Observer issue # 14

Observer the

DECEMBER 3, 2015 VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 14

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Judaic Studies Chair Named

Photo Feature

By CECILE NEIDIG Staff Writer

On Monday Nov. 17, Magda Teter, Ph.D., gave her inaugural lecture as the Shvidler Chair of Judaic Studies at Fordham University. The lecture, entitled “From Alienation to Integration: Rethinking Jewish History,” was held in the 12th floor lounge of the Lowenstein building on the Lincoln Center campus, and was attended by students, faculty and a broader community outside of Fordham.

The Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies was established in the Department of History by Eugene Shvidler. Shvidler, an oil executive and international philanthropist who has funded and led projects to advance Judaic studies in the United States, Russia, England and Israel, graduated from the Gabelli School of Business in 1992.

John Harrington, Ph.D., the associate vice president and dean of faculty of arts and sciences, echoed the importance of the establishment of the Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies in his remarks about Teter. “As the inaugural holder of the Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies, Dr. Magna Teter will hope to guide Fordham with her knowledge and research in Jewish studies, and to develop a new field at our university that has not been firmly established until now,” he said.

Teter grew up in Poland during the Cold War era and received an M.A. from the School of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw. She then received an M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Columbia University and taught in the field of Jewish studies at Wesleyan University. Teter has authored two books in her specialties of Jewish history and early modern religious and cultural history entitled “Jews and Heretics in Catholic Poland: A Beleaguered Church in the PostReformation Era,” as well as “Sinners on Trial: Jews and Sacrilege After the Reformation.” A primary see CHAIR pg. 3

JULIET ALTMANN / THE OBSERVER

The Observer Photo Team captured different New York city subway stations. Pictured above, is the graffitied tunnel in the 191st subway station. For more, see centerfold and www.fordhamobserver.com

Fordham Students Talk Presidential Elections

By REESE RAVNER Staff Writer

With the 2016 presidential election in full swing, students of Fordham University are joining the rest of the country’s strategic examination of the presidential candidates to ensure that their top issues are addressed in the next administration.

It may come as no surprise that many students of Fordham at Lincoln Center adhere to the collegiate norm of possessing a left-leaning ideology.

The Observer sent out a questionnaire to gauge Lincoln Center students’ opinions about the upcoming election and candidates. The majority of respondents identified as Democrats and indicated agreement with Hillary Clinton and/or Bernie Sanders.

When asked who they believe

The Breakdown: Students lean more Democratic than Republican–they want more foreign policy information, and they think that the candidates will be Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio the Democratic and Republican nominees will be, several Fordham at Lincoln Center (LC) students predicted Hillary Clinton to represent the Democratic party, regardless of the fact that the Observer’s questionnaire responses largely indicated support for Bernie Sanders.

Clinton “has never, not once, fallen below first place in national

primary polling,” Chandler Dean, FCLC ’18, said. “Bernie Sanders is too radical to get the nomination, and Martin O’Malley has been completely unable to gain any sort of traction.”

Mackenzie Harte, FCLC ’17, said that Hillary Clinton “should have been [the nominee] in 2008, so with the extra experience, she’s even more qualified.”

“She appeals to more moderates and has an experienced record,” Demetrios Stratis, FCLC ’19, said.

He also attributed Clinton’s probable nomination to “her connections to the party elite and Wall Street Support.”

Despite the apparent popularity of Ben Carson and Donald Trump in many nationwide polls, right-leaning students anticipated that the Republican nominee will be Marco Rubio.

As observed by Stratis, “Rubio... appeals to moderate Republicans and actually has tangible ideas as opposed to his fellow candidates.”

The Observer also asked students to specify the issues they think will be significant to young voters regarding the election and those that are significant to them. see PRESIDENTIAL pg. 16

Inside

FEATURES

SPORTS

ARTS & CULTURE

Inside Hacktivism

New Leadership for Rams

Self-Starter from Ailey

Computer hacking for the greater good

Coach Neubauer takes the court

B.F.A. Alumna starts own dance company

An arguement against the plaza’s name

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PAGE 19

PAGE 17

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THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM LINCOLN CENTER

OPINIONS

BSA on Robert Moses

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News

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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Noted Author Named Literary Mag Editor Award-winning author named guest editor of CURA

By CONNOR MANNION News Co-Editor/Asst. Literary Editor

Claudia Rankine, author of the award-winning book “Citizen: An American Lyric,” has been named the honorary guest editor of CURA, Fordham University’s literary magazine, run by students and faculty in the creative writing department.

Her appointment follows the proliferation of “Citizen,” which works as both a book of poetry and a critical analysis of race and social injustice in America.

The magazine’s name comes from the Jesuit phrase “cura personalis,” which translates from Latin as meaning “care for the whole person.” According to Elisabeth Frost, associate professor of English and an advisor for CURA, it is a “literary magazine of art and action … something designed by Sarah Gambito, [professor and director of creative writing at Fordham] to transcend just the literary and give creative arts at Fordham an activist sensibility. In different ways each year, CURA conducts outreach, is student directed and has a national presence due to the importance of the writers published. It crosses a lot of lines.”

According to Frost, “There is a committee that decides on a writer to be our editor, and the year’s Reid Writer of Color. Claudia Rankine was our first choice.” The Reid series, established in 2008, is designed to bring famous writers of color to Fordham for writing workshops and public readings. Past guests have included poets and authors like Tracy K. Smith and Junot Díaz, as well as playwright Lynn Nottage, who came to Fordham concurrently with Fordham Theatre’s production of her play “Ruined.”

In addition to Rankine, the department also sponsors the Reid Family Prize, a $1,000 award for any Fordham student or group of students “for excellence in the field of

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARGARITA CORPORAN VIA FLICKR

Award-winning author Claudia Rankine was named guest editor of CURA.

social justice and the creative arts,” according to the Fordham English department. The Fordham Observer is a previous recipient of the award for a photo series on physical abuse in relationships.

Rankine is in similar company with the many awards garnered by her work “Citizen.” “Her work transcends categories. It was the only

work to be nominated for both poetry and criticism by the National Book Critics Circle,” Frost said.

Rankine won the poetry award, but not the criticism award. “Citizen” was also nominated for the National Book Award in poetry. The book itself is a part of the curriculum in both Frost’s class “The Body in Art and Literature” this semester and in a

number of other English and creative writing classes. “She has catapulted from being a well-regarded poet to a nationally-recognized figure that most poets don’t get to occupy [as a space],” Frost continued.

As guest editor, Rankine will suggest writers to solicit materials for the upcoming issue, which is dedicated to “Black Lives Matter,” according

to Frost. The Reid Series also promotes live events, one of which will be a reading by Rankine. “I believe she may do a reading from ‘Citizen’, especially in the parts that combine visual art and text,” Frost said. The book also has an online video component and is printed with various photo illustrations to highlight the meaning of the words on the page.

‘Artists Against’ Forms to Combat Injustice “ Being around an atmosphere where people

By AAKASH KUMAR Contributing Writer

After the recent events of police brutality, racial injustices and other injustices around the nation, many groups are taking a stand. At Fordham Lincoln Center, the coalition ‘Artists Against’ allows students to use art as a medium to illustrate the injustices that occur in our society.

The use of art to enact social awareness and social change came from an idea started by Peyton Berry, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’18. “I don’t want to take the full responsibility for it, “but I was the one who got the ball rolling.”

Garrett Kim, (FCLC) ‘16, was the person who was considered by Peyton as a major influence on the creation of Artists Against. “The use of the arts allows for different individuals a space,” Kim said.

“Whether it’s expressing anger, expressing frustration, expressing confusion--to make use of their artistic talents in a way that can turn those feelings into meaningful art that starts to spark conversation specifically with the communities that are affected most,” Kim continued. “We need to have a space where all of us can come together, and to allow students to be brave in their artistic expression in a way that might not always happen as a young artist.”

“Being around an atmosphere where people seem to be really speaking out about issues like racism, homophobia, contributes to my desire to get artists together at Fordham,” Berry said.

seem to be really speaking out about issues like racism, homophobia, contributes to my desire to get artists together at Fordham” –

ALEXANDRA RICHARDSON /THE OBSERVER

Berry created the group in response to injustice accross the nation.

While generating social change through discussion does resound well with some who strive for change, the use of art as a medium of discussion may provide access to the community than through other

resources. Leigh Honigman, (FCLC) ‘17, a student who is also considered

by Peyton to have greatly contributed to the creation of Artists Against, feels that “art makes everything accessible in our society.”

“If I pull out a 50-page report full of, like, dense vocabulary, nobody would read it, nobody would understand it,” Honigman said.

To use art as a discussion tool has long predated this collective. “Plays like Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” illustrate the relevance and influence of these pieces to our current time period as a play that we still read, that is still performed,” Berry said.

Berry and other students from the theater department have met weekly and discussed addressing students and young artists, from Fordham and from other colleges in New York City like NYU and Juilliard, on what their collective registers as, drafting the following mission statement: “We are a multidisciplinary collective of young artists passionate about achieving social change through our art. We aim to use our work as a vehicle to generate important conversation and spread awareness about prevalent social issues. Our goal is to create a space that we have yet to see in our community; a space in which we can freely discuss our grievances

PEYTON BERRY, FCLC ‘18 and

founder of ‘Artists Against’

with the current state of our society and derive art out of our anger.”

There were other issues that were addressed, such as where these presentations were to be made, how often do the people involved meet, what forms of art were to be used in the production and how to go about presenting these pieces of art without putting the performers or the creators in jeopardy.

“What I hope will come out of this and what I hope other artists to come out of this is just conversation and adding people to our growing list of advocates and activists, and teaching people about the issues too,” Berry said.

“While there may be some uneasiness when trying to discuss these problems, nothing will happen and nothing will move forward unless people partake in conversations that allow mistakes and a chance to grow from mistakes to better combat injustice,” Kim said.

“Anyone, whether or not they consider themselves an artist and who is passionate about activism is welcome to come and join us,” Berry said.

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THE OBSERVER December 3, 2015

Fordham’s New Judaic Studies Chair President McShane Stresses Importance of this New Appointment CHAIR FROM PAGE 1

focus of her studies include Christian-Jewish relations.

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, continued by contextualizing the installment of the chair and its importance to Fordham as an institution.

“We gather this evening at a very sad moment in the history of the human family,” he said. “As we this night cannot forget what happened in Paris this past weekend. Because we cannot forget what happened in Paris, all of us, I believe, find ourselves wrestling with the question of how something so horrific could happen,” McShane remarked. That the new appointment took place within the context of recent events is something that, in his opinion, makes it all the more relevant. “It’s important not only for Fordham, it’s important for all of the human family,” he continued, adding “Tonight we not only inaugurate a chair in Jewish studies and Jewish history, tonight we light a light in the world, and we stake claim.”

This claim, as McShane defines, is that “here at Fordham, we seek to build bridges. Here at Fordham, we celebrate the human spirit. Here at Fordham, we devote ourselves to showing the world that life, not death, comes from faith in God.” The inauguration of this chair at Fordham is something that McShane says pledged Fordham to the “work of building peace, building bridges of understanding and cherishing the human spirit.” McShane also noted that the fact that the “Jesuit University of New York” has established a chair in Judaic Studies “says something very important.”

Following a presentation of a medal and plaque, Teter took to the podium to present her lecture on her view of Jewish history as one that should be integrated into a broader

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Can Students Handle College?

By ELENA CIOTTA Staff Writer

JULIET ALTMANN /THE OBSERVER

Father McShane presented Teter with a plaque and medal to honor her appointment as the inaugural chair.

world history, and not excluded as separate from the conversation of other histories. “One of the most important aspects of my Columbia education in Jewish history was an approach to Jewish history that saw it as part of the larger historical context,” she said. Throughout history, Jewish people have lived as a part of and integrated into society, never in isolation. Teter cites this as the reason why Jewish history should not be taught apart from other histories, but instead included in a broader historical view. “This exclusion of Jews in modern historiography was not just rooted in modern nationalism. The theological concept of Jewish exile, accepted by both Jews and Christians also played a crucial role,” Teter explained.

“If modernization was, as schol-

ars have argued, indeed concomitant or an effect of integration,” Teter remarked, “or if Jewish integration as some scholars have argued was a basic criterion of the modern period, then questions have to be raised by what is meant by integration, since social, economic and [...] political integration may well have been in place before modernity.”

Teter explains that Jewish and non-Jewish societies and cultures are interdependent. “Paying attention to Jews in European society can in fact also help us understand, refine and even revise the histories of the societies of which Jews were a part,” she said.

“If Jews were, as I would argue, integrated into European society, culture, economy, and politics, can historians really justify disregard-

ing them and confining them to Jewish history?” Teter asks. As the Jewish history is not independent from cultures of other non-Jewish histories, the two are connected and constantly overlap. Therefore, the Jewish history should not be taught separate from the broader historical context, Teter argues.

The intended connectedness between Jewish and non-Jewish societies, and cultures, reflects the importance and significance of the installation of Judaic studies at Fordham. The integration of Jewish studies at the university is something that, in Teter’s opinion, emphasizes an aspect of Fordham’s mission to develop, for students, a greater understanding of cultures other than their own.

Great American Smokeout Event Held Students who have quit smoking shared their difficulties

By USAMA BHATTI Contributing Writer

Every third Thursday of November, the American Cancer Society hosts “The Great American Smokeout,” an event geared toward helping people quit smoking. This year, the event was organized by reference librarian David Vassar and Fordham’s health office, and it explored the possibility of pushing Fordham to become a smoke-free campus. Vassar, a non-smoker, explained, “I wrote a letter to the Provost a few years ago, and while they appreciated the effort, there wasn’t much done. There’s just so many brilliant students here, and it pains me when I see them standing outside puffing away, just killing brain cells. It’s a waste of huge amounts of talent.”

The event drew the attention of some students, who stopped by to get more information about not just the dangers of smoking, but the advantages of not smoking and a free bag of candy. “Evidence suggests that short-term exposure to secondhand smoke, even outdoors, puts people at increased risk, especially those with pre-existing cardiac and pulmonary illness,” Lisa Spitzner, community engagement coordinator for NYC Smoke-Free, said. “A smoke-free college environment reduces secondhand smoke exposure and the start of tobacco use among young people. It also helps smokers on campus who are trying to quit.” She further explained that if a young person does not be-

News

LYDIA BENNER /THE OBSERVER

NYC Smoke-free tackles a growing number of smokers at LC.

gin smoking by the age of 26, it is very unlikely that he or she will ever take up smoking. As the majority of the student population at Fordham is under the age of 26, a smoke-free campus would be a huge factor in making sure hundreds of people don’t grow up to become smokers.

Students also opened up about their own experiences. 23-year-old Ambra Marengo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ‘16, explained that she started smoking at age 14. At the time, she lived in Italy, where it was normal for everyone to start smoking at that

age. While none of her immediate family smoked, all of her friends, and a large portion of her extended family did. When she came to the United States about six years later, she realized the habit was “just pointless, and too expensive.” She quit, and after a couple of attempts, was finally able to give up smoking in full. “I feel so much better now that I don’t smoke. I’m glad I quit.”

While Ambra quit completely, people like Claudia Zbrzeski are still in the process of giving up the habit. Zbrzeski, a 20-year-old and FCLC ‘17, explained that she started smoking at 16 because all of her friends did it. “My brother and boyfriend also smoke, so that’s another reason,” she explained. However, she noted that lately she’s been out of breath. “I want to be able to spend more time at higher intensities on the treadmill, instead of just doing a short, slow workout.” She said that she took the pledge to stop smoking, and is gradually weaning herself off of cigarettes.

In addition to providing information, the event also had many giveaways to promote the cause.

NYC Smoke-Free handed out notebooks, flash drives, mugs and even resource hotlines and mock “quit kits” to help students begin to stop smoking. Vassar explained that this was just the start to something he hoped would become much bigger.

“I want to make Fordham a smokefree campus, but I also want to make it a democratic process. I think this is a great way for us to bring about a more positive change.”

In a joint report released by the Jed Foundation, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the Jordan Porco Foundation, researchers found that incoming freshman are simply not mentally prepared for college.

No one is immune to college stress, but students are now having a more difficult time mentally adjusting to college life, according to the study.

The report noted that 87 percent of college students said that in high school more emphasis was placed on being academically prepared for college, rather than emotionally prepared. Keith Eldredge, dean of students at Fordham at Lincoln Center(LC), stated that while he does see some students falling under this category, he “rarely finds a Fordham student who is not academically prepared,” adding that the “rigor is in the demands of getting accepted to the institution.”

The report also cited stress as a common factor among many students, with “50 percent of students feeling stressed most or all of the time, and 36 percent feeling as if they were not in control of managing the stress of day-to-day college life.” Eldredge said, “There is no magic bullet to cure stress and anxiety, but to be aware of it is to help.”

He also stated his excitement over the work that the health and wellness center is doing in order to help students cope with their stress.

The report also stated that student anxiety came about due to “increased pressures such as paying for college expenses, making new friends, keeping in touch with family and being independent for the first time.” When asked if the demands of going to college in New York City were a factor in adjusting to college life and independence, Eldredge said, “I think because of our location, we tend to attract students who are more prepared because they are choosing to come and live in Manhattan, and I think that takes a certain kind of person, attracting a student that is more mature and independent minded.”

Eldredge also listed Fordham’s unique Resident Freshman Mentor (RFM) and Commuter Freshman Mentor (CFM) programs as helpful to the transition. “Every school has RA’s (Resident Assistants), every school is going to talk about peers and older students to help in the transition process. I don’t know of a lot of schools that have freshman mentors,” he said, adding “it makes it less intimidating for students to reach out to other students.”

Dillion Rebock, Gabelli School of Business at LC (GSBLC) ’18 and an RFM, living in Mckeon Hall, stated that the great work of his own RA and RFM made him want to become one as well, saying, “I was so affected by them, they made the transition easy, so I wanted to do that for other people.” Rebock also stated that he thinks the Fordham freshman orientation program does a great job of getting people adjusted. “The communities that we build on our floors keep students distracted from the problems that they are having,” he adding, continuing “ and that they are able to vent with their friends and events, being able to be happy, and learn together as a community.”

The Observer will talk to the Counseling and Psyhological Services (CPS) office. For the updated version, go to www.fordhamobserver.com

Opinions

STAFF EDITORIAL

DIG DEEPER THIS ELECTION SEASON

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

Observer the

Editor-in-Chief Adriana Gallina

T

he presidential primary election season is coming to a head, and students must educate themselves on matters beyond just the candidates. Now more than ever, the presidential race has become a convoluted process of determining who offends other groups the least, as well as how their image appeals to the public.

While it is true that the election will ultimately come down to only two candidates, it is important to arrive at a final decision based more so on the issues than on the persona of the individual candidate.

While oftentimes it is difficult to separate the two, this division is a necessary step in order to create a healthier political climate.

In a robust political environment, all issues should be thoughtfully weighed, but social issues have lately excessively dominated public attention. However, economic, domestic and foreign issues are vital to discuss as well.

Party lines should not be the end-all be-all ei-

ther. The modern definitions of both the Republican and Democratic parties have become distanced from their original purposes and platforms. The party leaders, instead of sticking to their ideals, make every attempt to craft candidates in such a way that they can be appealing to everyone. This is

“Stay informed and, above all, read about the issues.” problematic, as by and large candidates end up not standing for their own party ideals by the end of the process.

According to a straw survey conducted among FCLC students, we’re aware the candidates may not be elected on ideals alone.

Some students predicted Hillary Clinton would ultimately be the more electable candidate, despite support for Bernie Sanders. The pragmatic view suggests stu-

dents are aware of the ideals at stake but still important to be aware that candidates, once in office, might take a stance more in line with a particular party’s ideals.

Social media is now a significant presence in all the debates, whether it is constructive or not.

This gives a false portrayal of the national opinion on these issues and is harmful to promoting open dialogue as a nation, as only a limited selection of issues are represented and there is not adequate space to discuss their complexities.

Stay informed and, above all, read about the issues. Don’t only use extreme left or right wing sites. Take your information from a variety of sources. While The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, the New York Times, Bloomberg, CNN and FOX all have their own issues, they are all still usable to a point. It is up to you to be aware that all sites have a bias and an agenda. Think critically, dig deeper and take everything you read or watch with a grain of salt.

Managing Editor Ben Moore News Co-Editors Ana Fota Connor Mannion Asst. News Co-Editor Jennifer McNary Opinions Co-Editors Tyler Burdick Lexi McMenamin Asst. Opinions Editor Areeg Abdelhamid Arts & Culture Co-Editors Sri Stewart Asst. Arts & Culture Co-Editors Shaina Oppenheimer Rachel Jarvis Features Co-Editors Alanna Kilkeary Hansini Weedagama Alysha Kundamal Literary Co-Editors Jessica Vitovitch Erika Ortiz Asst. Literary Co-Editors Kayla D’Angelo Connor Mannion Sports Co-Editor Matthew McCarthy Kathleen Kirtland Copy Editors Brianna Goodman Kaitlyn Lyngaas Tyler Burdick Erika Ortiz Luca Vettori Layout Co-Editors Jennifer McNary Elodie Huston Multimedia Producer Jesse Carlucci Photo Co-Editors Jessica Hanley Hana Keningham Online Editor Ben Moore Business Manager Victoria Leon Faculty Advisor Prof. Elizabeth Stone

It’s a Kodak moment, Let me go and get my camera All I want to know is:

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Opinions

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The Left: Stop Laughing, Get in Shape JOSEPH SCANLON Contributing Writer

Over the past four months, people of all political stripes have expressed to me confusion about Trump’s dominance in the polls and command over the GOP base. I am merely confused by their confusion.

A lot has been made of the GOP’s shift to the fringe-right over the last 10 years, and many have generally accepted this narrative to be true; yet no one wants to connect the dots to Trump’s popularity. Many liberals tend to just want to write off Trump as an anomaly, and this is a big mistake. The fact is, his strategies are working, and there’s a lot the left can learn here.

Trump is not a glitch. It should be of no surprise to anyone that he has been wildly successful in rallying Republican support. Trump is the natural product of the “take our country back” sect of conservative America that has only grown more prominent since President Barack Obama took office. The mind-bogglingly hateful things that liberals think he says merely for controversy are actually what his audience wants to hear. When Trump says President Obama is so bad there will never be another black president, or when he says mosques and refugees should be held under government surveillance, or when he says Mexico is sending crime-prone rapists dooming us all and we need a big beautiful wall with a beautiful door right in the middle, this is all part of his calculation–and the results scream horrible success. Trump is no less ‘what the Republican party is all about,’ a flimsy construction, than the people behind him in the polls.

I’ve listened to what each of the GOP candidates have said in the last four months and they all ultimately preach some combination of austerity, hawkishness and nativism. Sure, Republican candidate John Kasich pointing out the glaring absurdity of dismantling Medicaid earns him half a cookie. But no one who considers themselves left-wing should ever want to consider someone who is brazenly anti-labor, defunded Planned Parenthood, cut welfare and took from public schools to fund notoriously disastrous charter schools–and would likely govern the country even more conservatively.

There are no ‘saner options’ here.

The relentless laughter at the GOP is well-deserved. One of my favorite things to come from this election has been the absurd question of whether or not one should kill

PHOTO COURTESY OF TINA LEGGIO VIA FLICKR

According to Gallup, 60 percent of Republicans say candidates have good ideas for solving issues

baby Hitler if given the chance; this question originated from a bizarre poll posed by the New York Times’ Twitter account and later asked of several candidates. Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, answered with a “hell yeah!” Ben Carson was asked whether he would abort baby Hitler, and gave a hardline stance against aborting anybody. Many people, such as myself, found this moment hysterical. He’s a doctor who goes out of his way to appease the talking points of the anti-vaxxers, those opposed to the medical merits of vaccination. He has claimed multiple times that China is actively involved in Syria which is not true, while claiming he has “better sources” than the White House–likely the same folks who backed his claim that the Egyptian pyramids were grain storages.

Yet none of these things have hurt him in the polls. All it takes to rally together his widening base is to say “Obamacare is slavery!” and “gun control is for Nazis!” and he’s smooth sailing. Mockery is merely a way of coping with the surreal landscape of modern politics, and how real people – real Tea Party conservatives – are 100 percent on board with ‘President Carson.’

But beware. There is one way overdone mockery of the right hurts the left–it does not beget selfanalysis.

According to Gallup, 60 percent of Republicans say candidates have good ideas for solving issues, compared to 42 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of all national adults.

Lefties laugh too much at the haywire GOP while the selection of potential Democratic nominees they’re

expected to pick from is abysmal.

While many young lefties are still holding out hope for second-place Bernie Sanders, the Associated Press says Hillary Clinton already has a 45-to-1 superdelegate advantage over the socialist senator. I’m dismayed that Clinton, who historically has been a war hawk, an enemy of welfare, pro-capital punishment, pro-drug war, a blatant liar on her record and a flopper regarding hugely important issues is likely going to be president.

Leftists should also not have to subject themselves to voting for Hillary Clinton as a lesser evil. Time spent laughing at lunatics of the right is better spent studying why they’ve been so successful in pushing America’s “center” rightward, so that they’re not forever pushing washy candidates in the name of

“pragmatism.”

The fact is, the left hardly has a party. The political left is making minor gains in the national conversation with Bernie Sanders running, but after he loses in Iowa, we’ll go right back to hearing the 17th idiotic hubbub about a balanced-budget amendment. The left has been a political loser for quite some time, and it is time for us to get in shape.

We must take the Trumps seriously, lest we lose the nation further. The answer for leftists who want better electoral politics is to focus on ourselves and mobilize–as those oh-so-hilarious Tea Partiers did– and either forcefully, miraculously turn the Democrats into the party the right thinks they are, or seek to dismantle the two-party system for greater representation.

Independent Committee Addresses Hate Crimes KYNDAL JACKSON and MACKENZIE HARTE Contributing Writers

On Sep. 13, 2015, a black student at Rose Hill reported that a racial slur had been carved into his door.

Just a week later, a swastika was found within the same building.

Over a month later, there were four opportunities to attend ‘Incidents of Hate’ sessions for residents at Lincoln Center to discuss these crimes.

At these sessions, no safety plan was presented to students to show that they were being protected or that these crimes would be prevented in the future. And sure enough, on Wednesday, November 11, a second swastika was found on our own campus.

These hate crimes have shown us two things: 1. Racism is alive and well at Fordham University—at both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses.

2. We do not have an adequate

Racism is alive and well at Fordham, and we do not have an adequate enough safety plan to prevent incidents of hate, or more frighteningly, even more violent acts.

enough safety plan to prevent these incidents, or more frighteningly, even more violent acts on our campus.

Following a series of discussions with fellow students, we determined that the best way to confront these issues would be to form an independent student-driven committee to research student experiences and opinions, and then use this data to present solutions to safety problems we face on this campus.

This is a major endeavor, so clearly there are a lot of questions.

Here are a few of the questions we have received most often: 1. Are you involved with USG? No. We are an independent committee, though we invite any mem-

bers of USG to take part in whatever way they are comfortable.

2. What is the goal of this committee?

The major goal of this group is to collect student data, and report the data along with safety recommendations in a comprehensive report to the administration, Public Safety and the Office of Residential Life.

3. If you are independent, how do you to work with the administration?

While we are independent, we have maintained a positive relationship with administrative groups. We will be conducting our work independent of the administration, but plan on keeping them in the loop so that they are aware of our efforts

and the legitimacy of our research.

4. Why is this committee independent when you could just work with administrative offices?

We do not believe that students—all students—would feel comfortable sharing their honest opinions when they know that the administration is sponsoring a group, particularly student employees. We want to provide anonymity to students who feel uncomfortable sharing directly with the administration so that we can remove any of the apprehension they have so we can have more legitimate and comprehensive results.

5. How do you plan on organizing this committee?

We want the committee to be open to all students who want to be involved, and we invite anyone who is interested to join in. We are in the preliminary stages of data collection, but once we identify key areas that we would like to investigate, we plan on forming subcommittees so that students can take part in their areas of interest, directly.

6.What are your methods for data collection?

We have one preliminary survey that we want all Lincoln Center students to take. We plan on conducting all of our data collection efforts through surveys. We understand that students may not want to take a ton of these surveys, so we promise to try to keep them to a minimum!

7.I’m interested, what can I do?

First things first, take our survey, which can be found linked on the Observer website.

Secondly, contact us at kjackson22@fordham.edu or mackharte@gmail.com. We’ll let you know of our next steps and will be thrilled to have you on board!

We are so excited to be working on this; these issues are incredibly important. We understand that policy review and reform is time-consuming and, frankly, not the most exciting activity. But we believe passionately that we are not the safest we could be, and we want to do anything we can to fix that.

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Opinions

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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The Overlooked Socioeconomic Divide At Fordham JALEN GLENN Contributing Writer

Over the past three years, Fordham has become my home. Yet, I have felt unsafe in this home during the same time. This is not simply the result of my racial identity, but also because of my socioeconomic background. As a middle-class individual who comes from a single parent household, I feel out of place at Fordham, which, let’s be honest, is an upper-class school. Don’t believe me? Consider this example.

While participating in a town hall meeting of about 25-30 students, I asked those in attendance if they knew what the Pell Grant was. Only two raised their hands. For those unaware, the Pell Grant is awarded to low-income students attending an undergraduate program. What exactly is “low-income” you might ask? Forbes found that in 2007-2008, 95.9 percent of students from families with an adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less received the Pell Grant. Although this statistic indicates that close to four percent of these students came from families that make over $50,000, it nevertheless highlights the goal of the grant, which is to provide lower-middleclass to low-class students with the opportunity to attend college.

What do we then make of the encounter mentioned earlier? If only three people in a room of almost 30 knew what the Pell Grant was, then this demonstrates just how lacking Fordham is in socioeconomic diversity. This is further reflected by the class microagressions that I experience on a daily basis. Such statements include “buy a new one,” “why do you work so much?” and, my favorite one, “just put it on your credit card.”

The impact of these statements is heightened by the fact that there is no space for me to express my

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO/ THE OBSERVER

Fordham University doesn’t clearly report how much aid is given on a need-based basis.

frustrations. Even amongst individuals who consider themselves “social justice-minded,” I find my class to be a burden when they mention their monthly allowances, and how they used their daddy’s credit card for a new pair of Hunter boots.

The statistics (or lack thereof) further reveal Fordham’s lack of socioeconomic diversity. The school’s website notes how 80 percent of students receive financial assistance. Although the purpose of such a statement appears to convey economic diversity, upon closer examination, this statement means almost nothing.

For example, a good friend of mine at school, whose parents own

a home, and who does not receive the Pell Grant, mentioned to me how he receives a small scholarship, and his parents pay the rest of tuition. Because of this scholarship, which does not even come close to covering the tuition of our school, this student is grouped into the 80 percent mentioned earlier. Therefore, “financial assistance” does not equate with “financial need,” rather, the term refers to anyone, even those of higher economic status, who receive an outside source of funding.

A more appropriate way of revealing economic diversity would be to publish statistics on how many students receive the Pell Grant. Doing so will allow prospective students to better

determine whether or not Fordham is right for them.

This is not to demonize or condemn the individuals mentioned earlier. Conversations on class always take a back seat to almost every oppression. This is a result of middle-class to upper-middle-class individuals, such as those at Fordham, dominating discussions on racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia. As a result, the oppression that low-income students face becomes obscured, and almost disregarded.

This has led to two significant consequences. First, such ignorance hides the economic system that segregates people based on income, wealth and assets, which in turn

implies that everyone’s economic experience is similar; and second, it allows middle-class to uppermiddle-class individuals to preserve their economic privilege by ensuring that low-income individuals do not encroach upon their precious beach houses along the Jersey Shore. For us to achieve true social justice, economics needs to be included in every conversation. Whether that be on race, gender, sexual orientation or ability, we can no longer ignore the role that economics plays into exacerbating these oppressions. If we continue such ignorance, we will ensure that Fordham, and countless other locations, remain unsafe for low-income students such as myself.

Heroism Isn’t Black and White TYLER BURDICK Opinions Co-Editor

When Caitlyn Jenner was announced as the recipient for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, there was a significant amount of backlash, mostly from people who believed that there were simply many other more deserving candidates of such an award. When Jenner was later named Glamour Magazine’s “Woman of the Year,” this controversy resurfaced. The widower of a previous recipient, a female New York Police Department officer who gave her life evacuating civilians from the south tower of the World Trade Center during the events of 9/11, returned the award to Glamour. He believed that Jenner’s reception diminished the value of the award itself and thus made a mockery of his wife’s noble sacrifice.

I can understand the backlash, but what is important to note is that the issue isn’t about the ‘legitimacy’ of Jenner’s cause, but rather the issue is that Jenner hasn’t really done anything for said cause. In our culture of award-bestowment, we are perpetuating a trend where people aren’t even being honored for what they are actually doing.

There isn’t a doubt in my mind that the men and women who gave their lives in the horrific tragedy of 9/11 deserve the title of “hero.”

It’s unfortunate that in this culture of idolization, we must single out specific individuals and create an environment of competition. It then becomes a discussion of whose deed is greater, and consequently

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY STONE/ CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

Caitlyn Jenner has been heralded as a “hero” of the trans community.

we have to quantify varying degrees of heroism. And yes, when you juxtapose the deeds of someone who sacrificed her life to save the lives of others with a figurehead of the transgender community, something certainly seems off. Indeed, the risks were far greater for the former individual than the latter, but to say

she was more deserving of the title would be making a statement that heroism requires a sacrifice of life, or a quantification of lives affected.

By extension, this means the various great social workers who fought for serious change in our society –like Dorothy Day, whom we name a portion of our own university after

– would not be worthy of the term “hero.”

It is therefore ridiculous to suggest that we cannot call an advocate of the transgender community a hero. However, the real problem with the environment of awardgiving is that this designation is increasingly becoming more about what people represent, rather than what they actually do, and I think this is one of the biggest reasons people take issue with Jenner. One of the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award (ESPY) producers, Maura Mandt, has specifically stated that the decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner was made “to educate people about this issue and hopefully change and possibly save some lives.” A worthy cause, no doubt, but we’re still looking at an award given to advance a specific agenda rather than to honor an individual’s actual deeds.

And this gets to the real meat of the issue – Jenner hasn’t done an awful lot for the transgender community at all. When you really get down to it, Jenner’s contributions mainly involve her highly publicized transition from man to woman, her acceptance speech at the ESPYs and her currently ongoing reality television show “I Am Cait.” The biggest problem I have with Jenner is the fact that she is less of an advocate and more of a figurehead: a figurehead whose popularity has largely to do with the fact that she was already incredibly relevant in celebrity news as former Olympian Bruce Jenner.

But what about the people like Laverne Cox, who are actually holding talks aimed at increasing awareness of the issues affecting the trans-

gender community? What about the people that aren’t fortunate enough to have been socially relevant due to their affiliation with a rather vain and selfish family of fame hogs? The moment we start giving people awards because of what we think they represent is when we start ascribing value that may not even be there. The exact same thing happened when, not one year into his first term as president, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize purely for his promises, not for his actions. Now, as his term is coming to a close, it is difficult to marry the visage of Obama with the title of “champion of world peace,” especially with major issues such as the emergence of ISIS, a government standstill regarding gun control and souring talks with Russia still prevalent in American politics.

This is what we truly need to be aware of—giving people awards that don’t deserve it. However, I am loathe to agree with those that want to qualify what acts are deserving of awards and what aren’t. The moment we do so, we transform the act of good deed-doing into an ugly system of competition. At the end of the day, it comes down to perspective; the work of the Laverne Coxes in the world may be to some what the work of the Martin Luther King Jrs. are to others. However, if there is one thing that should describe a hero, it should be action. The criticism surrounding Jenner has less to do with the legitimacy of the transgender movement, and more to do with the fact that Jenner happens to be one of those figures that simply doesn’t deserve their current level of attention.

CONNOR MANNION/THE OBSERVER

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The Comma

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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Keep It Classy

By RACHEL JARVIS

Close your legs Close your mouth Look them in the eye Do not swear Do not shout But let them see you cry.

These are the words a “lady” lives by.

California

By MARGARET FISHER

You gave me California and I felt the ocean rise in my ears.

The tide broke across my drums and all that held me was your arm in the earth.

We sat on the tilt-edge of the world and felt the sky wrap sideways like a blanket.

Let it turn. The stars and things we never know.

This life is too big for me

anyhow.

It hangs down past my knees and my spine cracks when it pulls.

But you gave me California and the stars laughed.

I cried a smile into the cold sand because they could see us.

We could see them.

MARIA KOVOROS/THE OBSERVER

The Artist in my Building

By HOLLY RUSSO

There he goes again. His stark white mane blows back as he glides up 69th street in his typical garb: black velvet pants, black t-shirt, blue double-breasted jacket and a 6’x4’ canvas on his shoulder. He wears it as normally as most would wear a bag or briefcase, and he carries it as easily, too. It’s a wonder that his petite foreign frame hasn’t crumbled under the heavy foreign frame of the canvas.

They’re always painted and always with what appears to be the same tired abstract blob. They’re not particularly appealing and they’re not particularly special—they’re just big. And they get more fresh air than I do. They ride in convertibles to the doorstep, and the doorman mundanely unloads them into the lobby where they stand by the elevator making small talk. Honestly, it’s a bit self-depleting to know that wherever they’re going is definitely more important than wherever I’ve got to go that particular day—hey sure make their way around.

One unsuspecting autumn day I was on my way home, approaching Madison and 63rd, when a giant, bright, all-too-familiar image entered my sight. It was just hanging out, its tall, built frame leaning against a store window, taking it easy, while the artist stepped into the street to hail a cab. As I approached them I said, “Hello! We live in the same building.” Both exuded a mocking confusion, then expressed a sentiment of phony recognition. “Oh, hello,” he said in his accent from wherever he’s from. Maybe Mars. The painting and I glared at each other as I continued on my way, and I silently thought I hope no poor soul is putting that thing in their home. By the time I

reached our building, I realized I should’ve hung around to see what that cab ride looked like.

The artist and his wife tend to walk hand-in-hand around the neighborhood. The wife, of course, resembles the canvas: tall, thin, outdated. Her hair is almost as fried as her brain—an effect, no doubt, of extensive oil-paint exposure. Together they resemble two lost members of the Rolling Stones in both appearance and action, doing what they’re doing because they’ve just been doing it too long to imagine doing anything else—well, that, and the money.

One evening when I was coming back into the building from walking my dog, there he was, accompanied by none other than his standard 6’x4’. I contemplated taking the stairs, but the prospect of carrying my twenty pound dog up three flights wasn’t exactly appealing. The door opened and he routinely packed the 6’x4’ canvas into the 6’x4’ elevator, and then held open the door for me. “Is there enough room?” I mildly asked. He nodded, his silky shag swaying back and forth. My dog and I stepped in. “Nice painting,” I said with a stupid smile. I don’t know why I said it. It wasn’t a nice painting.

Maybe there just wasn’t enough room in the elevator for a 6’x4’ canvas, a man, a woman, a dog, and honesty. His hand moved towards the buttons. “Floor?” he asked. “Three, please,” I quickly retorted.

After pressing three his hand slid up, up, up, to press “PH.” Of course they live in the penthouse. Where else could a couple of people with their heads in the clouds feel at home?

JESS LUSZCZYK/THE OBSERVER

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THE OBSERVER December 3, 2015

The Comma

9

Sitting at a Lunchroom Table in our University Cafeteria

By CAROLYN GUERRERO

Bright white fluorescent lights shine overhead, trying to imitate sunshine but lacking the golden hue. Still, they manage to illuminate the cafeteria in a glaring and slightly heated wash of brightness. This is university. A crock-pot of people—some savory and some bland—interacting in ways that sometimes boil over, and sometimes refuse to boil at all.

There’s a couple sitting to the left of me, holding hands across the table. Disgusting. I envy them. The male—attractive, I’ll admit—dunks a fry into a vat of ketchup and sticks it in his mouth, while his blonde-haired companion—equally attractive—watches him chew, meanwhile sipping from a mandarin-colored concoction. They smile at each other, a dinky I-still-have-a-fryin-my-mouth-but-I’m-desperately-trying-to-swallow-it smile, but... I guess it’s cute. Their expressions are warm, comfortable. In love, probably.

Ugh. How lucky to have found your Prince Charming.

The couple is very cute, I decide—even if I am ragingly jealous.

I giggle. I’m definitely a jealous loser, and I’d wager to say I’m a raging lunatic as well. What a fine catch I am. (If I could break the fourth wall and wink at you, I would.)

I’m sitting at a table that is distinctly off-white, with a couple of what seem to be yellow mustard stains now engrained into the plastic tabletop. Four chairs are placed around the square table, only one of them occupied by me. Soon another will be occupied by my Prince Charming. Yes, you read that right. I have found my Prince Charming, even if he doesn’t know he’s been assigned to the role yet. I hope he embraces it, though.

He’s so handsome—he’d look great in a crown.

Speaking of handsome, here he comes. Just look at him, sauntering his way over here. What a beauty. If only I could say that to his face. I imagine it’d go something like this: “I’m terrified of you. I really, truly am. You make me feel strange, little, big things—all of them awakening inside of me in a grand but tumultuous sort of way that will never really get resolved, because you’ll never admit you have any feelings for me and I am too damn scared to say anything to you.”

Instead, I resign myself to these little midday lunchroom meetings, where we talk about our days whilst occasionally looking into each other’s eyes—brief, awkward glances. Maybe one day I’ll hold the glance. I’ll hold the glance and say this all out loud….

Well, that wasn’t so bad.

JULIET ALTMANN/THE OBSERVER

The Newspaper Box

By ISABELLE GARREAUD

My life began on 52nd street. I was one of the luckier ones, born on a busy street in the heart of Manhattan… or so I thought. I remember how optimistic I was, how excited. I suppose we all start out that way. How could we know any better?

The day I arrived was the most exciting day of my life.

You see, I spent weeks, months, god knows how long waiting for my time. I waited ever so patiently to finally be loaded into the truck that would whisk me away to the faraway island of Manhattan. Again, not everyone is so lucky to go to a populated city where its inhabitants would surely want to read the contents inside of them.

I studied the etched outline of Manhattan’s skyline that was proudly displayed on my neighbor’s door. I wondered what it would be like to be stationed underneath a skyscraper, to look up and see it towering over me.

I’m just a small, plastic box painted red. Every time the driver opened up the back door to unload one of us, I would glance out hoping to get a peak of my new home, but every time all I saw were shabby-looking buildings and cracked sidewalks. I was beginning to worry that I had somehow been placed on the wrong truck, when at the next stop I was lifted out and placed on one of those cracked sidewalks. I gave my goodbyes to the rest of the newspaper boxes. My moment had finally come.

Except I wasn’t looking up at a bunch of tall dazzling buildings. In fact, I couldn’t even see the sky, just the underbelly of the scaffolding that stretched down the street. I didn’t let it get me down, though; I figured it would be taken down eventually. Little did I know that “eventually” would be four years later. At the time I presumed that people would be more likely to visit me, since we were both sheltered by the rain and snow.

I was soon branded with the name “AM NEW YORK”

and filled with the black and white pages of that newspaper. It became evident to me that the delivery man only came every morning, right before the suited people made their way to Starbucks or the breakfast carts that were parked in the same spot each day. In the beginning, I didn’t understand why the delivery only happened once a day, because with all the people in this city, surely my newspapers would be gone quick. I was concerned that my customers would be disappointed to find I didn’t have anything to give them when they stopped by later in the day.

I may not have been a prestigious newspaper vending machine, but my door was always accessible, never needing a coin to open. Since NYC was an expensive city, I had to be more appealing than a $2.50 NY Times.

Like with many other things, I would come to realize I was wrong. Nobody tells you what it’s like to be a newspaper box in this city. We are simply built, put on a truck, and then abandoned on the streets.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that no one reads the free papers. I, of course, have never read what I’m displaying, but how bad could it be? And even if it is bad, it’s not like the reader wasted any money. Day by day, I watched as New Yorkers whisked by me, never once stopping, never once giving me a chance. Everyone was always moving, moving against the clock. No one seemed to think they had 20 seconds to spare to grab a newspaper off my shelf.

I became lonely, perched under the scaffolding, unnoticed by the many passersby. Occasionally someone stopped by, and my heart filled with joy until I realized that I was merely a table for their coffee or bag as they organized themselves. Other times I was just an object to lean on.

I’m no longer the cheerful box I once was. I view myself as NYC views me: just a piece of plastic that adds color to the washed out streets. But even my once brilliant red appearance has faded, and I’m scarred with the graffiti of people with sharpies itching to deface something.

I don’t look for people coming my way anymore; my heart no longer longs for them.

Nowadays, my favorite part of the day is when the deliveryman stops by each morning. He is my only companion these days. From the time I hear the screeching of his tires, to the moment I watch him disappear up the street, I have someone paying attention to me. Despite how short our time together is, he is someone I can always count on, even if the feeling isn’t reciprocated.

The scaffolding that I thought would keep me dry is useless. There’s nothing stopping me from getting sprayed with the rainwater that latches onto every particle in the streets as taxis zoom by. Between the rain and NYC’s black snow specialty, I have become dirtier than the homeless people that sleep against me. At least they don’t care how disheveled I look.

Once you get dropped off at some city curb, you’re on your own. No one comes to wash the dirt off of you.

No one comes to fix your rusted screws, your broken handle, or your cracked screen. As long as the deliveryman can continue his job of replacing the stack inside you, no one cares how withered away you’ve become.

Over the years you watch your city change: new stores replace old ones, billboards advertise the latest fad, streets are fixed, scaffoldings are put up and taken down. Everything changes while you stay the same.

Maybe that’s why I’m kept around. Everything else is temporary, so they need me to stay fixed in NYC’s background. I’m the only stable thing this city has left.

ANGELA LUIS/THE OBSERVER

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Photo

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY The Observer photographers documented various subway stations throughout New York City, featuring the decorated walls, murals and subway riders.

PAOLA JOQUIN ROSSO/THE OBSERVER

Stairs at the 149th subway station lead to where people can catch the 4 train.

JESSICA HANLEY/THE OBSERVER

Doors of the subway car open up at the 168th subway station.

ZANA NAJJAR/THE OBSERVER

Aquatic themed mosaics fill the Houston street subway station.

YUERONG LI /THE OBSERVER

Vines grow along the subway wall at the Prospect Park subway stop in Brooklyn.

LYDIA BENNER/THE OBSERVER

People wait outside at Lorimer Street for the next subway.

JULIET ALTMANN /THE OBSERVER

The decorated tunnel at the 191st subway stop reflects in a puddle after recent rain.

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THE OBSERVER December 3, 2015

Photo

11

NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY

HANA KEININGHAM /THE OBSERVER

A young musican performer playing at the subway station of Columbus Circle.

YUNJIA LI/THE OBSERVER

The sun sets in an above ground subway station.

PAOLA JOAQUIN ROSSO/ THE OBSERVER

MetroCards and single ride cards can be purchased at any station.

JESSICA HANLEY/THE OBSERVER

A mosaic hangs over the staircase of the entrance to the uptown 1 train.

JULIET ALTMANN /THE OBSERVER

The 191st subway station is decorated with vibrant colors and paintings.

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The Comma

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

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A Christmas Memory

By HUNTER LANG

It’s my eleventh Christmas. Christmas Eve, actually, and we are at a community theater production of “A Christmas Carol,” in a musty barn that’s been repurposed as a theater. I’m pouty, I am cold, encased in the cheap red velvet dress Mom made me wear. It’s from last year, and it’s too tight, rubbing my neck and my armpits raw. Intermission is almost over, and I announce I have to pee. Mom grumbles. I don’t get along too well with her anymore. But Dad says he’ll take me.

neck, which has a large gash through it. His glassy eyes stare, and I stare back, still drowning. His face is pale white, covered with the fake dirt from the play. The tweed cap still sits on his head, secured with bobby pins.

The restrooms are in their own little concrete building, separate from the barn. When Dad and I step outside, our breath smokes and the ground crunches under our feet. The farm is in the middle of a forest, and almost every tree and bush in sight has been strung with glittering lights. An enormous Christmas tree dominates the yard, dazzling and bright, with a golden star on the top. It’s beautiful. I want to hold Dad’s hand, but I stopped doing that years ago, around the same time I stopped believing in Santa Claus. We trudge along in silence for a little while and then we separate, him to the men’s room, me to the women’s room.

The silence buzzes in my ears, and I understand what I must do. I kneel down over Tiny Tim, my mary-janes slipping, I grab his pants and yank them up over his stiff legs, refastening them around his waist. Much better. I bunch my dress up in my hands, and wipe the blood off of his face.

The velvet drinks it up. He looks almost normal, but he needs his crutch. I look around for it, but it is nowhere to be seen.

It’s a small bathroom, lit with buzzing fluorescent lights. Grimy bowls of potpourri sit on the window sill. I’m the only one in there, everyone else is back in their seats. There are only two stalls, and I head for the handicapped one. I’m not handicapped, I just like the bigger one. I try the door, but it is locked. So I go to the other stall, and immediately recoil, my insides churning. There is a used tampon stuck to the seat. My bowels shift and my vision is momentarily fuzzy, I know about periods and I know mine will come soon, but for now I want nothing to do with it. I return to the handicapped stall and knock on the door. No one answers. After a moment’s consideration, I get down and crawl underneath the stall door.

I look up. Freeze. My dress tightens, I can’t breathe. My vision is blurry, I may be underwater.

Tiny Tim is in the stall. I know immediately it’s him, despite the pool of blood jellying beneath him, and the strange way his head hangs off his

My mind feels cloudy, and I gasp for breath. My throat aches, my lungs burn. I suddenly notice with embarrassment that his pants and underwear are around his ankles.

The crutch is gone, and I’m finally scared. My frozen heart thaws and pounds. I throw up a little, but swallow it. Then, I slither back out underneath the door, I don’t know why I don’t just open it. I sprint outside, the cold wind smacking my face, the beautiful lights blurring. The seams under my arms burst apart. Dad is grinning at me, saying “there you are!”

But his face falls when he sees mine. And then I’m in his arms, and I sob without actually crying. He asks me what happened, his voice urgent, but I can only gasp, my lungs blazing. I can’t bring myself to tell him, to say the words out loud.

The show ends abruptly. A crowd gathers outside, And police cars arrive, with an ambulance. The flashing red and blue lights make the Christmas tree look dull, dark. They ask me a million questions. They ask me if I touched anything in the stall, and I say no. I don’t know why I lie. I just don’t want them to know. Mom holds me close when the body bag is wheeled out, impossibly small. I realize I don’t know his real name. To me, he’s only Tiny Tim. That night, I’m visited by ghosts.

ZANA NAJJAR/THE OBSERVER

The Beeping Traveler

By DAVID MILO

“Take everything off and remove all your electronics from their bags and cases” are the words that are constantly repeated by several annoyed metal detector and x-ray machine operators.

Their words fall upon deaf ears, though, as the five a.m. business travelers, the families going on vacations with small children, and the immigrants all converge with one goal: find a good line, get through security and to the gate as fast as possible. As easy as it sounds, security almost never works out that way.

A dozen x-ray machines, each with heaps of luggage to process per minute, form the almost impenetrable wall that is globally known as airport security. Carts of plastic bins are rolled over as passengers purge their clothing of anything that can beep, buzz, or ring as they pass through the metal detectors. But a very special select few are what I like to call “travel inept.”

In disregard of all the instructions that had been pounded upon their ears by the large southern women who watches the line while sipping her coffee, these inept people try and walk through metal detectors with every ounce of metal they own on their person, sending the machine into overload. The whole line that flows to this scanning station now must be halted as the person must walk back through the machine and attempt to unload his or her hidden stash of metal, starting a riotous chain of events.

After the second or third attempt for the person to pass through security, people in line behind them begin to get rowdy. Large exhales can be heard as some try to express their feelings about the situation subtly, while others choose to verbally abuse the person stalling the line. Many businessmen attempt to transfer to a different line, but only succeed in traveling a few steps before they are confronted with the now standing African woman who is furious that she had to relinquish her ass from the padded swivel chair.

Holding the walkie talkie in one hand while palming her holstered nightstick in the other for intimidation, she silently

corrals the businessmen back into line as they scowl and snicker at her about how poorly airports are run. This only worsens the attitudes of everyone in the line, as they view fellow passengers coolly strolling through security in other lines. People try to jump past the person still trying to pass through security only to be stopped like the rest of their fellow trapped travelers.

Five minutes have gone by, precious time in the world of travel.

Kids start getting jumpy and mothers, who are already stressed to the max, give them whatever they want so they’ll shut up. The Game Boys are turned on and their repetitious sound of electronically created beats only adds to the discomfort of waiting in a stationary line. Blackberry keys are angrily punched as workers relay the situation to their colleagues who have already breezed through security and are peacefully resting at the gate as they await the boarding call. Even an old European couple starts trying to talk the TSA agents about how they are going to miss their flight that is two hours away in a foreign language, only to be met with a confused stare.

The search wands are taken out as agents begin to probe for any metal that can possibly cause the machine to go off. The belt dings and is removed, but there is still something beeping in the traveler’s pants. Finally, the passenger and all of his or her belongings are picked up by officers who have been called to the area due to the chance of a security threat. Everyone who was in this line starts to clap, only adding to the embarrassment of the lone traveler.

From an onlooker’s perspective, this is a hysterical sight at six in the morning. A fellow traveler being forced to strip off almost all their clothes in public, and causing an angry mob of travelers who are being held back by security, only to culminate in their public humiliation. It doesn’t get much better than that. Too bad this whole situation is going to replay again thirty seconds later.

ANGELA LUIS/THE OBSERVER

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THE OBSERVER December 3, 2015

The Comma

13

Espresso

By BENJAMIN STRATE

My skin crawls as the sun sets And the wind gently caresses my shirt Like a late lover.

You smile at me And I can’t help but wonder Is there something on my face?

What are you staring at?

Oh, what I would give to read your mind Or of course you could just tell me…

That would be super nice.

But alas, we stare in silence For a moment And allow the gears of our infernal machine to grind Where not a sound escapes.

You are beautiful.

I would tell you this, but You are gone.

Passed on.

Was it seconds, minutes, hours?

Perhaps we were destined to be together, Yet we didn’t act But if destiny exists Can free-will as well?

If not then Maybe If one of us chose We could have been together Forever But who would want that?

MICHELLE QUINN/THE OBSERVER

Santa Monica

By DYLAN KING

“When we get there, everything will be okay.”

Minnie looked at her little sister on the seat next to her. BooBoo was sitting tall in her seat, looking out the window at the open land. It seemed to drag on. The mountains off in the distance blocked the horizon, but Minnie knew that the whole world was beyond them.

two weeks, since her father stopped letting them leave the house. He told the school that he was switching the girls into an all-girls Catholic school. Minnie knew it was a lie so that nobody would come looking for them.

That was when she realized her father had become really dangerous. Minnie stared out the window for only a few moments before her eyelids got heavy and she was asleep.

and his mouth was fixed in a permanent frown. Minnie pulled out the only money she had: a twenty dollar bill and three singles.

The bus cost them more than half of what they found around the house, but Minnie didn’t see any other way of getting to the coast. She would need to make it last as long as possible. She handed the man the three singles.

“Are we almost there?” BooBoo asked.

“Minnie, wake up,” whispered BooBoo.

“Where are we?” Minnie asked the old man.

“I’m not sure, Boo. But it’ll be worth the wait.

I promise.”

Minnie’s eyes jolted open. She felt a rush of panic when she realized the bus was stopped.

BooBoo cuddled against her sister and leaned her head on Minnie’s shoulder. Minnie wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.

BooBoo has the smallest hands, like the mother she never met.

“Minnie, what’s going on?”

The old man took a long look at this young girl, alone in the desert. “Nowhere,” he finally answered.

When they left, BooBoo was afraid to get on the bus. It was loud and long and Minnie told BooBoo that they needed to get away quickly and quietly, but this bus didn’t seem quick or quiet. But when the time came, Minnie was able to drag her sister to the back seat, where no one would bother them.

The entire ride BooBoo had been peeking around the seat to check the road ahead, but Minnie was more concerned about what was behind them. She knew their father was going to come looking for them. Minnie couldn’t blame him for what he’d become.

She knew how sad he was when their mother died. She knew it was just the liquor. But she had to get her little sister away from him.

BooBoo wasn’t strong like Minnie.

After only a few minutes, BooBoo was asleep. Minnie decided she would sleep too, hoping they would be there when she woke up. She hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past

“I don’t know, Boo. Wait here.”

Most of the seats on the bus were empty.

Minnie climbed onto the seat next to theirs to look out the window. They were at a rest stop in the middle of a desert that neither of the girls could possibly know the location of.

“It’s okay, Boo. We’re probably only stopped for a few minutes. Are you hungry?”

BooBoo shook her head. “No.” “I’ll get you something anyway. You have to eat something. I’ll be right back.”

Minnie climbed out of the bus and onto the dirt road where the bus was parked. The driver was standing at the door and helped her down.

“We leave in four minutes, girl,” he told her.

Minnie shook her head and walked into the store. She picked some chips and a few water bottles out and brought them to the counter.

An old man stood at the register. He looked awful; the skin around his eyes was purple

“I’m headed somewhere.”

“Where is that?”

“Los Angeles.”

The old man put the water and chips in a bag and handed it over to Minnie. She didn’t leave, though.

“What do you want?” The old man asked.

“Why are you unhappy?”

“That’s not your business, girl. Get lost.”

“Is everyone unhappy? Everywhere?”

“Yes.” “But not in Los Angeles. Me and my sister are going to be happy there.”

“Everyone is sad there too.”

“You’re a liar, sir.”

“You don’t know me, girl.”

“Do you think people are happy in New York? Or Mexico?”

“No. People feel alone in New York and people are poor in Mexico. They’re unhappy everywhere.”

“You’re a liar.” Minnie saw the driver climb back onto the bus. “I have to go.”

The old man didn’t say a word. Minnie climbed back onto the bus to find her sister asleep again. This time, when Minnie fell asleep, she woke up in California.

Minnie held BooBoo’s hand as they walked through the streets of Los Angeles. The city was big and frightening at every turn. Minnie decided she needed to stay strong for her sister. Back home, Minnie was known for not taking crap from anyone. Her father always said that having an attitude is like having a gun in the City of God—everyone’s got one.

Minnie never understood that until now.

The girls walked for about an hour. It was warm wandering the streets. Some young lady pointed them to the beach. When they got there, the sun was down. Minnie took BooBoo to the end of the pier. They passed by hundreds of people playing games and riding rides; people laughing, some others singing.

The girls hadn’t said more than two words to each other since they got off the bus. Minnie leaned over the railing to stare down into the black water of the Pacific Ocean.

“We’re here, Boo. We can be happy now.”

Minnie wrapped her arms around her little sister and pulled her in close. Minnie knew her words were a lie as they left her tongue.

The old man was right. Their location may have changed, but they were still the same.

PAYTON VINCELETTE/THE OBSERVER

KAY D’ANGELO/THE OBSERVER

15

Opinions

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

www.fordhamobserver.com

A Message from the FCLC Black Student Alliance On the Robert Moses Plaza and Fordham’s role in Hell’s Kitchen history

ZANN BALLSUNSIMMS and GEORGINA OWOLABI Contributing Writers

“Robert Moses, Master Builder,” reads the statue recently erected on our outdoor plaza, but, for many communities of color, Robert Moses was a master destroyer. The very campus we stand on came at the expense of people of color. Beginning in 1958, the old Lincoln Square neighborhood, called San Juan Hill, an area of predominantly black and Puerto Rican residents, was cleared and bulldozed in order to make room for a myriad of sites, including Lincoln Center and our campus.

In total, about 3,000 families were forced to leave their homes. Moses’ “slum-clearance” projects took place all over the city, including the South Bronx, meaning that tens of thousands of people of color were displaced. Yes, Moses built a mecca for the arts, both the Cross Bronx Expressway and the Henry Hudson Parkway, but at what cost? Is an opera worth more than 3,000 families of color? Moses never acknowledged the devastation he caused, instead he insisted that critics simply did not “understand” the complexities of re-development. While that may be true, the tragedy involved in so many families losing their homes is easily understandable. Now, we’re not proposing that we immediately tear all of it down and give the land back to those it was taken from, but an acknowledgement of the sordid history of our campus is essential.

Last Wednesday, when the university decided to–from what we have heard–re-erect the statue bearing Robert Moses’s image, they failed to acknowledge this history.

In light of everything else that has happened, such as the racial

YUERONG LI/ THE OBSERVER

A statue for Robert Moses was erected in the outdoor plaza on Nov. 18.

epithet inscribed on a Rose Hill freshman’s door and the swastika recently carved in a bathroom here at Lincoln Center, this decision comes as another slap in the face to students of color–and just at a time when the university promised more racial understanding, they displayed

a complete and total lack of it. The installation, ironically enough, disrupted a vigil for the victims of the recent terror attacks worldwide.

Though we doubt any of this was intentionally malicious, that is precisely the issue. Yes, incidents of outright racism occur every day, but

it is the incidents that spring out of lack of thought that occur far more frequently.

Everyday, microaggressions are lobbed at minorities of every kind, be they racial, religious, LGBTQmotivated, and so on. Many of these microaggressions are not necessarily

intentionally malicious but their negative impact is felt nonetheless.

This statue was a microaggression.

We want to call on everyone not just to avoid being actively prejudiced, which is easy enough for most of us, but to also take into account the impact of their thoughts, words and actions. Maybe you think people are being oversensitive and you’re “tired” of political correctness, but is it really that unreasonable to ask people to speak and act conscientiously? Honestly, any failure to do so is laziness–plain and simple. In moving forward, acknowledging the error in this statue placement and re-naming the Outdoor Plaza is one of many steps Fordham can take towards becoming a racismfree institution. What the university did was lazy but that does not mean they cannot spring into action now and remove the bust.

And why stop there? The university should not stop until every student is aware of the history of the campus we stand on, we owe the former residents of San Juan Hill at least that. Let us be reminded of the Jesuit tenets Fordham holds so dear–specifically in social justice.

We are reminded to “set the world on fire” as St. Ignatius of Loyola once said. But to what extent can we carry that out and be critical of the social justice issues in this country and around the world if we fail to acknowledge they exist within this very community? It is no easy task, but we encourage the Fordham community to think upon the ways in which we need to be self-critical in that this campus is simply not conducive for people of color, and as we approach this holiday season we must become cognitive of the humility and empathy necessary to truly make this campus a better place to be.

All I want for Christmas is you...

Well, for you to write for the Observer.

Happy holidays!

Features

Features Co-Editors Alanna Kilkeary-alannamartine@gmail.com Alysha Kundanmal-akundanmal@fordham.edu Hansini Weedagama-hweedagama@fordham.edu December 3rd, 2015 THE OBSERVER

FCLC Students Predict 2016 Election

PRESIDENTIAL FROM PAGE 1

Among the most frequent responses were immigration policy, foreign policy, reproductive rights and gun control.

“It is important to me that our next President be supportive of stricter gun control, measured foreign policy which relies on diplomacy ... acceptance of refugees and expansion of other forms of immigration,” Dean said.

Various responses included statements about the Islamic State and the conflict of accepting Syrian refugees. While Stratis emphasized the importance of attending to internal issues, he commented, “ISIS is a global threat and must be addressed.”

Independent Mackenzie Harte disclosed that “queer rights, women’s rights, [and] racial equality” are the issues they saw as most pressing, “which is why [they] tended to fall Dem this year.”

College affordability, a seemingly relevant issue for students, was also mentioned sparingly, though Kyle J. Kilkenny, FCLC ’19, said, “Children of the recession of the late 2000s need the opportunity to rise up and succeed, and unfortunately many of my peers do not have that chance.”

The outcome of the predictions

Who Fordham Students Support

Students’ Political Affiliations

INFOGRAPHICS BY REESE RAVNER /THE OBSERVER

Over 20 students picked Bernie Sanders as their ideal candidate, with Marco Rubio falling in the “Other” category.

“ Among the most frequent responses were

immigration policy, foreign policy, reproductive rights and gun control.”

–

REESE RAVNER , on the issues most important to students.

sof these FCLC students will be revealed as the election advances. In the meantime, it is imperative that students of all universities prioritize their political issues and take the time to investigate the objectives of each presidential candidate in order to be purposeful young voters.

Hacktivism: Decoding The Cyber Culture

By NANOR HARTOUNIAN Staff Writer

Rule-breaking, defiant and most importantly, faceless – these are the qualities most commonly attributed to hackers. Historically, they’ve been notorious for disrupting cyber networks that were meant to be protected. It wasn’t until the recent emergence of hacktivism that infiltrating such networks was no longer considered to be 100 percent taboo.

Instead, recent hacktivist agendas have made the public more inclined to reevaluate traditional opinions on hacking. But is this enough to overshadow the practice’s infamous dark side?

Aaron Devera, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’16, has been on the Computer Science Society’s (CSS) executive board since its reboot in 2012 and elected Research Director for the past three semesters. He defines hacktivism as “the application of aggressive computer techniques towards a political end goal.” Elana Tee, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’17, is the current Marketing Director of CSS. She shed light on a common misconception surrounding the definition of hacking. “Hackers can also refer to people who just program to build things, like hack together a website or project.” Tee believes that this double-meaning contributes to why she doesn’t see individuals discussing hacktivist efforts openly online. “The issues they target are controversial, which is why many hackers don’t associate themselves with hacktivism.” They may also not want to tarnish their digital image and “be seen as that ‘breaking into people’s computers’ type of hacker.”

Recently, hacktivism has been a hot topic in light of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that left over 100 people dead. An online hackers collective, fittingly known as Anonymous, has declared digital war on the Islamic State, the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the fatal attacks. One of the ways Anonymous intends to attack ISIS is through sabotaging its social media recruitment efforts, which

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HANA KEININGHAM /THE OBSERVER

Hackers say that what they’re doing is for the greater good.

have proven to be effective so far.

ISIS targets individuals through platforms like Twitter by appealing to that common feeling of not belonging and wanting to make a difference in the world. As of 2015, over 3,400 Westerners have been successfully recruited and are currently fighting for ISIS and similar jihadist groups.

While hacktivists claim that their actions serve the greater good, Devera rejects this premise. “Good isn’t objective,” he said, “and neither are the means in which information is accessed; most of the effective hacktivists didn’t access the info they target by means of expert attack, but are usually someone with privileged access [whistleblowe r s – Snowd e n , M a n n i n g ].”

While he doesn’t mean to belittle the intentions of individuals who utilize their online presence to seek justice, Devera does question their overall effectiveness in affecting political change. “Anonymous is

“ The issues they tar-

get are controversial, which is why many hackers don’t associate themselves with hactivism.”

ELANA TEE, FCLC ‘17, on the

stigma of hactivism..

largely a loose association of nominally-skilled activists; only a select few possess experience waging effective persistent campaigns.”

Sajal Bhatia, Ph.D., professor of computer science and coordinator of Fordham’s M.S. program in cybersecurity, cites one of the earliest forms of hacktivism as being

the 2012 attacks on a number of companies of which Anonymous was also responsible. What began as a targeting of the music industry over its anti-piracy stance soon turned into a campaign in support of WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, after backlash against the publication of classified information. These cyber-attacks caused companies including but not limited to PayPal and Ministry of Sound to lose millions of British pounds.

In regards to targeting ISIS, Bhatia said that the hacking collective claims to have hacked into around 20,000 Twitter accounts and thus blocked communication between various participants of the terrorist group. “However, very recently, it has been reported that all of this was not true,” Dr. Bhatia said. Such revelations contribute to why people often doubt the abilities of hackers to truly undermine their targets. Regardless of this misunderstanding, Devera recognizes what hacktivist groups can accomplish. “If Anonymous doxxes individuals in ISIS, they may expose information about those individuals that was not previously known to the public,” he said. “In that sense, Anonymous may expose some information that could be helpful to the intelligence community.”

If cybersecurity is of interest to any Fordham students, Bhatia will be teaching a course titled “Secure Cyber Networks” in spring 2016 on various facets of the subject.

This course will cover not only the limitations and vulnerabilities of a network, but also how to protect against unwanted access. “In order to defend your network or your information against various intruders, you have to think like an intruder,” he said. “That’s why seeing the other side of the story or the other side of the coin is equally important.”

When it comes to the appeal of hacking groups like Anonymous, Bhatia attributes it to the way they present themselves. “I think the image that they have is that they are ‘for the people,’ and by people, I mean the global victims of recent terrorist attacks.”

A Guide to Surving the Holidays

By ALYSHA KUNDANMAL Features Co-Editor

You finally get to that last unopened present – the one from Uncle Joe and Aunt Patty who live in Nebraska. They handed you a box with snowman wrapping paper but said you weren’t allowed to open it until the next day. Then you realized it was a lumpy, itchy sweater you’d never wear. What do you do: be honest, or feign excitement?

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, you’re sure to endure more awkward family moments.

Here’s how to navigate the worst parts about being home for the holidays.

Tough questions: Are you dating anyone? What are your postgraduation plans? Why do you only call me when you need money? The best solution to answering any of these questions is to not answer them. The art of deflecting definitely takes practice, but it’s a life saver. When prompted with a question you would rather not answer, start talking about something else you’ve had to prioritize. Even Netflix can work for this: Mom- “Why do you only call me when you need money?” You: “I’ve been so busy analyzing all nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother for my communications class that I barely have time to cook or go to the caf. I’ve been ordering from Seamless a lot so it’s really draining my bank account.”

Maternal “my-child-will-never-gohungry” senses will start tingling, and you can go back to watching Netflix in peace.

Running into People from High School: This is arguably my least favorite experience about going home for the holidays. Considering the main attraction when I go home is to hit up all my favorite food places, I inevitably run into people who were less-than-nice to me in high school. My suggestion to you: if you see someone coming who you really would like to avoid chatting with, make or stage a phone call. At most, you’ll have to smile and maybe wave at them, but it’ll get you out of an awkward conversation. If you get blindsided by someone, tell them you got your wisdom teeth out and your mouth is really sore, so you’d prefer to remain silent.

Terrible Presents: For Tess Fahey, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) `16, honesty is the best policy, but only sometimes. “If it’s a gift from someone I’m really close to, like my mom or my brother, I’ll be very upfront with them and say I hate it or I’m not going to use it and that they should spend their money on something better,” Fahey said. However, if it is a gift from an extended family member, she will typically feign excitement and then re-gift it later. The trouble arises with Aunt Patty’s lumpy sweater – you can’t re-gift it or return it. My course of action would be to put the sweater on, take a selfie to send along, then bury the sweater in the depths of your closet.

Seeing old high school rivals or re-gifting presents from friends are the inevitable low points of the holidays. But, when it comes down to it, the best part is spending quality time with your family. Despite interrogations about your nonexistent boyfriend and the endless grandma sweaters you receive, remember that these things are just ways your family shows their affection. So put on a smile, give Aunt Patty a hug and try and focus on the good parts of the holiday season.

Having all of your family together doesn’t happen everyday – enjoy it.

Arts & Culture

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

December 3 , 2015

THE OBSERVER

JESSICA HANLEY /THE OBSERVER

“The Evil Genius of a King” is one of the slides in a selection that has been sequenced in a continuous band around the Lipani Gallery.

Artist Turns Old Art History Slides into Exhibition

By HOLLY RUSSO Staff Writer

“The Evil Genius of a King”

by Matthew Bakkom is currently on view at the Lipani Gallery in Fordham College Lincoln Center’s (FCLC) street level visual arts complex. The exhibit was curated

by Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock, FCLC’s artist-in-residence and a long-time friend of Bakkom’s, and includes 52 enlargements of repurposed 35mm art history slides.

The slides have been blown up into 12.5-inch square images, roughly the size of a vinyl record, and encircle the gallery in a continuous band. Bakkom said that the slides, which originally belonged to the St. Cloud State University art history department, were “literally going out the door and into the dump-

ster” before he received a call from a thoughtful colleague asking if he’d be interested in taking them. Thus began the lengthy process of sifting through roughly 10,000 slides from the originally 35,000-slide teaching collection.

The first slide that Bakkom pulled out contained an image of the painting “The Evil Genius of a King” by French painter Giorgio de Chirico, which became the inspiration for the selection of the many other images that, according to Bakkom, “may or may not be related” in the exhibit. Bakkom described the selection process as “intuitive and kind of improvisational, experimental even” and like “looking at the tiny little foot bones of art history.” Bakkom said that this alternative approach to art history is actually similar to the modern

The exhibit, which ends Dec. 6, features 52 enlargments of 35 mm art history slides from St. Cloud State University that illuminate the ways in which art history has been traditionally approached.

approach of internet searches, with seemingly random images popping up from an image search, but the difference is that the slides have an “edge.” Both literally and figuratively, the importance of the “edge” of the slides is fundamental to this project and shows the “physicality of information.” In terms of the collection as a whole, Bakkom said he “became interested in the invisible edges of history, which is what those slide cases are … No one in

a classroom context would see the edge.” For him, the edge represents “the unseen part of the mechanism or the ghost in the machine” and shows the “tremendous amount of information outside of the frame.”

Bakkom’s artistic process involved combining back and front light scanning of the slides to produce a never before seen image of the slide with clarity of both the image and the edge.

“I went through and basically

did an edit of the slides that I had.

I scanned them both in transparent mode and reflective mode. So two passes on the scanner and then I wed the transparent to the reflective … I worked with Stephan ApicellaHitchcock to refine [the FCLC show] specifically and boil it down even more [than previous showings.]”

Bakkom said he hopes that the audience, which may be unfamiliar with slides, will have an “enhanced experience with the notion of reproduction and the image” and an “awareness of how images operate in the world.” These images are at home in academia and have had a history of interaction with students.

Their original use was for the intellectual growth of students and, in many ways, they continue to fulfill that purpose in “The Evil Genius of the King.”

The Comma Interrobang, A Love Letter to Joanne

By JESSICA VITOVITCH Literary Co-Editor

I love my mother’s cousin Joanne. Like the majority of women and men on my mother’s side, Joanne is a woman steeply grounded in her Italian grit—a characteristic only someone born and raised in New York with Sicilian immigrant parents such as she can truly encapsulate. She could honestly be a character in “Goodfellas,” with her no frills attitude, street-smart skills and quiet lethality that she carries along with a charm and warmth that is incomparable. She’s truly wonderful, larger than life… and slightly terrifying.

Which is exactly what I love about her.

Some of the fondest memories that I have from my childhood and adolescent years involve Joanne. I recall many times sitting around the kitchen table with her and my mother at 3 a.m., picking at reheated penne a la vodka and eggplant rollatini from the dinner we had eight hours earlier. Or spending hours upon hours laying in bed with her on the best mattress I’ve ever slept on, watching old movies or the Home Shopping Network and talking about the latest family drama, like how my cousin Anthony is actually crazy.

It was during those times of eating and talking until the early hours of the morning that Joanne would impart her bits of sage wisdom on me. At the age of eight, it was “stay focused on school, education is a gift that you shouldn’t take for granted.” When I was fourteen, it was “don’t worry about boys, they’re all terrible.” Well, she didn’t exactly use the

word terrible, she used more colorful language, but I’ll let you use your imagination to guide you on that one. When I was seventeen, it was “stop worrying about growing up so much, enjoy the moment you’re in now. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” And even through years of her sharing bits of advice with me, there is one piece of advice that has remained constant throughout the years: “Remember who you are.” Now, when I was young, I was terribly confused by this notion, not fully understanding what it meant to remember who I was, because at the ripe young age of eight, I hadn’t really lost sight of myself yet.

Through the years, this advice sounded to me like it was either (A) something that was once said in a Toby Maguireera Spiderman film or (B) something a Mafia don says to his son before he gets taken away by the feds (which, considering my family’s history, the latter isn’t such a stretch). But nonetheless, the advice has never really resonated with me the same way the others did.

I was reminded of this piece of advice once again during Thanksgiving break last week, when I had the pleasure of staying at Joanne’s home on Long Island. The day was spent talking, eating and laughing, and later that night around 1:30 a.m., I found myself at the kitchen table with my mother and Joanne, picking at some rainbow cookies and sfogliatelle.

Some things never change. In the midst of our conversation,

I had brought up the immense amount of stress and pressure I’ve had to endure this past semester and feeling burnt out by it all. I told her about the craziness and noise of living in Manhattan, and the toxic dialogue in my head that reminds me of my impending, possibly-unemployed doom come May. Joanne glared at me and said in an almost aggressive tone that would have scared anyone else, “What have I always told you?! Huh! You never listen to me. Remember who you are!”

Then all at once, the meaning of her words had washed over me with a tidal magnitude. I had become so lost in the vivid blur of schedules and applications and homework and extracurricular activities and resumes and part-time jobs and internships, that I had just become a shell of whom I once was. I had never taken the time to consider my own needs or wants, just what was expected of me or what I felt needed to be accomplished. I wasn’t a person anymore, I had become a checklist; and as I sat there with the pastry flakes around my lips at the kitchen table where so many stories and moments such as these had taken place before, I felt like myself again.

Almost childlike, curled up on the chair in my pajamas. I realized that although my future is uncertain in many regards, the ties to who I am in terms of the love I have for my family and the love they have for me is a way for me to touch base with an identity, and a feeling of love that I lost in the chaotic void of my life.

www.fordhamobserver.com

Arts & Culture

THE OBSERVER December 3 , 2015

18

Student Receives Grant for Trans-Siberian Trip Fordham at Lincoln Center’s visual arts department offers grants for photography students

By BARBARA VILLENA Staff Writer

I sat down with Emily Stone, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC ‘16), to discuss a recent trip she made thanks to Fordham’s support. Stone is a visual arts major with a concentration in photography who recently received a travel grant to the Trans-Siberian railway. This trip was made possible through the donation and financial support of Ildiko and Gilbert Butler to the visual arts department. Every year, select students who have applied for photography grants and are selected are given a grant to travel internationally.

Stone said, “I knew I wanted to travel and this was the right time to travel before graduation.” After Stone narrowed down what she wanted to do, where she wanted to travel and how much money she’d need to cover expenses, she made a proposal to the visual arts department. After the application process was completed and her proposal was chosen, Stone was given a $3,000 grant to travel to Siberia via the Trans-Siberian railway.

After traveling from St. Petersburg through Irkutsk, to Mongolia and finally ending up in Beijing, Stone said her six-week trip across the Trans-Siberian Railway was “a wonderful experience. It won’t be forgotten and will be regarded as one of my fondest experiences in college.”

Stone knew that she didn’t just want to take the train straight to Beijing but rather make the most out of her trip. “I planned to stop in cities that were fairly large and gave me the urban experience outside the U.S.,” Stone said. What had initially began as an architectural and landscape proposal quickly turned into visual art humor that she encountered throughout her trip.

Stone said, “photography lets you slow down and take a look at the world around you.” But in this trip, Stone did not only photograph buildings. “I tried to play with humor and the absurdity of everyday life,” she said when her trip began, she wanted to highlight the “the humor you can find when you look at

COURTESY OF EMILY STONE

Featured above is one of the many photos Stone took while traveling solo on her Trans-Siberian trip last summer.

the right things.”

A 21-year-old traveling by herself out of the country can be a frightening experience. “This was my first time out of the country by myself and not speaking the language, but I learned how to travel on my own and how it’s not as scary as people may think,” Stone said.

She found ways to communicate with natives, made new friends and shared experiences with others who were also traveling. Stone added, “being able to understand that there is a lot you don’t know about and being curious about these things

brings you a new perspective.” Stone was able to fully embark on the experience of a lone traveler. Stone also mentioned that she helped herself by learning to speak and detect certain phrases that would get her through the day. “I learned how to order coffee, which was always the most important part of my day,” she said.

Stone also revealed that a 36hour train ride is quite common in Russia—travelers make it into a communal event. “Train travel seems to be a very important part of Russian life, where they even bring their own picnic.”

Finally, as her final stop approached on the Trans-Siberian railway, she arrived in Beijing, Stone added that it was a different experience compared to her prior stops. “In Beijing, I unintentionally ordered and ate a little bit of intestines, which I had never had before. It was interesting, and I don’t think I will have it again, but it was a good experience.”

Stone said Beijing was the most populated of all the cities she came across and the most fun. “Beijing differs completely from Mongolia and even Moscow, where even though they are all connected by the train,

Beijing is a whole different world.”

Stone’s trip across the TransSiberian railway will be shown in her final senior exhibit. “The grant is meant to be a learning experience...[where] it’s about expanding your horizons and taking an active interest in the world,” she said. “Being able to understand that, there is a lot that you don’t know about and being curious about it brings you a new perspective.” Stone encourages other students who want to travel and might be afraid to do so to “be cautious, but also don’t be afraid, and do what you want to do.”

Ailey/Fordham Alumna Starts Dance Company Winnie Berger hopes to make Mook Dance Company an official non-profit organization “I like input. My dancers are so smart and talented, they oftentimes have good ideas. It is still a dialogue—not just me yelling at them all of the time, which was another reason why I wanted to start my own company.”

By MORGAN STEWARD Staff Writer

Most college seniors spend the last portion of their school careers trying to find a job in the workforce or trying to survive the remainder of college. Students hope and pray that their hectic schedules and internships pay off in the future—that way they might be one step closer to following their dreams. For most, dreams take time to come true.

Winnie Berger, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC ‘14) was the exception. She only needed one year.

As a senior in the Fordham/Ailey BFA program, Berger took part in an independent senior study thesis, in which she created a 30-minute dance performance dedicated to her younger sister with autism.

This piece, titled “Inside Chunks’ Head,” motivated Berger to take her career as a dancer one step further.

She decided to start her own dance company.

“The show was really worthwhile. It felt really important ... like the biggest and best thing I have ever done,” Berger explained. For a while, Berger did nothing to pursue this thought—she was solely focused on graduation. After commencement,

COURTESY OF OLIVIA GURGESS

Featured above is Winnie Berger.

Berger was still haunted by this idea.

“I got some of my friends together and we just started to dance,” Berger said. This was the early stage of Mook Dance Company.

Together, the girls moved from project to project, rehearsing whenever and wherever they could. Finally, Berger decided that it should be made official. Until this point, Berger had paid out of pocket for all of her company’s dance expenses. Funds were waning, and Berger needed more help to lift her company off of the ground. In the sum-

mer of 2014, Berger started a Kickstarter campaign where she was able to raise enough money to officially begin Mook Dance Company.

Now, Mook Dance Company is run through donations received via Paypal from Mook’s website or from tax-deductible donations through Fractured Atlas. The company is an unofficial non-profit institution— it creates no revenue. In the future, Berger hopes to make Mook Dance Company an official non-profit organization—a task that is both difficult and time consuming. “A 501(c)3 [the official non-profit government designation] is really hard to get.

It’s something that, right now, I just don’t have the time or money for,” Berger said.

For now, Berger is still using donations to pay for her small company of dancers. Berger’s company consists of 11 dancers, 10 of which

are either Fordham and Ailey alumni or current Fordham and Ailey dancers. Berger takes on the role of artistic director—choreographing all of the pieces and choosing the music and costumes for each piece.

Although Berger choreographs everything initially, she says that she is still open to suggestions from the other company members. “I like input. My dancers are so smart and talented, they oftentimes have good ideas. It is still a dialogue—not just me yelling at them all of the time, which was another reason why I wanted to start my own company,” Berger said.

As an artistic director, Berger respects her dancers and values their opinions—something not all choreographers do. Berger explained that “some choreographers are not very nice. They do not treat their dancers as an artist or a person—they just

want a lot out of you.” Berger created Mook Dance Company to be a productive and fun environment, where collaboration is encouraged, not opposed.

When asked if she plans to expand her company, Berger expressed her conflicted feelings. “For now, I will stick to my core. It is really expensive,” Berger replied. “Maybe one day I will be able to expand, but for now it is hard enough to work around 11 people’s schedules.”

Mook Dance Company aims to create pieces that relate to their audience and leave them feeling refreshed. “For me, dancing is like therapy,” Berger stated, “Every piece I create is about something I felt, thought or experienced. I want the audience to feel related and understand our pieces.” Berger aims to manifest thoughts that everyone has and put them into dance, essentially “touching on human experiences and creating a dialogue with the audience,” as she phrased it.

Mook Dance Company will be hosting its own gala and fundraiser on Friday, Jan. 15 at the Williamsburg Movement and Arts Center.

For more details regarding the event and Mook Dance Company, visit www.mookdancecompany.com.

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

Sports

December 3, 2015 THE OBSERVER

New Coach Brings Hope to Fordham Basketball MOHDSHOBAIR HUSSAINI Staff Writer

For new members of the Fordham family, Jeff Neubauer appears to be the savior of Fordham men’s basketball. However, for those who have been around for a while, this program has long since fallen from its glory days. One can simply rewind to the previous five seasons, which were led by head coach Tom Pecora, to see Fordham’s failures.

Pecora’s disappointing tenure, marked by a 44–106 record, booted him out of the head coach position this past March. Two weeks after Pecora’s firing, Fordham introduced Jeff Neubauer as his replacement. Neubauer brought with him a new style and a new focus, with the goal of making Fordham successful again.

Now, eight months later, Neubauer has set his sights on launching a new era of greatness in Fordham basketball. After all, he isn’t a stranger to success. Prior to settling in the Bronx, Neubauer was the head coach of the men’s team at Eastern Kentucky University. In his 10-season run with the Colonels, he earned two NCAA bids, as well as five 20-win seasons.

Many have doubted Neubauer’s opportunity for success in the Big Apple. At Eastern Kentucky, he was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, and the difference in the level of competitiveness between there and Fordham is quite vast. This is where his critics are wrong. When asked why he chose Fordham in an interview with Bleacher Report, he said, “The

LAUREN MACDONALD/THE OBSERVER

Basketball coach Jeff Neubauer strives to bring success to a team that finished 44-106 in the past five years.

number one reason I took this job is that Fordham competes in the A-10.” As a member of the Atlantic 10, Neubauer and his squad will have to battle teams like Davidson, George Washington, Dayton, Virginia Commonwealth University, and George Mason, to name a few.

Neubauer added, “Is this the right conference [for me]? Absolutely, the Atlantic 10 is the right conference.”

Many of Neubauer’s predecessors had also been successful before they took the keys to the Rose Hill Gymnasium. Unfortunately, they couldn’t convert their prior experiences into victories. Fordham fans can be assured that the story this time may very well be different.

“I’m taking over a program that has really struggled, and it needs a new vibrancy. It needs new life,” Neubauer said at his inaugural press conference. “I haven’t walked in here with a five-year plan. I shared with our team that we are walking in here with a one-year plan.”

His dedication and commitment to turn around a program that was 10-21 just a season ago is evident in one line: “Our goal is to be the most improved team in the country.” Indeed, this starts on the defensive end. He built a reputation at Eastern Kentucky University as a defense-minded coach. The Colonels ranked first in the nation in the turnover margin last season,

and Neubauer’s hope is to implement this same system at Fordham.

It’s no question that every team’s success relies on the efforts of its players. The Rams enter this season being led by seniors Mandell Thomas and Ryan Rhoomes, as well as graduate student Ryan Canty.

Thomas averaged 13.3 points per game last season, and enters this season having scored 1,064 career points. He sits 29th on Fordham’s all-time scoring list. Rhoomes averaged 8.6 rebounds per game last season, bringing his career total to 635, which puts him at 15th on Fordham’s all-time rebounding list. Canty hopes to rebound to the high-level of performance he ex-

hibited in the 2013-14 season after missing the entire 2014-15 season due to an injury. Neubauer can also look forward to working with younger players like sophomore forward Christian Sengfelder, who averaged 7.1 rebounds per game in his rookie season, placing him eighth among all NCAA Division I freshmen.

There’s plenty for Neubauer to look forward to. Not only does he have a group of players ready to step on the hardwood and win, but he also has the luxury of the Rose Hill Gym. He described it best when he said, “I love the Rose Hill Gym. It’s got so much personality, so much character. There’s no need to compare it to any other facility.

We can win with this facility.”

Surely, Fordham can take advantage of its home court with the 18-of-29 games that it will be hosting this regular season. Coach Neubauer has been successful in leading his team to four wins in five games thus far, including wins by double digits against Queens College, Fairleigh Dickinson, Colgate and Manhattan College. This is the best time for fans to support a rejuvenated Fordham men’s basketball program. With a season highlighted by matchups against St. John’s, Boston College, George Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason and Davidson, there’s a new excitement on campus. Is this a new beginning for Fordham men’s basketball? In Neubauer’s words, “I really love challenges and am very aware of how competitive the Atlantic 10 Conference is. And I’m looking forward to helping Fordham move forward.”

College Video Gaming Has No Place In Athletic Departments MADISON SIDWELL Staff Writer

The rise of competitive video gaming, often called e-sports, is happening in universities across the country. While e-sports are entertaining, they do not belong in university athletic departments.

Gamers who participate in e-sports tournaments are not competing in an athletic competition, but rather a mental one. So why are sports departments taking on e-sports when the purpose of universitysanctioned athletics is physical competition?

At many universities including Robert Morris University Illinois, University of California Berkeley and University of Cincinnati, e-sports are a part of the university’s athletic department. According to a New York Times article entitled “E-Sports at College, With Stars and Scholarships” by Nick Wingfield, gamers receive the same benefits that student athletes do, and at Robert Morris University in Illinois 35 students are currently receiving athletic scholarships for e-sports.

The gamer-athletes receive up to half their tuition, room and board from the university.

Anthony Farrell, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, responded to this by saying, “I feel like that is absurd, because the gamers are getting a scholarship for a hobby.” Gamers do not contribute to the university that other players, like football or basketball players, might. The input doesn’t equal the output as the university is basically paying half of their education for

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTUBVIA VIA FLICKR

Regulated E-sports are being pushed on campuses across America.

nothing in return. For example, college football and basketball generate money and continued alumni donations for universities, while e-sports do not bring in similar revenue.

In addition to giving gamers athletic scholarships, the athletic department at Robert Morris University Illinois also provides a practice space “decked out with jet-black walls, mood lighting and leather gamer chairs with red piping.” Though it is not specified how much the space cost to build, it still begs the question of whether the money spent on the room could’ve been used to improve facilities for

the athletes that play in widely known and popular sports.

The most popular game that is played among college gamers is League of Legends. Gamers form teams which have the potential to go on to represent each university at nationwide tournaments.

E-sports belong in a department more closely affiliated with mental skills and technology. Competitive video games, like athletic sports, require particular skills concerning strategy and mental sharpness, as well as requisite knowledge of the technology the players are working.

However, the skills needed for athletic competitions extend even

further. For example, a basketball player has to have a set of athletic skills, including agility, endurance, strength and coordination, in order to compete successfully. Athletic departments are able to provide resources, rules and regulations and experiences that benefit the athlete.

Those things, if applied to e-sports, can actually hurt the industry of competitive video gaming.

When athletic departments take on e-sports, the members of the competitive video gaming teams are required to follow the rules and regulations of the university athletic department. A potential major setback for gamers is the

practice-time restriction. The average professional gamer plays video games a minimum of 50 hours per week. If they become a part of athletic departments, they will not be allotted this much time to practice. Athletic departments would be wasting money providing resources that would actually hurt the gamers.

Some gamers have been known to drop out of school to pursue a career as a professional video gamer. According to the New York Times, Conan Liu, a University of California Berkeley student and member of the school’s e-sports team, left Berkeley for a year to play StarCraft II professionally. When he did not compete as well as he expected, he returned to Berkeley, but is now a year behind in his studies. Gamers of winning athletic programs are likely to follow Liu’s footsteps. Once the players see any successes, they will want to pursue it at the next level. In the professional video game world, it is extremely unlikely that a player will achieve success and be able to live off of the salary he will make, so gamers will most likely lose an entire year’s worth of time without any payoff.

At the end of the day, competitive video gaming is not a physical competition. Athletic departments are equipped to satisfy the needs of physical athletes, not gamers, who require more mental and technical resources. Gamers will be hurt by the rules and regulations of athletic departments and will not be given the proper resources needed to succeed.

Ultimately, athletic departments and competitive video gaming are not a good fit for each other.

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THE OBSERVER December 3, 2015

Sports

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