Volume 92 Issue 14

THE RAM TALKS TO JOAN WALSH - PAGE 15

WOMEN’S SOCCER BREAKS LOSING STREAK - PAGE 24

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2010

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

VOLUME 92, ISSUE 14

University Mourns Death of Student

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

The Fordham University community mourned the loss of student Jacob Miller on Tuesday, Sept.

28. Miller, a freshman in Fordham College at Rose Hill, was found in his dorm room in Alumni Court South today.

“Today Jacob’s family and the Fordham family are shaken with grief,” Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University said in a University release. “His sudden loss, especially at such a young age, is heartbreaking and shocking. I know that the Fordham family will take extra care with and for one another in the wake of Jacob’s death, and that you join me in holding Jacob’s family, loved ones and friends close in our hearts, and in our prayers.”

The University has notified Miller’s family and is making efforts to reach out to the bereaved Fordham community, including Miller’s friends, classmates and residence hall neighbors.

Staff members from the Office of Residential Life, Psychological Services and Campus Ministry will be available in Alumni South for at least the next two days to help students cope with their mourning.

In its message to the Fordham community, the University said that students, staff and other members of the University community should feel free to contact the Rose Hill Counseling Center at (718) 817-3725, Campus Ministry at (718) 817-4500 or the Office of Residential Life at (718) 8173080. Additionally, Lincoln Center students will have these same resources available to them.

Administration officials encourage students in need of help and counseling to seek it from their resident directors and resident assistants.

Supplementing staff at Alumni Court South, representatives from the Counseling Center, Residential Life and Campus Ministry will be available to help students in the McGinley Campus Center.

Fordham staff members are urged to contact Dean of Students at Rose Hill Christopher Rodgers or Dean of Students at Lincoln Center Keith Eldredge if they have concerns about students. All members of the University community should call the office of security at (718) 817-2222 if they have any concerns or needs to talk to someone immediately.

The New York Post reported that Miller was found hanged in his room at around 11:30 a.m. According to the University’s statement, there was no indication of foul play.

CBA Renamed after $25M Donation

Mario Gabelli, CBA ’65, Gives University Record Donation of $25 Million; Brings Capital Campaign above $350 Million

By VIKRAM BHATIA CONTRIBUTING WIRTER

The Fordham University College of Business Administration changed its name to the Gabelli School of Business on Sept. 25. This was after it had been reported earlier in the week by The Wall Street Journal that Mario Gabelli, a 1965 CBA graduate, had made a $25 million donation to the school.

The name change, in honor of the chief executive of GAMCO Investors, was part of an official announcement of the donation made during an event Saturday morning that celebrated the 90th anniversary of business education at Fordham. It took place in a white tent between Alpha House and Hughes Hall. Over 200 people attended, including administrators, alumni, including some who graduated in the 1950s, and current business students.

Gabelli could not be at the event on Saturday because he was travelling. Since the event was planned in advance, a taped message from Gabelli was displayed on a screen inside the tent instead.

“He was travelling and we wanted to announce the gift on the day of Homecoming,” Dr. Donna Rapaccioli, dean of the Gabelli School of Business, said.

Other speakers at the announcement included the aforementioned Rapaccioli, in addition to Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president

PHOTO BY CAROLINE DAHLGREN/ THE RAM

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, was among the several officials and administrators who spoke as part of the rededication of the former College of Business Administration on Sept. 25.

of the University, Marc Valera, vice president for Facilities Management, and Stephen Freedman, the provost of the University.

The donation is the largest the University has ever received. Rapaccioli called it “the most important day in my deanship.” She started as an interim dean in 2005 and has been the permanent dean since 2007.

“The day was spectacular from

my standpoint,” she said. “It could not have gone better. The energy under the tent was remarkable. It means so much, especially because I went to the college of business, to see so much positive energy and focus on business education at Fordham. So it’s a really, really exciting time.”

“This will give the school an identity,” McShane said.

The donation will not only give

the school more visability nationally, but also within Fordham itself.

“We were always pushed aside as not being as important, and so this is a big day for us,” Rapaccioli said.

“The money will be used for scholarships, provide faculty resources in many different ways,” Freedman said. “My main responsibility is to sort out the academic SEE GABELLI ON PAGE 3

International Students Expose Service Shortcomings Town Hall Style Forum Addresses Issues with Visas, Mail, Housing and Communication with the University

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

United Student Government held a forum at its meeting on Sept. 16 for international students to discuss ways in which they feel that Fordham inadequately addresses the needs of international students.

A lack of resources in the Office for International Services, failure to account for housing needs over breaks and a mandatory health insurance policy were among the complaints a group of students from a diverse set of countries brought before USG. “The biggest issues all relate to the understaffing of the Office for International Services,” Stephen Erdman, vice president of FCRH ’13, said.

The forum, conducted in a town hall style, was entitled “Addressing Equality & Quality of Experience: Fordham International Students.”

Perhaps the root of many issues discussed at the forum is the fact that one director, who splits his time between the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses, oversees the Office for International Services.

Students reported having

With a ratio of 600 international students to one faculty advisor, Fordham lags behind schools like George Washington University, which boasts a ratio of 138 to one; Syracuse University, whose ratio is 245 to one; and Boston College, which has 335 students for every one advisor.

“With one faculty advisor and 600 students depending on him, the Office for International Services cannot handle the workload,” Goh said.

In addition to the general adjustment to college life at Fordham that all freshmen and transfer students face, international students also struggle to learn a sometimes completely new system of government, health care, taxation and culture.

International students are provided one orientation event on their first day, but many of the students present expressed

a need for more follow-ups, such as reminder e-mails about when to apply for permanent residency status or a mentor to help navigate the adjustment.

“When you first get here, you have so many things to think of, from the most obvious, like how I get a phone card to how to establish permanent residency,” Gian Maria Magrini, GSB ’11, said.

Several students present spoke of their experiences as spring transfer students arriving on campus in January from their home countries, be it Canada, Italy or China, to find no instructions to aid them in finding out where to pick up their keys.

Many experienced little sensitivity to the distance they must travel to go home when asking for housing during shorter breaks.

“Every time I was asking them

Sports PAGE 28

Opinions PAGE 5

Culture PAGE 17

Football loses Homecoming Game to Assumption College.

Fordham is our school, but is New York really our campus?

Fun nature walks outside of Central Park and the Botanical Gardens.

problems getting their travel visas signed and sorting out social security issues due to the inaccessibility of staff at the office because the ratio of international students to staff is so large.

“Every time I have to get there [to the Office for International Services] for a meeting, I have to bombard them with at least 20 e-mails,” Filo Bianchi, GSB ’11, said.

SiHien Goh, vice president of GSB ’13, who organized the forum with Erdman, said that international student enrollment increased from 4.8 percent to 5.7 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to a report by the Task Force for International Student Issues. During the same ptime period, the University made no additions in staff to the Office for International Services. Compared to other universities, Goh said, Fordham remains vastly under-resourced.

SEE INTERNATIONAL ON PAGE 3

INSIDE

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Post Office Sees More Volume, Delays “Explosion” of Online Orders Seen as Driving Factor for Volume, Delays and Lines at University Post Office

Sept. 15, Walsh Hall, 2 p.m.

Security responded to a fire alarm on the ninth floor. It was dermined that cooking food on the stove caused the fire. There were no injuries.

Sept. 15, Faculty Memorial Hall, 11:30 p.m.

Media Services reported that four LCD projectors were taken from classrooms in the building.

The projectors were unbolted and removed from the ceiling.

Security and NYPD were notified and two people were arrested.

Sept. 16, O’Hare Hall, Midnight.

The building was evacuated after a fire alarm was activated.

Workers cleaning the Millennium Grille caused the alarm, and the building was evacuated without incident.

Sept. 18, Salice-Conley Hall, 12:25 a.m.

PHOTO BY PATRICK DEROCHER/ THE RAM

Long student queues at the University post office have become a common sight in the McGinley Campus Center this semester, as increased volume has gummed up postal operations across the board and caused delays for a great many students.

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

Security received a fire alarm that was activated by a steam condition due to a student taking a shower. The building was evacuated without incident.

Sept. 18, Tiger Mart, 3:30 a.m.

A Fordham student was taken into custody by the NYPD for knocking over some shelves inside the store. He was accompanied by another male, possibly his brother.

They were arrested and issued summonses for ther behavior.

Sept. 18, Martyrs’ Court, 5:30 a.m.

A student was observed discharging a fire extinguisher in the fourth-floor LaLande lounge.

There were no injuries, and a work order was filed to refill the extinguisher. Residential Life is dealing with the matter.

Sept. 19, University Front Entrance, 5 p.m.

The Fordham University post office, inundated by an ever-increasing number of student mail and packages, has seen many long delays in the first few weeks of the semester and been the focus of much complaint and consternation among students.

A great many students have reported uncommonly long lines since classes resumed on Sept. 1, often entailing more than an hour in waiting time and stretching from the office’s package windows, in front of the student lounge and partway up the stairs to the main level of the McGinley Campus Center. Although long waits have been reported at multiple days and time of day, most seem to be concentrated around the 12:45 p.m. lunch rush on Mondays and Thursdays, when no undergraduate students at Rose Hill have class.

“We estimate that we have

Sept. 25, Salice-Conley Hall, 12:50 p.m.

A fire alarm was activated due to food cooking on the stove. The building was evacuated without incident, the room ventilated and the system reset.

-Compiled by Patrick Derocher

not all, of the post office’s delays to the massive increase in volume, especially coming from online ordering.

In spite of reports to the contrary, Freda claimed that the post office has not lost a single package this semester. Rather, he said, the office was simply delayed in its efforts to fully sort and deliver all of the packages it had received.

This control, Freda said, was due in large part to an advanced package scanning system that was implemented beginning this past April. Thus, he said, all packages that have arrived at Fordham have been accounted for and processed on a daily basis.

Two other factors that many students have suspected to play a role in the post office’s slower operations, student workers and size of space, were also among Freda’s comments.

“We had several student workers last year, and they worked out quite well,” he said. “While we do

not have any workers as of right now, we are working with student employment on finding some.”

Additionally, he admitted that size was a major constraint on the office, and that they have been working with other offices and departments at Fordham on ameliorating the situation. Although the office has been largely unsuccessful in obtaining more space, Freda said that custodial services was working on dealing with the situation.

Both Freda and Valera said that the post office was working on an ongoing plan to improve its operations and staffing issues.

One other issue that Valera noted was an influx of catalogs, mostly unsolicited, being sent to students.

“This is, of course, an environmental issue in addition to a post office issue,” he said. Valera encouraged students to visit Web sites such as catalogchoice.org and dmachoice.org to stop unwanted mailings.

My Fordham Week Emphasizes Healthy Living

By BRIAN KRAKER

A security guard noticed a fight occuring just off campus. Security found two males fighting on the ground in the flower garden just outside the University entrance.

One man stated that the other had broken into his parked car on Southern Boulevard. A security guard was bitten on the finger while assisting in the arrest of the perpetrator, who had broken into several cars on Southern Boulevard.

received 9,730 packages in the month of September alone,” Robert Freda, director of custodial services at Rose Hill, said. “Volume seems to have decreased following the first couple of weeks of the semester.”

Freda’s department assumed control of the post office in January 2010, taking over from Peter Girvan and facilities operations. That decision, Freda said, was made by Marc Valera, vice president for facilities management.

“Orders for online books exploded,” Valera said, something that Freda later confirmed. Both Valera and Freda said that the post office was trying to manage its operations better in the upcoming weeks and months.

“We now know what to expect come January, with the spring semester,” Freda added, noting that this semester should be seen as a sort of harbinger for the future of Fordham’s postal operations. Both he and Valera attributed most, if

ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

USG hosted a Health Fair in conjunction with My Fordham Week this past Wednesday, Sept. 22 in the first floor of the McGinley Center, a preliminary event for future wellness programming.

Adam Remiszeski, GSB ’11, exectutive vice president for student life, organized My Fordham Week along with the Health Fair, scheduling representatives from several Fordham offices, including Counseling and Physiological Services, Walsh Training Center, Clubs Sports and Health Services. The offices offered students advice on healthy college living. Students who completed the health survey were awarded a free Fordham Week T-shirt, while other tables were stacked with free health bars and water

bottles.

Kelly Shaver, assistant strenght and conditioning coach, aided students with the 50-question computerized health survey.

Shaver said the comprehensive quiz asked about students’ physical condition, nutrition and safe sex. Students were then given a score on their overall health in addition to “breaks down the score into categories,” Shaver said.

Marrianne Reilly, senior associate athletic director, headed a table providing students information about sporting events on campus.

“In addition to being a fan, the average student can still participate in other programs, including intramurals and club sports,” Reilly said.

However, Reilly also reminds students that healthy living does not only include physical fitness,

but overall wellness, highlighting the important of the physiological services.

Remiszeski said that USG’s emphasis of health began last semester with Snoozapalooza, where USG provided attendees with pamphlets and surveys about good sleeping habits.

However, USG is planning on expanding upon these wellness programs.

Angelo Labate, FCRH ’12, vice president of health and security, who coordinated the Health Fair event, said he is in the “early planning stages” of organizing a Fordham Fit Week. With USG expecting to hold the event in Feburary, Labate reasons that the winter dates account for a time many Fordham students have fallen ill.

“People have gotten back into the swing of things and people are normally sick,” said Labate.

Each day will place a different emphasis on a different component of healthy living. The weeklong event will include more prizes, giveaways, and fitness contests for students to compete in.

“The capstone of the whole thing is an indoor rowing competition the crew team is sponsoring,” said Labate.

This event will also include continued collaboration with the athletic and wellness offices on campus.

“Sometimes it’s just about getting the word out,” Reilly said, stressing healthy campus activities, such as yoga programs and proper Lombardi Center usage.

Labate said the Health Fair was a great success with a sizable crowd receiving information on healthy habits and hopes to continue this student interest into the February Fordham Fit Week.

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Salon.com Editor Joan Walsh Speaks at Fordham

By SARAH AMENDOLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief of Salon.com, an online arts and culture magazine, spoke to students Thursday night as part of My Fordham Week. Many were eager and excited to see what Walsh, who had appeared numerous times on shows such as Hard Ball with Chris Matthews, Larry King Live and Countdown with Keith Olbermann, had to say. She began speaking about the fears most college students have about entering the world. She advised to “develop a sense of curiosity about the world and become well-rounded people.” She centered her lecture on the topic of getting the young community involved, believing they are the ones ultimately able to bring about change in today’s fast-paced world.

Of course, Walsh, as a political writer, spoke about involvement in politics. She thought the turnout for Barack Obama in 2008 was spectacular but said that young people are slipping away because they expect results immediately, an unrealistic expectation to have.

“We lost the sense that you participate in politics for the long haul,” Walsh said. She explained that this generation is more important than ever because it is the most informed and has “an explosion of ideas.” It is important to embrace Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr and to recognize the power of these social sites.

Another theme Walsh focused on was the importance of accepting different groups of people, saying, “People looking for a common ground are shunned.” She finds this upsetting because the United States was founded on the principles of welcoming different cultures, which is the reason why it became

PHOTO BY ASHWIN BANDHARI/ THE RAM

Joan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief of left-wing political Web site Salon.com, spoke in Keating First auditorium as part of My Fordham Week, celebrated in September.

a superpower.

Walsh thought that the recent debate regarding possible construction of a mosque near was given too much attention around the country.

Walsh said that her Irish Catholic family was when John F. Kennedy became president because people of their ethnicity were no longer treated as outsiders. She thought that our country has overcome so many hurdles, but currenly we are moving backward.

“Demonizing and stigmatizing immigrants is not American,” Walsh said to conclude her thoughts on the topic of equality.

Walsh went on to explain that another problem in society is the

socioeconomic inequality. She said we were on the right track a few decades ago when we created measures to help senior citizens, the poor and veterans, and it is sad that people want to revoke the good measures that were already put in place. Walsh finds it unfortunate that the group of people that earn $250,000 or more don’t even feel rich anymore.

“We lost the ability to imagine a greater good in social equality,” she said. To fix the problem, we need a redistribution of wealth and opportunity upward, Walsh explained.

We even need to fix the conditions that working class men endure, if we want equality and economic

prosperity to pursue, she said.

“It’s about you guys [your generation], and I’m sure you are going to do better than we did,” Walsh said in conclusion.

The question-and-answer session had a lot to do with today’s culture and the changes in journalism due to Internet sites and the need for information around the clock.

Of course, it took a political turn when she was asked about current Congress races, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. She answered a question about the news stations of today being relevant and trustworthy, saying they are mostly out of touch, “missing out on a generational energy.”

Walsh took an interesting career

path to get to where she is today.

She graduated the University of Wisconsin, got a job at a weekly newspaper in Santa Barbara and then became a freelance writer.

She wrote for Vogue, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.

She also had an award-winning column about politics in San Francisco Magazine. All of her experience and background qualified her to give this lecture at Fordham University, which the students enjoyed.

“I was surprised about how knowledgeable she was about blogging and American politics,” Michael DiTanna, FCRH ’13. “I was really impressed she knows the best of both worlds.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF SIHIEN GOH

Fordham’s international student community is represented in much of student life, but its often-ignored particular needs are now being addressed by members of United Student Government.

INTERNATIONAL, FROM PAGE 1 missing,” Bianchi said of Fordstudent could be assigned to asthe public that the students are “We should go forward with [Residential Life] to stay here, it ham’s international student sersist an incoming student with all genuinely concerned about these the mindset that people want to was like I was asking to meet Jevices. the details that can be confusing issues and that they are affected work with us,” Meyer said. sus,” Magrini said.

He suggested a more comprein starting out at a new school in a tremendously, the school adminSara Kugel, executive president Students from Korea, China hensive orientation and occanew country. istration will take more notice,” of USG, FCRH ’11, identified the and other countries halfway sional reminders about processes Other students said that they Goh said.

Office for International Services around the world said that they about which international stuhad felt isolated socially from Caitlin Meyer, executive vice as the key issue because if the Unihave often incurred late fees on dents should be aware, adding domestic students, often eating president of USG, FCRH ’12, versity allocates more resources to their tuition bills because of inthat the service “doesn’t have to meals in the cafeteria with only encouraged the international it, the other issues students raised sufficient postage on the account be fancy or complicated.” students from their own country, students in attendance to stay in can be better addressed. statements, causing the stateOne of the ideas that emerged and that a mentor from this countouch with USG as they continue Kugel pledged USG’s ongoing ments to arrive after the due date as a result of the town hall discustry might also help. with efforts to bring international support. for payment. sion was a mentoring program, “We hope that by bringing stustudent issues to the attention of “I promise this [issue] will not “It’s mainly logistics that are wherein an older international dents in to show both USG and the administration. disappear,” Kugel said.

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

NEWS

Fordham College Republicans, Democrats Debate

By DANIEL CARTER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham University College Democrats and College Republicans hosted their annual Battle Underground Debate on Sept. 20 in which one student from each organization served as a representative to present the club’s stances on various political issues.

The College Democrats and College Republicans were represented

by Will Thibeau, FCRH ’14, and T.W. Arrighi, GSB ’12, respectively.

While this year’s debate was not open to the student body, students could view the debate from their dorms through Fordham Nightly News. The debate was taped in the Fordham Nightly News studio in the Walsh Library.

This year’s Battle Underground topics included the War in Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, United States policy on illegal immigration, and the 2010 senatorial and gubernatorial Elections.

Arrighi began the debate by clarifying his stance on the War in Afghanistan. Arrighi claimed the recent elections in Afghanistan showed the country is making progress and is “headed in a new direction.” He went on to praise most aspects of President Obama’s handling of the war, pointing out that most Republicans and the president can agree on the general strategy that needs to be taken in the war-torn nation.

While the debate started off in a relatively civil manner, tensions quickly began to rise as the debaters allowed their passion for the poignant issues to influence their statements.

Thibeau agreed with most of Arrighi’s statements until the young Republican praised President Bush’s

handling of the war. Thibeau argued that Bush deserves little credit for his efforts in Afghanistan due to his foolish decision to engage the United States in two wars by invading Iraq.

He explained that he felt President Bush should have focused on Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden instead of shifting U.S. attention toward a new enemy.

Arrighi then countered Thibeau’s implications of President Bush’s incompetence.

“The inexperience of President Obama is clear in many other aspects of his failing foreign policy,” he said.

However, despite these differences in opinion over which president has made more progress in the Middle East, both representatives seemed to agree on the skill and dedication of General David Petraeus, the current commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

When asked about the Bush tax cuts, Thibeau responded that the cuts should not go to those who make over $250,000, but instead should be given to the middle class. Thibeau claimed this would have a stimulative effect on the economy.

Arrighi responded with an admittedly bold statement.

“If President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress do not pass the full Bush tax cuts, he will lose the 2012 election,” he said.

Arrighi cited the Tea Party movement as evidence of public discontent with Obama’s economic policies. He then argued it is the wrong message in a recession to raise taxes, especially taxes that affect many small business owners.

“President Obama is not progrowth,” he said, “Not extending tax cuts in a recession is fundamentally wrong.”

Thibeau countered that repealing the Bush tax cuts would essentially result in a return to the economic policies of the 1990s under President Clinton, a period he cited as widely regarded as the strongest years of economic growth in recent history.

After both debaters were given a chance to voice their opinions on the possible continuation of the Bush tax cuts, Arrighi made his case for stronger policies against illegal immigration. Arrighi called for President Obama to close the borders immediately, shut off all illegal aliens from tax-funded programs and crack down on businesses that fire undocumented workers.

Thibeau agreed with some of Arrighi’s proposals but argued that the recently passed Arizona immigration law “gives police the power to interpret and implement legal doctrine as they see fit.”

He claimed law enforcement can now cite “suspicious action,” a fairly ambiguous term, as grounds to check for legal documentation. Thibeau continued that not only does the law give too much unnecessary power to law enforcement, but it is also unjust and “un-American” on the grounds it neglects the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”

Arrighi quickly countered Thibeau’s claims by asserting that the Founding Fathers would not support the use of tax-payer resources and benefits by illegal aliens.

The pair seemed to reach some agreement on a general strategy to combat the issue of illegal immigration better border security to prevent further illegal entry, the documentation of illegal workers who are already working in our country to eliminate their free usage of taxpayer dollars, and the arrest and or deportation of

illegals who are violent offenders.

Arrighi and Thibeau wrapped up the debate by quickly sharing their views on the upcoming 2010 elections.

“If the Democrats lose the Illinois Senate Seat, it speaks volumes about the public perception of Obama,” Thibeau said.

However, he also stated that regardless of how grim the situation may look for President Obama and the Democratic Party, President Clinton suffered greater losses prior to the 1996 election and still managed to be re-elected for another term.

Arrighi also pointed out potential indications of public discontent with the current administration.

“If states in the Northeast start ‘turning red,’ this indicates a serious problem for Obama in 2012,” he said.

Arrighi concluded by saying that while the liberal media often portrays the Tea Party as intrinsically bad, the movement is simply an attempt to restore conservative values to American and to promote the downsizing of government.

By the end of the debate, it was clear that while it was unlikely both parties would ever agree on any major issue, each side presented compelling and valid arguments for their positions on these crucial issues.

College Democrat president Nora Walsh-Devries was present at the debate, both overseeing the dialogue as a resident of the political organization and assisting Fordham Nightly News concerning technical aspects.

Although College Republican president John Mantia, GSB ’13, was not present at the debate, he was very pleased with the results of the exchange.

“The debate was conducted in a

fair way, with both sides given equal opportunity to present their views,” Mantia said. “I look forward to more debates throughout the year covering issues that were not discussed at this debate, such as the deficit and the exact causes of our financial crisis.”

Both organizations will participate in further debates throughout the year, promoting the discussion and expression of political views at Rose Hill.

THIS

week at FORDHAM Thurs., Sept. 30 Fordham Debate Society Meeting Freeman 101, 103, 108 7-10 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 1 ACE Bubble Tea Fundraiser McGinley Lobby 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 2 Yoga Keating B23 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Sun., Oct. 3 FET General Meeting Blackbox Theater 5 p.m.

Mon., Oct. 4 Irish Dance Practice RH 235 8 p.m.

Tues., Oct. 5 El Grito de Lares Presents: Flaco Navaja Ramskellar, 5 p.m.

Wed., Oct. 6 Ice Cream Social for English Majors Faculty Lounge 3 p.m.

-Compiled by Abigail Forget

OAS Secretary General Insulza Speaks at Fordham Week

By CONNIE KIM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States, delivered a lecture entitled “The Dangers for Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean” in front of more than 200 Fordham faculty and students in Tognino Hall, Duane Library on Sept. 21 in which he addressed the hope that his home region will show more progress and achieve a complete harmony in political, social and economic aspects in the near future.

Sponsored by the Office of the President and the Latin American and Latino Studies Institute, the event was a success despite Insulza’s late arrival due to traffic on his way from Manhattan, where he was staying for the 65th United Nations General Assembly occurring two days later.

“Originally from Guatemala, I have always been interested in the interactions between Latin America and the United States,” Analy Garcia, FCRH ’13, said.

“So when I was informed about the lecture by secretary general of the OAS on our campus, I got excited for such a wonderful opportunity to hear current information about Latin American activities and current circumstances from the secretary gen-

eral himself.”

Secretary General Insulza conveyed that Latin America is experiencing rapid economic growth, which has significantly reduced the poverty rate and led to the rise of the middle class. However, he added that due to existing problems, “[the] government institutions are fragile.”

“Violations continue, including police abuse, sub-human conditions in prisons, persistent violence against women and discrimination against vulnerable groups,” he said.

Not only did he convey the challenges and hopes existing in the Latin American society, but as the secretary general of OAS, he also addressed the critical international role of OAS in promoting democratic governance in the society.

Concerning the topic of the lecture, the secretary general was originally asked for the talk about the Democratic Charter of Organization of American States; however, he had the option to choose his focus based on more current, pressing issues, according to Professor Viviane Mahieux, the director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Institute.

Many student attendees were part of the Latin American and Latino Studies program.

“The point that captured my

attention was how democracies are effective not only for elections, but also internal political problems like violence, drug trafficking and internal politics,” Carolina Ceron, GSB ’11, said.

Since Secretary General Insulza is a high-profile speaker, bringing him to campus required a lot of effort.

“This was an event that actually began through the initiative of the Ambassador in Residence Juan Carlos Vignaud,” Mahieux said. “He has a teaching appointment with two graduate programs: Latin American and Latino Studies Institute and International Political Economy and Development; he helped the two programs to take initiative to invite Secretary General Insulza to speak at Fordham. He deserves our gratitude for initiating this event and for guiding us every step of the way. Also, the Office of the President helped us a lot along the way by organizing the event.”

“Overall, I definitely thought the lecture was informational,” Dania Martinez, a graduate student at Fordham University, said.

“It motivated me to think more about the current state of affairs in Latin America and to do more research about the state of politics and the economy in Latin America in general.”

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/ THE RAM

Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza of the Organization of American States spoke about democracy in Latin America in Tognino Hall on Sept. 21.

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NEWS

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 7

USG Welcomes Freshmen Senators, Confirms New Athletics VP

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

United Student Government added to its ranks at a meeting on Sept. 16, swearing in the new freshman senate and confirming a new vice president of athletics in addition to two new senators for the class of 2012.

Aileen Reynolds won the presidency of FCRH ’14 with 21 percent of the vote in a five-way race. Conor Fucci, FCRH ’14, took the vice presidency with 45 percent of the vote. Sera Yoon ran uncontested for secretary/treasurer of FCRH ’14.

Karan Gupta ascended the presidency of GSB ’14 with 53 percent of the vote, while his vice president, Joseph Lauberth, GSB ’14, was uncontested. The new freshman senate was present in full at the meeting on Sept. 16, where they took their

oaths of office.

After Johanne Sterling, FCRH ’11, had to step down as vice president of athletics due to a scheduling conflict with one of her classes, the senate confirmed Executive President Sara Kugel’s, FCRH ’11, nominee to fill that position. Matt Van Orden, GSB ’12 and a football player, spoke in front of the senate for two minutes before they unanimously confirmed him.

“USG is very excited about our new executive board member and we know we will see great things from him,” Nicole D’Souza, GSB ’13, vice president of communications, said of Van Orden in a press release.

With two vacancies on the 2012 senate, three nominees spoke before the senate, vying for the positions of secretary/treasurer and vice president. The senate chose Alison Daly

to fill the position of vice president of FCRH ’12 and Andy Laub to fill the position of secretary/treasurer of FCRH ’12, both by secret ballot.

When the senate asked what major or minor would be a valuable addition to Fordham College, Laub articulated the need for a more specific international relations program while Daly expressed interest in creating a marketing minor.

With these two additions, the class of 2012 now has its full complement of representation in the senate.

USG awarded senate commendations to SiHien Goh, vice president of GSB ’13, and Stephen Erdman, vice president of FCRH ’13, for their efforts toward addressing international student issues by organizing the forum “Addressing Equality & Quality of Experience: Fordham International Students,” held follow-

ing the meeting on Sept. 16.

“This townhall style meeting was a way for us to change the way USG does things,” Goh said of the forum, which was held as an open dialogue between USG members and international students who wanted to share their experiences. “Hopefully this will let students have a greater interest in student government and allow us to communicate more effectively with them.”

“We want to make sure that we have a comprehensive list of all the issues we want to look at and then tackle,” Erdman said in addressing the international students in attendance, adding that USG was also seeking input as to how to best solve these problems.

The testimonials of students who have had trouble attaining Social Security numbers, getting forms signed, receiving sufficient advising

and being provided with information as to their housing situations all pointed toward insufficient staff in the Office of International Services as the root of the problem.

“USG is fully committed to helping solve every problem these international students face,” D’Souza said in a press release. “We will be creating a task force in order to better address the needs of these students.”

For further coverage of the international student forum, please see page 1.

USG members participated in a retreat on Sept. 18-19 during which they bonded with new members through team building activities and at which Christopher Rodgers, dean of students, and Alanna Nolan, assistant dean for student leadership and community development, spoke to United Student Government Members.

Bank of America’s Ed Fitzgerald Talks Financial Crisis at Fordham

By JULIA PINEDA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham Finance Society sponsored the first of many events they have lined up for the fall semester in the O’Hare Special Collections section of Walsh Library on Sept.

20. The event was a success; the room was filled with students eagerly listening as Edward Fitzgerald of Bank of America Securities lectured about the investment banking industry.

Fitzgerald began by introducing himself. He graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. After Fordham, he received his MBA from the Columbia Business School. Prior to GABELLI, FROM PAGE 1

issues regarding the gift. I have to ensure that we have the highest quality faculty and the most effective curriculum.”

Freedman is in his fourth year as provost.

Rapaccioli said she is confident that this gift will enable Freedman to accomplish his goals.

“Mr. Gabelli’s gift is going to allow us to hire more faculty, and to give more scholarships,” she said.

In its 90-year history, the business school has been based in 10 different places on campus.

With the renovation of Hughes Hall now aided by the Gabelli donation, the process of finding a permanent home seems to be complete.

For Janet DiLorenzo, a marketing professor who has been at Fordham for 20 years, this is mainly why the donation marks as important an event as any in her Fordham career.

“It really gives us a place where students can interact with us,” she said. “We’ve had spaces before, but we’ve never had our own space. We have a place where we can kind of take our shoes off.

And now the students know that they have a space where they can interact with faculty.”

“I think this will have a tremendous impact on how we do our jobs,” she said, explaining that the new resources that will be available will dramatically change the way business students are educated at Fordham.

The students at the event

working with Banc of America Securities he worked with other firms in the Big Eight. He is currently the managing director and head of Business and Information Services of Bank of America Securities.

Fitzgerald then briefly discussed the main departments of Bank of America Securities and the many changes in the financial industry.

The changes he focused on were consolidation of commercial banks and investment banks and the effects of the financial crisis of 2008.

He shared his experience working with and without the “glass steel” separating investment banking from commercial banking.

Years ago, the two financial departments were strictly independent of whom were selected to appear are all members of the dean’s council.

They all sported brand new shirts that said “Gabelli School of Business” on them.

They also participated in the event by calling alumni to invite them to come to the kickoff, even though they did not know about the announcement until everyone else did.

The students said they were thrilled about the new outlook for their school.

“It’s a big deal for CBA,” Ray Purgert, GSB ’12, said. “Everybody coming out of here is going to benefit.”

He raved about the renovations that will take place at Hughes.

“This building is probably the most important thing that is going to happen to the school in the last 50 years,” he said. “Once we have a new home that is our own, it is going to make a big difference. You’re going to see a jump in the rankings, and you’re going to see a jump in prestige.”

Dan Hegarty, GSB ’12, said he was excited about what the donation means for the current students as well.

“It certainly increases the value of our degree,” he said. “It is a fantastic thing to get Fordham’s name out there, to have that big article in The Wall Street Journal.”

The news was also reported by other highly reputable news outlets, including the Financial Times and Bloomberg.

“The brand name recognition is also going to create a reputa-

each other. Now, the “glass steel” separating the two entities has been shattered. Investment banking and commercial banking are becoming consolidated. Many commercial banks like Chase and Bank of America have merged with investment banks like JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch; only a few commercial banks remain independent.

Another huge change in the financial industry is the creation of the Financial Regulatory Bill. The bill was created to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the financial crisis of 2008. It sets boundaries around business and gives the government more control over transactions. According to Fitzgerald, the creation of this bill had

brought about changes in the business model.

After talking about the recent developments in the financial industry, Fitzgerald made his main point.

“The world is constantly changing,” Fitzgerald said. “People who presume something correct today can be completely wrong in the future.”

“Be focused, be serious,” he said, “In today’s world, be more serious that I had to 25 years ago,” he said.

He closed his lecture with advice on how students can achieve promising careers.

“You are in a platform that is outstanding so you have to take advantage of that,” Fitzgerald said. “Take the time to know what the business

is and what the firms do.”

He suggested that students map out options, work really hard, get along well with people, ask lots of questions and be leaders.

Fitzgerald entertained questions from students after the lecture.

For Fitzgerald, Fordham University was a great place to develop the skills he needed to further his career.

“This continues to be a great place,” he said. “It was then for me.

It is now for you. The difference is it is better now.”

At present, he is among the Fordham alumni who have maximized their experiences at Fordham and have become successful in their careers.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/ THE RAM

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, Dr. Donna Rappaccioli, dean of the Gabelli School of Business and Jeffrey Gray, vice president of student life, announced CBA’s name change during the Homecoming football game.

tional effect,” Rapaccioli said. “So it is not only about the financial implication of his gift, it is also about the reputational implications of his gift that are going to help us propel to the next level.”

Gabelli, a billionaire, has donated to Fordham in the past, but never on this big a scale. He has helped pay for scholarships and smaller renovations.

The donation is part of the Excelsior | Ever Upward | the Campaign for Fordham that was launched in 2007. The University has been seeking the help of alumni donations, but this amount of money was never expected from one individual.

“We’re in the middle of a campaign so we’ve been trying to get

as many of our alumni as possible to donate to the campaign,” Rapaccioli said.

McShane called the donation a “motivational and transformational gift.”

“It will transform the way in which we educate our students [and] it will motivate and inspire other alumni to support the Gabelli School of Business and other units of the University as we go forward,” he said.

In a sense, the donation signifies the completion of a process of finding a permanent home.

However, for the dean of students and the Fordham president, the journey to the top is just underway.

“I think it’s the beginning of a

journey where we can be more grounded,” Rapaccioli said. “I think it is going to transform the way that we deliver business education by attracting and retaining outstanding faculty, and creating an environment where students and the faculty can form an academic community.”

“Success builds on success,” McShane said. “Fordham has always had a very good program, but now the stakes are raised.”

The school believes that Gabelli’s gift means even more than it would under normal circumstances because of the state of the global economy.

“I think we’re going to see the bar really raised high and deservingly so,” DiLorenzo said.

NEWS

Fordham in Brief Record Number of 2014 Freshmen Participate in Urban Plunge This past summer Fordham saw the most freshmen on record participate in Urban Plunge, a program sponsored by the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice at Fordham that permits incoming freshmen to meet some of their future classmates and do community service.

The 260 students who participated in Urban Plunge moved to campus several days in advance of the regularly scheduled freshman move-in day and freshman orientation events.

At more than 20 sites around the Bronx and Manhattan, students performed service work focusing on local children, the elderly, the environment and the homeless. They served food at soup kitchens and shelters in addition to helping out in nursing homes, hospitals and community

gardens.

Students were rewarded for taking time out of the end of their summers by making a difference in the community and exploring the Bronx and surrounding area before classes start.

“Urban Plunge is an exciting way for freshmen to start their college careers at Fordham in a hands-on way that is connected to our mission,” Sandra LoboJost, director of the Dorothy Day Center, said in a press release.

Fordham Receives NSF Grant to Train Science Teachers The National Science Foundation Awarded Fordham with a grant for $967,010 on Aug. 4 for the purpose of training talented undergraduate students to become middle and high school science teachers.

The money, which will be overseen by John Craven, Ph.D.,

associate professor of education; Deborah Luckett, Ph.D., lecturer in biology; Grace M. Vernon, Ph.D., professor of biology; and Jenell Ives, director of professional development at the Bronx Zoo in the Fordham University/ Wildlife Conservation Society Science Teacher Noyce Scholarship Program.

“We are of course gratified that Fordham carried off this highly competitive National Science Foundation grant,” Dr. Stephen Freedman, provost of the University and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said in a press release. “Both our Graduate School of Education and biological sciences faculties are first rate, and our collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society is well designed and well executed.”

Craven has envisioned Fordham as the recipient of this grant for quite a while.

“It’s something that is overdue at Fordham, given its well-

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 8

regarded status in teacher education,” Craven said in a University press release. “Fordham offers a very competitive science education program. When you add the University’s connections to schools and partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society, this program represents groundbreaking approaches that have been long called for in teacher education.”

Undergraduates who receive Noyce scholarships must sign on to teach science in an underprivileged school for two years for every one year of funds they receive.

Thirty-five science majors and professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will receive $9,000 annually for tuition, a $1,350 stipend for a summer internship and a mentor because of the grant.

Undergraduate science majors will be eligible to receive up to three years of the scholarship money, beginning in their junior

years. Professionals who already have STEM degrees can receive one or more years of funding to pursue a master of science teaching degree, as long as they had not already expressed the intent to teach before applying for the Noyce scholarship program.

“This is big, being that it comes from the National Science Foundation,” Dr. James Hennessy, dean of the Graduate School of Education, said. “It boosts our status as a research university. It is one of the largest grants the school has received and it recognizes the great work my colleagues have done in putting this together.”

Undergraduate students pursuing a science major or graduates who hold a STEM degree and are interested in applying for the scholarship program should contact Craven at jcraven@fordham.edu or (212) 636-7076.

Compiled by Patrick Derocher, news editor, and Victoria Rau, assistant news editor.

Nation & World

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Controversial Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov was recently removed from office forcibly by Russian president Dmitri Medvedev.

Medvedev Fires Powerful Mayor

By KATH LALLY MOSCOW — Russian President Dmitri Medvedev fired Moscow’s larger-than-life mayor on Tuesday, apparently winning--at least for now--a battle with an enormously powerful political opponent.

The mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, has ruled Russia’s largest and wealthiest city with an unshakeable hand since 1992. He was one of the first political figures swept into power in the early and turbulent post-Soviet years, and the last of the generation that rose to rule alongside Boris N. Yeltsin.

Although the 74-year-old Luzhkov was often criticized - he bulldozed historic buildings to make way for glassy malls and soaring office buildings, and his construction-magnate wife was widely described here as a billionaire and the world’s third-

richest woman-he seemed untouchable.

That is, until earlier this month when one of Russia’s tightly controlled television stations broadcast a program that accused Luzhkov and his wife, Yelena Baturina, of profiting handsomely from the mayoral office and running roughshod over the city.

Luzhkov, an ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, had developed a prickly relationship with Medvedev, who labored as president in his prime minister’s shadow.

But after Luzhkov publicly criticized a Medvedev decision to stop construction of a Luzhkov-backed highway that was to bisect an ancient forest, the fight was on.

Television attacks mounted, and speculation swept Moscow that the dispute between Luzhkov and Medvedev would end in Luzhkov’s departure as mayor. Luzhkov, however, returned from a vacation in Vienna, strode into his office on Monday and announced that he had no intention of resigning.

On Tuesday, Medvedev, on a state visit to China, signed a decree saying he had lost confidence in the mayor and was firing him.

The dismissal offered a tantalizing hint to a question that has bedeviled Washington since Medvedev was elected president in 2008, succeeding Putin, who then became prime minister.

Who is Dmitri Medvedev, and what does he stand for?”

“It means,” said Boris Nemtsov, a member of the democratic opposition, “that Medvedev has a chance to be a real president.”

Emanuel is likely to announce as soon as Friday that he will leave the Obama administration to run for mayor of Chicago, a source close to him said Monday night.

The source said, discussing Emanuel’s plans on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that Emanuel may yet reverse a decision that has been widely presumed, saying, “Because of family considerations, no final decision has been made.”

The chief of staff has been expected to pursue the Chicago job since Mayor Richard Daley (D) announced earlier this month that he would not run next year for a seventh term.

Emanuel, 50, grew up in Chicago and he rose to national prominence as the chief fundraiser for Daley ’s first mayoral campaign in 1989.

But the timing of his departure from the W hite House has remained an open question, with many speculating that he would stay through the midterm elections in six weeks.

The deadline to file nominating papers for the mayor’s race is Nov. 22, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners’ Web site.

President Barack Obama told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos recently that he thinks Emanuel would make “a terrific mayor.”

Emmanuel May Soon Announce He Will Run for Mayor of Chicago

By ROBER BARNES

By ANNE E. KORNBLUT WASHINGTON _ White House Chief of Staff Rahm

Judge Orders Reinstatement of Military Nurse Discharged Under ‘Don’t Ask’ Policy

A federal judge on Friday ordered the reinstatement of an Air Force nurse discharged from the military under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that forbids openly gay service members.

U.S. District Judge Ronald

Leighton told a packed Tacoma, Wash., courtroom that evidence at a six-day trial showed that former Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt was an “exemplary officer” who should be “reinstated at the earliest possible moment.”

“Good flight nurses are hard to find,” he said in a 15-page opinion.

In a statement, Witt said she was proud of her career.

“Wounded people never asked me about my sexual orientation.

They were just glad to see me there,” she said.

Witt was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which said the ruling was the first time a judge had ordered a reinstatement of a service member discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Leighton had dismissed Witt’s first challenge to her 2006 dismissal. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit told the judge to reconsider under a standard of review that put the burden on the military to show why Witt’s discharge was necessary to the government’s interest.

In effect, the appeals court ruling said judges should be examining the military ’s decision to discharge individual service members, not whether the law itself was justified.

“The evidence produced at trial overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that the suspension and discharge of Margaret Witt did not significantly further the important government interest in advancing unit morale and cohesion,” Leighton concluded.

Leighton’s decision in some ways echoed one from U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in California. She ruled this month that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unconstitutional and has a “direct and deleteri-

ous effect” on the armed services. She is now considering whether an injunction against future discharges of gay service members should be limited or imposed nationwide.

The cases have put the Obama administration in an uncomfortable position.

The president supports a repeal of the policy, but his Justice Department is charged with defending the nation’s laws. On Thursday, it urged Phillips not to issue a broad injunction against the law.

But political pressure will continue to grow.

Democrats in the Senate this week moved to repeal the law but were stopped by a Republican majority that would not allow the measure to come to a vote.

A majority in the Senate supports the repeal. The House has approved such a measure.

Leighton called “unassailable” the government’s argument that Witt’s reinstatement would result in an inconsistent policy in enforcing “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, he noted, has held that the statute is constitutional.

But he cited his orders to apply the law to “the specific circumstances of Major Witt.”

Testimony showed, he said, that Witt “was an effective leader . . . and an integral member of an effective team.

Her loss within the squadron resulted in a diminution of the unit’s ability to carry out its mission.”

Witt joined the Air Force in 1987 and moved from active duty to reserve in 1995. She began an affair with a married woman in 2003, and the woman’s husband informed the militar y a year later that Witt was a lesbian. She was discharged in 2007.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

PAGE 9

Point-Counterpoint: New York City is My Campus

ELLEN CREAGER/MCT

Fordham makes the claim that offerings in Manhattan are easy for students to take advantage of, but some take issue with the validity of the slogan that “New York is My Campus, Fordham is My School.”

Fordham Makes It Simple for Students to Experience the Bustle of the City

By SHEILA SENNETT STAFF WRITER

The University Web site, glossy brochures at admissions and an enormous banner at the McGinley Center proclaim that “New York is my campus, Fordham is my school.” In this particular case, the University’s assessment is correct. Through course work, easily accessible transportation, affordable activities, internship opportunities and community service, Fordham offers students the opportunity to integrate their school life with the New York City community.

When students and administrators talk about New York City, they often mean Manhattan, which many regard as the cultural center of America. Rose Hill students have three transportation options to access Manhattan. They can reach Manhattan in less than 20 minutes from the MetroNorth station just yards from campus gates, or they can arrive at Lincoln Center in about 45 minutes on the Ram Van. The D and 4 subway lines are also within walking distance of campus and offer a 45-minute commute to Manhattan for students who enjoy a stroll down East Fordham Road.

Professors often make efforts to integrate the cultural and intellectual offerings of New York City into required course work for their students. Assignments based on visits to Manhattan museums are common in art history and history classes, forcing even the most unwilling among the student body to experience world-renowned museums. Urbanism courses often require students to examine the building environment of the city while experiencing the historic and recent architecture of the New York. Both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses offer a course entitled History of New York, which examines the development of New York City from its founding by the Dutch until the present day. Through academics, Fordham connects its students with the vibrant culture and history of the city.

Fordham University presents students at Rose Hill with many opportunities to take advantage of the city. Not only do Universitysponsored programs connect students with social and cultural activities in the city, but they offer affordable prices, making activities even more accessible to students. The Campus Activity Board and residence hall programs are particularly useful in this regard, offering a range of affordable activities to students. CAB’s Cultural Affairs committee, for instance, offers raffles for discounted Broadway tickets, giving students a chance to watch shows that ordinarily cost $80 or more for only $15. CAB also offers $6 movie tickets to AMC and Regal Theatres, in addi-

tion to posting information about various free events on their Facebook page. Residence halls organize group excursions to Broadway plays, museums and movies.

The Career Services Office also gives students the opportunity to make connections in the city. Those who have signed up to receive career services e-mails know that the office sends a weekly e-mail announcing internship opportunities in a wide range of fields, from accounting to finance, to media relations and editorial internships at some of New York’s most famous magazines. Academic departments also often notify majors of internship opportunities.

Fordham not only offers aid in locating and securing an internship but also gives free Ram Van passes to students who secure an internship for credit, making the commute more affordable.

Many students seem to believe that “New York City” is just another term for “Manhattan,” and that taking advantage of the city always translates as “seeing a musical.” However, Fordham is involved with the Bronx community as well. On-campus residence halls organize walkovers to P.O.T.S., a soup kitchen on Webster Avenue, while Campus Ministry organizes midnight runs in which students deliver food and clothing to the homeless.

The Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice offers both long-term and one-time volunteer opportunities, internships in social service environments in the city and service-learning programs. All of these programs are local and allow students to connect to the city in which they live in a way that is different from the connection forged by watching Broadway or going to a museum, but just as important.

A better question is this: to what extent do students take advantage of the city? Admittedly, it is true that some planning is required to go to Manhattan to watch a movie, see a play or go to a museum. Fordham offers many, many opportunities to students, but all of them require personal initiative. Time and effort are required to obtain an internship in the city, despite Fordham’s numerous listings, aid with resumes and free transportation. Time and commitment are required to volunteer within Manhattan and the Bronx. Some students can spend weeks without going more than 10 blocks from Fordham’s campus in the Bronx, while others work at internships, volunteer or attend concerts and Broadway plays throughout the course of an average week. Fordham offers a range of opportunities, but in the end, the initiative of the students is needed to take full advantage of our “campus,” New York City.

Sheila Sennett, FCRH ’12, is a history major from West Hartford, Conn.

Improvements Could Be Made to Make New York City Fordham’s True Campus

By MATTHEW ARTH STAFF WRITER

“New York is my campus, Fordham is my school.” We’ve all seen the slogan, and I’m willing to bet that for most people, Fordham’s location in New York City was a very salient factor in their decision to attend this fine institution of higher learning (well, that and the well-manicured lawns). It is true that New York provides many opportunities for college students that simply would not be available elsewhere, from internships with many prestigious companies to some of the best art and entertainment out there.

That being said, how well does Fordham capitalize on its position as a university located in the capital of the world, and how connected do Rose Hill students really feel to the city?

Last semester, I went with a couple of Fordham friends to a Great Gatsby themed party thrown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art exclusively for college students. For such a high profile event aimed specifically at undergraduates like ourselves and located only a quick 4 Train ride away, I would have expected a good representation of Fordham students there. I was somewhat disappointed to find a substantial lack of Fordham faces in attendance, and it got me thinking about ways to increase Fordham’s presence in the city.

Having a campus located in the Bronx brings the benefit of larger and more traditional college grounds than schools like Columbia and NYU, but also the increased challenge of integrating campus life with Manhattan culture. As a senior, I have been very happy with my experience in New York and at Fordham. There is always room for improvement, however, and there are a multitude of ways that the school could increase its students’ connection to the city.

First, the school should consider making the Ram Van free to ride for all current students. As a university that prides itself on being a part of the New York experience, the Ram Van is a vital link between the two boroughs and one that the school should consider an essential part of student life. Making transportation between Rose Hill and midtown Manhattan free could be the single best way to encourage students to take more advantage of the city, and would only serve to strengthen the bonds between Fordham’s two New York City campuses.

Another service that would benefit from a revamp is Fordham’s student discount program.

As college students, money is often tight, and discount programs go a long way in helping to bring the high costs of events like a Broadway play or Lincoln Center performance within a reasonable range. As it stands now, students

have to walk over to McGinley and choose from a sparse and infrequently updated selection of tickets, hoping all the while that there is an event that they may be interested in. I don’t often say this, but in this case, NYU has a program worth imitating. Not only does it sport a wider selection of events and promotions which are updated on a weekly basis, but it is hosted online, so students can simply log in from the comfort of their dorm and check to see what is available that week. If Fordham increased the selection of events available and promoted these in a prominent space online, students might make regular trips to Manhattan a part of their routine instead of an every-once-in-a-while occurrence.

Since Fordham is first and foremost a university, the role of academics in bringing students closer to the city should be considered. This semester, one of my marketing professors informed the class that we would be required to make a trip to either Chinatown or Little India to experience the culture there. Trips like this are a great way to utilize the city’s many resources to gain unique experience outside of the classroom; however, my class this semester seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The administration would do well to encourage professors, particularly in the core courses early on in a student’s studies, to make New York experiences like this a more integral part of the curriculum.

Despite the easy Ram Van access, many Fordham students seem to forget that the school has a great campus in Manhattan that is at their fingertips. The administration should work to increase ties between the two campuses by offering Rose Hill students more classes downtown and eliminating the hurdles that stand in the way of registering for them. Even fostering better relationships between students at both campuses through regular Rose Hill-Lincoln Center student mixers would go a long way in promoting links between between the Bronx and Manhattan.

Fordham has a long history in New York City, one that it has not failed to capitalize on in its marketing efforts towards prospective students.

Despite this, Fordham consistently punches below its weight in the Manhattan community, preventing many students from feeling the connection to the city that they were promised.

With a few well-implemented improvements, Fordham could assume its rightful place in this city and truly make New York this University’s campus.

Matthew Arth, GSB ’11, is a marketing major and economics minor from Southlake, Texas.

Staff Poll: When The Ram was polled, 5 staff members thought the “Fordham is My School, New York City is my campus” slogan was apt; 12 staff members did not.

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

The Ram Serving campus and community since 1918.

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.

www.theramonline.com Editorial: (718) 817-0873 Production: (718) 817-4381 Newsroom: (718) 817-4394 Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Mark Becker Managing Editor Abigail Forget Design Editor Stephen Moccia Business Editor Caroline Dahlgren News Editor Patrick Derocher Assistant News Editor Victoria Rau Opinions Editor Christine Barcellona Assistant Opinions Editor Brian Kraker Culture Editor Celeste Kmiotek Assistant Culture Editor Jen Cacchioli Sports Editors Danny Atkinson Nick Carroll Assistant Sports Editor Jon Smith Copy Chief Claire Borders Copy Team Mary Alcaro Tom Haskin Julie McCone Sean McGonigle Sandy McKenzie Jillian Minihan Olivia Monaco Jenna Petronglo Sarah Ramirez Hussein Safa Veronica Torok Ryan Vale Annie Zutz Photo Editor Simon Sulit Operations and Outreach Mike Burkart Web Editor Kelly Caggiano Assistant Web Editors Tracy Fan Ou Cara Stellato Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel 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.

OPINIONS

From the Desk of Mike Burkart, Operations and Outreach Get fired or you’ll never amount to anything.

As contrarian as it may seem, nothing can help you more in your career than losing your job.

Whether through layoffs or termination, the loss of a job can actually bring you closer to realizing your goals than you might think.

Too often, we seek careers that carry with them prestige, power and money. Other times, we become so complacent in our jobs that, it is bad not only for our employers, but also for our personal growth and psyche.

True, across the board many people cite losing their jobs as one of the most traumatic events of their lives, but for the lucky few who can come to terms with what happened, being let go is an opportunity in disguise.

Freshman year, I was fired from my job as a Ram Van driver. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Let me be clear, driving was my favorite job that I had ever had.

Nothing was more liberating than getting to know New York City from behind the wheel while driving between Fordham’s Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses.

At the same time, however, I began to believe that since I loved the job so much that I would never lose it, and soon I began to make careless mistakes. I had an accident, and I told my supervi-

sors that it was possible that I had received two red-light tickets, although, to my knowledge, I never did. I was dumb and careless.

Ironically, something completely different precipitated my termination. One morning, my usual mechanism for waking up, my phone, did not work quite properly, and I completely missed my departure time, a serious offense.

Combined with all of my other problems on the job, my supervisor rightly found grounds to fire me. After offering me a diet cola, he plainly told me that my services would no longer be needed.

Yet, even more than I recall him using the words “diet cola” instead of “diet Pepsi,” of which he subsequently poured himself a glass, I remember my supervisor telling me that missing my shift, combined with consistently arriving one or two minutes late, was the reason that I was being let go.

As I left the office, it hit me.

No longer would I be “Ram Van Mike,” as many of my friends called me. What would I do for money? Who would want to hire me now? More importantly, though, I reflected on the reason for being terminated: I had a problem being on time, and in the real world, that matters. It was humbling.

At the time, I felt like I had hit rock bottom. Nonetheless, it forced me to gain perspective

on my life and determine how I would get back on track. As I applied to a number of jobs, I was eager to prove that I could overcome the weaknesses that led to my downfall.

Because I had nothing lelf to lose, though, I was able to be a bit bolder in my aims. And with a bit of luck and serendipity, I began to forge a new career path. Back then, the thought never occurred to me, but now it appears abundantly clear: only after you hit rock bottom do you have a clear shot to the top.

Time and again in job interviews, on application essays and, oddly, at networking events, I have been asked some variation of this question: what was your biggest mistake?

When answering, however, interviewers do not want to know how egregious your transgressions were; they want to see that you have developed wisdom by learning from your mistake and understanding your weaknesses.

No one wants to hire someone who does not know that they are fallible. To this day, I still tell inquirers about the time when I was fired from the best job I ever had.

A number of now successful people have suffered setbacks in their careers only to rebound into success. Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, lost his

job at the prestigious brokerage firm Salomon Brothers, but with his severance package he went on to establish the financial information empire that now bears his name. Although not everyone walks away with $10 million after being let go, we all take with us important lessons on what we can do better.

To this day, I remain grateful for what my then-supervisor did.

Firing someone must surely be a difficult task, but he managed to do it tactfully. Had he not done so, I likely would have kept muddling along, and without a wake up call, I never would have gotten to where I am now.

Before returning to Fordham this fall, I already had a job offer in hand for a front-office position at a bulge bracket investment bank.

Back in freshman year, who would have thought that to get it, all I needed to do was get fired?

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: After reading the article “Hughes Residents Suffer Through Summer,” I am disappointed at the leadership The Ram has shown in its first edition that only the students will read. Not only do I feel that it has a negative attitude, but it also tells the student body that it is acceptable to hold the same attitude.The article judges without understanding the workings of the University nor offers a reasonable solution to the problem.

As one of the summer RAs in Hughes Hall, I never heard a complaint or concern about asbestos or complaints about the supposed ants on the upper floors. From experience, ants do not appear on an upper floor unless residents are not properly disposing perishable items.

I do not believe it is a valid argument if the concerns of residents were not Dear Editor: When people embark on a journey, action must be ruled by common sense. Since January of 2010, Facilities Operations Department reorganized the administrative facet of operating the Fordham post office. Our top priority is to improve the customer service experience.

The most challenging aspect facing in the post office is processing the large volume of packages it receives daily, especially during the first two months of each semester. During the months of September and October, the post office receives 800 to 1,500 packages a day.

Accountability is top priority. In April 2010, we implemented the SQBX Package Tracking System,

made to the staff of Hughes Hall.

The way the article portrays the condition of Hughes Hall makes it seem like bricks were starting to fall from the façade. This is far from the truth and an over exaggeration.

The article mentions the renovation of Hughes Hall. However, I do not believe the authors have an understanding of what is going to occur during the renovations. Let me clarify. The entire fascade, minus the change in location of the front door, will remain the same. The interior of the building will be gutted and is where the majority of the renovation will occur. From what the article portrays, more work needs to be done on Hughes Hall since it is “a crumbling building.”

As a further note, much of the damage that was reported in the article was from the academic year. Why was this not noted in the article? Was

anyone in the building staff even asked about that damage? Three of the four RAs in Hughes Hall during the summer were RAs in the building during the academic year. They were an ample resource the authors did not use.

Instead of bashing Residential Life, why not make the article about how residents mistreat the buildings that they spend over nine months in?

Residential Life is in charge of the maintenance of all of the residence halls. However, Residential Life is not ultimately the residents of the halls. It is up to each resident how they will treat the facilities he or she is privileged to live in. There is only so much Residential Life can do to prevent such mistreatment from happening, such as community fines and closing certain public spaces.

Why is The Ram so concerned now that the building is closed? The Ram

had an opportunity to be part of the solution, but instead, just complains.

As a student of Fordham University, I feel that if The Ram was concerned about having a positive impact on its readers or encouraging them to act, it would try harder to establish a proactive attitude. Again, as a fellow student leader on this campus, I am disappointed at the lack of leadership The Ram has displayed.

It is reinforcing a negative attitude of students already on campus and is teaching freshman it is acceptable to complain with out creating a solution.

I look forward to The Ram taking a proactive role in the Fordham community.

an automated inventory and notification software and hardware package. Since our implementation date, the number of lost packages is zero.

This process is faster and more efficient than any past practices.

We have seen an increasing trend of ordering online, and increase in the number of residents on Rose Hill. As much of our society during these difficult times, we have to improve our level of service, meet these new challenges and maintain our budget.

If you ask, “why is it taking so long to get my package?” The post office staff is working on it.

Specific measures are been taken to remedy this situation. We are expanding our staffing to assist in the process. We want to minimize turnaround time. Students should

check their P.O. boxes frequently when expecting a package, and if you have a yellow card you can claim your package. If you receive an e-mail from the carrier confirming your package has arrived, it doesn’t mean your package has been processed. Do not get on the line to get your package without a yellow card. The post office will issue you an email saying your package is ready.

Our post office staff is working hard to deliver each package as promptly as possible. They process 500 to 700 packages daily; all of them working many hours of overtime away from their families and friends to make sure your packages are delivered. They are dedicated individuals who ignore exhaustion in order to deal with the mail snow, rain or shine.

Fordham not only has a mailroom but we also have a fully functioning post office on campus to purchase stamps and money orders, to ship and receive parcels without having to go outside. We hope the Fordham community can appreciate this convenience and we are always looking to improve. Your concerns and suggestions are welcomed. The business hours are posted outside the post office.

Our post office has undergone many improvements and we know there is still more work to be done in this journey. Rest assured, we strive to serve and please our Fordham community at all times.

Sincerely, Gretchen Schmoll

Sincerely, Facilities Operations Department

OPINIONS

Sodexo Food Crumbles Potential Take 5 Success

By BRIAN KRAKER ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

Sneaking food from the caf has become a Fordham pastime.

When residents’ pantries become depleted, students often resort to stealthily shoveling cafeteria food into containers and backpacks. If a student is in need of a quick snack before a perilous Ram Van ride to Lincoln Center, the Marketplace acts as an easy dispensary of cookies and drinks. An innocent trip to the caf soon becomes a five-finger shopping spree, replenishing cereal containers and fruit reserves, but before the student body’s most dedicated thieves could print schematics of the caf, optimizing their chances of a successful meal heist, Sodexo implemented a new food station.

This fall saw the début of Take 5, a new station at the cafeteria providing students an on-the-go option. Located at the entrance of the Marketplace, the section allows students to swipe in as if they are eating a traditional meal at the caf; however, they can take their food on the run. This caf component provides patrons with a five-portion meal, including an entrée of a sandwich or salad, drink, bag of chips, fruit and dessert. Available from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., Take 5 operates during lunch hours; the time students are most likely to need a portable meal.

This station elevates tension between the caf and students.

After the caf essentially eliminated paper cups from the Marketplace, making them harder to find than the Holy Grail, Sodexo demonstrated a clear agenda of combating food and drink removal. While many students attempt to filch food from the caf with these disposable glasses, Sodexo and caf workers remained vigilant against these shoplifting students.

The once-underground operation of stealing food from the caf has been legalized with Take 5. The station provides students with an assortment of food, including snack food and substantive meals, traditionally the most stolen items. With the introduction of this new station, students can return to their dorms with a bounty of food through scheming reminiscent of Ocean’s 11.

Take 5 is the ideal station for students during the height of the

school day. With students scheduling classes with precise increments of time to eat before their next lecture, the ability to eat a quick meal is essential. While the caf is often viewed as a social experience, most students hardly have time to put off the advances of “Sandwich Guy,” let alone have a meal with friends.

Take 5 gives students grab-andgo capabilities, allowing them to take their meal to their next class, the Ram Van stop, or simply back to their room.

Take 5 also serves as a solution to avoiding the monumental lines of the caf. When the Marketplace hits peak hours, movement in the caf is reduced to the speed of rush hour traffic.

When students enter the gridlocked food dispensary, simply obtaining food can take longer than a trip to the DMV. Rather than participating in this barbaric bottlenecking, students are given a reprieve with Take 5, given immediate access to a meal with the wait.

Conceptually the Take 5 station is a perfect addition to the caf ’s ensemble of stations, allowing students to avoid a labyrinth of lines. Yet, Take 5 still contains the fatal flaw that plagues all Fordham eating establishments, Sodexo food. Although students can now eat in the sanctuary of their dorms, far from the chaos of debris-covered tables and impenetrable crowds, the barely palatable taste of Sodexo cuisine still exists. The bland taste of packaged caf jello and clingwrapped sandwiches can test even the strongest of students’ gag reflexes. Regardless of the convenience of the Take 5 section, the food sold there is no better than any option off-campus.

With the Take 5 station, students no longer need oversized trench coats to smuggle meals away from tortuous lines and crowed tables. However, with the quality of food no better than a traditional Sodexo meal, any potential benefit of the new station is negated. Rather than wasting a caf swipe on a Take 5 meal, students may simply want to utilize their food pilfering expertise at a finer eating establishment.

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

Issue of the Week:

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell A Look at the World Outside of Fordham from the Perspective of Professional News Bloggers

See what commentators from the Left and the Right have to say about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010• THE RAM • PAGE 11

Sports Atmosphere a Drag

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/ THE RAM

The student section has shown a strong turnout at both Fordham football home games this season; however, casual fans have often left at halftime regardless of the team’s play or importance of the game.

Fordham alumnus and football legend Vince Lombardi dispensed this advice to the players of his day: “It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.”

Current Rams would do well to take these words to heart.

Let’s start with last week’s football game home opener against Rhode Island. The first half of the game saw a huge number of students and alumni descending on Jack Coffey Field. After my previous experiences at Fordham athletic events, I was somewhat surprised at the sheer amount of energy and enthusiasm coming from the stands. The atmosphere was electric, and people seemed genuinely excited to be there.

Sadly, that vibe quickly dissipated after a scoreless first quarter and a 14-7 score at the end of the half saw students heading for the exits. Perhaps they should have taken encouragement from those iconic Lombardi words, as the game ended with a thrilling series of plays that brought a 27-25 Fordham victory. However, the reaction to that game illustrates well the current state of Fordham athletics.

The sports scene at Rose Hill is not like that of other colleges.

Although the school has 21 var-

sity sports and plays Division I athletics in the Atlantic 10 and Patriot League, the mood around campus toward these programs tends toward ambivalence. This probably has something to do with the relatively poor record of Fordham’s teams over the last several years. Fordham football finished the season 5-6 last year, even with the now NFL-signed quarterback John Skelton at the helm, while the men’s basketball team was unable to win a single conference game and finished the season 2-22.

Despite these rather sobering statistics, Fordham has a lot to build on. Although the Rams are not as well known today as they once were, the old Maroon has a distinguished history in sports and a long athletic tradition. The Fordham baseball team is one of the oldest in the country, and has more wins (4,010) than any other NCAA Division I baseball team. In 1939, Fordham participated in the first-ever televised football game, and a year later, played Pitt at Madison Square Garden in the first-ever televised basketball game. The list of Fordham athletes that have gone on to play professionally includes such greats as Baseball Hall of Famer “Frankie” Frisch, Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Chadwick, and twotime Olympic gold medalist Tom Courtney. Fordham’s heyday in the 1930s even led to an NFL franchise being named after “the Rams of the Bronx,” who today

play as the St. Louis Rams.

That’s all well and good, critics might say, but that was then and this is now. The Rams might not play in the Cotton Bowl again anytime soon, but I do not think that I am alone in believing that a Fordham athletic revival is underway.

In its bid to improve the Rams’ level of play, Fordham is offering athletic football scholarships for the first time this year. The University’s decision last season to increase funding for the men’s basketball program by another $700,000 was a heartening move in the right direction, showing that the school is dedicated to ensuring that the poor record of past years is not repeated. It has yet to be seen whether new head coach Tom Pecora can capitalize on this investment and turn the Rams around this fall, but his previous record at Hofstra and wellrespected recruiting abilities are encouraging signs.

Sports are a fundamental part of the college experience in America, and hopefully these moves by the Fordham administration are only the beginnings in a broader effort to return the Rams to prominence and build a program of which Fordham students can be proud. Now it is up to us as students at Fordham to show our spirit and revive what it means to be a Ram fan.

Matthew Arth, GSB ’11 is a marketing major and economics minor from Southlake, Texas.

Waymon Hudson, Huffington Post

Chuck Donovan, The Foundry

Lt. Dan Choi, openly gay Iraq War veteran

“For the first time in history, the Defense Authorization Bill was filibustered and killed all in the name of homophobia and outright bigotry against LGBT Americans. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was considered lowhanging fruit, supported by…Republican voters and Christians.”

“Even in a lame duck session of Congress, the agenda for action by a fading liberal majority is potentially crowded with other issues. The American people deserve a better showing by their representatives in Washington than the rush to judgment Senator Reid attempted this week.”

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is not a joking matter. It is the only law that enforces shame.”

By MATTHEW ARTH STAFF WRITER

–COMPILED BY BRIAN KRAKER

Follow The Ram at twitter.com/ thefordhamram.

PAGE 12 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

OPINIONS

Fordham Sends Mixed Messages About Wellness

RAM ARCHIVES

Fordham caters to weekend partygoers, opening the cafeteria at 11 a.m. and promoting activities it claims to condemn.

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

Despite its emphasis on wellness living, Fordham sends its students mixed messages about how they should behave during the weekend. Certainly, Fordham claims that it has a mission to dissuade alcohol abuse and irresponsible behavior. There are great wellness programs on campus, and there is a lot of talk about avoiding binge drinking. In other policies, however, the University seems to imply that it expects students to get so messed up during the weekend that they cannot drag themselves out of bed until at least 11 a.m.

Fordham does many things right. Wellness programs attract students who are committed to responsible lifestyle choices.

Queen’s Court is a haven for stu-

dious freshmen who want, or whose parents want them, to be part of a community that eschews substance use and abuse. The Wellness Housing in O’Hare offers upperclassmen a community with extra programming focused on finding activities to partake in aside from binge drinking. Peer Educators work to encourage students to find alternatives to drinking as a recreational activity. Their poster campaigns are witty, their Passport for freshmen is infinitely helpful and their mission is laudable. By having these programs in place, Fordham encourages students to act responsibly, especially in regards to alcohol consumption.

At the same time, Fordham sends another message that says something along the lines of, “You might as well stay up all night and

party; if you woke up early, you wouldn’t be able to get food or do homework anyway!”

The Caf and library hours are baffling. The stereotypical college student spends all Saturday night playing beer pong, and sleeps until 2 p.m. However, not every student at Fordham is a walking stereotype. Some students, especially those with 8:30 a.m. classes during the week, might be used to waking up early and accidentally wake up before noon on the weekend.

These students are punished by the Caf ’s 11 a.m. opening time.

Some people can function without their morning joe. Some students cannot. However, students who have a meal plan should not be forced to pay extra just because they are conscious more than an hour before noon. Students who

pay for a full meal plan, depending on the meal plan, may pay approximately $10 per swipe into the cafeteria. They should not have to buy breakfast food, coffee and a coffee maker to use on weekend mornings.

While the Grille offers a few measly meal options on weekend mornings, all other dining establishments are closed. Wellness residence halls like Queen’s Court often make valiant efforts to supply their residents with food during the morning lapses in food service, but a few bagels on Sunday morning hardly measures up to a full-service cafeteria with coffee, yogurt, eggs and dozens of other food options. Also, the burden of feeding early risers should not have to fall on the residence halls, and some people who do not live in wellness housing are awake before 11 a.m.

Apparently, the administration expects that students will be too hungover to the cafeteria until almost midday. However, for reasons unknown, they expect that students will be able to study in the library at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings, before they can even get a cup of coffee. For reasons equally unknown, the library remains closed on Sunday mornings until noon, even though Sundays are traditionally homework days.

Is the message sent here that students are expected to play a few extra rounds of flip cup on Saturday nights, so they will not be studying for a while?

The library’s budget has experienced cuts in the past two years, so it makes sense that it has been

forced to cut hours. Even this budget cut calls into question the University’s commitment to education. When a library can afford to be open 24 hours a day only during midterm and finals weeks, perhaps there should be some budget reassessments, and the library could be given a few more resources. The library is a haven where students can escape from chaotic dorm life and have a few hours of peaceful study.

In the meantime, while people reassess the budget, perhaps someone could reassess the library hours and allow it to open at 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, so it at least dovetails with Caf hours. Also, the library’s early closing time on Friday nights not only sends students the message that they should be at a party instead of studying philosophy, but it also makes it difficult for students to check out DVDs during the weekend. The Electronic Information Center is a valuable resource, and it would be even more valuable if people had more of a chance to use it.

If the University is going to “talk the talk” of wellness living, it must also “walk the walk.” It should make it a priority to have facilities open when students need to use them and should not give students incentive for staying out later. Students want to be productive, and it is a pity that the University denies them some of the tools to reach their potential.

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

Clubs Should Separate Politics from Sept. 11 Service

By RORY MASTERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

With Scott Brown’s senate victory this year in historically democratic Massachusetts in addition to the mounting support of Sarah Palin’s Tea Party movement, it is starting to look like 1984 all over again for the Republican Party. Break out the New Coke and your Reaganomics books because it is as cool to be conservative now as it was to be a liberal in 2008.

The Fordham University College Republicans recently sponsored a Sept. 11 tribute, the Never Forget Project, on the Alpha Lawn. While we as a nation must never forget the acts committed against us on that Tuesday morning, we must also question the degree of influence a political party can have in staging a memorial to the victims.

I must start by saying that I take something of a cop-out stance when it comes to politics.

I do not subscribe to any party’s platform but rather listen attentively to the issues an individual candidate raises. Silly, I know, especially in this atmosphere of bipartisanship, but I guess I am just old-fashioned.

I do not mean to bash the College Republicans, advocate the College Democrats or aggravate the “College Independents.” I just mean to point out the lack of taste in one party’s comman-

deering, for complete lack of a better term, of a national day of remembrance.

Granted, I do not know under what circumstances the Republicans sponsored this event.

Perhaps they were the only club that wanted to do so, and if that is true, then kudos to them and shame on everyone else. I cannot help but feel, however, that perhaps Campus Ministry or another apolitical group could have performed the task of remembering the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, without anyone calling any kind of political bias into question.

“Like many other organizations, we choose to sponsor events that deserve the attention of the larger Fordham community,” Celia Aniskovich, FCRH ’14, a member of College Republicans said. “I think we can all agree that honoring the memory of those who died unnecessarily on Sept. 11 is something we ought to do every chance we get.

We are proud to be the sponsor of an event like this.”

It does not matter that the memorial was not, by nature, a Republican event. The fact is that there are doubts about what the ulterior motives may or may not have been. It would be a shame to think that some College Democrats did not go to the memorial simply because it was a College Republican function, but it is not out of the question to think that it may have occurred that way in

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/ THE RAM

A Sept. 11 memorial located in the Finlay Garden and an annual service remember those lost in the terrorist attacks.

a few cases.

Having said that, I commend the College Republicans for constructing a peacefully solemn display and reprobate them for not getting the word out about it as much as they could have. Maybe a few of those Democrats who hypothetically skipped out on visiting the memorial merely did so because they were unaware it existed. A few of the people I talked to concerning this article in my dorm did not even know it

happened. I saw the Republicans setting it up the night before, and when I went back the next day it seemed like an appropriate tribute to those who gave their lives nine years ago.

The political spectrum right now is a shambolic place. Bipartisanship runs amuck and too often clouds the important topics and procedures which make this country unique and which, at one time, made this country the best in the world. We, not only

as the Fordham community but as the United States of America, must blur party lines and become the “United we stand, divided we fall” kind of place we were when we were under duress. Either no one political party, or all of them together, should sponsor the Sept. 11 memorial in the future so that we may all remember the tragedy together.

Rory Masterson, GSB ’14, is a business administration major from Fort Mill, SC.

OPINIONS

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 13

New Report Sheds Light on Pedestrian Safety

RAM ARCHIVES

Speeding cars can pose threats to pedestrians in busy intersections in the city.

By KATE McGEE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Safety is a word used by authority figures to explain their actions and decisions. Some parents give their kids a curfew so they are home safely. President George W. Bush told Americans we were invading Iraq to “make our nation safer.” It is a word that appeases everyone; no one wants to be in danger.

The city of New York says it is working to improve the safety of pe-

destrians across the five boroughs.

The city recently studied eight years of traffic information, looking at 7,000 car crashes that resulted in death or serious injury, and have compiled that into the Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan. City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan calls the report, “the Rosetta Stone for safety on the streets of New York.”

Although I would not call the results groundbreaking–in a city of eight million people there are

bound to be terrible accidents for various reasons–the city did make some interesting discoveries. I was surprised to see taxis caused fewer accidents than personal vehicles.

Students who have taken a taxi know it can sometimes be a jarring experience.

Additionally, it is interesting that more accidents happened at intersections where people are actually waiting for the “Walk” sign than when daring pedestrians jaywalk. I see people jaywalking all over the city, especially on Fordham Road. It seems impossible to me that they get hit by cars fewer times than someone actually following the rules.

What I found most interesting, however, was that the deadliest factors for people walking around the five boroughs are male drivers and cars making left-hand turns. In 80 percent of crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians, men were behind the wheel.

In their defense, 57 percent of vehicles in the city are registered to men, reports the New York Times, but 80 percent is still a high number.

Furthermore, those crossing the street should be aware of cars making left-handed turns, as vehicles turning left are three times as likely to cause a fatal crash.

Colin Murphy, FCRH ’11 was hit by a car twice on Fordham Road.

The first time, he was hit was by a mini-van making a left turn off of Bathgate Avenue.

“All I remember before being hit was seeing the car make the turn without stopping and knowing that

there would be an impact,” Murphy said.

For Fordham students, busy intersections are nothing new. Fordham Road was found to be one of the most dangerous roads in the five boroughs. Between 2002 and 2006, there were seven serious or fatal accidents at the corner of Webster Avenue and East Fordham Road.

WFUV Employee Joey DelVecchio, FCRH ’04, was also hit on East Fordham Road on Presidents’ Day 2007. He was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for three days; as he recalls, a car came out of nowhere and hit him head first.

What is also not surprising is that the Bloomberg administration released this report while simultaneously unveiling new initiatives to improve safety, and no one is going to criticize it for that. Not only is it good politics, but pedestrian safety is also important to everyone.

The release of the report coincided with the end of a pilot program where the city installed electronic countdown signals at crosswalks, letting pedestrians know how many seconds they have before the light changes. The city plans to install countdown clocks at 1,500 intersections. In a letter printed in the Brooklyn Eagle, mayor Michael Bloomberg writes, “We think they’re going to make a big difference, especially for older New Yorkers, who while only 12 percent of the city’s population, suffer 38 percent of pedestrian fatalities.”

The city also says it plans to reduce the speed limit to 20 mph

from 30 mph and remove curbside parking spaces on a Manhattan avenue to be named later, to increase visibility for cars making left-handed turns.

“We’ve made historic gains in reducing traffic fatalities,” Bloomberg said. “But we still see too many families devastated by traffic accidents.”

The Bloomberg administration has done a lot to make New York City more pedestrian friendly.

From the pedestrian-only zones in Times Square to the installation of 200 miles of bike lanes, the mayor has redesigned the city to look almost like some European cities with plazas and piazzas purely for walking.

A significant amount of accidents involved pedestrians who do not live in Manhattan– 43 percent to be exact. This shows that many of the people hit by vehicles are not walking on city streets on a normal basis, like tourists. Tourism is an important aspect of New York City’s economy, and since Bloomberg runs the city like a business, he needs to make sure the city is welcoming to the millions of travelers who will invest their money in the city, and hopefully return.

Ultimately, this report is simply evidence that the city can use in its defense as it continues to alter the five boroughs in new ways. As long as it is against the backdrop of pedestrian safety, it probably will not be disputed.

Kate McGee, FCRH ’11, is an American studies and history major from Cranford, N.J.

Attention readers: From this point forward, CBA will be referred to as GSB in all of our articles.

AA at Rose Hill:Get sober, Stay sober.

Thurs 1-2 pm starting 9/16, Spellman Hall, lower entrance.

For info please call Gerard at x5392.

PAGE 14 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

PAGE 15

Joan Walsh Talks About Her Life, Politics and Her Hopes for Youth The Salon.com Editor-in-Chief Sat Down with The Ram to Elaborate on Her Lecture

By VICTORIA RAU AND CELESTE KMIOTEK ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR AND CULTURE EDITOR

As the current editor of online magazine Salon.com, Joan Walsh has important messages both for up-and-coming journalists and American youth at large. After her lecture on Thursday, Sept. 23, she sat down and talked with The Ram about her life, issues important to her and what she hopes college students will learn.

Although Walsh started out in journalism, she branched off into consulting, a career move she said she still is glad she made. She was also careful to stick to what she valued most, working for the state assembly and on issues involving community development, urban poverty and education.

“It was always in the areas that I cared about as a journalist, although you can’t support yourself writing about welfare reform, I gotta tell ya,” she said.

As her daughter, Nora, got older, she began to look for freelance assignments. One of her friends founded the Web site Salon.com, and, when the position for the news editor opened, she found what seemed to be a “natural fit.”

“I felt like the little detour into the world of consulting gave me a lot more depth of understanding about the way the world works,” she said. “It was really invaluable.”

Now the editor-in-chief, she has found that her career is still evolving with the times.

“It’s now in doing the TV stuff, and my blog, that I feel like I’ve come full circle in a way, where I’m really talking about issues of policy and trying to represent the values that I worked for back then in a more direct way,” she said.

Given her ambitious schedule and abundance of projects, her

growth as a journalist is far from over, but she said she feels thankful for what has happened thus far.

“I feel like getting to have a voice now on these issues that really matter to me – I feel very blessed. You couldn’t really write this particular chapter to my story, but I think it’s the way life works out for a lot of us.”

One opportunity Salon.com has given her, despite covering an abundance of issues ranging from lifestyle pieces to important national issues, is the ability to concentrate on issues close to her heart.

“I thought it was just sort of a no-brainer that we don’t torture, but there was evidence that we did torture and so we were being lied to, so I got pretty intensely into that for a while. But I would say domestic policy is my passion.”

She has also been challenged with balancing her open Democratic views with the balanced view that news demands.

“To me it makes more sense to come out and say, ‘I’m a Democrat.’

I think what we care about is fairness.”

Though she is a vocal Democrat, she is still willing to concede that Republicans are held back by certain problems beyond their immediate control, such as political polarization.

“I think the biggest challenge for the Republican Party is how much they let the Tea Party dictate their policy and their platform,” she said. “Will anyone decide to be the grown up and stand up and say, ‘I want to unite the country?’”

Similarly, she is willing to find fault in some of the Democrats’ decisions.

“I think personally that Obama didn’t make the most of a moment he had, bracketed by the Wall Street collapse and the BP disaster, to really make a passionate argument for what the Democrats believe, in

terms of the government and its relationship to the private sector,” she said.

She has also been challenged with keeping up with current news, while avoiding exploiting certain stories, which is a rising problem in 24-hour news cycles with such stories as the potential Qur’an-burning in Florida.

“Every day you act like the thing that happened today is the most important thing and you don’t need the context or the longer view, and of course that’s not true,” she said.

“We’re just so in the moment,” she said.

Even with her personal activism, one of Walsh’s biggest hopes for the future is for youth, who she feels hold the power to correct the mistakes that have been and are still being made.

One of her biggest prides in this generation of college students is their ability to move past intolerance.

“You [our generation] are not as hung up on the divisive social issues.

I know choice is still divisive, but it’s just not the issue it once was,” she said. “You can concentrate possibly on more of the economic and fairness issues that really need attention rather than fighting these battles,” she said.

She singles out same-sex marriage reception as particularly indicative of the growing acceptance.

“Every year that passes, a cohort dies off that opposes it,” she said.

Though she acknowledges the differences, she hopes to move past them toward cooperation.

“I think that identity politics was necessary at a certain point in the ’60s and ’70s, but I do think that at a certain point it went too far,” said she. “You guys might be the postidentity politics generation. I think everybody has to understand that we all have more in common than

PHOTO BY ASHWIN BHANDARI/THE RAM

Joan Walsh spoke last Thursday night in Keating Hall for Fordham Week.

we have differences.”

She sees evidence of this through an increase in community service, which she says is the best way to develop a sense of engagement.

“Your generation is just active on these social issues in a way that mine wasn’t.”

In keeping with her pet issues, she strongly encourages the younger generation to take this activism a step further and become involved in politics.

“I really want to encourage young people to get involved in politics because I feel like it’s really an area where the best people don’t do it any more. It feels like it attracts people who are more interested in the game,” she said.

Though she is hopeful following the youth participation in the 2008 elections, she is still worried that excitement will burn out.

“I’m hoping people got a taste of politics in 2008 that excited them,” she said. “It was really not until 2008 that you saw the promise of the youth vote that people have been waiting for for almost 40 years, so it would be sad to me if that was just sort of a ‘flash in the pan.’”

Even after her messages of encouragement, assurance and, above all, faith in today’s youth, she reserves some words of warning for the idealistic.

“Social change is a slow process, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, and I think young people need to acquire the habit of not just voting, but participating and really understanding that you’ve got to be in it for the long haul, for your community, for your kids and for the values that you have that you want to see do better in the world,” she said.

Brooklyn Book Festival Gives Authors Publicity Readers Are Given the Opportunity to Meet with Their Favorite Writers

By JEN CACCHIOLI ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

At the fifth annual Brooklyn Book Festival held on Sunday, Sept. 12., book-lovers from all over flocked together, despite the less-than-ideal conditions of rainy weather. The festival was held in both the indoor setting of Borough Hall and at a large array of author panels set up under outdoor tents.

Throughout the entire set-up, one could see dozens of authors holding signings and discussions in addition to books being sold on every corner. It was a welcoming scene of authors interacting with their readers, who were surrounded by a diverse crowd of their own.

Such an event offers the excitement of meeting people whose work you admire face-to-face.

While there were many attendees, hearing a beloved author speak live

about details of his/her work offers something personal and satisfying to all people who enjoy literature.

For such a young event with relatively relaxed standards, the Brooklyn Book Festival certainly cemented its success and notoriety with an impressive list of over 250 authors appearing.

It was a perfect mix, ranging from Brooklyn’s rich foundation of local writers to esteemed literary favorites and even a few celebrity authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman, and tennis star Venus Williams.

The advantage of such an extensive lineup of writers was that one type did not dominate the entire festival – there was something for everyone’s varying interests.

While celebrity authors can provide entertaining reads, they currently seem to claim an overwhelming amount of attention for

their work, overshadowing talented, struggling authors. Making this diverse group of writers available for the public to get acquainted with offers the festival an important platform for giving writing talent the attention it deserves.

Early in the morning, the schedule of events kicked off with “Brooklyn Poet Laureate Presents” on the main stage. Brooklyn Poet Laureate, Tina Chang, led a panel of poets, including Mark Doty and Terrance Hayes, in a reading of their work. A panel like this was a perfect part of the festival, offering samples of known writers and introducing new ones.

Some time after, at the St. Francis Auditorium, Nobel Prize winner and New York Times writer, Paul Krugman, along with a number of other prominent literary figures including Robert Silvers, editor of the New York Review of Books, led a

discussion entitled, “The Economic Crisis and What to Do About It.” The writers and economists talked about how we as a society have adapted to the economic meltdown, and what our future may look like.

Discussing the issue of a weak economy in the setting of a book fair seems like it would have been a bit touchy, considering the toll the recession has taken on book sales as well on the entire print industry. In addition to consumers who may not buy as much as they used to, there is also the heated competition of the Kindle, which holds thousands of books within one small square of technology and threatens to eliminate a long tradition of printed literature.

Everywhere, more and more of your favorite little book shops are closing and publications quickly are going out of print.

However, while these tensions in the literary community remain, it was hard to discern them in an environment where the passion for books was shared by all within the large turnout of the book festival.

In the afternoon, Sarah Silverman who has published a memoir called The Bedwetter, and writer David Rakoff joined forces for a conversation that was bound to have everyone laughing.

At the end of the day, the renowned The Satanic Verses author, Salman Rushdie, made a highly anticipated appearance at the event, as he sat down with dancer and novelist Tishani Doshi. The two primarily discussed her new novel, The Pleasure Seekers, and aspects of Indian-Pakistani literature. For such a prominent, well-respected author such as Rushdie to be featured at a public festival made the event even more worthwhile.

CULTURE

PAGE 16 • THE RAM • SEMPTEMBER 29, 2010

That’s So Po

Dining Out: TAO Asian Bistro

MARY PORPORA Week 3: The Ram Van Over the past two years, I have had a love/hate relationship with the Ram Van. The love I feel stems mostly from the convenience of its location. Even though McGinley Center is not in the center of campus, the short trek from most dorms is simple. This walk beats having to walk up Fordham Road, which, in the wrong pair of shoes or a dress, can be horrendous. Even when the Ram Van arrives at Lincoln Center, it drops you off right at the corner of 60th and 9th, so you can easily begin your subsequent journey.

Location and convenience are the only pros of the van that really come to mind. I think the biggest issue I have with the Ram Van is the price. I do not understand how a $52,000 tuition does not cover intercampus transportation for students. If Fordham wants its students to take advantage of the services it provides, maybe the administration should realize that their job is to work with its students and offer a deal. Providing a service that is often slower and more expensive than public transportation is not a “deal.”

Besides the price, there is also the journey in the van itself. Most of the time, you can usually get from Rose Hill to Lincoln Center in about 30 minutes. This ride is not that bad, especially if you have a good playlist on your iPod. However, if you hit traffic, the ride can become mind numbing. One trip can be drastically lengthened because one guy wrote off his blinking “check engine” light as a manufacturing defect.

You can never control the time it takes you to get from campus to campus. The most essential aspect that you can control is seat location. As anyone who has taken the Ram Van can tell you, the back seat is hell. Remember when you took the bus in middle school and the back of the bus was always the spot to sit? One trip in the rear of the Ram Van will break you of that association quickly. No matter how slow you are traveling, you will feel every bump you cross. If you are forced to sit back there, I hope that you are next to friends, because no matter what, you will be touching the person next to you.

There have been many times when I have feared for my life in that back seat. If I wanted to die locked into a moving vehicle, I would go to the Rye Playland. The only way I can think of remedying this problem would be to invest in some new vans with better shocks or maybe just cover the back seat in bubble wrap. The bubble wrap would not only cushion, but it would also provide entertainment for those long traffic jams.

The back seat also poses a problem when exiting the Ram Van. I have yet to find a ladylike way to escape that pit of hell. Even though I complain about the Ram Van, I still take it. Thankfully, now I know how to make the best of this journey: sit as far front as possible with some form of entertainment.

The Ram Van, now that’s so Po (kind of)!

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LACOURSIERE/THE RAM

TAO Asian Bistro sits between Madison and Park Avenues on 58th Street.

By JUSTIN LaCOURSIERE STAFF WRITER

Within walking distance of Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus sits a trendy warehouse-style complex better known as TAO, a swanky Asian bistro located on 58th Street between Madison and Park Avenues. This multilevel restaurant has an authentic menu designed around the Asian tradition of passing plates amongst friends for a cultural experience in sharing food.

The open space that this bistro provides is accompanied by walls of exposed brick, a giant strategically placed Buddha and understated trees positioned as to not clutter the room, but offer an Asian flair. Enhancing TAO’s character are features such as cauldrons, lanterns and a mural-like canopy hanging from the ceiling, create an Eastern ambiance.

TAO’s environment is like Grand Central Station during rush hour. The lounge can be difficult to move around in, and finding a seat while waiting for a table can be as tricky as guessing the right Powerball numbers. Between everyone talking and music playing in the background, this is not a place to bring a date if you are looking to hold an intimate conversation, not to mention that diners are often seated after their reservation time, as the restaurant runs behind about 30 to 45 minutes, even on weeknights.

However, TAO sports a stylish atmosphere that attracts a modern and fashionable group of restaurant goers. It is a place to go when time is not an issue, allowing people to enjoy dinner before rushing back out into the busy streets of New York City. The service staff is professional and efficient, not in the faces of their guests but never leaving guests waiting to be helped.

An added bonus: the waiters at TAO may be the most honest waiters in the area, giving opinions on food, providing normal portion sizes and even sharing personal opinions of what may be a better choice when ordering off

the menu.

As stated on its menus, “TAO has no set rules. Be creative, live long, be happy and follow your own path.” Keeping with the tradition, it seemed right to order small plates and appetizer-sized meals as to allow sharing and provide those at the table with the opportunity to try a variety of different flavors. The menu also has dinner-sized plates in categories including seafood, poultry, various meats and sushi. All of TAO’s dishes are extremely thought-out and it is obvious that presentation is a top priority.

Starting with two small plates, jumbo shrimp tempura with garlic chili sauce ($16) and Thai crab cakes with mango chili sauce ($18) made their way to the table. Four shrimp strips, fried to just the right level of crispness with the tempura not being too thick, were brought out. They were sitting between two dipping sauces, one like that of chipotle mayo that is usually seen on top of sushi tuna, and the other, a soy sauce syrup that was thick and sweet. For shrimp lovers, this is a must have dish. The crab cakes were served in a ball rather than the traditional cake shape. They tasted great with a nice balance between the amount of crab and breading, however they were small and definitely not worth the price. The sauce seemed saccharine based, but included a zing that is sure to keep people on their toes. Placed Overall on top of these crab cakes were chopped Location Food Quality scallions and small pieces of parsley.

Atmosphere From the dumpling section of TAO’s Hospitality menu, the steamed Chicken Gyoza with Price $$$ Napa cabbage and soy dipping sauce (Out of 4 ’s) ($12) was the next plate to make an appearance. These generic dumplings sat in a bowl with a large amount of sprouts, arguably a better than usual edible garnish. The Chicken Gyoza is one of the more filling dishes TAO offers as an appetizer on its menu, and it is comparable in size to a larger portion. Yet the taste was forgettable and fairly average for dumplings.

Dragon tail spare ribs ($15) and pork spring rolls with Thai chili sauce ($12) were the next two dishes. The six crispy pork ribs were smothered in a sweet and sultry sauce with the consistency of a balsamic glaze. These dragon tails, as TAO calls them, were flavorful and tender. They could fit into the category of potential finger food, but are not as messy as ribs could be. The spring rolls were presented in a unique triangular shape and were rich in flavor. However, while these triangles had great potential, they could have been enhanced with more stuffing. They were taken out of the fryer at just the right moment keeping them from getting crunchy, but not leaving them doughy. This sauce, too, was thick and sweet, but this one had a subtle kick. With a bit more fluff, this dish could have made its mark and become a memorable meal of the evening.

In keeping with the tradition of passing plates and sharing food, it made sense to order more than one dessert. The meal’s ending included the delectable white chocolate mango rice pudding with fresh mango and ginger ice cream ($10) alongside the mouthwatering molten chocolate cake topped with coconut ice cream ($10). The TAO rice pudding’s caramelized sugar top, like that on a crème brulee, should be removed as it adds an unwanted crunchiness. The pudding and ice cream blended well, and the dish was fairly light. The mango pieces were finely chopped and added a citrus flavor.

This dessert lacked the liquid cream texture normally seen in rice pudding, but instead had more of an ice cream consistency. The molten cake was not very heavy compared to other chocolate desserts. This tart was cooked to perfection and the coconut ice cream is a great supplement. The shredded coconut and shaved almonds along the edges of the plate was an unnecessary garnish, even though it added texture. Chocolate sticks topped off this dessert, making it every chocolate lover’s dream.

Editor’s Pick: The Nuclear So and Sos

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

This month, indie rock band Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos released its latest album, Buzzard, which follows in the rich, dark, folksy vein of their earlier releases. Profundity seeps through the anxious sound and the ugly images evoked by lines like “Nobody knows the names of those rats / Why would you want me to?” become steeped in meaning (“Birds”).

Buzzard showcases refreshing originality. The track listing could have been plagiarized from graffiti scribbled on the wall of an insane asylum; notes of paranoia echo through the album, reflected in song titles like “Let’s Paint Our Teeth Green,” “Claws Off,” “Freak Flight Speed” and “Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic.”

It is easy to envision a psychotic science fiction writer penning

some of these tunes while peering out his cell window at passing flying saucers. The varied, vivid imagery scattered throughout the album pleases those who love the random and kitschy.

The album also alludes to something tawdry, something dark lurking in the corners of people’s minds.

Tales of lust and greed drip from the lyrics, blended with protestations of love and sexual commentary. One instance of intertwined romance and avarice is the first line of the song “Will You Love Me Forever.” It exclaims that “if I could roll up my money and smoke it I would,” suggesting an eerie fixation with money and its ability to pollute. The listener imagines a sickly green smoke arising from dollar bills and insinuating itself into the nooks and crannies of the lungs of a person who has finally found a way to be as close as possible to his money.

However, instances of beauty

and professions of affection lighten this dingy, pessimistic tone. “My Baby (Cares for Animals)” strikes a balance between the eerie (“she sheds a tear for the ants when they get trampled on”), the lighthearted (“My baby cares for the zebras / She digs every stripe”) and the possibly sincere (“I like you the best / Yes I do”).

Later in the album, “I Do” weighs the same contrasting sentiments against one another. This song examines universal uneasy feelings of possible love with lines like “I never know if I love you / but I’m pretty sure that I do / All I know is it feels sunny.” The listener is left to ponder his or her own past or present ideas of love, and to wonder how much of it could ever be proved in concrete terms.

In “I Do,” Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s claim love cannot be defined or illustrated with terms less vague than comparisons to untouchable elements, like sunlight.

Somewhere in the midst of their atmospheric exploration of the cobwebbed and purposefully forgotten parts of people’s minds, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s manage to dabble in the theological. In “Earth to Aliens: What Do You Want?” the lyrics shift from the discussion of a friend’s disbelief in aliens to an uneasy personal statement, parenthetically wrapped in the last notes of the song as if lead singer Richard Edwards is trying to hide this doubt even from himself: “I am skeptical about the after earth.”

There is great power and impact in Buzzard’s sense of dread, which might make people think of dark attic corners and the contents of forgotten closets - and the things they have tried not to see in themselves.

This surreal collection of songs offers snippets of humor, spurs uneasy moments of self-doubt and seeks to air out the closed-off sections of people’s psyches.

CULTURE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

Finding Nature in the City Here Are Some Out-Of-The-Way Havens Close to Home

By JESSICA PASSANANTI STAFF WRITER

Fordham University is nestled in the most thriving city in the world: New York. New Yorkers always have something to do, whether it is exploring new restaurants or touring museums. Yet after a while, people might find themselves itching for the great outdoors. One of the most interesting aspects of the city are the little bursts of nature found within the heart of our concrete jungle. Nature activities are easily accessible; enjoy a grassy Bronx haven with some friends or ride an exhilarating Manhattan bike path. There are many niches in New York that a resident may pass by unknowingly, and they are only a train, bus or subway ride away.

Rough terrain and grueling mountainsides might seem far, far away from New York City. Fortunately, only a train ride away from the Bronx lies the hidden cycling gem, Highbridge Park. Within the park is a world-famous recreational bicycling path. The park is known to have a beautiful view; cyclists ride waterside to view soaring cliffs, jagged rock formations and tall trees. If the faint-hearted cannot handle the grueling path, there is a lot of space to loosen up and enjoy the view.

On Manhattan’s Lower West Side is the High Line Park, dedicated to all things modern, hip and cool.

The High Line is another natural oasis other than Central Park, it is relaxing but with a twist. Moveable lights and seating are scattered throughout the park, almost like a modern museum situated within plush landscape. The park also features free programs such as pilates, yoga, instrumental concerts and garden tours (in which the viewer is told to bring binoculars). They even have outdoor photography classes with a discount for park members. It is the perfect park for art-loving individuals looking to

expand their horizons.

Pelham Bay Park is relaxing, enjoyable and romantic and is only a bus ride away from Fordham Road.

The park is three times the size of Central Park, making it the largest public park in New York City. They even have pony rides for anyone who was too scared to ride as a child.

There are so many nature-seeking activities out there in New

York; Central Park and the New York Botanical Gardens are always a sure bet for a great time, but truly to be a New Yorker is to encounter other new experiences that the city has to offer. Go apple picking in West Chester or take a hay ride at the pumpkin patch. Cool air is rapidly approaching and soon that familiar winter confinement will ensue, so enjoy all of New York’s outdoor activities.

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

Going

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

30 01

?

On

THURSDAY The Affordable Art Fair 7 W. 34th St. Though the name says the wares are affordable, the listed prices look a little steep; however, think of how classy your dorm room will look.

FRIDAY

Angels in America Signature Theatre Company 555 W. 42nd St.

Skip the trashy Friday-night television lineup and see Tony Kushner’s poignant play about AIDS in New York.

02

SATURDAY

Czech Street Festival Location TBA

This is the 12th annual celebration of Czech independence, so don’t miss the food, dancing, games and Czech bands.

03

SUNDAY

Eco-Fashion: Going Green The Museum at FIT 7th Ave. at 27th St.

Going green is not a recent phenomenon, nor is it limited to solar panels; this exhibit follows environmentally friendly fashion from the 1700s through today.

04 05 06 WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Pelham Bay Park is a lesser-known option for escaping the crowds of the city.

MONDAY

Book Binder Bacchanal Pete’s Candy Store 709 Lorimer St.

Though he will tell you how to repair your most tattered books, Herb Weitz will also wax eloquent on seemingly any topic.

Appetite City Lower East Side Tenement Museum 108 Orchard St.

TUESDAY

Former restaurant critic William Grimes will discuss Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York about the large range of food served up in the city.

WEDNESDAY Jon Stewart: In Conversation with Terry Gross 92nd St. Y Though Stewart’s interview with the NPR “Fresh Air” host is sold out, call ahead of time to try to score last-minute tickets.

-Compiled by Celeste Kmiotek

Ram Reviews ALBUM

BOOK

ALBUM

THEATER

ALBUM

FLAMINGO

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

HOW I GOT OVER THE ROOTS

SCREWTAPE

ELIZA DOOLITTLE ELIZA DOOLITTLE

BRANDON FLOWERS In 2004, The Killers, lead by quirky front man Brandon Flowers, broke into the alternative rock scene. In 2010 however, Flowers made a surprising announcement that The Killers would be taking a break, and he would be recording his first solo album. Three months later, Flamingo is here. Dominated mostly by slower ballads and midtempo rockers, Flamingo highlights Flowers’ bluesy voice, varied range and Americana spirit.

Flamingo is an album that will not only happily hold Killers fans over until their next record to come but will gain new fans that can appreciate a singer and songwriter who continues to push his musical boundaries. Turn off Top 40 radio and pick up Flamingo, an album filled with passion and originality, two things we continually need in the mainstream music world.

“Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature.” The first sentence of Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain forces the reader to consider the narrator from the get-go. Enzo is a typical, race-car obsessed, hyperactive male, who incidentally sleeps on the kitchen floor and urinates in the backyard. If this seems to be a bit puzzling, it should be clarified that Enzo, our witty and insightful narrator, is a dog.

Readers that love plot twists will relish in the intensely dramatic surprises offered. Stein’s plot, though a bit histrionic at times, tugs at the reader’s heartstrings, and ultimately succeeds in pointing out that some souls, human or not, are fated for one another. Clearly, it is not only that Enzo learns about life from Denny, but that Denny also is taught much about life from Enzo.

Cool is effortless, relaxed and comfortable in any situation and The Roots deliver a text book definition “cool” album with How I Got Over.

The Roots demonstrate a self awareness and a degree of selfreflection not often seen in such mainstream acts. Each song exhibits an individual demanding change from him or herself, to look in the mirror and realize what you have to do and then doing it.

Hip hop is often thought of as a crude genre filled with booty-dropping hoes and drug dealing thugs.

The Roots are anything but. Breaking stereotypes and redefining the genre, How I Got Over is elegant. So as Blu declares that “[e]very day is like a blank canvas/carving my initials in the planet like I brand it”, I realize that being held accountable never sounded so cool.

Are you a fan of C.S. Lewis?

Watch his words come to life in the off-Broadway production of The Screwtape Letters. This intellectual, thought-evoking journey to Hell is ushered by Max Mclean’s adaptation of Screwtape, an “under-secretary” to the Devil. The play consists of Screwtape advising his nephew Wormwood, who is a junior-tempter, through a series of letters.

The subject of the play can be considered overwhelmingly Christian in context. The diabolical essence of this play makes it an exciting, entertaining, and incomparable experience. NonChristians can also have an appreciation of this play as it discusses human temptations as well as gives a glimpse into Christian lifestyle.

Don’t miss what Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal called, “one hell of a good show.”

Not to be confused with the fictional character, Eliza Doolittle is making waves across the pond. A little more real but no less Cockney than her fictional counterpart, Doolittle is one of Britain’s young rising stars. Her self-titled debut album has reached top three status in the U.K. and has entered the top ten in Ireland.

Eliza Doolittle is definitely a good one for fans of easy listening with a bit of a personality. She delivers a good mix of upbeat and mellow tracks that showcase her songwriting and vocal abilities. Each track plays to her strengths, and possess a very retro feel to them, while at all times staying relevant. It’s “Mr. Medicine” that I think is the standout song on the record . Nothing about it is groundbreaking, but it is a sufficient introduction for the 22year-old into mainstream pop.

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

PAGE 18 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

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PAGE 20 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

CULTURE

There is Still Hope for Journalism Students Online New Web sites Are Offering Opportunities for College Students to Publish Their Articles

TAKEN FROM COLLEGECANDY.COM

Even if you do not want to contribute your own work to the College Candy Web site, or related sites, it is always interesting to read some of your peers’ articles.

By SAMUELLE LAZAR STAFF WRITER

Everywhere we look, journalists are bemoaning the death of print.

Magazines and newspapers are folding left and right with universal circulation losses. Since the rise of Internet publications like blogs, it is cheaper and faster to put out posts from any location that can be seen within minutes by anyone around the world.

This flooding of the journalistic scene is not really helping those who wish to make journalism their career, such as college students.

To get one’s name out there, one has to wade through a sea of blogs, going up against Internet powerhouses like Perez Hilton and more credible sources like The Daily Beast. With information available

at the touch of a button and bloggers everywhere, how can a college writer get a chance?

Well, seek and ye shall find. The most recent wave in new media has come with the realization that college students are a large part of the blog-surfing population. Media sensation The Huffington Post added a “College” section earlier this year, compiling information on all topics “college,” from admissions to how to cover the costs, but that site is still somewhat geared toward a slightly older audience than the average college student. In 2006, a site was created to fill that void.

College Candy (and its partner for men, COED) was launched for the female college student.

“The college lifestyle is incredibly unique, and it takes a college student to understand it,” Editor-

in-Chief Lauren Herskovic said.

“Sure, a 19-year-old girl can flip through Elle and see things she likes, but those stories aren’t written for her and they don’t really answer the questions that she, a young woman in college, might have. College Candy is different and addresses that unique lifestyle.

And we don’t sugarcoat it. We understand what college life is really like (not what we want our parents to think it is like) and give real advice/share real stories that the college woman will understand and appreciate.”

Sites like College Candy give the chance for writers in college to create a forum to discuss topics like academics, athletics and lifestyle issues.

These sites that publish the work of college students are becoming

more and more legitimate. For instance, BroBible, which launched in 2008 by recent college graduates from Connecticut is a site that is geared toward male college students who live the “bro” lifestyle and has a large college following.

Articles range from TV recaps of favorite shows like “Entourage” to music posts that highlight artists in college trying to reach the mainstream.

Many of their readers and some of their writers are in college, and they have even branched out to hold events like Tailgate Tours and campus concerts. These sites build communities between college students all over the country, who are now able to communicate with each other almost instantly.

College Fashionista is another example. CF was founded by Uni-

versity of Indiana alumna Amy Levin, who created a forum for aspiring fashion writers/photographers to showcase the style on their campuses. Following the success of fashion bloggers like The Sartorialist (Scott Schurman) and Tavi Gevinson, who now work with Vogue and various high-end labels, there was initially no college outlet to display latest styles. Now, with Levin’s site reaching more campuses every year, students can connect with each other over a mutual love of fashion.

There is something in the blogosphere for everyone, and everyone can get his or her name and opinions out there. It also breeds the healthy competition that we are used to from the publishing world.

Like the competition between newspapers and magazines, new media outlets are always competing amongst each other for more readership and advertising.

College students who wish to go into publishing are facing a scary future. In every field, it’s a struggle to hold a job, but in journalism, it is getting especially tough.

The publications that we grew up with, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, New York Times, even Vogue, are starting to go downhill. We can believe in publishing and still support these publications, but we also have to keep our eyes toward the future.

Herskovic offers us two very valuable pieces of advice: “Appreciate every moment you have in college. It goes by fast and when it’s done, it’s really done and as much as you want to re-do it all, that whole ‘adult responsibility’ thing gets in the way. If you know what you want to do in the future, start working towards it now. Take the right classes, build up your resume with extracurriculars and internships and start talking to people and networking. The job market is rough out here so do whatever you can early to set yourself apart.”

So now it’s up to us, the college students, to put ourselves out there and set ourselves apart.

WHO’S THAT KID? Catherine Evich A MEMBER OF FCRH ‘12, MAJORING IN BIOLOGY FROM LOWER GWYNEDD, PA. Where have we seen you?

Lurking near the Math Help Room trying to figure out what is going on in my math class.

Favorite childhood show and favorite current show?

I loved the TV show “Arthur” on PBS as a kid, and may still watch it on occasion. Currently it’s a toss up between “House” and “Bones.”

it be and why?

Cleopatra. My friends always tell me I look Egyptian even though I am not, so I think it would be cool to learn about my fake culture’s history.

What would your ideal day in Manhattan consist of?

Pedicure on the Upper East Side, lounge around Central Park and dinner at the Greek Kitchen.

Who would play you in a movie and why?

Sandra Bullock. There is no real resemblance except maybe hair color, but I adore her. She is classy and I think a lot of people can relate to her, which is awesome.

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

Ocean City, N.J. lying on the beach late in the day with my family and friends.

If you could have a dinner with any historical person, who would

Favorite class at Fordham and favorite professor?

Organic Chemistry with Dr. Saba.

How do you blow off steam?

Take a walk around Eddie’s.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

That I want to study as much as I do.

Stuck on an island, what would you need?

Diet Snapple Iced Tea, my iPod and a hammock.

What is your dream job?

Take over for Kelly Ripa on “Live.”

What is your guilty pleasure?

“Teen Mom.”

COURTESY OF CATHERINE EVICH

CULTURE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 21

Bloggers Caused Complications at Fashion Week Even Planners Are Figuring Out How to Deal with Changes in Reporting Methods

By MOLLY McLOONE STAFF WRITER

Once upon a time, the front row seats of fashion shows were filled

by Hollywood’s most fashionable people and the magazine editors and buyers who influenced what the coming season’s top trends would be. Though certainly influential on what is considered fashionable, most of the people now sitting in the front row might only be recognizable to those who follow fashion blogs. Some might be especially surprised to discover that arguably one of the most influential of these bloggers is a 14-yearold girl from the suburbs of Chicago, whose witty commentaries and penchant for all things quirky has earned her quite a following.

Initially, fashion blogs, or any type of blog for that matter, were not taken very seriously. In fact, Microsoft Word spell-check still does not recognize the word “blog,” or any variation thereof. I won’t go into the “are bloggers real journalists?” debate here, but fashion bloggers must establish their journalistic legitimacy to style critics just the same.

A few years ago, you would have had a hard time finding convincing arguments for the importance of fashion bloggers. Back then no one would have heard of Tavi Gevinson (the aforementioned 14-year-old) or Scott Schuman of the ever-popular blog “The Satorialist.”

This, it would appear, is the year in which the importance of blogging has been cemented in the world of fashion. The organizers

of New York Fashion Week, IMG, stated in a Reuter’s article that online media now makes up about 40 percent of the 3,600 members of the press covering Fashion Week this September. Online media’s influence has grown 20 percent in the past six months alone. While we used to have to wait months for the fashion magazines to release the featured styles of the most recent runway shows, we are now instantly able to examine the latest fashions as the bloggers tweet and update their blogs from the front row via their smartphones. Blogs close the gap between the time it takes for the “common folk” receive this information.

Many other milestones were reached this year for bloggers, proving their legitimate presence in the industry.

Designers and stores are both looking to street style for inspiration as well as the blogs they capture. Tavi, though considerably younger than most people in fashion, is one of the most influential bloggers. She was an integral part of the Rodarte for Target collection in 2009 and styled the live-performance part of Alice + Olivia’s fall/ spring 2011 presentation party. For the record, she is also given permission to skip school in order to review some of the most glamorous fashion shows in the world.

Gevinson also receives similar treatment to iconic fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, as she is lent clothes and accessories with which to shoot personal “editorials.” The New Yorker profiled her recently in an

over eight page spread; how many fourteen-year olds, or anyone, for that matter, can say they have been interviewed by such a prestigious publication?

In May of this year, Coach released four exclusive handbags designed for them by bloggers from New York and Los Angeles. Fashion blogging has also recently had its share of controversies, including those involving Tommy Ton of the blog “Jak & Jil” and Jimmy Choo’s line 24:7. Ton, famous for his street style images (many of which feature only shoes), took to his Twitter account to suggest that the famous footwear line, whose ad campaign for 24:7 featured various images from the knees down, ripped off his style of photography.

Another important milestone for fashion bloggers this year? Some were invited to join the panel of the Council of Fashion Designers of America to judge this year’s applicants for fashion-related scholarships and awards. Even The New York Times’s fashion critic, Cathy Horyn, has a highly noted blog, “On The Runway.”

While not everyone will go out and pay approximately $5 to purchase a fashion magazine, many people have access to the Internet, and will easily view sites such as www.style.com or www.fashionista.com, which offer up-to-theminute fashion news. Many of these fashion blogging sites also offer links to online retailers where clothing and accessories mentioned in the blog are available for purchase. This gives fashion lovers who live hours away from the near-

GRAYLOCK/MCT

Bloggers are causing all sorts of fuss off the catwalk in the fashion industry.

est mall the same access to the hottest fashions and newest styles as those who live in major cities and have the advantage of department stores and retailers available.

Blogging’s most important influence on fashion is arguably the opening of the communication lines between those who make the

clothes and those who wear them.

The influenced are now also the influencers. With fashion blogging gaining more legitimacy as each fashion season comes and goes, and the importance of online publications continually rising, there is no defining the pinnacle for blogging’s influence on fashion.

New Exhibits Popping Up Around the City King Tut and Matisse Among the Latest Featured Exhibits in the City

By CLARA ENNIST STAFF WRITER

Living in New York City and trying to take advantage of all of the cultural events can sometimes be

overwhelming. Nobody wants to miss out on a show because it was not publicized enough, nor does anyone want to go to a popular show that turns out to be a dismal waste of money. Here are a few

MAX FAULKNER/MCT

King Tut’s artifacts are making the trek from Egypt to New York.

guidelines to save money while still enjoying the exhibits.

Easily one of the most advertised shows currently going on is “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” (through Jan. 2 at the Discovery Times Square Exhibition). This show started its United States tour in 2005, and NYC is its final destination before the 130 or so objects return to Egypt. While less than half of the objects are from the initial discovery in 1922, the show is a oncein- a-lifetime opportunity. Do not expect to see the funerary mask or Tut himself–those artifacts remain in Egypt – but there are copies of King Tut’s mummy to go along with the information about the recent DNA tests performed on Tut. King Tut’s last tour took place in the ’70s and it is unlikely that one will happen again anytime soon.

Another well publicized show is MoMA’s “Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 (through Oct. 11). The show displays more than 100 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings. This particular show focuses on Matisse’s competition with Picasso, his creative process and his emotional concentration.

MoMA’s size makes it easier to see in a day and the museum hosts has

Target Free Fridays, during which admission is free from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Other shows in exhibition are ‘The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today” (through Nov. 1) and “Project 93: Dinh Q. Le” (through Jan. 24).

The latter focuses on the Vietnam War and its centerpiece is a video using documentary footage, Hollywood film clips and contemporary interviews.

On Oct. 1, “Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy and Germany, 1918–1936” opens at the Guggenheim (through Jan. 9).

During the interwar years, European art reverted back to Classicism and the Guggenheim’s show traces the movement from its roots in the Parisian avant-garde to its final phase of Aryanism in a young Nazi Germany. This will be the first American show to focus on the international thematic “clarity” occurring during the interwar years and artists on display include Balthus, Cocteau, Matisse and Picasso.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is always a viable option for any slow Sunday afternoon and its current temporary exhibitions add to its appeal. The most well publicized right now is its current roof

exhibition: “Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú” (through Oct. 31). The Starn brothers have created an urban jungle that offers gorgeous views of Central Park from bamboo ramps. Also going on at the Met is “Between Here and There: Passages in Contemporary Photography” (through Feb. 13) and “Sounding the Pacific: Musical Instruments of Oceania” (through Jan. 23). The former exhibits different photographs that play on what society defines as travel. The photographs document everything from drives down the Sunset Strip to a walk across Bruce Nauman’s studio floor. “Sounding the Pacific” demonstrates the varied and unusual instruments from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea to Indonesia and everywhere in between.

At the Whitney Museum of American Art “Lee Friedlander: America by Car” (through Nov. 28) offers an interesting perspective on Americana and cars. Friedlander’s some 200 black-and white, square-format photographs depict the interiors of rental cars that he used during his road trips over the past 15 years. The exhibitions density reflects the diversity of American Culture, both figuratively and literally.

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PAGE 22 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

PAGE 23

Volleyball Wins First Two Conference Matches

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham volleyball team maintained at the start of the season that it would need time to gel and discover roles its members could succeed. Fordham was chosen to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic 10, and it is safe to say the buzz for the team was non-existent.

If there’s a storyline for Fordham’s season, it is that sometimes it is good to be the underdog.

Even with a number of freshmen playing prominent roles, the Lady Rams have outperformed these projections and recorded a number of significant victories. A pair of wins over La Salle and Temple this past weekend could be signs of Fordham’s ability to succeed in the 2010 A-10. With their play over the past two weeks, the Lady Rams have set themselves up for a surprisingly strong conference season.

Following a sweep at home at the hands of St. John’s on Sept.

14, in which Fordham was held to a -.041 hitting percentage for the match and lost the sets by scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-15, the Lady Rams played in the Columbia Invitational over the weekend of Sept.

17. Fordham fell to Columbia in five sets before sweeping Fairleigh Dickinson and defeating Bucknell in five sets.

Fordham opened its play at the Columbia Invitational with a disappointing five-set loss to the host team. Final set scores were 23-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-18 and 15-12. Columbia jumped out to a huge lead at 17-8 in Set 3 and was aided by 11 Fordham attack errors. The Lions would continue their efficient play throughout the rest of the match.

Although the Lady Rams had more kills and digs than their opponent, Columbia recorded a much higher hitting percentage and roped Fordham into 33 attack errors. After tying in the fifth set at 10, the Lions were able to pull away and defeat the Lady Rams.

For Fordham, junior outside hitter Brittany Daulton recorded a double-double with a career-high 17 kills and 14 digs, while senior Kaille May also had a double-double with 12 kills and 20 digs.

Instead of showing discouragement over a tough loss the day before, the Lady Rams defeated both Fairleigh Dickinson and Bucknell on Sept. 18. In the opening match of the day, the Lady Rams topped Fairleigh Dickinson in three sets.

Final set scores were 25-18, 25-21 and 34-32. After two easy sets for the team, the Knights were able to extend the third set all the way out to 66 points. Fordham broke match point at 32-31 before nailing down three consecutive kills.

A number of players had an outstanding day for the Lady Rams.

Senior middle hitter Christi Griffiths finished with 12 kills and two blocks, May had 16 kills and setter Mary Diamantidis continued her outstanding rookie campaign with 42 assists.

The Lady Rams then won their second match of the day, topping Bucknell in four sets. Final set scores were 29-31, 25-16, 25-20 and 25-22. After dropping the first set, Fordham knotted the match before outlasting Bucknell in the final two sets.

The third set saw nine tie scores and five lead changes and set 4 was back-and-forth as well. Fordham left the Columbia Invitational with a record of 8-7.

May had a career day for Fordham against Bucknell with 22 kills and a .444 hitting percentage to go along with six digs.

At the conclusion of the tournament, both May and Griffiths were selected to the All-Tournament team. Following the tournament, Griffiths earned the additional honor of A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, the second weekly award on the season for the Lady Rams’ captain.

Griffiths reached a number of milestones during the invitational.

PHOTO BY MIKE REZIN/THE RAM

Senior middle hitter Christi Griffiths had a big match against Fairleigh Dickinson, scoring12 kills and two blocks, leading Fordham to a big victory.

She pushed her career blocks and blocks assists totals to 359 and 294, becoming the Rams’ career leader in both categories. She also now stands second on Fordham’s alltime kills list.

Aiming for their third straight win on Sept. 21, the Lady Rams saw much of the momentum they had gained from the Columbia Invitational disappear in a sweep at Seton Hall. Final set scores were 25-23, 25-14 and 25-17. The team struggled mightily in the final two sets and totaled 24 attack errors in the match, en route to a feeble .066 hitting percentage.

For the Lady Rams, Diamantidis dished out 27 assists to go with five digs in the match, with freshman defensive specialist Chelsea Moore adding 11 digs.

It would have been easy for Fordham to play flat this past weekend after its performance against Seton Hall. With the start of A-10 play and a large Rose Hill crowd on Homecoming weekend, all the pressure was on the young, unheralded Lady Rams to prove that the team could have a strong finish in conference. Fordham more than met the challenge, with two victories on Friday and Saturday that

showcased toughness, skill and maturity.

The Lady Rams got their A-10 slate off to a fantastic start on Friday night with a four-set victory over La Salle. Final set scores were 25-22, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-15.

The first two sets went in opposite directions, as Fordham led Set 1 wire-to wire and Set 2 saw the Explorers hit .310 and post only three attack errors.

However, it was Set 3 which demonstrated the team’s talent and composure. Behind early, the Lady Rams responded with a 7-1 stretch and cruised to the win with significant contributions from May, Griffiths and Daulton, the upperclassman leaders. By the fourth set, Fordham broke La Salle’s spirit, with the Explorers looking like they wanted to be anywhere else.

While all played with outstanding intensity, it was Daulton who owned the court, seemingly having a hand in every Fordham point on her way to 15 kills and 15 digs.

“We were able to control the entire set,” Volkert said. “When La Salle made a run in the second and third sets, we shifted our middle hitters to the outside and they did a great job of counterattacking.”

The Lady Rams continued their outstanding play with a sweep of Temple on Saturday night. Final set scores were 25-21, 25-17 and 25-23. The team stayed in control and never let the Owls get on a run throughout the three sets. The Lady Rams featured an efficient passing game which constantly kept Temple off-balance and forced them into 10 service errors in the match to Fordham’s four.

The victory was only the fourth against Temple in Fordham volleyball history. Following the match, the Lady Rams now have a record of 10-8 on the season, 2-0 in the conference. Rodenberg and Diamantidis, the teams’ two star freshmen, controlled the game with 12 kills each, with Diamantidis contributing 32 assists.

“This was one of our best matches,” Volkert said following the Temple victory. “Our goal is to play hard and to fight to keep this start, and this performance was a step towards turning the corner against Temple and in the league.”

Fordham volleyball finds itself in good shape as it heads into the meat of A-10 play and road matches this weekend against conference stalwarts Xavier and Dayton. The Lady Rams seem to be becoming a cohesive unit in which Griffiths, Wells and May are the leaders and get the all-important kills, Diamantidis and fellow freshman Sara Konkel set them up, and everyone in the lineup does a little bit of dirty work. This could prove to be a recipe for success. The Lady Rams cannot prove they are a team to be reckoned with, however, without a strong showing against Xavier and Dayton. Fordham still has not beaten an opponent who has played particularly strong in 2010.

The first week in October will help set the tone for the rest of Fordham’s season.

“I expect our team to be very competitive in the A-10,” Volkert said. “We should give Xavier and Dayton all they can handle.”

Men’s Soccer Offense Breaks Out Against Columbia and Hofstra

By RICH HOFMANN STAFF WRITER

The Fordham men’s soccer team stands with a 3-4-0 record, coming off a late 2-1 loss to Central Connecticut State, the defeat came on the heels of a 2-0 homestand where the Rams’ offense started to score more goals, after slumping early in the season.

After managing only one goal in its first four games, Fordham broke out with five goals in its next two contests.

The defense, however, has been struggling with surrendering uncharacteristic late goals.

“Ever since losing to Cincinnati and Louisville, coach has had us working a lot offensively,” sophomore midfielder Andre Seidenthal said. “We hadn’t scored many goals and our chances were minimal.”

After the Midwest road trip in which it went scoreless, Fordham

played two games at home against New York area opponents Columbia and Hofstra.

The Rams received a spark from freshman midfielder Nathaniel Bekoe on the first goal against the Lions.

In the last minute of the first half, Bekoe put a flurry of step-over moves against Colombia’s defense to move down the right sideline and immediately delivered a perfect cross to the back post. The ball sailed over Columbia junior goalkeeper Alexander Aurrichio and found the head of sophomore defender Doug Hanly; it was a point blank finish for the unmarked Hanly.

Junior midfielder Tim Richardson scored the second goal off a give-and-go with junior midfielder John Niyonsaba.

The two New Zealand natives worked the play so Richardson had an open net to shoot at when

Aurrichio overplayed the first pass.

The Rams would hold on for a 2-1 victory.

“Starting with Columbia and Hofstra, we really wanted to get out of the losing slump so we came out firing,” Seidenthal said. “In both games we took advantage of all our opportunities and created a lot of shots on goal.”

The Hofstra game was the first one since November of 2008 in which Fordham was able to tally more than two goals.

In a strong first half, the Rams took a 2-0 lead on a rebound goal from Richardson and a long-range blast from freshman forward Julian Nagel.

After surrendering a goal in the last minute, Fordham got one 16 seconds later from Hanly, who also scored from distance. Hanly’s 30-foot goal sealed the game for Fordham.

“We’re finding ways to move

the ball much better through patterns of play, which we work on in practice,” junior defender Phil Ferrantello said. “I still think we need to take our chances a little better in the final third, but we’re slowly getting there.”

The loss to CCSU was a game in which Fordham outshot its opponent by a 16-9 score. The Rams scored early in the game on a play where Bekoe and junior midfielder Matt Courtenay played a ball that Richardson crossed just before it went over the endline. The recipient of the pass was Seidenthal, who headed the ball past the goalkeeper.

Two goals late in periods hurt Fordham. CCSU senior midfielder Shawn Buchanan scored with under two minutes to play in the first half. The Rams looked to be headed for a tie until CCSU sophomore forward Terrell Whitting scored with less than two minutes to go in

double overtime.

“Unlike the previous two games, we really did not take advantage on all our opportunities, especially since we had more scoring chances,” Seidenthal said.

Surrendering late goals was a major problem for Fordham in its last three games.

The Rams gave up four goals, all near the end of halves or overtime.

This is a trend that the defense recognizes.

“To be the team we want to be we need to stay focused and toughen up in the final minutes of each game,” Ferrantello said. “Right now there just isn’t enough desperation to keep the ball out of our net, which we need to improve on.”

Fordham next goes on the road to play Marist on Wednesday, Sept.

29 and then returns home for a date with Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 2, before beginning Atlantic 10 play on Friday, Oct. 8.

SPORTS

PAGE 24 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

Hubbard Named Fordham Men’s Tennis Coach

By DAN GARTLAND STAFF WRITER

For the first time in 51 years, the Fordham men’s tennis team has a new coach.

After more than a half century with Bob Hawthorn calling the shots, Cory Hubbard took over the position that Hawthorn held until his retirement in July.

Hubbard takes over the head job at Fordham after holding two previous NCAA assistant coaching jobs.

After graduating from Texas A&M in 2000 where he was a four-year varsity player, Hubbard took his first coaching job as an assistant at Texas Christian University, beginning in 2002.

At the end of the 2005 season, Hubbard left TCU and moved on to another assistant coaching job, this time at Arizona, where he spent one year before moving east to take over as director of tennis at the Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club in New York.

Upon leaving Cold Spring Harbor, Hubbard became the director of tennis at the Roxbury Swim & Tennis Club in Stamford, Conn.

Hubbard still holds this position in addition to being the director of the Junior and Elite Programs at the Gotham Stadium Club in the Bronx and his new job with the Rams.

Hubbard takes over a Fordham program that has struggled in recent years.

Nonetheless, it seems that his arrival has really energized the Fordham tennis program.

“Coach Hub is very intense,” senior co-captain Austin Shoup said. “Before our first match he went over the gameplan with us and it wasn’t like ‘I want a lot of fore-hand winners.’ He said, ‘I want us to be the most positive, loudest team.’ We had guys on Court 1 shouting over to Court 6 saying, ‘Let’s go Rams!’”

Shoup enjoys playing for a coach who brings this type of energy.

“In terms of style, Coach Hub is very into team energy,” Shoup said.

“He’s a big advocate of whether you’re on the court or just watching, you play just as big a role. I was playing my match and it felt like everyone was on my side.”

According to senior co-captain Kevin Maloney, practicing two times a day has had a few benefits.

“We have been practicing twice a day with practices at 6:15 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, but everyone has been showing up and pushing themselves,” he said.

“I believe it will pay off especially for the spring season. The team has spent a lot more time together than in the past so far this semester and it has definitely brought us closer together as a team.”

The Rams dropped each of their first two matches but they remain hopeful that they can turn things around this season.

“The team and I have full confidence in Coach Hub and we know we’re going to make huge strides forward this year,” Maloney said.

Women’s Soccer Snaps Six Game Losing Streak

By ERIK PEDERSEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

An early goal on Sunday afternoon was enough for the Fordham women’s soccer team, as the Lady Rams used an eighth-minute header from freshman defender Kaitlyn Carballeira to take down the Army Black Knights, 1-0.

The victory snapped Fordham’s six-game losing streak, and now the team will prepare for the start of the Atlantic 10 season next weekend.

Fordham came off a tough previous weekend in Florida, in which it lost games to Miami (3-1) and Florida Atlantic (2-1).

In particular, the Florida Atlantic game was a difficult defeat, as the Lady Rams gave up two goals in the last eight minutes of the game after senior forward Michelle Ancelj had given Fordham the lead, scoring her team-leading fourth goal of the year with a half hour left to play.

Senior midfielder Katie McDermott scored the only goal for Fordham against Miami.

Against Army, the Lady Rams quickly overcame any lingering effects from their weekend in Florida, as Carballeira’s goal was the first scoring chance of the game for either team.

Senior midfielder Colleen Brady’s corner kick took a small deflection and went right to Carballeira, who headed the ball past senior goalkeeper Alex Lostetter for her first collegiate goal.

“She’s very dangerous on corner kicks and free kicks,” Head Coach Ness Selmani said. “I expect more goals from her in the future.”

Fordham had a good chance to extend its lead 25 minutes in, when Ancelj took a long pass from freshman defender Mary Solimine, but her shot was blocked away for a corner kick.

Ancelj led the team with three shots in the game. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Abrams was also active offensively, sending a longdistance curving shot toward goal seven minutes before halftime, forcing Lostetter to make an acrobatic diving save.

The Lady Rams controlled the possession for most of the first half, out-shooting Army 4-0 and preventing the Black Knights from getting anywhere near sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Suther.

Army came out stronger after the break and had a great chance to tie the game 15 minutes into the second half, when sophomore forward Caroline Rice was sent in on what appeared to be a breakaway.

Carballeira, however, caught Rice from behind and made a last-second sliding challenge to prevent a shot on goal.

“We made it interesting at the end when it shouldn’t have been,” Selmani said. “We should have been stronger in the second half.”

Army continued to pressure the Lady Rams, with five shots over the last 17 minutes of the game.

Though the Lady Rams were held

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Freshman defender Kaitlyn Carballeira was named A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week.

without a shot up to that point, Fordham was able to withstand the pressure. Suther made two saves for her third shutout of the season, as the Lady Rams improved to 4-6.

Army, which lost for only the second time in its last 11 matches, fell to 8-3.

“It was good to get a win today,” Carballeira said. “We’ve been on a losing streak but this should give us confidence going into next weekend.”

Sunday marked the end of the Lady Rams’ non-conference schedule.

Fordham, is projected to finish third in the Atlantic 10, and will

open up its conference schedule on Friday night with an important road game at Dayton.

The Flyers are the defending A-10 champions and are picked to finish first once again this year.

Selmani said that he expects both senior midfielder Danielle Ingram and junior midfielder Mariella Romano to be able to play on Friday after missing this weekend’s game due to injury.

Fordham will be at Xavier on Sunday, as next weekend marks the beginning of a five-game road trip before returning to Jack Coffey Field on Oct. 22 to face George Washington.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Place First

By CELESTE KMIOTEK CULTURE EDITOR

Fordham men’s and women’s cross country teams hit a high note on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the 2010 C.W. Post Invitational in Brookville, N.Y., as each team placed first and junior Brian Riley and senior Kerri Gallagher won their respective races.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, the teams split, half attending the Williams College Invitational in Williamstown, Mass. and half attending the Leeber Invitational in Fairfield, Conn.; the men took third at both meets, while the women came in ninth at the Williams College Invitational and sixth at the Leeber Invitational.

Both teams said they are excited about the results and what they mean for upcoming meets.

“The C.W. Post Invitational was a great meet for our squad, and although not everyone ran, the win at C.W. Post served as a nice confidence booster early in the season,” Riley said. “The guys’ team is working hard at getting a pack running mentality/approach to each race and the C.W. Post meet was good practice for that as well.”

“Our team is so much stronger this year from last year which is very exciting for us,” sophomore Christina Machado said. “With the win at C.W. Post and our team placing top 10 the past three weekends, we are looking for a top finish at [Metropolitan Championship].”

At the C.W. Post Invitational, the men earned 23 points, followed by C.W. Post with 63 points and Molloy in third with 90 points.

The women earned 37 points, with St. John’s in second with 38 points and C.W. Post in third with 122 points.

For the men, Riley finished the eight-kilometer course in 25:52.39, with Molloy freshman Nicholas Fillipazzo in second with 26:18.94.

Next for the Rams, freshman Brian Walter took third with 26:29.80, while senior Casey Barrett (fifth with 26:47.39), sophomore Nick Synan (sixth with 26:48.97) and senior Patrick McDonough (eighth with 26:54.77) also scored.

Gallagher won the women’s fivekilometer race in 18:40.44, followed by her fellow Ram, freshman Anisa Arsenault, with 18:40.69.

Of the other scorers, freshman Kerry Sorenson came in seventh (19:51.05), junior Nako Nakatsuka came in 12th (20:13.28) and freshman Diane Bain came in 15th (20:21.60).

In the Williams Invitational men’s division, M.I.T. and Keene State tied for first place out of the 18 teams with 90 points each, while Fordham and Tufts tied for third place with 106 points. For the women, Middlebury won with 57 points, with Williams in second with 76 points and Johns Hopkins in third with 86 points.

Fordham came in ninth of the 19 teams with 227 points.

“Up at Williams we had a very impressive showing, finally putting that pack running into a more competitive situation,” Riley said.

“Although the other teams were mainly Division II and III teams, in collegiate running there really is no difference in program strength between divisions.”

Middlebury junior Michael Schmidt came in first of the men in the eight-kilometer race with 26:00, while Fordham junior Kevin Fitzgerald took third with 26:22. Freshman Michael Belgiovine came in eighth with 26:39, Riley came in 12th with 26:46, Walter came in 41st with 27:33 and sophomore Julian Saad came in 42nd with 27:35.

In the women’s six-kilometer race, Williams sophomore Jennifer Gossels took first with 22:17, with Gallagher coming in seventh in 22:46.

Arsenault finished 14th with 23:07, Sorenson finished 74th in 24:44, senior Johanne Sterling finished 90th in 25:04 and junior Mairin O’Connor finished 115th in 25:42.

At the Leeber Invitational, the Fairfield men’s team won out of eight teams with 32 points, with Sacred Heart in second with 45 points and Fordham in third with 77 points.

Of the women’s eight teams, Sacred Heart won with 29 points, with Marist in second with 41 points. Fordham came in sixth with 169 points.

“I hear from teammates that there was a new and more challenging course at Fairfield University this year due to construction on the campus,” Riley said. “The weather also seemed to play a factor for many of the runners, but even with the adverse conditions there were some strong performances.”

Manhattan junior Tobias Lundgren won the men’s eight-kilometer race in 26:19.43. Fordham’s

Synan took ninth with 27:26.42, while senior Tim Hutchinson came in 11th (27:39.70), junior Sam Stuart came in 14th (27:45.14), freshman Joe Hartnett came in 19th (27:59.90) and freshman Tim Kazanjian came in 24th (28:23.02).

Sacred Heart senior Kimberly DeLoreto took first in the women’s five-kilometer race with 18:29.06.

For the Lady Rams, Machado came in 42nd with 21:25.06, followed by freshman Amanda Foggia in 43rd with 21:29.07, sophomore Kim Naples in 47th with 21:40.39, freshman Christina Vivenetto in 48th with 21:41.19 and Bain in 57th with 22:00.50.

The teams are confident as they prepare to enter the championship season.

“Splitting up the teams this past weekend worked well in a way that we were able to exhibit Fordham as a new and competitive team this year at Massachusetts as well as having the rest of the team run their hardest to represent Fordham without having their top runners,” Machado said. “Having workouts two to three times a week, long runs, doubles and core work, we are first looking to forward to a top place finish at Mets and then a decent place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships.”

“We had some solid performances this past weekend,” Riley said. “The team is really looking strong and everyone is feeling good about this season.”

Both teams will next compete on Friday, Oct. 8 in the Metropolitan Championship at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Who Knows?

By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER

Usually by the third week of the NFL season, we know the elite teams, the playoff contenders and the also-rans. This year is different.

There are still plenty of questions for every team in the NFL to answer. Will the Saints get past their Super Bowl hangover? Are the Texans really for real? How overrated is the NFC East? Can Mark Sanchez continue to play at a high level for the Jets? All of these are intriguing questions that will be answered in the coming weeks.

First, the NFC East. Every year we are told this is the best division in the league. This year was no different until we actually got to see these teams play. The Cowboys are overrated again, even with their big win against the Texans. The Redskins are more than a good quarterback away from being a good team.

The Giants still have big problems on defense and have laid two eggs in a row, including a disgraceful loss at home. The Eagles, in a year which was supposed to be a learning year for Kevin Kolb, have stumbled into a more mature Mike Vick, and they now have the inside track to a division title.

One thing in keeping with previous years is that the reigning Super Bowl champion has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. The Saints are 2-1, but they could have easily lost their first two games. Granted, good teams win games like that, but their defense is not playing well and not forcing turnovers. They are going to be auditioning kickers this week as Garret Hartley, the man who kicked the game-winning field goal in the NFC Championship Game last year, appears to be on the verge of being cut after missing a 29-yard field goal in overtime this week against the Falcons.

The Saints malaise has given hope to the Atlanta Falcons, who for the first time in franchise history are coming off back-to-back winning seasons. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are healthy again and they have a win in New Orleans already. The Saints are not going to run away with this division this year. The Falcons are going to hang around and if the Saints do not kick it into gear soon, they will be fighting for a wild card spot.

Mark Sanchez has gotten over his bad outing against the Ravens and has had two great games against division rivals, the Patriots and Dolphins. He has thrown six touchdowns and, more importantly, zero interceptions in those games. Dustin Keller has finally emerged as a top-tier tight end and this offense should only get better

in Week 5 when Santonio Holmes returns from suspension. If Sanchez can continue to play this way, the Jets are going to win a lot of games and their preseason Super Bowl talk will not be farfetched.

The Texans have been the talk of the NFL early. They finally beat the Indianapolis Colts in the opener, then had a huge come-from-behind win on the road against the Redskins. They suffered their first loss this week against their intrastate rival, the desperate Cowboys. Good teams respond from losses and do not fall into losing streaks. The Texans will need to recover quickly because the Colts have righted the ship and have shown that they are not going to relinquish this division without a fight.

Another team off to a surprising start are the 3-0 Chicago Bears.

They picked up another huge win Monday night against division favorites the Green Bay Packers.

Jay Cutler has played close to mistake-free football so far and Devin Hester rediscovered his punt return talents. Brian Urlacher is healthy again and has not lost a step after missing almost all of last season, their secondary is solid and Julius Peppers can steal a game whenever he feels like it. Most thought this division would be a two-team race between the Vikings and Packers, but the Bears have to be put in that discussion now.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season has been the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs. They already have a win over the disappointing Chargers and have plenty of games remaining against the AFC and NFC West. If the Chiefs do somehow sneak into the playoffs, Arrowhead Stadium is the last place I would want to play a playoff game. It is one of the few remaining real home field advantages in the NFL. There have been some questions answered in the first three weeks.

The Steelers’ defense is incredible and the team will be scary-good when Ben Roethlisberger comes back. The NFC and AFC West divisions are brutal, but could lead to the Chiefs and Seahawks, possibly the two best home crowds in the league, getting home playoff games in the wild card round if those teams can win their divisions. The Browns, Bills and Jaguars should start praying that Andrew Luck leaves Stanford after this year. The Carolina Panthers are going nowhere, but Head Coach John Fox, whose contract is up at the end of the year, should be a highly soughtafter coaching free agent.

The NFL season is never short on storylines and this year is no different. The next 14 weeks should be fun.

Visit our Web site at theramonline.com for game stories, statistics, standings, rosters and more!

SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 25

Football

Men’s Soccer

ASC 30-24 Fordham

Fordham 1-2 CCSU

Volleyball

ASM FU First Downs 26 15 Total Yards 382 323 Rushing 103 140 Passing 279 183 Punt Returns 1-4-0 1-5-0 Kick Returns 5-117-07-115-0 Comp-Att-Int 27-39-0 16-27-0 Punts 1-40 2-80 Time of Poss. 43:39 16:21

Fordham Sh SOG Meara 0 0 Ferrantello 1 0 Bekoe 0 0 Niyonsaba 2 0 Richardson 7 4 Curran 0 0 Axelsson 1 0 Stalker 0 0 Nagel 3 0 Courtenay 1 0 Seidenthal 1 1 Subs Jolly 0 0 Valencia 0 0 Markowitz 0 0 Vigliotti 0 0 McHugh 0 0 Gimand 0 0 Corrao 0 0 Hanly 0 0 Totals 16 5

Individual Statistics:

GK Meara

ASM FOR

1 7 7

2 10 10

3 4 F 3 10 30 0 7 24

PASSING-Assumption, Kupec 27-38-0 Fordham, Wayne 16- 27-0 RUSHING-Assumption, Mitchell 21-74-1 Fordham, Wayne 8-54-0 RECEIVING-Assumption, Canney 16-163-1 Fordham, Caldwell 6-101-0

Women’s Soccer Fordham 0-1 Army Army

Sh

SOG

G

A

Lostetter Rice Mclaws An Turnnidge Robbins Stallard Bennent McGuigan Clegg Wacker Subs Malta Molacek Gordon Kaila Nguyen Totals

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

0 2 0 1 0 5

0 0 0 1 0 2

0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0

GK Min Lostetter 90: 00 Fordham

Sav 4

SOG

G

A

Suther 0 Murphy 1 Dougherty 1 Carballeira1 Bergin 0 Solimine 1 Ancelj 3 NowakowskiL0 Abrams 1 McDermott 1

0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Brady 0 Subs Alphaugh 0 O’Conner 0 Worden 0 Wah 0 NowakowskiC0 Totals 9

0

0

1

0 0 0 0 0 5

0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 1

GK Meara 1 Army 0 Fordham 1

Sh

GA 1

Min Ga 90: 00 0 2 0 0

Sav 2 T 0 1

MIN 108:11

CCSU Sh Occhialini 0 Slaughter 0 Gamba 1 Cavener 1 Smith 1 Menzies 0 Whitting 2 Stamenkovic 0 Ortiz 0 Sanogo 0 Spieker 0 Subs Veldhuis 0 Diamand 1 Oware 1 Buchanon 2 Perkins 0 Totals 9

GA 2

2 0 0

G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

A 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Temple BS Ashman 1 Burkert 0 Trischuck 0 Wallace 0 Antosz 2 Matuatia 0 Radojevic 0 Pierre 0 Carr 0 Tupola 0 Totals 3

Sav 3

SOG 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

G 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

A 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 2 0 6

0 0 0 1 0 2

0 1 0 0 0 2

GK MIN Occhialini 45:00 Perkins 63:11 1 Fordham1 1 CCSU1 1

Temple 1 - 3 Fordham

GA 1 0

OT1 0 0

Sav 1 3

OT2 0 1

F 1 2

Hofstra 1-3 Fordham Sh

SOG

G

A

Cumpstone Bekas Foster Ahman Ehrichs Carrington Popp Rengifo Barea Annarumma Griebsch Subs Janowski Laza Mira Watkin Mashriqi Amendolare Grenzig Totals

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 1 0 2 0 7

0 0 1 1 0 1 0 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

GK Compstone Janowski

MIN GA 45:00 2 45:00 1

Fordham

Sh

G

A

0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 2 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 0 2 9

0 0 0 0 0 1 3

0 0 0 1 0 0 3

Sav 5

1 0 2

2 1 1

Hofstra Fordham

Sav 2 3

SOG

GK MIN GA Meara 90:00 1

5 2 1 0 1 4 6 0 10 2 7 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 37 8

DIG PTS

.125 0 1 7.0 -077 1 0 1.0 -.286 7 2 3.0 .136 13 0 6.0 .500 1 0 13.0 .278 1 0 9.0 .167 0 0 2.0 .000 20 0 0.0 .133 5 0 5.0 .000 9 0 1.0 .158 57 3 47.0

Fordham K PCT DIG BS BA BE PTS Hart

7

.333 2 0 Daulton 5 .000 0 3 0 May 15 .282 0 0 0 Diamantidis2 .000 0 1 0 Wells 4 .118 1 2 1 Griffiths 4 .200 1 4 1 Friede 0 .000 0 0 0 Keathley 0 .000 0 0 0 Rodenberg 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 37 .184 2 12 2 0

1 21 25

Temple Fordham

3 9.0 9 7.5 12 15.0 12 2.5 1 6.0 4 8.0 4 0.0 0 0.0 12 1.0 57 49.0

2 17 25

3 23 25

Fordham 3 - 0 La Salle

Hofstra

Meara 0 Ferrantello1 Bekoe 1 Niyonsaba 2 Richardson 3 Axelsson 2 Gimand 1 Stalker 0 Nagel 2 Courtenay 0 Seidenthal 2 Subs Valencia 0 Curran 0 Vigliotti 0 Caputo 1 Corrao 0 Hanly 3 Totals 18

K PCT BA BE

F 1 3

LaSalle K BS BA

PCT BE

Clark

1 .200 1 0 Dimarco 2 -.182 0 0 0 Tulskie1 1 .158 0 0 0 Finkbeiner4 .333 0 1 0 Mitrovich 8 .143 1 1 0 Noga 8 .188 0 1 1 Scanlon 0 .143 0 0 0 Little 0 .000 0 0 0 Mazalewski4 -.100 0 0 0 Totals 37 -.333 3 8 3 0

DIG PTS 7 4.5 16 2.0 10 11.0 0 4.5 4 10.5 3 7.5 6 8.0 0 0.0 15 1.0 57 47.0

Fordham K PCT DIG BS BA BE PTS Daulton 15 .333 0 0 0 May 13 .242 0 2 0 Hipp 2 .000 0 1 0 Diamantidis0 -.25 0 0 0 Wells 10 .190 1 2 0 Griffiths 11 .321 0 3 0 Friede 0 .000 0 0 0 Keathley 0 .000 0 1 0 Hart 1 -.214 1 1 0 Konkel 1 .200 0 1 1 Rodenbereg0 .000 0 0 0 Atwood 0 .000 0 0 0

LaSalle Fordham

1 21 25

15 15.0 11 14.0 1 2.5 7 0.0 2 12.0 0 15.5 4 0.0 0 0.0 4 2.5 7 2.5 12 1.0 0 0.0 2 17 25

3 23 25

PAGE 26 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

MATT MANUSZAK

The Smush Parker Project Kenny Powers is a bad person.

This statement would ring true in any time, age and place; if Kenny Powers were a Roman gladiator, you can sure as hell bet he’d be kicking sand in his competitors’ faces, screaming epithets at the crowds, and sleeping with his state senator’s wife, all with his spectacularly awful mullet undulating in waves of greasy curls behind his overly-large head.

Yet, Kenny Powers isn’t a gladiator. Kenny Powers is a baseball player on HBO’s hit series “Eastbound and Down,” a show that began its second season this past Sunday, Sept. 26. Rather, Kenny Powers was a baseball player: for those who don’t watch the show, Kenny used to be atop the baseball universe.

As a rookie pitcher, he helped lead his team to the World Series, recording the final out and issuing his now famous catchphrase, “You’re f***in’ out!” Boasting a “mind for victory and an arm like a f***ing cannon,” Kenny appeared to be on top of the baseball world, until he wasn’t. His fastball velocity dropped from a blazing 101 mph to a boring 83 amid swirling steroids allegations, and he burned more bridges going from city to city than Shaq.

So Kenny went home to North Carolina, to live at his older brother’s house, drink and do drugs at his favorite watering hole, and remember that “I am better than everyone else in the world,” and don’t forget the hookers. Kenny loves hookers.

Kenny Powers is freaking hilarious. No one would watch the show if it wasn’t funny, and lead actor Kevin McBride has whittled has comedic chops in flicks like The Foot Fist Way, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express. Here, in a show produced by the comedic tag team of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, who were also behind Talledaga Nights, Step Brothers and other comedies, McBride shines. Ferrell himself channels pro wrestler Ric Flair as the delightfully bizarre Ashley Schaffer, owner of Ashley Schaffer BMW, a BMW superstore that is literally full-service.

So yes, this show is about baseball and it’s funny. Why do we care?

Why am I devoting my precious column space to its discussion, when I could have just as easily written about why the win is a terrible stat in baseball (possible but not likely) or a rant against No. 6 on the Miami Heat (both possible and extremely likely)?

Kenny Powers is important for two main reasons: he is one of the best adaptations ever of a former professional athlete in film or television, and he manages to be incredibly endearing even while being incredibly inappropriate.

Typically in Hollywood, the story of the fall from grace of a star athlete due to injury and scandal would be a rather mawkish sap-fest that probably features a lot of man-

crying and a stirring comeback as said former star athlete sees “the error of his/her ways” and gets “back to basics,” but is this what would really happen?

Wouldn’t the athlete more likely blame everyone else around him for his problems and keep the same entitled attitude if he were to go back to his hometown? This is the essence of “Eastbound.”

Kenny never stops being Kenny, no matter his surroundings or his actual level of success. Sure, there is admittedly a bit of man-crying, but for the most part Kenny Powers never loses his swagger. Using some rather twisted logic, Kenny determines that if he acts like he’s still better than everyone else (with a mind like a f***ing scientist) then he really is still better than everyone else. How often does one see the former high school football player still keeping that Big Man on Campus swagger, even when most people on his new campus couldn’t care less about him?

When he does make a comeback attempt, there’s no Rocky-esque training montage with Frank Stallone blasting in the background.

Instead, there’s a scene of Kenny injecting himself with steroids and then proceeding to do some halfassed lifting before saying “screw it” and pounding a few beers.

He doesn’t return to MLB clubs, hat in hand, begging for another shot. He has his kid nephews produce a comeback video featuring a “Kitten Mittons” level of production quality and a broken birdbath.

To use the tired cliché, Kenny was handed the genetic lottery ticket – and I’ll be damned if Kenny is donating that proverbial money to charity (he bought a Jet Ski in a landlocked town).

Kenny Powers is endearing.

Even while Kenny manages to offend nearly every race, sexual orientation and sensibility, he keeps viewers coming back and in his corner.

Because while Kenny Powers is definitely a bad person, he manages to retain this sort of befuddled populist charm. Even when he’s drunkenly whipping baseballs at the garage at 4 a.m. or negotiating with a hooker as his sister-in-law cleans up his empties, the viewer gets a sense that, hey, it’s just Kenny being Kenny.

That doesn’t make what Kenny Powers does good, but there’s definitely a sense that Kenny can’t really help himself. He didn’t ask for all this fame, and while he sure as hell got used to it, who can blame him?

Kenny clearly isn’t the (insert cliché here about Kenny being an idiot), and watching him come up with terrible schemes to earn money or get back in baseball is sort of like watching a fully grown German Shepherd poop on the rug over and over again (if the German Shepherd had an arm like a goddamn rocket); yeah, it’s the dog’s fault, but one gets the sense he likely doesn’t know any better because nobody ever taught him.

I’m sure many of us have dreamt of one day being on top of the world like Kenny was, and we thought that we’d probably remain humble, hard-working and generous, but would we really? Kenny Powers sure as hell didn’t, and the world is a much funnier place because of it.

SPORTS

Senior Profile: Michael Edwards

By JONATHON SMITH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Michael Edwards, better known as Mikey, is a senior on the water polo team. He has lived in Thailand, and now lives in California while not at Fordham. Edwards has been a leader and one of the top performers on a team that is currently 8-8 on the season, and one of Fordham’s most exciting teams. He is most commonly used as a two-meter offensive/defensive man, but can play anywhere in the pool. Prior to attending Fordham he was a two-time Junior College All-American, leading the state of California in scoring in each of those seasons. In 2009 he was a second team All-Collegiate Water Polo Association All-Northern Division selection. He led the team with 72 goals. He is a philosophy major with a theology minor.

The Ram: What made you want to come to Fordham?

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Michael Edwards: I’ve always considered myself a “traveling man” and like to see the world, and after coming to a tournament here during my sophomore year at Mt. San Antonio College, I fell in love with the school. The city was a huge draw, and the overall atmosphere at Fordham was very appealing.

TR: The team has improved drastically in the past few years. What do you have to say about that?

ME: Well, a lot of it is luck, to be honest. But we have incredible team chemistry, the guys are great.

Ever since Day 1 when I came here they were immediate friends. So having that close bond with the guys is what helps us during the games. So that has to be the number one thing, we’re all just very comfortable with each other.

TR: You have put in a tremendous performance the past few seasons. Is there anything in particular

Senior Michael Edwards led Fordham water polo with 72 goals last season.

you can attribute that to?

ME: Last season I really broke out. I felt like I had a really great year. This year teams have been double-teaming myself and Ali Arat more so I have not had as many goal scoring opportunities.

This has allowed the rest of the team to pick up the slack. Danny Barron, in particular, has played tremendously lately.

TR: Any personal or team goals for the season?

ME: Well this is the last season for a lot of guys. We have eight or nine seniors, so personally I just want to enjoy the time left with them. We’ve been playing together for a while now and I know a lot of us just want to have a good time while we’re still a team. We go out and play hard every day, but what is most important to us is to just enjoy our time left.

TR: What are your best memories with the team?

ME: Coming here was a total atmosphere change, and when I met the guys we became immediate friends. I always had my California and Thai lifestyle, and coming here was totally different, but the guys made it feel like home. Time with them will always be my greatest memories. The bus rides, plane trips and time in between matches messing around, doing things that we probably should not have been doing, those will always be what I’ll remember.

TR: Any post-graduate plans yet?

ME: After graduation I may try to become an oyster fisherman. If that doesn’t work maybe I’ll give it a shot as a steamboat captain. I could also see how it goes as a foot model too.

Water Polo Finishes Sixth at ECAC Championships

By CHESTER BAKER STAFF WRITER

The Rams have been making Cambridge, Mass. their second home over the past few weeks. Following its sixth-place finish at the ECAC Championships on Sept.

19, Fordham returned to Cambridge last weekend for two conference matchups against Harvard and MIT. The Rams were looking to improve to 3-0 in the Northern Division of the CWPA. However, Fordham could only manage to split the two matches, and is now 2-1 in the division.

The win came against Harvard in a match that Fordham dominated from the start. The Rams got off to an impressive four-goal lead in the first quarter, and did not relinquish the lead for the entire match.

Fordham went on to win the match 13-5. It was no surprise that senior two-meter man Mikey Edwards and graduate student two-meter man Ali Arat once again led the charge in the scoring, as they both netted three goals. In addition,

six other Rams got on the scoreboard, including freshman driver Ben Clinkinbeard, who added two goals.

Edwards said he believes that Fordham is going to have to rely on more role players to come up with big goals.

“Since people know who me and Ali are now, we’re getting double teamed more often,” Edwards said. “And it’s getting harder to get touches. So the rest of the team has been stepping up a lot now that they’re given more chances.”

Sophomore driver Danny Barren, who Edwards said has been playing great, looks like he could add another scoring threat to the offense.

In the second game of the weekend, Fordham lost its first division matchup to MIT 13-10. Fordham had defeated MIT on Sept. 18 at the ECAC Championships with an 8-7 victory. The Rams were able to tie MIT at eight in the second half, but were not able to get much going on offense for the rest of the match, scoring only two more goals, while MIT surged ahead with five goals

in the closing minutes.

Fordham had no answer for MIT’s freshman utilityman Craig Cheyney, who scored four times for the Engineers.

Fordham’s big man Arat was not to be outdone by the freshman, and matched him with four goals.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Edwards was marked the entire game, and was held to just one goal, his lowest total on the season. Junior goalkeeper Christian Flessner had another solid game for the Rams in net, blocking seven shots.

With the win, MIT improved to 2-0 in the division, and joined St. Francis (NY) atop the leaderboard in the division. Fordham matched up against St. Francis at the ECAC Championships and was dominated by the 13th-ranked Terriers, falling 19-7. Fordham sits half a game back in the standings in second place with its 2-1 division record, while its overall record dropped to 8-8.

Fordham will look to improve its division record on Sunday, Oct. 3 when the Rams host Brown and Connecticut College.

Golf Finishes Third at Bucknell

By JOHN DEMARZO STAFF WRITER

After a successful opening to its fall season, placing third at the Colgate Invitational, the Fordham golf team traveled to Lewisburg, Pa. to take part in the Bucknell Fall Invitational at Bucknell Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18.

After two rounds and 36 holes of play on Friday, the Rams stood 10 shots off the leader, Robert Morris, and just one stroke behind thirdplace Colgate with a score of 594.

Consistency carried the day for Fordham. Shooting the lowest total on the day was junior Devon O’Rourke, who carded an even-par 144 (72-72), which placed him fourth overall on the day. Finishing right behind him was sophomore Jason Del Rosso, who carded a 148 (76-72). Sophomore Connor Monaghan shot an even 150 (7575) to finish third for Fordham, while sophomore Brody Nieporte shot a pair of 76s to card a 152.

Finishing fifth was junior Brendan Green, who shot a 160 (83-77).

After finishing in fourth place after 36 holes on Friday, the Rams closed out the tournament by moving up a spot, finishing up with a score of 894, six behind winner Bucknell.

O’Rourke’s consistent Friday carried over to Saturday, as he shot a 72 for the third consecutive round to finish with a combined score of 216 (72-72-72), good for fourth place overall in the tournament. Del Rosso held his position as the Rams’ second finisher, carding a 73 to finish with a combined score of 221 (76-72-73). Monaghan shot a 79 to card a combined total of 229 (75-75-79), while Nieporte finished fourth, shooting an 81 to shoot a combined score of 233 (76-76-81). Finishing fifth for Fordham was Green, who shot a 76 in the final round to finish with

a total of 236 (83-77-76).

“Third place is great, and we had a chance to win,” Nieporte said.

“Devon O’Rourke played really great and led the team, and we’re excited to go to Cornell and try to win one of these tournaments.”

The following weekend, the Rams traveled to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course in Ithaca, N.Y. to the Cornell Invitational, held on Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26. The invitational was the biggest that Fordham had participated in thus far this season, as 14 teams participated.

Through one round on Friday, the Rams sat tied for ninth place with host Cornell’s B-team with a score of 303, 13 strokes behind leader Binghamton (290) and just five strokes behind seventh-place Canisius (299).

Leading the way for Fordham was Monaghan, who posted a 74 (38-36). Finishing one stroke behind him was O’Rourke, who shot a 75 (39-36). Del Rosso (37-40), Nieporte (39-38), and freshman Ryan Donohue (38-39), who all shot 77s, finished third through fifth.

On Sunday, the Rams finished up play at the Cornell Invitational by landing in 10th place with a total score of 926. Del Rosso ended up as the first finisher for Fordham, carding a 74 and a 77 on Day 2 to finish with a combined score of 228 (77-74-77).

Finishing right behind Del Rosso was O’Rourke, shooting a combined 229 (75-75-79). Nieporte and Monaghan were neck-andneck for third and fourth place, with Nieporte carding a 234 (7780-77) and Monaghan carding a 235 (74-78-83). Donahue finished fifth for the Rams with a 242 (7781-84).

The golf team will next be in action on Saturday, Oct. 2, as it will play in the MacDonald Cup at Yale University.

Women’s Tennis Improving

By NANCY BUCKLEY STAFF WRITER

The Fordham women’s tennis team began its tournament schedule on Sept. 17, at the Quinnipiac Invitational.

The first Fordham win in the doubles matches came against Quinnipiac from junior Bethany Boyle and freshman Monika Chao, who won 8-4. However, the duo later fell in the quarterfinals to Army’s Audrey Hanson and Robie Verano, 8-4.

The rest of the Lady Rams were not as successful on the first day of the invitational.

On Saturday, sophomore Taylor Holt and freshman Angelika Dabu led the team in the singles matches.

Holt competed in the C flight singles matches and defeated Army’s Audrey Hanson, 6-4, and Lisanne Steinert, 6-0. She advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, where she lost to Seton Hall’s Karina Cordero.

“Historically we have not been staying to play out the last day of the tournament,” Head Coach Bette-Ann Speliotis Ligouri said.

“The team has been showing great improvement as a whole.”

Dabu lost in the first round of the A flight matches to Quinnipiac, but had a better showing in the con-

solation matches. Dabu defeated Fairfield’s Carolina Koladzyn, 8-4, followed by UConn’s Emily Herb.

However, she later fell to UConn’s Jennifer Learmonth.

“The first invitational in Quinnipiac was a learning process for our newly developed team,” Boyle said. “From there, we were able to get acquainted and reacquainted with college match play.”

The Lady Rams continued with their tournament schedule at the Eastern Championship at West Point, N.Y. on Saturday, Sept. 24.

The doubles team of sophomore Mia Fiocca and junior Sarah Tremaine won two matches on Saturday, Sept. 25, and advanced to the quarterfinals. The first win was a 8-0 shutout against Holy Cross and the second match was a win over Army.

In the finals, the duo fell in the championship match, 8-6, to Stony Brook’s Fanny Charliquart and Gayatri Krishman.

“I am really looking forward to the rest of the season,” Holt said.

“Especially how we can keep improving and growing together as a team.”

The Lady Rams will next play Friday, Oct. 1 at UMass. Their first home match of the season is Saturday, Oct. 2, at 12 p.m against Manhattan College.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 27

SPORTS

By JONATHON SMITH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

I’ve always considered myself a “man’s man.” I like my hot dogs fresh off the grill, my baseball games full of passion and my beer icy cold.

This week I was eating a hot dog in the cafeteria in preparation for my intramural B-league softball game. This got me thinking, why are hot dogs so closely tied to baseball? It is not a healthy food, it does not energize an athlete and there are plenty of tastier foods out there.

So with the MLB playoffs right around the corner, I decided to do some research about why America’s pastime has a bromance with frankfurters.

The modern era of baseball began in 1900. The sport stabilized and established itself as “America’s Game.”

Hot dogs, on the other hand, were already an American staple at this time.

Sausages were originally sold on rolls at Coney Island in 1870, and by the start of the modern era of baseball, the hot dog was extremely popular.

As baseball grew in popularity and more people began attending games, food was needed at ballparks to keep the fans happy. This is where the hot dog comes in.

It was cheap, easy to store and easy to eat; thus proving to be the perfect stadium food.

In fact, it was the Harry M. Stevens Corporation, founded in 1889, that really kicked it into high gear and began providing food for baseball games. Their best selling food item was the hot dog, and after only a few years the corporation was given the title “King of Sports Concessions.”

After the beginning of baseball, the rest is history.

Hot dogs have remained a relativity cheap food – easy to make and easy to store. It has stood the test of time. Now, why has it remained the food of choice among

baseball fans?

Baseball is all about tradition.

You constantly hear announcers say of certain players that they “respect the game.” There are numerous unwritten rules, and sportsmanship is highly valued.

History is at the heart of the game. People still talk about players from years ago, and it is considered almost a crime to not honor the game’s greats. It is a true gentleman’s game.

Perhaps this is why the hot dog has stood the test of time with baseball fans. Since hot dogs were there when baseball began, today’s fans want to respect the tradition of the game.

Maybe they want to feel like a ballplayer and respect history, or maybe as fans they just want to save money on stadium food.

Or maybe they are just hungry and need to eat. Whatever the reason is as to why hot dogs remain a staple at baseball stadiums, there is no sign of hot dogs ever losing their title as the “King of Sports Concessions.”

There is even a heated debate among fans of teams that claim that their stadium’s dog is the best.

In my experience the best dog I have had is outside of Fenway Park on Yawkey Way. As a Yankee fan, it pains me to say that, but as a hot dog fan I am compelled to tell the truth.

In my mind, a hot dog should be simple, just like baseball. It should be plump, juicy and have an aroma and plethora of flavors that leaves nothing to be desired.

In 2002, the American Museum of Natural History had a special exhibit on hot dogs in America featuring different types of dogs’ from different stadiums.

They had the classic New York Hebrew National and Nathan’s dogs, the Los Angeles foot-long dog and the Chicago red hot, a Vienna Beef dog served on a poppy seed bun and “dragged through the garden” with yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, chopped on-

ions, tomatoes, a pickle spear, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.

Despite all of these dogs being different, they have one thing in common.

They, like the teams which they represent, all have a long history and storied tradition respected by many loyal fans.

Regardless of what team you root for there’s one thing almost all baseball fans have in common: the love for the all-American hot dog.

According to the annual consumption survey conducted by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, MLB fans alone will eat more than 27.5 million hot dogs this season.

Laid end-to-end, that is enough hot dogs to stretch from coast to coast.

I even have a local example. In Vermont, where baseball is often considered a joke due to its very short season, the lone professional team’s (Vermont Lake Monsters, a Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals) biggest crowd always comes on hot dog night. A night where hot dogs are sold for 25 cents is always a night where the stadium is filled with excited fans.

Baseball is a sport of tradition, and with the playoffs coming up, my mind has been focused on nothing else.

What makes baseball so special are the traditions that come with it, thus my investigation into the role of the hot dog in the national pastime.

Whether we love hot dogs because of their history as the official snack of baseball or because they are cheap and tasty does not matter.

What matters is that so much in the game has changed since the beginning of the modern era of baseball, but hot dogs have stood the test of time.

In fact, there is a game on TV right now; I think I will cook myself a hot dog.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away

Thursday Sept. 30

Friday Oct. 1

at Xavier 7:00 p.m.

at Dayton 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday Oct. 6

HOFSTRA 7:00 p.m.

at Xavier 1:00 p.m.

at Dayton 7:30 p.m.

LA SALLE 10:00 a.m.

Men’s Tennis

Water Polo

Tuesday Oct. 5

MANHATTAN 7:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Tennis

Monday Oct. 4

MacDonald Cup New Haven, Conn.

Golf

Women’s Soccer

Sunday Oct. 3

at Holy Cross 1:00 p.m.

Football

Volleyball

Saturday Oct. 2

at Mass.

12:00 p.m.

MANHATTAN 12:00 p.m.

RIDER 3:00 p.m.

RHODE ISLAND 1:00 p.m.

BROWN 12:00 p.m.

CONN. COLL. 3:00 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

PAGE 28

Fordham Falls to Division II Assumption on Homecoming

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

A wise man once said, “Don’t blink and let life pass you by.” In addition to life, you might miss Fordham’s offense as well.

En route to a 30-24 homecoming loss to Division II Assumption, the Rams possessed the ball for an almost unthinkable 16 minutes and 21 seconds.

Throughout the afternoon, the Greyhounds controlled the tempo and moved the ball with ease, picking up first down after first down (finishing with a total of 26) and putting up points on every drive save one.

Fordham, on the other hand, struggled mightily on defense, forcing only one punt, picking up no sacks, forcing no turnovers and committing costly penalties in key situations.

The game started off as one might expect against a team in a lower division, with Fordham marching 67 yards downfield in only four plays, most of which was taken care of with passes to senior wide receiver Jason Caldwell for gains of 23 and 39, respectively, and capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Xavier Martin.

However, Assumption responded quickly, setting the tone for its hyper-aggressive offense with a fleaflicker from senior quarterback Andrew Kupec to senior wide receiver Marcus Nichols for 36 yards.

Assumption continued the aggressive play, soon after converting a fourth-and-1 when senior running back Herb Woodard carried the ball two yards to the left for a first down. Assumption finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver David Canney across the middle to tie the game at seven.

After forcing a quick three-andout, Assumption took control of the game with an epic 18-play drive, covering 90 yards and eating up over 11 minutes of game time while taking the lead.

On multiple occasions on the drive, Fordham had its opportunities to get stops. On a third-and-10 at the Assumption 22, Kupec found Canney for 17 yards and the first.

Again, on another third-and-10 (following a 5-yard offsides penalty on sophomore defensive lineman Alex Locker), Kupec found Canney for another 15 yards on a comeback for the first down. To finish the drive, Assumption continued its aggressiveness with senior running back Lance Mitchell punching in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down to give Assumption a 14-7 lead.

“Third downs, fourth downs, we didn’t make plays,” Head Coach Tom Masella said.

Fordham responded with a 46yard field goal, although the drive left something to be desired after sophomore quarterback Blake Wayne narrowly missed a pass to Caldwell that could have led to a touchdown.

Assumption responded with another long drive, where its aggressiveness continued to pay

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Redshirt Senior wide receiver Jason Caldwell had another strong day with 101 yards, but it was a late drop that stood out.

off. After being confronted with a fourth-and-1 at their own 28, the Greyhounds snuck Kupec up the middle for two yards and the first down.

On the play, senior defensive lineman Jordan Bledsoe suffered a serious knee injury. Masella was unable to comment specifically on the injury after the game; however, he said that his season is most likely over.

Assumption used the sneak effectively again on third-and-1 at midfield, picking up three yards and a first down.

The drive eventually died inside the 10, and junior kicker Brian Nowak booted home a 24-yard field goal to extend the lead to 1710.

The Fordham offense quickly responded with its usual explosiveness. Sprung by a Wayne keeper that went for 20 to the Assumption 27, Fordham went to work, finishing the drive two plays later with a 27-yard reverse by Caldwell to tie the game at 17 going into the half.

In addition to Canney’s 10 catches for 116 yards, the story at half was Assumption’s absurd 23:00-7:00 advantage in time of possession. Somehow, things got even worse for the Rams.

Assumption started the half with another clock-killing 16-play drive that ate up over nine minutes of game time.

After giving Assumption excellent field position at its own 37, Fordham had a chance to stop the Greyhounds on a fourth-and-1.

However, Locker jumped offsides again, extending the drive and eventually allowing Assumption to take a 20-17 lead with a 22-yard field goal by Nowak.

Fordham fought back with some aggressiveness of its own. After starting the drive with a long-overdue 15-yard pass to senior tight end Stephen Skelton, the Rams utilized Skelton again on fourth-and-1 at the Assumption 38, hitting the big

tight end for a gain of nine and the first down.

Those were the senior’s only two receptions on the day, continuing what is proving to be a very quiet season for the NFL prospect.

“Skelton’s full-go,” Masella said.

“The offense is just a little different. We’re trying to get Stephen involved, but it’s just a different offense.”

Fordham went on to pound out a touchdown on the ground, capping the drive in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard Martin score to get Fordham the lead back.

With that, momentum seemed to turn. Fordham forced a quick three-and-out and Assumption punted for the first time all afternoon, giving Fordham an opportunity to open up a big lead. However, on a crucial third-and-7, Wayne delivered a strike to Caldwell in the seam, but Caldwell was unable to come up with the catch, ending Fordham’s drive.

“We dropped a pass up four [points] and we couldn’t change the tempo,” Masella said.

Assumption took advantage of the missed opportunity, getting its offense back on track. With Kupec picking the Fordham defense apart, the Greyhounds quickly worked their way inside the Rams’ 20. This was highlighted with a third down pass where Kupec avoided a sack and found Canney with a desperation pass for 18 yards and the first down.

“You gotta make plays,” Masella said. “The one we had [Kupec] in the backfield and didn’t get the sack, we didn’t make plays. You gotta make plays.”

Once again confronted with an important fourth down, they faced a difficult challenge, needing nine yards to stay alive. After Kupec’s pass sailed incomplete for Nichols, it seemed as if Assumption’s run had finally ended. However, the refs flagged senior defensive back Jamal Haruna for pass interference

at the seven, giving Assumption new life.

“Officials shouldn’t have been important,” Masella said.

The Greyhounds, once again, capitalized with a 4-yard fade to Nichols to regain the lead, 27-24.

Fordham faced an uphill fight from then on, and despite coming close, ultimately failed.

After deciding to go for it on fourth-and-4 at its own 44 with 3:56 and all three timeouts remaining, Fordham went to the air and completed a pass to Martin; however, he was tackled 2 yards short of the marker, ending the drive.

“Wayne made the right read, made the right throw, but the wide receiver didn’t do the right thing,”

Masella said.

Assumption did everything but put the nail in the coffin with a 29yard drive that made Masella use all three timeouts and left Fordham with 25 seconds on the clock, down six after a 34-yard field goal.

Fordham, though, still had a few tricks up its sleeve as it tried to continue its late-game magic.

On the ensuing kickoff, Assumption squib kicked to Martin, who found a lane and took the ball back 31 yards to the Assumption 47 and could have gone for more if not for an open-field tackle by sophomore kicker Matt Harris.

“He could’ve taken [the kick return] for more,” Masella said.

Two plays later, Fordham struck with a hook-and-ladder that gained 30 yards to the Assumption 17 (22 yards to senior wide receiver Patrick Miller, eight yards after the pitch by Caldwell).

But Fordham’s act came to an end on the following play, as Wayne rolled right and was forced to throw into coverage, looking for Skelton, but overthrew his target out of the end zone, ending the game.

“They had everyone in the end zone,” Masella said. “At that point, we were throwing darts at the blackboard.”

“You have to give Assumption credit,” Masella said. “They played well, we didn’t. The defense didn’t play well. They did the things we saw, we just didn’t stop it.”

The win keeps Assumption undefeated at 4-0 and drops Fordham to 2-2. Next week the Rams take on Holy Cross, a team that has beaten Fordham the past two seasons.

“Is it a bad loss?” Masella said.

“Yeah, it’s a bad loss. But all losses are bad, and there’s a reason they’re 4-0 and we’re 2-2. We’re inconsistent. That’s our identity. We’re consistently inconsistent.”

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior running back Xavier Martin scored two touchdowns against Assumption, including a fourth-quarter score to put the Rams ahead.