Observer Issue 10

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OCTOBER 1, 2015 VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 10

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Fordham Condemns Cosby

Photo Feature

By ADRIANA GALLINA Editor-in-Chief

Fordham University is among three schools as of this publication to rescind actor and comedian Bill Cosby’s honorary degree. Marquette, a fellow Jesuit university, announced the decision the same day as Fordham, Sept. 24. Brown announced their decision on Sept.

29. Overall, Fordham students have responded positively towards this decision.

In 2001, Fordham awarded Cosby with an honorary doctor of fine arts. Cosby’s first public accuser of sexual assault came forward in the year 2000, though allegations date as far back as 1969.

At least 48 women in total have come forward accusing Cosby of sexual assault. In its announcement, Fordham stated, “That Mr. Cosby was willing to drug and rape women for his sexual gratification ... hurt not only his victims, but all women, and is beyond the pale.”

Sinclair Spratley, president of In Strength I Stand, the feminist group at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) and FCLC ’17, said, “I was definitely surprised when it happened, just knowing Fordham has never rescinded an honorary degree before.”

“My mind went straight back to last year when there was a movement among faculty and students to rescind John Brennan’s degree and the Board of Trustees did not rescind it,” Spratley said.

John Brennan, former Deputy National Security Advisor and currently Director of the CIA, was awarded his degree in 2012 despite protest from faculty and students at the time. A petition was created in response to the report released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on the CIA’s use of detention and interrogation policies. It’s cry to revoke his degree garnered at least 739 signatures.

The Board of Trustees rejected the petition in the summher of 2015.

“It seemed so abrupt. I don’t think anyone even knew they were thinking about stripping him of the degree,” she continued.

“I think it’s really cool they see COSBY pg. 2

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO /THE OBSERVER

The Observer Photo Team captured moments from the Fordham homecoming game, on September 19, 2015. See centerfold.

All Gender Restroom Initiative Progresses at LC

By ADRIANA GALLINA Editor-in-Chief

Fordham Lincoln Center will implement new signage for the third floor single stall bathrooms in the Leon Lowenstein building around Oct. 15, according to Leslie Timoney, associate director of Campus Operations. After many meetings between The Positive, a student activist group on campus, and Student Affairs administrators, the signs will be void of gender icons, include braille, the latest New York State handicap symbol and will simply say “restroom.”

The Positive, spearheaded by Chris Hennessy, a transgender male and FCLC ‘15, has met periodically with the Dean of Students, Keith Eldredge, and Director of Student

Leadership and Community Development (OSLCD) and USG Advisor, Dorothy Wenzel, Ph.D, since December 2014 to push for trans inclusive signage. The Positive began their initiative to bring gender neutral bathrooms with a survey soliciting students’ gender needs on campus. The survey focused on the potential need for all gender bathrooms and was completed by 441 students. The Positive officially requested that the signage read, “All Gender Restroom.”

“As of now, the signs will simply say ‘restroom,’” Eldredge stated.

“We actually did some research to see what was out there. I’ve been looking at bathrooms everywhere I go ever since they’ve talked about this.”

On Aug. 20, Student Affairs pre-

sented the signage as reading only ‘restroom.’ On Aug. 27, The Positive requested signage be stalled until further discussion could be had about including some indication that the restroom was an intentional act to be a trans-inclusive space.

“We thought ‘restroom’ was the most inclusive,” Eldredge said.

“There doesn’t seem to be a standard term” when it comes to bathroom signage, according to Eldredge.

“I know gender neutral is a term a lot of folks also used. Some people don’t like that language and term because they feel like it negates gender entirely.

“Most people believe they have a gender, maybe just not the gender they were born with,” he continued.

Hennessy began, “Removing the gender figures was fine, but there’s

currently not the extra step to include ‘all gender restroom’ which was for us vital in order to fulfill the intention of this initiative.”

“For me this was never about bathrooms. Having a restroom I could use without fear was definitely something I wanted. But this was always about more than that,” Hennessy said.

He continued, “After four years of being here I wanted to feel like I did actually belong here. I wanted to encourage people to make the sometimes inconvenient or difficult decisions in order for that welcome to be real. I needed to see that students like me, gender nonconforming folk, are worth making difficult, inconvenient decisions for.”

Members of the Positive are set see BATHROOMS pg. 2

Inside

FEATURES

SPORTS

ARTS & CULTURE

#STOPMAKEUPSHAMING

Humble Origins for a Ram

Dancers Take Center Stage

It’s not a mask, it’s an art

Chase Edmonds explains his start at Fordham

Students to tour internationally with Ailey II

How do we handle this gendered insult?

Page 13

PAGE 16

PAGE 12

PAGE 7

THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM LINCOLN CENTER

OPINIONS

Reclaiming the B-Word

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News

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

There are currently 6 locations that have single stalled restrooms that lock from the inside with varying gender signage: 1. Third Floor, LL: 2 bathrooms, will have updated signage void of gender icons.

2. Second Floor, LL: 1 single stalled bathroom with a female icon.

3. First Floor, LAW: 2 single stalled bathrooms, 1 female and 1 male gender sign.

4. LAW Library: 2 single stalled bathrooms, 1 female and 1 male gender sign.

5. 45 Columbus: 2 single stalled bathrooms, 1 female and 1 male gender sign.

6. 22nd Floor, McKeon, 1 bathroom with a male and a female gender icon.

First Fordham Bathroom Void of Gender Icons BATHROOMS FROM PAGE 1

to meet with Michelle Burris, associate vice president of Student Affairs, to further discuss the possibility of including ‘all gender’ in the new signage.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH:

Juan Carlos Matos, the assistant dean and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), headed the research about what Fordham’s peer Jesuit institutions offer in terms of “all gender” restrooms.

“We did a two-fold approach,” Matos said. First, OMA looked online for institutions with LGBT resource centers and webpages along with campus maps. They followed up the

initial research with phone calls and then emails.

The University of San Francisco was one of the few Jesuit universities that OMA could confirm uses all gender bathroom labeling on single stalled restrooms.

“One thing to note that is interesting in their student union one of the older all gender restrooms signs actually still had the gender symbols while the newer ones in the residence halls I stayed in during the conference, didn’t have any gender icons on them. The newer restrooms just had all gender with two flyers next to them to share information about what they were,” Matos said.

Georgetown University, also a Jesuit institution, has all gender sig-

“I needed to see that students like me, gender nonconforming folk, are worth making difficult, inconvenient decisions for.”

anything that would be considered gender neutral or unisex, was more so by design and not necessarily intentional,” Matos continued.

“To couple that, the few that actually say ‘restroom’ accompany with it both gendered icons, some would have a family icon, and all had a handicap symbol,” he said.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OTHER FORDHAM CAMPUSES?

nage on single-stalled bathrooms accompanied by both male and female gender icons and a handicap sign, according to the LGBTQ resource center.

“What I was surprised about, in terms of looking at everything, that the majority of institutions had,

According to Eldredge, signage will not be changed at this time on any other Fordham campus. It is up to the students at each campus to come forward and request the spaces to possibly implement the new, more gender inclusive signage.

“Identify the bathrooms, help

us out, so we can roll out the new signage there as well,” Eldredge said in regards to other Fordham campuses.

When asked why the onus is on students, rather than the facilities department, to locate and update all possible gender inclusive bathrooms, Eldredge responded, “I guess I didn’t think about it that way. I was surprised that the students were only asked about in the third floor.”

“We’re looking for Rose Hill students who want to participate at this stage,” Hennessy said. “We are more than happy to include anyone who is interested in helping to make this a reality.”

OSLCD Sells Movie Tickets, 2 Per Person

By MARYANNA ANTOLDI Contributing Writer

It’s the beginning of the school year and that means the fall movie season has started. The Office of Student Leadership and Community Development at Lincoln Center (OSLCDLC) is selling discounted movie tickets for both students and faculty, out of their office in room LL 408, for

anyone interested in seeing a movie at a discounted price.

OSLCD implemented their policy of two tickets per person, so everyone could enjoy the discount.

For undergraduate students, tickets are $8, while faculty, administrators and Graduate students may also purchase tickets for $10.

Sandra Vargas, executive secretary of OSLCD, plays an important

role along with Dorothy Wenzel, director of OSLCD, in the distribution of tickets. Vargas is currently trying to initiate another program that makes obtaining tickets easier for commuters.

“The discounted tickets are at a limited number and by the time the commuter students could get to them, they were finished. This is something I’ve talked to our director

about, to make something similar to what we offer for commuters only.”

The popularity of the current program has increased. Residents, commuters, faculty and administrators alike have bought a fair amount of tickets, according to Vargas.

“We sell anywhere between twenty to thirty tickets a week,” she said, “We started to see an uptake now, especially on Fridays. It’s going pretty

well.”

The discountedtickets are valid for any Regal or AMC movie theater for the day purchased. The closest theaters that accept the tickets from campus are the AMC Lowes Lincoln Center 13 on 1998 Broadway and the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street.

OSLCD office hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.to 7 p.m. and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Three Universities Rescind Cosby’s Degrees COSBY FROM PAGE 1

were able to do this without a criminal conviction,” Spratley said.

When Savonne Anderson, author of the book “The Womanifesto” and FCLC ‘17, got the University email subject line: University Statement | Bill Cosby. She expected it to say the University would not be rescinding the degree. “I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they did,” she said.

While Anderson did not want to speak on behalf of how this may affect sexual assault survivors on campus, she did state, “It definitely shows solidarity. It’s important to show survivors, on campus especially, that Fordham isn’t a place that takes rape lightly. Fordham isn’t a place that knows [of] an issue, that someone is an abuser, and lets it go unnoticed.”

Anderson believes you should separate the Cosby who is an artist from Cosby the person. “I feel like, if not, we conflate them so that people have an issue acknowledging the bad things done in people’s personal lives,” Anderson said. She continued, “Bill Cosby isn’t Cliff Huxtable.”

Cosby’s actions especially af-

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ ABACA PRESS

At least 48 women have pubicly come forward with allegations against the actor.

fected the black community. “To have him set such an example, to put black people and the black family in a positive light, it hurt a lot of people to then have to say, ‘Oh he wasn’t even really a great guy.’”

According to Anderson, The Cosby Show was one of the first shows that portrayed a well-off black family. “To have that image, to have people see that black people

can be successful, to portray that image both to white and also to black people that are poor to know that they can aspire to more than that. And I think that’s why it was so important to us,” Anderson said.

“We associated that person with Bill Cosby the rapist. It’s so hard to reconcile those two people, so we need to separate them,” Anderson said. “I don’t think his actions un-

dermine what he did for the black community. It undermines him [as an individual],” she said.

“I was very proud of the administration for coming to that conclusion, I definitely agree with it,” Cesca Wolos-Fonteno, FCLC ‘17 and vice president of Rainbow Alliance, said.

“He’s done great things for the entertainment industry, but this went on for years and he hurt so many women. If it had been just one woman, I would be saying the same thing, it doesn’t matter. I feel deceived,” Wolos-Fonteno said.

In terms of rape on campus, she said, “I think a larger effort can be put into teaching the concept of not raping, as opposed to not getting raped.”

Jalen Glenn, FCLC ‘16, echoed other students’ sentiments: “I think it does send a message and I think it is important that Fordham did do that to distance itself from what is going on in that regard.”

Glenn believes that, “Unfortunately a lot of us [students] don’t really know what rape is and is not.”

“Fordham does a good job of informing student leaders, or students who are in higher positions.

I’m a Resident Assistant (RA) on campus and we had extensive training in that regard, but also as a Social Justice Leader [for the Dorothy Day Center of Service and Justice at Lincoln Center] we had that training and when I was a New Student Orientation (NSO) leader, we had that as well,” he said. “I don’t know if it reaches everyone it should though.”

Elaine Pasqua has been talking to students about the impact of high-risk behaviors and sexual assault on campus for 16 years at NSO. “I applauded Fordham’s decision, I thought it was phenomenal,” she said. The university’s action did not surprise Pasqua, as “it is a university of the utmost integrity and value. It sets a precedent, the message that it sends to college students is that there is a zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence.”

Bob Howe, senior director of communications and special advisor to the President, declined to comment.

The Observer reached out to several professors who declined to comment as well.

Additional reporting by Ana Fota and Alexa McMenamin

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 1, 2015

News

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Bloomberg Terminals to be Key Feature of ‘140’ GSBLC will soon have a bank of 42 terminals in the new building

By JENNIFER MCNARY Layout Co-Editor/Asst. News Editor

In fall 2016, Fordham Lincoln Center is expected to grow with the addition of the newly renovated former law school building, currently known as 140 West 62nd St., or “140,” in the Fordham community, according to the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development (OSLCD). One of the specific new additions will be a bank of 42 Bloomberg terminals. According to Brian Byrne, vice president of Fordham University, this was a specific request of the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC).

A Bloomberg terminal is a special computer that shows real time financial information. “They have a special type of keyboard and they will usually have two monitors that allows easy access to a huge repository of financial data,” Douglas Blackburn, assistant professor of finance and business economics in the Gabelli School of Business, explained.

The financial data is presented in multiple different ways. “You can see graphs, time series and prices throughout time, compare stocks with one another, look at different types of financial data in different ways,” said Blackburn. “The data is in real time, which means whatever is happening in the market right now, that is what they are going to be seeing coming through the Bloomberg terminal.” Seeing data in real time is important for those that want to go into the stock market considering they will be able to understand what goes on on the floor.

This is extremely important information to be able to access for people who want to go into finance.

“Bloomberg terminals are really the industry standard for how an analyst at any company is going to see what’s really currently happening in the market.”Blackburn said. Students need to be able to use Bloomberg terminals to succeed in the fi-

TESSA VAN BERGEN/ THE OBSERVER

The new room at 140 W. 62nd St. will hopefully look like the room in Hughes Hall featured above.

nancial industry today. “Bloomberg has a good foothold in that market so if you want to be in the financial industry, understanding how to access data, and how to analyze data using the Bloomberg terminal is a real essential skill.”

According to Blackburn, any student that wants to use the terminals should have access to them. Currently there are Bloomberg terminals in the 45 Columbus Ave. used mainly for classes in the Masters of

Science and Quantitative Finance.

In that room, “only a set of students have their ID cards able to open up the door” Blackburn explained. “I’m not sure what is going to happen in the other building and what security they are going to have. I certainly hope that any student that wants to learn more about finance has the ability to walk in.” The room will most likely have some classes taught in it, but all students will be able to take advantage of the space.

Bloomberg terminals are pricey when industry professions buy them, however most universities get a discount. “It is really in Bloomberg’s best interest to get their terminals on campuses so that the students are trained so that when they go out to industry they tell their bosses we really need a Bloomberg terminal,” said Blackburn. To ensure this, Bloomberg, “has done a lot to help universities get classrooms just like this one on campuses so that they

can continue to corner the market.”

The room will be similar to the ground floor of Hughes Hall at the Rose Hill campus. “In that particular room, there’s potentially going to be ticker symbols going around the ceiling, you’ll be able to be able to see perphase tv screens with news,” Blackburn said. This will be appealing for prospective students to see when they are taking tours of the Lincoln Center campus.

FAFSA Simplifies Filing For Students Nationwide

By MIRANDA FEBUS Contributing Writer

Beginning with the 2017 academic year, college students will have a much easier time filing for the FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. According to Cory Turner of National Public Radio (NPR), the federal government will release the application three months earlier to students in October to expedite and mitigate the college process.

Turner said in his article, “usually, students start applying to colleges in the fall, then apply for financial aid in January - when the FAFSA comes out …The new plan would release the FAFSA in October instead of January.”

Under this new change to the FAFSA, families will be allowed to submit their “prior-prior” tax returns, as NPR refers to it. For instance, for the 2017-18 school year students can submit their 2015 income information rather than their 2016 information, according to studentaid.ed.gov.

By allowing families to submit tax information from two years ago, they no longer have to rush to retrieve data from the IRS to submit to FAFSA. Fordham’s Associate Vice President of Student Financial Services, Angela Van Dekker, believes this change will simplify the process of applying for financial aid.

In addition, students will be able to use an IRS data-retrieval tool to help them fill in most of the information on the FAFSA. According to

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ZANA NAJJAR / THE OBSERVER

The FAFSA filing deadline has been extended, as Fordham families can now file as early as October.

Van Dekker, students will not have to estimate income information anymore, which should make their applications less susceptible to the long process of verification.

“It should be a lot more accurate,” Van Dekker stated about the financial aid process under the new system. She noted the time needed to ensure the information is correct will be reduced because data will be more consistent, which will, in turn, somewhat expedite the process.

The financial aid office should be able to move faster with process-

ing applications if it does not have to constantly reach out to students for clarifications regarding their information. However, Van Dekker noted that she does not believe the office will be able to generate estimated packages to students much earlier than it does now, which follows a student’s acceptance to Fordham in May. There may be some issues that the federal government will have to address before the new system can work. Van Dekker noted that some financial aid representatives are concerned about how all these

new factors will settle into place.

“We have to do a lot of planning,” she said.

She mentioned that there will need to be upgrades in the software her office uses to generate financial aid packages to ensure that her team will be able to get the job done efficiently under the new system.

The federal government will need to generate the Pell Grant schedule earlier to ensure that all students who are qualified will see their eligibility reflected in their packages.

Ultimately, there are many factors that still need to come together

before the new process can occur.

In addition, there may be an issue with it in regards to financial aid packages by allowing families to submit tax information two years prior to the school year. “Some students are going to benefit from this and some students are going to have an issue,” Van Dekker stated.

Parental income usually rises slightly from year to year, in which case students will benefit from filing information when income was a bit lower and becoming eligible for more financial aid.

If there is an issue such as a drastically lower parental income from one year to another, the family may present the case to the financial aid office. This process of presenting a case can take some time depending on when the student files the case.

For instance, if a student files the case in April, when the financial aid office is busiest, he or she will have to wait a while before any results are seen.

Before the financial aid team can make professional judgements in extreme cases of income change, they will need to collect information such as IRS data and employer documentation. Overall, the process can take several weeks.

Ultimately, this new method of applying for financial aid is aimed to make the process easier and faster for college students and financial aid offices. “I think that anything that benefits the students in the long run benefits certainly the people in my office … anything that helps the student helps the University as a whole,” Van Dekker said.

Opinions

STAFF EDITORIAL

IN SOLIDARITY WITH SURVIVORS

O

ut of the 20 universities that have awarded honorary degrees to Bill Cosby, Fordham is one of three that have revoked its degree, as of publication.

We thank Father McShane and the Board of Trustees for taking sexual assault seriously enough to act, despite the fact that there are currently no legal charges against Cosby.

Fordham did not wait for the law to legitimize the stories of the 51 women who have come forward, validating victims of sexual abuse.

It says to sexual assault survivors at Fordham, and everywhere, that their stories matter. That they matter.

We are proud that our University did not need to be prompted by students and faculty, but rescinded Cosby’s degree of its own accord.

However, whatever comfort Sept. 24th’s press release brought was ruined by Sept. 27th’s Public Safety Alert: Sexual Assault 1115. The alert publicized an event early Sunday morning in which a Fordham student was assaulted by two unknown males near the Rose Hill campus. And while the University’s letter addressing Cosby’s degree brought up important conversations, for many of us the Public Safety Alert served as a reminder of how far we have to go to combat rape culture, and the ways that rape culture silences sexual assault within our university.

Let us not forget that one in five of our sisters are raped in college. Let us not forget the aftermath of these assaults: 3 times more likely to

suffer from depression.

6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

Public Safety’s policy on sending alerts regarding sexual assault requires only reporting instances in which the assailant is an unknown

“We are proud that our University did notneed to be prompted by students and faculty, but rescinded Cosby’s degree of its own accord.” figure. This is predicated on the assumption that it is a more pressing concern if the assailant has yet to be identified. Regardless, it is virtually universally agreed on that most rapes on college campuses happen by someone the victim knows, with one statistic stating that 90 percent of college women who are attacked know their attacker.

However, when is the last time you recall getting a safety alert about an assault in McMahon? A student hanging out at their classmate’s off-campus apartment and things going horribly wrong? These are stories you’re probably used to hearing from your friends, whispered in the hallway; but these are not stories that the University

wants to tell.

Granted, sexual assaults go largely unreported. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice reported that from 1995 to 2013, 80 percent of the sexual assaults in the study were never reported to the police.

But one could argue that if students were aware that sexual assaults happened with any frequency at all on campus, they would be more willing to report.

Sexual assaults are not foreign inside Fordham’s walls. Just because Fordham isn’t telling us about it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening - and for some of us, the silence is even more disheartening. It is easy to say something is wrong when you have 50 people to back you up. Many of us do it alone.

Not only that, but in the case of both Cosby and this Safety Alert, it makes it easier for Fordham to insinuate that those “bad people” who commit such heinous acts are outside Fordham’s walls. It not only casts the communities that surround our campuses, particularly the Bronx, in an unfair light by only reporting attacks committed by non-Fordham students, administrators or professors, it creates a false sense of security on campus–one that is rudely disrupted when a student is attacked by a community member.

To not validate the lack of safety that students feel after an instance of sexual assault creates a double standard.

Knowing one’s rapist by no means makes the trauma any less real, or reduces the threat of that trauma being repeated on other students.

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

Observer the

Editor-in-Chief Adriana Gallina Managing Editor Ben Moore News Co-Editors Ana Fota Connor Mannion Asst. News Co-Editor Jennifer McNary Opinions Co-Editors Tyler Burdick Lexi McMenamin Asst. Opinions Co-Editors Areeg Abdelhamid Annunziata Santelli Arts & Culture Co-Editors Loulou Chryssides Sri Stewart Features Co-Editors Alanna Kilkeary Hansini Weedagama Literary Co-Editors Jessica Vitovitch Erika Ortiz Asst. Literary Co-Editors Kayla D’Angelo Connor Mannion Sports Co-Editor Matthew McCarthy Kathleen Kirtland Asst. Sports Editor Marcela Alvarez Copy Chief Alysha Kundamal Copy Editors Brianna Goodman Asst. Copy Editors Chrissy Pusz Kaitlyn Lyngaas Tyler Burdick Layout Co-Editors Jennifer McNary Elodie Huston Multimedia Producer Ninett Rodriguez Asst. Multimedia Producer Jesse Carlucci Photo Co-Editors Jessica Hanley Jess Luszczyk Asst. Photo Editor Jason Boit Online Editor Ben Moore Business Manager Victoria Leon Faculty Advisor Prof. Elizabeth Stone Faculty Layout Advisor Kim Moy Faculty Photo Advisor Amelia Hennighausen Faculty Multimedia Advisor Roopa Vasudevan Faculty Literary Advisor Amy Benson PUBLIC NOTICE

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THE OBSERVER October 1, 2015

Opinions

5

Pope Francis’ Visit was Worth the Trouble SARA GARCIA

Contributing Writer

Never in my life did I think that I would see a day where President Obama, Beyoncé and the pope were in New York City (NYC) at the same time, and yet now I have. Of these three high-profile individuals, it is somehow Pope Francis who garnered the most attention.

His progressive teachings and lack of ostentation are unprecedented within the Church, bringing about a refreshing change to a historically conservative institution and traditionally grandiose lineage.

Swarms are clamoring for a piece of the pope, and with so many people trying to see him, it’s no wonder there has been quite a commotion in terms of service changes, road closures and God knows what else.

Of course, that is not to say that all of the hubbub hasn’t been met with some protest—especially considering the fact that the United States is supposed to be largely secular. Some groups, like the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), based in Madison, Wisconsin, seem to be taking the city’s enthusiasm for the visit personally. FFRF’s estimated 1,200 NYC members are protesting what they believe to be a show of favoritism towards the city’s Catholic community. But the truth is that the pope represents more than just his religion; he represents tolerance and progress, which is something that should be universal.

What is often forgotten is that the pope, as the head of Vatican City, an independent nation, is technically a political leader. Vatican City is its own nation, and the pope serves as head of Vatican City.

Now I’m not saying that Beyonce shuts down Manhattan every time she shows up—although she probably could if she wanted to—but every time President Barack Obama rolls into town, many of the same security measures are put in place for him. Streets are shut down in at least a two block radius around the president, and there are MTA delays galore. Why should the pope

CAROLYN COLE/ LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

The long-awaited arrival of Pope Francis saw an incredible increase in New York City’s security.

be treated any differently? Additionally, whenever the Dalai Lama or any other noteworthy dignitary is in town, similar changes are made to ensure his or her safety during their visit.

Pope Francis has spoken out about the inclusion of divorcés and the LGBTQ community and has addressed subjects like climate change and gender issues, all in his short two years as the infallible voice of the Roman Catholic Church. This pope seems to be renewing interest in the church from groups that were previously shunned, thus making him somewhat of a religious rock star—it’s no wonder people flocked to the city

for a chance to get even a glimpse of His Holiness. A recent Public Religion Research Institute survey on American Catholics found that 80 percent of their survey respondents (11,115 people) who identified as “current Catholics” see the pope and U.S. bishops as understanding of the needs and views of American Catholics. Nearly 60 percent of those who identified as “former Catholics” agreed.

Given his popularity, it makes sense that the city pulled out all of the stops for this pope’s first U.S. visit. Even for a particularly humble pope, all of the formalities and regalia are befitting of this momentous occasion. Here at Ford-

ham, the University Church and parts of the Lincoln Center campus were adorned in yellow and white, the Vatican flag proudly displayed in preparation for this historic visit. Campus Ministry was in full celebratory swing, handing out rubber bracelets and “Flat Francises”—otherwise known as “pop-up popes”—to anyone that will stop.

Our resident Pope Francis cutout is more popular than ever--it’s about as close as most of us will ever get to him. Even those who don’t necessarily identify as Catholic are drawn into the excitement, and why wouldn’t they be? His message is to spread peace and love to all.

It doesn’t matter if the various

religious denominations that make up the Fordham community identify with Pope Francis on a faith level; Pope Francis is respected and celebrated because his message is one of inclusivity, something that especially resonates with us.

While people could have been complaining about how the pope’s visit made their commute that much harder, or how all the news was about the pope, instead many seem to have embraced his arrival.

When I asked a friend who isn’t Catholic why he was so happily putting up with all of the commotion, his answer was pretty simple: “Because this pope is the best pope.”

Facebook: More to Dislike BEN MOORE

Managing Editor/Online Editor

A dislike button is finally coming to Facebook.

As for its purpose, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and cofounder, stated that “it will mainly be used to express mild disapproval, or to express solidarity when someone posts about a negative event like a death or a loss,” at Facebook’s latest Town Hall meeting. Showing empathy or disapproval by clicking a button, however ironic that may be, is how he intends to grow the already massive platform. And quite frankly, it’s a brilliant strategy.

At its core, Facebook encourages people to share personal information in what has become a generally friendly environment. Take the most iconic feature for example; the ‘like’ button. A ‘like’ has widely become a positive interaction that makes us feel good, important or even correct on some level. So, with Facebook, we have become accustomed to supporting everything and everyone we even partially agree with, which in turn, encourages more sharing.

With the introduction of a ‘dislike’ button, a whole new component will be introduced to the platform.

A ‘dislike’ is a fundamentally different and stronger form of interaction, given that it’s new to Facebook and

DAVID JENSEN/ EMPICS ENTERTAINMENT/ ACABA PRESS VIA TNS

Facebook’s newest move, to add the ability to dislike, is one that will yield many benefits.

because it is negative. While there is already the option to express disagreement or berate someone with a comment, that takes time and effort.

A dedicated ‘dislike button,’ like its counterpart, is more convenient, and thus more powerful.

On the surface, this feature ap-

pears to contradict the environment that Facebook has cultivated since 2008, but it taps into an entirely different side of users that has mostly gone unrepresented. Besides, people love to share what things and ideas they disagree with as much as, if not more than, what they agree

with.

Even if people do use it overwhelmingly as a way to disagree, rather than to express sympathy, it will not matter to Facebook. They will be able to collect and use all of this information regardless. And for the company, all this new data is

great for business.

Take, for example, a case in which an election result appears on an individual’s News Feed.

Let’s say ‘Candidate A’ wins in the election. In this scenario, everyone who supported ‘Candidate A’ will presumably ‘like’ the post, and those who supported ‘Candidate B’ will ‘dislike’ it. Directly from this, Facebook gets two separate cohorts of like-minded individuals and double the amount of data that they originally had.

Facebook could also use the data from each individual’s profile and cross-reference it with the data from everyone else in that same group.

Then, they could create a highly probable data profile of that individual, based on information the original person might have never shared in first place. This profile is invaluable to the advertisers, and thus quite valuable to Facebook In this way, the dislike button is poised to provide a more complete overview of the personalities and tendencies of Facebook users, all the while giving them a feature they have been requesting for many years. In a completely backwards sounding scenario, both sides stand to benefit. It’s brilliant, because Facebook has found a way to build their data collection, while still appealing to the majority of its user base.

Well played, Zuckerberg, well played.

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Opinions

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

The B-Word and its Many Meanings One Little Word has Turned Femininity Into an Insult KATHY YOO

Contributing Writer

In her MTV documentary, “My Time Now,” rapper Nicki Minaj shares her struggle as a female artist in the male-dominated rap industry: “When I am assertive, I’m a bitch. When a man is assertive, he’s a boss. He’s bossed up. No negative connotation behind ‘bossed up.’

But lots of negative connotation behind being a bitch.”

Unfortunately, Minaj is not the only woman who deals with sexism in the workplace. Her experience mirrors the cruel labels and expectations placed on countless female entrepreneurs. From a young age, girls are expected to look perfect: to have long luscious hair and a thin body with full breasts and derriere.

Despite the lack of opportunities, women also need to be educated, successful and perfect housewives. Sadly, females who do not accurately fit this insurmountable description are then labelled as “bitches.” This vicious cycle of slapping the label “bitch” on women is hopelessly sexist, and opposes the ideals of feminism that are desperately needed in our contemporary society.

The current definition of “bitch” contradicts the ideals of gender equality and destroys the possibility of creating a society where women have social, political and economic rights. Women often self-identify as “bitches” to imply they are strong, independent and assertive. Nevertheless, the original definition of a “bitch” is a female dog. Although this isn’t the central context of the word practiced in modern society, the current meaning increases the derogatory interpretation of the word. The basic meaning of the word “bitch”

creates a parallel between women and dogs, which are animals that represent obedience and service.

There are diverse ways to use the word “bitch.” To be “someone’s bitch” is to act like someone’s servant, to sit in the “bitch seat” is to be in an inferior position and to “bitch” is to complain annoyingly.

The Oxford Dictionary also defines “bitch” as “a person who is completely subservient to another.”

I would not like to be referred to as a “bitch.” However, I am more comfortable being called one by a woman than by a man, because the word often has a largely different interpretation when used by a woman. When used by a man, the word is meant as a personal attack, since his definition of “bitch” uses my femininity as a weapon.

As a result, I feel less attacked when a woman calls me a “bitch” because we share that piece of identity. I have experienced and witnessed that unapologetic, non-submissive women in powerful positions are often targeted, particularly by men. Big Sean, along with a myriad of other male artists, commonly use the b-word to label women. In his song “I Don’t Fuck With You,” Big Sean refers to his ex-fiancé Naya Rivera as “a stupid-ass bitch,” “crazy bitch” and “dumb-ass bitch.” In fact, he uses the word “bitch” 21 times in the song, often directing it at the award-winning actress and singer.

Men often call these strong women difficult, bossy and aggressive, along with other stereotypical characteristics of a “bitch.” However, by using misogynistic terms like “bitch” to insult women, men are actually exposing their own insecurities and fear of women in power. When a woman calls herself a “bitch” or directs it at another woman, it is often done with a positive intention.

Admittedly, women are not

KIRK MCCOY/ LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

Nicki Minaj is just one example of a woman in the music industry that has been frequently subjected to the word “bitch.”

the only ones who are vulnerable to being referred to as “bitches.”

“Bitch” can be used as an attack on both men and women; unlike women in powerful positions, men are targeted when they are consid-

ered to be of inferior status. In the simplest terms, the word “bitch” represents stereotypical characteristics assigned to the opposite gender. Features such as assertiveness, toughness and decisiveness

are often synonymous with “bitch” when referring to a woman. On the other hand, “bitch” is synonymous with weakness, docility and obedience when the word is targeted at a man.

“Bitch” simply represents a man who does not have a dominant personality and can replace the words “softie” and “baby,” while a “Son of a Bitch” is defined as “a person (especially a man) who you strongly dislike or hate” by Merriam-Webster. The Dictionary Of Contemporary Slang uses “a spiteful or vindictive male homosexual” as one of the definitions of the word “bitch,” which is horrifically homophobic and misogynistic. The b-word continues to modernize by expanding through various connotations; we can use this to our advantage by adjusting the misogynistic definition, and creating a society where women are treated as equals.

It’s certainly possible, since “bitch” isn’t the only word that has been repurposed by the individuals it was designed to hurt. Gloria Naylor. an african-american novelist, once explained in an essay that her family used, and reclaimed, a certain slur word that represented “worthlessness or degradation and rendered it impotent.” Attempting to strictly abolish a term from everyone’s vocabulary is not only nearly impossible, but also foolish.

In contemporary society, words are capricious. Instead of fighting the word “bitch,” which can easily be replaced, we can create our own definition or use the existing slang proudly. We can take control of the fate of a word and steal power away from those that want to hurt us with it. We can avoid perpetuating the degrading male stereotype of a “bitch” by solely using the word with positive connotations, and embrace “bitch” as a term referring to a woman in a position so powerful that others find it threatening.

The World Needs Ze, and Fordham Does Too TYLER BURDICK Opinions Co-Editor

A revolution is afoot. Harvard University has implemented a policy which allows its incoming students to select the pronoun that will be used to describe them. However, this goes beyond simply men choosing “she” and women choosing “he.” A third option, “ze,” is being offered, and it is meant to provide representation to anyone who does not identify with the traditional binary system. The word (as well as its derivatives and synonyms such as “xe”) has of course also been met with resistance as well; the University of Tennessee was pressured by state senators to discontinue the advocacy of the word. But the truth is, at the end of the day, we need this word, and Fordham could gain a lot by using it too.

The criticism of ze is understandable. At face value it seems inappropriate that any university, a place meant to uphold high educational standards and advance the development of the human mind, would advocate for the usage of a word that does not technically exist. But the problem with this perspective is that it presumes that the invention of words is an innate affront to the English language, and this is not the case. True, certain “invented” words have given the process a very bad connotation. When Sarah Palin “invented” the word “refudiate,” and then decided to stand by her “invention,” she simply came across as looking ridiculous. But this is

GRAPHIC BY BEN MOORE/THE OBSERVER

Words like “ze” and “xe” don’t technically exist, but they are desperately needed in our culture.

because that word is purposeless; it mashes together two words that already exist, refute and repudiate, and does not have a unique function that cannot be carried out by a preexisting word. The exact same thing can be said of the colloquially used “guesstimate.”

But the only synonym for the word “ze” is “it,” and it would be remarkably offensive if “it” was the only pronoun non-binary students had available to use. This means that the function of referring to one who is neither male nor female has gone without a suitable representative. The only recourse thus far has been to inappropriately use the word “they,” a word designated for the

plural, whenever we want to refer to a single non-gendered individual.

If anything, this is indicative of the fact that our culture has evolved to a point where our system of language simply hasn’t been able to catch up.

One belief that is argued in this day and age is that gender exists in a spectrum. Indeed, classifications such as genderqueer, pan-gender, a-gender and bi-gender are just a few of the new terms being affiliated with the “gender revolution” that our generation has taken part in, and none of these genders are comfortable with fully committing to the male pronoun “he” or the female pronoun “she” 100 percent of the time. As it stands, the term

“genderqueer” is actually more of a blanket definition that encompasses anyone and everyone that does not fall into the traditional binary gender system, and it makes perfect sense to ascribe a unique pronoun to represent the blanket if none currently exists.

This is why it is unfortunate that the move towards making words like “ze” available is being met with opposition on the state level, as was the case with the University of Tennessee. But the opposition seems to be under the impression that our language is stagnant and should remain so. That is absolutely ridiculous. The English language is and always has been a living organism. Language

is a part of culture and culture is comprised of the thoughts and ideals of the people. People grow, and people change. Thus so too does their culture, and language must often be modified in order to better represent these changes in culture.

William Shakespeare, one of the most famous English playwrights of all time, is credited with contributing over 1700 words to the English language, many of which are still used in common speech today. He did so because he realized that, as he was writing his plays, there weren’t enough words that could appropriately carry out certain functions that he needed. His plays, a staple of the Elizabethan era, demanded that these functions be effectively carried out, and so the English language needed to be modified to reflect the culture of the time.

To date, Fordham has yet to introduce a policy like Harvard’s.

This is problematic, because gender and sexuality are both very real topics that are being discussed within the walls of this campus. It especially becomes a problem in the transgender community: specifically when we talk about individuals that personally identify as one gender, but have to publicly appear as another because they are not ready to reveal their true selves. The official establishment of a gender neutral pronoun (besides “it” or “they”) will make the English language far more inclusive than it has been in the past, and in a place like Fordham— where the objective is to make every student on campus feel as though they belong— this can only be a good thing.

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor Sri Stewart-sstewart13@fordham.edu

October 1 , 2015 THE OBSERVER

Film Director Michel Gondry to Teach Masterclass

By SHAINA OPPENHEIMER Staff Writer

Known for his quirky and ingenious visual style, French film director Michel Gondry will give a master class before screening his newest film “Microbe and Gasoline” at the New York Film Festival. The masterclass will be held on Monday, Oct. 5 from 5:00-6:30p.m. in the Law School, room 4-01.

Beginning as a music video director, Gondry has worked with many icons including Bjork, Paul McCartney, The White Stripes, Kanye West and The Rolling Stones. The Academy Award-winning director has also brought to screen “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Be Kind Rewind,” which are high-rated films with cult followings, among several others.

This masterclass was arranged in partnership with UniFrance, a French cultural service organization aimed at promoting French cinema abroad.

Last spring, Fordham held an event with UniFrance who reached out to the French Department about hosting the masterclass this fall. Assistant professor of French studies, Audrey Evrard, contacted the communication and media studies department seeking to hold a collaborative event.

With the help of Artist-in-Residence James Jennewein, who specializes in screenwriting, this event will bring together the French and Media Studies departments.

“Michel Gondry is not typical of French cinema and not typical of American cinema. He has his own unique style,” Evrard explained.

“Hollywood films tend to be a little more formulaic. They follow more generic conventions where you can easily recognize a comedy or action film with a hero and a resolution.

Whereas French cinema doesn’t really have an ending. There’s no need for a resolution because they’re more

LIONEL HAHN/ ACABA PRESS VIA TNS

Michel Gondry featured above with American actress Patricia Arquette.

character driven…The spectrum for French film is very wide and Gondry kind of navigates his way around.”

Evrard also explained Gondry’s deviation from the direction films have been moving towards. “You can’t find very many directors in contemporary cinema that create a very artisanal visual environment—it’s now much more technology-driven.

With him he’s very into all the details and the image. When you look at his

more recent films, he works a lot on the details and little objects that seem to have no purpose yet makes sense in the world he creates,” Evrard said.

The craft approach to Gondry’s scenes with much attention to small details paints zany worlds where the audience gets to see characters in a more intimate and unique light. This approach fuses many creative techniques to play on the aesthetics of a scene. Furthermore, it invites the au-

dience to take a more interactive role as a viewer present in the world created on screen.

Gondry’s momentum is part of a greater movement towards crosscultural cinema.

“In the last few years you see more and more French actors and actresses starring in Hollywood movies. There are also more French filmmakers working with American actors,” Evrard said. For example, the French

actress Mélanie Laurent starred in American director Peter Docter’s animated film, “Inside Out” in 2015.

“It’s also becoming very common for French-Canadian filmmakers. You can see the field is becoming more and more international,” Evrard explained.

Evrard hopes he will “invite Fordham students to look at films and the world around them through a very refreshing and surprising way.”

The Comma Interrobang Surface Level

By JESSICA VITOVITCH Literary Co-Editor

I have always been single. I’m not particularly bothered by this fact. I’m not constantly wandering around in quiet desperation of falling into a man’s desirable gaze—despite what every romantic comedy will have you believe. It’s just that the concept of high school relationships had never really appealed to me. I found high school boys’ frenetic juvenile energy simply unattractive. Like children in a swimming pool, high school was filled with bubbly striplings playing around on the surface, chasing each other, playing games, mindlessly wading across the glassy expanse. To me, high school was the reflective surface, the superficial identity; who your friends were, where you sat at lunch, which sports or clubs you were involved with, what classes you were taking, where you wanted to go to college, etc. I saw it all as one colorful, noisy void.

A temporary distraction on the journey to my real life, my adult life. In an effort to escape the endless banter and games happening on the surface, I liked to stay under the water steep into the silent abyss trying to figure out what was underneath.

Desperately trying to grab at something tangible and whole because I felt there was no real long-term depth or substance in the nature of these romantic relationships, mainly because most people in high school didn’t really have a firm grasp on their identity and they wanted out of life. As if we do now.

But admittedly, the lack of high school relationships had left me feeling a bit unprepared entering the collegiate dating world. I can’t state with full confidence that the basic skills of flirting are really weapons in my arsenal. A successful flirtation is supposed to be a slightly coy but graceful dance between two people, but I stumble and fall over my words and gestures constantly. But, not so much in the sense that I say or do perceptively awkward or inappropriate things. Although I’m certainly no stranger to that either. 10 minutes to find out

there was a piece of food in my teeth. Classic. Snorting while I laugh. The epitome of elegance. But mainly my issue is that it will shift from a potential flirtation into a Barbara Walters one-on-one special. But mainly because I feel like everything about casual flirting is frivolous and one-dimensional. For me, it has a tendency to be a depthless amusement that is a far cry from the dark bowels beneath the surface that I feel most comfortable, buried in my own thoughts. I almost feel I have to abandon my mind in order to portray the desired coquettishness such matters demand. In other words, this playful, lighthearted thing may not always be my schtick. I can act like that way sometimes, but only if I’m comfortable around you, which doesn’t occur immediately and nothing makes me more uncomfortable than a man looking sternly into my eyes as he tells me about his extensive bow tie collection. When I’m nervous, I just resort to what I know best which is asking questions with follow up after follow up after follow up.

Each time hoping to hit something that’s familiar, something that will keep me grounded to the bottom of the water. Constantly trying to have a sense of who they are and analyzing the potential of this interaction. But all the while, diminishing any real potential in the process. For this pattern created a dynamic between myself and the other person that is less informal and more interviewer meets interviewee. Producing a deeper anxiety about dating and interacting with men in general as I’m deeply aware that coming off as professorial does not exactly read as fun and flirty. I feel completely and utterly incompetent and wish I could hone my skills, and yet I don’t wish to change who I am or what I like to talk about and not talk about. It is a dichotomy of the mind that I am still trying to figure out.

Yet, despite my vast inexperience with dating, amongst

my group of friends and family, I am the one person they turn to for relationship-related advice. They say that I’m able to offer a clearer perspective on relationships. I like listening to their stories. Perhaps in some small way I live vicariously through them but furthermore I like to listen almost from an anthropological standpoint. Observing the nature of romantic relationships as if they are exotic inhabitants of a jungle or a new species. Absorbing every exchange, scuff and kink with a hungry mind, in a secret desire to achieve a clarified understanding of how it works. But I think through listening to countless stories over the years about relationships in its varying stages, trying to learn something perhaps about myself and my own relationship with men, I learned that deep down all we want is validation. Validation that our partner desires us, validation that we made the right decision to either pursue or not pursue a relationship, but I think underneath all of that, at its crux is a desire to know that we are lovable, a deep thrusting need to receive confirmation that we can not only receive love, but also that we are capable of giving love. So without a relationship, how can I know these things for certain? Am I destined to aimlessly float through life in a sulking daze because I don’t know if I am lovable or have the capacity to give love? Destined to be looking up at the light from my home at the bottom but never being able to breakthrough the surface. For a while, that fear did creep into the back of my mind, the future of the unknowns looming over me like a thick cloud. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that the validation that people so desperately crave, that I secretly need, can come from within, from discovering your own joys, your own rhythms in life, your own light. As long as I learn to love myself and embrace life openly, that is all the validation I need.

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October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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2015 HOMECOMING GAME The Observer photographers documented the homecoming game in which the Fordham Rams took on the Columbia Lions.

PHOTO BY ZANA NAJJAR / THE OBSERVER

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO /THE OBSERVER

Fordham fans cheer on the Rams at the Jack Coffey football stadium.

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO /THE OBSERVER

Fordham cheerleaders stand in position while watching the homecoming game.

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO/THE OBSERVER

At the homecoming game, Fordham football players wore patriotic jerseys.

JULIA CORNELL /THE OBSERVER

Kids of all ages attended the game.

JULIA CORNELL /THE OBSERVER

The Fordham mascot, The Ram, interacted with the crowd in the stadium.

LYDIA BENNER /THE OBSERVER

Attendees brought Fordham-related flags to the homecoming game.

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THE OBSERVER October 1, 2015

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2015 HOMECOMING GAME

JULIA CORNELL /THE OBSERVER

JULIA CORNELL /THE OBSERVER

Fordham cheerleaders perform a stunt during half-time.

A sea of Fordham colors cheer as we score a touchdown.

LYDIA BENNER /THE OBSERVER

Football players prepare for a snap during the game.

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Fordham football players gather together before entering the field.

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Football players stretch at half-time to prepare for the rest of game.

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO /THE OBSERVER

The day before the big homecoming game, the Jack Coffey stadium was empty.

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Arts & Culture

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAQLIN MEDLOCK

Terri Ayanna Wright recently graduated Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 2015.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDUARDO PATINO

Pictured above is Senior Courtney Celeste Spears.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE FROMAN

Gabriel Hyman is another senior signed with Ailey II.

Ailey/Fordam Students to Tour Internationally Two current Fordham at Lincoln Center students and an alumna land spots in Ailey II.

By ELIZABETH SHEW Contributing Writer

Most undergraduate students, if they’re lucky, know what their dream job is by the time they graduate. Very few are fortunate enough to land that job immediately—but that’s exactly what happened to Terri Ayanna Wright, Gabriel Hyman and Courtney Celeste Spears, Ailey/Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) alumna and current students who recently finished their first international tour with Ailey II. Wright, Hyman and Spears are new members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s prestigious second company, which means they have the opportunity to perform year-round under the worldrenowned banner of Alvin Ailey.

For any serious dancer, this opportunity is a dream come true. But, it’s a dream that requires a lifetime of hard work.

Wright, FCLC ’15, who is an honors graduate with a BFA in Dance

and minor in Computer Science, started training when she was two years old. “My parents put me in dance class because I was always putting on shows around the house,” she recalled. “I wanted to get people to smile or laugh.”

She has always loved performing, and knew early on that it was something she wanted to do her whole life: “It focuses me, it drives me…I get to put everything I’ve been working on for years into one moment,” Wright said. “I love it.”

Hyman, FCLC ’16, grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. He started dancing when he was 11, after his mother forced him to audition for the local arts school. “My mom got tired of driving me around all the time,” he laughed, “So she made me pick an art, and I chose dance.”

Hyman knew nothing about dance when he started, but he quickly realized it was his passion. “I went to the Ailey Summer Intensive when I was in high school,” he said, “And I fell in love with the company.”

Spears, FCLC ’16, began dancing at a small studio in her hometown of Columbia, Maryland, but her teacher recognized her talent and recommended that Spears apply to the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts. There, Spears realized that dance could be a career. Now, her new job means she will be finishing her education on the road.

“I have one more class to take…in order to complete my minor in communication and media studies,” she explained. She has arranged an independent study that can fit into her tight schedule.

It’s an ambitious task, because the schedule for the Ailey II company members is grueling. Over the summer, they rehearsed for eight consecutive weeks and eight hours every day, with minimal breaks. In that short time, they learned nine dances, each one over 20 minutes long.

“It was exhausting,” Hyman confessed. “It’s a lot of work. But after a time, your body gets used to it.”

Recently, Ailey II returned from

a short tour in Bari, Italy. For Wright and Spears, not only was it their first professional tour, but it was also their first time in Europe. Wright almost slept through her first day.

“My sleeping patterns were totally off,” Wright laughed, “But I got to go out and see the town in the evening. That was probably the best part...Being able to meet the people and enjoy the architecture.”

Spears taught a masterclass to dance students in the area. “Dance is a great vessel to experience the world and experience culture,” she reflected. “I didn’t speak Italian and [the students] didn’t speak much English, but we were connected because we were moving together.”

Tour life can be challenging. The dancers had to learn how to maintain their bodies while travelling and dealing with jet lag.

“Sleep and water,” Hyman said immediately, “and stillness. We’re moving all the time, so I learned to appreciate that.”

Their first performance in Bari

was—as all three of them described it—“surreal.” And it has infused the dancers with a burning desire to keep working at what they love.

“The opening moment was very touching,” Spears reflected of her first show. “My mind is so amazed and my spirit is so overwhelmed by how much there is to see in this world. I want to keep learning and feeding myself spiritually, artistically and mentally.”

Wright agreed. “It’s a dream come true…it makes me want to do more, to work more and be sure to bring something [to the audience] that is worth watching.”

Upon returning from Italy, Ailey II promptly left for a 40-day domestic tour. It’s a challenge, but it’s also exciting.

“I want to take things as they come,” Hyman said. “This is a time to gain experience as a professional and grow as an artist. I want to soak up everything and learn from every place.”

Poets Out Loud Returns for 2015-16 Poets Out Loud is a series for poets and students to read and discuss their work with an audience.

By OLIVIA LUCAS Contributing Writer

Poets Out Loud (POL) is an annual series that encourages the submission and reading of poetry. Each year, prizes are awarded to the most talented authors; one potential prize is a publication of their work

by Fordham Press. The mission of POL is to bring together poets from all backgrounds and provide an opportunity to share works and listen to others recite theirs. When asking Heather Dubrow—Boyd chair for Poetic Imagination, professor and the director of reading series— about the criteria of poetry picked, she replied, “The main criterion is respect for the poetry, but we also always represent a range of poetic styles, ethnicities and sexualities, and include both distinguished poets and ones at earlier stages of

their careers.” Poets Out Loud is a safe place for people to creatively express themselves and have the exciting potential of being published.

Professor, Editor and Director of POL Prize Series Elizabeth Frost explained the criteria for how poems are selected. “Over the years, I have learned what a big difference there is between a series of good poems and a coherent book of poems. While many of the hundreds of entries we receive contain excellent poems—they clearly are from poets who have powerful things to say and the skill to express them— the manuscripts that end up being named as finalists also have a shape or a consistency as a volume that makes them noteworthy,” Frost said.

In a digital age where almost everything is on the internet, it is easy to be distracted by the media and

ZANA NAJJAR /THE OBSERVER

Professor, Editor and Director of POL Prize Series, Elizabeth Frost

see a lack of written works such as poetry. However, both Dubrow and Frost agree that the internet age is

merely a tool for the distribution of poetry.

“I don’t see poetry as antitheti-

cal to social media or to technological change in general—poems are often shared and quoted on social media; many poets incorporate digital experiments in their work,” Dubrow expressed.

“There have been recent projects by poets using Twitter and other social media platforms for new types of poetic practice. But I do think that the speed of digital culture is sometimes so numbing that people turn to poetry to slow things down– to experience language and perception fully, in the instant, and to be able to reflect on that experience over time,” Frost added.

The infinite amount of information on the web also contains a more accessible outlet for poetry, as both professors point out. All POL events are held in the 12th Floor Lounge at Fordham College at Lincoln Center

Features

Features Co-Editors Alana Kilkeary-alannamartine@gmail.com Alysha Kundanmal-akundanmal@fordham.edu Hansini Weedagama-hweedagama@fordham.edu October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

Confessions of a College Senior: Post-Grad Stress

By SHAHEEN TOKHI Staff Writer

“What are you going to do after you graduate?”has become the goto question at family functions and awkward family dinners for college seniors everywhere. Truthfully, it’s the kind of question that will make you miss the nosey relatives who constantly ask if you have a significant other during holiday parties.

There is no one answer to what comes with post-grad life. Some will take the LSAT, the GRE or the MCAT to take the next steps in their extended schooling. Some will audition for dance and theater companies, travel or do charity work or go straight into the workforce while others have absolutely no idea what they want to do yet. Senior year is infamous for forcing unsuspecting college students out of pseudo adulthood and into the real world. Whether you know exactly what you will be doing or you have no idea what’s next, post-grad plans are intimidating for everyone.

When asked about post-grad life, Gaby Besada, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ‘16, spoke honestly when she said, “I want to say I don’t know.” But just because she’s unsure of the specifics, doesn’t mean Besada doesn’t share the same desires of most seniors. Besada is an English major who wants to work with children and live in a major city– but hasn’t quite found her niche yet. When asked about her goals, Besada said, “I would like to get a job.

I would like to be employed. That would be ideal. I would like to have income. I would like to not have to move in with my parents.” When asked if she was worried about being unable to give a solid answer regarding her post-grad plans, Besada said “No. A lot of people our age feel the pressure to have an answer. I wish I could sit them all down and tell them that they don’t need to feel that pressure because anyone who says that they had everything figured out at 21 or 22 years old is lying.”

HANSI WEEDAGAMA/THE OBSERVER

Seniors are under a lot of pressure to find jobs upon graduation.

Amanda Ritchie, FCLC ‘16, has a different take on post grad plans.

When asked what was next for her, Ritchie said,“my post-grad plans have always been to attend law school.

I’m taking the LSAT in October. Depending on how I do, I’ll take it again in December.” Although her plan seems clear cut at first glance, Ritchie added,“I’m 85 percent sure I want to go to law school, but that other 15 percent could be something else, I just have to figure it out.” If she goes to law school, ideally she’d like to take a semester to travel before hitting the books again. If she doesn’t go to law school, Ritchie would like to work with the prison system, specifically rehabilitation programs for incarcer-

ated minorities and at-risk youth; it’s a new found passion that stems from her recent summer internship at the Brooklyn D.A.’s office. “It requires a lot of dedication and focus. I took a summer prep class when I didn’t have school assignments to do, but now that school is getting more intense, it’s harder to balance studying for the LSAT, and doing school, and working...but hopefully with more self discipline I’ll find more time to do some last minute studying for the LSAT.” Maia Bedford, FCLC ‘16, is a dance major and an American Studies Major. Bedford admitted that the idea of post grad plans can be intimidating, especially with company auditions beginning as early as January

2016. “I prayerfully, will have a job.

I will have a contract with a professional dance company that tours, and be able to learn different repertories of dance, and in a perfect world, travel all over the world.” Bedford exuded passion for her love of dance and performance, While describing her ideal post-grad plans, Bedford said, “I want to dance as long as possible!” Bedford also expressed a potential interest in musical theater and acting. However, Bedford also shared a second set of plans with me, a plan for her American Studies degree. “If I ever get to a place where I feel like I’ve had my time on the stage, I want to do something totally different. My second major is American studies, and

I really like talking about categories of difference... I’d be interested in exploring one of those fields more deeply and then probably either working in education or working for a cause.”

Asking a senior about post grad plans can often feel like asking a child what they want to be when they grow up. Except this time they’re supposed to be grown-up and there is an unexplainable pressure to be able to spit out an answer. Some have one, others have no idea and plenty of people are stuck somewhere in the middle.

But post grad doesn’t have to be this terrifyingly daunting thing. Sure, it signals the end of a great chapter, but it also point to great beginnings and to new adventures just around the

FCLC’s School Survival Guide: 30 Percent of Your Grade sors.” All professors are required to have office hours, but they are seldom taken advantage of.

ALYSHA KUNDANMAL Features Co-Editor

DO THE MATH: Your grades in

One of the worst possible pieces of information you can acquire in a college class is learning that you have a test in said class that day. The stomach-drop feeling that mirrors the ones from roller coasters is awful, and experiencing it at all, let alone in a classroom, can be terrifying. No one wants to be the first one to make this mistake. Here’s how to avoid the pitfalls that accompany tests, papers and anything else worth 30 percent of your grade.’

WRITE IT DOWN: Get a calendar or a planner and go through each class syllabus. Write down all the tests, quizzes and papers you have for the next month on the dates they will happen. Do this for each class, and color code them so you can tell which is which. Your October calendar may look overwhelming at first (or, if you’re anything like me, an organizational dream), but being able to prepare for tests and papers in advance will pay off in the long run.

Also, you’ll never have to send the panicked text at 11 p.m. asking, “We have a history paper due tomorrow?!” to as many people as you can think of who are in that class.

ASK FOR CLARIFICATION: A

syllabus is not written in stone. It is quite malleable, especially in digital form, and is at the discretion of the professor. Dates for assignments

ALYSHA KUNDANMAL / THE OBSERVER

With such a wide variety of planners, there’s an organizational system for everyone!

change all the time, and sometimes (unfortunately) on short notice. If the dates on your syllabus aren’t quite matching up with what you’re discussing in class, ask your professor if the due date of the paper has moved, too. While it may seem sensible to wait until the end of class to ask, don’t. Ask in front of everyone: that way, your professor can address it during class, instead of adjusting the syllabus afterwards but forgetting to email everyone else of the

changes. Everyone will thank you and definitely have your back if you get confused next time.

GO TO OFFICE HOURS: Tess Fahey,

Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’16, cringes remembering, “my first test, I actually bombed.

It was because I didn’t talk to the professor and figure out what I really needed to study. I studied everything wrong.” When you have more personal concerns or questions that

would take up too much class time, or would just like some individual face time with your professor, look to the top of your syllabus for where and when their office hours are.

While it may seem a little intimidating at first, professors are generally very welcoming and extremely helpful to students who stop by. Professor Elisabeth Frost expressed, “I’m kind of amazed at how little office hours are actually utilized, so I would advocate for reaching out to profes-

college are broken down into much larger percentages than they were in high school. For your whole academic career thus far, teachers have encouraged you to do your homework and participate in class simply because they were “easy points.”

These were the types of small, lowstakes assignments designed to prop up your grade. If you didn’t do too well on a test, it wouldn’t keep you from passing the class because you had a homework cushion. It essentially worked as an insurance policy.

By now, you’ve probably noticed that there isn’t a lot of homework that you have to physically hand in to your professor. This makes studying for your tests and giving yourself ample time to write your papers crucial. If you neglect to study for your midterm, that’s a hefty quarter of your overall grade that’s suffering, jeopardizing your opportunity for an A in the class.

What will help you earn an A in your classes are these tried-and-true tips! So make sure to keep yourself organized this semester with this recap list of DOs and DON’Ts. DO: Write your assignments down.

DO: Go to office hours.

DON’T: Get caught off guard by due

dates.

DON’T: Rely on a homework cushion.

12

Features

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

What Makes College Worth It?

By CECILE NEIDIG Contributing Writer

There are six experiences that the most successful college graduates all share during their academic experience, according to the New York Times and a Gallup-Purdue Index report. The most successful graduates developed a relationship with a mentor, had professors that cared about the student, had professors that made the student excited about learning, had a job or internship that corresponds to the student’s studies, worked on a project for class that lasted an entire semester or longer and was deeply involved in a campus organization or activity.

The report finds that it matters less which institution a student attended and more what that student experienced while at an institution that impacted their own perceived fulfillment in their lives after graduation. Emphasized in the report’s findings was the student’s role in getting the most out of their education, stating,“What college gives you hinges almost entirely on what you give it.”

So how can Fordham students make the most of their Fordham education and what do the Fordham administration and professors do to provide an environment for this to take place?

John Seitz, a professor of theology at Fordham, describes learning as something to approach with eagerness and enthusiasm, which he himself actively tries to provide for his students, and that passivity in one’s studies is where one misses the opportunity to embrace the gift of education. “If you can have some kind of enthusiasm about learning, that’s a gift that will shape your entire life beyond the individual facts you’re learning in my classroom–or any classroom. The bigger goal is to inculcate that deep curiosity and eagerness to continue to learn and to be changed and challenged by what you encounter in the world.” He said “you have to be ravenous in your approach if you want to succeed.”

To successfully pursue education, according to Seitz, a student must be willing to find answers for themselves, ask their own questions, and challenge the status quo and think critically about it. The best students are those who are “Asserting themselves and taking ownership of their own education.”

JULIA CORNELL /THE OBSERVER

What you put into college is exactly what you get out of it.

Outside of the classroom, a successful student in the eyes of Keith Eldredge, dean of students at Lincoln Center, is one who is engaged and involved. “We try to structure so much of what we do in Student Affairs to make getting engaged and involved as easy and inviting for students as possible.” In order for a student to have success after graduation, Dean Eldredge said, “First and foremost, they need to pay attention to their academics, they need to be a strong student and they need to select a course of study for a purpose.” He strongly suggests that a student gets involved on campus as it “improves your social life, time management and you learn some skills. You learn how to budget, how to program, how to interact with people, how to communicate and how to resolve conflict.” This involvement and engagement fosters “a sense of the other and care for the

other. I think that comes with getting involved in activities because a lot of times you’re doing something for other students.”

Some Fordham students see the six experiences as something that is self-actualized by the student. Dan Wilson, FCLC ‘17, a junior philosophy major and music minor who has had all six of the experiences that the report outlined agrees that the worth of college is dependent on what the student puts into it. “For the most part it’s all self motivated, it’s been me that’s had to create these experiences,” he said. “Fordham has definitely provided the resources and experiences necessary, and it’s up to the student to take advantage of that. I think the university should take a more active role so that the students know about these opportunities and emphasize the importance of taking advantage of these resources.” When asked what

he thought set Fordham apart from other universities, he pointed to the core curriculum and that it has allowed him to take classes in fields and from professors that he otherwise would not have, “I wouldn’t be a philosophy major without it.”

Emma Wallace, a junior English major, FCLC ‘17, who has also had all six of the necessary experiences said, “As far as internships and extra projects, Fordham makes it really difficult. There are a lot of hoops you have to go through to get an internship that corresponds to your major and that counts for credit for your major.” This student also feels that “Fordham makes it too difficult for clubs and organizations to operate due to restrictions and unnecessary procedures.” Because of this the student feel that, “there’s no campus culture so the only thing we really do on campus is go to class and that makes us have stronger relation-

ships with our professors who are really what makes us successful after graduation–the professors.”

Some students still believe that a school’s name carries enough weight to have as much to do with their success after graduation, and is worth as much as what the school offers and what the student experienced in college.

What one experienced in college certainly varies between each student. Even at the same university not all students are exposed to the same classes or professors or involve themselves in the same campus activities or extracurriculars in the same ways. This validates the notion that “what college gives you hinges almost entirely on what you give it.”

However, only if the student adequately involved themselves in their studies and takes advantage of what is offered by a university will college –or Fordham–be “worth it.”

No Shortage of Caffeine at Coffee Festival “ Many professionals

By ALYSHA KUNDANMAL Features Co-Editor

Coffee connoisseurs gathered at the 69th Regiment Armory the weekend of Sept. 25-27 for the inaugural New York Coffee Festival. Attendees ranged from industry professionals looking to expand their brands and make connections to eager and curious consumers salivating in anticipation of unlimited coffee samples.

According to the event’s website, “more than 10,000 visitors [were] expected from the USA and abroad,” with the first day of the event open exclusively to industry professionals.

Tickets for the event were either standard, VIP or multi-day. The standard ticket prices ranged from $20-$25, while the VIP tickets ranged from $45-$55. The only multi-day option was also bundled with VIP status costing between $60-$75. VIP perks included a commemorative tote bag, a book about coffee and expedited entry through a VIP door.

The event space itself was filled with local and national vendors sampling various coffees and teas, coffee equipment and accessories for sale as well as many musicians performing live music. Other activities included brewing workshops, demonstrations

from the local companies were bothered that Starbucks was trying to rebrand itself as more artisanal by introducing a new “reserve” blend. ” INDUSTRY PROFESSIONSALS FROM MANY LOCAL COFFEE COMPANIES PRESENT AT NYCF

ALYSHA KUNDANMAL/THE OBSERVER

Toby’s Estate was one of the many vendors present at the NYCF.

and a barista competition.

Local roasting companies and wholesalers–some with retail shops

in the city–accounted for the majority of vendors. Some of them included: Gregory’s Coffee, Toby’s Estate,

Counter Culture Coffee and Irving Farm. On the other hand, coffee conglomerate Starbucks was also present with a booth labeled “Starbucks Reserve.” Many of the professionals from the local companies were bothered that Starbucks was trying to rebrand itself as more artisanal by introducing a new “reserve” blend.

Some expressed disdain that such a large chain was encroaching into a space filled with mostly local businesses.

Bearded and bespectacled baris-

tas could be seen brewing behind counters using various machines– most of them for large scale commercial use, but some practical for home use. The most common apparati used were standard espresso machines and cone pour-overs. However, the most unique and interesting machine was the iPad-controlled syphon press system used by Alpha Dominche.

This system is conceptually similar to a french press, but it is automated based on the brew instructions and recipe programmed into the iPad. The only thing a barista needs to do to use it is measure out the ground coffee beans, and place them into the glass chamber; the machine does the rest – it even cleans itself!

For those of legal drinking age, there were also some coffee inspired libations. The Espresso Martini Bar featured samples of an espresso martini which contained coffee-infused vodka, white chocolate liqueur and whipped cream. Another vendor called Magnum advertised its own self-titled liqueur boasting that it has beaten Bailey’s Irish Cream in every taste competition.

Attendees of the first New York Coffee Festival certainly left feeling a strong buzz from the caffeine, alcohol and impressive exhibition.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

October 1 , 2015

Features

13

No Rats and Roaches Here: Where It’s Safe to Eat

By STEPHAN KOZUB Contributing Writer

Prosperity Dumpling, a popular Chinatown eatery famous for its quality of food and inexpensive prices, was temporarily closed on Aug. 27 after a photo surfaced revealing that a rat-infested back alley was the location of the business’s kitchen.

The incident has called into question the New York City Health Department’s evaluation system, due to the fact that Prosperity Dumpling had received an “A” rating on May 28, 2015, although there were “live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas,” according to the Health Department’s evaluation report.

However, on May 11, an ungraded inspection conducted and reported by the Health Department found a total of five critical violations, with a total of 40 violation points, in contrast with the 11 violation points the restaurant received from its May 28 evaluation.

The Aug. 27, 2015, inspection that led to the restaurant’s closing was ungraded, and had a total of 65 violation points with five critical violations and four minor violations, according to the Health Department.

“There’s a lot of variability in the Health Department’s rating process,” Bruce Berg, associate professor of political science who specializes in U.S. health and social policy, said. “As the result of a hearing, the Health Department found that they

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO/THE OBSERVER

A B-rated restaurant is open for business.

could send in three or four different evaluators and get different grades.”

The frequency of the evaluations has also been a source of debate.

“After the Health Department evaluates the restaurant, they [the restaurant owners] may think they can

get away with certain things,” Berg said. “They won’t expect the Health Department to evaluate them again for several months.”

According to Berg, the answer to these problems is not simple.

“Better training, more qualified

individuals, and more inspectors requires money,” Berg said. “The Health Department’s resources are stretched. What would you like them not to deal with so they can deal with restuarants, short of raising taxes?”

For students, there are several ways to go about determining which restaurants are safe, such as checking health ratings and restaurant review websites, as well as asking friends.

“I have the ABC Eats app,” Dillon Rebock, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ‘18, said. “It’s powered by the city, and it tells you the rating for the restaurant, and what infractions there were, if any.”

This strategy of checking health ratings is a go-to tactic for many students, such as Maryanna Antoldi, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ‘19. “First I check the health rating, and then if the place looks clean and there’s a lot of people in it, I determine it’s safe,” Antoldi said. “I also check Trip Advisor to check the reviews and ratings.”

Students such as Nopell Wong, FCLC ‘18, also go by the strategy of “word of mouth,” “I only go to restaurants that my friends have frequently gone to,” Wong said. “I go by word of mouth usually. I am more skeptical of food carts than restuarants, and I check Yelp sometimes.”

“I usually try to avoid hole-inthe-wall places, unless my friends have been there,” Wong said.

Inexpensive eateries that students recommend are Bread & Honey, Europan Cafe and the frequently visited Dollar Pizza, of which there are multiple locations across the city.

Despite these strategies, the New York City Health Department’s evaluation system is being continually criticized, as shown in a Business Insider article claiming that evaluations are “culturally biased” and “dependent on the individual health inspector,” and that the “high fines unduly hurt smaller restaurants.”

“In hearings, restaurant owners argued that restaurants should not be shut down immediately if a violation is discovered,” Berg said. These hearings have been conducted to try and solve the problems with the Health Department’s evaluation system, such as allegedly unfair and subjective inspections.

Berg explained the restaurant owners’ argument, where “if the evaluator says there are violations ‘X,’ ‘Y’ and ‘Z,’ instead of closing [the restaurant] down, give [the owner’s] a day to fix it and come back tomorrow,” he said.

The problems of evaluation and food safety shown by Prosperity Dumpling do not seem to be rare according to Berg, even if there are efforts are being made to solve the problems in the Health Department’s evaluation system.

“Is this the first time a restaurant with an ‘A’ rating has been closed by the Health Department? Probably not,” Berg said.

#StopMakeupShaming Sparks Discourse

By REESE RAVNER Staff Writer

It’s as simple as this: some girls wear makeup and some don’t. A common misconception about girls who wear makeup is that they do so solely because they are insecure or looking for attention. In reality, many girls choose to wear makeup for one person—themselves. Online blogger Brandon Gaille collected statistics about makeup, and shared that 82 percent of women believe that wearing makeup makes them feel more self-confident. Makeup shaming attacks women for the amount of makeup they choose to wear and their perceived reasons for doing so.

Katelyn Malanowski, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, has done makeup for theatre shows since middle school and is, in general, a makeup enthusiast. Sephora is her candy store. “It’s art on your face,” she said, “You can change it up based on your mood on any given day.” Like decorating a room, it is a form of creativity and expression.

Malanowski has never experienced makeup shaming personally, but she is bothered by the stigma attached to wearing makeup. She believes that “it shouldn’t be an issue—especially when people say it’s about guys. It has nothing to do with impressing boys. I wear makeup because it makes me feel more confident and put together, and I enjoy putting it on.” Malanowski, like many others, makes the conscious choice to wear makeup because she knows it will make her feel good.

This is a sign of security and selfacceptance, not insecurity.

James Linacre, FCLC ’19, brings up the invalidity of the argument that those who wear makeup are “falsifying” their look. He said, “There’s not much more authentic than showing the artistic expression and interpretation of a person’s feelings through makeup, as it’s so visibly on display for the world to appreciate.”

Though it has been prevalent in society for quite some time, the issue

LYDIA BENNER /THE OBSERVER

Makeup should be seen as something artistic and empowering, not something to condemn.

of makeup shaming had never been addressed with as much force as it is now until a YouTube user, NikkieTutorials, uploaded a video about it in May of this year. In the video, she puts makeup on only half of her face and leaves the other half bare, embracing her beauty both with and without it. This video, which received more than 22 million views, inspired many women to post pictures of half made-up faces and embrace their love for makeup.

As a reaction to this video, the blog “Shedding Of The Ego: Exploring the Male Mind,” which is primarily rooted in anti-feminist–possibly anti-women–thinking, published a strongly worded post belittling the value of women speaking out toward this issue. The writer asserts that

“western civilization has become so ridiculously safe for women...that they have to invent various methods by which they are oppressed out of thin air.” Quite frankly, thinking like this is exactly why shaming and judging in general needs to be put to a stop. Nobody is asserting that they are “oppressed,” just that they would like to stop being judged for personal choices they make.

Nora Wheelehan, FCLC ’19, enjoys makeup because she likes “being able to play with [her] features.” She said, “I like to wear it just because I like the look of it. It’s just fun.”

Wheelehan has witnessed makeup shaming in the past. She said, “My school...was an all girls boarding school so we were all really comfortable with each other...so no one wore

makeup, [but]...some people were rude to people who did wear makeup to school because they were like, ‘Why are you doing this? Who are you trying to impress?’”

Makeup shaming is also a feminist issue. It is no secret that girls are constantly under a microscope when it comes to their appearances. “There are a lot of guys who spend a good amount of time getting ready and no one would say anything about that,” argued Malanowski. Makeup shaming can include shaming girls who choose not to wear makeup, which is equally not OK. Essentially, people always seem to find new and unnecessary methods to judge each other. Wearing makeup is just another way to contribute to one’s aesthetic, like accessorizing.

Linacre noted that it “is really no different than picking out an outfit in the morning. The [person] chooses whatever makes them feel best at that moment.”

Malanowski added, “Nobody asks ‘Why does she always curl her hair?’ or ‘Why does she wear dresses every day?’”

Despite all of this, one cannot ignore the progress society has made.

Body positivity and acceptance are growing trends, but people fail to realize that makeup shaming, like fat shaming or any other type of shaming, negatively contributes to one’s body image.

Judging anyone about the motivation behind their personal choices hinders the possibility of a society free of judgment.

Sports Editors Matthew McCarthy - mmccarthy80@fordham.edu Katie Kirtland - kkirtland@fordham.edu

Sports

October 1, 2015 THE OBSERVER

Humble Beginnings Bring Success for Edmonds Fordham Football’s Chase Edmonds Had No Trouble Choosing The Rams As His College Team

BY MOHDSHOBAIR HUSSAINI Staff Writer

Try to flash back in time and think of those days you played sports -- those days when you were asked of your career goal, and you answered “athlete.” Many of us used to play sports in high school, but few are fortunate enough to play at the collegiate level. One of these young individuals is Fordham University’s Chase Edmonds.

Edmonds grew up roughly 100 miles northwest of the city of brotherly love, in Pennsylvania’s capital city, Harrisburg. He is a graduate of Central Dauphin East High School, where he played both basketball and football. But football was his natural love, saying, “[It] provides inspiration and its physicality is motivating.”

He seemed to have checked off every award on a high school running back’s bucket list, having been named MVP of the 2014 Big 33 Game, a consensus First Team AllState selection, Mid-Penn Player of the Year and First Team All-Mid Penn selection. He shattered record books as a senior, when he accumulated a total of 2,378 yards and 25 touchdowns. It was at this point when he faced the harsh reality of many schools overlooking his talent because of his 5-foot-9 frame. “I felt disrespected and under-recruited,” he said. While Albany, Colgate, Delaware and Lafayette all offered Edmonds an opportunity to continue his football career in college, they all were hesitant. Fordham was the first team to make him an offer and the rest has been history.

“I try to work as hard as I can.

But, the coaches at Fordham really believed in me. I enjoyed the spread offense scheme that Coach Moorhead and his staff have implemented” and indeed, it has created an opportunity for Edmonds to flourish as a starting running back. His humility is something that one can’t find everywhere today, and he accentuated this with his faith: “It’s such a blessing. I give glory to God.” The Harrisburg native started off his freshman season as a backup,

ERIC DEARBORN/COURTESY OF FORDHAM SPORTS

Chase Edmonds, Fordham’s starting running back, is one of the best in the Football Championship Division.

but was quickly named a starter and emerged as one of the top running backs in the Football Campionship Diviosn (FCS), ultimately leading the team to a Patriot League Championship. In fact, in Fordham’s first game of the 2014 season, he didn’t start, yet came off the bench hauling the Rams offense with his 300 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He enjoyed one of the most successful seasons as a Fordham freshman in the school’s history. He was the recipient of the 2014 Jerry Rice Award as the top NCAA FCS rookie, was named a consensus All-American, 2014 Patriot League and ECAC Rookie of the Year, and even named to the 2014 Pa-

triot League Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Edmonds stamped the record books as the first Fordham freshman to have rushed 1,000 yards in a season, in addition to setting the school’s single season rushing touchdown record.

“Deuce-deuce,” as his teammates call him since he’s no.22, emphasized the brotherhood that exists within the locker room. “All of us get along very well. We are brothers. You will never see one of us walking alone,” Edmonds said. The camaraderie that the players share extends onto the field, which is one of the main reasons for the Rams’ success. “We all share a great chemistry” and having

junior quarterback Kevin Anderson as the face of the offense, is a big plus.

“I just couldn’t be any happier with having a guy like Kevin. He’s one of those guys you can count on,” Edmonds said of his fellow teammate and roommate.

Chase Edmonds is not a oneman show, crediting his success to his team’s collective effort. While Anderson may call the plays, having strong defensive anchors in Niko Thorpe, Jihaad Pretlow, Stephen Hodge and Lourenzo Smith, among others, helps maintain Fordham’s presence. The Fordham offense, led by Anderson, and supported by receivers such as Phazahn Odom,

Robbie Cantelli, Jonathan Lumley, Austin Longi, Corey Caddle and Mr. 22 himself, creates a matchup nightmare for any opponent.

After the Rams lost in the second round of the FCS Championships last season to New Hampshire, Edmonds was determined to improve in every shape and form. You might ask, “How can a reigning Jerry Rice Player of the Year improve?” The answer is in many ways. Edmonds expressed this with, “I continued to lift weights and conditioned myself. I gained 11 pounds and focused on eating right.

These little things go a long way.” He is a player whose work ethic can’t be defined by one word, but by many.

“I always believe I can improve. I want to be the best. I don’t settle for mediocrity.” He hopes to one day be playing Sunday Night Football in the NFL, instead of being a spectator.

It was this mindset that Edmonds carried with himself into his sophomore season, with the hopes of leading a team to a second consecutive Patriot League Championship and even vying for an FCS Championship. He understands that success doesn’t happen overnight especially with a team that features 18 new starters, and a roster consisting of 30 freshmen. “Last year, we all looked up to the seniors. But this season, we’re a much younger team. It’s us against the world,” he said. Edmonds affirmed that inexperience can’t be used as an excuse and that success is a process. “You have to take things one step at a time.”

Edmonds was very optimistic, however. He believes that having a bye week at the end of the regular season will be crucial in helping the team prepare for a long run in the FCS Championships. The sophomore running back knows that there’s a lot of football to be played until December comes. Until then, he’s focused on the present. “One day at a time, one game a time,” was his recurring theme throughout the interview. He finished off with, “Fordham football aspires to be great.” Coach Moorhead has produced the winningest team in the New York City area since 2012 and one can only hope that Edmonds fulfills that goal.

The Roberto Clemente Award Goes Beyond Baseball While these men are paid a lot of money to do what they do best, people are also paying attention to the way they behave off the field.

BY KATIE KIRTLAND Sports Co-Editor

The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who most exemplifies not only talent and knowledge of the game, but sportsmanship and community involvement.

Further, the player awarded must have made significant contributions to his team in the year received. This award has been given out since 1971, and is still considered to be the most prestigious off-field award a player can receive.

There are nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award from each club announced for both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) — 15 per league. Once the 30 nominees are chosen by a panel of esteemed members of the MLB community, voting is opened to the public. Alongside the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira, other notable nominees include: Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, Torii Hunter of the Minnesota Twins, Curtis Granderson of the New York Mets (and a former Yankee) and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

One of the greatest things about this award is that it isn’t all about the statistics. When a voter clicks on a

DAVID POKRESS/ NEWS DAY VIA TNS

The Yankee’s Mark Teixeira earned his nomination on and off the field.

name to know why he is in consideration for the Roberto Clemente Award this year, they don’t see a list of statistics and how he did in last year’s playoffs; it’s not about that.

The voter will see a comprehensive list from the last five years of the local charities that player has been

an active part of. While these men are paid a lot of money to do what they do best, people are also paying attention to the way they behave off the field.

After the Alex Rodriguez scandal involving steroids last year, fans all over the country have lost a little

bit of faith in their idols. Personally, my little brother who is 14 used to have an Alex Rodriguez jersey that he loved and now he won’t wear it anymore. This disappointment from public figures can really impact the people watching them, but the Roberto Clemente Award draws attention to the MLB players who are also exemplary members of their community. It brings the spotlight to the people who are truly trying to do the best they can with what they’ve been given.

Mark Teixeira plays first base for the New York Yankees, but he does so much more than that off the field. He’s associated with four community charities: Harlem RBI, DREAM Charter School, Mark Liberatore Memorial Scholarship, and

the Mark C. Teixeira Athletic Scholarship Fund. Since 2010, he has personally donated $1.1 million to Harlem RBI and DREAM. In addition to the personal donations, he helped raise $17.05 million by donating his time to co-chair the annual Bids for Kids gala. Teixeira was named chair of the Homerun Leadership Council in 2012, which is the advisory board for Harlem RBI (the charity which is probably nearest to his heart). Most recently, Teixeira got his teammates Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with him to help raise money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Teixeira, a Yankee since 2009, is bringing so much to the New York City community, particularly kids.

He is a fantastic candidate for the Roberto Clemente Award. The award has gone to 3 previous Yankees: Ron Guidry in 1984, Don Baylor in 1985 and, most recently, Derek Jeter in 2009. Last year, it was awarded to two players - one from each league.

This is set to be a new tradition for the award, so perhaps New York will get to be home to two winners this year. The winners will be announced during the 2015 World Series.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 1, 2015

Sports

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CHRIS PEDOTA/THE RECORD VIA TNS

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sees how sports gambling can be lucrative, but understands how it can compromise the game

Should New Jersey Legalize Sports Gambling?

POINT

Sports Gambling would Compromise the Integrity of Sports

By MADISON SIDWELL Contributing Writer

If New Jersey were to legalize sports gambling within its borders, it would set a precedent for other states to also legalize it.

Today, in all states except Nevada, sports gambling is illegal, though there have been multiple scandals surrounding sports betting. Most of these scandals involved the fixing of games which ultimately compromised the integrity of the game.

One of the reasons that sports games are so popular is because they are live events where the outcome is a mystery. People will watch just to find out if a team won or lost.

Sports gambling, if it were to become legal, would lead to the fixing of games. Fixed games take away the authenticity of the ending, which is where the excitement and magic of live sports happen.

Previous scandals have been made on both the professional and collegiate levels, and all have ended in legal trouble. Legalization of sports betting would cause a significantly smaller risk to those involved.

In 1978-79, Boston College was involved in a point shaving scandal. It all started with Rocco and Anthony Perla, two brothers who foresaw big bucks with the 197879 Boston College men’s basketball team.

They recruited Rick Kuhn, a senior on the team, who was projected to be a key player.

His job was to ensure that the team would fall short of the point spread, which is the number of points a team is projected, by gamblers, to win or lose by. If he succeeded, he would make around $2,500 per game.

Surely enough, he accepted the offer and brought other top players into the scandal.

On February 3, 1979 Boston College defeated Fordham University by seven points after being projected to win by 10 points, a successful game in the eyes of Kuhn. This game, along with others, contributed to

$100,000 total made by players and up to $250,000 made by gamblers. All due to the point shaving system they had created. The scandal was uncovered in 1980. The Perla brothers and Kuhn were both sentenced to ten years in prison. Kuhn’s sentence was later reduced to 28 months in prison.

A recent scandal involved the University of San Diego men’s basketball team. In 2010, assistant coach Thaddeus Brown, all time school leader in points and assists, Brandon Johnson, Brandon Dowry and seven other players were all guilty of fixing the outcome to one or more games in the 2010 season for gambling purposes. Dowry and Brown even tried recruiting a player for the purpose of fixing a game.

Major League Baseball has also had some major gambling scandals throughout history. In the 1919 World Series, eight Chicago White Sox players were given money from gamblers to purposely lose the game.

James J. “Sport” Sullivan is the gambler that initiated the fix. The eight players included favorites “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, “Sleepy” Bill Burns and Eddie Cicotte. After they were accused and tried, all eight players were indefinitely banned from organized baseball.

In the late 1980s, Pete Rose, the manager for the Cincinnati Reds, bet on his own team while holding the job title. In 1987, he bet on 52 Reds games making a minimum of $10,000 a game. Once an investigation was started, he was banned from baseball for life.

If sports gambling was legalized, fixed games could very well become the reality.

In all of these instances, the integrity of the game was compromised for money. Cheating defeats the entire purpose of sports, which is the better team winning or losing.

Some of our greatest memories have been watching our teams succeed where they earned a win that they deserved, why would we want to compromise that?

COUNTERPOINT

Sports Betting is Too Popular to Ignore

By MATTHEW MCCARTHY Sports Co-Editor

Whether it’s legal or not, sports betting happens – in copious sums. According to the Nevada Gaming Commission, in 2011 $3.2 billion was legally wagered in Nevada on various sports games. Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), estimated that nearly $400 billion is illegally wagered each year through underground sports betting agencies. While that number is most likely closer to $80 billion, sports gambling is an industry that can be very profitable.

New Jersey is the first state to attempt to legalize sports gambling in a move that many news outlets, including U.S. News and CNN, speculate is a response to the failing casino and racetrack industries. The state is hoping legal sports betting will reinvigorate its gaming industry, which is at a competitive disadvantage compared to Las Vegas. Club CalNeva doesn’t believe this idea is far-fetched. The Las Vegas-based analyst of trends in gaming estimated that legal sports gambling could bring New Jersey as much as $1.3 billion in gross revenues and $120 million in tax revenues. The introduction of sports wagering could also lead to thousands of new jobs for New Jersey, which is why residents voted 2-1 that they would like to see gambling on sports allowed in the state.

While sports betting can clearly be beneficial, the industry has a history cluttered with controversy. The most major of these scandals came at the hands of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox team. Eight White Sox ballplayers agreed to purposely lose the World Series in exchange for money from gamblers.

As a result, all eight players were permanently banned from professional baseball. While other scandals have occurred over the years, this was clearly one of the most intricate ones to affect professional sports.

Even though it is generally believed that legalizing sports betting will only encourage more scandals, the legalization would allow for more regulation and protection for gamblers within the industry. According to the Chicago Tribune, currently, most sports gambling is untaxed and unregulated as gamblers will place bets with offshore operations who do not need to follow U.S. federal laws.

By making sports wagering legal, lawmakers can ensure those betting on the games feel safe and protected, while limiting what is often scandalous behavior by offshore bookmakers who have a tendency to not pay out winnings.

Beyond increasing revenue and protecting bettors, bringing gambling into sports would rekindle the fans’ interest in games. Adam Silver addressed this when talking about the future of gambling in sports. “Everybody knows here that if you have a gentlemen’s bet or a small wager on any kind of sports contest, it makes you that much more...engaged in it,” Silver said last year at a sports forum. “That’s where we’re going to see it pay dividends.”

Fans often complain that games grow too boring; however, with increased risk, fans will be more passionate about their chosen teams and have more interest in the games.

Though sports gambling may coincide with controversy, the scandals surrounding betting on games existed when wagering was illegal and regulations can only limit these problems. Legalization can also be very profitable, specifically for states with high rates of gambling and declining economies. While much of the gambling industry is moving online, sports wagering could bring customers back to casinos and generate business in a weakened market. Gambling on sports would also garner more attention from the fans. We already see this with the growth of fantasy sports. Casual fans are now watching teams they would normally ignore, because a player happens to be on their fantasy team. Sports gambling is a large industry that is only growing and the government, fans, and leagues can all benefit from its legalization.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER October 1, 2015

Sports

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