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Frightening frequency of school shootings in the U.S.
Smoking on college campuses continues despite health risks.
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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS
1918-2012
MARCH 21, 2012
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 7
Vigil and Rally Highlight Social Struggles on Campus OPINION: Police Dept. Profiling Muslim Students
PHOTO BY KATE DOHENY/THE RAM
In response to offensive vandalism found on campus, students gathered recently for a vigil and an off-campus rally.
By CONNOR RYAN & KELLY KULTYS NEWS EDITOR & ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
In solidarity with the quicklyformed group Collective of Concerned Students of Color and Antiracist Allies, dozens of students,
faculty and administrators gathered on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus last Thursday afternoon for a healing vigil. Later that day, many returned for the off-campus based “End the Silence Rally” to protest recent incidents of racism and homophobia at Fordham. “We have organized this vigil for
healing, not as a cure for racism , as some have unmindfully implied,” Anthony Gatti, FCRH ’14 and a member of Concerned Students, said at the beginning of the vigil. “Instead, this is a space where students, faculty and administrators have come together to provide a physical manifestation of support,
acceptance and love.” The vigil took place on the lawn near the McGinley Center. Green ribbons were distributed to those gathered on the lawn prior to the vigil. They displayed the ribbons to illustrate a “physical manifestation” of the thesis of the day: “end[ing] the silence” and promoting a hate-free campus. As Fr. Philip Florio, S.J., director of Campus Ministry, prepared to offer an opening prayer, he encouraged the community gathered to reflect and turn to the power of prayer. “I’m going to challenge this community in this moment of darkness,” Fr. Florio said. “We have to pray for those whose hearts continue to be hardened and to be darkened by hate and injustice and all of those qualities that make a Jesuit, Catholic university what it’s not supposed to be: dark and hateful.” Rachel Jones, FCRH ’12, was the first of several students to stand behind the microphone and deliver a personal testimony based on
ting more confidence at the plate.” Orchard was proven right in the next game, as Fordham took care of fellow Atlantic 10 member George Washington, winning 4-0. This time, the shutout came from freshman Michele Daubman, who also recorded her first collegiate win in the effort. After Daubman worked out of trouble in the first, Fordham gave the freshman an early lead, scoring one run on a grounder hit by sophomore Gabby Luety.
While the United States military diligently searches for terrorists in the rugged mountains separating Afghanistan and Pakistan, the New York Police Department is conducting its own search for potential terrorists in an only slightly less menacing location: colleges of the Northeast. The revelation that the NYPD has been infiltrating and spying on Muslim student groups at 16 colleges, including Yale, Rutgers and the University of Pennsylvania, is part of a long-running investigation by the Associated Press, which has reported widespread monitoring of Muslim businesses, mosques and Muslim students on college campuses. Since the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, the NYPD has swiftly emerged at the forefront of aggressive domestic intelligence agencies. The so-called “Demographics Unit,” a secret squad which deploys plainclothes officers (typically of Arab descent) into Muslim neighborhoods, has been used to compile a catalog of everywhere that Muslims meet, including restaurants, grocery stores, Internet cafes, travel agencies and mosques. The undercover officers spied within businesses and filed daily reports both on the ethnicities of the owners and clientele and on the conversations they “overheard.” Individuals, businesses and groups were not monitored on the basis of criminal activity, but merely because they were Muslim-affiliated. The Demographics Unit also sometimes operated outside of New York City limits, and thus outside of its jurisdiction. Muslim student organizations in colleges throughout the Northeast were infiltrated by the NYPD and Muslim student groups’ websites were the subject of scrutiny and documentation. Names of students with absolutely no ties or allegations to criminal wrongdoing were included in police files. The NYPD also kept files on Muslim New Yorkers who changed their names to sound more stereotypically American, as well as those who changed to new, more Arab names. Mosquegoers were subject to monitoring
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 20, SPORTS
SEE NYPD ON PAGE 9, OPINIONS
SEE VIGIL ON PAGE 2 , NEWS
Stadium Opener Proves to Be Lucky for Rams
Senior pitcher Jen Mineau throws no-hitter in Rams’ 8-0 victory over St. John’s Red Storm at Bahoshy Park on Tuesday By MATT ROSENFELD ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Fordham softball team made progress in getting back to .500, going 4-1 in the James Madison University Days Inn Invitational and defeating St. John’s at the opening of the newly-renovated Bahoshy Park on Tuesday, upping its overall record to 12-14. The park includes new dugouts, a new grandstand with a press box and a brand new infield. To celebrate the opening, free hot dogs and popcorn were given out. Former Fordham softball player Lisa Barczak Smith, FCRH ’89, was also on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. St. John’s was the opponent in the park’s first game. The last time St. John’s visited the Bronx, in 2010, Fordham won 3-0 in ten innings. In last year’s game, the Rams beat the Johnnies again by a score of 5-4. Tuesday proved to be another successful outing for the Rams against St. John’s. Senior pitcher Jen Mineau pitched a six-inning no-hitter, the eighth of her career, allowing only two base runners in the third in an 8-0 Fordham drubbing. Sophomore Gabby Luety led a Fordham power attack with two of the team’s four home runs. Other home runs came from senior Jaime Labovick and freshman Paige Ortiz. During the previous week, Fordham’s first day of competition in the JMU Days Inn Invitational was a day of pitching for the Rams. In the
team’s first game, Fordham faced off against the Pittsburgh University Panthers. Senior Jen Mineau took the mound for the Rams and threw two hitless innings while Fordham struggled offensively. In the third inning, Pitt led off with a solo home run, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. That would be the only hit Mineau gave up all day. Offensively, Fordham continued to struggle. Although freshman infielder Paige Ortiz performed well for the Rams, with two of Fordham’s three hits, Fordham could not plate one across in any of the three instances with runners in scoring position. In the seventh, still down 1-0, Fordham threatened Pitt with a single followed by a Panthers’ error that landed runners on first and second with one out, but a subsequent fielder’s choice and fly out ended the game as Fordham took the 1-0 loss. “We didn’t hit too well in the first game,” Coach Bridget Orchard said. “We did have some hits right at people, and we put the ball in play, we just weren’t able to produce a run, which is unfortunate since Jen [Mineau] pitched so well.” The second game pitted Fordham against the host team James Madison University. Freshman Taylor Pirone was on the mound and pitched a shutout, as the Rams took the game 5-0. The Rams’ bats came alive in the second game. In the second inning, a sacrifice fly from junior infielder
PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM
Pitcher Jen Mineau (center) high-fives teammates after a successful game.
Chelsea Palumbo gave the Rams a 1-0 lead. The game was broken open in the fourth when three walks loaded the bases to start the inning, allowing Palumbo to pick up her second RBI of the game. Sophomore infielder Elise Fortier doubled to clear the bases, giving Fordham a 5-0 lead that it would carry to the end of the game. “It was nice to get the bats going,” Orchard said. “I knew once we started hitting it would be contagious, and the girls would start get-
By CANTON WINER ASSISTANT OPINONS EDITOR