Volume 98 Issue 18

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TheFordhamRam Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918

Volume 98, Issue 18

FordhamRam.com

Faculty Senate to Admin: Open Letters Are Not Enough

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

The university sent students the above picture of a mask reported by a student.

By LAURA SANICOLA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Fordham Faculty Senate admonished the practice of writing open letters with no further action after potential bias incidents in a widely disseminated email. The Senate’s email sent to “faculty,

students and the Fordham community” on Tuesday afternoon was prompted by an hate crime allegation in McMahon Hall at Lincoln Center. A student reported to campus authorities a fake corpse with a dark face, apparently a Halloween decoration, in the window of an in-

October 26, 2016

Student Makes Bias Claim AMANDA MAILE AND ERIN SHANAHAN

ternational student's dorm room, appearing to be lynched. The New York Police Department investigated the incident and found that it was not a hate crime and Fordham Public Safety is continuing its investigation. In an email addressing the student body, Rev. Joseph M. McShane S.J., president of the university, wrote on Tuesday morning that up close the mask to be that of a white person and provided an attached image for the student body. “As you can see from the attached/ embedded image however, if the mask can be said to represent any race, it would be Caucasian,” McShane wrote. Still, he urged the Fordham community to be more sensitive to these issues. “I understand fully the shock and anger felt by members of the University community at seeing the display and believing that it represented a lynching,” McShane wrote. “Had that been the case, the display would have been even more repugnant, hurtful and disturbing than it is....Be kind, in other words, to your classmates, and to yourself." However, Dr. Anne Fernald, Faculty Senate president wrote an

Tristen Dossett, FCLC ’18, reported an alleged racially biased comment made by his professor, Heide Morgan Jonassen, this past Sunday Oct. 23. The comment was written in an email by Jonassen, which was then posted on Facebook by Peyton Berry, FCLC '18. Berry also included Dossett's email to Title IX in the post, which reported the incident. Berry’s post has received over 500 reactions and almost 50 shares. Dossett’s initial email asked Jonassen for an extension on his midterm. “It is really disappointing to see you fall into a stereotype narrative the dominant society expects… your lateness non attendance… now this,” Jonassen wrote in her response to Dossett’s request for an extension. “You are better that that Tristen… please do not do this narrative.” This remark in the email ultimately lead Dossett to report the professor’s “racially biased comment.” “This remark made me feel in-

SEE MASK, PAGE 3

SEE EMAIL, PAGE 4

Family Weekend Sees Cluster of Robberies, Attempts, Public Safety Advises Caution By MICHAEL BRYNE NEWS CO-EDITOR

Three robberies and two attempted robberies which involved Fordham students as victims occurred off campus the weekend of Oct. 22 according to multiple reports from the Office of Public Safety. On Saturday Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. a student and Fordham alumnus were walking on Belmont Avenue when the suspect approached them coming from the other direction. The assailant asked the men for the time, then indicated he had a gun in his jacket pocket and stole $40 and an iPhone from the alumnus. On Sunday Oct. 23 at 3:45 a.m., a student standing on Hoffman Street near Blue Goose Tavern was approached by a group of men, one of which struck him on the head. The student fell to the ground and the men stole $60 and the student’s iPhone. The student was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital. One attempted robbery happened on Oct. 23 at 2:40 p.m. at 189th Street. A student was walking when the suspect approached the student from behind and pushed an object against the student’s back. The student fled the scene unharmed. Another attempted robbery oc-

curred on Oct. 23 at 7:05 p.m. when a man followed a student on 189th Street. The man had his hand in his jacket pocket simulating a gun and asked the student for his money. The student fled the scene and the suspect ran the other way. Neil Patel, FCRH ’17, was the victim of another robbery on Oct. 23 at 9:24 p.m. According to Patel, when he and his roommate were

on the corner of 188th Street and Lorillard Place a man approached them and asked them for their money and phones. Another man approached them telling them to comply. “I gave him my phone and my wallet and they just strolled off,” Patel said. “I guess the scariest part was that it was literally next to our house. We were about to cross the street to go in…we just ran inside

and called 911 immediately.” Patel and his friend reported the incident to the NYPD, but they were unable to find the suspects around the area. Patel’s wallet was later found on Arthur Avenue. Three separate emails were sent to Fordham students alerting them of the various incidents. A fourth email detailing suggestions on how SEE SAFETY, PAGE 3

Trustees Adopt CUSP By LAURA SANICOLA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The board of trustees has adopted the Continuous University Strategic Planning framework, a series of goals and initiatives set forth by the Strategic Planning Committee that includes the appointment of a Diversity and Inclusion Officer and the construction of a science center for the Rose Hill campus. The approved framework is separated into six focus areas that were set forth by the CUSP committee. Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university originally announced the formation of CUSP more than a year ago. A draft of the framework was made public to the entire Fordham community and discussed at a town hall meeting last April. CUSP’s distinction from its predecessor initiative, Towards 2016, was addressed in a university wide email from McShane. “CUSP replaces a static strategic plan, written a decade ago, with a process,” McShane wrote. “It does three very significant things: it ensures that the University is agile and responsive to emerging needs and trends in higher education; it enables collaboration, empowering faculty and staff to share in the decisions that shape the institution; and it pushes the planning process down to the local level, ensuring that each department is able to contribute to the plan in a way that makes the most sense for its faculty and staff, and the communities they serve.” CUSP's site has been updated in the wake of the trustee approval.

CUSP and Notable Goals

CUSP outlined the following six priorities for the university that are not to be considered hierarchical, according to Patrick Hornbeck, cochair of the Strategic Planning Committee. 1. Contemporary teaching and learning infused with ethics and justice 2. Strategically focused research 3. The inspiration and challenge of New York City 4. A global perspective 5. A diverse and inclusive community 6. A strategic and agile institution SEE CUSP, PAGE 5

in this issue

Opinion Page 7 Follow Your Judgement and Vote Third Party

Culture Page 11

Unexpected Places to Get Active in NYC ANDREA GARCIA/THE FORDHAM RAM

A series of robberies and attempted robberies was most likely by the same group of people. according to John Caroll.

Sports Page 20

Edmonds Breaks Record, Defense Shines


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Volume 98 Issue 18 by The Fordham Ram - Issuu