Volume 104 Issue 11

Page 1

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 104, Issue 11

TheFordhamRam.com

April 27, 2022

Fordham and Manhattan College Host “Battle of the Bronx”

Incoming USG Executive Ticket Discuss Upcoming Year By SAMANTHA MINEAR

By EMMA KIM

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

On April 12, 2022, Santiago Vidal Calvo, FCRH ’24, and Ava Coogan, FCRH ’25, were elected as president and vice president of Fordham’s United Student Government (USG). Their win came only a day after The Fordham Ram released details of USG sanctions against upper-level members of the organization for unseemly behavior last election cycle. In a historic win, the ticket won on a platform of international inclusivity. Vidal, an international student from Venezuela, and Coogan, an Armenian-American, boasted what they called the “most diverse ticket in Fordham history,” with the goal of creating a new and improved campus environment. Despite being on the younger end of executive ticket candidates, Vidal and Coogan demonstrated experience and initiative; during his work as a senator, Vidal proposed randomized surveillance COVID-19 testing on campus and expanded food options, which resulted in the inclusion of poké bowls in Urban Kitchen.

The Fordham Foundry hosted the Battle of the Bronx on April 12, which is an annual business idea competition between Fordham University and Manhattan College. Each school puts up $5,000 for a $10,000 prize split between the winners. Three of the winners from Fordham’s business idea competition in March, the Pitch Challenge, were chosen to represent Fordham in this competition. “We started this last year during COVID,” said Al Bartosic, director of the Foundry. “We were looking to collaborate and get more engaged with other schools in the area that were interested in entrepreneurship. Manhattan College was a natural choice, just in terms of its location in the Bronx.” Fordham won first place with the company Amazonian. Elsie Ndema, director of Talent Acquisition at TheGuarantors, GSB ’13 and GSB M.S. ’22, created the company. Her company also won the 6th Annual Pitch Challenge. Ndema, who is six feet tall, has struggled to find women’s clothes that were long enough since she was in sixth grade. “Most retailers do not carry tall sizes, or at least include the inseam, so I can save myself the wasted time and heartbreak in either trying on the clothes and being disappointed or ordering online and having to go through the hassle of returning them,” said Ndema. “It’s really difficult to find any stores that cater specifically to tall women, and when they do, they really only hit the beginning of the tall spectrum so women my height and taller have to search high and low. I hit a point in my life where I had enough. So I decided to help myself and others suffering from the same problem,” said Ndema.

SEE USG, PAGE 3

COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES

In-person spring weekend has not occurred at the Rose Hill campus since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring Weekend Returns to Campus for the First Time Since 2019 By AVA CARREIRO DIGITAL PRODUCER

Fordham’s Spring Weekend 2022 will run from April 24 through May 1. An annual Fordham tradition held by the Campus Activities Board (CAB) that consists of free programs that allow the student body to come together, Spring Weekend is the perfect way to wrap up the academic year.

Undergraduate students from both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses are welcome to attend every event. All Spring Weekend events are completely free to attend, and each student has the opportunity to receive complementary t-shirts, merchandise and food. Some events include a carnival, an outdoor concert, live comedians and a student film festival. As a result of the COVID-19

pandemic, Fordham has not seen a full-scale Spring Weekend since 2019, according to the president of CAB, Kaitlin Milinic, FCRH ’22. “This year’s Spring Weekend is special because we’ve been working to bring back a campus tradition that the majority of students have yet to experience,” said Milinic. She also added that “it’s SEE SPRING, PAGE 4

Study Looks at Mental Health in Graduate School By ISABEL DANZIS NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES

Fordham Athletics is working with an outside consulting partner to analyze and look at the department.

Fordham Athletics Participates in Inter-Collegiate Consulting By LUCY PETERSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Along with the appointment of Tania Tetlow, J.D., as the new president of the university, Fordham is looking to create big changes over the 2022-23 school year. On

April 7, 2022, Fordham athletics announced in a press release that it would pursue a partnership with Inter-Collegiate Athletic Consulting (ICAC) in the coming year. The press release stated that ICAC will “conduct a comprehensive review of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and de-

velop strategic recommendations for a shared strategic direction that ensures the athletic program’s resources are aligned with the university’s mission and goals.” Along with the consulting, the university designated a formal SEE ATHLETICS, PAGE 5

A recent study of mental health among Fordham’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) student population categorized 71% of the student population as depressed and only 27% as satisfied with their life. The number was even higher in Ph.D. candidates with 85% scoring as depressed, 53% scored as having some sort of anxiety disorder and only 18% scoring as satisfied with their lives. It was also found that students who identify with the LGBTQ+ community or as having a disability had a higher than average rate of scoring as depressed at 84% and 85%, respectively. Nicholas Sooy, a sixthyear Ph.D. candidate in the philosophy department SEE GRADUATE, PAGE 5

SEE BRONX, PAGE 4

in this issue

Opinion

Page 7

The Irresistibility of The Fordham Ram

Culture

Page 13

13 Miles Later: A Reflection on Manhattan

Sports

Page 17

Student Athlete Column: Final Legacy


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.