Volume 106 Issue 2

The Fordham Ram Volume 106, Issue 2

Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 TheFordhamRam.com

January 31, 2024

Campus Dining Adds CHOMP

Fordham Faculty Reacts to AI Tools

By JOSHUA FIORENTINO

By JULIANNA MORALES

At the end of the spring 2023 semester, Fordham Dining announced that there would be a massive overhaul of the dining program. One of these changes is the introduction of a food truck, which would allow students to get food on the go.

This food truck, also known as the CHOMP truck, began operations at the beginning of this year.

The idea for the CHOMP truck originated during the talks for the total reinvention of the Queen’s Court Ram Café last February, according to Fordham Dining Liaison Deming Yaun.

“The plan was to open several smaller destinations,” said Yaun. “[The food trucks] were an on-trend addition that many colleges and universities of our size were adding to their dining programs, so we jumped in and said ‘Yeah, let’s go.’”

This truck will not just have a standard breakfast menu for mornings, but several lunch menus, with concepts such as “Ramses Mobile Dinner” and

The Office of Information Technology at Fordham recently announced that they are launching Fordham-supported Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in an email to students. They stated that the purpose of these tools is “to improve productivity and learning.” This comes after a widespread warning against the use of AI technologies in Fordham classes since their rise in popularity.

The Office of Information Technology explained that the initiative to launch Fordhamsupported AI was in response to requests from the community for support of recent advances in the technological field. The new AI tools enabled for Fordham students include those introduced by Zoom, Grammarly and Google.

The newly supported AI features were enabled for students and faculty university-wide on Jan. 19, 2024, one day after the announcement of their launch.

The features in each application include Zoom meeting summaries, Grammarly generative AI and the Google version of ChatGPT, Bard.

Despite the support that the Office of Information Technology has shown towards AI by enabling these features, their announcement came with clear warnings for students to proceed with caution when using AI tools, specifically advising against the input of personal information and the use of AI tools that train central models with user input.

Fordham faculty seems to have received news of the newly enabled AI tools at the same time as students. When asked if they had received advanced notice, Dr. Nicholas Smyth, a professor in the philosophy department, stated, “No. I have searched through my email and haven’t been able to find any

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SEE CHOMP, PAGE 4

FEATURES EDITOR

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The vandalism was discovered on Tuesday and the chapel has remained closed to the public since.

O’Hare Hall Chapel Vandalized on the floor.

The communion hosts, also called the Eucharist in Roman Catholicism, is an integral part of the Mass. Catholics regard the consecrated host as the presence of God. The hosts that were found scattered underneath the altar were presumed not to have been consecrated or blessed by a priest, and thus not yet revered as the Body of Christ.

Resident Assistant Benjamin Coco, FCRH ’24, who is the Campus Ministry Liaison for

By ALLISON SCHNEIDER MANAGING EDITOR

A handful of students gathered in the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Chapel on the third floor of O’Hare Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 23 to celebrate the residence hall’s first Mass of the spring semester. During the Mass, the group discovered a hot pink vape that was left under the Bible on top of the altar. The group also discovered several unconsecrated communion hosts that were broken and scattered beneath the altar

O’Hare, said of the event, “It was very unfortunate. The chapel was disrespected.” He also stated that while the incident was “really hurtful” to O’Hare’s Catholic residents, “we want to move forward as a building and a campus community.” Coco said he is inclined to believe the parties responsible for the vandalism acted out of ignorance, rather than malice.

Resident AnnaMarie Pacione, FCRH ’26, agreed, saying she does not want to assume the SEE CHAPEL, PAGE 5

Students Report on Global Outreach Trips

By MARY HAWTHORN PHOTO EDITOR

have been familiarized with the ongoing renovation process in their halls. As per an article published by the Ram on Oct. 11, 2023, the Loyola renovations began during the fall of 2021 and were set to be completed

by Nov. 30, 2023. Although the construction persisted through the end

This winter break, Fordham University Global Outreach (GO!) offered several enriching service trips for students to participate in across North America. From Morganton, N.C., to Puebla, Mexico, students had the opportunity to foster cura personalis through programs centered in social justice awareness, collaboration, service and community engagement.

According to the Fordham Global Outreach website, “Projects allow students to directly connect with communities in the United States and around the world while learning about systems of inequality and focusing on antioppression and anti-racism work.” Further, “Projects

SEE UPDATES, PAGE 5

SEE OUTREACH, PAGE 3

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The buildings are two of the many on Fordhams Campus that have been under rennovation this year.

Scaffolding Taken Down From Loyola, Tierney Halls

By EVA ELIZONDO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past semester, there have been several buildings under construction — Tierney Hall, Loyola Hall, Faculty Memorial Hall and the McShane Campus Center Marketplace.

Fordham’s Director of Capital

Programs & Planning, Marcella Gerbino, P.E. shared that the renovations on Faculty Memorial Hall involved replacing the windows that surround the building.

This project started in the summer of 2023 and was completed in December 2023.

Residents of Loyola and Tierney

SEE AI, PAGE 4

in this issue

Opinion

Page 8

Why are We so Comfortabe with AI Now?

Culture

Page 13

2024 Trends: What Will Be In and What Will be Out?

Sports

Page 17

Squash Sweeps Final Home Weekend

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

Fordham Alumna Megan Zuckerman Wins Award from N.Y. Junior League

Jan. 22 Off Campus 6:20 p.m.

On Monday, a student reported that their cell phone was taken at E 189 Street and Bathgate Avenue. The supervisor responded. The reporter stated while walking in front of 2413 Bathgate Avenue a male on a scooter snatched their cell phone from their hand. Detectives from the 48th Precinct responded and investigated.

Jan. 23 Off Campus 2:43 p.m.

On Tuesday, a student reported that their car was broken into when parked on Southern Boulevard near the Fieldhouse. The supervisor responded. The student said they parked their car at 10:00 a.m., and when they returned the rear passenger window was broken and their Apple MacBook and purse were taken. The student declined the response from the NYPD. Jan. 27 Off Campus 4:10 a.m.

On Saturday, a Fordham Public Security officer requested assistance at Rams Deli. A student was discovered near the Walsh Gate bleeding from the mouth. The student said they were at Mugz Bar when they had an altercation with a tall male bouncer.

Another bouncer held the student while the taller male punched the student causing an injury. The injured student declined to file a police report.

On Jan. 24, The Fordham Ram ran an article entitled “Fordham Prematurely Announces Policy Allowing Opposite Gender Guests.”

The article has been revised for accuracy in the online edition. The article incorrectly stated that residents are allowed two guest passes per semester. There is no limit of two guest passes per semester. We appreciate the affected parties bringing this to our attention.

– Sofia Donohue, Editor in Chief, Volume 106

January 31. 2024

COURTESY OF MEGAN ZUCKERMAN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Megan Zuckerman at the Outstanding Volunteer Announcement Soiree.

By AVA CARREIRO

DIGITAL PRODUCER EMERITUS

Fordham University alumna Megan Zuckerman, FCLC ’16, won the 2024 Outstanding Volunteer award from the New York Junior League (NYJL) on Nov. 17. This award, granted to just five women out of over 2,400 volunteers, is a high honor given to those who exemplify a superior standard of excellence in volunteerism.

Zuckerman grew up in the Jersey Shore and attended the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. After completing her first year of her undergraduate degree at a small liberal arts school in upstate New York, Zuckerman transferred to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. There, she pursued a degree in communications and media studies with a concentration in journalism.

Today, Zuckerman works as the PR & Events Manager for IvyWise, an educational counseling firm. Her day-today includes managing media relations for the company and supporting event planning for webinars, industry conferences and in-person events.

Zuckerman also manages the IvyWise Scholars, which is a pro-bono college counseling program serving low-income, high-achieving students in

the U.S. applying to college as either first-year or transfer students. She coordinates the application process, communicates with applicants, onboards students and requests marketing content from them throughout their programs. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, spending time at the beach and morning walks with her dog, Henry.

When she was in high school, Zuckerman went well beyond the graduation requirement of 20 community service hours.

She spent her summers volunteering at Island Beach State Park’s community outreach program, where she taught students about marine life.

Zuckerman also participated in many short-term volunteer projects, such as annual blood drives.

In her first year of college, she volunteered weekly at a daycare for underprivileged children.

“Although it was sometimes very difficult, I learned a lot and am even more determined to work with children more in the future,” she said.

After transferring to Fordham, Zuckerman searched for ways to expand her network outside of the school. This led her to join the NYJL, a volunteer organization that “works with more than 60 community-based

organizations to advance the social and emotional learning of children to provide life skills programs to youth and adults who are navigating periods of difficult transition.”

Ten years later, she is still an active, decorated member of the organization. Zuckerman has an extensive list of projects she’s spearheaded within the organization, such as serving as a co-chair of the NYJL’s 120th Anniversary Cookbook Task Force, forming a public relations outreach initiative and overseeing not one, but three different committees of the NYJL’s Training Council.

By serving as the co-chair of the task force, Zuckerman’s responsibilities included organizing over 500 recipe submissions using DropBox and Excel and assisting with the logistics of creating and selling the cookbook.

“The project included one year of hard work, thousands of emails, dozens of nights burning the midnight oil, 53 dedicated task force members, 160+ recipes, the most intricate Dropbox folder and, of course, the best co-chair, Maria Reina,” she said.

“As someone who is the furthest thing from a chef, I never could have imagined diving into a project like this, but am so grateful that I did. Not only does the book tell the treasured history of the New York Junior League, but the proceeds from its sales support the important work that we do to support the NYC community,” Zuckerman said.

In 2021, she used her background as a public relations professional to develop a preliminary media relations strategy to help bridge the gap in the organization’s external communications. Zuckerman then joined the Communications Work Group, where she worked with the Fundraising Area to highlight events and the Community Area to share the work of their committees.

Through this, she has developed media relations strategies, written and edited press releases and pitches, created

media lists and conducted media outreach. Her media coverage includes Apartment Therapy, Avenue and Gotham Magazine.

The three committees of the Training Council Zuckerman oversees are the Leadership Development, the Nonprofit Education and the Training and Volunteer Education and Training committees.

Zuckerman will be presented with the 2024 NYJL Outstanding Volunteer Award for all of her accomplishments within the organization on Feb. 24 at the 72nd Annual Winter Ball, a “special black tie event that raises essential funds for the NYJL’s community programs while celebrating both [its] community projects and [its] women volunteers who dedicate themselves to improving communities in New York City.”

In regards to Fordham’s influence on her success in volunteering, Zuckerman said, “The number one role that Fordham played in my volunteer experience was providing me with public relations skills.

I am most proud of the media placements I’ve secured for the NYJL, because it has a measurable impact on us recruiting new volunteers, soliciting donors and encouraging people to attend our fundraising events.”

Although Zuckerman already has an impressive array of volunteer accomplishments, she continues to look towards the future: “My next goal is to join a nonprofit board or junior board and I am hoping to identify a best-fit by the end of this year — it is one of the goals that I set for myself in 2014!”

Those aged 21 and older who are interested in exploring volunteer opportunities within the NYJL can read more about joining the program on their website, nyjl.org.

“It [NYJL] really helps with the transition from college life to post-graduate life, as it provides structure and a schedule, a professional and friends network and an outlet outside of work,” said Zuckerman.

This Week at Fordham Wednesday Jan. 31

Thursday Feb. 1

Thursday Feb. 1

Friday Feb. 2

Sunday Feb. 4

Let’s Defeat the Undefeated

Grub and Gab with the Humanities

Java with the Jesuits

Rock Out at Rodrigue’s

Celebrate Black History Month

Rose Hill Gymnasium 7 p.m.

Faber 568 1-2 p.m.

McShane Campus Center 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House 8 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral 2 p.m.

Men’s basketball takes on the undefeated spiders of the University of Richmond on Wednesday. Free Fordham beanies and Insomnia Cookies are being given out to attendees.

Enjoy a brown bag lunch with Fordham faculty, undergraduate and graduate students and informally discuss research in the humanities to gain inspiration, guidance and knowledge.

Stop by the McShane Campus Center to enjoy free coffee and converse with the Jesuits of the Fordham community. This event is every Thursday at both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House is hosting a concert headlined by touring trio Crush Fund. Openers include New York-based group Warm Wishes and Fordham’s very own DJ Dream Gyrl.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is having a Black History Month Mass, and Campus Ministry is bringing interested students. Email kanderson26@fordham.edu to sign up for free transportation.

NEWS

January 31, 2024

Page 3

Winter Global Outreach Programs Successful FROM OUTREACH, PAGE 1

led by a team leader and has ten spots for participants. In addition to the team leader, teams will be accompanied by a project chaperone. Teams will undergo a sustained formation process prior to immersion, co-created by CCEL staff and the global partner, to lend to holistic spiritual, academic, and ethical learning and developmental growth.” The website also states that “Global Outreach projects are driven by Fordham’s Jesuit mission of cultivating diverse leaders in a global society.”

The five programs offered this January were located in Puerto Rico, Arizona, California, North Carolina and Mexico.

Each trip is distinctly unique and offers students the opportunity to give back beyond the gates of Fordham as global citizens.

The GO! Puerto Rico team was hard at work in the beautiful Las Marias. On the GO! Instagram the group shared, “We feel so honored to have been a part of the nonprofit organization Panorama Farms and help them with their mission to raise money for Puerto Rico’s sustainable future.”

At Panorama Farms, student volunteers were able to learn about sustainability and environmentally conscious farming in Puerto Rico while also having the opportunity to plant coffee trees themselves.

Another winter trip was on the Nogales, Ariz. border. The

GO! Arizona team shared that they “had the opportunity to walk along the Sonoran desert, a trail many migrants have passed through during their journey to the U.S.… The hike provided a first hand experience and understanding of the conditions migrants encounter during their journey North.”

The third GO! trip was to Los Angeles. In the Golden State, students collaborated with Homeboy Industries, which is the “largest gang rehab and reentry program in the world.”

On their social media, team members reflected, “We went to Homeboy Industries and Silkscreen where we learned about transformation post-incarceration and rehabilitation. We listened to Homeboys talk about their lives in prison and their journeys towards becoming better persons for themselves and their families.” Following this hard work, students cooked meals for the Guadalupano Homeless Project, which allowed for students to further collaborate to help those in need. Ashli DeMaria, FCRH ’24, said, “It was just a place where everyone who was there wanted to be there. There was intention with everything… They have such a rich foundation and the ‘homeboys’ and ‘homegirls’ are constantly pushing them in a forward direction.” DeMaria also said, “Ultimately, I thought it was a great place and we need more places like Homeboy Industries.”

The fourth GO! trip was unlike

the others, as it was a requirement for the Honors Program.

Participants shared in a post, “The team toured Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned, cut and sew textile plant in Morganton, North Carolina observing their impressive business operations. Earlier we received hands-on experience on industrial sewing machines at our host, The Industrial Commons.”

Finally, the last GO! trip this winter was in Puebla, Mexico.

On this trip, students “spent the week at the farm of Enlaces Comunitarios Internacionales in San Jerónimo Tecuanipan. We have helped tend to the land by weeding, planting lettuce and avocado trees, and harvesting beans and corn. We have also helped to create gardens and plant trees at the houses of neighbors in the community. Through these experiences, we have been learning about permaculture and the importance of community organizing, water preservation, eco-architecture, and holistic sustainability practices,” according to the program’s Instagram. In addition to all of this hands-on learning, students traveled to Apizaco, Tlaxcala, where they visited a migrant center.

Students interested in attending the next cycle of GO! trips can join the on-campus organization, find more information about the programs through Fordham’s

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Members of the Global Outreach trip in Puebla, Mexico. website o r f o l l o w t h e i r I n s t a g r a m , @fordhamgo. Students are also encouraged to talk to former GO! participants about their GO! experiences.

A Year of Fordham Swag

By NORA MALONE NEWS EDITOR

While students always have the option of the Fordham University Bookstore to acquire their Fordham merchandise, many may get it from other avenues: clubs, sports games and student-run businesses, such as Fordham Swag.

It’s been a little over a year since Fordham Swag launched, and their parody merch is wellrecognized around campus.

Over the course of the past few months, the brand has expanded, now offering 28 categories of merchandise on its website.

“Originally, we envisioned Fordham Swag as a local, almost members-only kind of platform. But to our surprise, it has gained interest from people all across the country,” said the brand, who wishes for its members to remain anonymous. “While we don’t usually ship internationally, we have made some special exceptions and fulfilled orders to places like France and other countries.”

The team is made up of a mix of Fordham alumni and current students. The original creator of the popular “Man I Love Fordham” shirt has since graduated, but still works with the brand.

“We typically find new team members through word of mouth, ensuring a continuous flow of fresh ideas and perspectives,” said the team.

Students’ perspective on the brand is mixed, with some

feeling that the humor doesn’t work.

“I think it’s tacky,” said Riva Zellars, FCRH ’27.

The brand does edge the line in some of its collections, including its recent “Get Rammed” T-shirts, but the team feels that student enjoyment is their top priority.

“The real reward for us isn’t financial; it’s the joy and amusement we get from the process and seeing other students enjoy our creations,” said the team.

“There’s something incredibly satisfying about spotting someone on campus wearing a design that you had a hand in creating.”

Many students agree that the brand merchandise is a fun spin on school spirit.

“I think it’s cool; it’s something I’d wear to the gym,” said Adrianna Iacovetta, FCRH ’27, “so people see ‘FU’ when I’m working out.”

The brand’s “FU” collection was one of its first and remains one of its most popular, as the “FU” chant has been around for a long time.

“I would buy the ‘FU’ sweatshirt for my dad,” said Michael Pontecorvo, FCRH ’27.

As their second year begins, Fordham Swag has a few updates and partnerships. They will be launching a new website that will let them expand their collections.

They are also going to be partnering with TrendyThread, another Fordham based brand.

TrendyThread focuses on giv-

ing Fordham students access to cheap, on-trend clothes.

Instead of purchasing massproduced products from brands at a markup, they plan to acquire the clothes directly from the manufacturer and sell them to students.

“This strategy aims to provide the latest fashion trends in a more affordable and sustainable way, ensuring broader access to stylish clothing,” said the founder in a memo to the Fordham Swag team.

The collab between both TrendyThread and Fordham Swag means both brands can access the Fordham audience without competition.

Students will also be able to return clothes purchased through TrendyThread on the Fordham Swag platform.

The integration also means TrendyThread, which closed in early January, can continue business.

After a year of business, Fordham Swag has gained more than 6,000 Instagram followers and has expanded their collections to cover a variety of sports and clubs.

Fordham Swag hopes their new partnership will bolster this coming year to be just as successful. “We want to build on that momentum and explore even more creative and intricate designs.”

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The brands designs are regualry worn by students at sports games.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The brand is run by current Fordham students and Fordham alumni.

NEWS

Page 4

FROM AI, PAGE 1

notice, and this wasn’t discussed at any meeting at which I was present. Other faculty I knew were similarly surprised by it. I guess we don’t have the right to discuss or vote on these decisions.”

It is hard to say how the launch would have gone had there been a vote amongst faculty before a decision was made. This is because different professors have a wide variety of reactions to the news of the Fordham-supported AI. Professor Kelly Ulto, a program director in the Gabelli

January 31, 2024

Fordham Debuts New AI Tools

School of Business also said she was not given advanced notice: “I was not aware of most of these new tools until I received the email, and I am anxious to learn more.” However, she said she has a more optimistic outlook than other professors.

Ulto expressed that she finds the tools to be useful in the classroom setting, for students and faculty alike, and wants to find constructive uses for the advancing technologies.

Ulto stated that the tools and IT support she has used in the

classroom “has allowed me to connect with my students more effectively, especially allowing for more ways to offer feedback on assignments and support of their projects.” She cited these successes as why she feels excited to embrace new technology in her classes.

Some differences in professor opinions are due to the subjects they teach. Smyth explained how his department differs from others, saying, “as a philosophy professor, my job is literally to teach people how to think. If I

allow students to use a tool that does the thinking for them, I am not doing my job… While I can see the argument for AI use in the sciences, engineering and so on, here in the humanities we must do our best to cultivate these heroic young minds, and not let their thinking be directed by a giant data center in San Francisco.”

Students have gotten accustomed to seeing the strict rules surrounding the use of AI tools in class syllabi. Despite this, Smyth informed the Ram that

on the faculty side of Blackboard, there are AI tools to generate essay prompts, discussion questions and auto-generated rubrics. This means that, without knowing, students may be paying their Fordham tuition only to be “taking a part human part robot class,” Smyth said.

“What is the place of the human in the society we are building? The corporate tech bros have spoken, and their answer is: ‘On the sidelines, hopefully.’

Rams, is this your answer?”

Dining Options Expand FROM CHOMP, PAGE 1

“The Melt,” that, according to Yaun, will rotate on “less than a weekly basis,” since “customers might not want to see the same menu for more than a couple of days.”

According to Yaun, the CHOMP truck will move throughout the day from Martyrs’ Circle on weekday mornings, to Finlay Hall on weekend mornings, as well as Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

There are not yet talks of opening additional trucks. “Let’s get the first one out of the way,” said Yaun.

While the truck was only open for two to three days into the semester before the cold wave, early reviews from the student body were mostly positive about the food trucks, saying that although it’s not a replacement for the McShane Dining Hall, it’s a

great place to get food on the go.

“It’s a good option to grab food and go [and] it’s a great alternative to sit-down places,” said Emy Hayford, a graduate student.

Although she enjoyed her meal overall, Kareena Kayla Kumar, FCRH ’27, was dissatisfied with the time it took to make her food. “It took longer for them to make my plantbased [order]. The guy who ordered after me got his order first,” she said.

However, despite this issue, Kumar and another customer, Stefania Bonanni, FCRH ’24, both enjoyed their orders.

While reception is favorable to the CHOMP truck, students hope to see more vegan and vegetarian options in the future, with Hayford dreaming of a future with Dagger John’s

open on weekends.

Unfortunately, due to the subfreezing temperatures that caused many issues with the truck, it was shelved until Jan. 26. However, since temperatures are warmer, it has returned.

However, there is one more goal Yaun has in mind: leaving the infamous last-place spot in numerous rankings of the worst college food. “[I and] everyone at Fordham want to see food services on a better place on that ranking,” he said.

While Fordham’s food’s reputation is still at rock bottom, the positive reception of the CHOMP truck hopefully indicates a change in how Fordham Dining sees the importance of their food’s quality and variety.

As Mya Rosario, GSB ’27 states, “We’re not ranked one of the worst [for food] for nothing.”

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The truck will be offering a rotating menu of options each week.

Fordham’s “Baseball Nines” Rooted in School’s History

By CRISTINA STEFANIZZI ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Fordham University, a school built on Jesuit values, tradition and history, holds many stories, from the maroon sweatshirts that hang in the bookstore to how our iconic Ramses came to be. And, somehow, baseball is wrapped into a lot of Fordham’s history.

182 years ago, St. John’s College, now commonly known as Fordham University, proudly donned its school color of magenta on uniforms and signage around the Rose Hill campus.

The deep pink shade was used for Fordham’s first athletic club founded in 1859, the “Baseball Nines,” and Fordham’s team played in the first college baseball game under New York rules, with nine men on each side. Hence, the name “Baseball Nines.” Fordham won against Xavier University with a score of 33-11.

Almost 200 miles north, former archrival Harvard University also donned uniforms and signage of the same magenta hue.

Neither school wanted to change their color and admit defeat to the other, and decided to play a series of baseball games in the early 1870s to earn the right to solely hold magenta as their school color.

Considering Fordham still holds the top position for most

wins ever in NCAA Division I baseball, it’s no surprise Fordham defeated Harvard in the battle for magenta as their school color. The National Collegiate Athletic Association even said in a 2021 article that “if the Rams never played another game of baseball after the 2019 season, it would take Texas (second most wins in NCAA DI baseball) 36 more years to become the winningest team at its current rate.”

However, our rivals in the north refused to change their color, which led to Fordham adopting maroon as their official color four years after the games, with Harvard later following suit and switching their school color to crimson.

During a baseball game against the United States Military Academy (West Point) in the 1890s, students cheered from the stands: “One-Dam, TwoDam, Three-Dam, Fordham!”

Much to the enjoyment of students, Jesuit faculty members frowned upon the language and changed the words to “OneRam, Two-Ram, Three-Ram, Fordham!” In 1906, Fordham’s official mascot was changed from “The Rose Hills” to “The Rams.”

In 1925, Ramses I, a live ram, lived on campus and served as the official mascot for Fordham.

Over the course of 53 years, 28

rams fulfilled the role of Ramses on Rose Hill's campus. Unfortunately, many of the rams were “ram-napped” by rival institution Manhattan College and brought to a slaughterhouse, according to Fordham University’s Library Archives. Ramses III would often escape campus and attack New York City trains, which led to his unfortunate sentenced death.

Ramses XIX, although surviving his ram-napping, was left at the Madison Square Garden Circus with his wool dyed green

by Manhattan College students.

Later interviewed by The Fordham Ram, one of the Manhattan College students who kidnapped Ramses XIX in 1961 spoke about the experience.

“We considered many options but could not get him to the top of the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty.”

Ramses VIII was ram-napped

by New York University and taken to a Connecticut farm right before a football game.

New York State troopers picked Ramses up at state lines and escorted him to the game with four squad cars and six motorcycles, sirens blaring. He arrived just in time for halftime.

There are many other stories about the other 20-something rams that spent time on the Rose Hill campus, from having their shed burnt down to crashing

Gabelli business lectures.

Although the founders of Fordham University may not have predicted in the 1850s that a series of baseball games would lead to the choosing of

our school’s color and mascot, the stories behind Fordham’s rich maroon shade and iconic Ramses the Ram are a vital part of the Fordham school community and environment today.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Ramses XIX (pictured above) was dyed green and placed in MSG.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Fordham’s first official baseball game was played 1859.

NEWS

January 31, 2024

Page 5

Construction Continues On Campus FROM UPDATES, PAGE 1

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Scaffolding surrounded the front entrance of Tierney has been removed.

of last semester, this year, students were welcomed with the removal of the privacy screens and scaffolding. While some areas of the building are still being worked on, the windows in students’ rooms are no longer obstructed and tinted blue by the privacy tape. The project restores precast concrete and stone throughout the south and east facades. The renovation is expected to be finalized

by March 2024, according to Gerbino.

Loyola resident Catalina Mercado, FCRH ’27, says, “I love being able to see out my window and actually see the campus from above. It’s gorgeous! The sunsets from my window are so beautiful, and seeing snowfall on our first

week back was such a treat.

The building also looks pretty from the outside as well. Can’t wait to see the leaves grow back in the spring.”

In Tierney, renovations have also been finalized this semester. However, students were not fully prepared for last semester’s construction.

“When moving into Tierney Hall, in the quiet southwest corner of campus, the last thing I expected was to be woken up every morning by loud noises on the roof above me,” said Ariel Karni, GSB ’25. “I live on the third floor, which is the top floor of the building directly below the roof.

For roughly three months, there was constant construction above my floor that would wake us up every morning at

7 a.m. Though I am grateful for the work being done to renovate the building, it was quite the distraction… At first, we received a notice from our Resident Hall Director that there would be construction in the building for the majority of the semester. I assumed it would be noisy at times but the sound of drilling and hammering nails at seven in the morning on a Tuesday is not the most appealing alarm a student could ask for.”

While there has been a lot of work done on campus, the Fordham community can expect more renovations this spring semester with the continued construction on the McShane Center and updates to older buildings around the Rose Hill campus.

O’Hare Chapel Closed FROM CHAPEL, PAGE 1

does not want to assume the incident was targeted. The vandalism reveals a potential lack of respect for the sacred spaces on Fordham’s campus. In light of this, Pacione also proposed that the incident “can pave the way for a teaching moment so we all can respect sacred spaces, whether it be a chapel, a synagogue, a mosque or the beautiful outdoors.”

On Wednesday, Jan. 24, the evening following the incident, the resident director for O’Hare sent out a dorm-wide community warning via email announcing that the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Chapel on the third floor of O’Hare had been vandalized. The email did not provide any details about what

type of vandalism had occurred but stated that the chapel would be temporarily closed in the wake of the event.

The community warning implored students to speak with the resident director if they had any information about the incident or knew who may be responsible for the vandalism.

The email also stated that “future concerns over the Chapel use… may result in community fines, especially if we cannot identify who specifically caused the issues.” So far, no dormwide community fine has been announced.

Prior to this event, the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Chapel was left unlocked at all hours for the use and convenience of O’Hare residents. The chapel doors

have been locked since the events last Tuesday. However, the chapel was found to be unlocked as of the night of Jan. 30. No official statement has been made announcing a change in chapel hours, and the policy regarding chapel access remains unclear. It will, however, continue to be unlocked every Tuesday at 8 p.m. for weekly Mass.

Pacione said she hopes the Office of Residential Life will “decide to open the chapel soon, so O’Hare residents can enjoy the privilege of a sacred space to pray, reflect and just be in peace.”

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

Unconsecrated communion hosts were found on the ground.

CCEL Volunteers for Asylum Seekers at Afrikana Center

By ADITHI VIMALANATHAN ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Last Wednesday, Fordham University’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) held an engagement opportunity for students at the Afrikana Center in Harlem.

During the program, volunteers helped migrants and asylum seekers apply for city programs designed to help them integrate into city life. The event was organized by Adama Bah, founder of the Afrikana Center, and Kujegi Camara, assistant director of community engagement and operations at CCEL. On Wednesday, Camara traveled with a student volunteer to the Afrikana Center from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. The five-hour shift involved working with asylum seekers one-on-one on applications to city programs such as IDNYC and Fair Fares.

IDNYC is a city-wide program that provides residents with identification and access to municipal services regardless of their immigration status.

Likewise, Fair Fares provides low-income New Yorkers

with discounted MetroCards.

The Afrikana Center was founded by Adama Bah, a previous asylum seeker herself, to address the numerous needs of asylum seekers such as language services, mental health services and food supplies. The center operates solely by volunteers and estimates roughly 340 new arrivals each day.

The Center is also one of several organizations that is a community partner with CCEL. Fordham’s CCEL partners with community partners near the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses to share resources and organize together in the wider social justice work in both boroughs.

The method follows an assetbased approach. “Asset-based [work] is really focusing on the strengths of an organization or community and building on that,” said Camara. “For example, at Fordham, we have an amazing student body, we have really renowned faculty to help support whatever project, program they’re working on.”

This comes into play with organizations such as Afrikana.

“Adama Bah is the founder of

Afrikana, and [by] hearing from her and listening to her about what she’s working on, organizing a grassroots organization to provide as much services as she can to the incoming migrant community…

We’re [CCEL] like ‘how can we help, how can we make this better for you?’” When Bah expressed she needed volunteers, CCEL organized events such as the one on Wednesday to address that need.

Each borough has its own unique dynamic. In the Bronx, the nonprofit network is close-knit, where organizations have formed various coalitions such as Fordham in Community — a coalition of roughly 40 Bronx-based organizations, Fordham included, that share resources and plan community events together.

Lincoln Center’s dynamic is characterized by extensive wealth disparities, Camara explains. “In Lincoln Center, you’re surrounded by extreme wealth but you also have the Amsterdam houses, NYCHA, public housing a few

blocks from our Fordham Rose Hill campus.”

In Manhattan, CCEL builds relationships through more independent relationships with community partners. “Our approach in Manhattan and in the Greater New York City area,” said Camara, “is to find commonalities with local partners, so what we’ve been doing in Lincoln Center is trying to build a relationship with the Amsterdam houses… and to leverage [resources] to help them on whatever project they’re working on.”

Engagement programs, such as the one last Wednesday, are ways that CCEL brings students into the conversation and work of these community partners and the borough at large. They are ways of “continuing the ethos of being in community and learning and engaging with others,” as Camara puts it. Students provide important resources and volunteering hours that are important to community partners. Further opportunities can be accessed through CCEL's website and socials.

COURTESY OF KUJEGI CAMARA FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Students from both campuses have the opportunity to work with CCEL.

NEWS

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January 31, 2024

Gabelli Sophomore Practices Financial Research Skills

By HANNAH HOFFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There is something rewarding in completing research, and there is something even more rewarding in the act of winning.

Aishna Gaikwad, GSB ’26, has conducted numerous research projects for her classes involving business. Her research at Fordham began in her Ground Floor business class in her first year. It continued that year with her research in her history class revolving around the financial state of the United States. Gaikwad has continued to engage in research, and last semester, she won the Consulting Cup. “Ground Floor” is a class taken

by Gabelli School of Business students, typically during their first-year. The course introduces students to major ideas involving business and aims to familiarize them with some of the problems they will have to tackle in the business world. Gaikwad explains that the class is essentially split into two projects. The first project involves analyses and research of a specific brand, understanding everything about it to gain a perspective on the problems that the brand may face as a business. The second project has groups of students in the class create their own company, also based on research.

In reference to her “Ground Floor” class, Gaikwad notes that the second project was a lot more research-intensive for her because her group had to make the company extremely detailed.

This attention to detail was so extensive that if someone wanted to turn the project into a real company, they would have all the research done, and it would be

possible to do so.

The company Gaikwad and her group came up with was an environmental, social and governance (ESG) based company, which they named “Green Eats.”

The company uses the push towards increasingly environmentally aware policies and actions in order to profit in the restaurant industry.

Gaikwad states that she began by researching Tesla and used it as a model for their research because it was the catalyst for the ESG industry. Gaikwad and her group also went to Arthur Avenue to gather research from real restaurant owners about how they would interact with a company that offered them the label of being environmentally friendly.

Through more research about Tesla and the ESG industry, Gaikwad and her group understood the motivation behind being environmentally friendly for most businesses was because they could promote this factor to profit. For example, makeup and skincare brands put the label “cruelty-free” on their products, which encourages people to support them in order to weed out some of the unethical competing brands on the market.

Using the idea of the ESG industry and the research gathered from real restaurants, Gaikwad and her peers would give certificates to those who bought organic food from their company, thus showing the public that they were focusing on supporting clean farming. Their project was research-fueled from start to finish, as the purpose of “Ground Floor” is to participate in business research and gain an

understanding of the business world.

Aside from her “Ground Floor” class, which was explicitly business-oriented, Gaikwad states that she did research for her firstyear “American History” class and put a business spin on her chosen topic. She explains that she took the history class taught

by Professor Oliver Murphy because she thought it would be an easy A. However, Gaikwad says it ended up being a class in which she had to dedicate a lot of time and effort into writing a worthwhile paper that contributed to her overall field of study, finance.

The topic of research that Gaikwad chose was to compare the impact of the Great Depression to the impact of the recession in 2008, while simultaneously looking at the influence that the Federal Reserve has on the economy.

Gaikwad breaks down this explanation by saying that “both organizations can make decisions at the same time to fix problems, but sometimes they do contrasting things which makes the problem worse,” and this is when specifically the Great Depression became an issue in America.

Gaikwad says that she went to the history department in Dealy Hall during her professor’s office hours and looked through the many books available on American history, trying to find perspectives that would expand her research. She states that she had “never done anything like that before,” explaining that the paper was the most extensive piece of research she had done at the time.

Gaikwad recounts that this past semester, she participated in the Consulting Cup Integrated

Project, a class focused around a competition. She described the Consulting Cup as “the biggest [business] opportunity students have in their sophomore year.”

The Consulting Cup is a contest involving business students from both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses at Fordham, where the students are put into groups and must find a Fortune 500 company that is facing a problem and further find a solution to fix that problem. For this project, Gaikwad and her group chose Hanes.

The group’s research explicitly targeted female audiences when they realized Hanes did not have female intimates on the market. This research included how brands like Victoria’s Secret promoted and went about releasing their numerous lines of women’s intimates. Gaikwad explains that she “was in charge of doing the finance research because [she] is a finance major.” In order to research for the project, Gaikwad ran cost analysis and benefit analysis studies on these major brands

that released women’s fashion, specifically women’s intimates.

The group gave Hanes a new line of women’s intimates titled “Hanes for Her,” and aimed to reach the hypothetical demographic of women from age 18 to 28 with more trendy styles and customizable options. Ultimately, Gaikwad’s team won the contest, and she states that it “was a really big deal,” noting how rigorous the judging process was and how many teams her group was competing against.

Gaikwad says that every form of research, while not all aligning with her major, taught her something different. The history paper she wrote on the financial operations within America taught her how to use and find a trustworthy source and get information on a specific topic. Further, the business projects she worked on gave her skills that she states she will use in her future career pathways, such as learning how to work on a team. The business projects made her more knowledgeable about the business world.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

All students in the Gabelli School are encouraged to engage in research.

USG Debates Core Curriculum, Activity Fees; Announces Athletic Event

By SOFIA SEMPER STAFF WRITER

The Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Jan. 25, to discuss core curriculum concerns and the new Student Activity Fees Referendum.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative announced they will partner with the women’s basketball team to host an event on Feb. 10 for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. There will be a women’s basketball game against the University of Massachusetts, with a sports clinic before the game to teach people from the Bronx community and a signing event after the game.

A special election for the Vice President of Facilities and Dining position was held as Jamie Serruto, FCRH ’24, announced at the last meeting that he would be stepping down. Peter McGowan, FCRH ’24, ran for the newly opened position. He stated that he is the current vice-chair for the Facilities and Dining Committee, and he already has strong relationships with the Facilities and Dining staff. McGowan said he

wants to help students’ voices be heard and build a better relationship between students, administrators and the Dining and Facilities staff. McGowan won the position.

Vice President of Finance and Budgets Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, discussed the new Student Activity Fees Referendum.

Hjertberg said that the timeline for this referendum will be between March 4-18. After last year’s attempt at passing the activity fees referendum, Hjertberg said that he is serious about getting it passed this year, and he plans to make sure that it is advertised well and that students are aware of the benefits. The purpose of the Student Activity Fees Referendum is to increase the amount of money that can be allocated to clubs and organizations. They are planning on having a handwritten ballot where students sign their signatures on a form if they are in support of the referendum. According to Hjertberg, the issue with last year’s referendum was that they did not receive enough student votes for it to pass. Hjertberg explained that the referendum is necessary

as there has been a substantial increase in clubs, but there has not been an increase in funding, which has left the Budget committee short on how much money they can allocate to clubs.

Executive President Briana Al-Omoush, FCRH ’24, and Executive Vice President Ava Coogan, FCRH ’25, opened up a discussion about core curriculum concerns or suggestions that they can bring up to the core curriculum revision committee. Vice President of Sustainability Sean Powers, FCRH ’24, said that he has completed all of the Eloquentia Perfecta (EP) core requirements, but feels that nothing sets those classes apart from others he has taken. Additionally, he asked what differentiates an EP class from other classes. USG Senator Deborah Adebanjo, FCRH ’26, said that she believes that there are some benefits to Fordham’s core curriculum. However, she feels that it is unnecessarily long, as many students are still completing core class requirements in their junior year.

Hjertberg stated that he doesn’t understand why non-science

majors are required to complete both a life science and a physical science when the money for those classes could be used for other classes. Senator Evan McManus, FCRH ’25, requested that the changes

being made to the core be very clearly explained to students.

McManus also stated that he attended a meeting regarding Fordham’s excused absence policy and is preparing a proposal regarding the policy.

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Members of USG held a special election and a debate at its recent meeting.

OPINION

January 31, 2024

R

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918 The Fordham Ram is the university journal of record. The mission of The Fordham Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate. The Fordham Ram is published every Wednesday during the academic year to all campuses.

Website TheFordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu Editor in Chief Sofia Donohue Managing Editor Allison Schneider Editorial Director Evan McManus Production Editor Hannah Boring Multimedia Director Grace Campbell Business Director Grace Miller Copy Chief Cailee Zeraat News Editor Nora Malone Features Editor Julianna Morales Assistant News Editors Cristina Stefanizzi Adithi Vimalanathan Opinion Editor Saisha Islam Assistant Opinion Editors Zachary Badalamenti Eleanor Smith Culture Editors Claire Krieger Caleb Stine Assistant Culture Editor Isabella DeRosa Sports Editor Jonah Ring Assistant Sports Editors Griffin Stevenson Noah Hoffman Social Media Director Alexis Hurchalla Digital Producers Sophie Maselli Sarah Urbano Haniyyah Usmani Photo Editor Mary Hawthorn Advertising Directors Katriina Fiedler Kathleen Hollinger Diana Juarez Emily Roe Faculty Advisor Qun Wang Editorial Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial reflects the editorial board’s opinions or views.

Opinion Policy The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of The Fordham Ram. Submissions Policy The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject or edit any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. No part of the The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

Page 7

From the Desk | Jonah Ring I have never been one to fall asleep very easily — I tend to need to sit with the inky darkness and the piercing silence of the night for a good while before I can truly drift off. While the constant waiting in anticipation for the nothingness of sleep can certainly be trying and monotonous at times, as the unabating night and all its accidents really do tend to slowly chip away at one’s sanity, I try to make the most of these moments of borderline insomnia, using the empty time to get some “thinking” done.

I put thinking in quotations here because what is often actually occurring can in no way be deemed intellectual, as what pops into my head is, at best, terribly banal (“What did I eat today?”), or, at worst, outright ridiculous (“In what ways would my life have been better if the Bengals had actually won that Super Bowl?”). Yet, every now and again, when in the throes of these unprofound thoughts, something semiimportant does somehow find its way into my mind. And recently this has actually been occurring rather regularly, my mindless nights consistently being disrupted by the same singular, recurring thought: Do I — the singular, individual “I” — even exist?

The source of this nagging question is, embarrassingly, beyond stupid, but nevertheless requires elaboration. It

Do I Even Exist?

all stems from a quiet night in a messy O’Hare dorm room, when, in the midst of discovering new music, I stumbled across a song titled “Walden Pond” by an indie band called Atta Boy. Naturally, one thing led to another, and I soon found myself sitting on the floor, reading the collective works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was while I was wrapped up in his prose that I stumbled across the source of my troubles: the phrase “imitation is suicide.”

These three words struck me as odd and foreign initially, but they remained. They remained and they remained, until, after sitting with them in the darkness of the following nights, thinking about how emulation is the razor blade by which we kill the individuality that defines our singular human existence, I arrived at a terrifying realization: if imitation is suicide, then I have killed myself a thousand times over.

I say this because there really is nothing truly unique about me; every characteristic of mine is an imitation or cheap copy of someone else’s.

My physical appearance is not solely my own because there is someone else wandering this earth who looks like me: my twin brother. My mannerisms are largely just those of my parents and close friends, as my eccentricities, manner of speaking and habitual tendencies are really nothing more than learned behaviors

that I subconsciously picked up throughout the years. Even those guiding intellectual or ethical principles that I strive to live by are not my own, instead being those of certain thinkers that I have come across and chosen to appropriate. My outlook on these terrifying yet beautiful lives that we live was boosted straight from the pages of a Fyodor Dostoevsky novel; my goal to see the world with an innocent eye — one devoid of prior associations — was stolen straight off the brush and canvases of Claude Monet; and my overly pretentious writing style is nothing more than a bastardization of the beautiful prose that was originally authored by the immortal James Baldwin.

Considering all of this appropriation and unoriginality, do I really have any claim to existence? Can I honestly sit here and state that I haven’t brutally killed any sort of individuality that I once had, effectively condemning my singular sense of self to the murky depths of non-existence through the con-

stant emulation of influences?

Regardless, all of this rambling and melodramatic absurdity leads me to this potentially happier concluding point: maybe this sense, this feeling of mine that I lack a living, breathing identity that I can use as proof of my existence, is why I have been so drawn to the Ram. By getting to sit down and write an article each week, I am afforded a blank slate upon which I can carve out some sense of true individuality by thinking or doing something that has never been done before. Perhaps this opportunity for novelty is what motivated me to reach out to Nick (Volume 104’s sports editor) after I first met him at the club fair, what called me to continuously send emails pitching odd and esoteric blog ideas that nobody would ever read and what led me to want to become a more regular patron of the chairs of B-52 through an editorship.

Maybe the Ram was, in the words of Emerson, a way for me to “go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Editorial | Library Closures

Sunday NYPL Closures are Major Disservice to New Yorkers Near the end of 2023, the New York City government announced that the New York Public Library (NYPL) would begin closing their doors on Sundays. These budget cuts affect the public libaries in Queens and Brooklyn as well.

While the NYPL had previously evaded more severe budget cuts earlier in the year, the circumstances have changed. The decision to close libraries on Sunday was part of a broader series of budget cuts by Mayor Eric Adams in response to the strain of the migrant crisis on the city budget, which has cost the city $2 billion. When the budget cuts were announced, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams stated that libraries shouldn’t have been affected by the budget cuts. We at the Editorial Board agree with her sentiment. While there is no denying that budget cuts will have to be made by the city, we believe that the harm of closing libraries on Sunday is not worth the saved costs.

To understand the damage of these library closures to the New York community, we must look at the library’s services and the groups that use them.

The NYPL system covers the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx as well as Staten Island.

It is the largest public library

system in the United States and holds 54 million items including books, videos and ebooks.

While checking out a book or DVD may be what most people use the library for, the library also provides many other services that New Yorkers depend on.

A group affected by Sunday library closures is people without internet access. The NYPL provides free internet to people who need to do work at the library. Access to the internet is essential in today’s world and is used for various tasks such as writing essays and online banking. While some readers may think that people could just use the internet at home, that option does not exist for all New Yorkers. As of 2021, 8.1% of households in the city do not have any access to the internet, while 24.5% do not have highspeed internet. Some of the highest rates of no internet access were in the Bronx, which the NYPL serves. The closing of libraries on Sundays now means people without internet access can no longer access one of the few free spaces in the city with reliable internet service.

This inequality leaves them at a disadvantage compared to other communities with internet access at home.

Another group largely im-

pacted by the library closures is immigrants. The NYPL provides many vital resources that immigrants can use to ease the transition of moving to America. The NYPL offers materials and resources to help immigrants prepare for citizenship tests. Free English classes are provided for people who want to learn and improve their language skills. If immigrants need legal help, they can access ActionNYC: Immigration Legal Help, provided through the library. Many of these services are offered by the NYPL at the Pasculano Learning Center in Midtown Manhattan at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. However, this building is now closed on Sundays, making it more difficult for people to access these services on the weekend. As a result, the process of adjusting to a new country becomes needlessly more complicated.

A final group who is affected includes job seekers who use NYPL’s Career Services. They provide career coaching and one-on-one resume help sessions to support people preparing to apply for new jobs. Once people are ready to apply to jobs, NYPL provides useful databases to ease the job search.

They even hold a career fair, which will take place on May

17 this year. While the three services listed above are a huge undertaking, they still are not all that the NYPL offers. Worldrenowned research libraries contain historical documents such as a draft of the Declaration of Independence and an original copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio. These libraries grant a space for students to receive guidance and assistance with their homework after school and on the weekends. All these resources are available to anyone with a New York Public Library card.

Some people may disregard the complaints about the library closures on Sundays.

They may say it is just one day of the week, and that people can go on the other days. Yet that way of thinking comes from a place of privilege that assumes everyone has equal access to NYPL library services like WiFi. It also ignores the fact that Sunday is one of the only days of the week when students and some workers get the day off.

For many people, NYPL’s 92 locations provide these necessary services, and their importance doesn’t change depending on the day of the week. It is unfair to ask the New Yorkers who need these library services the most to give them up, even if it is just for one day a week.

Page 8

OPINION Why Are We So Comfortable With AI Now?

By PIERCE LIESTENFELTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A finance major in my building turned his laptop screen to me and asked, “Does this sound human?”

I know. Yet another alarmist op-ed about the big hoopla dubbed “the AI revolution.”

By now, I’m sure you’ve been battered on all sides by an onslaught of think pieces, talk shows, television rants, trend forecasts, holiday dinner chats, social media posts, edicts from Congress, podcasts, press conferences and maybe even a class lecture or two all concerning The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Moment in our communities. It’s what has gripped the world lately in collective anxiety, and higher education has emerged as a primary theater for this “revolution.” However, in no place has the change become more visible than in the academic to white-collar pipeline most Rams have found themselves lodged within. For that reason, it seems absurd to me to pretend like I have anything new to say on the topic. But I have read the emails.

There’s one email dated from Jan. 18 that announces “Fordham-supported AI tools for the Spring 2024 Semester,” a move “driven by requests from fellow Rams to provide

support for emerging technology.” This rollout includes a number of generative AI programs meant to assist students in their workload (as long as they can pass a “stringent but speedy evaluation process” and answer the IT Desk’s riddles three, of course). I think this change warrants deep reflection on why it has actually taken place. Is it worthwhile to make essay writing easier? For whom? What about research?

Note-taking? I don’t want to run through the full rigamarole of questions raised by these new technologies, but it seems deeply at odds with why we’re here, at Fordham, in the first place. Personally, I came to become liberally educated, become a whole person and to become fit for service to God and man.

The details of this goal are explained on our school’s website as the ability to “analyze and synthesize information, articulate [one’s] point of view, make logical decisions for the good of [one’s] colleagues and community, and adapt to changing circumstances.”

This type of skillset applies to a broad range of activity. They are as useful in business settings as in civic life, as grounding before the pulpit and at the pew and are very much needed in the vestiges of one’s own

mind. The dream of the liberally-educated, “well-rounded” scholar has been standard fare at the university, well before the emergence of the Ramses Dynasty, and even longer before these traits were codified into being on our website. But the AI debate is more than just a wedge issue; it has revealed a growing, existential faultline in academia over the “Liberal Arts Question.”

If you ask most people (probably even a lot of individuals at Rose Hill), all education really boils down to is “getting kids ready for the workforce.”

Clearly, the skills professed above — eloquence, logic, synthesis of ideas and the like — go a long way in that respect, and it’s why a liberal arts degree (regardless of the value in itself that some claim it holds) still holds quite a competitive advantage in many fields. But to be educated means more than to be able to perform and do tricks on command. It’s been said that the offices of the brain are like muscles — so much so that the comparison has become trite and overworked, like an abused bicep. But in order to build skills like “making logical decisions,” these muscles must be strained and exhausted again and again until they can regrow stronger, only in order to be flexed and

sapped once again. Where one has given their time and attention to, there they shall find improvement. How else could skills like “self-expression” be practiced without, well, selfexpression?

Without this repeated exercise, the mind flounders and becomes chained to its immediate surroundings — the obvious, the apparent, the insubstantial. This is the risk of reliance on AI. What part of that tool chest is advancing our goals at Fordham? We now have access to Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Copilot, which were both spawned as imitations of the ChatGPT, and other fun props, like “Grammarly AI Writer,” have also been conferred onto us. These devices ease the burdens of articulating oneself, desiring truth in a world of contradiction and comprehending the meaning of another person’s work, and they dull the excruciating pain of academic thoughts.

Fordham is one of those rare institutions that encourages its students to seek for themselves. Thousands of fortunate adolescents have here found a trail where they will be trained in the very art of moving forward, not taken down a dead-end primrose way or merely shown the path to joyless, miserly wealth. Relaxed

January 31, 2024

school policies towards AI undermine the essential nature of Fordham’s mission and our collective purpose. Education doesn’t mean anything if the barriers you’ve set up for yourself are trivial.

So far, every breakthrough in the field of technology has brought on massive cultural change, and nobody expects generative AI to be any different. It already has. The tools Fordham IT has so proudly granted us are already changing the way we think and changing the way in which we’re reliant on our machines.

I’m sure every one of us has a similar story that we could call up — everywhere, AI is changing our attitudes towards our education and our behavior, which are the most intimate aspects of our humanity.

Perhaps AI could reveal itself to be a great blessing for mankind. I don’t know. As of the time of writing, no technology has successfully improved or reformed the morality of our species. But until then, why must our campus be a proving ground for untested technology? Let the Ramily hold steadfastly to the good.

Pierce Liestenfeltz, FCRH ’27, is an international studies major from Scottsdale, Ariz.

DEI Initiatives Strengthen Student Bodies and Improve Education

By DAMIEN MOSHMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There has been a concerning uptick in legislation led by conservative groups attempting to ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education. These polarizing initiatives are measures and practices designed to ensure that members of colleges and universities (i.e. students, staff and faculty) have equal access to opportunities for success and inclusion. In higher education, DEI initiatives may include the installation of groups and offices dedicated to diversity and inclusion, along with courses and additions to the curriculum that feature the work of individuals from marginalized groups. These initiatives have been quintessential to developing our understanding of higher education.

Currently, there are over 30 bills across the United States attempting to restrict and ban DEI initiatives at public universities. Six have been signed into law, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott being the most recent to do so. As Fordham students, these bans are unlikely to affect us, given our status as a private college in one of the most liberal cities in the country. However, the attempts to limit DEI programs, especially paired with the reversal of affirmative action back in mid2023, set a dangerous precedent for the future landscape

of higher education.

As legislation banning these initiatives in higher education is passed, the responsibility of maintaining the practices and “safe spaces” at public colleges and universities in states with DEI bans unfairly falls on the student bodies. Colleges and universities should be fighting to keep these initiatives in place. These bans do a massive disservice to all students, marginalized or not, as DEI initiatives offer opportunities to learn more about cultures that may not otherwise be included in conversations if they’re not pushed to be there.

These bans hurt students nationwide, but they especially hurt those involved in clubs such as Asian Student Unions, Black Student Alliances, and similar cultural groups. The University of Texas (UT), for example, is no longer providing grants to fund cultural events that these groups have been able to put on in the past. In a similar vein, students of marginalized groups at UT are also no longer eligible for grants designed for them. Grants like the Monarch Scholarship (a scholarship program for undocumented students) and the programs funding them have been completely disbanded due to this legislative action.

Conservative opponents of DEI initiatives label the inclusion of the initiatives as

a form of “wokeness,” with former president and current frontrunner for the Republican party’s presidential nominee Donald Trump vowing to “direct the Department of Justice to pursue civil rights claims against any school, corporation, or university that engages in unlawful racial discrimination.” However, these initiatives are not put in place to serve as “unlawful racial discrimination,” but to level the playing field in order to amplify voices that would remain unheard for other reasons.

The goal of DEI initiatives is to mold the populations of colleges in a way that better reflects the more diverse world that we live in on a local and global scale. For example, the Rutgers University mission statement is to “recruit, retain, and develop a diverse community” that “more closely reflects the state of New Jersey,” specifically referencing community outreach programs and the review and amendment of class curriculums to “promote understanding of diversity and equity within academic disciplines.” The goal is not to somehow discriminate against any non-marginalized group, but to invite more diversity into the discussion, offering a chance for everyone involved to learn from each other in settings where that may not have originally been possible.

Additionally, it’s important

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Diversity initiatives are threated by potential U.S. education laws.

to note that these communities — BSAs, AAPI-related groups and the like — are not political unions, but cultural ones. They are opportunities for people in these cultures to share it with those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience them. Taking away funding from them in the way that state governments have been doing is preventing institutions of higher education that are meant to be internationally revered from being truly great.

Besides, DEI initiatives have already been proven to have strong, positive effects within the workplace. Companies with diverse employee populations and management have been shown to yield greater returns and more highly inclusive companies are more likely to hit their financial target goals by up to 120%. The primary reason that many

students attend college is to eventually get a job, so the fact that these initiatives have such good outcomes should be a positive sign for the workforce.

In a post-affirmative action society, along with an incredibly polarized political era, DEI initiatives are crucial in creating a well-rounded student body and essential in order to give students a diverse education throughout their time in college or university.

The removal of such initiatives is a disservice to everyone involved, marginalized and nonmarginalized groups alike.

There is no point in participating in a global education if you are not exposed to a variety of perspectives, which the targeted DEI initiatives offer.

Damien Moshman, FCRH ’27, is a political science major from Princeton, N.J.

OPINION To Keep American Democracy Intact, Trumpism Must End January 31, 2024

By HAILEY BAKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the ongoing Republican primaries for the highly anticipated 2024 election, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have emerged as the three frontrunners. This trio has dominated discussions and polls, seemingly representing a wide range of views within the Republican Party. That said, a pivotal turn occurred on Jan. 21 when DeSantis announced his withdrawal from the race. In a surprising twist, DeSantis not only exited the competition, but he also endorsed the campaign of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

This tactical move shows Trump’s enduring influence and dominance over the Republican Party, raising essential questions about the path forward for the primaries and the party’s future under the imminent shadow of Trumpism.

DeSantis ended his bid for the Republican nomination after a “devastating 30 percentage point loss” to Trump in the Iowa caucuses. To demonstrate his extreme commitment to winning the nomination, DeSantis invested significant time and money into Iowa, crisscrossing the state and courting Iowa’s influential evangelical voters, as highlighted by political correspondent for Reuters James Oliphant. Despite DeSantis’ efforts to win over Republican voters in a state he has emphasized is pivotal to his strategy, he could not withstand the power of Trump’s loyal supporters. This detrimental loss not only undermined DeSantis’ le-

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gitimacy as a viable alternative to Trump, but also left no reason for him to continue his unsuccessful campaign. Dropping out just two days before the New Hampshire primary election, DeSantis ensured Haley would now be the only opposing candidate to Trump.

In a video DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, he claimed, “Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden.

That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor the pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear.” With this, DeSantis highlighted the need to abandon the “old Republican guard” and focus on Trump as the future direction of the party.

DeSantis was once seen as the most realistic candidate to defeat Trump. Now, with him out of the race and endorsing Trump, it is almost inevitable that Trump will be the Republican nominee.

Senior Writer at U.S. News Lauren Camera said that “Not long ago, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the conservative policy wunderkind considered the GOP’s solution for reuniting the Republican Party in a postTrump world.” DeSantis’ decision to exit the race and endorse Trump has shifted the dynamics of the Republican primaries and the party as a whole, showing Trump’s lasting influence. However, is it a shock that Trump’s most formidable threat was forced to drop out of the race?

Evidently, no one can out-Trump Donald Trump himself.

Trump has terrifyingly shifted the trajectory of the Republican Party. The Republicans with the most power in the government are the ones who are closely aligned with Trump. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, as a longtime ally of Trump, recently became one of the highest-ranking Republicans to back Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced his endorsement of Trump’s presidential campaign on Jan. 2, becoming one of the most important Republicans to support him formally.

Republicans who do not support Trump or who criticize him are often ousted from Congress. During Trump’s second impeachment trial for incitement of insurrection, 10 House Republicans voted to impeach him. Out of the 10 representatives, only two remain in the House: David Valadao and Dan Newhouse. Trump has so much influence that it has been a careerending move for some politicians to oppose him.

When DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in May 2023, he said he wanted to “end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years.” Many Republicans believed Trump would win in the 2020 election, but he lost by a landslide. Trump received 232 electoral votes, with 270 required to win, whereas Biden received significantly more with 306.

Once Trump lost the presidency,

two runoff elections occurred in Georgia, and Democrats won both, meaning Republicans lost control of the Senate. During the 2022 midterm elections, the majority of candidates in key battleground states who propagated false claims about the 2020 election lost. NBC News projections showed out of 13 races in six battleground states where an election denier was running for governor, secretary of state or attorney general, 12 were unsuccessful.

Furthermore, right before he entered the race, DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign manager and closest aide, Generra Peck, said, “Everyone knows the majority of the Republican Party wants to move on,” referring to Trump.

Regardless of whether or not this claim is true, the majority of the Republican Party wants to move on from Trump. However, it seems that moving forward is simply not realistic, given the amount of power Trump possesses. As long as the culture of blindly supporting Trump to avoid losing political power exists, Trump will remain in control.

While DeSantis may have never stood a real chance against Trump, it is important that whoever the Democratic nominee is — most likely President Biden — defeats Trump. According to AP News, if Trump is elected president again, he will try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections, immediately stop illegal immigration, especially from the southern border, insti-

tute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods affecting trade, end American aid going to Ukraine, ask Congress to pass a bill establishing only two genders are recognized which diminishes transgender rights, increase oil drilling on public lands and send the National Guard to cities struggling with violence. All of these proposed policies pose significant threats to our democracy, as they collectively risk undermining institutional safeguards, economic stability, international relations and diplomacy, civil rights, environmental sustainability and the legitimate use of military forces on our homeland.

The only path forward for the Republican Party is to distance themselves from Trump. While DeSantis’ choice to suspend his campaign has solidified Trump’s power in the primaries and over the Republican Party, it is essential for the party to reevaluate its future and focus on building a more inclusive and diverse approach to elections. Republicans should not have to fear being exiled from their party and office seats for not aligning with Trump. It is dangerous for one person to control an entire party, and the Republican Party must seek more candidates who offer a broad spectrum of beliefs and values. Let’s end Trumpism.

Hailey Baker, FCRH ’27, is a political science major from Gaithersburg, Md.

Dreaming of an Affordable New York

By LUCA AMATURO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

New York City was once a melting pot containing an abundance of opportunity where everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, believed they could partake in all it had to offer. Today, it has been reported that 50% of working-age households in the city don’t have the income to cover basic needs without external aid. Nevertheless, the political institutions meant to serve the people of New York are paralyzed by the fear of upsetting the top 1% that continue to take over the city. With fewer low- and middleincome families able to afford to live in the city, a mass exodus has begun. As the exodus continues, wealthy households continue to replace these families, increasing the cost of living in the city even more. Decisive action and policy must be implemented to increase the amount of housing available, impose more restrictive price controls on rent and basic goods and reform the tax system in the city.

Middle- and low-income residents are necessities for a fully functioning and thriving New York City. Despite this, they are forced to relocate due to an inability to afford the cost of living, meaning the shortage of workers in essential services will continue to get worse. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated earlier this year that there is “no more room in the

city.” The limited availability of housing is raising rent prices citywide. With a population outpacing the number of homes available, the first step towards lowering the cost of rent is to increase the amount of housing in the city. A simple approach that could quickly increase the number of apartments available would be to take advantage of the “office real estate apocalypse” that has plagued the city since the COVID-19 pandemic by using tax exemptions to convince building owners to convert office spaces to residential apartments. Converting empty office buildings could provide more housing while also bringing desperate life to business districts struggling to survive since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A solution for the affordability crisis impacting the average New York City resident must extend beyond lowering rent prices and should address the unsustainable prices of essential goods and services. The true cost of living, which includes the cost of “bare-bones” basic needs, has increased at a rate of 131% since 2000, outpacing median earnings, which have only increased 71%. This disconnect signals food, healthcare and transportation are unaffordable in addition to rent. Handling the high prices of transportation and healthcare would require combating political gridlock and polarization, but the price of food is clearly being

abused by supermarkets across the country, especially in New York City. Food companies hide under the guise of inflation as they increase prices on essential food products, but continue to make record profits while average New Yorkers are forced to stretch their budgets to their limits. The city should impose price ceilings on certain essential food products to ensure that, at minimum, middleand lower-income New Yorkers can afford to feed their families without depleting their entire budget. A price ceiling would curb these exploitative tactics and help make living in New York more affordable for everyone who resides there, hopefully alleviating the difficulty of raising a family.

The biggest misconception that has misled even New York City politicians is that raising taxes on the affluent will guarantee their exodus from the city. However, this has proven not to be the case.

Studies have found that most affluent New Yorkers who decide to leave the city relocate to states with high income taxes, such as Connecticut and New Jersey.

New York City’s unaffordability becomes even more burdensome when public services such as schools, police and sanitation could find their budgets cut. By slightly increasing the taxes on the top 1% that reside in the city, there would be more money disposable for tax-relief programs for low-

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The cost of living in New York City should be more affordable.

income housing developments and better funded public services.

Increasing taxes on the wealthy could also serve as an opportunity to relieve some of the tax burden on the middle class. Policymakers should not fear an exodus by affluent New Yorkers in the case of a reasonable tax increase. Instead, the economy could see increased long-term prosperity.

New Yorkers are struggling, and many are hanging on by a thread before they are forced to relocate to less expensive states, which could lead to a less efficient city and the destruction of New York City culture that is internationally recognized. Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have not acted aggressively enough and have seemingly adopted a handsoff approach to combating the unaffordability crisis. The solutions to this crisis do not have to be complex or ground-breaking, but they must be decisive and create

actual relief for middle- and lowerclass New Yorkers. It begins with increasing the amount of housing available to lower rent prices, continues with placing price ceilings on basic food products to guarantee every New Yorker the ability to feed themselves and their families and ends with political bravery in raising the state tax on the affluent New Yorkers living in the city to raise the standard of living. New York City was never built for the rich — it symbolized the American Dream, where dreamers, believers and relentless workers could pursue anything. This fabric is eroding, but it still can be sewn together. All it takes is decisive action by those meant to serve the people who make New York City what it is.

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

OPINION

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January 31, 2024

Self-Publishing: Turning the Page on the Book Industry

By SOPHIE MASELLI DIGITAL PRODUCER

Self-publishing is negatively affecting the book industry, despite authors’ lack of ill intent. Self-publishing is a great resource that writers can use to publish a book on their own instead of pursuing the highly competitive, traditional route of getting a book deal with a publishing house. Since there is typically no marketing campaign for them or help get their work into bookstores and libraries, self-published books generally do not reach as large an audience as traditionally published books. Thus, selfpublished books will not become popular enough to pose a threat to the book industry.

However, since more writers are publishing their own books, the book industry has become overly saturated with writers and novels.

The self-publishing market has grown dramatically in recent years. There were 2.3 million self-published books in 2021, roughly two to three times the estimated 500,000 to 1 million new books published through traditional publishers. The rise in selfpublishing is staggering and indicates that self-publishing has become more attractive for writers. Proponents of self-publishing argue that it is more accessible and affordable than publishing through a traditional publisher. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that it is oversaturating the book market, making it harder for new titles to succeed and pushing the burden

of advertising onto authors.

As the amount of novels increases, the success rate of the individual novel decreases.

However, the amount of novels published should increase the number of readers — there should be something for everyone if over 3 million novels were published in one year. So, does the fate of the publishing industry matter if readers are getting what they want? Well, yes. Since there are so many novels, individual authors will likely be receiving less money, as there are millions of other authors. Writing will inevitably become a part-time job rather than a full-time job, with authors less able to independently live off of their salary. This rise in the industry will no doubt be followed by a crash.

In addition to the book industry transforming due to the sharp increase in the number of books on the market, selfpublishing has greatly shifted the types of novels that are published and become popular. This can be credited to TikTok — or BookTok. Rather than being dominated by authors and publishers, BookTok is driven by ordinary readers.

BookTok is a great resource for readers to easily find books they would enjoy. For authors, it’s a great resource to promote their novels and gain popularity — self-published or not. The hashtag provides plenty of recommendations from millions of readers across the globe.

BookTok also gives writers the opportunity to find readers who are interested in their

novels and guarantees the authors some sales.

Although I have claimed that self-publishing is not notable for making the author greatly successful, there is one glaring outlier: Colleen Hoover.

Hoover, best known for her 2016 novel “It Ends With Us,” is a romance novelist who has recently risen to prominence because of her extreme popularity — in 2022 she sold 8.6 million print books, more copies than the Bible sold that year. In 2020, after making five of her ebooks free, sales for her novels began picking up, as readers then bought the rest of her novels. Thus, her novels became a booming success, even more so when they were being posted all over social media. BookTok helped authors sell 20 million print books in 2021, and Hoover became a bestselling author because her books went viral on TikTok. She got her start through self-publishing and continues to self-publish, as well as releasing books with three different publishers.

I’ve read a few of Colleen Hoover’s books and find that there is much to critique, but I think the fact that she typically publishes two books a year demonstrates that her writing is perhaps rushed (generally, authors tend to put out one book every other year).

Hoover is one of the main reasons why the book industry has blown up in the past few years, but she is also met with lots of hate and criticism due to controversies regarding domestic violence in her novels.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Self-publishing presents new challenges to the book industry

Hoover’s novels are very easy to read, and I would consider them to be the reading level of a middle schooler, with content more appropriate for college students. In recent years, romance novels have been on the rise, both in popularity and presence. Some may even claim that her novels have lowered the bar for “good writing,” changing the book industry altogether — I have heard from multiple people that Hoover’s success has made them more confident in their ability to become successful writers as well. Is it because of selfpublished authors like Hoover that the quality of writing published is decreasing?

I would answer yes, as there are no, or at least few, “rules” regarding self-publishing. In traditional publishing, novels go through rounds of edits, whereas self-published authors can put out content

that has previously only been exposed to their own eyes.

Hoover is an outlier, and selfpublishing is not an easy way to become successful. Through traditional publishing, a writer is presented with a larger audience as the books are marketed and put into bookstores and libraries.

Nevertheless, the book industry has changed dramatically in the past few years due to the rise of self-published titles, changing the game of publishing for better and worse.

Self-publishing is a great resource for writers who want to get their novels out into the world, but it has overall had a negative impact on the now oversaturated book industry.

Sophie Maselli, FCRH ’26, is an English major from Milford, Conn.

The Dark Side of Social Media Notoriety

By ABBY SMITH

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In this current social media generation, instant internet fame can happen to anyone. On platforms like TikTok and Kick, streamers and influencers are willing to do whatever it takes to earn a following and the money that comes with it. For some influencers, this can mean taking risks that inevitably break the law, disrupt public peace or even injure innocent bystanders, all for the sake of a video. As the number of reports concerning social media influencers committing unlawful acts soars, attention should turn to how the obsession with online fame comes from a culture facing the destruction of values.

In New York City, pranks in the MTA subway system have caused thousands of dollars in damages and injuries to several passengers.

Earlier this month, a prank to pull the emergency brake resulted in the derailment of a subway car, which collided with another train and injured dozens of people.

Emergency brake vandalism has increased over the past five years, with 1,748 unjustified cases in 2023 alone. As a result, there were 7,365 delays, and in some

instances, service could not be restored until more than 60 hours later. Anyone can pull the emergency brake on the subway, but its use is intended for valid reasons, such as if someone is caught in the door or collapses while the train is in motion. Transit authorities debate how accessible the emergency brake should be to passengers, but such discussion would not have been needed in the first place had it not been for unnecessary usage.

Our society regards every action as “right” or “wrong,” but when we have an ulterior motive, like filming a prank video, we disregard those morals and do as we wish.

Consequences to those involuntarily involved do not matter as long as the prankster directly benefits from the content. This type of thinking is plaguing top streamers and influencers. Even if the MTA were to put ads in subways stating that unnecessarily pulling the emergency brake is a crime with fines up to $100, it would never entirely deter an influencer’s desire to chase becoming a huge overnight success. Influencers will always want more followers, views and easy money. Many of these influencers are willing to do

anything in order to achieve those things. When put into perspective, this can come across as a sad reality after learning of the consequences some influencers have faced at the price of one-second fame. When this fame comes at the expense of injured bystanders, more concern should be centered on the ridiculousness of an easily preventable situation. Audiences and streamers no longer attach “right” or “wrong” to actions, only whether they will personally benefit from taking the risk.

On one platform, the most popular streamers are the ones who commit these ridiculous acts for fame. IRL vloggers on Kick, a significant competitor of Twitch, are no strangers to inciting chaos in public. One notable example is 24-year-old controversial streamer Johnny Somali, whose legal name is Ismael Ramsey Khalid. He started chaos for the camera’s sake in Osaka, Japan, where he played loud music and made racist remarks in a restaurant. He was live streaming this interaction on Kick. Khalid was then arrested and appeared in court. He was charged with disrupting the restaurant business for the sake of attention and

was required to pay a fine of $1,400. He issued an apology video, but this was his second time being arrested in Japan, as his first was for breaking into a construction site. A value Japan holds is being quiet and calm, so Khalid’s actions were not only unlawful but disrespectful to Japanese culture. Nevertheless, Khalid did not act based on morals and only took responsibility when he had to.

Setting an example of a lack of accountability and moral judgment hinders the progress and development of the audience as well.

In a separate incident, a 19-year-old TikToker walking on a trail in Texas “pranked” two men by punching one in the back of the head and the other by tackling him by the waist, all on video. The 19-year-old came forward regarding the video, saying that he did not mean to harm anyone and that it was only entertainment. Without a doubt, platforms such as TikTok and Kick encourage disruptive and chaotic behavior by pushing influencers such as the TikToker from Texas and Khalid.

These apps reward illegal behavior with large followings and paychecks by gearing their algorithms to favor

prank content. Influencers with large followings encourage disrespectful and sometimes dangerous behavior with their audiences, some of whom are very young. Audiences learn of the payback influencers make off their videos, already in awe of the lengths influencers will go to record an entertaining, sureto-succeed video. Influencers on live streams, such as on Kick, feel the audience’s pressure to pull an unheard of stunt, which viewers will want to stay on live and see for themselves.

Social media companies should have influencers take accountability for the illegal behavior they advertise by removing their accounts, or by making the app’s content policies stricter. These moves would make influencers recognize the criminal consequences of their actions and the consequences of losing their platform. The widespread desire for social media fame has eroded morality among audiences, encouraging youth to seek selfpromotion instead of making truly ethical decisions.

Abby Smith, FCRH ’27, is an English major from Verona, N.J.

CULTURE

January 31, 2024

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2024 Oscar Nominations: “Oppenheimer” Dominates and History is Made

By SAMANTHA TSAO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz announced the 2024 Oscar nominations, Quiad had the pleasure of announcing 13 nominations to the very film he was a part of, “Oppenheimer,” which, to no one’s shock, continues to dominate the award season. “Poor Things” garnered the second most nominations with 11, and “Killers of the Flower Moon” came in third with 10.

The Best Picture category had no surprises as the 10 nominees perfectly lined up with the Producers Guild of America nominees.

The frontrunner “Oppenheimer” is joined by “Poor Things,” “The Holdovers,” “American Fiction,” “Maestro,” “The Zone of Interest” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

A record-breaking three Best Picture nominees this year are directed by women: “Barbie,” “Past Lives” and “Anatomy of a Fall.”

Most notably, Lily Gladstone made history for being the first Native American to be nominated in the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards.

She is challenged by previous Oscar winner Emma Stone for her unique performance in “Poor Things.” They are joined

by the subtly impactful Carey Mulligan in “Maestro,” Sandra Hüller’s powerhouse performance as a convicted author in “Anatomy of a Fall” and Annette Benning for her physically demanding performance as a swimmer in “Nyad.”

There are few things guaranteed in life, but Da’vine Joy Randolph winning the Oscar for her performance as a supporting actress in “The Holdovers” is one of them.

Despite missing the Screen Actors Guild nomination, America Ferrera was nominated for supporting actress for her role in “Barbie.” Danielle Brooks is the sole nominee for “The Color Purple” and is joined in the category by fellow first-time nominee Emily Blunt for “Oppenheimer” and veteran Jodie Foster for “Nyad.”

The best actor race contains three actors playing the lead in a biopic, including Cillian Murphy for the groundbreaking physicist in “Oppenheimer,” Bradley Cooper for the iconic composer in “Maestro” and Colman Domingo for the underappreciated hero in “Rustin.”

They are challenged by two actors who portray somewhat pessimistic teachers: Paul Giamatti for “The Holdovers” and Jeffrey Wright for

“American Fiction.”

Robert Downey Jr. leads the supporting actor race for his role in “Oppenheimer.” He is joined by “himbo” portrayals from Ryan Gosling in “Barbie” and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things.”

Robert De Niro was nominated for his viciously evil character in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” as well as surprise nominee Sterling K. Brown for his role as a complex brother in “American Fiction.”

Christopher Nolan is the clear frontrunner in the best director race for his command of “Oppenheimer.” At 80-years-old, Martin Scorsese became the oldest director to be nominated in the best director category for “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Director Yorgos Lanthimos garnered his second directing nomination for “Poor Things” this year, five years after being nominated for “The Favourite,” also starring Emma Stone.

They are joined by two inspiring directors of international films that both feature Hüller: Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest” and Justine Triet for “Anatomy of a Fall.”

Neither screenplay categories have a clear frontrunner, but both could be dominated by married couples.

For the adapted screenplay category, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have both

previously been nominated individually, but this year are nominated together for their writing in “Barbie.”

In the original screenplay category, couple Triet and Arthur Harari have already won the Golden Globe this year for “Anatomy of a Fall” and are seemingly favorites in original screenplay.

While there were no big surprises in the nominations, the general public was shocked by the “Barbie” snubs of Gerwig for best director and Margot Robbie for best actress. Most Oscar pundits left Gerwig off their predictions due to the director’s branch bias against genre and populist films. Fellow Directors Guild of America nominee Alexander Payne was also left out of the category as

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The Oscars will air in March.

well. The Robbie snub could be attributed to similar factors as to why Gerwig missed as the actor’s branch prefers drama in the lead performance categories. Other notable best actress snubs include Greta Lee for “Past Lives” and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for “Origin.”

“May December” did garner one nomination in screenplay, but the brilliant performances of Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton all missed a nomination.

“All of Us Strangers” and “Saltburn,” both which had garnered British Academy Film Awards nominations, completely blanked with Oscar nominations.

The most notable omission here is of Andrew Scott, who gave one of the most devastating performances of the year in “All of Us Strangers.” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” despite a strong showing, still had a very surprising miss in screenplay, along with a less surprising miss of Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor.

It was a challenging year in the entertainment industry with strikes and Artificial Intelligence disputes, but it was a great year for cinema across the board. The Oscars will be held on March 10 and hosted

by Jimmy Kimmel.

Did “Anyone but You” Revive the Rom-Com?

By AMANDA BRADLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Anyone but You” had garnered much anticipation leading up to its release in late December of 2023. The main draw of the film was its starring actors, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, who were making headlines about their offscreen chemistry. When heading to the theater, I had hoped that Sweeney and Powell’s dynamic would translate onscreen as well, since the chemistry between the main characters in a romantic comedy usually makes or breaks the film. What ultimately drew me to watch the film, however, were the claims that the film “revived the early 2000s rom-com,” an alluring description indeed.

The film, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” follows Bea and Ben, who meet in a coffee shop and have a great first date, only to despise each other shortly after due to a miscommunication. When Bea’s sister is marrying Ben’s childhood friend, they find themselves jetting off to Australia for a destination wedding. When their ongoing feud begins to put a damper on the wedding festivities, Bea and

Ben’s friends and family plot to set them up. In a series of comedic events, Bea and Ben quickly catch on to the antics. Bea, being pestered by her parents to get back together with her childhood ex, and Ben, trying to win his ex back, realize that to not ruin the wedding , they must pretend to be a couple. What follows is a string of events that are as heartwarming as they are humorous.

There are a few aspects of the film that contribute to its success. Firstly, the performances of the entire cast is a delight throughout. Sweeney and Powell do in fact have chemistry that feels tangible to the audience, and utilize the tension between them for the perfect balance of romance and comedy. Having only seen Sweeney in more serious roles, I was pleasantly surprised to see that her talents extend to the rom-com genre. However, Powell’s performance is what kept me engaged in the film; his comedic timing was flawless, and each line was funnier than the next.

The ensemble cast shines as well, adding humor and warmth to the plot. The film does not take itself too seriously, a charming quality that makes it an enjoyable and enduring watch.

The Shakespearean influence and the lighthearted energy of the film (not to mention the soundtrack, as Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” plays its own unique role in the film) remind viewers of the 2000s, a period of time where the romantic comedy genre flourished with films like “27 Dresses,” “She’s the Man” (another Shakespeare adaptation) and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” (a personal favorite of mine). In recent years, the genre has somewhat plateaued, not reaching the same heights that it once did. For a moment, it seemed that the charm of the romantic comedy lived in the past, with viewers only able to get their fix by rewatching old favorites rather than waiting for a new addition.

However, “Anyone but You” could mark a shift in this trend.

The film, combining the classic elements of a Shakespearean comedy and a lighthearted romance, brings forth a notable rom-com in the present day, following the formula of its iconic predecessors. One can only hope that the film marks a renaissance in the genre, paving the way for more films like it to come.

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Sweeney and Powell star in this movie buzzing with chemistry.

CULTURE

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January 31, 2024

New York Restaurant Week Offers Dining Discoveries

By ALLISON SCHNEIDER MANAGING EDITOR

New York City Restaurant Week is a staple event of the winter season here in the Big Apple. For the second half of January, various restaurants around the city offer prix fixe lunch and dinner menus ranging from $30-60. The selfproclaimed week-long tradition actually lasts from Jan. 16 to Feb. 4, giving city dwellers plenty of time to try out several different restaurants over the course of three weeks.

The event is advertised as a great opportunity to try some of NYC’s expensive and famous fine-dining restaurants. Participating restaurants include some famous spots such as Central Park’s Tavern on the Green, Jean Georges’ abc kitchen and Gramercy Tavern located in the Flatiron District.

A typical meal at some of these restaurants may cost you anywhere from $50 to $200 on a normal weekend, making the NYC Restaurant Week offer a pretty good deal. However, many of the other participating locations don’t quite fit the category of fine dining. Some have menus that average closer to $20 for an entree and $10 for a dessert. This makes the $30 prix fixe dinner deal feel a little less impressive. In addition, the Restaurant Week deals rarely, if ever, include drinks, and the prix fixe menus often include only the cheapest options from the regular menu in each course.

While the event offers aren’t

as cheap as they may appear at first glance, it is still a great opportunity for NYC restaurants to advertise and encourage residents and visitors alike to try new foods. So despite the lackluster deal, I had to take advantage of the lessthan-average prices and check out a new restaurant.

New York City Tourism & Conventions published a website highlighting some of the city’s best attractions, including NYC Restaurant Week. They offer a comprehensive guide to all of the participating restaurants, their locations, their menus and their hours of operation. In the sea of options that is New York dining, a guide like this is invaluable to an indecisive eater.

I enlisted a couple of my friends to help me peruse the site and choose where to eat.

Eventually we settled on a locally-owned restaurant in East Harlem called Bar Goyana.

The restaurant, owned by a Brazilian-Belgian couple, is bar-focused with a large selection of Brazilian cocktails and Belgian beers. It serves Brazilian-inspired dishes plated with flowers and tropical bird motifs.

It is also attached to the MOJO Mousse Bar, which serves delicious, small-batch Belgian chocolate mousse. The various mousse flavors include options like passion fruit and matcha, which make for a perfect dessert after your Brazilian-inspired meal at Bar Goyana.

We made a reservation for a Thursday night and opted for their $30 prix fixe dinner menu, only offered during Restaurant

Week. The menu gave three different options for your appetizer, four options for your entree and four flavor options for a dessert of MOJO Mousse.

I opted for a prosciutto and herbs cheese stuffed pao de queijo for my appetizer. Pao de queijo, sometimes called Brazilian cheese bread by American recipe websites, is essentially a small bun stuffed with various ingredients. The appetizer was on the smaller side, but it was delicious. The bread was fluffy and the herb cheese didn’t overpower the prosciutto. When I go out to eat, I typically skimp on the appetizer to hold onto my cash, so the Restaurant Week deal allowed me a pleasant exploration into the life of an appetizer-ordering woman.

I chose to follow up with an entree of Brazilian chicken fricassee, which is chicken thigh and mozzarella cheese served with white rice and small fried potato sticks. This entree was truly the star of the show at dinner. Something about me…

I love cheese. I believe that it’s not really a meal if it doesn’t include cheese. For my vegan and lactose-intolerant friends out there, my heart — and stomach — ache for you. The mozzarella cheese covered the pulled chicken thigh like a heated blanket, keeping the chicken warm and injecting it with the creamy deliciousness that is expensive mozzarella cheese. The white rice and potato sticks on the side provided a great base for the chicken-mozzarella casserole.

The rice had a somewhat similar

consistency to the chicken and mozzarella, whereas the potato sticks added a nice crunch to each bite.

Finally I chose the passion fruit mousse for dessert. I figured it would be a nice addition to my meal of Brazilian dishes, but I ended up not finishing my portion. The flavor felt slightly out of place with the consistency of the mousse for me, but one of my friends ordered it as well and loved it. Another one of my friends ordered the dark chocolate mousse, which I much preferred. Regardless,

the sweet but not-too-rich mousse was a great way to close out the meal.

My experience at Bar Goyana was nothing short of fantastic.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated, well-staffed and only a short ride south on the MetroNorth from campus. I am grateful that NYC Restaurant Week encouraged me to check it out because I never would have found it otherwise. Restaurant Week isn’t over! Many spots are still offering deals through Feb. 4, so take advantage of the event and try some new food.

COURTESY OF ALLISON SCHNEIDER/THE FORDHAM RAM

New York Restaurant Week discounts gourmet food.

Brendan Slocumb’s “Symphony of Secrets” Thrills and Excites

By MAEVE HAMILL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Brendan Slocumb’s second novel, “Symphony of Secrets,” is a beautifully paced thriller which thoughtfully pieces together a mystery that sheds light on racial erasure in the music industry. The story follows Bern Hendricks, a Black music professor at the University of Virginia.

Hendricks’ academic work on the globally infamous composer Fredrick Delaney brings him to the attention of the Delaney Foundation when they discover the original, long-lost manuscript of Delaney’s final opera, “RED.” As someone who studied violin through Delaney’s philanthropic foundation, Hendricks is both honored and overwhelmed when they ask him to prepare the manuscript for performance. When he comes to New York City, Hendricks is quickly swept into the fine details of his favorite composer’s life but also under the foundation’s thumb. With outside help from Eboni, an old friend, tech genius and fellow pizza lover, their work on the manuscript leads

them to uncover Delaney’s unsettling and mysterious connection to North Carolinaborn Josephiene Reed. As decrypted doodles from the original manuscript begin to illuminate the true author of “RED,” Hendricks realizes his favorite composer was not the genius nor the man he thought he was. With the Delaney foundation hot on his tail, Hendricks and Eboni race to bring the truth to light before the performance of “RED.” Slocumb is a master of pacing in this novel, which seamlessly jumps between 1920s and present day New York City. Sometimes books with multiple narrators and timelines do not transition well, but Slocumb is brilliant with how he cuts and paces the stories. There is a slight disjuncture to what is happening to Josephine and Delney in 1920 and what Hendricks and Eboni are discovering, which builds amazing suspense and ends with a satisfying and fulfilling bang. It is a perfect example of a mystery where a single one block is loosened from the bottom and

you get to see how the tower falls. That being said, there were some parts of the story that were predictable, but in a way that once you think you know something, you’re eager to see how it will play out both in real time and in the future.

Ultimately, “Symphony of Secrets” is a book about manipulation, greed, power, silence and genius. It is a book I recommend everyone reads, music lover or not, thriller lover or not, because it does more than tell an exciting story of white supremacy.

It brings into question our conceptions of genius and of origin. It leaves you wondering, how many acclaimed geniuses of art, science, philosophy, etc., stole from those they oppressed? Who are the true geniuses of the past and how can we bring them to justice today? A powerful and fast-paced story that looks to the past, present and future, “Symphony of Secrets” will have you thinking about these questions and more long after the curtain drops.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Slocumb’s novel is seamless and brilliant, keeping readers on their toes.

CULTURE

January 31, 2024

Page 13

2024 Trends: What Will Be In and What Will Be Out?

By JULIA CHORUN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The year 2023 is synonymous with Adidas Sambas, Pinterest-inspired coquette and the clean girl aesthetic.

But, with a new year comes a new list of fashion ins, outs and keepsakes. Luckily, if you don’t have a thrifting trip planned for the next few weeks, you can still stroll the city in style because some 2023 trends, like a sleek white baby tee and your trusty oversized denim jeans, are following you into 2024. What defined 2023’s fashion identity was the momentum gained by genderneutral fashion. Androgyny isn’t going out of style on Gen Z’s watch, so you can count on more iconic “Timothée in red silk” moments in 2024.

In December, you probably noticed the hoards of New Yorkers sporting an oversized woven blanket scarf on their way to work, and that 2023 choice of winter accessory is continuing into January, adding a splash of color to the city’s typically gray streets.

But if pops of color aren’t your speed, not to worry. Vogue predicts that 2024 is the year for minimalism appreciation, as the spring/summer ’24 runway season featured a 46% rise in muted looks, simple

silhouettes and discreet chic.

You may have already seen it in action during The Row and Khaite’s spring ’24 show, where business sensual and bold sets were sent down the runway.

While statement gowns had their time in the sun last year, drop waist dresses and underthe-radar embellishments are predicted to define the gowns and cocktail dresses in 2024.

Hyperfemininity is still a developing sect of high fashion according to StyleCaster, so keep your maxi skirts for spring break and weekend brunches, but be prepared to pair them with loose-fitting tops or oversized layers for a more relaxed, seemingly loweffort look. Louis Vuitton’s floaty, layered maxi skirts with bomber jackets from the brand’s spring showing are perfect examples of the kind of metropolitan chic aesthetic expected by style experts. Hyperfemininity had a strong hold on 2023. There were miniskirts, extravagant hair ribbons and bows and calf-length socks galore. If that sounds like your Pinterest board, you’re in luck.

The coquette aesthetic doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Accessories and adorable adornments like Sandy Liang’s SS ’24 finger bow ties were and still are the ideal closet content of this year.

Fashion is a constantly changing art, and while there are keepsakes from year to year, there are also new trends to obsess over, new brands that enter the market and new influencers that catch your eye. For instance, almost everyone has at least one friend with bangs. Expect a surplus of that archetype because bangs are sweeping the top spot for most expected hair in 2024.

If you haven’t scrolled to a TikTok praising the bangs and fur coat combo, you may be on the wrong fashion-forward account. Another emerging trend is the classic slingback heel, which can be seen on the feet of multiple models in Gucci, Saint Laurent and Valentino runways. InStyle insists that the demure heel is another avenue towards chic minimalism and an opportunity to practice quiet luxury or vampiric drama.

The second shoe walking down the ’24 runway is the boat shoe, a concept Emma Chamberlain swears by on her podcast “Anything Goes” (something you’ll definitely be taking into 2024). Before you think “country club wannabe,” give the trend a chance.

GQ insists that the hybrid versions that grace the Miu Miu runways today are made with a rugged sole and derby-like vibe that set them apart from

the slim-bottomed academic association of the ’90s.

Preppy still has a place in 2024, though. Collared shirts are expected to make a comeback as business sensual, or the place of sheer flowing fabric in the workplace is a defining trend of spring and summer collections. According to Vogue, we can also expect shorts to become shorter, at least for men’s shorts and fitted skirts in retail. Pencil skirts and short shorts are booming on the Milan runway, and we can expect to see them paired with knee-length boots or, you guessed it, a slingback heel. Some trends that may be better left in 2023 include media sensations like the jellyfish dress, jersey usage and the clean girl aesthetic, which may work well for Zoom, but

may also keep your style too stagnant. The siren effect that dominated summer ’23 encouraged sharp winged liners, which are sure to stay, and crochet or fishnet skirts. The siren skirts, however, are falling behind on runways, which likely means they’ll fall behind in retail productions soon.

Despite the longstanding standard of everyday fashion being defined by the luxury runways that few college students can afford, the concepts these looks represent are easy to replicate on your own. Androgyny, asymmetry and minimalism can be achieved with little-to-no credit card swipes, and as long as you have the runway staple pieces like a maxi skirt, a trench coat or ’90s anything, you’re already on the right track.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Hold on to last year’s spring fashion. It may be needed for a second year.

“Anatomy of a Fall” is a Riveting Oscar Contender

By NORA LEACH

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After winning the 2023 Cannes Film Festival’s most renowned prize, the Palm d’Or, French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” is now gaining more attention after winning two Golden Globes and receiving five Academy Award nominations. Directed and written by French filmmaker Justine Triet, the film’s stellar performances and gripping mystery make it a mustwatch before awards season.

“Anatomy of a Fall” opens in a solitary chalet in the snowy French Alps, where a woman named Sandra (Sandra Hüller) lives with her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis), their 11-year-old blind son, Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) and their dog, Snoop.

One day, Daniel takes Snoop out for a walk in the woods and comes back to find Samuel’s dead body lying in the snow.

When Sandra — who was in the chalet at the time of Samuel’s death — is accused of killing her husband, she is put on trial and must defend her innocence with the guidance of her lawyer, Vincent (Swann Arlaud). The struggles within the courtroom overlap with her issues at home as she struggles to maintain a close relationship with

Daniel, who is uncertain if his mother is innocent.

The film’s lengthy runtime of two-and-a-half hours appears daunting, especially because it can be difficult to make a film that long while relying mostly on dialogue and little action. The first 40 minutes do feel rather drawn out, with a focus mostly on the characters preparing for the trial. However, once the trial begins, the film really starts to shine, with the remaining two hours flying by.

If you love watching courtroom movies and television shows, then you will absolutely love “Anatomy of a Fall.” The most meticulous details of Samuel’s death are put on display, some of which suggest Sandra’s guilt, while others support her claim of innocence.

Some of the revelations that come out of the trial are shocking, while others make you angry at the invasive nature of the French justice system.

One important theme of the film is how we, as viewers, might define innocence and guilt. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Triet explained how her film acts as a critique of the justice system.

She described that “the court as a place where our lives are

fictionalized, where a story, a narrative, is put on our life.

Everybody there is telling a story, everybody’s creating a narrative and everything is very far from the truth.” The film perfectly encapsulates Triet’s goal, making you question how much Sandra’s accusers are embellishing and/ or fabricating her past behavior to make her look worse.

While there are many elements of this film worth praising, especially the cinematography and editing, the performances of the cast are what really make this film work, particularly Hüller’s and Graner’s. Even when you’re unsure of Sandra’s innocence in the courtroom scenes, Hüller’s subtle, yet moving performance makes the audience sympathize with the problems Sandra faced in her marriage. For example, there is a flashback scene that consists of a fight between Sandra and Samuel in which Sandra emphasizes her dissatisfaction in her marriage. You can feel her frustration as he refuses to listen to her, which makes the courtroom scenes all the more heartbreaking to watch.

Graner is also fantastic and puts on one of the best child actor performances that I’ve

seen. He is great throughout as he portrays the confusion and innocence of a child very well, but he really starts to shine by the film’s third act.

There is one scene involving him and Snoop towards the end that had me on the edge of my seat. Without spoilers, I’ll say that Graner deserves all of the praise, and Messi, the dog who played Snoop, deserved his unofficial Palm

Dog Award at Cannes.

In an Oscar season full of strong and entertaining Best Picture contenders, “Anatomy of a Fall” should definitely be at the top of your watchlist.

While the runtime may appear daunting, it is definitely worth it to watch this intriguing and emotional story that showcases how an accusation can affect a family.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Triet’s acclaimed new film is gripping, dramatic and tense.

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January 31, 2024

Editor’s Pick | Television

“Gilmore Girls” And Leaving Your Comfort Zone

By JULIANN A MORALES FEATURES EDITOR

“Isn’t this the point of being young? It’s your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me, it’s one less minute you haven’t lived.” — Logan Huntzberger, season five, episode seven.

“Gilmore Girls” is quite a popular show and one of the common points of discussion surrounding the series is the main character Rory’s love interests throughout the seasons.

The fan base is often split into “teams” based on which of her boyfriends they wanted her with most. One of those love interests is none other than

Logan Huntzberger, quoted above. Though some of the fan base is certainly against him, it is hard to argue against him having pushed Rory to step outside her comfort zone.

In the season five episode, “You Jump, I Jump, Jack,” Rory goes on a trip with the Yale University secret society, the Life and Death Brigade.

She attends as a reporter, and when Logan asks her to partake in the event they are doing, she states that she is an observer and that “journalists do not participate.” Not only does Logan provide numerous counterexamples, but I know my fellow staff at the Ram would disagree as well.

Logan tells Rory that she

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The iconic mother-daughter duo Rory and Lorelai Gilmore pictured.

seems a little sheltered and encourages her to step outside her comfort zone and partake alongside him. Rory eventually does, and after completing the jump with him, she happily exclaims that it was a once-ina-lifetime experience. Logan responded, “Only if you want it to be,” showing that this didn’t have to be the case. That comment is not further discussed, but I think it highlights how unfamiliar Rory was with being pushed to step outside her comfort zone.

Rory was an extremely intelligent girl from a young age and a hard worker, but she did not face much criticism or hardships in her journey through life prior to college. Logan, on the other hand, grew up around the journalism business. This made him extremely aware of how tough it was, perhaps contributing to his attempts to get away from it. He knew that she could not count on just the experience of the sidelines, she would occasionally need to be an active participant to achieve the success she dreamed of.

As someone who grew up as a bookworm, an aspiring writer and a little bit of a school nerd, I looked up to Rory a lot when I first watched the show. Maybe it is because of that idolization that I became so protective of her character. This is not to say that I don’t think she made big mistakes throughout the show, but I do not believe she was the

terrible character she is made out to be at times. I think that her character’s story is a lesson for audiences like me that related to her younger self.

It is necessary to have someone who counters you the way that Logan did Rory. There was plenty that Rory emulated that it would have been beneficial for Logan to pick up on when they met — her work ethic, her respectfulness and her lack of materialism. However, Logan had a lot to offer Rory as well, he was confident, self-assured and familiar with trying new things. When Rory was younger, she got used to being built up by everyone around her and succeeding relatively quickly at anything she tried. Upon starting college, that was going to have to change.

Logan, though not always a good influence, did have some solid advice for Rory during the later seasons of the show.

He pointed out to her that young adulthood is a time to push yourself, to get out of your comfort zone and to grow as a person. He pushed her to acknowledge the privilege and sheltering that she had been raised with. Rory was, in many ways, an accurate representation of someone who grew up in a small, close-knit town, experiencing the culture shock of venturing into the much broader world that Logan had

grown up seeing.

I resonated with younger Rory, and even though I never hated her character, I learned from her downfall. I didn’t want to get to college and not be prepared to experience not being the best at something or not seeming as extraordinary as at a younger age. I think it’s important to have someone who cares about you and is willing to push you. Regardless of if Logan had provided Rory with opportunities to step outside her comfort zone, the time that she needed to would have come.

In order to pursue all your ambitions, you have to face hardships and new situations, and the more prepared you are for that, the better you’ll handle it.

Whether or not you like Logan’s character, Rory needed someone like that in her life.

You’re going to receive criticism and face setbacks. You’re going to have to leave your comfort zone at times. You don’t want that to be your downfall or your defining moment. Your talent has to work alongside your resilience. If you’re like me and were a lot like a young Rory, you are not doomed to follow the same trajectory. Take the chances to push yourself that are offered to you. Surround yourself with people who not only support you but encourage you to continue to grow.

“Mean Girls”: Movie? Broadway? Musical!

By ALYSSA SAWECKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Mean Girls” is arguably a modern classic. Most American teens growing up in the 2000s can attest that they’ve either watched it, heard of it or could place the references. With iconic lines like “On Wednesdays we wear pink” or “It’s October 3rd,” the references for the 2004 original are everywhere.

However, opinions on the new musical movie seem mixed.

Even before its release, social media showed us two clear sides: people who thought the creators were going to ruin the original movie’s legacy and those who were excited for the new film thanks to the 2018 Broadway hit. I fell into that latter category, but can anyone really blame the skeptics? A lot of modern remakes tend to be a huge letdown. Fortunately, thanks to my love for Reneé Rapp and Auliʻi Cravalho, I simply had to watch it. I can now share my (spoiler-free) thoughts and recommend you watch it too.

The original 2004 movie followed Cady Heron as she joined a new school and was shoved into the world of American high school drama. Focusing on the relationships between teenage girls specifically, the movie showed a side of high school

people don’t like to discuss, but most can agree is real. The cliches of popularity and gossip are portrayed through a popular group of mean girls dubbed “The Plastics” and two friends who convince Cady to step into their world so Janis Ian can get her revenge on Regina George. While there was a lot of bullying amongst the women in the movie, the ending revealed a lot about how poorly women sometimes treat one another. It acted out how society breeds this competition and how being mean isn’t cool, but instead just genuinely harmful. The musical did a good job of reflecting this message. There were even moments where implicit insecurities from the 2004 movie were made more explicit in the 2024 version, highlighting them better than before. Giving Gretchen Wieners her own song made the character more real, and it fits well with the direction of her character. I will say, though, that they made Karen Shetty too stupid. It was exaggerated a little too much; she seemed out of it a lot of the time. No hate to curing sex cancer, but there were times she was unrealistically dazed.

I heard this movie was just a film version of the Broadway show, and so I assumed there would be music in it, but many

people were upset at the advertising for not making that known. For anyone still questioning, yes, it is a musical.

I’m a huge fan of musicals, so I was happy about it. For the most part, the songs were pretty good and very catchy, exactly the kind of vibe teenage comedies are expected to have, but some were close to cringe-worthy in cheesiness. The singing also wasn’t what it could be, so I must unfortunately join the train of people saying Angourie Rice’s voice wasn’t strong enough for

Cady’s songs. It was very clear which actors had experience in music and which did not. I will give a special shoutout to “World Burn” and “I’d Rather Be Me,” because those were probably my favorite songs and also had amazing vocals.

That said, I’m hoping for some iconic references to come out of this movie. The line “This is modern feminism talking” has been playing in my mind on repeat for days.

The movie was really fun and enjoyable. The casting was good, and I especially loved

that the same two teachers were playing the roles they had in the 2004 version. It was really funny, and some of the jokes were Gen Z-based without being cringey or trying too hard. The guys on the math team were especially hilarious, which made their minor roles easily memorable.

I literally laughed out loud multiple times, and it seemed like everyone in the theater was entertained. I’d recommend watching it for a fun movie night, and especially a girls’ night in!

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Pivotal characters Regina George and Karen Shetty pictured in the 2024 remake of the film.

CULTURE

January 31, 2024

Page 15

Who’s That Kid | Nicole Estelami, FCRH ’24

Senior Rocks Out Final Year At Fordham

By ADITHI VIMALANATHAN ASST. NEWS EDITOR

When it comes to the Fordham University band scene, few people are as involved or as invested as Nicole “Nikki” Estelami, FCRH ’24. Estelami is one of Fordham’s most inventive musicians and vibrant faces on campus. Pursuing a marketing degree and visual arts minor while keeping a lively gigging schedule and ever-expanding film reel, it’s safe to say that no one can put Estelami in a box of any fashion.

Estelami did not begin at Fordham, but rather transferred in her second semester of her first year after a fall at McGill University, where she studied jazz upright bass. “Music is a big thing for me, so going into college… I was like ‘I want to keep doing music,’ but when I got into that program I realized it was just one-dimensional, [and] really, really focused on the playing aspect.” Her dissatisfaction propelled her to transfer to the Gabelli School of Business here at Fordham, where she’s currently pursuing a marketing degree. The degree, she says, would have allowed her to have the best of both worlds: “I can do this [the marketing degree] and music, and still have a fallback.” It’s tough to believe she’s a Gabelli woman when

you meet her — dressed in colorful and inventive outfits, with an endless knowledge of all things music and art. These passions, however, follow her throughout her Fordham career.

Nikki is a familiar face among the Fordham and Bronx band scene, where she has played in three different bands during her time at Fordham. “My first band at Fordham was called Just Email — we formed when I was a freshman literally just for Rod’s Battle of the Bands,” she recalls. “That disbanded, but we kept a lot of our members and we are part of this other project called Room de Dark now.”

Additionally, she performs with the Fordham band Pacer, which she’s been a part of for two years now.

Her most recent two bands play not only in the Fordham neighborhood, but also in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

These bands have provided an avenue for Estelami to both challenge herself as a musician while also connecting with the Fordham community. Just Email, for example, formed through a very simple encounter at Pod: “I just ran into someone at Pod who had a guitar case, and I never ended up playing music with him, but he connected me with other people.” The bands also strengthen Estelami as a musician. “Really pushing

myself to gig weekly and to do good, not just for myself, but also for my bandmates — I feel like I’ve improved a lot over the last few years.

It’s music that I’m passionate about, with people that I love.”

Along with her ever-growing gigging schedule, Estelami is a talented woman behind the camera. I knew Estelami first as an avid music fan and talented camerawoman when I met her in Keating basement, where we both work at WFUV Public Radio as videographers. In our pre-session chats, she’s our team’s go-to for questions about the band that has come in to record. Without missing a beat, she recalls bands, members, EPs and albums and can even trace you a history of their sound and genre. If there’s a band you have questions about, Estelami has all the answers. But even more than that, she’s one of the most friendly faces that I was fortunate enough to have on my team as a firstyear who was very new at her job. She’s a valued part of our team that will be sorely missed next year.

Her passions for visual arts and video extend past concerts and music production, too. As a visual arts minor, she finds ways to combine her various threads of interest into complex and vivid projects full of rich storytelling.

Through one of her classes

last semester, she produced a short documentary about Manhattan neighborhoods that were razed and gentrified to establish the current Lincoln Center. “I ended up making a short film using an interview and splicing it and putting archival footage over it to turn it into a film,” she explains. Most recently, she’s working on a final for her zine class which will involve a compendium of short stories — all of which are written by herself.

In her free time, Estelami enjoys reading. “What I’m reading right now is ‘White Noise’ by Don DeLillo,” she tells me, who just so happens to be her favorite author.

After graduating from Fordham this year, Estelami hopes to find a job in the music industry and to further immerse herself in her and her band’s music. “Both bands are starting to put together records to put music on streaming platforms,” she explains. “Ideally, this semester, I want to get my [solo] stuff together and put that out, too.” Estelami is set to become one of Fordham’s most talented and cherished musical alumni. It’s with excitement that we send her off and await for her soon-to-beannounced musical releases.

COURTESY OF ADITHI VIMALANATHAN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Estelami pictured performing a gig.

Tate McRae Cements Herself With New Pop Album

By MARIBELLE GORDON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tate McRae is undeniably one of the internet’s biggest “it girls” after releasing her sophomore studio album “THINK LATER,” which showcases a mastery of what current pop listeners want and defines her identity as a performer.

McRae has gradually made an impressive name for herself in the music industry over the past few years, with her first billion-stream song released when she was just a teenager. Although her debut album “i used to think i could fly” was nothing short of successful, it pales in comparison to the reception of “THINK LATER.” After the single “greedy” went viral on TikTok in the summer of 2023 and has since been used in millions of videos, McRae was hot on everyone’s radar for new music. Following another extremely successful single titled “exes,” the singer’s sophomore album quickly became highly anticipated.

The two singles took listeners by surprise, as they were almost jarringly different from most of the singer’s previous releases.

The album is a significant

transformation for McRae both lyrically and sonically. In the song “cut my hair,” McRae references the “sad girl bit” that she became known for in most of her songs and how it was starting to get old.

“THINK LATER” completely flips this image, as many of the songs are upbeat in melody and explore the excitement and chaos of life as a 20-year-old girl.

While her earlier music was more comparable to that of Billie Eilish — consistently slow and sad ballads that highlight the singer’s strong vocals — this project has more of a bright and girly Britney Spears sound and covers topics ranging from partying to girl friendships.

It has a well-crafted variety of confident and upbeat songs in addition to continuing to highlight her previous strengths with songs about heartache and sadness.

At some parts of the album, it may feel like McRae is trying just a little bit too hard to reshape her thematic identity and change the sad girl narrative into a hot girl narrative. However, this was necessary for her to find the mainstream success that has cemented

her as one of the top names in pop in such a short time.

Although most people like a good heartache ballad every now and then, listeners also appreciate diversity in sound and can get bored easily if a singer doesn’t experiment and try new things in their music.

The tone of this album felt very spot-on for the experience of a 20-year-old navigating attraction, friendship, heartbreak and identity, speaking as one myself. I felt an almost painful relatability in several of the songs, even if it wasn’t through any kind of sophisticated lyricism.

Its relatability felt similar to another mainstream pop girl’s recent release, Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS.” They both have mastered fast-paced, upbeat and easy-listening songs while also interweaving emotionally introspective songs into their work that highlight the volatility and chaos of life as a young woman.

“THINK LATER” is short and sweet, as it’s just under 40 minutes long with 14 songs, but it packs a punch that has drawn the attention of tens of millions of new listeners. The use of shorter songs has proven to

be a remarkably successful strategy, especially in how much TikTok has influenced and changed the way people listen to music. Attention spans have noticeably decreased, and McRae avoids losing this attention by intentionally keeping her projects concise in structure.

This era of McRae’s career has been a flawless marketing campaign for an upand-coming artist finding permanent success. Besides thematic relevance and a format that aligns with current listening habits, her use of social media has been ex-

tremely effective. She is constantly marketing herself on Instagram and TikTok, but in ways that feel more relatable and personal to fans instead of seeming commercialized and disconnected.

This album was a confident statement on McRae’s potential as a household name in the music industry, rather than someone who had a single blow up on TikTok and faded into obscurity. It’s not going to be the deepest album you’ll ever listen to, but it is extremely well-produced and shows a positive vision for the future of pop music.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Rising popstar Tate McRae pictured for the release of her album.

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January 31, 2024

Study Abroad | Granada

Junior Gallivants Across Granada

By LUSA HOLMSTROM COLUMNIST

In a way, my study abroad experience began over a decade ago. My grandpa and my mom both spent a semester in Salzburg during their time as undergraduates in 1960 and 1987, respectively. Stories and fond memories of their time abroad fueled my love for travel and the knowledge that studying abroad would, at some point, become a shared experience. Uniquely for me, this involved SIM card stress, wall adapter searches and the impossible decision of what to download for my 15hour journey from Los Angeles to Granada (I chose “The Holiday,” and never watched it).

While the months leading up to this semester included long, panicked talks with my Spanish professor and trips to Lincoln Center to pick up my visa despite dropping it off at Rose Hill, the days leading up to my long-awaited flight included the organized chaos of packing — I tragically left my favorite green Sambas behind — crying at the Mexican restaurant when my grandma told me I grew up too fast and waiting on hold with AT&T to check for the hundredth time that there really wasn’t a better deal than $100 a month for an international line. I laboriously separated my most prized belongings, from my truly forgettable socks and white button-downs into

my carry-on and checked bag respectively, only to find out my carry-on was six pounds overweight. I was given an ultimatum: part with my bag, negate my separation work and check it for free, risking its being lost to the Iberia gods, or fork over $200 to be christened with the honor of lifting it into the overhead bins. After asking in disbelief for her to repeat herself, I watched as my teal suitcase was conveyor-belted into the depths of LAX. When my younger sister left the airport, she said she hoped I didn’t come back “annoying,” or she’d have to hit me. Can’t wait to see her!

While I pray that my suitcases are, in fact, on the plane with us, I’m thinking anxiously about all of the exciting experiences that I have to look forward to. Through Fordham, I have the opportunity to live in a homestay with a Spanish family (they never answered my email, going in blind here), take all of my classes in Spanish (though only three-fourths count for my Spanish major…) and even hold an internship. For the next four months, amidst program trips to Sevilla, Córdoba and Morocco, I’ll be writing both for the Ram and DIARIO Ideal, a Spanish newspaper based in Granada, which my homestay couple was very excited to discover.

Continuing this article from the little desk in their apartment with the din of garbage trucks collecting trash at two

in the morning… I’m happy to report I made it across the threshold with both of my bags, though the adjustment has been tough. My roommate Alice and I are staying with a sweet older couple in the center of Granada who do not speak English but do eat dinner at 10 p.m. It is a bizarre feeling to live in someone’s house while also trying to get your bearings in a place that is going to be your home for the next four months. With the time change, most of my friends and family aren’t awake until 4 p.m. here, which can be frustrating at a time I’d like to chat with them most.

The full week and a half of orientation has felt like a violent flashback to my first year: introducing yourself by hometown and major, activities from morning until night, name tags and icebreakers. I feel even worse for the four students from other universities within the Fordham cult of 60 strong.

At one point, they brought in an American psychologist who has lived in Granada for 20 years to talk to us about culture shock. She introduced herself (hometown and major!) and was from Chicago — and later mentioned we don’t need to be afraid of being “jumped and killed.” Regardless of culture shock, nothing makes me feel like more of an idiot than being in a large group of Americans wandering around a city that must be sick of us (source: the “go away tourists” graffiti I saw).

The Spanish way of life is much slower and more relaxed. I’ve noticed bartenders sharing a beer with customers and shop owners eating lunch outside with their friends, leaving their stores empty until a patron wanders in. Many places don’t open until nine or later and each meal takes upwards of an hour. We were also warned of how much the families might want to almost overfeed us. When Alice and I mentioned we were going to dinner with friends, our host mom ushered us into the kitchen as we were leaving and fed us an entire meal, so we could have “energy” for dinner.

This adjustment period is one that leaves many of us wondering if we’ve made all of the right decisions; if the homestay is best, if we can

learn to love the siesta and how much soup is too much soup. It’s bittersweet to be away from Fordham as we miss friends, jobs, graduations and the creamy green salsa from Estrellitas. At the risk of sounding preachy, what’s important to remember is how this uneasy feeling is that same pit in my stomach from when I lived in Loschert 234 and had to walk down the hallway in squeaking shower shoes and a towel. The person who hated Fordham so much that fall, is the same person who can’t wait to come back for this one. Before then, I just need to be patient, take walks and remember to call my parents. All that being said, Michael Persaud from the Career Center is still emailing me about COFFEE CHATS.

COURTESY OF LUSA HOLMSTROM FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham students enjoying the beginning of their time abroad.

By GRACE GALBREATH ASST. NEWS EDITOR EMERITUS

ACROSS 1.

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Barely-visible openings in the skin that release oil and sweat Advertising for television is to create _____ Eagles, Phillies, Flyers (plural) Coca Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr Pepper

DOWN 1.

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Abbreviation for Microsoft 365 software used to create presentations (plural) Chips Ahoy!’s nemesis Street, avenue, lane First name of lead in 2016 award winning movie, “La La Land” Morse code phrase used to signal distress

1

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6 7 8

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

Find the answer key on www.thefordhamram.com!

SPORTS

January 31, 2024

Page 17

Squash Sweeps Final Home Weekend

By MADDIE BIMONTE SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Swimming and diving competes at Rose Hill as they sweep Iona.

Swimming and Diving Completes Dual Sweep at Iona

By NOAH HOFFMAN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Both the women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams beat Iona University in New Rochelle last Wednesday for the sixth time out of seven that the Rams have swept an opponent this season.

The women extended their historic winning streak to 28 by blowing the Gaels out of the water 222-74, while the men improved to 6-1 after winning 162-126.

The meet finished with wins in both relay competitions. The women took the 200m medley relay in a tight race, winning by 13-tenths of a second in with a time of 1:45.56. The men snagged first more comfortably by over a second and a time of 1:32.86. The final event was the 400 freestyle relay, which the women won very handily by almost five seconds, while the men, this time, found themselves in a more tightly contested event, finishing just under a second faster than the opponent.

In total, seven different Rams won more than one event, with five coming from the women’s side and two from the men’s.

The Sisters Leire and Ainhoa Martin each took home two: Leire the 200 freestyle and breaststroke and Ainhoa the 200 butterfly and individual medley.

Graduate student Jane Brown won both backstroke events, the 100-meter and 200-meter.

Juniors Emma Shaughnessy and Jessica Zebrowski rounded out the multi-race winners for the women, Shaughnessy in the 100 breaststroke and 500 freestyle and Zebrowski in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

The women also took wins in both diving events, sophomore Mya Bokerman in the 1-meter dive and junior Cai Flowers in the 3-meter dive. Graduate swimmer Manon Compagner rounded out the women’s wins with a victory in the 100-meter freestyle, although she was also a part of both relaywinning teams.

For the men, graduate student Guy Gropper and junior Daniel Langlois each won two events.

Gropper held the best time in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly and Langlois in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley. Other men’s wins came from freshman David Topi in the 100-meter breaststroke and senior Alex Wilhelm in the 100-meter freestyle. Both were part of one of the relay-winning teams as well, Topi in the 200 and Wilhelm in the 400.

Overall, the Rams took home 23 of 32 events for an incredible showing in New Rochelle. Two home meets will round out the regular season for the Rams, with the first being on Saturday, Feb. 3, where Fordham will celebrate their team’s future graduates and former swimmers with Senior Day and Alumni Day.

Athletes of the Week Graduate student Kyla Hill added another stellar performance to her already illustrious career this past weekend at the River Hawk Invitational, placing top ten in two individual events — the Women’s 60-meter dash and the Women’s 200-meter race — and spearheading the effort behind a second place finish in the Women’s 4x400 relay.

Fordham Squash took away two resounding wins this past weekend, facing Dartmouth College and Drexel University’s club teams at the Lombardi Squash Courts. This is the final weekend of home matches, as the Rams will head on the road for the rest of the season, but they’ll bring a five-game win streak with them.

Kicking things off was the first matchup between the Dartmouth club team and Fordham. The Rams were granted a free point automatically due to Dartmouth only having eight players, essentially forfeiting a match.

Across the board, the Rams made quick work of the Big Green, ending the matches in three games. This result included efforts from eighth position junior Sofia Arseniev, seventh position sophomore Gray Kearns and sixth position junior Robert Cruikshank, who never conceded more than three points to their opponents in a single set.

These efforts continued in the third, fourth and fifth positions, held by senior Henry Frawley, sophomore Jack Stanley and freshman Peter Vorbach.

The one defeat for the Rams came in the second position, in which Dartmouth’s Will Vrattos

Graduate student Guy Gropper earned honors this past week for his performance in the recent swimming & diving meet against Iona University, his two firstplace finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly earning him the title of the Atlantic 10’s Men’s Swimming & Diving Performer of the Week.

Rose Thrill Celebrates Anniversary

Tradition meets novelty with the men’s basketball team’s new alternate uniforms, as their new gray jerseys place the traditional red “Fordham” script against a subtle yet striking gray background. This is the second new alternate jersey that Fordham has unveiled since the founding of their new partnership with Nike, the first being the “blackout” jerseys that were worn for the squad’s game in Madison Square Garden against the Johnnies of St. John’s University.

On Jan. 31, 2023, the Fordham men’s basketball team squared off against Saint Louis University in a game that would mark the beginning of something truly special: the raucous and unforgettable environment of Rose Thrill. It was on that day the Shirtless Herd’s shirts first came off, lines for tickets began to form well in advance to tip-off and students learned how to lose their voice.

Rams on the Big Stage

Women’s Basketball Celebrates Pride Night

The Fordham football team has had an exciting past few weekends despite not playing any games.

The program got to see two of its former stars compete on one of the biggest stages in sports, as both former running back Chase Edmons and former offensive lineman Nick Zakelj suited up for their respective teams in the divisional round of the National Football League’s 2024 playoffs.

The Fordham women’s basketball team celebrated LGBTQ+ pride this past Saturday during their winning effort against the Colonials of George Washington University, handing out a Fordham- and pride-themed sticker sheet to all fans in attendance in celebration of the diversity in the greater Fordham community.

Varsity Calendar

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

Wednesday Thursday Jan. 31 Feb. 1

Men’s Swim and Dive Women’s Swim and Dive

Men’s Basketball

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Men’s Tennis

Friday Feb. 2

Saturday Feb.3

Sunday Feb.4

Monday Feb.5

Tuesday Feb.6

Massachusetts 1 p.m.

Massachusetts 1 p.m.

Richmond 7 p.m.

Mason Women’s Basketball George 7 p.m.

Squash

Guy Gropper Graduate Student Swimming and Diving

to third and fourth positions, respectively, securing wins in those matchups in only three games as well.

Senior Nicholas Choo picked up a win at fifth position over Mary Catherine Touloupis, 11-1, 11-1 and 11-2. Lastly, rounding out the Rams is sophomore Crisipn McCarthy (sixth), as well as juniors Edwin Hess (seventh) and Aarav Jhunjhunwala (eighth), who locked down their wins to make it a perfect 9-0 appearance for Fordham.

The Rams are now 16-6 on the season and conclude their home record 13-2. Next up for them is the annual Denison Round Robin in Gambier, Ohio. Fordham will see tough opponents in the University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan over a two-day stretch.

Men’s Basketball to Debut New Alternates

AWAY

Graduate Student Track and Field

took on junior Bennett Van Liew. The match extended to five games, before Vrattos was able to narrowly win in the last game, 1210, 11-9, 12-14, 12-14 and 14-12.

But the Rams ended on a high note, with sophomore Nicholas Gilman in first position, winning in four games over Avijit Singh, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 and 11-7.

Fordham wasn’t done winning just yet as they took away a clean sweep against Drexel’s club team to wrap up the weekend.

In this matchup, Frawley shifted to first position, getting his win over Theo Rosenberg in three games, 11-5, 11-3 and 11-3.

Vorbach switched from fifth to second position this time, also getting an easy win, with three straight 11-1 victories.

More lineup changes included Kearns and Arseniev moving

News & Notes

HOME

Kyla Hill

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Squash bring home victory on their own Lombardi squash courts.

Saint Louis 2:30 p.m.

Richmond 6 p.m.

Denison Round Robin Scarlet Metropolitan Championship Knights Open Boston University TBD

VCU 7 p.m.

SPORTS

Page 18

Women’s Tennis Opens Spring Season, Captures First Win at Marist

By JOE HENRY STAFF WRITER

In the wake of one of the program’s best-ever seasons, Fordham Women’s Tennis enters 2024 play with a mix of high hopes and new faces. However, in the team’s first two matches against Cornell University and Syracuse University, they lost 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.

That said, it’s far too early to diminish the team’s springsemester outlook, given its combination of returning talent and the addition of several standout newcomers. Freshmen Cindy Xhou, Julianne Nguyenz and Anlin Xie as well as graduate students Raffaela Alhach, Camila Baeza, Rose Hu, Demi Jhaveri and Franny Shea are all looking to continue to make an imprint during the second half of their first years with the club. Xie accounted for Fordham’s lone point in their opener against Cornell, winning 6-2, 6-2 in #4 singles over Victoria Zhao. While the club’s two losses appear at first glance to be blowouts, the Rams fought valiantly in singles: against Syracuse, Alhach sent her #1 singles match to three sets, narrowly losing the third, 4-6; senior Eleni Fasoula dropped her #3 singles match in heartbreaking fashion, falling in a thrilling backand-forth tiebreaker, 13-15.

The same story can be seen down the line, with Xhou and Shea losing tiebreakers of their own in #5 and #6 singles versus Cornell. Through two matches,

Sowter-led team was their performance in doubles, where they failed to pick up a win in six matches. After a frustrating, albeit competitive, first two matches, the reigning Atlantic 10 champs marched into Marist College with their sights set on their first win.

Their doubles trouble continued, where they opened the evening in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., by dropping two of three matches, giving the Red Foxes the 1-0 upper hand going into singles.

With the prospect of a 0-3 start to the season dangling perilously in front of them, the team left little up for debate by sweeping the singles matches in a compelling fashion.

Across the board, #1-6 singles were won by Fasoula (6-4, 6-3), Xie (61, 6-1), junior Lorraine Bergman (6-2, 7-6 [8-6]), Nguyen (6-2, 6-1), sophomore Sofie Siem (6-0,

Siem (6-0, 7-6 [7-2]) and Jhaveri (6-0, 6-2). The club did not drop a single set, making for a cheerful and optimistic trip back to campus on Sunday night.

Having won some momentum, the team looks to build on a 1-2 start by evening its overall record in the A-10 opener on Feb. 10 at St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies began the season 1-3; a barometer for the upcoming match is the teams’ shared opponent, Syracuse — the Orange dismantled Saint.

Bonaventure 7-0 on Jan. 27, less than a week after they posted the same result against Fordham. One can also refer to the team’s lone meeting in 2023, where the Rams breezed to a 6-1 win. The match promises to be exciting, and the Rams will go into it with over a week of rest and aspirations to start a winning streak early in the year.

January 31, 2024

Varsity Scores & Stats Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Hawk Invitational NTS (No Team Scoring)

Men’s Swimming Fordham

162

Iona

126

John Thomas Terrier Classic

Women’s Basketball

NTS (No Team Scoring)

Fordham

64

Squash

Loyola Chicago

73 60

Fordham

8

Fordham

Dartmouth Club

1

George Washington 55

Fordham

9

Men’s Basketball

Drexel Club

0

Fordham

71

Rhode Island

68

Women’s Swimming Fordham

162

Fordham

59

Iona

74

Duquesne

68

Women’s Tennis

Men’s Swimming

6

Fordham

Fordham

162

Iona

126 Marist

1

–Compiled by Griffin Stevenson COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Women’s tennis wins first game at Marist College.

Track and Field Takes Massachusetts by Storm

By JONAH RING SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham track & field team experienced a rather odd weekend, with the team splitting up across two fully separate events. For the sprinters, mid-distance runners and field competitors, this meant traveling to the University of Massachusetts Lowell in order to compete in the annual River Hawk Invitational. The long distance runners, spent their time on the Charles River, competing at Boston University’s John Thomas Terrier Classic.

Looking first at this meet, while there were not many competitors for Fordham in the extremely large field, the Rams nonetheless made their presence felt in almost every race.

The men were led by fr Sean Reidy’s dominance in the men’s 1,000-meter race, as he continued his impressive first year campaign by finishing top 10 and posting an Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) qualifying time of 2:26.53. The mile event likewise saw three Fordham runners post strong IC4A qualifying times, with junior Rodolfo Sanchez coming in 50th with a time of 4:06.58, graduate student Colin Flood placing in 79th with a time of 4:10.18 and junior Nathan Bezuneh finding himself in

90th with a time of 4:11.42.

Finally of note for the men’s team in Boston was senior Steven Zucca’s performance in the 5,000-meter race, as he was able to post a IC4A qualifying time with his respective 14:32.66 performance.

For the women, their time amongst the hallowed streets of Boston kickstarted by graduate student Mary Kathryn Underwood, as she notched a top 50 finish in the women’s 800-meter race with a Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifying time of 2:13.61. The women of Fordham were able to post another ECAC qualifying time, with freshman Meredith Gotzman using her sub-five minute time (4:59.37) to finish 81st overall. Finally, while she was unable to post an ECAC qualifying time, junior Caroline McDonagh’s time of 17:44.44 in the women’s 5,000-meter run was nevertheless strong enough for a top 50 finish (41st) in a very crowded event.

Turning now to Fordham’s performance at the River Hawk Invitational, it was much of the same dominance for the Rams, as their sprinters, mid-distance runners and field competitors all represented the maroon and white in a very strong way.

For women’s performances, graduate student Kyla Hill announced her return to competition in a very strong way after missing last week’s meet. Hill was able to fully

dominate two individual events, not only making it to the finals of the women’s 60-meter race, where she would go on to finish fifth with a blistering time of 7.60, but also able to have a spectacular race in the women’s 200-meter race, finishing eighth in the event with a season-best time of 24.89. Here, she would also be accompanied in the upper echelons of the event by a teammate, as sophomore Dillyn Green came in 42nd with a time of 26.18.

In the women’s 400-meter, Fordham once again saw two of their runners have standout performances, with seniors Michele Daye and Alexandra Williams finishing in 18th and 24th place, respectively.

However, just wwas impressive as Daye and Williams’ performances were, it was the team effort in 4x400-meter relay that really stole the show at this distance, as the group of Hill, Williams, Green and Daye were able to notch themselves a silver medal with an extremely strong ECAC qualifying time of 3:52.73.

Finally on the field side of things for the Fordham women in Massachusetts, sophomore Alexandra Manetovic had a spectacular meet. Manetovic was not only able to finish in the top 10 for the women’s high jump, with a final recorded height of 5’ 2 1/4”, but she would also register a top 20 finish in the women’s

Triple Jump, recording a score of 11.21 meters. Just behind in this event was her sophomore teammate Leia Ruvo, whose score of 11.19 meters was good enough for 17th.

On the men’s side of things, sophomore Liam Volz kicked things off with a fifth place finish in the unseeded/ standard category of the men’s 60-meter race, running what was a personal best time of 7.13. Just shortly after, in the men’s 200-meter, Fordham saw two of its runners post times worthy of a top 30 finish: freshman Jabril Carter ran a 22.25 (good enough for 25th on the day), while Volz once again put in another impressive performance with histime of 22.36 (good enough for 28th on the day).

However, as impressive as that was, the men in maroon’s most dominant performance of the day likely came in the 500-meter run, as the Rams saw three of their competitors notch top 25 finishes in the 500-meter. Graduate student Erik Brown was the leader of this charge by finishing in 10th with a IC4A qualifying time of 1:05.49, with sophomore Kevin Callaghan (1:06.47) and graduate student Safo Kirtonc (1:07.56) finishing just behind him in just behind him in the 17th and 23rd slots, respectively. Moreover, these three would then combine with junior Chris Martiznes in the 4x400-meter relay, their team

posting a highly impressive IC4A qualifying time of 3:21.72 that notched them a top 10 finish in the event.

In terms of what’s next for the Rams, they will have to dig deep and make a quick turnaround with their next meet fast approaching: the Metropolitan Championship on Feb. 2. There, the men and women of Fordham will travel to the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island to clash with some of the finest runners in the area, the Rams needing to bring their A-game in order to make any noise.

Follow us on Twitter at @theram_sports

SPORTS

January 31, 2024

Page 19

Overtime: A Legacy in Question

By NOAH HOFFMAN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

This year’s NFL head coaching carousel had some familiar and long-tenured coaches lose their jobs, but none was bigger than the New England Patriots parting ways with the greatest of all time: Bill Belichick.

Belichick’s tenure as the lead man in New England came to a painful end this season, finishing 4-13, the third-worst record in the league and the worst of his tenure.

Fans started to call for owner Robert Kraft to move on from Belichick after producing multiple games of scoring 10 or fewer points.

This included three straight, in which the defense also allowed 10 or fewer points, but the team lost.

The cherry on top came after a 17-3 home loss to the New York Jets to conclude the season. The Pats’ loss to the Jets was the first time in 15 games. Belichick had terrorized the Jets, whom he resigned from after one day as head coach to take the Patriots job in 2000, going 38-11 since that infamous day, but the men in green got the last laugh.

The fall from grace for Bill Belichick following Tom Brady’s departure has football fans everywhere

questioning the coach’s legacy. With Brady, Belichick went 249-75, won 17 division titles and made nine Super Bowls while winning six of them. Since Brady left, Belichick has compiled a record of 29-38.

All Brady did in his time away from Belichick was win a seventh Super Bowl in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFC South division in the other two, leaving football fans saying Belichick needs to win without Brady just as Brady did without Belichick.

Along with the below .500 record, Belichick made questionable coaching hires, missed on several draft picks, including who was supposed to be the successor to Brady and made only one playoff appearance over the last four years.

That being said, Belichick’s legacy should not only be defined by his outstanding success with Brady and abysmal time after, when in reality, Belichick has held some sort of coaching position starting before Brady was born.

Belichick’s coaching career started in 1975 after being hired as a special assistant for the Baltimore Colts. Over the next four years, he would hold four different positions with three different teams before beginning a 12-year

stint with the New York Giants.

During his time with the Giants, he led the defense to two Super Bowl wins with arguably the greatest defensive player ever in Lawrence Taylor and an alltime head coach and mentor in Bill Parcells. The two wins included an exceptional defensive game plan to upset the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. After spending years as the defensive protégé of Parcells, it was inevitable that teams would come calling. The Cleveland Browns were the first to take a shot at hiring the young coach and hired him just 10 days after the Super Bowl win over the Bills in 1991. At 38, Belichick became the league’s youngest head coach of the time.

His first head coaching gig did not go as planned. Over the five years, the Browns had one winning season with Belichick at odds with the fans, ownership and the media almost the entire time. His lack of success and sour relationships eventually drove Browns owner Art Modell to fire Belichick after the 1995 season.

After one year in New England in 1996, once again an assistant under Parcells, the two moved to the New York Jets together, spending three seasons there. Upon

Parcells’ retirement from coaching, Belichick was appointed the head coaching position for the Jets, which he held for one day before his notorious paper napkin resignation. After taking the Patriot’s job and drafting Brady, the rest is history.

With all this information, the question can now be answered: does Belichick need to take another coaching job to salvage his legacy?

The answer is simply no. He is far and away the greatest coach of all time, and there may never be anyone else with such an impressive overall coaching resume.

Ironically, by taking another coaching job, Belichick could be putting his legacy in jeopardy.

None of the available coaching positions have a clear path to success, unlike when Brady left the Pats for the Bucs. Yes, Brady went to a team that had not made the playoffs since 2007 but was for years seen as a team that had the talent but was just a quarterback and head coach duo away. They already had the offensive weapons in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, a formidable O-line and a young defense full of future and current stars in place.

As it stands, there are only two head coaching jobs up for grabs: the Seattle

Seahawks and Washington Commanders. Both of these teams have quarterback questions, the Seahawks with Geno Smith and the Commanders without a quarterback, but expecting to draft one with the number two overall pick.

The only fit of the two is the Commanders’ job. Belichick grew up in Annapolis, Md., which is just a half hour away from their stadium, and he would have a significant say on who he would want to draft with the second pick.

The last quarterback Belichick drafted in the first round, Mac Jones, quickly became an absolute disaster for the Patriots, getting benched multiple times over the last two years. This means that if Belichick missed on another first-round quarterback, his legacy would most certainly be tarnished, and would never hear the end of that he is nothing without Brady.

If this is the end for Belichick, his legacy should not be questioned but praised. Although if it is not, and he just takes a year off from coaching, based on what football fans know about him, he will not care and instead ride off into the sunset with his eight total Super Bowl rings — still one more than Brady — and enjoy the fruits of his retirement.

Rangers Trade Deadline Preview

By ALLIE COPPOLA STAFF WRITER

With the trade deadline just over a month away, NHL teams are beginning to think about their needs heading into the playoffs.

With the mostly successful season they’ve had so far, the New York Rangers will undoubtedly be “buyers” at the deadline, making big trades for big names to take into another playoff run. While they lead the Metropolitan Division by a slim margin, they are far from the best team in the Eastern Conference and will need a boost when fighting for a playoff spot down the line.

For once, defense doesn’t seem to be a necessity at the deadline for the Blueshirts.

The three pairs that have been rolling all season seem to be in good shape, besides the occasional defensive gaffe. In past seasons, defense has been an issue that continued into the playoffs, but with the improvement of Braden Schneider and the addition of Erik Gustafsson, the blue line performance is finally up to par. During

Jacob Trouba’s suspension, defensive prospect Connor Mackey filled in and made his presence known immediately, contributing a few goals and engaging in a fight that turned the tide of the game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. It would make little sense to break up the defensive unit that developed this season.

A more obvious area of improvement would be the forwards, specifically in the ever-elusive right-wing position. The Rangers have been “renting” right wingers at the deadline season after season, bringing in stars like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp. They failed to re-sign any of them and continue to look for someone who can fill the RW slot on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.

Young center Filip Chytil has been out since the beginning of the season w i t h a c o n c u s s i o n and experienced complications after returning to practice last week. The Rangers announced on Sunday that he wouldn’t return this season.

As the Rangers’ solid third line center for the past two

seasons, his role is important to fill with the deadline approaching. A player that the Rangers should look at for this position is the Montreal Canadiens’ center Sean Monahan, who plays a similar role for the Candiens as Chytil did for the Rangers.

His production has been outstanding considering the Canadiens are having an abysmal season, with 35 points in 49 games. He is one of the cheapest rentals among deadline-target centers, making just under $2 million with his contract ending after the season.

In terms of the return for a player like Monahan, Rangers forward Blake Wheeler may be on the chopping block, but the Canadiens may expect a return of a prospect or wellestablished younger forward.

Kaapo Kakko would fit the description, as the 22-yearold has only six points in 28 games. The former second overall draft pick has a high development ceiling but hasn’t reached his potential in his fourth season with New York. Trading Kakko would get rid of over $2 million in cap space, making a one-for-one trade look

plausible, but Montreal would undoubtedly seek out an extra draft pick to speed up their rebuild and sweeten the deal.

Filling the right-wing position may be a bit tougher, considering the steep contracts of some of the rentals in the market.

A reunion with Vladimir Tarasenko is not out of the question, but his cap hit of $5 million may turn the Rangers in a different direction. However, his 21 points for the Rangers after the deadline last year could be just what they need to propel themselves to the top of the Eastern Conference.

He would need to waive his no-trade clause to be moved, but it’s likely that the struggling Senators may use him to gain future capital.

Another player rumored to be available is Jake Guentzel, a right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He has been one of the bright spots in the Penguins’ troubled offense this season, but it would be unlikely that the Penguins make an intradivisional trade unless they are well out of a playoff spot

by March 8.

Seattle Kraken forward

Jordan Eberle is also among the potential targets for teams in the coming weeks, though his cap hit of $5 million and underproduction may make him less appealing for teams in search of a right winger.

He is a consistent point scorer in better offenses, as evidenced by his time with the Edmonton Oilers, but the Kraken’s offense has struggled throughout the season, leaving Eberle with only 25 points in 44 games. He may thrive on the first line with Kreider and Zibanejad, or find a place on the third line where the Rangers also need a bit of a boost.

While the deadline is still over a month away, it’s worth watching to see whose trade value will rise and fall, and who will be made available by their respective teams.

The Rangers are coming off of a 5-2 win against the Senators, a much needed bounce back after losing four straight. Certain weaknesses are becoming evident after the losing streak, and getting some help at the trade deadline certainly wouldn’t hurt the Rangers in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

SPORTS

Page 20

January 31, 2024

WBB Makes Strides With Conference Win

By LOU ORLANDO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

For struggling teams, a bye week can be a welcome respite.

That certainly felt like the case for Fordham Women’s Basketball, carrying a four-game losing streak into its week off. With the Rams’ offense failing to reach 50 points in their previous two games, the break provided a chance to reset and come back strong.

For the time being, it seems like the Rams have taken advantage of that break, picking up their second conference win and climbing out of the gutter in the Atlantic 10, thanks to a rejuvenated offense.

Fordham returned to Rose Hill on Wednesday to take on Loyola Chicago University following six straight off days. Despite a hot 11-3 start and a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter, the Rams fell 73-64 in a back-andforth affair.

Uncharacteristically, for this Fordham team, it was the defense that hurt them late. The Ramblers got themselves to the line 13 times in the fourth quarter, outscoring Fordaham 28-15 to hand the Rams their fifth straight loss. The 28 points are the second most points the Rams have allowed in a single quarter this season, shy of only a 29-point second quarter against Duquesne University.

On the bright side, the Rams’ offense enjoyed a much needed bounce back game, crossing the 60-point threshold for just the second time since Dec. 21. Senior guard Taylor Donaldson proved that her last two games were just a blip on the radar, returning to form with a game-high 22 points.

The star of the show, however, was graduate student forward Kailah Harris, who tallied a career high 12 points on perfect 4-4

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Women’s Basketball recently got a much needed win against the Colonials of George Washington University.

shooting in her finest game as a Ram. The Rams remained in the Bronx for a Saturday matchup against the Colonials of George Washington University, earning their second conference win in a 60-55 victory.

Fordham once again enjoyed a halftime lead, thanks in large part to a wild sequence that saw the Rams score six points in the span of 13 seconds. Harris knocked down a shot inside and converted the and-one, quickly followed by a last second three from graduate student Emy Hayford after senior Matilda Flood forced a turnover.

Taking a seven-point lead into the second half, the Rams would extend it to 11 early in the third quarter with a pair of Hayford free throws. GW, however, did just enough to hang around and trailed by eight going into the fourth.

For three quarters, Fordham had managed to subdue sophomore Nya Robertson, holding the A-10’s fourth-leading scorer at 16.1 PPG to just eight points.

But sometimes one quarter is all

it takes. Robertson awoke in the fourth to lead the Colonials’ comeback effort, scoring 11 points in GW’s 14-4 run and sinking a layup to cut the Fordham lead to one with 1:51 to play.

The Rams bent but did not break, withstanding the comeback charge as Harris, Hayford and Donaldson sank clutch free throws in the final two minutes to secure a five-point victory.

“I’m so proud of my team,” remarked head coach Bridgette Mitchell following the win. “We showed that we can focus, that we can finish out games.”

Finishing out games has been a key talking point for Fordham all season long and one that’s proven difficult to achieve. Even beyond the recent fourth quarter collapse against Loyola Chicago earlier in the week, the Rams have struggled to eke out wins in tight games. Thinking back to their one score losses against Duquesne University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Fairfield University, Fordham struggled to come up with the necessary baskets in the closing

minutes. That was not the case on Saturday, and it was a relieving turn of the tide for Mitchell and her team.

In a similar light, it was refreshing to see the defense hold strong late, particularly after allowing 28 points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. Robertson’s explosive frame was no doubt a spark for the Colonials, but she’s proven to be a formidable opponent in her young collegiate career, leading GW to an upset win over Fordham last year with 23 points. It’s hard to subdue the elite players for entire games, and holding her to eight points over three quarters is no small feat.

Offensively, Hayford continues to flourish, leading the Rams’ offensive charge with 18 points, accompanied by another 16 from Donaldson. Hayford reached double figures in her last seven games, and ever since her career-high 23 points against the University of Rhode Island, she’s averaging 18.0 PPG. Even more tantalizing is the prospect of Hayford and Donaldson clicking at the same time. While

they’ve had games like this before, we’ve yet to really see them score consistently at the same time. Throughout the season, they’ve both established themselves as highly capable scorers and two of the best playmakers on the squad. If they can stay in a rhythm simultaneously, it would relieve a lot of the issues that have been plaguing the Fordham offense on this recent stretch.

With the win, the Rams improve to 2-7 in conference, climbing out of last place in the A-10 as they leap ahead of GW, St. Bonaventure University and the University of Massachusetts. There’s still plenty of work left ahead when it comes to mounting a legitimate expedition up the standings, but for the time being, it feels like some concrete momentum is forming. Unfortunately, the schedule is about to get very difficult in the coming week.

Fordham hits the road to take on George Mason University and Richmond University, two of the premier teams in the A-10 this season. George Mason has lost just three games this season and is riding a six-game win streak that has put them third in the conference. Meanwhile, Richmond is second in the A-10 with an 8-1 conference record and 18-4 overall. Per the NCAA net rankings, they are first and third in the conference respectively. If that weren’t bad enough, the Rams will be in Virginia for both games. With an 0-8 road record so far, the odds are stacked against Fordham this week.

Looking down the road, the now 7-13 Fordham Rams will take on the Patriots of George Mason on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading down to the capital city of Virginia for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Spiders of Richmond on Saturday.

Men’s Basketball Struggles To Gain Persistent Momentum

By COLIN LOUGHRAN STAFF WRITER

Taking a small step forward only means so much if it is followed by a step back.

Fordham Men’s Basketball will have to face this reality following their most recent road split. They defeated the University of Rhode Island Rams 71-68 last Wednesday, but fell to the Duquesne University Dukes 68-59 this past Saturday.

The boys from the Bronx did not get off to a hot start against Rhode Island. Spurred by a physical first act that saw them get to the free throw line 15 times (and make 11 attempts), the New England Rams led by seven with 1:48 to play in the opening half. Fordham managed to finish the half well.

They scored the final four points of the initial 20 minutes, three of which came courtesy of a triple from senior Kyle Rose. The spurt cut the Rhode Island lead to three at the break, and set the tone for the second half.

“We managed to fight back and not hang our heads,” head coach Keith Urgo said after the contest.

“I thought the last two or three minutes of the first half was huge for us.”

The visiting Rams opened the second half with a 12-5 scoring run.

A Will Richardson three-pointer allowed the Fordham Rams to take a 43-39 lead. On the whole, Fordham was led by Rose, who tallied a career-high 24 points on an efficient 8-12 clip from the field.

The Maryland native also supplied six rebounds, three assists and two steals in what was his programleading 127th career game.

“Everyone knows about his defensive prowess,” Urgo said of Rose. “Now he’s added so much depth with his offensive game.

He’s shooting at a high clip. He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

Antrell Charlton totaled 12 points and six assists, while Joshua Rivera and Richardson combined for 24 points.

Led by 25 combined points from Jeremy Foumena and David Fuchs, as well as a game-high nine assists from Luis Kortright, Rhode Island took a lead at one point in the second half and battled their way to a tie game with 1:12 remaining in regulation. A Rivera lay-in with 40 seconds on the clock gave the men in maroon a 66-64 lead, and allowed them to stay ahead of the opposing Rams the rest of the way.

The win moved Fordham to a 3-0 road record in conference play, but they were unable to continue this trend against the Dukes. The

Rams began the game with a 6-0 run, and looked a step quicker than their Pittsburgh-based opponents.

The remainder of the first half was much different. Neither side played particularly well, and an eventual 6-0 Dukes run gave the home team a 20-18 advantage with 3:54 left in the initial period.

Fordham was able to finish the half somewhat well. An Elijah Gray layup and a Charlton mid-range jumper gave the Rams a 28-27 edge at the break.

After enduring an ankle injury against Davidson College on Jan. 17, and not participating in Fordham’s games against Loyola University Chicago and Rhode Island, Japhet Medor made his return against Duquesne, but he was unable to truly impact the game down the stretch. In fact, the same could be said of a few of Fordham’s more seasoned players.

Medor collected two points on a 1-6 clip, and tallied two assists.

Meanwhile Abdou Tsimbila only collected two boards across eight minutes. Rose could not aptly follow up a stellar outing against the Rams of Rhode Island. The mainstay produced three points and while he did collect nine rebounds, he also got into a scuffle with Duquesne freshman Jake DiMichele that riled up a hearty

and large home crowd.

Charlton did post 11 points and four assists, but the other veterans’ generally lackluster showings meant that Gray, Romad Dean, Rivera and Richardson had to step up. Gray tallied a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds.

Dean scored a career-high nine points and also swiped down five rebounds. Richardson mustered six points on a low-volume 2-6 day from the field, and Rivera put up seven points on a conservative 3-7 shooting afternoon.

Fordham was in the game down to the last few minutes, but the Dukes accrued a 56-49 lead with 4:15 to play. Duquesne only made one three-pointer, but consistently challenged the Rams in the paint.

They collected 46 points in the paint and were led by the trio of DiMichele, Jimmy Clark III and David Dixon.

DiMichele, a walk-on, scored an impressove team-high 15 points on a 6-10 shooting performance.

The McKees Rocks, Penn., native moved eloquently both with and without the ball in a fashion that kept Fordham’s defense off-kilter.

Clark III and Dixon followed suit, scoring 12 points apiece. Clark III was particularly deadly, as the senior guard served as the team’s primary facilitator and collected

seven important dimes.

Duqunse shot 48% from the field as a team in the second half while the Rams only earned a mark of roughly 34%. Free throws also were a point of emphasis.

The Dukes made 19 of their 30 attempts while Fordham only drained 13 of their 24 looks from the charity stripe. While neither squad was pristine in this regard, Duquesne’s persistence in the pain ultimately resulted in more trips to the line and a higher percentage.

The Bronx’s finest could not seem to get on a large enough scoring run to overcome the opposition. Fouls, poor shooting, questionable paint protection and attrition permitted the Dukes to emerge victorious.

With the split, Fordham now holds a 9-11 overall record and a modest 3-4 Atlantic 10 mark: good only for eighth place in the conference. In terms of what the future holds for these Rams, ’their next two games are polaropposte in terms of quality of opponents, as they will host the first place Spiders of the University of Richmond this Wednesday and then hit the road for a matchup with the last place Saint Louis University Billikens on Saturday afternoon.