Volume 92 Issue 10

APPLICATION INCREASE BODES WELL FOR FORDHAM - PAGE 7

INVISIBLE CHILDREN SCREENING - PAGE 3

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2010

APRIL 28, 2010

VOLUME 92, ISSUE 10

Irish President to Give Commencement Address Mary McAleese, Eighth President of the Republic of Ireland, Will Speak to Class of 2010 in 165th Commencement Ceremony at Keating Hall on May 22

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

The speaker for this year’s commencement will be President of Ireland Mary McAleese, Fordham announced on April 21. McAleese will also be receiving an honorary doctorate of laws.

McAleese, president since November 1997, is both the second woman to ascend to Ireland’s highest elected office and the second Irish president to speak at Fordham’s commencement ceremony.

In both cases, Mary Robinson, who was president between 1990 and 1997 and spoke at Fordham in 1995, precedes her; a paver on the Keating Hall steps bears Robinson’s name.

McAleese, a lifelong Roman Catholic, was born in Belfast in 1951, making her the first Irish president born in Northern Ireland.

Brought up in Catholic primary and secondary school, she studied law at Queen’s University at Belfast and Trinity College Dublin before joining the bar in both Ireland and Northern Ireland and becoming the Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College. Inci-

dentally, she followed Robinson into this position as well.

Apart from her academic and legal pursuits, McAleese had a career in journalism, working at RTÉ, Ireland’s national radio station, for several years before entering politics. From 1987 to 2004, she was a member of Fianna Fáil, Ireland’s center-right-wing party, before going independent for her reelection in 2004.

As a public official, McAleese served in numerous positions, including a delegate for the Catholic Church to 1984’s New Ireland Forum, a Catholic delegate to the Northern Ireland Commission on Contentious Parades in 1996 and attending 1995’s White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland; this last position led to a place at the next year’s Pittsburgh Conference, which discussed the same matters.

Additionally, before her election, McAleese served as director of Channel Four Television (a British public TV station), Northern Ireland Electricity and the Royal Group of Hospitals Trust, in addition to being a member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas at its founding.

McAleese, whose political po-

sitions include an opposition to abortion and divorce, has been married since 1976 to Martin McAleese, with whom she has three adult children.

Since her election, McAleese has joined the Council of Women World Leaders, which is an association of current and former female presidents and prime ministers and been largely concerned with “building bridges” and making connections in her presidency.

In particular, she has reached out to her homeland of Northern Ireland, regularly making visits to the country and welcoming Northern Irish delegates to Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish presidential residence. In all cases, she has been working to improve relations between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In May 2005, McAleese spoke at Villanova University’s commencement ceremony, and at the University of Notre Dame the following year. She is now the longest-serving elected female head of state, following the retirement of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in November 2005.

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, said

COURTESY OF ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN

In office since 1997, Mary McAleese is the second female president of Ireland.

Her predecessor, Mary Robinson, spoke at Fordham’s 1995 commencement.

in a University press release that he is “deeply honored” that President McAleese will be speaking at commencement.

“In her leadership, integrity and

scholarship, President McAleese is the model to which our graduates should aspire,” he said. “We look forward to bringing her into the Fordham family.”

Steve Forbes Lectures on Fiscal Policy, Free Market Businessman and Executive of Forbes Media Empire Delivers Fordham University College Republicans’ Second Annual Spring Lecture at Fordham Prep two campaigns for President, in 1996 and 2000. He is still politically active, with donations to various Republican candidates totaling over $7 million in the past 15 years.

Students were unsure what to expect exactly from Mr. Forbes’ speech.

“I expect an intellectual conversation on capitalism and the current state of the economy,” Chris Gold, CBA ’13, said.

“I look forward to an insightful discussion on the benefits of capitalism,” Dominick Capolarello, CBA ’13, said.

Non-business-oriented students, however, were slightly more skeptical, wondering what a man who had made his fortune from the legacy of his family’s publishing empire could say that would be relevant to the average student.

Following introductions from Fordham College Republicans VicePresident Joe Theriault, FCRH ’11, and President Katie Poedtke, FCRH ’10, Forbes took the stage to deliver that message.

Right off the bat, Forbes delivered the reason for writing his most recent book, How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are

the Best Answer in Today’s Economy, the considerable misunderstanding regarding democratic capitalism.

He explained the unfair tactic taken toward capitalism, where critics demand that capitalists “give back,” as though what they have gained was not earned.

“Giving back implies that you took something that wasn’t yours,” Forbes said, reminding listeners of the stereotype of the evil capitalist, out to make financial gain from others’ ruin.

He stated that the only way to truly succeed in a free market is to provide a service or a product that people want, and that capitalism is not, by definition, an allocation of scarce resources.

He used examples of successful capitalists who gained more by distributing to all classes than by pandering to the rich, like Henry Ford and his creation of the assembly line and Steve Jobs’ contributions to the personal computer.

“Capitalism is about creativity,” Forbes said.

His main point was that capitalists stand to win by the success of their products and services.

To refute those who called for

Sports PAGE 24

Opinions PAGE 5

Culture PAGE 13

Arizona Cardinals draft Rams quarterback John Skelton.

Point-counterpoint: MGMT as the Spring Weekend band.

Conan O’Brien switching networks to TBS.

By SAMMIE LAZAR STAFF WRITER

The enthusiasm for Steve Forbes’ arrival to the stage was palpable, as students poured into the Fordham Prep Leonard Auditorium. College Republicans from not only Fordham, but also other local schools like John Jay, NYU, Columbia and St. John’s were waiting to hear the man who calls himself and other staffers of his magazine “tools for capitalism” speak on how the free market is the only way that the American people can be saved from our current crisis.

Forbes is known for being one of the most reputable voices on capitalism, helming Forbes magazine, which holds the lists of the most successful people in the world in addition to being a beacon for capitalists to turn to.

Forbes is not merely a famous publishing scion, however. When Forbes attended Princeton, he founded Business Today, which is currently the largest student-run newspaper in the world. His expertise in the magazine world, especially in the financial magazine sector, has made him an icon for capitalists, and his views on the flat tax and gold standard led to

SEE FORBES ON PAGE 3

INSIDE PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Sponsored by the Fordham University College Republicans and Finance Society, entrepreneur Steve Forbes spoke at Fordham Prep’s Leonard Theater on April 27 to a packed auditorium of students, staff and guests.

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

SECURITY

BRIEFS

April 21, E. Fordham Road and Elm Street An alumna reported that she was walking eastbound on the south side of Fordham road when she was approached from behind by an 18-year old male who grabbed her cellphone out of her right hand while she was talking on it. She walked onto campus and reported the incident to security, who canvassed the area with negative results.

April 21, Off-Campus, 8:30 p.m.

An unidentified male threw rocks and a bottle at the guard booth near Lorillard Place.

Security responded to the incident, and the male fled the scene.

April 23, Faculty Memorial Hall, 2 p.m.

A student entered a classroom during class and tried to convince a person whom he knew to leave the room with him. The person in question refused to accompany him and called security. The first student fled, while the student from the classroom filed a report.

April 22, off-campus, 8 p.m.

A student reported that she was receiving texts, phone calls and e-mails from an ex-boyfriend, whom she had told repeatedly to stop contacting her. Security was notified and contacted the individual, instructing him to cease all further contact or risk police involvement.

April 25, 2426 Lorillard Place, 8 p.m.

A male, approximately 15 years old, threw rocks at the guard booth, breaking two windows.

The guard called for assistance while NYPD was notified and is now investigating a complaint.

April 25, Martyr’s Court, 2 a.m.

An unknown person entered an unlocked dorm room in Goupil Hall sometime between 3 and 11 a.m. and removed a flatscreen television, a camera and an alarm clock. Security and the police are investigating and a police report has been filed. The television has been recovered. Security recommends that students lock their doors April 25, Walsh Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

A student left his denim jacket hanging on a chair for several hours in Walsh Library while he was studying. When the student went to retrieve the jacket, he found $150 missing, though he was uncertain if the money might have been in the pocket of the pants he had worn the previous day.

New USG Board Holds First Meeting In First Meeting After March Elections, Kugel, Meyer and Other New Members of USG Make Appointments, Set Agenda

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

For the first time since United Student Government Inauguration on April 16, new executive president Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11, and executive vice president Caitlin Meyer, FCRH ’12, presided over the organization’s weekly meeting on April 22. In attendance at the meeting were the incoming members of the USG executive board and summit, in addition to candidates for the positions of vice president of information technology and vice president of athletics.

As neither is an elected position, the executive president appoints a candidate for athletics and a candidate for information technology, after which the Senate questions the candidates and votes on their appointment. In both cases, there were several students who applied for the position, but only one who was voted upon by the senate. Michael DiTanna, FCRH ’13, was approved for the position of vice president of information technology after much deliberation, while Johanne Sterling, FCRH ’11, was confirmed by unanimous vote.

After the appointments ended, Brian Poteat, general manager of Hospitality Services, gave a presentation on the changes that Sodexo and Fordham’s Hospitality Services plan to make in the upcoming months. As a result of student surveys on both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, Poteat said that time-sensitive meal plans (those that do not allow students to enter the Ultimate Dining Marketplace except during a certain span of time) were “not working” and would be phased out in favor of plans that give students a particular number of swipes per week, plus declining balance.

These swipes, he went on to say, would have expanded uses, including at a renovated facility in the current location of the Annex and Dagger John’s. This new dining

PHOTO BY PATRICK DEROCHER/ THE RAM

As announced at the most recent USG meeting, Dagger John’s, Fordham’s sit-down dining establishment, will be combined with the Annex to provide a new takeout food experience for Fordham students.

option, which was described as a quick-service takeout facility, will allow students to use their cafeteria swipes to get meals, which will be on a rotating menu, to go.

An additional use for the swipes will be a new quick-service area in the front of the Ultimate Dining Marketplace, which Poteat said will debut with cold food in the fall semester before hopefully serving heated dishes later in the year. The brand-new Campbell Café and its much-discussed Starbucks were also mentioned, with Poteat confirming the Café’s relationship with the Seattle coffee giant.

“It will look like a Starbucks and have the same menu,” he said, going on to say that, because of licensing fees, it will in fact be a location that “proudly serves” Starbucks products.

The final major change in Sodexo services that Poteat announced was the introduction of a MooBella ice cream machine in the Student Deli.

MooBella, which offers users some 96 combinations of ice cream and

mix-ins such as M&Ms and cookies, will provide ice cream to students in single-serving portions.

Fordham’s will be MooBella’s sixth location, following machines at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass., the State University of New York at Albany and hospitals in New London, Conn.; Providence, R.I. and Worcester, Mass.

In other business, the USG executive board and senate set two major agenda items for the organization’s next meeting.

The first was the appointment of vice president of the College of Business Administration class of 2011, as there was no one who ran for that position in the election in March. A coalition between the executive board and the current members of the class of 2011 senate will take on this appointment.

The second was the approval of five new clubs, which will have hearings in front of USG executive board and senate at the next meeting. These clubs are Young

Americans for Liberty, a Libertarian political organization; Operation Dream Catchers, a charitable organization that raises money to provide medical supplies to underdeveloped nations; Model United Nations; 12th Man Club and Right to Play, the Fordham chapter of a philanthropic organization that promotes sports development in underprivileged countries.

Finally, USG liaisons to the Residence Halls Association, Commuter Student Association and the Lincoln Center campus’s USG were appointed. Elisabeth DeBeus, vice president of FCRH ’11, and Donald Borenstein, president of FCRH ’13, will take turns serving as liaison to RHA, while Eva Decesaro, president of FCRH ’12, will work with Lincoln Center USG and Laura Kelly, secretary/treasurer of FCRH ’12, will be the liaison to CSA. The next meeting, which may be the last of the semester, will take place on April 29 at 6 p.m. in the McGinley Center faculty lounge.

Fordham to Facilitate Donations to Goodwill

Drop Boxes Outside Dormitories Will Provide Repository for Unwanted Items as Students Clean Out Dorms at Year’s End

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

Goodwill donation drop boxes have been placed in front of all oncampus residence halls on April 27.

These boxes, emblazoned with the ubiquitous smiley-face logo of Goodwill Industries, essentially look like uncommonly large mailboxes.

However, the boxes will be used for what Bob Freda, director of custodial services at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, calls a “green initiative.”

Custodial services encourages students to use the boxes throughout the time they are moving out of residence halls. Students will place their unwanted items in the bins for collection by Goodwill representatives.

After collection, Goodwill will sell the items at its widespread chain of discount retail stores, with the profits going toward environmental projects.

Freda said that the boxes were placed near to Fordham’s residence halls in an effort to increase their visibility and usage amongst students in addition to cutting down on the amount of waste that takes place as students decide what they will take home with them and what they no longer need.

He also said that a representative from Goodwill Industries with the job title donated goods manager will be visiting Fordham on a daily basis to assess whether or not the boxes are being used and to take any donated items to be sold in the retail locations.

Students can donate new or gently used clothing, shoes, linens, small working appliances and electronics, household items, computer equipment and books.

Any Fordham student wishing to donate via the Goodwill boxes need do nothing but drop any items into the box nearest to his or her dormitory, which will be available until all students have moved out after Commencement.

PHOTO BY PATRICK DEROCHER/THE RAM

Recently placed outside all dorms, Goodwill donation boxes will prevent waste and support Goodwill, with profits aiding in environmental projects.

NEWS

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Student Groups Collaborate to Host Invisible Children Screening Documentary Opens Students’ Eyes to Tragedies in War-Torn Uganda; Invisible Children Organization Encourages Student Involvement and Awareness

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Several student groups, including Progressive Students for Justice and its Invisible Children subcommittee in addition to Film & Television Production, provided the Fordham community with an opportunity to view Invisible Children, hosting a well-attended screening of the documentary on April 21 in Keating First Auditorium.

Children walk miles from their homes each night to sleep in deserted bus parks and cramped outdoor plazas with little food and no adult supervision in war-ravaged northern Uganda, a reality that three young American men found shocking enough to make a documentary about.

Since then, Invisible Children has developed into a worldwide organization dedicated to fighting the injustices that many African children face, often unbeknownst to the rest of the world.

The documentary chronicles the experiences of three young American men, Bobby, Jason and Larren, who had no previous filming skills, no source of funding and no organization when they began, yet they traveled to the Sudan and northern Uganda, where many Sudanese refuges flee, hoping to bring the stories of the people there back to America.

“Once one has been to these challenging, terrible places they’re always strangely drawn back,” the film quotes Dan Eldon, an English photojournalist, in its opening credits.

Indeed, meeting and hearing the stories of so many children who live in fear of abduction and attack by rebels prompted the

documentary’s creators to form an organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the situation in Uganda.

“I really hope that people understand the severity and the gravity of the situation,” Kristin Guerin, FCRH ’12, who has worked with the Invisible Children organization since she was in high school and began a chapter at Fordham, said of the club’s objective in showing the film. “It is such a humanitarian crisis that no one knows about. I feel like Fordham students care a lot, but they just don’t know about the ways they can give their time, money and effort, so maybe now that they know they’ll help out.”

Following the screening, a representative from Invisible Children discussed the failure of the media to address the magnitude of the crisis in Uganda, where 640 people have died and 2,000 have been abducted throughout the course of this war.

Children, especially, must be fearful because Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army that opposes the Ugandan government, seeks out children between the impressionable ages of eight and 14 to use as soldiers.

The documentary followed many children who are considered “night commuters,” meaning that they travel miles away from their homes and their families every night because they cannot sleep at home for fear of abduction. Invisible Children seeks to help these children both by increasing awareness and by raising funds to provide them with education that would be otherwise unattainable.

“Coming from a country where the youth are so highly valued, we never thought there was a place

where so many could go unseen, where so many beautiful faces could be invisible,” the documentary’s narrator said at the conclusion of the film.

Representatives from the organization fielded questions from the audience and Innocent, a survivor of abduction in Uganda and recipient of Invisible Children’s Legacy Scholarship, spoke about the opportunities that his education is providing him. After barely escaping from a camp of Kony’s child soldiers at great risk to his life, Innocent will take the first step toward his goal of becoming president of Uganda when he enters Parliament next year.

Additionally, Invisible Children is proposing legislation that would compel President Barack Obama to create a plan to end the conflict in Uganda and get guns out of the hands of children and urged students to contact their representatives in Congress. Currently, the United Nations gives money to the rebel forces in times of peace talks, which Kony then uses to purchase weapons, according to an Invisible Children representative in response to a student’s question after the film.

Although Uganda is experiencing a relative amount of peace now, the event’s organizers encouraged students to continue spreading the word and working for the cause of education in Africa, saying that “with education, change can happen.”

Invisible Children representatives sold merchandise, such as T-shirts, bracelets and copies of the DVD, and solicited donations before and after the event, but they recognized that college students are on a limited budget, urging FORBES, FROM PAGE 1

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Speaking to assembled Fordham students and guests, Steve Forbes shared his thoughts on trademark topics such as a flat income tax while peppering the speech with amusing anecdotes and words of advice.

more stringent restrictions on capitalism due to the recent scandals, Forbes reminded his audience that we do not cancel elections due to things like election fraud, but rather, we make the system better. The answer, he said, was not to change the “rules of the road,” as he called them, but rather to ensure that those rules are enforced more strictly, as in the case of the real estate bubble, reinforcing his adage that “the free market works where it’s allowed to.”

He cautioned against a weak dollar, saying that it would lead to a weak recovery, and added that taxes are not just revenue for the government, but are also “the price for working and price for profit” among other things, and that raising taxes will also weaken this country’s recovery process.

The lecture then turned topical, with Forbes’ views on healthcare.

He said he believes that our current system is broken, but not because the government has not intervened, but rather because most healthcare transactions are performed by third parties, not patient to doctor. He said that if real competition of healthcare were to arise, in a capitalist fashion, Americans would really see prices start to drop on their healthcare costs, as opposed to the controlled rates of government-run programs.

Following a rousing standing ovation after the conclusion of Forbes’ speech, the question-and-answer portion kicked off with an NYU College Republican brandishing a copy

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Started by a group of three teenagers who made a documentary of their travels to Uganda, Invisible Children strives to improve the lives of children in war-ravaged Uganda through sponsoring and promoting education.

students to make non-financial contributions to the cause, such as spreading the word.

“We are a social, political and global movement using the transformative power of story to changes lives,” reads Invisible Children’s mission statement on its Web site.

Students generally found the event to be engaging and the documentary inspiring.

“What’s inspiring to me is that it’s the youth helping the youth,” of tax code from 1981. The student wanted to know why that tax code (which has since been amended over 14,000 times, Forbes noted) was not how Americans were paying taxes.

Forbes answered that with the incredible amount of amendments to the tax code, it was a “monster,” and as such, Americans should “take that monster [of a tax code], kill it, bury it and start all over” with a flat tax. Forbes is a huge proponent of the flat tax, using it as his main platform in his presidential runs.

Forbes’ answers to the next two questions brought him back to capitalist roots, saying that our economy and our citizens can only benefit from this mode of production.

“In the free market, those who start out with the least end up ahead,” he said.

He said that the central bank should have two goals: a stable currency, preferably backed by the gold standard and an institution that deals with panics, which are inevitable in our system.

In order to get Republicans back in the White House, he said that they need to lower tax rates, take control of the healthcare issue and force their Democrat opponents to denounce their tax policies, which he believes are going to cripple out economy.

Forbes was well-received by his audience, many of whom immediately lined up following the event to get copies of his book signed.

“Where he really got me was when he talked about the gold standard,” William Hosinki, CBA ’11, said.

Guerin said. “It gives hope to other kids.”

“The reason why we are not them is just by chance,” Catherine Paul, FCRH ’13, said of the children depicted in the documentary.

“So many of us are going to leave tonight and just think ‘oh, that’s really sad’ and move on. I hate that feeling that I can go a day without worrying about it. The film is a good reminder that there are bigger things to be worried about.”

THIS

week at FORDHAM Wed., April 28 Student Life Council Final Meeting of the Year O’Keefe Commons, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Wed., April 28 Sustained Dialogue Series Taking Haiti Back: Revolution, U.S. Imperialism & Rebuilding McGinley Faculty Lounge, 4-6 p.m.

Thurs., April 29 Suarez Lecture: Autonomy of Kant Jerome B. Schneewind of JHU Flom Auditorium, 4:15 p.m.

Fri., April 30 Spring Weekend Free Lunch Rodrigue’s Coffee House, 2:30 p.m.

Fri., April 30 Spring Weekend: DJ Earworm A-Lot, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

Sat., May 1 Spring Weekend Concert: MGMT Martyrs’ Lawn, 12:30 p.m.

Sat., May 1 Spring Weekend: Under the Tent Dance Martyrs’ Lawn, 9 p.m.

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • APRIL28, 2010

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PAGE 5

Point-Counterpoint: MGMT Plays Martyrs’ Lawn

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

MGMT and its brand of psychedelic synthpop delights many students, and may seem more appropriate for Spring Weekend than Guster or Ghostface Killah, while others prefer a mainstream headliner.

MGMT is the Perfect Band to Appear during the Spring Weekend Festivities

By ANDREW DOMZALSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MGMT’s performance at Spring Weekend 2010 will go down in history as one of the best concerts Fordham University has ever hosted.

I say that without hesitation. The neo-psychedelic duo from Wesleyan University is a rather rare type of band for this era of music: synthpop with lyrics that make you think and chord progressions that make you move, but the band’s appropriateness for appearing at Fordham digs deeper than its catchy songs.

Before we were all “fated to pretend,” MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser were your average Wesleyans, experimenting with sound on a synthesizer. Despite their success, they are not far removed from where we stand as college students now, and this adjacency to standard college life enables MGMT to capture some of the essence and integrity of our age.

I believe that many students at Fordham can emulate the messages that MGMT deliver in its lyrics. On its debut studio album Oracular Spectacular, the band’s messages ranged from sarcastically sociological on “Time to Pretend” (“The models will have children, we’ll get a divorce / We’ll find some more models, everything must run its course”) to ecological on “Kids” (“Control yourself / Take only what you need from it”). While many of MGMT’s tracks on Oracular Spectacular dealt with how intrinsically absurd these rock-star visions they crafted were, the polished rhythms egged listeners on to fantasize, too.

Then, MGMT “made it” – and with that fame came somewhat of a disillusionment, culminating in the recently released album Congratulations. The band made a point of affirming how the new record would be assembled: there are no “Kids,” “Electric Feel” or “Time to Pretend” sounding tracks off this album. Instead, what you will find are more musically mature songs, deeper (albeit sometimes overreaching) lyrics and tributes to other bands and musicians like Brian Eno. While Congratulations’ cryptic lyrics and less-radio-friendly beats seem a divergence from Oracular Spectacular, the album does seem to jibe well with MGMT’s inherent skepticism surrounding fame and success.

That is what makes me so certain of MGMT’s suitability to play at Fordham. I’ve been asked on several occasions whether I think MGMT will play the classics of Oracular Spectacular or will it be more of a Congratulations tour to coincide with the new release. My answer is that I neither know nor really care. Either concert would fit in here well. The band’s musical repertoire speaks to a young adult audience to be cautiously enamored by the prospects of whatever we as individuals consider success and stardom to be,

while at the same time being careful of what you wish for. Success could happen at any time, as it did to MGMT, though it may not be as glamorous as you think.

As for the music scene at Fordham, I think MGMT is a perfect fit, being well liked and well known. The duo has been nationally recognized since the explosion of Oracular Spectacular, garnering two nominations at the 2010 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the song “Kids” in addition to the 2009 Grammy Award win by Justice for their remix of MGMT’s “Electric Feel” in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category.

I think the student population of Fordham would be overreaching if it expected the Campus Activities Board to sign a more relevant band to play at Spring Weekend. MGMT has become a powerhouse in the music industry, and the choice by CAB to bring them here was brilliant.

MGMT’s contributions to modern music have spanned across several genres, including collaborations with Kid Cudi on the single “Pursuit of Happiness” and The Flaming Lips on their song “Worm Mountain.” As such, CAB has done an excellent job in attracting a significant band that has relevance in multiple genres of music, from indie to rap, instead of marginalizing students with a band that works within a single genre.

Comparatively, MGMT ranks at the top of recent artists that Fordham has brought to Spring Weekend. In recent years, Fordham University has played host to Guster, Yellowcard and Ghostface Killah. None of these artists carry messages so pertinent to the students at Fordham, and none of them were as relevant as MGMT is in the music industry at the time of their performances. CAB has allowed the students at Fordham to benefit from having a band quickly maturing in popularity that speaks so directly to a collegiate audience. So, I do think that MGMT’s performance will go down in history as one of the best ever performed at Fordham’s campus.

U2 notwithstanding, Fordham has never before had the privilege of hosting a band at the height of success that MGMT has attained, with lyrical lessons so down-to-earth. I hope that being able to attract a band like MGMT to Fordham will enable CAB to bring similarly significant bands here in the next few years.

So, I am eagerly awaiting the performance by MGMT on May 1. Whether it be primarily Congratulations or an Oracular Spectacular throwback, MGMT will surely put on a performance few will soon forget. CAB “had the vision” of bringing a stellar, nationally-acclaimed band of collegiate relevance to this campus: “Now let’s have some fun.”

Andrew Domzalski, CBA ’12, is an applied accounting and finance major from Philadelphia, Pa.

No Congratulations for MGMT, CAB Must Cater Toward Fordham’s Hipster Elite

By CHRISTOPHER LETTERII CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Who is MGMT?” the band’s Web site asks.

Several years ago, this would have been a reasonable question, but now it is largely unnecessary except to reveal the band’s preference for using singular verb forms with collective nouns.

Over the past few years, MGMT has gone from CMJ buzz to MTV airplay (just kidding, obviously MTV no longer plays videos). The band’s début LP Oracular Spectacular has sold well over a million copies worldwide, and its sophomore effort Congratulations recently entered the Billboard charts at No. 2, behind only the inexplicable teen phenom Justin Bieber. So does this mean that Fordham has finally gotten it right by selecting a timely, popular Spring Weekend headliner? Not quite.

The Campus Activities Board does seem to have learned from last year’s Guster incident and at least booked a band that is still in what might reasonably be called the prime of its career. That’s good, but it is not enough. In order for Fordham to advance its position significantly among the country’s top universities we must adopt an aggressive strategy regarding Spring Weekend bands. We must eschew totally the Top 40 in favor of those bands whose music has not yet reached the ears of the masses. We must, in short, become hip.

“Hip” has become a loaded term, and I wield it here with all due caution. No longer is hipness an unequivocally positive attribute. Indeed the adoption of this new strategy will require sacrifice. Does anyone really want to talk to Todd P, ever? Could anyone actually enjoy the music of bands like The Beets and Turbo Fruits? Of course not, but this is the culture into which we must submerge ourselves if we are ever to appeal to that most particular, elusive and desirable demographic: the “artistic” 17-year-old with wealthy parents.

Consider Fordham’s current advantages.

The Jesuit tradition, already well-exploited by admissions, must be creatively rebranded, emphasizing the Society of Jesus’s essential hipness. St. Ignatius of Loyola: son of Basque nobility, renounced material wealth in favor of a life in service to God, eventually creating the religious order that would be his enduring legacy. Replace “Basque nobility” with “uppermiddle-class Ohioans,” “God” with “creating art,” “religious order” with “artist collective” and “enduring legacy” with “excuse for asking his parents for money” and you are describing everyone who has moved to Bushwick in the past two years. Once that connection is clear Fordham can expect an applications increase of at least 15 percent.

Another advantage is location. Our section of the Bronx is one of the few remaining ungen-

trified areas of New York City, which is enormously important for the discerning hipster seeking “realness.” Equally important, of course, is protection from too much realness. Here the prospective matriculant delights in the gated campus and public-transit-avoiding Ram Van. Clearly, our school has, at least subconsciously, considered the needs of the hippest percentile of the applicant pool. We are uniquely situated to become the preeminently hip university in America, and we need a Spring Weekend band that will serve us in our drive to the top.

No doubt many will consider MGMT to be just that band. They are incredibly successful and in demand; tickets for the band’s last New York City show commanded up to $85 each in the resale market, but the mindset that these facts indicate that booking MGMT is some sort of coup for Fordham is exactly what will bring us down in our noble drive toward a hipper future. In reality, those selfsame facts ought rightly to have placed MGMT near the bottom of our list, just above Kings of Leon.

The road to greatness is a winding, narrow, potholed one, with neither a guardrail nor a median nor even much of a shoulder in case the car of progress gets a flat or maybe you just want to pull over and take a quick break and gaze at the vista of possibility. What I mean is that if we want to be cool, we have to suffer though some bad Spring Weekend bands, but not bad like Guster and Yellowcard – we need the right kind of bad band. Booking Guster is like eating a Tootsie Roll – awful-tasting and not even redeemably healthy. What we need are bands that are like liver and onions: admittedly unpleasant to stomach, but ultimately beneficial due to massive amounts of iron(y).

Of course this won’t be easy; nothing worth doing ever is. The only fun thing about writing this article was getting to e-mail the opinions editors that I would “do the PCP.” However, the future of Fordham depends on what we do now. So no matter how boring and unknown Ólöf Arnalds or Mountain Man may be, they are on Brooklyn Vegan far too frequently for us to overlook; even though Sleigh Bells will be insufferable by summer’s end, we need to book them because Sasha Frère-Jones put them atop his year-end list. These are the criteria that matter in the effort to make Fordham the hippest university in the country by 2016. Call it Excelsior | The Campaign for Fordham (WashedOut Remix). You’ll notice I took out the “Ever Upward” part of the slogan. That’s because hipsters know Latin and hate redundancy.

Christopher Letterii, FCRH ’11, is a Spanish language and literature major from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Staff Poll: When the staff of The Ram was polled, 13 were in favor of MGMT playing Spring Weekend, while four were opposed.

OPINIONS

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

The Ram

From the Desk of Nick Carroll, Sports Editor

Serving campus and community since 1918.

Recently, I like all students, had to go through one of my least-favorite experiences, course registration.

Unlike my previous experiences, this time it did not go poorly: however, I am still reminded of my past registration experiences.

Looking back, I really question the way some things are run here.

I am pretty sure it is safe to say that we are all in college to help ourselves later in life. Another obvious factor in that is that college should be helping us prepare for a potential career. So, now, taking those obvious statements into consideration, why do I feel like I may not be qualified to pump gas for a living? After two years and more money than I will probably make in my 20s, I now detest the core curriculum. I have heard the arguments about the values of both a Jesuit and liberal arts education, but I am not buying it. For a plethora of reasons, I feel that the core curriculum does much more harm than good.

The most obvious reason for this is because none of these core classes really apply to the real world, unless you plan to teach them to the next generation of poor saps. Looking back, I think I gained more valuable life experience in eighth grade

The Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The 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 Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of 12,000. The Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

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Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in a *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at RamLetters@ fordham.edu. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice.

Submissions become the exclusive property of The Ram and will not be returned. The Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

cooking and sewing class .

Really, a requirement for me to get to a proficient level of a language? The chances I ever use said language are virtually zero, and, in all likelihood, I will probably end up forgetting everything within the year I finish. As someone who regularly questions the move all the way from Philadelphia to New York, this is a total waste of my time. There may be some students who want to pursue these fields, but there is no reason to apply them to everyone.

Meanwhile, I could be taking classes that could apply toward my major, or, I know it is a crazy concept, pursuing some intellectual interests. Instead, I am locked into taking classes I really could not care less about. Thanks, Fordham.

I remember being told before going to college to explore multiple majors. I was told that at 18, I should not be locked into a particular career, but, as it turns out, I am. Instead of exploring different fields and seeing what really works for me, I have basically been forced to blindly pick a major and go with it.

After four semesters, I have taken two classes that will go toward my major. With that being the case,

I really do not have much leeway to explore any different subjects. I basically am locked into a boatload of classes toward my major and minor. If I decide I want to change my path, it would most likely require summer courses. Could I really be getting less value out of my money?

It really all comes down to the lack of flexibility. Fordham has such a deep core and so many required classes that it limits the amount of classes students can choose for themselves.

Now, a person could argue that these classes are a part of the core for a reason, and that they can play a role in our intellectual development. However, I do not think that is the case at all. I think most students look at these core classes as an annoyance, something they just have to get through before taking classes that are more meaningful to them.

Considering this, are classes that students really do not care about going to have an impact on them?

I think students would get much more out of classes that they are able to choose, classes in which they are actually interested. I understand the Jesuits’ philosophy is for well rounded individuals,

but do these classes make us wellrounded if we do not care?

Maybe this just makes too much sense. God forbid we go to college to learn for ourselves, rather than go through a fifth and sixth year of high school. I much prefer being told what I need to know, even though it will most likely never help me in life.

Maybe I am just bitter after going through pointless day after pointless day, but I definitely feel as if there is some merit to my rant. If I ever decide I want to make some money in life and give up writing, will I have time to ever change paths? Did I even have time to come to this realization?

Hopefully the next two years are more fulfilling. Hopefully I learn a skill I want to and am capable of using in the real world, but with this all-in approach, pumping gas does not seem like a far-fetched scenario.

Fordham Fails to Accomodate Students’ Disabilities Countless Campus Buildings Lack Adequate Handicap Accessible Entrances and Interior Modifications for Wheelchairs

By CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY STAFF WRITER

“Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

This is a passage from the Bible, Matthew 25:40. Jesus is instructing his followers that whatever they do for those who, for whatever reason, cannot help themselves in some circumstance, they do for God. A simple theological interpretation to be sure (this is where you glance to the end of the article and sigh as you read what my major is) but one that is nevertheless appropriate for a wide variety of situations.

This is, I believe, a message that should be taken to heart by all those in the administration at this Jesuit institution. However, there is one major instance on this campus where Jesus’ teaching could be much better heeded.

I could be speaking about many issues (Mt 25:42; “For I was hungry and you gave me no food” comes immediately to mind.

However, in this case, I’m speaking of handicap accessibility to some of Fordham’s facilities.

The biggest problem exists at Collins Hall, home to the philosophy department, Collins Auditorium and other offices.

The building is in no way handicapped accessible. This, I must say, is a travesty. Philosophy is one of this University’s strongest departments, yet professor’s offices and other physical resources remain out of reach for anyone unable to climb flights of stairs.

Any physically disabled student who comes to Fordham wishing to major in philosophy is at a disadvantage. He or she misses out on the opportunity for easy access to philosophy faculty.

Not only that, but philosophy classes make up two of the undergraduate core requirements. Wait, you say; this is easily remedied.

These students could simply meet with professors elsewhere.

It’s not that simple, of course.

Think of quiet, easily accessible meeting spaces on this campus.

Keating basement? Noisy, hectic. Walsh Library? You wouldn’t want to disturb others working in silence. An empty classroom?

This could involve an hour-long wild goose chase across campus.

Further, professors have many more resources at their disposal in their offices (yes, books are still useful in many cases). In short, physically disabled students deserve as much access to the Philosophy offices as any other student.

Also located in Collins Hall is an auditorium, a setting for many on-campus theater groups’ performances. While some can relocate, others, most notably anyone looking to put on a play (FET, Mimes and Mummers, etc) have no where to go. Collins has the best theater facilities on campus.

In fact, the University is planning renovations to the auditorium, as noted at last week’s USG meeting. It was at this meeting, in fact, that USG passed a resolution in support of getting Collins to meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards.

One reason so many people come to Fordham is because of the multitude of cultural activities available. It is in this tradition, especially considering our location, that so many groups on campus put a lot of time and effort into putting on shows to be enjoyed by the Fordham populace.

What is the point of such ter-

rific and varied entertainment being performed in Collins if a handicapped student with an interest in any aspect of show production cannot participate? This is (to use a word that I don’t like to throw around except in the most serious cases) de facto discrimination.

Every student with an interest in making Fordham an institution where those with physical disabilities have the same oppor-

tunities as people without physical disabilities (and hopefully this is every student) should let the administration know their support for USG’s resolution to finally make Collins Hall accessible to anyone who wants to take advantage of its resources in philosophy and the arts.

Christopher Kennedy, FCRH ’12, is a theology major from Mystic, Conn.

RAM ARCHIVES

Collins Hall possesses poor accomodations for students who use wheelchairs.

OPINIONS

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 7

Increasing Applications to Fordham This Year, Record Numbers of Prospective Students Applied to Fordham, Better Name Recognition Can Draw Even More

Libertas et Veritas CHADWICK CIOCCI

Capitalism is Cool

RAM ARCHIVES

This year, over 27,000 students applied to Fordham, an increase from last year’s 20,000 applicants. This corresponds with a nationwide trend of increased applications, but suggests that many prospective students see Fordham as a desirable school despite changes in rankings.

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

It is rankings season. As publications like U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review release their lists of the best and worst schools in the country, straggling high school seniors send in their final decisions about where they will spend the next four years. As Fordham announces its changes in the rankings, it also declares its steep increase in applicants. Fordham has been one of many schools that saw an enormous applicant pool this year.

Another school with a huge applicant pool was Harvard. According to a Washington Post article, the school saw over 30,000 applicants competing for a freshman class of 1,600 students, which means that one in 50 applying seniors sent applications to Harvard. Of course, only 6.9 percent of applicants are accepted into Harvard. For those students who do not make the cut, applying to Harvard was a long shot, and ultimately a waste of money. It is not a coincidence that many of the most selective schools have high application fees.

The 93.1 percent of applicants that Harvard rejects must apply to other schools, schools

with low or no application fee and easy-to-complete applications, like Fordham’s. As admissions rates sink for such selective schools, nervous high school seniors tend to apply to more and more schools, and Fordham has been one of the institutions to benefit from the Ivy League’s rejection of most applicants.

According to the Fordham Web site, applicants to the University have skyrocketed from 20,000 students last year to 27,000 students this year. The enormous increases in applicants to many colleges across the board does not nullify Fordham’s achievement. For the past 19 years, applications to Fordham have increased. This year in particular, high school seniors from across the country have taken notice of Fordham.

This increase in students from Texas, California, the West and Midwest are especially indicative of an improvement in Fordham’s national image. Though the University is still working on crafting a nationally known brand image through successful athletic programs, word is spreading somehow about Fordham.

This increase is reassuring for the University; it has been a few years since Newsweek named Fordham the Hottest Catholic School in America, and since

Issue of the Week:

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See what commentators from the Left and the Right have to say about the Arizona Immigration Bill requiring proof of citizenship.

then, some things have changed.

The College of Business Administration has slipped some in the rankings, and Fordham’s endowment has dropped by almost a quarter.

However, thousands of students have shown confidence by applying to Fordham despite lowered rankings and resources.

After all, only 3,000 fewer students applied to Fordham than Harvard last year.

This bodes well for next year; so far this spring the rankings changes have been mixed. Fordham’s Law School has dropped from No. 30 in the nation to No. 34 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, and on the bright side, the Executive MBA program has been named No. 25 in the nation.

The Fordham Web site reports that this year’s applicant pool is more diverse regionally, nationally and ethnically, and that the SAT and ACT scores of this year’s applicants are a little higher than before.

Based on this, the University should continue to try to target students from out of the tri-state area; the commitment to increasing geographic diversity is not just to make the school look good on paper. Untapped markets of students lie in places like my home state of Texas, where

almost none of my high school friends had heard of Fordham.

The University’s New York City location and its lower selectivity than schools like NYU are assets.

As more selective schools tighten their acceptance percentages, Fordham aims to attract the 90something percentages of worthy students who are rejected by Ivy Leagues.

Fordham has its work cut out for it: there are students all over the country who want to go to Ivy League schools or other private institutions in the northeast. Students apply to these private northeastern schools because of their high name recognition, which is partially a result of high rankings and successful sports teams. Fordham has fallen in some rankings, but it now attempts to spread its name by revamping programs like men’s basketball and by customized recruiting methods. The University should keep fighting to make itself known to the huge numbers of out-of-region kids who would apply, if only they had heard of Fordham. Having great rankings is less important than having a name people can recognize.

Christine Barcellona, FCRH ’12, is an English major from Dallas, Texas. She can be reached at cbarcellona@fordham.edu.

Karen Bass, The Huffington Post

Clarence B. Jones, The Huffington Post

“The outrageous law just signed by Governor Jan Brewer hearkens back to the days of apartheid South Africa and the pass cards Blacks had to carry in that country. What Arizona politicians have done is unconscionable and unconstitutional.”

“We have the most sophisticated surveillance technology and the most formidable military, yet we are unable to stop the intrusion of illegal immigrants. The bill to prevent the continued influx of illegal immigrants appears more like an act of desperation than racially motivated legislation.”

This week, the Fordham community was treated to a lecture by entrepreneur and two-time presidential candidate Steve Forbes. Those who attended could learn about the virtues of capitalism and the follies of command economies. Forbes’ latest book How Capitalism Will Save Us is a must-read for those who doubt the economic system that made America the most prosperous nation in history as well as for those who support capitalism but could use a more nuanced understanding of it.

Forbes does not write in the philosophical or academic traditions of Adam Smith, Ayn Rand or Milton Friedman but admittedly adopts a more conversational tone. In this, way Forbes’s work is refreshing and approachable and much needed, considering the bipartisan hyperbole spewed at capitalism by our media, politicians and even many of our professors.

It is exactly this hyperbole, or what Forbes calls “the drumbeat against ‘greed’ and ‘free markets,’” that distorts our entire conversation about capitalism and precludes a clear and true understanding about what a free market actually is. When we talk about greed and the economic problems capitalism (supposedly) creates, the entire American dialogue occurs under the assumption that our economy is actually operating under free markets and therefore needs more regulation.

Rather, Forbes correctly contends many of our economic woes are caused not by a lack of regulation but either wrong or too much regulation.

Yet the hyperbole that dominates our conversations forces us to assume the existence of free markets. This, in turn, precludes us from actually understanding what free markets are, as well causes us (in a too often bipartisan way) to believe that what we need is regulation, rather than what actually results: more regulation.

Many objections against capitalism, especially moral objections, center on the word of our day: greed.

However, as Forbes pointed out, to say that our current crisis is caused by greed is as helpful as saying gravity causes airplanes to crash. It is not gravity that makes planes crash but either pilot or mechanical failure.

Gravity is not such a system that it randomly chooses to pull airplanes out of the sky. If a plane crashes then it is not gravity’s fault (capitalism) but the pilot’s (government) and/or mechanical failure (regulation). Rather than blame gravity, we need to examine and change the pilot’s training or make sure the plane’s mechanicals are better suited to keep it in air.

Yet this is precisely what critics of capitalism (for equivocate capitalism and greed) do when they attack it as the cause of the current recession.

They blame gravity for plane crashes.

Rather we need “rules of the road,” or sensible rules that don’t overly burden the system with excessive mandates or render the system useless with excessive restrictions. The road, at the moment, is looking very long.

Chadwick Ciocci, FCRH ’10, is a philosophy major from Trumbull, Conn. He can be reached at cciocci@ aol.com.

OPINIONS

PAGE 8 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

YouTube Enlivens Students’ College Applications

COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

Potential students upload personal videos onto YouTube, the video Web site, as part of their Tufts University application.

By BRIAN KRAKER ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

The college application process is more painful than Charlie chomping on your index finger. With a slew of numbers and figures coupled with essays and recommendations, high school students are forced to condense their four years of high school into a single transcript. The admissions office is then put to the task of evaluating applications. Like pacing on a treadmill, the staff tediously sifts through the decimal points that separate applicants, determining those who adequately meet the university’s criteria.

With the technological boom, the Internet has revolutionized the application process. The amount

of required application paperwork dropped as the common app Web page shortened students’ workloads from mountains of forms to a single submission. However, some colleges are offering students a new application option by permitting students to upload videos onto YouTube as an optional portion of their application.

Tufts University is infamous for peculiar application options, offering students essay prompts from “Are we alone?” to “Gorillas or Guerrillas?” Now, the applicants can turn on their Webcams and camcorders and produce one-minute videos, demonstrating why they are worthy to grace the halls of Tufts. Some applicants composed raps about their lives, played beloved sports and pre-

formed interpretive dances about favorite calculus topics.

Fordham should take Tufts’ lead and permit applicants to upload short videos to a YouTube account or attach video files to online submissions. These videos provide applicants with a unique way to present themselves that an essay or SAT score cannot. Turning teens away from producing viral videos to application productions, YouTube allows students to introduce universities to their creative side in a personal setting.

Some may fear a mass influx of videos, however only 1,000 of the 15,000 Tufts applications provided a short. Rather this option will promote more creative students to apply. Instead of completing mo-

NOT ALL Apar t me nts i n NYC ar e t iny and overpriced

notonous application essays about a university’s stellar academics, a video submission would prompt students to pick up their cameras and send Fordham an application check.

Most importantly, a video option provides students without a perfect GPA or SAT score to even out their application with their creative side.

A teen’s talents may not fit into the rigid categories of math a critical reading, but their particular gifts are highlighted through personal videos.

Fordham’s traditional canon required essays and test scores has served the University well, but these measures also fail to provide the whole picture.

SAT scores are an unfair measure of a student’s intellect because they only demonstrate parents’ willingness to write a check for their child’s preparatory class. With programs such as Kaplan teaching high school students how to beat the test, colleges are basing admission on a person’s deductive reasoning and logical guesing rather than strictly intelligence.

GPAs are not a reliable standard either. Most high schools have forms of grade inflation, with students writing more extra credit assignments than required assignments.

Other schools weigh AP classes the same as base-level classes, hurting the GPA of overachieving students, while other’s cruise through with straight “A”s.

Neither are the required essays on the common application help-

ful. This portion of the application is meant to evaluate a student’s ability to demonstrate writing skills while expounding upon a personal topic.

However, after rigorous rough drafts and editing sessions with teachers and parents, these personal essays are so convoluted by collaboration that they are mere skeletons of a student’s original prose.

Video portions of an application would not simply be a gimmick, but a legitimate tool to evaluate students.

Like an interview, the video shows an applicant’s poise and charisma, with the creativity and personal touch of an essay. There are few outside sources to turn to, as most high school teachers are still amused

by PowerPoint presentations with animated text. If the admissions office wishes to know applicants, how better to do it than to peer into their rooms, hometowns and lives from behind a computer screen.

Fordham should not allow its application process to become the next casting for the “Real Life,” but shoud allow a YouTube clip to highlighter a student’s merit. With countless flaws in the application process, permitting teens to attach a minute long clip of them enjoying their favorite hobby only benefits the entire process. The admissions offices should begin to evolve like dance and evaluate not only numbers and figures, but also a YouTube clip or two.

Brian Kraker, FCRH ’12, is a computer science and English double major from Pompton Lakes, N.J. He can be reached at kraker@fordham.edu.

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PAGE 13

The Ram Sits Down with Steve Forbes Leading Magazine Mogul Talks Economics, Inspiration and Poltical Involvement

By ABIGAIL FORGET AND PATRICK DEROCHER MANAGING EDITOR AND NEWS EDITOR

The Ram: Much attention has been paid attention to your unofficial moniker, “The Capitalist Tool.”

When you say that you and other entrepreneurs are tools of capitalism, how are you defining your role in the global economy?

Steve Forbes: Well, everyone who tries to start a business and expand a business or keep it going in the face of changing times and circumstances is part of a global economy. You may be working for a local market, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be using services or products or goods from another part of the world.

So in that sense globalization has been going on since the caves. Expanding communities and expanding supply chains, we get various products from around the world.

TR: In the 1996 and 2000 elections, did you run with the intention of winning and getting into the White House or did you run more to make a statement? What was your frame of mind going into those?

SF: I knew in both that the candidacy was a long shot, but I thought that lightning might strike, but it turns out that the message was bet-

ter than the messenger. Flat tax has been enacted in some 25 countries.

And eventually we’ll get it here.

You’ll live long enough to see it.

TR: What do you feel Forbes Magazine has over other competitors, such as Fortune and Business Weekly?

SF: I think one of our distinguishing characteristics is that we have a mission. We believe in free markets, free people. We believe that capitalism is the best system.

We are, as one editor put it, the equivalent of drama critics; we love it when production is done right and we get angry when it’s not done right, so we’re also very real critics.

We believe in this system and those who practice it we praise and those who don’t we criticize.

It goes back to my grandfather who said that the purpose of business is to produce happiness, not to pile up money. That’s our motivation.

TR: You were heavily involved in creating former N.J. governor Christine Todd Whitman’s fiscal policy and have endorsed political figures such as Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Do you see yourself playing such roles in other campaigns in the future and if so, are there any other campaigns in particular that you might like to join?

SF: I have not made a choice yet

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/ THE RAM

The Ram sat down with Steve Forbes to discuss his election bid, his magazine, capitalism and advice for aspiring politicians.

for 2012; I’m looking over the field.

But last year I did work with and endorse Chris Christie who won the Republican nomination and then won the general election in New Jersey. He’s doing very serious work in getting the state’s dreadful financial condition put right.

TR: What is the best advice you have received from your father or grandfather?

SF: Well, my father always said the best way to get ahead is to pick parents who already own a successful business, as he put it, there’s nothing wrong with nepotism as long as you keep it in the family.

But I think the best advice was from my grandfather who loved to—it is in each and every magazine–quote from Proverbs which is, “With all by getting, get under-

standing.”

TR: What advice would you give to young people who want to be politically involved?

SF: Well get interested; with the Web, it’s easy to help out. Get yourself the tools while you’re studying so that you can be a productive citizen or have the time and the means to help out politically.

Coco’s Comeback on Cable Brings Plenty of Expectations

ROB KIM/LANDOV/MCT

Conan O’Brien is returning to late-night TV after the CBS debacle.

By MARTY MERCADO STAFF WRITER

Conan O’Brien has moved on.

Yes, months after his bitter departure from NBC’s “The Tonight Show” franchise, Conan finally found himself a new home. Surprisingly, it is not one of the network giants rumored to be fighting over him like FOX and ABC. Conan has decided to take his show to basic cable, beginning as early as November, with TBS. His unnamed show is set to

take an 11 p.m. timeslot that airs Mondays through Thursdays. This means that George Lopez’s “Lopez Tonight” will be pushed back to midnight to accommodate the new show. Alarm bells immediately sounded, as it seemed too reminiscent of the Leno-Conan timeslot fiasco that only happened early this year.

Many feared that Conan was doing the exact same thing that Leno did to him (which led to Conan’s departure). These concerns were quickly quelled as George Lopez

himself welcomed Conan to TBS with open arms. Reports also circulated that Conan did not want to accept the offer because of Lopez’s time change. Conan finally agreed when Lopez personally invited him to join TBS and assured Conan he did not mind moving back to midnight.

It makes sense. Lopez is up against cable giants “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart and “The Colbert Report” with Stephen Colbert (both with Comedy Central). Having Conan on at 11 will give TBS a legitimate challenge to Comedy Central’s dynamic duo and will give Lopez’s modestly successful show a strong lead-in and less competition in the midnight timeslot.

This move will give TBS the potential to become a legitimate ratings giant when it comes to latenight television. Lopez already has a strong core following which will only grow now that he does not have to compete with Stewart and Colbert, while the addition of Conan’s new show may take viewers from Comedy Central to add to O’Brien’s already fiercely loyal and vocal followers.

Conan will also be given a lot more freedom than he had during his short tenure with “The To-

night Show” as he now broadcasts from cable. He will be allowed more freedom to express his edgy comedic brand, which made him popular during his years hosting “Late Night.” He will not have to compromise his comedy for the older audience who watches “The Tonight Show” because he will now be catering mostly to a much younger audience.

This will allow characters like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and other controversial characters to make their return (depending on who owns the intellectual rights to these characters).

Another advantage Conan may gain from moving to TBS is that he will not have to compete head-tohead with his network counterparts Jay Leno (“The Tonight Show”) and David Letterman (“The Late Show”). Conan will enjoy a 35minute head start and will avoid having to contend directly against two already established shows.

With his show set to begin in November, Conan is now focusing on his 30-city tour around the U.S. His aptly named The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour is a massive success both in sales and with the critics. He has been able to try out new bits as well as revive older favorite

routines that were too risqué to air during his tenure on “The Tonight Show.” Not surprisingly, his fans are loving every moment of it. He is close to hitting one million followers on Twitter, crushing Jay Leno’s measly count of over 41,000.

Conan’s challenge now is delivering on the expectations. He has been given a good timeslot on a big cable network. With that comes a lot of freedom when it comes to what he will present. His fans have been behind him 100 percent throughout his struggles on NBC, and they will surely be tuning in when he makes his return.

He is raising expectations even more with his live tour. His creativity and humor will surely be pushed to its limit since he has to contend with Stewart and Colbert. He must also show George Lopez that moving “Lopez Tonight” to midnight was the correct decision.

Conan has a great opportunity to show NBC what it lost and networks like FOX what they passed on. He has plenty to prove on two fronts: content and, of course, ratings. Only time will tell how he will do, but one thing is for sure, Coco is back and November cannot come soon enough. This could potentially be the start of an even bigger late-night war.

CULTURE

PAGE 14 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

That’s So Po MARY PORPORA Week 10: Electrical Fires Last week I wrote a column about my many near-death experiences. Ever since then, out of slight paranoia, I have been very careful with everything that I have done (I did not want my acknowledgement to become ironic). The day before my next column was due, I experienced a rather frightening near-death experience.

On the afternoon of Friday, April 23, I was hanging out alone in my room. I knew that I had time to kill, and I certainly was not going to do homework, so I decided to straighten my hair. I plugged in the straightener and put on an episode of “The O.C.” (which I am currently re-watching). Since I have a lot of hair, after about 35 minutes, I was just about done.

I was just about to straighten my last section of hair when it happened.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion. Light, smoke and small flames were shooting out of the connection between the extension cord and the surge protector in which my straightener was plugged. All I could hear were the sounds of Rice Krispies: snaps, crackles and pops. All I could think to do was stand there screaming, “Oh My God! Oh My God!” One minute I’m straightening my hair and enjoying the wit of Seth Cohen, and the next, fire.

(It is important to note, that I, like Frankenstein’s monster, am deathly afraid of fire).

After about five seconds, the explosion dwindled down to a small flame. My first thought was “water!” and thankfully my next thought was “electricity, water, bad!” So I did what I think most people would have done: I ran. I ran down the hall to my friends’ room and told them what happened. We all ran back to my room to find that the flames had been replaced with gray smoke. As I stood in the hallway shaking and wondering why my smoke alarm had not gone off (turns out my smoke alarm does not/never had batteries in it), my friends surveyed the situation and opened the windows. All that remained of the horrifying fire was a melted extension cord and surge protector, and an ashy wall.

Things started settling down, and I decided it would be a good idea to call facilities. Curiously, the outlet along the same wall of the outlet in which the extension cord was plugged was no longer working, while the outlet which housed the extension cord was fine. After about five phone calls, I was finally transferred to the boiler room and was able to talk to someone who was willing to help me.

After everything was over, I realized how fortunate I was that the fire was so small and that I had cleaned up the papers that used to be on the floor right next to the extension cord. Unfortunately, this incident only served to heighten the comparison between my life and that of Devon Sawa in Final Destination.

Electrical fires: that’s so Po!

Dining Out: Soho’s Cubana Café Enjoy Cuban Food Ranging from Breakfast to Meat Dishes

PHOTO BY JONATHAN GILLIS/THE RAM

Though the décor is cheesy, the food at Cubana Café is worth the trip.

By JONATHAN GILLIS STAFF WRITER

The menu says that it is between Prince and Pring Streets, but don’t be fooled – Pring Street doesn’t really exist. Cubana Café might not be the best at proofreading its menus (it’s safe to assume that Pring Street is really Spring Street), but the cozy little barra is pretty good at being Cuban, and pretty excellent at making Cuban food.

Tucked nicely in Soho, Cubana is cheap, relaxed and a little cheesy. To be honest, it feels a bit like the set of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, but in an endearing way. With pictures of old shiny cars on the wall and bouncy salsa music in the background, the restaurant seems to invite hairy chests, open shirts and swinging hips. A good place to discuss the global economy? Prob-

ably not. Just read the writing on the wall – literally. No cerveza, no trabajo.

No beer, no work.

When you first sit down, look for the funky green and red sauces in the center of the table. I don’t now what they are, but they are delicious on the bread that comes out a second later. Then, when choosing your meal, skip the quesadillas. Cubana has a whole host of other options, and you can make a quesadilla at home. Instead, take a peek at things you’d never get right, like lechon. Roasted pig is hard enough to cook as it is, but to keep it as plump and tender as Cubana does is just a miracle.

Besides pork, the restaurant also offers beef, chicken and some shrimp and fish options, all spiced with the perfect island flavors, making them as saucy as Diego Luna in Havana Nights. The recipe combinations are pretty clever, blending odd flavors together with surprisingly pleasing results. The picadillo Cubano, which can be prepared with either beef or chicken, has a little bit of olive, some yucca and a hint of raisin. Try finding that sort of combination outside of Cuba.

Funny enough, Cubana also serves Overall breakfast all day despite the fact that the Location café isn’t even open for breakfast. Of Food Quality course, customers won’t be complainAtmosphere Hospitality ing. Latin eggs and tortillas are almost Price $$$$ always delicious, especially when the tortillas are fresh and the eggs topped (Out of 4 ’s) with a side of salsa.

If you are especially unadventurous, Cubana can offer you some American pancakes, too. If you are that boring, though, you might as well at least get a quesadilla.

As is generally the case with Cuban food, you’ll get your fill of black beans and rice. Just remember to save room for dessert like tres leche, a little sponge cake drowning in sweet coconut milk. You’d do alright with the flan as well.

Cubana offers some excellent mojitos for surprisingly reasonable prices.

Actually, the whole menu is affordable, which makes eating that much more enjoyable. A meal for two with two drinks on the side and some dessert will run you about $50. Subtract the drinks, and you’ve got yourself a filling meal and a bill that’s about as much as a 3-D movie ticket. Fortunately, Cubana won’t leave you with a headache, and you won’t have to wear any ridiculous glasses, either.

All in all, Cubana Café is worth the dollar. Though it might not be worth the hike downtown alone, it’s right near the Bowery and sits pleasantly in Soho, making it the perfect pre-concert dinner. Something to keep in mind, though: it’s cash only. So if you find a $20 in your wallet that you forgot about or didn’t get to spend at the bar, take it over to Cubana. They’ll be waiting right past “Pring Street” for you to show up.

Cubana Café is located in Soho on Thompson Street between Spring and Prince Streets.

Editor’s Pick: McDougall’s Born to Run

By KELLY CAGGIANO WEB EDITOR

Born to Run, written by Christopher McDougall, begins with a simple question, “How come my foot hurts?” From this simple question, McDougall began a quest of epic proportions to ultimately answer this perplexing question that no doctors were able to satisfactorily answer.

If you are looking for the next good read you must pick up a copy of Born to Run. McDougall crafted one of the most interesting, inspiring and page-turning books that I have ever read. As McDougall wrote, the journey to solve his simple question, “…led [him] to a photo of a very fast man in a very short skirt, and from there it only got stranger.

Soon, [he] was dealing with a murder, drug guerrillas and a onearmed man with a cream-cheese cup strapped to his head.”

While on an assignment to Mexico, McDougall stumbled upon a picture of, “Jesus running down a rock slide” in a travel magazine. Although this was not actually Jesus, the picture did show a man running in a skirt and sandals.

The article was about an ancient

tribe of peoples called the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara live in the deadly Copper Canyons of Mexico and are rarely seen by outsiders.

McDougall would later return to Mexico to track down the Tarahumara who were legendary for their ability to run extreme distances with no formal training and little more than thin stripes of rubber tied to their feet.

As he was looking for the legendary Tarahumara, McDougall came across an American expatriate living in Mexico who went by the name Caballo Blanco.

Caballo Blanco was one of the few outsiders who had met members of the Tarahumara and was one of an even smaller number to have been accepted and adopted by the tribe. Caballo Blanco would turn into McDougall’s key connection to getting to know the Tarahumara ways.

Ultimately, Caballo Blanco would organize “the greatest race the world has never seen” that would pit America’s top ultrarunners against the ancient running of the Tarahumara in a 50-mile race through the Copper Canyons. (Ultrarunners are people who run extreme distances, for instance the 100-mile race held annually in Leadville, Col.) McDougall’s

book may have began as a journey to discover why his foot hurt, but it morphed into a study distance running at its finest.

Before you dismiss this fantastic read, you have to give it a chance.

I’m not a huge fan of running, but after I finished the first chapter or two, I was convinced that if someone could run a 50-mile race under the hot Mexican sun, I could easily run a few miles. This book will motivate you to run and eventually enjoy running.

At the beginning of many of

the chapters McDougall included quotes that are inspirational, motivational, or intriguing from people and texts ranging from the Tao Te Ching, a sixth-century B.C.E. Chinese text, to Herb Elliott, an Olympic champion.

Whether you run 100 miles, 10 miles or 10 feet, you have to give Born to Run a chance. Pick up a copy and I give you my word that by the end you will feel motivated enough to either give running a try for the first time, or increase the distance that you already run.

COURTESY OF KELLY CAGGIANO

Born to Run will motivate even the laziest person to try running.

CULTURE

Coupons For the Poor Finding Deals Can Feed the Hungry

By MICHELLE HARDY STAFF WRITER

For budding philanthropists, a recession can be quite a dream crusher, but not for Suzanne Stiger’s, who supports needy families by donating her time, scissors and used newspapers.

Manufacturers issue $330 billion worth of coupons each year in the U.S., but less than $4 billion worth are redeemed. Instead of letting that remaining $326 billion sit at the bottom of America’s kitchen wastebaskets, Stigers decided the money belonged at community food pantries instead. She started clipping.

Stigers, a Sparta, N.J. resident, had always used coupons for family shopping and decided to do the same for struggling families in her area. After submitting a press release on her “Coupons for the Community” campaign to a local newspaper six weeks ago, she attracted enough volunteers and coupon donations to raise $8,000 worth of food for over 600 families.

“These coupons are all out there for us, and it’s like leaving the money on the table if you don’t take the opportunity to use them,” explained Stigers.

While do-gooders bent on solving world hunger often ask how to change governments, institutions and stigmas, Stigers said she believes some of the most important questions can be as simple as, “If we only focused on finding things we could get for 29 cents or less, what could we do?”

The process is fantastically simple. Volunteers at the Sparta First Presbyterian Church help Stigers collect coupons for their Ecumenical Food Pantry, and for approximately every $10 they put toward grocery purchases, they provide

$100 worth of donations by supplementing coupons.

Stigers’ fellow clippers each week come from a large group of friends and community members eager to spread her simple concept of neighborly support.

After just six weeks of work, ABC and NBC local news programs interviewed Stigers and her volunteers to commend their progress.

“Coupons for the Community” couldn’t have come at a more imminent time of need. A striking six million Americans have incomes consisting purely of food stamps, according to a New York Times article this January. While this group had been steadily growing after welfare law adjustments, it suddenly increased by 50 percent in the past two years amidst skyrocketing unemployment rates. Now, millions of families must survive on stamps alone, a system that is painfully slow and exclusionary.

However, food stamps don’t pay for “non edible essentials,” such as toilet paper, tampons, toothpaste and the like. Stigers especially hunts down coupons for these necessities so that food stamp dependant families have more options.

Pantries also restrict which families qualify to receive non-edibles, in addition to basic food items like meat and milk. Since these restrictions don’t apply to Stigers’ donations, her program helps these pantries be more flexible with those they serve.

The increasing demand for food stamps also creates a five-to-six week wait for many of the families competing to enter this system.

Stigers specifically tries to accommodate these families caught in nightmarish waiting periods with her program’s donations.

According to Stigers, college activists, often passionate about fighitng hunger, but low on cash

themselves do not even need to leave their dorms (or break their wallets) to join the coupon campaign. For campus residents who don’t subscribe to publications, Stigers suggests using the Web sites coupons.com and shopathome. com.

“Half of the people served by food pantries are often kids,” she said. “So this project is a great way for kids to help kids. The concept is very contagious and addictive, and students will have fun if they get involved and start a collective effort on campus.”

Ever since her local broadcast debuts, Stigers has hit the ground running with plans to spread her program far beyond Sparta. She now visits numerous local businesses in her county, asking them to pledge small donations based on calculations for particular foods, factoring in coupon discounts, of course.

To extend the “Coupons for the Community” mantra that “a little means a lot,” Stigers invented a campaign called “The 100th Day of School.” New Jersey’s Sussex County elementary schools will ask groups of 100 students to bring in 100 of an item that is worth 100 pennies.

Such a campaign in which individuals sacrifice so little but the collective achieves enormous results is likely to go far – maybe even to the White House according to Stigers. She said she plans to write Michelle Obama asking that this concept become an initiative in schools across the country.

Stigers would love to hear feedback and ideas from any students participating in her projects or interested in getting involved. She asks that students contact her by visiting her Web site at: http:// www.couponsforthecommunity. org/.

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 15

what’s Know “what’s going on” on campus or in NYC?

Going

22

?

On

Send tips, event listings, or comments to theram@fordham.edu.

THURSDAY

Luckyrice Festival Bowery Hotel

Kick off this year’s Luckyrice Festival with a party at the Bowery Hotel featuring top barkeeps.

23

FRIDAY

VOX Skirball Center for the Performing Arts 566 La Guardia Pl.

The New York City Opera puts on this free event to display new American composers.

24

SATURDAY

Artists & Fleas McCarren Park 129 North Sixth St.

This flea market will feature DIY and vintage indie art projects.

25

SUNDAY

MGMT Meadowlands Sports Complex 50 State Route 120

In case you were busy shopping at Artists & Fleas Saturday, catch the band during the Bamboozle festival.

26

MONDAY

The Big Quiz Thing Crash Mansion 199 Bowery

For trivia buffs, this competition will test your knowledge in different categories and puzzles.

27

TUESDAY

The Quantum Eye Theatres at 45 Bleecker 45 Bleecker St.

Sam Eaton, a mentalist, uses Victorian-style tricks rather than multimedia to amuse audiences.

28

Pippi Central Park Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre West Side at 79th St.

WEDNESDAY

Revert back to your childhood with this musical, which celebrates the 100th birthday of Pippi Longstocking.

Ram Reviews MUSIC

ACTIVITY

PLACE

BOOK

LECTURE

LAURA BELL BUNDY

PURE YOGA WEST

BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN

CHINUA’S THINGS FALL APART

INVISIBLE CHILDREN

There is no denying that Bundy can sing and dance; anyone who has seen her on Broadway can certainly attest to that, but, as I sat down and listened to the CD for the first time, even her top-notch vocals still could not do justice to the ridiculous lyrics of some of the songs.

Bundy’s music feels like a blend of country, pop and show tunes, and while you might expect this unconventional combination to disappoint, somehow, it all works perfectly.

Although she may still have some improvements to make on the songwriting aspect of her music, Bundy is a country music newcomer on the rise.

If you are up for something different, give this CD a listen, maybe even two, and you might just find yourself singing and dancing along.

Upon opening the wooden doors at the entrance of Pure Yoga West, I was instantly whisked away to a world of relaxation. Soothing music and calming aromas fill the air, and flickering candles can be found in every corner and crevice.

Do not let Pure’s gorgeous aesthetics fool you though; the yoga classes they offer are no joke. In my most recent class, I had instructors who had just returned from yoga training and teaching in Hong Kong and Australia. Within minutes of instructors asking us to perform their complex stretches I was working up a sweat, and that was only in a beginner’s class. There is, of course, always a fantastic meditation session at the end to cool your body back down.

Pure West is definitely the place for a Fordham student looking to check out yoga or to build upon the skills they already have.

The famous New York Botanical Garden is, of course, located right across the street from Fordham’s campus, but it is not the only garden of its kind in New York City. Located on 52 acres near the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful, relaxing places in the entire city, and it is definitely worth the trip.

The BBG features many of the same plants and collections as other botanical gardens, such as a rose garden, a rock garden and a plant conservatory. However, the BBG also includes some more distinctive collections that cannot be found just anywhere.

A favorite of mine is the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden, located close to the BBG’s main entrance.

The BBG’s most famous and popular feature, however, is the Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk.

Achebe’s magnum opus astounds with its unwillingness to admit to its topical irrelevance. Published in 1958, Achebe’s fictionalized story about the Igbo tribe and its confrontation with British colonialism was one of the first African novels written in English to receive global acclaim. It’s set in a village Ogunleye says he is familiar with, and initially traces the turmoil and follies of Okonkwo, one of the tribe’s most revered leaders.

Achebe’s fluid style makes the overplayed themes of family conflict and colonialism come alive. By reading Things Fall Apart, the reader gains a brief glimpse into African culture and imperialist demagoguery. What’s more, Achebe’s novel unearths and perpetuates a greater curiosity into African culture, a curiosity that promises to richly color and inform an already enjoyable tale.

Ofonyo Innocent has gone from being prisoner of a murderous Ugandan rebel group that brainwashes, arms and mutilates young children, to selling T-shirts for peace at Fordham University.

As a spokesperson for the Invisible Children Organization, Innocent drove cross-country from San Diego with five of the organization’s “roadies” last Wednesday to hold a documentary screening and discussion at Fordham. Innocent explained to students that he has come quite far since he was abducted into The Lord’s Resistance Army seven years ago.

Their visit to Fordham Wednesday was sobering. After screening “The Rough Cut,” the group facilitated a discussion on the atrocious humanitarian crisis surrounding the Ugandan war. They also explained how students can actively join their fight for peace.

TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN THEIR ENTIRETY, VISIT THERAMONLINE.COM AND CLICK ON “CULTURE” ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HOMEPAGE.

CULTURE

PAGE 16 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

Celebrate the Weather at One of the City’s Fairs

culture and flavor are represented.

While there is a festival almost every weekend, one of the more notable events is the Greenwich Avenue Festival on May 8, which features specialty goods, clothes from the best boutiques and all of the art that the village has to offer.

Another great event is the Upper Broadway Festival on May 9, located a stone’s throw from Lincoln Center on Broadway between 60th and 65th. One can peruse local art and photography as renowned musicians fill the streets with song.

Lastly, the Fabulous Fifth Avenue Festival on May 16 is a fair dedicated to arts and crafts, handmade clothes and celebrating regional artists.

talents at the free Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Food and Craft Market from May 1-2, where one can sample artisanal cheeses, pick up some handmade jewelry and attend a chocolates making lesson, all while supporting small businesses and sustainability. Vendors range from agave bakeries to organic microbreweries to bicycle painters and clockmakers.

If you cannot make it all the way to Brooklyn, you can attend the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival, from May 15-16, stretching from 37th to 57th streets. The ethnic restaurants of the Hell’s Kitchen community come together to entice your appetite with the best they have to offer from spicy gumbo and jambalaya to alligator tacos. A range of cultural dance troupes completes the festivities on Sunday afternoon.

On the socially conscious side, if you are a vegetarian or just a supporter, “vive la veggie” at Greenwich’s third annual Veggie Pride Parade on May 11. Join hundreds of marchers for music, speakers and a vegetable costume contest in Union Square Park.

Finally, celebrate Cinco De Mayo at Brooklyn’s The Bell House with “Guactacular 2010,” hosted by the blog Nachos NY. Help judges decide from 20 different kinds of guacamole, all made by local restaurants and amateur chefs. Tickets are $12 if purchased online through nachosny.com.

2. Food Festivals There are few better places for “foodies” than New York. Local crafters and chefs show off their

3. Flea Markets Flea markets are a fantastic place to find vintage clothes, antique knick-knacks and other hip accou-

CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT

Enjoy the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on May 1-2.

By KATIE CATALDO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The sun is shining, the trees are green and New York is vibrant once again with the sounds, colors and life of spring. With a fresh burst of energy flowing through the city, there is never a dull moment or day without a dozen fun, enlightening and quirky events to find throughout the city. Following are a few of the best events happening this spring.

1. Street Festivals Community street festivals celebrating all walks of life are part of the New York experience. Artists, craftsmen and entertainers stake out a home in the city each weekend to showcase their wares, inviting local businesses and organizations to contribute to make sure each neighborhood’s particular

trements, all while on a budget.

Search out the perfect summer wardrobe at the Hell’s Kitchen flea market, every Saturday and Sunday on 39th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Over 100 vendors line the street at this famous market, which has even been featured in Vogue.

The Upper West Side’s Green Flea Market, open every Sunday on Columbus Ave. at 77 Street, offers similar wares, with more of a focus on sustainable and “green” designers.

Make a day trip out of a visit to the Brooklyn Flea, located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, every Saturday.

This large outdoor flea market is home to dozens of up-and-coming designers, local artists and popular Brooklyn treats, including Kumquat Bakery cupcakes. Stroll along in the sun and pick up some new shades, jewelry or quirky home goods, but be sure to check online at brooklynflea.com for that week’s scavenger hunt item. If you manage to find it, it’s yours for free.

Lastly, visit Union Square’s GreenMarket every Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday for books, music, local art and an organic farmer’s market, the perfect place to pick up delicious fresh fruits and vegetables for a picnic in the park or a homemade dinner.

4. Art and Dance Festivals The art scene in New York is continually growing and evolving, but can seem inaccessible to those outside of “the loop.”

Celebrate local artists and be a part of the scene at the Affordable Art Fair from May 6 to 9. Even if

not a potential buyer, one can admire works from the newest young talent to well-known artists, take walking tours of the galleries or even partake in print-making classes.

Get your dance on at the fourth annual New York Dance Parade, an amazing event featuring over 70 styles of dance, over 200 dance organizations and over 10,000 dancers all grooving down Broadway on May 22. All are welcome to join the party, be it through swing, salsa, hula or just a general boogie.

The parade ends at DanceFest, where you cure your two left feet with free dance lessons and a huge dance party to finish the day.

5. Nature Festivals Nothing is more beautiful in the springtime than the city’s greenery, so refreshingly warm and invigorating after the gray and snowy streets of winter.

Delight in the annual Sakura Matsuri, or “rite of spring,” a traditional Japanese cherry blossom festival, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on May 1-2. Programs on Japanese music, drumming, flower arranging and tea ceremonies are spotlighted throughout the weekend, or one can just wander through the gardens and relax in the shade of the beautiful pink trees.

If you are a walker, participate in The Great Saunter, a 32-mile walk around Manhattan’s rim on May 1.

Take time to experience the city as you’ve never seen it before, beginning at Fulton and South, lunching at Inwood Park, and looping back down the east side. Visit shorewalkers.org for more information.

WHO’S THAT KID? Steve Hill A MEMBER OF FCRH ‘10 FROM RED HOOK, N.Y. MAJORING IN THEOLOGY Where have we seen you?

On Glenn Beck opposing those “code words.” HA, not! However, you have seen me leading retreats, as an Urban Plunge leader, just walking around campus, and I would like to think in theology classes, but I know that’s a small crowd.

Favorite childhood show and favorite current show?

My favorite childhood show was “Wings,” and now I only watch Yankees baseball.

Who would play you in a movie and why?

Samuel L. Jackson – I think the similarities are obvious.

If you could have a dinner with any historical person, who would it be and why?

The Jesuit Martyr Ignacio Ellacuria because I’d be fascinated

to discuss with him how to make Fordham a university that actually lives up to its mission and promotes a faith that does justice.

What would your ideal day in Manhattan consist of?

Going to Union Square, getting lunch at Chipotle then shopping at The Strand and the farmer’s market before going uptown to the Shake Shack and hopefully getting back to Fordham without having a heart attack.

If you could be anywhere and doing anything right now, what would it be?

Without a doubt, hanging out with my nephew Connor P. Although it’s a hit to my ego when he destroys me in Mario Kart.

Favorite class at Fordham and favorite professor?

Texts in American Theology this

COURTESY OF STEVE HILL

semester and favorite professor is easy–Fr. Michael Suarez, S.J. Two words from me about Fr. Suarez: “intense dude.” Two words from Jen Kwapisz about Fr. Suarez: “damn collar.”

How do you blow off steam?

Picking on Stephen Moccia [FCRH ‘12] with Mary Young [FCRH ‘10] because he’s so defenseless and an easy target.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

Everyone thinks I’m angry all the time when I walk around campus. I swear it’s unintentional most of the time.

Besides our GO! Nashville board buddy, who the hell wants to smile all the time?

Stuck on an island, what would you need?

“Bear” Vinny Stracquadanio [FCRH ‘11] because I know if I encountered another person on the island and he/she made fun of my stutter, Bear would get furious

and go back and give a beatdown.

What is your dream job?

The senior dean of Fordham College.

It seems like a pretty cushy job with no prerequisite experience, little intellectual rigor and you get a ton of breaks throughout the day.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Lung darts of the Marlboro variety, which thanks to Bloomberg cost me an arm and a lung [insert “Late Night” drum roll].

CULTURE

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

MGMT Not Great But Will Be a Good Time

By CLARA ENNIST STAFF WRITER

Spring Weekend is quickly approaching and it seems that almost everyone on campus is pumped for the MGMT concert; but can everyone name more than five MGMT songs? Probably not. If you can name more than five songs, then – not to be overly kitsch, but – congratulations.

The truth is MGMT released Oracular Spectacular three years ago and it contains its three bestknown songs (“Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel and Kids”). For the vast majority of people, myself included, these three songs are the only MGMT songs. MGMT is a singles band; it releases excellent, one-track anthems, but people do not really know any of their other songs.

I’m definitely not judging the hype around the MGMT, and I cannot claim to be an MGMT expert. In 2008 my friend invited me to one of concerts to which I promptly responded “What does M-G-M-T stand for?”

Listen to Congratulations, MGMT’s newest album. It’s a good album – certainly not great, and it definitely does not contain the energy of Oracular Spectacular, but it’s a pretty good listen. Yet if you go on any blog about MGMT and

Congratulations, you find the same thing: the critics and “elite” fans adore the album and argue that regular people just do not understand MGMT’s new experimental direction. The people who only purchased the album because they liked MGMT’s earlier singles are hopelessly disappointed.

Everyone adored MGMT’s singles, even French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who apparently likes “Kids” so much that he used it without permission in 2008 for his party’s campaigns. MGMT clearly has commercial appeal with its singles, but a concert set lasts longer than just three songs.

MGMT suffers from the fact that they blew up over blogs and every person who wanted to be cool immediately purchased albums and concert tickets; but most of MGMT’s concert attendees only know three songs.

Additionally, MGMT uses a synthesizer for most of its music. This might be alright with people who expect nothing more from a live performance than a glorified DJ, but if you are looking for a concert where the musical quality surpasses the album, then you are in for a disappointment.

Maybe I’ll be surprised; maybe the entire crowd will go insane for “Someone’s Missing” and “Flash Delirium,” but if you have no idea

JAY L. CLENDENIN/LOS ANGELES TIMES

MGMT may not be the best band for Spring Weekend, but their classic songs will rouse the crowd. what those are then I think I’ve proven my point. The crowd at the concert will do what has apparently

occurred at the majority of MGMT concerts; the people will relax for almost the entire thing and then go

insane for “Electric Feel,” “Kids” and “Time to Pretend,” and I plan on being one of those people.

Mimes and Mummers Stirs Controversy OSL&CD Nervous About But O.K.s Sexual Perversity in Chicago Production

By CELESTE KMIOTEK CULTURE EDITOR

Perhaps you already heard, but sexual perversity came – and left – Fordham, at least in the form of David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago, put on by the Mimes and Mummers from April 22 - 25.

The production was almost stalled, however, when the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development heard of the club’s plans.

The debate began last spring, when the club voted on plays for the following year. The club had never done anything like this play before, and the debate became heated.

Peter Wallace, FCRH ’10, who was in charge of set design and starred in the play, felt that the play would be a good fit for the spring production. Made up of short vignettes, lasting roughly an hour, and written in the vernacular, the play posed a challenge with its fast pace.

“It’s bam, we’re going and you better catch up cause we’re not slowing down for you,” Wallace said.

Though the show is laced with expletives and deals with a bevy of sex-related topics, many of them extremely politically incorrect, Wallace said he felt that the play was age-appropriate, as it revolves around four 20-somethings in Chicago in 1976 navigating love and relationships.

“It’s something we can all relate

to,” he said. “It’s something the audience can relate to. [It] is about sparking dialogue on issues that still occur today.”

The play was brought to OSL&CD’s attention when the club tried to reserve Collins Auditorium for the production. Wallace said that OSL&CD was upset that the club did not alert them to their plans to put on the play earlier, but says that it did make an effort to clue OSL&CD in at each step after the process of putting on the show began.

Courtney Schiessl, FCRH’11, the current president of Mimes and Mummers, said that OSL&CD was more understanding after the club explained that it dealt with productions on a show-by-show basis.

“We think it’s important to stay in contact with Mimes and all our student clubs and organizations on activities, and the Mimes have acknowledged that this conversation should have started earlier,” Christopher Rogers, dean of students, said. “I know the club had some deadlines it was trying to make in producing the play and only informed OSL&CD very close to those deadlines, so there was some rapid work necessary to work through all the details.”

Jennifer Mussi, Ph.D., assistant dean of OSL&CD, and Regina Fetterolf, assistant director of programming, met with the club’s former president, Mike Burns, FCRH ’10, and Schiessl to discuss the University’s issues with the play, followed by several more meetings,

including one with Schiessl, Fetterolf, Mussi, Rodgers and Wallace.

“They were concerned about how we’d go about staging the show,” Wallace said. “Dean Rodgers seemed to be legitimately listening to Courtney and me.”

“A lot of questions were thrown out to us about the show content, seen as violent towards women,” Schiessl said. “We assured them we would never want to portray the content in that light, our group in that light, Fordham in that light.”

The administration was particularly worried about the misogynistic undertones of the play, and the potential for the play to be misread by the audience as condoning sexist behavior.

“My concerns had to do with the use of this same repulsive language to make this point and I made an effort to show the Mimes that there were very likely better ways to touch on the same themes from the stage,” Rodgers said.

Mimes and Mummers remained adamant that the play is more about relationships, the balance between the repressive 1950s and free-loving 1960s and the women’s movement than it is about sex. They said the material was important to raise on campus, despite the school’s Jesuit identity. “[It has something] legitimate [to] contribute to both the intellectual and artistic communities on campus,” Wallace said. “[We] still abide by Catholic faith, so how does that apply to sex? Even if the people who saw it argue for only 20

minutes on the way to Pugsley’s after, we’ve still done our job.”

Tight schedules made scheduling meetings difficult and with time to buy the rights of the play running out, Rodgers, after consulting with OSL&CD and several campus leaders, agreed that although he would prefer that the club choose a different show, he would not stop them. Grateful, the production work began and the club tried to live up to its assurances to the University while staying true to Mamet’s work.

“Though the Mimes and the producers made a case that they were up to the task of tackling this difficult material, I did ask them to choose another play,” Rodgers said.

“They declined to do so, and so the conversation continues.” “[We] tried to find that very thin line between being true to our company’s artistic vision for this production and abiding by the preferences of OSL&CD,” Wallace said. “It wasn’t easy.”

The club also ran into some snags during the marketing campaign when OSL&CD took issue with some of their posters and other marketing material. Schiessl said that though the club presented a few out-of-the-box ideas, it ended up with tamer promotions. The lack of time also hurt the marketing, and the club is upset that word of the production was not more widespread.

Nevertheless, the play went on.

Mimes and Mummers reports hearing only positive comments

about the performance, and Rodgers is currently reaching out to the community to determine reactions, but it may be too soon to tell the ramifications of the controversial performance. For the meantime, both sides have positive comments about their interactions with each other. “[There were] some ups and downs–certainly a few disagreements and times when lines of communication were crossed,” Wallace said. “[But we were] pleasantly surprised with their willingness to hear our side of the story.

Ultimately, they have to do their job–our job is to lobby for what we want to do–and hopefully we can come up with something in-between. Ideally that compromise is satisfactory for everyone involved.”

“I have noticed that some–on both sides of any of these issues– are more comfortable with the sensational than the substantive, but I was grateful to Schiessl for keeping our discussions to substance and for making an effort to address the concerns we expressed,” Rogers said “Overall, I think that in the end everything went well,” Schiessl said.

“There were times I was nervous about what was going to happen with the show, but every meeting I went into I was happy at the end of it. They treated Pete and I [sic] as adults in the meeting and that was something I was very happy about, because we could have very easily been treated as students who were trying to push their buttons.”

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PAGE 18 • THE RAM • APRIL28, 2010

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APRIL 28, 2010

PAGE 19

Mineau Throws Another No-Hitter; Softball Extends Winning Streak to 14

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

After knocking off the 31-7 Hofstra Pride on April 20 with a seventh-inning home run by junior shortstop Samantha Pellechio, the softball team witnessed some more heroics on its road trip to Philadelphia to play Temple.

Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau was able to toss her second no-hitter of the season and the fourth of her career.

“Jen’s been great all year,” Head Coach Bridget Orchard said. “This is typical for her.”

The Lady Rams were able to spot Mineau an early lead with two runs, thanks to some sloppy play from Temple.

After recording the first two outs, Owls junior pitcher Kristen Marris hit junior second baseman Beckah Wiggins. Senior centerfielder Erin Fisher followed that with a single up the middle before Pellechio walked. the Lady Rams got some luck with an error by sophomore shortstop Kristina Sykora that allowed two runs to score.

Fordham was not done there.

Sophomore right fielder Jessica Richards led off the second inning with a home run, making it 3-0.

After sophomore left fielder Lindsey Kay Bright reached on an error by senior third baseman Danielle Fagan and junior third baseman Jocelyn Dearborn struck out, freshman first baseman Jamie LaBovick hit another bomb for the Lady Rams, expanding the lead to 5-0.

Fordham continued to show off its power in the third inning, when

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau threw her second no-hitter of the season and the fourth of her career against Temple.

junior catcher Meghan Shager wrapped up the scoring with her first career home run to make it 6-0.

From there on out, Mineau was the story. After striking out the side in the first inning and continuing to send hitters down in order through the fourth, Temple finally produced a base runner, albeit because of an error by freshman shortstop Chelsea Palumbo.

However, Mineau was able to retire the next three hitters without allowing a ball to leave the infield, keeping the no-hitter intact through five.

It seemed as if Mineau continued to get stronger as she approached the end of the game, striking out the side in the sixth and then finishing off the no-hitter by striking out the side again in the seventh, giving her 14 for the game.

This was Mineau’s second nohitter of the year, with the first coming in the team’s opener against Moorehead State on Feb. 20.

The following day, the two teams met again, and Mineau got the ball yet again for the Lady Rams.

For the second straight day, Fordham struck quickly with two runs. Dearborn opened the scoring with a leadoff home run to give Fordham a quick lead.

Then, after LaBovick got hit by a pitch and sophomore infielder Nicole Callahan singled, Shager singled home a run to make it 2-0.

Once again Mineau was dominant, allowing only three hits through five innings, striking out 11 to keep the Owls at bay.

In the fifth inning the Lady Rams provided some more run support.

After a LaBovick single to start the inning, Wiggins hit a two-run home run to make it 4-0.

The next hitter, Fisher, walked and then stole second base before Callahan singled her home to make it 5-0.

In the sixth, Fordham continued to pile it on. Richards led off the inning with a home run, her second

in as many days.

“I think I was successful this weekend because my parents came out to watch me play so I was really able to relax and have fun, which is when I play my best,” Richards said.

Bright followed that up with a single, then stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a Wiggins single to make it 7-0.

That proved to be more than enough for the Fordham pitchers.

Plimpton came in to close out the last two innings and did so without any issues, allowing no hits and walking one.

Fordham showed off its power in the two games, hitting six home runs against Temple.

“We faced a lot of great pitching early,” Orchard said. “When we face average pitching we can really hit the ball hard.”

“Our team is very proud of how hard we work in the weight room and I think all the home runs lately

are just a reflection of that,” Richards said.

After having a doubleheader against Saint Joseph’s cancelled, Fordham then finished off its eightgame road trip by heading to Iona to face the 22-17 Gaels.

Once again, Fordham got off to a hot start, as Fisher hit a three-run home run to give the Lady Rams an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first.

Fordham added to its lead in the fourth. Richards led off the inning with a double and then Bright reached on an error. Bright stole second base, leading to an error on the throw which allowed Richards to score and Bright to advance to third. Dearborn then singled to bring home Bright and the Fordham lead grew to 5-0.

Fordham later tacked on an additional run in the sixth on a wild pitch that scored Palumbo, who led off the inning with a double.

In the meantime, Fordham received some more outstanding pitching from Mineau (four innings pitched) and Plimpton (three innings).

The two combined for Fordham’s fourth-straight shutout and allowed only two hits in the game.

With the three wins, the Lady Rams have now won 14 straight and are 40-8 overall and 12-2 in the Atlantic 10.

Their next games are back at home on Sunday, May 2 with a doubleheader against 34-13 Charlotte, starting at 12 p.m.

“They have a great pitcher in [senior] Emily Jeffery,” Orchard said.

“If we can score some runs, that will be the key.”

Track Races to Mixed Results at the Penn Relays

By CELESTE KMIOTEK CULTURE EDITOR

Fordham’s men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams went to Philadelphia on Thursday, April 22 for the Penn Relays. The teams had mixed feelings about the results.

“Penn Relays went very well on the women’s side,” junior Sherilyn Groeninger said. “The 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relays all had season best times.”

“The relays were pretty much a mixed result,” freshman John Cosgrove said. “The SMR [Sprint Medley Relay] ran well. The 4x800 did not do as well as expected.”

“Both the men’s and women’s team performed at the levels that were expected of them given the competition,” junior Kerry Kwalwasser said.

“Since there were only a few of us that went, we knew we would have to run hard to represent our team well and that is what we tried to do,” junior Kerri Gallager said. “I would say we were pretty successful, and this puts us in a good position as we get ready for A[tlantic] 10s next weekend.”

For the men, the 4x800-meter relay team of junior Tim Hutchinson, junior Brian Schmidt, Cosgrove

and sophomore Kevin Fitzgerald came in 16th out of 35 teams with a time of 7:40.35, while in the College Men’s Spring Medley Championship of America, the team of freshman Sean Atkinson, junior Christopher Lyons, Schmidt and freshman Bernard Moore placed 25th of 38 teams with 3:27.69.

For the women, the 4x100-meter relay team of Groeninger, senior Catherine Groene, sophomore Kelly Connolly and sophomore Elisabeth Warren took 72nd of 95 teams with a time of 48.93, breaking the school record of 49.43 the same team set at the Metropolitan Championships the previous weekend. The 4x400-meter relay team of Connolly, Gallagher, Warren and Groene placed 57th of 88 teams with a 3:54.92 and the 4x800-meter relay team of Gallagher, Connolly, Kwalwasser and Groene placed 15th of 25 teams with a time of 9:09.70.

The only individual competitor, redshirted senior Brigid Moriarty, came in 12th in the College Women’s Championship 3,000-meter race with a 9:51.21, which is second to only one other performance in Fordham’s history (Lauren Gubicza’s 1992 9:12.18) and qualifies her for the ECAC Championships.

“Brigid was our only individual

competitor and really made a statement running against some of the top talent in the country,” Gallagher said.

The teams are now preparing for the A-10 Championship this weekend.

“For A-10s, we expect to be very competitive in all events, especially the relays,” Groeninger said. “We will work hard this week in practice and will definitely be a team to

compete with at A-10s.”

“Our misfortune at Penn will undoubtedly fuel our emotions for the A-10 Championship this weekend,” Cosgrove said. “As far as the 4x8 is concerned, we all are moving to win the relay.”

“I think this was a good lead into the A-10s this weekend,” Kwalwasser said. “We are excited to have more personal bests next weekend in the individual and relay races. I

think going into the meet we are just hoping to compete at the level that the other teams are competing at and place higher than we did last year.”

“We’re very confident going into A-10s,” Groene said. “We’ve run some times that place us in a great place to compete this weekend.”

The A-10s are on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 in Amherst, Mass.

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Junior Sherilyn Groeninger was a part of a 4x100-meter relay team that broke a school record with a time of 48.93 seconds.

SPORTS

PAGE 20 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

Fordham Loses Tough Series at Dayton

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

If momentum truly matters in baseball, do no tell the Fordham Rams team. After recording a ninerun comeback against Iona that included sophomore shortstop Brian Kownacki’s already famous “Fordham Flip,” St. John’s proceeded to blow out Fordham by 11 runs.

They then experienced an up-anddown weekend road series versus Dayton, capped by a defeat in which they gave up a five-run lead.

The Fordham offense performed better in its past few games and proved it could certainly play with Dayton, which is usually one of the better programs in the Atlantic 10.

Considering the struggles of Fordham’s starting pitching and the fact that the Rams lost two of three to a Flyers team who came into the series with a conference record of 5-7, Fordham’s play this past week can be considered nothing but disappointing.

No matter what Fordham does for the rest of the season, the “Kownacki Flip” will be its defining play. Seemingly memorialized on every media outlet, Kownacki’s astonishing run-scoring leap over Iona catcher James Beck in the bottom of the eighth inning was just the capper in the Ram’s nine-run rally against the Gaels in their 12-9 home victory on April 20.

The game looked to be over right from the start as Iona was able to score nine runs off of junior John Flanagan and freshman Dan Sorine in the first four innings of the contest.

Just when things seemed at their bleakest, however, junior James Stone supplied Fordham with 3.1 scoreless innings of work to keep Fordham in the game. The Rams tallied single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on an RBI single and a double steal to narrow the deficit to 9-3.

Everything went Fordham’s way in the eighth, as the offense both came alive and took advantage of Iona miscues to make a nine-run rally. Sophomore left fielder Stephen McSherry began the inning by reaching on an error and advancing to third on two wild pitches before scoring on an RBI single from sophomore second baseman Nick Martinez. Martinez would score on a double to left center by Ryan McCrann to make the score 9-5.

Anthony Castelitto was brought in from the bullpen but the Gaels were unable to slow down Fordham’s momentum. Senior right fielder P.J. Como scored on a wild pitch and senior first baseman Michael Taddei smached a single to center that scored McCrann and then freshman Ryan Lee all the way from first to bring Fordham to within one and set the stage for Kownacki’s heroics.

Iona continued going to bullpen to stem the Ram’s run to no avail.

Matt Petro came in and had little control, hitting Kownacki with a pitch to force Taddei in with the tying run. Junior catcher Chris Walker then blasted a single to center that easily scored freshman pinch runner Matt DeSilva and McSherry and then was again misplayed in center, allowing Kownacki to

come around all the way from first.

Instead of running into Beck’s tag, Kownacki leaped over him and landed with a handstand on home plate, capping the rally and giving the Rams a 12-9 advantage.

Sophomore Jordan Grangard would go on to earn his first save of the season in the ninth for Fordham by shutting down the Gaels.

At the plate, McCrann was 2-4 with a double and two RBI, while Taddei went 2-5 with two runs scored.

“We showed relentless persistence in this game,” Head Coach Nick Restaino said. “We would not let ourselves lose this game.”

The Rams proved that momentum is a fickle muse, as they followed up their rousing win by getting crushed 18-7 at the hands of St. John’s on April 21.

Fordham jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, as senior designated hitter Angelo Ponte hit a bases-loaded RBI single to deliver Kownacki and Walker.

The Red Storm immediately came back with six runs in the bottom of the inning off of freshman Ryan DeMartino, highlighted by a two-run double from catcher Robert Case. St. John’s extended the lead to 8-2 in the following inning.

Fordham fought back to an 8-7 deficit with five runs in the third.

Ponte continued his outstanding game with another two-run RBI single and was plated on another two-run RBI single from Lee to pull to within one.

One would not have been out of place to think that the Rams were on their way to again pulling off an impressive comeback, but the Red Storm scored four times in the fourth and picked up three more runs in the fifth on a three-run home run from shortstop Joe Panik to take a commanding 15-7 lead.

Fordham’s starting pitching was poor for the second straight day.

DeMartino (2-2) lasted only 1.2 innings while allowing eight runs.

Ponte finished the game 2-5 with four RBI. The Rams had their third-straight poor performance by a starting pitcher on April 23 in their series

opener versus Dayton. Senior J.P. Mack (1-5) allowed seven earned runs on six hits in 3.1 innings. He permitted three walks without striking out a Flyer.

Mack, who returned at the beginning of the season from injury, is 1-5 with an 8.22 ERA .

Fordham’s only real chance on offense was in the first. The Rams loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before Ponte strolled to the plate. While Ponte was able to work a full count against Bruny Mitchem, he grounded out to first to end the threat.

Dayton scored its first run of the game with the help of an error by third baseman Ryan Maghini. His mishandling of a ground ball allowed for an RBI single by second baseman Zach Jacob.

Dayton’s offense then exploded with four runs in the second, highlighted by a two-run homer by outfielder Zach Blanchette, his first of the year. The Flyers continued adding onto their advantage in the next few innings with two runs scored in each the fourth and fifth.

Meanwhile, four Dayton pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout of Fordham.

Mitchem allowed three runs and three hits in six innings of work.

The Rams recorded no extra-base hits in the contest and left eight runners on base.

Junior Max Krakowiak was the antidote to Fordham’s starting pitching woes in the series’ second game on April 24. Krakowiak threw an outstanding 10-inning complete game effort to help give the Rams an important 5-3 victory.

Fordham opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single from Martinez. They then manufactured a pair of runs in the fifth to extend the lead to 3-0. The Rams put runners on second and third with a Como double and Maghini’s bunt single before Kownacki smacked a single to score Como.

Chris Walker’s two-strike single scored Maghini to give Fordham a three-run advantage.

While Krakowiak was able to keep Dayton quiet for six innings, the Flyers tied the game in the sev-

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Junior pitcher Max Krakowiak pitched a 10-inning complete game at Dayton.

enth with the help of a two-run double from shortstop Cole Tyrell.

Both teams had chances to take the lead in the eighth, but Dayton’s Chris Breesley used two groundballs to escape from the inning and the Rams turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

As the contest went into extra innings, Fordham broke a 3-3 tie in the 10th when McCrann and Mobbs scored on a two-run triple

by Martinez.

Krakowiak returned the favor by recording a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the 10th and picking up his third complete game of the season. Krakowiak (3-3) allowed two earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. For the season, he is 3-3 with an ERA of 4.12.

“My fastball was strong in the game and I was able to get a lot of ground balls,” Krakowiak said. “My infield supported me very well.”

At the plate, Martinez went 3-5 with three RBI. McCrann and Como both stole two bases.

Fordham looked like they were going to be taking the series from Dayton on April 25, as they held a 7-2 lead heading into the seventh

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Redshirt senior Angelo Ponte went 2-5, knocked in four runs and scored a run in an 18-7 loss at St. John’s last week.

inning, but everything changed in the final three innings when the Flyers scored six runs for an 8-7 victory.

Martinez continued his stellar weekend with a solo home run to right center, tying the game at 2-2 in the fourth. It was Martinez’s second career homer and first of the season.

The Rams then grabbed their first lead in the fifth when Jacob dropped a short fly to the outfield, allowing Maghini and McCrann to score and give the Rams a 4-2 edge.

Fordham strung together four straight singles in the sixth for a 6-2 lead, with RBI coming from McCrann and Walker. Finally, Lee capped Fordham’s scoring in the seventh with an RBI single for the 7-2 advantage.

Dayton rallied in the seventh, scoring four times off freshman relievers Joseph Charest and Rich Anastasi. Charest allowed a tworun homer to Roestinger, while Anastasi’s control deserted him.

The three walks and one hit he allowed turned into two runs that made the score 7-6. The Flyers’ success on offense continued in the eighth when Cole Tyrell hit a two-run home run off of Grangard (0-2) that just cleared the left field wall, his seventh of the season.

At the plate, Lee was 3-5 with a double and an RBI. “This Dayton series came down to one play,” Restaino said. “It was certainly disappointing. We need to be more consistent and hit, pitch and play defense at the same time.”

Fordham’s starting pitching was not strong in their five games during the week and could be a weakness for the team down the stretch.

While Krakowiak and junior Brian Pendergast are solid starters with ERAs of 4.12 and 4.20, the Rams lack depth in their rotation. Mack has been unable to return efficiently from injury.

Relievers like Ryan DeMartino and John Flangan who have filled spots in the rotation have been largely ineffective. Until the rotation finds that third arm, it will be a question mark.

Fordham now stands at 14-25 and 8-7 in the A-10.

NFL Draft Review

By RICH HOFMANN STAFF WRITER

For the 75th NFL Draft, league honchos decided to do things a little differently. Instead of having the festivities take up the better part of Saturday and Sunday, the draft was spread out from Thursday to Saturday.

The first three rounds took place where they never have before, in primetime. In addition to the format change, many draft evaluators considered the current draft class as a very deep one, making this a memorable draft. Here are some of the big storylines from the weekend.

Quarterback Controversy Sam Bradford going No. 1 to the Rams was no surprise, but that’s just about the only quarterback pick that went according to plan.

To the surprise of many, the next signal caller selected was not Jimmy Clausen or Colt McCoy, but Tim Tebow.

The Florida quarterback went from one of the most accomplished college players of all time to one of the most debated prospects in NFL history.

Although his leadership and intangibles were never in doubt, many question whether he can adapt (and drastically change) his footwork and throwing motion to the NFL game. At the No. 25 pick, many feel that the Denver Broncos took an unnecessary risk in selecting Tebow.

Clausen and McCoy, considered to make up the second tier of quarterbacks, had excruciatingly long waits. Clausen, the polished Notre Dame product who ran a pro-style offense under Charlie Weis, was taken by the Panthers with the No. 48 pick. McCoy, a four-year starter at Texas who set the record for FBS wins with 45, had to wait until the 85 pick to hear his name called by Cleveland. McCoy, whose physical tools are not as impressive as the other quarterbacks, reminds some of Drew Brees in that.

Skelton to Arizona Speaking of quarterbacks, Fordham’s very own John Skelton went in the fifth round to the Arizona Cardinals.

How rare is having a Fordham player drafted? While it wasn’t in the days of the Seven Blocks of Granite, the last Ram taken in the draft was Kenny Parker in 1968. In Arizona, Skelton has found a good landing spot to learn how to play the quarterback position at the professional level.

Most importantly, he will have time to learn under offensive guru Ken Whisenhunt, who orchestrates the high scoring Cardinals offense.

Thought of as a bit of a project with great raw tools (including the strongest arm in the draft class), Skelton will have time to develop as a backup to Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson. The only negative is that Kurt Warner, who would have been a great guy to learn from, retired in the offseason.

Defensive Tackles Go Early After Bradford, two defensive tackles promptly followed at picks two and three. Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy, widely considered the two best talents in the draft, should make instant impacts for their re-

spective teams. Suh’s coming out party was last year’s Big 12 Championship Game, which he dominated from his defensive tackle position by sacking Colt McCoy 4.5 times.

Gerald McCoy has exceptional quickness which allows him to consistently disrupt plays in the backfield.

The Bucs hope that he can help anchor their defense like Warren Sapp did when they were consistently one of the most feared units in the league.

Dez Bryant Falls to the Cowboys Jerry Jones did not want to make the same mistake twice. About a decade ago, Jones passed on a talented wide receiver who many teams felt had character problems.

That player was named Randy Moss, and Jones has regretted it ever since. When a similar situation arose in this draft, Jones made a quick decision to trade up three spots and select Bryant with the No. 24 pick.

Although nobody questioned Bryant’s talent (Top 10), he has many character issues, including a 10-game NCAA suspension for lying to an NCAA investigator. Bryant, who could easily win Offensive Rookie of the Year, should help take some of the receiving load off of Miles Austin’s shoulders.

The real question in Dallas is what Roy Williams’ role will be now.

Seattle Stocks Up Pete Carroll’s NFL experience has not exactly rivaled the success he had at USC. Now with his third NFL head coaching job, Carroll started off with an excellent haul in his first draft with the Seahawks.

With two first-round picks, the Seahawks selected hard-nosed tackle Russell Okung and ball-hawking safety Earl Thomas. At the end of the second round, they were fortunate to have playmaking wide receiver Golden Tate slip to them.

The additions of serviceable running backs LenDale White, a physical runner who played for Carroll at USC, and Leon Washington, a lightning-fast player coming off injury, help solidify that position for the Seahawks.

Those are some of the big storylines, but plenty else happened in New York over the weekend.

Two teams, San Diego (RB Ryan Matthews) and Philadelphia (DE Brandon Graham) traded up into the middle of the first round. Jason Campbell became expendable because of the Donovan McNabb trade earlier this offseason and Campbell was traded to the Raiders for a fourth round pick.

The two New York teams looked to the defensive side of the ball in the first round and added to positions of strength. The Jets added cornerback Kyle Wilson from Boise State. He will join a very deep secondary that includes Darrelle Revis, Kerry Rhodes and the recently traded Antonio Cromartie.

The Giants were believed to be eyeing Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain in the middle of the first round, but the Raiders selected him well before that. They chose on defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who is unproven, but has great potential. He will provide depth for Justin Tuck, Matthias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora.

SPORTS

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 21

Softball

Baseball

Fordham 1-0 Hofstra

Fordham 12-9 Iona

Fordham

AB R H RBI HR

Iona

AB R H RBI HR

Dearborn 3b Fisher cf Wiggins 2b LaBovick 1b Pellechio ss Callahan dp Shager c Richards rf Pollack ph Bright lf Mineau p

3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 2 0

Muccio cf Rossetti 2b Passerelle lf Burke 3b Beck c Lyall rf Dignelli dh Chiaravall1b Kriss pr Capowski ss Charron ph

4 1 2 2 5 0 2 2 3 1 4 1 5 0 4 1 0 0 3 1 1 0

1 1 1 0 1 3 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals

24 1 3 1

Totals

33 9 12 9

0

Fordham

AB R H RBI HR

Hofstra

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

AB R H RBI HR

Root cf DePasquale1b Senatore pr Ziemba rf Michalowsk3b Galati p Novatin dp Hirschbuhl2b Dreslinskiss Bigler lf Valentino c

2 2 0 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals

21 0 2 0

0

RH E Fordham 000 000 001 1 3 0 Hofstra 000 000 000 0 2 0

Track & Field Penn Relays Men’s 4x800 Relay 16. Fordham (Hutchinson, Schmidt, Cosgrove, Fitzgerald), 7:40.35.

Men’s Sprint Medley Championship of America 25. Fordham (Atkinson, Lyons, Schmidt, Moore), 3:27.69

Martinez 2b 6 Como rf 3 Mccrann dh 4 Mobbs cf 3 Lee cf 1 Taddei 1b 5 Ponte c 3 DeSilva pr/3b 0 McSherry lf 4 Russo 3b 2 Kownacki ph/ss0 Maghini ss/3b 2 Walker ph/c 2

Totals

6 2 4 0 0 2 0 1 2 0 1 1 0

Fordham 5-3 Dayton

1 2 2 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0

1 1 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

35 12 9 8 0

R HE Iona 133 200 000 9 12 4 Fordham 001 001 19x 12 9 0

Fordham

AB R H RBI HR

Lee lf 5 Kownacki ss 4 Walker c 4 McCrann 1b 5 Mobbs cf 3 Ponte dh 4 DeSilva pr/dh1 Martinez 2b 5 Como rf 4 Maghini 3b 5 Krakowiak p 0 Totals Dayton

0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0

0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0

40 5 12 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AB R H RBI HR

Blanchette cf 4 Nelson lf 4 Jacob 2b 4 Dunsmore rf 4 Tyrell ss 4 Bloesik 1b 4 Roesinger 3b 4 Jeffery c 3 Castine ph 1 Gayda dh 3 Hundley pr 0 Pfeffenber ph 1 Hobson p 0 Beesley p 0 Totals

0 1 1 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 0

0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

36 3 9 2

0

RH E Fordham 010 020 000 2 5 12 1 Dayton 000 000 300 0 3 9 0

Women’s 4x100 Relay 72. Fordham (Groeninger, Groene, Connolly, Warren) 48.93

Women’s 4x800 Relay 15. Fordham (Gallagher, Kwalwasser, Connolly, Groene), 9:09.70

Women’s 4x400 Relay 57. Fordham (Connolly, Gallagher, Warren, Groene) 3:54.92

Women’s 3000m 12. Fordham, Moriarty, 9:51.21

Spring Weekend Weather Forecast Friday:

Saturday

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. clear overnight, with a low around 61

Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Becoming cloudy overnight, with a low around 62

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. cloudy at night, with a low around 60.

Source: The National Weather Service

SPORTS

PAGE 22 • THE RAM • APRIL 28, 2010

MATT MANUSZAK

The Smush Parker Project Part of being a rabid NBA fan is being able to debate, ad nauseam, about where players rank on an all-time scale. Unfortunately, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame does us no favors, as its induction of gratuitous numbers of coaches, college players and administrators has severely dampened its sheen.

Ranking players from different eras is almost impossible: using statistics is extremely difficult, conditioning has improved immensely and the racial makeup of the league since its inception has completely changed. Finally, the role that championships play in rating players is extremely overrated due to simple bad luck or poor teammates for many worthy players.

Using stats to rank players is extremely tricky, since the pace of NBA games used to be much faster, allowing for more points, rebounds and assists to be generated. On average, teams during that era in the early 1960s averaged about 30 more possessions per game than today’s teams. Further, as much as some ignorant critics try to say that today’s players aren’t committed to defense, that’s simply not true.

When Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists over the entire 1961-1962 season, only one team – the Boston Celtics – gave up fewer than 116 points per game on defense.

Not coincidentally, that season was the same in which legendary center Wilt Chamberlain averaged a record-setting 50.4 points per game. Those stats begin to lose their luster a bit when one factors in the pace and poor defense of the era. Yes, there are metrics like John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating (PER) that take into account pace. PER is incredibly valuable as a catch-all stat when ranking players from the same era, but it penalizes players from earlier eras, as a high premium wasn’t always placed on shooting percentage, blocked shots weren’t recorded until the 197374 season and the three-point line wasn’t added until the 1979-80 season. So, for the most part, using stats is valuable for judging players who are contemporaries yet is a flawed method for comparing players from different eras.

As in all sports, conditioning and nutrition have come a long way since the 1950s and 1960s.

Yes, there are certain players who are freaks that would probably thrive in any era. LeBron James and Dwight Howard are largely products of superior genetics and would be absolute monsters whenever they played. Similarly, the 7’1” Chamberlain, who was a track star in college at Kansas as well as a basketball star, would likely survive in today’s game.

What about a player like Bob Cousy? The Cooz stood at 6’1”, 175 lbs. He could really only dribble with his right hand. He

averaged 37.5 percent shooting for his career. He did, however, revolutionize the point guard position.

Could Bob Cousy guard Deron Williams or Chris Paul? No, it would be a ridiculous matchup with both players; yet, Cousy did help change the position that Williams and Paul lay claim to today.

How much does that count?

Furthermore, the racial makeup of the league was far different at that time. While today over 80 percent of the league is black, African-American players were still rather novel during Cousy’s era. The first team to have an all African-American starting lineup was the Boston Celtics in 1964-65, and that was extremely drastic for the time. Would players like Cousy (who I’m probably unfairly picking on), George Mikan or Dolph Schayes really have thrived if players like Russell and Chamberlain were more prevalent in the ’50s?

Again, comparing players from different eras proves to be problematic when conditioning and race are involved.

The final issue regarding ranking players is championships. Judging players primarily on championships is extremely foolish, since so much is dependent both on a player’s teammates and a player’s era. Take Karl Malone, for instance. Malone, along with probably Tim Duncan, Kevin McHale and Charles Barkley, among others, is generally considered to be in the conversation for the top power forward of all time. Yet he never won a championship during his entire career.

His best chances were probably in 1997 and 1998, when his Jazz, led by him and John Stockton, lost to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, and 2004, when his Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, lost to the Detroit Pistons. Much of this was of no fault of Malone’s: he put up remarkably consistent stats and was known for his legendary work ethic, yet his career simply coincided too closely with Jordan’s, among other talented players in the ’90s.

Now, Malone did shrink at times in big games, but how much can he be faulted for simply being unlucky and having his career coincide closely with the career of the greatest player ever? That’s just a recent player: how much credence can one lend to the 11 championships of Bill Russell? Even without the rings, Russell was a great enough rebounder and defender that his place in history would be secure. In the ’50s and ’60s, there were often fewer than 10 teams in the entire league. Further, the talent pool was so diluted that Russell himself played with 10 Hall of Famers over the course of his 14year career. Russell can’t be faulted for these circumstances – all he did was win. Yet, which were more difficult: Russell’s 11 championships in the ’50s and ’60s, Magic Johnson’s five in the ’80s or Jordan’s six in the ’90s? Further, what if Russell hadn’t had such great teammates?

As you can see, using championships to compare players in general is tough enough, let alone players from different eras. When comparing NBA stars and debating their relative merits, judging players from different eras is extremely difficult and using championships as the main attribute rather than simply a factor can prove to be problematic.

Senior Profile: Ryan McCrann

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

Senior first baseman Ryan McCrann has recorded an impressive baseball career at Fordham since transferring from Boston College after his freshman year. McCrann ranked second on the team in slugging percentage in 2009 at .503 and is leading the team in batting average this season with a .351 clip. He has also hit two home runs for a team that has recorded only 12 on the year. McCrann is a significant offensive force for a team that lacks in much offensive pop and served in an important leadership role for his younger teammates. If the Rams have any shot at winning the A-10 Championship final, McCrann’s bat will be key. The Ram sat down with McCrann following a grueling baseball practice.

The Ram: What made you decide to transfer from Boston College and come to Fordham?

Ryan McCrann: I was living at home while at BC and I wasn’t playing baseball there. I just wanted a more normal college experience.

Luckily, I had a great opportunity to both come to Fordham and play here. It’s really worked out for me.

TR: What’s been your best memory playing baseball here?

RM: My best memory is definitely being able to start in the A-10 Championship game as a freshman. I hadn’t been a regular starter most of that year, so getting that opportunity in such a big spot was amazing.

TR: How did you first get into baseball as a kid?

RM: I had a brother who played regularly when I was a kid and that helped. My dad is also a huge Red Sox fan and did everything he could to get me to play and help me career along. It just blossomed from there.

TR: What are your goals for the rest of the year, both personally and as a team?

RM: As a team our goal is to win

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior first baseman Ryan McCrann leads the team in batting average (.351).

the A-10 Championship. My goal is just to help the team get there any way I can. Whether this is by driving in runs, scoring runs or playing great defense, I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team win.

TR: What do you enjoy about playing in the field?

RM: I enjoy being part of the action and having some control over the game. It’s exciting.

TR: You’ve been having a lot of success on offense this season and lead the team in batting average at .351. What’s been the key to that success?

RM: I feel like I’ve just been much more comfortable at the plate this year. I’ve tried to stay patient when I’m up at bat and it’s really paid off for me.

TR: The Rams have been playing better in the Atlantic 10 but have still largely been up and down.

How does the team need to play to take the next step so they can really contend for the A-10 title?

RM: We really haven’t been putting it all together in our games. We haven’t had our pitching, offense and defense going at the same time. Once we have all three elements of the game clicking we will be in great shape.

TR: What’s been the best moment of the season so far for the team?

RM: Oh, the best moment has definitely been beating Miami. It’s a memory I’ll have forever. It was a great win against a team that has guys who will go on to be in the majors.

TR: What are your plans after you graduate from Fordham?

RM: I’m not sure yet. I’m a business major, so I hopefully want to somehow use that for a career in sports.

Rowing Defends Title at Metropolitan Spring Title

By KIMBERLY ENGEL STAFF WRITER

The Fordham rowing team successfully defended its title at the Metropolitan Spring Championships Sunday.

Competing against 15 other teams at the Orchard Beach Lagoon, N.Y., Fordham scored 122 points overall, ahead of Army at 118 points and Fairfield, who placed third at 95 points.

The Lady Rams Varsity 8 placed first in its competition, earning a gold medal.

“Overall our racing went very well, even with the conditions,” Head Coach Ted Bonanno said.

“We had a very good day. We competed in commanding fashion.”

Last year, Fordham won the championship, and set out to do the same going into the day’s competition.

Fordham entered its women’s Varsity 8 and Junior Varsity 8 shells into the same event, with the Varsity 4 and Novice 8 shells competing as well.

The Novice 8 race consisted of solely a championship final.

In the race, the Lady Rams won with a time of 7:27, ahead of Fairfield at 7:34 and Iona at 8:04.

The other Fordham boats won their respective heats and qualified for the final races.

In the Grand Final of the Varsity 8 race, Fordham’s Varsity 8 shell crossed the line first at 7:06, grabbing a gold medal.

Binghamton placed second finishing at 7:18 and Fairfield came in third at 7:20. Fordham’s Junior Varsity 8 placed fourth overall at 7:23.

In the Varsity 4 Grand Final, Fordham placed third behind Army and Stonybrook.

“This was a good way to start the week off, with the Varsity 8 winning the final,” senior co-captain Francesca Andrea said. “This week was an evaluation of our team in preparation for the rest of the season. We’re still testing our lineup.

Nothing is set in stone.”

With the upcoming ECAC Metro Championship and the Dad Vail in the next two weeks, the Lady Rams are continuing to work towards competing successfully at each regatta.

“At the ECAC Metro Championship, there are going to be a lot more competitive teams,” Andrea said. “We’ll have to go after them more aggressively. We’re going to be the underdogs. Proving ourselves is our main goal.”

The Lady Rams will continue their 2010 spring season in Camden, N.J., at the ECAC Metro Championship on May 1.

Golf Finishes Fourth at Spring Invitational

By JOHN DEMARZO STAFF WRITER

Following a 15th-place finish at the Lafayette Invitational, which took some of the shine off the Rams’ steady improvement, the Fordham men’s golf team traveled to Littlestown, Pa. to partake in the Mount St. Mary’s Spring Invitational, held at Quail Valley Golf Course. The first two rounds were played on Monday, April 19, with Round 3 being played on Tuesday, April 20.

The Rams bounced right back from the previous week’s disappointment, finishing fourth out of eight teams with a score of 934.

Fordham finished just 13 strokes behind the winner, Robert Morris, who carded a combined total of 921. Fordham finished within 10 strokes of the second- and thirdplace teams, Fairfield (925) and host Mount St. Mary’s (926).

Leading the way for the Rams was sophomore Devon O’Rourke.

He started off slow, posting a 78 and an 80 in the first two rounds, but finished strong in Round 3, shooting a 74. His combined score was 232, which was good for eighth place overall out of 42 golfers. Freshman Jason del Rosso mirrored O’Rourke’s final-round improvement, also posting a 74 in Round 3. Combined with an 81 and 76 in the first two rounds, O’Rourke’s total score was 233, which tied him for 10th place.

Sharing 10th place with del Rosso was fellow freshman Brody Nieporte, who improved from a Round 1 score of 81 to shoot backto-back 76s, giving him a total score of 233. Finishing in fourth place for Fordham was red-shirt senior David Newman, who shot 80-8178 on the way to a 239, which tied for 20th place, while sophomore Brendan Green shot a 78-82-81 en

route to a 241, which tied for 23th place.

Up next for the Rams was the Northeast Invitational, hosted by the University of Rhode Island at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth, R.I on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25. However, due to a rainstorm that affected most of the Northeast, Sunday’s play was cancelled.

Much like the fall season, Fordham began to make its late-season surge at this tournament, finishing third place out of 11 teams, just four strokes behind the winner and host, Rhode Island. The Rams also finished just two strokes behind runner-up Sacred Heart.

Del Rosso finished first for Fordham, shooting a 75 (40-35) to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place of overall. O’Rourke, Nieporte and Green all finished tied for 12 place, shooting six over par, while Newman shot 12 over par.

Coach Paul Dillon lamented the missed chance to win the Northeast Invitational, but was also high on his team’s recent performance.

“The host school [Rhode Island] cancelled the tournament on Sunday, but we felt that the course was playable,” Dillon said. “However, the team has been playing very well lately. We are a young team, and our two freshmen and two sophomores are playing particularly well.

Our captain, [redshirt senior] Dave Newman, is looking to finish strong this weekend, as it is his last tournament. We will be up against a strong field in the Atlantic 10 Championship, but we feel ready to give them our best shot.”

The final tournament of the season is right around the corner for the Rams, as they will travel down to Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. to play in the Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be held at Mission Inn Resort and Club on April 30.

Women’s Tennis Finishes Strong

By NANCY BUCKLEY STAFF WRITER

The women’s tennis team (2-19) concluded its season on April 24, as the Lady Rams beat the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the team’s second win of the season.

It has been a long and tough season for the team, but in the end, the women overcame challenges and pulled the entire season together into their last match.

Friday, April 23, in the A-10 Championship, The Lady Rams fell to fourth-seed Duquesne, 4-1, placing Fordham in the consolation bracket for Saturday against the Bonnies.

In their match against Duquesne, seniors Elizabeth Stall and Martina Featherston won third doubles 8-3.

Unfortunately the other double sets were not victorious for the Lady Rams, as sophomore Sarah Tremaine and freshman Jennifer Mullen fell 8-0 at first doubles and freshman Taylor Holt and sophomore Bethany Boyle were defeated 8-2 at second doubles.

Boyle won her single matches in straight sets defeating her opponent 6-4 and 6-1. Featherston, Mullen and Tremaine all suffered

losses in their single sets.

“We managed to play hard in order to get a point against them,” Boyle said. “My opponent was a hard-hitter, but I was mentally prepared, knowing that a great player could be beaten on any day as long as one stays mentally tough.”

With the loss behind them, the Lady Rams entered the final day of competition against St. Bonaventure, where Fordham defeated the Bonnies 4-2 to wrap up the year.

The Lady Rams were able to win with the points earned in three singles matches and one doubles match.

Boyle, Holt and Stall each won their singles matches, and Featherston and Stall were successful in their doubles match, winning 8-0.

“It felt great ending the season on a win,” Boyle said. “This season has been tough, so exceeding the tournament’s expectations by finishing in 11th place was definitely exciting. Also, it was a great tournament because not only did we play extremely well to secure such a tough win, but we also got to spend time together and grow as a team.

I look forward to playing with everyone who is returning next year and seeing what we can continue to achieve.”

APRIL 28, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 23

SPORTS

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

A Fordham football player was drafted in the NFL Draft this past weekend at Radio City Music Hall by the Arizona Cardinals. John Skelton was the sixth quarterback chosen; he came out of the Patriot League, no less.

Skelton was praised by NFL scouts and executives for his imposing size and strong arm. While there is no doubt the Cardinals view John Skelton as a project, he has a solid shot at a productive NFL career. At his best, Skelton is being compared to Ben Roethlisberger.

Imagine that: Our own Ben Roethlisberger right here at Fordham (I mean the Big Ben of comeback victories and Super Bowl championships, not drunken hook-ups and sexual assault cases).

Evidently, this is not a concept Fordham’s athletic department can wrap its head around. Sure, Frank McLaughlin and Co. did the bare minimum. They infrequently put up news about the preparation John Skelton went through for the draft.

The department hosted Skelton’s Pro Day for him during this preparation. Skelton himself periodically appeared on WFUV to talk about the draft process with its sports reporters, but from listening to the station, I could only recall Skelton’s coaches appearing once to discuss the same subject. Basically, Fordham’s athletic department did the bare minimum to advertise the fact that it had one of the top quarterback prospects of the 2010 draft roaming its halls. Fordham treated the pursuit of Skelton as if it was more similar to that of a seventh-round pick or a star business student, not the program’s fist draft pick since 1968. We are supposedly trying to build towards a bigger football program by adding scholarships, one that can compete for playoff berths and get the best players Division I-AA football has to offer.

But how can the athletic department claim they are dedicated to supporting a bigger program when they cannot market the most talented player Fordham has featured in almost half a century?

While I do not believe schools should be glorifying athletics or athletes at the expense of academics and academic stars, the fact remains that John Skelton is an

absolute superstar at what he does.

Only 255 college football players currently got drafted by the NFL this year and only 15 quarterbacks.

John Skelton was the only Patriot Leaguer to be selected this season and the first league prospect to be drafted since 1995. A player like this, in a league with minimal talent and without scholarships, at a school with almost no history of success in the past few decades, is a one-in-a-million talent. If Fordham wanted to build its football program up to a position of strength, its fans and student body would be hearing the name and exploits of John Skelton constantly. Recruits would constantly be told, “Come to Fordham, and be the next John Skelton.” Instead few people, if any, will be reminded of John’s name. It is a shame.

While those of you reading this column may understand the significance of John’s school-record 69 touchdowns, the average student may know little to nothing of what he has done. Go up to the average Rose Hill student and tell them we had a quarterback drafted this past weekend and you were liable to get blank stares or statements of “John who?” I do not expect that all or even most Fordham students would be significantly interested in the football team. I just ask that they understand Skelton’s accomplishment this past weekend.

Even those students that you hope would be interested in Skelton getting drafted disappointed me.

It seems as if the reaction among sports fans on campus across campus is a collective, “Yeah, that’s cool” or “Oh, good luck to him.”

There was no significant effort by the student body to get other students interested in this event. It is not every day that a quarterback gets drafted from Fordham University, and while I do not think the lack of a reaction on the part of the student body is mostly its fault, the athletic department should have organized a strong effort to interest students and funds in the unique story that was John Skelton getting drafted.

They should have promoted Skelton’s Pro Day workout at Fordham and had more people show up as long as it did not disturb the actual event. The department should have released more information about Skelton’s draft process and focused upon how the quarterback felt about the opportunity.

Whether they could have done this by featuring more stories on Skelton, publicizing his interviews with WFUV, or having some other type of coverage, it would have been nice to see them do so. Skelton is a unique talent and story, and the athletic department should not have allowed him and their football program to go unpublicized. Similarly, Fordham should have had its football coaches publicly discuss Skelton more to the media. Coach Tom Massella was heard from very little throughout this entire process and both fans and recruits deserved to learn what made his quarterback great.

Finally, I believe Fordham should have organized a trip for Fordham students, fans and boosters to attend the NFL draft on Friday and Saturday. It was a joke that my fellow Ram staffers and I attended the draft at Radio City to cover Skelton’s selection on these days and only we were only accompanied by the WFUV reporters. It was disappointing and even disrespectful that no one representing Fordham or its athletic department program was present.

Here is an athlete who has done more to advance the cause of Fordham sports than any other in decades, and neither Frank McLauglin nor Tom Masella, among others, could attend a ceremony honoring his accomplishments? While it was bad enough that there were no Fordham football boosters or fans at the draft from what I could see, having no administrators or coaches at the draft demonstrated that Skelton’s accomplishments will be forgotten much too quickly.

At least Fordham could have organized a group of students to attend the event. If Fordham could have had the 12th Man Club there, cheering on John Skelton and the Fordham Rams, it would have been great. I saw Penn State students doing just that and they looked like they were having the time of their lives. I know people who would love to spend time with their friends, rooting for their school at an event like this. But Fordham could not organize even this. John Skelton, who was a regular student as well as an amazing football player, had not one student rooting him on at the draft, despite what he gave to them and their school.

I wish I could feel differently, but there may come a time when no one remembers John Skelton.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away Baseball

Thursday April 29

Friday April 30 LA SALLE 7:00 p.m.

Saturday May 1

Sunday May 2

LA SALLE 4:00 p.m.

LA SALLE 1:00 p.m.

CHARLOTTE 12:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

Softball

Golf

Rowing

Track and Field

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APRIL 28, 2010

PAGE 24

Skelton Drafted by Cardinals in Fifth Round

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Skelton feels he will be a perfect fit for Ken Whisenhunt’s offense in Arizona.

By NICK CARROLL DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITORS

After months of evaluation and speculation, the wait is over – senior quarterback John Skelton is an Arizona Cardinal.

After some of the premier quarterbacks fell deep into the draft, the Cardinals used their fifth-round pick, No. 155 overall, on Skelton.

“We moved around, we had an opportunity and we had a high grade on this quarterback, a big guy with a good arm that, in our interviews with him, has a very good feel for the game,” Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “That was an area, with only two quarterbacks on our roster, that we felt was important that we address.”

The Cardinals traded cornerback Bryant McFadden to the Steelers, from whom they acquired McFadden through free agency the year

before and for whom the Steelers received a compensatory fifthround pick, for the pick with which they took Skelton. The trade had been in the works for days, according to Steelers personnel.

“I though I would get picked in the fourth round and we were all getting a little nervous,” Skelton said. “I am just excited it’s kind of over now.”

In the months leading into the draft, there seemed to be a great deal of mutual interest from both the Cardinals and Skelton.

“Arizona was the one team out here the most,” Head Coach Tom Masella said. “They were out here four, five, six times.”

“In my heart of hearts I kind of always thought the Cardinals would pick me up,” Skelton said in a conference call with the Arizona Cardinals. “Speaking with the coaching staff at the Combine and then having both Coach Millers [passing

game coordinator Mike Miller and quarterbacks coach Chris Miller] come out to work me out and the meeting we had, in the back of my mind I always thought I would be a Cardinal.”

It seems like Arizona is a perfect fit for Skelton, going forward.

“What they have done is a lot of shotgun,” assistant coach Bryan Volk said. “A lot of their passing concepts are a lot like what we do.”

“I believe I fit in well with their system, especially since it’s similar to Fordham’s,” Skelton said.

According to some, Skelton resembles another big, strong-armed quarterback who Whisenhunt helped develop.

“I think I play a little bit like Ben Roethlisberger, big body, stand tall in the pocket, able to throw the ball downfield, able to avoid the rush,” Skelton said. “I think I most mirror someone like Ben Roethlisberger in the NFL right now.”

“Coach Whisenhunt has had a lot of success with Roethlisberger,” Volk said. “John is a lot like Ben physically.”

In terms of when Skelton will be able to get on the field, there is only one consensus – he has to be ready.

“I am thinking of it being a year

or two down the road if [Cardinals quarterback Matt] Leinart doesn’t pick it up and [Cardinals quarterback Derek] Anderson doesn’t pan out,” Volk said. “If he is brought into spotlight right away it will be much harder than if he is allowed to develop.”

“It depends on how long it will take him to adjust, how quickly he picks up the terminology and speed of the game,” Masella said. “You can’t rush quarterbacks, you have to develop them. If [Skelton] can make the adjustment, he’ll be fine.”

Skelton marks the first Fordham athlete drafted by the NFL since Kenny Parker in 1968.

Parker, who actually played basketball, not football, at Fordham, was drafted in the 16th round.

Skelton went ahead of biggername quarterbacks such as Cincinati’s Tony Pike and Central Michigan’s Dan Lafevour. When Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy fell much further in the draft, it looked like it could be a tough day for Skelton.

However, the Cardinals believed in Skelton enough to use a fifth round pick on him.

It turned out that Skelton was

not the only Ram to have his NFL dream realized last Saturday, as senior tackle Andrew Tyshovnytsky signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent.

“Him and his agent felt that Indy was the best fit for him,” Masella said. “All of their coaches called him.”

According to Masella, Tyshovnytsky was made a high-priority free agent, and received a signing bonus.

“It is unbelievable to be drafted, but by not being drafted, he could pick his team,” Volk said.

“You want to find a situation where the position isn’t overloaded,” Masella said.

What made Tyshovnytsky such an intriguing prospect is his combination of size and speed.

He is listed at 6’4”, 304 lbs., was clocked running a 4.9 40-yard dash and was able to bench press 225 lbs.

33 times.

“The biggest issue is the learning curve,” Volk said. “He has the physical tools, he just can’t worry about screwing things up.”

According to Masella, Tyshovnytsky also received interest from the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Skelton expected to go a round earlier in the draft; however, he was lucky he did not fall too far like the other quarterbacks.

Fordham Flip Gaining National Exposure

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

With his flip, Brian Kownacki quickly became a TV and internet phenomena.

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham Flip – no matter where sophomore shortstop Brian Kownacki plays or goes in the future, he will always be remembered for his amazingly instinctive leap over Iona catcher James Beck to score the final run in Fordham’s 12-9 comeback victory over the Gaels on April 20.

The play immediately became a YouTube sensation within a few hours of its occurrence and had been viewed 1,095,154 times as of April 23, making it the most-viewed video on the Web site for the week.

Kownacki and his head coach Nick Restaino, are still amazed that he was able to pull off the leaping stunt.

“Brian’s leap was great,” Restaino said. “It was purely instinctual.”

“I couldn’t let myself get tagged,” Kownacki said. “I didn’t want to barge into the catcher and get hurt, and I didn’t think I’d be able to slide around the catcher and be safe. It was just an instinctive reaction to leap over the catcher and I was luckily safe.”

Kownacki’s leap involved a number of factors. With the throw beating Kownacki, and as he was the play’s final runner, the sophomore shortstop had to find any way he could to score on Iona. Beck was low in a crouch and it appeared as if there was no way Kownacki could avoid the catcher. As silly as it sounds, leaping head-first over the catcher and performing a front-flip to land safely at home was the most prudent play, if extremely difficult.

“It was a perfect little roll and up and into the dugout,” Kownacki said. “It was very casual.” Was that planned or did it just happen? “It just happened. I was happy that it happened, though, because it might

have hurt otherwise.”

Kownacki said he only began realizing how big of a hit the video of the play was and in the media when he saw later that night that it was No. 1 on ESPN’s Top Plays.

From there, the video of Kownacki’s flip blew up. It was everywhere on the Internet and written up on a number of Web sites and in newspapers. ESPN showed the flip on Pardon the Interruption and Baseball Tonight, while Kownacki was a guest on the channel’s “Fresh Air” program and on CBS’s “Early Show.”

The Facebook group “Brian Kownacki Can Fly” holds 1,323 members. In perhaps the oddest bit of news to come out of the play’s viral craze, the Harlem Globe Trotters honored Kownacki with a “Trotter Tribute” for his “Globe trotter-esque leap”.

“I was a little nervous about all the attention I was getting for the flip initially,” Kownacki said. “But I

got comfortable with going on TV and talking to reporters over time.

It was nice to get my 15 minutes of fame, and hopefully all this attention will bring notice to Fordham baseball this season and beyond. It might help us land a recruit or two.”

Senior Gregg Caserta is WFUV’s lead baseball announcer and was proud of the chance to call such a moment.

“It was a great opportunity,” he said. “I’m happy to have been there at the right time and described such an amazing play.”

Caserta also realized that he may not have a chance call such a significant play in his future announcing career. “I’m sure there will be players trying to emulate Kownacki’s play,” he said. “But it will be hard for me to see something like that again.”

Kownacki echoed the sentiment.

“I’ve never made such a special play before, and I don’t think I will be able to again,” he said.