The Fordham Ram Volume 101, Issue 14
Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 FordhamRam.com
September 25, 2019
New Dean of FCLC Looks Forward
USG Finalizes Senate for 2019–20
By NICK TASOLIDES
By HELEN STEVENSON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
NEWS EDITOR
On Thursday, Aug. 1, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., became the first female dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC). Auricchio served as vice provost for curriculum and learning, and dean within the Schools of Public Engagement at The New School. A native New Yorker, Auricchio is excited to take on her new job as dean of FCLC. This week, she sat down with the Fordham Ram. The Fordham Ram: What was your job like at The New School? Auricchio: I was at The New School for 17 years, I started there as a professor for art history. I worked in a wide range of areas at the New School including chair of humanities, then I became a dean, overseeing a wide range of programs including: adult bachelors program, the foreign languages program, urban studies, global studies and environmental studies. I also oversaw the ESL program
The results are in for the Class of 2023 United Student Government (USG) Senate elections, finalizing the USG board for the academic year. Phillip Krehbiel, FCRH ’23, received the most votes for the FCRH Class of 2023 Senate with 102 out of 437 votes. Jonathan Eng, FCRH ’23, and Katherine Smyth, FCRH ’23, followed with 83 votes and 71 votes respectively. “Fordham is an amazing place that needs to be its best version it can be every day, and I’m proud to lead the freshman class of 2023 in doing this,” Krehbiel said. For the GSB Class of 2023 Senate result, Maya Bentovim, GSB ’23, gathered the most support with 53 votes and Jhan Chavez, GSB ’23, was just behind her with 35 votes. Bentovim said she is thankful for everyone that voted and ready to start her term. “I’m excited to get working on my initiatives and improve our lives at Fordham,” she said. Kaylee Wong, GSB ’20, president of USG, said she is happy with the freshmen class’s involvement thus far. “We had 12 wonderful candidates who were all extremely qualified and ran great campaigns,” she said. “I am excited to welcome our newest members to USG and cannot wait to see what they accomplish this year in representing their class.” In the wake of the election, Wong said she is excited to be bringing in students with differing backgrounds and experiences at Fordham. She believes these senators are equipped to well represent their peers. “If [the Freshman class] has any concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to your newly elected senators,” she said.
SEE AURICCHIO, PAGE 3
RACHEL GOW/THE FORDHAM RAM
Over 250,000 protestors attended the New York City strike for Climate last Friday in downtown Manhattan.
Students Strike in Foley Square for Climate Justice By RACHEL GOW CULTURE EDITOR
Last Friday, Sept. 20, many Fordham students ventured out of the classroom and into the streets to participate in New York City’s Climate Strike. The strike, which began in Foley Square and ended in
Battery Park, was inspired largely by Greta Thunberg, the 16-yearold environmental activist from Sweden, who traveled to New York on a zero-emission sail boat. Over 250,000 protestors attended. Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ) encouraged Fordham students to go
to the strike, hosting a sign making session on Thursday and passing out free Metrocards to the first 50 people to meet at Walsh Library gate on Friday. Members of SEAJ said they were impressed by student involvement. “The turnout for the climate SEE CLIMATE, PAGE 5
Length of Primary Affects Election By TAZRIAN AHMED
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A Moment of Magic is a group of college students that dress up as various characters, including superheroes and Disney princesses, and go to hospitals to visit kids. Benedict said the club decided to host a Disney trivia night because a lot of people are drawn
Our neighbor to the north, Canada, held its longest election cycle in history back in 2015. It lasted 11 weeks. To the south, Mexico’s election cycle is usually about 90 days with a 60-day “pre-campaign” season. Mexico has a law that limits the length of its election cycles. Across the ocean, France usually has an election cycle that lasts just two weeks. According to the National Public Radio, the campaign length for the United States can be extended to as long as 596 days, whereas in countries like Japan, the cycle is only about 12 days. Unlike many of the aforementioned countries, the United States does not have a definitive official campaign season. Boris Heersink, assistant professor in the political science department at Fordham University, explained the primary process in an interview with the Fordham Ram.
SEE MOMENT, PAGE 3
SEE PRIMARIES, PAGE 5
ALEXANDER WOLZ/THE FORDHAM RAM
A Moment of Magic hosted a trivia night in Dagger Johns for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.
Moment of Magic Hosts Trivia Night to Fight Pediatric Cancer By SARAH HUFFMAN
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Fordham students furiously scribbled on white boards as Disney Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” played throughout Dagger John’s. Erinne Benedict, FCRH ’20, president of A Moment of Magic,
called out that time was up and the teams raised their white boards in the air, excited to see if they got the answer right. This was the scene in McGinley basement on Wednesday, Sept. 18 , as A Moment of Magic foundation held its first ever Disney Trivia Night.
in this issue
Opinion
Page 9
Pray for Play Puts Fear in the NCAA
Sports
Page 20
Water Polo Continues Hot Streak
Culture
Page 11
Analyzing Trap Music's Global Domination
NEWS
Page 2
PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS
September 25, 2019
Fordham Alumni Found Queer Candle Co. Donate Profits to LGBTQ+ Organizations By ELIOT SCHIAPARELLI
Sept. 20 Loschert Hall 10:45 a.m. Water was leaking from the ceiling in a stairwell in Loschert hall. The leak triggered a fire alarm in the building. Sept. 21 Tierney Hall 1:40 p.m. An RA reported that they found a 5-pack of King Palm and a grinder with a small amount of marijuana between Tierney Hall and O’Hare Hall. Public Safety classifies this as found contraband. Sept. 22 Queen’s Court 11:10 a.m. The fire alarm was activated in the Queen’s Court Deli and the dorm building. An investigation revealed an oven malfunction that created smoke. The oven was put out of service until it can be fixed. Sept. 23 Rose Hill Parking Garage 9:30 a.m. A member of the Fordham community was involved in a motor vehicle accident. They struck a parked car on the third floor of the garage. There was only property damage, and no one was injured. Sept. 23 Rose Hill Gym 9:42 p.m. A duct detector that reads smoke set off the fire alarm in the Rose Hill gym. A supervisor responded with the FDNY. The building was taken offline until the fire department resolved the situation.
— Compiled by Sarah Huffman
Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
With scents like Apple Tree, Cauldron Fire and Morning Dew, Queer Candle Company, founded by Abby Gibson, FCRH ’16, and Alyssa Rose, FCRH ’17, has taken off. It all started when Gibson got Rose candle-making supplies for Christmas. The couple quickly realized their passion and talent for candle-making and decided to turn it into a business. “We both love candles, and more importantly, we love spending time together, so starting a business that could combine both these things just made sense,” Gibson and Rose said in a statement. However, the Queer Candle Company does more than sell candles, it also donates 10% of its profits to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SLRP) which is a New York City–based organization that works on behalf of those who are transgender, intersex or gender non-conforming to bolster their voices and advocate for better quality of life. “Donating part of our profits was always our intention as we formed the brand and our business plan,” said Gibson and Rose. “We think its very important to acknowledge that as educated and employed white folks, we are among the most privileged members of the LGBTQ+ community, and we wanted to make sure that our profits were supporting other members of our community.” The flaming triangle that adorns the company’s packaging is also deeply rooted in their LGBTQ+ identity. Gibson said when she drew it, she was trying to reclaim the pink triangles LGBTQ+ people were forced to wear during the Holocaust. “When we were talking about starting the company, we wanted to make sure that our name and logo emphasized the things that make our brand unique to us,” said Gibson and Rose. “We want to be very transparent with our customers that we are queer-owned and support our community with our profits. Our relationship and identities are formative elements of our brand identity, and we love that our name communicates that.” Rose and Gibson met during their time at Fordham on a
COURTESY OF THE QUEER CANDLE COMPANY
Gibson and Rose sell earth-scented candles and donate part of their profits to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SLRP).
Global Outreach (GO!) trip. Since graduating, they have stayed close to those roots and chaperoned GO! trips. Gibson, who majored in sociology and communications, also participated in Rodrigue’s and Fordham Experimental Theatre during her time at Fordham. Rose majored in Latin American and Latino studies and anthropology and also helped found two organizations: Volunteers Around the World Bronx chapter and Radiate Market, a fair-trade online marketplace. Despite their appreciation for their time at Fordham, Gibson and Rose said they have some issues with the way the university handles LGBTQ+ students. They said that while things have progressed since their time as students, there is still room for progress. They pointed out that many forms only have male and female options, Gibson and Rose also want a more diverse administration that includes more LGBTQ+ faculty and
they want Fordham to do more, including providing better-suited housing and mental health services. “If all of those in power are cisgender, heterosexual white people, how do you make students of color and queer/trans students feel safe and supported? With LGBTQ+ folks in administration, there could be closer checks on administrators who have failed Fordham’s queer community,” said Gibson and Rose. Fordham’s non-discrimination policy reads, “Fordham University is an academic institution that, in compliance with federal, state, and local laws, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, gender, national origin, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, veteran status, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity or gender characteristics or any other basis prohibited by law.”
Progress has been made through the Fordham administration when it announced last semester that it is implementing a new chosen name policy for ID cards, class rosters, Blackboard, Gmail and other Google services. Students also took things into their own hands by planning a lavender graduation at the end of last semester. The graduation ceremony was held to honor the achievements of LGBTQ+ members of the graduating class of 2019. Both Rose and Gibson still have day jobs, but they hope to someday be able to focus on candle making full-time. The couple is an artist in residence at Artists & Fleas Williamsburg and plan to sell their candles at markets around the city. In the future, they also hope to expand their business to the west coast and open a storefront. For now, they’ll keep making earth-scented candles like “Rosemary and Mint,” and “Basil and Amber.”
This Week at Fordham Wednesday Sept. 25
Wednesday Sept. 25
Thursday Sept. 26
Friday Sept. 27
Saturday Sept. 28
RHA Quizzo
The Bronx is Reading
Quiz Bowl Marvel Trivia
Sketch Comedy Show
Family Weekend Football Game
Dagger John’s 9:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Test your knowledge at a fun trivia night. Join the Residence Hall Association for a throwback themed Quizzo in honor of childhood cancer awareness month. Prizes will include nostalgic toys and games. The event will take place in Dagger John’s.
Keating Third Auditorium 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Author Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race, will speak with author Ashley C. Ford. The event celebrates the book’s paperback release and is sponsored by The Bronx is Reading. Books will be available for purchase after.
Keating Third Auditorium 7:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
This event will feature two rounds of jeopardy-style trivia about Marvel comics. Food and drinks will be provided as well. The event is on Thursday, Sept. 26, in Keating Third Auditorium. It starts at 7:30 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show.
Blackbox Theater 8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Join Fordham Experimental Theatre (FET) for the first Free Pizza Sketch Comedy show of the year. FET encourages people to line up for entry starting at 7:30 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. show. Please enter at the back of Collins Hall.
Jack Coffey Field 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
The Fordham Rams will be playing the University of Richmond at the family weekend football game. Tickets are free for students, but parents and guests must purchase tickets. The game will be from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Jack Coffey Field.
NEWS
September 25, 2019
Page 3
Auricchio, Ph.D., Discusses the Future at Fordham
First Female Dean of FCLC Discusses Goals FROM AURICCHIO, PAGE 1
and the AM program and teaching English to speakers of other languages. Then I became the vice provost for curriculum and learning. Which meant I was responsible for generating new programs for the entire university. I was generating new programs, evaluating new programs, supporting teaching assistants as well as overseeing schoolwide lecturing courses. I did a lot. The Fordham Ram: How do you think you can carry your skills from The New School to Fordham? Auricchio: I have found that there are a lot of things I learned at The New School in 17 years that are really helpful here. A lot of the same issues that are struggles that Fordham College at Lincoln Center is facing were issues that we dealt with at The New School as well. It’s also an urban campus. We went to great lengths to foster a community, which can be challenging when you have large commuter populations. We had the challenges of space that we have here at Fordham College Lincoln Center. At The New School we had an engagement with the city that I am hoping I can bring here. My hope is that I can actually do more here than we did there in terms of really engaging. I love the tag line “New York is my campus Fordham is my school.” I want to really bring that to fruition. The Fordham Ram: What about Fordham, more specifically Lincoln
COURTESY OF LAURA AURICCHIO
Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., spoke with The Fordham Ram about her new position as dean of FCLC.
Center, appealed to you? Auricchio: The similarity to The New School in part but, also, I have a lot of family connections to Fordham. My mother’s Ph.D. is from Fordham, her partner got his undergrad degree from Lincoln Center. My cousin who is a nun got her bachelors from Rose Hill. Also, among Fordham’s
strengths are its strong liberal arts focus, which is my personal and academic focus, as well as the creativity that I see at Lincoln Center. I’ve seen a great deal of creativity, a great deal of enthusiasm for the city. The core values of a Jesuit education are really things that speak to me. The Fordham Ram: How has
the transition process been so far? Auricchio: Wonderful. I have felt so warmly welcomed. Far more warmly welcomed then I could ever have dreamed of. The Fordham Ram: And how does it feel to be the first female dean of Lincoln Center?
Auricchio: Several people have asked me that and I actually don’t know how to answer that. I don’t know, to me I am just me. I understand that it is a significant step and several female faculty members have expressed to me how grateful they are that I’m here. I think it’s wonderful that women here do have a role model in this office and I’m proud and honored to hold that position. The Fordham Ram: Do you have any goals for this first year? Auricchio: I am trying to connect with students. That’s probably one of my top goals. In my first month here I posted on Instagram everyday something I saw at Fordham. I think the students are responding well to that. So that’s one. Two, I want to enhance student and faculty research. And three I really want to ensure that all of our classes are making the most of the city. The Fordham Ram: Have there been any challenges so far? Auricchio: I have to say that I feel like I’m living a charmed life. Everybody here has been so wonderful. I’m sure I will encounter challenges at some point, but in the first six weeks it’s been really wonderful. The Fordham Ram: Lastly, what are a few things students should know about you? Auricchio: I am a native New Yorker, third generation. I am a huge Yankees fan, I love art, I love the city and I think Fordham is a great place.
Moment of Magic Hosts First Disney Trivia Night FROM MOMENT, PAGE 1
to the club because they get to dress up as Disney characters. “I’m a major Disney fan so there was no reason not to, and when me and the fundraising team realized we wanted to do something for this month, we thought what better way to educate people on such a big issue during this time, as well as make it fun with something that’s themed with our organization,” said Benedict. The club wanted to promote the fight against pediatric cancer as the semester started because September is pediatric cancer awareness month. They figured the best way to draw awareness was to do Disney trivia, she said. “Childhood cancer is not rare by any means and I think it’s important that we let people know that and make sure that’s something that people understand because going gold for the kids and the fighters is a really big deal for this month,” said Benedict. Gold is the color that represents pediatric cancer and to “go gold” is to spread awareness of pediatric cancer through gold themed events and gold ribbons. A Moment of Magic's colors are purple and gold to represent pediatric cancer. The night included three rounds of trivia. The first round was basic Disney facts ranging from characters names to what awards Disney films have won. During the second round, Benedict played a 10 second clip from a Disney song and participants had to guess the song title. The final round of questions tied back to September being pediatric
cancer awareness month and were based on pediatric cancer facts. At the end of the night, the three teams with the most points were awarded prizes. The prizes included SoulCycle passes, an Amazon gift card and Love Your Melon beanies. Benedict said Moment of Magic was particularly glad to include Love Your Melon as a prize, since the company donates some of its proceeds to pediatric cancer. Rebecca Lees, FCRH ’21, said she had a great time and that trivia kept the attendants engaged as well as educated them on the realities of childhood cancer amid a night of fun competition. “The final round of trivia with questions about pediatric cancer was a really cool way to reinforce the message of the club and to remind us of the reason the event was being held,” she said. Samantha Heigel, FCRH ’20, said she knows of the organization because her friend is one of the club members who dresses up and goes on hospital visits. “I went to A Moment of Magic trivia for some week-night fun and to support a great cause,” said Heigel. “The event was fun and informative. It coupled Disney songs and trivia with information regarding pediatric cancer month.” This was the first time A Moment of Magic held Disney Trivia, but it holds other fundraisers throughout the year. Benedict said their big event for the fall semester is the Winter Ball, being held in December for the second time this year. Benedict said the money they
ALEXANDER WOLZ/THE FORDHAM RAM
Students gathered in Dagger Johns last Wednesday to play Disney trivia and raise money for A Moment of Magic.
raise at events such as trivia go toward costume updates and travel expenses. The club travels wherever it needs to visit a kid or family, and, being in the city, club members have to take a lot of public transportation. Benedict said costume upkeep is key because cast members are looking for Disney World-tier quality. “If kids go to Disney and then they see us, they’re seeing the same character,” she said. “We don’t want to break the magic for them.”
Princesses also bring gifts or toys to the kids they visit. Benedict said the club works with a company called the Magic Yarn Project, which makes yarn wigs sewn on a hat to mimic Disney princess hair. Princesses bring those to the hospital sometimes and often have to pay for them, according to Benedict. “We do a lot of fundraising because everything that we do is free for the kids,” she said. “Parents don’t pay any money for us to come visit them or in the hospitals.”
Benedict said anyone who hears about the club can reach out to them. They work with individual families and hospitals and they do birthday parties, remission parties, etc. The club does not limit themselves to individual children with pediatric cancer, but is willing to work with entire families regardless of situation. “If a family unfortunately loses a child to the disease, which is unfortunately not uncommon, we also maintain that we can still do visits and keep in contact with families beyond,” she said.
NEWS
Page 4
September 25, 2019
Research Spotlight
USG Column
Student Researches NYC Housing Programs Creates Packet to Explain Voucher System By ELIOT SCHIAPARELLI
USG Talks Aramark Concerns By HASNA CERAN
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When Jenna Koury, FCRH ’20, worked with the Department of Human Rights Housing Investigations Unit as a sophomore, she noticed a pattern of minority women, people with disabilities and domestic violence survivors losing their housing and unable to find new permanent housing. Working under her boss from that internship, Marleny Rubio, Koury developed a research project that she hoped could help some of these women find permanent housing. Koury originally wanted to connect with some of the women who had lost their housing and share their personal stories as a part of her project, but as she progressed she realized if she stuck with the government housing organization, there would be too much red tape that could stop her from meeting individuals. So Koury started to work with the Bronx chapter of the Violence Intervention Program (VIP). The organization caters primarily to the Latino community and provides emergency housing to domestic violence survivors with no questions asked. Participants have 90 – 160 days in the program’s housing and during that time they are supposed to use New York City’s voucher program to find permanent housing. At the start of Koury’s research, New York City had a complicated voucher system to help people move out of shelters. With seven different vouchers, Koury said it could be very confusing — even as she studied it full time. “Each of them had different income requirements, different family member requirements and immigration status,” said Koury. “It was so confusing for me and all I was doing all summer was researching them so you can imagine a woman who
On Thursday, Sept. 19, the United Student Government (USG) approved the Fordham Undergraduate Law Review (FULR) as a new club. Senator Tyler Raciti, FCRH ’21, editor-in-chief of FULR, described the club as a way to enhance the pre-law track for undergraduates by providing a student-run nonpartisan peer-reviewed scholarly journal of current pressing legal issues. Students who participate in the club will be able to network with undergraduate law reviews at other universities and Fordham University School of Law, as well as present at the undergraduate research symposium. The club mentioned institutional partnerships with the Fordham Law Review of Fordham University School of Law, as well as Hillary Mantis, director of the pre-law advising program. Furthermore, the motion to update the club suite guidelines was approved unanimously. The previous guidelines were written in 2016. Executive Vice President Ashley Qamar, GSB ’20, discussed the president pro-tempore elections on Sept. 26, emphasizing that the freshman senate would also be voting this year. Qamar also stated during the executive report that USG will be meeting with Campus Ministry, Development and Alumni Relations and Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, the following week. During the senate reports, Senator David D’Onofrio, FCRH ’22, proposed a new dining area in the copy rooms in Walsh Library that would be open from 11 a.m to 4 p.m. A pricing quote will potentially be available by next week, according to the USG minutes. The Dining Committee report centered largely around the previous issue of Aramark employees being denied seating. Senator Domenic Setaro, FCRH ’20, said he talked to Aramark during a Dining Committee meeting about a concern students had for one of its employees. Aramark got rid of the chairs for its employees at the entrance to the marketplace, but students noticed that one of the employees standing had recently had ankle surgery. Setaro asked Aramark about the situation and was informed that she was given a chair. Aramark also claimed that the lines in the Marketplace were shorter this year as a result of the employees being made to stand. In other business, the estimated cost to switch to a tap-in system for the cafeteria is around $1,500. There will be further updates if the change is to be implemented. Vice President of the Gabelli School of Business, Reilly Keane, GSB ’21, discussed the upcoming first town hall on Nov. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Bepler Commons. The event will be catered by Chipotle and will feature a Gabelli speaker event rather than the originally-planned TED talk. During the open floor, Senator Chirayu Shah, GSB ’21, announced a workshop at 10 a.m. on Sept 26. featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jerry White.
Photo of the Week:
COURTESY OF JENNA KOURY
Koury’s research goal was to create a packet explaining the New York City’s voucher housing system to women at VIP.
is trying to find housing, is working and is trying to take care of her children, there’s no time to research this.” Rather than create a report, Koury started to look at how the voucher system discriminated against the women VIP helped. Her goal was to create a packet that could explain to the women at VIP which vouchers they were eligible for and how to use them. Right as Koury came to the conclusion of her research, the City of New York seemed to agree that the system needed to change and rolled out an entirely new voucher system. “I would love to go back and see if this new voucher system changed anything for these women,” said
Koury. “Because what we were seeing over the summer is that they would go in and find an apartment they loved and then the voucher would tell the landlord they were victims of domestic violence and while the landlords didn’t actually say, ‘Oh, we don’t want you.’ You could tell maybe the fear of the boyfriend or husband coming back and causing trouble meant they wouldn’t want these women in their housing.” Koury said she always thought it was crazy that vouchers told landlords why people were eligible for low income housing. When women were denied housing, Koury watched as they would essentially be pushed back into the shelter system and have to wait six months to be
PIA FISCHETTI/ THE FORDHAM RAM
The Brooklyn Book Festival was on Sept. 22. The festival is the largest free literary event in New York City and showcased many upcoming authors. The Ampersand, Fordham’s literary magazine, took a group of students to the festival.
eligible for another voucher. If they managed to find a landlord who would accept their voucher, they would have to go through even more bureaucracy and have the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) inspect the housing they had chosen. NYCHA’s inspection process often takes weeks, according to Koury, and by the time someone comes to check the apartment, the landlord has moved on to a different tenant. “Every situation was against them and it was just hard because a lot of them were dealing with immigration status as well,” said Koury. “As my research went on it just got deeper and deeper into these things and more complicated.” Koury also noticed all sorts of systems of inequality within public housing systems, both in New York and across the country. “A lot of buildings are split in half,” said Koury. “They’ll have regular housing and low income housing within it and a lot of times with the regular housing you get to go through a prettier lobby and the low income housing has to go through a back entrance or on the side and I think that’s an example of how society is still segregating and it’s just by class now.” Koury will graduate from Fordham in the spring with majors in political science and Middle Eastern studies. She then plans to take a gap year before heading to law school. In the future, she wants to be a criminal defense attorney and work for the Federal Defenders Office or the Innocence Project. She said she is grateful to have earned a research grant and hopes to continue her research. “Fordham students are super blessed to have the opportunity to get these research grants,” said Koury. “I was able to focus my whole summer into doing this so if you think of an idea I say go for it but definitely be passionate about what you’re looking at because humanities research can get so dense.”
NEWS
September 25, 2019
Page 5
Students Join Greta Thunberg in Strike for Climate FROM CLIMATE, PAGE 1
strike was incredible, both by Fordham students and New Yorkers alike,” said Lillian Round, FCRH ’20, SEAJ president. “SEAJ provided 50 metro cards to students who came with us to the strike and we ended up not having enough.” Many Fordham students cited the magnitude of the climate crisis as their reason for attending, even if it required missing one or more classes. “I think that a lot of the things we learn in class are important, but only mean something if you put them in practice,” said Camille deCarbonnel, FCRH ’22. “Climate change is something that will affect literally everyone in the world; we cannot accomplish anything, academic or otherwise, if the earth is dying.” Fordham professors similarly stressed the importance of real world application. “I believe that philosophy is a subject meant to impact our lives,” said Victoria Emery, a professor of philosophy at Fordham. "The questions we ask and answer in the classroom are hopefully giving rise to changes in behavior or thought outside of the classroom.” Emery cancelled her Friday lecture after asking students their opinion on the matter. “When something really big is happening in our city, in our country, worldwide, it is important to give students the opportunity to participate,” she said. “Whether or not my students ultimately thought the climate strike was a worthy cause, I thought it was important that they be asked to think about it, to make a decision, to take a stance for themselves. In this case I wanted make sure that choice was not influenced by a fear of dis-
appointing their teachers or having points deducted for a missed class.” Fordham did not release a statement regarding the climate strike and other university professors held class normally, which some students said dissuaded them from participating. Todd Hokinson, FCRH ’22, a biology major, said that his absence from Friday’s march was not due to a lack of passion about the ecological crisis but rather a result of his vigorous course load. “Climate change is an extremely important issue,” especially for this generation," he said. “I wish I could have gone to the strike but my demanding class schedule unfortunately prevented this.” Hokinson also expressed frustrations at the university’s silence. “I wish Fordham, or at least the STEM department would have issued a statement, especially considering how important science is in conducting research, raising awareness and finding solutions to the climate dilemma,” he said. New York City public schools excused absences of students attending the strike tweeting, “We applaud our students when they raise their voices in a safe and respectful manner on issues that matter to them. We will share guidance with schools, and encourage class discussions about the impact of climate change, and the importance of civic engagement.” At the strike, students, who comprised a large proportion of the protestors, yielded signs that emphasized their youth and resulting vulnerability regarding climate change. “You will die of old
RACHEL GOW/THE FORDHAM RAM
On Friday, Sept. 20, climate activist Greta Thunberg lead the NYC strike for climate in downtown Manhattan
age; I will die of climate change,” was a popular poster along with, “If you don’t act like adults we will.” Other signs celebrated Greta Thunberg, with phrases like “Make America Greta again” and “Greta for president.” Strikers also used chants to express their frustrations, yelling “What do we want? Climate Justice. When do we want it? Now,” as they made the trek to Battery Park. At the park, a number of environmental activists spoke. A hip hop group called the Peace Poets kicked off the event with a high-energy spoken word poem. They, like many speakers after them, emphasized the importance of indigenous peoples in combating the climate crisis. “We are striking with the indigenous communities,” the group said. Brazilian indigenous activist, Ar-
temisa Barbosa Ribeiro, reiterated the importance of native groups. The 19-year-old spoke in her native tongue about the violence many environmentalists face in her home country, where land is often seized for animal agriculture. Musical artists Jaden and Willow Smith performed individually and together amid the speeches. Among the set list was Jaden’s song “Summertime in Paris,” featuring his sister Willow. The most anticipated speech came last when Thunberg took the stage. Despite multiple pauses in her speech due to faintings in the crowd, the activist spoke about the universal inaction she has experienced in her fight against the climate crisis. “Where I come from things are very different from here, but when
it comes to the climate and the ecological emergency and the people in power it is pretty much the same," she said. "In fact, everywhere I have been the situation is more or less the same. The people in power, their beautiful words are the same, the politicians and celebrities that want to take selfies with us are the same, the empty promises are the same, the lies are the same and the inaction is the same.” Despite this observation Thunberg pledged to continue on in the fight, stressing the importance of group action. “Together and united we are unstoppable,” she said. “We will rise to the challenge. We will hold those most responsible for this crisis accountable and we will make the world leaders act. We can and we will.” Thunberg will attend a second New York City climate strike on Sept. 27.
Professors Discuss Length of Presidential Primary: May Have a Negative Effect on U.S. Election Cycle FROM PRIMARIES, PAGE 1
“There are two elements to the presidential primary process: the actual elections, which start in January and go through June, and what is called the ‘invisible primary,’” he said. Currently the United States abides by a stacked primary system, and states hold primaries across a long period of time. Heersink believes this is the product of states wanting to have separate influence. He uses the New Hampshire primary as an example, scheduled Feb. 11, 2020, about nine months before the election. “New Hampshire wouldn’t really have much of a say if all states held their primaries on the same day,” he said. “[But] by having a primary early in the process and by itself, New Hampshire has way more influence on candidate selection because winning a state early on gives candidates momentum and name recognition moving on to the next state.” Heersink describes the invisible primary process as the period where candidates are already running for president but there are no elections yet – the period the United States is in right now. “This process is about (1) raising money, (2) convincing party
OWEN CORRIGAN/THE FORDHAM RAM
According to Professor Heersink, the “invisible primary process” occurs even before the primary elections occur.
leaders and voters that they are the best candidate and (3) gaining media attention for their candidacy,” he said. “The only driving force for candi-
dates to announce their candidacy so early within the game is the competitive nature they created themselves.” Jose Aleman, Ph.D., said that
although the origin of U.S. primaries is fundamentally democratic, the length and rules governing them are currently having a negative effect on our elections.
Because candidates are running for about a year, they are also advertising for about a year and need finances to support the campaign. According to Aleman, this sets a requirement for candidates to raise an insane amount of money in order to fairly compete, resulting in what he calls “big money” involvement in politics. “We can see the repercussions of ambiguous regulations over the length of campaigns through the appearance of ‘big money’ in politics,” he said. “Big money in politics sets a platform for corruption as affluent individuals and corporations can now ‘buy’ candidates.” Aleman said this exacerbates political inequality between the average American citizen and the top 1%, as individuals in each category definitely cannot donate the same amount to a candidate. This effectively distinguishing which voices get heard. According to Aleman and Heersink, the prolonged length of primaries is something that certainly affects the nature of U.S. presidential elections. Although the general election is over a year from now, the 2020 Democratic primary election has held three debates and eight candidates have ended their run for office.
Page 6
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OPINION
Page 7
The Fordham Ram
When Iran Attacks Allies, Strike Back By TIMOTHY KYLE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Saturday, Sept. 14, the most intense escalation yet of the growing proxy conflict in the Middle East dramatically showcased the new boldness of Iran and cast scrutiny on America’s role as a leader in the region. At least 20 cruise missiles and drones launched from somewhere northwest of Saudi Arabia slammed into the Kingdom’s Aramco oil refinery at Abqaiq, instantly halving the production capability of Saudi oil fields and cutting total world output by 5%. In the immediate aftermath, crude prices skyrocketed in their most significant jump in history, and President Trump authorized access to America’s strategic reserves of oil to stabilize U.S. markets. As the dust settles and fingers are pointed, the question of retaliation remains. The answer that President Trump settles on could redefine the U.S.’s role in the Middle East for decades to come. It is imperative we walk a fine line between aggression and obeisance, both securing the U.S.’s continuing interests and avoiding a region-wide conflict. Iran and Saudi Arabia share a long history of adversity and have long engaged in proxy conflicts through the myriad bush wars and regional uprisings throughout the Middle East. Divided not only by geopolitics but also by religion, these two enemies are the greatest regional powers in the region and fundamentally opposed on every level — a dangerous combination. Iran openly supports the rebel
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The United States needs to respond to the recent attack on Saudi Arabia to convey strength on the world stage.
Houthis in Yemen, a country where the established government is an ally of Saudi Arabia, arming and training them, most notably with drones and missiles that allow the Houthi mountain tribesmen to launch remarkably advanced attacks on Saudi cities and infrastructure. Though American-built Saudi missile defense systems have proved successful in preventing any major damage from these shortrange Houthi rockets in the past, the attacks of Sept. 14 were carried out using much more modern and long-range weaponry, pointing to a culprit with capabilities far more advanced than those of rural shepherds — either the Iranian military or any of the Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq and Kurdistan. The attack and its immediate aftermath revealed the shocking
vulnerability of the Middle Eastern oil industry to a bad actor, whether that actor is Iran, Al-Qaeda or another extremist group. The Abqaiq production facility, although vital to Saudi Arabia’s economy, was undefended against attack, despite the Saudis’ having access to the most advanced missile defense systems in the world. The immediate economic aftermath, while not catastrophic, was still historical in its scope. And while the U.S. is largely independent of Middle Eastern oil thanks to the recent shale drilling boom, many other countries are not so fortunate. In this strike, Iran has revealed a new dimension of warfare, a nightmarish marriage of the modern global economy and the modern high-tech missile, where a single, undetectable and easily-obscured attack can cause massive damage to a country’s vital economic and in-
dustrial areas. The looming question, then, is what the U.S. response should be. In the immediate aftermath, the U.S. should closely study the nature of the attack — where it came from, how it was carried out and how best to defend against similar strikes. Not only will this provide more certain answers as to the culprit, but it could also reveal extremely useful information on how these attacks can be prevented, in case we should, God forbid, find the United States facing a similar predicament. More pressingly, a decision must be made about consequences for the perpetrator. If the aggressor is Iran — as it most assuredly is — then action must be taken not only by the United States and Saudi Arabia but our European and Asian partners as well. Those with interests in the region must be unified in their unequivocal denunciation of
such unwarranted aggression and, accordingly, plan a united response. The response doesn’t necessarily have to be retaliatory strikes, which may be an unwise escalation. More prudent might be further economic sanctions or diplomatic penalties on Iran, especially Iranian figures suspected to be directly or indirectly involved in the attack, such as generals in the Revolutionary Guard who arm and train rebel groups. Regardless of the exact action taken, a definitive response must be made soon, with the full force of both the United States and our allies behind it — else President Trump appear weak in the eyes of not only Iran but the world. Both he and his administration have been unclear about what retaliation, if any, will be carried out, and Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have publicly oscillated between claiming they don’t want war and denouncing the attack as “an act of war.” Inconsistency this long after the attack serves only to weaken our position as a leader in the Middle East. The President must work quickly with our allies abroad and send a stern message to Iran and anyone else who thinks attacks like those at Abqaiq are appropriate or useful geopolitical activities — or risk abdicating the United States’ role in guaranteeing the stability of not only the Middle East but the global economy.
Timothy Kyle, FCRH ’21, is a political science major from West Hartford, Connecticut.
Soundbite Politics Are Not Politics
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Political debates in the United States have been reduced to zingers and gaffs, and have moved away from policy.
By DANE SALMON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A new specter now looms over American politics. It’s not extremism, a foreign country nor anything the left or right alone is guilty of, but something far more menacing: soundbite politics. The reduction of political discourse into 10-second long, surface-level remarks without context is on a course to worsen the already miserable state of political debate in the United States.
Take the most recent Democratic primary debate, for example. If you watched it, you would probably realize it was the exact same as the last two or three: the same points were made by the same politicians about the same things. The only difference was their delivery. They spew intentionally fallacious arguments that are segmented then disseminated on Twitter for certain verified accounts to beat like a dead horse. Sound good to you? I agree —
the practice is positively vile. If it’s not noticeable enough, the influence of bias within mass media upon political discourse has come to a head. MSNBC and Vox show only what its readership wants to see, and the same goes for Fox News and Breitbart. Anything remotely appealing Donald Trump says in a press conference can be edited, placed in the appropriate context and used to sway the media outlet’s readership or viewership towards
its chosen ends. An interesting case of this is the amount of time mass media already spend discussing President Trump’s tweets. News anchors and talk show hosts across the political spectrum regularly spend minutes dissecting Trump’s tweets, which are already unsubstantive from the get-go. What purpose could this possibly serve besides political polarization and division? If you watch CNN, Don Lemon tells you how to think, and if you watch Fox News Bret Baier does the thinking for you. Televised media, however, is hardly the only culprit. Newspapers, online publications and podcast hosts do the exact same. Breitbart can publish an entire article about yesterday’s Trump tweet extolling President Trump’s virtues for typing a bite-sized quote on something Republicans like, and Vox can do essentially the same by over-analyzing every period and comma of Trump’s few sentences, and the end result is perhaps even more destructive than television’s treatment. A pointless doctoral-level literary analysis of insubstantial political drivel is published by a
myriad of authors from countless political views nearly every day on the subject. What do these Ph.D. theses on Trump’s tweets, good or bad, accomplish? They accomplish exactly what sound-bite politics is designed to do: appeal to its audience and demonize the other. It’s in every American’s interest to combat this foe. Political gridlock grips our halls of government, and ideological hatred plagues our culture. A concerted effort to not be swayed by soundbite politics is not a cure-all for our sickness, but it’s sure to help. The whirlpool of soundbite politics is difficult to escape — wherever we turn, we face the exact things I have described, but the whole story is always out there. I implore you to do yourself — and the country — the favor of fighting against the transmutation of political discourse into something which could barely be called by the same name. The point of no return is near at hand.
Dane Salmon, FCRH ’21, is a philosophy major from Coppell, Texas.
OPINION
Page 8
R
Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918 The Fordham Ram is the university journal of record. The mission of The Fordham Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate. The Fordham Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of over 12,000 and a web readership of over 300,000. The Fordham Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.
Website FordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu Editor-in-Chief Aislinn Keely Managing Editor Hannah Gonzalez Business Director Donald Dugan Operations Director Briana Scalia Editorial Director Lindsay Grippo Executive Director Colette Nolan Copy Chiefs Vanessa DeJesus Maggie Rothfus News Editor Helen Stevenson Projects Editor Erica Scalise Assistant News Editors Eliot Schiaparelli Sarah Huffman Opinion Editors Briana Scalia Collin Bonnell Culture Editors Rachel Gow Kieran Press-Reynolds Sports Editor Jimmy Sullivan Assistant Sports Editors Andrew Posadas Dylan Balsamo Digital Producers Kristen Egan Katherine Morris Photo Editor Julia Comerford Visual Director Bojeung Leung Faculty Advisor Jesse Baldwin-Philippi Editorial Page Policy
The Fordham Ram’s editorial is se-
lected on a weekly basis and reflects the editorial board’s view on a campus issue. Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram appreciates submissions to fordhamramopinions@gmail. com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Fordham Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.
September 25, 2019
From the Desk | Maggie Rothfus
Confessions of a Copy Chief “Nobody knows everything — one of the pleasures of language is that there is always something new to learn — and everybody makes mistakes,” said former New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris in her first book, “Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen.” I think I can speak for everyone on the Ram that this experience is one we have all had at one point (or two, or three) during our times here. As a senior and first-time staff member, my time with The Fordham Ram has been shorter than others, but as I near the end of it, I know it has been just as fruitful as my peers’ experiences. I started as a regular copy editor for Volume 100 and with no intention to write. My prior newspaper experience included being one of two editors for a dismal high school paper, and I had vowed never to work in journalism again. However, when I joined the copy table — a whole team of copy editors who valued grammar as much as I did — I revoked that promise quicker than you could type out an em dash. In copy editing, I have found a passion and a skill that I will make a career of. As the year went by and my ed-
iting skills increased, so too did my interest in the craft of writing and different grammatical styles and standards. While accepting the rules of AP style hasn’t been the most pleasant task, my understanding of what makes for good journalism, both ethically and linguistically, makes me all the more excited for coming to the copy table each week. And while I wouldn’t trade my role as copy chief for the world, it didn’t come without its own challenges: There have been late nights, news and sports articles to read outside of regular hours, personal pressures to meet your own standards and the frustration of seeing a mistake slip through after production is done. But I love the challenge. It’s what keeps me going, grounded and forever learning, as Mary Norris would say. Love isn’t easy, and it shouldn’t be. In love, you are not always right, and you will sometimes have to look to others (or the AP stylebook itself) for the answers. Love is as humbling as it is empowering, as nerve-wracking as it is calming. I fell hard and quickly for the Ram in all aspects: the editing, the writing and the people I’ve met and learned from.
Fordham offers many classes of interest from classical Latin poetry to the interdisciplinary study of disgust through literature and psychology. No matter how fascinating I have found my classes, the lessons I have learned through the Ram are not what I have found in any English class. Without this paper, never could I have discovered the differences between hyphens, en dashes and em dashes or the term “stet” and other proofreading symbols; nor could I have had the opportunity to interview pop-singer Kim Petras as well as Bronx community members, allowing me to engage more with the Fordham area. Involving myself with a team as strong as the Ram’s motivated me to get out of my comfort zone. I find that my, at times, nitpicky editing instills in me a fear of writing and having to face my own mistakes. Fearful writers, let people edit your work. It is the only way to grow, and, more often than not, your insecurities are unwarranted. My gratitude for the editorial assistance, specifically the help I receive from our culture editors, is overwhelming. If I could sum up my experience,
The Fordham Ram became a home where I have learned to grow into a better version of myself — professionally, interpersonally, linguistically, mentally and more. In life, I, as well as many others, find myself wondering if I am enough and wanted. The Ram has given me senses of purpose and belonging and a type of confidence I never before had the pleasure of owning. As I move onto future endeavors, the strengths the Ram has given me will never falter. Thank you for having me as copy chief, and thank you for allowing me to learn with you all.
Editorial | Climate Change
Combat Climate Anxiety With Awareness Anxieties surrounding our changing climate are beginning to have a large impact on the day to day lives of many people. The Climate Change in the American Mind report released in April by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication detailed that 62% of Americans were at least “somewhat worried” about the climate and 23% were “very worried.” As mental health columnist Kelly Christ, FCRH ’21, notes in last week’s issue of the Ram, psychiatric and psychological communities are beginning to collectively recognize the phenomenon, using terms such as “climate distress,” “climate grief,” “climate anxiety” or “ecoanxiety.” Some have presented the argument that “climate alarmists” are intentionally orchestrating fear among younger generations and evoking emotional responses from voters in an attempt to lobby power for the political left. Recent media coverage of 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s emotional and angry address to world leaders at the United Nations (UN) on Monday has been met with criticisms of this nature, though the young firebrand has inspired a great deal of support, as well. Real change requires both uncomfortable personal sacrifices and massive shifts away from economic structures around the globe that currently benefit a select few at the expense of the masses (and the Earth). Perhaps this fact is why some with vested interests choose to see and present the increasing awareness of human-exacerbated climate change as unfounded hysteria instead of necessary exposure to the very real issues currently affecting our planet. It is important that we continue to do all that we can to make whatever
difference we can: staying informed, volunteering with impactful organizations, writing to senators, recycling, etc. But most importantly, we must understand our place within the larger narrative context; only then can we truly begin to combat the sometimes crippling anxiety that can accompany the understanding that our planet is suffering and learn how to spur the systemic changes necessary to safeguard its future. Individual consumption habits only account for a portion of the harm being done to our environment. The Carbon Majors Database’s CDP Carbon Majors Report released in 2017 detailed that a mere 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. Historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway have also documented, through extensive research, the ways in which some high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective disinformation campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge on matters such as tobacco smoke, acid rain, global warming and DDT for decades in their influential book Merchants of Doubt. In short, individuals have always felt the onus of responsibility for our changing climate far more heavily than the corporations that actually have the most severe environmental footprints and, therefore, the potential to make the greatest difference. While these individuals seem motivated — whether it be by anxiety, guilt or hope — to make the needed changes to better the collective situation, many corporations are still failing to do so. As educated individuals in an age of climate crisis, it is easy to feel over-
whelmed by what are generally considered to be dire circumstances. On a student-level, navigating concerns about climate presents its own set of challenges. Many college students are under financial or time limitations when attempting to make eco-friendly choices: choices that can prove confusing and seemingly contradictory, like which type of non-dairy alternative to buy, at which store and from which brands. On the other hand, students are afforded a prime environment to enrich their understanding of what is happening to our climate in ways that are generally unmediated by outside interests. Discussion with peers and access to scholarly knowledge is invaluable to those who hope to use this information to make real differences. The global Climate Strike this past Friday was a good example of people joining together to demand an end to government and business inaction on climate change. The strike was unarguably beneficial for the movement’s morale and momentum, but participants must recognize the event as primarily such; there is still so much work to be done to spur the significant structural changes that will have the greatest positive impact on our climate. There is a benefit to showing your colors to your opponents, to intimidating contrarians with the size and vigor of your side’s team. It is as simple, though, as turning off the news or staying off Twitter for those who disagree with elements of the Climate Strike to tune out the event entirely. In terms of changing minds, it seems that conversations are far more productive when they are unavoidable; UN diplomats who disagree with Greta’s position could not ignore her speech, just as those in school settings who oppose gun con-
trol could not ignore participants in the Wear Orange movement. Similarly, for those in areas most impacted by the changing climate — where youth do not have equal access to schooling and the affected geographical landscape proves one such barrier of entry — the opportunity cost of skipping a day of school is far higher than for many who attended last week’s strike. There is also an argument to be made that refusing to go to school is to miss out on engaging in the dialogue and on learning the informational frameworks needed to help solve the problems that the strike aims to address in the first place. However, as an opportunity to take a step back — to feel united with like-minded peers, reinvigorated by the collective fervor and reinspired to tackle the monumental tasks ahead — the Climate Strike proved extremely meaningful. The event brought together millions of people with a unified ethos during a time when it felt like there was little to no hope — and everyone needs a mental health day every once in a while. In an environment of such crisis, one that’s been handed down to youth from a generation that is failing to make real changes to fix it, the communal sense of purpose that things like the Climate Strike provide is pivotal to mitigating bouts of anxiety, hopelessness and demoralization. Participate in the movement to help our planet, but also participate because it can make you feel better. Understand that, to a certain extent, your personal carbon footprint is limited but your inspirational impact has the potential to be infinite; educate yourself to understand the full power of both.
OPINION
September 25, 2019
Page 9
Pay for Play Puts Fear in the NCAA By JIMMY SULLIVAN, DYLAN BALSAMO and ANDREW POSADAS SPORTS EDITORIAL STAFF
The NCAA topped $1 billion in revenue during the 2017 fiscal year, thanks in large part to television and marketing rights fees, as well as, of course, the behemoth cultural and economic enterprise that is the Division I Men’s College Basketball Tournament every March. In turn, the NCAA’s Division I member schools received just over $560 million, but even with other expenses included, the NCAA still turned a profit upwards of $100 million. One would think that, because of this flood of revenue, student-athletes would be able to cash in on some of these profits. After all, it’s only fair that they do. However, the NCAA’s archaic and unfair business model currently prohibits them from doing so. However, this may be changing very soon. Earlier this month, the state of California saw the Fair Pay to Play Act proposed by the state assembly, which would allow student-athletes at universities to profit from their own namesake in the form of sponsorship deals, to seek financial and business opportunities and to even hire agents. Just last week, New York state senator Kevin Parker proposed a similar bill that would require the payment of student-athletes at universities to be much more direct. The plan includes financial compensation for using a player’s image or likeness, a fund to provide financial assurance for injured athletes and even an amendment that requires the athletic department to give 15% of their total revenue to their athletes, divvied up evenly. These pieces of legislation have not gone without their criticism. Former University of Florida and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow found himself in the midst of a national debate when he appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” in opposition of paying college athletes on the basis that changing the narrative from “us” and “we” to “me” will ruin the spirit of college athletics. Tebow, a celebrated NCAA player who at one point had the number one selling jersey in all of college football
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NFL player Tim Tebow has gone on record saying that he does not support California’s new Fair Pay to Play Act.
and won National Championships and earned media fame as a quarterback at Florida, is saying that no student-athlete deserves compensation for the work they put in, no matter their sport. While even ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has said that he understands where Tebow is coming from, what Tim Tebow and those like him need to understand is that on this issue, it is best they step aside. Athletes like Tebow walked out of college right into the NFL and stable money and never had to endure the struggles of some NCAA participants. Football is not the only college sport. In fact, the NCAA consists of 460,000 student-athletes, most of whom do not play football. A lot of them play underappreciated sports like water polo, rowing and tennis. Tebow’s take also ignores the many players, even in football and basketball, who can’t necessarily afford to play college sports for free and have to worry about where to get their next meal or how to make their way through college, even on a scholarship. These young people will probably not have their faces on the covers of national sports papers, but they put just as much into their sports as the biggest names — a literal full-time commitment on top of academics. Plenty of college students have oncampus jobs for which they are compensated. When you’re at a school
like the University of Michigan, which makes over $180 million in revenue just from sports, what makes paying athletes any different? In theory, one might assume the NCAA would be in favor of the players who have shed blood, sweat and tears without reaping any monetary gain. Unfortunately, the NCAA has made it quite clear they are still steeped in its old-fashioned mentality of “preserving amateurism” in college athletics. Led by President Mark Emmert, the NCAA sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsome on the same day the Fair Pay to Play Act was passed unanimously by the California State Senate. In it, the NCAA strongly urged Gov. Newsome to deny the passage of the bill, calling it “harmful” and “unconstitutional.” Using the word “unconstitutional” in its logic is a clear exaggeration on the part of Emmert and the NCAA, especially considering which constitution it refers to. No, not the Constitution of the United States of America. The NCAA is arguing it goes against the NCAA’s constitution. You know, the one they made up without any consideration or input from the student-athletes who power the system. No law in this country prohibits those pursuing a career in college the opportunity to make money while in school. Take, for example, those of us
in the sports section of The Fordham Ram. We are all pursuing careers in the sports media world. Fortunately, we have opportunities to earn money, whether it be through paid internships, or even working on campus at the local radio station, WFUV 90.7 FM. Being able to get paid in knowledge and in dollars is an experience just about every college student is allowed. Except for college athletes. Because they are considered amateurs in the NCAA’s constitution, they cannot be financially compensated unless they turn professional. Adding to its irrational explanation in the letter, the NCAA explained that paying student-athletes would “upend the balance” in college sports because teams would then have unfair recruiting advantages. Imbalance and a lack of parity already exist in college athletics. In college football, it would be surprising if the University of Clemson and the University of Alabama weren’t in the National Championship game again this upcoming January. Since its inception back in 2015, both universities have faced off in three of the five championship games. Clemson has made it to the playoff semi-finals four times. Alabama has been a part of all five college football playoffs. Tell me, where is the competitive balance in seeing the same two teams play in the
title game almost every year? When talking about recruiting, the allure and prestige of Universities like Alabama is what ultimately lures elite high school talent. But, in most cases, those athletes are sitting on the bench for a year or two before getting ample playing time. If every college could pay its players the same amount of money, perhaps that would be the ultimate deciding factor in a prospects decision. It could be the key in more high school athletes choosing to stay local for college or playing for a university not traditionally recognized as a powerhouse in athletics. This could see an increase in athletics deciding to stay local or choosing to play at a school not considered a traditional powerhouse in athletics, because no matter where they go, they will be getting paid regardless. Of course, the issue here would be that this process would devolve into a race to see which school could become the highest bidder, but that would still be a far better problem than the one we have now. For now, the wait is still on for the bill to be officially passed in California. Unfortunately, college athletes will wake up tomorrow, still amateurs who are expected to play for the love of the game alone and care nothing for the millions of dollars being generated at their expense. That is what the NCAA will keep pushing in its commercials that it paid for with its easy-earned money, manifested from the countless hours of studying, practicing and athletic play performed by young men and women. But, somehow, it is deemed justifiable through asinine retorts such as, “at least they are getting a free ride in school.” The NCAA may have paid for its logo patches to be put on every single college sports jersey, but truthfully, Emmert and the NCAA board of governors have not earned the right to represent the half a million students whose best interests it claims to have at heart.
Jimmy Sullivan, FCRH ’21, is the sports editor. Dylan Balsama, FCRH ‘22, is an assistant sports editor. Andrew Posadas, FCRH ‘21, is an assistant sports editor.
Have any thoughts? Send your ideas to fordhamramopinions@gmail.com
CULTURE
Page 10
September 25, 2019
“Unbelievable” Calls Attention to Sexual Assault By KATIE SCHULTE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Editor’s Note: This article contains discussion of sexual assault. “Unbelievable” is a heart-wrenching new Netflix miniseries about sexual assault. The show debuted on Sept. 13, 2019, and has deeply resonated with audiences for its piercing depiction of why sexual assault goes severely underreported. It follows two sharply contrasting narratives over eight episodes. Based on the 2015 Pulitzer Prizewinning piece, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, the series opens
in Lynnwood, Wa., in 2008, with the story of 18-year-old Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever). Her assault is handled by the authorities in a disturbing, but all too familiar, way. Arriving on the scene, officers question Adler without regard for her emotional state. Immediately, she is asked to recall the event. Gruesome flashbacks pierce through her dialogue. This occasion is only the first of four where she must repeat the incident in the first episode, each time reliving the trauma. Authorities take advantage of Adler’s vulnerable state by twisting her words and coercing her into saying that she falsely reported the assault. She is no longer a victim to
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“Unbelievable” is a new Netflix show that takes a close look at sexual assault.
the detectives, but instead a criminal wasting their time. Above all, she is thought to have been lying for attention, as pointed out by her foster mother who directed the detectives to look into her past, which included abuse. In the following episode, a second narrative is introduced, where everything is handled properly and respectfully, which seems surprisingly unrealistic because it is rarely the way rape cases are treated. The scene opens in Golden, Co. in 2011. Detective Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever) meets survivor Amber (Danielle MacDonald) on the scene of the crime. Her first question to Amber is simply, “How are you?” From the initial interview to the exam at the hospital, Duvall ensures that Amber is comfortable and feels safe. Everything from the tone of her voice to her insistence on accuracy from her team is what one hopes for in an assault case. The only similarity between the two narratives is the perpetrator. Duvall finds out from her husband, a police officer in another district, that there is a similar case. She meets with Detective Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette), who is leading the case. Together, the two work tirelessly to uncover a serial rapist, who began in Washington in 2008 with Adler. The colliding of the two narratives is particularly heartbreaking. Observing Duvall and Ramussen’s work ethic and determination, one is constantly reminded of the failings of Adler’s detectives, Pruitt (Eric Lange) and Parker (Bill Fagerbakke). Through the poignant intertwining stories, it is impossible not to wonder if, had those detectives been
as diligent in 2008, the 28 accounts of rape charged to the perpetrator may never have happened, if only Adler and all of the women had been given the same treatment as Amber, and a clean crime scene suggested that it was the perpetrator who outsmarted the system, not a young woman seeking attention. As pointed out by Adler’s lawyer, “no one ever accuses a robbery victim of lying or someone who says he was carjacked.” As all crimes have a relatively consistent low percentage of false reporting, gender cannot be ignored, as this atrocity disproportionately affects women. After a disagreement with a male colleague, Rasmussen frustratingly asks Duvall, “Where is the outrage?” Being that one in five women are assaulted (based on what is actually reported), the show posits that the two female detectives have a more acute understanding of the issue. In the same scene, Rasmussen says that if her male counterparts had the same fear that it could happen to them, the approach would be different. Therefore, it does not go unnoticed that it was two men that handled (or failed to handle) Adler’s assault. The showrunner, Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), told The Atlantic that her intention was not to vilify Parker and Pruitt. In reality, they had much less experience with rape cases than their counterparts and their district did not have a separate sex crimes unit. Still, their ignorance to the issue speaks to how gender affects their approach. In both real life and in the show, these detectives went unpunished for their negligence. As the series points out, male police officers have high rates of domes-
tic abuse and yet, says Rasmussen, are still permitted to walk around with a badge and gun. In the same sense, two men that faced no discipline for not only neglecting to follow through on a case but also prosecuting the survivor continue to hold power in deciding other survivors’ fates. For this reason, the cycle of not reporting abuse and distrust in authorities continues. The denial of the survivor’s agency as seen through Marie only works to revictimize her. She tells her therapist, “even with good people, even with people you can kind of trust, if the truth is inconvenient … they don’t believe it.” The series demonstrates precisely how damaging rape culture is and continues to be. The implicit bias of Parker and Pruitt serves, as said by Grant, to make the audience uncomfortable. The doubt of rape survivors built into the system is founded in the everyday language of people that justifies authorities dismissing them. By depicting the series from Adler’s perspective, her voice and that of survivors are given power over those that silence them. Too often, the perpetrators are given power in the narrative, both on the screen and in real life. Brock Turner, the infamous Stanford University student-athlete convicted on three accounts of sexual assault in 2015, was only given six months in jail because the judge was “concerned about the impact of prison” on Turner. He was released after three months. In weaving Adler’s life with that of hardworking detectives, the series demonstrates the power in point of view and, above all, the necessity to believe victims but empathize with them as Duvall and Rasmussen did.
“Ad Astra” Dives Into a Black Hole of Daddy Issues By MATTHEW DILLON STAFF WRITER
“Ad Astra” begins with a declaration of epic proportions: the search for alien life is what drove humanity to the stars. The actual film, though, is about daddy issues. Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) ventures into the great unknown to find his father, the famed space icon H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), who has finally returned to the solar system years after his expedition for alien life went missing. Unfortunately, H. Clifford’s ship refuses to go farther than Neptune and starts bombarding Earth with technology-destroying energy surges. The U.S. military recruits Roy to figure out what happened to his father. While “Ad Astra” opens with an impressive scene, which sees Roy narrowly survive the first surge, the rest of the film lacks any magic whatsoever. Even as these surges annihilate the Earth, the characters are more concerned with H. Clifford. By the end of “Ad Astra,” it becomes clear that the surges’ only purpose was to artificially inject tension into the story. Like so much else in the movie, it’s just a
pretense for the clumsy father-son relationship. The recent rash of scientifically-inspired (if not particularly accurate) space flicks usually follow a rugged white man whose dedication to science is rivaled only by love for his family. “Ad Astra” somehow crafts a version of this archetype that’s even more boring. Pitt portrays a man who has become cold and withdrawn after his father abandoned him at a young age. “Ad Astra” goes to great lengths to show that Roy’s career is stifled, his marriage is over and his life is aimless. Much of the film’s stunning visuals are accompanied by Roy’s droning narration, which mostly concerns his deep-rooted personal issues. Even Brad Pitt can’t breathe life into such a dull character as he meanders his way through the cosmos to confront his absent father. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t do much to liven things up. “Ad Astra” puts an undue emphasis on Roy’s search for his father, to the point that everything else becomes an accessory. Forgettable, purely functional dialogue ensures that the film entirely lacks real emotion or even meaning. That is especially unfortunate because “Ad Astra” envisions a
believable future instead of just quickly concocting one to serve the plot. The stunning visuals construct a complex setting that has been co-opted for a deep space therapy session. The best-realized sequences of the film are almost complete non-sequiturs, existing only to maintain the audience’s interest in admittedly crude ways. The moon pirate sequence is a perfect example, while also embodying “Ad Astra” as a whole. During a detour on the moon, Roy’s lunar buggy convoy is ambushed by raiders. What follows is a tense action sequence that tries to maintain some semblance of realism that prevents it from becoming too absurd. But the camerawork, effects and pacing can’t make up for the flawed concept. Outside of a throwaway line, the viewer is supposed to accept moon pirates in a fairly grounded, humorless setting. Like the rest of the film, superb presentation struggles to justify the story. Even outside of those interrup-
tions, the visuals are impressive, particularly when it comes to the use of lighting and point of view shots. These two elements are employed to emphasize
TEMPLATE COURTESY OF FACEBOOK GRAPHIC BY KIERAN PRESS-REYNOLDS
Pictured: Brad Pitt.
the vastness of space and the immense needs of space travel. The special effects are mostly CGI but still convincing. “Ad Astra” manages to create some real tension and disturbing sequences, even with the limited scope offered by its PG-13 rating. The dazzling imagery doesn’t hide the different influences that litter “Ad Astra.” The film draws heavily from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and even less from philosophically-taxing movies like “Alien.” This lends “Ad Astra” a strong visual language, but all the borrowing opens the film up to some unfavorable comparisons. While not a particularly effective film, “Ad Astra” does at least successfully communicate its message about personal responsibility. Most of the film’s peers present science and space exploration as an escape from Earth’s ills. Meanw h i l e, “Ad Astra” reminds the viewers that wherever we go, we’ll be taking our problems with us.
CULTURE
September 25, 2019
Page 11
Exploring Trap Music’s Global Domination Latin, Moroccan Trap and NAAR’s “Safar” By SARA TSUGRANIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Like with all new genres of music, there was a pearl-clutching moment when trap began to break the mainstream. The hyper-masculine subgenre falls under hip-hop and follows in rap’s footsteps of having lyrics that parade sex, drugs and wealth. Artists such as Migos, Travis Scott and 21 Savage popularized the genre with songs like “Bad and Boujee” that have repetitive choruses, consistent use of snares and frequent adlibs like “skrrt.” Trap has gone global, and the rest of the world is now defining it. Korean rapper Keith Ape has over 58 million views on a YouTube video for “It G Ma,” featuring prominent American hip-hop artists Waka Flocka Flame and Anderson .Paak. In Greece, crowds at nightclubs shout the lyrics to “Business” by TOQUEL. But the most successful global trap music comes from Latin artists. Latin trap has far surpassed the popularity of American trap. Artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Anuel AA and Ozuna have been at the top of global charts. J Balvin and Bad
Bunny broke through with their first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for Spanish verses on Cardi B’s “I Like It,” and they have dominated mainstream music since. J Balvin is the most viewed artist so far on YouTube Global in 2019 and the first Latin singer to headline music festival Lollapalooza. His collaborative album with Bad Bunny, “Oasis,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s top Latin albums. The music is relatable to American, yet distinctively Latin. On “The Tonight Show,” J Balvin told Jimmy Fallon that this crossover has always been his dream. “We’re here talking in English, but my music is Spanish,” he said. While Latin trap artists have popularized their music across the entire world successfully, Moroccan trap artists are slowly making their way there by uniting trap artists from all over the world to create truly international music. The few artists who make up trap collective NAAR are driving the entirety of the Moroccan trap scene. According to their website, NAAR “seeks to promote Arab artists and to challenge the narratives about the Arab world and its culture.” The docu-
mentary “CROSSING- BORDERS” follows the formation of NAAR and the making of its new album “Safar.” Released on Sept. 13, 2019, the album “gathers 32 artists of nine nationalities who are determined to see Moroccan rap go global.” The first song released by the collective was “Money Call.” It contains Arabic, French and English lyrics. The song garnered over 5 million views on YouTube. In “CROSSING BORDERS,” the craze NAAR has started with “Money Call” at its first concert in Paris could be seen clearly. A tightlypacked, high-energy crowd in a small venue jumped to the beat, shouting the lyrics back at NAAR. In an interview on NAAR’s website, French rapper Laylow discussesd his collaboration with Shobee and other Moroccan trap artists on “Money Call”: “We managed to make music without understanding ... They understood my language but I didn’t understand everything they talked about ... It’s as if you had French and Arabic and that the Auto-Tune was above all that. It’s an even simpler code than letters and languages.” Music overrides any language barrier, which is what NAAR hopes
will help its music reach the United States. In “CROSSING BORDERS,” Moroccan artist Small X said, “We know what’s going on in the U.S. We know about blues, jazz. But they don’t know what’s happening in Morocco ... So we try to create something new that can give a new vibe to rap music in the world.” Another member of NAAR, Madd, added, “You impose your style on trap music. It’s not a train you have to follow, no. You can do what you want — it’s your world.” “Safar” is an album that brings together different styles of trap. Moroccan trap has been able to take off in this digital age where artists can connect from all over the world. French rapper Nusky did not meet the group in Morocco to record “Bad B” for “Safar.” Nusky addressed how new technology is a benefit. “You can be here and catch what people your age make at the other end of the world,” he said. However, predominant music applications like YouTube and Spotify were not always available in Morocco. Spotify only recently became available to Morocco on Nov. 13, 2018 (Variety). French rapper Laylow explained in an interview
on NAAR’s website that the digital world for French and Moroccan artists is different. “Youtube revenues, streaming, all this depends on the country you’re in, it made me realize the double standards,” he said. The lack of technology in Morocco meant a lack of a music industry. In an interview with Spotify, Shobee said, “There is no network to organize concerts, no venue to make your own tours, but, musically speaking, we have everything, even to match the American market.” NAAR is proving so. “Money Call” has over 6 million views on YouTube. NAAR is successfully crossing invisible borders, but Moroccan artists still have a hard time crossing physical ones. NAAR collaborator ISSAM was denied a visa to France and was unable to film a portion of his music video “Caviar” in Paris (Fader). There is a frustration among the Moroccan artists who cannot travel as easily as Western artists like French rapper Laylow who had no issue going to Morocco to film “Money Call.” The universal understanding of trap has allowed for any artist — Latin, Korean, Swedish, Greek or Moroccan — to bring their unique spin. Listen to “Safar,” out now.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Pictured: (top, left to right) American 21 Savage, Colombian J Balvin, member of the Moroccan collective NAFAR; (bottom, left to right) Korean Keith Ape, French Laylow, Greek TOQUEL, Swedish Yung Lean.
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FORDHAM LOOKS FORWARD
September 25, 2019
Students Skip Class for Climate at New York Strike This past Friday, Sept. 20, the climate protesters congregated in Lower Manhattan for the global climate strike. An estimated 250,000 protesters took to New York’s streets, ending at Foley Square. Advocates like Greta Thunberg, the 16 year-old Swedish climate activist, and performers like Willow and Jayden Smith took the stage to express their concerns over the changing climate. Students at Fordham, including members of the Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ), weighed in on their participation in this strike, its significance and the future of climate policy.
Kelsey Watt, FCRH ’21: It’s important for us to show up for the causes we care about, especially when they’re affecting us so greatly. It’s one thing to post something on your Instagram story or talk about it with your friends, but it’s another to protest and ACT! When you don’t like what’s happening around you, do something about it! That is what democracy is.
RACHEL GOW/THE FORDHAM RAM
Protester numbers reported;y reached 250,000 at the New York City section of the Climate Strike as participants made their way to Foley Square.
Anita Gitta, FCRH ’21: The Global Climate Strike illustrated the massive number and diversity of people who not only care about the environment but are also demanding that governments, big corporations, and people in power actually take steps to mitigate climate change. All over the world, young people went to the streets to make it clear that climate change poses not only a threat to the environment which we have inherited from older generations but also to our lives. I feel so proud to have been a part of this historic strike. The only thing to do now is continue to fight for climate justice for all people.
September 25, 2019
FORDHAM LOOKS FORWARD
Charlotte Puscasiu, FCRH ’21: I attended the March in Paris, France (where I’m studying abroad). To me the March was a real visual and emotional indicator of how many people actually care about these causes. It was a moment of solidarity and of putting individual faces to a mass movement. I felt like I turned to my friend multiple times to say, “Wow, okay, we’re not alone in this.” Lily Round, FCRH ’20: The turnout for the climate strike was incredible, both by Fordham students and New Yorkers alike. SEAJ provided 50 metro cards to students who came with us to the strike and we ended up not having enough! NYC excused student absences in public grade schools on Friday to encourage student participation, and although Fordham refused to do the same, the student turnout was
really awesome. It was great to see members of the Fordham community supporting and representing this movement. The strike was really important. We are at a crucial time where, if we don’t implement aggressive climate legislation within the next 11 years, the effects of climate change will be irreversible. But this is not only an environmental issue — it’s also a social justice one as well. Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, that’s why it’s so important for students to be active in this movement, engage with their communities and advocate for political reform. The strike emphasised the seriousness of the issue and drew light upon the environmental injustices created by climate change. But the strike is not the end of this movement, it’s just the beginning. It’s really important that students continue their efforts and use their unique positions of privilege as Fordham students to participate in this movement.
RACHEL GOW/THE FORDHAM RAM
Protesters designed a variety of signs to express their dissatisfaction over current climate policy.
Page 13
Reporting by Rachel Gow, FCRH ’21, Culture Editor
CULTURE
Page 14
September 25, 2019
“As I Transform as a Person, My Music Does Too” Introducing Braelyn, Alaska’s Rising Popstar By ALEXANDRA LANGE COLUMNIST
18-year-old Oklahoma City-native and current Alaskan Braelyn always dreamt of becoming a famous musician. After singing covers for years, she was introduced to SoundCloud in high school. She realized that this platform, which allows anyone to share their music for free, was the way to go. She would experiment for years to find her own sound. Sitting on her bed wearing headphones, playing with sounds and styles, she eventually found her voice. Braelyn’s atypical indie-pop music transcends genres, layering emotional harmonies and soulful lyrics. She combines the ethereal wisps of Billie Eilish with the smoky intensity of Lorde to create a sound uniquely her own. Her most popular song, “how does one love,” has over 16,000 streams. She sits at a little over 500 followers on SoundCloud (Braelyn) and over 2,500 followers on Instagram (@braelynofficial). The Fordham Ram spoke with Braelyn to gain some insight on her creative process. Q: So you’re only 18. What’s an average day like for you? Do you go to school or have a job? A: Every day I wake up, go to school, go home, make music. It’s a cycle. I used to work, but let’s just say that I’m a better artist than employee. Q: Describe your sound to someone who’s never listened to you.
A: I’d say my sound is complex and ever-changing. It knows exactly what you need to hear in that moment, and it knows what feelings to draw out, mostly due to the layers and layers of harmony. I used to make melancholy and R&B stuff, but as I transform as a person, my music does too. My sound is different today, and it’ll be different tomorrow, you know? Q: Who are some of your biggest inspirations? Why? A: Willow Smith and Jaden Smith are the biggest influences in my music and life by far. I mean, what is there not to love about them from their fashion style, musicality and risk-taking in the industry? They’re fearless, it’s all so out there and the way they use their platforms is so inspirational. Q: What’s your creative process like? How do you record/write? A: My creative process is bizarre. I almost wish it was different, but then I remember there’s something so purely organic about the way my music comes together so I shouldn’t change it. My best songs write themselves. I can’t just sit down and write at my own will. It feels too much like a prompted assignment and I’d frustrate myself trying to build something that was never there. I usually surf through beats, and I’ll know exactly when it’s the right one. It’s like matching an outfit, you look at the color and style and
you’ll know when it doesn’t work. Q: What do you think is the best song you’ve ever made? Why? A: Definitely “final warning.” It was the first time that I tried writing from another person’s perspective, sort of like creating a mindset and experience that I have never had. It was cool to see how perfect it came together. The instrumental was bold and the creative process was experimental, yet it became my favorite outcome. Q: Where do you see your career going in the next few years? A: It’s hard to be an independent artist, and it’s hard to learn the business side of music through hearsay and experience. Within the next year I’ll transition to exclusively releasing music through Spotify and Apple Music, which has way better reach than SoundCloud. But I know that I’ll be somewhere bigger and better than here-and-now. That’s all that matters, I know that it takes time and chance, definitely.
for its own and the next it’s a collaborative piece of art that is just another layer of expression. There are barely any limits anymore. Honestly, you can work with anything and anyone if opportunity allows it. Q: What was your first concert? A: Taylor Swift. It was her RED Tour. I just remember being so impressed that she was a real person, and it felt weird that I was breathing the same air as her. She definitely sparked my interest in performing. I would do anything to look like her, too. When she cut bangs, I cut bangs in my hair. I would even draw the little “13” on my hand like she used to do. Q: Who is your dream producer to work with? A: Mike WiLL Made-It and Tame Impala. Q: Dream venue or festival to play? A: My dream venue is the Red Rocks Amphitheater. Who
wouldn’t want to perform under the sky with a vast horizon? Q: What’s your favorite social media platform to connect with fans? A: I love connecting with fans and other artists through Instagram. They can see a piece of my life beyond my music, and I get to engage with people that I usually never see or hear from. When people listen to your music it’s hard to visualize the support because it becomes numerical. It’s just stats and plays and comments. Instagram helps bridge all that together. Q: Who’s another under the radar artist we should be listening to in your opinion? A: Belis. Belis, Belis, Belis! I wouldn’t say she’s exactly “under the radar” because she’s doing just fine at catching people’s attention and paving her way on her own. But she definitely deserves more recognition. (Her SoundCloud is belis and Instagram is @belisgo.)
Q: Have you ever collaborated with other artists? What’s it like? A: I’ve worked with some local artists which is always inspiring. Most of my best work is with producers that are out of state. It’s just so amazing to be able to bring something together with people you’ve never even seen before all through passion and technology. One minute it’s an instrumental track that speaks
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM
Braelyn is an up-and-coming underground popstar from Alaska.
CULTURE
September 25, 2019
Page 15
Banished Spirits Haunt the East Village By KIERAN PRESS-REYNOLDS CULTURE EDITOR
Thirty years ago, terror lit up the East Village. During the 1980s, Tompkins Square Park became a refuge for homeless people and rowdy bohemians. Most had nowhere else to stay due to New York City’s everdeteriorating housing crisis. The city was steadily phasing out low-
income housing in favor of luxury condos, forcing the impoverished, often drug-addicted or disease-suffering exiles to live on the streets or in tents in parks. Disgruntled residents, especially the recently arrived type dubbed “yuppies,” who came into the neighborhood after the city’s condo-gentrification efforts, complained about the growing homeless problem. In mid-1988, after much deliberation, Community Board 3 enacted a 1 a.m. curfew to prevent anyone from living in the park permanently. On Aug. 6, 1988, the residents of Tompkins Square Park protested, along with community members who didn’t agree with the curfew imposition.
The police responded viciously — you can see clips of the brawl on YouTube — and the Tompkins Square riot led to 35 civilian injuries and over 100 complaints of police brutality. Many of these complaints were never resolved, and of the 14 officers charged, none were convicted. Eventually, the city razed the encampments and shut the park down in 1991, refurbishing and reopening it several years later. Growing up in the East Village in the early 2000s, I knew a different Tompkins Square Park. I remember jumping around colorful play structures and spinning on tire swings. Watching little dachshunds tootle around the petite dog park my babysitter
COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Tompkins Square Park was once a home to homeless people and bohemians from all across New York City.
would always take me to. Running through sprinklers and feeling the shivery thrill of icy water soak me amid the baking heat of summer. It’s disorienting to think about how one decade can change the identity of a place so profoundly and erase any visible markings of its past. For much of my life, I had no idea the riot ever occurred — no inkling that when I played tag with my friends in the park, I was running across the ghostly traces of peoples’ makeshift homes. While the park was a carefree play paradise for me, it served as a sanctuary of stability for those wretched rejects of society in the late ’80s. The effects of gentrification aren’t immediately apparent, and that’s because the project of gentrification is to extradite the cause and present only the effect as if that is the true identity of the locale. For example, realtors invented the nickname “East Village” because it sounded more charming and homelier than the Lower East Side, which for many evoked images of heroin-copping spots and grimy free-spirit artistry, like the no-wave punk movement that blossomed in the late seventies. That said, the East Village still blooms with culture., literally — around Alphabet City where I lived, there are many community gardens, much more than you would find in any other part of the city. I can recall the rows of delicate flowers and green vegetation, and the little blue ponds with strikingly-colored fish and sun-bathing turtles. It’s almost as
if I didn’t grow up in the industrial metalscape of the city, surrounded by such a dazzling array of nature and wildlife. Still, vestiges of the old village remain. The insidious conquest of gentrification continues, chugging along like a locomotive with an unlimited supply of coal. Luxury apartment blocks, boutiques, expensive restaurants and hipster hotels dominate the landscape once owned by squatter dens, momand-pop shops and creative spaces for outsiders. Most recently, the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation announced a plan to lay artificial turf on Tompkins Square’s unofficial skatepark, which is a rectangle of asphalt in the northwest quadrant of the park. The new turf would provide a space for the organized baseball and softball players who will be displaced when the East River Park closes for renovations in 2020. The skatepark, though, has become culturally significant as a gathering spot for teenagers, concerts and community festivals. Hundreds of skateboarders and local residents protested the plan in early September and the city acquiesced. It was a massive win for the East Village. Ironically, the asphalt was installed during the renovation of Tompkins after the riot in 1988 as part of a broader effort to refine the trash-ridden landscape. If anything, though, this new fight is a specter of the riot, reminding us to protect culture and its inhabitants.
Vaping Addictions Signify Larger Issues Widespread Use Related to Anxiety
Today, vaping has become an unavoidable topic of discussion. Fordham University’s Health Services even has a sign listing ten things to know about vaping outside their door. This attention has largely resulted from the recent emergence of vaping-related illnesses and deaths. “Vaping” refers to the use of electronic cigarettes or other similar devices, which typically contain nicotine but can be used to smoke different chemicals like THC. One of the reasons that vaping has become a cause of concern is because of its popularity among young students in high school and college. Nicotine devices have become a serious source of addiction for a young population that was projected to be the generation
that would end cigarette smoking for good. The long-term effects of using these devices remain unknown. For now, though, it is crucial to investigate its appeal. According to a study by the University of Michigan, the number of college students vaping either nicotine or marijuana is on the rise. College has always been a notorious environment for peer pressure and substance abuse, where s t u dents can often be reckless, especially in freshman year, at the beginning of their time at university. Peer validation is a big motivation to engage in potentially dangerous behavior with drugs or alcohol.
Vaping is different, though — it is oftentimes a near-constant habit. Vaping devices, especially small ones like those of the popular JUUL brand, are easily concealable and can be carried around constantly. It’s instant satisfaction accessible at practically any time, unlike alcohol, which is generally limited to parties on the weekends. Another reason many students say they vape is to manage symptoms of declining mental health, which are often compounded by stress and peer pres-
sure. It is no secret that increasing amounts of college students struggle with anxiety, and that is likely a prominent reason that their population is among the highest proportion of vape users. Nicotine can become a coping mechanism for the stressful environment of college. Teenagers are often thought to have a sort of tunnel vision, un-
able to see the consequences of their actions. Although college students tend to grow out of this by the time they graduate, many vape addictions start freshman year when students are new to the environment. The feeling of invincibility that often accompanies youth can blind them from the concerning facts. Vaping’s longterm effects are largely unknown so far. Until recently, most young vape users didn’t see a downside to the practice. Users are often okay with taking potential risks because it is presented in a seemingly safe social setting and is popular among peers. Social motivation plays a critical role because teens often first vape in a social environment. Soon, though, they find themselves unexpectedly addicted. Unlike alcohol, it is incredibly easy to become addicted to nicotine after a small number of uses. What starts as a quick moment of experimentation can escalate into something much more significant.
Quitting is not only difficult due to the addictive properties of nicotine. Often, the roots of the problem are those that the students are attempting to cope with, and which need to be addressed adequately. Vaping becomes just another symptom of a much more significant problem. A habit that started as a means of social strategy and acclimating to the difficulties of college can spiral into something incredibly difficult to escape. Young adults should not be shamed for their experiences, but instead, supported. We need to discuss the motivations for their behavior. College students, who often use e-cigarettes and vapes prior to smoking in the first place, use the devices for reasons that reflect broader issues. The widespread popularity of vaping will hopefully become another reason to promote and improve college mental health resources. While efforts should certainly be made to protect students from the harmful effects of vaping, young adults need to be encouraged to employ healthy methods of coping with anxiety and other adverse mental health symptoms.
CULTURE
Page 16
September 25, 2019
Editor’s Pick | Music Fitz and The Tantrums “Red Hearse” is Anything But Dead Turns Up Energy By MICHAEL MURPHY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The consummate Indie Pop/Alt music group Fitz and the Tantrums geared up for the Sept. 20 release of their fourth studio album, “All The Feels.” The band has been touring for over three months, releasing a couple of singles from the new album and performing them for some of their live audiences. With lead Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs on vocals, John Wicks on percussion, Jeremy Ruzumna on keyboard, Joseph Karnes on bass guitar and James King on virtually every other instrument, the group is known for its generally upbeat, energetic and hopeful tone that it sought to recreate on a seventeen song album. This particularly long grocery list of songs is certainly demonstrative of the tone that they have come to be known for, and as a consequence someone could dance to most, if not all, of these tracks. Making you want to dance would invariably become the secondary goal of the group. If you prefer to dance to vinyl or CD, although the second option is much less likely and not as fun as the first, you may be missing out on three songs from the album that will only be available digitally. These would be “Belladonna,” “Kiss The Sky” and “Livin’ For The Weekend.” Unfortunately for the die-hard fans of physical music, these three songs are a must-listen if you have any interest in the album. Many people might find one of the songs off of the earlier portion of the album especially familiar. “I Just Wanna Shine” has been echoing throughout the homes of families with young children all summer as
it is featured in back-to-school commercials Walmart has been running This is another testament to the positive nature of the music. The Tantrum’s songs don’t typically shy away from adult themes, and yet this song was perfect to deliver a message to young children. There are two songs in the later part of the album that have a much more brooding tone that doesn’t seem to completely fit with the more jovial objective of the other fifteen. The songs are called “Stop” and “Dark Days.” However, seeing as they are both still dance-worthy comparable to the rest of the album and succeed in communicating their individual, albeit darker themes, they definitely do not subtract from the quality of the overall album and you shouldn’t shy away from them. In fact, the contrast that these songs supply for the rest of the album is powerful in helping elucidate the greater collective themes present in the rest of the tracks. In other words, it can definitely be said that this album has ‘all of the feels’ or at least a good majority. The songs in this album were all specially crafted and cherry picked among a much larger list of 80 by Fitzpatrick and his crew. This level of care is evident in how well all 17 songs work together. The group even released a music video this summer for the album’s title track that is definitely worth a little peek. Ultimately the album succeeded in fulfilling the self-proclaimed mission statement of the band: to make you feel good and want to dance. So if that sounds like your definition of a good time, you’ll know where to look.
By HELEN STEVENSON NEWS EDITOR
Basically everything that Jack Antonoff — singer, producer, Grammy winner and textbook alternative boy — puts his name on is pretty good. But “Red Hearse,” his newest project, is his most impressive work yet. The band consists of three members: Sam Dew, Sounwave and Antonoff. Although Antonoff perhaps receives the most name recognition, each performer brings a unique set of experience to the group. Dew is a singer-songwriter with credits on songs by Rihanna, Wale and Schoolboy Q. Sounwave is a two-time Grammy award winner who has produced for Kendrick Lamar, FKA Twigs and Mac Miller, to name a few. (Honestly, he probably deserves his own article.) The group has one studio album to date, self-titled and produced. Their first singles, “Red Hearse” (they seem to be really proud of that name) and “Honey,” debuted this summer, just weeks before the album. Even though the name “Red
Hearse” sounds as if the music would be angsty, angry or somber the discography is anything but. Dew takes lead vocals, hitting falsettos with ease. Antonoff joins in on many of the songs, harmonizing perfectly in high pitch. Sounwave takes on instrumentation with Antonoff, wielding a MacBook and a sound synthesizer. The album perfectly combines each of the performer’s talents: you can hear Dew’s R&B influence, cut with Sounwave’s darker, harder beats. “There are moments in some songs that feel like a big, beautiful flower and I want to pick petals off that flower,” he told Entertainment Weekly. To top it off, Antonoff brings his signature indie-pop sound in the beats and lyricism. Somehow, these elements beautifully blend together to create a collaboration that defies genre. All eight songs on the album are about love, but they do not cross the line of being too cheesy. They are upbeat, with the exception of “Everybody Wants You,” with lines such
as, “What can I do? It's love and I got the proof / But baby, what's the use? 'Cause everybody wants you.” It is a bit slower, but you can still dance to it if you try. The group recently had a show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, following their two performances in Los Angeles and Chicago. Doors opened at 8 p.m. and for an hour and a half, three figures sat still around a table in complete silence. They wore all white, including facemasks and hats. It was weird, but everyone went with it. At 9:30, Sounwave, Antonoff and Dew switched places with the white figures and the lights dimmed. What followed was an intimate and exciting show, perfectly showcasing the talents of each member — they sounded as technically flawless as the album, but they sat the whole time and interacted with the crowd. Everyone was dancing, and no one was pushing. It was an amazing and memorable experience. In short, the whole album is about 30 minutes long. Take the time to listen — even if you regret it, it’s only a half-hour wasted.
HELEN STEVENSON/ THE FORDHAM RAM
Jack Antonoff's band, Red Hearse, played an intimate, upbeat show at the Elsewhere in Brookyln.
Who’s That Kid? | Its Gabby Perez FCRH ’21
Junior Commits Life to Protecting the Planet By COLLIN BONNELL OPINION EDITOR
Gabby Perez, FCRH ’21, is a leading voice for sustainability on campus. She has been involved
with Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ), St. Rose’s Garden and USG’s Sustainability Committee since her freshman year. She also became involved with the Sunrise Move-
GABBY PEREZ FOR THE FORDHAM RAM
Junior Gabby Perez is inolved in number of clubs focused on sustainibility.
ment, a youth-led climate organization, early in her sophomore year. Perez is the school outreach coordinator for New York. In addition, she works for The Bronx is Blooming, a group involved with community service throughout the Bronx. Through The Bronx is Blooming, she cares for sprouting trees and combats the spread of invasive species. Perez first became interested in sustainability and environmentalism after reading about climate change in high school. When she discovered how serious the problem was, she decided to dedicate herself to raising awareness about the issue. In regards to climate change, Perez came to the realization that “I can’t not do something.” Perez had previous experience protesting, which she got involved with during high school, when she would attend protests on other issues, including The Tax March and Women’s March, with her mother. Attending the protests proved to her that protests are a great way to bring about change, and she finds them “a really powerful thing to be
a part of.” Perez regularly attends rallies concerning climate change and sustainability. She said, “Protests are a great way to feel a sense of community with other people as concerned about climate change as I am.” She said she was excited about the Climate Strike that occurred this past Friday, and particularly about the central role young people played in the protests. “Younger people have more to worry about,” she said. Perez said that the youth can bring a lot of energy to the movement, pointing to the decision of the New York City public school system to make attending the protest an excused absence as a major boost to the protests. “It’s going to go down as the biggest climate protest in history,” she said. “Even more than the ones in the seventies.” When asked about the largest problems in regards to sustainability, Perez pointed to our continued dependence on fossil fuels and the continued culture of consumption, which encourages
us to throw away objects and not recycle or reuse products. She elaborated that companies usually design products to become obsolete and thrown away rather than repaired. Such practices encourage the production of trash, which Perez sees as one of the largest threats to the environment. One of the best ways for Fordham students to be more sustainable, she explained, would be to shop only when you need something rather than buy things as a hobby, and appreciate what we already have. Students should also borrow things which they will only need in the short term rather than buy them. After graduating from Fordham, Perez hopes to work for a company which practices workplace sustainability and continue her involvement with climate activist groups. She also doesn’t intend for her life to revolve around her job. “Leaving this planet better than it is while I’m alive — or making it so that it will be okay — that would be the main goal in my life,” she said.
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CULTURE
Setember 25, 2019
Page 17
“Friends” Will Always Be There For You By TAYLOR MASCETTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It was a revelation that horrified many college students — Netflix will remove the ever-popular sitcom “Friends” from its platform in 2020. The show will find a new home at Warner Media’s upcoming streaming service “HBO Max," which premieres next spring. Unfortunately, most college students are not willing to purchase another streaming service; the price is hefty. The generation went into mourning, and losing the show felt like losing a friend. Since its debut in 1994, “Friends” has shaped generations. Viewers shared the couch with Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Monica and Phoebe for 10 hilarious seasons. From the constant “will they, won’t they” nature of Ross and Rachel’s relationship, Chandler’s sarcastic quips to Phoebe’s endless optimism, fans fell in love with the group. Although the show concluded in
2004, “Friends” has engraved itself into pop culture. She show celebrated the 25th anniversary of its premiere on September 22, and its popularity shows no sign of slowing. “Friends” remains a pop culture phenomenon for multiple reasons, one being its fair share of controversy. It was a very different time in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. To some, watching the show in 2019 illuminates quips that hint of homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia and white washing. Others see the jokes as a product of an era that was less cognizant of these offenses. The debate that remains in public discussion is healthy. However, it shows how much our culture evolved since the previous century. Aside from the debate, “Friends” is just really, really funny. To a college student dealing with an endless stream of homework, meetings and anxiety, “Friends” provides an escape to a lighter, happier oasis. Watching Marcel the monkey wreack havoc or tuning into the ever-popular Thanksgiving episodes will put a smile
on anyone’s face. The biggest reason, however, why “Friends”remains so prominent in society is because it is endlessly relatable. Many students finish college, graduate, get their degree and are thrown into the real world. Suddenly, they are faced with a terrifying proposition: “what now?” The time following graduation is very difficult, and, like the theme song says, “your job’s a joke, you’re broke and your love life’s DOA (dead on arrival).” This often brings a feeling of loneliness and confusion. However, “Friends” serves as a post-college survival guide. All of the characters are bearing some sort of emotional weight. Rachel went from a life of luxury to a tedious job as a waitress, and Joey toiled as an actor for years. Chandler holds scars from his parents’ divorce while Phoebe still struggles with the loss of her mother at a young age.
However, everyone has each other’s back, and the theme of optimism is prevalent throughout the show’s progression. The characters’ struggles tell the audience that they are not alone, and that is a comforting thought. The show is a support system that millions of viewers rely on everyday. The journeys the characters go on assure the audience that everything will be okay. Take, for example, Rachel, who started the show with absolutely no idea how the real world worked. As “Friends” progressed, Rachel endured years of hard work and stayed confident throughout multiple setbacks. This all led to her success in the world of fashion and an offer from her dream job in Paris. Her story is reassuring to any viewer going through rough patches in their career. It’s a sign everything they are doing is worth it. As stated before, “Friends” is a timeless tale of optimism. In a world plagued by negativity, pessi-
mism and unrealistic expectations, people just want to feel appreciated. “Friends”provides us with that. Despite her tragic past, Phoebe provides an endless amount of optimism and happiness to the gang, especially when Ross needs reminding that he will always be Rachel’s lobster. A student dealing with an ungodly amount of pressure and social expectations can look to characters like Phoebe and know that everything is always going to be alright. The show does not lie about your future after college; getting a job, a spouse and an idea of where you want your life to go is extremely difficult. However, as Monica says in the very first episode, “Welcome to the real world, it sucks! You’re gonna love it.” The real world may be a scary place, but a good group of friends and a positive outlook will always ensure success. Despite its upcoming departure from Netflix, “Friends” and its lessons will always “be there for you” for years to come.
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Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Chandler Bing, Pheobe Buffay and Joey Tribbiani, pictured above (left to right), are the main characters on “Friends,” a popular American sitcom.
Tove Lo Is Back With “Sunshine Kitty” By NOAH OSBORNE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In recent memory, 2014 was big year for music. A storm was brewing in the skies of the pop industry. Taylor Swift was still riding high off of her genre transitioning album “Red,” and we thought we knew everything about pop music. The skies were blue, the sun was up and almost everyone was happy with the pop genre. Then came Tove Lo. On Sept. 24, she released an album to critical acclaim. She would blur the lines of pop and release songs about pain, mistakes and gritty nights shrouded in euphoric promiscuity. Her album “Queen of The Clouds” contained bangers like "Habits," "Talking Body" and more. Because of her, the once sunny atmosphere that was the pop genre took a dark turn and it became evident that a storm was imminent. That storm came in all of its beautiful darkness. The queen of the clouds is back., and she has returned with her latest album: “Sunshine Kitty.” “Sunshine Kitty” represents a shift not only in sound, but in tone, as well. Tracks like "Glad He’s Gone" and "Stay Over" exemplify this, as in both songs, Tove has something to say about love, a common topic in her work. These songs make it clear that
her musical recipe hasn’t deviated too much from 2014, but her kitchen has undergone some renovations. The sound of these tracks is more mellow, split from her usual dark foreboding songs. It almost sounds as if Tove is trying to fit in with the crowded pop-field around her, and that’s okay. However, it can be disappointing to witness, when the attempt is ineffective. For example, tracks like “Equally Lost” and “Bad As The Boys” can make a listener forgetful that this is a Tove Lo album. “Bad As The Boys” sounds more like a Taylor Swift song, from the acoustic guitar to the light beat, to lyrics about boys.
Tove falls flat in her effort to blend in with the pop scene here. “Equally Lost” also takes away from the album. In this track, Tove collaborates with Doja Cat, who raps. It is a cringe-worthy effort, and the nadir of this album. Hip-Hop does seem to peek through the veil in this new album, and in some instances like the track “Come Undone,” it works. However, on tracks like “Are u gonna tell her?” it’s more of a stretch. The track’s beat is very much something you would hear from modern rap, and Tove works well with it in terms of rhythm and
pace. However, MC Zaac diminishes Tove’s efforts here and makes an otherwise outstanding track feel out of place. Listeners may find themselves nostalgic with tracks like “Jaques” and “Mateo,” as "Jaques" dance aesthetic sounds like her prior album “Blue Lips” and “Mateo” sounds like her sophomore album, “Lady Wood.” Both were amazing tracks that convey to the pop audience that Tove Lo has not lost her identity. However, what really served as a perfect blend of 2014 and 2019’s Tove Lo was the track, “Really Don’t Like U.” The track is accompanied by a
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Tove Lo makes a change of pace on her latest album, “Sunshine Kitty, ” which was released on Sept. 20.
house sound and Tove’s edgy singing; “Really I just don’t like you/ Look prettier than I do tonight.” Arguably, this song represents Tove Lo at her best in this album. She’s in her element here: she’s gritty, mysterious and, oftentimes, promiscuous. All of what makes Tove Lo is in this track and you won’t be able to stop listening to this wherever you are; in the car, at home, outside or partying with your roomies when you should really be getting to finishing that project. In sum, Tove Lo’s album represents a myriad of things. It represents a tonal shift that at times, will be welcome and other times will be repudiated. However, this album is still Tove Lo, she’s just deciding to experiment with something audibly new. Some experimentation yields pleasurable results for her, and others will leave you questioning her musical choices. Altogether, it’s an album that deserves a listen and can be compelling when it isn’t trying too hard to fit in with today’s pop scene. We do not know when we’ll hear from Tove again. However, we’ll still be excited to see where she will go next. Tove’s lyrics on her closing track of the album describes our feeling as listeners perfectly; “Come whenever. It doesn’t matter/ I’ll follow you anywhere you go.”
CULTURE
Page 18
September 25, 2019
“Midnight Traveler” Takes Viewer on a Journey By ALEX DICKISON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“Midnight Traveler” is a grimy, grainy, rare type of film: the personal documentary. Pieced together from about three years worth of footage shot entirely on a mobile phone, “Midnight Traveler” is the cinematic autobiography of an Afghani family forced on the run from a Taliban bounty, illegally crossing vast Middle Eastern terrain to gain entry into the EU. It is a film that was conceived as much out of necessity as out of any sense of artistic vision or technical innovation. Its director and principal “character” is Hassan Fazili, the erstwhile owner of Kabul’s Art Cafe, a onetime
space for local Afghani artists to congregate and create. The cafe was shut down after sustaining political and religious pressure, and in 2015, the Taliban issued a bounty on Fazili — payback for his documentation of an apostate Taliban leader in the movie "Peace in Afghanistan." Fazili, his wife and fellow filmmaker Fatima and their two young daughters Nargis and Zahra pack up and flee. The use of mobile phones as movie cameras lends a constant jumpiness and graininess to the movie image, underscored by the unsteadiness of the impromptu cameramen and women. Fazili saved the footage on SD cards, periodically copied and sent them to a friend in California, and then wiped them to use again.
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Midnight Traveler captures an Afghani family on the run from the Taliban.
Each of the four Fazilis serve, to some extent, as footage-makers, wielding with ease the mobile phones, filming minor encounters and interactions — the tiny moments of life on the run. In editing these loosely produced videos, Fazili preferred to leave them as realistic as he could, taking only two liberties in the movie — the first to explain with text the portions of his family’s journey that they couldn’t get on film (i.e. some more frantic moments of escape), the second in giving the viewer a sense of what their life was like before the run. The way he potrays this second part is remarkable. Lacking any coherent footage of the way things once were, Fazili takes numerous phone clips of his family, some presumably recorded before they were Taliban targets, and stiches them together into collage-like sequences of family life: his daughters playing together, kicking up dust, tumbling around swingsets and watching distant sunsets. These, the most stylized and sentimental scenes of the movie, come complete with melancholic synthesizer soundtracks and eerie recordings of dialogue by his daughters. One daughter, at the film’s beginning, quotes Sartre: “Hell is other people.” The soundtrack in general pre-
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Hassan Fazili's daugher finds a way to entertain herself on the trek to the EU.
fers a moodiness that is in turn menacing and downright bizarre. At one point in the middle of the film, I wondered if the theatre’s sound technology was shortcircuiting; as it turns out, it was just one more of Fazili’s effect, intended to inject uncertainty and anxiety into the travelers’ harrowing cross-country journey. In truth, it’s an unnecessary technique. With the grittiness of the mobile phone medium, picking up the buzzing of flies around the refugees, the film succeeds in capturing an insider look at migrant life. Fazili goes beyond what any Western documentary could do and gives the viewer a piece of the daily reality for hundreds of thousands of refugees worldwide. He records the lov-
ing, joking back-and-forth between husband and wife while the kids sleep; he records his daughter crying from boredom and tiredness inside their cramped hideaway; he records, tentatively and cautiously, just some of the violent racism directed against his refugee fellows that comes part and parcel with migrant life; he even records the Serbian newscameras as they train on him, readying for the sort of quick TV interview that we’ve all seen broadcast a thousand times flipping through the nightly CNN reports. If you want to see what life’s like after cutting to the next news item, consider buying a ticket for “Midnight Traveler.”
Frank Ocean Makes Rare Appearance at MSG By GRACEY ZOSTANT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
With an abrupt switch from pitch dark to harsh stadium lighting, the end-of-concert reality set in at Tyler, The Creator’s sold out show in Madison Square Garden. An army of thousands of glitter covered ants, wearing GOLF, Converses, Hawaiin shirts and cuffed Dickies stormed out of the pit to where I stood still, dumbfounded at the front row fence. Suddenly I found myself caught up in a changing current, as a mob formed around the sound booth. In center floor, irritated security guards tried to out-scream loud teenagers with iPhones in hand, telling them to back up. I got my first glimpse of his bleached hair through someone’s Snapchat screen, then another brief peek through the two rows of people in front of me, of him smiling out of the chaos with security. Like a dream, Frank Ocean was there and gone in an instant, I stood in awe that I had been in the same room as one of my favorite musical artists of all time. Selling out Madison Square Garden is a huge accomplishment for any musician, so it makes sense that Frank Ocean would attend such a milestone show for Tyler, The Creator. Their friendship goes back before their mainstream success, to Odd Future, the rap collaboration group that boosted both of their their careers. Other artists such as A$AP Rocky and Willow Smith made surprise appearances as well. But unlike other celebrities, Ocean is rarely seen in
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Frank Ocean who is notorious for avoiding the spotlight made a suprise appearance at Tyler, The Creator's concert.
public. Ocean usually shies away from the spotlight of the paparazzi and scandals that some artists are so dependent on for publicity. In doing so, he maintains a persona of mystery, of creative divinity that the general public could never understand. Ocean keeps the details of his life secret, yet still manages to navigate extremely vulnerable experiences and emotions that others can relate to through his lyrics. It's interesting: the relatability of his music is the thing which causes fans to praise him and his work as somewhat of a deity. As for publicity, Ocean tends to drop his projects at his own discretion, when he feels they have been perfected. Despite the abruptness
with which Ocean drops albums, his work always gets the attention it deserves. The lack of promotion has not negativley affected sales: Channel Orange peaking at No. 2 and Blonde at No.1 on Billboard, two Grammys and the most loyal fanbase, to name a few. The sheer act of dropping music unannounced gives Ocean and his work such leverage, creating an air of intrigue surrounding his methods and questions of future projects. Ocean’s trend of secrecy has even become somewhat of a meme. I will never forget the intense, “Where’s the album Frank?” tweets that peaked before the release of Blonde after four years from Channel Orange. I have no
doubt these are bound to return as fans hit the three year mark since Blonde’s release in August of 2016. Another mysterious aspect of the singer is how rarely he plays live shows. Ocean has a history of canceled shows and festival performances, yet a phenomenon of interest still surrounds his potential live performances. Videos of his last live performance at FYF music festival in 2017 racked up thousands of views on YouTube. Despite a high demand from fans for a live tour, Ocean shows no inclination of supplying this, something that mystifies fans. As a biased fan, I see Ocean as, quite possibly, one of the only artists, completely living and indulg-
ing in his craft. I believe he prefers to stay out of the public eye for the sake of living as normally as someone of his status can. I think living this way allows him to continue having normal life experiences that give him such rich material for his lyrics and work that he compiled before his fame. I have immense respect for the way he releases music — it shows he cares more about the content rather than profiting and fame In terms of a new album, I’ll make a prediction — although I know no one will ever be able to find a formula, and I think this is how Ocean likes it. With the four-year anniversary of Blonde approaching, I anticipate the next album will follow the four year pattern that occured between the releases of Channel Orange and Blonde, and release around 2020. There have been many singles released in the past year and a half, so we know Frank Ocean is actively making music. Four years may be how long he must live to have new experiences to write about, so hopefully finishing touches are currently being placed on a new record. Whether or not he releases new work soon, Frank Ocean has already won millions of fans, including me over. Having even a microsecond of a real view of him was beautiful, but also reminded me that my favorite artists are regular people just like all of us. So, wherever he is in the world, hopefully he is living beautiful, normal, experiences that he can turn into music therapy for millions of people. Now, all we can do is pray for these releases to come soon.
SPORTS
September 25, 2019
Beyond the Scoreboard: What Does New NBA Tampering Rules Mean for Its Players? By ANDREW POSADAS
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and commissioner Adam Silver are done with a conservative, 2-3 zone-styled approach in regards to tampering. Over the weekend, Silver made it abundantly clear that the league plans on implementing a fullcourt press to those found guilty of tampering moving forward. This past Friday, Silver announced stricter measures of punishment to enforce compliance with the anti-tampering rules. Section (f ) of article 35A in the NBA constitution states, “No person may, directly or indirectly, entice, induce, persuade, or attempt to entice, induce or persuade, any Player who is under contract to, or whose exclusive negotiating rights are held by, any other Member of the Association to enter into negotiations for or relating to his services.” In layman’s terms, it means no player, coach, general manager or owner is allowed to convince someone employed by another team to join them. For NBA teams, the price to pay for such tampering has gone up exponentially. In 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers were fined 500,000 dollars by the league for what it deemed as unauthorized communications between representatives of then Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Paul George and Lakers GM Rob Pilenka. Silver has admitted a fine of that amount is miniscule for NBA teams that generate millions of dollars like clockwork. Now, a possible fine for violating antitampering rules would result in having to pay five to 10 million dollars. The league will also punish teams by suspending team executives and potentially voiding contracts of players involved in a tampering investigation. This past off-season, tampering seemed absolutely blatant be-
tween teams and upcoming free agents. Technically, prospective free agent players and teams vying for their services had to wait until 6 p.m. on June 30 to begin official negotiations. However, multiple signings, including Kevin Durant choosing to go play for the Brooklyn Nets and Kemba Walker to the Boston Celtics, were reported to have been finalized minutes into free agency. It would be incredibly naive for anyone to believe multi-million dollar NBA deals can be done in mere minutes. All indications are that teams like the Nets and Celtics had to have gotten in contact with representatives of Durant and Walker, respectively, leading into the June 30 start of free agency negotiation. If there was previous contact in both situations, this would have been obvious tampering as both players were not officially free agents until that June 30 date. Yet, at its conclusion, no NBA team was found guilty or fined for tampering of any kind. However, there is one new provision which raises my eyebrow on how far Silver and the NBA are willing to go in its quest to prohibit future meddling in free agency. Silver also confirmed that due to the new anti-tampering measures introduced, he now has the power to take people’s communication devices should he choose to. The NBA will also have the ability to audit as many as five random NBA teams every year, wherein it is granted full access of the audited team’s electronic communications. While most may assume this only truly effects team executives and its management moving forward, they are not the most likely to engage in tampering. Quite simply put: the players themselves are the ones at most risk with the newly implemented rules. Consider Durant’s situation. At All-Star Weekend this
past February, Durant and fellow all-star Kyrie Irving were seen frequently talking and speculation grew that both may have spent the weekend discussing their impending free agency. Irving would ultimately join Durant in Brooklyn. While there is no proof to say both players conspired earlier in the year to team up, under the new rules now, both players would have likely been under investigation for possible tampering. In that case, Adam Silver could make the decision to ask both Durant and Irving to give the league access to text messages, emails and any other personal information on their communication devices. Even if Durant and Irving went into League headquarters in New York and swore under oath that there was no tampering involved in their free agent decisions, Silver still has the option to take their devices. For now, he has stated repeatedly that he “does not want to take people’s devices.” However, he did not say it will not happen if need be. All of this creates a potential slippery slope with players privacy now in jeopardy if they are somehow associated with their teams potential tampering investigation. The league does not need substantial evidence moving forward now to ask for personal devices. Just a whiff of reasonable doubt would be all Silver needs to use his absolute power. Until the next tampering scandal surfaces, we will have to wait on how the NBA deals with the potential violation of its players privacy, and, sadly, there is nothing the players can do to stop this rule. The NBA is a private entity and is only subject to enforce and follow the rules in its own constitution. As for now, more questions seemed to have been raised from the league’s new anti-tampering rules than have concrete solutions.
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The NBA is showing it will go to great lengths to end league tampering, even it if means violating personal privacy.
Page 19
Women’s Soccer Carries Momentum Into A-10 Play By CHARLIE MAISANO STAFF WRITER
Non-conference play is officially over for the Fordham women’s soccer team, which means its attention has completely shifted to Atlantic 10 conference play. Before they could focus on conference opponents for the rest of the year, the Rams faced the Stony Brook Seawolves last Thursday night on Long Island for one final out of conference test. Entering the game, Fordham was 1-5-2, while Stony Brook was 4-3 and each team’s respective conference schedule was set to begin at the conclusion of the contest. Both teams brought their A game on defense, as neither squad was able to break through and score in the first or second half. Fordham especially did their best to prevent the Seawolves from scoring. Stony Brook accumulated 17 shots, eight of them on goal, and had 10 corner kicks in the entire game. In overtime, it looked as if a second overtime was inevitable until the unthinkable happened. With only four seconds left on the clock, senior Francesca Lee scored her first career goal for the Seawolves to give Stony Brook the 1-0 shocker victory. She chipped a shot over the head of Rams goalie Kelly LaMorte off of a corner kick and sent the Rams home in disbelief. Prior to the game-winner, the Fordham defense blocked four shots and LaMorte had seven saves on the night. “I thought we did extremely well up until the goal,” said head coach Jessica Clinton. “Stony Brook caught us in a bad moment which had not happened at all during that game. Our players finished the game frustrated with the outcome as we thought as a whole, we should have won.” Overall, the Rams went 1-6-2 in non-conference play in what was one of the hardest schedules Clinton could put together for her young team. She still believes her team took a lot away from the challenge, even though it resulted in only one win. “We found success and goals when we decided to high press teams [Tennessee and Hofstra]
and that’s an important part to our defending style,” said Clinton. “We saw it really come together against the last few non-conference teams and certainly saw it against Bonaventure. Lastly, I hope the intensity and physicality of the games made an impact on how our team needs to progress and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” With the early non-conference schedule behind them, the Rams welcomed the St. Bonaventure Bonnies to Rose Hill for their first A-10 game of the season. It was also Alumni Day for Fordham, so many former Rams were in attendance for the team’s first home game in two weeks. Like Thursday, the Rams and the Bonnies were scoreless most of the game until Fordham was finally able to breakthrough. They put a lot of pressure on the Bonnies defense throughout the second half and in the 85th minute Hope Baisley was fouled in the box. Senior Margaret Roughley took the penalty shot and buried it for the Rams, which turned out to be her first goal of the season. Five minutes later, the final whistle blew and the Rams were victorious, 1-0. With the shutout win, LaMorte picked up her fourth shutout of the year and tied her with Megan Fitzgerald (16) for third most shutouts in program history. Fitzgerald was at the game to witness the special moment and Coach Clinton was proud to see LaMorte tie with her former teammate. “Megan and Kelly played together, so in some sort of way, it’s passing the torch and the legacy continues,” said Clinton. “Goalkeeper records are also team records, so I was happy that a lot of our alums were in the stands to see the win. Our players legacy’s are important to us. We want the players to leave the jersey better than they found it. I think Megan Fitzgerald and her classmates did that and you see it in our current players.” With the win, the Rams have plenty of momentum heading into the rest of the season and look to carry it for as long as they possibly can.
MACKENZIE CRANNA/THE FORDHAM RAM
Fordham Women’s Soccer is finally starting to build positive momentum.
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Water Polo Goes Undefeated at Bison Invitational By SABRINA BOYD
Men’s Tennis Opens Season at Quinnipiac Invitational By DOMINIC CAPONE STAFF WRITER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It was a fantastic weekend for Fordham Water Polo as they emerged 4–0 from the Bison Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa. On Saturday, the Rams defeated Bucknell University 17–15 and clinched an 11–8 victory against Salem International. They were just as successful on Sunday, winning 13–9 against Wagner College and 15–9 against La Salle University. The Rams have increased their overall season record to 9–2. The Rams opened up the Bison Invitational with a thrilling victory over No. 13 ranked Bucknell, snapping the Bison’s 24-game home winning streak. Fordham got off to a rocky start, trailing 3–1 in the first. They quickly turned things around in the 2nd with seven goals, staying in the lead through the remaining two quarters. Sophomore Dimitris Koukias had five goals to lead the team, and senior Jake Miller-Tolt had three goals and one assist. Junior Phillip Wang and seniors Joseph Agabs, Tristen Knoflick and George Maltby all scored twice. Sophomore goalkeeper Bailey O’Mara had a stellar appearance, racking up ten saves, three steals and two penalty blocks. The final score was a 17–15 victory for the Rams. The Rams kept up their winning momentum against Salem International, leading 4–2 within the first eight minutes of the game. They maintained their lead 7–3 by the half, and increased it to 11–5 by the third. Dimitris Koukias and Jake Miller-Tolt both scored 3 goals apiece, while Phillip Wang added two more for the Rams. Bailey O’Mara tallied eleven saves and two steals during the first three quarters. The end result
September 25, 2019
The Fordham men’s tennis team is all set to go for its 2019– 2020 campaign. As it embarks on its quest, they showcase the same roster as last year. The men of Fordham look to build off an impressive 2018-2019 season, where they went 17–6 overall and 4–2 in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Their first stop of the season was Hamden, Conn. for the Quinnipiac Invitational. Getting things started for the Rams was senior Fabian Mauritzson who won the B Singles flight. He raced by Fairfield’s Jan Parizek, 6–1, 6–1, to advance to the quarterfinals, then duplicated his performance by defeating Axel Stern from Quinnipiac, 6–1, 6–1, as well. In the semifinals he dominated Marist’s Jack Sequerth in straight sets, 6–2, 6–2. For Mau-
ritzson’s final performance, he did not disappoint, winning it all 6–2, 2–6, 10–8 over Piotr Sowinski of Marist. Fellow senior Steven Duka, who also competed in the B Singles flight, edged Alex Yu of UConn, 6–1 7–6(2) and Jack Sarabia of Fairfield, 6–4, 6–3. His chances at the final ended when he fell in straight sets, 4–6, 1–6 to Jack Sequerth. Moving over to the A single flight, junior Max Green, who was named to the A-10 All 2nd team last year, beat Wesleyan’s Peter Anker, 6–4, 6–4 before dropping to Noah Lilienthal, 6–3, 6–1. The Fordham men’s tennis team played really well over the weekend and look to continue their hot play back in the Bronx. The team will next touch the court when it hosts the Fordham Four-in-the-Fall where they will face FDU, Marist, and St. Francis (NY) on Oct. 4 and 5.
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Fordham Water Polo had another outstanding weekend at Bucknell.
was an 11-8 win for Fordham. The Rams continued to show their dominance on Sunday, starting off with a conference win against Wagner. It was a tight game through the half, with the score tied up at 6–6. The Rams pulled ahead to a 10–7 lead in the third before netting three more goals in the fourth. The usual suspects showed off their offensive prowess, with Dimitris Koukias scoring four goals and drawing four ejections. Jake Miller-Tolt had three goals and four assists. George Maltby, Joseph Agabs, and junior Sam Wheeler also put points up on the board. Bailey O’Mara finished with 13 saves, two assists and one steal. The Rams triumphed with a 13–9 win. The Rams secured their 4–0 showing with a dominant vic-
tory against La Salle. Fordham exploded with an eight-goal second quarter, resulting in a 12–2 lead at the half. The Explorers cut the lead down to 12–6 by the end of the third, but the Rams answered with three more goals in the fourth. Jake Miller-Tolt had seven goals in the game, and Dimitris Koukias and Tristen Knoflick each added two. The final score was 15–9 in favor of the Rams. Fordham is now 3–0 in the MAWPC, and proved it is a force to contend with coming out of the Bison Invitational. The Rams are back in the pool on September 28th, playing their first home games of the season in a double header against George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. The George Washington game begins at 10 a.m.
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Fordham Men’s Tennis is off and running in the 2019–2020 season.
Women’s Tennis Struggles at Cissie Leary Invitational By MATT WEST
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Fordham women’s tennis team competed in the 22nd annual Cissie Leary Invitational this weekend at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1996, the head women’s tennis coach at Penn, Cissie Leary, passed away after a long battle with scleroderma. Leary coached the Quakers to 16 winning seasons, compiling a career record of 229–119 from 1977 -1996. In her final season in 1995, her team was 16–7 overall, 6–1 in the Ivy League, and progressed to the NCAA East Regional. Beginning in 1997, this tournament has been held every year to honor her legacy. The Rams opened the tournament with Valeriya Deminova and Avery Aude teaming up in doubles play with a 6–2 loss to Penn’s Luliia Bryzgalova and Marija Curnic. With the loss they moved on to the consolation bracket where they found their rhythm and scored a 6–3 victory over Penn State’s Olivia Ryan and Shannon Hanley. With the victory the pair advanced to take on William and Mary duo Natalie Perry and Charlotte Madson in which they defeated 6–2.
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Fordham Women’s Tennis had its fair share of struggles at this past weekend’s Cissie Leary Invitational at Penn University.
Aude and Deminova advanced to the finals where they ran out of gas and loss to Penn’s Ashley Zhu and Gibson Thomas 6–3. In singles play the duo of Deminova and Aude struggled without each other. Deminova opened play with a 6–6, 7–5 win over Delaware’s Jojo Bach before struggling in her second-round defeat to Shivani Amineni from
Columbia, 6–4, 7–5. Deminova continued her up and down performance as she moved to the consulation bracket where she posted a 7–5, 6–4 win before dropping a 6–1, 2–6 , 10–6 match to Caragh Courtney from Delaware. Deminova’s Partner Avery Aude had similar struggles throughout her singles matches. In her first match Aude had a hard time
finding her stride, which created a deep hole that she could not get out of, losing 6–4, 7–6. In her next match things would get even worse for her with a 6–2, 6–3 loss to Drexel’s Salma Ziouti. In her final match she entered the lose-lose draw where she defeated Temple’s Oleksandra Doroshenko 6–2, 6–2. Nicole Li competed in Flight B
singles matches of the invitational where she faced off against Delaware’s Sarah Whitted. Li got off to a fast start defeating Whitted 6–3, 6–3, and then in the second round matchup defeating Temple’s Cecilia Castelli 6–2, 6–3. In the semifinal’s Li struggled to keep up with Michelle Xu of Colombia and lost 6–2, 6–1. Rochelle Yang competed in Flight B singles where she struggled to keep up with her opponents just like her teammates. Yang received a first-round bye before falling to Penn’s Jennifer Richards, 6–3, 6–3. In her next match Yang fell 7–6, 6–1 decision to Viva Lass of Delaware in the win-lose draw. Li and Yang also played in the A flight doubles, defeating Mila Saric and Elisa Van Meeteren from William & Mary in the first match, 6–3, before falling to Columbia’s Christie Wan and Melissa Sakar 6–4. The Rams will go back to the drawing board this week and clean up the mistakes they made that cost them to have such an inconsistent weekend. They have a quick turnaround as they head up to West Point, NY to play in the Eastern Championships.
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Cross Country Competes at Paddy Doyle Invitational By JIMMY SULLIVAN
September 25, 2019
Close Battles Move Volleyball to 7–5 By GIGI SPEER
SPORTS EDITOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fordham’s men’s and women’s cross country teams took part in the Paddy Doyle Invitational this past week at Van Cortlandt Park right here in the Bronx. The men’s team earned a fifth-place finish while the women finished the event in seventh place out of 16 teams. Fordham senior and defending Atlantic 10 champion Ryan Kutch made his first appearance of the season and completed the 8K course in a time of just over 25 minutes, which left him just outside the top 10 in the event. After Kutch crossed the line, sophomore Brandon Hall followed close behind in a 17th-place time of 25:32.3. Senior Nicholas Raefski also earned a top-30 finish with his 26th-place time of 25:53.7. Fordham also had five other competitors in the event. In addition to Kutch, Hall and Raefski, other Fordham finishers included freshman John McGovern (33rd– 26:01), freshman Colin Flood (41st–26:12.5), senior Sean Sullivan (58th–27:07.0), freshman Jack Craven (27:15.2) and first-year runner Nick Lundberg (79th–27:25.2). The men’s team was able to earn a top-five finish, as the Rams came in behind Iona, Charlotte, Temple and Columbia. The women’s team had a similar performance on Friday. The Rams were led by freshman Alexandra Thomas, who had an extremely impressive showing
On Wednesday night, Fordham Volleyball defeated Manhattan in the annual “Battle of the Bronx” match after falling into an early deficit. After losing the first two sets 21–25, 24–26, in addition to an early injury for senior co-captain Kaitlin Morley, the Rams rallied to overtake the Jaspers 25–13, 25–21, 15-7 in the following sets, the team’s second five-set match of the season. Not only did the team set a season high record of 10 aces, individual players also stepped up to deliver an impressive stat line. Redshirt junior Olivia Fairchild led the way with 15 kills on an impressive .414 hitting percentage, junior McKenna Lahr followed with 11 kills, four aces, three blocks and a career-high 24 digs to pair with senior Morgan Williams’s 20 digs. Other careerhighs included sophomore Bella Ureña’s and freshman Aria De La Rosa’s 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Freshman setter Megan Brzozowski also chipped in a seasonhigh 35 assists. On Thursday in Morningside Heights, the Rams faced their most offensively-effective team in Columbia, as the Lions finished with a .278 team hit percentage against Fordham’s .176. Fordham head coach Ian Choi highlights one of Columbia’s middle blockers, Chichi Ikwuazom, in particular, as a strong attacker that will
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Both of Fordham’s cross country teams had solid finishes on Friday in the Bronx.
in the 5K race. Thomas was the first Fordham woman to cross the finish line, and she did so in a 16th-place time of 18:32.6. In her first competition since the Stony Brook Season Opener on Aug. 31, senior Sydney Snow crossed the finish line in 19:11.2, which was good for a 42nd-place showing. Fordham was able to get two freshmen in the top 50 on this morning, as Taylor Mascetta joined Thomas in placing 49th with a time of 19:29.4. There were several other competitors for the Rams on the women’s side. Other scorers included sophomore Bridget Alex (19:35.3), freshmen Sarah Rubenheimer (20:11.1) and juniors
Dana Baggins (20:33.4) and Maeve O’Connor (21:49.5). In the team competition, the Fordham women finished seventh out of 16 teams, finishing behind Columbia, Cornell, La Salle, Johns Hopkins, Temple and Charlotte. The Paddy Doyle Invitational concluded a stretch of four competitions in four weeks for Fordham Cross Country. The Rams will take next weekend off before resuming their season on Oct. 5 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. That tournament will be hosted by Lehigh and will mark the first tournament Fordham competes in outside the tristate area this season.
Golf Overmatched at Dartmouth By MATT WEST
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In its third event of the year, the Fordham golf team came in dead last, 12th out of 12, in the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club. The silver lining that the Rams can take away is that they shot their two best cumulative rounds of the year, matching 299’s, despite coming in last place. Drexel took home the victory with an 11-under par 557, followed by Rhode Island and Bucknell tied in second and five shots back. The Rams had a promising first round from freshmen Nicholas Manning and Chan Park, who shot 72 and 71 respectively on the par71 track, but the rest of the team failed to support the stars. A 77, 82 and 79 from the remaining three players led the Rams into last place headed into the second round, four shots behind Brown. On Sunday, Manning posted the Rams’ first under-par score of the season, a oneunder 70, but once again the Rams did not show the depth to compete. Park posted a 76, followed by a 75 from freshman Peter O’Rourke, 78 from junior Anthony Wells and an 81 by fellow junior Mithran Denbow. Manning led the Rams to their lowest scores of the season, as the Rams had not broken 300 this season. Obviously, it is disappointing to come in last place and see such a young and promising player in Park struggle on Sunday, but the Rams have to keep their heads held high. They are not going to compete with teams like Drexel, Bucknell
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Fordham Golf had a tough weekend at the Quechee Invitational.
and Rhode Island even if they are playing at the top of their game, so improving is the main goal of this season, which they did. If the team only gets better as time moves on, head coach Paul Dillion should be happy with the squad no matter the results at the end of the season. Next on the schedule for Fordham is the MacDonald Invitational, hosted by Yale at The Course at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. The Rams placed 14th out of 14 teams in the MacDonald last year, so they will look to improve on that finish and the season-low score of 299 at a tough Yale course. After Yale, the Rams are taking a two-week hiatus, returning to action on Oct. 18 at Lehigh. This shines even more light on Yale, as
they will have two weeks of practice to fine tune anything and everything that needs improvement before their match against Lehigh. At the halfway point of the fall season, the Rams have a lot of positives to look at, but certainly many areas where they need to improve. The fall season can be seen as more of a tune-up for the spring, as that is when the A-10’s are. The end of the fall season will lead into a winter of improvement for the Rams. At this point of the season, they have proven that they have the ability to improve, and if they continue to do so, they can surprise some people at the A-10 championships this spring. For now, they just look to keep getting better, and Yale is the next test.
serve as a solid defensive practice heading into Atlantic 10 play this weekend. Each of the four sets was close: 25–21, 30–28, 20–25, 25–18. Clutch performances included Lahr’s kill to push the team to 28–27 in the second set, sophomore Joey Landeros’ timely ace in the third set to break the 19– 19 tie, De La Rosa’s block and Ureña’s ace to give the Rams the win in the third set. Williams continued to climb up the all-time leaderboards, moving up to second-all time in career digs with 1,480, passing 2006 graduate Tasha Johnston, and Williams is now 182 digs away from Stephanie Frost’s 2006 record. On Friday, Fordham Volleyball played its third five-set match of the season, falling to LIU Brooklyn 25–22, 20–25, 15–25, 25–21, 16–14, as they finish non-conference play 7–5, better than their 7–6 record this time last year. The Rams put up an impressive offensive performance, matching the Sharks’ 56 kills on a better clip: .197 to LIU Brooklyn’s .153. The team also tallied an impressive 15 blocks, equaling their season-high from their season-opening win over Lamar, and finished with 94 digs over five sets, nearly reaching the 100-dig mark for the second time in the last week. The Rams will start their Atlantic 10 season this Saturday, Sept. 28, when they visit Rhode Island in a battle of the Rams at 4 p.m.
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September 25, 2019
Student-Athlete Column: How Do We Team Bond? By KALEY BELL
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
There are many ways to bond with people, and being a part of a team makes it easy to bond during practice and hard workouts. But sometimes we rush from class to practice and don’t even bother having conversations with our teammates. Athletes are often so busy that we forget to pay attention to those who are always around us. There need to be ways that we can grow together and connect on a deeper level. This year, my teammates and I decided that we wanted to be closer as a team. Having an environment like this will make us better and stronger as a unit, working to do better for each other and our coach, but it will require some work. I have thought of a few events to increase team bonding. These ideas can be used for any team but also work for any group or club that you want to get closer with. Dinner/Dessert Party: This idea is an easy and fun one to do. Having a place to host a small intimate gathering such as a dinner party is probably the most difficult part of this solution. For us this was easy to do because some of our upperclassmen live off-campus and were able to host the event. We had tons of delicious desserts and food and played Cards Against Humanity and discussed how we wanted to improve as a team.
Rock Climbing: While my group has never done this, other workout groups on the team have, and they want to do it again. This can be a great way to cross train as well as a fun way to create some friendly competition. Bike Riding: One of the advantages of living in such a great city is the amount of events that go on each and every day. This past weekend, the CitiBike was having a free ride period that would have been a great opportunity to take advantage of. This is a great way to explore the city and see new places. Midnight Movie: Maybe movies are going out of style, but every once in a while it is fun to see something on the big screen. During the off season, a few of us went to the opening viewing of “Avengers: Endgame,” and even though it was a small group, I grew closer to some teammates who I never would have talked to before. Sports Watch Party: Maybe this is more of a guy thing, but I really enjoy watching football and basketball games with my teammates. If we can, we try to watch professional track meets as well, but whatever sport we all enjoy together is a lot of fun to watch. A lot of these ideas can be done in a simple setting because they are so easy to do. If you are not part of a team, feel free to grab a few friends and try out these ideas. I hope you create some lasting bonds, just as I have.
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Sports teams share a unique bond; here are some ways teams can get closer.
By DYLAN BALSAMO
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Being born into a family that roots for New York sports teams — With the exception of the Yankees — is not something I would wish upon anyone. My poor father has been a fan of the New York Rangers since his boyhood. Growing up on Long Island, he rooted for the Rangers before the Islanders even existed. He has been nothing but loyal to his team, and, being the good-natured guy that he is, he would never get angry at them.Instead he inds different ways to channel his frustrations in their worst of times, frequently calling them “the Strangers.” That is why it actually pains me to think about the fact that my dad had to wait until 1994, when he was in his early-30s, to see New York hoist the Stanley Cup. He often tells me that he watched the final game of that series against Vancouver alone in his apartment, as he could not handle the emotion of the game in front of people. After the final whistle, his phone blew up, with everyone he knew, including ex-girlfriends, calling to congratulate him. Before that fateful year of `94, led by the likes of Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter, it had been 54 years since the Rangers, one of the “Original 6” NHL franchises, had won the Cup. In fact, by the mid-’80s, chants of “1940” were almost hackneyed in the arenas of New York’s biggest rivals. But that was a quarter of a century ago. Since then, there have been no more Stanley Cups for the New York Rangers. At this point, chants of “1994” are probably not that far away. Entering the 2010-11 hockey season, things looked to be changing for the Rangers. They had been eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the regular season the year before, but they returned to the ice that October with a young core of talent that was set for the long haul of an era: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Marian Gaborik, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Derek Stepan and of course Henrik Lundqvist, perhaps the best goalie New York has ever had. That season resulted in an early playoff exit, but the next season, along with the help of Michael Del Zotto,
Mats Zuccarello and traded-for starlet Brad Richards, the Rangers won the Eastern Conference regular-season title. They went to the Conference Finals before a gut-wrenching overtime loss to the Devils put New Jersey in the Cup Final against the Kings. In those three postseason series, what became evident was what would plague the franchise for the remainder of the decade: an inability to execute in a timely manner. For a club that had so much talent, the Rangers were unable to make light work of teams that they were better than, such as the Senators and the Capitals. The forward line had plenty of pop but was always sloppy in passing and playmaking, and the defense would allow open spots, so they would have to rely on the heroic gymnastics of a younger Lundqvist. They had a flair for the dramatic, but only because they had allowed the game or series to go that long. By the time the series with New Jersey rolled around, the Rangers were fatigued. New York would get that deep into the playoffs two more times in the decade: the first came two years later when, after a change at the head coaching spot, the highly publicized acquisition for goal scorer Rick Nash and the mid-season acquisition of Martin St. Louis, the Rangers found themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years. But by the time that series rolled around, after long bouts with the Flyers, Penguins and Candiens to get out of the Eastern Conference, the Rangers had already played 20 games, and they were meeting the Los Angeles Kings, known to make light work of playoff opponents in those days. LA embarrassed the Rangers, winning the series in five games. Nash only touched the puck nine times over those games. The other time New York made it that deep was the next season. The club lost Richards to free agency but gained fresh-faced Kevin Hayes, a signee right out of Boston College.
That Ranger squad went onto win the President’s Trophy, the best statistical team in the NHL regular season. But that is not where Stanley Cups are won. The Rangers found their way back to the Eastern Conference Finals again after series with the Penguins and Capitals. But the same ailments were still a burden on the New York Rangers as was before. The five-game series with Pittsburgh easily could have been four, and the series with Washington was a brutal seven games. In the battle for the East, New York met the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that had everything going for them. The series went the full distance, and the Lightning took Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Now, here we are. It’s 2019. New York has missed the playoffs the last two seasons. David Quinn is in his second year as the head coach, and Jeff Gorton is in his second season as general manager. Chris Kreider, once a playoff hero who came straight from the college ranks, is now the seasoned vet at age 28. Henrik Lundqvist is beginning to look his age of 37. Most everyone from the days of hope and Cup contending have either abandoned ship, washed up or retired. But, in a strange way, hope still remains. The Rangers had the second pick in the NHL Draft this year and snagged Finnish starlet Kaapo Kakko. Gorton pulled off a trade to get talented defenseman Jacob Trouba from the Edmonton Oilers and then signed him to a seven-year deal. The current roster only has three players 30 or older. Hockey is a sport that is only getting younger. Nobody is suggesting or expecting a Stanley Cup run in 2019-20. But perhaps this upcoming season will push the Rangers forward in the right direction so that soon my father can see his team win their second title of his lifetime. And his kids will see their first.
COURTESY OF FLICKR
Rangers fans can take solace in the face that not all is lost from the last 10 years.
Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY Women’s Soccer
Follow us on Twitter at @theram_sports
Men’s Soccer Football Volleyball Water Polo
Thursday Sept. 26 George Washington
3 p.m.
Friday Sept. 27
Saturday Sept. 28
Sunday Sept. 29
Women’s Tennis
Tuesday Oct. 1
Richmond 1 p.m. St. Bonaventure 6 p.m. Richmond 1 p.m. Rhode Island 4 p.m. George Wash./ Johns Hopkins 10 a.m./4:30 p.m.
Golf
Monday Sept. 30
MacDonald Invitaitonal New Haven, Conn. (All Day)
Eastern Championships West Point, N.Y.
Stony Brook 7 p.m.
Wednesday Oct. 2
SPORTS
September 25, 2019
Stephen Lebitsch Antonio Brown’s Issues Highlight NFL’s Flaws Rewind back to the 2018-2019 NFL season, and one might remember Odell Beckham Jr. being one of the biggest spectacles, both in the media and in the league, during his final months as a New York Giant. Now, as he is settled into Cleveland and trying to make a name for himself there, the epicenter of attention has shifted to a different player of equal caliber. The one difference between these two players is that the former’s behaviors were less egregious. Throughout the first weeks of the 2019-2020 NFL season, wide receiver Antonio Brown has been the league’s biggest spectacle and a major talking point for the media, but for all the wrong reasons. Since being traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Brown has created multiple distractions and issues within the Oakland Raiders organization and has been the subject of numerous sexual assault accusations. Punches were nearly thrown at Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, vile comments and other issues regarding former teammates, coaches, an ex-trainer and various accusers were posted on social media, and threats were made to similar targets through text messages which were leaked. All of these instances escalated this past week as Brown, who joined the New England Patriots for a brief onegame stint, was accused of another sexual assault he apparently committed in 2017 and responded with a vicious verbal attack on the accuser. The attack included group text messages in which he harasses her, saying she started a story just for cash and tells some acquaintances to “look up her background history to see how broke this girl is.” In a season where the league has already handed out suspensions to top players for known but lesser offenses, allowing Antonio Brown to join teams is a bad look for the NFL and how they proceed with disciplinary measures. Look back at prior instances of players being accused of sexual assault, with or without factual evidence, and one will find that the NFL took disciplinary action against them. Ray Rice, for example, was suspended indefinitely following his accusation and indictment in 2014. Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt, following an instance of abusing a woman in an elevator, was also punished by the league this year with an 8-game suspension that he is currently serving. Even Giants wide receiver Golden Tate is serving a 4-game suspension for violating PED policy, using a drug that was not intended for athletic purposes. Tate didn’t try to cheat, but he is still serving his due time while a more troubling player stays active. Antonio Brown has treated many in the league poorly and his presence gives the NFL a bad image. It’s truly unfortunate that such is the case for Antonio Brown, one of the league’s best receivers whose talent has mesmerized fans since being drafted in 2010, but, in a time when the league is trying to improve itself in different ways, this is not something it, or Commissioner Goodell, can slack off on.
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Alex Wolz
Varsity Scores & Stats Football Fordham 10 Stony Brook 45 (FOR) Kokosioulis: 5 NO, 72 YDS, TD
Men’s Golf Dartmouth Invitational 598 - 30+ - 12th (FOR) Manning: 142 - Par - T-16th
Women’s Soccer Fordham Stony Brook (FOR) Bingman: 3 SH
Men’s Water Polo Fordham #13 Bucknell
17 15
Fordham Salem International
11 8
Fordham Wagner
13 9
Fordham La Salle Women’s Cross Country Meet of Champions -7th (FOR) Thomas: 5K - 18:32.6 - 16th
15 9
0 1
St. Bonaventure Fordham (FOR) Roughley: G, 2 SH, 2 SOG Men’s Soccer La Salle Fordham (FOR) Ricupati: G, SH, SOG Manhattan Fordham (FOR) Oland: G, SH, SOG
0 1
1 2 2 1
Women’s Volleyball Fordham Manhattan (FOR) Fairchild: 15 K, Ace
Women’s Tennis Cissy Leary Invitational Individual Results Only (FOR) Deminova: 6-6, 7-5
Dimitrus Koukias
Olivia Fairchild
Sophomore
Redshirt Junior
Water Polo
Volleyball
In a week of three games against Manhattan, Columbia and LIU, Fairchild had career numbers, totalling 38 kills and 28 digs. Fordham lost two of three, but she tallied up 45 points for her Rams squad.
News & Notes
Greenhagen Awarded Again
On Monday, the offices of the Patriot League announced that, for the second straight week, the league’s Defensive Player of the Week honors would be given to Fordham’s sophomore linebacker Ryan Greenhagen. While the Rams lost a road game against Stony Brook 45-10 on Saturday, Greenhagen was a one-man wrecking crew, finishing with 12 tackles, 10 of them solo tackles, with two of them for loss and one sack. He also forced a Stony Brook fumble during the game. The performance puts Greenhagen at 42 total tackles on the season, 27 of them solo and six of them for loss.
• Water Polo Dominates
This past weekend at the Bison Invitational, Ford-
ham Men’s Water Polo was a force to be reckoned with, going 4-0 in the tournament. On Saturday they knocked off Number 13 Bucknell and Salem International, and on Sunday they finished the weekend by defeating Wagner and La Salle. In Sunday’s matchups, goalie Bailey O’Mara held down the fort, recording 13 saves while also registering two assists and a steal of his own. The successful tournament now makes the Rams 9-2 on the season and undefeated in their conference.
3 2
Fordham 2 LIU 3 (FOR) De La Rosa: 10 K, 2 Tot
Each week, The Fordham Ram’s sports editors honor one male athlete and one female athlete for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”
•
Star Has Arrived
Fordham 1 Columbia 3 (FOR) Lahr: 13 K, 3 Ace, 3 Tot
Athletes of the Week
In four games this week at the Bison Invitational, Koukias had 15 goals and an assist, with his best game coming in a win over Number 13 Bucknell, in which he had a total of five goals. Koukias’s performance earned him a MAWPC weekly honor.
The Next Women’s Tennis
Men’s Cross Country Meet of Champions -5th (FOR) Kutch: 8K - 25:12.0 - 11th
• Evans Joins Men’s Basketball
On September 18, Men’s Basketball head coach
Jeff Neubauer announced that the program had named Anthony Evans as their newest assistant coach. Evans was previously a head coach at Florida International and Norfolk State and has a total of 164 wins to his name in his 11 years with a head coaching job. “Anthony Evans brings a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to our basketball program,” said Neubauer. “I can’t wait to start working with Anthony as we get ready for the upcoming season.
• Soccer Succeeds at Home
This past weekend, both Fordham Men’s and
Women’s Soccer were playing home matches on Jack Coffey Field to open up Atlantic 10 play in the 2019 season and took home one-goal victories. On Saturday, the men defeated La Salle 2-1, with the decider coming in the form of a double overtime strike from Paul Makaj. The next afternoon, the women took down St. Bonaventure 1-0 after Margaret Roughley’s second half penalty kick. With the wins, the men sat at 2-4-1 and the women walked away from the game at 2-6-2.
–Compiled by Dylan Balsamo
Before Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, returned from a one-year hiatus from the game, women’s tennis had lost the star it had for so many years. Sloane Stephens and Caroline Wozniacki, just to name a few, each secured a major trophy in her absence. Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep took home two trophies of their own, each beating Serena once in the finals, where she has a 0–4 record since her return. Williams has not been able to win trophies like we have come to expect, and the door has been opened for a new face to take over the game of women’s tennis. While a few other women have won majors before, none have looked quite as ready to do so as Bianca Andreescu. Before discussing the potential, however, it is important to discuss the journey for Andreescu. Her career to this point has not been easy, as injuries stunted her growth and, for the past two years, she has failed to advance past the qualifying rounds of the US Open. At the start of the season, Andreescu was ranked outside the top 150 in women’s tennis. Now she has her first major trophy and a number five ranking in the world. What a difference a year can make. More importantly, when it comes to the court, Andreescu has tremendous talent. For one of the very first times, Williams was defeated by her own best attribute — power. At times, it almost seemed like Williams was looking in the mirror at a younger version of herself. Andreescu is not a one-dimensional player either, as she is agile and intuitive enough to pose a challenge against almost any opponent. Perhaps most impressive of all, at just 19 years old, she was able to finish the job against the biggest opponent on the biggest stage in tennis — something that more experienced players often struggle to do. In victory, while Osaka—a similar young phenom —seemed a bit uncomfortable, a product of the situation to be sure, Andreescu appeared more than ready, as if she always knew she was going to be in the spotlight, and had been there all along. It may be just one tournament. It may have been the underwhelming play of Serena Williams. It may be an overreaction. However, Bianca Andreescu showed that she has exactly what it takes to become the next star in women’s tennis, and it does not seem to be very long before she, at the age of 19, does just that.
Page 24
SPORTS
September 25, 2019
The Fordham Ram
Fordham Football Suffers Blowout Loss to Stony Brook, 45–10 By DYLAN BALSAMO
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Last week, Fordham Football earned its first win of the 2019 season and looked to be on the up and up again. On Saturday, while at Stony Brook University, the Rams fell in a blowout, losing a matchup to the Seawolves at LaValle Stadium 45–10. Fordham found itself going in the opposite direction. For a team that has shown constant talent and promise through its first three weeks of play, this is an unexpected and surprising loss. It begs the question: What exactly went wrong? “I didn’t like the way we played on offense or defense,” remarked Fordham head coach Joe Conlin after the game. He went on to say that “both sides didn’t execute as well as they should have.” The Rams’ lack of execution on Saturday night allowed Stony Brook to take advantage of opportunities and break away. The Seawolves jumped ahead early; they scored 10 points in the first quarter, seven off of a Ty Son Lawton 5-yard touchdown run and the other three on a Nick Courtney 44-yard field goal. Already, Stony Brook had put Fordham in a hole. Stony Brook’s offense, which finished with 601 total yards on the day, continued to pounce in the second quarter, while Fordham’s lone points in the half came from a 32-yard field goal kick off the foot of junior kicker Andrew Mevis. The Seawolves
tacked on three more touchdowns, a Seba Nekhet 9-yard run that ended an 80-yard drive and two scoring catches by Isaiah Givens, one for 30 yards and the other for two yards. By the time the whistle blew for halftime, Stony Brook was leading 31–3. In the third quarter, the Rams kept the Seawolves silent, but they themselves also could not score. While Fordham had possession of the ball for just a few seconds less than half of the game, sophomore quarterback Tim DeMorat, making his fourth career start, brought the Rams just 223 total offensive yards, with 185 passing yards. The rushing attack only managed a surprisingly minuscule 38 rushing yards. In its first two drives of the fourth quarter, Stony Brook tacked on two more touchdowns against the Rams, a 55 yarder to Jean Constant, and another TD run for Nekhet, this time for 35 yards. Within the last six minutes before the final whistle, Fordham finally recorded a touchdown on the day, as sophomore wide receiver Fotis Kokosioulis caught a 33-yard pass from DeMorat and made the score 45–10. But that is where the score would stand. Fordham, a program looking to break out, left Stony Brook with a 35-point loss. While this football program is still young and going through the pains of growing (it started five true freshmen on Saturday and six more also appeared), Conlin asks for absolutely no sympa-
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Fordham Football appeared completely outmatched in Saturday evening’s lop-sided loss to Stony Brook.
thy and does not take those appositives as an excuse for losing, especially with this grand of a defeat. “We are young and are experiencing some growing pains but youth is no excuse,” he said. Offensively, Fordham’s biggest weakness against Stony Brook was on the ground, as Fordham was out-rushed by nearly 330 yards — of the Ram’s 38 rushing yards, junior running back Zach Davis accounted for 31 of them. However, the Rams’ most concerning issue throughout Saturday evening was the fact that it could not stop the Seawolves from excessively scoring. Stony Brook controlled possession of the ball about as much as Fordham did and almost managed to triple
the Rams’ total offensive yards. While Fordham sophomore linebacker and reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Ryan Greenhagen recorded 12 total tackles on the day along with 10 solo tackles and a sack, his efforts were not enough to keep the Seawolves from putting up 50 more passing yards than Fordham and getting five more first downs. The Rams’ problem on Saturday was certainly not one of youth. It was one of execution. “We have to go out next week and work on correcting the mistakes,” Conlin said. Things are not going to get much easier for the Rams in 2019. With four more road games and six more games against conference opponents, the difficulty in figur-
ing themselves out as a team is only just beginning. In order not to fall too far behind the rest of the Patriot League, Fordham will need to better understand and correct those mistakes fast. “We have to get back to work and work twice as hard,” Conlin added. The test will begin this coming week on Saturday, Sept. 28, when Fordham hosts its second CAA opponent in as many weeks in the Richmond Spiders. That game will be Fordham’s first at home, on Jack Coffey Field, since its opening-night loss to Central Connecticut State. The Rams will be glad to be home, and they hope that doubling down will help them fix their mistakes and right the ship of the 2019 season.
Men’s Soccer Loses Battle of the Bronx to Manhattan in Overtime By ANDREW POSADAS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Fordham Men’s Soccer had an ideal start to Atlantic-10 conference play, which saw sophomore Paul Makaj score in overtime to break a 1–1 tie, giving the Rams a win over La Salle University. One other auspicious development for the Rams is the increase in offensive output. Fordham has scored nine goals in its last three games, compared to just twice in the first four games of the season. A-10 conference play would have to take a backseat on Tuesday evening, as Fordham welcomed the Manhattan College Jaspers to Jack Coffey Field for its yearly “Battle of the Bronx” matchup. The Jaspers came into the game on a five-game losing streak and, traditionally, have not had much success against the Rams. Last year, Manhattan was able to secure its first win against Fordham since 2004. Early on, it looked as though Fordham would not allow Manhattan the pleasure of a second consecutive win in its rivalry. Although the Jaspers had the first shot on goal, Fordham controlled possession for the first 20 minutes and a goal seemed imminent for the home team. Then, in the 24th minute, senior defender Joergen Oland collected the ball
unassisted and ripped a rightfooted shot into the upper left corner of the goal. It is Oland’s fourth goal of the season and his most impressive one to date, putting the ball where perhaps only Mr. Fantastic of Marvel’s the Fantastic Four could have defended it. Despite being known as a lockdown defender, Oland currently leads the team in goals scored and has shown he is one of the best two-way players in men’s soccer. Manhattan would eventually have the advantage in first half shots, 4–2, yet Fordham went into halftime maintaining its 1–0 lead. In the second half, the Jaspers upped its aggressiveness on offense, which saw Manhattan taking control of the middle of the field, opening up chances on goal. Capitalizing on a Rams defensive breakdown, Jasper forward Berti Fourrier put the ball in the back of the net to tie the game up at 1–1. The Fordham defense wore down in the final 25 minutes of regulation, allowing Manhattan six shots while the Rams’ offense could not muster another scoring opportunity down the stretch. However, 90 minutes would not be enough for either team, so Fordham had to endure its third straight overtime game this season.
MACKENZIE CRANNA/THE FORDHAM RAM
Fordham Men’s Soccer played in its third straight overtime on Tuesday evening and has gone 1–2 in those games.
In the first minute of overtime, the Rams had a great chance to send the Fordham faithful home happy, but junior midfielder Chris Pensuwan’s shot was stopped by Jasper goalkeeper Marcellin Gohier. Just two minutes later, the aforementioned Fourrier, who scored Manhattan’s first goal, put a beautiful ball into the 18-yard
box. The pass found its target in forward Noah Amissah, who was able to finish past Rams goalkeeper, grad student Konstantin Weis, giving the Jaspers the golden goal but most importantly, the 2–1 win on the road. The disappointing loss drops Fordham to 2–4–1 on the year, a far cry from last season’s pace,
in which the Rams maintained a record at 4–2–1 through seven games in 2018. The Rams will have to put this loss quickly behind them before getting back into A-10 conference play this Saturday evening against St. Bonaventure University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and can be seen exclusively on ESPN+.