Volume 92 Issue 21

THE POPE AND CONDOM USE- PAGE 9

MEN’S BASKEBALL DEFEATS HARTFORD 61-57- PAGE 24

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2010

DECEMBER1, 2010

VOLUME 92, ISSUE 21

Rumored Fall Concert Cancelled

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

In spite of weeks of rumors, Web site announcements and a Ram article (v. 92, i. 20) to the contrary, Fordham University Campus Activity Board’s Concert Committee will not be hosting Jamaican hiphop artist Sean Kingston for a fall concert this upcoming Friday, Dec. 3.

Although a concert had been in the planning for some time, representatives from the Concert Committee and the University’s administration were unable to confirm that Sean Kingston was the intended artist, though, according to some sources, as many as three artists were being considered for the headlining slot.

The cancellation came on the afternoon of Nov. 17, after a meeting between representives of CAB Concert Committee and Fordham administration.

The details surrounding cancellation could not be confirmed at the time of press. However, some of the Web sites that prematurely announced Kingston’s appearance listed an event site of A Lot, the outdoors parking surface in front of O’Hare Hall that is often used for pre-football game festivities and staging larger events. Because of this exposed location and the apparently proposed concert time, a Friday evening in December, it is believed that weather expectations may have played into the decision not to hold the concert as planned.

Although Student Life Council meetings early in the year featured much discussion about the matter of a proposed fall concert, information was less and less forthcoming beginning in October and November, leading to some speculation that the event was not to go on as scheduled.

Fueling skepticism on the matter was the disappearance of the event from several of the Web sites, including Kingston’s own home page.

Following a rapid deletion from his site, various unofficial, music, event and entertainment Web sites removed it from their servers.

Some, including MySpace, listed the event as “cancelled” as early as mid- to late- November.

Additionally, it was reported that there had been some difficulty in securing contract terms with the artist in question, though this remains unconfirmed.

With the cancellation of this event, the only announced event on CAB Concert Committee’s calendar is the annual Spring Weekend concert.

Although the artist will likely not be announced for a few months, the selection process began on Thurs., Nov. 11 with a survey that was sent to the Fordham student community via e-mail.

USG Operations Shifts Club Makeup

By VIKRAM BHATIA STAFF WRITER

United Student Government’s biannual Operations day is held every semester to review, assess and audit all clubs that have in the past been cleared by that committee to operate on campus.

The fall 2010 iteration of Operations Day began on a negative note when three clubs were suspected of forging crucial signatures on their budget packets.

It was later determined that the signatures in question had in fact not been forged, though not before some serious debate within the committee.

The committee spent nearly 10 minutes deciding what the course of action would be in dealing with clubs that were proven to have a forged signature on their packet. It decided to freeze each club’s budget entirely, meaning there would be no funding for these clubs for the entire spring semester.

In the past, clubs with forged signatures had been shut down entirely. The committee decided

against this action because prior experience with that type of punishment showed that it was too harsh.

“I do not like shutting clubs down, because it is hard to get started back up,” Jenny Burns, FCRH ’11 and vice-chairman of the Operations Committee, said.

Chairman Bryan Matis, GSB ’12, explained that the committee exists for situations like these.

“We have to decide what happens to clubs who do not follow the rules,” he said. “I want to be consistent.”

The forgeries regard part of a rule that requires a faculty advisor to sign the budget packet.

The budget packet is a document in which “clubs ask for money that is within the scope of their club,” Matis said.

Beyond the suspected forgeries, there was one club that was temporarily cut from the official list of clubs, in addition to two clubs that were created.

Parks Action for the City of New York (PACNY) was temporarily cut for only having one

event in the fall semester. All clubs are required to have three public events each semester, or else face elimination from the official list of clubs at Fordham.

The decision to temporarily cut PACNY was made even more complicated by the fact that they had not submitted a budget packet for the two previous semesters.

All clubs are required to submit a packet at least once every three semesters, or else facing elimination from the list of school clubs.

Everything Digital Envisioned (EDen), a special interest club, also faced potential elimination, as they had not submitted a budget packet for the previous two semesters either. They did submit one without any issues this semester, however.

All other clubs remained active.

In order to keep an active status clubs must have 15 members and a club officer listing on file.

Additionally, two new clubs were created at the meeting.

The Computing Science Society, a club that previously existed but had been inactive for two

years, was reinstated. Jeff Lochart, FCRH ’13, represented the club at Operations Day. He explained the club’s purpose, to promote the computer science major and give an opportunity for students studying that discipline to meet and network, and the activities that it was planning.

A brand new club, a chapter of the mental health activism organization Active Minds, was also established, with co-founders Jillian Abballee and Marlina Schlattmann, both FCRH ’13, going through the same process as Lockhart and the Computing Science Society. However, in the case of Active Minds, the discussion over voting was somewhat more rigorous, as the club had never existed prior to the Nov. 17 meeting. In addition, Active Minds was still in need of a faculty advisor as of the meeting. However, because the club’s “Constitution was really solid,” according to Matis, it was approved.

- Additional reporting by Patrick Derocher, news editor.

Respect for Life Hosts Pregnancy Resource Forum

By EMILY ARATA STAFF WRITER

Serrin Foster is a woman on a mission: to protect the rights of pregnant women across the country. Foster is currently president of Feminists for Life, a foundation dedicated to giving pregnant women the freedom to choose the fate of their unborn child without feeling pressured into an abortion. Through state help programs, passage of the Enhanced Child Support Act in addition to the Violence Against Women Act, otherwise known as Lacey and Connor’s Law, FFL works to promote the dignity of pregnant women. In recent years, the foundation has begun hosting Pregnancy Resource Forums at universities across the country, raising the standards for pregnancy care at colleges by creating a dialogue between the student body and the administration.

Posters supplied by FFL read, “Where have all the pregnant women gone?” in reference to the fact that pregnancy should not be a mark of shame on college campuses. Foster shared that half of all abortions last year were for collegeage women, emphasizing that FFL also seeks to aid pro-choice women.

“Pro-choice implies actual choices,” Foster said. “Adoption is an empowering option for women.”

The discussion was then opened to the rest of the Fordham University panel. Kathleen Malara, director of health services, detailed the process that the Health Center uses in response to pregnant students.

If a young woman came to her claiming to be pregnant, she would receive a blood test in order to con-

firm the pregnancy. Malara placed emphasis on the fact that waiting for test results gives the young woman time to discuss her options with friends and family, preventing hasty decision-making. Health Services would attempt to maintain a connection with the woman, showing her the resources the University has to offer, such as counseling and, in case of Fordham University student insurance, an obstetrics practitioner within a reasonable distance from campus.

The athletics department also works to maintain a connection with pregnant student-athletes and refer them to counseling and other services, according to Marianne Reilly, senior associate athletic director. In fact, athletes on scholarships actually have five years to complete four years of athletics, so pregnancy does not get in the way of athletic obligations. The NCAA recently coined the term “redshirting,” which can refer to the inability of a student athlete to lose her scholarship as the result of a pregnancy.

In connection with the other departments, Randy Jerome, retreat coordinator for campus ministry, and Jennifer Neuhouf, director of counseling services, spoke about the services offered by both their departments. Jerome clearly stated SEE RFL ON PAGE 3

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, spoke at Fordham’s pregnancy resources forum on Nov. 17, her second appearance at the University in the past year at a Respect for Life-sponsored event.

INSIDE Sports PAGE 17

Opinions PAGE 5

Culture PAGE 13

Fordham football falls 47-12 to Colgate.

The use of social media in university classrooms.

Christmas-themed shows hit the stage.

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

SECURITY

BRIEFS

NEWS

SLC Discusses LGBTQ Issues, Budget Council Debates Bias Reporting for Second Month Running, Introduces Budgetary Audit; Senior Week Funding Approved

By PATRICK DEROCHER

Nov. 21, Walsh Hall, 10 p.m.

A student became stuck in one of the building’s elevators. The elevator company was notified of the situation, but FDNY responded before the mechanic did. The student was removed without incident or injury.

Nov. 22, Martyrs’ Court, 11:30 a.m.

A student reported that her iPod and headphones were removed from her room in LaLande Hall at some point on Nov. 19. She left at about 11 p.m. that evening and returned the following morning to discover the iPod missing. Her roommates had had guests that evening, and those guests were not Fordham students. Security is investigating.

Nov. 22, Fordham Prep Parking Lot, 3:30 p.m.

A member of the Fordham Prep faculty was driving his vehicle when it struck another vehicle, which sustained minor damage. A police report was filed regarding the incident and no injuries were reported.

Nov. 24, Southern Bouleveard, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

A Fordham alumnus reported that an unknown person broke the front passenger window of his vehicle, which was parked between the main entrance of the University and Bedford Park Boulevard. His iPod was removed from the car. NYPD was present and filed a report.

Nov. 24, Southern Boulevard, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

A man notified Security regarding damage to his vehicle, which was parked between Bedford Park Boulevard and the entrance to the University.

He had gone to the Botanical Gardens and returned to find his windshield broken with a rock and his GPS unit and sunglasses missing. NYPD was on the scene and filed a report.

Nov. 27, 2542 Hughes Ave., 12 Midnight A burglary occurred at a Fordham University building and used by WFUV. An unknown person broke in through the rear of the building and removed electronic equipment, including computer monitors, from the building. NYPD is investigating.

—COMPILED BY PATRICK DEROCHER

NEWS EDITOR

Assembling for its penultimate meeting of the fall 2010 semester, the Rose Hill Student Life Council met on Nov. 17 in the McGinley Center faculty lounge to discuss its monthly business, in addition to matters concerning the ongoing student activities fee audit and the safety and comfort of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students.

Continuing from a public agenda item that was brought up at the Oct. 27 SLC meeting, Reynold Graham, FCRH ’12, presented the matter to council members as an issue of student safety, one that he, among other students present, personally felt.

“I come here not as an RA, but as a concerned individual,” he said.

In the October meeting, much attention was paid to a bias reporting system in place at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In the more recent meeting, however, less emphasis was placed on emulating the Georgetown system and more on finding a solution that would be uniquely suited to the Fordham community.

“Fordham should make a Fordham decision,” Graham said.

His and others’ concerns, however, lay more with the University administration’s response, or perceived lack thereof, to the matter.

“People I care about, my friends, are getting hurt,” Graham said, adding that he did not feel as though his concerns were taken seriously and were not being appropriately addressed after the previous meeting, and that Fordham’s tolerance efforts were limited to just that, a begrudging acceptance of students of differing backgrounds and sexualities.

Council members, including Jake Braithwaite, GSB ’11, president of the Residence Halls Association, countered these accusations, saying that they had indeed taken action on the issue. Braithwaite himself noted that “the entire” SLC executive board meeting prior to the general meeting had centered around Graham’s earlier public agenda item.

The main concerns among council members, expressed by multiple staff, students and administrators, was that the effort did not have a specific goal or a concrete way of achieving any goals, rather than the basic concept of the effort.

“I hope that everyone has the same Fordham experience as I have, and that’s a great one,” Marisela Sigona, FCRH ’11 and executive vice president of RHA said.

The students proposing anti-bias initiatives countered by saying that students did not feel comfortable, or even safe, expressing their sexualities on campus.

“What we do know and what we can present to you is that not all students are having positive experiences,” Amanda Vodola, FCRH ’11, interim president of PRIDE Alliance, said. “We need a voice and an open communication about this campus.”

Vodola proposed that any solution to problems with bias would have to be more than punitive.

“While that may be part of it, it needs to be a dialogue,” she said.

Summing up the views of those students in attendance, Graham proposed an anonymous, online reporting system along the lines of the one in place at Georgetown.

“If something happens on campus, and it’s an incident or crime that is coming from a place of wanting to hurt that person and their identity, that person could go to a Web site and log what happened, anonymously, without any names,” he said. “That information would go to an e-mail or an entity […] and that entity would have that information, sift through the story and post just the facts.”

Graham suggested that this information would be disseminated via e-mail.

Adam Remiszewski, GSB ’11, United Student Government vice president for student life, proposed a council, involving USG members and other student leaders in addition to Graham and other concerned students, to create a plan, resolution or proposal to address this matter effectively. He added that he felt that current systems, including those administered by Fordham University Safety and Security, were not working well and should be replaced. Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11 and president of USG, and Alanna Nolan, assistant dean of student leadership and community development, agreed with Remiszewski’s proposal and stated a willingness to schedule meetings with concerned students, a proposal that was not well-received by students in attendance.

“We don’t want to set up appointments, because appointments take time,” Vodola said, adding that she and others felt that an immediate response was necessary. “[We need] a direct way of ending the silence,” she said. “Silence is really harmful to people.”

Ending a lengthy and heated debate session was a statement from Bryan Matis, GSB ’12, USG vice president of operations: “We acknowledge this as a problem […] we should really try moving forward at this point,” he said.

Also discussed in the public agenda items section of the meeting was the ongoing student activities fee audit, spearheaded by Emily Amato, FCRH ’12, USG vice president of finance, and Michael DiTanna, FCRH ’13, USG vice president for information technology.

The audit, an overview of which was distributed at the meeting, aims to compile all University club financial records dating back to 2004 and subsequently analyze all problems and inefficiencies while also proposing workable solutions.

Amato and DiTanna, who are the only USG members on the panel looking at these records, identified 10 problems in the current club budgeting system. They labeled three problems, loss of oversight on referendum, arbitrary referendum values and an archaic accounting system as primary problems, and called a “Free-for-All Culture/Reallocation Abuse” the number one problem facing the University and its clubs.

“This is us taking responsibility for our actions,” Amato said, specifically noting that the process is not auditing particular organizations or

COURTESY OF GEORGETOWN.EDU

The bias reporting system in place at Georgetown University has been used as an example for a similar system to be put into place at Fordham.

endeavoring to attack any person or club in particular.

“We’re trying to target the inefficiencies and build a process that will leave surpluses,” DiTanna said. Both he and Amato emphasized that current wastes and inefficiencies are not the fault of any person or group, but rather are indicative of a flawed system of budgeting and allocations.

Both auditors and other council members noted the inherent subjectivity of assessing club and overall budgets looking for “good” and “bad” programming. DiTanna, however, insisted that financial figures, attendance and other numerical indicators would be paid close attention to, and that the distinction will be between “efficient” and “inefficient” programming.

“It’s about making sure that all clubs are well funded,” Kugel, a proponent of the audit, said.

Another goal of the audit is to make sure that accounting work and calculation is done in such a way as to allow better, more efficient USG funding and club programming.

Mentioning the possibility of a significant budget surplus resulting from this process, DiTanna mentioned bringing more high-profile speakers to Fordham.

The third major business that SLC undertook at this meeting, also related to budget, involved a vote on increasing funding to the Senior Week Committee, headed by Bobby Skoda, GSB ’11. Another item that was tabled at the Oct. 27 meeting, the budget increase measure called for a one-time budget increase of $10,000, followed by $5,000 per semester in coming years. In spite of the apparently large outlay, Skoda stated that the move, though certainly necessary, might not actually be enough.

“Clearly $10,000 is not enough to write off all of the bad costs this committee has,” he said, noting that the committee looses $12,000 on Senior Ball alone. The overrun costs, Skoda said, come from a section of the student activities fee that Budget Committee does not allocate or even see; Amato confirmed this statement.

The proposal, lacking even sample cost charts that Skoda used at the October meeting, raised some issues among council members.

“It is a blank check in my opinion,” DiTanna said, taking exception with the lack of exact accounting that was provided to USG or any of its subcommittees. Amato’s Budget Committee, however, supported the measure, which passed with nine yeas, five nays and two abstentions in a lightly attended meeting.

Finally, continuing what has become a multi-month trend, Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill, said that some 30 Fordham students were transported to area hospitals for alcohol-related reasons in October; this is up from 26 in Oct. 2009 and 14 in Oct. 2008.

“This is a quantifiable, clear and present threat to our students,” Rodgers said.

Although representatives from RHA said that they were looking at a correlation between Four Loko consumption and transports, Rodgers said that he did not believe this was a driving factor behind recent transports. He did, however, have strong words for so-called “Four Loko Parties” where students attempt to consume as much of the beverage as possible before it is banned in New York State. “[It] is really just appalling that people are celebrating this in this way,” he said.

NEWS

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

RFL, FROM PAGE 1

that campus ministry’s goal is “to help young women and young men discern where God and faith and prayer fits into all this, whatever their faith tradition may be.”

Whether through support groups or contacts with social service agencies, Campus Ministry looks to be a supportive, non-judgmental influence. In the same way, Neuhouf emphasized that the challenges facing a woman with an unplanned pregnancy can seem physically and emotionally insurmountable.

Discussion then turned to the strength of certain resources at Fordham in addition to the resources it lacks. A resident assistant in attendance noted that the University does not mention pregnancy at any point during RA training; they are instructed to refer pregnant students to the resident director instead of counseling them directly. The University also lacks family housing for any undergraduate students who may be married or pregnant. According to the Sisters of Life present on the panel, there are at least nine maternity homes in the immediate area, however, they are not always easily accessible.

Furthermore, Fordham University has no childcare facilities on or off campus. In response, Foster proposed a hypothetical solution mirroring the one recently reached by Georgetown University. Their prolife club raised the money to purchase an abandoned dry-cleaner’s, baby-proofed the space and created a babysitting club to watch the children of student mothers so that they could be free to go to class.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

The pregnancy resource forum held on Nov. 17 was Fordham’s first, part of an effort to expand opportunities and assistance for college students facing unplanned pregnancies. Serrin Foster of Feminists for Life first proposed the notion to Fordham students when she visited the University in the spring 2010 semester.

Nevertheless, Fordham is slowly taking steps to improve the facilities for young mothers. Within the last few months, the Health Center purchased a diaper-changing station, located in the McGinley women’s bathroom. However, Foster worries that the situation is not improving quickly enough. In addition, members of Respect for Life showed concern about this.

“In the Health Center, there is really nothing,” Keyne Rice, FCRH ’12 and vice president of Respect for Life, said. “One girl came into the forum with a two-month-old child. She was saying, ‘I didn’t know where to turn to, I had no money.’”

Rice also noted that, while rep-

resentatives from many University departments, including Financial Aid and Residential Life, were not present, the club is nevertheless working with other departments on campus.

Specific goals that Rice mentioned included training of resident assistants to deal with unplanned pregnancies and the dissemination of relevant materials and brochures in the Health Center.

Neither Rose Hill nor Lincoln Center provides a space for student mothers to breast feed their infants.

Students nearing the end of their term are unable to fit into the conventional attached desk and chair, forcing them to miss class. Foster

maintains that small considerations like this are important because up until recently “people were being told you had to plan your unplanned pregnancy.”

“A woman who experience unplanned pregnancy experiences unplanned joy,” Patricia Heaton, honorary chair of FFL, said.

The forum then worked to create reasonable, reachable goals. Feminists for Life plans to publish a pamphlet included in those handed out at orientation in the fall. They also plan to open a dialogue with the administration about how student mothers can be better supported by the University, a goal that is not limited to women or feminists.

Foster tried to make her message one of inclusion, combating negative stereotypes about feminists.

“If we [feminists] hated men so much we wouldn’t worry about getting pregnant,” she said.

Foster closed the forum by reiterating the most important part of her work: making pregnant students visible. Universities tend to believe that pregnancy is not a relevant issue if they never see the presence of student mothers on campus.

At this revelation, a student mother in the audience broke down into tears. Foster nonchalantly whipped out a Kleenex, saying, “We come prepared for these things.”

USG Presents Theology, Economics Faculty With Beacon Exemplar Security VP Carroll Discusses Security Concerns with USG, Concerned Students; Drs. Hornbeck and Combs Receive Award for Mateo Ricci Society

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

United Student Government presented the Beacon Exemplar award to Dr. Mary Beth Combs, associate professor of economics, and Dr. Patrick Hornbeck, assistant professor of theology and associate chair for undergraduate studies, for their work in creating the new interdisciplinary Matteo Ricci Seminar.

“We just want to thank you for going above and beyond and benefiting students in and out of the Fordham community,” Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11, executive president of USG, said in presenting the award.

“It means so much to us that you have been so dedicated to our community and gone above and beyond.”

Stephen Erdman, vice president of FCRH ’13, and Tim Lynch, GSB ’13, executive vice president of GSB, nominated Combs and Hornbeck back in September, but USG was not able to present the award until this Nov. 18 due to scheduling conflicts.

Combs and Hornbeck worked throughout the summer to plan the seminar course, for which they accepted applications and conducted interviews at the beginning of the semester. The course, which will meet biweekly for five semesters starting this semester, is designed to help students realize their vocations and professional goals in an interdisciplinary, discussion-based setting.

Another focus of the seminar

is research; students will plan and conduct a research project that corresponds to their interests under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

They will then present the results of their projects at the 2012 Fordham College Undergraduate Research Symposium. Each seminar meeting focuses on a different skill or an issue pertinent to contemporary society and incorporates a diverse selection of readings and guest lectures. There are approximately 20 students enrolled in the seminar, chosen out of a very competitive application pool.

“There are only a set number of students in the seminar but it will help the whole university,” Erdman said. “It works as a model for improving undergraduate research and debate.”

“We believe that they [Combs and Hornbeck] have created a unique honors opportunity for Fordham students that will, among other goals, help current participants prepare for prestigious opportunities after graduation,” Lynch said. “We also believe that the program will help attract highachieving students to the University in future years.”

USG awards the Beacon Exemplar award only “when they feel inspired to do so” to faculty members who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment of service to the University and its students above and beyond their teaching duties. Past recipients include Dr. Kate Combellick, assistant professor of economics and director of international service

learning, for her fair trade and microfinance initiatives on campus; Dr. Donna Rapaccioli, dean of the Gabelli School of Business, for her work on the West Wing Integrated Learning Community and efforts to improve GSB’s academic rigor; and Dr. Michael Latham, dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, for his endeavors to develop undergraduate research.

In response to increasing student concern that the security office does not adequately bring to students’ attention the incidents that occur on campus, John Carroll, director of security, conducted an open forum at the USG meeting. Carroll explained that federal law sets parameters as to incidents about which the security office must alert the students but that he prefers to err on the side of keeping students as informed as possible.

“We are only required to report to you what happens on campus or on the streets near campus, but we also report the Belmont community and the subway station,” Carroll said. “There is some criticism that you’re scaring the kids, but I believe that you should know everything that’s going. Anything that [falls under] major crime categories [is something] the students should know about.”

Because on-campus incidents do not generally fall into a major crime category, they do not merit a security alert and the action taken in response is at the discretion of the students involved, most of whom elect to work through the University rather than the police,

according to Carroll. With regard to harassment, Carroll said that it does not usually present a danger to the entire community.

“It’s focused on one person, so it doesn’t manifest itself in the danger alert,” he said.

Even reports of these minor incidents of harassment are available to students in the security office, Carroll noted, though they do take measures to ensure confidentiality for the victims.

“At any time students can look at any incident they want, they can look at a capsule of the incident,” Carroll said. “They cannot see the victim, they see when/where it happened.”

Student groups such as PRIDE Alliance and ASILI have approached USG and the security office with the idea of creating a bias incident reporting system in order to develop awareness about hate crimes and intimidation. Proposed ideas involve an anonymous reporting system, modeled after a system that Georgetown University currently employs. Carroll has been researching the bias incident security report in place at Georgetown to evaluate whether or not it would work at Fordham.

Having heard student concerns and proposed solutions on the subject, USG wanted to provide a setting for concerned individuals to speak directly to Carroll, which is what prompted the forum. Kugel said that USG will not take an active role in implementing this type of system.

“USG will not be pursuing a bias

incident reporting system,” Kugel said. “We believe that the intention is correct and honorable but we think that there are more proactive solutions that we would like to explore. Again, we defer to the expertise in security matters, to VP Carroll. We trust his leadership and we always have.”

THIS

week at FORDHAM Thurs., Dec. 2 College Republicans General Meeting, Dealy 305, 1-2 p.m.

Fri., Dec. 3 FET General Meeting, Blackbox Theatre, 5 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 4 Yoga, Keating B23 10- 11:30 a.m.

Sun., Dec. 5 RHA General Board Meeting, Campbell Hall Common Room, 7:45-9:15 p.m.

Mon., Dec. 6 Fordham Debate Society Meeting, Freeman 101, 7-10 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 7 B-Sides Rehearsal, Collins Auditorium, 8-11 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 8 ASILI Weekly Meeting, KE B21, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

—COMPILED BY ABIGAIL FORGET

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

NEWS

Fordham in Brief Future Generations of Entrepreneurs Learn from the Masters during GSB’s Entrepreneurship Week

“A business partnership is often compared to a marriage, because you need to have complementary skills; you have to get along well; you need to figure out how you’re going to resolve disagreements; you have to be open about money; and you really should have a partnership agreement in place before you launch a business, similar to a prenuptial, in case anything happens,” DeBaise said.

Despite the many precautions that she believes should be taken in the event the business deal goes sour and the possibility of conflicting personalities, DeBaise acknowledged that there are some merits to partnership.

“It can be a great way to go, especially in this economy,” she said.

“But I do see a lot of people who want to do it themselves because that is what is satisfying to them.

It’s the company that they want to grow, that they want to eventually sell or pass on to the next generation. So I see it both ways.”

Health Sciences Advisory Council to Provide Resources for Pre-Med Students Louis Del Guercio, M.D., FCRH ’49, and Robert D. Russo, M.D., FCRH ’69, will serves as co-chairs on a newly-created Health Sciences Advisory Council to strengthen preparation for Fordham College Rose Hill pre-medicine students both academically and in terms of

career resources.

In working with the FCRH dean and the director of the pre-health program, the council will aim to bolster academic, extracurricular and advisory programs for premed students. A main goal for the co-chairs is improving Fordham’s science facilities, something they hope to achieve through fundraising targeted at fellow Fordham alumni involved in heath research, the pharmaceutical industry, the government and education.

Del Guercio, a retired thoracic surgeon who graduated from Yale School of Medicine, praised Fordham’s educational emphasis on inquiry with regard to his later success in science. He expressed a desire to pay it forward and to recruit other beneficiaries of a Fordham education to do the same.

“The physicians and health professionals have really not been approached as a group, Del Guercio said. “Alumni have been approached as a broad group, but by targeting people in the health groups, we feel this might be a better way of achieving success.”

Though he gave Donna Heald, associate dean for science education and director of pre-health professions advising, due credit for building up a thriving premedicine program without updated facilities, Russo expanded on the importance of renovating science facilities.

“Lou and I are hoping to raise enough money to get them better facilities, better labs and bet-

ter research equipment, to attract top-notch teachers and drive the health sciences at Rose Hill further,” he said.

Russo, a radiologist and head of Robert D. Russo, M.D., and Associates Radiology, also lauded Fordham pre-med students’ 80 percent acceptance rate to medical schools and acknowledged how the study skills and ability to analyze data that he learned while earning his undergraduate degree helped him later while studying medicine at Tulane University.

To go a step further, he suggested that Fordham should strive to attract graduate researchers.

“To attract graduate researchers, you have to have good facilities, because everybody in the world wants scientists,” he said.

“Fordham students have the talent, so they should also have the equipment.”

Dr. Michael Latham, interim dean of FCRH, stressed the importance of the mentorship opportunities that the Health Sciences Advisory Council will create for students pursuing careers in many different areas of the medical field.

“Our students know what it’s like to go to school; they’ve been in school since they were five years old,” Latham said. “But they’re entering a profession and a field that’s rapidly changing, and it’s one that many of them won’t have had as a much experience with.

So professional guidance is really valuable.”

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Gabelli School of Business students had the opportunity to hear advice and success stories from two entrepreneurs engaged in lucrative businesses. Jen Groover, author of What If? & Why Not? and Colleen DeBaise, a small business editor at The Wall Street Journal and author of The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, spoke about the importance of creativity, the lifestyle of an entrepreneur and different small business tactics to students at the Walsh Family Library on the Rose Hill Campus on Nov. 18.

“Entrepreneurs’ businesses are their lifestyles,” Groover said.

“To me, the thought of going to a beach in Fiji for seven days is actually torture. Seven days in isolation? I would go absolutely insane. Because I love what I do, I feel like I’m on vacation every single day.”

Christine Janssen-Selvadurai, Ph.D., lecturer in management systems, moderated the discussion, which included advice on the nuts and bolts aspects of starting a business in addition to more general comments about what skills and personality traits make a successful entrepreneur, as part of GSB’s Entrepreneurship Week Nov. 15-19. Students in attendance received copies of both au-

thors’ books.

Sometimes called a “serial entrepreneur” because of her tendency to start several businesses in succession, Groover emphasized awareness of one’s strengths in order to capitalize on them and perseverance in the face of adversity.

“I was never taught in school that you can actually make money off your ideas, but you can use them as capital,” she said. “Your creativity is the most unlimited capital you will ever have.”

In following her own advice, Groover said she hired an accountant right off the bat to deal with numbers, knowing that her more of own strengths were lie in the creative realm. Collaboration is not always conducive to the entrepreneurship process, though, according to DeBaise.

“Entrepreneurs tend to have very innovative personalities that are perhaps very different from those around them,” DeBaise said.

“One of the things I hear from people is that their friends and their families can’t understand why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

Because of these incongruous, innovative personalities, DeBaise said she is of the opinion that partnering with another firm as an entrepreneur is not ideal, one of the only points on which she and Groover, who has partnered with a company to manage the manufacturing process, did not entirely agree.

DECEMBER 1, 2010

PAGE 5

Point-Counterpoint: Learning with Social Media

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TWITTER, MIXABLE AND FINALSCLUB

While Blackboard has become a stage for online assignments, more recent Web sites that link into social media have grown in popularity, as has the use of services like Twitter for out-of-classroom discussion.

Social Media Might Improve Grades and Increase Student Involvement

By BRIAN KRAKER

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

As students hide behind their laptop screens during class, professors must wonder whether they are studiously taking notes or surreptitiously succumbing to the ever-present temptation of social media. Something about these Web sites draws people in, and people with smart phones may find themselves checking Facebook every 10 minutes and responding to notifications as promptly as they would scratch an itch. While this can be a dire distraction from students’ academic duties, a new study shows that when professors incorporate social media into their assignments, student engagement increases. Harnessing students’ addiction to social media would be a smart move for professors. Incorporating assignments in which students tweet about the class reading or respond through other social media would enhance the learning experience as long as these assignments augment rather than replace papers and traditional assignments.

Many professors already take advantage of tools like Blackboard, which at its best can recreate the discourse of the classroom beyond class hours. However, Blackboard has limitations, and is more formal and less convenient than using a tool like Twitter, which can be updated quickly via browser or even with a regular, not-so-smart phone. It seems that the next logical step to encourage students to engage in class material beyond class in already familiar ways is using social media.

The recent study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning reports on a semester-long social media experiment, with 125 pre-health freshmen in a seminar as subjects. The level of engagement was examined for all students, and those who used Twitter to discuss topics related to course material scored higher for engagement and had higher grades. Experimenters also analyzed the statements that students posted on Twitter, and decided that the site could be used to enhance the learning experience by prompting students to interact more with the material and with each other.

The results make sense, because the more students think about class material, the more they grow more comfortable with it and are better able to form and articulate thoughts about the material during class. Also, this lets them engage with other students, discuss their own ideas and impressions, and be exposed to their peers’ ideas before class meets. The dynamics of the classroom sometimes prevent

Tweeting Responses for Class Is a Juvenile Tactic to Spike Student Interest

the free exchange of ideas, simply because of students’ personalities. More vocal students often dominate class time, while their lessoutgoing classmates remain silent. Many professors try to balance this by using Blackboard discussions; this could be achieved through any kind of discussion before class, including tweets about coursework.

However, Blackboard’s interfaces are often clumsy or outdated, like the chatroom feature.

Instead, some schools have begun working with new tools that integrate more smoothly into students lives. Purdue University uses Mixable, which links with Facebook and Twitter, and enables students to share files with their classmates, listen to class lectures, watch embedded video and network with their peers. The site can be accessed through Facebook or as a separate site for those who do not want to be distracted by constant status updates.

Social media are a great tool for professors who choose to use them, and while it is not available for Fordham students, something like Mixable would enhance the learning experience here. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Purdue is currently evaluating ways to make Mixable available for students at other universities. In the meantime, the Chronicle reports, there are other options. For example, McGraw-Hill operates GradeGuru, a site that lets people upload and access classmates’ lecture notes for free. Georgia Tech and Emory’s OpenStudy is an “online study group” for students from various institutions, while FinalsClub lets Harvard students post class notes, book annotations and set up study groups.

All of these tools have the potential to enhance Fordham students’ classroom experience, increase their information retention and let them interact more fruitfully with their classmates. Professors who already use Blackboard might find that switching to a newer platform would enhance discussion and student engagement. Some professors already give assignments that would be easily transferred to Twitter, like one-sentence “main idea” summaries of class readings. Though Twitter can never replace the critical engagement of a full-length paper, its space restrictions force students to distill their thoughts about course material. If brevity is the soul of wit, then Twitter forces students to think like geniuses.

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

ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

Technology has become a part of the classroom. Fordham provides professors with a computer and projector in every classroom. Students utilize PowerPoint for presentations and word documents for every essay. Electronic reserves allow students to research essays from the sanctuary of their dorm rooms. With the evolution of smart phones, technology aids and abets students in their procrastination. However, some schools are taking technology too far.

A recent study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning introduced the social networking giant Twitter into the classroom. The Web site, which allows celebrities to update the world on the tritest aspects of their lives, has become a tool for college education. The article titled “The Effect of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades” suggests positive effects from tweeting for a class, including higher participation and grades. Yet, permitting Twitter in a college classroom ultimately discredits the class as a legitimate learning environment.

Twitter is the crudest form of social media on the Internet. The Web site promotes celebrity egos by providing them with a concrete number of worshipers while anonymous users can indulge their narcissistic tendencies by posting every moment of their lives. Introducing Twitter into a classroom would be the equivalent of producing a “Best Hits” album; you might get the main points, but the majority of the information is not there.

The use of Twitter for responses is only enforcing the distractibility of the current college student. Most undergraduates can hardly focus on the entirety of their class without rushing to their smart phones to update their Facebook statuses. If professors allow students to use Twitter, they will engage in the subject as much as when a person flips through television channels.

Like passing CSPAN on the way to the Jersey Shore, these Twitter posts are just small inconveniences in between mindless satisfaction. Increased engagement is not equivalent with increased learning. Instead, students have an easier channel for mindlessly completing work before submerging back into wandering an Internet wasteland.

By introducing Twitter into a classroom, professors are inhibiting students’ ability to learn. A tweet of 140 characters is hardly

enough for a thesis statement, let alone an entire assignment. While students dread essays, they do ultimately serve a purpose.

Students must create a stance that they must argue, prove it with evidence and defend it from counter-arguments. These extended essays fully test students’ aptitude for a subject, while a Twitter post hardly allows students to express their own opinion.

This recent study shows that students assigned Twitter homework scored better, which would be expected, because those students can only be graded on their participation. Professors cannot grade a tweet other than acknowledging the assignment was completed. Each post is too short to display any comprehension of the topic. Students who wrote essays for other assignments have multiple pages to either demonstrate their aptitude or expose their flaws, leading to possibly lower grades, but ultimately more accurate ones. With Twitter posts, even the most incompetent student can fake intelligence for 140 words.

If professors want their students to constantly engage class texts, short weekly responses are more appropriate. It still forces students to form cohesive arguments and interact with a text, while not overtaxing students’ free time. This is beneficial for students to consistently argue about a topic, increasing their writing and reasoning skills.

By writing these short responses, students also absorb the information they are reading, as they use quotes and data from assigned texts in their responses. Professors do not need to limit students to a tweet to increase student participation; rather offer assignments that both challenge students and keep them interested.

Introducing Twitter into a college classroom razes the legitimacy of an education from that institution. Any increased participation Twitter may produce is negated by the lack of actual quality learning done by the students. Professors cannot take essay avenues, such as Twitter, to get cheap participation from their students. Instead, a much-bemoaned weekly or interesting lecture will not only keep students interested, but might help them learn a little too.

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

Staff Poll: When The Ram was polled, 5 staff members thought social media could enhance the classroom experience; 14 staff members did not.

OPINIONS

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

The Ram Serving campus and community since 1918.

The Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate.

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

www.theramonline.com Editorial: (718) 817-0873 Production: (718) 817-4381 Newsroom: (718) 817-4394 Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Mark Becker Managing Editor Abigail Forget Design Editor Stephen Moccia Business Editor Caroline Dahlgren News Editor Patrick Derocher Assistant News Editor Victoria Rau Opinions Editor Christine Barcellona Assistant Opinions Editor Brian Kraker Culture Editor Celeste Kmiotek Assistant Culture Editors Jen Cacchioli Sandy McKenzie Sports Editors Danny Atkinson Nick Carroll Assistant Sports Editor Jonathan Smith Copy Chief Claire Borders Copy Team Mary Alcaro Tara Cannon Tom Haskin Sean McGonigle Olivia Monaco Sarah Ramirez Hussein Safa Veronica Torok Ryan Vale Photo Editor Simon Sulit Operations and Outreach Mike Burkart Web Editor Kelly Caggiano Assistant Web Editors Tracy Fan Ou Cara Stellato Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in a *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at RamLetters@fordham.edu. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis.

The Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice.

Submissions become the exclusive property of The Ram and will not be returned.

The Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

From the Desk of Claire Borders, Copy Chief I am not a sentimental person, but as my penultimate semester at Fordham draws to a close, I have begun to reflect on my time here. Looking back, I am reminded of the words Father McShane spoke at the beginning of my college career. “I want you to leave here bothered,” he said to a crowd of wide-eyed and naive freshmen. Three and a half years later, it seems that Father McShane has gotten his wish. I will leave this university bothered, but not in the way I believe he had hoped. He should be careful what he wishes for.

I am bothered by this university’s extreme lack of foresight, namely the school’s insistence on extending the semester to the last possible minute. To schedule the last day of final exams on Dec. 22 is absurd.

That unfortunate group of students whose exams fall into the dreaded 1:30 p.m. slot on that final day (or, God forbid, those who have night class) are forced to postpone their pre-holiday bliss for hours of cramming in the Walsh Library while most of the student body has happily vacated. Those of us who do not live within a reasonable distance are faced with outrageous airfares, in addition to the anxiety of wondering whether we will even make it home in time for Christmas, given the obligatory blizzard that always comes at exactly the wrong time. I have friends at both religious and non-religious universities who start classes after us, get a fall break in the middle and still finish the semester at least a week before Christmas.

These schools are also regionally diverse and nationally recognized, something Fordham would like to become. If Fordham wants to heighten its national profile, it would do well to take a hint and cater to those students who hail from outside the tri-state area.

I am bothered by the never-ending train of bureaucracy that plagues this university. You would be hard-

pressed to find an individual with anything positive to say about the way things are run around here; those with complaints, however, would be lining up at the door to voice them. The lack of respect, consistency and efficiency of this university’s administrative body would have the Better Business Bureau working for eternity. The horror story in last week’s “From the Desk” is only one example. Recently, a certain department had me running up and down the chain of command – each link giving me a different answer – for a solution to a very simple problem. That same department has made a good friend of mine jump through so many hoops to get what she needs that she could join the circus, or run the department.

I am bothered by Fordham’s apparent belief that all non-business students are destined for either graduate school or volunteer services.

We have all gotten them: countless e-mails from Career Services advertising networking banquets, career fairs, full-time job opportunities – for finance and accounting majors.

Given the economy, jobseekers pursuing liberal arts degrees should just face the fact that they are, for lack of a better term, screwed.

I am bothered by this school’s extreme incompetency, or perhaps just obliviousness. A recent e-mail from Career Services advertised an internship opportunity with the United States Marine “Core.” I understand Fordham’s confusion, given that the Marines are about as “hardcore” as they come. However, a little editing would have saved the school embarrassment. Similarly, an e-mail from the English department was such a grammatical and syntactical mess that I’m sure those students are beginning to question the value of their degrees.

I am bothered by the huge discrepancy between the course offerings at Rose Hill and those at

Lincoln Center. On numerous occasions I have heard fellow students complain of the lack of availability of “good” classes at Rose Hill. “They are all at Lincoln Center!” seems to be the consensus. A decent film class, for example, is rare at Rose Hill, while Lincoln Center’s catalog is packed full of them. If the campus is going to offer the subject, it needs to provide the classes.

I am bothered by the mixed messages this school sends when it comes to the value of studying and academics. By closing at 7 p.m. on Friday and waiting to open until 12 p.m. on “study day” Sunday, the library seems to encourage students to exchange their books for beers.

I am bothered by the “pick and choose” buffet of Catholic dogma this school enjoys. The Jesuit University of New York takes the moral high ground when it comes to such issues as contraception, abortion and funding performances of certain raunchy works of feminist theater, yet it has no qualms sponsoring acts like Ghostface Killah, whose lyrics are certainly not in conjunction with Saint Ignatius’s teachings.

I am bothered that the school gives out millions of dollars in scholarships and amenities for athletes who have proven time and again that they cannot compete at an acceptable level. In a time in which regular students are scraping the bottoms of their piggy banks to get by, it’s unacceptable that any level of aid is provided to teams that not only fail to win championships on a regular basis, but even set national records for futility (see: 2007-08 women’s basketball). Yes, athletics are important to a university, but clearly the system in place is not working. Maybe we should try bribing them with hot dogs instead.

I am bothered by Fordham’s inability to produce a top-notch (relevant) athletic team. When our most successful programs are softball and

women’s swimming, our most promising basketball recruit transfers just five games into his second sure-tobe-disappointing season (even after we fire certain head coaches for him) and one win for a team is considered an exciting winning streak, it is time for change. Fordham wants to be recognized on the level of Villanova and Boston College. It wants to be a rankings powerhouse with a reputable name, and athletics are a key component of that dream. Yet the University continues to settle for embarrassment so shocking Vince Lombardi is certainly rolling in his grave.

I could go on forever, but the word count imposed by the lovely opinions editors will stop me here.

Make no mistake, I love Fordham.

My years spent here have been some of my best, and I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else. I have had incredible opportunities and have met amazing people. Come May, I will probably be the one crying uncontrollably every time Eve 6’s “Here’s to the Night” comes on my iPod. Fordham has given me knowledge, opportunity, friendship and happiness; but it has also been the source of frustration, incredulity and the knowledge that no matter what efforts at progress this University made, it would always find some way to disappoint (individual cable jacks in Campbell, anyone?). You know what? That bothers me, too.

This article is dedicated to Ashley Bray. Without her constant cheerfulness and unwavering optimism, I would not be the copy chief I am today.

The Fordham Area Offers Unexplored Opportunities

PHOTO BY ASHWIN BHANDARI/THE RAM

The Fordham area offers hundreds of stores and dozens of cultural attractions that students do not explore to the fullest.

By DONOVAN LONGO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham University is located within the 718, but what does that tell someone about Fordham? To the outsider, 718 is just a prefix attached to a phone number indicating a certain area, but to us Rams it is absolutely something more. 718 is our calling card; it represents Fordham, but more importantly, we wonder, what does Fordham represent? The first answer would be a Jesuit tradition. According to its mission; Fordham “[fosters] the intellectual, moral and religious development of its students and prepare them for leadership in a global society.”

I say forget our traditions and represent something a bit more mainstream; Fordham represents the Bronx. Now some opposition may arise, because the Bronx is negatively viewed, unlike our perfectly landscaped campus. It is time to take off our rose-colored glasses and embrace what our urban surroundings offer.

What defines culture? People, food, music are all cultural elements that can be found in the little melting pot located directly outside of our gates. We need to stop fearing the big bad wolf that we think the Bronx is and gear up with our little piggies and start to appreciate all that is going on around us. The Bronx has such a rich history filled with so many different

cultures, from early New England colonists to Italians, African Americans and Hispanics and of course the diverse Fordham student body. The Bronx dances to a rhythm all its own, built upon generations of cultural and ethnic influence.

If you walk on East Fordham Road, you can discover a multitude of street vendors selling scarves, jewelry, tribal statuettes, hand bags and, of course, cell phone chargers. The scene may feel hectic, so take a step back and look around. Although the gyros come from a street stand, they are delectable, the churros are delicious and the music is entertaining. Yes, sometimes the volume is earsplitting, but you cannot deny that it contributes

to the Bronx’s unique atmosphere. It opens your eyes to how others live.

Haggling with street vendors for the best bargain and taking in the smell of local foods as they cook is an experience many Fordham students simply pass by.

If Italian food is your style then mosey on down to Arthur Avenue for the Ferragosto Feast. It occurs annually and is an absolute blast.

Italians and non-Italians alike join together for a celebration of food, culture and religion. The zeppoles are exquisite and between the cheese, meat and bread, you will be full for days. The party goers are somewhat comical; the street looks like a scene straight out of “Godfellas”.

What the Bronx gives us more than anything is perspective. It gives us perspective on our surroundings, our impact and how we live. It is fun to dance to salsa music while walking to the grocery store, and it is exciting to eat raw oysters on Arthur Avenue for lunch. Instead of looking at the things that are wrong with the Bronx, we should see what makes it unique.

We don’t have to pretend that it is flawless, but we should all taste a different flavor of life sometime and the Bronx is the perfect place to start.

Donovan Longo, FCRH ’13, is an English and anthropology major from Long Island, N.Y.

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Fordham Rightly Resists Offering Online Classes

By LORENZO FERRIGNO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As tough as it is to get out of bed in the morning, there is something to be said for going to class. Listening to a dynamic lecture is more effective than simply reading text, and active participation in a discussion helps the material sink in. The community created in a class extends beyond the walls of a classroom; fellow students become friends and professors become sources of knowledge and resources for opportunities. Northeastern and Boston University have already begun supplementing their traditional course listings with online “equivalents;” Fordham is right to refuse to give in to the temptation of online classes, especially in the face of an increasing student body.

Fordham prides itself on the phrase cura personalis, the Ignation motto that is “nourishment of the whole person.” This theme is evident in all aspects of our education here. The Core Curriculum (as frustrating as it is at times) forces students to look beyond what we are used to and opens our eyes to new avenues to explore.

The small classes are a testament to cura personalis, providing the intimacy that may be lacking in a large classroom. The strict attendance policy is even an example of a way to guarantee students are participating in this learning experience. The implementation of cura personalis, though seen in many facets of our experiences at this Jesuit University, would be difficult without the aid of the classroom experience we have.

The foundations on which Jesuit universities, particularly Fordham, have been built are not in accordance with online courses. Though it may be convenient for students, it does not provide the degree of education we are paying for. The realm of learning and studying is completely altered under these conditions, with a less hands-on approach.

If Fordham were to offer online courses, its credibility in teaching would be strongly questioned. Even if a student was able to get beyond the idea of no personal interaction with professors and no thought-provoking ideas of classmates, there is still no guarantee that the quality of education in the online classes

will be up to par with that which Fordham instills.

The quality Fordham insists upon cannot be assured because it is rare for a university to completely create the system for online classes. Universities that have recently chosen to offer online classes in addition to the regular curriculum, such as Northeastern and Boston University, outsource the technology to corporations such as Embanet. These companies provide the computerized curriculum, the tests, advisors and resources.

Though it could be seen as an easy way to generate income for the University, the lessons and advising would not be in agreement with Fordham’s tradition.

Embanet, and companies of the like, are nearly one-stop shopping companies. They are able to offer everything a university is looking for, or as much as they can without the personal interaction, but this comes with a compromise. Sure, online classes can reach a larger amount of people, especially those looking to attend part time. This, however, compromises the integrity of the order devoted to education by lacking a creation of relationships and the true development of the whole person that cura personalis stands on.

Fordham University’s location in a metropolitan area prompts students to use all the resources available to them in New York City. Some schools allow nonattending students to gain comparable course credit by taking online courses; Fordham is right not to offer this. The degree we put on our resumes may not hold the weight it would when applying for internships, graduate schools and jobs if long-distance students can also claim this credential but lack the cosmopolitan experiences we all gain by attending classes at Fordham campuses.

A huge portion of what defines the University is the New York City experience, in addition to the academic and intellectual integrity gained by participation in an intimate classroom setting.

Online courses do not allow students to engage with both peers and professors who are experts in their field, an academic exchange that is a vital part of Fordham’s mission.

Lorenzo Ferrigno, FCRH ’12, is an international political economy and English major from Lincoln Park, N.J.

Issue of the Week:

Wiki Leaks

A Look at the World Outside of Fordham from the Perspective of Professional News Bloggers

See what commentators from the Left and the Right have to say about WikiLeaks publishing 251,287 leaked U.S. embassy cables.

OPINIONS

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 9

Pope Generates Debate Recent Statements About Condom Use Have Sparked Undue Controversy about Doctrine

GEORGE BRIDGES/MCT

The pope’s recent statement related to the Church practice of choosing the path that causes the least suffering and did not change any existing doctrine.

Pope Benedict XVI remarked to a German reporter on Nov. 23, that in some cases, condom use could be justified “in the intention of reducing the risk of infection” of STIs. Some on the “right” of American Catholic politics decried these remarks, fearing that they signaled some sort of moral turnabout by His Holiness. However, it is important to note the context of these remarks and that there is something comforting to both the right and the left in them. As David Gibson of the New York Times points out, Pope Benedict was following an old tradition of the Church; on issues of morality, the Church oftentimes makes decisions on the basis of what would cause the least evil.

Thus, the Pope’s endorsement of contraceptives in very limited cases acknowledges the Church teaching that condoms are seen as an impediment to the creation of life, but in order to halt the spread of a deadly disease, they may have some degree of relevance. As Dan Madigan, S.J., a professor at Georgetown University, explained to CNN, the condom issue is analogous to Quakers being asked if rubber bullets were acceptable in war. While rubber (excuse the pun) is preferable to metal, any Quaker would rather war not be fought at all. In fact, Madigan claims Benedict is saying that condom use represents a “burgeoning moral awareness,” that is, an acknowledgement on the part of the partners that they do not want

to spread disease or bring a child into an unsafe environment.

Madigan makes another interesting point. He says that, on most moral issues, the Church never takes a strict yes or no position.

In this case, however, the Church throughout history has always said a clear “no” in order to avoid saying anything that may be interpreted as “yes.”

The pope’s remarks, then, set the stage for the Church to have the chance to have a role in moderating a renewed debate on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa.

Many people tend to assume that the Catholic Church is constantly, hopelessly backward, an organization doomed to eventual failure due to its inability to change with the times.

However, Pope Benedict and the other members of the Church hierarchy are a lot smarter than these critics might assume. Their firmly held convictions on moral issues are the results of thousands of years of theological insight. In the Church’s mind, the sexual revolution of the past several decades ought not to have an effect on longpromulgated Church theology. In fact, quite the contrary; the pastor at my home parish explained that, through the years, the Church has often been the one to stand up and say “no” to what it sees as moral ills, and its job is to continue to do so.

As Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., pointed out in his lecture “True and False Reforms,” delivered here at Fordham in 2003, any sort of Church reform is that which does

not stray from long-held theological teaching.

Thus, if in fact Pope Benedict is proposing any sort of reform or re-explanation of Church teaching, Cardinal Dulles and others would probably hope that he followed the ideals of French Dominican Yves Congar, as explained in Cardinal Dulles’s lecture: “A genuinely Catholic reform will adhere to the fullness of Catholic doctrine, including not only the dogmatic definitions of popes and councils but doctrines constantly and universally held as matters pertaining to the faith. In this connection, cognizance will be taken of the distinction made by Vatican II between the deposit of faith and formulations of doctrine. Because human thought and language are inevitably affected by cultural and historical factors, it may be necessary from time to time to adjust the language in which the faith has been proclaimed.”

Pope Benedict seems to be doing exactly that. He is changing the language of Church teaching to make it more applicable to the problems of today, without changing the actual teaching at all. To the critics, the Church may remain a white elephant of moral teaching, but to those who understand the Church’s rationale for its teaching on contraceptives, Pope Benedict’s remarks should be a welcome way to maintain the teaching in light of the AIDS crisis and other factors.

John Feffer, The Huffington Post

Allahpundit, Hot Air

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder

“Civic activists pursue ‘sunshine laws’ to expose backroom deals. WikiLeaks takes the sunshine law into its own hands in order to expose the shadowy corners of foreign policy. But there are limits. As those who suffer from skin cancer can tell you, too much sunlight can also be deadly.”

“WikiLeaks sure is cavalier about the sort of escalation between rivals that some of these documents might ignite. U.S./ROK wargames are going on in the Yellow Sea... Anyone excited to toss that particular match into the powder keg and see if anything pops?”

“If journalism is good it is controversial by its nature. It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abuses, and when powerful abuses are taken on, there is always a back reaction. So we see that controversy and we believe that is a good thing to engage in.”

By CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY STAFF WRITER

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

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

OPINIONS

Application Inflation Squeezes High Schoolers for Money

COURTESY OF COMMON APPLICATION

The Common Application Web site allows students to fill out a single application form and apply to multiple universities.

By RORY MASTERSON STAFF WRITER

Last week, the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise reportedly paid around $5 million for the rights to negotiate an even larger contract with a player from Japan, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. This comes only a few weeks after the Oakland Athletics, in a slightly less-heralded move, reportedly submitted a bid around $16 million to speak to another star Japanese player, Hisashi Iwakuma.

Outside of the decadent world of Major League Baseball and outrageously high-paid stars like Alex Rodriguez, these sums seem absolutely ludicrous because they do not even constitute the contract

that would come should the negotiations go successfully.

On college campuses in the United States, a similar travesty occurs every day. High school seniors pay increasingly exorbitant amounts simply to apply to colleges and universities, and name-brand institutions are taking advantage of that.

Smaller colleges are quite possibly losing out on attracting good-butnot-great students, whom colleges encourage to apply to their schools, knowing that these students have little to no chance of acceptance.

According to the College Board, a totalitarian organization to most high school students and one with which most readers are surely familiar, the average college applica-

tion fee hovers around $35. This may seem miniscule to many Fordham students, as Fordham’s own application fee is $60. Fordham’s fee is on par with many peer colleges and universities. Notre Dame’s application fee is $65, Boston College charges $70 for application and Yale’s princely sum amounts to $75. All of these fees are in place merely for the right of a student to send his or her application to a college.

However, as these name-brand colleges increase in popularity, more students apply every year.

Some universities receive upward of 30,000 applications for only 2,000-3,000 spots. The universities in question have upped applica-

tion fees in recent years, seeing an opportunity for even more profit to supplement alumni donations and tuition. These universities are aware they cannot accept every one of these students, or even half of them, yet they encourage every student to apply anyway. This leads high school seniors to believe that they can get into that dream college, no matter what their weighted GPAs, composite ACT scores or extracurricular activities are.

Colleges accept the application fees as non-refundable deposits on students’ futures. The overwhelming majority of these students do not, of course, receive acceptance, though they are aware of this before applying and, to cover themselves, think it is a better idea just to apply to more colleges. Spreading themselves thin, the students end up applying, and giving more money, to schools to which they do not even have any great desire to attend.

The schools encourage this freewheeling monetary behavior of “potential” student prospects.

They do not stop anyone from applying, instead issuing statements such as this one from the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions’ Web site: “Our goal is twofold: to enroll the best possible students at the University and to treat with dignity every student who expresses interest in applying here…If you choose to apply for admission, we promise to treat your application with great care because it repre-

sents you during an important time in your life.”

We know, however, that this cannot always be true. There are significant statistics and pieces of information that, when an admissions office reviews an application, can immediately determine a student’s candidacy for admission without the consideration of the rest of the application. In today’s financial climate, one of those significant pieces of information may be the student’s ability to pay for college without financial aid. Instead of attempting to help admitted students who are better academic candidates, many colleges take their application fees and favor legacies or people who can pay for at least the majority of their university experience.

While Fordham does offer to waive the fee for some applicants, many students are still forced to pay the full sum just to apply. Application fees must come down in order to make for a level playing field for smaller colleges and universities who do not have as much prestige as others yet are more readily able to accept students. To take students’ money from application fees knowing they will not accept those students is criminal.

They are fooling the students, as well as themselves. The fees for applications are at a level at which even Alex Rodriguez may question paying.

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

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DECEMBER 1, 2010

PAGE 13

Get in the Holiday Spirit with Classic Productions From Ballet to Progressive Rock, New York Shows Have Everything to Give You Holiday Cheer

By SANDY McKENZIE ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

New York City is home to numerous holiday musicals that draw audiences from throughout the United States. This holiday season offers various musical performances that are sure to be crowdpleasers, including The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the Cirque Du Solei – Wintuk show, the New York City Ballet: The Nutcracker, Donny and Marie Osmond: A Broadway Christmas and the TransSiberian Orchestra.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes has been performed in NYC for 77 years. This year, the Christmas Spectacular will play from Nov. 5 until Dec. 30 at Radio City Music Hall (1260 6th Ave.).

Past performances of the Christmas Spectacular can be viewed on PBS, with the next one airing on Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular can also be purchased on DVD. According to the New York City theatre Web site, Radio City Music hall first opened in December of 1932. Since its opening, celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennet have performed at Radio City Music Hall. The New York Times gave this year’s performance four-and-a-half stars. According to the Times, the Christmas Spectacular is a “radiant and heart-warming integration of dance, singing” and “costumes.”

In addition to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, New York City is also host to the Cirque Du Solei – Wintuk show, which is playing at the Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden (located at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza). According

COURTESY OF KRT

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is an important Christmas tradition, which the New York City Ballet is performing at the David H. Kogg Theatre at Lincoln Center.

to the New York City theatre Web site, the show is about a “boy’s quest for snow” in “the imaginary land called Wintuk” and features “thrilling acrobatics, breathtaking theatrical effects and memorable songs.”

This Cirque Du Soleil show will be playing from Wednesday, Dec. 1 through Thursday, Dec. 30.

Another traditional holiday musical is the New York City Ballet: The Nutcracker, which begins Dec. 1 and runs until Dec. 30 at the David H. Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center. According to the Web site nutcrackerballet.net, The Nutcracker

ballet is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffman called “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice.” The story depicts a young girl named Clara who dreams that the Nutcracker Prince engages in a battle with the Mouse King. Clara ends up killing the Mouse King and is taken by the Nutcracker Prince into the Land of Snow.

“The Nutcracker is a classic holiday musical that everyone should see at least once every Christmas,” Molly Thompson, FCRH ’12, said.

“No matter what age you are or how many times you have been to The Nutcracker, seeing the musical

is always a nice way to celebrate the holiday season. You can see The Nutcracker with your friends or with your family and enjoy the performance. each year” A less-traditional Christmas musical is the Donny and Marie Osmond: A Broadway Christmas, which opens on Sunday, Dec. 19 and runs until Thursday, Dec. 30 at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway.

This new holiday musical incorporates 12 performances based on the “Osmond Family Christmas.”

For those who enjoy progressive rock music, New York City also hosts the Trans-Siberian Orches-

tra, which will perform on Friday, Dec. 17 at the Nassau Coliseum, which is located at 1255 Hampstead Turnpike. According to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Web site, the orchestra was established in 1933 by Paul O’Neil. Since 1933, the orchestra has blended aspects of classical, orchestral, symphonic, progressive, rock and metal genres to form a unique musical style.

Whether one enjoys a traditional ballet, an upbeat performance by the Rockettes or a progressive rock orchestra, NYC has numerous holiday musicals that are sure to please any crowd.

eral one. How did you get started playing music, and who and what are your musical inspirations?

to answer that. I would say maybe “Lifejacket” if I had to choose. The message in the song is entirely my heart. I just want people to know that God is way bigger than all of our worries/struggles/pain and will bear those things for us. I called the EP Carried Away because I thought it sort of fit the direction I am going in with music. I’m about to record a couple new songs that will demonstrate a bit more of that.

and what do you find is different about them?

you would wish to be treated. Also, be yourself, because you are perfect.

The Ram Sits Down with Paris Carney

By TARA CANNON COPY EDITOR

Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Paris Carney was born in New York City but was raised in both New York and California. Her talent as a musician runs in the family; both of her parents are musicians, and her brothers are in the band Carney, so she has been around music for her whole life.

She is currently living in Los Angeles after taking a leave of absence from New York’s The New School to pursue her music dreams on the West Coast. Paris spent a few years on tour with Carney (formerly known as “Reeve Carney and the Revolving Band”), and she has just released her first EP on iTunes, entitled “Carried Away;” she has been featured on the widely viewed Cambio.com twice for live performances. She was also recently on the AOL.com homepage as an “Up And Coming Artist.”

The Ram: Hey Paris! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. My first question is a gen-

Paris Carney: First off, thank YOU so much for asking! As for music, I’ve been singing since I can remember. I grew up in a household with lots of music. My dad was a jingle writer and my mom and he were both musicians and constantly singing with my brothers and I in harmony. I know that sounds super cheesy but its the truth. I would say that music has always been in my heart and my passion.

I have so many musical inspirations to list. I love Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Rufus Wainwright, Carney (my brothers’ band), Fiest, Phoenix, Fiona Apple, Mindy Smith, Joy Williams – I could go on forever!

TR: Which of your new songs on your EP, Carried Away, is your favorite? Why did you call your EP Carried Away?

PC: My favorite song – oh man, I don’t even know if I am allowed

TR: How does your strong faith influence your music?

PC: My faith is what my music all about. I know that I could never write these songs without God, who inspires all. Of course its fun to write songs about relationships and pain and I think that’s so important.

Hopefully with a twist of a positive outcome – to know that those things don’t define us. We aren’t given more than we can handle, as difficult as that seems in the moment.

TR: How is life in Los Angeles different than life in New York?

What do you like about each city,

PC: I actually moved out to LA when I was 10, so I’ve been out here for 13 years now. I love both places so much but for different reasons. I would like to say I’m always a city (New York) girl at heart. I love the cold weather and the excitement in NYC. I’m not too much for the heat in LA, but I still love the vibe and all my friends are the biggest blessings.

TR: What is your everyday style like? Do you have a go-to outfit?

PC: I love to be comfortable. So baggy tops (Brandi Melville’s amazing), skinny jeans, scarves, boots and leather jackets are my favorite.

I also love shorts and tights. I am a sucker for them.

TR: I know you love to inspire girls to be themselves and follow their dreams. What advice can you give to college students?

PC: I would say to know that you are a treasure and to treat people as

Paris’s Favorites: Spot to write music: The floor of my room.

Web site: whowhatweardaily.com Store: Brandi Melville Spot in NYC: Greenwich village.

Spot in LA: Los Feliz. Well, mostly all food places. And hiking trails.

Movie: It used to be Notting Hill, but recently, Lucky Number Seven.

TV Show: Anything on The Food Network.

Food: Mexican.

Nail polish color: Black Musician(s): All of my friends/ family! And all of my musical inspirations.

Actor(s): Natalie Portman.

Animal: Pigs.

Paris’ new EP is available for purchase now. To purchase Paris’ EP, visit the iTunes Store and search for “Paris Carney: Carried Away,” or visit pariscarney.com.

CULTURE

PAGE 14 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

That’s So Po

Dining Out: Palm Restaurant

MARY PORPORA Week 10 : Harry Potter Midnight Premiere I went to the midnight premiere of the seventh Harry Potter film.

As any of my friends can tell you, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. For a while I was adamant on dressing up for the premiere. I was thinking either Professor Trelawney or Hedwig, the owl. I figured Trelawney would be easy, and for Hedwig, I was just going to take a hint from the cast of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” when they wrestled for the troops dressed as eagles. Basically just some feather arms and a beak hat, but I chickened out. I did wear my glasses though to keep up some sort of Potter spirit.

My friends and I got in line outside the movie theater at about 9:30 a.m. There was already a line down the block filled with dedicated fans.

Unlike me, many of them did not chicken out and they were in full costume. There were a plethora of Hogwarts students who looked like they got their uniforms at Sears instead of Diagon Alley. There were also a lot of snitches. I am assuming this is because this costume allowed girls to wear gold lamé and glitter, who does not love that combination? The best costume I saw was a large man dressed up in Hagrid’s furry brown suit. His jacket and his beard were spot-on, and I thoroughly enjoyed his enthusiasm. I was disheartened, however, when I saw him after the movie on the street corner with his beard in his hands. It was so sad.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

I am definitely going to see the second part at midnight as well, not only because of the depth of my HP love but also so that I can experience other die-hard fans, like the lady next to me this year. I did not want to judge her, but she is exactly the kind of fan that gives all Harry Potter fans a bad name. The second the lights went down, she started shhing people and telling everyone in her general vicinity to shut up.

Later, when the movie took a miniscule amount of creative license by removing a character from a scene, she yelled out in objection. Then, at the end, when a certain beloved character dies, she was bawling. I looked over at my friend and we were both a bit teary-eyed, but once we saw this woman we could not stop laughing. Obviously this woman was an adamant fan because she came alone to a midnight showing. She therefore knew that this specific character was going to die. Why then would she be so upset by an incident we all knew was coming? I could not understand it.

Again, I appreciated her enthusiasm, but I think she took it to that obnoxious level. Let’s settle down here. She is dangerously close to those Star Trek freaks, no offense.

I have been to many other midnight premieres of a few other famous series including The Dark Knight and the poor excuse that was the fourth Indiana Jones. While each of the films had a unique crowd, they cannot compare to the midnight Harry Potter experience.

Harry Potter midnight premiere, now that’s so Po!

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LACOURSIERE/THE RAM

The Palm Restaurant has 27 locations in the U.S. and six in New York City.

By JUSTIN LaCOURSIERE STAFF WRITER

I do not usually review chain restaurants, but Palm Restaurant has been continually praised ever since its first location opened in New York City in 1926. I decided to give it a try and see what all the excitement was really about. The Palm was founded on the philosophy to “treat guests like family, serve great food and always exceed expectations.” There are now 27 Palm Restaurants in total, six of which are located right here in New York City.

The Palm is stilled owned and operated by family members of the original founders.

“Steaks and sketches” is a slogan that Palm has become known for because of its caricature tradition. Years ago, artists began paying their bills not by signing the check, but by drawing original portraits on the walls of the restaurant. Thanks to the New York City cartoon syndicate offices that ran with this idea, there are now caricatures at every Palm. The walls at Palm are covered with realistic-looking colored drawings of celebrities, some of which are accompanied by signatures if that celebrity has visited. All-in-all, the ambiance of this restaurant caters toward an upscale steak-house feel with its stark-white table clothes, many wine glasses and natural colors of brown, beige and gray on the walls.

The way dinner works at Palm is you choose your main course, and then add sides served family-style, large enough for the table to share. Two of the four dinners for the evening were steak: a nine ounce filet mignon ($42.50) and a 14-ounce prime New York strip ($44.50). The filet was a little dry on the outside and could have used a pinch more salt. It does need to be taken into account that filet is naturally a dryer cut of beef because it is lean, therefore lacking fat, the ingredient that gives meat its flavor. The center was juicy and the steak was cooked medium-rare, just the way it was ordered.

The New York strip was juicy throughout, but thick. It cut like butter and had very nice flavor, but I have eaten better steak from my own kitchen.

The steak seemed to be missing something, and after eating a few bites it dawned on me that there was no crunchy seasoning on the outside to give the steak some kind of crust. A crust of seasoning would have given this piece of beef what it needed to go from good to great.

The sides were the stars of the show this evening. First up was a crock of three cheese potatoes ($11), followed by a plate of string beans ($9.50).

The cheesy potatoes were delicious. This smooth side dish tasted just like macaroni and cheese, but instead of noodles the dish had potatoes. The string beans were lightly sautéed, leaving the vegetable with a hardy crunch.

They upstaged the steak dinners, which should have been the leading roles.

The string beans were the best part of the evening.

Eighteen ounces of double-cut lamb rib chops ($44.50) were complimented well by the side of three cheese potatoes. These three tender chops came off the bone fairly easily. They were accompanied by a small bowl of jell-o-looking mint jelly. A sauce or juice of some kind was not served with this dish, but it was not needed.

Palm has seasonal specials, and an option that has been running for the past month is to customize a fourOverall course dinner ($49) with your choice of Location salad, entrée, side and dessert. The Food Quality customization for my table started Atmosphere Hospitality with a traditional Caesar salad topped Price $$$$ with garlic focaccia croutons and parmigiano-reggiano. It was a nicely (Out of 4 ’s) sized salad, but very typical; nothing stood out. This was followed by a potato crusted Chilean sea bass fillet with sesame leaf spinach and ginger cream. It was a solid main dish with a nice presentation. However, it did not need the additional sides. The potato was properly baked, but the spinach that came with this dinner would have been fine on its own. The fish was excellent though, sporting a creamy yet light taste and texture. The crust on top of the fish gave it substance, leading me to believe the fish was seared. To finish the customized four-course meal, the desert of choice was Key lime pie. This tangy pie had the distinct Key-lime taste, and it came with a soft graham cracker crumb crust.

Palm Restaurant has an extensive dessert tray which the waiter brings over to the table to show. To join the Key lime pie, a small warm molten chocolate cake ($10) was to be the next dessert. This luscious cake delivered the goods, but it could have used softer ice cream. Scraping the rock-hard ice cream takes away from the enjoyment of the dessert, and a smoother choice would have gone better with the moist chocolate cake.

Servers at this steakhouse are extremely attentive when at your table, but it is often hard to get their attention. More than once I had to wait around for my waiter to answer questions, but once answered it was done thoroughly. The staff was nice, but it was as if the majority of them were trying too hard to make a good impression. However, the staff at Palm is knowledgeable and they work collectively as if each person is part of a machine; they get the job done without glitches and are continuously on the move making sure the process runs well. Overall the food here is good, no doubt.

The hype may be higher than the actual presentation, but this place is a step above your fairly typical, run-of-the-mill restaurant. The tables get crowded and seem small at times, and I suggest bringing a light sweater since it was a little drafty in the dining room.

Editor’s Pick: mental_floss Magazine

By HUSSEIN SAFA COPY EDITOR

If you are a nerd like me, then nothing gives you an adrenaline rush and a dopaminergic high like the acquisition of new knowledge.

In the never-ending quest for the black-belt in knowledge, a primary weapon in your repertoire should be mental_floss magazine. In addition to its amusing title, the slogan for this magazine is “where knowledge junkies get their fix.” The slogan essentially defines the tone of this magazine: snarky humor and witty journalism intertwined with educational writing.

The magazine is bi-monthly, and it is usually found in major book stores rather the average magazine stands. It does not fall into a specific genre of reporting, but each issue usually has a general theme such as history, science, or current cultural references and attractions in its cover story articles. Mental_ floss, like any other magazine, has a certain structure, though. It starts off with a section called “Scatterbrained,” featuring interesting

articles and tidbits about random quotidian things, ranging from tools to cheese to facial expressions. The next section is called “Right_Brain, Left_Brain,” and, just like the function of the right brain, features an article about some artistic masterpiece, such as James Whistler’s “Portrait of an Artist’s Mother” (who incidentally did not have a good relationship with his mother as many believe) or Voltaire’s “Candide,” juxtaposed next to some analytic article about some scientific topic, just like the function of the left brain, and these articles feature topics ranging from the future of energy use (hydrogen molecules will be “so in” in the future), to deadly animals that can actually save your life (vipers are our frenemy).

The magazine then moves on to its feature articles, and these are basically two to three pages of knowledgeably discussed facts (can you feel the excitement?).

These articles have varying themes and report on different issues, also tending to balance historical or political articles with scientific ones.

Articles featured in past issues include a history of IKEA (which is not even a Swedish name), the lives of Noam Chomsky or Gabriel Garcia Marquez and an abridged easyto-understand explanation of how biodiesel fuel works.

Then the magazine devotes a few pages and articles to its cover story.

The cover stories can be about how bacteria and parasites are now being used to cure cancer and restore damaged nerves, or they can be about the 20 greatest mistakes in history, such as the London fire and the worst parking job ever (that resulted in World War I). Regardless of what the topic is, the writers still deliver the topic with clarity, biting sarcasm and humorous observations.

The final sections of the magazine round out with its content in similar style. The 50-cent tour section gives a surprisingly comprehensive tour of a country, such as well-developed countries like France or Sweden, or developing countries like Kashmir and Panama. These “tours” are not just listing facts from guidebooks

or Wikipedia articles, but journalists travel to these countries and provide a first-hand account of the nature, culture and history of the country (what an awesome job!).

Then there is the “Six Degrees of Ken Jennings” column, offering, as the titles suggest, the six degrees between two random things like NASA and NASCAR. Then there is the last page “Lightning Round” section that essentially lists as many facts as they can fit on a page.

The magazine also features an annual ten-issue that is basically articles about 10 Vatican secrets exposed, 10 things you didn’t know about Somali pirates, 10 works of literature that were ridiculously hard to write… you get the idea.

So if this tantalizing description has already tempted your cerebral cortex, head out and grab a copy of mental_floss magazine. You can also visit their Web site at www. mentalfloss.com for online articles and addictive quizzes to keep you entertained and help you procrastinate without feeling too much guilt (because you are learning something right?).

CULTURE

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 15

Matt Lauer vs. Kanye West

By CLARA ENNIST STAFF WRITER

How eloquent can you be in 140 words; actually, how eloquent can you be in 140 characters or less?

For that matter, how professional can you be in 140 characters or less?

If looking at celebrity Twitter accounts, the answer is “not very.”

In fact, celebrities are increasingly using their Twitter accounts as impromptu press conferences and as a forum for airing their feelings and feuds. While not incredibly recent, Kanye West’s one-sided Twitter feud with Matt Lauer exemplifies the lack of professionalism that accompanies the average celebrity tweet.

“The Today Show” aired an interview on Nov. 10 between Matt Lauer and Kanye West during which Lauer questioned West about his interruption of Taylor Swift’s VMA acceptance speech and his infamous criticism of President Bush post-Katrina. Apparently, West disliked the interview format of playing video footage of each event with audio, tweeting about the pre-taped interview on November 11: “…[Matt Lauer] TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT ... I feel very alone very used very tortured very forced very misunderstood very hollow very very misused ... I don’t trust anyone but myself!”

While West seethed in paranoia, Matt Lauer tried to explain the use of video with sound during West’s interview saying that it was the standard interview, format.

However, “The Today Show” used footage of an emotional President Bush rather than West’s initial postKatrina criticism of the former president in what West called an attempt “to prompt [his] emotion.”

Furthermore, Lauer tried to summarize West’s comments on racism in order to produce a neat sound bite that could be used in promo-

tions for the interview.

Ironically, Lauer’s attempts to condense West’s emotions into a sound bite were the partial cause of West condensing his opinion on “The Today Show” into a 140 character tweet. West also used the social networking service to announce the cancellation of his Nov. 26 performance on “The Today Show” which added him to the growing list of celebrities who use the Twitter accounts to divulge important information in an unofficial forum.

Rachel Zoe recently used Twitter to announce her pregnancy and Paula Abdul tweeted in August 2009 to announce her split from “American Idol.” While these two pieces of news are of varying importance, they both demonstrate how stars use Twitter to break important news in one of the most unprofessional formats.

Perhaps the ease with which celebrities can update their Twitter accounts is to blame; celebrities can access their accounts virtually anywhere and they frequently update their tweets. Sean P. Diddy Combs writes an average 32 tweets per day including gems like, “Ohhh S***!!! @NICKIMINAJ is selling A lot of F***** Records right now!!! Don’t be LATE! Cop that Pink Friday NOW!!! Fire! Rt to the world!”

Yet the fact that celebrities can reach a gigantic audience when

they update their Twitter accounts does little to dispel any grandiose delusions they may have. West has over 1.6 million followers (which pales in comparison to the most followed celebrity on Twitter, Lady Gaga, who has over seven million followers) but he publicly does not follow anyone on his Twitter account, which gives one the sense that West is so infatuated with his tweets that he cannot be bothered to follow anyone else.

“I don’t think Twitter is, in general, the proper means to communicate news of a serious level,” Johana Borjas, FCRH ’12, said. “Just the fact that Kanye used Twitter as a forum to let the public know how he felt about ‘The Today Show’ detracts from the point he’s making.

No one should take it seriously, but sometimes the public does.”

Overall, it seems like Twitter and social networking has detracted from the professionalism among celebrities. It used to be that celebrity bad behavior was reported in tabloid magazines and television channels such as E! where the stories would stay on newsstands and the television for at least a day, but with Twitter, celebrities can constantly change their accounts, which lowers the bar for professionalism. If a celebrity writes one volatile tweet, he or she can write 20 more that day because quality is subsumed to quantity.

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

Going

02

?

On

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

THURSDAY

Brandon Flowers Hammerstein Ballroom 311 W. 34th St.

The lead singer of the Flowers is back, though allegedly without his trademark eyeliner, to collaborate with Jenny Lewis.

03

FRIDAY

The Coward The Duke 42nd St. 229 W. 42nd St.

This modern day interpretation of male roles closes soon, so make sure you get a chance to see this.

04

SATURDAY

Jeff Tweedy Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St.

Another solo frontman of a broken band, the former Wilco-member is headlining while Autumn Defense opens.

05

SUNDAY

Brooklyn Brewery Tour Brooklyn Brewery 79 N. 11th St.

Come by for a 20-minute lesson on the brewery’s history, and then stave off the stress of finals with a pint.

06

MONDAY

New York City Ballet: The Nutcracker David H. Koch Theater 20 Lincoln Square

Be sure to see the New York City Ballet’s renowned interpretation of this iconic ballet.

07

TUESDAY

The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Soho Gallery for Digital Art 138 Sullivan St.

Get your fill of science fiction, horror and fantasy at this reading, which occurs on the first Tuesday of every month.

08

Radio City Christmas Spectacular Radio City Musical Hall 1260 Sixth Ave.

WEDNESDAY

The Rockettes are back for another season, so be sure to see their show and get into the holiday season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATINA REVELS/ MCT

— COMPILED BY CELESTE KMIOTEK

Kanye West took his battle with Matt Lauer to Twitter, drawing more attention.

Ram Reviews MUSIC

MOVIE

TELEVISION

THEATER

ALBUM

YASMIN

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1

“VERY MARY-KATE”

CHICAGO

HELLOGOODBYE WOULD IT KILL YOU?

“On My Own” One of the best up-and-coming young artists out of London is Yasmin. She has now set her sights on a solo career away from the turntable, and is in the process of making her debut singing album. Off the 2011 record is her first single as a solo artist called “On My Own.” The song features strong R&B influences with a touch of electronica and catchy hip-hop beat.

This is a solid first effort from the young Londoner, and it should get people in England and across the world to take notice. She is a real talent and seems to possess a musical ear well beyond her ears. “On My Own” is a fantastic song with great musical aesthetics.

While questions will be raised on whether she can make a name for herself on this side of the pond, nobody can deny her talent and creativity.

Despite the need for familiarity, the wizarding world has grown much darker from the fantastic sphere we’ve been accustomed to and this causes a new level of maturity within the saga. Harry is alone: Sirius (Gary Oldman, Dracula) and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon, Othello) are dead. There is no one left to guide him, advise him or even just protect him. Although the film confronts some very adult issues, it doesn’t forget the protagonists are seventeen year olds. Even with a war engulfing them, drama and hormones still abound.

It is difficult for a film to live up to incredible hype, but this movie unlike its predecessors, manages to do just that. It stays true to the books, gives us the characters we love, and is skillfully executed.

However, it was only Part 1 and I, for one, cannot wait for Part 2.

This Web series, which is produced by CollegeHumor.com and was created by actor, writer and comedian Elaine Carroll, markets itself as the “unofficial biography of Mary-Kate Olsen.” The show chronicles the ordinary, day-today life of Mary-Kate in short one- to two-minute episodes, including her friendship with her bodyguard (who she affectionately calls “Bodyguard”), her struggles at college, her difficulties learning to drive, and otherwise “ordinary” events.

“Very Mary-Kate” is one of the most pointless series on the Web, but that is not to say it isn’t also one of the best. There is not a single episode that’s unmemorable, and I dare you to watch an episode without laughing. Do not miss out on one of the funniest shows out there.

Even to the most casual theatergoer, few shows scream “Broadway” like the classic musical Chicago. The original production premiered on Broadway in 1975, with a Tony-award winning revival opening in 1996.

Set in the 1920s, Chicago follows Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two passionate women awaiting their trials for murder. Kelly is a vaudeville star and Hart has similar aspirations; she decides that with the help of lawyer Billy Flynn, she could become a famous face in the papers, saving her from execution and launching her career.

Do not be surprised if you are still humming along to these wellknown songs days later. During the last vaudeville number, Roxie and Velma sing: “Isn’t it grand?/ Isn’t it good?/ Isn’t it swell?/ Isn’t it fun?”

Chicago is all of the above.

Never judge an album by the band name on the cover and its past history. That is what they always say, right? Well forget what they may or may not say, because on Hellogoodbye’s second fulllength album, Would It Kill You?, the California-based power-pop group has transformed itself, and that is quite an understatement.

Perhaps the most special aspect of this album, beside the fact that it is just darn good, is that the band’s musical maturity has not diminished their characteristically funloving mentality seen on previous albums and EP’s. They have done an incredible job of creating something new without compromising their core sound or artistry. They make music because they love it, not because it is their job. With just one month left, 2010 continues to be a great year for great music.

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

PAGE 16 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

CULTURE

2010 Holiday Season Movie Preview

By MARK BECKER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Studios always save the big movies for the holiday season; this year there is a fantastic mix of all genres to keep everyone going to the theatres, bedbugs be damned. Most of the top stars will be involved in something this winter: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Ben Stiller, Tommy Lee Jones and Jack Nicholson all star, best buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will make appearances (although in separate films) and several topnotch supporters – Josh Brolin, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Segal and Paul Bettany – will show their faces as well.

The films themselves include several series continuations, some classic tales and a few totally outthere shots in the dark, but all look appealing enough and should attract their fair share of viewers.

The big gun has already been fired – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 hit theatres almost two weeks ago and nearly raked in the total cost of production (about $150 million) on opening weekend, grossing just over $125 million and breaking $200 million ($220 million) total. Nothing else this season will come close to that, although The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Little Fockers will push the $75 million mark on opening weekend through name recognition alone.

Other recent releases include Disney’s Tangled and Burlesque.

Tangled is an old-school Disney interpretation of the classic tale “Rapunzel,” although with more focus on Rapunzel (Mandy Moore; License to Wed, The Princess Diaries) saving her own hair in the wake of dashing bandit Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi; ”Chuck”) than the original tale prescribes. There was some turnover during production, including a director change that altered the focus of the story, but it brought in $69 million on opening weekend, so at least the advertising has gone well.

Burlesque features Cher (Silkwood) as a past-her-prime club dancer who sees some talent in

a young, typical waitress-in-LAhoping-to-make-it-big (Christina Aguilera, in her film debut), and for obvious reasons is expected neither to be good nor make much money aside from what comes through name recognition. It pulled in just $17.2 million in its first weekend, and will have a hard time bringing much else in as the feature presentations come into play.

The King’s Speech showcases Colin Firth (A Single Man, Love Actually) with Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, Big Fish) and Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean, Shakespeare in Love) in supporting roles and looks interesting in itself, but won’t make much of an impact on audiences or the box office (likely Academy Award reception aside). A good enough story, it won’t be a bad viewing, but it won’t be anything out of the ordinary either. It certainly looks interesting, but it may be too static to attract a significant audience. Firth fans should drive those numbers up anyway, however.

The first weekend in December consists almost entirely of limited releases, including All Good Things (Ryan Gosling, Remember the Titans, The Notebook – who is double-dipping with Blue Valentine on New Year’s Eve – and Kirsten Dunst, Spiderman, Wimbledon), Black Swan (Natalie Portman, Star Wars, V for Vendetta) and I Love You Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge!, The Ghost Writer; and Jim Carrey; Bruce Almighty, The Grinch). The Warrior’s Way is the only wide release and for those interested in the action/drama genre, the combo of Rush and Korean box-office draw Dong-gun Jang (Friend) will rock the beginning of the season.

Dec. 10 is when things really begin to pick up; Narnia, The Company Men, The Tempest and The Tourist all open that weekend, and none should disappoint. Dawn Treader is the third installment of the seven-book Narnia series, and may be the final, as Disney pulled out of financing the series in late 2008 and 20th Century Fox co-produced Dawn Treader. As successful as the series has been, it would be foolish

for someone not to continue the series, however.

The Company Men and The Tourist will trade off of the names of their stars – Affleck (Extract, State of Play) and Jones (No Country for Old Men, Men In Black) in the former and the foursome of Jolie (Salt), Depp (Alice of Wonderland, Public Enemies), Bettany (Legion, The Young Victoria) and Timothy Dalton (“Chuck”, Hot Fuzz) in the latter. The Tourist will succeed based solely on the array of stars involved, and should be a good enough Hollywood-style hit, but isn’t expected to land many award nominations. Company Men’s plot focuses on three men fighting against corporate downsizing, making it relatable enough to succeed; Affleck’s and Jones’s presences will only enhance its appeal.

The Tempest is loosely based on Shakespeare’s illustrious final play, as the main character, Prospero (Helen Mirren, Red, The Last Station), is now a woman. The rest of the story is similar enough that Shakespeare diehards will survive watching it, and the story has already withstood the test of time; it shouldn’t disappoint, but probably won’t astound either.

Wahlberg (The Departed, The Other Guys) and Bale (The Dark Knight, Public Enemies) front the next weekend with Amy Adams (Junebug, Enchanted), in tandem with Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Departed), Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Legally Blonde) and Owen Wilson (Zoolander, Wedding Crashers), in The Fighter and How Do You Know, respectively; both will vie for top honors in the short window between other big releases and have excellent potential. The Fighter will showcase Wahlberg shirtless (as anyone may expect) playing a boxer trained by his brother (Bale), and appears to have a shot at Oscar nomination a là Rocky, based on Wahlberg’s expressed views on it. How Do You Know has the looks of a successful semi-sports comedy: Witherspoon plays a former athlete dating a baseball player while being pursued by a corporate suit (Paul Rudd; Anchorman, Role

Models) with Nicholson thrown in the mix.

TRON: Legacy also opens that weekend, but has been criticized as being a little too out-there for any real success; it will grab the scifi audience not satisfied with the two heavy hitters of the week but not much else. Yogi Bear is a bit of a wild card, with Dan Aykroyd (50 First Dates, Ghostbusters) and Justin Timberlake (The Social Network, Shrek the Third) pairing up to voice Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, respectively, for an interesting onetwo punch; however, the cartoon only ever met with middling success and will likely only appeal to kids looking to see a furry creature on screen since the rest are hibernating all winter.

The seriousness ends quickly this year, with the Tuesday before Christmas bringing two big-time comedies and not much else (although True Grit, a Coen brothers western starring Brolin (Jonah Hex, Milk) [sound familiar?] and Damon (Hereafter, Invictus) as supporting actors, will grab a big chunk of money as the only serious film of any quality). Little Fockers – yes, another Stiller-Robert De Niro awkwardfest (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers) – brings the likes of Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman into the fold as Stiller tries to prove to his father-in-law Jack (De Niro) that he is, simply, a man. Despite the usual weak reviews, the series’ fans are loyal to the point of insanity, and should turn out in droves as usual, expecting more of exactly the same.

The most intriguing of all winter season films this year, however, will be, of all possibilities, one featuring Jack Black (Saving Silverman, School of Rock). Gulliver’s Travels, the onscreen adaptation of a chapter in the classic Jonathon Swift novel of the same name, has the potential to blow everything else away this season, but it will take all Black has in him to balance his unique comedic appeal with the gravity of and respect the story deserves. The film stays true to the novel in general plot, with Gulliver captured by the small-statured Lilliputians before winning them over and leading

them into battle against their foes, the Blefuscudians. Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, “How I Met Your Mother”) makes an appearance to aid Black in his journey, and should help keep his acting down to earth as well. As the novel is itself a satire concerning Gulliver’s naiveté, the film appears perfectly positioned for a slightly more modern take on Gulliver, and there is no one better than Black to bring that all together. Even if it fails to meet the lofty expectations dictated by the novel’s legendary status, it should make for a good laugh and enjoyable film nonetheless, but don’t discount its vast potential heading into the theatre.

Things wind down after Christmas Eve, with The Illusionist opening in a limited capacity on Christmas Day and two other no-hype limited releases launching the following Tuesday (although Javier Bardem [Eat Pray Love, The Sea Inside] stars in one – Biutiful). The season wraps up with a real treat, however – Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects) stars in Casino Jack in what many have called the performance of his life, which would really be something if true. Spacey plays a DC lobbyist – Jack Abramoff – whose attempts to influence policy result in scandal, namely corruption and murder, and all on just a $15 million budget. Based on the true story of Abramoff (Spacey and late director George Hickenlooper [Factory Girl, Dogtown] held five interviews with Abramoff in prison for the film), the film even recounts a number of firsthand anecdotes.

Not only is this the only real film coming out after Christmas, it may very well be the best, and is as much of a must-see as Harry Potter, and on more of its own merit.

All this should make for one of the better holiday lineups in recent memory, with a great mix of big pictures, sure bets and potentially grand surprises, and will undoubtedly showcase several Oscar nominees. As alluring as the prospect of sledding and building snowmen may be, it will definitely be worthwhile heading to the theatres instead this winter.

WHO’S THAT KID? Brian Cahill A MEMBER OF FCRH ‘12, MAJORING IN POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM CLARK, N.J. Where have we seen you?

You may have seen me at the Circle K events, the gym, the cafeteria or just on campus walking to class.

Favorite childhood show and favorite current show?

When I was a kid I loved watching “The Simpsons,” and these days “Burn Notice” is one of the few shows I consistently try to follow.

the food.

sor Viladesau.

What would your ideal day in Manhattan consist of?

Traveling to many of the famous locations in the city with my friends and then eating at a good restaurant.

How do you blow off steam?

Work out at the gym or surf the Web.

Who would play you in a movie and why?

Sean Connery, as I think we both have a similar sort of roguish charm.

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

I’m actually pretty content with where I am now, but I do think it would be awesome if I could travel around the world in a private jet or mega-yacht.

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

Nikola Tesla, because I’m sure he’d invent some awesome way to prepare

Favorite class at Fordham and favorite professor?

My favorite class would have to be World Scriptures and my favorite professor would probably be Profes-

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

For some reason people have thought I’m in the business school.

Stuck on an island, what would you need?

A sailboat and some food.

What is your dream job?

Something where I could… I don’t know. Make something up.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I enjoy food from White Castle, even though it’s incredibly unhealthy.

COURTESY OF BRIAN CAHILL

DECEMBER 1, 2010

PAGE 17

Football Finishes with Embarrassing Loss to Colgate Finishes 5-6 for Third Straight Season Following Disappointing 47-12 Loss on Senior Day

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

There was a lot of excitement over football’s season finale against Colgate. The Rams were riding a three-game winning streak and, with a win over Colgate, would finish with only their fifth winning season since 1988 and first since 2007. After two weeks of anticipation for the game, the excitement quickly disappeared after Colgate jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead en route to a 47-12 win.

“We didn’t play,” Head Coach Tom Masella said. “We didn’t make any tackles, didn’t make any plays.”

The Raiders virtually did whatever they wanted in the win. Colgate finished with 514 yards of offense (379 coming in the first half) and converted eight of 14 third downs (picking up four of five in the first half and its only fourth down conversion to build the lead).

Junior running back Nate Eachus, who finished with 1,847 yards on the year, picked up 204 yards rushing on 30 carries and found the end zone twice. He also caught a 23-yard touchdown in the process.

“He’s had a huge game against everyone,” Masella said. “We didn’t tackle. We didn’t play and against a team like that, you have to play.”

Senior quarterback Greg Sullivan performed just as well for Colgate, completing 15 of 17 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Sullivan also picked up 60 yards on the ground and added another two touchdowns. He kept the chains moving by completing his first 13 passes of the game.

On the other hand, Fordham struggled mightily. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Higgins took all the snaps this week and finished 15-26 for 175 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception.

“We were so behind so early and Ryan’s a better thrower so he played,” Masella said. “In hindsight, we should have played [sophomore quarterback] Blake [Wayne] some.

That said, the quarterback wasn’t the outcome of the game.”

Junior running back Darryl Whiting’s hot streak came to an end, with Colgate’s defense containing the back to 53 yards on 17 carries.

Colgate dominated the game from the first snap to the final whistle. On his first offensive play, Sullivan found senior wide receiver Doug Rosnick for 28 yards down the middle of the field to the Fordham 47.

The combination of Sullivan and Eachus continued to move the chains, eventually setting up Rosnick for another big play and he delivered with a diving 17-yard catch over the front pylon to put Colgate up 7-0.

The Rams picked up a first down on their first play, but soon after had to punt, giving Colgate the ball at its own 15. However, the field position did not hurt the Raiders.

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Senior tight end Stephen Skelton led the team in receiving in the team’s finale, finishing with seven catches for 60 yards.

Eachus ran over the Rams, highlighted by a 30-yard run up the left sideline to the Fordham 35. Five players later, Sullivan kept the ball for another touchdown to make it 14-0.

Fordham was unable to threaten Colgate’s defense and quickly punted the ball out of the end zone after failing to corral it inside the five.

Colgate continued to run over Fordham on the ensuing drive. Sullivan started the drive by keeping the ball and picking up 20 yards on the ground.

Two players later, junior running back Noah Jackson took the ball up the middle for a 31-yard gain; however, he was hurt on the play and did not return.

On the first play following the injury timeout, Sullivan threw a perfect pass, leading Eachus up the sideline for another touchdown.

However, the extra point missed wide left, keeping the score 20-0.

The Fordham offense went three-and-out, giving the potent Colgate offense another opportunity to continue to expand the lead, this time starting at the Fordham 48 following a 20-yard punt by sophomore punter Patrick Murray against the wind.

The Raiders continued their domination, using only five plays to score on a 24-yard Eachus run to open up a 27-0 lead.

Things continued to get worse for Fordham following another three-and-out. Eachus picked up 26 yards up the middle to start the drive and get Colgate to its own 45.

At one point it looked like the Rams could finally get a stop; however, due to a struggling kicking game, Colgate decided to go for it on fourth-and-6 and converted

in style, with a 12-yard Rosnick touchdown, where he beat his man inside and gave Sullivan an easy throw across the middle.

Fordham failed to muster any offense before the end of the half and the score remained 34-0 at halftime.

Things continued to get worse for the Rams in the second half, with the first play from scrimmage resulting in an interception by freshman safety Chad Frey at the Fordham 35.

The pass was intended for senior tight end Stephen Skelton, but went through his hands and resulted in a turnover.

Like in the first half, Colgate systematically worked its way downfield, eventually leading to a 1-yard run outside to the left by Sullivan to make it 40-0 before Colgate failed

on another extra point attempt.

Fordham was able to put up points on the afternoon. The first score came on a 3-yard pass from Higgins to senior tight end Gerard Rizzo to cut the score to 40-6. The Rams were unable to pick up the two-point conversion when Higgins failed to connect with a receiver in the back of the end zone.

For good measure, Colgate continued to expand its lead in the fourth quarter.

After Fordham turned the ball over on downs at its own 39, Eachus took the ball four of the next five plays and eventually scored on a 6-yard touchdown to make the score 47-6.

Fordham was able to get on the board one last time before the end of its season. After Higgins moved the ball downfield with a 10-yard

completion to Whiting, a 19-yard pass to senior wide receiver David Moore and a 20-yard strike to Skelton, Whiting took the ball 14 yards to make the score 47-12, which stood as the final.

“We didn’t play well in any phase,” Masella said. “We didn’t play well on offense, we didn’t play well on defense and we didn’t play well on special teams. They looked like they played well, but we didn’t.

I thought it’d be a heck of a game.

I’m disappointed.”

With the loss, Fordham finished 5-6 on the season, the same record it had for the past two seasons.

“We lost a lot of close games, we won a lot of close games,” Masella said. “The kids battled and didn’t quit, but overall it’s disappointing.”

Colgate finished 7-4 as a result of the win and in a tie for second in the Patriot League with Holy Cross with a 3-2 record, behind Patriot League Champion Lehigh, which finished 5-0 in-conference and 9-2 overall.

Moving forward, the Rams have work to do. The team is losing a variety of starting players, including running back Xavier Martin, wide receivers Jason Caldwell and Patrick Miller, Skelton, left tackle Adnan Vandyck, linebackers Nick Magiera, Clifton Stuckey and Bryson Wilson, cornerbacks Jamal Haruna and Ahmed Haruna and safety Isa Abdul-Quddus.

“I want to thank our seniors,” Masella said. “They played in some big games here.”

Masella also had an idea of what to expect next season.

“We have some holes to fill,” Masella said. “We have to help the secondary, replace the wide receivers.

We could be okay on the defensive line.. We have to do a good job recruiting. We have to bring in kids to help right away, we have a tough schedule, our back is against the wall with that schedule.”

Fordham’s schedule will be highlighted by games against Connecticut and Army, both of which are FCS schools.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior linebacker Clifton Stuckey ended his Fordham career by finishing fourth on the team with six tackles in the loss.

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After Win Over Eagles, It is Time to Respect the Bears

By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER

They may not be the “Monsters of the Midway,” but the Chicago Bears are sitting atop the NFC North with a record of 8-3, one game better than the 7-4 Green Bay Packers.

The Bears entered the season as an afterthought in the division, which was supposed to be a two-team race between the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears, however, got off to a 7-3 start, which includes a victory over the Packers, and the Vikings have been one of the most disappointing teams in the entire NFL this season.

Most people dismissed the Bears’ 7-3 record as a product of a soft schedule and some good fortune (Calvin Johnson’s “dropped” touchdown in Week 1).

Even their win over the Packers was marginalized because the Packers were called for 18 penalties in the game.

The only time the Bears appeared on national television this season, Jay Cutler was sacked nine times in the first half by the New York Giants.

There were questions about whether Cutler was actually a franchise quarterback, or if the Bears’ offensive line was eventually going to get somebody killed.

These are questions not usually asked about a 7-3 football team.

If this past Sunday was a preview of what to expect from the Bears the rest of the season, then they will be a very tough opponent for anybody come January.

Cutler played one of the best games of his career, throwing for 247 yards, four touchdowns and most importantly, zero interceptions. Matt Forte rushed for 117 yards on just 14 carries and the defense kept Michael Vick under control until the fourth quarter when the Bears were up 31-13.

Vick got the Eagles back in the game with a great fourth quarter, but the Bears were able to hold on to the game and first place in the division.

The Eagles’ loss drops them back into a tie for first in the NFC East with the Giants. Both teams are 7-4, but the Eagles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Giants.

The Eagles were missing some key players on defense against the Bears, including NFL interception leader Asante Samuel, but their defense did not play well in the game and the offense struggled for the first three quarters.

This is a letdown game for an Eagles team coming off a big win over the Giants; it puts the Eagles two games behind the Falcons in the home-field advantage race and could also cost the Eagles the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

Bears-Eagles was not the only game with NFC playoff implications last weekend.

The other huge game was the Green Bay Packers against the Atlanta Falcons. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan came into

the game with an 18-1 record at home in his NFL career.

This game did not disappoint.

The Falcons held a 17-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, but Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (26/ 35 344 yards, 1 TD 0 INT) drove the Packers to the Falcons’ 10-yard line. On fourthand-goal from the 10, Rodgers found wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the tying score with 56 seconds remaining.

A 15-yard facemask penalty on the ensuing kickoff put the Falcons in great field position and Ryan (24/28 197 yards 1 TD 0 INT) was able to move the ball to the Packers’ 30-yard line and, with nine seconds left, kicker Matt Bryant drilled a 47-yard field goal to give the Falcons the win and an NFC-best 9-2 record.

Obviously, home-field advantage is important in the NFL, but it may be most important for the Atlanta Falcons. Their win over the Packers was Ryan’s 19th home win in 20 career home games.

The Falcons have the best record in the NFC and a one-game lead on the Bears for the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which is probably going to be the biggest determining factor as to who represents the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Other Thoughts The NFC took center stage this past week, but this week it is the AFC’s turn. The winners of the AFC North and AFC East may be determined this week. First the Steelers and Ravens, both 8-3, square off on Sunday Night Football, then on Monday Night, it’s the 9-2 Jets traveling to Foxboro, Mass. to face the 9-2 Patriots.

The Jets have won three games in Foxboro since 2002. The Patriots have won 25 consecutive regular season home games.

Their last regular season home loss? 2006 to the Jets.

SPORTS Football Fordham 12-47 Colgate 1 2 3 4 F COL 14 20 6 7 47 FOR 0 0 6 6 12 COL FU First Downs 25 15 Total Yards 514 259 Rushing 316 80 Passing 198 179 Punt Returns0-0 0-0 Kick Returns1-12 7-130 Comp-Att-Int15-17-0 16-30-1 Punts 3-40 8-31.6 Time of Poss. 39:15 20:38

Individual Statistics PASSING-Colgate, Sullivan 15-17-0 Fordham, Higgins 15-26-1 RUSHING-Colgate, Eachus 30-206-2 Fordham, Whiting 17-59-1 RECEIVING-Colgate, Rosnick 5-90-2 Fordham, Skelton 7-60-0 Volleyball Fordham 2-3 Duquesne Fordham

K BS

Daulton

Nice comeback by the Giants.

Things would have gotten real ugly had they lost that one.

.219

0

0

10

11

Hartford Sabia Minor Burton Zeglinski Brothers Erickson Jones Nardi Maciel Faulk Totals

FG 3FG 4-12 2-5 2-2 0-0 6-17 3-12 7-17 4-11 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-2 0-3 0-2 1-4 0-2 0-0 0-0 20-589-35

FT 3-4 0-0 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-0 8-9

REBA 7 3 1 3 6 2 4 2 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 25 13

PTS 13 4 15 21 0 0 0 0 4 0 57

Fordham Dominique Gaston Frazier Estwick Butler Moquete Bristol Totals

FG 3FG 1-7 0-0 6-9 0-0 5-9 3-7 7-12 2-6 3-9 1-6 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 22-476-19

FT REBA 5-6 11 1 2-2 6 0 2-2 5 3 0-0 5 1 2-2 4 6 0-0 0 0 0-1 5 1 11-1338 12

PTS 7 14 15 16 9 0 0 61

Blocks- Bristol, Erickson, Gaston, Minor. Steals- Zeglinski(4), Brothers, Burton, Butler, Estwick, Frazier. Turnovers- Sabia(6), Gaston(5), Estwick(4), Butler, Frazier(3), Bristol, Brothers, Dominique, Maciel, Zeglinski.

Fordham

FG

3FG FT

REBA PTS

Shadbolt Stokes Stoddart Bell Peters Dale Griff Weekes Corning Totals

6-10 1-2 3-8 0-0 1-8 0-4 2-3 0-1 6-10 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 4-6 1-2 1-4 0-3 23-504-15

0-2 3 1-2 3 0-0 7 0-0 4 7-8 8 0-0 0 0-0 0 3-3 4 1-2 2 12-1735

FDU crawford Wallace Saunders Launry Pankey Longo Kelley Sykes Mckeithan Driscoll Killian Totals

FG 3FG 0-2 0-0 0-3 0-0 3-10 0-0 2-14 0-3 7-10 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-10 1-4 0-0 0-0 1-4 1-3 0-0 0-0 19-533-11

FT REBA 1-2 6 0 0-0 5 0 0-0 3 1 9-9 1 0 5-6 4 2 0-2 3 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 1 3 0-0 0 0 0-0 3 3 0-0 1 0 15-2031 6

1 3 0 5 2 1 0 3 0 15

13 7 2 4 21 0 0 12 3 62 PTS 1 0 6 13 20 0 0 13 0 0 56

1st 2nd Tot Hartford 32 25 57 Fordham 23 38 61

Blocks- Stoddart(2), Peters, Wallace. Steals- Sykes(3), Corning, Crawford, Laury, Saunders(2), Bell, Killian, Pankey, Peters, Stoddart, Weekes. Turnover- Peters(6), Stoddart(4), Laury, Saunders, Shadbolt(3), Wallace, Team, Dale, Griff, Laury, Longo, Pankey, Stokes.

Fordham 70 Long Island 82

1 2 Tot FOR 30 32 62 FDU 23 33 56

LongIslandFG

3FG FT

REBA PTS

Olasewere 7-14 1-2 4-5 6 4 19 Boyd

2-5 0-1 2-2 5 1 6

Johnson

5-9 2-3 2-2 9 2 14

Garner

6-8 1-1 2-3 1 4 15

Hicks

2-8 0-1 5-5 1 2 9

Nikolic

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Holy Cross 36 Fordham 67 HolyCross FG

3FG FT

REBA PTS

Lepley

2-9 0-2 2-4 1 1 6

Fremeau

1-9 0-1 0-0 5 1 2

Malone

Brickman 1-3 1-3 4-4 0 1 7

1-6 0-1 0-0 1 1 2

Joseph

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

May

2-4 0-1 0-0 2 0 4

Hucks

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Smith

1-9 1-6 0-0 4 2 3

Hamner

0-3 0-2 0-0 1 0 0

Mayorga

0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 0

Nicholas 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

1-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 2

3

0

Onyechi

5-7 0-0 0-3 1 0 10

Ward

5-8 0-2 0-0 1 0 10

Diamantidis

4

.373 10

Totals

29-585-13 19-2428 15 82

Fuery

1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2

a

4

0

7.0

Ganser

1-3 0-0 3-4 8 0 5

1

Cole

1-1 0-0 0-0 3 2 2

Totals

15-541-15 5-8 29 7 36

Fordham

FG

0 0

Wells

15

.303

3

1

10

.391

5

1

0 Griffiths Ewing 1

5

0

REBA PTS

Gaston

6-9 0-0 3-6 11 4 15

13.5

Bristol

1-3 0-0 0-2 1 0 2

0

Frazier

9-15 6-9 0-0 1 0 24

Shadbolt 3-7 0-0 2-2 3 2 8

4

3FG FT

REBA PTS

Stokes

5-14 2-10 1-3 2 8 13

Stoddart 4-10 1-4 0-1 6 3 9

0

0

0.0

Hage

1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2

0

.000

16

0

0

0.0

54

.191

60

Alihodzic 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

20

2

68.5

Moquete

4-9 0-0 1-1 11 0 9

Bell

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

Peters

3-9 2-6 2-2 7 0 10

Dale

1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2

Collins

3-5 1-3 0-0 0 0 7

Griff

1-1 1-1 0-0 1 1 3

Dominique 0-2 0-0 0-0 10 0 0

Zamora

1-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2

Green

Weekes

0-2 0-1 3-4 6 1 3

Corning

2-4 2-4 3-4 3 1 9 24-567-20 12-1645 13 67

Gordon

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

K

PCT

DIG

BA

BE

PTS

1

.333

11

Totals

2

0

2.0

Blocks- Peters, Shadbolt, Stokes.

20

.127

13

Blocks- Bristol, Gaston(2), On-

2

0

22.0

yechi. Steals- Johnson(3), Garner,

Bell, Collins, Stokes, Stoddart(2),

17

.625

7

Hicks,Olasawere( 2,) Butler,

Dale, Ganser, May, Shadbolt, Ward,

20.0

Frazier, Gaston, Gordon. Turnovers-

Weekes. Turnovers- Hamner(5),

Gaston, Olasewere(5), Bristol,

Lepley, Smith(4), Corning, Shad-

0 0 0

4

Buse

0

3 -.083

0

5

0

5.5

15

.243

3

0

0 1

12 -.070 1

2

Mayorga, Moquette, Nikolic.

1.00 10

0

0

0

.000

0

0

69

.165

66

16

0

86.0

0

4

5

FOR 25 22 20 25

12

DUQ 22 25 25 17

15

Butler, Estwick, Frazier(3), Boyd,

23

0

Poling

26-5212-266-13 31 17 70

Culpo, Dominique, Gordon, Johnson,

1 0

Totals

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

19.5

0

Palko

1 2 3

3FG FT

4-8 4-7 2-2 4 4 14

BS

2

FG

Butler

Duquesne

Totals

Fordham

Estwick

0

Homan

16.5

9

0

Schierman

.071

11.5

6.5

Rodenberg

1

3

13.0

0 -.333

Friede

Poschia

Josh McDaniels has to be fired.

The Broncos have gone just 5-16 since starting last season 6-0.

Now they are part of another Spygate situation and I haven’t even mentioned the litany of personnel mistakes.

12

PTS

FDU 56-62 Fordham

Culpo

Wright

Here come the Chargers. That was the worst I’ve seen Peyton Manning play since probably the 2003 AFC Championship Game in New England.

BE

Hartford 57 Fordham 61

.045 9

May

Svorinic

So much for the Raiders and their chances of winning the AFC West.

BA

DIG

Women’s Basketball

Opong0-0 0-0 0-00 0 0

Totals

Catch the ball, Stevie Johnson. five drops, including one in the endzone in overtime. That’s why they’re the Bills.

PCT

Men’s Basketball

Odoch

0

0

Why did the refs break up the Andre Johnson-Cortland Finnegan fight? If there’s anybody in the NFL who deserves to be repeatedly punched in the face, it’s Cortland Finnegan.

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 19

14.0 3.0 0 0.0

1st 2nd Tot LongIsland 40 42

82

Fordham

70

38 32

Steals- Lepley(4), Malomne(3),

bolt, Stokes, Ward(3), Bell, Ganser, Stoddart, Weekes(2), Collins, Dale, May, Team, Zamora. a

a

1

2

TOT

HC

a

a

a

13 23 36

FOR

a

a

a

33 34 67

Visit theramonline.com for same-day game stories after home men’s basketball games.

SPORTS

PAGE 20 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

Women’s Basketball Gives Kansas Overtime Scare in Lawrence

By ALEXANDER VILARDO STAFF WRITER

The last two weeks were busy for the women’s basketball team, as it played six games, winning the first three and losing the last three.

During the first game, on Nov. 17, the Lady Rams played a Bucknell team that was supposed to have a great defense. Fordham, however, tore right through that defense and beat the Bison 64-42.

At one point during the second half, Bucknell was unable to score for 15 minutes and 20 seconds, but the Lady Rams didn’t stop at defense as both senior forward Tiffany Stokes and freshman guard Abigail Corning put up doubledigit points, with 18 and 13, respectively.

“I just tried to rely on my guards getting me the ball,” Stokes said. “If I wasn’t open I’d kick it out and get [a teammate] an easy shot.”

Junior guard Becky Peters, who made the Elon Classic All-Tournament Team a few weeks ago, had a rough night, shooting 0-7 from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arc.

“That’s okay from Becky,” Head Coach Cathy Andruzzi said. “The bottom line is that some nights are going to be Becky’s nights, and some nights are not going to be Becky’s nights. She gave us two really good performances against Stony Brook and against Elon, and the bottom line is that it was somebody else’s night tonight.”

A few days later the Lady Rams blew out Holy Cross by a score of 67-36. Peters turned things around, as she dropped 10 points on Holy Cross, while Stokes, Corning and sophomore guard Char-

lotte Stoddart each had nine of their own. The team’s defense also held strong: Aside from holding Holy Cross to just 36 points, the Lady Rams forced 19 turnovers, stole the ball 11 times and blocked three shots.

Things went the Rams’ way for a third straight game, as they beat Fairleigh-Dickinson on Nov. 23 by a score of 62-56. Peters found her stroke once again, as she netted a game-high 21 points which included 6-10 from the field, 2-2 from beyond the arc and 7-8 from the charity stripe. The Lady Rams shot a strong 46 percent from the field the entire game, but things really turned in the second half, when they shot a remarkable 52 percent from the field. Senior forward Caitlin Shadbolt added 13 points for the Lady Rams, while senior guard Kyara Weekes had 12 of her own.

Over Thanksgiving Break, the Lady Rams traveled to Lawrence, Kansas for the Kansas Classic. On Nov. 26, they played a very tough Memphis Tigers team, and gave the Tigers everything they had. Following the lead of Shadbolt, who had a career-high 26 points, and sophomore guard Arielle Collins, who netted her own career-high of 14 points, the Lady Rams played hard until the end of the game, with the Tigers holding on for the 67-66 win.

Actually, the game came down to the final buzzer. With about three seconds left in the game, Peters stole the ball off of a Memphis inbounds and found senior guard Kristina Bell open under the basket. Bell, however, was unable to get the shot off as the buzzer

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior forward Caitlin Shadbolt leads the Lady Rams in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game, shooting 48.2 percent.

sounded, giving the victory to the Tigers. It was a team effort by the Lady Rams, as Stokes and Peters both put in nine points, and Bell added eight. Stokes also had nine rebounds.

Peters led the Rams once again against North Dakota State on Nov. 27, as she tallied 17 points to go along with five steals. Those stats would not be enough to take down the Bison, as the Lady Rams lost 65-52. Peters was the only player who scored double-digit points, with both Corning and Bell chipping in eight apiece. Stokes had a quiet game, as she settled for just four points despite playing 31 minutes.

On Nov. 28, the Lady Rams lost in overtime to tournament-host Kansas by a score of 81-68. After being down by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Lady Rams had an amazing comeback which included a 10-1 run led Bell and Shadbolt, who was named to the All-Tournament Team after posting 22 points.

Stokes, finding her groove once again, hit a jump-shot with about 2:00 left on the clock to give the Lady Rams a 52-51 lead. About 40 seconds later, Bell hit a threepointer to put the Lady Rams up 58-55. Kansas then made two free throws to cut Fordham’s lead to one. Shadbolt, after being fouled

by Kansas, missed the second free throw of a 1-and-1. With about seven seconds left, however, Kansas hit a shot to tie the game at 59.

After Kansas nailed the game-tying shot, Stokes was fouled and sent to the line for a 1-and-1. She missed her first and only attempt of that trip to the charity stripe, and the game went to overtime, where Kansas proved to be too much for the Lady Rams.

The St. Peter’s Peacocks come to the Rose Hill Gymnasium on Saturday Dec. 4, while the Lady Rams travel to Lawrenceville, N.J. to take on another MAAC team in the Rider Broncs on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

Men’s Cross Country Closes Season with Third Place Finish

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Senior Kerri Gallagher finished the five-kilometer in 18:42.2, good for 12th.

By CELESTE KMIOTEK CULTURE EDITOR

Fordham’s men’s and women’s cross country teams finished their seasons on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

The men placed third out of 20 teams, while the women finished 10th out of 23 teams.

“Both teams finished strong,

particularly the men who took third as a team,” senior Kerri Gallagher said.

“We as a team were thrilled with our performance in the IC4A meet,” junior Brian Riley said. “We finished third behind UConn and Temple, two very strong teams.”

In the University division for the men, Temple won with 111 points, followed by Connecticut with 115 points and Fordham in third with

130 points.

The Rams said they were particularly happy as their members returned for strong performances following injuries.

“I was also very happy, and its a big confidence boost for me as an individual to come back from injury and put together some strong end of the season races,” Riley said.

Individually, Temple senior Mike May won the five-mile race with 25:24.8, followed by Manhattan junior Tobias Lundgren in 25:27.8 and Rutgers senior Nick Miehe in 25:31.2.

For Fordham, Riley finished first, coming in eighth overall with 25:56.1, while junior Kevin Fitzgerald came in 24th with 26:29.2 and sophomore Julian Saad came in 29th with 26:32.9. freshman Michael Belgiovine, placed 31st with 26:36.0, and freshman Brian Walter, in 41st with 26:49.7, also scored. Sophomore Nick Synan (46th with 26:56.6), freshman Ryan Polo (54th with 27:03.7) and junior Sam Stuart (80th with 27:26.9) also ran.

In the women’s University division, Albany won with 49 points, with Monmouth in second with 99 points and Towson in third with 104 points. Fordham earned 307 points.

Of the individual runners, Sacred Heart senior Kimberly DeLoreto came in first in the five-ki-

lometer race, finishing in 18:01.6, with Marist freshman Kiersten Anderson in second with 18:10.3 and Albany junior Ada Lauterbach in third with 18:21.6.

For the Lady Rams, freshman Anisa Arsenault came in first overall, finishing 10th with 18:38.2.

Gallagher followed in 12th with a time of 18:42.2.

Sophomore Ashley Davis (92nd with 20:13.1), freshman Kerry Sorenson (112th with 20:27.9) and senior Johanne Sterling (115th with 20:31.9) also scored while junior Nako Nakatsuka (126th with 20:39.7) and sophomore Christine Machado (136th with 20:49.1) were the final Fordham competitors.

In the five-mile men’s coaches’ race, won overall by La Salle senior Kasey Geller with 26:55.6, junior Rich Grandelli finished first for Fordham, taking 16th with 27.43.4. Junior Matt Collins placed 18th with 27:45.8, followed by freshman Tim Kazanjian in 19th with 27:47.6. Freshman Patrick Burke (29th with 28:16.8), freshman Conor O’Malley (30th with 28:21.9), senior Michael Walsh (36th with 28.32.0), junior Andrew Roddin (40th with 28.42.4), junior Christopher Chung (42nd with 28:47.4) and senior Devin Kelly (45th with 29:12.7) also competed.

In the women’s five-kilometer race, which William and Mary red-

shirt freshman Charlotte Tregelles won in 19:24.4, freshman Christina Vivinetto came in first for Fordham, coming in 12th with 20:34.2, followed by senior Jana Trenk in 16th with 20:48.0. Sophomore Olivia Hustleby, in 21st with 21:17.0; freshman Shannon McKenna, in 33rd with 22:00.9; junior Fallon France, in 36th with 22:11.5; and freshman Diane Bain, in 45th with 23.21.7, also competed.

The members of the teams said they are pleased with how the season ended, and are already thinking ahead to indoor track and field.

“It was really great to end on a positive note as we make the transition to indoor track,” Gallagher said. “We have a very exciting season ahead of us and I’m looking forward to seeing both the men’s and women’s teams see some success. We can probably put together some fun relays as well.”

“The transition to the indoor season should be a good one; a lot of the freshmen seems excited for it and coming out of cross country with a strong finish at IC[4A]’s will give us a boost during the opening meets of indoor,” Riley said.

This meet completed the teams’ seasons, but many of the members will be competing with Fordham’s men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams, which have their first meet on Friday, Dec. 3 at the Fordham Opener in the Lombardi Fieldhouse.

SPORTS

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 21

Volleyball Quickly Bounced From A-10 Tournament

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

In its 2010 season, Fordham volleyball had been defined by its tendency to play close matches.

The Lady Rams found themselves involved in six five-set contests in Atlantic 10 play and never seemed to be out of a match.

While Fordham struggled against its rivals at the very top of the conference, the team was competitive in virtually every match it played against the majority of its A-10 opponents. The Lady Rams’ inconsistency cost them in a number of conference matchups, but the team’s tenacity was impressive and helped carry them to a surprising appearance in the A-10 playoffs.

This inconsistency was absolutely on display against Duquesne in Fordham’s first-round matchup in the conference playoffs on Friday, Nov. 19. As a No. 5 seed, Fordham played Duquesne close in every set as it always does, found itself trailing early like it always does and had to fight back to try and get the win like it always does. While the Lady Rams put up a valiant effort, the team dug themselves too large of a hole and lacked the depth to defeat the Dukes. Fordham fell in five sets by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 17-25 and 15-12.

The two teams were evenly matched through the openinground match, and the first set saw 14 tie scores and four lead changes.

The teams were last tied at 22-all, before Fordham regained the lead on senior middle hitter Christi Griffiths’ kill and caused two long balls for errors to win the opening match by three. The Lady Rams continued to play well at the start

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior middle hitter Katie Wells led the team with 14 kills and three blocks in her final career game, against Duquesne.

of Set 2, earning six of the first seven points, but Duquesne rallied to take a 7-6 advantage.

From there the match remained tight throughout, but Fordham could never get the Dukes to relinquish the lead. In Set 3, the Lady Rams again failed to take advantage of a strong start. The team raced out to a 7-2 lead and later still led 11-9, but it then allowed the Dukes to net five straight points for a 14-11 edge. While Fordham eventually got back to within one, Duquesne went on to win the set by five. After repeating their tendency to fall behind in matches, the Lady Rams rallied. The team played well throughout the fourth set and led by four at 15-11, from there continuing to expand its lead and going on to win by eight. The

fifth set was a gut punch for Fordham, as it ran out of gas and the team saw its season end painfully.

The Lady Rams held an 8-7 advantage halfway through the set and the teams exchanged points until they were tied at 12-all. The Dukes recaptured a one-point lead on a kill, before obtaining match point and a kill to end Fordham’s season.

For Fordham, senior middle hitter Katie Wells led the attack with 14 kills and three blocks with junior Brittany Daulton posting a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Freshman setter Mary Diamantidis ended the night with 46 assists.

The loss ended Fordham’s season with a 17-18 overall record and a 7-8 record in the A-10. While 2010 was the second straight sea-

son the Lady Rams finished with a below .500 overall record and inconference, this season was a fourgame improvement on the team’s 2009 record. In its fourth appearance in the conference championships in five years, this was the first time Fordham had gone to five sets in a match.

Looking back on the volleyball season, the team and its followers should consider the season a success. Fordham rebounded from what was a very disappointing 2009 season. The team overcame both a slow start and a series of debilitating injuries late in the season, which originally appeared to end the team’s shot at the conference playoffs. Instead of folding in the face of adversity or giving up on the season, the Lady Rams came

together and played great volleyball, and the fact that the team made it further in the A-10 than ever before is very impressive.

The 2010 season was a crowning achievement for a core group of seniors for Fordham, and these players reached some great accomplishments. Griffiths, Wells and outside hitter Kailee May, by far the teams’ three best players, all had at least 289 kills, and their names are all over Fordham’s record books. There is no way the Lady Rams would have come close to the playoffs if not for the excellence of their core group. However, their departures will leave the team in a tough place. Fordham will be a young team next season, as it loses eight seniors and much of its firepower. While returning players like Diamantidis and freshmen setter Maria Rodenberg and libero Emily Atwood give the team a strong defensive presence, the Lady Rams will need its inexperienced bench players, like junior outside hitter Kim Capicotto and freshman outside hitter Lisa Hipp, to rapidly mature and improve if the team wants to experience similar success next season.

After taking a great class of recruits as far as they could possibly go, it is most likely that Fordham will have to go through a year or two of rebuilding to get back to being one of the better teams in the A-10. Volkert’s tenure at Rose Hill has been distinguished by him putting together teams in the upper half of the conference that have never quite broken through to elite status. The Lady Rams’ head coach will need to go through that rebuilding process again, hoping this time that he puts together a group that can truly break through.

Swimming Posts Its Best Times of the Season at Frank Elm Invitational

By JONATHON SMITH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s and women’s swimming teams looked to gain momentum on the season at the Frank Elm Invitational at Rutgers on Nov. 19-21. This competition attracts some of the best college swimming talent on the east coast. Each team has had three competitions thus far, and were looking to break out at the invitational and spark their seasons.

“This is a good competition to swim at,” senior Billy Colton said.

“This meet is always a good indicator of what teams could make a strong push in the A-10 conference.”

Day 1 of the competition proved impressive for the Rams as they posted 10 season-best times in the pool. The women’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Kellie Lyver, junior Kelly Bunster, junior Alexandra Wessel and sophomore Brienne Ryan placed sixth out of 22 teams with a 1:37.31 finishing time. The men’s team, also in the 200-yard freestyle relay, consisting of freshman and A-10 Rookie of the Week Shintaro Noguchi, Colton, junior Patrick Mulligan and junior Danny Thrall placed fifth out of 12 teams. They finished in 1:25.16.

The trend of season-best times continued during the rest of the

day for the Rams. Senior Megan McGorry placed eigth in the women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:03.14. Freshman Kara Field was not far behind as she placed 12th with a time of 5:05.80. In the men’s event, freshman Michael Grimmett-Norris placed 18th with a personal-best 4:43.79.

In the 200 individual medley, junior Courtney Collyer won the “B” final and finished ninth overall in 2:08.45. Three men followed suit with good showings led by freshman John Kundrat in 1:57.42, good for 12th overall. Sophomore Thomas Yi and senior Robert Gitman took 21st and 22nd with times of 1:58.39 and 1:59.26, respectively.

These were the most impressive results from Day 1 of the competition; unfortunately for the Rams, this did not vault them into firstplace finishes for the weekend.

The women came into the second day of competition seventh out of 15 teams, while the men were fifth out of eight. Both teams continued swimming hard, with the most impressive results coming again from Day 1’s stars Brienne Ryan and Shintaro Noguchi. Ryan took home first place in the women’s 100 backstroke in a season-best 56.27 seconds.

Noguchi led the men’s squad not only on the 200-freestyle relay team, but also placed second

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Sophomore Brienne Ryan took home first place in the women’s 100 backstroke with a season-best time of 56.27.

overall in the 100 butterfly in 51.09 seconds. These two performances helped the Rams maintain their places as they moved into day three of the competition. Ryan and Courtney Collyer proved to be the stars on this day.

Ryan took home first place in the women’s 200 backstroke with a season best time of 2:01.92. Col-

lyer took home a first place crown of her own in the women’s 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.99. These proved to be the most outstanding performances for the Rams on the final day of the competition.

The Rams came into the competition looking to spark their season and gain momentum heading into their next meet on Dec. 4 at Boston

College.

“We definitely exceeded expectations during this meet,” Colton said. “Other teams were shaved and rested, and we were not, but still finished well.”

This exciting finish for the team should propel them and give them confidence this weekend in Boston.

PAGE 22 • THE RAM • DECEMBER 1, 2010

MATT MANUSZAK

The Smush Parker Project Everybody knows Blake Griffin is a monster. This, I think, is part of what makes him so intriguing.

As a former No. 1 pick whose precocious ability to put a leather ball through an iron circle has been documented for years, Blake appeals to “the average sports fan.”

This is the same “average sports fan” whose main interest in the NBA right now is a cursory examination of a Zapruder-like film documenting the Whore of Akron’s inability to control his shoulders well enough to avoid his four-foot-seven, 85-pound coach as the disgraced MVP walked off the floor during a timeout in the midst of yet another embarrassing loss. And, on an aesthetic level, what Blake Griffin did to New York Knicks center Timofey Mozgov is recognizable as something inhuman by anyone.

Jumping that high, using the 85inch Russian rookie as a human stepladder, and, not dunking, but hurling the ball into the basket is enough to make anyone shout, regardless of creed, color, culture, whatever.

Yet, there is some cachet to Blake. He plays for the Clippers, a team best known for a racist owner, fat point guard and fan base with an inferiority complex so profound that its most famous fan is literally the guy who played Malcolm in the Middle. Griffin’s games are not nationally televised, his feats are rarely narrated by the eminent Marv Albert, the dignified Hubie Brown or even the jester Jeff Van Gundy; rather, Blake is relegated to being an NBA League Pass phenomenon, a player whose feats are typically only seen live by the most hardcore of hoopheads and then bandied about on the interwebs gleefully until the masses digest his highlights on Sportscenter with their morning Cocoa Puffs the next day. And all of these things make me think of Jimi Hendrix.

There was no more visceral guitarist than Jimi Hendrix. Sure, he hit the timing right, breaking out at the venerable Monterey Pop Festival, becoming the coolest damn thing on the planet at Woodstock and coinciding with an era that embraced his oeuvre like no other time could.

His guitar play was transcendent: he didn’t just “do with his guitar what Little Richard did with his voice,” Hendrix did with his guitar what people now do with a plastic controller in front of a television screen. And everyone could see that.

Passion is worn on one’s sleeve, talent is the most evident thing of all and combining them creates a spectacle that is impossible to ignore. That was Hendrix. His kooky inverted guitar setup, his garb, everything was a part of that spectacle.

Yet, he too appealed to the most esteemed of critics, and his popu-

larity never really got in the way of how the most hardcore fans continued to appreciate and admire his work.

If Jimi Hendrix is the modern guitar hero, doing things with a real guitar that today’s wannabe teens struggle to do on Expert mode in their basements, then Griffin makes every game a dunk contest.

His dunk over Mozgov – and you can’t even call it a dunk, it was a baptism – is literally the move that Dwight Howard used to win the Slam Dunk Contest a few years back. No one right now dunks harder and with greater flair in games than Blake Griffin, and it’s not even close.

His dunks are only a part of his game, sure, but they have come to define him as something spectacular. And dunks are all that make the highlight reels, right? Blake’s dunks are to basketball, then, as Hendrix’s face-melting solos were, and still are, to rock.

Hendrix’s solos were power unleashed, art without borders, taking the frames of the industry and shattering them with jacked-up amps, high gain and feedback and the wah-wah pedal.

He took brilliant music that Bob Dylan penned and made it his own, turning contemplative folk into blistering funk, just like Blake is in the process of taking over a position that Tim Duncan has overseen for over a decade with precision and angles and calculating perfection and simply blowing the damn thing up.

Opening night, where Blake dropped 20 points and 14 rebounds, was his Monterey Pop Festival. Then 10 days ago, when he baptized Mozgov and then later in the game stole the ball and dribbled and dribbled and measured and spun and leaped and killed the rim for two points, well that was his Woodstock, where he staked his claim as the thing to see in basketball on the game’s biggest stage.

Hendrix’s band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, were merely a medium within which he could emote. They set the tempo and then got out of the way; Hendrix couldn’t have been in the Beatles, because his style had to be his own and on his terms. Yet no one would have wanted Hendrix to be in the Beatles; they had their music and he had his, they were the greatest band and he was the greatest guitarist. Blake has always been a winner, in high school he was fourfor-four in state championships, but so far his NBA brilliance hasn’t translated into notches in the win column.

His Clippers are 3-15, and the team’s roster is rife with both injuries and youth. Yeah, Al-Farouq Aminu can play a little bit, and maybe Eric Bledsoe can run an offense one day, but for now it’s the Blake Griffin show. But for Blake to truly be considered a great one, it will have to be more than spectacle. He has sprints to run, rebounding tactics to shore up and a defensive game to forge.

One day, he might lead a team to a ring. For now, though, 21year-old Blake Griffin is producing something on a molecular level that I just spent the better part of 1,000 words comparing to the riffs of Jimi Freakin’ Hendrix. That seems to be enough, for now.

SPORTS

Senior Profile: Nick Magiera

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

Linebacker Nick Magiera recently wrapped up his Fordham career in the team’s disappointing 47-12 loss against Colgate.

Magiera was a team captain this year and came into the season as Preseason First Team All-Patriot League. Magiera finished the season fifth on the team in tackles, recording 57, including 39 solo.

This follows up Magiera’s Second Team All-Patriot League campaign in 2009, in which he led the team with 80 tackles.

The Ram: The season just ended, the team finished strong before losing to Colgate; how do you feel about the season?

Nick Magiera: To be honest, disappointed. We all felt like we could go to the playoffs coming into the year, that this would be one of the best seasons we’ve had. We’re all pretty disappointed.

Throughout my four years, we worked hardest this season, but it just didn’t pay off this season.

TR: Is there anything you would have done differently?

NM: Personally, I got a little out of scheme sometimes and caused some big plays. I wish I stuck to the scheme. As a team, I wish we pulled together and won some more games.

TR: Where do you think the program is headed?

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior linebacker Nick Magiera finished fifth on the team in tackles with 57.

consequently, we went to the playoffs.

TR: Now that your career is over, how do you feel about being done playing football?

NM: It’s scary. I woke up this morning with nothing to do. I actually put on running shoes and ran a few miles. It’s scary, I don’t know what I want to do. With football especially, we had such a tight schedule and now I have so much time free.

TR: What’s your major?

NM: I see us heading to winning seasons, at least. Now with scholarships, we’re getting better players and I see us getting into the playoffs and deep into the playoffs.

NM: Business administration with a double-concentration on marketing and management with a minor in communications.

TR: What is your proudest moment?

TR: Do you have any plans after graduating?

NM: My freshman year when we beat Holy Cross. It was one of the most exciting games I played in and I actually contributed and

NM: I don’t know. I have no idea. That’s one of the things I’m most scared about being done with football. I have no idea what

I want to do.

TR: Is there anything that you would like to do?

NM: I feel like I’m one of those guys who doesn’t know what I want to do but whatever I do, I’ll try my best at. It’s one of those things where people say, “What do you like to do?” But, I like doing everything.

TR: Why did you choose to come to Fordham?

NM: For a lot of different reasons. First off, because of the scholarship. I also liked the campus and the school atmosphere, they both drew me in. The location was obviously good. Also, the coaches – I felt at home with them and liked them. They did a really good job recruiting.

TR: Did you make the right decision?

NM: Yeah, yeah.

Squash Edges Vassar 5-4 for Road Win

By BRODY NIEPORTE STAFF WRITER

On the Wednesday, Nov. 17, the squash team traveled up to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on the Brewers of Vassar College.

In the closest match of the year, the Rams nosed out Vassar by a score of 5-4. The first win of the afternoon for Fordham came from junior Andrew Grosner at the sixth position. He took down sophomore Rob Ruggiero by a decisive score of 11-5, 11-5 and 11-5. Freshman Raymond Chen, playing in the seventh position, also had a convincing win by the score of 11-7, 11-7, and 11-7.

Other wins for Fordham came in the No. 2 spot by junior Andriy Kulak, and in the eighth position by junior Chris Souther. Kulak beat Mehdi Naqui from Vassar in a competitive straight set match. He won the match 11-9, 11-8, 11-8.

Souther’s match against junior Yi Tan was a heated battle that came down to the wire.

In about as close of a squash match as is possible, he won the first set 11-5. However, Tan came back and won the next two sets 13-11 and 12-10.

With his back against the wall, Souther was forced to win the next two sets. He did just that, taking down Tan 12-10 in the fourth, and 11-8 in the fifth and decisive set. Vassar’s four wins came at the first, fourth, fifth and ninth positions.

At the number one position, sophomore Jake Harris took down senior Colin Corbett 11-8, 11-5, 11-1.

In the fourth position, Jack O’ Brien lost in heartbreaking fashion, 11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9.

After taking a 2-1 set lead, he lost the last two sets by the identical score of 11-9.

Senior Ken Fukumoto lost at the five spot to sophomore Andrew Lindsay 11-8, 11-6 and 11-4.

The fourth loss of the day for Fordham came at the ninth postion at the hands of Vassar’s junior Oliver

Newman. Sophomore Quetzalli Torres fought hard, but in the end came up a little bit short. With the match all squared up at four matches apiece, it all came down to one final match.

In the decisive match, Plangger jumped out to an early lead taking the first set 11-9.

However, Jain took the second set 11-8. In a very tight third set, Plangger came out on top 13-11.

Finally, Plangger won the fourth set 13-11, and with that bringing the high-emotion win home to Fordham.

“Eli Plangger’s performance was absolutely inspiring, he played great, and to do it with all that pressure on him was impressive,” O’Brien said.

With the win the Rams’ record improved to 2-4, as the Vassar Brewers dropped to 1-3. This was an impressive win for Fordham, and the team will look to keep its winning streak alive on Sunday, Dec. 5 against Connecticut College and Columbia.

DECEMBER 1, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 23

SPORTS

Water Polo Struggles in Eastern Championship

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Senior two-meter man Mikey Edwards scored three goals in the Duquesne loss.

By CHESTER BAKER STAFF WRITER

Last time we saw the water polo team, it had just clinched a berth into the CWPA Eastern Championship at Bucknell. Over the course of Nov. 18-21, Fordham took on some of the top competitors from across the region, and matched up against some familiar foes. Fordham was looking to build upon its solid third-place finish at the Northern Championships a few weeks ago.

Fordham opened up the tournament in a showdown with Bucknell in its final first round game. The winner of the game would move on to play No. 13 St. Francis in one of the semifinals, while the loser would fall into a consolation game with Johns Hopkins. The Rams did everything they could to pull off the upset against the host team, but ultimately fell short, falling 12-9 in an overtime thriller.

After the first period, the match was tied up at one following a goal from senior Daniel Munoz just before time expired. Senior twometer man Mikey Edwards ripped one home to give Fordham its first lead of the day, before squandering it a few minutes later. Senior utilityman Martin de Jong capitalized on a catch-and-shoot to give the Rams a 3-2 lead at the half.

Bucknell opened up the second half by scoring two quick goals to gain a one-goal lead, before Edwards brought the game back to a tie at four. The next few minutes of the third saw little action, and the teams entered the last period all knotted up.

Bucknell once again got out to a quick start, and scored two quick goals to gain the momentum. Just 16 seconds after Bucknell’s second goal, however, senior utilityman Ryan Hultman fired one home to cut the lead in half. Bucknell then went on a 2-1 run, and had an 8-6 lead in the waning minutes of the fourth.

Fordham mounted a comeback with just under three minutes left in the fourth period. The Rams started their rally with a goal by sophomore driver Jakob Muller with just over a minute to play to cut the lead to one. With time running out and their hopes dwindling, with just 34 seconds left, Edwards sent one into the net from distance to tie the game at eight. Edwards would finish the match as Fordham’s leading scorer with three goals.

With the game knotted up, the Rams and Bison had to charge for victory one more time in the extra periods. In the first of the two three-minute overtime periods, Bucknell scored twice to open up a 10-8 lead. Things got worse for Fordham in the second period, as Bucknell increased its advantage to three with a goal with just under two minutes left in the match.

Muller did everything he could to keep the game alive, and scored with half a minute left in the game, but that was all Fordham could muster in the extra frames, as Bucknell added a garbage time goal to make the final 12-9.

Perhaps one could blame it on the heartbreak of the day before, but Fordham opened up its consolation game against Hopkins flat. Fordham trailed 3-1 after the first period, and was never able to get out in front, falling 11-8. The closest the Rams got was 5-4, after a 3-0 run was led by Edwards with back-to-back goals. Luckily for the Rams, the one goal in the first period was one for highlight reels, as two-meter man Ali Arat ripped one into the back of the net after a behind-the-back pass from senior driver Alex Powell. Arat would add two more goals to finish as the Rams leading scorer with three goals. Junior goalkeeper Christian Flessner followed up his 10-save performance against Bucknell with another stellar game, recording nine saves. With the loss Fordham dropped into the seventhplace game against MIT. In the seventh-place game, Fordham was without three starters, including Arat, who was suspended one game for a red card against the Blue Jays. Junior driver Andrew McKernin and senior two-meter man defender Victor Bautista Medina joined Arat on the bench with an injury and a flagrant foul suspension, respectively. Despite the absence of these three, Fordham held a 6-4 lead entering the fourth quarter.

However, in the last period, MIT went on a resilient run, netting three goals in a row to open up a 7-6 lead, which would eventually be the final. Fordham was outscored in the final eight minutes of the match 4-0, and settled for eighth place in the tournament.

Ryan Hultman became the Rams’ third different leading scorer in as many matches, as he led the way with two goals. With the loss, Fordham wrapped up its season at 1617, just one game under .500.

As I write my last “Overtime” column, I realize that regularly watching and covering our teams and athletic department has allowed me to see just how egregiously we have failed in athletics at Fordham in recent years. Athletics has been an embarrassment, and it has hurt the standing of the University as a whole. I know that at Fordham we need to undertake a number of projects if the school wants to reach its goal of being the premier Catholic university in the nation.

However, that goal will never be reached if athletics is not able to increase our profile and bring pride to Rose Hill. As I conclude my tenure as an editor, I recommend these steps are undertaken in athletics so that our school can reach its potential.

1. The athletic department needs to get the smaller details right before we can take care of the big picture.

If Fordham’s larger athletic failures in recent years have been hard to watch, then our inability to run the department with any efficiency at all has been a sign that the school is far from having the ability to succeed in big-time sports. Fordham’s athletic department seems to act like it is running a Division III operation instead of teams in the Atlantic 10, one of the best conferences in the country.

Why make the job of the Sports Information Department easier when you can save money and instead hire only two full-time workers in the office? Why get an appealing football or basketball media guide out in time for the season when you can instead take your sweet old time and get it in a month late?

Why bother hiring people who will post team news on the Fordham athletics Web sites on time so dedicated fans know what is going on?

The Fordham athletic department seems to take the easy way out at every opportunity, doing just enough so that the average fan will be suckered into hoping for something more.

While Ram fans are an unusually dedicated, if small, bunch, the school only betrays their faith and that of the A-10 when it does not hire enough people to effectively work games or fails to release information on the hiring of a new varsity sports coach until a month

after it is done. Why should current students feel compelled to pay attention when athletics can never get its act together?

2. Fordham’s athletic department seems to have little direction in where it wants to take its programs.

Our programs are at a crossroads. Under Head Coach Cathy Andruzzi, women’s basketball has established itself as the worst program in the A-10 and one of the worst in the nation.

Instead of getting rid of Andruzz two seasons ago like her performance warranted, the department’s administration is seemingly content to let the coach’s contract run out, therefore digging our program into a hole which will take forever to get out of.

Men’s basketball has only won five games the last two seasons and one game in conference. While Head Coach Tom Pecora seems to be a solid hire, it will be two to three years at least before the Rams are contending for a postseason spot.

Finally, football has failed to capitalize on its 2007 postseason berth and seems to be stuck in neutral, even as the program has taken the bold step of going to athletic scholarships and possibly leaving the Patriot League, even as the team has had only four winning seasons in 20 years.

Yes, we are in one of the best conferences in the country, and with our location and “potential” for athletic success, Fordham should be there, but we do not deserve to be.

The Board of Trustees approved a significant increase in the men’s basketball budget last February, but the athletic department is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Pecora and still has no concrete plan in place for turning around men’s basketball. All you hear about is the team playing possibly ill-fated IZOD Center games and hopefully reaching an ultimate goal of being competitive in conference.

The situation with women’s basketball is even more mystifying, and the football program finds itself committed to a largely unsuccessful coach in Tom Masella and has moved too soon into having full scholarships and playing FCS opponents.

I could go on and on about Fordham athletics’ lack of direction, from the ineffective administration which has been in place way too long to the overall definition of

athletic success at Rose Hill, which seems to be having a team contend in any way at all. Fordham has failed in the A-10 since joining 15 years ago, and our teams can only struggle for so much longer before Fordham’s potential in athletics wastes away.

3. Fordham will likely always have a poor athletic program without modern facilities.

Many of Fordham’s athletic facilities, particularly for basketball and football, are dated and unappealing to the modern athlete. The success of our basketball and football teams will help strengthen the athletic department and our University as a whole, but that success cannot come without modern facilities and not just locker rooms.

Fordham needs to build a modern, appealing on-campus basketball arena which seats 7-8,000. The Rams cannot attract recruits, especially local ones, to what resembles a poor high school gym. Fordham needs to be able to broadcast games. Our athletic department needs to make viewing Fordham basketball an experience. Fordham needs to wake up to the idea that if we build it, people will come.

If the University truly wants to improve the level at which it plays football, then Fordham also must build new facilities for football.

Building a new locker room was a start, but the athletic department must continue to improve the team’s amenities and plan for expanding the football field by adding a number of seats, hopefully with new stands on the opposite side of the field.

Legitimate scholarship football players will not be attracted to Fordham when our facilities are second-rate. If Fordham is truly committed to scholarship football and being a strong program every year, improved facilities is the key to getting there.

Fordham and its athletic department have failed to maintain strong facilities. The school’s negligence has indicated a lack of commitment to the A-10 and especially to its student and alumni fan base.

Fordham must commit to building new athletic facilities, particularly a new basketball arena.

Our University must take this step and demonstrate that the Rams belong in the A-10. The improvement this will cause in athletics will help enhance Fordham’s standing and reputation as a whole.

It is high time Fordham realizes that. I hope our administration wakes up soon.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away

Thursday Dec. 2

Friday Dec. 3

Saturday Dec. 4 at Lehigh 7:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

ST. PETER’S 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Basketball Indoor Track

Fordham Season Opener 3:00 p.m.

Swimming

at La Salle 7:00 p.m.

Sunday Dec. 5

Monday Dec. 6

Tuesday Dec. 7

Wednesday Dec. 8 MANHATTAN 7:00 p.m.

at Rider 5:30 p.m.

DECEMBER 1, 2010

PAGE 24

Men’s Basketball Completes Comeback Against Hartford

By MARK BECKER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A 1-2 record was about what was expected of the Rams through their first three games this season; most hoped for 3-2 after the five-game home stand to open the season, but few expected better or worse than 2-3. A close loss to Brown (3-2) in the season opener, a big win over Sacred Heart (1-4) and a bewildering breakdown against Hampton (5-1) left the Rams right on track for that 2-3 finish, and they met those expectations this week in splitting with Long Island (4-1) and Hartford (1-4) over Thanksgiving Break.

Fordham has looked good enough over its first five games, staying competitive throughout in all but the loss to LIU and dominating in the Sacred Heart matchup, but most importantly appearing to learn from its mistakes each week and showing marked improvement in one or more aspects each game.

There is still plenty to fix, of course, and the current crop of talent is probably not enough to hit double digits in wins this season, but the team appears to be coming together more each game.

It was unclear whether redshirt senior guard Brenton Butler would play against LIU after missing the Hampton game with a calf injury, but he ended up seeing 39 minutes and was one of four Rams to score in double digits, although only two others scored (each just one basket) and Fordham fell to the Blackbirds, 82-70.

“They’re a good basketball team,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “We’re trying to become a good basketball team.”

Long Island took a quick sixpoint lead at the start, looking like the Blackbirds would flirt with the 100-point mark by the end of the game, but Fordham came right back to take a nine-point lead of its own just 11 minutes into play. That lead also dwindled shortly, and three ties and seven lead changes later, the Blackbirds headed into halftime up two points thanks to a 9-0 advantage in bench points and four points in 12 minutes for sophomore forward Chris Gaston due to foul trouble. The guards picked up his slack, however, with junior Alberto Estwick and freshman Brendan Frazier combining to net 24 points on 8-14 shooting (6-9 from behind the arc).

Despite an early layup by Gaston to tie the game one minute in, the Rams had trouble catching the Blackbirds into the second half, falling behind by six three times before reclaiming the lead at 55-54 with 12 minutes to go.

They would not score another basket for the next five minutes, however, while the Blackbirds drained 12 unanswered points to storm to a double-digit lead, which they extended to 16 with two minutes remaining. Estwick and Frazier each hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to nine before the Rams ultimately fell, 82-70.

“I wasn’t thrilled at all about

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Sophomore forward Chris Gaston notched four straight double-doubles before having the streak snapped in the win over Hartford, in which he scored 14 and pulled down only six rebounds.

[LIU scoring 82 points],” Pecora said. “I wanted the game to be in the 60s; 80s is their world. I’ve never been about outscoring somebody, I’m about stopping [them from scoring].”

Although they allowed 82 points due mostly to the usual poor offthe-ball defense and mental lapses, the Rams did manage to hold LIU to its lowest-scoring game of the season (the Blackbirds had scored 87, 91 and 91 in their previous three games). That is more attributable to Pecora’s plan to slow the game down than to the Rams’ defensive prowess, however, as the Blackbirds still shot 50 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from three, and sank 19 free throws.

Gaston, the nation’s leading rebounder heading into the game, recovered from his tempered first half to finish with a still-respectable 15-11 line, his fourth double-double in as many games this season, while Frazier finished with a career- and team-high 24 points, although without his usually strong supporting rebound and assist numbers (one and zero that night) and Estwick and Butler rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 and 13, respectively.

While the Rams did finally manage to break the 40 percent barrier in field goal percentage (they shot exactly 50 percent), including 46.2 percent from behind the arc, they were done in by two of the most manageable aspects of the game – free throw shooting and turnovers.

Fordham shot an appalling 46.2 percent from the free-throw line and committed 20 turnovers (although to an uncharacteristically high 17 assists), the second consecutive time the team has given the ball away at least 20 times.

“Our two Achilles’ heels right now – at least the most prominent ones – are free throw shooting and on-the-ball toughness,” Pecora said.

The Rams rectified at least one of those weaknesses in the win over

Hartford Saturday, hitting 11 of 13 free throws – six in the final minute – and bringing the turnover total down a notch to a still-too-high 17.

The Rams traded baskets with the Hawks for the first 10 minutes, tying the score three times before Hartford poured in 10 unanswered points and extending the lead to 12 on a flurry of three-pointers (four in eight minutes). Despite several attempts by the Rams to control the damage (they got within four at 7:15 behind some three-pointers of their own), the Hawks held a nine-point lead at the half. Senior guard Milton Burton led the way for Hartford with 15 points in the half while the Rams combined for 12 turnovers.

A Hartford basket and Fordham turnover within the first 30 seconds of the second half portended an ugly end for the Rams, but Fordham pulled back within five with 15 minute to go. Hartford answered by stretching the lead back out to 11 and held the margin until seven minutes remained, when Fordham finally decided enough was enough. Behind an all-around team effort – four players scored a basket and Butler handed out three assists in four minutes – Fordham cut the deficit to two with just under three minutes left, and did not stop there, going on a ridiculous 15-2 run in the final five minutes; Hartford retained the lead for another two minutes before Fordham tied it up at 57 with 1:04 to go and finished the job with the final six points of the contest to notch the 61-57 victory.

Fordham limited Hartford to just 34.5 percent shooting while hitting 46.8 percent of its own shots and went a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe in the second half. Three Rams – Estwick, Frazier and Gaston – hit double digits in scoring with 16, 15 and 14, respectively, with only freshman forward Marvin Dominique pulling down over 10 rebounds (11) and Frazier again showcasing his all-around ability

with five rebounds and three assists. Gaston failed to put up a fifth straight double-double and lost his national lead in rebounding to Siena senior forward Ryan Rossiter (13.2 to 13.0 per game). Estwick and Frazier went 5-13 from behind the arc to bring their combined total on the season to 28-75 (38 percent), despite Frazier’s 2-12 against Hampton; the two have gone 15-29 from three in the last two games.

Butler dished out six assists, bringing his total to 14 in the past two games, and managed a close-

to-respectable 3-9 from the field (although 1-6 from three), showing that he may be beginning to understand how he can be most effective on this squad.

Dominque scored a career-high seven points, but on 1-7 shooting from the field (he sank five free throws), and junior transfer center Kervin Bristol again disappointed with zero points on one shot in 20 minutes of play, although he did pull down five rebounds. Only six Rams saw more than two minutes of action, with three playing 39 or 40 minutes; at least one bench player will need to show he can step into the lineup for the Rams starters to avoid breaking down by Christmas. Conventional wisdom requires a seven- or eight-man lineup for any kind of sustained success, and Pecora hopes someone can step up eventually.

“I’m a strong advocate of playing time is something you get based on your performance in practice,” Pecora said. “You get minutes because you deserve them. I’d like to relieve some minutes from the starters.”

Fordham will head up to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Ivy Leaguechampionship contender Harvard (4-1) on Wednesday, Dec. 1 in the first of a two-game road trip this week, with a matchup at Patriot League favorite Lehigh (2-3) to follow on Saturday, Dec. 4. The Rams will then return home for the rest of the semester, with the annual Battle of the Bronx against rival Manhattan (2-4) scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Freshman guard Branden Frazier is tied for second on the team in scoring, averaging 14 points per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field.