Volume 106 Issue 6

The Fordham Ram

Duffy Fellow Applications Open Student Activties Fee Referendum Begins

By JULIANNA MORALES FEATURES EDITOR

Fordham University’s Duffy Fellows Program recently opened their applications for the 202425 school year. The program states that their mission is “to provide support to a select group of Fordham students and recent graduates to advance the study of issues arising at the intersection of religion and public life.”

Duffy Fellows is named after the late Jim Duffy who made the program possible through his endowment to the Center on Religion and Culture (CRC). The program is open to undergraduate students, graduate students and recent graduates, and they receive stipends to conduct creative projects or original research. It is not required that the applicants belong to any specific faith tradition, nor must they belong to one at all. However, the work they set out to do must advance the Jesuit mission and engage with issues involving religion and culture.

CRC Director David Gibson SEE

New Citi Bikes Dock at Fordham

By SOFIA DONOHUE EDITOR IN CHIEF

In late 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) installed a Citi Bike docking station on E 191st St. and Bathgate Avenue, right outside the gate by Finlay Hall. Citi Bike, powered by Lyft, originated in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the installation is part of NYC DOT’s expansion of Citi Bike stations throughout the New York City boroughs. First launched in 2013, Citi

Bike is available for 24-hour use and bikes are accessible at hundreds of stations across New York City. Currently, Citi Bike has over 25,000 bikes and over 1,500 docking stations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Jersey City and Hoboken.

“Citi Bikes are what are called in the transportation industry as ‘flexible infrastructure.’ They’re super easy to install, don’t require electricity and operate wirelessly,” said Bill Colona, Fordham University’s

members of the student press and discussed plans for the future.

President Tetlow Hosts Press Conference

By SOFIA DONOHUE & ALLISON SCHNEIDER

Fordham University President

Tania Tetlow met with reporters from The Fordham Ram and The Fordham Observer, Lincoln Center’s student newspaper, on Feb. 27. Tetlow discussed a variety of topics such as her plans for the future, rising tuition costs,

admissions and campus life. When asked about her signature goals going forward, Tetlow said that she wants to focus on Fordham’s impact on the world. She stated that $40 million of Fordham’s $50 million EPA grant will be passed to community groups. The remaining $10 million will be used to staff those who will distribute

the funds as well as facilitate faculty research. Tetlow stated that the most pressing issue facing Fordham and its students is climate change and environmental justice.

Regarding undergraduate financial aid, Tetlow emphasized that a Fordham education is an investment.

“In terms of broad systemic issues we know that the investment in a SEE PRESS, PAGE 5

assistant vice president for government relations, federal and urban affairs.

In order to prepare for the installation of a new docking station, NYC DOT holds a series of public workshops that provide an overview of the Citi Bike system. NYC DOT also engages in community outreach opportunities to gauge where people want the bikes to be.

“DOT engages in, what I would say, a collaborative process. Whenever they’re thinking

President Tetlow Elected to AJCU Board

By JULIANNA MORALES FEATURES EDITOR

Last month, on Saturday, Feb. 3, Fordham University

President Tania Tetlow was elected to serve as the next chair of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) by their Board of Directors. The AJCU’s announcement states that her term will begin on July 1, 2024. The announcement includes a comment from Tetlow, saying, “I have been very fortunate to have the guidance of the AJCU’s board since 2018, when I was a new president at Loyola University New Orleans. It is an extraordinary group of leaders and I am humbled to be one of them, much less to chair our board.”

Tetlow is both the first woman and first layperson to serve as chair of the AJCU. This experience is not new

SEE AJCU, PAGE 4

By NORA MALONE

Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) is holding a Student Activities Fee (SAF) Referendum from March 4 to 18. The referendum will decide if the SAF will increase by $95, going from $135 to $230. The fee has not increased in 11 years, in which it went up by $25.

Clubs are funded in two ways: block funding and event funding. Block-funded clubs receive a set amount of money each semester; only 13 clubs are blockfunded. Event-funded clubs make up the 151 other clubs on campus; these groups request money on a weekly basis.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if when the referendum passes, there will be more clubs that apply for that block funding status. You would likely see bigger clubs like Outdoors Club and Ski and Snowboard apply for that block funding so that they can guarantee their funding every single semester,” said Vice President of Finance Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26. “Which is something that very much helps when it comes to programming because if you’re trying to program something a semester in advance but you don’t know if you’ll have the funding to do that, things get a little sticky.”

Last spring, USG held the referendum but was unable to get enough student involvement because they used electronic signatures, which require 15% of students to participate. This semester, they are switching to paper signatures, so they only need 10% of students to vote, which amounts to around 600 students.

When they held the referendum last spring, it passed by 70%.

“Our feedback from that was that students agree with the $95 number. It’s just changing the

Floral and Fashion at the New York Botanical Garden Page 14

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The newest docking station is on E 191st St. and Bathgate Avenue, between Walsh gate and Finlay gate.

President Tetlow met with

BRIEFS

Feb. 26

McShane Campus Center

8:05 p.m.

On Tuesday, there was a stuck occupied elevator in the McShane Campus Center. FDNY responded and freed three occupants. The elevator company responded and placed the elevator back in service.

March 2

Tierney Hall

12:50 p.m.

On Saturday, there was a fire alarm in Tierney Hall. The supervisor and FDNY responded. The investigation revealed a student cooking set off the alarm.

March 2

Dealy Hall

6:05 p.m.

On Saturday, there was a flood sensor alarm in the basement of Dealy Hall. The supervisor and facilities responded to the data room in B14. Water was observed on the floor along the back wall. The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall.

March 4

O’Hare Hall

6:40 a.m.

On Monday, there was a stuck occupied elevator in O’Hare Hall. The supervisor responded. The elevator company was not available. The supervisor called 911. FDNY responded and freed the occupant. The elevator is out of service.

On Feb. 21, The Fordham Ram ran an article entitled “Fordham Ram Print Extends Partnership with Canon.” The article has been revised for accuracy in the online edition. The article incorrectly stated that Ram Print will outsource goods at a Canon facility in Long Island. Ram Print will continue to process goods at Rose Hill and only some services will be outsourced. We appreciate the affected parties bringing this to our attention.

– Sofia Donohue, Editor-inChief, Volume 106

Marriage Pact Sees Decline in Participants in Second Cycle at Fordham

By CRISTINA STEFANIZZI ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Love is in the air at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus, or, at least, students thought it was. The Marriage Pact entered its second cycle at Fordham this past month; however, they found themselves unable to provide compatible matches to nearly 50% of participants due to a limited number of straight men submitting the form.

In past years, Rose Hill saw upwards of a couple thousand participants in the program. In its first year at Fordham’s campus in 2021, over 4,000 Fordham students participated in the pact. However, this year Fordham’s Marriage Pact accrued a slim 815 participants, with a lopsided 620 being female, 185 being male and 8 being nonbinary.

“The lack of people this year was due to limited accessibility to communicate with [students],” said Sara Castro, GSB ’24. “In past years we had been able to reach out to everyone at

Fordham through a mass email, but this year we were unable to achieve that due to not being able to access the platform.”

The imbalance between straight male versus straight female participants led to nearly 50% of students not receiving a relationship match, but rather being paired with a “friendship match.” Firstyears composed 35% of the Marriage Pact pool with 275 submissions. Sophomores followed with 209 submissions, seniors with 185 and juniors with 146.

This problem of unequal participants is seen across all universities and is no stranger to Fordham, having happened when the program first started at Rose Hill. “In past years, the Fordham Marriage Pact team took precautions to close the gap between the number of straight women and straight men by reaching out to more men,” said an article in The Fordham Ram about the 2021 Fordham Marriage Pact.

“I feel a bit led on because

they said the program was specifically for matching up with someone who fit your preferences,” said Matthew Saw, GSB ’27. “Obviously it’s no stakes, but it got everyone’s hopes up for a few days and kind of was a waste of time… I literally reinstalled some dating apps, it had me down bad.”

The Marriage Pact, started at Stanford University’s campus in 2017, pairs students interested in finding their most compatible match on campus by filling out an online questionnaire about their cultural and religious background and social life.

“It’s struck a chord: in our first 13 months beyond the Stanford campus, Marriage Pacts have become tradition at 65 schools across the country,” reads the Marriage Pact website. “It’s a rich experience for yourself and your friends — and 3-4% of matches hit the lottery and go on to date for a year or longer.”

“There was a moment where my friends and I were

This Week at Fordham

Wednesday March 6

International Student Career Panel

McShane Campus Center 112 5:30-7 p.m.

Join the International Student Association (ISA), in collaboration with the Career Center, for a career panel to support international students in launching their careers and networking.

Thursday March 7

Java with the Jesuits

Freeman Hall 9:30-11:30 a.m.

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

Friday March 8

Rod’s Concert Fundraiser for AFSP

Rodrigue’s Coffee House 8 p.m.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House is hosting a DJ fundraising concert on Friday. All proceeds raised will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Saturday March 9

Rams v. Rams On The Hill

Rose Hill Gymnasium 1 p.m.

Support the men’s basketball team in their final home game before the A-10 playoffs as they take on the University of Rhode Island Rams. The game is also the team’s Senior Night.

convinced I matched with an RA [Resident Assistant] in my building when the initials came out,” said Juliana Duarte, FCRH ’27. “I was just really curious about the whole thing and filled it out to see what would happen.”

The pact notified participants that the software isn’t foolproof — students have been matched with RAs, exes and siblings in the past. “I had a friend who got the kid who despised her,” said Castro. “That was an awkward way of finding out they were the most compatible couple on campus by 99.97%. I got my teammate as a match, and she was like my rival on the team which was funny. My ex got my other ex which was ultra awkward.”

The program, started by Stanford students, now graduates, Sophia Sterling-Angus and Liam McGregor, was inspired by an economics homework question and is now at 88 participating colleges across the country with over 465,426 participants in its seven years operating.

Sunday March 10

Dani & Bea FET Show

Collins Blackbox Theater 2 p.m.

Fordham Experimental Theater (FET) is putting on a show written and directed by student Tori Fischer, FCRH ’25. The show is a modern retelling of the movie “When Harry Met Sally.”

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM MARRIAGE PACT

The Marriage Pact, started at Stanford University in 2017, entered its third year at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus this semester.

Fordham CPS Offers Support Options for Students

By ALANA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As the spring semester hits its halfway point and midterms return to the front of students’ minds, taking care of one’s mental health is more important than ever. Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), Fordham University’s on-campus mental health service, helps ensure mental health support for students living on and off campus.

Jeffrey Ng, director of CPS, highlights mental health support as both a CPS and a community concern.

“We don’t consider our office to be the only one that supports our students’ mental health,” Ng said. “We believe that everyone at the university plays a role in supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing.”

CPS’ equity-based approach acknowledges the unique backgrounds and experiences of each student in the community.

Ng explains how there are instances in which a student is referred to off-campus providers who may be better equipped for their specialized care. However, in the case of an off-campus referral, CPS assists students with the transition to a new provider. He also added that while CPS does not provide direct services over the weekend or in the overnight hours, the university has

procedures in place to support students if an issue is urgent or imminently concerning.

“We also promote the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line, which is available 24/7 for students,” he said. The Crisis Text Line is also promoted on CPS’ website.

CPS’ walk-in appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday for students experiencing crises or urgent concerns.

There are three types of individual counseling: brief counseling (approximately 5 weeks) for adjustment or temporary stressors, semester-long shortterm counseling for persistent and ongoing concerns like depression or anxiety and extended counseling beyond one semester for students with ongoing concerns who cannot access off-campus resources.

In addition to one-on-one care, the new addition of peer counseling can help students with adjustment concerns such as transitioning to college, stress management, loneliness and relationship problems. There are currently eight counselors at Rose Hill and one at Lincoln Center. Program feedback has been positive so far.

“The students who have utilized peer counseling have had a very positive experience with their sessions,” said Ng. “The only

thing that we may have to tweak is that we may have recruited too many peer counselors this year!”

Group counseling is also an option for students who may benefit from a weekly support group to connect with over shared identities or mental health concerns. Groups for students of color, graduate students and stress management are among some of the topics covered in each respective support group.

“We have group coordinators on each campus that, at the beginning of every academic year, will start strategizing on what types of groups to offer,” Ng said. “Between gauging student interest and student and staff availability, we narrow it down to offering between eight or 10 groups a year across both campuses. We may pivot or shift throughout the year based on how the groups are going.”

CPS also provides consultations, which are appointments with different members of the Fordham community who may be concerned about a student’s wellbeing.

“It could be a professor, a parent, a student concerned about another student,” Ng said. “If someone isn’t trained they may not always know what might be going on with a student of concern or how to approach that student. These folks can consult with us about how to best support students of concern.”

Mental health support as a campus-wide effort is prioritized through the various events held around the Fordham community. CPS partners with numerous other offices, student clubs and residential life to spread the word about the office and their resources.

Maria Rosario, FCRH ’24, a peer counselor, has found the available resources helpful and has positive feedback about the peer counseling program. She explains peer counseling as an option for those who may be intimidated about going to a professional, and, as students, peer counselors can be on the same level as someone who may be going through similar experiences and empathize with them.

“You’re trying to help them analyze how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking about and possibly the next steps,” said Rosario. “Recommending them to resources like their Resident Assistant or other places that can help like Campus Ministry or certain clubs — things that encourage community and match up with what we’ve been talking about.”

One finding that Rosario notes from outreach events is that students often referenced outdated information about support resources.

“We’re definitely trying to get information out there and the right information,” she said. “It’s accessible, it’s free; you don’t have the limits that you used to have in the past.”

Ilyasah Shabazz Speaks as ASILI Keynote Speaker

By ADITHI VIMALANATHAN ASST. NEWS EDITOR

On Feb. 20, Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, spoke at Fordham Prep Auditorium as the Black Student Alliance’s (ASILI) keynote speaker for Black History Month. The event took place one day before the 59th anniversary of her father’s assassination.

Shabazz currently serves as the chairperson at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center. Located in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem where X was assassinated, the cultural institution is dedicated to the legacies of her parents and to carrying out cultural activations for social justice. In her career, Shabazz has worked as a producer, carried out extensive advocacy (including working with inner-city youth and accompanying former President Bill Clinton on his South African tour) and is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Shabazz is also a published author of four books, including her autobiography “Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X.”

“As we approach the end of Black History Month, I’d like to first and foremost give praise to our ancestors — all of our ancestors, no matter where we find ourselves born in the world,” she began. Her opening set the tone for the rest of her talk where she paid reverent homage to Black

legacies, including those of her parents, and encouraged ASILI members to remain hopeful and active in pursuit of social justice.

Launching into the histories of Black leaders and lineages with reverence, Shabazz eventually came to center on the stories of her father X and her mother Dr. Shabazz.

“Continuing the legacy of my father, Malcolm X and my mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz is how I, too, hold on to hope,” she said. Shabazz was two years old when her father was killed at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem — an evening she recounted in her speech.

“On February 21, 1965, my mother, sisters, and I witnessed the assassination of her husband, our father — Malcolm X. My pregnant mother placed her body over my three sisters and me to protect us from gunfire, to make sure we would not see the terror before our young eyes.”

Shabazz credited her mother with the inspiration for her own work and for the safeguarding of her father’s legacy. In their household, it was her mother who told his stories, made his presence known and his values alive to their six daughters. It was after leaving home that she faced inaccurate retellings and portrayals of his legacy and memory.

“You see, my father burst onto the Civil Rights Movement as a young man in his 20s,” she said. “My father came along and said,

‘We demand our human rights as your brother.’... In emphasizing human rights, my father was saying that our capacity to care for one another must reach beyond ethnicity and religion.”

In setting the record straight, Shabazz also emphasized the importance of claiming and protecting narrative. “When we allow others control of our narrative, what we hear is that you can go to prison illiterate and miraculously walk out as Malcolm X, an icon. Because his kind of narrative diminishes the importance of family. It diminishes the importance of one’s foundation. It diminishes the importance of our morals, values, mentors… It

diminishes the value of critical thinkers, the human family and the role of responsibility.”

Shabazz recounted the hard and tangible effort behind X’s work, including his skillful debating against Ivy League teams within prison cells, his close readings of dictionaries and fascination with etymology as well as his own family history. X’s father, a pastor, and mother, a recording secretary, were both thoroughly involved in the Universal Negro Improvement Association in the early 1900s.

“Reclaiming the legacy of Malcolm X and the narrative of our stories requires optimism,” Shabazz stated. “We must not fall

into despair or lose hope.”

In her address to Fordham’s ASILI, Shabazz reiterated her call for students to remain hopeful and committed to justice, keeping the morals of justice, courage, collective action and strategy.

“I believe that you, as students and educators, are best positioned to lead the world in articulating a new vision for the 21st century. We as individuals and as a collective must bring about a more egalitarian society and fully educate all members. We must be self-reflective, honor truth and hold ourselves accountable for the narrative that history records for the next generation.”

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Ilyasah Shabazz spoke to ASILI, Fordhams Black Student Allliance, on Feb. 20 at the Fordham Prep Auditiorium.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN / THE FORDHAM RAM Fordham CPS is offering services to students throughout the spring semester.

FROM REFERENDUM, PAGE 1

way that we mobilize and campaign to get enough student participation,” said Hjertberg.

The referendum brings in more than $400,000 for both event and block-funded clubs. USG had $848,000 worth of requests during the fall semester and could only allocate $519,000.

“This is one of the very few fees that are left up to the student

USG Campaigns For Referendum

body to decide what it is. Which gives us a lot of power but also means that we have to act on it when we’re allowed to do that,” said Hjertberg.

For many clubs, this referendum would increase their funds; event-funded clubs could apply to be block-funded and block-funded clubs could increase their funding.

“The student activities fee referendum is important for

any student who wants more resources for the clubs they’re involved with. It has been years since the student activity fee increased, and rising costs have made budget allocation difficult for USG, established clubs and new clubs alike,” said Executive President of the Commuter Student Association Hector Cruz, FCRH ’24. “As a student who is unhappy with the steep tuition increases of the past two years,

I still strongly support the student activity fee increase because it is a relatively small price in exchange for tangible benefits for student involvement.”

USG is going to have eleven tabling events around campus, and representatives will visit various club meetings. There will be two permanent ballot boxes, one in the second floor McShane Center cafeteria and one on the first floor near

Career Student Services. To vote, students have to write their Fordham ID number, email and signature on a ballot.

“When we see a 6% increase in tuition, there isn’t much tangible change that students see; you don’t show up the next semester and be like, ‘this is 6% better,’” said Hjertberg. “This is one of the very few things where you can vote for this to pass and see it immediately.”

Center on Religion and Culture Opens Fellow Applications

and Assistant Director David Goodwin spoke on the program and the benefits they hope students get out of it. Gibson explained, “This is not a purely academic grant and program, it is not to augment your research into your master’s or your doctorate, it’s a combination of scholarship but also very much culture.” He noted that the work that the students do doesn’t need to have anything to do with their majors or career goals.

The Duffy Fellows may pursue whatever topic matter they may desire. This requirement differs from many other options at the university. Gibson explained. “This is a really exciting program that offers students an opportunity that they wouldn’t get in most other programs in the university.”

Goodwin, who also works closely with the fellows, elaborated on the purpose of the fellowship. He stated, “This is a chance for a student to explore

a research topic or creative idea or some sort of medium they want to develop further, to grow into, to discover, and we help them do that through the course of the year.” He also explained that beyond their own project, the fellows also get the opportunity to help with other events that the CRC holds throughout the year. This appeals to the students because they are able to meet people who may be working in a field they’re interested in and make connections.

The first year of the Duffy Fellows program was entirely remote because of COVID-19. Gibson explained how the pandemic affected the program and how important the in-person meetings have been since then.

“The first year we never met in person, it really hindered it in terms of the connection and what you’re able to do so these last couple years it really fulfilled the mission more.”

This is not to say that the

first year’s fellows were not able to complete interesting projects.

In the program’s first group of fellows, there was a pair of students who took a trip to the border and spoke to immigrants and border workers. These students were then able to present their interviews and findings. They also had a fellow who was an aspiring actor and playwright who put on a play via Zoom during COVID-19.

Now that in-person meetings are able to be standard for the fellows, Gibson and Goodwin can pursue the cultural outreach aspects of the program more.

“We are there to connect Fordham with the public and introduce the public to Fordham,” Goodwin commented. They wish to provide their fellows with opportunities for growth and exposure. Gibson commented that he doesn’t believe the program is ready to expand beyond four to five fellows a year, as they are just now able to really get their footing. However, they are

One project from last year’s group of Duffy Fellows was a podcast dealing with the intersection of Catholicism and labor activism called “All Who Labor” hosted by recent Fordham graduate Anna Nowalk, FCRH ’23. She spoke very fondly of her time as a Duffy Fellow, sharing, “The Duffy Fellowship was a really great experience, and my project opened some cool doors: I got interviewed on another podcast and I was a presenter on labor and Jesuit values at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in October.”

Two current Duffy Fellows, Jay Doherty, FCRH ’24, and Patrick Cullinan, FCRH ’26, are collaborating on their documentary project, focused on showing the process of priestly discernment in the United States. Cullinan explained how

he thought of the idea prior to knowing about the Duffy Scholars program but had no luck finding an avenue to pursue it through.

“I had pitched this project with the Jesuits and with America Magazine, with no luck. I had given up on it, actually, but a few months later, Jay forwarded me the email which the Center on Religion and Culture had sent out to all students, encouraging students to apply to the Duffy Fellows Program.”

The former and current members all spoke positively of the experience of being a Duffy Fellow.

“I imagine any Fellow’s experience will depend on their project, but speaking for myself, it was an immensely valuable experience, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to other students,” stated Nowalk.

Any students interested in applying to be a fellow can submit their resume, proposal and letter of reference to Goodwin, dgoodwin@fordham. edu by April 19, 2024.

Tetlow is First Woman and Layperson to Serve on AJCU

FROM AJCU, PAGE 1

to Tetlow, as she is also the first woman and layperson to hold the role of President of Fordham University, as well as her previous university, Loyola University New Orleans. When Tetlow entered her role at Fordham, she represented the board of trustees’ desire for change and a fresh outlook, ending the university’s 182-year history of a male priest president. Earlier this year, The New York Times published a profile on Tetlow, speaking to her accomplishments and feats as a non-priest in the Jesuit university community.

Tetlow stated that “although her father chose family over clergy, he always held fast to Jesuit values,” and that he instilled those values in her and her sisters. She spoke to the Times about her career in law, having been a federal prosecutor for five years. However, Tetlow decided that if and when she became too comfortable putting people away, she would leave her prosecutor job. She left her prosecutor role to become a professor at Tulane University Law School before moving to the administrative side of things, serving as chief of staff to Tulane’s president.

Tetlow began breaking precedents. She became the first woman and layperson to serve as Loyola New Orleans’ president, then Fordham’s president, and now chair for the AJCU.

After three years in this role,

The Vice President of Communications for the AJCU Deanna Howes Spiro commented on how Tetlow’s new role came to be, stating, “President Tetlow has been a member of the AJCU’s Executive Committee since July 2022. With the current chair of the Executive Committee reaching his term limit in June 2024, at the February 2024 AJCU Board Meeting, the presidents of the AJCU member

institutions voted for President Tetlow to be the new chair effective July 1, 2024.”

She went on to explain a bit about what the responsibilities of Tetlow’s role are: “The chair works closely with the AJCU’s president on the direction of the organization, the agenda for meetings, and chairs Board Meetings and Executive Committee meetings.”

The AJCU articles of association and by-laws explain that the term for the chair is three years and chairs may be re-elected one time before becoming ineligible for office. However, after three years out of office they become eligible again.

The AJCU’s membership is made up of the 28 Jesuits colleges and universities that existed in the United States in September 1970. The Board of Directors is composed of the presidents of the institutions in the AJCU, and they elect the officers that serve as chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary. When asked about being elected by the board of her fellow Jesuit institution presidents, Tetlow commented, “It’s humbling to be asked to chair a group of such talented and accomplished leaders. I hope to continue my predecessors’ work in championing Jesuit higher education—which benefits all of our institutions, including Fordham.” pursuing improving the notability and recognition of the fellows outside of the Fordham community.

USG Meets to Review Budget Requests, Discuss SAF Referendum

By SOFIA SEMPER STAFF WRITER

The Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Feb. 22, to review budget requests and discuss the upcoming Student Activities Fees (SAF) Referendum vote.

Vice President of Sustainability Sean Power, FCRH ’24, presented a budget request to purchase eight reusable, plastic storage containers for Fordham Flea donations. Vice President of Communications Ariadna Wong, FCRH ’25, presented a budget request to purchase a second-hand Canon camera for about $176. The Student Experience Committee presented a budget request for ice

cream and an ice cream cart for Keating Steps and for catering for Beacon’s Exemplar. The FCRH Dean’s Council made a budget request for Insomnia Cookies and Dunkin’ Donuts for the Student Wellness subcommittee’s tabling, where they will be promoting the Out of the Darkness Walk. All budget requests were approved.

Executive President Briana AlOmoush, FCRH ’24, presented a SAF Referendum information session to make sure that the entire Senate is well informed about this initiative. She said she does not want any misinformation to be spread because it is important that this referendum is passed. Al-Omoush explained that the referendum is asking for

the SAF to be increased by $95 and this increase would bring over $400,000 more for allocation of event-funded clubs. This increase would only affect the Rose Hill students, not Lincoln Center students. Al-Omoush stated that the USG does not have nearly enough funding available to give to existing clubs which is why this increase is necessary. She explained that even students who are not involved in clubs will benefit from this increase as it would also increase funding for popular events such as Spring Weekend and Senior Week. The Budget Committee has already begun communicating with clubs about the increase and they will be visiting club meetings to discuss it further. The voting period

will be from March 4 to 18.

Al-Omoush also announced she has been working on this year’s Fresh Checks Day. Fordham Fresh Checks Day is a day that is meant to open discussion about mental health struggles and mental health resources on campus as well. She said that there might be some changes to the purchase request forms due to changes in the Office for Student Involvement (OSI). She has also almost completed the updated election code and the mid-year report should be sent out soon.

Assistant Dean for Student Involvement Catharine McGlade, EdD, announced that OSI posted newly available positions and they have begun interviewing possible new hires.

Vice President of Operations

Calum Stewertson, GSB ’26, stated that he is currently looking over club proposals and going over constitution changes. Wong and the Communications committee is working on SAF Referendum materials and general elections posts. Vice President of Gabelli School of Business (GSB) Catie Flores, GSB ’25, stated that she is meeting with the core curriculum revision team this week and the GSB Dean’s Council will be hosting “A Year in Review” dinner on April 15. Vice President of Health and Security Eliza Collins, FCRH ’26, said that she met with Christopher Rogers, dean of students at Rose Hill, and they discussed future programming.

Fordham education pays off because we see the outputs of the kinds of jobs and careers that come of it, the quality of the graduate programs, all of that. But we also know how daunting it is to borrow for education.”

Tetlow said that although Fordham’s tuition has increased, the rising cost of higher education is a prominent issue across the country. Tetlow met with members of the House of Representatives and Senate on Feb. 7 to advocate for students and discuss strategies to alleviate financial constraints for families, such as increasing Pell Grants. According to Tetlow, students can expect an announcement regarding the tuition increase for 2024-25 in mid-March.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education announced that students’ FAFSA data won’t be released until the first half of March. In the past, FAFSA has sent that data in late January. This delay prevents colleges and universities from determining what financial aid students should get until they receive the FAFSA data. Tetlow stated that Fordham was already using a supplemental financial aid form that allows prospective students to receive an estimated financial aid package.

On the topic of admissions, Tetlow said that Fordham will continue its test-optional policy. On Feb. 5, Dartmouth College reactivated standardized testing requirements

Tetlow Meets with Student Press

for undergraduate admission beginning in fall 2025. Similarly, on Feb. 22, Yale University announced they will require standardized testing for first-year and transfer applicants beginning in fall 2025. Tetlow noted that while Fordham is selective, the university is not as highly selective as Ivy League schools such as Dartmouth and Yale — which boast a 6% acceptance rate and 5% acceptance rate respectively.

“We believe strongly that high school GPA and a holistic application review are a better predictor of success [than the SAT or ACT].”

When asked about Fordham’s increase in class sizes, Tetlow shared that a portion of the increase in enrollment was due to COVID-19. Looking forward, Tetlow said the university has long-term plans for renovation, not construction. The university is developing plans to renovate vacant buildings in the Bronx, renovate science classrooms and labs at the Rose Hill campus, and erect a new science building at Rose Hill — once they raise the funds to do so. Tetlow said that STEM facilities have “urgent needs” for renovation.

Tetlow also noted that the university has hired Steven Stainbrook to serve as director of university facilities planning and programming for both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses in order to plan efficient use of space on the campuses without the need to construct new buildings.

Having grown up in New Orleans, Tetlow said that good

food is important to her and she’s aware that the university has room for improvement regarding food quality across campuses. Additionally, she urged students to give the university feedback on what areas Aramark can perform better.

“I’ve met with senior officials at Aramark myself to tell them exactly how much we care about this. When we have the new dining facility here [at Rose Hill] we have the chance to up our game in terms of the quality of what is served here. This is a moment where they know that I have very high expectations.”

Tetlow hosted a lecture on Feb. 14 at St. Ignatius Loyola church titled “Free Speech and Civility on College Campuses.” Summarizing her lecture, Tetlow reflected on the freedom of speech on campuses, stating that speaking out and protesting is an important part of campus life. The president said that her goal is to foster a community at Fordham that is the opposite of “social media land.”

“Regulating the line between academic freedom and protective political speech and threats is necessary but very difficult. That’s a lot of what you’ve seen in the news: what’s a threat and what’s a joke.”

Tetlow hopes that Fordham’s “secret weapon” to combat discourtesy on social media is the Jesuit superpower of discernment. She hopes that the skills of discernment — assuming good intentions, remaining open and curious, listening to the other

side of the argument and taking the time to make important decisions — will remain a prominent part of Fordham’s culture.

“These are moments where we want students to engage and we want to give them the grace and the room to do that. I did not, and do not, have all the answers for these issues but that’s some of what we’re up against. It’s not just a question of what we’re free to yell at each other, but it’s also a question of civility.”

Tetlow’s comments carry additional weight considering some of the criticism she has received from student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine in regard to her response to the IsraelPalestine conflict. Tetlow said she has not yet met with students this semester to discuss the conflict, but said she would be happy to do so.

“I am so eager to console the students who are in a great deal of pain, who are most affected by this war. I think that, for the students, they feel so powerless right now. They want to make a difference. They want to make it better, and they are eager for me to do that, to help them in that work, and I find myself in the embarrassing situation of revealing to them I have less power than they imagine that I do.”

Regarding the Fordham Graduate Student Workers Union (FGSW), Tetlow shared that there is a web page with matter-of-fact summaries of each negotiation session. Tetlow said that the university is making progress with FGSW and the Fordham Resident

New Citi Bike Station Comes to Fordham

Assistant Union (FRA).

“We try to balance very much trying to do right by everyone who works here — including students who work for us parttime — and also balancing the fact that it’s the undergraduates who pay the graduate student’s full scholarships and teaching and research scholarships.”

In terms of negotiations with FRA, Tetlow said the biggest holdup is that if the university hired staff to do the work of RAs, they could rent out the rooms RA lives in to support the cost of the university. Tetlow said that Fordham is already at the top of the market in comparison to other universities when it comes to RA compensation.

“We are so grateful for the work that RAs do and their ability to teach, be peer mentors and support our students is profoundly higher because RAs are not that much older than the students that they’re helping. That really matters to setting a culture, protecting our students and being there for them through all their struggles.”

During the conversation, Tetlow opened up about the myriad of difficulties that comes with being a university president saying: “It is very hard to navigate complexity and treacherous ground without misstepping sometimes.” Through these difficulties, Tetlow said she often turns to her Catholic faith. “This is what I believe. This is who I am.” Her Jesuit values keep her strong, and she hopes that those same values will continue to shape Fordham.

of installing Citi Bikes, they always approach the large stakeholder groups to assess their plan,” said Colona. Colona participated in a briefing in 2020 when Citi Bike was first considering expanding in the Bronx.

“We like to provide an opportunity for students to weigh in. Basically what happened is we provided information about the station-planning information app to the Commuter Student Association (CSA) and United Student Government (USG) for feedback. Students at Fordham, but also anyone in the community, could weigh in,” said Colona. Through this process, a Citi Bike station was installed outside of the Fordham Metro-North station a few years prior.

In early 2023, Colona worked with the office of the Dean of Students on outreach related to an interactive station-planning map for students — creating digital flyers with a QR code for a NYC DOT station-planning map. The flyers were placed in the McShane Campus Center for three weeks.

According to Colona, NYC DOT reached out this past summer with the idea to install a Citi Bike docking station by Faculty Memorial Hall (FMH). The Citi Bike station location

was negotiated. Ultimately, NYC DOT decided to install the station on 191st St. “NYC DOT looked into it and they said they thought a rack by FMH would be too close to another Citi Bike rack up the road. Which is why DOT proceeded to put the rack on 191st St.,” said Colona. NYC DOT originally proposed to place the station outside the Walsh gate turnstile, but Colona asked for the station to be installed further down 191st St. over concerns regarding foot traffic by the turnstile.

“I think at the end of the day, they [Citi Bikes] will provide community members with an alternative way of exploring the neighborhoods and everything the Bronx has to offer,” concluded Colona.

Jamie Serruto, FCRH ’24, USG’s vice president of facilities and dining emeritus, said he was grateful for Colona’s guidance and expertise regarding the Citi Bike installation process.

“The Citi Bikes came as a surprise, so Bill was very helpful in breaking down the process of negotiating with the city as well as helping understand the Citi Bike contract.”

Serruto noted that his main concern regarding the Citi Bike station was safety, saying that USG wants to make sure that students are safe both on

and off campus.

“I think one of the biggest issues for us and for me is bicycle education in New York City. With the emergence of bicycles, scooters and mopeds there are a lot of people who are disregarding New York City traffic laws. So it’s our hope that the city provides better education on traffic

laws and also enforcement,” commented Serruto.

Serruto said that there is room for improvement regarding pedestrian safety on Fordham Road and suggested that New York City needs to crack down on traffic violations whether that be through rider education campaigns or adjusting the timing of crosswalk lights on Fordham Road.

Although Serruto doesn’t know any students who have used the bikes, he regarded the convenience of the station’s location outside Finlay gate. Similar to Colona, Serruto hopes that students will utilize the bikes as an opportunity to further explore the Bronx.

The bikes are available for rent throughout the city, with hourly rentals starting at $15 and day passes at $40.

By CAITLIN WONG CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Although Fordham College at Rose Hill is not home to a theater major, there are still plenty of ways for students to engage in and pursue their interests and passions in the subject. Rose Hill is home to three theatrical performance groups: Mimes and Mummers, Theatrical Outreach Program (TOP) and Fordham Experimental Theater (FET).

Clare O’Connell, FCRH ’25, is the president of Mimes and Mummers, Fordham’s “main stage” theater club. They are a student-run group that produces one musical and one play performance each semester.

“None of us are theater majors. We do this because we love it, and we want to have fun,” said O’Connell.

One thing that sets the Mimes and Mummers apart is they hire professional directors and music directors, providing “a new perspective from someone who currently works in the industry” for each show.

Students are also involved in the technical aspects of each production, including sound and lightboard operators, spotlight operators, stagehands and production team members.

A Spotlight on Rose Hill Theater Groups

“There are many ways to join! You can audition for the show, or if you prefer crew, you can fill out our tech interest form that we send out for each show. The best way to get information is to join our email list (mimes.mummers@gmail.com) or follow us on social media (@themimesandmummers),” said O’Connell. “Our goal as a club is to offer opportunities to both students who want to pursue theater and those who do this just for fun… We hope that every person who works on our shows walks away with something new, whether that be a new friend, a new skill or just a new experience!”

FET puts on four full-length slot shows a year, along with two playwrights festivals showcasing shorter, 15-30 minute performances. FET also consists of four umbrella groups: Allergy Friendly Standup, Black Sheep Performance Poetry, Free Pizza Sketch Comedy and Stranded in Pittsburgh Improv.

FET President Mo Kranwinkel, FCRH ’25, commented, “With FET, the E is key, and the E stands for experimental. The shows we put on in the black box allow writers and actors to push theater to its limits

and challenge the norms of what happens on the stage. In one of our latest shows, we had wrestling matches happen live on stage during the course of the show.”

Kranwinkel continued, “Going forward, we are looking to have more open events for people to dip their toes in the water and have the opportunity to hang out, like a cabaret and a trivia night with prizes.”

To get involved, the latest information on auditions and other happenings by following the club’s Instagram, @fet_blackbox. The umbrella groups have auditions at the beginning of each semester, and the slot shows and playwrights have auditions periodically throughout.

The third and final group is TOP. TOP is a student-run theater organization that produces four plays each year and one “One Acts Festival” performance consisting of a handful of 5-30 minute long plays compiled together.

Chloe Pitard, FCRH ’25, president of TOP, mentioned, “Outreach makes TOP unique! For each performance, our club members take the show and its message into the community. For our most recent show, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’

we are working with a middle school and an after-school program to perform scenes from the show and participate in theater workshops. These visits are some of our club members’ favorite events!”

To become a TOP member, visit the group’s Instagram (@top_fordham) to join their email list and find information on club meetings and events.

Pitard continued, “This year, we hope to offer more opportunities for outreach on and off campus. This semester, TOP is holding our annual One Acts

Showcase in addition to two full-length productions!”

Shows such as these for each theater group are advertised around campus by club members. A great way to find out if a group is a good fit for a student is to seek out viewing opportunities such as these and see what each group produces. FET and TOP productions are free to attend.

“I am more than excited to see the hard work and dedication our club members are putting into these shows!” said Pitard.

GSB Hosts Marketing Career Conference

By EMILY ROE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

On March 13, the marketing area at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business will host its first Marketing Careers Conference. The event will be hosted from 1-5 p.m. at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus and will feature a number of networking and career exploration opportunities for marketing students, including one-on-one breakout sessions with marketing professionals, a panel with marketing executives from diverse industries and interactive meetings with companies in a career fair-like setting.

A total of 41 highly-regarded companies will be present at the Marketing Careers Conference, including agencies BBDO, IPG MediaBrands and GroupM. Marketing students will be able to interact with companies from a wide variety of industries, including IBM, BNY Mellon, Kodak and Oppenheimer.

The Marketing Careers Conference is a critical step in a multi-year plan for the marketing area. The marketing faculty noticed that there was no systematic organization of the many career paths within marketing for students to explore. A team was organized to identify and categorize marketing job postings in the United States to help introduce and illustrate the vast variety of marketing positions available to students. They published their findings in the Careers in Marketing brochure, which is now widely distributed both inside and outside Fordham.

“Initially, we were trying to understand: what are these careers, and how can we better help our students? But the applications of these marketing careers were very

broad,” said Dr. Mohammad Nejad, chair of the marketing area and associate professor of marketing.

The next step is to connect students with marketing professionals in-person and introduce them to the myriad opportunities within the industry. “The thought is to bring in people from the industry and better introduce these diverse careers to our students,” said Nejad.

The Marketing Careers Conference is led by Dr. Genevieve O’Connor, associate professor of marketing, and Aniko DeLaney, marketing lecturer, with support from Aida Lahood, the marketing area program manager. In addition, several other marketing faculty are engaged in supporting the event. O’Connor and DeLaney have recruited 25 students and organized them in different teams, to promote the event, organize volunteers and ensure a smooth run on March 13. This way, students can gain hands-on experience in event planning and organizing as well.

The conference will kick off with a speaker panel featuring top marketing executives from Accenture, IBM, Lafayette 148, Mindshare and The New York Times. Students will be able to gain firsthand knowledge about how marketing careers function in a variety of industries.

When selecting the panel speakers, the organizers of the Conference sought professionals who would represent the diversity of industries that intersect with marketing, from fashion to technology, to offer students a well-rounded perspective and appeal to students’ wide range of interests.

“We’re hoping that for the students who are sitting in the audience, everybody has a person that they can relate to, or aspire to, or really gain insights from,” said DeLaney. The organizers reached out to professionals they know who are not only passionate about their

jobs, but also passionate about creating a connection with students, according to O’Connor.

Students will also have the opportunity to connect one-on-one with marketing professionals during 15-minute breakout sessions, where they can review their resume, practice their 60-second elevator pitch and form relationships.

“We’re offering the chance for [marketing students] to meet one-on-one with career executives for resume feedback and speed interviews, and I think you can’t even put a price tag on that. That is going to be invaluable for our students to have that time to network with those executives, but also to learn firsthand what they’re doing right, how they can

continue to strengthen those skills and also potentially identify areas of improvement,” said O’Connor.

The event will feature a number of other opportunities for personal brand development, including professional LinkedIn headshots and tabling with companies in a career fair-like setting.

“It’s all about creating a forum and the opportunity for marketing students to develop relationships with companies and agencies that have job opportunities in the future,” said DeLaney.

Marketing students have shown impressive interest in the conference so far, with over 230 students registered for the event. The conference presents a first-of-its kind opportunity, as this is the first career conference solely dedicated

to the Gabelli School’s marketing students, according to O’Connor. The organizers hope that this event will provide both short-term and long-term benefits for students. In the short-term, he wants to show students where they can start their careers in marketing, realize their strengths and areas for improvement and gather advice from marketing experts. Additionally, they want to give students inspiration for their careers in the long-term. “Sometimes you might hear a hint that sparks an idea or it stays with you for a long time. I’m really hoping that [students] will get some of these really great ideas as they listen to the executives, and as they talk to the industry experts,” said Nejad.

COURTESY OF CRISTINA STEFANIZZI/ THE FORDHAM RAM A key component of TOP is outreach in the Fordham community.

COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Gabelli School of Business Marketing Career Conference features numerous career opportunities.

I was sitting with two of my friends in the McShane Campus Center the other day, and we started talking about why we chose Fordham. After discussions of financial aid and the endless possibilities and wonders that come with being in New York City, the conversation fell down a long rabbit hole that I could talk about endlessly: fate.

We started talking about how interesting it was that, before college, we had no clue who each other was. In college, I met so many new people in such a short period of time that I couldn’t keep names straight with the talk of majors, hometowns and dorm buildings.

It was interesting to learn about these peoples’ past 18 years where, to them, I didn’t even exist. While I took my first steps, hung out with my friends, celebrated birthdays and learned how to drive, these people, the people I now call my friends, were doing the same things unbeknownst to me.

After not even knowing each other for our entire lives, I now make new memories, experiences and milestones with these people, all while learning about the stories, moments and quirks that make them the people they are today. But sharing these stories sounds like recounting a TV show that’s been taken off streaming, and the details are solely left to what’s told by the people we meet.

It’s hard to keep track of the details in these stories my

friends tell me, which makes me realize my friends find it hard to follow along when I share my stories with them. As I recounted tales of endless nights when I stayed in my school with my classmates, participating in traditions that, at the moment, felt like they were the most important thing in the world, I felt as though people at college would never understand how important and formative these memories were to me.

These people who made up the formative experiences of my childhood, who had quirks and silly characteristics, people I grew up seeing every day for 13 years, are now pages in a yearbook that sit on a dusty bookshelf in my childhood bedroom. They’re out somewhere in the world right now, meeting people I have no clue existed, making new memories and possibly telling stories about me.

And so comes this. I saw a quote once that said something along the lines that you are a piece of every person you’ve ever met. And I truly think that’s true. Physically, I have my mother’s eyes and my father’s nose, but the people you meet imprint something on you, whether it’s a memory, a habit or a feeling. They can be the most impactful person you’ve met, or they could have just held a door open for you or helped you in sophomore year math class. I’ve had this impact on other people, I presume. To what degree, I don’t

know and probably never will, but I wonder who and where in the world is being told a story about me, someone they’ve never met and possibly never will meet.

I often wonder how different my life would be if my parents decided to move to another town or if I chose a different college to attend. I would be around completely different people in a different environment. Would I be a different person? What would that version of me be like? Is it a better version?

You can wonder about this for your entire life: choices. Do we ever make the right one? Sometimes, it’s easy to distinguish if a choice was right or wrong, like if you burn your hand on a hot pan or accidentally flood a bathroom. But other choices, where the alternate choice isn’t clear or known, make it harder to know if you’ve chosen correctly. But maybe there isn’t a right answer.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s so interesting that life has worked out in a way that

I’m sitting on the Loyola Hall porch writing this right now instead of possibly skiing at a school in Colorado or studying mathematics in a college in Washington, neither of which I’m good at. It’s interesting how the people I’ve met made so many different choices in life, had different experiences and are from different places, yet we are still at the same school in the Bronx at the same point in time.

Whatever school you choose, place you go or experience you make, people who were seemingly meant to meet each other together are brought together by fate, or whatever you want to call it. Whether that reason is friendship, academics, work, a relationship or even someone who isn’t meant to be a friend but a learning experience, every connection we make impacts us in some way. Each decision we make, which brings new people, places and experiences, can never be truly right or wrong. There’s a reason that choices brought you to the place you’re in right now. You just need to find it.

FASFA Delay Does Unneeded Damage

If any student in America wants to be eligible for financial aid, they must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The information that students and their families plug into the question boxes can determine whether a college is affordable or out of reach. This college application cycle, the Department of Education made changes to the form to make the process easier for everyone by removing many of its confusing questions and replacing them with only 18. It also aims to expand access to need-based Pell Grants to 610,000 new recipients. Instead of being a smooth rollout, the new FAFSA has been defined by repeated delays, further complicating millions of families’ already stressful college application process. While Congress and the Department of Education created the new FAFSA goal with good intentions, the shortcomings of its rollout have caused too much stress for families.

The FAFSA has been provided by the U.S. Department of Education since 1992, and its purpose is to decide the amount of financial aid a college student receives. Some of the various forms of financial aid determined by the form

are Pell Grants, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans and federal work-study programs. It is not just the federal government that uses the FAFSA. Colleges, states and private scholarship programs also use the form to determine the amount of aid they give students. Over the years, people have complained about how long it took to fill out the form due to having to answer over 100 questions, ranging from social security numbers to the parents’ net worth. As a result, the federal government began the process of reforming FAFSA.

The FUTURE Act, passed by Congress in 2019, allowed the IRS to give data to the Department of Education, including information on family income. In 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act allowed the FAFSA to begin an ambitious evolution into a new form. An official from the Department of Education called it “the most significant overhaul of the application since its creation.”

One of the largest changes included in the new FAFSA was how it calculated how families can pay for college. The amount was calculated by the number of family members in college, but now it will use family size based on tax returns.

The new FAFSA rollout was

delayed by the Department of Education from the usual release date of Oct. 1 to a new date of Dec. 30. On Dec. 30, when students and families finally logged on, users were greeted with an “unfinished” website full of glitches. The Department of Education had to spend the first week of the new year fixing the website. To make the problem even worse, the department was not processing students’ applications to colleges, which is a process usually started the day a student submits their FAFSA form. Then, the Department of Education announced it would not send college student aid information until mid-March. To put this announcement in context, the department originally estimated colleges would receive this information in January.

Consequently, many colleges now must rely on their own ways to calculate financial aid for students. Many private schools use the CSS Profile form, which will allow them to give out financial aid estimates. Fordham has its own supplemental financial aid form, allowing it to give estimates. However, other colleges nationwide have postponed the traditional college decision deadline of May 1 to allow

students time to receive financial aid and review their options.

The rest of this article could easily be devoted to the blame game developing between the Department of Education and Congress on who is more at fault for the current situation, but that would ignore the real victims of this mess: the students and families who need to fill out the FAFSA form. The sad reality of today is that for many Americans, a degree from an institution of higher education is out of reach without financial aid. Our nation’s universities and colleges now cost so much that financial aid is the only way they can afford it. And even then, it is still not enough to stop millions of graduates from going into financial debt.

The FAFSA delay has robbed students and families of precious time to compare different financial aid offers and make the best decision for themselves. The number one priority for all colleges in America going forward this application season must be to ensure all students receiving financial aid packages have the proper amount of time to review them without needing to stress about the upcoming decision deadline.

False Hope in the Fight for Abortion Access

By NICOLE BRAUN OPINION EDITOR EMERITUS

CVS and Walgreens, two of the nation’s largest chain pharmacies, announced last week that they would sell the abortion pill, mifepristone, to in-store patients who present a prescription from their healthcare providers. This is a major step in the fight to improve abortion access for Americans since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 — but it is not enough.

Walgreens and CVS first announced last year that they were seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification to sell mifepristone in stores, and faced immense backlash from several GOP attorneys general. The lawyers said if the companies were to ship the medication across state lines, they would violate the Comstock Act. The CEOs of the pharmacy giants held fast, though, and said once they were certified, they would sell the drug wherever it was legal to do so. True to their word, starting this month, the companies are rolling out the drug in some stores in California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

While the decision by these two companies should definitely be applauded, it is worth questioning who these rollouts will actually be impacting. All of the states that will carry mifepristone on shelves are states where abortion is already legal and accessible.

The only real difference presented by carrying mifepristone in stores is women will no longer have to go to specific reproductive healthcare providers to get a prescription. Instead, they can go to their regular primary care physician. While this is a notable development, it’s not an Earth-shattering one.

Despite the availability of mifepristone at some CVS and Walgreens locations, women in 21 states will see no change in their access to abortion, unless they can get a prescription from their doctor and drive to Walgreens or CVS, barring any financial restrictions, familial obligations and other factors that may have held them back from seeking abortion healthcare in other states in the first place. And, again, because of the Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of materials “intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion,” mifepristone cannot be sent across state lines. Therefore, this is not a “reckless policy… [that] is pushing to turn every pharmacy and post office in America into an abortion center for the sake of abortion industry greed,” as some anti-abortion groups believe.

That said, it is important to note that there are independent pharmacies that provide patients with mifepristone in states where abortion is illegal. Not to diminish the importance of the steps taken by the two pharmacy

giants, and their desire to comply with federal and state regulations and protect their employees from harm is admirable and understandable, but the work done by those independent pharmacies is courageous.

To quote the coherent Vice President Kamala Harris, this move from Walgreens and CVS did not just fall “out of a coconut tree.” This news also has to be considered in light of the recent decision out of Alabama: the state’s Supreme Court found that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, which will complicate the IVF process.

As a test tube baby, I find it mind-boggling that “extrauterine children” — which, to be clear, are cells that can never become children unless they are implanted in a uterus and accomplish all sorts of difficult developmental tasks — are being afforded agency and liberties that female adults do not have. Of course, I had no real experience. I was just grown in the lab, so I asked my mom what she thought of the Alabama ruling. She found it “ridiculous” because, at that stage of embryonic development, my brother and I “were just clumps of cells.” An embryo in a test tube is not an extrauterine child, and to call them such diminishes the role of and the sacrifice made by the woman who carries that embryo.

There are worthwhile debates to be had about where life

begins, and such a debate has been raging since life began, but it is incredibly frustrating to me as a young woman in America to feel as though I will be merely reduced to a vessel if I become pregnant one day. And these measures by CVS and Walgreens do not give me hope — the fight for female healthcare in the U.S. is an uphill battle, and it is a disparagingly unequal one for women who live in red states compared to those who live in blue ones. We can’t wholeheartedly celebrate a victory when such a victory means that so many women are left behind.

Though the wheels of justice turn slowly, particularly regarding bodily autonomy, it is disheartening that we

have to fight tooth and nail for a right we have had for almost 50 years. The success of CVS and Walgreens giving more access to abortion healthcare in states where that right is already protected pales in comparison to the success of anti-abortion groups in reducing reproductive healthcare in a state where that access is already essentially nonexistent.

Walgreens’ and CVS’ victories have regained an inch for the pro-choice movement, but we’re still backsliding by miles.

Rehabilitation, Not Incarceration

By MIKE ANGELO RODRIGUEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Possession of heroin and fentanyl should be decriminalized. Most people would agree that an individual should not be thrown in prison simply because they have a disease, and addiction is a disease. People suffering from addiction have become consumed by a drug that does not define them. Allowing people to have access to resources and aid to combat their addiction would be more of a service to them rather than locking them up and ruining their futures. This idea is the basis for Measure 110.

In November 2020, Oregon had an idea. The Addiction Aid Advocates helped pioneer a first-of-its-kind referendum called Measure 110, which allowed Oregon to become the first-ever state to decriminalize the possession of drugs, such as heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone. 58% of voters approved of the bill. The basis for the bill was that individuals who suffer from addiction are more effectively treated with healthcare services instead of being faced

with criminal punishments.

Along with the bill came a new health-centered emphasis on treating individuals who suffer from addiction instead of incarcerating them.

In recent days, election officials and politicians from Oregon have wanted to repeal key elements in Measure 110. They claim that there has been an astronomical rise in the number of overdoserelated deaths. Because of this, they want to repeal key elements in Measure 110 and reintroduce criminal punishment for possession, including jail time. Officials cite their reasoning that jail time is a motivator not to do drugs. Regardless, people who are addicted to drugs will do drugs regardless of their legality. People consumed drugs even when Measure 110 did not exist and jail time was still a possibility.

Advocates of Measure 110 have vocalized their disapproval of officials’ recent ideas to repeal key elements of Measure 110. They claim that Measure 110 was never accurately imposed or acted upon by city officials.

Additionally, decriminalization is not responsible for the rise in deaths attributed to overdose. A new study conducted by New York University, the Network of Public Health Law and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the seeming rise in overdose deaths is not a relative cause of Measure 110. The study looked into 13 different states with drug overdose rates similar to Oregon’s in the three years prior to the passage of Measure 110. The overdose rates of those states were then compared to Oregon’s rates during the first year of decriminalization. The research showed that overdose rates rose everywhere and that they did not seem to increase significantly when Measure 110 was released. Thus, the study counters Oregon officials’ idea that Measure 110 is responsible for the increase in overdose deaths.

There are benefits that come with allowing the possession of drugs classified as Schedule I to be decriminalized. Contrary to the belief that jail time is a motivator

not to do drugs, the decriminalization of drugs can provide an opportunity for people who are looking for a way out to be able to reach out and get the assistance they need without the fear of being incarcerated. Likewise, in the case of a medical emergency, people who are afraid to call emergency services may be hesitant to do so for fear of criminal punishment. Thus, decriminalizing drug possession could reduce the amount of overdoses. People have always done drugs and will continue to do drugs because of their addictive nature. The act of

decriminalizing drug possession will not eliminate America’s drug problem. However, it’s been shown that decriminalization would not hurt America’s drug problem. If anything, it will help alleviate the situation, which, in turn. can help reduce America’s drug problem, which is why the possession of drugs like heroin, fentanyl and other opioids should be decriminalized.

Nicole Braun, FCRH ’24, is an English major from Saddle River, N.J.

Politicians should focus on rehabilitation when dealing with drug addiction.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Some CVS locations now sell mifepristone, a pill that induces abortion. COURTESY OF TWITTER

Ethics of Multilingual Campaigning in America

Political candidates face controversy over multilingual campaigning.

By ANDREW MCDONALD CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Most countries have an official language, but just like a lot of other areas, the United States of America is one of the exceptions to the rule. Whether you like it or not, English is not the official language of the United States. Despite English being the most widely spoken language in the country, it is not officially recognized as the national language. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2021, 245 million Americans are native English speakers. However, the linguistic landscape of the United States is far more diverse than most Americans would initially assume. Most Americans who speak a language different from English at home, are bilingual with English, but for Americans considered limited English proficient (LEP) by the American Translators’s Association, translation should become a matter of not just accessibility, but public policy.

A 2021 Rasmussen poll revealed that 73% of American adults believed English should be the official language of the United States, while only 18% disagreed. Despite the sentiment, the reality is that people in the U.S. communicate in more than 350 languages. This linguistic diversity is evident, not just in family structures but in the hundreds of linguistic enclave communities that exist throughout the country, such as the Little Italys, Chinatowns and even the Amish with their unique dialect of Pennsylvania Dutch.

English is still the primary language for most business transactions, used for most original government document drafts and is used in the majority of American media. And as we head into the election season this November 2024, with the anticipated elderly contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the languages in which people’s ballots are printed and effective translation of names and policy become essential for democratic accessibility. For example, close to my home in San Francisco, where more than one-fifth of residents are of Chinese descent, political candidates have long taken a second name in Chinese characters to appeal to this significant demographic. Any serious candidate knows to order campaign materials in both English and Chinese. Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, used the traditional name 米高義 (Ho Gam-lai), which means “Congratulate Brocade Beautiful,” while campaigning for the San Francisco district attorney in 2003. This name choice was even the target of jokes in Taiwan, as in Hokkien, “hó-tsíng-lí,” which translates to “She’s come to clean up.”

However, not all translated Chinese names chosen by the candidates are without controversy. Michael Isaku Begert,

who is running to keep his local judgeship, cannot use the name he came up with, “米高義,” which means in part “high” and “justice,” a name that suggests he was destined to sit on the bench. This raises the question: Are these names ethical? While names like Harris’, which are not directly related to the role of the job, may be acceptable, names that imply a candidate’s suitability for a specific position could easily be seen as misleading or manipulative.

Since 1999, San Francisco has mandated that candidates’ names appear in both English and Chinese on ballots. However, in adherence to a 2019 state law, the city now requires transliteration for new candidates while allowing those who can prove they have used a Chinese name for at least two years to continue using it. This change in policy was backed by the California State Treasurer Fiona Ma after inconsistent policies had resulted in her Chinese name being changed without her knowledge. The practice of political candidates claiming names given to them by community leaders raises ethical considerations. While using a name given by a respected community figure could be seen as a sign of authenticity and respect, there is also a risk of candidates exploiting this practice for political gain without

having a true connection to the community. Candidates should be transparent about their connections to the communities, especially if they seek to represent and use names that accurately reflect their identities and values.

As we approach the November election season, it is crucial to consider the ethics of multilingual campaigning and candidate naming practices. By examining these issues, we can work towards a more inclusive and equitable democracy that respects and represents our nation’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Striking a balance between authenticity and integrity in multicultural campaigning is essential to foster meaningful engagement and representation of diverse communities while avoiding manipulative or disrespectful practices. Clear and consistent language policies in elections, combined with careful consideration of the ethical implications of candidate naming, are necessary steps in navigating the innate challenges and opportunities of a multicultural and multilingual America.

Unraveling the Complexities in Global Migration

By ANGEL MADERA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Several factors, such as political unrest, economic inequality and environmental deterioration, have resulted in a recent unprecedented surge in migration around the world. Against these global crises, millions of migrants embark on journeys in search of safety, opportunity and a better future for their families. Behind the headlines and statistics lies a human story of resilience, struggle and hope amidst the challenges faced by migrants. Migration is not just a phenomenon but a reflection of systemic injustice, where individuals are compelled to leave their homes due to various socio-economic and political factors. It is an injustice that persists globally, as migrants are often met with hostility, discrimination and exploitation. They deserve better — a world where their rights are upheld, dignity respected and contributions valued. Both macro and microaggressions towards migrants must cease; they are not statistics or burdens but humans with inherent worth. It’s imperative to foster empathy, dismantle oppressive structures and advocate for inclusive policies that recognize the humanity and rights of all migrants.

At the heart of the migration crisis are countless individuals whose lives are upended by forced displacement. Whether fleeing war-torn regions like

Syria and Yemen, fleeing legal persecution in countries like Myanmar or seeking refuge from the impacts of climate change in vulnerable regions such as the sub-Saharan Africa, migrants face a myriad of challenges and dangers on their journey. Migration is the human desire for exploration, opportunity and connection. It is seeking a better life in response to aspirations for a better future, financial security or safety from tragedy. Migration is not merely the physical movement of individuals from one place to another; it is a profound expression of resilience and hope.

A variety of factors influence migration. Economic despair is not merely equated with that of the United States; the real truths of economic disparities in migration are deeply rooted in the unequal distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities across the globe. Economic disparities drive people to migrate in search of economic stability and social mobility.

In many cases, individuals and families are pushed to migrate due to extreme poverty, a huge lack of employment opportunities and limited access to education, healthcare and basic services in their home countries.

It is crucial to understand that migration is not a matter of personal preference; rather, structural factors like international economic systems, labor markets and the historical legacies

of colonialism and imperialism shape it. Economic disparities continue to perpetuate a cycle of migration as individuals and communities seek to overcome systemic barriers and improve their socioeconomic conditions.

Several U.S. policies have had devastating effects on migrants, perpetuating more systemic injustices and human rights violations. The family separation policy forcibly separated thousands of migrant children from their parents at the border. The implementation of harsh immigration detention practices, including the use of overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, has led to inhumane conditions and inadequate access to healthcare.

The Remain in Mexico policy, which requires asylum seekers to wait in border towns while their cases are processed, exposes vulnerable individuals to violence and exploitation. The lack of comprehensive immigration reform further highlights the vulnerabilities faced by migrants, leaving millions living in fear of deportation and exploitation while limiting their access to essential services. Policies like these create never-ending cycles of suffering and injustice, necessitating the urgent need for systemic change and a more compassionate approach to immigration policy.

Whether one agrees that migration should or should not be happening, the reality is that it is. What can we do to educate

ourselves on migration? What can we do to effect change? How can we, as evolving intellectuals in society, administer this charitable work?

One way we can do this is by working with organizations that have a well-rounded education in this discussion. Fordham University provides its students with Global Outreach initiatives encompassing a range of programs and activities aimed at fostering international engagement, cross-cultural understanding and social responsibility. Global Outreach facilitates experiences that center around service learning abroad, where students engage in community service projects in collaboration with local organizations. Fordham has worked with the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) for several years. KBI is a binational organization located in Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, dedicated to promoting humane and just migration policies, fostering solidarity across borders and providing direct aid to migrants and refugees.

At KBI, my immersion group and I opened ourselves up to broader perspectives. We talked with the border patrol and listened to their tactics and methods of visualizing and catching migrants through an intense security camera and motion detection system. We spoke to ranchers who are visibly antiimmigrant whose ranch was right on the border between

the U.S. and Mexico and whose ranch was being “affected” by migrants who chose to cross. Both border patrol and ranchers insisted that migrants are drug smugglers, most times, “drug mules” or “drug couriers” that exploit the vulnerability of migrant routes to traffic drugs across borders by posing as migrants themselves.

We worked with KBI in serving migrant families and listening to their stories as a way to humanize them. We went to the Mexican Consulate and got a better understanding of the important work that they do by providing vital resources and advocating for the Mexican community in Arizona, striving to protect their rights and enhance their wellbeing. We also learned more intensely about the work they do with the coroner’s office identifying decaying dead bodies in the Sonoran desert and other trails migrants take as they embark on life-threatening journeys.

Words cannot depict the truth of migration. What happens? What do migrants encounter? What do they see? What do they feel? What do they hear? We will never experience it with our own eyes. But, by incorporating ourselves into organizations like Global Outreach or KBI, we allow ourselves to get a deeper understanding of how it feels.

Angel Madera, FCRH ’26, is an English major from Manhattan, N.Y.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Andrew McDonald, FCRH ’26, is a history and political science major from Sacramento, Calif.

It’s Time To Embrace Lab-Grown Meat

was not natural.

About 14.5% of all of the global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock farming. CO2, methane and nitrous oxide — the three gases that contribute most to global warming — are released during digestive processes for cattle, sheep and goats. Processing and transporting animals, storing manure and machinery usage also add to greenhouse gas buildup. Clearing land for cattle ranching is a major culprit of deforestation.

When the waiter delivers your sizzling, seasoned 8-ounce sirloin, you’re not likely to let the broad array of environmental ramifications dampen your satisfaction. You’ll still sink your teeth right in. But if you could reap the same pleasure more sustainably, wouldn’t you?

Many opponents of labgrown meat are weary of consuming something made in a lab. It’s not “natural,” so we’re not meant to put it in our bodies, right?

What these skeptics likely fail to consider is that our meat hasn’t been “natural” for quite some time. Corporations like Tyson and Perdue already use technology to enhance every aspect of meat production — including the animals themselves. Today’s chicken is about three times the size of the birds we ate in the 1950s, and their growth

By LUCA AMATURO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Social media’s impact on the global youth mental health crisis that has been unfolding for roughly the past two decades has long been debated, and is only worsening as we recover from COVID-19. The results from the recent research on social media’s effects on teenager’s mental health build a fairly implicating image. Social media companies resort to exploitive techniques that foster teen addictions to social media and subsequently create negative impacts on their mental health. Youth are struggling, and little has been done to safeguard them from the causes negatively impacting their mental health, which is why it is paramount that social media companies begin to be held accountable for their role in the youth mental health crisis.

Social media companies are not entirely to blame for the youth mental health crisis as it is an issue that is ripe with nuance and complex factors that stem from many of our current cultural and societal issues. However, it cannot be ignored that along with the rapid rise of social media in

Selective breeding and other forms of biotechnology have transformed the animals we consume.

Lab-grown meat, also labeled as cell-cultured meat, won’t be commercially viable for a long time. But several companies, including Upside Foods and Good Meat, have received Food and Drug Administration approval for their cell-based product.

If you look up pictures of lab-grown meat, you likely won’t notice a difference from the traditional product. That’s because it still is meat, despite the agricultural groups lobbying for legislators to safeguard the term.

Cells are taken from an animal and fed with water, salt and nutrients so they can grow and multiply. Once harvested, those cells become minced meat and can be formed into patties or sausages. So, it’s not vegan; the product comes from animals, but they don’t need to be slaughtered for their cells.

The argument against referring to lab-grown burgers as “meat” is really rooted in fear of outcompeting traditional meat production companies. In fact, that’s where a lot of opposition against the product itself comes from.

But cattle and poultry associations shouldn’t be panicking: it’s going to be years before lab-produced meat hits consumer shelves. When it does, sure, plenty of people

will (hopefully) be willing to make the switch. Humans have been overconsuming meat and will continue to, so there will be enough demand to satisfy both markets.

Back in the 1960’s, an average of 23.1 kilograms of meat per person were consumed. By 2019, that number increased to 43.2. A large portion of meat-eaters will likely not consider switching to the lab-grown product. So, for the U.S. especially, the demand for cattle and poultry products will remain high.

The goal is for that demand to decrease somewhat. No one wants traditional meat to be completely replaced with the cell-cultured product, but the positive implications of a reduction in cattle and poultry production are valuable for the prospect of a more sustainable environmental future.

Another argument against introducing lab-grown meat into the consumer market is that the environmental benefits are under-researched and could be unfounded. A not-yet peer-reviewed study found that cultivated meat’s environmental impact will be higher than that of retail beef if scientists continue to purify growth media in the same way as they currently are.

But companies are already looking for solutions to make the new technology more efficient. And, might I reemphasize that the product will likely not be available to consumers for years. There is time to iron out the kinks. The same study found that cultured meat’s global warming potential could be between 80% lower to 26% above that of conventional beef production.

Social Media’s Social Harm

the past two decades, there has also been a rise in youth mental health issues, which begins to hint at social media’s potentially devastating effects. As of 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that 42.3% of high school students in the United States have felt sad or hopeless every day for two or more weeks in a row, and they have stopped doing some of their usual activities. There is no debate that the United States and the world are undergoing a youth mental health crisis, but the role of social media in perpetuating this crisis must be investigated further.

Pew Research Center has found that most teenagers use apps like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat daily, with about 54% claiming that it would be difficult for them to give up social media. There is clearly an addictive element to social media that is further highlighted by how, in 2021, eighth- to 10th-graders spent an average of 3.5 hours daily on social media. Teenagers are hooked on social media, and it is because of discrete choices made by social media companies in how they go about the

design of their platforms. Across all platforms, there are similarities in their features. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy notes this in his advisory about social media, that involve “push notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll features, and algorithms that use the user’s data to tailor [their] content recommendations.” These were features implemented by social media companies to psychologically manipulate the brain to remain on their platform longer so more data could be gathered and more advertising could be pushed. Perhaps even more dangerous is that social media has been designed to mimic many of the same brain mechanisms that occur during drug use, with social media exposure creating “excessive stimulation to the brain’s reward centers” and triggering pathways comparable to addiction. Many teenagers are undergoing vulnerable moments in their brain development, and the intentional design of social media preys on this, creating addictions and keeping users perpetually engaged, fostering harmful habits.

The addiction to social media

itself is only one facet of the damage that social media has incurred on the youth’s mental health; the subsequent danger to teen addiction to social media is the constant exposure to the harmful content presented. An EdWeek Research Center survey found that factors that had a negative impact on teens’ mental health were concerns about physical appearance, anxiety over current events and online bullying, all concerns exacerbated by social media. This content was not something that teenagers have historically had access to. Whether it is the increased burden of fitting into beauty standards or dealing with the constant stream of news about disasters, climate change and international strife, teenagers are being weighed down and stressed.

Social media companies are aware of the impacts the features they implement and the content they push have on the youth’s mental health, yet they continually ignore it.

Frances Haugen, a Facebook whistleblower, brought this blatant disregard of social media companies to light when she leaked “tens of thousands of pages of internal research

That’s clearly a massive range, but if companies can figure out how to gravitate toward the lower projection, the environment could see significantly positive impacts.

I’m not a scientist and I don’t know much of the reasoning behind these projections, or exactly how feasible this reduction would be. But I do know that the current meat production tactics do not support a sustainable future. If something isn’t working, change should be initiated. If the experts decide that lab-grown meat can’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions after all, then at least valuable science was learned. At least attempts are being made.

and documents indicating the company was aware of various problems caused by its apps, including Instagram’s potential ‘toxic’ effect on teen girls.” If social media companies are unable to govern themselves, then they must be governed and held accountable by the government to prevent the further decline of youth mental health.

The social media companies must be held accountable for their part in the youth mental health crisis, and that begins with standardized regulation imposed by Congress that sets limits on these companies’ features and algorithms. Extensive investigation should begin into how social media companies target the youth, and this should become a springboard for legislation on protecting the youth from the adverse effects of social media. However, while social media is slowly revealing itself as one of the causes of the youth mental health crisis, it is not the sole factor, and the issue of youth mental health must be addressed with the nuance it deserves.

Lindsey Osit, FCRH ’24, is a journalism major from South Windsor, Conn.

Luca Amaturo, FCRH ’26, is a

Lab-grown meat offers a new, environmentally-sustainable alternative to traditional meat products. COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Linguistic Elitism Should Give You the Ick

By CAILEE ZERAAT COPY CHIEF

“The intersection of language, learning, and culture is boundless, and we recognize that words have the power to shape thoughts, bridge gaps, and reflect our ever-evolving society,” said John Kelly, vice president of editorial at Dictionary.com, in a press statement regarding the website’s semi-annual New Words announcement. Dictionary.com added 1,228 revised definitions, 173 definitions and 173 entirely new entries. This update included Gen Z slang, with terms like “bed rotting” and the term “girl dinner” added to the popular online dictionary. However, the choice by Dictionary.com to add modern language introduces the discussion of whether or not these words deserve an official place in a site of record.

How do we decide what words are deserving of a place in our lexicon or which words we toss out in favor of “correct” language? The answer is rooted in the long history of linguistics. Language is an ever-changing structure of any society or culture, as it is the basis of communication between people. As cultures and ideas are exchanged, language evolves to better reflect and better represent

the intersections. However, these choices are not always collective, and instead often ignore the linguistic patterns of marginalized groups, like the Black or LGBTQ+ communities. As such, modern slang words and phrases, which often stem from these communities, are not always officially recognized and accepted by more traditional dictionaries, like the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) or Merriam-Webster. The move by Dictionary.com to define new Gen Z phrases is inclusive, progressive and needed.

Although this word is not an entirely recent addition, the popular term “slay” is a perfect example of the differences in linguistic acknowledgment of certain words. The current usage of “slay” as a general positive affirmation can be traced back to Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities in the ’70s and ’80s. Prior to this use, “slay” had a variety of uses, ranging from a verb to signal an action of violence to an instrument used in weaving.

If you search for the word on Dictionary.com, one definition lists the slang usage of the term: “to impress strongly and favorably; overwhelm, especially by humor.” On the other hand, if you search for “slay” in the OED, there is no

mention of the modern slang usage — though you can find obsolete Old English uses of the word (“Some kind of fabric” is one definition).

“Slay” is one of the most recognizable Gen Z terms that has made its way from social media culture into a more commonplace use. Beyond this word, however, are a myriad of other terms and phrases that have either taken on new meaning in a modern context or have simply been newly created. While not all of these words have picked up enough traction to be considered as commonplace as “bussin” or “the ick,” they still hold cultural significance. While I do not believe it entirely necessary to add every single word or phrase created, when certain ones become so commonplace that they are regularly heard and seen, there exists an expectation that these words will be held in a collective record.

Dictionaries and official records of language have a duty to reflect the linguistic choices of all people who speak a language. Not only is excluding words harmful, but it also limits the education of people who may be unfamiliar with newer terms. In the case of Gen Z slang, older populations who interact with Gen Z on a daily basis will be able

to find Dictionary.com’s addition of new words to be useful. How many times have you used a slang term around an older parent, boss or professor, only to be met with a confused look? Adding new words to a record of language not only promotes learning surrounding evolving language but also encourages regular and casual usage of these words, effectively working to bridge a gap between generations.

A “proper” dictionary like the OED claims to have absolute authority over all of the English language. However, if a dictionary cannot accurately represent the existence of modern slang, as Dictionary.com has done, they fall victim to elitist views on language and inherently

exclude certain populations from achieving any official status in the English language. Language is not only a tool for communication but a means of understanding people and groups different from our own. It impacts the way we perceive the world and reflects evolving understandings of how we interact with others. As an inherently social structure, language cannot be expected to stay stagnant; by adding new words, Dictionary.com has acknowledged and invited changes to our modern vernacular, keeping up with Gen Z and helping others do the same.

Freedom of Speech Challenged by Modern Age

By MICHAEL DUKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Americans have long understood that any attempt to abridge or infringe on your right to express yourself is inherently immoral, and the current state of American politics should have people worried. Free speech, the ability for citizens to voice their opinions without fear of punishment by the government, has upset others to the point where many are reading political banter as bigoted or hateful speech. With this in mind, one could also claim that any attempt to take away any element of the First Amendment is cause for alarm or agitation amongst American citizens.

However, it’s become clear that people would rather have a utopian society, where there is only one common voice, as opposed to what America stands for: a discourse of views, values and opinions. A recent example to understand this issue better could be seen in discussions surrounding an investigation spurred by the Department of Justice into Rep. Cori Bush’s (D-Mo.) campaign spending for security services. More importantly, the investigation comes as Bush married Cortney Merrits, her longtime security guard, in 2023, an act which raises questions

as Bush spent $627,088 on security-related expenses from August of 2020 to February of 2023.

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) recently came under fire after criticizing Bush and her alleged improper use of campaign funds to bankroll her personal security services. “She doesn’t even support the police,” Nehls stated. “But the idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this and that, for what?” Given the circumstances, Nehls called to light how Bush’s behavior and outspoken views, if dialed back, might help alleviate any of the potential threats she gets while reversing and preventing further investigations into Bush over any issues relating to campaign fund use for security. However, Democrats on Capitol Hill are upset at one word that Nehls used when discussing Bush’s husband: “thug.” So much so, Bush’s fellow “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called the verbiage a racist attack and said that Nehls was echoing the stereotype of the “loud black woman trope.”

Since then, the narrative has shifted away from the investigation into Bush, and onto Nehls.

However, this is only one side of the story, and it would be helpful to examine Bush’s rhetoric that built up to that

moment. In the past, Bush has been an advocate for “defunding the police” and was a leading proponent of the idea all while funding her personal security detail. Nehls was most likely trying to build upon Republican criticism of Bush, as the party had criticized her heavily in the 2022 midterms for the hypocrisy of her statements to defund the police while having a private detail. Nonetheless, it upset people, and Nehls should have been better with his words and avoided the trap of making statements that lacked decorum to score political points.

What Nehls did by calling out Bush was practicing his right to express his views and calling to light the hypocrisy surrounding Bush and her decision to ensure her own safety while removing officers from the streets. Further, asking Nehls to retract his statements is a push to limit the voice that the people of Texas sent to Congress, in the form of Nehls. Despite many in the Democratic Party calling for apologies from Nehls for his statements, too many people get upset at Republicans for saying things that they deem controversial while failing to recognize fueled language that Bush has also said.

Bush has repeatedly defended her upsetting stances and language relating to Israel

and the Oct. 7 attack. She has previously stated, “The people of St. Louis did not send me to Congress to pacify people and to make people feel comfortable.” Because of this, many of Bush’s constituents are mad at her, with one constituent saying, “I think what I would say to those who have traditionally supported Cori Bush, is that I believe you probably supported her because you believed that she held moral positions.” This example of some of Bush’s ongoing controversies further support that she can dish it out while not being able to take it when it comes to criticism. Joseph Pinion, a Republican strategist, supported this idea in a segment on CNN where he stated, “She should also be examining her own rhetoric when it comes to

just making sure that we have civility in the public square.” It is very easy to claim that Bush needs to get a thicker skin. However, that would be unproductive and only further stoke the flames relating to these respective issues. What America must learn from this recent example is that you need to step back, see the entire picture in front of you and then make assessments for why people are saying the things that they are. This is advice that many congressional leaders should take and should learn. Thomas Jefferson put it best when he said, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.”

Cailee Zeraat, FCRH ’25, is an English major from Fairfax, Va.

Michael Duke, GSB ’26, is undecided from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Rep. Troy Nehls faces backlash over comments on Rep. Cori Bush.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

COURTESY OF GRACE CAMPBELL/THE FORDHAM RAM Dictionary.com makes controversial update to include Gen Z slang,

NYC Migrant Crisis Overwhelms Education System

By ZACHARY BADALAMENTI ASST. OPINION EDITOR

With the influx of migrants to New York City, the city’s bilingual education system is significantly overwhelmed and is unable to provide necessary academic attention to its students.

In January, CBS News reported that over 34,000 migrant children have enrolled in NYC public schools in the past 18 months. That said, there are still many migrant children whose academic needs are unaccounted for, as an estimated one-third of the 168,000 migrants “are schoolage children.” Working as a teacher’s assistant for a bilingual kindergarten classroom in Harlem, it is obvious that there is not enough structure, classroom space or teachers available to effectively teach a bilingual curriculum.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of bilingual instruction, NYC public schools evaluate the language proficiency of incoming English Language Learners (ELLs) by administering placement tests. These placement tests have proven to be less effective than the Education Department had hoped for, as teachers have come forward stating the test is not comprehensive enough to provide adequate insight into the most effective means of learning for the ELL. Once the placement test is administered, the ELL is placed into one of two programs: transitional bilingual education or dual-language bilingual education. In transitional

bilingual education, students begin their curriculum with lessons geared towards their first language and progressively ramp up into being given more lessons in English as their proficiency increases. Whereas, in dual-language bilingual education, a student typically already has some level of proficiency in English and is able to be taught lessons equally in English and their first language.

Where I work, the school only offers the latter approach of dual-language bilingual education, and it is apparent that the placement process is not accurate enough. Despite offering dual-language bilingual education, several students in my classroom lack the base level of proficiency in the English language. As a result, they are not being given the required opportunity to succeed academically. This is due to a number of factors, from the failure to accurately examine the English proficiency of incoming ELL students to a lack of available bilingual teachers.

Of the 14 kindergarten students in my classroom, six do not speak English as their first language. That said, their understanding of the English language varies greatly, pointing to the fact that the placement of ELL students is flawed. One of the students in my classroom is from Venezuela and has just begun classes in the last couple of months. Despite being placed in a duallanguage bilingual program, she has an extremely limited understanding of the English language and often struggles to comprehend lessons. This presents an especially difficult

situation during the blocks of class devoted to learning to read and write, as she is often unable to follow along without individualized attention. Her level of English comprehension is not uncommon and is the case for several of the other ELL students in my classroom as well, as they cannot understand instructions or lessons given to the class in English.

The need for instructions and support in both English and Spanish, coupled with the unruly environment of an elementary school classroom, makes running dual-language bilingual classes very difficult. As a part-time teacher’s assistant, I am not in the classroom for the first two days of the school week, making it even more difficult for the head teacher of the class to give individualized attention to the ELL students. Therein lies another major factor as to why the NYC bilingual education system is currently so overwhelmed: the city is being confronted with a lack of bilingual teachers. The New York City government has previously acknowledged the city’s need for more bilingual teachers as, in August, Mayor Eric Adams said, “There’s a shortage of the ideal number [of available bilingual teachers] that we should have.”

The lack of bilingual teachers has resulted in placing more of a burden on the bilingual teachers that are available and has stunted the city’s ability to address the needs of school-aged migrant children.

To make matters worse, the city also implemented a radical shift in the way its

public schools would go about teaching students to read.

In the past, schools have approached learning to read from a balanced literacy perspective.

As of September 2023, the public school system has opted to abandon the aforementioned method of balanced literacy in favor of a more scientific approach to reading by using a phonics-based curriculum. Having previously worked as a tutor at Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, a school that specializes in utilizing a phonics approach to reading comprehension, it is evident that there is a lack of understanding of how to teach using phonics in NYC public schools.

While there are pros and cons to either approach of learning to read, the major issue with the decision to change the curriculum for foundational reading is that no instructions or training has been given to the teachers about how to effectively implement the new teaching approach. The style of teaching has not been implemented in a way that is actually effective in its goal

of providing students with better reading comprehension skills. The bilingual programs at NYC public schools are undermanned while simultaneously being tasked with learning and applying a completely new approach to teaching. The city needs to make an effort to provide more services to the education system.

Whether it be through enlisting more social workers to ensure that ELL students are making academic progress and receiving the attention they deserve in order to succeed or another means of additional aid, the education system needs more attention and support from the city. It is disheartening to consider how much the children of migrant families have already had to go through to now be in NYC public schools and how little support they are given to succeed academically.

How Do You Feel About the Food on Campus?

“I get a chicken-pep from Boar’s Head, which is a chicken parm sandwich without cheese, add pepperoni and toasted on ciabatta. That’s a chicken-pep. I think we need more made-to-order options. I think we also somehow have really bad pasta on campus, but we’re in the Bronx. I feel like that doesn’t make any sense. Overall, I think we need more variety and later hours. I do like some of the changes. The new caf should be good.”

“I like Fordham’s food honestly. It’s not that bad. I will die on this hill. Urban makes such good sweet potato fries. I would have their sweet potato fries every day. I love Boar’s Head sandwiches too. Their caprese is awesome. I love a veggie wrap with an orange and a pickle from Boar’s. It’s always so consistently good. Since they started giving me extra pickles, I feel like they’ve really stepped up their game.”

“We lack very healthy options for people that want to eat healthier. I have to get a poke bowl every day if I want to eat healthy. I get a Dagger John’s poke bowl with tuna, spicy crab, edamame, cucumber, spicy mayo and two soy sauce packets. I get it literally every day. It’s so good! I also think the campus food is not the best quality, especially with the chicken. I’m scared of the chicken.”

“Fordham Dining could always be improved. I don’t think it’s the worst in the country, but it’s definitely not the best. I do like the Adobo Chicken Bowl from Cosí because it’s very flavorful, and I like Mexican food. The bowl is especially good since they redesigned it. I like the new one more than the old one. I probably like the McShane Dining Hub the least out of all the on-campus food places.”

“People are dramatic about how bad the food is, but it also isn’t great. It’s not as bad as some people say, but it is by no means something to write home about. My sandwiches are always dripping with sauce. Why? I do like the spicy vegan chorizo bowl on mixed greens from Cosi. I love it. I eat it all the time. One time they didn’t give me dressing, but usually its good. It’s filling. It is flavorful, and it is vegetarian-friendly.”

Zachary Badalamenti, FCRH ’25, is a journalism major from Oakland, Calif.

Locked Doors and Unraveling Minds: A Review of “The House of Bernarda Alba”

By CHELSEA DELALLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

An uneasy sensation sweeps through the audience as they fix their gaze on the abyss within Bernarda Alba’s abode. The Spanish villa, characterized by its minimalist, bleak and dreary landscape, is a far cry from a warm and welcoming home. A lattice structure of metal wires extends across the stage, resembling a prison or cage. The meager furnishings, featuring a sparse arrangement of toadstools, contribute to an atmosphere of desolation. The evocative scenery combines to capture the essence of the drama, illustrating the oppression in a patriarchal society and the toll of a lifetime spent in repression.

“The House of Bernarda Alba” debuted on Feb. 22 and ran for two weeks in the Pope Auditorium at Fordham University Lincoln Center. Under the artistic guidance of director Dawn Akemi Saito, known for her work with productions of “Insects in Heat,” “Suns Are Suns” and “Knock on the Sky,” the play was a breathtaking portrayal of life for women in rural Spain in the tumultuous 20th century.

“The House of Bernarda Alba” was poet and playwright Frederico García Lorca’s last piece before his death in the Spanish Civil War. It was a part of Lorca’s “Rural Trilogy,” a collection of folk tragedies that intertwine societal upheavals, religious traditions and suffering.

Set amongst the community of Andalusia located in the southeast corner of Spain, the play centers on Bernarda Alba, a recent widow, who forces her five daughters — Angustias, Magalena, Amelia, Martirio and Adela — to stay in mourning for eight years after their father’s passing. Consisting of an entirely female cast, the play highlights the profound influence of men on the decisions and actions of women.

Portrayed with chilling intensity by Valeria Fernández, FCLC ’26, Bernarda rules her household with an iron fist, wielding formidable control over her daughter’s sexuality and freedom. With each strike of her wooden cane, Fernández’s outstanding performance breathes life into Bernarda’s terrifying demeanor, sending shivers down the spines of the audience. As the play unfolds, Bernarda’s once unyielding authority over the household begins to crack under the weight of her daughter’s growing defiance. The eldest, Augustias, played by Giordana Simurdiak, FCLC ’24, engages in a secret courtship with the town’s most sought-after bachelor Pepe el Romano, despite Bernarda’s efforts to suppress any romantic relationships. As resentment simmers among her sisters towards Augustias, considered the least desirable suitor due to her advancing age and lack of allure, tensions reach a boiling point. However, when Adela, Augustia’s young-

er sister, is exposed for her own affair with Pepe, it ignites the smoldering embers and sets the stage for a gripping climax.

In her portrayal of Adela, Yasemin Cem, FCLC ’25, captures the character’s rebellious and naive nature, expressing an urge to break free from the shackles of her repressive household. Adela’s dance with

Pepe Romano, artfully choreographed by Jess Siegal, FCLC ’25, and assistants Milagros Luis, FCLC’25, and Kana

Seki, FCLC ’24, resonates with power, portraying Adela’s feelings of yearning and hysteria.

Across the entire performance, interpretive dances seamlessly weave through the most climactic scenes, introducing a layer of heightened intensity. The dances function as an outlet, allowing the daughters to convey their complex feelings

of sexual frustration.

Beyond the storyline and choreography, the design elements of the performance were a captivating counterpart to the show’s intensity. The costumes, crafted by designer Mariko Ohigashi and assistant Teri Salmon, emerged as a high point of the show, blending contemporary styles with conservative and traditional aesthetics. The five sisters graced the stage in black floor-length dresses, complete with full sleeves, high necklines, delicate lace and ribbon detailing.

Employing a limited range of costume colors — black, white and green — the designers used symbolism to capture the character’s intricate emotions and overarching themes. Black signified mourning and death, white represented the girls’ purity and spirituality

and green became a vibrant embodiment of Adela’s aspirations and rebellion. This elegantly simple yet impactful color palette and overall style choices mirrored the daughter’s feelings of confinement and suffocation in their constrained lives.

The cast and crew of “The House of Bernarda Alba” exceeded expectations, bringing a 20th-century classic tale to Fordham with exceptional caliber. The all-around quality of production, whether it be set design, acting, costumes or dance, was executed with precision, leaving a lasting impression on audiences. Anticipation runs high among myself, along with many others, to experience their next performance, “The Wedding Gift,” as a stellar conclusion to the 2023-24 school year.

Beyoncé Goes Country with New Single “Texas Hold ’Em”

By ZOE KAROUB CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Beyoncé is back for more. Following the massive success of her “Renaissance” album, world tour and movie, the star made an unexpected ad appearance during the Super Bowl. To the delight of fans everywhere, she dropped two singles and announced a new album “Act II,” out this month. The biggest surprise? Beyoncé is entering her country era.

“Act II” will be the next installment in the threepart “Renaissance” project. This time around, Beyoncé is trading in the nightclub for a dive bar as she explores the sounds of her Texas roots. Her upbeat single “Texas Hold ’Em,” released alongside the ballad “16 Carriages,” offers a taste of what fans should expect. The song opens with an unfamiliar sound for Beyoncé: the banjo. Played by Black musician and activist Rhiannon Giddens, the banjo joins other strings and a simple drum beat to form the musical backdrop of the track. Beyoncé also opts for whistles and “ho heys” rather than grand background vocals. The stark contrast from

her pop music works well. “Texas Hold ’Em” masterfully transitions the listener into the “Act II” era by establishing a brand new sound. Not all of Beyoncé’s trademarks are gone, though. She still knows how to make the perfect dance track. The catchy beat invites boot-tapping and line dancing. The smoothly sung lyrics are crafted to get stuck in your head. Her calls to “take it to the floor” are already coming to life on TikTok, where “Texas Hold ’Em” dance trends are going viral. As someone who doesn’t love country music, I was a bit hesitant about the new single. But as someone who believes Beyoncé can do no wrong, I was proven correct. My only gripe is that I have a hard time picturing Beyoncé in any of the scenarios she describes in this song. Seriously, when was the last time she drank from a red Solo cup?

Regardless of her Houston upbringing, Beyoncé became a mega popstar at a young age, and she frequently flaunts her riches. However, I can forgive her because I don’t find her tone condescending and disingenuous here. Relatable? Maybe not, but I don’t necessarily think the

point is to be relatable.

The significance of “Texas Hold ’Em” transcends its danceable rhythm and attempts to appeal to us regular people. With her first official venture into country music, Beyoncé claims a space in a community quick to shut her out. In 2016, her song “Daddy Lessons” off the “Lemonade” album was undeniably country. Yet the Grammys’ country committee barred the song from nominations. Later, she performed “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks at the Country Music Awards and faced backlash from conservative country fans.

“Act II” is Beyoncé’s way of showcasing her Texan roots. More importantly, though, the album is her way of reminding everyone exactly how country music began — with the banjos of enslaved Africans, the hymns of Black Southern ministers and the voices of early Black country artists like Charley Pride. Today, these contributions of Black people to the country genre largely remain hidden, forgotten and denied. Beyoncé is shifting the narrative, already breaking records as the first Black woman to top country charts.

“Act II” arrives March 29 and, with it, what’s sure to be a rowdy celebration of Black art, the South and hoedowns. And possibly an Album of the Year win? That might be

wishful thinking, though. Nevertheless, I know the BeyHive will show up in full force, glittery cowboy boots and all, no matter what the Academy says. I’ll be right there with them.

COURTESY OF CHELSEA DELALLA FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

The drama and artistic inspiration of Andalusian Spain came to Lincoln Center.

Beyoncé is taking her talents out to the country

Who’s That Kid | Andres Caballero, FCRH ’26

Sophomore Makes A Difference in His Community, On-Campus and Off

By ALLISON SCHNEIDER MANAGING EDITOR

For Andres Caballero, FCRH ’26, getting involved in his community is a necessary part of belonging.

For the past few semesters, he has been making waves in the community as a student, a volunteer, and a good neighbor. In the fall of 2022, Caballero began organizing what he calls “food walks,” where students can use their extra meal swipes each week to purchase food on-campus and take them across the street to a local food bank. Since beginning the initiative, Caballero says that the food walks have grown significantly, with more people participating each semester.

There are a lot of components to organizing such an extensive community engagement project, but the most important is actually having the idea. It was just a few weeks into his first semester at Fordham University when Caballero came up with the project. With an unlimited meal plan, Caballero found himself eating most of his on-campus meals at the McShane Campus Center cafeteria, which meant that he often had around six to eight leftover meal exchange swipes each week. Rather than let the pre-paid swipes go to waste, Caballero wanted to figure out another use for them. “They’re already paid for by the students,” he said, “so I felt like it was a necessity to put them to public use.”

Since the end of the 2022-

23 school year, Caballero has worked with another student organizer, John Wentz, FCRH ’26, to bolster the project. The two brainstormed ideas over the summer for how to improve their project and came back to campus in the fall with renewed energy. Since the fall 2023 semester, Caballero said, “a lot of people have been contributing a lot with donations. So far, we’ve collected over 2,000 meals. We want to keep growing.”

The food walks are a hefty commitment, with hundreds of donations made each week. Caballero says that he and Wentz keep each other accountable. In addition to managing the food walks, Caballero also volunteers time at Jonas Bronck Academy as a holistic mentor to students. The hours spent doing community work have been very fulfilling for Caballero, who sees service not as an every once-in-a-while thing, but as a necessary contribution to society.

Originally born in Caracas, Venezuela, Caballero moved to Miami at the age of nine. Leaving behind his close friends and family members, Caballero had to contend with a massive change in environment. “What was most difficult for me when I first moved was adapting to the language differences,” Caballero said. In addition to the technical challenges of learning a new language, Caballero also faced ridicule from some classmates and coaches as a result of his accent.

Despite this, Caballero

adapted to his new community fairly quickly and says he can now “look back on [his] early childhood years in Miami with a smile.” According to Caballero, those years were also essential to his development as a person, and his ability to adapt to a change in environment has served him well during his time at Fordham.

Going into Fordham, he wanted to learn more about the surrounding Belmont and Fordham neighborhoods. Both neighborhoods, along with many others in the Bronx, are home to people who have to grapple with diminishing educational resources and increasing rates of food insecurity and poverty as a result of many historical and socioeconomic factors. According to Hunter College’s New York City Food Policy Center, roughly a quarter of all Belmont and Fordham residents face food insecurity. These devastating numbers have been a driving force for Caballero’s food walks initiative.

Local food banks like Part of the Solution (POTS) help reduce food insecurity for many community members. When Caballero came up with the idea of donating his excess meal swipes, POTS was one of the first food banks on his radar. “They were already involved with Fordham,” Caballero said, “so I thought that would be a good place to start.”

Working with the volunteers and staff at POTS has been great for the project

because the staff has experience organizing similar projects, and they provide a crucial homebase for actual food distribution. Although Caballero’s food walks are largely self-organized, he does have help from other important resources like the staff at Boar’s Head Deli on campus. Caballero said, “We’ve built a pretty good relationship with some of the people at POTS and at [Boar’s Head].” As the food orders grow, Caballero also said that the workers at Boar’s Head have been very helpful. It isn’t easy to make what is often hundreds of extra sandwiches each week for the project, but according to Caballero, the staff at the on-campus deli have been great about helping with the initiative.

Charmaine Francis, a manager at Boar’s Head, corroborated this, saying, “It’s a little extra work on us, but it’s a pleasure to support him in this venture.” Francis also said that supporting Caballero in his project has been great because the “idea is so beautiful” and “he’s doing an excellent job.”

Clearly, Caballero has already had an immense impact on his community, both on-campus and off. He’s provided students with an easy opportunity to do good in their community while also facilitating food distribution on the other end. Still, Caballero says his work isn’t done. He wants his fellow students to change their mindset on community

engagement. “If you have the time and the money,” Caballero said, “you have the means to do something positive, and you should contribute something.” Caballero wants to encourage all students to connect with their community and determine where their skills can be of the greatest benefit, but if students are looking for a place to begin, participating in Caballero’s food walks can be a great start.

To learn more about getting involved or donating extra meal swipes, you can contact Caballero at his Fordham email acaballero5@fordham.edu.

The Orchid Show: “Florals In Fashion” at the New York Botanical Garden

By MARY HAWTHORN PHOTO EDITOR

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is starting spring strongly with the opening of its 21st annual orchid show titled, “Florals In Fashion.” This elaborate display showcases intricate fashion designs along with over 2,000 kinds of orchids. Attendees are encouraged to ponder ways in which this plant family inspires them, as “fashion and orchids exude possibility: of self-expression, multiplicity, and the magic of the unexpected.” This year’s floral fashion designers included Hillary Taymour, Olivia Cheng and Kristen Alpaugh. The show is in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and will be open until April 21, 2024.

I attended the show this Saturday and was shocked by the hundreds of people in attendance. The rain did not stop anyone from seeing the hybridity of fashion and the natural world. The moment you enter the show, you see the first fashion display made by “Dauphinette” founder, Cheng. According to the NYBG,

“In 2021, Cheng became the youngest designer to showcase her designs as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ exhibit, and last year she was named to [Forbes’] 30 Under 30 Art and Style list. There are five abstract designs with flowers as fabric, whether that be to make a dress, top or headpiece. Seeing these designs elevated in the conservatory pool filled with orchids was out of this world, and an exciting start to the show.

On the way to the main designs in the middle of the conservatory, guests had the opportunity to see different types of orchids dispersed along the pathways. Some included the Cane Orchid, Dendrobium Chocolate Chip Orchid, Paphiopedilum Berenice Orchid and the Slipper Orchid. These pigmented plants ranged from bright pinks to deep blues, and it was really interesting to see how many orchids there really were.

In addition to getting to see these beautiful flowers from across the world, I enjoyed that the show had an educational aspect to it. To my surprise, I

learned that many of the orchids in the show are hybrid. The NYBG informed attendees that many of these plants were invented “with new shapes, colors, and scents that could never develop in nature.” Furthermore, these orchids are distinguished by an “x” symbol in their botanical name. Some include, x Rhyncattleanthe Dan O’Neil ‘Jubilee,’ which is a neon orange orchid, and the Phalaenopsis OX Little Prince, which is a white orchid with neon pink spots. My favorite was the x Oncidesa Lemon Heart ‘Sd-1’ because of its vibrant yellow color and heart petal shape. These names are far from simplistic, highlighting how unique each particular flower is.

rising to meet her future. This semi-autobiographical display celebrates the artist’s origins and looks optimistically at what’s to come.”

Towards the end, the show also provided attendees with information regarding the NYBG’s efforts in rescuing rare orchids. Poachers, habitat destruction and environmental changes have hindered the growth of wild orchids, ultimately making them “the most endangered plants in the world” (NYBG). Due to this devastating environmental crisis, the NYBG serves to protect and rescue wild orchids as a certified Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

After making your way down many paths, you will find yourself greeted by designer FLWR PSTL’s “Divine Nature” centerpiece. This shows a levitating mannequin, raised from the ground by a skirt made of green moss and small bright pink orchids. The skirt is adorned with several chromatic artificial leaves and other plant embellishments. According to the NYBG, this piece seeks to reference a “divine feminine figure, Looking for the

Plant Rescue Center. It is really amazing to see that right outside the Fordham gates, a major ecological impact is being made.

Following the show, I visited the gift shop, which had an abundant amount of orchid paraphernalia. From T-shirts, postcards, bags, pens, cups, magnets and actual orchids, the gift shop gave attendees a multitude of options to choose from. I, of course, had to get a pink orchid, which currently sits on my desk in O’Hare Hall.

Overall, I had a wonderful time at the Orchid Show, and highly recommend you visit this spring. If interested in purchasing tickets, visit NYBG.org. For more information, you can follow @NYBG on Instagram.

COURTESY OF ANDRES CABALLERO/THE FORDHAM RAM Caballero cares for the Bronx.

Billy Joel’s AI Music Video is Frightenly Good

By ALEXANDER HOM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

While first watching the “Turn The Lights Back On” lyric video the morning it debuted, I swear with all honesty that my subconscious ever so fleetingly imagined the music spilling forth from a 20-something-yearold version of Billy Joel as an innocent man: freshfaced, long-haired, figuring life out. You’ve probably experienced the same epiphanic phenomenon listening to it. After all, the single might as well have been a long-unreleased track from “The Stranger.” Focused on Joel’s new/old sound for the 15 days until the music video dropped, I was left to create my own mental images of Joel’s modern-pop anthem connected to the entertainer himself. I’d seen his modulated Grammy’s rendition, an easy-listener ballad with notes enjoyably reminiscent of Paul McCartney on “Hey Jude” and Elton John on “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” in Joel’s distinctive croon. On what would’ve been my dad’s 64th birthday, we finally saw Mr. Long Island put his face to his original forte.

My wildest fantasies never conceived of summoning three representations of Piano Men past. Although, hey, the Billyverse is real! Picking up where his Feb. 22 preview left off, a bald, goateed present-day

By MEHAK IMRAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Feb. 9, Conan Gray released his latest single titled “Lonely Dancers,” a part of his upcoming third album, “Found Heaven,” set for release in April. The track is a bright and upbeat synthpop with an ’80s-inspired sound and was not at all what I was expecting based on the title and Gray’s previous songs.

Before listening, I was expecting a slow metaphoric ballad focused on Gray’s strong vocals, his signature, but the song turned out to be just the opposite. It was a sharp turn away from his previous album, which had a deeper and slower rhythm; some of my favorite songs were “Family Line,” “Astronomy” and “People Watching.” Based on the name itself, I was expecting a rhythm and lyrics similar to “Writer in the Dark” by Lorde, another one of my personal favorites, or “Bejeweled” by Taylor Swift. However, the song itself was lively, upbeat and retrosounding, with underlying

Joel sits in Manhattan’s stunning United Palace, turning the page on “Famous Last Words’” to a clean page for his blank slate. Over the resonant Grammy’s piano intro, our view pans from his wizened face to a shadowy cigarette. An unexpected glow is laid over them, the camera slides back up — and bringing my dreams to life before our eyes is that 20-something Joel, clad in his trademark rust herringbone tweed jacket, white button-down and black fourin-hand straight from his “52nd Street” days.

No time machine here: this stunning imagery is the work of artificial intelligence (AI) deep-machine-assistedlearning draping stand-ins’ faces with generated renderings of singing Joels derived from footage of his younger selves. His dryer-tenured coiffure reaching his ears, Billy — the kid — wears the weary countenance of a young adult already exhausted by, yet burning with, stardom. An off-camera transition brings a portrayal of late-30s, new-father Joel, this version donning a “Glass Houses”-era bombersleeved black leather jacket out of the ’80s. Joel and his cowhide appear worn from tearing through “The Nylon Curtain” and weathering the chaotic “Storm Front” amidst his crusade against the critics. Seeing the intensity of this recreation sings with,

tones of heartbreak, melancholy and nostalgia. It featured the early and often rebound stage of a breakup, as the lyrics depicted distracting oneself with dancing so as not to cry. The vocal range was lower than his previous albums and overall more diverse. The sound itself was quite lonely and reminiscent of a song you would hear in “Stranger Things” or at your local bowling alley.

Despite the lively and upbeat music, the lyricism fell short for me. I walked in with high expectations because of Gray’s strong and unparalleled ability to describe teenage emotions in a beautiful and heart-wrenching way but walked out feeling simply unfulfilled. Being only two and a half minutes, the song seemed to cut off short, was rather repetitive and didn’t feature as many lyrics as I would have expected or liked. Known for his expert lyrics, Gray is often compared with the likes of Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, but this song just did not stick out to me. While synth-pop seems

MTV could have aired this to pacify impatient fans while he was touring “Leningrad.” Our next surprise on the bridge is a middle-aged Joel, circa “The River of Dreams,” having learned a few tricks in mature life and suited up in a suede jacket and signature Ray-Ban Wayfarer. It’s not just the younger AI Joels that are amazing, but what they all symbolize: different ideas, personalities and people. Each Joel picks up where the others left off, in life and song. Vintage Joel is somehow magically timeless, his unparalleled expertise, established ’71. The piano solo reunites us

with the present-day Joel, playing for a candle replacing the cigarette he’s quit, and just when we think that’s all the tasteful throwbacks we’re getting, the closing chorus airs a spellbinding archival montage synced with the percussion. Home videos spotlight Joel’s daughters, including a clip of his first being quite cheeky. The real streetlife serenader, in classic live concerts, mouths and charades the lyrics of “Lights.”

It’s scary how he sounds more like the Joel of the ’70s than the Joel in his 70s. Forgive me as I go to extremes — is it possible he sounds too good? If you suspect the song itself

had AI, you may be wrong; for all I know, you may be right. It’s a matter of trust; like my prophetic musing, only a few people on Earth will ever know the truth. If AI is present, I wouldn’t like it any less, though I genuinely don’t believe any was employed, but its application in the “Lights” video is a genius application. Bless producer Freddy Wexler! AI plays the hero today in a beautiful homage powered by the cleanly renewable energy of nostalgia. “I saw myself going through time!” Joel remarked after he first watched the video. And so did we. Thank you for your fan service, Piano Men!

to be a trend with the release of “Midnights” by Swift and her upcoming album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” “Lonely Dancers” fits in perfectly in terms of sound. But the lyricism is where I would like to see more experimentation rather than repetition. I think what was missing for me the most was personality. Almost all of Gray’s songs, such as “Heather” and “Crush Culture,” come from a deep place in the artist’s heart, being deeply personal yet relatable at the same time. This song almost felt as if he was trying to produce a TikTok hit, and lacked the reliability and lyricism.

In conclusion, while “Lonely Dancers” brought a unique and nuanced approach to Gray’s discography and sound, it fell short regarding lyrics, personality and relatability. However, I do hope the rest of the album presents a more “Midnights” approach with a balance between strong lyricism and upbeat sounds, something one could actually dance to while trying to hold back an extra few tears.

An AI Joel in his 20s and trademark tweed jacket with three other Piano Men of the past seen here in the video.

Gray shows his range with

A Dive Into Fordham’s Digital Footprint

By SARAH URBANO DIGITAL PRODUCER

The need for Instagram accounts about hyper-specific topics is at an all-time high, and Fordham University is no stranger to this. It has become a trend in the last couple of years for college students to create accounts dedicated to highlighting different experiences and aspects of their campus. This trend has found its way to Fordham, giving us accounts dedicated to providing entertainment and a place for students to interact with

each other. These harmless accounts have become an essential part of Fordham’s social media culture and are completely student-driven. If there was a Fordham Instagram accounts competition, the national champion would be the meme page @fordumbuniversity.

This one has over 6,500 followers and consists of memes pertaining to the university. The popularity of the account has spread far beyond just the students of Fordham. One of my professors last semester brought up during class how he loves the account. He said

Fordham

accounts offer a source of entertainment.

he is a big fan of their posts, and it was interesting to learn that even professors are aware of the online identity affiliated with Fordham culture.

I do need to pay tribute to my favorite account of all time, Fordham Flirts, an account dedicated to students submitting anonymous messages of admiration for other students, referred to as “flirts.” They would post hundreds of flirts every week that were filtered through the account owner, who would post them with background photos of Fordham’s campuses.

The account was popular for the two years it was active, beginning in September 2021 and ending in November 2023 after the account rebranded to @fordham_saints, which has since been deleted. It was entertaining to look through the submissions and see my friends and acquaintances receive flirts, as some of them were sweet while others were simply bizarre. I was heartbroken the day the account changed, and I miss scrolling through flirts every day!

Nobody is a stranger to the cats that meander around campus, and the account @fordhamcatss was created recently to showcase the cutest members of the Fordham community. “I wanted to create a Fordham cats account because I saw that there used to be an old one that was no

longer running! I know how much everyone loves the cats on campus so I saw a definite need for an account dedicated to them! And it’s also so much fun to run the account as a big cat lover myself,” said the account owner. Many accounts have gone dormant as students graduate, such as @fordhamwhiskers and @fordhamcats, and the continuous revival of this concept shows the significance of the cats to the community. The owner posts their own content of the cats, and followers send in their own photos of them to be featured. I am a big fan of the cats on campus and they deserve a spotlight on social media. Although they already get plenty of attention during the school day, their online presence keeps the cats with students even when they are not on campus.

Emilio Marino, FCRH ’25, started his own Fordham Instagram account his first year with the username @ knobs_knockers_and_handles. Marino decided to make the account dedicated to reviewing different doors and handles on campus. “I kept seeing all these Fordhamthemed accounts following me, and they would be for the most random things… I found them funny and had the idea to make one myself. I thought it would be fun

to post pictures of doors and see how long it could go until I got bored. The idea of doing it anonymously was also part of it; I remember overhearing people talk about my account several times which was kinda cool,” said Marino.

His account consists of captions narrated by Guy Fieri giving his brutal and honest reviews, including different buildings like Keating Hall and Hughes Hall. “When planning my account, I wanted it to be as dumb a concept as possible… I thought to myself that an Instagram account playing the character of Guy Fieri as he reviews Fordham door installations was as insane and nonsensical as it could get.”

Although I only touched on a few accounts that have been dedicated to Fordham life, these are just a select few of the many that have been made. Some other topics that have been highlighted on social media are the plethora of discarded flossers found around campus and reviews of our notorious dining hall food. These accounts come up alongside the official social media pages for the university when you enter “Fordham” in the search bar, which allows these subcultures to expand further than the Fordham community, giving insight into the Fordham subculture for outsiders.

“Boyhood” Makes Me Happy To Be Alive

By CALEB STINE CULTURE EDITOR

Like most of us, COVID-19 put an indelible mark on my childhood. Because of it, I have no prom memories, I never had a senior football game or homecoming dance. I didn’t celebrate getting into my dream college (which was obviously Fordham University) with my friends.

Senior year only officially happened for me. It didn’t really emotionally happen.

As I started my final year of high school, shackled by Zoom classes and an isolated world, my heart mourned the loss of these milestones. Over quarantine, my brother and I settled into a routine of watching a movie each night together, one of which was Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood.”

The film follows a young boy, Mason, and his family over the course of 12 years. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, the cast was filmed little by little, year by year. Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, starts off as a six-year-old child and finished the film as a first-year in college.

The film is about Mason growing up with his sister and mom, spending certain days

with his dad (his parents are divorced), throughout their life in suburban Texas.

The film is incredibly personal and realistic on many levels. Mason’s sister, Sam, is played by Linklater’s real life daughter, Lorelei. Both Linklater and Ethan Hawke (Mason’s dad) are from Austin, Texas.

Coming-of-age films are a dime a dozen, but what makes “Boyhood” stand out is every plot development is shown gradually. It’s not dramatic. The frames are often static. The editing is unrecognizable (which means it’s good), and the performances aren’t overly theatrical or intense. Patricia Arquette (Mason and Sam’s mom) and Hawke act like real people, not actors playing real people well.

The story isn’t a particularly unique one at all.

You see Mason and Sam grow up slowly, just like real life. Then you realize that 30 minutes ago in the film, Mason had been fighting with his sister in the back seat of the car as a six-year-old, while you’re watching him in high school. There are no big twists, turns or shocking revelations.

The plot is simply Mason’s life. No more, no less. And just like life, characters come in and

out. Random characters that speak a line or two in opening scenes come back into Mason’s life here and there, and some grow to play bigger roles than viewers may expect.

Characters grow and change. Mason’s dad, Mason Sr., grows from being a wild and free spirit living with his burnout punkrock roommate following his divorce from Mason’s mother, Olivia, into a new marriage that makes him more emotionally available to both his ex-wife and children.

Mason Sr. doesn’t so much transform overnight as he does little by little, year by year. Which is how people change in life. Rarely do we see our family and friends abruptly transform as we witness a gradual shifting in their lives.

The soundtrack is exceptional, so good that I can’t possibly bear to spoil it in any specific way in print here. What I will say is that the songs capture the 2000s zeitgeist and suburban landscape in such an accurate way, that I am sure Linklater consulted the cast to get his finger on the pulse of that generation. He nails it.

For me, there’s something poetic about Mason being a little older than me. I was born in 2002, at the start of

the film, which makes me six years younger than Mason and eight years younger than Sam. Seeing a life that mirrored my older cousins and friends and was still relevant to me is what makes this film so special. The film ending when Mason starts college as I was a senior in high school when I first watched the film was especially poignant.

“Boyhood” feels like it’s about me and my specific generation of suburban now-men that were, not so long ago, boys. Our touchstones, our

frustrations and our relationships.

When I felt the loss of a traditional victory lap that was supposed to be an in-person senior year, I felt Linklater tap me on the shoulder, waking me up to be thankful to be on the journey of growing up. As “Boyhood” proves, and we all know, growing up is painful and hard, and we’re not reminded of its poignant beauty nearly enough.

“Boyhood” is one of those rare and critical reminders.

gives nostaglic reminders of childhood.

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COURTESY OF MARY HAWTHORN/THE FORDHAM RAM

Thrifting With Friends: A Bronx Based Tale Of Beauty

By JULIA CHORUN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Dive into a treasure trove of affordable finds, all for a fraction of the price!” Thrifting with Friends, the Bronx-based community builder, is bringing a new trend to the city: thrifting pop-ups. Beautician Melissa Jane’s wardrobe venture isn’t just an opportunity to revamp your closet at a bargain, but a chance to connect with like-minded fashionistas who could be living right next door.

Finding a personal style, ethically and consciously, is more easily achieved independent of what stores push. The Bronx’s Thrifting With Friends initiative is a shining example of how second-hand style can be dictated in a growing market by following your own style instincts and being in a community of people whose only interest is to help you feel and look your best.

Last weekend, only a block away from Yankee Stadium on 861 Gerard Ave., Jane, known to her clients and friends as Fairy Juice Lover, opened a one-day thrift store. She found the space through a friend who hosts art galleries and “sip and paints” throughout the week, and when there was an opening, Jane rented it out. She and her team filled it with gently used clothing, accessories, books and treats for men, women and children of all identities and sizes.

However, her main goal was to fill a small space with fashion-loving friends and neighbors who would use it to bond over a common passion for style. Jane says her journey in second-hand styling began long before the pop-up, in a miscellaneous closet at her grandmother’s house. “As a kid, I always found myself with zero-to-no clothes,” she said. “I always struggled to find an outfit to go outside or to play with my friends. So I always depended on that closet to find something. And I always find, like a thrill with going in and being under pressure and finding that good fit.” She’s not the only one.

The pop-up opened at 2 p.m. and lasted until 7:30 p.m. and, right as it opened, the space was filled with Bronx residents. Some were fashion enthusiasts like Jane, and others were simply passersby who couldn’t miss the opportunity to find fantastic items without breaking the bank. Upbeat music could be heard on the street, colorful, shining streamers covered the walls and racks and bins of second-hand clothing decorated the parameter. Some of the most eye-catching pieces, like a sparkling pink blazer suit set, hung on racks and sold for $10, while bin items were priced at only $3 each. Don’t be fooled. Just because the containers were filled to the top and clothes were packed tightly together,

doesn’t mean there weren’t treasures waiting to be dug up in the bargain bins.

Inside were pieces like a “cottagecore” sage gown and a vibrant floral embroidered, black bustier. At the bottom of the bin was a red tulle maxi skirt, with Adidas trademarked stripes gliding down the sides, creating a somewhat feminine, athletic combination. The outerwear section ranged from vintage “on your mark” windbreakers to fur jackets and pink leather coats, while the back of the store was lined with statement pieces and ribbons. Accessories were laid out on the other side, showcasing heels, Crocs, prettily packaged jewelry and tradable gaming cards. For a social media flair and her photography-loving friends, Jane stationed a portable selfie light at the center of the store for the maximum “cosmo girl” aesthetic.

Jane says arranging the shop structure and making her vision a reality came seamlessly. “I believe it was a form of a manifestation. You know, it happened so magical for me,” she added. “I just wanted to get rid of some stuff. I know I’m good to donate, but I know what they do after you donate. So I figured, why not? Mingle with your friends, have fun, network, build that bond and also declutter.” At check out, shoppers were met with smiles and conversion by

Jane’s friends who contributed their clothes and labor to the shop. Friendships were made at the entryway as guests eagerly discussed their finds upon purchasing $1 cookies or $3 cocktails while Jane’s team gave styling tips. As the event flyer promised, it was pure “thrift treasure adventures and networking vibes!”

Jane insists that at certain community-centered pop-ups like Thrifting with Friends, words such as “used” become “pre-loved.” “You’re decluttering, you’re releasing old

things,” she said, “but these things are also things that other people can want. I have this path where I can assist other women, other men as well, because I’m all-inclusive, to like, see their own power, because we’ve all been in a dark space, and to find the light is beautiful.” Find your inner light and connect with the vibrant spirit of the Bronx’s style community at more Thrifting with Friends events by keeping an eye on Jane and her team’s future endeavors.

How Netflix’s “One Day” Captures The Human Essence

By STEPHANIA LOPEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the mesmerizing realm of existence, the most profound shows are those that mirror the tapestry of our own lives. They grasp the potent threads of time’s relentless pull, the warmth of enduring friendships and the wistful journey of finding purpose amid the unpredictability of our chaotic world.

Enter Netflix’s “One Day,” a narrative woven from the pages of David Nicholls’ 2009 global bestseller, later immortalized on the silver screen in a 2011 Universal Pictures production starring Anne Hathaway along with Jim Sturgess. This series unfolds the tale of two improbable companions, Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall), as they navigate the labyrinth of friendships, careers and pursuing significance.

Starting off following a failed one-night stand on the night of their university graduation, their relationship is brought about by an unlikely but meaningful connection. Spanning over nearly the next two decades, the 14-episode

drama unfolds its vignettes on a single, momentous day: July 15. The show’s scenes adeptly capture the shifting cultural terrain, ranging from the fashion trends of the ’80s to the technological progressions of the 2000s, all while viewers experience the musical masterpieces of Vanbur’s “Falling Colour” and The Cranberries’ “Dreams.”

With its haunting cinematic allure and a yearning for the beautifully flawed contours of their friendship, “One Day” beckons viewers into a nostalgic embrace that transcends time itself. Within their intertwined lives, Emma and Dexter experience diverse moments that echo the symphony of their existence: Emma’s voice singing “La Cucharacha” in the worn-down existence of Loco Caliente hoping to make ends meet, Dexter’s figure navigating through the crowded bars of England as he falls victim to substance abuse and the duo immersing themselves in the unwavering beauty of Paros, Greece.

Cinematically rich, the drama unravels the intimacy of human nature. Emma’s sharp and witty expressions encapsulate the core of passion

and the pursuit of success. Dexter’s nonchalant demeanor paints a picture of freedom, a testament to his upbringing that lacks the burden of carefulness. Scenes overflow with essences of both hope and betrayal (of the self and others), some episodes bring them together. Others keep them apart. Rarely do their lives unfold along the lines of a perfect narrative, with purpose and fate gently steering our protagonists toward predetermined conclusions.

“One Day” unfolds not as a love story confined to Dexter and Emma but as a narrative crafted for humanity. Despite the seemingly extensive 14 episodes, the duration, ranging from 25 to 40 minutes per episode, mirrors the brevity of time we each possess. The show’s direction echoes the urgency of our individual timelines, urging us to cherish each passing day, for soon enough, it transitions to the next chapter of our lives. As the final frames fade, it leaves us with a gentle reminder that our stories, like theirs, continue to unfold, shaped by the choices we make in the fleeting moments of our shared humanity — one day at a time.

Thrifting With Friends offers a sustainable alternative to new clothing.

Characters Emma and Dexter

COURTESY OF JULIA CHORUN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

By LUSA HOLMSTROM STAFF WRITER

Right now, I’m back in Spain. Tonight at dinner, which ended at 11:35 p.m., I chatted with my host dad in Spanish about GMOs and learned his lock screen is a high-resolution photo of Mickey Mouse. Yesterday, we ventured to the mall for the first time, but the bus dropped us off on the other side of the highway with no way to cross, the shopping center taunting us from one metro stop away.

Tomorrow, I’ll go for a long walk along the river and get a coffee — here, they always put cinnamon and cocoa powder in the foamed milk. But last week, I visited three continents.

I did not expect there to be a direct flight from Málaga to Istanbul. Neither did I expect to ever find myself on it. But then last Thursday at midnight, I was hurtling down Turkish highways. The driver who picked us up from the airport was blasting music at the inhumane volume favored by the 8 a.m. Ram Van drivers, though his song was an English-Turkish number with the refrain “hips, lips, eyes, thighs” (“Sab Gazab,” for those Turkish-music-curious). We got out of the car at 1 a.m., physically buzzing from the bass. Welcome to Turkey!

My roommate, Alice, is the exact person you want to travel with. In her planning excitement, she had somehow found a boat ride on the Bosphorus strait for Friday morning. The only direction they had given us was a close-up photo of

Study Abroad | Granada

An Ode To Pangea

three ATMs, which could’ve been anywhere. We ended up being the last guests on board, the boat which pulled away the second my foot left the dock and landed on the bow. It was immediately clear that Alice had stumbled on a €32 gem. On the upper deck, we were served pears and cheese, nuts, tea and luscious Turkish coffee.

The strait divides the European and Asian sides of Turkey, and the guide peppered our journey with historical facts. When they let us off on the other bank with our sea legs, we were eating yogurt in Asia at a shop that opened in 1872.

A (privileged) consequence of a weekend traveling while abroad is the absolute necessity to shove everything possible into two or three days. In Turkey, we walked upwards of 10 miles each day and visited every monument, mosque and market that caught our eyes — the three M’s. I walked into the Grand Bazaar, a covered street market, behind a man in a floorlength puffer emblazoned in all caps with “If you don’t fight for what you want don’t cry for what you lose.” I’m still wondering what shopping goals he had that day. A vendor I bought earrings from said “don’t take [sic] wrong way” and grabbed a fistful of my blonde hair. Every shop had someone standing outside, eager to attract gullible American clientele, with shouts of “yes please,” “sorry we’re open” and “I am here!” We bought scarves from a man who told us he’d met Jimmy Carter, “not lie [sic]!” To our surprise, he did in fact have a

photo with Carter.

Inside the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, we tied our headscarves and took off our shoes to experience the incredible beauty and history of the mosques. Surprisingly, stray cats were allowed in with no restrictions. It’s not every day you walk a hallway from the sixth century with your roommates. I took pictures of a woman who positioned her phone exactly how she wanted me to hold it and made me retake them three times. She then declined to take our photo. One night, we got drinks at a rooftop terrace situated directly between the two beautifully lit-up mosques. I’ve been buying postcards at every stop and for some reason, every single one in Istanbul was coated in glitter. Over the course of those three days, I had more hummus and pita bread than I will likely ever consume again. Before a week had even passed, I was fighting for my life on a boat to Morocco. Having never gotten seasick, I arrogantly disregarded their advice to purchase Biodramina, Spain’s Dramamine equivalent. We were supposed to wait in a Moroccan customs line on the boat, but I was more focused on surviving the trip than worrying about having my passport stamped. White knuckling the table and gripping my friend’s hand, I made it through by assuring myself I’d avoid sea travel in the future. When I stepped off the boat in Africa, my third continent of the week, I felt like a 1940s sailor kissing the ground.

In Morocco, we traveled with

Fordham students through our program. We drove hours on winding roads in a tour bus that should never have traversed those switchbacks to make it to the “blue city” of Chefchaouen. In this precious town, every inch was painted in a vibrant blue. Stray cats and gorgeous decorations cut through the hues and stood out beautifully. We got to eat lunch with local families who graciously opened their doors to us and served the most delicious food and Moroccan mint tea. After lunch, my host took us shopping through the winding streets to find authentic stores with her favorite goods like perfumed oil, natural pigments and hand-woven blankets.

Later that night, after a traditional Andalusi music concert,

we were served dinner in an old mayor’s home, though we were still completely stuffed from our bountiful lunches only hours earlier. On the drive home, our guide used the bus microphone to lead a sing-along, complete with the driver drumming joyfully on the wheel with both hands.

In the span of only nine days, I visited two of the most culturally and historically rich countries I have ever experienced. I spent my days highly caffeinated on Turkish coffee and Moroccan tea, blessing me with wide-open eyes and cursing me to blurry photos taken with shaky hands. On the choppy boat ride back, I couldn’t help but think that this trip would’ve been made easier if Pangea had lasted.

ACROSS

1. ____ jar, used for storing non perishable foods

6. Quintessential garnish for a martini

7. Prophet deemed “The Father of Many Nations”

8. Common body part among cats, fish and dogs

1. Flows under a drawbridge, often contains alligators

2. Last name of leading lady in 2005 hit movie, “Fantastic Four”

3. Little lady that lives in your phone

4. _____ Office

5. Slang for Vietnamese fermented pork dish garnished with chilli and garlic

Instructions

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

COURTESY OF LUSA HOLMSTROM/THE FORDHAM RAM Four Fordham students at the Blue Mosque in Turkey.

Men’s Tennis Splits Past Two Matches Squash Sweeps in California

By MADDIE BIMONTE SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Wrapping up the regular season on the West Coast, the Fordham Squash team had a perfect weekend against the University of California Los Angeles and the University of California Berkeley this past weekend.

The Rams started out their weekend with a 7-2 victory over UCLA.

Junior Bennett Van Liew kicked things off with a win in second position, defeating Micah Kim. Across three games, in which Kim put up a fight in both the first and final matches, Kim ultimately fell to Van Liew, 11-9, 11-4 and 12-10.

Third position senior Henry Frawley had a relatively easy time finishing off Andrii Tkachuk in three games, 11-6, 11-6, 11-2. In the fourth slot, sophomore Jack Stanley beat Shubhav Suri with a final game thriller favoring Stanley, 11-6, 11-4 and 12-10.

Continuing down the line, freshman Peter Vorbach secured a win at the fifth slot over Aadi Bhandari, 11-6, 11-5 and 11-8. Sixth position junior Robert Cruikshank added another tally to the Rams win column with his victory over Shaurya Jain, 11-5 11-6 and 11-4.

Wins in the seventh and eighth spots followed, with efforts from sophomore Gray Kearns and senior Nicholas Choo, respectively.

The two losses for the Rams came from two long fought battles. Sophomore Nicholas Gilman was the one slot against Freddy Manning of UCLA, taking the game to five rounds ultimately losing by six in the final match, 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5. The

other loss came from the nine slot as junior Aarav Jhunjhunwal lost in five as well, 7-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9.

Next, the Rams turned their attention to Berkeley.

The Rams would continue to play long and taxing games, as Stanley won his match at fourth position over Richard Cherry Labourene in five games, 11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 8-11 and 11-6.

Vorbach easily procured his second win in three games on the weekend (11-6, 11-3, 12-10) over Vikram Bhamre.

Cruikshank also earned his second win of the day in four games (11-9, 11-5, 17-19, 11-9) over Varun Kandula with Kearns following suit and defeating Zachary Slonim in four games at seventh position (10-12, 11-7, 113, 11-8).

The Rams struggled in the second, third, eighth and ninth positions, conceding to Berkeley. With everything tied up, the final matchup came down to Gilman, who started off his sequence against Omar Cochiwala with two losses and a win. Going on to five games total (9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 and 11-6.), Gilman persevered and won it for the Rams with a total win count of 5-4.

Now, the regular season has finally drawn to a close, with the Rams finishing with a 21-9 record. They improve upon last season’s record of 20-11, as they finish with a 13-2 record at home. Fordham now will embark on the CSA Individual/Doubles Championships in Philadelphia, Pa., in which select members will be asked to compete. The Rams season has been nothing short of impressive and they’ll look to build upon this even more coming next season.

Athletes of the Week

Martin certainly had a week to remember at the Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championships, the junior performing so remarkably on such a big stage that she was named the competition’s Most Outstanding Performer. Such high honors were certainly merited, as Martin not only won three individual events at the meet, becoming the first Ram ever to do so, but she also broke multiple school records along the way, laying claim to Fordham’s fastest times ever in the 200-meter freestyle, the 200-meter medley, 200-meter breaststroke and the 800-meter freestyle relay.

It’s really quite hard to articulate just how valuable Rose has been to the Fordham basketball program in recent weeks, the splendor of the senior’s last three performances potentially bordering on the ineffable. In this recent run of brilliance, Rose not only managed to break his career-high in points, scoring an incredible 31 points in a loss against St. Joseph’s University, but he also was able to will the Rams to two crucial conference victories, spearheading a comeback effort against Duquesne University and hitting an extraordinary game-winner in the dying moments of the Rams’ victory against George Mason University.

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

By GRIFFIN STEVENSON

SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Men’s Tennis was defeated last weekend in a 6-1 loss to the Marist College Red Foxes at the Cary Leeds Center in the Bronx.

Fordham started the match well, with graduate student Nick Mueller and senior Giorgio Soemarno picking up a 6-4 win against Marist freshman Jose Catala and sophomore Nick Suhanitski. Following suit, senior Nicholas Kanasirev and sophomore Dhillon Virdee-Oakley took down Red Fox freshman Oliver Thoeny and sophomore Alex Thompson in another 6-4 victory. In the final doubles match of the evening, sophomore John Mascone and senior Bingru Chen fell to junior Paolo Flores and graduate student Alejandro Casteneda with the same scoreline as the rest, 6-4.

Marist would seal the matchup in singles play, with the Red Foxes ending the night undefeated. However, this was not due to Fordham’s lack of trying. The Rams took three of the six matches to a fifth set.

Mueller took victory in his first set against Thoeny, defeating the

freshman 7-6. Thoeny fought back in the second set, earning a 7-5 victory before ultimately winning the final set 6-3. This two-set comeback would be the tale of the night for Fordham as Soemarno and Kanasirev met the same defeat.

Soemarno took the first set from Casteneda through a 6-3 victory. However, Casteneda returned in the form of a convincing 6-2 second-set triumph, followed by a 7-5 defeat of Soemarno in the third set.

Meeting the same fate as his teammates, Kanazirev was beaten by Catala after dropping the second and third set via a 7-5 and 6-3 defeat despite also achieving a 6-3 victory of his own in the first set.

This loss comes from a narrow 4-3 victory over the Binghamton University Bearcats at the Cary Leeds Center.

In that matchup, the Rams again found success in the doubles department, with the main duo of Mueller and Soemaro opening the competition with a 6-3 victory over sophomore Ronin Lotlikar and junior Kyle Weekes. Moscone and Chen followed suit with a 7-5 win against sophomore James

McPherson and freshman Matt Carlson despite needing an extra game to do so.

Fordham’s singles victories came from Kanazirev, Mueller and Mascone, with the latter two winning in comeback fashion.

Kanazirev took down Weekes after winning the first set 6-2, then dropping the second 6-5 before ultimately achieving victory convincingly with a 6-3 victory in the third set.

Mueller battled against Lotlikar in a singles matchup that saw Mueller going down early through a 7-5 first-set defeat before winning the last two sets with an identical score of 6-2.

Lastly, it was Mascone versus McPherson in an exciting matchup that saw McPherson winning the first set via tiebreaker before Mascone came back to win the second by a score of 6-2. Mascone clinched the game and the entire match with a 6-3 victory in the third and final set.

After splitting these past two matchups, the Rams will look to return to their winning ways as they take on Monmouth University on the road in New Jersey Sunday, March 10 at 2 p.m.

Men’s Tennis Falls to BU in First Match of the Season

By JOE HENRY STAFF WRITER

After a nearly two-month-long stretch of road play, Fordham Women’s Tennis finally found themselves in the comfort of their home on Saturday, March 2, when they took on George Washington University. Due to persistent rain, the match was moved from the McShaneadjacent Hawthorn/Rooney Courts to the Cary Leeds Center in Crotona Park.

The Rams got back on their feet on Saturday following a two-week rest; they last played on the weekend of Feb. 17, where they lost to Kansas State and Wichita State in Kansas. The team’s extra time off showed in play, where they bounced back brilliantly against their rival Colonials. The Rams have seen mixed results in doubles this season, but started the match by winning two of three in the category — freshman Anlin Xie and graduate student Raffaela Alhach won #1 doubles 6-4, while seniors Rose Hu

and Eleni Fasoula snatched #2 with ease, 6-2.

Staying on the forehand, the club gave the Colonials a good fight across the board at singles. No match went three sets, but all were competitive between the Atlantic 10 foes; Fordham secured two more points behind Hu’s 6-3, 6-4 #2 singles performance, as well as freshman Cindy Zhou’s 7-5, 6-2 win at #3. Graduate students Demi Jhaveri and Franny Shea captured crucial wins down the line, taking their #5 and #6 singles games 6-2, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-3, respectively. The Rams’ 5-2 team victory moves them to an outstanding 3-0 in conference play while advancing 4-4 overall.

The win comes in the wake of one of the program’s longest and toughest road trips ever, but coach Michael Sowter lauded the team’s resilience against a GWU team that posed a legitimate threat: “Credit to GWU, they competed really well so I’m happy with how the team responded.”

This match is also the first since A-10 preseason awards were

announced; the Rams took home several honors at the individual and team levels. Foremost, the reigning conference champs were ranked second out of 13 in the conference, trailing only Virginia Commonwealth University. The Rams were given three first-place votes to VCU’s eight. That said, when the two teams matched up in the A-10 finals last year, it was Fordham that took home the trophy in a 4-1 win. Further, Fordham filled the all-conference list, which featured Alhach, Hu and Xie. The three stars, all newcomers, hope to help lead the team to its second A-10 championship.

Coach Sowter added that he’s eager for the team to travel to Providence, R.I., to take a crack at Brown University’s squad. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. this Saturday, where the Rams aspire to go above .500 for the first time this season. They’ll have their work cut out for them though, with the Bears sitting at 5-5 overall and a remarkable 3-0 on their home Crotona Park courts.

Varsity Calendar

Women’s Swimming & Diving

Ainhoa Martin Junior Women’s Swimming

Kyle Rose Senior Men’s Basketball

Men’s Hoops Fails To Maintain Rhythm After Escaping Skid

By COLIN LOUGHRAN STAFF WRITER

Is it better to have had hope and lost it, or to have never been bullish at all?

Fans of Fordham Men’s Basketball may be pondering this exact conundrum following the team’s latest four-game stretch. After a 68-53 road loss to Davidson College that pushed the skid to four games, the Rams went on to rattle off two needed home wins. The bunch defeated Duquesne University and George Mason University 79-67 and 61-60, respectively, but failed to continue the streak this past Saturday and fell to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, 82-69.

Fordham’s first half against the Davidson Wildcats was hotly contested. The boys from the Bronx led led 24-23 at halftime and scored the first six points of the second half thanks to made 3-pointers from sophomore Will Richardson and senior Kyle Rose who tallied nine points and six points, respectively.

Davidson eventually used an 11-2 run to take a 43-39 midway through the half. A Rose triple with 8:05 to play in regulation trimmed the Fordham deficit to four but the Cats reeled off 10 straight points to take a commanding 59-45 lead that they would not relent.

The Wildcats shot 57.2% from the field and roughly 45% from range in the second half. The crew from North Carolina had four players finish with double-figure scoring marks. Senior Connor Kochera tallied a game-high 21 points. Sophomore Reed Bailey poured in 19 points and made 12 of his 16 free-throw attempts. Senior Grant Huffman added 10 points and six rebounds while redshirt sophomore Angelo Brizzi collected 14 points and four boards.

By contrast, the Rams shot 26.67% from the field in the second half and did not receive scoring from their usual providers. Senior Antrell Charlton and sophomores Elijah Gray and Romad Dean could only combine for 18 points. Further, senior Japhet Medor did not score and only collected a single assist.

Senior Abdou Tsimbila and sophomore Joshua Rivera each put up seven points, but it would not be enough to outduel a hot Wildcat team that ran through Fordham’s defense in the second half.

The loss to Davidson was Fordham’s fourth in a row. In need of a boost, they returned home to face a Duquesne Dukes team they had lost to on the road earlier this season. With a rowdy Rose Hill crowd present, the Rams bested the Dukes in a war of attrition.

“It was pretty amazing to see that atmosphere tonight,” Rose said after the game. “It was great to have everyone come back and support us.”

Duquesne outscored Fordham 32-26 in the first half. Across the opening 20 minutes, neither squad shot above 40% from the field, but the Dukes benefited from 17 free-throw attempts. They used the Rams’ aggression

to their advantage and drew contact in a variety of ways.

Dae Dae Grant led the Duquesne offense. The senior guard posted a team-high 15 points and made all 10 of his free throws. Senior Jimmy Clark III and graduate student Fousseyni Drame combined for 23 points, but freshman Jake DiMichele was held to only six points after dropping 15 points against the Rams back in January.

Fordham started the second half with an 8-2 scoring run to tie the game at 34. A 3-point play by freshman Jahmere Tripp later ignited an 11-0 run that would give the Bronx’s best a 47-37 with 14:47 remaining.

“We started slipping a few more screens and keeping the ball in the middle of the floor,” said Fordham head coach Keith Urgo. “They were ‘icing’ or downing ball screens on the wing so we tried to keep the ball screens and dribble handoffs on the wings more between the slots.”

The Rams’ seniors stepped up in a big way, and set the emotional tone in the second half. Rose scored a game-high 23 points on an 8-12 shooting performance. Tsimbila put up 10 points, blocked a team-high six shots and swiped six rebounds. Charlton scored 16 points, rattled off a team-high eight assists and grabbed four rebounds.

The men in maroon led by as many as 17 points and ultimately snapped the longest losing streak of their season.

After hosting one of the more exciting games of Fordham’s season, the historic Rose Hill Gym was home to one of the strangest contests of the year a few days later.

Fordham and the George Mason Patriots each shot under 30% from the field across the first 20 minutes of action. The Rams trailed 19-18 heading into the break, and were in a defensive scrum against a squad that boasts one of the Atlantic 10’s leading scorers. Sophomore Keyshawn Hall ended his night with a team-high 15 points, but did so on an inefficient 4-11 shooting performance.

The second half began with a 21-8 colonials run. Holistically, the Patriots received scoring from seven different players outside of Hall, and the second half saw them begin to click. Senior guard Darious Maddox and graduate student Amari Kelly were particularly effective. Maddox totaled 13 points on a 4-8 shooting night while Kelly posted eight points and a teamhigh eight rebounds. An Austin Ball 3-pointer with 12:22 left gave the road team a 40-26 edge, their biggest of the night. “We kept saying in every huddle, we’re going to take it inside of the last four minutes,” Urgo said after the contest. “They are going to wear out.”

The Rams got the deficit down to 10 points three times over the next two minutes, and two Dean free-throws later jolted a 15-4 run for the Rams. A Rose triple made it 52-51 and granted Fordham their first lead of the act with 4:44 left.

“They focused on getting stops,”

said Urgo. “They didn’t let their offense early on dictate their effort.”

Fordham played a feisty second half and shot roughly 58% from range over the final 20 minutes.

Richardson and Dean each collected 10 points while Charlton put up nine points, six rebounds and four dimes.

The two sides worked their way towards what was a thrilling conclusion. The Patriots took a 6058 lead thanks to a Kelly putback with 24 seconds left.

As he’s done so many times throughout Rose’s storied career Fordham career, he stepped up when it mattered most. With only four seconds remaining, the Maryland native drained a triple to give Fordham a 61-60 that would ultimately mark the final score. Rose finished his night with a teambest 16 points, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing four assists.

“When you do all of the right things for the right reasons for as long as he’s done it, and have been through four coaches, you’re destined to hit some shots like that,” Urgo said of Rose. “He’s earned that right.”

Heading into last Saturday’s contest in the city of brotherly love, Fordham had won two straight in comeback fashion and was attempting to maintain the sort of momentum that can make a team scary in March.

Despite these ambitions, the Rams fell flat against St. Joseph’s. The Hawks jumped out to a 10-0 advantage in the first half, and led by as many as 26 points at one point in the game. Fordham fought back thanks to a career-high 31 points from Rose, but would only trim the deficit to as little as seven points.

St. Joseph’s received stellar performances from each member of their starting five. The group combined for 58 points. As a team, the Hawks shot roughly 46% from the field and collected a total of 21 assists. Graduate student Cameron Brown tallied 15 points. Junior Erik Reynolds II cashed in 14 points. Perhaps most notably, junior forward Kacper Klaczek scored a team-best 16 points off the bench on a strong 7-11 shooting performance.

The Rams only collected eight assists and made around 41% of their shots. Outside of Rose, there were very few decent individual outings. Medor could only provide five points, and Chartlon was held to four points and two assists. Further, Richardson and Rivera only combined for a single point.

All things said and done, Fordham failed to maintain the rhythm they built over the prior two games against the St. Joseph Hawks. Their defense struggled on the perimeter and also allowed 46 points in the paint. Offensively, the Rams didn’t play a clean game and committed 16 turnovers.

The boys from the Bronx now hold a 6-10 conference record and are 10th in the A-10 standings. It is quite possible that their most recent stretch illustrated both the ceiling and the floor of this rams team.

There are two regular season games left and tournament time is knocking on the door. Fordham will have to decide which version of their team will answer.

Men’s Track and Field ECAC/IC4A (17)

Women’s Track and Field ECAC/IC4A Championships (19)

Women’s Tennis

-Compiled by Griffin Stevenson

News & Notes

Softball Hits Rough Patch

The past couple of weeks were anything but kind to the Fordham softball team, as the Rams unfortunately dropped four of their five games during that span. This tough slide all started with a tough 7-1 defeat in a standalone contest against a likely overmatched Sacred Heart University team, the disappointment from this loss seemingly carrying over and defining the team’s frustrating time at the Queen City Classic. While in the Tarheel State, the Rams would kick things off by losing back-to-back matchups against the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (210 and 4-10, respectively) before also falling by a count of 2-0 to the Seahawks of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Fordham did, however, end the weekend on a positive note, impressively knocking off the 14th ranked team in the nation, a scrappy Wildcats team from the University of Kentucky, in what was an absolute thriller. In terms of what is next for Fordham Softball, the Rams will return to action on Wednesday, Mar. 6, facing off against the Camels of Campbell University before heading down south to the Palmetto State in order to compete in the Tiger Invitational at Clemson University.

To be Awarded to Blain Cerney, IPED ’10 for Excellence in the Service of Faith through the Promotion of International Peace and Development

INVOCATION: His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York

WELCOME: Dr. Dennis Jacobs, Provost of Fordham University

AWARD CONFERRAL: His Excellency, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia Pope Francis’ Representative to the United Nations

ADDRESS BY: Mr. Blain Cerney, IPED ’10, Surge Advisor, Latin American Caribbean Regional Office, Catholic Relief Services

CLOSING REMARKS: Ms. Bridget Bucardo Rivera, IPED ’09, Senior Advisor, Catholic Relief Services

Blain Cerney

Swim and Dive Breaks Records at A-10 Championships

By NOAH HOFFMAN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham’s women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams finished their seasons with the Atlantic 10 Championships three weeks ago. After an undefeated regular season, the women’s team came in third, while the men’s team finished in sixth.

The highlight of the event was junior Ainhoa Martin, who stole the show with three first-place finishes en route to being named the Most Outstanding Performer of the championship.

The Championships began on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Hampton, Va. at the Hampton Aquaplex. Two school records were broken in the first two events, both the 200 medleys.

The women’s squad comprised of graduate students Jane Brown and Manon Compagner, along with juniors Emma Shaughnessy and Jessica Zebrowski, beat their best time of 1:40.17, which set the record last year, with a new record of 1:39.67. The time earned them the silver medal and Second Team All-Atlantic 10.

The men’s team followed up the record-breaking time

with one of their own. The team, composed of sophomore Christian Taylor, senior Noah Althoff, graduate student Guy Gropper and junior Alexander Shah, bested their record mark from earlier in the year of 1:28.04 by almost two seconds with a time of 1:26.19. The time also earned them silver and secondteam honors.

In the 800 freestyle relay, more records were broken, this time without the shiny secondplace finishes.

For the women’s, the team of Ainhoa, junior Leire Martin and Emilie Krog, along with graduate student Alison Lin, captured bronze with a new school record of 7:18.45, which broke the longstanding 2010 record of 7:20.82. In the third-place finish, Ainhoa broke the 200 freestyle pace with a time of 1:47.91, beating the fiveyear-old record of 1:48.53.

The men’s team also set a school record as Althoff, senior Alex Wilhelm, junior Vitalis Onu and graduate student Wojcieh Dutkowiak passed the old best mark in the men’s 800 freestyle relay of 6:33.71 after finishing in 6:35.86. The time was good enough for a sixth-place finish.

The women’s team ended the day in second place, while the

men’s found themselves in sixth.

More records were broken on day two of the championships.

First up was Ainhoa, who broke another school record, this time in the 200 individual medley with a score of 1:58.25, beating her own record time she set in 2022. Her fast pace also earned her the top time in the event and a gold medal.

On the men’s side, it was Gropper who set a school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.62 en route to a third-place finish and bronze medal. The men also set a school-best time of 1:19.01 in the 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Taylor, Gropper, Althoff and junior Alexander Shah finishing in second place.

At the day’s end, the women’s team had moved back to fourth place while the men’s team moved up to second.

The women’s team stole the show on the third day of the competition, medaling a total of five times, including two golds.

Starting with the women’s 100 butterfly, Zebrowski and Compagner both earned podium finishes. Zebrowski won the event in 53.24 seconds, while Compagner came in third with a time of 53.47 seconds.

In the women’s 400 individual medley, Ainhoa again claimed first, her second first-place finish of the tournament, with a time of 4:15.06, giving the Rams two first-place finishes in the first two women’s events.

The fourth medal of the day came when Shaughnessy placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a new school record of 1:01.13. The final women’s medal came from the 400 medley relay, with Brown, Shaughnessy, Zebrowski and Compagner taking home silver with another school-best time of 3:39.51.

On the men’s side, there were no podium finishes until the 400 medley relay team of Taylor, Althoff, Gropper and Wilhelm finished in third with a time of 3:13.21. Although there were no podium spots in the individual events on day three for the men, Dutkowiak broke the 200 freestyle school record.

The women finished the day moving up to third place while the men dropped to fourth.

On the final day of the event, history was made when Ainhoa won her third individual event of the championship after claiming the top spot in a tightly contested 200 breaststroke. She won in a school and A-10 record of

2:09.55, becoming the first Ram to win three individual events in the same A-10 championship. The three gold medals earned her the honor of being named the Most Outstanding Performer, the second Fordham woman to do so.

Also, on the day, Compagner finished second in the 100 freestyle in a school record time of 49.36 seconds.

On the men’s side, the final day brought more recordbreaking performances. In the 100 freestyle, Gropper claimed bronze with a school record of 43.52 seconds. While the team of Shah, Taylor, Wilhelm and Althoff broke the school and previous A-10 record in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 2:54.59, good enough for second place.

In total, the Rams shattered 16 school records and placed on the podium in 15 events, an incredible showing. The women’s team led the way with 10 podium finishes, nine recordbreaking performances and, of course, the Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament with Ainhoa. The men’s team took home five podium finishes and broke a total of seven school records on the day.

Track and Field Falters on the Big Stage

By JONAH RING SPORTS EDITOR

After having just about a week off, the Rams of the Fordham track and field team found themselves immediately right back in the thick of it, with the men’s and women’s teams participating in two high-stakes meets on consecutive weekends.

The first of these two allimportant competitions was the Atlantic 10 Track and Field Championships, hosted this year amongst the soft, rolling dunes and gently breaking waves of Virginia Beach, Va. Unfortunately, the Rams would find themselves disrupting the area’s beauty more than adding to it, as many of their performances in the 757 were disappointing and, quite frankly, ugly.

The Rams did have a finals qualifier in the next event, however, as sophomore Kevin Callaghan managed to place seventh in the preliminaries of the men’s 500-meter dash on the back of an extremely strong mark of 1:05.71. However, the finals would unfortunately not treat Callaghan too kindly, as he would go on to finish last in his grouping with a time of 1:06.04.

It was not until the men’s 1000-meter run that Fordham would have its next finals qualifier, the Rams having to wait till junior Nathaniel Bezuneh finished firmly in sixth in the prelims to celebrate something. Just like Callaghan, Bezuneh also found himself towards the back of the pack in his finals grouping, finishing in seventh place behind a time of 2:31.28.

Distance events continued to be fruitful for the Rams with the meet moving on to the

mile run, as graduate student Colin Flood managed to show out for Fordham, his time of 4:13.78 being good enough for an impressive fifth-place finish on the day. The Rams would likewise lay claim to a top spot in the men’s 5000-meter run, with junior Steve Zucca placing himself firmly in ninth place behind a strong time of 14:33.04. Zucca would also go on to record a top-five finish in the men’s 3000-meter run, his time of 8:22.53 allowing him to lay claim to fifth. However, he was not Fordham’s highest finisher in this event, as junior Rodolfo Sanchez would actually manage to lay claim to the silver medal for the Rams with his incredible mark of 8:19.05.

Relays also proved to be a rather strong point for the men’s team on the weekend, with all three of the Rams’ teams placing within or near the upper ranks of their respective events. For starters, the four-man team of Sanchez, Flood, Bezuneh and freshman Dakota Strain impressively ran themselves into the top four of the distance medley relay, recording an astounding mark of 9:59.07. Also finishing in the four-spot of their respective relay was the 4x800 team, as the foursome of Flood, Rinn, freshman Sean Reidy and sophomore Darren Croke posted a solid time of 7:42.47.

Finally, the Rams’ 4x400 squad just barely missed out on a topfive finish. The squad, composed of the aforementioned Nurse, Freeman, Strain and senior Erik Brown, nevertheless registered a solid time of 3:19.41.

On the field side of things for the men, the Rams were actually able to quickly notch themselves

a top-five finish on the back of sophomore George Palmer’s performance in the men’s high jump, his mark of 1.82 meters good enough for fourth on the day. Apart from Palmer’s impressive performance, the Rams only managed to register two more top-10 finishes for the rest of the day: senior Eric Galante’s eighthplace finish in the men’s long jump and sophomore Michael Croke’s eighth-place finish in the men’s pole vault.

Despite some of the abovelisted strong individual track performances, the men’s track team overall fell quite short of their high expectations for this iteration of the A-10 Championship, finishing in eighth place out of only 11 eligible teams.

Turning to the women’s side of the meet, the Rams again had a rather rough time, as the team only had two finals qualifications across the entire meet — both of these thanks to the alwaysreliable graduate student Kyla Hill. Hill has been making the most of her finals appearances for Fordham, as she claimed a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.41 seconds and broke her own school record in the 400-meter dash by running a blistering time of 55.58 seconds. Hill’s stellar weekend would not end there, however, as she helped spearhead the Rams’ charge in the 4x400 meter relay, leading a team that also consisted of sophomores Dillyn Green, Alexandra Williams and senior Michele Daye to a strong fifthplace finish. Also of note for the Rams was freshman Michaela Gier’s stellar performance in the women’s pole vault, as Gier was able to break the

school record for the event that she managed to set earlier in her rookie campaign, recording an impressive mark of 3.32 meters this time around that was good enough for a ninth place finish on the day. Yet, despite this and Hill’s heroics, the women’s team sadly found themselves towards the bottom of the event’s overall standings, finishing a measly 12th out of a field of 15 eligible teams.

Despite both the men’s and women’s teams having overall disappointing performances all around on the biggest stage of the year, the Rams were nonetheless forced to keep trekking forward, being asked to make a quick turnaround and ship out to Boston to compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference/ Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championship (ECAC/IC4A Championship). However, the Rams once again struggled to put together a solid team performance. That is not to say that there were not impressive individual performances as many of the regular standouts continued to roll.

On the men’s side, both Sanchez and Flood managed to qualify for the finals in the mile run; Flood’s impressive time of 4:08.62 was strong enough to win his preliminary heat. Just a few events later, in the men’s 500-meter run, Fordham managed to notch another finals qualification on the back of Yariv Simhony’s impressive time of 1:05.71. In the finals, all three were able to finish within the top seven of their respective events, with Flood actually winning the bronze medal in the mile rule. Moreover, Bezuneh was unable to qualify for the finals in the

men’s 1000-meter run, finishing just two spots outside the topnine preliminary placement that was needed to move on. His mark of 2:27.72 in the race was nevertheless the 74th fastest time in the event at the Division 1 level in 2024.

The men then wrapped their weekend up with a pair of relays: the distance medley relay and the 4x400-meter relay. In the distance medley, the team of Bezuneh, Brown, Rinn and Reidy impressively ran themselves into fifth place, their stellar mark of 9:53.86 being the grouping’s best performance of the year. While the 4x400 team did not place quite as high, they still showed out for Fordham, as the foursome of Strain, Martinez, Nurse and Freeman combined for a seventh-place finish as well as a season-best time of their own: an impressive mark of 3:17.40.

On the women’s side of the meet, Hill stole the show once again with her impressive preliminary times — 7.65 seconds in the 60-meter dash and 24.87 seconds in the 200-meter dash — moving her on to the finals in both events. In the finals, Hill only continued to roll, as she improved upon her time in the 60-meter dash by .01 seconds (7.64 seconds this time around) in order to capture third place in the event. She also cracked the top five in the 200-meter dash with an impressive mark of 24.54 seconds: good enough for fourth on the day. Hill then combined with Daye, Williams and Green to compete in the women’s 4x400meter relay. There, the Rams were able to end their weekend on a bang, as Fordham’s foursome broke the school record in the event with a time of 3:45.68.

Overtime: Should NBA Referees Be Held to More Accountability?

By NOAH HOFFMAN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Last week, a bad no-call in a professional basketball game helped dictate the outcome of the final score, leaving basketball fans wondering again if officials should be held to more accountability.

The New York Knicks were down and on the verge of losing to the lowly Detroit Pistons, when star point guard Jalen Brunson hoisted up a three that was off the mark. After that, chaos ensued.

Multiple loose balls and possession changes eventually led to the ball ending in Knicks Donte DiVincenzo’s hands. DiVincenzo then tried to get Brunson the ball for another game-winning attempt before the Pistons’ Ausar Thompson managed to steal it. As Thompson started to move down the court, he ran into DiVincenzo for what appeared to be an obvious foul, but the referee’s whistle was not blown.

Brunson eventually retained possession and then found Josh Hart in the paint for an extremely easy game-winning layup.

After the game, NBA referee James Williams admitted that DiVincenzo should have been called for a foul on the collision with Thompson.

In the report, Williams said, “Upon postgame review, we determined that Thompson gets to the ball first, and then was deprived of the opportunity to gain possession of the ball. Therefore, a loose ball foul should have been whistled on New York’s Donte DiVincenzo.”

That being said, it was too little,

too late, with the damage already done and Detroit leaving Madison Square Garden on a sour note.

Pistons head coach Monty Williams would voice his displeasure in his post-game press conference in a minute-long rant, saying, “The absolute worst call of the season. No call? Enough is enough. We’ve done it the right way. We’ve called the league. We’ve sent in clips. We’re sick of hearing the same stuff over and over again. We had a chance to win the game and the guy dove into Ausar’s legs and there was a no-call. That’s an abomination.”

He has the support of fans and media personalities across the country who agree something must be done about officiating.

This is just two weeks after the Knicks were on the other side of bad officiating days before the all-star break in a game against the Houston Rockets.

The Knicks, who were down 16 at

one point in the game, managed to fight their way back to tie the game at 103 after a Brunson jump shot. With overtime seeming inevitable, the Rockets Aaron Holiday heaved up a desperation shot just before the buzzer. On the play, Brunson was charged with illegal contact with Holiday. Even after a replay review, the call stood, leading to free throws and a 105-103 Rockets win.

However, in a report following the game, crew chief Ed Malloy did admit that the Brunson foul should not have been called.

“After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor,” Malloy said. “The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was much less heated than Williams was in his own

presser, but still was not pleased.

“The thing with the officials, this is the way I feel about that in general, is I don’t really care how tight the game is called. You can call it tight or you can call it loose. I just want consistency to be the same,” Thibodeau said. “They have a job: they have to control and manage the game. That’s their number one responsibility. They have to use their judgment and I have respect for that. So it didn’t go our way tonight.”

The Knicks did protest the loss, but the appeal was recently denied by the league, saying referee error is not enough to overturn.

It is seemingly unlikely that these two calls will have any real weight in determining where these three teams will end up at season’s end. The Knicks even out with the calls and, unless they encounter a historic collapse, are destined for the playoffs. The Rockets are on the outside looking in on the west, while the Pistons have the

worst record in the entire league.

That said, is it inevitable that one of these officiating blunders happens in a pivotal moment, maybe a playoff game or even a finals game, and what then? How can the league keep the referees accountable? Clearly, the replay system isn’t working because, even after a review of the Brunson call, they still got it wrong.

Many fans think the referees should be fined for making bad calls, but everyone knows that will never happen. It is also not like the NBA has the luxury of just firing referees because good referees don’t just grow on trees — think of the middle or high school referees you once had.

It’s really the lack of public reprimanding that aggravates fans. Adam Silver did say that the league does hold referees accountable, it is just done in a private manner. Still, with the number of bad calls the NBA has had so far this season, it clearly isn’t enough. The current system in place for reviewing and punishing referees appears to be ineffective. While referees do face some consequences, there are other options the league could explore. Nevertheless, it is heavily argued that public accountability and punishment would promote change.

The perfect referee doesn’t exist and it is simply unrealistic to expect that it ever will. However, the lack of change and accountability is frustrating and seems to worsen each and every year. Better systems need to be put in place to reduce the number of bad calls. It’s not an easy fix, but a lot can be prevented. It’s time for the NBA to make some changes.

Student Athlete Column: First Swings of Men’s Club Squash Team

By MARY HAWTHORN PHOTO EDITOR

Freshmen Owen Cassidy and Theodore Tucker Silva have taken the first steps in creating a men’s club squash team. This expansion and advancement of racket sports at Fordham is a fantastic way for players of all levels to get on the court and play. Due to the popularity of the sport, this informal team has already gained much attention here at Rose Hill. They are not an official club sports team, but they are working towards becoming one in the future. This entirely student-run initiative is reflective of the love many students have for the game.

Cassidy and Silva are talented and experienced squash players. They started their squash careers in high school, and it morphed into a passion for them both. After learning that there was no men’s club team at Fordham, they “decided to take matters into [their] own hands and change that.” “The idea came from a shared interest in the sport,” Cassidy said, “as well as an understanding of the role squash can have in the business world.”

The first step was communicating with the Fordham Club Sports Department and Fordham men’s head coach Sahel Anwar. After that, they established a group of male players interested in joining and created a practice schedule. The team plays on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the University Courts in the Lombardi Center. Several of these practices are partnered with the women’s squash team, captained by senior Julia Khankan. Cassidy shared: “We found that it is easiest to see more competition when practicing with the women’s team… and practicing late at night made it more accessible for people to attend.” Khankan shared, “Starting a men’s club team would really

expand our club sports program and would get more people who love squash on the courts!”

Practices are quite competitive, with a mixture of drills, cardio and matchplay. Silva said, “One of the main things that we like to harp on is just getting reps in. We play a lot of games and challenge matches, as we found it’s easiest to gain skill at any level from just playing… There are also some drills we like that incorporate ball placement, such as only playing backcourt or one specific side in order to make our players think more before they hit.” When play-

ing with the women’s team, matchplay and practice points across the four courts are the main aspects. The players are currently working on formulating a roster, as it is necessary for an official team.

Although they have many aspirations, Cassidy said that he and Silva’s main goal “is to create a place where people around campus who enjoy playing squash can compete against in a light-hearted, yet competitive environment.” He also shared, “We would love to eventually have a really strong squad that we can bring to play against other schools but currently we are

just focusing on having a fun environment and community. There are a lot of schools with men’s club programs so we are looking forward to playing against them.”

As a player on the women’s club squash team myself, I am eager to see the growth of racket sports here at Fordham in the years to come. I grew up watching my grandfather Robert Hawthorn, class of ’53, coach tennis and squash here at Rose Hill. He coached for 53 years, the longest tenure of any coach in Fordham history. In addition to making the program the best it could be with a #6 national ranking, he had a passion for keeping the sport alive. Today, the squash program is flourishing thanks to his efforts and I am thrilled that many more Fordham students will now be able to play competitively in the near future.

Although this team is unofficial, they are off to a great start.

No matter how long the process takes to become a club team, these athletes will continue to play the game they love. Their hard work and dedication to expanding club sports are quite admirable, and I look forward to seeing what sort of impressive progress they will have certainly made by the end of the year.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

NBA referees have come under fire quite a bit this season, their recent perfomance being questionable at best.

COURTESY OF TUCKER SILVA FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

A new era of squash has been ushered in at Fordham, a men’s club squash team having been newly formed.

Baseball Picks Up First Two Wins of the Season

By NOAH HOFFMAN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

What looked like a promising start to a seven-game stretch of games for Fordham Baseball quickly turned sideways by the end as they started off 2-2 but finished 2-5.

The Rams started with three exhibition matches in Deland, Fla., the first being against the United States Military Academy West Point, where the Rams picked up their first win of the season.

Fordham got on the board early, scoring five in the second inning after capitalizing on three Army errors. With two runners in scoring position, after a base hit and an error, freshman Madden Ocko came through with a two-run double to left. Two more Army errors and an RBI single from sophomore Daniel Bucciero scored three more runs in the inning to give them a commanding 5-0 lead.

After a Black Knights rally in the fourth to make it a 5-1 game, the Rams clapped back with two of their own in the bottom half. Senior Ryan Thiesse singled, which was followed by a Bucciero run-scoring triple. Bucciero scored a batter later on fellow sophomore Tommy McAndrews’s RBI groundout, giving Fordham a 7-1 lead.

With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, the Rams added to the lead

By LOU ORLANDO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

after senior Chris Genaro drove in two on a single. The bullpen gave up six runs to make it a close game late at 9-7, but freshman Koen Smith shut the door in the ninth to earn Fordham’s first win of the year and his first collegiate save.

Starter senior Declan Lavelle pitched a gem for the Rams, going five innings of one-run ball while punching out five, earning his first win of the young season.

In the second game of the three down in Florida, Fordham didn’t fare well against the University of Maine. After going down into a 2-0 hole in the first inning, the Rams fought back with two of their own in the second. A walk and hit by pitch put two on for senior Michael Brueser, who scored one with a double. The following batter, Ocko, hit a sac fly to right to score the second run of the inning and tie the game at two.

The rest of the game was then all Maine, however, as they scored 14 unanswered runs in the 16-2 blowout seven-inning game. It was a rough day for Fordham pitching as they could not find the zone, allowing 14 total walks.

The final game of the Florida trip was against the hosting Stetson University.

Fordham once again fell into a hole early on after Stetson scored

twice in the first inning. In the third, the Rams cut the lead in half after a solo home run from senior Nico Boza.

However, that would be the only run of the game Fordham would push across, with only four hits on the day. Two of the four came from Genaro, with Brueser having the final hit. Along with the home run, Boza also had two walks.

Stetson scored seven more times on the day and ran away with the 9-1 win. Dropping Fordham to 1-5 on the season after the 1-2 weekend.

The Rams returned to the Bronx for their home opener versus Saint Peter’s on Wednesday, Feb. 28. On a rainy day, the offense came out to play, scoring 13 runs in a win.

The day started off with Fordham falling behind 3-0. In the second inning, the run spree began. Fordham played small ball to tie the game at three after a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly from Brueser and an RBI single from Thiesse.

In the third, the Rams capitalized on a dropped fly ball in center field, allowing graduate student Andrew Kanellis and McAndrews to score, giving Fordham a 5-3 lead. Saint Peter’s then cut the lead in half in the fifth before Fordham’s offense exploded for an eight-run seventh inning. With one out, the Rams loaded up the bases and scored three

runs, first on a Brueser walk, then a single from Ocko and then finally Genaro’s inning-ending groundout.

With two outs, Fordham again loaded the bases and scored on a two-run single from graduate student Henry Pelinski, an RBI single from Bucciero and a two-run double from McAndrews. The offensive outburst equated to a 13-4 Rams lead.

Saint Peter’s relayed off four runs in the eighth before Smith recorded the final four outs and the 13-8 win. Junior Andres Perez captured his first collegiate win, and McAndrews led the way on offense with two doubles.

Following the home opener, the Rams traveled down south again, this time to Spartansburg, S.C., to face off against Wofford College.

The first game of the series got rained out, meaning a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2 would start the series. The Rams jumped out in front in the first inning, with the duo of Bucciero and Andrews manufacturing a run after taking advantage of two Wofford errors.

In the bottom half of the inning, Wofford put up a run of their own with a leadoff home run. In the second, Fordham loaded the bases with only one out, but only managed one run, as the rally was halted. The score remained 2-1 Rams going into

the fourth inning. In the fourth, the Terriers again tied the game with a solo shot.

Another homer from Wofford in the fifth inning put the Terriers up 3-2. In the eighth, Fordham hit a solo home run of their own from Kanellis to tie the game late at three.

Unfortunately, in the bottom half of the inning, Wofford put together a rally that ended in a three-run home run. The Terriers went on to win the first game of the series 6-3.

Lavelle had another solid outing for the Rams, going six innings, striking out three and allowing the three solo homers.

It was a game to forget for the Rams in the second game of the doubleheader, getting blown out by a score of 29-3. Unable to overcome a 10-run first inning for Wofford dictated how the game would go.

In the final game of the series, Fordham didn’t fare too much better. Falling into an 8-0 hole by the fourth inning, which extended to 13-0 by the seventh. The Rams did muster to scratch across two runs in the eighth to lose 13-2.

The sweep at Wofford ended their seven-game period of games on a low note. They’ll look to bounce back starting with a single game against Marist College on Wednesday, March 6, followed by a series at the College of William and Mary.

Women’s Basketball Peaks Then Crashes

Highs and lows are certainly a major part of life, sports and everything in between. However, the Fordham Women’s Basketball team has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows in the past week alone.

Fordham saw their season-high win streak snapped in the regular season finale, still earning a firstround bye and the ninth seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but doing so after a week that can only be described as pure chaos.

Fordham entered the week riding a season-high five game win streak. The Rams sat in ninth place, just high enough to earn the first-round bye in the conference tournament, but with an upcoming matchup against the A-10-leading Hawks of Saint Joseph’s University, staying in the top nine was far from a sure thing.

The Rams were already coming off an eventful week. After a 15-point victory against the reigning champions, Saint Louis University, the Rams earned a forfeit win against Davidson College, who canceled the game, and later their entire season, due to non-COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The team was playing their best basketball thanks to an improved defensive system and a balanced offensive attack. Alongside the A-10’s leading scorer, senior Taylor Donaldson, graduate student Emy Hayford was enjoying her finest stretch of the season alongside increased offensive production from their overall core.

All of it would be tested against a formidable St. Joe’s team with a 25-3 overall record and a 14-2 conference record that was tied for best in the A-10. Boasting an impressive three all-conference selections in Mackenzie Smith, Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler, the Hawks weren’t

just one of the most dynamic offensive units in the conference — they also boasted the fourth-best scoring defense in all of Division 1 basketball, allowing just 53.0 points per game.

To make matters worse, the Rams were without the 6-foot-1 Nelson, giving even more of an advantage to the Hawks’ playmaking bigs.

St. Joe’s had defeated Fordham by 27-points back in December, but things would be much tighter this time around. Fordham scored the first four points of the night in the first 50 seconds. The Hawks responded with 11 straight points, but the Rams found a response and trailed by just one point after the inaugural quarter.

Both sides would trade blows in the second, but it was Donaldson who raced down the court and banked a two-in as the clock expired to give the Rams a two-point lead at halftime. Through one half of play, the Hawks seemed to be caught off guard by Fordham’s energy and their relentless defensive pressure. But with an entire halftime break to adjust, it seemed unlikely that Cindy Griffin, in the midst of her 23rd season at St. Joe’s, would not cook up a response.

St. Joe’s looked a little slow to start the third and the Rams took advantage, extending their lead to eight and forcing a Griffin timeout just three minutes in. The timeout proved to be a turning point as, sure enough, the Hawks came alive.

Beginning with a three-pointer by Smith, St. Joe’s ended the third on a 17-8 run. 12 of the points came from Smith, who exploded in the final seven minutes, while freshman Gabby Casey hit a clutch corner 3-pointer to give the Hawks a one-point lead entering the final frame.

The fourth quarter brought much of the same exciting action as both sides continued to go bucket for bucket. Neither team was able to grab a significant edge so the Hawks

managed to carry a one-possession lead into the final minute.

Cue Fordham’s signature moment of the season. Trailing 57-56 with 37 seconds to go, Donaldson sent a sideline inbound to a curling Davis. Making a beeline for the near corner, Donaldson buried the three, gaining separation thanks to a beautiful flare screen drawn up by head coach Bridgette Mitchell. Fordham had shot just 1-14 from beyond the arc and Donaldson herself was only 1-8. But in the biggest moment of the game, and the biggest moment of the season to date, the A-10’s leading scorer buried the three and gave Fordham a two-point lead.

Nonetheless, St. Joe’s had a full shot clock and a chance to respond. Unsurprisingly, Griffin put the ball in the hands of Smith, who had jolted the Hawks’ offense alive with a game-high 24-points. Smith drove from the right wing and attempted to score inside but was stifled by the 6-foot-4 Ly. Smith grabbed the offensive board but traveled as she attempted to kick the ball back out.

Davis and Hayford would sink clutch free throws in the final five seconds to seal Fordham’s improbable 62-57 upset victory. The Hawks had lost just three times prior, those coming against the #11 University of Utah Utes and the other top two teams in the A-10. Fordham handed them just their third home loss of the season, much to the dismay of a raucous Hagan Arena crowd.

As much of a confidence boost as the win seemed to be, the mood would quickly change on Saturday when the Rams returned to Rose Hill for Senior Day. Only days after their defeat of the 55 NET-ranked Hawks, Fordham would fall victim to a shock of their own, dropping the regular season finale to the 303 NET-ranked La Salle University Explorers.

In the midst of their second major losing streak, the 7-21 Explorers had not won a game since Jan. 31

and were dead last in the A-10 per the NET by a good margin. La Salle wasn’t just losing — they were losing big. Getting outscored by 161 points over the course of the losing streak, the Explorers had lost each of their last five games by more than 20 points.

The game started according to plan with the Rams taking an early 7-0 lead in the first four minutes. It wouldn’t last long. The Explorers went off on a 16-2 run in the subsequent five minutes. La Salle took a lead with 2:58 left in the first quarter and would not relinquish it for the remainder of the game.

The Explorers were known for taking 3-pointers, but not necessarily for making them. Averaging the 10th most 3-pointers attempted in D1 basketball, La Salle was only hitting at a measly 27.1% rate entering Saturday’s action, easily the worst in the A-10.

Apparently, the Explorers ate their Wheaties on Saturday morning, using the three-ball to their advantage to orchestrate an absolute offensive onslaught. La Salle set a new program record, burying 20 3-pointers and converting from deep at a ridiculous 55.6% rate en route to a 93-83 victory. Star freshman Nicole Melious went 8-10 from beyond the arc and scored a career-high 28 points, while Tiara Bolden also set a career high with 27 of her own.

Donaldson helped keep the Rams in the ballgame, notching 26 points and six 3-pointers made as she consistently offered a scoring response to keep Fordham within range. In fact, the Rams cut the La Salle lead to five with five minutes to go. However, just as the tide seemed to be turning back in their favor, Melious sank two back-breaking threes to put the game out of reach. Fordham’s defense had been a major reason for their extended winning streak, making their odd collapse on Saturday all the more

surprising. After an 0-5 start from deep, La Salle impressively went 65% the rest of the way. Despite this, the Rams never tightened out on the perimeter until it was too late. Consistently protecting against the drive and double-teaming inside, Fordham consistently allowed open threes well into the fourth quarter.

It was an absolute gut punch for a Fordham roster that honored seven players on Senior Day. Despite the loss, it was a nice sendoff for senior Matilda Flood who put up 13 points and a pair of rebounds in her final game at Rose Hill. Flood and senior Maranda Nyborg act as the two longest-tenured Rams, having both joined the program back in 2020 and staying for all four seasons. While the Senior Day loss should not take away from everything Fordham achieved over the course of their win streak, it certainly raises questions for the A-10 tournament. It’s remarkable to think the Rams were just 2-9 in conference play prior to their six-game win streak, and the upset win at St. Joe’s gives the team a higher ceiling than was ever thought possible.

However, it’s hard to ignore the complete and total gut punch that occurred on Saturday. Fordham had a chance to get back to .500 in conference play and leap up to the #7 seed. Loyola Chicago University also lost over the weekend, so the Rams would have finished seventh with a win. One also has to wonder if the loss against La Salle, by many metrics the worst team in the A-10, has a stronger impact on the team’s psyche than the win over St. Joe’s.

The Rams will travel south to Richmond, Va., this week for the A-10 Tournament. Thanks to their win streak, they’ve earned the firstround bye and the #9 seed. They begin play on Thursday against the #8 ranked Loyola Chicago. If they manage to win, they will then face the scrappy first-seeded Spiders of the University of Richmond.