Volume 104 Issue 4

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 104, Issue 4

TheFordhamRam.com

Raccoon Delivery Comes to Campus

TRAC Grants Change Courses

By AVA CARREIRO

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ

DIGITAL PRODUCER

FEATURES EDITOR

On Feb. 5, a food delivery service created exclusively for Fordham students was launched

by CEO Mark Nicolosi, GSB ’24, CMO Olivia Walker, GSB ’24 and COO Alejandro Celi, GSB ’24.

The three sophomores went down many different paths when they first began brainstorming for their company in fall 2021. They considered going in the direction of waste management, but landed on the idea of student-led food delivery services. Throughout this process, their primary goal remained constant: they wanted to find a way to give back to the Bronx community that surrounds Fordham campus and donate their proceeds to local charities.

All of the founders take on different roles in the company. As Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nicolosi focuses on managerial operations.

He coded algorithms to create their website and is currently working on expanding the business. In the position as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Walker is in charge of all social media and advertising for the company as well as running the in-

In spring 2021, the philosophy department received a Teaching Race Across the Curriculum (TRAC) Grant from the Fordham University Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.

The grant was specifically designed to build more robust curriculums that concern race across a variety of academic and social pursuits at the university.

When the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer announced the grant and encouraged departments to apply, associate professor of philosophy Judith Jones, Ph.D., and assistant professor of philosophy Lauren Kopajtic, Ph.D., worked together to apply for the grant.

In a joint statement provided to The Fordham Ram, the two professors stated that the grant was an essential part in building “meaningful relationships between what we do in the philosophy department and other units and organizations in the university so that our work is truly community-oriented.”

“Our goal for the philosophy department is multiform: we want to provide resources (including course modules and other materials) that any instructor can

SEE RACCOON, PAGE 3

SEE TRAC, PAGE 4

February 16, 2022

Fordham Community Reacts to Tania Tetlow’s Announcement

COURTESY OF MICHAEL BAUER/ THE LOYOLA MAROON

Fordham's Board of Trustees annoucned Tania Tetlow will take over as Fordham Univeristy's 33rd president.

By ISABEL DANZIS NEWS EDITOR

The announcement that Tania Tetlow, J.D., will serve as Fordham University’s 33rd president on Feb. 10 marked many firsts. The current president of Loyola University New Orleans, Tetlow will be Fordham University’s first female and first layperson to occupy the presidency.

Tetlow will replace Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., who has served as Fordham’s president since 2003.

Tetlow’s appointment marks a distinct change from Fordham’s presidential history. Since the uni-

versity’s founding in 1841, all university presidents have been male members of the Society of Jesus or, in other words, Jesuit.

The Fordham community has reacted mostly positively to Tetlow’s announcement. Many are excited to see what she does as president.

“In USG meetings, social media circles and personal friend conversations, I have heard nothing but excitement and encouraging supportive reactions from students on President-elect Tetlow,” said Thomas Reuter, FCRH ’22, president of United Student Government (USG). “The underlying themes

have been related to how qualified, genuine, interested and prepared she appears.”

Additionally, many women in the Fordham community were excited to see a female president.

“As a woman living in a country that has never elected a woman president, who lives in a state that has never elected a women governor and in a city that has never elected a woman mayor, [Tetlow’s announcement] is very exciting and historic,” said Joan Cavanagh, senior director of campus minis try for spirituality and solidarity.

SEE COMMUNITY, PAGE 4

A Look at Fordham’s New President

By AVA ERICKSON EDITOR IN CHIEF

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM FOUNDRY

The Fordham Foundry hosted its annual Rams Den Competition. Global Fertility Connections was announced as the winner.

Global Fertility Connections Wins Rams Den Competition

By MARY SCHEIDEL

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Dec. 4, 2021, Fordham Foundry held the fourth annual Ram’s Den competition for entrepreneurial students and alumni. In what the Foundry

calls “Fordham’s very own Shark Tank,” seven start-ups battled for thousands of dollars of prize funding. The top prize of $27,000 went to Global Fertility Connections (GFC), represented by CEO and cofounder Ama Gordon, GSB ’11.

GFC is present in the U.S. and internationally, providing intended parents with fertility concierge services. In other words, GFC guides intended parents through processes such as egg freezing, in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy and egg SEE RAMS DEN, PAGE 5

In a post on the Fordham University Instagram, Fordham announced Tania Tetlow, J.D., as the 33rd president of Fordham University.

Tetlow is currently the 17th president of Loyola University New Orleans, a private Jesuit university with a student population of 3,759. In 2018, Tetlow became the first layperson and female president at Loyola University New Orleans since the university’s founding in 1912. Tetlow will make similar history at Fordham, as she becomes the first woman and nonJesuit to hold the university presi-

dent position.

Tetlow was raised in New Orleans by her mother and father, who was a former Jesuit priest. She earned her undergraduate degree from Tulane University in 1992 and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1995. After graduating, she served as a law clerk and a law associate, where she litigated commercial transactions, civil fraud and First Amendment cases. She also served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where she prosecuted 19 jury trials specializing in general crime, violent crime SEE TETLOW, PAGE 5

in this issue:

News

Page 6

Sports

Page 20

Campus Ministry's Club Focuses on Homelessness

Baseball Spring Preview

Opinion Page 8

Culture

On Solitude: Fire Escapes and Ellen Bass

McGinley Art Show: "New Beginnings"

Page 14

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS Feb. 8 Southern Boulevard 8:15 p.m.

A student reported that upon returning to his parked car after class, he discovered the right rear passenger door window broken. A backpack in the rear seat was taken. The student did not see anyone in the car’s vicinity, and he did not want to file a police report.

Feb. 9 189th Street and Arthur Avenue 7:45 p.m.

Two female students were walking on Arthur Avenue when they were followed by a male that was masturbating. This was the second incident reported. Investigators from Public Safety conducted a video canvass and produced a photo of the offender. On Feb. 10, Public Safety saw the offender walking down 191st Street near Hughes Avenue. He was detained by Public Safety and arrested by officers from the 48th Precinct.

Feb. 10 Edward’s Parade 3:18 p.m.

A student called Public Safety to report that she was being followed by an unknown male in the vicinity of Edward’s Parade walkway. She was able to get away from him by entering Dealy Hall at Starbucks. Members of Public Safety responded and apprehended the individual, who was turned over to officers from the 48th Precinct and arrested for trespassing.

CORRECTION: In the article “Fordham Flea Defeats Fast Fashion,” published on Feb. 2, Liz Shim, vice president of the sustainability committee, was incorrectly identified as Liz Chen. I apologize on behalf of the Ram to Liz Shim for this error. While this mistake was made unintentionally, there is nevertheless a racial connotation in the mix-up of Asian last names that I want to acknowledge.

Microaggressions such as this one should never go unaddressed, and so I wish to address this one openly and say that I am profoundly sorry for the impact of this mistake. Here at the Ram we strive to represent and advocate for the student body with accurate reporting, and we would like to thank the students who hold us accountable to that mission. While we strive to be accurate, if we have failed to do so, we invite our readers to submit a correction to theram@fordham.edu.

—Ava Erickson, Editor in Chief

February 16, 2022

Fordham University Introduces New Photography Club to Campus

By MICHELA FAHY

By EMMA KIM CONTRIBUTING WRITER ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

At the beginning of February, the photography club became recognized as an official club at the Rose Hill campus. The photography club “aims to create a space for people of all skill levels to learn photography and collaborate with other photographers in the Fordham community.”

Abby Housberg, FCRH ’23, president of the photography club, has always loved photography. Still, she did not pursue it until college when new opportunities were introduced to her on campus, such as photographing events and meetings.

“I met other students along the way that shared a passion for the art. I was surprised to find that there was no photography club on campus and decided to create one,” said Housberg.

“I wanted a central place for everyone who enjoys photography, regardless of the level, and to share resources and connections while we grow as photographers.”

Natalie Huntoon, FCRH ’23, outreach coordinator for the photography club, also helped to establish the club on campus.

“One night last semester, Abby approached me with the idea of reestablishing a photography club on campus since we both like to take pictures in our free time, and recently, Abby has been getting more involved in the photography community in the broader NYC area,” said Huntoon.

There was a photography club on campus in 2019, but it is no longer an active club. None of the original members are part of the new one either. “We wanted to revive it,” said Huntoon.

“We are proud to reinvent and revive the Photography Club.

While there are other clubs on campus, such as MODE, that involve photography in some way, our focus is simply to enjoy and improve our own skills,” said Housberg.

“I have never taken a photography class in my life. Everything I know has just been from trial and error, so I am most looking forward to learning from my fellow members and creating a community of people who share a similar passion,” said Huntoon.

To reinstate the club, they needed to find a professor in the field as an advisor and get signatures from 25 people who were interested in starting the club, explained Huntoon. Then, after applying to the United Student Government and presenting proposed goals and a budget, the club was voted on and approved.

“One aspect of our club that we want to emphasize is that this club is open to anyone and everyone who has even the smallest interest in photography. You don’t need to own a camera to join, nor do you need to have any experi-

ence at all,” said Huntoon.

With time, Huntoon hopes that the club will grow large enough for all events on Fordham’s campus to be photographed by club members rather than a hired photographer. In March, the photography club is pairing with Career Services to do a headshot photoshoot for Dean’s Council.

Alejandro Foglia, GSB ’25, joined the new club because he participated in photography for years. “Since I’ve been on campus, I haven’t really had a chance to take out my camera.

Hopefully, this will give me the chance to do that and to get back into it,” said Foglia.

Any clubs or departments looking to have a photographer at their next event can contact the club by emailing photographyclub@fordham.edu.

From there, they will be matched with a photographer. The new club has an array of photographers who can do headshots, athletics, dance, landscape, events and candid shots. Information about the club and the meetings can be found on the photography club’s Instagram page, which is @fordham_photographyclub.

COURTESY OF TREVOR ZICHERMAN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Trevor Zicherman, vice president of the new photography club, photographed Fordham’s scenic Rose Hill campus.

COURTESY OF NATALIE HUNTOON FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Natalie Huntoon is the club’s outreach coordinator.

COURTESY OF ABBY HOUSBERG FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Abby Housberg is the president of Fordham’s new club.

This Week at Fordham Wednesday Feb. 16

Thursday Feb. 17

Friday Feb. 18

Saturday Feb. 19

Monday Feb. 21

Health and Wellness Club’s First Meeting

Commuter Student Services Monthly Social

ASCEND: Lunar New Year Banquet

Fordham Experimental Threatre’s Show

Women’s Empowerment Meeting

The Health and Wellness Club will hold its first wellness meeting this week. The club has a wellness blog where Fordham students are able to share their own habits and techniques on attaining a healthy lifestyle

Fordham’s Commuter Student Services has its monthly social this Thursday, The Love Witch Commuter Social in the McGinley Ballroom. It is sponsored by The Office for Student Involvement.

Fordham’s DEI, ASCEND and ACE present a Lunar New Year Celebration in Bepler Commons.

The night will include calligraphy, lantern-making and actioncomedy film, “Kung Fu Hustle.”

The Fordham Experimental Theatre is hosting an improvisation show at Blackbox Theatre in Collins Hall this Saturday. The club promotes and produces experiemental productions of student-run shows.

Women’s Empowerment will have its core meeting this week. The club is dedicated to empowering people of all genders through educational speakers, proactive campaigns or projects and dialogues.

Keating Hall 319 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

McGinley Ballroom 1:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m.

Bepler Commons & Faber Hall 7:00 p.m. –9:30 p.m.

Blackbox Theatre & Collins Hall 8:00 p.m. –9:00 p.m.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House 4:30 p.m. –5:30 p.m.

NEWS

February 16, 2022

Students Create Delivery Service FROM RACCOON, PAGE 1

terview process for new hires.

As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Celi is involved operationally, managing runners and delivery preparation, pitching the company to the Fordham Foundry and lending a helping hand to Nicolosi when needed. The company was also created with the help of sophomore Phillip Jaskiewicz, a former Gabelli student who has since transferred to Cornell University.

Raccoon Delivery is different from its competitors DoorDash, GrubHub and UberEats because of the selection of restaurants it offers. Raccoon’s competitors can only deliver from places that have online delivery systems, such as chain restaurants. Valerie Glass, FCRH ’24, felt this didn’t meet Fordham student’s needs and that she had “been hoping to see places like Pugsley’s and Best Deli on apps like DoorDash.” Raccoon ​​ addresses those desires, as they currently have a store selection that includes Best Deli and Grill, Pugsley’s Pizza, Ram’s Deli, Full Moon Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell, Chipotle and Starbucks.

The company hopes to expand to more stores in their delivery options.

Additionally, Raccoon Delivery is different from other delivery services in that it’s operated by and for Fordham students. This means that runners are able to deliver orders directly to students’ dorms, as opposed to a DoorDash driver waiting at a gate and requiring students to walk across campus just to pick up their order. Additionally, it provides em-

ployment opportunities for students looking for a quick way to make money and gain valuable experience.

To place an order, one can visit the group's online web page, which is, www.raccoon.bookmark.com, and follow the instructions to select a restaurant and place an order. Shortly after, a text will be sent outlining the price breakdown and how to pay. A runner will then send messages with delivery status updates until the order is completed.

When asked where he sees the company by the time he graduates, Nicolosi said that he hopes to hand it off to another group of innovative students to keep its presence around campus even after he, Walker and Celi are gone. He explained how the three of them hope for students to love Raccoon Delivery so much that they don’t want it to be gone once they all graduate. Walker added that they hope to expand to other schools in the future, as well as other areas of New York City. Celi shared that they also aspire to create a sustainable business model and bring value to all stakeholders. Adding onto this point, Nicolosi stressed how they are determined to fulfill their biggest goal: using their profits to give back to the Bronx. They plan to donate to local charities, Concourse Homeless Shelter, Jerome Avenue Men’s Shelter and Martha’s House.

They dream of leaving the area off-campus better than it was when they first arrived at Fordham, and are committed to showing their appreciation for the Bronx by donating to local charities.

Page 3

The University Deals with Extreme Weather Conditions

By DANA VATAFU

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Feb. 4, Fordham University closed its campuses and canceled all in-person events after 1 p.m. due to the potential threat of freezing rain. While campus closures due to weather conditions are not necessarily uncommon, especially during the winter months, Fordham has been hit with many of these closures during the 2021-22 academic year.

In fall 2021, the university experienced several instances of severe weather that caused both damage to facilities and campus closures.

Hurricane Ida, which occurred in September 2021, was the university’s first major weather event of the year.

The hurricane caused flooding and minor damage to some campus buildings. The Walsh Family Library sustained the most significant damage. This became the first instance of the 2021-22 school year in which Fordham had to shut down its facilities due to severe weather patterns.

Fordham’s campus closed again on Oct. 26 due to an aggressive storm that hit New York which caused additional water damage and flooding.

In total, the Fordham area received 4.73 inches of rainfall that day, and the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning to New York City. Associate Vice President for Fordham’s Public Safety Robert Fitzer commented on the recent weather events, saying: “I believe that

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Going into the winter months, Fordham must grapple with extreme weather.

the frequency of extreme [weather] events has increased in the last few years. Weather patterns and climate change deserve consideration in these events.”

Now that the winter season has arrived and Fordham officially opted for fully in-person learning this semester, there is still a question of whether the university and Public Safety is prepared for the season’s weather risks.

Public Safety frequently works with their colleagues in Facilities to keep up with the maintenance of all campus facilities and conducts preventative inspections to ensure the safety of these facilities throughout the year.

Public Safety and Facilities are always changing and adapting their weather preparedness measures to respond more effectively to any type of emergency. Public Safety has recently subscribed to a weather service that gives them access to a meteorologist to receive specific and timely weather updates for their specific locations. This subscription also allows them to access traffic cameras which provides them with real-time

travel conditions regionally.

When there are speculations of a weather event occurring or even on a regular basis, weather information from sources such as the National Weather Service and NYC Department of Emergency Management are carefully monitored by Public Safety, and they receive information from the MTA and regional railroads for transportation delays.

Fitzer makes the final decision on taking actions, like closing campus, but he also convenes with an Emergency Management meeting to collaborate with faculty, administrators and facility personnel to ensure the preparedness of the university. “The safety of our community members is the paramount determining factor in closing the university,” said Fitzer, “The dedicated Public Safety, facility, grounds and custodial staff work throughout the day and night to ensure that the campus is ready for the classes and events as soon as possible and is safe for all our community members.”

New York City Sees an Uptick in Gun Violence Post COVID-19 Pandemic

By SHANNON HUURMAN STAFF WRITER

In January 2022, New York City saw an increase of 31.6% in gun violence cases compared to the previous year. There were 100 reported cases of gun violence in the city this month as reported by the New York Police Department’s official website.

After the killing of two on-duty NYPD officers, Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera, President Joe Biden traveled to New York to meet with New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

According to The New York Times, Biden’s visit to New York City was “a chance to show that Mr. Biden grasps the urgency of responding to violent crime.”

Biden stated that his plans to tackle this rise in gun violence do not come from defunding the police, with which Adams agreed. Both Biden and Adams instead agree on implementing intense police reform.

Adams' plan includes “immediate changes to add police of-

ficers to city streets to remove guns, and for help from the courts and state lawmakers in the months ahead.”

Adams will restore anti-crime police units that were banned in 2020 and has challenged New York lawmakers to change both their bail law and how teenage defendants are handled.

Anti-crime police units will be officers dressed in plain clothes and driving unmarked cars. Officers will have small items with police insignia to identify themselves if necessary.

Alvin Brigg, the Manhattan district attorney who had adopted more lenient gun policies after taking office, is now facing pushback amidst high crime rates.

Brigg says that he will prosecute gun-related crimes, including possession, with more aggression now.

Fordham has also seen this general trend of an increase in violence.

George Smith, the director of Fordham Public Safety, has noticed an uptick in gun violence in the 48th precinct, the area

surrounding the Rose Hill campus.

According to Smith, Public Safety has begun to take extra measures to ensure student safety, including the development of a texting app that can be downloaded onto any cell phone. “[These measures include] expanded hours for the community shuttle, [as well as the] D train shuttle. Additionally, we assign an extra Supervisor to patrol the Belmont community from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.,” said Smith. Smith also noted that Public Safety is in full support of Mayor Adams’ plan and “all crime reduction strategies that add real value to our community.”

Not all New Yorkers are on board with Adam’s plan to combat gun violence, and many have posed questions about it.

There is a fear among some New Yorkers that this strict policing will bring the intense policing style of the 1990s back to New York City.

Adams responded to this

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Since the start of the pandemic, New York has seen an increase in gun violence.

claim by saying, “We’re not going to return to the era of heavyhanded policing. But we also can’t return to the era of 2,000 homicides a year.”

Jamaal Bowman, representative of New York’s 16th District, agrees that action must be taken as long as it is beneficial to the communities.

Bowman said, “Gun violence is an epidemic of catastrophic proportions that is taking our loved ones, our youth and our neighbors too soon, and we must

address it through meaningful and holistic solutions that put the needs of our people first.” ​​“In order to prevent gun violence” Bowman said, “we must address its root causes: poverty, housing and food insecurity, income inequality, under-resourced public services, underfunded schools and early childhood education programs and a feeling of despair and hopelessness that too often leads people to pick up a gun that was too easy to access.”

NEWS Philosophical Ethics Faces Potential Curriculum Changes Page 4

February 16, 2022

FROM TRAC, PAGE 1

include in their syllabi so as to do a really good job of including under-represented voices and framing philosophical concepts with an eye to important elements in human history regarding race and intersectional values,” said the professors.

The grant's application in the department has been conceptualized in a number of ways, but one of the most concrete plans comes in the form of educating philosophy instructors.

The grant has allowed the department to craft syllabus incubators for instructors beginning in the spring 2022 semester.

These incubators are designed to alter the core philosophy classes in specific ways, especially by incorporating figures and readings that represent the traditionally under represented voices regarding race and general intersectionality.

The grant is designed to boost and rework the current structure of philosophy classes, not to entirely overhaul the curriculum. As it currently stands, many sections of the core classes, Philosophy of Human Nature and Philosophical Ethics, cover figures “who represent a variety of racial and cultural traditions that are not the thus-far-dominant figures and traditions,” Jones and Kopajtic said.

These existing concepts are joined by required course content that frames the core-class central topics around philosophical topics regarding race and related issues.

Associate professor of philosophy Samir Haddad, Ph.D., fully breaks down the requirements of core philosophy classes: “In Philosophical Ethics, the mandate is 50% Kant and Aristotle, which leaves the other 50% open. In the Human Nature class it is to have 60% be certain authors from a traditional

western philosophical canon. The other 40% is left up to the instructor. Both courses additionally require that at least one author taught comes from a group traditionally underrepresented in philosophy.”

In the words of Jones and Kopajtic: “We want to build on this existing inclusion to make our required (and elective) courses still more representative and valuable around questions of race and identity, and around questions that often intersect with these: gender and sexuality, culture, class, etc. But the central focus of the grant work is specifically around race, and we have to confront the fact that philosophy in general (as an academic discipline) has a history that has not been sufficiently racially inclusive and global in its variations.”

By expanding the core of the philosophy department, the grant will also help continue the missions of Jesuit tradition in education. As it currently stands, the Jesuit education (in which the core curriculum is based) calls heavily upon the western canon of traditional philosophers and respective texts. “There are important texts, figures and ideas in the western canon,” said Jones and Kopajtic, “but these resources do not exhaust the possibilities for meaningful discussion of issues of human nature, ethics and all the other areas explored in the core.”

By teaching non-western and under represented traditions alongside the western canon, philosophy students will have stronger opportunities to engage in discussion about the value of western sources.

“Everything can be enhanced by inclusion, so it’s not an either-or,” said Jones and Kopajtic. “This doesn’t mean that the western traditions don’t have to change as

a result of this inclusion, since real inclusion does in fact mean change, through vulnerability and receptivity to critique and growth.”

While the Teaching Race Across the Curriculum Grant is a more recent development for philosophy, the department has been working towards greater diversity and inclusion projects for years.

Haddad expanded on the philosophy department’s series of projects, which include a “Minorities and Philosophy” chapter established by graduate students a few years ago.

“We also set up an internal website for instructors providing diversity resources a few years ago, and we’ve had training workshops focused on these questions, both teaching minority figures but also philosophies of race.”

The TRAC Grant is one of the many initiatives being developed at the university level in order to provide students with an education that is based on much more global and inclusive experiences combined with contemporary life.

Recently, Fordham has tasked the Core Curriculum Committee (CCC) with the project of reworking the core curriculum across all departments at the university-level.

Associate professor of history Christopher Dietrich, appointed as the chair of the CCC, updated The Fordham Ram on the development of this project: “Discussions regarding a new core curriculum are just beginning. Those discussions should be an inclusive process, one that can fully take into account the greater university mission of helping students develop the curiosity, self-motivation and skills that lead to life-long habits of critical thinking, careful observation, articulate expression and moral reflection.”

Dietrich continued, discussing

COURTESY OF NICK DESILVA/ THE FORDHAM RAM

TRAC grants allow for classes like Philisophical Ethics to change its course.

structural inspirations for a reworked curriculum: “A new core should embrace the potential of small, rigorous classes to help teach students to sift through evidence, analyze the value of competing arguments and build the tenacity and confidence they need to have faith in their own analytical capacities.”

According to Haddad, recent developments in academics, especially philosophy, have begun to reflect on similar ideals as Dietrich described through the use of more diverse and inclusive topics: “My sense is … I’ve seen a lot of syllabi and have been involved in the training of graduate student instructors for a number of years. While still respecting the requirements of the core as it stands, I think the way that philosophy is getting taught is much more diverse at Fordham than it was, say, 15 years ago when I started.” Haddad continued, “Without having the hard data … I feel like we’re in a position now where it's the norm that syllabi will include underrepresented figures and topics. It’s

the exception now not to have that.

It’s much more common, for example, in the Philosophical Ethics and Human Nature classes, that philosophy of race or issues and questions of race come up, which is in line with the priorities of the university at the moment.”

The use of the TRAC Grant in the philosophy department shows a step forward for the university, an indication that the curriculums are updating to the modern sensibilities of students.

“We were inspired by the deep need of our students to encounter sources, critical perspectives and creative opportunities in our classes that would better speak to the realities of experience in the twenty-first century,” said Jones and Kopajtic. “We were also inspired by the energy flowing in the whole discipline of philosophy … to deeply and vulnerably reflect on the kinds of growth and change the field might welcome in light of both of our histories and our shared human futures.”

Tania Tetlow will be Fordham’s First Layperson President FROM COMMUNITY, PAGE 1

However, the formal Zoom webinar announcement of Tetlow on Feb. 10 concerned Reilly Dunne, FCRH ’22, general coordinator of Fordham’s Women’s Empowerment Club. Dunne worried that some of the language used would indicate challenges that Tetlow would face during her tenure. Dunne stated that she felt as though the presenters seemed to be “emphatic” in apologizing for Tetlow not being a Jesuit.

“It makes me a little bit worried about how the donors and how the university community is going to handle her being president and any roadblocks she may face because she’s a layperson, because she’s a woman and because she’s not a part of the Society of Jesus. I’m excited to see what she does, but I'm just a little worried by the preemptive groveling,” said Dunne.

Despite her worries about Tetlow’s reception by the Fordham community, Dunne is still excited to see what Tetlow does during her time as president.

“I’m really excited to see a woman in power, and I hope she is able to advocate for the needs of students,” said Dunne.

Carol Gibney, director of campus ministry, solidarity and leadership, shares the excitement of Tetlow’s announcement. Gibney watched the Zoom webinar announcement of

Tetlow’s presidency. According to Gibney, many students were excited and moved during the webinar and

by Tetlow's appointment.

“I talked after with one of the students and they said ‘I actually cried.

For me, this is such an important moment as a woman.” From the student perspective, the staff and faculty and the campus ministry, we are so delighted,” said Gibney Additionally, many feel that Tetlow being a layperson will not affect Fordham’s Jesuit roots or its spiritual and religious missions.

“I’ve always felt the support of the Jesuits for our ministry, and given her qualifications and her experience in Ignatian spirituality and Ignatian pedagogy, I think we will get the support we’ve always had. I’m not worried; I feel we will be totally supported by president-elect Tetlow,” said Cavanagh.

One common sentiment shared by many members of the Fordham community is general sadness about McShane leaving the university.

“Students are undoubtedly sad to see Father McShane step away from the position. His student-centered leadership and wisdom have elevated Fordham and created an institution that challenges its members in the best ways possible,” said Reuter.

Even while many members of the Fordham community are sad to see

McShane go, that does not mean that they view Tetlow negatively or question her leadership abilities.

“Father McShane’s shoes are very hard to fill [because of] his great love of Fordham and of the students and all that he has accomplished. I was a little worried before [Tetlow’s announcement] but from her remarks, what I know about her and what she has spoken about, I know we’re in good hands,” said Gibney.

Overall, there seems to be an overwhelming feeling of excitement for Tetlow’s presidency. For many, the history that Tetlow is making is extremely profound and impactful.

Tetlow’s announcement signals a positive break in tradition. The members of the Fordham community seem to be excited for the future and for Tetlow’s time as president.

“I’ve been in touch with a number of students who are all very excited to think about something they hadn’t thought about prior to Father McShane’s announcement: that we would have someone who’s not a Jesuit. There seems to be excitement on campus for a new chapter. I support this new chapter; I’m all behind presidentelect Tetlow,” said Joan Cavanagh, a campus minister.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Tetlow will offically assume her position as president in fall 2022.

COURTESY OF JESUITS.ORG

Tetlow will make history as the first layperson and woman president of Fordham.

NEWS

February 16 2022

Page 5

Foundry Announces Fourth Annual Rams Den Winner FROM RAMS DEN, PAGE 1

donation. As Gordon said during the competition, “We help people have babies.” She and cofounder Ella McNamara started GFC in 2020, and the company reached $100,000 in revenue in their first year alone.

Simply qualifying for Ram’s Den is a sign that a start-up has already gained momentum. “[Ram’s Den] is a more mature business event,” said Al Bartosic, the executive director of the Fordham Foundry. The competition is designed for businesses that are already established and are more developed than start-ups that might compete in other Foundry events. A numerical representation of this requirement is that start-ups must have at least $10,000 in revenue to apply.

“They’re further along in the process,” Bartosic said of the competing start-ups.

Additionally, applicants go through an in-depth interview and approval process before being selected to compete. This emphasis on maturity is reflected in the large prize amounts, as well as the differences between the prizes. Rareform, the second place winner, received a prize of $8,000. Bartosic said that the first place prize is so much larger because the Foundry aims to considerably impact the winning startup’s future: “If you win, we want to give you a significant piece of the pie to help you advance your business.”

Ram’s Den 2021 was judged by five non-Foundry business experts with experience in the start-ups. Bartosic explained that the judges are given general criteria but also draw on their professional opinions to determine the winning businesses. GFC was particularly impressive for

its global model and personalized approach to a unique, rapidly growing market. There are not many businesses that provide fertility services, and GFC’s one-on-one approach likely gave an extra boost to the start-up’s rapid success.

In addition to being an expert in the fertility industry, Gordon understands intended parents in a deeply personal way. Gordon has faced her own struggle with infertility, as have many members of the GFC team. During her presentation, Gordon explained that infertility is a remarkably common problem. “All of us know at least one person who has gone through it, or is going through it,” she said. “And if you’re not sure, now you know me.”

“It’s not a made-up problem,” Bartosic said.

Some fertility services, such as IVF, are not approved by Catholic doctrine. Bartosic explained that adherence to Catholic doctrine was not part of the judging criteria, despite the Foundry’s association with Fordham, a Jesuit institution. He said that the Church’s stance on fertility did not seem relevant during the competition, as the Foundry’s ethical considerations focus on whether a startup’s mission is beneficial to society.

As for GFC, he said, “The societal piece was helping people who want to have children … have a way to have children.”

In addition to Ram’s Den, Fordham Foundry also holds an annual Pitch Challenge designed for entrepreneurs who have not reached the revenue required to enter Ram’s Den. This year’s Pitch Challenge will occur on March 26, 2022, and Bartosic expects around 50 teams to compete.

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The Fordham Foundry helps to advance student as well as new businesses through investments and other help.

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Rams Den winner, Global Fertility Connections helps people have children through a variety of fertility treatments.

Introducing Tania Tetlow, Fordham’s 33rd President

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Tania Tetlow will replace current president, Father Joseph McShane, after serving at president of Loyola University.

FROM TETLOW, PAGE 1

and narcotics cases.

She began her career in academia in 1998, working as a parttime adjunct professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. In 2005, she rose to a fulltime professor at Tulane Law School.

She also directed Tulane’s Domestic Violence Law Clinic, where she raised $2.3 million in federal grant funds. In 2015, she moved to the administrative side of academia, becoming both the associate provost for International Affairs and senior vice president and chief of staff at Tulane University.

The positions involved coordinating the school’s international activities like study abroad programs and joint degree partnerships and implementing the President’s academic, administrative and financial vision. In 2018 she became the president of Loyola University New Orleans, making her the youngest female president to lead one of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. At the time of Tetlow’s inauguration, Loyola University New Orleans was in financial trouble after five years of layoffs, program cuts and other money-saving

measures. Tetlow stabilized the situation by improving the school’s bond rating, re-working the university budget, increasing retention, continuing enrollment growth and expanding online, graduate and professional programs.

Tetlow also oversaw and organized the Faith and the Future Campaign, a $100 million campaign focused on raising money for scholarships, endowed professorships, academic program improvement and construction of the new Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center.

In response to the 2020 racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd, Tetlow, like many other university administrators, sought out to develop a diversity, equity and inclusion mission for the school. The two strategic initiatives — The Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence and The Strategic Plan for Courage and Creativity — attempt to invest in creative programming, recruit and retain underrepresented faculty and staff and strengthen advocacy and support.

Another huge challenge Tetlow faced in her time as president was the repercussions of the abuse allegations against former Loyola vice president Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., in April 2021. Some Loyola students were dissatisfied with Tetlow’s response, saying the email she sent to the Loyola community regarding the allegations was “tone-deaf” and “didn’t send the right message about victims and survivors.”

Two years into Tetlow’s tenure as president, she faced one of the most daunting challenges for university administrators around the world: the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Loyola students returned to campus for the fall 2020 semester there was some criticism surrounding the school’s lack of mandatory surveillance testing, data tracking

and lack of accommodation from professors. Students were required to provide a negative test before returning to campus, but Tetlow explained the school did not have the means to provide frequent testing to students. The school now has a mandatory vaccination policy, although it still does not require surveillance testing.

One of the most voiced concerns in the Fordham community surrounding the new president is that Tetlow is not a Jesuit priest.

Unsurprisingly, there were similar concerns when Tetlow began her career at Loyola University New Orleans. But Tetlow holds Jesuit values close to her heart, especially being the daughter of a former Jesuit priest, and she aimed to implement those values into her work at Loyola.

At the time of her inauguration, Tetlow said, “I was very much raised with Jesuit values and mission ... and felt a sense of duty that you are supposed to put your talents to good use.”

We are watching history unfold at Fordham University as Tetlow becomes the first woman and layperson president. There is sure to be much discussion and excitement surrounding this monumental moment.

NEWS

Page 6

February 16, 2022

Climate Anxiety: An Emerging Psychological Issue

By LUCY PETERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Feb. 6, Ellen Barry published an article in The New York Times that could change the way individuals approach the increasing effects of climate change on anxiety. The article follows a full-time working mother, Alina Black, and her struggle suffering from a concept that activists refer to as “eco-anxiety.”

According to the article, climate anxiety is an idea proposed nearly a decade ago by Thomas J. Doherty, a Portland psychologist specializing in climate anxiety, as well as Susan Clayton, a professor of psychology at the College of Wooster. Doherty and Clayton proposed that climate change would have psychological effects on the individuals experiencing its effects, as well as those following the topic through news and research.

Black sought out help from Doherty after experiencing feel-

ings of hopelessness, anxiety and frustration surrounding the threat of climate change.

Doherty approaches his patients with somewhat unconventional strategies. The article says, “In his clinical practice, he reaches beyond standard treatments for anxiety, like cognitive behavioral therapy, to more obscure ones, like existential therapy, conceived to help people fight off despair, and ecotherapy, which explores the client’s relationship to the natural world.”

Although research into ecoanxiety began a decade ago, there is still skepticism, as well as a lack of research on its physical effects on the body. However, Jeffrey Ng, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and the director at Fordham Counseling and Psychological Services, says that “Anxiety is our nervous system’s response to real and perceived threats, including the threat of climate change. So yes, climate anxiety is definitely real since there are indeed progressively

increasing threats to our safety, well-being and ecologies due to climate change.”

A research study conducted

by Sarah Ketchen Lipson, a mental health researcher at Boston University, revealed that “the prevalence of depression and anxiety in young people continues to increase, now reaching its highest levels, a sign of the mounting stress factors due to the coronavirus pandemic, political unrest and systemic racism and inequality.”

In addition to the factors cited above for increasing levels of anxiety among young people, psychologists suggest climate change as an additional factor. “Anxiety has been increasing among college students for the past 10-15 years. This increase is multiply determined, but I imagine one of the contributing factors has been the increased attention to and awareness of climate change,” said Ng. As Communications Liaison of the Fordham Sustainability

Committee, Andre Pulambarit, GSB ’25, organizes social media and awareness efforts on the effects of climate change.

“I think because of the internet and social media people are becoming more aware that the environment is suffering and it’s a problem,” said Pulambarit.

“Compared to older generations, I think younger people think about it way more because growing up in schools we’re taught that it’s important to take care of the environment around us.”

Research and statistics today suggest that eco-anxiety will be an increasingly prevalent issue in upcoming generations.

A study conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change and Communication found that “70% of adults aged 18 to 34 say they worry about global warming compared to 56% of those aged 55 or older.”

Ng predicts that climate change will affect upcoming generations by “contribut[ing] to increased uncertainty, and for some, a

sense of dread or foreboding about the future. A sense of hopelessness about the future can increase one’s risk for depression and anxiety,” he said.

However, similar to other forms of anxiety, climate anxiety can often be managed.

An article published by NPR suggests that individuals suffering from climate anxiety embrace their feelings, practice mindfulness and meditation and connect with others through honest conversation about their feelings.

“I would encourage students to remember that our futures are not fixed or pre-determined, and that continued advocacy and activism can have a real impact on the course of climate change,” Ng said.

Students who are looking to become involved in the Fordham Sustainability Committee are encouraged to attend the group's hosted events and go follow the group's social media page on Instagram @usgsustainability.

Campus Ministry's Book Club Focuses on Homelessness

By JULIANNA MORALES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Reading in Action is a Fordham book club focused on reading and discussing pertinent issues of today, as well as participating in community service and outreach related to the chosen issue," explains Kristen, FCLC ’23, an intern for Campus Ministry.

"This semester, the club will be discussing homelessness, starting with the book “Sacred Shelter,” a compilation of 13 individual stories, written by Susan Greenfield, who is a member of our own Fordham community.”

“Sacred Shelter” shares the lives of 13 previously homeless people in New York City. Each of these individuals have completed an interfaith life skills program called the Life Empowerment Program.

They opened up to Susan Greenfield, the book’s author, about not only their traumatic

experiences but also how they have grown and healed. Their stories are dark and honest, including tales of racism, mental illness and sexual assault.

The book is not focused on confronting the inequalities and socioeconomic factors that contribute to homelessness, but rather providing a voice to a marginalized group.

Though Greenfield conducted interviews, the book takes on a narrative form to represent both the struggles and strength of those included.

Greenfield expressed that she was not aware that Reading in Action would be using her book to start this semester. However, she was pleased to hear it. “[The topic of homelessness] should be important to all of us.

Homelessness is a travesty that results from too little affordable housing — and this, in turn, is related to a range of problems

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"Sacred Shelter", is by Fordham professor, Susan Greenfield.

that stem from systemic inequality,” said Greenfield.

Greenfield hopes that “Sacred Shelter” will expose the horrors of homelessness and promote advocacy and public engagement.

Greenfield further explained her role in the creation of the book.

She wrote the introduction and edited material from previously conducted interviews.

However, Greenfield says that she didn’t “write” most of it, as the stories covered were told to her by others.

As an instructor, Greenfield uses the book in one of her own classes at Fordham.

She teaches it alongside “King Lear,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Grapes of Wrath” in her Community Engaged Learning class centered around homelessness.

“I teach it because I find the stories as beautiful, poetic and

powerful as more traditional and canonical literature. I teach it because I think we need to radically reconceptualize what constitutes great literature, and what constitutes the basic foundation of a liberal arts education,” said Greenfield.

She hopes that her students will learn from the wisdom, generosity and compassion that the narrators show.

By telling the stories of real people, Greenfield allows the audience to connect with these narratives on a different level.

“The book reflects an attempt (however incremental in the grand scheme of things) to help reframe that pernicious narrative,” explains Greenfield.

“Sacred Shelter” includes only a handful of examples from a group far larger, but it gives more meaning to the journey than simply statistics or facts.

Though the stories are filled with trauma and darkness, the

memoirists manage to provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

Beyond their tragedies, they also speak of their families and those who supports them. After feeling the pain of their lows, the reader celebrates their triumphs.

As Greenfield put it, “though none of them applaud themselves, again and again they reveal their own courage, resilience, compassion and bigheartedness.”

“Sacred Shelter” is the first of several books the Reading in Action club will use in their discussion of homelessness.

Throughout the upcoming weeks, keep an eye out for any other picks of theirs that may interest you or any inspiring community outreach activities.

Reading in Action provides an engaging way for students in the Fordham community to stay informed about the environment and world around them.

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Campus Ministry's Reading for Action book club uses reading and books to facilitate conversation about social justice issues.

NEWS

February 16, 2022

Page 7

FCRH Junior Studies Microbiota in Trees

By ALICE GAALSWYK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last spring, Grace Fitzgerald, FCRH ’23, started work on a research project studying microbial relationships in the soil.

Fitzgerald, a biology major with psychology and bioethics minors, is studying how the microbiota beneath mature trees affects the juvenile plants that can go around them. In this field of research, there are two existing hypotheses that Fitzgerald compares.

“There is the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, which is that a plant of the same species can’t grow beneath a mature plant of that

species because there’s a lot of predators in the soil,” said Fitzgerald.

This hypothesis may provide reasoning for why forests are so diverse; the same species of trees may be so spread out because they can’t grow underneath their parents. Fitzgerald compares this theory with another that postulates that the mutualistic relationship between these plants and their parents might help the juvenile plants grow underneath their parent trees through mycorrhizal networks in the soil.

To complete field research for this project, Fitzgerald participated in the Calder Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Fordham’s Westchester

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Fitzgerald finds importance in understanding how organisms interact.

campus this previous summer. “I collected about 45 soil samples from juvenile trees that were underneath mature oak and beech trees in Calder Forest,” said Fitzgerald.

The Westchester campus has labs for the ecology and biology research that Fitzgerald is doing. After doing this field research, Fitzgerald conducted statistical analysis on the diversity in the forest, as well as on the growth and juvenile mortality of the tree saplings.

After her summer research, Fitzgerald began the second phase of her project.

“I took DNA extractions from each of the soil samples … and I am currently doing PCR amplifications of each of them and basically purifying the DNA so that I can send it out to be sequenced.”

The PCR amplification isolates the strands of DNA that are needed, purifies them and then amplifies the sample many times over so that it’s much easier to sequence.

Once these DNA samples are sent out to be sequenced, Fitzgerald will then be able to complete an analysis of the nutritional types of fungi that are in the soil, which will show whether it’s parasites, pathogens or mutualistic relationships that are occurring between the microbes in the soil. Currently, Fitzgerald is doing this work at the Lewis lab, which is run by her advisor, James D. Lewis, Ph.D. Fitzgerald’s summer research and ongoing analysis found that between the two hypotheses, there were not significant differences

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Fitzgerald hopes to take her research in microbiota and apply it to public health.

in growth and mortality between the different plots of trees.

“My expectation is that … between pathogens and mutualistic fungi … [are] balancing each other out over time, so that’s what I’m looking to find, whether that prediction is correct,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald hopes that her research will be helpful in the future.

She is interested in health-related fields, and her research centers around microbiology, so she anticipates that her research will end up being beneficial.

“I think that in the future this will help me have a greater understanding of pathogens, and also it gives me a little bit of the ecology side of knowledge to my

interest in microbiology … I really like pathogen research and diseases so I think that it will help me in that because I will be able to look at pathogens in this way,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald also thinks that it is always important to understand the ways that different ecosystems have evolved over time, as well as the ways in which organisms interact within their communities. “A lot of fungi and microbial research can have big implications in different agricultural fields … so it can help gain greater insight into how different crops and different organisms are impacted by the microbiomes that are underneath them.”

Fordham Hosts the First Student Life Council of 2022

By AVA ERICKSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On Wednesday, Feb. 9 the Rose Hill Student Life Council (SLC) held its first town hall meeting of the semester in the new student center. The SLC is comprised of representatives from the Residence Halls Association, Commuting Students Association, United Student Government, Campus Activities Board, Residential Life, Student Involvement, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Colleges, Faculty and the Dean of Students.

The meeting was led by Arianna Chen, FCRH ’22, vice president of Rose Hill USG. The meeting opened with public

agenda items. While nobody submitted any items beforehand, several students presented questions to the council. The first item discussed was the installation of water fountains in the residence halls. The representatives from the RHA explained that the new water fountains and water bottle fillers had been purchased, but the installation processes were still in the preliminary stages. Their goal is to have them installed by the 202223 academic year.

Another student asked how Fordham’s COVID-19 policies would change considering New York has dropped the indoor mask mandate. Dean Rogers, the assistant vice president and dean

of students at Rose Hill, said that the administration has been discussing the possibility of lifting some of the current safety measures. He explained that even with the omicron wave and the implementation of surveillance testing, the cases on campus have remained relatively low, so there is definitely a possibility they will lift some of the restrictions.

Thomas Reuter, FCRH ’22, president of Rose Hill USG, suggested that Fordham could lift the mask mandate for smaller club gatherings, but keep it instated for class settings, so that at-risk students or students living with at-risk family members could still feel safe at school.

Another agenda item was the recent weather related closure on Feb. 4. Several students expressed frustration with the administration for the last minute closure, as many commuter students were already at school or on their way when they got the notification. Dean Rogers apologized for the inconvenience, but explained that, especially regarding weather closures, it is impossible to make decisions that work perfectly for everyone.

The final point of discussion surrounded the policy regarding food at club and residence hall events. Last semester, food served at events had to be individually packaged, but when students returned to campus this

semester, food was prohibited from being served at events at all in January. Since Feb. 1, food has been permitted at events, however, it is unclear whether it still has to be individually wrapped. Nobody at the council meeting knew the current rules surrounding food at events, but advised students to opt for individually wrapped items.

The meeting concluded with updates from each of the SLC Members surrounding upcoming events and programming.

The SLC will be holding these meetings monthly throughout the semester, and they encourage students to submit public agenda items for discussion.

Fordham USG Discusses New COVID-19 Protocols

By SHANNON HUURMAN STAFF WRITER

On Feb. 10, Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) held their weekly meeting to discuss the accessibility of the Student Life Committee (SLC) and USG meetings.

Jamie Serruto, FCRH ’24, mentioned that a hybrid model of USG’s weekly meetings may be helpful for students who want to attend.

According to the Vice President of Communications Maya Bentovim, GSB ’23, hybrid meetings can be difficult to run, but that the Communications Committee would be happy to send out a student survey to assess student interest in a remote option.

Executive President Thomas Reuter, FCRH ’22, stated that SLC meetings do already have a Zoom option and are recorded.

USG meetings are open to the student body and meeting min-

utes are always placed online.

Senator Andrew Falduto, FCRH ’23, presented an update about Rose Hill gym reservations stating that he is working with athletics to remedy the current issues with making gym reservations.

In his advisor report, Tom Balestracci said the new spaces in the McGinley center will go live for reservations this week.

All floors except the third floor will be open for reserva-

tions. The third floor still needs additional approval.

Phase two work on the new campus center is about to begin as well, so prepare to have a change in entrances.

The Career Center has officially moved to the second floor and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) will move soon.

The form to nominate an outstanding member of Fordham’s staff for a Beacon Exemplar Award is now available. Applications were

emailed to all students.

In the most recent issue of “Fordham’s Five Things” regarding COVID-19, the university announced that it will be reverting to it’s pre-omicron variant COVID-19 guidelines.

Students do not have to wear masks in private meetings.

Balestracci noted that Dean Christopher Rogers will, in the future, be clarifying what constitutes a private meeting. Students should stay tuned.

Page 8

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918

The Fordham Ram is the university journal of record. The mission of The Fordham Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate. The Fordham Ram is published every Wednesday during the academic year to all campuses with a readership of over 12,000 and a web readership of over 300,000.

Website TheFordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu

Editor-in-Chief Ava Erickson Managing Editor Hanif Amanullah Editorial Director Hasna Ceran Production Editor Michael Sluck Multimedia Director Pia Fischetti Business Director Matthew Colucci Copy Chief Amanda Yarolin News Editor Isabel Danzis Features Editor Sebastian Diaz Assistant News Editors Samantha Minear Emma Kim Opinion Editor Nicole Braun Assistant Opinion Editors Emma Lipkind Daniella Terilli Culture Editors Elisabeth Murray Kari White Assistant Culture Editor Ilaina Kim Sports Editor Nick Guzman Assistant Sports Editors Thomas Aiello Maddie Bimonte Social Media Director Frances Schnepff Digital Producers Ava Carreiro Justin Charles Sofia Donohue Visual Director Nicoleta Papavasilakis Photo Editors Theodore Wai Nick DeSilva Graphics/Illustrations Cory Bork Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel

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OPINION

From the Desk | Ilaina Kim

February 16, 2022

On Solitude: Fire Escapes and Ellen Bass During my aimless wanderings in the city, my eyes are inevitably drawn upwards, tracing the iron skeletons against the laid brick. Fire escapes traverse the walls like kudzu on the varied blues, greens and browns of East 189th Street.

I could spend hours transfixed on those lines, peering between them to read hidden lives like sheet music. All that communion, conversation and connection, compartmentalized in the walls of each unit — and yet there the fire escape clings, in its powerful rusted silence.

The first urban fire escape was invented by Englishman Daniel Maseres in 1784, specifically for personal use. The primary model was rather elementary: a rope, attached to a window, was anchored to the ground with a hefty wooden platform and used as a means of escape. With the arrival of the 21st century, traditional iron fire escapes began to appear on the side of residential buildings, diluting the personal fire escape to complete antiquation.

In my tendency to rhapsodize the mundane, fire escapes embody the honest vulnerability of being human. Black bars rich with meaning are simultaneously a tethered extremity. They are exiled from

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Kim’s point of view from her Bronx apartment’s fire escape.

dinner tables, the circles of friends around couches, the shoe racks and warm carpets of apartments. Similar to these structures, it’s easy to feel othered by seclusion.

In college especially, there’s a need to be seen, to be heard.

I once grappled with my own fire escape turmoil, attempting to understand the looming truth of purpose and place. I felt spurred to surround myself with people, to weave threads of others into myself.

Yet it wasn’t until I fully embraced the importance of solitude that I fortified my own identity. I need not be a constantly centralized object.

When I moved from the suburbs of Georgia to New York, the prospect of urban roar was sweet to the tongue. At this point, I found occasional

anonymity to be a source of comfort. It’s no wonder that a part of me feels so close to fire escapes — they allow me to gather the chaos and noise and purge it outside my window, crystallized into a structure so stoic as to be a direct product of solitude itself. Just like we need fire escapes, fire escapes need us. Solitude is not shameful, but introspective. It is soft and nurturing and absolutely necessary in a world that is constantly trying to talk over you.

Ellen Bass is one of my favorite queer contemporary poets, by virtue of her unabashed love for both pain and joy. When I read her prose, the graceful simplicity of her diction parallels the architectural modesty of the New York fire escape. In her poem, “The

Editorial | Bronx Construction

World Has Need of You,” she writes: It’s a hard time to be human.

We know too much and too little. Does the breeze need us?

The cliffs? The gulls?

If you’ve managed to do one good thing, the ocean doesn’t care.

But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth, the earth, ever so slightly, fell toward the apple.

When I climb onto my own fire escape, the murmurs of other tenants shrouding me against the brisk of February, her words come alive in an inanimate echochamber. And its iron rungs bend, ever so slightly, toward me.

The Seven Stages of Fordham Construction If you live on the Rose Hill campus and haven’t yet visited the newly-opened first floor of the new student center, let us at the Ram be the first to tell you that you’re missing out.

It’s striking from the moment you walk in. Cold, stark, opulent and wildly expensive.

The high ceilings and sunlight streaming in from the skylights, the open floor plan, the large windows looking towards Edward’s Parade ... complete with the inlaid carvings of saints in the walls of the student center’s first floor hallway, it gives off the unmistakable impression of a Modernist cathedral. What’s more, the constant droning of the sports program on the televisions and clatter of an eternal pool game will help drown out the sound of your future credit score going down the drain.

Remember, this is a construction project that is estimated to cost $85 million.

It’s not the only construction project on campus either. Who on Rose Hill hasn’t seen the mass of scaffolding between Freeman and Duane on their way to the campus Starbucks? Of this number, who recognizes that greengray shroud as covering Thebaud Hall, a building that has been under construction for so long that we, the Editorial

Board, hardly know it ever even existed?

The cost for renovations for Thebaud are unknown to us, but the one thing that is certain for sure, is that any student on campus right now is unlikely to have ever seen Thebaud outside of construction. We are now one year past the expected reopening of Thebaud, which was supposed to occur in sSpring of 2021. At this rate, we’re not sure if construction will ever end. It’s admirable of Fordham University to present us with a demonstration of the biblical concept of limbo right in front of Duane Hall.

Look, the new student center is beautiful. It’s nice to have a space to study in on campus when the weather is cold. It that isn’t dark, dusty and claustrophobic for once.

It doesn’t have the same painful silence as the library.. Everybody welcomes new bathrooms with functional sinks.

And having meeting spaces with furniture that is not from the 1970s is a pleasant change. However, looking at the constant tuition increases on top of an already impressive bill … did we as current students really need it?

Each of us, by paying our tuition, contributes in part to the funds used to build the new student center. In many ways, we have taken on the

role of the average European peasant.; We’ve been paying our tithes to the church in return for a glorious cathedral that survives off of our payments, but serves its own needs more than it does ours.

On average, Fordham’s tuition increases by 3.3% percent every year. That’s tuition that costs $51,730 dollars per academic year for the 2021 through 2022 academic year, or 87.6% percent of $59,000 dollars, what Fordham claims to be the median yearly salary of the graduating class of 2019 from GSB, FCRH, and FCLC. We at the board deign to be generous and assume that students graduate in 4 years, and that they get 60 month term loans for a 6% percent interest rate that have them paying 1000 dollars a year.

For 20 years.

On a completely unrelated note, the average medieval peasant paid 10% percent of

their yearly earnings, which unfortunately were not published on Fordham’s website in a convenient PDF, to the Catholic church as tithes. In return for the chance for eternal salvation, rather than a four-year degree.

Just saying.

It’s a beautiful $85 million dollar building. We hope future generations of Fordham students have many fruitful study sessions and hangouts in it. It’s just hard to swallow that during a pandemic that crippled most of our university experience, our tuition kept increasing, partly to pay for a never anever ending construction project that we’d get minimal benefit from.

Alternatively, we would be amenable to a tuition bump of 4% percent every year, so long as that .7% percent increase goes towards getting stained glass in the new student center.

OPINION

February 16, 2022

Page 9

Point-Counterpoint | Valentine’s Day

A Sprinkle of Glitter in a Dreary Month

By AVA ERICKSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Valentine’s Day is a holiday people love to hate. A quick Google search provides hundreds of op-eds calling Valentine’s Day a commercialized “Hallmark Holiday,” merely part of the corporate machine. However, all of my Valentine’s Day memories revolve around fun and simple celebrations of love, rather than the material aspects of the holiday.

My love for Valentine’s Day started as a kid in elementary school. I would spend hours the night before school making handmade cards for all my classmates, decorating my “shoebox mailbox” and preparing the perfect Valentine’s Day outfit, complete with a pink heart headband.

Throughout the school day — with my excitement amplified by a Hershey’s Kiss and Fun Dipfueled sugar high — I waited in anticipation until I got home to meticulously go through each of my valentines. The handwritten notes from my friends, pink and red construction paper hearts and glue-and-glittercoated cards always made me smile. The tradition of exchanging cards wasn’t about spending money, as both the cards and shoeboxes were handmade, and it wasn’t about romantic love which addresses the cynicism that Valentine’s Day excludes single people. They were simple, inexpensive gestures of kindness that celebrated platonic love between friends.

I have carried the excitement

of exchanging cards with me into adulthood, and it has remained one of my favorite Valentine’s Day traditions. Interestingly, it is one that is relatively exclusive to the holiday. While cards are sometimes exchanged on other holidays, they are not as integral a tradition as valentines are on Valentine’s Day. For a holiday that is so often characterized as commercial and materialistic, cards are one of the simplest and most thoughtful gestures someone can make for a person they love.

Other traditional Valentine’s Day gifts are flowers and chocolates, which are some of the least materialistic gifts you can give because they are consumable.

They can be enjoyed and appreciated but don’t add to the mountains of clutter filling everyone’s shelves. Of course, there will always be people who go overboard with gifts. However, the traditional practices, and ultimately the essences of Valentine’s Day, revolve around simple gestures: quality time, thoughtful cards and of course, pink, glitter and hearts — who could hate that?

Valentine’s Day is also unique because it does not revolve around family, like so many other holidays do. There is societal and familial pressure to host Christmas parties and elaborate Thanksgiving feasts, which can be incredibly stressful for the organizer and those who don’t have solid relationships with their families. Valentine’s Day provides an opportunity for people

to celebrate with their chosen families — whether it be a significant other or friends — without the added pressure of a family gathering. Organizing a simple event, like cooking a meal together or having a “Galentine’s” Day movie night can be just as meaningful and fun as a large, family holiday party.

Another beautiful aspect of Valentine’s Day is where it lands on the calendar: Feb. 14. February can be a tough time of year. The days are short, and, at least in New York, you can go weeks without seeing the sun. There is no holiday cheer, and the spring months still feel far away.

Seeing construction paper hearts in the store, a sea of people dressed in pink and red or someone carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the subway brightens what is an incredibly dark and dreary day. Many people are also plagued with seasonal depression this time of year, so a celebration of love, whether it be platonic or romantic, can be incredibly cathartic.

There are no other holidays that solely celebrate friendship, and since most wedding anniversaries occur in the summer, February is the ideal time to celebrate the people we love. This celebration doesn’t have to be grand — a simple card and a box of chocolates can bring a lot of light to a very gloomy month.

Ava Erickson, FCRH ’23, is a journalism and Spanish studies major from Denver, Colo.

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Erickson treasures memories of exchanging homemade cards in elementary school on Valentine’s Day.

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Valentine’s Day is redundant; couples already celebrate on other days.

Why Wait to Celebrate Love?

By MICHAEL SLUCK PRODUCTION EDITOR

I’ve always considered myself a romantic. I enjoy chocolate. I appreciate a nice dinner. I like flowers. And yet, despite all that, I think Valentine’s Day is one of the most terrible holidays on the entire calendar.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating romantic love for a partner — but isn’t that what anniversaries are for? Most couples already have a day when they can celebrate their connection with a significant other and express their love with gifts and special plans. Best of all, an anniversary is unique to each relationship. Why would you want to celebrate something as unique as the bond between you and your partner on the same day as everyone else? It’s as if, besides individual birthdays, there was also one day that was just a general birthday for everyone. What would be the point? And for all those who want to celebrate their love multiple times a year, that’s great. Why not celebrate your half-year anniversary as well?

Or pick a random day? Why celebrate with everyone else?

The redundancy isn’t the only problem. For many, Valentine’s Day is miserable. Single people are, once again, reminded of their status, as if there’s something wrong with being single.

And for most of the population in relationships, Valentine’s Day is just another reason to stress.

Not only is there pressure to come up with the perfect gift and night out, but there is competition against every other person in the country to come up with it as well.

The real beneficiaries of this holiday are all the companies that use Feb. 14 as an excuse to jack up their prices, such as flower shops, candy stores and the like.

The real tragedy of Valentine’s Day is that these corporations have pressured people into paying their exorbitant fees, or risk being judged by society at large.

Often times, the motivating force

for gift-giving on Valentine’s Day is not from a true desire to demonstrate love, but from a sense of social pressure.

Why do we need a holiday to celebrate romantic love, anyway?

Society pays enough attention to romantic love as it is, as shown by our perpetual obsession with celebrity relationships, rom-coms and love songs. In a world where people are making efforts to destigmatize being single, Valentine’s Day seems to provide an excuse to judge those who choose not to be in relationships, as if they’re doing something wrong.

It is true that in the past few years, we have seen a movement to focus more on the important platonic relationships in our lives — holidays such as “Galentine’s Day,” which is focused on friendships rather than romantic love embody this. While this movement has been trending in the right direction, the main focus of Valentine’s Day is still clearly romance, rather than any platonic affection. If we were to change Valentine’s Day to focus purely on platonic love, it would be less problematic. However, since such a holiday would make corporations less money, it’s unlikely this will happen anytime soon.

So, dear reader, I have two pieces of advice for you. First, when Valentine’s Day rolls around again next year, focus on showing love to those who you may neglect to remind them of your affection. Give your parents a call.

Hug your roommate. Tell your friends how much you love and appreciate them.

Second, if you are in a romantic relationship, don’t conform with the rest of society and wait until Feb. 14 to show them how much you care. Surprise them on a random day with some candy and flowers. Slip a note under their door telling them how wonderful they are. Life is too short, and love too precious, to wait to make a big deal out of it only one day a year.

Michael Sluck, FCRH ’24, is a political science and computer science major from Verona, N.J.

OPINION

Page 10

February 16, 2022

Flores’ Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Highlights NFL’s Diversity Downfalls

By SAMANTHA SCOTT STAFF WRITER

The National Football League (NFL) is no stranger to issues of diversity and inclusion, both on and off the field. While the NFL has touted shifts to support racial justice and equality in recent seasons, a lawsuit filed by former head coach Brian Flores confirms that racial discrimination is still deeply ingrained in the league.

This season, players were allowed to choose one of six messages to put on their helmets regarding social justice, and fields could stencil the slogans “it takes all of us” and “end racism” on the end zones.

The Washington Football Team recently chose a new name, the Commanders, which marked a shift from their controversial former name, the Washington Redskins. However, are these adjustments enough to mark a change in a league that has been so behind in adapting? Flores would say that they haven’t.

On Feb. 1, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and primarily three of its teams (the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Miami Dolphins) alleging discrimination in their hiring practices. In a league already surrounded by issues of racial justice, the NFL needs to do more to support the hiring of Black coaches and staff in the NFL. Currently, 70% of the active players on the NFL’s rosters are Black, but coaching-level positions don’t reflect this diversity. The NFL currently

has one primary rule for supporting diverse leadership and hiring practices. The Rooney Rule, adopted in 2003 and most recently amended in 2021, states that every team needs to interview a minimum of two external minority candidates for head coaching positions, general manager and other front-office positions.

The NFL believed that this would be enough to strengthen its stance regarding diversity off the field, but it has yet to yield results. There is currently only one Black head coach, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, in the NFL. The evidence is clear: the Rooney Rule does not promote diversity in the League.

Even with the rules requiring a diverse hiring practice, the NFL doesn’t have an established rule about actually hiring diverse candidates. This is where the idea of sham interviews comes in.

Flores alleges in his lawsuit that he was subjected to several sham interviews; teams would interview him to fulfill their quota of minority candidates for the job. Flores claimed that this happened when he interviewed with the Denver Broncos before coaching for the Miami Dolphins. He stated that the general manager and the team’s president showed up an hour late to the interview and that it was clear that they didn’t consider Flores a legitimate candidate for the job. The Broncos went on to hire Vic Fangio.

This is not the only instance where a head coaching candidate has been subject to sham

interviews. In his lawsuit, Flores names several others that have been subject to discrimination and other former coaches have spoken out about having sham interviews with NFL teams.

There’s another reason that NFL teams seem to have less diversity regarding coaching: minority coaches are less likely to be given second chances.

This is shown in a 2019 academic analysis commissioned by the NFL. Looking at the list of coaches that have led at least three teams without winning a Super Bowl, there is one commonality: all of them are white. Yes, some Black coaches are given second chances with different teams, but not often.

Black coaches in the NFL are held to unrealistic expectations and face double standards regarding their performance as coaches.

In 2018, the Arizona Cardinals fired Steve Wilks from the head coach position after one season, even though the team had poor prospects and some questionable choices in the draft. This year, the Houston Texans fired David Culley after one season for producing the same record as the year before, even though he had years of experience in coaching and a lack of high-impact players.

Black head coaches are expected to turn teams around in a single season, taking them from the bottom tier to playoff-run capabilities.

White coaches like Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions are not held to such high expectations. The Lions have been a terrible team for de-

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Brian Flores, former coach for the Miami Dolphins, is suing the NFL.

cades in the NFL and went 3-13-1 this season, but there are no signs of firing Campbell from his position. If anything, people are optimistic about the coach. The NFL has skewed expectations of their Black coaches, negatively impacting the hiring process and practices, despite the Rooney Rule.

The issue has reached a point where one coach is willing to throw away potential job opportunities in the NFL to fix it. In a statement, Flores said, “I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much from my family and me. My sincere hope is that [by] standing up to systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

So, what can be done? First, there needs to be Black ownership and leadership in the NFL. There are no Black owners of NFL teams, which means that their voices aren’t being represented.

Furthermore, if there were more Black general manag-

ers, there would be more representation in who has a say about hiring coaches. Flores also said that there should be more accountability, transparency and enforcement of policies within the hiring process.

There should be accountability for teams that continue to uphold old practices and do not achieve demographic change in their hiring practices, which can be done if teams are forced to be more transparent about their reports and decisionmaking process. Only then can the league start working towards change.

It’s one thing to stencil racial justice slogans into the end zone. It’s another to create positive change and diversity.

The NFL needs to make a significant change to its hiring practices.

Hopefully, Flores’ lawsuit will create this change for the next generation of coaches.

Samantha Scott, FCRH ’24, is an international political economy major from Columbus, Ohio.

CULTURE

February 16, 2022

Page 11

Kardashian v.West in the Court of Public Opinion

By ZOE ALATSAS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Influencer Kim Kardashian and rapper Ye West — formerly Kaney West — announced their split after seven years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as their reason.They have four children; North, age eight, Saint, age six, Chicago, age three and Psalm, age two. Neither one of them spoke publicly about their relationship and divorce for a year, but on Feb. 5, West posted a picture of North’s TikTok account, captioning it: “Since this is my first divorce, I need to know what to do about my daughter being put on TikTok against my will?”

This sparked another lengthy discussion prompted by West, criticizing Kardashian’s parenting style. West stated in interviews that he did not want North

on social media, specifically TikTok. In a post on her Instagram story, Kardashian replied to West’s accusations saying, “as the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity…with adult supervision — because it brings her happiness…”

Kardashian has explicitly stated that she shares the account with North and monitors what is posted.

Conservative commentator Candace Owens took West’s side regarding North’s TikTok account. Owens tweeted, “The psychological effects of social media on young girls is real and documented … there are other creative outlets for kids.”

In a separate tweet, Owens said, “There is no need for an eight-

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West has been receiving backlash for his outbursts on social media.

year-old to be on social media. Go color.”

The family drama continued publicly over Instagram. “From the beginning, I have wanted nothing but a healthy and supportive co-parenting relationship because it is what is best for our children and it saddens me that Kanye continues to make it impossible every step of the way,” Kardashian said. West replied not too long after with a discussion about their daughter Chicago’s birthday party, to which he was not invited, claiming that Kardashian was keeping his children from him, saying: “A father should never have to beg for the location of their children.”

West also claimed that he “gave the Kardashians culture,” referring to the fact that as a Black man, he is responsible for informing her on Black culture.

Kardashian has been accused of cultural appropriation several times, being called out for applying dark tans, wearing box braids and hairstyles specifically worn

by Black women. On Instagram, he claimed the Kardashians “play” with Black men’s lives “whether it’s getting them free or getting them locked up. I’m not playing about my Black children anymore.”

The Kardashian-West drama that is happening is being perceived as just that: petty drama.

I would want to blame the celebrities at hand for this one, but I know it is not only their fault. It’s ours, too. For years, West has had very public meltdowns on social media. It is a known fact that he

has bipolar disorder, and we blame his condition every single time he opens his mouth — or in this case, opens Instagram. In actuality, what we’re witnessing is a man having a breakdown over not being able to see his children, but because of the stigma surrounding mental health in our society combined with West’s celebrity status and public life, we shrug it off. We laugh at him and make memes mocking him as though this clear cry for help is just some performance.

I have very young family members around North’s age, and even though I think he can be a bit delusional, I have to agree with West on this issue. I don’t think I would want my young family members on social media, specifically TikTok, either. I’ve seen what happens on the app; people are superficial and cruel about nearly everything and children are no exception to the relentless bullying.

The problem is that kids today, specifically celebrity children like North, don’t really have a choice anymore. Social media is what keeps the world running nowadays; the majority of people get their news from social media, they communicate with others and they learn what they like and don’t like. When you’re in a family like the Kardashians, who wouldn’t be popular at all if it weren’t for social media, being exploited — no matter what age — isn’t optional.

West can get as angry as he wants and write as many Instagram captions as he

pleases, but he knew what he was signing up for when he married Kardashian. He knew that he was going to have to cave in regarding his opinions about social media. His wife wouldn’t be able to make a living if it weren’t for the posts she makes on Instagram — nobody in that family would.

While I think West has a point about the Kardashians messing with Black culture, it’s too late for him to say anything about it now.

He was married to her for seven years without saying anything regarding her several violations of cultural appropriation with makeup and self-tanner that was too dark and hairstyles that weren’t made for her hair. He allowed the Kardashians to exploit Black culture for profit without speaking out against it or doing anything to raise awareness of the struggles of that same community he’s constantly talking about in his music. Not to mention, in 2016, West openly supported a presidential candidate who actively rooted for the oppression of Black people.

It seems like he’s just grasping at straws to fuel a smear campaign against his ex-wife, and he’s now using this argument because it’s convenient.

None of us need to “take sides” in family drama that has nothing to do with the public.

This is between Kardashian and West, and last time I checked, I wasn’t married to either of them. However, for the sake of their children, I hope they do put an end to this petty and ridiculous drama.

Chevy Tugs Heartstrings with “Sopranos” Perfection

By CHRIS HENNESSY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

*SPOILERS AHEAD* The iconic opening guitar note paired with the nostalgic shot from “The Sopranos” title sequence was the most exciting part of the Super Bowl. I jumped out of my seat and my heart started racing. I could not wait to see what was coming next.

It was Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the Long Island native known for her Jersey persona, Meadow Soprano, driving a new Chevy electric truck and, yes, parking it. Sixty seconds of utter perfection made up one of the greatest commercials in Super Bowl history.

It comes as no surprise to Sopranos’ fans that creator, David Chase, was behind this ad. Chase has been incredibly protective of his creation since the finale aired, so it was hardly shocking that this ad hit every note perfectly.

The title sequence toed the line beautifully between the modern shots of the Turnpike and the same pacing as the mid-2000s original. The EZ-Pass sign and the Freedom Tower represented the “new generation” that Chevy was

trying to push.

The best part of this ad was the suspense of who was driving the car. We knew it could not be James Gandolfini, so the door was open for many options.

Personally, I thought it would be Michael Imperioli — not reprising his role of Christopher Moltisanti for obvious reasons — just driving a truck. Considering his popular podcast and recent book alongside

Steve Schirpa, aka Bobby Bacala, he was the first to come to mind. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, they showed Sigler in the rearview mirror sucking on a lollipop instead of smoking her dad’s iconic cigar and immediately everyone knew this was more than just a regular ad.

Driving a car triggers many not-so-great memories for Sopranos characters. Tony’s

panic attack, Uncle Jun and Olivia calling the hit on Tony, Adrianna and Silvio’s infamous ride into the woods, Christopher’s fatal last drive, Adrianna and Tony leaving the club and, of course, Meadow herself, unable to parallel park outside of the diner in the final scene are just a few.

This brought an odd satisfaction to many Sopranos fans, watching Meadow easily slide

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Fans of “The Sopranos” were touched by the nostalgic commercial that paid homage to James Gandolfini.

into the spot, step out and hug her on-screen brother A.J., played by Robert Iler, shows that the new generation is still together — that they survived that potentially fateful day at the diner and pulled the heartstrings of every single fan of the greatest show in television history.

We have no idea if Tony Soprano survived the family outing to the diner. As his Mafia family crashed around him, he got the Soprano family together for what might be the last time. Due to Gandolfini’s tragic death we might never find out if Tony survived or if the man in the Members Only jacket shot him upon exiting the bathroom. What we know now is that Meadow and A.J. survived and remained close through the fallout of their father’s career.

Chevy absolutely nailed this commercial on every level. It is the one everyone is talking about in the wake of the big game and will live on as the only sliver of a Sopranos sequel we might ever get.

It might not get me to buy an electric truck, but Chevy leaves with the Lombardi Trophy of marketing for the 2022 Super Bowl.

CULTURE Live from Beijing: TikTok Takeover

Page 12

By MARIBELLE GORDON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After the 2020 Summer Olympics were rescheduled and heavily modified due to the ongoing pandemic, many athletes took to social media platforms, specifically TikTok, to document their experiences. An even larger number of Winter Olympic athletes have followed suit and opened the rest of the world up to the life of an Olympian.

Without any spectators present to boost morale or provide a sense of normalcy, the athletes of the 2020 Summer Olympics sought out TikTok as a platform for interaction with fans.

Rugby player Ilona Maher and gymnast Suni Lee are just two examples of Olympians who garnered massive followings through their videos. Through participating in global TikTok trends, they both showed what it’s like to take part in the most advanced athletic competition in the world.

A week into the 2022 Winter Olympics, athletic superstars from around the globe are taking over the app yet again. There are numerous athletes you can find under hashtags such as #WinterOlympics or #OlympicTikTok (the app itself has even installed a page for live updates under the latter). However, there are certain athletes that have been continuously gaining attention for their unique documentation of the behindthe-scenes of Olympic life. Here are a few athletes, and emerging

February 16, 2022

TikTok stars to lookout for: Maddie Mastro (@maddie_mastro) is an American halfpipe snowboarder who has quickly amassed almost 600,000 followers and tens of millions of likes over the past few weeks.

2022 is her second trip to the Olympics and while she has used her platform to show a variety of aspects of her daily routine, her “Get Ready with Me” videos have become especially popular. She has also documented her friendship with a fellow competitor, Australian Emily Arthur, showing an interesting insight into the interactions between countries.

Scotty James (@scottyjames31), Australian snowboarder, has also quickly become a fan favorite. He gives sneak peeks into the athletes’ rituals and briefings, such as how and when they are tested for COVID-19, the protocols for medal ceremonies and the training before competitions. His charismatic personality has definitely played a role in his accumulation of followers, showing an increased interest in the Olympics as fans seize the opportunity to actually get to know the athletes in a new context.

Former Olympic figure skater and current coach Adam Rippon (@adaripp) has also gained popularity, showing the perspective of someone who has both coached and competed in the events. He shows the warmups and drills of his students, details the fashion requirements and

recently revealed a story about accidentally leaving his student at the training rink without the necessary credentials. Before TikTok allowed this platform to be created, these are the types of personal stories and details that the fans would never get to hear.

Now, the average fan can feel like they have V.I.P. access just by watching a three minute video.

Even five-time Olympian and sports icon Shaun White (@shaunwhite) joined in for his last Olympics and final competition before retirement. The American snowboarder already had a significant following on the app; he has recently shared many bittersweet moments of his final days as a professional snowboarder, as well as anecdotes and personal customs that have played a role in his time as

a seasoned veteran of the sport and the Olympic games.

In addition to all of the individual athletes using TikTok to document their lives at the Olympics, many of the companies involved are also using the app for promotion through trends and inside coverage. The Olympics, NBC Sports and Team USA are all very popular accounts that post highlights, updates, Q&A’s and even memes regarding athletes from all over the world. As marketing becomes increasingly reliant on social media, it is much more common to see these large corporations taking to TikTok to promote some of the world’s biggest events.

This takeover on TikTok has attracted many people to the Olympics, whether for the first time or as a reignition of excite-

ment. Fans enjoy this personal, behind-the-scenes experience of the Olympics, and knowing what all goes into making these events happen has sparked interest for many.

From room tours to clothing hauls to Spotify playlists, TikTok has provided athletes with a multitude of ways to connect more with fans than ever before.

What started out as a way for Olympians to cope with the biggest event of their lifetime being upended by COVID-19 turned out to be a unique way for professional athletes to show fans the ins and outs of their unusual lives. The platform has allowed fans to have a more personal relationship with their favorite athletes and has presented them with a new, more relatable perspective of the global superstars.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

American snowboarder Maddie Mastro is one of the Olympians who has gained millions of followers on TikTok.

Who’s That Kid? | Rebecca Chretien, FCRH ’24

Sophomore is Fordham’s Hannah Montana

By HANIF AMANULLAH MANAGING EDITOR

In her own words, Rebecca Chretien, FCRH ’24, explains the effect of working on the Ram and practicing for Fordham Dance back to back on Monday nights: “Sometimes I feel like I’m living a double life. Like I’m Hannah Montana.”

Of course, when Chretien said this it was tongue-in-cheek — we both chuckled in the middle of a fairly straightforward interview. But thinking about it, the comparison bears some validity.

Chretien, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, is a part of several spheres at Fordham University. She’s an avid reader and writer, a consummate dancer, a copy editor and a “Survivor” fan. Where she differs clearly from Hannah Montana is in her work-life balance — Chretien seems to juggle her wide variety of activities with ease. All that being said, she acknowledges it wasn’t always that way.

“I was a very busy person in high school,” Chretien said. “My school was majorly academic, but it also encouraged us to do extracurriculars.” As a result, she kept very busy, and was involved in the dance team, student council and her school’s preaching team. Though she enjoyed them

all, the extracurriculars took up what little remaining free time she had in high school. “After high school I was so burnt out, so I decided that when I got to college I would start doing the things I know I like to do,” Chretien recounts.

As a result, when she began attending Fordham, she cleared her schedule of everything but the necessities. That is, everything aside from dance.

“It was weird coming into it, because at the end of high school I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue it,” Chretian said. At this point, she has been on the Fordham dance team for her entire college career; in fact, when she first tried out, she was one of only two freshmen to make it on to the team. Given the pandemic, Chretien’s freshman year on the dance team was relatively lowkey, as there were no events to perform at. The Fordham dance team’s status as a half-club halfD-1 athletic team also made it difficult. This year, Chretien and her team can perform at Fordham events, but their D-1 status is still in limbo.

Currently, the Fordham dance team doesn’t compete, and the university doesn’t issue them any gear. However, in a turn of events, they recently hired a

new coach and have increased their weekly practices. “There are lots of weird uncertainties and tensions,” Chretien remarks.

“We’re living them right now. I think now having a coach is giving us more legitimacy in the eyes of Fordham Athletics.”

Even though the Fordham dance team isn’t an official D-1 team, Chretien finds that it is just as gratifying: “I think it is still really fulfilling … on the inside we know we work hard. We work as much as a dance team should.”

Dance has, in general, always been a huge part of Chretien’s life. It was this realization (along with her mother’s prompting) that led her to trying out for Fordham’s team in the first place. Chretien said, “There are so many things that come with being a dancer: that poise, elegance, respect, hard work and dedication translate into my daily life.”

Those virtues certainly have seemed to translate into the rest of Chretien’s daily life, as she’s involved in multiple extracurriculars on campus. “I do copy editing for the Ram,” Chretian mentions. “I think that’s so much fun. Chretien’s copy editing skills go hand-in-hand with her love for reading and writing — she even joined The Ampersand in

fall 2021. “I actually came into Fordham undecided, but then I took a Jane Austen class fall semester freshman year,” Chretien said. “I loved it, and the professor talked to me and told me I should reconsider it.” And reconsider it she did. Chretien is now an English major — a perfect fit.

Aside from those pursuits, Chretien enjoys living in and exploring New York City, something completely different from her hometown in Texas — being from Texas myself, this was a familiar experience. Chretien finds that moving so far from home has been a strengthening, albeit difficult, experience.

“If I’m going through something bad, I’ve learned I need to just do it myself,” Chretien said. “If something bad happens, I can’t just go home. It’s made me a lot stronger. I’m able to just confront things head on.”

Part of the way she has been able to do that is through forging her own unique community at Fordham. How, exactly, has she achieved this? Through a small whiteboard attached to the front of her dorm room. “When I lived in Martyrs, I put it on the outside of my door and wrote ‘knock for friends.’ It worked. After a week, I started doing polls.”

The polls range widely. Some

days, Chretien and her roommate asked hallwalkers to rank movies. Sometimes, they asked people to share secrets. Other times, red flags.

“The whiteboard is supposed to be a community effort,” Chretien says. And, evidently, it’s worked well. “It’s been really exciting, a great way to make friends.”

With a rich and fulfilling schedule, Chretien is making the most of her time at Fordham, all while avoiding burnout. It isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, but for Chretien, it’s a cinch.

COURTESY OF REBECCA CHRETIEN /THE FORDHAM RAM

Chretien is a member of the dance team.

CULTURE

February 16, 2022

Page 13

Bastille’s New Album Offers Escapism

By ERICA WEIDNER

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR EMERITUS

Let’s be real. We’re living in a pretty messed-up timeline. Pandemics, climate crises, protests — why don’t we all stay inside and listen to some music to escape it all?

Bastille’s new album, “Give Me the Future,” addresses that sentiment. This album considers the disasters of the outside world with clever lyrics, then chooses to

turn away in favor of escaping into fiction, love, dance and virtual reality. “Give Me the Future” is a beautiful collection of futuristic, escapist bops that manage to deliver a powerful message without being hopelessly depressing.

“Give Me the Future” opens with three of its five promotional singles. The first of these, “Distorted Light Beam,” is the song that soundtracked my summer. It has a dance-pop

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The album’s artwork compliments the experimental futuristic sound.

feel that somewhat departs from Bastille’s earlier sound, but the band’s hallmarks are all still there. “Distorted Light Beam” also establishes the album’s main theme: daily life is difficult, dreaming is easier.

The beginning of “Give Me the Future” is closed out by the singles “Thelma + Louise” and “No Bad Days.” The first song is a fun spin on the 1991 film “Thelma & Louise.” On “No Bad Days,” Singer Dan Smith’s voice breaks out with raw power as he sings a eulogy to his aunt over a simple background beat. These three songs make up a strong emotional core before the album breaks into its own sound.

The album then plunges into science fiction with an interlude titled “Brave New World” — a nod to Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel. In the next song, “Back to the Future,” we hear references to George Orwell’s “1984,” Aldous Huxley’s “Island,” “Bladerunner,” “The Wizard of Oz” and, of course, the titular film “Back to the Future.”“Back to the Future” is probably my favorite song on the album. Bastille carefully constructs a song that addresses a complex topic — our dystopian reality and our desire to escape from it — without bringing me down.

The synth-pop sound makes it feel smooth and there’s an occasional burst of brass instruments to keep things

feeling fresh.

“Plug In…” takes on the cascade of crises we’ve experienced recently in a pair of rap-like verses. For instance, the climate crisis: “Icecaps’ll fall, Cali’ll burn / Willful denial until it’s my turn / Bunch of old white men who don’t give a f--- / Are we having fun yet?” The next track, “Promises,” a spoken-word piece by rapper Riz Ahmed, addresses the same subject.

Ahmed’s deep voice paired with a minimalistic backing track contrast with the album’s synth-laden, electronic vibes. Both “Plug In…” and “Promises” stress love and human relationships as part of our escape from crises.

These songs offer a muted, emotional perspective in the middle of a pop album.

In the latter half of “Give Me the Future,” Bastille pulls us back into the futuristic soundscape. The refrain of “Shut Off The Lights” is a triumphant “Shut off the lights / We don’t need them to dance!” “Stay Awake?” opens with a robotic female voice — she sounds just like Siri — reading lyrics in a halting, atonal voice.

“Give Me the Future” holds off on its title track until near the end of the album.

The song “Give Me the Future,” released on Bastille Day, calls out to virtual reality as a way to grasp a bet-

ter future than the one that shrinks before us. This song also contains my favorite lyrics of the album: “I tasted endless love that takes control / Endless love and I wanted more.” The yearning in Smith’s voice hits me right in the chest.

The album finds its only dud in “Club 57.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a bop, but it falls flat compared to other songs on “Give Me the Future.”

The lyrics feel uninspired compared to the intricately woven lyrics of “Plug In…” or the emotional chorus of “No Bad Days.”.

The album concludes with a second interlude and a closing track titled “Future Holds.”

The final song features vocals by BIM, an up-and-coming singer with a gorgeous voice. Her vocals complement Smith’s beautifully. BIM’s first EP came out last month, and I hope to hear her collaborate with Bastille again.

All together, “Give Me the Future” is an emotional, futuristic, depressing and flourishing bop. The album has its highs and its lows, its quiet emotional songs and its screaming-along-in-the-car bangers. While “Give Me the Future” is a departure from Bastille’s typical, more mellow, alt-pop sound on its prior albums, it gives me hope for what the band will do in the future.

Editor’s Pick | Television

“Outer Banks” is Quality Content

By THOMAS AIELLO

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

All it takes to get into a Netflix original is the simple *click* of your remote to play.

“Outer Banks” was that show for me. One of the best things about discovery is that you find a passion within you that you never realized was there. It adds a new tool to the tool box of things you learn or enjoy.

“Outer Banks” is about a group of delinquent teens in North Carolina who are insubordinate to all authority. John B (Chase Stokes), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) make up this daring and relatable crew that deal with issues in their teenage lives, some more complicated than others. Not having a consistent adult figure in your life, bouncing around for a place to stay and running from people that want to kill you do not make for ideal circumstances — but it’s the problems the characters face that makes the viewer care about them.

Relatability is one of the key elements in character development and generating a suc-

cessful storyline. Each of the main characters has their own unique aspect that the average viewer can relate to in some capacity. Taking normal issues that teenagers deal with and adding some more spice is what captivates the audience and makes them hungry for more.

The show starts off by introducing the characters and director Jonas Pate slowly builds up the action by including a treasure hunt where the group has to go above and beyond — stealing, lying and scamming — to get where they need to go. The treasure hunt becomes, rather quickly, the focal point of the show. Yes, there are still elements of the trials and tribulations that come with any coming of age series, but the main focus always remains finding the treasure.

The show also introduces the concept of unlikely relationships. Seeing kids from all walks of life — a diverse group from both rich and poor families — embodies the entire show. The characters endure situations that might seem sticky, but everything works out because everyone works towards the common good.

Let’s start by looking at two of the most important people in this show; John B and Sarah Cameron. John B hails from the poor side of the town, belonging to a group known as the “pogues.” With no adult figures in his life, and avoiding foster care, he has his three loyal friends to fall back on and serve as his de facto support system.

Sarah Cameron serves as the attractive, witty “kook” who lives on the rich side of town and has the power of daddy’s money. This unlikely pair is brought together by their common goal in finding the treasure, and they eventually

fall in love. One thing to note is that the “pogues” and “kooks” usually do not get along; however, a “pogue” and a “kook” not only fall in love, but John B’s friends accept Sarah as one of their own.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this show is expecting the unexpected to happen.

After mentioning unexpected relationships, events, or even just moments where you think the characters are dead and they come back with resilience. Part of that, one could say, is the way the show makes it easy to care about the characters. The writers are smart

enough to make the characters have problems that the viewer can relate to, which is why they are such an easy group to enjoy.

“Outer Banks” is a well written, beachy, clever and exciting show that may start slow but builds up into eye-catching content. After watching the first few episodes, my eyes were glued to the screen and craving more.

The show satisfied my appetite by delivering the unexpected every time. “Outer Banks” is a show that I highly recommend if you need something that leaves you excited for what is to come via teasers and cliff hangers.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

“Outer Banks” is a Netflix original series that quickly gained popularity after the first season aired in summer 2020.

CULTURE

Page 14

Ram’s Review Books | Paola Galiano

February 16, 2022

Fragile Mortality in Blake’s “The Atlas Six”

By PAOLA GALIANO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“A flaw of humanity — the compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.”

The world that Olivie Blake creates in “The Atlas Six” is

one of mystery, of obscured clues and magic. In a seemingly normal place lurks those with quasi-supernatural abilities, cleverly integrating themselves into an unknowing society. However, their quiet lives are soon uprooted with the appearance of the enigmatic Atlas Blake.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

“The Atlas Six” debates the purpose of life within the world of dark academia.

The Alexandrian Society is an ancient and elite secret society of the most powerful and brilliant magical academicians in the world. Atlas Blake tells six candidates that they have one year to qualify for initiation in this round of selection for the next scholars of the Alexandrian Society. In the grueling year before initiation, candidates must access the Society’s archives to make unique contributions to abstract subjects that many do not even hope to solve. Time and space, luck and thought, life and death — all must make alliances and push each other to survive. Especially when it’s revealed that one of them will be eliminated.

A huge criticism that I read about before even picking up this novel was the “glacial pace” of events. It’s important to note that this book’s plot is incredibly structured and thought out. Blake’s book explores abstract themes such as life, death, truth, the human subconscious and other concepts that often don’t garner much consensus. There is no conceivable way to simply rush through these abstract

topics, so the dark academic mood she uses to explore these concepts through her characters’ voices is utterly brilliant. Just like in our world today — in classrooms and work settings — there is little agreement on the intricacies of abstract matters such as the human subconscious or how time is perceived. What Blake makes clear about the concept of time through characters like Tristan and Libby is that while there are many existing theories, there are dozens more to explore.

Examples of greed and envy, emotional manipulation and human fallibility run through Blake’s relationship with Reina. She is adamant that answers can be found in a book, isolating herself and envying those who seem so assured.

But Blake quickly points out this danger, citing “the problem with knowledge … is its inexhaustible craving.” Reina searches, but “the more of it you have, the less you feel you know.” This makes some people hopeless, as like many ordinary people they see no meaning in their lives. One character, Tristan, celebrates

“our fragile mortality,” as he so eloquently puts it. Taking a very nihilist approach to death, he celebrates “the inevitability that we will descend into chaos and dust.”

Blake seems content to point out everything wrong with humanity and shows us how easy it is to get lost in everything that is wrong with us.

“We are the gods of our own universes,” she says, “destructive ones,” at that. We search for answers that are too elusive to fully grasp; we cry and whine and beg for purpose, even when it’s not something the universe doles out like a new pair of pants.

Though, at the end of it all, it is this concept of “our fragile mortality,” that makes the search for all these answers the purpose of our simple lives. The Alexandrian Society is one that values knowledge above all else, after all. In the end, watching these six candidates fight for their own worldview and its meaning was incredibly poignant, and was able to provoke an introspective atmosphere where readers themselves can take their own look at their world.

McGinley Art Show: “New Beginnings”

By KARI WHITE

CULTURE EDITOR

On Feb. 11, the USG’s Student Experience Committee hosted the annual McGinley Art Show in the new campus center, where they showcased student artwork that revolved around the theme of “New Beginnings.” The artwork on display ranged from photographs of the New York City skyline to sculpted plates of food, showing the diverse talents that Fordham students possess.

As @fordhamusg’s Instagram post attests, the theme “New Beginnings” is drawn from the dawn of a new year, which promises hope as we shake off the isolation and loneliness of the past two years. “We definitely wanted a space where artists could show how COVID-19 has really affected them and what they’ve observed in the world. With ‘New Beginnings,’

we’re hoping for it to be hopeful and optimistic for the new beginnings we’ll have after COVID-19,” said Kiri Kenman, FCRH’ 25, a member of the Student Experience Committee who helped run this year’s show.

The art hung throughout the gallery was accompanied by short captions, written by the artists themselves to explain the importance of their work.

Some focused on the impact that COVID-19 had on their perception of the world. Adriana Foster, FCRH’ 24, one of the featured artists, submitted a photo of a cruise ship blurred by the flare of its own lights. “COVID has proven to distort the ways people look and think of things, and this photo shows how something as simple as a cruise ship can be warped,” she wrote.

Other artists focused on more intimate moments of their lives, exploring how one can discover a new begin-

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM RAM.

The McGinley Art Show exhibited student artwork exploring life after COVID-19.

ning in a setting as personal as the dinner table.

Lu Aubin, FCLC ’22, submitted work which featured two photographs: the first, a blackand-white picture of the exterior of an old house and the second, an in-color photograph of a messy, intimate kitchen table. “My photos are moments of my life. They are exteriors I see myself in, and the interiors I have learned to love … [they] are the evidence of change in my life: honesty with myself and greater compassion with others,” explained Aubin.

Mateo Solis Prada, FCLC ’22, transformed his sculptures of empanadas, choripan and patitas into vessels for connections between family and friends, something that greatly suffered during isolation periods prompted by COVID-19.

“I wanted to make these special foods for myself and my friends, but I didn’t want to just end there. I wanted to continue to share this dish with everybody and hopefully introduce them to a cuisine or food that they otherwise wouldn’t consider,” Prada explained in an interview. “[Gastronomia is] how we sustain ourselves, but more importantly, it’s how we share ourselves.”

Both Aubin and Prada found new beginnings in domesticity, which proved the most volatile sphere of our lives throughout the pandemic. The interior of the home became an office, classroom and site of worship as the pandemic, and fear of

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM.

Some of the artists focused on the documenting spaces within the home.

it, trapped people indoors.

No other room in the house embodied this more than the kitchen, which had always held importance as the place where food is made and connection fostered. It is fitting then, that both artists found meaning there during a time when relationships between family, friends and significant others faltered due to the strain of isolation. With COVID-19 abating and life from before the pandemic resuming, it seems that the answer to how we come back together as a community lies in the kitchen and on the dining room table.

While the McGinley Art Show is an annual event, this year’s return to in-person classes and rebirth of campus life lent the event much more weight.

“It’s so nice to be able to see the faces and names of the actual artists that worked to submit the pieces … It definitely rounds out the theme to really, fully mean ‘new beginnings’ by being able to have those people in person to talk about the work they created,” explained Elizabeth Vernon, GSB ’22, head of USG’s Student Experience Committee.

If you missed the art show, don’t fear. The artwork is still displayed in the second story hallway of the new campus center, christening the newest addition to campus with the student culture that Fordham artists have created. See the artwork, and from it gain insight on how you can launch your own new beginning.

CULTURE

February 16, 2022

Page 15

No Rest in “My Year of Rest and Relaxation”

By CASEY DOBSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” opens with a bleak, macabre portrait of the unnamed narrator and her typical routine: wake up in the middle of the afternoon, add to her tab at the bodega around the corner for a coffee, take a handful of sleeping pills, turn on a Turner Classic Movie and doze back to sleep. In less than two pages, Moshfegh sets the tone for her acclaimed 2018 novel: a whole lot of existential thoughts and introspection from the narrator and a whole lot of lackluster events to accompany them.

This seems to be both the appeal and thesis of “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” for those who suffer from depression, feeling the most intense emotions possible can often be met with a lack of motivation to resolve them.

The novel focuses on the depression that the narrator — a self-described gorgeous, tall, thin and wealthy

blonde twenty-something — is all-consumed by in 2000s New York City. There is little plot beyond that. Through a combination of memories and present-tense events, Moshfegh paints the narrator as a woman with few people in her life. The greatest contributions to the story are from Reva, the narrator’s hyper and fiercely loyal best friend, Dr. Tuttle, the wildly unethical psychiatrist and reflections on her previous relationship with former boyfriend Trevor, a miserable finance broker. Moshfegh writes with masterful attention to detail and precision, never neglecting any minor detail in the narrator’s surroundings while maintaining continuity in the grim, empty tone of our main character.

While Moshfegh’s attention to detail and voice is commendable, the rest of the book is practically a rearranged version of the opening pages with different proper nouns and locations: Häagen-Dazs containers instead of coffees, Ambien instead of Nembutal, Long

Island instead of the Upper East Side. While dull and rather uneventful, this seems to be Moshfegh’s point — cushioned by her family inheritance and privilege, even those with access to wealth and success are plagued by the power of their own thoughts. More often than not, this leads them to live in the monotony that readers experience alongside the narrator; nothing happens because nothing can.

Though published almost four years ago, the novel’s themes are scarily fitting nowadays. The book has gained popularity online over the past year, making the reading lists of influencers and celebrities beyond count. This comes as little surprise. Especially in a pandemic, the idea of a self-established routine of eat, sleep, think too hard and then go back to sleep, has become all too familiar among teenagers and young adults. Readers may see some of themselves in the narrator — uncomfortable in their own privilege but unwilling to look outside of it. The narrator is un-

doubtedly flawed but surely relatable. We may not all be self-medicating and sleeping for 16 hours per day inside of an apartment on 76th St.

and Third Ave, but we can all surely relate to the narrator’s feelings of helplessness about what it means to feel stuck, lost or just confused.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM.

“My Year of Rest and Relaxation” conveys existentialism and hopelessness.

True Crime | Vanessa DeJesús

Chilling Case on the Appalachian Trail

By VANESSA DEJESÚS

PRODUCTION EDITOR EMERITA

On May 6, 2008, best friends Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer went on a fishing trip in Dismal Creek, Virginia, on the Appalachian Trail, an area they had frequented for many years. Johnston went fishing alone early on May 6 and intended to meet up with Farmer in the early evening by the campsite.

While fishing, another fisherman, who went by Ricky Williams, introduced himself to Johnston. Both Johnston and Farmer assumed that the man was lying and using a fake name. Johnston described this man as “sort of straggly looking” and gaunt.

While the man looked to have been living in the woods for a couple of days, he was wearing an expensive camouflage jacket and new hiking boots.

Johnston added that while he believed that the man might have been an alcoholic, he seemed harmless. The two spent the whole day fishing together and reportedly caught a lot of trout. Being a friendly guy, Johnston invited his new friend (and his dog) back to his campsite to meet Farmer and stay for dinner.

Back at the campsite, Farmer built a fire and waited for Johnston to return. Williams explained that Johnston had invited him over and sat down

beside the fire with Farmer.

At the time, Farmer reported that he didn’t think anything of the man other than that he was skinny and his dog looked malnourished. When Johnston returned, they ate together, listened to music and generally had a good time.

As darkness started to fall over Dismal Creek, Williams stood up and walked around to stand between Farmer and Johnston. He called for his dog to follow him and walked away from the campsite. The next thing Farmer remembered was a loud boom and his left ear ringing. Williams had shot him in the left side of his face with no warning.

Farmer — 6 feet 4 inches and 325 pounds — staggered but did not collapse. He turned around and saw that the man pointed and shot a .22 caliber gun at Johnston, who fled toward a cluster of trees behind the tent.

When he heard the first gunshot, Johnston started running and later said he never saw the gun. He only realized he had been shot when he reached the trees and stopped to catch his breath.

Johnston felt for the hole in his neck and plugged it with his right index finger out of pure instinct. Then, as he fixed his attention back on the campsite, he saw Farmer face his attacker. Williams shot him in the chest at a range of about 10 feet. Farmer turned on a dime and ran for his car;

Williams followed him, still silent. Finally, Farmer started his Jeep and drove toward the main road. Johnston saw Farmer fleeing in his car and took off toward the road to meet him, crashing through the underbrush while still plugging his bullet wound.

Unknown to him, he had also been shot in the back.

As soon as Farmer turned onto the main road, he saw Johnston standing there, covered in blood. He stopped and let Johnston into the car.

The pair were 5-6 miles away from the nearest house and another 40 miles from the closest hospital.

They sped down a dangerous road with sharp turns, no guard rail and deadly dropoffs at 45 miles per hour. Their escape plan was going relatively well until Farmer began to lose sight in his right eye. At that point, Johnston steered the car while telling Farmer when to work the gas and brake pedals. They made it to the bottom of the mountain, where there were only five houses. At the first house with lights still on, Farmer put the car in park in the middle of the street and Johnston banged on the door, pleading for someone to call the authorities.

Initially, the homeowner thought it might be a home invasion, but Melissa Miller finally came outside after she recognized Farmer as her friend’s ex-boyfriend. She

helped Farmer out of the car and held towels to their wounds. The Giles County Police Department (GCPD) arrived quickly and helicopters brought Farmer and Johnston to the hospital. Johnston recalled a paramedic reporting that he didn’t have a pulse at one point during the flight.

Doctors told Farmer that he was fortunate: the bullet that entered his face had lodged in his sinus cavities, while the one in his chest entered between two ribs, and the muscle mass in his chest had pushed the bullet aside and away from his heart. He was in recovery by 4 a.m. on May 7 when the police interviewed him. The police told him that their attacker had fled the scene in Johnston’s truck (that was left behind with the keys in the ignition), and when the police caught up to him, he drove off an embankment in what they thought was a suicide. Luckily, he lived and the police had him in custody in the hospital.

The man that had attacked Johnston and Farmer was Randall Lee Smith. In 1981, Smith had killed two hikers in the same area earning him the moniker of the Appalachian Trail Killer. Smith plead guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in ’81 for killing Laura Susan Ramsey and Robert Mountford Jr. by shooting, bludgeoning and stabbing them before burying them in

their sleeping bags. He was paroled in 1996.

When the GCPD searched the area, they found a cache of items belonging to Smith.

It was an outstanding aggregate of items, some meaningful, some bewildering and some rather chilling. They found his GED certificate obtained in prison and his birth certificate in the brush. They also found a copy of lawenforcement radio 10-codes and a police scanner, a plastic molded contour map of the area that had several places marked in pencil. They could not explain the cassette tape that GCPD said contained “some kind of satanic ritual.”

Finally, they recovered several eyeglasses, clothes of various styles and sizes, eight pairs of women’s underwear and over 30 knives. They ran DNA tests on his clothes, underwear and knives and came up with nothing. They also searched the areas marked on Smith’s map and could not locate anything suspicious or pertinent.

Four days after his arrest, Smith died in jail of natural causes. which put a verifiable end to the case.

Johnston attributes Smith’s death at 54 years old to karma.

Farmer believes that Smith has claimed more victims than those identified in 1981.

Despite this traumatizing night, Johnston and Farmer still spend evenings fishing together at Dismal Creek.

SPORTS Softball Wins Two at 2022 Grand Canyon Kickoff Tournament

Febraruy 16, 2022

Page 16

By THOMAS AIELLO

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Softball began their 2022 season in the desert at the Grand Canyon Kickoff Classic, which began Friday with a double header matinee against Grand Canyon University (GCU) and Weber State. Junior Devon Miller took center circle for the Rams against fifth year senior Arissa Henderson for the Weber State Wildcats.

It took Weber State just two thirds of an inning to get to Miller, when the Fordham star allowed a solo home run to fifth year Chloe Camarero, pushing the Wildcats out to an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the second, Miller gave up another rocket, this time to senior Lauren Hoe to push Weber State out 2-0.

The Rams would show some life, but it would be the only production they would manufacture in the entire contest; graduate student Briana Pinto drove in sophomore Bella Ayala with an RBI single up the middle.

As Miller took the circle in the top of the fifth, Camarero struck again with a two-run blast pushing the lead to 4-1. Henderson would add an RBI double off senior Makenzie McGrath to add to her complete game in the circle.

Henderson’s final line was 10 strikeouts and three walks, retiring 26 of the 31 batters she faced to go along with only one earned run.

Miller would finish the first game going five and two thirds innings with four earned runs, five punchouts and four walks.

Game two of the matinee against Grand Canyon University saw sophomore Bailey Enoch take the start against sophomore Jacie Hambrick. Like Weber State, GCU struck early as they scored five runs in the first inning. The Rams showed some life as Enoch provided her own run support in the second inning, with freshman Sydney

Wells slicing a single which drove in Enoch and the first run of the game for Fordham.

In the third, Enoch would show off her two way prowess with an RBI single that sent Pinto in to score the second run of the game.

Enoch would finish with two hits, a run scored and one run driven in.

Grand Canyon would tack on five more runs in the game, generating 10 runs on 11 hits total enroute to a 10-2 victory for GCU. Graduate student Denae Chatman would drive in three RBI’s, while sophomore Katelyn Dunckel and graduate student Stephanie Reed would drive in two runs a piece.

Enoch went four and two thirds innings, giving up nine earned runs and walking five batters with no strikeouts in the five inning 10-2 loss. Hambrick went three innings of two run ball while punching out three batters and walking one. Sophomore Kaila Eastburn came in to pitch the final two innings where she struck out three, allowed one hit and walked none.

On Saturday, the Rams broke the dry spell and notched their first win of the season, enacting revenge against Weber State with a 4-1 victory.

Senior gunslinger McGrath went the distance in this game; going seven innings and allowing four hits and one earned run. McGrath also struck out two and walked three after facing 28 batters.

McGrath received some help from the Fordham bats, as Enoch knocked in Pinto in the first inning to push the Rams out 1-0 early against the aforementioned Henderson.

In the fourth inning, Pinto won the game with one swing of the bat. She knocked in a three run double that included junior Amanda Carey, graduate student Kelly Bright and freshman Allie Clark all crossing home plate to push Fordham out 4-0.

Weber State would get one run in via a double from Faith Hoe,

but that would be the only run of this rematch that the Wildcats would produce.

The penultimate and second game of the Saturday double header, would be against a Big 12 opponent the Kansas Jayhawks.

Miller would take the circle for her second game in the Grand Canyon Kickoff Classic. Miller faced off against freshman Olivia Bruno of the Jayhawks.

Once again, the Jayhawks struck early from above with a three-run second inning. Sophomore Lyric Moore knocked in Bruno to make it 1-0. Then, with three runners on, senior Cheyenne Hornbuckle took off for home plate on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. Junior Haleigh Harper had a sacrifice bunt to drive in Moore to make it 3-0 in the second.

After a scoreless third, Fordham got on the board with a tworun home run by Enoch which drove in senior Gigi Speer. That single swing put the Rams right back in the contest 3-2 in the fourth inning.

But Kansas would come roaring back with a homerun by Bruno in the fifth inning, pro-

viding her own run support. The Jayhawks also received help from an RBI single by fifth year senior Shelby Gayre and a sacrifice groundout from Hornbuckle to drive in run number six.

Bruno on the mound tossed six innings and two strikeouts, with her lone hit being the Enoch two-run blast. Sophomore Savanna DeRochers came in to pitch the final inning of the game and close out the 6-2 Jayhawks win.

Miller went the distance for the Rams, tossing seven innings, striking out eight, allowing five earned runs and walking two batters.

The Rams, in the final game of the tournament, would end on a high note, with a 3-2 victory over Northern Colorado Bears. Enoch took center circle once again for the Rams, while Northern Colorado sent junior Erin Caviness to start the game.

Fordham’s offense exploded in a big way, getting help from graduate student Rachel Hubertus’ RBI single that scored junior Michaela Carter in the third inning. Following her round trip, Carter took matters into her own hands with a solo home run in the

fourth to make it 2-0 Fordham.

The Northern Colorado Bears would storm back with their own run support, with freshman Peyton Gale reaching home on a fielder’s choice in the fifth. Then in the sixth, the Bears manufactured another run through a groundout that knocked in junior Jayden Gandert to tie it up at two.

Finally in the top of the seventh, Carter willed the Rams to victory with her walk off homerun to secure the 3-2 victory for the Rams.

That’s not bad timing for Carter’s first career home run at Fordham.

Fordham started their season off 2-3 at the Grand Canyon Kickoff Classic, and while it took them a little bit to wring out the sponge, the Rams found themselves a bit in the games against Weber State and Northern Colorado. Playing such competition in a tournament like this will only benefit the Rams come the regular season.

Their next trip will be to Conway, South Carolina for the Battle at the Beach where the Rams will take on the University of South Carolina, Coastal Carolina and Marshall University next weekend and look to improve upon their 2-3 start to the 2022 season.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Sophomore Bailey Enoch was wreaking havoc from both the batter's box and the pitcher's circle this weekend.

Brooklyn Nets Headline Star-Studded Trade Deadline

By BRETT TULIP

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past Thursday, the yearly NBA trade deadline went down and did not disappoint. Many teams across the league were very eager and hopeful to improve their rosters, with many trades occurring that are sure to have plenty of impact. Although there was an abundance of trades, four specifically had major significance and could shake up the league for years to come.

There is no other place to start but with the Brooklyn Nets, who traded away superstar guard James Harden and reserve forward Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for 25-year-old three-time All-Star Ben Simmons, sharpshooter Seth Curry, four-time rebound leader Andre Drummond and two firstround picks.

With rumors regarding Harden wanting to leave the Nets, and comments from Simmons himself openly saying he wanted to leave the 76ers, this trade benefits both sides.

Brooklyn gets a third star that could have a more natural fit than Harden, as Simmons is much more of a two-

way player, being an absolutely elite defender who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in the 2020-21 season. The Nets will also receive Curry, who will help improve their spacing with his lethal three-point ability and Drummond who can be the serviceable big man that the Nets were sorely lacking.

For Philadelphia, Harden hopes to improve from the slight slump he had experienced with Brooklyn and help the 76ers with their championship dreams playing alongside one of the MVP frontrunners in Joel Embiid.

The next seismic trade that occurred involved two-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis being sent from the Indiana Pacers along with Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a second-round pick to Sacramento for emerging star guard Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. This trade came as a shock to most NBA fans-despite the Pacers having intentions to trade Sabonis, the Kings trading the up-andcoming guard Haliburton was not expected to happen at all.

However, in the short run, this

trade will likely benefit both sides.

Sacramento gets another star in Sabonis to pair with their point guard of the future, De'A aron Fox. Sabonis will help elevate the team with his consistent scoring and great passing. They will look to make a playoff push this season.

For the Pacers, they get a highly efficient young point guard in Haliburton, and Hield who has been a great shooter for the majority of his career. The Pacers will look to develop Haliburton in the future and see if he can turn into an All-Star that could raise the overall ceiling of the team higher than Sabonis ever could.

Another major acquisition includes a former New York Knicks and Mavericks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick being traded to the Wizards for point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and wing Davis Bertans.

This is a curious trade for Dallas, as they trade away Porzingis, someone who hasn’t lived up to expectations, yet was still playing fine enough for the team to have been winning. In return, they get two struggling players that have both played much better at

other points in their careers. In the case of Dinwiddie, while he is talented, is inconsistent. Meanwhile, Bertans is on a large contract and has underperformed in his greatest skill, shooting, while being below average on the defensive end.

Dallas will look to revitalize these two players’ careers as they continue to build around superstar Luka Doncic. As for the Wizards, they receive a talented big man that will likely play center and try to provide more scoring for a team on the fringe of the play-in-tournament and missing their best player, Bradley Beal.

The last major transaction regarded the Portland Trail Blazers trading away longtime complementary star CJ McCollum, while also giving up Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell for a package that includes Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, a first-round pick and two second-round picks. This move signals the end of an era for Portland, as it finally decided to break up the talented yet underachieving backcourt of Damian Lillard and McCollum. The two play-

ers appeared to reach their ceilings in what they could accomplish together, as they always fell short of an NBA Finals appearance. The Blazers traded one good player for a collection of assets that can help them build around Lillard and better prepare them for the future.

For the Pelicans, the move is obvious. They need to get more talent to add to a roster that simply needs more good players to compete once Zion Williamson eventually returns from his injury.

Each and every trade that occurred over the past week will definitely have future ramifications on the NBA's standings, yet only time will reveal the true winners and losers of the 2022 trade deadline.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Harden is pictured.

SPORTS

Page 17

February 16, 2022

Squash Wins Three Out of Four to Conclude Regular Season

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Squash concluded its regular season this past weekend with four home matches at the Lombardi Squash Courts. In what has been an up and down campaign thus far, the Rams look to head into the CSA Team Championship next weekend on a high note.

First up for Fordham was a matchup against the Bucknell University Bisons on Saturday, Feb. 12. Despite starting the contest with a 1-0 lead due to a default from Bucknell in the ninth slot, Fordham came up short, losing just 5-4. The Bisons dominated the top portion of the lineup, winning in slots one through four.

However, the Rams rebounded in the lower slots with big victories from senior Winthrop Reed in fifth position, freshman Sofia Arseniev at sixth and sophomore Nicholas Choo at seventh to even the contest at four. Unfortunately, the Rams couldn’t win the all-important fifth point, as senior Dylan Panichello fell to Bucknell’s Cameron Hill at the eighth slot to seal the victory for the Bisons.

The Rams immediately rebounded later on Saturday with a comprehensive 7-2 win over the University of Pennsylvania club team. Unlike against Bucknell, Fordham started out fast in this match with victories in the top two slots from senior Patrick Rodden and sophomore Henry Frawley to give the Rams an early 2–0 advantage. This success

continued throughout the rest of the lineup, with Reed, Choo, Panichello, junior Caleb Schumacher and freshman Aarav Jhunjhunwala all contributing victories for the Rams.

Fordham carried this momentum into its two matches on Sunday, Feb. 13, resulting in two dominant wins for the Rams. First, the Rams dismantled Lehigh University with a triumphant 9–0 shutout in which the Rams didn’t lose a single set.

The complete sweep involved junior Justin George and freshman Robert Cruikshank to capture their first victories of the weekend. Other successful Rams included Reed and Choo, who added on to their two wins from yesterday with sweeps in the fifth and seventh slots, respectively.

In its final match of the regular season, Fordham defeated an undermanned University of Connecticut team by a final score of 8-1. Uconn only had five players at its disposal, meaning Fordham started the contest with an automatic 4-0 lead. The Rams won four of the five contested games, getting wins from Reed, Panichello, Schumacher and Jhunjhunwala. Reed’s victory made him the only Ram to go a perfect 4-0 over the whole weekend.

The Rams ultimately ended the regular season with a record of 9–11, including three consecutive wins to finish the year. Next, Fordham has their sights set on the CSA Team Championship in Philadelphia beginning Friday, followed by the CSA Individual Championship in March.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

While the regular season has come to an end, the Rams still have championships to win.

Athletes of the Week

Chuba Ohams Jr. Graduate Student Men’s Basketball

It was a historic week for graduate student Chuba Ohams Jr. as he guided the Rams to a 65-54 victory over Duquesne on Saturday.

Ohams notched his 13th double-double of the year scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Ohams also moved up in the Fordham history books, grabbing his 634 career rebound which places him 16th all time and passing program great Steve Samuels. In addition, Ohams recorded his 101st career block, slotting him tenth all time ahead of Darren Deschyver.

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

The Los Angeles Rams put all of their cards on the table for the 2021 season. The team moved on from quarterback Jared Goff this past offseason and acquired Matthew Stafford from Detroit in a package that sent Goff and two first-round picks to the Lions. On the defensive side, they acquired outside linebacker Von Miller from Denver in a midseason trade that saw the Rams give up more picks again.

With the additions of Stafford, Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. to go along with the homegrown talent of Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald, this Rams team was truly in a “win now” mindset.

They did just that. On Sunday, Feb. 13, the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to win Super Bowl LVI in a game that truly went down to the wire. Los Angeles overcame numerous midgame issues to eventually become champions. For one, Beckham, who caught the game’s first touchdown, tore his ACL in the second quarter, sidelining him for the rest of the game. Without Beckham, the Rams struggled on offense for large chunks of the game. Running back Cam Akers had just 21 yards rushing on 13 carries as the Rams had difficulty moving the ball on the ground.

When the offense wasn’t moving the ball, the defense stepped up to keep the Rams in the game.

Donald and Miller contributed two sacks each and tormented Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow all night long. In all, Burrow was sacked seven times by the Rams pass rush.

With six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, LA began their game-winning drive. Trailing 2016, Stafford connected with Kupp three times on the final drive, including the winning touchdown on a

Each week, The Fordham Ram’s Sports section honors two athletes for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”

goal line fade route. Kupp finished the day with 92 yards and two touchdowns, earning him the coveted Super Bowl MVP award to cap off one of the greatest seasons by a wide receiver in NFL history.

Burrow and the Bengals still had plenty of time left for a potential game-tying drive with over a minute left and two timeouts at their disposal. The Bengals moved the ball to midfield, but the Rams elite defensive front came up clutch, stopping Cincinnati on two consecutive short-yard situations to win the Super Bowl for the Rams.

Donald made the game-winning play on fourth and one by pressuring Burrow and forcing a wild throw that landed incomplete, sending LA fans into a frenzy and cementing his legacy as a Rams legend.

A common idea across the NFL for the past few seasons was that Goff was holding back this high-powered Rams offense from reaching its full potential. It was also widely thought that Stafford was being held back by the Lions.

This season has been evidence that both of those statements were true, and that Stafford and the Rams were a match made in heaven. It is safe to say that Goff wouldn’t have connected on some of the clutch throws that Stafford made this postseason. That’s not to say that Goff is a bad quarterback—Stafford is just on another level. In an offense like the Rams, he truly has the ability to shine for the first time in his career.

With rumors of Donald’s retirement swirling, this was the year that the Rams had to win it all. LA hasn’t had a first round pick since 2016 and won’t have one for the next two seasons as well. The team was assembled to win a championship this season. If they hadn’t, it is possible that the window for the Rams to win with this core would have been close to sealing shut.

But LA’s superstars made big plays when they needed to, helping to bring home the second Super Bowl in Ram’s franchise history.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Matthew Stafford and the Rams are Super Bowl champions.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Wednesday Feb. 16

Thursday Feb. 17

Friday Feb. 18

Saturday Feb. 19

Massachusetts Amherst 7 p.m.

Dayton 2 p.m.

Squash

CSA Team

CSA Team

CSA Team

Championship

Championship

Championship

TBA

Men’s Swim & Dive

Baseball Softball

TBA

Queens College 5 p.m.

Men’s Tennis Women’s Swim & Dive

Sunday Feb. 20 George Mason 2:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball

Graduate student Kathryn Kelly set a new standard this week by breaking the Fordham women’s long jump record by jumping 5.85m. The previous record was held by Kerstin Greene when she jumped 5.39m back in 2007. Kelly also placed top ten in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dash where she placed ninth in both races.

Kathryn Kelly Graduate Student Track & Field

The Rams Went All In. It Worked.

Atlantic 10 Championship 1 p.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 1 p.m.

TBA

Marist 1 p.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship 10 a.m.

Texas A&M 7:30 p.m.

Texas A&M 3 p.m.

Texas A&M 1 p.m.

South Carolina & Coastal Carolina 12:30/5:30 p.m.

South Carolina & Coastal Carolina 12:30/5:30 p.m.

Marshall 10 a.m.

Monday Feb. 21

Tuesday Feb. 22

SPORTS

Page 18

Team USA Men’s Hockey Hopeful for Gold

By NICHOLAS RAPTIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The USA men’s national hockey team is off to a great start in Beijing, winning its first three games of the tournament and securing the top spot in Group A. The Americans steamrolled China 8-0 in their first game and then went on to win two closer matchups against rival Canada (4-2) and Germany (3-2). Some may be surprised at how well they have performed so far, given how young and inexperienced they are.

The USA team is largely composed of college players, and no National Hockey League (NHL) players are on the roster. Before the Olympics, it was expected NHL players would be able to compete overseas, but due to issues with COVID-19, the league pulled out at the last minute. However, it does not appear that the lack of NHL players is hurting the team too much right now.

Thursday night’s game against China started slow, with only one goal scored in the first period. After that, the floodgates opened with three goals scored in the second period and four more goals scored in the third. Forward Sean Farrell, who plays for Harvard University, had a stand-out game contributing five points. Farrell had a hat trick with three goals and then tacked on two assists. While the team undeniably played great offensively, it was the defense by goalie Drew Commesso that secured the shutout. Commesso had an im-

pressive 29 saves and, at 19 years old, he is the youngest goalie to ever start for the men’s national team. This is the first time in Olympic history that China has had a men’s hockey team. Last year, there were doubts about whether or not the Chinese team was even capable of competing on an Olympic level.

After this performance, it seems that those concerns may have been warranted.

Team USA faced stiffer competition against Canada but was still able to win against them for the first time since 2010. On paper, the U.S. seemed to be outmatched against their longtime rivals.

While most players from the U.S. are in the NCAA, the Canadian team is equipped with players like Eric Staal, who played in the NHL for almost two decades. Canada took an early lead in the game, scoring within the first two minutes of the game. But by the end of the first period, the Americans were on top with a 2-1 lead. It appeared at one point the Canadians may have had a chance, but two costly mistakes in the third period allowed team USA to pull ahead and make the score 4-2. The young American team proved it could hold its own against anybody with this win.

Germany also proved to be more competitive than China, but the U.S. won with a final score of 3-2 nonetheless. The Americans fell behind early, similar to the game against Canada. Germany’s leading

scorer, Patrick Hager, scored during a power play only two minutes into the game. Team USA not only cut the deficit but pulled ahead 3-1 by the third period. The final goal was scored by Nathan Smith, a junior at the University of Minnesota and the leading scorer in Division I NCAA hockey. Germany did score late in the third but was not able to tie the game before the end of regulation. Commesso recorded 24 saves, marking another impressive performance after the game against China.

With three wins under their belt, Team USA is ready to head into the quarterfinals against Slovakia. Since they earned the top spot in Group A, they are given a bye and will play again on Wednesday. The U.S. has not won a gold medal in hockey since 1980, when it famously beat the Russian national team in the semifinal round. In fact, the last time the U.S. medaled at all was in 2010, when they earned a silver medal. Although it is still too soon to tell how far this team can go, it is off to a fantastic start.

This is a perfect opportunity for many of these young players to show off their skills on an international stage and, hopefully, win for a team that has underperformed in recent years. If they continue to play at the same level, it would not be hard to imagine them bringing home the gold medal for the red, white and blue.

February 16, 2022

Men’s Tennis Falls at Brown

By LOU ORLANDO STAFF WRITER

Coach Nelson Peña’s inaugural year leading the Fordham men’s tennis team has posed many challenges. He has already had to face two Ivy League opponents on the road. This past Saturday, the Rams’ latest contest brought them to the fourth floor of the Paul Bailey Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The roof of the Brown facility consists of teflon-coated fiberglass which allows natural light to shine through, providing a picturesque scene on a sunny February Saturday.

While the backdrop was pretty, the results were not. Similar to two weeks ago at Cornell, the Rams were only able to grab a single set in singles and doubles play combined. That set was won by Oregon transfer Gio Soemarno. The junior has just now launched his Fordham career after being ruled academically ineligible last semester by the NCAA’s “progress towards degree” rule, commonly known as the “4060-80” rule. The rule mandates that athletes must complete 40% of their degree by the end of their second year, 60% of their degree by their third year and 80% of their degree by the end of their fourth year. Soemarno transferred into the Gabelli School of Business, which has far more stringent requirements than the degree Soemarno was pursuing at Oregon. Thus, in order to become

academically qualified at Fordham, he would have to complete 40% of his Gabelli degree before being cleared to play. Now that he has successfully completed his fall semester course work and been ruled eligible, Soemarno has quickly emerged as a valuable player for a Rams team that has been overmatched at times this season.

Last week against Quinnipiac, Soemarno didn’t give up a single game in his win over Bryan Schick.

While this was in the six spot against an opponent Fordham expected to beat, that level of consistency bodes well for the rest of his debut season at Fordham.

This upcoming Saturday, the Rams will look to get back on track at home against St. Francis Brooklyn.

That 3 p.m. matchup will be played in Harrison, New York at the Life Time Athletic Club, Fordham’s current winter home court.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham came up short against Brown.

Rams Split Up To Compete In Two Invitationals

By MADDIE BIMONTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

In a busy weekend for the Rams, the men and women’s track & field team participated in both the Rutgers Invitational at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York and the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston. While the Rams managed to secure one first place victory, both teams brought home multiple top 10 finishes.

The sole first place finish came from graduate student Kathryn Kelly in the long jump event on day one of the Rutgers Invitational.

Kelly won with a school record mark of 5.92m, breaking the previous mark of 5.85m set by Kerstin Greene in 2007. Also adding a top 10 finish in long jump was sophomore Skylar Harris with a mark of 5.39m.

Four Rams went on to compete in the 400m, led by senior Dominique Valentine, who posted a season-best time of 58.25 seconds, coming in 13th overall. Sophomore Michele Daye recorded the next best time of 1:00.77 coming in 34th overall, followed by junior Ruby Avila in 41st (1:02.40) and sophomore Sophia Crucs in 46th (1:03.12).

Kelly also competed in the day two semifinals of the 60m dash, along with teammate junior Kyla Hill. Kelly posted a time of 7.73 seconds and Hill came in at 7.78 seconds. The last women’s event on day one was the 1000m, where sophomore Abigail Llach was 23rd overall in 3:07.21 and senior Angelica Piccini finished 25th in 3:10.52.

On the men’s side, the Rams had

a couple strong performances with senior Alec Wargo, who took eighth place in the weight throw with a mark of 14.17m, and sophomore Justin Lombardi, who was eighth in the 1000m (2:30.83).

In the 400m, two Rams secured placements. Juniors Erik Brown and Safo Kirton placed 17th (51.06 seconds) and 26th (54.38 seconds), respectively. The 60m dash allowed senior Manuel Alfonso Guzman to finish 21st overall in a time of 7.32 seconds. Wrapping up day one was the long jump, where Rams sophomores Justin Rhee and Eric Galante both secured top 15 finishes at seventh and 13th, respectively.

Day two of the Rutgers Invitational brought more strong finishes from a lot of the track & field Rams. One Ram in particular, Kelly, had a busy weekend. Kelly added another strong performance to the books by making the finals of the 60m dash, qualifying for the final with a 7.69 second finish.

Her teammate Hill finished in 7.83 seconds for 15th place in the semifinals, failing to make a place for the finals. Kelly then posted a time of 7.80 seconds in the final for ninth place overall. Kelly and Harris both participated in the 200m dash, with Kelly locking down tenth overall (24.91 seconds) and Harris in 30th (26.17 seconds).

Three women went on to race in the 800m with Llach being the top performer in 25th place (2:22.06).

Sophomore Marin Bogulski was close behind in 28th place (2:22.53) and Piccini was 32nd (2:25.04). The last event of the day, the 4x400 relay, featured runners Daye, Valentine, Avila and Bogulski who finished tenth overall (4:06.25).

Wrapping up the invitational, the men competed in six events with three top ten finishes. The 4x400 group of Brown, Kirton, Lombardi and freshman Isaiah James, finished ninth with a time of 3:28.02. Rhee took ninth in the triple jump for the Rams. Brown and Lombardi also showed their skills in two individual events. Brown registered a time of 1:21.22 in the 600m, good for fourth overall, while Lombardi was 29th in the 800m (1:59.82).

The final competitors for the Rutgers Invitational were junior John Arvantides in the 3000m, who took 28th with a time of 9:24.08, and Galante posting a time of 23.85 seconds in the 200m, finishing 34th.

However the Rams were not done yet, as they also participated in the BU Valentine Invitational this past weekend. The Fordham women opened up day one with senior Helen Connolly in the 800m, posting a season-best and ECAC qualifying time of 2:13.72, landing her in 45th overall. Senior Jilli Jones joined her in ECAC qualifying by posting a time of 2:14.22, locking down 49th place.

More Rams added placements in the mile run, in the form of senior Bridget Alex and junior Nicoleta Papavasilakis.

Alex finished in 114th, recording a season-best time of 5:05.52, while Papavasilakis clocked in at 5:21.19, landing her in 176th.

Over in the field, senior Casey Metzler had her best throwing performance of the season, posting a mark of 15.41m, allowing her to finish 11th overall. In the shot put, junior Amanda Gurth finished 27th overall with a distance of 10.48m.

The final event for the Rams was the 3000m run, where Fordham saw yet another season-best performance.

Graduate student Germaine Harbaugh posted a season-best time of 10:08.84, finishing in 98th place, followed by freshman Madeleine Ryan in 160th and junior Alexandra Thomas in 163rd.

Day two saw only one competition for the women with t​he women’s distance medley relay. In that relay, Fordham’s team of Jones, Connolly, junior Taylor Mascetta and senior Bridget Alex finished ninth in an ECAC qualifying time of 12:01.09.

While day one did not feature any events for the men, day two featured tons of great placements for the men’s team. The men added four new IC4A qualifying times, which began with sophomore Steven Zucca taking fifth in the 5000m run in an IC4A qualifying and season-best time of 14:42.37.

In the mile run, freshman Roldofo Sanchez, who already qualified for the

IC4As, improved his season-best time of 4:11.94. Sophomore Daniel Asher also posted an IC4A qualifying time of 4:14.38. Senior Jeremiah LaDuca qualified for the IC4A Championship by finishing 19th overall in the 800m in a season-best time of 1:50.40, followed by senior Zalen Nelson in 29th (1:51.66).

The last of the IC4A qualifiers was senior Brandon Hall, as he improved his 3000m time to 8:18.52.

In the 3000m, freshman Nathan Bezuneh posted his best time of the season at 8:32.70, which was 26th, while junior Colin Flood came in at 8:35.16 at 35th. Lastly for the Rams was graduate student Andrew Ramsammy, who tied for 12th overall in the high jump, clearing 1.86m.

The Rams now face a huge competition in two weeks: the Atlantic 10 Championship in Virginia, where hopefully they can bring home a massive win for Fordham.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Rams showed out impressively on the track this past weekend.

SPORTS

February 16, 2022

News & Notes Fordham Women’s Soccer Hires a New Coach

Last week, Fordham Athletics Director Ed Kull announced Magnus Nilerud as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program, making him the fourth head coach in team history. No stranger to college soccer, Nielrud is coming off an illustrious 23-year run at the University of Bridgeport. There, he posted a 295–126–27 record, making 11 NCAA appearances, winning three NCAA Regionals and also winning the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2018. Nilerud is a rare talent, as he is one of only two active coaches in the East region with at least 250 career victories and ranks in the top 15 in the nation for alltime winningest active coaches by wins and win percentage. In terms of awards, Nilerud has been named two-time NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year (in 2015 and 2018), a threetime Regional Coach of the Year (in 2011, 2015 and 2018) and an eight-time East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year.

Hans Zdolsek Wins Swedish Player of the Year After a season filled with accolades for the men’s water polo team, graduate student Hans Zdolsek adds another award to their growing list of achievements. Zdolsek was named the 2021 Swedish Men’s Water Polo Player of the Year. An Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Honorable Mention All-American, Zdolsek received First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference East for the second straight season in 2021 and was the first Ram to be named MAWPC East Most Valuable Player. Zdolsek was then the MAWPC Championship Most Outstanding Player which Fordham won for the first time in team history. He finished the year with 47 goals, 38 assists, 43 steals and a team-best 19 blocks. His 47 goals tied for fourth on the team with 12 coming on the man-advantage, which was fourth on the squad.

Page 19

Varsity Scores & Stats Softball Grand Canyon Classic Fordham Weber State

1 5

Fordham Grand Canyon [5 Innings]

2 10

Weber State Fordham

1 4

Kansas Fordham

2 6

N. Colorado Fordham

3 2

Track & Field Rutgers Invitational & BU Valentine Invitational No Team Scoring

Women’s Basketball Rhode Island Fordham A. DeWolfe 10 PTS

58 43

Men’s Basketball Fordham 66 Duquesne 54 C. Ohams 18 PTS, 14 REBS Fordham VCU J. Navarro 20 PTS

61 66

Squash Fordham Bucknell

4 5

Fordham Penn Club

7 2

Fordham Lehigh

9 0

Fordham Conneticut

8 1

Men’s Tennis Fordham St. Francis Brooklyn

1 4

Fordham Brown

0 7

Women’s Tennis Fordham LIU

2 5

Fordham St. Francis Brooklyn

7 0

–Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

–Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Softball continues their road games this week.

Women’s Tennis Splits Weekend Series

By LOU ORLANDO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham Women’s Tennis concluded its two-week homestand with a pair of games this weekend. The team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, losing 5-2 to Long Island University (LIU), but rebounded quickly, defeating St. Francis College 7-0 on Sunday.

They sit at 3-1 as they prepare for a month-long road stretch.

Fordham entered the weekend coming off a dominant 6-1 win last Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson, but struggled against a very talented LIU team. LIU held Fordham to just two singles points, winning the remaining four singles matchups and two of the three doubles matchups to earn the doubles point.

Carlota Casasampere Escoda and Nicole Li were handed their first losses in singles play while Avery Aude and Lorraine Bergmann also took losses in #1 and #2 singles respectively. The duo of Valeriya Deminova and Bergmann as well as that

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Women’s Tennis battled hard this weekend.

of Casasampere Escoda and Aude fell in their doubles matchups.

Deminova won her third straight matchup in singles while sophomore Eleni Fosoula continued to impress, winning both her singles matchup and her doubles matchup paired with Rachelle Yang.

Fordham bounced back quickly against St. Francis College, which entered Sunday winless at 0-4, coming off two straight 7-0 losses to start the spring season. However, Fordham was more than willing to hand them their third straight 7-0 loss, winning the doubles point and all six singles matchups.

Senior Genevieve Quenville earned her wins in both singles and doubles play in her first appearance this season and Bergmann earned her first win in singles play. Fasoula is off to a red hot 6-0 start this season with three singles wins and three doubles wins. Rachelle Yang is also undefeated in combined singles and doubles play.

This weekend series marks the end of a brief three-game homestand. Fordham hits the road for a four-game stretch, beginning with Boston University on Feb. 26. While the road trip includes a game in Flushing, New York against Queens College, Fordham won’t technically have another home game for about a month as they go off to play Drexel University, Quinnipiac University and Queens College .

They’ll return to Life Time Athletic on March 13 to face Siena College.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Men’s Baketball looks to rebound after a loss on Tuesday.

Women’s Basketball Falls at Rhode Island

By KALEY BELL

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR EMERITA

Historically, the Fordham Rams have always taken the win against the Rhode Island Rams. In their last eight meetings, Fordham consistently came out on top. However, history has been ignored and Rhode Island took the win for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Fordham’s women’s basketball team hadn’t taken a loss since Jan. 23 against Dayton, but this past Sunday, Fordham came up short, losing 58-43. The Rhode Island Rams came into the game ready to defend their home court and their 12 game winning streak.

And they were able to do so.

Rhode Island also boasted an undefeated conference record coming into the contest. Fordham had over a week of rest heading into the matchup following a road

win against Duquesne on Feb. 5.

The team knew that Rhode Island would be tough to beat, but with their own winning streak to defend, they were ready to show the opponent all they had.

Throughout the whole game, the Fordham Rams struggled to make shots. Fordham shot just 28.2% from the field and 20% from three point range, highlighting their difficulties on the offensive end.

Senior Asiah Dingle and junior Anna DeWolfe had the most points for the team, each with 10, as they found themselves outscored by Rhode Island’s top players. Rhode Island was able to take advantage of the offday that Fordham had. The Rhody Rams had 40 rebounds as a team, 31 of these being defensive rebounds.

This created the scoring opportunities that Rhode Island needed in order to defeat Fordham.

Shooting and rebounds do not account for the whole story. Rhode Island had difficulty with the ball themselves as they had 16 turnovers.

Fordham was unable to convert these turnovers into points, and it cost them the game. On the same end, Fordham had 13 turnovers that pushed the Rhode Island Rams to add to their winning streak.

With the loss, Fordham falls to 16-6 in the season and 7-3 in conference play, while Rhode Island improves to 20-3 and a perfect 10-0 in conference play.

Rhody sits atop the Atlantic-10 conference, while Fordham is slightly behind in fourth place.

Fordham is back in action again to lock down a win on Wednesday to face the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Minutemen in Amherst, Massachusetts. The game starts at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+ and on WFUV radio.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The women’s basketball team had their three game winning streak snapped against Rhode Island on Sunday.

SPORTS

Page 20

February 16, 2022

Men's Basketball Upends Duquesne, Falls to VCU at Rose Hill Gym

By ALEXANDER WOLZ SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Two very different opponents yielded two different outcomes for Fordham Men’s Basketball. The Rams returned to the win column on Saturday with a strong victory over Duquesne University and followed it up with a one-sided defeat against their Ram rivals Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) this past Tuesday. The Rams now sit at 11-13 on the year, and 4-7 in the Atlantic 10.

Fordham entered Saturday’s contest against Duquesne aiming to take away some positives from an otherwise challenging three game road trip. It started with a 72-69 loss against Saint Joseph’s, a game that by all accounts, Fordham will feel they should have won. Last Tuesday’s meeting against St. Bonaventure had told a different story as the preemptive A-10 favorites handed Fordham its worst loss of the season, 76-51.

Seeing an opponent they had already beaten brought some recollections of the basketball Fordham was playing a little over the month ago. Even without graduate guard Darius Quisenberry, the Rams’ leading scoring threat, Fordham withstood the Dukes, 65-54.

Some may immediately point to the quality of the opponent compared to others Fordham has faced.

Duquesne entered Saturday riding an eight game losing streak to fall to the bottom of the A-10, sitting 6-15 overall, 1-8 in conference.

However, as has been proven time and time again throughout this college basketball season, especially in the A-10, each opponent must be respected the same. That has been Fordham’s approach all year long and it paid off against Duquesne in

one of the team’s best collective efforts yet.

Countless categories prove that to be the case. Take a 48-25 advantage in the rebounding battle, an area Fordham has lived and died by this year. Graduate forward Chuba Ohams led the charge there with 14, combined with 18 points for yet another double double. Add in another eight rebounds from sophomore Abdou Tsimbila, a career-high, and those two alone nearly matched Duquesne on the boards.

Shooting finally picked up the pace, too. Fordham shot it 41% overall, an equal number from deep and nearly 89% from the free throw line. Most importantly, that did not come from just a single player. Four Rams finished in double figures, as alongside Ohams, junior Kyle Rose dropped in 10 points and graduate guard Josh Colon-Navarro poured in another 15.

Then there is sophomore Antrell Charlton, tasked with raising his game in the wake of Quisenberry’s injury and doing so by hitting double figures for a second consecutive game with 11.

Alongside scoring, each player contributed to the game in a number of other ways. The aforementioned rebounding is one; Colon Navarro grabbing five and Rose and Charlton securing six apiece. Sophomore Pat Kelly added four off the bench and the team had 16 offensively, tying a season-high.

Charlton led the way in assists with six there, too, and Rose dished out another five. All together, the Rams assisted on 16 of its 25 made baskets. Defensively, the Rams once again shut down their opposing team’s best player, limiting Primo Spears to just eight points on another difficult shooting night.

All of that had contributed to an

important victory for the Rams.

They led by 10 at the half, 34-24, and fought off each of the Dukes’ second half runs to preserve an 11 point margin. It appeared as if things would even up late, but as they did against Rhode Island, Fordham stood its ground.

It’s yet another sign that though things have been challenging at times, Fordham’s entire roster is worthy of competing at the A-10 level. As the team continues to battle short of full strength, each of those contributions will be just as valuable as the next. When it all clicks together, it can result in a win, regardless of who they come against.

However, it took a bit too long for that same fortune for Fordham on Tuesday as the home Rams could not maintain their winning ways against A-10’s now secondbest, VCU, who improved to 8-4 in conference following a closer-thanexpected 66-61 victory.

It was a tale of two halves, as has been the case much of this season, with a dismal first on both ends of the ball countered by a resounding effort in the second to cut a lead that once grew to as much as 17 down to just single digits.

Fordham allowed 40 points in the opening frame to the conference’s worst offense — scoring just under 65 points per game — 26 of which came in the paint. Much of that production stemmed from a press defense, which VCU has hounded opponents with in recent history.

Coach Neptune had discussed that defense as the number one thing that differentiated VCU from any other opponent Fordham has played, saying, “It’s hard to mimic that speed and athleticism no matter what you do.” Because of that, he

felt Fordham was, expectedly, a bit stunned in the beginning.

As Neptune often says, the goal is to play a complete 40 minutes.

Once Fordham found its footing, things began to change.

Fordham responded with a much cleaner, more aggressive second half, outscoring VCU 3526. The difference came in taking care of the ball and adjusting to that defense. After committing 15 turnovers in the first half, Fordham responded with just two in the second, trimming VCU’s 18 points off turnovers down to just four.

Another disappointing shooting night marred that effort, however, sitting at just above 30% in each half and an abysmal 1-12 from deep in the second alone. Ohams, whom Neptune credited as the “heart and soul of this team,” accumulated 14 points and 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the year, despite committing six turnovers.

Colon-Navarro’s contributions, offensively and defensively, resonated most. The senior guard scored a season-high 20 points, including a

perfect 9-9 at the line. Collectively, Fordham converted 21 of 27 attempts there. He also played a large part in holding VCU to just 30% shooting in the second half. “He’s playing a little desperate, which is a good thing,” Neptune said. He also credited that defense, stating, “Josh is one of the best on-ball defenders, I think, in the entire country.”

His contributions have proved especially valuable as Quisenberry continues to navigate a day-to-day injury, representing the one missing piece Fordham likely feels they could use for a game like this one to end up differently.

Fordham will hope to see his return as it hosts two more games at home, welcoming George Mason University on Sunday followed by a Wednesday night contest with La Salle University.

Fordham’s goal is to play harder than its opponent, regardless of the opponent. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a home game, an away game, a championship game, the first game of the year. It’s all the same to us.” Regardless of the outcome, Fordham has certainly met that expectation.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Ohams once again had a very strong week with two more double-doubles.

Fordham Baseball Looks To Bounce Back in 2022

By MADDIE BIMONTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After numerous seasons impacted by COVID-19, Fordham Ram Baseball hopes to return to the top spot in the Atlantic 10 standings.

With the 2021 schedule featuring multiple postponements and cancellations, 2022 looks to be a brighter spot for baseball. 2021 was certainly not what the team hoped for. Finishing fourth in the A-10 with an 11-9 conference record, this 2022 season hopes to bring a comeback to the A-10 Championship.

“Our guys will be excited to play and improve what they can do,” said head coach Kevin Leighton. The team has its work cut out for it as it plans to travel for three three-game series to start the year.

Major League talent just left Fordham in the form of pitcher Matt Mikulski, who went 50th overall in the second round of the MLB Draft.

That marks the second-highest draft pick in program history (he signed with the San Francisco Giants).

“Losing a guy like Matt Mikulski, I don’t know if you can really expect to replace that with just one guy,” said Leighton. “When you look at

his numbers, they just kinda blow you away, especially when I looked back at last year. So, I’m just hoping that some guys can step up.”

Other graduating players include Nick Labella, who led the team in slugging and Alvin Melendez, who finished his career sixth all-time at Fordham in stolen bases (76), seventh in career ERA (2.36) and tied for fifth in career saves (14). The team also said goodbye to one of its relief pitchers Alex Hernandez and a critical piece of their outfield in Colton Snelling.

However, the team adds 11 new freshmen into the mix and brings back strong hitting. Four out of five of the top hitters during the 2021 season make their return this year.

Graduate student C.J. Vazquez returns this year, coming off an impressive 2021, leading the team with a .312 batting average. Helping him are senior outfielders Jason Coules and Jake Guercio. Coules led the team with 46 hits and Guercio led the team in on-base percentage at .432.

Freshmen entering the roster incude pitchers Robbie Stewart, who impressed coaches on the mound

during fall season, and Connor Haywood, coming off of an injury and a recipient of the Newtown Cy Young Award. Rounding out the freshman pitching is Anthony Scarlata, once a two-time second-team All-Skyland Conference pick in New Jersey.

Looking forward to the season schedule, the Rams will face tough competition from much larger programs. The Rams will face Atlantic Coast Conference team Virginia Tech for a road series later this February as well as Florida Atlantic University before returning home to the Bronx for matchups against Long Island University and Marist College.

The Rams kick off A-10 play on April 1 against Saint Louis. Other A-10 competitors include the University of Massachusetts, whom Fordham took two out of the three against in 2021, and St. Bonaventure, who played the Rams eight times that season, with the Rams winning six out of eight of those games.

The team registered impressive numbers last year, not only on the field but in the classroom. Just recently, Fordham Athletics released its graduation rates for athletes, and

the men posted a 100% graduation rate in the program. “I’ve graduated every guy that we’ve ever recruited, and that’s something that we just really take pride in,” said Leighton.

In what is sure to be an exciting season for the Rams, the team is ready to go out and leave it all on the field. “It’s definitely gonna be a tough start. I think the good thing is we have an older group, especially

positionally, that know what to expect, and they’re not going to be intimidated,” said Leighton.

The Rams’ season begins Friday with a game against Texas A&M University in a three-game series and will return to Houlihan Park for a one-game series against Sacred Heart University on the 23rd with first pitch at 3 p.m. on Mar. 9.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Fordham Baseball’s season kicks off this weekend in Texas.