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December 6, 2018 VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 14
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McShane Launches CUSP Phase II By COLIN SHEELEY Editor-in-Chief
On Dec. 3, University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., announced his plan to shift the Continuous University Strategic Planning (CUSP) process into its second stage. The phase is designed to channel and solidify the university’s Strategic Framework into “priorities,” equipped with an $8.1 million budget and all of three months to decide where to cache it. Leading the initiative is a committee of high-ranking administrators and faculty, vice presidents, deans and department chairs, tasked with compiling the priorities, funds, timelines and all, into a package for review by the Board of Trustees in their December 2019 meeting. Before that, they plan to reveal their decision to the university community in March. Professor Patrick Hornbeck, one of three members co-chairing the committee, expressed his optimism for the process. “Now it will be up to us to put those tools to work in making concrete choices about Fordham’s future,” he said. The university’s future was not always so well mapped out, according to Jonathan Crystal, interim provost and the newest co-chair of the committee. The current administration’s initial strategic plan was much more rigid, he said. “It was a plan that set goals, but because the environment changed so rapidly, because we had no idea, for example, that there would be a recession in 2008 that would lead to a decline in Law School applications, or that we didn’t see CUSP pg. 2
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Jonathan Crystal, co-chair of the new CUSP committee.
KEVIN CHRISTOPHER ROBLES/THE OBSERVER
Demetrios Stratis, FCLC ‘19, (right) led the first town hall of the 2018-2019 school year which had record attendance.
USG Enters Spring Semester with High Hopes By CARMEN BORCA-CARRILLO News Editor
After a semester of student unrest and internal division, Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC)’s United Student Government (USG) is heading into the spring semester with a united front and high hopes for better communication with students and administrators alike. Throughout its fall 2018 semester, the current board of USG has undergone its fair share of difficulties, particularly concerning the recent budget freeze and subsequent resignation of vice president of operations, Austin Tong, Gabelli School of Business ’21 on Nov. 19. Despite this obstacle, members of USG assure students their government is more united than ever. “It’s not a crisis. It’s less than ideal, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t move past it,” Katina Smith, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19 and vice president of USG said. “Clubs shouldn’t be worried because [they are] the most important thing, and if there are no clubs on campus, then there isn’t club spirit, and then there isn’t a community feeling.” Community feeling, in fact, has grown over the course of the semester through various events and traditions put in place and expanded by USG. Plans for the future include a 300-plus person game of clothespins and a commuter-resident mixer for the spring semester. More recently, USG has taken steps to make traditional events like the annual tree lighting ceremony more accessible to students by shifting the time to 6 p.m. to accommodate students going to and from classes. Most notable are Fordham Fridays, Smith’s attempt to stir up community spirit by encouraging students to dress in Fordham ma-
“ Always at the forefront are the rights of
students. We’ll be advocates, we’ll help student leaders. You can always expect a statement from USG. We’re not going to have our hands tied. ” – DEMETRIOS STRATIS , USG President and FCLC ‘19
roon on the promise of a free slice of pizza. “It’s exciting to see people that are wearing maroon and are getting excited every Friday, because they then know what student government is,” Smith said of the popular weekly event. She also believes it generates presence for USG on campus outside of town hall meetings and the purview of club leaders. The people coming to Fordham Fridays, are “not just a club leader, it’s just someone that’s maybe going to class. I feel like the niche Fordham event is getting free food and then leaving, and that’s exactly what Fordham Fridays is … it’s creating a community vibe between what you’re wearing and what the student government means to you,” she said. USG also aims to use events such as Fordham Fridays and the recent tree lighting to enable more interaction from students outside of formal events like town halls. Suggestion boxes are now placed at the site of all USG events, so students can easily and conveniently communicate their concerns to their representatives. While suggestion have been received, Smith has called the process a “slow hike,” noting the fact that while 200 people get pizza on Fordham Friday, only 20 suggestions end up
in the box. Student attendance to USG policy meetings has also experienced an increase, albeit less than stellar: at the recent town hall, USG President Demetrios Stratis, FCLC ’19, stated that the 20 people in attendance were “the most he’d ever seen” at an upperclassman town hall. “Last year, it was just three people coming in and eating pizza and talking without anything to say,” Stratis said of the change in the town hall’s quality. “This was a very good turnout … we had an agenda we had a formalized plan, we had food, and it worked well. I really liked that students who normally had not had a change to go to a town hall came to this town hall to listen, because they knew this was a thing and they paid attention to it and that was a good first sign.” Continuing the spirit of making USG more readily accessible to the students, Stratis plans to hold next semester’s town hall at the beginning of the term. He also plans to promote USG events openly to students via a USG Instagram account he revitalized after a year of inactivity, redesigned the USG website, met with individual clubs and even published a weekly newsletter. “We can’t expect people to know
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what’s happening all the time if we ourselves are not communicating,” Stratis said. “We need to be more open about what is going on.” Transparency also reigns as a prominent topic for USG in the year to come, especially regarding dealings with administration in the wake of crises like the minimum wage raise and transgender, gender non conforming and intersex students’ rights. “Always at the forefront are the rights of students,” Stratis said. “We’ll be advocates, we’ll help student leaders. You can always expect a statement from USG. We’re not going to have our hands tied.” Despite the slow increase in student involvement and its bureaucratic hurdles, USG remains optimistic for next semester in nurturing the Fordham student community spirit and gaining more traction with events and involvement. According to Stratis, 2018 yielded more new clubs seeking organization than any of his other years on campus, in addition to his biggest town hall and largest tree lighting ceremony yet. The most important factor in gaining this popularity, Smith said, was the focus on making engagement convenient for the everyday student. “I think it’s important that you approach students so students know that USG wants input. If someone has to come to you, I feel like it’s not as impactful as you going to someone and asking how you can help, what you can do, and taking those steps forward.” “I just hope to see more student involvement,” Smith concluded, “So we can know how people want us to cater the time we do devote to this club, and how we can best use that time for things that people want to see.”
THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM LINCOLN CENTER
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December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
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Collaboratory Provides Space for Social Change By RUBY GARA News Editor
Though the Social Innovations Collaboratory has existed as a university-wide resource at Fordham for four years, it has only recently come to the attention of the students of Fordham at Lincoln Center (FLC). The network was established in 2014 at the Gabelli School of Business (GSB) at Rose Hill and moved to Lincoln Center two years later. Now, thanks to a new gift from Gabelli alumnus Brent Martini, GSB ’86, its assets and resources are finally being brought to the attention of FLC students. Martini’s significant donation of $1 million will aid the collaboratory in hiring new staff. The new space they now have at Lincoln Center is also a result of his donation. “We are a place where students can further explore interests in creating change in the world beyond the classroom,” explained the director of the collaboratory, Carey Weiss. Together, the network seeks solutions to global issues, such as poverty and climate change. “I believe that we’re going to create more impact in the world if we all work together towards solving these big challenges,” Weiss said. As director, Weiss designs and oversees experiential student practica teams. She mentors the students of the collaboratory and links them to faculty, alumni, corporate and non-profit partners to build out social impact outcomes. The collaboratory began as an initiative of the Office of the Provost. It is formed by students, alumni, administrators and faculty who work together to promote social justice through innovative projects. These are mainly business-driven and include launching curricular and extra-curricular initiatives on campus. Julia Butler, GSB ’21, said that
CELIA PATTERSON/THE OBSERVER
The Social Innovations Collaboratory offers an environment for students to build change-making skills.
“it is empowering to be actively working toward solutions and better understanding the barriers and underlying systems that cause those problems.” As a student member of the collaboratory, she said it is “a great opportunity to actively work toward solving huge global issues.” Those global issues “often seem really daunting,” Butler emphasized. “When looking at the systems that exist, it feels impossible.” However, with the United Nations’ proposed sustainable development goals, Butler remains positive that the collaboratory can spark changes in the commu-
nities around Fordham. Weiss also manages a number of the network’s relationships, including one with Ashoka U, where she serves as one of the “Change Leaders” for the organization’s global network of changemaker campuses. Fordham is among the 50 schools that are in the campus network, intended to develop changemaking mindsets and skills. As explained on the collaboratory’s website, Ashoka U also promotes institutional change and strives to enhance social innovation in higher education. Other network relationships in the past have included partner-
ships with BMW and Verizon, and currently Spring Bank. The collaboratory’s space, a lab, features a hot pink couch and a 25 square foot vertical green wall. Open every day, they welcome any student interested in learning about making social change. The collaboratory is currently in the process of hiring a second assistant director, to help staff both spaces at Rose Hill and at Lincoln Center. “There will be more coverage once we have a second professional staff on board,” Weiss said. So far, it has also hosted sever-
al storytelling events, titled “Our Story.” These, essentially, are safe spaces where students are invited to share personal anecdotes that are related to the event’s theme. For instance, students reflected on love, loss and self-discovery during the first “‘Our Story.” “We are excited about the continued growth of the collaboratory and the inclusion now of new faculty fellows that were refunded to spur research with student assistance,” Weiss stated. The research, conducted by eight faculty members and two dozen students, is set to be published in December 2019.
McShane Allocates $8 Million to CUSP Phase II CUSP FROM PAGE 1
“ Now it will be up to
know that Business education would become more popular … we decided we needed a more nimble approach.” That involves painting strategies with a broad brush at first, Crystal noted, but then going back and filling in the gaps. It involves asking questions like, “Where do we want Fordham to go? What do we want Fordham to look like in five years, in 10 years, in 15 years?”
us to put those tools to work in making concrete choices about Fordham’s future. ”
PATRICK HORNBECK, Professor and Co-chair of the CUSP campus” and noted that it suggested a lack of interest in the Lincoln Center campus.
The corresponding answers, however, have yet to be hashed out. Frameworks, both university-wide and school specific, are in place. But committee members, set to meet for the first time on Tuesday, Dec. 11, were reluctant to speak too soon. “I am honored to have been invited to serve on CUSP, however, the committee has not had its first meeting yet,” Kay Turner, vice president of Human Resources, said, “so to comment at this time may be premature.” Senior Vice President for Enrollment & Strategy Peter A. Stace explained that CUSP’s second stage will consider three factors in its direction: the Strategic Framework laid out over the last three years, the strategies of local schools and offices and the overarching trends of higher education. As another co-chair of the committee, Stace stressed that “How
Many of those aspects will need to wait until Dec. 11 to be worked out. Crystal was even hesitant to speak before the meeting on aspects of McShane’s email, like details about the $8.1 million carrying over into future years, applications for strategic funding (to be released over winter break) and the “relatively short timeframe” of his charge. Simply put, there is a mission and money to back it up. CONNOR MANNION/THE OBSERVER
Members have praised the new CUSP approach for being more direct than past endeavors.
we proceed and the particulars of strategy and action are the work of the committee to be advanced in the months ahead with broad community engagement.” Members of Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) have not
always felt like that consideration extended to them. At a 2016 FCLC College Council meeting, professors expressed their frustration over a draft of a CUSP discussion on the university’s future, many noting that Lincoln Center was
partly left out of the university’s overall conversation. At the time, Professor Mark Botton, Ph.D., pointed out language in the document that prioritized investment in “engaged science education at the Rose Hill
“The idea is that we want to put some resources behind these initiatives that we feel can really be transformative, that can have a real effect in terms of a Fordham education and some of the innovative things that we want to do,” Crystal said. “So we have some funds to make those ideas a reality.”
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Thurs
THE OBSERVER December 6, 2018
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12:30pm-2:15pm CSA Midday Breakfast in LL Cafeteria Atrium 6 pm-7 pm CIAO Fuel for Finals Pasta Night in McMahon 109 6 pm-7 pm Caribbean Students Club Reggae and Relaxation in LL Student Lounge 6 pm-8 pm Feminist Alliance Women’s Shelter Service Project Outing *sign up in 140W G33* 6 pm-8:30pm BSA Outing to Queen of Sheba *sign up in 140W G33* 8 pm-9 pm RHA Tie Dye Event in McMahon 109
Fri
7
4 pm-7pm CFM Gingerbread House Competition in LL Student Lounge 5 pm-7 pm Senior Self-Care Fair in McMahon 205/206 6 pm-8 pm Anime Appreciation Society (AAS) Outing to Karaoke *sign up in 140W G33* 6:30 pm-8:30pm Hellenic Society Movie Night My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 140W G73 9 pm-10 pm Stove’s End of Semester Show in Pope Auditorium
Sat
8
12 pm-5 pm Campus Activities Board (CAB) Winter City Outing to Bryant Park *sign up in 140W G33*
Sun
9
2 pm-4 pm Cookies and Cocoa with Santa 12th Floor Lounge, in Lowenstein Center $5 per person 2 pm-4 pm Passion and Fury: Women of Greek Tragedy in McMahon 109
Mon
News
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6:30pm-8 pm CAB Winterfest Artist Release Party in LL Student Lounge
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December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
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Search for Dean Lacks Student Support Student Disengagement Jeopardizes Seach for New Dean of Fordham College Lincoln Center By ALEJANDRA CARRASCO AND CARMEN BORCA-CARRILLO Staff Writer and News Editor
As the fall semester winds to a close, Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) is ramping up for yet another search for new leadership: this time, to enter the Office of the Dean of Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC). Despite attempts to include community voices in the decision, the search’s current state of affairs shows little promise for further student involvement. The new dean follows a 20year tenure in the position set by Robert R. Grimes, S.J., Ph.D, Fordham University’s longest-serving dean. Following Grimes’ departure in spring of 2018, the college has run under the eye of Interim Dean Frederick Wertz. On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Judy Kelly, administrative assistant to the dean, sent out an email on behalf of Dean Anthony Davidson, spokesperson for the search committee, inviting all FCLC students to a meeting on Friday, Nov. 30 regarding the search for the new dean. The purpose of the meeting was for students to meet as a group with a representative of the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, Sheila Murphy and her associates to discuss the “opportunities, challenges and vision of FCLC.” The search committee consists of two components: a faculty search committee comprised of professors from different departments across FCLC and a search team from Witt/Kieffer. The firm is also heading Fordham’s search for a new provost, due to conclude in January 2019. This search marks Witt-Kieffer’s 14th search for FCLC, but their first finding a dean. Though the Nov. 30 meeting was open to all students, only three attended — and only one was not a reporter. “I thought there were going to be more people here,” said Mariam Wahba, FCLC ’20 and the meeting’s only student not on assignment. Though she was supposed to be working during the meeting time, she requested time off from her supervisor to attend. “I’m here because the decisions on the new dean are going to affect me,” she said. While students cited multiple reasons for not attending, one confusing detail was the address given in the email of “Law School, 140 W 62nd Street, 4th floor, Room 460.” Though the meeting did in fact take place in the 140 West building, the preceding “Law School” tag led every student attendee to the Law School on the other side of campus. According to Wahba, a secretary in the law school had already told someone before her that the address was incorrect, indicating that at least one student was discouraged from attending the meeting due to the email’s incorrect address. Emma Quinn, FCLC ’20, was also put off by the invitation and said the email’s format and wording made it seem as though it “was a specific invitation to me for some reason, not necessarily an open hall, but a special focus group.” She also criticized the meeting’s timing, noting that on Friday afternoons, most students are either in class, unmotivated to remain on campus after class is over or simply “done for the weekend and don’t want to go to another meeting.” Other students felt they lacked the information necessary beforehand to attend the meeting. “I honestly don’t even know what [I would’ve brought up],” Emily Keil, FCLC ’20, said. “I don’t even know what the deans are in charge of. When I think of the deans, I think of class scheduling and problems like those.” Students also expressed that
CARMEN BORCA-CARRILLO/THE OBSERVER
Mariam Wahba, the sole attendant of the Witt/Kieffer student information session in the search for a new dean of FCLC.
their hesitancy to attend stemmed from frustration with the meeting’s premise. “Going to this meeting wouldn’t have done anything. I feel like it was more of a formality,” Keil said. “It takes so long to get
the day meeting with the faculty search committee and class deans. Murphy reported most members of these groups seemed to keep the recent findings of the Reimagining Arts & Sciences working
“ I thought there were going to be more
people here. I’m here because the decisions on the new dean are going to affect me.” – MARIAM WAHBA , FCLC ‘20
anything done, and student input, if it is asked for, I’ve never seen it taken very seriously.” Though the meeting brought out fewer students than the semester’s earlier provost forum, Witt/ Kieffer representatives continued the session by asking the attendees questions about “who is FCLC, and who its dean should be,” including topics like life in the residence halls, why students chose the Lincoln Center campus and the presence of the dean in everyday student life. Importantly, a major focus of the conversation concentrated on students’ “pain points” with the campus. Murphy and her associate, Robin Mamlet, seemed to have heard of most of the grievances aired prior to the meeting, including concerns about transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex rights on campus, obstacles complicating advising and dissatisfaction with dining services. “This is a really complicated institution and a really complicated post,” Murphy said, referring to FCLC’s place as “a liberal arts college in the middle of grad schools in the midst of Lincoln Center.” Those at the meeting were encouraged to share their experiences on campus, but, as the last session of the day for Witt/ Kieffer, they felt rushed — Murphy left for a flight 10 minutes into the meeting, while Mamlet rushed to catch a train at precisely 4:30 p.m. Prior to the student session, Murphy and Mamlet had spent
group close at hand and called the report’s timing with the search “a great convergence.” Yet, despite confirmations from Witt/Kieffer and the faculty search committee that the search for the dean is well underway and open to input from the Fordham community, members of the firm and
the committee redirect inquiries to the search’s spokesperson, Anthony Davidson, dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Because the meeting was mainly focused on the attendees’ answers to the questions asked, the goal was for students to be able to voice some of the qualities they would like the new dean to embody. Disparities between the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses anchored the discussion: an important takeaway focused on how the new dean should see FCLC as almost a separate entity and not as a branch off of the Rose Hill campus. Murphy emphasized that the new dean should, “recognize qualities, Lincoln Center qualities, that can’t be Rose Hill qualities.” The general consensus of the committee members, including chairman dean Davidson, is that the new dean of FCLC has to understand the character of FCLC — its advantages and disadvan-
tages. One of Davidson’s priorities during the search is, “making sure that different views and inputs are properly represented.” Currently, Davidson said, the committee is in the process of building the ideal candidate’s “leadership profile.” The new dean is expected to begin working no later than next fall, though Davison also warns that the date may fluctuate depending on “prior commitments that the successful candidate may have.” According to Davidson, hiring Witt/Kieffer as a private firm to conduct the search enables the university to move beyond the “conventional ways of recruitment” and utilize the firm’s “large database and network of potential candidates.” Additionally, Davidson said, the firm’s staff with “[facilitate] the widest and maximum interaction with the Fordham community,” thanks to the ability to “be more expressive” with members outside the administration.
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THE OBSERVER December 6, 2018
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VP Breaks University Silence on TGNCI Rights By CARMEN BORCA-CARRILLO News Editor
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Jeffrey Gray sent an email to a short list of club leaders and faculty concerning the rights of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex (TGNCI) individuals on campus. In the response, Gray assured the students that Fordham University believes “transgender rights are human rights” and that both he and the university “unequivocally condemn hateful speech or actions against any member of the University, most assuredly including transgender people.” “Transgender people (and gender non-conforming, and intersex people) have the right to be treated with the same dignity and compassion as their peers,” he continued. “They are fully members of the Fordham family, as any other member of the community.” Gray informed the email’s recipients that discussions surrounding the process of more fully including TGNCI individuals in the university setting would “take more time and discussion” and asked for the university community’s patience. He pointed to the labeling of restrooms as “all gender” as a significant policy change undertaken by the university and said student affairs was in the process of “taking up other issues around protections for transgender people, and accommodations of their particular needs.” Sam Norman, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’18 and president of Fordham Students for Sex and Gender Equity and Safety (SAGES), told The Observer that Gray’s email is “greatly appreciated” and that those who received the email “are ecstatic to know that administra-
LENA ROSE/THE OBSERVER
Students left copies of the open letter under Fordham vice president’s office door.
tion is working on a response.” Gray’s response breaks 34 days of administrative near-silence since Rainbow Alliance penned an open letter to University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., concerning the attacks on TGNCI rights in the United States. Eighteen days after the letter was sent, Rainbow Alliance, along with the Positive Coalition, SAGES, the Coalition for Concerned Students, PRIDE Alliance and the Coalition Against Relationship and Sexual Violence sent another email re-
questing a statement on TGNCI rights. Additionally, it brought attention to the fact that a flyer for the Rally for Trans Rights had been defaced 11 days earlier, with no reply from Public Safety or administration. In his email, Gray noted that he had sent a response to the authors of the open letter within 24 hours of receiving it in which he confirmed its receipt and promised to review the letter and its “related requests,” as well as follow up with the students involved.
While Norman appreciated Gray’s response as a “reassurance of [TGNCI students’] safety,” they also expressed concern over the fact that larger university bodies still have not addressed threats against the TGNCI community. “A response, generally, is in the works, but there has still been no public statement, no policy response and no immediate and widespread assurance that, at a bare minimum, trans students are safe at Fordham,” Norman said. “I speak for SAGES, at least, when I say this is worrisome and
we don’t feel as though any of the university’s actions stand behind the words VP Gray has offered us.” Norman also expressed concern over the email’s recipient list, as it included only students involved with the clubs who penned the open letter, department chairs and a handful of university administrators and staff. “I wonder what he is saying to admin who were excluded from his email response and members of the board of trustees,” they said.
USG Town Hall Addresses Student Frustration By KEVIN CHRISTOPHER ROBLES Asst. Arts & Culture Editor
United Student Government (USG) President Demetrios Stratis, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, remarked to the 11 students present at the Nov. 28 town hall for upperclassmen: “I have to be honest, in all my time at Fordham, I’ve never seen a turnout like this.” The students gathered around the conference room, quickly consumed the drinks and snacks off to the side and voiced their issues regarding the state of Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC). The number of students rose to about 20 as the event went on and, whether they were club leaders or just those curious enough to attend, there was a sense of exasperation in the room. Recently, former Vice President of Operations Austin Tong, Gabelli School of Business ’21, resigned from the USG executive board. Stratis referred to the topic of Tong’s resignation as “the elephant in the room.” He stressed that the Operations committee will continue to function and that Tong’s absence from the e-board will have no effect on club approvals or activities. The remaining six students in the Operations committee will continue doing their jobs despite the lack of a leader. Stratis mentioned that USG is currently debating a potential appointment of an interim committee chair. He also announced that USG
“ I have to be honest,
in all my time at Fordham, I’ve never seen a turnout like this.” DEMETRIOS STRATIS , USG
President and FCLC ‘19
will hold a special election to fill the vacancy left by Tong at some point in the spring semester. The tone of the room signaled frustration, especially as students began speaking on various problems around campus. One of the issues discussed belied annoyance at the renovated student lounge. Though students had been consulted prior to renovations, the FLC Facilities committee entirely ignored them, Commuting Students Association (CSA) Treasurer Sally Mo, FCLC ’20, said. The installation of the seats and the new wall colors drew ire from members of CSA. USG, however, had little to say on the subject other than explaining that, because of shakeup of leadership in Facilities, there was miscommunication between administrators resulting in students’ voices not being heard. On a brighter note, Stratis laid out plans for the PL100 room — recently converted into a new public space for students — to
have a “soft opening” at the beginning of the next semester. Stratis explained that it was doubly important for there to be a new space where specifically commuter students could gather as the second floor of the Leon Lowenstein building, which was unofficially considered a space for commuters, is currently in the process of being turned into a new welcome center for prospective students. However, students raised other concerns, particularly their dissatisfaction towards food services on campus. Despite the Ram Cafe’s recent renovation, the quality of the food, according to multiple students present at the town hall was still subpar. In addition, students directed specific complaints at the “unfriendly” customer service doled out at the Community Dining Hall, especially in comparison to the staff at Argo Tea in the garden level of the 140W building. Workers allegedly give only a set amount and refuse to serve students additional portions unless they come back with a second plate — frustrating to the students, considering that the dining hall runs on a buffet system. USG promised to speak to administrators about the issue. USG Vice President Katina Smith, FCLC ’19, suggested that the e-board might be able to persuade the administration to provide a small number of free meal swipes to commuters, part
of an initiative to foster better relations between commuters and residents. Several students present voiced agreement at the idea, echoing the long-standing concern that commuters have a difficult time getting to know residents. To that effect, Stratis also announced plans to host a commuter and resident mixer at some point early next semester in order to help students get to know those who they might not otherwise have met. Evan Sheaffer, FCLC ’21, a sophomore senator, spoke at length about various issues plaguing retention at FLC. He mentioned some common problems: lack of school spirit, lower retention rates than Baruch College and New York University and a disconnect between USG and the administration. On that last point, Sheaffer criticized the administration for their inconsistent responses. Sheaffer explained that a significant source of frustration stemmed from the administration’s negligence to put USG in contact with the Task Force on Undergraduate Retention that University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., formed last April. Sheaffer said that USG constantly felt “blindsided” by their lack of input on retention and felt that the administration does not take into account any ideas that students might have on why Fordham’s retention rate is so
low. Stratis offered a possible remedy to the lack of school spirit. Next semester, he plans on creating an event tentatively called “The Battle of Fordham,” which will involve around 300 students playing a game across campus over an extended period of time. This game would involve players receiving individualized clothespins with the names of students, which they would then have pin on that student after locating them. Stratis believes that this will help students make new friends and get them roaming the campus. USG is also hosting events like “Capture the Ram” and others throughout the spring semester in order to bolster school spirit. Stratis hoped that this will “force people out of their shells.” In addition, USG hopes to address the recent changes regarding Title IX that have come from Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education. They have a statement in the works in collaboration with a number of other Jesuit colleges and universities. After nearly an hour and a half of discussion, the town hall ended. Before people shuffled out, Stratis remarked that this was “the first USG town hall [that finished] with a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment.” Despite the tone of frustration in the room, Stratis and USG seemed convinced of their ability to address the issues presented.
Opinions
Opinions Editors Jordan Meltzer - jmeltzer3@fordham.edu Owen Roche - oroche2@fordham.edu December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
THE
STAFF EDITORIAL
FORDHAM, RISE ABOVE DEVOS
O
n Nov. 16, United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed new rules that would roll back fundamental Title IX protections for rape and sexual assault victims. The proposed regulations would reduce what counts as sexual harassment to an act “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access” to education. This proposal lies in stark contrast to the existing definitions and protections of Title IX as it serves to reduce sexual misconduct liability for schools. It paints sexual misconduct with a dangerously wide brush, and it leaves more students behind than it claims to uplift. Ms. DeVos, your proposal is not a good fit for Fordham. Your proposition stipulates that the misconduct must occur at a school-sponsored program or activity. This point could make protections for victims of off-campus sexual assault more difficult to implement. Approximately half of Fordham Lincoln Center students are commuters, and by constraining Title IX and sexual misconduct cases to the confines of our school’s campus, you fail to acknowledge that students who attend city-based schools spend a majority of their time off campus. Under your proposal, schools would only be liable in cases where staff members of an institution receiv-
ing federal aid had “actual knowledge” of the misconduct taking place. Students and teachers are “third parties” within this strict interpretation of Title IX, and their misconduct only matters if their institution chooses to recognize it. As for Fordham, the university should have a broader definition of sexual harassment than that of the federal government. While sexual harassment cases are often complex, they cause great trauma on their victims. As students, our school is an integral part of our lives and, therefore, should bear the responsibility of protecting us, regardless of whether any staff members know about the harassment.
Secretary DeVos, your proposal is not a good fit for Fordham. DeVos’s proposed definition for sexual misconduct is a loophole artist’s dream with no room for the nuance that accompanies cases of this nature without fail. A student shouldn’t have to prove that they are traumatized to be validated; support from their university is far better than immediate, upfront skepticism. For members of the university community, Fordham is a second home, not a court
of law. A university blind to subtlety and unreceptive to the complicated situations of its students is home to no one. By the nature of being a private institution that receives federal aid, Fordham has legal leeway with the implementation of these proposed rollbacks in Title IX protections. However, University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., has yet to address Fordham’s plan of action in response to these proposals. Though perhaps such a laissez-faire Title IX proposal would relieve pressure on the university, this is only good for Fordham’s reputation and bottom line. The Fordham community is absent from this equation; a “third party” that deserves more support, not less. Colleges and universities across the nation are raising young adults to be productive citizens. As we progress toward revealing the full scope of sexual harassment and assault in America, a roadblock in the name of cold, corporational egalitarianism is not what either the nation or Fordham University needs. Betsy DeVos has presented Fordham with a difficult decision: one that may very well hurt more students than it helps. The university, in turn, must employ a different calculus — one of Jesuit values and compassion — and act with every last student in mind.
OBSERVER Editor-in-Chief Colin Sheeley Managing Editor Izzi Duprey Business Manager Luis Navarro Layout Editor Sabrina Jen Asst. Layout Editors Esmé Bleecker-Adams Steph Lawlor News Editors Carmen Borca-Carrillo Ruby Gara Opinions Editors Jordan Meltzer Owen Roche Arts & Culture Editors Courtney Brogle Marielle Sarmiento Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Kevin Christopher Robles Features Editors Lindsay Jorgensen Jeffrey Umbrell Asst. Features Editor Gianna Smeraglia Sports & Health Editor Luke Osborn Social Media Editor Madison Leto Photo Editors Andrew Beecher Lena Rose Copy Editors Lulu Schmieta Sami Umani Visual Advisor Molly Bedford Editorial Advisor Anthony Hazell Comma Coordinators Tatiana Gallardo Cat Reynolds Alexandra Richardson Abby Wheat
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR There were some good points made in Samantha Vogel’s article (“Contraception: Fordham’s Public Health Problem,” Nov. 15th) about the positive benefits that would arise from offering contraception at Fordham. However, I was puzzled by her claim that “Whether a woman faces abortion or premature and unwilling motherhood, either option will scar a young woman’s life.” We should always remember that any woman who has an abor-
tion is as much of a victim as her baby, and we also have to remember that any unplanned pregnancy can impose a burden on the woman. However, that burden is lifted when the baby is born, and the woman can console herself with the knowledge that she allowed the baby to continue living. But if the woman decides to abort her baby, she will always have to cope with the knowledge that her unfortunate
decision resulted in the loss of her baby’s life. We should always support women who have been subjected to sexism, and we should always commend feminists for speaking up for rape survivors and victims of domestic abuse. But the only time that it is better to have an abortion is when the woman’s life is endangered by the pregnancy. - John Francis Fox, College at Lincoln Center ’83
Photo Feature “Finals Have Me Like...” CELIA PATTERSON/THE OBSERVER
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES • Letters to the Editor should be typed and sent to The Observer, Fordham University, 140 West 62nd Street, Room G32, New York, NY 10023, or e-mailed to fordhamobserver@gmail.com. Length should not exceed 200 words. All letters must be signed and include contact information, official titles, and year of graduation (if applicable) for verification. • If submitters fail to include this information, the editorial board will do so at its own discretion. • The Observer has the right to withhold any submissions from publication and will not consider more than two letters from the same individual on one topic. The Observer reserves the right to edit all letters and submissions for content, clarity and length. • Opinions articles and commentaries represent the view of their authors. These articles are in no way the views held by the editorial board of The Observer or Fordham University. • The Editorial is the opinion held by a majority of The Observer’s editorial board. The Editorial does not reflect the views held by Fordham University.
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Opinions
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There Is More Than Enough Citizenship to Go Around available to as wide a population as possible. Investing in education is investing in the future of the nation, and ensuring that education is accessible to each new generation of innovators ultimately benefits the whole society. Considering that funding for education made up less than two percent of federal spending in fiscal year 2018, officials could certainly see fit to make it a larger priority than they currently do and should aim to make it available to more people, not less.
ESME BLEECKER-ADAMS Asst. Layout Editor
Recently, President Trump voiced his intention to do away with birthright citizenship (which is, in short, the granting of U.S. citizenship to anyone born in this country, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status). Although the promised executive order is yet to be carried out, Americans have been forced to confront logistical questions such as those concerning the powers of the executive branch and the wording of the 14th Amendment. However, the issue also raises more abstract questions about what citizenship means to each of us. Labels like “American” are whatever we make of them. There is no correct definition of an American, and no finite amount of “American-ness” allocated amongst those who partake in the identity. The more expansive and inclusive the label, the more meaningful it is because everyone adds something of their personal experience to the term. Citizenship is more complicated than the abstract American identification because it is attached to tangible benefits granted to all citizens. Still, there is no finite amount of citizenship, and no reason to believe that some people born in this country are less deserving of its citizenship than others. This is a problematic notion, particularly when used to target certain groups with rhetoric that is subtly (or not-sosubtly) racist. Trump’s proposition is aimed
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ESME BLEECKER-ADAMS
As an American citizen, I am grateful and proud to share the benefits of citizenship with anyone who calls this country home.
The countries that grant birthright citizenship.
primarily at children born to undocumented immigrants after their arrival in the United States. His ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, has expressed support for the curtailing of citizenship, saying that “This policy is a magnet for illegal immigration.” Trump himself calls for an end to birthright citizenship in conjunction with securing the border, indicating his targeted hostility to birthright citizens whose ancestry originates from below the southern border. With or without legal documentation, immigrants, by and large, have come to make a home and a life here for themselves and their children. As
they currently stand, undocumented immigrants’ options for a path to citizenship are very limited, and they would likely remain the same for their children if birthright citizenship were revoked. As an American citizen, I am grateful and proud to share the benefits of citizenship with anyone who calls this country home. If we look at some examples of these individual benefits, there are good reasons why our government should be not only willing but also eager to grant citizenship as widely as possible. For one, citizens are able to vote and are eligible for federal jobs and elected offices. This
country likes to pride itself on a government which derives its power from the people. Activists and officials alike claim to support civic participation and work to maximize turnout. Eliminating birthright citizenship would shrink the pool of eligible voters a few years down the line (when the newest generation reaches voting age). Everyone living here is affected by the decisions made by the government, so why should everyone not have a voice in that representation? Citizens are also able to apply for many scholarships and government grants for education. These are resources that our leaders should want to make
It is also worth noting that citizens are given priority and increased options in petitioning for immigrant visas for relatives to gain entry to the United States, which encourages legal immigration. These are among the practical reasons not to limit citizenship, but it is also important to consider the symbolic message that such an action would send. America is a nation of immigrants. We the people should celebrate our diverse heritage rather than stifle it; there is nothing more truly patriotic than pride in American diversity, and yes, there is more than enough citizenship to go around.
Free Speech Belongs on College Campuses who isn’t a fan of Coulter at all, I disagree with the how McShane framed his argument against her speaking at Rose Hill. In many cases, her rhetoric is unproductive indeed. However, the structure of his argument is similar to that of someone who would want a speaking event shut down for the sake of disagreement on politics.
BRANDON SAPIENZA Staff Writer
As Americans, we are lucky to live in a country where we are able to freely speak our minds and let our voices be heard. These same rights extend to the thousands of colleges and universities across the nation. The unfortunate reality is that people take advantage of it and use their rights as Americans to spew hatred and evil, speaking in favor of evil as Richard Spencer did when he visited Michigan State University in March of this year. This sadistic dialogue of blatant racism and violence gets misconstrued with that of regular political dialogue simply because people are led to believe that these hateful views are a political platform. Now that the two are meshed together without any merit, the United States has reached a breaking point on the free speech issue on college campuses. Often at universities, members of college communities push to censor many ideas even if they do not resemble radical hatred. They sometimes even restrict simple political dialogue and confrontation of issues. In March, a Washington Post article found that 37 percent of college students found it acceptable to shut down events of speakers that visit campuses if they subjectively find what they are saying offensive or if they blatantly disagree with what the speaker has to say. On top of that, 10 percent found it was within limits to use violence to prevent
It is possible to sit in a room with someone you disagree with and discuss what the issues are and then walk out of that room as friends.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION VIA PIXABAY
Free speech: a prerequisite for all college discussion.
speakers. Ann Coulter was supposed to appear at a College Republicans event at Fordham in 2012 before her invitation was rescinded due to the backlash created in part due to Coulter’s past statements
regarding her views. University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., put out a statement shortly after the rescinded invitation, saying, “Her rhetoric is often hateful and needlessly provocative.” Now, as someone
More prominent amongst millennials nationwide is Ben Shapiro. For years Shapiro has been touring college campuses across the nation, and at many of his lecture stops he has been called every -ist and -ism in the book. This is all despite the fact Shapiro always prioritizes speaking with those who disagree with him and has been the number one target of the alt-right because of his Orthodox Jewish faith as noted by the Anti-Defamation League. Previously, he visited UC Berkeley in 2017, and a riot squad gathered outside of the auditorium in which he was speaking. In response to those protesting him outside with the chants “No KKK, no racist USA,” Shapiro said, “I think it’s anyone perceived as a conservative by Antifa and radical
left groups like that is immediately called a Nazi and a fascist.” To combat this issue of barring different political speakers on campus, I would urge everyone to engage in respectful dialogues about the issues that are plaguing the United States. I recently had a great discussion with fellow staff writer Gabriel Samandi on “Retrospect,” The Observer podcast, and it was a refreshing dialogue because of its rarity. It is possible to sit in a room with someone you disagree with and discuss what the issues are and then walk out of that room as friends. Politics have divided us because of the people who represent the ideologies. But if you take a look at the real people, not in Washington, but living a daily life like everyone else, you’ll find the compassion within them and how they see the world. Like myself, you might even make a friend out of disagreeing. This is how America was founded after all. Free speech is a dicey issue; it can offend people, but multiple Supreme Court rulings have stated it is an American hallmark and our right. But schools that bring in conservative speakers are chastised and singled out for encouraging hate speech. In reality, this “hate speech” is that at all. People are too afraid of other ideas that might be different from their own. The very reason our families send us through college is to receive a well-rounded education that opens us up to new ideas to prepare us for the real world. If we don’t have a free exchange of ideas within our classrooms and auditoriums, there is no purpose in paying tens of thousands of dollars to be here.
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December 6 , 2018 THE OBSERVER
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Suffering from FOMO? Here’s What You Should Really Fear GABRIEL SAMANDI Staff Writer
It’s a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, and I’m sitting completely alone at Dante Park, just two blocks from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. Normally, I’d be wondering what on earth I was up to. It’s a bright, sunny Saturday for crying out loud. I should be going out to Brooklyn to see an art exhibit or trying new food in Queens. The day is so pretty and the weekend so short; I should be afraid of wasting it, right? When I first toured Fordham as a high school senior, my tour guide told me one of the biggest problems Fordham students faced was FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” Now, as a freshman nearly through my first semester, I understand what she meant. Fordham students, especially those of us at Lincoln Center, overwhelmingly seem to treat campus like a bubble we cannot wait to escape. That feeling extends to everything offered at school; club meetings are hilariously under-attended, people often bolt off campus the second their classes are done for the day and one cannot go two hours without hearing the exasperated phrase, “I really want to go out today.” As someone who felt like high school was suffocatingly boring, I was quickly wrapped up in the culture of city “adventure-seeking” that so many of us subscribe to. I convinced myself that the first year of college was going to be my opportunity to learn about life in a visceral, real way. When I got here and discovered that so many other people my age felt the same way, I felt liberated. This was my chance to live the life I couldn’t in high school, and I was going to seize each and every day. But now, in the sunny yet cold November, I’ve discovered that living in the moment doesn’t always have to mean some grand adventure. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of what this city has to offer. New York is the greatest city in the world, after all. But I have come to the realization that I don’t need to feel guilty for en-
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CARLA DE MIRANDA
Something they may not tell you on college tours: Don’t miss out on yourself.
joying a coffee alone in the park on a Saturday afternoon. Taking a moment to slow down in a city so fast is healthy. Finding isolation on such a crowded island gives the mind space to breathe. And, on a more practical level, using my declining balance dollars on a coffee and walking to a nearby park is a much cheaper way to have fun than trying to find a $10 sandwich in Union Square. Enjoying life doesn’t mean saying yes to every event you hear about in the city, because the truth is some of them can feel like a total waste of time. Most other college students
in America spend their days without leaving their campus at all, choosing to savor these little moments of peace much more often than the typical Fordham student. It’s probably fair to say that too much thirst for “adventure” can lead to disappointment when things turn out to be less than amazing. In my experience, constantly longing to find that “next memorable moment” has led to each of them becoming less spectacular. I can hardly remember last week’s Friday night, despite my hoping that exploring the city at night with friends would be a great use of my time. I have a feeling that’s because I
woke up Saturday morning pining to go out yet again, wishing to find some new adventure. Being afraid of missing out on all this city has to offer prevents us from appreciating the fun we do have. From a certain point of view, taking up every promise of “a good time” is shallow. Even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment, I’ve found that disappointment has a way of catching up with you. Sometimes, it’s okay just to let yourself be a college student. Whether that means staying in and playing Mario Party on a Sunday night or taking a group of friends to the Ram Cafe for lunch, we should
be content with the simplicity of being a student in college, and not let the complexity of city life take that over. A lot of people had it figured out before I did that a fear of missing out on the city causes you to miss out on yourself. College is a period of rapid growth and change for all of us, and sometimes that means taking a day for self-reflection and appreciation of the world around you. Taking things slowly doesn’t have to mean you’re missing out. In fact, I’ve found that a nice, refreshing day in the chilly fall air is a great way to relax the mind (and the wallet).
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Opinions
9
Victoria’s Secret, It’s Time to Make a Change Letter from an undergrad SAMAMTHA VOGEL Contributing Writer
Dear Monica Mitro, Ed Razek and Victoria’s Secret, “We market who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world.” When I read this in your interview with Vogue Magazine regarding the topic of transgender and plus-size models walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, I was taken aback. You rationalized your grossly inflammatory statement by labeling your show a “fantasy” that reflects the brand, and how the brand — and your viewers — are not interested in the show changing to reflect society’s standards. Well, Ms. Mitro and Mr. Razek, I respectfully disagree with your claims. Though I never had cable and never watched the show, I have seen videos that parade what you consider to be the world’s most beautiful women in the most beautiful lingerie. I have never experienced skinny shaming, which you both boast of your models experiencing; however, I have experienced, and still do experience, self-directed body shaming, and most girls have too. It’s not the fault of the models for being skinny, it’s the fault of the brand for not increasing model diversity. When I was in the eighth grade, Ms. Mitro and Mr. Razek, it was the fascination with your models that caused me to develop an eating disorder. I and many other girls saw your models and we heard our peers — who we thought were models in their own right — talk of how they were hideous, how they were nothing, how they needed to “diet” and how they wished they could be that perfect. “Perfect.” I hate that word. That word which I so often associated with your beautiful models and so seldom associated with my fellow female peers. As I saw each girl I knew look at herself and destroy her body image, I began to look at myself asking, “If they are not perfect or beautiful, then, God, what must I be?” As I looked around at all the
CELIA PATTERSON/THE OBSERVER
The secret’s out: Victoria’s out of touch with women and girls around the world.
women my age calling themselves “fat” and “hideous,” I began to look at myself in that same light. When I first started losing weight, it wasn’t a bad thing. I could have stood to lose a few pounds. I soon took the weight loss, however, to the level of an obsession. If I ate anything, I had to work out. It didn’t help that, the more weight I lost, the thinner I became, the more “perfect” my body was in the eyes of my peers. I was killing myself for a perfection with which I and all other teenage girls were bombarded — in the media, in department stores, online, everywhere — but especially within the Victoria’s Secret brand. So, even with my eating disorder behind me, when I read your statement, I instantly thought of all the women I know who wish
they were your models but know they never can be because they don’t fit your image of perfection. I understand you have a brand and a business to uphold, Ms. Mitro and Mr. Razek. However, I do
I ask you to reconsider your branding. I ask you to think of the “power” of which you boast, the influence you know you have and how your brand is affecting the minds of young women. I am
I ask you to think of the “power” of which you boast, the influence you know you have and how your brand is affecting the minds of young women. I am asking, Ms. Mitro and Mr. Razek, for you to think of your audience. not think you understand that in upholding your brand of skinny and toned, five-feet-nine-inch and above models, you have a profound effect on young women’s mental health.
asking, Ms. Mitro and Mr. Razek, for you to think of your audience. As you refrain from changing your branding to include all women, your audience is decreasing. Your sales are declining. You
will not remain number one if you do not decide to change your “fantasy.” In fact, you are no longer poised to be number one. According to an article in Forbes in February 2018, “Aerie is ‘the leading intimates brand in the marketplace’ with their sales up 23 percent through the first three quarters of 2017.” While the L Brands stock “is down 40 percent for the [2018] year.” If you think you can still remain on top in this industry and not alter your designs and shows, then you are truly living in a fantasy. Your audience is not only the models who market your clothing. Your audience is not just the “perfect” girl. Your audience is women — all women — and you ought to reflect what all women look like.
Bananas Are the Devil’s Fruit GRACE GETMAN Staff Writer
Amidst all the drama in Washington and around the world, we have lost sight of the real menace plaguing society: bananas. Beloved by PTA moms and monkeys everywhere, the seemingly humble banana hides great evil in its fibrous and overly stringy depths. It may have thick skin, but that outer shell shields the world from viewing its dire downfalls. These downfalls come in bunches, but the main ones are how hard it is to eat them, their taste and smell. The whole point of eating food is that you shouldn’t have to struggle in order to do it. Yet if you take a look at the dining hall in the mornings, you will see multiple students hunching over bananas, trying to peel them like raccoons clawing into garbage cans. Once you manage to break the peel open (losing several nails in the process), the problem becomes what you can do next. By the time you finish opening the peel, your dining companion has finished eating, the dining hall staff are
SYDNEY EBBELER/THE OBSERVER
Paging Gwen Stefani.
looking at you to leave and you’ve already shaken Father McShane’s hand and received your diploma. These trials and tribulations to eat bananas just aren’t worth it.
A good fruit is like a final verdict from a judge: lacking a-peel. Moving on to taste, there’s a whole host of other problems. Bananas taste like mushy styrofoam
that’s been left outside too long. It’s the taste equivalent of doing your tax returns. And while all of that is happening on your tongue, you have to duck and bob the
weird brown bits, avoid that one black bit at the end and pray the whole structure doesn’t crumble into pieces around your face. Once you peel a banana, there’s no escaping the smell. If you don’t eat it immediately, everything else you own will smell and taste like bananas as well. Big Apple, meet Big Banana. And what a smell that is. Bananas have this nauseatingly saccharine scent akin to grungy 1950s diners and that one waitress who chews gum while she takes your order. Tragically, some students at Fordham University have gone bananas and raved about the fruit. The Instagram account “The Fordham Banana” regularly spits out banana propaganda. They feature students with the bedeviled fruit, posing with bananas and acting as if they are having the best time in the world. But don’t worry — I know the truth. If we continue to allow bananas on campus, Fordham will descend into chaos. This can go on no longer. Someone has to take a stand. Someone has to stop monkeying around. Someone has to peel away from the crowd. So let’s make like a banana and split from the Big Fruit agenda.
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December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
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New Title IX Proposals Make It Fair for Everyone LEO BERNABEI Staff Writer
After much anticipation, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on Nov. 16 sweeping proposals that would overhaul the way colleges and universities across the country handle cases of sexual misconduct. If implemented, these changes would reinstate basic due process and fairness within Title IX investigations. Perhaps the most important change gives students accused of sexual misconduct the opportunity to cross-examine their accusers, albeit through video calls out of respect for the trauma that assault survivors can face. Cross-examination is so fundamental to legal proceedings that it is astounding certain universities have expelled students without permitting the accused to question their accuser or any witnesses. The Supreme Court has called cross-examination the “greatest legal engine ever invented for discovery of the truth.” In criminal trials, courts allow all defendants, no matter how egregious the accusation, to cross-examine their accuser in court. Additionally, the rules protect the First Amendment by tightening the definition of sexual misconduct, using direct language from the Supreme Court. As award-winning journalist Robby Soave stated, “Under the previous system, administrators were obliged to investigate any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, which is a fairly wide swath of behavior. Some officials even interpreted this to include mundane speech that happened to involve gender or sex.” Likewise, the proposals give universities the option to resolve their cases using either the standard of “the preponderance of evidence” or “clear and convincing evidence.” Previously, schools were forced to use the former, which meant they only needed to prove that there was a 51 percent likelihood an alleged incident took place. The latter mandates
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ESME BLEECKER-ADAMS
Betsy DeVos’s proposal stands in stark contrast to the existing Title IX policy.
that the evidence is substantially more likely to be true than not. By utilizing the higher standard of “clear and convincing evidence,” DeVos rightfully raises the burden of proof in order to make investigations more closely resemble a true criminal trial. For far too long, college kangaroo courts have gone virtually unchecked in labeling an accused student as guilty until proven innocent. Fordham University hosts a one-sided process for investigating sexual misconduct allegations. Fordham uses an extremely broad definition of sexual harassment, which includes behavior as nonchalant as sexually explicit jokes. It also does not allow cross-examination and has long employed the standard of “the preponderance of evidence.” Extremely unsettling, the answer to “Do I have to prove that I have been the victim of sexual assault, sexual violence, stalking, or domestic or dating violence?” in Fordham’s Sexual Misconduct FAQ is “No.”
Instead, the burden is placed on the Department of Public Safety. Not only does this process run antithetical to criminal trials, but even in civil cases resolved on the basis of “the preponderance of
For far too long, college kangaroo courts have gone virtually unchecked in labeling an accused student as guilty until proven innocent. evidence,” the burden of proof is always placed on the plaintiff. Now, you might wonder how frequently sexual assault and rape are falsely reported. The truth is that we don’t know. Frequently-cited studies place the rate of false reporting between 2 and 10
percent, but this doesn’t mean that 98 percent, or even 90 percent, are true. This number does not include cases where a court could not establish innocence or guilt. Most cases lie in a state of limbo where a jury has no idea what happened, especially in a “we had sex, but it was consensual” scenario. The prevalence of sexual assaults on college campuses is not settled science, either. Democrats as high in rank as former President Barack Obama often cite the “one in five women are sexually assaulted in college” figure, although the study that resulted in this alarming number was conducted as an anonymous survey that polled women at only two U.S. colleges. Aside from the survey not being representative of all U.S. college students, participants were asked ambiguous questions about events that may not even constitute sexual assault. For instance, it asked women
about non-consensual events they “think (but are not certain) happened.” Despite inquiring of scenarios that constitute sexual assault, questions like this can make participants second-guess their own recollections of blurry events, such as a night that they were intoxicated. Information from the Bureau of Justice Statistics paints a different picture of sexual assault at colleges. According to their nationwide data collected between 1995 and 2013, the rate of sexual victimization is 6.1 per 1000 students. This data also takes into account cases not reported to the police, which is significant considering 80 percent of students do not report their assaults to those authorities. Despite these statistics, court reversals and even criticism from liberal icon Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the reaction from certain groups over this change has been astonishing. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group ostensibly dedicated to upholding rights of the accused, tweeted this about the proposals after their release: “It promotes an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused and letting schools ignore their responsibility under Title IX to respond promptly and fairly to complaints of sexual violence.” “Inappropriately favoring the accused” is the jargon of judges who incarcerate people for possession of a gram of marijuana. Despite the ACLU’s claim, it is not mutually exclusive to defend due process and support survivors. Accusers will still be able to make their voices heard, ensure their safety during the investigation and even appeal the university’s decision (which is not offered in a criminal court). It is hard to underestimate how important this regulatory change is. One sexual assault is too many; one rape is too many; one innocent person convicted is too many. These proposals are an excellent first step in returning normalcy and standard investigative procedures to college campuses.
What Not to Say During the Holidays NISHITA NAGA
Staff Writer
This November, I found myself correcting almost anyone who asked me about my holiday. “Oh, I don’t think I’m going home this year,” I would say. As soon as the words left my mouth, many faces fell, as though they immediately conjured up a sad image of a table full of food with only one seat occupied. Regardless of the reason someone chooses to stay on campus for a holiday, the response that no one feels like tolerating without context is anything along the lines of “That’s sad.” The automatic assumption that an unhappy feeling is associated with not spending holidays at home can prove detrimental to one’s ability to make a healthy decision. The stigma associated with not spending the holidays at home creates pressure to go home to see family, even if a family environment only induces stress and anxiety. The holidays are meant to be spent with people that are meaningful to you. For many, that may mean devoting time to family. But it may also mean spending time with others you
ZOEY LIU/THE OBSERVER
Students who spend holidays on campus have good reasons for doing so.
appreciate in an equal capacity, or taking the time for yourself. Each is perfectly okay. Spending holidays alone does not make you a scrooge, nor
does it mean you are shunning your own family. Take your time off to do whatever makes you feel best. That might be cooking dinner
for yourself and a few other people, exploring your town or city with your friends, reading a book, setting up holiday decorations or plenty of other
possibilities. You might even find yourself celebrating the holiday with relatives of someone close to you. In not going home for this past holiday, I found myself more reflective on what going home may truly mean for my state of mind. Aside from why I chose not to spend my time off in the house I grew up in, taking time away from the environment allowed me to reflect upon the impact it had on my growth and process the emotions that may accompany my inevitable December return. Despite the questions I encountered when stating my plans, I daresay that I gained something as beneficial as a full stomach in the experience. When someone you know is not celebrating the time with their relatives, the go-to response should not be, “I’m sorry.” The fact itself does not warrant a piteous reaction, and two words or even just a sigh only emphasizes the confusion and guilt that comes with self-induced independence. There is a strength in doing what it takes to truly enjoy this time of year, and as long as you leave the season feeling better than when you entered it, your holidays were a success.
the comma
fall 2018
HOME
ERIN KIERNAN
If, for some reason, You were chained to a pole In a land without season, Perpetually cold And if I, shall we say, Lived in New Orleans, Licked beignets all day, Nights peppered by dreams I’d leave my sugared world behind, I’d shred my gown of lace, March the world till you I’d find, And kiss your icy face No, I do not like the cold, Frankly, I abhor it, But if you were there, regardless of where, I bet I could ignore it
At 3 o’clock in Hoboken, children march home from school accompanied by their parents and grandparents. Some kids ramble on excitedly about their days, others cry and or scream for reasons unknown, and some that are old enough walk home alone like little adults. I spotted these twins walking with who seemed to be their grandfather one day.
EMMA SEIWELL
I HID A FLOWER IN A ROMAN FORUM MAIA NUNEZ
I hid a flower in a Roman forum And left it there for someone else to find. To find it alone, Alone, among and amidst the cool vacancy of grass, Stood my Flower. Pluck: it takes courage to extract. Violet, it was Now, is that wrath or tranquility? Passion or melancholy? Would that she could identify The purpose of her hue The story of the ewe, But this is Rome. The She-Wolf, then, Nursing the twins And counting the wins of One, then the other, Up and over ‘Til one fell andOh well. I think we were given two eyes for a reason And yet my Flower has none. Cobblestone streets and nonsensical feats Of humanism, shadows, and shapes Simply cannot hide the fact that we are apes.
MIDDAY COFFEE
What, then, is humanism? Intellectual airs are perfect façades As we meander down the esplanades that were once painted in the blood of a twin. I run in. Pluck: it takes gall to remove. Velvet drapes cannot conceal the tarnished capes of former soldiers that have died.
CARMEN RECIO
LIGHT
MARY ALTER
There’s something funny about time— No matter what happens, sixty seconds is sixty seconds, And yet: Some minutes shine like the sun high in the sky While others fade to blackness gradually; Some are so insignificant that they begin as dark and homogenous as a cloud in a thunderstorm And end as the liquid darkness of the space between stars.
JESSE RUSSELL
My eyes are closed, but the sun stains the back of my eyelids orange. Sometimes all you want is darkness, but the light will not oblige. I remember summer, where days were years and I swore I could fly if I just had a little more practice. I would spend hours jumping from the swings and laughing as gravity embraced me time and time again; But for a moment there I did fly Maybe that’s why I kept doing it Over And over And over again. As daylight wanes And the long summer days lead into the staccato of fall Time, it seems, is now measured in how bare the branches of trees are. “Why do the leaves have to change?” A young girl asks her mother, staring up into the trees, for the first time in her life realizing that their vibrant colors are the mark of death. “That’s just how the world works” The mother replies and frowns. They keep walking. Why do the leaves have to change? The haze of summer Of starlight and warm breezes Could last forever In a loop of time Minute by minute Each one of them significant Each one of them a memory bright for eternity. But too soon the nights turn too cold to enjoy And the leaves die a triumphant death But fall to the ground and decay like the rest of us anyways And fall turns to winter. Snow softens the death of the world But even snow turns to darkness As the constant march of human lives Poisons it where it falls.
YINING KANG
JESSE RUSSELL
Winter was once a time of excitement Of freedom. That’s what amuses me the most about it all! The forecast of snow would be in my mind as I fell asleep And the smell of it would be in my nose And butterflies would eat away at my stomach When I first came into consciousness the next morning As I waited the agonizing moments before finding out Whether the world had been blanketed in its blank canvas Or not. Those brightest days were really the darkest days But somebody put a light on. I guess that lightbulb went out And nobody’s bothered to change it. Light doesn’t reach my mind anymore As the days grow darker, too. I wish I could draw on the conclusion That spring always follows winter And life emerges from the depths of darkened places And the ice that forms there will always have to thaw But the uncertainty of tomorrow intercedes All I can manage to do Is live sixty second to sixty second And hope along the way The right sequence of time Will unlock the memories I should have never repressed. Every time I close my eyes— There is darkness. I just have to trust that when I open them again— The light will return.
THE LORD IS MY SHEPARD
ERIN KIERNAN I sit on this stump, yes I sit and I pray, And I wonder how God will address me today Because, God, He is clever, He likes to surprise, Which is easy to do ‘cause I ain’t got no eyes! “LADY!” I hear and I turn to my right, But it ain’t make no difference ‘cause I ain’t got no sight. “Why yes, LORD,” I say, “I am willin’ to serve.” He says, “Ya speak without bowin’. What gives ya the nerve?” “Sweet LORD,” I reply, and my voice starts to quiver, And honest apology I start to deliver, But the LORD cuts me off and tells me to walk, And on foot I set off through acres of chalk. The LORD goes behind me but sits on a horse, And my body does shake with such violent remorse For disrespectin’ my God of five or so years, And I’d cry if I could but I ain’t produce tears! We get to the river and I rest for a while. “How far we gone?” He says, “Oh, ‘bout five mile.” I ask my sweet LORD what He wants me to do. He says, “Help me wash off. I am COVERED in goo.” I bathe my sweet LORD like He bathed in the Jordan, At least that’s what it says in the Holy Recordin’, The one from which God reads to me daily. He says, “I’m the protag’nist, and thus ya must hail me.” Now, I may be blind but I sure ain’t no dummy, And I say, “Look here, my LORD, now here’s something funny. The Book says the LORD was born without sin, So how can ya explain how damn nasty ya been?” The LORD gets real quiet and walks up to my ear “Don’t ya EVER question again, ya hear?” Your recent behavior’s been awful untoward. For Christ’s sake remember that I am the LORD.” I shrink under my LORD and I know He is right. “O GOD OF TRUTH! O LORD OF MIGHT! Forgive me, my LORD! Forgive me! Forgive me! You are the Way, and I cannot see.”
ENLIGHTEN
TIFFANY CHEN
UNTITLED MEMORIES ZANE AUSTILL
Untitled #1 There is only one night I can’t forget, mostly. We were in your bed I think, or maybe we were in that gas station/Mexican Restaurant by the highway, the one with the server who says sweetcakes when she brings out food. And you said to me it’s funny how we won’t remember nights like this. Right now this means so much, but soon it’ll just be another night. And I said that you were wrong, that of course I would remember because you were the best thing that ever happened to me. I meant that, then. Untitled #2 You didn’t know what to title the project. You said you were bad at titles. I said no way jose, having never seen any of your titles. The project: a painting, you as a fifth grader, a bit translucent, imposed over massive depictions of slides, monkey bars, etc. You said it’s about memory. About how when something is far enough in the past we think about it in a sort of distant 3rd person, whereas if I think about putting peanut butter on my sandwich for lunch I probably imagine it through my eyes. You said you went back to your elementary school and the slides, monkey bars, etc. etc. were not as large as you had remembered them. Wasn’t that funny, you said. I didn’t know what to title the piece. I don’t remember what you decided to call it. Untitled #3 My Uncle likes to tell this story at family gatherings: I’m a toddler and he’s watching over me in the playroom. He says I can get one toy out of the box, but every time I go to the toy box I grab a shitload of toys and toss them around the room. And each time he puts them back I’ve grabbed more and more toys out of the box. I don’t recall this memory. I don’t think it really sounds like me. But whether it happened or not, I have the clearest picture of it in my mind because he’s told it so many times. I can almost feel it, the rough carpet turning my young knees red, the smell of his return from a smoke. Untitled #4 You called me one night so drunk that I heard you throw up on the other end of the line. You were in your roommate’s bed. You told me you fucked up, that you still loved me. I said I did too because I knew you wouldn’t remember anything in the morning. You called me the next day. Asked me to tell you what you said the night before. I did not tell you that you said you still loved me. I told you I heard you throw up. And we laughed. And I asked how you were doing. And you said you were doing okay. Untitled #5 You asked me if I remembered the day we walked through the abandoned church. It was such a wonderful day, you said. You said that you made me go through every door first and you wanted to take the silverware we found as a memento, the forks with little flowers etched in the handles, but didn’t want to get haunted. And did I remember how gross the couch we dry humped on was. And didn’t we hear something while we were dry humping. And wasn’t that maybe the best day we had together. When you told me this I imagined it like I was watching a movie. I told you I thought we were haunted anyway because of the whole couch dry humping situation which by the way I was taking the brunt of the grossness of. You laughed. I appreciated that even if you didn’t mean it. I told you I thought it was a school though. No, you said, it was a church. Okay, I said, and I wished you told me more stories about us, because I didn’t think that was the best day we had together, but I liked the idea that in your world, it was. And for a moment, that world, your world, was mine too, and it felt good to share something together again, but you asked me how I was doing, and I said I was doing okay.
YINING KANG
SAYING NAMES BEA MENDOZA
The first time he said my name, it felt like the air the wind carries. Like how your mother says “maybe” at the toy store, and Crossing your fingers at a pinky swear, and Texting “be there in five” from an hour away, and Smiling with no teeth, and How you shake, falter, hesitate, and they say “I know you don’t want to, But you should.”
LINUS JIA
When he said my name, it felt like shivering in the winter, and hearing him mutter “I told you so,” from inside His featherdown comfort, and You laugh because he’s right, but You didn’t think he’d hold it against you, and it’s like You think it’s the right train but it isn’t, and You think it’s chocolate but it’s raisin, and You think it’s enough but it isn’t. The last time he said my name, it was like He didn’t know how. Like a child holding a baby, and Both are squirming, and The cameras keep flashing, and Everyone’s close to crying. The first time she said my name, it felt like coming home. Like when it’s late at night, and your feet are heavy, and The sidewalks glow from open windows, and The buildings are silhouettes, and The relief of recognition pulls your whole body to the front door, and Your lungs are cleansed by the cool air of the foyer, and Everything is familiar, whispering: “here, There are no surprises. Here, You are allowed to be wrong. Here, You are allowed to be tired. Here, You are allowed to be, whatever you have to be, Even If That’s Nothing At All.”
JASON KESSE
When she said my name, it felt like No truer words had ever been said, like Language was invented by her, like Diction was perfected by her, like Sense was made by her, and like Mornings with bright eyes and black coffee, and Sunlight pouring through the window, the day spilling with potential, and Saying her name as if it’s The only sound I’ll ever have to make, and Hearing her say my name as if There will be no last time.
ISABEL LEDEZMA
SOME SHADE DARKER, excerpt
MARY ALTER The blackness in front of her gradually turned to grey. It was so subtle she didn’t notice it at first, but it was undeniable. As she pushed forward more, the darkness seemed to pull her back. Black thoughts pooled in her mind, and she began to sputter for breath and drown in them. Every fiber in her body was telling her to turn back, return to the comforting darkness she was accustomed to. But she couldn’t shake the picture of the lightning blotting out the darkness, and that thought rang out louder than all of the others. She stepped into the greyness in front of her, and the light blinded her. Everywhere, now, there is light. Malia is on the top of a bluff, and two hundred feet straight down below is the ocean. The grass is the brightest green, the ocean the deepest blue. She looks to her left, and there’s the soft pink glow of the rising sun in front of her. She never had a word for these things or these colors before, but the knowledge of the light fills her brain and is undeniably true. The vibrancy all around her colors her insides and bubbles her heart and suddenly she is laughing and the sound is bright yellow, and her thoughts are a happy orange, and her smile is a melancholy purple. She turns around, to take a look back at the darkness she came from, but all that meets her is more light from all sides, and suddenly she can’t quite remember where she was before. All that exists is the blinding light overtaking her, caressing her, encompassing her thoughts, and so she walks towards the rising sun.
COCOON
CARMEN RECIO
THE BEDROOM
CARMEN RECIO
ADRIANE KONG
THE SETTING SUN BEHIND THE STAINED GLASS, excerpt ANN PEKATA
Everything Louis was not, Elizabeth was. Louis was proud, immature, and a true gentleman of the court. Elizabeth was humble, confident, and an honest person who represented herself as she was. For Marie, there could be no comparison. Two different people, two different lives laid down on two different paths in front of her. The memories of Marie’s life with Elizabeth flashed through her mind as she repeated the words the priest taught her. Laughing in the fountain during a hot summer’s day, making themselves look like fools but with no one but each other to see. Riding through the forest, wind whipping Marie’s hair out of its ties and into her face. Stolen moments in the hallway. Shared glances when court was in session. Walks among in the garden at night, lit only by the moon and the candles they held. Each sentence, a new memory fading away. “Through sickness…” the priest’s voice droned on, his monotonous tone once a joke that Marie and Elizabeth had shared after sitting through too many of these ceremonies. “I love you,” Elizabeth whispered in Marie’s ear. “But if you do this, you will never see me again. It will destroy us both.” Marie drew in a breath. As she did, her eyes were drawn of their own accord to Elizabeth. Marie had told herself not to look, but in this final moment, Marie found there was no way she could not. The love, the pain, the anguish, and the hope all mirroring on Elizabeth’s face were what Marie felt in her own soul. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and in that moment, Marie felt her heart shatter. Understanding crossed Elizabeth’s face, understanding that perhaps there was something that could stand in the way of love, something that neither of them could control. Marie could not leave; the strength in her life came from Elizabeth, Marie had none of her own. She never had. In this moment, the two regarded each other with the brutal honesty that both had needed before but never had. Shaking her head slightly, Elizabeth turned and walked away, each of her footsteps a harsh twist of the knife. Tears began to form again, and this time, Marie could not force them back. As she turned back to the priest, her gaze fell over his shoulder and watched the last of the sun’s light disappear behind edge of the world. “I do.”
the comma JUNE 2018. IDAHO.
THE COMMA FALL 2018 COVER ART
LINUS JIA (FRONT) EMMA SEIWELL (BACK)
EDITOR IN CHIEF TATIANA GALLARDO
MANAGING EDITOR CAT REYNOLDS
(WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND WILL MISS YOU GREATLY!)
SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL EDITOR ALI RICHARDSON
FINANCIAL & EVENTS COORDINATOR
ROWBOAT REMINISCING PT. 1
ABBY WHEAT
EDITORIAL BOARD MARY ALTER LUCIA BAILEY ANN PEKATA BESSIE RUBINSTEIN
LAYOUT EDITORS ABBY WHEAT RYLIE SOLLARS
FACULTY ADVISOR ELIZABETH STONE
MEMBERS
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR BEAUTIFUL TEAM WHO MADE THIS SEMESTER SUCH A SUCCESS
ROWBOAT REMINISCING PT. 2
fall 2018 JULY 2017. PENNSYLVANIA.
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture Editors Courtney Brogle - Cbrogle@fordham.edu Marielle Sarmiento - msarmiento3@fordham.edu December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
Review: 'The Prom' Is A Trumpian Footloose
Glitz, glamour and corny musicals are back — and this time equipped with a political message By MICHAEL APPLER Staff Writer
“The Prom” may very well be the musical comedy sensation of this Broadway season — its story of four clueless, Indiana-bound Broadway divas determined to help a small-town lesbian banned from her prom too tempting of a political carrot for a Broadway community starving for witty partisan humor and the warm embrace of an indulgent Broadway musical. Halfway through, I wanted so badly to dislike this Trumpian Footloose. I wasn’t sure that a ridiculous political parody, enlivened by refrains like “don’t be gay in Indiana,” could hit the mark of what’s funny in a political climate where being gay in Indiana isn’t. That its set designer and set design, director and direction, choreographer and choreography, musical coordinator and conductor are all “Mean
milk this cash cow across the community and high school circuits, and lines like “we are liberal Democrats from Broadway and we’re here to pry open your tiny little minds,” might turn the show into a joke of itself. But I couldn’t dislike it. That’s because Caitlin Kinnunen is an effortlessly lovable new Broadway star. As Emma, the soft-spoken, exceptionally courageous heroine, Kinnunen washes away all of these critical concerns. She need only sing — her belt a thing of a musical director’s dreams — to deliver “The Prom’s” audience to the heart of what this musical is about: not blind, pompous fearlessness, but subtle, affecting courage. As director and choreographer, Casey Nicholaw is a scholar of Broadway history through movement. Just as those Broadway divas who arrive in Indiana, led by fictional starlets Barry Glickman (Brooks Ashmanskas) and Dee Dee Allen (Beth Leavel),
The great success of “The Prom,” in all of its glitter and be gay, is a validation that splashy, garish musical comedies, themselves no champion of political correctness, can still be made from scratch. Girls” expats was sure proof “The Prom” fit perfectly into a teenybopper musical cookie-cutter. I was positive its script, perfectly groomed to attract the eye of every high school drama director, too obviously brandished producers’ ambitions, ready to
clueless to the real world, know only an insider’s training of Broadway performance to aid their protest, Ashmanskas and Leavel’s movements on the stage are themselves histories of Broadway. The right turn of a wrist brings Fosse to Indiana. A powerful ensemble number, de-
COURTESY OF DEEN VAN MEER
The cast of “The Prom,” now open at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway, features Wayne Mackins, FCLC ’19.
livered still and stalwart to the audience, whispers Michael Bennet, and a big, blousy show-stopper takes Gower Champion to the prom. Put your arms in the air before a gymnasium podium and Patti Lupone is in the room. As a result, “The Prom,” bound by a stingingly clever book, exceedingly well-writ-
ten for musicals of its kind, is as much a political parody of Broadway as it is a love song to its own form — not subtly arriving on the stage when reminding ourselves of an ever-great history of song and story might serve us well. Maybe the greatest success of “The Prom,” in all of its glitter
and be gay, is a validation that splashy, garish musical comedies, themselves no champion of political correctness, can still be made from scratch. “The Prom,” exceptionally original yet cradled by tradition, is proof that bursting into jazz hands when someone puts you down is still a worthy prescription for joy.
'Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade'— RFK’s Legacy By ELISABETH O’NEILL Staff Writer
As I ascend the steps to my seat, I am met with a set that is loud, political and tells a vivid story well before the show starts. The set design, by James Morgan, is framed with Robert F. Kennedy campaign memorabilia and posters with phrases that are reflective of ones seen
“I sat there listening to the sounds of chaos — gunshots, screams and flashing cameras.” during his 1968 campaign. I went into the show with minimal knowledge of RFK and his political career. What was to come would be 90 minutes of a glimpse inside the head of one of the most famous Democratic politicians in U.S. history. David Arrow portrays Bobby Kennedy in “Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade,” directed by Eric Nightengale. The one-man show is filled with eloquently delivered lines and some of Kennedy’s most famous speeches — Massachusetts accent included. The play starts off with a fast-forward to the night Robert F. Kennedy, otherwise known
COURTESY OF RUSS ROWLAND
David Arrow confidently portrays Bobby Kennedy.
as Bobby, was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on his way to the hotel kitchen just moments after accepting his win in the California primary against Eugene McCarthy. Arrow recites the thoughts spinning through Kennedy’s mind up until the moment he was shot and a young male server, who he previously met, was holding up his wounded body. As a member of the audience, I sat there listening to the sounds of chaos — gunshots, screams and flashing cameras. After this infamous moment in history, we transition to the U.S. Capitol Building: Senate Caucus Room on Mar. 16, 1968, as stated in a projection on the back wall of the stage, to where Bobby Kennedy announces his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. He states, “I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course, and I feel that I’m obliged to do all that I can. I run to seek new policies — policies to end the bloodshed in Vietnam and in our cities, policies to close the gaps that now exist between black and white, between rich and poor, between young and old, in this country and around the rest of the world.” The words Kennedy proclaims ring through my ears. Within the first five minutes of the play, I am already captivated by his words — ones
that are much needed in our world today. Throughout the play, Kennedy continues to provide the audience with insightful stories that happen along his campaign. Some of his speeches are eerily similar to ones we hear today, especially with the most recent midterm elections having just passed. Kennedy,
“You’re placing a great deal of faith in white America. Is this faith justified?” Kennedy answers, “Yes.” along with his late older brother, President John F. Kennedy, brought hope to the lives of Americans, many of whom did not have much hope in the political climate of 1968, and even still today. The play mentions Kennedy’s extensive work with Native Americans and African Americans and the role he played in giving a voice to underserved groups. Even with the hope he tried to instill, the play also touches on the disparities between divided America with Kennedy recounting a question from a rally at Ball State Uni-
versity in Muncie, Ind. A black student from the University asks, “I agree with the programs and proposals you are making. But in order for them to work, you’re placing a great deal of faith in white America. Is this faith justified?” Kennedy answers, “Yes.” Kennedy’s last months alive while campaigning for the presidential election portray his attempt in creating a unified America, something in which we are still struggling with today. What would have happened if a second Kennedy won the presidency? Would Democrats control the Senate? Would there be less of a divide on what defines American values? Would freedom and justice be words used by every human in our nation? These are questions that can regretfully never be answered but used as an inspiration on how we decide to help contribute in shaping of our country’s future. As one critic puts it, “‘Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade’ is a sincere tribute to a Democratic hero of the past, giving us plenty to ponder in choosing the hero of the future.” I say there can always be more than one hero. Though Kennedy was by no means perfect, the play presents us with the portrait of a citizen who has the passion and guts to help make our country just for everyone.
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Arts
December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
WWW.fordhamobserver.com
Hey LC, Welcome to My Crib The dorms of Fordham Lincoln Center: from plants to Polaroids, and everything in between By SAMI UMANI Copy Editor
Did I grab power strips? What about a mattress topper? Is it Twin XL? When you enter Bed, Bath & Beyond the summer before your freshman year, concerns about what to buy typically overpower thoughts about how your environment affects your mental health and wellbeing. HGTV General Manager Allison Page calls interior design “escapism” from the distress we face almost constantly. Interior design is often seen as a luxury, but with home decor becoming more affordable and accessible, anyone can become their own interior designer, channeling their inner version of Nate Berkus or Kelly Wearstler. After spending an entire summer carefully studying the intricacies of HGTV from my couch, I realized that interior design not only reflects the personality of the individual but creates a safe and comforting space much needed for college students. Each resident at Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) is giving the same mundane set of furniture to fill their space, but some students go above and beyond to bring comfort to their little home in the city. Here are some of the little decor details that make FLC students feel at home: 1. Chelsea Ashley, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’21, and her plants and Polaroids “What makes my apartment feel like a home away from home are the small details that make the whole room come together. My suitemate, Alejandra, and I made it our mission to find decor that wouldn’t get us fined but would also make the drab walls of McMahon seem livelier.” This mission included getting as many plants as possible, as well as posters, cards and mini calendar sheets to fill the walls. “My favorite part, though, would have to be our Polaroids we put up of everyone in our suite." 2. Dan Nasta, FCLC ’19, and his full bar and quirky decorations The most important part of Nasta’s room was his full bar: “I have so many quirky decorations, a fluffy rug, and a decent sound system, but the thing I value most is camaraderie among my friends and alcohol is the most important thing that helps us achieve that.” 3. Caitlin Bury and Anna Moneymaker, FCLC ’22 and their California vibes Moneymaker said that it’s their warm lighting and general cleanliness that makes the room feel like home. “We also have air fresheners which make our room ultra cozy,” Moneymaker added. Bury said, “We’ve created a space that has our California vibe, which is where we’re both from, with warm and earth-tone accents and posters and pictures that represent our interests and the things that comfort us.” 4. Casey Gardner, FCLC ’20, and her family pictures and drawings “My room is filled with pictures of my family and I from the time I was a baby until now” and also includes drawings sent from her nieces and nephews while at Fordham. “I also have a portion of my parents’ record collection here. It’s really comforting.” 5. Courtney Brogle, FCLC ’20, and her homemade Gryffindor banner Of course, every Harry Potter fan can relate to repping their respective Hogwarts house. “My best friends back home made it for me as part of a Harry Potter-themed surprise party they threw for me a year ago. Every time I see it, it reminds me that home is your family and friends, not necessarily a set location.”
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THE OBSERVER December 6, 2018
Arts
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The Finals Supper Easy recipes for a dorm Christmas dinner By MATT HARTMAN Contributing Writer
Say you want to be festive this year but you’re stuck in McMahon Hall for another two or three weeks. Say you want to make some grand gesture and gather your friends together and cook a meal for everyone to share. Say you aren’t the most adventurous or bravest of cooks. Say your kitchen is a little old, a little broken. No worries. Christmas dinner doesn’t need to be some fantastic feast for four (with two weeks of leftovers). All you need to celebrate Christmas dinner are a few friends and comfort food, which is exceedingly easy to make. Quintessential to our holiday dining table and many a Christmas movie, roasts have become a staple. Be it ham, rib roast, turkey or chicken, the roast’s only rules are that it be meat, that it is cooked in an oven and that there be a lot of it. But finals make tending to a several hour roast not the most viable way to spend your time. To get around this, go small. Replace that whole chicken for roasted chicken pieces Scale that pork tenderloin down to a sensible ham. Their recipes are very similar: Christmas Roast 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the pork, 420 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken. 2. Season pieces with a healthy amount of kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, rosemary and crushed garlic rubbed onto the outside of the meat. (For the chicken rub some of the same crushed garlic under the skin of each piece.)
ANDREW BEECHER/THE OBSERVER
Easy shortcuts make cooking Christmas dinner in a dorm-sized kitchen a breeze.
3. Cook the pork for one hour or until it reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit in its center, the chicken for about 30 minutes or until each piece registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Though not necessarily a traditional Christmas dish, the other mainstay for me is pasta. So if you’re looking for something a step up from penne and red sauce, try ziti. The dish comes down to just a few key ingredients: pasta, tomatoes, meat (sausage or meatballs are ideal), and topped with cheese, baked together until perfectly crisped and a burnt a little on top.
Baked Ziti 1. Preheat your oven to 350 de grees Fahrenheit. 2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook the ziti (or your pasta of choice) according to the directions. In an oven-safe pot, deep baking tray, bread pan or dutch oven, heat some olive oil. 3. Brown some ground beef (think one-half to two-thirds of a pound of meat per person you’ll be serving) over high heat, and remove it, reduce the heat to
medium and saute onions until translucent then add a few cloves of thinly sliced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds 4. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with a small amount of beef stock, or a very small splash of red wine (only cook with wine good enough to drink.). 5. Add the beef back to the pot and separate until it is loose. 6. Add some crushed tomatoes and mix until thoroughly incor porated. 7. Spread a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
8. Add the pasta into the pot. 9. Add crushed tomato and stir. Add another layer of cheese. 10.Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted and started to crisp up. These recipes are the shorthand versions of two popular dishes. These dishes don’t need to be complex, and even if they seem as such, they can always be simplified. Cooking your own Christmas dinner isn’t a difficult thing to pick up, and it’s easily accomplished in your dorm with a few ingredients you probably already have (or could borrow from your roommate).
Your Christmas Movie Guide (Hot Cocoa Not Included) By KAYLA CHAMPION AND DAEJAH WOOLERY Contributing Writers
to them to save Christmas. The movie is funny and cute, packed with as many Christmas tropes as one movie can hold. There’s even a bit of singing from Kurt Russell to put a cherry on top of a genuinely sweet movie.
Get your hot cocoa and fuzzy socks because it’s Christmas movie season. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are filled with holiday cheer, so we’re sharing some of our favorites with you. Hold on to your Santa hat, grab a plate of Christmas cookies and have a Christmas movie marathon.
“A Christmas Prince” (Netflix)
Daejah’s Winner — “The Princess Switch” (Netflix) “The Princess Switch” stars Vanessa Hudgens and … Vanessa Hudgens in a very “Parent Trap” take on Christmas. Hudgens plays both Stacy DeNovo, a young Chicago baker looking for something new after a painful breakup, and Lady Margaret Delacourt, the duchess of Montenaro and soonto-be princess of Belgravia. Stacy and Margaret meet and (surprise!) they’re completely identical. They swap lives to see how the other half lives and to embrace some much-needed spontaneity. Sparks fly in all the wrong directions but a bit of Christmas magic is always on their side. It’s pretty similar to the “The Lizzie Maguire Movie” but it’s feel-good fun for everyone. Kayla’s Winner — “Love Actually” (Netflix and Hulu) This Christmas classic follows the stories of eight very different couples and the diverse struggles they have with their love lives the month before Christmas. These couples are experiencing every kind of love there is, from puppy to unrequited. “Love Actually” has
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY STEPH LAWLOR
every British actor under the sun, such as Martin Freeman,Emma Thompson, and Keira Knightley, creating a talent-filled movie that everyone can enjoy (at least with the TV version. The Netflix and DVD versions have an added storyline that’s a bit more risque). The hilarious and heart-warming story make this a movie that will continue to be considered a classic for years to come. “The Holiday Calendar” (Netflix) “The Holiday Calendar” takes Christmas magic to a new level when struggling and passionate photographer Abby Sutton, played by Kat Graham, gets an advent calendar that does more than just count down. The calendar reveals a toy every day, then Abby experiences something that perfectly
correlates to the toy and leads her closer to love while she reconnects with Josh Barton, her childhood best friend and fellow photographer. Friendship, love and big dreams drive the narrative of “The Holiday Calendar,” making it a great pick to watch with friends or a significant other. “The Christmas Chronicles” (Netflix) “The Santa Clause” meets “Home Alone” for a 2018 remix on two classics in “The Christmas Chronicles.” The story follows siblings Teddy and Kate on Christmas Eve as Kate hatches a plan to catch Santa on video. With some blackmail to get Teddy on board, Kate begins her search and succeeds … sort of. The siblings inadvertently cause Santa, played by Kurt Russell, to crash his sleigh, so it’s up
If you’re searching for a movie that’s serious, then don’t watch this one. “The Christmas Prince” is adorable and cheesy in all the best ways and cute in that squirmy, scrunched-up toes kind of way. Amber Moore is an American reporter sent to Aldovia to get the dirt on the playboy crown prince but ends up getting more than she bargained for when she is forced to lie to get her story. “The Christmas Prince” is that much-too-perfect love story that should be horrible, yet we can’t get enough of it. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (Hulu) Relive your childhood with this movie perfect for literally every holiday. Jack Skellington is the beloved Pumpkin King of Halloweentown who has slowly become bored with the monotony of it. When he discovers the bright and happy Christmastown, Jack decides to kidnap Santa to have it all for himself. This movie is perfect to watch with your significant other, your family, your best friends or just by yourself. It’s no wonder that it’s still a favorite 25 years later. Not to mention the fact that it is a musical and filled with great songs that you will be humming for weeks.
PHOTOS VIA NETFLIX AND HULU
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December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
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Harry Potter Couture A guide to a Potterhead's winter wardrobe By GILLIAN RUSSO Staff Writer
The wizarding world at Christmastime has always looked like, well, a magical place: starting snowball fights and hearing carolers in Hogsmeade, enjoying a Christmas feast beneath snow in the Great Hall or cozying up in front of the fire in a handknit Molly Weasley jumper. With the recent release of the second “Fantastic Beasts” movie, the Harry Potter spirit is in the air. What might Hogwarts students — or Fordham students looking to show off their house pride — wear this winter?
Slytherin
Slytherin
Hufflepuff
The kind and loyal Hufflepuffs would choose outfits both fun and practical. The bright yellow turtleneck sweater keeps them warm while showing house pride and bringing a little sunshine to a dreary winter day. With the addition of white jeans and Converse sneakers, the simple outfit gives a fun and casual vibe but is also put-together and practical, reflecting Hufflepuff as the house which welcomes all students’ forms of self-expression.
Gryffindor The bold and courageous Gryffindors would be the first to play with striking fashions and unorthodox combinations. This variation on the tried-and-true sweaterand-jeans pairing shows the Gryffindor’s willingness to take risks, and the tie and wide sleeves evoke the school robes from the books and movies. Combat boots top off the look and show that its wearer is always ready for an adventure of epic proportions.
A Gryffindor would employ statement pieces in their house colors, like these bright red track pants and gold top, as a more sporty look perfect for the street or the Quidditch pitch. The leather jacket and combat boots would keep them warm in the winter and show off their daring nature, too.
A Hufflepuff in need of a fancier outfit might turn to something like this still spunky and fun “Clueless”-esque skirt and upscale-looking matching scarf and knee socks, trench coat and small heels. The outfit keeps the season in mind without sacrificing character, which shows the spirited and fun nature of Hufflepuffs.
The cunning and ambitious Slytherins know that to achieve success, you always have to look the part. The addition of a houndstooth blazer over a simple green top and fishnets under green pants gives the outfit the versatility to be worn anywhere from a professional setting to a party. The snakeskin boots top off the outfit as an homage to their house’s symbol. At an internship or an interview, a blazer paired with a greenand-black printed skirt show off the Slytherins’ house colors and their determination to succeed. Tall black boots and patterned leather gloves add a youthful and bold feel to an otherwise traditional office outfit and emphasize a Slytherin’s confidence.
Ravenclaw The wise and creative Ravenclaws know there’s a right way to mix patterns, and they would theorize to figure out exactly how to pull it off. Horizontal and vertical stripes work together in this outfit through a common color of Ravenclaw blue. The button-down shirt doubles as a cardigan for warmth, and together with the boots, it gives the outfit a chic and artsy yet studious vibe. This alternate take on the schoolgirl look emphasizes the intelligence of Ravenclaws. It is stylish enough for everyday outings, yet cozy enough for long nights in the library. The vintage shirt and the modern, on-trend skater skirt reflect Ravenclaws’ creativity and knowledge of both the past and present. The fuzzy blue socks and the shirt, with their display of the house colors and a Hogwarts-like crest, keep the wearer warm even while wearing a skirt.
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Fun & Games
December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
Crossword 47. Hell, to Tom Hanks 51. Raw mineral 52. Reznor of Nine Inch Nails 54. Principle forbidding media regulation 56. Absolutely murders 58. Recipient of a verb: Latin 59. Output 62. US disaster response org. 64. By marriage 65. Invalidate, as with mar riage 66. Perpendicular guitar strip 67. UK party of Theresa May 68. Hoarse 69. With it DOWN
1. Obamacare: Abbr. 2. Enthused 3. Lost city of gold 4. A-Listers Edited by Dan Nasta 5. Inoculated ACROSS 6. “A Quiet Place” giveaways 22. Supermarket giveaway 7. Big cup sizes 1. Residents of 1968 “Planet” 23. Concision 8. Zappy fish 5. Where to find a subject, by the 26. Film spinners 9. Christ-less holiday book 27. B. Wells, NAACP co-founder 10. Clack (away) 10. Moral of the story 28. Malaise 14. Peculiarly popular 11. Reviewed online 30. Boi, a frog on a unicycle 15. Router 12. Spanish rice dish 31. Tights color on a dancer 16. Treat 13. First, among siblings 33. Pregnancy needle test 17. LC’s performance conservatory 19. East Harlem 35. Grade school Hannukah craft neighbor 21. Record of language that 18. Like a hot dog grouped as a sand 41. Wake up savior added “hangry” and “manswich 42. (About to) explode plain” in 2018: Abbr. 20. Holey 44. Mar. follower
Word Scramble Question: Where are Fordham residents going this December, and why? LIHOYDA RENOHAM YOFSTR LACRO FO HET LEBSL YOLHL JLOLY HIRSAMSTC IDE DRHA WAAAZNK RYMRE SMARTSCHI
Answer Edited by Jordan Meltzer
23. Container, as with Altoids 24. Low tier Russian operative, perhaps, in 2016 25. Identical 29. Traveler’s resting place 32. Text message ask to a late friend 34. Glowing Saudi object pho tographed with Trump in 2017 36. Couple of quarts, approxi mately and internationally 37. Sun’s effect 38. German composer and music educator Carl 39. Gel used to soothe exces sive 37 Down 40. Pestilence, War, Famine and Death, for example 43. Director of symmetrical films 44. With all according to plan 45. ASAP 46. Irish complexion after 37 Down, comparatively 48. Starbucks holiday give away 49. Orderly 50. Pick 53. Cold, evidently 55. Jazz and comedy improvi sations 57. Make like an eagle 60. Bio code 61. “Look after the little ’ ”: Mary Poppins’ directive 63. Dined
Features
Features Editors Jeffrey Umbrell - jumbrell@fordham.edu Lindsay Jorgensen - ljorgensen@fordham.edu December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
Dinner with the Dean
Building a stronger university community through student-faculty meals By KEVIN CHRISTOPHER ROBLES Asst. Arts & Culture Editor
“It can be intimidating but my mom’s not going to bite your head off,” Anna Vettori, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’22, said. “She’s a nice lady.” Every Sunday night, Mary Bly, Anna’s mother and acting associate dean of Fordham Lincoln Center, hosts dinner at her home in Morningside Heights. The dinners are not only for the benefit of her family but also for her students. She invites her advisees or, really, anyone interested to come to her apartment, chat with her family and eat a full meal, free of charge. It’s something that Bly has been doing for years. The idea is strange yet oddly alluring, and it certainly holds a romantic appeal, especially for Fordham students who might be having trouble making friends. “I think it’s pretty cool,” Anna said of the dinners. “At first, I was thinking it was something out of the 1950s. Like, a pot roast Sunday dinner? But it didn’t really end up being like that.” Bly’s commitment to these dinners knows no bounds. Anna recalled a stretch of time when the apartment lost access to gas for six months. However, Bly did not let that impede on Sunday dinners. “We still did it with a straw bin and a crock pot,” Anna recalled. Though they began long before University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., created the Task Force on Undergraduate Retention, the dinners have become a model of that task force’s initiatives to improve student retention. The thinking goes that providing students
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COURTESTY OF GABI LEVY
Mary Bly (left) opens her home to her students every Sunday night for food and discussion.
with an avenue to better get to know their professors creates a sense of family and community. The free food, as it turns out, is just a bonus. When I inquired about attending one, Bly informed me that the two then-upcoming Sundays had been booked full, a clear indication of just how popular her gatherings have become. I arrived at Bly’s apartment building on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 18. Zoe, Her niece, answered the door. She led me inside, where Bly and her husband, Alessandro, greeted me, took my coat and offered me a
drink. The home was decorated with warm shades of red covering every wall and pieces of furniture that seemed more appropriate in an Italian villa than a New York City apartment. I was quickly ushered into the living room where I met more of Bly’s family members. We were joined by Anna and Nora, Zoe’s older sister, Gabi, Zoe’s roommate at Barnard College, and finally by Lucy, the family dog. I sat down and was plied with questions about my schoolwork, my major and so forth. Interim Dean of Lincoln Center Frederick Wertz soon arrived, along with two of his advisees, Emma
Kossoy, FCLC ’22, and Gabriella DeJesus, FCLC ’22. Dinner was served soon after. For the appetizer, Bly and her husband served cauliflower soup that was mixed with curry; I was initially unsure about the dish, being the carnivore that I am, but I was quickly proven wrong. The entree that followed was a more traditional assortment of mashed potatoes, carrots and asparagus. Things were topped off with a delicious dessert of rum cake, heated with a blowtorch. Conversation never let up during the meal. One moment we were talking about high
school fencing teams and the next we were discussing the merits of the drinking age in the United States. Anytime that Bly spoke up, though, the topic would somehow inevitably shift back to William Shakespeare (as Bly’s love of the bard famously knows no bounds). The conversation was loose, but it seemed like the ideal version of the debates and discussions that one can have at a dinner table with family members. Before we knew it, three hours had passed. Each person at the table was fascinating in their complexity, the discussion was engrossing and everyone was treated like they were members of a big family. “I like being able to feel like your voice is valued by administrators,” Emma said. “It’s difficult for freshmen that don’t know anyone. You have dinners like this and it’s made very clear that [you are] valued. That’s very attractive in a college.” Anna and Emma were both clear about the dinners’ utility as a way to make Fordham students, or anyone present, more aware of the community around them. Bly’s dinner affords them time off from school and work to inhabit an environment that otherwise would not be available to a college student living in a foreign, scary place like New York City. The coziness and warmth of Bly’s dinner table is a comfort that many students have learned to appreciate, which is exactly why they’ve become so popular. So, did Bly’s dinner succeed in its goal? With a smile on my face and a greater understanding of the lengths by which Fordham professors yearn to connect with their students, I would say yes. It definitely did.
Ailey Dancer Jetes Through the Day By ASHLEY SIMPSON Contributing Writer
The daily grind of an Ailey/ Fordham B.F.A. dance major varies from student to student, but is almost always a constant struggle. Talk to any of us and there’s a high chance you will listen to us gripe about the rehearsal we have to run to after a night class, the jobs we are trying to balance, how sore we are or the choreography we have to remember and think of. Apologies from all of us, but hey, it comes with the profession. The beauty of being a dance major is that we get to choose our classes first in order to meet all of our requirements, but the tricky part is making sure our schedules are both practical and stress-free. As a junior in the program, I am a little better at crafting my schedule to avoid breakdowns in the middle of my day as I run from Ailey to Fordham and back. Here’s what one of my typical days looks like: 7:35 a.m. — I wake up and snooze my alarm (who doesn’t?). I start to get ready for the day by putting pink tights and a leotard on under my regular clothes (and a ton of layers) before grabbing an apple and heading to my 8:30 a.m. academic class — Spanish. 9:45 a.m. — Spanish ends and I take the elevator to go to my next academic of the day — Ethi-
cal Issues in Media, which counts towards my communications minor. 11:15 a.m. — I practically sprint out the door (my apologies to Professor Foley) to get to my 11:30 a.m. ballet class at Ailey on time. I just make it, and grab a spot at the barre so that I can get into dance mode as efficiently as possible. Because it is so cold out, I have a harder time warming up and usually have to take extra care in going through the movements specifically to avoid injuries. 1 p.m. — I have 30 minutes for lunch. Nine times out of 10 I forget to pack one, so I take my undeserving self to the deli right outside of Ailey for a bagel. 1:30 p.m. — My next class is Modern Partnering, which I love because it is so small. The class is meant to train a dancer’s partnering skills in a more modern setting, working on shifting weight between myself and my partner, and learning how to lift and support each other. It is more improv-based and less focused on technique, so I often get to try new things with some of my best friends. 2:50 p.m. — After partnering ends, my next class is Dance Composition at 4:30 p.m., so I have about an hour and a half to myself. I usually spend this time
either running to office hours, studying, napping or coming up with choreography. In dance composition, we usually have assignments where we need to create a certain amount of choreography based on prompts that our instructor gives us. Right now, I am working on a duet inspired by the spatial design of a late Wassily Kandinsky painting. 5:50 p.m. — After composition, I am done with classes for the day (Woo!). I head to my room in McMahon and make a quick dinner (Shout out to Trader Joe’s for supplying all of my culinary needs and desires). 8 p.m. — I head back to Ailey for a student-run rehearsal. I love night rehearsals because I get to explore different styles and really delve into movement research and the creations of my peers. Right now, I am in student-run pieces for The Ailey School’s Global Harmony and Independent Study performances. 10 p.m. — After I get back to McMahon, I usually head straight to the library either to print an assignment or to work on homework that is due the next day. Although it may not seem so at times, the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. is incredibly rewarding. Once my day is completely done I go to sleep as soon as possible so that I can wake up with energy and do it all again tomorrow.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NIR ARIELI
Ashley Simpson discussed the stress of juggling academics and dance in her daily life.
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Features
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Learning for the Service of Others Recent Fordham graduate Nick Endo discusses the lasting impact of his Jesuit education By CARMEN L. RECIO Contributing Writer
In 2011 Nick Endo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’16, wrote a letter to his future self outlining his hopes and goals for the four years ahead of him. It was the fall of his freshman year at Fordham Lincoln Center. He had decided to go on a freshman retreat to Goshen, N.Y., to kickstart his college experience as an active member of the community. In the letter, he wrote about wanting to figure out his major, do well in classes, travel and attend as many Broadway shows as possible. “Everything I wanted to do, I got to check off!” Endo said last week over a video call. He said he made many strong relationships through his involvement on campus. He reflected on how confident he was by the time he graduated. He still likes to write his thoughts down in a journal, keeping track of everything from daily events and intriguing conversations with friends to troubling feelings he can work out through writing. Not only does it help him process, but it also gives him the opportunity to feel grateful. “I am who I am because of the education I was privileged enough to receive,” he said. Today, Endo is an academic and communications associate at Partnership Schools, a school management organization that is connected to the Archdiocese of New York. Endo chose Fordham for his undergraduate education because of his strong Jesuit background. High school was the first time he understood “how God connected to everyday life.” “I had a theater class that brought spirituality into the theater space. That was the first time I saw that … creating a musical was an act of prayer, a way of glorifying God. I learned that we shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best,” he recalled. “I know it’s not a relevant part to everyone [who goes to] Fordham,” Endo said. “But I’m a big fan of Jesuits.” Tattooed on his upper arm is his favorite Jesuit tenet, “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam,” Latin for “For the greater glory of God.” This motto is something he lives by. Because of his Jesuit background, Endo knew he wanted to do some kind of service project while at Fordham. His spring semester freshman year he signed up for Global Outreach (GO!) Ecuador, a project that landed him in Quito in The Working Boys’ Center (presently known as The Center for Working Families), an organization that empowers families in poverty with job training and classes. As a result of this program, more than 30,000 individuals have left poverty behind forever. Endo’s first immersion experience with Global Outreach was just the beginning of his future professional career. He knew he wanted to empower communities through teaching. During his time in Fordham, Endo also studied abroad in El Salvador and Granada. “These experiences allowed me to remove myself from the privileged bubble I’m in … and shaped how I took on future experiences,” he said. Endo completed a total of three GO! projects, two in Ecuador and one in the Dominican Republic. These service immersion trips were not just about seeing a new country and learning about an organization. Traveling with a Jesuit university made him think about how his actions were impacting the world. “What stayed
COURTESY OF CARMEN RECIO
Endo packed Jesuit values with him on GO! trips to Ecuador and the Dominican Republic while a student at Fordham.
with me from these trips was that what I learn is not as important as how I use it,” he said. One example of this was Endo’s study abroad experience in El Salvador, a program deeply embedded in the Jesuit tenets in which he learned about simple living. As he sat through classes on history, politics and theology, in the back of his mind he knew he wasn’t just learning for the sake of learning. In his own words, it was “learning done for the service of others.” After graduation, Endo took up University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J.’s suggestion of going to Micronesia to teach. Fascinated by the idea of going to live on a small island for a year, Endo became a teacher at the Jesuit Yap Catholic High School, which was founded in 2011. Yap is one of four island states in the Federated States of Micronesia with a population of 11,377 spread out over multiple rural villages. “You could drive across the island in one hour,” Endo said, still perplexed at the tiny community with a strong cultural and spiritual identity. Yap Catholic High School is a college prep school that partners with the local community with the aid of volunteers like Endo. For 10 months he lived in the community and taught two religion courses. He also directed the school choir and organized masses and retreats. “The best service programs are ones that partner with the community and don’t fulfill the roles that could be served by members of the community. The ultimate goal is to not be needed in the future,” Endo said. In the case of Yap Catholic High School, the goal is to have returning students run the program in the future. “Its difficult to strike a balance between the local culture and maintaining your own beliefs,” Endo said, reflecting on his multiple study abroad experiences.
“You want to accompany your students as they grow and learn and empower their beliefs … but also be careful not to assert your personal beliefs.” In 2017, Endo found his way back to El Salvador. He wanted to give back to the study abroad program he so admired from his junior year at Fordham. For an entire school year he worked as a resident assistant for both American students and Salvadorian students. Even though Endo completed his freshman year list of to-dos, today he has plenty more to figure out for himself. “I see my vocation as the intersection of what you like doing, what you’re good at and what the world needs from you. I want to work with people. I love education. I’m trying to figure out what the world needs from me.” At his job, he supports the Partnership Schools superintendent with various projects that set the vision for a network of six Catholic schools. “There is no typical day,” he said. He manages the superintendent’s calendar, juggles her meetings, helps plan projects and organizes Professional Development days, among other things. Endo exemplifies what it means to be an advocate for social change in small communities while remaining an integral part of the larger Jesuit community. He has left a legacy of service built on a deeply rooted Jesuit faith at Fordham. Endo had some advice for Fordham students: “Think of your vocation as an intersection of what you like, what you’re good at and what the world needs from you.” He realized the importance of navigating post-graduation life at his own pace. “You don’t need to go to graduate school at a certain age or start a career right after you graduate,” Endo continued. “It is okay to have an experience you need to have, even if it won’t push you forward in a specific career track.”
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The IKEA Veggie Dog: An Odyssey By OWEN ROCHE Opinions Editor
To be a vegan in 2018 is to be a creature of pilgrimage. We catch wind of a restaurant on the verge of adopting plant-based menu items and we immediately set to planning our trip. Word gets around that a store finally serves Beyond Meat burgers or a single dish without cheese, and there’s (metaphorical) blood in the water. We grind our herbivorous molars in anticipation. We tremble with equal parts excitement and vitamin deficiency. The hunt begins. Through the ages, the decision to travel vast distances in the name of an honorable cause has sparked the most influential human migrations in history. Some sought religious freedom, others a new life and a fresh start. Some went into the unknown in search of riches beyond their wildest dreams. I was looking for something to break the monotony of PB&J sandwiches for lunch. Leaning against a lamp post in front of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, I imagined the cautious optimism and noble urgency within me must have been what my ancestors felt as they crossed the Atlantic. They put up with decaying, decrepit transport. I took the downtown A. They were hungry. So was I. I pulled up to the curb in front of Borough Hall with my ticket to the lunch I had been waiting for. Weeks of salivating, practicing my order and rehearsing the steps of my daunting pilgrimage culminated with a six-row shuttle bus — a sight I could only imagine was as glorious as my forefathers’ first glimpse of Lady Liberty’s shining torch. The paper taped crookedly to the inside of the door read: “IKEA.” The promised land beckoned. Much like how early Man
crossed the Bering Strait in his ultimate quest to survive and thrive on Earth, I journeyed to the most populous borough of New York City in search of one thing and one thing only: the new IKEA veggie dog. Introduced to America on Sept. 25, it joined veggie meatballs within the Swedish home furnishing Mecca’s movement towards plantbased eating and sustainability throughout the company’s offerings. As a seasoned vegan myself, I know that it’s a cruel, cruel world we live in, and all veggie dogs are not created equal. Some have uncannily-snappy casings, like the Yves Good Dog. Others maintain the comforting mushiness of Loma Linda’s canned Big Franks. Some are big, some are small; from seitan
I received the warm, perfectly-assembled IKEA veggie dog in trembling hands and scurried to an empty seat. to vital wheat gluten, textured vegetable protein to just plain marinated carrots — I’ve given each dog its day. But the IKEA veggie dog could be different: a product of a company dedicated to giving its customers a veritable bang for their buck. This dog had the chance to lift my lunch to top-shelf eating — or shatter my expectations flatter than a POANG chair. My disappointment was evident the moment I set foot in the shimmering hospital-white confines of the IKEA cafeteria. I suppose I can’t accuse IKEA of lacking balls; after
all, the meatballs were where they should be — where they always are. Their veggie alternatives were assembled in trays right beside them. The Dog, however, was nowhere to be found. Had I read the press release wrong? Was this specific IKEA refusing to serve the veggie dog? Was my pilgrimage in vain? I choked back bitter tears as I picked at my veggie balls, quinoa and mixed vegetables. Lingonberry drink did little to dull the pain of knowing I had come so far for nothing. I gathered myself and cleared my plate, safe in the knowledge that my food waste would be converted into biogas or something. I had to press on, to reach the checkout, to prove that I had reached the finish line with my ego intact. Countless tastefully-decorated (yet so unbelievably affordable!) house tours later, I trudged through the self-service furniture warehouse ready to go home. Like an explorer sent to uncover riches but forced to return empty-handed, I felt foolish to ever entertain this journey in the first place. No one takes the subway 12 stops for veggie balls. The checkout counters beeped mockingly at me. The sliding doors welcomed my defeat and the shuttle stood ready to put an end to my fruitless pilgrimage. Suddenly, I looked up — did my eyes deceive me? Was it an illusion sent from the gods to torment me as they did the wanderer Jason? No, friends, it was true — before my eyes danced a digital depiction of what I had sought after all this time. Of course! The IKEA Bistro, situated beside the Swedish Market and past the checkout lines, had the veggie dog all along. The hairnetted, grey-eyed woman who took my order seemed to know how far I’d come, and I must
OWEN ROCHE/THE OBSERVER
Vegans from across New York City make the long pilgrimage to Brooklyn to try the new IKEA veggie dog.
have been jittering with anticipation — and hunger, surely, after walking through the entire store. I received the warm, perfectly-assembled IKEA veggie dog in trembling hands and scurried to an empty seat, hunched over like some sort of goblin. I pulled back the paper wrapping and wept with joy. The dog itself is an exquisite combination of red lentils, kale, carrots and ginger, spiced to perfection to match the savory taste of its veggie ball counterpart. Its constitution falls into a sacred middle ground of satisfying texture, tenderness and completely free from the sneaking suspicion that one is eating something with any sort of “casing” on it. The veggie dog does not need to be contained, nor should it be. Its flavors, in tandem with the sweet pickled cabbage and crunchy fried onions that graced it like a delicious tiara, are what every dog, meaty or otherwise, aspires to deliver.
The peace of mind that one of IKEA’s plant-based offerings takes seven times less carbon dioxide to make than its meaty counterparts only heightens the euphoria of eating this divine dog. Great taste combined with moral superiority is a potent mixture, and IKEA treads this line with the utmost grace. I needed no printed instructions to properly eat the IKEA veggie dog. Like a screw into a perfectly pre-drilled hole in a KLIPPAN sofa, it went down easy. With a full stomach and arms laden with Swedish cookies for the road, I proudly made my way back home. My quest was a success. I plan to return soon — and this time I’ll know where to look. But until then, I maintain my solemn vow to relentlessly scour vegan cooking blogs and the Beyond Meat Twitter account, just as those before me pored over incomplete, unreliable maps of their time — always in search of the next pilgrimage.
Fordham Filmmaking Club Changes Reels By LINDSAY JORGENSEN Features Editor
With more than 50 student organizations at Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC), it is challenging enough for students to choose which clubs they should join. Building one from the ground up is another undertaking entirely. During summer 2016, Luke Momo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, began the paperwork to create the Filmmaking Club, which he would lead for the next two years. Momo wanted to create an environment for students to gather and investigate their interests for film. “The club is purely about the most egalitarian, democratic form of support for art,” Momo explained. “If you have an idea, come here and we’ll help you make it.” As president of the club from its inception, Momo worked towards creating a community of students committed to film, assisting his peers with their own projects while also sharing his own works in competitions like Campus MovieFest. This past semester is the first time that Momo has not led the Filmmaking Club as president. Although he has stepped down from his position, he is still a committed member of the club, and feels it is in good hands with his replacement, Tommy Cunningham, FCLC ’21. “I thought filmmaking could have a community here and it kind of has happened in little ways,” Momo said on his reasoning for creating the Filmmaking Club at Fordham. “And it’s interesting to see and that’s probably my favorite part of everything that’s happened, getting to know everyone
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATIE CHRIST
Former President and founder of Filmmaking Club Luke Momo (left) with current President Tommy Cunningham.
here at Fordham in any possible way who are interested in this stuff.” Momo began a similar club his sophomore year of high school. He led that group until he graduated, but unfortunately, soon after he left, the club dissolved. Learning from his experiences there, Momo worked to create a club during his college years that would sustain itself for years after he left. Momo noticed the benefits of having someone like Cunningham leading the group. Cunningham, a film major, has aided in increasing club membership, encouraging people from his Fordham film classes to collaborate in Filmmaking Club. Similarly, Vice President Ryan Shearin, FCLC ’21, is in the theatre program, and he has recruited many of his acting peers to appear in the films the club pro-
duces. “You have to really reach out to the new freshmen and encourage them,” Momo said. “And for me, it’s a really far distance to go from senior to freshman, not just in terms of interests and in terms of things you like, but also just what you grew up with [e.g. certain social media platforms that weren’t popular for Momo until high school]. I think it’s important to continue having appeal by having young leaders and making them more approachable.” Cunningham has already stepped up to the challenge of running the club. In a previous interview with The Observer, Cunningham mentioned that the Filmmaking Club would be working on an anthology series throughout the semester. Cunningham described how members would di-
vide into groups and flesh out different aspects of that one project throughout the semester. Momo explained the setbacks of the anthology series, saying that it was too creatively stifling for may of the club participants. Once the leadership realized this series took away from the original mission of the club, they decided to shift their focus on individual members and what they wanted to creatively pursue. Cunningham decided to instead focus on the club’s annual 48-Hour Film Fest and encouraged each member to work on their own project. The event took place Nov. 3 through Nov. 5, in which students shot and edited a film in 48 hours. “That was when you got that plurality of voices and opinions in the club,” Momo said. “Honestly that was an amazing call by [Cunningham]. They had a plan written in stone [saying] this is what it’s gonna be. But he had the flexibility to be like, ‘Okay, well, you know, maybe we should go a different way based on what comes up and what you learn.’” Momo also commended Cunningham and Shearin for increasing the number of films presented for the 48-Hour Film Fest. Last year, six films were completed for the competition. This year, there were 12, and some of the films were continued projects from the year before. As leadership has passed from Momo to Cunningham, it is clear that there are still some issues at large. One of the largest challenges for the leadership maintaining the loose structure of the club while also teaching particular film structures to other students with-
out creating clear stylistic boundaries. Momo stressed the importance of not caging a filmmaker’s artistic vision while suggesting these film methods. This constant push and pull regarding structure is challenging for leadership to maneuver. When he first started the Filmmaking Club, Momo also described the challenge of diversifying its demographic. He mentioned that three members — Alison Delafave, FCLC ’19, Sami Jumper, FCLC ’19, and Audrey Fenter, FCLC ’19 — created a short film in 2017 called “BOYS Club.” The piece was a “thinly veiled satire” of an imaginary club called “Beyond Our Youthful Selves” that was full of predominantly white male members. While Momo loved the piece, he did not want his club’s atmosphere to reflect the one that “BOYS club” portrayed. Momo was optimistic about the increase in female filmmakers in the club over the past two years, as approximately half of the filmmakers who submitted work for the 48-Hour Film Fest this year were female. For students who are up for the challenge of starting their own club, Momo recommended to start meeting as soon as possible, even if the club is not official yet. “Use [those meetings] as a time to get the wheels turning so that by the time you do become an official club you can go from there. Just start meeting,” Momo said. “I think also if you’re going to create one, it helps to do it earlier rather than later because had I not done it early sophomore year I don’t think I would have had the energy or the time.”
Sports & Health Editor Luke Osborn - losborn@fordham.edu
Sports & Health
December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
PHOTO COURTESY O KEVIN BIRES
Megan Jonassen, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’22, (right) reaching for a jump ball while playing against University of Texas.
Women’s Basketball Surprises in Gulf Coast Showcase By PATRICK MOQUIN Staff Writer
Every fall, the Hertz Arena, located in Estero, Fla., hosts the Gulf Coast Showcase. Two eight-team college basketball tournaments, one men’s and one women’s, forecast the future success of college basketball teams as they enter conference play. The likes of Notre Dame and other high-tier teams avoid tournaments at this level as they have opportunities in better tournaments but, for a team like Fordham, it provides coaches and players an opportunity to match up against high-level competition and prepare for conference play in the coming weeks. Going into the tournament, the unranked Fordham women’s basketball team was largely considered an underdog with the likes of Texas and Missouri, ranked number 10 and 24, respectively, and perennial powerhouse Duke. A
run to the championship was considered a pipe dream, which made Fordham’s victories all the more satisfying as that dream gradually became reality. In the first round, Fordham defeated the middling Ball State Cardinals 78-70. However, a major upset in the first round between Washington and Duke raised Fordham’s hopes higher when the Huskies defeated the Blue Devils 71-64. This meant that Fordham would be playing Washington instead of Duke, who had been ranked 21st in the nation in preseason polls. Despite receiving an ostensibly easier opponent, Fordham still had to play their best basketball to come out on top, and they delivered. After retaking the lead in the second quarter, Fordham never looked back, surging 13 points ahead leading into the third quarter and holding on to win 65–57. Fordham’s weakness lies in the its
Fordham women’s basketball is proving to be one of the more successful teams on campus this year. shallow bench. In order to pull off these victories, their playmakers must consistently perform. Cavanaugh, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’21, did just that as Fordham’s top guard, scoring 25 points with two assists, four steals and four rebounds. She carried the team that match, playing for 38 out of 40 minutes and leading the team in points and steals. Despite a terrific team performance, another hurdle lay ahead as Texas, ranked 10th in the na-
tion, awaited the Rams in the championship. There, the roles were reversed as Texas dominated most of the game en route to a 72-54 score. Fordham’s lack of depth on their bench was once again exposed as sitting players, much more heavily relied on in this game, scored only two points during a combined 48 minutes. All the while, Cavanaugh fought for another iron man performance, playing 36 minutes. In that time, she scored 18 points and recorded 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Another bright spot in the loss came from guard Kendell Heremaia, FCRH ’21, whose 17 points, six rebounds and four assists contributed greatly to Fordham’s 54 point performance. In reality, Fordham had little hope against Texas, a team ranked far above any projection for the Rams. But the unranked Fordham came away with great
promise, surviving some of the best teams in the country for the chance to face off against a very difficult opponent in the championship. Two very talented teams in Duke and Missouri fell early, and Fordham played well enough to capitalize on this opening and make a championship appearance in a minor tournament. The continuation of the Ram’s success is dependent on the improvement of their bench players. Key players like Cavanaugh and Heremaia can only carry the team so far, and with such a long schedule in a sport based on depth and endurance, other players will need to raise their game to match their initially successful teammates. Regardless of possible troubles down the line, Fordham women’s basketball is proving to be one of the more successful teams on campus this year.
Late Surge From Freshman Guard Secures Fordham Win, 67-61 By PATRICK MOQUIN Staff Writer
PHOTO COURTESY OF VINCENT DUSOVIC
Ivan Raut, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’21, (right) blocking a shot from Youngstown State.
Entering the second half, down six, Fordham Men’s Basketball had been outplayed by Youngstown State for much of the game thus far. However, the team came out of the locker room revived and turned in a gritty second half performance, eventually breaking through to a 67-61 victory on the backs of several underclassmen. The lead changed hands several times throughout the second half, and a key three-pointer from Ivan Raut, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’21, with 14 minutes 47 seconds remaining tied the game at 38 points. At around the same time, Youngstown employed a full court press that appeared to stymie the Rams. Brought to an offensive standstill, the game likely would
have gotten out of hand had it not been for multiple defensive stops in critical situations. These stops gave Fordham an opportunity on which Nick Honor, FCRH ’22, capitalized. In the last five minutes of the game, Honor scored 9 points, including all 4 free throws to put Fordham’s lead out of reach in the closing seconds. He finished the day with 17 points, emphasizing his integral role on the team. To begin the year, the Rams have revitalized sports interest at Fordham, losing only one game in their first five. League play has not yet begun, and it’s unclear how Fordham matches up against other teams in their division. A strong start like this one, though, inevitably inspires hope and confidence in the team’s future. Davidson and St. Louis have had comparably successful starts, and in Davidson’s case those wins came
against tougher competition. At the start of the season, Fordham has as good a chance as any other team to take the Atlantic 10. Honor’s stellar performance so early in his freshman year indicates a long-term plan and investment for future success. Though Fordham basketball’s future success is uncertain and difficult for experts to forecast with the utmost positivity, it is encouraging to see younger players in Honor and Raut contributing in such a positive way. An NCAA Tournament bid is still a pipe dream, but Fordham basketball has put up competent and consistent play for the foreseeable future with their early success. If Honor and company continue to play at such a high level, the Rose Hill Gymnasium can look forward to full houses all the way through to February, and maybe even March.
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Sports & Health
December 6, 2018 THE OBSERVER
WWW.fordhamobserver.com
Maddy Casale: Unlikely Runner Finishes Philly Marathon By LUKE OSBORN Sports & Health Editor
Maddy Casale, FCLC ’20, didn’t expect to run a marathon in 5 hours and 23 minutes when she started running on her middle school cross country team. Between fifth and eighth grade, Casale was reluctantly introduced to long distance running because her mother became the coach of the team. On Nov. 18, 2018, Casale would go on to run all 26.2 miles of the Philadelphia Marathon. Though Casale was apathetic towards cross country, she thoroughly enjoyed other sports, especially field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. Field hockey for her “is kind of like long distance running, but with a ball,” she said “I feel like I often need something to actually chase, so I didn’t like running just to run.” A talented basketball player in high school, Casale originally intended to pursue playing the sport at the college level. After tearing her ACL in January of her senior year, Casale was forced to change her college pursuits, for she missed the time period in which colleges would scout out new players. Nevertheless, her change of plans led Casale to New York where she could pursue her interest in comedy. Though Casale came to New York to focus on her other interests, she continued to search for physical outlets. After her ACL tear, Casale spent six months without physical activity. By the time she arrived at Fordham, she could not participate in sports that required a lot of agility, so
she picked up running again. She began to see running as a release, especially in moments of high stress. Nevertheless, Casale began to excel as a runner last year when she and a friend ran their first half marathon in May 2017 in Brooklyn. “I was super undertrained but had a good time,” she said. Afterwards, her friend sug-
in herself when she began her 26.2-mile journey the following day. Casale described, “By mile four, I was near tears, not from pain or anything but from all the strangers that would come out and cheer for you.” Originally from Pittsburgh, Casale found the encouragement from the spectators to be a warm reminder to press forward as she pushed
“ I though doing a marathon would be a
bucket list thing to accomplish in life. It was really nice to have somthing active to devote myself to again.” –Maddy Casale, FCLC ‘20
gested that they do a full marathon for their next race, so they entered the lottery in New York City. They did not win spots in the New York City Marathon, so they entered into the Philadelphia Marathon instead. “I thought doing a marathon would be a bucket list thing to accomplish in life,” Casale said, “It was really nice to have something active to devote myself to again.” Starting last July, Casale began conditioning for the Philadelphia Marathon. She utilized the Nike Plus running app that provided her with a training schedule, but she found it difficult to keep up with school; nevertheless, she achieved a 16-mile run a month before the marathon. Casale could barely sleep the night before the marathon, but she quickly regained confidence
herself to her limit. Casale contended that the first 15 miles were “pretty easy,” but her “legs felt like they were going to fall off” by mile 24. Nonetheless, Casale finished in a little under five and a half hours. She felt immensely sore the following day but immensely accomplished as well. Casale declared, “It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but also so worth it. I definitely want to do another one, but I will for sure train harder for it.” Though Casale intends to strengthen her conditioning routine for her next marathon, she has passed a major milestone in her fitness career and stands out among the Lincoln Center student body as an athlete. Next, Casale plans to take on the New York City Marathon.
PHOTO VIA MADDY CASALE
Maddy Casale, FCLC ’20, ran the Philadelphia Marathon in 5 hours and 23 minutes.
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