some courses could not be transferred online.

The Musical Theatre Intensive class which was initially scheduled to occur from May 26 to June 25 was canceled on March 20.

Fordham was prepared to offer students a month of working with theater professionals on an ensemble and individual level, but the in-person collaboration and musical equipment necessary to the course would not work as effectively through a screen.

Despite the uncertainty clouding the future of both summer sessions, the summer school staff remains optimistic about the success of the courses they are offering.

Tara Czechowski, dean of Summer Session, believes in the ability of her faculty and encourages students to register for summer courses they are interested in.

“We’re all committed to giving students a positive learning experience through whatever modality available. With online courses, students are going to be able to save money on commuting and housing, while making progress on their degrees,” she stated.

“In terms of registering for Session II, any changes made to the schedule will be toward a more flexible online format, and they will be made before Session I begins so students should be able to add a first session course if one works better for them,” Czechkowski continued.

Most importantly, she wants to remind students that summer courses are fully refundable through the add/drop dates of each session. Interest does not have to equal commitment.

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USG Candidates Discuss the Future of FLC on Zoom USG from page 1

Stryczek also hopes to launch an intramural sports league at Fordham Lincoln Center next academic year — something which he had hoped would be launched this spring but which was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak.

In short, he hopes to make sure “everyone has a great Fordham year 2020-2021, and to leave a mark that would go beyond that.”

Ruiz described her campaign as “centered around USG administrative reform and making Fordham a place students are proud to be.” USG, according to Ruiz, “needs to regain students’ trust, and the first step to reform is acknowledging that we currently don’t have it.”

Ruiz has worked for the Office of Student Involvement for three years, where she acted as a liaison between students and USG itself. If elected president, Ruiz hopes to reorganize USG internally and to improve its image as “an organization that has them on their side.”

She has promised to increase transparency within USG, including to release vote tallies for the next election. “I know admin work is not sexy, but it’s exactly what USG needs!”

Ruiz also hopes to improve school spirit on campus. “Students can’t be expected to find or understand school spirit just by wearing maroon or hosting fun events,” Ruiz said in reference to Fordham Fridays, a USG-sponsored event in which students wearing Fordham colors or gear are given free pizza slices.

“School spirit and pride is based on creating a community in which every student — commuter or resident, freshman or senior, club leader or not — is happy,” she said.

Both confident that the new digital component wouldn’t be too disruptive to the election process.

“It’s disappointing that Loreen and I won’t be able to add a more in-person touch to our campaigns, but doesn’t every election have its challenges?” Stryczek asked.

Ruiz acknowledged that the transition to online was “certainly trying for us as a community,” she saw both a challenge and an opportunity for community members to stay connected digitally.

“I believe that proficiency in social media is an important skill to have as USG President, and I hope to demonstrate this proficiency through my campaign,” she said.

The USG Elections Committee explained in an email that it hopes the unique circumstances of this year’s election cycle won’t discourage community involvement and voter turnout, stating, “We hope that a virtual debate allows people to tune in from the comfort of their home or space while also still being active in deciding the future of their student government.”

The committee also hopes that the online debate will give students a platform in which they can directly interact with student government: “We want to stress that EVERYONE is a member of USG and that your voice matters in a campus as close knit as ours.”

Visit fordhamobserver.com to read the full story and view more election coverage.

Sports & Health

Sports & Health Editors Patrick Moquin - pmoquin@fordham.edu Lena Weidenbruch - lweidenbruch@fordham.edu

Stretch Your Way to a Great Day

By RAHUL SUKESH Staff Writer

With the coronavirus pandemic mandating we practice social distancing and self-quarantining, odds are we all don’t have full gyms at home, but this doesn’t mean we can’t move our bodies. Even if you don’t work out or are simply taking a break, stretching is especially important as we are cooped up in our homes, and our daily activities have been reduced to walking around the house. The lack of activity can tense your body up and decrease your flexibility, so don’t forget to stretch.

In addition to increasing flexibility and range of motion, the benefits of stretching include increasing blood flow to your muscles, reducing the risk of back pain, alleviating stress and calming the mind. As we acclimate to online classes at home, stretching even without actually working out can still be beneficial to put ourselves in a good head space.

Personally, I like to stretch right after I get out of the shower in the morning because I feel like it’s a good way to start my day. While you can pretty much do whatever you want to stretch your muscles out, here are a few of my favorites: Lower Body Standing Toe Touch: Whether or not you can actually touch your toes isn’t important.

As long as you are reaching as far down as possible and giving your back a good stretch you’re doing great. In addition to your back, this stretch hits your quads, hamstrings and glutes.

Full Leg Stretch: To do this, place your leg on an elevated surface and try to touch your toes. This also works if you are sitting down. While this works out the same regions as the standing toe touch, I find there’s more tension on the legs here.

Butterfly Stretch: Fairly simple, this stretch begins with you sitting down and connecting the soles of your feet.

Bring your feet as close to your groin as possible and move your knees up and down like a butterfly — hence the name — following a controlled pattern taking more time to go down than up. This will primarily stretch out your inner thighs, but you should feel it in the rest of your legs too.

Upper Body Side Bends and Torso Rotations: For stretching the upper body, I like to start by putting my hands on my hips and rocking my body side to side followed by rotating my torso. This will stretch out the muscles in your torso and a bit of your lats.

Shoulder Stretch: Start by taking one arm and crossing it as far as possible to the opposite side (i.e., move your right arm to the left side of your body by crossing it over your chest). By simply using your other hand to facilitate this, you are doing the stretch.

Lateral Stretch: There are a few ways to stretch your laterals. While I prefer to simply raise and bring out one shoulder while lowering the other, the more traditional approach would

April 8, 2020

THE OBSERVER

be to stand up, put one hand in the air and bring it as far as possible to the opposite side (i.e., while raising your right hand bend your body to the left and vice versa.)

Neck Stretch: This is one of my favorite stretches to do before any class. All you do is rotate your neck side to side in any direction you want. If inclined, you can also use your hand to pull your neck to the other side, but be sure you don’t use too much force as it could damage the blood vessels or the ligaments and tendons holding your head up. In fact, if you do feel stiffness in your neck and either a no-hand or little-pressure stretch doesn’t work, it’s best to see a chiropractor.

The same dangers can be said for all stretches. Don’t push your body too much. Forcing a body part to go in a certain way can have detrimental side effects that could strain muscles and increase your susceptibility to injury. So how much is too much? It all depends on the pain you feel. While a good stretch should lead to mild discomfort to where you can feel the pull in your body, any sharp pain is not good, and if you feel it, refrain from going that far again.

Stretching is a great way to start your day. One benefit of stretching in the morning is giving yourself the feeling and recognition that you accomplished something. I find I am more productive throughout the day if I have done something, like stretching, in the morning. While there are limits to your body that everyone should acknowledge, a good stretch can help fight the overwhelming sensation of feeling trapped inside your home and kickstart your day.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MADDIE SANDHOLM/THE OBSERVER

Three Supplements Actually Backed by Science

By LUKE OSBORN Sports & Health Editor Emeritus

Supplements and herbs are all part of complementary medicine, which are therapies that fall beyond the scope of evidence-based medicine. Nevertheless, medical researchers do study some therapies and supplements that fall under this umbrella. Not all the supplements produce the intended results when studied against a placebo, but some, like the three following herbs and supplements, have actually produced promising results.

When taking any supplement,

it’s important to both do your research and consult your doctor.

Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration: Both the safety and labeling of supplements are up to the manufacturer. Many factors, including harvesting and processing methods, also affect how potent the supplements are.

Though they may seem like natural or harmless complements to conventional medicine, supplements of any kind can have harmful interactions with drugs one might already be taking. Others may cause health risks that may outweigh the purported benefits

of using the supplements. That’s why one should always consult their doctor before starting any kind of supplement.

Zinc Your immune system, among other bodily mechanisms, already requires zinc for optimal functioning. Immune cells sometimes increase their interior concentration of zinc; the high levels of zinc make for a harsh environment for an engulfed pathogen, which hastens their demise.

There are several small studies that may indicate zinc’s effectiveness in shortening the common

ANDREW DRESSNER/THE OBSERVER

Zinc, lavender and the omega-3 in walnuts are just a few supplements that have scientifically proven health benefits.

cold. However, in order to see effective results, one needed to take zinc at the onset of symptoms. Moreover, there are side effects associated with zinc intake, which include nausea and a persisting bad taste. Based on the data, researchers didn’t recommend taking zinc every day to prevent the onset of colds.

According to the Mayo Clinic, taking zinc in lozenge or syrup form is the best way to see this effect. This way, the zinc has a better chance of coming in contact with the virus that causes the common cold in the throat. It’s also important to avoid taking zinc in large amounts because large amounts of zinc can cause anemia, suboptimal immune functioning and copper deficiency.

Lavender Derived from the flowers at the top of the plant with the same name, lavender may reduce anxiety and promote sleep, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Individuals can take lavender in a supplement or apply it topically on the skin.

Many studies have also analyzed lavender through aromatherapy.

One study of patients with anxiety-related restlessness found that lavender, when taken orally, alleviated restlessness in slightly more individuals than a placebo.

Another study of college students who reported sleep issues wore either a blank patch or one with aromatic lavender for five nights; the students who practiced better sleep habits and had the patch with lavender experienced better quality of sleep compared to those

who had only practiced better sleep habits.

MSKCC doesn’t recommend taking lavender in addition to sedatives because lavender may increase the drug’s effects. Applying lavender directly to the skin may also cause irritation. It's unclear how lavender improves sleep, but incorporating lavender in one’s sleep routine may improve sleep quality.

Omega-3 Lastly, omega-3 fatty acids are derived from fish oils. According to MSKCC, these fatty acids may help with heart health, cholesterol levels and depression. Fish are not the sole source for omega-3; linseed oil, flaxseed oil, walnuts and chia seeds are also a good source for omega-3.

Omega-3 does not lower the risk of having a heart attack, but for individuals with a history of strokes, a study has shown a reduction in subsequent strokes for those who supplement omega-3s in their diets.

Omega-3 has shown the most promise in regard to cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, omega-3 may help lower one’s levels of harmful triglycerides, and research has also demonstrated a slight increase in HDL cholesterol, a molecule that reduces the risk for heart disease.

A caveat, however, is that omega-3 has been shown to increase harmful LDL cholesterol.

On the whole, omega-3 may lower harmful inflammation.

Omega-3 supplementation may also help protect the skin from sunburn and ultraviolet light.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER April 8, 2020

Sports & Health

5

COURTESY OF FORDHAM MEN’S LACROSSE

CLUB SPORTS from page 1

Quiet Spring for Fo rdham

out of 16 teams. In another discipline scored across two divisions, the team reached the Gil Coed Eastern Semifinal and finished 10th out of 18 teams.

Over the course of a typical season, Fordham sailing competes against Stanford University, Brown University, Boston University and the U.S. Naval Academy, elite sailing schools and the type of competition few varsity sports at Rose Hill would ever consider contending with. These men and women travel to City Island in the Bronx most days for practice and still attend classes later in the day. It was clearly more than a club for these students, and now it’s been taken away.

In a decision paralleling that of the NCAA, the ICSA decided to offer all sailing team members another spring season of eligibility. According to Harrison, there are some seniors accepting the opportunity, but only because it coincides with their five-year academic programs.

When Harrison was asked if someone would return to Fordham for a fifth year to sail, he responded, “There are reasons to stay, but you can go professional in sailing, and you don’t need college to do that.”

Of course, the usual

COURTESY OF FORDHAM SAILING

r e a s on s to leave after four years exist for sailing team members. They may not want to pay for another year, or they may simply want to graduate and begin a profession.

However, another reason exists for those who sail, as some have ambitions for professional sailing and even the Olympics.

According to Harrison, the skills of college sailing don’t exactly transfer to sailing later in life, and unlike many other professional sports, college experience is not necessary for these pursuits.

Even in a Fordham club sport as serious as sailing, an additional year of eligibility does little to make up for the loss of the spring 2020 season. For other club sports, such a solution would accomplish even less.

In the world of Fordham men’s lacrosse, the players have not yet been offered another year of eligibility following the cancellation of their season. However, when men’s lacrosse player Matthew Ludington, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’22, was asked if someone would complete a fifth year for lacrosse, he laughed and said, “Absolutely not.”

Much like Fordham sailing, Fordham men’s lacrosse is one of the more successful club teams in the region. Unlike sailing, however, that honor

is not viewed with the same amount of prestige.

“We’re actually one of the highest-ranked Division I club teams in the country,” Ludington said. “But, I mean, take that with a grain of salt, because it’s not like it’s that serious. We don’t even have a coach, and there aren’t tryouts.”

Before the season was canceled, the men’s lacrosse team was having a very successful run.

In a National College Lacrosse League (NCLL) Twitter poll, Fordham’s overtime win against Fairfield University club lacrosse was selected as the biggest upset of the shortened season with nearly 72% of the vote. Even so, performance on the field was not the first priority for many players.

“We practice twice a week and we’ll have a game once a week, maybe every other week,” Ludington said. “If you don’t show up to one of the practices or any of the practices, you don’t have to if you want to study or do other things. It’s highly encouraged, but it’s a more casual vibe.”

It’s already becoming clear why a Fordham club lacrosse player wouldn’t accept a fifth year of eligibility. As Ludington described, the aspirations of many players do not extend beyond a desire for social interaction and casual compet it ion.

Club S ports

Some college sports, even club, may lead to professional opportunities, but Ludington pointed out the unlikelihood of this for Fordham lacrosse players as well.

“They came to Fordham for the education,” Ludington said, referring to club lacrosse players. “Lacrosse isn’t a mainstream sport; you can’t really make money off lacrosse unless you’re one of the very best players. There’s no future going into it coming out of a club program like Fordham.”

For club lacrosse players, there’s no way to effectively give seniors and other players their spring seasons back, and in their case specifically, there doesn’t appear to be a reason to do so. The club is a way for students to interact, a way to maximize their college experience, but it’s not the type of opportunity for which a player would be willing to pay a fifth year of tuition. Much like sailing, the season will always be lost, without any feasible way to make things right.

Ludington empathized with seniors, saying, “Imagine if you were a senior, losing lacrosse, but losing everything else too. You’re bumming because of lacrosse, because you’re not getting a real graduation. That’s it, you just had your last weekend of college and didn’t even know it.

Lacrosse is just one aspect of everything.”

Meanwhile, Harrison expressed disappointment that many of the seniors would never again compete with him in a Fordham boat. “College sailing is a unique experience,” Harrison said wistfully. “You’re always there with your friends, and it’s the biggest group of sailors you’ll ever be around working toward one goal.”

However, he also accepted the situation with a sense of hopeful foresight. He noted that sailing is a lifelong passion which extends far beyond college.

Harrison said, “That’s the one thing that’s helped me feel better about the seniors. I’ll probably sail against some of these people for the rest of my life. We won’t be on the Fordham sailing team together, and that sucks, but it’s a tight-knit community and I’ll see a lot of them. It’s the end of their sailing career in college, but it’s not the end of sailing in their life.”

On Monday morning, Harrison was one of two Fordham team members selected to the MAISA all-conference team, and he hopes to make the most of his remaining two seasons. He did not express interest in staying for an additional year.

Opinions

Opinions Editors Grace Getman - ggetman@fordham.edu Evan Vollbrecht - evollbrecht@fordham.edu

April 8, 2020 THE OBSERVER

Online Classes Are Good for Older Professors Copy Editor

Business Managers Teymur Guliyev Srushthi Kshirsagar Online Editor Izzi Duprey Layout Editors Esmé Bleecker-Adams Lara Foley Asst. Layout Editors Maddie Sandholm Olivia Stern

ZOOM

On the first Hawaiian Shirt Thursday, the writer’s Latin professor boosted morale by having everyone wear print shirts and use fun virtual backgrounds.

with all the students sending her Word documents for every class, three times a week. She would compile our responses into one document and email it out again. She was unsure how to use video calling, but I wasn’t sure how well we would learn over email alone.

A week later, triumphant, she emailed us again with a link to Google Hangouts. In that first meeting, she told us she realized her way of hosting class would not be feasible, and she would try as hard as she could to get our class to work out online.

Our class was her guinea pig; there are only five students, so it was an easy class to change from face-to-face to online.

So far, most of our classes have gone without technical difficulties; she only had to call IT twice about fixing the problems she’s experiencing, including closing the browser window rather than a tab and opening Hangouts in two tabs at once so there’s audio feedback. Although this might

seem annoying or prohibitive to learning anything in the class, it isn’t, or not as much as you’d expect. Sure, it’s hard to explain some of these features of video calls, but we are not behind in class, and we are helping her to learn technology, something which would not have happened under normal circumstances.

One of my favorite parts of the day is going to her class and seeing her and my classmates; the tech issues are an expected intrusion.

I’m extremely pleased with how well she (and our class) has adapted. For a professor who has been relatively set in her ways since the 1980s, the fact that my class is excelling is a testament to how online classes in this unusual time have changed our learning (and her teaching) for the better. She learns how to use Google Hangouts; we learn our scheduled lessons from her.

Yes, online classes might suck. No one wants to attend

“Da Crib University”; we’re paying tuition to go to Fordham. But the next time you complain about your professor not being able to work a simple function on their computer, remember that this is a learning experience, even more so for them than for us. They’re the same age as my grandma who checks her email once a month, the same age as my uncle who signs off every text message like it’s a greeting card.

These professors trying to use videoconferencing for the first time might be a decade or two late to the internet game, but at least they’re here, and they’re trying.

They didn’t want to be in this position, just the same as you.

Rather than being bitter and subtweeting your professor on your Twitter account that they’ll never find, you can continue to learn the usual information and also teach these email-averse professors a necessary skill, and that’s a good thing.

A Case for Reaching Out

In the age of social distancing, it’s important we don’t isolate from our friends CORBIN GREGG Staff Writer

Fordham students, like other college students across the United States and throughout the world, have been sent home and are doing what they can to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The pandemic has introduced us all to “flattening the curve,” Zoom and, of course, social distancing.

The way social isolation impacts mental health has been written about extensively, including in The Observer.

The Fordham community faces some unique challenges in dealing with this distancing. Overall, about 60% of Fordham students come from outside of New York state (this article was written in Texas) and 14% are international.

These numbers are much higher than most other universities across the country.

With such large portions of the university population

Editor-in-Chief Owen Roche

Managing Editor Courtney Brogle

JILL RICE

Many of our professors are boomers. That’s not an insult, just a fact: It takes years to earn a degree and even more to become tenured at a university. Often, this is a good thing, since we as young students can learn from their decades of knowledge and research in their fields.

Sometimes, however, their age shows, such as when they type “Google” into a Google search bar, or they can’t figure out how to use a projector.

Now, some professors’ ages are showing even more with online classes, and it can be a hindrance to our learning.

Those same professors who would not accept emailed assignments are now forced to teach their entire class online, or at least post asynchronous activities to stand in for real class time (which we’re still paying for).

Your younger professors are probably more adept at using online platforms like Zoom, Hangouts or WebEx. Maybe you have small group discussions via Zoom’s Breakout Rooms or give presentations through Screen Share.

One of my classes with a young lecturer has shifted almost seamlessly to online discussion on Zoom — he follows us on Twitter and retweets our classics memes, uses a virtual background of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” and uses the Breakout function just as he would place us into groups during class.

Another class with an older professor was originally supposed to be held over email,

Observer the

spread around the globe, it is easy to see how the physical distance between all of us could lead to feelings of isolation and harm our mental health. Not only have we all been sent away from campus and those we’ve grown to love, we’ve been sent back to places where connections to others may now be few and far between.

Of course, we would have been distancing ourselves anyway, regardless of whether or not we had friends closer to us. However, there is something disquieting about being so physically distant from everyone in our strongest social networks.

It feels so easy to disconnect and be alone. Everyone feels so far away. Before all of this happened, it was almost impossible to go anywhere without seeing someone you knew. I mean, at Fordham Lincoln Center, we have, like, three hallways. We were all forced to be social. Now it takes effort — and energy — to do so.

Understanding this reveals

what we need to do to stay mentally healthy and break our isolation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently changed the way it has been describing actions we should take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Previously, we were all told to “socially” distance, but in a March 20 press briefing, the WHO began using the term “physical distancing” in order to emphasize the importance of maintaining social connections throughout the pandemic. The worry is that by telling people to socially distance, they may close themselves off from friendships and other loved ones.

Times like these are when we need to reach out to those we know and love the most.

There are going to be people hurting through all of this.

Those who face sickness and those who face isolation will deal with pain. Those who get sick bear the worst of the pandemic and that cannot be forgotten. Obviously, those of us who stay physically healthy are privileged and should

News Editors Gus Dupree Sophie Partridge-Hicks Asst. News Editors Joe Kottke Katrina Lambert Opinions Editors Grace Getman Evan Vollbrecht Asst. Opinions Editors Emily Ellis Haley Smullen Arts & Culture Editors Ethan Coughlin Gillian Russo Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Kendall Bottjer Features Editors Samantha Matthews Nicole Perkins Asst. Features Editors Jacqueline Pierce Emma Seiwell Sports & Health Editors Patrick Moquin Lena Weidenbruch Asst. Sports & Health Editor Aiza Bhuiyan Photo Editor Andrew Beecher Asst. Photo Editors Isabelle Dalby Andrew Dressner Fun & Games Editor Esmé Bleecker-Adams Copy Editors Libby Lanza Jill Rice Lulu Schmieta Social Media Editors Roxanne Cubero Maca Leon Shamya Zindani Newsletter Editors Gillian Russo Shamya Zindani Multimedia Editor Caitlin Bury Asst. Multimedia Editor Alison Ettinger-DeLong

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA STERN/THE OBSERVER

count ourselves lucky.

Concerns over mental health should not be discounted, though. And there are ways the Fordham community can come together despite our physical distance. Doing so is the only way to ensure everyone in the community knows that others are still there for them, and that people still care.

Reach out to those you care about. It can be hard to text first. To reach out when we are physically distant can feel wrong. How dare you let someone know that you think about them and care? But it’s important. Text them. Call them. Celebrate birthdays and accomplishments. Even join the Fordham Minecraft server. Just because we are physically separated does not mean we need to socially isolate.

Checking up on each other and maintaining connections in any way we can is the best way to make it through this.

It is time to rely on the greatest resource Fordham has given all of us: our friends.

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Opinions

April 8, 2020 THE OBSERVER

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An Unrecognizable India: Modi and Islamophobia

NOOR KAUR Contributing Writer

Last spring, I was leaving my McKeon dorm when my friend texted me that people had gathered to protest the Indian Prime Minister staying at the Mandarin Oriental by Columbus Circle. I didn’t know what the uproar was about, so I decided to stop by. I heard the protestors chanting in Hindi/ Punjabi slang but I still had little idea what was happening, and, to be completely honest, I didn’t care much. A year later, I saw the video recorded of the protests and it became clear that the uproar was for a secular India.

After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election and Narendra Modi was reelected as the Indian prime minister in 2019, as an Indian American, the countries I associated most with my identity became completely unrecognizable. (I say that with complete awareness of the hidden and overt truths of systemic oppression that exist in both countries.)

The sudden rise of nationalism and populism in the U.S. mimicked that of India. In 2014, Modi became the Prime Minister of India with a secured win of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Although the BJP’s nationalist stances today are highly debated, the party itself was founded by a Hindu supremacist who wanted India to be a Hindu nation. The reelection of Modi in 2019, despite news of his inaction during the Gujarat riots with brutal killings of over 700 Muslims, sent a clear message to the world: India is in the midst of evolving itself into a country for Hindus alone.

A few months ago, Modi’s government announced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), granting amnesty to religious minorities who illegally immigrated to India from a Muslim-majority country like Afghanistan or Bangladesh if they entered India prior to 2015. While groups such as Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians are included, the elephant in the room is the purposeful exclusion of Muslims. The implementation of the National Register of Citizenship forces millions of Muslims in Assam (including laborers and villagers) to prove their citizenship or fear being taken to internment camps. Now India is looking to implement the registry nationwide, despite only 70% of Indian births occurring with birth certificates.

Protests of the bill were recognized by global news outlets as Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others joined together in solidarity to speak out against the implementation of CAA. Unfortunately, the riots in support were equally loud. According to many Indians, it was only a matter of time before heightened levels of Hindu nationalism turned fatal. Lynch mobs targeted people of the Dalit “untouchable” caste, nefarious government officials gave police permission to use “harsh measures,” while Modi stayed silent.

Although Modi hasn’t been blatantly vocal about hateful rhetoric, he’s persistent in electing Hindu nationalists who literally rewrite history (books). The true harm of nationalist leaders is the emboldening of nationalist citizens and law enforcement.

The worst comes from the Indian police force who were caught beating up Muslims and forcing

DIPLOMATTESTERMAN VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Students from National Islamic University march with locals in opposition to the CAA on Dec. 15, 2019, in New Delhi.

The act promises equality but deliberately excludes Muslims.

them to sing the Indian national anthem — the institutional forces need Muslims to prove their allegiance to India. It eerily resembles how black and brown people in America constantly feel the need to prove their patriotism and love for a country that continuously oppresses them.

On a more personal note, these riots in India remind me of the 1984 genocide of Sikhs in India that’s consistently reduced to the “1984 riots.” My family left India shortly after the genocide, aware of the dangers of staying in this “new India.” As my family and I hear developments thousands of miles away, the violence feels chillingly familiar. Religious diversity was always India’s greatest strength and weakness.

I feel compelled to write about CAA now because many have expressed their liking of the bill after the March 25 terrorist attack on a Gurdwara, a Sikh temple, in Afghanistan, killing 25 people, including a six-year-old child.

Hindu nationalists quickly began advocating for CAA, since Afghan Sikhs could leave Kabul and come to India for safety. However, rather than out of empathy, the attack became another way to push anti-Muslim sentiment.

There are over 200 million Muslims in India who have survived the rule of various empires for hundreds of years and the bloodbath of the partition of India, all to die at the hands of lynch mobs and riots in 2020. Although Modi doesn’t outwardly promote

these killings, his silence is deafening. In this new era of India, he should be accountable for his silence. On the opposite end of the coin, we cannot be silent either.

Growing up in America, I feel so dumbfounded when my friends in high school and college are completely apathetic to politics. I didn’t know where this frustration came from until recently. Many people don’t have the privilege to be apathetic about politics because their livelihoods are deeply affected by the decisions that politicians make. I can turn a blind eye to the violence and the generational impact of the CAA; it won’t affect me in any capacity. But my silence would come at the cost of becoming complicit, and I’ve done enough of that already.

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor Ethan Coughlin - ecoughlin7@fordham.edu Gillian Russo - grusso12@fordham.edu April 8, 2020

THE OBSERVER

The Art of Theater-making Through Social Distancing: An Unfinished Story From behind their computer screens and bars of Wi-Fi, the playwrights and producers of the spring studio show season navigate how to create work while socially isolated

By VICKY CARMENATE Staff Writer

What happens when a play is entirely reliant on audience participation, but this semester’s studio show audience is spread across the world? As Fordham’s student body has been sent back home due to the coronavirus, theatre students still struggle to find ways to digitize their work.

“The audience is an integral part of the storytelling — the play couldn’t actually happen if the audience members were not present,” said playwriting major Daria Kerschenbaum, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, of her show “The Epistolary Play,” which was supposed to be performed from April 23 to 25.

For students like Kerschenbaum and her director, Kaylie Groff, FCLC ’20, creative plans for the show were just getting started the week students parted ways.

Their collaboration for “The Epistolary Play” had to change course as students started going online.

The play is centered around four people in two prison cells. In each cell, there would be one performer and one audience member.

Their job was to communicate and write letters to one another — creating commentary about how to communicate through

physical separation.

Ironically, this show is about social distancing and how to maintain conversations with someone when you’re not in the room with them. The staff of the show learned this firsthand when trying to communicate through the mayhem of the coronavirus.

When Fordham first went online on March 11, “The Epistolary Play” was scheduled to have its first rehearsal. They still held it remotely, and the students behind “The Epistolary Play” figured out Zoom with ease. During that first virtual rehearsal, the cast read through the script, and there were presentations from the design team.

As everyone was sent back to their childhood bedrooms to socially isolate, and spring break began, Groff and Kerschenbaum kept in contact with the theater department to see what the future would look like for “The Epistolary Play.”

Communicating across time zones has created a challenge for both the staff and students within the department. With everyone separated, it was hard to gain clear answers for the future of the studio shows this season.

Aside from “The Epistolary Play,” two other shows were also in the works: “Madeline May Saves the

World” by Alexis Chapin, FCLC ’21; and “Savonarola” by Vivian Brown, FCLC ’22.

“As of right now all three plays will be performed in the studio season at a later date which is yet to be determined,” said Stefanie Bubnis, interim managing director of Fordham Theatre.

Elizabeth Margid, head of the directing program at Fordham, provided slightly different answers regarding the future of the studio shows.

“My understanding is that ‘The Epistolary Play’ is happening next year,” Margid said. “I’m not sure about ‘Madeline May Saves The World’ or ‘Savonarola’ because I haven’t had a conversation with those writers about what they want to do.”

For her show “Madeline May Saves the World,” Chapin plans to venture into the online realm of theatre. Contrary to what the administration stated, “Madeline May Saves the World” will be having an online performance in early May. “A lot of theatre artists are trying to see how we can make art while social distancing,” she said.

Brown declined to comment on “Savonarola.”

For theatre majors, studio shows are an integral part of their major fulfillment requirements. All staff from the theatre

department assured that students’ grades will not be impacted by the postponement of shows.

Though answers of when the performances are happening remain unclear, students have confidence in the progression of their majors.

Through the uncertainty, theatre students still remain adamant about sharing their art.

Chapin said she is interested in having a Zoom radio play session.

The show is not yet chosen, but many theatre students are working together to figure out the logistics.

Chapin made it clear that the radio play is open to any student regardless whether they are a part of the theatre program or not. She said, “Radio plays were something that happened in the ’30s during the Great Depression to boost morale and have a sense of community during under times.”

With the whole Fordham community living day by day, artists have found it essential to keep creating. The future is unclear, but for now, Fordham’s theater community holds onto a strong sense of hope in the healing power of their craft.

“The lovely thing about the theatre department ... is that they are all really engaged and willing to reach out across these distances,” Groff said.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY LARA FOLEY/THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER April 8, 2020

Arts & Culture

9

Club Spotlight: Stove’s Cabin Crew Takes to ‘Zoomprov’ ZOOM

Stove’s Cabin Crew has managed to make the best of the move to online, quickly adapting its regular weekly meetings and activities to Zoom.

By GILLIAN RUSSO Arts & Culture Editor

On an average Wednesday night, the members of Stove’s Cabin Crew would have convened for their weekly meeting, acting out rough drafts of sketches and doing improvisation exercises to prepare for their next show. But since all of Fordham’s operations have moved online, on Wednesday nights now ... that’s still exactly how you’ll find them.

Stove’s was one of the first clubs to jump headlong into the new digital norm. Its members performed their March 11 feminist comedy show via Instagram Live, days after Fordham first canceled all campus activities. The club has made the show available on YouTube and plans to put on its end-of-semester show via Zoom at the end of April, and as such continues to hold club meetings on the platform with little change to its fundamental content.

That’s not to say Stove’s hasn’t had to learn to adapt, but they have been able to modify just about all their usual activities — and found unexpected ben-

efits in the changes. The ability to annotate screens, change display names and set virtual backgrounds on Zoom opened up new sources of comedy. At the April 1 meeting, Stove’s President Maddy Casale, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’20, shared a sketch about a professor who mocks a student for what he believes is a fake bookshelf behind her, but fully believes in another student’s “travels” to Hooters and hell by way of changing his background.

Robert Sundstrom, FCLC ’22, noted that Zoom allowed for more efficient feedback sessions. “We usually finish out our meetings now with people reading different sketches or stand-up that they’ve written,” Sundstrom said. “We’ve been sharing our screen, so you can actually follow along with what the person’s written.”

But perhaps the most defining hallmark of the club’s new normal is “Zoomprov.” Casale pioneered the digital adaptation of the club’s standard improvisation exercises in response to Fordham’s suspension of in-person classes for the rest of the semester.

“When we asked if people would want to keep meeting at our usual time to kind of pretend there’s some sort of normalcy, everyone was very down,” Casale said. “We weren’t really sure what we could do ... but I thought that a form that you could do in person that maybe you could try here was (improvisation).”

“ We’re trying to

incorporate this whole situation of corona(virus), self-isolation into our improv.”

Emily Krichmar, Former Vice President of Stove’s Cabin Crew

In lieu of tapping each other in and out of scenes as they would in a physical space, they turn their cameras on and off to signal their entrances and exits. Once they

nailed down the logistics of that, Casale said, the exercises went smoothly. Sundstrom and former Vice President Emily Krichmar, FCLC ’21, both said the experience has forced them to listen to each other better during scenes, which they will take back to the club when it resumes in person.

“You don’t have this blocking or physical indicators of where a scene is,” Krichmar said. “When it’s your time to come in, when there’s times when somebody’s talking to you, it really improved my own listening skills in improv that I want to incorporate.”

The past two weeks of Zoomprov have included scenes set in Denny’s, the beach and the bread aisle of a grocery store, to name a few. Another followed a household under quarantine who received an unexpected visit from two “brother husbands” whose wife kicked them out.

“That was a whole part of the scene — counter-social distancing,” said Krichmar, who played one of the husbands. “We’re trying to incorporate this whole situation of corona(virus), self-isolation into our improv because

comedy, you should just use what you know.”

The first “trial-and-error” Zoomprov session, which has since been posted on the club’s YouTube channel, took place over spring break. Club members prepared a PowerPoint presentation for Vice President Andy Vega, FCLC ’20, to present to them as though he was a professor in a virtual class — only he did not see the presentation before having to work with it.

According to Stove’s Treasurer Natalie Grammer, FCLC ’21, that session took 40 minutes because people kept messing with each other. Multiple Stove’s members echoed that the nature of the club — as a friend group as much as a formal organization — created a smooth transition. Besides regular meetings, Krichmar has organized virtual game nights and other social activities for the club members.

“I kind of expected to lose some of that warmness that we had for the first semester when we moved online, but if anything, I think it’s probably increased,” Sundstrom said.

Ramses Records Hosts ‘Live at Home’ Sessions on Instagram

By VICKY CARMENATE Staff Writer

Created by Fordham students, the independently run record label Ramses Records launched a new livestream series on Instagram called “Live at Home,” which spotlights different artists within the Fordham community.

The livestreams feel strangely intimate despite the distance between the musicians and their audience. Founders and performers stressed the need for a space to create and share music, even while students are at home.

“Music is something that brings people together regardless of what genre,” said Jordan Meltzer, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’20, co-president and co-founder of Ramses Records, and news editor emeritus at The Observer.

“We had to figure out a way to spread music without being able to be there in person.”

The livestreams did exactly that — friends, family and strangers got to feel as though they were watching a concert together. Though a group of 14 people seems small, it only served to make the performances seem more personal, even through a screen.

Performers showcased their many talents through original work and covers of their favorite songs. They even threw out the idea of taking requests from the audience. In some ways, Instagram Live’s chat function made it easier to interact with people more individually throughout the set.

COURTESY OF CHRIS PARKIN

Though it is his last year with the label, Chris Parkin, FCLC ’20, appreciates all they’ve done for him and plans to release more music under Ramses Records before his final goodbye.

One of the performers, Aiden Tice, GSBLC ’22, expressed his gratitude for opportunities like this one that Ramses Records has created. “I love live music, and I love going to concerts and experiencing that intimacy,” he said.

“It’s cool that intimacy isn’t lost when it’s through social media.”

Tice’s set and preferred music taste is heavy on the guitar.

He sang and played covers of his

favorite songs, as well as some originals. According to Tice, it was a great platform to jam and relax with the audience, who gave him requests like “Toxic” by Britney Spears.

During her set, Franchesca Macalintal, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, who performs as Chesca Mac, was extremely interactive with her audience members. They begged

for her original songs to be put on streaming platforms and continually “cheered” her on after every song.

Chesca Mac, in turn, consistently checked in on her viewers during her set. “I hope that if your situation is stressful, that this is a way to sit back, relax and enjoy music from all the artists,” she said.

According to both Meltzer and his co-president and co-founder Paolo Estrella, GSBLC ’20, the idea for the Live at Home concerts came from Shamya Zindani, FCLC ’22, who coordinates social media for Ramses Records and The Observer. She was inspired by seeing her favorite artist, Stella Donnelly, livestreaming herself on Instagram from her house for a music festival called “Isolaid Festival.”

The record label wanted to find a way to still showcase the talent at Fordham while the students are all apart. The team pushed for this series to be available as soon as possible, reaching out to every Fordham artist they knew to create a set list within one week.

“We loved what we were doing at Fordham this year already, so we wanted to bring that to everyone, somehow, while they were at home,” Estrella said.

Besides helping artists release their music, Ramses Records has also booked gigs for artists. Estrella and Meltzer had high hopes for the spring — with the weather being so nice, the two wanted to capitalize on the plaza space to set up concerts at Fordham, as well as off-campus venues.

Many of Fordham’s musicians are still hard at work even though they are at home. Tice will come out with an independent EP at the end of the month that is separate from the record label. Chris Parkin, FCLC ’20, another livestream performer, will be coming out with a song with Ramses Records, with a date and title to be announced.

Meltzer also mentioned that artists would be releasing a few songs through the label within the coming weeks. They hope to also release an EP and a fulllength album by the end of the semester, made by different students in the record label.

Whether they were a part of the label or not, every artist thanked the label for the hard work that they put into coordinating these livestreams and for their work all year. “Because of these guys, I have been able to do things that I wouldn’t have been able to without their encouragement and help,” Parkin said.

This semester was Parkin, Meltzer and Estrella’s last with Ramses Records. Meltzer and Estrella have identified new co-presidents to take their positions in the fall, who have yet to be announced.

According to the seniors within the label, it has been bittersweet being sent home early. “It is kind of my parting gift to Fordham in a way because it is something that I am leaving behind, which is really cool,” Estrella said. “It does suck that senior year did get cut short ... but we’re working with what we got.”

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

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April 8, 2020 THE OBSERVER

Crossword: Whatever Springs to Mind

By ESMÉ BLEECKER-ADAMS

ACROSS 1. queries 5. base played by A-Rod on the Yankees 10. water surrounding a fortification 14. hearts or diamonds, for example 15. industrial designers Charles and Ray

16. cheese similar to camembert 17. circular bread for March?

19. medical suffix indicating extreme pain 20. give it up for 21. suffix for adjectival derivatives of places 23. long white liturgical vestment 24. poet William Butler 25. transgression

Quiz: Tell Us About Yourself and We’ll Tell You Your Perfect Zoom Virtual Background

By GRACE GETMAN Opinions Editor

I. What’s your go-to stay-at-home snack?

1. Strawberries 2. Pretzels 3. Oreos 4. Pringles

27. obsessive enthusiasm 29. sea eagles 30. warmth for April?

32. handheld Nintendo products: Abbr.

33. lowest part of the face 35. bits and ___ 36. chicken cage 37. the “Red Planet” 38. on (a vehicle) 41. the gases we breathe, in Spanish 42. Swiffer WetJet, for example 45. rectangular container for May? 47. Spanish turkey 48. individual born in late March or early April 49. the ___ term, in a mathematical sequence 50. methods 51. ___x or ___ Talk 52. lake in the Argyll Forest Park, in Scotland 54. trailers 56. actress Lupino and photographer Wyman, for example 58. laundry detergent for June?

60. musical unit 61. tinted, as of paper 62. central part of an eye 63. 1935 crime movie starring James Cagney 64. skylights?

65. small amounts

DOWN

1. tested, often for metal quality 2. dinners 3. type of daggers that are Sikh articles of faith 4. pair of poles used for walking above the ground 5. large lizard native to Central and South America

Fun Facts

Results

IV. What have you been binge-watching lately?

1. Catching up on all the PBS documentaries that I’ve missed.

2. Tiger King all the way, baby.

3. Re-watching all the Disney princess movies.

4. Wait, Joe Exotic is a real person?

V. What do you most want to do when you’re allowed to be outside in New York City again?

1. Visit art museums and breathe fresh air.

2. Picnic with my friends in Central Park.

3. Go to a concert in Brooklyn and stay out all night.

4. Sleep, but with less fear about a global pandemic.

By JILL RICE Copy Editor

If you got mostly 1’s Virtual Zoom backgrounds are for children and you would never use one. If it’s late at night and you’re with your friends and use one to place yourself at the beach, well, that’s your secret.

•In this time of social distancing, jigsaw puzzle sales are through the roof.

The CEO of Ravensburger Games said that his company’s sales were up 370% compared to last year.

If you got mostly 2’s Something classy. Something elegant. You’d know what it’d be? A picture of your cat (or dog!). You are supported and loved in this venture.

II. Where do you sit for your Zoom classes?

1. At a table. I’m civilized.

2. I go outside to get a better Wi-Fi connection.

3. With my pet in my lap.

4. In bed. I’m not ashamed.

III. How have you been passing the time at home?

1. Obsessively refreshing my Twitter feed to see the latest coronavirus memes.

2. Spending time with family, and then hiding in my room after spending too much time with family.

3. Stress-baking.

4. Sleeping, and then sleeping some more.

6. difficulty 7. according to me: Abbr.

8. back down 9. technology that delivers internet service using a telephone network: Abbr.

10. graduate degree for a GSB student, perhaps 11. of or related to living matter 12. Delta or JetBlue, for example 13. items used to make chai or earl grey 18. “no”s, slangily 22. domain of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar 26. atom with a charge 28. Greek war god 31. quarrel 33. Bernie, for most of “Weekend at Bernie’s” 34. blind god in Norse mythology 36. repository for trophies or pencils, perhaps 37. having more strength 38. settling down or becoming less intense 39. ennui 40. pesticide brand that sounds like a chemistry reaction 41. Flik, in “A Bug’s Life” 42. autonomous island region of Portugal 43. took too far 44. claim ownership of 46. liquid vessel used for writing 47. note with a sticky edge 50. periodical, for short 53. course for building security: Abbr.

55. concludes 57. member of the smaller house of Congress: Abbr.

59. single-stranded genetic material: Abbr.

What should you try at home, based on your horoscope sign?

If you got mostly 3’s Your Zoom background is always the height of comedy — a disco show, or maybe even a screenshot of “The Office.” Your mom will definitely laugh.

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If you got a tie

•In New York, certain businesses are considered essential. Aside from grocery stores and health care facilities, these also include pet supply stores, liquor stores and your local accountant.

If you got mostly 4’s Tough luck, kid. Your computer isn’t strong enough to process a Zoom virtual background. Go back to sleep, and try to remember to do that reading for Friday.

You’re not like other Fordham Lincoln Center students — you’re indecisive. You do a split screen, a picture of Fr. McShane on the left and one of Dr. Anthony Fauci on the right.

Visit fordhamobserver.com to download backgrounds

Aries: watch “Tiger King” Taurus: start a virtual book club Gemini: learn a new language Cancer: start a scrapbook Leo: become a TikTok star Virgo: clean out and organize your closet Libra: write that novel Scorpio: home spa day Sagittarius: learn to cook Capricorn: work on a research project Aquarius: learn computer coding Pisces: take up quilting