Volume 103 Issue 15

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 103, Issue 15

TheFordhamRam.com

October 20, 2021

Fordham Provides Booster Shots

Club Spotlight: El Grito de Lares

By ISABEL DANZIS

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Pfizer’s vaccination booster for the existing COVID-19 vaccine. Health Services has begun to distribute this booster to students and faculty who are eligible on the Rose Hill campus.

Per New York City guidelines, all who receive the booster must be at least 65 years or older or have a pre-existing condition that makes them more susceptible to serious infection. In addition, only those who received the second dose of their Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at least six months ago can get a booster shot. Those who received either the Johnson & Johnson or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are not eligible for a booster at this time.

“The CDC has been very clear that providers are not allowed to administer Pfizer boosters to anyone unless they received Pfizer as the primary series,” said Dean of Student Services Keith Eldredge. “Doing so is in violation of the Pro-

On Oct. 1, El Grito de Lares announced that it had been chosen as Rose Hill’s United Student Government’s (USG) club of the month for September.

El Grito de Lares first appeared on Fordham’s campus in 2015 and has since become a space in which Hispanic students can feel safe discussing their heritage, community and experience as Hispanic people.

As club president Monica Santiago, GSB ‘22, said, it can be hard for people who identify as Hispanic to find a safe space on a campus like Fordham’s.

“In a PWI [Predominantly White Institution], it’s easy for us to feel alone or like we don’t fit in anywhere,” Santiago said.

“But coming together twice a month in a room full of students with similar interests, features and backgrounds makes being the only student of color in every class feel more manageable.”

El Grito de Lares operates with heavy involvement on campus, with club activities ranging from more traditional biweekly meetings for open discussions to more creative outlets that highlight cultural or individual interests within the club.

An example Santiago provided is the club’s recent trip to El Museo del Barrio, which “is a museum on Museum Mile that celebrates Hispanic heritage year-round,” she explained.

Other events hosted by El Grito de Lares include a Latine talent show and networking event, a yearly open mic and events at the end of October celebrating Dia de los Muertos.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, however, El Grito has been able to figure out how to transform a club whose pull to inclusivity is massively physical into

SEE BOOSTER, PAGE 3

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The Fordham football team celebrates a win after its game during Homecoming Weekend at the Rose Hill campus.

In-Person Homecoming Weekend Returns to Rose Hill

By JESSICA NOCE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After nearly two years, Fordham University was able to welcome alumni, families, students and friends back to campus to celebrate Homecoming Weekend in person at the Rose Hill campus.

Homecoming Weekend 2021 began on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, by honoring the class of 1971 for their 50th reunion celebration.

Due to a lack of in-person university events during the 2020-21 academic year, the class of 1970

was also honored at this year’s celebration.

With COVID-19 in mind, university administrators took extra precautions to ensure the safety of both guests and students while on campus. All visitors were required to be fully vaccinated to attend the weekend’s events and for children 12 or under, proof of a negative COVID-19 test was required to attend on-campus events. In addition, Fordham continues to require all students and guests to wear masks while indoors and to

practice social distancing when possible.

To kick off the weekend, alumni from the classes of 1970 and 1971 were invited back to campus for the Golden Rams Reception, a time to take in a new Rose Hill and reconnect with one another over food and drinks underneath the homecoming tent on Edward’s Parade. Young alumni from the classes of 2011 through 2021 were not forgotten, as they took SEE HOMECOMING, PAGE 3

Fordham Combats Fast Fashion

By ZOE CATE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF GREEN BRONX MACHINE

Stephen Ritz (center) founded Green Bronx Machine to help school kids learn about nutrition and growing their own food.

Bronx-Based Nonprofit Provides Local Kids Food Education

By LUCY PETERSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Green Bronx Machine, a “for-purpose” organization, is growing its way to a brighter future at the National Health & Wellness Center located at Community School 55 in the South

Bronx, just miles from Fordham University.

CEO of Green Bronx Machine Stephen Ritz, self-proclaimed as a “Chief Eternal Optimist of Bronx County,” calls himself an “accidental success.” A lifelong Bronx educator,

Ritz said he “believes that the Bronx is filled with amazing people and wonderful places and we need to celebrate them.” Green Bronx Machine carries out this mission through a wide variety of projects and innovative tactics, leaving a worldwide impact.

SEE CLIMATE, PAGE 5

Today, the world is inundated with fast fashion. Large quantities of clothing are produced at low prices. Trendiness is often valued over timeliness, and consumer desires are valued over ethical working conditions. In a time where the fashion industry has such vast social and environmental power, the industry’s potential to make a positive impact is immense. In order to harness this power and force the industry to rethink the way they conduct business, Cara Smyth, a current Gabelli Fellow, founded the Responsible Business Coalition (RBC).

The RBC is an incubator for actionable business solutions that drive profitability and sustainability and allow the fashion industry to move collectively toward a great impact.

The RBC came on the heels SEE FASHION, PAGE 5

SEE CLUB, PAGE 4

in this issue

Opinion

Page 9

Misinformation Leads to Rural COVID-19 Deaths

Sports

Page 20

Fordham Women’s Soccer Celebrates Senior Day

Culture

Page 14

Mimes and Mummers Performs “Footloose”

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS October 13, 2021 Martyrs’ Court 7:30 a.m.

Public Safety received notice of a fire alarm activation at Martyrs’ court, and the building was evacuated. No fire was identified. The activated alarm panel was from the basement. The fire department cleared the building, and residents were allowed to reenter the building.

October 14, 2021 Queen’s Court 5:30 p.m.

Public Safety was notified of an activated fire alarm in Queen’s Court and the building was evacuated. It was indicated that smoke was coming from the laundry room. No fire was determined, and the building was reopened.

October 14, 2021 Arthur Avenue 6 p.m.

Public Safety was notified that a student was called a disparaging remark two times by an unknown person while she was walking over the last month. The remarks were made by an individual in a car.

October 16, 2021 Martyrs’ Court 9:05 p.m.

Public Safety was notified of a activated fire alarm, and the fire department responded. It was indicated that smoke was coming from the hallway outside of room 411. It was found that the smoke was coming from a microwave oven.

The building was evacuated and repopulated.

October 17, 2021 189th Street and Arthur Avenue 12:35 a.m.

A student reported to the Public Safety desk that a male approximately 45 years of age was nude. Public Safety reported to the location, as well as the NYPD and St. Barnabas Hospital staff. The man was taken to the hospital.

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

October 20, 2021

Fordham English Hosts Author of “The Hate U Give,” Angie Thomas MICHELA FAHY ByByPAOLA GALIANO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Thursday, Oct. 7, Fordham University’s English Department hosted Angie Thomas, author of “The Hate U Give,” for its annual Mary Higgins Clark (MHC) keynote speech.

Thomas spoke about the inspiration behind her novel — one that has spent the last 228 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers List. In an hour-long webinar, Thomas recounted growing up in Mississippi, seeing and hearing racism and bias, as well as how these experiences connected to how she saw the world. She spoke on the impact that the murders of Emmett Till, Michael Brown and so many others had on her life, giving the inspiration behind “The Hate U Give.”

As Thomas narrated these memories and their influences, she connected her book to the lasting social justice movements of today.

Throughout the webinar, Thomas consistently returned to her roots — how growing up in Jackson, Mississippi allowed her to try and navigate between two worlds. Just like Thomas, in “The Hate U Give,” protagonist Starr Carter is almost constantly switching between her two worlds.

Navigating the poor, mostly Black neighborhood where she lives and the affluent, mostly white prep school that she attends is not easy. This difficulty becomes apparent when the tenuous balance between her separate worlds shatters with the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer.

Pressure creeps in from both sides of her communities, forcing Starr to make a decision that changes her life— stay quiet and blend in, or speak up and stand up for what’s right.

Thomas frequently touches on the influence of her community and how the love she had for it ultimately fostered a sense of pride from where she came from, even amidst the negative connotations about her neighborhood. Growing up, Thomas said that she “remembers the first time [she] saw Emmett Till.” It was the horrific pictures of Till she saw in a magazine that prompted her to ask her mother “what” was it that she was seeing.

COURTESY OF TEEN VOGUE

Author Angie Thomas, pictured above with her famous book “The Hate U Give,” visited Fordham’s English Department.

Her mother replied, “No, baby, who.”

This came from the woman that lived through gun violence herself, Thomas explained. She told attendees that her mother heard the gunshot that killed civil rights activist and neighbor, Medgar Evers.

It was the devastating murders of black men like Emmett Till that affected her, said Thomas.

Black men like Medgar Evers, Oscar Grant, Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice: she said they could be her brothers, her cousins. She said it started with Emmett Till, and a lesson she learned from her mother, all too young: “Know your worth, but know that not everyone values you the same way I do, and some don’t value you at all, simply because of the color of your skin.”

With an abrupt change in story, Thomas was ripped out of her predominantly Black neighborhood in Jackson and plopped into her second world: Belhaven University, a private Evangelical Christian school that was mostly white. Thomas said that during college, she started to forget where she came from. Going to her college was like “driving into another planet,” said the author.

Desperate to make everyone believe that she belonged there, Thomas said that she became two separate people, one that spoke and acted differently in each environment she was placed in. Not wanting her classmates to see her as the girl there on affirmative ac-

tion, or really just different from the rest, Thomas remembers how differently she acted around separate groups. That was, until Oscar Grant.

Oscar Grant was a 22-yearold Black man who was killed in 2009, by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserie. It wasn’t enough that Thomas had grown up with her mother’s warnings about the danger that she faced because of the color of her skin.

Now, Thomas heard it at school as her classmates attempted to justify his death. They said that Oscar Grant was an ex-con, that “maybe he deserved it,” Thomas remembered.

To process her own feelings of hurt and frustration, and for the kids in her neighborhood that were constantly at the risk of a similar fate, Thomas said she channeled all of this to write a short story in Oscar’s name. She called this “using [her] voice,” a notion at the very heart of the book that became, “The Hate U Give.”

She adopted art as activism, saying that she “totally believed in the power of storytelling.”

Thomas said she grew up on artists like Tupac, Public Enemy and Kendrick Lamar that believed in “the power of the people.” They spoke to her, to her world and to all the issues that she struggled with growing up, explained Thomas.

Thomas said they inspired her to also use her art as activism.

She expressed her belief that through her own art of telling stories, she could foster empathy

and compassion. “I wanted to be seen,” she says. “I wanted to be heard.”

“Compassion is the cousin of empathy and understanding,” said Thomas. “I believe it’s our strongest weapon against racism, poverty, sexism, homophobia and so many other societal problems.”

Toward the end of the webinar, Thomas spoke on the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. “All lives should matter, but we have a systemic problem in this country where Black lives don’t matter enough,” she said.

Thomas said she writes for young people who are willing and open to learning — it’s how she invests in the future.

“At times you probably feel hopeless, you probably feel powerless, but you’re some of the most powerful people in the world,” she told students.

“Use your voice. Your opinions are some of the most valuable … The power you all have is far greater than the hate anyone can give.”

Mary Bly, Ph.D., chair of the Fordham English Department, said that assigning Thomas’s “The Hate U Give” for all incoming Fordham first year students was meant “to connect our MHC read with recent social movements.”

“We are very proud of our Race & Social Justice requirement for majors, as well as our Black Lives Matter and AsianAmerican statements,” said Bly.

This Week at Fordham Wednesday Oct. 20

Wednesday Oct. 20

Thursday Oct. 21

Friday Oct. 22

Saturday Oct. 23

Free Professional Headshots

Commuter Services OffCampus Laundry Program

Every Vote Counts Meeting

Deciduous Dental Society: Learning how to Suture

Slainte Beginner Practice

McGinley Second 2:30-5 p.m.

Join Fordham ASILI, FCRH Dean’s Council and Career Services to get free professional headshots taken. Spots are limited in this program, and those who are interested can register on Handshake.

Giant Laundry 6 p.m.

Fordham Commuter Services and Ram Van will be running their free off-campus laundry program.

Students can check in at the table by the Walsh Hall parking lot and turnstile.

Dealy 102 7p.m. - 8p.m.

Join Fordham’s Every Vote Counts meeting on Thursday. The club will be discussing its agenda and plans as well as having free pizza.

Dealy 115 8p.m. - 9p.m.

Join Fordham’s Dental Society in learning how to suture. Come and learn valuable dentistry skills!

Keating Basement Dance Studio 3-9:30 p.m.

Join Fordham Slainte for beginner’s practice. All skill sets and experience levels are welcome!

NEWS

October 20, 2021

Page 3

University Begins to Administer Pfizer Booster Shots FROM BOOSTER, PAGE 1

vider Agreement with the CDC and could result in a vaccine being removed, as well as put the provider at risk of liability, as its administration would not be covered under the Prep Act.” Fordham began distributing the Moderna vaccine in April and has since expanded its vaccine distribution program to offer the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as well, according to Fordham’s official website. The university has had the supply of vaccines to start offering them as booster shots for a while, said Eldredge. However, administrators needed authorization from the state before doing so.

“The university was approved as a COVID-19 vaccine site in December 2020, and the Pfizer vaccine being administered as a booster or the third dose is no different than the original vaccine,” said Eldredge. “[As a vaccination site], we are eligible to order the vaccine although there is no guarantee our order will be filled based on availability from New York State.”

As of Oct. 16, 2021, the Rose Hill campus had 14 cases of COVID-19, and 97.33% of the student population is fully vaccinated.

While the vaccination rate is high on campus, many students are still anxious to get a booster shot.

“Even though most everyone

COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

Fordham University Health Services began administering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to eligible students and staff members at the beginning of October.

on campus is vaccinated, I still think I would feel more comfortable with a booster shot,” said Claire Bickel, FCRH ’24.

Bickel said she has type one diabetes, which makes her more susceptible to serious COVID-19 infection. “Because of my diabetes, I was able to get vaccinated earlier than others last semester, which I was grateful for,” said Bickel. “I think people

assume that just because I’m young that I am 100% healthy or that COVID won’t hurt me.

That’s not true, and that’s why I'm going to get a booster shot.”

Fordham required vaccination for students and faculty to return to on-campus and in-person activity this semester. That requirement did not include any stipulations about getting a booster shot as they became

available.

According to Eldredge, as of right now, there has been no discussion in the university about requiring booster shots for students or university employees.

As of Oct. 8, five vaccine boosters had been administered on campus. Students and faculty who are eligible for a vaccine booster can schedule an appointment for vaccination online.

The booster will be given out on Friday, Oct. 22 at Rose Hill.

Students with questions can also reach Health Services at 718817-4160 or visit its office on the lower level of O’Hare Hall.

In addition to the Pfizer booster shot, the FDA is expected to authorize booster shots from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson this week, according to a report from the New York Times.

Alumni Return to Campus for Homecoming Events

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

English Department Chair Mary Bly hosts a book signing for her new novel “Lizzie and Dante” at the homecoming tent.

FROM HOMECOMING, PAGE 1

part in an evening yacht cruise featuring views of the Manhattan skyline.

Both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center undergraduate students came together that same night to take part in a Fordham timehonored tradition: the President’s Ball. Due to COVID-19 restric-

tions and with the safety of students in mind, the ball, which is usually in the Lombardi Field House, took place outside underneath the homecoming tent on Edward’s Parade.

Michael Trerotola, assistant university secretary, who contributed to the ball's planning, said, “There are quite a number

of logistics that I coordinate including bringing in sound, lighting, catering, as well as transportation to bring Lincoln Center students to Rose Hill. I also work with my colleagues in Student Affairs, Facilities and Public Safety to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

The 10th annual 5K Ram Run

kicked off a busy day of events and celebrations on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 9, as alumni, students, families and friends laced up their shoes and raced around the Rose Hill campus.

Following the run, a breakfast and briefing conversation with FCLC Dean Laura Auricchio and FCRH Dean Maura Mast highlighted how the university has been able to foster internship program collaboration between the two campuses, improving students’ experiences at both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center.

The Fordham University Alumni Association (FUAA) hosted an advisory board meet and greet, where guests were given a chance to hear from the executive board, as well as the Board Chair Sally Benner, FCRH ’84, about their dedication to the school community.

Following the meet and greet, former Fordham Law School Assistant Dean Robert J. Reilly, FCRH ’72, FLS ’75, hosted a walking tour of Rose Hill, highlighting the continuing Jesuit presence on campus. Additional events were listed on the website forever.fordham.edu, under Homecoming 2021.

The homecoming tent, operated by the Fordham Alumni Association, provided a space for alumni and their friends and families to reconnect and spend time with familiar faces in the Fordham community. In addition to food and drink, guests were able to take part in numerous activities, including a new Alumni Association program, the Fordham Alumni book club. As

outlined in the weekend’s events on Fordham’s alumni webpage, Mary Bly, department chair of the Fordham University English department and author of the newly-published romance novel “Lizzie & Dante,” hosted a book signing for all in attendance to promote her book.

The Fordham football team returned to the Jack Coffey Field Saturday afternoon to take on the Wagner College Seahawks for the annual homecoming football game. The Rams pushed ahead early on, leading them to defeat the Seahawks with a final score of 56–7.

For an alternative to the football game, alumni and their families were able to take part in a New York Botanical Gardens group visit for a discounted price. Following the game's completion, a special homecoming mass was held at the university church, concluding the weekend’s events.

Although homecoming weekend focuses on alumni and their families, there is so much for students to enjoy on campus as well. With the cancellation of on-campus events last year, this year’s homecoming weekend was extra special for everyone, especially seniors, as it will be their last year as undergraduates.

“Experiencing homecoming as a senior this semester was so great because it reminded me just how vibrant and energetic our campus community is,” said Audrey Felton, FCRH ’22.

“It was so fun seeing students, alumni and administrators come together to celebrate Fordham.”

NEWS

Page 4

October 20, 2021

El Grito de Lares Provides Space for Hispanic Students FROM CLUB, PAGE 1

a virtual success as well. “Our Instagram page has become another important part of our club!” said Santiago. “We have some virtual-only events that students can participate in through the account.”

A recent example of El Grito’s virtual only events include a “Rep Your Heritage” event in which students could send photos and videos from their home country to the club.

“This is a great way for members and students from Lincoln Center to connect with each other even if they can’t make the meetings,” Santiago said.

In honor of the amount of work El Grito does on campus, USG voted and named it their club of the month. Arianna Chen, FCRH ’22, the executive vice president of USG, said, “We’re so glad to have the opportunity to continue recognizing the hard work and dedication to community engagement from student organizations across our campus. Especially with the onset of Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize and deeply appreciate the wonderful, thoughtful mul-

ticultural programs put forth by El Grito de Lares.”

Santiago responded to the recognition, stating, “We are honored to have been recognized by USG as September’s club of the month! Because Hispanic Heritage Month starts two weeks into the semester, we usually have to plan before the semester even starts. We were so happy that our efforts and commitment to the club were recognized and paid off.”

Moving forward, the club does not plan on losing any of the steam it has accumulated so far, said Santiago. The club has already planned out several events following their celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, including the club’s iconic Latin Gala, which has not been hosted since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year, Latin Gala will be returning bigger than ever!”

Santiago said. Santiago also noted the club’s use of LinkedIn to provide its members with resources like networking, internships and job opportunities.

The cultural and historical context fueling the club is im-

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Fordham’s United Student Government at Rose Hill named El Grito de Lares the club of the month this September.

portant to the foundation of the club’s ethos. The name “El Grito de Lares” is not so important for what it translates to (the Cry of Lares), but for what it symbolizes in the Hispanic community, Santiago explained. According to

Santiago, the name is “a reference to the biggest revolt of liberation in Puerto Rico. People rebelled against Spanish rule’s unfair sovereignty and, though it was not a successful revolution, it did make a heavy impact on the island.”

“[The name is] a symbol of Hispanic pride, strength, and bravery,” she said.

Students can learn more about El Grito de Lares and get involved in the club by visiting its official Instagram page, @elgritodelares.

Fordham Student Marries Music and Science in Research

By ALICE GAALSWYK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Everyday, students walk to class with their headphones in, listening to their favorite songs.

Lizzy Galbo, FCRH ’22, is researching how this music affects human perception. Galbo is double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and music on the prehealth track and combines these two disciplines in her research.

Galbo is currently participating in Dr. Elissa Aminoff ’s vision and memory lab, which focuses more on visual processing. For Galbo’s required capstone project for her neuroscience major, she and Aminoff introduced the stimuli of music into the lab.

“The project I’m working on is called ‘Musically Induced Microbalances in High-Level Visual Processing of Everyday Scenes,’” said Galbo. “But really what we’re looking at is how small musical excerpts could produce a mindset that will affect how much you like or dislike a neutral image or scene that would otherwise not evoke an emotion.”

For this project, Galbo is writing her own musical compositions that vary in certain musical features, which will then act as the stimuli in the experiment.

Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis, Ph.D., of the music department is advising Galbo for the music side of the research.

Galbo said that being able to combine her two majors for this capstone project “has been really unique and awesome.”

Galbo came to college considering a future in either medicine or scientific research, so completing research as an undergraduate student has always been something that she wanted to pursue while at Fordham.

“I really just wanted to get into a lab and understand the research process,” said Galbo. “So

COURTESY OF FORDHAM UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

Lizzy Galbo, FCRH ’22, combines her passion for neuroscience and music in her capstone research project this fall.

I kind of just cold-emailed Dr. Aminoff because I found her research on perception and mindset super interesting … I didn’t know what cognitive neuroscience was before getting into her lab, so it’s been really awesome to understand that aspect of neuroscience beyond the biological things that

I’ve learned in classes.”

Galbo has been a musician for much of her life and is also a classically trained singer. When she decided to include a musical element in her research, Galbo had to ask herself questions like “how do you scientifically study music?” and “how

do you use music as a variable in research?”

Galbo said exploring the answers to these questions has been a really enlightening process for her.

“As a performer, I’ve had so many experiences where I have felt these whole-body emotions and respons-

es to sounds, so [I thought] it must affect perception,” she explained.

This examination of crossmodal processing between visual and auditory processing could have interesting implications, said Galbo. Even though Galbo only varies small features of the music in her research, she thinks that this could affect both the field of perception and the musical field.

In many perception experiments, perception is analyzed in an MRI with no outside stimuli, explained Galbo.

“But that’s not reality,” she said.

“We’re listening to all sorts of things all of the time.”

It is important to understand the significance of other stimuli.

For the musical field, she believes this research attempts to understand why people prefer certain things in music over others and how this affects their perception.

Galbo thinks these ideas could be important for composers, who could be able to take these kinds of things into account when they are writing music.

Currently, Galbo is on track to go to medical school, but she said she still wants to work with music and integrate it into medicine. She would also like to earn her master’s degree in music cognition and is applying for a Fulbright Fellowship for a music and science program at Durham University.

“I feel like that would be a really interesting aspect to introduce into medicine,” said Galbo.

“There’s a lot of music therapy treatments that exist, and music psychology is a big field … but if I understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms that regulate our perception of music … we could understand not just how we can use music but what in the music is useful … and how we can better our therapies that already exist.”

NEWS

October 20, 2021

Page 5

Green Bronx Machine Feeds and Educates the Bronx FROM CLIMATE, PAGE 1

Ritz says Green Bronx Machine originally started as an afterschool program “with over-age and undercredited children, some of the most marginalized kids in New York City.”

The program has since expanded into a K-12+ school model built from a completely original curriculum that is now available for implementation in schools around the world. Green Bronx Machine utilizes agriculture and gardening practices in the classroom not only to teach kids about healthy eating in marginalized communities, where natural and organically produced foods are hard to come by, but also lessons in science, math and other subjects.

According to the Green Bronx Machine website, the Bronx community “has some of New York State’s highest per capita rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, heart disease, chronic unemployment, food insecurity and food stamp recipients.” Through the implementation of health-based learning, Ritz said he hopes to “redefine the narrative that is the Bronx and redefine what is possible.”

The website highlights the organization’s achievements, including “moving targeted daily attendance rates from 40% to 93%, 100% passing rates on New York State examinations and partnering towards 2,200 youth jobs.”

Ritz refers to himself as “the children’s champion” and “the number one cheerleader for the Bronx borough.” He started his career at South Bronx High School and said that he

has “always had an ability to connect with people and build relationships.”

Although the scale of Green Bronx Machine has grown to sustain a worldwide impact, Ritz said the organization has not lost sight of its fundamental mission that focuses on making a direct impact on the lives of local community members, especially children.

“Our humble little program has gone from one school in the Bronx to over 500 across America and we’re not doing it with a huge budget, we’re not doing it through the power of paid social media and PR consultants – we’re doing it by doing the work,” said Ritz.

While Ritz supports the tremendous work of nonprofit organizations, he says that children are “often used as epicenters of profit in communities like ours.” However, he said Green Bronx Machine strives to make fundamental, hands-on change.

“If you’re not adding value to the institutions you’re serving, in many ways, you are detracting value from them,” Ritz said. “You’ve got people making hundreds of thousands of dollars running nonprofits in the Bronx that are wholly dependent on interfacing with public education and public schools but really are not a part of it, they’re just getting fed off of it."

Ritz said Green Bronx Machine recognizes that lasting change requires more than surface level impact. He believes that “children are far more than the sum of their data on a spreadsheet,” and are in many ways “victims of an education system that has failed them.” Ritz said that when

COURTESY OF GREEN BRONX MACHINE

Green Bronx Machine provided food to roughly 2,300 New York residents per day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

he first started, the goal of Green Bronx Machine was “to simply impact the people directly surrounding him.” Since then, Green Bronx Machine has impacted thousands of students worldwide and continues to win numerous awards each year, including the 2021 Social Innovation Award.

Green Bronx Machine responded to COVID-19 by “help[ing] feed 2,300 people daily, [growing] over 5,000 pounds of local Bronx food, host[ing] more than 200 digital lessons and deliver[ing] food weekly to 30 cancer patients and 55 vulnerable patients” in the Bronx community, according to the Green Bronx Machine website.

In order to feed the local Bronx

community, which suffered from high rates of COVID-19, Green Bronx Machine purchased excess produce from around the country that would otherwise have gone to waste.

“We used the school as a staging ground to store all the food, filling grocery bags with fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Ritz. “I don’t see challenges, I see opportunity.”

Green Bronx Machine is currently in the process of acquiring rights to their recent documentary “Generation Growth,” which provides a deeper look into the people and stories that have shaped the nonprofit. Ritz said they are “thrilled to share the documentary that has won countless awards al-

ready.” Ritz said he hopes the documentary film is able to inspire viewers to take action.

“Anything is possible,” he said.

“We have the power to change lives overnight, [the question is] do we have the appetite and collective will?”

Ritz said he urges Fordham students “to go beyond the campus into the community.”

“There is treasure in Fordham’s backyard,” Ritz said.

Ritz emphasized the fact that it doesn’t take much to get involved in the organization. “Children who have access to one kind, caring adult will succeed in life,” he said. “So I’m asking the people at Fordham to not give back, but to pay it forward.”

Faculty and Students Advocate for Sustainabilty in Fashion

COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

The Responsible Business Coalition and Fordham Sustainable Fashion advocate for more mindful shopping habits.

FROM FASHION, PAGE 1

of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, said Smyth. This garment factory disaster killed and injured thousands and inspired Smyth to enact social and environmental change in the fashion industry.

“Fashion is widely believed to be responsible for about 20% industrial wastewater and 10% carbon emissions,” said Smyth. “We have about 75% women working throughout our supply chain communities. And therefore the opportunity for fashion to do good is tremendous, particularly because we are hardwired for change. We drive cultural change and reflect cultural change, so that makes fashion quite an interesting instrument and probably different than most other industries because nobody else changes products quite as fast as we do season to season.

And so we are, I think, better able to incorporate shifts in behavior in the ways that we operate.”

This recognition of the role that fashion plays in environmental and social issues spurred Smyth to think about how to use fashion to do good.

This thinking became the basis for the RBC, she explained.

“So about 10 years ago, we started to talk to some of the CEOs in the industry about where we are on sustainability or what is now considered environmental, social and governance,” explained Smyth. “Would there be a way for CEOs to come together to help them help their companies, and what would happen if we all work collectively and establish the agenda of certain key subjects that we want to work on? So we decided an action agenda with originally a smaller group of 16 CEOs. That group has now grown to 47 CEOs. They represent about 275 brands and round about $400 billion in global turnover.

The ripple effect of those CEOs, obviously, is even greater than the numbers that I just shared because of all of

the supply chain partners that they have, all of the consumers — they touch all of the employees that they engage.”

The RBC came to Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business in March 2020. The introduction of RBC to Gabelli allowed the coalition to bridge the gap between industry and academia. It also allowed RBC to infuse its ideals into Gabelli’s curriculum to educate students before they go out into the industry and provide them with the toolkit to be the most ethical and informed business leader possible, said Smyth.

“So how do we take all that work that we do externally in the fashion sector and ultimately beyond fashion and bring it back into various curricula actually embedded in [the] syllabus,” said Frank Zambrelli, executive director of RBC at Gabelli.

Sustainable fashion practices

are not only taught in the classroom at Fordham. Some students practice these ideals in student-run organizations like Fordham Sustainable Fashion (FSF). FSF Co-President Tara Doherty, FCRH ’23, said she always had a passion for thrift shopping and altering clothing, so she joined FSF. As co-president, Doherty hopes her club will help educate students on fashion’s role in environmental issues.

“I hope people gain perspective about the fashion industry and really all industries that we shop in regularly. Virtually all companies are looking to maximize their profit margin and will give people any product that they will spend money on,” said Doherty. “There are so many different steps to create a piece of clothing and when each step is treated with the bare minimum quality, care and materials, it adds up. Finding clothes that are high quality that come from ethical supply chains definitely takes more work but really is worth it. Basically, I just want to give members the tools to make more conscious decisions and find new ways to look at shopping.”

Doherty is aware that her organization consists of college students who do not always have the means to purchase higher-end clothing, making fast fashion sites more attainable.

Doherty warns that although fast fashion might seem cheaper at the moment, in the long term fast fashion can actually be more expensive.

“I would say to really think about what [you] wear and how often,” said Doherty. “There’s pieces in every wardrobe that will be worn 100 times year after year, like a pair of jeans. It’s worth it to spend money on a quality

pair of jeans because [you] are going to get a lot of use out of it. Pieces that are trendy or will rip after wearing twice aren’t even worth buying. If you want to get fun pieces, go thrift shopping. The clothes are probably better quality and more timeless than anything [you] were going to buy on a fast fashion website.”

Although becoming more sustainable may seem overwhelming, there are actually simple ways to practice eco-conscious shopping practices in everyday life, explained Smyth.

“Be mindful of what you buy and why you buy it,” she said. “So if you can wear it once, because it’s not good quality, or it’s a print or something that you may not use again, or you don't know how to donate it at the end of life, think twice about what you buy, why you buy it and what you do. When you no longer want that piece, there’s so many opportunities for resale, refurbish, rental with a lot of different solutions and opportunities to dress today.”

It can be easy to feel small in comparison to an industry as large as fashion, but Zambrelli stressed that the consumer has more power than one might think and that it is important to harness this power to do good. “In business, it’s consumers and investors that are the major market forces and as a consumer, there is really an opportunity to not only sort of force the industry or certainly coach the industry on what your interests are. But change behaviors by changing the way that you buy? The brands will follow you,” said Zambrelli.

OPINION

Page 6

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918 The Fordham Ram is the university journal of record. The mission of The Fordham Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate. The Fordham Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of over 12,000 and a web readership of over 300,000. The Fordham Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

Website TheFordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu Editor-in-Chief Rachel Gow Managing Editor Dylan Balsamo Editorial Director Erica Weidner Multimedia Director Hunter Benegas Business Director Aidan Youngs Production Editor Vanessa DeJesus Copy Chief Megan Dowden Assistant Copy Chief Ginny Belt News Editor Abbey Delk Features Editor Hasna Ceran Assistant News Editors Sebastian Diaz Isabel Danzis Opinion Editors Emma Lipkind Taylor Herzlich Assistant Opinion Editor Michela Fahy Culture Editors Ava Erickson Sara Tsugranis Assistant Culture Editor Hanif Amanullah Sports Editor Alexander Wolz Assistant Sports Editors Michael Hernandez Kaley Bell Digital Director Katie Morris Digital Producer Collette Campbell Visual Director Pia Fischetti Photo Editor Mackenzie Cranna Graphics/Illustrations Cory Bork

Editorial Page Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial reflects the editorial board’s view on a campus issue.

Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram accepts submissions to fordhamramopinions@gmail. com. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Fordham Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

October 20, 2021

From the Desk | Collette Campbell

From Reader to Staff: My Fordham Ram Journey Let it be known that I knew almost nothing about The Fordham Ram when I applied during my junior year.

The only thing I knew was that it was a newspaper distributed on campus that I read from time to time. I applied to be an editor, which I laugh about now considering I had no previous involvement with the paper in the first place. Nonetheless, I sent in my application on the last day that they were open and I interviewed with some seniors from Volume 102.

They asked me, “So why are you joining The Fordham Ram now?”

In truth, I’ve always been involved in activities at Fordham. It’s not like I was looking for something to involve myself in. In freshman year, I joined the Fordham Women’s Club Soccer team and have been on the team since. In 2019, I became an executive co-director for Fordham Dance Marathon, the Executive Vice-President of Residence Halls Association and a retreat leader for Campus Ministry.

To say I was busy was an understatement.

So, why now? I was forced to pause and think. My friend Dylan, who was (and still is) on staff, had encouraged me to join. We had long conversations about why I would love it, but I was still hesitant. Why involve myself in something that I don’t know anything about and where I would only know one person? Nonetheless, one thing I do know about Dylan is that he’s really good at reading people. At that moment, I trusted Dylan’s judgement on the matter and the confi-

dence he had in me to be on staff. I looked at the camera and said, “I don’t know, but I think I have a good feeling about it. I’ve been so busy and since COVID kind of put a pause in my life, I’ve been interested in joining.”

I decided at that moment that I would rather be honest than fake a response. I trusted my gut when I said I had a good feeling, even though I was pretty confident I wasn’t going to get a position. And it was true when I said I was interested. After Dylan hyped it up, the least I could do was apply.

I got a text from Volume 102’s digital producer that said, “Saw you were interested in The Fordham Ram — would you be interested in being a digital producer?” I immediately realized I didn’t get the editor position, but I was still being considered for a staff position. At that moment, I could’ve said no or just completely given up. However, I trusted that good feeling once again and said, “Sure! That sounds fun.”

Before I knew it, I was in a virtual meeting with a staff full of people I didn’t know, but who knew each other. Suddenly, I was nervous and questioning my decision of joining. I was a junior who quite literally just showed up. Slowly by surely, though, I learned the ropes of digital production and became more confident with each issue we put out.

Flash forward to now: We’ve been producing in person again on Tuesday nights. I know I can walk in from

my soccer practice and Megan will have two slices of pizza saved for me.

I can sit next to Kat and laugh with her about random things. I can share my passion for true crime with Vanessa or annoy Alex to get the sports section to do a piece on club soccer. I also know I can rely on Ginny to do a water bottle refill at least once during the night.

I owe it to the Volume 102 staff for considering me for a position, even when I didn’t consider myself for one.

I owe it to Hunter and Katie for taking me in stride and teaching me everything I needed to know. They have been extremely patient while I asked a question a minute or asked some-

one to read every single sentence I wrote to make sure it was okay. I owe it to Dylan for reaching out in the first place encourage me to apply for staff.

I owe it to myself, for trusting the good feeling I had and not giving up.

I’m still busy, except The Fordham Ram has taken the space of commitments I am no longer a part of, and I am so happy it has.

Thank you to Volume 103 for welcoming me with open arms for my first and final year on The Fordham Ram. Y’all, B-52 and carefully curated music for production night have truly brought such a light to my life, even for such a short period of time. I am forever thankful to be on this staff.

From the Desk | Katie Morris

11 Things that Define My Time at the Ram

On the record, The Fordham Ram is Rose Hill’s weekly newspaper. On my resume, it is a leadership position focused on content creation. On my calendar, it is Sunday night budget meetings and Tuesday production nights. On my to-do list, it is currently an overdue From the Desk draft (sorry, Opinion!). In the near future, it will be part of my past, a collection of memories from my undergraduate years.

Whether I am brave enough to face the impending reality or not, my remaining days at the Ram and Fordham are rapidly decreasing. The looming uncertainty of post-gradua-

tion life is intensifying. Introspection is inevitable.

I have spent three rewarding volumes with the Ram, first as digital producer and now as digital director, but I am still not sure how best to define the Ram or qualify my experiences. There is no singular sentence that can capture our newspaper, though as my time on staff comes to an end, I will try my best. After three years of highly unscientific observation and personal analysis, I leave you with this list of some of the most important parts of The Fordham Ram. 1. The cricket, who may or may not have been manslaughtered (cricket-

slaughtered?) in B-52 at the hands of two apologetic e-board members.

May he always chirp in heaven.

2. The 11” by 17” physical paper, which is printed and distributed to almost all buildings across campus every Wednesday.

3. The crossword, an undeniable Ram favorite and my personal procrastination method of choice.

4. www.thefordhamram.com. The website has finally become my friend since the death of our greatest mutual enemy, websheets, whom I battled against during Volumes 101 and 102.

5. The articles that unite the campus community through valuable information.

6. The readers, who make our work meaningful.

7. The writers. The Ram provides a welcoming space for writers of all skills, talents, strengths and experiences, and I continue to be impressed and motivated by our writers. The articles I have written have helped me enjoy writing, as well as embrace creativity and become closer to “Phineas & Ferb.”

8. Copy editors. Though I love you my dearest guardians of AP style, you will have to pry the Oxford comma out of my cold, lifeless hands.

9. The Ram’s social media, which I have come to know intimately while on staff. There are very few things in life as thrilling as posting breaking news (especially before the Observer). To Kristen, who trained me well, Hunter, Collette and the newest

members of our expanding digital team: thank you.

10. B-52 and the Print Shop. Never the right temperature, but always the right vibe. The McGinley basement has two things to sustain me past midnight: room temperature pizza and entertaining people. B-52, with playlists that transcend boundaries and an endless supply of unexpected conversations, may leave you thinking differently about Sonic and Max Goof. The Print Shop is slightly less loud, but equally as chaotic and loved. There were many pandemic months that deprived us of the McGinley basement, as well as recent flooding which took down walls, but the spirit of the Ram remained, so I know it will survive much more.

11. The Ramily. To me, the most important part of The Fordham Ram is not tangible or accessible by URL. It’s not the words we write, arrange and edit or the place where we work. It is the impressive people who sacrifice hours in order to produce a newspaper every week.

We are bonded by ink and friends by choice. You have converted me into a Pugsley’s fan and taught me to play chess with life-size pieces. Your authenticity has encouraged me to be bold, and your talents have taught me lessons.

Thank you for the experiences, friends and opportunities.

I am proud of the way we work together, and even more proud of the paper we produce.

October 20, 2021

OPINION

Page 7

Australia Shows COVID-19 Conditions Will Be the New Normal

By AVA KNIGHT

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Oct. 1, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison announced the reopening of Australian borders and the abandoning of a “Zero-COVID” policy. Many countries, including New Zealand, China and Taiwan are no longer focusing on complete eradication of the virus; rather, they are learning to live with it. Due to the virus’s contagious nature, the lack of global cooperation and overall restlessness, other countries will soon need to shift their COVID-19 approach from combative to adaptive. The complete eradication of the virus is unlikely at this point. World leaders need to shift their perspective to a more lenient one so we can finally approach a “new normal.”

Australia’s approach to combating the spread of the virus originally included strict lockdown and quarantine measures, closed borders, robust contact tracing systems and extensive testing. These measures left thousands stranded overseas, with a lucky few able to return home after having to undergo a strict quarantine period.

Australia has also been encouraging vaccinations: 55% of the country is fully vaccinated, and close to 80% have received the first dose. Even so, Australians could not completely eliminate the virus.

With the emergence of the delta variant, which is more than two times as contagious as previous variants, many countries are abandoning the idea of living in a completely COVIDfree world again.

On Oct. 4, New Zealand announced that they would no longer prioritize eliminating all coronavirus cases. “Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines. Now we do, so we can begin to change the

way we do things,” said New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden.

World leaders are starting to realize that COVID-19 is becoming a fact of life that we need to learn to live with.

Swift eradication of COVID-19 is extremely unlikely due to the virus’s chemical makeup and the varying national responses to the pandemic.

The American Society of Microbiology describes four criteria that indicate whether a disease can be eradicated, using the smallpox virus as an example. The first question posed is whether or not the virus can be easily identified. Smallpox was easily diagnosable from red blisters that would appear on a patient’s skin.

With COVID-19, some patients are asymptomatic, which makes it difficult to quickly isolate cases. Around 35% of assessed COVID-19 cases have been asymptomatic, according to a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). The ability to quickly identify and isolate cases is crucial to containment; unfortunately, the amount of asymptomatic cases makes this a difficult feat.

The second question is whether the virus can spread to non-human species. If the disease can be transmitted among humans and other animals, animals can easily reinfect human populations, regardless of human efforts. This is clearly the case with COVID-19, as many wild and domesticated animals became infected starting in 2020.

The third question is whether the disease is geographically restricted.

Increased globalization and the reopening of international borders will only hinder the fight for containment.

Finally, the American Society of Microbiology looks to determine if there is a vaccine or another way to minimize transmission. However,

we must remember that vaccination is only effective as a means of eradication if a large enough proportion of the population gets vaccinated. As of Oct. 13, 48.9% of the global population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Over half of the global population remains extremely vulnerable to contracting and spreading the virus. It seems like herd immunity will not be achieved anytime soon.

Mutation is also a factor preventing the complete eradication of COVID-19. The more a virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate and for those mutations to survive in a population. Scientists estimate that a new coronavirus mutation establishes itself in a population roughly every 11 days. Mutations can increase the virus’s transmissibility and cause more severe symptoms, as shown by the delta variant. These mutations can make vaccine development more difficult.

“All RNA viruses mutate over time, some more than others. For example, flu viruses change often, which is why doctors recommend that you get a new flu vaccine every year,” explains Dr. Robert Bollinger. RNA viruses like COVID-19 will inevitably mutate; the question remains whether our vaccines will be able to combat new variants.

Our world of international travel and interconnected global economies makes it difficult to completely shut off country borders like Australia tried to do. Controlling a virus like COVID-19 requires united international cooperation. The CDC’s strategy aimed to limit transmission and minimize the impact of the virus while other countries, like Australia, opted to tackle the challenge of completely eradicating the virus. Some countries used tedious and widespread contact

tracing to control the spread, but others were too large or disorganized for this method.

There has also been disagreement about how to handle the virus within countries. In the U.S., for example, advocacy for preventative measures like wearing masks and vaccines has been blocked by conversations about freedom and individual rights. Some argue that they have the right to choose whether they want to wear masks or get vaccinated. Opposing arguments emphasize that preventative measures save other people and even point out the double standards inherent in supporting bodily autonomy for vaccination, but not for abortion. Tensions are only becoming further polarized, making it more difficult to reach compromise. We need international as well as intra-national cooperation to control the spread of the virus.

The last obstacle to completely eradicating COVID-19 is human frustration; people are tired of being in a pandemic. Most people have been in and out of lockdowns for over

a year and a half. People are tired of wearing masks and quarantining and crave the normalcy of 2019. So when U.S. cases spiked in January, April and August of 2021, many didn’t revert to lockdown routines despite record-breaking cases. The U.S. government might have updated vaccine protocols, like enforced mask mandates, but the general response never reached the original intensity of the March 2020 lockdown. Politicians likely realized that citizens would not return to complete lockdown without a fight.

Eradication of COVID-19 is extremely unlikely, and countries abandoning their Zero-COVID policies is how we can reach our new normal.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Morrison says, “Australia can live with this virus,” and that is exactly what we’re all going to have to learn to do.”

Ava Knight, FCRH ’25, is an integrative neuroscience major from Seattle, Wash.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Australia’s prime minister recently announced its border reopening.

Social Media Perpetuates Toxic Behavior in Youth

By MIA POLLACK

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

These days, you’re likely to spot a teenager glued to their phone nearly anywhere you go. We are all guilty of it; we spend more time than we’d like to admit on social media platforms.

For young teenagers, though, whose sense of self esteem is easily impressionable, the very apps we all know and love may be doing more harm than good.

The fact that apps like Instagram are addictive to teenagers has been

well-established. What is increasing in controversy, however, is the harmful effect these apps have on teens’ mental health. Scarier still are the companies backing these sites; they seem to be aware of the problem they’re creating and are feverishly doing all they can to sweep it under the rug.

Earlier this month, senators in Washington, D.C. criticized a Facebook executive over their handling of internal knowledge regarding how Instagram (owned by Facebook) is

COURTESY OF PIA FISCHETTI/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Social media apps are proving to have harmful effects on teens’ mental health.

harmful to teens. More specifically, Facebook executives were accused of concealing these negative findings from users and were called upon to make a statement. These sentiments were spurred by a series of articles published in the Wall Street Journal that proved Facebook was aware of the maladaptive effects its apps have on young teens.

The research in question suggested that peer pressure generated by such a visually-focused platform led to mental health and body image problems, such as eating disorders and suicidal thoughts in some users.

Despite Antigone Davis, Facebook’s head of global safety, assuring lawmakers that Facebook cares deeply about the population using their apps, senators are not convinced.

“I don’t understand how you can deny that Instagram is exploiting young users for its own profit,” says Senator Richard Blumenthal (DConn.).

It is hard to deny that Instagram is an extremely toxic platform, especially in terms of its effects on self-esteem and body image. The app is centered around sharing visuals, which young teenagers, especially young girls, can very easily compare to their own bodies and experiences. Although many mental health campaigns reinforce that comparison is harmful, it can be

difficult for a vulnerable teenage girl to self-monitor this habit when so many photos are doctored.

Instagram has made some minimal efforts to combat this. For example, they added an optional “hide like count” feature for users to enable on their posts, which prevents followers from seeing the total number of likes the post received. This is a beneficial step for users who may feel embarrassed about their posts’ engagement, in turn deeming themselves insufficient. There is another option to disable the like counts for all posts the user is seeing. Speaking from personal experience, this feature has been helpful in limiting the instinct to compare. Without other users’ like counts being on display, you’re less likely to focus on your own engagement, and therefore less likely to feel self-conscious about your Instagram content.

However, Instagram’s recent growth into a more monetized industry undoubtedly has harmful effects on teenagers. The last couple of years have given rise to social media influencers, or people who post content on social media to a mass following, typically including brand deals and product advertisements. While this business model has been effective for many companies and some influencers, it reflects poorly on the mental

health of said influencers’ followers.

Take Charli D’Amelio, for example, who is adored by millions of teenage boys and girls. D’Amelio has a massive following across social media platforms, and has secured several lucrative brand deals. D’Amelio’s followers view and interact with her photos, but it can be easy for young users to forget that her photos have been taken and edited by professionals to maximize her engagement.

Therefore, an influencer that was once a relatable role model for teens transforms into an unattainable beacon of comparison.

The monitoring of every single social media user is a near impossible task, and of course, companies can not act in everyone’s best interest. However, neglecting an obvious problem in order to benefit your company is a serious fault, especially when it is at the expense of impressionable children and young adults.

It is time to hold these companies accountable for their selfish endeavors and encourage meaningful change.

The success of a social media app is a lot less important than the mental well-being of society’s youngest members.

Mia Pollack, FCRH ’23, is a psychology and journalism major from Fairfield, Conn.

OPINION NYC Learns the Hard Way as Teachers Fight Vaccine Mandate

Page 8

October 20, 2021

By NOAH OSBORNE STAFF WRITER

Vaccine mandates are making headlines for all the wrong reasons as Americans remain resistant, despite COVID-19’s persistence in killing the unvaccinated. In the Big Apple, a fight is being waged within the public school system between teachers and new vaccine mandates. It is a fight which may result in more than 5,000 teachers losing their jobs, exacerbating an education loss in a city still struggling to recover from after a year of remote learning.

The mandate demands New York City teachers get vaccinated or face being unable to return to the classroom. Outraged by the federal government’s demand, teachers voiced their frustration by calling on the Supreme Court to block the mandate, claiming that it violates their due process and protection rights.

While the teachers expressed the compelling point of their frustration with the government forcing its constituents to become vaccinated, what is more compelling is the data showing the carnage COVID-19 continues to leave in the education system as it shuts down schools due to coronavirus positivity rates.

On the surface, it is easy to see why educators feel that their right to due process is being impeded upon; if they simply choose not to get vaccinated, they run the risk

of losing their jobs. However, the mandate cannot truly be considered a violation of teachers’ due process since the legislation was put forth to protect the lives of teachers as well as their students. Throughout the course of 2020, receiving a vaccine to combat COVID-19 was a comforting thought for many, especially those who were desperate to find employment after being laid off during the pandemic. Considering all New Yorkers had to endure isolation not too long ago, it seems counterintuitive to fight against the vaccine that took the city out of the virus’s epicenter and now allows us to experience some semblance of normalcy.

With schools looking to reopen after more than a year of lost time, teachers fighting against the mandate sends two very dangerous messages to students. The first is the discouragement of getting vaccinated, as students in our education system are taught to follow the example of their teachers. Knowing teachers have so much influence over the actions of students, it is irresponsible for them to openly contest a vaccine which has been scientifically proven to boost immunity against COVID-19. This refusal could potentially put the lives of their students at risk.

The second and most disconcerting message is that teachers’ own sense of freedom is more important than their students’ safety.

With so many teachers expected to

lose their jobs because of this fruitless fight, students are ultimately the ones who stand to suffer most.

Many students may end up being taught by substitutes potentially lacking the teaching experience standard teachers have.

All the signals being sent by teachers’ efforts to block the vaccine mandate will only result in further obstacles to students’ education. This fight stifles the progress NYC needs to make to compensate for a year of lost learning. Last year, COVID-19 left New York with no choice but to shut down schools and small businesses as the pandemic piled patients into already crowded hospitals. The behavior of these teachers is insulting to the parents and students who have had to suffer — financially and mentally — during the pandemic’s darkest days.

With the delta variant as the dominant strain in New York, the pros of having a vaccine mandate outweigh the cons, as the mandate reflects the city’s determination to control the spread of COVID-19.

A year ago, too much was unknown about the virus, making it difficult for the city to devise a comprehensive coronavirus plan. Now that we have the means to mitigate the devastation COVID-19 has left behind, there is no reason the city’s leaders should not take every measure to prevent additional damage.

With this mandate, business owners no longer have to feel like

COURTESY OF TWITTER

NYC teachers want the Supreme Court to block the vaccine mandate.

they do not have a choice when it comes to shutting down or struggling to stay afloat. Parents will be able to rest easier knowing that teachers have taken every precaution to lower the risk of transmission to students. Some students are not yet able to be vaccinated due to the age requirement. However, with vaccines widely available to adults, there is no substantial reason why teachers and staff should put the lives of their students at risk by refusing the vaccine.

Unfortunately, this mandate does present the potential loss of city teachers. Teachers will lose their financial livelihoods if they refuse the vaccine and students

will consequently lose the opportunity to receive quality education.

The pressure the mandate will put on teachers may be what further breaks an already fractured school system in desperate need of fixing.

The pandemic has taught us much about the setbacks and difficulties our school systems face when children are at risk. With a widely available and effective vaccine that continues to aid in New York’s recovery, there is no reason to learn the hard way again.

Noah Osborne, FCRH ’23, is a journalism major from Harlem, N.Y.

New Immigration Guidelines Represent U.S. Government’s Failure

By ALLY DUGAN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The United States has a complicated history with immigration. The U.S. was built through the hard work of immigrants, and the roots of this country came from those who immigrated here during the 19th century.

However, the current immigration system in the United States is completely broken, with no sufficient evidence of progressive legislation from either political party.

Although the United States’ main political parties claim to have varying approaches to immigration, it seems that no matter the party in office, immigration policies remain just as vague and ineffective as ever. Government leaders must recall American ideals and reform immigration policies to reflect the necessity and

importance of immigration in our country’s formation.

At the end of September, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released new immigration enforcement guidelines. These instructions include “mitigating factors” that highlight certain instances where arresting and removing someone might be deferred. The few examples stated within these factors include elderly people, young people, victims of crime and those who have been in the U.S. for a “lengthy” amount of time.

These guidelines are extremely broad, despite the fact that they are meant to clarify the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Customs and Border Protection agents. Continuing with this legislative lack of transparency, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 15 that they would

COURTESY OF TWITTER

The DHS released new immigration enforcement guidelines.

restart the “Remain in Mexico Policy” in November of this year.

This Trump-era policy forced at least 70,000 asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, even if they were facing dangerous conditions. Instead of staying in the U.S. while waiting to hear from the U.S. courts, these asylum seekers were forced to stay in Mexico.

Former President Donald Trump introduced this policy in January 2019. The program was justifiably criticized due to its lack of concern for the dangerous conditions asylum seekers were trying to escape. By invalidating the dangerous conditions asylum seekers were trapped in, many were unjustly abandoned in crisis.

The Human Rights Watch says that the physical harm and illnesses some migrants in Mexico have been facing since 2019 are a result of the Trump administration’s policies. The group interviewed people for their report, including children who reported “rape or attempted rape and other sexual assault, abduction for ransom, extortion, armed robbery and other crimes committed against them.”

Forcing migrants to stay in the threatening conditions they are trying to flee is inhumane. Many people in the United States assumed that a change of political party within the presidency would signal a positive step for immigration rights. However, the two parties have more similarities than differences when it comes to handling immigration.

Fromer President Donald Trump was notorious for his strict immigration policies, such as his construction of a border wall, increased detention facilities and restricted access to asylum seekers. Trump promoted

the idea that immigrants were “dangerous” and often used derogatory and damaging language to describe people hoping to move to the United States. The horror stories of families being separated at the border and in the U.S. also spread, leading to substantial criticism of Trump’s immigration policies.

Former President Barack Obama also enforced strict immigration policies, despite being a Democrat. His handling of immigration was very complicated; Obama deported more illegal immigrants than any previous administration, but also helped protect 750,000 unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.

While Obama helped many people, specifically children, who were taken to the United States by their guardians, his deportation of so many immigrants was extremely aggressive. The comparison of these policies proves that whatever each party might proclaim as its stance on immigration, both parties’ actions are much more similar than different.

All of these policies from Obama, Trump and Biden highlight the confusion and chaos surrounding the immigration debate. Regardless of party, the United States government creates very broad legislation when attacking this issue. As a result, it leads to unjust mass deportation, fears of deportation from immigrants, public outcry, protests and asylum seekers never having their promise of freedom fulfilled.

The uncertainty surrounding immigrant rights and protections leads hopeful immigrants to constantly live in fear. At any moment the government can entirely change its policies,

resulting in a volatile stance on immigration.

With the unfolding crisis in Haiti and a potential influx of Haitian immigrants, even more chaos is unfolding in the U.S. Images of Border Patrol agents viciously attacking Haitian migrants near a Texas encampment have been spreading on social media.

America has promoted itself as the “land of opportunity” or the “land of the free” since its founding. United States immigrants have worked diligently to survive and prosper here.

With the combination of these American ideals and the cases of hardworking immigrants in the United States, we must question our government’s policies. Why are policies focused on keeping migrants out still being enforced when these people are seeking out the safety the United States has historically promised them?

Regardless of political affiliation, the United States has an extremely discombobulated approach to tackling immigration. This is currently being proven as Biden is turning back to Trump-era policies. Both parties are failing immigrants who are in search of a better life.

Everyone deserves the opportunity that America proudly promotes.

Shoshana Hershkowitz of the L.I. Social Justice Action Network said it best at a recent rally: “We are a nation of immigrants and we will no longer allow 11 million undocumented immigrants to worry about their next meal, to worry about their next day, and stay in the shadows. You belong here. This is your home.”

Ally Dugan, FCRH ’23, is a communications and culture major from West Chester, P.A.

October 20, 2021

OPINION

Page 9

Higher Rural COVID-19 Mortality Rates Due to Misinformation

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A year and a half into the pandemic, rural Americans are dying of COVID-19 at twice the rate of their urban counterparts.

By DANIELLA TERILLI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COVID-19 ravaged urban areas at the beginning of the pandemic.

We saw it happen in our own community in New York City; 34,000 people have died since the first confirmed case on Feb. 29, 2020.

As tragic and unfortunate as it was, the high number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths made sense. Any disease spreads quickly when you have 1.6 million people living and working in an area of under 23 square miles. So why, a year and a half later, are rural Americans dying of this illness at twice the rate of Americans living in cities? The answer is simple: low vaccination rates.

The vaccine has been a controversial topic for months now.

Some people aren’t outright opposed to getting the shot but are simply hesitant because it’s “new” and plan to wait before receiv-

ing it. Others are firmly against the vaccine and believe all types of conspiracy theories about it, including the notion that Bill Gates is planning to microchip people via the shot.

Whatever the reason may be, vaccination rates in rural areas are significantly lower than those of urban areas. 60% of adults in urban counties are fully vaccinated, whereas only 46% of adults in rural counties are. This disparity is further complicated by a correlation between people who voted for Donald Trump and lower vaccination rates.

Support for Trump is the largest contributor to variation in county-level vaccination rates, according to a study in the Journal of Rural Health. The study shows that each unit increase in the county’s number of Trump voters correlates with a 6.25% decrease in the vaccination rate.

This correlation is the fault of

both government officials and media outlets. Vaccine mandates have been put into effect in various states. In New York, for example, nearly 73% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. This in itself doesn’t show that mandates are the cause for high vaccination rates, but a look at the flip side supports the argument for vaccine mandates.

Some states, like Arkansas, Montana and Alabama, which are among the top 10 most rural in the country, have outright banned vaccine mandates. It is no shock that those states’ vaccination rates are 46%, 49% and 43%, respectively.

If government officials outwardly discourage vaccine mandates, painting COVID-19 vaccinations in a negative light, they are the ones to blame for their constituents’ distrust in the shot.

Certain media outlets also hold responsibility for spreading misinformation about the vac-

cine. Referring back to the high number of Trump voters in areas with low vaccination rates, we can look to Fox News as an example of this unfortunate phenomenon.

Fox News, where 94% of viewers either identify as or lean republican, has been spreading misinformation about the pandemic since its conception.

When Tucker Carlson claims that vaccine mandates are about “social control” instead of the effort to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths, his outlet is liable for spreading fake news and misleading their audience. I find it hard to blame the consumer in this case. It is irresponsible to blindly purport conspiracy theories and cause potential harm to others by remaining unvaccinated. Despite this, many people truly believe and trust what they hear from news sources and politicians.

The fault lies on the information sources around these anti-vaxxers for effectively brainwashing them into thinking that the COVID-19 vaccine is a bad thing.

Other elements that explain the higher mortality rates from COVID-19 in rural areas are severe inequities resulting in inadequate health care. Many people living in rural areas are uninsured.

Residents in these areas often have to travel extremely long distances to visit healthcare providers — and many of these same residents cannot afford to take time away from work to make these trips.

These situations generally result in a lack of early detection of illnesses, lags in diagnosis and delayed treatment. When it comes to COVID-19, many residents of rural areas likely aren’t taking

trips to their healthcare providers to get tested. Visiting the doctor or hospital simply isn’t a feasible option for some. Many patients infected with the virus likely aren’t seeking out professional treatment until it’s, unfortunately, too late.

So how can this be remedied?

Improving healthcare infrastructure in rural areas as a whole is key. But it’s important to recognize that doing so will take time and effort, and the pandemic is happening now with no sign of slowing down. With new variants spreading like wildfire and thousands of new cases every day, it is more important than ever that people get vaccinated if they haven’t already. Government officials and public figures need to make a strong effort to encourage vaccination — to make it clear to people that the vaccine is safe and effective. Media outlets need to stop acting like COVID-19 is not a serious issue by turning vaccination into a political issue or a statement on personal liberties.

People’s lives are at risk, and so many have been lost already. At this point, COVID-19 deaths are largely preventable. The vaccine is safe and effective, and taking it only helps protect both the individual and their community as a whole.

Government officials and media outlets must help increase confidence in the vaccine — once they do, we will hopefully see less death and illness in all types of communities.

Daniella Terilli, GSB ’24, is a marketing major from Westchester, N.Y.

Editorial | Online Behavior

Cancel Culture Is the Modern Boycott On Oct. 5, Dave Chappelle released his new comedy special “The Closer” on Netflix. In the days since, he’s received backlash over homophobic and transphobic jokes that targeted the LGBTQ+ community.

The criticism falls not only on Chappelle’s comments but also on Netflix, who commissioned and distributed the comedy special.

Some have called on Netflix to pull the special from its site, and one showrunner decided to quit after Netflix promoted and produced this transphobic content.

Less than a week later, another celebrity flew too close to the sun. Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned after an investigation uncovered a trove of homophobic, transphobic, racist and sexist emails.

While Gruden has slunk away from the public eye, some fans have taken the opportunity to criticize the National Football League (NFL) for its failure to

put its newly progressive message into practice.

We’ve heard about cancel culture a lot over the past few years. Every so often, a celebrity is caught saying or doing something tasteless and offensive.

People take to social media to express their disapproval, and the celebrity reemerges to blame cancel culture rather than take responsibility for their words or actions. It has become a popculture bogeyman: Don’t say anything too spicy, or you’ll be canceled.

Perhaps the most famous piece decrying cancel culture is an open letter published in Harper’s Magazine in July 2020, signed

by J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series and selfproclaimed trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). By no coincidence, Chappelle defended Rowling in his recent special and claimed to be on “team TERF.” Cancel culture is a bit of a mis-

nomer. When we cancel a celebrity, we choose not to participate in whatever kind of media they make. Maybe we publicly disagree with their comments on social media.

However, we are not actively ruining their lives in the process — Chappelle, Gruden and Rowling have more than enough money to cushion their falls. And being canceled is not necessarily the end of the road: There is room for a celebrity to come back through a meaningful and sincere apology. When we look at the phenomenon of cancel culture and the media buzz that surrounds it, we have to remind ourselves of the root cause: Someone has done something that is hateful or offensive.

Considering that, is it bad if we take a step back when we hear someone say something blatantly hurtful? Are we snowflakes if we express our hurt or disgust at someone’s comments? Are we in the wrong if we choose not to

engage with someone’s media — their music, their movies, their football games, their comedy specials — when we hear them spout homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism?

The truth is, no. It is well within our rights to abstain from some celebrity’s work because we disagree with their behavior. In fact, it’s a reasonable response to want to distance ourselves when someone shows their true colors.

We should not surround ourselves with people who say hurtful things.

Further, we have no obligation to continue consuming media from those who do so, especially when the person in question makes a profit off of your viewership.

An NPR journalist reviewing Chappelle’s comedy special points out that canceling someone who makes homophobic remarks is not only about hurting someone’s feelings: “It’s about keeping the anger and prejudice

behind those words from becoming widely acceptable or turning into action.”

This is the role we play when we participate in so-called cancel culture: We hold people accountable for their actions, and we remind everyone that acting like that is unacceptable in our society.

What we’re doing here is a modern form of boycotting, a method of protest that has been around for decades.

We put pressure on the people and organizations we disagree with by not giving them our money and time. Even if we are unable to make them change their views or strip them of their platforms, we bring attention to their hurtful comments and, more importantly, explain that they are hurtful.

Both Chappelle and Gruden masked their remarks with humor; in calling them out, we remind them that not everyone is laughing.

OPINION

Page 10

October 20, 2021

Protect the Hands That Feed You

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New York City passed legislation attempting to protect food service workers.

By MEGAN BENNER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Large electric bikes and insulated cooler bags crowded my view of the window into the Chipotle on Fordham Road. Delivery workers scrutinized the tickets taped on each brown paper bag as though their lives depended on the successful delivery of these carnitas tacos.

Food service workers deliver to doorsteps at all hours under any conditions, but New York City offers them little in return for their service. With the responsibility of feeding five boroughs, these workers deserve more recognition and respect from their employers and customers.

Food delivery became essential during COVID-19, as New Yorkers stayed home and ordered in. Apps like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats dominated

the new market. Food service workers facilitated this domination.

Delivery people populate city streets across the nation, their services replacing traditional restaurant and delivery experiences.

Just as Uber replaced the yellow cab, the Uber Eats bike replaced the pizza delivery car.

Communicating through an app, customers are so detached from the delivery process that they feel no remorse when ignoring the humanity of the people behind the screen. Manuel PerezSaucedo, a Mexican immigrant to New York City, can speak to this plight. After delivering food in Brooklyn on Oct. 13, 2020, two gun-wielding men robbed him of his $1,600 bike. The cost of replacing his bike drained his savings, and the trauma of the robbery reduced his motivation to keep working.

Unfortunately, such attacks are not uncommon, and workers like Perez-Saucedo deserve protection from future attacks as well as overall improved working conditions. On Sept. 16, 2021, New York City passed a package of legislation attempting to address the working conditions of food service workers.

Specifically, this legislation stops food delivery apps from charging their workers unnecessary fees and instructs restaurants to open their bathrooms to delivery workers, among other small condition improvements. While these changes are important, there is still more to do to protect these essential workers.

New York City thrives off of the food service industry. Natives and tourists alike flock to neighborhoods known for food from around the world. When the doors to these restaurants closed and New Yorkers were forced to stay home, food delivery was the only option. Services such as Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats became an essential comfort to socially distant New Yorkers, accustomed to connecting with their city over food.

Considering the sudden necessity of these deliveries, it is disappointing that New York places so little importance on delivery workers’ rights.

The recent legislation marks a move toward proper recognition for food service workers. However, New York City must go further

to protect the food delivery workers fueling the five boroughs.

Even so, New York leads the way for the rest of the nation. No other major city has passed such extensive legislation on the issue.

It is as though this country’s leaders believe that their food travels unescorted from restaurant to doorstep. Believing anything else would mean acknowledging the underappreciated and underrepresented food delivery worker.

The small steps that New York City has taken hardly warrant praise. After all, not having passed legislation requiring bathroom access for workers until this fall is a gross disregard of human rights. Food service workers are still denied workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits.

They are laborers tasked with feeding an entire city, but denied basic rights. Notably, the majority of these unrecognized laborers are new immigrants or members of otherwise disadvantaged groups.

Biking from lower income areas to feed residents in higher income areas, food delivery workers confront their disadvantages daily. Immigrant employees like Perez-Saucedo have little choice in the routes they take. When their bikes are stolen, they are forced to repurchase in order to keep earning and supporting their families. Perez-Saucedo interacts with customers who can afford to purchase and repurchase his $1,600 bike indefinitely.

However, his upward mobility is restricted by inexperience and cultural barriers. He will likely never reach the level of wealth of his “digital” customers. His customers, on the other hand, will likely never have to face the harsh reality that their “digital” food delivery person faces on the way to their door. Ordering from Grubhub, DoorDash, Uber Eats and the like means a dangerous dissociation with where food comes from and how it makes its way to the dinner plate.

New York City’s new legislation indicates the first branch in breaking this dissociation by acknowledging the struggles food delivery workers face. However, more must be done in this city and nationwide in order to protect this group.

Up until this point, the rights of food service workers have been largely ignored. Whether disregarded by way of their digital employment or because they come from mainly marginalized communities, these workers deserve better.

The Grubhub and UberEats cooler bags that crowd my view of Chipotle may pose an inconvenience, but the men and women who carry these bags have my respect. New York City and the rest of the nation should pass more legislation to protect them.

Megan Benner, FCRH ’24, is undecided from Glastonbury, Conn.

Women’s Rights Protests Expose Lack of Unity

By NICOLE BRAUN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I had been milling around Washington Square Park for two and a half hours before the rest of the protestors finally arrived. When they first entered the park, I was met by a stampede of people holding neon poster boards with catchy bon mots.

The air was charged, and every internal gripe I had about the heat and why the protest took so long to start was forgotten. It felt like something monumental was happening, something historical, something that could change the world.

But once the square was flooded with passionate demonstrators and they all nestled into their individual corners, the urgency of the moment evaporated into the early autumn air.

The protests on Oct. 2 against

Texas’ dystopian anti-abortion bill had the makings to be a sequel to the Women’s March of 2017, but ultimately fell short.

People were angry four years ago, all unified against the same issue.

Millions of people protested globally, pink hats dominating the news and rippling through cities all over the world.

I thought the same thing would happen on Oct. 2. People were, and still are, angry, and were once again united against a common enemy: Senate Bill 8. This new Texan bill is the latest frightening threat to reproductive rights and Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the U.S. Not only does this new law ban abortion after the six-week mark, which is typically before most people even know they’re pregnant, it makes

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Women’s rights activists gathered on Oct. 2 to protest the new Senate Bill 8.

no exception for rape or incest. Most alarmingly, the new law deputizes private citizens. It gives individuals the right to sue abortion doctors, people seeking abortions and those helping them if they perform or want an abortion past the alloted six weeks. If they win their civil suits, these “anti-abortion bounty hunters” could collect at least $10,000 in damages.

People are angry about this law and afraid of what our country will look like under it. But the march on Oct. 2 did not unify all these angry, afraid people in one strong, empowering and effective protest. Instead, on the day of the protest there were conflicting messages about when and where to meet, the route of the protest, who would be speaking and which groups were marching.

When the mass of protestors finally arrived in Washington Square Park, hours later than anticipated, the fading momentum was recharged, only to quickly be lost again when other groups arrived, screaming separate chants through their megaphones. It quickly became clear that although this movement had a common enemy, the movement itself was not unified. It felt like being in high school, with different cliques vying for popularity when they all really want the same thing at their cores.

Despite the confusion, the Oct. 2 protest against Senate Bill 8 amassed thousands of people. While that draw is impressive, it is nowhere near the millions seen at the 2017 Women’s March.

Lower attendance rates are not unique to this march, though. Other

organizations have recently seen lower turnout too, such as Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future campaign.

So, if nothing else, the Senate Bill 8 march is not alone.

The disconnectedness and disappointment of the Oct. 2 protest can lead some to doubt the effectiveness of protests. But Atlantic contributor and UNC professor Zeynep Tufekci believes that protests are successful, it just takes some time before that success is evident.

“Protests sometimes look like failures in the short term, but much of the power of protests is in their longterm effects, on both the protesters themselves and the rest of society,” explains Tufecki.

This waiting period is enormously frustrating considering the dire ramifications that SB 8 will have on people, especially people of color, who the healthcare system is consistently more likely to fail than white people.

In order to be conscious of this racial disparity, Women’s March organizers say that protestors should not attend sporting any iconography related to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a recent trend seen at women’s rights protests.

They explain that imagery from the book or TV series implies that Gilead is a dystopia, when in reality, “Black women, undocumented women, incarcerated women, poor women and disabled women have always had their reproducti[ve] freedom controlled in this country.”

Protestors are also being discouraged from bringing coat hangers.

Prior to legal abortion, coat hangers were often used in abortion proce-

dures. The use of these hangers to produce abortions is unsanitary and incredibly dangerous. Now, they are symbols of the dangers and oppression that people face when abortion is illegal. Women’s March organziers have banned coat hanger iconography to prevent “accidentally [reinforcing] the right wing talking points that selfmanaged abortions are dangerous, scary and harmful.”

When it comes to the banning of coat hangers as imagery at protests, I disagree. Coat hangers are a visceral, painful symbol of how far we have come as a society. While an uncomfortable topic, it reminds us of the gravity of the situation and the severity of the consequences of letting SB 8 go unchallenged. Sometimes, it is necessary to broach uncomfortable topics in order to produce change.

As Ms. magazine declared in 1973, and so many posters echoed in 2021, “never again.” People will never again return to a time when they were denied reproductive rights without a fight. People will never again face lifethreatening circumstances if they dare to take control of their own bodies.

Gloria Steinem, the iconic women’s rights activist and co-founder of the magazine, said, “when unique voices are united in a common cause, they make history.” Right now we’re united against SB 8; we just need to unite our activism and advocacy efforts, too.

Nicole Braun, FCRH ’24, is undecided from Saddle River, N.J.

October 20, 2021

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CULTURE

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October 20, 2021

The Mimes and Mummers Return to the Stage with “Footloose”

BY AVA ERICKSON CULTURE EDITOR

On Thursday, Oct. 7, the curtains of Collins Auditorium opened on Fordham’s Mimes and Mummers for the first time since Feb. 2020.

They danced, sang and rocked amazing ’80s hair as they transported the audience to the iconic small town in “Footloose”: Bomont.

For many members of the packed audience, this was their first time at an in-person theatre performance since the start of the pandemic, and you could feel the excitement in the room. The audience was totally engrossed in the play, laughing, crying and even holding their breath at some points. This show really reminded us of the power theatre can have to bring us together and bring out our deepest emotions.

The show, which was originally created by Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie and Tom Snow, was directed

by Eric Gelb, a New York-based musical theatre director, producer and educator. The music was directed by Alex Parrish, a music director, composer, voice teacher and performer.

In the back of the playbill for the production, Gelb wrote an important note about the social implications of performing “Footloose” in 2021.

First, he addressed the stereotypical gender roles of the ’80s. He grappled with whether “Footloose” is endorsing patriarchal ideals or satirizing them, and he concluded that we must use a critical lens when analyzing this show.

Gelb also addressed the fact that he made a unique choice by casting

the only Black actor, Sam Scriven, FCRH ’25, in the lead role: “Having a performer who is Black play Ren was not a ‘box I was looking to check.’

I always hope to cast my shows diversely, but the fact is that Sam, who plays Ren, was the best suited auditionee.” This casting decision greatly expanded the message of the show.

In the original “Footloose,” Ren is simply a bad boy who doesn’t fit in, but in the Mimes and Mummers version, there is a deeper story about racism and ostracism. Gelb adds: “The optics of the show change when an almost all-white company surrounds a performer who is Black, and sings to him: ‘careful what you do / someone’s on to you / careful what you do / somebody’s eyes are watching / somebody’s eyes are seeing you come and go.’”

And Gelb was right. Scriven was best suited to the role. He had an incredible presence on the stage and had great chemistry with the rest of the cast. His dance numbers were where he really stood out; he flawlessly performed complex footwork and even did a couple flips.

Scriven’s co-star, Amy Cartolano, FCRH ’24, (as Ariel Moore) also performed exceptionally well. Her vocal performance was very powerful and her dynamic with her three female friends (played by Kyra Linekin, FCRH ’24, Elena Smith, FCRH ’23 and Shannon Jenson, FCRH ’24) felt incredibly authentic.

Act One of the production introduced us to the cast and the town of Bomont with a set of great songs and dances. The two numbers that stood

out the most were “Learning to be Silent” and “Holding Out For a Hero.”

“Learning to be Silent” featured Cartolano, Clare O’Connell, FCRH ’25, (as Vi Moore) and Sarah Shanahan, FCRH ’24, (as Ethel McCormack).

The three women stood on stage under simple spotlights. With minimal choreography and background music, you could really focus on their beautiful voices, making this number especially powerful and emotional.

“Holding Out For a Hero” was also a great number. All of the performers had incredibly strong vocals, the choreography was fun and the cast made great use of the stage and set (a diner setting).

The cast really hit their stride in Act Two. Every single number was memorable, the set transitions were smooth and the cast moved cohesively throughout the show. The second number in Act Two, “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” definitely stood out.

Linekin (as Rusty) sang most of the number as a solo, with backup vocals from the rest of the cast. Her voice was truly incredible and she flawlessly hit some ridiculously high notes. She sang to Jackson Saunders, FCRH ’25, (as Willard Hewitt) and the duo performed a lively line-dance inspired number. The two characters, who served as great comedic relief throughout the production, performed exceptionally well together and their chemistry on stage was tangible.

As the show came to a close, Miguel Sutedjo, FCRH ’23, (as Reverend Shaw Moore) delivered Reverend Moore’s iconic and heart wrenching speech about loss and grief. Sniffles

COURTESY OF NICK DESILVA/ THE FORDHAM RAM

“Footloose” opened in Collins Auditorium on Oct. 7.

could be heard throughout the auditorium.

The cast closed out the show with their rendition of “Footloose.” The choreography, by Erin Stehler, FCRH ’22, was fantastic and all of the actors performed it seamlessly.

As the cast performed their “Megamix,” a sample of each number, they were met

with a boisterous standing ovation from the audience. The Mimes and Mummers put on a great production and it was so wonderful to see so many people enjoying in-person theatre again. Stay tuned, because the Mimes and Mummers will be staging Neil Simon’s “Rumors” this winter.

Faculty Takes on the Mercury Lounge

BY CHRIS CAPUANO STAFF WRITER

Faculty is on the rise. This is true in a figurative sense, as they’ve gone from nonexistent to gracing the stage at one of New York City’s preeminent indie venues in under two months.

It’s also true in a more literal way: the Sunday night set at the Mercury Lounge was the first time the band has ever played on a stage.

“It was cool to be on stage,” said Khadija “Deej” Aslam, FCRH ’22, the group’s bassist. But Aslam and the rest of Faculty — fellow Ford-

ham students Hugo Keith, FCRH ’22, (vocals/guitar), Nilson “Nils” Wilson, FCRH ’22, (vocals/guitar) and Aidan Drouse, FCRH ’23, (drums) — all agreed that being on the same level as the audience brings a certain intimacy that the stage can’t always replicate. “I like it when the crowd could theoretically walk over to you and knock your mic over,” said Keith.

Still, playing the Mercury Lounge is an impressive accomplishment, especially for a band as young as Faculty. The show’s setlist contained covers from bands such as Joy Division and

The Flaming Lips, as well as a healthy dose of original material which they’ve been consistently working on over the past month and a half. According to the band, the process of creating new music together is an exciting one.

“A lot of times, one of us comes to practice with a riff, a drum part or a bassline, and we’ll just go from there,” explained Aslam. It pointed to one song, tentatively titled “Something Else Against You” (a nod to the Pixies song that inspired it), as a particularly rewarding example.

“I had a song that I wrote, which I didn’t love the lyrics to,

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Faculty performed at the Mercury Lounge, a small indie music venue on the Lower East Side on Oct. 17.

but I thought the riff was really nice,” said Wilson. “We were all jamming, I played the riff, and Hugo started yelling on it and we all went ‘Oh s---! This is crazy!’ It was this really powerful moment, and I thought, ‘This is perfect.’”

The band debuted “Something Else Against You” — previously known simply as Faculty Untitled — at local bar Last Call about a week prior to the show at the Mercury Lounge. “It was one of those moments where it felt like, ‘We’re in a band, we made this together and now we’re playing it for people,’” said Aslam.

The progress Faculty has made as a band in such a short period of time is all the more impressive considering some of its members are relative newcomers to their instruments, but playing together has helped them all improve in new ways. “My path to learning has been accelerated by being thrown into this ‘baptism by fire’ environment,” said Drouse, who began drumming less than a year ago. As Faculty continues to work on new music (they plan to put out an album “as soon as possible”), this symbiotic relationship between its members will only benefit the band.

Another benefit of increasing their original repertoire is that cover songs will become less present on the band’s setlists.

“The more we play originals, the

more people will know them and become attached to those songs,” said Aslam. The band credited Tom Curless and the 46%, who opened for Faculty at the Mercury Lounge show, for encouraging the band to drop covers from their setlist and hammer down the original music they’ve been working on.

In focusing on — and eventually recording — more original music, the band will also pave the way for more live performances. “A lot of venues want studio recorded stuff so they can get an idea of what show they’re putting on,” said Drouse.

However, the current lack of studio recordings hasn’t stopped Faculty from being invited back to Mercury Lounge (they play again on Nov. 15) and booking a performance at fellow Lower East Side venue Pianos. On top of that, the band will be playing a number of shows in the Belmont area, beginning with a couple performances throughout Halloween weekend. Fans of the band (“The Facult,” more accurately) will therefore have plenty of opportunities to see the band live before a Faculty album hits the digital shelves.

And regardless of whether the band is playing from the floor or on a stage, one thing remains true: Faculty is on the rise.

October 20, 2021

CULTURE

Page 15

Editor’s Pick | Music

How Two Robot Musicians Taught People to be Human

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The concept of separating the digital from the physical, and the philosophical idea that there is inherent inhumanity in the design of the modern digital landscape has always played a central role in Daft Punk’s music.

From the digital DJ-ing present on 1997’s “Homework” to the analog instrumentals of 2013’s “Random Access Memories,” the trajectory of Daft Punk’s career has always followed a journey of understanding and accepting the human essence, while taking a step back and immersing the physical in the digital.

When the duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo released their first album, “Homework,”

in 1997, the tracklist was less of a thematic work of art and more of a simple compilation of dance songs to be played live. However, the legacy of “Homework” is still incredibly important for revitalizing house music, moving the French club scenes away from the Eurodance beat direction and towards a new era of progressive, electronic and heavily technologic music.

Repetitive music, heavy beats, synthesized voices or, in other words, the trademark Daft Punk elements, were all present in “Homework,” establishing the duo as a unit whose musical production was heavily rooted in the mechanical side over the human side.

Forgoing real instruments in favor of digital production, the transition to “robothood” was present from

the very beginning.

Between the release of “Homework” and the production of their second album “Discovery,” as the duo toured from club to club, they did so without the Daft Punk style. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo wore face masks to conceal their identities, but this was less of an attempt at dehumanization and more an avoidance of a culture of idolization. Masks forced the audience to focus on the music and dance floors instead of the fingers controlling turntables.

In 1999, as the group was beginning work on “Discovery,” Bangalter and de Homem-Christo unveiled their new identities as Daft Punk, donning the iconic robotic helmets as they hypnotized crowds of dancers. This is the moment Daft Punk came into its the-

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Daft Punk, comprised of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, released their first album in 1997.

matic essence of using technological production to explore human behavior and philosophy.

Aside from its important legacy of bringing disco back into mainstream pop music by infusing it with house music, “Discovery” also curated a very human experience for its listeners.

This experience was a radical departure from the dance-focused “Homework.” In an interview with Remix in 2001, Bangalter said that “Discovery” is “about the idea of looking at something with an open mind and not asking too many questions. It’s about the true, simple and honest relationship you have with music when you’re open to your own feelings.” This was all done, of course, in conjunction with the heavy digital production of the album.

“Discovery” invokes multiple natural human behaviors from the eponymous need to discover to the longing for connection. As a child, we want to discover. We want to understand the world around us and process it through our own perspective, becoming one with the world. In the same way that the listener is asked to discover a new relationship with music, getting lost in the complex sampling and mixes while their body becomes a physical conduit for the music. At the same time, it begs the listener to connect with the music, to respond to it and to free the mind on the dance floor. Once a listener can do that, that very same dance floor opens the connection between listeners in a human network of emotion.

Daft Punk followed the logical step with their follow-up album, 2005’s “Human After All,” fully exploring the relationship between humanity and mechanics. If “Discovery” was the introduction of humanity, then “Human After All” would grapple with humanity and technology conflicting with each other as fully developed ex-

istences. The album was a sonic departure from “Homework” and “Discovery” in that its production was much darker, more unstable and evoked a sense of paranoia instead of euphoria.

“Human After All” doesn’t describe the coexistence of the human and the mechanical realm, but instead having the two concepts as incompatible forces of conflict. It wouldn’t be until Daft Punk’s final album, 2013’s “Random Access Memories,” where the two modes of being were finally merged and accepted as two parts of a whole.

What makes “Random Access Memories” so radically different from Daft Punk’s previous studio albums is the instruments. For the first time in Daft Punk’s history, the sounds of synthesizers and electronic instruments took a backseat to guitars and analog instruments. Synthesizers, symbolic of Daft Punk’s core roboticism, and the analog instruments, reflective of the human soul, were played together in harmony unprecedented in the duo’s career.

The songs on this album continue this theme as well, with tracks like “Touch” and “Contact” showcasing the “parallel between the brain and the hard drive — the random way that memories are stored,” as Bangalter said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

When all of Daft Punk’s discography is taken into account, a clear journey of humanity presents itself.

From the beginning of pure mechanical robotics to an end that eventually learned how to balance the human spirit with the mechanical world, Daft Punk’s music reflected an identity crisis familiar to anyone who has ever wanted to find their place in the world.

When Daft Punk had nothing left to teach us, the duo self-destructed like a star whose light was no longer needed.

Scarecrows and Pumpkins: NYBG’s Newest Event

BY JACQUELINE DELIA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When driving into the main gates of Fordham University, it’s hard to miss the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) sign directly across the street. Its 250-acre site hosts one million plants, and it is the largest botanical garden in the United States Containing many different areas of interest, such as the Haupt Conservatory and the Everett’s Children Adventure Garden, the botanical garden is always hosting something fresh, fun and educational for all types of visitors.

When it comes to the fall season, there is no exception! This week I was so excited to experience my second fall in the botanical gardens, but this time I got to experience some featured events. For my first stop on my fall tour I ventured to Everett’s Children Garden, a spot I had not been to in quite some time. Decorated with a hundred silly pumpkin scarecrows along the winding trails, it was such a fun experience for not only the little ones, but adults as well!

“Now that my daughter is three we are starting to do more of the events,” said a mom of two kids visiting for the day from Westchester, New York.

“It’s really great for her, they love getting outside in nature.” With NYBG hosting many different programs for all ages, it is a great way to get as many kids involved.

When asking what her kids thought about the scarecrows and pumpkins event, she said “my kids are one and three and they are having such a great time.” This was no surprise. I could see how excited they were to be outside playing with the interactive games and how much they enjoyed the silly pumpkin gardens.

My next stop was to the Haupt Conservatory to visit Kusuma Cosmic Nature installations. Yayoi Kusama, a contemporary Japanese artist, is one of the most well-known artists in the world, attracting millions of visitors with her elegant and colorful installations.

On my way to the conservatory I was able to speak with one of the many amazing volunteers of the gardens. When asking her which fall exhibit was a must-see, she said, “the kiku, the Japanese method of training chrysanthemums to grow from a single stem into huge displays,” which were being held in the conservatory.

Having not been in the conservatory in over a decade, I was over-

whelmed by the many different exhibitions. From the moment you walked up the steps, you could see fall was in full swing in the gardens. With a cascading display of pumpkins and gourds, the steps were covered with beautiful colors, instantly getting me in the fall spirits.

I was so excited when entering the conservatory I didn’t know where to start! Navigating my way through the thousands of plants and flowers, I was eager to find Kusama’s “Starry Pumpkin” and “Dancing Pumpkin.” Having read up on her artwork, I was looking forward to seeing it up close.

Immediately, her polka dotted and beautifully colored contrasting pumpkins stood out against the surrounding greenery and flowers. The iridescent golds and pinks of the “Starry Pumpkin” were the perfect fall additions to the gardens, coexisting extremely well with the chrysanthemums the volunteer had mentioned.

After doing another lap through the conservatory and seeing more of Kusama’s work, it was time for me to head back towards campus. On my way out, there was no shortage of pumpkins and gourds. Overall, I was extremely happy with all the exhibits I saw and definitely wished I had

more time to explore.

Spending the quick hour in the gardens was the perfect way to destress from midterms week and spend quality time outside and unplug. Having the opportunity to visit the gardens for free and seeing special events for a discounted price as a New York resident and student, I was very grateful for it to be right across the street!

So if you have some free time, and love nature or even just need a change in scenery, head over to the botanical garden and you will not be disappointed. Even if you don’t have time to make it for its fall events, NYBG is always hosting seasonal events as well as year-round exhibits. I can’t wait to go back and see what’s next!

COURTESY OF JAQUELINE DELIA/THE FORDHAM RAM

NYBG set up festive pumpkins and scarecrows throughout the gardens.

CULTURE

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October 20, 2021

12 “Do It Yourself” Costume Ideas Inspired by 2021 Pop Culture

BY TAYLOR MASCETTA STAFF WRITER

The leaves are starting to fall and there’s a chill in the air, which can only mean one thing: Halloween is just around the corner, and it’s time to start preparing for it! Deciding on a costume can prove to be very overwhelming, but once you start brainstorming ideas you’ll come up with a scarily good one in no time.

When picking a costume, be sure to stay with the times! Use current pop culture references or memes from the past year to inspire your costume. It’s an easy way to come up with a creative idea that everyone will recognize. Also, don’t fear DIY. There’s no need to drop $60 at Spirit Halloween when you can make something yourself. Sometimes, a solid t-shirt and a relevant prop is all you need. Finally, think outside the box. You want your costume to stand out. Here’s a list of some 2021 trends to take advantage of !

Squid Game: The Korean Netflix hit “Squid Game” has taken the world by storm, and Halloween is the pink soldiers’ next victim. To dress as a player and channel your inner 067, find a green track suit and paste white numbers on your chest. You can also find a two piece set from the show itself on Amazon for

about $30. If you prefer not getting hunted down during “Red Light Green Light,” grab a pink tracksuit instead to dress up as a pink soldier. To make their signature mask, buy a pair of black anti-fog goggles. Cut out your desired shape, such as a triangle or square, out of paper and tape them on the goggles to finish the look.

Olivia Rodrigo in “Good 4 U”: Want to exact some vengeance on your exes this Halloween? Channel some of Rodrigo’s anger by recreating her “Good 4 U” look.

Find a blue and white cheerleading outfit — a top and skirt will suffice — and match it with a pair of long, black gloves. To finish the look, straighten your hair and tie two front strands back with hair ties. If you want to top it off with a red jerry can prop, just make sure you don’t accidentally burn your ex’s house down, as tempting as it is.

Among Us: The minds behind the smash hit released inflatable suits of the crewmates just in time for the Halloween season.

Just keep an eye out for the impostor.

Kim K at the Met Gala: It’d be easy to mix Kim Kardashian up with a Dementor after seeing her at this year’s Met Gala. To steal her look, wear a black full body suit that covers your face and a

black mini skirt.

Harley Quinn: Harley’s (sexualized) 2016 look is now a thing of the past. Recreate her newest look from the 2021 edition of “The Suicide Squad” with a black and red jacket and leather pants.

Harley has left her blue and pink hair behind with the Joker, opting for a black and red ’do instead. So, coat half of your hair with black temporary dye and the other half with red. (A wig would also work.) Top it off with temporary Harley Quinn face tattoos, which can be found on Amazon.

Cruella: You’ll be looking like a “daaarling” in this one.

For Cruella, you could wear any extravagant, over-the-top outfit you want, as long as you wear her classic black and white wig. However, to specifically recreate her 2021 movie look, be sure to wear a leather jacket and a little black dress.

Harry Styles at the Grammys: Harry has taken over NYC, as he does. To channel this style, wear a yellow plaid blazer with a pink feather boa.

SNL’s Guaplord and the “smoke-chedda-tha-a---getta”: There’s no better 2021 duo than Pete Davidson and Timothee Chalamet’s rap monikers. For Davidson’s look, grab an orange jumpsuit, blue hair dye and a chunky gold chain. For Chalamet’s,

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

If you decide to be Cruella, make sure to wear her signature wig.

wear a white tank top, white pants, bright pink hair dye, red nail polish and another big gold chain.

You’ll be yeet-ing and skrt-ing across all of the parties.

The Scarlet Witch: Look like quite the vision as Wanda Maximoff this year. You’ll need a whole lot of red for this one, such as a red cape, gloves and boots.

To tie the entire look together, wear Wanda’s signature scarlet crown.

Bernie Sanders with mittens: It’s often very cold on Halloween night, and what better way to stay warm than channeling your inner Bernie? All you need for this

Inauguration Day look is a large coat, a blue disposable mask, a pair of glasses and a cute pair of patterned mittens.

The little lad: Be prepared to do the “little lad dance” this Halloween.

For this costume, wear a bobbed wig, a black jacket with a white collar and cuffs and white tights.

Bring some berries and cream in a bowl with you to finish off the look.

What happens when you’re completely stumped?: Taping a sheet of paper labeled with “ERROR 404 COSTUME NOT FOUND” onto a t-shirt is a good last resort.

Instagram Pauses Development on Instagram Kids App

BY AVA KNIGHT

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Instagram released a statement on Sept. 27 that they would be pausing the development of their new “Instagram Kids” app: an Instagram experience created for users under 13. On their blog they said: “While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project. This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.”

Instagram announced the be-

ginning of the development of a new Instagram app tailored specifically to 10–12 year olds in March 2021. This announcement came in conjunction with the announcement of updated privacy features and parental controls for users 13–17 years old. In response to critique over creating a social media platform for young kids, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said: “The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.”

This new version of Instagram would give parents complete su-

pervision over their childrens’ accounts, including who they follow and chat with and how much time they spend on the app, as well as only displaying age-appropriate content. Additionally, parents would have to give permission for their kids to download the app in the first place.

Instagram has several protections for users under 18 including anti-bullying features like turning off negative comments, automatically privating accounts of those under 16 and adding a “take a break” feature where users can pause access to the app. Additionally, users over 18 are prohibited from messaging minors that don’t

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Facebook downplayed internal research that found Instagram had a direct negative impact on teen girls’ mental

follow them, and certain ads are prohibited from being pushed to minors. To combat users lying about their age to be able to use the app before they have met the 13-year-old age minimum, Instagram automatically deletes accounts of those found to actually be under 13. The creation of the “Instagram Kids” app was intended to give younger users a similar experience where they could talk to their friends and share photos while keeping them safe from the predatory behaviors and negative mental health effects of the regular app.

Many were outraged at the development of social media designed for young kids, especially with the ongoing concerns over Instagram’s effect on teens mental health. In September, the Wall Street Journal released Facebook’s internal research into Instagram and Facebook’s effects on mental health. This internal investigation found that one in three girls experienced worsened body image issues after using the app and that many teens blame Instagram for developments of depression, anxiety and eating disorders. These issues were found to be linked to the app’s emphasis on posting only “perfect” photos and showing only the best parts of one’s life.

Instagram is a prominent platform which highlights peoples’ bodies and lifestyles as opposed to their faces, like Snapchat, or their senses of humor or performance ability, like TikTok. Mark Zuckerberg and Adam

Mosseri’s responses downplaying the aforementioned effects caused further uproar. At a congressional hearing in March 2021, Zuckerberg failed to reference the findings saying “the research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits.” Later, Mosseri described Instagram’s effects on teen mental health as being “quite small.”

After coming under fire for the beginning of the development of “Instagram Kids,” Antigone Davis, the director of safety at Facebook, spoke at a senate hearing about protecting kids online. Davis referenced Harvard studies on how teens viewed social media and its effects on mental health. She described the findings of a survey given to teen boys and girls about how social media affected 12 issues like depression, anxiety and body image issues. Teen girls said Instagram improved 11 out of 12 of the issues and teen boys said Instagram improved all 12.

Many were still concerned about the effect of social media on young kids, even with the development of a more protective app. Zuckerberg was questioned about the effect of Instagram on young kids’ mental health. When asked if this had been researched he was unsure, saying, “I believe the answer is yes.” Furthermore, Facebook said that it is unaware of an expert consensus over how much screen time is “too much” for kids.

October 20, 2021

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Page 17

“Dear Evan Hansen” Fails to Live up to Expectations

By ELISABETH MURRAY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Since the trailer was released back in May, the film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” has been highly anticipated by fans and film critics alike. Originally written by Steven Levinson, “Dear Evan Hansen” is a coming of age story that follows Evan — a 17-year-old boy struggling with anxiety and depression — as he becomes unexpectedly involved with the Murphy family after his classmate, Connor Murphy,

commits suicide. Evan struggles to adjust amid this tragedy and fumbles through the rest of his senior year, trying to navigate his complex interpersonal relationships and mental health issues.

“Dear Evan Hansen” debuted as a Broadway musical in 2015 and took the world by storm, winning six Tony awards and the hearts of millions.

As a movie, however, “Dear Evan Hansen” has not been nearly as successful at the box office — with an abysmal 30% rating on the Tomatometer and not a single award nomination on the horizon. Released on Friday, Sept.

24, director Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation is lackluster and fails to captivate the audience in the same way the play did.

But what is it about the film that makes it so hard to sit through? After all, the script hardly deviates from the musical on which it is based. The movie features the same music by critically acclaimed composers Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, and award-winning actor Ben Platt even returns to play the titular role — the elements are all there.

Though it was a noble effort, this commitment to maintaining authenticity is precisely where Ch-

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The film adaptation of Steven Levinson’s “Dear Evan Hansen” debuted in theaters to mixed reviews.

bosky went wrong.

First of all, I mean it when I say the movie script was almost identical to that of the play.

The writers barely cut anything or changed any scenes which means the movie was just as long as the play — 2 hours and 17 minutes to be exact — with no intermission. I was feeling pretty restless by the second rendition of “Only Us” (I don’t recommend going to AMC Lincoln Square 13 on Broadway by the way — they don’t have the comfortable reclining seats). The movie is meant to be highly emotional as it deals with rather uncomfortable topics, so this uninterrupted viewing experience becomes rather exhausting.

Second, this movie musical attempts the challenge of seamlessly incorporating music into the dialogue. W hen done well, this element can be what makes the movie unforgettably brilliant (i.e “La La Land” or “Les Mis”); however, Chbosky fails to rise to the occasion. W hen a character breaks into song — usually Evan and usually in the midst of an emotional scene — it just feels awkward.

Dramatic lighting, inclusive choreography and the adjustable nature of the stage worked to the play’s advantage when it came to this task, but the film does not lend itself to the same ability. Something about Evan singing “For Forever” in the

Murphys’ dining room while the rest of the family sits around him in silence is almost agonizing to watch.

Finally, the biggest flaw in this film is Ben Platt. Yes, he is part of the original cast and yes he won awards for it — yes he IS Evan Hansen — but he is also 28 years old. He’s also the only cast member from the original Broadway cast. While the hair and makeup artists tried their best to make Platt look 11 years younger, his appearance was still unconvincing, as you can still see his 5 o’clock shadow in close-up shots. Unfortunately, all of this effort was in vain to boot. An overwhelming majority of critics and viewers agree that it would have been a better choice to cast someone else for this role. Although Evan Hansen is Platt’s claim to fame, it might be time for him to take that cast off and hang up that striped shirt.

It’s not all bad though. “Dear Evan Hansen” does redeem itself with its catchy soundtrack, but overall this movie was a major miss. The plot is littered with heavy themes such as cyberbullying and suicide, and important sentiments get lost among the glaring shortcomings. For what it’s worth, “Dear Evan Hansen” is continuing to draw in an audience and it is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of the musical — but be warned, you might be disappointed.

Photographer’s New Work Shows Off the Dogs of New York

By MORGAN SPILLMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Pets bring comfort and joy as close companions to humans.

But of course, dogs are a man’s best friend. New Yorkers have a great love for dogs. There are 600,000 dogs in New York City, and dogs Are residents in 27% of New York households. For college students, seeing a dog on or off campus can remind them of home and provide an instant boost of serotonin or stress relief. There’s a reason why Fordham’s Pet Advocacy for Underprivileged Survivors (PAUS) club brings puppies on campus during finals week . Fordham students are lucky to be neighbors to the dogs of New York .

Dogs are clearly a huge part of our lives and photographer, Gray Malin, captures that with his photo series called “Dogs of New York.” Malin used 14 dogs and a team of 24 people to accomplish this project. He includes a total of 12 photos in the collection. He shot the dogs in one day at different iconic New York locations: Central Park, Bergdorf Goodman, Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center and the Plaza Hotel.

He captured various dog breeds including a dalmation, golden retriever, great dane, Irish setter mix, poodle, cor-

gi, bernEse and more. “Picnic Party” features several dogs in Central Park set up for a picnic.

One dog, surrounded by lounge chairs, balloons, a picnic basket and a beach ball, is holding a baguette in its mouth.

In another, on the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Plaza, Malin captures the dogs wearing sunglasses and “sunbathing ;” the photo is fittingly named “Sunbathers.” He personifies the dogs throughout this piece to play around with our view of pets. Although we see dogs all the time, they aren’t shopping in front of Bergdorf Goodman or sightseeing on the Top of the Rock — that’s why Malin’s playful twist on perspective makes for creative art.

Some of my favorite of Malin’s pieces are his shots of other unique animals and his aerial beach shots. He’s included a lion, horse, elephant, camel, giraffe, llama, penguin and monkey. These shots are taken all over the world and set up according to the theme.

The photos contain good contrast, color and saturation.

This makes them pleasing to the eye. Malin has over 400,000 followers on Instagram and got his start selling his work in flea markets.

He sells his photos in three sizes on his website and offers

different options of frames.

His collections have several themes and locations ranging from Hollywood to Antarctica. In addition to “Dogs of New York,” he also has “Dogs at the Beverly Hills Hotel.” Not only does he sell photography

prints, but he also sells a huge variety of different products including puzzles, tote bags, passport cases, trays, gift wrap, candles and much more.

His decorative and aesthetically pleasing products are of high quality and artistic value.

For art lovers and New Yorkers looking for simple apartment decor, his products do the trick.

Be sure to take a look through this digital exhibit to gain a better apprecaition for the furry companions of New Yorkers.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Gray Malin is the artistic photographer and creator of “Dogs of New York City,” a photo collection that personifies dogs as people.

CULTURE Jon Stewart Returns with “The Problem”

October 20, 2021

Page 18

By KARI WHITE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Back from his hiatus, the hybrid comedian-reporter giant jumps back into the political arena with his sleeves rolled up and tongue sharper than ever. Jon Stewart’s show, “The Problem,” debuted on AppleTV+ on Sept. 30, launching his new project where he dives into specific problems plaguing America, exploring the harm they have caused, the people responsible and potential solutions. His sarcasm has never worked so well.

Yet, neither has his earnestness come across so clearly.

On “The Daily Show,” which he previously hosted for 16 years, he rehashed the day’s headlines with wit and PG-13 jokes. However, he left that job because he had grown disillusioned. Retiring in 2015, right before Trump’s rise and the stark partisanship that Americans now know so well, he had lost his passion. Not all of his passion was lost though, as he has developed several other projects since.

In 2014, right before he retired from “The Daily Show,” he released his directorial debut, “Rosewater.” Based on the true story of Maziar Bahari, the film follows the Iranian reporter as he smuggles video of the riots that took place in Iran after a brutal, contested election to the BBC, which lead to him being tortured by the incumbent regime for 118 days. This film breaks away from Stewart’s typical brand, as

it leaves the story bare without comedy to sweeten it.

In 2020, going back to his comedian roots, Stewart wrote and directed “Irresistible.” This comedy depicts the story of a democratic political consultant, played

by Steve Carell, and a midwestern veteran trying to defeat the incumbent Republican mayor.

Stewart, to his credit, sticks to what he knows.

Along with that, the comedian has joined John Feal, a political activist who fights to ensure compensation for the 9/11 first responders now suffering from ailments they developed in the toxic environment of ground zero. The 2021 made for TV documentary, “No Responder Left Behind,” documents their efforts that lead to eventual victory.

However, that’s not all he did. In his down time, he helped his wife, a veterinarian technician, transform their New Jersey house into a sanctuary for rescued farm animals.

So, what has he done between “The Daily Show” and “The Problem?”

He has made two movies and won financial support for American heroes, not to mention cared for the rescued goats in his backyard.

In the interim, both Stewart and America have changed. Trump has shed light on problems brewing within the country for decades, and two generations are now coming of age in an economically stunted and politically gridlocked country. America isn’t satisfied with running through the more ridiculous topics of the day,

but wants to address the nation’s problems. They can now discuss these problems with Stewart.

The first difference between the two shows is the setting. Rather than an oversized desk and rolling graphics, Stewart sits at a table fit for a dining room in front of a single screen. In place of the suits and ties of his past, he wears casual clothing. This show is not trying to be anything other than what it presents: a stripped down space where Jon Stewart can crack wise and listen to people share their stories.

The show’s tonal shift marks another divergence from his old work. Stewart makes no attempt to avoid satire, but he addresses the topics with much more gravity. He debuts the show with an episode about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ignoring the toxicity of waste management strategies

and the soldiers who have lost their lives because of those decisions. Not holding anything back, he invited a panel of people who either lost their job, their independence or their loved ones due to the military’s neglect. Then, at the end of the show, he interviewed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough. Through it all, he never lightened the topic or shied away from their hurt with humor.

Most shows of this kind — news, comedy or a hybrid of the two — offer the headlines an exploration of the situation and a lukewarm solution. Stewart interviewed the man with the most power to change the way that the VA treats veterans, the focus of this debut episode, refusing the secretary every inch he tried to take. When McDonough tried to shrug away a question with

sympathetic posturing, Stewart refused to let him. In one way or another, the secretary had to address how his department had hurt veterans all across the country and how they planned on addressing that damage. Stewart brought accountability into a place that so often neglects it.

Comedy shows like “The Daily Show” offer brief catharsis, but like actual news programs, they just bombard their audience with America’s problems. Rarely, they briefly express hope. “The Problem” does not promise hope, but it stresses accountability. It names the culprits, and it interviews them without tip-toeing around the issue. Hope for change cannot exist without accountability. That is where Stewart’s new show differs from the other.

That is how it meets the current moment more than any other.

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Jon Stewart’s new show, “The Problem,” stresses accountability while exploring America’s biggest problems.

Who’s That Kid? | it’s Lindsey Sullivan, GSAS ‘22!

Graduate Student Makes a Positive Impact at Fordham

By MEGAN DOWDEN COPY CHIEF

Lindsey Sullivan, GSAS ’22, knew she wanted to be involved with politics when she came to Fordham University as a freshman from Walpole, Massachusetts.

She went on to major in history and minor in political science, and is on track to complete the accelerated program for a masters in elections and campaign management in four years, even though the program is built to be

finished in five years. In her free time she likes to read, go boxing and hang out with friends. Her contributions to Fordham are numerable, as she has been an advocate for students on campus through Residence Hall Association (RHA) as a former Loschert president; vice president of Health and Security of United Student Government (USG); member, co-chair and later chair of the Committee on Sexual Misconduct (CSM) and co-founder of the Political Union at Fordham.

COURTESY OF LINDSEY SULLIVAN/THE FORDHAM RAM

Sullivan is able to follow her passion for politics in an accelerated program.

In her junior year, Sullivan was elected to serve as the vice president of Health and Security for USG whose responsibilities included chairing CSM and being a liaison with Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), the University Health Center, FUEMS and Public Safety. Sullivan spent three years on CSM and empahsized its importance: “I joined the Committee on Sexual Misconduct because supporting survivors of sexual assault and facilitating justice and healing for survivors at Fordham is a top priority for me,” she said. Gender-based violence and sexual assault, unfortunately, remains prevalent on Fordham’s campus and on campuses across the country. It is essential that we stand with survivors and stand up against unjust systems that seek to silence survivor’s voices and stories.”

In 2021, Sullivan won the Club Leader of the Year Award for her campus involvement and bringing back Fresh Check Day — a daylong mental health awareness event for students” which involved collaborations with over 20 clubs and departments “There was also free food, a food truck, giveaways, and it was really successful because we had about 300 students come through and participate,” said Sullivan. In the same year, she also cofounded the Political Union at Fordham, which is “a non-partisan space for people to have nuanced political discussion” and “where people come with different perspectives and have

respectful, in-depth conversations.”

This passion for politics is what drove Sullivan to choose the masters program in elections and campaign management. She described her decision saying, “I knew I wanted to do something political for my masters … I realized because I had certain AP credits from high school and I had fulfilled certain requirements already that I would be able to accelerate the accelerated program a little bit more.”

However, it was more than just convenience that attracted Sullivan. “I’ve always been really invested in progressive political organizing, particularly like grassroots campaigning, so I feel like getting an education in that is important for me to continue doing the work that I’m most passionate about, and also have that toolbox to know what I’m doing when working with future campaigns.” Sullivan will graduate in August 2022, and since the program is on hiatus, she will be one of the last people to graduate Fordham with this degree, and one of the few who did it in four years.

Sullivan also advocates for progressive politics off campus. She got involved with a group called Our Bronx Revolution in 2019. With this group she worked to get Bernie Sanders the primary election nomination in 2019. She explained they did this by “mobilizing people to vote, getting them registered and talking to the Bronx [community]

about progressive ideas.” As a current member, she works to inform the Bronx community about election candidates for the city council and their progressive platforms.

Sullivan is keeping busy this year with an internship with the Fordham Law School Center on National Security (CNS) and a research position with Dr. Osei-Opare in the history department. In her internship she does policy research “looking at federal mandatory minimums for sentencing and how that affected terrorist cases, what cases they appear in and their impact.” Sullivan’s research position involves helping with research for Dr. Osei-Opare’s new book, “Socialist De-Colony: Ghana’s Cold War Project.” The book focuses on the way socialism affected Ghana after it was decolonized from Britain.

Graduating in four years from a five-year program is impressive, but it’s definitely not the least of Sullivan’s accomplishments while here at Fordham. Though it was busy, Sullivan managed it all saying, “I was able to accomplish these things because I really wanted to make a positive impact during my time at Fordham. Mental health and CSM initiatives are very personal to me, and I wanted to create an atmosphere where my peers felt supported and empowered when discussing these difficult issues.”

SPORTS

October 20, 2021

Water Polo Wins Judge Cup Over Iona

By JACK ROCHE STAFF WRITER

The nationally ranked Fordham water polo team (16th) defeated the Iona College Gaels in their annual matchup for the Judge Cup, 14–5. This match was dedicated to Fordham Athletics Hall of Famer Dr. Francis Judge, who revived the Rams’ program and has heavy ties to Iona as well. The first Judge Cup was held in 2012, with this win boosting Fordham’s record to 6–3 in the event’s history after winning the last three.

Ahead of the match, graduate co-captain Hans Zdolsek spoke about areas of improvement for the team to build upon. They entered the bout 16–4, and while they have had great success, head coach Brian Bacharach’s group is always looking at how they can enhance their fierce, competitive game.

“Our biggest obstacles at the moment are inexperience and team chemistry. We had a large recruiting class this year of which a large portion was international. Speaking from experience, adapting to differences in the sport and life in general takes some time coming from abroad,” said Zdolsek. "On top of this, we are in the process of building team chemistry as well as a healthy, 'competitive' mentality, which isn't an easy task either.”

The team certainly internalized these points of emphasis, putting together one of their most cohesive

Volleyball With a Pair of Losses on the Weekend

By GIGI SPEER STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Water Polo keeps on winning, this time, in a marquee match aganst Iona.

team efforts of the year. The Rams jumped to an early first period lead, stringing together four quick goals in the first four minutes.

Fordham continued this performance throughout the quarter, as it would extend its lead to 7–2. While the scoring stalled in the second period, with Fordham being outscored 2–1 and as Iona shifted goalkeepers from Kyle Laufenberg to Diego Gomez, the second half yielded better results as it only surrendered a lone goal.

This victory was due to sophomore Christos Loupakis and freshmen George Papanikolaou and Lucas Nieto Jasny. Each provided hat tricks on offense, amounting to nine of 14 total scores. Addition-

ally, the second half brought excellent play in net, where co-captain Bailey O’Mara started, but sat to give freshman Thomas Lercari and junior Aldo Ordoñez playing time.

Fordham now stands at 17–4 with this victory. Looking ahead, the Rams finish their season with almost entirely conference play.

Their next seven matches are all Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play.

The Rams will face Wagner next, whom it played earlier in the season in the Bison Invitational, where they won. This next round will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center in the Bronx, as the Rams hosts the next match.

The Comeback of Swimming and Diving

By KALEY BELL

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

It had been 601 days since the Fordham men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were able to compete. Last year, the COVID-19 restrictions did not even allow for the swimmers to get in the pool together. Now, the Rams are back in action. This past weekend, they faced off against Manhattan College in their first home meet since 2019.

There have been two classes of swimmers who have not had the opportunity to compete for Fordham yet. Last year’s class was small, with only two sophomore men and three sophomore women. Head coach Steve Potsklan recruited a lot more freshmen this year, hoping to get back to the intensity that the team had from the year before the pandemic. On the women’s side, the incoming class includes 10 swimmers, and the men’s team is 14 swimmers strong. With 24 incoming freshmen and a couple of graduate students, Fordham expects a strong season ahead.

In their first meet this weekend, the Rams swept Manhattan at home. The Fordham women took every event, five of them winning multiple events. Graduate student Becky Kamau won the 50 and the 100 breaststroke events in her first meet competing for Fordham graduating from Northwestern in Illinois. Senior Victoria Navarro won both the 50 and 100 butterfly as she also competed in her first meet for Fordham, despite it being her second year with the team.

Freshman Emilie Krog won both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events, also marking her first

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Fordham Volleyball’s Atlantic 10 play rolled on this past weekend. First, in Pittsburgh on Friday, the Rams lost to Duquesne, 1–3 and then dropped to the top-seeded University of Dayton Flyers in a final score of 1–3.

Beginning against the Dukes, the final score read 19–25, 25–22, 21–25, 16–25. The Rams jumped out to a 20–12 lead in the second set, which they eventually won despite an offensive run by the hosts.

Duquesne took care of business from there, however, fending off the Rams in a tight third set before running away with the match in the fourth. Duquesne is currently fifth in A-10 conference standings after the win at 4–5.

This mirrors Fordham's luck, or bad luck, in Sunday’s matchup, where the Flyers overtook them, defeating them, 13–25, 25–20, 20–25, 16–25. Dayton committed nine attack errors in the second set, and the Rams capitalized on them with a 7–0 run to seal the second set victory. However, it once again could not carry the momentum forward from there.

Sophomore outside hitter Whitley Moody led the offense in both games, and noted, “We played two very competitive volleyball games,

Rowing Returns to the Waters

By ANDREW FALDUTO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The men's and women's teams dominated their first meet in two years.

competition with the team. Senior diver Natalie Ortof placed first in both the one meter and three meter diving events.

As for individual wins, junior Clare Culver crushed the competition in the 200 freestyle, and her new teammate, in his first college meet, freshman Madeline Bergin won the 50 freestyle. Freshman Alex Antonov won the 100 freestyle, and graduate student Vaula Vekkeli won the 100 individual medley.

The men also wrote a similar story, as four individuals were multi-event winners. Junior Ethan Murray finished first in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events. Senior Spencer Clarke won both the 50m backstroke and the 100 individual medley. Freshman Kevin Zahariev won both the 50 and 100 breaststroke, showing his aggression in his first Fordham

meet. Freshman Vitalis Onu did the same, winning the 100 butterfly and the 100 freestyle.

The men also had many individual wins. Freshman Evan Trout won the 1000 freestyle, junior Nicholar Chao won the 50 freestyle and freshman Len Ray pulled off the win in the 100 butterfly event.

In talking about how good it felt to be able to compete, Navarro said, “After transferring, you are eager to compete for your team, but we did not get a chance to go that last year. To be honest, that was really tough mentally, but it also got me more excited for this year. I was able to surprise myself with how it went on Friday, but that one dual meet got me really excited for my last season.”

The Rams are getting ready to compete again at home on both Thursday and Friday of this week.

and as a team, we feel like we are on the brink of our peak.”

The Rams last faced the Flyers in the A-10 Championship last year, where they were topped The scores were 15–25, 18–25 and 20–25 across three sets. This year, Dayton sits atop the conference once again at a perfect 9–0 there, 15–5 overall. Fordham was hoping to continue winning in conference play following two wins last weekend, but are now 2–5 in that regard. Sophomore middle blocker Isabel Fichtel said after those wins, “​​Our next focus as a team is just trying to maintain our flow and connection with each other.

Volleyball is such a mental game.

Even though we’ve already been working our hardest to achieve our physical goals, our next couple of matches will come down to how synced up our headspaces are.”

Moody continued, “As we go into the second half of conference, we are excited to play the same teams again because we have learned a lot, and we are expecting to keep winning through the end of the conference.”

The Rams will continue their road stint with games against George Mason University and George Washington University before taking on Dayton once again, this time at home, where they hold a 3–1 record.

The Fordham rowing team made its long-awaited return to the water on Saturday, Oct. 9 in the Head of the Housatonic event in Shelton, Conn. The race, held at Indian Well State Park, serves as not much more than an organized scrimmage. However, it is typically an indicator as to where the strengths and weaknesses lie in the team and is essential to setting the tone for the season. Seven other colleges were in the race as they were a part of the Division I Women's Collegiate V8. However, they were not a part of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Fordham fielded three boats at the regatta. Out of the 25 boats that rowed the course, Fordham’s varsity boat placed 17th with a time of 16:49.8. The premier eight experienced some issues with timing and pace, but they ultimately pulled through with a strong finish.

The head varsity boat has a variety of new faces this year, as the class of 2021 saw the departure of some of the team’s top stars. The V2 boat finished not far behind in 19th, with a time of 16:57.0 and the JV boat fell to 23rd in their outing,

rowing a time of 17:40.2.

Ultimately, morale was likely optimistic following the regatta.

While performances could have been better, there were plenty of positives in the outing. This race also marked something of a return to normalcy, given how riddled with adversity the 2020–2021 season was with several coaching changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The race also served as the first competition under the new head coach, Rebecca Gronsdahl. She previously served as rowing operations manager and director of community rowing for Row New York, an unaffiliated rowing training organization held in high regard across the nation. Before her tenure at Row New York, Gronsdahl held various coaching positions at her alma mater, the University of California Santa Barbara. With the first race of the season proving to be a crucial test, the team hopes for improvement after a troubled past of inconsistent coaching situations.

With the first break of the water behind them, Fordham looks ahead to the Head of the Charles, the first major regatta of the season, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Follow us on Twitter at @theram_sports

SPORTS Week Six Fantasy Football Recap

October 20, 2021

Page 20

By RYAN WEITMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This week in fantasy football, the Jacksonville Jaguars finally achieved their first win of the season against the Miami Dolphins in London. The Detroit Lions are the only winless team left in the NFL, and judging by their performance this week, I am not holding my breath for that team to pull off anything spectacular in the near future. Let’s get into the top performances this week: In a game that was all but guaranteed to be a blowout, the Los Angeles Rams dominated the New York Giants this week on offense and defense alike. Cooper Kupp, one of the best wide receivers in the league this season, put up the best performance of any wide receiver this week with nine receptions, 130 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Some may say Tyreek Hill is better but the Chiefs offense, and team as a whole, is on the ropes. Kupp, on the other hand, has proven to be a solid start every week of this season, as have the Rams.

The Houston Texans, continuing the trend of being completely blown out by their opponents, were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts this week 31–3. The Colts running back Jonathan Taylor easily put away the best performance of the week with 145 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. His domination of the fantasy scoreboards the last three weeks definitively ends any prospects that Nyheim Hines had for a breakout performance this year. Because of that, he is a must-drop on any team.

The Buffalo Bills faced their first challenge Monday night against

the Tennessee Titans, losing 34–31 in a game that quickly devolved into an offensive shootout. The night was dominated by another incredible performance from Derrick Henry with 143 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

The Bills’ offense left much to be desired, with their running game being virtually nonexistent and the passing game focusing mostly on Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs.

Dawson Knox, Zach Moss and Emmanuel Sanders were barely present during Monday’s game but I would not doubt their long-term prospects just yet.

Riding The Wire: Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Detroit Lions) If I am being completely honest, I had never even heard of this guy until a few days ago. While not exactly shattering any records, St. Brown has gotten a surprising amount of targets from Jared Goff over the past three weeks. Goff said that he was hoping to get St. Brown more involved in the offense and has delivered. With the Lions’ best receiver Quintez Cephus on injured reserve, it is likely that St. Brown will get more usage as the season progresses, despite his lackluster performance this Sunday. He is definitely someone to keep your eyes on, and I would personally recommend grabbing him if you get the chance to do so. I would not, however, recommend starting him just yet.

T.Y. Hilton (WR, Indianapolis Colts) After being on IR for the entirety of the season this year, T.Y Hilton finally made his 2021–2022 debut against the Houston Texans. Despite only coming away with four receptions and 80 receiving yards,

I think it is worth adding him to the bench before he starts picking up some steam. Much like St. Brown, however, he is not worth a starting spot until he really starts outputting consistent performances with a good mix of targets and touchdowns. He is definitely worth stowing away for those concerned about their wide receivers’ reliability. At the same time, I would not be surprised if he ends up completely falling flat, but riding the wire like I do requires a bit of optimism in the face of extremely long odds.

Next week, I am most looking forward to seeing the Chiefs play the Titans in what is guaranteed to be a massive offensive shootout. However, I would be hesitant about starting any running backs on the Chiefs next week, as the Titans shut down the Bills running prospects entirely Monday night.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Henry rushed for 143 yards Monday.

Knicks Preseason Ends on a High Note

By ANTHONY BALLAS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Hard work, grit and defense.

These are all terms used to describe the 2020–2021 New York Knicks and their spectacular breakout season. Although the season was capped off by an underwhelming performance in the first round of the playoffs as they fell 4–1 to the Atlanta Hawks, Knick fans should feel excited about the evident culture shift the franchise has taken in just one season. Just a year ago, the Knicks were seen as a laughing stock of an organization, unable to attract marquee free agents, with question marks on most of their roster.

Now, they proved they are a destination for some of the league’s top free agents. Fourtime all-star Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier are prime examples. They also have an All-NBA/ All-Star in Julius Randle, as well as rising star, R.J. Barrett, who just seems to keep getting better.

The Knicks capped off the preseason undefeated with a 4–0 record after defeating the Washington Wizards 115–113. They trailed by almost 20 for most of the game before storming back late in the fourth quarter with contributions from their top guns Randle and

Barrett, as well as 2020–2021 Six Man of the Year candidate Derrick Rose and rookie Quentin Grimes.

With just seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 113 a piece, the ball was placed in none other than Julius Randle’s hands. Unlike many times last season, Randle knocked down the 18-footer leaving no time on the clock for a game winning buzzerbeater. Not only did this prove that the Knicks should never be counted out, but that Randle can deliver when it matters most, even if it is only the preseason.

With that being said, third year player R.J. Barrett is also a budding star after averaging 17.6 points per game on 44% shooting from the field and 40% from three in his second season, improving greatly from his underwhelming rookie year.

While shooting over 50% from three point range during this preseason, it is clear Barrett will keep improving. Coach Tom Thibodeau sung his praises earlier in the week stating, “He averaged almost 18 points a game on a playoff team. So it wasn’t a guy on a bad team getting empty stats. They were meaningful; he contributed to winning.”

Without a doubt, the biggest issue with the 2020–2021 Knicks was their lack of offensive weapons to take pressure off Randle,

lack of shooters and not enough depth off the bench. After the additions of dynamic scoring threats, Walker and Fournier, and a slew of young talent in Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Grimes and a fully healthy Mitchell Robinson, this roster has rounded itself out, taking care of the flaws from last season. Randle and Barrett will finally have offensive playmaking help next to them in the starting lineup, in addition to a deep bench led by point guard Derrick Rose, filled with knockdown shooters alongside the athletic second year power forward, Toppin.

All in all, if the Knicks comeback win against the Wizards, as well as the Julius Randle game winner, is any indication on how the regular season will play out, Knicks fans should be prepared to have their most exciting season in years.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Randle has high hopes for the season.

USMNT Battles Inconsistency in Qualifying Matches

By JAMES BIRLE & NICK GUZMAN

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Following a considerably underwhelming month of September, the United States Men’s National Team headed into the October qualifers of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) World Cup Qualifying, looking to shift into first gear. A 4–1 win against Honduras to close the September window put the U.S. in third place with five points (one win and two draws) entering this month’s round of games.

In CONCACAF, the top three teams of the eight team “octagonal” qualify for the World Cup, with the fourth place finisher advancing to an intercontinental playoff.

The first of three games for the USMNT in October came against Jamaica in Austin, Texas. Even without usual starters Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna and John Brooks due to injury, the U.S. cruised to a 2–0 win against the Reggae Boys behind a second half brace from 18 year old Ricardo Pepi. Sergiño Dest and Brenden Aaronson each provided an assist to Pepi, who upped his goal tally to three in just two starts for the red, white and blue. The Americans controlled play throughout the match, limiting Jamaica to just one shot on goal.

Following the comprehensive victory in Austin, the U.S. hit the road for another trip to Central America, this time for a matchup with Panama. U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter heavily rotated his side for the game, making seven changes to the lineup.

This amount of squad rotation backfired, as the U.S. looked incoher-

ent and out of sync for most of the match. The game’s only goal came in the 54th minute, with Anibal Godoy heading in a corner kick to give Panama a 1–0 victory. The U.S. failed to muster a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes, as they were defeated for the first time in this World Cup Qualifying cycle.

Looking to bounce back from the horrific performance against Panama, the USMNT welcomed an old foe in Costa Rica to Columbus, Ohio. Columbus has been a haven for the Yanks in World Cup Qualifying, and their seven wins there are the most in any city. Despite having a huge geographical advantage, Costa Rica tallied the opener in just sixty seconds from an unlikely source in defender Keysher Fuller.

However, the response from the U.S. was quick with the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie driving the game forward. Their efforts culminated in a world-class goal from Dest in the 25th minute. The United States’ momentum continued into the second half. With Costa Rica’s starting keeper Keylor Navas subbed off at halftime, winger Timothy Weah tucked away the winning goal in the 66th minute that deflected off both the post and backup keeper Leonel Moreira.

With an abysmal result in Panama sandwiched by two solid performances, the USMNT will have to settle for a six point week, putting them in second place in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying standings on eleven points. Sitting three points in front of them on top of the table is their biggest rival, Mexico, who the U.S. will face on Nov. 12 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.

BSSF Blog: Gruden’s Controversial Emails

By GRACE COYNE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, Jon Gruden, has resigned following a series of leaked emails containing homophobic and misogynistic content. It is the latest in a string of controversies surrounding the NFL. Even though they have taken strides forward in many ways, the Gruden situation is a major step back.

In one of his emails, Gruden referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell using a homophobic slur and calling him “clueless” and “anti-football.” He also used anti-gay language when referring to an openly gay football player in the NFL, Michael Sam. Furthermore, Gruden denounced the emergence of female referees and the tolerance of players protesting during the national anthem.

While these tweets did not occur during his time in Las Vegas, Gruden announced his resignation in a tweet published on Oct. 11.

“I have resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” he wrote. “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”

Carl Nassib, the only openly gay football player on the Las Vegas Raiders, took a personal day after the news of the resignation was released. One of his teammates, tight end Darren Waller, made a statement on behalf of Nassib: “Somebody that you’ve been invested in battled with and you come out, and there’s a quote that says something like what was said, I can’t imagine what he must be feeling, and I respect him wanting to take his space and be able to come back clearheaded.”

Nassib has chosen not to release any public statements on the matter.

In its response to this ongoing situation, the NFL has chosen to investigate current teams or league personnel to see if any other homophobic, misogynistic or racist content has been sent in emails.

Through its investigations, the NFL did not find any other emails containing language similar to that of Gruden, though that may soon change. Much of this stems from the league’s look into the Washington Football Team’s misconduct, which has come into question again.

The NFL continues to deal with controversies both small and large, with this one being something the league must overcome as soon as possible and hope to never repeat.

SPORTS

October 20, 2021

Page 21

An Attempt to Understand Barstool’s Role in NIL

By THOMAS AIELLO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The concept of college athletes receiving income has been a rather touchy subject. There has been debate for years over media companies using the name, image or likeness of then amateur athletes in college to make merchandise and profit, where the athletes themselves can’t make a dime. Big names such as Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, Saquon Barkley and other college legends did not receive any compensation for schools profiting off their names.

On July 1, the NCAA and college athletes found middle ground.

Athletes can finally make money off their name, image and likeness (NIL).Discussion over whether athletes should earn a salary, or be allowed to obtain income/compensation in some way has finally found it’s middle ground.

Enter Barstool Sports, a pop culture/gambling company created by Dave Portnoy in 2003. It started off as a fantasy sports/gambling projection thread, but it has since wandered into general sports, pop culture and now collegiate sports.

Portnoy’s work with the Barstool Fund, designed to donate to small businesses affected by the pandemic, was cloned into its not so distant cousin: the Barstool Athletics fund.

This fund was designed to help athletes get onto a platform so that their name and image is put out into the open market The official definition is infeasible; not even Dave Portnoy, or the athletes actually know what it means. When announced, the athletes put in their social media bios “Barstool Athlete” to signify themselves as part of this movement.

“At first glance, I was pretty unsure of what Barstool Athlete meant,” said Patrick Kelly, a sophomore on the Fordham men’s basketball team. “When they introduced the ‘Barstool Athlete’ I was definitely interested, they emailed me, and we got our relationship going there.”

Kelly added that he wasn’t certain as to how Barstool Sports emailed him but did note that some people inside of Barstool probably made a suggestion to find him.

“I’m honestly not 100% sure how they found out about me, but my guess is maybe with my basketball success or by word of mouth from friends who are affiliated with Barstool who know Dave, so maybe that might be it,” added Kelly.

Kaitlyn Downey, a senior on the Fordham women’s basketball team, also signed up for the program.

“When I first signed up, I really had no idea what it was about, and I truly don’t think Barstool itself knows much about it,” said Downey, “But I wanted to get my foot in the door in some way possible.”

Downey expressed interest in working for Barstool Sports, specifically on their activation portions of sponsorships for the company.

“I know we have so many notable alumni from Fordham that work at Barstool now, so I just wanted to figure out a way to be a public figure and bring visibility to the brand because of what it has to offer.”

While being put onto a platform is lucrative for college athletes, both Downey and Kelly acknowledge that the ‘Barstool Athlete’ is still unknown. The form itself, which can be found on their website, requires personal information and pictures of the athletes themselves in uniform with their social media

Collateral Beauty

By KELLY BRIGHT STAFF WRITER

Sarah Taffet-Isaza was a perfectly healthy 21-year-old girl when she collapsed during a college softball game in Newark, New Jersey. A tag from the opposing team’s first baseman sent her into commotio cordis — cardiac arrest brought on by a sudden impact to the heart at a specific moment of its rhythm. She would’ve been dead in minutes if a trainer hadn’t come to the rescue with an automated external defibrillator (AED).

We were the only team out of six at the tournament that had a trainer and AED on standby. An AED is a portable device that analyzes heart rhythm and applies electric shocks to stabilize it. In any case of commotio cordis, the survival rate falls by ten percent for every one minute without shockage from an AED. Sarah was on the ground for about 70 seconds before our athletic trainer delivered the first jolt; by then, her chance to live was less than 50%.

Sarah is one of my teammates on the Fordham softball team. She’s also one of my roommates and best friends. You never think something like this can happen until it happens to someone you love. And when it does, it can be core-shaking.

Now let me be clear; I’m not here to tell Sarah’s story, because it’s hers.

I’m sure she will process, heal and grow from her experience in her own way. I just want to share what I’ve learned in these past few weeks after witnessing my friend go through all this.

There’s a sort of collateral beauty in tragedies that turn into miracles.

They give you a perspective of gratitude that we often neglect until it’s too late. When Sarah first went down, the first thing I thought of wasn’t “oh no, there goes our shortstop.” It was how much I loved her.

Every inside joke, memory and heart-to-heart conversation from the past four years flashed through my mind in a panicked montage. I found myself begging God to keep her safe and making desperate, divine promises that I’d never take my friends for granted again. The next day, even after we knew she was okay, our team spoke only with overwhelming love to her and one other. Even though it wasn’t always articulated out loud, that love has always existed. It just took a whole lot of darkness to remind us to see the light.

When was the last time you told someone important in your life you love them, or that you appreciate them? My advice to you is don’t wait.

Reaching out is free, easy and more impactful than you think.

Gratitude is underrated and tomorrow is never promised.

handles.

Of course in this two-way street, the athletes are compensated in some way. The initial stage has usually included the Instagram post and Barstool merchandise.

“I got a couple hats, some pants and a shirt,” said Jack Harnisch, a senior on the Fordham baseball team.

“From college athletes that I know from being in sports, there is commission based stuff,” said Harnisch. “Whether it’s clothing brands, sports drinks, people reach out and promote them on their Instagram and promote the athletes and the company. It’s a win-win.”

Harnisch was one of the first athletes to fill out the form the day the NCAA allowed NIL to be used for profit.

“I know a lot of people who filled it out and didn’t get it, but I did it that day and was like ‘why not?’”

Harnisch also expressed interest in potential sport specific gear, which for baseball can include leg guards or elbow guards, and maybe even sweatbands.

While simultaneously promoting its athletes, the company itself expects the athletes to represent what they are all about: fun.

DeQuece Carter, a junior receiver on the Fordham football team, is making sure that the message of fun is conveyed. His freshman year he made a catch that drew Barstool’s attention and hasn’t looked back since.

“My freshman year I had that one catch that Barstool reposted, and then when the opportunity came it was a no-brainer for me. In recent times, I’m still trying to do crazy things and trying to have fun with the game in a way that represents what a Barstool Athlete is,” he said.

“I got an email saying I can pick any choice of merchandise off their website for free, and on that email I think it also said something about Chipotle maybe down the road,” added Carter.

Ed Kull, Fordham’s athletic director, has let Fordham student-athletes sign onto Barstool Sports. He and the rest of the Fordham Athletics department have taken the proper precautions to ensure the athletes do everything by the rules and disengaging promotions for things against school values.

“Their efforts and purpose is to promote the Barstool brand and marketing efforts, whether it be some events, or campus accounts, of the overall Barstool image that is heavily associated with Barstool sports,” said Kull.

Barstool has entered the gambling world and teamed up with Penn National Gaming to help expand their reach. While Barstool hasn’t fully embraced gambling yet, this raises concern for what Fordham student athletes might be promoting.

“We here at Fordham will not permit our student-athletes to promote gambling, tobacco, alcohol, and any adult entertainment,” Kull added.

“It’s going to be interesting to monitor and see what the student athletes are asked to do at Barstool.”

Kull is supportive of the athletes promoting their brands and wants them to make some income while being simultaneously keen on ensuring things are done the right way.

With everything that can be done, there are some things that would still go against NCAA rules.

Some of these “no-nos” include using NIL as a recruiting tool or third parties reaching out on behalf

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Barstool has become a sports juggernaut, now including NIL.

of the students for opportunities.

If an NIL opportunity presents itself, it must be reported to Fordham, and they share it with all athletes. It can’t be for one specific athlete.

Student-athletes are allowed to work with agents and advisors to help find chances to promote NIL, but they are not allowed to seek professional contracts which would force them to lose their college eligibility.

New York state has not provided any official legislation for NIL purposes. However, a bill is currently in the process of passing through the state assembly. And, like anything that has to do with income, the student-athletes must pay taxes.

The NCAA doesn’t make everything as crystal clear as people want, but they have given way for college athletes to make money and utilize their self brand for personal income.

Barstool Sports has paved the way for the athletes, but the NCAA has hoops to jump through to ensure it’s done correctly. Fordham is making sure the athletes are reporting everything they are doing for compliance reasons and making sure things are done the right way.

Women’s Tennis Gets Its First Win

By ALEXANDER WOLZ SPORTS EDITOR

After seeing some positive signs at the Northeast Championships to start the season, Michael Sowter and Fordham Women’s Tennis had their first win of the fall season, 6–1 over Wagner College. The Rams sit at a positive 1–0 win as Wagner falls below .500 in the early going at 1–2.

The Rams were expected to play two matches in the Bronx the weekend of Oct. 9 and 10, but they had their Sunday matinee against St. Francis College at Brooklyn canceled. Fordham then honed in on the Seahawks, picking them apart en route to the controlling victory.

Junior Avery Aude fell at first singles, but the Rams won all five

of the other matches there before seizing the doubles point as well. Fidan Khalilzade defeated Aude, 6–2, 6–4, but senior Valeriya Deminova emerged a 7–5 winner in her first set before blanking Gabrielle Perraudin 6–0 in the second.

Preceding those two as finishers, however, were sophomore Eleni Fasoula and newcomer Carlotta Casasamper. They finished with scores of 6–3, 6–0 and 6–2, 6–1 respectively. Rounding out the winning circle were senior Nicole Li and junior Rachelle Yang at the five and six spots.

Li picked up another straight set victory with an even 6–1, 6–1 as Yang downed Ysabella Yaula Pu 7–5, 6–1 to seal the deal at singles.

Shifting over to doubles, Ford-

JESSICA NOCE/THE FORDHAM RAM

The women’s tennis team crushed Wagner to get its first win of the season.

ham had no troubles there. Coach Sowter reconfigured the team’s organization from the Northeast Championships to great success.

Casasamper and Aude combined to form a powerhouse duo and defeat the pairing of Samantha Lugtu and Perraudin, 6–0. Yang and Fasoula then claimed the lone doubles point with a 6–3 victory before Li and Deminova won the toughest match of the trio, 7–5.

With only one match completed this weekend, Fordham’s fall campaign will have a much smaller sample size than usual. There is only one more match to go, as the Rams host once again at this weekend’s Fordham Invitational.

Following that comes a long hiatus until the winter season begins on Jan. 29 against the University of Connecticut. It is a familiar schedule, featuring conference opponents such as Davidson College and the University of Rhode Island along with yearly bouts against Marist College and Quinnipiac University.

Women’s Tennis has a number of familiar pieces too, though Sowter will have a long journey ahead, not just this season but in those that follow, figuring out how he will best incorporate them into his system.

Even with just two match weekends to show for it, that process is already well underway.

SPORTS Varsity Scores & Stats

October 20, 2021

Page 22

News & Notes DeMorat Earns Fourth Patriot League Player of the Week Award In what is becoming a routine occurrence, Fordham senior quarterback Tim DeMorat was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. DeMorat tied a school record with six passing touchdowns in the first half, as the Rams blew past Bucknell University 66–21. He finished 26 for 36 for 318 yards, approaching 2,000 on the season, and leads the Patriot League in both touchdown passes and yards per game with 281.

Milan Bornstein Becomes Rams’ Career Games Played Leader Fittingly coming on Senior Day, fifth year midfielder Milan Bornstein played her 81st game for Fordham Women’s Soccer on Sunday against the University of Massachusetts, becoming the program’s all-time career games played leader. Bornstein was just one of two freshmen to appear in all 19 games during her first year, and she has gone on to feature in every game since the beginning of her Fordham career, including 16 this season.

Swimming & Diving Seizes Weekly Awards After First Event Following a commanding win over Manhattan College to open their season, Fordham Swimming and Diving took two of the Atlantic 10 conference’s weekly honors. Junior Ethan Murray was selected as Men’s Performer of the Week and Leire Martin was named Women’s Rookie of the Week. Murray took care of business in two events, winning both the 200 and 500 relay along with factoring into the Rams’ relay win in the former. Martin took the top spot in both the 50 and 100 backstroke events and factored into a pair of relays, the 200 medley and freestyle, to win a combined four events in her first meet as a Ram.

Fordham Partners with Student Athlete Empowerment In an ongoing effort to incorporate the recent Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) developments into its department, Fordham Athletics has united with Student Athlete Empowerment (SAE). SAE will serve a dual purpose for the campus’ athletes, both in overseeing incoming NIL requests while also advising them on which are most beneficial to their appropriate goals in accordance with compliance rules. It is Fordham’s latest effort to take full advantage of NIL opportunities, as partners include INFLCR, TeamAltemus and others.

Men’s Soccer Fordham Davidson M. Sloan: 2 SOG, 2 G Fordham George Mason S. Fabrin: 1 SOG, 1 G

5 1

URI

Fordham N. Buchholz: 2 SV Women’s Soccer St. Josephs Fordham E. Schedin: 5 SH, 2 SOG

2 1 1 0

2 0

Fordham VCU M. O’Sullivan: 6 SV

0 1

Massachusetts Fordham M. Bornstein: 1 SOG, 1 G

2 1

Men’s Swimming & Diving Manhattan 79 Fordham 167 S. Clarke: 50 m Backstroke: 1st (24.13) Women’s Swimming & Diving Manhattan 73 Fordham 187 M. Bergin: 50 Freestyle: 1st (24.76)

Men’s Tennis Fordham Wagner J. Paredes: 6–3, 6–3 Adelphi Fordham R. Bailey: 6–3, 6–0

7 0 2 5

Football Wager 7 Fordham 56 T. DeMorat: 339 Yds, 4 TD Bucknell 21 Fordham 66 T. DeMorat: 318 Yds, 6 TD

Water Polo Mount St Mary’s 10 Fordham 19 G. Papanikolaou: 5 G, 2 A George Washington 7 Fordham 15 G. Papanikolaou: 4 G, 5 S Iona Fordham L. Jasny: 3 G, 2 A Women’s Tennis Wagner Fordham V. Deminova: 7-5, 6-0

5 14

1 6

Men’s Tennis Sweeps Wagner, Defeats Adelphi

By KEVIN DINEEN

Men’s Tennis got off to an impressive start to the 2021–2022 tennis season last week, sweeping Wagner College, 7–0. The match took place at the College of Staten Island tennis courts, where Wagner will be playing all of their home contests.

The Rams did not lose one set in singles, making them an astonishing 12–0 in set play to begin the fall season. Dominance on the road is not something Fordham has shown in past years, so winning every match in straight sets bodes well for the team moving forward.

While Wagner is no powerhouse, sitting at a mere 1–2 on the season after picking up just one win of five matches in the shortened COVID-19 season last year, Division I tennis is Division I tennis.

No matches are walkovers. Considering all the transitions the Rams have dealt with during the offseason, starting the fall schedule with such a commanding win has to bolster their confidence as they tackle more formidable opponents.

They were slated to play at home against Franklin Pierce University the day after their sweep at Wagner but the match was called off.

The Rams are without two of their best recruits this year,

both due to NCAA rules. Freshman Pierre Boullenger will be transferring to the University of California, Santa Barbara in the fall, and he cannot play in any matches at Fordham in order to preserve his spring eligibility. Junior Giorgio Soemarno has also been ruled out for the entirety of the 2021–2022 season due to an NCAA academic rule. Being able to handle Wagner without these two is a great sign.

Just yesterday, Fordham faced Adelphi University at home. The top 25 DII squad came to the Bronx with energy and enthusiasm, but Fordham brought some fire of its own and held off the Panthers

0 3

George Mason Fordham W. Moody: 12K, 9 DIG

0 3

Fordham Duquesne W. Moody: 16 K, 14 DIG

1 3

Fordham Dayton B. Urena: 11 K, 8 DIG

1 3

Men’s Cross Country Metropolitan Championships 2nd/7 teams B. Hall: 1st (26.07.6) 8K Princeton Invitational 10th/21 teams B. Hall: 19th (24:55.0) 8K Women’s Cross Country Metropolitan Championships 1st/8 teams B. Alex: 1st (19.20.3) 5K Princeton Invitational 14th/21 teams B. Alex: 51st (23:13.4) 6K –Compiled by Michael Hernandez

–Compiled by Alexander Wolz

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Volleyball George Washington Fordham

B.Urena: 14 K, 7 DIG

to win 5–2. The Rams continued their impressive singles play, only dropping one singles match to Gabriel Balestero. Balestero is a powerful graduate student out of São Paulo, Brazil who finished tied for the team lead in singles wins last year with six. The Rams continued their outstanding play against a formidable DII school and will look to carry this momentum into the Marist Invitational this weekend.

New women’s head coach and Director of Tennis Mike Sowter remains the interim head coach while the search for a new leader continues. It is likely that the decision will be announced soon.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Men’s Tennis is off to a fast start after beating both Wagner and Adelphi.

Cross Country Gears Up for A-10s After Princeton

By MILES GROSSMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham’s Cross Country team ran its final regular season race this past Saturday at the Princeton Invitational. This was the final warmup before the Atlantic 10 Championship begins Oct. 30.

The Rams had strong finishes in a highly competitive field with the men’s team placing 10th and the women finishing 14th out of the 21 teams. The men placed second among A-10 competition, a positive sign leading up to the championship. The women also performed well, finishing fourth among A-10 teams.

Senior Brandon Hall was the men’s top finisher once again, taking home 19th overall in 24:55.0. Hall was followed by sophomore Steven Zucca, who placed 51st (25:34.6), freshman Rodolfo Sanchez in 80th (25:55.7) and junior Colin Flood in 88th (25:58.8). Fordham’s top five was rounded out by redshirt senior Chris Strzelinski, who finished 103rd in 26:07.7.

Strzelinski said that the team’s strong running contributed to their high finish. “We packed in very well between [Flood], [Sanchez] and I, ran together es-

sentially the whole race,” he said.

“After the first mile marker as a team, we were in 20th, and we all picked up about 100 places over the next four miles.”

Senior Bridget Alex led the women’s team once again, placing 51st overall in 23:13.4. Freshman Madeleine Ryan was the team’s second finisher at 76th overall in 23:43.4. Ryan was also named A-10 Rookie of the Week. Junior Nicoleta Papavasilakis (95th – 24:06.6 ), junior Taylor Mascetta (104th – 24:18.9) and graduate student Germaine Harbaugh (110th – 24:22.0) completed the Rams’ top five.

Strzelinski says that depth makes this year’s team unique.

“Realistically, I think we can podium,” he said. “It’s a very fluid 3–6, a very strong pack. If we can get out faster than we did at Princeton, I think we have a very good chance to place high in the A-10’s.”

The University of Dayton is hosting the A-10’s on Friday, Oct. 30, in Cedarville, Ohio. The men’s and women’s teams will look to secure strong finishes against their conference rivals.

“A-10’s really gets you excited to compete,” Strzelinski says. “I think our team will be fresh and ready to do our best.”

SPORTS

October 20, 2021

Page 23

Female Athletes Still Men’s Soccer Sweeps Homecoming Lack Justice Homestand, Improves to 3–3 in A-10

By MADDIE BIMONTE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

By MICHAEL HERNANDEZ

Earlier this month, female soccer players across the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) voiced their concerns and frustrations over the continuous workplace harassment that plagues the league. This comes after a recent article published in the Athletic, detailing the sexual harassment described by former NWSL players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim against the former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley.

The reports detailed Riley’s behavior, indicating instances of sexual coercion and inappropriate comments about players’ weight, and sexual orientation. More than a dozen other players added their names to the complaint, including women across the number of teams Riley has coached since 2010.

Shim’s complaint was presented to the Portland Thorns front office, where Shim and Riley both were dismissed by NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. In 2021, the NWSL revised its policies on harassment, taking a firmer stance against it. The women once again urged the organization to reconsider but were denied on the basis that their original complaint in 2015 was “investigated to conclusion.”

After the allegations went public in the Athletic, Riley was swiftly fired, with Baird resigning as well. At this time, the NWSL Players Union released a list of demands to be met by management going forward. One such request involves every coach, general manager and representative submitting to an investigation on abusive conduct.

Similarly, in the games on Oct. 6, teams decided to stop play and link arms at center field in solidarity with Farrelly, Shim and others. A player statement presented during the broadcast of the Gotham FC and Washington Spirit game read the following: “Teams will stop play in each of tonight’s games at the sixth

Fordham Men’s Soccer continued its 2021 season and their quest to retain the Atlantic 10 championship by going 2–1 in the past two weeks, sweeping their homestand matches against Davidson College and George Mason University and losing their lone away match against the University of Rhode Island (URI).

For the opening match against Davidson, Fordham thrashed the Wildcats with a 5–1 victory. The Rams scored in the 20th minute off of a Davidson miscue. The Wildcat defender misplayed a pass and graduate student defender Matt Sloan got the ball and lofted it over the goalkeeper into the back of the net to give him his third goal for the season.

The scoreline remained that way until the 62nd minute when sophomore midfielder/defender Florian Deletioglu passed it to sophomore defender Galen Flynn, who fought off a defender and the goalkeeper and chipped it from the penalty spot into the open net to double the Rams’ lead on the night, giving him his second goal of the season.

The Rams kept applying pressure, and five minutes later senior midfielder Paul Makaj took a shot from outside the box. The goalkeeper blocked the shot, but it was deflected onto Sloan, who put the rebound into the back of the net to give him a brace on the night.

Fordham continued to punish the Wildcats with Deletioglu scoring off of a scramble in the box to make it 4–0. The Rams increased their lead in the 85th minute when a Davidson player fouled junior midfielder Savvas Chrisoforou in the box, giving the Rams a penalty which graduate student defender Luke McNamara converted to make it 5–0.

Unfortunately, Fordham was unable to keep the clean sheet when Connor Smith scored in the game’s dying seconds to give the Wildcats a consolation goal. The five goals in this dominating vic-

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

minute. Players are joining together in solidarity for one minute to recognize the six years it took for Shim, Farrelly and all those who fought far too long to be heard. We ask that fans join us in this reckoning and in our pursuit of a league that deserves the players in it.”

What is terrifying is how long executives and higher-ups sweep such allegations under the rug. A report

by Stop Street Harassment back in 2018 found that 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their lifetime. For women, it has become an expectation. In turn, young girls playing sports or striving for a higher position will be threatened by this on a daily basis until the behavior is dealt with. Shim said to NBC in a TV interview: “I want more justice. I want better policies. I want players to be protected.” In my mind, this is a simple request, yet even in 2021 it fails to be met.

Riley has denied the allegations, and the NWSL officially announced that they will be reopening the investigation. Both FIFA and U.S. Soccer have begun investigations into the allegations, which is a rare case for these organizations to become involved with NWSL affairs.

It is unknown if any real change will occur following the investigations, but women will continue to fight the system everyday.

Athletes of the Week

Nick Leinenweber Fifth Year Football

Becky Kamau Graduate Student Swimming and Diving

The senior kicker is off to another fantastic start following the Rams’ win against Bucknell on Sunday. Converting all nine PATs on Sunday, Leinenweber stands at a perfect 30 for 30 so far. In his first season with the Rams, Leinenweber finished last year with a perfect 12 for 12 PATs, had the second highest field goal percentage in the Patriot league and was named Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week two times.

MORGAN SPILLMAN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The Men’s Soccer team swept their homestand, outscoring their opponents 7–2.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Wednesday Thursday Oct. 20 Oct. 21

Dayton 7 p.m.

George Mason 7 p.m.

George Washington 7 p.m.

Fordham Invitational

Water Polo

Wagner 7:30 p.m.

Lehigh 1 p.m.

Marist 6 p.m.

Monday Oct. 25

Tuesday Oct. 26 Princeton 8 p.m.

Marist Invitational

Women’s Tennis

Rowing

Sunday Oct. 24

George Mason 1 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

Football Swimming & Diving Men’s Golf

Saturday Oct. 23 VCU 7 p.m.

Volleyball

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

Friday Oct. 22

Men’s Soccer Women’s Soccer

Fordham Women’s Swimming and Diving took home first place in the season opener against Manhattan College, with strong help from graduate student Becky Kamau. Kamau recorded first in the 50 (30.39) and 100 (1:05.96) breaststroke events. She also provided her talents in the women’s 200 relay, swimming second in the relay and bringing home first place with a team time of 1:47.86. This is her first year swimming for the Rams coming off a very successful undergraduate run while attending Northwestern University.

Fordham had several chances to equalize but could not convert any of those chances. Fordham had a chance in the final seconds of the game with Flynn crossing the ball to Deletioglu who headed towards the net, but the shot was caught on the line by the goalkeeper to secure the win. When asked about the team’s performance over the past two weeks, head coach Carlo Acquista said that the team “did a lot of really good things with those two victories.” Acquista also expressed some disappointment with the loss against URI, stating that “we played the best [at URI] out of all three games and couldn’t get a point.” With these games completed, the Rams have an overall record of 5–8–1 with a conference record of 3–3. When asked about the team’s chances to make it to the A-10 championships, Acquista said that he “is very confident” about qualifying, saying that the team knows they need to play well in the remaining games to qualify.

The Rams’ next games are both away. The first game is against rivals Virginia Commonwealth University on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the second game being a non A-10 conference game against Princeton on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Both of these games are available on ESPN+. With the regular season coming to a close, all of these matches are important as the Rams continue its quest to go back to back as A-10 champions.

tory were the most by the Rams in a single game since 2019 when they beat the College of the Holy Cross, 5–0.

The Rams then played on homecoming weekend against George Mason University. They capped off the day they received their A-10 championship rings in style with a 2–1 victory over the Patriots. The Rams scored in the 31st minute.

Sophomore Max Rogers had a free kick, sending the ball into the center of the box where graduate student midfielder Jacob Bohm headed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the season, giving the Rams the lead.

It remained a 1–0 game until the 55th minute, when Fordham doubled its lead. Rogers started it off from a corner kick, and his cross landed on sophomore defender Sebastian Fabrin’s head for his first goal of the season and doubled the Rams’ advantage. George Mason got a goal back in the 70th minute courtesy of Balint Kosco. However, George Mason was held at bay for the rest of the match as Fordham did not let them have another shot on goal to secure the win. The Rams were scheduled to play another game at home against Hofstra University, but it was cancelled.

The final match that the Rams played was against URI where the Rams fell with a 1–0 defeat. The only goal of the match was courtesy of Jordan Koduah in the 48th minute, which was enough for URI to come away with the win.

Monmouth 4 p.m.

Lehigh Invitational

Head of the Charles

Page 24

SPORTS

October 20, 2021

The Fordham Ram

Football Dominates Again in Blowout Victory Over Bucknell Bison

By DYLAN BALSAMO MANAGING EDITOR

The excitement around Fordham football is currently at a high point that it has not been seen in some time, and that excitement has only increased with each of the team’s four consecutive wins.

Those four wins include their latest triumph on Saturday, a squandering at home on Jack Coffey Field against Bucknell University by a score of 66–21. Not only is this win the Rams’ fourth in as many weeks, but it also puts them at an undefeated 2–0 in the Patriot League.

It is their first time undefeated after two games in conference since 2016. Combined with last week’s 56–7 romping of Wagner College, the Rams have scored 50 or more points in two consecutive games for the first time in school history.

Fordham had 697 total yards of offense, a season-high for Patriot League squads and a top-10 in all of the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2021. It was also the third consecutive game for the team with 500 or more offensive yards.

With over five dozen points on the board, there were obviously multiple faces under maroon helmets that had standout afternoons.

No player, however, had a bigger game than Tim DeMorat. The senior quarterback continues to climb his way up the ranks of program history. In the eighth 300-yard passing game of his career, DeMorat tied the school record with six touchdown passes in the game (previously achieved twice), while also completing 26 of 36 total passes and

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham is firing on all cylinders after pouring in over 50 points in two consecutive weeks as the Patriot League's top offense.

tossing the football for 218 yards.

And he did all of that before exiting the game early in the third quarter.

DeMorat’s numbers over this four-game span of wins for the Rams have been nothing short of remarkable. He has completed 87 of 129 passes (67.4%) and thrown for 1,242 yards with 15 touchdown passes. In terms of DeMorat's ranks in the depths of Rams' football history after this victory, he now sits third all-time in career touchdown passes with 57, third in career completions with 620 and fourth in career passing yards with 7,323.

After his exit from the game on Saturday, DeMorat was succeeded by four different quarterbacks who took the Rams the rest of the way: senior Sean Holland, sophomores Grant Wilson and Joey Gulbin and junior Tom Sharkey. Fordham’s three remaining touchdowns were

all recorded on the ground.

DeMorat’s top target for the day was junior wide receiver Dequece Carter. He had 10 catches and caught two touchdown passes for 87 total yards. Senior receiver Fotis Kokosoulis may have only had six receptions for 76 yards, but he recorded three touchdowns himself.

On the ground, the Rams also rushed for 343 yards, 137 of those coming from senior running back Trey Sneed on 15 carries. Sophomore running back Taj Barnes had 61, a career-high.

The defense had an impressive day too, continuing to fill the void left by injured senior linebacker Ryan Greenhagen, who missed the last two weeks and had to put his historic campaign on hold. The Rams’ defense allowed 269 total yards on Saturday and recorded nine tackles for loss. Freshman

linebacker James Conway continued his dominant stretch over the same period of time as DeMorat’s and Fordham’s overall. He finished the game with 10 tackles, his fourth consecutive week with double digits in that department.

Fordham’s kickers also had standout afternoons as junior Nick Leinenweber converted the extra point on all nine of Fordham touchdowns, putting him at a perfect 30for-30 on extra point kicks in 2021.

Junior kicker Michael Barnard had kickoffs for the afternoons, and 10 of his 11 were long enough to reach the end zone for touchbacks, with the outlying one dropping at the Bucknell eight-yard line.

The Rams were firing on all cylinders on Saturday.

For his efforts shown in this game, DeMorat was named the GEICO Patriot League Offensive

Player of the Week. It is his fourth time receiving the honor this season alone, as he leads the conference in touchdown passes and is fourth overall in the FCS. The league, and the country, has taken notice of DeMorat and the season he and his team are having.

Fordham head coach Joe Conlin expectedly expressed satisfaction with a 45-point margin of victory while still accepting the win with a firm lip and a continuous look to what’s next during the postgame press conference.

“I thought the guys played hard,” Conlin said. “Obviously, we need to clean up the turnovers on offense, but defensively, other than a couple of miscues in the first half, I thought we played a pretty good game.”

Those turnovers were the four fumbles the Fordham offense had that resulted in them losing the ball four times. But after 66 points scored, it is one of very few errors to point out. Conlin was speaking with a determination to meet his expectations for the team this season and seemed to be in emotional control while guiding the program through a time of rapid incline.

Fordham will look to continue that incline as the challenges within the Patriot League get tougher. The Rams will host Lehigh's Mountain Hawks on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1:00 p.m. on Jack Coffey Field during a fetsive parents' weekend. Last time these two teams met was in October of 2019, when Lehigh edged out a 30–27 overtime win.

But this time around, Fordham hopes its early season challenges and its recent success will result in more good times for the program.

Women’s Soccer: Senior Day Rally and A Few Losses

By KALEY BELL

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Coming off continuous losses, the Fordham women’s soccer team faced a tough opponent in the University of Massachusetts' Minutewomen this past Sunday at Jack Coffey Field. This game celebrated the last home game for eight women who have been integral parts of the team.

Despite their best efforts, the Rams were defeated by the Minutewomen, making this their fourth consecutive loss as they head into their last two games of the season.

In the two games prior to the Senior Day game, the Rams had tough losses against the Saint Joseph’s Hawks and the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. At home, the Rams faced the Hawks and had a large amount of fan support. In this game, the Hawks were a little quicker and more aggressive than the Rams, forcing their downfall. Within the first 24 minutes of the game, the Hawks were able to score. The Rams continued to play strong defense in the game and did their best not to give up any more goals. However, in the 73rd minute, the Hawks were able to score again, securing the Rams loss of 0–2.

On the offensive side, freshman midfielder Ellen Schedin had five

shots, as well as her teammate, fifth year midfielder Milan Bornstein.

These attempts, along with junior forward Caitlin Kennedy’s three attempts and junior forward Kristen Cocozza’s attempt, made a total of 14 shot attempts the whole game.

The Rams did their best to penetrate their opponent’s goal but were unable to do so. The shutout was difficult, but the Rams knew that they had to keep pushing forward to the next game.

In their next game, they traveled to Richmond, Virginia to face the VCU Rams in their home field, SportsBackers Stadium. The VCU Rams would not allow for the Fordham Rams to get a shot attempt.

Graduate student defender Hope Baisley was the only one who was able to get a shot attempt in this tough battle. While facing the top team in the conference was difficult, some individual successes came out of this game.

Sophomore goalkeeper Maria O’Sullivan had her first start of the season. She was able to have a total of six saves throughout the game.

Despite giving up one goal in the 37th minute, O’Sullivan remained a strong defender of her team’s goal.

In this game, Bornstein marked her 81st game with Fordham. This third to last game made her the lead-

er in Fordham Women's Soccer’s AllTime Games Played. She has played in every game since 2017 when she was only a freshman. Previous player, Brooke Salmon, who played in 80 games from 2015–2018 previously held this record.

In speaking about her success, Bornstein said, “I love this team and program so much, and I am glad that I have been able to make an impact on the field in every game of my career here. I set this goal for myself a while ago, knowing that a lot of it was uncontrollable. I have little control over the playing time I get, and no control really if my body stays healthy enough for me to play. I am fortunate that both of those things went my way, and I feel humbled to have my name next to alumni like

Brooke Salmon and Natalie Sims.

When I played with them, I looked up to them both so much as players and people.”

The Rams’ most recent match proved difficult as they faced the Minutewomen for the first time this season. In recognition of their seniors and players in their last regular home season game, a ceremony was held prior to the game as each player was recognized for all her hard work and dedication to the team.

After the celebration, the Rams played hard against their opponent but came up short. Neither team was able to score in the first half of the game. However, after coming back from halftime, the Minutewomen were able to score in the 54th minute. Then, with only 10 minutes left

in the game, they were able to score again, securing their win for the day.

The Rams did have an answer to this score as Bornstein was able to score in her last regular home season game. Fordham was close to scoring once again when senior midfielder Jenna Devine had her last shot attempt that almost made it over the Minutewomen goalkeeper.

The Rams are ready for their next two tough conference opponents, the Dayton Flyers and the George Mason Patriots. With the potential of being able to compete in the A-10 tournament this year, head coach Jessica Clinton said, “We’ve played well but just not consistent enough.

We did not give up and will play until the last second. Remain the same.

Go for the win.”

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Women's Soccer celebrated Senior Day before competing against the Massachusetts Minutewomen.