The Fordham Ram Volume 100, Issue 6
Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 FordhamRam.com
See centennial spread, pages 12-13. March 14, 2018
Former Daily News EIC Speaks By JOERGEN OSTENSEN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
FUEMS Wins Awards By SOPHIA GIATZIS STAFF WRITER
KEVIN STOLTENBORG/THE FORDHAM RAM
FDM reveals its final total raised for The Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation in its fifth year.
FDM Surpasses $100,000 in Fifth Annual Fundraiser By AISLINN KEELY NEWS EDITOR
Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) surpassed a long-awaited milestone last Friday by raising over $100,000 for The Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation. Confetti rained on the FDM organizers as they hoisted posters revealing a final total of $101,643.44 raised for childhood
cancer. Organizers set the goal of $100,000 early in the fundraising process, incentivizing people to be part of a record year. The goal was broken during the marathon itself, according to Claire Polachek, FCRH ’19, vice president of Residence Halls Association (RHA) and executive director of FDM. It is traditional to freeze the donation percentage before the start
of the dance marathon, according to Polachek. On Wednesday night, FDM had reached 80 percent of its goal. By the morning of the marathon, the group still had $10,000 to raise to reach the $100,000 mark. Polachek said she grew nervous at the size of the task as March 9 approached, but felt confident it could be achieved. SEE FDM, PAGE 6
Arthur Browne, former editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News, said that he is troubled by the state of local news in an event hosted by the Communications and Media Studies Department. Browne retired from his post at the Daily News in December, where he said he saw local news threatened by a changing industry. He told Fordham students that local news will remain in serious jeopardy unless there are alterations made to the current economic models. “Local news is dying across the country. It does not make money on the web,” Browne said. “The model as it’s now practiced is simply not sustainable.” Newspapers like the Daily News have fundamentally changed because of the Internet, according to Browne. In the past, people purchased newspapers to read about what was happening in their local SEE BROWNE, PAGE 5
USG Advocates to Change Club Times By HANNAH GONZALEZ ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
This semester, United Student Government (USG) launched an initiative to encourage clubs to further accommodate commuter students. Headed by Senator Selin Berberoglu, FCRH ’19, the initiative calls for clubs to meet at least once a month at times accessible for commuter schedules. In an email to all club leadership on campus in early March, Berberoglu introduced the initiative and asked that clubs work with her to ensure inclusive meeting times. “Many commuters feel like they cannot make friends outside of commuters and feel slightly ostracized by clubs and other residents,” said Berberoglu in the email. “To tackle this issue in the spring 2018 semester, I would like to push all extracurriculars to have inclusive meetings times for commuters at least once a month.” To promote this goal, Berberoglu is working to arrange a town hall meeting with all club leaders to discuss how clubs can SEE USG, PAGE 3
KEVIN STOLTENBORG/THE FORDHAM RAM
Students congregate around the Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe Fountain to protest white supremacy and racist rhetoric.
Students Protest White Supremacy at Fordham
By JOERGEN OSTENSEN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Students gathered at the Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe Fountain on Monday afternoon to protest white supremacy at Fordham and what they considered to be a lack of a condemnation by the administration and unfair resolutions to incidents of hate speech on campus.
Fordham Students United (FSU) organized the protest and around 20 students attended. During the hour and a half event, there was near constant use of a megaphone for speeches and chants. Protesters said the impetus for the protest included the Rodrigues Coffee House incident and the photo of Fordham students posing with a Kekistan flag on Murphy Field.
In an email advertising the protest, FSU said it felt the university protected students who used hurtful rhetoric. “Fordham’s response, or lack thereof, to these events shows that the only free speech Fordham is willing to protect is the violent and racist rhetoric that actively targets and threatens students of color, LGSEE PROTEST, PAGE 3
Fordham University EMS (FUEMS) received four awards at the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation’s (NCEMSF) 25th annual conference during the last week in February. One of the awards was the EMS Organization of the Year, which it won in a group of over 200 other collegiate EMS organizations across the United States, Canada and other parts of the world. Its other awards included the HEARTSafe Campus award, which recognizes EMS services with quality cardiac arrest responses, the EMS Ready Campus Bronze Award, which awards emergency preparedness and the Striving for Excellence in Campus EMS award, which awards excellent life support services. FUEMS Chief Heather Cahill said she was overcome with joy at receiving the four awards in February on behalf of FUEMS. “In the past two years, I have been able to aid and watch Fordham EMS grow and improve and become what it is today,” she said. “This award is for remarkable young people, of today and our forty year history, who have donated thousands of hours of service to keeping the Fordham community safe and healthy. I am so proud of every one of our members.” Director of Fordham University EMS Marykate Decker, FCRH ‘18, wrote a letter outlining the progress that FUEMS made over the last year and how certain aspects of the organization set it apart from others. She sent this letter to NCEMSF and itserved as the foundation for FUEMS, receiving the EMS Organization of the Year award. In 2017, FUEMS improved their relations with the community outside of the Rose Hill gates, according to those involved. Decker said FUEMS “formed a bridge” between itself and the Fire Department of New York, standing in solidarity with the FDNY when FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo lost her life servSEE FUEMS, PAGE 6
in this issue
Opinion
Page 11 British Vogue Must Value Diversity
Sports
Page 24
Baseball Rides Bats, Knehr to Doubleheader Sweep
Culture Page 15 Rob Cohen Discusses The Hurricane Heist