Volume 92 Issue 9

STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS - PAGE 10

EDITOR’S PICK: MGMT’S CONGRATULATIONS - PAGE 16

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2010

APRIL 21, 2010

VOLUME 92, ISSUE 9

Campus Intruder Causes Brief Scare

NYPD Responds to Crime Perpetrated at Webster Avenue and Fordham Road; Criminal Flees to Fordham University, Causes Commotion Among Students

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

PHOTO BY ROB PERGAMENT/THE RAM

In spite of the hubbub that erupted near the McGinley Campus Center at around 7 p.m. on April 19, students were never in any sort of danger from a lone campus intruder.

Fordham University students received an unexpected scare on the afternoon of April 19, when a large group of uniformed New York Police Department officers chased a fleeing intruder onto campus.

“I was very confused about all the cop cars,” Christin Gianola, FCRH ’13, who witnessed the disturbance, said. “I was always under the impression that I was safe on this campus. It is a little disconcerting that something like that could happen on a campus generally considered to be secure.”

Rumors spread around the student body quickly, with some saying that the intruder was armed and others saying that he was not, with general confusion reigning.

Students also had conflicting opinions and heard various reports about how the intruder got on campus, with the most common opinion being that he had come on by jumping the fence behind the McGinley Campus Center.

The idea that someone had entered campus by scaling a fence was confirmed by a conversation overheard between two NYPD of-

ficers driving onto campus.

According to an official from the Fordham University security department, the intruder entered campus while fleeing from police officers. The perpetrator, the official said, had stolen a necklace from a woman on Webster Avenue and was pursued by police cars in the area. He then crossed the Metro-North railroad tracks before scaling the fence on that part of campus.

After making it onto campus, the intruder ran through the Fordham Prep sports fields before making it to Murphy Field, near the McGinley Center.

It was here that he was apprehended by NYPD officers, who had followed him onto campus, coming on by way of Southern Boulevard and the entrance in front of O’Hare Hall. It was because of this that a large number of police cars, ambulances and other emergency vehicles were on campus.

The intruder, it was confirmed, was not armed, in spite of the chaotic situation that surrounded his capture.

Additional reporting by Victoria Rau, assistant news editor

Compromise on Maroon Serrin Foster of Feminists for Life Square Proposal Reached Speaks at Respect for Life Week University Easing Demonstration, Protest Registration Policies; Dedicated Activism Space to Remain Unbuilt

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The University administration is willing to work with United Student Government and other concerned students to change the demonstration policy based on issues raised in the Maroon Square proposal, Christopher Rodgers, dean of students, announced at the USG meeting on April 15.

Maroon Square, an initiative championed by John Tully Gordon, FCRH ’10, outgoing executive president of USG, throughout his term, is a free-speech zone modeled after one in place at Georgetown University (where it is called the “Red Square”). While the University did not accept the proposal in its full form, Rodgers laid out terms for a compromise, which would loosen some restrictions on students’ free expression.

“We can commit at this time to modifying the existing demonstration policy in order to allow individuals and unaffiliated groups to work with the University to hold demonstrations and protests using the demonstration policy,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers responded to five points laid out in a list of modifications to the Maroon Square proposal that USG presented to him and Jennifer Mussi, Ph. D., assistant dean of

student leadership and community development. These five points, including unaffiliated groups’ right to protest, the required time for reserving a demonstration space, the window of required time for meeting with the dean of students and the formation of a student panel to serve as an intermediary between demonstrating groups and the administration, will serve as the foundation for a compromise.

As the demonstration policy currently stands, there is what Rodgers called an “arbitrary prohibition” of unaffiliated groups staging protests on Fordham’s campus, resulting unintentionally from the language of the policy. Rodgers promised to work with USG in changing the language for the coming year’s student handbook so as to allow unaffiliated groups to hold protests.

Additionally, Rodgers acknowledged the inconsistency between the University’s space-reservation policy, which requires notification three weeks in advance, and the demonstration policy, which calls for 48 hours of advance notice for arranging a protest.

“It was a clear problem created by having both a three-week and a 48hour deadline,” Rodgers said. “We’d like to work with you to remedy that as well.”

According to Rogers, as laid out SEE MAROON SQUARE ON PAGE 3

President of Feminists for Life of America for more than 15 Years, Foster Presents Widely Renowned “Feminist Case Against Abortion” Lecture to Fordham University Community and-answer session, Foster spoke to these students in particular, saying that she would be happy to speak with them after the lecture. However, as Foster spoke with some other attendees following her presentation, the students to whom she had spoken left the room.

Foster’s speech, which she colored with anecdotes and often-humorous tangential stories, focused on fixing the problems that drive women to abortion, rather than simply allowing abortions to occur as women wish.

“Women have done this because of a lack of something in our society,” she said, this being the central message of the lecture.

The anti-abortion attitude, she said, dated back to the beginnings of feminism. Early feminists were “without known exception,” she said, opposed to abortion.

One woman, Jennie Spencer, who was the first female student at Cornell University, desired that unwed mothers not be outcasts,

one reason for abortion that Foster emphasized throughout her lecture.

The first female doctor in the United States, Elizabeth Blackwell, rejected the standard role of a “female physician” as a provider of abortions. A third example that Foster used was Charlotte Lozier who turned away on moral ground a man who was seeking an abortion for his young girlfriend.

Foster noted that even Victoria Woodhall, a professed proponent of the free-love movement, was opposed to the practice of abortion.

Susan B. Anthony’s famed antiabortion stances, views that were often published in her progressive periodical The Revolution, were also mentioned.

The notion that abortion rights and feminism are synonymous, Foster said, arose only in the 1970s, with the founding of groups such as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), which was founded by three men,

Sports PAGE 28

Opinions PAGE 9

Culture PAGE 15

John Skelton receives much attention going into NFL Draft.

A critical look at the 2010-2011 housing lottery process.

Fashion for Philanthropy’s Once Upon a Runway.

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

The Fordham University Respect for Life Club, hosting its first major event since being named Club of the Year, invited Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, to speak on April 15 as the centerpiece of this year’s Respect for Life Week.

Foster, who has been the organization’s president since 1994, gave her signature speech, entitled “The Feminist Case Against Abortion,” which has been labeled one of the greatest speeches of history.

A broad cross-section of the Fordham community, including a contingent from the student group Women’s Empowerment, attended the event, which took place in the Keating Third Auditorium. These students, who were all wearing t-shirts with pro-choice slogans and symbols, appeared to be in attendance for reasons of protest. At several points during the lecture, and especially during the question-

SEE FEMINISTS ON PAGE 3

INSIDE

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Father McShane Discusses Fordham’s Admissions, Rankings in Annual State of the University Address

By VICTORIA RAU ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

April 13, off-campus, 8 a.m.

A student called security to report that a man was standing in his bedroom when he woke up. The man said that he worked for Fordham University and was there to fix things up and take out garbage. The student asked for identification, and the man left after failing to produce any. The intruder was described as 6’1’’, 210 pounds, wearing a Yankees cap and sweatshirt. Nothing was reported missing.

April 13, 2424 Hoffman Avenue, 10:30 a.m.

A student reported that a man, described as around 6’0’’ tall with light hair, pushed open the bedroom door and stated that he was there to inspect the stove. The student called the landlord, who said that she had not authorized anyone to come to the apartment.

No property was removed.

April 13-14, O’Hare Hall, 9 p.m.-10 a.m.

A student reported that her Calvin Klein down comforter, valued at $300, was missing. The comforter was later found and returned to the owner.

April 16, Martyrs’ Court, 2:45 a.m.

A security guard reported that a male and female tried to climb through a window in the basement of Jogues Hall. A student had signed them out as guests, but they were attempting to sneak back in.

Fordham is on track to continue on its course toward preeminence among Jesuit schools, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, assured students at the State of the University Address held in Tognino Hall on March 24.

“Despite what’s going on in the world, the state of the University is strong,” McShane said. “Moreover, the future is very bright.”

McShane, the University’s 32nd president, acknowledged the many difficulties presented by the recent economic downturn, one of the worst this country has seen, especially to privately funded institutions.

Despite such financial barriers, McShane trumpeted Fordham’s commitment to investing in the quality of each entering class as one reason for continued success.

McShane focused on admissions, development and athletics as the main criteria for evaluating the state of the University.

Fordham’s shift from being primarily a commuter school to an institution rich in geographic diversity, according to McShane, serves as a major area of pride for him in terms of the University’s progress. Additionally, he addressed Fordham’s surge in applications to over 27,000 this year.

“We are one of only 12 universities in the United States that received more than 25,000 applications for admission,” McShane said.

Each year, the SAT scores, number of National Merit Scholars and geographic diversity of the incoming

class has increased, McShane said.

Increased quality of incoming classes leads to increased success in the area of prestigious fellowships and scholarships.

“Last year, Fordham had 14 Fulbright scholarships that were awarded to graduating students,” McShane said. “That put us in the top 20 Fulbright-producing schools of the over 4,000 universities in the United States.”

Regarding rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranks Fordham College at Rose Hill 61st among research universities, 40th among private schools, and high school guidance counselors rank Fordham 34th. Many other Jesuit schools experienced a drop in rankings.

“For us to hold steady at 61 was somewhat of a relief for us,” McShane said. “At the same time, we are not satisfied; we are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve our rankings.”

Inevitably, the seven-point drop to No. 48 in the BusinessWeek rankings for the College of Business Administration was a hot topic.

“The facilities have not been equal to the quality of the student body, the faculty and the programs,” McShane said.

This shortcoming led McShane to his next topic of development. The Hughes Hall renovation, set to take place over the course of two years and at a cost of $30 million, will provide CBA with a much-needed space that will, by extension, increase the facilities score for the rankings.

This renovation will take place as part of a larger capital campaign, of which Fordham is currently in the

COURTESY OF FORDHAM.EDU

Father Joseph M. McShane, S.J. gave his annual State of the University Address on March 24 to a captive audience in Duane Library’s Tognino Hall.

middle. Once the new dorms are completed, the Hughes Hall renovation will go forward. The next step will be projects at the Lincoln Center campus, currently one of the most crowded campuses in the city, followed by improvements to or replacement of the McGinley Center.

“Fordham began the most ambitious capital campaign at the beginning of the worst recession,” McShane said. “In spite of that, we’ve had really surprising success. We’re $316 million toward the goal, so about 60 percent.”

In the wake of a historically poor season for Fordham men’s basketball, McShane prepared the audience for the next day’s announcement of the team’s new head coach, though he was careful not to confirm or deny rumors of who that coach might be. On March 25, the University announced Tom Pecora as the new head coach, in a move McShane said

he hopes will provide some new momentum to the basketball program.

“It’s been a disappointing couple of years,” McShane said.

The report is not all bad on the athletics front, though.

“The biggest news this year are women athletes,” McShane said.

“They’re consistent and consistently excellent.”

In the time allotted for questions, John Tully Gordon, FCRH ’10, executive president of USG, asked about plans to expand Fordham’s campuses, here at Rose Hill, at Lincoln Center and in Westchester.

McShane replied that the University will continue to develop what is its own, complete expansions near Westchester and go forward with improvements on the Rose Hill campus, such as McGinley Center.

“The future of New York City depends on its educational institutions,” McShane said.

Fordham Law School Sees Ranking Shifts

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

April 17, Rose Hill Gymnasium, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

A student reported that he rode his bike to campus and put it in the baseball locker room in the basement of Rose Hill Gym, but he did not secure it. Returning a few hours later, he found the bike gone.

April 17, Rose Hill Gymnasium, 2 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

A student reported that a wallet containing $40 in cash, a bank card, a Fordham ID, driver’s license and a $10 MetroCard was stolen. The wallet was in a sweatshirt, which was also missing, inside a bag the student had left in the gym.

April 20, Martyrs’ Court, 7:20 p.m.

The 52nd precinct arrested an individual who had fled onto campus from Webster Avenue. The individual, who had stolen a necklace on Webster Avenue and fled over the railroad tracks onto Fordham property, was pursued by the police onto campus.

The Fordham University School of Law, founded in 1905 and located at the University’s Lincoln Center campus, saw shifts in the 2010 edition of the U.S. News and World Report Best Law Schools ranking, in both positive and negative directions.

Having been ranked 30th out of some 188 accredited law schools in the United States in 2009, Fordham dropped four places to 34th, while maintaining a score of 62 points out of 100. The School of Law is tied with Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, the University of Washington School of Law and Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Va. This is the continuation of a slide that began last year with a drop from 27th to 30th.

This drop was not a result of any diminishment of the school’s student body, but rather a shift in the way that U.S. News determines its rankings.

“U.S. News altered its method for calculating the law school rankings last year by combining admissions data for day and evening programs,” the School of Law said in a press release, having noted “student-quality data [GPA, LSAT scores, acceptance rate] that U.S. News analyzes was even stronger this year than last year.”

In the case of Fordham, the parttime evening program is compara-

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Although its ranking has dropped in recent years, the Fordham University School of Law has actually seen an increase in its selectivity and student quality over the past several admissions cycles.

tively large, which helped the law school, earning it the highest rank for a part-time law program outside of Washington, D.C.; U.S. News ranked the program third, after the Georgetown University Law Center and the George Washington University Law School.

The next-highest university in the State of New York was Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law, coming in at No. 4.

Fordham generally saw a rise in its rankings in specialty programs.

In 2009, the dispute resolution program ranked 10th, the clinical training program 12th and the intellectual property program 18th. For this year’s ranking, while clinical training dropped one place to 13th, intellec-

tual property was 15th in the country and dispute resolution broke the top 10, to be ranked No. 8, ahead of such schools as the University of Chicago and Yale University.

The rankings, which are released annually, came out on April 15 and judge schools on several different dimensions. Forty percent of a school’s score comes from so-called “quality assessment.”

Of that portion, 25 percent is derived from a survey of law school deans, academic affairs deans, faculty appointment chairs and tenured faculty members about their school and all others. Fifteen percent comes from a survey of practicing lawyers and judges.

Another quarter of the ranking

comes from selectivity measures, which consist of LSAT scores (12.5 percent), undergraduate GPA (10 percent) and acceptance rate (2.5 percent).

Twenty percent of the overall score comes from “placement success,” which is two percent bar exam pass rate, four percent post-graduate employment rate and 14 percent based on graduates’ employment rate nine months after graduation.

The remaining 15 percent of the ranking is based on expenditures per student, student-to-faculty ratio and library resources.

Any school that does not fall within the top 100 is listed alphabetically as either a tier-three or tier-four law school.

NEWS MAROON SQUARE FROM PAGE 1

PHOTO BY VICTORIA RAU/THE RAM

The Community Posting Board sponsored by USG and the SLC House Committee in McGinley Center, on which students can post anything they wish, is part of USG’s initiative for greater freedom of expression on Fordham’s campus.

MAROON SQUARE, FROM PAGE 1

in the modifications to the Maroon Square proposal, the five-day window of advance notice for reserving space and holding a protest will likely stand as the compromise.

Rodgers said Student Affairs would be willing to accept a change in the policy from a requirement that stated students must request a meeting with administrators 48 hours in advance to a requirement that groups wishing to hold a protest meet with the dean of students 24 hours in advance of their protest.

Rodgers also agreed to work to put together some type of advisory

group or council composed of students and faculty that would work as an intermediary with the dean of students and groups wishing to demonstrate in evaluating the request for demonstration. Rodgers committed to the founding of this body by fall of 2010, but added that, “What that body looks like, I think we’ll have to work out the details.”

Noting that the dean of students has never actually denied a request to protest, Rodgers said that the newly created panel “might be bored.”

However, Rodgers recognized that creating such a panel would give the dean of students an extra body with

whom to consult, which can only be an improvement.

Rodgers conceded that the Maroon Square proposal will not be put into place exactly as laid out, but nevertheless praised USG’s work in negotiations throughout the process.

“I have to say that the process of working with USG and the Commission on Free Speech and Expression has been nothing short of remarkable,” Rodgers said.

Gordon praised the Progressive Students for Justice for their help in working toward greater freedom of expression and urged the incoming

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 3 USG administration to continue working to implement the changes as laid out in the compromise.

“We’ve always believed that negotiations are a matter of give and take,” Gordon said. “I’m very happy we’ve reached a tentative agreement.”

During the open question-andanswer segment of the meeting, one student asked if it might be awkward for students to meet with administrators while planning a protest against the administration.

“I don’t worry about awkward,” Rodgers said in response. “We do awkward at Fordham . . . we sort of embrace the awkward.”

Another student expressed concern that the need to reserve space and meet with the administration in advance of a protest takes away from the spontaneity and, consequently, the energy that inspired the protest.

“For the University’s administration, believe it or not, five days is very spontaneous,” Rodgers said.

He went on to assert that these requirements have everything to do with the logistics of a demonstration situation and nothing to do with the content of the demonstration. “We need to do that piece so students can do their piece.”

Club of the Month In other business, USG presented the Club of the Month award for February to Women’s Empowerment, a subcommittee of the Progressive Students for Justice, on April 15. In deliberations regarding Club of the Month, USG noted Women’s Empowerment’s work on bringing controversial, significant events to the Fordham community, such as The Vagina Monologues and feminist speaker Jessica Val-

enti as impressive accomplishments throughout the month.

“We’re a newly made committee,” a representative from Women’s Empowerment said in accepting the award. “We work really hard, and I really appreciate your recognizing that.”

NYCSGA Sign Charter Gordon reported that he had attended the final New York City Student Government Alliance meeting of his career, with Executive President elect Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11, in tow, where all the members of NYC SGA signed their newly formed official charter.

Gordon said that he hopes the new administration will continue the momentum on a project he and Michael Recca, CBA ’10, outgoing executive vice president, started several years ago in creating NYC SGA. The alliance will focus on more lobbying for higher education and responding to potential Metropolitan Transit Authority fare hikes.

New Club Approvals Rodgers and Ian Gaylets, CBA ’10, vice president of operations, also announced that the Operations Committee has reached a total of 14 club approvals this year, including the 12th Man Club and Model United Nations.

Final Meeting Remarks The meeting concluded with much expression of mutual admiration among departing USG members and teariness on Gordon’s part. The executive president and vice-president elects put together a video in honor of Gordon and Recca, which they showed to much sentimental accolades.

THIS

week at FORDHAM Wed., April 21 STAR: Stress Management, Time Management and Relaxation, Counseling Center, 3 p.m.

Wed., April 21 Invisible Children: Documentary Screening and Discussion, Keating 1st Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Thurs., April 22 Senior Night, Fordham Pride Theme Ramskellar, 10 p.m.

Thurs., April 22 Sexual Perversity in Chicago Mimes & Mummers Collins Auditorium, 8 p.m.

Fri., April 23 B-Sides Concert The Birds and the B-Sides McGinley Ballroom, 8 p.m.

Sat., April 24 Latin Gala, Hosted by El Grito de Lares McGinley Ballroom, 7 p.m. -1 a.m.

Sat., April 24 Satin Dolls Spring Concert Keating 1st Auditorium, 8 p.m.

Sun., April 25 Relay for Life O’Keefe Commons 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Serrin Foster, long-time president of Feminists for Life of America, spoke to students as the centerpiece of Fordham’s recent Respect for Life Week.

FEMINISTS, FROM PAGE 1

New Yorker Lawrence Lader, Californian Garrett Hardin and Chicagoan Lonny Myers.

Even then, Foster noted, the feminist movement was largely focused with workplace equality. She quoted Betty Friedan, author of the seminal Feminine Mystique, as saying, “I’m not for abortion.” She then went on to accuse the pro-abortion rights movement of “making up” the number of women who died from illegal abortions on an annual basis.

“It is a reflection of the fact that we do not do enough for women in this country,” she said of the status quo regarding abortion.

Foster spent much of her lecture discussing how the status quo, more than anything else, should be

changed as regards abortion in the United States. She urged the opening of resources to women that offer alternatives other than abortion.

Two areas in particular that she addressed were poverty and education.

“Education is the answer to poverty,” she said.

In a particularly egregious example of the conflict between the pro-abortion and feminist movements, Foster cited the testimony of Sarah Weddington in Roe v. Wade.

Representing Jane Roe (real name Norma McCorvey), Weddington argued that, if a woman has a child, she becomes unable to complete her education. This attitude, Foster says, has led to a condition wherein college-aged women have nearly

fifty percent of all abortions in the United States.

Foster then lavished praise on universities, such as Georgetown University, Wellesley College, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Virginia and Belmont Abbey College, that provide financial support and childcare to students who are pregnant and/or have young children.

According to surveys, she said, between 1997 and 2007, the only demographic group to see a major decrease in abortions was women in college. Feminists for Life, Foster said, put out a booklet entitled “Raising Kids on a Shoestring” that even managed to garner praise from NARAL officials.

In questioning after the lecture,

Foster fielded questions about contraceptives, saying that her organization had no specific stance on the matter, as its members’ opinions ran the gamut of possibilities.

Additionally, in speaking with The Ram later, she said that Feminists for Life was “disappointed” about the amendment proposed by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) not being included in the Obama health care plan.

Continuing her praise of universities assisting students with children in caring for their kids, she discussed the efforts of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., where the university’s abbot donated land for the construction of a childcare and support facility to be used by students from “more than a dozen” schools in the area.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

New United Student Government Officers Inaugurated John Tully Gordon and Mike Recca Hand off Presidency and Vice Presidency to Sara Kugel and Caitlin Meyer; New Executive Board, Senate Take Command

By MICHAL DITANNA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the wake of a divisive election ridden with appeals and ballot confusion, the inauguration ceremony affirmed a unified United Student Government. Members of the administration, along with friends and family of the incoming USG, made up a crowd of around 75 spectators.

John Tully Gordon, FCRH ’10, outgoing executive president, addressed the incoming student leaders with a message of hope and unity, and commended Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11, his incoming successor, and Caitlin Meyer, FCRH ’12, incoming executive vice president, as “two women whose election signifies the bright future of Fordham University.”

As the ceremony continued, Michael Recca, CBA ’10, outgoing executive vice president, passed the well-worn and beaten USG gavel that he used throughout his term to the incoming executives.

Always humorous, Dean of Students Christopher Rodgers administered the oath of office.

“I don’t see any Kleenex up here… and I may need it,” he said.

Before swearing in the new officials, Rodgers reminisced about both Gordon and Recca.

“I think that guy [Recca] will get into a fist-fight with [outgoing vice president of finance] Kathryn Carey [FCRH ’10] one day,” Rodgers said.

Both Carey and Recca were no-

torious for their strong opinions, which sometimes clashed at USG meetings.

Despite an incredibly visible campaign season, only nine of the 22 leaders sworn in ran contested races. The contested seats did make for heated campaigns, resulting in several candidates making appeals and two incumbents losing their seats. Kugel exalted the inaugurated leaders as a “great group of senators and an amazing executive board.”

Meyer took the podium and delivered a speech focusing on USG’s image, transformation and transparency. She attributed USG’s previous success partly to Gordon-Recca’s unwavering dedication. “[Gordon and Recca] have poured every single ounce of passion that they have into USG,” she said.

Meyer went on to name Kugel as one of her greatest role models and assured the administrators in attendance that “we come in peace,” drawing many laughs.

Kugel outlined her administration’s agenda in her concluding remarks.

“We will forever value the opinions of our fellow students and faculty,” she said. “These opinions are what drive us.”

Kugel further identified increased communication between USG and clubs in addition to USG transparency as two critical elements of her agenda. Kugel, a staunch supporter of public committee meetings, is a hard advocate for clubs and a sup-

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Sara Kugel, FCRH ’11, and Caitlin Meyer, FCRH ’12, were inaugurated as the first all-female presidential and vice-presidential ticket to be elected to their positions in Fordham University’s United Student Government.

porter of legally domiciled adult benefits for staff. Kugel also addressed a push for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance to all campus buildings, most notably Collins Auditorium. Both Kugel and Meyer have advocated for compliance, but maintained opposition to boycotting Collins during USG meetings and the presidential debate. USG recently passed a bill in support of renovation to Collins

Hall.

Both Meyer and Kugel stressed the importance of fulfilling their duty to Fordham students while in office.

“The worst thing is not that we lose, but that we win and let the students down,” Kugel said of her and Meyer’s thought process during the campaign.

Kugel and Meyer both promised to exceed expectations and to

achieve remarkable results through longer USG office hours and inviting clubs to participate in USG meetings.

“Noble politics, not politics alone, is the whole reason for serving,” Monsignor Joesph Quinn, S.J., vice president for University Mission and Ministry, said.

The first general meeting of the new United Student Government takes place this Thursday, April 22.

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PAGE 7

Point-Counterpoint: Hiring Coach Tom Pecora

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/ THE RAM

Tom Pecora’s hiring is part of Fordham’s plan to improve the basketball team; the move has drawn praise because of the neccessity of change in the program, and criticism because of the high price tag.

Hiring Tom Pecora Is the Perfect Solution to Fordham’s Basketball Woes

By SEAN MCGONIGLE COPY EDITOR

Fordham men’s basketball opened this season in a state of flux but began its offseason with a signature win that could transform the program for the next several years. On March 24, Fordham announced that Tom Pecora would be taking over the head coaching duties for the men’s basketball team. While a team that went 2-26 is bound to improve, Pecora is a man capable of bringing a cultural change to the men’s basketball program, something that is desperately needed for Fordham to be consistently competitive in the Atlantic 10. While there were other coaches that Fordham could have gone after, grabbing Pecora is a steal for Fordham and is worth the contract we are paying him.

As an institution that places a heavy emphasis on its rigorous academic program, many alumni, students and fans were concerned that the wrong kind of coach would turn the school into a basketball factory, with student-athletes who struggle in class and are mired in off-the-court issues. Pecora is not that kind of coach; his teams have had an extremely high graduation rate and have stayed largely out of trouble. When Rev. Joseph M. McShane, president of the University, and representatives of the athletic department sat down with Pecora, the first topic of conversation was how basketball players performed in the classroom. Only after McShane was satisfied with Pecora’s graduation rates did the conversation continue. Pecora also dedicated a substantial portion of his opening press conference to the importance and ease of selling Fordham as an academic institution to parents and students. He clearly recognizes and appreciates the core values of a Jesuit university and is not willing to sacrifice them for players or wins.

Pecora also brings a knack for marketing to Fordham, as he has a history of uniting the community and the basketball program. Go to youtube.com and type in “Tom Pecora.” After getting over Pecora’s highly questionable acting skills, one realizes that he is a personable guy who wants to get his program out there. Put him in a “Ram Fan” T-shirt, give him a maroon hat and a microphone and he positively represents the Fordham brand out in the community. He has already made appearances on SNY, ESPNRadio and WFAN. He is also extremely active in various philanthropic efforts, such as Operation Hardwood, the Providence House, Father Hartman’s Christa House, the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, the Dante Foundation and CYO Charities. For all of his hard work, Pecora was also named the 2005 Hope Through Hoops Foundation Man of the Year. Also during the opening press conference, he volunteered to actively involve himself in the Fordham community. Pecora recognizes that he is not just a basketball coach but a very public representation of the University as well. Unlike Staff Poll: When the staff of The Ram was polled, seven were in favor of hiring Tom Pecora as a coach, while two were opposed and eight were indifferent.

many collegiate coaches, he realizes that his actions reflect the University as a whole and influence how people view Fordham. Not only did Fordham hire a basketball coach, but they also hired a terrific ambassador of its ideals and values.

The third reason why Pecora was the right hire is because of his coaching season at Hofstra. When Pecora came to Hofstra as an assistant on Jay Wright’s staff, Hofstra was ranked 297 out of 303 division one men’s basketball teams. For a little perspective, Fordham was ranked 343 out of 347 at the end of this year. Pecora left the Pride with a final ranking of 130. If that’s not a significant improvement, I don’t know what is.

Pecora is known as a tireless recruiter who brings in top-notch talent, especially from the New York City area. The most recent example is Charles Jenkins, from Queens, who was last year’s Haggerty Award Winner, as the best college player in the metro area, and the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. Loren Stokes is another player Pecora brought in who was a CAA Player of the Year. Van Macon and the rest of Pecora’s staff from Hofstra have joined him at Fordham, and this transition should help to bring that pipeline to Fordham. Macon is known as a fantastic recruiter who could have taken a position at a Big East school. Having him at Rose Hill will make Pecora’s job easier. The coaching staff has already had their nose to the grindstone, attending tournaments in New York and signing SG Branden Frazier.

Pecora has also guided Hofstra to four 20-win seasons in the past six years, once nearly stealing an at-large big to the NCAA tournament. Several people have been critical of Pecora’s lack of an NCAA tournament record, but he has had some success in the postseason tournaments at Hofstra, including a run in postseason NIT, knocking out Saint Joe’s in 2006. Hofstra made the postseason NIT three consecutive years and won the 2007 Aeropostale Holiday Festival, all under Pecora’s tenure.

Right now though, the focus on Pecora should be his experience in turning a struggling program around not on his NCAA tournament record. He has been the top assistant under Jay Wright, a very successful Division 1 coach, and has sustained that program’s success, even after Hofstra’s move from the American East conference to the tougher CAA. He has longed to coach in the A-10, and knows what it means to put in the work needed to turn a basketball program around. He is a New York guy with phenomenal city basketball connections, who will not sacrifice graduation rates for wins, but expects both. Pecora has brought over his winning coaching staff from Hofstra and plans to improve upon the level of success he reached at Hofstra, justifying the increased basketball budget.

He will bring Fordham to respectability and competiveness. It may not happen next year, but it will happen sooner rather than later. Welcome to Fordham, Coach Pecora.

Sean McGonigle, FCRH ’11, is an American studies major from New Hyde Park, N.Y. He can be reached at mcgonigle@fordham.edu.

A Pricey Hire Wastes Money and Does Not Help the Basketball Program

By ROBERT PERGAMENT STAFF WRITER

A few weeks ago, on these very pages, I praised Fordham for its decision to vastly increase its men’s basketball budget by about $700,000 per year. Fordham needed the money to become more competitive in its conference, which would hopefully lead to success on the court and more exposure off the court for the University.

Of course, the Board of Trustees and I made one colossal miscalculation in supporting this huge funding increase. We trusted Athletic Director Frank McLaughlin not to do something dumb with it.

You see, after 23 years of miserable basketball, we all thought McLaughlin was finally going to turn the corner. He would be competing on an even playing field with the new funding, and he had a chance to hire a former head coach who had proven himself with huge success at a small school or been tutored as an assistant at an equally successful big school. Or maybe he could even hire someone who had shown only a moderate amount of success at a big school but had failed to meet high expectations.

Consider two profiles: Coach A has been at the helm of a small New York school for four years, leading that team to a respectable 67-50 record and one NCAA tournament bid. His team was 11-16 his first year when he had little control over recruiting. Coach B has been at the helm of a small New York school for 10 years, compiling a 181-30 record and one NCAA appearance. That appearance, along with 26 wins and just four losses, came in his first year, when he had little to do with recruiting the team’s players, meaning Coach B is 155-126 over the last nine years with zero NCAA tournament appearances.

Coach A is recently fired Fordham coach Derrick Whittenburg of the unforgivable $450,000 salary. Coach B is recently hired Fordham coach Tom Pecora, of a certifiably insane $650,000 salary.

Yes, Pecora has certainly proven himself to be more capable than Whittenburg over the last decade, but was he really twice as good?

Was it really worth it to burn every last bit of the budget increase on a coach who’s best year came when current superstar Villanova coach Jay Wright recruited all the players? Can we justify another huge tuition increase for the coach of a team that just finished seventh in a conference considered inferior to the Atlantic 10? Can Frank McLaughlin please give me just a little bit of whatever he’s been smoking?

Mr. McLaughlin, I know this may seem difficult to understand, but I’m going to attempt to explain something about budget increases relating to success. Yes, spending more money on basketball gives Fordham a chance to compete on a level playing field in the A-10, but money is not a super special magic spell that automati-

cally leads to success. You have to spend it, like, not stupidly.

Take New York’s two baseball teams, the Yankees and Mets, for example. In 2009, the Yankees spent $192 million on player salaries, tops in the league. This helped them win the World Series and 114 games along the way. That’s about $1.7 million per win without even taking into account the immeasurable awesomeness of winning the championship. The Mets, on the other hand, spent $139 million on player salaries for 2009, second only to the Yankees. They won 70 games and missed the playoffs, finishing 17 games behind the Florida Marlins, who spent a league-low $37 million on salaries (and missed the playoffs). The Mets spent $2 million per win, while the Marlins spent $0.4 million.

Why the huge disparity? Because the Mets administration made idiotic decisions.

As a fan of the Rams and the Mets, it’s difficult to watch sports, but I had so much hope for the future of Fordham with the budget increase.

Now we could actually recruit players who lived outside Jared Grasso’s automobile range.

We could fly to different parts of the country to scout, and fly those players to Fordham to show them everything we had to offer. We could afford to pay quality assistant coaches and other staff.

I must admit that I would have liked to see Fordham hire Grasso as its permanent head coach. He recruited two of the area’s best players, Chris Gaston and Jio Fontan, in two years, despite Fordham’s indifference toward basketball and lack of funding. He was young and enthusiastic, and he would have been dirt cheap.

Another good hire would have been Robert Morris coach Mike Rice, a former star player for the Rams who has compiled a 50-18 record over three seasons at Robert Morris, including two NCAA tournament bids with two conference championships. Rice and Grasso would have cost only about $250,000 to $350,000 a year, judging by the fact that Grasso had to accept an assistant coaching position at Iona and Rice isn’t even one of Robert Morris’ top five salaried employees, meaning he currently makes much less.

Fordham didn’t even allow its “national coaching search” to stretch beyond Long Island. It did not consider hiring recently fired St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts who also has local connections and who rescued that program from scandal. It did not interview a single top assistant from a national program. It rushed to sign someone who has had little success on his own.

In the end, though, we should really only be upset with ourselves for believing Fordham’s athletics program would do better. If Pecora really was the best we could do, then we should have taken the $650,000 of tuition money and hired a quality athletic director instead.

Robert Pergament, FCRH ’10, is an English and economics major from Garden City, N.Y.

OPINIONS

PAGE 8 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

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From the Desk of Tom Haskin, Copy Editor Two weekends ago, on a picturesque Sunday afternoon, one of my buddies stumbled outside at 2 p.m. and remarked, “What is this, Penn State or something?”

He was referring to the packs of families on Accepted Students Day, crisscrossing campus, taking note of every crack in the sidewalk and cigarette butt along the way. Indeed, Fordham was flooded with people on that sunny day, in a way that made a quiet afternoon feel more like University Park, Pa., than Rose Hill.

A friend of mine from high school was among those flocks. She called me in the middle of the day, complaining that she was bored with some student panel she had been sitting in on, and she wanted to meet up. I obliged, in part because I wanted to try my hand at giving a tour and pitching my school to her.

Fordham has been lucky this spring in terms of weather. Every day, tour groups wander around my dorm, parents sniff food in the caf and create long lines at the bookstore. People go outside, see blossoming trees and literally hundreds of college kids sprawled out on Eddie’s. It looks like some sort of photo shoot for a brochure, but luckily for the University, we don’t need to stage this stuff.

Though my friend was understandably disinterested with the stu-

dent panel droning on about how accessible our professors are (as I imagine every school likes to brag about), she was truly impressed with our campus that day.

As Fordham tries to boost its reputation among Catholic universities and, likely, its standing in the always-supreme U.S. News & World Report rankings, days like that Sunday certainly can’t hurt in marketing the school.

So as we walked around, I found myself trying to come up with other explanations for why I enjoy this school, beyond the fact that it’s a “city” school with room to toss around a football on the lawn in front of my dormitory.

I come from Newton, Mass., essentially the first suburb west of Boston. The median household income is over $100,000, and we were the “Safest City in America” for a few years until a guy got shot in a parking garage, completely ruining our ranking.

Boston College is four miles from my house, and for my junior and senior years of high school, I had season tickets to the B.C. Eagles’ football games. Suffice to say, I am pretty familiar with Chestnut Hill, Mass., and the surrounding area.

Jesuit schools like Boston College and Georgetown are undoubtedly more selective and prestigious than Fordham these days, though it

seems like the University has been intent on closing that gap. It’s a goal worth pursuing, and with its location in New York City, it’s also not too far-fetched.

When my friend came to campus, she wanted to know about Manhattan. This did not surprise me, seeing as it’s the borough people most closely associate with this city.

I wanted to tell her about the Bronx, which is one of the reasons I chose to come to Fordham, as opposed to B.C., where from a young age, I had always pictured myself going.

See, I could have stayed in Newton, Mass., for another four years, living on a manicured campus surrounded by $2.5 million homes. I could have stayed in my comfort zone in suburban America, a place from which, let’s face it, a ton of Fordham students come.

Since we’re here, we might as well advertise what I think is such an advantage Fordham has over places like B.C. and Georgetown. Sure, we have Manhattan, but if you want to live mixed in with a bunch of tourists and people working on Wall Street, go to NYU. The best part about going to school in the Bronx, from my limited eight-month experience, is that I get go to school in “real life.” The majority of America does not live in those multi-million dollar homes in

Chestnut Hill, nor do we all get to live in the “Safest City in America.”

What I tried to tell my friend was that this change was one of the biggest advantages of Fordham over suburban campuses. Kids from Manhattan schools don’t typically come up and visit the Bronx for a day, yet we are able to go downtown and get both experiences.

Learning and life, I think, are centered on doing new things – pushing one’s limits and comfort level, trying out something different. Being in the Bronx has done that for me, and I hope that it does for all Fordham students, many of whom come from suburban New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

We aren’t B.C. or Georgetown, and we certainly aren’t Penn State.

However, Fordham can be its own place, and that is perfectly good enough. We should emphasize these advantages of the Bronx, even if it means losing a few kids because of parents’ apprehensive notions of the neighborhood’s reputation.

Letter to the Editor My Fellow Students, For the past 12 months, I have been honored, fortunate and boundlessly grateful to have served you as president of United Student Government. It has been the supreme blessing of my college life here at Fordham University and an experience that has come with institutional successes and challenges.

Mike and I inherited United Student Government from fine leaders, but we inherited an organization, which after many years had grown stagnant, an organization in need of reform for a number of reasons, but primarily because its role had yet to be clearly established and its efficacy was in question. We all, as students, desperately needed to be reminded that our student government is capable of great things when it listens to our voices, understands our concerns and embraces our ideas, because ultimately, we are the lifeblood of our University.

I want to say now, that I am unbelievably proud of each person who served this year on USG, both in the senate and on the executive board.

You have earned the trust of your peers, the respect of the administration, and because of your devotion and commitment, our government is stronger, more effective, and better respected both on campus and beyond our gates. We are deeply grateful to the clubs and organizations from RHA, CSA and CAB to PSJ and many other student groups who have shared in this year’s journey. The Ram and the paper have done what all publications with journalistic integrity strive to do, covered stories and reported updates not only when it was convenient for, or supportive of, USG but also when it was necessary to be critical. Your hard work has helped this government reach new levels

of transparency with all areas of our community.

We have done so much together as a student body since this USG session began in April of 2009.

This year, USG experienced its first structural change in nearly a decade, with the creation of two new offices: vice president of health & security and vice president of athletic affairs.

Bryan Matis and John Korevec set high standards as the first to hold these roles, and these positions have already proven their effectiveness through working with our University administrators. This has been a government which moved forward on issues of substance and has contributed to meaningful improvements on campus from addressing issues of student health, to financial transparency, concerns of rightful free speech and expression, facilities improvements and beyond. This year’s administration has worked hard to craft a government newly cognizant of its greater role in New York City, prepared to advance the mission of this University and above all else, ready and able to work for as an advocate for students.

Regardless of the areas where we disagree with our administration, we are blessed to have in Father McShane a leader who against all odds, refuses to let Fordham settle for mediocrity. I hope that United Student Government did the same this yearthat we embraced our role, and rose transformed, never accepting complacency. Whether you’ve known it or not, student government has played an integral part in advancing this University’s goals Toward 2016. The West Wing stands as one of the clearest examples of this and USG is grateful to Msgr. Quinn, Dean Latham, Dean Rapaccioli, Dean Rodgers and many others for their support of this initiative. This program is the first entirely student

generated and proposed Integrated Learning Community of both Fordham College and CBA. Our University’s president has endeavored to build Fordham’s academic standing and reputation, challenging us to grow in our competitiveness for prestigious fellowships and scholarships. It is with this goal that he established the Campion Institute in 2003, and it is with The West Wing that we have responded to this call, and answered his challenge.

This year we entered into the fore of city policy and government relations. From the state budget cuts to higher education, to the Lincoln Center Development Plan, right up to the MTA Fare Hike, we took the message of our student body to our legislators and made our voices known, then we took it even further. The New York City Student Government Alliance was officially chartered on April 11, 2010. As this year’s USG Session ends, this is a great opportunity to seize. Finally, we are part of an organization with a truly unified student voice for advocacy, which spans multiple colleges and universities, and serves as a mobilized tool for joint cooperation and legislative action in the greatest city in the world.

With these triumphs, I would be remiss not to address issues which have brought more subtle progress. I am thankful to many of the students who supported Maroon Square with such fervor and intensity.

While substantial and meaningful progress has been made, this project still remains unfinished. I am proud of the work that was done on this issue, it was important, it was necessary. While I am truly sorry that this goal did not come to fruition in its proposed form, I am deeply grateful to the men and women of the Commission on Speech & Expression, and to the Student Affairs team for

hearing our concerns, committing to a process and being part of a sustained dialogue that has produced a fair and reasonable compromise.

To the student body, I share with you every piece of success that USG was responsible for and accept unto myself each failure, with the hope that our progress has outweighed our shortcomings.

The new administration for next year shows incredible promise and I have no doubt that they will continue to achieve great things and improve the quality of life for students at Rose Hill. At the helm of this government, you should have trust and faith in two of the finest and most qualified executives I’ve ever worked with, as well as two of the most genuine, hard working and devoted friends I’ve ever had the good fortune to know. These two women, by their very election, are evidence of the progressive tide of positive reform that has begun to churn at this institution. I believe in my heart that Sara Kugel and Caitlin Meyer possess the collective passion, vision, experience and commitment needed to propel USG and Fordham University as a whole ever upward. Sara and Caitlin have each dedicated years of their college life in the service of United Student Government. What they have accomplished in that time is impressive, significant and inspires me with confidence and hope for what lies ahead for our student body, what this body of remarkable people will accomplish together.

It has been an incredible journey, being a part of this effort for the past four years, one that I will miss and always hold close to my heart.

Thank you and good luck.

John Tully Gordon Executive President, USG 2009-2010

OPINIONS

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 9

Residential Life Produces Dystopian Housing Lottery Libertas

et Veritas CHADWICK CIOCCI

Social Engineering

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/ THE RAM

Anxious students swarm LaLande Lounge for O’Hare and Finlay doubles lottery, hoping to earn suitable rooms despite ResLife’s convoluted selection methods.

By BRIAN KRAKER ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

Fordham IT recently announced the replacement of Cisco Clean Access with a new program, Network Access Control. The vilified computer program, which made a Gameboy look like NASA-developed technology, plagued Fordham students, impeding attempts to procrastinate in the solitude of their dorm rooms. Fordham IT thankfully read the comment cards on the wall and adhered to the students’ wishes, providing them with a new portal to the Internet.

Although students have yet to test NAC, all departments should take a page out of the IT department’s book and proactively evaluate student’s chronic complaints.

Unfortunately, ResLife appears illiterate. With a multitude of forms to submit and a confusing roomselection process, the housing lottery creates more bottlenecking than the New Jersey Turnpike. The amount of paperwork involved in the housing process is enough to make even the staunchest Republicans pause from clubbing baby seals and reconsider their position on global warming. With no foreseeable reform to the housing lottery on the horizon, this yearly debacle looks to become a Fordham rite of passage. While this process is fundamentally flawed, ResLife’s mismanagement of the housing lottery has turned an unnecessary nuisance into a fiasco.

The calamity commenced with ResLife’s failure to inform students of major changes in the lottery process. Residential staff neglected to inform members of the Wellness ILCs in O’Hare Hall that the community was moving to the north wing. Many students

retained their rooms under the false impression they would remain in the same room. A shift in view from the O’Hare lawn to the scenic parking garage may have a profound influence on a student’s decision to retain. Conversely, other students opted not to retain rooms under the impression their rooms were remaining in the Wellness community. Only after ResLife gave away their rooms in the lottery did residents become aware of the truth. ResLife simply failed to adequately inform residents of major shifts in housing.

Amid ResLife’s information gap, the department added another variable into the carefully calculated equations of students’ housing decisions. Changing the range of the lottery numbers, from one to 9,999 to one to 3,999, alters students’ perceptions of their standings. A year ago, a number lower than 1,000 guaranteed students a room in their desired dorm, yet this year, students failed to obtain rooms with numbers in the 500s.

This switch in lottery parameters is an equivalent to Fordham switching the flex dollar system to the Euro- each number loses its value.

The 3,999 number limit was a logical and inevitable step, with about 4,500 undergraduates enrolled at Rose Hill; however, the timing was all wrong. The addition of the new dorms on campus shifted the dynamic for which halls students can reasonably gain entrance. Traditionally, Walsh is a senior oasis while juniors gravitate toward O’Hare and Finlay, leaving sophomores to grudgingly attend the Martyrs’ lottery. However, with uncertainty surrounding the migration to the promised land in Campbell and Salice-Conley, many wary underclassmen strayed

Issue of the Week:

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

See what commentators from the Left and the Right have to say about the proposed financial reform bill.

away from particular lotteries due to their numbers, while other courageous freshmen snuck into the new dorms.

While ResLife incited confusion with number changes, the scheduling of these lotteries also created conflicts with classes. At a school that supposedly stresses academics, continually holding lotteries which conflict with course times, forcing students to skip lectures to avoid overflow, is pathetic. Other selection days, such as the singles lottery, started late, forcing students to miss classes they expected to attend. ResLife’s policy on requiring IDs also wreaked havoc on students, whose roommates ventured to Lincoln Center classes without leaving their IDs. Many melancholy students heard their numbers called, only to inform the ResLife staff they did not possess the required identification.

The turmoil of the housing lottery was most evident in the illogical locations where the lotteries where held. Holding the six-person apartment lottery for Walsh in the McGinley Center’s music room made a Martyrs’ dorm room look like the Taj Mahal. With over 50 groups signed up for the lottery and each room containing six students, it should have been apparent this particular selection would be crowded. After students filled the limited numbers of seats and overpopulated the isles, onlookers overflowed into the hallways.

Meanwhile, ResLife reserved O’Keefe Commons for the sixperson apartments in the new dorms. With only six rooms available and about a dozen groups registered for the lottery, the turnout was small enough that the venue could have easily been confused for a basketball game. While the

crowds created bedlam at the Walsh lottery, with students in the hallway unable to hear when the staff called their numbers, ResLife reserved one of Fordham’s largest halls to hold the smallest lottery.

Thankfully there is a simple solution to the housing catastrophe; the Internet. Al Gore’s gift to humanity, the World Wide Web holds the key to every seemingly impossible problem.

ResLife has begun to move the process online, posting the housing booklet and lottery registration forms online, however this limited access is not enough. By moving the entire process online, students can easily access the selection process from their dorms, avoiding the lottery crowds. There is no fear of forgetting a roommate’s ID and missing a lecture, as students could even access the housing lottery from an iPhone in class. This also simplifies the process for the ResLife staff. No stress over reserving halls, no hoarse voices after shouting numbers over anxious underclassmen and no ungodly paperwork.

While departments such as Fordham IT have made major strides to remedy blemishes such as Clean Access, ResLife appears adamant in its outdated practices.

The housing process has vexed students with archaic procedures, including chaotic lotteries and mediocre scheduling. While an online housing lottery could bring Fordham into the 21st century, it appears ResLife is willing to continue chiseling room assignments into stone for decades to come.

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

Steven D, Booman Tribune

Dave Mason, The Foundry

“The Republican obstructionists of financial reform want to claim that the bailouts were all the fault of the Democrats, and that its the Democrats who want to bail out the big banks rather than help all the average Americans and small businesses. Hypocrisy has a new acronym: G-O-P.”

“Who would benefit from such regulation?

Big banks: they would be protected against competition and be given an excuse for failing to offer new products. That’s no way to help consumers or to avert the next financial crisis.”

One of these oft-overlooked but still imperative issues in today’s world is the matter of social engineering. Social engineering occurs when the government, either at the local, state or national level determines that one way of living or believing is superior to another and implements policies which engineer its citizenry to believe or act in a predetermined way. In the vast majority of cases, social engineering represents the negation of liberty and truth, yet in just as many great of cases often appears to be benign and acceptable.

New York City has some of the worst social engineering policies in the United States. The prime example of this engineering can be found in the city’s ban on cigarette smoking in restaurants. As I mentioned before, many social engineering policies appear benign at first, and certainly this one does too: people are healthier, restaurants cleaner and many people more happy as the result of the ban. What appears good is actually the utter negation of freedom, both on the individual’s part as well as the restaurateur’s. On the one hand, the actions of cigarette smokers has been deemed too unhealthy for themselves and the people around them for our government to permit; on the other hand, restaurateurs’ ability to determine if and when people will be able to smoke in their establishments, if at all and whether or not their clientele demand such, is non-existent.

One of the most important aspects of a liberal democracy is the freedom of individuals to act in ways that may seem odd, scandalous and even unhealthy by other people but are nonetheless permissible by virtue of the fact that it only harms themselves. It shall be immediately rebutted that cigarette smoking does not fit in to this model since second hand smoke does in fact harm people other than the smoker. This is true, but it is not an argument in favor of regulating cigarette smoking.

This is because even though an “other” is being harmed by the second hand smoke, restaurateurs may or may not choose to regulate smoking in their own establishments based upon the demands of their clientele. If they have many clients who would like to smoke, the restaurant owner is likely to permit smoking, and will likely divide his restaurant between a smoking section and non-smoking one. Since many other establishments will choose not to permit any smoking at all, restaurant goers who would prefer not to eat amongst smokers can either choose a non-smoking section or a non-smoking restaurant.

Yet some customers’ demand to smoke, other customers’ ability to enjoy a smoke-free environment regardless of the non-existence of a ban and restaurant owners’ rights to control their private property don’t seem to be quite enough to stem the New York government’s quest to socially engineer its people.

Chadwick Ciocci, FCRH ’10, is a philosophy major from Trumbull, Conn. He can be reached at cciocci@ aol.com.

OPINIONS

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

EBooks Not Yet a Replacement for Textbooks

By MATTHEW ARTH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As any undergraduate can tell you, there are three things that college students absolutely cannot live without: Facebook, beer and eReaders. Or at least, that’s the reality that companies like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Ap-

ple are feverishly trying to create.

With the recent launch of the iPad (and to a lesser extent, the Kindle DX before that), students everywhere are asking if it is finally realistic to ditch the heavy and expensive textbooks of their youth and enter the promised land of a fully-digital nirvana. Just as iPods made CDs a thing of the past, will we at long

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Kindles and other eReaders make some books more accessible and portable.

last be able to fulfill our lifelong dream of managing our psychology textbooks through iTunes?

As with any question worth asking, the answer is never a simple “yes” or “no.” There are many things that eReaders do right and many ways that they can make the complicated lives of undergraduates more convenient. At the same time, there are several key features that are lacking in the current slate of devices which effectively keep them from becoming a full-on replacement for our textbooks.

First though, let’s take a look at the things eReaders get right. Whether you are talking about Amazon’s Kindle line of readers, the Barnes & Noble Nook or Apple’s iPad (admit it, its impossible to convince yourself that you don’t want one), they all mimic the reading experience of a traditional book quite well.

The Kindle and the Nook both use a technology called eInk (essentially an advanced Etch-A-Sketch) to create a static image, which simulates the look of a paper-and-binding book, with no backlight and all in grayscale. The iPad uses the multi-touch LED screen we have all come to know and love in the iPhone to bring flourishes not seen in the Kindle or Nook, like full-color illustrations and a page-turning mechanic that allows users to actually grab a page corner and pull it across the screen like a real book. Although eInk is supposed to produce less eye strain, in my tests of the iPad I found the LED screen to be

just as pleasant to read from.

The single greatest advantage of eReaders over conventional books is their light weight. As tablets with a small footprint, eReaders allow students to carry around potentially hundreds of books in the space it would normally take to carry just one and at a weight that is measured in ounces rather than pounds. Also, students can download these books from anywhere there is an Internet connection and save themselves the often frustrating wait in line at the bookstore.

Those are all praiseworthy features for reading assigned texts like Plato’s The Republic, or more likely the latest edition of Twilight, but textbooks are a whole different animal. For one thing, a vast majority of required textbooks are not available as eBooks. Amazon has some available in its Kindle store, but Apple still has not inked deals with any of the major textbook publishers for its iBooks Store (an offshoot of iTunes).

This is a huge oversight on the part of these companies if they want to appeal to college students, and until this is rectified, most students will dismiss eReaders as viable alternatives.

Also worth noting is the lack of interactivity. Many students like to add notes into the margins of their textbooks and highlight important passages. Kindles, Nooks and iPads allow for some highlighting, but note-taking within the eBook itself is not an option at this time. For the iPad, exiting out of

the app just to make a note makes the experience too much of an ordeal to be justified.

Ever budget-conscious, students should also consider the costs versus potential savings of investing in an eReader. An Amazon Kindle will set you back $259, while the least expensive iPad model goes for $499. These are not inconsequential amounts of cash, and any savvy Fordham student will realize that a single iPad represents over 125 Coors Lights at Mugz (tip included!).

Avid fans of eReaders will insist that the savings are in the eBooks themselves. A simple Amazon search will reveal that Essentials of Corporate Finance, which normally retails at $100 or more, is only $51.25 through the Kindle store. However, when the semester ends, the lack of a physical book to sell back negates any initial savings.

All of these detriments add up to negate their usefulness to students.

EReaders are still a very young category, and in the future as their price drops and these initial drawbacks are solved, I am confident that ultimately these devices will be commonplace. For the time being, though, the iPad might be great if a person is looking to do some pleasure-reading on the flight home, but in the classroom, traditional textbooks continue to reign supreme.

Matthew Arth, CBA ’11, is marketing major and economics minor from Southlake, Texas.

of students walking into McGinley is not very interesting; shadowy figures, a garden area and the brick path are all the camera picks up. That is, except for the huge lines of angry students that extends out the door of McGinley during prime meal times.

Unless the University wants to show prospective students a line to get food that recalls images of a Soviet bread line, this camera could be moved. The dining hall Web camera on the Boston College site displays an interesting view of student life.

Fordham could benefit from following that lead and installing a camera in the caf instead (at.bc.edu/webcams/corcoran/).

One camera that Fordham should definitely move is the one in the John Mulcahy Hall computer lab.

That particular room is often kept dark, but the boxy outlines of old, non-flat screen monitors are clearly visible. Why did the University choose to highlight this low-tech, outdated computer lab when the Electronic Information Center in Walsh Library is sleek, bright and full of beautiful iMac computers?

The EIC would be a much better place to highlight in order to attract prospective students.

Other locations that Fordham might have considered placing cameras would be the rose garden between Hughes Hall and Dealy or a view near O’Hare Hall, which are both attractive spaces and often full of students trekking between classes.

Also, if Fordham felt daring, it might have placed a camera at one of the off-campus apartment locations; this would give anxious parents a glimpse of picturesque Arthur Avenue and a view of the surrounding neighborhood, which many parents worry about when sending their kids

to the Bronx.

An interesting direction Fordham could have taken would have been to focus a Web camera on the construction site. It would not have mattered if this was updated in real time because of the slow process of construction, but it would have interested both current and prospective students alike.

One thing that Fordham.edu lacks is a gallery of still photographs of the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. While there are virtual tours with one or two pictures each of dorms and facilities, there is no single location on the Web site where prospective students can click through high-quality pictures of the campuses.

Most views of campus that the Web site offers are small, grainy images sandwiched in between blocks of text. While the Web cameras, panoramic pictures of different spots on campus and virtual tours are a nice thought, prospective students would

get a fuller view of campus if an additional page of high-resolution, beautiful pictures of different campus locations.

Prospective students are used to reviewing tagged pictures on Facebook, and might find a similar-style gallery of Fordham pictures appealing. Visitors of Fordham.edu would be hard-pressed to find many pictures larger than 500 pixels on the Web site.

The idea of Web cameras is a good one, but it needs to be re-examined and re-worked a little. Also, Fordham could make a few changes to the Discover Fordham area of the site, like adding a gallery of large, clear campus pictures. Fordham has a beautiful campus, which it emphasizes in the pamphlets it gives to prospective students, but does not play up enough on the Web site.

Christine Barcellona, FCRH ’12, is an English major from Dallas, Texas.

She can be reached at cbarcellona@ fordham.edu.

Webcams Focus on Wrong Parts of Fordham

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

Fordham is an oasis, a shady Gothic paradise in the inner city. Film crews make pilgrimages to Fordham to film scenes set at picturesque Ivy Leagues. Prospective students “ooh” and “ahh” at tulip-studded flowerbeds. It makes sense that the University would want to show off this asset as much as possible; the Web cams at Fordham.edu/webcam are a well intentioned attempt to do this, but they leave much to be desired. These Web cameras are ostensibly an attempt to give prospective students a full view of the lush campus, and some changes could be made to help them fulfill their purpose.

Though they seem like stalker cams at first, privacy-concerned students can relax once they realize that the cameras only update “every one to five minutes.” While this may make people feel less like Big Brother is watching them, it also somewhat defeats the purpose of having Web cameras in the first place. If this was 1995, everyone would be impressed with the “live” feed of still pictures, but now prospective students all have their own high-quality Web cameras built into their own computers, and probably expect something better from Web cameras. However, kudos to Fordham for not being as creepy as Vanderbilt’s Peabody Library Terrace Web cam, where you can sometimes watch students sit, study and eat up-close in real time (vanderbilt. edu/webcam/).

Aside from the disappointingly

slow update speed, the web cameras might benefit from highlighting Fordham’s strengths and downplaying its weaknesses. This is Fordham’s chance to show the world what its campus is like daily, and the cameras should show scenes of bustling student life, and should focus on prettier spots on campus. The cameras focused on Edward’s Parade and the University Church match this critera, but some of the other cameras could be focused on better locations.

The Walsh Library camera is well-placed in terms of the building; Walsh Library is one of the nicest facilities on campus. However, the camera will probably highlight students trickling in and out of the library, and solitary people sitting on the steps talking on the phone. The front of the library is not the most lively place on campus, and having a new picture uploaded of it every five minutes will reveal few exciting developments. Instead, the Web site should offer high-resolution still pictures of the interior and exterior of the library, so prospective students could appreciate the beauty of the building, instead of squinting at a blurry, 320 x 240 pixel Web camera image. Plus, prospective students do not need to see a continually updating feed of students hunched over books. Still pictures would be better for showing off the building.

The camera aimed at the walkway into the McGinley Center does a good job at focusing on a location full of bustling student life, but it would be more worthwhile to place this camera inside the caf. First, the view

In “Tuition Ceilings Would Curb Skyrocketing Fees” of last week’s issue, it read that the University’s endowment has dropped from $434,706 in June 2008 to $330,166 in June 2009. It should have read that the University’s endowment has dropped from $434,706,000 in June 2008 to $330,166,000 in June 2009. The Ram regrets this error.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM.EDU

Webcams focus on the University Church, the walkway outside McGinley Center and Edward’s Parade. Other cameras focus on less attractive campus sites.

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PAGE 15

Fashion for Philanthropy Aids Make-a-Wish A Diverse Group of Fordham Students Got the Chance to Model to Benefit Charity

By JESSICA PASSANANTI STAFF WRITER

Fordham students and family members alike filed into the RoseHill Gymnasium for an unfamiliar reason on Friday, April 16th.

Button-down dress shirts and sequenced dresses replaced Fordham jerseys; Manolo Blahnik’s and suede loafers replaced basketball sneakers. At approximately 7 p.m. on April 16th, the Rose Hill Gym appeared to be an exact replica of an exclusive tent during Fashion Week. Fashion for Philanthropy club successfully conducted its annual fashion show fundraiser, this time benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The themed fashion show annually raises thousands of dollars for Make-A-Wish Foundation, raising just under $6,000 last year. The club was able to feature globally famous fashions such as alice + olivia, Shoshanna, e.vil and more.

Minutes before the show, the glare of the white lights seemed to create an unfamiliar ambiance of anxiousness and anticipation.

Vice President Molly McLoone, FCRH’11, and the rest of the club scurried around the gymnasium to complete the finishing touches.

The nervous models were not the only ones prepared for an evening of glamour; every audience member was dressed in his or her Friday best.

“Am I even allowed to wear a hat?” one student questioned his friend, perplexed at the unofficial formality of the event.

Once inhabited by eight-foot-

tall sweaty basketball players, the transformation of the basketball court was unreal.

When the show finally began 30 minutes past seven, in typical fashion-show delay, every audience member stared wide-eyed and attentive at a video montage of a few favorite Disney moments. Genie, known for granting wishes, was a suitable opener for such a particular cause.

The show was truly magical; entitled, “Once Upon A Runway,” it was set to represent the popular themes within a fairy tale. Successfully executed, the show was broken into two acts: Act I consisted of the themes “Desert Safari,” “Tropical Jungle” and “Enchanted Forest.”

Following an intermission that featured Fordham Flava were the “Villains,” “Heroes” and “Princesses.” Music supplied by DJ Richie Coppolino accompanied each particular theme.

The high-fashion collections each had their own mood that was essential for the delivery of the theme.

“The Desert Safari, definitely,” Kristen Flores, FCRH ’13, said when asked about their favorite collection.

The opening of the show was an instant hit: the song “Africa” by Toto echoed throughout the gymnasium and fierce models stomped down the runway in animal prints.

The models played a significant part in the delivery of the fashion show. All models were different heights, weights and ethnicities. It made for a unique show that truly exemplified the diversity for which

PHOTO BY JESSICA PASSANANTI/THE RAM

Fordham students were given the chance to model, with the annual fashion show benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Fordham prides itself.

“I was honestly surprised at how convincing the models were,” Hannah O’Donnell, FCRH ’13, said.

Those who had always dreamed of strutting down the runway were finally able too, for a good cause.

The beneficiaries of the MakeA-Wish foundation were not the only ones whose dreams were in the making. Student designer Alyssa Carnazza, FCRH ’10, was able to showcase her “Villain” collection that took three months to construct. Carnazza designed the entire collection by embodying the attitude of a “fearless woman” through the use of black leather skirts and neon-green tulle.

“Honestly, what makes me happiest is how great my models were,” she said. “I really wanted them to

walk super sexy, confident, and to a different pace of music and they totally nailed it.”

Recently learning to sew as a senior in high school, she was able to join together with her mom and sister to finalize the fierce collection.

“During the show, I was cueing all of the girls so I didn’t get a chance to see them on the runway, but I watched it later that night and actually cried,” Carnazza said.

The donations from the show will allow the foundation to grant more severely ill patients with their own wish. The unbeatable combination of fantasy and fashion was perfect for a good cause.

“As someone who has personally seen the benefits of a wish from Make-A-Wish (my younger

brother received one last year), I am beyond thrilled to be able to help someone’s wish come true,” McLoone said.

So what’s in store for the future?

“Obviously no event is ever perfect, so once we are recovered from our months of hard work, the 2010-2011 E-Board and myself will go back and evaluate the positives and negatives of the show to ensure that next year’s show is the best it can be,” McLoone, next year’s President-elect, said.

While the members of the Fashion for Philanthropy club said they found flaws within their show, the outsider was left with a feeling of surprised astonishment. The club was able to truly embody the intensity of a fashion show while working at a good cause.

Dessert Trucks Are Popping up Throughout New York

By JONATHAN GILLIS STAFF WRITER

Doug Quint loves his summer job.

Though he is a freelance bassoonist by trade, Quint doubles during his summers as an ice cream man, traveling daily from his home in Morningside Heights to the truck depot in Brookyln, where he grabs a ride and hits the streets as a member of New York’s sizable street-vendor squad.

Quint, however, has a special claim to fame. He’s avoided Mr. Tastee. Instead he and boyfriend Bryan Petroff are the owners and operators of the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (BGIT), a wonderfully distinct addition to the street vendor scene which offers regular softserve but can top ice cream with

anything from wasabi peas to Nilla Wafers and Nutella.

The BGIT, which opened last summer, is just one addition to the steadily growing supply of novelty dessert trucks browsing the Big Apple. Others, including Thomas DeGeest’s Wafels & Dinges truck (Belgian Waffles), offer similarly clever concoctions and surprisingly friendly faces behind the counter. In a city where street food often comes with a side of surly service, these amicable dessert stops are gathering fans at lightning pace.

To a certain extent, it is a miracle that these trucks can make it at all. Lev Ekster, owner of Cupcake Stop, puts in “anywhere between 70 and 90 hours” of work every week. Though he doesn’t make the cupcakes he sells (he found a baker on Craigslist who comes

PHOTO BY JONATHAN GILLIS/THE RAM

Ice cream trucks are some of the new dessert trucks appearing all over New York City.

up with the recipes and bakes the goodies), Ekster still has to divide his time between kitchen supervision, truck driving, publicity and, of course, sales. Such a rigorous work schedule is not uncommon amongst owners, either. Quint and DeGeest also log heavy shifts, estimating that their weekly totals fall between 60 and 70 hours.

Before they can get out on the road, however, these vendors have plenty to keep their hands busy.

Not only do they have to find a truck, they have to store and license it. Also, New York City requires all vendors to be licensed themselves, which means taking a Mobile Food Vendor course and passing the test, a seemingly undemanding task considering the fact that Quint’s testing time was “28 seconds, and [he] was being leisurely.” Of course, this is only followed by a prolonged period of waiting akin to waiting at the DMV. Once the license is received, however, the vendors are able to hit the streets and brave the competition.

Fortunately for these novelty trucks, competition is a minute issue.

“I think we offer a unique experience,” DeGeest said.

Quint and Ekster concurred.

“I don’t really think about competition,” Ekster said, adding that he concentrates solely on making his truck the best it can be.

When asked about rivalries between trucks, Quint chuckled.

“It’s kind of like we are all employees for the same company,” he said.

Customers, though sometimes unruly, are always greeted with a warm smile. On its routes, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck does see its share of pejorative patrons who take issue with Quint’s proud homosexuality, but Quint says he always maintains a grin.

“I kind of like it when I see them, because you just smile, and that’s always worse than anger,” he said.

Most visitors, however, are pleasant and eager for their treats. Other vendors and police officers may not be as neighborly. Lev Ekster holds a law degree from New York Law School, but on the truck, it is street laws that matter most.

“You’ll park somewhere, and as far as laws are concerned, you are okay, but the hot dog vendor might not agree,” Ekster said.

DeGeest says that cops get a little picky as well.

“They’ll come and say ‘We don’t like that,’” he said. “It’s something

you have to put up with.”

Quint hasn’t had much of a problem, a fact that he attributes to his first few weeks on the job.

“I was just really friendly to everyone,” he said.

For all three of the vendors, the truck is hardly the end of the line.

Cupcake Stop is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar location in Chelsea on May 7, in addition to adding another truck to the arsenal. DeGeest said he hopes to open a location, and Quint hinted that he hopes to expand his Big Gay Ice Cream empire, too.

For all of these men, their businesses are pure bliss. Ekster began Cupcake Stop last year having just graduated law school. DeGeest is a former IBM consultant who worked for almost a year on waffle recipes before leaving to start Wafles & Dinges. Quint is a Julliardtrained bassoonist. For all three men, their trucks are for much more than just profit; their vehicles have become their oases out on the streets of the greatest city in the world.

“We are putting something on the map that wasn’t there before,” DeGeest said. “For me, the main thing is that we bring a happy moment to people’s days.”

CULTURE

PAGE 16 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

That’s So Po

Dining Out: Braai

MARY PORPORA Week 9: Near Death Experiences

Over the past few years, I have noticed more and more how frequently I have come close to death.

There have been times when I have actually almost died, and then there are also times when my natural fear of death has caused me to ponder how easily I could have died. For instance, most recently, I am pretty sure I almost died while trying to do laundry.

After putting my clothes into the washing machine in O’Hare, I tried to leave, but a massive puddle of water stopped me. In order to avoid this puddle, I tried to remember my six years of ballet and gracefully step over the pond in front of me. My two seconds of triumph as I surpassed the water vanished when I landed in an adjacent puddle. As both my feet slid out from under me in opposite directions, the upper half of my body plummeted forward. Thankfully, I was able to catch myself at the last minute on the edge of the machine.

I stayed in that position for a few seconds in order to catch my breath and realize that I was not in Final Destination, and that my water slip did not end up in strangulation, or, more reasonably, some sort of deadly head trauma.

Instances like this one happen all the time. There have been so many times when I have damaged my head in some way that would make me think that if I had hit it any harder, I could have been left permanently unconscious, like the time I walked into a stop sign or when I fell off a lofted bed, or the many, many times I have been hit in the head with sports equipment.

There are certain near-death situations that I assume everyone has experienced. I cannot count the amount of times I have almost been hit by car while trying to cross the street. Then there are those horrifying seconds when I think I am choking, but after a few coughs, I realize that I am okay. I find these to be some of the most terrifying experiences. That is why I have learned to eat slowly, carefully and around others (my seventh grade self-Heimlich maneuver training can only get me so far).

I always remember when I was younger and I would play in the ocean. It was always a blast until that one wave came and got smacked me around under the water like a ping-pong ball between the waves and the ocean floor.

Then when I finally emerged from the grips of the monster that is the undertow, it is as if I had never tasted air before in my life, and it is definitely the most relieving postnear-death-experience ever.

These experiences are all a part of living, so even though they freak me out, I would not want them to disappear. Besides, most of these stories are somewhat comical and embarrassing, which always makes for good conversation.

Near-death experiences: now that’s so Po!

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LACOURSIERE/THE RAM

Braai serves South African cuisine at 329 West 51st St. in Hell’s Kitchen.

By JUSTIN LaCOURSIERE STAFF WRITER

South African cuisine encompasses a wide variety of culinary contrasts that make for a melting pot of flavors, colors and spices. Braai, located at 329 West 51st Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Midtown, is a South African wine and cuisine restaurant that will keep you talking long after your meal is over.

“Braai” stands for barbeque, and this barbeque includes influences from a number of cultures ranging from Native African to the English, Malaysian, Dutch, Indonesian and many more. This brilliantly inspired eatery goes the extra step in just about every category imaginable, creating more than just a place for grand tasting food, offering an environment, menu and staff that fashions a food-centered experience.

The wilderness-inspired décor and African-flared set-up includes a bamboo-threaded ceiling, raw brick walls, dark wooden floor paneling and stripped carved tree trunks. The mood track lighting from above, glowing candles and handful of colored rose petals on every table set the scene for a quaint and elegant getaway. The wait staff is energetic and knowledgeable and takes an interest in the restaurant-goers and shows a cultured understanding of what Braai means.

Somusa, “compliments of the house,” is what starts the Braai experience.

This delicious tiny triangle pastry, a cross between an egg roll and a spring roll, sits on top of mango salsa and can come stuffed with a variety of fillings.

It is accompanied by a dab of pink dressing that offers a sweet, yet spicy zing to prepare your mouth for an evening infused with South African tastes.

Braai has a list of specials that change on a daily basis, and its often-listed soup of the day ($10), curry muscle coconut soup, comes from the western cape of South Africa, an area popular for its rich seafood. The appetizer is the color of sweet potatoes with the consistency of a thick pea soup or puréed squash. It is topped with strips of torn pita bread and fresh-cut parsley.

The curry flavor is subtle, and neither the muscle nor coconut flavor is very strong.

Dried apricots, mangos and kiwi over baby arugula with feta cheese in a mint-yogurt dressing is Braai’s recipe for a safari salad ($16), a sweet starter with a small kick. The arugula has a crisp crunch because it is leafier than iceberg but tougher than romaine, allowing for a nice balance. The fruit in this dish brings out a citrus splash that surprisingly balances quite well with the light, creamy feta. This salad is tossed rather than chopped, and the dressing is drizzled over the top so as not to drench the finished product. It is sweeter than the average salad, taking on an almost dessert-like quality. However, it is light enough where you do not feel guilty scraping the dish clean.

Biryani, a dish of traditional North Indian spiced long-grain fried basmati rice, is one of the menu’s South African dishes. It can be served with your choice of meat – chicken, mutton or seafood – or with vegetables ($16). It comes beautifully presented, but its appearance may be a bit overwhelming when deciding from which side to start eating. The rice is similar to that of stir-fry, and includes sautéed vegetables comprised of mushrooms, green beans and tomatoes. This grainy meal has a small boost to it that takes away from the delectable dish’s full potential. The rice and vegetables come with a variety of dipping sauces and toppings referred to as “Spices of Africa,” which Overall Location are made to complement the flavors and Food Quality textures of the dish.

These include an Atmosphere apricot spread, mango chutney, achaar Hospitality (a traditional pickled Indian condiment), Price $$$ mango salsa, a banana-coconut blend (Out of 4 ’s) and a creamy cucumber dip. The “Spices of Africa” make the meal fun, providing more of an experience and less monotony, allowing for variation, as well as personal input. However, not all of the condiments complement the dish as some can be overpowering, or more like a dressing than a sauce.

A pan-seared, herb-crusted ostrich fillet with curried coconut mashed potatoes, green beans and pear onions topped with a blackberry per-peri sauce is known as the African road runner ($30). This fillet, cooked medium rare to lock in moisture and keep the meat from becoming leathery, is similar to a moist, juicy cut of beef. While pan-seared to perfection, the herbs may shock you at first if you are not ready for the spice. The ostrich can be a tad chewy if not cut into small enough pieces, but it has an intense and bold flavor, both appealing and satisfying. Providing a nice balance to the fillet are the creamy mashed potatoes. The slightly crunchy and lightly oil-bathed green beans keep the meal rich with flavor. The plating of this dish is simply eye-catching, looking like a photograph you may see on the cover of Food Magazine.

Braai is not just the place to go to for mouth-watering food, but a culinary experience that may be a hard match. A taste of South Africa’s homeland cuisine can bring a variety of choices to your table through Braai’s extensive and unique menu. The restaurant itself gives the appearance that its attendees are actually eating in South Africa for the evening. It would be hard for you not to want to return for a second meal after experiencing what this place has to offer, as just one trip to Braai is simply not enough.

Editor’s Pick: MGMT’s Congratulations

By PATRICK DEROCHER NEWS EDITOR

Just in case there’s anyone who didn’t know, MGMT, the Brooklynbased indie-synth-rock-pop band known for such songs as “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” will be headlining this year’s Spring Weekend, taking the stage on Martyrs’ Lawn on May 1.

If this is the first time you have heard about this, it’s entirely forgivable; there was no official announcement on the part of the Office of Student Leadership & Community Development or the Campus Activities Board until CAB recently created a Facebook group. Even then, MGMT is sort of hidden in the 13th line of text, though well placed within the ’80sslash-ghetto logo that CAB has created.

At any rate, the timing of this particular concert is propitious indeed, with MGMT having released their second full-length album, Congratulations, on April 13. A follow-up to 2007’s Oracular Spectacular, this new LP is oddly familiar, yet could not be further from MGMT’s past work.

The band has said on multiple occasions that Congratulations will

not have any single releases, and will have no hit songs come off of it. This is a fair assessment of the situation; nothing is going to infect the listener’s subconscious like the synthesizer melody from “Time to Pretend” or “Electric Feel’s” hypnotic vocal line.

In fact, with a few exceptions, there is little that you are likely to remember from individual songs on this album. There are a few stand-out tracks here, most notably the epic “Siberian Breaks” and the ironically catchy “Brian Eno,” but more on those in a bit. Congratulations plays almost like high-caliber ambient music. That is not to knock the album in any way, just to say that its content is rather subtle in its intrigue, inviting the listener either to hear the album on its generally pleasant surface, or listen deeper for some very interesting musical lines.

Kicking off Congratulations, the songs “It’s Working” and “Song for Dan Treacy” introduce the listener to this audio universe with acoustic guitar and almost woozy chord progressions that slowly give way to MGMT’s signature synthesizer and drum machine work, which now has a veneer of progressive rock, à la Genesis or Yes, that will

come to define much of the rest of the album.

This is particularly evident in the 12-minute-long “Siberian Breaks” which, coming more or less in the middle of the album, is perhaps the ultimate manifestation of what Congratulations is. In the tradition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Happiness Is a Warm Gun,” “Breaks” is a patchwork of several shorter pieces that form almost a suite in a single track.

Beginning in much the same way as the album, the song soon shifts into more traditional MGMT, with pleasantly surging synthesizer lines that propel the song, which then wends its way through trippy prog rock, spacey (almost New Age) synthesizer lines and the closest thing this album comes to an anthem before resolving in a bright, starry outro that recalls some of Radiohead’s more uplifting moments.

The album’s other highlight, “Brian Eno,” manages to encapsulate the ironies of its namesake, British musician and producer who co-wrote many of the Talking Heads’ hits and had at least some hand in all but two of U2’s albums since 1984.

He is also the pioneer of the

ambient music movement, once releasing an album called “Music for Airports,” which he composed using two pianos, a synthesizer and a lot of tape loops. Appropriately, “Brian Eno” has an all-but inaccessible, churning synthesizer line, recalling his solo work, which is paired with a sing-along chorus and catchy drumbeat. The result is a sort of intoxicating cognitive dissonance that draws in the listener and makes him or her beg for more.

Congratulations, in spite of its undeniable high points, is not without its flaws. Most notably problematic is the instrumental “Lady Dada’s Nightmare,” supposedly about having sex with pop star Lady Gaga.

The four-and-a-half minute piece feels substantially longer, coming across as a self-indulgent attempt at weird for weird’s sake, and ultimately the most, and perhaps only, unnecessary track on the album.

It does not, however, detract from the album as a whole.

Congratulations is at times confusing, at times engrossing and always a fantastic follow-up to Oracular Spectacular, one that showcases its creators’ abilities and bodes well for the upcoming Spring Weekend concert.

CULTURE

Summer Office Attire How to Dress Appropriately Without Sweltering

By CLARA ENNIST STAFF WRITER

When warm weather hits, everyone wants to put on sundresses or shorts, but unfortunately this is somewhat difficult to do when working in an office. While it is important to be professional, there are still ways to incorporate spring clothing into office wear.

For the Ladies: If you have a little more freedom in your office and are not relegated to constantly wearing a suit, you have a lot more options. The staple supply that everyone should have, regardless of office dress code, is a light-weight suit jacket. You can get this jacket in either full- or three-quarter-length sleeve; the important thing is that this coat is well-tailored and ideally black.

If your office is a little more casual, you can easily wear a sundress or a circle skirt to work and wear the jacket over everything. This really pulls the outfit together and makes it easier to go from day to night.

However, some workplaces require a suit. Wearing a light-colored suit in a breathable fabric, like cotton or linen, will be much more comfortable but still work-appropriate. Also, pairing a light-weight shirt in a bold color or pattern will liven up your suit (just do not pair a patterned shirt with a pinstripe suit). In general, just try to avoid anything low-cut, short or resembling a beach ensemble.

While the clothing is important, shoes can be equally confusing.

Most office shoes are chunky and square, which is obviously not ideal for the warmer months. If you can, substitute peep-toe pumps for sandals. If you think your office is more conservative, try pumps with a shorter, slimmer heel. Kitten heels are making a huge comeback

and wearing them in a bright color makes them lighter while still professional.

For the Gentlemen: Of course, men also want to be comfortable in the office but they have fewer options than women.

It is hard to wear a short-sleeved shirt without looking like Dwight Schrute; instead, men can wear a light-weight long-sleeve shirt.

Additionally, wearing lightercolored pants, like khakis, in a light-weight fabric like seersucker or linen will be comfortable but not unprofessional as a pair of shorts would be.

Finally, men should consider wearing a vest rather than a suit jacket. While wearing a vest without a jacket may seem a little “hipster,” it will be much more comfortable and is actually a pretty popular style in Japan during heat waves.

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

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

Going

22

?

On

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

THURSDAY

NYWF Trivia Night People Lounge 163 Allen St .

Lower East Side

Every Monday, the New York Women’s Foundation hosts this trivia night with raffle prizes for women.

23

FRIDAY

Nokia Theatre Times Square 1515 Broadway (at 44th St.) Midtown West

Come see famous authors, including Dave Barry and Mitch Albom, in concert, with the proceeds going to World Vision, America’s Promise Alliance and the 92nd Street Y.

24 25

SATURDAY

Annual Tulip Festival West Side Community Garden W. 89th St. Upper West Side

Head to the Upper West Side to catch a glimpse of spring, and take some pictures to enter the garden’s photo competition.

SUNDAY

Fifth Avenue Gold Coast Walking Tour The Frick Collection 1 E. 70th St.

Admire the gorgeous building and learn juicy details about the tycoons of the Gilded Age.

26

MONDAY

Monday Night Magic Theatres at 45 Bleecker 45 Bleecker St. East Village

Matthew Holtzclaw, Camilo Vázquez and Asi Wind will perform at this weekly magic show.

27

TUESDAY Lucha Libre, Superheroes and Mexican Identity The Graduate Center at the City University of New York 365 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.) Learn about Lucha Libra from an anthropologist’s, cultural historian’s and CUNY Spanish lecturer’s point of view.

28

When Money Was in Fashion 92Y Tribeca 200 Hudson St.

WEDNESDAY

Listen to Goldman Sachs founder Henry Goldman’s granddaughter discuss personal and professional problem between the Goldmans and the Sachs.

RALPH LAUER/MCT

Sundresses can be appropriate in the office, especially when paired with a light jacket.

Ram Reviews THEATER

THEATER

TELEVISION

GOD OF CARNAGE

CLUE

“FOOD REVOLUTION”

With the powerful allure of world-renowned song-and-dance spectaculars like Wicked and The Lion King, it is easy to ignore a straight-up play like God of Carnage. The show is an off-beat comedy that explores the fallibility of human civilization. Currently in its third incarnation at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, the play officially opened in March of 2009 and has since received three Tony Awards, including the award for 2009’s Best Play.

The one-act play opens in a New York apartment where two couples meet to discuss a dire schoolyard conflict: one couple’s 11-year-old son has hit the other’s with a stick, knocking two of his teeth out.

Well worth the price and the wait, God of Carnage is a production that no theatre fan can afford to miss.

Fordham Experimental Theater presented a two-act comedy, Clue, based on the 1985 movie of the same name, inspired by the board game produced by Parker Brothers, from April 14-17. The play features everyone’s favorite characters from the game.

Under the direction of Stephanie Pennacchia, FCRH ’12, and Jessy Lynn, FCRH ’13, all of the actors fearlessly committed to their roles, as ridiculous as the characters are.

It is hard to pick a standout among the cast, since no one selfishly stole the spotlight in this ensemble. Everyone garnered laughs throughout the show, and the packed audience gave each actor a standing ovation at curtain call.

Everyone involved with Clue was self-aware about its hilarity, making the play an enjoyable on-campus event.

Executive producer Ryan Seacrest (“American Idol”) brings us celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s (“The Naked Chef ”) journey into Huntington, WV with his mission of reforming the way people eat.

The city of Huntington is considered to be the fattest town in the fattest country in the world, and Oliver is determined to change that.

His mission starts in an elementary school where he discovers that children are eating pizza for breakfast and chicken nuggets for lunch.

This is one of the best and most relevant television shows out there right now, and I encourage everyone to watch it. It will inspire you to actually help and make a difference because nobody in their right minds would want their children to be exposed to the garbage some schools are serving now.

MOVIE DEATH AT A FUNERAL

Some films are better left in the coffin, but Death at a Funeral is not one of them. Imagine the most over-the-top situations that could occur at a funeral, throw in some farcical characters, and you’ve got this surprisingly funny and enjoyable flick.

In this 2010 film, Chris Rock (I Think I Love My Wife) stars as the responsible oldest son left to deal with all the hassles that arise at his father’s funeral. Each actor in the film delivered strong comedic performances, some exaggerated and others perfectly understated.

All in all, Death at a Funeral is an entertaining and funny movie, and if you are in the mood for a good laugh, this movie will certainly deliver. Don’t let the title trick you – Death at a Funeral is one of the liveliest, most energetic films of the year.

BOOK TWITTERATURE

I will not even pretend that I have read all the important books I should have. I dutifully got through the ones assigned in school and several more, but Great Expectations? Moby Dick? Twilight? Not so much. So when my roommate started reading twitterature, I was intrigued. Perhaps a book summarizing everything from King Lear to the Harry Potter septology could provide enough information to get me through cocktail parties, and hopefully include more humor than SparkNotes.

Though certainly not the laborintensive reading of the works it summarizes, twitterature is a fun, light read, perfect for a quick break in between analyzing the actual classics. In fact, I may pick up a few of those works that I have not read yet, if only so I can understand their tweets.

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

CULTURE

PAGE 18 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

Another Celebrity Perk: Infidelity

GERRY MELENDEZ/MCT

Tiger Woods may be good at golf, but his marital skills could use some work.

By JEN CACCHIOLI ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

In the gossip world, there is hardly anything more deliciously scandalous than a high-profile celebrity husband caught cheating.

The story is always the same: the mistresses speak out, and the husband tries to beg for forgiveness, leaving everyone in shock as to

why anyone would ever cheat on such a gorgeous wife.

In the last several months, the No. 1 story splashed all over the tabloids was the Tiger Woods cheating scandal. Breaking down the façade of his clean-cut, respectable image, the news of his lascivious affairs has impacted not only his marriage but also the livelihood of his sponsorship. The destruc-

tion of his reputation in the press is proof of how damaging marital affairs have become for a celebrity.

Apparently, Elin Nordegren, wife of the defamed Tiger Woods, has chosen the try-to-make-itwork route, as she has begun to live with Tiger again after his return from sex rehab. How she can stand to look at the man whose numerous sexual exploits have been aired to the public in such explicit detail by his 15 or so mistresses is unfathomable. Being a normal person who has just discovered she was cheated on her is incredibly hard enough, having the status of a celebrity, which includes taking on the added weight of worldwide scrutiny and humiliation, must make the situation even more difficult.

No one knows this better right now than Sandra Bullock. The shock of her husband, Jesse James’, affair with Michelle “Bombshell” McGee has been magnified due to the mistress’ In Touch magazine tell-all story breaking within only a week of Bullock’s triumphant Oscar-win.

Bullock is as perfect as a celebrity can get: she is the definition of movie-star good looks, has starred in multiple lovable romanticcomedies, has Academy Award credibility and exudes the unpretentious attitude of someone who does not let fame get to her head.

She also seems like an incredibly selfless person who has cared for

James’ children like they were her own. McGee, on the other hand, is a trashy biker model, who photographers have caught controversially posing as a white supremacist in Nazi attire. The two could not be more different. Bullock’s flawless character and appearance begs the question as to why this lucky man would feel the need to betray their relationship.

Over and over again this question comes up, such as when the actor, Hugh Grant, cheated on the gorgeous Elizabeth Hurley with a street prostitute and Tiger Woods was unsatisfied with just having a Swedish swimsuit model for a wife.

So, what is it that makes monogamy impossible for these men?

When you draw comparisons between celebrity cheaters and the non-famous ones you will find the differences glaring. Citing sex addiction as an excuse is common for the celebrity male cheater. It seems to be the standard procedure for them to check into a sex rehab facility for about a month in the hopes that it will give off the impression of reformed person. Really, sex rehab is just their desperate way of trying to salvage their reputation only after they have been caught.

It appears to be done more out of a publicity obligation rather than the genuine desire to change.

After leaving abruptly for a brief time, James has returned to rehab, while Bullock has been watching his kids in his absence. It will be

interesting to see whether Bullock chooses to go the route of Nordegren and attempt to make her relationship work upon her husband’s return from rehab or simply sever ties and divorce immediately.

Whether these men have sex addictions that need rehabilitation or not is debatable, but the extent of their many affairs shows that change will not be as simple as a one-month stint in rehab.

For couples in the real world, monogamy is equally difficult to practice in a relationship. While normal cheating husbands may not go to sex rehab, they deal with the same kinds of insecurity and lack of culpability that causes the behavior seen in these celebrity scandals. What amazing, successful women like Bullock and Nordegren prove is how little this kind of cheating has to do with the wives.

Due to how hard a long-term monogamous relationship has become in our society, cheating, even in the most loving of relationships, is easily possible. Giving into temptation is something men and women have a tough time controlling but they must avoid them for the sake of a healthy, trusting relationship.

Ideally, Jesse James and Tiger Woods can learn from these mistakes and maybe regain the trust they lost in their marriages. However, if they are anything like some normal men, a guy who is once a cheater is always a cheater.

namic teaching style.

Dr. Stempel has a sixth sense for recognizing and commenting on musical genius; and his mustache is bangin’!

People seem to think that I want to listen to them. No matter how hard I try nothing seems to work. Turning my head, pretending to text, blasting my iPod… none of it works! What about me seems inviting?

What is your dream job?

I would like to be an assistant dean of student life…seems like they don’t do much and you don’t have to be very smart.

WHO’S THAT KID? Joe Mancuso A MEMBER OF CBA ‘10 FROM RINGWOOD, N.J. MAJORING IN MARKETING Where have we seen you?

You have seen me at the caf, or in Finlay Hall. You may also see me at the Qualified Auto Insurance Agency where I work. Come on down for the lowest prices in New York! No credit, no problem!

Favorite childhood show and favorite current show?

My favorite childhood show was “Salute Your Shorts.” Now, it’s a toss-up between “Modern Family” and “The Office.”

Who would play you in a movie and why?

Tracy Morgan, simply because he’s the s***.

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

That’s a really difficult question, but I have to say Ludwig van Beethoven. He went deaf and continued to write unbelievable music for another 13-years. Did you get that? He was deaf!

Plus, his life inspired six (count them, six) movies about St. Bernards. Of course, the dinner would have to take place before he lost his hearing completely, and there would have to be a translator present.

What would your ideal day in Manhattan consist of?

My ideal day in Manhattan would take place entirely in Central Park. I would find a nice grassy knoll in an isolated spot under a tree, lie down on a blanket and listen to my favorite composers spanning from the Renaissance to the Romantic periods.

For breakfast I would have a soft pretzel, a dirty-water hotdog for lunch, and a combination of the two for dinner. Did I mention that it must be 75 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny?

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

I would be taking part in a PSJ rally…no! I would be involved in a USG meeting…nah. I would be running programs with RHA. Actually, I’d rather bungee jump without a cord than do any of those things. Did that answer the question?

Favorite class at Fordham and favorite professor?

My favorite class at Fordham was Jazz: A History in Sound taught by Dr. Larry Stempel, my favorite professor. I have never seen anyone employ such a dy-

COURTESY OF JOE MANCUSO

How do you blow off steam?

By doing community service in the Bronx. Ha! What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

Stuck on an island, what would you need?

My guitar, a hammock, an unlimited supply of Corona.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I’m in the middle of notating Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” for orchestra. Believe it or not, that’s my least embarrassing guilty pleasure.

CULTURE

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 19

‘Glee’ Returns with New Characters The Popular Musical Show Returns at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays with Mixed Results

By MARTY MERCADO STAFF WRITER

What do shows like “Buff y the Vampire Slayer,” “Scrubs,” and “Xena: Warrior Princess” all have in common? They all aired episodes that were musicals; but those were all one-offs and never happened again for any of those shows.

Now we have “Glee.” TV executives try to stay away from musicals as part of their primetime lineup, but FOX’s risk is paying off.

The show has earned numerous awards including the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in addition to edging “30 Rock,” “Entourage,” “The Office” and “Modern Family” for the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy at the 2009 Golden Globes. More importantly, “Glee” became a ratings giant on Wednesday nights averaging just under eight million viewers per week.

The show uses a fairly generic plotline of high school life and stereotypes, but what creator Ryan Murphy (“Popular,” “Nip/Tuck”) has given the show is an edgy perspective into this fairly basic concept. The show uses comedy and music to tap into the issues of homosexuality, love and race. It takes an unapologetic approach to put these issues to light, and organizations such as GLAAD and the NAACP. Its first (half) season was a success for both the viewing public and critics. The writing and the acting have received praise, but the music was the main draw for the show. Led by Broadway veterans Lea Michele (Spring Awakening) and Matthew Morrison (Hairspray), coupled with the fresh talent of newcomer Cory Monteith (“Kyle XY”) and the ensemble cast, the musical numbers provide a healthy mix of the vocal precision demanded of a seasoned Broadway production in addition to the raw honesty of your average Joe. This perfect storm of talent as

well as its clever execution has made the show into one of 2009’s biggest TV talking-points and has earned a spot in the hearts of viewers young and old. Dec. 9 marked the half-season finale of the show where we saw the glee club (New Directions) winning sectionals.

Four months later, “Glee” made its triumphant return, joining shows like “American Idol” (FOX), “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “LOST” (ABC) and “The Biggest Loser” (NBC) in the highly competitive Tuesday night primetime schedule.

The return episode (“Hell-O”) saw the triumphant New Directions now focusing on the regional competition where they have to face Carmel High’s Vocal Adrenaline. Principal Figgins informs Will Schuster (Morrison) that because of budget constraints, the club must place at regional’s in order to continue running. Sue Sylvester ( Jane Lynch) (Best in Show) returns from her suspension and continues to pester Schuster.

Finn Hudson (Monteith) struggles to cope with life after Quinn Fabray (newcomer Dianna Agron) (“Veronica Mars,” “Heroes”), while Rachel Berry (Michele) struggles for Finn’s affection. When Finn rejects her, she becomes upset, but quickly finds a romantic interest in Vocal Adrenaline’s senior star Jesse St. James, played by Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening). The club now turns on Rachel for dating the enemy and she struggles to find a way to please all parties.

The whole story now focuses on three key issues. The first is Finn’s journey to find himself. He has lived his life trying to please everyone around him and he ends up losing himself in the process. The second is similar, but it involves Mr. Schuster. In school, he has to fend off Sue Sylvester’s attacks while trying to keep New Directions focused on placing at Regional’s.

In his personal life, like Finn, he struggles to find out who he truly is. His blossoming relation-

ship with Emma Pillsbury ( Jayma Mays, “Heroes”, “Ugly Betty”) is short-lived as well as his passionate encounter with Vocal Adrenaline coach Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel, Rent, Wicked). Both women ask him to sort out his divorce before looking to other women.

Finally, the third issue involves Rachel, who continues to seek affirmation from her peers. However, she finds this in the form of a rival who at this point, only she trusts.

While these issues were raised, one that was almost completely ignored was Quinn Fabray’s baby.

The only thing they presented about her was that she is now dating Puck (Mark Salling, “Walker, Texas Ranger”). Other than that, viewers do not know much about how she is handling her pregnancy.

Overall, the return episode had its fair share of good and bad points. The writing was as good as ever, as was the acting. The comedy was very good, with special mention going to Brittany (Heather Morris, Elevator, “How I Met Your Mother”). Her one-liners that include gems like, “Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?” and “I sometimes forget my middle name,” makes the comedy a lot better.

Of course, there is Lynch, who is arguably the strongest actress and plays the strongest character in the show. Everything flows incredibly naturally off her and her interaction with each of the characters is consistently good. Her ruthlessness and lust for power simultaneously make her the most hated and most beloved character of the show.

The new characters (St. James and Corcoran) added a needed extra dimension to the story, as New Directions now has to face the national champions.

However, the addition of Jonathan Groff did expose Monteith’s weakness as a musician. Monteith’s voice pales in comparison with Groff ’s vocal prowess – and that is being generous. Groff ’s cover (with Michele) of Lionel Richie’s

MATTHIAS CLAMER/MCT

“Glee” has returned in all its musical glory, with both good and bad results.

“Hello,” in addition to his version of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” completely overshadows anything Monteith has done in all 14 episodes. Yes, the Finn character is not supposed to be the perfect vocalist, but it is difficult not to compare the two leading male singers.

In addition, the backing vocals are starting to lose their luster. It is starting to sound more like Kidz Bop rather than show choir. This is evident in the cast’s rendition of the All-American Rejects’ “Gives You Hell,” as well as their cover of The Beatles classic “Hello, Goodbye.” When compared to their incredible interpretations of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” and Avril Lavigne’s “Keep Holding On,” it is obvious how manufactured the sound is with the more recent numbers as opposed to the earlier ones. It is as if the sound editor simply got lazy

and ticked the box for autotune.

In spite of all this, there is still a lot to be excited about with the second half of the first season of “Glee.”

The stories continue to be riveting and the acting continues to be entertaining. While the show’s main asset – the singing – is in need of a little work, “Glee” continues to be one of the best in prime time and fans continue to rave about it.

The return episode commanded 13.66 million viewers to beat ABC rivals “Dancing with the Stars” and “LOST” on the night, and came in second only to its lead-in, “American Idol”.

As long as “Glee” continues to be itself – a post-modern, escapist show, it will continue to be a Tuesday-night staple for millions of people. So sit back, relax and sing along, because “Glee” is back and as good as ever.

Snoozapalooza Offers Sleeping Tips to Combat Stress

By SCHARON HARDING STAFF WRITER

College life is far from boring.

Between class, homework, jobs, internships and social life, it hardly seems like there are enough hours in the day. Many students find themselves incapable of sleeping.

This can add a lot of stress to a student’s life, a problem which Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services addressed on April 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the first ever “Snoozapalooza,” taking place outside of McGinley Student Center.

“Sleeping problems can be pretty prevalent among college students,” Adam Rosen, assistant sirector of Counseling and Psychological Services, said.

This inspired the idea for Snoozapalooza. It was one of the Counseling Center’s outreach activities

to encourage students to improve their mental health. These take place several times a semester and encourage students to address any problems they might have to help their daily lives. The event provided resources, information education, feedback and interaction for students having trouble sleeping.

The event included a sleep hygiene quiz that helped students evaluate their sleeping habits. After the quiz, students received tips to improve their sleep hygiene. These tips include avoiding naps, taking a hot bath before sleep, avoiding snacks before bed and sticking to a sleep schedule.

“I realized I had horrible sleeping habits,” Brittany Salas FCRH ’13, said. “I always used to exercise right before bed, which isn’t good.”

Snoozapalooza also offered an insomnia severity index, which helped students gauge how much

their inability to sleep was affecting their concentration and stress level.

“Sleep is important for your physical and mental health,” Rosen said. “It can affect your mood, concentration and focus. Insomnia is often associated with depression and can be caused by anxiety”.

“I never realized that my sleepiness was making me so stressed,” Kevin Horan, CBA ’13, said.

Sleepy’s, the mattress company, co-sponsored the event, and provided a diagnostic mattress for students to try out. It read the students’ body, and recommended the best type of mattress for them.

They also provided raffle items to lure students to the event.

Other raffle prizes were iPod clock radios, pillows and T-shirts.

Sleep masks and bananas were also given away for free.

“I just wanted a Snuggie,” Sasha

Fisher, FCRH ’13, said All raffle tickets included a 20 percent off coupon to Sleepy’s.

“It took a lot of time and energy to prepare, but it was worth it because student response was very good,” Rosen said.

He also said that getting Sleepy’s was a bit of work, but they ended up being helpful.

The event was successful with around 100 students attending. All of these students received personal attention to their sleeping needs. As a result, the Counseling Center is looking to hold the event again next year.

“I would definitely want to go to another Snoozapalooza,” Amanda Ryland, CBA ’12, said. “I got a lot of useful tips.”

Kevin Horan said he was also interested in a second Snoozapalooza.

“I’d go especially if it’s a nice day

out like it was this year,” he said.

Rosen said they are awaiting student satisfaction surveys to make a final decision.

Snoozapalooza was also a way for students with severe sleeping problems to get immediate help.

Kathleen Malara, a director from Fordham’s Health Center was at the event. She was available to discuss the physical causes and effects of insomnia.

Since Snoozapalooza was an Outreach Event, students were also encouraged to come to the Counseling Center if they have personal problems affecting their sleep.

“I want students to know they can always come on down if they feel they want to talk to someone,” Rosen said.

Fordham’s Counseling Center and Psychological Services is located in the basement of O’Hare Hall.

PAGE 20 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

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PAGE 23

Softball Continues to Roll with Dramatic Win at Hofstra

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

Even though the Fordham softball team may not be catching the eyes of the student body, it is getting plenty of national attention.

In the past week, sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau earned her third Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week award and has been named as a Top 25 Finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year, junior infielder Beckah Wiggins was featured in the April 10 issue of Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd and freshman first baseman Jamie LaBovick was named Co-A-10 Rookie of the Week.

Despite the attention, Head Coach Bridget Orchard does not think these accolades will affect the team’s play, which has been good enough for a 37-8 record.

“They know it is one game at a time and that every game makes a difference,” Orchard said. “The biggest goal is to win all of the remaining games and not drop a game for the rest of the season.”

The team’s focus seemed to intensify over the past week as the Lady Rams were able to wrap up an 11-game homestand with doubleheader sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, then went on the road and took care of George Washington and La Salle in a two-game set and then finished it off with a big road game against the 31-8 Hofstra Pride.

In the first game of the doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Lady Rams were able to get off to a fast start.

Following a leadoff double by junior third baseman Jocelyn Dearborn, a Wiggins walk and a LaBovick single, junior catcher Meghan Shager was able to come through with a two-out triple to clear the bases and give Fordham the early 3-0 lead.

From there on, it was all Fordham as junior pitcher Chelsea Plimpton was able to control the rest of the game and secure Fordham’s lead.

With the aid of two more insurance runs, she was able to avoid trouble up until the sixth, when a double and a pair of walks set up a sacrifice fly from sophomore catcher Alexandra Schubert to make the score 5-1.

“I hit a mental block,” Plimpton said. “I missed my spots.”

She finished off the game allowing five hits, walking three, striking out six and allowing only the lone run to finish off a 5-1 win.

“I tried to hit my sports, but I missed a few times,” Plimpton said.

“The defense picked me up.”

In the second game of the doubleheader, one got the sense that it was going to be another dominant start by Mineau from the very beginning.

Her first 10 outs were recorded by way of strikeout and only one runner was able to get past first until the sixth.

In the meantime, Fordham gave her plenty of run support with a lot of help from the Fairleigh Dick-

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Sophomore Jen Mineau recorded her 500th career strikeout last week along with her 10th shutout of the year against GW.

inson fielders.

In the second, junior shortstop Samantha Pellechio came home after an error by senior first baseman Kristen Coughlin.

Later in the game, and after an RBI single from Pellechio in the third, Fordham broke the game open with three more unearned runs in the fifth, capped by a tworun Shager triple. The rally was set up by a botched groundball by freshman third baseman Maire Shaughnessey.

After getting out of a basesloaded jam in the top of the sixth, Fordham was able to put the game away on a three-run home run by senior centerfielder Erin Fisher.

Mineau’s final line was highlighted by 14 strikeouts in six innings of work while only allowing five hits and no walks.

“The key was to get ahead,” Mineau said. “Once you get ahead, you can basically toy with the hitter.”

After the sweep, Fordham headed down to Washington, D.C. to face George Washington, where the Lady Rams were able to pull off another two-game sweep.

The first game was another gem

by Mineau, where she was able to get her 10th shutout of the season and record her 500th career strikeout to secure a 3-0 win.

Overall, she ended up striking out 12 on the day, allowing only four hits en route to the shutout.

The offense came from the top of the order, most notably Dearborn and Fisher. Fordham was able to take the lead on a Fisher single that scored Dearborn to make it 1-0.

In the fifth, Fordham was able to tack on two more runs. First Dearborn singled home sophomore outfielder Lindsey Kay Bright, who reached on an error by freshman first baseman Sandi Moynihan.

After stealing second base, Dearborn scored on a Fisher single to make the score 3-0, which proved to be the final.

The second game turned into a

rout, as Fordham was able to score in every inning and finish off a 9-0 after five on the mercy rule.

Most of the Lady Rams’ offense was generated by the top four hitters in the lineup. That top four of Dearborn, Fisher, Wiggins and LaBovick produced nine of the teams’ 14 hits and knocked in eight of the runs. As a result, the leadoff hitter Dearborn scored four times in the win.

On the mound, Plimpton had another stellar performance, striking out six in five shutout innings, while only allowing two hits and walking none.

Fordham followed this up with a doubleheader in Philadelphia against La Salle, which proved to be much more of a test.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Fordham got out to a fast start on a Dearborn leadoff home run, which was followed up by LaBovick scoring on an error by senior outfielder Erica Vile.

The Lady Rams went on to tack on a third run on a Shager single that scored Pellechio to make the score 3-0. However, La Salle was to hold Fordham to three and stay in the game.

Despite the run support, Mineau was not able to hold the lead.

After senior pitcher Gina Massaro led off the game with a home run, the lead remained set at 3-1 until the seventh.

However, La Salle struck for two to send the game into extra innings on a two-run double from Vile, knotting the game at three.

The score remained tied at three until the ninth, when freshman second baseman Liz Reed was unable to field a ball off the bat of Wiggins with two outs, allowing Dearborn and sophomore utility player Jo Krasnisky to score, giving Fordham a two-run lead.

From this point, Mineau was able to put the Explorers away with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory.

Despite giving up three runs,

Mineau only allowed four base runners (all four coming on hits) and she struck out 22.

Similar to the George Washington series, the second game proved to be lopsided, as Fordham was able to win 10-2, with most of the scoring coming via the long ball.

The Lady Rams got off to another fast start on a two-run home run

by Wiggins to take the lead.

Fordham later added to the lead in the third with another two-run home run, this time from Pellechio, to make the score 4-0.

After La Salle was able to get two back on a home run of its own from senior first baseman Angelina Bisbiglia to make the score 4-2, the Lady Rams put the game away by scoring six in the seventh, high-

lighted by another two-run homer from Pellechio and a three-run shot by Dearborn.

Plimpton got the win for Fordham, giving up two runs on the Bisbiglia home run, four hits and one walk, while striking out six.

Fordham followed up the La Salle sweep with a big showdown against the previously 31-7 Hofstra Pride.

The game was a pitchers duel from start to finish, as neither Mineau nor Hofstra’s freshman pitcher Olivia Galati caved in against the opposing offense.

Despite lackluster control (as evidence of her four walks), Mineau pitched her away around trouble and only allowed two Pride hits.

Her opposition, Galati, was dominant for most of the day, allowing only three hits and not issuing a walk.

However, the third hit of the game proved to be the difference, as Pellechio picked up her second hit of the game and then played the role of hero in the seventh and final inning with her third home run of the season, which proved to be the difference in a 1-0 win.

Mineau got the win, improving her record to 24-5, and picked up 13 more strikeouts in the process.

With the seven wins, the Lady Rams are now 37-8 and 10-2 in the A-10.

Going forward, Fordham has its sights set high as it vies for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Like Orchard, Mineau said that she thinks the team can win out.

“We should win every game from here on out,” Mineau said.

Coming up next for the Lady Rams is a trip to Temple on April 23 and 24, a doubleheader at Saint Joseph’s on the 25 and another road game against Iona on April 27.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Junior Jocelyn Dearborn has helped fuel the Fordham offense and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with 37 and is fourth on the team in batting average ( .338.)

SPORTS

PAGE 24 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

Men’s and Women’s Track Finish Second and Fourth at Mets, Respectively

By CELESTE KMIOTEK CULTURE EDITOR

Fordham’s men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams placed second out of 10 teams with 135 points and fourth out of 11 teams with 85.5 points, respectively, at the 2010 Metropolitan Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday, April 17 at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. Southern Connecticut won for the men with 150 points, while St. John’s placed first among the women’s teams with 170 points.

“We had guys step up, getting points where we needed them to,” senior Tom Papain said. “That’s what meets like Mets and the A[tlantic] 10s are all about people running faster than their seed times and surprising the field.”

“We had won Mets the past two years and were hoping to defend our championship but unfortunately that did not happen,” sophomore Brian Riley said. “It’s disappointing but certainly doesn’t set us back. Much bigger meets are still in our future and we can’t dwell on this one.”

“Both teams were disappointed to find out that the team scoring did not go as hoped,” senior John Korevec said. “This frustration was compounded by the fact that the team score standings throughout the meet had us decisively in the lead, however it was not until late in the meet that we found out the scores were wrong, making it very difficult for us to adapt our relay rosters and event strategies to be able to respond to the new point differential.”

For the men, junior Brian Schmidt won the 800-meter dash with a 1:52.56, followed by freshman John Cosgrove in second with a 1:52.72, junior Tim Hutchinson in fifth with a 1:54.74 and senior Brian Horowitz in ninth with a 1:58.04.

Junior Christopher Lyons

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Fordham took the top two spots in the 800-meter dash, highlighted by junior Brian Schmidt, winning with a time of 1:52.56.

took third in the 200-meter dash (22.39) and fifth in the 400-meter dash (49.30).

Freshman Sean Atkinson finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with 19.59, followed by sophomore Nick Delligatti in 10th with a 50.78.

Sophomore Kevin Fitzgerald won the 1,500-meter run with a 3:59.10 with junior Thomas Kelly coming in seventh (4:05.89) and sophomore Sam Stuart coming in eighth (4:06.24).

Papain finished third in the 5,000-meter run with a 15:10.57 and senior Tim Hartnett placed 10th in the 10,000-meter run in 34:44.09.

In the field events, Riley won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with 9:36.92, followed by Korevec (third with 9:39.90), junior Pat McDonough (fifth with 9:50.03), sophomore Rich Grandelli (seventh with 9:56.31) and sophomore Andrew Roddin (10th with 10:14.98).

Freshman Daniel Chediak placed second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.66) and third in the pole vault (3.81 meters), for which he was named A-10 Men’s Outdoor

Track & Field Rookie of the Week.

Freshman Daniel Clemens and sophomore Steven Dickinson took fourth and eighth, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles (16.38 and 17.37). In the 400-meter hurdles, freshman Michael Rossi placed seventh (59.22) and Clemens placed ninth (59.45). Junior Augustus Gleason finished fifth both in the high jump (1.75 meters) and the pole vault (3.36 meters), sixth in the long jump (5.75 meters) and 10th in the shot put (10.93 meters), while junior Pat Brown took third in the hammer throw (47.16 meters).

For the relays, the men’s 4x800 team of Hutchinson, freshman Bernard Moore, Fitzgerald and sophomore Stephen Donnelly placed second with a 7:51.39, the 4x100 team of Atkinson, sophomore Ken Baron, Chediak and Lyons placed third with a 43.66 and the 4x400 team of Atkinson, Lyons, Schmidt and Delligatti finished third with a 3:18.03.

For the women, junior Kerri Gallagher won the 800-meter run with a 2:15.76, while redshirted senior Brigid Moriarty won the 10,000-meter run in a 37:51.65.

Junior Sherilyn Groeninger came in seventh in the 100-meter dash at 12.69, sophomore Elisabeth Warren took 10th in the 200-meter dash with a 26.26 and sophomore Kelly Connolly finished seventh in the 400-meter dash with a 59.48.

Sophomore Mairin O’Connor took third in the 5,000-meter run with a 19:03.53, followed by junior Johanne Sterling in eighth with 20:18.83. Junior Jana Trenk finished seventh in the 10,000-meter run with a 42:47.39.

In the field events, sophomore Blair Hassell won the javelin with a throw of 39.35 meters. Senior Catherine Groene came in second in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.42), with freshman Kathleen Toth in 10th (1:15.26). Freshman Courtnay Newman took eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.35), third in the high jump (1.55 meters) and ninth in the javelin throw (25.47 meters). Warren placed fifth in the long jump (5.22 meters), Groene placed seventh in the triple jump (10.30 meters) and senior Dana Mitchell placed sixth in the 3,000meter steeplechase (13:03.28).

The women’s 4x100 team of Groeninger, Warren, Groene and

Gallagher finished fourth, breaking the 1991 school record of 49.67 with a 49.43. The 4x400 team of Connolly, Warren, Groene and Gallagher won with a 3:56.94, and the 4x800 team of Gallagher, Groeninger, Moriarty and sophomore Sheena Parand came in fifth with a 9:48.63.

The teams are now focusing on preparing for upcoming championship meets, and are focusing in particular on the relays.

“Our goal for Penn Relays is to put together a fresh 4x400 and 4x800, something which is hard to do when you have guys running open events earlier in the day at most meets,” Papain said. “The 4x800 should definitely be able to beat their mark from A-10s outdoor last year. No question.”

“For Penn this upcoming weekend, the team is focusing on putting everything together at the same time,” Riley said. “As a relay team you hope everyone can run their best possible race on the same day.

I think we will have some strong performances this weekend which will give us positive momentum heading into A-10s.”

“There is still a lot of room for improvement, and we are hoping to turn some heads for the rest of our schedule,” Korevec said. “The team’s remaining goals include a good showing at the Penn Relays and A-10s, as well as to increase the number of qualifiers for the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Princeton, and the NCAA East Preliminaries in Greensboro, N.C., and then hopefully beyond to the National Finals at the University of Oregon in June.”

“At Penn we would like to knock down relay times and compete in our heats,” Groene said. “We are all very excited for the meet and think some great races will be run.”

The teams will next compete on Thursday, April 22 through Saturday, April 24 at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

Women’s Rowing Places Fifth at Atlantic 10 Championships

By KIMBERLY ENGEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham women’s rowing team placed fifth overall at the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday.

Competing on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J., the Lady Rams earned a total of 31 points, placing higher than in past years.

“We had a strong performance all across the board,” Head Coach Ted Bonanno said. “We were very competitive in every race.”

Rhode Island won its second A-10 Championship, earning 53 points, followed by Massachusetts, with 40.

Saint Joseph’s and Temple tied for third with 39 points each, while Fordham was fifth.

George Washington was sixth with 30 points and Dayton was seventh with 19, while Duquesne and La Salle tied for eighth with eight points apiece.

Despite windy conditions, Fordham’s Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 shells both qualified for the Grand Final in their respective races.

“We all came into the races

knowing the wind was going to be a bad factor, but we were still able to move the boat well,” junior Katie Helmer said.

In the Varsity 4 championship race, Fordham crossed the line at 8:03, good enough for third and earning a bronze medal in its competition.

The Lady Rams finished behind UMass and URI, who finished at 7:44 and 7:57, respectively.

The shell consisted of sophomores Joanna Bak, Jean Beagle, Molly McLaughlin, Nora Doyle and freshman Bridget Poznanski.

“It was a tremendously exciting race,” Bonanno said. “They were in last place for a good part of the race, but fought back in the second half.”

The Varsity 4 finished ahead of Temple, Saint Joe’s and GW. The Varsity 8 shell, which consisted of seniors Stephanie Narduzzo, Lis Knips, Christina Costa, juniors Katie Helmer, Alyssa Sunofsky, Kayla Gaskey, Nadia Abdul-Ghan, freshman Elizabeth Anderson and sophomore Kate Branciforte, also qualified for the Grand Final.

In the final, the Varsity 8 placed

fourth in a very close race, finishing at 6:45. At the end, the Lady Rams fell behind Temple, who finished at 6:43.

URI crossed the line first, with a time of 6:37, followed by Saint Joe’s at 6:42.

“We fought for third place, but just fell short,” Helmer said.

Though the Varsity 8 did not earn a medal in its competition, the team took its achievements from the regatta as signs that it can compete at the Dad Vail later this year.

In addition to their performance at the Knecht Cup on April 11 and 12, the Lady Rams defeated UMass, but this time by nearly nine seconds in the Grand Final.

The Minutewomen, who have won 13 out of 15 A-10 Championships, have consistently been one of Fordham’s toughest competitors.

“It’s uplifting to see that we’re beating them, and that we’re doing so by a big margin,” Bonanno said.

“It looks like we have their number right now.”

In addition to the strong performances from the varsity boats, the Lady Rams also earned two individual awards.

Helmer won First Team AllConference honors and Sunofsky won Second Team All-Conference honors.

“I’m really proud of them,” senior co-captain Francesca Andrea. said “They deserved it. Both of them are so dedicated. It’s really great to see some of our individuals awarded for their hard work.”

The Junior Varsity 8, after failing to qualify for the Grand Final falling behind Dayton by less than a second, went on to win the petite final.

Finishing with a time of 7:23, the Lady Rams defeated Duquesne and La Salle.

The novice boats also performed competitively, with the Novice 8 placing fourth overall and the Novice 4 placing fifth.

By earning a total of 31 points and placing higher than the team has ever done at the A-10 Championships, Fordham has now put itself in a better position for the rest of the season.

“Today was the highest we’ve ranked at this competition,” Helmer said. “This is helpful for putting us in a better heat at the Dad

Vail.”

Fordham’s improved performance at the A-10 Championships will now give the team a higher seeding at the Dad Vail.

“We’re right there with the other crews,” Andrea said. “A higher seeding at the Dad Vail is one more thing in our favor.”

The Lady Rams, having achieved one of their season goals of performing better at the A-10 Championships, are looking to continue their progress.

With the upcoming ECAC Metro Championship and Dad Vail, the team now has the opportunity to build on its success so far.

“We’ll be focusing on preparing for the Dad Vail in the next few weeks,” Bonanno said. “We want to qualify for the Grand Final races there.”

Before Fordham has the chance to reach this goal however, it will compete at the Metropolitan Spring Championships on April 25 at the Orchard Beach Lagoon.

“Each week we continue to build and train hard,” Andrea said. “We want to medal at the Dad Vail and we have the potential to do this.”

SPORTS

Sharks in Familiar Situation

By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER

Since the lockout, the San Jose Sharks have been one of the best teams in the NHL during the regular season.

Their success has ended there though. The Sharks have advanced past the second round of the playoffs just once since the lockout despite never finishing the regular season with fewer than 99 points.

They have lost twice in the first round, including last year when they became only the fourth team to win the President’s Trophy and then lose in the first round.

The Sharks promised a shakeup this past offseason after the first round loss, and they delivered by acquiring Dany Heatley.

Heatley and the rest of the Sharks had another impressive regular season, grabbing the top seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive year, but none of that matters now.

This team will be judged on what it does in the playoffs. The playoffs are only three games old, but the Sharks have lost two of those games, and the game they did win went to overtime against a very young Avalanche team that should be severely outclassed by this Sharks team.

The Sharks have always been viewed as a soft team that does not know how to react when faced with adversity, or come back from a tough loss.

They had better figure out how to do that pretty soon because they find themselves down two games to one right now, with Game 4 in Colorado, the site of their most recent devastating playoff loss in Game 3 of this series, they outshot the Avs 51-17, but lost 1-0 in overtime when defenseman Dan Boyle, the All-Star defenseman acquired two years ago from Tampa Bay in another “shake things up move” after a disappointing early playoff exit, attempted to backhand the puck to his defense partner behind the net, but instead the puck found room between the post and goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

For all the criticism the Sharks have taken, if you continue to outshoot your opponent 51-17, you are going to win a lot of hockey games.

The Sharks had a similar game last year against the Ducks, when Jonas Hiller stole a game in which the Sharks dramatically outshot the Ducks, and the Sharks never recovered.

This might be the last chance for this Sharks team if they do not recover from the Game 3 loss and lose this series. Patrick Marleau is a free agent this offseason.

His future hinges on this playoff season. If the Sharks are knocked out early again, Marleau will probably not be brought back.

Joe Thornton has never been able to elevate his game in the playoffs.

What will the future hold for him if the Sharks lose early again?

How many times can a team fail in big spots before it is finally time to say that this group will not get it done?

Some people have even started to say that the Sharks are cursed.

Maybe the nickname “Shark” has something to do with consistent failure in big spots. Greg Norman, your thoughts?

Other Playoff Thoughts Huge win for the Phoenix Coyotes Sunday in Detroit. Phoenix is the higher seed, but nobody has them winning the series against the Red Wings. They lead the series two games to one, however, after beating the Red Wings in Detroit 4-2 last Sunday on NBC. It was a game in which the Red Wings twice cut two goal Phoenix leads to one in the third period, only to see the Coyotes answer right back with goals of their own.

Teams without much playoff experience, like Phoenix, can easily fall apart in situations like that, especially after the team’s best player and captain, Shane Doan was injured and had to leave the game, but Petr Prucha and Radim Vrbata each stepped up and scored huge goals to push the lead back to two goals.

The Coyotes have been the best story in the league this year. Beating the Detroit Red Wings would be another incredible accomplishment for this franchise, which is owned by the NHL. It is a situation similar to that of the Montreal Expos prior to their move to Washington.

I really hope the Capitals and Blackhawks can both make a run to the finals this year. They are two of the most fun teams to watch in recent memory, but an early exit by them could mean the end of the wide-open, “Let’s try to win every game ‘6-5’ style.”

The Capitals are by far the best team in the Eastern Conference and the Blackhawks are the only team in the West that can match the talent level of the Sharks. A Caps-Blackhawks final would be outstanding.

Nicklas Backstrom is the thirdbest player in the league right now.

Primarily a set-up guy for Ovechkin his first two years, he scored 33 goals during the regular season and has been the Caps’ best player in the playoffs so far.

He scored the overtime winner in Game 2, a game in which the Caps were down 4-1 and a loss would have meant falling into an 0-2 hole at home.

The New Jersey Devils are another team that has faltered early in the playoffs after another division title for the Eastern Conference’s most consistent team of the last 15 years.

This Devils team has more offensive firepower, on paper, than any of those previous teams, including the three Stanley Cup championship teams.

This team has struggled since the trade for Ilya Kovalchuk and is struggling against a lackluster Flyers team. Kovalchuk is 1-6 in his playoff career.

He has scored two goals in those seven games, and one of those was an empty net goal.

Those numbers will not change much if he continues to spend time in the box. I understand he is playing with passion, but he was acquired to score goals. That cannot happen if he is in the box for 10 minutes.

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 25

Baseball

Softball

Fordham 3-7 Rutgers

Fordham 3-0 GW

Fordham

AB

R

H RBI HR

Lee lf

5

0

1

0

0

Kowmacki ss Mobbs cf Walker dh DeSilva pr McCrann rf David c Russo 2b Taddei 1b Kenny pr Maghini 3b DeMartino p Charest p Sorine p Munday p

4 3 3 0 4 4 4 4 0 3 0 0 0 0

1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

34

3

9

3

0

Totals Rutgers

AB

R

H RBI HR

4 4 4 3 4 3 2 2 4 0

2 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0

1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

30

7

7

7

2

R Fordham 200 000 001 3 Rutgers 201 001 03X 7

H 9 7

E 3 1

Lang rf Biserta lf Nyisztor 2b Matthews 1b Hopkins 3b Jimenez cf Bitteridge ss Melillo c Boykin dh Hill p Totals

Fordham

IP

H

R ER BB SO

DeMartino Charest Sorine Munday

4.0 3.0 0.0 1.0

5 0 0 2

3 1 1 2

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

Metropolitan Championships

Fordham

AB R H RBI HR

Dearborn 3b Fisher cf Wiggins 2b LaBovick 1b Pellechio ss Shager c Pollack dp Crowley pr Richards rf Bright lf Mineau p

3 3 2 3 3 3 3 0 3 3 0

Totals

26

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

2 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 6

3

0

GW

AB R H RBI HR

Terrazas 3b Holst cf Moynihan 1b Wilson dp/rf Taylor lf O’Donnell ss Zakeri pr Stanley c Fogarty ph Nescio p Clauss p Orlandi 2b Yaniga rf Wooldridge p

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

0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 4

0

0

R Fordham 001 020 0 3 GW 000 000 0 0

H 6 4

E 0 1

Totals

E - Lee (1); Kpwnacki (17); David (1); Matthews (3). LOB - Rams 7; Knights 6. 2B - Jimmenez (7). 3B McCann (2); Boykin (20) .

HR - Lang (9); Biserta (13).

Track and Field

21

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

E - Moynihan. LOB - Rams 3. 2B - Fisher.

Fordham IP H R ER BB SO Mineau 7.0 4 0 0

0

12

1 0

3 1

GW Nescio 4.1 4 3 1 Clauss 2.2 2 0 0

Fordham 5-3 La Salle Rutgers

IP

H

Hill

9.0 9

R ER BB SO 9 3

2

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

0 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 0

0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

4 8

4

2

Totals

SaintLouis

AB R H RBI HR

Dunn cf Braaten c Brock 1b Myers 3b Fernandez dh Guerra rf Levine ss Miller 2b Cotter lf Cotten p

4 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 3 0

0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0

Totals

36

Fordham

AB R H RBI HR

Lee lf Como rf McCrann 1b Walker dh/c Mobbs cf Ponte c Anastasi p Kownaci ss Martinez 2b Maghini 3b Mack p Flanagan p Grangard p

5 5 4 3 4 4 0 4 4 3 0 0 0 36

AB R H RBI HR

Dearborn 3b Fisher cf Wiggins 2b LaBovick 1b Pellechio ss Shager c Richards rf Pollack ph Krasnisky dp Callahan dp Bright lf Mineau p

Fordham 6-4 SLU

Totals

Fordham

4

0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0

4 0 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 13 6

0

LaSalle

40

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

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

1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 9

4

1

AB R H RBI HR

Massaro p 4 Shepherd ss 4 Conville 3b 4 Bisbiglia 1b 4 Vile lf 3 Brabazon pr 0 Guinn dp 3 Skomorucha c 3 DiTommaso rf 3 Reed 2b 3 Gallagher cf 0 Totals 31

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

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

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

R H E SaintLouis000 100 120 4 8 0 Fordham 040 010 10X 613 2

R H E Fordham 300 000 002 5 9 0 LaSalle 100 000 200 3 4 5

E - McCrann (7); Grangard (5). LOB - Billikens 10; Rams 8. 2B - Miller (6); Lee 2 (7); Walker (16); Kownacki (10). 3B - Ponte (1). HR - Myers (14); Fernandez 2 (4).

E - Massaro; Bisbiglia; Vile; Reed 2. LOB - Rams 8; Pioneers 1. 2B - Callahan (4); Conville; Vile. HR - Dearborn (6); Massaro.

Saint Louis IP H R ER BB SO CoTTON

8.013 6 6 2

Fordham Mineau

FORDHAM

IP H R ER BB SO

8 9.0 4 3 3

0

22

9.0 9 5 1

0

9

IP H R ER BB SO

MACK 5.2 4 1 1 0 3 FLANAGAN 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 GRANGARD 1.1 2 2 1 0 ANASTASI 1.0 1 0 0 2

La Salle 0 1

Massaro

Men’s 200 Meter Dash 3) Lyons, Fordham, 22.39 Men’s 400 Meter 5) Lyons, Fordham, 49.30. 6) Atkinson, Fordham, 49.59 Men’s 800 Meter 1) Schmidt, Fordham, 1:52.56.

2) Cosgrove, Fordham, 1:52.72.

Men’s 1500 Meter 1) Fitzgerald, Fordham, 3:59.10. 7) Thomas, Fordham, 4:05.89.

Men’s 5000 Meter 3) Papain, Fordham, 15:10.57 Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles 2) Chediak, Fordham, 15.66 Men’s 400 Meter Hurdles 6) Rossi, Fordham, 59.22 Men’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase 1) Riley, Fordham, 9:36.92 Men’s 4x100 Relay 3) Fordham (Atkinson, Chekiak, Lyons, Baron), 43.66 Men’s 4x800 Relay 2) Fordham (Hutchinson, Moore, Fitzgerald, Donnelly), 7:51.39 Men’s Hammer Throw 3) Brown, Patrick, 47.16m Women’s 100 meter dash 7) Groeninger, Fordham, 12.69 Women’s 800 meter dash 1) Gallagher, Fordham, 2:15.76 Women’s 5000 meter dash 3) O’Connor, Fordham, 19:03.53 Women’s 10000 meter dash 1) Moriarty, Fordham, 37:51.65 Women’s 100 meter hurdles 8) Newman, Fordham, 16.13 Women’s 400 meter hurdles 2) Groene, Fordham, 1:05.42 Women 3000 meter Steeplechase 7) Mitchell, Fordham, 13:03.28 Women’s 4x100 meter 4) Fordham (Groeninger, Groene, Minasi, Connolly), 49.43 Women’s 4x400 meter 1) Fordham (Connolly, Kwallwasser, Gallagher, Groene), 3:56.94 Women’s High Jump 3) Newman, Fordham, 1.55m Women’s Hammer Throw 16) Caggiano, Fordham, 24.25m Women’s Javelin Throw 11) Caggiano, Fordham, 21.73m 1 Robert Morris U -PA 306 304 311 921 1 Brock Pompeani 75 76 76 227 T 14 Brandon Pompeani 76 78 80 234 T 16 Joe Kabana 78 80 77 235 T 18 Max Cahn 77 73 86 236 T 23 Robbie Holdcroft 86 77 78 241 2 Fairfield University 313 306 306 925 T 6 Nick Gliozzo 77 76 78 231 T 8 Kevin Fitzpatrick 77 82 73 232 T 10 Nick Taylor 80 74 79 233 T 14 Sean Deale 79 79 76 234 T 25 Joseph Macaluso 82 77 83 242 3 Mount St. Mary’s U. 308 315 303 926 T 3 Ray Hyre 74 79 76 229 T 6 Brad Gerick 73 80 78 231 T 10 Dan Michalek 83 77 73 233 T 18 Jacob Wetzel 78 79 79 236 T 30 Andrew Lawton 84 87 76 247 4 Fordham University 319 313 302 934 T 8 Devon O’Rourke 80 78 74 232 T 10 Jason Del Rosso 81 78 74 233 T 10 Brody Nieporte 81 76 76 233 T 20 David Newman 80 81 78 239 T 23 Brendan Green 78 82 81 241

SPORTS

PAGE 26 • THE RAM • APRIL 21, 2010

MATT MANUSZAK

The Smush Parker Project This is part two of my NBA Awards column. While last week I focused on my rankings for Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, this column will focus on the most important individual award: the Most Valuable Player.

First, a bit of clarification: yes, this award is called Most Valuable Player, but make no mistake about it, this award is meant for the best player in the NBA. Now, without further ado, here are my top five picks for MVP. 5. Deron Williams, PG, Utah Jazz After closely considering Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, in the end, Deron Williams proved to be too good to pass up.

His individual numbers are all excellent: 18 points, 10 assists and four rebounds with solid percentages.

Watching Williams play transcends the numbers: his ability to initiate the Jazz’s offense, one that relies on quick passing, is a thing of beauty. Further, his screen and roll game with forwards Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap is simply sublime.

Defensively, Williams was one of the reasons the Jazz improved in defensive efficiency by a valuable two points per 100 possessions from last season to this season.

4. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat I almost feel guilty for ranking Dwyane Wade this low. He was an absolute monster after the All-Star break, positively willing the Heat to the No. 5 playoff seed in the East. The story is always the same with Wade.

His supporting cast is utterly subpar, consisting of a past-hisprime Jermaine O’Neal, a maddeningly inconsistent raw talent in Michael Beasley and the usual array of role players and has-beens.

Yet the Heat are locked into an intense playoff series with the Boston Celtics, sticking their collective nose in a place that Miami’s motley roster probably doesn’t belong, and it’s all because of Dwyane.

The offense is spectacular: 27 points, three combined steals and blocked shots, 6.5 assists and five rebounds.

Defensively, he anchored the league’s sixth-best defense out of sheer force of will, roaming around and rotating to cover his mates’ mistakes.

3. Kevin Durant, F, Oklahoma City Thunder The Durantula is a player that you almost have to see to believe.

He’s every inch of 6’ 9”, all arms and legs with a 7’ 5” wingspan, and seemingly able to be snapped like a twig at around 210 lbs.

One sportswriter appraised him thusly: In the same way that great white sharks were designed to kill, Kevin Durant was designed to score the basketball.

Thirty points per game, the youngest scoring champ ever, shooting the ball at an uber-effi-

cient 48 percent from the field, coupled with nearly 10 free throw attempts per game, out of which Durant usually makes nine. That’s insane.

Yet, his greatest improvement isn’t recognizable in the standard box score.

Durant’s improvement defensively has been a revelation. In years past, when advanced statisticians studied Durant’s plus-minus numbers, they noticed that the Thunder seemed to be better when Durant was off of the court.

Now, plus-minus is an admittedly flawed statistic, but in years past Durant’s defense was pretty awful, especially when he was faced with a screen.

This year, Durant isn’t exactly alldefense, but has improved in court awareness and fighting through screens and doing the little things like talking and rotating.

2. Dwight Howard, C, Orlando Magic I talked a lot about Howard in my first awards column, where I waxed poetically about his impact on the game defensively. For that reason, I’m not going to talk about him too much here, but I will say this. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy was correct in his comments that one’s defensive skill is usually overlooked when it comes to the MVP voting. While Howard is likely the least-skilled offensive player on this list, his dominance on the boards and on defense alone merit him the No. 2 spot. That leaves only one.

1. LeBron James, F, Cleveland Cavaliers My personal biases aside, I have to say that what LeBron did this year is probably one of the top three best seasons of all time for any non-center, with the other two spots going to a guy named Jordan.

27.4 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, a block and two steals, all in fewer minutes than most other guys on this list, all at one of the slowest paces in the league.

A career-high 50 percent shooting from the field, even with all the ill-advised jumpers he takes, shots that make you wince when he takes them, until he makes them, and you remember who he is.

For the stat geeks out there, he slapped up a 31.1 PER, which takes into account all of the necessary offensive stats in addition to efficiency and usage. Again, the only two players to ever beat that were LeBron last year, and Jordan.

On defense, LeBron developed into a Mariano Rivera of sorts. He starts out on the opposing team’s weaker player, conserving energy and roaming and causing havoc with his chasedown blocks.

During crunch time, LeBron switches on to whoever has the hot hand on the other team. During a Cavs vs. Heat game this season, Miami had the ball with under ten seconds left, down by one.

Everyone in the building knew Dwyane Wade would attempt the game-winning shot, including LeBron, who matter-of-factly told Head Coach Mike Brown: “I’m guarding D-Wade; anything else would be uncivilized.”

Sure enough, LeBron did just that, forcing Wade into a low-percentage jumper that he missed. I don’t know where LeBron will play next year, but I do know this: it’s LeBron James’s galaxy, and we’re all just spectators.

Senior Profile: Erin Fisher

By NICK CARROLL SPORTS EDITOR

Senior Erin Fisher is the Lady Rams’ No. 2 hitter and usually patrols center field. She has played a major role on a 37-8 team and leads the Lady Rams in a variety of offensive categories including batting average (.381), runs (37), slugging percentage (.731), on-base percentage (.455) and home runs (12) and is second in RBI (42).

Fisher is from Woodinville, Wash. where she attended Woodinville High School.

The Ram: What made you decide to go to Fordham?

Erin Fisher: I decided to come to Fordham because it’s a great school academically, it’s right near New York City and they gave me the most athletic money.

TR: What’s been your best memory playing softball here?

EF: The best memory that I have was when we beat Georgia Tech.

We all jumped around like little girls and tackled each other. One would have thought that we just won the World Series or something.

TR: How did you first get into softball as a kid?

EF: I actually started playing baseball when I was five and when my mom got remarried and we moved to Woodinville, Wash. when I was 12. My mom said I couldn’t play baseball anymore, so she made me switch to softball. I thought softball was a stupid sport at first and now I see that softball is just as hardcore as baseball, if not more intense.

TR: What are your goals for the rest of the year, personal and team?

EF: My personal goals are to enjoy my senior year and prepare myself for my soon-to-be-future in

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Fisher has had a stellar season, leading the Lady Rams in a variety of statistics.

the real world. My team goals are to make it past the A-10s and go to Regionals.

TR: What’s been the difference this year taking the next step?

EF: The difference has been the team’s mindset as a whole. We are all willing to do whatever it takes to get better. This year we also stepped up our lifting and we saw a nutritionist. So we are a lot stronger than we have ever been and we eat right . . . most of the time.

TR: Is there anything you have to improve on, personal or team?

EF: I need to improve on staying focused on the now. My life is going to change in a few months, but I need to not let that get to me just yet. The team needs to improve on not letting our guard down. We need to come full force at all times.

TR: Is there any advice you would give to your younger teammates?

EF: I would say never give up on your dream.

TR: Over the past four years, what were the changes you saw in the softball program as you became a perennial contender in the A-10?

EF: I have seen our team grow as a family. We all love to hang out with one another. We don’t always get along, but what family gets along 100 percent of the time?

TR: What do you plan on doing after graduation?

EF: My plan is to become a nurse. I hope to get a full-time job at Sloan Kettering, which is where I interned last summer, but if that doesn’t work out I will probably go home. I have also thought about joining the Navy. Both of my parents were in the Air Force.

TR: Did you have any idols growing up, whether it be baseball or softball?

EF: I never really looked up to just one person, but if I had to choose I would say I looked up to A-Rod. When he played on the Mariners, he was my favorite.

Golf Finishes 15th at Lafayette Invitational

By JOHN DeMARZO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Following steadily improving play at the Monmouth Hawk, Yale and Rehoboth Beach Invitationals, the Fordham men’s golf team entered its first major invitational of the season, the Lafayette Invitational, held at Center Valley Country Club in Center Valley, Pa. The field was littered with “big name” schools such as Binghamton, Villanova, Bucknell, Siena, Iona, Colgate, Hofstra and Manhattan, and the Rams had aspirations to knock off some of the bigger-name schools and establish themselves with a strong early-season showing.

Fordham began play in the twoday invitational on Saturday, April 10, and stumbled out of the gate, finishing in 17th place out of 19 teams after Day 1.

Leading the way were sophomore Devin O’Rourke and freshman Brody Nieporte, who both shot 80. O’Rourke shot 41 on the front nine and 39 on the back nine, while Nieporte shot a 36 on the front nine before slumping to a 44

on the back nine.

Senior David Newman and sophomore Brendan Green both shot 82 to finish third and fourth for Fordham, while freshman Jason Del Rosso suffered a bad day on the links, shooting an 83 to finish fifth for the Rams. Combined, the four shot a 324, 36 strokes over par. In NCAA golf, the fifth golfer’s score does not count for or against the team’s total.

It was a rough day on the course for Fordham, but the team improved virtually across the board on Day 2, passing two teams en route to finishing 15th overall out of 19 teams, as they surpassed local rivals Manhattan, Hofstra and Wagner.

O’Rourke improved by three strokes from Saturday, shooting a 77 to finish with a combined score of 157 (80-77) and finishing 41 out of 105 golfers. Newman also showed a big improvement, improving his score by six strokes in shooting a 76 to finish with a total of 158, placing him 46 and in the top half of the finishers.

Finishing third overall for Fordham was Del Rosso, who, like

O’Rourke and Newman, posted a big improvement, this time improving by seven strokes from 83 to 76, finishing with a final score of 159. In the fourth slot for the Rams was Nieporte, the only Fordham golfer who did not improve his score from Day 1. He shot an 81 to finish with a combined total of 161, but only lost one stroke off his total from Saturday. Finishing in the fifth and final position for the Rams was Green, who improved by two strokes from 82 to 80, carding a combined score of 162.

“It was cold and windy, and the scores were a lot higher across the board,” Newman said. “We shot ourselves out of the competition on Day 1, but rebounded nicely on Day 2, as we were only about six or seven shots out of being in the middle of the pack. We need to start our next tournament strong and be consistent throughout.”

The Fordham men’s golf team will next be in action on Monday, April 19 and Tuesday, April 20, when they travel to Quail Valley Country Club in Littlestown, Pa. to play in the Mount Saint Mary’s Spring Invitational.

APRIL 21, 2010 • THE RAM • PAGE 27

SPORTS

Men’s Tennis Loses Twice in Atlantic 10 Championship

By JONATHON SMITH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Senior Dallas Harting had a rough A-10 Championships, losing both of his matches.

By JONATHON SMITH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham men’s tennis team is the first team at Fordham to have gone to its conference tournament.

Unfortunately, it is also the first team to have lost at its conference tournament. The Rams traveled to the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa. and were the No. 12-ranked team after finishing their regular season with a 6-10 record. The Rams knew that they were going to have a tough road at the tournament after an up-and-down season.

“Our goal is to win our first round match,” senior Rob Evans said before the tournament. “If we can get one win that would mean a lot to us.”

The Rams opened up play against the No. 5 Billikens from Saint Louis, but unfortunately for the Rams, the classic 12-over-5 upset was not in the cards in Monroeville, as they fell, 4-0.

The match opened with doubles play. The No. 2 team of freshman Alex DeRienzo and sophomore Eli Plangger played tight games, but fell to the Billikens, 8-2. The No. 3 team of freshman John Thornhill and junior Nick Kelly played very evenly and looked as if they were going to squeak out a win for Fordham, but lost, 9-7.

The No. 1 team of senior Dallas Harting and junior Austin Schoup, who had played together for about half of their matches this season, were tied 8-8, but the match was halted at that point.

On the singles court, the Billikens were too much to handle for the Rams, as Fordham could not muster a single victory.

The three matches that finished first ended up being the only ones that counted statistically, since they gave Saint Louis a 5-0 lead over the Rams, meaning that Fordham was already out of contention.

The matches that mattered were junior Kevin Maloney at No. 2 singles who lost, 6-0, 6-0, Thornhill who lost in the No. 3 spot 6-1, 6-1, and junior Ken Fukumoto, who fell, 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 6 spot.

The loss put the Rams in the losers’ bracket for the tournament, which meant that with one more loss they would be bounced from the tournament.

“The match was tough,” DeRienzo said. “We played well, but they are a very good team.”

The next morning, Fordham awoke for an 8 a.m. match against the Flyers from Dayton, looking to stay in the tournament, but the Flyers were too much for the Rams, winning 4-2. The match opened with Dayton taking the doubles points in the completed matches.

DeRienzo and Plangger fell, 8-4, while Thornhill and Kelly were dropped 8-6.

In singles play, Fordham got its first wins of the tournament as Thornhill picked up a 6-1, 6-4 win and Fukumoto won 6-2, 6-4.

Harting gave a tough fight losing 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 1 slot, Maloney fell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 and Schoup lost a barn-burner 6-4, 6-4.

The losses in singles and doubles spelled the end for the Rams, as they left Monroeville with only two individual match wins.

“We had a tough match against Dayton,” DeRienzo said. “Hopefully next year we can get a better seeding next season and win a match.”

Women’s Tennis Loses at Temple

By NANCY BUCKLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Lady Rams’ tennis team (1-18) had an unfortunate series of events this past weekend, as they completed their regular-season with a 6-1 loss to Temple (9-11) and cancelled their last home match against La Salle.

Fordham traveled to Philadelphia to face the Owls on April 17.

The windy and overcast day set the mood for the outcome of the match.

The Owls took the doubles points, beating the Lady Rams in two out of the three matches.

Sophomore Sarah Tremaine and freshman Jennifer Mullen won the first doubles match against the Owls.

Their opponents, Josephine

Bergman and Katharina Mittag, experienced an injury and were forced to retire.

The Lady Rams were not as lucky as the double matches continued.

Freshman Taylor Holt and sophomore Bethany Boyle lost at No. 2 doubles, 8-4.

Seniors Martina Featherstone and Elizabeth Stall played the final doubles set, falling, 8-2.

In the singles rounds, sophomore Jane Carroll defeated Mittag by default because of Mittag’s injury.

Carroll’s win was the only point for Fordham.

Featherstone, Holt, Mullen and Boyle all lost the remaining sets.

The Lady Rams are anticipating their final matches of the season on April 23-25 at the Atlantic 10 Championships in St. Louis.

I’ve always considered myself an astute and knowledgeable sports fan.

When people have a question for me, I can usually come up with an answer or at least make up an answer that sounds like it could be correct, but one thing has troubled me ever since I was a child, and I have yet to find the answer: Why do athletes always slap each other’s butts after someone has made a good play?

After years of confusion and scratching my head over why athletes feel as if an open-palmed slap on the rear is a way of saying “Congratulations,” it is time to find the true definition and meaning of this age-old tradition.

Urbandictionary.com defines the “sportsman’s slap” as “a man-toman slap on the butt to signal congratulations or comradeship.”

Now that everyone is on board with the definition, my investigation will begin.

My curiosity started at the age of five when my father and I were watching a baseball game, and after Cal Ripken, Jr. hit a home run, he was greeted with a pat on the behind when he crossed home plate.

I asked my father why Ripken’s teammate had done that, and my dad simply responded, “Because that is what guys do.”

So the next day at school in a game of kickball, my friend had just scored, and to his confusion, I greeted him with a butt slap.

I told my friends that that was what the pros did, and thereafter, all of the kindergarten boys at Stowe Elementary School began slapping each other’s rears after someone did something good on the kickball court.

Like in the scene in The Sandlot when the kids all try chewing tobacco like the pros, we did not know what we were doing; we just wanted to be like the pros.

This is where I began my questioning of the butt slap. Now, 14 years later, I still have no idea why the butt slap exists or where it came from.

Like anything that I am confused about, I went to Google to try to find some answers.

The first site I visited was called “Hardball Mysteries” and had interviews with various baseball players asking why the “swift pat” exists.

One player said that it exists because you cannot give a high-five to a person who is not looking, so if you are behind them, a gentle pat on the rear gets the job done.

This player then asks why it is not a back-slap or a pat on the arm instead of the behind, and we may never know the answer to that.

Maybe it is to show people that they are closer and deserving of more than just a slap on the back, and therefore they slap each others butts to show affection.

This seems logical, but why do players feel the need to show fans that they are very close friends?

This Web site did not satisfy my question, so I continued my investigation.

A student at Johns Hopkins University attempted to figure this question out as well, and he came to the conclusion that there is no true reason as to why the sportsman’s slap exists.

He watched videos of baseball and football games, trying to figure out if there was any kind of etiquette for the swift pat.

He wrote how his research came to no conclusive answer, as butt slaps usually only occurred after good plays as if to say “Nice work,” or to say to a teammate after a mistake on the field, “It’s alright, get them next time.”

I have watched thousands of different games throughout my life, and I too can only come to the conclusion that the butt slap is merely meant as a way of non-verbal communication between teammates.

After watching so many games though, there are three major rules for the sportsman’s slap.

Rule No. 1: Slapping a teammate’s rear is not done wantonly.

If you are not friends with the player and do not know the guy very well, you are not going to go for the behind, so you will slap the back or the arm.

The better you know a guy, the lower you are allowed to go.

Rule No. 2: Not all butt slaps are created equal. This is an unwritten rule among all men who play sports.

A quick slap is acceptable and often encouraged, but with anything more than that, there is a problem.

Men may not squeeze, or cup or even pinch a teammate’s rear end.

It is understood that the quick and painless slap is the only acceptable touching below the belt between teammates.

Rule No. 3: The sportsman’s slap can only be used on the field.

If a man attempts to use the slap in the workplace, it may not be received as well. When I originally asked my father why the slap exists or if he does it at his insurance office, he looked at me confusedly and answered “absolutely not.”

The butt slap is referred to as the “sportsman’s slap” for a reason as it is only acceptable on the ball field.

No exceptions.

Those are the rules for the sportsman’s slap. It is simple, innocent and highly acceptable in the male community.

The slap is like an evolution of the high-five. The high-five is a way for children to say “congratulations” or “hello” to each other.

Then, from about the age of 12 to 15, the high-five becomes nerdy and “uncool” and the fist pound is introduced and widely used.

After age 15, any form of bodily communication is then acceptable.

The high-five makes a comeback, the pound stays in style, the handshake is accepted and the butt slap is introduced and deemed appropriate.

While I did not find an answer to my question of when the butt slap was introduced and why it is so wildly popular, I did learn about the use and rules behind it.

After watching so many games and events in my life, the question still remains as to why male athletes see a need to slap their teammates on the rear.

I may never know the reason for this and spend my whole life curious, searching for the answer.

While I did learn about different types of butt slaps and how it is just another way of saying congratulations or a subtle encouragement, I am still baffled as to the true origins and reasons behind the sportsman’s slap.

Maybe my dad was right when I posed this question at age five.

Maybe it is just what guys do.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away

Thursday April 22

Friday April 23

Saturday April 24

Baseball

at Dayton 3:00 p.m.

at Dayton 1:00 p.m.

Softball

at Temple 3:00 p.m.

at Temple 12:00 p.m.

Track and Field

at Saint Joseph’s 12:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

Spring Mets Orchard Beach Lagoon, N.Y.

Rowing

Atlantic 10 Championship St. Louis

Penn Relays Philadelphia

Monday April 26

Tuesday April 27

Wednesday April 28 at Columbia 2:00 p.m.

4:30 p.n.

at Dayton 12:00 p.m.

URI Northeast Collegiate Invite Portsmouth, R.I.

Golf

Women’s Tennis

Sunday April 25

at Iona 3:00 p.m.

APRIL 21, 2010

PAGE 28

Baseball Wins Important Series Against St. Louis

By DANNY ATKINSON SPORTS EDITOR

When Fordham baseball started regular-season play with a 3-15 record in out-of-conference play, its chances for the Atlantic 10 slate did not look too promising. The Rams could not seem to muster any power from their offense or consistent pitching and 2010 looked to be a lost season, but something has changed in the last few weeks.

With the help of Assistant Coach Mark Stevens, the offense has adopted a more patient approach at the plate, which has paid dividends, and Fordham pitching has been much stronger in recent weeks. The Rams won two tough games from Saint Louis this past week and they look to be on their way up. The Rams were unable to win their third-straight game on April 13, as they fell to Rutgers on the road in New Jersey by a score of 7-3.

Fordham opened the game with a 2-0 lead, as senior right fielder Ryan McCrann ripped a triple down the right field line in the top of the first to score sophomore shortstop Brian Kownacki and senior centerfielder Mike Mobbs to take the advantage. The Scarlet Knights immediately knotted the game in the bottom half of the innings on a home run by left fielder Pat Biserta.

Rutgers took the lead in the third with a second homer by Michael Lang and later made the score 7-2 with a three-run eighth inning.

Dennis Hill tossed a complete game for the Scarlet Knights, allowing just three runs on nine hits.

Freshman Ryan DeMartino (2-1) took the loss for the Rams in his first career start, allowing three runs on five hits in four innings of work.

At the plate, McCrann was 2-4 with a triple and two RBI.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior first baseman Michael Taddei had a three-run double to win a game in the eighth inning against SLU last weekend.

Fordham began a pivotal weekend home series against Saint Louis on April 16. The Billikens were by far the best team the Rams have faced in Atlantic 10 play so far with a 6-3 record in the league and 18-16 overall. Fordham’s play in the series went a long way toward proving that they are a team that can compete in the upper echelon of the A-10.

Fordham won the series opener by following one of the cardinal rules of winning baseball: get twoout hits. The Rams recorded 12 two-out hits, including four by Lee, in their 6-4 victory.

Fordham opened the scoring with four two-out runs in the second. Sophomore second baseman Nick Martinez plated Kownacki and senior catcher Angelo Ponte on an RBI single before sophomore third baseman Ryan Maghini and Lee had consecutive RBI for the four-run advantage. The Rams added to their run total on RBI from Ponte in the fifth and seventh innings.

Saint Louis put up a strong

comeback effort in the late innings.

Designated hitter Steve Fernandez hit a two-run homer to left in the eighth to pull his team to within two. The Billikens then loaded the bases in the ninth before freshman Rich Anastasi struck out Fernandez to end the game.

Senior J.P. Mack (1-4) recorded his first win of the season for Fordham. Mack gave up one run on four hits with three strikeouts in 5.2 innings. At the plate, Ponte was 3-4 with a triple and two RBI. If the Rams offense gave a clutch performance in the opening game of their series, it was nothing compared to their clutch showing in the second game.

Led by senior first baseman Michael Taddei, Fordham shocked Saint Louis with a three-run eighth inning and a 4-3 come-from-behind win.

Heading into the eighth, the Billikens had avoided trailing for the entire game. Saint Louis took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on an RBI single from centerfielder J.D. Dunn.

Fordham mounted its comeback

effort in the eigth by loading the bases on three straight singles. Taddei cleared the bases and gave the Rams a lead with a double to left center.

“I was ahead 2-0 in the count was able to anticipate a fastball,” Taddei said. “I was able to gear up for the pitch down the middle and went for it.”

Junior Max Krakowiak fought through seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts before turning the ball over to senior Brando Casalicchio. Casalicchio (1-2) used his pinpoint control to pitch two scoreless innings of relief and earn his first career win at Rose Hill.

Head Coach Nick Restaino was very matter-of-fact about his team’s two-out success at the plate in the first two games of the series.

“We stuck with the plan and worked the count in our favor,” he said. “Because of our patience we were able to put good swings on the ball.”

Unfortunately for the Rams, the offense’s two-out magic could not

last through the third game. Fordham led 2-0 through five innings on Sunday before Saint Louis tied the game at two and then scored seven times in the ninth to win by a 9-2 score.

The Rams opened the scoring with a 2-0 lead in the fifth. Walker blooped a fly ball down the left field line for an RBI double and Mobbs followed with an RBI single. The Billikens tied the game in the seventh on an RBI triple that was almost caught by Lee and a sacrifice fly.

The contest’s tone changed completely in the ninth, when Saint Louis sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven times.

The Billikens took advantage of costly errors by sophomore Daniel Munday and Maghini before receiving a pair of two-run singles from catcher Conner Grandossy and left fielder Cody Coter. Munday and Anastasi ended up with five runs allowed, all unearned, in just a third of an inning. At the plate, Walker was 2-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. The Ram’s pitching has been much better in the past few weeks, as Fordham has found success in conference. The staff has an ERA under 4.00 in conference play and hurlers like Brian Pendergast, Krakowiak and Casalicchio have stepped up in their last few appearances.

Casalicchio attributes the staff ’s success to pitching coach Trevor Brown, who has helped them improve their mental approach against batters.

Despite the Rams’ final loss to Saint Louis, Casalicchio has confidence that Fordham can finish at the top of the A-10.

“We’re playing well enough to finish with the No. 1 or 2 seed in the conference and win the tournament,” he said. “We’re in very good shape if we keep playing this well.”

Skelton Soars up Draft Boards for This Weekend’s Draft

By MATT MANUSZAK STAFF WRITER

The NFL draft is less than a week away, and the buzz surrounding former Fordham quarterback John Skelton continues to grow.

He is now solidly projected as a mid-round pick, ranging anywhere from the late second round to the early sixth round on certain boards.

“He’s a developmental quarterback […] but with his size and his arm there’s no question he could go anywhere from the third to the fifth round,” Mel Kiper Jr., the energetic ESPN draft analyst, said. “I’ve got him in the fourth round going to Jacksonville.”

Many teams have shown a specific interest in Skelton and have invited him in for private pre-draft visits.

“I took three team visits,” Skelton said in a recent interview with his hometown El Paso Times. “I visited Buffalo, the New York Giants and Washington. It’s all been

a whirlwind. It was amazing to sit down and talk with [Washington Redskins head coach] Mike Shanahan and to visit a team with such tradition as the New York Giants.”

In addition to those teams, the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have shown interest, according to John Saraceno of USA Today.

Skelton noted that while it is nice to have teams showing interest, he is trying not to read too much into the specifics.

“It’s kind of hard to gauge,” Skelton said. “All the teams say they like you, but they really give you no indication. Like I said, it’s all been a whirlwind. It’s been exciting to go places, sometimes have people recognize you, but I’m not up there with the Tim Tebows and Colt McCoys. I’m still just one of the guys, and I can hang out and I appreciate that.”

Popular ESPN analyst Ron Ja-

worski provided a valuable perspective on Skelton, since he too is from a small, unheralded football program in Youngstown State.

“He is as raw as they come and ‘barn strong,’” Jaworski said.

“Clearly, John has a long way to go to develop into an NFL quarterback, [but] his arm strength is elite.

This guy throws frozen ropes.”

Skelton has tried to stay relaxed during the stressful pre-draft period, but that has not always been easy.

“It just gets a little nerve-racking,” Skelton said. “Sometimes, it’s funny listening to everything on TV, seeing how far off some of them are. Sometimes it gets a little frustrating, too, but I’m just staying in shape, working out, running and throwing everyday, staying ready.”

On draft day, Skelton will not be at Radio City Music Hall, a place usually reserved for only the top prospects, though he won’t be too far away.

“My uncle has an apartment in Manhattan,” he said. “My parents

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Recent projections have tabbed Skelton as a mid-third round pick.

are flying in. We’ll watch the draft there. And wait.”

Hopefully the wait won’t be too

long this weekend, as Skelton looks to bring Fordham football into the national spotlight.