Observer Issue 6 Spring 2024

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Undergraduate Tuition Will Now Cost

By CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health

The Fordham baseball team had a successful trip to Amherst, Massachusetts, winning two out of three games against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst Minutemen this past weekend. Additionally, Head Coach Kevin Leighton earned his 500th career coaching win and 300th win at Fordham.

The Rams won their second Atlantic 10 (A10) series in a row following a disappointing road trip against the University of Dayton and lackluster non-conference schedule to start the season.

home team’s rally, Fordham took a lead that UMass would not rally back from in the next half inning.

A pair of errors by Braden Sullivan, UMass ’27, put two runners on base and started Fordham’s rally. Two straight singles drove in a pair of runs and put the Rams ahead 3-2. Ryan Thiesse, GSBRH ’24, cleared the bases with a double in the next at-bat, extending Fordham's lead to three runs, 5-2.

By MEGAN YERRABELLI Asst. News Editor

In an email sent to Fordham students and their families on March 13, John W. Buckley, vice president for enrollment, announced that the university will be increasing undergraduate tuition, food and housing fees by 4.4% for the upcoming 2024-25 academic year. Buckley cited inflation, increasing demands for compensation, and overall rising costs for insurance, utilities and technology among others as the impetus for this decision.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), inflation rates initially declined after hitting a peak ofat 9% in June 2022. However, the BLS notes that over the past year, inflation

has remained steady at about 3.5%, which is above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. In the New York metropolitan area, inflation was lower than the nation’s average with prices up about 3.1% instead of 3.5% since March 2023.

Certain areas of the economy are still experiencing relatively high inflation rates. BLS found that inflation in the New York metropolitan area’s housing market remains at 5%. Additionally, the prices of fuel and utilities have increased by 10.2% since last year confirming Buckley’s statement regarding the school’s rising costs in this sector.

On March 30, 2023, University President Tania Tetlow announced a 6% tuition increase for the 2023-24 academic year. The price for

undergraduate tuition and fees was $61,567 — about $18,090 less than the national average for the 2023-24 academic year according to US News.

In his email, Buckley did not disclose if Fordham will be allocating additional funds to their financial aid budget.

In the 2021-22 academic year, Fordham generated $487,730,000 from tuition fees, about 87% of its total revenue. Tuition was not raised that academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That same year, the university spent $317,296,000 on instruction alone which is about 52% of its total costs. Undergraduate tuition and fees costed $56,161 that academic year.

Fordham Baseball Takes Two of Three From Minutemen Graduate Student Workers Vote to Authorize Strike

The series was originally scheduled to start on Friday, but the opener was postponed to Saturday due to inclement weather, with the teams playing a doubleheader. The Rams jumped out to an early lead in the series opener, with Cian Sahler, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’25, driving in Daniel Bucciero, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GBSRH) ’26, for the game’s first run in the top of the first inning.

UMass responded a few innings later, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third on four singles and a sacrifice bunt to take a 2-1 lead. Unfazed by the

The two teams traded runs as the game neared its conclusion. Fordham tacked on another run in the top of the fifth before UMass left fielder Austin Burgess, UMass ’24, responded with a solo home run in the seventh.

The Rams added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 7-3.

The game seemed all but secured, but Burgess had other things in mind. With two outs and two runners on base, the scorching slugger launched his second homer of the game out of the park to bring the Minutemen within a run. Burgess’ effort fell just short, however, as UMass’ next batter flew out following a pitching change to end the game, a 7-6 Fordham win.

see BASEBALL page 6

By ALEXA VILLATORO News Editor

Fordham Graduate Student Workers (FGSW) announced its members had approved a 98% vote in favor of authorizing a strike on April 9 after polls had closed. The vote is an effort to pressure the university to meet the union’s demands in ongoing contract negotiations for higher compensation, healthcare benefits, childcare subsidies, and more.

The strike authorization vote will allow union leaders to call for a strike at any moment if

Fordham does not move closer to meeting FGSW’s demands — both parties have been in negotiations for 19 months. If a strike were to occur, union members would not work until both parties negotiate a satisfactory contract with Fordham.

Many graduate student workers at Fordham must fulfill a pedagogy requirement that requires them to teach courses. The potentiality of a strike would result in the cancellation of classes and the union asserts Fordham could be at risk for reputational and economic losses.

FGSW believes the university must meet its demands for higher compensation in order to satisfy the local living wage. They are also asking for university-sponsored healthcare benefits including dental and vision coverage and subsidized child care.

While both parties have been unable to negotiate a complete contract, strides have been made in numerous tentative agreements on the use of NDA’s, employment protections for international students and discrimination policies.

ALEXA VILLATORO/THE OBSERVER

The strike authorization vote will allow FGSW’s leaders to call a strike at any moment and the effort is being used to increase pressure on Fordham’s administration to meet the union’s demands

GEL Hosts Cohort Reception

The event aimed to build community amongst students and draw attention to the EMBA student experience.

By DANTE ALEJO Staff Writer

The newly established Gabelli Executive Leadership (GEL) group hosted a reception on April 6 at All & Sundry, a bar and bistro located near The Shops at Columbus Circle, following Cohort 20’s final class at the Gabelli School of Business (GSB).

Fordham’s Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) program uses the cohort system. Cohorts are a group of students who are all pursuing the same degree — they start and graduate simultaneously. The event saw a celebration and a passing of the torch between Cohort 20 and Cohort 21.

The group comprised a diverse range of experienced business leaders, from former athletes in the National Football League to television news anchors. Most attendees were primarily students in Fordham’s EMBA program, but all members of the GSB student body were welcome to join.

Fordham EMBA is among one of the university’s highest-ranked programs, being top 50 worldwide. The program is catered to experienced workers who seek to improve their leadership and executive skills. The club demographics have an average age of 36 — on average, 11 years of work experience — within a cohort size of roughly 30 people.

Unlike other MBA students, EMBA students tend to be older and are limited in their time dedicated to academics as some juggle both professional and familial duties. Classes are taken once a month on the weekends, with some students flying in from around the country to

attend. Due to the limited time the EMBA program grants, it becomes essential for the students to make their connections valuable.

According to a press release provided by Geoff Baum — Gabelli Graduate School of Business (GGSB) ’24, who is a founder of GEL, pursuing an EMBA and is a part of Cohort 20 — GEL aims to cater to EMBA students by providing a greater voice and benefits to the specialized student group.

A key issue GEL hopes to achieve is establishing more profound connections between peers due to the lack of class time compared to traditional students. The GEL group seeks to provide better recognition in both representations in school policy and resources available to the specialized and distinct needs EMBA students face.

The press release also noted the GEL originated from multiple factors, the first being a greater desire for students in the program to socialize and connect with peers due to the innate limited amount of time in the class schedule.

Additionally, the GEL hopes the unique needs of EMBA students will result in a greater representation of the EMBA students at Fordham. A current goal for the GEL is to be granted a singular representative seat on the Graduate Student Advisory Council.

Under the current Graduate Student Advisory Council system, the Professional Master of Business Administration (PMBA) and EMBA program share a singular representative chair currently held by Clayton Ross, but the difference in both needs and demographics has left the much smaller EMBA group

feeling left behind. GEL founders said they have additional work that needs to be completed in order to establish hopes of creating a stronger student experience in both groups.

At the event, members of Cohort 20 were asked about the importance and future of the club. Baum credits the desire for greater connection with peers in the program as initiated by being one of the first classes to enter after the end of the pandemic.

“We knew how precious time is, so we were willing to stick our necks out there since we knew if we didn’t, we can’t depend on others to do it,” Baum said.

Baum predicts future events, including more mixers and content-related gatherings.

Club founder Louisa Brody,

GGSB ’24, who is pursuing an EMBA in Cohort 20, was asked about the beginning of the GEL group. According to Brody, the club originated as a WhatsApp group chat which she organized. Events, such as a comedy night or a group trip to the Yankees Stadium in the Bronx, were all paid out of pocket and organized by the students. The group chat aimed to find ways to strengthen student relations with one another.

Members of Cohort 21 were also asked about the importance of the future of the GEL they are set to inherit.

“We believe the value is really being able to network within the cohorts, but also give that visibility to EMBA’s,” Nikki Lofton, GGSB ’25, Cohort 21 and president-elect of GEL, said.

Lofton primarily promoted the importance of GEL addition to the student experience. The president-elect focused on aiding EMBAs in ways that primarily affect more experienced workers, such as connections and helping students transfer industries if needed.

Kevin Delaney, Cohort 21, and Mick Corcoran, Cohort 21, expressed excitement about future EMBA events while collaborating with PMBA students and full-time students.

While the GEL group is still developing, members feel its utility in filling the gap in the need for connection and representation of Fordham EMBA students could benefit the overall Fordham experience.

Student Activities Fee Increase Passes Referendum

The $105,000 in additional funds will be used to increase club budgets for events, according to USGLC

By ANA KEVORKIAN Former Managing Editor

The student activities fee, which funds the activities of clubs at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, will increase by $35 for the first time in 20 years following a referendum held by the United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC). The voting process took place over email and the measure passed 383-150, according to USGLC.

All undergraduate students at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus pay the student activities fee, which is currently $105 each year, as a part of their tuition bill. The funds raised from the fee are appropriated by the Student Activities Budget Committee (SABC) to student-run organizations throughout the year, which now total $105,000 allocated specifically to student clubs and their activities.

Bianca Ortega, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’25 and former chair of SABC, said that the committee has struggled to allocate funding to the ever-growing number of student organizations on campus in recent years due to enrollment increases and inflation.

“All of those things together — more people and everything costing more money — just signaled that we don’t have enough funds,” she said.

Ortega added that she chose not to vote in the referendum because she is currently studying abroad in London and does not “have all the insights on how club events are going and how the funding is being used.”

Jenifer Campbell, dean of

students at Lincoln Center, emphasized that the increased student activities fee will allow SABC to facilitate more requests than has previously been the case due to the increase in available funding. She highlighted, though, that the process of requesting funding has not changed. Campbell noted that SABC attempts to meet the needs of all student clubs and does not “theorize” about the potential success or failure of an event. She added that she does not anticipate a problem of club leaders being “overzealous” and said clubs will “not just get first dibs on anything.”

USGLC announced the referendum on March 15 in an email to all undergraduate students.

The message was authored by Tanzema Qureshi, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’24 and president of USGLC, and characterized the referendum as a “historic action” noting that “this money is guaranteed to go back to YOU, meaning more free food for you, more free outings for you, more free on-campus events for you, more for YOU!”

Qureshi contacted club leaders on March 16 encouraging them to both vote in favor of the referendum and to urge their membership to do the same. Her email also invited clubs to “endorse” the referendum, highlighting an assortment of clubs that had already done so.

The USGLC president noted that the aim of these club endorsements was “to facilitate a personable community relationship with the clubs on campus.” She added that “an increasing number of clubs voluntarily responded with

their endorsements after each email I sent!”

Jason Bonner — FCLC ’25, president of Classics Club and treasurer of Quiz Bowl — said he decided to support the referendum in response to USGLC’s explanation that the student activities fee is “one of the only parts of our tuition that we can track where it’s going.”

During general meetings for both Classics Club and Quiz Bowl, Bonner said he delivered the presentation that had been shared with club leaders by USGLC. He noted that after hearing positive feedback from club members and discussing with his fellow editorial board members, he decided to issue an official endorsement on behalf of both of his clubs.

The endorsements of Bonner’s clubs were announced alongside those of various other student organizations in a series of emails and Instagram posts by USGLC during the voting period. Other clubs on the endorsement list included Arabic Club; PRISM, the LGBTQ+ students club; and GLOBE, the international students club.

Vishesh Chawla — GSBLC ’25, founder and president of GLOBE, and former executive vice president of the commuting students association — said that his club was included on the list of endorsing clubs without E-Board consent.

“GLOBE was never in support of the referendum,” Chawla said. “After a detailed discussion with the executive board GLOBE like some big clubs chose a neutrality standpoint ... this was communicated well to USG.” Chawla also said that he did

not personally support the referendum because he felt it would lead to further wasteful spending on the part of clubs.

“If SABC is selective in terms of allocating funds to well thought out and purposeful events, then student leaders come up with new and more innovative event ideas,” he noted. “That just doesn’t happen if every event around us starts getting approved.”

Qureshi said the error was isolated to the email to club leaders and was “fortunately

not done in any university-wide emails, any Iinstagram posts or student body-wide email announcements.” She further expressed that USGLC “respects GLOBE’s neutral stance.”

With the increased student activities fee, Ortega speculated that future SABC proceedings will be “a little bit less stressful” since the committee will be able to be “more flexible and optimistic,” though she expressed concern that increased club requests would lead to the committee ending up “in the same pickle.”

COURTESY OF FORDHAM EMBA STUDENTS

The EMBA students in Manresa, Spain, where St. Ignatius spent a year before establishing the Jesuit order.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ISABELLE PETERSEN/THE OBSERVER

The referendum aims to increase the student activities fee by $35 for the first time in 20 years.

Netflix Shoots Original Series ‘Zero Day’ at Lincoln Center Campus

The show, which stars Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, filmed in the Leon Lowenstein Center Friday

By ABBY GRUNZINGER Fun & Games Editor

The filming of an upcoming television show piqued staff and student interest on April 12, which brought dozens of crew members, A-list stars and excitement to the Lincoln Center campus. “Zero Day,” a limited series from Netflix starring Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, was shooting on the second floor of the Leon Lowenstein Center and occupied the Outdoor Plaza, with additional designated locations for the set around campus.

According to Deadline, “Zero Day,”is a conspiracy thriller series centered around a global cyber-attack. Although access to set was restricted, several signs were posted around campus, primarily in the Street Level hallways between McMahon Hall and Lowenstein; “Breakfast,” “HMU (Hair and Makeup),” “Load-In,” “Holding,” “Wardrobe” and “Set” signs directed cast and crew to their respective locations. Trailers were also parked outside McMahon Hall on 60th Street.

The second floor of Lowenstein was converted into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters for the duration of the shoot, complete with CIA seals on the elevators, American flags populating the halls and mock-up posters lining the corridors spreading information about cybersecurity.

Leslie Timoney, director of conference services at Fordham and the coordinator of the shoot, said that Lowenstein’s “windows and facade are similar to the CIA headquarters,” which was the draw for the “Zero Day” team.

Although filming occupied the entirety of Lowenstein’s second floor, according to Timoney, the logistics “went very smoothly.” The filming was originally intended to happen over winter break, but delays pushed it back to April. Timoney specifically wrote that the admissions department was especially flexible since this time of year is particularly active for admissions — they were “wonderful to allow filming.”

Patricia Peek, dean of undergraduate admissions, said that “both Ms. Timoneys office and the film shoot crew were incredibly helpful in making the spaces work for everyone.” She added that “the film crew also worked tirelessly on Friday evening so that our spaces would be ready for Saturday’s Spring Preview,” an admissions event that welcomed hundreds of visitors to the Lincoln Center campus.

Will Gualtiere, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’25, works as a student intern in the Office of Campus Ministry, which is also located on the second floor. “The floor was definitely more busy than usual, especially when they were setting up shots,” Gualtiere said. He also noted that the shoot was “less disruptive than I was expecting it to be.”

Although Gualtiere noted that the second floor was hard to maneuver during the shooting period all the crew members were “very accommodating” and it was “very interesting to see a working shoot” happening at Fordham. Students were especially excited to see celebrities around campus. Grace Keegan, FCLC ’25, said that

she spotted De Niro outside McMahon Hall on Friday morning.

“As I walked up alongside the trailers, I noticed a group of people right outside of a trailer and that’s when I realized it was him,” Keegan said. “Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting to run into De Niro on my Friday morning coffee run, but it definitely gave me something to talk about!”

Timoney noted that “Zero Day” is certainly not the first project to film at Fordham and will not be the last. “Location scouts in the film industry are aware that Fordham is

film friendly,” she said.

Timoney also noted that the Rose Hill campus is a popular location due to its campus architecture, which can “stand in for any university anywhere.” According to Timoney, the Lincoln Center campus, in addition to “Zero Day,” was also utilized in the drama series “Elsbeth,” in which Lowenstein acted as the Federal Center in Chicago. She also said that last week, an AppleTV production starring Jon Hamm was filmed at the Westchester campus. Timoney mentioned that Fordham already has future

filming prospects lined up for this summer.

“The Fordham community loves to recognize itself on TV,” she said. “It’s fun and part of the fabric of NY (New York).”

The six-episode limited series also stars Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Joan Allen, Connie Britton and Dan Stevens. It is executive produced by De Niro, Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, Michael S. Schmidt, Jonathan Glickman and Lesli Linka Glatter, who is also directing all six episodes, according to Deadline.

AVERY LOFTIS/THE OBSERVER

The Lincoln Center campus was transformed into a film set on Friday for a Netflix show.

FGSW Forms Picket Line In Protest of Current Negotiations

The vote passed with 98% in favor of striking, allowing FGSW to call for a strike amid ongoing contract negotiations with the university

FGSW STRIKE from page 1

Since passing the strike authorization vote, union members have gathered across the university’s Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses to picket and advocate for their demands. Numerous public officials have also expressed support for the union, including Vincent Alvarez, president of New York City’s Central Labor Council and New York State Assembly Member Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

“Fordham’s nearly 400 dedicated and talented graduate workers make the University’s programs possible, yet are paid poverty-level wages while living in one of the most expensive cities in the country,” Alvarez announced in a statement of solidarity with FGSW.

Amal Zaman, a member of FGSW’s coordinating committee and a former member of the union’s founding bargaining committee, said that union members want to be at work, teaching undergraduate students and at the forefront of research. Zaman explained that a strike is a “last resort,” and a sacrifice union members are willing to make in order to win a fair contract.

“A strike can still be averted if Fordham upper administration makes serious movement on stipends, fees, health insurance subsidies and childcare benefits,” Zaman said. “Fordham graduate student workers currently have among the lowest pay in the nation, when adjusted for the local cost of living. Fordham is losing top candidates for its grad programs because of low pay and high fees.”

In a press conference with The Observer and The Fordham Ram, Rose Hill’s undergraduate student publication, on April 12, University President Tania Tetlow stated that it’s “not within our power,” for the university to keep a strike from having an impact on students.

Since Fordham Faculty United (FFU), the union representing adjunct faculty members began contract negotiations in 2022, Tetlow has continued to assert that Fordham must balance the increasing demands for compensation with the tuition money that is used to fund employee compensation.

“We are not able to fill in for every graduate instructor teaching and grading,” the president said. “So our primary goal is to

successfully come to a deal with the union to prevent a strike, or if it happens, to end it quickly.”

Robin Ortiz, a third-year English PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Arts and

Sciences (GSAS), said that the Jesuit “cura personalis” is something she is proud to “live out” and looks forward to teaching students at Fordham. Ortiz added that she is ready to strike if the

union’s demands are not met.

“Fordham‘s upper administration needs to remember the graduate workers are also whole people with rent to pay and families to feed and eyes and teeth that need vision and dental coverage,” she said. “I’m prepared to go on strike until president Tetlow takes that seriously.”

Tetlow asserted that increasing the benefits graduate student workers receive would create “equity issues” in which students would bear the cost through tuition. She also expressed that it would not be “fair” to full-time faculty members, as graduate student workers are supposedly capped at 18 hours of work per week.

In response to the prospective graduate students, Tetlow framed the expensive cost of living in the New York metropolitan area as a “trade off.”

“But if New York matters to you, every single person who lives here and works here, and every single undergraduate has made that same trade off choice, right,” Tetlow said. “You are going to have a different kind of life here that is more expensive. But in return, you get all that New York has to offer. But that’s a trade off every single one of us makes.”

FGSW has asked the university for benefits that full-time faculty members receive, such as receiving any additional childcare benefits faculty members may get in the future and university-sponsored healthcare with premium coverage for domestic partners, spouses, and dependents.

According to Tetlow, the “easy way” to avoid a strike would have been to further increase tuition costs. She stated that it has been “painful” to increase tuition costs over the last two academic years by over 10% and added that compensation costs make up around two-thirds of the university’s budget.

Michael Au-Mullaney, a sixthyear PhD candidate at GSAS studying philosophy, said that he is proud to teach undergraduate students at Fordham and learn together in the classroom, but the overbearing costs of the city make it difficult.

“Trying to survive in New York City with two young children at home with these poverty wages is just increasingly impossible. I look at what people doing the work that I do elsewhere in New York are making and it's a lot more reasonable than what Fordham has been offering us,” Au-Mullaney said. “I see what our work is worth and we wanna be paid what our work is worth.”

COURTESY OF ZOE SMITH

At a Fordham fundraising dinner on Mar. 18, union members and supporters from CWA-Local 1104, the larger union representing FGSW, picket to express their demands.

ALEXA VILLATORO/THE OBSERVER

FGSW has proposed a minimum $46,983 base stipend dispersed over 12 months, compared to the current minimum of $27,231.

ALEXA VILLATORO/THE OBSERVER

Union members have also demanded a childcare subsidy of $3,000 per child and access to additional childcare benefits that faculty could receive in the future.

Students Respond to Tuition Increase

The price of undergraduate tuition, room-and-board and meal plans will increase by 4.4%, but no additional financial aid has been allocated

With the 4.4% increase for the 2024-25 academic year, tuition and fees will cost $62,990 for full-time undergraduate students and room and board will range from $11,900 to $24,285 for Fordham Lincoln Center students.

Justice Ramsay, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’27, discussed how the decision to increase tuition makes Fordham’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts seem performative.

“They are so obsessed with their little statistics about admitting people of color and other different backgrounds. But then, they raise the tuition, without any increasing financial aid, which makes it impossible for low-income students to stay at the school,” Ramsay noted.

Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications, commented on the financial aid budget for the upcoming academic year.

“We will do the best we can to help those most affected by the increase. We can’t offer enough financial aid to completely offset the tuition increase,” he explained. “There would be no point in raising tuition if the increase was canceled out by more financial aid.”

Students have also expressed that this increase will affect their decision to stay at the university because tuition was already unaffordable for them.

Ramsay stated that her experience with the Office of Financial Aid has not helped her come up with adequate alternative options if she cannot pay her tuition.

“I have been appealing my financial aid package since I arrived here,” Ramsay shared. “If you go to them and tell them that you don’t know how you are going to afford tuition this semester, they will tell you to take the semester off.”

Ian Hancer, FCLC ’27,

discussed how the uncertainty of not knowing if you will be able to afford next year’s tuition increase is stressful.

“I don’t even know if I will be able to graduate on time, and that’s jeopardizing my future. It is really stressful because nothing is ever guaranteed,” Hancer said. “I might have to transfer out because I can’t afford it.”

For incoming first-years, Fordham provided a reference guide on financing their education. It includes information on tuition financing options, four-year financial planning strategies and an explanation of student loans and financial aid packages.

The plan also notably introduces the Fordham Tuition Stabilization Plan, which allows students to abate future tuition increases by repaying the tuition for future semesters at the current tuition rate.

Increased demands for compensation were a part of Buckley’s explanation for the tuition increase. The Fordham Graduate Student Workers Union is currently preparing for a potential strike since negotiations with the administration over better wages and healthcare benefits have stalled.

On a national level, wages for university employees have increased by 4.1% from January to December 2023. The BLS has not published new data on employment cost indexes since.

While students understand the reasons behind Fordham professors advocating for higher wages, they are uncertain about the connection between this and the need for a tuition increase.

Hancerspoke about how tuition has been increasing but issues such as the standard of facilities and dorm life have not improved.

“The standard of living in the dorms is awful. A lot of things are falling about or moldy. Where is the money going?” he said. “I

think the tuition wouldn’t have to be raised if they were more organized.”

University President Tania Tetlow explained why tuition must increase year-to-year, during a press conference with student press held on Feb. 27.

“The tuition increases because our costs go up, primarily because of compensation costs which is almost two-thirds of our budget,” she expressed.

Howe added that regular improvements are built into the budget, and cited the McShane Student Center and the overhaul of the Rose Hill dining services as two examples of this.

“A great deal of the physical work on all of the campuses is not obvious to people—rust never sleeps, and it takes constant labor and funding to repair and maintain campus infrastructure.” Howe noted. “Like everything else, the cost of that work goes up every year with inflation.”

A change.org petition, which has acquired 44 signatures as of April 16, expressed similar sentiments over the lack of transparency over tuition allocations. The petition, which was authored by “concerned Fordham student” used quotes from Tetlow’s email to the Fordham community about last year’s tuition increase.

“Though the Fordham administration claims that they ‘are working hard to control those costs’ and that it ‘will continue our efforts to bring down those costs as much as we can,’ the university’s tax filings show hundreds of millions of dollars flowing elsewhere,” the petitioner's statement said.

The petition subsequently listed expenditures in the university’s more recent tax filings. These were acquired from the nonprofit explorer section of the website ProPublica, a non-profit newsroom that specializes in investigative journalism. The list

included the amount spent on the expansion of the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center, and the salaries and bonuses of athletic coaches, among others.

“The entirety of money put towards financial aid was slightly less than $300 million. However, nearly $306 million was spent on investments in the Caribbean and Central America,” the list concluded.

Howe clarified that this listing is not funds spent, but rather the value of Fordham’s endowment that is invested abroad.

At the end of the petition there are four demands calling for overall greater administrative transparency through a town hall and the release of university tax returns. Furthermore, the demands included an explanation of university expenditures and how it improved the education or quality of life of the Fordham community. Lastly, it insisted on a feasible plan for reducing tuition for the future.

The Intersections of Law and Care Post-Dobbs

A panel of three activists discussed abortion

By SAM BRACY Staff Writer

Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruled Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that protected abortion as a constitutional right, voters have reaffirmed abortion rights on the ballot in seven states. Clinics in these states, including Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio, however, are strained by legal uncertainty, security concerns and overwhelming demand from out-of-state patients.

In an event organized by the Fordham Law School’s (LAW) If/When/How club on April 4, a panel of activists discussed the implications and shockwaves caused by the Dobbs decision. The speakers presented the ways the criminalization of abortion has had far-reaching consequences for providers and pregnant people across the country.

Jeanne Flavin, professor of sociology, introduced the panelists as her friends and collaborators. First to speak was Lynn Paltrow, the founder of the civil rights nonprofit Pregnancy Justice.

Paltrow guided the audience through a brief legal history of fetal personhood. She cited criminal prosecutions where pregnant people were accused of manslaughter or child endangerment,

conflating drug addiction, or accidents with abortions.

“They’ve just kept saying this is just like an abortion,” Paltrow said. “What a pregnant woman does that could end up harming the fetus or the child that’s ultimately born is exactly the same as abortion.”

Paltrow argued that activists should consider those who terminate a pregnancy as necessarily different from other pregnant people, but instead consider their civil rights as intertwined.

After Paltrow, Schaunta JamesBoyd and Rebecca Tong spoke on the challenges presented by their work as the co-executive directors of Trust Women, an organization operating two clinics on the front lines of post-Dobbs America.

Trust Women had to shutter their Oklahoma City clinic after a near-total abortion ban went into effect in Oklahoma. James-Boyd described how their smaller clinic in Wichita, Kansas was forced to adapt in order to meet a sudden surge in demand for pregnant people coming from states that restricted abortion access.

“Our patients are no longer just a little bit of Texas, a little bit of Oklahoma, a little bit of Kansas.

Now we’re more regional,” JamesBoyd said. “It’s just a different way of thinking.”

The Oklahoma staff began traveling back and forth to train new clinicians at the Wichita

and legal jeopardy after the Supreme Court decision

clinic. James-Boyd noted that the clinic grew from eight to 30 staff and now receives around 600 calls every day.

In addition to the challenges of providing care with limited resources, Tong explained some of the ongoing political and legal battles Trust Women faces.

While abortion providers have some protections in Kansas, Tong

said that patients and doctors at their Wichita clinic may still be exposed to lawsuits coming from other states.

“We have so many lawyers,” James-Boyd said with a laugh.

“Lawyers for Kansas, lawyers from Oklahoma specifically, but then all of these organizations from around the country, because we’ve never seen laws

like right now.” Tong said.

In conjunction with If/When/ How club, the event was also organized byFordham Lincoln Center’s Sociology, Anthropology and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies departments. Krisana Gaol, LAW ’25, co-president of If/ When/How, said she was excited about the turnout from undergraduate and law students.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TARA LENTELL/THE OBSERVER

This upcoming tuition increase of 4.4% is in addition to the 6% hike in tuition that was implemented in the current academic year

SAM BRACY/THE OBSERVER

The Dobbs decision reversed the constitutionally protected right to abortion, which has affected the level of restrictions that would be imposed by states on those seeking abortion access.

Sports & Health

Baseball Back on Track After Consecutive Series Wins

The Rams took two of three games in dramatic fashion against UMass to boost their A10 record

Although pitcher Declan Lavelle, FCRH ’24, could not finish the game after his shaky ninth inning, he ended the day having thrown 8.1 innings and a heroic 122 pitches while striking out 12 opposing hitters.

The Rams celebrated the victory, the 500th in Leighton’s storied career, and geared up for their second game of the day. This effort was not as successful for the Rams. UMass struck first, jumping out to a rapid 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The Minutemen hit two doubles, a walk, and three singles in the relentless offensive burst.

Early in the season, it seemed that Fordham may struggle to compete in the A10, but those fears appear to have been set aside for the time being.

After a line drive was caught for the inning’s second out, yet another Ram was hit by a pitch to bring in another run. Finally, Sahler walked in the third run of the inning and when the dust settled, Fordham only trailed by a run, 5-4.

The Minutemen immediately answered the spurt. Specifically, one familiar Minuteman responded. After the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the fourth was hit by a pitch, Burgess connected on his third home run of the day to extend the UMass lead, 7-4.

Fordham added another run in the top of the fifth and threatened to tie the game in the ninth, but its effort would not be enough and the Minutemen salvaged the day, winning 7-5 ahead of Sunday’s rubber match.

The final game of the series was a nail-biter. All hope appeared lost for Fordham to win the series early in the game. A single from Burgess drove in a run before a three-run home run from Mike Gervasi, UMass ’24, gave the Minutemen a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The resilient Rams would not go down without a fight, and in the next half inning catcher Tommy McAndrews, FCRH ’26, launched his third homer of the season, a solo shot, to cut the lead to three.

UMass maintained its lead for most of the game from that point forward. That is until the

A run from Fordham in the third inning cut into the home team’s lead, but the real damage from the Rams came in the top of the fourth. Fordham started the inning with two singles and a hit by a pitch to load the bases before a sacrifice fly drove in the Rams’ second run of the game. Another Fordham batter was hit by a pitch, immediately loading the bases once again.

top of the sixth, when the Rams were able to load the bases. In the ensuing at bat, Steve Luttazi, Gabelli Graduate School of Business (GGSB) ’24, was hit by a pitch to drive in Fordham’s second run of the game before a sacrifice fly brought in another run. The inning ended with the Rams trailing by only a run, 4-3.

Gervasi hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, extending UMass’ lead to two once again. It was the top of the eighth inning that proved decisive

for the Rams. With two outs and two runners on base, Emory transfer Henry Pelinski, GGSB ’24, sent the ball out of the park to put Fordham on top, 6-5. The Rams closed it out and left the Bay State on a high note.

Early in the season, it seemed that Fordham may struggle to compete in the A10, but those fears appear to have been set aside for the time being. The Rams sit at 5-4 in their conference and have addressed many of the issues that held them back earlier this year.

The Rams built on their positive weekend in their non-conference matchup against Sacred Heart University yesterday. In a low-scoring affair, Fordham won 2-1, with Madden Ocko, GSBRH ’27, lifting a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to secure victory.

Fordham’s next A10 series will take place on Friday, April 19 against Saint Louis University in the Bronx. The Rams are looking to maintain momentum and win their third straight A10 series.

Fordham Softball Drops Home Series to Dayton

After winning the first game of the weekend, the Rams lost their next two to abruptly end a lengthy win streak

B y CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health Editor

The Fordham softball team beat the University of Dayton (DAY) Flyers in one of their three games this past weekend, bringing the Rams’ record to 19-21-1 for the season and 9-6 in the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference. Prior to the two losses, Fordham had won seven consecutive games to jumpstart its season.

Fordham would not relinquish its lead, adding two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the first game in dominant fashion, 6-0.

The series, which began with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 at Bahoshy Field at Rose Hill, was off to a good start for the Rams. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a grand slam from leadoff hitter Bailey Enoch, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’24. By the end of the series, Enoch held a batting average of .307 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .983, both second on the team only to Sydney Wells, FCRH ’25.

Fordham would not relinquish its lead, adding two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the first game in dominant fashion, 6-0. Devon Miller,

Gabelli Graduate School of Business ’24, the ace of the Rams’ rotation, shut down the Flyers, pitching a complete game with six strikeouts to power Fordham to its win.

The second game of the weekend took on a different tone. Both teams struggled to push runners across the plate in the early innings, as the Dayton pitching duo of Sarah Bailitz, DAY ’24, and Izzy Kemp, DAY ’26, as well as Fordham’s Holly Beeman, FCRH ’26, excelled on the mound.

The only blemish on Beeman’s record came in the fourth inning, when the Flyers drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a flurry of singles. Those runs would be enough for Dayton to secure victory, as Fordham only mustered three hits and fell by a score of 2-0.

This past Sunday, the two teams returned for the rubber match of the series. With Miller back on the mound, the Flyers pounced. Dayton scored once in the second, twice in the third, and once in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead by the fifth inning.

Beeman relieved Miller in the fourth inning, but the change could not slow down the Flyers who tacked on another run in the top of the sixth. Bailitz and Kemp shone once again for Dayton, shutting out the Rams in a combined pitching effort.

Ultimately, the visitors emerged with a 5-0 victory and took the final game of the series. It was a tough weekend for Wells, Fordham’s top hitter.

She uncharacteristically finished with two hits in eight at bats and no runs batted in. The

cold streak should not last for long, however, as her 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in lead the A10.

The Rams will be back in action today. They take on the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks in a midweek doubleheader at Bahoshy Field before hitting the road to play St. Bonaventure University this coming weekend. Fordham will look to recapture the spark that recently fueled them to seven straight wins as the conference schedule marches on.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Declan Lavelle threw 8.1 innings and 122 pitches in a heroic feat against UMass Amherst.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Bailey Enoch, FCRH ‘24, had a strong few games this past weekend, as her batting average was second highest of the team by series end.

BASEBALL from page 1

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Rams softball had a strong start to the season, but stalled out this past weekend, losing to the University of Dayton twice in a three game series.

Fordham Men’s Basketball Offseason Is Heating Up, Gray Gone and Zona In

After Elijah Gray elected to

By CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health Editor

The men’s basketball season may be over, but there remains much to follow in the world of Fordham men’s basketball. Although not as substantial as last year’s roster transformation, the Rams are in the midst of a retooling effort.

The transfer portal is active at Rose Hill. As Fordham seeks to remain competitive in the increasingly fierce Atlantic 10 (A10), the program has begun its quest to recruit transfers in an attempt to enhance its rotation for the 2024-25 season.

In the first stages of the offseason, Fordham suffered a loss when Elijah Gray, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’26, elected to enter the portal. Gray took a leap in his sophomore season, playing 18.2 minutes per game compared to the 7.7 minutes per game that he played in his first year with the Rams.

During those minutes, especially in the beginning of the season, Gray shined. Nearly every statistical category improved and Gray averaged 8.4 points per game with better shooting metrics across the board while nearly doubling his rebounds per game.

Gray’s minutes, however, tapered off toward the end of the season. He averaged only 9 minutes per game, shifting to the bench in the final six games of the year after starting in the team’s previous eight games. This minutes restriction came

transfer out, the Rams

attempt to make use of the dynamic transfer portal

as other forwards on the team, notably, Romad Dean, FCRH ’26, and Jahmere Tripp, FCRH ’27, assumed expanded roles.

Now in search of a new home, Gray will be remembered for his buzzer-beater against Saint Louis on Feb. 2, and for the part he played in the “Rose Thrill” turnaround that has taken place under Head Coach Keith Urgo over the past two seasons.

For a brief moment, it was believed that Dean would be following Gray into the portal,

when a profile on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated so on April 8. A few days later, with the help of a fan account for Dean called @RomadDeanClub on X, reports claimed that Dean would be withdrawing from the transfer portal and returning to Fordham for his junior year.

This roller coaster of transfer portal antics resulted in the best possible outcome for the Rams as Dean’s energetic play and improvement from his first to his second season fueled Fordham

down the stretch.

Fordham’s vacancy left by Gray did not last for long, as the Rams recruited Notre Dame University (ND) transfer Matt Zona, currently ND ’24 and soonto-be Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’25, to bolster their frontcourt. Zona grew up in the New York metropolitan area and attended the same high school as Will Richardson, FCRH ’26, Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey. Zona appeared in all 32 of

Around The Hill With Chris Murray

Men’s Tennis Flounders, Women’s Tennis Splits

It is the tale of two seasons for the men’s and women’s tennis teams. The men continued a dreadful streak, losing both of its matches over the weekend while the women, the reigning champions of the Atlantic 10 (A10), split their matches, winning on Saturday and losing on Sunday.

The men’s team, in the midst of a forgettable 5-12 season, lost its fourth and fifth consecutive matches. This time, the Rams fell to George Mason University on Saturday, April 13, 5-0, before losing to the University of Richmond Spiders, on Sunday, April 14, 4-0. Having now failed to win a game in two straight matches, Fordham’s last victorious game took place on April 10 against Queens College.

The women’s team, despite its far superior 12-6 record, split its two matches this weekend. On Saturday, the Rams defeated St. Thomas Aquinas College, 6-1. The win capped the day’s Senior Day events with a positive note, as the Rams won five of their six singles matches and took the doubles point to emerge with the dominant victory. Sunday told a different story, as UMass successfully defended its home courts with a 4-1 win. Fordham’s loss ended an eight-match win streak for the women’s team.

Both teams have the upcoming A10 Tennis Championships to look forward to, with the tournament beginning on April 25 for the men’s team and April 24 for the women’s team. The women will surely be participating, but it remains to be seen if the men can push into the championship, as only the top ten seeds in the conference qualify.

Notre Dame’s games this past season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. With an ability to stretch the floor, Zona’s veteran presence and experience in the powerhouse Atlantic Coast Conference — more popularly known as the ACC — is sure to make an impact next year.

Fordham has been connected to other transfers as well, such as the University of Albany’s Sebastian Thomas who led the Great Danes in scoring (19.6 ppg) last season and reportedly visited Rose Hill within the past week.

The bulk of the Rams’ 202324 roster will be returning next year, but efforts to improve for next season never cease, especially in the midst of losing Gray to the portal and Kyle Rose, FCRH ’24, to graduation.

Other teams in the A10 have taken full advantage of the transfer portal, with prominent Ohio State (OSU) transfer Zed Key, OSU ’24, joining the Dayton Flyers and Indiana State (ISU) leading scorer/mid-major cult legend Robbie Avila, ISU ’26, reportedly considering following his former Head Coach Josh Schertz to Saint Louis University who left the Missouri Valley Conference to take the lucrative A10 position.

To remain competitive, it is imperative that the Rams do everything in their power to improve. With a pair of incoming recruits and now the addition of Zona, it is clear that they are attempting to do just that.

Mrva Wins, Golf Team Finishes Third in ABARTA Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational

The Fordham golf team concluded the ABARTA Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Lafayette College, with its highest finish competing against a field of at least 13 other teams since 2017. The Rams ended the weekend tied for third, carried by an outstanding performance by captain Jake Mrva, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill ’25.

Mrva shot a 67 in his final round on Monday, April 15, to finish five strokes under par and win the tournament. He cleared the rest of the field by two strokes on Monday and became the third Ram to win multiple tournaments in their golfing career, with both of his tournament wins taking place this season.

The golf team will look to build on Mrva’s legendary performance with a tuneup match against Wagner College on Thursday, April 18, in anticipation of the Atlantic 10 Championship from April 26-28 in Orlando, Florida.

Donaldson Awarded All-Met Second-Team Honors by MBWA

The Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) named Fordham women’s basketball star Taylor Donaldson, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’24, to their Division I All-Met Second Team on Tuesday, April 16. The accolade cements Donaldson as a top player in the New York City metropolitan area this past season, as voted on by the association.

The Rams’ leading scorer, Donaldson averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 35.8% from three and 5.3 rebounds per game. She also excelled on the defensive end, amassing 62 steals across Fordham’s 29 games, good for over two steals per game.

The MBWA covers basketball programs in the New York City metropolitan area, distributing awards to players around the region at the conclusion of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. Donaldson will be honored at the MBWA’s 91st Haggerty Awards dinner tomorrow, April 18. According to the MBWA’s website, “the Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.”

COURTESY OF FORHDAM ATHLETICS

The men’s basketball off-season shows rapid changes at hand, with graduation and transfers affecting the team’s makeup and its flow.

Mia Lorelei’s Music Is Your Music Too

The Fordham student is an aspiring indie musician as well as a full-time student trying to do it all, one sports metaphor at a time

By ELEANA KOSTAKIS Staff Writer

When I sat down with Mia Magdaraog — Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’26, who is better known as Mia Lorelei, a 19-year-old business student turned indie musician — all I could look at was her numbered jersey and cowboy boots. Lorelei cross legged, at first glance, looks like the average college student: coffee and phone in hand. The singer, whose namesake is that famed singer who even Ella Fitzgerald envied, has been around music since she was a child.

“He took me to my first concert when I was eight,” she said. “(Music) has always been a big part of my life,” she said.

Lorelei began her career in music at a very young age. In the fifth grade, she was given the choice to either pick an instrument for orchestra or simply not participate. From then on, she continued to take ukulele lessons until she picked up her first guitar. Soon, music became a part of her everyday life.

The student musician did not stop with the guitar. She continued to study songwriting in high school, a skill that has fueled her new EP, “AllStar,” which was released on Feb. 22. When it comes to producing and releasing her songs, Lorelei shared that she began on SoundCloud and

tried to get any type of music out, no matter what.

According to Lorelei, creating music is a very emotional and personal process. “All Star” came from a time of ambivalent memories that Lorelei felt back in April. She said that she had to leave New York City to go back home to California. Lorelei added that coming to New York City was a pivotal moment in her music career as she was very far from home. Being in a new city inspired her to write more music.

Lorelei shared that she also had to leave her producer, Ben Coleman, whom she met during her first ever show in New York City. Coleman was the first producer that Lorelei had ever met in New York City. Lorelei said that she was sad to leave after her first year of college because she felt that New York City was her home. “I was kind of sad to leave him and the friend group, because I went home for the summer and it was like I got a glimpse of what my life could be,” she said.

“All Star” is a mixture of alternative pop and indie rock music. The album is full of sports metaphors that include jerseys, track stars and fields. When asked about the sports metaphors, she explained to me that she chose this imagery because the sports metaphors represented the relationship dynamics between

her younger self and her aspirations. She chose a sports theme for the album because it captured the feeling of the songs the best.

Aside from the sports-related metaphors, the album is a collection of four songs related to California, where Lorelei was born and raised. One song titled “Safe Inside (My Skin)” is dedicated to New York City, what it was like attending a college so far away from home and finding her footing in a big city.

Lorelei said that she is her own manager at the moment and has found it difficult, yet educational, to represent herself as well as her music. She’s had to learn how to book events and publicize her own music all in order to one day get represented by a music company.

“I booked my own show on Thursday all by myself, which I’ve never done before. That was crazy,” she said. “I feel that there’s not many 19-yearold girls who do that.”

Despite the fact that Lorelei enjoys creating music and letting her creativity thrive, she is a huge believer in establishing boundaries for her creativity. She noted that, based on personal experience, it’s really important to know when to stop and when to distance yourself from certain creative projects to prioritize your mental health.

Lorelei shared that while

she is new to performing, that hasn’t stopped her from trying to find a range of venues to perform in. The student musician doesn’t tend to become anxious, but when it comes to performing, she finds herself fearful because she tends to have self-doubt but feels that she is reassured by the presence of her friends and her former producer, Coleman.

“Compared to playing bigger venues with actual stages, it’s definitely a completely different experience,” she said. “But it’s fun because I always have my little support squad up in the front row no matter what.”

Although Lorelei is an aspiring musician, she is also a student balancing education and creativity. Recounting her schedule makes her smile — Thursdays tend to be the most creative, yet busiest days, during which she will usually go to her morning class and then to her studio in Brooklyn, where she records as much music as she possibly can.

“I’m a morning class girl,” she said. “I like to get the classes out of the way so I can have all of my other fun activities after. Then I trek to Bushwick. I have become an avid train stan.”

Prior to switching her major to digital technology and emerging media, she was a student at the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center. She soon realized that she

needed more flexibility in her course schedule, and changing her major allowed her to pursue a music career in a more creative space. However, Lorelei has found it hard to know when to put school or music first.

“It’s definitely been an interesting process to navigate, especially as music becomes a bigger part of my life,” she said. “I’m learning how to set creative boundaries, even outside of school. (Music is) just something that’s so time consuming and energy consuming, but I also love how much it consumes.”

The up-and-coming artist said that she hopes her current and future fans will remember to pursue their passions no matter what because one day, it will pay off. Lorelei also wants her fans to know that her music is their music too.

“In regard to live music, but also the songs that are coming out through streaming services, it’s not just my songs anymore, it’s whoever consumes it as well,” she said with a smile.

Lorelei shared that in the future she wants to continue making music and albums for whoever to enjoy. She also hopes to perform at bigger venues, even if it means booking them herself.

“At the end of the day, it’s just me and my guitar,” Lorelei said.

Chaz Lampen Finds Success In Music

The artist, a first-year at Fordham, speaks about his journey in crafting a career as a musician

By SANJANA DAS Contributing Writer

For Chaz Lampen, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’27, music is more than a profession — it’s a passion, lifestyle and his future. Lampen, an up-and-coming rock artist with a skyrocketing career, is also an avid performer, having debuted a mere 20 minutes after Rascal Flatts at a local Connecticut music festival.

Lampen also leads a life as a student, as he currently studies music at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus and is an active member of the Songwriting Club. All of Lampen’s endeavors, both on and off campus, are underscored by his fervent passion for music.

Growing Up in a Musical Family

Music is a form of art and expression that was written into Lampen’s story from the beginning.

“My passion for music really resounds in my parents raising me in a household where music is always playing,” Lampen said.

Having a father with his own ’80s punk band and a mother with a shared love for music, it was inevitable that Lampen would fall in love with the industry as well.

The student musician also hails from a particularly musical town in the United Kingdom: Brighton and Hove. The city is known for its eclectic mix of venues and is the hometown of the famed band, The Kooks.

According to Lampen, this environment fostered his interest in making music and diving into the industry. After moving to New Canaan, Connecticut, Lampen joined his

father’s band, Mind the Gap, where he furthered his love for music.

Despite playing the cello for seven years as a kid, the beginning of Lampen’s professional music journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he decided to make a change and began learning the keyboard. Since then, it has been the instrument closest to his heart.

“I’m a keyboard player, so a lot of keys and synthesizers are in my work,” Lampen said. “I make a lot of classic and indie rock music, with my heart being in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s styles.”

Lampen’s love for the keyboard springboarded him into a professional career of classic and inspired indie rock songwriting and music-making, which serves as a foundation for his continued interest in music.

Initially, Lampen applied to Fordham in 2023 as a computer science major, but began the fall 2023 semester as a psychology major. Eventually, he realized that “I’ve been playing for so long and this is really what I want to do.” This led to him settling on a major in music, which enabled him to pursue his dreams.

His Professional Journey in Songwriting

After playing in his father’s band for years, Lampen’s solo journey is relatively new. His experience as a performer is extensive, having done shows in front of up to 20,000 people. He recently performed at the Norwalk Oyster Festival, playing a mere 20 minutes before Rascal Flatts. Lampen and his father’s band also participate in the Gates Battle of the Bands each year, a competition in New Canaan

between a select number of bands in which the profits are donated to local charities.

Lampen shared that although he is a relatively quiet and reserved person, the stage truly allows him to open up and express himself.

“When I come on stage, it’s a transformation where it feels like someone else is playing,” he said. “I get to wear these big, black leather boots and have as much fun as possible.”

Although performing has always been a strong aspect of Lampen’s experience, songwriting is a new adventure he is embarking on. During the fall semester of his first year, Lampen wrote his debut song, “Closing Time,” in his dorm in McKeon Hall. According to Lampen, none of his relatives or friends knew of this pursuit, so the creative process was entirely private.

“I had no clue what I was doing, but I just wanted to have something to my name and put it out there,” he said.

The song was inspired by the late lead and original guitarist of Mind the Gap, Tim Pringle, who passed away in 2022. Pringle was a mentor to Lampen, and it was he who played a key role in fostering Lampen’s love for the keyboard in particular.

“Losing Tim impacted us as a band a great deal, so I wrote “Closing Time” about the band member we lost,” he said. Lampen added that he holds “Closing Time” near and dear to his heart.

According to the student musician, writing “Closing Time” was a major accomplishment, and a project that he put a lot of hard work into. He even included a snippet of Pringle praising him at a Mind the Gap gig at the end of the song as a testament to

the love and sincerity he put into it.

Striving for perfection and the best product possible, Lampen said that he rewrote this song around seven times. Reflecting on the hard work and numerous rewrites that went into the process of writing “Closing Time,” Lampen added that “it’s important to stay proud of what you’re working on and really make sure your heart is in every project.”

“Closing Time” is available for streaming on all music platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. It has performed well since its release and has been streamed live on two different international radio stations. While the debut song will always be memorable as his first song, he shared that his current projects are taking his work in a new, exciting direction.

Making Music: A Creative Process

Songwriting is a very abstract and creative process, so much so that each artist approaches it differently. For Lampen, keeping a songwriting journal by his bed in case spontaneous ideas come to mind has been a reliable method.

According to Lampen, songwriting is at its best when it’s from the heart and when it is about your own story. At the same time, Lampen emphasizes that the way to truly touch people’s hearts with music is to make your personal experiences relatable.

“There are a lot of shared experiences with humans even though everyone lives a different life,” Lampen said. “Write about something that’s happened to you, but on a universal level.”

He also added that the

songwriting process is one that can take a lot of time and energy, as sometimes you have to “completely scrap a song and rewrite it again and again until you’re happy with the product.”

Advice for Music Pursuits at Fordham

Within Fordham, Lampen is a very active member of the Songwriting Club and encourages all students to join.

“The talent in the Songwriting Club is off the charts,” he said. “We do some awesome stuff there.”

The music industry thrives on connections, so meeting people through the Songwriting Club is one of Lampen’s favorite aspects of the activity. He recently participated in their Open Mic Night where he performed for other Fordham students and shared his passion.

Aside from joining music clubs, Lampen also encourages students to embrace their dreams and try new things.

“This is the time to experiment,” he said. “You’ve got to balance dreams and reality, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the dreams.”

Lampen’s success in becoming a songwriter and making a name for himself has proven his advice to be true, as his dreams have become his reality.

The student musician has recently continued his journey by joining a band called Rushing Spring, a Connecticut-based alternative band with an EP to be released in June. As he continues to pursue a career in music and hopefully release an album by 2025, Lampen’s passion and dedication for the industry will remain unwavering.

COURTESTY OF DUTCH DOSCHER

COURTESTY OF RACHEL LAMPEN

Opinions

Rams Should Appreciate Ramen

The bowl of broth and noodles goes a long way for a mere dorm dinner

They say all college students eat storebought ramen — a cheap meal you could grab and make on the go. It’s almost a miracle to imagine how a crumbly yellow brick can become a warm bowl of noodles in 60 seconds; all you have to do is add hot water and wait. Or if you’re feeling fancy, crack an egg, add some spice. I’ve been guilty of calling a bowl of ramen a filling and nutritious dinner after a long day. It’s not a good look: Instant noodles are loaded with sodium and aren’t the most nutritious.

Each bowl of ramen tells a story, not just of its ingredients, but of the culture and traditions that shaped it.

I’ve had my fair share of ramen memories. When I was growing up in the Philippines, my family used to take trips to Japan. I’m lucky to have tried ramen in different regions and to have seen how specific ingredients and twists in preparation can vary from place to place.

Each bowl of ramen tells a story, not just of its ingredients, but of the culture and traditions that shaped it. I remember bleaching a table during an overnight field trip trying to cook instant noodles in my sophomore year of high school. It was always a post-exams treat with my family. I challenged myself last spring to try a different bowl of ramen from a new shop for a week. There’s one memory at Fordham that changed my life and pushed me in the right direction.

“Tampopo” and the Act of Eating

During my first semester living on campus, my roommate invited me to watch the movie “Tampopo” for one of his classes. One of the first scenes of the movie is of a master teaching

his pupil how to eat ramen. The pupil asks whether to eat the soup or the noodles first, but the master says to “observe the whole bowl.” He encourages his student to savor the aromas and pay attention to details like the sinking seaweed or the “jewels of fat glittering on the surface.”

From then on, my relationship with ramen evolved beyond mere sustenance: It became a gateway to broadening my pallet.

The act of eating becomes more than just a necessity. It’s an experience; another way to appreciate the finer details. It’s a reminder to be present in the moment, to savor each slurp and appreciate the care that goes into making a hearty bowl. To lift a pair of chopsticks and twirl the noodles is a dance of flavors and textures. The chewy strands of noodles intertwine with the rich, savory broth as a combination that can tickle taste buds and warm souls. Each slurp evokes hints and shades of the skill and care that went into their preparation: the hours spent simmering bones for broth, the precision of knife cuts, the balance of seasonings.

From then on, my relationship with ramen evolved beyond mere sustenance: It became a gateway to broadening my pallet. Whether it was venturing out to discover the best ramen joints in the neighborhood or trying to cook (emphasis on the trying), each bowl of noodles held memories. As a resident assistant, I even made one of my bulletin boards themed around ramen spots in New York City.

“New York” Ramen

Fordham Lincoln Center students won’t have to travel far to have a taste of some of the best ramen in New York City. You could try world-famous franchises like Ippudo Westside on 51st Street and 9th Avenue. Wait in

the winding line for the famed booths of Ichiran on 49th Street and 7th Avenue. There are also local stores such as Totto Ramen on 51st Street and 10th Avenue or Zurruto on 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. It can be intimidating with all these options nearby, but whether you’re craving a rich and savory broth or a spicy kick, these neighborhood establishments provide a taste of ramen right outside Lowenstein.

We hear talk about “New York” pizza or “New York” bagels like you could condense the flavors of such a city into a category, but what about “New York” ramen? I found that at Ramen by Ra at the Bowery Market, Chef Rasheeda Purdie’s brunch ramen concept takes on and enhances classics. From the chimichurri-shoyu base of the steak and soy egg ramen to the everything egg drop ramen’s sesame-shoyu broth, each bowl offers a fusion of flavors and textures that elevate the traditional ramen experience.

Ramen is more than just a college meal in crunch times. It’s a journey through flavors and cultures, a reminder to appreciate the finer things in life.

On mornings when I know I’ve got a big day ahead, I’ve stopped by first thing in the morning for a warm bowl. There’s something about that broth that heals and gives me the power to take on the day. There’s something special about sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at a five-seater bar, watching Chef Ra work her magic as jazz music pipes. And that right there’s another great ability of this meal: It brings together flavors that would not have otherwise matched or collided in the first place.

Ramen is more than just a college meal in crunch times. It’s a journey through flavors and cultures, a reminder to appreciate the finer things in life. I am reminded in each slurp that ramen has the power to warm both bodies and souls.

The Fallacious Philosophy of Photo Dumps

The practice of impromptu posting on Instagram does not liberate us from the confines of social media

ANA WINSTON Asst. Opinions Editor

Recently, college students’ Instagram feeds have been saturated with users participating in a trend called “photo dumping” or “photo dumps,” which have risen as a popular Instagram phenomenon for younger users of the platform. While photo dumps — posts where users upload a series of unrelated candid photos directly from their camera rolls — seem to democratize posting and downplay the importance of personal appearances, the trend is actually a continuation of the depersonalizing experience that comes with posting on social media.

Although there isn’t much scholarly research on the practice of photo dumping, a few attempts have been made to define the phenomenon. In an opinion piece for Vogue, Arushi Sinha defines photo dumps as Generation Z’s answer to the “overly-manicured, influencer-led aesthetics” of Instagram. The form of the photo dump is variable, but it essentially boils down to pictures of the user interspersed with pictures that are meaningful to the user.

The overall post that forms from a photo dump is somewhat of an inside joke for the user — the pictures used are personal and often attached to memories the person wants to indirectly share with their audience, which often includes people who also partook in the experience.

In a video captioned “the art of photo dumping,” TikTok user @mariabethany explained that she uses her photo dumps to showcase outfits, objects and products she’s into at the moment, foods or drinks she’s consumed, her significant other, her pet dog and finally, pictures of herself posing to look good.

The reasoning behind these choices is to “shift away from … vanity,” she said.

In Bethany’s example post, she strategically places random pictures between seemingly candid photos of herself, curating an effortless look for her and an aura of mystique around the eye-catching photos of her friends, husband and dog free of context. The post is deeper than a simple picture of the user — it’s an exploration of the user’s life through the photos that matter to them.

Photo dumping is formulated as a revolution against the strict, self-conscious paradigm that has been fostered on Instagram, instead favoring an authentic, empowering and off-the-cuff post — posting for the self, not for the audience. However, social media users and marketing websites advise on how to create the “perfect” photo dump to drive up engagement — in fact, these are the top results you get when you search “photo dumps” on Google. Photo dumps are, like any other type of post, a performance that can be likened to advertisements of a user’s personal brand. Similar to most of my peers on

social media, I’ve unconsciously posted my own photo dumps. In a post of mine from December 2022, I start off with a picture of myself where I thought I looked good, followed by a picture of my friend laughing at something out of frame. An artful matcha latte, my friend’s snoozing cat and an out-of-context card from the party game Cards Against Humanity round out the post, which is finalized by a return to myself in another image of my appearance. I didn’t know about the concept of photo dumps back then, but I unknowingly executed the same strategy espoused on TikTok. My post appears to be random, but my choices are subliminally strategic. I give just enough attention to myself and to the objects in frame to make my audience wonder about what went on behind the scenes. I even include an unexpectedly strange photo of myself — one of my pictures features a reflection of my face comically cropped by a mirror. The photo dump displays my all-encompassing self, flaws and all — or maybe it doesn’t. Photo dumps try to be careless and authentic, but their

true nature is curated and embarrassingly planned out. I personally selected each photo specifically to present myself in an appealing way. I purposefully made the order look random so that viewers wouldn’t think I spent too much time or thought on the post even though I actually did. I wouldn’t say my photo dump is an accurate reflection of myself, just as one selfie isn’t an accurate representation of what I look like. Many studies have linked social media to declining self-esteem. Social media sites create atmospheres where people want to present their best selves — posing, editing and airbrushing are not uncommon practices when creating a post. The rise of the photo dump illustrates our generation’s veering away from the maintained formal aesthetics of Instagram feeds primarily made up of influencer selfies and promotions. It’s gauche to be so obvious about wanting to look good — that’s why photos should be candid instead of posed, or slightly blurry instead of edited to maximum beauty. Posts that include multiple

quotidian snapshots alongside selfies give the impression that the user doesn’t just look good, but the rest of their life — their friends, purchases, personalities — are as naturally attractive. The inclusion of “unflattering” or imperfect pictures is calculated — posting comfortable errors leads the audience to believe that the only thing wrong in the user’s life is the occasional blunder in photography. Photo dumping is not the innocent rejection of perfection in social media posts: They’re a less obvious and consequently less embarrassing search for the persona of effortless beauty.

Photo dumps may be touted as a rebellion against the antiquated quest for the best selfie because they deprioritize the necessity for obvious perfection, but the format results in users wanting their entire camera roll, or essentially, their lives, to be perfect. It’s not just about what’s in the frame — what’s out of frame and what’s implied by the photos, is equally as important.

In order to post a photo dump, the user does not worry about how they physically appear in a singular picture; instead, they worry about how their entire persona will be revealed or strategically obscured and how that will equate in their followers’ perception of them.

I’m not arguing against photo dumping — seeing how popular the practice is now, I think that’s a futile effort. What I do reject is that photo dumping is somehow different to any other form of posting. Social media is social media; no matter how or why you choose to post, the essence of participating in social media is to perform for an audience, whether that be through posting selfies, art, memes or videos of your dog. While photo dumping can be fun, it still plays into the paradigm of perfection created by social media.

A Professor’s Enthusiasm Goes A Long Way

Educators have the responsibility to uplift their students, not hyperfixate on their own successes

AVERY GRAFELD Asst. Opinions Editor

During my first year at Fordham, my philosophy professor referenced Descartes and Socrates as if they were his old friends. His teaching styles were refreshing: He never played favorites, was open to criticism and was always finding new ways to relate ancient white men to a class of skeptical first-year college students. But, not all classes are enjoyable and some professors can leave a lasting negative impression despite their educational qualifications.

Professors can make or break your passion for a subject.

Unlike my philosophy of human nature class, an English class I took the following year proved to be an unenjoyable learning experience. The professor unapologetically played favorites and every question had a clear “right” or “wrong” answer based on his personal

biases. It became apparent that his career accomplishments overshadowed his teaching abilities; Instead of a classroom, he wanted a fan club.

I began to wonder: How can I hate a course revolving around a subject I love? Unfortunately, it’s a question almost every college student has to ask themselves at least once throughout their college career.

Professors can make or break your passion for a subject. In my first-year philosophy of human nature course, I never would have considered minoring in philosophy had I not had such an excellent professor. Enthusiasm for a subject is contagious, and when a professor takes the time to connect with their students, there is potential for even higher academic success.

To enter a career teaching undergrads, a person has to attend grad school and gain advanced training in the respective subject they want to teach. Then, they must complete various exams and write a dissertation ranging from 150 to 300 pages to finally obtain a PhD. It’s a lengthy process; However, the skillsets are typically measured by mastery of a certain topic, not by an ability to teach. Unlike high school and elementary teachers, professors

are not required to obtain a teaching certification.

There needs to be scrutiny in the hiring process for professors. Although an individual can be an expert in their field, this does not mean they’re fully equipped to teach it; a master’s degree doesn’t certify great teaching abilities. The consequences of hiring pretentious—even senile— professors can have long-standing impacts on the students who attend their classes.

Luckily, college students across the U.S. have taken preventive measures against having lousy professors through ratemyprofessor.com, a web service that provides ratings for professors based on students who were enrolled in their courses. Students only have to enter their college’s name to receive access to hundreds of professor reviews. On a scale from one to five, students can rate the quality of the teacher to the difficulty of the class. I have used ratemyprofessor. com every year to gain insight into my future professors. Of course, the site is not always reliable and has even received accusations of being inaccurate and sexist toward female professors. However, other than by word of mouth, it’s one of the best ways to know what to

is a valuable tool to determine which professors are best suited to student needs.

expect in upcoming classes.

Brooklyn Math Tutors stated that the long-term effects of a rude professor can damage a student’s confidence and self-perception.

One math tutor, Alex Friedman, said, “I’ve worked with many intelligent, competent adults who, in their 30’s and 40’s, were still convinced that they were bad at math due to experiences they had in their formative years. It was too late to change their minds.”

I left my English class defeated. I have always prided myself on my ability to read and

write effectively, and yet, after taking his class, I questioned my capability to do so. In some ways, the professor taught me to face criticism better but in other ways, I felt like I didn’t learn from the class and therefore, my writing didn’t improve. I have compassion for professors; It’s a noble pursuit to dedicate your career to teaching younger generations. However, when professors abuse their power to publicly ridicule or undervalue their students, the impacts are extremely negative to one’s self-esteem and can even feel irreversible.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANA WINSTON/THE OBSERVER

Photo dumps include pictures of the user alongside unrelated images that they feel define them.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY STEVIE FUSCO/THE OBSERVER Ratemyprofessors.com

Architecture Holds Our Memories: A Photo Essay

The art of buildings and their design creates a meaningful impact to passersby and residents alike

New York City is home to a multitude of different landscapes, cultures and communities that stretch across its five boroughs. Each of these factors impact the city’s urban environment, encompassed in the detailed architecture crafted for the community.

With Fordham College at Lincoln Center nestled on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it felt particularly compelling to distinguish which buildings and archways define our local landscape.

Architecture and art as a whole are cardinal to crafting a home — whether it’s outdoors or indoors. I have noticed this formation both throughout the cities I have lived in as well as the many homes I have grown up in. A larger urban landscape, or the interior of your home, can define your memories and experience of such a space.

As a graduating senior, I realized — while walking past these pastel buildings, titled lawns and rod-iron balconies — how many memories this neighborhood still holds. These are the very places where I’ve spent my time laughing and crying, as well as meeting the people that I wholeheartedly consider my lifelong friends.

I am certainly no expert in architectural design, the techniques regarding building construction and engineering or the disguisable skills associated with the mathematical and geometric components that come with architecture. However, I am professional at staring up at buildings in awe while walking and tripping on uneven sidewalks.

MARYAM BESHARA Editor in Chief

PHOTOS BY MARYAM BESHARA/THE OBSERVER

These three five-story brownstones on West 81st Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue cause you to stop in your tracks.

The Ansonia sits on the corner of West 74th Street and Broadway, with its rod-iron balconies and its stylistic exterior resembling a Parisian style of architecture.

A fascinating building with sensational fictional murders, The Belnord on West 86th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue has gained traction as the set of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”

The titled lawn at the Paul Milstein Pool and Terrace, located across from the Juilliard School, was a place I frequented with my friends during the warmer months and where we shared multiple laughs and enjoyed meals together.

The pastel purple five-story building on West 73rd Street and Columbus Avenue sits above KTCollection and is an eyecatching structure located on one of Manhattan’s busiest avenues.

Arts & Culture

Fordham’s Visual Department Continues Senior Showcase Tradition

The Ildiko Butler Gallery features Fordham students Arina Medvedeva and Maureen Segota in its latest exhibition

By ADITI PRAVEEN KARIYANAHALLI Arts & Culture Editor

Every spring semester, Fordham University dedicates its gallery spaces at the Lincoln Center campus — the Ildiko Butler Gallery and Susan Lipani Gallery — to graduating seniors for their “Visual Arts Senior Exhibitions.” Students who wish to display their art are suggested to take a Senior Seminar: Studio Art course during the preceding fall semester — these featured artists were taught by Casey Ruble, associate clinical professor of painting and drawing — and are guided through the process of producing their artwork until their final exhibition is displayed.

Arina Medvedeva and Maureen Segota’s, both Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’24, exhibitions have been on view since April 6 at the Butler Gallery. Their works tie poignant themes of grief and loneliness together, despite being inspired by vastly different situations and social origins. Although the pieces were not created with complementary intent, as a viewer, it struck me that both pieces personally evoked consistent and analogous emotions.

Medvedeva, an international student from Russia, used her nationality and personal history to construct her exhibition “Devolution.” The word devolution relates to the state of her relationship with her home country, two years after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In Medvedeva’s

artist statement, she poses a central question: “Is it possible to go back to a place that no longer exists?”

“I would say it signifies my past immigration experience and my relationship with my country that I left. I’m not the person I used to be,” Medvedeva said. “My country is also not the place that it used to be when I left it. And I have to form some kind of relationship with it, expressing an ease and anxiety and also maybe anger and sadness.”

Medvedeva’s artistic process was unique and varied: She utilized block printing, acrylic paint and water-based paints, allowing each piece to stand as a distinctive creation.

“Arina knew from the get-go what she wanted to do and just went about doing it,” Ruble said. “In some ways ‘guiding’ her was more about getting out of the way and letting her do her thing.”

Conversely, Segota took a more unified approach to her exhibition: “Held.”

The exhibition features photographs and pieces created from wood cutouts and image collaging. Large hands are a central motif of her work. The viewer of the exhibit is then invited to use a flashlight — provided at the gallery — to cast a light on her pieces and create “shadows.”

“The concept of shadows signifies the temporary nature; they represent memories and the fleeting nature of life. The reality of no guarantees, how quickly things can change, and

acknowledging the beauty in what was once is now gone,” Segota said.

In her artistic statement, Segota details how her piece was inspired by the shadows of the flora and fauna of Croatia, which she explored with her husband on a trip for their 30th wedding anniversary. But rather than depicting the imagery itself, she was more attracted to the idea of their shadows.

“While photographing the shadows, I had no idea these images would become part of my senior thesis exhibit. Upon reflection, I realized this was an expression of my grief over the recent loss of my brother,” she said. “The connection between the other shadows I captured while exploring this unknown environment and the flora and fauna shadows I was holding in my hand that I was drawn to photograph — the desire to hold on to what would be gone in a moment.”

She utilizes a constant medium of balsa-wood cutouts and image collaging throughout each of her pieces. The use of these varied materials — paper and wood — served as an opportunity for Segota to “connote lightness and softness” in an exhibit that was otherwise emotionally taxing to the viewer.

“As the initial piece created in this series, it began the story and led me to explore the many shadows I photographed and how I would use them to develop my thesis. It is the beginning of remembering,” she said.

Segota hopes that her exhibition will serve as “A reminder of life’s fragility and how precious each moment is. To pause and take notice of things as simple as a shadow.”

And, according to Ruble, it seems to be fulfilling her intent.

Segota shared that her favorite piece she worked on from the exhibition, “Rich,” depicts an outstretched hand that is “holding” a collaged silhouette of her late brother, Rich, as well as the shadows of a sea holly. The piece serves as the centerpiece of her exhibition, placed just below her name.

“The other day I went to the gallery to adjust the lighting, and I overheard Arina giving an older man a walkthrough of her show,” Ruble said. “At the same time, there was a solitary younger man looking very carefully, very slowly at Maureen’s work … He stood at the pedestal holding her comments book for a long time, thoughtfully composing his message to her. I waited for him to finish before I entered the gallery. Some things are important not to interrupt.”

Medvedeva and Segota’s exhibitions will be featured in the Ildiko Butler Gallery until April 20.

Laundry Day Rattles the Lawn at Ravelengths

The annual concert was held on McMahon Lawn and featured DJ sets from three Fordham students, with a local band as the headliner

By AMELIA WHITE Contributing Writer

Fordham Lincoln Center’s student radio station Wavelengths hosted their annual Ravelengths concert on McMahon Lawn, an event dedicated to featuring live music and student musicians on campus. The event included three student DJs: Ruby Faye, Jenba and DJ Mleeks, who showcased their individual talents in their unique sets.

The standout set was headliner internet sensation Laundry Day. The band is based out of New York City and was formed in 2018 by vocalists Sawyer Nunes and Jude Ciulla-Lipkin, guitarist Henry Weingartner and bassist Henry Pear. The band members first met when they attended M479 Beacon High School together, located in Hell’s Kitchen blocks away from Fordham Lincoln Center.

Many people attending Ravelengths were drawn to Laundry Day through their humorous videos on TikTok, but there is much more to this comical group of boys. According to the pop-culture publication Complex, the band members were inspired by artists such as Tyler, the Creator and Brockhampton.

In 2019, the band gained popularity after they opened for Clairo and The 1975 on their respective tours, and later even performed at Tyler,

the Creator’s music festival, “Camp Flog Gnaw.” In 2020, their song “Friends” was featured on the hit television show “On My Block” as the closing track for the season three finale.

As of late, Laundry Day has started gaining popularity for posting videos online of them singing mainstream songs, acting out skits and creating comedic sketches, they now boast 192,000 followers on

TikTok and 201,000 followers on Instagram. Recent social fame has opened even more doors for the band, and their show at Fordham is a part of their university tour.

McMahon Lawn served as a very intimate and casual venue for the event, allowing students to gather closely around so that the band members could dance and sing with the audience. The Laundry Day members presented

friendly and happy dispositions, as they were energetic and thrilled throughout their performance.

The headliners spent the night engaging with Fordham students in attendance. Lipkin and other band members shared anecdotes about some of Laundry Day’s past shows. Although Fordham’s crowd was much smaller than the crowds they experienced at University of California, Los

Angeles, the band said that they were equally excited to be playing at the university. On the night of the show, the band members expressed that it felt really nice to be performing at home only blocks away from their high school.

Laundry Day’s set included all of their most popular songs, such as “Crazy Stupid Love” and “Jane.” The band also played an unreleased single “Why is everyone a DJ?” which is set to release on April 19. Each song on the setlist was performed with enthusiasm and high energy, and the crowd reciprocated their spirit throughout the gig.

By the end of the night, the event was shut down by the police as the result of a noise complaint. McMahon Lawn is an open space and, therefore, drew grievances from local residents. However, everyone in attendance at the event laughed off the reported disturbance as they played “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, the last song of the show.

Ravelengths was an opportunity to see some of Fordham Lincoln Center’s student talent and have a personal experience with the rising stars of Laundry Day.

The headliners will be performing in New York City in the near future, with two performances at The Bowery scheduled for May 24 and 25.

TAE HONG/THE OBSERVER Fordham’s Visual Arts Department’s Senior Showcase Exhibition rotates talented seniors’ work all throughout spring semester.

AMELIA WHITE/THE OBSERVER

Laundry Day served as the headliner for Fordham Lincoln Center’s latest campus music show, Ravelengths.

Beyoncé ‘Didn’t Go’ Country, Country Music is Black Music

The superstar redefined country music on her latest studio release ‘Cowboy Carter’

By SANIYAH HICKS Contributing Writer

Global popstar Beyoncé released her highly-anticipated album, “Cowboy Carter” on March 29, less than two years after her blockbuster platinum-selling record, “Renaissance,” which won four Grammy Awards. In a Verizon Super Bowl commercial starring the musician and American actor Tony Hale, the singer proclaims, “Okay, they ready. Drop the new music!”

Moments after the advertisement aired, Beyoncé surprise-released “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” an up-tempo country track and a country ballad, respectively. The two tracks became top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the former later topping the chart, as well as the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart, making Beyoncé the first Black woman ever to do so.

The dual lead singles were not Beyoncé’s first effort at producing country music, as she first approached the genre with “Daddy Lessons” from her album “Lemonade” — a track she notably performed at the 2016 CMAs with The Chicks. Since the performance, Beyoncé was ridiculed by white, conservative country music fans and artists, despite other pop acts crossing over to the genre over the years. Evidently, the concern was not due to Beyoncé being associated with a different genre, but rather a racially-driven fury.

What most people do not realize is that the Houston, Texas-born musician has always been embedded in cowboy culture. Beyoncé

also performed at the Houston Rodeo multiple times throughout her career and released a “Rodeo” collection for her Ivy Park x Adidas clothing line. To question her validity to create country music is preposterous, as country music knows no bounds, especially given Beyoncé’s background as a Black Southern woman.

In a statement via Beyoncé’s Instagram account, the artist stated that “Cowboy Carter” follows the continuation of “Renaissance,” making it Act II of the album trilogy. Its album cover is similar to its prequel, once again featuring Beyoncé on a horse. This time, she rides a galloping white stallion as she dons a pageant sash of the album title — she is also holding the American flag and dressed in its colors.

The superstar chronicles — following the aftermath of the 2016 CMA performance in which she “did not feel welcomed” — that she “did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.” The statement ends with “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” apprising listeners ahead of the album’s direction.

“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes, they are,” country pioneer Linda Martell exclaimed on “Spaghettii,” the 12th track on “Cowboy Carter.” “In theory, they gave a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.” “Cowboy Carter” is a smorgasbord of genres, taking listeners on an audio rollercoaster and several celebrity guest appearances. The album is structured to

mimic a radio station, with several spoken interludes throughout.

The opening track, “Ameriican Requiem,” reminds me of a psychedelic version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “Got folks down in Galveston, rooted in Louisiana/ Used to say I spoke, ‘Too country’/ And then the rejection came, said I wasn’t country enough,” she sings as she questions the public’s perception of her Southern origins.

The following track, “Blackbiird,” is a cover of The Beatles song “Blackbird,” written by Paul McCartney in response to the Civil Rights Movement, and particularly to the Little Rock Nine — the enrollment of nine Black students at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. It features Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy, all rising Black country stars. I find it heartwarming that Beyoncé is utilizing her status as a famous music star and helping out the careers of future stars, especially on a hopeful song.

Similar to how “Renaissance” was dedicated to Beyoncé’s late Uncle Johnny, the family affair continues on “Cowboy Carter.” The album’s fourth track, “Protector,” features Beyoncé’s youngest daughter Rumi Carter in its intro requesting for a lullaby to be sung, forefronting her maternal element and dedicating the song to her children. Beyoncé’s vulnerability continues on “Just For Fun,” a duet with up-and-coming country act Willie Jones. “Here’s to hoping I’ll fall fast asleep tonight/And I’ll just need to get through this,” she renders on the track acting as

an intimate therapy session.

An essential career highlight is the record’s 11th track, “Daughter.” The cinematic and orchestra-heavy song follows Beyoncé’s violent fantasies and her awareness that she is her father’s child. An inclusion of the Italian opera song “Caro Mio Ben” is present, elevating the track’s drama, moving me on my first listen, as if I was being teleported to a Western film.

My personal standout on the record is the 26th track featuring Shaboozey, “Sweet Honey Buckiin,’” a musical trifecta with a fusion of western sounds, an acoustic and vocal heavy bit and Jersey club. “A-O-T-Y, I ain’t win/I ain’t stuntin’ ‘bout them,” she raps,

in reference to the artist’s various snubs of the Grammy award of the same name. One of my favorite categories of songs are ones with spontaneous beat-switches, as this one fits right in and never ceases to amaze me.

Beyoncé honors those who came before her, acknowledges the current state of music and the world, and foreshadows the future by platforming rising stars that will later take on the music world. The versatility she displays on “Cowboy Carter” amplifies her force as one of the greatest musicians in music history — she helps shift the vision of country music, proving that Black artists belong in the genre and have the right to embrace Western culture and reclaim the genre.

Unforgettable Notes from Maggie Rogers’ Newest Album

While many artists go country, Maggie Rogers continues her alternative-folk journey on ‘Don’t Forget Me’

By AVERY LOFTIS Arts & Culture Editor

The echo of a laugh, the creak of a piano bench and the anecdotal voicemails played in the background of tracks are souvenirs sprinkled throughout Maggie Rogers’ latest studio release, “Don’t Forget Me.” Launched on April 10, Maggie Rogers’ third album splices together tales of romantic loss, remembrance and longing in a 10-track “defining decade” bildungsroman for the singer-songwriter.

The album, which Rogers shared she wrote in five days, is inspired both by memories, friends and pure creative energy. Each track induces the reclaimed vintage soundtrack she imagined in her fan newsletter, that listeners can subscribe to on her website.

The tracks on “Don’t Forget Me” reminded me why I stayed up past 2 a.m. in high school listening to “Fallingwater” on repeat; it was to have time to jump around my room with all

of the lights off and my headphones in, gushing out Rogers’ prescient freedom. That is to say, Rogers’ voice is stronger and more assured than ever, especially on standout tracks such as “So Sick of Dreaming,” “If Now Was Then,” “I Still Do” and the title track, “Don’t Forget Me.”

Despite one of the tracks on the album named “Never Going Home,”Rogers wrote in an Instagram post expressing gratitude for her career after the album’s release that “Don’t Forget Me” “feels like coming home.” The artist hails from Easton, Maryland and pursued music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts — she is widely recognized for her song “Alaska” when Pharell visited her music production class and had no criticisms for the track.

With echoes of her debut album, “Heard It In a Past Life,” this sentiment rings out. For instance, on “If Now Was Then” when Rogers sings the pre-chorus, “And I know you find it funny, ooh,” her tones in the song resemble Rogers’ debut single “Alaska;” the themes of shedding a new self mirror one another in both songs. Rogers is returning home by leaning into the rustic sounds she began to develop in her first single.

Equally evocative of Carole King’s “Tapestry” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Tango in the Night” is the second single from her album, “So Sick of Dreaming.” The song is enveloped in tambourine, subtle acoustic strums and incessant reverb that speak of breaking apart while making oneself whole.

“So you think you’re on the

right track/Cruising on the bridge in your gray Cadillac/ You think it’s easy/Walking on the water like there’s steppin’ stones.” These holier-than-thou allusions could have to do with her master’s in religion and public life from Harvard Divinity School, or a soul-searching nature that she embraces on the album as a woman entering a new decade of life.

The album shows Rogers’ range, with some tracks portraying a sense of loss and a slow melody while others, such as “The Kill” featuring quick strumming and riffs layered in the background that tickle the subconscious. In an Instagram post Rogers wrote, “The truths about my life came from my deepest intuition. Things I wasn’t ready to say out loud to myself, but they found a place in the music.” Rogers weaves parallel narratives throughout “The Kill,” by switching out the pronouns and trading out “you were going in for the kill” for “I was going in for the kill,” and finally ending with, “we were going in for the kill.” This full admittance to fault in every dimension of a relationship, and even within the self, proves Rogers’ awareness and the power of her creativity — even if it is not something of which she is fully conscious.

It’s obvious that Rogers is still finding a definitive sound on “Don’t Forget Me.” Although her voice is uniquely gravelly and well outside comparison, the same cannot be said for her writing techniques. Structurally, many of the tracks lack individuality unless the song is a complete break from roiling electric

reverb and echoey endings. Two songs that are pointedly different from the rest are the piano ballad, “I Still Do” and the peeled-back “All The Same.” Both songs are mellow recollections of patterns that Rogers has noticed throughout her life, piano scatters through startling realizations and desperate grasps for understanding why time moves on after big emotions and big loves leave us.

These melancholy nuggets are hugs from Rogers to herself, reassurances and lessons embedded in raw vocals droning on about all she’s learned about love. If this album were a movie soundtrack, these songs would lead the protagonist through a montage scene of moving away, or driving down a highway with the window open and the remnants of tears running down her cheeks.

There are merits and setbacks to writing an album in five days, but if anyone can produce a raw set of 10 songs that feel like being a 20-something woman in that time, it’s Rogers. Despite some singularities in the structuring and moods of each tune, Rogers accomplishes what she set out to convey with “Don’t Forget Me.” Her paradoxical belt tinged with nonchalance implies to listeners that her journey through remembrance is both urgent and trivial — mostly because she seems to be her own prophet with the way the words spill out of her.

Rogers will begin her first arena tour for “Don’t Forget Me” on May 23 in San Diego and will play at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 19.

VIA PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT LLC

The Texas-born singer has always been country with past performances at the Houston Rodeo and the Country Music Awards.

Maggie Rogers’ third studio album chronicles lost loves and hopeful futures in 10 folk-rock tracks.

Reimagining Gender and Place at the Brooklyn Museum

The museum’s exhibition displays the work of female photographers as they examine the development of colonialism, nationalism and patriarchy throughout Europe

By HANNAH VENNING Staff Writer

Despite the surplus of galleries in New York City, the Brooklyn Museum never ceases to impress me with its beauty and magnitude. Located at 200 Eastern Parkway and nestled between Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the museum’s location and grandeur make it the perfect day trip destination, and its five floors of exhibits are sure to keep you busy for hours.

During my most recent visit, one exhibit that particularly stood out to me was “In the Now: Gender and Nation in Europe.”

This collection consists of a variety of work created by nearly 50 women artists born or based in Europe.

The impactful selection of photography and mixed media art is sourced from the Sir Mark Fehr Haukohl Photography Collection and explores the continent’s history of colonialism, nationalism and patriarchy. These pieces surpass an investigation of the past and go on to examine the ways in which these power structures continue to influence modern life.

In addressing crucial and complicated questions regarding oppression, the women behind the camera interrogate the traditions of photography itself, a medium that has been historically misused to reinforce slanted power dynamics. This objectification manifests in the advertisements present in magazines, on Instagram and even in the subway. “In

the Now” challenges this norm, drawing attention to the power of photography as a means of documentation, resistance and reclamation of women’s bodies and experiences.

This theme is especially prevalent in selected works by Milja Laurila and Alexandra Croitoru, both of whom often use women’s bodies as the subject of their photography. Born in Finland, Laurila works through her own traumatic childhood and resists the “medical, and often male, gaze” through her series “In Their Own Voice.” This collection of nude medical inkjet prints explores what it means to be observed, especially when existing in a female body.

On the other hand, Romanian artist Croitoru uses unorthodox self-portraits as a means of social commentary. By photographing herself standing beside powerful men — whether that power be political or physical — she is able to shed light upon the things that are, as the Brooklyn Museum description reads, “frequently denied to women,” and she does so by reversing the expected composition of the photos. By placing herself as the focal point of the image, standing and staring at the viewer as the man beside her sits with his eyes averted, Croitoru defies tradition and calls attention to inequity.

This discussion on exploitation is furthered by the work of Czech artist Eva Koťátková and her series “Parallel Images.” While her work doesn’t directly address gender, she uses silhouettes to examine

conflict between the individual and their government, depicting the ways in which this can present in both medical and academic settings. Anna Rackard’s photography further builds upon this wider discussion, making an argument for the women farmers of Ireland whose labor is too often forgotten and written off.

While the aforementioned artists each present their own take on these varying and long-standing issues, their work is ultimately united by the exhibit’s theme of gender and nation. The diversity of these artists’ backgrounds and work highlights the challenges they all face, allowing viewers to draw connections between the experiences of women throughout the world.

Consisting solely of work by European women, the exhibit allows for a more comprehensive examination of the continent following the dawn of the European Union. After its establishment in 1993, the organization promised “the free movement of goods, services, people, and money” however, a history of colonization throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas has created countless deviations from this promise, an unfortunate reality that continues to have dire consequences, and one that is thoroughly explored within this exhibition.

Another benefit the museum offers is “White Shoes,” a series of self-portraits by Nona Faustine that is currently up for display on the very same floor as “In The Now.” While these are technically

separate exhibits, they share similar thematic elements, and Faustine’s photographs, many of which are nude, call attention to the “traumatic histories of the places we call home” as well as the colonialism, violence and oppression that have shaped such history within America.

Ultimately, “In the Now” and “White Shoes,” both act as a good

reminder that we always have something to learn, and considering that entry is free for all guests 19 and under, those able should seriously consider making the trip to see these beautiful and powerful collections.

“In the Now: Gender and Nation in Europe” is on display at the Brooklyn Museum until July 7.

Predictions and Postulations: Met Gala 2024

This year’s theme provides the opportunity for elaborate interpretations ranging from surface level to abstract

By SARAH SULLIVAN Contributing Writer

When this year’s Met Gala theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” was announced, what popped into the minds of many were scenes from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” Personally, I found myself envisioning the same images of sophisticated ball gowns, ornate jewelry and delicate pinks. Upon further inspection, however, it’s become clear that the 2024 Met Gala will be more multifaceted than the headline appears. “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” will focus on elements of the natural world. Since the Met Gala’s founding in 1946 and the introduction of themes in 1973, electric publicity has surrounded the event for the 78 years that followed. With past themes such as “The World of Balenciaga,” “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” and “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” the ambitiously avant-garde nature of the event has never failed to generate a conversation among fashion enthusiasts and pop culture consumers alike.

Similar to every Met Gala theme, the phrases have their nuances. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, exhibit curator Andrew Bolton said the gala this year will be presenting around 250 rare archival designs, while highlighting sustainability in fashion and incorporating elements of the natural world. The exhibit itself will be organized around the land, sea and sky, sectioned into three zones. In Bolton’s words, this year’s theme

will be “an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion.”

Vogue confirmed that there will be original pieces from Dior, YSL, Givenchy and Schiaparelli on display. The rare archival pieces from these designers are too fragile and valuable to be put on a mannequin, much less to dress attendees, but they will be showcased in glass coffins to embody the sleeping beauty subject.

Visitors should not be surprised to see a strong presence of designs from Karl Lagerfeld, as the 2023 Met Gala was a tribute to his legacy. Timeless designers, such as Chanel and Oscar De La Renta, are also expected to be on display for their high-value vintage collections. Many attendees are likely to be dressed in new renditions and recreations of these elegant looks once put to rest, if not the originals themselves.

As for literal interpretations of the theme, an emphasis on the sleeping element or looks emulating Aurora from the classic fairy tale should be anticipated. The Viktor & Rolf Fall 2005 show would be a highbrow execution of this. It showcases an abstract lace pillow as a headpiece connecting to a duvet coat that culminates into a chic, luxurious twist to a “just rolled out of bed” unisex look.

Pieces from Dior Fall 2004 Couture show should also be expected as the legacy brand encapsulates a magical atmosphere resembling that of a princess by incorporating bright pinks, ruffles, lace, silks and metallic accenting altogether. Combining this with the soaring

success of “Barbie” at the box office, pinks of all shades will plausibly be in abundance.

“Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” could also be uniquely interpreted as a reflection of sleeping beauties in art. “Ophelia” by Sir John Everett Millais would be an exceptional look to recreate and should not be shocking if it hit the carpet — Alberta Ferretti’s spring 2015 collection would perfectly achieve this effect. The designs have been described by Vogue as “poetry in motion,” aligning with the goals of the gala’s curator Bolton. The pieces romantically resemble the imagery in the painting with the flowers surrounding Ophelia and the fluidity of the water she lays in, and would be an untraditional yet spot-on interpretation.

There is also likely to be an influx of outfits based on the natural aspect of the theme. With an emphasis on land, sea and sky, Iris Van Herpen’s may be on display frequently. Van Herpen’s designs bring a futuristic new wave energy that would cater toward the idea of reawakening fashion while incorporating natural elements. Both her spring and summer 2021 or her fall 2011 collections would encapsulate the theme. A lot of the designs from these showcases mimic those of deep water creatures in terms of color and shape, in addition to one dress from fall 2011 that appeared to consist solely of black snakes, drawing on another aspect of Bolton’s vision for the exhibition.

The gala’s ceiling is rumored to be featuring “a Hitchcockian

swarm of birds” according to Bolton, which leads to an expectation for a presence of bird imagery in attendees’ outfits as well. Alexander McQueen’s spring 2011 show is one stage to pull from, as it features dresses resembling the wings of black crows and skirts made of feathers, as well as a dress made entirely of butterflies already noted as part of the exhibition.

Guo Pei is another name that may be heard frequently; the Chinese fashion designer’s fall 2019 collection is an elegant stage of pieces depicting vines, roots, birds and florals directly onto her work, adhering to the sky and land elements Bolton

outlined.

There is also likely to be a heavy presence of literal interpretations of the theme, meaning a large number of archival pieces from legacy brands and princess-esque creations from timeless designers for a guaranteed chic elegance. Moreover, a large number of abstract looks mimicking various elements of nature from living creatures to vegetation can be expected, and even direct impositions of these elements fit strikingly onto the pieces themselves.

The Met Gala is scheduled to take place on the first Monday of May, which will be May 6 this year.

COURTESY OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

According to curator, Andrew Bolton, The Met’s exhibit will be divided into three sections of nature: the land, sea and sky.

un & ames

Crossword: Pollution Is Not the Solution!

14. In good health

BY DAMIAN GROVE

16. What your grandmother might do after completing this puzzle

1. Subtracted a negative, essentially

6. These held music in the ’90s (Abbr.)

9. Marvel movies released in 2008-2019: “The Infinity ___”

13. Shared action between waiters and drag queens

17. Movie theater beverages featuring a polar bear

18. Pronounce intently

20. *Quality of someone who is particularly grounded? (3 Wds.)

22. Plural ending added to verbs to signify participation

23. The ___ congruence rule only applicable to right triangles (Abbr.)

24. What SpongeBob’s pants did at the Goo Lagoon

29. *Needed after dealing with toxicity? (3 Wds.)

32. Saunters

35. Polygraph test device, informally: ___ detector

36. Playwright William behind “Come Back, Little Sheba”

37. Geographical sections

38. Cat__ may craze a feline

39. Algebra, for a Brit

40. Removable layer of 6-down

41. Somerhalder from “The Vampire Diaries”

42. Amelia Earhart and Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, for two

43. *Naturally said to those that need to unplug? (3 Wds.)

46. Something or someone mysterious

47. To curve

48. Science course active component

51. *Remove tension between people who are polar opposites? (3 Wds.)

55. Physicist who coined a principle relating to a fluid’s speed and pressure

59. Intergovernmental global sustainability organization (Abbr.)

60. Operatic solo

61. Miniature version of guzzles

62. These algebraic vectors’ directions are unchanged by linear transformations

63. Typical quality of duck meat

KenKen

Instructions:

1. Each row and column of the KenKen puzzle should be filled in with a number from 1-5 exactly once.

2. The bolded lines break the puzzle into multiple sections of 1-3 cells, with each section containing a target number and mathematical operation in the top left. The numbers in each section must be combined using the given operation to create the target number. For example, in the top right section made up of three cells and given the rule of x10, the three cells should be multiplied together to get the target number 10, but should not violate the first rule.

3. A number can be used more than once in the same section, as long as the first rule is not violated.

64. “Pokémon” protagonist Ketchum 65. Gives sustenance

1. “Now stand ___, worthy adversary. ‘Tis but a scratch.”

2. Domestic furnishing, such as iCarly’s ice cream sandwich chair and gummy bear lamp

3. Barrymore and Carey, for two

4. “We Can’t Be Friends” opening: “I didn't think you'd understand me. How could you ever ___ try?"

5. Obliterates

6. What taking pictures and ordering pizza have in common

26. With “mime,” featuring slapstick storytelling

27. Like 12-down, numerically 28. Trumpet, mermaid and princess are all varieties

29. Shark, colloquially (2 Wrds.)

30. A summer romance, perhaps

31. Flatulate, slangily

32. “The Simpsons” character with a raspy voice and tall, blue hair

33. Hunter constellation

34. -ment and -ence prefix

38. Less intense rejection word

39. What Harry Potter might say to close the Marauder’s Map, with “managed”

41. He flew too close to the Sun

42. Acting role, in other words

44. The pointy end of a shell, scientifically

45. Dashing or jaunty

48. Feudal superior

49. Blemished

50. Beef alternative at Taco Bell

52. Two-time Best Director Oscar winner Kazan

53. Europe’s most extensive mountain range

54. The only Great Lake to touch Ohio

55. -el and -uette prefix, at a bakery

56. Taylor Swift goes through each of her’s one at a time on her current tour

57. What you may drive on if you get a flat tire

58. This sayer might be in disagreement

BY ABBY GRUNZINGER