Volume 104 Orientation

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Classes begin on Wednesday, Aug. 31, giving everyone the op portunity to experience a dose of their class schedule and prevent early burnout. That same day is the club fair, where clubs on the Rose Hill campus table and recruit members. Make sure to visit The Fordham Ram’s table to learn more about writing for the paper! The add/drop period ends Sept. 8 and the first big event is the President’s Inaugural Ball on Sept. 16. Fordham’s equivalent of homecoming re quires semiformal attire and students tend to go all out with the celebrations and outfits. Family Weekend, held start ing Sept. 30, includes a football pregame and tailgate, a NYCstyle brunch, a performance showcase and a communal mass. Family Weekend is a great way for first-year stu dents to introduce their par ents to everything Fordham has to offer and to experience the beginning of football sea son at Rose Hill. Sept. 15 is the start of Latinx Heritage Month and the Office of Multicultural Affairs always hosts a mul titude of events, including free giveaways and events celebrating a variety of cul tural cuisines. The celebra tions extend to mid-October, which is also the middle of LGBTQ+ History Month, so on Fordham’s COVID-19 Protocol and Policy OF FORDHAM NEWS Fall

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From COVID-19 to new student centers to unions to student elections, the 2022 spring semester was filled with notable events. To many students and Fordham community mem bers, the most notable and important thing that hap pened to the university com munity last semester was President Tania Tetlow being announced as the successor to Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president emeritus. Tetlow’s appointment is significant as she is the first layperson and woman to ever be appointed to the position at Fordham. Before her time at Fordham, she served as university presi dent of Loyola University in New Orleans. The community

President Tania Tetlow was officially sworn in as president of the university on July 1, 2022.

EDITOR

EMMA KIM ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 August 29, 2022Volume 104, Orientation Issue TheFordhamRam.com

Opinion

Fall semester is arguably the most exciting on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. It kicks off with freshmen orientation, a multi-day event to introduce first-year students to univer sity culture, academics and social life. It also familiarizes new students with Fordham’s academic and conduct policy.

Fordham University adapted its COVID-19 policy to fit updated CDC guidelines and case numbers in New York.

PresidentGoalsTetlow:TaniaasNew

An Update

By ISABEL DANZIS

Spring Noteworthy2022HeadlineRecap

President Tania Tetlow was of ficially sworn in as president of Fordham University on July 1. Her presidency follows Rev. Jo seph M. McShane, S.J., after he announced he would leave the position in fall 2021. She was elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to replace McShane starting in fall 2022. Before coming to Fordham, Tetlow served as the president of Loyola University in New Orleans. Prior to Loyola, Tetlow worked as a lawyer. She is the first woman and lay person to serve as Fordham’s president. All previous presidents have been members of the Jesuit priesthood. Tetlow’s experience as Loyola’s president gives her a unique perspective in univer sity administration before com ing to Fordham. Since July, Tetlow has been interacting with the commu nity as president. In a note to the Fordham community on the day of her appointment, she stated that she was “nexcited,” which is a combination of nervous and excited. In that

NEWS EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

SEE COVID, 3 same statement she wrote: “I cannot wait to meet you all, and only wish I could do it simul taneously. I want to know what you love most about Fordham, about your work and studies and research. And I want to hear the ways you constantly work to make Fordham better, and the ideas you have for the future.” She was welcomed to Fordham on July 5 at a coffee reception at Rose Hill and a similar program on July 14 at the Lincoln Center campus. In August, she spoke with Fordham’s first-year law students about her time as a lawyer as well as giving them advice. Tetlow also worked to clarify the university’s hybrid/remote work policy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In early August, she traveled with a delegation from the university to the Vatican in Rome. There, discussions were had with Cardinal Versaldi about inclu sivity, Catholic education and Fordham’s global position. Tetlow has many goals lined up for her tenure as president. In addition to being president of Loyola, Tetlow also served as Associate Professor and Director of Tulane’s Domestic Violence Clinic. She said that one of her biggest goals is to make sure the Title IX protocols at Fordham are up to standard and to improve safety on campus. In addition to Title IX, Tetlow stressed the impor tance of diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.

By SAM MINEAR ASSISTANT

By ISABEL DANZIS NEWS

Run-Down:Semester2022WhattoExpect

The Fordham Ram

SEE FALL, PAGE 3 COURTESY

According to a press confer ence during spring 2022, she said that another one of her biggest goals is to promote diversity and make sure that everyone feels welcome in the Fordham community. In the same press confer ence, Tetlow said that she hopes to also work on im proving retention rates. Tetlow plans to spend her tenure listening to students and getting to know what they want for the univer sity. She plans to listen to students and staff to help understand what they want to see happen at Fordham. Looking forward, Tetlow will attend the CCEL’s first back to school festival on Sept. 2.

Bathrooms are for Bonding Sports A Guide to Intramural Sports Culture Getting Around New York City Page 9 in this issue

Fordham University has up dated several of its COVID-19 protocols for the fall semester. According to Keith Eldredge, assistant vice president and dean of student services, there 3 are two significant changes this semester.“Oneis that at this time we are not going to do any surveillance or return-to-campus testing,” said Eldredge. Last year, stu dents were required to submit a negative test before returning to campus after breaks. Eldredge stated that return-to-campus test ing might be reinstated as time goes on, but for now, it will not be required. Another change is VitalCheck, which is no longer required as a daily attestation, unlike in the

COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES

While 85 acres of universi ty campus may not seem like much, a new student might have a difficult time learning how to navigate campus for the first two weeks or so. To make it easier, the Fordham Ram is providing a run-down of all the need-to-know spots a new student will need to thrive as they adjust to campus life.

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Residence Halls If you’re a new student, chanc es are you’ve already been situated in one of seven fresh man residence halls: Loschert, Alumni Court South, Martyrs’ Court, Queen’s Court, Tierney orButLoyola/Faber.onceyou make it past that first year and choose to continue living on cam pus, you might end up in O’Hare Hall, the densest hall on campus (home to major ity of sophomores), Finlay, Walsh, or, if you’re a junior or senior, Campbell or SaliceConley. While the first few days of living in your new dorm might feel uncomfort able, all it needs is some time to become lived-in and comfy. Where To Eat Some of the hardest choices you’ll have to make while liv ing on campus come down to where you go for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Quick warning: if you’re go ing to eat on campus during the first few weeks of classes, be prepared to wait in ridicu lously long lines. Get there early.Alternatively, you can use GrubHub to order your meals ahead, but be aware that many other students also use this method.Thefirst, and largest, dining location is the Marketplace (AKA the Caf) (1), located in the McShane Campus Center. The Marketplace is divided into two distinct sections: the seating hall and the kitchen hall, the latter of which holds several kitchens that each pro vide a distinct cuisine – from vegan options to rotating eth nic cuisines, pizzas, salads, desserts and burgers. The din ing options at the Marketplace vary on a day-to-day basis, so check in and see whether that day’s meals appetize you. The other two larger din ing options are Cosí (2) and Urban Kitchen (3). Both situ ated on the ground floor of residence halls (Campbell and O’Hare, respectively), each of fers entirely different menus that never change. Cosí offers a selection of salads, soups, sandwiches and pizzas. Urban Kitchen, on the other hand, has a much more eclectic se lection of food. The Grill at Urban caters to a palate more akin to the Americana din ing world of burgers, chees esteaks, chicken tenders and fries. That being said, Urban Kitchen does offer health ier choices in its salad and smoothieAnotherbars.popular dining spot, especially for freshmen, is Boar’s Head Deli and P.O.D. (4), or Provisions on Demand. Both of these spots occupy the same space in the Queen’s Court Deli. Boar’s Head is where you go for those deli sandwiches. While you’re there, use your Declining Cash Balance to buy snacks, fruits or frozen meals from P.O.D.. If you’re on the lookout for a bite to eat while you’re rush ing to class, the off-campus building known as Faculty Memorial Hall (on Belmont and East Fordham Road) is home to Salt and Sesame (5), which offers pastries like ba where students will have to go in order to gain fur ther information about the different types of aid avail able, how to manage their current cost and fees to the university and find loan re sources for financing their education.AlsoinThebaud is the of fice of Student Employment (10), which, as it sounds, helps students manage stu dent employment during their time at Fordham. Stu dents may go to the office of Student Employment to find an on-campus job. With that being said, it may be difficult to find a job if you are not given prior ity through federal workstudy.Additionally, both the Of fice of Career Services and the Career Centers (11), found on the second floor of the McShane Student Center, can also be a help ful resource for students looking for support in starting careers outside of university academics. They will help pair you with a career counselor at the uni versity, who will then help you work through all the aspects of job hunting, in cluding writing resumes, asking for references and looking for the best and most suitable jobs. As you proceed further through job searches, the counselor will even help prepare you for interviews and guide you through resources in maintaining a successful academic career simulta

On the other hand, the univer sity’s Emergency Medical Services (FUEMS) (8) office can be found in the basement of Queen’s Court, next to the courtyard in front of Loschert Hall.

August 29, 2022

By

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/THE FORDHAM RAM Fordham’s Rose Hill campus has drastically changed in the 183 years since it was originally purchased by Reverend John J. Hughes as ‘Rose Hill Manor’ in 1839. neous to your financial career. Walsh Library

gels and muffins in addition to paninis, sandwiches and wraps. There is also a Starbucks (6) on the ground floor of Dealy Hall. Student Services One of the better parts about campus living is the number of places dedicated to student ser vices on campus. Let’s take a look at some of the most impor tantFordham’sones. Health Services (7), which is comprised of both physical health and counsel ing/psychological services, can be found in the lower base ment level of O’Hare and is ac cessible from across from the main residence hall entrance. There are a number of medical services at students’ disposal, from generalized health care to more specialized health care for male, female or LGBTQ+ stu dents. Students are also free to make an appointment or walkin to the health services office for Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), which helps students receive necessary mental health care either through in-house spe cialists or outsourced experts.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House Rodrigue’s is by far the most dis tinct locale at Rose Hill. Complete ly student-run, the shop serves coffee and tea at low (cash-only) prices for students looking for a place to study or relax. The alter native aesthetic of Rod’s interior helps inject a much-needed queer flavor to Rose Hill’s campus. As much as I love Rod’s, beware the aux. As you walk into the cof fee shop, you may find yourself amidst either some of the best or worst music you have ever heard.

Another important office that students may look for is the Of fice of Financial Aid (9). While normally located in Thebaud Hall (down the street from Ed die’s towards the Bathgate en trance), the office is temporarily located in the Thebaud Modular Unit across from Duane library. The Office of Financial Aid is

SEBASTIAN DIAZ FEATURES EDITOR

The Walsh Library is a building dedicated to providing academic resources. Outside of hosting the campus’s physical collection of ac ademic texts and books (including an extensive collection of reference texts), there are also multiple other services offered to students within the building. Take, for example, the school’s Writing Center, where students can go to receive guidance on improving their writing skills or have their essays peer-reviewed. The library also has technologi cal resources for students who need to get their hands on clerical equip ment. Computer labs and rooms dedicated to copying, scanning and printing documents can be found on the first floor of the library. Additionally, check out the ex hibit Museum of Greek, Etruscan, & Roman Art while you’re in there.

FordhamTourWrittenoftheRoseHillCampus

It all depends on who’s taken con trol of the speakers. If you end up getting lost trying to navigate across campus, there are, luckily, a number of maps and signs posted to help you find the buildings you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask for direc tions if you need them.

Noteworthy1

Fordham University’ s Updated COVID-19 Guide

COURTESY OF THE ARCHIVES

SPRING, PAGE 1

Semester 2022 FROM FALL, PAGE

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI

studying) are Dec 12 and 13, and exams for modern lan guages are held on the 13. Fi nals officially kick off on the 14 and end the 21, with the 21 being the last day to move out of housing. Holiday break this year will start the next day, on the 22, and students are ex pected to return by the time classes resume on Jan. 17.

Off-campus visitors will now be allowed on campus, marking one of the biggest changes from last year’s policy. said goodbye to McShane as Tetlow was officially sworn in as president over the summer. Fordham University opened up its doors for spring semes ter 2022 in the midst of the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite the cases, students and faculty resumed a fully in-person se mester. The university an nounced mandatory re-entry testing for Additionally,students.the start of the spring semester was met with cancellations. Ramfit, Rose Hill’s Athletic Center was closed, audience mem bers on indoor winter sports were controlled, off-campus visi tors were limited and there were few events involving food. In January, shortly before the return to campus, Tremont, a neighborhood next to Ford ham, suffered a devastating apartment fire. The university community aided the Tremont community through a variety of initiatives. Student groups, like the a capella groups, The Satin Dolls and The Ramblers, raised money through a social media campaign. The universi ty encouraged people to donate to Catholic charities. Later on in the semester, Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learn ing (CCEL) partnered with the New York Giants to help people suffering from the lasting effects of the fire. In terms of on-campus chang es, the shiny new student center opened for student use. Students began using the new hub for studying, recreation and events. Campus Ministries, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, CCEL and Career Services were all able to move into their new offices. With the opening of the new student center, the old commuter lounge was closed and many commut ing students started spending their time in the new space. RamFit opened at the begin ning of February and students were able to start using the renovated weight room. The gym’s new additions were one of the most highly antici pated aspects of the new stu dent center renovation. After almost a semester of use, the new student center finally re ceived a name at the end of April. The building was named after McShane in an official dedication ceremony outside the building. The McShane cam pus Center is still undergoing renovations but remains open thisThesemester.Office of Multicultural Affairs continued its program ming and hosted events all throughout the semester to honor certain holidays and cul tures. They celebrated Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, MLK week and Asian American and Pacific Islander history. Fordham’s graduate student workers banded together to form the Fordham Graduate Student Workers (FGSW). Fordham in troduced its first First Generation Network for students who are the first in their family to attend col lege. The pandemic restrictions eventually loosened up and the university was able to lift its mask mandate in May. Fordham Dance Marathon raised $116,564 for cancer re search. In-person spring week end and spring break returned for the first time since the start of COVID-19 pandemic. The United Student Government (USG) faced backlash over elec tion transparency and the stu dent body elected new officials for the 2022-23 school year.

“The main change is that we will return to externally spon sored events on campus,” said Eldredge. “We allow facilities to be used by an external group. [For example], in the summer time, a lot of local schools will hold their [graduation] ceremo ny on campus.” For the past two years, no external events have taken place on campus, only Fordham-sponsored events or events for students on campus. In an email to students living on cam pus on Aug. 23, Residential Life announced the return of guest pass privileges. Students will be allowed to apply for overnight guest passes and guest passes for external visitors. Eldredge also noted that the gym no longer requires students to sign-up for time-slots, which went into effect Aug. 8. Finally, Eldredge said there will be a change to the quaran tine and isolation requirements, in accordance with the new CDC recommendations.WhiletheCDCpreviously rec ommended that those not upto-date on vaccinations should quarantine if exposed, they will no longer be required to. Instead, it is recommended that they wear a high-quality mask and test on day five. This is the same policy that was previously in place for those who are up-to-date with vacci nations. The school still requires a fiveday isolation for a positive test. However, instead of requir ing a negative test on day five to end isolation, students will be able to leave on day six if they are symptom-free and fever-free without medication for 24 hours.

FROM

Thanksgiving recess begins Nov. 23 and classes resume on Nov. 28. December is an excit ing event typically filled with Christmas-themed events; clubs will hold holiday parties and the Commuter Student Association has held events such as hot choc olate socials in the past to get stu dents in the festive mood. The last day of classes is on Dec. 9. Fordham’s reading days (meaning no classes, meant for

COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES Fall semester gives oppertunities for students to get involved on campus.

August 29, 2022 Page 3NEWS

What to Forward to in Fall

Headlines from the Spring 2022 Semester

RAM

the festivities only grow. With mid-semester evalua tions due on Oct. 26, midterms can be expected to be held in the week prior to give professors ample time for grading before Thanksgiving break. When cer tain midterms are depend on the student, but can be deter mined by the course’s syllabi.

FROM COVID, PAGE 1

The McShane Campus Center was one of the biggest additions to Fordham.

past two years. “We still have daily notifications in place. Re ally it is an opportunity [for students] if they are experienc ing symptoms, or if they tested positive, as a way to notify the faculty,” said Eldredge. VitalCheck will still be used to manage vaccine, testing and isolation requirements and it will remain integrated with the ID card system for access to campus. Following CDC guidelines, Eldredge said that students are still required to be fully up-to-date with vac cines.Atthe moment, the second booster is only required for indi viduals who are 50 years or older. The masking protocol will be the same as the end of the spring semester, said Eldredge. Masks are not required in doors on campus, but they are stillHowever,recommended.thereare two ex ceptions: masks are still re quired on the Ram Van and in any health center-related facility or testing site. “Faculty members still have the discretion to make it [masks] required,” said Eldredge. In an email to the Fordham community at the end of July, it was announced that the campus will open to non-Fordham visi tors on Sept. 1. According to the email, all visitors over six months of age are expected to be up-to-date on vaccinations. “They could come to campus last year, but only for specific events — like a football game or family weekend."

Look

The year was 2019. I showed up to classes 20 minutes early. I slept in a twin bed approxi mately three feet away from a girl I had met only days prior. I sent frequent and feverish texts to my high school friends in a carefully named group chat. I was a freshman, and I hated college. Even worse to admit, I hated Fordham. For all the scared, lonely col lege freshmen, or sophomores, or juniors, for that matter, who are reading this article, I am here to tell you that you are not alone. I know how annoying that can be to hear. I remember my mom trying to assuage my fears during tear-filled phone calls, quoting other moms from the Fordham Facebook group who posted about their own childrens’ troubles. I did not want to hear it, because my dra matic 18-year-old self believed there was no one out there who understood what I was going through. (Before you ask, yes, I have a Pisces moon.) Everyone else at Fordham had made lifelong friends. Ev eryone else had plans on the weekend. They had traditions, like meeting up with friends in the cafeteria for dinner, or go I don’t want to write this arti cle. I would be more than happy to gatekeep the many virtues of the Fordham Writing Center. But as a Fordham student with a couple years' experience un der her belt, I feel obligated to share some of the knowledge I’ve gleaned over the past two years with my fellow Rams. Within the first few weeks of your Composition I or Compo sition II class, your professor may bring in one of the tu tors from the Writing Center. They’ll give you a sales pitch as to why you should book an ap pointment with them when you have an essay due that’s worth 30% of your grade. Even though your brain will feel bogged down by all the different “ab solutely essential” things you must do in your freshman year, I urge you to pay attention to that sales pitch. I was skeptical during the sales pitch in my own class. My prior experience with the writ ing center at my high school was less than helpful. The center was just a cramped room off of the library, and our “tutor” was an English teacher who hated me. I’m convinced that she pur posely didn’t correct any of my grammar mistakes. So, I really

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/THE FORDHAM RAM

TAYLOR HERZLICH OPINIONBathroomsEDITOR are for Bonding

August 29, 2022OPINIONPageBy4

Don’t Discount the Writing

By NICOLE BRAUN OPINION EDITOR

The Writing Center is located in Walsh Library on Fordham's Rose Hill Campus. ing out to their favorite bar or sleeping over in each other’s dorm rooms. I had run out of time.Idespised Fordham. I resent ed its tall, stoic buildings; bleak gray stones and skies. Learning about school clubs only fueled my rage, filling me with envy over fun campus events that I had no one to go to with. I felt guilty for choosing Fordham for my future; I was wasting tuition money and the prime years of my life in my dorm room, watching "The Bachelor" on my laptop and eating fudge-cov ered Nutter Butters by the box. I felt I had done enough to earn some newfound friends. My lack of friends and other freshmen’s abundance was un just! Though when I thought about it, I never went to any club meetings unless my room mate would come with me. And I never went out on the week ends. And I never really did anything unless my roommate was with me. I gained a wonder ful friend in my roommate, but I was not truly putting myself out there. I was keeping myself in Martyrs’ room 402. Howev er, I had a saving grace, the one thing that made freshman year worth it and turned around my social life: the Martyrs’ Court communal bathrooms. Yes, the bathroom was less to share a room with a new best friend for the second year in a row. We managed to make our own fun during a time of Zoom classes and GrubHub. She asked to show one of her friends our room, and I said yes. The next day, I saw that same girl in one of my classes. We sat next to each other. In these small, simple ways, the list of friends and the col lection of good memories I had at Fordham grew. Now, I can not wait for my last year at Fordham. The weekends do not seem long enough. Now, I think of study sessions in the cafeteria and scenic late-night walks in the snow with friends to Urban. I take the time to re ally look around campus after classes, because I know one day soon I will miss the beauty I am surrounded with, the changing leaves and gothic buildings. When I walk past Martyrs’ Court, I still remember those days of feeling alone. I remem ber those phone calls to my mom. But mostly, I think about how Martyrs’ Court gave me some of the best people in my life. You do not have to force your self to go to every party or join every club. The smallest acts of bravery can have the most mean ingful rewards. Sometimes, all it takes is saying goodnight in the bathroom. than ideal in some ways. There was a touch of mold in the sinks and some of the girls chose to forego shower shoes. There was no air conditioning, which meant we were forced to keep the windows wide open without any screens. Our screenless life led to me getting attacked by a dragonfly in a vulnerable postshower state, but that is a story for another time. Every night, I would pad into the Martyrs’ court bath room with my plastic shower caddy to brush my teeth and wash my face before bed. Soon enough, my embarrassingly early bedtime schedule seemed to link up with a neighbor. She would come into the bathroom a few minutes after me and we would stand next to each other in silence, our electric tooth brushes whirring. This contin ued for a few nights, and each night, whoever was the first to leave the bathroom would say, “Goodnight.” That was all it took for us to recognize each other when we were placed in the same class and start texting and hanging out. Our meet-cute friendship boils down to saying goodnight to each other in the bathroom. I went from having one friend to two. That is how it begins to get better. Putting yourself out into the world in the smallest of ways can lead to huge changes in your life. In order to feel less lonely, I had to learn to feel comfortable doing things alone. I know this logic sounds contradictory, but embracing your independence can open you up to more oppor tunities to meet new people. I decided to go to my first school club meeting by myself — The Fordham Ram. Does this count as breaking the fourth wall? I got to pitch my own article ideas and brainstorm with oth er student writers. I was writ ing again and seeing my name published in a real newspaper. It was thrilling and rewarding and it made me excited about school. I respected my column editors, one of whom I would become co-editors and best friends with a year later. I got to work alongside one of my favor ite people every week producing a paper we were both so proud of.The end of freshman year creeped up. My roommate and I were basically attached at the hip, but she was transferring schools. Instead of waiting for a random roommate selection, I reached out to girls in my dorm building. One girl mentioned a friend who was also strug gling to find a roommate. With out ever meeting this friend, I agreed to room with her. Somehow, I got lucky enough Center

thought that Fordham’s would be just another waste of time. That couldn’t be further from the truth. During my first halfhour appointment, a kind and patient tutor provided thought ful feedback and critiqued my writing, and then I knew that this was a resource I couldn’t ignore.Over the past two years, I have brought every single one of my essays to the Writing Cen ter. Actually, “essays” is push ing it — sometimes I’ve brought scraps of ideas along with my prompt and a tutor helped me craft my muddled thoughts into a thesis and an outline. I truly cannot express how much I ap preciate the people in the Writ ing Center (maybe I should have booked an appointment with them, they would have helped me find the words). Booking an appointment with the Writing Center might seem like a complicated pro cess, but I assure you that it’s not. Press “schedule an ap pointment” under the Writing Center’s website, log in to the portal with your Fordham ID and select a time with a tutor. You can book a 30- to 90-min ute long time slot, and the cen ter is located on the first floor of Walsh Library. If you want to ensure an even more beneficial experience, research the differ ent tutors. For example, if you have a philosophy essay due, book an appointment with one of the team members who has a background in philosophy because they might be able to provide you with more specific advice.Ialso encourage you to book your appointments as far in advance as possible, especially during midterms and finals when most people will be need ing help with their essays. Sim ilarly, to help me stay on sched ule with all of my due dates, I schedule a Writing Center ap pointment the day before my essay due date. This helps to motivate me and ensure that I’m not word vomiting the night before it’s due, praying I hit the word count. Every tutor I have worked with has been so thoughtful and patient, and they have not only helped me improve my skills, but they have also helped me become a more confident writer. If you want to advance your writing to the college level and earn those good grades, then spending some time in the Writing Center is absolutely worth it. I promise you. Maybe I’ll see you there this semester.

Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) is one of the most popular clubs on campus — and for good reason. FDM is a multi-tiered and almost businesslike club whose objective is to raise mon ey to fight and raise awareness about pediatric cancer and help those who have been impacted by it. This organization is a year-long

By NICOLE BRAUN OPINION EDITOR COURTESY OF FACEBOOK COURTESY OF THE RAM ARCHIVES

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/ THE FORDHAM RAM Saying yes to new experiences is a unique opportunity that college offers.

By DANIELLA TERILLI ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR

I can’t overstate the importance of joining clubs in your first year of college. There are as many reasons why you should join a club as there are clubs at Fordham, so, about 130 (give or take) just at Rose Hill alone. Joining a club will not only give you insight into choosing your major or help you pursue your interests, but becoming a member of an on-campus organ ization will also help you build relationships with other students and immerse yourself in the Fordham community. These past few years have been defined by so much disconnection, so forming bonds with other stu dents is more important than ever. Outlined below are descriptions of just a few of Fordham’s many clubs. Whether you choose to join a popular and prominent club like United Student Government (USG), or a lesser-known and newer one like Fordham Magic Society, doing so will help you become more engaged with your new community, and, cheesy as it is, help you “find yourself.”

FDM fundraises for cancer research during the year through events. USG gives students opportunities to run for office or join committees.

August 29, 2022 Page 5OPINION

Be Open to New College Experiences

The Importance of Clubs at Fordham fundraising effort that culminates in (you guessed it) a dance marathon in the spring. In the past few years, FDM has raised over half a million dollars. There are many ways you can get involved with FDM: fund raising, marketing, publishing and social media. You can even work on planning fun events for chil dren fighting pediatric cancer, who are known as the club’s “he roes.” Joining FDM is an oppor tunity to explore your own inter ests while working in service of a worthyLeadingcause.Women of Tomorrow and Smart Women Securities are two clubs with the purpose of get ting women involved with tradition ally male-dominated industries: politics and finance, respectively. Through discussions, education and conversations with profession als in their fields, these two clubs are focused on developing a com munity of like-minded, passionate women. Creating such a community does not only improve one’s experi ence on campus, but it also gives students a network of peers and mentors once they graduate.

Fordham is certainly not lacking in clubs that publish students’ orig inal writing, whether it be creative writing or research-based. One of these clubs is The Ampersand. Pub lishing a magazine in the fall and spring semester, The Ampersand is an outlet devoted to highlighting the creative work of the student body, such as poems and short sto ries. Weekly meetings, held in the basement of Rodrigue’s Coffee House (a building that itself stands as a testament to the creativity and self-expression of Fordham students), often consist of workshopping and conscientiously critiquing exist ing work, as well as prompting new writing. The vibe at these meetings is both relaxed and engaging, and writers of all levels are welcome — as long as they are open to expanding their abilities. I would be remiss (and per haps fired?) if I didn’t mention The Fordham Ram, which is our university’s oldest journal of re cord. The staff of the Ram is a di verse and driven campus com munity that strives to deliver the very best for Fordham’s students and faculty, as well as the general public. Our week ly newspaper is the product of hours of peer editing and near-constant reviewing. It is truly something we are proud of, and we hope to cre ate something that will stand the test of time, or at least re main in the filing cabinets for future Fordham students to explore. If you are interested in a collaborative and deter mined community, the Ram would be glad to have you. You can write, copy edit, take pho tos or contribute to our social media or website pages. Just email theram@fordham.edu if you’re interested in joining.

For many students, enter ing college is like a clean slate. You’re ready to meet new people, live independently for the first time and go through the ever-so-alluring process of finding yourself. It’s the first day of the rest of your life; now what? The biggest advice I’d give first-year students is to move through your time at Fordham with an open mind. While be ing receptive to new experi ences will always be important, it’s absolutely critical to do so in your first few months at our beautiful Rose Hill campus. You should be saying yes to every thing (within reason, of course). When you first move into your freshman dorm, you’re on a level playing field with every other person who lives in your building. No one knows anyone, and no one knows what they’re do ing. You’ll likely have spoken to some other students before your arrival — through group chats and social media plat forms — which provides a good buffer so that you don’t feel en tirely lost during your first few days. You might even know your roommate by this point. However, the adage “your first college friends won’t necessarily be your forever friends” exists for a reason. It isn't impossible to maintain these early relationships, but it is common to grow apart and meet different people with whom you may find a better fit as time goes on. By saying yes, you increase your chances of finding potentially life-long friends. Take it from me. During my freshman year, I lived in Loschert (shoutout room 304) and mostly spent time with my roommate and other girls who lived in the building at the be ginning of the year. I became especially close with one friend in particular, Brennan, who lived directly across the hall from me. She hung out with a different pair of roommates on our floor who I’d only met a handful of times. On Halloween, something went awry with my main friend group’s reservation to Clinton Hall (this was in 2020, as the pandemic left many spots closed or at limited capacity). Brennan then invited me to come along with her and her friends. I agreed to go and had one of the most fun and memorable nights of my firstAdditionally,year. I truly bond ed and clicked with Brennan’s other friends; two years later, they all are like sisters to me, and I couldn’t be more thankful that I went with them that night. This isn’t to discount the great times I had with my first friends at college; I still love those people and cherish the memories. But by saying yes to a random invitation, I met my family away from home in those girls. Of course, saying yes can extend to more than just making friends. Now is the perfect time to get out of your comfort zone. Accept an invitation to tag along with someone to Ram Fit; maybe you’ll discover that you love working out. Put your name down on contact sheets at the club fair when the person at the table encourages you to — maybe a meeting will pique your interest, and you’ll find a new hobby. When profes sors talk about office hours, take them up on it; maybe you’ll develop a networking connection that will help you in the Don’tfuture.be afraid to take chances. Say yes to yourself, as well as others. If you see an internship on LinkedIn that intrigues you, submit an ap plication. If you know you have a talent, use it whenever pos sible. Join an intramural sport or start writing articles for the Ram. Whatever it may be, as long as it’s in the spirit of safety and common sense, do it. You’re out on your own for the first time, and now you have a prime opportunity to push boundaries and go out side of your comfort zone. If you decide something isn’t for you, that’s more than okay. But at least you’ll know that you gave it a fair shot. You probably won’t regret tak ing risks in hindsight. But if you don’t branch out, there’s a good chance you will regret never trying. So go out and expand your horizons. Walk to Starbucks with someone on your floor, explore Arthur Avenue and take up an activity you’ve never done before. Just say yes!

Hannah Boring: I’ve struggled with codependency my whole life, but over the course of my freshman year, I learned to en joy being by myself. Go into the city, read on Eddie’s or sit at a coffee shop — there are so many options. Of course, make friends and cherish your time with them, but don’t forget to treasure the lonely days too.

Kari White: Take care of your self. An underrated lesson I learned my freshman year was to eat regularly, eat properly, drink plenty of water and exer cise. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of classes, clubs and social outings, but you will not be your best self mentally if you do not take care of yourself physically.

It is a lot easier to meet new people if you reach out to them instead of waiting for them to reach out. Also, since there are so many things to do in the city, it is a great opportunity to invite people out to explore.

Ava Erickson: Many Fordham students discount the cafeteria, but it was such a central part of my freshman year. It is a hub of campus life — the perfect place to people-watch, work on homework or meet up with friends, all while snacking on a delicious bowl of cereal. Since moving off campus my sopho more year I have really missed receiving that “caf at 6?” text in the group chat. So don’t miss out, the caf has the power to become the heart of your social life and the site of your best memories.

Ava Carreiro: Don’t be afraid to get involved. One of the best ways to put yourself out there and meet new people is by join ing a club. I highly recommend attending Fordham’s club fair which is held every semester (this year it is on Aug. 31 at 2 p.m.). Plus, everyone leaves with free t-shirts, pop sockets, candy, etc. It’s a win-win! You can also join clubs via communities.ford ham.edu/s/ if you happen to miss the club fair.

Maddie Bimonte: Don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to your professors during office hours. Especially if you don’t understand something in class, office hours are a great place to get clarification or extra help. It can seem very intimidating to approach a professor in their office, but all of the professors at Fordham want to see every student succeed.

Taylor Herzlich: If you are ever going through a rough patch and feeling mad at the world, think of your middle school self. Think of how proud that little version of you would be to see yourself all grown up at college, living on your own and pursuing something important, challeng ing or just something you love. A little perspective can help you feel more grateful for “the col lege experience.”

Pia Fischetti: Stay organized any way you can. College can be a startling transition as you realize that with more freedom comes more responsibility. It can be hard maintaining a healthy balance between academics and a social life. Whether it’s writing in a planner or setting daily re minders, organization can help with time management and pro ductivity.

Michael Sluck: Make sure you explore New York City! No matter what you’re into, there’s something here for ev eryone. Parks, museums, stores, concerts, shows, movies — all just a subway ride away. Your college education takes place in all of New York, not just Fordham’s campus.

ORIENTATIONPage 6 Aug. 29, 2022

Hanif Amanullah: There’s of ten a pressure on freshman to pack absolutely everything into their schedules — meetings, outings, dinners and classes. Don’t forget that downtime is just as important for your well being. For the average college student who is racing between boroughs and school buildings every week, a quiet night in is an essential mental health break.

Emma Kim: There are so many new people and things freshman year. With all the change, it is important to go outside of your comfort zone and get involved.

Sam Minear: Freshman year was a rough one for me. Be tween the COVID-19 pandemic and moving to a new state by myself, I felt incredibly isolat ed and lonely in contrast to my peers, who I perceived as much more socially and academically fulfilled. I performed poorly in my classes –– to my standards –– and made little friends. That being said, I wouldn’t change a thing because I learned so much about myself and others. My piece of advice would be to take risks and leave your comfort zone: you’ll only be 18 once, so make the most of it!

Amanda Yarolin: Don’t let your grades define you as a person. As important as a good GPA might be, it does not dictate the kind of person you are, nor your talents and abilities. Simply trying your best goes a long way; cherish this time for establishing the best parts of yourself and continuing to grow.

Daniella Terilli: Remember that every other new student is experiencing the same feelings you are. It’s completely nor mal to stress about doing well in your new courses, worry about making friends you real ly connect with or even get lost finding a classroom. You’re not alone, and you all will feel set tled before you know it.

Advice to Incoming Freshmen From The Fordham Ram Staff

Sebastian Diaz: Don’t feel pressured to know what you want out of your post-college life when you’re still only en tering this stage of life. As a freshman, I found myself con tinuously trying to find the most efficient way to enter a career path only to end up changing my mind multiple times. The first couple years of college are designed to give you time to fig ure your own life out. While you might feel pressure from other students who have their pas sions predetermined, remember that it’s okay to take the time to work on yourself.

Nick Guzman: It might sound obvious, but talk to people! Talk to the person sitting next to you in class or the person relaxing in the lounge. Every freshman is eager to make friends, even if they don’t outwardly show it. Speaking up and making the first move can lead to lasting friendships.

Isabel Danzis: When I was a freshman, I felt like every one else had a better handle on things. I felt like everyone else had more friends, felt more at home, was getting better grades and had more of an idea about what they wanted to do with their lives, and that perception was utterly false. Everyone is at the same place. Some people are better at faking it or making it seem like they have everything better than others. So with that, be outgoing! Everyone wants new friends, everyone wants someone to walk to class with or go to the caf with. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

Nicole Braun: Don’t take things too seriously. Yes, it’s important to try and succeed academical ly, but don’t lose perspective of who you are and what is import ant. If things start to feel too big and scary, take a breath. Find the little things, the little moments, that remind you of who you are.

ORIENTATION Page 7Aug. 29, Summertime2022 at Fordham COURTESY OF HANIF AMANULLAH / THE FORDHAM RAM COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM COURTESY OF HANIF AMANULLAH / THE FORDHAM RAM COURTESY OF HANIF AMANULLAH / THE FORDHAM RAM COURTESY OF HANIF AMANULLAH / THE FORDHAM RAMCOURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

DIGITALCARREIROPRODUCER

Best Deli is a Fordham Universtity classic.

EDITOR

By KARI WHITE CULTURE

CULTURE Aug. 29, 2022Page The8

One of Fordham University’s best qualities is being located just steps outside of Arthur Av enue, known for the fine dining that makes up the original Little Italy. You simply can’t beat the incredible Italian food options right off campus. As a self-pro claimed Bronx foodie, I’d like to outline a comprehensive guide of the best places to eat while at TheFordham.mostpopular restau rant in the Bronx is Enzo’s. A fan-favorite of the Fordham stu dent body, this five-star Italian restaurant is always in high de mand. If you’re looking to dine at Enzo’s for Family Weekend, make sure to book your res ervation a month in advance.

While most of the creative team and all of the ac tors are Fordham students, the Mimes & Mummers often work with professional directors, adding an additional gloss of professionalism to their shows. An added plus of the Mimes & Mummers is that their first per formance of every show is com pletely free for students, so if you’re interested in expanding your theatrical knowledge, their free performances are a fantastic opportunity. You can find infor mation for their upcoming audi tions, interest meetings and per formances on posters tacked to blackboards all around campus, with more specific information on their Instagram page. Rather than performing well-es tablished plays, Fordham Exper imental Theater (FET) special izes in staging plays written and directed by students. Their home stage is in the Blackbox Theater, which is on the main level of Collins Auditorium. Every se mester they hold a Playwright’s festival, where the FET chooses three to four short, student-writ ten plays to run as part of their program. Along with the festival, they will show longer plays and hold various other events meant to provide space for Fordham’s creatives. In the spring semes ter of 2022, they performed Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline,” which was adapted for the stage by a Fordham student, Katie Lando ni. Landoni, working with Gil Roberts, also directed the play, proving FET’s strength of having students at every creative avenue for theirLastly,shows.Rose Hill has a col lection of dance teams that, like the a cappella groups, perform at school events and their own re citals. The first team is the Ford ham University Dance Team, which performs alongside the cheerleaders at football and bas ketball games throughout their respective seasons. They work intimately alongside the athlet ics department, training during preseason and traveling with the basketball team when they go away for tournaments. During the 2022 season, they traveled with them to Washington D.C. for the A-10 championship. Two other dance groups are markedly different, in that they do not work with the sports teams but do make appear ances at many school events. Fordham Flava is the only hiphop dance crew at Fordham. Like the other performance groups, they have a showcase at the end of every semester. Yet, they also hold regular cafeteria performances, where they tease their showcase dances in the oh-so-glamorous setting of the cafeteria. Their performances are a lot of fun, and a definite must-see. They also perform at the Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM), do nating their talent to help raise money for the B+ organiza tion. Sláinte is the only Irish Dance Company at Fordham. As well as bringing their talent to Fordham by performing at Irish Night and a collection of other events, including FDM, they compete in collegiate championships. In November of 2021, they won a series of high placements at the Villa nova Collegiate Champion ships. In May, they also won first place for their CIDA Virtual Competition dance. Fordham has a plethora of student organizations like the few listed here, where students can access their creative sides by joining or simply attending their performances. For those interested in any of these orga nizations, head over to Insta gram to find out more informa tion about interest meetings, auditions or performances. And don’t miss the Club Fair on Edward’s Parade on Aug. 31 from 2-4 p.m., where all of these organizations — plus many more! — will be ex plaining who they are, what they do, and how you can join.

Best of the Bronx: Where to Eat around Arthur Avenue

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI / THE FORDHAM RAM

The Different Ways Fordham Takes to the Stage Little brings more life to Ford ham’s campus than the ringing of student voices through Keating Hall, the spinning of dancers on Keating steps and the lines ex tending all the way past Collins Auditorium’s doors when the Mimes & Mummers premiere their new show. Whether it’s an a cappella concert, a dance re cital or a musical, it seems like there’s always something going on at Rose Hill. With a multitude of different performance groups, there are plenty of opportunities for students to perform or attend an event where they can witness stunningAlmosttalent.nothing is more quint essential college than collegiate a cappella, made famous by the movie, “Pitch Perfect”, and the group, Pentatonix. Rose Hill has four student-run a cappel la groups, each with their own unique personality: the Ram blers, the Satin Dolls, the b-Sides and the Hot Notes. Each group rehearses at least once a week for hours. This hard work pays off, however, when they take to the stage to perform their own ver sions of beloved songs at school events, their concerts and even some off campus venues. Last year, the Satin Dolls, Fordham’s all-female group, opened for the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Also last fall, both the Satin Dolls and the Ramblers released studio albums that they profes sionally recorded. Their talent is impressive, and their dedication evident.Ifyou’re interested in joining an a cappella group, they hold audi tions at the beginning of the year. Each group is on Instagram and posts updates about upcoming events. Even if you’re not inter ested in auditioning, the concerts are some of the most exciting, free events that we have on Rose Hill’s campus. Every semester, the four groups come together for a teaser concert before hosting their own at the end of the semes ter. Both the teasers and the full concerts are tremendous fun, full of silly skits and amazing music.

I personally recommend their gnocchi pesto, it’s what brings everyone there. If a Fordham student’s fa vorite Bronx restaurant isn’t En zo’s, it’s probably MichaelAn gelos. Its location can’t be beat, as it’s the closest restaurant to campus. In my opinion, it has the best fettuccine alfredo in the entirety of Bronx Little Italy. MichaelAngelo’s is also where most (if not all) of the formals are held by student clubs at Fordham.Although most Fordham stu dents argue between Enzo’s and MichaelAngelo’s, my favorite Italian restaurant on Arthur Ave nue is Mario’s. The atmosphere at Mario’s is unmatched — the room is always filled with peo ple laughing and singing along to the musician who regularly plays there. Some of my fond est memories have been made at Mario’s, singing “Vienna” by Billy Joel with my family as we ate the most delicious penne vodka. As someone who judges the quality of an Italian restau rant by the taste of their bread, Mario’s gets a 10 out of 10 in my book.IfItalian food isn’t for you, don’t worry — just head over to Estrellita Poblana III. The Mex ican restaurant offers indoor and outdoor dining as well as deliv ery. Commonly known by stu dents as just “Estrellita’s,” The Daily News even named their taco as the best taco in New YorkTheCity.Bronx has so much to offer outside of just its restau rants. Casa Della Mozzarella is right off of Arthur Avenue and has the best burrata I’ve ever tasted. The interior of this deli is always decorated beautifully for the holidays — my favorite decor of theirs is on Valentine’s Day. They serve incredible sand wiches with some interesting names. My favorite sandwich is the Bachacaloop, which is made of sopressata, speck, mozzarel la, peppers and balsamic. The best place to go for meat in the Bronx is Teitel Brothers, a third-generation family busi ness with the tastiest prosciut to. The small store is filled to the ceiling with all kinds of oil, bread, pasta and meats. The at mosphere is always lively, with staff and customers laughing and exchanging stories. As you’ll soon find out, there’s a bit of a rivalry between two 24-hour delis on Fordham Road. In my experience, Ford ham students have strong loyal ties to either Best Deli or Ram’s Deli. Each store has unique menus and items to offer, so it really comes down to what you’re looking for. Best has college essentials such as ramen, milk, mac and cheese and paper plates. Their sandwiches are to die for, and you haven’t truly lived until you’ve tried their Vanessa wrap. It’s basically heaven inside a tortilla — it’s filled with hash browns, melted cheese, avo cado, eggs and chipotle aioli. Although I prefer to go to Best, Ram’s has a more convenient lo cation (closer to Arthur Avenue) and has a wider menu selection, including chicken wings, pizza and practically anything else you could think of. Finally, if you’re looking for a slice of New York pizza, going to Pugsley’s Pizza is a no-brainer. Located just steps outside of Fordham’s campus (right across from Walsh Hall), there’s no excuse not to grab a slice. Their penne pizza is a fan-favorite, but their classics like plain and pepperoni are also guaranteed to taste amaz ing. The slices are huge, hot and dripping with cheese. Pug sley’s is often open until 3 a.m., and the line is out the door on a Saturday night. Now that you’ve read this comprehensive guide on the best places to eat in the Bronx, what are you waiting for? Get out there and eat!

By AVA

The recently renovated Ram’s Deli & Pizza. COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI / THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham has two different theater groups, which show the range of what theater can be. The Mimes & Mummers, which have been Rose Hill’s Mainstage The ater Group since 1857, perform both musicals and plays on the main stage of Collins Auditori um. Each semester, the theater group will perform one musical and one play. This upcoming semester, they’ll be putting on Greg Kotis’ “Urinetown: The Musical” and Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

Make NYC Your Campus With This Back to School Bucket List

Committing themselves to this ideal, admission to The Bronx Museum of the Arts is free — and only a short subway ride away.

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR COURTESY OF TWITTER

Both freshman year and New York City are daunting, but there are ways to enjoy your first year at Fordham in affordable and ac cessible ways. With free admission to certain museums and galleries, outdoor concerts, annual events, public parks and libraries, make New York City your campus with these back-to-school bucket list ac tivities.

The New York Botanical Garden When the bustle of the city begins to exhaust your senses, find refuge in the New York Botanical Gar den. With free grounds admission for Fordham students and NYC residents, the Gardens offer beau tiful seasonal foliage and engag ing events such as Climate Week (Sept. 19-25) and Farmers Markets (Wednesdays July 1-Oct. 26). Stop and smell one of the 650 varieties of roses at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, find serenity in the nestled oasis that is the Rock Gar den and don’t forget to buy some plants for your dorm at the gift shop on your way out.

The New York Subway system is far reaching and easy to use –– once you learn how to navigate it.

A Helpful Guide to the Various Types of Transportation in New York City

The New York Public Library When you need a change of pace from the Walsh Family Li brary, make your selection from the New York Public Library locations in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx. The Ste phen A. Schwarzman location in Midtown is renowned for its historical collections and gran diose reading room, while the Library for Performing Arts in Lincoln Center specializes in extensive research regarding theater, dance, film and ref erence materials. Sign up for a free library card, or simply bask in the peace and quiet.

By

Returning with a full-fledge schedule of shows from June to September, Summerstage cele brates culture and community at Central Park and 12 local com munity parks throughout the city.

Yankee Stadium If you want to feel like a real New Yorker, Yankee Stadium is a must-see spot for baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike. You can get tickets for under $15, and hop on a train to get there. The best part of Yankee Stadium is not only the game itself, but the atmosphere. You can grab some snacks, sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and cross your fingers you might catch a foul ball. Re gardless of whether or not you know anything about baseball, going to a Yankee’s game is an experience that true resident of New York should miss. The first year of college is im bued with change and growth, and with New York City as the backdrop these challenges may feel even more overwhelming. However, the seemingly insur mountable city is manageable when taken day by day, similar to the stresses of freshman year. These are rudimentary boxes to tick off in your exploration of New York, and as the semester progresses you will develop your own list of activities to recommend.

ILAINA KIM ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

Capital One City Parks Foundation Summer Stage

The subway is the cheap est and often fastest way to get around the city, so learning your local stations, and which trains will take you where, is real ly important. Not to mention, you’ll feel like a real New York er the first time someone asks you which train they should take. (Even if you have no idea.) Ride the MetroNorth, a com muter rail. The MetroNorth is an easy and fast way to travel to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown or north for a break from the city, especially with the Fordham station located directly outside of campus. During peak hours, tickets between Fordham and Grand Central Terminal can be a bit pricey, but during offpeak hours you can purchase a city ticket –– which only applies to rides within city limits––for $5. Traveling north into West chester costs only $3. For Sat urday thrifting, Sunday brunch or whatever else you might have planned for the weekend, this can often be a really good deal. Do not discount the bus. The bus is a great option for trav eling to either the 4 or D Train subway stops, as well as north Manhattan. It takes about twen ty minutes to reach Inwood, the northernmost Manhattan neighborhood. There you can visit Inwood Hill Park, the Met Cloisters and eat at a lot of great restaurants. Riding the bus can also take you to some of the nearby parks, including Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park. The latter has a beach, which, during the remaining days of the summer, is definitely nice to have nearby. In the Bronx, the subway system is not as dense as it is in Manhattan. The buses cover a lot of ground that the subways simply do not reach, allowing those who take them to explore much more of the borough we are lucky enough to callLearninghome. how to use the different modes of transporta tion is essential for exploring New York City in a safe and cost-effective way. Do not be afraid to branch out and visit somewhere new. We are lucky to find our campus in one of the most interesting cities in the world, it would be a shame to waste it.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts In celebration of its 50th anniver sary, The South Wing Atrium Ren ovation project represents the past and looks forward to the future in envisioning a “21st century, com munity-based, globe-spanning mu seum.”

Frick Madison Museum Boasting masterpieces from the Renaissance and European fine and decorative arts, The Frick Collection is best known for in timate viewing experiences at its temporary location on Madison Avenue. Admission is pay what you wish on Thursdays from 4-6 p.m., which allows for the perfect opportunity to visit the “Portraits at the Frick” exhibition!

One of the perks of going to college at Fordham Universi ty is the proximity to all of the museums, markets and parks that each of NYC’s five bor oughs have to offer. Yet, once you find out where you want to spend your first Saturday on campus, you have to figure out how to get there. Whether you are coming from a rural town, the suburbs or another city, the transportation systems of New York City can be extremely overwhelming. Just the subway alone has so many names, num bers and the terrifying “express” service, that it feels like one has to solve the Da Vinci Code in order to visit the Met. In all honesty, it took me a few years to try out most of the methods to get around the city. Hopefully, I can shorten that process for you with a few quick tips. For the most convenient transportation, use the Ram Van services. These vans shut tle Fordham students back and forth from Rose Hill (the Bronx campus) to Lincoln Center (the Manhattan one). During the school year, the vans run every thirty minutes from 6:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday and from 6:15 a.m. to 3 a.m. from Thursday to Sat urday. Check out their ramvan.web.fordham.edu/,website,for more specific information and to reserve your seat on a van. Ram Vans are perfect for traveling to classes, or visiting the city (what many New Yorkers and Fordham students call Manhat tan) for fun. Single tickets cost $3.50, but you can purchase a bundle of 12 for the discounted rate of $35. Fordham also pro vides students taking classes at Lincoln Center with enough passes to cover their transpor tation to and from class, free of charge. I’d highly recommend taking the Ram Van, as it is the easiest form of transportation from the Bronx to Manhattan. Fordham Rose Hill also has a few shuttle services that run at night, escorting students from the nearby subway stations to campus and from campus to their off-campus apartments. These shuttles are completely free, so keep an eye out for them if you ever find yourself travel ing late at night. Learn the subway’s lingo. The subway is the circulatory sys tem of the city, pumping people from place to place as the heart pumps blood through the body. Understanding how to navigate it is an essential step in order to travel, but it can be really con fusing for those not used to it. At all subway stations, too, the signs will say in what direction the trains are running by naming the start and end of the train’s route. If you familiarize your self with the major areas of the city, you’ll have no trouble. At Fordham, the nearest sub way stations are the D train and the 4 train. Both run north to south (referred to as uptown and downtown on subway maps and signs), but they go down differ ent sides of Manhattan. The D runs down the west side, while the 4 runs parallel on the east side. To get to these stations, you can walk or take the Bx12 bus to the stations a few blocks up Fordham Road. At night, a Fordham shuttle will be at either station to escort students safely back to campus.

The season showcases established and emerging artists, indie rock, reggae, jazz, Afrobeat, salsa, sam ba, hip-hop and soul genres. The majority of concerts are free, but a select few charge admission. Distinctly New York and unabash edly vibrant, SummerStage is one of my favorite seasonal activities. Seeing Patti Smith and Yo La Ten go are some of my personal high lights.

Aug. 29, 2022 CULTURE Page 9

After a ninth place finish out of 11 schools in the Atlantic 10 Cham pionship this past spring, the Fordham golf team is looking to take a step forward in conference play. Despite an underwhelming finish to last season, there were many positives that will carry over into 2022-23. First, the youth and performance of this team last year is an encouraging sign of a step in the right direction. Fordham Golf had only one senior, Ryan Davis, on their roster last season with four of six returning golfers being juniors Andres Aivazoglou, John Kryscio, Nicholas Manning and P.J. O’Rourke. Three of these four current seniors had a best round of par or better during some point last season with the exception of Manning whose best round was a 73 in the MacDonald Cup. Kryscio’s best round was an even 72, which he did twice at the Ryan Lee Memorial. Aivazoglou shot a 70 in his first round of the MacDonald Cup the weekend of Sept. 25-26. Possibly the best golfer on the team, O’Rourke was the only Fordham golfer to break 70 when he shot a 68 at the Bull’s Bridge Golf Club in the Hartford Invite. O’Rourke also led the Ford ham Golf roster in par or better fi nishes with four rounds in which he shot 72 or lower. O’Rourke is the clear leader of this team as he led Fordham Golf in strokes per round average with a 74.5, but the now senior has a solid supporting cast of returning sophomores and juniors going into the 2022-23 season.This supporting cast includes two sophomores, Jake Mrva and Garrett Brown, who appeared in two outings respectively du ring the 2021-22 season. Mrva, a Massachusetts native, first played in the Lehigh Invitational whe re he shot his season best 77 in the second round of the outing. The sophomore also appeared in the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Championship in early November at Montclair Golf Club. The other returning sophomore is Garrett Brown out of West Hartford, Connecticut. Brown compet ed in the Hartford Invite and the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Championship during his fresh man campaign. Brown’s best round was the very first collegia te round he teed off in during the Hartford Invite where he shot a 78. Both Mrva and Brown had less than 300 strokes in their freshman season, but you expect those numbers to increase this campaign. With more strokes comes more room for improve ment.The keys for Fordham Golf this upcoming season will be getting sophomores Mrva and Brown more strokes and overall consis tency from the four returning se niors Aivazoglou, Kryscio, Man ning and O’Rourke. With Mrva and Brown taking a step forward on this team and the seniors pos ting similar or even better rounds as last year, Fordham Golf will see great progression from the 2021-22 season. The 2022-23 schedule has not been released as of right now but should be on the way in the coming days.

Several members of the Ram staff created an intramural volleyball team last year.

They Started” Senior Mallory Lipski and the Fordham volleyball team are in the same boat as many Division I mid-major athletic programs: win the conference tournament and se cure the all-important guaranteed NCAA tournament bid or fall short of the annual dream. The Rams have been steadi ly improving over recent years, enough to earn head coach Ian Choi an offseason contract extension that will keep him at the program’s helm through the 2025-26 season. Three years ago, Fordham Volley ball missed the Atlantic 10 tourna ment entirely, two years ago they qualified for the conference tour nament but lost in the first round to Dayton and last year after battling to secure a spot in the tournament, Fordham fought all the way to the conference title match, playing for an NCAA tournament bid. After quite a successful year, Lipski sees this season’s goal as continuing that consistent improvement. “That’s certainly the expectation for this year, to obviously finish what we started at the A-10 championship so we get an automatic bid.” Last year’s group was an explosi ve, athletic and passionate bunch. According to Lipski, the product Fordham put out on the court last fall was far from their ceiling.“I just think it keeps going up, the talent, you know, the attitude … I think we’re setting the standard in the gym and, you know, each year that I’ve been here has just been a higher climb.”According to Lipski, the crys tal clear focus of this formidable Ram squad stems directly from the influence of coach Choi. “He’s very analytical, you can always tell that the wheels are turning and he doesn’t show too much emotion, but I really take to heart what he says and what he tells me and we have developed a big [sense of] trust so I really believe in what he’s trying to preach to us, and I try to take it out with me on the court,” saidOneLiskpi.cannot emphasize enough just how much the Rams’ continued improvement has been engineered by Choi, the cerebral mastermind behind the complete 180 of the vol leyball program. Choi played college ball at the University of Texas befo re launching his collegiate coaching career as a Longhorn as well. After assisting head coach Jerrit Elliot en route to a Big 12 title and national runner-up finish, Choi departed Texas, but opted to stay in the Big 12 at the rival University of Kansas. Still in an assistant role, he helped lead Kansas to an NCAA tourna ment bid before heading west. Following these two subordina te stints in the Big 12, Choi opted to continue his education at San Jose State University while taking on an assistant coaching role for the volleyball team and overseeing their recruiting operation. Two years later, with a Master’s degree in hand, Choi was searching for a new challenge in collegiate volley ball. His journey brought him to the Bronx, and the rest is history. There is truly nothing like job security in Division I athletics, and after years of grinding across the country in transitional assistant roles, Choi has certainly earned his spot in the head coaches’ fraternity. Now that Choi is entering his fifth year with the Rams, every player on the roster is someone he personally recruited. Between the secure leadership atop the program and a loaded senior class, Fordham is primed to make a dent in the A-10 in a way they never haveTheirbefore.season got underway on Aug. 27 with a 3-2 victory over the Bobcats of Quinni piac. On Aug. 28, the Rams lost 3-2 against Stony Brook. The Rams will play again on Aug. 31 against St. Francis College in Brooklyn.

Page 10 SPORTS August 29, 2022 Follow us on Twitter @theram_sportsat

Fordham offers a total of five different intramural sports: Flag football, outdoor soccer, kickball, basketball and volleyball. At this time, registration is open for every sport. Registration for flag football and outdoor soccer closes on Sept. 19, while registration for kickball closes on Sept. 26. Later in the fall, registration for basketball and vol leyball wraps up on Oct. 11. There is no limit on how many sports you can participate in. Registration for Fordham in tramurals is done through the website IMLeagues. Use your Fordham email to create an ac count. Once you register, you can join your desired sport in a few dif ferent ways. If you already have a group of friends that you want to make a team with, you can create your own team and use the “in vite members” link on your team’s home page to invite them. If you don’t have a team but still want to play, don’t worry. You can list yourself as a free agent, making yourself available to team captains who are looking to pick up players. Intramural sports can be as seri ous as you want them to be. For all sports except kickball, Fordham offers both recreational and competitive leagues. Recreation al leagues are great for students looking for a fun experience with out a ton of emphasis placed on results, while competitive leagues provide a bit more of a challeng ingWithatmosphere.Fordham intramurals, teams can set their preferred game times in IMLeagues. Schedules are published weekly on Fridays for the upcoming week. Games are played on the Rose Hill campus. Flag football is held on Jack Coffey Field, basketball and volleyball take place in the Lombardi Field House and outdoor soccer hap pens on Murphy Field. Regardless of how good you are at sports, there is a place for everyone in Fordham intramu rals. They serve as an excellent opportunity to stretch out the competitive part of your brain and to meet new people.

Lipski prepares to return the opposition’s serve during last year’s Rose Hill Classic. OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Volleyball Looks to “Finish What

By NICK SPORTSGUZMANEDITOR A Guide to Intramural Sports at Fordham

Intramural sports at Fordham are a great way to get involved in the campus community. They are organized, low-commitment ath letic activities that allow students to participate in sporting competi tion regardless of their ability. Intramurals are sports orga nized and competed only within the student body, meaning they provide students with an oppor tunity to play their favorite sports without anywhere near the same commitment as a club sport or a varsity sport, which often requires travel and extensive practices.

COURTESY

Fordham Golf Looks to Improve on 2021-22 Campaign

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

COURTESY OF AMANDA YAROLIN/THE FORDHAM RAM O’Rourke will look to lead the Rams to a successful 2022-23 campaign.

By WILL CONTRIBUTINGTALLANTWRITER

By MILESSTAFFGROSSMANWRITER

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Women’s Soccer Preview

When asked about what the expectations are for this season, Nilerud said that “the goals start ed back in the spring [of 2022] with trying to change the culture in the camp and the program as a whole.” Nilerud also said that one goal for the season “is to qualify for the A-10 playoffs and once we’re in the playoffs we will take each game at a time.” When asked how he could bring his previous successes to Fordham, Nilerud noted, “it wasn’t done overnight. It was a lot of hard work going through small changes year after year un til eventually, the culture of the program was so hard to break that it became natural to anyone that walked through the doors. You had no choice as a studentathlete to be a winner on and off the field, it was just how the DNA ran through the program.” Nilerud acknowledged that it will take time to shape the Rams but has praised his team stating that “the new incoming studentathletes have responded tremen dously to what we have been do ing in preseason and at the start of the season.” In order to change the mental ity of the program, you also need to have leaders on the pitch as well. The two team captains are senior Kristen Cocozza and ju nior Cambrie Arboreen. Nilerud praised Cocozza for her experi ence both on and off the field and called her “a natural choice to lead the program into its new chapter.” He also praised Arboreen, stating that she “is a natural leader and everything you want as an ambas sador of the program.”

August 29, 2022

By LOUSTAFFORLANDOWRITER Fordham Water Polo enters 2022 coming off a historic 2021 season. Finishing the year 26-7, the Rams won the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-East (MAWPC) Championship and earned a bid in the NCAA tournament as a 16 seed. With the majority of their young core still intact, and a couple key addi tions, Fordham Water Polo is primed for another successful season. Returning for their sophomore seasons is the dynamic trio of George Papanikolaou, Jacopo Par rella and Lucas Nieto Jasny. The three burst onto the scene last year, making an immediate impact as they shouldered Fordham’s offense. Papanikolauo led the team with 74 goals and ranked eighth for goals of any Ram in a single season. Ni eto Jasny was close behind with 69 goals while Parrella’s 57 goals and a team high 67 assists gave him the team lead in total points with 124. With all three possessing lethal shots and dynamic playmaking ability, they were the only Fordham play ers to score over 100 points last year. The Rams lost three former All-Americans players as Bailey O’Mara, Hans Zdolsek and Dimi tris Koukias graduated. O’Mara had been the starting goaltender in some capacity since 2018 and was named First Team MAWPC-East twice. His 351 saves in 2019 are the most by any Fordham goaltender in a single season. Zdolsek was one of the bigger offensive contribu tors last season, scoring 47 goals and 38 assists. He was named the

By THOMAS AIELLO ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Amidst all the craziness of the fall at Fordham, there is an oa sis to watch a sport that is both therapeutic and calm. Fordham Men’s Tennis returns for the 2022-23 season following a los ing campaign that culminated with a 6-10 record. The Rams will look to rebound and im prove with an older, more expe rienced team to contend for the Atlantic 10 title. David Slater will take the reins as the head coach of the men’s tennis team and look to improve upon last season. Slater comes with a successful track record as a player, help ing Marist College win backto-back Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships in 2002 and 2003. Following his playing days, Slater led a suc cessful career as a tennis profes sional at multiple clubs in the Metropolitan area. Slater inherits a group of five returning players: Seniors Toi Kobayashi and Giorgio So emarno, juniors Rhett Bailey and Nicholas Kanazirev and sophomore Aaron Ventura have elected to stay at Fordham. Kobayashi was the most suc cessful Ram last year based on singles records going 9-4 over all, 7-4 in duals and 2-0 in tours. Entering his senior season at Rose Hill, Kobayashi will look to lead the Rams in their first season under Slater’s guidance. Bailey will look to improve for the Rams in his junior sea son. Last year, he went 4-1 in singles play with his opponents winning no more than three games in three of his four wins. He allowed opponents to win over three games once, in a 7-5 second set slugfest against Wag ner.Kanazirev and Soemarno won four games a piece last year in singles, both under .500, and will look to rebound on their records and improve Fordham’s win total. Also keep an eye out for Aaron Ventura to improve following his 1-4 singles record in his freshman season. Last year, the Rams season got off to a fast 2-0 start in team to team matches, defeating Wagner 7-0 and Adelphi 5-2. In the Intercollegiate Tennis As sociation (ITA) regionals, the Rams had one doubles duo, Ko bayashi and then-senior Jofre Segarra defeat a duo from St. Francis Brooklyn 8-7. Fordham tail-spinned once the calendar turned to 2022, go ing 2-9 from January into early April. Fordham won its final two matches against Lafayette College and College of the Holy Cross before getting shut out against Duquesne University in the A-10 tournament.

With three games already played, the Rams have won one and lost two. Despite the slow start, Nilerud said that there were positives to be taken away. He praised his team, stating that the team “is a fantastic group of women far beyond the soccer field.” He also praised their work ethic, willingness to train and, most importantly, their core values. The Rams’ next game is next Thursday at home against Hofstra University at Jack Coffey Field. The game will be at 7 p.m. and can also be viewed on ESPN+.

By MICHAEL HERNANDEZ SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Water Polo Primed for Another Strong Season

MVP of the Mid-Atlantic tourna ment for his performance in the playoffs. Koukias was a standout in 2019 by scoring 70 goals and played a big role in Fordham’s offense. Head coach Brian Bacharach be lieves there are players on the current roster that can fill the roles left by O’Mara, Zdolsek and Koukias, but noted that their impact went beyond their statistical production: “The thing we’re gonna miss the most is that leadership group.” O’Mara and Zdolsek served as the team captains in 2021, and all three were veteran leaders for a very young roster. “I’ve been very up front with our guys that there’s a leadership void that we’re go ing to have to figure out how to fill.” This team should certainly have the talent to replace their graduating seniors, thanks in large part to the addition of some exciting transfer students. Two time All-American graduate student Nir Gross joins the squad as a highly touted player from UC Davis. Gross was named the Player of the Year in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Conference and is a gold medalist on the Israeli National Team. Gross plays center forward, and could slot in as Koukias’ replacement. Sophomore Luca Silvestri also joins the Rams after an impres sive freshman season at Westcliff University where he notched 102 goals in just 27 games. “Luca is a very similar type player to Hans,” noted Bacharach, who added that Silvestri’s talent as both a shooter and defender makes him a dual threat. After welcoming eight freshmen to the roster last year, Fordham adds just two freshmen for the 2022 season in Balazs Berenyi and Brendan Cassidy. Bacharach hailed Berenyi as “the ul timate utility player,” possessing the ability to play any position in the pool. Cassidy is a strong armed lefty who joins the Rams after scoring 120 goals in just 20 games as a high school senior. Along with graduate student transfer and fellow lefty Paul Pittion, he will look to improve Fordham’s offensive attack from the left side of the pool. The presumptive starter at goalten der is sophomore Thomas Lercari. Le rcari got valuable playing time last year filling in for O’Mara, who went down with a lower body injury towards the end of the season. He ended up start ing in the Mid-Atlantic tournament as well as Fordham’s lone NCAA tourna ment game. Lercari shined on the big stage, making a game-winning save in overtime to send Fordham to the championship and earning Rookie of the Tournament honors. “You could see him growing into that confidence and into the position,” said Bacharach, who praised Lercari for the way he stepped into the role as a freshman. Fordham opens its 2022 schedule with the Harvard Invitational on Sept. 3 and the Princeton Invitational on Sept. 10, featuring a rematch against a Princeton team that eliminated them from the NCAA tournament last year. After such a strong season, all eyes are on Fordham to see if they can replicate it. Coach Bacharach, however, is quick to quell that talk. “Trying to replicate what we did last year is a bit of a fool’s er rand.” Instead, Fordham will look to learn from last year’s success as they aim for another success ful season and another potential run at the NCAA tournament.

Fordham Men’s Tennis Preview

With a new school year begin ning, the season is already in full swing for the Fordham’s women’s soccer team. After a poor sea son last year which saw them go 4-12-2 overall and miss out on the Atlantic 10 tournament with a conference record of 2-7-1, they have changed their head coach, bringing in Magnus Nilerud to become the fourth in the pro gram’s history. Nilerud is coming off a successful 23-year spell at the University of Bridgeport with an overall record of 295-126-27 record. In addition to that, he led the team to 11 NCAA Tourna ment appearances, winning three NCAA regionals and winning the NCAA Division II National Championship back in 2018.

Women’s Tennis Seeks Continued Success in 2022 By BRETT CONTRIBUTINGTULIPWRITER

Page 11SPORTS

Fordham Women’s Tennis is ready to begin a new campaign after a successful 2021 season.

Fordham Women’s Tennis looks to maintain their success and build on their strong finish to the 2021-22 campaign, as play will begin soon for the 2022-23 season. Following an appearance in the Atlantic 10 tour nament championship, head coach Mike Sowter is entering his second year in charge and certainly has high expectations for a very talented group of young women. Last year was a massive accomplishment for the program, as they finished with a 14-5 record while having a domi nant 5-1 home record. They also kept momentum throughout the year, stacking their wins with twowin streaks of five and six games. Although items including sched ule and roster are not yet finalized, Fordham is expected to have many returning players, including senior Avery Aude, sophomore Lorraine Bergmann and junior All A-10 Sec ond Team recipient Eleni Fasoula. It remains unclear if some of the vet erans are returning for this upcom ing season, but the loss of last year’s senior Nicole Li could impact how the team plays, as she was a key con tributor. Nonetheless, an abundance of talented youth is never bad for a program. Fordham should be poised to make another run in the postsea son and build on their school-best #3 seed ranking in the A-10 tourna ment. Things are trending up for the women’s team, and regardless of an A-10 tournament championship loss, it is certain that they will look to try to replicate performances like they had last year. Notable matches include three that ended in 7-0 routs against St. Francis College, Siena College and New Jersey City Uni versity.Even with an unknown sched ule, Fordham will look to show out against multiple A-10 conference competitors. With wins last year in the tournament against George Washington University and Saint Louis University and regular sea son wins against Davidson College and the University of Rhode Island, Fordham has proven that they can beat high-level A-10 programs. However, powerhouse Virginia Commonwealth University has giv en the Rams trouble this past season and in previous years, as Fordham hasn’t won in over 10 seasons against them.Coach Sowter has already made his mark on the women’s program as head coach after working at Ford ham with the men’s team for sev eral years. He even instituted a new annual awards event for the team, where he honored players by giving out a Spirit Award, a Most Improved Player Award and a Player of the Year Award. These are great ways to acknowledge achievements and mo tivate teammates to strive for greater futureWomen’ssuccess.tennis came a long way last season, and all signs in dicate positivity and impressive things to come regarding the pro gram’s future.

Men’s Soccer ImprovementSeeksin2022

After finishing 7-9-3 last year, the Fordham men’s soccer team looks to improve their record and reclaim their title of Atlantic 10 Champions. While the Rams went 4-3-1 in the conference, they were eliminated in the second round of A-10s by St. Louis University on penalty kicks. This season, head coach Carlo Acquista has already made changes to help bolster the coaching staff. New additions include Matt Sloan as a volunteer assistant coach and Fabio Reato as volunteer director of operations. Sloan comes from a strong Fordham background, serv ing as team captain previously. He was also a critical part of the 202021 A-10 Championship team, which competed in the NCAA Men’s Tournament for only the fifth time in school history. In the preseason coaches poll, the Rams placed fourth in the A-10 with 141 points, trailing St. Louis University, Rhode Island University and Virginia Commonwealth Uni versity. This is an improvement from their 2021 season, in which the Rams were seeded fifth in the preseasonFordham’spoll.preseason games em phasized the progress within the program, taking all three of their matches. The Rams’ offense came out strong in their opening match against Fairfield University on Aug. 13. Scoring four, the Rams’ offense saw goals from freshman forward Nathan Simes, junior defender Galen Flynn, graduate student midfielder Daniel Espeleta and fresh man midfielder Daniel D’Ippolito. The defense held the Stags at three to take their first game by a final score of 4-3. The Rams faced another close game against Sacred Heart Univer sity in their second match. Ford ham’s offense again proved dom inant, scoring three goals, courtesy of senior forward Adrian Valentine, graduate student defenseman Timo By MADDIE BIMONTE ASSISTANT SPORTS

Page 12 August 29, 2022SPORTS

Cross Country Looks to Build on Promising 2021

The 2021 season was a strange one for Fordham Football. Three losses to begin the season (two of which were against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents in the University of Nebraska and Florida Atlantic University) were followed by six consecutive wins and a perfect 4-0 start in Patriot League play. However, losses against the conference’s top two finishers in College of the Holy Cross and Colgate University to finish the season placed the Rams at 6-5 overall and 4-2 in confer ence, a comfortable step behind the two aforementioned schools. Heading into 2022, the Rams have a plethora of experience at key positions, giving fans reason to believe the team can take another step up in the Patriot League and compete for a conference title. Starting with the most important position on the field, Fordham’s offense is led by senior quarter back Tim DeMorat. Last season, DeMorat threw for 3,214 yards and 31 touchdowns, leading the Pa triot League in both categories. He was named First Team All-Patriot League and was the 2021 Patriot League offensive player of the year. DeMorat, who is quickly climbing up the Fordham’s all-time passing leaderboards, will look to build on one of the great offensive seasons in Fordham Anchoredhistory.byarguably the best quarterback in the Patriot League, the Fordham offensive unit also features elite talent in the running and receiving game. At running back, graduate student Trey Sneed will handle the bulk of the car ries. Sneed rushed for 354 yards

The Fordham men’s soccer team finished 7-9-3 last year. By NICK SPORTSGUZMANEDITOR

By COLINSTAFFLOUGHRANWRITER Hummrich and D’Ippolito, win ningThe3-2.Rams’ final preseason game came against Marist College, which secured their number one spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) last season. Coming off a MAAC Champion ship title, the Rams put up an of fensively dominant game against the Red Foxes. With a final score of 5-2, Fordham securely put an end to the preseason exhibition games. Fordham lost eight players head ing into this season but added a strong group of transfers and freshmen. The incoming transfers, all graduate students, include for ward Jakob Gesien, midfielders Ben Shepherd and Espeleta, and defenseman Hummrich. While freshmen such as D’Ippolito have gotten off to a strong start, he is joined by fellow freshmen mid fielder Aidan Pericic and forwards Bennett Leitner, Andre Insalaco andTheSimes.Rams’ first regular season game against Hofstra University on Aug. 25 highlighted some of their successes during preseason; however, they just fell short. While Fordham managed to outshoot the Pride in the first half, the Rams couldn’t get any shots off them in the second half, being outshot 5-15. Hofstra managed to fluster the Fordham defense in the last minute of the game, taking the win 2-1.Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Rams non-conference schedule continues with Providence University, Long Island University, Manhattan College, the University of Maryland — Baltimore County, Rutgers University and Princeton University.TheRams will kick off their A-10 matches against Rhode Is land University on Sept. 17 at Jack Coffey Field before heading up to St. Bonaventure University on Sept. 24. Looking to make another strong run in the A-10 Champi onship, the team will mark their calendars for Nov. 5 as the start of hopefully another title win. As the leaves begin to change and fall approaches, Fordham Cross Country prepares for anoth er campaign in hopes of finishing at the top of the Atlantic 10 circuit. The crew will begin the season on Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Stony Brook Invitational. Head coach Brian Horowitz is back for his fourth year in the position and will have a wealth of upperclassmen on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Seniors Colin Flood, John Ar vantides, Nolan Chiles, Ryan Fahey, Jack Reilly and Samuel Wilcox will lead the men’s unit and attempt to post impressive fourth-year campaigns. The men’s group was effective last year and was only one place short of taking home the Metropolitan Championship. It is fair to predict that the team’s seniors will build on their success from the prior season. Specifi cally, Flood recorded the fifth-best 8K time at the Princeton Invite. Sophomore Rodolfo Sanchez and junior Steven Zucca should also be major components of the team’s success. While cross coun try competitions are often aided by individual performances, ho listic team prosperity is strength ened by a group’s overall makeup and ability to outrun the competi tion. The freshmen, sophomores and juniors must pull their weight here just as they’d have to in any team sport. Luckily, these Rams are a talented bunch, filled with individuals that work hard at their craft. Last year, Zucca se cured the men’s best time at the Jasper XC Fall invite and second best men’s time on the season, clocking in at 25:19.4. Sanchez also made his mark. He punched in the men’s third fastest time last season at the Princeton Invita tional. Both athletes will return with the aforementioned seniors and help form a diversely cohe sive men’s unit. Last season was a truly suc cessful one for the women’s side of cross country. They won the Metropolitan Championship and were led by a few experienced se niors as well as a wealth of young and hungry sophomores and juniors. This season’s team fea tures a senior class that includes Alexandra Thomas, Taylor Mascetta, Nicoleta Papavasilakis, Emmy Longmore and Nathania Tan. Each of these seasoned athletes earned personal victories over the course of their junior seasons. Tan finished first in the coaches race at the Jasper XC Invite. Thomas finished fifth at the Metropolitan Championship. Mascetta clocked in the second-best 5K time on the women’s team last season. Papavasilakis finished fifth at the Fordham Fiasco and Longmore placed third at the mentioned Jas per function. Overall, the wom en’s end of cross country fought hard all season and are certainly poised for another tremendous year of action. The men and women of cross country have already started their training. The A-10 champi onship is slated for Oct. 28, and the NCAA Northeast Regional is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11. With so much promise, they will undoubtedly be a fun bunch to see compete this fall. and four touchdowns in just three games in 2021, as his season was derailed by injury. Experience is the name of the game at receiver as well, with seniors Fotis Koko sioulis, Dequece Carter and MJ Wright all returning after big years in 2021. Add that to an offensive line that retained four out of five starters from a year ago, the Ford ham offense is poised to put up huge numbers this season. On the defensive side of the ball, the story is no different. Graduate Student linebacker Ryan Greenhagen was in the midst of an outstanding 2021 season before an ACL tear cut his year short. Greenhagen, who set an NCAA Division I record last season with 31 tackles against Nebraska, is back healthy and ready to lead the Rams defensive unit. In his ab sence a year ago, sophomore line backer James Conway emerged as a key defensive piece, leading both Fordham and the Patriot League in total tackles. In addition to a healthy Greenhagen and Conway, senior Jonathan Coste, a preseason All-Patriot League selection, re turns to the defensive line after an injury riddled 2021. Experi ence reigns large in the second ary as well, where Fordham is led by graduate student safety Natani Drati and seniors Nasir McNair and Stephen Williams II. With an upperclassmenheavy team and high expec tations, the Rams open their season against Wagner College away from home on Thursday, Sept. 1. Their home opener is Saturday, Sept. 17 against the University at Albany, and Patri ot League play begins Oct. 1 at home against Georgetown.

Cross Country is ready to begin competition this fall. COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

EDITOR COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Football is poised for a big 2022 season.

Fordham Football Seeks to Continue Upward Trajectory