Volume 106 Issue 14

The Fordham Ram

Social Work Graduate School Updates Requirements

Aldi Opens On Third Ave.

By JULIANNA MORALES FEATURES EDITOR By TYLER RAYER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Throughout the spring 2024 semester, a group of master’s students in the social work program petitioned the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) to reduce the required field practicum hours.

Previously, Fordham University required social work students to complete 950 hours before graduation, despite the national requirement set by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) being 900 hours. The students spoke to their professors and deans to ask that the Fordham requirement be reduced to the national requirement.

Due to the nature of the change, Fordham had to submit a request to the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) Office of Professions to change their curriculum. The request was submitted at the end of May. Fordham received word of its approval at SEE SOCIAL, PAGE 5

Aldi, a grocery store chain focused on both affordable prices and healthy options, has opened its fifth location here in the Bronx. Although Aldi already has multiple locations in the Bronx, its newest is conveniently located just off Fordham Plaza, a commercial hotspot that allows easy access to all those interested in a healthy meal.

Aldi’s position allows it to reach multiple markets such as university students, off boarding train passengers and, of course, locals. Ethan Rule, FCRH ’28, said, “It’s brand new, there’s no long lines, it has a variety of food, so it looks like I’m going to be in and out.”

However, what makes the newest Aldi unique is not the quantity of options but the quality of them. Although the Bronx is in a place of seemingly endless resources, it has been deemed a food desert, with 39% of adults in the Bronx reporting being “always, usually or sometimes”

President Tetlow Talks Voting, Protests and Marketing

By NORA MALONE & ALLISON SCHNEIDER

President Tania Tetlow met with members of Fordham University’s student papers, The Fordham Ram and the Fordham Observer, earlier this week. The meeting covered various topics, including the upcoming election year, the protests last May and Fordham’s updated marketing strategy.

By TYLER RAYER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past Friday, Fordham University students came together for a lively night at the annual President’s Ball on Edward’s Parade. Full of flashing lights, a dance floor jammed with students from

both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center alike and enough music to give everyone something to move to, the President’s Ball was a special night. The ball started at 9 p.m. and lasted until midnight, requiring students to dress in semiformal attire. When entering,

students could expect to be surrounded by many members of Fordham faculty including Dean Christopher Rogers and Assistant Dean Catharine McGlade. Though the President’s Ball has been an annual event since 2003, started by Rev. Joseph M McShane, S.J., president SEE BALL, PAGE 4

When asked about her proudest accomplishment thus far, Tetlow mentioned the updated McShane Marketplace Dining Hall.

“I know how much food matters to students, for health and community, and the ways we express ourselves culturally and religiously,” she said. “The project came in early and

on budget, which is very exciting.”

She also mentioned that the administration is looking to update the Lincoln Center dining options sometime in the future.

Regarding the encampment and protest last May, Tetlow shared that the university has been working

New Exhibit Opens

Library

By NORA MALONE NEWS EDITOR

On Sunday, Sept. 15, a new exhibit opened in the Henry S. Miller Judaica Research Room of Fordham University’s Walsh Library. “Yearning to Breathe: The Art of Siona Benjamin” is a collection of art by Indian-Jewish artist Siona Benjamin. Benjamin, a Bene Israel Jew from Mumbai, India, was invited to Fordham by Professor Magda

Teter, the Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies at Fordham.

“We had a webinar together, and I just loved her art. So when this space [the Henry S. Miller Room] became available when the library renovated it. I thought that she would be a great person to bring in,” said Teter.

Benjamin’s art focuses on her intersectional identity as a Jewish woman who grew up in India. She combines Indian

COURTESY OF TYLER RAYER FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Students attend the President ’s Ball to dance, socialize and have fun.

President Tetlow met with student press on the second floor of Cunniffe House.

SEE TETLOW, PAGE 4

COURTESY OF COLBY MCCASKILL /THE OBSERVER

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

Lorillard Place Sept. 13

10:45 p.m.

On Friday, a Fordham student reported their nonFordham student friend was assaulted by their non-Fordham student romantic partner on Lorillard Place. Fordham students observed a romantic dispute where the offender choked the complainant and intervened. The offender fled. The supervisor responded and called the NYPD and EMS. EMS took the complainant to Saint Barnabas Hospital.

Hoffman Street Sept. 14

12:10 p.m.

On Saturday, a student reported that, while walking on Hoffman St. and 187th St., a male on a scooter snatched the reporter’s cell phone from their hand. A supervisor and the NYPD responded and took the complainant for a canvas and prepared a report. The offender was not located.

Southern Boulevard Sept. 15

1 p.m.

On Sunday, an alumnus reported that someone broke the passenger window of their vehicle which was parked on Southern Blvd. and removed items from their car. The supervisor responded and called the NYPD who responded and prepared a report. The incident was not captured on video.

Google to Limit Storage; All Student Accounts Limited to 10

GB by Oct. 30

By MINDY HUSPEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Google is implementing storage limits on Fordham University Google accounts starting this fall, according to an email announcement from the Fordham Institute of Technology sent out on June 5. The limits will include all Fordham Google accounts starting Oct. 30, according to the Fordham Information Technology (IT) website.

Under the upcoming storage limits, students will have 10 GB, alumni 5 GB, faculty and staff 40 GB, and emeritus and guest/corporate accounts will be limited to 15 GB.

“Most Fordham users are substantially below the quota, and less than 10% of the entire Fordham community (over 25,000 users) was over the limit and impacted by the storage changes,” said Katherine Morris, the Fordham IT communications manager.

Most members of the Fordham community will not be significantly impacted by the change in Fordham’s Google storage policy, but some

students are already evaluating their current storage usage in their Fordham Google accounts.

“I constantly take photos and videos, which takes up a lot of my storage,” said Eldaa Ouedraogo, PCS ’26. Ouedraogo is a social media content creator and stores her unpublished content in her Fordham Google Drive account.

The upcoming storage limits will also affect Ouedrago’s class-related digital habits. “I also download a lot of class material… For some readings, I download 20 pages at a time or more,” she said. She doesn’t anticipate exceeding the 10 GB student limit, since she already clears out old files periodically. “It may force me to clean out my storage more often than I usually would,” Ouederago said.

Google first announced storage limits for educational institutions in February 2021. “Storage is not being consumed equitably across — nor within — institutions, and school leaders often don’t have the tools they need to manage this,” the Google announcement stated. “To support schools into the future and ensure

fair distribution of this valuable resource, we will be implementing a new pooled storage model and helping admins and school leaders manage their storage.” The new Google storage model provides schools and universities with a baseline of 100 TB of pooled cloud storage shared across all users in an institution. (1 TB is equal to 1,000 GB.)

Fordham has been working towards the implementation of Google’s educational storage limits for the past two years. “Google initially began the conversation about storage limits in 2022 and, in the years that followed, slowly offered more information and guidance about implementation,” said Morris. “After their initial announcement, Fordham worked with Google to develop a timeline, directions and path forward, which was finalized in early 2024. As part of these discussions, the deadline was extended to October 2024, allowing the university more time to plan and implement.”

To ensure compliance with the new storage limits, Fordham’s Google Storage Task Force will be

This Week at Fordham

Wednesday Sept. 18

It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Rodrigue’s Coffee House 5:30 p.m.

Join Rodrigue’s Coffee House for a Speed Friending event on Wednesday. Meet some new friends over some coffee and snacks and celebrate the start of a new academic year.

Thursday Sept. 19

You Can Be Anything

Rose Hill Commons 4:30 p.m.

Join the Fordham Career Center at their Humanities Day event this Thursday. The event will have numerous alumni and employers to share unique job opportunities available to students.

Friday Sept. 20

Keating Steps

Keating Steps 6 p.m.

The Fordham United Student Government is hosting the annual Keating Steps event where performance groups across the Rose Hill campus perform for students with ice cream provided!

Saturday Sept. 21

Volleyball is Back, Baby!

Rose Hill Gymnasium 4:30 p.m.

Support the volleyball team as they take on the Seton Hall Pirates in their second home game of the season. First serve is at 4:30 p.m. in the newly renovated Rose Hill Gymnaisum, which turns 100 this year.

contacting Fordham community members who are over the upcoming limits and need to take further action to meet the new requirements. “Our goal is to provide you with the necessary support and guidance during this transition,” the email announcement stated.

Fordham IT and the Google Storage Task Force will also put on town halls, Zoom office hours and webinars throughout the fall semester to assist members of Fordham with the upcoming storage changes, according to a follow-up email sent to the Fordham community on June 11. “These sessions will offer detailed information, answer your questions, and provide practical tips for managing your storage effectively,” the email stated.

Fordham instituted the Google Storage Task Force in late 2023, according to Fordham IT’s Google Storage Quota webpage. The task force is co-led by Clara Perdiz, Jason Benedict and Lindsay Karp from the Fordham IT office, as well as other representatives of the Fordham University administration.

Sunday Sept. 22

When Harry Met Sally

Edward’s Parade 8 p.m.

Join Fordham Campus Activities Board’s Weekend Activities Committee for their Sunday movie night. This weekend’s movie is “When Harry Met Sally.” Food will be provided, bring a blanket and your friends!

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham Information Technology (IT) announced in June that all current Fordham students’ accounts will be limited to 10 GB storage by Oct. 30.

Shonni Enelow Appointed New English Chair

By ADITHI VIMALANATHAN ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Professor Shonni Enelow, one of Fordham University’s leading experts on modern drama, was recently appointed chair of the English department. Her new position was announced on Aug. 28 to the Fordham English community, replacing previous chair Mary Bly. Enelow has spent her last 12 years at Fordham working on theory at the intersection of modern drama and textual study, publishing three award-winning books and writing prolific film criticism for publications such as the Criterion and the Atlantic.

Enelow first arrived in New York City as an undergraduate, earning her BFA in theater at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After graduation, she went on to complete a Ph.D. in comparative literature and literary theory at the University of Pennsylvania.

What might seem like a staunch career pivot to many came naturally to Enelow. Theater and English, she finds, work in tandem when it comes to engaging and situating oneself within artistic work.

“Many of the tools of literary study are intimately related to the kinds of work that one does in getting inside a work of theater,” Enelow explains. “I’m interested in the ways that we think about the multiple modalities, not just with which we approach works of arts and works of literature, but also that these texts encode multiple ways of seeing, multiple ways of experiencing.”

After graduating with her Ph.D. in 2012, Enelow arrived

at Fordham as the resident modern drama specialist in the English department — a position that was interdisciplinary from the start. Enelow began her initial scholarship in theater studies, moving from there into newer contexts, including film.

“I was hired to be the modern drama person, and with that comes certain expectations for what you’ll teach and what you’ll publish on and all that. But one thing that I really liked about Fordham and the English department is that it was immediately communicated to me that the department was really open to allowing me to explore different fields, different subjects, different research trajectories, different ways of pursuing my path.”

Three years later, she published her first book, “Method Acting and Its Discontents,” an analysis of the modern acting and theater born of the psychological, social and racial contexts of the 1950s and ’60s. In 2016, it won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism — one of the most prestigious awards in theater criticism administered by the English departments of Cornell University, Princeton University and Yale University.

After initial publications in theater, Enelow describes her current scholarship as “[straddling] the worlds of theater and film studies.” Since “Method Acting,” Enelow published “a discourse on method,” co-authored with artist David Levine, and “Joana Hogg,” an analysis of filmmaker Joana Hogg’s feature films.

Prior to becoming chair of Fordham English, Enelow spent

three and a half years as the codirector of the comparative literature program — a role she notes prepared her for her current role as English chair. As co-director, she ran committees and worked with faculty leaders and administrations to make important academic and university governing decisions.

Within the English department, Enelow has worked on increasing interdisciplinary collaboration and diversifying the curriculum, particularly through a race and social justice requirement in the English major.

“We decided to create a requirement in the major for a course on race and social justice,” Enelow said. “It sends the message to prospective majors, to our students, that this is something really important in our curriculum. But also, in terms of the education, our students now have to take at least one course in which 50% or more of the works on the syllabus are by a person of color.”

As a professor, Enelow brings her theater and English training to the forefront of her teaching, creating a collaborative room and emphasizing intellectual risk in questioning preheld truths.

“A lot of my ethos of teaching comes from Bertolt Brecht whose basic idea is summed up in something he wrote once — when something seems like common sense, it means that any attempt to understand the world has been given up,” she said. “So anytime you think that you know something, it’s actually essential to question that and to estrange that.”

For Enelow, this means that she brings herself to the classroom in ecosystem with students.

“What I try to model for students is my own risks. I always want students to feel like they’re seeing me really think, not just reiterate something that I’ve already thought, but that they’re in a space where somebody is thinking with them, and hopefully that will encourage them to think with each other,” explained Enelow.

“The idea that we’re creating something together in the room that is specific to the people in the room and that can’t be done without each and every person in the room — that requires us to estrange what we think we know to create something new. That’s really essential to me as a teacher and as a thinker. To me, that is really related to the ethos

of theater creation.”

Enelow looks forward to future work within the English department, noting the role of faculty in a growing major and serving the students within the program.

“There’s a lot that I’m looking forward to. It’s a really outstanding department,” Enelow noted. “At Fordham, the English department is thriving. Our major has grown leaps and bounds over the years. I always say this to colleagues at other universities, and they’re shocked, because nationwide, that’s not true. At Fordham, it’s [the major] been doing amazingly. That is a testament to our incredibly dedicated faculty who care so much about our students and care so much about the education that we’re giving to our students.”

Chemistry Researchers Create Air Filtration System

By SIENNA REINDERS STAFF WRITER

A chemistry department team at Fordham University has been working over the past two years to create an air filtration system that would cleanse the air of contaminants without releasing harmful byproducts, as the current photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) systems can do.

The team consists of four undergraduate students headed by Professor Chris Koenigsmann, associate professor and chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department and Dr. Lukasz Sztaberek, an assistant professor in the environmental control department at the New York College of Technology.

The project was a joint idea by Koenigismann and Sztaberek to look into the conditions that cause PCO systems to create harmful byproducts and to figure out how to create a technology that would not produce those byproducts.

“[Sztaberek’s] professorship at the other institution is in HVAC engineering, which is like heating, cooling, air conditioning, things like that, and obviously, I’m a chemist,” Koenigsmann said.

“We had this sort of joint idea that we could take my expertise in catalysis and his expertise in HVAC engineering and merge those to solve a problem.”

Current PCO air purifiers use a catalyst and ultraviolet

light to oxidize the air and cleanse it of contaminants, including COVID-19. However, these systems can affect air quality in other ways, releasing toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, into the air.

In response to this issue, Koenigsmann’s team has been conducting experiments to test what conditions and catalysts can be used to prevent these byproducts from being created.

The experiments involve synthesis, catalysis and filtration, all conducted by the students on the team. In their research, they have found some catalysts to be effective and others to be ineffective. Two of the catalysts they tested were zirconium and vanadium, which have similar properties on the periodic table.

Zirconium proved effective as it successfully increased the band gap, a property of the catalyst that aids in its efficiency in breaking down the contaminants in the air. The zirconium also showed a consistent trend in the data sets that the team has collected. However, they have not found the same success with vanadium yet.

“Whatever we did, it just didn’t work. But the main prong of the project is zirconium, said Jack Loughney, FCRH ’26. "Vanadium, it would be cool if we could figure that out."

Koenigsmann believes that

involvement in research projects are critical, especially for STEM students, as they provide handson experience.

Additionally, he also feels that experiencing roadblocks and struggles during experimentation, such as the struggles they have faced with vanadium, are intrinsic to the students.

“In science, facing down that challenge in an environment where you have someone to guide you through it is the most valuable thing about research,” Koenigsmann said.

The student researchers agree that these projects are valuable experiences for students to have. According to Loughney, Arham Jamshaid, FCRH ’26, and David Chacon, FCRH ’25, they provide the ability to fail without grades on the line, as well as teaching essential skills and risktaking.

“In my opinion, even if your interest, say, is in heart surgery, I think doing research in something completely separate to that is still valuable because it really is just about training the researcher mind, the inquisitive mind,” Chacon said.

The project is being funded by the Halton Foundation, a “charitable organization with the aim of improving indoor environmental quality,” which granted Koenigsmann’s team a three-year, $90,000

A Fordham chemistry group is developing an air filtration system.

grant in 2023. Fordham has also provided some funding for the project as they award grants to students conducting research projects. Koenigsmann anticipates the current project’s time horizon of one to two years. However, he says that once they answer their current research question, they will likely pose a new one and begin new experiments. While the project’s goal is not to make a commercial product, the team hopes to be soon able to publish a research paper so that other scientists may use the infor -

mation to create commercial products themselves.

“We want to understand how changing certain parameters about the catalyst changes how the catalyst works; then those design principles, which we publish, can inform the community on how to then build a more commercially robust catalyst,” Koenigsmann said.

“It is theoretically possible that we might develop a catalyst that is commercially viable, in which case we would seek to patent that; but that is not necessarily our goal.”

COURTESY OF SHONNI ENELOW FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Shonni Enelow was recently appointed the new chair of Fordham English.

COURTESY OF OHIO STATE NEWS

President Tetlow Meets With Student Press

FROM TETLOW, PAGE 1

with Student Affairs and the Faculty Senate to review the demonstration policy.

“It’s not that any policy can map out every possible time, place and manner of a demonstration and give a chart in advance. The policy remains a conversation that student affairs has with any individual or group that wants to have a demonstration,” said Tetlow. “We’re pretty sure for the last 30 years, 100% of requests for demonstration have been granted.”

She said that the decision to arrest was not easy, and she spent much of the day discussing with members of the administration, faculty and the students in the encampment. She mentioned that she received several emails from faculty members urging her to avoid arresting the students.

“I definitely spent a lot of time putting myself in the shoes of the protesters and remembering that I’ve had the same instincts, thinking about my pride in them for caring enough to do something about injustice in the world,” said Tetlow. “[But] to me, an encampment in a classroom building on the eve of finals just doesn’t work.”

She also said that while she has enormous respect for the protestors, she didn’t think disrupting others’ education was necessary for the cause.

Tetlow said that the students in the encampment were provided a detailed explanation of what was happening and were given multiple opportunities to leave. Protesting students were

given the opportunity for a bathroom break prior to being arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

“They understood the decision they were making and went peacefully and were booked with what the police described to us as akin to a traffic ticket.”

When asked, Tetlow said th at she and members of her team have spoken to student activists about engaging with the Board on the endowment.

Additionally, the university began working on launching the FitzSimons Presidential Initiative on Civics and Civility over the summer to help the university community have difficult conversations in a civil manner.

“There’s a real urge from students and faculty to do deep learning on how to have difficult conversations. To take a controversial issue and then practice talking about it in a way that is respectful,” she said. Tetlow emphasized the role that “Jesuit discernment” plays in these conversations. “We’ve been at this for 500 years, and we’re part of a heritage that is profoundly good at this.”

Anthony A. Berry, who has been spearheading the FitzSimons program, met with students and staff throughout the summer and into the fall semester to learn what the community wants and needs.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action two years ago, colleges have been working to continue to increase student diversity despite the ruling and the obstacles it created.

FROM ALDI, PAGE 1

concerned about being able to afford healthy food. The statewide average is 24.9%. While there is another Aldi farther down Third Ave., it does not share the number of fresh foods that this specific Aldi does. As well as giving the people of the Bronx more grocery store options, this Aldi is already seeing some traffic from local students, as its convenient location next to the university allows quick trips to

FROM BALL, PAGE 1

emeritus, this was President Tania Tetlow’s third time hosting the ball since the beginning of her presidency, starting on July. 1, 2022. One of the main attractions of the President’s Ball is the chance to connect with fellow Fordham students across campuses. Alexandra Gishaj, GSB ’28, said, “It’s a really fun night and great for getting to meet people.”

Fordham’s Class of 2028 has become the university’s most diverse, with 50% of students identifying as people of color. Tetlow attributes that to Fordham’s commitment to “fishing in diverse ponds.” The president specifically referenced feeder schools like Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School.

Tetlow said this strategy to increase diversity is catching on at other universities as well. “We have more competition in those ponds than we used to, but we have the credibility that the newcomers do not have,” she said.

Tetlow is pleased with the increase in racial diversity but hopes it continues to grow.

When asked about the school’s still small but increasing African American student population, Tetlow said, “I am very eager to improve those numbers. I hope we can just keep building on that success.” The percentage of African American students at Fordham rose 26% from the Class of 2027 to the Class of 2028, which is 6.6% Black.

In November, many members of the Fordham community will be casting their vote in the 2024 presidential election. The university will encourage students to register to vote and assist them with absentee ballots.

“I am hoping we can hit as close to 100% voter participation as possible and that’s not about how you vote but because the only way to

participate in your democracy is to vote in it,” she said. “I remember as a college student being so excited about a presidential election and being able to matter in that way.”

Recently, Fordham has also been changing its marketing strategies after hiring Justin Bell from Ohio State University in August 2023 as the university’s first vice president for marketing and communications. Fordham has been “kicking it up a notch” strategically.

The university started reconsidering its “brand” and sending out surveys to students, faculty, alumni and prospective students to understand what they think of when they think of Fordham.

“We have to stand out, and it’s not easy to stand out. It’s not by being everything to everybody; it’s by being ourselves and seeing who works best here,” said Tetlow.

The Fordham College of Arts and Sciences is also getting a refresh come spring with the hiring of one central dean to replace the previous dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center and dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill.

“We did it because Arts and Sciences lacked the kind of unified leadership that Gabelli [School of Business] has had for years. We were split in leadership with four deans who were all in equal power with each other, none of who were a tiebreaker,” said Tetlow. “It meant we didn’t have the innovative, forwardlooking strategy that we need in Arts and Sciences because

Aldi Opens Near Fordham Plaza

the store between classes. “It’s compatible for dormers because you don’t have to worry about traveling to other boroughs for fresh food,” said John Collins, FCRH ’26.

The bigger question that the opening of this grocery store poses is if this is merely an outlier or a sign of a larger trend on its way into the borough. Antonio Zimmerman, a security guard at Aldi, said they “expect it to get much more popular as the weeks go by.”

The Bronx may be an energetic place, and how it is fed directly contributes to its environment. Aldi may only be one single store, but its affordability and healthy food options may contribute to a larger trend of fighting the food desert in the Bronx while still being a viable option to locals. If you’re in need of a fresh diet change, visit the Aldi on Third Ave. and 189th St., and you will certainly have enough energy to keep up with the Bronx.

no one person had the power to do that.”

Once the new dean is hired, the Arts and Sciences core curriculum will be restructured. The hiring committee looks at people both outside of the university and within it.

“What I believe is you hire the best person in the country, and that is often someone already at Fordham,” said Tetlow. She referenced the two deans she has hired during her tenure, both of whom came from within Fordham.

She also discussed how the university is working to keep costs down and return on investment up, saying, “What worries me the most is affordability.”

“When the whole cost of education is put on American families themselves, it becomes really brutal to afford excellence, and you deserve excellence,” she said. “And we’re not known in higher ed for really being nimble, but we’re going to have to become nimble.”

Tetlow also discussed her role as president, her favorite aspects of her job and her vision of Fordham.

“I know when I was a student, I had no idea what a university president’s job was, and you shouldn’t have to,” she said. Tetlow also described Fordham as “unusually warm and kind” compared to the outside world. “The students are what make me happy, getting to sit down with them and hearing how excited they are about what they’re learning and their futures and how much hope they bring all of us.”

Students Attend President’s Ball

The ball also provides students with free access to the buffet table, which was especially popular this year. Lizzy Hageman, FCRH ’28, said that, “The buffet table has phenomenal pigs in a blanket.” Zach Mattis-Roesch, FCRH ’25, said “The buffet has good food, so I’d come back.”

While the event takes place on the Rose Hill campus, students from Lincoln Center are provided with free transportation

via buses and the Ram Van from Lincoln Center to Rose Hill. Kushagr Singhal, GSB ’28, said that his favorite part of the ball is “to see everyone come together at one university.” This design allows students to interact with peers they may not have had the chance to otherwise.

Tetlow made an appearance at the event, and remarked upon the dance’s unifying energy. Tetlow stated, “I don’t

know why it’s so magical, but it just is. It brings together both campuses and allows students to have a great night.” Once the ball was in full swing, Tetlow met with students on the dance floor as she took pictures and gave advice to many of the students who gathered around.

The President’s Ball’s annual presence and timing at the beginning of the school year is a welcome gathering as it gives students the momentum to start

off their school year surrounded by students with the same enthusiasm about the months ahead. Though the main draw is a fun night with loud music and lots of food, the reason for staying lies in the company found alongside one another. The lifeblood of Fordham is that of unity which the President’s Ball encourages through its vibrance and flare. Although this may only be Tetlow’s third time hosting, it is set to be a tradition well rooted in the school’s culture.

COURTESY OF SOFIA DONOHUE/THE FORDHAM RAM

The new store offers wide isles and low prices.

FROM WALSH, PAGE 1

mythology with Jewish history to create art inspired by everything from Persian miniature paintings to American comic books.

“Art is a good tool to talk about social justice,” said Benjamin. “It is like a visual newspaper.”

The exhibit is named after a line from “A New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

One of the works in the exhibit is Benjamin’s interpretation of the poem through pieces of art inspired by each line.

“She herself is ‘yearning to breathe’ because she has so many identities that for her feel [like] one, but society cannot understand that,” said Teter.

The exhibit was co-curated by Amy Levine Kennedy, a curator in Westchester, N.Y., and adjunct professor in the Fordham communications department.

“It’s been wonderful collaborating with Amy and Magda; they’re like the dream curators and organizers of my show,” said Benjamin.

Benjamin’s art is paired with objects from the Fordham Collection, including an Indian Torah placed beside a Torah case painted by Benjamin.

The exhibit is one of two that Benjamin will be doing at Fordham this year. Next semester, Fordham will display the Benjamin family’s photo

Blue Women Come to Walsh

collection of temples in India.

“This year is all about Jews in India,” said Teter, who, since the opening of the Research Room in 2022, has been working to create exhibits that take items Fordham already has and put them in a new light.

“We sort of began to invent this space as a place of art in conversation with the Fordham collection,” she said.

Several pieces of Benjamin’s work will also be displayed at the Quinn Library at Fordham University Lincoln Center, and on Nov. 6, Lincoln Center will also host a screening of her documentary “Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin.”

Benjamin’s art often depicts herself as a blue woman, which she uses to represent being a Jew of color.

“[My art depicts] issues of the stereotypes we have in our minds about other people or other places,” said Benjamin.

“You think of the ‘other’ as being something weird instead of something that you can explore, something that is fascinating.”

Benjamin often references mythology in her work. One of the pieces in Walsh depicts herself as the many-armed Indian goddess Kali, her hands holding a variety of objects, including a menorah, an Uncle Sam hat and a paintbrush.

“We wanted to kind of deal with her art that deals with the

questions that are so relevant for us today, about how people can have multiple identities,” said Teter. “[Art that deals with] the place of immigrants in American society and their connections with their home countries.”

Teter’s students also assisted with research for the exhibit. Mallory Roof, FCRH ’26, is helping create the photography exhibit that will open next semester: “I did a lot of historical background research about the temples in

India and the history of them and their architecture styles and how they influenced her [Benjamins] work,” she said.

Benjamin’s exhibit will be on display until Dec. 23 on the fourth floor of Walsh Library.

Students Petition to Change Hours Requirement

FROM SOCIAL, PAGE 1

the beginning of August.

The master’s of social work students said they felt inclined to address the internship hours requirement because it limited who was able to enter the social work field. Dan Kaminsky, GSS ’25, commented, “[The requirement] is going to severely limit, from a class, race and gender perspective, who is becoming social workers. This undermines the work that we do, which is often in marginalized communities, and we want to have those voices represented in the workforce.”

Kaminsky also explained that there is a high projected need for social workers in the coming years and, therefore, students need to be able to complete schooling for those positions. He commented that with the vast majority of social work students being female comes the historic undervaluing of “feminine” labor.

“Social workers are of immense importance in our state, doing everything from drug counseling to being the number one providers of mental health care and so on,” Kaminsky stated. In order to keep the number of social workers up and make becoming a social worker feasible, the students saw the need for changes.

Grace Laria, GSS ’25, explained that the petitioning came as a result of discussions between

classmates about the pressure and struggles they were facing.

“A few of us became friends and we started talking about the issues that we were seeing at our placement, and I think one of our members had the idea of starting a petition that would be asking the administration for funded field placements. Through that process we realized that there was already this national movement called Payment 4 Placements that was advocating for doing this at a national level and it was chapter-based,” she explained.

Payment 4 Placements (P4P) was founded three years ago at the University of Michigan as an organization for students advocating for payment for their labor. The organization now has nearly 50 chapters throughout the country.

“We’re aware that the university would be unable to fund all of our field placements,” stated Laria. She explained that the students starting the Fordham chapter of P4P got some doubt from professors when they would mention the goal of payment. She said that what helped get faculty support was “really just doing a lot of education around us, actually working on state level legislation that would have government bodies paying for or funding our placements, not the universities.”

However, the students did not want to only focus on addressing governmental powers about payment. “Just like any kind of movement that is focusing on economic justice, we know that there’s a lot of things we can work on in the meantime,” Laria commented.

The graduate students decided the field practicum hours reduction should be their first focus because they felt that it was a reasonable thing to address with university administration.

Laria said that sheand the other starting members of the P4P chapter launched the petition around March of this year. They emailed professors and asked to talk to classes about P4P and the petition, as well as asking students to fill out a survey regarding how their mental, emotional and financial health was affected by the requirements of the program.

Kaminsky explained that they received devastating results on the qualitative part of the survey, with students saying that they felt like they were drowning, had constant panic attacks, were behind on rent and never had time to see their families.

“The argument can be made that more hours is actually contrary to the needs of learning and this is an argument we made in our pitch during

o ur campaigns. And the argument is that there are studies that show that students who are working and going to internships and school, which is the majority of us, are more burnt out than professionals in the field,” commented Kaminsky. He stated t hat even though a 50 hour change in field practicum requirements may not seem major, it did a lot to benefit the students. “Oftentimes, the 50 hours translated to a year’s worth of a third day [per week], not necessarily a full day, but sti ll another day at the internship as opposed to just two,” Kaminsky explained. This allows students more time to work, study or meet their other needs.

The founding students were able to build a much larger

community for the P4P chapter after speaking with other social work classes.

“Overall, I think faculty was really supportive of us coming in to make announcements, to be able to share what the campaign was all about. Some of them would make the announcements in their own classes or even work it into their course curriculum,” stated Laria.

The faculty voted unanimously to support the students’ petition before it was sent to the NYSED last spring, which the graduate students expressed great gratitude about.

Kaminsky explained that the P4P chapter is now working on brainstorming their next initiative to help make graduate social work students’ lives better and more equitable.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM The students started a chapter of P4P last year.

COURTESY OF NORA MALONE/THE FORDHAM RAM

A man observes Benjamin’s exhibit on the fourth floor of Walsh Library.

By ANDREW MASSIE & EMMA LEONARDI

Meet the 2028 USG Senate Candidates

On Friday, Sept. 13, the Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) hosted a Meet the Candidates night for the Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) and Gabelli School of Business (GSB) Class of 2028 Senate candidates. Executive President Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, and Executive Vice President Eron Maltzman, GSB ’25, led the event.

There are eight candidates in total, split evenly between FCRH and GSB. However, Anshuman Shrivastav, GSB ’28, was unable to attend. According to the USG website, “The USG Senate is made up of 4 class councils with 5 senate seats on each. Each class elects 2 FCRH and 2 Gabelli senators with the 5th seat acting as a swing for the next candidate with the highest votes, regardless of school.”

Each candidate was allotted two minutes to present their platform. Following candidate presentations, The Fordham Ram asked questions about their platforms. The audience was not given the opportunity to ask questions.

George Mampillil, FCRH ’28, was the first to present his candidate position. Mampillil is active in the Bronx community, including weekly attendance at a church 15 minutes away from campus. Mampillil stated that he plans to improve student life by connecting with school services and organizations and publishing polls for students to share concerns in case they cannot attend meetings. He also hopes to increase school spirit by making events more enjoyable to the student body. When asked about examples of events he had

organized, he mentioned a successful spikeball tournament at his high school as post-COVID-19 engagement. Mampillil was also asked about his reason for using USG to conduct events instead of collaborating with clubs like the Campus Activities Board or Residence Halls Association. In response, Mampillil stated he would prefer to prioritize events through USG, using their budget, instead of through other campus clubs. However, he was open to collaboration if it resulted in higher participation.

Tina Pathak, FCRH ’28, a former president of her high school Model UN, presented next. Pathak stated that she plans to focus on student representation and academic expansion. For the former, she plans to use suggestion boxes and events to gather student input and emphasize the importance of student body opinions. Pathak plans to expand access to career counseling and internship opportunities, balancing the amount of resources given to FCRH compared to Gabelli. According to her campaign’s Instagram page, she supports “course expansion and specialized programs.” However, this initiative was absent from the candidate platform description required by USG prior to the event. When asked, Pathak specified that she is advocating for creating additional, in-depth courses as more difficult equivalents to classes that AP credits might have already satisfied.

Grace Shin, FCRH ’28, cited her experience in student government starting in second grade and, most recently, as her high school’s student body vice president. Shin plans to implement “calming

rooms” at Fordham, similar to the ones in her high school. It would include “calming items” and potentially therapists during high-stress periods, such as finals. Her platform includes initiatives for clear communication with the student body, specifically the Class of 2028, of events and opportunities on campus. She also hopes to lower the price of textbooks, homework resources and lab fees for STEM students. When asked about her approach to reducing textbook prices, Shin stated that, as a biology major, she has personally spent over $600 on textbooks and other required materials. She did not discuss plans for this initiative beyond general advocacy through USG.

Audrey Schooner, FCRH ’28, had previously acted as class president of her high school’s student body government for two years, one on the executive board and the other as the executive president. Her platform focuses on mental health support, sustainability and communication between USG and the student body. Schooner would like to expand mental health crisis support by partnering with apps such as BetterHelp to provide students with help outside the hours of Counseling and Psychological Services, stating that “mental health is not a 9-5.” Additionally, she proposes the reduction of single-use plastics such as straws and utensils on campus. Schooner suggests a gradual shift to biodegradable alternatives when asked about her plan to achieve this. She also wants to improve awareness of USG’s open hours and services

while implementing one-on-one meetings and personal dialogue to “meet students where they are.”

Sarah Bayas, GSB ’28, was executive president in her senior year of high school. Her platform focuses on creating a welcoming environment at Fordham, learning more about Fordham’s processes before proposing specific changes and addressing student needs and desires above imposing predetermined initiatives. Regarding student needs, Bayas would like to create more opportunities for student input and engagement, particularly by creating committees to address students’ specific issues. Additionally, she has some initial ideas, such as improving the orientation process to integrate students better and enhancing communication about available resources and campus layout.

Anoushka Awasthi, GSB ’28, is an international student from India with leadership experience as editor-in-chief of her high school’s economics magazine. She plans to organize events on campus to raise money for sustainable initiatives. She hopes to support career development by organizing talks from specific industry experts to help students choose majors and understand potential career paths. Awasthi aims to use her experience as an international student to improve support for other international students. When asked about specific ways to do this, she suggested inviting more international speakers to Fordham. Awasthi plans to organize fundraising events through the USG to support sustainable initiatives. However, she did not provide specific examples of the initiatives these events might fund.

Aniruddha Sankar, GSB ’28, is an international student from Mumbai who served as the executive president during his senior year of high school, where he led fundraising efforts. Sankar suggests that orientation could have done more to integrate students. When asked to expand upon this position, he said he believes orientation could have been more concise. He would have hoped for a better explanation of campus resources and layout. He plans to restructure orientation if elected. However, moderators mentioned that the New Student Orientation club manages orientation, not USG. One of Sankar’s primary goals is to further Fordham’s commitment to solar energy by increasing the number of solar panels on campus. When asked about the plan to expand Fordham’s system, Sankar proposed adding more panels to “campus buildings and lawns and map the panels using professional architects.” He also proposed composting initiatives around campus, including inside dorms.

Anushman Shrivastav, GSB ’28, was unable to attend. Their platform centers on the “Community Liaison Program” that pairs commuter or off-campus students with oncampus peers to share information about events or other campus activities. Additionally, they plan to improve dorm life by gathering feedback and organizing inter-dorm activities.

Voting opened Monday, Sept. 16, and closed Tuesday, Sept. 17. The new senators for the Class of 2028 will join USG for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 19.

R

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918

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

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The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of The Fordham Ram.

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The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject or edit any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. No part of The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

OPINION Holding Yourself Back

Four years ago, when I was a first-year college student re-entering the social world after a year and a half of the COVID-19 shutdown, I went around the club fair and added my name to any club list that sounded even remotely interesting, many of whom I never interacted with again. However, one really stood out among the bunch: The Fordham Ram. Despite my enrollment as a psychology major, I’d always loved writing. It had always been a place in which I thrived. With the encouraging words of a former English teacher, I was set on trying journalistic writing in college, something completely different from what I’d done in high school.

When I submitted my first article only weeks into the school year, I had no idea what I was doing. I asked the editor countless questions, received numerous edits and thought maybe I just wasn’t as good at writing as I’d thought. I sent my parents a picture of my first article’s place on the front page and, in the true fashion of a father forced to watch “Gilmore Girls” all too often, received a “Way to go, Rory” text from my dad. Despite the encouragement, I couldn’t help but feel like I should’ve

From the Desk | Julianna Morales

been able to do everything just right on the first try.

Nevertheless, I picked up another article. This one I was more confident in, and sure enough when it was published, barely anything needed to be edited. I started attending the copy-editing nights myself and learning the ins and outs of all the goals I needed to achieve as a writer. I loved everything about it, from writing to meeting the staff and other members to reading everyone’s articles. I loved seeing the printed papers distributed around campus on every Wednesday and picking up a copy of every single one, whether I’d written in it or not.

The end of the semester came around, and the applications to join the staff came out. I looked at them, thinking how cool it would be to be to get a role on staff, then closed the application. It was only my first semester, and I thought for sure they’d want people with more experience; I’d stick with just writing. When the fall semester of sophomore year ended, the applications had once again been sent out. Again, I looked at it, convinced myself I wouldn’t be good enough and closed it.

However, in my junior year,

something changed. The news editor at the time emailed me, saying she’d noticed I’d been a part of the Ram for a while and wondered if I ever considered joining staff. That was just the push I needed to finally submit the application, and I’m so thankful for it.

My time being the features editor has been some of the best of my time at Fordham. I get to work with the best people, make amazing memories during late production nights, and be a bigger part of something that has been so important to my college experience. The only thing I regret is that I let my own self-doubt stop me from experiencing it more.

Oftentimes, I think the fear of rejection is worse than even rejection itself. And many

people, myself included, are so terrified of hearing “no,” that they decide it’s better to not even try. We think that if we’re not perfect or 100% confident that it’s worth the risk; I’ve learned now that’s not true. It’s okay to be out of your comfort zone. It’s okay to not learn something instantaneously. Most importantly, it’s okay to try something that might not work out. You never know: it could work out better than you ever expected. When I graduate this coming spring, I will look back on the four years I spent here at Fordham with incredible fondness for all of the experiences I had with the Ram. I will also have utmost happiness that I did not end up letting my fear hold me back forever.

The Dark Side of Project 2025

Project 2025 has become a key part of the 2024 presidential election and Vice President Kamala Harris’ opposition to it has become a major theme of her presidential campaign. Both candidates mentioned it during the presidential debate. Late-night talk show hosts like John Oliver have made popular videos discussing it. All this discourse has led to Americans increasingly paying attention to Project 2025. During last week’s presidential debate, internet searches for “Project 2025” surged by 900%. A research poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst conducted from July 29 through Aug. 1 found that 53% of American citizens had heard of Project 2025. At the same time, former President Donald Trump has tried distancing himself from it by saying, “I have nothing to do with Project 2025.” However, many Americans are still uncertain about its contents. We believe everyone in America should know what Project 2025 contains and its plan to dramatically change the way the federal government works for the worse.

First, we must understand the group that wrote it. The Heritage Foundation, a rightwing think tank, created the document. Also, the Heritage Foundation has had quite a large influence on Republican administrations in the past.

During Trump’s administration, they bragged that twothirds of their policy proposals had been used. They released Project 2025 in April 2023, which was unusual timing because the election was over a year away. It was released under the name “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” and is a whopping 922 pages long. The foundation refers to itself as “The 2025 Presidential Transition Project” and is offering training sessions for people who are interested in joining a possible Republican administration. The project’s purpose is to help the next Republican administration hit the ground running by providing a blueprint for actions it can take.

Project 2025 is an extensive document, so we will focus on one section to show how much it would reshape our federal government. Let’s take a look at “Section One: Taking the Reigns of Government.” One of the major changes it would make to the federal government is implementing the “unitary executive theory.” Under this model, every federal agency would fall under the direct control of the president. To give an example, the Justice Department, which is currently an independent agency, would come under the president’s direct control. Once the president has control of an agency, Project 2025 proposes they

reinstate Schedule F. This action would allow the president to fire around 20,000 federal employees across agencies and replace them with loyal political appointees. As a result, the president could fire government officials they see as unloyal and then replace them with new political appointees. Professor Donald Moynihan of Georgetown University told PBS News that these changes would be “the biggest changes we have seen to the American bureaucracy since the civil service was created in the 1880s.” Some experts have raised concerns that if Trump were reelected this fall, he would use these plans to abuse the system. Trump himself has gone on the record during campaign rallies saying that he would use the Justice Department to prosecute “every radical out-ofcontrol prosecutor.”

These aren’t the only major changes the document calls for. It calls for eliminating the Department of Education. It advocates for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reverse its approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. It proposes eliminating visas for crime and human trafficking victims. There are so many proposals that we recommend you read the document itself to see if they are targeting something you care about.

The Project 2025 website highlights fact checks as a way

to show their plans are not as radical as “the Left” wants you to believe. One example is a PolitiFact article that claims that Project 2025 would ban same-sex marriage. The article notes that Project 2025 does not call for overturning this. However, it does highlight that on page 484, there is a sentence calling heterosexual marriage “ideal.” In the modern U.S., same-sex marriage has been the law of the land since 2015; having the government label a union between two people in love as unideal would be wrong and insensitive.

When looking at these proposals, we don’t see an agenda that works for the people. Instead, we see a set of proposals designed to increase a president’s power while taking freedoms away from everyone else at the same time. It’s ironic that a plan that would increase the size of the federal government came from an ideology that’s whole brand is small government. Polling has shown that the American people are not impressed by what is in this document. That is why Trump is trying to distance himself from it. However, many people from Trump’s administration have played key roles in writing it. While Project 2025 may claim “fearmongering,” we think this plan is rightfully being ridiculed. We hope that Project 2025 will never sees the light of day.

Editorial | Project 2025

“Dancing with the Stars” Dances on the Edge in Season 33 Casting

By MOLLY O’CONNOR CONTRIBUTING WRITER

What makes a star? Is there a certain criterion, or is it just someone we thrust into the spotlight of fame? Every year, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” (“DWTS”) fans ask these questions when confronted with the new cast, which often ranges from timeless actors or big-time athletes to microinfluencers and models. But this year, they’re faced with a different question: can a criminal be a star? Internationally famous con artist Anna Delvey was announced last week as a member of the season 33 “DWTS” cast, and the reactions from fans have been explosive. But the truth is, Delvey is a pop culture figure, especially after the popularity of the 2022 Netflix drama “Inventing Anna” based on her life. Though the show is no longer at the height of its popularity, “DWTS” can kickstart viewers’ memories with the controversy of her criminal status. Her fame is based on the eye-catching luxury aesthetic of her crimes and the entertainment value of the show about her story. It’s not so much about people supporting her actions and looking up to her, but more about the glamor and drama of the story. Had she committed a violent crime of some sort, or targeted a marginalized group or community, it may not be as appropriate. But Delvey has served her sentence, so I

By KEAGAN OSTOP CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Movie theaters are not dying, but they do need to rebrand. Going to the movies isn’t about content; it can’t be. You can watch the same film at home in your living room for cheaper. Going to the movies is about the experience. For movie theaters to stay open, they must lean into that culture and rebrand. They need to reinvent themselves to stay competitive and focus on the unique experience and culture they offer, as your home living room can’t replicate the nostalgia movie theaters bring. When you go to the movies, you aren’t just viewing a film — you are also purchasing an experience. Movie theaters need to rebrand to stay afloat in the popularity of at-home streaming. Theaters need to delve into the nostalgia felt when you park your car and walk through the front doors of a theater, smell the buttery popcorn wafting through the air, sneak candy in your pockets, beg your mom to let you get an Icee and wait impatiently through the trailers saying “let’s go see that one”

don’t see a reason why she can’t be on this show.

“Dancing with the Stars” has followed the same formula for a long time, with a set of roles that they fill with whatever celebrity is willing to join the cast. Most seasons have a hunky athlete, a real housewife, a Bachelor or Bachelorette, a female gymnast if the proximity to the Summer Olympics is right, an actor with dying relevance, a social media star and an old man with two left feet. The addition of Delvey throws a wrench in this formula, in the most perfect way possible. It’s no secret that “DWTS” isn’t exactly a hot new show anymore, and people are starting to become bored with who they choose as cast members. Part of the issue is that, though “DWTS” makes many key casting decisions, they are truly at the mercy of what stars are available and willing to come on the show. Taylor Swift is not just going to drop everything because she got a call from a reality television show, so we really can’t expect too many A-listers like Swift from them. That being said, “DWTS” casting directors can get creative, and they are showing some of that this season with Delvey and others. Even if Delvey isn’t a typical celebrity, her relevance in pop culture allows her to fit in as a star while simultaneously standing out with her unique reason for fame.

In addition, the controversy will certainly help increase “DWTS” viewers. Thousands of people flood the comment sections of the “DWTS” Instagram on any post featuring Delvey, no matter which side they are on. Those who are saying “This is ridiculous! Don’t vote for her! Make sure she doesn’t win!” are still planning on tuning in to watch her fail, while others think this is a fresh and fun new decision, or simply just want to disagree with the opposers, so they want to tune in to vote for her to win.

Besides Delvey, the additions of other celebrities like Steven Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher to the cast are definitely going to help viewership and spike more interest in the fans. Though it isn’t uncommon for “DWTS” to bring on a gymnast after the Summer Olympics, the show has never brought on a male gymnast until this season. Nedoroscik helped bring some fame into the lesserknown side of the sport with the popular meme “pommel horse guy.” With comparisons to characters like Clark Kent, Nedoroscik captured the hearts of the internet in a matter of days, bringing in millions of viewers to the pommel horse final in Paris. Another more widely known internet sensation and athlete being added to the class this season is Maher. Maher was a powerhouse on U.S. Women’s Olympic Rugby this year, and, similar to

Nedoroscik, has helped bring attention to her sport through her social media, mostly making funny Instagram Reels and TikToks featuring her common experiences as a woman in rugby. By bringing in Maher, they have opened up “Dancing with the Stars” to a much larger audience. Though many people know the famous athletes and reality stars that compete, nobody is more a dedicated viewer than a Gen Z or Millennial social media follower, and Maher has millions (3.8 million on Instagram, to be exact). Though “DWTS” isn’t at the peak of its fame any longer, the show isn’t going down without a fight. By harnessing the fame of Maher as well as Nedoroscik right off of the Olympics, “DWTS” is throwing its hat in the competition TV ring.

Moviegoing is Not a Lost Art

once or twice. The anticipation and the excitement grow as the lights dim and the music begins. A movie-going community is built through reactions of laughter, gasps and tears. You are sharing one experience with a group of strangers. At home, we can watch a movie, but the art of nostalgia and the community brought forth in a movie theater can never be replicated in your living room. What used to be $7 and an easy endeavor now is upwards of $20, transforming what was once a simple and spontaneous outing into a special occasion. The decision for a person to see a movie in theaters, although just as appealing, isn’t as accessible as it once was. This price shift means that moviegoers are much more selective about their choices, opting for films they are passionate about and excited about. I won’t drop $20 on any movie, especially since I could watch it in the comfort of my living room in a few months. However, if there is a film I am passionate about, I, like others, will pay for the luxury experience.

Movie theaters have been

having a tough go between the rise of at-home streaming, the Hollywood strike and price increases. For the entire month of May this year, box offices made $520 million. To find a time when there was a worse start to the summer blockbuster season, you would have to go back to May 1998, when they only raked in $510 million. However, these numbers and difficulties don’t mean movie theaters will die out; it just proves they will look slightly different. People aren’t going to go to just any movie, so finding a niche audience and building on it like the summer of “Barbenheimer” will be a new form of revenue. Movie theaters aren’t an everyday activity, so the branding needs to delve into the idea that they are unique and appeal to the individual niches of different fan bases based on film. The movie “Oppenheimer” grossed the most for a biographical movie, earning $942 million at the worldwide box office. After just one week in theaters, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” brought in $123.5 million globally, becoming the highest-grossing concert movie. “Barbie” broke

Ultimately, what it is that makes a star is very much subjective to the viewer, but stirring up controversy can only help the amount of attention “DWTS” gets, negative and positive. “Dancing with the Stars” has opened up several new doors with their casting this season, and it could be just the thing that puts them back into the spotlight. We don’t know who is going to take home the Mirrorball Trophy this year, but there will be millions tuning in to see if their pick has what it takes.

Molly O’Connor, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from Weymouth, Mass.

the record for the highestgrossing film directed solely by a woman. What stood out was the level of engagement from audience members, dressing up in pink dresses or suits for the summer of Barbenheimer or wearing friendship bracelets and getting up and dancing along with Taylor Swift music. These films applied niches to their audience members, and it proved successful. People don’t go to movies they don’t care about, so the theaters and filmmakers have to make the audience that does care passionate, ensuring a higher percentage of them take part in the cinema-going culture.

Most movie theaters have evolved to include considerably

more dynamic food and drink menu. They add a service option selling beers, wine cocktails and full meals, bringing in an entirely new income for theaters. There’s also the ability to rent out theaters for private screenings, which have become increasingly popular for work events and birthday parties. I went to the movie theater twice this summer and there wasn’t an empty seat either time. Some might argue that that’s the luck of the draw, but I think it’s proof that your living room can’t replicate the nostalgia movie theaters bring.

Keagan Ostop, FCRH ’25, is a journalism major from West Hartford, Conn.

The magic of movie experiences can be brought back with some changes.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

“Dancing with the Stars” makes a controversial addition to casting.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

OPINION

Why Eric Adams Won’t Survive the 2025 Primary

By DAMIEN MOSHMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The mayor of New York City is rarely a popular figure, with each politician facing some level of controversy during their time in office: Rudy Giuliani for his general views on crime control, Michael Bloomberg with his stop-and-frisk policy and Bill DeBlasio for the misuse of campaign funds.

Eric Adams is a particularly unpopular figure within the New York political scene, known for misconduct, a known party-boy lifestyle and associating with people known for their troubled pasts, both in and out of his administration. His administration is particularly marred by his attraction to glamor, prestige and the evident desire to appear on the cutting edge of city government instead of focusing on real, tangible improvements to the city. The string of corruption allegations against him and his top aides, along with the multiple federal investigations against them, reinforces my belief that Adams is a grifter who took the office of mayor of New York City to further the careers of himself and his inner circle, instead of working to improve and enrich the lives of his constituents.

Generally, I have found the decisions that Adams has made during his time in office to be grossly miscalculated at best, such as his plan of integrating

artificial intelligence within NYC’s government through a chatbot that spread disinformation. And actively harmful at worst, like his budget cuts to public libraries, schools and other public works totaling to over hundreds of millions of dollars. Although he eventually walked back on some budget cuts deemed “unnecessary” by the general public, his administration still left institutions like libraries flailing by using taxpayer resources on controversial and experimental ideas while failing to follow through on any promises made to tangibly improve the city’s aging infrastructure.

Poor policy decisions aside, it appears that the Adams administration is simply unable to operate without garnering attention for all the wrong reasons, as he and his top aides find themselves in the midst of four federal criminal investigations into various aspects of both City Hall operations and into Adams himself.

Adams and members of his administration have faced a string of federal investigations regarding his campaign funds and allegations of corruption, respectively. The most recent within the administration are the resignation of NYC Police Commissioner Edward Caban on Thursday, Sept. 12, and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg on Saturday, Sept. 14. Adams is also polling at the lowest levels

of any mayor this century, with his approval rating being the “lowest job approval rating for a New York City mayor” since 1996 which is when Quinnipiac University first began measuring that data.

The recent streak of scandal surrounding the inner circle of his administration has once again emphasized the disconnect between Adams’ personal agenda and the role that he plays as mayor of New York City. The various controversies, coupled with his abrasive persona and lack of popularity with both the general public and within his own party, lead me to believe that he will most likely not make it through the 2025 Democratic Primary.

Although Adams defeated the Republican nominee Curtis Silwa with 67% of the vote in the 2021 general election, that feat is not particularly impressive based on the city’s political makeup. Notably, Adams’ victory within the primary party came at a much narrower margin. Adams only won his party’s nomination after eight rounds of ranked-choice voting, beating Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner and current director of state operations, by less than 1%, which is hardly a wholehearted vote of confidence by the members of his party.

There are multiple prominent candidates who have appeared and confirmed that they

will be definitely challenging Adams for the democratic nomination, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander along with New York State Senators Zellnor Myrie Jessica Ramos. Many other potential candidates have been named, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. This isn’t particularly surprising, as Adams himself has mentioned a “coordinated effort” to make him a one-term mayor within his own party since 2023. However, Lander’s candidacy marks the first time that a citywide elected official ran against the incumbent mayor from the same party since 1989. Many of these candidates, including Lander, Myrie and Ramos lean left or outright identify as progressives, which might serve as a draw for younger, more liberal voters to participate in the primary election. Although we have no idea who the Republican candidate against Mayor Adams will be

even if Silwa has announced his candidacy and desire for a rematch — they should not be a concern for those who are voting in 2025. Instead, if you are a voter who does not want to see Adams spend another four years in office, I implore you to research those who have announced their candidacy. He may consider himself to be “perfectly imperfect” in a city full of “perfectly imperfect people,” but primary voters shouldn’t settle for a candidate whose imperfections include allegations of assault and corruption,whose tenure in office is marked by a declining quality of life, frivolous projects and an overall sense of crisis.

Why Are We Obsessed With Tanning?

By BRITNEY PHAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Across America, tanning might just be the quintessential summer rite. A bronzed complexion implies good health and vitality, despite recent studies finding that a tanning bed might actually increase your risk of developing melanoma by 75%.

So why do people continue to tan? And why do some continue to do so, despite knowing the consequences? There are many reasons, both cultural and psychological, as to why some might find it difficult to let the tanning bed go.

Particularly in the West, the appearance of tanned skin has been linked to long hours spent outdoors, usually engaged in leisure, though this wasn’t always the case. For much of history, paleness was associated with aristocracy, as workers spent most of their days laboring outside while the rich stayed indoors. Then, things changed when Coco Chanel returned to the States from her vacation in the French Riviera, appearing noticeably sunburnt, unknowingly spawning a multi-billion dollar empire in the process. In many countries though, paleness is still very much considered the beauty standard. However, shifting standards are only one small part of the

equation when it comes down to why someone might choose to tan. Tanning also holds deep psychological benefits. It can boost your mood and even be addictive. When people tan, it makes them feel better, and combined with the perceived social benefits — being seen as more attractive, feeling more attractive — it’s not difficult to see why many still continue to tan today.

Additionally, the influence of social media plays a role in shaping what many people think of as beautiful. The pervasiveness of celebrities with certain features, including tan skin, has undoubtedly contributed to the rising number of aesthetic procedures, including tanning, which proliferate across our generation today. It should be noted among those who tan, the majority happen to be young people. It’s normal to think that when you’re young, the warning labels don’t apply to you, but health should always be a top priority. Tanning has dangerous drawbacks, which include increasing your risk of getting skin cancer as well as other skin-related diseases. On top of that, many self-tanning products and spray tans contain an active ingredient, dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which hasn’t currently been approved by the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “for use in commercial spray tanning booth. Because the FDA doesn’t have any data to prove the safety of inhaling or ingesting the spray, or of getting the spray in your eyes, nose, mouth, or lips.” DHA is harmful when coming into contact with your eyes, lips and nose, and there is no guarantee that this will not happen at spray tanning booths.

Encouraging sun protection and educating people about the risks of tanning is strongly advised but only go so far in preventing people from hitting the tanning bed. A critical look at our cultural fixation on tanning inevitably leads to a discussion about our current beauty standards. Both social media and celebrities all have a part to play in shaping our current beauty standards, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Online, the practice of excessive tanning has been under fire for its potentially problematic uses. You might have heard of the term “blackfishing” used in tandem with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, whose extremely tan complexions have led to accusations of blackface online. Not everybody who chooses to tan is doing blackface, and tanning by itself isn’t enough to be deemed cultural appropriation,

but combined with certain hairstyles or makeup, it could be, at best, misleading and, at worst, cultural appropriation.

On an individual level, it’s crucial not to get bogged down by what you see on social media. Prioritizing your health, both physical and mental, is important. Personally, when it comes to tanning, I think it would be more productive to approach it from a place of empathy than from a place of critique or judgment. It’s normal to want to feel and be seen as beautiful and, in turn, to emulate what society has long pushed to us as beautiful. In addition, tanning has been proven to be a relaxing outlet for those who might not be able to find the time to relax

on their own. Of course, there are probably safer hobbies to be indulged in, but I digress. It’s perfectly understandable to want to resemble those you see on social media, although not at the expense of your own health. At the risk of sounding trite, one skin tone shouldn’t be held as superior over another, and we should be able to appreciate one without looking down on the other. But reevaluating our fixation on a tan complexion requires us to reassess our current beauty standards, and perhaps more pressingly, how futile they really are.

Damien Moshman, FCRH ’25, is a political science and journalism major from Princeton, N.J.

Britney Phan, FCRH ’26, is an English major from the Bronx, N.Y.

Making the decision to tan is a mistake with many factors behind it.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM Eric Adams has made many mistakes during his term as mayor.

OPINION

In or Out? The Question of Smartphones in the Classroom

By LUCA AMATURO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The issue of cellphone bans is an emerging discussion amongst lawmakers and academic leaders across the United States and Europe. The digitization of schools has been happening rapidly with the widespread usage of laptops in the classroom and a new generation of students who have grown up interconnected with technology. However, the permittance of technology, specifically smartphones, has potentially gone too far. A PEW research study found that 72% of high school teachers report students being distracted by phones is a major problem. Being a student who grew up during the early stages of digitization, I don’t find it hard to believe that smartphones are a significant distraction while learning. I agree that a form of smartphone limitation is necessary, but an all encompassing ban is not the solution.

Across the United States, at least seven states have implemented bans on smartphones, and 14 more have introduced similar legislation indicative of the growing trend to remove personal technology from the classroom. An all encompassing ban on the use of smartphones has sparked serious debate, especially among parents, over whether it prevents students from remaining in contact with family during the school day. These concerns are justified considering the precarious increase in school shootings over the last two decades, with over “338,000 students in the US having experienced gun violence at school.” Given the uncertainty regarding students’ safety in school buildings, parents want to remain in contact with their children throughout the day, especially in the event of an emergency. Instituting a complete ban only angers and worries parents while also inhibiting students from being

able to freely contact their parents for personal or emergencies related to gun violence.

However, various limitations and restrictions on smartphone use in the classroom must be implemented to improve the overall learning and social environment that has struggled to recover since COVID-19. Restricting smartphone usage in the classroom would potentially lower cyberbullying that occurs during school hours, an issue that nine out of 10 public schools report occurs during the school year to students. Limiting smartphone access and encouraging interpersonal socialization has been proven to have a .25 to .35 standard deviation decline within two to four years. While these numbers may seem marginal, they correspond to roughly a 46% reduction in bullying among students after implementing smartphone restrictions. These statistics cannot be ignored, as a digitized society has seen a more socially anxious youth population, and smartphone restrictions within schools could be one potential solution to aiding youth mental health.

There is little concrete data that directly correlates smartphone restrictions with improved academic achievement, but some patterns of correlation have been found. Multiple studies have found that smartphone restrictions tend to improve outcomes for low-achieving

students and have negligible effects on high-achieving students. Low-achieving students are more susceptible to distractions while learning, and easy access to a smartphone is certainly a distraction. The role of schools is to uplift all students to reach their highest academic potential, and if there is an external stimulant that is potentially inhibiting a large sector of students from their optimal learning environment, then action must be taken. Placing restrictions on smartphone use also protects the integrity of teacher-student relationships, as it does not force teachers to implement their own restrictions or externalize frustration from teaching distracted students. When smartphone restrictions are implemented, they are usually easily enforceable, with over 56% of teachers claiming that these policies are at least somewhat easy to enforce because students are bound by school-wide policy rather than individual teacher exceptions.

The ultimate question becomes whether or not school smartphone restrictions have shown some initial positive results and provide a more conducive learning environment. However, parents have a right to stay connected with students during a school day. How can these two concerns be mediated? Simply, prohibitive restrictions must be imple-

mented without removing a student’s ability to access their smartphone entirely. This can be achieved by implementing smartphone cubbies within individual classrooms and opening up periods where phone access is allowed. Smartphone cubbies remove smartphones from a student’s general vicinity, preventing distractions, but are easily accessible to students, so if an emergency were to occur, they could be made available. Loosening restrictions to create naturally integrated designated times when smartphones can be accessed, such as in between class periods or during the lunch period, allows students and parents to remain in contact throughout the school day. A compromise between smartphone bans and complete access to smartphones is necessary to create a learning environment conducive to teachers, students and parents. In a digitized world, completely removing smartphones from the classroom is no longer feasible, but placing limitations and promoting personal interaction amongst students is necessary to continue providing the best education to the future of the world.

Luca Amaturo, FCRH ’26, is a communications & media studies major from Marlboro, N.J.

Impossible Ambitions and College Applications

By CIERRA ROGERS -NERVO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It is common to find the average student slumped over their desk during the day, barely conscious, only to see them later studying up til all hours of the night. The loss of sleep, diminishing social lives and the disregard for old hobbies are all symptoms of the academic overachiever, all hoping to outpace their peers.

“Students are expected to have solved cancer as an extracurricular on their [college] application,” said Jazel Santana, GSB ’28. Increased pressure on high schoolers in recent years to exceed all expectations by overcommitting to extracurriculars, classes and other resume-worthy activities has become the norm, endangering their health, social lives and educational experiences. “During the [college application] process, I broke up with my boyfriend because it was so stressful. It definitely put a strain on my social life,” said Juliette Racht, GSB ’28. No one knows this truth better than first-year college students, still “fresh” from the continuous grind of senior year finals and college supplemental essays. Having just climbed out of the whirlwind of the college application process, their mindsets are still set in competitive and overachievement mode.

“Colleges are so much more competitive than they were 30 years ago,” said Santana. One

example is The University of California Los Angelos which has an acceptance rate around 8.8% in 2023, dropping from 14% in 2020. Columbia University’s acceptance rate also decreased by 2.2% in just four years.

While growing rates of academic pursuits may seem optimistic at first, it also means a rise in competition. Everyone feels the pressure to outpace everyone in every area, whether it be standardized tests, Advanced Placement and honors classes, sports requirements, on-campus and off-campus clubs organizations or volunteer work. Students become obsessed with overcommitting to activities that will make their college resumes look more impressive, all to stand out more than the other scholars and “perfect students.” They feel that they need to academically outshine other students to be able to get into college at all. Unfortunately, this typically leads these academic overachievers to a mental collapse known as a “burn-out.”

The condition of being burntout is caused by students being labeled as academically advanced in their earlier school years, thus pressuring them to take on extreme amounts of workload and extracurriculars to keep up with these expectations placed on them by families and schools. Eventually, as they grow older, these students begin to struggle

with perfectionism and hold themselves up to the same standards, which ultimately leads many to states of anxiety, stress and depression.

According to the survey the National College Health Assessment, 80% of college students considered themselves to have some form of “burn-out.” Another report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2018 claims that the environmental conditions in high-achieving schools leads to chronic stress and damages both students’ physical and mental well-being.

Some educators believe that credentialism is one of the leading causes of increased expectations and stress on high school students. In his novel published in 2014, “Excellent Sheep,” American author and essayist William Deresiewicz defines credentialism as the view of the purpose of life being the “accumulation of gold stars,” an obsession that many students feel towards their grades.

Fordham Professor of philosphy Lily Kerhulas introduced this idea to her first-year students, believing that the pressure of credentialism begins in high school: “College rankings, reputations and mission statements influence what students choose to write on their applications.”

Pursuing academic excellence and getting into top schools has redefined the high school experi-

ence and the college application process. The constant desire to add achievements to one’s college application leaves little room to experience and appreciate one’s teenage years. Ultimately, high schoolers are still kids and are losing their childhood experiences to the fear of failure and the desire to attain a good degree and career.

“Good grades aren’t enough anymore,” said Racht. “It sucks that this is how we are spending our time. It’s so unrealistic and draining when you can not have fun or have a social life.”

The current generation of college students consists of mentally drained scholars desperate to impress their superiors and set up a good life for themselves.

Academic pressures can shape the majors that students, especially artists, consider as they apply for college, fearing that if they choose to pursue their passions, they may not achieve a higherpaying career than more conventional academic routes. “My concern is that students select what

looks impressive rather than what they’re actually passionate about, especially when they may not know what they’re passionate about,” said Kerhulas.

Despite these pressures, educators and students are becoming more aware of the college application process’s impact on mental health and personal self-worth. Unlike credentialism, which is about grades and achievements, true success lies in individuality, time management and the ability to balance passions and a reliable academic route.

It is okay to slow down and to take a step back. College is full of opportunities and room to explore potential paths for one’s future. Understanding these truths can help save high school seniors from making the same detrimental decisions that will negatively impact their health as it did for the most recent bunches of first-

Rogers-Nervo, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from San Diego.

Cierra

There is increasing pressure to have it all during college admission.

COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Phone cubbies are an alternative to cellphone bans.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

By KINGSLEY MARIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Friends, Rams, countrymen — lend me your ears. I come to you with a problem concerning our dear friend and neighboring borough, Queens. Year after year, the borough undergoes a wave of massive disruption and adversity to support the biggest annual tennis event known to the United States. This tolerance has gone unappreciated for too long, as the snobbish and upper society around it has reached new heights. The unwillingness of its patrician class of patrons to venture past the gates of Arthur Ashe and engage with the local community has made Queens locals loathe an event that, in theory, should be beneficial. The event I’m referring to, of course, is the U.S. Open.

For two weeks every year, 800,000 visitors flood the city for an opportunity to experience this peak of the higher echelon of society, booking out every hotel in Queens no matter how gouged the prices are. In a highly romanticized performance, celebrities seize every opportunity to have a “candid” reaction to one of Jannik Sinner’s serves or the soaring Carlos Alcaraz’s monster forehands. While acting natural, celebrities take careful precision to parade their antics, like Travis Kelce embracing Taylor Swift while his Gucci bucket-hat gets enough

By LAILA SAYEGH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In recent months, the trend of mouth taping has gained significant traction on social media. Celebrities and influencers tout the advantages of mouth taping, claiming better sleep, improved breathing and even improved facial aesthetics, such as a more defined jawline. Due to this, it’s easy to get swept up in the hype without considering the negative effects it can have. As with many wellness fads, there is little reliable research backing these claims, and the trend can be downright dangerous for individuals with certain health conditions like sleep apnea. The health and wellness industry preys on people’s fears for profitability, rather than providing sufficient information and research.

The popularity of mouth taping seems to thrive on anecdotal success stories rather than solid evidence. With the fastpaced “scroll culture” of TikTok and Instagram, influencers and businesses alike use their content to quickly persuade viewers to try out the latest trends without fully explaining the potential risks. It’s a classic case of the wellness industry prioritizing profit over consumer wellness, using fear-based marketing to fuel their message. Fear is subtle yet powerful: the fear of not sleeping well, of breathing improperly, of having an

OPINION

Close the U.S. Open in Queens

screen time. The U.S. Open has a history of fame-seeking culture. A few years ago, a woman literally dunked her chicken tenders into her Coke to get her piece of the precious screen-time pie.

We like to believe that as time passes, we, as a global society, progress in every aspect. But with the case of the crazed idol-worship at the U.S. Open, we see familiar behavior dating back millenia. In Ancient Rome, events at the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum were an opportunity for the wealthiest and most prominent to boast their high social standing, displaying their glory with extravagant outfits, floor seats and receiving much praise for their presence. There is a frightening similarity to be drawn today. If anything, we’ve almost regressed. At events like the Open, the plebeians do not reap the benefit of the “bread and circuses” — they pay the price.

I will not solely deride the effect the U.S. Open has on its surrounding area. That would be factually incorrect. According to the United States Tennis Association, the Open generates roughly $750 million in “direct economic impact,” employing 7,000 people, 40% of whom are Queens residents, according to the United. On paper, this fiscal expansion seems beneficial, but this mindset and failure

to consider the impact on the local residents is exactly the heart of our problem. There is a reason Queens residents and politicians refer to the Open as a “bad neighbor.” Do the patrons of the U.S. Open now have a responsibility to see what lies beyond Forest Hills?

John MacKay, the Queens Tourism Council director, stated, “Hotels are the big winners” and that the profit reaped by the owners is “worth whatever problems there are.” He also said, “Whenever you can get anyone to Queens, that is a victory for me.” From those paying to those receiving, the key theme of the Open is “me.” New Yorkers do not need me to inform you that Queens is very marginally composed of the MacKays of the world. While people like MacKay, hotel owners and their companies producing their marked-up drinks are sitting on their piles of gold, the people of Queens are faced with a never-ending flow of disruption: from mindbogglingly irritating, extremely inconvenient construction, to seemingly eons of increased traffic and congestion so intense no amount of Afrin could clear the roads. These inconveniences — no, burdens — make the quotidian unbearable. It would be one thing if the people were enduring this hardship but at least their local businesses were benefiting. But they’re not. The worst

part is we know community engagement is possible. Take a New York Mets game for example. Scalpers run rampant, knockoff hats fly off the shelf and hot dog carts practically generate enough under the table cash flow to be listed on the NASDAQ. This all happens outside of the gates. The problem with the elitist culture at the Open is that attendees would rather stay within the walls and paying for $34 lobster rolls, $32 glasses of Moët and drinks like the “Honey Deuce,” which generated over $10 million in sales, instead of paying back the community that offers them the opportunity to climb this social ladder in the first place. The majority of the 75,000 daily spectators

Mouth Taping: A Risky Wellness Fad

“unattractive” face shape or of missing out on some secret trick to better health and aesthetics. Essentially, the health and wellness industry uses the internet to fester doubt and insecurity within an impressionable viewer, subconsciously creating some fierce yet invisible standard of perfection in their minds. By presenting an idealized version of health or beauty that is often attainable or unrealistic for most people, the industry is able to convince people, especially adolescents, that they are not doing something right or that there is something wrong with them, pressuring them to buy into superficial solutions. Instead of succumbing to the allure of quick fixes and anecdotal success stories by paid brand ambassadors, consumers should seek out evidence-based information and consult healthcare professionals before making a health-based lifestyle decision. Of course, there are potential benefits to the fad for certain people. In some cases, mouth taping has genuinely improved the quality of sleep or breathing for people. Some have argued that since using mouth tape, they have snored less, had generally better breath and experienced less fatigue. Hence, the issue doesn’t lie in the act of mouth taping itself; rather it is the misleading and deceptive rhetoric and strategies that the

media uses to promote it. One thing that the health and wellness industry will often glaze over in their quickform ads is the many risks and lack of evidence surrounding mouth taping. Many doctors would not even recommend mouth taping to alleviate snoring or other breathing issues. There is not sufficient evidence to support its benefits, and in fact, a lot of research shows that it could do more harm than good. Some of the main risks of mouth taping include exacerbation of existing health conditions, such as sleep apnea, where obstructing the mouth interferes with proper breathing patterns and leads to serious complications. Individuals with nasal obstructions or chronic respiratory issues may find that mouthtaping exacerbates discomfort or creates additional breathing challenges. The potential for skin irritation and anxiety from having one’s mouth taped shut are also notable concerns, particularly for those with sensitive skin or a history of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, the lack of comprehensive, peerreviewed research means that the long-term effects of mouth taping are unknown. As a result, promoting mouth taping as a universal or a quick fix can be misleading and potentially harmful.

Impressionable audiences, compelling TikTok videos,

prefer spending a fortune on absurdly priced goods than engaging with the vibrant community beyond the gates of the facility. To paraphrase Marc Antony, who enjoyed a Circus Maximus or two, I write not to praise the U.S. Open’s unappreciative and dominantly negligent culture, but to bury it. And, to open the door to an epoch of cultural engagement as a thank-you for the tolerance of the good people of Queens.

famous faces, insufficient research and one-touch payments work together as a recipe for disaster. Celebrities and influencers wield significant power in shaping public perceptions and trends, and with this influence comes a profound responsibility to ensure they are promoting safe and evidence-based practices. Unfortunately, the trend of mouth-taping has been championed by figures like Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Graham, who boast its benefits without scientific backing.

The comparison culture perpetuated by these figures and their social media encourages users to measure their worth against the curated lives of influencers. This can lead to a cycle of imitation driven by insecurities and the desire to achieve an idealized version of their health or beauty, regardless of the risks involved.

This endorsement reflects a troubling trend in which the pursuit of profit often overshadows moral responsibility. By glamorizing and endorsing unproven methods, celebrities contribute to the normalization of risky behaviors among youth who desire to meet some standard or live a lifestyle similar to that of their lavish role models. It is crucial for those with significant social influence to prioritize ethical considerations and ensure their endorsements are backed by credible evidence to safeguard the well-being of their audiences, especially the younger more impressionable ones.

Kingsley Marin, GSB ’28, is a finance major from Los Angeles.

Laila Sayegh, FCRH ’27, is a political science major from Congers, N.Y.

Mouth taping isn’t worth all the talk.

COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Fans at the U.S. Open should explore Queens.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

New York Fashion Week 2024: A Blend Between Timeless and Innovative

By MEHRAK IMRAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This year, New York Fashion Week (NYFW), which occurred from Sept. 6-11, had one clear message: the line between fashion and innovation is as blurry as ever. As a college student in New York City who also holds a distinct interest in runway and high fashion, I’ve been closely following this year’s fashion week. While I wasn’t able to attend any of the shows in person, I decided to dive deep into this year’s press releases, runways videos and industry commentary to keep up with all the latest trends and new styles. Watching the collections unfold, albeit virtually, gave me a sense of the themes designers are pushing this season as we head into the fall of 2024.

Most of the trends this season were aiming to blend the lines between structure and futility. Designers experimented with tip-toeing the line between traditionally masculine styles like tailored, oversized blazers with softer, more feminine elements. For instance, I noticed in Khaite’s Spring/ Summer 2025 collection leather jackets were contrasted with delicate and soft organza dresses. The juxtaposition of the tough

leather with lighter, layered fabrics gave the looks a rebellious, yet refined edge. Leather was a huge presence across many collections this season, reaffirming its place as a wardrobe staple, especially as we head into the cooler months.

One color that we saw a lot last year, and is continuing to make a strong comeback, is red as a statement color that is both timeless yet bold. This color was featured by designers like Jason Wu and Theory, which experimented with bold monochromatic ensembles, while other collections featured red in more subtle ways, like accessories or evening wear. Even on the streets of New York City, I’ve seen pops of red emerge, especially as a bold statement color in accessories such as bags and ballet flats. I love how this color, which was previously overshadowed by pink, has reclaimed its throne as a dominant hue and the color of this fall and winter.

On the high fashion and couture front, designers like Rachel Scott of Diotima brought bright new looks that balance tradition with modern styles. Scott’s designs paid homage to her Jamaican roots, with intricate details like crochet and crafty embellishments, and a thoughtful understanding

of feminine dressing. Her ability to make the sensual feel real and accessible made her collection one of my favorites. Cathy Horyn of The Cut captured this beautifully in her review, noting Scott’s commitment to handcrafts and the effortless elegance of her pieces

Meanwhile, Tory Burch delivered a unique show that balanced precision and freedom. Set against the backdrop of the former Domino Sugar Factory, her collection opened with a sleeveless, quilted top paired with a pencil skirt that stood away from the waist, signaling both strength and a sense of release. Her use of sharply tailored trousers, sleek polos and long, loose wrap dresses highlighted the power of form and femininity, a theme echoed across many NYFW collections , including Dior and Chanel.

On the street style front, there was a huge emergence of a new silhouette: the dropped waist dress. It’s interesting to see how the fashion community is embracing this 1920s-inspired trend again as Katie Holmes donned one as well. The elongated silhouette creates a relaxed yet sophisticated look, especially when styled with more minimalist accessories, and I’ve personally been seeing them everywhere

on Instagram. I’ve also noticed an emergence in the popularity of boxy blazers, which continue to dominate street style. Oversized, yet sharply tailored, they bring an effortless chic vibe, whether paired with dresses or casual jeans.

One of the biggest moments at NYFW that caught the fashion world’s attention, however, was Madonna’s stumble at the Lunar show. Dressed in towering stilettos and making a rare NYFW appearance, Madonna made her way to her front-row seat, but a small misstep caused her to briefly trip. Fortunately, she recovered quickly, but the moment sparked conversation across social media and fashion circles. Despite the stumble, she looked bold in a camel trench dress, black latex gloves

and fishnets. Another fashion look that caused the fashion world to hold their breath was Bella Hadid and her boyfriend, Adan Banuelos, shutting down the street to end off NYFW atop horseback in coordinating Western wear.

Overall, it’s been fascinating to observe the evolving narrative of NYFW as it represents more than just a week of fashion but a representation of life, art and personality. The shows this year were a blend between bold color, timeless elegance and contrasting textures. Trends like leather with soft fabrics, the resurgence of red and the dropped waist silhouette have been at the forefront. The creativity and innovation of the designers keep me inspired, and I can’t wait to see how these trends make their way into everyday fashion.

The Juice is Loose in Time for Spooky Season

By SAMANTHA DIAZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

*Spoilers Ahead!*

Tim Burton’s sequel to the 1988 classic “Beetlejuice” has now hit theaters marking the eve of the spookiest season of the year with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” A sequel in its own right, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” returns with familiar faces, new music and striking visuals that serve as a reminder of what made us fall in love with the story in the first place.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” picks up in the present day, 36 years after the events of the original film. Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now a famed television personality who specializes in communicating with ghosts and is the mother of Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega). Things aren’t as normal as they seem, as Lydia has hallucinations of seeing Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). This turns out to be no coincidence, as Lydia receives a phone call from her stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara), informing her that her father has passed away in a freak accident and a funeral will be held at the very

same house where Beetlejuice once haunted them.

The film doesn’t miss a beat in bringing that familiar charm that is personally tailored to this story. Beetlejuice continues to reign as the king of the Netherworld, offering his services to those in the mortal world. The Deetz family is even more dysfunctional than we ever thought possible. The ghosts and freaky characters of Burton’s imagination fill up the screen to our delight, along with colorful sets and an expansion of the Netherworld. And while the infamous “Banana Boat (Day-O)” by Harry Belafonte makes an appearance, Richard

Harris’ “MacArthur Park” is here to steal the show.

In the film’s true beginning, we are introduced to Delores (Monica Bellucci), a woman seeking revenge on Beetlejuice. Later on in the film, Beetlejuice reveals that he and Delores were married centuries ago, but on the night of their wedding, she poisoned him and, in turn, he murdered her. This explanation is done as a visual re-enactment to comedic effect, with Delores and Beetlejuice communicating only in Italian. The scene is short and sweet, providing more of a backstory on who Beetlejuice is. However, it

quickly jumps back into the main plot as Lydia calls on Beetlejuice for help. It isn’t until the final act, during Beetlejuice and Lydia’s wedding, that Delores finally manages to catch up to Beetlejuice. But rather than giving time for Delores and Beetlejuice to have an intense confrontation, she is instead swallowed up by sandworms without much time to protest, making most of the B-plot an afterthought.

Keaton ups the ante in the newest portrayal of his character, seemingly becoming more raunchy, shameless and comedic than the last

time we saw him. It borders on R-rated at times, bringing an edge for the older audience and just enough to fly over the heads of the younger audience.

While Ryder carries on the legacy of “Beetlejuice” in this film, Ortega is next in line to have the haunting done unto her. Once Astrid learns that she and Lydia are more alike than they previously thought, they make for the perfect onscreen mother-daughter duo.

O’Hara and Willem Dafoe, as Wolf Jackson, are the comedic stars of the film, effortlessly coaxing a laugh out of the audience without having to try too hard. From Delia dramatically crying in grief for her husband, to Jackson acting as a James Bond figure during his investigation of Delores, you won’t be able to resist laughing out loud. Don’t say his name three times, or he appears. Thankfully, we only have to say it twice. Unless they make a part three titled “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” Then we’re in trouble. The film has come just in time for spooky festivities and fun.

Lydia Deetz and Beetlejuice reunite once again for a haunting trip through the Netherworld.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

The fashion world descends on Lower Manhattan every NYFW.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

By EVAN MCMANUS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

The Black Box Theatre in Collins Auditorium has become a second home for Henry Tremblay, FCRH ’26. The theater is where he performs stand-up and improv comedy in front of a live audience of Fordham University students throughout the school year. His experiences have allowed him to grow his comedic skills and become part of a fun community on campus.

Growing up in Providence, R.I., Tremblay found interest in comedy while watching stand-up specials “Saturday Night Live” and Mad TV. Robin Williams specifically had a large influence on forming Tremblay’s comedic approach. What attracted him to Williams was his fun energy and warm nature: “A lot of comedians can be a little mean, but Robin Williams was pretty kind.” However, it wasn’t until arriving at Fordham that Tremblay decided to become a comedian.

During the first week of his first-year, he went to Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan and saw comedians perform their sets in person. This experience inspired him to pursue performing comedy. While in Providence during winter break in 2023, he

Fordham Junior’s Stand-Up Success

had the opportunity to perform at The Glue Factory comedy club, where he performed a set about dogs and their odd behaviors. The set was a success, and his comedy career began.

Tremblay auditioned for the Black Box improv team during his second semester and got in. Throughout the semester, he performed improv routines with his teammates and was able to grow his skills as a performer. What Tremblay likes about improv is the teamwork and the friends he’s made: “I really like working with teams and being around other funny people is one of the most fun things to do.”

As Tremblay got into improv, he continued to work on his stand-up skills. Over the summer between his first- and sophomore years, he performed at comedy clubs in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At the start of the fall semester, Tremblay auditioned for the Black Box stand-up team and got on. Since then, he’s done sets with other team members and has loved every minute of it. His favorite part of performing stand-up at Fordham is the audience: “The audience at the Black Box is some of the best audience members you can ask for.” He loves the audience’s high energy and

thinks it’s great to make his fellow classmates laugh by making jokes about everyday Fordham experiences. He thinks joking about these experiences makes his sets more impactful and allows the audience to get more into the show. Since Tremblay started, he has performed many sets on stage. One of his favorites is a slip-and-fall gag he did during one set. “My body didn’t like it,” he said, “but I thought it was really funny at the time.”

One aspect of comedy that the audience doesn’t see is the process of creating a set. While Tremblay’s jokes may seem effortless on stage, it takes a lot of work to get there. A sevenminute set can take him around six to seven hours of writing and editing to complete. “It’s a weird process… you’re thinking about it throughout the day,” he said. Once comedic inspiration hits Tremblay, he likes to jot down joke ideas in either a notebook or the notes app and then expand on them. When writing jokes, Tremblay likes a dry and sarcastic comedic style inspired by Michael Che and Mark Normand. While it may not be easy to develop a set, the feeling of accomplishment when performing makes the work worth it.

Tremblay’s hard work has

paid off. Last semester, he won the Last Comic Standing during Spring Weekend. He was also voted by his peers to be the captain of the Fordham Stand-Up team. Tremblay considers his new role to be an honor. “I love the team and the people on it… Being able to represent and help the team out is really cool… I’m super honored,” he said.

Tremblay wants the Fordham community to know how thankful the Black Box is for their support. “I hope they keep coming to shows and more people keep trying out,” he said. So next time you have a free Friday or Saturday evening, see Tremblay and others perform a show at the Black Box. You’ll always be in for a good time.

The Rise of a “Short n’ Sweet” Pop Princess

By CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sabrina Carpenter is not new to music, but this past summer, she seemed to skyrocket in popularity. She achieved fifteen songs on the Billboard Hot 100, three of which made it into the top 10, and her single “Please, Please, Please” secured the number one spot. Most recently, she received multiple nominations at the Video Music Awards, taking home Song of the Year for her hit single “Espresso.” The majority of her popularity stems from the recent release of her sixth studio album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which she began releasing singles from earlier this year. This album may have given her the recognition that she deserves, but her success in the music industry has been a long time coming.

In 2014, at just age 14, Carpenter signed a five-album contract with the Disney-owned music label Hollywood Records, which also coincided with her starring in the hit Disney Channel original show “Girl Meets World” as Maya Hart. While appearing in over 70 episodes of the show and a multitude of other acting projects, she continued pursuing a music career, releasing a total of four studio albums under Hollywood Records.

Although they didn’t receive the same level of recognition as her latest release, they didn’t go unnoticed. Her 2015 debut album, “Eyes Wide Open,”

debuted at number 43 on the Billboard 200. In 2016, she released her sophomore album, “Evolution,” that debuted at 28. She then proceeded to split her next studio album into two parts; “Singular: Act I” (2018) and “Singular: Act II” (2019). After seven years and only four of the five studio albums promised, she was able to get out of her contract with the Disney-owned record label. With her newfound freedom from Disney, she starred on Broadway in “Mean Girls: The Musical” alongside Reneé Rapp, but her performance was cut short due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

Not much was heard from or about Carpenter until 2021. With the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit single “Drivers License,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, online speculation began about a supposed love triangle between Rodrigo, her “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star, Joshua Bassett and Carpenter. With the popularity of Rodrigo’s debut single, rumors online escalated, especially after Carpenter signed with Island Records and released the single “Skin,” theorized to be a response to “Drivers License.” “Skin” marked Carpenter’s initial breakthrough into the Billboard Hot 100, landing at number 48. She followed this up with the release of her fifth studio album, “Emails I Can’t Send” (2022), from which we received “Feather,” which peaked at 21

on the Hot 100, and “Nonsense,” which peaked at 56.

Upon the release of the “Feather” music video, controversy arose from the Catholic community because of the “violent and sexually provocative” nature of the video and its filming location — the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in New York. However, her iconic outros during her performances of “Nonsense” went viral, making her more known across social media.

Hollywood Records has been rumored to be restrictive in the type of content their artists are allowed to put out. She said to Variety, “I personally feel a sense of separation from them.” For her fifth studio album under Island Records, she was allowed more control and independence to make an album that was truly her own, which may have contributed to

her rise in popularity.

In 2022, Carpenter headlined 80 shows over four continents, and then opened on multiple occasions for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” in 2023-24. By opening for the world’s biggest popstar, her audience expanded significantly. When it came time to begin releasing singles from her sixth studio album, she’d polished her sound and voice, knew how to utilize social media and found her target audience.

Now, this had already set up “Short n’ Sweet” for major success, but she topped it off with three spectacular music videos to her hit singles, two of which feature cameos from extremely popular actors. Barry Keoghan, who is featured in “Please, Please, Please,” recently rose to popularity for his roles in “The Batman” and “Saltburn,” and Jenna Ortega, known for

“X,” the “Scream” franchise, “Wednesday” and, most recently, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is featured in “Taste,” which also contains a multitude of references to the iconic film “Death Becomes Her.”

2024 has been one of the best years for pop music in a long time. This year alone, we received “Cowboy Carter” from Beyoncé, “Eternal Sunshine” from Ariana Grande, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” from Billie Eilish, “The Tortured Poet’s Department” from Swift, “brat” from Charli XCX, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” from Chappell Roan and, of course, “Short n’ Sweet” from Carpenter. This addition feels most like her sophomore album, leading us to believe that she’s just getting started. Whatever Carpenter has planned for her seventh studio album is sure to sweep fans off their feet; we have definitely not seen the last of her!

Carpenter has exploded in popularity in recent months, climbing to the top of the charts.

Tremblay stands onstage at the Black Box Theatre.

COURTESY OF HENRY TREMBLAY FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

CULTURE

Jeff Buckley, “Grace” and the Benefits of Death

By JONAH RING SPORTS EDITOR

There are seldom few pieces of media that posses the emotional depth to genuinely bring me to tears — Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid,” “m.A.A.d city,” Bill Hader’s “Barry” and John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” are some of the only pieces of media that I can remember as having cut me that deeply. Besides these select few masterpieces, there is one other piece of art that has undeniably made me cry more than anything else ever has; one piece of art that has hit me harder than I initially thought possible: Jeff Buckley’s lone studio album “Grace.”

Coming in at 11 songs, “Grace” is a nearly hour long tour de force of emotion, as Buckley’s lyricism, ethereal and melancholic melodies and passionate voice effectively cause his music to morph into an auditory knife that is more than capable of wounding its listener. However, as much as it pains me to admit, the emotional masterpiece that is “Grace” likely benefits more than anything from something besides the actual music itself: Buckley’s untimely death. For those who are unfamiliar

with Buckley’s story, he tragically died shortly after his meteoric rise to fame, the singer drowning in the Wolf River alongside his close friend Keith Foti. The drowning seemed not only inexplicable (Buckley did not fail his postmortem toxicology screen nor did he have a significant level of alcohol in his system), but the suddenness of it was truly jarring. He was simply ripped from his seat of glory, forced into a heartwrenching, eternal silence.

As aforementioned, it is this sudden tragedy, this disturbing reality that there is nothing more to be heard from Buckley, that makes “Grace” so emotionally powerful. It fundamentally changes everything about the album, elevating the emotional stakes of every single note and every single second. This sudden onset of nothingness and this looming sense of misfortune turn the eerily titled tracks “Last Goodbye” and “Eternal Life” into a pair of haunting predictions about the tragedy that is yet to come. They effectively transform Buckley’s sudden and prolonged bits of silence on “Dream Brother” into a tragic allegory that is so much more than just a way of allowing his guitar playing to shine. They

take the already tragic love story on the greatest song of all time, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over,” and elevates it to a level of emotional storytelling comparable to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” or James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room.” There is simply something so upsetting about knowing that he will never even get the chance to exchange “all [his] blood for the sweetness of her laughter,” that all these pleas will soon cease and turn into silent nothingness, and that a life of deep regret and guilt may await the woman who stands on the other side of the broken relationship. In short, everything about the album just takes on a sense of helplessness — of death knocking at the door, waiting to turn whatever suffering Buckley is going through into something more profound, more permanent — in light of his untimely, tragic death.

However, please do not misinterpret my words. I am in no way happy that Buckley died so young and so tragically; I wish that I did not have the opportunity to write this article, and I wish I had more Buckley vinyls to hang on my wall. In short, I am not pleased that it took the untimely drowning of a young

man to create a piece of art that is so terribly moving. Nevertheless, I think to truly appreciate “Grace,” one has to be able to admit and understand exactly what makes it the sharp and dangerous blade that it is. In other words, in order to get everything out the album that

a listener possibly can, one simply must be willing to face the reality that so much of its intense pathos stems from the fact that, when the final track comes to a close and the silence of the end sets in, that that silence will remain, and remain, and remain until the last syllable of recorded time.

The “Boom Or Doom” Of Childhood Innocence

By INDRANIL KAR CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In recent years with the prevalence of short-form video content, “kidfluencers” have dominated the social media algorithms. A kidfluencer refers to someone under the age of 16 who has grown a wide following and presence on social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts) to cultivate views and online engagement. Some of these kidfluencers have large online followings with some exceeding millions of followers. Due to age restrictions on the various platforms, individuals must be at least 13 years old to create an account, so many kidfluencer accounts are managed by a parent or guardian. In a study conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, about 50% of parents of children ages 10 to 12 and 32% of parents of children ages seven to nine reported that their children regularly used social media platforms. Many of these parents support their children’s consumption of family-friendly content, however, many lack an understanding of how widespread support and a large social media following can negatively impact the kidfluencers themselves. Kidfluencers do promote

family-friendly content to attract more viewers and support for their platform. One such example of a popular account is the Costco Guys. They are better known as Anthony “A.J.” Befumo Jr. and Eric “Big Justice” Befumo, who are an American father-son influencer duo who post primarily on their TikTok and Instagram accounts, @a.j.befumo. They are predominantly known for their food and product reviews. In 2024, the influencers gained widespread popularity following their viral “We’re Costco Guys” video where the two stare directly into your soul and try a wide variety of Costco products including furniture, tires, the infamous chicken bake and the new double chocolate chunk cookie. Their videos spread on other social media platforms, such as X, where the influencer’s Costco experiences were made into memes.

The “meme-ification” of their videos is partially due to the duo’s rating system where they judge the Costco products on 5/5 Boom or Doom rating system. A “boom” on their rating system involves the two shouting “boom,” and a clip-art explosion graphic with a cartoon bomb emoji. In the three months following their first Costco content video, they received over 46.6

million plays and 4 million likes. The duo continued to gain more viewers and followers with their video collaborations with other influencers and kidfluencers.

One collaboration that is popular amongst Gen Alpha and the larger “brain-rot” culture as a whole was with another famous kidfluencer, The Rizzler. Christian Joseph, better known as The Rizzler, is another child influencer who is popular on TikTok under the account @savastaar_n_cbaby, which is run by his parents. He’s widely known for his particular facial expressions which became associated with the act of “rizzing,” a term stemming from the word “charisma” and is often used to describe someone’s ability to flirt and charm. The Rizzler has continued to collaborate with A.J. and Big Justice on videos ranging from reviewing Costco products on their Boom or Doom scale to joining them on separate popular podcasts and YouTube accounts like “Growing Up Italian.”

gain. The exploitation of child stars and kidfluencers on social media and the larger entertainment industry is not a new phenomenon. Many see the use of children in familyfriendly content as inherently exploitative because they place private and intimate moments onto the internet.

However, the ethical concerns do not stop at sharing private moments on the internet. For example, there is a concern for female child influencers and the attention they receive from older men. In a PBS News investigation, reporters conducted an analysis into the follower demographics of female child influencer accounts. They

found a correlation between the size of the account and the amount of adult men that followed them. The larger the account, the more men would be following. Many of the parents who run the accounts for their children are horrified at the sexualizing comments adults make regarding their underage child’s appearance.

There does not seem to be a correct way to promote kidfluencers on the internet. With the universal use of social media, while there may be some ethical family-friendly content creators, there does not seem to be a way to remove the negative aspects of the internet from the lives of kidfluencers. Editor’s Pick | Music

Due to the Big Justice and The Rizzler’s young age, there is an inherent concern regarding the potential exploitation of children in order to amass a large following and reap the monetary benefits. Both of these child influencers are being exploited for monetary

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM Buckley’s untimely death strikes even deeper due to the theme of his album.

Inspiration From Everywhere: The Met’s Tiffany & Co. Exhibit

By ISABELLA DEROSA ASST. CULTURE EDITOR

Of all the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) exhibits I have seen (I have seen quite a few), “Collecting Inspiration” is the most perfectly titled. That title may seem vague to some, but “collecting inspiration” was exactly what I thought of upon entering the vast purple maze filled with memorabilia from almost all seven continents hidden in the far left corner of the Met. Whose enormous collection of inspiration was this? The answer is Edward C. Moore, the silversmith who was the driving force of success for Tiffany & Co. in the latter half of the 19th century. Moore worked for Tiffany & Co. at its very start, creating beautiful pieces of silverwork like dining ware, pistols and extravagant yachting competition trophies. Apparently, Tiffany & Co. of the late 1800s wasn’t too interested in jewelry.

This exhibit featured over 70 other silver creations by Tiffany & Co. under Moore’s creative direction and over 180 items from Moore’s personal art collection. That is to say, Moore owned more than 180 pieces of international decorative art, which made me wonder how big his house was.

At first, the exhibit appeared like a simple hallway with dark purple walls, a few

vases and knick-knacks on display. A huge portrait of Moore hung in the entryway. I was surprised to find that at the end of the first hallway was the entrance to another, and then another, and too many more to keep track. To get through the whole display took around two hours. Each section was organized based on what kind of piece was on display and where it came from. There was one section of ancient Greek vases and another with Japanese kimonos. There were plenty of descriptions of the designs of each work, but the question of how Moore got ahold of so much intact ancient artwork or whether or not he actually wore the kimonos remains a mystery.

Next to some of the artwork from Moore’s personal collection was silverwork from Tiffany & Co. that had similar patterns or structures. Hypotheses on ways the art could have influenced the silver structures were given. Moore appeared to be into mimicking patterns and ornamental details from different cultures and incorporating them into the detailing on the silver. Perhaps the most memorable was a large silver swan table centerpiece with Indian-inspired detailing or the three pistols with hilts that resembled a 7-foot-tall Sri Lankan flintlock gun in the display case across from them. I came into the exhibit knowing that Tiffany

& Co. was not always a jewelry company, but weapons certainly were not on my list of expectations.

Above all, my favorite piece in the exhibit was a large ice cream dish. The size was listed as suitable for a dinner party, though it looked like it would be more suitable if that dinner party were for an entire village. And if the large size isn’t interesting enough, the story behind the dish was even better. John Mackay, a poor Irish-American miner, had struck gold by finding the first silver in American land. As a token of celebration, his wife requested that they make a silver dinnerware set, and among this set was the ice cream dish. The idea that one of the primary goals of a woman who lived a real-life Cinderella story was to own an obnoxiously large container for ice cream was my favorite fun fact of the day. Sometimes, there can be a discrepancy between the appreciation of historical value and the appreciation of aesthetic value. There can be instances where visual art and written history do not rely on each other to paint the whole picture. But this exhibit is a combination of beautiful artwork and beautiful history. I often found myself intrigued by the work’s appearance and the story behind it. To see just how much history and influence can be

produced by just one of Tiffany & Co.’s silversmiths was remarkable and left me wanting to learn more. Overall, I’d say “Collecting Inspiration” is

one of the most superior popup exhibits at the Met. If you find yourself on the Upper East Side sometime before Oct. 20, I’d recommend taking a look.

Let’s Start Taking Advantage of the Present

By CLAIRE KRIEGER CULTURE EDITOR

As a new semester begins, students arrive on campus with no academic burdens weighing them down. They approach the year excited at the prospect of the time before classwork and extracurricular activities cause them to self-isolate in the library anytime they aren’t in class or sleeping. For some, it lasts until midterms. For others, it ended after the first day of classes.

I spoke with one of my friends about this period of no responsibilities, and she said it reminded her of a term she discussed in a class once, what she called a “golden era.” The term is familiar to those who have seen the 2011 film starring Owen Wilson titled “Midnight In Paris.” In the movie, the characters travel further and further back in time throughout Parisian history. A common theme occurs when they meet the people of this new period, the current inhabitants of that time long for their golden era. Not the time they were currently in, which was the golden age of the folks that time traveled there, but the era that came before it.

While college students are not traveling back in time, they

will soon long for that brief time when they could meet up with their friends on Edward’s Parade during the day, nap or just have an evening to themselves with no worries of homework or tasks to accomplish. It goes even further than just this month. People yearn for the golden era of their youth. It’s a common refrain when I say that I am currently in college that the other person sighs and says something along the lines of “those were the days.”

After thinking about this concept, I began to feel that many college students take advantage of the idea that they will be able to do something later on in their college experience. For example, those going abroad in the spring semester are beginning to realize that they won’t be here for both semesters this year. It creates a sense of panic that they need to begin to fit in as many activities as possible. However, it just requires some time management and commitment to maximize the time and opportunities we have in front of us now.

It may even be worse for Fordham University students because of the iconic and always-changing city right at our fingertips, just a Metro-North ride away.

Family members constantly inquire about all the events you go to in New York City. Little do they know, taking advantage of the Big Apple when balancing schoolwork and social life is somewhat challenging. It creates a sense of missing out on something you do not technically have to participate in. I personally feel obligated to go to Manhattan as much as I can. I love going, but sometimes I get off the D train and wonder what I really went there for.

What is the best remedy to this feeling of time passing us by? Embracing it.

This period of our lives will not last forever. Take advantage of anything and everything you can do. So what if you do not have a set itinerary for going to the Lower East Side one day? What you can discover on your own will make a better memory than passing on going because it was viewed as a purposeless trip. Plus, there is no way you can get bored in Manhattan. There are so many parks to people watch in or streets you have never seen before. It’s up to you whether you go or not.

College is stressful and busy, but this will become one of our golden eras. It is so easy to make a million excuses not to do something, especially in this

time of “protecting your peace,” and since COVID-19 people are more than happy to establish boundaries surrounding social events. These aren’t bad things, but do not let it stop you from trying something new. The worst thing that can happen is you never do it again. Who knows? Maybe it will

make a great story.

As semesters keep flying by at Fordham, live with a carpe diem mindset. When you look back, you can fondly remember the time when you did something great. As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” So wind up, and fire away.

Avoid regrets later in life and take advantage of the present.

COURTESY OF ISABELLA DEROSA/THE FORDHAM RAM

This swan centerpiece is just one of the unique works from the collection.

CULTURE

Why Do We Care About Celebrity Relationships?

By CAITLIN THOMAS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Celebrity culture is omnipresent. Entire social media accounts are dedicated to celebrity rumors and updates.

Charli XCX’s “What’s in my bag” and Sydney Sweeney’s “Makeup routine” find their way onto our feeds, and trashy magazines stare us down in the grocery store check-out line. Obsession with celebrities points to the greater phenomenon of our entertainmentobsessed society, where we clutch onto entertainment as a distraction from our generally mundane day-to-day lives.

Celebrity culture thrives because fandoms exist. Fandoms are simply the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc., that are collectively seen as a community or subculture. Fandoms are both the byproduct and building blocks of pop culture. Entire communities of people come together around their shared appreciation for a certain celebrity, which celebrities rely on to increase their popularity.

Previously, celebrities relied solely on their agencies to craft stories and publicity-stunt relationships to get the cameras flashing and the reporters talking. Now, in the age of social media, celebrities are taking matters into their own hands and using their platforms to craft their own narratives. One way celebrities can solidify fandoms for themselves in our social media-dominated culture is by going public with their romantic relationships.

Timothée Chalamet and Kylie

Jenner’s relationship is a recent example that exposes the effectiveness of celebrities letting the public have a glimpse into their private lives. Jenner and her family have created an empire with their businesses, especially with their reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Rumors of Chalamet’s appearance on the show excited fans with the opportunity for a more detailed look into his personal life and their relationship. Their public appearances together further fueled the fanfare, especially at the 2024 Golden Globes.

In her Vogue article titled “Why Celebs Are Over Keeping Their Private Lives Private,” Rebecca Cope highlights that Chalamet and Jenner’s PDA at the Globes was intentional and well thought out: “These two knew they’d cause a sensation by attending the Globes as a couple and having eyes (and lips) only for each other all night. They did it anyway.” Departing from the “I like to keep my private life private” mindset, Chalamet and Jenner’s PDA not only fueled online discourse among fans about the celebrities themselves, but also increased eyes on their recent projects, like Chalamet’s successful year of movies and Jenner’s makeup line and her family’s show.

Cope also spoke to Mark Borkowski, the author of “The Fame Formula: How Hollywood’s Fixers, Fakers and Star Makers Created the Celebrity Industry,” for more insight into celebrities’ use of PDA photo-ops. Borkowski

states, “PDA has generated significant media coverage throughout history, helping celebrities stay in the spotlight and secure more opportunities.” PDA publicity is not a new tactic; it’s been a proven path to increased attention.

There’s something new with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce every week. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are often spotted sitting courtside. Roll out the red carpet; here comes the newest couple of week: Gracie Abrams and Paul Mescal! And who knows, we might just have another one next week.

News and updates about these relationships often make their rounds on social media. And what group of people has an incredibly large presence on social media? Gen Z.

Borkowski expands on the idea that PDA is effective in roping in Gen Z: “When celebrities engage in PDA, it is to appear more relatable and down-to-earth, humanizing them and making them seem approachable — which solidifies fan loyalty.” Cope notes that Gen Z’s general demand for authenticity from celebrities, leaders and other authority figures fortifies this tactic in increasing relatability.

So, why do we care so much about celebrity relationships? The simple answer is because they want us to.

Fandoms act as both a creative outlet and a space for fans to connect. Especially with their presence on social media, they encourage creativity through art, edits and even fanfiction. Encouraged by the

fandoms they are a part of, individuals can explore and share their talents in writing, drawing, graphic design, editing and more. These skills are most directly applicable to social media marketing and public relations positions, so fans are able to move from being simply consumers of celebrity content to actually taking part in making it.

Even if individuals don’t want to explore their creative talents, fandoms foster a sense of community any fans can engage in. Fandoms encourage healthy mental health practices like creative hobbies and social interaction.

On the other hand, celebrity worship syndrome is the darker side of caring too much about others’ lives. In their article “‘I’m Your Number One Fan’— A Clinical Look at Celebrity Worship,” Randy and Lori Sansone establish that celebrity obsession is a spectrum and at its extreme

levels can have serious psychological effects. Based on multiple studies, the authors detail that fans with extreme levels of celebrity obsession can experience dissociation, tendencies toward addiction, criminality, stalking behavior, compulsive buying, depression and anxiety.

As fans, by understanding the marketing tactics celebrities use to engage us in their lives as well as both the positive habits that come from engaging with fandoms and the negative effects of falling down the rabbit hole of celebrity worship syndrome, we can renew our sense of agency and engage more mindfully in the fast-paced world of celebrity culture social media promotes. Overall, we as fans have power, and it is up to us as consumers how much of it we give to celebrities and their relationships. So I’ll ask you again, why do we care so much about celebrity relationships?

By GRACE GALBREATH

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

1. Last name of Republican candidate running for president

Trouble, pain, distress

City in northern Italy historically known for its shipbuilding

1. Shows the price of an item in store (plural)

The longest bone in a person’s forearm

Sound a cat makes 5. Hugging, kissing and holding hands in public is an example of this

Slang for a popular cookout side dish Instructions

Use the clues to the left to fill out the boxes above.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Chalamet and Jenner are one of the more publicized celebrity couples.

XC: Jasper Falls Recap

By IAN NELSON STAFF WRITER

Fordham University Men’s Cross Country had a strong showing on Saturday morning at the Jasper Falls XC Invite, finishing third in a field of 13 teams. Their score of 78 points had them finishing behind only a dominant Stony Brook University squad with 24 points and Siena College with 63.

The Rams were led by junior Nathan Bezuneh, whose time of 25:11:70 in the 8K course earned him fifth place in the event. Other top finishers included sophomores Sean Reidy and John Corrigan, who earned ninth and 11th place with times of 25:31:00 and 25:35:60, respectively. Sophomores Bradford Duchesne and Jack Boerger and junior Darren Croke also finished in the top 30 out of 100 runners.

On the women’s side, the Rams finished sixth out of 11 teams. Leading the group was Stony Brook, who had a 45-point performance, giving them the win in the men’s and women’s events. They were followed by Quinnipiac University

Rider University (97), Siena (97), Marist College (122) and Fordham (164). The Fordham squad finished ahead of univirsities like Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University, Merrimack College, Manhattan College and Felician University.

Leading the women was graduate student Katarina Birimac, who placed second overall in the 6K course with a time of 20:25:60. She finished only 1.4 seconds behind first-place runner Grace Weigele of Stony Brook. She was followed by freshman Sophia Oliva, who finished 30th, running a 22:41:40. Also for the Rams, freshman Lauren Raimy and sophomore Kate Meeks placed 33rd and 46th with times of 22:45:50 and 23:04:90, respectively. Freshman Madison Collins and sophomore Grace Kenny also placed within the top 75 in the field of 100 runners.

In terms of what is ahead for XC, the Rams will have a few weeks off before their next meet on Oct. 5 in Bethlehem, Pa., for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University.

Athletes of the Week

The 2024 U.S. Open: New Names, Upsets and More

By GRACE MCCARON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The 2024 U.S. Open concluded on Sunday, Sept. 8, with Italian Jannik Sinner defeating American Taylor Fritz to claim his second career Slam title.

A day prior, Belarussian Aryna Sabalenka defeated American Jessica Pegula to claim her third career Slam title.

This year’s U.S. Open was full of all that tennis fans crave. We had upsets. We had surprise emergences plus we had major storylines. And, of course, we had long and thrilling matches under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

final. While he fell in straight sets to Sinner in the final, it was a valiant effort from Fritz and is hopefully demonstrative of what he can do in the future. Overall, there were four American men in the round of 16 in this year’s U.S. Open: Fritz, Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Brandon Nakashima.

In a game where Fordham Football needed their defense to step up big time following an injury to their junior starting quarterback C.J. Montes, the Rams’ D found the spark plug they needed in graduate student Matt Jaworski. The New York native proved himself to be a nuisance on the defensive line, as Jaworski effectively terrorized the Seawolves offense all day, recording an extraordinary six quarterback pressures, 1.5 tackles for loss and five total tackles.

After losing many of their major contributors from last year, Women’s Tennis was forced to go looking for some new studs in the transfer portal. They may have found exactly what they were looking for in junior Nevena Kolarevic, as the former Illinois State University Redbird went on a tear during her first weekend in maroon, winning five out of her six matches (three in her singles matchups and two in her doubles slate) at the UConn Invitational in Connecticut.

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

The U.S. Open represents some of the most fun parts of tennis. It embraces summer in New York City, and it embraces America’s sweethearts playing in their home Slam tournament. This was especially the case this year in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. There are currently five American men ranked in the Association of Tennis Professionals’ top 20. Two of them, Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, faced off in the semifinals, guaranteeing the presence of an American in the championship match. It would be the first time an American man would reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick did it at Wimbledon in 2009.

Fritz prevailed in a five-set semifinal dogfight against an old friend (Fritz and Tiafoe played 14-and-under tournaments over a decade ago), cementing his place in his first-ever Grand Slam

On the women’s side, half of the semifinalists were American. Both Emma Navarro and Pegula instigated major upsets earlier in the tournament. Navarro beat defending champion and 20-year-old American phenom Coco Gauff in the round of 16. Pegula beat Iga Świątek of Poland, the number one player in the world who holds five Grand Slam titles at just 23 years old. Navarro fell to Spaniard Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals, but Pegula advanced to her maiden Slam final, losing in straight sets to Sabalenka. Both Navarro and Pegula hail from New York: Navarro from New York City and Pegula from Buffalo.

Speaking of upsets, there were a couple of important ones on the men’s side too. Two of the most notable names in the game right now, who are also both in the top five in world rankings, were out by the round of 16. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who was the third seed in the tournament, lost in the second round to unseeded Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp. Alcaraz is often considered the next great male player. He already has four Slam titles to his name at age 21, including the 2024 French Open and Wimbledon trophies, and he won a silver medal at the Paris

Olympics this summer, so this upset was a lackluster way to end a fantastic year on the tour. Just as everyone was moving on from the shock of this straight-set defeat, we were hit with another surprise loss. Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Slam champion who is certainly one of the frontrunners in the greatest of all time conversation, lost in the third round to 28 seed Australian Alexei Popyrin. Tennis fans are familiar with the feeling that Djokovic is always hanging around, seemingly never being out of contention and always claiming at least one of the Slams in a calendar year. But in 2024, Djokovic went slamless. It was the first year since 2002 that none of the big three (Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer) won a major. After tennis fans were blessed with three legends butting heads for so many years, it was hard to know what to expect from the next generation. But it has become clear that new stars will emerge, and there will always be new names circling as well. Alcaraz and Sinner split the four Slams this year, but as we’ve seen from the upsets, there are always other names lurking. On the women’s side, this has also been a familiar feeling, especially since the retirement of Serena Williams, but the emergence of players like Sabalenka and Świątek shows that new great players will come and go, but surprise emergences are never out of the question. The U.S. Open is the end of the slam season, but they will return in four months with the Australian Open coming in January.

Matt Jaworski Graduate Student Football

Nevena Kolarevic Junior Women’s Tennis

Volleyball

Football

Bison Invitational

Rose Hill Classic

George Mason 7 p.m. (68),

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Fordham men’s XC team put on a strong showing at Jasper Falls.

Columbia 7 p.m.

Slam season has concluded with the finale of the U.S. Open, with fans from across the city flocking to Queens to watch.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN

Overtime: Should Notre Dame Join a Conference?

By GRIFFIN STEVENSON ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Notre Dame is conferenceless, and it might cost them their college football playoff hopes.

In week two of college football, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish paid $1.4 million to host the MAC conference’s own Northern Illinois University Huskies at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. The Huskies shocked the Irish with a late field goal block, clinching a 16-14 victory, adding Notre Dame to their list of “Boneyard Victories.”

For most big teams in college football, an upset early in the season would be alarming, but ultimately, it would be a minor setback that may only cost them a couple of playoff seeds if they do well in conference play. After all, the new 12-team playoff format has an auto-bid for power-five conference winners. One small problem for Notre Dame, though: they aren’t in a conference.

After a national championship victory in 1988, the Fighting Irish were one of the biggest names in college football. In the early ’90s, when most prestigious football programs were signing television deals with their conferences, Notre Dame saw an opportunity to rake in the big bucks, signing a $38 million contract with NBC in 1991. The program has continued to sign new deals with NBC; in 2016, they signed a deal until 2025, reportedly earning the Irish $15 million yearly. While this money gets distributed to the student body, they would make more in a conference television deal. For example, in 2019, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) distributed an average of $29.5 million to its 14 members. These numbers are staggering because the ACC pulls the lowest revenue out of the Power Five conferences.

In 2024, 12 of the 14 Big Ten schools reportedly received $60.5 million in total revenue from the conference. Notre Dame gets an extra chunk of money from the College Football Playoff, which awards cash to independent schools yearly. Notre Dame is the highest earner, reportedly pulling in $28 million in the first five years of the playoffs despite only making one appearance. That money still doesn’t make it worth it monetarily for the university.

”There is no financial advantage to Notre Dame being independent in terms of operations… It costs us money. We would be much better off all in with the ACC or any Power 5 conference,” said Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick speaking to The Athletic in 2019. If Notre Dame has no financial incentive to stay independent, why do they do it?

It’s worth noting that Notre Dame has an “all-but-football” deal with the ACC, where they compete in the ACC in every sport but football (and ice hockey). While they have to schedule five games a year against ACC opponents, they have the freedom to play whoever they want outside of that obligation. This independence allows fans to see their team play new opponents each year. It provides excellent ratings for networks like ESPN and ABC, which capitalize on the Irish’s national pull, broadcasting the Fighting Irish multiple times a year. They also get to choose where they play, being the only team to play games in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York in a single season. These big market games undoubtedly play a role in Notre Dame’s valuation as Forbes’s second-biggest brand in college football. Notre Dame is also in no position to get cold feet on this deal because they are under contract with the ACC until at least 2037.

Notre Dame’s ability to choose its schedule, combined with its

Men’s Cross Country Jasper Fall Invite 6th/11 teams

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frequent high rankings on the preseason polls, has drawn much criticism from pundits as to why it continues to boast of its “prestigious” stature. “They have not won a national title since 1988. That is 36 years. 36 years ago, I was graduating from high school. I had an afro, [my] hairline was two feet forward,” said renowned pundit Stephan A. Smith on ESPN in February. According to ESPN, the Fighting Irish had the best chance to go undefeated out of any team in college football, with a 22.1% chance. Entering the season, they had a 66.1% chance of making the playoffs but now sit at a meager 31%. With Notre Dame’s aforementioned inability to secure an auto playoff bid due to their absence from a conference, the best shot they have is to win out, which would only give them a shot at the playoffs, given that they have to compete with other teams that have more challenging schedules down the stretch.

While the Fighting Irish could lose some national games if they decided to join up with a conference like the ACC, which would make the most sense given their current agreement, they would become the favorite to win the conference each year, giving Notre Dame football fans more playoff games, and returning Notre Dame’s championship reputation. Or they could join a conference like the Big Ten, which adds more competition but swings a much bigger payout. However, this may not be the case any time soon.

Swarbrick made way for Pete Bevecqua this season. “I feel better about our independence sitting here right now than I felt even when I first came into the role,” said Bevacqua when he spoke to ESPN before the season.

“Independence is part of the DNA of Notre Dame football. I believe that vehemently.”

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News & Notes

Just Keep Swimming: Waterpolo Continues to Domi

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While Fordham Football may have stolen the spotlight this weekend with all their Homecoming-related festivities, it is likely the men’s water polo team that had the best weekend for sports teams wearing maroon and white. Matched up against some of the best teams in the nation (the 11thranked Tritons of the University of California San Diego and the 15th-ranked Harvard University Crimson), Fordham refused to back down on their home turf, downing the Tritons 13-5 and the Crimson 16-15 respectively. These two huge wins will likely propel the already nationally-ranked Rams further up in the polls, meaning that they may enter next weekend’s Bison Invitational in the Top 10.

Women’s Soccer Trips Up at Columbia

The Fordham University Rams’ stellar beginning to the season was put on hold when they traveled downtown to face the Columbia University Lions on Thursday night. Columbia got off to a hot start to the match when junior Maia Tabon got on the end of a pass from senior defender Ania Prussak, slipping the ball past junior goalkeeper Kyla King to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. It took Columbia just eight minutes to double their lead when Prussak nabbed a goal of her own, with seniors Marcia Ojo and Courtney Ruedt credited with assists. The Rams tried to bounce back in the second half with a couple of scoring chances. Their closest effort was a strike by freshman and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Julia Acosta in the 74th minute, which ricocheted off the crossbar. The Rams are set to begin their A-10 campaign with a road match at George Mason University. The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19.

-Compiled by Griffin Stevenson

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The Fighting Irish were left stunned after their Week 2 loss to NIU which has many questioning their independent status.

COURTESY OF CRISTINA STEFANIZZI/THE FORDHAM RAM Liina Tervo has been a shining star for the Rams so far.

Volleyball Goes the Distance Twice, Nets Emphatic Win at FDU

By JOE HENRY ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

It’s been a travel-filled nonconference slate for Fordham Women’s Volleyball, but after yet another quality weekend of play, the Road Trip Rams are finally coming home.

Following a 2-1 showing at Columbia University, Fordham ventured south to Teaneck, N.J., for a two-game bout at the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Invitational. The Rams’ resolve was tested, with both Lafayette College and FDU pushing Fordham to five sets in a pair of thrilling contests.

Friday’s clash with Lafayette proved to be Fordham’s tightest match to date: all five sets between the two clubs were decided by four points or less. The Rams came out strong, earning a 25-23 win in set one over an unrelenting Leopards squad.

In set two, the Leopards leaped out to an early lead. Lafayette clung to a 24-20 lead late before Fordham rattled off six consecutive points; with graduate student Whitley Moody at the service line, junior Audrey Brown tallied three kills, netting the Rams a 2-0 advantage.

In set three, it was junior Zoe Talabong who led the charge, posting three kills as a pin hitter. Talabong seems to have found her groove — she notched nine kills against Columbia and seven more against Lafayette — after receiving surprisingly little play time despite a 2023 campaign that saw her start 24 of 28 matches and rack up 226 kills and 232 digs.

Despite Talabong’s effort, it was Lafayette that took the set,

pulling away with three consecutive points after the game sat tied at 22.

It was a nearly wire-towire win for the Leopards in set four, as they continuously staved off Ram rallies to tie the match with a 25-21 victory.

The Rams kept things close thanks to sophomore Whitney Woodrow, who kept the group in contention with six assists, three service aces and two kills in the frame.

In the bridge set, it was Lafayette who stormed out to a 4-0 lead. From there, it was a seven-assist spurt from Woodrow that pulled the Rams to within one. Despite a heroic effort, the war of attrition was won by the Leopards, who nabbed a 15-13 set five win taking the match, 3-2.

The Rams received contributions from top to bottom in the defeat. Brown led the way offensively, tallying 19 kills on a staggering .357 hitting percentage. Senior libero Ryan

Naumann tacked on a doubledouble, including 18 digs and 10 assists.

It was a bit of an oppositeday for Fordham in the aggregate, though, as they had 11 service aces but just five blocks. Typically, the Rams seldom post over three service aces per match, while they routinely flirt with or surpass the 10-block milestone.

After such a heartbreaking defeat, the Rams needed to turn the page quickly for their midevening matchup with FDU on Saturday. FDU had other plans, surging to a 25-19 set one win after a back-and-forth battle.

Having lost four consecutive sets, the Rams appeared to be in dire straits. That is, until sophomore Tatum Holderied shifted momentum back in Fordham’s favor, patrolling the net with four hammers in set two, giving the squad a 2514 win.

In set three, it was Holderied who continued to dominate: she

stymied the Knights by sending four balls back and adding three more kills to her total.

With an opportunity to put the game away and close out the weekend with a win, Fordham was edged by FDU in set four, 25-20.

After nine hard-fought sets in just north of 24 hours, Fordham faced a pivotal tiebreaker to avoid leaving New Jersey with a winless weekend. With the pressure on, the Rams were nearly perfect: they levied a .522 hitting percentage without a single attack error, taking a much-needed 15-13 win over the nagging Knights by making a successful challenge to overturn the game’s final point.

Fordham was boosted by a three-headed monster above the net, with senior Lauryn Sweeney, freshman Sophia Kuyn and Moody combining for 10 kills in the frame. Holderied was a sensation, spiking a career-high 10 kills and tying a career-high in total blocks

with 10. Otherwise, it was the dynamic duo of Brown and Moody who buoyed the victorious Rams: Brown had 13 kills on a .281 hitting rate, while Moody had 15 on a .308 clip. It was Woodrow doing the setting, continuing her prolific 2024 season with 38 assists and reaching a milestone in the process: in just her second year, she’s reached the 1,000 assist threshold.

Naumann starred again, too, racking up a career-high 21 digs; she and Brown were named to the weekend’s alltournament team for their performances.

A 1-1 record for the week doesn’t do these Rams justice; the crew wrestled valiantly with two strong non-conference opponents and flashed their clutch gene as dusk turned to night, walking away from the road trip on a high note.

The club aims to parlay this momentum into a long-awaited homecoming. Fordham hosts the Rose Hill Classic this weekend, hosting Binghamton University on Friday at 4 p.m. EST, and Seton Hall University on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST. With these two games, the Rams have a chance at entering conference play on a three-game heater, one which they’ll need in order to prevail against a packed Atlantic 10 pool.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, we ought to allow the Rams to relish a well-deserved six days of rest; we also ought to show up in droves at the Rose Hill Gymnasium this Friday afternoon to celebrate the team’s overdue return home to familar hardwood.

Men’s Soccer Struggles on the Road

By GRIFFIN STEVENSON

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Last Monday, the Fordham University Rams traveled to Philadelphia to take on 2022 Ivy League Champions, the University of Pennsylvania. The Quakers took 13 minutes to get on the board when the Rams were whistled for a handball in the box. Senior forward Stas Korzeniowski stepped up and converted from the spot. Fordham equalized in the 35th minute when graduate student forward Luke Pompliano intercepted an errant pass from the UPenn defense before unleashing a shot on goal that soared past the gloved fingertips of the outstretched goalkeeper.

The match would remain level until the 72nd minute when UPenn took the lead controversially. The Quakers whipped a corner into the box toward senior defender Leo Burney, who used a close fist to direct the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately for the Rams, this infraction went unnoticed by match officials, and with the lack of in-game replay, there was nothing they could do to overturn the go-ahead goal.

UPenn got an insurance goal in the 87th minute from senior midfielder Charlie Gaffney, who dashed past the Ram defense before slotting it through the guard of graduate student

goalkeeper Carter Abbott. Despite the early-week loss to UPenn, the Fordham Rams checked in at number 18 on the United Soccer Coaches poll with their 3-1-1 start to the season. In addition to their team acclaim, junior forward Daniel D’ippolito found individual recognition this week through his inclusion in the TopDrawerSoccer team of the week.

Despite their recognition in the coaches poll, the Rams suffered their second road loss in a row on Friday when they traveled to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to face the Marist University Red Foxes.

The Rams scored quickly in this contest, taking the lead in under three minutes. Junior forward Bennett Leitner drew the attention of the Marist defense in the attacking third before slipping the ball to D’ippolito, who zipped the ball far post for his fifth goal of the still-early season.

The Red Foxes got on the board when senior forward Richard Morel delivered a cross into the box deflected into the net by a Ram Defender. Marist took the lead in the 65th minute when sophomore midfielder Arion Ulaj sent a free-kick goal side-chested home by Morel to make the score 2-1. That score would hold for the rest of the match, bringing Fordham’s record to 3-2-2. The score could have been less flattering for the Rams as they faced 12 shots on target, but Carter Abbott had a career-high 10 saves between the sticks to keep it close.

The Rams will look to bounce back against the Manhattan College Jaspers at Moglia Stadium for the always anticipated annual “Battle of the Bronx.” D’ippolito netted a goal in their last meeting at Rose Hill; the Rams will look to replicate that 2-0 victory on Monday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EST.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Sophomore Whitney Woodrow has been prolific, reaching 1,000 career assists this weekend.

COURTESY OF CRISTINA STEFANIZZI/THE FORDHAM RAM

After a scorching start, Fordham Men’s Soccer has cooled off as Atlantic 10 play nears.

Graduate student forward Luke Pompliano had his first 2024 goal at UPenn.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Football Suffers Costly Loss On Homecoming Weekend

By LOU ORLANDO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Fordham University Football is finding the first win of the season to be quite elusive.

A return to the friendly confines of Jack Coffey Field on the Rose Hill campus bred hope and excitement about a return to form in front of their loyal home fans. Instead, the Rams’ struggles continued, falling 2721 to Stony Brook University in front of a packed Homecoming crowd.

While an 0-3 start to the 2024 season is rather worrying for a Fordham squad picked to finish third in official Patriot League preseason polls, their biggest potential loss had nothing to do with the final score. After junior C.J. Montes exited early in the third quarter with an injury, the Rams now face major questions surrounding the status of their starting quarterback.

Coming off a turnover-ridden 33-3 loss to Central Connecticut State University the previous week, the reeling Rams would look to get their act right a Stony Brook University team that they defeated 26-7 last season.

Stony Brook did a lot of losing last year, ending the season dead last in the CAA with an 0-10 record that led the Seawolves to fire their coach of 16 years, Chuck Priore. Now at the helm was the 31-year-old Billy Cosh, the second-youngest coach in all of Division 1 football.

Cosh’s hard work had already begun to bear fruit as Stony Brook defeated Stonehill College 37-10 in Week 2, the program’s first win in 672 calendar days. Now, he was looking to stack wins against a Fordham team that had struggled out to gate, ranking second to last in the conference in scoring offense and defense while allowing the second-most sacks in all of FCS football.

Neither side came out firing to start with the two squads trading punts and the Fordham defense picking up their first sack of the season thanks to a timely blitz from the secondary by junior Alex Kemper.

The Rams then got on the board first with an 11-yard Montes rushing touchdown, the starting quaterback keeping it himself on a read option to excite the crowd and give Fordham a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.

Stony Brook then responded quickly, taking a 10-7 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half.

The Fordham offense then struggled mightly following the Montes touchdown, not picking up a single first down on their next two drives. But in a gamedefining trend last Saturday, the defense was ready to pick them up.

Following backup quarterback Tyler Knoop’s entrace into the game after some early struggles from Marshall, senior defensive end Matt Jaworski batted up his third down pass. It would land in the arms of junior lineman Peter

Chaloub, who took it six yards to the house for a pick six and the first touchdown of his collegiate career.

Marshall re-entered and, with help from a 29-yard, one-handed catch from junior Dez Williams, took the Seawolves all the way down the field, capping off the drive by handing it off to senior Roland Dempster for a 1-yard touchdown that put Stony Brook back on top 17-14 just inside two minutes left in the first half.

Getting the ball back, the Rams elected to go for it on fourth-and-8 with 46 seconds left from the Stony Brook 41, but the Seawolves sacked Montes for the fourth time that half. Marshall then orchestrated yet another drive inside the red zone, setting up a 32-year field goal for junior Enda Kirby. Fortunately for the Rams, Kirby’s kick rattled off the upright and bounced out, keeping the deficit at three going into half.

The Rams would return from halftime looking for a much more inspiring effort from their offense. But on just their second snap of the third quarter, Montes was sacked for the fifth time — and this one proved to be costly.

Montes would stay on the ground and had to be helped off the field with an apparent lowerbody injury. He headed into the injury tent and did not return for the remainder of the game.

Unable to convert on third down, Fordham punted two snaps later, again putting the pressure back on their defense. Once again, they were up for the task.

Kemper then continued his phenomenal game by picking off Marshall and returning it 55 yards to the house for what would be the second pick six of the day for the Rams. Kemper’s second career touchdown gave Fordham a 21-17 lead, one they took into the fourth quarter.

But they wouldn’t be able to keep it for long, as Stony Brook’s sophomore back Brandon Boria rushed for a 6-yard score that gave the Seawolves a 24-21 lead early in the fourth.

Both sides traded three and outs before junior Jack Capaldi, now in as quarterback for the injured Montes, threw his first

career interception, setting up a 40-yard field goal for Kirby. Now, the Rams desperately needed a touchdown. And they’d get awfully close.

A 41-yard grab by sophomore wide receiver KJ Reed brought Fordham inside the red zone. A defensive pass interference on the following play moved them all the way inside the five. And on what looked to be his iconic homecoming moment, senior running back Julius Loughridge punched in a 4-yard touchdown, surpassing 100 yards on the day.

But both the touchdown and the yards were negated by a holding penalty, moving the Rams back to the 14. Two plays later, Capaldi tried to loft a pass down the middle for a wide-open Loughridge, who looked poised to once again to score a gametying touchdown.

Instead, senior linebacker AJ Roberts leapt into the air and batted up Capaldi’s throw, which fell into the hands of defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence.

Capaldi’s second interception of the day ended up being the backbreaker. The defense forced a punt, but Capaldi was unable to connect on a few open deep looks, and the Rams turned it

over on downs. Stony Brook ran out the clock and sealed a 27-21 victory.

Fordham falls to 0-3, one of 20 schools in the FCS still winless through Week 3 of the college football slate. To put it bluntly, they’ll find it hard to win games if they can’t find a solution to their offensive woes.

After allowing a whopping seven sacks against Stony Brook, the Rams have now allowed a mind-boggling 21 sacks through three games. It’s tied with Austin Peay University for the most in all of Division I football no other program has allowed more than 14.

To put that into perspective, Fordham allowed 29 sacks in 12 games last season, a mark that was second-worst in the Patriot League. In 2022, they led the Patriot League with the fewest sacks allowed, surrendering only 20.

The Rams have developed a reputation for boasting a highpowered offense, predicated on a high-tempo, vertical attack. But as of right now, they’re averaging just 13.7 points per game (101 out of 115 FCS teams) and 161.7 passing yards per game.

Keep in mind that just last

season, Fordham finished with the 12th-best passing offense in the entire FCS, thanks to a Patriot League-leading 3,000 passing yards and 26 touchdown passes from Montes. Even despite his early struggles, if Montes misses any amount of time, it’s a devastating blow to an offense that hasn’t found its footing.

On a positive note, Fordham’s defense deserves endless praise for their valiant effort in the homecoming loss. The offensive struggles left the defense out there for a whopping 36 minutes and 12 seconds, compared to the Rams’ 23:48, but nonetheless, they managed to come up with countless third down and fourth down stops while accounting for all of Fordham’s scoring after the first quarter.

In a delightful turn, Kemper is playing some of the best football of his career. The junior missed all of last season with an injury but has returned to the field this year and, put simply, looks better than ever. On top of his pick-six, Kemper recorded seven tackles, two for loss, a sack and two pass breakups.

Graduate student linebacker Mike Courtney recorded a gamehigh 12 tackles while sophomore John Scott III recorded the first sack of his collegiate career. While Jaworski may still be searching for his first sack of the season after being elected the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in August, he’s having no trouble getting to the quarterback. The senior recorded a career-high six quarterback hurries against Stony Brook. He leads the Patriot League with 12, with no other defender having more than four. Loughridge was sadly unable to reach 100-plus rushing yards for a third consecutive day, falling just short at 99. However, he’s still the Patriot League’s leading rusher with 338 yards and 112.7 per game, the only running back in the conference averaging over 100.

Fordham’s next game will be Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

While Homecoming may have been loud and large, Fordham Football still fell short, losing a tight one by a score of 27-21.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Following quaterback C.J. Montes’ injury, the Rams’ defense is going to need to be especially stout in future weeks.