Volume 104 Issue 9

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 104, Issue 9

TheFordhamRam.com

April 6, 2022

USG FDM Hosts Proposes Annual New Dance Scholarships Marathon

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ

By ISABEL DANZIS

On March 31, the United Student Government (USG) at Rose Hill passed a bill designed to provide more financial aid to international students. The bill, titled Expanding Financial Aid Access and Employment Opportunities International Students at Fordham University Rose Hill, introduces a new scholarship to provide full tuition and room and board costs for 15 international students on a yearly basis.

Work on the proposal began in November 2021 and lasted about five months before the bill got passed through USG. The bill was a collaborative effort between Santiago Vidal, USG Senator for the class of 2024, who wrote the main core of the proposal; Frank Velez, USG senator for the class of 2023, who conducted the Peer Aspirant Research portion of the bill; and Keegan Roeder, USG senator for the class of 2023, who assisted with writing the “Benefits” section of the bill’s primary articles.

Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) raised approximately $116,564 in support of the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation at their main fundraising event, the dance marathon, on April 2.

While it was announced at the event that FDM raised $115,822.83, according to Sarah Goldstein, FCRH ’23, co-executive director of FDM, a few donations came in after the event.

This event serves as a conclusion to FDM’s year-long fundraising efforts for the B+ Foundation, an organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research. FDM works specifically with famiBy SOFIA DONOHUE lies ofDIGITAL childrenPRODUCER battling cancer in the New York City area; the children that the club works with are known as the “B+ heroes.” The club members work on both a year-long fundraising campaign to raise money to support these children and their families as well as develop relationships with them.

According to Goldstein, this

SEE USG, PAGE 3

SEE FDM, PAGE 4

FEATURES EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY OF EMMA KIM /THE FORDHAM RAM

The Diversity Action Coalition’s “Bronx Appreciation Week” promotes student involvement in the Bronx.

Bronx Appreciation Week Makes its Debut at Fordham

By EMMA KIM

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

United Student Government’s (USG) Diversity Action Coalition (DAC) hosted Bronx Appreciation Week last week, March 28-April 1, collaborating with different organizations on campus in order to celebrate the Bronx.

Camila Gomez, FCRH ’22, one of the co-chairs of DAC, believes that the week is important in showing people all the things to love about the Bronx. “We want to break down myths and stereotypes about the Bronx and highlight the beautiful history and culture,” said Gomez.

On Monday, there was an event called “Bronx Scholarship,” which included three speakers — Mark Naison, Jane Edwards and Pamela Cora. Naison, professor of history and African & African American studies, spoke about the history of music in the Bronx, and one of his books, SEE BRONX, PAGE 4

Public Safety Begins Self-Defense Classes

By DANA VATAFU

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM FOUNDRY

Pitch Challenge gives the Fordham community the opportunity to share their business ideas with others and judges.

Amazonian Wins 6th Annual Pitch Challenge

By ISABEL DANZIS NEWS EDITOR

Amazonian, the company started by Elsie Ndema, director of Talent Acquisition at TheGuarantors, GSB ’13 and GSB M.S. ’22, was awarded $8,000 through the Fordham

Foudry’s sixth annual Pitch Challenge on March 26. The Fordham Foundry, a foundation focused on helping Fordham students and alumni with their business start-ups and ideas, hosts the Pitch Challenge annually to allow both students and

alumni to compete for start-up money by pitching their business ideas to a panel of experienced judges.

Amazonian is a company that provides women over 5 foot 9 inches, a new way to buy clothes.

SEE FOUNDRY, PAGE 5

Public Safety announced on March 25 that they will be hosting self-defense classes taught by the New York Self Defense Academy during the first and second weeks of April. The classes will be coordinated by Emergency Manager, Mike McGinn, with the assistance of his student administrative assistant, Lindsey Sullivan, and the director of the

fitness center, Sara Bickford.

Currently, the plan is to hold these classes in the Ram Fit Center. Due to an overwhelming response from the student body, there are also plans to expand the classes to the Lincoln Center campus next semester and increase the number of sessions offered.

These classes were not something offered in the past. The idea to host these classes came about as a result of two Fordham students who were referred to SEE SAFETY, PAGE 5

in this issue

News

Page 3

CSA Hosts Annual Commuter Week: Party in the CSA

Culture

Page 12

Reporter’s Death Shows Importance of Freelance Journallism

Opinion

Page 11

The irony of Painful Corsets in “Bridgerton”

Sports

Page 18

The Facinating Career of Fordham Alumn Nick Martinez

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS March 30 Southern Boulevard 6:08 p.m.

A passenger on the Ram Van from Rose Hill to Lincoln Center became ill. The van driver pulled over on Southern Boulevard at Bedford Park.

Public Safety and FUEMS responded, and the passenger was transported to Montefiore Hospital.

March 30 Fordham Plaza 10:07 p.m.

A student reported that while walking to campus he was approached by an unknown female in front of Walgreens at Fordham Plaza who was in possession of a knife. The woman, who appeared mentally ill, was mumbling to herself and did not threaten or approach the student. Public Safety responded and were unable to locate her.

March 31 Fordham Road 9:32 p.m.

An operator of a campus shuttle reported that, while stopped at a red light, an unknown male operating an electric scooter passed the van illegally on the passenger side striking and breaking the passenger side mirror.

April 2 Main Entrance 4:10 p.m.

The security officer assigned to the main entrance reported that three motorcycles and one ATV had entered campus through Post #5 without stopping. Public Safety responded and safely escorted all four off campus without incident.

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

April 6, 2022

Engaged Leaders Fellowship Applies Research in the Bronx

By MICHELA FAHY ByCONTRIBUTING LUCY PETERSON WRITER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

About a year ago, Edward Kim, FCRH ’22, transferred to Fordham from a school in Los Angeles. Within his first months on campus, he was struck by the “semi-permeability of the campus” and the fact that Rose Hill felt like “an oasis in the Bronx community.”

He wanted to do something to help bridge the gap between students and local Bronx residents.

Last semester, Kim was finally given that opportunity after being accepted into Fordham’s Engaged Leaders Fellowship program. The program, which works in collaboration with Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, encourages students to apply research methods in order to bring epistemic justice to the Fordham campus and Bronx community.

Cohorts meet bi-weekly and create community-based research questions around which largerscale projects are formed. Kim was placed into a cohort with three other Fordham students with similar goals, including Benjamin Madeiros, FCRH ’22, Jackson Lewis, FCLC ’23 and Colin Billings, FCRH ’23.

The team decided to create a research study that examines the disparities between Fordham students’ perceptions and the realities of homelessness in New York City. After facing multiple setbacks due to COVID-19 the team is currently in its final stages of collecting and analyzing data.

Last week, the team distributed an electronic survey that asked Fordham students various questions about their perceptions of homelessness in New York City. In the coming weeks, the team will perform interviews at the 30th Street Men’s Shelter in Manhattan to gain a better understanding of the realities faced by New York City’s homeless population.

“Our goal is to find how we could successfully change the perception of Fordham students to match the realities of the situation of homelessness in the city,” said Billings.

The team plans on presenting the results from their project at the Fordham Undergraduate Research Symposium in April

COURTESY OF FORDHAM CCEL BLOG

Fordham’s Engaged Leaders Fellowship works with the Center for Community Engaged Learning.

2022. They hope that the presentation will create conversations that compel Fordham students to take action and become more involved in their community.

“We hope that the research influences future leaders who are coming out of Fordham, so they have a better understanding of the people they’re serving,” said Kim. Although Fordham promotes a few different organizations to get involved with in the Bronx community, Kim suggested that Fordham add a service-learning requirement to the core curriculum. He believes this would help to push students out of their comfort zones and learn through experience.

“In our research we see that people just aren’t aware of things, which is understandable, but empathy is something that needs to be cultivated through experience. Epistemic privilege is something that comes from being well placed in life,” said Kim. Over the coming month, the team hopes to finalize the analysis of their results. Billings said that the team works extremely well together and will continue to divide the final steps of the project around “whatever suits each of their individual strengths best.”

For example, Billings said they relied heavily upon the

COURTESY OF FORDHAM CCEL BLOG

Billings, Kim, Lewis and Medeiros work as a cohort.

fact that Lewis was the only team member based at Lincoln Center. For that reason, Lewis played a stronger role in securing contacts and organizing interviews at the 30th Street Men’s Shelter.

Billings also said the CCEL played an important role in the project by providing financial resources and incentives for survey participation. “The team also worked tangentially with Dean Parmach to send out various communications,” said Billings.

While the team is looking forward to presenting their results at the Fordham Undergraduate Research Symposium, they’ve

already deemed the project a success in terms of the skills they’ve been able to gain through their research.

Billings said, “The opportunity has been a great learning experience that allowed [him] to carry out formal academic research for the first time.”

Students with similar research ideas or goals should visit the page on the Engaged Leader’s Fellowship on the CCEL website, which offers information for current and prospective students looking to get involved in the program. Check out their Instagram page @fordhamccel for the latest updates.

This Week at Fordham Wednesday April 6

Wednesday April 6

Thursday April 7

Friday April 8

Saturday April 9

Free Speech on Campus Discussion

Dan Pfeiffer Vists Fordham

Fordham Flea Pop-Up

Paint Your Own Tote Bag

Ignatian Year Day of Service

Keating 3rd 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Keating 1st 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.

McShane Campus Center Lawn 7 p.m.

Loyola Lawn 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Moshulu Park 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The Advocates for a Palestinian Perspectives are hosting a panel on the topic of free speech on college campuses, something the university has ranked consistently low on. Speakers include Radhika Sainath.

Dan Pfeiffer, former senior advisor to Barack Obama, is visiting the university on behalf of College Democrats. He will be speaking about his time as a member of the administration and answering questions.

USG is hosting Earth Week this week and Thursday will feature a Fordham Flea popup. Students are encuraged to donate clothing for others to buy. Funds will be donated to Bronx is Blooming.

USG is hosting Earth Week this week and Friday will include DIY tote bag painting to prevent plastic bag use.

Reusable bags are great for the environment and materials will be provided for students.

Campus Ministry is sponsoring an Ignatian Day of Service at Moshulu Park. Make sure to pre-register at fordham. edu/cm. A light breakfast will be served and the group will walk to the park together!

NEWS

April 6, 2022

Page 3

New Financial Equity Bill for International Students FROM USG, PAGE 1

The bill is divided into three primary articles, or requests.

The first of these is the establishment of The Fordham Leadership Award for International Students, aforementioned to “help fully cover the tuition and room & board costs for the studies of 15 international students in the next four years (each year) to help increase the numbers of international enrollment to 2016 levels (the highest in Fordham’s admission history),” as the bill reads.

The second request listed in the bill, titled Financial Aid Appeal for International Students, aims to do exactly what it sounds like: expand “the Financial Aid Appeal opportunities for international students within the processes of the office respective to those granted to domestic students,” as stated in the official proposal.

The third and final request written in the bill calls for the Student Employment for International Students, which requests “the reservation of need-based international student on-campus employment opportunities,” according to the passed bill.

Vidal spoke about the inspirations behind the bill and what motivated him to write it: “I wanted to help in the work

availability and the work options for international students on campus [and] expand financial access to international students to Fordham University, considering Fordham is the eighth-most expensive school in the country,” Vidal said.

For Vidal, the financial cost of Fordham is one of the most significant factors driving international students away from attending the university.

“There is a financial inequity of international students on campus,” Vidal said. “Numbers of international students have drastically decreased from 2017 to 2021 from 10.2% to 5.4%. We have cut half of our international community for several reasons.”

After various meetings with the offices of Financial Aid and Admissions, Vidal found that, besides visa restrictions (which Fordham University can’t interfere with), lack of financial access is the largest push factor.

As part of the Peer Aspirant Research portion of the proposal, the bill’s authors found that Fordham University offers less financial aid to its international students than most other universities based on proportional data.

“There are eight scholarships of need-based aid for American students, while only one for in-

ternational students,” said Vidal.

That one scholarship is known as the Faber Award. “It can go up to tuition, but it doesn’t cover room, food, expenses or healthcare.”

International students at Fordham are required to pay the $3,200 yearly fee for health insurance despite insurance status in their home country.

The waiver option available to domestic students is not open to international students.

While conducting the Peer Aspirant Research, the team also discovered Seattle University’s method of providing aid to international students. As it reads in the proposal presented to USG, Seattle University’s protocol: “Sullivan Leadership Award is a full scholarship that covers tuition, room and board for each of the four years of undergraduate study at Seattle University and is awarded to nine incoming freshmen each year.”

The proposal for aid at Fordham took inspiration from the Sullivan Leadership Award, expanding the number of recipients from nine to 15 to match the ratio of international to domestic students between the universities. The original plan was to include more than 15 recipients, how-

ever, in order to compromise on the financial cost of implementing the proposal, the team decided to keep the number at just 15.

“There was some pushback in the USG because it’s a $1.1 million proposal every year, and increasing with every year that passes, so at the fourth year, implementation is going to be $4.4 million because there will be 60 international students fully funded by the scholarship,” said Vidal.

To avoid student pushback about moving money from domestic students to fund international students, the team decided that the best option would be

to take the money from the “Cura Personalis” campaign, which Vidal says offers $350 million for university investments.

“There was a bit of pushback because people in the USG believed this was going to take funds from domestic students to be given to international students,” commented Vidal. “For me, it was a comment that never should have taken place, because, when you evaluate that 95% of financial aid is going to domestic students and only 5% is going to international students and when you compare the ratios, it's not even quantifiable.”

COURTESY OF FORDHAM NEWS

This proposal is aimed at helping international students afford Fordham.

CSA Hosts Annual Commuter Week: “Party in the CSA”

By ISABEL DANZIS NEWS EDITOR

The Commuting Student Association (CSA) hosted their annual Commuter Week from Monday, March 31 to Friday, April 1. This year, the CSA featured events centered around the theme of “Party in the CSA.” Each event that took place throughout the week featured specific activities that represent the culture of different cities across the country.

“I came up with the name because we wanted to go with a road trip theme for the week. When brainstorming ideas of what to theme the week, I thought around the USA would be fun, and easy to work with. With this theme, we can come up with an idea for a program, and then add a city to it, instead of being constrained to a very specific theme,” said Alessandra Carino, FCRH ’23, executive program coordinator of the CSA. Commuter Week is planned by the CSA’s individual class boards that all coordinate events to fall under the centralized theme of the week. CSA’s senior board opened up the week by planning a day of events related to the city of Miami.

The Miami event had a mechanical surfboard for students to use as well as pastelitos for students to enjoy. On Tuesday, CSA’s sophomore board hosted an event inspired by Aspen, Colorado, for students that included a mechanical snowboard, smores and hot chocolate. CSA’s freshman board planned a day of events on Wednesday entitled “Rams Gone Wild.” Rams Gone Wild’s activities were meant to mimic

those found at a Texas state fair.

They provided foods like wings and burgers and offered students the opportunity to play carnival games and ride a mechanical bull.

CSA’s executive board planned an event on Thursday that was Los Angeles-themed. Students had the opportunity to participate in karaoke and enjoy foods like sandwiches and chocolates.

The week wrapped up with CSA’s junior board’s Las Vegas-themed event. At this event, students enjoyed food like wings and pizza while they played poker, roulette and other classic casino games.

Commuter Week serves as an important week for both commuter and residential students. It provides opportunities for students to interact with each other while participating in fun activities.

Additionally, the week aims to help commuter students feel more connected to Fordham. “Our goal in putting on Commuter Week annually is to provide commuting students with a week long set of programming during commuter friendly times,” said Tom Ujkaj, FCRH ’22, executive president of the CSA. “We hope that this week offers commuting students the opportunity to mingle and get to know their fellow commuters or even residents better.

Our events are open to all students and we take pride in making the Fordham community feel just a little bit more like home to commuters.”

Carino said that a big goal of Commuter Week is to make sure that commuting students feel welcomed into the Fordham community. According to Carino, a key way to do that is by having Commuter Week cater specifically to commuter students.

“Commuter Week is important to bring commuters together for an extended period of time. Although there are many exciting opportunities for programming, commuters do sometimes struggle to feel welcome on campus, so having a whole week dedicated to us feels special. These programs also give commuters a place to go, and something to do if they are bored,” said Carino.

According to Ujkaj, while the CSA was impressed by all of the Commuter Week’s events, they were particularly impressed by the success of “Rams Gone Wild.”

“While each of the five events were successful in their own ways, this year we were amazed by the performance from our freshman board who was able to attract a record number of over 250 students at their event. The event, which took place in front of the new campus center, was the first time CSA had used this new location and we are really

excited to throw more events there in the future,” said Ujkaj.

Planning for a week-long schedule of events is a feat that takes a long time. Ujkaj and Carino said that the CSA started planning Commuter Week immediately after winter break in January. While Commuter Week serves as a good time for commuter students to attend events at times that are more convenient for them, it also provides time for all students to interact.

“I think that it’s so important for students to attend events held on campus and for commuting students it is particularly important for them to attend CSA and CSS events. Ultimately our two teams work to provide commuting students with similar programming experienced by resident students,” said Ujkaj.

Commuter Week is an annual event and has featured themes like “Fordham Fairytale” and “Fordham-Opoly.” This year’s Commuter Week was extremely successful and Ujkaj notes his

pride in the CSA’s efforts to put on the week of events.

“I am so extremely proud of all the hard work put in by the CSA General Assembly. We have been able to provide nearly 600 students with food, drinks and fun activities throughout the past week,” said Ujkaj.

Carino and Ujkaj also note that they hope students enjoyed Commuter Week, and attended as many events as they could. Carino also said that she hopes that members of the CSA took things away from planning the events and activities. “I hope that the students on CSA learned that it’s good to push their own boundaries, and an earnest challenge is a good challenge. I hope that the students who attended realized that it’s possible to take a few minutes out of their crazy days to grab a bite to eat or do something fun,” said Carino. Students interested in keeping up with the CSA can follow their Instagram @fordhamcsa.

COURTESY OF ALLISON MOY FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

CSA’s Commuter Week featured an event highlighting Texan culture in their theme of “Party in the CSA.”

NEWS

Page 4

April 6, 2022

FDM Returns to In-Person Events After COVID-19 Pandemic FROM FDM, PAGE 1

year’s campaign was the “second-highest-grossing” in the club’s eight years of existence.

“We’re just so, so grateful of every single person who donated, whether they donated 50 cents or $100. Because of them, we were able to help 115 families. We donate $1,000 per family. A lot of what we raise goes to families that live in the New York City area or the Bronx, so we’re making a direct impact,” said Goldstein.

FDM’s main event lasted for 11 hours, from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Each hour of the event was dedicated to a certain theme.

For example, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., the club dedicated the hour as the “B+ Hero Hour” where some of the B+ heroes could Zoom into the event and engage with the audience. The event ended with the “rave” portion of the night, lasting from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

In this “rave” period, FDM put on their concert, featuring musical guest Leyla Blue.

Blue is a celebrated pop artist, who is best known for her song “What A Shame,” which gained fame on the social media app, TikTok. “Not to discredit any of the concerts we’ve had in the past at FDM, but our concert artist this year blew us away,” said Goldstein. “At the end, [Blue] stayed at the event and went around and took pictures with

everyone, and she took pictures of our committee. That is nothing required of her in her contract, she did that all on her own volition. Her interacting with us was just so amazing.”

According to Goldstein, Blue even posted about FDM on her own social media accounts, which gave the fundraising efforts some international exposure and attention.

Despite Blue’s performance, for Goldstein, the most impactful and important part of FDM is the interaction with the B+ heroes.

“Being able to interact with the kids is honestly some of the most beneficial parts. If we raised $100 but we got to make one kid who is fighting for their life have a better day, that’s really what matters. I’m so grateful for that opportunity,” said Goldstein.

Goldstein said that COVID-19 has complicated the club’s ability to interact with the B+ heroes.

However, Goldstein explained that throughout the pandemic, and even now, FDM’s committee members were able to maintain relationships with the heroes through Zoom meetings.

She also said that this year, the club members were able to begin connecting with the heroes in-person again.

“We’ve taken a few trips down to Washington Square Park to meet up with them, and then a little further north, we attended a few birthday parties for some of

our B+ heroes,” said Goldstein.

Additionally, this year marks the first time that FDM has been able to function fully in person. Last year, the event adopted a hybrid format. FDM hosted a day full of events but then put on the concert and the announcement of the total sum of donations virtually. According to Goldstein, being able to host events fully in person again lifted the committee’s morale and inspired them to have a “great” fundraising year.

Goldstein also noted the efforts of the Fordham community in fundraising throughout the year. She noted that while the committee is extremely proud of its fundraising efforts, the Fordham community is what makes FDM special.

“I was blown away by the support from the Fordham community on World Cancer day this past year. Fordham was the number one fundraiser for the B+ Foundation for pediatric cancer. On World Cancer Day we raised over $30,000 in one day for pediatric Cancer,” said Goldstein.

According to Goldstein, FDM’s efforts have been large enough to sponsor a pediatric cancer research grant currently happening at Case Western Reserve University. Goldstein noted that FDM has grown a lot in the past few years, and it looks forward to continuing this trajectory in the coming years.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

FDM raises money all year to support pediatric cancer research efforts.

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/ THE FORDHAM RAM

FDM features student performances at their annual dance marathon.

Bronx Appreciation Week Comes to Rose Hill FROM BRONX, PAGE 1

“Pure Bronx,” was raffled.

Edwards, associate clinical professor and director of African Immigration Research, talked about the Bronx African American History Project, of which Naison is also a part. Cora, managing librarian at Bronx Library Center, spoke of New York Public Library’s history in the Bronx.

Tylese Rideout, FCRH ’25, headed the DAC committee that planned Bronx Appreciation Week.

She believes that it is important for the Fordham community to engage with the Bronx community.

“It is essential to acknowledge and appreciate all of the culture

and people that live in our community. You will be able to facilitate conversations and develop relationships that can last for a lifetime. Also, not to mention the amazing food, culture and community that you are able to immerse yourself in,” said Rideout.

Tuesday was “Bronx Cinema Night,” in collaboration with ASILI, Fordham’s Black student alliance, and included a showing of “Decade of Fire,” a documentary about the 1970s fires that occurred in the South Bronx.

Wednesday was “Bronx: The Greenest Borough,” where DAC collaborated with The Bronx is

Blooming, a nonprofit organization in the Bronx dedicated to “environmental stewardship, community building and youth leadership development.” Students went to Mosholu Park for a community service project and to learn more about the Bronx’s green space.

“As Fordham students, we owe a lot to the Bronx community that houses us. As students and members of a university, we also hold significant privilege,” said Gomez. “These partnerships remind us that we have so much to be thankful for in terms of what this community has given us, but

COURTESY OF EMMA KIM/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Students volunteer with The Bronx is Blooming, a non-profit organization.

also that we have so much to give to others.”

Bronx Appreciation week concluded on Friday with “Bronx Eats,” where food trucks from the Bronx came to Edward’s Parade, courtesy of multiple campus organizations, such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and Campus Activities Board (CAB). Each sponsor had a different table that students could interact with.

Elena Stoddard, GSB ’25, attended Friday’s event. “I thought that the event was good exposure for the Bronx in the sense that it had a variety of booths,” said Stoddard.

Through the tables, she was able to learn about different campus activities, such as Urban Plunge and other Bronx-based activities.

“Before attending this event, I hadn’t heard or known much about either,” said Stoddard.

“I hope that this week sparks student’s desires to explore the Bronx community and immerse themselves into the culture.

There are so many aspects of our lives, such as music and food, that originate in the Bronx. It is so crucial to acknowledge the Bronx’s contributions and truly appreciate it,” said Rideout.

COURTESY OF NICK DESILVA/ THE FORDHAM RAM

As a part of Bronx Appreciation Week, the Diveristy Action Coalition brought food trucks to campus.

NEWS

April 6, 2022

Page 5

Fordham Foundry Hosts Annual Pitch Challenge FROM FOUNDRY, PAGE 1

According to Ndema, a 6-foot tall woman herself, tall women have traditionally struggled to find affordable clothing that is both flattering and well-fitting.

“When I was younger, I honestly used to believe that I couldn’t afford tall clothes, so I promised myself that one day when I got a ‘big girl job,’ I could leave those high waters behind and keep these ankles warm in the wintertime,” said Ndema during her pitch. She added: “I’m from New York, you know it gets cold out here. So years after having my big girl job, I realized that no matter what I was willing to spend, clothes that virtually would fit my height and physique were nonexistent.”

Amazonian would create small pop-up shops that allow tall women to attend in-person and try on clothing specifically catered to their body types.

Women could then order the clothes that they tried on at the pop-up and feel confident that the clothes would fit them well. Alternatively, women could order clothes through an Amazonian app, have them sent to their house and try them on before actually committing to purchasing the garment. Amazonian will also have options for women to purchase clothes directly from them, bypassing the “try before you buy” option. “[Amazonian is] a tall women specific apparel line. Not only will Amazonian focus on inseam and common pain points, but it will also [by] focusing on conforming material to flatter and respect our variety of tall curves, and will final-

ly offer the ‘try before you buy’ experience that tall women have been waiting for,” said Ndema during the pitch challenge.

According to Al Bartosic, executive director of the foundry, Amazonian stood out to the judges because of Ndema’s presentation skills.

“She came across really confident in her idea, she was able to present it with a lot of energy. She had a good flow to the three minute pitch, and that’s an art or science within itself,” said Bartosic.

Barotsic also noted that the judges felt that Ndema was able to effectively isolate and indicate a problem, solution and market opportunity.

He also said that her own experience of being a tall woman and personally struggling with the problem she presented added to her credibility.

“I think she did well in [presenting] a problem that was very personal to her. In the sense that she is a six-foot-tall plus woman. Her business is around the problems that women over 5 foot 9 inches face when they’re trying to buy clothing,” said Barotsic. “[Ndema is] super credible in terms of here’s a problem that’s being faced and here are the current solutions, none of which are really viable for people that have this issue, and that’s why Amazonian is going to solve the problem.”

According to Bartosic, this year’s Pitch Challenge featured the highest number of participants yet. A select 55 teams presented their pitches at the event, but they received over 100 applications.

“We had 130 student teams apply back in January. Then we

take them through a process of three mandatory check-ins, so you can think of that as a funneling process or a winnowing process,” said Bartosic.

The Fordham Foundry hosts a variety of entrepreneurial challenges throughout the year.

In addition to Pitch Challenge, the Foundry puts on competitions like Rams Den, a “Shark Tank”-style business competition, and The Battle of the Bronx, which is a business plan competition between Fordham and Manhattan College.

Pitch Challenge stands out among these other competitions because it provides opportunities for members of the Fordham community to receive feedback on business ideas as well as possibly obtain start-up funding.

“I think [Pitch Challenge] is important to the Fordham community if you have an interest in pursuing a business idea or a project of some sort, to get some feedback,” said Bartosic. “One of the things that we always try to tell people that participate is that it’s one thing to have the idea in your head and to convince yourself that it’s a good idea, it’s another thing to trot it out into the light of day and have other people give you some helpful and critical feedback on it.”

The Fordham Foundry is available for all students to use, not just those studying business. According to Bartosic, the foundry is available for students after graduation and is willing to help students regardless of what stage of development their business is in.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Pitch Challenge allows for students and alumni to work on business ideas.

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM FOUNDRY

The Fordham Foundry aims to help the Fordham community.

COURTESY OF THE FORDHAM FOUNDRY

Pitch Challenge allows for both students and alumni to compete.

Public Safety Begins Self Defense Classes for Students FROM SAFETY, PAGE 1

Public Safety by the Office of Student Involvement. They wanted to start a new student club focused on self-defense training but needed to find someone interested in serving as the sponsor for their initiative.

Robert Fitzer said: “As the new associate vice president for Public Safety, I saw this as an excellent opportunity to connect with our students in a collaborative and positive way and give them the

training necessary to defend themselves, as a last resort, if accosted by an individual who was intent on causing them harm.”

Fitzer explained that the classes will be based on the highly acclaimed Krav Maga technique.

Krav Maga, which should only be used as a last resort, focuses on aiming for the opponent’s weak points and striking quickly and powerfully in order to incapacitate the aggressor.

This allows the victim to

quickly escape the situation and contact law enforcement for further assistance. Along with the physical training, Public Safety will be offering personal safety tips and updates on current crime trends at the beginning of each class.

“It is my belief that it is very important to promptly notify our community of potentially dangerous situations so that students have the necessary information to take appropriate precautions, ” said Fitzer.

COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES

Public Safety is hosting Krav Maga self defense classes in order to help students defend themselves.

Due to the increase in crime in NYC, Public Safety believes that it’s important for students to understand how to protect themselves proactively, and that these classes are the best choice of action.

They mainly attribute the recent increase in reported crimes to the increase of residential students this year. Last year the number of residential students was reduced significantly due to the pandemic. In addition to the return of many

students to campus, Fordham has one of the largest freshman classes this year. This has created a goal of offering classes that will help new students have the confidence to fully and safely explore the local community outside of campus.

“Again, we are very happy to see the enthusiastic response by the students to these classes and look forward to providing additional sessions this semester and next,” said Fitzer.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Krav Maga is a form of self defense that can be used if needed.

NEWS

Page 6

April 6, 2022

FCRH Hosts New Seminar Series Focused on Wellness

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ FEATURES EDITOR

On Tuesday, March 29, the Rose Hill Dean’s Office held an event titled FCRH Wellbeing Evening. Hosted by FCRH Dean Rachel Annunziato, this event was the first in a new series of events focused on mental health and student wellbeing designed to help students de-stress. As the email announcement from the Dean’s Office reads, “we’ll eat good food, consider how mental health is portrayed in the media and most of all just have some time together to

give our minds a break and talk about how we stay well.”

Dean Maura Mast also aided Anunziato in the organization of the event. The two deans spoke to The Fordham Ram to give insights about why they believe the series is important to the Fordham community, what they hope students will take away from the events and where they plan for the series to go in the future.Dean Mast explained the importance of the events: “Students are asking for wellness programming.

I’ve seen this in conversations with student leadership groups

COURTESY OF FORDHAM NEWS

Dean Annunziato hosted the first event of FCRH’s Wellness Series.

and through surveys we’ve conducted in fall 2021 and spring 2020.”

Annunziato cited the “Fall 2021 Academic Experiences Survey”: “We are incredibly thankful for having such a large number of responses and they provided incredibly important guidance for us. We were struck by the key finding that aspects of wellbeing were so salient even on an academically-focused survey and we were eager to act upon what we learned to offer more support for our students.”

According to Mast, approximately 54% of student responses to that survey called for a greater number of wellness-focused events and activities.

Mast also said: “Wellness is important for everyone. Our hope is that by offering this series, students will take time to take care of themselves.”

The creation of the series was partially inspired by the values built into Fordham University’s Jesuit traditions.

Specifically, the wellbeing events are focused on helping foster the practice of reflection within a community and its members, as described by Jesuit goals.

“This habit of reflection can take many forms, including self-reflection,” said Mast.

“Wellness events can promote and support reflection, help-

ing students slow down from the busy pace and take care of their own needs. Sometimes we don’t realize what we need until we take the time to reflect on it.”

To comment further on the “busy pace” and the effects that a stressful life can have on students, Annunziato expanded on the ideas Mast set forth by saying that: “During these challenging times when our different roles and responsibilities can be overwhelming, coupled with the exhaustion of coping with many unremitting stressors, it’s hard to stop and take care of ourselves. There are so many wonderful ways to cultivate wellness and we hope that holding events centered on it will give more students access to such tools.”

The focus of these events is on the students, and both deans hope that students will be able to walk away from the events with a greater sense of reflection and health.

“I have so many hopes for this,” Annunziato said. “I hope that we are offering opportunities to share and practice tried and true strategies for coping with stress. We know that social support is so important for our wellbeing and I hope these events facilitate this and create new connections. More than anything, I hope our students know how much we deeply care for them and we aspire to do all that

we can for them to thrive.”

Mast hopes “that students will benefit from the events and learn a few new approaches to mindfulness and wellness.”

She also hopes that students “know that we care about them and want to support them. The FCRH Dean’s Office is here for all students and we are excited to work with them on planning future events.”

For its next few events, the Dean’s Office will partner with Campus Ministry. For example, Father Jose-Luis “Lito” Salazar, S.J. will be hosting a wellness event in which students can travel to the Botanical Gardens and practice an examen, or a prayer-like reflection. Additionally, Father David Marcotte, S.J., will be leading a meditation session for students.

Other events coming out of the series include a “How to Stay Motivated Panel” that are organized by Annunziato.

“Before joining the dean’s office, my career as a psychologist was devoted to supporting young adults during health care transitions,” Annunziato said. “Now, I am so excited to take those experiences and hopefully apply them in a way that helps our students during such challenging times. I also love spending time with our students. Your presence inspires us every day and I enjoy these events and the chance to be with our students so much.”

Office of Disability Studies Hosts Annual Lecture

By SAMANTHA MINEAR ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

On April 4, Fordham’s Office of Disability Studies held their yearly Distinguished Lecture on Disability, this year featuring anthropologist Roy R. Grinker, Ph.D., a professor at George Washington University. Grinker is an autism specialist who began exploring the concepts of neurodiversity and the epidemiological factors of autism after his own daughter’s diagnosis.

He has written several books, including one called “Unstrange Minds,” which promotes the neurodiversity paradigm: Autism is not something to be cured and instead should be accommodated for, much like lefthandedness.

One of the many important points Grinker highlighted was the stigma. Stigma exists for all psychiatric and neurological disorders, but is especially strong towards autistic individuals.

Telling the story of his daughter giving a speech at her high school graduation, Grinker noted that there were “murmurs” within the audience because she “spoke unusually” and had “different syntax than them,” which provoked curiosity, but also opened the door to unfriendly comments. It wasn’t until Grinker’s daughter shared

that she was autistic that the crowd went into a cold silence, so distinctive that Grinker says he will remember that moment for the rest of his life.

Grinker has learned through his lived experiences and research that stigma is not eliminated with education and information, which is the leading theory. This is because stigma is learned socially and isn’t necessarily rational. Stigma isCOURTESY dependent on ARCHIVES what society OF THE RAM believes is “normal” and behaviors outside this normal are stigmatized.

When Grinker’s daughter spoke at a different pace, and in a way that most people found abnormal, it provoked stigma in the audience.

Stigma has existed throughout all of history. At one point in the 19th century, “1% of the population in Paris were in asylums,” said Grinker.

Women were considered “more insane” than men during this time period and were frequently diagnosed with hysteria as a catchall and placed in lunatic asylums after being deemed unfit for society. While hysteria was first believed to be a physical ailment, it slowly became understood as a psychological issue; more than that, hysteria was related closer to a misunderstanding of the female psyche than ableism. The diag-

nosis was sometimes related to modern psychiatric disorders, such as depression and bipolar, but medicine was not advanced enough to differentiate.

Men have experienced similar misdiagonses in history, particularly in the early 20th century, when the term shell shock was coined. Grinker stated that the diagnosis of shell shock, similar to hysteria, was born from a reluctance and lack of understanding of what we now know as posttraumatic stress disorder.

Psychiatric illnesses were also associated with femininity, and thus weakness; being diagnosed with shell shock did not carry the same social burden as other psychiatric disorders.

There was an element of fear that having a psychiatric illness prevented an individual from participating in so-called normal society, which felt lifeending for men during wartime.

Society has progressed rapidly as psychiatry has become more understood. In the 21st century, people are more likely to be consoled when receiving a psychiatric diagnosis — finally able to put a name to their symptoms — than filled with existential dread at what it may mean for their prospects.

However, the latter is still very much a reality for many, especially for parents of autistic

children who are afraid of how their child may be perceived by the world. That is why Grinker is so passionate about the work he does with disability studies and celebrating neurodiversity: to alleviate those worries and to create a more inclusive society where that fear no longer exists.

Grinker told a story of a college student filled with relief when she was diagnosed with

ADHD, having spent her entire academic career thinking she was “stupid” and disappointing those around her for her apparent lack of effort.

Victories and successes like that are what encourages disability studies specialists to continue their hard work in eliminating stigma, creating accessible spaces and developing more inclusive environments for everyone to thrive.

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF DISABILITY STUDIES

Fordham hosted Grinker to speak at the Disability Studies annual lecture.

NEWS

April 6, 2022

Page 7

Office of Student Involvement Hosts Annual Awards for Campus Activities

By MICHELA FAHY

By AVA ERICKSON & ISABEL DANZIS

On Monday, April 4, the Office of Student Involvement hosted their annual Awards for Student Involvement. This event features awards for both club leaders and clubs themselves. Prior to the awards, students had the opportunity to submit nominations for clubs and leaders.

At the awards, there was food available for guests as well as tables for club representatives to advocate for their respective organizations.

The award show was hosted

by Stephanie O’Neill, the department’s Assistant Director for Student Organizations and Programming.

Fordham University South Asian Entity (FUSE) won the award for the best multicultural program of the year.

FUSE provides a space for students to embrace South Asian culture. They host events for students like a Desi Mala, celebrations for Diwali, as well as general bonding opportunities.

The Mimes and Mummers won the award for outstanding program of the year for their performance of “Shrek, The Musical.” The Mimes and Mummers put on “Shrek, The Musical” at the end of February.

The Mimes and Mummers have

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

served as Fordham’s mainstage theatre group since 1857.

Our Story, a club focused on creating social impact through poetry and storytelling, won the new club of the year award.

Our Story hosts events featuring student storytellers who share intimate stories about their lives to inspire change in the Fordham community.

Their next main stage event will take place on April 21 in Bepler Commons.

Ram Van, the student-run intercampus transportation system, won the award for campus partner of the year. The Ram Van is a large source of student employment on campus, as they employ students to drive vans between the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses for other students.

Urban Plunge won the community service program of the year. Urban Plunge is a community service-based program for first-year students that begins before August’s New Student Orientation. Students spend time learning about and working in the local community while getting to know each other.

Luke O’Flaherty, GSB ’22, president of the university’s FinTech Network, won the leadership scholar award. The club is a platform for students to

learn from each other as well as professionals about the financial technology industry.

Fordham Undergraduate Law Review won the award for the Student Organization of the Year. The Undergraduate Law Review is a peer-reviewed and student-run journal that features political and legal content.

Arthur Ze An Liu, FCRH ’23, cultural programming coordinator of the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) committee at Rose Hill, won

club leader of the year alongside the Editor in Chief of The Fordham Ram, Ava Erickson, FCRH ’23. The AAPI committee features events for students to connect with Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures. They host events celebrating specific holidays or traditions. Currently, the committee is hosting events all month long to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month in April. The Fordham Ram has served as the university’s newspaper and journal of record

since 1918. The paper covers Fordham news, sports, cultural events happening in the area and student opinions on varying topics.

Lastly, Mark Conrad won the advisor of the year award.

Conrad is an associate professor of law and ethics in the Gabelli School of Business, as well as the director of sports business concentration. Overall, the awards were a tremendous success for students and faculty alike.

COURTESY OF- CAITRIA DEMEROTO/THE FORDHAM RAM

Michael Sluck, Hanif Amanullah and Ava Erickson at the Office of Student Involvement Awards.

USG Discusses Establishing Scholarships for Potential International Students

By MICHELA FAHY

By SHANNON HUURMAN STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, March 31, 2022 Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met to discuss election policies.

After last April’s scandal regarding election misconduct, Executive President Thomas Reuter, FCRH ’22, is taking extra care to inform candidates of expected conduct during election season.

Reuter plans to discuss election conduct policies at the mandatory all-candidate meeting.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The senate also discussed the expansion of the garden outside Finlay Hall.

Finlay Hall is prone to flooding as the back of the residence hall is mainly concrete. The request of the senate would be to create a larger garden on the backside of Finlay instead of the concreted area.

The senators involved have discussed this with the Office of Residential Life as well as the Residence Hall Association to ensure this process would be as minimally inconvenient to students as possible.

The senators would also like to include native vegetation and plants that need a high level of water intake to ensure they would not drown when water pools in the area. This proposal has passed and will continue to administration.

Another proposal brought to the senate this week was called International Student Financial Aid & Employment Access.

This proposal includes a new scholarship that will fully cover tuition and room and board costs for 15 international students on campus.

The proposal also asks for an expansion of Financial Aid Appeal opportunities for international students and reserved on-campus employment options on a need-based basis.

USG Senator Santiago Vidal Calvo, FCRH ’24, noted that the amount of Fordham international students has decreased steadily since 2017 due to a lack of financial support offered to out of country students.

Vidal also stated that, “The scholarship is location-blind and focuses on the type of candidate and their need, but dif-

ferent initiatives are being pursued to increase diversity in our international applications.”

These scholarships would be over one million dollars, but Vidal said that money would be allocated from the “Cura Personalis” campaign or alumni donations. This proposal also passed in the senate and will continue onto the next steps.

USG hosts a meeting every Thursday to discuss issues pertaining to student life and faculty at the university that they wish to act upon.

RAM FEST Celebrating the Dedication of the McShane Campus Center at Rose Hill

Wednesday, April 27

4 p.m. Mass of Thanksgiving, University Church 5 p.m. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center Dedication Ceremony, Campus Center 5:45 p.m. RAM FEST, Eddies Parade FREE food and live music!

Ram Fest Rain Location: LOMBARDI CENTER

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

Become competitive in the fast-growing tech industry.

Fordham’s Computer and Information Science Department now offers the following graduate programs:

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Ph.D. in Computer Science M.S. in Computer Science M.S. in Cybersecurity M.S. in Data Science Advanced Certificate in Financial Computing Advanced Certificate in Financial Econometrics and Data Analysis

Evening, weekend, and some online/hybrid classes are available Reduced tuition for master’s programs Visit fordham.edu/cisgrad to learn more.

OPINION

April 6, 2022

R

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918

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

Website TheFordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu Editor in Chief Ava Erickson Managing Editor Hanif Amanullah Editorial Director Hasna Ceran Production Editor Michael Sluck Multimedia Director Pia Fischetti Business Director Matthew Colucci Copy Chief Amanda Yarolin Assistant Copy Chief Hannah Boring News Editor Isabel Danzis Features Editor Sebastian Diaz Assistant News Editors Emma Kim Samantha Minnear Opinion Editors Nicole Braun Emma Lipkind Assistant Opinion Editor Daniella Terilli Culture Editors Elisabeth Murray Kari White Assistant Culture Editor Ilaina Kim Sports Editor Nick Guzman Assistant Sports Editors Thomas Aiello Maddie Bimonte Social Media Director Frances Schnepff Digital Producers Ava Carreiro Justin Charles Sofia Donohue Visual Director Nicoleta Papavasilakis Photo Editor Nick DeSilva Graphics/Illustrations Cory Bork Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Editorial Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial reflects the editorial board’s opinions or views.

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

Page 9

From the Desk | Sebastian Diaz

The Art of the Movie Theater Anyone who’s been to an AMC movie theater in the past few months should be familiar with one of the most absurdly corny movie theater advertisements in recent memory: As the commercials end, the lights in the movie theater dim and the projector lights the screen up, we watch as famed actress Nicole Kidman walks into a movie theater.

“We come to this place for magic,” Kidman says, as she sits opposite a screen projecting clips from movies like “Wonder Woman” and “Jurassic World.”

“Dazzling images on a huge silver screen, sound that I can feel,” she continues. “Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.” Ultimately, you’re supposed to feel moved after receiving Kidman’s address about the inherent magic of viewing a movie in a movie theater.

The thing is, barring the unfortunate selection of movies shown during the ad and its objectively campy nature, she’s right.

I was never one to care too much for the movie theater experience. It was a place I could go to catch some new releases, but if I missed their theatrical run, no biggie. I could always stop by the Redbox a few months later and watch it on the TV in my living room.

That changed in 2018. Unknowing that the ultimate path of my life would be altered, I sat down for a midnight showing of the analog restoration of “2001: A Space Odyssey” — original 70mm film reels projected onto an IMAX screen.

By the end of the film’s two hour and 20-minute runtime, I felt as though I had discovered a new color that humanity was never supposed to gaze upon. I felt like Prometheus observing the fire. Since then, I made it my mission to watch as many movies in a theater as possible.

In the four years since then, I’ve sat down in a theater more times than I can remember.

Asking me to count each visit would be like asking me to count the grains of sand on the beach.

The immersive experience of a movie theater is unparalleled.

A film designed to be viewed on a large theater screen can never be watched the same way on a screen in a living room. Living in New York City for nearly two years now, some of my favorite memories have revolved around the movie theater experience, especially when it comes to sharing that experience with friends.

I still remember when, in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic during the fall 2020 semester, as movie theaters began to reopen, I arrived at a nearlyempty screening of Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Akira.” Despite it already being one of my favorite films at that point, seeing it play out in front of me in that magnitude opened up new layers, new depths, an entirely new experience. In the pessimism of the pandemic, it was a light at the end of my tunnel.

In one of the largest cultural capitals of the world, New York City offers an incredible selection of movie theaters. No matter what kind of movies you’re

interested in, from the blockbuster, mass-market, action flicks to the emotional surrealist arthouse films made by a hipster in Brooklyn last week, there’s a theater somewhere in town playing them.

You’d be remiss to overlook these kinds of opportunities, especially as we enter a future where it seems as though movie theaters are a dying breed. More and more, the movie experience and film industry are beginning to base themselves around streaming.

Platforms like Netflix and HBO Max are starting to host streaming-only services for films designed to be experienced in a movie theater. Watching films on an iPhone in bed is

starting to become a normalized practice. The shift from the theater to the phone is transforming movies from a whole spectacle of art and craftsmanship into media designed solely for consumption, pumping out two hours of content as fast as possible solely for content’s sake.

Why? The inundation that streaming has caused to the film industry, the saturation of the market, is one that has hindered the impact that movies can have on a viewer. As a culture, it gets harder to watch a film to celebrate filmmakers. Instead, we find ourselves watching a movie because it’s there, because it’s easy to find, because we can.

I wrote all of this just to say: Go to the movies.

Editorial | Public Safety

Incoming Freshmen Need Not Fear Fordham Road Fordham University has recently opened up its “Fordham Insights” tour offerings again, meaning prospective students and their families are visiting campus for two hours at a time. With these campus visits comes concern from parents when they see Fordham’s surrounding area, and the typical contradiction offered to any incoming freshman: That they should treat New York as their campus, while also being fearful of everything around the corner.

Fordham Public Safety seems to want to reassure parents more than anything else, often to the detriment of the students that are going to be attending Fordham.

Prospective freshmen and their families are told about the Ram Van, not just as a convenient tool to take classes at both campuses, but as one of the ways Fordham keeps students safe, as if taking the subway — something that most people in New York City use to get around — is something that parents shouldn’t be able to trust their adult children to be able to utilize. The fact that Fordham Public Safety is made of former NYPD officers is recounted to parents as if to make up for the fact that Fordham’s Rose Hill campus is in the Bronx.

Why they do this is no mystery. If you want students to come to your university, it is prudent to get parents on your side, and most families sending their children to Fordham are going to be far enough away from the reality of Fordham Road that simply hearing the words “the Bronx” is enough to conjure visions of kidnappings and robberies.

But the Bronx does not deserve to be seen through the lens of preconceived notions. It’s unfair to act as if students are taking on an especially egregious risk when they come to attend university here. Of course New York City is unsafe! It’s a huge city, and the more strangers that live around you, the greater your risk is of adverse interactions with those strangers. It’s just common sense, but Public Safety’s inducement of paranoia in freshmen is unreasonable, and only serves to turn Fordham students into sheltered and fearful homebodies, rather than the “men and women for others” that Fordham wishes to cultivate.

The best protection for incoming freshmen and current students alike is just not doing anything stupid. Which, when considering university is when many Americans will begin seriously drinking

or generally experimenting for the first time, may be easier said than done. More than Public Safety shuttles, what students coming to study in a big city need to know is how to keep their wits about them, stay aware of their surroundings and not put themselves into unnecessarily risky situations. Nobody would routinely walk around their hometown after dark, looking down at their phone, with their earbuds in.

However, after a night of drinking with friends, it can be easy to forget that no one should be updating their Instagram outside after dark.

This is not to victim-blame students who find themselves in a dangerous situation — random acts of crime do occur, but that’s not unique to Fordham Road.

We’re not going to pretend bad things don’t happen in New York City, because they do. The number of Public Safety alerts we get in our inboxes seems to have had a spike in March, along with the rates of crime on the subway. However, as much as the rise of crime rates in New York City is concerning, it is, once again, not unique. Violent crime rates are rising all around the United States, and, even if they weren’t, it can be difficult for any parent to leave their children at university for the first time.

Separation can be a terrifying thing, true, but Fordham freshmen will have an easier and more enjoyable time integrating into New York if they don’t come to school with the promise of Fordham University being their only oasis in a dangerous city.

OPINION

Page 10

April 6, 2022

The Irony of Painful Corsets in “Bridgerton”

COURTESY OF TWITTER

“Bridgerton” actresses complained of discomfort caused by corsets.

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

Beneath the sweeping, bejeweled skirts of “Bridgerton” hides a dangerous, insidious thing, wrapping its arms around the ribs of young women and squeezing the air from their lungs: corsets. Recently, Simone Ashley, who plays Kate Sharma in season two of the Shonda-land hit, confessed to Glamour Magazine UK that, while wearing a corset, she found that she couldn’t eat properly. Other actresses, including Emma Stone, Dakota and Elle Fanning and, the period-drama queen herself, Kiera Knightely have all complained of similarly having to sacrifice their breathing, eating and moving for

the noble goal of creating a historically accurate period drama.

A similar echo haunts their complaints: Thank God we no longer wear such restrictive clothing; thank God women no longer change their bodies to fit into societal beauty standards. It prompts the question: Were corsets really that awful? If they were, how did women bear them for centuries?

The truth is, the modern perception of the corset is wrong.

Yes, some forms of corsets could alter the body’s natural form, and some could cause pain. However, at the end of the day, corsets were structured underwear intended to distribute the weight of the female figure across the wearer’s body.

Women had some more comfort-

able versions they would wear when relaxing at home or doing work, while more constricting ones were worn out to parties. It was akin to wearing a sports bra under your sweatshirt and a push-up bra under your party dress.

Corsets — or, as they were contemporaneously known, “stays” — remained prevalent in European society for about 400 years, having been invented in the Elizabethan era. In the Regency period of the early 19th century, which is when “Bridgerton” takes place, corsets had expanded into a handful of different versions. It’s the Victorian Era of the mid-19th century where the toxic notions of corsets originate.

Tight-lacing, which was when women would tighten their corsets to achieve a smaller waist, grew in prevalence in the Victorian period.

When you watch the many film and television scenes of women holding onto the edge of a table, chair or bed while a sweating maid tightly pulls the laces of their corset, you are witnessing tight-lacing. A character from “Bridgerton,” Prudence Featherington, is shown as a victim of this process in one of the show’s early scenes. It’s a good visual metaphor for the oppression that women in Regency-era and Victorian-era England faced, but the commonality of the trope deludes many viewers into thinking this was the reality of wearing a corset.

However, this was rather uncommon. Rebecca Gibson, a student at American University, found that the material record does not support this, as the historical corsets she studied do not show the strain

of constant tight-lacing. That does not mean it never happened, it just happened very infrequently.

Victorian corsets have also been found to deform the spines of women who wore them throughout their lives — which is, I’ll admit, terrifying — but Gibson’s work also found no evidence that these deformities lessened the woman’s quality of life. Some of these women even outlived their time’s average lifespan.

In an interview for Smithsonian Magazine, Hillary Davidson, a dress historian and author, scoffed at the idea that “women ‘walked around in these uncomfortable things that they couldn’t take off, because patriarchy … They put up with it for 400 years? Women are not that stupid.’”

However, if corsets were garments that regular women wore everyday with little to no issue, why do so many actresses have so many horrible experiences with them? If Simone Ashley, for example, had worn a historically accurate half-stay, the constricting fabric would not have even touched her stomach and restricted her eating. Davidson believes that it’s due to the “Corset Myth,” which has “fed off people trying an offthe-shelf-corset, lacing it too hard and fast, and creating pain.” In her experience, these afflictions are alleviated as soon as the garment is properly fitted.

The costume designer of “Bridgerton,” Ellen Mirojnick, shrugged off the discomfort of these costumes, saying, “Of course, a corset will never be truly comfortable.”

And no, a corset is never going to

be as comfortable as a sports bra, bralette or — best of all — no bra, but it shouldn’t cause so much pain that actresses complain about being able to eat properly or even breathe.

There’s truly something ironic about forcing modern women to endure physical pain in order to falsely portray the pain of historical women. It begs the question, why do we feel such pleasure at these women’s suffering?

We, as modern women, watch period dramas and inhale, our hands pressed against our rib cages to feel how much they swell free of the corset’s constriction.

The modern, western woman has more rights than her 19th century counterpart, to be sure, but are we so certain that we’ve surpassed them in this? Liposuction is now the second-most popular cosmetic surgery in the United States, and around 16% of the recipients are under the age of 30.

It’s fun to scoff and shudder as we watch shows like “Bridgerton,” where young women force themselves into corsets and struggle under a patriarchal society, and to imagine ourselves so much more evolved than them. The truth is that corsets were neither painful nor restrictive when made and worn correctly, and that modern women continue to alter our bodies for beauty standards. In that sense, the young women of “Bridgerton” are much more relatable than we might have originally thought.

Kari White, FCRH ’24, is an English major from Wilmington, Del.

Judge Clarence Thomas’ Wife’s Scandal Shows Importance of Impartiality

By SAMANTHA SCOTT STAFF WRITER

The Supreme Court is meant to be an impartial arbiter on our country’s constitutional issues. Its judges are expected to be neutral, appointed for life to ensure they don’t think about anything beyond the legal matter at hand. Yet, if a judge feels that they can’t accurately represent the people, they can recuse themselves from the case to maintain the impartiality of the court. Recusal is what Justice Clarence Thomas must do following the discovery of texts sent by his wife, Virginia Thomas, regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Mrs. Thomas urged Donald Trump not to concede via messages to former advisor Mark Meadows.

She called Joe Biden’s election “the greatest heist in our history” and told Meadows to “save us from the left taking America down.” These messages cross the line from Mrs. Thomas’s involvement in political activism and active involvement in the proceedings.

Mrs. Thomas even admitted earlier this year that she attended Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, that provoked

the siege on the U.S. Capitol.

If Justice Thomas participates in any more of the court cases regarding the 2020 election, he will set a dangerous standard that calls the impartiality of the court into question.

Justices are subject to a federal law (28 U.S.C section 455) that requires them to recuse themselves from any court proceedings in which their impartiality might be questioned. Justice Thomas and Mrs. Thomas have often denied any conflict of interest, saying that they don’t discuss their work, but the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” is not enough to protect the impartiality of the court. Mrs. Thomas has an apparent personal interest in the outcome of court cases involving the 2020 election presented in front of the Supreme Court.

Even if Justice Thomas was not aware of her messages to Meadows, they still make him partial in these matters.

Justice Thomas has already sat on several decisions involving the 2020 election, which are now being looked back on critically. Even though Justice Thomas has made very few public comments about the 2020 election, he has been in-

volved in several court cases and written opinions about the 2020 election. In February 2021, he wrote a dissenting opinion after the Supreme Court rejected the election challenges presented by Donald Trump and his allies. He called the majority’s decision “baffling” and “inexplicable.”

However, his justification for siding with Trump was that he believed the Supreme Court should provide states with guidance for future elections, which could have been done in Trump’s case. However, now his true motivation for dissenting must be called into question.

In January, Justice Thomas was the sole dissenter in the case where Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to stop the House investigative committee from obtaining records of his communications. Justice Thomas did not explain why he would have approved Trump’s request, a decision now being used by critics to exemplify his lack of impartiality. The question of what Justice Thomas knew, and when he knew it, has cast a shadow on any decision that he has made in regards to the 2020 election.

We can’t have the decisions of

the Supreme Court called into question or clouded with doubt.

If the American people doubt the legitimacy of the court, the power of its rulings are weakened. Right now, the American people’s opinion of the court isn’t high. A Gallup poll found that the approval of the Supreme Court was down to 40%, a new low for their poll that shows confidence in the federal judiciary has taken a steep decline.

Justice Thomas needs to do what he swore to do in his oath.

It doesn’t matter if he knew about his wife’s texts or intentionally avoided them. He needs to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties” of a Supreme Court Justice. Justice Thomas needs to recuse himself from these upcoming cases involving the 2020 election or the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Samantha Scott, FCRH ’24, is an international political economy major from Columbus, Ohio.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife urged officials to overturn the 2020 election.

OPINION

April 6, 2022

Page 11

The Importance of Prioritizing StudentAthletes’ Mental Health athletes, with an emphasis on the student before the athlete?

Not only do student-athletes spend a significant amount of time practicing, but traveling and games add to an already large commitment. Furthermore, the time spent away because of travel means students are missing out on valuable learning time. As classes are missed, students fall further and further behind, leading them to have to choose between their academic or athletic career. They should not have to worry about choosing one over the other, but rather there should be resources to help athletes balance their responsibilities equally, eliminating any added stress.

Mental health problems among student-athletes should be treated identically to physical injuries.

Most teams have physical trainers, but a team therapist should be readily available with mandatory sessions for all athletes. If a student is injured physically during practice, there are several requirements that must be met, including physical therapy sessions and medical visits. Why is there not a similar protocol for those who express issues with mental health? Often, student-athletes who discuss their mental health are perceived as being unwilling to put in the work, rather than being seen as genuinely struggling. And if a student needs to take a break

By GRACE GALBREATH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mental health services must be made more readily available for student-athletes in universities around the world. As the pressure on these young adults has increased, the ability to not only participate, but excel in all of their obligations has become more difficult. In college athletics, the phrase, “pressure to be perfect” has become increasingly popular over the past few years as students attempt to live up to this perfect image. A plan must be implemented to spark discussions on the mental health struggles of athletes and to decrease the daily stressors that they face.

The pressure to excel both on the field and in the classroom can be crippling for young studentathletes. When considering the average 15-20 hours a week during which these young adults practice, piled on top of schoolwork and societal obligations, the cause of stress is evident. The responsibilities of student-athletes pile up quickly, becoming overwhelming fast.

It is important for schools to keep in mind, however, that no matter how important college sports may seem, providing an education should always be the priority. Shouldn’t these student athletes be exactly that: student-

from athletics to focus on their mental health or schoolwork, they should be allowed to do so without fear of repercussions.

Many of those battling mental health struggles don’t exhibit obvious or alarming signs. To combat this, mental health checkins conducted every two weeks by certified therapists should be mandatory for all student-athletes. The pressure when these athletes are in season can increase tenfold, and having a certified therapist available to converse with the student-athletes can only be beneficial.

Additionally, coaches and trainers should normalize taking time to talk to their athletes about their mental well-being. Bringing this conversation to light will make student-athletes feel that their thoughts are accepted and heard, possibly decreasing the stress found in the athletic environment.

There is no easy solution for this issue. Taking care of mental health needs to be made a priority in universities across the world, and free counseling should be offered to student-athletes and students alike. Although Fordham University offers 10 free sessions to all students during their time in college, it can be difficult to schedule an appointment when it is needed. Moreover, not all universities offer free therapy sessions to

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/THE FORDHAM RAM

Student-athletes face immense pressure to be perfect on and off the field.

their undergraduate students.

Of course, it will never be possible to get rid of all the inherent stress and pressure in athletics.

Universities, however, can focus on changing the culture surrounding athletics and mental health, as well as providing adequate resources to all their students, since changing the stigma surrounding mental health will help ensure that student-athletes feel comfortable discussing their mental well-being.

Student-athletes need to be

recognized less as athletes who merely take classes on the side, and more as students who are participating in athletics. If the pressure placed on student-athletes continues to increase, so should the mental health services being offered. Focus is placed on the physical well being of athletes, so shouldn’t emphasis also be placed on their mental well being?

Grace Galbreath, FCRH ’25, is a communications major from Huntingdon Valley, Penn.

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CULTURE

Page 12

April 6, 2022

Reporter’s Death Shows Importance of Freelance Journalism

By AVA KNIGHT

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Brent Renaud was a freelance journalist from America that was killed outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, while reporting on Ukrainian refugees. He was known for going into conflictsaturated areas and illuminating the resulting humanitarian crises within those countries and situations. His death revealed not only the dangers of freelance journalism, but also how necessary reporting is to unearthing injustices.

Renaud and his brother Craig formed a team, creating awardwinning documentaries about humanitarian issues including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the earthquake in Haiti, the homelessness and drug crisis in America and immigration in South and Central America with a focus on the human experience. Renaud’s most recent project was reporting on the Ukraine refugee crisis in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the suburbs around Kyiv, where he was speaking to affected families and those fleeing the country. He had been driving through Irpin with another documentary filmmaker, Juan Arredondo, when they passed through a Russian checkpoint.

Suddenly, Russian troops opened fire on the vehicle, killing Renaud

badly injuring Arredondo.

Renaud had not been on an assignment with any official publication or government organization when he was killed in Ukraine, emphasizing Renaud’s personal sacrifice and dedication to exposing injustice. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky applauded the “talented and brave journalist” and thanked him for his “commitment to the values of compassion, ethics and justice.” Renaud’s death exposed the dangers that freelance journalists face without the protection of official organizations, as well as the necessity of their reporting.

Sebastian Junger wrote about Renaud’s life spent helping vulnerable communities through journalism. He explained the dangers of freelancing when reporting on these kinds of issues: “Journalists have always taken risks to get their stories ... but freelancers like Renaud are particularly vulnerable.” He continued, “Established news organizations can’t possibly maintain enough salaried staff in the field to keep pace with world events, and no one — from hotshot TV reporters to gritty freelancers — can work safely and efficiently without the help of local journalists.”

While freelance work is often some of the most dangerous, it is extremely necessary, as

freelancers can do things larger organizations cannot.

Official publications and organizations often have better access to security than freelancers. Janine Zacharia highlighted the dangers of reporting, especially for freelancers not working under an organization, in her interview with Stanford News.

Speaking from experience, she said, “When I reported in the Middle East in the 1990s and 2000s, we would write ‘TV’ on the car windows with masking tape to deter attacks on our vehicle. Around early 2012, it started becoming clear that being a journalist was no longer a form of protection. Oftentimes, it was a liability.” She gave examples of James Foley, the American journalist killed

by ISIS in 2014, Marie Colvin, Sunday Times journalist killed

by Bashar al-Assad in 2012 as well as Brent Renaud to show the hazards of reporting on political and humanitarian issues.

Another journalist mentioned in Zacharia’s interview was Anthony Shadid, who died while reporting in Syria in 2012.

He was on assignment with the New York Times when he suffered a fatal asthma attack. Getting into the country was already a dangerous task, as Shadid arranged his trip “through a network of smugglers” in fear of being caught by the Syrian gov-

ernment and pro-government groups as “The Syrian government, which tightly controls foreign journalists’ activities in the country, had not been informed of his assignment

by The Times.” Shadid’s death shows the dangers of reporting in war-torn areas — even with the protection and resources of an official publication organization like the New York Times.

However, without the reporting of journalists like Shadid and Renaud, many humanitarian issues would not see the light of day.

Junger said, “Without the work of these brave people there could be no such thing as democracy or freedom in the world — elections would be stolen, war crimes would be denied, injustices would be hidden. In a world without journalists, leaders like Vladimir Putin could claim whatever self-serving reality they wanted and remain utterly unaccountable for their crimes.” Junger emphasizes the necessity of first-hand reporting to expose human rights and democratic violations like those suffered by the people of Ukraine at the hands of the Russian government.

After his friend and colleague died in the field, Junger started an organization called Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues, which taught journalists ba-

sic medical training that they might need in the field. During a course taught to Ukrainian journalists when fighting began in the Donbas region, one of the journalists said, “We are going to teach all of our friends what we are learning here from you ... because we know there is going to be a war.”

Junger’s predictions for the casualties of the war on Ukraine are bleak: “If this war unfolds in the same way as the Bosnian civil war, with cities getting shelled for months or years on end, civilian and journalist fatalities will skyrocket. Around 38,000 civilians and 19 journalists were killed in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995.” These 19 murdered journalists were only a small portion of the around 140 journalists killed in the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. During this time, “journalists were seen by some as enemies who reported inconvenient truths.” Without their reporting and sacrifice, however, the ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and horrific violence as a result of these wars would not have been revealed.

Renaud committed his life to helping vulnerable communities.

His death is not only a tragedy that reminds us of his personal sacrifices, but also shows a grim pattern of the fate of conflict and humanitarian journalists.

Rams Review Books | Paola Galiano

Forensics and Feminism in “Stalking Jack the Ripper”

By PAOLA GALIANO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“What is a man’s soul made of that a woman’s is not?”

Audrey Rose Wadsworth is exceedingly tired of tea. Social outings, dress fittings and wading through letters from suitors, she finds herself growing incensed with the expectation that she must perfect the art of crocheting among other “ladylike” things. Audrey never had the mind for such stuff, but as the daughter of a lord, she must often make time for such activities, bound to 19th century expectations of archaic gender roles.

Doing her diligence, she manages to keep her father off the trail of her dissent, slyly sneaking off to her wayward uncle’s laboratory to study the incredibly gruesome and unladylike art of forensic medicine. Audrey finds she is the happiest when elbows deep in a viciously murdered body, mind whirling as she and her uncle race to figure out the puzzle of what killed the body they studied.

Audrey does not mind her mumbling, half-mad uncle, as long as he permits her to help solve these murders. What she does mind however, is her uncle’s inane, vexing and horribly well-dressed apprentice, Thomas Creswell. He drives her crazy,

questioning her morals and beliefs as she pushes the boundaries of Victorian society.

All in all, Audrey’s double life is well managed until her uncle is commissioned to find the serial killer viciously murdering people throughout the city. Audrey’s work on the case prompts her into this investigation as her uncle himself is arrested for the crime. Along with Creswell, Audrey works to solve the case, constantly looking over her back to see if her proximity to her uncle’s work will cause her to be Jack the Ripper’s next target.

I have to mention that Audrey as a character was not as wellrounded and multi-dimensional as I would have liked her to be.

Even though some of her highlighted personality traits were nice to see, such as her insistence on the antiquated nature of Victorian gender roles as well as her incredibly stubborn nature. These are traits that I expect all passionate women in a historical novel to have.

However, a huge part of Audrey’s character that made her stand out, was her unique interest in forensic medicine. I also loved her frank thoughts about her world. She is fascinated by death, but also solemn when she says, “death was not prejudiced by mortal things

such as station or gender. It came for kings and queens and prostitutes alike, often leaving the living with regrets.” In a society that forced labels and expectations upon her, death was the great leveler. It did not have a care in the world for your power or gender. Audrey understood that it was the one inevitability.

What made “Stalking Jack the Ripper,” a truly interesting read for me was the plot, as it read like a horror mystery novel, quite different from a lot of books I typically read. I didn’t have any interest in the budding romance between Thomas and Audrey, but I did find immense enjoyment in their battles throughout the book. In these dramatic spats, both articulated themselves and their thoughts so smartly, that it almost read like two people formally debating each other. They disagreed about everything — though, it was hysterical that, in the end, they still had to work together and force a reluctant compromise.

Trying to find out who would be revealed as Jack the Ripper was also a large part of the excitement I held for this novel.

It was refreshing to see such a well thought out and executed plot. Offering a different, more scientific perspective on how Jack the Ripper ravaged London,

“Stalking Jack the Ripper,” was unique in the sense that it did

not re-tell previous interpretations of the historical event.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Maniscalo creates a new story about the notorious murderer, Jack the Ripper.

CULTURE

April 6, 2022

Page 13

WEC Performs Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues”

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

The show began with an empty stage and a chalkboard covered in all of the different names that people use to skirt around that strange, harsh, six-letter word.

“Hooha,” “vajayjay,” “punani,” muff” and — my personal favorite — “cooch” curled across the dark board in soft, pastel shades.

In the biggest font of all, written right in the middle of the board, loomed the forbidden word that all these other nicknames had been created in order to bury: “Vagina.” As the performers took the stage, delivering Eve Ensler’s fantastic monologues with the confidence and exuberance of someone breaking through stereotypes that had burdened them their whole lives, that word hung over their heads, “Vagina.” The members of the Women’s Empowerment Club (WEC) who performed the monologues glowed as they discussed the joys of female sexuality, the communality of menstruation and reproduction and the horrors of genital mutilation.

Ensler wrote “The Vagina Monologues” in 1996, when one would hardly ever hear the word “vagina” mentioned out loud. Already a known playwright, she crafted the 27 monologues that the WEC performed after interviewing different groups of wom-

en about their relationships with their vaginas. The diversity of the topics reflected in the monologues shows the vast breadth of how women can relate to their bodies and how having a vagina impacted so much of their lives.

The WEC has been putting on “The Vagina Monologues” every two years for as long as anyone currently in the club can remember. When I profiled the club for Women’s History Month, Natalie Ortof, FCRH ’22, explained the importance of this show. “We really try to focus on [sexual liberation] especially on a college campus like Fordham, where they are a lot less liberal. They don’t give out free birth control, they don’t give free condoms, they just don’t really discuss sexual health at all,” said Ortof.

Truly, “The Vagina Monologues” emphasizes the beauty and empowerment in female sexuality.

One of my favorite monologues of the night, “The Flood,” was about an older woman who had denied her sexuality throughout most of her life after a traumatic incident in her youth that included a cute boy, a moving kiss and a rush of emotion that led to, well, a flood. As the performer delivered the monologue, she stripped off the baggy clothing she had donned to impersonate the grandmother for the bright, red dress that characterized the youthful lusts that still lived

within the older woman. With this monologue, Ensler explored the eternal life and physical manifestation of desire. Watching the performance of this monologue , I realized how often I had seen jokes about men, young and old, getting erect at the sight or touch of the recipient of their affections, but how rarely I had ever seen a similar joke about women.

While I’m sure a few exist, I cannot currently think of any. And if a woman ever exhibits desire, the focus is on her lips or her breasts, not her vagina. As I laughed alongside my peers at the jokes and excellent acting of this monologue, I felt a sense of community and kinship envelope the room. So many of us had shared in these experiences, even if so few of us had ever heard them acknowledged before.

Yet, the breadth of “The Vagina Monologues” extends far beyond just sexual desire. “The Memory of Her Face” focuses instead on identity, splitting up this monologue into three separate stories about women having their faces and identities stripped from them.

The woman in the first story, “Islamabad,” loses her face after her abusive husband forever deforms her by pouring acid on her.

The second, “Baghdad,” is about a girl whose house was destroyed by a bomb, the fire from which burned off her face. This section ends from her father’s perspec-

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

WEC performs Ensler’s play every 2 years, performing each of the 27 monologues.

tive as he sees his daughter as a bandaged, bleeding thing. The final section of this monologue, “Juarez,” is about 300 women who were kidnapped, mutilated and raped. Each of these sections, whether they depicted a girl, a woman or someone in between, showed how the cruelty of our patriarchal societies have ripped their feminine identity from them through personal or impersonal violence.

A few of the other monologues discuss the awkward, intimate experiences that women share when it comes to caring for the hygiene, health and overall well-being of their vaginas. “My Angry Vagina” personifies the vagina to express anger at the

Editor’s Pick | Interactive Novel

outdated tools used in gynecology, douching and other improper treatment of the vagina.

WEC put on a wonderful performance of this classic play, inviting a whole new group of young women, men and nonbinary folks to witness the narrative power of “The Vagina Monologues.” Before I interviewed Ortof for the WEC profile a few weeks ago, I had never even heard of the play. Now, having witnessed Ensler’s words fall from the mouths of my peers, I feel myself changed. Emboldened. I encourage anyone who has not heard of this play, especially those who have vaginas themselves, to see it as soon as possible.

Fallen Hero’s Superheroes Revitalize the Genre

By HASNA CERAN

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

In the era of the rockstar superhero, where superhero media is dominated by Marvel movies and images of playboys, career heroes and literal pagan gods, it’s hard to find superhero media with the themes that have always drawn me into the genre. For me, superhumans are compelling when they’re miserable. The necessary double life and juggling of identities, the isolation that comes with being “different” and hiding in plain sight is what makes a “hero” compelling. Essentially, I hate an out and proud superhero.

“Fallen Hero: Rebirth” is the first in a planned trilogy of interactive novels by Malin Ryden, with the sequel, “Fallen Hero: Retribution,” due to release any day now. After the number of anticipated games I’ve watched fall into development hell, I don’t usually let myself get excited for sequels. This one, though, occupies my every waking thought.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played the alpha demo that’s been released online, and I check the Steam page daily, hoping that the “coming soon” turns into a price tag.

The game follows Sidestep, a telepath who used to work with a Los Angeles’ superhero team, the Rangers, until a traumatic incident forced them to abandon their old life. Now, years later, Sidestep returns as a villain, and has to deal

with balancing old friends, older enemies and their new role working against the Rangers, rather than with them. My favorite thing about Sidestep is that they are far from a rockstar — they’re a paranoid, compulsive liar, they’re pathetic and they’re utterly incapable of emotional closeness with anyone around them without suffering a panic attack.

Though it’s called an interactive novel, the fact that your character’s stats are recorded and that these affect the outcome of the choices you make makes it more akin to a text-based, choose-yourown-adventure game.

“Fallen Hero” manages what a lot of choose-your-own-adventure games can’t: It never once makes your choices feel irrelevant and constricted. It’s something that’s difficult for every interactive media — more choices make for more paths which makes for a lot more writing. Most get around this problem by presenting false choices, or having all paths diverge briefly only to eventually merge onto the “main” story. This is especially important for games with planned sequels, as, in order for one sequel to apply to all characters, the first game must end in relatively the same position. “Fallen Hero” is no exception to this rule, yet unless I consciously remind myself of the fact that all characters follow the basic path I’m taking, I’ll play through the entire game feeling that I could do anything.

This is not only due to Ryden’s

masterful writing, but due to the fact that “Fallen Hero” does offer an incredible glut of choices.

The game showcases the greatest advantage of text-based games; as the need for visual and aural assets are cut down, more resources are freed up for development of the writing. And trust me, there’s an incredible amount of writing that goes into each game. As of last year, “Fallen Hero: Retribution” was said to be 1.3 million words.

To put that into perspective, so far,

the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series totals 1.77 million words.

Further, the fact that the happenings of the game don’t have to be illustrated allows for a larger portion of the game to be dedicated to introspection and character development, as well as visual descriptions of scenes that may not be nearly as impactful if my imagination wasn’t free to freely embellish.

It’s why no one is ever going to shoot a good Lovecraftian horror

COURTESY OF TWITTER

“Fallen Heroes” allows readers to forge their own path in the world of superheroes.

movie. There is nothing that can match the simultaneous detail and grandeur the human imagination can cook up.

The story particularly shines when it comes to its characters, whose emotional lives and interactions with Sidestep really make the game shine. Every character in the game seems to have their own fanbase, and it is perhaps due to this popularity that Ryden has worked so hard to let Sidestep cultivate a variety of relationships with each. Every character can become your friend, your nemesis and yes, even your lover. I’m not going to kid myself, a large portion of the fanbase seems to sustain itself on the joy of working through the many romance routes available to Sidestep. However, it’s far from the tacky and pathetic harems of visual novels. Factors like Sidestep’s double life — something that means you could even end up dating your nemesis — and Sidestep’s telepathy affords an incredible amount of depth to every interaction, resulting in character development that I, frankly, haven’t seen in many fully-completed book series.

“Fallen Hero: Rebirth” makes for an incredible novel, and an even better game. And for only $3.99 on Steam, it’s cheaper than most examples of either. For less than the price of a coffee, you could develop a new years-long obsession, and join me in obsessively refreshing the page, hoping the sequel is out.

CULTURE

Page 14

April 6, 2022

The Rise of Space Tourism Guarantees an Enthralling Future for Humanity

By CLAIRE MCHUGH

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After decades of research and development, the tourism industry has officially made it to the final frontier. On March 31, 2022, Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, launched six crew members into space.

This is Blue Origin’s 20th mission and fourth flight carrying human passengers in the spacecraft, and marks the beginning of a new era of space travel. Billionaire entrepreneurs, such as Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson, have been at the forefront of making space travel a more commercialized and accessible commodity.

However, tickets for seats on Blue Origin and other space travel companies’ missions are currently priced at anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Thus far, passengers vying for seats have consisted of celebrities and business executives alike.

This brings into question who space travel is becoming accessible for — is it as available as Bezos and Musk might make it seem, or is this sector of the market really only obtainable for the top one percent?

For now, the latter appears to be the case. On Friday, April 8, a Texas based aerospace company, Axiom Space, plans to launch four passengers in a SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station for a one-week stay. The tickets

cost a cool $55 million. In the meantime, Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic, is currently accepting $1,000 deposits to reserve a ticket, which experts have estimated may cost upwards of $400,000. Prices have not been clarified yet. Blue Origin has not disclosed commercial ticket prices at this time either, although apparently customers can email the company with inquiries if interested.

The demand for and interest in commercial space travel has already demonstrated that an extraordinarily profitable market is bursting at the seams of the private sector. Again, those purchasing seats on these trips have mainly consisted of business elites and the upper-upper class who can afford costs that are “out of this world.” However, as these companies continue to build more equipment and schedule more and more different kinds of trips, space travel will become much more accessible to the wider public in the near future. Competition between companies has encouraged the rapid advancement and development of the technology needed for these expeditions.

These advancements could signify that space travel might have a similar trajectory to the adoption of the current airline industry. Right now, space travel is only truly affordable and available to a select few, but this will probably change as prices drop and companies

improve infrastructure and technology. Similar to the expansion of the airline industry, space travel, which is nowan elite luxury commodity for the upper class, may eventually reach the more general public as the demand for affordable, rapid travel continues to increase. There is a massive market for space travel beyond just billionaire interests. UBS has estimated that the space travel industry in its entirety will soon become a billion dollar market, and that high speed travel via outer space will eventually grow to compete with airline flights.

Bezos, Musk and other aerospace entrepreneurs aren’t just dreaming big — they are stepping directly into the future of modern travel and exploration into space. To the average American citizen, it might feel like space travel is still eons away. That being said, widely accessible, commercialized space travel is one of the most imminent next steps in the technological advancement of human civilization, and it’s much nearer in the future than one may suspect. NASA is investing in Blue Origin and other companies to develop designs for a commercial space station, similar to the International Space Station, and projects like these will continue to expand so that more and more people can participate in space exploration and travel. SpaceX

COURTESY OF FLICKR

The Bezos-founded company launched New Shepherd Mission NS-20.

has expressed its intention of using its spacecraft to swiftly transport people from city to city, leaving passengers with commute times of mere minutes rather than long flights of ten hours or more. That’s a huge difference for the thousands of commuters taking long distance business trips each day.

There is definitely strong public interest in space travel. Unfortunately, like with many new and exciting products, it might have to remain a luxury until it has had the time to expand to reach a larger public audience.

For now, the safety regulations are not as standardized as in

other sectors that are widely available to the public. Not only that, but SpaceX, Blue Origin and other aerospace missions are currently researching the effects of space travel on the human body and the viability of the equipment after repeated use. These elements have not yet been researched enough to guarantee safety and security for every member of the public, and those standards must be thoroughly vetted and established before introducing such groundbreaking technology. But in the meantime, we should certainly keep our eyes toward the skies.

Harry Styles Embraces Change in the First Single of His Upcoming Album

By MARIBELLE GORDON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Harry Styles ushered in a new musical era this week with the release of his single “As It Was.” After the extraordinary success of his sophomore album “Fine Line,” fans have eagerly awaited to see how the pop singer plans to follow it up. This single is the first song released off of his upcoming album, “Harry’s House,” to be released on May 20.

Styles remains authentic to his brand while also exploring a new sound in “As It Was.” Listeners have compared this song to the sounds of popindie artists like Dayglow and Wallows. Despite the sound of the song being very unique for Styles’ discography, he remains consistent in the emotional contemplation he aims to accomplish with his lyrics.

“As It Was” may be a brief and upbeat song, however, the lyrics leave room for vast interpretation and meaningful reflection. It’s an emotionally vulnerable song that opens fans up to some of the struggles Styles has faced throughout his life and how they continue to impact him as he grows older.

One of the clearest messages in this song is a com-

COURTESY OF TWITTER

“As It Was” broke Spotify’s record for the most streams in a single day after its release.

mentary on how the divorce of his parents early in his life affected him and his sister. Lyrics such as “Your daddy lives by himself / He just wants to know you’re well” allude to the struggles of having a fractured family. In his confession, he opens himself up to sharing very personal experiences as a way to connect with listeners who may also have gone through similar situations. Vulnerability is not a

new theme for Styles’ music, and it is clear that he wants to continue exploring the possibilities of emotional intimacy with his audience.

Upon the announcement of his new albums, fans speculated that the title could be in reference to this album possibly being a quarantine project, as we were all stuck in our own houses. This points to another possible interpretation of the song, which is the

disruptive and drastic changes that many of us were forced to undergo in our experiences with the pandemic. The decision to include the line “In this world / It’s just us” effectively acknowledges the universal struggles that have occurred in the past two and a half years.

The song recognizes that many people have had to reconcile with the fact that life will never again be as it was.

Similar to the song itself,

the music video also contains a significant contrast in themes; the setting is very colorful and bright, but the content depicts an involuntarily dwindling relationship. Styles explores the crushing weight of nostalgia and yearning for a reality that no longer exists, as he is shown chasing after a woman that he’ll never be able to reach again.

However, the video ends with a message of hope, demonstrating the ultimate freedom that comes along with accepting life’s transitions and trials.

He begins the video wearing a plain red trench coat, but he eventually embraces the opportunity to strip down into something in which he feels much more comfortable and liberated. The video ends with him dancing back into the world in a red sparkly jumpsuit, eager to shed his worries about the past and look toward the freeing possibilities of the future.

It’s not his most sonically experimental song, but broad attraction is a quality to be expected in a single for such a highly anticipated album.

Styles fused a very appealing sound with profound and socially relevant lyrics. The result is a catchy summer anthem that commends the human capacity for emotional adaptation.

CULTURE

April 6, 2022

Page 15

Who’s That Kid? | It’s Valerie Glass, FCRH ’24!

Sophomore Continues Family Legacy at Fordham

By AVA CARREIRO DIGITAL PRODUCER

Living just 20 minutes away from Fordham University in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Valerie Glass, FCRH ’24, never expected to attend college so close to home.

She was ultimately drawn to Fordham by alumni in her family.

Glass’ grandmother, Mercedes Perez, graduated from FCRH in 1954. Glass said, “By being in the same place my grandmother was when she was my age, I feel so much more connected to her.”

Seventy years has passed, but the two were led to the same place, where Glass can now follow in the footsteps of her grandmother.

At Fordham, Glass doesn’t shy away from campus involvement.

She is a member of club softball, Best Buddies, intramural volleyball and is a writer here at The Fordham Ram. When I met Glass in the first month of my freshman year, she was as much of a social butterfly as she is today. She goes out of her way to make new friends in every activity she does, and never turns down a chance to step out of her comfort zone and try something new.

If she isn’t spending time at her extracurriculars or with friends, the next best place to find Glass is in her Walsh apartment, taking up the entire dining room table with studying materials. Glass is an integrative neuroscience major with a cognitive concentration. She was drawn to this field because she’s always been interested in human behavior and, in her words, “trying to find out what makes people tick and what gets them through the day.” Anyone can see how

passionate she is about her major just by the way she talks about it.

When telling me why she’s so intrigued by neuroscience, she explained, “Psychology helps us understand human emotions such as happiness, fear and anxiety, but neuroscience takes it a step further by examining the chemical reactions and neuron firings that cause those feelings.” The research aspect of neuroscience also interests Glass because she feels that by learning about how the brain works, we can progress to help people with disabilities and become more informed about potential solutions.

Although she doesn’t have a specific dream job, Glass knows she wants to be involved in some aspect of patient care, whether that be in a hospital, doctor’s office or mental health facility. This career aspiration is partly due to her mother, who has worked in a hospital for upwards of 30 years as a respiratory therapist. Glass has always admired her mom, sharing that “she could have a million things on her plate and somehow she’ll still get it all done with a smile.” She went on to explain that hearing her mother’s experiences in the hospital and how much she’s impacted the lives of patients was something that always stuck with Glass growing up.

Her dad has also shaped her passion for the patient care industry: he never seemed to give up and always worked towards what he wanted. These values from both of her parents were instilled into Glass growing up and has fueled her passion for STEM. Getting a degree in neuroscience at an acclaimed university like Fordham has its challenges

and benefits. To Glass, the most challenging part about her major is the workload. She explained, “It’s not necessarily dealing with a million tasks, but more of the fact that if you want to do well you need to master time management and study for everything a week ahead of time.” She went on to say how it can be a struggle to develop that mindset, and in order to do well you have to put the work in — if you don’t, it shows.

With that being said, there are definitely parts to the field that she loves and keeps her motivated to push through the not-so-fun parts.

Glass finds the material within STEM to be incredibly interesting, especially how it pertains to the human body. As she’s going about her day, she’ll do something and realize that she learned about it in class, which she finds fascinating.

She also explained how although it can be challenging, she invites and even enjoys that challenge.

“I feel like I constantly need to be preoccupied with something,” she explained. “I like always doing something because it keeps me involved and interested.”

Neuroscience surely takes up a lot of Glass’ time, but the other large part of her days are allocated to playing softball. She started when she was just six years old and went on to start on the varsity team in high school as a freshman. Once she came to Fordham, Glass didn’t initially expect to continue her involvement in softball. However, she soon realized with the heavy commitments that her STEM major requires, she needed to find a way to dedicate her energy to outside of academics. “Due to the devotion

required to maintain a neuroscience major, it’s easy to just stay in for the night and spend all of your time studying,” she said. Glass wanted to push herself to keep doing the extracurriculars she enjoyed in high school, which meant she had to start prioritizing softball.

When asked what her favorite part about playing softball at Fordham is, Glass’ face lit up right away. She talked about how all of the girls on the team are supportive and welcoming, and that they create an open, non-judgmental environment. She feels no pressure on the field and loves that all she has to do is show up, do what she can and have fun. At the club fair as a freshman, Glass was immediately greeted by two captains running the club softball stand, and since they were so nice to her she decided it couldn’t hurt to try out for the team. Glass explained how going to practice can brighten up her day right away and how great it can feel to have another group of people in your circle, even just to see around campus.

For the upcoming spring 2022 season, Glass will serve as the vice president of club softball. Some

of her responsibilities will include organizing and running practices, managing the distribution of equipment, creating lineups for games and maintaining good morale and a positive team atmosphere.

Although Glass’ top commitments are vastly different from one another, they interact in a way that helps her develop better life skills. She explained that the mindset she gained through playing softball for 13 years really helps her excel in academics and strengthens her persistence to stay committed to a task. Glass said, “By gaining a mindset of working well under pressure and not giving up through softball, I often apply it to my studies in STEM by telling myself I’ll study for five hours and not go back on that.” She feels that by starting sports at a young age, she has gained years of experience in time management, prioritizing the right things and mastering the balance between school, sports and social activities. By continuing her involvement in softball in college, she has developed these skills even further and can now apply it to her neuroscience studies.

COURTESY OF VALERIE GLASS FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Glass balances being a Division I athlete while pursuing her passion for neuroscience.

Page 16

Women’s Tennis Drops Second Straight to A-10 Rival

By LOU ORLANDO STAFF WRITER

Fordham Women’s Tennis suffered its second straight loss with a 5-2 defeat from Atlantic 10 rival, University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutewomen. The loss was Fordham’s first match against an A-10 opponent, falling to 0-1 in conference play on the season with just two conference matches remaining.

Fordham mustered just two points, both of which came from singles play. Sophomore Eleni Fasoula and senior Nicole Li accounted for the two wins, improving to 7-3 and 9-3 respectively. The Rams were swept in doubles play and didn’t fare much better in singles action, as junior Avery Aude, graduate student Carlota Casasampere-Escoda, senior Genevieve Quenville and junior Rachelle Yang all suffered losses on Sunday.

The loss allowed UMass to pass Fordham in the A-10 standings.

For UMass, it was their fifth win in the past six matches. At 11-4, they now sit in second place behind only Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). With only two losses in their last 13 matches, this will surely be a team to watch as the A-10 tournament nears.

Fordham falls to 8-4, still good for third in the A-10, but Davidson College, George Mason University and St. Louis University are all trailing close behind.

Fordham is now 1-2 on their latest road stretch with three more road matches remaining. The Rams have five regular season matches

before the A-10 tournament begins at the end of April. Despite enjoying great success for most of the year, Fordham’s recent struggles could be cause for concern.

Last year’s squad also got off to an excellent start, going 5-1 to start the season. However, they struggled down the stretch, losing their last three regular season matches leading into tournament play.

It’s not easy to maintain winning ways throughout the course of a season, however it will be necessary in what is shaping up to be an extremely competitive A-10 conference.

The Rams will look to return to their winning ways as they continue their road trip with a pair of matches this weekend. They’ll kick things off Saturday against North Carolina Central University.

North Carolina Central ended a four-match losing streak with a win last Saturday, but at 4-12 on the year, it should be a favorable matchup for Fordham. Sunday brings Fordham’s second conference matchup of the season as they’ll stay in North Carolina to play Davidson College. Davidson rattled off a couple of wins last weekend to improve to 11-6 on the season and leap into fourth place in the A-10. Winning against Davidson on Sunday would allow them to leap Fordham in the standings. Davidson won seven straight matches in February but has since cooled off. Nonetheless, they’ll be a formidable opponent as the Rams attempt to keep their top three spot in the A-10.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Rams suffered another loss this past weekend.

Athletes of the Week

Rachel Hubertus Redshirt Senior Softball

Brooks Ey Sophomore Baseball

Hubertus has drilled five home runs in her last five games played, taking her total up to 12 on the year. She also has nine RBIs over that stretch, as the Rams swept the University of Massachusetts on the road in Amherst. After a slow start, Hubertus is now hitting .344 on the year and has proven to be a pivotal part of this Rams’ offense.

SPORTS Overtime: Is Time Up for Tiger Woods?

April 6, 2022

By MADDIE BIMONTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

It is hard to picture a golf landscape without the inclusion of Tiger Woods. For the past 26 years, Woods has shown resilience, determination and grit, winning championship after championship and shaping golf in the 21st century.

No athlete is without injury, and Woods is no anomaly. His career is littered with injuries plaguing his performance and potential wins. Currently 46 years old, Woods is facing a crossroads in his career and what lies ahead is uncertain.

Woods’ legs have been one of the main recurring issues for him throughout his career, starting back in 2002 when he underwent his first knee surgery.

In 2003, Woods underwent reparative ACL surgery that sidelined him for months, forcing him to sit out of the 2003 Buick Invitational, the year where he won both his second Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open.

However, everything looked up for Woods; after the surgery he remained relatively healthy until 2008. But, things got particularly difficult for Woods in 2009, with his career and personal life overlapping.

Two weeks after his extramarital affair with a New York City nightclub owner became public in 2009, Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and injured himself to the point of dropping out of any golf competitions for the rest of the year to recover.

This accident temporarily served as a wake up call for Woods as he strived for his fifth Masters win.

He went on to finish fourth at the 2010 Masters, marking one of the last events fans would see a fully healthy Woods.

2010 was one of the worst years in Woods’ career, as he failed to secure a win in a single event for an entire year for the first time since becoming a professional golfer. For the years that followed, Woods reported almost every year that his left knee and achilles tendon caused him pain. It is hard to picture a year

HOME AWAY

where Woods’ body was healthy, adding a hindrance to how well he performed on the green, especially with the rise of talented, healthy and young golfers constantly raising the bar and standards for professional golf.

In the mid-2010s, pain shifted up to Woods’ back, forcing him to withdraw from major tournaments in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Physically, Woods was no longer able to compete without threatening his long term health. It is a tough decision every athlete must face, whether their love of the game is more important than their physical health. Many are forced into early retirement, and others continue, mostly with underwhelming success. Woods’ story took a different turn.

During the 2018 season, Woods finally played injury free, participating in the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. While he was nowhere near numbers wise where he appeared to be a few years prior, this served as a huge positive for Woods and how he navigated injuries.

Channeling this positive energy, Woods’ 2019 Masters Tournament became one of the most legendary moments in golf and sports history. After not winning any major tournaments in 11 years and a Masters Tournament in 14, Woods overcame all odds to win his fifth jacket with humility. Years and years of injuries spoiled numerous attempts for Woods to prove his longevity in the sport, but it was in Augusta he put the world on notice.

After the Masters, Woods said he would retire from professional golf, but still attempt to play in a few tournaments every

Wednesday Thursday April 6 April 7

year. He believed this decision would allow him to continue to compete while still being aware of the physical toll his body struggles under. His left knee continued to flare up in the years following, but it was Woods’ recklessness in driving once again in 2021 that may have ended his career — this time for good.

In February 2021, Woods was involved in a single-car accident just outside of Los Angeles, almost causing irreparable harm.

Narrowly avoiding an amputation to his right leg, Woods’ road to recovery would be a long one that might not ever end.

Now, Woods is faced with the decision of trying to play in the Masters Tournament this year or sitting out yet again. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Woods said he plans to compete in the Masters, after he previously said on Sunday via Twitter his status was “day to day.” With such a serious injury, it seems that this Masters will be the greatest test on Woods’ body of all.

While Woods’ golf ability is undeniable, time and time again the physical toll on Woods’ body has caused him to withdraw from countless events and contributed to underwhelming performances in the past two decades. If this Masters Tournament ends up being Woods’ last major competition ever, it may feel strange to live in a world where Woods officially retires from playing on the course. However, with the pain he has physically endured throughout his career, most likely in a matter of time, we will have to say goodbye to the golf legend and sports icon that is Tiger Woods for good.

Friday April 8

Saturday April 9

Massachusetts 3 p.m.

Baseball

Massachusetts 1 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

Lafayette 2 p.m.

Women’s Tennis

NC Central 12 p.m.

Softball

Manhattan 1/3:30 p.m.

Monday April 11

Massachusetts 12 p.m.

Kent State 1/3:30 p.m.

Men’s Golf

Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational

Women’s Rowing Men’s Soccer

Sunday April 10

Tuesday April 12

Metropolitan Metropolitan Championship Championship 11 a.m.

1 p.m.

Metropolitan Metropolitan Championship Championship 1 p.m.

11 a.m.

Women’s Track & Field

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

After numerous injuries, it’s not clear how much longer Woods will play.

Varsity Calendar Men’s Track & Field

In game one of Fordham’s double header against Saint Louis University on Saturday, Ey tossed a career-high of eight innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to go along with nine strikeouts. Ey earned his first win of the season with this 116 pitch effort after previously being 0-4, as Fordham took the opening game of the doubleheader by a score of 4-3.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Knecht Cup 7:30 a.m.

Marist 7:30 p.m.

Columbia 3:30 p.m.

SPORTS

April 6 2022

Student Athlete Column: Does Winning Have To Be Unforgiving?

By GIGI SPEER STAFF WRITER

Recently, the father of one of my teammates gave us the book, “Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness” by Tim S. Grover.

The book opens with anecdotes about “the greats,” namely Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Personally, as a LeBron James fan, I have always respected these two competitors, but prefer the personability and unselfishness of my G.O.A.T. I know I’m starting off pretty political here, but just stick with me.

Grover was, without prior experience, Jordan’s trainer, physically and mentally, pushing him to create a workout regimen that required him to exercise even on game days. This oldschool approach that led to “Last Dance”-level greatness has been preached, repudiated, respected and rebutted. James, on the other hand, has been hailed for both his work ethic and ability to prioritize recovery. These two different mindsets leave me, both a fan and an athlete, at a crossroads. The decision between a hardcore, selfish and relentless approach and one that intertwines more understanding, rest and prioritization of ones family.

I feel like the first approach got me here and is what was discussed during my freshman year.

I walked on to a great team, one that had won six championships in a row, had some of the toughest people I had ever met and had a softball-over-everything mindset.

I worked hard throughout high school, balancing being a captain of the volleyball, basketball and softball teams, working, being the leader of numerous clubs and

trying to keep my academics at an excellent standard – all while being a high school student. This same mentality lasted with me throughout my freshman year of college, yet it was unsustainable.

After my sophomore year ended in being sent home because of COVID-19, I learned about spirituality, the “hippie” stuff that has helped me cope with years of stress. I still meditate every day, and my biggest lesson was to rest.

Strength coaches (Coach Josh, are you reading this?) preach about the importance of sleep in recovery, and I have noticed a dramatic increase in my weight room numbers as well as output on the field since making sure I sleep enough, decrease stress levels and increase my ability to be present.

This is where the crossroads stay crossed.

The same father that gave me this book on winning and my sister, who has not played competitive sports in years, talked to me about the amazing gifts we athletes get because of committing to a sport in college. We achieve (get ready for this) what Buddhist monks seek for entire lifetimes: presence. Some may call it being in the zone, being locked in or being in the here and now, and it is just that: being.

It is in the high-pressure moments, the long practices and the difficult days in the weight room that we achieve things we didn’t know we could. It’s having no expectations, but also having no doubt. It’s being like Bryant, in that killer mindset, yet also possessing the same level of understanding that pushed him to support his daughter in her big

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Speer looks at an athlete’s mentality.

WNBA hooping dreams.

It’s being there in the moment, and knowing that those around you are all seeking the same thing as main characters in their own stories on the road to greatness, whatever that may be.

I opened this piece discussing the book we were all gifted. Symbolically, it is a beautiful present for 18 girls from all walks of life, each with a shared goal, uniforms that unite us and memories of hard work, play, fun, sweat, tears and dreams that have gotten us to where we are, halfway through a redemption season with sails set on the odyssey of victory that will bring us to a ring ceremony in the fall. I also discussed three great basketball players, all of whom I like and respect for different reasons. I wondered, can you have the Mamba mentality, the Be-Like-Mike attitude and also be the figure in the community like James truly is?

I say yes. I’ve learned how to rest, how to balance hard work with enjoyment and lock into the moment, without doubt or fear.

Winning is awesome, and is something I will never forget and always want, in any aspect. However, I definitely do not think it has to be completely unforgiving.

Track & Field Travels to Williamsburg for Colonial Relays

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Track & Field traveled down south this past weekend to compete in the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia.

After a strong showing at the Rider Invitational last weekend, the Rams looked to continue their solid form as the outdoor season presses forward.

Before the event, however, tragedy struck. On Thursday evening, runners from Milligan University intending to compete in the relays were hit by a drunk driver while on a practice run. Eli Cramer, a sophomore and business administration major, was tragically killed in the accident while graduate student Alex Mortimer and senior Eli Baldy were injured.

The relays continued as scheduled, with the entire Track & Field community mourning the loss of Cramer.

The women’s side of the competition saw many Rams with impressive finishes. On day one of the two day competition, graduate student Kathryn Kelly won the championship edition of the long jump with a distance of 5.85m, just one meter ahead of William & Mary University’s Heidebrecht finishing in second place.

On day two, the Fordham women saw success in the relay events. The quartet of senior Dominique Valentine, Kelly and juniors Ruby Avila and Kyla Hill finished third in the 4x200 relay with a time of 1:39.24. In the distance medley relay, the Rams placed fourth because of junior Alexandra Thomas, sophomore Molly Mulvaney, junior Mary Kathryn Underwood and senior Bridget Alex, who came in with a time of 12:11.67.

Overall, the Fordham women placed 12th out of 38 teams with 26 points, while the University of Virginia took home the top prize with 80 points.

On the men’s side, day one saw success for the Rams in the 10,000m run. Senior Brandon Hall finished fourth with a time of 30:34.37, while sophomore Steven Zucca came in sixth at a time of 30:07.21.

Day two included more scoring events for the Fordham men.

In the 800m invitational, senior Jeramiah LaDuca finished in sixth place at 1:51.13. In the relay events, the Rams received top seven finishes from two squads.

The grouping consisting of senior Zalen Nelson, LaDuca, senior

Patrick Tuohy and junior Erik Brown placed fifth in the 4x400 relay at 3:17.47. Another team of freshman Nathan Bezuneh, junior Eric Jacobson, redshirt senior Christopher Strzelinski and sophomore Justin Lombardi combined for a seventh place finish in the distance medley relay with a time of 10:15.70.

The men’s squad ultimately finished in 21st out of 40 with 17 points over the two day competition. Brown University finished first with 80 points, and George Mason University finishing in second with 62 points.

The Rams plan to compete in the Metropolitan Championship starting Friday at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.

COURTESY OF NICOLETA PAPAVASILAKIS

Track & Field races at Williamsburg.

Page 17

Varsity Scores & Stats Baseball

Men’s Tennis

Atlantic-10

Fordham

0

St. Johns

4

St. Louis

2

Fordham

1

S. Mexico: 4 H, 1 RBI

Women’s Track & Field Colonial Races - Day 1

[Doubleheader Game 1]

Fordham 19th/34 teams (10 pts.)

St. Louis

3

Fordham

4

Z. Sellinger: 2 H [Doubleheader Game 2] St. Louis

7

Fordham

4

Colonial Races - Day 2 Fordham 12th/38 teams (26 pts.)

Softball [Eight Innings] Fordham Iona

4 5

[Five Innings] Fordham Massachusetts

9 0

Men’s Track & Field Colonial Races - Day 1 22nd/34 teams (8 pts.)

Fordham Massachusetts

6 1

Colonial Races - Day 2 21st/40 teams (17 pts.)

Fordham

2

Massachusetts

5

Men’s Soccer [Spring Schedule] Farleigh Dickinson Fordham

Men’s Golf

J. Harnisch: 1 H, 1 R Non-Conference Siena

12

Fordham

7

C. Sahler: 2 R, 2 H, 1 RBI

Women’s Tennis

Columbia Spring 0 2

Invitational 11th/12 teams –Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

News & Notes Men’s Basketball’s Chuba Ohams Selected to Play in Reese’s College AllStar Game Graduate student Chuba Ohams participated in the Reese’s College Division I All-Star Game on April 1 in New Orleans as part of the Reese’s Final Four weekend. In his final season in a Fordham jersey, Ohams led the Atlantic 10 in rebounding as well as a team best 49 blocks. During the All-Star Game, Ohams played 18.6 minutes, collecting eight points, three rebounds and one block.

Junior Devon Miller Records Fourth Career No-Hitter Fordham Softball’s junior Devon Miller added another no-hitter to her career total of four. Miller secured her fourth from the Rams’ 9-0 victory on Saturday during game one of the double-header. Miller scored three of her no-hitters last season, and joined former two-time All-American, Fordham Hall of Famer Jen Mineau as the second Ram to throw multiple perfect games and three no-hitters in one year. Currently, Miller’s season ERA is 2.94 in 15 appearances with 75 strikeouts in 78.2 innings.

Fordham Releases 2022 Football Schedule On Tuesday, Fordham released the upcoming schedule for the 2022 Football season. This year, the Rams kick off their season against Wagner University and Monmouth University, before traveling back for their home opener on September 17 against the University of Albany. The Rams take on the Ohio University Bobcats for the first time ever. October 1 marks the first Patriot League Conference game against Georgetown University at home. The other Patriot League games include Lehigh University, Stony Brook University, Holy Cross, Bucknell University, Lafayette College and Colgate University.

The Rams’ regular season comes to a close at home against Colgate on November 19.

SPORTS

Page 18

April 6, 2022

The Fascinating Career of Fordham Alumnus Nick Martinez

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

Professional baseball is a fickle industry. Everyday, players are called up to the major leagues, sent down to the minors and cut from rosters all together.

No one is more familiar with this reality than former Fordham baseball star Nick Martinez.

Martinez was a 2011 18th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers who has spent much of his pitching career on the fringes of stardom. But now, after spending time playing overseas in Japan, Martinez is back in the major leagues with the San Diego Padres. This journey was not a linear one, nor was it easy.

For Martinez, the path to the pros started at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, which he attended from 6th to 12th grade. “It was around my junior year when I started going to showcases and thinking about the next step in my career,” Martinez said. “I got recruited by a lot of Catholic and Jesuit universities. It came down to Fordham and Georgetown, and ultimately I chose Fordham.”

Martinez began his career as a Ram playing primarily as a position player. Over three seasons with Fordham from 2009-11, Martinez hit .295 with a .381 OBP as mainly a second baseman. It wasn’t until he got drafted by Texas that Martinez began to solely focus on pitching.

“I pitched a little bit my freshman year and a little bit more my junior year,” he said. “I told the coach at the time [Nick Restaino] that

I could pitch a little bit and that I had taken some pitching lessons.

The times that I did pitch my freshman year didn’t go great at all, actually.”

After spending his sophomore year entirely in the field, Martinez started to focus more on the pitching side heading into his junior year and first draft-eligible season. His goal was simple: to play professional baseball. “If pitching was the way I was going to get drafted, then I was open to it. The first thing I knew I wanted was to be a Major League Baseball player.

I was going to take any chance that I had,” he said. Martinez saved three games that season and got the opportunity to pitch in front of MLB scouts.

He impressed, so much so that the Rangers drafted him 564th overall in 2011. Beginning his pro journey in rookie ball, Martinez progressed through the Rangers system, culminating in an excellent 2013 season between A+ and AA, where he pitched to a combined 2.50 ERA in 25 starts. The following spring, Martinez earned the fifth spot in the Rangers rotation. He made his big league debut that April at age 23.

Things got a little bumpier for Martinez at the big league level. He posted a 4.77 ERA over four seasons with Texas, spending large chunks of time moving between the majors and minors. Despite good stretches, Martinez never seemed to stick at the highest level. “Going up and down so much was tough. It knocks you down mentally and

really beats you up,” Martinez said. “You’ve got to keep that grinder mentally and keep going. Ultimately it did knock me off my horse.”

Martinez became a free agent after the 2017 season. With limited interest from other Major League teams, he signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. “At first I wasn’t going to go [to Japan]. My wife was pregnant at the time of the decision. I wasn’t even going to ask her, but I ended up doing it anyway,” Martinez said.

“She was open to the idea. Then it became about whether it was a good decision for me professionally. There’ve been a lot of guys who go to Japan and return eventually, but there’s also a lot of guys who stay there and don’t make it back.”

Ultimately, it was the standard that Martinez set for himself that caused him to make the move. “In MLB, I was labeled as a depth guy. Someone you could have in AAA and is also reliable enough to make a start in the big leagues when you need him,” he said. “I didn’t like that label. I believed that I could be one of the five horses that takes a team to the World Series. I’ve always believed that about myself. Staying in the states would have meant accepting that label.”

Three years after his life changing move to Japan, Martinez finally became the pitcher he always knew he could be. In 2021, he posted a 1.63 ERA in 23 appearances for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. With MLB players not

COURTESY OF TWITTER

After a long journey, Nick Martinez is finally back in the big leagues. taking part in the 2021 Olympic player isn’t really who we are, Games in Tokyo, Martinez’ stelit’s what we do,” he said. “Havlar form earned him a spot on ing a family of my own and havTeam USA in the world’s biggest ing a daughter to come home to stage. He pitched 11 innings for no matter how I played allowed Team USA at the games, includme to look at baseball differing a start in the gold medal game ently. How I am as a father and against Japan, holding them to a husband is how I’m defined as just one run in six innings as he a person.” took home a silver medal.

Martinez was rewarded for his “It was unbelievable,” Martinez hard work last month, when the said of his experience in Tokyo last San Diego Padres signed him to a summer. “It’s a huge honor to four year, $25.5 million contract. represent your country and be The deal was initially rumored to around all those other athletes. be complete in December, but You could really feel the intensithe MLB lockout kept the deal ty that everyone has. The energy from becoming official until rewas contagious. Looking back cently. After years of hard work, on it now, I feel luckier to have Martinez is finally back where he been selected for Team USA than always wanted to be: the Major I was to make my Major League Leagues. “It’s great to be back in debut.” the big leagues,” Martinez said.

2021 is the year that it all “Just having my entire family seemed to click for Martinez. But being able to spend time with me it wasn’t pure mechanics that fiand see me throughout the counnally got him to the level he altry is so exciting.” ways strived for. It was also menAfter three solid starts in tal. “Before you have kids, being spring training, Martinez is a baseball player is what defines poised to make a big impact you. You think just because with the Padres this season. San you’re a great baseball player Diego opens their 2022 camyou’re a great person, or if you’re paign on Thursday with a four not playing so well then you’re game series against the Arizona not that great. Being a baseball Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

New York Mets 2022 Season Preview: Plan With Caution

By COLIN LOUGHRAN STAFF WRITER

As MLB’s Opening Day is only a day away, it is the perfect time to check out how the New York Mets are looking and what fans should expect this season. Flushing’s finest held the NL East’s top spot for a whopping 103 days last season, but failed to reach the postseason.

The team’s horrendous West Coast trip all but sunk their championship hopes and forced fans to endure yet another silent October.

However, most expected that under the new regime of Steve Cohen and company, changes would be coming to ensure that postseason baseball would make its grand return to Queens sooner rather than later. Indeed, this offseason was busy for the Mets. The hiring of Buck Showalter as the new manager adds a mature presence to a young team that has no real postseason pedigree.

Further, the new additions of Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Chris Bassitt, Adam Ottavino and Eduardo Escobar give the Mets an element of depth that is needed on any competitive roster. Perhaps most importantly, the signing of Max Scherzer solidifies the starting rotation as one of the best in baseball when healthy. Overall, the Mets front office has put a plan in place that should bear fruit. However, factors such as health and consistency could bring the master strategy to a screeching halt in 2022.

Heading into spring training, the Mets starting rotation was the

talk of the town. Jacob deGrom and Scherzer headline the act, and were supposed to serve as a sort of “two headed monster.” Before being shut down due to injury, deGrom posted a 1.08 ERA with a 5.0 WAR in 2021.

These impressive marks came over 15 starts, and were a primary catalyst for the Mets’ early success.

Scherzer spent his 2021 with the Washingon Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He ended the campaign with a 15-4 record and a sizzling 2.46 ERA. Mad Max was a key piece of the Dodgers’ run to the NLCS and may have carried them to a World Series appearance if not for a “dead arm.” The plan was for these two aces to lead the charge at the top of the pitching staff, but reality has already snubbed Mets’ fans once more.

Last week, it was reported that deGrom would miss significant time due to a stress reaction in his shoulder. To make matters worse, Scherzer is currently dealing with a “bothersome right hamstring” that could keep him off the mound for a bit. Where does this leave the Mets?

Around the same spot they were in towards the end of last year.

Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassitt, David Peterson, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Williams and Tylor Megill will all likely get starts at one point or another, especially if deGrom and Scherzer struggle with injuries. While these starters have each had some bright moments, none of them are legitimate “number one” options that have been particularly consistent in the past.

The only one who may be able to right the ship is Chris Bassitt. His

career numbers are more than respectable, but one cannot help but wonder if he will embrace the New York spotlight from day one — the Big Apple is a much different animal than Oakland after all. The rotation was built to have a scary 1-2 punch with some streaky backend options. Now, the latter will have to step up early and hope that the big guns come back in time to help manage the load. As game one of 162 fastly approaches, it is clear that the Mets rotational plans have not gone smoothly. Fans will have to hope that injuries do not completely derail Scherzer or deGrom’s hugely promising seasons.

For the better part of the past 20 years, the Mets have had a shaky bullpen. In fact, it has become a summer tradition for angry Mets fans to call into WFAN radio shows and let out their frustration with the pen. All kidding aside, this year’s rendition seems promising, but its success will ultimately be determined by Showalter’s ability to manage overworked arms. As we have established, the starting rotation will be challenged very early in the season. This means that middle relievers like Adam Ottavino and Sean Reid-Foley will have to “bridge the gap” on days when the starters streakiness sets in.

The late innings will be defined by names such as Trevor May and closer Edwin Diaz. May had a decent freshman stint with the Mets, putting up a 3.59 ERA and four saves.

However, there were certainly times when he was hurt by the long ball.

This will have to change as while the Mets have plenty of options for the

middle innings, they do not have this same luxury in the bottom of the bullpen. May must step up as a reliable set up man. Diaz will also have to improve. He has blown 17 saves since 2019, and has a tendency to get rattled easily. This year’s Mets bullpen is solid, and ripe with arms that can compete. But, they will most likely have to eat a lot of innings early, and hope to find stability in late game situations.

In 2021, the Mets were a below league average team in terms of home runs, RBIs, batting average and on-base percentage. The lineup never seemed to get hot. They did not get the season they wanted from Francisco Lindor, and were too reliant on home runs from Pete Alonso and other role players. The lineup has improved on paper, and should be a force to be reckoned with. Marte will join Brandon Nimmo in the outfield and form a pesky tandem in the lineup that can simply find ways to get on base.

Additionally, under the radar pieces such as Escobar and Canha add a brand of depth and experience that is often undervalued in a league that is getting younger by the day.

The marquee names will have to perform. Thankfully for the Mets, it is not hard to imagine Lindor having a bounce back year. He smacked 20 home runs in what was considered a down year for him. If he can improve his overall on base percentage and batting average, the Amazins’ will get the star they signed for.

Alonso has gotten consistently better at “waiting for his pitch,” and Jeff McNeil plays exactly like a Lenny Dykstra-esque spark plug when he’s

right. Fans should feel confident about this lineup. Each member can hit for power when necessary, and with the inclusion of Marte, they now boast a number of potential table-setters that could give the lineup some truly fascinating variations.

Historically speaking, the New York Mets are not a franchise that competes for championships. Unlike the rival Yankees, they have had many “lost seasons” that fans would rather forget. The previous administration was more than willing to wager that “slow and steady wins the race,” but Steve Cohen is not that patient. From the moment this past off-season began, it was evident that he wanted to implement a plan that would catapult the Mets to the top of the NL East.

On paper, he’s done just that. The plan is in place, but if the Mets want to make any sort of noise in 2022, they will have to get their star aces back from injury, receive solid innings from a streaky bullpen and correctly utilize a theoretically diverse and powerful lineup.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

The Mets are ready for the season.

SPORTS

April 6, 2022

Page 19

USMNT Qualify For 2022 World Cup

By JAMES BIRLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After missing out on the 2018 edition, their first failure since 1986, the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) officially qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after finishing third in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) World Cup Qualifying standings.

For the 2022 World Cup cycle, the final round of World Cup Qualifying in CONCACAF saw eight teams play a round-robin style for a total of 14 matches with the top three (Canada, Mexico and the United States) advancing directly to the World Cup with the team finishing in fourth place (Costa Rica) advancing to an intercontinental playoff against the highest finishing team from the Oceania region (New Zealand).

As expected, it was a rocky road for the USMNT, as they only won seven of their 14 matches but still managed to comfortably squeak into a direct qualification spot. There were lots of highs and lows from the first 11 matches of qualifying for the United States, including demoralizing losses in Canada and Panama, but also a comeback win against Honduras and a dominant triumph over their biggest rival, Mexico, en route to going undefeated in their seven matches at home.

Despite mixed feelings from fans and media, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter did what he was hired to do and brought his team to their first World Cup since 2014.

The Yanks were led by a squad of mostly younger players that averaged to about 24 years old through

qualifying. Many of this exciting crop of players feature some of the best clubs in Europe, including Christian Pulisic of Chelsea, Weston McKennie of Juventus and Sergiño Dest of Barcelona.

In the most recent FIFA window of qualifying, however, the team was plagued with injuries to Dest, McKennie, Brenden Aaronson and Matt Turner going into crucial matches against Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. The United States sat in second place with 21 points heading into the final window, three points behind Canada in first and four points clear of Panama in fourth.

While the United States seemingly entered the window with one foot already in Qatar, they faced their toughest slate of matches yet, as they had a tough home game against a Panama team they had already fallen to sandwiched between trips to Mexico and Costa Rica, two countries where the USMNT have never won a World Cup Qualifier.

In the opening match of the window against Mexico on March 24, despite calls from some fans and journalists to field a rotated lineup in fear of not having everyone available for the home match against Panama, Berhalter played a very strong starting 11 and it paid off. For the fourth straight match against their biggest foe, USMNT went toe-to-toe with Mexico and extended their undefeated streak against El Tri to four as they came away with a draw. While they never fully took control of the game, the United States had the better chances and looked more dangerous throughout the contest, leaving fans wanting more from the match than a 0-0 draw, an unthinkable result years ago.

Coming into the Panama game on March 27, the Yanks had confidence and a great home crowd on their side in Orlando, needing a win to bring them as close as possible to a World Cup berth.

Fueled by an all-time performance from Pulisic, the Yanks hit the ground running, scoring four goals in the first half, including three goals within a 10 minute period.

Pulisic netted two penalties and a third highlight reel goal in the second half to complete his hattrick and propel the Americans to a huge 5-1 victory over Los Canaleros, eliminating Panama and cementing the United States’ entry to the World Cup in Qatar unless they were to lose to Costa Rica by six goals or more in their final qualifying match.

STAFF WRITER

The Fordham golf team started their spring season on Monday with a disappointing 11th place finish out of 12 teams at the Columbia Spring Invite at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania, a par 70 course.

Junior P.J. O’Rourke led the way for the Rams with his first top-10 finish, at +4, which was good enough for T-10. Junior John Kryscio continued his struggles from the fall with a T-74 finish, shooting +22 in the 36-hole event.

Freshman Jake Mrva also shot +22 just behind fellow freshman Garrett Brown’s +18. The secondplace finisher on the Fordham team was junior captain Nicholas Manning, who finished T-24 with a score of +9. He improved his first 18-hole score of 75 by one shot in the second round. Overall, this is a disappointing start on an individual level for the Rams, as they were hoping for a better start from Kryscio and Mrva coming into the spring season.

Kryscio’s day came to a frustrating end with an eight-over 42 on the back nine. He doubled 10, made four straight bogeys starting at 12 and made a triple on the par-5 17th. An even par back nine would have brought him into the top 10, but the tough back nine at Rolling Green knocked him down

to the T-74 finish.

Justin Burkhamer of Iona College was the only player to finish under par, winning the event by two strokes at -1. An even par first round and a oneunder second round propelled him to victory.

Jeffery Cunningham of Drexel University and Kazuki Osawa from Lafayette College got things started off well with matching 69s in round one, but both struggled in round two. Columbia University's Nathan Han and Edmund Broderick of Lehigh University tied for the best rounds of the day with secondround 66s.

Drexel came away the wireto-wire winner after a +24 combined score, 10 shots better than Lafayette. They started off four shots ahead of Lafayette and bettered their score in the second round to lock down the victory. The host, Columbia, came in third at +35, Iona finished sixth and Fordham 11th.

The Rams finished behind the only Atlantic 10 competition at the event, five shots behind the St. Joseph’s University Hawks.

The difference for the Hawks was J.T Spina who fired a two-under 68 in the second round to push them up the leaderboard. He shot a four-under on the back nine in round two with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 11th.

Lafayette hosts next week’s

points in their final seven matches. While the United States put out a poor performance, it was enough for them to officially qualify for the 2022 World Cup. While the past has shown that it isn’t easy to qualify in CONCACAF, the young talent of this new age in American soccer righting the ship with a great defensive record, conceding just three goals over eight matches with Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson at center back.

With the World Cup set to kick off in Qatar this November, the Yanks were drawn into Group B for the tournament, along with England, Iran and one of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. There is still a lot to figure out for the United States, but there is cause for celebration as the red, white and blue are back where they belong; on the World Cup Stage.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

The USMNT is heading to their first World Cup since 2014, and look to improve beyond 2022.

Golf Struggles Out of Gate

By CHRIS HENESSY

In that final qualifier, Berhalter trotted out another strong side and urged his team to push for the win while Costa Rican manager Luis Fernando Suarez rotated his squad heavily in fears of his more prominent players picking up yellow cards ahead of their probable intercontinental playoff against New Zealand. Berhalter’s decision backfired as the Yanks came out flat with tired legs.

The Costa Rican’s inexperienced squad, fueled by their typical brilliant home atmosphere, looked hungry and capitalized on two uncharacteristic defensive errors from the United States, leading the Ticos to a 2-0 victory over the Americans.

This final win for Costa Rica ended what was an excellent second half to their qualifying campaign, picking up 19 of 21

event, the Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational in Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

The Rams will look to dramatically improve their standing this week as they look down the chute at a very short spring schedule.

They only have two events left before the A-10 Championship at the end of April, and need to improve their play to finish in better standing than last year.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Junior P.J. O'Rourke.

Men’s Tennis Swept at St. Johns

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham men’s tennis team has now dropped their last six matches. In their four most recent losses, they have collected a total of two individual wins across both singles and doubles play, which is only two wins over twenty-two completed tennis matches.

With head coach Nelson Peña no longer being a part of the program, the Rams headed to Queens on Saturday for a tilt with St. John’s University under difficult circumstances. For the Rams, none of their matchups against the Red Storm were particularly competitive.

In singles play, senior Tom Russwurm fell in straight sets, senior Juan Paredes was swept and junior Gio Soemarno lost 6-1, 6-4. None of the other singles matches were completed.

On the doubles side, Ignacio Garcia and Axel Vila Antuna defeated Russwurm and Soemarno, and Giuseppe de Camelis and Evan Felcher topped senior Jofre Segarra and junior Toi Kobayashi.

Lastly, Vlad Vasilache and Carl Gustavsson beat the duo of sophomore Nicholas Kanazirev and Paredes.

The weekend contest took place at the United States Tennis Association

National Tennis Center in Queens, where the Johnnies have played all of their 2022 home matches. This marked the first time either squad had played an outdoor match since the new year.

Fordham’s poor play in the spring season has come as a surprise, especially considering the success the Rams experienced in limited action during the fall.

Fordham won both of their team competitions in October, and signs pointed towards a successful spring. With a squad consisting of mainly upperclassmen leaders like Russwurm, Paredes and Segarra, Fordham’s 4-9 record is disappointing.

Without a win since February, the Rams will head to Easton, Pennsylvania, on Saturday to face the Lafayette Leopards. After that, the Rams will host the College of the Holy Cross on April 16 to conclude their regular season schedule.

It will be a task for Fordham to pick up some momentum before their season is put on the line in Orlando, Florida, during the Atlantic 10 tournament at the end of April. Fordham’s season has been a trying one but all hope is not lost yet.

Losing a head coach in the middle of the season isn't ideal, but the Rams will look to put that aside.

SPORTS

Page 20

April 6, 2022

Baseball Avoids Sweep from St. Louis, Falls to Sienna

By MADDIE BIMONTE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After the Fordham baseball team’s matchup against Manhattan College was canceled last Tuesday, the Rams played their first Atlantic 10 matchup of the year against the St. Louis University Billikens.

The teams were originally slated to wrap up the three game stretch on Sunday, however, rain forced a Saturday double header. Fordham also played a non-conference game against Siena College yesterday.

Kicking off the weekend, the Rams and the Billikens were off to a slow start. Both teams struggled to get players on base and, in the top fourth inning, St. Louis recorded their first run off of sophomore pitcher Cameron Knox, who replaced senior starting pitcher Gabe Karslo in the third. St. Louis struck again in the top of the seventh to bring the score up to 2-0.

The Rams capitalized on a pitching change in the bottom of the eighth as graduate student shortstop C.J. Vasquez led off the inning with a single, followed by two errors made

by St. Louis to advance him to third. Freshman designated hitter Sebastian Mexico singled to send Vasquez home, ending the scoring drought for the Rams throughout the game.

Graduate student relief pitcher Joseph Quintal and the Rams navigated out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth, only

to miss an attempt to tie in the bottom of the inning, losing 2-1.

Saturday would be another test for the Rams as they faced the Billikens for a double header.

St. Louis once again struck first, this time scoring in the top of the third inning. Sophomore starting pitcher Brooks Ey conceded two runs, putting the score to 2-0 in favor of the Billikens.

Fordham’s first run of the day came from sophomore third baseman Nico Boza, as he scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth. But, the Billikens answered back in the top of the eighth, with a solo shot to left field from Fitzgerald. The score then sat at 3-1 going into the bottom of the eighth.

In an electric eighth inning, the Rams started it off with a walk from freshman outfielder Cian Sahler.

Senior Jack Harnisch came in to pinch hit for Boza and delivered a two-run home run to left field, equalizing the score to 3-3.

With the game hanging in the balance, Fordham sent sophomore pinch runner Chris Genaro to replace Vasquez for additional speed to run the bases. It was a strategy that proved to work, as Mexico singled out to left field, and senior catcher Andy Semo gave up a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Genaro ran home courtesy of a passed ball by St. Louis.

The Billikens faced tough pitching from junior relief pitch-

er Ben Kovel, who forced three straight ground outs, helping the Rams avoid the sweep, 4-3. With one last game on the table, the Rams stood a chance of taking the series with each team having one win heading into Sunday.

Saturday’s game two started off quick with St. Louis, who got the jump on Fordham with Schild driving in the first run of the game. They would add more runs in the top of the third against freshman pitcher Robbie Stewart as two runners scored off a single to left field.

St. Louis continued to pour on the runs, adding one in the top of the fourth and three more in the top of the fifth, this time off of freshman pitcher Connor Haywood.

The Rams’ first run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth, where Mexico scored off a wild pitch. Two Rams were left on base, thwarting any attempts to put a dent into the 7-1 St. Louis lead.

A last ditch effort came from the Rams in the bottom of the ninth as a string of walks loaded the bases. Sellinger kicked off the runs, scoring on a wild pitch, followed by a single from Sahler to bring home Harnisch. Senior center fielder Jason Coules was the last Ram to score, however, even with three extra runs, the Rams could not overcome the St. Louis bats, losing the game 7-4.

Hoping to get things back on

track, the Rams rounded out their week against Siena College on Tuesday. While the Rams conceded two runs in the first, their hitting came alive in the second. Mexico led off the inning with a double, followed by a series of walks from the Siena pitcher Arnad Mulamekic, loading the bases.

Patience at the plate allowed graduate student first baseman Casey Brown to walk in Mexico.

After, freshman catcher Diego Prieto doubled down the left field line to score Coules and Sahler, and a sacrifice fly from Vazquez sent Brown home. Now at 4-2, the Rams hoped to extend their lead.

The Rams conceded one run in the third and trouble arose in the fourth for Rams pitcher Stewart, as he allowed one run, evening the score, 4-4. Hayward

came into relief, but allowed four more runs, bolstering the Siena lead to 8-4.

The Rams chipped slowly away at the lead during the sixth, with help from Vazquez and Harnisch. A solo home run by Sahler put the Rams in striking distance to take the lead from the Saints at 9-7.

Unfortunately, the Rams struggled in the bottom of the eighth, giving up three runs, and failed to score any runs in the ninth, losing the game 12-7 and dropping another game they were in.

The Rams will be on the road to face off against the University of Massachusetts for a three game series this weekend with those games starting in the afternoon. They then face off against Columbia University for a one game series on Tuesday at Columbia's home turf with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham was able to salvage a win over Saint Louis in game two.

Rams Sweep UMass in Historic Weekend, Fall to Iona at Home

By THOMAS AIELLO ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham softball team is starting to get hot, and not just that, but they are also writing history in the record books and individually.

The pitching has been front and center as of late, with junior Devon Miller taking the circle for the Rams on Saturday, tossing five near perfect innings for her fourth career no-hitter. Miller is starting to get on a roll in her last four starts, winning those last four, striking out 24 and allowing only one earned run in that span.

Head coach Melissa Inouye also earned her 200th career victory in the Sunday 6-1 victory, capping off a historic weekend for both herself and Miller.

The Rams went 3-1 this week following their 5-4 loss in extras to the Iona College Gaels in the Bronx, the Rams avenged their loss by sweeping the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutewomen at UMass’ home field.

Last Wednesday, Fordham hosted the Gaels at the friendly confines of Bahoshy Field in an out of conference mid-week special. Freshman Emilee Watkins made the start for the Rams, as Iona sent junior pitcher Kara Zazzaro into the circle.

The Gaels got down to business in the first inning, driving in two runs on one hit by graduate student Natalia Meray. The second run came off a fielding error which allowed junior Allie Taylor to make it 2-0 early. The Rams

got one run back after a sacrifice fly by sophomore Bailey Enoch, which drove in freshman Allie Clark in the bottom of the first inning.

Iona cooked up a two-run home run by senior Jessica Chilcott, ballooning the lead to 4-1 by the third.

At this point, Watkins’ day was over for Fordham as she went three total innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out two.

Fordham climbed back with graduate student Rachel Hubertus and senior Julia Martine, who hit a solo home run and two-run home run, respectively, to tie things up at four. Fordham and Iona both had multiple chances to win the game, but run production became stale as the game entered extra innings.

Enoch entered in relief for Watkins, and she kept Iona at bay with eight strikeouts over five strong innings. Iona eventually got things rolling in the top of the eighth. After a single by sophomore Kayla Haywood, freshman Brianna Bailey smacked a double into the outfield. A misplay allowed Haywood to score all the way from first, and Iona held on 5-4 to win this standalone game in extras.

Fordham then bused up north to Amherst to face UMass in a three game weekend series. On Saturday, the Rams commenced a double header with a 9-0 annihilation of UMass. Things got started when Fordham put three of its first four batters on base which set the stage for Enoch

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham softball concludes a historic weekend. the year. who tattooed a grand slam to Game two was more of the slingshot Fordham in front 4-0. same with the Rams getting afThe Rams didn’t look back, as ter it in the first inning, this time Hubertus came up in the very with Clark scoring graduate stunext inning and charged a threedent Brianna Pinto on a sacrifice run rocket out of the yard, her fly.

Then, Hubertus hit another team-high ninth of the season. home run, this time a solo missile Hubertus has been on a tear in to make it 2-0 in the first. her last five games, whacking at In the second inning, senior least one home run in each game Sarah Taffet joined the home run while driving in nine runs over party by shooting a two-run blast that span. to double the lead to 4-0, tallying Fordham continued to adminher second of the year. Martine ister pain in the third inning, smacked her seventh home run when Clark sliced a single and a of the year in the third, making throwing error paved the way for things 5-0 by the fourth inning. senior Gigi Speer to touch home UMass got two runs back, as plate and push the lead out to senior Kendra Allen drove in one 8-0. off an RBI single in the bottom Enoch drilled a solo home run of the third.

Then, in the bottom in the fourth inning, sealing the of the fourth, sophomore Bella envelope 9-0 and forcing the Pantoja drove in another run off mercy win in game one. a single to make things 5-2.

But Miller took the circle for the in the fifth, Enoch blasted a twoRams, and tossed five near perrun home run to essentially end fect innings and walked only four things at 7-2. This was Enoch’s batters on the day. This was her third home run on Saturday. fourth career no-hitter, and she Senior Makenzie McGrath also did so by striking out six batters had a solid outing in the circle for while collecting her fifth win of

the Rams, going the distance for the third time this year. McGrath allowed eight hits, struck out a career high nine batters and earned her fifth win of the year.

The Sunday finale saw Fordham make quick work of the UMass, despite them drawing first blood via a sacrifice bunt and a throwing error that had them in front 1-0. But once again, the Rams rolled back in front with another hit parade that began in the third inning.

Clark generated her second sacrifice fly to score Speer. Then, Hubertus launched another home run, her 12th of the year, pushing Fordham in front 3-1. Junior Amanda Carey ripped a two-run blast in the fifth that scored Miller. A Martine sacrifice fly scored Pinto and capped things out with Fordham winning 6-1, sweeping UMass to improve to 15-14 on the year and 7-4 in A-10 play.

Fordham has bounced back nicely after a gauntlet of a start with three tournaments against top competition. The Rams are rumbling and look to gain more momentum into A-10 play.

The Rams will return to New York but at Manhattan College to take on the Jaspers in a double header on Wednesday, before returning to Bahoshy Field on Saturday to face Kent State in another doubleheader with first pitch aiming for a 1 p.m. start in the Bronx. They look to keep the momentum going as the A-10 tournament fastly approaches.