Volume 105 Issue 1

DPS Tests Emergency Alerts Over Break

By DANA VATAFU CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Jan. 13, Fordham Public Safety sent out a test of emergency communications on multiple platforms to the Fordham community.

“We perform these tests at least twice every school year to ensure that the systems essential for your safety are working properly, and that both the staff responsible for sending emergency messages and the members of the campus community are acquainted with their operation,” said Public Safety in an email.

While Public Safety claimed these tests are performed at least twice a year, many Fordham community members have noted the infrequency of these emails.

According to Robert Fitzer, the associate vice president of Fordham Public Safety, these tests help prepare staff members for an emergency situation. Fitzer said they ensure users of the notification platforms are well-versed in their operations.

The Fordham Ram

Dining Announces New Option for Fall 2023

By GRACE GALBREATH ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Fordham University Dining is expecting many major changes in the new year. Following prior complaints about limited dining hours and lack of options, the University is going to work with students to ensure all needs are met. In the past, students have complained about the limited weekend cafeteria hours as well as limited eating options available during breaks.

Molly Ewing, FCRH ’25, finds no issue with the current closing times of the dining options.

Walsh

By EMMA KIM NEWS EDITOR

On Jan. 22, Walsh Family Library presented guided tours of two of its current exhibits —

“Confronting Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and the Resistance” and “The Remnants of

Office of Multicultural Affairs Hosts Week in Honor of MLK Jr.

By SOFIA DONOHUE DIGITAL PRODUCER

“Expecting the dining hall to be open late at night, until 11, and reopen again at 7:30 the next morning is unreasonable. I also think it would be a financial burden to make the hours longer,” said Ewing.

When asked to comment on limited dining hours and lack of options on the weekends and following breaks, Deming Yaun, university dining contract liaison, said the university is willing to adjust the hours.

“I am certainly open to the idea. I can research it and find out if we

By EMMA KIM NEWS EDITOR

The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) hosted a week of events to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Fordham. The events alternated between the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. The week consisted of four different

Presents Exhibits on Antisemitism and Racism

Jewish Life in the Bronx.”

The exhibits are a combined effort of work from Fordham students and professors. “Confronting Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and the Resistance” is curated by Westenley Alcenat, Ph.D., professor in the depart -

ment of history, Magda Teter, Ph.D., Shvidler chair in Judaic Studies and Lesley East, FCRH ’24. “The Remnants of Jewish Life in the Bronx” is curated by Reyna Stovall, FCLC ’25, with an exhibit of photographs by Julian SEE WALSH, PAGE 5

events, including information tabling and movie nights where the movie “Selma” was shown.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated a national holiday on Nov. 2, 1983 after years of work from civil rights activists. The legislation was initially introduced four days after his assassination, but it took 15

years for it to be passed by the federal government. In addition, it took 17 years for it to be recognized in all 50 states.

King was one of the most prominent civil rights activists. He advocated for nonviolent protests against racist laws and worked towards desegregation. He organized and participated

USG Faces Several Special Elections

By ANTONI ZLATANOVSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

At the start of the spring 2023 semester, Fordham’s United Student Government (USG) was met with a barrage of vacancies across multiple vice president and Senate positions. At the start of the semester, there were five vacant Senate positions in addition to an estimated three vice president seats. Each year, vice president positions include work having to do

with operations, budget, student life and health and security. During this specific special elections cycle, however, there were vice president vacancies within the Budgeting Committee, Student Experience Committee and Committee on Sexual Misconduct.

Special elections mainly take place when a vacancy opens up for a specific position, usually for reasons having to do with a member going to study abroad or possibly even stepping down

in this issue

A Tale of Two Classified Document Scandals

COURTESY OF EMMA KIM/ THE FORDHAM RAM Magda Teter, Shvidler chair in Judaic studies, presented the artifacts during the guided tour of the exhibit.

Jan. 16 honored Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a human rights and racial equality activist.

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PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

Jan. 6

Finlay Hall 12:20 p.m.

There was a water leak inside Finlay Hall. Public Safety responded. Water was leaking from the ceiling of an occupied room. The Resident Director on Duty was notified. The occupants were temporarily relocated while Facilities made the necessary repairs.

Jan. 16

Jogues Hall 12:30 a.m.

There was a smoke alarm in the 1st floor Lounge of Jogues Hall. Public Safety and FDNY responded. Investigation revealed the alarm was caused by overcooked food in the microwave. The room was ventilated and the alarm panel was reset.

Jan. 20

Goupil Hall 8:30 p.m.

There was a smoke alarm in the 1st floor Lounge of Jogues Hall. Public Safety and FDNY responded. Investigation revealed the alarm was caused by overcooked food in the microwave. The room was ventilated and the alarm panel was reset.

Jan. 21

On-Campus 10:50 p.m.

A student called Public Safety for a friend who was not feeling well. Public Safety responded and observed a student lying on the floor. The student said they took one CBD gummy and was light headed and was having a strange reaction. There was another student present who said they also took a gummy and was now having a rapid heart rate and physically shaking. The students were removed to a local hospital for medical treatment.

Global Outreach Celebrates Its 60th Year

Wednesday Jan. 25

McShane Center 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Get involved at Fordham and stop by the “Winter Wonder Rams” spring club fair! Students can meet over 170 clubs, organizations and departments and grab some free goodies.

By MICHELA FAHY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

By MICHELA FAHY & JACKSON LEWIS

The Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) has launched a campaign for one of their most popular programs, Global Outreach (¡GO!). Celebrating its 60th year, ¡GO! is one of the most unique ways to put your Fordham education into practice. ¡GO! is a “service and cultural immersion program rooted in social justice awareness and community engagement… driven by Fordham’s Jesuit mission of cultivating diverse leaders in a global society.”

Vanessa Rotondo, the associate director of Campus Engagement and senior advisor for Ignatian Leadership, offered some wisdom about ¡GO! over its 60 year history. “Historically, Global Outreach has gone through a few iterations as the needs and expectations of students have evolved.” The first ¡GO! program was in 1972; it included 27 students for a twoweek experience in Mexico. This ran successfully for almost a decade, with the addition of a project to Peru demonstrating the growing student interest. Up until CCEL’s establishment in 2016, ¡GO! ran as a club, with anywhere from 30-60 programs in progress at a time.

While the core mission of the program has remained, the original model didn’t reach farther than having “conversations about charity versus social justice, Ignatian spirituality, how to build a community,” Rotondo explained. “In 2016, Fordham participated in the Mission Priority Examen, which is the Jesuit standardization of mission…[wherein] vice presidents of mission from other Jesuit institutions evaluated how we fulfilled our University mission across the board.” From their recommendations, CCEL was born.

¡GO! operates in three parts: formation, immersion and sustainable outcomes. Under the guidance of the Division of Mission, Rotondo explained that “everything shifts to a level of critical service learning, rooting partner’s voices in the educational experience of students. Global Outreach is informed by the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, which takes its roots in the original constitutions of the Society of Jesus.”

“There’s the direct translation of the correlative value of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm in tandem with the formation [of each delegation], and then your formation reflects the immersion,” Rotondo continued. “We bring the global partner into those formation conversations… that’s where that dialogue comes in, and that’s a big shift from how trips were approached in the past.” This intentional approach to ¡GO! projects allows for each group of students to contextualize their trip within their holistic education as a Fordham student.

When asked about the expansion of the program, Rotondo also shared her goals for the future growth of the program: “When we do build out our Global Outreach map, we are being intentional with the Ignatian connection there… We reflect on the diasporic immediate communities surrounding Fordham, and the impacts of having delegations learn and engage with relevant global communities. For example, [CCEL] works closely with different Latin American communities. When a group of students goes to El Salvador, for example, they have the opportunity to continue engaging with that community in a meaningful way when they return with the Salvadoran community [in the Bronx].”

One student leader, Jacob Weinberg, FCRH ’24, shared his experiences with ¡GO! throughout his time at Fordham. As a freshman during the fall 2020 virtual semester, Weinberg jumped at the opportunity to participate in student activities; the ¡GO! virtual projects served as a needed outlet to meet students who cared about important issues on a global scale. His virtual ¡GO! project to El Salvador has since turned into a multi-year sustainable outcome initiative, the culmination being a fully in-person delegation to the country over the break.

The virtual project centered on the modern realities for Salvadoran people reckoning with their history and understanding their hopes for the future. Weinberg shared that this experience “changed how I understood myself and the world.” He noted that learning about women’s rights in Latin America completely shifted his perspective: “[Women’s equity] is a global issue

that is defined uniquely all over the world.”

Christians for Peace in El Salvador (CRISPAZ) is one of the primary community partners in El Salvador. The organization is “dedicated to building bridges of solidarity between the Church of the poor and marginalized communities in El Salvador and communities in the US… through mutual accompaniment.” CRISPAZ “strives for peace, justice and human liberation,” connecting students with leaders of organizations that strive for the same goals on a local level all over El Salvador.

Over the holiday break, Weinberg led a delegation of Fordham students on a ¡GO! trip to El Salvador, this time in person. Reflecting on the differences between his ¡GO! experiences, Weinberg explained that being a leader completely shifted how he contextualized and received the project. “The leader supports the participants in the intensive preparation and engagement with new communities in live time,” said Weinberg. Although it was admittedly challenging to plan and execute a project over 2,000 miles away, Weinberg “loved being able to see the group grow together.”

Weinberg emphasized his hopes for students who are interested in ¡GO! to apply to the program. Echoing the Ignatian sentiment of “being bothered” by the injustices of the world, he wants students to “feel energized to participate in local issues” in addition to learning about their global implications through their experience with ¡GO!.

Sophia Michelangelo, FCRH ’24, is another student leader who feels as though she’s been transformed by her ¡GO! experiences. Growing up in a Catholic high school, Michelangelo said she felt as though she’d always been steered in the direction of “community service” — terminology she’d grown accustomed to by the time she stepped foot on the Lincoln Center campus. But where high school skimmed the surface of social action, CCEL wrestled with new ideas, reimagining what it meant to positively and respectfully impact a given space.

The conventional modes of service that Michelangelo had been

This Week at Fordham

Wednesday Jan. 25

McNally Amphitheatre 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prizewinning author, is giving a lecture on “China’s New Civil Religion: A Challenge and Opportunity for the West.”

Wednesday Jan. 25

Rose Hill Gym 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Fordham Women’s Basketball will take on the Richmond Spiders in their annual pride game.

exposed to throughout her adolescence — the behaviors and methodologies that seemed to define constructive participation — she now recognized as but a fraction of the full picture.

“The whole idea of ‘community-engaged learning’ really switched on when I got to Fordham,” Michelangelo recalled.

It was last year’s project that “got me hooked on ¡GO!,” Michelangelo said. The 2022 trip to North Carolina was her first immersive foray into the depths of what the program had to offer. She recalled highlights ranging from lessons on sustainable textile production to pick-up volleyball games during free time.

It was an unexpected delight, engaging in such “athletic activities with a nonathletic group,” Michelangelo joked.

This past semester, however, Michelangelo decided to take things a step further by applying for a leadership position. “I wanted to create that kind of environment for more people,” Michelangelo said. She felt ready to lead, knowing that the ¡GO! model “prepared me more than I ever could’ve imagined… I was comfortable enough to give people what they need and communicate to be useful.”

Approaching her senior year, Michelangelo has begun considering the ways in which she hopes to pass the torch onto the next generation of collegiate humanitarians. She’s hoping to help others revel in the kind of groundedness that she experienced. “I’ve been kind of taught my whole life… we serve and we’re done,” she said, so “the idea of having conversations with the people you’re going to meet was something very new to me.” With this in mind, Michelangelo said she wants to promote the centering of individuals and an open mindedness that doesn’t exalt one’s current understanding.

Still, Michelangelo said that she knows this is far from the end of her civic engagement journey. She’s continuously cultivating a personal mission, discovering new things about what and how she values every day. According to her, one thing is for sure: “I don’t want to stop now.”

Thursday Jan. 26

McNally Amphitheatre 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Join panelists for a discussion on the conditions that allowed the ripening and spread of antisemitism in the years leading up to the Holocaust and its relevance today.

Friday Jan. 27

Pope Auditorium 7 p.m.

CAB presents the 10th annual Winterfest featuring Peach Tree Rascals and student opening acts Melissa Joy and Jacob Sins. Students can purchase tickets on the university website.

DPS Tests Emergency Alerts Over Break

FROM SAFETY PAGE 1

Fitzer also said that these tests reveal flaws or transmission issues so they can be corrected before any real emergencies occur.

“The primary goal of this exercise is to ensure that all our equipment is working properly should it ever be needed,” said Fitzer. “The emergency notification systems would be used for any critical incident, natural or man-made, that could result in serious injury to students, faculty and staff.”

The tests also prepare students for an emergency event by exposing them to what they will likely see during such an event.

However, during an actual emergency, students will also be given a set of specific instructions to follow as well.

“These emergency notification exercises introduce students to the types of messaging and delivery modes that they would be experiencing in an emergency,” said Fitzer.

The winter break period was chosen as the best time to run these tests because multiple public address system announcements needed to be sent out, some with loud tones.

During winter break, there is low attendance on campus, so the announcements can be sent out while causing minimal disruption to the Fordham community.

Robert Fitzer assured that Public Safety will conduct more widescale testing like this moving forward, and these training exercises will take place semi-annually.

Fitzer claimed that the tests help prepare both staff and students for real emergency events, but there is still a question of whether they really are successful in producing the desired response.

Some students at Fordham said they weren’t aware that these emergency communications went out over the break, or they failed to grab their attention at that exact moment.

“I was asleep when the tests went out and didn’t even realize they were doing those,” said Athena Homorodean, GSB ’25.

According to The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), crime rates have decreased from 28,600 criminal incidents in 2018 to 27,300 in 2019.

This is likely due to the fact that college campuses have been evolving their safety and security protocols like emergency communications. While these safety measures are being taken by universities like Fordham, on campus crimes still exist.

According to NCES, most of the crimes that occur on campuses include burglary, motor vehicle theft, sexual assault and fondling.

Public Safety encourages students to never walk alone, use the Ram Vans instead of public transportation when traveling into the city and contact them if they feel unsafe.

Public Safety also advises students to have a realistic plan when confronted with an assailant and to never value their personal belongings above their own safety.

United Student Government Discusses Club Proposals and Public Concerns

By SOFIA SEMPER STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, Jan. 19, the Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met to discuss club proposals and public concerns on campus.

The board of the “Fordham Backstage” club presented their club as a place where the students who have been involved, or hope to be involved, in the backstage element of theater production can come together and have a more organized production system. They stated that there are three theater clubs on the Fordham Rose Hill campus, but not a club that works solely for theater production which, the board stated, caused unorganized use of production tools and equipment. The board stated that the first club meeting would be a general interest meeting, the second would be a production sign up meeting and the third would be an inventory day.

The next club proposal that was presented was for the “Vietnamese Student Association.” The board of the Vietnamese Student Association stated that they wanted to create a space where students can come together and celebrate Vietnamese culture. Specifically, events such as Lunar New Year and the Hùng Kings festival. The club would host events for major Vietnamese holidays, connect Vietnamese students to Vietnamese Fordham alumni, collaborate with other Fordham Asian clubs and do virtual travel tours of Vietnam while explaining the historical and cultural background.

The first meeting would be to explain the club’s mission and the second meeting would be learning and playing traditional Vietnamese board games.

The last club that presented was the “Rose Hill Soccer Club.” The two co-founders stated that they wanted to improve the current underrepresentation of soccer in Fordham

clubs and to highlight an international sport since the Fordham community tends to give emphasis to national sports, such as American football. The weekly meetings would consist of soccer watchalongs, soccer debates, and discussions of recent soccer events. Some events that they hope to do in the future include soccer fantasy leagues, FIFA tournaments and soccer pick-up games.

Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Brianna AlOmoush, FCRH ’24, made a budget request for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s Black History Month event where she hopes to have a guest faculty speaker.

At the event, there will be catered food and a book giveaway for people who participate and ask questions during the faculty guest speaker assembly. Al-Omoush also stated that Bronx Appreciation Week will most likely be the week of March 27.

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Fordham Public Safety sent test emergency communications to the Fordham community during the break.

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Different clubs had proposals during the USG meeting.

Public Safety discussed Fordham safety during the USG meeting.

USG Faces Several Special Elections

from a position. As a result, USG is tasked to find the best candidates fit to fulfill such vacancies within a certain period of time. However, there is a strict process that comes into play when finding a replacement candidate.

First, an interested candidate must email their interest in a specific position, and their name will be confirmed within a ballot. The candidate is then tasked with giving a three-minute speech in front of the entire USG committee. Upon majority vote, the candidate with the most favor will inherit the position. For a vice president to be elected, they must gain majority favor of the Senate, despite the potential vacancies that may be present. If a candidate wishes to gain a spot within the senate, then they would have to gain a majority vote by the USG e-board.

According to USG policy, predecessors are not permitted to choose a successor. Although the special elections process is slightly different than that of the normal elections process, many members of USG do not have any issues in regards to the fairness of the election process. Senator Lucas Hjetberg, FCRH ’26, described

the special election process as “a matter of urgency,” when there is a vacancy needing to be filled.

“I have not heard anybody think this election process is unfair. But then again, I can only speak from my own experience,” said Santiago Vidal, FCRH ’24, executive president of USG. “We have had some imperfect situations in the past. However, the special election process has always been consistent and fair in past years.” According to Vidal, 25 people attended the most recent special elections, and the election policies are established through USG laws and election code. Although these policies were established generations ago, they were recently most updated in 2019 by former Executive President Olivia Quartell.

According to Senator Keegan Roeder, FCRH ’23, who was appointed to the Senate through special election, said the process was “certainly nerve wracking.”

“You had to speak in front of the entire USG and need to prove yourself to be qualified in order to gain support,” said Roeder.

Senator Peter McGowan, FCRH ’24, another USG sena-

tor who was appointed through special election, states that you “have to put your foot forward” in order to persuade current senators to vote for you.

Overall, various vice presidents and members of the USG Senate see the process as fair and beneficial.

In all, USG members aim to make it clear that the special election process is taken very seriously. In fact, the organization has guidelines that need to be followed during any election process.

Fordham Senior Researches Computational Chemistry

By ALICE GAALSWYK STAFF WRITER

Madeleine Marrone, FCRH ’23, is currently conducting a computational chemistry research project. Her work revolves around using machine learning to predict the composition of organic mixtures using infrared spectroscopy.

Marrone, a chemistry major, creates mixtures of organic compounds like ethanol, methanol and water, and analyzes the composition of these mixtures with infrared spectroscopy. She then compares this analysis with an analysis of the mixture created with a machine learning model that is supposed to be able to read the spectrum and make predictions about how much of each species is found in the mixtures.

“Machine learning models are algorithms that are usually commonly built into different coding languages. There’s a couple that are pretty universal throughout different coding languages; so I’m working with another student and he did a lot of his coding in Python, and I did mine in a different software called Mathematica, and so we did the same algorithms, just with different coding languages,” said Marrone.

To prime the software, Marrone gave the algorithm a set of data with a known association; in this case, she used a set of mixtures for which the composition of each species was known. This helps to train the algorithm to

make associations about the data. After this, she would then give the algorithm mixtures where the composition of each species was unknown to see what the algorithm would return back to her. This data that Marrone gave the algorithm consisted of a certain wavelength and absorbance value.

Marrone has conducted this research as a part of a lab run by Joshua Schrier, Ph.D. On a dayto-day basis, a lot of Marrone’s work has revolved around coding, working on building the algorithms and a data set that she could then feed to the algorithms.

“I collected some of the experimental data this summer with [Christopher Aubin, Ph.D.] and the summer research program, and we realized that some of the data I had collected experimentally was not lining up with data that we computationally simulated… and so that was a problem because if the experimental data wasn’t going to match up with simulated ‘fake’ data, then we might need to reevaluate how we created the original data set.”

Because of this issue, this semester Marrone has shifted towards trying to collect more experimental data more efficiently by automating the process with a syringe-pump system, which would eliminate the need to have someone in the lab at all times collecting the data.

Marrone first became involved in this research when she was

looking for a lab to join her junior year. Schrier had been one of her advisors since freshman year, so she reached out to him and started learning more about computational chemistry and the ways that machine learning can be applied. From there, Marrone came up with the idea of doing a project centered around purity. “I have an interest in controlled substance analysis for a forensic chemistry type of discipline, and that is a lot of what goes into that, like making sure that what you’re being told is in a product is actually the percentage that’s in a product; so I thought it would be interesting to completely computerize this process and maybe make it easier and more efficient.”

Currently, these types of processes have to be done manually, which is very labor-intensive, so working towards computerizing the process would be a great step forward.

In general, Marrone said she’s glad to have had the opportunity to develop coding skills especially as many employers are looking for people with these types of skills and experience. This research project has also helped her narrow down what she might want to do in the future, and she said she is excited about what this research could mean in terms of its wider scope. “And even thinking about broader applications, could this be applied to drug discovery, could that be a totally different field, like what other ways can this be applied?”

Fordham’s United Student Government was faced with several special elections in the past semester.

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COURTESY OF MADELEINE MARRONE FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Marrone is conducting a computational chemistry project.

COURTESY OF USG.EDU

Many Fordham USG Senators believe that the special election process is fair for all.

Walsh Library Presents Exhibits on Antisemitism and Racism

FROM

Voloj curated by Ray Felix.

“Confronting Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and the Resistance” highlights different artifacts from Jewish and Black people. Many of the exhibits have juxtapositions by showing antisemitic and racist artifacts and contrasting them with artifacts that highlight the issues of the time.

During the guided tour of the exhibit, Teter and Alcenat explained the different artifacts of Jewish and Black people. Some of the artifacts included postcards, songbooks, newspapers, magazines, books and other items depending on the time era.

For one of the exhibits, Teter and Alcenat described the contrasting images that some people had of Jewish and Black people by using the artifacts.

“You will see similar ways of caricaturing [Jewish people]… as all of these different stereotypes,” said Teter during the exhibit. She explained that certain features were caricatured for both Jewish and Black people to perpetuate

stereotypes.

Teter went on to show contrasting artifacts from the same time period that were actually from Jewish and Black people.

“But [these are] photographs of Jewish and Black people of the way they wanted to be seen. The way they wanted to see themselves and represent themselves for their friends and their families,” said Teter.

“Here is the [Jewish person] as the antisemite sees them and the [Black person] as the racist sees them, and here is how the people see themselves,” said Alcenat. “Whether you see it as them speaking back or just living their lives.”

East originally got involved in the exhibit because of a class she took called “Antisemitism and Racism” which was cotaught by Teter and Alcenat.

“I was in the class, and it was my favorite class of the semester. I was really inspired by Professor Alcenat and Professor Teter, and they asked for volunteers for their summer project,” said East.

East said that the class looked at two separate issues, antisemitism and racism, and was able

to bridge the gap between the two of them.

Before East started working on the project in the summer, she was able to contribute to the research in the spring since one of the class projects was curating a description for the artifact.

“Once we got into the actual exhibit, we had edited some things, but all of the core of those descriptions were done with student involvement which was really great… The fact that we had student participation was really awesome,” said East.

“The Remnants of Jewish Life in the Bronx” was inspired by a woman named Ellen Meshnick, who donated an archive of her parent’s things to the Center for Jewish Studies.

“Looking at all of the materials in the archive and some of the other items in the special collections department, [Dr. Teter and I] wanted to create an exhibit to showcase the unique period of time when Jews were the most populous group in the Bronx and what life for them would

have looked like,” said Stovall.

Stovall explained that a lot of the research centered around locating where each item originated in the Bronx and building the history around that.

“We created spreadsheets and maps to see which items were near each other and then used that information to look into the history of the items,” said Stovall.

“I believe that exhibits like

this save history that would otherwise be lost,” said Stovall. “A lot of people are unaware that Jews were at one point the biggest group in the Bronx, and by telling these stories, we are not only educating the Fordham community about the history of the Bronx, but sparking conversations that can in turn continue to educate others outside of Fordham as well.”

Dining Announces New Option for Fall 2023

FROM DINING, PAGE 1

missed an opportunity.”

Yaun said that the university is constantly working, changing and adjusting the available dining options to find what works best for the students and employees. He cited changes during the fall 2022 move-in as an example of prior collaborative efforts to meet the needs of the student body.

“In fall openings, we used to only have one place open. This year on move-in day, there were so many people all over campus that we opened up additional locations and

ended up doubling the number of people that we served. We are always trying to match the offer to the demand,” said Yaun.

Yaun also highlighted dining improvements that are expected to be made available for students sometime in 2023. He emphasized the marketplace renovation as a major improvement, saying, “It is turning into a destination dining plan.”

Yaun provided further description for the destination dining plan, saying, “Additional smaller venues are going to be open around campus with seating. While the

Marketplace is being renovated, we have some very exciting stuff coming in the way of temporary dining to get us through to the marketplace reopening. I think people will be very excited about that.”

While the Marketplace undergoes further renovations, other options will be available for Fordham students, staff and faculty.

“There will be a very cool convenience store going in and students will have access from the new section of the McShane

Fordham's Department of Jewish Studies Hosts Three-Part Series

By JULIANNA MORALES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Monday, Jan. 24, the Fordham University Department of Jewish Studies held the first part of a three-part Distinguished Lecturer Series. The lecture was entitled “Separation Anxieties: Jews, Judaism and the Creation of Christianity: The Great Man Theory” and given by Professor Adele Reinhartz.

Reinhartz is a professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Ottawa. She has written nine books, including “Befriending the Beloved Discipline” and, most recently, “Cast out of the Convent: Jews and Anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John.” Reinhartz has received numerous honors for her work. Two of these honors include induction into the Royal Society of Canada in 2005 and into the American Academy for Jewish Research in 2014.

The lecture discussed “the process by which Christians came to

view themselves as separate from and even against Jews remains one the ‘hot’ topics among historians and theologians of the Christian movement.” Reinhartz started the lecture by explaining two main points she wished to express. The first is a most simplistic statement regarding how scholars have defined Christian origins as a separation of Christianity and Judaism. The second point, the fact that discussing Jews and Christians is a source of anxiety among historians addressing early Christianity, leads to future discussion.

Reinhartz included a recap of the history she was speaking of analyzing in her lecture. She reminded the audience that Christianity began with a group of Galilean Jews who believed fellow Jewish person, Jesus, to be the Son of God and their Messiah. As the group grew, they began to separate from other Jewish people, forming their own practices, scriptures and beliefs,

and eventually they began referring to themselves as Christians. Reinhartz discussed that anxiety stems from this part of history. The way in which Christianity’s origin is intertwined with Judaism has created a tension surrounding this section of Christian history. There are scholars who believe that upon the arrival of Jesus, the Christians replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people. This idea leads to the belief that Christian gospel condemns Judaism, therefore creating a divide where Christians view themselves as above Jewish people.

Reinhartz raises the question of whether the break of Christianity away from Judaism is a result of their feelings of superiority or if post-split Christians felt their gospel earned them superiority. Reinhartz does not claim to know but states that

Campus Center. That will be going live somewhere between June and August of 2023. It will be there during the Marketplace renovations and also when we open next fall,” said Yaun.

Fordham students are very excited to receive the new dining options. “I am excited about the new dining options. I think it will be good for students to have places to eat with their friends besides the dining hall, their dorm rooms and the lounges. A change of environment is always good,” said Carolyn Kennedy, FCRH ’25

she has her suspicions. She delves into a discussion of the assumptions and hypocrisy that make up the basis of justification used for Judaism inferiority. She said that modern people tend to take ancient text out of context and twist it to support antisemitic beliefs.

The big concept that Reinhartz’s lecture addresses is what is referred to as the Great Man Theory.

Under the lens of this theory, Reinhartz presented her analysis of the early Christian writing validity. The Great Man Theory consists of multiple great men, Jesus only being one of them. This has caused critique of the Great Man Theory surrounding who the founder of Christianity was. The theory is imperfect, being very patriarchal and biased in nature.

The lecture concluded with the combination of Great Man Theory and the separation anxiety. Reinhartz states that the variety approaches to why Christian origins always result from the Jewish matrix and the Jesus movement originated from the debate over who the “Great Man” in the Great Man Theory is. These debates and tensions make it so that even though theologians acknowledge Jesus’ Jewish iden-

Yaun also highlighted amenities that will be found in the new dining options, mentioning new healthy and convenient food options and the possibility of selfcheckout.

According to Yaun, while changes to current dining hours are not likely this semester, the University is willing to adjust the hours that are offered in the future. “If people have suggestions, we are happy to consider them. At the moment, we have received no comments, but [...] we are happy to hear [suggestions]," said Yaun.

tity, there is still an alienation and narrative of superiority over Jewish people. Christians feel no obligation towards Jewish people nor do they feel a need to apologize or make amends for the hatred.

Other theories of Christian origins as well as messages and impacts on Judaism and Jewish history will be further discussed in the next parts of Reinhartz’s lecture. The next parts of the lecture, focusing on the Natural Succession Theory will take place on Feb. 2, with a third part about Conflict Theory planned for Thursday, Feb. 9.

Adele Reinhartz’s lectures are among numerous events being held by the Center for Jewish Studies this spring. Later this week, on Thursday, Jan. 26, there will be a discussion panel in observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The panel will take place at 5:30 p.m. in McNally Amphitheater at Lincoln Center.

The list of other events coming up throughout the rest of the semester can be found on the Fordham Center for Jewish Studies website. Additionally, anyone interested can sign up to receive their newsletter and be kept up to date on Jewish Studies events and news.

COURTESY OF EMMA KIM/THE FORDHAM RAM

Both exhibits highlighted different artifacts from the past.

Office of Multicultural Affairs Hosts Week in Honor of MLK Jr.

FROM MLK, PAGE 1

in multiple marches, such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the Selma-toMontgomery March.

He was also known for his powerful public speaking skills, including his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech.

On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. Even after his death, his legacy continues to precede him. In addition to the many accolades received during his life, such as the Nobel Peace prize in 1964, King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and re-

ceived the Congressional Medal in 1994.

President Tania Tetlow sent out an email to the Fordham community on the holiday to commemorate King and reaffirm that there is still work left to be done.

“On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we remember the state of the world King faced when he became the very young pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and was asked to lead the Montgomery bus boycott. He lived in a nation that trumpeted democracy but did not allow him to vote. He faced a society roiled by violence and knew that standing up with Rosa Parks

would probably, someday, get him killed,” wrote Tetlow.

“I came to Fordham because of the opportunity it provides in a world where the game is still rigged. I came because of how much Fordham matters and because we have the power to do so much more, and better yet, to inspire our students to go out and do more.”

Rashain Adams Jr. a graduate intern at OMA, said that celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. at Fordham is important to highlight history that is not always told the way that it should be.

“The civil rights movement

ended in 1968, which was only 54 years ago, and is a very recent event in the history of our nation. Our history books have a habit of creating a notion of the civil rights movement being a long time ago, however, most of our grandparents either grew up or were adults during the civil rights movement,” said Adams. “This means that they witnessed the atrocities of segregation and the treatment of peaceful protesters around the nation.”

Adams further explained that OMA’s events are intended to show students how fresh history is.

“We also attempt to show students the history so that they can

reflect and notice that there is more work to be done,” said Adams.

Overall, Adams explained that Fordham has a week of Martin Luther King Jr. events because one day is not enough.

“We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. week because a day is not long enough for us to present the history of the civil rights movement to both campuses in the way that we want to. The university is closed on the actual MLK day, so many universities and organizations celebrate the remainder of the week instead,” said Adams.

Fordham Partners with Career Center to Create New Seminar

By SOFIA DONOHUE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

This semester, Fordham College Rose Hill (FCRH) partnered with the Career Center to create a one-credit seminar for liberal arts students. The seminar, recently renamed Career Exploration, is designed to give students an “extra edge” in the professional development world. The seminar is taught by Annette McLaughlin, director of the Career Center and Cheretta Robson, senior associate director.

The seminar meets once a week on Thursdays from 2:303:45 p.m. at Rose Hill. However, Lincoln Center students may also register for the seminar; the Career Center team is aiming to

have the course available at both campuses in fall 2023. There are currently 13 students registered for the seminar.

The focus of the class is to help students discover and examine their career interests and potential jobs. Students who enroll in the seminar will develop skills necessary to advance their careers such as networking, professional presentation, resume-building and interview preparation.

“The course will focus on looking at different career paths and giving liberal arts students the tools and resources employers seek,” said Robson.

Before COVID-19, the FCRH Dean’s Office, the 2019 FCRH dean’s council and the Career Center had discussed the pos-

sibility of designing a course dedicated to helping liberal arts students explore various career paths as well as familiarize themselves with the hiring process. However, the pandemic caused the Career Center to put all plans regarding the course on hold. Therefore, this spring is the first time the Career Exploration seminar will be offered.

“Unfortunately, [COVID-19] hit and changed the way we all operated. During the pandemic, we created virtual communities, which were a success. We had over 80 students, all liberal arts majors, learn about various careers. As we all navigated the pandemic and employers are returning to campus, this was a great time to move forward with the course,” said Robson.

The elective course is open to first- and second-year students at Fordham. Therefore, one of the goals of the seminar is to help students build interview and networking skills in order to help them secure undergraduate internships.

“Students should take this seminar not only to get ready for the world of work in the future, but also to learn about the different kinds of jobs that are out there. The course is designed to help students create resumes and cover letters, gain interviewing skills, set up LinkedIn and Handshake profiles, discuss the importance of networking, search for jobs and internships and also hear from employers about the skills needed for any type of work-

place,” said Robson.

The Career Exploration seminar is just one of the many available resources offered to all Fordham students through Fordham’s Career Center.

Throughout the year, the Career Center hosts workshops, counseling services and networking events which serve as a chance for students to meet prospective employers from diverse companies as well as get their resumes reviewed by recruiters.

This spring, Fordham is offering three other seminars in conjunction to Career Exploration: Foundations in Research Engagement, First Generation Seminar: The Hidden Curriculum and Where Can the Liberal Arts Take Me?

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918

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

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The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of The Fordham Ram.

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OPINION

Pulled Between Two Different Realities

RAs the new semester starts, everyone has so much going on. Between scrambling to gather all of your course textbooks and trying to reach out to friends you haven’t seen in a month, January is far from a relaxing month that eases us back into the semester.

After a month of basically doing nothing, I have found that the back-to-school adjustment has definitely been a lot. Of course, “doing nothing” is not actually doing nothing. I only had a few days of winter break where I was actually able to lay in bed all day, as I often had some sort of errand to run or plan with a friend. Still, when those are basically the only responsibilities I had for a month, life suddenly felt like it came to a standstill.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like having a break. During the peak of finals, all I could think about was finishing all my work and finally being able to rest. Yet, when I did get home, it felt like being transported to a different time in my life. After being fully free to do whatever for three months, it felt odd to go back and suddenly not have the same freedoms.

For example, at Fordham, I could take some sort of transportation to anywhere I wanted to go, or even just walk, and I did not have to tell anyone. While I most likely was just

going to get lunch or pick up something at Target, it felt nice to be so independent. When I got home, I suddenly had to ask to borrow my parent’s car to go anywhere. It was also such an odd contrast driving around on highways that seemed to stretch on forever compared to the bustling subway of New York that you can virtually take anywhere in the city.

I guess the contrast over break also depends where people are from. I am from a suburb of Pittsburgh, and while I still got a decent amount of city exposure growing up, it pales in comparison to the constant bustle of New York. I think this is another reason why the break feels so drastic, and I am guessing a lot of other students come from less busy areas too. The quiet is nice for a bit, but I soon found myself sitting at home missing the big city.

Now, despite everything I just said about breaks being disruptive to my regular schedule, I am about to say something that seems to contradict that: It was hard to come back to Fordham. Even though I missed the routine I had, I didn’t want to have to say goodbye all over again.

After not seeing close friends for months, suddenly being able to hang out with them again 24/7 felt like a trip into the past. This time, though, there were no constraints of school

or responsibilities. It definitely made me feel really nostalgic for when I was with them and led to reminiscing.

All of this aside, I guess one of my main rambling lines of thought is that I thought leaving after each break would get easier. When I first left for college in the summer, it was definitely hard, but it felt like a coming of age moment. Even the uncertainty heading to a new place almost made it easier because I was going into the unexpected.

Now that I have officially been through two winter breaks, plus some other random school breaks, I think it has gotten harder to leave the place where I grew up. I think that each time I am thrown back into the past, it is harder to leave because I know all of the impending

Editorial | Campus Scooters

pressures and responsibilities of school. Not that this new semester isn’t exciting, but I become expectant and nervous at the same time.

Overall, after probably much nonsensical writing, I want to say that the point is that growing pains are normal. College is so tumultuous that often they won’t go away after the first year, and they continue to happen on the road to adulthood. And it might be weird to bounce back and forth between school and home throughout the year, but I realized these years are my last chance to experience both simultaneously.

While the transition can sometimes seem confusing and unbearable, I think the discomfort is what makes the overall experience so much better.

Fordham Is Finally Free of Scooters

On Thursday, Dec. 8, Public Safety sent a community-wide email announcing the ban of escooters and e-bikes, effective Jan. 3. The email stated the ban did not just pertain to the use of them on Fordham University property, both on and off campus, but the storage within buildings, walkways and sidewalks as well. In the email, Robert Fitzer, associate vice president of Fordham Public Safety, wrote that “the storage and charging of lithium-ion batteries in residence halls and other University buildings represent a serious hazard, as they may explode, causing injuries and starting fires.”

The Fordham Ram believes that Public Safety made the right decision to ban e-scooters and protect students, faculty and staff from a potentially hazardous situation. This opinion is only further cemented with the knowledge that New York City experienced close to 200 lithium-ion battery fires in 2022. The number of cases not only doubled from 2021, when there were 104 cases, but has quadrupled since 2020 when there were only 44. Two years is far too short a span of time for cases of these types of fires to quadruple, which begs us to ask the question: why are we seeing such a drastic rise in lithium-ion battery fires?

A Statista report claims that the demand for lithium-ion batteries is on the rise and is projected to continue doing so over the

next decade. Knowing that the demand for lithium-ion batteries is increasing alongside batterycaused fires and prompts the new question of whether or not the increased production has led to a blindspot in safety testing?

The ban of e-scooters and ebikes from the Fordham campus is not the first time Public Safety has had to ban a form of e-transport. In January 2016, after gaining popularity in the fall 2015, Public Safety banned smart balance boards, otherwise known as hoverboards, from campus. The ban of hoverboards was due to similar concerns surrounding the lithium-ion battery fires these devices caused. If Public Safety already knew about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries and the fires that can come from them, they should have banned e-scooters and e-bikes much earlier.

Regardless of the time it took to ban e-scooters and e-bikes at Fordham, the Ram is relieved to be rid of them. The scooters not only posed a fire risk, but they were also a disruptive nuisance for any pedestrians on campus as many have almost been run over due to the speed they are driven on campus. The speed capacity for an e-scooter ranges from 1530 mph while the speed limit on Fordham’s campus caps off at 15 mph. It is unacceptable to allow a vehicle that has the potential to travel faster than a car to be permitted on campus and to invade sidewalks and walkways full of

pedestrians. If people are looking for a quick way around campus, bikes would be a safer and less disruptive alternative.

However, not all students are as elated to be rid of e-scooters. Student athletes, the primary users of e-scooters, are now faced with the dilemma of finding a new mode of transportation around campus. The rationale behind student athletes using e-scooters to get around campus was that they were already tired from practice and walking to class or their residence hall was too tiring.

It is a given that student athletes participate in often exhausting practices. However, what must be taken into consideration is the size of Fordham’s campus. Fordham is not a massive campus, with nothing being farther than a 10-minute walk away. It is not that taxing to walk anywhere on Fordham’s campus.

Aside from the pedestrian flow returning to equilibrium, another annoyance the e-scooters posed has been alleviated. Oftentimes, these scooters would be parked, or haphazardly discarded, in the middle of hallways and entryways to buildings. Many could be found blocking the stairs in the McShane Center or propped against the hallway walls. While Public Safety banned scooters inside buildings, they continued to be an annoyance, placed directly outside of many entranceways.

Apart from the student athletes who use the e-scooters, it seems many students are against the use of e-scooters at Fordham. This ban of e-scooters allows students to breathe a sigh of relief of being kept safe in a variety of different ways.

The Ram, and a majority of the student body, bid a not-so-fond farewell to the e-scooters.

From the Desk | Emma Kim

Gas Stoves: A Threat to Human Health and the Environment

By LINDSEY OSIT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A recent study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that gas stoves cause nearly 13% of childhood asthma in the U.S. In addition, gas stoves emit high levels of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, chemicals incredibly harmful to the respiratory system. Eliminating the production of new gas stoves is the best way to address these health concerns, yet, the prospect of gas stove bans has been met with opposition from many conservatives. Culture wars have erupted on social media as Republicans protest the possibility of administrative action, with some pushing the false narrative that officials will forcibly enter homes and remove gas stoves. But the potential ban suggests no such action; the ban would only apply to new products. Homes and restaurants that currently use gas stoves would not be forced to give them up, and those who agree to the switch would receive a rebate to cover the conversion. In addition, vehicle and home heating industries have begun to embrace the transition from gas fuel to electric; the U.S. can bolster cleaner and healthier energy production by expanding

electrification to common household appliances like gas stoves.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg last month that gas stoves pose a “hidden danger” to consumers. “Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” Trumka said. However, days later, the White House announced that President Joe Biden would not support the ban despite concerns revealed by the commissioner. Studies have found that chemicals emitted by gas stoves can raise indoor concentration levels to those that are deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Exposure to these chemicals is linked to worsening asthma in children, while long-term exposure can cause the development of asthma. Currently, over 38% of U.S. households use a gas stove, which rises to 70% in California and New Jersey. If the government fails to enact a policy to prevent further production of gas stoves, that number can increase, posing an additional respiratory danger to Americans.

The gas stove debate isn’t new: correlations between asthma symptoms and gas cooking were confirmed nearly 50 years ago by researchers in England and Scotland. But, propaganda campaigns by groups like

the AGA have steered these findings away from the public eye. In a December blog post, the association argued that gas stoves make housing more expensive because “electric homes require expensive retrofits.” However, through the Inflation Reduction Act, consumers switching to electric would be eligible for a rebate of up to $840 to cover the extra expense. Electric stoves are also more efficient, saving money on energy consumption in the long run.

Regardless of initial and operational cost concerns, America’s priority should be to keep homeowners safe — and prolonging the production of gas stoves poses a significant risk to our health. In addition to exaggerating cost disparities, the gas industry is downplaying those concerns. The AGA responded to the published air quality dangers by arguing that cooking fumes come from all stoves. Yet, scientists have specifically identified homes with gas stoves as a risk for children. Brandy Seals, a nonprofit environmental group RMI member, urges a widespread switch to carbon-free homes. She told TIME that in-home cooking produces asthma risks equivalent to exposure to secondhand smoke. In a letter to the CSPC, a group of lawmakers added that exposure to gas stove emis -

sions can also exacerbate cardiovascular illnesses.

Dangers to human health have been confirmed by numerous scientists, lawmakers and organizations. But the negative impacts of gas stoves extend beyond the human scale. Scientists estimate that methane leaks from gas stoves exceed emissions released by 500,000 gas-powered cars each year. The same study stated that using one gas stove for a year emits the equivalent amount of methane from driving 40 miles. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, making it one of the significant contributors to global warming. If the Biden administration wants to be as dedicated to combating climate change

as it claims to be, it must recognize the environmental impacts of gas stoves. Overall, a federal gas stove ban’s benefits greatly outweigh the setbacks. The rebate can cover the initial cost of transitioning to an electric stove, but no consumer would be forced to make the switch. The ban would only apply to new products, so the restaurants opposed to transitioning would be unaffected. The boost in efficiency makes that investment worth it.

Lying is Okay — the House of Representatives Won’t Check Your Resume

By MICHAEL SLUCK PRODUCTION EDITOR

As the springtime approaches, many Fordham students find themselves applying for internships for the coming season. The first step, as any Career Center representative is sure to tell you, is the creation of a properly formatted resume, complete with all your skills and experience.

A word of warning, however: while it might be tempting to “buff up” your resume by stretching the truth a bit, lying on a resume is a fireable offense. Any company, from a technological behemoth like Google to your local mom-andpop donut shop, can terminate you if it’s discovered that you made fraudulent claims in your biography.

So why is the U. S. House of Representatives different?

Over the past month, headlines have revealed the series of false claims newly-elected New York Representative George Santos made during his campaign. Among other things, he claimed that he worked for Goldman Sachs (he didn’t), he has degrees from Baruch College and NYU (he has degrees from neither) and that he founded a non-profit

animal rescue group (no records for the charity have been found).

Despite wide-scale calls to resign, Santos has refused, saying that he merely “embellished” the truth. While some Republicans, including local leaders as well as other New York representatives, have called on Santos to step down, party leadership has remained largely quiet on the issue. Notably, newly-elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has declined to call for Santos to resign, saying only that the case could be brought before the House Ethics Committee.

George Santos should be forced to resign from the House of Representatives, and Republican leaders should be more forceful in demanding that resignation.

The main argument presented by some of Santos’s defenders is that Santos was dulyelected by his constituents. The voters of New York’s third congressional district, however, were misled. They voted for a man with multiple degrees, a man with extensive experience in the world of Wall Street, a man who spent his spare time helping innocent puppies. Santos, however, lied about all of those things, meaning that

when voters went to the ballot, they weren’t getting the candidate they were promised. This is no mere “embellishment,” as Santos has claimed; he lied about major parts of his experience, things that could have a major impact on the way voters perceive him. At the very least, they should have the opportunity to reevaluate their choice, in the face of the overwhelming amount of misinformation they were handed.

Furthermore, Santos may have irreperably damaged his relationship with the electorate. After such blatant untruths, why would any member of Santos’s district trust him? Santos cannot possibly carry out his duties as representing a group of people who know him to be an outright liar.

There’s also the issue of precedent. If Santos is not forced to resign, but is instead permitted to serve out the rest of his term in the House, then what is to discourage some future candidate from doing the same thing? One of the unfortunate things Santos has illustrated is the consequences of declining newspaper budgets in the United States; had the investigation into Santos’s past been carried out months earlier, before the election, he might

not have ever been elected. However, due to a severe lack of resources provided to journalists, newspapers were unable to serve in their duty as a government “watchdog.” With 435 seats up for election in the House (not counting senatorial, state and local elections), newspapers may not have time to properly vet every single candidate who is running. If Santos isn’t punished, then what’s to stop future candidates from attempting to fake their resume, knowing that there will be no consequences when elected?

Congress is ranked consistently as one of the least-trusted institutions in the United States. In a Gallup poll conducted in July 2022, only 7% of Americans said they had a “great deal of confidence” in Congress, the lowest score of any institution mentioned.

Trust in American institutions

is at an all-time low. McCarthy could use this opportunity to attempt to restore some small measure of trust in the House by forcing Santos to face up to the consequences of his actions. By beginning his tenure as Speaker by refusing to take a moral stance, McCarthy is doing nothing more than announcing to the American public that the corruption and hypocrisy that have plagued Congress for so long will continue under his leadership.

A reminder to Fordham students applying to internships this spring: lying isn’t only unethical, but it could get you fired. Unless, of course, you decide to run for Congress. Then it’s just par for the course.

Michael Sluck, FCRH ’24, is a computer science and political science majorfromVerona,N.J.

In light of their potential dangers, the government is right to ban gas stoves.

COURTESY OF PIXABAY

Lindsey Osit, FCRH ’24, is a journalism major from South Windsor, Conn.

Rep. Santos’s resume “embellishments” sold voters on a truly false identity.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

How Marketing & Media Fuel Diet Culture

By CAROLYN BRANIGAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

With the start of the new year, millions of people who have made the New Year’s resolution to lose weight are attacking their goal with full force. From gym memberships to fat burning supplements and teas, businesses are capitalizing on the public’s desperation for a quick fix. Marketing for weightloss and lifestyle changes has never been more intense, despite the fact that there are countless different methods and products that can allow one to reach their goal of losing weight, diet culture, for the most part, remains incredibly toxic.

The marketing techniques that are currently employed by diet companies focus on selling a particular physique as opposed to a healthier lifestyle. Companies’ marketing teams sell this idea through any means necessary, including through bombarding social media platforms with this kind of advertising. It is an irrational and irresponsible marketing technique, because it is a hyper-focused tactic to attract teenagers and adults, who use social media platforms more than other demographics and whose bodies

are still developing and are more susceptible to body image issues.

Most recently, Instagram was forced to crack down on weight loss marketing strategies which were targeting minors. As of now, Instagram has pledged to prevent underage Instagram users from seeing advertisements for weight loss products and remove any “fast-fix” claims regarding diet or weight loss. But will this really work? Likely not. Social media platforms like Instagram have been making these promises for years and yet the problem persists, so there is no reason to really believe that the Instagram executives are taking this seriously.

More specifically, current diet culture creates a system that measures body sizes and enforces guidelines for what, when and how much food should be consumed, but there is no focus on the nutritional value of the food being consumed. Current diet culture media is centered around equating size to health, failing to account for actual health of the individual. Diet trends like paleo, keto, low-carb and Atkins are all diets that can have long-term health implications. From something as

low-risk as having low energy to as high-risk as organ failure, these diets are sold as the panacea to health when they are simply a means to lose weight, not a way to get healthy. This perceived health is an incredibly damaging mentality because one cannot simply look at a person and decide whether or not they are healthy. There are so many factors that go into determining the health of an individual, so to make a decisive claim that an overweight individual is unhealthy is simply an incomplete assessment. Health is holistic, and only considering one facet of an individual’s health says nothing about the big picture.

Instead of thinking about self-care, the messaging behind diet culture is actually counterintuitive when it comes to health. By media and marketing standards of conforming to a particular “ideal” body type which is unattainable for the majority of the population, a new health crisis arises. The consequences of pushing such a strong “ideal body” is that people’s mental health goes in the toilet in the pursuit of this. It’s human nature to want what you cannot have, and there is no exception when it comes to diet culture.

Weight loss marketing has created a competition to see who can get closest to this unattainable ideal, and disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are stemmed from this need to win and achieve the ideal body. And sadly enough, 20% of the almost 30 million Americans who may experience an eating disorder in their lives will never receive treatment, because, with the current diet culture, they do not believe they have a problem. Though losing weight does not always have to feed into a negative spiral that ends in disordered eating or full-blown eating disorders, current diet

culture is most definitely a problem. In order to lose weight in a healthy way, people should be focused on the nutritional value of the food they eat and how it makes them feel. People should also consult with a doctor or a nutritionist so that they can decide if this desire to lose weight is really health-motivated or if it is nothing more than media-manipulated desire.

CarolynBranigan,FCRH’24,is anEnglishandfilm&television major from Tinton Falls,N.J.

Prince Harry Bares Too Much In “Spare”

By GRACE CAMPBELL DIGITAL PRODUCER

Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to leave the royal family in early 2021, the couple has gone on to share details of their time in the family and open up their lives to the general public. They’ve gone on to do interviews and make movie and podcast deals.

The most recent venture, and perhaps the one that has been most highly anticipated, was Prince Harry’s book “Spare,” released Jan. 10, 2023. The book sold 1.4 million copies on its first day and has been highly publicized and talked about since its release only two weeks ago. Harry and Meghan are no strangers to airing out personal stories to the public. However, in this memoir, Harry goes into detail more than ever before. Some highlighted topics include his mother, his romantic relationship, both with Meghan and others before her and his time serving in the military.

Some people applaud his bravery for talking about such difficult topics and have been flooded with compassion for

him, while others are quite honestly tired of hearing what sounds like the same stories in a new medium. I have to say, I’m in the latter group. When leaving the royal family, Harry and Meghan said they no longer felt supported in the family and wanted to lead a more private life in the United States. Which I honestly find to be odd given that the duo has never called more attention to themselves since leaving the family.

While I support their decision to leave and do what’s best for their family, airing out so much personal information feels counterproductive and frankly, no one really needed to know half of the information. As an example, Harry talks about his family’s disapproval of the older woman he lost his virginity to. That felt like a story that could have just stayed with him, as the whole internet doesn’t need to know and talk about that.

In some more emotionally heavy moments of the book, Harry details his time in the military. He faced widespread criticism for talking about when he killed 25 members of the Taliban while serving. This is no doubt a significant

part of his life that played a role in shaping who he is, but I don’t think it was a necessary piece of information to share. Regardless of it happening in war, those killed were people who are now gone and to include that in the same book as your family drama just feels insensitive. As well as the fact that revealing information like this is somewhat dangerous, with a response from the Taliban government already made. Current members of the U.K.’s government also made statements about their fears with stories like these coming out and what it might mean for their military. Rather than being candid and inspiring, as I imagine Harry might have assumed it came off, I found it more insensitive than anything.

While of course it is Harry’s life and he is entitled to talk about his own struggles and feelings, the book doesn’t come across as well as I think may have been intended. Working on his mental health and connecting with family privately seems like the necessary approach Harry needs after all he’s been through, rather than another venture appearing

to be a cash grab. The book felt like it was grasping at straws.

It is clear through all his interviews and now most recently “Spare” that Harry has faced and been through a lot and it’s easy to sympathize with what he’s gone through. However, the general public is tired of hearing what feels like the same story and with every new project that feeling only grows. It seems to me that after leaving the royal family, Harry and Meghan took on more deals than perhaps they should have and now are detailing parts of their

lives that really should stay private. I’m interested to see what Harry does next, if he’ll continue to keep working after the book’s release, or if he will take some time for himself and his family. I would think the best case scenario for all involved at this point would be for him to take some time away and enjoy the private time that he seemed to want initially.

Grace Campbell, FCRH ’25, is a new media and digital design major from Northborough, Mass.

COURTESY OF PIXABY

Social media marketing for “quick fix” diets is dangerous for mental health.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Prince Harry was met with harsh criticism following the release of his memoir.

Heigh-Ho, It’s Off to Work They Go

usually wouldn’t, which promotes creativity. In a sense, I find this relatable, especially as I’ve found coming back to school in person more engaging than on Zoom. Coming back to school in person has also allowed me to be able to focus more in my classes and think creatively by being able to interact more easily with classmates.

But while this aspect of Iger’s decision may be advantageous, being remote also has its pros, one of which is introducing more diversity. Women and people of color prefer remote work rather than in person interactions. Remote work is also a key alternative to the other problems that Iger’s decisions may bring on: the traffic-heavy commute to headquarters and the recent COVID-19 spike.

to come into work on time. This consideration would not only affect an employee’s schedule, but also their sleep, health and free time. These negative effects on an employee’s life can prevent the creativity that may come from interactions and may even do the opposite and decrease creativity in the office.

There has also been a recent COVID-19 spike, and an increase in work quota can lead to more employees becoming sick. In-person office work can also lead to more people spreading the disease, which would cause more employees to take time off work to recover. An increase in more employees taking time off to recover would halt creative progress as well as morale.

employees, this would reduce much of the stress that could arise from heavy traffic.

Regarding the recent spike in COVID-19, Disney could implement more safety and health measures such as more hand sanitizers around the office, better ventilation or providing more masks for employees.

Disney could also reduce general stress that can come from a work quota increase by promoting more self-care practices in the workplace such as exercise, healthier eating habits or light exercise.

By SAISHA ISLAM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, has called for starting a four-day work week beginning on March 1 at the Disney headquarters in Burbank, Calif. Iger stated that moving to a longer in-person work week would raise creativity, which is the “heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney.” While an increase in creativity would revitalize Disney from the slump its been in last year

when the “company’s stock fell 44% in 2022 — its worst year since ‘Herbie Rides Again’ was in theaters,” ultimately, Disney’s work quota increase creates more risks and seems like a bad move for business unless other factors are taken into consideration.

Regarding the benefits, Iger’s decision does have some credit to it. Research shows that faceto-face interactions have “more spontaneity” and involve more people talking to others they

When Disney employees were asked, one of the largest problems with in-person work was the commute. Disney’s offices are located in “traffic-heavy” southern California which would include an unpleasant commute on busy freeways during rush hour. Iger’s decision for a work quota increase would translate to more commuting for Disney’s 200,000 workers. The stress from the commute could well overshadow the benefit from in-person interactions increasing creativity. When workers have to take into account commute time, length and traffic, they may have to shift their schedules dramatically in order

Disney would also face other problems from competing companies if they undertook this decision. Other companies could keep their threeday work weeks and entice Disney employees to come over. Taking into consideration the hardships that a work quota increase would give to employees, Disney workers can be persuaded to work for other companies where there are less of these stressors.

If Disney wanted to reduce the potential of employees leaving for other companies, they would have to consider the hardships that employees would face. Considering the commute, if Disney gave more flexible starting times to

Overall, Iger’s decision for a four-day work week can aid in increasing productivity and creativity, but there are risks from a heavy traffic commute and recent surge of COVID-19.

Zoom and remote work provides a great alternative but in order for Disney to make the best of a four day work week, Iger and other company officials should consider employee concerns to make workers more comfortable. Such a consideration would raise productivity, creativity and morale.

’25,

A Tale of Two Classified Document Scandals

By EDEN COTTONE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

During the last week, more than 16 classified documents have been found at President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware.

Biden is, rightly so, facing backlash from this incident, especially considering that these documents are from his time as vice president. Many Americans this past week have questioned if we should judge Biden’s document scandal in the same way that we judge former President Donald Trump’s. However, as we learn more about the details of Biden’s scandal, the more clear it becomes that it is a completely unfair comparison between this case and Trump’s.

Many people are looking to draw various comparisons between Biden’s document scandal and Trump’s without fully understanding the characteristics of each case. For starters, I believe that comparing political scandals is an extremely difficult task and, for the most part, should not be done. That being said, I do not believe these two offenses can be judged through the same lens, simply based on the scale of each case. Though both politicians wrongly took the documents, we must not ignore

the key differences in these instances.

The documents seized from Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago are a completely different story than what we are dealing with in Biden’s situation. The main differences between these two scandals come down to the number of documents found, the content and the reaction of both presidents. Over 300 classified documents were seized by the FBI in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago house. As for Biden, the number of documents found in his Delaware home is significantly less. This is not my attempt to justify Biden’s actions; I believe that both the current president and the former president are extremely wrong for removing classified documents from the White House. That being said, the sheer quantity of documents must be taken into account when comparing these two cases.

How each president reacted to this issue must also be taken into account. The National Archives contacted the Trump administration in 2022 and requested the missing documents be returned. Trump put up a fight and did not hand them over right away. Eventually, he gave in and sent 15 boxes of documents

back to the National Archives. The boxes contained 184 classified documents, as well as 25 that were marked top secret. The FBI would, later on, be granted a search warrant of Trump’s house to look for remaining documents. They ended up discovering over 300.

Biden took a different approach and accepted responsibility for his mistake. The content of the documents found in Biden’s home was not of the same quantity or importance, though they were still classified. On top of that, the National Archives did not even realize Biden’s documents were missing. The White House counsel’s office was the one responsible to uncover these classified documents and took it upon themselves to inform the National Archives.

Biden and Trump also differed in their reaction to the documents being seized. Biden was compliant and turned everything over as soon as the Archives requested the documents back, whereas Trump refused to accept responsibility and even resisted handing over the documents. He insisted that they were no longer classified documents; however, there was no evidence to back up his claim.

These two scandals should be

an important wake-up call for the National Archives. It is crucial to put more restrictions on classified documents to prevent a situation like this from occurring in the future. There is no need for presidents and vice presidents to have these classified documents stored at their homes, especially after their term is over. It is clear that the scale of these scandals is what makes them incomparable.

The document scandals of Biden and Trump are two significantly different cases that should

never have occurred. Both Biden and Trump have wrongly taken classified documents from the White House to their homes, but, as I stated earlier, the pure quantity of documents and the content makes these very different affairs. We should not and cannot judge the Biden document scandal the same as Trump’s.

Eden Cottone, FCRH ’26, is a journalism major from Wilmington, Del.

Both Biden and Trump are involved in document scandals.

Disney CEO Bob Iger is enforcing an in-person four-day work week.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Saisha Islam, FCRH

is a biology major from New York, N.Y.

The Golden Globes Attempt A Comeback

By MALLORY ROOF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There was much controversy and media coverage over the Golden Globes coming back after their forced hiatus. Jerrod Carmichael, the host of the 80th Golden Globes, did not miss his opportunity to speak out on the controversy, and point out that he, a Black man, was chosen as the host after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (H.F.P.A.), the organization that runs the Golden Globes, was caught in a racial scandal. This racial scandal, where it was discovered that the H.F.P.A. did not have any racial diversity on its board, while also taking bribes from movies and TV shows so that they could get nominations, caused the Golden Globes to not be televised last year. Carmichael knew he was a part of the H.F.P.A.’s plan to reconstruct their image and appear more diverse to the media, and his candidness with the audience set the tone for the award show.

The H.F.P.A. has made reforms to its voting body in order to be more inclusive and have more racial diversity. Billboard reported that H.F.P.A. added 103 new voters, which increased representation for Black voters to 13.6%, 22.3% Latinx, 11.7% Asian, 10.7% Middle Eastern

and 41.7% white. While the numbers are still incredibly small, it is an increase from no Black voters in 2021.

Many celebrities still attended despite the controversies. There were many notable attendees such as Viola Davis (“The Woman King”), Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”), Austin Butler (“Elvis), Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu”), Julia Garner (“Ozark”) and Jessic Betts (“Dahmer”). The fashion reviews were raving

about the statements that the nominees were making. Eddie Redmayne (“The Good Nurse”) stepped out in a Valentino brown suit adorned with an oversized brown silk rose on the lapel. Attending her first major event post-pregnancy, Rihanna wore an elegant black Schiaparelli dress paired with a voluminous black floor length velvet shawl. Overall, the attendees did not cause any fashion atrocities.

The awards themselves were especially intriguing because of

the excitement over “Better Call Saul” and “House of the Dragon,” in a sense, returning to the nomination lists as they are both prequels of the legendary TV shows, “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones,” respectively. For the past few years, “Ozarks” and “The Crown” have gone head to head in the Drama Series categories. This awards show recognized the first time all four would be going against each other creating a tough competition. In the end,

“House of the Dragon” prevailed in winning Best Drama Series. Another tough category with lots of great nominees was Best Actress in a Drama TV Series. The nominees included Emma D’Arcy (“House of the Dragon”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Imelda Stauton (“The Crown”), Hilary Swank (“Alaska Daily”) and Zendaya (“Euphoria”). Zendaya came out of this battle as the victor for her role as Rue Bennett. Not only is Zendaya an actress in “Euphoria,” she is also one of its executive producers.

However, Entertainment Weekly, along with the general public, was distressed to see the stars’ harsh and rude reactions to the play-off piano music. Colin Farrell, Michelle Yeoh and Austin Butler all made sarcastic or direct dismissive comments to the pianist, Chloe Flower, who tried to cut their victory speeches short. These sharp-tongued comments showed the diva that many believe lives inside all movie stars.

The H.F.P.A. is hoping that these big moments from the 2023 Golden Globes are enough to bring them back into the good graces of public opinion. And considering the high media coverage on this event, it appears that they have at least retained their relevance it appears that they have at least retained their relevance.

Celebrities Go Bold at the Golden Globes

By CLAIRE KRIEGER DIGITAL PRODUCER

The 2023 Golden Globes started this year’s award season off with a bang on Jan. 10. This award show often predicts the trends that will most likely continue at other award shows, or what we hope will not be repeated later in the year. However, I found this year’s outfits to be far more elegant and striking than many other red carpets in the past. The stars that we all know and love pulled out all the stops for this year’s show after no red carpet last year. Due to the controversy surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (H.F.P.A.), the group of journalists that vote on the awards, the Golden Globes were not broadcast and were cut down to only a select group attending. Therefore, this year had much more anticipation to see what styles celebrities are going to be wearing this season.

There were two main trends I saw on the carpet this year, with the first being almost purely monochromatic black with some vintage, gothic glamor-inspired looks. Many of this year’s attendees flaunted Victorian-esque outfits that featured sequins, tulle and vampirish gowns and tuxedos that I found to be very elegant. The most eye-catching from this category of outfits was Daisy Edgar Jones. Jones’s look

blew me away, in her Gucci dress that featured an elegant bodice that flowed into a beautiful tulle skirt. Not the most conventional of dresses, but paired with her stunning updo, it was a breathtaking look.

Jones was not the only one to take the red carpet by storm in this style. Jamie Lee Curtis and Liza Koshy wore similar mesh-heavy, embroidered black pieces. Other notable looks include Natasha Leone, Jennifer Coolidge and Jessica Chastain who all wore striking, goth-inspired outfits. Although Chastain’s outfit is not black, the spider-like pattern displayed on the dress gave more of a mysterious, gothic impression. On the monochromatic side, Colman Domingo and Jeremy Pope sported stately, all-black suits. I was especially impressed by Domingo’s look, with the black diamonds that were featured all over his tux, something I had never seen done before, and thought it added more character to his overall appearance.

Another trend that I noted while looking at the plethora of outfits was the recurring theme of pastels. I was surprised at the surplus of muted blues, yellows and especially pinks that appeared on the red carpet this year. It highly contrasts with the other major theme of gothic glamor and is not a typical trend to see on the red carpet. However, there was a bountiful number of dazzling

pastel-centered looks. Pink was a very popular color for the stars this year. Starting strong, Margot Robbie wowed in a couture Chanel dress with a tulle skirt, similar to Jones. Billy Porter had an astounding Christian Sirano tuxedo that flowed into a dress. Elizabeth Debecki and Julia Warner were stunning in their elegant pink dresses. I especially loved the simplicity of Debecki’s look but enjoyed the tasteful ruffles that Warner’s outfit featured. However, my personal favorite of all the pink looks was Seth Rogen. Although not the most complex outfit, his pastel suit radiated old Hollywood.

Although not pink, Ayo Edebiri’s pastel blue dress paired with mustard yellow gloves, while unconventional,

was a beautiful combination. Also in pastels include familiar faces such as Laverne Cox, Anna Taylor-Joy and Kaley Cuoco whose brightly colored outfits shined on the red carpet.

Overall, I found this year’s looks to be intriguing and masterful. There was not very much overlap between the two themes, however, there were some outliers such as Letitia Wright and Jenna Ortega whose looks were independently stunning. I searched through pictures online, trying to find one I could genuinely critique but found nothing.

This year’s Golden Globes red carpet hosted some of the best looks I have seen. This could be due to the fact there was no chance for these actors to shine last year, causing them to go for

broke with this year’s fashion.

This surplus of wondrous looks leads to a true struggle to name just one person “Best Dressed.” Everyone has different stylistic opinions, but after surveying the celebrities who attended, I landed on Ana de Armas’ look being my favorite. I enjoy the simplicity of her white and black Louis Vuitton dress. The dress possesses a sense of sophistication with the patterned panel on the front and the lack of distracting jewelry.

I was struck by how astounding she looked in something that should have been perhaps less in vogue. Armas, however, did not fail to leave a lasting impression on this year’s Golden Globes.

The Golden Globes’ red carpet established the red carpet trends that fans can expect to see throughout the year.

After the 2022 drama, the H.F.P.A. attempted to improve their reputation by facing the controversy head-on.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

MEET THE STAFF

ISABEL DANZIS - EDITOR IN CHIEF

Isabel Danzis is a junior from Bethesda, Md.

She is double majoring in journalism and digital technologies and emerging media. The Ram has been a very important part of her college experience. She originally joined the Ram staff as the Volume 103 Assistant News Editor. She worked as News Editor for Volume 104 and is excited to be Editor in Chief for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Isabel enjoys reading, writing, crocheting and exploring New York City.

MICHAEL SLUCK - PRODUCTION EDITOR

Michael Sluck is a junior from New Jersey majoring in political science and computer science. He has been copy editing for The Fordham Ram for the entirety of his college career, and looks forward to continuing to serve as Production Editor during Volume 105. At the Ram, you can find him deleting Oxford commas, posing philosophical questions or participating in the intramural volleyball team.

MATT COLUCCI - BUSINESS DIRECTOR

Matthew Colucci is a sophomore from Long Island, N.Y., majoring in marketing at the Gabelli School of Business. He has been managing the Business Team for The Fordham Ram since Volume 104 and is really excited for Volume 105. He is looking for anyone who may be interested in helping out the Business Team!

HANNAH BORING - COPY CHIEF

Hannah Boring is a sophomore coming from Annapolis, Md., majoring in English. She started as a copy editor for Volume 103, fell in love with it and joined Volume 104 as Assistant Copy Chief. Now, she is excited to keep doing what she loves as Volume 105’s Copy Chief. When she’s not drawing little circles on the print editions, she can be found blasting Taylor Swift, reading the next best rom com and leading the Ram’s intramural volleyball team to endless victory.

EMMA KIM - NEWS EDITOR

Emma Kim is a sophomore from Pittsburgh. She is double majoring in economics and English. She started as a contributing writer for news in her freshman year and became Assistant News Editor for Volume 104. She is excited to be News Editor for Volume 105. In addition to the Ram, Emma enjoys reading, participating in other clubs and exploring the city.

SOFIA DONAHUE - ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Sofia Donahue is a sophomore hailing from Kensington, Md. majoring in English and history. Sofia began writing for news her freshman year and worked as a digital producer for Volume 104. She is excited to be Assistant News Editor for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Sofia loves to read, explore New York City and rewatch her favorite shows.

SEBASTIAN DIAZ - MANAGING EDITOR

Sebastian Diaz is a junior from Chapel Hill, N. C. who is double majoring in journalism and film. After starting as a news reporter for The Fordham Ram during Volume 102, Sebastian has stayed with the newspaper ever since in various staff positions, including Features Editor and Editorial Director. For Volume 105, Sebastian is still on staff as Managing Editor. When they aren’t working at the Ram, you can usually find Sebastian reading, watching movies or playing drums.

JAMISON RODGERS - EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Jamison Rodgers is from Silver Spring, Md. She is pursuing a major in English, concentrating in creative writing, and a minor in psychology. Jamison started working for the Ram the fall of her freshman year as an opinion writer before moving to the production side as a copy editor. She is excited to take on a new role as Editorial Director for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Jamison is employed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and dominates the court as a member of the Ram’s intramural volleyball team.

FRANCES SCHNEPFF - MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Frances Schnepff is a sophomore hailing from Chicago, majoring in communications and minoring in marketing and French. She has been the Ram’s Social Media Director for the past year and is excited to take on the role of Multimedia Director for Volume 105. In her spare time, Frances loves reading and watching films!

SOPHIA FORLENZA - ASST. COPY CHIEF

Sophia Forlenza is a junior from Brookfield, Conn. She is majoring in digital technologies and emerging media and minoring in television. She first joined the Ram as a copy editor for Volume 104 and is thrilled to join the staff for Volume 105 as Assistant Copy Chief. If she’s not at the copy table in B-52, she’s most likely writing music or relaxing with a cup of English breakfast tea and an episode of “Stranger Things.”

SAMANTHA MINEAR - FEATURES EDITOR

Samantha “Sam” Minear is a junior from Long Branch, N. J., majoring in international studies and communications. She started as a contributing writer during her freshman year and slowly ascended the ranks to Features Editor. Sam is passionate about amplifying underrepresented voices and bringing awareness to otherwise taboo or marginalized topics. Outside of the Ram, Sam can be seen flexing her muscles as the SRA of O’Hare Hall or playing the flute.

GRACE GALBREATH - ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Grace Galbreath is a sophomore from Willow Grove, Pa. majoring in communications and minoring in journalism. She began writing for the Ram spring of her freshman year and is very excited to be joining the staff as an Assistant News Editor for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Grace can be found running in the Botans, exploring New York City and spending time with friends and family.

MEET THE STAFF

NICOLE BRAUN - OPINION EDITOR

Nicole Braun is a junior from Saddle River, N.J. and she is thrilled to be a member of Volume 105! Her love for writing and editing led her to begin writing for Volume 102, serve as Opinion Editor for Volume 104 and pursue a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing. Outside of her love for the Ram, Nicole enjoys reading, discussing and debating all sorts of media and playing volleyball with her friends.

EVAN McMANUS - ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Evan McManus is a sophomore from Dover, Mass., majoring in political science. He started writing opinion articles for the Ram during his sophomore year and will be working as an Assistant Opinion Editor for Volume 105. In this role, he hopes to promote Fordham students’ voices through the Opinion Section. Outside of the Ram, he loves to watch movies, be outdoors and hang out with friends.

OLIVIA TEARE - ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Olivia Teare is a freshman from Duxbury, Mass., double majoring in anthropology and English and minoring in linguistics. She joined the Ram as a contributing writer within her first week and is now entering Volume 105 as one of the two Assistant Opinion Editors. Outside of the Ram, you can find Olivia coxing for the Fordham women’s rowing team or burning through her dining dollars on almond milk cappuccinos from Starbucks.

KARI WHITE - CULTURE EDITOR

Kari White is a junior from the blink-andyou’ll-miss-it state of Delaware. She is majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, as well as minoring in environmental studies. This will be her second volume as a culture editor, and she’s excited to continue ranting about pop culture, documenting events throughout the city and highlighting the talents of Fordham’s own student body. Beyond the Ram, she enjoys hiking, reading and trying new foods.

MADDIE BIMONTE - SPORTS EDITOR

Maddie Bimonte is a junior from Raleigh, N. C. majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. She first joined the Ram writing for the sports section during Volume 103 and became one of the Assistant Sports Editor for Volume 104. She is super excited to take on the role as co-editor of the Sports section for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Maddie dedicates her time to WFUV Sports and endlessly talking about her favorite team, the New York Mets, curating Spotify playlists and hiking.

LOU ORLANDO - ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Lou Orlando is a sophomore from Brooklyn, N. Y. majoring in journalism. He joined the Ram as a freshman, writing articles for the sports section. Lou is thrilled to take over as Assistant Sports Editor for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Lou plays an active role at WFUV Sports and is fiercely dedicated to defending the sport of hockey and his beloved New York Rangers.

LILY POORMAN - VIDEO PRODUCER

Lily Poorman is a sophomore from Naples, Fla. majoring in philosophy and double minoring in peace and justice studies and visual arts. She’s excited to join the Ram this year as the Visual Director and Video Producer for Volume 105. In her free time, Lily enjoys reading and watching movies and live music.

ILAINA KIM - CULTURE EDITOR

Ilaina Kim is a junior from Atlanta pursuing a major in English with a minor in philosophical studies. She joined The Fordham Ram as an Assistant Editor for the Culture Section and is excited to join Volume 105 as an editor. When she’s not in the Keating piano room or St. Rose’s Garden, you can find her sketching, reading or watching movies.

LAUREN LOMBARDI - ASST. CULTURE EDITOR

Lauren Lombardi is a sophomore from Long Island, N.Y. majoring in communications. Lauren began as a contributing writer for The Fordham Ram her freshman year and is excited to join the staff as Assistant Culture Editor for Volume 105. Besides writing and editing for the Ram, Lauren enjoys reading, going to concerts and spending time with friends.

NICK GUZMAN - SPORTS EDITOR

Nick Guzman is a sophomore from Flemington, N.J. majoring in journalism. He first joined the Ram as a freshman, beginning as a contributing writer before serving as Sports Editor for Volume 104. Nick is excited to be back in that same position for Volume 105. Outside of the Ram, Nick is involved with WFUV Sports as a producer, beat reporter and commentator.

RORY DONAHUE - SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Rory Donahue is a sophomore from Haverford, Pa., majoring in digital technologies and emerging media and minoring in marketing. She joined the Ram this year for her love of writing and the Fordham community. In Volume 105, she is very excited to serve as the Social Media Director. Outside of the Ram, she loves to spend time with friends, read books and go on walks in the Botanical Gardens!

ALEX ANTONOV - PHOTO EDITOR

Alex Antonov is a sophomore from New Jersey majoring in economics. She is very excited to join the Volume 105 crew as Photo Editor and share her love for telling stories through photography. Outside of the Ram, Alex is also a member of the Fordham swimming and diving team. She loves reading, art, exploring NYC and spending time in nature.

“Babylon” Doesn’t Quite Hit it Out of the Park

By LANDIS HALL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“All art aspires to music” — this musing, spoken by the reckless and vain movie star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) in “Babylon,” can be thought of as something of a maxim for director Damien Chazelle’s career. Fresh off the success of his award-season darlings “Whiplash” and “La La Land,” his new film aims the camera towards the jazz age right as Hollywood was beginning its clunky transition away from silent pictures. It’s the kind of big budget, auteurist passion project that many directors try their hand at, like a “Boogie Nights” for the roaring ’20s instead of the disco era. Damien Chazelle is among the most talented filmmakers of his generation, but in this film’s case, he’s no Paul Thomas Anderson. In some regards, the gamble of this film pays off. In other areas, however, one is left wondering just how exactly they’re supposed to feel about the disconcerting images being shown.

“Babylon” is the kind of swing-for-the-fences epic that doesn’t quite hit it out of the park, but it makes it to second base at least. The film follows an ensemble cast of characters for the entirety of its whopping three-hour runtime; Manny Torres (Diego Calva) is our protagonist, a low man on the Hollywood totem pole

with big dreams, while the aforementioned Conrad must reconcile his bombastic persona with the limitations of his own stardom. Margot Robbie, starring as the up and coming star Nellie LaRoy, is the film’s heart and soul, while her fiery recklessness drives her and the audience down an increasingly tragic path. Jovan Adepo plays a jazz trumpeter who ends up striking it big in Hollywood but must face its ugly underbelly head on. His story, in spite of my engagement with it, feels only cursory to the main plot, and one can’t help but wonder if a more intimate film centered around his character lies on the cutting room floor somewhere.

Jazz, of course, is Chazelle’s bread and butter. Frequent collaborator Justin Hurwitz provides a swinging score that recalls the big band jazz of old, and the film is at its best during loose, rhythmically edited sequences centered around the music. It’s puzzling, then, why the film insists upon dull long takes, something its forefather “Boogie Nights” does much better.

Speaking of Anderson’s film, “Babylon” commits a cardinal sin by reminding the audience of much better movies they could be watching instead. Looking past its reverence towards both the silent era and the large scale epics that inspired it, the film really doesn’t seem to be anything

besides shocking. The main draws of the movie are the large, wild scenes depicting depraved Hollywood shindigs, which seem to just be an excuse to portray the most offensively lurid acts the filmmakers could think of. The opening sequence alone involves liberal amounts of drugs, bodily fluids and elephant feces, and the result is much less effective than it thinks it is.

Even beyond this depraved introduction, the film never eases its grip on the audience’s neck. Some breathing room would have been appreciated, as that kind of constant breakneck pace works well in tightly-wound suspense pictures but not so much in these spectacular period pieces. Occasionally, the film

truly dazzles; a long day of moviemaking culminates in the magic of finding that perfect shot, and the brief depictions of jazz bands in action are kinetic audiovisual treats. The ending is especially flooring; it’s commendable in its sheer audacity and unpredictability despite being a bit out of place. Still, these scenes are few and far between, and the film could have spent far more time in the editing room. It doesn’t quite hit all the marks it wants to, but “Babylon” is almost certainly among the last of its kind.

Before the movie began playing, a brief clip of Calva and Robbie played in which they thanked the audience for “seeing ‘Babylon’ the way

it was meant to be seen” in a heavily crowded theater. I was one of maybe five people in attendance. The film is something of an odd duck compared to the other ones playing at the cinema. It’s an old-fashioned, practical effects driven piece filmed on real 35mm film stock, a sharp contrast to the cheap looking digital ventures that dominate screens today. While I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it based on its merits alone, I must do so regardless solely because mid-budget auteur pictures might go extinct in the near future, just as the silents made way for the talkies. Is this shift for the better? I don’t think so, but I suppose only time will tell.

Making Mac and Cheese With Ease

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

Let’s be honest with ourselves: the hardest part of college is not the essays, Socratic seminars or the hours of studying — it’s feeding yourself. Finding good food on a campus infamous for its virtually inedible menu is a challenge not for the faint of heart, and even if you manage to escape campus cuisine by getting a dorm/apartment with a kitchen, then you have to cook. Gross.

Cooking good food can be time intensive or terrifying, causing a lot of people to spend exorbitant amounts of money eating out or eating soul-sucking food. What this column aims to do, then, is to empower college students to make good, cheap, easy food. Or, at the very least, to doctor the cheap, easy meals we have grown accustomed to.

Therefore, for the inaugural article, let’s start with a classic: macaroni and cheese. Known affectionately as “mac’n’cheese,” “macaroni” or just “mac,” this

dish can be the best thing ever on a dark, cold night after a day full of studying. However, it can also be disgusting. The Cosi mac’n’cheese? Kraft instant mac? Velveeta? While they all definitely hit the spot when you’re craving fast mac’n’cheese, I would be hesitant to label any of them as “good.” They certainly don’t hold a candle to home-made mac’n’cheese, where macaroni noodles are mixed with a sauce made of different cheeses and baked under a cover of bread crumbs. Just the thought of my mother’s homemade mac’n’cheese makes the prospect of consuming Cosi’s orange, gooey imitation a bit depressing. But after scouring websites like All Recipes and Reddit for easy hacks, I have found a few easy tips to incorporate some of that home-made magic into instant mac’n’cheese, without adding more than a few minutes of cooking time.

First, add fresh cheese. Despite its obviousness, this step still raises questions of what cheese to add. According to Food Network, sharp cheddar is the best cheese to use for mac’n’cheese as it “strikes just the right balance between meltability and flavor.” Blocks or bags of sharp cheddar are typically fairly cheap, ensuring that they fit into most

student’s (often meager) budget. Whether you buy a bag of preshredded sharp cheddar or shred it on your own, if you mix it into your macaroni as you combine your cooked pasta with the orange sauce or powder from your stove-top dish, your meal will be improved tremendously. This also works for microwaveable, instant mac’n’cheese. How much shredded cheddar you choose to add, however, is up to you.

Second, don’t be afraid to add some heat. My world changed forever when I added hot sauce to the Cosi mac’n’cheese in my freshmen year. Now, I know, you’re thinking how amazing this revelation, which no one has ever had before, is, but it does significantly improve the flavor profile of subpar mac’n’cheese without more than a few shakes of your wrist. Cosi even keeps hot sauce on hand, making it even more convenient. More classic spices to include in your mac’n’cheese include garlic powder, cayenne and black pepper. These each lend different characteristics to the overall salty profile of mac’n’cheese, so I would recommend experimenting with each in order to discover what you prefer.

At long last, here comes the most avante-garde mac’n’cheese

alteration: boil the macaroni noodles in milk, rather than water. The boiling milk extracts the starch from the pasta, making a thick liquid that combines with cheese to create a thicker, creamier sauce. Spend with Pennies suggests boiling the macaroni noodles in 2.5-3 cups of milk, and a quarter cup of water. The biggest difference from traditional stovetop mac’n’cheese, however, is that after the macaroni is done cooking, do not drain the noodles but mix the cheese directly into the pot. This should create mac’n’cheese with a richer, creamier sauce than its traditional stovetop counterpart.

Combine this with the two tips mentioned before, and you’re sure to up your mac’n’cheese game.

At the end of every article in this column, I’ll rate the recipe or tips described in the article on a difficulty scale likening them to the different dorm buildings on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. For example, as the first two tips in this article require only ingredients that you can keep in housing approved mini-fridges and a microwave, they would be rated a Martyrs’ Court Lalande. As the final tip, however, necessitates the use of a stove and pot, I’m going to bump it up to a… Difficulty Level: Martyrs’ Court Jogues.

Mac and Cheese is a classic comfort meal for all struggling college kids.

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Though not completely disappointing, Chazelle’s “Babylon” falls short of his more acclaimed films.

“Puss in Boots” Sequel Exceeds Expectations

By ZOE KAROUB CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I can’t stress enough the seriousness of the following claim: In a year of great films, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is near the top of my list. The original “Puss in Boots” came out 12 years ago (I know), and the sequel faced multiple delays due to DreamWorks restructuring. I was more than ready to see the results. Based on the box office numbers, audiences everywhere agreed. I saw the movie in the same way I saw most movies 12 years ago — in a theater. After fighting the urge to purchase a Puss in Boots collectible cup, I took my seat in a room full of teenagers and adults. This was clearly a nostalgic moment for most viewers. I went to the theater for nostalgia as well, but a small part of me just thought the idea was funny. Over the next 100 minutes, I became unironically invested in the animated world of “Puss in Boots.”

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is the story of Puss (Antonio Banderas) in his last life. As the saying goes, a cat has nine lives, and Puss has died eight times. Suddenly, the socalled “Fearless Hero” is not so fearless, and, when he learns about a magical Wishing Star, he embarks on a mission to wish for more lives. Puss is not

fans of the Shrek Cinematic Universe will be happy to hear that multiple Shrek characters make appearances as well. Motivated by both benevolent and nefarious wishes, each character must decide what truly matters in life.

Plenty of children’s movies have dealt with mortality. Who hasn’t been slightly traumatized by “The Lion King,” “Bambi” or “Up?” However, few have the ability to make mortality a central theme and explore it in-depth. “Puss in

Boots: The Last Wish” handles death in a digestible way. With an emphasis on love, light and kindness, the movie wonderfully balances out its darker and more mature moments.

I laughed, I teared up and, at times, I was on the edge of my seat. Most importantly, my captivation lasted through every minute of the movie. Perhaps I just have a short attention span, but I’m rarely interested in a film from beginning to end. I wish more directors would follow the format of children’s movies and shorten their runtimes. Making every moment of a three-hour-long film interesting is nearly impossible. Finally, the best sign of a good movie, in my opinion, is that it makes you want to call the people you love. Do not underestimate the ability of a talking, walking cat to inspire that feeling. At its core, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is an adorably heartwarming movie, and I highly recommend it to people of all ages.

It’s unclear whether a third “Puss in Boots” movie will ever exist. It doesn’t seem likely based on the title and themes of the sequel. Not to worry, though, because “Shrek 5” is currently in development and slated for release in May. We won’t have to wait another 12 years for the return of Puss.

Dive into Sir Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld”

By MICHAEL SLUCK PRODUCTION EDITOR

In many ways, literature is a lot like dining. We savor the classics like fine dining at a five-star restaurant (complicated, well-reviewed and a fascinating experience). We gobble down cheap pulp fiction like junk food — not worth a lot, perhaps, but still a good time to be had. And while there are so many literary dishes to be sampled, my favorite books are the ones that feel like home-cooked meals, that we burrow into when we need comfort. And to me, there’s no more comforting food than Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Discworld is a comedic fantasy series spanning 41 books, all taking place on the titular Discworld, a massive disc set on the back of four elephants, standing atop a giant turtle who is swimming through space. The series isn’t one linear narrative, but instead jumps around to a variety of locations and characters, including the witches of the Ramtops, the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork or the wizards of the Unseen University.

The series is perfect for fantasy lovers — featuring the wizards, witches, dragons and trolls expected in such a genre — but even for non-fantasy

enthusiasts, Pratchett delivers a great time. Pratchett might be the funniest writer in the English language; from witty wordplay to ridiculous scenarios, Discworld will quite literally have you laughing out loud as you’re reading (prompting some strange looks from passersby if you’re reading the books in public). Often plots take vaguely parodic forms, satirizing everything from “Macbeth” to “King Kong.”

Like many great comedians, however, Pratchett’s jokes are just surface for deeper, more complex and serious topics.

Over the course of the series, Discworld tackles themes of identity, politics and religion. The books also contain some of the most memorable and likable characters in all of fiction, ranging from a wizard who only ever managed to learn one spell, to an all-powerful god who finds himself trapped in the body of a tortoise.

While under-respected on this side of the Atlantic, Pratchett is beloved across the pond. He consistently ranks as one of the best-selling British authors of all time, and in 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for “services to literature.” In a 2003 BBC poll which asked British citizens to vote for their favorite books, Pratchett tied

with Charles Dickens for the highest number of books on the list.

Delving into a 41-book series might seem daunting. The books don’t need to be read in the order in which they were published; there are several different “series” within Discworld. I wouldn’t recommend starting with the first book, “The Color of Magic,” (neither would Pratchett, who once said that it served as a poor introduction to Discworld, a result of it being one of his first-ever books). So where to begin?

You could begin with “Mort,” which tells the story of Mort, a young man who, after being rejected for apprenticeship from almost every profession, is chosen by Death (the Grim Reaper himself, one of the most common recurring characters in Discworld) to serve as his assistant.

Alternatively, another great starting point is “Wyrd Sisters,” a parody of “Macbeth” which deals with a coven of witches who run into trouble when the king is assassinated and replaced with his much more villainous cousin.

My personal favorite series within Discworld, however, deals with the City Watch, a group of police trying to solve the mysteries of Discworld’s

biggest city. The first book, “Guards! Guards!” finds the group trying to solve a series of homicides. How do you solve mysteries in a city full of wizards and werewolves, dwarves and dragons, gargoyles and golems? That’s the problem Captain Sam Vimes and his ragtag group of fellow officers have to figure out in this ultimately heartwarming tale about the way people can grow.

Regardless of where you start in Discworld, and whether you read one book or all of them, I highly recommend you pick up a book and dive in (most major booksellers carry copies; alternatively, you can also find some at Fordham’s library). Pratchett lays out a buffet of some of the most entertaining plots, funniest lines and colorful characters in all of fiction — it’s almost impossible to resist digging in.

Discworld

Puss in Boots returns to the silver screen in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” after his 12-year hiatus.

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alone, though. There are others who are equally desperate to reach the Wishing Star first, including returning character Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and newcomers like Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and Jack “Big” Horner (John Mulaney). Avid

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is a comedic fantasy series with shockingly earnest moments.

Editor’s Pick| Literature

Getting Back Into School Rituals

By STELLA McFARLAND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Getting back into the groove of school is tough. For many students, the first week of school brings a lot of stress and anxiety. It is often overwhelming — meeting new professors, getting situated in new classes and being bombarded with all of the upcoming assignments for the semester. Students have to find ways to cope with the stress a new semester brings. Here are a few things students

around campus are doing to help.

It’s important to take the first weeks of school to set the tone for the semester by getting organized. Noe Kreider, FCRH ’25, says, “At the beginning of every semester, I put my new schedule into my calendar. That way I can keep track of my new class times.”

Like Kreider, Evan Trout, GSB ’25, says, “I’m writing down all of my upcoming assignments and test dates on my calendar.” This allows them to

visualize the upcoming semester and stay on top of their work.

Likewise, I made a new spring 2023 Google Drive folder which includes a folder for each of my new classes. In these folders, I put any course information the professor provides, including the syllabus and upcoming assignments. This allows me to have all of the important information I need for my classes in one place that I can easily access at all times. I also use a physical planner where I write down a to-do list everyday of all of the tasks and assignments I have to complete that day. Taking it one day at a time makes my work a lot more manageable and less overwhelming. One fun thing about starting a new semester is getting an excuse to buy a cute new planner to keep yourself motivated.

Something I value so much in overwhelming times such as this week is taking time for myself to relax. Whether that be by taking a bath, reading a book, listening to music or exploring the Botanical Gardens, there are so many different ways to take care of yourself. My personal favorite forms of self-care include meditation and working out.

Meditation allows me to really center myself and take a deep breath to realize that everything will work out. Fordham offers Ignatian Yoga on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., which is a perfect opportunity to take time for yourself to restore your body and mind. Working out is great too because it not only cares for your physical body, but your mental state as well. I am so much more productive when I set time aside for myself to go to the gym, even if I can’t complete all of my tasks.

Moreover, creating a safe space for yourself is so important. My room is mine, and I love to decorate it so that I feel at peace and comfortable. Getting a nice sunset lamp or string lights makes all the difference and can really transform your room into a more tranquil environment. Lighting a candle at night makes everything better, too.

Katie Jones, GSB ’25, shares how she is spending the first weeks of school: “I’m spending a lot of time with my friends and trying to develop habits for the new semester. I try to set time aside for homework, going to the gym, cleaning… things like that.” One great thing about

being back at school is getting to reunite with all of your friends you missed over break. Allowing yourself time to have fun and spend time with friends is so important. Even though you may feel overwhelmed by all of the assignments teachers mention during syllabus week, give yourself the time for enjoyment.

All in all, you are not alone. The first weeks of school are a source of stress for most students. “It’s a little overwhelming to be back until I figure out my schedule and routine. Once I figure it out I’ll feel a lot better,” said Jones. Getting back into the groove after break is the most challenging part for many students. Trout described this time as “overwhelming and stressful,” too. Just remember to give yourself grace during this adjustment period.

Although these weeks are tough, they are also exciting. Try to put yourself out there and make new friends in class. You will find your workload a lot more manageable if you have a system to organize it. Remember to set aside time for yourself to relax and hang out with friends. Take this time to set the tone for your semester.

“The Last of Us” is a Promising Adaptation

By JULIET McALEE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Video games, film and television are some of the most popular ways in which people engage with media. When they collide, however, the result seems akin to the effect of oil on water, especially when video games are adapted into live-action films and/or television series. Capturing the distinctive story formatting and structure, as well as the art direction, of video games seems to be film and television’s Achilles heel when it comes to adapting them to the big or small screen. Just look to 2018’s “Rampage,” 2022’s “Uncharted,” as well as the “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Mortal Kombat” and “Resident Evil” franchises as examples of adaptations that have been bombed by critics and audiences alike. However, HBO’s series “The Last of Us” seems to be the exception. The first episode premiered on Jan. 15, and the series has received critical acclaim, currently holding a 99% on the Tomatometer and a 95% audience score. Considering the 2013 Naughty Dog video game has a dedicated following, this praise is staggering. Spectacular cinematography, strong performances and engaging storytelling prove that “The Last of Us” is a deft and beautifully constructed story that transcends the sour reputation of film and television adaptations of video games. The success of an adaptation is threefold: compelling source

material, insert the best qualities of the source material into the adaptation and expand upon the source material by adding more dimensionality and, perhaps, even improving upon it altogether. Just from the first episode, it is evident “The Last of Us” has established itself as a masterful adaptation. Having HBO develop and produce “The Last of Us” as a series was a smart decision. “The Last of Us” video game has been lauded by critics and audiences for elevating the interactive medium because of its complex characters, emotional storytelling and stunning visuals. All of these qualities are associated with prestige television, a concept with which HBO is well-acquainted and associated. “The Last of Us” has found its home on HBO, and the best aspects of the video game will be done justice.

The first episode covers a lot of ground by spanning several decades. The series opens with a brief scene on a talk show during the 1960s as two epidemiologists discuss the likelihood of a devastating global outbreak of a fungal virus if the climate warms up, setting an eerie tone for the remainder of the episode. After the opening credits, we are transported to 2003 in Austin, Texas where we meet Joel (Pedro Pascal), his young daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) and Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) on the day of the outbreak. After a traumatic and devastating loss, the story shifts again to twenty years in the future to post-apocalyptic Boston. This period is where the central plot of “The Last of Us” takes hold, as Joel and his companion Tess (Anna Torv) are tasked by the rebel group The Fireflies with

transporting hardened and sarcastic 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsay) across the country to a medical facility in hopes she might be the key to the future of humanity.

The success of this adaptation can be attributed to Neil Druckmann’s heavy involvement. Druckmann was the co-developer and the writer of the video game in 2013 and is also credited as a co-developer, writer and executive producer on HBO’s adaptation. Druckmann’s dedication to the source material can be felt from the get-go, as many key sequences of the first episode are shot-for-shot video game recreations. Director and co-writer Craig Mazin of fellow acclaimed HBO series “Chernobyl” is certainly to be thanked for the visually compelling scenes. The truck escape scene is the highlight of the episode. Shot through the perspective of Sarah, the viewer

is placed in the melee of the outbreak as if they are playing the game. From the backseat of uncle Tommy’s truck, the viewer is put in the position of the gameplayer and is with Sarah, Tommy and Joel dodging the infected and panicking civilians while attempting to make their escape to safety. The scene pays homage to the series’ video game roots without being overly heavy-handed.

“The Last of Us” is a brilliant execution of a beloved video game. If the rest of the series holds up as well as the first episode, “The Last of Us” could be the saving grace of film and television adaptations of video games. Excellent direction on top of stellar performances by Pascal, newcomer Parker and Ramsay, “The Last of Us” is bound to be one of the best shows of the year (and will be on my calendar to watch every Sunday).

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“The Last of Us” has received stellar reviews from both new and old fans alike, making for a promising adaptation of the popular video game.

Productive habits and rituals can set the tone for the coming semester. COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

“Avatar” Sequel Brings CGI To A Whole New Level

By LILLIAN VERDI VISUAL DIRECTOR

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” directed by James Cameron, was a genuinely awe-inspiring film. To put it plainly, it is a bigger and better version of 2009’s original “Avatar.” While there are plenty of areas that could have been improved, the overall movie was remarkable.

Cameron brought new characters and plotlines into a visually beautiful film, using only the best to produce this estimated $250 million movie.

About 15 years after the events of the first film, we see Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) with their family. In a short recap, narrated by Jake, he explains how he’s learned the language and now has four kids, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Bliss). Their fourth child, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), was adopted from her mother Dr. Grace Augustine’s (Weaver) avatar after an inexplicable pregnancy.

The return of the “sky people” fractures the familial bliss shown during the opening flashback. Along with their sense of safety, Jake’s more carefree mindset fades and his reflexive Marine attitude replaces it. Some audience members saw him as too strict of a dad but, to me, he’s

the embodiment of a military dad. The threat of war heightened his reserved behaviors.

The main antagonist, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), is brought back from the dead through his avatar. During his first venture into Pandora’s forest, he captures three of Jake’s children and their friend Spider (Jack Champion). The Colonel’s return, and the Sully family’s subsequent near-death encounter with him, sparked the decision of the Sullys to leave the forest. The Sullys then learn the way of water once Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet), the leaders of the Metakayina, accept them. This new setting allows Cameron to add multiple storylines to the mix, including developing Kiri’s connection to Eywa and creating a budding romance between Lo’ak and Tonowari and Ronal’s daughter, Tsireya (Bailey Bass).

While the Sullys adapt to their new home, Quaritch and his squad of avatars create a sharp image of colonialism by terrorizing the other Na’vi clans. The rest of the film makes it clear that to the Colonel, his assignment to kill Sully was not important solely because it was an order but because of Quaritch’s vendetta against Jake. The New York Times expanded on this idea,

stating that “much of ‘The Way of Water’ is concerned less with large-scale imperial ambitions than with personal dramas of loyalty and betrayal.”

With a run time of three hours and 12 minutes, parts of the second Avatar movie missed the mark. The fight scenes were long, tired and repetitive, making the audience wish the film was shorter. The capture of the Sully kids was a plot point used too many times, and Tuk put our thoughts into words when she said, “I can’t believe I’m tied up again!”

Furthermore, there could have been better dialogue to fill the over three hours of screen time. Each character had a personality brought out by their language choices, but the script could have been elevated. Jake and Neytiri, in particular, could have had more dialogue to show their thoughts. Other than the dialogue with their children, Jake and Neytiri’s actions and body language was primarily how their thoughts were conveyed, thanks to the impressive acting of Worthington and Saldaña.

While all the details above kept the “Avatar” sequel from being perfect, many elements made it a great film. One thing I have not seen mentioned in most articles is the acting done by the cast. Not only was this

a larger ensemble cast, but much of the cast was young.

For example, Trinity Bliss, who played Tuk, perfectly embodied an eight-year-old little sister. At the time of filming, Bliss was only about seven years old. Imagine having to picture the set in your mind rather than being physically surrounded by it. Personally, that’s something I can’t imagine doing, yet this cast was able to bring their characters to life flawlessly.

The missing set was created through computer imaging and is the most redeeming and extraordinary element of “The Way of Water.” Cameron outdid himself using High Rate

Frame and other complicated CGI techniques. Every scene was seamless, and I felt pulled back to reality at no point by a visual mistake. The ocean, floating rocks and everything in between were supposed to feel real, and Cameron succeeded in that goal.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie a lot. The CGI was impressive and almost too realistic. Cameron created a new world inside Pandora, with relatable characters and struggles. “Avatar: The Way of Water” did have a longer run time than necessary, but the story centered around family made me want to see more from Cameron and the world of Pandora.

New Releases to Keep Your Letterboxd Alive in ’23

By ISABELLA LIPAYON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

January & February: “Close,” perfect for exhausting the last of your tears.

In what Screen Daily called an “intimate, quietly devastating study of childhood friendship,” “Close” follows two young boys Leo and Remi as their seemingly unbreakable friendship is disrupted, when other children begin to comment about this bond. If you like “Mommy” or “Taste of Cherry,” this new Belgian feature is of the same essence, with love, family and solitude as paint for this portrait of life.

March & April: “Asteroid City,” perfect for the whole family.

Wes Anderson has, for the last two decades, stood out as a modern auteur, building his now iconic style while consistently delivering something new with each new film. We can hope for no less with his 2023 release, “Asteroid City,” in which “the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events” (via Focus Features).

It is set to star familiar faces to Anderson enthusiasts, such as Brody and Norton, as well as new additions like Maya Hawke and Margot Robbie.

June & July : “Fairyland,” perfect for fans of “Angels in America” and “Crying in H Mart.”

“Fairyland” (2023) is an account of the AIDS crisis and LGBTQ+ culture in 1980s San Francisco through the story of one woman’s life, as she comes of age with a gay father. The film is based on Alysia Abbott’s memoir, “Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father,” and recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 20. If this doesn’t appeal to you enough, the talent surrounding its production makes its release all the more promising, with Sofia Coppola as producer and Emilia Jones (“CODA”) starring as Alysia in the film.

August & September: “Beau is Afraid,” perfect for the PTAobsessed friend and fans of “Hereditary.”

“Midsommar” director, Ari Aster, takes a new approach to horror with his latest film, “Beau is Afraid.” The film follows Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), a “paranoid man [who] embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother” (via A24). The trailer alone already gives viewers a taste of the surreal coupled with nostalgia and utter chaos. Taglined, “from his darkest fears comes the greatest adventure,” “Beau is Afraid” seems the perfect watch for a new fall semester.

October, November and December: “Leave The World Behind,” perfect for anyone that watched “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” more than once.

A family vacation to a luxurious Airbnb goes awry, and increasingly bizarre things start to occur when a couple arrives at their door, claiming to be the house’s owners. Based on Rumaan Alam’s novel of the same name, “Leave The World Behind” blends social satire and suspense to comment on race, class and the strangeness of Airbnbs. Between the thrill it promises and its star-studded cast (Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts to name a few), there’s little reason not to leave everything behind and go see this film when it finally hits the big screen.

Cameron’s newest film outdoes the technical spectacle of “Avatar.”

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cinematic

the movies coming out range from chilling horror to tender reflections on childhood.

Junior Sings Herself into the Satin Dolls

By ISABEL DANZIS EDITOR IN CHIEF

In April 2022, Madeline Ryan, FCRH ’24, mounted the stage with the Fordham Satin Dolls a cappella group to perform her first solo, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Goyte. The performance received roaring applause, but that was not Ryan’s first time in the spotlight.

Ryan started her musical career by playing the piano when she was four years old. Later, when she was about nine years old, she picked up the violin. She was enrolled in an afterschool music education program that jump-started her enthusiasm and knowledge of the art.

“I had performances, [music] theory tests, music camps and stuff like that. It inspired me to continue music and eventually to take singing lessons.”

And while musically inclined from a young age, Ryan only started singing during her sophomore year of high school.

She described her singing as a “pretty recent” addition to her musical repertoire. In high school, she sang in state and regional choirs, but she eventually found a home in a cappella.

She first joined her school’s pop a cappella group, and the following year, she got into the more “classical” group. That group, called Triple Trio, was one of Ryan’s favorite parts of

her time in high school.

“I took a lot away from [Triple Trio]. It was a smaller group. There were nine girls. It was a pretty close-knit group,” said Ryan. “It really taught me singing performance and stage performance because before, I had only performed singing behind a piano or holding a violin. Singing with just your voice is very different, at least to me.”

As a member of Triple Trio, Ryan got the opportunity to work as a cast member at the Texas State Renaissance Festival. The group would dress up in costume and perform songs like “Sky Boat,” “Green Sleeves,” “Lavender’s Blue” and other music of the time period.

“It was such a fun opportunity and one of the best things about high school,” said Ryan.

Because of her time in music in high school, coming to Fordham, Ryan was excited to join the on-campus music groups. Her sophomore year, she found herself a part of the Satin Dolls, Fordham’s all-female, femme a cappella group. Starting fall 2022, she became treasurer of the group.

“I decided to audition for the music groups, and I got into [the Satin Dolls]. And that’s been my life ever since. It’s been even more my life since I became the treasurer. It’s been an integral part of who I am at Fordham, and Fordham would

not be what it is to me without the Satin Dolls,” said Ryan.

Ryan said that her experiences singing with the Satin Dolls had expanded on the lessons she learned about singing in high school. The Satin Dolls are completely student-run, all the way from the leader of the group to the music directors.

“Obviously, when you’re in high school, you’re being led by a teacher,” said Ryan. “Here it’s a student-led group and a student-led executive board, so the Satin Dolls taught me more independence. In high school, Triple Trio taught me teamwork, and [the Satin Dolls] have enhanced that. You’re only working with your peers and that can be hard.”

Ryan decided to become the Satin Dolls’ treasurer because she felt it was a way to give back to the group.

“The treasurer is in charge of the money for the Satin Dolls. Managing money felt like a good way to contribute to the group because we need it to put on concerts, get merchandise and just to do what we want to do as a group,” said Ryan.

Joining the leadership of the Satin Dolls has also given Ryan a new perspective on what they create. She said working closely with the music directors who create the musical arrangements that the group performs has given her a

new appreciation for what they do and a sense of pride when they perfect a song.

“It’s really rewarding to see your music directors and assistant music director’s work come to fruition. It’s really fun to hear how talented everyone is around you,” said Ryan.

Ryan feels at home among

the lights of the stage and the sounds of her fellow group members singing. To her, singing is therapeutic and a mechanism to help her connect with her surroundings.

“I’m really grateful to have the chance to sing at college. I don’t think I would be the same without it.”

Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit at the Met’s Festival

By ALLISON SCHNEIDER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Jan. 21, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a series of interactive events to celebrate the Lunar New Year and highlight some of the art featured in their Chinese and East Asian art collections.

Lunar New Year is celebrated by some 1.5 billion people each year. While many celebrators of this spring-time festival hail from China, people from other Asian countries such as Vietnam and Korea also participate in the festivities. The date of Lunar New Year changes from year to year because it is based on

the moon cycle of the lunisolar calendar which was traditionally used in various East Asian countries. This year, the holiday takes place on Jan. 22 and festivities will last up to 15 days for certain groups.

As one of New York City’s largest cultural centers, the Met is known to host a Lunar New Year celebration every year, even offering virtual events during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Boasting over 35,000 objects in their Asian art collection, the holiday is a great opportunity to show off these pieces and introduce Lunar New Year traditions to New York City residents. Of these pieces,

16 special works of art were selected to be part of a unique Lunar New Year exhibit. The collection included a glass statue of a seated rabbit from the 19th century, ceramic dishes featuring various depictions of rabbits, etc. The oldest pieces featured included two rabbit shaped linchpins estimated to be from around the 11th century BCE during the Zhou dynasty. In addition to the limited-time exhibit, the Met had a packed schedule of events throughout the day including musical and dance performances, craft stations, art-inspired demonstrations and gallery chats about the art on display for the holiday. Several of the art pieces featured depictions of rabbits, the fourth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, because 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. In Chinese astrology, the Rabbit represents luck, prosperity, cleverness and speed. Mandarin instructor and cultural expert, Dottie Li, told “Seventeen Magazine” that people can expect a year of gentleness, growth and contemplation as the Rabbit works within the year.

These themes were reflected in the day’s programming at the museum. Upon entering the Met’s Great Hall, upbeat jazz music set a backdrop for the swarming crowds of festival attendees. With heavy trumpet accompanied by a plucky cello,

the celebratory music served as a reminder that for many people around the world, the holiday season is still in full swing. The jazz band, AAPI Jazz Collective, was led by Peter Lin, a TaiwaneseAmerican musician who specializes in the trombone and cofounded Yardbird Entertainment, a music production company.

The AAPI Jazz Collective was not the only AAPI-created performance group that participated in the festivities. The Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe demonstrated a traditional Lion Dance in the Met’s Great Hall, complete with elaborate costumes and handdrums. The troupe’s Lion Dance was wildly popular with museum goers, particularly families with children. A massive crowd lined the balcony above the Great Hall and the ground floor was overflowing with people straining to get a look at the colorful costumes.

In honor of the holiday, many museum-goers opted for outfits that featured red, the color of luck in Chinese culture. Many in the crowd wore paper-tissue flower blossoms in their hair or foam rabbit ears that they acquired at one of the many craft stations throughout the museum. Other craft stations included design sessions where people of all ages could create their own miniature hand drums or practice their calligraphy in

the Chinese style. At one station, museum employees were educating people on the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac and helping each person discover which animal symbolizes the year they were born. These craft stations were open throughout the day for people to attend at their leisure.

For those seeking a less hands-on experience, different pop-up shops were positioned near the exhibit. The bubble tea shop hosted a tea tasting and a demonstration of a traditional Chinese tea ceremony performed by tea masters from Ten Ren Tea. Another pop-up featured a Chinatown bookstore called Yu and Me located near Columbus Park in Chinatown. The bookshop pop-up focused on immigration and the community experiences many immigrants from Asian countries face.

While the Met’s annual festival wrapped up on Saturday evening, the Year of the Rabbit exhibition will remain open until Feb. 4. The exhibition offers a great opportunity for all ages to become more familiar with the traditions of Lunar New Year and to celebrate pieces in the museum’s sprawling Asian art collection. As Lunar New Year festivities remain in full swing around the world, consider how your year might be influenced by the Year of the Rabbit. Happy New Year!

COURTESY

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM Ryan joined the Satin Dolls to continue pursuing her love for music.

The Met held its annual celebration to usher in the Lunar New Year.

Fordham Swim and Dive Opens the New Year

By NICHOLAS RAPTIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After an over two-month break, Fordham Swimming and Diving is back in action. The team competed last Saturday in a home tri-meet against La Salle University and the University of Richmond. The Fordham women’s team defeated both universities, with scores of 188-11 and 176-121, respectively. The men were able to beat La Salle with a score of 161-129.

Although it was a good day competitively for the team, there was also a bittersweet nature associated with the meet. Fordham held Senior Day for the team, simultaneously celebrating and saying goodbye to departing team members. Including both the men’s and women’s team, a dozen members of the team were recognized on Senior Day.

Both the Fordham men and women started their meets off strong with wins in the 200 medley relay. Freshman Christian Taylor, sophomore Vitalis Onu and graduate students Paris Raptis and Taras Zherebetskyy combined for a time of 1:32.21 for the men. Meanwhile, sophomores Leire Martin, Emma Shaughnessy, Jessica Zebrowski and Zoei Howard secured first with a time of 1:44.90. These impressive relay performances set the tone early for both the men and women.

Raptis continued his dominant season with the men’s team. In addition to the 200 medley relay, Raptis also contributed to the

Overtime: A Reflection on the Gio Reyna Drama

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

team’s first-place win in the 400 freestyle relay. Individually, his performances were just as strong. Raptis took home first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:49.27 and 100 butterfly with a time of 49.94. Overall, this was a great showing for Raptis who was included in the Senior Day recognitions.

For the women’s team, several Rams were multi-event winners. Members of the 200 medley relay team, Zebrowski and L. Martin, took the top spot in two other individual events. Zebrowski swept the butterfly events for the women while L. Martin won both backstroke events. Sophomore Ainhoa Martin had the strongest individual performance for the day, winning a remarkable three different individual events. She swept both breaststroke events before tacking on an extra win in the 200-individual medley.

With this tri-meet in the record books, the Rams are now past the halfway mark for the 2022-23 swim and dive season. There is no time to rest yet, though, as Fordham will compete against four different schools in the next week before finishing the season with the Atlantic 10 tournament. The team’s next meet is on Wednesday, Jan. 25 in the Bronx against Iona College. The Rams will hope to continue this strong start to the second half of the season strongly as they did against La Salle and Richmond.

Athletes of the Week

Martin won three individual events in Fordham’s tri-meet sweep of La Salle, placing first in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as well as the 200 individual medley. Martin was the only athlete for both men’s and women’s swimming to finish first in three individual events this week.

On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund and United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) forward Gio Reyna flashed his full potential.

With just minutes remaining in a 3-3 tie against FC Augsburg, Reyna scored a gorgeous volley from outside the box to secure a crucial three points for Dortmund as they attempt to climb back up the Bundesliga table.

After scoring, Reyna hit the trifecta of “defiant” goal celebrations. He shushed the crowd, put his fingers in his ears to “block out the noise” and cupped his ear as if to say “I can’t hear you.”

Reyna was not referring to his loyal Dortmund supporters but rather the recent drama surrounding himself, his parents Claudio and Danielle Reyna, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter and all of U.S. Soccer.

Earlier this month, ESPN reported that Danielle, Reyna’s mom, reported a 1991 domestic violence incident between Gregg and his wife Rosalind Berhalter to U.S. Soccer after the conclusion of this year’s World Cup. It was also revealed that Claudio, a former USMNT captain with over 100 caps to his name, communicated with U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart and USMNT general manager Brian McBride during the World Cup about Reyna’s tough experience at the tournament.

Essentially, this is blackmail, despite Danielle and Claudio’s claims that they never threatened anyone. It’s retaliation for Reyna’s low usage at the tournament and for Berhalter’s comments afterward. Reyna appeared just twice at the World Cup with both appearances coming off the bench in a tournament where he was expected to play a much larger role. Some speculated he was injured. But the truth was later revealed he was benched for his poor attitude in training, sparking frustration amongst his USMNT teammates.

According to Reyna, he apologized to the team for this and believed they had moved past the incident. But Gregg brought it up after the tournament at what was supposed to be an off-the-record leadership event, and his comments were leaked to the press. Those

comments obviously rubbed the Reynas the wrong way, causing them to bring up Gregg’s past domestic violence incident.

There’s so many people at fault in this situation one way or another, but to me, all of the Reynas should bear the brunt of the blame. To be clear, domestic violence has never and will never be acceptable. There should be serious repercussions for those who lay hands on their domestic partners.

But Danielle and Claudio revealed this information out of malice, not out of support or concern. First, the Berhlater family and the Reyna family have been friends for decades. Claudio and Gregg were high school teammates who played for the national team together for several years, while their wives Danielle and Rosalind were college soccer teammates and roommates at the University of North Carolina. Their sons, Sebastian and Gio, grew up together and both became professional players themselves.

Danielle and Claudio have known about the alleged domestic violence incident since it occurred in 1991. Rosalind went on to marry Gregg even after the incident, and the two are still together to this day. That doesn’t excuse Gregg at all for what he did, but it shows she forgave him and moved on.

For the Reynas to bring up this information now is wrong, especially when all parties have seemingly worked past the incident. They revealed this information to Gregg’s employer, only when it was useful to them and their son’s career. And despite Danielle’s claims that she meant no harm, you know what you’re doing when you tell someone’s employer that kind of information. She wanted him fired. To claim otherwise is naive. It’s incredibly selfish and disrespectful towards Rosalind as well, who has had a private, traumatic experience from 30 years ago thrust into the spotlight. Trying to ruin people’s lives because your son didn’t play at the World Cup is nothing short of insane.

So how does U.S. Soccer move on from this situation? Most agree that Reyna’s place in the national team shouldn’t be affected. But he’s not blameless, no matter how little

you think he knew about his parents actions. Reyna still acted like a child at the World Cup and was disciplined for it. In my opinion, he has no one to blame but himself for what happened in Qatar. If he showed up to camp and worked hard from the start, Gregg would have had no choice but to play him. He didn’t do that, though.

At the end of the day, this is “Real Housewives” level drama for a national sporting institution. U.S. Soccer is run by a slew of ex-professionals, all of which were national team teammates in the late ‘90s and early 2000’s. Everyone knows everything about each other. That can get extremely messy, as we saw at the World Cup.

Gregg’s future as USMNT head coach is still uncertain. He’s yet to sign a new contract, and the team is currently under the management of assistant coach Anthony Hudson. But the window is still open for Gregg to return. And while I don’t think he should come back for purely sporting reasons, I don’t think the incident from 30 years ago should be held against him in this process. He did a truly awful thing, but the information shouldn’t have been revealed in this way. But Gregg was wrong to speak about Reyna’s poor attitude to anybody after it had been dealt with in-house. In my opinion, there is simply too much baggage attached to Gregg right now to bring him back as coach, and that goes far beyond what happened in 1991.

In Reyna’s case, he has long been considered the most talented American male soccer player. Moments like his stunning goal on Saturday have been few and far between in the last two seasons. Still at just 20 years old, he’s struggled to stay on the field due to numerous injuries. But when Reyna is fit and healthy, his quality is undeniable.

That’s what makes this situation so frustrating. He’s really good! But right now, Reyna should not be worried about “shushing” anyone. It’s his and his family’s fault that he’s in this situation. All Reyna can do now is continue to perform at a high level and hope that people are lenient towards his family’s public missteps.

Varsity Calendar

AWAY

Moore’s 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half, led Fordham to a come-from-behind victory over Duquesne. He led all scorers for either side and helped spark a 15-0 second half run en route to Fordham’s 65-58 win over Duquesne, marking the first time since 2007 that Men’s Basketball has won backto-back conference games.

Graduate

Men’s

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

Thursday Jan. 26 Wednesday Jan. 25 Friday Jan. 27 Saturday Jan. 28 Monday Jan. 30 Sunday Jan. 29 Tuesday Jan. 31

Squash

p.m.

Men’s Tennis

NYU/Bucknell 1o a.m. / 1:30 p.m.

Massachusetts 1 p.m. Massachusetts 1 p.m.

Dartmouth Club 6 p.m. Brown 10 a.m.

Marist 6 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball Richmond 7 p.m.

p.m.

George Washington 2 p.m. St. Louis 7 p.m.

Dartmouth College 12:30 p.m. St. Louis 8 p.m.

Ainhoa Martin

Khalid Moore

Student

Basketball

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS Fordham Swim and Dive’s first event of the year kicked off strong.

Lafreniere’s Struggles Continue Into the New Year

By ALLIE COPPOLA STAFF WRITER

The New York Rangers maintained their mild success beyond the halfway point of the season, now sitting in third place in the Metropolitan division behind the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils. The Washington Capitals remain hot on their tail, an interesting race to watch down the stretch. While they’ve started off the new year strong, with a 6-3 record since Jan. 1, glaring issues have presented themselves, especially in the performance of young forward Alexis Lafreniere.

The 2020 first overall pick began the season on a high note, slotting in with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck on the second line. The chemistry between the three was palpable, until Lafreniere’s underperformance saw him moved to the third line. He had success there too, with young center Filip Chytil, but he went cold as the winter months approached, with only nine points in 21 games through December and January. Head coach Gerard Gallant scratched Lafreniere for a game in December in an attempt to light a fire under him, but not much has changed.

Lafreniere is on pace to score more points this season than last, however not by much. For a first overall pick playing in his third season — a contract year, no less — expectations were much higher for him. Because of the Rangers’ draft lottery luck in 2020, they were able to take Lafreniere and incorporate him to an already talented roster with established veterans, yet it seems that it may

be stunting his development rather than fast-tracking it. He rarely gets “top six” minutes, and he is never seen on the top power play or penalty kill units because of the many talented veterans above him. Lafreniere seems to be on the hot seat, and something will have to give. A trade may be in order, or Gallant needs to make a change somewhere in order to spur on Lafreniere’s development.

Lafreniere’s “kid” counterpart Kaapo Kakko, on the other hand, took a big developmental step in the offseason. After a strong start to the season, he moved up to the top line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. His improved puck handling skills have been a major factor in the first line’s offensive production, even if he’s not getting the points to show for it.

He is proof that fans may have to wait until next season to really see a positive change in Lafreniere’s game, as Kakko garnered similar concerns in his third season.

The final “kid” from the famed “kid line” in the playoffs is Chytil, who also took a major step forward in the offseason. He is a solid third line center for

Varsity Scores & Stats

Women’s Basketball Fordham 57 Massachusetts 66

Fordham 76 St. Joseph’s 65

Men’s Basketball Fordham 65 Duquesne 58

Men’s Track Ramapo Season Opener NTS (No Team Scoring)

Squash Fordham

Wesleyan

Fordham 1 Connecticut College 8

Women’s Swimming Fordham

La Salle 111

Men’s Swimming

Fordham 161 La Salle 129

the Rangers, and can rival Trocheck for the second line spot later in the season if he continues to play the way he is. Also, as he is in a contract year, he is expected to get a major pay raise, ultimately raising questions for Lafreniere and his role on the team.

Meanwhile, the performance of Jaroslav Halak, the Blueshirts’ backup goalie, displayed impressive success at the start of the year. He won four of his last five games, with an impressive save percentage of 0.960 in his last outing. Halak completely turned around his concerning play from the beginning of the season, and seems to be back on track in the win column.

Lafreniere broke out of his scoring drought in the win against the Florida Panthers on Monday, with an assist and a goal midway through the third period. The “kid line” reconvened and played exceptionally in the win, and will likely remain together as long as they continue their winning ways. The Rangers look ahead to an exciting Original Six matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

New Year, New Me?

By TAYLOR MASCETTA STAFF WRITER

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s, there often comes a laundry list of resolutions. People flood the gym on Jan. 1 (only to never return until the next year). Others try out new diets, or plan to read a book or two each month. Personally, my athletic side results in my resolutions coming in the form of longterm goals. I’ll sit down and write out a whole list. “I want to run a personal record in the 800m this year.” “I’m going to qualify for the final at Atlantic 10s.” “I’m going to break 5 minutes in the mile.”

But as we roll into 2023, I’m dealing with a few setbacks once again. I caught the flu over winter break which left me bedridden for six days — an absolute nightmare for when you’re trying to develop base mileage. I finally get back up and running, only to almost immediately develop a glute strain. Back to the pool! (This is doing wonders for my mental health.)

Nobody wants to be injury prone — there’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re behind the eight ball. Sometimes I’ll be aqua-jogging in endless circles with my mind spinning equally as fast, constantly thinking about what sort of shape I’m in for my

next race. There’s so much I want to achieve and so little time to do it. With potentially one semester left here at Fordham, I feel like I’m running against a ticking clock, metaphorically speaking.

But I am also a person who constantly says everything happens for a reason. It’s easy for me to sit here and type “well, it’s all going to be A-OK!” but from what I’ve learned over the years, happiness doesn’t always come easily. The “reason” behind a struggle may not be something I like, but it makes sense in the long run.

I’ve taken a new approach to goal-setting to alleviate some of the pressure. At the end of the year, I used to look at the goals I didn’t achieve and just get incredibly frustrated. Now, I look back on the things and pat myself on the back for everything I did. Most of the time, I achieve the most when I least expect it.

A broader outlook like “I’m going to work on improving my speed,” or “I am going to be proud of my result at A-10s,” just lessens the load a little bit. Everything I do contributes in some way. I can always delve into the specifics on race day, rather than accumulate worry over periods of time.

It’s been hard to stay positive through the setbacks I mentioned above. I want to run fast now, and I hate feeling as if I’m stuck on the sidelines. But, hey, it’s early in the season, and my priorities adjust.

After all, victory tastes so much sweeter after a comeback.

Women’s Track Ramapo Season Opener NTS (No Team Scoring)

Women’s Tennis Fordham 161 Drexel 129

Fordham 176 Richmond 121

–Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

News & Notes

Fordham to Retire Jersey and Honor 1970-71 Team

On Feb. 25, Fordham Basketball will retire the jersey of former Ram Charlie Yelverton as well as honor the 1970-71 team. Yelverton ranks 14th on the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding lists with 1,372 points and 690 boards across his three varsity seasons. The 1970-71 team finished their season 26-3 and reached the East Regional Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, reaching ninth overall in the Associated Press poll and were ranked in the top 20 for more than half the season.

Men’s Soccer Gets Four New Players

Ahead of the upcoming spring season, Fordham Men’s Soccer head coach Carlos Aquista announced the addition of four new athletes. They include Murat Calkap, Kai Griese, Grady Kozak and Georgios Kantaras. Calkap, Griese and Kozak are all transfers from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Connecticut and Cal Baptist University, respectively.

Squash Gets Squashed to Start 2023

By MADDIE BIMONTE SPORTS EDITOR

After ending 2022 on a high note with a three-game win streak, the Fordham squash team started off 2023 with a pair of losses to Wesleyan and Connecticut College on the road. This is only the team’s second back-to-back loss this season, taking a hit to their previous 13-4 record.

Wesleyan proved to be formidable, sweeping the Rams across the board 9-0. This marked the first game this season in which the Rams were swept.

Certain matchups were close, such as the battle in second position, with junior Henry Frowley taking the first game against Wesleyan’s Toby Goldston 11-9. However, Frowley went on to drop the next three sets, conceding to Goldston.

Meanwhile in sixth position, sophomore Robert Cruikshank locked down his first game as well against Milo Supasorn, 11-7, only to fall to a similar fate as Frowley.

Wesleyan, who started off their season on a five-game losing streak, completely flipped the script and is now red-hot over the last six games, sweeping

teams such as Vassar College and Stanford University.

While the Rams looked to turn things around after being swept, it was only Cruikshank that could deliver for the team against Connecticut, winning his set in four games, 11-6, 13-11, 9-11 and a thrilling last match of 12-10.

In the seventh position, junior Nicholas Choo also fought hard, forcing a four game match against Connecticut’s Alex Navarro, winning the first game 14-12.

With the two losses, Fordham drops to 13-6 on the season after the first weekend of matches. Things do look bright for the Rams as the rest of the regular season will be played at home on the Lombardi Squash Courts, and the Rams are 7-1 at home this season.

Now, the Rams will face off against New York University at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 28, followed by Bucknell University at 1:30 p.m.

After that, the Rams will have one last test on Sunday against Dartmouth University’s Club Squash team at 12:30 p.m.

Taylor Mascetta, passing the baton into a new year.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Alexis Lafreniere has struggled to live up to expectations. COURTESY OF TWITTER

By NOAH HOFFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The first two rounds of the 2022-23 NFL Playoffs have concluded, leaving four teams remaining with the potential to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy, named after Fordham’s very own.

After surviving the Divisional Round, the teams that are still standing are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in the NFC.

With a 13-4 regular season record, the Chiefs earned the number one seed in the AFC, resulting in a first-round bye and facing the fourth seeded Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round. The Jaguars ended the regular season by defeating the Tennessee Titans in comeback fashion in the final week, securing the AFC South Division. After falling down 27-0 against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, the Jags completed the third-largest comeback in postseason history. After a disastrous start for Trevor Lawrence where he threw four interceptions in the first half, he rebounded with four touchdowns and set up the gamewinning field goal for kicker Riley Patterson to complete the 31-30 comeback win.

After a miraculous victory for the Jaguars, a one-legged Patrick Mahomes willed the Chiefs to a 2720 win over Jacksonville advancing to the AFC Championship for the fifth consecutive year. The Jaguars did not go down without a fight, after Mahomes injured his right ankle in the first quarter they were able to keep it close throughout the game. A crucial fumble by the

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round Recap

Jags late in the fourth quarter was a deciding factor in Lawrence’s effort for another comeback win to keep the season alive. Mahomes and the Chiefs will look to get back to the Super Bowl after another successful season under head coach Andy Reid.

The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals came into the season as two of the favorites in their conference. Many had the week 17 matchup between the two circled before the start of the season as a potential determinant to who gained the higher seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. After the unfortunate events that occurred in that game, which ended in Damar Hamlin being rushed to the hospital in critical condition, the contest was canceled and not rescheduled. But, a rematch would be in store after the Bills survived the Miami Dolphins in the first round beating them 34-31, while the Bengals escaped their rival Baltimore Ravens, winning 24-17.

The snowy game did not start as the close game that was advertised. The Bengals picked up right where they left off before the previous matchup got canceled, scoring two touchdowns before the Bills got their first first down. At the half, it was 17-7 with the Bills receiving the second-half kickoff, however, they would only score three more points while the Bengals would take advantage of some crucial pass interference calls, winning the game 2710. This sends Joe Burrow and the Bengals to their second consecutive AFC Championship game.

The New York Giants were football’s Cinderella story this year after making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 under rookie head

coach Brian Daboll. After losing on a game-winning field goal in Minnesota earlier in the season, the G-Men looked for revenge against the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley carried the Giants to their first playoff victory since winning Super Bowl XLVI by beating Minnesota 31-24. The win set up a divisional round rivalry match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Giants. The Eagles completely outmatched New York for a 38-7 win, ending the season 3-0 against its division rivals and clinching a spot in the NFC Championship game.

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers both started their postseasons with blowout wins before determining who would be heading to Philly to face the Eagles. The 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 for the third time this season behind another terrific game from Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. It looked as if the Seahawks were going to pull off an upset and continue Geno Smith’s terrific season before a dominant second half from the Niners saw them outscore the Hawks 25-6. The Cowboys took care of business in Tampa Bay, defeating Tom Brady and the Buccaneers 31-14, even with four missed extra points from Brett Maher. It was the first time Brady had ever lost to the Cowboys, in what was potentially his final game in a Bucs uniform, let alone in the NFL altogether.

The wins from the two storied franchises set up a ninth playoff matchup between the Cowboys and 49ers and a repeat of last year’s Wild Card. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys hoped that better luck would turn their way as last year’s

Analyzing the Chaos of the 2023 NWSL Draft

By JULIA MOSS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Draft time in any sports league is typically a time for teams to look to the future and try to set them up for success with young talent. The extensive scouting, strategizing and dreaming for a good pick is usually the overarching narrative of each year around draft time. However, this year’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) draft distinctly challenged that idea. Surprisingly, the biggest story of this year’s draft was how teams are shaping up for a winnow philosophy.

Of the twelve first-round picks, eight were acquired by trade, and with these trades, a lot of players got shifted to new teams. It didn’t take long for the biggest shocker of the night to be shared. Directly following the announcement of Angel City FC’s first overall pick, Alyssa Thompson, it was revealed that Gotham FC would trade their second overall pick to the Kansas City Current in exchange for United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) forward Lynn Williams.

trading what could have been their best player to invest in young talent, and for Gotham, they are betting on a good recovery from Williams to bring her the same success as before. On a positive note, Williams recently played her first game back from the injury for the USWNT and headed in a beautiful goal, so it seems her recovery is on the right track.

game ended with Prescott being unable to clock the ball before time expired. The two teams boasted top defenses all year and proved it with the score knotted up at six at the half. In the second half, the legend of Purdy continued as he was able to manufacture a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, while the Niners defense continued to come up big, preserving a 19-12 victory and setting up a heavyweight bout between the Eagles and 49ers for the NFC title game.

It will be a rematch of the AFC Championship game from last year as the Chiefs and Bengals are once again squaring off at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Burrow is going into the game 3-0 alltime against Mahomes and the Chiefs after a 27-24 statement win against this Chiefs team earlier in the season. Last year’s championship game ended with the same final score after a game-winning field goal by Evan McPherson in overtime. The Bengals have a similar team to last year, however with a banged-up offensive line, while the Chiefs are the same team from earlier in the season, but without Tyreek Hill from last year. The injury Mahomes sustained in the previous game could be a deciding

factor in whether or not the Bengals repeat as AFC Champions or if the Chiefs can return back to the Super Bowl after a one-year hiatus last season.

On the NFC side, the top two teams in the conference will face off for the conference title. The Eagles started the season off undefeated before a week 10 loss to the Washington Commanders. After a hot start for Jalen Hurts, injuries plagued him and he was forced to sit out two games before coming back for the crucial week 18 victory to grant them home-field advantage this coming week. The Eagles will try to go poll to poll as the best team in the NFC.

The 49ers season was not as expected, but still found Kyle Shanahan’s team in the championship game for the third time in the last four years. After losing Trey Lance early in the season, Jimmy Garapollo came in relief and regained his starting quarterback job. After Garapollo got injured, a trade for Christian McCaffrey as well as the emergence of the last pick in the 2022 draft, Purdy carried them to eight consecutive wins. They will hope these winning ways continue and propel them into a Super Bowl opportunity this year.

Women's Tennis Falls to Drexel

By BRETT TULIP CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Another trade involved the second most notable team in the draft, the Courage. The Courage, who had three of the twelve first-round picks heading into the draft, had the room to make several moves to expedite a rebuild, as they’ve lost most of the core that’s brought them championships in the past. The first move they made was to trade for another first round pick to bring their total to four. They traded away forward Diana Ordoñez and a third round pick to the Houston Dash in exchange for the eighth overall pick, next year’s first round pick, allocation Monday and an international spot. It’s a questionable choice for the Courage considering Ordoñez was one of their last goal scorers left on the team, but after reports claiming she wanted to leave, it became more clear why N.C. moved forward with the trade.

The last notable trade occurred

Current

Williams, coming off an Achilles injury, was traded last season from the North Carolina Courage to the Current, but because of her Achilles tear, she never got to appear in a match for the team. It’s a risky trade for both sides, with the

at the end of the night. It was announced that USWNT defender Emily Sonnett would be traded from the Washington Spirit to the powerhouse of a team, OL Reign. This trade has several implications for the overall picture of the league. Firstly, it’s clear Washington is looking to rebuild their back line with youth as their two veteran defensive leaders are now gone, with Kelley O’Hara heading to Gotham and now Sonnett going to Seattle. Furthermore, OL Reign has built on what some already consider to be a championship lineup. The Reign now have Sonnett, Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, Jordan Huitema and others who would make impacts alone on any team.When all was said and done and the chaos subdued, 48 new players were drafted into the league. While the headlines of the draft won’t necessarily reflect the players selected, the future is rich with talent for the NWSL. Now, Thompson is clear to provide a foundation for the next generation of stars as the first player to ever be drafted out of high school into the league.

With several rosters shaken up through trades and the very first season that includes a free agency period, this season in the NWSL is sure to be interesting.

After a lengthy break from competitive play, the Fordham women’s tennis team returned to action this weekend in Westchester against Drexel University. These matches marked the start of the team’s spring season, but unfortunately, the new year began with a loss for the Rams when Drexel narrowly pulled out a 4-3 victory due to strong play in singles matches.

For Fordham, singles play was an apparent weakness, with some veteran players struggling without playing aside their usual doubles partners. It started with graduate student Lindsay Hung losing in three sets, followed by senior Avery Aude being defeated in two close sets. Luckily, junior Eleni Fasoula continued her steady improvement with a three-set victory, contributing one of the three Fordham points earned on the day. Another of the three points also came in singles, with sophomore Lorraine Bergmann securing a win through three sets. The other losses came from graduate student Carlota Casasampere Escoda and freshman Sofie Siem.

In the high-energy three doubles

matches, Fordham earned their third and final point of the day when they beat Drexel by dominating two doubles matches quickly and efficiently. The duos of graduate student Valeriya Deminova and Aude, along with Casasampere Escoda and Hung, both won their first matches. Head coach Mike Sowter was pleased with the team’s doubles performance, saying, “I thought we came out with good energy and played solid doubles but full credit to Drexel.” He also explained how they will look to perform better next week against Marist College after calling this first event a “hard-fought battle.”

Overall, this year’s squad is looking to build on its fantastic previous season where they reached the Atlantic 10 Championship. However, this won’t be easy, and this first loss isn’t ideal for setting a winning tone. On the positive side, outside of a three-day slate of matches in California, their schedule is relatively close to home and involves less travel than the previous years. Small advantages like this, in addition to having many returning key contributors, give players and fans alike a reason to be hopeful that another deep tournament run could be on the way.

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Amazing wins and heartbreaking losses are highlighting the NFL Playoffs.

Women’s Basketball Splits Pair of Critical Conference Games

By COLIN LOUGHRAN STAFF WRITER

After stumbling at George Washington University with a 63-57 loss, Fordham women’s hoops has quietly hit the reset button with three wins in their last four games. Fordham’s second-half rout of a Duquesne team, that is third in Atlantic 10 (A-10) rebounding, was an impressive showing that resulted in a 83-62 win over the Dukes. The win gave the Rams a 4-1 inconference record, but a two-game split against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and St. Joseph’s University has moved them to a 5-2 A-10 record in telling fashion.

A 66-57 home loss to UMass illustrated the team’s ability to play more than one brand of basketball while a 71-65 road victory over St. Joe’s was a prime example of what these Rams can do when they’re firing on all cylinders.

Last Wednesday’s match against the UMass Minutewomen was anything but consistent. The Rose Hill Gym played host to a gutsy defensive game that ultimately turned into an offensive shootout. Neither team shot above 30% from the field in the first half. The Rams trailed by 22-20 at the end of the initial 20 minutes of play, but showed good defensive awareness. They out-rebounded the Minutewomen and also tallied

seven steals. The third quarter featured a touch more scoring, but UMass outplayed Fordham in the period. The Minutewomen put up a 46.67 FG% in the period, but only led by seven points at the end of the third quarter. The final 10 minutes changed the entire complexion of the game as both teams were able to break out offensively. Each squad shot over 50% from the field in the frame, and while Fordham held the period’s best general shooting percentage, UMass proved to be too much. They were helped all game by the play of graduate forward Sam Breen and junior guard Ber’Nyah Mayo. Mayo led the Minutemen with 18 total points, but Breen may have had the more influential game. She tallied 10 points along with a team-high of 15 rebounds. The Rams got a spectacular performance from Anna DeWolfe, who led the team in scoring with a 33-point barrage that included seven made threepoint shots. Asiah Dingle also poured in 18 points, but was rather inefficient. The Boston native struggled to consistently connect, and went 1-8 from three-point range. Outside of Dingle and DeWolfe, Fordham only scored a combined six points. UMass had seven players score five points or more while Fordham only got scoring from four women on the roster. By the time the game broke

out, UMass had already established better ball movement while getting more contributions from their bench on both ends of the court.

In many ways, last Sunday’s 71-65 road win over St. Joseph’s was a correction of what went wrong the previous Wednesday against UMass. Fordham was hot from the opening tip, and outscored the Hawks 27-12 in the first quarter of action on the strength of five three-pointers and an impressive 68.8 field goal percentage. St. Joe’s eventually battled back in the third

quarter, out-scoring the Rams 25-11 in the frame. Talya Brugler played a pivotal role for the Hawks over the course of the contest. She led the team with 20 points and nine feisty rebounds. However, the Rams were able to weather the storm thanks to their quick start and strong finish. Kaityln Downey made a critical three-pointer in what was her 127th start in maroon. The shot gave Fordham a six-point lead with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Overall, the graduate student finished with nine points, six rebounds and a steal.

The Bronx’s best also received a critical showing from Asiah Dingle, who tallied 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Anna DeWolfe continued what was an impressive personal week with 18 points, two assists and two boards.

Women’s hoops will look to keep climbing the A-10 ladder this week as they get set for another pair of pivotal games. They’ll host the University of Richmond Spiders at home on Wednesday night, and hit the road for a showdown with St. Louis University Billikens the following Saturday.

The Devils Are Enjoying January in Jersey

By JAMES BIRLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In 2021-22, the New Jersey Devils finished the season with an abysmal 63 points. That’s a measly 37 points beneath the playoff line, only good enough for seventh in the Metropolitan Division and two points ahead of the last place Philadelphia Flyers. After 46 games in the 2022-23 season, the Devils have eclipsed their points total from the previous year, collecting 64 points and sitting 10 points ahead of the playoff line with games in hand. New Jersey is in second place in the Metro, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes by just two points. Their 64 points are the third highest across the entire National Hockey League (NHL) as we inch into the second half of the season. An unlikely turnaround like no other has lifted the once lowly Devils into a serious contender, cementing their status as hockey’s surprise of the season.

The Devils became the first team in the Eastern Conference not called the Boston Bruins to win 30 games this season after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in OT on Sunday, their first 30-win season since 2018-19, when they won 31. There are still 36 games remaining in the season.

It’s not entirely flukey, either, as one might guess. The Devils have largely dominated opponents in chance creation and pace of play as

reflected by advanced statistics, as the Devils are second in the league in expected goal differential per 60 minutes (0.61) and have the second highest score adjusted for expected goals (56.05%), which measure how effective teams are at scoring and preventing goals compared to the rest of the league.

So, what has caused the Devils to become one of the league’s best after ten years of mediocrity? Of the many important factors, the most noticeable has been the top-end production from superstars like Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton, all of which are scoring points at a consistent basis like no core group of Devils players has since the early 2010s. Hughes’ emergence as a potential Hart Trophy candidate especially has lifted the Devils, as the 2019 first overall draft pick assisted and scored his career-high 30th goal on Sunday to improve his season points total to 58, a ridiculous 103-point pace on the season.

This star production is a consequence of patience in development, as draft picks like Hischier, Hughes and Bratt have blossomed into bonafide stars of the league, with Hughes being selected to his second straight All-Star game. In addition to the bigger names, secondary contributors like Dawson Mercer, Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Boqvist and Nathan Bastian have emerged as key young players in many different ways, improving special teams and neutral zone play among other refinements.

It’d be hard not to give credit to the Devils’ front office and coaching staff for not only putting together and committing to fielding the third-youngest team in the league (average age 26.1 years), but for eventually getting promising results out of it. As early as the second game of the season, Devils fans were chanting for head coach Lindy Ruff to be fired, but he has since won over the fans thanks to a drastically improved record. It’s been Ruff’s old school approach and attention to detail that has allowed for New Jersey’s young stars to reach this point. Coupled with general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s decision to keep the reins in Ruff’s hands even after a couple of dreadful seasons, the Devils have surfaced as a young team who can and will do damage in this league for years to come.

In addition to receiving improved production from skaters, the Devils have had reliable goaltending since acquiring Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals in an offseason trade. While the Devils have not necessarily committed to Vanecek as its long-term starting goaltender yet, the Czech netminder has been a revelation in goal for the Devils, winning seven straight dating back to Dec. 30. Despite ranking 14th amongst starting goaltenders in goals saved above expected per 60 (.222), Vanecek has brought a dependability in net that Jersey hasn’t had since the early part of Cory Schneider’s tenure in the mid 2010s. A large part of the years of uncertainty in between the

pipes for the Devils has been injuries, as they went through seven different goaltenders in 2021-22, none playing more than 25 games. For a few years, it seemed that Mackenzie Blackwood would be tipped to take over the starting goaltending job long term in New Jersey after a couple promising seasons, but injuries, inconsistent play and perhaps some shaken up confidence has left that up in the air. With Vanecek proving to be a top-15 caliber starter, the Devils have more than enough in goal to continue chugging along, especially since it has also gotten some solid secondary goaltending from Blackwood and Akira Schmid, who has been phenomenal in 2022-23 when brought up from the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

That’s not to say that the Devils haven’t hit their share of roadblocks in 2022-23. Namely, New Jersey only managed to win four games in 13 tries during the month of December. However, the Devils have since recovered from that slide and have looked more like the version of themselves that won a franchise record 13 straight in November. Through ten games in January, the Devils have won seven, four of which came in consecutive games on the road. Only the first place Bruins have won more over the same stretch.

However, with this refound success has come a glaring flaw: the Devils have been underwhelming at best when playing at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. This has been the story of the Devils’ season

as New Jersey has far and away the best away record in the NHL, winning 18 of 22 games on the road, amassing 38 points total and becoming the first and only team in NHL history to sweep road trips of western Canada, eastern Canada and California. On the flip side, they have just 12 wins in 24 home games, totalling 26 points in games played at The Rock.

Since returning to New Jersey from their west coast road trip, the Devils’ triumph over Sidney Crosby and the Penguins is their second straight overtime victory on home-ice, dating back to their 4-3 win over the Rangers on Jan. 7 where they snapped an eight game home losing streak. Should New Jersey turn their home fortunes around and continue grinding out games at the Prudential Center, they are sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference come playoff time.

The Devils will have another opportunity to make a statement at home when they take on the Pacific Division leading Vegas Golden Knights in Jersey on Tuesday before they hit the road again for a pair of arguably tougher games against the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars.

A third straight home win against a serious cup contender like Vegas ahead of the February All-Star break has the potential to be a massive boost for this already flourishing and talented young team going forward.

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Downey clinched the game and set a program record with her 127th game started against St. Joseph’s

Fordham Track & Field Returns from Winter Hiatus with Two Meets

By LOU ORLANDO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Track and Field returned to action for the first time since Dec. 3 with a pair of weekend meets. The Rams would look to improve upon a solid season opener at the Sperce-Garcia Invitational that featured huge days from graduate students Zalen Nelson and Tiffany Hanna, with the former earning a pair of event wins, while Hanna’s event-winning throw of 57’ 2 3/4” smashed a women’s school record.

In the first meet of the new year, Fordham competed in the The College of New Jersey Lions Invitational at the New York City Armory on Jan. 14. Just as they did in their season opener, the Rams had three event wins as well as 14 top-five finishes. All three event wins came on the women’s side, as senior Kyla Hill won the seeded 60-meter dash while taking second in the 300-meter. Freshman Dillyn Green placed first in the unseeded 60-meter dash while senior Mary Kathryn Underwood took first in the 600-meter dash.

Freshman Kevin Callaghan led the men’s side of things, taking third in the 400-meter dash while also joining sophomore Christopher Martinez, senior Erik Brown and Nelson as the unit took second in the 4x400 meter relay. Nelson and Brown also finished top five individually, with both runners taking

Defensive Powerhouses Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller Become Offensive Stars

fifth in the mile run and 600-meter run, respectively.

The Rams returned to the NYC Armory the following Friday for the Ramapo College season opener. Once again, the women’s side accounted for all event wins, totaling four throughout the course of the meet. Hill recorded a couple season-bests, winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.81 seconds and later joining Underwood, graduate student Helen Connolly and junior Molly Mulvaney to post a time of 4:01:56 in the 4x400 meter relay. Freshman Ileana Chlorou won the unseeded 60-meter dash and graduate student Jana Rokitta came away with the top spot in the high jump event.

The men’s side had three topfive finishes. Callaghan and Brown teamed up on the 4x400 meter relay once again, this time joined by sophomore Isiah James and freshman Matthew Nurse, culminating in a fourth place finish. Freshmen Ben Borchers and Michael Croke also had fourth place finishes in the 3000-meter run and pole vault, respectively.

Fordham Track and Field will be away this weekend participating in the River Hawk Invitation in Brighton, Mass. on Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m..

By STEPHANIE LANE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The New York Rangers had an impressive week at Madison Square Garden, winning two out of the three games at home from Jan. 10 to Jan. 15. On Jan. 10, the Rangers played the Minnesota Wild and were able to pull out the win against former Ranger Mats Zuccarello.

K’Andre Miller, a defenseman for the Rangers, has been an asset for the team, whether that’s keeping the puck away from Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers goal, or scoring against the opponent. Miller is in the top 30 in defensive scoring with five goals, 20 assists and a total of 25 points for the season.

Miller had a great start during the game against the Minnesota Wild, scoring the first goal for the Rangers. The Rangers were down two goals when Miller finally put the team on the board. He raced for the puck beating two of the Wild’s defensmen and had a oneon-one with Minnesota’s goalie Marc André Fleury, leading to the Rangers’ first goal.

Later in the second period, defenseman Adam Fox brought the puck down to Minnesota’s end. Fox and Vincent Trocheck had a two-on-one against defenseman Jon Merrill, and Fox managed to score. Fox has quickly developed into one of the most valuable players in the NHL and is fourth in the NHL in defensive scoring. Fox has nine goals, 36 assists and a total of 45 points. Four of Fox’s goals were game winning goals. In the third period, with a

little over six minutes left on the clock, the Rangers had the puck in the Wild’s end. Fox set up Filip Chytil who was able to score the goal which tied the game and sent the two teams into overtime. No progress was made in overtime which then called for a shootout.

The Rangers beat the Wild in the shootout where Artemi Panarin scored the winning goal and Sheskterkin saved two goals to solidify the win.

On Jan. 12, the Rangers did not play their best game against the Dallas Stars during regulation. New York was down 1-0 in the third period when Miller shot and scored with less than a second left. The Rangers removed Shesterkin from goal in order to get another skater on the ice to facilitate the scoring process.

Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Fox took shots at Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger, but there was no luck. Once the puck was in the hands of Miller, he took a shot on goal which was blocked, but then tried again and scored the goal to tie up the game against the Dallas Stars.

In overtime, Panarin, Mika and Fox brought the puck to Stars’ zone.

Within a few seconds, Panarin took a shot which was blocked and given back to the Dallas skaters. Mika Zibanejad took the puck back, but tripped and couldn’t get a shot on goal. Panarin took the puck from Zibanejad who then passed it to Fox to score the winning goal.

While left wing Chris Kreider was injured, head coach Gerard Gallant heavily relied on Miller to play well after his performance in

the game against the Wild. Clearly, Miller was the right player to rely on due to his consistent effort on the ice.

Fox’s strong efforts to lead the Rangers to success have been recognized by the fans. Recently, fans had the opportunity to vote their favorite players into the NHL All Star Game on Feb. 4 in Sunrise, Fla. On Jan. 19, it was announced that Fox and Panarin will be joining Shesterkin in the All Star Game.

Miller and Fox have been the ultimate duo. Despite being defensemen, the pair have been dominating the offensive aspect of the game. Their teamwork in scoring goals against the Wild and the Stars led the Rangers to success over both teams.

The Parallels Between Kansas State and Golden State

By WILLIAM F. GRANT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Since taking over as head coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats in late March 2022, Jerome Tang has led his group to a remarkable 17-2 record this season. They’ve encapsulated the hearts of casual college basketball fans after a stunning win over defending champion and previously #2 ranked University of Kansas last Tuesday. After suffering defeat in their last seven matchups against the blue blood powerhouse, Kansas State grew tired of the same old narrative of being the younger brother of Bill Self and the Jayhawks. Having not made the NCAA Tournament since 2019 makes this feat more impactful for Wildcat fans.

But beyond this, Kansas State has a few similarities with another basketball powerhouse: the Golden State Warriors.

In the 2014-15 NBA season, Steve Kerr was appointed as head coach of the Warriors and became one of only five coaches to win the

championship in their inaugural season. The Dubs finished the season 67-15, becoming the 10th team to win 67 or more games in a season throughout the history of the association. A pivotal element of their success involved Steph Curry draining a league best 286 three-pointers while sidekick Klay Thompson finished second, making 239 of his own. Steve Kerr was quite the sharpshooter during his glory days as an NBA player, but no one could have predicted his coaching style would lead to the pair averaging nearly seven combined three-pointers a game. Before Kerr became coach of the Warriors, the average made three-pointers per game was set at just over seven. Now, that average is just below thirteen. Recognizing the talent around him has been pivotal to Kerr’s success in Golden State.

Tang, a former Baylor assistant coach, hit the ground running at Kansas State due to a similar recognition of the talent around him. In

Tang’s case it was the utilization of the newly conceived transfer portal which allowed discouraged athletes to leave their respective programs in search for one that fit them more accordingly. The pandemic called for the NCAA to allow an extra year of eligibility for all Division I College Basketball players which resulted in one in every three of their athletes to transfer the following season.

Tang’s response was to utilize this drastic change. In his active lineup of eleven players, ten of them have belonged to fifteen programs other than Kansas State’s. As the coach of the fifth team in the nation as of this past Sunday according to the AP poll, Tang holds the highest win percentage among Kansas State Head Coaches since the 1958-59 season when Tex Winter led his Wildcats to a 25-2 record. Both Kerr and Tang saw their opportunity and grabbed it, revolutionizing the way the game is understood forever.

Kyla Hill has been a part of three event wins over the last two meets.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

COURTESY OF TWITTER Fox (top) and Miller (bottom).

Men’s Basketball Receives Rude Awakening in Atlantic 10 Play

By THOMAS AIELLO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Expectations skyrocketed once Fordham Men’s Basketball’s outof-conference schedule concluded. The Atlantic 10’s lackluster performance had many formulating that the conference was weaker than anticipated in preseason. What a perfect opportunity for Fordham to leap ahead of the rebuilding schedule to, maybe, make a run for the A-10 crown.

However, reality had a cold heart. Fordham was reminded they’re not quite ready for A-10 contention.

Conference play opened against Davidson College in a stuffed Rose Hill Gym on Dec. 28. It was the perfect storm: Davidson didn’t mirror their team from last year, with their only key returnees being Foster Loyer and Sam Mennenga, with a number of question marks surrounding the rest of the Wildcats.

Fordham came out of the gates extremely cold, finding themselves in a 22-9 hole at the 3:26 mark in the first half. Sophomore Zach Riley and junior Antrell Charlton were trying to keep the ship afloat, cutting into Davidson’s lead to make it 2214, but the Wildcats kept getting shots they wanted at will.

Desmond Watson and freshman Reed Bailey were the ones pumping gas into the Davidson machine. The former posted 15 points and 11 rebounds on the night while the neophyte also added 15 points of his own. Mennenga included a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Wildcats.

Defensively, head coach Matt McKillop disrupted Fordham’s offense with an aggressive trap defense mixed in with a matchup zone. He threw a ton of different looks at the Rams, spooking them completely. The Wildcats also held Fordham to 0-16 shooting from three in the first half. Not a single three went in for the Rams until the second half.

Graduate students Darius Quisenberry and Khalid Moore combined for eight points on the night, Quisenberry’s lowest point total of the year. Fordham was led by senior Rostik Novitskyi with a team-high 12 points on the night, but the Rams were killed on the glass. Davidson grabbed a whopping 50 rebounds as a team to the Rams’ 31, with the Wildcats looking like the much rougher, tougher team from the opening tip.

In the second half, Fordham managed to outscore the Wildcats 29-28 and got within eight, but all momentum died when Moore touched a ball that was on the rim during a fast break. The play would be waived off as offensive basket interference, and Davidson cruised through to wrap things up 57-43.

In game two of conference play, Fordham hit the road to face off with the University of Rhode Island (URI) at the Ryan Center. The URI Rams struggled to get their season started, entering the matchup at 4-9 plus missing their starting center, Josephat Bilau, one of the many transfers brought in.

Like the Davidson game, Fordham started out slower than snails and found themselves in an 18-point hole in the first half. URI slaughtered Fordham from three, especially Malik Martin, who came into the matchup as a sub 25% shooter but hit five of his nine attempts from distance.

Quisenberry finally flashed his preseason third team potential, nailing back-to-back threes to spark a 12-2 run and chop the lead down to eight. Fordham did get as close as two, but URI used the final two minutes to push their lead out to six going into the break.

The second half began with consecutive threes from Martin, but Fordham punched back to slash the lead back to five. URI went back on a 12 point swing and maintained their distance from Fordham until the final 30 seconds of the game. Fordham would cut it down to two points, but were forced to play the free throw game ultimately losing 82-79 in spite of a brilliant last second effort.

Quisenberry bounced back with 33 points in this game while also leading with four dimes. Charlton helped with 13 points, which was really the extent of Fordham’s scoring. The team shot 19-24 from the free throw line, an anomaly considering they’ve been a good free throw shooting team all year. Those five points would have won Fordham the game. The Rams were also much better from three, going 35% for the game, but lost the rebounding battle by two.

Winless in conference play, the Rams came home on Jan. 7 for a chance to avenge their mishaps against Saint Joseph’s University. The Hawks came in on a two game skid against the league’s top contenders in Saint Louis University and the University of Dayton. Billy Lange’s team had another dynamic matchup for the Rams: a high octane backcourt of Erik Reynolds II and Cameron Brown.

Fordham’s trend of terrible starts continued in this game as well, fortunately, it was only a nine point pothole which was easy for them to climb out of. It took time to weather the storm, thus resulting in Fordham grabbing the lead at the 4:48 mark in the first half by freshman Romad

Dean. The lead would go back and forth, ending the first half in a tie at 32-32 after some more Fordham free throws.

The second half was briefly in the control of Saint Joseph’s until Fordham stole the lead back and never looked back. It took a total team effort from the Rams to secure their first win in A-10 play: every player who touched the floor scored. Sure, Quisenberry had the large point total of 15, but he had help: 10 points from Charlton, nine from Moore along with 15 rebounds, eight points from Zach Riley and six from Dean. Even freshmen Elijah Gray and Will Richardson provided solid bench minutes.

Momentum stemming from what epitomized a full team effort did not carry over against Dayton. The preseason A-10 favorite, the Flyers came in on a five-game run looking for their sixth win in a row at Rose Hill.

From the opening tip, Dayton put the Rams in their back pocket and never let them out. Dayton’s commanding style led to a total destruction of Fordham inside when the Flyers scored 42 points in the paint.

DaRon Holmes put on a show in front of multiple NBA scouts, totalling 32 points and six rebounds on 12-15 shooting from the field. It was total domination for the Flyers both inside and outside who also received 12 points from Koby Brea on 4-4 shooting from three point land.

Brea, a native of Monsignor Scanlan High School in the Bronx, was also lifted by a huge

gathering of his friends and family from Washington Heights. Brea (and Dayton fans) overtook the Rose Hill gym as the Flyers cruised to a 82-58 victory.

Richardson led Fordham with 13 points, catching fire in an extended bench role while exploiting some holes in the Dayton defense. Junior Kyle Rose did shoot 2-8 from range, but ended with eight points, five boards and three swipes. Moore added ten points of his own while Quisenberry struggled again on 1-7 shooting for only two points.

Fordham out-muscled Dayton on the glass, 33-31, forced 16 Flyer turnovers and showcased a full court press that did swing some of those turnovers to the Rams. The Flyers played like preseason favorites and Holmes played like a player of the year pick, so losing to the standard is not something to be ashamed of, but a better effort from the Rams was expected.

The Rams hit the road to begin a three game road trip which began at La Salle University. The Explorers have hit a rut in recent times, but new head coach Fran Dunphy is steering them in the right direction.

Keith Urgo made huge changes to his rotation: benching Quisenberry and junior Abdou Tsimbila for Rostik Novitskyi and Richardson.

The changes seemed to have paid off, as Richardson scored a career high of 19 points while going 3-6 from distance. Quisenberry came off the bench and added 12 points of his own, seemingly more comfortable in the sixth man role.

Urgo was also able to get lifts from Tsimbila who added six points, three rebounds and two rejections off the bench while sophomore Patrick Kelly added five points of his own.

A second half marathon by La Salle pulled the Explorers back into the game, eventually holding a lead in the final few minutes. On one of the final possessions, a loose rebound found its way to Khalid Moore who scored for the and-one opportunity. After La Salle tied things up at 64, Fordham came down with a chance to win the game.

Antrell Charlton played hero, pulling up for his patented midrange jumper and nailing it with 0.3 seconds to go, handing Fordham the 66-64 victory on the road. Fordham stole a victory in a hostile environment, and one of the star freshmen played quite well.

As the Rams climbed upwards in the conference standings, now sitting at 2-3 in league play, their second of three straight road trips found them in Pittsburgh to face the Duquesne University Dukes on Jan. 21.

Duquesne came in as the best three point shooting team in the conference and turned the ball over the least. However, Fordham took advantage of their horrendous defense.

The Rams ripped the paint up, as they poured 32 total from that area while taking 22 trips to the free throw line. Fordham was also able to exploit Duquesne’s lack of size defensively on multiple mismatches.

19 points from Moore, 14 from Quisenberry and 10 from Charlton propelled Fordham to their second straight victory 6558. Three straight makes from long range pushed Fordham out in front from the three players mentioned previously.

The Rams now stand at 15-4 overall and 3-3 in A-10 play. Fordham is firmly in the middle of the pack with a number of opportunities coming up to jump ahead.

Their next game is on the road Wednesday, Jan. 24 against the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies, a team who went through a massive overhaul with not a single returning scholarship player from last season.

Khalid Moore soars through the air in a win against St. Joseph’s on Jan. 7 at the Rose Hill Gym.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham got off to a rough start in Atlantic 10 competition following a 12-1 showing in non-conference play.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS