Observer issue #7

Observer the

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MAY 5, 2016 VOLUME XXXVI, ISSUE 7

Arts & Sciences Council Convenes

By CONNOR MANNION Editor Emeritus

On Wed. April 20, The Fordham University Arts and Sciences Council held their final meeting of the spring semester to discuss items at both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center College Councils. The discussion included debates about meetings within the other faculty committees, such as the Core Curriculum Committee and the Science Education Committee, while items from previous meetings were also approved.

At this meeting, David Hume, professor and chair of political science and the chair of the Core Curriculum Committee, submitted his committee’s recommendations and thoughts on the student proposal to either create a new core requirement on diversity and society or reformat the existing pluralism credit in the core. This proposal was in response to the numerous bias incidents that occurred on both campuses this academic year.

Hume expressed admiration for the work students put into the proposal. He said he had “enthusiasm for the proposal and didn’t want to seem like we were just going to brush this away.” As such, he proposed taking a hard look at the current pluralism credit and “forming an ad-hoc committee to investigate what could be changed or modified in the core.”

In response to this proposal, J. Patrick Hornbeck, professor and chair of theology and a chairperson of the Continuous University Strategic Planning (CUSP) Committee, asked, “Do we really need another ad-hoc committee?”

Hume conceded that this question was a fair point, but said that the Core Curriculum Committee also had to focus on all issues and business with the core and thought an ad-hoc committee could completely focus on the issue of diversity at Fordham. The Arts and Sciences Council then voted to approve Hume’s recommendation for further discussion.

Among other items approved were the changes to the psychology major, two new minors in Jewish studies and marketing at Lincoln Center, and the re-naming of womsee ARTS & SCIENCES pg. 3

SPORTS & HEALTH

De-Stress During Finals Tips to get you through exams.

PAGE 15 ARTS & CULTURE

Creative Writing Awards Students’ work honored at ceremony.

PAGE 9 OPINIONS

Drone Strikes The human cost of modern warfare.

PAGE 5

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HANA KEININGHAM/THE OBSERVER

After 38 years of serving Fordham students, Sodexo will be replaced by Aramark as the University’s dining service provider.

Inside the Dining Services Decision Fordham chooses Aramark as its next dining service provider

By STEPHAN KOZUB News Co-Editor

Following an academic year that included a petition against Sodexo, activism for the dining service workers and an ongoing Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the University announced on April 18 that Aramark would replace Sodexo as Fordham’s dining service provider effective July 1.

The email announcement, sent from Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Jeffrey Gray, said that it is a 10-year, multimillion dollar contract.

“Aramark received high marks for its proposed program elements, site visits by committee members to Aramark dining locations, fair treatment of employees and commitment to work with unions, sustainability practices, financial stability and a solid transition plan,” according to the email. “Aramark

Aramark also received very good recommendations from universities the firm currently serves. The decision to choose Aramark over Sodexo and Chartwell/compass as the dining service provider, however, was not unanimous. also received very good recommendations from universities the firm currently serves.”

The decision to chose Aramark over Sodexo and Chartwells as the dining service provider, however, was not unanimous.

While none of the sources interviewed specified the exact vote count, Gray said in an email statement that “it was a very competitive process, which included a significant amount of student input and feedback.”

Deming Yaun, dining services

contract liaison, said that the students who did not vote for Aramark will meet with dining services and Aramark on May 5 to discuss their concerns.

“The plans centered around Lincoln Center and the restaurant portfolio that Aramark offered did not resonate so well with that group of students,” Yaun said. “So we’re getting Aramark and them together with an array of options and I’m sure we’ll settle on something that could work out.”

He added that the meeting will

give Aramark the chance to roll out a program “that will be better received instead of just having us accept the entire Aramark offer and then implement it and wind up with something we’re not totally happy with.”

Among the aspects considered in the decision process were openness to feedback and fair employment practices, according to those interviewed.

Leighton Magoon, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’17 and President of United Student Government (USG), said, “They were really receptive and cognizant of what we were feeling.”

“They went through a series of points: ability for timeliness, refurbishing the facilities for the start of the school year, sanitation, sustainability, relationship with the union,” he continued. “[In] several see ARAMARK pg. 2

Smithsonian Head to Speak at Commencement

By CONNOR MANNION Editor Emeritus

On April 28, Fordham University named David Skorton, M.D., the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the University Commencement speaker for the Class of 2016.

As Secretary, Skorton oversees 19 museums and galleries, 20 libraries, the National Zoo and numerous research centers, including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Skorton earned both his bachelor’s degree in psychology and his medical degree from Northwestern University before completing his residency and fellowship in cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1979.

He then joined the faculty of the University of Iowa, where he held professorships in internal medicine, biomedical engineering and other fields before serving as the university’s president from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, he was named

President of Cornell University, a position he held until the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institute named him Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute in July 2015.

Skorton has also served as a professor in Cornell’s department of biomedical engineering and in the departments of medicine and pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Skorton will be awarded an honorary doctorate during the commencement ceremonies, as will eight other people who have distinguished themselves in busi-

THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM LINCOLN CENTER

ness, law, the arts or public service, according to Fordham News.

Among the other honorary doctorate recipients are Judith Altmann, vice president of the Holocaust Child Survivors of Connecticut, Robert Battle, artistic director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Loretta A. Preska, Fordham Law ’73 and chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Fordham University’s 171st Commencement will take place on Saturday, May 21, at the Rose Hill campus.

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News

May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

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Aramark Named New Food Service Provider ARAMARK FROM PAGE 1

categories Aramark was better than Chartwells.”

Magoon also called attention to Aramark’s openness to change. “For me, [it’s] really helpful, as a student and student government president, [that] you’ve shown you can be open to change and I can be in a meeting and talk about what students want in the Ram Cafe and undergrad dining hall,” he said.

Yaun added, “I have been very impressed with Aramark’s culinary abilities. Their culinary team that I’ve worked with personally has demonstrated to me that they can transfer their skills and their passion for food excellence to the people who are actually producing it on the front.”

The Observer’s initial reporting on the RFP process stated that the RFP had been issued due to changes Sodexo had requested in its contract with the University. These changes that Sodexo requested were financial, according to Yaun.

“They had put together an offer in 2013 that was not working out for them,” he said. “We decided to not just accept those changes. But there’s a saying in sales and certainly when I was in this business: you have to win on every point. Sodexo proposed a program that we couldn’t support.”

Among the factors that the selection committee considered were the look and taste of the food, the enthusiasm of the employees and how the companies’ representatives communicated and handled themselves, according to Yaun.

Sandy Pope, a business manager with Teamsters 810, the union which represents the dining service employees currently working under Sodexo, said that “we had a conversation with [Aramark] in which they reassured us that they were planning to hire all of our people, keep their seniority in tact and their job classifications as much as possible the same, understanding that of course the configuration of the operations could be different.”

“The support from the faculty and the students has been enormous, and I think that all parties heard loud and clear that the expectation of the Fordham Community is that the workers themselves and their benefits, wages and everything be kept the same,” she added. “We’re feeling confident that it’ll be a smooth transition.”

Pope said, however, that “I think [Aramark’s] labor record is up and

HANA KEININGHAM/THE OBSERVER

The changes that Aramark have proposed included adding a Chik-Fil-A or an Au Bon Pain on campus in place of the Ram Café.

“ After 30 plus years, change is good. They

seem to be open to working with faculty and students. We’ll have to wait and see, but they seem to be a good vendor.”

–

LEIGHTON MAGOON, FCLC ’17 and USG President

down, which is probably the case for any food service contractor.” Currently, Aramark is facing backlash at some of the universities it serves for its treatment of its workers. At American University, student groups have formed in support of the Aramark workers to advocate for fairer employment practices. Conversely, Aramark earned a perfect score on the 2016 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and was named one of America’s Best Employers by Forbes in 2015.

As stated in the email announcing Fordham’s decision, “Aramark was chosen by a committee comprised of students and administrators, headed by [Gray], with support from [TM Consulting], which specializes in food service management.”

There were eight students on the committee, four from each campus.

The students on the committee were chosen from Gray’s advisory council. Students are not elected to Gray’s council by the student body, but are instead nominated and selected by

previous members of the council.

Eldredge said that they tried to make sure that “different constituencies [were] represented.”

He added that the “flipside” to the group chosen from Gray’s advisory committee “is that I had some students talk to me earlier in the year [about how] ‘this should be a wider initiative’ and ‘have these things open to the public.’”

“There’s sort of a practical component to that, like there’s only so many venues and so many places that are big,” he continued. “But also, I think some of the material is a little more nuanced, and it involves some back and forth conversation and that’s hard to do in a big group.”

Magoon said that part of the reason for the students on the selection committee being solely from Gray’s advisory council was the timeline.

“The RFP was released in December and we only had four months

with a long spring break to make a well-informed decision,” he said.

“With the timeline and how much we had to do, I feel like there was good student involvement. If we had more time, we should have gotten more students involved. But I feel like it was a good, well-rounded group of students.”

Regarding the University’s relationship with Sodexo, Yaun said, “Sodexo did a great job over the last three years moving us forward. But I’m excited to see where it can go from here.”

“I think the process has been tough at times because of how quick it was, but I think that Aramark, from what was presented, will be good for the campus,” Magoon said.

“After 30 plus years, change is good.

They seem to be open to working with faculty and students. We’ll have to wait and see, but they seem to be a good vendor.”

IT Launches New Customer Care System

By STEPHAN KOZUB News Co-Editor

Fordham students may have noticed a new addition to the my.fordham.edu portal: a Tech Help tab. In April, Fordham IT launched a new Customer Care system with an accompanying tab on the portal to expedite and improve the technology help request process.

“The tab supports a brand new service for technology help and the new system provides much better tech support,” Elizabeth Cornell, Ph.D., director of IT Communications, said.

The new system, however, is set up as a pop-up window, rather than as a part of the portal itself.

Cornell explained that the system is set up in this manner because the tab links to another app separate from Banner and that the system is not a part of the my.fordham.edu portal itself.

She added that “having it [work] through the portal and automatically log you into the tech support system also helps keep the system secure and make sure that only people from Fordham are utilizing it.”

If students try to access the por-

tal without disabling pop-up blockers, they will be met with a blank portal screen. In order to access the tab and the IT Customer Care app, students must disable pop-up blockers on their devices. Instructions are provided on Fordham IT News, with specific instructions for those who use Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. Once pop-up blockers are disabled, clicking on the Tech Help tab on the portal will open the IT Customer Care App in another window.

On the IT Customer Care app, members of the Fordham community can make two different kinds of requests: incident requests and service requests. According to Fordham IT, incident requests “allow you to get help for problems with your computer, phone, applications, email, Internet access, printer or anything else you work with everyday.” Service requests are mainly for employees and are “for a new computer, phone, application, report, account or anything else you need to do your job. You may also request a change, such as the location of your computer, your phone and so on.”

The new system is being utilized by the Fordham community, ac-

MARIA KOVOROS/THE OBSERVER

IT’s new system can be accessed via the my.fordham.edu portal.

cording to Cornell, and “complaints are minimal.” She added that most students are saying that it is “easy to use.”

Students interviewed at the time of publication had not yet used the

new system, with some saying that they didn’t know the new system existed.

“I feel like this is something they should send emails or something about,” Elizabeth Saballos, Fordham

College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’17, said. “I never knew that you could do it online... I work in one of the offices on campus and we had a WiFi problem, but I didn’t know where to contact so I waited for an administrator to do something.”

There is “a bit of a learning curve,” Cornell said. “We rely on people to let us know what issues there are. We want to fix it and we want to make it as easy to use as possible.”

Cornell said that one of the advantages of the new system is that it provides students with the vocabulary and terms that they need to effectively request tech support, which expedites the process.

“The new system also allows you to categorize your service requests,” Cornell said. “In the past, when you would send an email to IT, you would describe the problem to the best of your ability and then someone at IT would send the email along to whoever [could] address it. Through the new system, you can categorize your request and it is sent directly to the person who can help you. So it cuts out one step in the process.”

The new IT Customer Care system was launched on April 4 and can be accessed via the portal.

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THE OBSERVER May 5, 2016

News

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Fordham Releases Sexual Assault Climate Data

By ADRIANA GALLINA Editor-in-Chief Emerita

Fordham University released a 138-page document detailing the results of a survey regarding the climate of sexual assault on campus.

2,008 graduates and undergraduates of the 15,549 students to whom it was made available via email responded to the voluntary and anonymous survey, which was conducted last spring.

229 students, or 11.4 percent, indicated that they experienced at least one of the following since their time at Fordham: sexual contact by force or threats; an unsuccessful attempt at sexual contact by force or threats; suspected or were sure that someone had sexual contact with them when they were unable to consent or stop what was happening because they were either passed out, drugged, incapacitated or asleep.

About 94 percent of students did not use the University’s procedures to report the incidents. However, approximately 85 percent of students report believing that the University would take the assault seriously.

When asked what the University is doing to encourage students to report incidents, Dean of Students at Lincoln Center Keith Eldredge said, “The more students understand the process and how much control they have in the process, I think the more confident they can feel coming forward, so continuing to expand what we are already doing.”

Title 9 Coordinator Anastasia Coleman speculates that some of the people not reporting to the University may have experienced the assault off-campus. “I think we have been raising awareness that we want to and will support any student, regardless of where an incident takes place, even if the aggressor is not affiliated with Fordham in any way. We want to help all students who could

GRAPHIC BY SABRINA JEN/THE OBSERVER

be struggling,” she said. “We want to assist with any issue that’s affecting the student here at Fordham.”

98 percent of traditional undergraduates reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact after having consumed alcohol. This finding did not come as a surprise to administrators or students.

“In no way do we think that that is the person’s fault,” Eldredge said.

“Our overall substance abuse approach at the University is harm reduction.”

“It’s more education that when you use substances, bad things can happen ranging from bad grades to sexual assault,” he continued. “Alcohol can make the interactions much less clear when we talk about affirmative consent. Alcohol impairs your judgement and your ability to communicate.”

Leighton Magoon, United Stu-

dent Government (USG) President and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’17, said, “We can’t discourage young women and men from going to parties.”

“We really need to get to the root cause of why this happens at parties and that people do this under the influence,” he continued. “But just saying don’t drink isn’t the solution.”

On a scale of 1-4 (1 being not likely and 4 being extremely likely), over 20 percent of students responded that they were not likely (3 or lower) “to decide not to have sex with a partner when they were drunk.”

Administrators and students believe this response relates to hook-up culture.

“I think for a lot of students … decision making around intimacy is influenced by alcohol,” Eldredge stated. “For many students, in order to engage in sexual behavior they

feel like they need to or want to consume alcohol. And it can be difficult to determine the difference between drunk and incapacitated.”

Definitions of words like drunk, rape and crisis were intentionally left out so that students could bring their understanding to the survey, according to Coleman and Eldredge.

“I think a lot of students think everyone has sex. It’s not that big of a deal to have sex when you’re drunk,” Nopel Wong, FCLC ’18, said.

Over 20 percent of students on the same scale of 1-4 reported not likely (3 or lower) to ask for verbal consent from their intimate partner.

“I don’t want to make the assumption but I think that a lot of people buy into this hook-up culture and that asking someone for consent seems very formal,” Wong said. “But, having never been in a situation like that, I can’t really judge.”

According to the survey, about 89 percent of the individuals that committed the perceived assaults were male. The University has decided not to release the breakdown of the reported victims.

“In case a certain gender isn’t highly represented, we don’t want any person reporting it to feel isolated. We don’t want people to selfblame, or believe they may have caused what had happened to them.”

Coleman said.

Both Wong and Jason Irukulapati, FCLC ’18 appreciate the data being shared with students. “It’s a good thing that they did. I think the fact that the University is being open about it is really good,” Irukulapati said.

As for the data itself, Wong said, “It makes me realize that Fordham is not in this perfect little bubble and there are things that are unknown to us and intentions of our classmates that [aren’t] explicit.”

Going forward, both Eldredge and Coleman want to continue to promote information about how to respond to sexual assault and bystander intervention.

“We want to stop every form of sexual misconduct,” Coleman said regarding this aim. “And we want students to have more of an active role in helping, and in being good bystanders. We truly want to change the culture so that we are not only talking about how we respond to incidents, but about how to prevent incidents before they occur, and how to be more involved bystanders for one another. We want to emphasize that we are here to take care of each other.”

“If students do have ideas for programs, critical feedback about what we’ve been doing, we’d love to hear that,” Eldredge said.

Students can make suggestions or ask questions to eldredge@fordham. edu or titleix@fordham.edu.

Arts & Sciences Council Holds Final Meeting for Semester ARTS & SCIENCES FROM PAGE 1

en’s studies major to women, gender and sexuality.

The Arts and Sciences Council is responsible for both “formulating recommendations on academic policies and coordinating their im-

plementation within the Arts and Sciences Schools of Fordham University: Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH), Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and Fordham College of Professional and Continuing Stud-

ies (PCS).”

The council is teleconferenced between the two main campuses and minutes of previous meetings are available on the Fordham website.

The Council is headed by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and

Sciences and Professor of English, John Harrington. Harrington and the Council report all recommendations to Stephen Freedman, provost of Fordham University.

The Council addresses policies affecting the Core Curriculum, departmental or interdisciplinary

curricular matters, academic standards, procedures and regulations and faculty coverage for all Arts and Sciences Schools. These specific issues all have their respective committees and the Arts and Sciences Council can also recommend the creation of ad-hoc committees.

Students in New York State Among Worst for Repaying Loans

By SOPHIE SCOTT Contributing Writer

On April 19, USA Today College published a list of the top 10 worst states for repaying student loans in 2016, on which New York placed ninth.

These rankings were determined by seven data points. Among those seven were the percentage of 2014 college graduates that had student debt, the median annual income for bachelor’s degree holders adjusted for the cost of living as of 2014 and the average growth rate for all jobs in a state considering the estimated number of annual job openings per capita from 2012 to 2022.

Among other statistics, the report states that 61 percent of New York’s 2014 college graduates left school with student debt. Angela Van Dekker, associate vice president of Fordham’s Student Financial Services, says that despite this statistic, “Fordham students have an admirable record of loan repayment.”

Seeing that Fordham’s tuition, including the mandatory fees for the 2015-2016 school year, is $47,317, many Fordham students do not find New York’s placement on the list surprising.

ELIZABETH LANDRY/THE OBSERVER

Fordham’s tuition is comparable to those of other NYC universities.

“[Fordham] is an expensive school, and I’m pretty sure it’s comparable to other schools in the city.

Just like apartments and rentals, school in the city is expensive too,” Kyle McKee, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’17, said.

In comparison to Fordham, New York University’s tuition, as of 2015 is $47,750 and Columbia University’s is $53,000.

To supplement the cost of tuition, roughly 90 percent of Ford-

ham undergraduates receive financial aid, according to Van Dekker.

These awards are given out, “based on need and/or merit [and] are determined by a number of factors including academic achievement, financial need, leadership, portfolio review and auditions where appropriate and other aspects of talent,” Van Dekker said.

Regardless of financial aid, Fordham’s tuition has some recent graduates questioning whether or

not attending the University was the best decision for them financially.

“Although I was fortunate enough to have a job lined up directly after college, it’s been hard to really ‘start’ my life when I’m constantly stressing out about being able to repay my loans at the end of each month,” Laura Staravecka, FCLC ’15, said.

With that said, students like former United Student Government (USG) President Louise Lingat, FCLC ’15, feel that attending Fordham is worth the cost of tuition.

“Being involved on campus and representing the voices of the student body was more than what I saw myself doing when I first entered Fordham,” Lingat said. “I left Fordham not just with student debt, but with a more opened mind, a bigger heart and a greater desire to change the world, and for me, I would not have gotten that without Fordham.”

McKee echoes Lingat’s belief that attending Fordham is worth the cost. “Aside from location, the professors are amazing and everyone is truly an expert in their field,” McKee said. “When I look at the list of alumni that have attended school here, I know I chose the right place and realize that I’m getting a topnotch education.”

As for measures Fordham students can take to manage student loans, Staravecka sees many options. “Just being aware of what loans you’re taking out is a good start. Also try to start paying them back—the sooner the better,” said Staravecka. “I wish I would’ve split half my paycheck in undergrad and have at least a third go toward loan repayment.”

Van Dekker said that students need to be diligent about monitoring the loans they take from the beginning of their college careers.

“Borrow only what you really need,” Van Dekker said. “Watch carefully how you are spending the money you have available to you. Borrow only what is absolutely necessary so that you minimize your debt in the future.”

She added that Student Financial Services offers a “Financing your Fordham Education” reference guide to assist students in managing their student finances during their time at Fordham. “It includes guidance on how to plan for the four years and a page on comparing costs among the various colleges offering aid,” Van Dekker said. “We hope students will refer to it not just in freshman year, but whenever they need to.”

Opinions

Areeg Abdelhamid — Opinions Co-Editor aabdelhamid1@fordham.edu John McCullough — Opinions Co-Editor jmcculloughiii@fordham.edu May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT SURVEY INDICATES THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE

L

ast spring, Fordham University sent out a survey to graduate and undergraduate students asking about the climate of sexual assault on campus.

The data from this survey – compiled in a 138-page document – was released on April 20 to the students via email.

While the results themselves were highly anticipated, the survey and data lack efficacy.

While the Observer commends the University for releasing the data from the Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey, the document reveals that there is work to be done within our community.

One of the major concerns is the low response rate – out of 15,594 students, only 2,008 (or 12.8 percent of the recipients) completed the survey. Also notable is the 11.4 percent of respondents that reported experiencing some form of sexual assault while at Fordham. If students have concerns about the way the University is handling sexual assault on campus,

then offering input and engaging with these forums is crucial.

An additional part of the survey stated that 20 percent of those who participated reported that they were likely to decide to have sex with a partner, despite being drunk,

“Only through education can the student body at Fordham begin to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on campus. ” which reveals that hookup culture influences the Fordham community. Still, hook-up culture and alcohol use are only auxiliary instigators of sexual assault and their elimination should not be the express focus of the University.

Observer the

STAFF EDITORIAL

If the University truly wants to take action towards eliminating sexual assault on campus, then they need to educate the student body on the definition of consent and the resources available to them. Consent is not just an important aspect of understanding sexual activity – it is absolutely essential. Only through education can the student body at Fordham begin to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on campus.

While the survey is a step in the right direction and a solid foundation for this education process, we need to bring the conversation into the classroom in order to help foster the necessary change. A much wider audience and community than that of an anonymous and voluntary survey needs to be actively involved.

With a more invested community, the University can take the necessary steps to begin reducing, and ultimately eliminating, sexual misconduct on its campuses.

Editor-in-Chief Ben Moore Managing Editor Matthew McCarthy Business Manager Michael Veverka Online Editor Elodie Huston Layout Co-Editors Sabrina Jen Katie Maurer Asst. Layout Editor Elodie Huston News Co-Editors Stephan Kozub Cecile Neidig Asst. News Editor Elizabeth Landry Opinions Co-Editors Areeg Abdelhamid John McCullough Arts & Culture Co-Editors Elena Ciotta Ana Fota Morgan Steward Features Co-Editors Ruby Buddemeyer Alysha Kundanmal Reese Ravner Sports Editor Mohdshobair Hussaini Asst. Sports Editor Alexander DiMisa Photo Co-Editors Hana Keiningham Jessica Luszczyk Andronika Zimmerman Literary Editor Erika Ortiz Asst. Literary Editor Areeg Abdelhamid Multimedia Co-Producers Katie Kirtland Jenny McNary Asst. Multimedia Producer Kaylee Kilkenny

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May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

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Muslim Communities Must Address Mental Health

By AREEG ABDELHAMID Opinions Co-Editor

Standing in the third floor Lowenstein bathroom, I was shaking, breathing difficultly, dizzy and numb. I wanted to run, to speak or to move, but somehow I couldn’t.

This was my first panic attack. As someone who was never able to acknowledge or understand mental health issues, here I was in the second semester of my freshman year trying to make peace with this so-called “anxiety.”

I often wish that I had reached out to a friend instead of looking up anxiety and trying to understand panic attacks by myself.

There were hundreds of articles, YouTubers and online communities talking about what I had thought was only my problem. I kid you not, because of the bathroom incident, this panic attack might’ve been understood as a “bewitching of satan.”

You might laugh, but it’s not funny.

I remember suggesting to a family member that it was time for us, as a family, to seek counseling or therapy of some kind. That individual laughed and proposed that perhaps we should go to that “Egyptian psychiatrist that all the crazy people go to.” Enough said.

It only takes so long for negative perspectives to become a reality, one I was forced to believe.

As a teenager, I attended the masjid on Saturday nights. After Maghrib prayer, we had a woman teach religious sessions we would memorize the Quran or learn Arabic. Sometimes, a girl would ask a controversial question and soon enough, we would all be lectured.

All I remember is constantly hearing the word “haram,” which means forbidden.

It wasn’t surprising, then, that almost every girl lived a double life.

Outside the masjid, these consequences were felt within Muslim

COURTESY OF MARYAM SHOUBIR

Muslim communities would be far better off if more attention was paid to mental health issues.

households. Parents were unable to deal with their sons when it was discovered they habitually smoked weed, and inevitably would verbally, emotionally and physically abuse their children. I found it ironic that parents would also cherry pick Quranic verses to try to prove that they’ve sinned. If a teenager felt comfortable enough to walk into a masjid and find someone who could openly give him advice, then the masjid would become home, as it should be.

Today, American Muslims are at the forefront of a silent war. We’re assaulted in the eyes of Donald Trump and his supporters and face Islamophobic bigotry, both physically and on social media. It seems as though we are being at-

tacked every day: a Muslim family is shot, kids are being bullied and even workplaces have become toxic environments. We watch, hear and witness this. Additionally, our families add to the baggage by constantly calling and texting to make sure we’re alright. Though this is well-intentioned, it serves as a reminder of our vulnerability. In this sensitive time, our masjids are told to focus on finding “radicalized” youth. But it is even more important to acknowledge that our communities need to create safe spaces, without the FBI and without cultural baggage.

Last March, there was an incident in which a 20-year-old female Muslim student lied about an assailant in Manhattan whom she

said slashed her face and called her a terrorist. It was considered a hate crime until the student admitted that the wound was self-inflicted.

She had cut a two inch gash into her own face. None of the sheikhs (leaders of Muslim communities) that I looked up to acknowledged the incident. The hijab wearing woman was quickly forgotten. Still today, I wonder about the result of her psychological evaluation and how her family and community reacted to the situation. I hope that she’s okay, safe and unashamed in seeking help.

Another issue that we often ignore is that most Muslim communities have a predominantly immigrant population with high expectations and dreams for their

children. They are allowed to be proud of their kids, but they do so by pressuring their daughters and sons to study and major in traditional fields. They not only devalue their children’s efforts, but also cause them to be overwhelmed.

Often times I wish that what I was going through was normal. I wish I could talk to my imam about my mother throwing out my medication, twice. There are counselors at Fordham, but it is different when one’s family is willing to understand and support them. No matter how educated, resilient and motivated we become as Muslims, it is not enough. We aren’t going to get far if we ignore and devalue mental health and those in our communities that are affected by it daily.

Britain Must Go Through With the “Brexit”

Remaining in the the European Union is a death sentence for British democracy

By ROBERT VAN FOSSEN Contributing Writer

June 23, 2016 will be a turning point in British history. The British are currently embroiled in the single most important political event of this generation, the socalled “Brexit.” Britain will vote by way of a national referendum either to remain a member state of the European Union or to leave it. This referendum is the last hope for democracy in Europe and I fervently hope that Britain grants itself a rightful divorce.

Throughout the years, the European Union has grown spectacularly in size and more importantly, in power. The Single European Act in 1986 spelled out how the European project would grow in the next decade by establishing the much-lauded single market. It is with dreadful irony that they were added, along with a treaty that effectively smashed together now vastly different economies, into one single market. I like to think of it as the economic equivalent of beating incongruous puzzle pieces together with a sledgehammer.

Worse came with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty which established a single currency – the euro.

Thankfully, then-Prime Minister John Major and his administration saved both the pound sterling and the British from the worst of future

COURTESY OF CHATHAM HOUSE VIA FLICKR

As Prime Minister, John Major refused to adopt the Euro as currency.

Eurozone crises. What happens when you try to coerce overarching monetary policy with numerous independent fiscal policies (which are not yet within the EU’s complete control)? Nothing good. Interestingly, Major faced many of the same arguments that the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage faces today in regard to keeping out of Europe. Apparently a mass exodus of business, a disintegration of the British job market and the drying up of foreign direct investment were imminent in those days, too.

The most alarming developments in the power and foolhardiness of the European Union have come in recent years with the

signing of the Lisbon Treaty and the expansion of membership to poorer Eastern European countries. These two occurrences have proven that the European Union is an aspiring empire and that the people who run the show do not care the least bit for British citizens.

The consolidation of power that was granted to the European Commission under the Lisbon Treaty has stolen the sovereignty of Britain. Years and thousands of pages of legislation later, 65 percent of the laws that govern the United Kingdom are now passed by the European Parliament in Brussels.

The elections for Members of Parliament frankly don’t mean much.

A vote for a Member of European

Parliament (MEP) unluckily means even less! With 28 member states and counting (the inclusion of Turkey forthcoming), and hundreds of legislators from outside of Britain, a British MEP can do little more than beg to represent his or her constituencies in Brussels.

The first thing to note about the Lisbon Treaty and the inclusion of Eastern Europe in the EU is that Britain does not have control over her own borders and is not free to negotiate her own trade deals with the rest of the world. With the addition of the former Soviet bloc countries that are still devastated by the effects of communism to the European Union, thousands upon thousands of unskilled economic immigrants are arriving to Britain.

Instead of being permitted to control and regulate immigration independently, Britain is forced to accept these immigrants even though the country does not have anything close to the infrastructure needed to cope with the sheer quantity of people coming. Instead of accepting highly skilled immigrants from India or other parts of the former Commonwealth, Britain must accept people who (economically speaking) contribute nothing but cheap labor. Britain is equally shackled from sitting at the trading table. It is impossible, under current EU laws, for Britain to negotiate trade deals with non-EU nations.

I find it grim that the fifth-largest economy in the world does not have

this power that we in the United States take for granted.

What was once a successful economic cooperation between a select few free and independent countries has devolved into a manifestation of totalitarianism and authoritarianism. It is the biggest threat to democracy, freedom and national sovereignty that exists in the world today. It is awash with unelected bureaucrats and moral busybodies who want nothing more than to control every aspect of British life without the consent of the British.

Simply by watching Parliamentary proceedings on YouTube, anyone can see that they often behave like schoolyard bullies and rarely take “no” for an answer. I fear for those who would like to give them unrequited power.

Here in the United States, we take national sovereignty and real democracy for granted. I live in the luxury of thought that Americans across the political spectrum will voraciously oppose any slight against our sovereignty. If I proposed that even one percent of our laws be made somewhere else, I would be laughed at and called crazy.

I believe that Britain is good enough to stand on its own in the world and that her best days lie ahead, not behind. A vote to leave is a vote to reinstate Westminster to its former power and influence.

A vote to leave is a vote to make the ballot box worth going to.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER May 5, 2016

Opinions

5

Stephen Schwartz Is On the Wrong Track

By AUSTIN SPERO Contributing Writer

COURTESY OF EDANDEDDIE VIA FLICKR

Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist, Stephen Schwartz.

Last month, the Tony Awardwinning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, best known for the hit musicals Wicked and Pippin, announced his refusal to license his works to any North Carolina theater or organization in response to the passing of the North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2).

Also known as the “Bathroom Bill,” the discriminatory law prevents transgender individuals from using public facilities that correspond to the gender with which they identify and bans cities from implementing any further nondiscriminatory legislation.

In his open email, Schwartz encouraged fellow theatre artists to follow his lead. Since then, many have taken similar action.

Cirque du Soleil cancelled scheduled performances for two separate tours, issuing a statement that the company “[behaves] as change agents to reach our ultimate goal of making a better world with our actions and our productions.” Most recently, Musical Theatre International declared that they would not issue any new licensing rights for “West Side Story.”

Nearly a month after Schwartz’s decision, I still have a hard time getting behind its practicality. Having spent my whole life as an actor from North Carolina, I can tell you that the theatre community is one of the few groups of people that not just tolerates, but celebrates individual diversity. A certain camaraderie exists in theatre circles that remains unparalleled. In the past, the theatre has been monumental in fighting previous discriminatory legislation, such as Amendment One, which made gay marriage in North Carolina unconstitutional.

Why, then, is someone like Stephen Schwartz targeting those who are

advocating for the same thing he is? Is it not true that the artists who produce his work are more likely to already oppose Governor Pat McCrory and HB2? Schwartz’s comment of his decision being “rightly deserved” raises the question of who is truly being punished.

Looking at the tour schedules for “Pippin” and “Wicked,” there were never any plans for either to return to North Carolina any time in the near future, so Schwartz’s big blockbuster tours aren’t losing

As a phenomenal writer with clearly a lot of clout, Schwartz is in the unique position to encourage great strides for the people of my state and across the world... Schwartz could issue a grant to local companies and commission new work that directly combats... discrimination.

any money. The only “economic consequences” Schwartz speaks of are on North Carolina artists at high schools and community and regional theaters, and I don’t think these are the people Stephen Schwartz means to target.

As far as the “cultural” argument, North Carolina legislators have shown time and time again that the arts mean nothing to them.

In 2013, the State Senate called for a $1.28 million statewide reduction in grants to arts organizations.

At local Durham, NC elementary

and middle schools, arts classes are limited to once a week. I doubt missing a high school production of “Godspell” will sway a government that has consistently denied the arts and arts education the funding they deserve.

It is true that similar actions were “very effective” in South Africa during apartheid, but what Schwartz is forgetting is that theatre also has the unique capacity to act as a catalyst for social change and education. Athol Fugard, one of the world’s most famous playwrights, had his passport taken away after he wrote “Blood Knot.”

His other play, “Master Harold... and the Boys,” was initially banned from being produced. His work was crucial in starting a worldwide conversation about apartheid and its very real and personal implications.

As a phenomenal writer with clearly a lot of clout, Schwartz is in the unique position to encourage great strides for the people of my home state and across the world. I think it would be better for Schwartz to give the okay for producing his work and take advantage of shows like Wicked—which inherently celebrates difference—as a platform to educate the audience and community. To reinforce these principles, Schwartz could also offer programming before or after the show on HB2 and its deeper issues. Even better, Schwartz could issue a grant to local companies and commission new work that directly combats a state and a people that condone discrimination. I am sure there are many people, like myself, who are hungry for such an opportunity.

Theatre artists have an amazing opportunity to start a conversation and speak truth to power.

In revoking production rights, Schwartz discredits the power of his own voice. We are indeed “change agents.” I wish Schwartz would take advantage of this and not write off the people who are on his side.

Assessing the Human Cost of Drone Strikes

By JOHN MCCULLOUGH Opinions Co-Editor

When Barack Obama came into the Oval Office after a landslide victory in the 2008 election, he did so with the promise that he would scale back the hawkish, neo-conservative foreign policy of the prior Bush Administration.

Instead of the expected reduction, the main change in the President’s strategy has been a shift from former President Bush’s reliance on ground troops to a military strategy centered around the use of missile strikes from unmanned combat aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. Though many (including the President) view these airstrikes as a means of neutralizing enemy combatants without endangering the lives of American servicemen, the deployment of this defense strategy has been intensely problematic, both strategically and ethically.

Though there are fewer soldiers physically stationed in combat areas, the use of airstrikes has greatly increased the number of civilian deaths. According to the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, “there have now been nearly nine times more strikes under Obama in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia than there were under his predecessor, George W Bush.” The Bureau also reported a minimum of 256 civilian deaths in Pakistan alone since 2009, compared to the 167 deaths that occurred under the Bush Adminis-

COURTESY OF RICHARD UNTEN VIA FLICKR

The expansion of the U.S. military’s drone program has led to the loss of too many innocent lives.

tration.

As a result of the expansion of the aerial theater of the War on Terror, the Obama White House and the Democratic leadership have continuously attempted to conceal the extent of the impact these military strikes have had. One of the most Machiavellian tricks pulled by the administration has been its expansion of the official definition of the word “militant.” According to an article written by Glenn

Greenwald in May 2012 for Salon, as opposed to the previous and stricter definition (simply, anyone engaged in violent revolt against the U.S. government) it can now be used by the military to refer to any able-bodied men in a combat area.

This dangerous wordsmithing is a clear attempt by the administration to purposefully obfuscate its record on drone strikes, resulting in a far lower official civilian death count than in reality.

This muddying-of-the-waters is vital to controlling public opinion of U.S. military action, as well as to maintaining the status of the Democratic Party as the standardbearer of the American center-left.

As a Democratic President, Barack Obama is forced to walk a delicate balance between a more dovish, left-leaning electoral base and his far more hawkish advisors and the Democratic leadership.

Simultaneously, as most of

the core voters of the Democratic Party had plenty of objections when President Bush took their country to war, the party feels an immense pressure to hide the similarities between its policies and those of the Republican opposition. As a result, most Americans do not realize that more civilians have died in drone strikes under the current President than under the former (according to the New York Times), just as they similarly do not realize that more undocumented immigrants have been deported (according to Fusion). Obama is responsible for more innocent casualties in air raids than his predecessor, a man so controversial in military policy that many have decried him and his top advisors as war criminals.

It only attests to the success of the administration’s maneuvers that right-wing media can still criticize him for a “weak” foreign policy.

The deaths of innocent civilians in U.S. drone strikes is immoral and unacceptable.The grand founding ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are besmirched by their loss at the hands of shortsighted and uncompassionate foreign policy. It is the duty of every American citizen to work to end this reckless violence that portrays the United States as a conquering imperial power, as opposed to an equal partner striving for global peace and prosperity. The only way to win the “War on Terror” is to win the hearts and minds of people hardest hit by global terrorism.

Killing their friends and family is certainly not a means of accomplishing that.

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Co-Editors Elena Ciotta—eciotta@fordham.edu Ana Fota— afota@fordham.edu Morgan Steward — msteward2@fordham.edu

May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

Creative Writing Awards Showcase Talented Student Writers about childhood friends and how adults can become children again.”

By ELENA CIOTTA & BEN STRATE Arts & Culture Co-Editor & Contributing Writer

Every year the Fordham Creative Writing department honors a handful of students from both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses who have shown impressive writing ability and have produced outstanding literary works. This year’s winners included Connor Mannion, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’16, Wallis Monday, FCLC ’16, Adam Fales, FCLC ’17, Elizabeth Shew, FCLC ’16, Danni Hu, FCLC ’17, Diana Shao, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’16, Katherine Sommers, FCRH ’16 and Bo Fisher, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

On April 27, a reading was held in the 12th floor lounge of Lowenstein, to showcase the award winners. Each recipient was able to read an excerpt or the entirety of his or her piece for an audience of students, faculty, family and friends.

Students submitting their work for review were asked to do so online, where Amy Benson, writerin-residence and faculty advisor to The Comma, and Allison Parrish, digital creative writer-in-residence, reviewed the work and decided on this year’s winners. When evaluating submissions, Benson noted that they were searching for “resting language, new subjects and a sophisticated sense of projects.”

Below is a list of this year’s recipients and a few notes about their work.

CONNOR MANNION is a Communi-

cations major. His short story, “Mojave Whiskey Weather,” earned him the Margaret Lamb/Writing to the Right Hand Margin Award. In his story, Mannion gives readers a brief window into the lives of a group of friends who gather every other week to play a drinking game. Although none of the friends seem to be particularly interested in playing the game after a while, they continue to play, as it gives them a feeling of tradition and community.

WALLIS MONDAY, a Comparative

Literature and Art History major, is the recipient of both the Academy of American Poets Award for her pieces “Hemingway and John Wayne Walk into a Bar” and “To the Cemetery Voices” and the Ully Hirsch/Robert F. Nettleton Poetry Award for her

KATHERINE SOMMERS, an Eng-

lish Major with a double minor in Theology and Philosophy, is the recipient of the Reid Family Prize for her piece “Development.” Awarded to any Fordham student, the Reid Family Prize is “given for excellence in the field of creative expression and engaged commitment to social justice.” Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen: An American Lyric” served as the main influence for “Development,” according to Sommers. She also took inspiration from the game of chess: “It is actually about using chess and the parallels of a chess board to parallel development in our society right now,” Sommers said. “[Society] is a bit unequal, and I just wanted to call light to that.”

DIANA SHAO, a Neuroscience and

YUNJIA LI /THE OBSERVER

At the reading, award recipients gathered to share their pieces with faculty and peers.

“ I write about my experiences. I think everything [you write] is very revealing of who you are.”

DANNI HU, FCLC ‘17, RECIPIENT OF THE ULLY HIRSCH/ROBERT F. NETTLETON POETRY PRIZE.

piece “Mapmaking and Inventory.”

All winning pieces were from Monday’s “Mythmaking” series of poems, which is a part of her senior thesis.

“It’s about the West, particularly gender in the West—growing up a woman in the state of Texas and how that’s affected me.” In addition to commenting on stereotypical gender roles in the West, Monday references lighter topics in her collection. The series, for example, explains her love for Texas and the reason why she constantly has typical western movie stereotypes in her head. “I always want to be the John Wayne-type, which I’m clearly not.”

ADAM FALES, an English Major, is

a recipient of the Margaret Lamb/ Writing to the Right Hand Margin Award for his piece “Between-ness.”

During his freshman year, Fales had an internship at the Poetry Project, where he was exposed to many great poets. When asked what specific poets inspired him, Fales responded, “Douglas Piccinnini. He has this really interesting reading style, where you can’t really tell how it’s supposed to be read. I think it’s mostly improvised when he does it.” When it came to “Between-ness,” however, Fales intends for it to be read rather than performed. “Between-ness” is a nonfiction piece heavily influenced by authors such as Maggie Nelson, Claudia Rankine, Lauren Berlant and Kathleen Stewart. Structured as a list, “Between-ness” explores what actually goes into a piece of writing and how the most banal interactions influence us unconsciously.

ELIZABETH SHEW is earning a

Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance, as well as her Bachelor of Arts in English with a creative writing concentration. Shew had no problem deciding her majors—“I’ve loved writing and dancing since I was really young, so when I came here I knew it was what I wanted to do.” Shew is a recipient of the Margaret Lamb/Writing to

the Right Hand Margin Award for her piece “The Distance Between Two Skins.” The story is a non-linear narrative about a young woman who lost her husband and her unborn child in a car crash. “It’s a piece that makes me really uncomfortable, [and] now I feel terrible because it’s so dark. I feel like my view of the world is not that dark.

I’m a little bit embarrassed about it,” Shew admitted, in regards to her piece. Shew, a member of the Ailey/ Fordham BFA program, was the only award recipient not able to attend the awards and read her piece—she had a prior commitment to dance in the Alvin Ailey senior showcase.

DANNI HU is majoring in English,

with a Creative Writing concentration. Her piece, “Female Perversion,” was awarded the Ully Hirsch/Robert F. Nettleton Poetry Prize. When asked for insight into her piece, a poem with an unusual structure and a gender change a third of the way through, Hu was more interested in what other people thought of it and how they interpreted it. “I love how people can read it in different ways.”

Concerning the inspiration and motivation behind her writing, Hu said, “I write about my experiences. I think everything [you write] is very revealing of who you are. I like to write

Philosophy major, is the recipient of the Bernice Kilduff White & John J. White Creative Writing Prize.

Shao’s piece, titled “Shadow Play,” was inspired by her mother’s youth in China. “The story was inspired by my mom telling me she had meningitis in China when she was two and so I was a little curious about this case because it was really bad,” Shao said. After looking into the case, even grappling with CIA documentation regarding it, Shao found inspiration. “[The story] deviated from her actual story because I wanted to focus on trying to imagine what it’s like to be a barefoot doctor... this rural doctor who doesn’t have any real resources,” she noted.

BO FISHER is studying English at

GSAS. He is the recipient of the Margaret Lamb/Writing to the Right Hand Margin Prize for his piece “Washing Jean Jackets in West Jeff.”

The piece tells the story of washing jean jackets with rocks, a theme Fisher credits to his teenage years.

“I got a jean jacket for Christmas back when I was in high school and I told my dad that I would need to find a way to make it more ‘jean,’ you know, dark blue. He jokingly told me a story about him and his friends in the neighborhood that they grew up in, that whenever they would get jean jackets they would take them to the laundromats and put rocks in the washing machine along with them.

So I’ve always had that idea in the back of my mind.”

“Me Before You” Hits Theaters In Time For Summer Vacation

By MORGAN STEWARD Arts & Culture Co-Editor

Louisa Clark is at a standstill— she just lost her job and is in a longterm relationship with an inattentive boyfriend that pays more attention to the asphalt he runs on than her.

Despite being the oldest child, she is forced to live in a windowless closet for a bedroom, as her younger and more successful sister inhabits the biggest room in their parent’s house with her son. This is enough to make anyone have a bad day, and Louisa is no exception.

On the other side of town, Will Traynor, a young, adventurous and good-looking socialite, used to have it all. He was living the dream until an automobile accident left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to move from the shoulders down.

These are the situations the main characters face in British author Jojo Moyes’ critically acclaimed breakout novel, “Me Before You.” First published in 2012, the 480page novel has spiked in popularity in recent months due to the impending release of an adapted major motion picture. Starring Sam Claflin, best known for his role as Finnick

COURTESY OF ALEX BAILEY VIA WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT

The new romantic comedy “Me Before You” will be released on June 3.

Odair in “The Hunger Games” series, opposite Emilia Clarke, the “Game of Thrones” dragon queen, the movie adaptation of “Me Before You” will be released on June 3, just in time to kick-off summer vacation.

Readers can pick up a copy of “Me Before You” to embark on Will and Louisa’s complicated journey before seeing the film. Their voyage starts off rough—in a desperate, last-

ditch attempt to find a job, Louisa (nicknamed Lou) accepts a temporary position as a caretaker for Will.

Quirky, clumsy and lively, Lou is the complete opposite of Will, who is angry, depressed and has seemingly lost his will to live. Initially, any sort of friendship between Lou and Will seems highly unlikely. Good intentions are met with snide, sarcastic comments and any hint at friend-

ship is immediately shoved aside. It appears that Will is content living in misery and self-pity, dwelling on the fact that he can no longer lead the same life as before the accident.

After several weeks with the Traynors, Lou finally has a breakthrough moment with Will, marking the beginning of a rocky, budding friendship between the two.

In her six months of employment, she manages to take Will on a journey, both physically and emotionally, that no one in his life thought was possible. Through laughter and tears, emotional revelations and screaming matches, Moyes pens more than just an unlikely and complicated love story—she creates a novel about bravery and overcoming life’s obstacles.

Although Lou’s plan is to take Will on a trip to change his life, it turns into a journey for both of them; Will learns to love and enjoy life again, while Lou beginsto realize that there is a whole new world outside the confines of her small town.

Louisa has never truly lived—it takes Will, someone who is no longer physically able to live the daring life he used to, to teach her the value of adventure.

Moyes writes in a way that makes the reader feel as if they are a part of the action. Readers stand alongside Will and Lou instead of just reading about their journey. From the moment readers pick up the novel, they are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, experiencing tense family fights, laugh-out-loud humor and unconventional (and at times awkward) romance… sometimes all within the span of a single chapter. Although the novel is on the long side, the book reads easily and smoothly, as if Moyes is having a direct conversation with the reader through her written words.

Judging by the two sob-worthy trailers currently released, it seems that the new movie will follow the text of the book closely. Moyes had a prominent part in the making of the film, as she wrote the screenplay. This should ensure that the new movie does not stray too far from the original text, a complaint many book lovers have about film adaptations of their favorite novels. Before heading to the theater this summer, relax by reading “Me Before You,” so that you, too, can fully experience the love and tragedy of life at Granta House.

12

Faces of Fordham

May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

“If I got a C in a class, my parents wouldn’t let me go to practice—they made sure I knew academics came first.”

- Garrick Mayweather

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER May 5, 2016

Faces of Fordham

Garrick Mayweather NFL Hopeful, Future Doctor

By ALEXANDER DIMISA Asst. Sports Editor

Around this time of year, most students are overwhelmed with their preparation of finals and last minute papers. Now imagine a schedule that also includes preparing for the National Football League (NFL), studying for medical school and several hours of community service a week. Sounds impossible, right?

Not for Garrick Mayweather, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’16. He is facing the last minute struggles of a college student as he prepares to graduate at the end of the month with a Bachelor of Science in General Science. Adding to this, he is preparing physically, emotionally and mentally to play professional football on the largest stage in the world. For Mayweather it’s easier this way.

Mayweather grew up in Baton Rouge, La., where he played everything from football to soccer to tee-ball. His love of athletics continued into high school, where he was a four-sport athlete, participating in basketball, track and field, tennis and of course, football. “Athletics has never been separate from my life, they have always gone hand in hand,” said Mayweather. That’s not to say sports were his life. Mayweather said that, while he tackled sports and school with the same intensity, academics always came first and “football was a backup plan to academics.”

The intensity that Mayweather shows on the field for every football game is also needed in the classroom, as he’s majoring in general science while on the pre-medicine track and minoring in Business Administration. For most, balancing these two difficult areas of study would be enough, but Mayweather decided to become a leader on the football field as well. “You don’t have time to procrastinate… as soon as you finish practice and workouts you have to be on it and focused,” he said.

As if this wasn’t enough, Mayweather is also an avid volunteer and community service participant. The Fordham football coaches require players to participate in some form of service every semester, but, as Mayweather put it, the coaches “leave plenty of room to go above and beyond.”

For the past three years, Mayweather has been volunteering at an underprivileged school in the Bronx, doing everything from reading to preschoolers to tutoring older students. Furthermore, for the past two years he has spent Christmas dressing up as Santa and visiting the local children’s hospital, delivering presents and bringing joy to the children.

He views the Jesuits’ and Saint Ignatius’ teachings on social justice and community service as essential aspects of his education, and something that he prides his life on. Mayweather stated that “coming from Baton Rouge, I saw a lot of poverty and suffering, so anything that I can do to give back to those around me, I do.” While Mayweather himself grew up “without ever needing a necessity,” unlike many of us, he came face to face with the this struggle as many of his friends faced hardships growing up. Mayweather believes it is crucial that we help address the problem of poverty in our nation. In the beginning of Mayweather’s recruiting process, Fordham was not high on his list. But the univer-

ANDREA GARCIA/THE OBSERVER

Garrick Mayweather has proven that he can succeed in the classroom and on the football field.

sity’s Jesuit values heavily influenced his decision. He said, “It was a feeling I couldn’t deny, I just knew that Fordham would be my school.

Mayweather’s family never pressured him into doing sports, but made sure he knew that school came first. “If I got a C in a class, my parents wouldn’t let me to go to practice—they made sure I knew academics came first.” Mayweather’s father, Garrick Sr., played football throughout his own college career, and even made it to the NFL before becoming a high school football coach. On Mayweather’s mother side, there are plenty of doctors and nurses. In fact, his grandfather is one of the top pediatric psychiatrists in the na-

ANDREA GARCIA/THE OBSERVER

Two-year captain Garrick Mayweather remains hopeful about his chances to join an NFL team.

tion, and a family member who served as the personal doctor to the Sultan of Malaysia. While this did influence Mayweather’s interest in the medical field, he has always had the desire to go into medicine. Initially he was interested in neurosurgery, but Mayweather did not like the death associated with the field, and instead decided on orthopedics.

Mayweather’s service highlights the quality of person he is as did my time with him. While walking around Rose Hill, we could not go 10 feet without him greeting or talking with someone he knew. This ranged from classmates to professors to advisors to a lengthy, personal conversation with a Sodexo employee who made sure to ask for tickets to Mayweather’s first NFL game.

As a two-year captain for Fordham Football, Mayweather has been a leader in every aspect to his teammates. Having 18 starters graduate at the end of last season, the team was going to have to start several freshman, and most critics had written off the team due to their inexperience. However, under his leadership, the team was able to upset the Army Black Knights from the United States Military Academy in the first game of the season.

Mayweather hopes he has had an impact on the younger players and believes that “Fordham is built to win, and if they continue to play with a chip on their shoulder, they will have success far into the future.”

Although Mayweather is clearly one of the most talented players, as his NFL recruitment shows, he does

not believe every leader has to be the best player on the field.

The leader that Mayweather looks up to and models himself after is not an NFL player or a famous athlete; rather, it is a former Fordham Ram, Steven Tapia, who was the starter of the same position that Mayweather played when he first came to Fordham. As a junior, Steven was locked in a heated battle for a position with Mayweather, who was a freshman. Rather than ignoring Mayweather, Tapia took him under his arm and taught Mayweather how to become a better player. Tapia’s attitude of putting the team over himself is what inspired Mayweather.

However, his main motivation to achieve success on and off the field is his family. “Making my family proud and doing right by my parents so they can see my success is what motivates me. It makes me happy to see them happy,” Mayweather said. Even with all the inspiration in the world, getting through the daily grind of community service, football practice and classes is still extremely tough. For Mayweather, what satisfies him at night is knowing that at he accomplished something. “Being exhausted at the end of the day is what I want, because I then know that I had a productive day.”

One program that Mayweather made great and brought to the national stage was an organization that he created: The Zero Tolerance for Racism Campaign.

He started this initiative in response to the bias incidents across both campuses. With this campaign, he hopes to get the word out, formulate a response and prevent future incidents. After strong support from the Fordham community and beyond, Mayweather created helmet stickers with the group’s symbol—a white zero on a black background—for the team’s nationally televised playoff game.

Even while doing everything a college student could possibly do, Mayweather manages to find time for himself. In his free time, Mayweather enjoys solving puzzles - his latest triumph being an impressive 3D model of The Capitol Building. While watching the news is often on his daily schedule, his guilty pleasure is watching the History Channel, specifically “Ancient Aliens,” which he believes everyone should watch.

One of the facts that most people don’t know about 6’3” Mayweather is that in high school he was a regional champion in tennis. Unfortunately, in his senior year he lost his title to an eighth grader in the semi-finals, but he still plays tennis and has even been challenged to a charity match against one of his professors.

More recently, Mayweather has had a full schedule of television, newspaper and radio interviews, from Fox Business to NY Daily News to the Fordham Observer and The Ram. Furthermore, he has been getting scouted by several NFL teams, with four public workouts as well as “quite a few others.”

As Mayweather looks towards the future and the potential of him signing as an undrafted free agent, he said, “I’m not going to have a party or anything. I have never been about the flash, and I’ll just be in my apartment watching the draft with my phone by my side.” While Mayweather might not have been drafted, talking with someone who has so many options in amazing fields, you won’t hear him brag about his enumerated talents or accomplishments; rather, you will hear stories of helping others and trying to better other people’s lives.

As Mayweather prepares for his rookie camp later this week with the Kansas City Chiefs, he might soon be on an NFL roster. If not, he may be preparing to apply to medical school. Whatever path he decides to take, he will surely succeed. His parents will certainly be proud, as will the Fordham community.

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THE OBSERVER May 5, 2016

Arts & Culture

10

Editors React to the 2016 Tony Nominations

By ELENA CIOTTA, ANA FOTA & MORGAN STEWARD Arts & Culture Co-Editors

ANDRONIKA ZIMMERMAN /THE OBSERVER

Every June, the Broadway community gathers to celebrate the standout performers of that year’s theater season. This year, it has been rumored that the Tony Awards ceremony will last as little as 15 minutes. The opening number will be followed by an announcement that “Hamilton” has won every category it was nominated for, raking in a record-breaking 16 nominations that include Best Musical and Best Original Score. Assuming that this is not the case, The Observer’s Arts & Culture staff has compiled a list of their Tony nomination reactions, while discussing the standout performances from the 2015–2016 season.

ELENA: Although “Hamilton” is getting attention for its

many Tony nominations, I am excited about a category that it did not have a shot at (pun intended). That category is Best Play. It highlighted two groundbreaking plays that I took delight in seeing this season. “The Humans,” by Stephen Karam, earned a total of six nominations, including two featured acting nods and a Best Direction of a Play nomination. It made its transfer to Broadway from its Off-Broadway run with the Roundabout Theatre Company, in January 2016. Centered around a family during a trip to their daughter’s Manhattan apartment for Thanksgiving, “The Humans” lends itself to discuss many facets of the human experience that we can all relate to. Mike Bartlett’s new historic play “King Charles III” was also nominated five times. This Olivier Award-winning play, which transferred to Broadway from the West-End in fall 2015 and closed in January 2016, provided a fictitious look into what might happen if Prince Charles ascends the English throne. This play was particularly invigorating for me, as its text, which is written in iambic pentameter, creates an atmosphere reminiscent of a Shakespearean drama.

MORGAN: I cannot wait to see who the winner of the Best

Revival of a Musical category is! This year, so many musicals made a fantastic return to Broadway, but my pick would have to be “Spring Awakening.” There was something about watching American Sign Language (ASL) morph into choreography that was absolutely breathtaking. Deaf West outdid themselves with this performance; in its limited Broadway engagement, I went to see it more times than I would care to admit. Although “Spring Awakening” is the show I’m rooting for, it has some steep competition. “The Color Purple” is going to be hard to beat, as its lead, Cynthia Erivo, is a breakout star. One musical that I felt was snubbed was “Tuck Everlasting.” Only receiving one nomination for Costume Design, the most impressive part of the musical was ignored: the scenic design! As soon as patrons enter the theater, they are met with a grandiose wooden tree on stage. As the musical progresses, viewers learn that the tree is not just a decoration, but a prop that becomes a playground for Jesse Tuck (Andrew Keenan-Blogger) and Winnie Foster (Sarah Charles Lewis). “Tuck Everlasting” has also been the only Broadway musical to make me sob in my seat.

Our deepest graditude and appreciation goes out to all departing and graduating editors. We commend your contributions to The Observer and wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors.

ANA: When I saw the musical adaptation of “American

Psycho,” I knew that it wasn’t one of the best shows this Broadway season had to offer. What stuck with me, however, was the staging. Visually, it was spectacular. Although the plot was set in the late 1980s, the futuristic setting served the story well, helping to portray the greed-driven characters.

Its two nominations, for “Best Scenic Design of a Musical” and “Best Lighting of a Musical,” came as no surprise. I was hoping Benjamin Walker, who plays the lead, would get a nod. His performance was just robotic enough, with a hint of emotion, perfectly blended in making me believe that he was actually capable of murdering in his spare time. A show that deserves its Best Musical nomination is “Bright Star.”

Bringing country strong tunes to the Great White Way was a bold move on the part of creators Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. It is also the only one with a completely original, fictitious story. The other four (“Hamilton,” “Waitress,” “Shuffle Along” and ”School of Rock”) are either movie adaptations or based on a true story. That does not mean patrons shouldn’t run to the theaters to see them this summer.

Features

Features Co-Editors Ruby Buddemeyer—rbuddemeyer@fordham.edu Alysha Kundanmal—akundanmal@fordham.edu Reese Ravner—rravner@fordham.edu May 5, 2016 THE OBSERVER

Searching for Coexistence Grappling with one’s role in social change

By SHAINA OPPENHEIMER Staff Writer

The other day I was sitting on the bus, headphones in, lost in the soulful melodies of Amy Winehouse. It took me a while to realize that the man sitting next to me was praying. His frock coat and top hat moved with the subtle sway of his spine while he read out of his siddur. Here I was listening to an electric jazz homage to drugs, sex, alcohol and addiction, and just a foot away from me someone was reading the word of God. One of the most interesting parts about living in Jerusalem during my semester abroad is the juxtaposition between the ancient customs and modern day life. While Israel is an extremely progressive country, it must also respect the customs of the ultra-Orthodox. Beyond this tense struggle to find balance is the even more tense struggle for coexistence between Jews and Palestinians.

A few weeks ago, I went on a human rights trip to the West Bank. We visited two Palestinian villages: Susya and Umm el Hiran/Atir. We met people who lived in the villages and listened to their stories, which were translated from Arabic to Hebrew, then Hebrew to English. I was aware of the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from the 1948 War of Independence, as I was taught, or as Palestinians call it, the Nakba, which translates to “disaster” or “catastrophe.” I was also vaguely aware of the ongoing displacement of Bedouin villages. However, putting a face to this suffering served as a reality check.

I was first struck by the festering smell of animals, trash and sewage.

Because these villages are unrecognized by the government, they are ineligible for municipal services such as sanitation, water and electricity, not to mention proper health care, schools and law enforcement. Further, they lack infrastructure, living

COURTESY OF SHAINA OPPENHEIMER

Thousands of Palestinians were displaced from Susya on the West Bank in the 1948 War of Independence.

in shanty townships that face the constant threat of demolition and resettlement by the Israeli government.

Despite this hard-to-swallow reality, the people showed much benevolence towards us—kids no older than six walked around with a tray of tea for everyone. Although you could see the sorrow in their eyes, they did not speak with anger or hatred. Before heading back to Israel, one of the village leaders spoke about wanting a sense of security. He explained how he wanted peace for his family, his people and the land. He didn’t want to have to live in constant fear of being removed from his home. He concluded, “I’m glad my kids can see you here, caring about our situation. I do not want to teach them how to hate.”

On the drive back, I tried to digest everything I had seen that day.

Growing up in a very Zionistic fam-

ily in which Israel could do no wrong, it was hard for me to sort through my opinion. How could the country I love so much, built on the idea of providing a home for a people who have endured much trauma, go on to displace so many people and inflict trauma onto others?

Flashing lights soon called my attention out the window. I saw soldiers and army cars everywhere. People on the bus started looking on the news to see what was going on. We were caught in the aftermath of an attempted stabbing at a checkpoint at the Gush Etzion Junction, southwest of Bethlehem. I watched the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) clean up the scene where they shot and killed a 20-year-old terrorist who attempted to stab a soldier. Our car sat in front of the scene for about 30 minutes. On the way out, I saw a soldier standing

in front of a barrier, his sniper pointed straight forward at a man kneeling with his hands behind his back and his head buried between his knees. I still don’t know if that man being detained had something to do with the attack.

I’ve never had a clear opinion on the conflict, but the more time I spend in Israel, the more I understand the complexity of the matter.

Although my trip to the West Bank was a lot to take in, at the end of the day, my Jewish privilege brought me back to my nice apartment, to eat a nice meal and sleep in my nice bed.

That isn’t to say indifference should keep me from taking action, nor is it to say that I will devote my life to human rights efforts in the West Bank and pat myself on the back for being the self-criticizing Jew. The contrariety of visiting the villages, hearing

people’s stories and hopes for peace and seeing the terrorist attack, just one of an ongoing series, put me between a rock and a hard place, to say the least. It would be much easier if I could stand on one side and point my finger at those in the wrong.

It’s one thing to read about these things on the news, but to put a face to these problems and see them with your own eyes is very disheartening.

Trying to have a Jewish state comes with many internal and external problems. The coexistence amongst the religious and the secular within Israel, and between the Israelis and Palestinians, seems farther away than ever. But if the idea is to preserve communities, the holiness of certain sites and religious customs, imparting trauma is certainly no way of accomplishing anything. Resorting to violence and indifference seems sacrilegious to me. After all the progress we’ve made throughout history, are we not better than this?

My heart yearns for the suffering this conflict has brought to both sides.

Why is it that conflict over religion and territory causes us to carry out the most inhumane acts? After all, isn’t religion about acceptance, love and forgiveness? I’m not a religious person, but the optimist in me would like to think that these values should eventually save us from our mutual destruction. These values that have been carried out for thousands of years stand at the base of religions people devote their lives to must contain something more.

Every evening I open my window and listen to the echos of the call to prayer coming from the Dome of the Rock. It reminds me that while Israel is a Jewish state, it can be a state of coexistence amongst a diverse community where the needs of all people are recognized. Something about it is so beautiful, so soothing, and it gives me hope for a day where we can live in peace.

Priscilla Consolo Awarded Prestigious NYU Scholarship

By SARAH CERVINI Staff Writer

“Everyone is unique. You need to show what makes you different, whether it’s your background, culture, ethnicity or interests. You need a narrative” Priscilla Consolo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’16 (FCLC), who was awarded the AnBryce scholarship to attend NYU Law School, explained. What is Consolo’s compelling story that helped her to achieve her goal? It has to do with embracing her background, getting involved in community service, following her faith, gaining several mentors and having a whole lot of drive and dedication.

Priscilla Consolo was born and raised in the southeast section of Brooklyn. Her father was an MTA track laborer and later worked for the department of sanitation. Consolo’s father’s dedication to manual labor instilled a strong work ethic in her. “My dad taught me the importance that sometimes you have to do things that aren’t exactly the easiest thing to do or the thing that anyone wants to do, but it is an important job that needs to get done and contributes to society or the common good,” she said. Consolo also considers her mother a powerful role model in her life. Her mother was very involved in local public education activism. Consolo’s mother fought for students, educators and the overall community “My mom taught me if other people are not

willing to take action, you have to be the person who does something.” In addition, Consolo says her younger sister is always there to provide support and encouragement .

As early as third grade, Consolo had an interest in law and politics.

Therefore, in middle school, she was placed in a specialized law program. Then, in high school, Consolo followed her mother’s actions and became involved at her local parish, Our Lady of Grace. Consolo explained, “My Catholic faith is extremely important to me and has been an informing principle in my public service work.” Consolo’s former pastor, Father Thomas Leach, helped to cultivate her faith, which formed the person she is today. Consolo was a part of the Teen Group Program run by Barbara Dattilo at the parish and is now a mentor to local middle school and high school students involved in the group.

Consolo is a history major with a political science minor. She is interested in public policy or public planning, with a specific focus on education. Additionally, Consolo studied Latin for two years at Fordham and is now fluent.

Consolo continued her involvement in liturgical ministries at Our Lady of Grace, as well as at Fordham through Campus Ministry.

At Fordham, she’s the President of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society. She has also been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi,

HANA KEININGHAM /THE OBSERVER

Priscilla Consolo, FCLC ’16, was awarded the AnBryce Scholarship to attend NYU Law School.

Alpha Sigma Nu (Honor Society for Jesuit Colleges & Universities), Sigma Xi (Scientific Research) and Eta Sigma Phi (Classics Honor Society).

In 2011, Consolo founded the Speak-Up & Clean-Up campaign which consists of 6,000 volunteers who participate in neighborhood clean-up events. That same year, she co-founded the Southwest Brooklyn Public Transit Improvement Coalition, which called for the restoration of the B64 bus service to Coney Island. Lastly, Consolo is a member of Brooklyn Community Board 1, the Law Committee

at Kings County (Brooklyn), the Democratic County Committee and served on the District Committee as the co-chair of the Schools and Library Committee for New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting Project in District 47.

Consolo was torn between going to law school or going to graduate school, as she did not know how she would pay for it. As a result, Consolo applied for three separate scholarships. After feeling defeated for not receiving the Truman scholarship, which would allow her to go to graduate school, she realized she would regret not going to law school. Consolo was “focusing too much on the possibility of it not working out instead of striving forward.” She embraced her meager upbringing and took a leap of faith.

The AnBryce Scholarship Program is applicable to first generation college students, service oriented individuals and intelligent students interested in law, and Consolo was the perfect candidate. The Fordham faculty helped Consolo with the intense and stressful application process. She had to write an additional essay about her background, different obstacles she has faced and how it shaped her. Hillary Mantis of the Pre Law office provided guidance to Consolo, while faculty members Dr. John Kezel, Mary Shelley and Dr. Rebecca Stark-Gendrano from the Office of Prestigious Fellowships helped her conduct mock interviews.

Her two mentors at Fordham were Dr. Toulouse and Dr. Panetta, who helped Consolo develop her skills to further her academic experience beyond college. When Consolo doubted her abilities after she did not win the Truman Scholarship, Dr. Panetta was there to comfort her, reminding her that “where you came from will not determine where you go.”

“I’m lucky I had a couple of people who could see the challenges as a first generation college student with a working class background. It was a burden, but at NYU they are looking for people like me,” she said Consolo feels the AnBryce Scholarship is exactly what she needed and what she was looking for. Her ideal job would be to serve as an elected official, working for the government as a legislator or policy maker. Consolo was exposed to the field when her former boss, assembly member Bill Colton gave her a position on his staff when she was only 17 years old. In addition, council member Mark Treyger is one of Consolo’s role models, and she worked on his campaign.

Consolo is a living example of an individual who goes against the odds, stays true to herself and works extremely hard to achieve her goals. Consolo advised that “all students interested in going to law school should know themselves.

Know your strengths and especially your weaknesses. Display yourself in a way you’re able to show.”

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

May 5, 2016

Features

13

Fordham Mock Trial: Debating Their Way to the Top

By REESE RAVNER Features Co-Editor

The month of April was an exciting time for the Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) mock trial team. After qualifying for the 32nd American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Championship Tournament for only the third time in the program’s history, the team celebrated a victory of sixth place in their division at the competition. I sat down with Kavin Thadani, head coach of the FCLC mock trial program, and Nuwani Irizarry, FCLC ’16 and president of the mock trial program, to learn more about the program and its successes this year.

According to Thadani, the AMTA is the governing body of mock trial, meaning it is the main organization that connects the country’s undergraduate university mock trial teams together. Each August, the AMTA puts out a case problem, alternating yearly between civil cases and criminal cases, that includes several components, such as witness statements, pieces of evidence and documents.

Throughout the year, the AMTA may tweak the case by adding a witness or changing facts to either enhance the case or fix errors.

In the fall, colleges and universities throughout the country compete in invitational tournaments to practice and hone their performance skills. FCLC’s two mock trial teams each compete in three tournaments during the first semester.

The official AMTA season begins in February. This year, 663 teams from over 300 schools (a school can have up to five teams, but many schools have just one) competed in regional tournaments across the country. The regional tournaments typically consist of about 20 to 30 teams with the top 192 teams advancing to the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) in March. There are eight ORCS tournaments, composed of 24 teams.

The top six teams from each of those tournaments advance to the National Championship Tournament in April.

The National Championship Tournament consists of two divisions, the Larry D. Estridge Division and the Kirkland & Ellis Division, into which the teams are randomly divided. After four rounds of competition with five ballots in each round, the winners of each division advance to the final round.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FORDHAM LINCOLN CENTER MOCK TRIAL

The 2015–2016 mock team placed sixth in their division at the National Championship Tournament.

This year, the FCLC mock trial team placed sixth in the Kirkland & Ellis Division, with a 10-5-5 record and ninth in the tournament overall.

Neilab Rahimzada, FCLC ’16 and co-captain of the team, and Sandra Jovic, FCLC ’18, were awarded AllAmerican awards, meaning they were ranked in the top 11 out of 144 students in their respective roles of attorney and witness.

The number of people on the FCLC team varies from year to year.

According to Irizarry, this depends on graduating seniors, members deciding not to return or the number of freshmen that try out. This year, around 50 people tried out. “We typically end up with about 20 members every fall semester,” Thadani said.

Information sessions are usually held during the first week of school and tryouts are held on the first weekend. Tryouts include students preparing opening statements and witness monologues. The coaching staff and the executive board evaluate and choose the team.

“We just can’t take everyone who tries out, so it’s a very selective process,” Thadani said. Irizarry noted that returning members aren’t nec-

essarily guaranteed a spot.

“At the beginning of year, we are gearing toward giving everyone as much experience as possible. People try witness and attorney roles; we try to give everyone a comprehensive experience. In the spring, we focus more on being as competitive as possible, so someone with more skill will take on more roles. For invitationals, performance doesn’t stop you from going forward, but by February, it’s make or break,” Thadani said. He added that the team would never take more students than they could, as to ensure that each member has the most rewarding and wellrounded experience possible.

The team holds tryouts very early to allow enough time for practice and training for new members who may need to learn new terms and rules. The tryouts are open to FCLC and Gabelli students of all majors.

“It’s one of the best experiences you can have on campus, regardless of if you want to be an attorney or not,” Thadani expressed, crediting this to the legal, critical thinking, public speaking and acting experience that mock trial provides. He noted that not everyone who par-

ticipates in mock trial goes on to be a lawyer and that the program creates strong bonds and friendships.

Thadani is an FCLC graduate and an attorney for the New York City Law Department in the Special Federal Litigation Division. His experience on the team as an undergraduate student sparked his interest in coaching, and he has been on the coaching staff for four years, first as an assistant coach and then as a head coach.

“This year has been one of the best years in the program’s history. I hope people are getting a lot out of the experience and learning a lot. I think I learned more from mock trial than I did from any class. The students we draw are really passionate about it and you learn how to really perform and be persuasive, and it gives you that experience you can’t get in a classroom,” Thadani said.

Irizarry, who is graduating this month, said that mock trial is “the community [she has] really gotten closest with during [her] time at Fordham.” She added that the best part of mock trial were the competitions.

Besides the successes at the Na-

tional Championship Tournament, Thadani noted that “just throughout the semester, one of our teams went undefeated at regionals and finished first place. The previous week, we won a very prestigious invitational tournament, Georgetown. We won 18 trophies this year, and throughout the year, we’ve won and placed at almost every tournament. We’ve also had 15 individual awards.”

Thadani encourages students to come to information sessions to learn about the program and to try out for the team. “We do a lot of traveling—that’s enticing to some people. [The program is] good for people who are very competitive, especially at a school where there aren’t a lot of opportunities to be in a competitive organization. And also we’re very successful, compared to other clubs or sports. We do really well, we win a lot, we’re very competitive and that’s because of the work we put in throughout the year, and I encourage people at least to enquire and think of it as an option,” Thadani said.

To learn more about FCLC mock trial, you can visit their informational website: fordham.edu/mocktriallc.

Alumnus Joseph Gitler Combats Poverty in Israel

By MARIA ISHIDA Staff Writer

Presently, a Fordham Law School (FLS) graduate is providing food for the surprising number of undernourished people in his adopted home of Israel. Joseph Gitler is the founder and chairman of Leket Israel, the largest food bank and food rescue network in the country.

With the help of 55,000 annual volunteers, Leket collects and provides over two million meals annually. “I am very privileged that I was able to come here and handle the issue successfully,” Gitler explained.

Gitler immigrated to Israel with his family in 2000. He was shocked to learn how much food was being wasted, while hunger and poverty were growing in Israel. Even today, Gitler’s shock continues to grow.

Officially, Gitler first began distributing food by using his own car with a home refrigerator. Leket Israel was founded in 2003 and helps impoverished people throughout the country, regardless of their age, gender, ethnic background or religion. They run several projects, including Sandwiches for Kids, which was launched in 2006. There are 850,000 children suffering from

COURTESY OF LUKE CUSUMANO

Currently, there are 850,000 children suffering from hunger in Israel.

hunger in Israel, and many of them have to go to school without sufficient meals. In order to help feed these children, volunteers make and distribute 7,500-8,000 sandwiches every morning in 40 cities.

In March of 2016, Gitler received the country’s prestigious Yigal Alon Prize for his significant impact against hunger. “It is really special for me,” he expressed, “because it is not an award specifically given

to an immigrant, but it is given to people living in the country, who have done something pioneering.”

Even though Gitler now takes the leading role in food issues, it is not something he had imagined himself doing when he was a Fordham student. “I was pretty young,” he said. “I went straight from college. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life.”

Gitler has been living in Israel ever since he immigrated with his wife and five children in 2000. Despite the tense political environment, he finds Israel an exciting place to live. “In many ways, it’s very complicated [in the] Middle East,” he said. “But that makes life very exciting. You never know what is coming next here, good or bad.”

Today, one in five citizens are living below the poverty line in Gitler’s adopted home. Yet, at the same time, about 35 percent of food is being wasted in Israel. “If we could just rescue 25 percent of that food, about 600,000 tons, we would not be hearing of anyone being hungry in Israel,” he said.

Looking back on the early days, Gitler found that Israel was culturally very different from the United States. He initially struggled with

the language, but has since become much more comfortable speaking Hebrew. Gitler faces some major challenges today. “There are so many more people in need than we are able to serve,” he said. Moreover, Gitler has to decide which agency to work with and how much food to give them. “It’s really difficult for us to figure that out,” he explained.

“There is no right answer.”

Gitler is continuing to work towards achieving that goal. He aims to distribute 50,000 tons of food per year by 2020. This would make Leket Israel one of the largest food providers and charities in the world. “That is pretty amazing considering the size of Israel, which is around the size of New Jersey,” he said. “[It’s a] very small country, and it gets more attention when you hear how big it is.”

The FLS degree can be used in many ways. Gitler’s example serves as a reminder that each of us can make a positive impact on this world. Gitler has big ambitions for the good he can do. He said, “possibilities are endless, don’t let anything stop you.”

For more information on Lekel Israel, check out their website: http://leket.org.il/English/Israel.

Like what you see? Join The Observer in the fall. For more information, visit www. fordhamobserver. com

Sports & Health

Sports Editor Mohdshobair Hussaini - mhussaini2@fordham.edu

May, 5 2016 THE OBSERVER

The Key to Thriving During Finals

Fordham’s Registered Dietitian provides advice on avoiding the pandemonium of finals

By MOHDSHOBAIR HUSSAINI Sports Editor

With the stress and anxiety of finals piling up, many students may be worried and questioning why they appear so tired and can’t get enough sleep each night. One can’t blame students for the plethora of papers they have to finish writing and the exams they have to ace within the next two weeks. However, a closer look shows that students must take part of the blame.

After interviewing Melanie Ordway R.D., Fordham University’s registered dietitian, it is evident that students can do a better job of coping with the stresses of the last weeks of the semester. Ordway is originally from Ithaca, New York, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics from SUNY Oneonta and completed her supervised practice at the University of Delaware.

Many students may not be aware of this, but this is Ordway’s second academic year with Sodexo, serving as a dietitian for all Fordham students.

One way students can better prepare themselves to thrive during such hectic periods is to make proper eating a priority. Unfortunately, one reason that accounts for this is that students are simply not eating. She stated, “First and foremost, students should not skip meals. I’ve seen so many students come to me saying they’re having a difficult time staying awake in class or having a hard time focusing.” She continued, “[students] may be waking up and only having a cup of coffee and a bite of a muffin and not eat until four or five in the afternoon.”

Students need to understand that food is the body’s fuel. If students are undernourished, they are deprived of their primary sources of energy, calories and carbohydrates, which are needed in order to stay alert during the day.

With that said, students should be conscious of what they eat. The stress of final exams should not be an excuse for students to rely on junk food and pizza each night. Ordway underscored this saying, “Finals time is an easy excuse for students to say, ‘oh I studied all day,’ or they go to the library and eat an entire box of Cheez-It’s.” That doesn’t mean students should be stocking up only on fruits, vegetables and grains either. “All foods belong in your diet in one way shape or form.

I don’t want to say live off a diet of oatmeal, oranges and almonds,” Ordway said.

In other words, students should have a balance when it comes to their portion sizes. “I’m a big advocate that there is not one food that you shouldn’t eat or avoid. There’s a strong mental relationship with food too,” Ordway said. So, why do portion sizes matter? She answered this by saying that proper eating is important especially when emotions may be running high.

So, what should students be eating? Ordway replied, “Students need to make sure they are having combinations of healthy carbohydrates like whole grains and lean proteins.” An example of this is oatmeal, which not only is a complex carbohydrate which can keep you full, but it also helps the brain produce serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that when released, creates a sense of euphoria. Moreover, oranges are helpful in providing the body with more Vitamin C. When stressed, hormone levels may be lower than usual. Thus, oranges supply the body with extra vitamin C for an immune system boost.

Additionally, plant-based proteins

JESSE CARLUCCI/THE OBSERVER

As final exams approach, students can better prepare mentally and physically, both inside and outside the classroom.

such as beans, legumes, lentils and almonds can be beneficial. In fact, Ordway suggested almonds. “[They] are great things to keep in your bag and they are nonperishable. They provide a good source of protein and heart-healthy fat.”

Another component to succeeding during the final weeks is hydration. Students tend to become too reliant on drinks other than water.

“I’d like to see students hydrated with water first and foremost. That can help with brain function, as well,” Ordway said.

When asked about other drinks such as coffee and tea, Ordway confirmed that they are only problematic when over-consumed. “Caffeine is necessary during finals time as you may be staying up later than usual and have to stay focused.

However, the amount we may be drinking can become excessive and can interfere with our sleeping pattern,” Ordway said.

Equally important, students need to avoid alcohol and energy drinks while studying during the next two weeks. Ordway accentuated the negative effects of such drinks. She articulated, “Alcohol and energy drinks can really interfere with sleeping patterns, which can make success on exams difficult.” Alcohol can interfere with parts of the brain that control movement, speech, judgement and memory. Suffice to say, such drinks can prevent students from performing well. When students aren’t focused on staying healthy, their grades will suffer.

Ordway highlighted that an important factor in order to not be overwhelmed during finals week is sticking to one’s routine. She said, “Make sure you keep your routine as best as possible. If you are someone who wakes up and eats breakfast, make sure you get up and still eat breakfast.”

She further noted that students should exercise to destress. “If you are someone who is physically active, I think physical activity is great, especially during finals.”

While some may think that the time spent for exercise can be used for

studying, Ordway expressed that a little exercise doesn’t hurt.

After wishing all students good luck on their exams, Ordway gave

a reminder to them to not forget to socialize. “Make sure to still include the social aspect of your lives.

Having a little break from study-

ing will never hurt anyone.” It may even help students perform better on their exams.