Issue 10 Fall 2023

Fordham Drops 17 Places in U.S. News Rankings

DACA Remains in Jeopardy Following Recent Ruling

By KASSIDY DE NOBREGA

Staff Writer

District court judge Andrew Hanen from the Southern District of Texas ruled on Sept. 13 against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for the second time, declaring it illegal. The ruling marked Hanen’s reassertion of DACA’s illegitimacy and states’ rights to challenge the program in response to regulations established by the Biden Administration in Aug. 2022 attempting to strengthen the program following ongoing litigation threats.

DACA’s purpose is to provide undocumented children who immigrated to the U.S. before their 16th birthdays with work authorization, drivers licenses, and “lawful presence” for a renewable two-year period. Over 580,000 DACA recipients, often referred to as “Dreamers,” retain access to the programs’ benefits and status renewal while the program hangs in balance.

Hanen’s first ruling in July 2021 suspended all new DACA applicants, shutting out 400,000 eligible applicants, of which 93,000 still had pending applications. Hanen decided in his ruling that the Obama administration did not have the legal authority to create the program in 2012. Texas, alongside eight other states, challenged the program in a lawsuit before Hanen in Jan. 2022.

Ava Min, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’27 and an intern with Amnesty International, the world’s largest grassroots organization working to protect human rights, said that working with the organization has given them a lot of “food for thought” on the human rights of those crossing the Texas-Mexico border. They believe that the recent DACA ruling illustrates a broader need to address racial justice and the rights of immigrants of color.

By DYLAN VILELA

Contributing Writer

Fordham University was ranked 89th out of 1,500 universities in the U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best National University Rankings.” The results were released on Sept. 18 and Fordham fell 17 places from the previous year, dropping from 72 to 89.

The university has been on a decline for the past couple of years, but the 2024 ranking comes after the company made changes to its rating criteria, which now emphasize social mobility and eliminate some factors such as class size.

In the 2021-22 academic year, Fordham placed 68th among top national universities and only fell slightly the following academic year in 2022-23, placing 72nd. This year’s rank, however, has been a larger fall and ties

Fordham with the University of Southern Florida, Temple University and Southern Methodist University.

Within the U.S. News and World Report’s more specific categories, Fordham placed 31st in best undergraduate teaching, which is gauged through a peer-evaluation survey filled out by college administrators. The university also ranked 163rd as the best school for veterans and 76th for best value schools, which are above average academically and cost considerably less than schools when financial aid is dispensed in the form of needbased-grants and scholarships Students at Fordham shared mixed reactions regarding the new rankings that were released.

Ruby Fishman, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24 and a major in communications and culture, attributed the

university’s response to COVID19 as a contributor to its fall in the national placement. She described arriving at the university during her first-year as “hell.”

“The living situation was not fun, the administration was just not very accommodating to a lot of the student situations during 2020-2021,” Fishman said. “Politics were not set around the intention of students thriving. It was set around the phrase ‘we are doing what we can’ but felt very lazy and frantic.”

Furthermore, Fishman noted that she felt constrained when she was a resident at the university and said that she was never adamantly excited to be at Fordham. This led to a lack of surprise for her in regard to the drop drop in national rankings.

Football Dominates Stonehill College, 44-0

By CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health Editor

As Tropical Storm Ophelia rolled in on Saturday, Sept. 23, the Fordham football team delivered one of its more commanding victories in recent memory.

The Rams defeated the Stonehill College (SC) Skyhawks at the newly renamed Moglia Stadium, 44-0, to notch their first shutout win since 2018 and their largest margin of victory in the blossoming 2023 season.

As the score indicates, the rainy weather was hardly a deterrent for the Rams, who entered the game as the 22nd ranked team in

the Football Championship Subdivision. Fordham’s offensive stars delivered, and its defense stood strong throughout the contest. But what may be most remarkable is the fact that Fordham did not score its first points of the game until the second quarter.

The Rams actually got off to a slow start, as they were forced to punt on each of their first two possessions. The Skyhawks, on the other hand, finished the first quarter with a promising drive, pushing all the way to Fordham’s 23-yard line before they settled for a field goal. The dreary weather got the best of Stonehill’s kicker, however, and the attempt by

Annual Feast of San Gennaro Welcomes Thousands

Perry Shelbred, SC ’24, doinked off of the right upright to keep the Skyhawks scoreless.

From that point forward, the Rams took control. On the ensuing drive, first-year running back Jamell James, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’27, broke off a 57-yard run to land on Stonehill’s 12-yard line. Fordham’s drive stalled out soon after, but not before Brandon Peskin, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill ’24, nailed a field goal of his own to put the home team on the board with 10:41 remaining in the second quarter.

see FOOTBALL page 6

By LIVIA REGINA

Contributing Writer

The Feast of San Gennaro is an annual 11-day festival held on Mulberry Street in New York City’s Little Italy. The iconic Feast celebrated its 97th anniversary and spanned 11 blocks, with carnival games, souvenir stands, a small ferris wheel and, of course, an abundance of Italian food. What started out as a small block party held by Neopolitan immigrants in the 1920s has now become widely beloved and anticipated across generations.

As Italian immigrants settled in the lower east side of Manhattan at the turn of the 20th century, the Feast became a tradition stemming from a block party for the patron saint and protector of Naples, Saint Januarius. Although the feast originally started as a one-day religious celebration aimed to serve and feed the poor and needy Italian immigrants of Lower Manhattan, the modern-day event holds little to no resemblance to the original, traditional celebration.

AURELIEN CLAVAUD/THE OBSERVER Fordham's drop follows an alteration in the methodology used by U.S. News and World Report to rank colleges and universities.

MATTHIAS LAI/THE OBSERVER

A portrait of the Catholic-Italian saint, Januarius I of Benevento, hangs above the street at the Feast of San Gennaro.

The STudenT Voice of fordham LincoLn cenTer

DACA Remains in Jeopardy Following Recent Texas Ruling

The Obama-era program benefiting undocumented children was recently ruled illegal by a federal district court judge in Texas

“I think it’s a malicious, poorly thought-out decision that’s been made with a lot of political pretext,” Min said.

Saanvi Upadhyay, FCLC ’26, questions what opportunities for protected status minors will now have when migrating with their families to the United States when there is no option to stay in their country of origin.

“I don’t think it’s fair to punish children, especially if the decisions were made by their parents because you don’t really have the financial stability or just the opportunity to go against their wishes,” Upadhyay said. “Especially if it’s something big like leaving where you grew up.”

This year, Hanen’s ruling determined the Biden Administration’s efforts to reaffirm the program was not materially different from the Obama Administration’s executive order establishing the program, which critics claim wrongfully bypassed congressional approval.

DACA recipients have seen the status of the program threatened before. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that there was a lack of evidence supporting DACA’s illegitimacy in response to the Trump administration’s efforts beginning in 2017 to terminate the program.

Following Trump’s efforts in 2017 and 2018 to dissolve DACA, Fordham called the decision “extremely troubling” by jeopardizing the affected students’ futures.

“Fordham University has been steadfast in support for the DACA

program in our advocacy efforts in both Washington D.C. and Albany,” Fordham wrote in 2017. “We will continue to actively and aggressively engage federal policymakers in an effort to either reverse the order or secure a legislative remedy.”

Mila Grgas, FCLC ’24 and president of Feminist Alliance at Lincoln Center — a club which emphasizes intersectional feminism — noted that young women and children face significant safety risks immigrating to the United States, and the policies and treatment they face is unjustifiable.

“It’s so dangerous and people are physically dying because of this,” Grgas said. “Especially young women.”

The number of migrants traveling north to the United States cross

Article Summary

• In 2012, the Obama Adminstration enacted DACA

• In 2021, federal district court judge Andrew Hanen suspended DACA applications

• On Sept. 13 Hanen ruled against DACA for the second time

• Fordham has consistently defended DACA in light of these challenges

• DACA recipients at Fordham are eligible for up to three merit based awards

the deadly Darien Gap jungle, where thousands are left behind, and borders of several Central American countries thereafter, such as Guatemala and Mexico which have been increasingly militarized in the last few years.

“ I don’t think it’s fair to punish children, especially if the decisions were made by their parents because you don’t really have the financial stability or just the opportunity to go against their wishes”

Saanvi Upadhyay, FCLC '26

Judge Hanen’s most recent ruling is likely to lead to another DACA Supreme Court hearing after an expected series of appeals. While the 2020 hearing established the Trump administration’s failure to follow procedure in terminating DACA and passively allowed DACA status renewal, an anticipated second hearing would include in its purview the DACA program’s legality, thus jeopardizing the continuation of the policy for current recipients and hopeful applicants alike.

At Fordham, admissions decisions are not impacted by DACA status — in fact, DACA recipients are eligible for three major merit scholarship awards. While need-based financial aid is dependent on being a U.S. citizen, these merit scholarships and resources, such as NYS TAP (New York State Tuition Assistance Program), aim to foster an inclusive community of diverse Fordham students — regardless of immigration status.

Sadhana Muthukumar, FCLC ’25, said that the program has

helped children avoid deportation by investing in recipients’ opportunities to earn a formal education and college degree. She believes that attempts to strike down the DACA program is hypocritical.

Muthukumar said that as an Indian immigrant, she feels the U.S. government deems that Indian migrants have high earning potential, making it easier for them to gain legal status and documentation. But she questions whether other migrants are attributed as much value and worth.

“The children part of the DACA program and their adult counterparts have already ‘proved’ their place in society and have worked just as hard, if not harder than any American born on this soil to gain documentation,” Muthukumar said.

Muthukumar highlighted that DACA recipients shouldn’t have to further ‘prove’ themselves because they have worked just as hard and harder than U.S. citizens in order to gain protected status.

Over the course of this string of anti-DACA rulings, the university has maintained a webpage dedicated to updates on DACA policy. Linking statements of support for students affected by DACA decisions and legal resources, Fordham has cited the alignment of its Jesuit values and DACA benefits as the reason behind the university’s support for the program’s unfettered survival.

“For our entire 175-year history, we have kept faith with the vision of Archbishop John Hughes who founded Fordham to serve immigrants and their sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters. The resources listed below are to aid our undocumented students.

We stand with you and will do all we can to be effective advocates for you,” the website reads.

Allison Anwalimhobor, FCLC ’25, grew up as a U.S. citizen living in Nigeria, where her family is from. She shared that after experiencing the emotion of the government’s ban of Nigerian immigrants to the U.S. in 2020, hearing about the limitations now placed on the DACA program brought up similar feelings.

“America has a strong distrust and distaste for immigrants, especially those from the Third World, or developing nations,” Anwalimhobor said. “And in an effort to keep us out and to maintain some sense of purity, xenophobic and racist Immigration laws will continue to pass.”

Grgas believes the political environment spanning the Biden, Trump, and Obama administration’s and prior, regarding the status of individuals who have migrated is hostile.

“I feel like all of them have just taken this really horrible stance against that because it’s a lot more accepted,” Grgas said. “In the US to be hostile and also throughout the world to be hostile towards people who are immigrating to a country if they’re not doing it for ‘the right reasons.’”

Deportations reached an all time high in 2013 under the Obama administration despite policies like DACA.

Min said that the DACA program allows for the development of young “Dreamers,” the term used to refer to DACA recipients. She believes that while the legal risk to the program may not directly affect any single person directly, there remains a reverberating effect across communities.

“It affects the future of our entire society,” Min said. “To deny education to innovators of this generation is to deny this country the opportunity to evolve into the melting pot of brilliance it was meant to me.”

Insiya Gandhi and Alexa Villatoro contributed reporting to this story.

“ I think it’s a malicious, poorly thought-out decision that’s been made with a lot of political pretext”

GRAPHIC BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD

Fordham Expands Academic Advising Staff

Students

By GABRIELLA GUTIERREZ Assistant News Editor

The Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) and Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) deans’ offices have hired 11 new staff members within their new academic advising center to support ongoing student needs.

The 2022-23 academic advising model was launched last year with the hopes of transitioning to a one-on-one approach where students connect with assigned faculty mentors.

Among the new staff members are academic advisers and an inaugural director of transfer students. Over the summer since the new model began, three academic advisers hired during the 20222023 school year resigned due to “personal reasons or other opportunities last year,” according to

the deans of FCLC and FCRH, Laura Auricchio and Maura Mast, respectively, in a joint statement.

Members of the classes of 2026 and 2027 are paired with one of eight advisers to explore academic, career and life goals as they enter their first and sophomore years. Academic advisers work alongside department programs to ensure their students are meeting and exceeding academic progress and course registration, understanding major and minor degree requirements, and searching for study abroad, internship and undergraduate research opportunities.

Auricchio and Mast shared that their fellow deans are now working with faculty, chairs and associate chairs at Fordham to help them build models for faculty mentorship. Faculty mentors serve as an additional key component to the

new plan as students are encouraged to engage with Fordham faculty members to achieve their academic and career goals.

The deans agreed they felt interactions between students and faculty had been “transactional” before the initiation of the new advising model, leading students to feel as if they were being directed from one department to another, causing a lack of communication and efficiency.

The advising system implemented last year was created as part of the university’s strategic plan to redesign policies and practices for academic advising and support from the perspective of student access. In 2020, Aurrichio and Mast convened a Task Force on Undergraduate Academic Advising (TFUAA) to address fulfilling student needs, examine advising practices and propose new models.

Using town halls and anonymous surveys, the task force measured student opinion on various models, creating one that consisted of the creation of the Academic Advising Center.

Current sophomores at FCLC who were under the advising system established during the last academic year shared that they were satisfied with their relationship with their academic adviser prior to the resignations.

Anna Apter, FCLC ’26, said she felt supported by her now-resigned adviser.

“Whenever I needed help with something, she was always there and always answering me quickly and helping out.” Apter noted. Her experience, however, shifted following the resignation of her adviser earlier this year. Sophomores are now looking to build relationships with the new advisers they have been assigned.

The administration also established an associate dean for academic advising position, currently held by Ashlee Burrs, to ensure the academic advising center complies with the expectations of the incoming class of 2026 at the time.

The associate dean collaborates with administration at the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses to set standardized expectations of its advisers.

Burrs did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Retention rates from fall 2022 to spring 2023 now suggest an increase in first-semester student retention as per the deans and students reporting their satisfaction with their advisers. Nonetheless, satisfaction rates also increased in

GRAPHIC BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD

place with the new advising model.

Luísa Ferreira, FCLC ’26, was a part of the first class to be integrated into the new advising model and expressed her satisfaction.

“It’s comforting to know there’s somebody I can ask, especially with my academics, that I can come up to with questions and will guide me,” she said.

Ferreria noted that she mostly communicates with her academic adviser on matters such as setting up her schedule and financial aid. She also noted that due to the sudden hiring of new academic advisers, she believed there were instances where her adviser provided incorrect or incomplete information.

“There was a time where she gave me the wrong information because it was her first year at Fordham, so I had to look it up and fix it myself, but she was very open,” Ferreria said.

The deans noted that the new advising model emerged from two years of internal needs analysis, external research into best practices, and conversations, feedback and revisions involving faculty, staff and students from both campuses.

The class of 2026 is the first class to undergo the new academic advising model; there will continue to be changes to meet what FCLC and FCRH students need to achieve success.

“Building on the groundwork laid by committees over the past year, the College Deans are now working with Faculty, Chairs, and Associate Chairs to help them build intentional models for faculty mentorship,” Mast and Auricchio said.

Olmsted Set To Receive Sperber Prize Award

By ANA KEVORKIAN Managing Editor

Kathryn Olmstead, a professor at University of California (UC) Davis, will be awarded the 25th annual Ann M. Sperber Prize from the university’s communications and media studies (CMS) department on Nov. 6. The Sperber Prize was inaugurated in 1999 with the purpose of honoring the biographies and memoirs of media figures.

The Sperber Prize — named for Ann M. Sperber, author of “Murrow: His Life and Times,” the critically acclaimed biography of prolific journalist Edward Murrow published by Fordham University Press in 1986 — recognizes Olmstead for her publication “The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler.” The annual $1,000 award was donated by Sperber’s mother, Lisette Sperber, with the mission “to promote and encourage biographies and memoirs that focus on a professional in journalism.”

“The Sperber Prize is well known among journalists and historians of journalism,” Olmsted noted. “It’s a huge honor, and I’m thrilled that I received it.”

“The Newspaper Axis” uncovers the history of six media titans who colluded to influence public opinion in a fascist direction in pre-World War II Germany. The subjects — Robert McCormick, Joseph and Eleanor Patterson, William Randolph Hearst, Harold Harmsworth, and Max Aitken — each used their power and influence to sway public opinion in a right-wing populist direction across the U.S. and Britain,

hindering the countries from entering World War II. Olmsted’s work highlights the ways in which these moguls echoed fascist and antisemitic rhetoric and influenced foreign and domestic policy.

Beth Knobel, associate professor of CMS and the director of the Sperber Prize selection jury since the 2021-22 academic year, praised Olmsted’s work on “The Newspaper Axis.”

“Professor Olmsted’s book is clear, concise and compelling. In fact, it was hard to put

down,” Knobel explained. “One of the reasons that The Newspaper Axis won this year’s Sperber Prize is that even members of our jury who knew a lot about some of the American newspaper owners covered by the book ... did not really grasp fully just how much these highly influential media figures were doing to strengthen Hilter’s image.” Olmsted, who studies U.S. cultural and political history since World War I, has taught history at UC Davis since 1993 and has

published five books including “The Newspaper Axis,” each of which focuses on different aspects of government corruption, espionage and conspiracy.

“My 2015 book, Right Out of California: The 1930s and the Big Business Roots of Modern Conservatism, focused on anti-labor politics (in) California in the 1930s,” Olmsted said. “As I did my research, I became aware of the transatlantic ties among the American and British newspaper publishers of that era, and

specifically how they fought for an isolationist foreign policy.”

Previous biographies and memoirs that were awarded the Sperber Prize included Dennis McDougal, the 2002 winner who covered the rise of The L.A. Times in “Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty” and Charles M. Blow, author of the 2014 memoir “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” which was adapted into an opera of the same name which played at the Metropolitan Opera in 2021 and is set to return to the Met in 2024.

In 2022, the prize was jointly awarded to “Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War” by Marvin Kalb and “You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War” by Elizabeth Becker, books written about the Cold War and Vietnam War, respectively.

In addition to “The Newspaper Axis,” the other finalists for the 2023 Sperber Prize were Deborah Cohen’s “Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War,” Mary Llewellyn McNeil’s “Century’s Witness: The Extraordinary Life of Journalist Wallace Carroll” and Maria Ressa’s “How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for our Future.” These four books were selected from a pool of over 50 submitted works with 2022 copyrights.

The Sperber Prize will officially be awarded to Olmsted on Nov. 6 in a public ceremony on campus at Fordham Lincoln Center. The location for the ceremony is yet to be determined.

reflect on the revisions made toward academic advising, a year since administration implemented a new system for arts and sciences undergraduates

The award seeks to promote and recognize biographies and memoirs relating to the journalism field

COURESTY OF KATHRYN OLMSTED

UC Davis Professor Kathryn Olmsted will receive the 2023 Sperber Award for her work on "The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler."

By SAKUNTHALA SANKAR

Contributing Writer

Over the last year, the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) across college campuses has left university leaders scrambling to deal with the technology’s permanence and implications on student work. With no university-wide policies on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom in place, faculty and administrators remain unclear on how to regulate its surging usage.

GAI is a technology that generates original content, like images, text or other media, based on an input request. This form of artificial intelligence was first created in the 1960s, and use of it has surged in recent years. A 2020 McKinsey survey showed that the use of AI has more than doubled since 2017, while investment in the AI space continues to grow.

Faculty at Lincoln Center have taken various approaches to combat acts of plagiarism through the use of GAI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude. Others have accepted the technology’s presence on college campuses to be ubiquitous, providing professors with the liberty to determine the role that generative artificial intelligence can play in their courses.

Christine Fountain, an associate professor in the sociology department, shared that professors are unsure of the best course of action. As a result, many have tested different policies in their syllabi to address the issue.

“There’s been a discussion going on through an email server that a lot of the professors are on, where we’re talking about how we're going to use it and different ideas, and then we’re sharing documents, there’s lots of

Revisiting AI in Classrooms

discussion amongst professors,” she explained.

Over the summer, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dennis Jacobs created the AI Vision Committee, a group of faculty from different departments whose goal was to strategize and guide professors on dealing with AI usage in their future classes. Aditya Saharia, professor of information, technology and operations department in the Gabelli School of Business, and Yijun Zhao, associate professor of computer and information science department chaired the committee and published a report with recommendations to all faculty on handling AI.

no official policy has been established by the university.

The official administrative policies surrounding GAI tools are not much different than when the use of these tools became popular last year.

The administrative response from the Provost’s office and the AI Vision Committee report suggests a faculty-led response to this issue for the time-being, in which various recommendations are facing a trial and error period. In an email sharing the report to faculty, Jacobs shared that a new resource page from his office will help “individual instructors decide on the extent to which they would like to engage GAI in their courses and how to do so.”

Fountain added that the report created by the AI Vision Committee was not shared in time for faculty to plan their courses accordingly. However, based on prior experience and discourse among professors, Fountain said she has implemented a policy of “transparency” in her classroom, with students being required to share why they used AI and with which prompts.

you were upfront about where it came from, that wouldn’t be considered plagiarism, but it wouldn’t be good work.”

Gregory Donovan, the director of the new media and digital design program, has taken a similar approach in his syllabi and restructured his grading system to discourage the use of GAI.

“ Let's use it and let's check it out, and let's have some fun with it”

department in the Gabelli School of Business, has taken a different approach to GAI. He implemented a policy in his class that allows GAI to be used on specific assignments, in order to teach students how to use the technology. For these assignments, he has students create the datasets and then utilize GAI softwares to analyze the data, so students can experiment with the tool.

“Let’s use it and let’s check it out, and let’s have some fun with it,” McManus said. “But let’s also use it in such a way that you’d never be able to use it to cheat the assignment. You actually have to do the first half of the assignment to get to the second half, which is the fun part of using the AI.”

The report, shared with all faculty members across the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, provides sample statements for use by faculty on syllabi depending on their comfort level with GAI usage in class. They also recommend that the university’s Academic Integrity policies be updated to include GAI. The University’s Academic Integrity policy has not made any changes related to GAI as of yet.

Aside from the faculty-run committee’s recommendations,

“My policy is just that it needs to be used in ways that complement rather than replace critical thinking and engagement with the materials,” Fountain said. “Because any use, just quoting, just using something that somebody said without attributing it, it’s plagiarism.” She found that simply banning the use of GAI programs was not effective in stopping the use of the software last year. She compares the usage of GAI with and without crediting it to the use of a quote in an assignment.

“If a student turned in an essay where half of the essay was a quote ... you wouldn’t get an A for that essay,” Fountain said. “If

In his Eloquentia Perfecta 4 class, which culminates into one final paper, Donovan distributed points from the final paper toward smaller, related assignments to be completed throughout the class. By doing so, Donovan said he found that it was easy to recognize who had used ChatGPT because the final paper would be “disjointed” from the assignments done throughout the course.

“It was really just looking at these final papers and saying, it doesn’t line up with the past three months of work that you’ve been developing,” Donovan said. “There’s no way to show how you got from point A to point B.”

Fountain and Donovan agree that it would be futile to prove that students who use GAI for assignments have plagiarized, especially with no readily available technology to determine GAI usage. Instead, they do not consider the work to be deserving of a good grade.

Timothy McManus, adjunct professor in the information, technology and operations

Students say that AI policies have significantly differed among their classes.

Robert Betancourt, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24, said GAI has not been mentioned at all in his four years at Fordham until this semester, when two of his professors mentioned it. Betancourt says that according to his own observations, it’s been rare to see students using GAI for homework.

He added that he has seen its usage more for everyday things, such as writing emails. Betancourt expressed concern on the rise of false plagiarism cases, in which he specifically cites a worry that professors may be mistakenly accusing students of using artificial intelligence for their assignments.

“ I get the idea that we have to learn to work with these tools, or we'll be put out of jobs by them ”

“I don’t think the technology exists yet (to catch AI plagiarism) but I’ve heard of a lot of false cases where students are quoted for using AI,” Betancourt said.

He noted that while he doesn’t believe such accusations create distrust between professors and students, it remains a concern for students.

Hunter Duffy, FCLC ’26, said every one of her professors has spoken about AI usage on class assignments. All but one have banned the usage of GAI, she said, with one professor allowing use of AI for creating essay outlines and crediting the software used.

“The only professor who has allowed me to use AI is my English professor,” Duffy said. “I get the idea that we have to learn to work with these tools, or we’ll be put out of jobs by them.”

Similarly, Jasmine White, FCLC ’27, says one of her professors allows students to use software like ChatGPT as a tool for academic writing.

The convenience of using GAI is not lost upon White, who noted she used ChatGPT on a short essay during college applications and once in her senior year English class due to “senioritis kicking in.”

While she does not believe that her peers are using the website regularly, she added that they likely have no use for it as it has only been the first few weeks of classes.

As generative artificial intelligence becomes commonplace in academia, administrators, staff and students reflect on the tools place in their classrooms

“ My policy is just that it needs to be used in ways that complement rather than replace critical thinking and engagement with the materials”

Christine Fountain, Associate Professor

Timothy McManus, Adjunct Professor

Hunter Duffy, FCLC '26

New Evaluation System Highlights Different Factors

The media company revamped their ranking calculation system for the 2023-24 academic year, which led to a boost for public colleges and dip in standing for private institutions

Contributing to a popular thought among students, Fishman also raised the question of how a graduation rate performance is assessed by the U.S. News and World in the midst of the organization’s updated ranking criteria.

Tatyana Masters, FCLC ’24, said that she believes Fordham struggles to connect with students and attributes the rank decrease as a reflection of this point. She noted that the university’s motto, “New York is my campus, Fordham is my school,” hasn’t played enough of a role in fostering community.

“I think if Fordham invested more time in enriching the community aspect and not relying on solely being a New York school, students would be more energized in contributing to their livelihood on campus,” she said.

Masters added that she’s observed a lot of marketing and promotion for Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business (GSB) but

insubstantial promotion for the Communications and Media Studies Department, for example.

GSB’s ratings increased in the 2024 rankings, with the school’s marketing concentration rising from 17th place to 10th, international business 16th to 11th, finance 14th to 13th, entrepreneurship 21st to 17th, and accounting 50th to 38th according to the U.S. News and World Report’s data of GSB’s placement in those categories.

Ratings increasing the rank of many of GSB’s concentrations in the top 20 of national universities were taken well by students enrolled in the school.

Teo Janiga, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’27 a global business major with a marketing concentration, described the GSB rating as “fantastic” and reacted positively to them.

“As a new student, it is nice to hear that the school is getting better and better, and I anticipate that it will keep on getting better

over the four years that I am here,” Janiga said.

Fordham’s overall lowest ranking was for social mobility — measured as a college’s ability to improve their economic standing prior to college — a primary factor for the ways in which universities were holistically rated this iteration.

This year, U.S. News employed a new system to rank colleges and universities emphasizing students’ social mobility and outcomes after graduation. As a result, new evaluation factors such as first-generation graduation rates, first-generation graduation rate performance, and proportion of college graduates earning more than high school graduates were added.

The first-generation ranking factors that U.S. News discusses are based on graduation rates of federal loan recipients who entered college between fall of 2011 and fall of 2013. To be

considered first generation, both parents of the student must have indicated that they did not attend college on the student’s FAFSA.

The new earnings factor also assessed the proportion of a school’s federal loan recipients who were earning more than an average high school graduate salary in 2019-20, four years after those students had completed their undergraduate degrees.

On top of these changes, the factors of class size, student’s high school class standing, alumni giving rate, terminal degree faculty rate and proportion of students who borrowed federal loans were omitted from the ranking algorithm. Additionally, four new ranking factors based on faculty research were added to the calculations.

Fordham’s administration responded to the decrease in standing with reassurance.

Dennis Jacobs, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, shared that the university is still evaluating how the U.S. News and World Report’s new methodology affects Fordham’s ranking.

He highlighted that the university remains committed to keeping class sizes small and ensuring a close relationship between faculty and students — a factor that was not included in this year’s rankings evaluation factors.

“In 2022-23, 53 percent of our classes had fewer than 20 students, which accounted for 8 percent of the University’s ranking last year,” he said. “However, class size was removed from the methodology this year.”

According to the 2024 U.S. News and World Report, colleges and some public schools that are operated and at least partially funded by state governments ranked higher this year. The organization particularly points to those in large, diverse states like

Zapata To Leave Fordham

California, New York and Texas. Jacobs acknowledged that public universities ranked considerably higher this year than private universities due to their increased focus on social mobility and noted that public institutions improved their ranks by a median rise of seven positions while private institutions declined by a median of 10 positions.

Giacomo Santangelo, senior lecturer of economics, noted that he is uncomfortable with attempting comparative analysis across years using metrics that are not standardized to account for the change in the organization’s ranking methodology.

“I feel that we now have to divide the data into comparing pre-change data with pre-change data and post-change data with post-change data,” he said.

Beyond Fordham’s ranking, some notable increases include Brown University rising from 13th to 9th, University of California at Merced from 97th to 60th and Virginia Tech from 62nd to 47th.

Notable decreases include Tulane University falling from 44th to 73rd, Wake Forest University dipping from 29th to 47th and the University of Chicago dropping from 6th to 12th, now tied with Cornell University and Columbia University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford and Yale still remain in the top five top national universities.

Jacobs said that although Fordham has fallen in rankings, administration and faculty’s dedication to providing a quality education have remained constant.

“You can be assured that the high quality of a Fordham education and the dedication and scholarship of our faculty, have not changed from year to year,” Jacobs said.

The chief diversity officer served in this role since 2018, when the position was first created

By ANA KEVORKIAN Managing Editor

Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer (CDO) and associate vice president at Fordham, will leave the university at the end of September. Zapata was the first person to hold this position since it was established in 2018.

According to an email from University President Tania Tetlow and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dennis Jacobs on Sept. 25, the role will be reimagined following Zapata’s departure.

“Having gotten through the vagaries of the pandemic, Rafael feels that this is a good time to take a pause in his career to focus on his family, in particular, to care for an aging family member,” the email stated. Zapata was unavailable to comment prior to publication. Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications and special adviser to the president, and Juan Carlos Matos, assistant vice president for student affairs for diversity and inclusion, both declined to offer additional comment beyond what was stated in the email.

The position of CDO was created at Fordham in 2018 in response to the recommendations of a task force created in 2015 under former University President Joseph M. McShane, S.J., following repeated acts of racial discrimination that

occurred the same year. These included a swastika found painted on a bathroom stall at the Lincoln Center campus and a racial slur being carved into a student’s dorm room door at the Rose Hill campus.

The task force advised the creation of a standing committee on diversity and inclusion and the designation of the CDO as a senior vice president. McShane elected to designate the position of CDO as an associate vice president, rather than senior vice president, in 2018 when establishing the role, thereby limiting the authority of the role. This decision prompted Amir Idris, professor of history and a representative on the Faculty Senate, to question whether the role was “fated to fail in the job as charged” due to its lack of “the requisite authority, ranks and resources.”

During his five years at the university, Zapata spearheaded the creation of the Teaching Race Across the Curriculum grant. The grant seeks to “support departmental efforts to thoughtfully and intentionally integrate questions of race into their curricula, both core offerings and within a major or minor” and to “support excellence in the teaching of topics related to race in the curriculum.” In the past year alone, the grant has funded projects such as the summer of 2023's Butler Gallery exhibition “ERASED//Geographies of Black Displacement” and the

newly created Asian and Asian American studies minor, among others.

Zapata’s tenure as CDO has coincided with vast improvements in student body diversity and retention among students of color: In the fall 2022 semester, the university welcomed an incoming class made up of 44% students of color. The university states that it has “all but eliminated race and class disparities in first to second-year retention.”

“Rafael has worked with the Diversity Leadership Team, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Council, and myriad schools, departments, offices, programs, and community partners to catalyze institutional change toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement,” Tetlow and Jacobs said. “His collaborative work has helped the University make transformative strides in diversity and inclusion.”

While strides have been made toward diversity, equity and inclusion throughout Zapata’s tenure, the email announcing his departure noted that “we have a long way to go.”

“In speaking with Rafael about taking Fordham to the next level, and in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling and a growing misbelief that the country is “magically” in a post-racial era, it is clear that the position that he was hired for six years ago needs to be re-envisioned,” the email noted.

Tetlow and Jacobs stated that the university will soon appoint an interim to hold Zapata’s role and will begin a national search for the new role after it has been re-envisioned, describing the process as “a moment when Fordham needs to act boldly and lead the way.”

ANGELA CHEN/THE OBSERVER

Rafael Zapata, pictured above, was selected to fulfill the position in 2018 following recommendations from a task force in 2015, stemming from repeated discriminatory incidents.

GRAPHIC BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD

Sports & Health

Fordham Renames Stadium After Joe Moglia

The university’s football and soccer field will honor the celebrated alum, football coach and Wall Street executive, with facilities improvements on the way

By JANE ROCHE

Contributing Writer

Joe Moglia, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’71 and a New York City native, has already had his name carved into the Fordham history books prior to the stadium being renamed in his honor. Since his enrollment at both Fordham Preparatory School and FCRH, the university has recognized him with the Founder’s Award — an award which honors those whose personal and professional lives reflect Fordham’s mission — and inducted him into the Fordham Hall of Fame, making him the fourth person in the university’s history to achieve both awards.

At Fordham’s annual Homecoming celebration on Oct. 7, the football and soccer stadium will officially be named after the remarkable alum.

At Fordham’s annual Homecoming celebration on Oct. 7, the football and soccer stadium will officially be named after the remarkable alum. The renaming of Fordham’s football and soccer stadium honors Moglia’s representation of Fordham.

“Joe embodies the Fordham way,” University President Tania Tetlow said to Fordham News. “Joe has been closely connected to Fordham and all this institution stands for.”

According to Fordham News, Moglia supported himself and his family during his undergraduate career at Rose Hill by driving a taxi cab and a postal service truck. These responsibilities prevented him from being able to join the Fordham football team. Despite this, Moglia immediately became involved at his high school alma mater, launching his coaching career there as an assistant football coach before graduating from FCRH.

Following 12 years of working with various football programs, Moglia took a break from coaching to work in the business industry. He spent 17 years at Merrill Lynch as an executive committee

member before leaving the company to become the chief executive officer and chairman at TD Ameritrade in 2001. During his time as an executive, TD Ameritrade transformed from a multimillion dollar company to a multibillion dollar company.

Moglia returned to his passion of coaching in 2009, holding an advisory position at the University of Nebraska and later becoming head coach of the United Football League’s (UFL) Omaha Nighthawks. In 2011, Moglia left the UFL due to the collapse of the league as a result of financial deterioration and began his tenure as head coach of the Coastal Carolina University (CCU) football

team — the Chanticleers — leading the team for seven seasons.

Although Moglia stepped down as CCU’s head coach in 2019, he still serves as chair of athletics, executive director of football, and executive adviser to the president at CCU. The new namesake for the Fordham stadium was honored with numerous awards during his time at CCU, including multiple Big South Coach of the Year awards as well as the 2015 Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the top Football Championship Subdivision head coach of the year.

In addition to the stadium’s renaming, the announcement noted that Fordham’s stadium

Rams in Stride as Season Rolls On

will undergo “game changing” renovations.

“The stadium upgrades wouldn’t be possible without Joe’s continued generosity to the University,” Tetlow said to Fordham News. “We are honored to name this stadium after him.”

These renovations will include a state-of-the-art video board, seating and press box improvements, upgraded lighting, and other advancements in an effort to enhance the game day experience for students and fans.

“ A big part of whatever success I’ve achieved across two career paths is because of the education that I received there” Joe Moglia, FCRH ‘71

“I’m proud to have been able to have a positive impact on the lives of others, and that all traces back to Fordham,” Moglia said to Fordham News when asked about this honor. “A big part of whatever success I’ve achieved across two career paths is because of the education that I received there.”

The Fordham Stadium hosts the football, men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams. Additionally, the field is available to intramural and club sports programs. The Homecoming football game against Lehigh University will be held at the stadium on Oct. 7, when the Moglia Stadium will be officially introduced to the Fordham community.

The football team shut out their first-time foes in assertive fashion to move to a 3-1 record this season

The Rams scored once more in the first half, with Julius Loughridge, FCRH ’25 and running back, punctuating a lengthy drive by pushing through various Stonehill defenders into the end zone to extend the lead to 10-0.

Fordham wrapped up the first half with an impressive special teams play.

Stonehill marched into Fordham’s territory once again, hoping to swiftly respond. Upon reaching the Rams’ 13-yard line, they hit fourth down and lined up a field goal to make it a one possession game with 1:26 remaining in the half. A bad snap, however, led to Shelbred kicking the ball directly into the wall of players in front of him; James Conway, FCRH ’25, was credited with the field goal block. The home team’s double digit lead remained intact heading into the halftime break.

Fordham did the bulk of its damage in the third quarter. The Rams immediately opened with a hasty drive that concluded with a 28-yard dart from quarterback CJ Montes, FCRH ’26, to wide receiver MJ Wright, Gabelli Graduate School of Business ’24, to score the second touchdown of the game. Later in the quarter, Loughridge found the end zone once again for a 12-yard score before Montes delivered another touchdown, this time to wide receiver Mekai Felton, FCRH ’24, for 17 yards.

The Rams’ defense prevented the Skyhawks from sniffing the goal line.

The final score of the third quarter came with under a minute left. After another Stonehill possession fizzled out, the Skyhawks were forced to punt the ball away. Working with the special teams unit, Garrett Cody, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’24 and wide receiver, managed to rush toward the punter essentially untouched, blocking the punt before retrieving the ball himself and returning it all the way for a score. At the end of the quarter, Fordham owned a dominant 38-0 lead.

The impressive win continues Fordham’s momentum from its shocking victory against the University of Buffalo earlier this month.

Aside from seeing the Rams enter numerous substitutions into the game, the fourth quarter was rather uneventful. Jack Kaiser, FCRH ’26 and running back, scored a touchdown to extend Fordham’s lead one last time, but Peskin missed the ensuing extra point, leaving the score at 44-0.

Fordham’s wide receivers all had impressive days. Cody finished with the aforementioned punt block and return while adding six receptions for 119 yards. Meanwhile, Wright and Felton each secured a touchdown. Montes tossed another two touchdown

passes, bringing his season total to 13, the most of any Ram through his first four starts at quarterback. Loughridge also dominated, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

The impressive win continues Fordham’s momentum from

its shocking victory against the University of Buffalo earlier this month. The team is now ranked 15th in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll and will begin Patriot League play next week when it takes on Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

COLBY MCCASKILL/THE OBSERVER

The stadium renaming will be accompanied by renovations and other modifications to improve the experience for Fordham fans. FOOTBALL

MJ Wright, GGSB ’24, sprints along the sideline while Stonehill players and coaches look on. He finished with three receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Men’s Soccer Faces First Loss of the Season Against Saint Louis, 2-1

The Rams allowed the game-winning goal in the 75th minute while playing with 10 men due to a straight red card

By CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health Editor

The Fordham men’s soccer team lost for the first time this season against the Saint Louis University (SLU) Billikens this past weekend on Sept. 23 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Rams climbed back to level the match midway through the second half but ultimately allowed the game-winning goal with only 15 minutes remaining, giving the Billikens a victory on their Homecoming day.

Fordham entered the game with a 4-0-3 record, including a 1-0 record in the fresh Atlantic 10 (A10) season. The university also beat its competitor, Manhattan College, in the “Battle of the Bronx” — the sports rivalry between the two colleges — earlier in the week in a dominant 2-0 affair.

Saint Louis captain

Christian Buendia stepped up to the penalty spot and confidently buried the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net, putting the Billikens up 1-0.

The Rams could not maintain the positive momentum, however, and came up just short against their intra-conference foes, the Billikens.

Both defenses held strong on Saturday during the early stages of the contest. Saint Louis, which has struggled to score the ball all season given its 0.67 goals per game mark entering the match, received a fortunate break in the 19th minute.

As the Billikens pushed toward Fordham’s box, a through ball made its way between the teeth of the Rams’ defense. In a last-ditch attempt to recover, Jed Dixon, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’25 and a defender,

slid into former Ram Galen Flynn, SLU ’26, tripping him inside of the box and drawing the whistle from the referee for a penalty kick.

A few critical errors by the Rams set the tone for the match, as costly fouls contributed to both goals by the Billikens. Despite the missteps.

It was unclear whether Dixon made contact with the ball or Flynn’s feet first, but the mistake proved costly for the Rams.

Saint Louis captain Christian Buendia, SLU ’25, stepped up to the penalty spot and confidently buried the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net, putting the Billikens up 1-0.

Almost immediately after going down, the Rams received an opportunity of their own.

In the 20th minute, Saint Louis committed a foul outside of its own box. Midfielder Kai Griese, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) ’25, sent a marvelous swinging cross toward the goal, connecting with the head of Timo Hummrich, Gabelli Graduate School of Business (GGSB) ’24. The header had the appropriate amount of power behind it but narrowly missed the corner of the net before harmlessly rolling out of bounds.

The physicality of the match did not stop there. Seven minutes after that prime chance, Liam Salmon, GSAS ’24, was taken down again just outside of the Billikens’ box. This time, however, Fordham took a more conservative approach, and its attack was swiftly handled by Saint Louis’ defense. The theme of aggressive play in the match was one that continued throughout its duration.

The Billikens added offensive pressure as the first half came to

a close, but the teams ultimately entered the halftime break with the score unchanged: Saint Louis was leading 1-0. Both squads returned for the second half firing on all cylinders. In the fifth minute of the second half, Florian Deletioglu, GSBRH ’24, found space well outside of Saint Louis’ box and delivered a strike toward the net. Ordinarily, a shot from this distance would be easily handled. This time, the ball was deflected and sent hurtling toward the corner of the net, forcing Jeremi Abonnel, SLU ’25, to make a diving stop.

Despite a Saint Louis response that necessitated back-to-back impressive saves from Fordham’s keeper Carter Abbott, GSAS ’24, the Rams kept the pressure on and found success in the 58th minute. A perfectly placed cross from Adrian Valentine, GGSB ’24,

found the unmarked head of midfielder Daniel D’Ippolito, FCRH ’26, who powered the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the season. Just like that, the Rams were even with the Billikens once again.

The Rams continued to hold the Billikens’ attack off after leveling the match. But just as quickly as the momentum had swung in the direction of the Rams, it swung back to the home team. In the 66th minute, midfielder Louis Lehr, GSAS ’24, committed a hard tackle while pursuing an attacking Billiken and was awarded a red card, sending him off for the remainder of the game.

Forced to play with only 10 men, the Rams could not hold off the Saint Louis barrage for long. Ten minutes after the red card, a masterful chip over Fordham’s defenders by Carlos Leatherman,

SLU ’27, connected with CJ Coppola, SLU ’26. Saint Louis’ star forward stopped on a dime inside of the box before firing the ball at the goal. The shot deflected off of Valentine, popping up in the air and just out of the reach of Abbott to give Saint Louis the lead once again. Fordham would not be able to muster the equalizer. A few critical errors by the Rams set the tone for the match, as costly fouls contributed to both goals by the Billikens. Despite the missteps, Fordham went toe-to-toe with the team picked to finish first in the A10 in the league’s annual preseason poll.

The Rams will look to right the ship on Sept. 30 at the Joe Moglia Stadium. They will take on the Davidson College Wildcats and continue their push for the playoffs.

Featured Sport: GOLF Football Preview: Patriot League Edition

The Fordham golf team will travel to the Lake Placid Club in Upstate New York to attend the Columbia Autumn Invitational, hosted by Columbia University, this upcoming weekend. The Rams are looking to shake off a poor performance at Yale University’s Macdonald Cup that saw them finish in 12th place out of 12 teams on both days of the tournament. The playing conditions were less than ideal, however, with Tropical Storm Ophelia bringing rain and wind to interfere with the players. Jake Mrva, Gabelli School of Business ’25, has emerged as the leader of the Rams squad. He was the team’s top finisher in New Haven and also posted a school record for low gross score (66) at the Hartford Hawks Invitational earlier this month. After the Columbia Autumn Invitational, the Rams will participate in two more tournaments before concluding the Fall season.

Football Fanatics

Fordham Athletics and SNY Broadcasting have been in partnership for three years, and on Sep. 26, the two announced the schedule for Fordham broadcasting on TV. SNY is a regional sports network with a reach of over 7 million homes, providing a great opportunity for the Rams to show off. Three games will air on SNY, including Homecoming against Lehigh University as well as a rematch against The College of the Holy Cross, the reigning Patriot League Champions. The Rams will also play against Bucknell University on TV.

The football team will begin Patriot League play this coming weekend when it visits the Georgetown University Hoyas in Washington, D.C. The Rams are looking to build on their past two performances, a stunning upset win over the University of Buffalo and an assertive 44-0 shutout of Stonehill College as they enter the conference season. Fordham’s schedule for the next month, excluding Georgetown, includes a Homecoming matchup against Lehigh University at Moglia Stadium, a nonconference game against Stony Brook University, then a rematch of last year’s Patriot League Championship against the fifth ranked College of the Holy Cross.

* Indicates broadcast on SNY ^Indicates non-conference game

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Despite accumulating 10 shots, including seven in the second half, the Rams could not level the game to keep their unbeaten streak alive.

THOUSANDS MARCH FOR CLIMATE ACTION

Fordham students joined calls for climate action as pressure grows on institutions to divest from fossil fuels

By SAM BRACY

Contributing Writer

Tens of thousands of protesters from across the country, including dozens of Fordham students, marched in the heart of Manhattan on Sept. 17 to demand an end to the use of fossil fuels in a collaborative action organized by grassroots organizations in New York City.

The protest, one of 650 actions organized throughout 60 countries by the Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels campaign, took place ahead of the U.N. Climate Ambition Summit held that week, which U.S. President Joe Biden did not attend. Protestors took specific aim at Biden, who promised in 2020 to phase out fossil fuels if elected president.

The march took place one block away from Fordham

Lincoln Center, where attendees rallied at Columbus Circle at the end of what climate scientists have called the hottest summer on record. This year, Americans faced accelerating changes to the climate as severe heat waves scorched U.S. states in the south, during which hospitals treated patients suffering from heat stroke and burns from asphalt and wildfires in Canada choked New York City with smoke.

According to the March to End Fossil Fuels coalition, an estimate of over 75,000 people took part in the protest, which was endorsed by hundreds of environmental advocacy groups. Fordham students marched alongside protesters of all ages, representing a broad range of worldviews and experiences, and demanded that

Biden take decisive action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

“I am here because our generation is going to be most impacted by the decisions that are made about fossil fuels,” Sejal Getchell, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’25, said. “Not enough action is being taken.”

Getchell noted that members of Fordham faculty encouraged her to march, including Christopher GoGwilt, professor of English at Fordham Rose Hill. GoGwilt explained how the study and practice of the humanities are vital to addressing the unprecedented and dire challenges posed by climate change.

“How do you articulate the fact that the real criminals are not climate activists but the companies and

the governments that are not addressing the concerns of the climate crisis?” he asked. “This is an issue that is both deeply academic: All of the disciplines encounter the question of our climate emergency, and yet it is an issue that we encounter outside of the classroom.”

Some students joined the protest because of their involvement in environmentalist organizations on campus, such as Stizzy Demacopoulos, FCRH ’24 and a leader at Fordham Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ). SEAJ is a community activist group that organizes volunteer cleanups in Manhattan and the Bronx and advocates for the advancement of climate friendly policies, such as divestment from fossil fuels.

“It feels like there is not much we can do against the system, but we can do this,” Demacopoulos said.

Environmentalist organizations, such as the Sunrise Movement, Extinction Rebellion and the Sierra Club, held rallies ahead of the march, raising banners and loudspeakers in support of each group’s mission.

Hannah Birnbaum, the Northeast Regional Director of the Sierra Club, noted that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is everyone’s responsibility.

“The burden is on all of us to figure out how we make this transition in a way that is just, in a way that protects workers, in a way that protects low income people and vulnerable people,” Birnbaum said.

In her role at the Sierra Club, Birnbaum noted that

she coordinates a broad range of efforts ranging from protests against pipeline expansion to lobbying for local legislation, which would electrify New York City’s municipal vehicles.

While there are many steps people can take to reduce their individual carbon footprint, Nick McIntosh, FCRH ’28 and a doctoral philosophy student and instructor, explained how the massive scale of climate change and the deep roots of fossil fuels in the world economy can make many people feel helpless about stopping climate change.

McIntosh, who teaches environmental ethics, said that the purpose of ethics is to help people reckon with a changing climate in a way that empowers them to take action.

“Things like despair are not generally things that make you want to act, seeing opportunity and possibility do,” McIntosh said.

He added that activists could narrow their efforts to effect change in their local communities, where they are more likely to make an impact. For example, McIntosh suggested Fordham students should scrutinize the university’s endowment for possible investments in fossil fuel companies.

“This is true of any business or organization: where the money is will tell you more than any amount of rhetoric,” he said.

New York University (NYU) became the latest high-profile institution to divest its endowment from companies whose primary business is the exploration or extraction of fossil fuels in August. NYU’s board of trustees reaffirmed their intent to continue to divest from any companies indirectly related to the exploitation of fossil fuels in a letter published on Sept. 18 addressed to the university’s Sunrise Movement group.

Fordham’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform, named after Pope Francis’s 2021 encyclical, included a commitment to undertake a study of Fordham’s $1 billion endowment for exposure to fossil fuels. Some students and faculty, however, believe that Fordham’s Office of Investment — which is responsible for managing the university’s endowment — should be more transparent regarding the progress of this study.

“(SEAJ) wants more transparency with what our endowment is in,” Demacopoulos said. “We want to make sure that the money that is divested is reinvested into sustainable practices.”

The Office of Investment and Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications and special adviser to University President Tania Tetlow, declined to comment.

Why You Need To Learn To Cook

Instead

Depending on a meal plan or buying all of your meals frozen or delivered is an unfortunately common way of life for many college students. This is especially true for residents in McMahon Hall — the apartment style residence at the Fordham Lincoln Center campus.

Just because you’re in college, however, doesn’t mean you have to eat like it. If you live in McMahon Hall, learning to cook is the best investment you can make for yourself. The Weekly 15 meal plan at Fordham — which offers 15 swipes per week in addition to 450 dining dollars to be used at the university’s campus dining locations — is the most reasonable plan offered. It allows students to eat most of their meals across the Fordham dining locations and costs $3,710 per semester.

but with the right preparation you can make it work: Have a plan, set a budget and adjust based on what you end up eating most.

If you don’t know where to start I would recommend learning how to roast vegetables in the oven. They make a delicious low-effort side dish, and all you need to do is pop them in and wait. That’s about as beginner-friendly as it gets.

I find carrots and potatoes to be the most forgiving in terms of cooking time and temperature in the oven, but don’t be afraid to try your favorite vegetables. Experiment with a variety of herbs and seasonings to find what you like best.

Once you’ve conquered the basics, keep exploring new recipes and different techniques. The internet is your best friend. When looking for recipes I recommend including “beginner” in your search and reading all of the instructions before you decide to try it. If it looks too advanced for you, find another one that seems more manageable. Starting simple and working your way up will yield the most consistent and delicious results.

There are so many resources to get better at cooking, from the internet to cookbooks to personal cooking classes in New York City. Whatever your budget or goal, putting a little bit of time and a lot of love into learning to cook is one of the best investments college students can make.

I should note here that while eating healthy is important, that means something different for everybody. Remember to always listen to what your body is telling you. Diet culture can become toxic when it overrides a positive relationship with food.

I will admit that I think a lot about what I eat, and sometimes it’s hard for me to eat certain foods without feeling guilty. But at the end of the meal I ask myself if I enjoyed it, and that is my baseline for a healthy diet. Although I try to keep my fridge full of healthy foods, I still keep a stockpile of frozen pizzas because sometimes that’s just what I need. College is a stressful time, and maintaining a healthy relationship with food is one way to ease that burden.

With that being said, when I started buying ingredients for my meals, I became more conscious of the foods I am eating. It led to a healthier balance of foods in my fridge and made me more curious to try foods and recipes I had never considered before. I started cooking with ingredients such as chickpeas and asparagus, which are both nutritious and tasty and have become some of my staples.

Cooking at home can also bring the joy of sharing a meal prepared with love. Some of my most cherished memories from my dorming experience are of communal meals where my friends and I would gather in a kitchen, each bringing one component to contribute to a shared multi-course dinner.

SmartAsset, a financial technology company that shares tools about personal finance decisions, calculated that “groceries in New York City typically cost about $486.71 a month, per person,” which means that budgeting your own groceries can save you nearly $2,000 on average over the course of a semester.

College students are understandably busy, but taking the time to try a new recipe is a great way to step back from stressors and treat yourself while still doing something productive and necessary. Instead of considering cooking as a waste of time, think about it as a form of self-care with the added bonus of developing a lifelong skill.

Learning to cook can be a daunting undertaking, especially when you’re starting from scratch. The hardest part of any lifestyle change is the first step. For home cooking, that first step is buying your groceries. Shopping for ingredients may seem intimidating,

Meal prepping and cooking are also effective ways to ground yourself during hectic times during the semester. While I love trying out new recipes, I’ve found that it is helpful to master a few staple dishes that don’t require many ingredients — that way, you can whip up a quick meal to get yourself out of a funk.

Cooking at home can also bring the joy of sharing a meal prepared with love.

Not only is home cooking great for your mental health, it’s better for your physical health as well. A study published in the National Library of Medicine found that “cooking dinner frequently at home is associated with consumption of a healthier diet.” By preparing the food you eat, you have much more control over what you are putting into your body.

The time we spent cooking dishes like dumplings, rice cakes and vegetable stir-fry and eating them together created a special bond among us. Those meals were a chance to talk about our days and our lives, sharing our hopes for the future and troubles from the week. Food serves as a conduit for connection, which is essential for us when college, especially in such a big city, can be such an isolating experience.

We need food to survive, and connecting with others is a basic human desire. Cooking and sharing a meal together fulfills both of these needs, and it is a wonderful way to show how much you care about someone. Sharing home cooked food with your friends and loved ones is a simple yet meaningful way to give back to the people in your life.

Home cooking is cheaper than a meal plan, it’s good for your physical and mental health, and it creates community. Best of all, anyone can cook. So what are you waiting for? Get in that McMahon kitchen and make a meal.

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

Whatever your budget or goal, putting a little bit of time and a lot of love into learning to cook is one of the best investments college students can make.

Conquering Fear Underground: My Subway-Induced Coming of Age

How the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station instigated my era of independence and self-reliance

The subway is an aspect of many commuters’ lives that often goes unnoticed and becomes a mere item on a checklist — a reflection that I experience as well.

After considering the miles I have traveled since starting college, however, I began to acknowledge that the New York City subway system has shaped some of my most pivotal and noteworthy experiences. Had it not been for this vital mode of transportation, I might have never found my independence and place in this bustling metropolis.

The New York City subway stations deserve recognition, even if an individual may only be riding the subway for a few stops. The 59th Street-Columbus Circle station holds a special place in my heart and is frequented by members of the Fordham community and New Yorkers daily — it is a stalwart that has served New Yorkers for over a century.

Located a block from Central Park South and at Columbus Circle, the 59th Street station boasts an impressive annual ridership. In 2019, it claimed the eighth spot on the list of the most-used stations in the city, with an astounding tally of 23 million boardings — a testament to the station’s accessibility and prevalence.

Notably, the station operates around the clock. The 1, A and D trains provide nonstop service, the B train is in service during weekdays until 11:00 p.m., the C train operates at all times except late nights, and the 2 train runs only from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Multiple entrances and exits from the street level further enhance passengers’ convenience of accessing the station almost directly where their train is operating. And, as if that weren’t enough, the Underground Market — a vibrant marketplace offering several eateries, pop-ups and retail stores — thrives right beneath Columbus Circle and does not require a fare payment to enter.

As a former resident at Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC),

the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station became my lifeline to New York City. I vividly recall relying on the station during my first year — a stark contrast to my quiet, small-town life in Skaneateles, New York, where driving is the foremost method of transportation.

I can still feel the excitement of arriving in the city for the first time and aching to embark on my coming-of-age story in the metropolis — to watch it unfold as I wandered from one borough to another, a camera in my hand, AirPods blasting a playlist I had spent hours perfecting.

What I hadn’t anticipated, however, was an initial fear of New York City’s intricate subway system — a daunting prospect for someone unaccustomed to the hustle of the metropolis and possessing the worst navigation skills known to humankind. I remember walking into the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station for the first time with my friends and vowing never to step in alone. The crowded

platforms, stifling heat and mazelike layout overwhelmed me.

I was dispirited when I realized that to embrace my college experience, I had to, first and foremost, step into the smelly and intolerably hot subway.

Odor aside, if I was to ride with New York City transit every single time I walked anywhere more than 30 minutes from campus, it would end up costing me (and other college students) a kidney in the process.

My relationship with the subway took a few months to transform, the turning point being a gloomy winter morning when I summoned the courage to embark on my first solo train ride. Armed with newfound spirit, I walked from FLC to Columbus Circle instead of relying on friends or choosing to stroll a brutal 35 minutes in the cold to Bryant Park. Upon arriving at the station, I was enveloped by the distinctively dreadful smell of the subway and the thick air hanging

over me. I cursed myself for not walking to Bryant Park at 42nd Street. “It was just a few streets,” I kept trying to convince myself. My abysmal perspective toward the subway continued to loom over me even after I got on the D train, where I clutched the bar holding on for dear life.

I closed my eyes and my hands started shaking. If you saw me on that train, chances are you would have compared me to a kindergartner clinging to their parents, begging not to let go, fearful of the monsters awaiting me on the path ahead.

As I felt the steady rhythm of the tracks beneath my feet, however, my body stopped shivering, and my anxiety gradually subsided. With my hands still clinging to the bar, I realized, for the first time, how much of the subway had escaped my notice: the amusing advertisements on the trains, the passengers engrossed in their own business, and the enriching sense of courage that engulfs an individual after successfully navigating the system.

Amid the sweltering atmosphere, something inexplicably comforting washed over me. I realized that I was merging into a stream of strangers with whom I shared an experience that transcended our individual lives — catching a train that led us to our respective destinations. The subway was not as daunting as I had made it out to be; at the end of the day, it was just an atlas of trains that made sense once I got accustomed to it.

The Columbus Circle station was where my coming-of-age narrative began, and it is a symbol of my independence. Had I not taken that D train by myself, I would not have become comfortable exploring the city. To my first-year brain, if I could navigate the unfriendly subway system, I could weather any storm thrown at me — whether professional, academic or other aspects of my life.

My initial apprehension shortly developed into a preference for the subway over any other mode of public transport. It is, after all, comparably faster, less expensive and relatively straightforward to navigate.

Courtesy of the trains I caught at Columbus Circle, I was also able to fully immerse myself in

the dazzling tapestry of New York City. I memorized paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, felt the breeze in my hair atop the Empire State Building, sprinted through the Brooklyn Bridge, and explored different neighborhoods and hidden gems of New York City.

What had once been an uncomfortable aspect of the city soon became a crucial and indispensable part of my daily routine — the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station. The station’s strategic location elevates it as one of my favorites; not only does it provide access to the Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen and Midtown Manhattan, but it also brings travelers in close proximity to breathtaking views of quintessential New York City staples and landmarks, including the picturesque Central Park.

As my lifestyle formed around the subway, every station melded into a familiar backdrop, a casual love affair between the trains and their passengers.

Yet, the Columbus Circle station remained etched in my memory.

When I am home in Skaneateles for the holidays and the nostalgia for public transport comes running toward me, I recall the scent of fresh pretzels from the Underground Market and the symphony of arriving trains, loud enough to muffle and drown out my faintest thoughts.

Mostly, when I think of the Columbus Circle station, I reminisce about the places it has transported me to, the silly photos my friends and I have taken while waiting for the trains, and the Taylor Swift songs I blast on full volume on rides that make me realize that I actually live in the city I have dreamt about and romanticized my entire life.

When I think of the subway system, particularly the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station, I no longer see it just as a means of transportation. It is a part of my personal history, a symbol of my growth and independence and a reminder of my many adventures in the city. For anyone who gallivants to this station by accident or by design, I hope it offers you adventure and convenience and marks the start of your cinematic coming of age, just as it did for me.

NIKHIL SHAHI/THE OBSERVER

The 59th Street-Columbus Circle station served 23 million passengers in 2019. It operates around the clock.

FATIMAH WAQAS Contributing Writer

ANUM ANSARI/THE OBSERVER

The 1, A, C, B and D trains are serviced at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway station.

AI Compromises Academic Integrity

The unethical use of computer programs and technology will mitigate genuine learning and fail to prepare students for the real world

SIMRATH PARMAR Contributing Writer

The computer program Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) has captivated the world with its ability to perform human tasks. What people have not considered is that the integrity of school environments and the workplace is compromised when artificial intelligence (AI) is introduced in these settings.

Advancements made by OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company, developed software to complete human tasks

such as planning a vacation or creating a lesson plan. AI software isn’t inherently unethical, but it can be used to undermine and threaten the learning process.

In the educational atmosphere, many students have been caught using AI to write their papers or answer homework questions for their assignments. Although teachers and professors have been able to spot some students in their attempts to shortcut their way through these assignments, many have realized that detectors quickly become outdated since ChatGPT technology is constantly upgrading itself.

What is commonly neglected is the inaccuracy of ChatGPT to research and cite sources. According to an article from Duke University Libraries, it is noted that “One such limitation is that it (AI) has been known to fabricate or ‘hallucinate’ citations. These citations may sound legitimate and scholarly, but they are not real.”

Work produced by ChatGPT should be scrutinized not only from an ethical standpoint but also for fear of submitting inaccurate information. It then holds true that, when analyzing the pros and cons of using AI, the negatives outweigh the positives: You may save time, but your

school’s integrity is jeopardized and the art of genuinely learning is lost.

As for the workplace, college students can understand that both job and internship applications can be overwhelming. The process often falls under a chaotic time of the year when classes have begun and students are still slowly getting into the swing of things — I know I often feel overloaded trying to fulfill extracurriculars, complete volunteering hours, schedule adviser meetings and keep up with a heavy course load.

I have noticed for both myself and other students that it becomes hard to find time to finish all those applications. As a result, I have observed a trend of students choosing to catch up on a few hours of sleep by letting ChatGPT write their cover letters for the last few internship applications still sitting over their heads.

If the reliance on ChatGPT continues, more students and prospective employees may begin to use the generative AI computer program to write all of their cover letters. In that case, all they would need to do is modify the original output of a cover letter to fit with the next job description — however, that still does not guarantee employment.

Companies and school faculties have begun using programs such as GPTZero, an app that detects AI written work. Even though the AI software continues to advance, work produced by ChatGPT can still be detected by GPTZero.

Suppose an employer discovered a cover letter to be written

An Ode to Birch Coffee

SYDNEY CHAMPAGNE Staff Writer

Birch Coffee is a New York City specialty coffee company with 13 locations in New York and one in South Korea. Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) is lucky to live just two blocks away from its Hell’s Kitchen location, which is nestled on 57th Street and 9th Avenue.

My caffeine addiction is not seasonal, but there’s something about the changing of the leaves and switching out my beach bag and towel for my tote and laptop that makes the need for a coffee before class even more essential.

Despite the plethora of cafes within a five-minute walk of FLC, my search for the best coffee shop near campus proved to be a challenge. There are four factors that contribute to my ideal off-campus coffee experience: proximity, atmosphere, coffee taste and, arguably the most important factor for college students, price.

Finding a perfect cafe is more complex than it may seem. While Argo Tea and Starbucks have the highest scores for proximity, they fall flat in the atmosphere, taste and price categories and aren’t able to consistently provide the cozy ambiance you need to start the day off right. Birch Coffee proves to be the perfect place that checks all the boxes and makes you feel right at home every time you walk through the door.

The six-minute stroll from the FLC campus to Birch Coffee’s Hell’s Kitchen location is perfect because it gives you enough time to listen to music while enjoying a short walk, allowing you to rest your

mind and move your body before sitting for a lecture.

You will know you’re in the right place when you see the coffee shop’s sidewalk sign, donned with a message that changes with the seasons, but usually one containing a coffee pun or promoting a specialty beverage.

After opening the door, you’re hit first by a wave of warmth.

Smells of sweet espresso and flaky croissants coupled with sounds of muffled chatter and a playlist that fills you with a sort of nostalgia you can’t quite pin make you feel right at home.

There’s enough seating for a comfortable study session, but not enough to feel busy. The walls are adorned with potted plants, given amusing names such as “Amy Vinehouse,” and a take-a-book, leave-a book-shelf that further cements the community Birch Coffee creates so well.

Before your brain can begin to ingest anything listed on their menu, a barista greets you with a smile and “Hey, how are you doing?” As someone who worked as a barista for five years, I know all too well how hard it can be to constantly put on a happy face for everyone who walks in the door — especially when you have dealt with a crabby customer right before.

Unlike large coffee companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’, Birch Coffee employees treat everyone like an old friend — it’s a treatment that makes you feel like you belong there, that you matter. At Birch, you’re more than just a customer. You’re a human being.

As you scan the menu, you will recognize all the cafe classics: cappuccinos, lattes, americanos,

hot and iced coffees, cold brews, matchas, and a selection of teas. My go-to order is an iced latte with caramel. They have a selection of dairy alternatives including a new oat milk cold foam that adds an extra dimension of texture to their already delicious coffee. Sometimes, during the most frigid winter days, I’ll go for a vanilla cappuccino.

Another element that is always good at Birch is the decadent flavors of their variety of coffees. The best part about their flavored lattes is that the added flavor is enough to sweeten the coffee without taking away from the actual coffee’s taste. I hate taking a sip of coffee expecting harmonious flavors but instead being met with a

by ChatGPT. In that case, the application will likely be invalid, leaving the applicant spending the entire summer on the couch with no job or internship and a diminished reputation in the eyes of potential employers.

These examples do not mean that ChatGPT cannot be ethically incorporated into the work and school environment to benefit students, employees and interns with the approval of their respective superiors. In schools, AI can be used to help supplement the teaching process but can never fully replace the teaching process.

Bernard Marr, a technology adviser, wrote in Forbes magazine that “ChatGPT is being used to create intelligent tutoring systems capable of providing personalized assistance to students.”

With the amount of detail it can generate, Marr claimed that ChatGPT would be a great source of tutoring, allowing students to instantly receive help and have difficult concepts explained to them. This was beneficial as it could save parents time and money on tutoring sessions while also helping older students schedule more extracurriculars into their schedules.

Generative AI has the capability to leave a beneficial and distinguished footprint in both the classroom and the workplace. It is essential that, as a community, we support efforts to monitor AI usage and establish standards that will allow us to capitalize on its skills both carefully and ethically in the school environment and the workplace.

clunk of syrup stuck at the bottom of the cup, not mixed in with the espresso. Or worse, when you grab your coffee from Dunkin’ and the color isn’t right, you just know it won’t taste good.

I have never had these problems at Birch. Their flavors are added to the coffee while it’s still hot before being poured over ice, sweetening the espresso just the right amount. It’s like the Goldilocks of lattes: not too sweet, not too bitter, but just right.

When you place your order, make sure to tell the barista that you are a student. Students receive a 10% discount all year on any order with a valid student ID; a guaranteed discount every time you walk through the door.

Instead of waiting to garner Starbucks stars or Dunkin’ points enough to earn discounts, you get one every time you order at Birch. The coffee shop also operates on a punch card system if you choose to pick one up — after nine orders, the 10th cup is free. Who doesn’t love a treat?

A message etched on every napkin and coffee sleeve encapsulates the welcoming aura of the whole Birch Coffee experience: “Birch Loves You.” From the care the staff treats guests with to the attention they give to every single coffee, everyone who visits the coffee shop will leave already wanting to return. Birch Coffee loves you, and I guarantee you will love them too.

The artisanal coffee shop that makes you feel right at home — for a fraction of the price

GRAPHIC BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD/THE OBSERVER

AURELIEN CLAVAUD/THE OBSERVER Birch Coffee’s Hell’s Kitchen location is a six-minute walk from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus.

Arts & Culture

Martín Honors Victims of Pinochet Regime

The exhibit is on display in Fordham Lincoln Center’s Lipani Gallery and showcases multiple mediums of art

By ADITI PRAVEEN KARIYANAHALLI Art & Culture Editor

“Chile: Dignidad, 1973-2023” is an exhibit in Fordham Lincoln Center’s Lipani Gallery that explores the tragedy and state-sanctioned violence of the Pinochet regime and the legacy that Chilean fascism continues to maintain in electoral politics, half a century later.

Created by Chilean-born artist María Verónica San Martín, the multidisciplinary exhibition utilizes several different mediums throughout the exhibit, including performance art, sculptures, engravings and sketches in order to tell the viewer the story and history behind Chile’s most brutal dictatorship.

Martín’s

On Sept. 11, 1973, a U.S.-backed coup in Chile overthrew democratically elected socialist and former Chilean President Salvador Allende in favor of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. Pinochet, a brutal and fascist dictator, was responsible for egregious human rights violations throughout the tenure of his regime; this included the political repression of leftist dissidents, torture and routine accounts of “disappearances” of civilians.

Through her work, Martín aimed to focus the exhibit on the motif of “dignidad” — which translates to dignity from

Spanish. There are three branches of the motif, according to the press release from Fordham University Galleries, that hone in on both physical locations in Chile and the perseverance of Chilean citizens in relation to the concept of ‘dignidad’.

One branch is focused on the establishment of Colonia Dignidad in 1961, a fascist compound in the south of Chile that served as a location for the torture and repression of anti-Pinochet leftists. The second is a plea from Martín where she calls out for the dignity of the people oppressed and mistreated

for decades under the barbaric and violent dictatorship. Another reference to the modern-day usage of the motif, Martín centers a piece around the recently renamed “Plaza Dignidad” in reference to the Chilean social protests of 2019.

Martín’s decision to call out the U.S.’s involvement in Chilean political and economic devastation provides a bold and necessary central theme to this gallery.

In one particularly moving piece, “Make the Economy Scream,” Martín fashioned a handkerchief out of a declassified document that featured a conversation between

then former U.S. President Richard Nixon and former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. The document revealed that the two individuals professed a desire to make Chile’s economy suffer.

Previously, under Allende, Chile had officially nationalized their copper mines, much to the chagrin of the United States economy. Many historians believe that this decision increased Chilean economic isolation and greatly led to the United States’ involvement in the 1973 coup d’etat, a decision that caused the unconscionable economic suffering of Chilean citizens.

Martín displays the personal and individual frustrations brought upon by the decades of Chilean political turmoil.

The artist’s standout piece is an etching on tympan paper, titled “Dignidad,” featured on the left side of the gallery. The drawing is a depiction of two hands grasped together, modeled after Martín and her son. The physical connection serves as a symbol of solidarity and perseverance; two Chilean Americans who have been physically distanced from their home country, due to no choice on their part.

Carl Fischer, professor of Spanish and chair of Fordham’s Modern Languages and Literature Department, curated the exhibit. Fischer shared that he is a fan of Martín’s artwork and wanted to use this opportunity to highlight her work, uplift a voice that was speaking for the dignity and prosperity of the oppressed in Chile, and commemorate the 50th anniversary of Chile’s military coup.

“These days there are a lot of people who have been negating the human rights violations that occurred during the dictatorship,” he said. “The right wing in Chile, which has deep, longstanding ties to the right wing here in the U.S., has been actively working to rewrite the history of what happened in 1973.”

Most importantly, according to Fischer, curating this exhibit reinforced his belief in the importance of remembering the devastation behind this period of history and what that will teach us today and in the future.

“In Spanish we call this remembrance process an ‘ejercicio de memoria’ (‘memory exercise’),” Fischer said. “Remembering is very tied to matters of the heart — the Spanish verb ‘recordar,’ to remember, has the same root as ‘corazón,’ the word for heart — so there’s no way for this commemoration not to be emotional.”

The exhibit has been on display since Aug. 21 and will be featured at the Lipani Gallery until its closure on Oct. 4.

PHOTOS BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD-/THE OBSERVER

Martín’s work across numerous mediums serves as a thematic reminder of the devastation and instability that Chileans have endured for decades.

The curation of the exhibit displays the interconnectedness of Chilean fascism with intentional violent policies enforced by the U.S.

decision to call out the U.S.’s involvement in Chilean political and economic devastation provides a bold and necessary central theme to this gallery.

‘Food & Fashion’: An Unexpected Pairing

The Museum at FIT explores how food has shaped American fashion throughout the decades

By HANNAH VENNING Staff Writer

What exactly do food and fashion have in common? Luckily enough, the “Food & Fashion” exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) can answer this question free of charge.

“Food & Fashion,” co-curated by Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way, hosts a vast collection of clothing and accessories that depicts the unique connections between literal and figurative consumption throughout history. Additionally, it explores the ways in which the food people eat influences their lives and attire, as well as examining that relationship through the lenses of gender, race, ethnicity and class.

Boasting garments sourced as far back as the 1700s along with prominent brands, including Balenciaga and Moschino, the collection details the diverse and varied backgrounds present in the relationship between food and fashion.

The gallery’s setting is a dimly lit room that cleverly opens the discussion on gender and fashion with an insider’s perspective on women’s household wear. With unique pieces like “Cherry-Picked” by Wes Gordon and “Apron-Chic” lent by Golyester Vintage Clothing, viewers can begin to unpack the ways in which food defined the lives of many 1950s American housewives and how it greatly influenced the clothes that were advertised to and worn by them.

Present throughout the collection, the whimsical food imagery ranges from cherries to peanuts, and that, paired with the variety of apron-based designs, captures the zeitgeist of the 1950s and the “ideal” domestic life. This further explores the ways in which a

majority of women’s labor in the 1950s revolved around preparing and cooking food.

Marra-Alvarez and Way go on to further unpack the nuances of gender norms, including how the act of dining affects dress — as illustrated by Givenchy cocktail hats — and the hypersexualization and objectification of women’s bodies, particularly women of color. This concept is prevalent throughout the exhibit but is especially visible in pieces like Candy’s Bikini, video presentations of Josephine Baker and Carmen Miranda’s old performances, and in the centerpiece of the exhibit itself: the Moschino Chocolate Bar Dress.

Beyond the exhibit’s inspection of gender roles and the

ways in which food and fashion can reinforce them, it also showcases the work of a diverse group of creators from marginalized racial backgrounds. These designs highlighted the importance of ethnic cuisines and how they can both reflect on and create cultural experiences.

Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean’s yam-print dress was an evident example of these ideas on display, which features characteristics that honor both sides of her heritage. With a European-style collared shirt, Jean acknowledges her Italian ancestry, while simultaneously employing yam imagery to emphasize the significance of a Haitian food staple and allude to the ways in which West African cuisine has been shaped by slavery.

Tremaine Emory, American designer and creative consultant, similarly incorporates images of his own culturally significant food staples, including watermelon, black-eyed peas, collard greens and okra, all essential staples of Jamaica, Queens. He uses these products to raise awareness to issues of food insecurity within his community.

The gallery also features famed Japanese designer Issey Miyake, who employs a similar strategy in incorporating cultural cuisine and design. “Sushi Pleats Please,” a piece that consists of practical accessories folded to resemble sushi, celebrates the ways in which Miyake has brought Japanese culture to the forefront of American fashion.

In addition to these examples, the collection also manages to touch upon China’s enduring impacts, represented by the silk jersey pulled from Han Feng’s spring 1998 collection; the piece depicts the luxury that China’s advancements in silk and tea propagated throughout the world and pays homage to the nation’s global influence.

Marra-Alvarez and Way’s work in capturing designs and perspectives from around the world is impressive. It provides a commentary on consumption and sustainability, depicting the different ways where fashion, specifically graphic t-shirts, have been used as a form of protest.

Pieces such as a United Farm Worker shirt and a Panda Express “Eat with Us” shirt, delve into the complicated ethics of food cultivation and distribution. On the other hand, the gallery showcases a range of high fashion brands, each with varying levels of self-awareness on the subject.

This contrast is especially evident between pieces that appear to be brand deals, like the Tommy Hilfiger and CocaCola 1980s collaboration, and others like Moschino’s “Over 20 Billion Served,” which attempt to critique overconsumption by commandeering ubiquitous symbols of fast food and reimagining them as high fashion.

Regardless of how much or how little you know about the industry, this exhibit artfully analyzes a plethora of ideas that any viewer can relate to and find interest in. So, whether you’re looking for a unique and diverse set of commentary, a collection on all that is whimsical, wonderful and surreal, or just something free to do in the city, “Food & Fashion” is well worth your time.

The exhibition will be on display until Nov. 26 at FIT’s campus in Chelsea.

The Biggest Italian Food Festival in the U.S. Returned This September

The 97th annual in Little Italy spanned 11 blocks and featured staples near and dear to visitors

It has now turned into a major tourist attraction and one of New York City’s biggest annual food festivals, welcoming thousands of native New Yorkers and visitors from all over the country and world. But despite all of the changes, the festival continues to stand as a cultural institution for Italian-Americans that celebrates their traditional heritage and cuisine contributions over generations.

Many vendors provided attendees with perfect, traditional snacks to satisfy New York’s continued and persisting love for Italian culture and cuisine.

This year’s festival in Little Italy took place from Sept 14-24. As I ventured downtown to explore the Feast of San Gennaro, my goal was simple: to retrieve a greasy bag of zeppoles, the ultimate Italian street food. Once I arrived on Mulberry Street, however, I was quickly distracted by the festival’s multitude of food choices, particularly a gelato stand.

After a quick scoop of pistachio gelato, I continued down the street, encountering vendor after vendor promoting their fresh zeppoles. I was nearly overwhelmed, but I believe that most festival zeppoles taste the same; it was important to find the most zeppoles sold for the right price.

Lucy’s Sausage sold the Italian pastry at the perfect price, six for $5, and they were exactly what I was looking for. Soft, sweet and just slightly greasy. The stand perfectly resembled and reignited the nostalgia of zeppoles from the memories of my youth. Soon after I finished them, I burned through my cash at multiple other vendors purchasing pasta, rice balls and fried rainbow cookies.

Many vendors provided attendees with perfect, traditional snacks to satisfy New York’s continued and persisting love for Italian culture and cuisine. Even with these purchases, nothing compared to the combined sweetness of powdered sugar and sentimentality that the zeppoles provided.

Although the Feast of San Gennaro ended on Sunday, it is an annual event. If you plan on visiting the festival in 2024, it is important to bring cash, as that is the most popular form of payment that most vendors accept. Be prepared to spend more of that cash than you may expect.

The feast is a classic New York event with traditional New York prices. You may get suckered into paying more than you should for T-shirts, carnival games or jewelry or even the cigar stand, but that’s a part of the fun of the festivities. Most importantly, arrive

with an empty stomach — it is a feast after all.

From smoking hot sausages and peppers grilled before your eyes to hand tossed pizzas fresh out of a brick oven, there are countless staples of Italian cuisine being cooked by vendors

packed side by side down the crowded streets of Little Italy. I would not call myself a food connoisseur, but I was tempted to try most things at the feast.

If you do make it next year, do yourself a favor and have a zeppole.

SAN GENNARO from page 1

AJAY SURESH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Now until Nov. 26 on their Chelsea campus, FIT displays its new exhibit ‘Food and Fashion,’ commenting on the influence of food in the fashion industry.

The 2023 Tony Award winner for lighting and sound design is an electrifying insight into revenge and madness

By GRACE PAK

Contributing Writer

When the lights come up at a performance of Broadway’s third revival of “Sweeney Todd” — currently running at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater — audiences are transported to an eerie part of London during the 19th century.

Fog covers the stage and the cast gathers in an enigmatic cluster in the center as they move creepily together to sing the opening number, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd.” The lyrics urge audience members to “attend the tale” of the titular barber who “shaved the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again.”

When Sweeney Todd (Josh Groban) returns to London after being exiled, he seeks revenge on the judge who wronged him

and his daughter Johanna (Maria Bilbao). Sweeney plots to murder the judge by offering to shave him before slitting his throat, but he is propelled into madness when his plan fails and pledges retribution on all mankind.

The barber befriends the owner of the struggling pie shop downstairs in the same building, Mrs. Lovett (Annaleigh Ashford), who helps Sweeney disguise his malice by baking his victims into her pies. As a whole, the show examines the dangerous ways revenge can consume a person.

Groban’s scheduled absence from Sept. 11-17 left the lead role to his capable understudies, Nicholas Christopher and Paul-Jordan Jansen.

Christopher brought an impressive lower register and a certain

malevolence to the character; his voice suited the character well — differing from Groban’s naturally warmer tone — as heard in the show’s cast recording. When Christopher sang “No Place Like London,” his voice convincingly expressed his disdain for the city that holds so many terrible memories for Sweeney. In his performance of “Epiphany,” where Sweeney turns against all of humanity proclaiming that “they all deserve to die,” Christopher looked into the audience with an intensity and intimacy not often seen in large-scale theater. Leaning almost off the stage, he looked patrons in the orchestra directly in the eye, breaking the fourth wall in an especially intimidating way.

Ashford outshines herself in characterization and enthusiasm in a masterclass of character acting.

Arguably the strongest aspect of Christopher’s performance was his ability to show a range of contrasting emotions in just a few lines. As the judge sits down for a shave, Sweeney strategically connects with him as they both sing about the “Pretty Women” they admire. Sweeney prepares, knowing this may be his only chance at revenge.

At the end of the song, the judge escapes from Sweeney’s chair, and Christopher effortlessly transitions out of singing the melodic duet and into a fit

of fury at the realization that his plan was ruined. His performance was not only impressive but also quite terrifying, fitting for the role of “the demon barber of Fleet Street.”

This contrast exemplifies Sweeney’s mental state and loss of mercy for humanity while still holding so much love for his daughter.

Coming into the show, I was excited to hear Ashford’s rendition of “The Worst Pies in London.” Her performance was everything I’d hoped, humorous in both her intonation and physicality. Later in the show, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed her song “By the Sea” even more, in which Mrs. Lovett expresses her desire to leave the city and make a life with Sweeney. In this number, Ashford outshines herself in characterization and enthusiasm in a masterclass of character acting.

Another standout performance from the show was that of “Stranger Things” star Gaten Matarazzo. With his Broadway roots dating back to “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” in 2011, he gives an excellent performance as Tobias, a young boy that Mrs. Lovett takes in after Sweeney kills the man for whom he was an apprentice.

Singing the heartfelt “Not While I’m Around” to Mrs. Lovett,

A Thrilling New Revival of ‘Sweeney Todd’ Mitski Returns With Seventh Studio Album

Matarazzo’s vocal control and clarity are on full display. He stakes his claim as a star of both screen and stage.

“Sweeney Todd” is not a dance-heavy show, allowing the choreographed moments to enhance the plot throughout. While Mrs. Lovett tells Sweeney of what the judge did to Johanna, their characters dance in silhouettes on the upper portion of the set, re-enacting the story. Their dance combined with Ashford’s sung narration (“Poor Thing”) and Sweeney’s reactions create powerful, emotional imagery of the wrongs that Johanna faced.

Thomas Kail, director of “Sweeney Todd,” created clever moments that juxtaposed between the beautiful music being sung and the gruesome violence concurrently happening on stage. During the ballad “Johanna,” (a true ballad, unlike the opening number) Sweeney sings of the way he dreamed his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen since his exile, might be.

While fantasizing, Sweeney kills several people seemingly effortlessly and without remorse. This contrast exemplifies Sweeney’s mental state and loss of mercy for humanity while still holding so much love for his daughter.

“Sweeney Todd” is complete with Tony Award-winning lighting and sound design, as well as the musical support of one of the largest orchestras currently on Broadway. Though English accents of varying qualities sometimes muddle bits of dialogue, it’s hard not to get pulled into the heinous (though not overly gory) story of the murderous barber’s mission to avenge his family and reunite with his daughter.

The acclaimed indie singer-songwriter delves into love and nostalgia in her latest release

By HANNAH SMOKLER

Contributing Writer

“The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We,” is the seventh studio album from American singer-songwriter Mitski, released on Sept. 15. She explores love, legacy, hope and Americana with a distinct sonic identity over the course of 11 tracks.

In typical Mitski fashion, “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We” has a completely different sound from that of her previous albums, with fewer electronic elements, and is much slower and more soulful. The release is strikingly dissimilar to her sixth studio album, “Laurel Hell,” which features lots of danceable, synthpop-inspired tracks.

Mitski self-describes

“The Land” as her “most American album,” and it’s easy to understand why — nearly every track has a certain twang and ambience reminiscent of country and folk music.

Though many fans believed that “Laurel Hell” would be Mitski’s final album, she surprised her listeners on July 24 with the announcement of the new album on her Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts. In

the same video, she announced the lead single, “Bug Like an Angel,” which was released two days later, on July 26, alongside a music video.

Standout tracks following the full release of the complete album include lead single “Bug Like an Angel,” the more instrumental “Heaven,” and the heartfelt “My Love Mine All Mine.”

She knows what her songs are about. More than anything, “The Land” is about love.

As expected from Mitski, her lyricism shines throughout the record, with each song telling its own story. “When Memories Snow” evokes the nostalgia of a grade school snow day or winter vacation as she asks “And if I break, could I go on break?”

“The Deal,” the fifth track off of the album, describes the protagonist of the song going on a walk and begging someone else to take her soul, saying “I can’t bear to keep it/I’d give it just to give.” The ultimate message of the song is the same as the album, that despite the pain or hardship, hope, love and a soul is all you have and is what makes life worth living.

Several songs include more heavy-handed religious imagery than Mitski usually employs: “I try to remember the wrath of the devil/Was also given him by God” (“Bug Like an Angel”); “You believe me like a god/I’ll betray you like a man” (“I’m Your Man”). However, it does not feel out of

place alongside the rest of Mitski’s characteristically vivid imagery and metaphors.

Mitski self-describes “The Land” as her “most American album,” and it’s easy to understand why — nearly every track has a certain twang and ambience reminiscent of country and folk music. Fittingly, she recorded the album in Nashville, Tennessee, also known as Music City, famous primarily for country music, but also for groundbreaking indie, pop, rock and more. Mitski’s music often focuses on her identity as a Japanese-American woman, though “The Land” reflects mainly on America as a place. This focus is especially clear in the album’s second track, “Buffalo Replaced,” which describes a freight train traveling across the Midwest, replacing the native buffalo. In the final track, “I Love Me After You,” she embraces the landscape, calling herself “king of all the land.”

“I’m always trying to figure out what it means to be American. But especially with this album, I think I’m trying to reconcile all my various identities with being American today. I feel like I’ve always been seeing my own identities through the eyes of other people who haven’t lived my identities. And I kind of think maybe that’s also very uniquely American,” Mitski said, in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition.

Like the rest of her discography, both the album itself and the individual tracks are short compared to the work of many other current artists — Mitski gets straight to the point, wasting no time. She knows what her songs are about. More than anything, “The Land” is about love.

Will Arberry’s description of the album on Mitski’s official Spotify page says when she “thinks about what’s truly hers, what can’t be repossessed or demolished, she sees love.” That idea is the central theme of the album. Sometimes, love, no matter what form it takes, is all you really have and all you really need. This theme is most clear in “My Love Mine All Mine” when Mitski sings “Nothing in the world belongs to me/But my love mine, all mine, all mine.” And

no matter what, that love always matters, long after we’re gone, as explored in “Star”: “To live for somebody/That love is like a star/ It’s gone, we just see it shining.”

The album’s conclusion is one of hope and love, which is somewhat surprising considering Mitski’s reputation as a “sad girl indie” artist. Mitski argues that love is difficult — even just existing is difficult — but it’s all we have, so no matter how hard it is, love is worth it in the end.

AJAY SURESH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Currently running at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, “Sweeney Todd” stars Josh Groban as the titular murderous barber and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett.

DEAD OCEANS

While Mitski’s previous album featured more dance, synth-pop tracks, her latest release delves into Americana, featuring more country, folk sounds.

un & ames

Crossword: Royal Treatment

29. *Nemesis of a clown and a penguin? (2 Wds.)

35. Common pub drink

36. Like Paul Rudd, according to People magazine in 2021

37. Former name for the IndoAryan language Odia

38. Shouted

40. Common Portuguese surname, from “soeiro” meaning “swineherd”

41. Consumer

42. Rotate

44. Explosive made of gunpowder and sand, for Minecrafters (Abbr.)

45. *Shakespeare’s patron Elizabeth, for one? (2 Wds.)

48. It’s for horses, but it’s better for cows?

49. Oblivious

52. Genre of Jay-Z, MC Hammer and LL Cool J (Hyph.)

56. Sea in the South Pacific

60. Press

1. Split ones happen to dry and brittle hair

2. Period or spell

3. Put cake batter in the oven

4. Actors Michael or Martin

5. Went to, as a meeting

6. Iconic NYC toy store ___

Schwarz

7. Main villain of the “Samurai Jack” cartoon

8. Sat for a test again

9. Only; lone

10. Some people have an identical or fraternal one

11. Hathaway or Frank

12. Can’t live without

13. Degree for people who work on teeth (Abbr.)

18. U.N. agency focusing on workers’ rights

22. James Bond’s pistol: Walther ___ (Abbr.)

33. Laughing henchman from “The Lion King”

34. Yummy

36. It’s repeated after “Que” in a Doris Day song

39. Moon-landing spacecraft (Abbr.)

40. Frank, Frank Jr. and Nancy

42. Life is better under this, says a singing crab

43. Sound of a space gun?

46. A favor for a favor: “Quid pro ___”

47. Detach, as a computer or a phone

50. Jamie Foxx played this eponymous singer in a 2004 biopic

51. A long, narrow, winding ridge in a glacier

52. Not there?

53. Result of a brainstorm

54. Photos, for short

55. Despise

1. Pulls back, as a tide

5. From a distance

9. Podium for a witness

14. Captain of the Ark

15. An attempt of a film shot

16. Had

BY ABBY GRUNZINGER

17. *Come to an agreement with your fists? (3 Wds.)

19. Actor’s dialogue

20. Civil rights activist C.K.

21. Unsealed, as an envelope

23. Act I finale of “Hamilton” (Hyph.)

26. Type of screen on many laptop computers (Abbr.)

61. *Monarch of CNN interviewing fame? (2 Wds.)

64. Construct, as a monument or a bridge

65. Chemical compound in urine

66. “Therefore” in Latin

67. Mock

68. Acquires

69. He and Rachel were famously on a break in “Friends”

KenKen

BY ABBY GRUNZINGER

Instructions: Fill in each square cell in the puzzle with a number between 1 and 5. Use each number exactly once in each row and each column. The grid is separated into shapes of one to three square cells, with a number and an operation in the top left. The number is the answer you get when you add, subtract, multiply or divide the numbers in the shape, and the operation (+, -, x, ÷) is the sole operation used to get that number. For example, there will be two numbers in the top leftmost shape, and you will use subtraction to get the number 1 from those two numbers. The order in which the numbers appear in the shape doesn’t matter. If a grid only has a number and no operation, then that number should be placed in that one square cell.

24. Instrument for John Coltrane or Duke Silver, for short

25. “Do or do not, there is no ___”

26. Gently set down (Var.)

27. Transparent

28. Alternative to Southwest or JetBlue

30. Twelve hours from midnight

31. Gershwin or Glass, for two

32. Equipment used to keep a horse’s saddle in place

57. Spanish Catalan artist known for “The Farm” Joan ____

58. Belonging to the director of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”?

59. Nonprofit groups independent from the government (Abbr.)

60. Famous New York opera or famous New York art museum, for short

62. Billy Joel’s 1977 love song “Just the Way You ___”

63. Is done with working (Abbr.)

BY ABBY GRUNZINGER

Instructions: Each row, column and 3×3 box must contain the numbers 1-9 exactly once.