The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham dh University Community Since 1918 Volume 97, Issue 21
FordhamRam.com
November 18, 2015
Fordham Responds to Two More Bias Incidents By LAURA SANICOLA, JOE VITALE AND ERIN SHANAHAN RAM EDITORS
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Following the deadly attacks, many commemorated the victims with vigils, like the one above, in Toulouse, France.
Fordham Community Abroad Witnesses Attacks in France By CAILIN MCKENNA ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Jennifer Shekerchi, FCLC ’16, was in her Paris apartment late last Friday evening when she received an alert that there had been a shooting nearby. After she notified her
family that she was safe, she turned on the local news to find out more about the events transpiring outside her door. “Despite the news not having the full details yet, I knew it had been a terrorist attack,” she said. “I stood by my computer refreshing the news every five minutes only to find
out more and more people had been killed in multiple shootings and explosions.” Like Shekerchi, many Parisians, visitors and students studying in Paris were shocked and distraught by the attacks that occurred in SEE PARIS, PAGE 5
As outrage surrounding racial prejudice and insensitivity gains traction on campuses nationwide, incidents closer to home are also sparking widespread anger from students. This past week, Fordham Universtiy witnessed its third and fourth racial bias incidents of the semester First, two symbols of hatred — a swastika and white supremacist reference — were found on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in a bathroom at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, warranting an investigation by the Office of Public Safety and notification of the NYPD. The second incident occurred the night of Friday, Nov. 13, when two Fordham students living off campus reported hearing loud, repeated racist language and chants from a party in the apartment above them, also occupied by Fordham students. The students reported it to Public Safety and the NYPD was
brought in, according to a university-wide email sent from Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, on Nov. 17. McShane said that the students in question will face university disciplinary proceedings. Alexandra Leen, FCRH ’16, one of the off-campus residents who reported the incident, was shocked at what she heard and the context in which she heard it. “In the wake of the tragedy in Paris and the events at the University of Missouri, my roommates and I came home to our upstairs neighbors chanting repeatedly, ‘white power, white power’ and belligerently shouting racial slurs,” Leen wrote on Facebook. She identified the alleged perpetrators as Fordham athletes. For Leen, this was an attack on her beloved home. “I love the Bronx, it has been my home for the three best years of my SEE BIAS, PAGE 6
College Dems and Repubs Debate Debate TPP, Guns and Debt By LILY VESEL STAFF WRITER
An excited crowd of Fordham students gathered Monday night in Flom Auditorium in the basement of Walsh Library to watch members of the Fordham College Democrats and the Fordham College Republicans debate issues regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), gun control and student debt. The debate opened with a bipartisan discussion regarding the TPP, a trade agreement (awaiting congressional approval) among the United States and 11 other countries. The partnership “includes, among other things, reductions in trade barriers, more rigorous labor law and environmental guarantees,” explained Ben St. Clair, FCRH ’17 president of the Fordham Political Review, who introduced the debate topics. in this issue
Opinion
Page 7
Following Paris Attacks, Call for Stronger Measures
Culture
Page 13
Expressions Dance Showcases Creativity
Sports Page 24 Fordham Football Wins Regular Season Finale
Democrat Adam Hamilton, FCRH ’18 and republican Robert Gray, FCRH ’17 argued in favor of the partnership while republican Jacob Linker, FCRH ’18 and democrat Alejandra Rodriguez, FCRH ’19, argued against it. The pro-TPP side emphasized a “holistic” view of the partnership’s effect on the countries involved, arguing that it would boost the United States’ economy, help the middle class and reduce poverty in poor nations. “The transpacific partnership is going to have one of the largest poverty reduction effects in the world, specifically in Vietnam,” argued Hamilton, citing that “poverty in Vietnam is going to see a decrease by 13 percent,” with the implementation of the partnership. He argued that the increase in exports, which this partnership would allow to poor nations, would eventually reduce poverty in those countries. “On the economic side, the United States is able to grow its economy by opening itself to foreign trade,” Gray explained. “The U.S. gains the ability to purchase goods it would otherwise not be able to purchase, improving consumer utility.” The anti-TPP side argued that the partnership benefits corporate interests, not free trade, and that it would force domestic workers to compete with workers abroad, negatively affecting wages for all. “We argue that it is questionable how much free trade will be a product of this [partnership],” Linker asserted. SEE DEBATE, PAGE 6
RAM ARCHIVES
ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM
The student accused FUEMS of violating medical confidentiality laws and Public Safety of mishandling an assault.
Student Alleges Officials Violated Protocol By LAURA SANICOLA NEWS EDITOR
A Fordham University student has accused Fordham Public Safety and Fordham University Emergency Medical Services (FUEMS) of mishandling an alleged sexual assault and violating medical protocol in an article released Sunday evening on Slant News, a digital news website consisting of crowdsourced content. Marissa Marcinelli, FCRH ’17, penned “An Open Letter To The Fordham University Emergency Services Who Failed Me” on the news site. She described a Nov. 11 incident in which FUEMS questioned her and two of her female friends after they requested that Public Safety pay off the taxi driver who allegedly attempted to sexually assault her friend. Marcinelli accused FUEMS of treating her friends with both apathy and aggression, while also
violating medical confidential protocol, when questioning her about her medical history in front of her friends as well as FUEMS and Public Safety officers. “The FUEMS personnel violated HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws,” Marcinelli told The Fordham Ram. “Not only that, but they treated our situation in which we as the victims were blamed for the incident.” HIPAA includes a privacy rule, which establishes national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information. This applies to health plans, health care clearing houses and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. However, information volunteered by an individuals in the presence of others who are not pertinent health care providers is not explicitly deemed confidential by HIPAA.
Marcinelli also objected to being questioned by FUEMS as to why she took Prozac and Xanax. “I felt violated talking about my personal struggles with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder; [it] is something I choose to disclose to few people, under terms I am comfortable with,” she wrote in the article. According to protocol, FUEMS staff must gather all health information that may be relevant to the individual, including medications, prior medical history and diagnoses, in order to submit a complete health report, or PCR, to the hospital. Marcinelli alleged that the driver was supposed to take the girls from Chelsea to their off-campus apartments in the Bronx at 2 a.m. but stopped on Fordham Road. After the group paid the driver, Marcinelli recalled that the taxi driver wanted more than the cash SEE ALLEGATIONS, PAGE 2
NEWS
Page 2
PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS
November 18, 2015
Journal From Abroad
Student Makes Allegations of Misconduct
Nov. 14 1 a.m. Alumni Court South
FROM ALLEGATIONS, PAGE 1
A non-Fordham student was attempting to circumvent the signin policy at Alumni Court South. The guard at the door reported the guest to be very uncooperative. Public Safety and Residential Life responded to the scene. The guest was identified and then escorted off campus. No one was injured. Nov. 12 8 p.m. Canisius Hall Some property was missing from Canisius Hall this past Thursday. This past Thursday, some files regarding grant information from this past September were discovered to be missing from Canisius Hall. Public Safety is now investigating. Nov. 14 1 a.m. Howl at the Moon A Fordham student placed her phone at a table near the door. After leaving it unsupervised for a few minutes, she returned to find it was missing. Public Safety is now investigating. Nov. 10 5 p.m. Walsh Hall Two Fordham students were stuck in the Walsh Hall elevator. Despite waiting trapped for 20 minutes, the elevator company did not arrive. After about an hour in the elevator, the FDNY arrived at the scene. The two students were rescued without injury. Later, a mechanic arrived to fix the elevator. The Walsh elevator is now back in service. —Compiled by Erin Shanahan, Assistant News Editor
Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam
COURTESY OF FLICKR
The capital city of Madrid is home to many components of Spanish culture including bull fighting, a popular sport.
A Nation Holding Onto Its Culture By Gabrielle McGovern CONTRIBUTING WRITER
MADRID — I am currently studying abroad in the metropolitan city of Madrid, Spain. Madrid is a large city with over three million people and boasts many unique types of neighborhoods, making any trip into a new area extremely exciting. Located in the area of Salamanca, there is Calle de Serano, one of Madrid’s prime streets for designer clothes. Then, there are the neighborhoods of Chueca, Madrid’s gay neighborhood, and Malasaña, for the city’s hipsters, who I identify as “the cool people.” Madrid’s bustling theater district is located in Opera and tourists often flock to Sol for its many bars, restaurants and department stores. Dividing Madrid into its different areas might make it sound a lot like New York City. But, given its age and place in history, Madrid has certain cultural aspects and qualities that New York City may never have. For example, Salamanca has a bullring where Madrid’s bravest matadors, or bullfighters, practice their sport of fighting and killing a bull with a sword. My current class on Ernest Hemingway includes his works on Spanish bullfighting and included attending a bullfight in Madrid. Before arriving in Spain in Au-
gust, I knew that bullfighting was popular in the country, but I had no personal opinion on it. When I learned I would be attending a bullfight as part of the class’s agenda, I was intrigued because I wanted to learn more about the sport. About a month ago, my class read Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon,” which taught me that bullfighting is a tradition in Spain, something that is unique to its culture. The first bullfight in Spain dates back to 711 A.D., during a celebration of King Alfonso VIII. Aficionados highly respect the matadors and see them as “real men” who risk their lives. With countries’ unique cultures rapidly disappearing due to globalization, bullfighting allows Spain to hold on to its history. However, many Spaniards today do not approve of the sport because the fate of each bull that faces a matador is sealed. Bullfights are now banned in Catalonia, one of Spain’s states. Many Spaniards and tourists believe the bullfights are cruel and pointless. Three matadors compete in a bullfight, each fighting two bulls with the goals of performing well, entertaining the crowds and ultimately killing the bull. Many are outspoken in their support for, or in opposition to bullfighting, which keeps the controversy in the public mindset. Personally, I decided that I needed to see a bullfight in order
to judge it. During the first fight, I watched the matador perform beautiful veronicas, which are moves the bullfighter makes as he holds his cape in both hands and moves it slowly over the bull’s head. These moves were named after St. Veronica, who wiped her cloth on Jesus’ face as he carried the cross. As Hemingway described bullfighting, it is not only a sport, but an art form with cultural and religious significance. I was impressed by the way the matadors moved, and I was coming to accept the sport, when quickly, my opinion changed. After seeing the first bull fight to stay alive, but then drop to the ground, bloodied and motionless, I found the sport to be inhumane and vicious. Throughout the bullfight, my opinion continuously vacillated from impressed to extreme dislike, and from approval to disgust. With my respect for Spanish culture, but also for life, I remain conflicted. While I still may not be able to say I enjoyed or disliked the bullfight, I can say that I have a better understanding of the deep cultural roots of bullfighting and am more informed of the artistry and skill associated with the sport. To those traveling to Spain who are curious about bullfighting and unsure whether it is moral or ethical, I recommend that you first study its roots, experience it and only then come to a personal decision regarding the sport.
fare they had paid him, and “proceeded to get in the back of the cab and grope, kiss and attempt to rape my friend on the basis that we ‘still owed him,'” she wrote in the article. She recounted that Public Safety officers repaid the alleged assailant in the lobby of the office and allowed him to leave without taking down his license plate or cab number. Neither Marcinelli nor her friends had taken down that information or called out for help to bystanders, she reported. “The event happened so quickly that we were only able to deal with it as we did in that moment of panic,” she told The Fordham Ram on Monday morning. “Upon arrival at Public Safety, we assumed and trusted that prosecution of the perpetrator would be handled, however he was allowed to leave.” Director of Public Safety John Carroll asserted that Public Safety serves students at all times. “I hope that every student here knows that we’re only here to help,” Carroll said. “That’s our only role.” Marcinelli believed that Public Safety was biased in its line of questioning to her and her friends about the incident because she and her friends had been intoxicated. “[The questions] were asked in a way that would suggest that my friends and I were the ones at fault for being intoxicated and taking a cab,” she wrote in the article. She also addressed the university: “I am embarrassed and disgusted that an institution which prides itself in being established in Jesuit ideals treats their students in such a condemning way, especially in an hour of need.” Bob Howe, senior director of communications at Fordham, released the following statement about the incident: “University officials read Ms. Marcinelli’s open letter this morning. The allegations are very grave: we are taking her taking her account of the incident seriously, and are investigating the actions of the University personnel and students involved.” Nishant Sahoo, GSB ’16 and chief of medical operations of Fordham University Emergency Medical Services (FUEMS), declined comment on legal grounds.
This Week at Fordham Thursday Nov. 19
Friday Nov. 20
Friday Nov. 20
Saturday Nov. 21
Sunday Nov. 22
Gaelic Society Fall Ceili Night
Sketch and Improv Comedy Show
Expressions Dance Alliance Presents: GOLD
Global Outreach! Sock Saturday
Thanksgiving Dinner
Blackbox Theater 8 p.m.
Collins Auditorium 8 p.m.
McGinley 205 11 a.m.
Campbell Multi-Purpose Room 6 p.m.
Fordham’s sketch troupe Free Pizza and improv group Stranded in Pittsburgh will host a joint Thanksgiving-themed show. A second performance will be on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. The event is free.
Fordham dance company Expressions Dance Alliance will host their fall showcase featuring the acapella groups the Satin Dolls and the Fordham Ramblers. There will be a second performance on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m.
Students can take part in a daylong volunteer experience and travel into Manhattan to distribute socks to the homeless in the area. Global Outreach (GO!) will host the event. Arrive by 11 a.m. to the GO! office on Saturday.
ASILI: the Black Student Alliance will host their annual Thanksgiving dinner. Current Fordham students and alumni are invited for an evening of food, music and conversation.
McGinley Ballroom 8 p.m. Join the Gaelic Society for a night of Irish music and dancing. Club members will be teaching and performing traditional Irish ceili dances. Refreshments will be provided.
NEWS
November 18, 2015
Page 3
Town Hall to Tackle Just Employment and Diversity By YASMIN MERCHANT STAFF WRITER
In an effort to address the lack of transparency and connection between Fordham students and administration, the Fordham College Rose Hill Dean’s Council is hosting a Town Hall meeting with Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. Maura Mast. The Town Hall will give students and faculty the opportunity to voice their concerns and bring up issues directly to administration. It will take place on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. in McGinley 235. The Dean’s Council expects that several points will be brought up, including having tutoring centers in more advanced courses, core curriculum integration of Bronx history and diversity courses and improvements to registration, career services and academic advising. “However, ideally, this Town Hall Meeting is for the purpose of students to bring up new concerns and issues that haven't already been addressed by the Rose Hill Dean's Council,” said Garrison Groeschke, the chair of FCRH Dean’s Council. Jesuit Just Employment was brought up as well. Earlier this year, some adjunct professors went on fast to bring attention to their poor working conditions. The adjunct professors are fighting for a higher wage, insurance and more job security. Anthropology professor Alan Trevithick reported that over 100
faculty spanning the sociology, anthropology, media and communications, foreign language, theology, history, law, American studies, philosophy, math and English Departments and Graduate School of Social Service have expressed interest in attending the Town Hall meeting. Just Employment is on the Dean’s Council agenda. “There will be a public comment section in which students and faculty can't speak out on the importance of implementing the Just Employment Policy, (of the kind in place at Georgetown) at Fordham,” Trevithick said. Due to the many bias incidents this semester, beginning with a racial slur written on a student’s door in Lalande, diversity will be discussed. Father Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President of the University, has sent the Fordham community a number of emails condemning this behavior. “Fordham...devotes significant time, effort and funds to education around these issues, and we are always looking for ways to improve our efforts and use our resources more effectively,” he said in his latest email. “We talk about ‘building’ a better campus community, but that is really the wrong metaphor: what we do is really gardening. We grow, we feed, we nurture. It is a slow and continuous process.” Both students and faculty members have commented. Anne E. Fernald, professor of English and women's studies and president of
ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM
Maura Mast, Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, will be hosting the upoming Town Hall meeting.
the Faculty Senate, said the Faculty Senate had “been deeply disturbed by the recent acts of racism and antisemitism as well as by the story these actions seem to tell about deeper problems in our community.” Six undergraduate students spoke at the Faculty Senate, identified through The Gender and Race Equity and Faculty Diversity and Retention Committee and ASILI. “They spoke of professors admitting a lack of interest in African-American history and culture in a class that aimed to instruct students on these very topics and of professors who lacked competence in respond-
ing to student’s racially insensitive comments.” Some professors have admitted that they do not feel equipped to respond properly to these issues. At the October College Council Meeting Robert Grimes, dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center said that “Many professors had voiced their concerns about being able to respond properly after Father McShanes’ email asking professors to discuss this in class … students have also noted that they felt that many professors were not responsive.” This topic was also discussed during the Nov. 12 USG meeting. Ac-
cording to USG members, several faculty members have said they do not feel comfortable discussing racial incidents and they do not want to feel like they are trivializing it. The Faculty Senate has been discussing what can be done to rectify this. “The students encouraged faculty, who often appear to lack training in how to address or discuss racism in class to participate in training like that offered by the Undoing Racism Collective,” Fernald said. The goal of this Town Hall meeting, according to USG is to allow the Fordham community to come together and put initiatives like this in action.
Local Restaurant Shares Story at Gentrification Discussion By KENNETH ESELHART STAFF WRITER
Room 305 of Dealy Hall was teeming with students last Wednesday for a discussion titled, “Is the Bronx the New Brooklyn?” Led by student community organizers working with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), the meeting fostered conversation about gentrification and displacement in the Bronx. Standing in front of a Powerpoint displaying images of signs saying “Gentrification is the new colonialism” and “Gentrification displaces low-income residents,” the student community organizers gave an overview of gentrification as a basis for the conversation. They defined it as “the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx
of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.” This was juxtaposed to their definition of revitalization, which differs in that a community remains affordable for low income residents in the latter. The highlight of the evening, however, was when Eva Diaz, co-owner of a restaurant in the Bronx called Calientito, shared her story. After immigrating from Puerto Rico 11 years ago, Diaz noticed a lack of Puerto Rican cultural awareness. “I really noticed the impact of not having a voice,” she said. Diaz and her husband decided to open Calientito as a restaurant that would celebrate their heritage. “Calientito,” she told students, “for my family represented… bringing to the South Bronx back the Puerto Rican and the Caribbean culture.”
The South Bronx area around Calientito was once, as Diaz noted, “grey and silent.” Now, it has become a hub for development and gentrification. At first, said Diaz, “Our landlord was definitely opposed to the new community that was coming in,” but she mentioned that before long, “he saw the dollar sign,” and began leasing property to outside developers for high prices. Because Calientito’s lease was signed before gentrification in the area began, Calientito’s rent was much lower than those of other businesses on the block, which Diaz claimed did not please the landlord. So instead of waiting out the lease, she said “he’s created ways to push us out and break our spirit.” Diaz accused the landlord of refusing to fix damages such as a major leak in the dining room, not providing air conditioning and heat and making it
COURTESY OF FLIICKR
The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition hosted an event on gentrification in the Bronx last week.
difficult for the restaurant to obtain a beer and wine license. She calculates that these obstacles cost the business around $40,000 in the summer, a time that is crucial for many restaurants. Since Frank Torres is the landlord of Diaz’s home as well as her restaurant, this strained relationship has led to the displacement of Diaz’s family from its home of 11 years. Diaz and her husband have been to multiple lawyers and courts to try to solve these issues. She mentioned that Welcome2theBonx, an online newspaper, and SoBro, a non-profit organization in the South Bronx offers entrepreneurial development and business assistance. These resources have helped her business to overcome some of these obstacles. However, these efforts were not enough and on Friday, Calientito was evicted. An article in DNAinfo noted how some local residents are calling Calientito the first victim of gentrification in Port Morris. Students leading the discussion highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of gentrification. Often times, gentrification leads to a reduction in crime, increased property values, reduced vacancy rates and increased local fiscal revenues. They argued, however, that human dignity and culture are too important to lose sight of in the development process. Diaz emphasized that since the community cannot stop gentrification from happening, the community should focus on how it will become gentrified. “My pocket is very thin, so I’m not going to prevent them from coming in, I just want to make sure that… Calientito and the other things that make the Mott Haven area what it is, stay that way.” Student organizers gave an example of purposeful, community
led gentrification with the case of the Kingsbridge Armory. The NWBCCC and members of the community had fought for 17 years to ensure that the developers revitalized the property with the interest of the neighborhood in mind. The Kingsbridge Armory will be developed into the world’s largest ice arena, creating construction jobs for many Bronx residents. The Kingsbridge Armory will also be developed using goods and services from local Bronx businesses. Another point of discussion was the recent “Bronx is Burning” rave that has come under fire for being insensitive to the community. The name is a reference to the 1970s, when entire neighborhoods were abandoned in the Bronx and landlords set their own buildings on fire to collect insurance payouts. Local residents were indignant over the decorations of the party metal trashcan bonfires and bullet-studded cars- because they seemed to make a mocking caricature of the borough and its history. Attended by A-list celebrities such as Adrian Brody and Kendall Jenner, as well as Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., the event was held by real estate developers and was meant to be an opportunity for networking. Ava Diaz of Calientito added that the event was too dark and alcohol-fueled to do any real networking. Students came out to the event for many different reasons. Some were Bronx residents concerned about the changes they were seeing in their neighborhoods, and some came because they felt a connection to the community in which they go to school. Others felt gentrification was an issue that they did not fully understood and wanted to learn more.
NEWS
Page 4
November 18, 2015
Fordham In The Bronx
Grafitti Goes Corporate in the Bronx
MICHAEL DOBUSKI/ THE FORDHAM RAM
Artists such as the “Royal Kingbee” are being commissioned by corporations to fill the sides of buildings with original art.
By MICHAEL DOBUSKI BRONX CORRESPONDENT
At the very end of Arthur Avenue, beyond the D’Auria-Murphy Triangle, is a Rite-Aid. The store itself is nothing special. It does not even have the distinction of being a quintessentially “New York” Duane Reade. But walk around the side of the building that faces St. Barnabas Hospital and your perspective changes. Giant splashes of color adorn the wall in the form of a vibrant and ornate mural created by one of the Bronx’s many well-known graffiti artists. Known only by his pseudonym, “The Royal Kingbee,” the artist has been commissioned to do art pieces for a variety of businesses, from Rite-Aid to Bacardi. His signature is a giant, angry bee, and it acts as his personal logo and is found in murals all around the Bronx. Kingbee was born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. He attended New York City Technical College, where he studied commercial art. Though Kingbee has always loved to create art, his first real exposure to the graffiti scene was in the late 1980s, when he met renowned Bronx artist, “Sak,” a member of a graffiti team called the “MBT Crew.” However, graffitists like Royal Kingbee, Sak and contemporaries — such as “VASE One,” “Nev,” “Bomb5” and
“Lady-Di” — did not start the graffiti movement. To discover its origins, we must travel to Philadelphia. Graffiti was first made, as many things are, to impress a girl. Fourteen year old Daryl McCray, known in graffiti circles as “Cornbread,” tagged his first building in 1967 to attract the attention of his romantic interest. Not long after, McCray and his friends painted their nicknames on buildings and vehicles all over Philadelphia. The 2 and the 5 trains were especially popular among artists because they were the only easily accessible lines that ran all the way from the Bronx, through Manhattan and into Brooklyn. This exposed the art to a far bigger audience and helped mold graffiti into the integral part of New York culture that it is. Leonard McGurr, known as Futura 2000 in graffiti circles, was a Bronx artist from that era who fondly remembers sitting on the rooftop of his apartment building with his friends and fellow artists, watching the trains go by the Whitlock stop on the Number 6 IRT. They would watch each other’s recent pieces rumble by, trading tricks of the trade, admiration and advice. By the end of the decade, the sub-culture had died down, having been quashed by the medium’s association with illicit activity. New York
City began the Clean Train Movement in 1985 and by 1989, the last graffiti covered subway was removed from service. Today, on Garrison Avenue, there is a lavishly adorned building that is home to one of the predominant modern graffiti groups. Top Artistic Talents, or more commonly known “TATS Cru,” is composed of four artists, all of whom come from the Bronx. The group’s portfolio includes all the grandiose murals that you might come to expect in the area, but also large advertisements for McDonalds, Snapple, Ford, Dewars and even a Nicki Minaj album. These are by no means traditional ads, though. They grab attention in the same way more traditional graffiti did back in the 70s on the side of inter-borough rapid transit trains. With the rise of social media platforms, particularly Instagram, the art of TATS Cru has been able to expand its audience, similar to how the 2 and 5 trains helped expand the movement when it began. Artists like The Royal Kingbee and TATS Cru exemplify how graffiti operates in the modern, postClean Train Movement era. When combined with the rise of hip-hop music, they represent the impact the Bronx has had in popular and now, corporate, culture.
ZACH MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM
ResLife Names New VP Of Housing Ops Last month, Edward Pena resigned as the vice resident of Housing Operations for Residential Life. The position has been filled by Resident Director of Loschert Hall, Julie Liss. Currently, Liss is working both Residential Director and Vice President of Housing Operations duties.
Campus Briefs & Bites Shvidler Chair Discusses Jewish History
Global Business ILC Sponcers Clothing Drive
Bronx History Project Made Available
FET Hosts Fall Playwights’ Festival
On Thursday, Nov. 17, the inaugural holder of Fordham’s Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies, Magda Teter, PhD, posed a provocative question at her installation: “If Jews were integrated into European society, culture, economy and politics, can historians justify confining them to Jewish history?” Teter became Fordham’s Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies earlier this year. At her inauguration, she presented a discussion titled “From Alienation to Integration: Rethinking Jewish History.” This presentation blurred the perceived historical divisions between Jews and non-Jews. Father Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, welcomed the audience to the lecture. He took time to pause and remember the victims of violence in Paris this past weekend. He linked the evening’s lecture to other events inspired by religious differences.
The Global Business ILC has been sponsoring a clothing drive for Part Of The Solution (POTS) in the Bronx and will continue to do so until Thursday, Nov. 19. POTS is a non-profit organization that provides food and clothing for people in the Bronx. The Global Business ILC has been collecting all types of clothing for this organization. Clothing for men, women, and children are acceptable as long as they are usable. Collection boxes can be found in each residence hall and a collection box for commuters can be found in O’Hare hall. The Global Business ILC organized this event in order to teach its reisdnets about the Jesuit ideals associated with Fordham. Not only does the ILC promote buisness education, but it also keeps Jesuit tenents as well. The ILC teaches its residents how to be successful while living a moral life by giving back to our community.
Fordham’s Bronx African American History Project was made public recently. It chronicles the stories of Bronx residents since the 1930s. Mark Naison, PhD, professor of history and African and AfricanAmerican studies, was the lead investigator for the project. The project, which was released by the Department of African and African American Studies in conjunction with Fordham Libraries, is made up of downloadable audio files and interview transcripts from research conducted between 2002 and 2013. The audio and transcripts also show the diversity in the borough during the 1940s as it contains interviews with both African American and white families who lived in the neighborhood. This digital archive was compiled by Fordham academics, such as Naison, as well as Fordham alumni and Bronx researchers and historians.
Fordham Experimental Theater hosted its bi-annual Playwrights’ Festival this past weekend. The festival featured student-written and student-produced shows. FET is the umbrella organization for groups such as Free Pizza sketch comedy, Stranded in Pittsburgh improv, Fordham Stand-Up and Verbal Essences spoken word. There were three performances of the festival on Thursday, Nov. 12, Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Blackbox Theater in Collins. This semester’s show featured original works such as “Eddy’s” written by Sean McKay, FCRH ’17, “Wing It: A Fleek Tragedy” by Katherine Lictenfeis and Molly Carney, both FCRH ’17, “Punchline” by Patrick D. Hood, FCRH ’17, and “Before the Dawn” written by Luke Berman, FCRH ’17. — Compiled by Cailin McKenna and Erin Shanahan, Assistant News Editors
NEWS
November 18, 2015
Page 5
Following ISIS Attacks, The City of Light Remains United FROM PARIS, PAGE 1
a total of six locations across the French capital, leaving 129 dead and more than 350 injured, according to The New York Times. French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency on Friday evening and said “France is at war” as a manhunt began in the days that followed across Europe in search of the perpetrators. Fordham currently has nine students abroad in France, many of whom are studying in the nation’s capital city. Fordham’s International and Study Abroad Programs (ISAP) contacted service providers and host universities to confirm the safety of all university students abroad in the area. On Friday evening, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, sent an email to the university community stating that all nine Fordham students studying abroad in France were accounted for and safe, as well as the nine students travelling in France’s neighboring country of Belgium. Fordham has continued to track the situation, including other threats made across Europe to ensure the safety of its students studying and living in the area. “We are all monitoring the situation in Europe very closely and receive safety updates daily from the U.S. State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council and from the Drum-Cussac risk management firm,” said Dr. Joseph Rienti, director of ISAP. “Yesterday, staff in my office and other university administrators participated in a conference call conducted by Drum-Cussac on the situation in Paris. Based on these reports, we do not anticipate suspending or altering programming in France or any other parts of Europe.” McShane also informed students abroad of the resources available to them including Dr. Andrew Clark, chair of the department of Modern Languages and literatures and associate professor of French and comparative literature, who was in Paris at the time of the attacks. Last week, Clark travelled to Paris to complete a site review for
a study abroad program. He was in the apartment of a colleague finalizing the review when he first started to get phone calls from the United States. After ignoring several calls, he received one from a friend of a friend who would not have normally called him. He decided to answer the call and was quickly informed about the recent attacks taking place across Paris. “We turned on the television and eventually stuff starting coming through,” he said. “The French press reported a bit later than the English and American press because they were obviously concerned about causing pandemonium.” Across the city, Anelisa Arevalo, a former Fordham student who is finishing her degree at the American University of Paris, had just arrived at the Gare de Lyon when her phone was overcome with messages and phone calls alarming her about the events. She and her mother boarded the metro, which passed stops such as Republique and Oberkampf, where the Bataclan Theater, one of the sites of the attack, is located. “When we got home, the news had started to circulate more and I started getting phone calls and messages from family and friends abroad,” she said. “We just kept looking at the news and talking to my friends who also live in Paris to get a better grip on what was going on.” On Sunday evening, Arevalo and her mother were walking in the Marais district of Paris when a taxi driver drove by them and warned of a gunshot nearby. Chaos ensued as pedestrians began to flee the area. Arevalo and her mother hid while pressed against the walls of a tall building on a small side street. A few moments later, after several police officers arrived on the scene, Arevalo and her mother decided to take a bus in the opposite direction of the main avenue back to her apartment. While on the bus, Arevalo heard police officers yelling for pedestrians to seek shelter. “We could see more people running in different directions and it was pretty clear that no one really understood what was really going on or where they should be headed,”
COURTESY OF FLICKR
A day before the Paris attacks, ISIS also coordinated an attack in Beirut, Lebanon which took the lives of over 40 civilians.
she said. She later discovered that there had been two false alarms at Republique and in Marais. Someone had set off a firecracker near the vigil at Republique and a lightbulb had exploded at a restaurant in the Marais which caused people to panic. “Once the police had figured out that it was a false alarm people started flooding back into Republique to recommence the vigil,” said Arevalo. Neither Arevalo nor Clark were shocked when the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks the following day. Many Parisians and visitors initially suspect ed the terrorist group following the attacks. “Whether it’s ISIS or someone else, the effect is more or less the same; it breeds terror and difficult and unfortunate responses both from the right and the left in regards to how to deal with the situation and who’s responsible,” Clark said. “This idea that at any moment someone can open fire and destroy people going about their daily lives. The idea that this might become the new norm is rather frightening for everyone.” Elizabeth Zanghi, FCRH ’15,
COURTESY OF FLICKR
ISIS waged an attack on the city of Paris on Friday, Nov. 13 , leaving at least 129 dead and more than 300 injured.
was visiting with friends in the 13th arrondisement, a distance from the six locations of attacks. Her initial response was that there had been a shooting in the area. “We turned on the news, and it became clear that it wasn't just a shooting. They kept showing a map of Paris, and every 15 minutes or so, there was a new dot on the map, showing a new attack,” she said. “The news of hostages made everything scarier, because it was clear it wasn't going to be over any time soon.” Zanghi was in Paris last January during the Charlie Hebdo attack in which a group of Islamic extremists shot and killed 10 journalists of the French satirical magazine for its artistic depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hebdo attack prompted an international cry for freedom of the press through campaigns like “Je suis Charlie.” “Since the 17th century, the freedom of the press has been a symbol of unity for the French people and the terrorism against journalists has created a melange of sadness, anger and revolt among the French,” she wrote in an article for The Fordham Ram. The biggest shock for Zanghi was the randomness of Friday’s target. “With Charlie [Hebdo], the terrorists were targeting journalists physically and freedom of the press ideologically. What were the terrorists targeting on Friday?” she said. “To me, it seems like they were targeting a way of life, and specifically a way of life that is normal to a lot, if not most, of the Parisian community.” In the days following the attack, the streets of Paris were mostly empty and there was an increased military and security presence around national monuments and public buildings. “The Louvre area was completely empty, the Louvre and many other place were closed. Most of Paris was pretty quiet,” said Clark. France’s iconic Eiffel Tower was closed for security reasons following the attacks. It reopened on Monday afternoon, and was lit up in the colors of the French flag. Other monuments around the world showcased their support for the victims of the Paris attack including the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center and the Sydney Opera House, which were lit up with the French tri-color. These acts of support have also
garnered criticism as the same media coverage was not provided to victims of an ISIS-coordinated attack in Beirut a day earlier. The attack claimed the lives of nearly 43 individuals and has received little recognition from the international community and western media. For the victims of Beirut, there were no monuments lit up in the colors of the Lebanese flag. Facebook provided users with the opportunity to overlay their profile pictures with the French flag, but not the Lebanese flag. The website also activated the Safety Check feature for victims of the Paris attack but not for victims of the Beirut attack, a feature which has historically been used in times of natural disaster, according to The New York Times. “It is deeply sad that the world places a different value on human life depending on where you are from,” said Clark. “There is an alienation and separation that people in the West have from the Middle East and their inability to understand that people are just trying to live their daily lives.” In both Beirut and Paris, individuals have come to the aid of their neighbors by giving blood and providing refuge. “These acts of humanity are beautiful in situations like that, but what always upsets me is that we rely on tragedy to show such great acts of humanity,” said Clark. “The care for others always comes after there is a break in that security.” As the Eiffel Tower reopens, and Parisians oncemore take to their seats in outdoor cafes, it is evident that for both Paris and Beirut life goes on even with the terror that struck last week. Ellen Hinkley, FCRH ’17, who is studying in Paris noted how Parisians have fallen back into their daily routines. “I think international media, particularly American news, [have] falsely painted Paris as a city that cowers under a darkened Eiffel Tower,” she said. “That could not be farther from the truth; yes, there is a heaviness in the air that did not exist before, and yet, life continues.” On Monday, Paris held a minute of silence to commemorate the lives lost and the people affected by these loses. However, the solidarity, la fraternite, persists. “The city of Paris’ motto is fluctuate nec mergitu, [translated as] ’tossed by the waves, but does not sink,’” said Hinkley.
NEWS
Page 6
Bias Incidents Return to Fordham FROM BIIAS, PAGE 1
life,” she wrote. “But it is not mine, nor does it belong to my racist neighbors.” Director of Public Safety John Carroll said that the NYPD will make the ultimate determination about how this incident will be identified. “Just because some idiot screams something out their window, it may not be determined to be bias by the police,” Carroll said. “but It’s not my call. It’s the NYPD’s call.” However, Carroll said this does not undermine the severity of how this situation is treated by the university. “Fordham University takes anything, any type of this horrendous, racist action seriously,” he said. “Every time [there has been a possible bias incident], we’ve called in the NYPD. We definitely don’t do that for everything.” In his most recent email, McShane addressed the two bias incidents as well as allegations made by a Fordham student against FUEMS and Public Safety earlier this week and the university’s role in handling these investigations. “I have heard and continue to hear your concerns and frank critiques of University culture and our response to incidents of bias and sexual assault (among others),” McShane said. “If the processes we must follow sometimes seem cumbersome or too slow, they may be, but do not mistake that for indifference. Everyone here wants to get it right.” In response to the discovery of the swastika and white supremacist speech at Lincoln Center, McShane
sent a Nov. 12 email stating that students who act “out their rage and entitlement…never fail to shock and disappoint” him. Calling the actions “a kind of terrorism” he explained to the Fordham community: “The most hopeful explanation would be that the person who committed this act… has a profoundly limited understanding of what they have done.” The symbols have already been removed from the bathroom dispenser on which it was found, according to McShane’s email. The NYPD is still investigating the incident, but declared the swastika, which had been drawn on the inside of a bathroom stall in Lowestein Hall at Lincoln Center, as graffiti. McShane expressed empathy and understanding in his email to the student body. “I cannot convey to you how disappointing such incidents are, not least because I understand the lasting hurt they cause,” Nov. 17 email. “I make no apologies for racism, misogyny, homophobia, nor indeed any kind of bigotry nor act that devalues another person or group.” These incidents come amid protests at other campuses across the country, most notably at the University of Missouri, where two university officials said they would step down after students said racial incidents on campus were not receiving adequate responses. Last week, Claremont McKenna College’s dean of students resigned Thursday amid protests over racial tensions on the campus. Protests were also staged at other colleges and universities, in-
cluding Ithaca College, Smith College, the University of Kansas and Yale University. These recent incidents follow a semester of racial bias and hate crimes at Fordham. There have been two prior bias incidents since the beginning of this academic year, both of which took place in a freshman residence hall on the Rose Hill campus. The first took place in midSeptember when an African-American student notified a resident assistant that a racial slur had been scratched into the door of his room. The NYPD and the Department of Public Safety both responded, according to a university-wide email. NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force assigned detectives to follow up any leads in the case and have been seen in the building by students. “It goes without saying that such behavior is antithetical to the values of Jesuit education,” Public Safety said in an email after first incident, which occurred on Sept. 13. “Such slurs injure not only their intended targets, but the entire Fordham community.” The second incident occurred a week later when a student found “a crude, backwards swastika approximately two inches across” scratched into a stairwell wall in the same residence hall. Adminstrators were notified, as were Public Safety and the NYPD, and the vandalism was classified as a “suspected bias crime.” An update to all students that same day reported that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force deemed the vandalism “to be a non-bias criminal mischief case, pending any new information.” United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC) created an ad-hoc committee following the discovery of the swastika and the white supremacy speech. It will have “the purpose of combating
November 18, 2015
RAM ARCHIVES
McShane responded to recent bias incidents in an email to the community.
these issues and finding tenable solutions,” according to a statement released on Friday, Nov. 13. The committee will be open to various club leaders and members of the Fordham Lincoln Center committee, according to executive president Leighton Magoon, FCLC ’17. “The point is to find a concrete solution,” Magoon said. “And not for just USG [to be] involved.” Students learned of the incident at Lincoln Center from an email from McShane, sent a universitywide email alerting the university of the removal of a swastika and white supremacist speech from a Lowenstein bathroom, Magoon reported from Lincoln Center. McShane referred to the incident as a “kind of terrorism” in his email. “People are angry, but they should be angry,” Magoon said. “This is an incident that should never occur at any campus…we need to take a look at our curriculum and
what is being taught at schools and who is being represented and why it is it that we have a culture that people on campus hear about that and think it’s just a joke and it’s not in fact a joke.” Magoon called the entire Fordham student body to evaluate their role in Fordham’s race relations. Students also protested in a “blackout” held on Friday, Nov. 13 just outside of the Lowenstein Center where the hateful image and reference was found. The protest, organized by students Sinclair Spratley and Lexi McMenamin, both FCLC ’17, allowed students gathered to discuss the difficulties of attending a predominantly white university. The two reported that they derived inspiration for the event from similar protests at schools such as University of Missouri and Yale held about racial incidents. It was attended by over 50 students and almost every college dean in the university.
College Democrats and Republicans Take the Stage FROM INCIDENTS, PAGE 1
“It may actually result in a net increase in the amount of regulations and amount of trade rules established.” “We are giving large multinational corporations the ability to outsource jobs and eliminate the pressures and tariffs that are put on from other countries importing their goods here, we are seeing a loss of industry here in the United States,” explained Rodriguez. Next, in partisan debates, one member of the College Democrats and one member from the College Republicans presented opposing arguments on gun control and student debt in America. Abhinay Govindan represented the Democratic side of the gun control debate, arguing in favor of gun control, while Sebastian Balasov represented the Republican side, arguing against increased gun control. “Statistics show that where there are more guns, there is more violence,” emphasized Govindan, citing studies by Harvard and NYU on gun availability and shootings. “Stricter gun control will prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.” Balasov, on the other hand, claimed that “crimes, illegal guns and mental health” were to blame for gun violence, and that there is “no clear evidence suggesting that taking away guns from law-abiding gun owners will lower US crime rates.” The last debate topic was the re-
duction of student debt in Ameirca. Introducing this topic, Ben St. Clair cited several statistics. “The Federal Reserve estimates that the student loan debt has reached approximately 1.3 trillion dollars and CNN reports that this debt is held by 43 million borrowers,” he explained. “Seven percent of households with student debt owe over 50 thousand dollars, while 58 percent of households owe less than ten thousand dollars.” Democrat Matthew Santucci, GSB ’18, argued for implementing a free public education system mod-
eled after European countries such as Germany and Denmark. Republican Rachel Cole argued that Santucci’s calls for a public education system might be well-intentioned, but ultimately unrealistic. Santucci’s argument was reminiscent of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. “We need to look to Europe in order to have comprehensive reform,” he explained. “Education is a right, it is not a privilege.” He suggested a plan to implement public higher education. “We’re going to decrease the military budget,
appropriating funds from a military budget to an education budget, and there will be a wall street tax in order to help mitigate the expenses.” Cole countered that America could not afford a public higher education system. “If you were to tax the top one percent at 100 percent, that’s only going to give you one trillion dollars,” she asserted, suggesting instead that schools offer online classes to reduce education costs.” “I thought that both sides [made] good points and most of their arguments did come from a place of fact,” commented Adam Hamilton,
ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM
Students attended a debate of the College Republicans and College Democrats in Flom Auditorium on Monday night.
FCRH ’18, one of the democratic debaters. For him, a highlight of the debate was republican Rachel Cole’s argument on student debt. “I think that she was able to assess the problem holistically and see that the debate was not about solving college, but that it was about focusing on student debt,” he added. Sebastian Albrecht, FCRH ’17, president of the Republican Club, remarked, “I think it went well in the sense that we actually had a good conversation between both clubs.” “The problem our club had was that most of our debaters stepped out right before the debate so we had to find replacements right before [the debate],” Albrecht added. An audience member, Elisabeth Finn, FCRH ’17, shared her favorite moment from the debate. “I really liked the TPP discussion because I really liked to see the bipartisanship and I also thought it was wellargued.” “I don’t know that I could determine a clear winner,” she added, in reference to all the debates that night, noting that both sides presented effective arguments. David Balick, FCRH ’17, had similar comments regarding the highlight of the debate. “I thought the TTP one was especially interesting because of the bipartisan factor with both sides defending both points. I thought they both [Republicans and Democrats] did a really good job there.” “I thought it was really even,” he added.
OPINION
November 18, 2015
Page 7
The Fordham Ram
Paris Attacks Call for Greater Vigilance By MATTHEW CALHOUN STAFF WRITER
Friday’s tragic events in Paris dominated the global media for the entire weekend. Within 24 hours of the attacks ISIS claimed responsibility, setting much of the free world into a nervous panic. Though the Paris attacks were not the first by ISIS, they are a milestone. Prior to the Paris massacres, two suicide bombers attacked Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city. The attacks on Paris, however, were the first attacks by ISIS on a scale comparable to what we saw here in America on Sept. 11. Though the Lebanese attacks were a tragedy much like the attacks in Paris, one does not have the same expectation of safety in Lebanon as they would in France. The same can be said comparing Beirut to just about every city in the United States. In fact, the U.S. State Department has advised its citizens to “avoid all travel to Lebanon because of security and safety concerns” for over a decade. The decision by ISIS to attack La Stade de France, the largest stadium in France, ramped up security at professional football stadiums across America this past weekend. What does not make sense, however, is that most of the attention by both the media and law enforcement officials has been focused on the NFL’s 31 professional football stadiums. MetLife Stadium, just outside of New York City, has seen the most See more comment and opinion on the tragedies abroad on page 11
attention as it is the largest stadium in the league by seating capacity and also the only stadium in the NYC tristate area, the nation’s largest population center. The problem with these collegiate stadiums is the significant lack of security in comparison to their much smaller NFL counterparts. Security at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland includes complete full-body patdowns, metal detectors and a ban on any bags larger than 4.5 by 6.5 inches, including purses and backpacks. At Ohio Stadium, which can accommodate 40,000 more visitors than FirstEnergy, no such regulations are in place. Like many other college stadiums, metal detectors are not used and the only real security at the gate includes a quick bag check. Even here in New York, security at college football games is at a disturbing minimum. Fordham’s Jack Coffey Field has virtually no security — all you have to do is flash a Fordham ID card and you are in: no metal detectors, no bag checks, nothing. Though the threat of a tragic event here at Fordham is unlikely, stadiums of all sizes should remain on alert. The same can be said for Columbia University’s Wien Stadium in Manhattan. Despite what the major media has broadcast, some of the more recent terrorist attempts and arrests have been in the heartland and not along the eastern seaboard where security is higher than anywhere. Several threats by ISIS have been made against the city of Chicago, which has even been referred to as “Obama Town” by the extremist group. The Midwest has also been a hot-
COURTSEY OF FLICKR
Muslim hold up signs that say, “Islam is not terrorism,” as a way to tribute the victims of the Paris attacks this weekend.
bed for recent ISIS activity within U.S. borders. On Thursday, the day before the attacks in Beirut and Paris, an American believed to be affiliated with ISIS in Akron, Ohio was arrested by the FBI for providing ISIS with the names and addresses of over 100 United States military personnel. He has also been charged with soliciting murder, or soliciting the “final step” of murder to the American service men and women over the internet on Tumblr and Twitter. Three months ago in nearby North Olmsted, Ohio, Rahman Al-Ghazi, who openly admitted to joining ISIS, was arrested when he attempted to buy an AK-47 assault rifle. After the arrest, the FBI and other authorities raided his home and found firearms as well as drawn-out plans to shoot up a police station and
to cause a collision on The Rapid, Cleveland’s subway system. Authorities also reported that Al-Ghazi was actively recruiting American citizens on behalf of ISIS, though they have not said if any recruits have been identified by law enforcement or if his recruiting was related to the ISIS affiliate arrested last week in Akron. Living in fear would be exactly what the terrorist groups like ISIS want, which is why we cannot give up our ways of life. There is, and should always be, a distinct line between fear and vigilance. The attacks in Paris are a warning sign that we should not limit security to professional sporting events and airports, but any public gathering place where thousands can be contained. As we continue to grieve with our brothers and sisters in France and around the globe, we must also re-
main more alert than ever. The acts of ISIS are unforgivable, and if this is truly the beginning of what they have planned, our time to stop them is: shorter ethan ever. So go to football games, take the subway, go to concerts, travel the globe and most importantly, do all of that without fear. We will never forget Paris like we have never forgotten 9/11, but when we call ourselves Americans we also carry a responsibility to be leaders in the free world, which means not only speaking out and condemning terrorists who threaten our way of life, but also living in vigilance to prevent them from succeeding in any malicious attack, whether it be on us or one of our oldest allies. Matthew Calhoun, GSB ’17, is a finance major from Springboro, Ohio.
Is Social Media Activism Real Activism?
ZACK MIKLOS/THE FORDHAM RAM
Many well-intentioned people share their grievances on Facebook and fail to take any action to stimulate change.
By JACK MURRAY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A quote from Mahatma Gandhi is often paraphrased on bookmarks and bumper stickers as, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Were Gandhi alive in 2015, perhaps the expression would read, “If there is change you wish to see in the world, post about it on Facebook.” Fordham students, at least, seem to think so. Over the past year, reports have appeared in various media outlets alleging problems on Fordham’s campuses rang-
ing from the mismanagement of departments to the mishandling of sexual misconduct cases. Each time an article or blog post of this kind is released, it receives no shortage of “shares” on social media platforms such as Facebook. And while social media is an important and useful tool in the spread of information and ideas, we simply must do more to promote change than copying and pasting a link. There are ways we can do more. Reports such as these should, and often do, outrage us. It is important to recognize and critique an institution’s
shortcomings and injustices, as has been the case at schools such as the University of Missouri or Yale this fall. Surely, the accounts of hardships faced by members of these schools’ student bodies would not have received national attention if it were not for the awareness raised through the use of social media. But students should not just channel their feelings of outrage and other opinions on a topic into a Facebook post and be done with it. This achieves no lasting change, which has been proven as many of these incidents
continue to occur, like the racial bias incidents for example. If all we do is share a piece on Facebook, add a few sentences as a comment and then move on with our lives, what have we really accomplished? It feels like social media and the Internet have made us a generation of passive activists.This issue spans far beyond Fordham’s gates. In response to the terror attacks that afflicted Paris last week, many Facebook users superimposed the French flag over their profile pictures. While I would never question the good intentions of these people (many of whom I consider dear friends), I would hope they also looked into tangible ways of helping the French people — in actions that go beyond the sphere of the Internet. For example, donating to the Red Cross or a writing note to a friend living abroad are two personal and meaningful ways of contributing. Those who go so far to better their world and society should be commended. Here at Fordham, it can, at times, be hard to believe one’s voice actually has the potential to be heard by university administrators. Nonetheless, there are concrete structures in place to voice opinions about campus issues that concern us as students. After reading a news article, op-ed or
blog post and sharing it with others on social media, why not take action in some way that could actually stimulate change on our campus? There are several ways you could attempt to take further steps to promote change. Write an email to the department head who oversees the issue. Talk to a USG representative and ask him or her to consider taking it up as one of his or her initiatives. Or why not attend a Student Life Council meeting, a forum that is held monthly and solicits public agenda items? There is even free lunch. Students at Fordham University are capable of influencing real change on our campus. It is time that we actually use our voices to enact real change instead of just talking about our frustrations on Facebook. In order to act as true men and women for others, it is imperative that we do more than simply voice our discontent through social media. The next time a troubling issue arises, I encourage you to ask yourself what you can do to truly be that change you wish to see — on campus or in the world. Stick to that issue and continue to see it through. Jack Murray, FCRH ’16, is a communication and media studies major from Woodstock, Illinois.
OPINION
Page 8
R
From the Desk | Katie Meyer
Reaching Toward the Ideal
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 10,000. The Fordham Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.
FordhamRam.com Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Executive: (718) 817-4380 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458
Editor-in-Chief Joe Vitale Managing Editor Katie Meyer Copy Chief Robert Frerich Assistant Copy Chief Sydney Keen News Editor Laura Sanicola Assistant News Editors Erin Shanahan Cailin McKenna Opinion Editor Margarita Artoglou Assistant Opinion Editor Kristen Santer Culture Editors Nicole Horton Amanda Giglio Sports Editor Anthony Pucik Assistant Sports Editors Sam Belden Drew Casey Photo Editor Zack Miklos Assistant Photo Editors Casey Chun Caroline LeBranti Digital Editors Blaine Kaniewski Anna Carey Ellie Bruckner
Editorial Page Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial and ramblings topics are selected on a weekly basis and reflect the editorial board’s view on a campus issue.
Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram appreciates submissions to fordhamramletters@ gmail.com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. 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.
November 18, 2015
After this issue of The Fordham Ram goes to print, I’ll be one newspaper shy from the end of my official tenure as an editor. For me, and for The Ram’s other graduating seniors, this marks the near-end of an era. It means the end of late Tuesday nights in McGinley basement. The end of the mad rush to finish last-minute articles. The end of the (losing) battle against our office’s hopelessly stubborn printer. The end of wracking my brain at three in the morning for a perfect headline. The end of looking at a fresh stack of copies of The Fordham Ram on Wednesday afternoon and thinking, with satisfaction, I made that. I have been an editor at The Fordham Ram since the winter of 2013 — close to three years from today. I am incredibly proud of the work my co-editors and I have done in that short period of time. It has sometimes been frustrating, it has often been tiring, and God knows I have spent more hours in the McGinley basement than I care to count. But it has always, always been worth it. And that is primarily because of the incredible amount these three years have taught me, both about being a journalist and about interpreting the world in all its complexities through writing. So I ask myself, what has come of those years, those dozens of articles and the endless interviews, meetings, hastily scratched notes and frantic emails? What have I learned from all this? Every time
I ponder that question, I keep coming back to one basic lesson: I have learned how to find the truth. It sounds counterintuitive to say that different people have different truths. The truth should stand apart, absolute and immutable. But I challenge you to interview a student activist and then a school administrator on the same issue, and say that they don’t both have a valid point. The truth is never a single account, but an amalgamation. To find it is to weigh facts and feelings and implications, to evaluate biases and motivations, and while doing this, above all, to stay impartial. This lesson is one I believe can also apply and indeed should apply to all aspects of life beyond the world of journalism, because it is becoming harder and harder to decide the truth for ourselves. In today’s media landscape, there is more available content than with which we know what to do. It bombards us, coming at us in the form of headlines, snappy quotes and pictures that jump out at us as we scroll habitually through our Facebook and Twitter feeds. It is easy to believe, when exposed to this volume of information, that we are learning more, absorbing more and educating ourselves about the world. But often, we are simply forming opinions based on too little information. It is well-known that our social media feeds are tailored to
our specific interests, based on our prior activity and proven preferences. By virtue of algorithms choosing much of our content for us, we are inundated with viewpoints with which we already agree, and it becomes far too easy to become complacent in our views. Instead of forming our own opinions, we fall in line with dominant rhetoric and neglect the other side of the coin. Rhetoric, however well-intentioned, is rarely balanced. To counter this reality, we must consciously and consistently seek to learn more, to see the entire picture. We should aim to reject vitriol and indignation and partisanship. No situation, unfortunately, is ever black and white, and if something ever seems outrageously wrong, pause and look further before making a judgement. The world is never quite as crazy as the headlines make it seem. This is a simple concept, but one that I have had to constantly keep in mind during these last three years. In that time, I have striven to report both insightfully and accurately, and I can only hope that I have succeeded in becoming a reasonably qualified journalist. But any achievement I have made or lesson I have learned, was not mine alone; I cannot end this article without thanking some of the people who have been so essential in my time on The Fordham Ram. First, I want to thank Kelly
Kultys, who graduated last year and is already doing incredible work reporting in Virginia. Kelly is the first editor I ever had, and was the first to show me what it means to be a journalist. I want to thank Laura Sanicola, The Fordham Ram’s current, incredible news editor, and one of the first assistants I ever had. I have watched her grow from an inexperienced freshman to a force to be reckoned with, and I learn from her work every day. I also want to thank two members of our editorial board, Chip Frerich and Sydney Keen, who, whether they know it or not, keep me sane. And finally (although there are many, many others who deserve thanks as well) thank you to our editor-in-chief, Joe Vitale. I have worked with him for all of my three years on staff, and together we have spent many egregiously late, sleep-deprived nights making sure we, The Fordham Ram, get it right. This may not always happen, but we will never, never stop reaching for that ideal.
Editorial | Global Affairs
Dangerous Rhetoric on Refugees After the deadly ISIS attacks in Paris, Beirut, and elsewhere, many American politicians — many of them Republicans — quickly strengthened their opposition to allowing Syrian refugees into the U.S. “There is no way that we can put any of our people at risk by bringing people in at this point,” said John Kasich, Ohio Governor and current Republican presidential candidate. Marco Rubio, a Republican senator and presidential candidate, said, “The problem is, we can’t background-check them. You can’t pick up the phone and call Syria, and that’s one of the reasons why I’ve said we won’t be able to take more refugees. It’s not that we don’t want to, it’s that we can’t.” “Our nation has always been welcoming,” said Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, at a news conference. “But we cannot allow terrorists to take advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it is better to be safe than to be sorry.” Governors of several states echoed the sentiments of the politicians.
“I’m not interested in accepting refugees from Syria,” said Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a Republican. Governor Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, a Democrat, pressed the president’s administration to stop taking in Syrian refugees until the federal vetting procedures for all refugees are “as strong as possible.” Donald Trump, in his typical nationalist rhetoric, called for more scrutiny of mosques on American soil. Saying that the possibility of shutting down mosques should be “studied,” he recently said on MSNBC. Trump continued: “I would hate to do it but it’s something that you’re going to have to strongly consider because some of the ideas and some of the hatred, the absolute hatred, is coming from these areas.” Some of the comments echoed the anti-Muslim and anti-immigration ravaging European nations. Following the attacks, many countries, like Poland, have heightened efforts to either block or divert refugees, and American politicians are beginning to mirror the cries of some European
nations. In recent days, President Obama has been an exemplary voice on this issue, offering some counterpoints to the objections of those on the right. “When I hear political leaders suggesting that there would be a religious test for which a person who’s fleeing from a war-torn country is admitted, when some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution — that’s shameful,” President Obama said. The president, who is leading a plan to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria, recently made the obvious point that the refugees are innocent victims of civil war. “Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values. Our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and ensure our own security. We can and must do both,” President Obama said. Indeed, Democrats have reiterated that they were not stepping away from the plan with many adding that there are many measures in place to screen those coming to America’s shores.
“We should continue to accept refugees under the rigorous standards that have been set up,” Robert Menendez, senator from New Jersey, said. The fear-mongering of politicians is steering the nation and its people in the wrong direction, and is perpetuating the false idea that Muslim people are dangerous and require surveillance. It is both dangerous and wrong to say that the victims of Syrian’s bloody civil war do not deserve help and, if there is a substantial and thorough vetting process that screens refugees for prior activity, America must take action on this front and do its part. America is a country built by immigrants — many of whom helped the nation grow through the past two centuries. Study after study shows that immigrants are what help America continue to be a great nation. This crisis is not going away any time soon and, as Bernie Sanders noted, it is our moral obligation to aid other countries in relieving the suffering of those who are fleeing terrorism. In order to be on the right side of history, we should act now.
OPINION
November 18, 2015
Page 9
Fordham Continues to Battle Racism By NICOLE FIORICA STAFF WRITER
The students of the University of Missouri made headlines this week as they demanded the resignation of the university’s president — and won. This student movement was the response to a number of racial incidents on campus over the past several months, including the student body president and other student groups being the target of racial slurs, as well as a swastika found written in feces in a residence hall. These combined with the removal of Planned Parenthood services from Mizzou’s campus and the elimination of health-care benefits for graduate students, left the student body bursting with anger toward an administration that they felt was not listening to their needs. Activist group #ConcernedStudent1950 demanded more action from University President Tim Wolfe, but felt as though their requests were not met with appropriate action. Then, graduate student Jonathan Butler started a hunger strike, announcing that he would not eat until the students’ concerns were taken seriously, and his fellow students protested in solidarity. However, it was not until Nov. 7, when Mizzou football players announced that they were boycotting all practices and games until Wolfe resigned as President with their coaches expressing support for their cause, that the campus saw actual change. Two days later, President Wolfe, as well as campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, resigned. This is a win for the students at the University of Missouri, but barely. It escapes no one’s attention that if the University of Missouri’s football team had to cancel its next game
COURTESY OF FLICKR
University of Missouri students recently demanded the president’s resignation.
against Brigham Young, it would have cost them $1 million. The fact that this was ultimately what forced Wolfe to step down reflects poorly on the administration’s values, although kudos should be extended to the football team for knowing how to press the right buttons to get the administration’s attention. Even still, the day after Wolfe and Loftin’s resignations, another incident occurred, this time with two threats made against the lives of Mizzou’s black students through Yik Yak. Arrests were made, but the impact of yet another act of racism on Mizzou’s campus has left its mark, and ongoing dialogue between students and administrators is sure to continue — hopefully, with more success this time. Of course, the University of Missouri is not the only college in America dealing with racism, as Fordham students know full well. Fordham itself has had a number of bias incidents this year, from racial slurs to, most recently, a swastika found inside a bathroom stall. In response,
Fordham University President Father Joseph McShane, S.J. sent out an email to students referring to the incident as “a kind of terrorism” and stating that Fordham Public Safety was investigating the matter, and that the NYPD had been notified. It is important to have a college administration that leads by example, one that makes it clear that racism is never going to be tolerated on campus. Fr. McShane’s statement conveyed that message clearly. At the same time, it is not hard to feel as though little is actually going to come of Public Safety’s investigation. This email may provide some initial comfort, but it does not ultimately solve Fordham’s racism problem. On Friday, Fordham Lincoln Center hosted a blackout to stand in solidarity with Mizzou. This semester, Fordham student organizations including ASILI, PSJ: Women’s Empowerment and JSO, have already sponsored events from dialogues to sit-ins in order to raise awareness about racism on campus and to dis-
cuss ways to make campus safer for all of its students. So while Fordham is not making the same kinds of national headlines as the students at Mizzou, there is a definite feeling on campus that its students care about the kind environment they want to create on campus. This is a good start, but the movement cannot simply end there. There needs to be a more concrete way to demonstrate how little the Fordham community tolerates these kinds of racist and biased incidents. Students need to see some kind of definitive action that goes beyond words or an email, because otherwise, these incidents of hatred and ignorance are going to keep happening. It is going to take a lot of teamwork between students and the administration to incite some kind of positive change in campus culture, both here at Fordham and at the University of Missouri, although there are plenty of other campuses in America that are dealing with these same issues. What looks like an isolated incident at one or two colleges is actually a reflection of a pervasive problem happening across the country, acts of racism in a country that thinks racism is over. Racism still exists. The forms of aggression that keep students from feeling safe on their own campuses are unacceptable, but they will continue if schools do not keep fighting for every voice to be heard. Mizzou got its president to step down, but that will not solve its problems unless it keeps pushing. Here at Fordham, we, too, have to keep pushing. Nicole Fiorica, FCRH ’17, is a communication and media studies major from Westwood, New Jersey.
Should Fordham Have a New President?
COURTESY OF FLICKR
Former University of Missouri President Timothy Wolfe resigned amid racial tensions and relations problems.
By CATE CARREJO OPINION COLUMNIST
In the wake of Fordham’s most recent student scandals, the open letter to FUEMS and Public Safety that has been shared over 4,000 times online and the racist chants heard at an offcampus house, the Fordham community has received yet another email from the university President shaming those responsible and promising change. I am left wondering if Father McShane’s actions are sufficient in a university community that seems to be falling apart. I keep comparing Fordham’s situation to two separate incidents that have occurred at universities this year. In the aftermath of a possible
racial bias incident at the University of Delaware in September, acting university President Nancy Targett posted a YouTube video inviting the student body to participate in a talkback session about racial diversity and tolerance on campus. It is a huge juxtaposition to the teeth pulling that the Fordham administration requires before any attempt to connect with student issues. The recent ousting of the Mizzou president by the student activist society, Concerned Student 1950 also has strong parallels to our situation at Fordham. There has been massive criticism for that movement, but ultimately the students were expressing disapproval with the lack of action
and reasonably utilized the power available to them to affect the change they wanted to see at their school. The students were unsatisfied and affected change within the system and now hope that President Tim Wolfe’s replacement will more effectively tackle the persistent problem of racism in the University of Missouri system. Let me make this especially clear: I am not calling for Father McShane to step down as university president. But in my experience, a Father McShane sighting is like seeing a double rainbow. He is not a visible presence on either the Rose Hill or Lincoln Center campus and I do not feel that there is a clear sense of leadership on
our campus. A university president that is barely present at the university is oxymoronic and inefficient and the effects seem to be showing. In our especially unique dual campus set-up and divisive partisan college structure, Fordham might need more involved, active administrative leaders to unite the school in this stressful time. As Fordham students, it is our responsibility to advocate for the change we want at this school. We cannot take any more of these bias incidents — they are destroying our sense of community and our reputation as a school. If we want to promote this university as a welcoming, diverse and intellectual community, these incidents cannot continue to occur every few weeks. We are tied to this school for the rest of our lives and it is in our own best interest to see that this culture of passive racism is eliminated as swiftly as possible. The current administrative strategy of sending reactionary emails after a degrading and disappointing event does not seem to be cutting it. We certainly need a new, more aggressive strategy for combating this problem and if part of that strategy means a new university president, I will welcome that change. Cate Carrejo, FCRH ’17, is a communication and media studies major from Houston, Texas.
Kathryn Wolper Fast Food’s Transition to Sustainability This week, Taco Bell announced its plans to transition to using only cage-free eggs by the end of 2016, according to CBS News. Furthermore, the fast food chain plans to source its ingredients more sustainably and produce it through healthier procedures. These efforts include eliminating artificial colors, added trans fats and high fructose corn syrup, and also using only responsibly harvested palm oil. Such efforts represent a recent trend among fast food restaurants. Many restaurants are choosing to use fewer processed ingredients and be more transparent about their production processes. This trend seems to be a product of the success of Chipotle, which has used its sustainable ingredients as a marketing strategy. Chipotle responded to public concerns about where food comes from by being forthcoming about its sourcing, and now other restaurants seem to be responding to Chipotle’s success. Panera, McDonald’s, Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts have all committed themselves to using responsibly-sourced ingredients. However, these transitions away from processed, cost-effective ingredients comes at a cost. For example, Chipotle had to temporarily close some of its restaurants in the wake of an E. coli outbreak as a result of their sourcing methods. For Taco Bell, using cage-free eggs will be more expensive. Nevertheless, sustainable sourcing, no matter the immediate cost, is worthwhile in the long run by the nature of what it means to live sustainably. Corporate efforts to promote and espouse sustainable practices go further than individual, personal or even small business efforts. The transition to transparency in food sourcing for fast food chains is encouraging, but it marks little substantial change as long as it is used as a marketing ploy. Panera has leveraged its responsible sourcing efforts as part of an advertising campaign that romanticizes foods through advertisements that feature suggestions about what food “should be” coupled with images of happy teens, smiling toddlers and a solitary farmer tending lettuce. Chains are playing into the almost romantic value of whole foods. However, it remains unclear whether the change in sourcing for fast food chains will improve the nutritional value or taste of the food. Fast food chains must weigh the costs and benefits of using more expensive ingredients. Surely, efforts to operate more sustainably will impress the public and possibly help sales, but I doubt the efficacy of the efforts to attract customers who do not already frequent fast food chains.
OPINION
Page 10
November 18, 2015
Michael Byrne Modern ‘Educayshun’
COURTESY OF FLICKR
Millenials will have to put even more effort into saving for retirement if they want to retire at a reasonable age.
Who’s to Blame for Our Late Retirement? By LILY VESEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Current college graduates face a predicted retirement age approximately three years younger than the average life expectancy in the United States. This October, Nerdwallet, a financial statistics website, published a report predicting the average retirement age for millennials to be 75 (compared with the current average retirement age of 62). Contributing factors include record levels of student debt upon graduation, now averaging over $35,000, as well as record high rent prices (particularly in urban areas) and expensive health care. Most importantly, however, this prediction reflects the depleting funds in the United States’ Social Security Trust Fund. Government-distributed retirement funds in the United States are currently running severely low. According to an annual report released earlier this year by the Social Security Board of Trustees, the trust funds used to help pay both disability and old age benefits are predicted to run out by 2034. Why such gloomy predictions? As a start, our current demographic situation sets the stage for a social security distribution challenge. The Baby Boomer generation, the largest generation that this country has ever seen, is reaching retirement. This results in a greater amount of money allocated from the Social Security Trust Fund. Basically, we have a finite level
of Social Security funds and the largest percentage of retiring people who need it that this country has ever seen. The possibility of depletion of Social Security funds points to a greater issue in the United States: the fact that, despite the incredible quantity of wealth in this country, the United States government has no way of providing a decent standard of living for its citizens. Now, many of us are even expected to work almost our entire lives just to have enough food and shelter. Why do we have this problem? It is simple. Capitalism is just not set up to provide for the lowest members on the economic ladder. Critics of the social welfare and social security systems in America’s capitalist society have long called for increased taxing on the rich, the redistribution of government spending and other such reforms to allow more money for social welfare systems such as the Social Security Trust Fund. Considering we currently face a depletion of Social Security benefits on top of a retirement age of 75, these critics of the system are starting to make a whole lot of sense. Other countries, namely social welfare systems such as Denmark or Sweden’s, successfully guarantee their citizens a feasible retirement age and decent standard of living which includes universal healthcare. There is no acceptable explanation for why this is not possible in the United States, a country where, in 2013, the richest three percent
of American families owned 54 percent of the nation’s wealth and where in 2014, the richest 400 Americans had a combined net worth of about $5.7 trillion. In Scandinavian countries, there is a more equitable distribution of wealth. People pay higher taxes, which are then used to make sure that there is a decent minimum standard of living for all their citizens. Those who argue against social welfare believe that the United States’ wealth inequality is justified because it is a free country where everyone has the opportunity to sell their goods and services in an open market. They argue that Americans have the individual responsibility to provide for themselves and their families, and would argue that, if they do not want to work until they are 75, they need to either save and invest more money or spend less. However, this argument founded on the concept of the now quite mythical “American Dream” simply does not hold in a country where, for many, “the American Dream has become a nightmare,” as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders puts it. It is a simple fact that despite living in a free market economy, American citizens do not all have access to the same opportunities and resources necessary to support a decent standard of living. If rich Americans really paid their share and were not able to avoid paying taxes as they are now due to tax policy loopholes, there would be more money go-
ing into the social welfare system and therefore more social security funds — perhaps enough to ensure that we would not have to face “running out.” As much as people will argue against socialist governing systems, such systems will never face a problem like a retirement age of 75, because they were built to avoid such a dilemma. On a more positive note, with Bernie Sanders gathering votes on the Democratic side of the 2016 presidential election, America might be heading in a more socialist direction. There is a massive and growing disparity of wealth in this country and those who will have to work until they are 75 will likely be those on the lower side of the economic scale, perpetuating this inequality. I believe that a predicted retirement age of 75 stems from a much deeper problem plaguing America’s current governing system — the rich not paying their share and the poor not getting what they need to live a decent life. In a country where just last year, the richest one percent of citizens owned 48 percent of America’s wealth, it is incomprehensible that any citizen in this country should have to work until age 75 to support a decent life. To avoid facing consequences such as this one, we must begin by distributing wealth more equally in this country. Lily Vesel, FCRH ’18, is a psychology major from Florence, Massachusetts.
Send all feedback and comments to fordhamramopinions@gmail.com
Political correctness — the idea that one should avoid forms of expression that could potentially offend — will destroy the education system. At least, this is the claim that a new viral video, “Modern Educayshun,” makes. In it, a politically correct teacher and her students focus more on making sure marginalized people feel comfortable and safe instead of on academics. Although, if creator-comedian Neel Kolhatkar were describing the video, he would probably put air quotes around “marginalized” and talk about how minorities actually have an advantage because the public awards them for simply being minorities. The message seems to resonate with many, as the short film has gained about two million views and has an overwhelming majority of “likes” on YouTube. Everything in the video is misguided, from the laughably heavyhanded title, to the actors who ham it up to create caricatures of politically correct individuals, to a questionable metaphor (those who do not go along with PC culture are locked in a box). In the video, political correctness runs rampant and distorts the facts, which is illustrated when the correct answer to the problem “three times three” turns out to be “gender equality”. To Kolhatkar, it is only a matter of time before society becomes a bleak dystopia where students are robotic and spew meaningless PC phrases. The video ends up being neither funny nor insightful. Kolhatkar tries to use a humorous lens to uncover what he sees as the absurdity of political correctness, but it turns out to be nothing more than a stale and shallow condemnation of culture. “Modern Educayshun” makes the argument that political correctness is bad, no exceptions. It makes an interesting observation about the hostility of PC culture but remains one-sided. To Kolhatkar, political correctness is unprovoked. He acts as if it is just some trend that allows young people to do what they love most: whine. He fails to acknowledge that many young people want a shift in culture because there are legitimate problems. Racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, etc. are not just unsupported “liberal buzzwords.” They are real issues ingrained in our language and society that deserve proper attention. PC culture deserves a better analysis than Kolhatkar and many others give it. This season of “South Park,” a show often regarded as politically incorrect, has done an excellent job of examining the possible shortcomings of PC culture while still recognizing its merit and understanding that it is a response to a culture of genuine intolerance. The idea that political correctness somehow takes away from standard education is preposterous and completely unsubstantiated. There was even a study done at Cornell that concluded political correctness fosters more communication and productivity. The problem with “Modern Educayshun” is that it feels like Kolhatkar stopped trying to be an artist/comedian and started trying to be a political pundit.
November 18, 2015
OPINION
Responses to the Paris Attacks
Page 11
Instead of Compassion, Islamaphobia and Opportunism By MARIA DECASPER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Friday Nov. 13, hundreds of people gathered in cafes, bars, bistros and concert venues across Paris for what was supposed to be a typical night out. Instead, 129 people lost their lives when several terrorists carried out vicious attacks around the city. Within 24 hours, ISIS, the jihadist extremist terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the horrific act of terror. In this tragic time, people from across the world showed their support and compassion to the citizens of France. However, the United States distinguished itself among others, not for its compassion, but for the Islamophobic and opportunistic opinions voiced by many American politicians and media outlets. Rather than simply condemning a terrorist organization for these horrific deeds, many Americans chose to direct their anger
toward all Muslims, making no distinction between the extremist terrorist group and regular individuals of Muslim faith. Some politicians and news outlets went as far as to blame Syrian refugees for the attack, despite ISIS being one of the main reasons many of these people had to flee their homes. Furthermore, some American politicians chose to capitalize on the tragedy, and use it to promote their campaigns and political agendas. Among the most reactionary statements were those by Newt Gingrich who tweeted, “Imagine a theater with 10 or 15 citizens with concealed carry permits.” and Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina who tweeted, “How’s that Syrian refugee resettlement look now? How about that mass migration into Europe? Terrorism is alive & well in the world. #No”. Gingrich and Duncan are only two among many politicians who chose to warp human tragedy for public attention. The backlash from the French was
almost instantaneous. French politicians, journalists and regular citizens alike condemned these statements, with the French Ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud, even calling Donald Trump a “vulture.” However, the backlash from Americans was mixed in with support. Unfortunately, many people in our country felt that these Islamophobic and opportunistic statements by our politicians rang true. And that is a real problem. The high level of support for Islamophobic statements in a country as diverse as the United States is not only morally reprehensible, but also worrisome. By declaring war on all Muslims, American citizens are declaring war on fellow Americans. Already, threats against the lives of Muslim and non-white Americans are flooding Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets. Some of these tweets blatantly call for mass murder. Despite this, media and politicians are hesitant to label these statements as threats of
terrorism. Moreover, there are many people who support these statements. It is bewildering to think that a country divided by such hatred and bigotry can defeat ISIS. Moreover, this hatred only gives ISIS recruiters more material to work with. Islamic extremists want all Muslims to feel threatened and unsafe, because that makes it easier to convince people to support ISIS’s cause and embrace violence and ISIS’ quest for world domination. Islamophobia is advantageous to ISIS because it helps them convince people that joining the terrorist organization is their only way of survival. In this time of deep unrest across the world, with lives being lost in staggering quantities in places as far apart as Kenya, Beirut and France, it is necessary for people to stand together as a united front against terrorism. In order to fight terrorism, the United States must focus its efforts on eliminating prejudice and hatred. Otherwise, terrorism will permeate
our news for decades to come. Most importantly, Americans must hold their media outlets and representatives accountable for these statements. It is horrible to think that people who explicitly hate and discriminate against others based on their religion govern our country, and that news outlets that are supposed to accurately inform people equate all Muslims with ISIS, which is akin to equating all Christians to the Westboro Baptist Church. That stands against everything our country is built on and it is simply unconstitutional. The United States cannot afford to fall into Islamophobia. Generalizing all Muslims as Islamic extremists will not “wake up” our country nor help defeat ISIS and Al-Kaeda; rather, it will only further the divisions in our country, and consequently make it weaker. Maria DeCasper, FCRH ’17, is a philosophy major from Miami, Florida.
Terrorist Attacks Call for Further Dialogue on Islam By BENEDICT CARRIZZO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last Friday, the Islamic State (ISIS) devastated the world by carrying out mass killings at several locations in Paris. More than 120 people are dead and over 350 are injured because of the sinister actions of a death cult, and (because terrorist attacks have become such a widespread occurrence, the action does not surprise me) ISIS sympathizers tweeted in glee. This is what many apologists seem to overlook. In an effort to defend mainstream Islam, pundits like Reza Aslan will state that only seven percent of Muslims are terrorists, but this does not account for the Islamists — people who yearn for a worldwide Caliphate State and justify suicide bombing when Islam is perceived as “under attack.”
There is a well-known noisemaker by the name of Anjem Chowdry in England. This man strives to see the flag of Islam hanging over Buckingham Palace, and his organization Islam4UK advocates the implementation of Sharia law in Britain. Thankfully, many British Muslims see him as a joke, and many have denounced him as a part of extremist ideology. It is essential, however, to realize that he is not part of a fringe. Anjem Chowdry is part of a minority, yes, but it is too substantial of a minority to dismiss as a crazy fringe. A Pew Poll survey entitled The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics, and Society explains this, saying, “while the vast majority of Muslims in most countries say suicide bombing is rarely or never justified to defend Islam against its enemies, substantial minorities in a few countries consider such violence justifiable in at
least some circumstances.” Of course, many, many, many Muslims are good, law-abiding people — however, 17 percent of Turkish Muslims and 18 percent of Indonesian Muslims believe that the punishment for apostasy should be death. Moreover, among Muslims who believe that Sharia law should be the law of the land, 43 percent of Turkish Muslims and 50 percent of Indonesian Muslims believe that it should apply to non-Muslims. I choose these countries purposely because they are the supposed bastions of liberal democracy that so many apologists love to mention, and I encourage anyone to inquire deeper into this comprehensive study. Of course, there are numerous discrepancies within Islam on how Sharia law is or can be imposed, and I cannot reduce it, as so many critics have, to a penal code. Nevertheless, these fundamentalist ideas — the stoning
of adulterers, the death penalty for apostates and the cutting off hands and feet of thieves — are what sustains extremist ideology. I want this to be a wake-up call for liberals who want to pretend there is not a problem and conservatives who want to overstate it. I want to foster dialogue within the Fordham community on beliefs and their consequences, foreign policy success stories and errors and comprehensive ways to combat Islamic extremism. In recent years, because of the political correctness of our college campuses, critics like ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali and feminist Asra Nomani are disinvited from campuses like UC Berkeley. You may disagree with them, yes, but do not silence them. I am writing this article not to convince anyone reading it that my views are right, but as a clamor for dialogue. We need the Ayaan
Hirsi’s of the world, the Reza Aslan’s of the world, the Maajid Nawaz’s of the world — everyone from all sides of the issue — to come together, state their cases and come to common ground. I stated my case, but there needs to be no more argumentation; we need dialogue. Even as a white male nonbeliever, I too am offended whenever a Mosque is destroyed or when a hospital is bombed or when a concert hall is stormed. I am curious to know what everyone else thinks. We need to start a trending, inclusive dialogue from all sides of the conversation to make sure a Paristype massacre never happens again.
Benedict Carrizzo, FCRH ’18, is a communications and media studies and English double major from Kings Park, New York.
Are you full of fiery political opinions? Write for the Opinion Section! Email us at fordhamramopinions@gmail.com to find out how.
Page 12
ADVERTISEMENT
November 18, 2015
Interested in Being a ... Photo Editor? Graphic Designer? Web Editor? Social Media Editor?
Apply to Volume 98 of The Fordham Ram Send an application to managingeditor@fordhamram.com Find applications at fordhamram.com/volume-98/
November 18, 2015
CULTURE
Page 13
The Fordham Ram
Expressions Showcases Powerful Creativity By ELIZABETH SMISLOVA STAFF WRITER
Arguably one of Fordham’s most appealing attributes is its support of all the exercises of the human physical person and intellectual mind — yet, until 2001, there were no Fordham Rose Hill dance ensembles. Angela Paparone, GSB ’04, saw the deficit and created the Expressions Dance Alliance to bring the powerful creative outlet and beauty that comes from dance to her home at Fordham. Expressions’ allure comes not only from the dancers’ impressive talent, but from being completely studentrun. The Expressions’ Facebook page claims that, “The Company maintains its original mission by providing dancers the opportunity to bring together their eclectic backgrounds in styles and techniques of dance to produce and perform completely original choreography.” This inclusive statement shows that Expressions’ members stretch the boundaries of their vision and physical ability, while taking complete control of both in order to provide grace for themselves and others. Katherine Kelly, president-elect of Expressions, said, “Being a part of Expressions is undeniably [her] favorite thing about Fordham” and that they “always joke around that [they] are Fordham’s only sorority.” The glimpses given to the eager public of Fordham’s tight knit and hardworking group are during its semi-annual showcases (one in the fall, one in the spring) and at the Satin Dolls, Ramblers and B-
COURTESY OF KATHERINE KELLY
Expressions Dance Alliance is a tight knit group of dancers that perform at Fordham events and hold open classes for students.
Sides’ shows. They also perform in school fundraisers and events like ASILI’S Taste the World, Fordham Dance Marathon and Up ’Til Dawn. Each performance keeps audience members on the edge of their seats because no one knows what will come next. Dance styles include, but are not limited to, jazz, contemporary, tap, ballet, hip hop, modern, musical theatre and Bollywood. With such an extensive repertoire, it comes as no surprise that Expressions is the only Fordham dance organization that incorporates virtually every style of dance.
Stunning performances, however, can only come from extensive practice. Rehearsals are held Sunday through Thursday in Keating B23 — Expressions’ “beloved home,” says Kelly. She explains that, “Each dance for the show is allotted an hour rehearsal time each week. The choreography of the dance facilitates that rehearsal. Not everyone is in the same dances, so rehearsal times for each member vary, except for Sundays. On Sundays, we have a short company meeting, followed by a one hour stretch and warm-up for the whole company, followed by a two hour
company rehearsal for the company dances.” Spots in such a talented and intimate group are coveted, but in order to maintain the skill and keep up with the many practices, auditions are competitive. They are held at the beginning of every fall and spring semester and attract roughly 40 to 50 girls. Only three to five dancers who audition are chosen to join Expressions each year. However, to experience the benefits of dance without the commitment or audition, Expressions does hold classes open to the Fordham community on Mondays
and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. in Keating B23. The classes will not be held this week because of the upcoming showcase, but they will resume after. Kelly notes that, “Almost all of the dancers on Expressions come from competitive dance backgrounds, like a studio’s competition team or competitive high school dance team.” The bond of a shared, intense passion for dance makes Expressions a special and tight-knit groups of girls. “We spend so much time together that it is inevitable that we become such good friends outside and inside the studio (we actually are such good friends that a lot of us live together),” says Kelly. The group also has an executive board with a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicist and Events Coordinator (and President and VP-elect depending on which semester). While the board keeps things organized and well run, Kelly says, “There is no apparent sense of hierarchy. Everyone is encouraged to share their ideas and participate in everything.” To get a taste of one of Fordham’s most impressive dance ensembles, their semi-annual showcase, “Expressions Presents: GOLD,” is this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21, at 8 p.m. in Collins Auditorium. The shows are about an hour to an hour-and-a-half long, including special performances by the Satin Dolls and Ramblers. Tickets are $3 with student ID and $8 for the public. The showcase will include everything the dancers have been working on this semester.
Assessing Power, and Those Who Have It By MEGAN BRONNER STAFF WRITER
Recently, Forbes came out with its annual list of “73 of the World’s Most Powerful People.” It came as no surprise that the list was filled with various heads of state and other influencers of world politics and economics, along with famous philanthropists and entrepreneurs. Essentially, the amount of power each person on the list has was determined by four factors. The first consideration was the power he or she has over people, meaning the larger the group, the more power he or she has. The second consideration was based on each person’s financial resources, which meant different things for different people, like how much his or her businesses were worth or how high his or her country’s GDP is. The third consideration was in how many areas his or her power was exerted; for Forbes, one area is not enough. The last consideration assessed how much the candidates actually used their power. You may be wondering who Forbes listed as the most powerful person in the world, and perhaps
to your surprise the Russian President Vladimir Putin. How could someone like President Putin who is viewed by America and Europe negatively, be number one on the list? According to Forbes it is because Putin is able to get away with what he wants. His approval rating in Russia is at 89 percent, even though Russia is in a recession. He has also helped increase Russian power abroad. However, should Putin’s negative image influence the amount of his worldwide power? It does not affect his approval domestically, but perhaps he is not as powerful as he could be considering how other nations, particularly the U.S. thinks of Putin. Therefore, there has been some social media backlash against naming Putin the world’s most powerful person since he is not typically considered the world’s best person. But, according to Forbes, that is not what it is measuring. Putin has been named the most powerful person for the third year in a row. Another common complaint on social media includes the lack of diversity on the list. For instance, there are only two black men, and no black women on the list. Presi-
COURTESY OF AP
President Vladimir Putin topped Forbes most powerful list for a third consecutive year.
dent Obama, who was number three on the list, and the other was the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, who came in at 71 on the list. It also should be noted that there are only nine women on the list out of 73 in total. However, the second most powerful person on the list is Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. According to Forbes she
is the backbone of the European Union, as she is known for being the decision-maker for certain European policies. It is important to think about this list in regards to its cultural relevance. Most people know that these people have a lot of power, but is the way in which it is measured equal? For instance, should gender
and ethnicity be considered when taking into account the individual’s amount of power? Forbes wrote that these rankings considered people from all walks of life. However, it appears that there are only three main areas that those listed come from: Asia, the Middle East and the West, including Europe and America. Therefore, perhaps this list is relevant because in the coming years, we will be able to see if there is an increase in diversity on the list. Overall, there are some surprising additions. Donald Trump made it to number 72 on the list; even Forbes wanted to know if Trump should have been on the list at all. Perhaps another purpose of this list is to start a discussion on who should or should not be included on the list and the problems that the formula used to judge people’s power might have. It could also start a discussion on the type of people who are on this list. Should there actually be more diversity, or are these really just the most powerful people? However, it is clear that there are problems with the list and there still needs to be strides made to include more women, people of color and people of different backgrounds.
Page 14
ADVERTISEMENT
November 18, 2015
Don’t Forget to Recycle
The Ram
CULTURE
November 18, 2015
Page 15
Review | Music
Dining Out | Allison Russo
Goulding Continues to Enchant
Must-Try Iconic Desserts
By KATHERINE MOBILIA STAFF WRITER
After listening to Ellie Goulding’s most recent album, Delirium, released Nov. 13, I could not get some of the songs out of my head. With chart-topping hit singles like “Lights” and “Burn” in the U.K. singer’s repertoire, it is no surprise that her latest album continues to meet her high standards. This album maintains Goulding’s unique electro-indie pop sound while boasting a variety of songs that are each slightly distinct. Songs such as “On My Mind” and “Codes” stay true to this signature, upbeat sound, while other songs, like “Army” and “Devotion,” bring in a softer beat. This is a refreshing change for Goulding, considering a majority of her songs are focused on electronic, energetic rhythms. However, the perfect mix of these sounds manifests itself in Goulding’s latest hit, “Love Me Like You Do,” from The Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. This song is both slow and sentimental, yet also catchy and uplifting; perhaps that’s why it’s a hit on the radio. While the beat can be powerful and encompassing in Goulding’s songs, her lyrics should be
COURTESY OF ALLISON RUSSO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Chocolate Cookies from Levain Bakery are worth a trip into Manhattan.
Ellie Goulding’s album, Delirium, continues with the her emotional sound. noticed and appreciated as well. In particular, “Lost and Found” contains lyrics that are poetic, witty and beautiful. This song is predominantly focused on the subjects of love and heartbreak. These themes seem to be a pattern in many of the songs on this album, which seems to work as a part of Goulding’s reputation
compelling, honest and emotionally relatable. However, no matter what the topic is, Goulding never ceases to create an unforgettable sound that is as fun as it is catchy. Ultimately, “Delirium” is an instant hit that is bound to become more and more popular as its edgy, captivating sound continues to play on the radio.
Review | Music
Like Walking on a Greyscale Beach
New York City is full of famous places. Some deserve the hype, while others don’t. Some people truly believe that Times Square is a wonderful place and think Sbarro serves up a quality slice of New York pizza, and others feel that “Little Italy” in Manhattan has some of the best authentic Italian food in the country (they clearly haven’t spent any time on Arthur Avenue). Similarly, when it comes to dessert, many NYC visitors overspend on subpar slices of cheesecake and dried out cupcakes. I made the sacrifice and ate my way through some the most famous desserts in New York City and determined which ones are actually worth the hype.
By ERIN CABREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
California genre-bending alternative group The Neighbourhood has returned with its sophomore album, Wiped Out!, a moody yet melodic outing that sounds like a beach trip in December. In Spring 2013, The Neighbourhood’s debut album, I Love You., produced the sleeper hit “Sweater Weather,” which topped the Billboard alternative chart for 11 weeks. Two years later, Wiped Out! tries to capitalize on that success, but despite remaining loyal to the band’s beach-goth aesthetic, does not quite match the quality of its predecessor. Wiped Out! opens with a track entitled “A Moment of Silence” which, quite literally, is 30 seconds of silence, an odd creative choice that will likely confuse listeners. As for audible songs, the band mainly sticks to its downtempo formula from I Love You. “The Beach” displays lead singer Jesse Rutherford’s strong vocals as he sings cheeky lyrics such as “And you can throw me shade, all it does is just cool me off,” which have become the band’s signature. “Daddy Issues,” a raw and earnest song that touches on the loss of Rutherford’s father, has a bizarre chorus plagued with creepysounding lines (“I love that you got daddy issues, and I do too”) that will rub many listeners the wrong way. On “Single,” the group tries something new by swapping heavy synth for an acoustic guitar,
COURTESY OF ITUNES
Serendipity 3 Frozen hot chocolate sounds like a contradiction, but after taking a sip of this magical concoction, nothing will seem out of place. The appropriately named “Frrrozen Hot Chocolate” is essentially a frosty chocolate milkshake topped with an insane amount of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Share this massive dessert with a friend (or two) in the charming Upper East Side cafe. The whimsical decorations of Serendipity 3 remind me of a “Friends”-era NYC coffee shop, but you won’t be able to get a table without a reservation. They have a long menu of savory and sweet eats, but stick with this classic drink — unless you’re willing to splurge for the $1,000, record-breaking Golden Opulence Sundae.
Wiped Out!, with strange tracks, keeps with The Neighbourhood’s style.
but lines like “Can you let your baby be my girl?” make it sound like a mid-2000s Jesse McCartney song. Though The Neighbourhood tends to specialize in slower tracks, the strongest tracks on Wiped Out! are the uptempo ones. “Cry Baby” is undoubtedly the album’s best song, as the band’s California goth sound mixes with 90s pop influences. “Prey” and “Greetings from Califournia” are also highlights, as both are haunting and infectiously innovative with sober, anxious lyrics reminiscent of “Afraid” from I Love You. The album’s brilliant closer
“R.I.P. 2 My Youth” ends Wiped Out! with energy and urgency that was missing from some of the earlier tracks. At Wiped Out!’s peaks, listeners will feel like they are taking a brooding walk on a cold, grayscale beach. At its dips, a few lyrics warrant eyerolls and the production becomes a bit too self-indulgent. However, The Neighbourhood’s creative risks are what set them apart from other bands, and while Wiped Out! lacks some of their debut’s raw charisma, it solidifies The Neighbourhood’s standing as one of the most intriguing outfits in the alternative genre.
Magnolia Bakery Magnolia Bakery is kind of a twofor-one. We began obsessing over their cupcakes thanks to Carrie Bradshaw, but the adorable retrostyle bakery has way more to offer. (Read: banana pudding.) I hate bananas, but am obsessed with Magnolia’s banana pudding. It’s a super generous portion of light, fluff y bananas and Nilla Wafers, so you can save some for the next day or pretend it’s a meal. Their cupcakes are also decent, but stick with classic flavors like red velvet or black and white. Its Bleecker Street location is open until 12:30 a.m. on the weekends, so it’s the perfect place to grab a late
night snack. Dominique Ansel If you’re someone who thinks the Cronut is overrated, you probably haven’t had one from Dominique Ansel’s bakery. Layers and layers of fresh pastry are revealed after you take the first bite, and a new flavor each month keeps newbies and Cronut veterans coming back. Each pastry is rolled in sugar, filled with cream and topped with a special glaze. According to Mr. Ansel, the entire Cronut process can take up to three days depending on the complexity of the flavor. At $5 each, these are a bargain. (P.S. December’s flavor is Gingerbread Valrhona Milk Chocolate and Pear, with cinnamon sugar and speculoos cookie.) Levain Bakery If you think your mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world, you’re in for a wake-up call. Chocolate chip cookies are one of the most perfect foods — crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside and perfect with a glass of cold milk. Levain Bakery has taken this classic after-school snack to the next level. The large cookies look more like scones, are nearly an inch thick and are deliciously gooey on the inside. I must warn you, the chocolate is going to get all over your face. At $4 a pop, I can definitively say that these are worth every penny. Eileen’s There is perhaps no dessert more iconic than classic New York cheesecake. The indulgent, creamy treat is done best at Eileen’s, a bakery that’s overshadowed by the better-known Junior’s. Cheesecake is a relatively simple dessert (my mother’s no-fail recipe has only four ingredients), but it’s very easy to overcook or undercook, resulting in soggy crust or dried-out and crumbly filling. Eileen’s Cheesecake is a no-frills bakery in Nolita that has an endless selection of cheesecake flavors, everything from Pina Colada to peanut butter. But still, I recommend ordering the original, plain, no-fuss cheesecake. Top it with strawberries if you must, but this dessert doesn’t need any pomp or circumstance.
CULTURE
Page 16
November 18, 2015
Commentary | Social Media
The Black Hole of Instagram and Self-Image By SOPHIE LADANYI CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Essena O’Neill, an “instafamous” social media personality, has decided to quit social media altogether to show others how she may have “made it” online, but she did not really “make it” in life. The Australia native first created social media accounts at age 16 and within two years, she had amassed 750,000 followers on YouTube and Instagram combined. Companies bombarded her inbox asking her to promote their products and she was offered contracts with some of the biggest modeling agencies in both Australia and the United States. This probably seems like a millennial’s Cinderella story, but O’Neill readily admits that her shellacked social media universe was, in fact, making her “miserable.” In her farewell YouTube video, O’Neill says she gave up social media for her twelveyear-old self and describes how low her self-esteem was and how high her regard for social media celebrities was at the time: “When I was twelve, I told myself that I meant nothing...be-
cause I wasn’t popular online...I wasn’t beautiful by society’s standards.” She even tells viewers how, at an especially low point, she looked up models’ waist measurements and compared them to her own. O’Neill tried to remedy her depression and anxiety by getting on social media when she saw girls like herself with lots of online attention and thought, “they would be so happy... with all those people who love them. I want that, I want to be valued.” Unfortunately, the more enveloped she got by her online world, the more intense her depression and anxiety became. Even with the rapidly growing popularity and wealth, the attention she received never satisfied her desire for acceptance. O’Neill also became aware of the fake way companies use social media stars as a method of product placement, saying “companies will email you with...what you should say, with times of the day to post...with how you should hold the product...” O’Neill announced her decision to quit social media late last month. She has since created a website, LetsBeGameChangers.com, to promote her cause of “encouraging others to
COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM
O’Neill recently posted new captions on her pictures showing the corruption.
live authentically” and showing others how social media is impure and unreal. While O’Neill’s severe depression and anxiety most likely intensified her “struggles” with social media, she raises an insightful point that we can all learn from: the
Review | Film Festival
Film Frights on Friday the Thirteenth By HAYLEY HUGHES
Front Row | Claire Del Sorbo
The Imperficity of Love
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The second night of the New York City Horror Film Festival took place on a fitting day, Friday the 13th. The NCYHFF is a four-day-long event that takes place each November at various venues throughout the city. The festival is competitive and screens approximately 50 to 80 films each year. Awards such as Best Director, Best Horror Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Screen Play and Audience Choice are presented at the end of the festival. There is also the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented to one legendary horror filmmaker. Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Wes Craven, director of The Hills Have Eyes, The Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream and Mick Garris, director of The Shining. I was greeted at the door of Times Scare by a tall man with ragged clothes and a skeleton painted face, who led me up the stairs past hanging, bloody skeletons and coffins into the Elektra Theater. The first short film of the program was an 11-minute short “Iris,” directed by Richard Karpala. Alluding to the world renowned iPhone operating system Siri, “Iris” is about a new smartphone so advanced that it decides not to help its owner by calling 911 during a life threatening situation, leaving him to die. Next was the short film “Dead Hearts,” directed by Stephen Martin. The 16-minute short follows the story of a young boy whose family comes from a long line of morticians. Years later, his heart is donated when he dies. After waking from the dead, he seeks the person with his heart. The short film tells the story of the boy to show that “for some, death is only the beginning.” The feature film of the night was
majority of social media is a painstakingly curated self-promotional exhibition, a carefully painted plastic Barbie doll house of a universe. Posted content does not truly represent social media celebrities’ lives. Most importantly, their lives and work are not “#goals” for what ours can be. We should just lead our own authentic lives instead of trying to emulate something unreal. As O’Neill says
to aspiring social media stars in her video: “[by not letting social media exploit you] you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain.” Much of what we as young adults see online can damage our psyche, often without us realizing it. Contributors to the Journal of Eating Disorders found that young female Facebook users often have intense body image dissatisfaction. University of Memphis researchers also found that, while posting positive content online may temporarily boost young adults’ self-esteem, it does not do so in the long run. Extensive social media use has been linked to increased depression and anxiety, as well as poor quality of sleep and difficulty relating to others, according to the British non profit, AnxietyUK. Cyber-bullying plays a big role in social media’s destruction of teenage mental health, too. The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics reports that 23 percent of teens identify as being or having been a cyber bullying victim. Simply put, if used appropriately, social media is great. But there is a very fine line between using it appropriately and letting it take over your life and even invade your privacy. The world is your oyster, not just your iPhone.
COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
The NY Horror Film Festival took place this past weekend, with four days of scares.
Friday The 13th. Directed by Sean Cunningham, the legendary horror classic follows a group of camp counselors who, while trying to reopen a summer camp closed as a result of the drowning of a young boy years before, are stalked and murdered one by one. After the showing of the film, Sean Cunningham came to accept the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. Sean Cunningham has directed movies such as A Stranger is Watching and produced movies including The Last House on The Left and My Boyfriend’s Back.
During a Q&A following Cunningham’s acceptance of the award, he said, “In Friday the 13th these are all pretty nice kids. They weren’t doing anything bad and bad things happens to them and that’s something that’s really hard to deal with. And inside of that is something that draws us back again and again.” The NYCHFF is a great event that celebrates all things horror. As a horror film lover, I will definitely be back to the festival in the coming years.
College is a time when students begin to experience real, meaningful and intimate relationships with others. However, one should not rely on She’s The Man as an accurate depiction of a college dating scene. Real relationships are messy. Some may still be saddled by the weight of previous partners. Some partners bicker needlessly, while others never quite move past the honeymoon phase, which ultimately, is quite damaging. This past weekend, The Mimes and Mummers presented Alan Ayckbourn’s “Bedroom Farce” in Collins Auditorium, a play that illustrates common problems in modern relationships. These kind of idiosyncratic bonds illustrate what really happens behind closed doors. “Bedroom Farce,” directed by Mike Flanagan and produced by Michelle Corr, FCRH ’17, depicts four dysfunctional couples at different stages of their marriages: the longwedded Ernest (Declan Murphy, FCRH ’18), his wife Delia (Vanessa Agovida, FCRH ’16) and their son Trevor (David Schillinger, FCRH ’16) in a hilariously miserable union with the bi-curious Susanna (Sherilynn “Sheri” DeNucci, FCRH ’18), Trevor’s ex-girlfriend Jan (Casey DeMas, FCRH ’19), the bedridden Nick (John Schebe, FCRH ’18). There is also an ostensibly normal couple, Malcom (Luis Gomez, FCRH ’18) and Kate (Katie Dolan, FCRH ’18). The plot unfolds exactly as the title suggests — as a farce. Taking place in the 1970s, Bedroom Farce is not nearly as antiquated as other farcical comedies of yore, such as “The Importance of Being Earnest.” However, some of the jokes and gags are a dated, especially the ones about landline telephones. Still, it translates somewhat well to our
21st century technological phenomena. “Yeah, it’s definitely a bit…old in its humor, but while working on it I was able to draw parallels between my life and the show, despite that fact that I’m not British, married or living in the 1970s,” said cast member Casey DeMas, FCRH ’19, about this overarching theme of relatability. The best way to describe Bedroom Farce’s humor is Desperate Housewives meets Monty Python. It is a clever analysis of the subject of marriage with irreverent, somewhat vulgar humor, attached to every situation. “This type of humor resounds with college students, because it gives a lighthearted look at something people take too seriously,” cast member John Schebe, FCRH ’18, said. Murphy and Agovida as Ernest and Delia are the production’s anchoring couple. Eccentric and befuddled, they are the breath of fresh air between the conundrums of the other three couples. Between the two of them they have the best lines in the show. Equally enjoyable is DeNucci as the neurotic Susanna. One of the play’s best running gags is her poorlytimed self-confidence mantras: “I have confidence in me. People find me attractive.” While Bedroom Farce is, at its core, comedy, it is also important to remember that not all marriages are perfect. “They all have some issue they try and deal with, and the show pokes at that in a satirical way,” said Sheri DeNucci, FCRH ’18. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from Bedroom Farce, and attempt to enjoy the simplicity of an intimate relationship with another person, rather than focusing on making every microcosm of the relationship perfect, which is, as hysterically shown, a futile effort.
CULTURE
November 18, 2015
Page 17
Who’s That Kid? | Andrew Mazzie
The Ramantic
A Passion for the Arts and Pop Culture
An (Inconclusive) Self-Evaluation When I started writing this column around eight months ago, I was a perpetuator of hook-up culture. I would work through my problems (which usually involved my self-esteem) with my friends and come to a conclusion only to have a wrench thrown by another guy or to realize a couple of days later I changed my mind. I found by the end of the semester that the guys I enjoyed being around the most were the ones I connected to in the least romantic way. They were the ones that let me count on myself to not get hurt. What I had yet to realize was that I wasn’t in the place in my life that I wanted to be. Sure, I was choosing to be emotionally unattached and I knew there was nothing wrong with that. The problem was the reason I was doing it: I couldn’t handle emotional letdown. This was partially because a lot of things in my life were not quite right. But, in light of this, should I have been involved with guys at all? Most likely not. I know I wasn’t at rock bottom because one day, while I was binge-watching “Grey’s Anatomy,” it hit me. I had to change my ways or I was never going to be happy. It was fine for me to be with guys I was unable to get emotionally attached to, but it could not be because I was afraid to get hurt. So what next? I had to clear my slate. I cut myself off from all guys with whom I wasn’t friends. No more sitting on the couch, watching TV and texting boys. No more maintaining callous relationships with guys. I had to figure out what I was looking for in life, and then what I was looking for romantically. I had never wanted to be every-girl-ever and try to date a guy. I always wanted the guy to find me and I certainly have never wanted to date a guy who didn’t want to date me. Spoiler alert: I still haven’t. But why was I so afraid of the stigma of being a girl with emotions? I am a girl and I do have emotions. Furthermore, it is okay to get hurt. A truly strong person is not a person who avoids pain, but one who remains strong through pain. However, my friends have told me so many times that it wasn’t me, it was the guys I pursued, which makes sense because I was looking for guys I was not emotionally attachable to. Fast forward four testosterone-free months and I am still single. Am I now looking for a guy to date? Nope. I am still hoping that guy finds me. Am I as scared as I used to be of emotional attachment? Certainly not. I have become incomprehensibly more confident in my desirability. I have learned about myself: the way I feel compassion, they way I begin to trust others, the way I judge others, and most importantly, the way I love myself and others. Although I have come to terms with the fact that I may never find the perfect love, which may not have been the result I was looking for, I strongly suggest doing some soul-searching yourself. Because I am not just ready to get hurt, but also ready to allow myself to care for others. I know I’ll be more than “just fine” in the end.
COURTESY OF ANDREW MAZZIE
Andrew Mazzie is all smiles while working a CAB event at McGinley Center.
By KRISTEN SANTER ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR
Andrew Mazzie, FCRH ’17 is a visual arts major, with marketing and psychology minors. Ever since he was young, Andrew loved to draw and paint. When deciding which career to pursue, he wanted to do something that he loved. He was not sure which field of art to continue his studies, so he decided to pick up marketing and psychology minors in order to become a graphic designer. He is looking forward to working on ad campaigns and website design, he said. Andrew is from Bloomfield, New Jersey, and he was quick to point out the last scene of “The Sopranos” was shot there. His fondest childhood memories include his friends and him playing outside, especially in a nearby creek where he would try to catch snakes, salamanders and other
animals. As an active person on campus, Andrew spends most of his time juggling academic work and participating in several different student clubs and organizations. Any other limited free time is spent hanging out with friends, or re-reading his favorite book, East of Eden by John Steinbeck. He states that it is his favorite book because of its message. He loves the idea of making your own choices and that nothing is ever predetermined or set in stone. Andrew cites Britney Spears as one of his pop culture inspirations. He uses her music to help him focus, or sometimes, as a source of creativity. He finds a lot of honorable things in her personality, especially during her breakdown in the mid-2000s. He admires her ability to recover and move on and prosper as an artist dedicated to all of her fans.
One of Andrew’s biggest commitments is his participation in Fordham Flava, one of the school’s most popular dance groups. This is Andrew’s second year in Fordham Flava, and he has really enjoyed being a part of it. He loves being part of a team and learning about hip-hop — a dance style that he has never performed before. Andrew likes his progress as a choreographer, and some of his moves are included in the groups’ dances. Fordham Flava recently recorded a video of its dance on a rooftop in Hell’s Kitchen. Andrew is also part of the CAB General Board, which involves 40 members of the student body pitching activity ideas and helping them run successfully. CAB involves a lot of teamwork and compromise, especially when member do not agree. He is most proud of projects like the Christmas Fair and Trick-or-Treat street. Andrew has been an orientation leader for transfer students the past two years, which he considers one of his most meaningful activities. He cites his poor orientation experience as the reason he joined the organization. He hopes to make the students’ orientation experience better each year. Andrew tries very hard to stay in touch with the students in his orientation group, which he states is a big and important commitment each year. When he is not involved in these clubs, he tries to support his friends whenever he can, whether he attends a Ballroom Dance event, Cultural Affairs raffles or WAC events. Andrew also enjoys going to Manhattan to try new brunch restaurants. He has many recommendations for anyone who asks, so be sure to ask him if you are ever heading into the city on a weekend morning.
Review | Dance
Alvin Ailey Offers Various Dance Stylings in Season Preview By NICOLE HORTON CULTURE EDITOR
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiered four distinct, lively performances to preview its winter season, which goes from Dec. 2, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016. First, Artistic Director Robert Battle debuted his first new work since assuming the position in 2011. Battle served as the host for the evening, introducing each performance and offering creative insight. Awakening, set to a symphonic score by frequent collaborator John Mackey, shows the chaos in humanity. The dancers effortlessly translate a mix of emotions from confusion and wonderment, to sharp, abrupt movements and long, fluid motions. When introducing his work, Battle cites the influence and memory of Ailey. For anyone
ANDREW ECCLES/ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
who prefers darker, more emotive dance performances, Awakening is an ideal choice. Piazzolla Caldera serves as choreographer Paul Taylor’s passionate homage to tangos. The men face the women, taking turns dancing in a way that is sensual yet playful. Then they break off into pairs, giving the audience a great deal to take in. The number culminates when one duo that takes center stage in a passionate, skillful display that includes a challenging lift and elaborate spins. “Poppies,” an excerpt from Love Songs, features vocals that those who are accustomed to musical theater will enjoy. Love Songs serves as a nod to the theater’s roots, since Ailey choreographed the composition in 1972. Fluid moves signify openness to the world and nature. The jazz style music starts off slowly and builds,
almost buzzing like bright poppies as the dancers spin and skip. Open Door represents the powerful union of dance and culture. Battle said that the excerpt was heavily influenced by choreographer Ronald K. Brown’s experience traveling in Cuba, which is certainly evident. Powerful horns and drums set the mood as the dancers performed salsa and hiphop–inspired choreography with a great deal of hip movement. Along with the cultural aspect, there was a mix of classic and modern influences that most fans of dance would definitely enjoy. Although the four excerpts were short, each told a story and a great deal about what the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater has in store this season. There are universal and more specific styles of dance that audiences will enjoy, with a range of auras from dark to passionate to light.
Page 18
ADVERTISEMENT
November 18, 2015
fordhamram.com
Follow Us! fordhamram.com @thefordhamramonline facebook.com/theram
THE FORDHAM RAM
November 18, 2015
SPORTS
Page 19
The Fordham Ram
A Look Inside Fordham Football’s Signals By DREW CASEY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Fordham Football has had a very successful 2015 season in part due to shooting a hockey puck and giant pictures of political figures. Yes, that’s correct. Without revealing their ultimate significance, these motions and images, amongst many others, are some of the methods in which the football team communicates its plays from the sideline to its players on the field. On any given play in the course of a game, this communication originates from three or four “signal callers.” According to fourthyear head coach Joe Moorhead, their jobs are critical on a downby-down basis. “They’re [the signal callers] incredibly important,” Moorhead said. “That’s how the whole thing operates. There’s not wristbands. There’s not a huddle. It’s not like it’s 1953 with people shuttling plays in and out and people coming out of the game. It’s the vital cog of the communication aspect of our offense and if it’s not right, then we can’t do anything right.” The NCAA does not have the luxury that the NFL has, in which one player on each team can wear a “live” helmet and directly hear a coach’s communication through a transmitter. As a result, college
RAM ARCHIVES
Fordham Football’s sideline signal callers, although little known, are both critical to the team’s success and highly creative.
football teams must get creative in their communication. In Fordham’s case, signal callers take on the job. The group includes backup quarterbacks and players who have suffered careerending injuries while at Fordham. Junior Alex Washington is one such signal caller, who has embraced the position despite the difficult circumstances by which it came about. “I just wanted to be able to help as much as I could,” Washington said. “It’s terrible not being on the field, but I love to help the team in any capacity whatsoever.”
Each week the group receives new plays from the coaching staff and gets right to work. In most cases, according to Moorhead, the group creates the signs and motions themselves. “They have ownership of the signals between [offensive coordinator Andrew] Breiner and the offensive staff and the players,” Moorhead said. “They create the signals.” Throughout this process during the practice week, the signal callers typically ask for player input. Senior Tim Donahue and the rest of the group are always looking for
new ideas and ways to be as clear as possible in their communication. “It kind of deals with making it easy for the guys down on the field to see what it is,” Donahue said. “It has to be something they recognize. If they can’t tell what something is or it looks too similar, we’ll change it.” They also have to be very careful not to develop very complex signals, according to senior signal caller Nick Krejci. “I think it’s important first to make it easy enough for us to remember how to do it and not
complicate it,” Krejci said. “We’ll relay that to the guys that are on the field and ask them if it’s a good sign.” A majority of the group agreed that the more basic the signal, the easier it is to communicate to the field players. However, they also mentioned that they enjoy the challenge of the lengthy multistep calls that sometimes come into play. Relaying the correct signals is of the upmost importance and without accuracy, things can undoubtedly go wrong, as Washington mentioned. There is no margin for error, and Fordham’s fast-paced offensive style just adds to the difficulty level for the signal callers. Fordham’s signal callers do not have an easy job, but they hope that they will have more opportunities to carry out their essential function at another game this season. “Even though we’re not playing, it still is a critical part of the game to relay the communication the coach wants to the defense or the offense,” Krejci said. The team awaits its postseason fate during its bye week after defeating Georgetown 38-31 on Saturday, Nov. 14, and finishing 9-2 in the regular season. Fordham looks to head to the NCAA FCS Championship for the third consecutive year.
Women’s Basketball Falls in Season Opener By ANTHONY PUCIK SPORTS EDITOR
After an exhibition win against Caldwell last week, the Fordham women’s basketball team traveled to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Lady Lions and to open the 2015-16 season. Head coach Stephanie Gaitley lost Emily Tapio, Tiffany Ruffin and Taryn Durant to graduation, but said she looked forward to the opportunity for a fresh start after falling to St. John’s University in the WNIT tournament last year. “Any time you start a new year there’s a lot of excitement because every team takes on a new identity,” she said. That new identity will be dependent upon a roster consisting of 10 freshmen and sophomores, and the leadership of senior center Samantha Clark and senior guard Khadijah Gibson. But the roster wasn’t the only difference for the women this year. The NCAA decided to break up women’s games into four quarters instead of the traditional two halves, and also placed a team in the double bonus after just five fouls in a quarter (which would be reset after every quarter). The young Rams took on this new format on Sunday, Nov. 15 against the 1-0 Lady Lions, and the game featured a little bit of everything. Sophomore forward G’mrice Davis got the scoring started for the Rams in the first quarter with a jump shot just 24 seconds in to make it 2-0 Fordham, and scored the next two points of the game 2:26 later. Penn
ANDREW ESOLDI/THE FORDHAM RAM
Fordham Women’s Basketball dropped their first game of the season, falling 75-59 to Penn State on the road on Sunday.
State started the game very slowly and didn’t score its first points until 4:34 left in the first quarter, when senior transfer Brianna Banks, from the University of Connecticut, put in a jumper to make it 6-2. Fordham did an excellent job early in the game, keeping a taller Penn State team out of the paint and settling for outside shots that were not falling. However, the Rams were unable to take advantage of this, as their shooting percentage was also low out of the gate. The Lady Lions ended the first quarter on a 10-2 run giving them a 10-8 lead over the Rams. In the second quarter, Penn State’s offense continued its run. Seven straight points put the Lady Lions up 17-8, and the score went as high
as 25-10 before a Clark layup broke up a drought of over three minutes for the Rams. The difference in this quarter for Penn State was 6’6” center Candice Agee. The Lady Lions began to figure out a way to break through the mixed zone and man defense Fordham was showing them. Once Agee received the ball on the low block, it was difficult for Fordham to cover her. The pressure the Penn State defense was putting on the young guards of Fordham was also providing a ton of problems for the Rams, creating turnovers and fast break opportunities for the Lady Lions. Davis did not see much time in the second quarter after taking two early fouls in the first, which also hurt the Fordham offense. Fordham
was able to cut the deficit down to as low as nine, but Penn State ended the half up 31-20. The third quarter was a strong one for the Rams. After five points to start the quarter for the Lady Lions, Fordham responded with three baskets — two from Davis and one from Clark — to cut the Penn State lead back down to 10. The Rams did a much better job limiting Penn State’s chances in the third, but were unable to take advantage of long stretches without points for the Lady Lions, as they struggled to hit outside shots themselves. Penn State eventually got the lead back up to 14, but Fordham fought back and ended the third with a three from junior forward Danielle Burns to make
it 51-42 Lady Lions heading into the final quarter of regulation. In the fourth, junior guard Hannah Missry hit her first three pointer of the day to cut the Penn State lead down to eight with 7:44 to play, but two straight scores brought the deficit back to 12 at 57-45. The Rams continued to fight, scoring seven unanswered points to make it 57-52. The lead for Penn State remained at five after another Missry three made it 62-57, but Lady Lion freshman guard Teniya Page answered with a jumper to put Penn State up by seven. Page then stripped the ball from sophomore guard Asnate Fomina and scored two more fastbreak points to go up 66-57. Fordham was unable to recover, eventually falling 75-59. Davis (15), Clark (14) and Burns (10) all finished in double figures for the Rams, with Burns and Clark each adding eight rebounds while Davis picked up nine. For the Lady Lions, Banks ended the game with 22 points, a career-high, and Agee chipped in 12 with seven rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. It was a tough game for the Rams, who faced a Big 10 opponent that was very physical and had a height advantage down low. It was also the Rams’ first game of the season and, with a young group of guards, there was bound to be a few expected speed bumps and mistakes. The 0-1 Rams return to the Bronx for their next game, when they face Manhattan College on the road in the Battle of the Bronx on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
SPORTS
Page 20
Anthony Pucik
November 18, 2015
Men’s Soccer Falls at A-10 Semis By TARA CANGIALOSI
Pat Costello
STAFF WRITER
Leave the NHL Nets Alone The NHL has made a few changes in recent years in an attempt to make the game more exciting for casual fans. I have already written about the three-on-three overtime and how much I’ve been in favor of it because it limits the number of games that go to shootouts — essentially a skills competition with no semblance of actual game skill. However, I draw the line with the suggestion of making the nets bigger and the goalie pads smaller. I understand that, for some people, a 1-0 game isn’t the most exciting to watch. However, those games are sometimes even more exciting than a 6-5 contest. There’s nothing wrong with two defensive teams being physical, aggressive, blocking shots and having two goalies standing on their heads making incredible saves in a one-goal contest. That, to me, is even more exciting than watching a shootout where defenses are essentially Swiss cheese and goalies might as well not even be in the net. The NHL would be foolish to make the nets bigger. I know that Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy, one of the best goalies in NHL history, is in favor of expanding the size of the nets, but I do not think it is necessary. Take a look at some of the scores from this past weekend’s games in the NHL. The Avalanche defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-1, the Florida Panthers topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in a shootout, the Columbus Blue Jackets put up a five spot on the Arizona Coyotes and the Nashville Predators shut out the Winnipeg Jets 7-0. All of these games were played with the nets the same size as they’ve been for years, and there were still at least six goals scored in all four contests. While this is not the norm in the league, five-goal games do happen each week, sometimes even each night, in the NHL. Expanding the goals would most likely create an increase in the amount of goals scored, but it is not necessary. It’s not like each team in the league has a Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price or Pekka Rinne between the pipes either. There are net minders who already give up over three goals a game and cannot compete with the top goalies in the NHL. Making the nets bigger would only push these goalies further away from those at the top of the league and, if anything, make the NHL as a whole less competitive. If the league has to change something, I would say making the pads smaller would not be the worst thing in the world. The NHL dropped the percentage of distance between the center of a goalie’s knee and his pelvis for his leg pads from 55 percent to 45 percent in the 2013-14 season, and there have been more goals through the five hole as a result. I do not know how much smaller they can make the pads, but it would be a better compromise than expanding the net. If it were me, however, I would not change either. Leave the game the way it is; goals will come, and if casual fans really want to get into hockey they will come to appreciate close, low scoring games.
The Fordham men soccer team’s season came to an end last Friday when it lost 1-0 to VCU in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship, held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Despite earning six corner kicks and eight free kicks throughout the game, the Rams could not find the back of the net for an equalizer. “We did everything except score in the match,” head coach Jim McElderry said. “I was very proud of our effort and commitment. I really thought we were going to win the game right up until the end.” Before the semifinal game, the Rams defeated the University of Massachusetts 1-0 in the quarterfinal game on Thursday, Nov. 12. The matchup was a repeat of the previous week, when the Minutemen beat the Rams 1-0 on Jack Coffey Field in an overtime contest. Fordham went into the quarterfinal game with a different and more efficient strategy. “We really tried to focus on playing out of the back rather than using goal kicks as opportunities to create aerial battles,” senior captain Ryan Cupolo said. “In order to unbalance them and make them feel more uncomfortable off the ball, we wanted to keep it on the ground.” This strategy worked, as neither squad scored a goal in the first 45 minutes despite having four shots each. However, UMass played better and maintained possession for a higher percentage of time. Fordham turned it around in the second half by bringing intensity and urgency into every play. The team turned possessions into opportunities, building attacks from the backline forward. The first of these came early in the second half, when senior Ryan Walsh put a lead pass ahead to freshman scoring sensation Janos Loebe, who was cutting in from the left side. Loebe tried to make it a breakaway, but UMass goalkeeper Jorge Becerra — whom the Rams got a good look at during the teams’ regular season meet-up — came off his line and beat Loebe to the ball to keep the game scoreless. After continued efforts on net throughout the second half, the Rams finally broke through in the 83rd minute. Sophomore midfielder Eric Ohlendorf slipped a pass into Jannik Loebe, the older of the German brothers. From the right side, Jannik crossed the ball to his brother Janos, who was pulled down in front of an open net at the top of the six-yard box. The referee awarded Fordham a penalty kick, which Jannik stepped up to take. He drilled it home for his fifth goal of the season, putting the Rams ahead 1-0 for good. Nuhu earned his sixth shutout of the season — an impressive statistic considering he sat out for a few games due to a red card and injury. His counterpart Becerra made four saves in the Minutemen’s season-ender. The Rams then moved on to the semifinal game against VCU on Friday, Nov. 13. It turned out to be an unlucky date for Fordham, as they dropped the contest 1-0. Fordham had one of its best chances of the half in the 10th minute. Junior defender Andy Hickey sent a soaring cross to Janos Loebe, who sprawled out to get his head on the ball, but was unable to direct it into
Miracle at the Meadowlands
ZACK MIKLOS/THE FORDHAM RAM
Men’s Soccer ended a great season just a game away from A-10 finals.
the back of the net. Moments before the end of the first half, VCU got the play it needed. Rafa Andrade Santos intercepted a pass near midfield and beautifully beat a few Fordham defenders to reach the top of the 18-yd box. The sophomore from Rio de Janiero, Brazil let off an unbelievable strike that flew past Nuhu and into the upper-90. This gave the Virginia-based Rams a 1-0 lead going into the half. Following the break, Fordham did everything it could to equalize. Even stronger than in the first half, the team pressed forward, players moved synchronously up the field and connected more fluidly on passes. In the 54th minute, Janos Loebe’s cross found Cupolo’s head moving toward goal. VCU’s R.J. Roberts cleared the ball off the line for a clutch defensive play. Fifteen minutes later, Roberts would again save his team. Janos Loebe’s corner kick found another Fordham player’s head — this time red-shirt senior Andres Penfold’s. He directed the ball to the far side of the goal away from VCU’s keeper Pierre Gardan, but Roberts was in the right place at the right time, and cleared the ball off the line for a second time. “We pushed and pushed and just couldn’t score,” Hickey said. “We hit the post on more than one occasion and they cleared a few off the line. On a different day, all those shots go in.” In the 78th minute, Fordham almost reversed its Friday the 13th luck when VCU nearly scored an owngoal. VCU’s Dennis Castillo, a senior and the A-10 Conference Defender of the Year, headed the ball back toward his net, but it grazed over the crossbar for a corner kick. In the final minutes, the Rams earned two back-to-back corners. Fordham could not get a foot on the ball during a scramble in the box during the first attempt and a header by Penfold went over the crossbar on the second kick. The game ended in a 1-0 victory for VCU — the eight seed — who had previously upset the number one seed George Washington with a 4-0 victory the day before. “They had guys in the right spots,” sophomore and Second Team AllAtlantic 10 selection Matt Lewis said. “It was tough because we put the ball in the right areas, [but] they were just able to keep it out of the net.” The score is not indicative of the Rams’ effort throughout the game or how many opportunities they created. It was a very evenly-matched game and either team could have snagged the win. VCU just capitalized on its best opportunity, while Fordham did not. The Virgina-based Rams then moved on to the A-10 final against the University of Dayton on Sunday, Nov 15. Dayton came away with a 4-1 win and earnedan automatic bid
in the NCAA Tournament in the weeks ahead. Amass Amankona, a graduate student from Ghana, was named the MVP of the tournament. The Fordham Rams ended their season with a 7-8-4 record overall, and a 4-3-1 record in the A-10 Conference. The team was looking to repeat its championship run from last season, when it beat the number three, two and one seeds in order to win the A-10 championship. Though the team did not see that result this year, they have a lot to be proud of in the way that they bounced back from a tough first half of the season. They beat No. 21 ranked Columbia on Sept. 23 on Jack Coffey Field — a great result against a highly-skilled team that has since earned a record of 10-5-1. Additionally, the seniors from this year will be missed come next fall. Cupolo, Walsh, Penfold, Kyle Bitterman, Greg McNamara, Tommy Granot and Tomas Penfold each contributed in his own way over the course of his four years. “The seniors played a huge impact in our season this year and we appreciate their effort,” Nuhu, who was named to the Atlantic 10 Rookie Team, said. “We will need leaders like them next year.” The Rams have clear talent from the Loebe brothers, both of whom end the year decorated with honors. Janos won Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and was named both First Team All-Atlantic 10 and to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Jannik was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10, despite battling through injuries. If the backline and midfield can push the ball forward to these two next year, Fordham will continue to get great scoring opportunities. The defense will lose leadership in Cupolo, but have great experience in Hickey, current sophomores Lewis and Chris Bazzinni and other youngsters like Vincenzo Zuccala and Patrick Thees. Not to mention the strong goalkeeping by both Nuhu and freshman Dan Miklos — who delivered stellar performances in Nuhu’s absence. “We will be a younger team for the most part next year, but we will have a lot of guys who have played a lot of college games” Hickey said. “I’m excited to be part of a different team and talk with the guys as to what kind of team we want to be for the coming year!” Despite the season not ending the way the Rams wanted it to, there is definite promise for the coming years in both experienced underclassmen and rising talent that is sure to keep Fordham in the running for another A-10 Championship. “We have a good core of players returning next year, even with all of our seniors graduating,” McElderry said. “I fully expect us to build on our last few years of success and compete for a championship again in 2016.”
The New York Giants are first in the NFC East. At 5-5, they are far from a sure thing to make it to the playoffs. Trailing right behind them are their rivals from right down I-95, the Philadelphia Eagles, who are 4-5. This is far from the first time that the Giants have had a small lead on the Birds. Thirty-seven years ago this week, however, a Giants lead resulted in a giant folly, one of the most infamous plays in the history of the NFL. Nov. 19, 1978: Giants v. Eagles at the Meadowlands. Big Blue was attempting to keep their playoff hopes alive against a very formidable Eagles team, led by Quarterback Ron Jaworski. With the game hanging in the balance, and the ball in his hands, Jaws threw an interception that seemingly sealed a Giants win. With just over a minute remaining, it seemed as though the fat lady had sung for the Eagles. All the Giants had to do was fall on the ball and victory would be theirs. Simple, right? On first down, Giants Quarterback Joe Pisarcik fell on the ball, as everyone had expected. Eagles linebackers Bill Bergey and Frank Lemaster were not content to just watch the clock tick down and all-out blitzed, knocking down Pisarcik and angering the Giants. On second down, not wanting his team to get in a fight, offensive coordinator Bob Gibson called a run for Larry Csonka, who gained 11 yards. In the huddle before the play, Csonka implored his quarterback to simply take the snap and fall down, but Pisacik did not oblige. With 31 seconds remaining, the game still seemed out of reach when the impossible happened. Pisarcik turned to once again hand the ball to Csonka, but the snap was wide, causing him to be late on the exchange. The ball hit off Csonka’s right hip and fell to the ground. Pisarcik desperately dove to try to regain possession, but the ball bounced through his hands and into the hands of an Eagles linebacker. That linebacker was Herman Edwards, who would eventually return to the Meadowlands as the coach of the New York Jets. Edwards scooped up the ball and ran 26 yards into the endzone, immediately silencing the previously euphoric Giants fans. Immediately following the game Gibson was fired, and never coached another down in football. Since that infamous play, teams have started using the victory formation, in which the quarterback, surrounded by three other players, takes the snap and simply kneels down. There has never been another play quite like the Miracle at the Meadowlands. The Giants have a good chance to win the division. They control their own destiny, but the Eagles will not making it easy. They will keep coming until they have no hope left, and if the Giants are lucky, they’ll be able to finish better than they did on that fateful day 37 years ago.
SPORTS
Novebmer 18, 2015
Page 21
Cross Country Competes at NCAA Northeast Regionals
SHANNA HEANEY/ THE FORDHAM RAM
The men raced four runners at regionals, while the women placed 21st out of 38 possible teams in the meet.
By ALEXANDRIA SEDLAK STAFF WRITER
This past Friday, Nov. 13, the Fordham men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the NCAA Northeast Regionals in Boston, Massachusetts. The meet was hosted by Boston University at
Franklin Park, and included almost 40 teams. While there were only four runners who competed for the men’s team, the women’s team finished 21st out of 38 schools. The men’s race for this meet, unlike previous meets, was a 10K race. Graduate student Jonathan Annelli was the first Ram to finish
the 10K, with a time of 31:43.8 putting him in 48th place. Following him was sophomore Nik O’Brien, who came in 105th with a time of 32:40.1. Junior Jake Duckworth was next, finishing in 147th with a time of 33:10.9. Senior Mike Turi concluded the men’s quartet, with a time of 33:41.2 putting him in 181st
place. The men ran a great race, as there were over two hundred runners competing. Both Annelli and Duckworth also set personal records for their 10K run, Annelli by 12 seconds and Duckworth by eight seconds. The women, who together came in twenty-first place, ran a 6K race on Friday. Graduate student Brianna Tevnan led the way for the ladies, with a 22:23 time placing her 78th. Freshman Angelina Grebe followed her, coming in 99th with a time of 22:36. Fellow freshman Kate McCormack was next, finishing in 134th place with a time of 23:07. The final three to finish in the top two hundred were sophomore Brynna Harum (23:11), sophomore Stephanie Leo (23:14), who beat her previous 6K time by 90 seconds and junior Brianne Roche (23:31). For freshmen Angelina Grebe and Kate McCormack, this was their first time running a 6K race in their college careers. Grebe reflects on this when she says, “The meet this week went extremely well. All of the ladies ran really well, and it was especially exciting for me and fellow freshman Kate McCormack because it was our first 6K race ever. It was a little unnerving because of the high caliber of the competition, but it was an overall amazing experience. I was happy with my time and place, and can’t wait until NCAA Regionals next year to see what we can do.” Both Grebe and McCormack
had great performances for their first 6K race, and there are no signs saying they will not continue to perform well. They display such enthusiasm for competing in races, as well as for the sport and the future of the team. “I thought the race went well,” McCromack said. “We have a very young team, and we have a lot of potential to do big things in the next few years. I am very excited to see what we can accomplish.” Overall, the Fordham Rams had a great day at the NCAA Northeastern Regionals. Both the men and the women ran strong races and finished with good times. It was definitely a competitive meet, but the Rams stepped right into the race and showed what hard work and dedication can accomplish. For Tevnan, this was her last cross country regional meet. She looks back on it and details the team’s experience, stating, “Our goals were simply to trust ourselves and our training and to go out hard and strong together. It was a whirlwind start with a funneling bend about 200 meters out, so girls were going down and there was a lot of pushing for a non-contact sport, but we made it out with some new 6K personal records and an overall better placing than last year.” With their seasons coming to an end, the cross country teams have one more competition left next weekend. They will be racing in the ECAC/IC4A Championship on Saturday morning, Nov. 21, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
Advertisement
OUR FUNDS HAVE A RECORD LIKE A BROKEN RECORD. TIAA-CREF: Lipper’s Best Overall Large Fund Company three years in a row. For the first time ever. How? Our disciplined investment strategy aims to produce competitive risk-adjusted returns that create long-term value for you. Just what you’d expect from a company that’s created to serve and built to perform.
1
Learn more about our unprecedented, award-winning performance at TIAA.org/Perform
BUILT TO PERFORM. CREATED TO SERVE.
1
The Lipper Awards are based on a review of 36 companies’ 2012 and 48 companies’ 2013 and 2014 risk-adjusted performance.
1
The Lipper Award is given to the group with the lowest average decile ranking of three years’ Consistent Return for eligible funds over the three-year period ended 11/30/12, 11/30/13, and 11/30/14 respectively. TIAA-CREF was ranked among 36 fund companies in 2012 and 48 fund companies in 2013 and 2014 with at least five equity, five bond, or three mixed-asset portfolios. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For current performance and rankings, please visit the Research and Performance section on tiaa-cref.org. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., and Nuveen Securities, LLC, members FINRA and SIPC, distribute securities products. ©2015 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America–College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. C24849B
Consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Go to tiaa-cref.org for product and fund prospectuses that contain this and other information. Read carefully before investing. TIAA-CREF funds are subject to market and other risk factors.
SPORTS Varsity Scores & Stats
Page 22
Matthew Michaels
Qualified for Success Major League Baseball’s 2015 qualifying offer period came and went, and for the first time ever, a player has accepted the offer. This year, in fact, we had three players take the one-year contract worth $15.8 million to stay with their current teams. The qualifying offer is a way for teams to offer a one-season contract to an impending free agent who has not been traded within the past year. The salary offered is the average of the highest 125 salaries in MLB, $15.8 million for this year. If a player is offered a qualifying deal and declines, the team that eventually signs him to a free agent contract must compensate with a draft pick. Daniel Murphy, for example, was about to become a free agent when the New York Mets offered him a qualifying deal, but he turned it down to pursue greener paychecks. Whichever team signs Murphy will owe the Mets their first-round draft pick for 2016. Over the past three seasons, all 34 players who received an offer declined it, but this year three of the 20 offers were accepted. Houston Astros’ outfielder Colby Rasmus etched his name in the record books by becoming the first player to accept a qualifying offer. Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson joined Rasmus before the 5 pm deadline to accept last Friday. For most players, declining makes sense because they believe they can sign a multi-year deal worth greater value. Rasmus and Wieters, both 29 years old, and Anderson, 27, wisely looked at the markets ahead and saw that their best option was the contract right under their noses. Rasmus would be entering a market saturated with talented outfielders — Alex Gordon, Jason Heyward and Yoenis Cespedes — who will fetch more attention than him. He hit extremely well in his short playoff run for the Houston Astros this season, but his reputation will not allow for a lavish pay raise. He will have the highest salary on the roster and continue to be a veteran presence on a young, budding team. Wieters, a former first-round-pick and highly prized prospect, will try to rebound from a poor year. Due to injuries, he has only played in 101 games over the past two seasons and despite having solid numbers to somehow make the 2014 All-Star game with 104 at bats, Wieters was disappointing when he did make the field this year. Even though next year’s crop of free agent catchers is stronger than this year’s, Wieters must reestablish himself. Anderson’s acceptance is the most surprising, but far from a mistake for the lefty starter. It would be quite a stretch to make a case for Anderson deserving $15.8 million so capturing that salary, even for a one-year contract, is worthwhile. The Dodgers proved they lacked pitching depth behind aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Anderson made 31 starts in 2015 as a league average starter and with Greinke a free agent, the Dodgers can rely on Anderson to hold down one rotation spot. Qualifying offers are a great opportunity for players and teams alike, and in 2016, we will finally get a chance to see the outcome of players accepting such offers.
Football Fordham 14 14 3 7 16 Georgetown 7 14 7 3 24 (FOR) Edmonds 137 yds, TD (GU) Nolan 328 pass yds Squash NYU Fordham
5 4
Men’s Cross Country NCAA Dist. Regional (FOR) Annelli 48th- 31:43.8 Women’s Cross Country NCAA Dist. Regional 21st (FOR) Tevnan 78th- 22:23
Men’s Basketball Fordham 72 UT Arlington 77 (FOR) Thomas 21 pts, 2 stl (UTA) Pope 14 pts
Queens College 57 Fordham 76 (QC) White 13 pts, 5 stls (FOR) Sengfelder 17 pts Women’s Basketball Fordham 59 Penn State 75 (FOR) Davis 15 pts, 9 reb (PSU) Banks 22 pts Women’s Swimming LIU Post 106 Fordham 164
Men’s Soccer Fordham Massachusetts GOALS: Loebe (FOR) 83’
November 18, 2015
Jack McLoone
1 0
Fordham 0 VCU 1 GOALS: Andrade Santos (VCU) 45’ Volleyball Fordham 2 VCU 3 (FOR) Fronk 35 ast, 7 digs (VCU) Thompson 46 asts
Fordham Davidson (FOR) Jones 9 K (DAV) Franklin 7 K, 4 TB
0 3
Athletes of the Week Stephen Hodge
Shannon Lulley
Graduate Student
Senior
Football
Swimming and Diving
A linebacker, Hodge was the focal point of Fordham’s defense during Saturday’s game against Georgetown. He made a game-high 14 tackles and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown. The picksix extended Fordham’s lead to 21 points before halftime.
Lulley played a big part in the Rams’ 164-106 victory over LIU Post. Competing in the 100-yd breaststroke, she won her event with a time of 1:07.50. It was her fastest mark of the season to date.
Each week, The Fordham Ram’s Sports editors honor one male athlete and one female athlete for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”
News & Notes • Men’s Basketball Squares
• Cardenas is Patriot League
On Tuesday night, Men’s Basketball hosted its home opener in the Rose Hill Gym. Going up against the Queens College Knights, Fordham was not to be topped and won the game 76-57. Queens, a Division II program, was overmatched on both sides of the ball, posting a 45.8 percent field goal percentage to Fordham’s 54.7 and zero blocks to Fordham’s seven. The Rams were led by sophomore forward Christian Sengfelder, who put up 17 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Mandel Thomas also had a strong night, with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
On Monday, sophomore placekicker Alejandro Cardenas was named Corvias Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week. In Saturday’s game against Georgetown, he was a perfect five-for-five on PATs and nailed a 40-yd field goal to give the Rams a 10-point lead with 8:44 remaining on the clock. It was Cardenas’ first weekly award of his collegiate career.
Off With Queens College
• Women’s Basketball Adds
Kelly to Next Year’s Squad Last Friday, head coach Stephanie Gaitley announced that Anna Kelly had signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Fordham’s women’s basketball team starting next fall. Currently a senior at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, Kelly will soon begin her senior season. A five-foot-six-inch guard, she is a three-time Middlesex League All-Star team selection and led the state in points per game. Kelly is also well-regarded on the national stage, having appeared at the U16 and U17 USA Basketball Women’s World Cham-
Player of the Week
•
Four Rams Named to Men’s Soccer AllConference Team Last week, the Atlantic 10 announced its AllConference Teams. Four Rams were honored. Freshman midfielder Janos Loebe pulled a rare trifecta. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Year and First Team AllA-10, and he earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie Team. Sophomore midfielder Jannik Loebe and sophomore defender Matthew Lewis were named Second Team All-A-10. Freshman goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu was named to the All-Rookie Team. – Compiled by Sam Belden
New England’s Giant Problem I can’t explain it. I couldn’t explain it the first time it happened, and I still can’t, even after Sunday night. It surprised me, too: the Jaguars are somehow competent this year! This isn’t about that though. This is about the Giants, Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin and their continuous crusade to destroy everything the Patriots try to do. Obviously, this originates back in 2007 with the David Tyree catch, which I would acknowledge as one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen if I didn’t hate it so much. This ended the incomplete perfect season and is the only time that my football fandom brought me to tears. Then it was 2011. The Patriots were a mess of injuries. Julian Edelman was forced to play defensive back throughout the year and the Super Bowl. And once again, after multiple borderline garbage seasons, the Giants miraculously ended up in the Super Bowl. And with a mix of amazing plays (Manningham’s catch, Welker’s almost-catch, Gronk’s almost-game-winning Hail Mary catch), the Giants won again. This sounds nitpicky, considering how good the Pats have been, but it’s always the Giants. Eli had only lost to the Patriots once, in the final game of the regular season of the 2007 season where… well, let’s not talk about that again. In fact, Tom Coughlin was 5-1 in his career against Bill Belichick, spanning back to when Coughlin was the coach in Jacksonville and Belichick in Cleveland. Notice how I used the past tense there? No? Read it again, I’ll wait. Okay, so you saw it? Good. Well it’s because it’s no longer true following this past Sunday’s Giants-Patriots matchup. And I’ll be honest, the Patriots were extremely lucky. Multiple aspects of this game made it another typical PatriotsGiants game. The first is the relative poor play of the Giants coming into the game. Sitting at 5-4 in a weak NFC East, they seemed mediocre at best and the Patriots, undefeated and with one of the best offenses in football, were expected to come away with an easy win like a Ronda Rousey fight (topical jokes!). Then a key Patriots player got hurt, with leading receiver Julian Edelman injuring his foot and not returning. And then came the heart-stopping end game parallels that almost caused the destruction of the Alumni Court South student lounge. It started with what seemed like more heroics from Eli and a total collapse of the Patriots offense, but when Odell Beckham Jr. sort of caught a touchdown, but sort of didn’t, the Giants had to settle for a field goal to take a 26-24 lead with just over a minute left. And then, as we’d all seen before, Brady once again almost threw away the game. He threw a lame duck that was caught by the Giants defense, but was jarred out when he hit the turf, and they promptly gained new life in the game. They promptly did just enough to give Stephen Gostkowski a 54-yard field goal try, which he just barely made with one second to go, followed by a heart-attack inducing attempt at a Music City Miracle. But the Patriots finally got over the Giants hump. Until the Super Bowl, probably. And I still can’t explain why it’s always the Giants.
SPORTS
Novebmer 18, 2015
Page 23
Squash Falls to NYU at Home By TOM TERZULLI STAFF WRITER
Fresh off a 1-3 start at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland, the squash team looked for some home cooking as they took on fellow New York City school NYU at the Lombardi Center squash courts in the Bronx. The Rams fell 5-4 in a close battle with the Bobcats Saturday night, in a match in which Fordham could not capitalize on a strong start. Following a 11-8, 11-3, 11-13, 11-7 loss by Fordham senior Kincade Webster to NYU’s Max McCarthy in the first position, the Rams rattled off three straight victories to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the match. The first Fordham win came courtesy of sophomore Peter Yuen, who topped Gabe Bassil 4-11, 13-11, 7-11, 115, 15-3 in the second position. Jeremy Keller, the senior from Switzerland, secured the Rams’ only three game sweep of the night, steamrolling Aditya Kochar 11-5, 11-4, 11-5. It took one more game for Will Pantel to give the Rams their 3-1 lead in a 11-8, 10-12, 119, 11-9 trouncing of Ashad Hajeya. The Bobcats did not fold, and fired back winning the next two games in three-game sweeps. The first victory came from Luca Diadul over Ram junior Alex LaVersa 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, and the second was a loss by one of the Rams’ sophomores John Lennon 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 to Ginno Grocadin. Fordham seemed to have righted the ship with junior Jimmy Shinnick’s four-game triumph over Arvind Ramgupal 11-4, 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, putting the team one win away from its second win of the season with two positions left to be played. The Rams proceeded to lose in the final two positions, however, winning a combined total of two games. Bobcat Tyler Kang nipped Sahil Bahri 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 in the eighth position, forcing the game to come down to the ninth and deciding position. The Rams’ hopes for avoiding a 1-4 start rest-
ed on the shoulders of senior Matt Crowe. Crowe was coming in off a solid weekend at Navy, winning two out of his four games played. He looked like he might continue his success when he took the first game of the position 11-9 over NYU’s Morris Lipman. Crowe could not keep the momentum going though, as Lipman swept the next three contests 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 to hand Fordham their fourth loss in five tries. Fordham was hampered by missed opportunities throughout the match, blowing 3-1 and 4-3 leads. “When the team is up and leading its important to keep focused, what is really important is that each player has prepared himself for the match and are absolutely ready to play” said head coach Bryan Patterson regarding his team’s inability to hold leads. The result of the match was eerily similar to the last time the these two prominent New York City schools matched up. On Feb. 7 earlier this year, Fordham fell by the exact same score of 5-4 in a match in which, much like this one, they could not capitalize on a lead. In this match, Fordham was once again on the brink of victory, holding a commanding 4-2 lead when they proceeded to drop the last three positions. Perplexlingly enough, it was Matt Crowe who gave up the final point as he did on Saturday. The Rams sit at 1-4 with a lot of squash left to be played and Coach Patterson channeled the late Yogi Berra when asked about his message to his team: “It’s not over till it’s over, play hard and play tough, Every point counts.” Fordham is next in action Dec. 5 as they pack their bags to travel to Swarthmore, PA to participate in the Swarthmore Invitational. Its first two match-ups will be against Boston University and the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The Rams will also get one more shot at NYU this season when they face off on Feb. 6 of next year in the Bronx.
By SAM BELDEN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
This week, the European Tour season will finally reach its conclusion at the DP World Tour Championship. It’s supposed to be a fun, intense event that will end with one lucky golfer winning the Race to Dubai (think of the FedEx Cup, but European) on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the week will likely be at least partly eclipsed by a persistent truth: the European Tour is dying a slow, painful death. Just take a look at the top of the Race to Dubai points standings — basically a glorified money list. Unsurprisingly, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the European Tour’s highest ranked player at No. 3 in the world, occupies the top spot. He’s been there since his solo fourth at the Masters back in April. However, in the seven months since that week, he’s teed it up in just seven European Tour events for a grand total of 11 for the season. The second man on the list is Danny Willett, who had a career year at the age of 27. Since the Masters, the Englishman has played more than twice as many European Tour events as McIlroy, but continues to trail by the slimmest of margins. Don’t think that you can just chalk that up to timing — Willett was leading the Race to Dubai for the season’s first few months, before McIlroy notched his second win of the year. While he was excellent when he teed it up, McIlroy didn’t achieve his great Race to Dubai success all on his own—the Ulsterman was helped by a fair amount of modern golf-onomics. Co-sanctioned by the PGA and European Tours, the majors and World Golf Championship events (there are four of each every year) are the most lucrative in the world; their purses dwarf those of other tournaments. This difference is especially pronounced on the European Tour — its events invariably award considerably less prize money than their stateside counterparts. More than half of McIlroy’s European Tour starts in 2015 came at these ultrarich events (he went one-for-six, winning the WGC-Match Play). Meanwhile, Willett found most
of his success at the European Tour’s smaller events, notching wins at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Omega European Masters this season. This puts him at a considerable disadvantage, despite the fact that he was more consistent than McIlroy on the whole. Basically, McIlroy has coasted on good play in less than half as many events as Willett. They just happen to have been the right events. If the tour wants to keep its top players, this is the wrong message to send — that the rank-and-file tournaments are inconsequential. It only serves to drive home the point that the real prosperity to be had in golf is in America. This rampant level of big-event bias isn’t the only thing plaguing the European Tour this year. Sergio Garcia, world No. 11, won’t be playing in Dubai this week. On the record, he hinted that he was a bit fatigued, but it could have something to do with his meltdown at the BMW Masters on Sunday. The Spaniard was trailing by just one when he dropped three shots over the last two holes to fall into a tie for 11th.
Garcia’s absence isn’t as much of a problem in and of itself as it is a manifestation of a larger crisis facing the European Tour. It simply can’t hold onto its top players, not when the world’s elite have demanding schedules, growing families and swollen bank accounts. It’s telling that a $7.5 million bonus pool isn’t enough. The players just don’t want to spend 30 weeks on the road per year. It was bad enough when guys like Brooks, Koepka and Paul Casey announced their plans to focus solely on the PGA Tour in 2016. Now, Garcia, one of the European Tour’s most prominent superstars for almost 20 years, is refusing to show up for one of its flagship events for the second time in three years. If this isn’t a tour in trouble, I don’t know what is. So enjoy this week, golf fans — after all, the conclusion of a season-long competition is always exciting — but realize that it’s not all peaches and cream for the European Tour right now. McIlroy’s unceasing dominance and the absence of Garcia are symptomatic of the circuit’s ill health.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
No. 3 world golfer Rory McIlroy is atop the leaderboard for the Race to Dubai.
Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY Men’s Basketball
Thursday Nov. 19
Friday Nov. 20
Saturday Nov. 21 FDU 2 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
RAM ARCHIVES
The squash team is now 1-4 on the season after losing its first home match.
Sunday Nov. 22
Monday Nov. 23
Tuesday Nov. 24 Colgate 8 p.m. Lafayette 6 p.m.
Men’s Cross Country
IC4A Champs 9:30 a.m.
Women’s Cross Country
ECAC Champs 9:30 a.m.
Swimming
Bucknell Invitational
Water Polo
CWPA Championship
Wednesday Nov. 25
Page 24
SPORTS
November 18, 2015
The Fordham Ram
Football Ends Regular Season with Win By DREW CASEY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Fordham Football concluded its regular season schedule with a 38-31 win over Georgetown in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon, improving to 9-2. Despite the victory, by virtue of Colgate’s 49-42 win against Lehigh later in the day, Fordham cannot win the Patriot League. Colgate will receive the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA FCS Championship, regardless of results next weekend, and Fordham will await word on a possible at-large bid. Its fate will be handed down when the FCS postseason bracket is released Sunday, Nov. 22, at 11 a.m. “We’re 9-2. We’ve lost to Villanova when they were the number two ranked team in the country by seven and two to Colgate,” Moorhead said. “If we’re not selected as an at-large team at a minimum, it’s a complete travesty. We absolutely deserve to be one of the teams in the FCS Playoffs.” It was by no means an easy win on Saturday as the contest came down to Georgetown’s final possession. With 27 seconds left, Hoyas quarterback Kyle Nolan was intercepted in the end zone by Rams linebacker David Barletta. “He [Barletta] did a good job of getting depth,” Moorhead said. “He did a good job of reading the quar-
ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM
Fordham Football concluded the regular season on Saturday, edging the Georgetown Hoyas 38-31 in Washington D.C.
terback’s eyes, and made a play to seal the game. That was a great job by our defense in the second half.” As for the first half, Georgetown got on the board first with a quick Alex Valles 19-yd touchdown run, but then Fordham took over. The Rams rattled off 28 consecutive points to take a commanding 28-7 lead at Cooper Field. Junior quarterback Kevin Anderson found freshman wide receiver Jonathan Lumley from seven yards out for the first score before sophomore running back Chase Edmonds scampered into the end zone from five yards out later in the first quarter.
Anderson and Lumley connected in the end zone for the second time early in the second quarter before graduate linebacker Stephen Hodge intercepted Nolan and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Fordham held the 28-7 advantage with 6:37 remaining in the first half. But Georgetown did not go away. After an explosive kick return on the ensuing kickoff, Nolan scored on a 12-yd run just 26 seconds after Fordham’s defensive touchdown. Georgetown added another touchdown with just seven seconds left in the half to head into the break down just 28-21. Fordham opened the second half
scoring in the middle of the third quarter with Alejandro Cardenas’ 40yd field goal to go up by two possessions. Georgetown got on the board late in the frame when Nolan tossed another touchdown to cut their deficit to 31-28. In the fourth quarter, the Hoyas tied it with 5:17 left in regulation on a 34-yd field goal, but the Rams were unfazed. Fordham defensive back Jihaad Pretlow returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards to the Georgetown 21-yd line to set up the offense. “We have the number two kickoff return team in the league,” Moorhead said. “[Pretlow has] done a good job
returning kicks the entire year. We needed a play there.” On just the third play of the drive, sophomore running back Jarred Brevard scored his first career touchdown from the 10-yd line. The score put the Rams up 38-31 with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter. “Jarred Brevard going in for Chase and making a play for the game-winning touchdown, I can’t say enough about this team’s resiliency and tenacity and ability to stick together and find a way to win football games,” Moorhead said. “The bigger the situation, the better we perform. That’s been happening the entire season. When we need to make a play, we find a way to make it.” The game did not end quietly, though. The Hoyas had a chance to tie it late, but then Barletta intercepted Nolan in the end zone with 27 seconds left in regulation. Anderson totaled 217 passingyards for Fordham, while Nolan recorded 328 for Georgetown. Both Anderson and Nolan recorded two touchdowns and two interceptions each. Edmonds led Ram rushers with 141 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while freshman Jordan Allen led Ram receivers with 57 yards. Fordham forced four turnovers in the win, bringing their season total to 28 in 11 games played. In the midst of their bye week, the Rams will look to get healthy and will begin preparation for the playoffs.
Men’s Basketball Splits First Two Games By SAM BELDEN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Last Saturday marked the beginning of a new era for Fordham Men’s Basketball. The Rams’ season opener in UT Arlington’s College Park Center was their first game under new head coach Jeff Neubauer, who spent 10 seasons with Eastern Kentucky before arriving in the Bronx. While his team turned in an impressive 46-point effort in the second half, Fordham could not catch up and fell to the Mavericks by a score of 77-72. While the contest did not carry as much weight as Fordham’s upcoming conference games, it still served as an important test for the incoming coach and his team. “I scheduled this game,” said Neubauer. “This isn’t a game that was left over. I scheduled this game thinking it would be a great opportunity for our young team to come in and compete.” While the final result was a negative one, the Rams displayed plenty of skill under pressure toward the end of the game. Trailing by 17 points with eight minutes to go, Fordham began to stir. A layup from sophomore guard Antwoine Anderson helped spark a 15-2 run as the Rams trimmed the deficit to just four points with 4:20 remaining. Senior guard Mandell Thomas led the way for Fordham over that span, draining three shots from beyond the arc. After trading a couple of blows, UT Arlington turned the ball over, allowing sophomore guard Nemanja Zarkovic to hit a three-pointer. With just under four minutes remaining, Fordham was within one point of the lead.
ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM
After falling to the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday, the Rams downed Queens College 76-57 on Tuesday night.
What followed was a dramatic period of fouls and free throws, but — until the game’s final minute — the margin stayed the same. After UTA guard Erick Neal missed a second free throw attempt with about 40 seconds remaining, his team grabbed the rebound, but Fordham freshman guard Joseph Chartouny stole the ball, providing the Rams with an opening. Thomas attempted a layup but missed. Mavericks forward Kennedy Eubanks grabbed the rebound with five seconds left and was immediately fouled. Eubanks missed both of his free throw attempts, but UT Arlington recovered and found itself back at the line when Neal was fouled beyond the arc with two seconds to go. The guard sank all three shots to put the final score at 77-72. Despite Fordham’s prowess in the endgame, the team was done in by its 11 turnovers in the first half.
Thomas paced the Rams in scoring, making five of nine shots from beyond the arc and finishing with 21 points. He added three assists and a pair of steals. “Obviously he shot the ball in, and his value for the ball was terrific,” Neubauer said of Thomas after the game. “The three things we ask our guys to do are defend, have value and make open shots. Mandel did all three of those.” His backcourt-mate, junior guard Jon Severe, also had a productive night, scoring 16 points in addition to grabbing five rebounds. “I was really pleased with some of the things that Jon did,” said Neubauer. “If you take the two scrimmages we had [along with this game], he played his best game tonight.” Anderson, coming off the bench, added 12 points in 22 minutes. Senior forward Ryan Rhoomes contributed 10 points, including a couple of vital
ones at the free throw line toward the end of the game. He also added seven rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore forward Christian Sengfelder scored eight points and grabbed nine boards. Chartouny, making the start in his Fordham debut, scored just two points. While several Fordham players turned in solid performances, they fell short of securing a victory for Neubauer in his Fordham debut. Neubauer, 44, is no stranger to the Atlantic 10. He served as team captain of the La Salle Explorers in the early 90s and was an assistant coach at Richmond soon after graduating. For the last 10 seasons, Neubauer was at the helm of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, piloting them to a pair of March Madness berths. A proven winner with a career head coaching record of 188-134, he should inject some new life into a program that has struggled in recent years. The men’s
basketball team has gone 27-66 over the past three seasons. It has finished better than .500 just once since joining the A-10 in 1995. And yet, hope springs eternal as we head into another season. With three seniors on the roster, the team is structured to compete this year. Once again, the A-10 will be a competitive conference, but anything can happen at the conference tournament. In any event, Neubauer has plenty of time until then, and only time will tell if this really is a turning point in the history of Fordham Men’s Basketball. On Tuesday night, just prior to publication, the Rams opened the Rose Hill Gym for the first of 18 home games this season. Facing off against the Division II Queens College Knights, the Rams quickly jumped out to a 14-1 lead, in large part due to Sengfelder and Severe. The Rams maintained the double-digit lead at the break and held a 41-27 halftime advantage. The second half was played tighter as the Rams only outscored the Knights by five in the frame to go on to win 76-57. Four Rams ended the contest in double figures as the team shared the ball en route to its first victory of the season. Sengfelder led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Severe contributed 14 points and three steals. Rhoomes finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Thomas turned in 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. The team committed 15 turnovers, while forcing 23. The squad is next in action when they host Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 2 p.m.