The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 98, Issue 16
FordhamRam.com
October 5, 2016
Bronx EpiPen Price Hikes Burden Student Users Students Sit in on Class Students React to Cost Increase in Allergy Meds By ALEX BRENNAN
By ASHLEY KATUSA
When local archivists enlisted the help of Fordham’s AfricanAmerican Studies department several years ago to assemble history about the Bronx for schools and community groups, Dr. Mark Naison, professor of African American studies, was uncertain about what the task would entail. The history of The Bronx and its demographics have undergone several shifts in recent years, with the Irish, Italian, Puerto Rican and African American populations playing key roles in the formation and history of the borough. It was his own fascination with The Bronx as it used to exist and how it exists today that inspired him to pioneer a course on it entitled: “The Bronx: Immigration Race and Culture.” This past Friday, 30 of his own Fordham students shared in that history with 60 high school students from the Bronx’s Fannie Lou High School. Aixa Rodriguez, Fordham alumnus and teacher at Fannie Lou High School, became acquainted with Naison after she attended a seminar Naison taught for high school teachers about how to teach a course on Bronx history. Rodriguez talked with her principal and created a Bronx Memoir course for the high school. Rodriguez and Naison were able to combine forces and to create the Bronx History Collaborative, which is an umbrella term for the two courses they teach and is a representation of what these two Bronx schools are trying to accomplish. “It’s trying to break down the walls between Fordham, and local schools,” said Naison. Naison began the seminar with an oral history project on the Bronx. The oral history was in part compihed by interviewing residents who were among the first wave of the African-American migration to the Bronx during the 1930s and the first generation to reside in public housing that opened in the 1950s. However, they happened to
In 2007, the pharmaceutical company Mylan acquired the rights to the EpiPen, a drug delivery system, that relieves individuals from some of their worst allergy symptoms. EpiPens contain epinephrine (adrenaline), which is commonly used to counter anaphylactic shock brought on by allergic reactions. When Mylan first purchased rights to the EpiPen in 2007, a two-pack cost around $100. As of September 2016, a two-pack costs roughly $600 — a 500 percent increase. Many individuals, including Fordham students, were shocked at what some consider to be price gouging. “It’s kind of scary to realize that companies, like Mylan, can make the price of life-saving treatments so incredibly high,” said Megan Czachor, FCRH ’18. Czachor suffers from a tree nut allergy, meaning that cashews, coconuts, pistachios and many other common ingredients can send her into anaphylactic shock. Like many other allergy sufferers, Czachor is equipped with an
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
STAFF WRITER
EpiPen, which provides her with “reassurance of immediate, necessary treatment” in the event of an allergic reaction. Czachor believes it is “horrible” that a “large population of people can no longer afford EpiPens,” which she refers to as a “life-saving treatment.” Some allergy sufferers take a different stance on the Mylan controversy. John Furlong, FCRH ’18, suffers from a dairy allergy and
carries an EpiPen. While he is “disappointed” that the price of a drug which is “so necessary to so many people” can be driven up, he believes the brunt of the blame should be placed on the government instead of Mylan CEO Heather Bresch. “As the CEO of a company, it’s [Bresch’s] job to make money. While it may not be morally right, it’s her job. The government should take much more
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fordham’s American Studies department at Lincoln Center last Thursday hosted a multimedia presentation presented by Dr. Jackson Katz. Katz is an educator, author, filmmaker and cultural theorist known for his activism
Since 2007, the cost of an EpiPen two-pack has increased by 500 percent, sometimes putting a burden on students.
on issues of gender and violence. On Thursday, Katz hosted a lecture where he worked to define America’s current political climate through the idea of masculinity. Room 3-02, located at the Fordham School of Law LC, holds about 40 to 50 people. However, the overflow of attendees required some to sit in the aisles. Dr. Amy
Aronson, program director and professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, organized the event. Aronson spoke about why she reached out to Katz. “The way [Trump’s] campaign is displaying his masculinity and the deep appeal that it seems to have stands SEE LECTURE, PAGE 5
SEE BRONX, PAGE 3
in this issue
Opinion Page 7 Kendall Jenner Cultural Appropriation
Culture Page 11
Volunteer Options in the Bronx
Sports Page 20 Football Loss for Rams at Monmouth
SEE EPIPEN, PAGE 5
COURTESY OF FLICKR
Fordham Hosts Lecture on Idea of Masculinity in American Politics By VICTOR ORDONEZ
responsibility, as it’s their job to regulate things like this,” Furlong said. Emergency medical services are already feeling the blow from the price increase, including Fordham University Emergency Medical Services (FUEMS). This studentrun organization is granted an anan annual budget from the University. However, according
THE FORDHAM RAM ARCHIVES
Arthur Ave Recognized as a “Great Street of America” by the APA Important figures in the Belmont community, including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., announced the APA designated Arthur Avenue as one of five “Great Streets of America.” READ MORE ON PAGE 4
Students and Faculty Protest Police Brutality By HANNAH GONZALEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After attending a prayer service in the University Chapel, students marched through campus, chanting and holding signs to bring awareness to police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. The event held on Sept. 29, called “Say Their Names,” was hosted by the theology department, though it received sponsorship from a wide variety of departments and organizations across campus. The event was co-sponsored by the theology department, ASILI, Fordham Students United, the department of African and African-American Studies, Peace and Justice Studies Program, Theology Graduate Students Association, Comparative Literature Program, Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, English department, Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, Office of Campus Ministry and Latin American and Latino Studies Institute. Kwamesha Joseph, FCRH ’18, was one of the chief organizers of the event. “It isn’t about feeling sorry for the black people,” said Joseph. “It’s about knowing that SEE PROTEST, PAGE 3