The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 95, Issue 17
FordhamRam.com F dh R
Football 8-0 for the First Time in School History BY DAN GARTLAND EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR
On a cool, crisp autumn day in southern New England, Fordham’s offense was as hot as ever. The Rams torched Yale for 614 yards of total offense en route to a 52-31 victory. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Michael Nebrich turned in another stellar performance, throwing for 421 yards and four touchdowns. Junior receiver Sam Ajala caught all four of Nebrich’s touchdown balls and had a school-record 282 receiving yards. Ajala and Nebrich got the scoring started early, hooking up for a 68-yard touchdown on the game’s second play from scrimmage. The pair connected again later in the first quarter, but the Fordham offense did not really get going until the second half. The Rams took a 17-7 lead into the locker room, but came out in the second half firing on all cylinders offensively. The Rams scored 35 points in the second half, while the Bulldogs only managed 24. Where Fordham really hurt Yale was with the play-action pass.
October O b 23 23, 2013
Top Student Leaders Quietly Huddle to Form Alcohol Coalition By CONNOR RYAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
DREW DIPANE/THE RAM
Sam Ajala won the Sports Network’s FCS co-offensive player of the week.
All four of Ajala’s touchdowns came on play-action. As soon as Nebrich faked the handoff to his running back, the Yale defense hesitated just long enough to let
Ajala get one or two steps ahead of his defender, and Nebrich was able to hit Ajala in stride for a touchdown. SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 19
It was a few minutes after 9 p.m. on a recent Thursday night at Rose Hill. Some students were strapping on heels in the direction of an off-campus bar. Others were in the library, studying for some remaining midterm exams. But a select few quietly crammed around a small wooden conference table in the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Support, tucked in the basement of Alumni Court South. “Book Smart, Street Smart, Party Smart: A Coalition for Change,” as the eleven-member group calls itself, is aimed at reducing the amount of binge, “problem drinking” and displays of “risky behavior” in the nearby off-campus community, as well as boosting bystander support, according to material that was distributed during the group’s first meeting. The small coalition consists of the presidents and vice presidents from the university’s top student organizations: Commuting Students Association, Ford-
Days Before Next Event, Still Picking Up the Pieces An Exclusive Interview With New College Republicans President By CONNOR RYAN
ham’s Emergency Medical Service (FUEMS), Peer Educators, Residence Halls Association and United Student Government. The president of Campus Activities Board is also a member of the coalition. The exclusive meeting came nearly two weeks after Chris Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill, called for students to step up and address the strikingly large number of alcohol intoxication calls that were recorded in September. “We need you, from the positions you’ve been elected to, to help us with this problem,” he said to the student leaders present at last month’s Student Life Council meeting. “It is a serious problem.” Thirty-four students were transported to local hospitals in September for intoxication treatment, according to data from the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Support. Another 17 students were evaluated by FUEMS for treatment, but were not transported to a hospital. Roughly 15 security alert SEE COALITION, PAGE 6
Ram-Napping of 1961: The True Story
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Luke Zaro, FCRH ’16 and the new president of Fordham’s College Republicans, discussed the upcoming on-campus appearance of citizen journalist James O’Keefe — the stinger known for secretly recording video and bringing down employees at National Public Radio and Planned Parenthood, among others, by sitting at the intersect of journalism and advocacy. Zaro fields questions about the O’Keefe event (scheduled for Thursday in Flom Auditorium at 7 p.m.), last year’s Ann Coulter controversy and the club’s internal restructuring that soon followed in an exclusive interview. Q: As a freshman, what was going through your mind as the Ann Coulter controversy exploded last year? A: I don’t want to comment on my personal opinion of Ann Coulter or the event itself. It was certainly a divisive issue among club members. I respect people’s right to protest. I respect club’s rights to bring speakers and to partake in a dialogue on campus. I think both sides would agree that not everything was done ideally. I’d prefer not to comment much further. It happened. I think there’s a lot to be learned from it. Q: What specifically did you learn from what happened? A: Even from a technical standpoint, the Ann Coulter contract
By KATIE MEYER ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Late one night in March 1961, four Manhattan College sophomores snuck quietly onto Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. They came with a rented trailer, a set of bolt cutters and a very specific mission: to steal the Fordham ram. From 1925 to 1969, Fordham kept a series of live rams, all named Ramses, on campus as mascots. Housed in a small brick building behind Queen’s Court, next to the Metro-North tracks, the rams were a Fordham staple for over four decades. By 1961, Fordham University SEE RAM, PAGE 4 ELIZABETH ZANGHI/ THE RAM
Luke Zaro discusses his involvement in the College Republicans as well as the decision to choose James O’Keefe.
hadn’t been signed before the event was announced. There’s a reason stuff goes in order. It just makes everybody’s lives easier — the club, the administration — when things are done in order. Q: Explain how the leadership transition within the College Republicans transpired. A: Our current e-board is entirely sophomores — myself as president, Noelle Brennan as vice president, Jennifer Minerva as secretary and Benjamin Shull as treasurer. It’s completely from last year. There’s no denying that the club faced some difficulty last year — the Anne Coulter event and the
cancellation. This is who the members of the club elected and I think that we recognize that we want to have a good, strong year, put together several successful events, rebrand the club and I think we’ve been successful in doing that so far. Q: What was the moment when you decided you wanted to be president of College Republicans? A: I don’t know if there was one defining moment. It was a process and I’d say it certainly started with the Coulter event. It just kind of developed and it simply came down to: Could I help the club? Did other people think I could help the club? Everybody who ran in
that race pretty much asked themselves similar questions. Q: Looking back, how would you respond to the Coulter controversy? A: I think the best way that we can respond is to simply reestablish ourselves — start hosting events, start having successful dialogues with other groups. I think if we go back to doing what we’re good at, which is what the College Republicans have been doing for years, there’s no reason to believe that we can’t restore our reputation to what it once was. Q: And what was that reputaSEE ZARO, PAGE 2
in this issue
OpinionPage 7 College Republicans to Host Unethical Guest Speaker
Arts
Page 14
A Definitive Fordham Pizza Guide
Sports
Page 24
Fordham Basketball Prepares for Upcoming Season