Volume 98 - Issue 6

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham dh University Community Since 1918 Volume 98, Issue 6

FordhamRam.com

March 30, 2016

Security Alerts Students of Multiple Thefts

Fifth Bias Incident Is Investigated

By LAURA SANICOLA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

By ERIN SHANAHAN NEWS EDITOR

A small swastika was found scratched onto the inside of a trash room door at Lincoln Center’s McMahon Hall on March 9. The university was alerted of this fifth bias incident in an email sent out by the News and Media Relations Bureau of Fordham University.

The backwards swastika was reported to Public Safety by a Fordham student. Officers from Public Safety as well as Fordham Residential Life staff members responded to the residence hall. The New York Police Department was also notified of the situation.

Fordham Public Safety is conducting an investigation in regards to the situation. However, according to the email from the News and Media Relations Bureau, the vandalism has not been officially deemed a hate crime by the NYPD. According to John Carroll, the associate vice president of Fordham’s Department of Public Safety, the incident has been deemed as a “suspected bias incident” or a “suspected hate crime” by the NYPD. The 20th precinct commander has now passed off the case to the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force.

Should the one responsible be identified, university disciplinary proceedings will be conducted. In addition, he or she may face criminal charges should they be filed.

“This act is not just anti-Semitic and hateful, but a deadly slur to people of Jewish faith and descent, and a vile provocation to the entire Fordham family,” the email from the News and Media Relations Bureau said. “To say that this act is inconsistent with Fordham’s mission and the ethos of the academy is a vast understatement.”

Recent Incidents This vandalism found at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus marks the fifth bias incident occurring at Fordham University this academic year.

The first bias incident occurred at the Rose Hill Campus on Sunday, Sept. 13, when a racial slur had been scratched into the door SEE BIAS, PAGE 5

in this issue

Mental Health Special See Insert Stigmatization of Mental Illnesses in Society The Media’s Portrayal of Mental Health Mental Illness’ crippling costs in the U.S.

FORDHAM RAM ARCHIVES

Although Ram Van has been improving its technology, its safety is still being questioned by students.

Fordham Freshmen More Likely To Protest Study Shows Activism Is on the Rise

By THERESA SCHLIEP ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

As Generation Y matures from Nickelodeon watching, Nintendo playing school children to young adults enrolled in higher education, some predict that student protests will become more prevalent on college campuses. Specifically, University of California at Los Ange-

les’ Higher Education Research Institute survey found that the greatest amount of students in the history of their annual survey anticipate participating in protests.

This survey, called “The American Freshman,” included 199 schools. It found that 8.5 percent of college freshmen in 2015 expressed a “very good

chance” that they would participate in protests. This is an increase from the 2014 survey, which showed that 5.6 percent of college freshman expressed the same chance.

The survey notes that participation in protests varies depending on race. While 7.1 percent of white students expressed interest in protest, 16 percent of black students SEE PROTEST, PAGE 6

The Fordham community received several emails this past month regarding robberies occuring in the surrounding areas off campus.

In a university-wide email sent Saturday afternoon, March 12, Associate Vice President of Public Safety John Carroll notified the university of an off-campus burglary and an alleged sexual assault of a Fordham student.

Carroll’s email, sent shortly after 5 p.m., said that an apartment on Hoffman Street, between 188th st 189th st, was burglarized between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. According to the student who reported the incident, one of the three student residents had been sexually abused while they were asleep.

Carroll said that the residents reported two cell phones and cash missing from the apartment, and the NYPD are investigating the incident.

This incident marked the fourth SEE SAFETY, PAGE 3

Diversity Task Force Addresses Campus Climate

By THERESA SCHLIEP ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The Diversity Task Force held its first community meetings at both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. The Rose Hill meetings were held on March 8 in Tognino Hall and March 9 in the Campbell Hall Multipurpose room.

The Rose Hill meetings followed a town hall style format. Attendees submitted questions and concerns before the meeting, or asked questions and addressed concerns at the meeting itself.

The chair of the Task Force, Peter Vaughan, PhD, dean emeritus of the Graduate School of Social Service, moderated the event.

Other members of the task force who received questions included Mark Chapman, PhD, associate professor of African and AfricanAmerican Studies, Keith Eldredge, dean of students at Lincoln Center, Eva Badowska, Ph.D, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Juan Carlos Matos, assistant dean and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and John Feerick, Esq., dean emeritus of the Law School, amongst others.

While not on the Task Force, Mike Taritola, from the office of the president, aided in moderating the event.

After reviewing the climate of diversity on campus, the Task Force will propose a set of recommendations for the university to encourage diversity in a preliminary report by the end of June.

Students and faculty members asked the task force questions and

stated concerns with either the state of race on the Fordham University Rose Hill campus, or with the Task Force itself.

Some also raised questions about what would be done after the report is filed. For instance, some students and faculty questioned the necessity of a committee to determine if there is a race or diversity problem on campus.

“Someone asked if we are moving to say that there is a problem and to name the problem,” said Badowska, one of the members of the task force. “Are we willing to not talk about diversity and instead talk about racism? Yes, we are.”

Chapman argued that those criticisms warranted a more direct response from members of the task force. He stated that Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university tasked the force with combing through other reports. Chapman also said that there would be a dollar amount allocated by the board of trustees to address diversity and race on campus.

“This is a kairos moment,” said Chapman. “It takes a long time for institutions to change, but I do think this is that moment.”

Ideas were also raised for a possible junior college to be added to Fordham in order to allow students with limited financial resources access to the school.

Some argued that this did not address Fordham’s high tuition that possibly keeps many eligible students out.

SEE TASK FORCE, PAGE 2

A PERSON/FORDHAM RAM

Students gather together to discuss the climate of the univerity.

A PRESONFORDHAM RAM

The chair of the Task Force, Peter Vaughan, moderated the town hall.

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

Journal From Abroad

Italy, Berlusconi and The Donald

By PASQUALE GIANNI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

March 13 Blend Cafe 3:50 a.m.

A student reported that she lost her jacket containing her wallet, keys, Fordham ID and $50. She placed her jacket on a table at midnight but could not find it later. She did not report the incident to the police.

March 14 590 East 191 Street 7:55 p.m.

A student walking on East 191 Street was approached by two males in hoodies walking eastbound. The males grabbed her neck and put an object at her side. The assailants took her iPhone and fled eastbound towards Hughes. The student was not injured and police are currently investigating the incident.

March 14 2503 Hughes Ave. 8:00 p.m.

Two males wearing hoodies approached a student and robbed him at knifepoint. The student was walking alone northbound on Hughes towards Fordham Road. The assailants demanded his property and the student gave them his iPhone and wallet.

The assailants fled southbound on Hughes. The student was not injured and the NYPD is currently investigating.

March 23 Faber Hall 6:30 p.m.

Public safety responded to an activated fire alarm. Smoke was found to be emanating from the elevator machine room. The smoke was caused by an overheating elevator motor and was extinguished by FDNY. There were no injuries, and the elevator was put out of service from minor damage done by the smoke.

March 30, 2016

ITALY — Donald Trump has been making big waves, mainly for his divisiveness, racism and willingness to do or say anything to keep himself in the spotlight.

None of this should come as a surprise to the average American staying somewhat current with the news. What most people do not know, however, is that Europe has become almost as invested in U.S. presidential politics as everyday American voters. This is especially true in Italy, where American presidential primary results are closely reported. Italians everywhere I go are asking me with excitement and mild concern what I think may pan out. It is a fascinating and unique election cycle, but for Italy, it also looks somewhat familiar. Trump’s right-wing populism looks eerily similar to that of Silvio Berlusconi’s, the on-and-off prime minister of Italy from 1994-2011 and self-proclaimed “Jesus Christ of Italian Politics.”

Berlusconi and Trump are high-profile, corrupt billionaires who believe in a platform of anticorruption (ironically) and do not trust the government. Their personal wealth allows them to claim independence from big money interests, as they are largely self-financed. Both are overly nationalistic: Berlusconi’s party is named “Forza Italia” (Go Italy!), and Trump’s campaign slogan is “Make America Great

Again.” Notably, the two share the incredible ability to speak in generalities, while managing to avoid laying out policy specifics. Truthfully, most Italians would still be unable to lay out Berlusconi’s convictions, aside from retaining power and attention. Instead, they emphasize a reliance on personal leadership. Something like, “I will lead this country to greatness because I am a winner and I am very rich,” is something you would hear from Berlusconi and Trump. In both cases, the man is bigger than the ideas, or even the party. The entire republican establishment is fighting vigorously to bury Trump to no avail. Meanwhile, Berlusconi actually created his own party to serve his interests and surround himself with only his devout loyalists.

However, Berlusconi’s popularity, has begun to wane. The 79-year-old’s popularity has been plagued by never-ending scandals including bribing senators, paying for prostitutes, having sex with underage girls, dealing with the mafia behind closed doors and shady business deals. A recent national public opinion poll taken in the country has him and his party at only 11.8 percent support.

So why did it take Italians so long to end their love affair with Berlusconi? Also, what propelled him to the highest Italian office in the first place? These are questions we should be asking ourselves given the uncanny resemblance of Trump’s rise in politics

to that of Berlusconi. For starters, Berlusconi benefited from the Italian media’s financial stake in parts of his campaign and was friendly with media moguls.

His scandals were also well-reported in the 1990s, but they actually increased media coverage, as he would brush the scandal off with comedy. For example, when caught in a prostitution scandal, Berlusconi responded, “Yes, I am very level-headed when it comes to all decisions in life, except when it comes to women. For them, I have an incredible weakness; I love women and women love me. At least I’m not gay.” And Italians bought it because a guy who is willing to speak his mind despite being politically incorrect is admirable. (Sound familiar?)

Often in media, name recognition is more important than you would think. A recent analysis has found that Trump garnered more media coverage in the last six months than the rest of the candidates, both democratic and republican, combined.

Trump also has 99 percent name recognition within the United States, more than any other republican candidate. Winston Churchill said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” So, if you are thinking of voting for Trump, for whatever reason, consider the situation in Italy. If you think Berlusconi worked out well for Italian democracy, then perhaps Trump is your guy.

FROM TASK FORCE, PAGE 1

Tim Bouffard, FCRH ‘16, finds that iscussing race in the classroom could potentially cause problems, particularly after the bias incidents in the Fall 2015 semester. In his experience, though the president tasked professors with discussing the racially charged incidents that occurred in the residence halls, very few actually did.

“I’m wondering if there is anyway the task force considers measuring whether that call was actually answered,” said Bouffard. “And, if the task force is going to encourage professors to discuss these problems with their students.”

Badowska stated a concern that not all faculty members are qualified to discuss race and diversity.

“We need to make sure that when these matters are addressed in the classroom they get addressed from a position of relevant training,” said Chapman.

Other students expressed concerns that the Fordham community does not regard racism as a problem on our campus. Anya Patterson, FCRH ‘19, asked if the task force has any plans to identify and combat that narrative.

Chapman recalled the wisdom of his grandmother, who encouraged small steps of progress.

“We are not going to eradicate those attitudes,” said Chapman. “But we must work until our good is better and our better is our best.

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

March 26 Southern Boulevard 11:00 a.m.

The relative of a student parked her car south of main entrance and came back to find the vehicle had been stolen. NYPD responded and the car was later found.

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March 17 Campbell Hall 7:45 p.m.

A student was cooking food in the toaster oven when it caught fire. The student put out the fire with an extinguisher and Public Safety responded.

There was no damage or injury.

TYLER BROWNE/ THE FORDHAM RAM

— Compiled by Michael Byrne

Diversity Task Force Meets

Italy is home to its own megalomaniac leader who might help Americans picture what Trump wil be like as president.

Email: fordhamramnews @gmail.com

This Week at Fordham Thursday March 31

Thursday March 31

Thursday March 31

Friday April 1

Monday April 4

Community Forum on Diversity

Disney Trivia Night

Holocaust Survivor Speaker

Light it Up Blue

Cinevents! Presents: The Martian

McGinley 234 6:30 p.m. — 8:30 p.m.

United Students Government is hosting a forum with the Diversity Action Coalition. The group will share its current projects and receive feedback from students on their progressive addressing diversity.

Keating 3rd Auditorium 8 p.m. — 9:30 p.m.

Quiz Bowl is hosting a trivia night focused on the history of Disney, which includes movies, television, characters and the amusement parks. They will serve pizza and prizes will be awarded to the winners.

McGinley 236 5:30 p.m.

A first-hand story of a Holocaust survivor, Esther Bauer, will be presented

by The Bias Incident Resource Group, Jewish Student Organization, United Student Government and other organizations in response to campus climate.

McGinley Ballroom 6 p.m. — 10 p.m.

Autism Speaks U will be hosting an event to raise autism awareness and fundraise for research.

This is their biggest event of the academic year and will include a raffle and performances by campus groups.

McGinley 234 8 p.m. — 10 p.m.

Campus Activities Board is screening The Martian as part of their “Cinevents” program. The film, directed by Ridley Scott, stars Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain. Damon’s character, Mark Watney, is an astronaut stranded on Mars.

NEWS

March 30, 2016

Page 3

Career Services Hosts Global Diversity Leadership Conference

By MIKE BYRNE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Fordham faculty and business leaders came together on March 9 to host the fourth annual “Diversity Leadership in a Global Society Conference.”

Career Services organized the conference and aimed at opening a discussion on diversity.

Director of Career Services Stefany Fattor spoke about the focus of the day. “Our goal with the conference is to be an impetus to get all members of the Fordham community talking about the value of diversity and inclusion,” she said. “Our initiatives are about the celebration of difference and each student is different in their own way, so they truly are for everyone.”

The day began with an address from Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university. He thanked the students for participating in such an important event and commenting on the many problems facing students looking to enter the workforce.

“I think one of the things that stands in the way of creating a truly inclusive workplace is lack of confidence,” McShane said. “With a lack of self-confidence, you have to stare yourself down. You have to face your fears. You have to face your sense of ‘Do I belong? Do I have anything to offer?’”

McShane also spoke about how it is common to fear those who are different, but that we must overcome these fears by meeting new people and learning about them in order to create a productive community.

After the introduction, the group of students broke into different workshops led by Fordham professors.

One workshop, entitled “The Bronx: A Great American Success Story,” was led by Dr. Mark Naison, professor of African and African-American studies. He spoke about his aims in leading the workshop.

“My goal in putting on this workshop was to expose students, faculty and staff to the history of the Bronx communities surrounding Fordham’s Bronx campus and the incredible resource those communities represent to everyone on the Fordham campus,” Naison said.

He presented many songs ranging from the 1940’s to the present that represent the Bronx’s importance in music history. His goal was to show the revitalization of the Bronx through a surge of diversity and vibrant community organizations.

Dr. Ann Higgins-D’Alessandro also led a workshop entitled “From Failure to Thriving: Transforming Feelings and Thoughts that Create Pathways to Success.” The aim of this workshop was to teach people how to better deal with their feelings in order to create a clearer path to success. “People need to deal with their strong feelings first, then move on to accurately assessing the situation and themselves and taking responsibility, and then to an analysis of the situation and finding alternatives,” she said.

Maria Aponte, diversity initiatives coordinator for Career Services, spoke about the founding of the diversity conference. “In the fall

of 2012, I came up with the idea of creating a Diversity Conference that would encompass global and cultural initiatives and the importance of Fordham students being able to incorporate diversity in the workplace,” Aponte said. “The end result was creating a conference that would involve inviting employers to present on diversity in the workplace and their companies diversity programming.”

The conference’s relationship with various businesses is positive, according to Aponte, and she is optimistic about its future. “Our office has had the pleasure to work with such companies as Google, Deloitte, KMPG, City Year, Viacom, JP Morgan and Memorial Sloan Kettering,” she said.

Olivia Cooley, FCRH ‘16, helped organize this year’s conference and assisted in facilitating the workshops alongside other students. She commented on the many effective aspects of the day.

“The workshops that were offered throughout the day served to sharpen the focus on a specific aspect of diversity,” she said. She attended the workshop with Professor Hugo Benavides, chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Rose Hill, who spoke about how humans construct personal identities. “We had a very interesting and productive conversation about how things like language, race, class, gender and sexual orientation help shape our identities and therefore come to influence our everyday interactions, she said.

“The workshops held by the various employers in attendance served the purpose of allowing students to understand the importance of cultivating a diverse workplace and get an idea of how these various companies handle diversity-related concerns.”

JACK BRENNAN/THE FORDHAM RAM

Public Safety sent a series of emails in early March detailing various robberies involving Fordham students.

Public Safety Notifies Students on Robberies Near Campus FROM SAFETY, PAGE 1

theft and second alleged sexual assault at Rose Hill that Public Safety has announced since the beginning of 2016.

Carroll reminded students to keep all doors and windows locked and secured. The email encouraged anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the 48th Precinct Detective Squad or Fordham Public Safety.

Later in the month on Monday, March 14, two Fordham students were robbed in separate incidents last occurring just five minutes apart from one another and within close proximity. The incidents occurred around 7:50 p.m. Both Fordham students described the assailants as six foot tall teenagers dressed in dark colored clothes.

The first incident occurred on

East 191st street, right outside of the Fordham Walsh Hall gate. At 7:50 p.m., an 18-year-old female student was walking westbound in front of Pugsleys Pizza. There, two men walking eastbound on the same street accosted her. The two assailants demanded her property as they grabbed her by the neck and pressed an object into her side. They then fled with her iPhone.

Just five minutes later in front of 2503 Hughes Avenue, two male assailants also robbed a 21-year-old male Fordham student. A knife was presented to the Fordham student and his wallet and iPhone were taken. The assailants then ran west down Arthur Avenue.

Neither of the students were injured during the robberies.

A canvas of the area was conducted by the Fordham Public Safety su-

pervisors and NYPD officers who responded to the scenes. Currently, the robberies are being investigated by the 48th Precinct Detective Squad.

In addition to the university’s alert, the NYPD had a strong presence in the area for the rest of the evening, as well as the next day.

CBS local news reported on the incidents as well. Several students were interviewed the next day outside of Pugsleys Pizza on East 191st Street where the first incident occurred.

These two robberies marked the sixth theft reported by Public Safety at Rose Hill since Jan. 1 2016.

Fordham Public Safety officials are reminding students to stay alert when they are traveling outside of the campus. In addition, officials urge students to avoid displaying valuable items, such as cell phones, in public.

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Kevin Powell detailed his experiences in his keynote speech at the Diveristy Leadership Conference.

NEWS

Page 4

March 30, 2016

Fordham In The Bronx

“The Lego Building” Creates a Home for Those in Need

By MICHAEL DOBUSKI BRONX CORRESPONDENT

The area between 165th and 166th streets on Third Avenue in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx has become more colorful with the recent addition of a unique block of apartments. The structure has been dubbed “The Lego Building” by many because of its blocky red and blue exterior. The design is modular, which means that the main pieces of the structure are assembled off-site, and are then individually shipped to the building location. In this particular case, the units, which are over 700 square feet, were assembled by a company specializing in modular manufacturing called Capsys Corporation in Brooklyn, which sits on a former used car lot.

According to a recent profile in the Wall Street Journal, the entire building took only three weeks to construct. Its peculiar creation is only part of the Lego Building’s story, however. Over half of the 68 residents now living there were at one point homeless.

The supportive housing that the Lego Building offers is organized by

a non-profit called Services for the UnderServed, or SUS for short.

Originally known as Seventh Day Adventist Charities, the organization was founded in 1978 and opened its first affordable housing locations in the early 1980s with a focus on helping adults in the Bronx with behavioral health concerns and developmental disabilities. In 1988, they became Services for the UnderServed, and now they operate in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. The Lego Building is the most recent of their efforts to provide service to the less fortunate. SUS developed the $22 million project in conjunction with the Bronx Pro Group, which is behind the construction of over 1000 housing units in the Bronx.

The completion of the Lego Building comes amid recent proposals from the mayor’s office regarding New York City’s affordable housing programs, including the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Plan and the Zoning for Quality and Affordability Plan.

The former is a rezoning strategy which would require developers to build more affordable housing

MICHAEL DOBUSKI/ THE FORDHAM RAM

The “Lego Building” was created to provide homes for the homeless in New York City.

in selected areas, while the latter seeks to allow taller buildings and less parking in some of the affected zones. The New York City Council will vote on these plans later this month.

Homelessness in New York City is a long standing problem. According to a census report from the NYC Department of Homeless Services, 60,296 people slept in shelters across the city in January 2016. The

Bronx was hit particularly hard. A report from the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness shows that in Kingsbridge Heights, the neighborhood with the seventhhighest number of homeless families in the Bronx, 94 percent more families required temporary housing in 2010 than in 2005. The same report cites gentrification as the cause for the Bronx’s growing housing problem, with individuals and

JACK BRENNAN/ THE FORDHAM RAM

A View From Lincoln Center Fordham University Lincoln Center campus looks out on to the Manhattan landscape of monumental buildings and vehicular chaos.

families being driven out of their homes by the rising cost of rent.

At Fordham, the Midnight Run is a monthly project operated by Global Outreach which focuses on delivering food, toiletries and donated clothes to homeless individuals in New York City. Though the program operates in Manhattan, the Midnight Run’s head coordinator from Fordham, Erin Biggins, FCRH ‘17, recognizes the challenges that the Bronx faces. “Before the group embarks on a Midnight Run, we ask them the question, ‘What is one word that comes to mind when you see a homeless person?,’” Biggins said. The objective of this question is to help the group break down stereotypes of the homeless because it serves as a barrier when trying to interact with those we meet on the run. After each run, we have a reflection and ask them this same question to see how their perceptions of homeless have changed after learning about it firsthand.”

Projects such as the Midnight Run and the Lego Building, as well as a forthcoming 30-unit apartment complex, also developed by the Bronx Pro Group, seek to combat the Bronx’s homelessness problem. There is no word yet on whether the new building will be a modular construction, but more importantly, the finished product is expected to undercut the current market rate for Bronx apartments.

Campus Briefs & Bites Communications Team Hosts Talk

Professor Focuses on Tech Inequity

Stu Loeser, former press secretary for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Frank Barry, the former mayor’s director of public affairs and chief speechwriter, spoke at Fordham on March 21 about the mayor’s administration and their involvement in his communications team. William Baker, Ph.D., journalist-in-residence served as moderator and host. Claudio Acquaviva, S.J., Chair at the Graduate School of Education, and Baker asked the two questions about Bloomberg’s administration and their job as members of his communications team.

The event was a part of The Bloomberg Years, an Oral Archive on Governance in New York City. Loeser served as Bloomberg’s press secretary from 2006 to 2012. After he left the communications team, he started a communications company named Stu Loeser & Co. When Bloomberg left office, Barry left with him.

Bloomberg hired him to write editorials for Bloomberg View. Both men spoke at the event on Bloomberg’s centrism and pragmatism.

Olivier Sylvian, associate professor of law, focuses on inequities in access to technology. The professor is part of Fordham Law School’s Center on Race, Law and Justice. He focused on disparities in access to technology, such as the inaccessability of laptops and desktop computers for minorities. Sylvian’s academic concentration is in media law and policy.

Hastings Law Journal published Sylvia in February. The law journal is the University of California’s Hasting College of Law review.

In the piece, he argued that the federal government designed the Communications Act to guarentee equitable access to internet, regardless of background.

However, policy makers have instead encouraged innovation in technology. New York City recently made a deal with a company to convert old pay phones in the city into free wi-fi spots.

Founder’s Awards Dinner Occurs On March 14, Fordham held its Fifteenth Annual Founder’s Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel ballroom. The dinner hosted 1,100 guests and celebrated $2.6 million raised for the Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. 22 current students were awarded Founders Scholarships. Additionally, three families were given the Founder’s Award: John and Emalie Feerick, Brian and Kathleen MacLean and George and Marie Doty, whom were honored posthumously.

John Feerick, FCRH ‘58, is the former dean of Fordham Law School and is currently the Sidney C. Norris Professor in Public Service.

Feerick also founded the school’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. Brian MacLean, FCRH ‘75, is a member of Fordham’s Board of Trustees and is a former chair of the University’s President Council. George Doty, FCRH ‘38, who passed away in 2012, was a Fordham Trustee Emeritus and was a consistent donor to the university.

Fordham Holds Conference on Refugees The Graduate School of Social Service’s Institute for Women and Girls held a conference on March 19 focused on raising awareness of and finding solutions for problems that plague refugee women, such as violence and trafficking.

The conference was set up as a parallel event for the 60th session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women, which looks to fight for women’s rights. Adriana Sandu, a volunteer at the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign (CRRC) in Europe, brought up the fact that the refugee population coming to Europe this year is almost 60 percent women and children. Sandu works at Anglia Ruskin University and has helped women and children looking to flee conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. The conference also included a keynote address from Kathryn Hodges, head of the Department of Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University. Ruskin discussed that the world needs to become more aware of the crisis of human trafficking.

NEWS

March 30, 2016

Page 5

A Repeat Symbol Adds to Semester’s Bias Incidents FROM BIAS, PAGE 1

of an African-American student’s room.

The second incident occurred on Sunday, Sept. 20, when a backwards swastika was found scratched into a stairwell wall in the same residence hall.

The third incident occurred on Wednesday Nov. 11, when a swastika and white supremacist reference was found at Lincoln Center in a Lowenstein Hall bathroom.

The fourth bias incident occurred on Friday, Nov. 13, when loud, repeated racist language and chants from a party at an off campus residence were heard by two Fordham students.

The frequency of bias incidents here at Fordham is alarming to some students.

“I think that at this point, this incident could’ve potentially been a copycat act from the beginning of the year...someone may have seen that the perpetrators from some of the incidents last semester remained anonymous,” said Ashley Domagola, FCRH ‘16, executive president of Fordham United Student Government.

“Whether or not this is the case, it’s truly sickening to think that a fellow student operates with the mentality that they can anonymously and arbitrarily belittle a group of people.”

Despite this assumption, Carroll expressed some uncertainty surrounding the nature of this bias incident.

“I don’t know what to make

of this thing,” Carroll said. “I wouldn’t classify this as a copycat incident just yet, it doesn’t feel that way to me. The only way we’ll know for sure is if we find the person who committed the act.”

University Responses In an attempt to combat these bias incidents, the university and other members of the community took action this past fall.

On Sept. 15, an open dialogue was hosted by ASILI: the Black Student Alliance.

On Sept. 19, a group of about 30 students rallied in protest at the Fordham Homecoming game.

On Sept. 22, students packed a lecture hall in Freeman for “Race and Privilege On Campus: A Dialogue,” sponsored by Women’s Empowerment, Progressive Students for Justice, ASILI and JSO. On Sept. 29, a Vigil for Healing and Hope was hosted on Keating Steps by the Jewish Student Organization, along with ASILI, Pride Alliance, Muslim Student Association, Office of Student Involvement, Campus Ministry and United Student Government.

On Nov. 13, an ad-hoc committee was announced by United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC) following the discovery of the swastika and the white supremacy speech of the third bias incident. This committee was created to combat these issues and finding solutions to issues of this manner at Fordham.

On Nov. 13, students protested and discussed the difficulties of

FORDHAM RAM ARCHIVES

The fifth bias incident at Fordham University occured at Fordham Lincoln Center’s McMahon Hall.

attending a predominantly white university with a “blackout.” This protest was organized by students Sinclair Spratley and Lexi McMenamin, both FCLC ’17 outside the Lowenstein Center where the hateful image and reference to the third bias incident was was found.

Fordham Students United formed as a result of the bias incidents. This student group works

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Students and faculty came together to celebrate Irish history and culture through music, food and dancing.

Fordham Students Celebrated Irish Heritage Night

By DIANA NELSON STAFF WRITER

At the first annual Irish Night, a large turnout of students, faculty and Fordham alumni gathered to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Irish heritage in the McGinley Ballroom on Thursday, March 10. The ballroom was decorated in all green as students watched performances

by Slainte (Fordham’s Irish Dance Group), the Ramblers, Satin Dolls, the B Sides and a featured performance by the Narrowbacks.

People from all different cultures and backgrounds came out to celebrate. Vasiliki Patsiogiannis, FCRH ‘17, has a great appreciation for events like these.

“I am Greek, I was born in the U.S., but I grew up in England, so this is a very exciting event for me to experience a different culture.

I’m here to support my roommate and this is the first big production of Irish night and I’m a big supporter of different cultures so I wanted to come and support that,” said Patsiogannis. “I absolutely think we

should have more of these events for different cultures just so we can experience every different culture that is reflective of the entire student body,” she said.

Many students who grew up in the Irish tradition came to the event to enjoy the music, performances and traditional food. Andrew Wilson, FCRH ‘19, came with his friends and introduced them to part of his culture.

“I’m mostly Scots-Irish and I’m a little German and Italian too. My dad’s Irish and I grew up listening to

together with student leaders, activists, faculty and alumni to deal with community issues.

In addition, The Diversity Task Force was created by Rev. Joseph M. McShane S.J., president of the university, in order to study the climate of the university in response response to bias incidents.

Although these groups were created months ago, Domagala calls

for students to revisit past discussions. “While a lot of the momentum from previous incidents had died down, now is a great opportunity to continue the conversation.” Domagola said, “This issue unfortunately won’t disappear overnight, but we shouldn’t adopt the mentality that this is the norm for our campus. Hatred should never be tolerated at Fordham.”

Irish music and eating Irish cuisine, so this is gonna be fun,” he said. “I heard there will be a good band here tonight so I’m looking forward to it. I love Irish music. I can’t folk dance but I like to watch,” said Wilson.

The Fordham Irish Step Dance team, Slainte, brought that classic folk dance to the stage and performed at the event to celebrate Irish culture and share it with the student body. AnneMarie Marconi, FCRH ‘17, the treasurer of the team, and the other board members teamed up with the Gaelic Society to make Irish Night one big event.

According to Marconi, these groups were inspired by ASILI’s Take the World Event, which invites students of all cultures and nationalities to celebrate.

“It’s awesome to get all the Irish students, and even all the non-Irish students, out in celebration of Irish heritage and Irish culture, because St. Patrick’s Day is all about that and we don’t get to be here for it. So we think this is another great opportunity to celebrate that,” said Marconi.

Slainte does both soft shoe and hard shoe Irish step-dancing, according to Marconi . Not only is the group a performance dance team, but they are also a competitive dance team.

“We have about 20 girls, it’s really fun ,” Marconi said. “So we’re really all about performing and being a competitive team, but also sharing our culture with the entire campus.”

According to Rocelyn Dacre, president of the Gaelic Society and a member of Slainte, the Gaelic Society has had an annual spring concert every year around St. Patrick’s Day with an Irish band to celebrate the holiday. However, they have al-

ways had trouble getting a high attendance at the concert, since it is difficult to get people excited about Irish music during midterms and right before spring break. This time around, according to Dacre, attendance was not an issue.

“We are so pleased with the response. We all encouraged our friends to come, but never expected over 250 people,” she said. “The faculty were also very excited about such a great Irish cultural event happening just a week before St. Patrick’s Day, and were very responsive and helpful with publicizing the event.”

According to Dacre, her commitment to Irish Night stems from her long-lived passion for Irish culture and her heritage.

“Irish music and dance has been a huge part of my life since before I can remember. I am a dual American/Irish citizen, I have Irish danced since I was nine years old, and I knew Fordham was the place for me because of its huge Irish community and opportunity to pursue an Irish Studies minor,” she said. “I just wanted to get everyone else as excited about Irish music, dance, food and culture as I get, and thought bringing the whole Fordham community into it would do the job.”

Irish Night’s popularity may set the stage for more cultural nights at Fordham. Manny Adeyeye, FCRH ‘17, is eager to see more events for different cultures in the future.

“I am Nigerian-American. My parents are Nigerian immigrants.

Fordham could definitely have way more cultural and social events,” said Adeyeye. “But this is definitely a fun night and a great way to experience different heritages.”

NEWS

Page 6

March 30, 2016

Fordham Students Remain Active Through Protests FROM PROTEST, PAGE 1

expressed the same interest.

In the past academic year, Fordham University has been the site of various protests. Fordham Students United held a “Black Students Matter” poster at a basketball game after a series of racially charged incidents in the residence halls. The club also held a speak out on Nov. 18 in response to protests related to race on the University of Missouri campus.

Dr. Mark Naison, AfricanAmerican Studies and History professor at Fordham University and Director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program, said that student engagement at the university reflects this trend.

“It would be hard for these students to be more involved in protest,” Naison said.

Additionally, Naison says that demonstrations at Fordham are reflections of the national climate.

“The combination of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, the racial incidents and the hovering danger that people feel from the Donald Trump campaign have made students alert,” said Naison.

For example, Fordham Students United hosted a teach-in in support of Sodexo employees in the wake of the Request for Proposals Process. Potential vendors are not required to maintain the current union contract, though Fordham will not make a contract with a non-unionized provider, nor abide by Fordham’s standards for fair and equal employment.

The university also has encouraged potential food vendors to maintain employership of employees in good standing.

“All of the potential vendors also understand the nature, mission and values of the Fordham University community,” said Vice President Grey in an email.

Naison said that the university community will respond if workers lose their pensions, benefits or employment.

“If the workers rights are in any way violated, there will be major protests and demonstrations,” said Naison. “I think you’ll see marches and possibly civil disobedience.”

The professor said that neither controversies at the university, nor demonstrations in response to the university, are unique to Fordham.

Christopher Rodgers, dean of students, guaranteed students the right to approved protest. The university has some policies on demonstration. For instance, protests, sit-ins and the like must obtain approval from student affairs.

“The right to freely express oneself is crucial here at Fordham,” said Dean Rodgers. “This is partly why the Deans of Students have

never turned down a request to use campus space for a protest based on viewpoint.”

Dean Rodgers said that approving demonstrations is a way to respect other functions at the university.

“By coordinating with the Dean’s staff on demonstrations much as they do with other events, organizers signal that they respect others in exercising their own rights: the right to go to class, teach, get to jobs, deliver items on campus, to study, to worship or even to express disagreement,” said Dean Rodgers.

The university has a history of protest and civic engagement, detailed in the novel “Fordham: A History and Memoir, Revised Edition” by Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. In December 1968, students formed a group called the Coalition for a Restructured University and the Society for Afro-Amer-

ican Advancement at Fordham (SAAAF). Seventeen members of SAAAF burst into an administrator’s office and held administrator Martin Meade for two and a half hours in his office. They demanded that he reject a government rule that SAAAF argued. The rule discriminated against black and poor students because it “allowed universities to deny financial aid to students who participated in campus disturbances.”

In Spring 1970, students set a part of the McGinley Center on fire following the invasion of Cambodia.

Naison said that student and faculty demonstration in 1969 by Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Student Alliance resulted in the creation of the Institute of Afro American studies, which later evolved into the department of African and African American studies.

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March 30, 2016

OPINION

Page 7

The Fordham Ram

The Senate v. Obama: The h New Supreme Court Justice

By AMANDA MAILE ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF

On Feb. 13, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, leaving one spot vacant on the bench. During his tenure, Scalia became known for his conservative views and outspoken opinions.

Scalia’s death gave President Obama the opportunity to nominate a new Justice. As such, Obama has nominated Merrick B. Garland.

But before he even nominated anyone, members of Congress had already voiced their opposition to any nomination, claiming the decision should be left up to the next president. Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), both agreed that Obama should not nominate a new Justice. Their argument rested on the fact that it is an election year.

Take a look at the Constitution of the United States. Article Two lists all the powers of the Executive Branch, which reads, “[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.”

Constitutionally, the president has the right to appoint members of the Supreme Court.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been vocal about President Obama’s decision to nominate a new Justice.

Afterwards, the Senate votes on whether to affirm or deny the president’s choice. Former Presidential candidate and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), told George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s “This Week,” “[Obama] has the legal right to do it, but — and — as president, I would recognize that precedent, and the precedent that’s been set over the last 80 years has been that, in the last year of a president’s term, and in a second term especially, there should not be Supreme Court nominees put into lifetime positions for a president that you’re not going to

be able to hold accountable at the ballot box.”

There is nothing in the Constitution that says the president cannot make a Supreme Court nomination in an election year. The republican argument is invalid.

In fact, former President Ronald Reagan nominated current Justice Anthony Kennedy in 1987. Kennedy was confirmed and sworn in the following year, which also happened to be the final year of Reagan’s two-term presidency.

It seems as though republicans are worried about what could happen if Obama nominated a liberal

Justice. The Court will soon hear cases on contraceptives, abortion and immigration reform. The possibility of a new justice could sway these decisions out of republican favor. That being said, the job of a Supreme Court Justice is not to judge based on his or her own political ideologies; it is to interpret the Constitution as it is written. The fact that the argument even exists confirms the fact that the Court is politicized.

Now that Obama has nominated his choice, the Senate has three choices. They can vote to deny the nomination, they can

vote to affirm the nomination or they can do nothing. They can even sit on the nomination and wait until a new president is elected come November. Obama was right to nominate his own Justice.

The Senate has no grounds to stand on. In addition, it is important for the highest court in our country to have an odd number of Justices. If the decisions of the Supreme Court are left in a tie, the ruling of the lower court is retained. Without an uneven number of Justices, the Supreme Court cannot function to the best of its ability. It is crucial for a new Justice to be elected.

However, another issue Justice Scalia’s death has brought forward is that the highest court in the United States has become overly polarized in party politics.

In the Constitution, there is no mention of the Supreme Court needing to possess an even or uneven number of Justices from each political party. It does not say the president should nominate Justices who are aligned with his or her political party.

The only clause that we are sure of when it comes to the Supreme Court Justices is that the president can nominate a worthy Justice, and the Senate can ensure the best possible candidate takes that empty seat on the bench.

Amanda Maile, FCRH ’17, is a communication and media studies major from Drexel Hill, Pennslyvania.

Battle Over GOP Wives Reveals Candidates’ Sexism

By MARGARITA ARTOGLOU OPINION EDITOR

Although I have not witnessed many presidential campaigns, I am positive that the 2016 election is one of the nastiest in history, and the republican candidates — particularly Donald Trump, who has a history of making personal attacks against his opponents throughout his campaign — are to blame.

Most recently, in a series of classless moves, the wives of Trump and fellow republican candidate Senator Ted Cruz have been dragged into the brouhaha.

It all started when a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz posted sultry images of former model Melania Trump from a 2000 photoshoot on social media, along with captions that suggested one should vote for Cruz in order to prevent Melania from becoming the next First Lady.

It is interesting that this group (which, for the record, is an outside group that has no official ties to Cruz’s campaign) would choose to target Trump’s wife in the first place, as if there are not hundreds of things for which one could criticize the man himself.

The fact that Melania used to model for a living has no bearing on her ability to be a good First Lady. She has her own set of skills and beliefs. A photo of a scantilyclad Melania from an old issue of GQ should not disqualify her for

the position, because a woman’s worthiness as First Lady’s should not be solely based on her appearance.

Donald Trump (or Melania, for that matter) could have fired back with a response along those lines.

Instead, Trump went after Cruz’s wife, Heidi, by threatening to “spill the beans” on her, claiming he had some sort of secret about Heidi Cruz that would harm her image.

He also retweeted a post featuring a beautiful headshot of his wife next to a picture of a frazzled-looking Heidi Cruz with the caption, “No need to ‘spill the beans.’ The images are worth a thousand words,” as if Melania’s model status is a reason that she would make a better First Lady, and that Heidi’s lack of an expert makeup team makes her the inferior candidate.

Keep in mind that this is the same man who shamed Fox News’ Megyn Kelly for posing in a short dress for GQ and retweeted a supporter who called her a “bimbo.”

Apparently Kelly’s appearance makes her unsuited to be a journalist — but Melania’s is what makes her the perfect woman for the job of First Lady. On top of being a misogynist, Trump is a hypocrite.

The role of First Lady is an important one, so it is not crazy for voters to consider what each candidate’s spouse brings to the table, nor is it completely unreasonable

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Melania Trump, wife of Donald Trump and a former model, has come under scrutiny for a scandalous old photoshoot.

for candidates to mention their spouses’ skills and qualifications.

But this feud was not about Melania Trump’s business experience or Heidi Cruz’s MBA from Harvard. It was about each woman’s appearance.

And I do not think anyone is surprised. After all, Trump has attacked former candidate Carly Fiorina by insulting her face rather than her policy ideas and corporate experience. This is the same Trump who felt Megyn Kelly was an unfair debate moderator, and, like an immature middle schooler, insinuated that she was menstruating.

Despite Trump’s claims that he loves women, it is clear that he means he loves beautiful women

who are nice to him and let him have his way. Even then he objectifies them, as he objectifies his own wife, who he consistently praises for her beauty but never mentions her accomplishments, such as the fact that she speaks five languages.

Of course, sexism is not a new complaint when it comes to the Republican Party. Remember Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment from the 2012 election?

But Trump has gone above and beyond with his blatant misogyny.

The GOP frontrunner is openly and actively judging and ridiculing women based on their appearances, and his supporters are egging him on: they cheer when he

makes insulting remarks and they create the offensive posts that he loves to retweet.

The fact that Donald Trump, a man who is at best rude to women and at worst a total misogynist pig, could be the republican nominee is frightening and speaks volumes about the current state of this election.

One thing is for sure: if the general election comes down to Trump and Hillary Clinton, the nation must prepare itself for a never-ending personal tirade of Clinton’s face and, probably, her pantsuits.

Margarita Artgolou, FCRH ’18, is a communications and media studies major from Queens.

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 readershipi 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 Mailing Address Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Laura Sanicola Managing Editor Drew Casey Business Director Zack Miklos Copy Chief Tara Martinelli Editorial Director Amanda Giglio Assistant Business Director Tyler Dikun Assistant Copy Chief Amanda Maile News Editor Erin Shanahan Assistant News Editors Mike Byrne Theresa Schliep Opinion Editors Margarita Artoglou Kristen Santer Culture Editors Bailey Hosfelt Libby Smislova Sports Editor Sam Belden Assistant Sports Editors Pat Costello Jack McLoone Features Editor Cate Carrejo Photo Editors Jack Brennan Andrea Garcia Kate Mackie Digital Team Ellie Bruckner Meghan Campbell Anna Carey Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Editorial Page Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial and ramblings topics are selected on a weekly basis and reflect the editorial board’s view on a campus issue.

Correction An article entitled, “Ram Van Adds Tech Improvements; Van Safety Questions Persist” on March 9, 2016 contained an incorrectly attributed quotation that resulted from the editing process after writer submission. The Fordham Ram has refined it’s editing process as a result and apologizes for the error.

Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram appreciates submissions to fordhamramopinions@ gmail.com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis.

March 30, 2016

From the Desk | Erin Shanahan

Scrapping the Stigma Around Sex Two Los Angeles natives, Eva Sealove and Chelsea Jones, have an Instagram account with over 74.1k followers. Their account features recent photos of a child’s history project poster, an ancient tapestry and a woman’s lips with popped bubble gum. Although these photos may appear random, they all have one unifying quality: they all kind of look like vaginas.

The account called “Look At This Pussy,” collects images of objects and sceneries that look like vaginas.

From nature scenes to food to manmade objects, Jones and Sealove’s Instagram account prove that vaginas can be found anywhere and everywhere. Of course, like all things, this account does have a lot of “haters.” The L.A. duo has received some comments saying that their content is “dirty” and “uncomfortable.”

It is ironic to me that so many people are uncomfortable with something that is everywhere we look. Although Jones’ and Sealove’s account may express an exaggerated picture of the vagina’s part in our society, it brings light to an important fact: sex is practically everywhere we look.

The covers of Cosmopolitan and

Men’s Health are full of sexual language and images. However, advertising contains the most sexual imagery. Our capitalistic society depends on sexual images and language to sell products. For example, take a look at the most recent Calvin Klein spring collection advertisement, or their infamous 2015 photoshoot with Justin Bieber. Sex is everywhere, though for some reason it is considered taboo to talk about it in everyday conversation. In addition, it tends to bring controversy wherever it goes.

Why is it that the media can be utterly gorged with sexual imagery, yet people seem afraid to actually discuss sex? In fact, any discussion of sex is usually tainted as “crude” or used in negative circumstances.

This is all incredibly detrimental to societal improvement, especially the growth of children. Most parents only discuss sex with their children during what has been coined as “The Talk.” This infamous phrase suggests that the discussion about sex between a parent and a child is limited to only one conversation. It is a problem is that there is no way that sexuality can be completely discussed in one small, awkward chat.

A recent New York Times article discusses sex education from state to state. It suggests that children across the country are receiving drastically different information about their bodies and sexual relationships.

Some schools only discuss sex for one week out of a year, whereas some other students are taught sex education from kindergarten to high school. Regardless of whether the information comes from parents or school, it is clear that there are many gaps to fills in regards to sexual education.

As a result of this lack of discussion, children are forced to learn about sex through the internet, music, magazines, movies, television and advertisements. In other words, children are learning about sex through channels meant to entertain or persuade, not through channels created for the sole purpose of teaching. As a result, youths’ perspective of sex is skewed toward Calvin Klein advertisements, or whatever else they stumble upon on the internet.

Keeping silent about sex is not a real form of protection — restricting information should never be a reasonable answer. Children need to learn about their bodies. They need

to learn about HIV and HPV, as well as birth control and contraception options. It is scary to go through the journey of sexuality alone, and children need to be informed about the emotions, fears and anxieties that will arise when they become sexually active.

No one should be educated through media that are not meant to educate. A Google search late at night is not a proper means of education. At the end of the day, uneducated children eventually become uneducated adults. And the fact of matter is that sex happens. So why should we limit our conversation about something so endowed in our culture, society and, most importantly, our biology? Let’s talk about sex.

Belgium Attacks Expose Biased Media Coverage Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has become more conscious of transcontinental terrorism. Due to our increasing fear about the randomness of terrorist attacks and the high fatality rate, American media is often flooded with images of terrorist attacks throughout the world. In more recent years, this awareness of terrorism and combative responses have been more prevalent as well.

However, the actual media coverage of terrorist attacks is in itself disconcerting.

The recent incidents that received the most media coverage were the November 2015 attacks in Paris and the attacks in Belgium last week, which killed at least 30 and injured nearly 300. Massive in scope, these tragedies dominated the media cycle for weeks afterwards.

However, American media failed to bring attention to other terrorist attacks recently. Just five days after the Belgium attack, a suicide bomber struck in Pakistan, killing at least 70 on Easter Sunday in the city of La-

hore. A splinter group of the Taliban claimed responsibility. Over 500 people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan over the last 16 months. Additionally, prior to the Brussels events, terrorists struck Turkey and the Ivory Coast. On March 19, a suicide bomber with supposed ISIS ties killed at least four in central Istanbul. Less than a week earlier on March 13, six gunmen, thought to be members of al-Qaeda, ambushed an Ivory Coast beach resort, killing 16 before being shot to death by security forces.

It is no secret that American media is Eurocentric in its coverage of terrorism. Europe seemed to stop in the wake of the attacks, which ISIS later claimed responsibility for, and the American public empathized with the Belgian people.

On social media, many people have begun to speak out about the lack of coverage for attacks in the Middle East and Africa, while American and European attacks receive the majority of screen time.

Often, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, hashtags urging us to #PrayFor the area where the attacks occurred dominate social media.

When the Paris attacks took place, Facebook created a tool to allow users to superimpose the French flag over their profile pictures in order to show solidarity with the victims of the attack. While these are nice gestures, they lead us to question why hashtags about praying for the Middle East are never trending, and why Facebook does not ask users if they want to add to their profiles the flags of the various Middle Eastern and African countries where terrorist attacks are frequent.

As a news organization, we want to see the same amounts of coverage, and there should to be at least some coverage of international terrorist attacks outside of Europe. The editorial board should not have had to discover additional details on the recent attacks in Pakistan, Turkey and the Ivory Coast, while most of the information about Belgium is now

common knowledge. Western countries usually get more sensationalized news stories and media coverage regardless of the how severe the attacks were.

The argument for equal media coverage essentially boils down to the timeless, yet increasingly important, decision between pandering for money and ratings, or performing a service for society. The media likes to pick up western attacks since they do not occur as often in Europe in comparison to the Middle East.

People are shocked when this level of violence occurs in first world countries, while another bombing in the Middle East will not truly shock or surprise anyone. If the media actually wants to provide a service to society as informers, they must provide equal coverage of terrorist attacks to ensure that they maintain an unbiased view.

In 2016, we live in a global society.

Everyone has a right to be informed when terror is involved and every country’s battle against terrorism is equally important.

Letter to the Editor Re: “Apple vs. FBI on National Security” February 24, 2016 Dear Editor, I am writing in response to your editorial titled “Apple vs. FBI on National Security” and would like to offer my perspective. I would also like to state that I am not an Apple consumer. My concern has to do with these ancillary implications of Apple complying outright with this court order. According to The Guardian, the FBI’s director’s admitted this case could be used by judges in the future.

I do not think there is any disagreement that the shooting in San Bernardino is a horrible tragedy. However, you sometimes have to ask the hard questions before acting. Does the possibility of terrorism intelligence justify asking a company to deliberately compromise their own

security? Will potentially compromising the privacy of a vast number of people be worth the answers that can be provided to the victims? Although the answer might seem apparent at first glance, the question still has to be asked. It is this process that may very well shed light on implications missed at that first glance. This in fact is exactly what is happening between Apple, the FBI and the Supreme Court.

Currently Apple has filed to have relief from the court order per the seventh guideline included in the orders they received. According to the National District Attorneys Association, “to the extent that Apple believes that compliance with the Order would be unreasonably burdensome, it may make an application to this Court for relief within five business

days of receipt of the Order.” According to Apple, their basis for this relief is that providing this solution would “…undermine decades of security advancements…” and “…make our users less safe…” This sets the stage for asking the relevant questions addressing the concerns of all parties.

In your editorial, you suggest that Apple should simply “destroy or secure” the backdoor after being used.

Destroying or securing the software is not the only thing they need to worry about. First, the difference between Apple creating a backdoor and an outside agency creating a solution is the difference of a master key being created and a security flaw being exploited respectively. It may appear like a small difference if the solution is destroyed after the fact, but I would like to direct your attention to

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by Christopher Hadnagy.

He defines social engineering as “the act of manipulating a person to take an action that may or may not be in the ‘target’s’ best interest. This may include obtaining information, gaining access, or getting the target to take certain action.”

Even if the program itself is gone, the software engineers themselves may very well be at risk of inadvertently releasing this solution to the world. In such a case a security flaw can be patched, but undoing access by a master key would be nearly impossible. More recently, the case between Apple and FBI has been postponed, as it appears that the FBI may have the means to unlock the phone without Apple’s assistance.

— Joseph R. McCann

OPINION

March 30, 2016

Page 9

Accepting Some of the Blame: Civic Engagement in a Digital Age

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President Obama was the keynote speaker for the South by Southwest Festival, the first president in history to do so.

By KRISTEN SANTER OPINON EDITOR

The South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) kicked off this past week in Austin, Texas, featuring the year’s latest and greatest in film, music, gaming and technology. President Obama made history as the first president to serve as the keynote speaker who opens the festival. Despite being 30 minutes late, President Obama’s speech was immensely successful. He highlighted perhaps one of the easiest, but most important issues facing the United States in an increasingly digital age: a lack of civic engagement, especially among the younger generations.

Although President Obama glossed over many important topics, he consistently spoke about incorporating technology and politics to increase civic engagement.

Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, interviewed the president, and the first ques-

tion he asked Obama was, “What is the reason for you being here in Austin?” President Obama immediately responded, “I’m here to recruit all of you.” He griped a little bit about how the government gets a lot of the blame for not fixing daunting problems like racial inequality and immigration.

Obama is right in that it is easy to blame the government, and the blame is often justified. But he also put the spotlight on us as voters, and made a direct accusation that some of this blame is shared: “The most important office in a democracy is the office of the citizen, and right now with all the talent that’s out there, our government is not working as well as it should. The only way we’re going to solve that is by getting citizens involved in ways we haven’t.”

And it is true. According to FairVote, voter turnout for presidential elections has increased slightly in the past few years, reaching an average of around 58.2 percent in 2012. However,

voter turnout for midterm elections was a dismal 35.9 percent in 2014, and has rapidly decreased in the past few elections.

Unfortunately, many people use their dissatisfaction with the government as a reason to become less involved. Voters ask despondent questions and make futile statements like “What is the point?” and “It will not change anything.”

The increasingly polarized party politics emerging only solidifies the fact that, if anything, government’s inadequacy should encourage people to vote and to become more involved in the political system.

An easy way to increase voter turnout and civic engagement is to digitize many governmental processes and abilities. President Obama mentioned that government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) are online, but something as simple as voting is not. Think

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Elle Rothermich

about how many more people would vote if they did not have to leave their homes.

Although the government and technology constantly seem to be at odds, especially with the current FBI versus Apple case, it is possible for our generation to bridge this gap. It is very fitting that Obama chose to save this important speech for the SXSW, which debuts some of the brightest minds and newest technologies. Bringing government into the 21st century should not only be shouldered by the bureaucrats, but also the generation and new talent that have spent their lives studying it.

An example of politics and technology combining to serve a college-aged audience, is the app Countable. The revolutionary app asks everyone who their representatives are based on state, and then you vote on bills currently on the floor. Countable takes this vote and sends it to your respective representative so your opinions get voiced. It is these types of changes that can get more young people involved in politics and increase general civic engagement.

Whether you want to run for office or simply get out and vote, there is a way for everyone to become more involved in politics.

Radical politicians like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have increased voter turnout already, especially among the younger generation. According to Time, 84 percent of voters under 30 voted for Bernie Sanders in the Iowa primary earlier this year. Even if you dislike all of the candidates you can still be involved. I urge everyone to register while they still can.

Kristen Santer, FCRH ’17, is a communications and media studies major from Stamford, Connecticut.

Joe Moresky Sanders’ Silence on Foreign Affairs Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the democratic nomination has received a degree of renewed vigor after his surprising win over Hillary Clinton in Michigan. Senator Sanders has continued to spread a message that focuses heavily on economic inequality and other bread-and-butter domestic democratic issues. However, what has not been a central building block of his campaign is what he would seek to accomplish on the world stage or how he would handle the problems of our time if elected president.

His relative silence on foreign issues feeds into criticism that although Senator Sanders can give a liberal vision for the nation, he lacks a record of effective implementation or practical problem solving to do anything more. This calls into question Sanders’ preparedness to assume the Oval Office or lead the world’s most expansive and consequential military in an era of global instability.

How would Sanders address Bei-

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Bernie Sanders may have captured young hearts and minds, but his lack of experience in foreign affairs is damning.

jing’s aggressive attempts at territorial expansion in the South China Sea? His opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement limits the amount of power in his diplomatic toolkit, potentially increasing the likelihood of a counterattack to quell the expansion. What are the practical steps to assembling an international coalition, especially one that incorporates Russia, in dealing with events in Syria and combatting the Islamic State? What assurances would Sanders give Turkey that a Western embrace of Putin’s Russia would not jeopardize Turkish interests in the region? Could he reconcile the con-

flicting regional aims of Ankara and Moscow into a functional alliance with sufficient local influence?

Sanders’ noticeable silence on international affairs has not been helped after ambivalent debate responses regarding the origin of his world view or revelations that his foreign policy advisors have rarely met with him at all. This lack of demonstrated ability or even demonstrated interest beyond his liberal platitudes ought to cause voters across the nation to take pause and consider the Vermont senator’s readiness to lead on the international stage. A lack of a comprehensive foreign policy

strategy and the absence of a steady hand in the middle of an era of global uncertainty and rising tensions is precisely the opposite of what the United States needs to address the challenges of the present and the near-future.

What is needed is an understanding of the level of interconnectivity in which the United States operates under in the post-war era, the mantle of defense leadership it must carry in light of the substantial power-projection gap among allied nations and the requisite experience to handle the crises the next administration will almost assuredly face. Unfortunately, Bernie Sanders does not fit the bill.

The Necessity of Women’s Day International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8. While its existence has done much to raise awareness for gender equality, the fact that an international day for women exists proves the issue still exists.

In the settlements around the north Indian city of Meerut, small groups of women from traditionally poor castes have broken from tradition and searched for work outside of their villages.

Despite their best efforts and frequent attempts to involve municipal and state authorities, these women have been ostracized merely on account of their sex. In addition, they are often violently forced to give up their jobs. Dr. K Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India noted although Indian women are gaining representation in a variety of fields, they still live within a deeply patriarchal society that condones violence against women.

Perhaps this is not news.

The western world is used to hearing about other nations that fall short of industrialized standards, and very little about their advancements and successes.

Nollywood (Nigeria’s booming film industry) actress Stephanie Okereke Linus wrote, directed and starred in Dry, a depiction of a young girl living with a fistula, an injury resulting from genital and anal mutilation, and the doctor who treats her.

Meanwhile in the United States, a girl under the age of 18 may be married with parental or judicial consent, but no state currently has any legal measures in place to ensure that the child has not been coerced. National Public Radio (NPR) reported in their #15Girls series that 3,499 children (their sex was not recorded) got married between 1995 and 2012 in the state of New Jersey alone.

To say that the role of women in the 21st century is simply “better” is a simplification.

Countess Matilda of Tuscany, living in the 12th century, used her keen military sense to maintain a firm hold on her extensive landholdings. One may point back to the medieval period and remark how few heiresses managed to ascend to the heights of Matilda of Tuscany or the more famous Eleanor of Aquitaine, or argue that the above statistics show how child marriage is falling out of favor. Yes, we have made advances. Our species is indeed inching closer to equality.

However, we cannot assume that gains for women’s rights — which are simply human rights — will automatically accumulate as time marches on, or that developed nations have a monopoly on progress.

We need the current discussion happening inside the United Nations and within two-minute talk show segments to flood our daily collective consciousness, unless we are willing to let these challenges fester for another 900 years.

March 30, 2016

Mental Health Special

Page 1

The Fordham Ram randomly surveyed students at the Rose Hill campus about mental health issues and if they have had experience with mental issues, including which illnesses are most prevalent.

The Fordham Ram recently sent out an anonymous survey to gauge the climate surrounding mental health on the Rose Hill campus and student experiences with mental health issues. We received 176 responses. Out of these responses, 147 came from FCRH students and 29 from GSB students, with the majority of responses coming from the class of 2017 and 2018, and 73 percent of the responses from female students, 26 percent from male students and 2 percent from non-binary students.

The responses were overwhelming, proving that mental health is something that is not talked about enough at Fordham. Based on the data, almost all Fordham students know someone who has a mental illness. Sixty-one percent of students have a mental health issue, 27 percent of those being self-diagnosed, while 10 percent of students are not sure. Similar to national statistics, students overwhelmingly marked anxiety and depression as the most likely mental health issue they face.

Eighty-three percent of students have experienced anxiety, most experiencing it often or sometimes.

When asked about the stigma behind mental illness, over 90 percent of students believe there is a stigma attached to mental illness. In regards to Fordham and its Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), most students know CPS is a resource they can contact and 62 percent of students have actually utilized the services at CPS. According to the 2013-2014 Counseling and Psychological Services Client Satisfaction Survey, 79 percent of respondents felt that counseling services improved their well-being and functioning, and 93 percent reported a positive counseling experience.

The Stigmatization of Mental Health Issues

By THERESA SCHLIEP ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

As the prevalence of mass shootings in the United States continues to proliferate, a conversation on the role of mental health in these violent attacks has become standard in national media.

Some worry about the repercussions of this conversation on the stigmatization of mental health.

The conversation on mental health hit close to home at Fordham after two students at Fordham Preparatory committed suicide within two weeks of each other in February.

Fordham University’s psychology department, as well as the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), works to reduce mental health stigma and misinformation. CPS collaborates with the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses Active Minds student clubs in order to implement programs, activities and awareness campaigns that focus on reducing mental health stigma.

Despite this work, some feel that there is still a stigma against mental health at Fordham. “[There is a stigma] primarily because stigma and misinformation about mental health still exists in our larger society,” said Jeffrey Ng, Psy.D, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services in an email interview.

Some students said that a lack of conversation stigmatizes mental illness.

“It is something that should be

FORDHAM RAM ARCHIVES

Counseling and Psychological Services is located in the basement of O’Hare Hall.

talked about,” said Gabrielle Gillespie, FCRH ‘19. “The lack of conversation about it implies that it is not a valid issue, which can lead to stigma.”

Ng said that normalizing mental health services can help prevent suicide. It is everyone’s responsibility to encourage dialogue on mental health and suicide prevention.

“One of the most meaningful things we can do as students, faculty and staff is to normalize and destigmatize vulnerability and help-seeking,” said Ng. This stigma exists in a time in which more students are seeking counseling. Five times as many students are obtaining help for

mental health issues from 20092010, according to a report by Pennsylvania State University released in 2015.

There is debate over whether people are going to counseling services because of a higher rate of sick students or rather an improvement in the aforementioned stigma.

“I think the increase is predominantly because there is more of a national conversation on mental health,” said William Reisman, FCRH ‘19. “Although I’m unsure if there is an increase in those with mental illness, our generation is facing greater challenges than other generations because of increased anxieties regarding such

things like the economy.”

A third of Americans have trouble accessing mental health care, and 40 percent have trouble accessing mental health care because of costs. However, many presidential candidates have not addressed these problems.

Senator Bernie Sanders promised to invest in mental health care in a Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, because of concerns stemming from Republican rhetoric.

“When you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in that,” said the presidential candidate.

After shootings, such as those in San Berdandino, California,

in which 16 were killed and 19 injured, and at Umpqua Community College in which 10 were killed and nine injured, there is an increase in mental health discussion in the media and politics.

This discussion apparently antagonizes mental health. A study called “Public Mental Health Stigma and Mass Shootings” found that the media often times uses derogatory language regarding mental illness and this rhetoric exacerbates the stigma of mental illness.

Advocacy groups have tried to distinguish between mental health and gun control legislation. For example, advocacy group Mental Health America was successful in making a presidential dinner in June 2013 just about mental health, instead of in terms of mental health and preventing mass shootings.

The study argues that the vast majority of those with mental illness are not violent, and policies that correlate mental illness and mass shootings discourage those with mental illnesses from seeking help.

Ng said that it is the responsibility of all, both at Fordham and nationally, to fight this misinformation and stigma.

“I think it’s critically important for us to recognize that mental health and suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility,” said Ng. “We’re all in this together and we all have a role to play in looking out for and supporting each other.”

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE

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March 30, 2016

Media Portrays Mental Health in Various Contexts

By BAILEY HOSFELT CULTURE EDITOR

It comes as no surprise that college students fall into the large number of consumers who watch television and movies on a regular basis. With hundreds of theaters in the city and thousands of titles available on Netfl ix or Hulu, students have the ability to watch the latest box office hit or last night’s premiere through a multitude of mediums. Even residence halls throw viewing parties for the Oscars and friends gather each week to watch their favorite shows.

Movies and TV shows alike serve as outlets where individuals can escape their day-to-day lives and watch someone else’s. People resonate with fictional characters and story lines that do not match their own. What unfolds on camera never truly matches reality, but what happens when people start to believe that it does?

Studies indicate that mass media is a primary source for the public to gain information about mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Popular movies and TV shows shape viewers’ understandings of these disorders, but research conducted by psychologists has found that many onscreen portrayals of the mentally ill perpetuate stereotypes and educate audiences with inaccuracies.

Stephen Hinshaw, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Berkeley believes the worst stereotypes come out in such depictions. “Mentally ill individuals [are depicted] as incompetent, dangerous, slovenly and undeserving. The portrayals serve to distance ‘them’ from the rest of ‘us,’” he said in an interview with U.S. News & World Report.

One of the most popular myths

COURTESY OF GOOGLE

Movies and television, such as Psycho, portray mental illness in various ways.

prolonged by the entertainment industry is that mentally ill individuals are violent. In the 1960 classic fi lm, Psycho, the schizophrenic main character dresses as his mother and stabs guests who stay at the hotel he manages. Movies like this one allow audiences to believe that people who suffer from schizophrenia are dangerous, highly volatile individuals who will murder you while screeching violins increase in volume.

Although this scenario is far from realistic, the American Psy-

chiatric Association found that 61 percent of Americans believe people with schizophrenia have violent tendencies. Th is number can certainly be linked to the media’s portrayal of mentally ill characters with frightening tendencies that border on the line of lunacy.

Media depictions often perpetuate the stigma that mentally ill people are beyond help. Many movies and television shows portray psychiatric hospitals as white-walled, dark, prison-like facilities rather than places where

people can go to heal.

The quality of mental health care is the product of various governmental reforms over past decades. Unfortunately, the public’s opinion of them is the product of outdated on-screen depictions of a patient dragged against his or her will into a psychiatric ward.

While some myths are exaggerated and easier to pinpoint as being false, subtle misconceptions continue on camera. Whether it is the belief that the mentally ill all have physical trait, that are “off ” or the romanticized idea that these characters fit the mysterious yet att ractive “tortured artist” archetype, such myths only further the damaging ‘them’ versus ‘us’ dichotomy stressed by Hinshaw.

The belief that mentally ill individuals match media stereotypes overlooks the fact that these people usually look and act exactly like their peers. The inner struggles fought by those with mental illnesses are not going to simply reveal unkempt hair or wild eyes.

People with mental disorders often mask their symptoms to those around them and go about their days in a seemingly regular fashion.

Despite the large number of on-screen depictions of mental illnesses that are either outdated, untrue or a combination of both, recent releases have been able to convey the topic in a more realistic manner.

Movies like Aviator and Silver Linings Playbook display mental illness in a more truthful light.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Howard Hughes, a man struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder in Aviator, while Bradley Cooper plays a bipolar man in Silver Linings Playbook. The latter fi lm was commended by critics for its ability to bring out viewers’ empathy to recognize that mentally

ill individuals must be supported instead of overlooked.

Additionally, many TV show writers on series including “Castle,” “Elementary” and “Homeland” have received recognition from the Voice Awards program, a partner of the American Counseling Association that honors those who have raised awareness about mental health through fi lm and television. Th is demonstrates that the media industry is making strides in the right direction, a precedent that must be followed off screen and onto college campuses.

The fact that a large majority of college students frequently watch movies and TV shows is not surprising. However, the statistic that one in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 suffer from mental illness may come as a shock.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness found that concern of stigma was cited as the number one reason why an overwhelming 57 percent of students with diagnosable mental conditions do not seek assistance from their school.

In an environment where stress runs rampant and students have rigorous schedules fi lled with many responsibilities, it is imperative that mental heath is recognized and validated instead of being interpreted as a sign of weakness.

Each student who walks through the doors of health services or confides in a friend is a real person, not a fictional character concocted in a writer’s room or a violent criminal at the forefront of a horror movie.

Ultimately, it is time that everyone recognizes the impact media portrayals have on public perceptions. It is time we strip stereotypes and stigmas from conversations about mental illness and separate fact from fiction.

The Cost of Mental Illness in the United States

By CATE CARREJO FEATURES EDITOR

The cost of mental illness in the United States is alarmingly high.

Serious mental illness costs society $193 billion per year in lost earnings alone, as well as more than $100 billion in health care costs, according to a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health. It might seem callous to reduce the devastating effects of mental illness to hard numbers, but the staggering economic cost of mental illness is really just another indicator of the need for reform in the mental health care system in America.

The $193 billion is a huge loss for the American economy in terms of tax revenue and stimulation from spending. However, lost earnings from mental illness are much more harmful to the individual or family whose life is impacted by mental illness. According to the World Health Organization, low socioeconomic status is one of the leading factors associated with mental illness — low-income groups have

a two-time higher prevalence rate for depression and an eight times higher relative risk for schizophrenia. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is illegal to fire someone for having a mental illness, but missing work for doctors’ appointments or treatments does not have to be paid leave, which can be a huge problem for those already at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Mental illness and poverty combine to create a very slippery slope: the individual misses treatment to earn enough money for treatment, then loses income and career opportunities to go to treatment, thereby increasing stress and exacerbating the underlying mental illness.

Even if an individual can afford it, proper mental health care is not easily accessible in many places. The nationwide shortage of doctors is predicted to reach over 90,000 by 2025, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, and much of that burden is likely to fall on lowerincome areas. In neighborhoods

such as the Bronx community surrounding Fordham, where the financial incentive to be a physician is significantly decreased, accessing care is almost impossible.

James Hickey, LCSW-R, is a part owner of Comprehensive Counseling LSCWs, a cooperative practice of mental health care workers located on Bainbridge Avenue near the Montefiore Medical Center. The clinic, one of the only of its kind in the Bronx, opened in April 2014 and already treats about 1,000 patients per week.

“We have been told by a number of people, doctors working in the area and patients coming to see us for the first time, that they had been looking for a type of place like we have now for a very long time and they had a lot of difficulty finding something similar,” said Hickey. “We’re just working in one small corner [of the Bronx…] and the services that we provide are much needed.”

Seventy to 90 percent of patients with serious mental illnesses who receive adequate care see a significant reduction of symp-

toms and improvement in their quality of life, but when care is either too expensive or inaccessible, people’s lives can deteriorate quickly. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately 20 to 25 percent of all homeless people suffer from a serious mental illness which creates an endless cycle of illness and homelessness. Government programs are chronically underfunded, preventing the most vulnerable members of society from getting the help they need. Even when housing is provided, it is unlikely to help the mentally ill achieve residential stability unless trained psychological support is also available.

The final aspect of the nationwide cost of mental illness is disability benefits, which allocates about $24 billion in public funds to supporting mentally ill individuals. Ultimately, some of this funding is absolutely necessary — just as there will always be physical conditions which make working entirely impossible for some people, there are some cases

of mental illness where having a job is simply not feasible. However, there are also cases where the need for public assistance could be avoided. In 2013, The New York Times reported on a woman named Eliza whose severe depression had not responded to conventional treatments, but was denied coverage for an experimental treatment that would have significantly improved her quality of life. Rather than pay for her treatment, her healthcare company allowed Eliza to become sicker, to the point that she could no longer keep her job and had to go on welfare.

New laws and programs like the Affordable Care Act are helping to secure justice for patients like Eliza, but extensive reforms are needed to prevent the cycle of mental illness from continuing.

With more efficiency and accessibility, not only can the shockingly high societal cost of mental illness significantly decrease, but the people most in need can actually take advantage of proper care and improve their lives.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE

March 30, 2016

Page 3

Added Stress Needs To Be Addressed at College Level

By MARGARITA ARTOGLOU & KRISTEN SANTER OPINION EDITORS

Going to college presents a huge shift in a student’s life. It often brings with it a radical change in a student’s physical environment, academic schedule and social life.

This kind of adjustment can easily become stress and anxiety-inducing for students, necessitating the involvement of outside sources of emotional and mental support.

However, receiving support and counseling is more diffcult in college than it was in high school. In most high schools, there is consistent support from teachers, administrators and counselors, and at home, many students can also receive support and assurance from their family. College is a drastic change from that. Students are expected to be responsible for themselves, and the same sort of support is not easily accessible. If you need help from a teacher or a counselor, you need to specifically seek out that kind of assistance.

Unless you live 30 minutes away, your family cannot not be there for you all of the time. Creating a mandatory counseling program for college students would help the transition into college, while ensuring that no one slips through the cracks.

Although self-diagnosing is popular and occurs too often, many students most likely need some sort of counseling and do not realize it. A 2012 survey by the National Alliance of Mental Illness

COURESY OF FORDHAM ARCHIVES

Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services has about 20 people on staff, is open on weekdays and is located in the basement of O’Hare Hall at Rose Hill.

(NAMI) found that 64 percent of students dropped out because of a mental health problem, but only 50 percent of them had reported it to the school. When students drop out because of mental health problems, it is usually a result of inadequate services, making students feel the need to go home in order to receive support from their family. If there were mandatory student counseling services, colleges could manage these factors before they result in drop-outs or even more drastic decisions.

While it is great that schools inform students so that they know their options, it takes an incredible

amount of proactivity on the part of the student to actually make an appointment with a psychological counselor.

Making an appointment for psychological counseling is more of a burden than just picking up the phone. In order for a student to get counseling, a student must recognize some kind of problem within him or herself. This is an incredibly imposing accomplishment, especially given the stigma that surrounds all kinds of mental health disorders.

College tends to be a source of stress for students who are facing an increasingly competitive job

market and increasingly large student loans to pay off. It would be easy for a student who actually has a psychological issue to confuse his or her symptoms for side-effects of that added stress. This is why it would be a good idea to implement a program that makes it necessary for every student to check in with a counselor at least once a year. If the student is going through more than just pre-midterm jitters, a counselor could recognize that and recommend further therapy or counseling.

Some might argue that colleges should not be expected to expend resources on preemptive counsel-

ing for students who do not need it. However, it is a worthwhile investment if it helps even one student who may be driven to extreme actions if left to his or her own devices. Having just one counseling session a year is not a huge expenditure and will allow colleges to check up on their students and make sure that their workload is manageable.

Although colleges are not expected to baby their students, they still allocate funds to guarantee students’ physical safety and health. The same mentality should be applied to students’ mental well-being.

A Note From The Editor

By LAURA SANICOLA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The first time I made myself throw up, I was 12 years old. I remember kneeling on the cold, ceramic tile floor in my middle school bathroom during lunch, hoping no one would open the door. How I could feel the weight of the world on my shoulders at that age is something I still grapple with today as I piece together the parts of my past I don’t enjoy reflecting on. I was far too young to have felt so insecure, pressured to grow seamlessly into my body during a turbulent adolescence.

Even more chilling to me is the realization that I first began referring to myself as fat much earlier – I recently traced my thoughts back to a diary I kept in 2004, when I was only nine years old.

For years, the sincere concerns of my friends and teachers seemed only to encourage my irrational and unhealthy weight loss goals. The phrase “I think you’re getting too thin” echoed in my deluded mind as a compliment rather than a warning. I also relished in knowing that I was not alone; growing up, several of my friends confessed their own eating problems to me. I felt connected these beautiful, intelligent, athletic, funny and happy women (even a few men) who struggled with

similar conflicts as they examined their bodies in the mirror. I hope today that they are alright.

Fortunately, I woke up one morning horrified that I could trace my rib bones with my fingers. Though I struggled for years with disordered eating and purging, I sought professional help and support instead of pushing it away. For many others with disordered eating behaviors, it takes more dire circumstances and drastic measures to convince them to regain control of their bodies and minds. Change came slowly as I began to like myself and became more wary of internalizing often accurate assessments of my personality (I have formerly been described by some as as “pushy” “intense” and “not funny at all”).

It was then that I stopped considering my appearance as a barometer of my self-worth. Nothing in my life was more liberating.

I am writing not to call attention to my own problems, though by choosing not to run my story anonymously I have (scarily) claimed ownership to my personal life in a highly public way.

I write instead because I share a struggle that I am convinced is not unique to me — a struggle to be respected, to be a leader, to be successful and to, at the same time, own my psychological short fallings as a part of my past, pres-

ent and future. As a woman in a position of relative authority, I find this particularly difficult.

Experience has taught me that the world is unkind to perceived weaknesses, especially in a gender already perceived by the woefully ignorant as inherently weaker. I counter that women are strong.

We face mental illness, ridiculous societal expectations, sexual assaults, biases and stereotypes, and still we overcome.

In an uncharacteristically forward way, I write to end the stigma that I and over 50 million Americans should hide our battles for fear of being thought less of, deemed incompetent to lead or unworthy of employment. Rather than fear being “found out” by friends and colleagues who otherwise see me in a positive light, I feel great strength in my academic, professional and social successes in spite of fighting a mentality that tries to hold me back. I was born with it, the same way I was born with brown hair, olive skin and crappy eyesight, and I choose not to feel ashamed of it. The belief that 50 million of us must perpetuate the illusion of never struggling only increases our collective embarrassment when we admit to ourselves, behind closed doors, that we do struggle and sometimes require help to achieve balance.

I hope to one day live in a world where no parent tells their child that mental illnesses are “all in your head,” or where people are afraid of talking openly or writing about their past in fear that a Google search of their name will subject them to a world of criticism from friends, family mem-

bers and human resource departments. In that world I see my fellow Fordham students, who may currently feel burdened with their mental illnesses, walking with their heads held because that they are unhinged, capable and in solidarity with each other and myself.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE

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March 30, 2016

Anonymous Student Experiences With Mental Health Issues Surveyed Students Share their Encounters with Mental Illness at Fordham and Beyond Mental health issues affect a tremendous number of people but largely go unnoticed and unaddressed. It is important to de-stigmatize mental health issues so that people can feel comfortable getting help and know that they don’t have to fight the battle alone. People always tell me that I’m always happy, upbeat and in a positive mood, but what nobody realizes is that I’m constantly struggling with dark inner demons. There are times where my depression and anxiety take over and get so bad it seems like I’ll never be happy again. I get so scared and so alone, but I don’t tell anybody because I don’t want people to change their opinion of me and to think of me as weak or to pity me. I’m realizing now that I am not in this fight alone, but it’s still extremely difficult for me to talk about struggles with mental health. Society as a whole needs to fix the way we view and address mental health issues, and it all starts with better educating and informing ourselves on the matter.

I’ve had an eating disorder and struggled with self-harm at Fordham. I’m seeing a counselor at CPS and she helps me understand the sources and triggers of my stress which gives me a greater degree of control in my life.

Being such a prestigious university, the pressure is high to do well and I often feel myself comparing my own accomplishments with those of other students and feeling like I am not on the same level as other students here. I have social anxiety and am extremely insecure and I often feel like I don’t fit in. Most of my issues are things I need to come to terms with myself before seeking any outside help, so I am extremely reluctant to pursue any type of counseling even though CPS is so accessible.

I am surprised sometimes how badly anxiety can affect some of my friends. I have often tried to make them aware of the resources that they can utilize at Fordham, however, they always neglect that as a possibility with a reply such as “I’m not the only one that gets this way” or “That’s not for people like me.”

I have watched many of my friends, who I met here at Fordham, struggle with mental illness - three of my friends have already had to leave to be rehabilitated or hospitalized and I am only a sophomore. Stigmas on campus and in campus institutions like Residential Life made it harder for them to stay here, and my friends who have made it this far are still struggling, especially due to denial of recognition and understanding of their illness within the institution of Residential Life.

There has always been pressure for doing well in school to have a successful life. CPS helped me figure out the underlying factors as to why I was always so focused on doing well and how it affected me in a negative way when I wasn’t doing well. I feel like I learned more about myself as a person and how to combat those thoughts that have been instilled in me since elementary school.

Yes, I do share my experiences with mental health issues, but only with close friends who understand that I am more than a series of mixed emotions and irrational behaviors.

Others who do not know me as well will most likely find it as a reason to not interact with me, and it cycles into me being lonely. Mental illness is a daily, uphill battle on a rocky path that no one should face alone.

One of my therapists told me that it was hilarious I was still alive. 0/10 would not recommend.

I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and in my experience many of my peers seem to think it’s not a big deal. They often say things like “Well I get nervous, too” but it’s not the same. That’s why I also feel uncomfortable saying that I have a mental illness, because when I talk about my anxiety people usually brush me off. It’s not the same.

I didn’t sleep for most of my freshman year, for weeks at a time I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I would pass out during exams. The Fordham CPS really helped me. A dean who I would talk to about my struggles during exams suggested I go to CPS. I didn’t have to wait long and the counselor I saw helped me try to get my anxiety under control. She also suggested I get tested to see if I would be diagnosed with something. In the summer between my freshman and sophomore year I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I was relieved to find out that what I was experiencing was not normal and that I could possibly improve it. When I came back to Fordham for my sophomore year, I went to CPS again and had a new counselor. He was also incredibly helpful and I began to be able to manage my anxiety and college workload more. CPS also suggested I speak to ODS [Office of Disability Services] and I am so happy I did because I can manage college and exams almost on a normal level now.

Fordham has handled my anxiety incredibly well, however the students at Fordham have not. Like I said earlier, many students assume I’m exaggerating or that their experience is like mine. They often say things that make me feel like I’m getting an unfair advantage by using ODS. Every time I consider maybe not using ODS I think back to my awful experience freshman year and have to remind myself that I don’t have to make my peers understand my situation, but I owe it to myself to take care of myself in the best way I can.

I’ve found my mental health very confusing to navigate. Thoughts of suicide weigh on me daily and it’s a very isolating place to be. I took a shot with Fordham counseling, but I’m not really sure if it helped. I’m hesitant to seek medication because I know so many people who have tried to coax their doctors into prescriptions, even when they don’t really need it.

I have been to a psychiatrist and have been formally diagnosed with a certain illness that I refuse to talk about. I fight it every day. I’ve been prescribed Zoloft, an anti-depressant, but refuse to take it. I could use this space to dwell on my condition, but I don’t want to. I’d simply like to say that mental illness can be found in the people you least expect. It is real. It is painful. But it is a battle that can be won. Be supportive.

I had a really positive experience with CPS. Once I contacted them, I was set up with weekly meetings very quickly. I really liked the person I met with, and I found the experience to be really helpful to me and incredibly cathartic. If anything, I wish I could have continued to go for longer, but I totally understand why the 10-week cap exists.

The counseling services which Fordham offers are incredibly helpful and I think that this should be talked about more. I think they are a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of for just about everyone on campus. I personally benefited a lot from hearing new and unbiased insights on the issues I brought up during my sessions and I think that is something that can be helpful, regardless of what sort of problem someone is dealing with. I think it is always helpful to have someone to talk to whose job it is to listen and not to judge, and that is what I found at CPS.

I found that my levels of anxiety were disproportionate to my peers and sought help at CPS. While there, I participated in individual sessions. I found them exceedingly helpful and found CPS to be a very welcoming environment. In short, they helped me sort myself out and become healthier, though I still have a long way to go.

I wish that when I first started Fordham freshman year, we were given some form of workshops or that we were at least informed about mental health and the resources that were available to us during orientation. I feel that instead, these issues were swept under the rug and not readily discussed. I, myself had a very difficult first year transitioning to college and I felt very alone and overwhelmed. If it weren’t for a few close friends and family members, I’m not sure if I would have made it.

I started going to the counseling center for depression and anxiety during my sophomore year, after dealing with mental health issues and seeing various therapists throughout high school. My counselor was incredibly helpful and I don’t regret seeking help in the office for a second, but I did feel pretty uncomfortable that the office employed students to work the reception desk. I already recognized half the people sitting in the waiting room with me; having to check in for my appointments with people I vaguely knew (including some I had known even before coming to Fordham) made me feel like I had to admit that I was struggling to people I didn’t really want to share that information with. At least with the other students in the waiting room, we were all kind of in the same boat — they might not have known what I was going through, but they were going through things too, and it felt like we had a sort of understanding among us to respect each other’s privacy. It was hard to feel that about the student workers, who (as far as I knew) couldn’t understand what I was going through and might not understand the feeling of vulnerability and slight terror that comes with seeking mental health treatment. What was stopping them from going out and telling their friends that they had seen me in the office? I hate that I was scared of that — there’s absolutely no shame in seeking help when your body is sick, so why should it be any different when it’s your mind that’s in trouble? But still, it felt like my personal struggle was being put on display to people who couldn’t possibly get it.

Mental health issues are really hard to deal with because they’re not visible. They’re not something you just know about — a lot of people live with mental illness for a long time without knowing they have it, and thus without the ability to talk about it. One of the hardest things is that mental illness can take on forms that many people don’t understand aren’t under your control — for example, when depression manifests as executive dysfunction rather than “sadness.” You get called lazy — you call yourself lazy. You feel useless and worthless, but it’s something you just can’t do — mental illness is something real, and it’s really hard to fight it. A lot of the time people either just don’t see that it’s because of a real health issue, or they don’t recognize mental illness as a legitimate reason to have a hard time with something. Ableism like that is really hard to deal with. It’s also hard because it’s so difficult to access accommodations for it, with academic stuff particularly. CPS and Disability Services do their best, but they can’t always help you, or help you in the way you need. And that sucks.

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March 30, 2016

The Fordham Ram

La Dolce Vita: A Defense of the Sweet Life

By PASQUALE GIANNI STAFF WRITER

Award winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, in his newly released project, Where to Invade Next, investigated social standards in other advanced industrialized nations to see how we can emulate them to build a better society in the United States.

Other than the obvious Scandinavian countries, Moore travels to Italy to see just what it is about “La Dolce Vita” that leaves Italians in constant good spirits.

As opposed to Americans, who champion their country as the greatest in the world because “it just is,” Italians actually have facts to back up their claims. A number of daily habits, customs and institutions are contributing factors to the country’s high standard of living.

Bear in mind that despite its problems, Italy has the world’s eighth largest economy, which is also third largest in the Eurozone.

It can and should be considered a ‘rich’ country.

According to the latest World Health Organization Statistics, life expectancy in Italy is 80.3 years for males and 85.2 years for females, and total life expectancy is 82.9 years, which lists Italy as fourth in World Life Expectancy ranking. Italians are also very healthy. “Viva l’Italia e gli Italiani,” which means “long live Italy and the Italians,” is true now more than ever.

Additionally, Italy beats the

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Without an overarching focus on productivity, Italians enjoy many health and political benefits.

United States in virtually every major health category, including life expectancy and infant mortality. It has, along with every other civilized nation except the United States, a system of universal health care coverage that invariably improves living standards across the board.

Not only is basic access to superb Italian doctors affordable to all, but cost control and subsidy measures are in place for extras including necessary medications, prescriptions and surgeries. So, in short, Italians will not go broke if they fall sick and will not carry a heavy financial burden in order to

stay healthy.

Differences in Italian and American health care systems are obvious but they come from decisions usually made by politicians. Italian values and American values have similarities on an individual level.

In the end, Italians want to enjoy life to the fullest, a desire American culture seems to devalue at the expense of productivity.

The average workweek for Italians is slightly shorter, and theyhave far more vacation time, as well as mandated employer-paid family and maternity leave.

Some philosophize that leisure is the basis of advancement, inno-

vation and arguably happiness. It also can lead to less stress and a lower risk of heart attack and heart disease, among other ailments.

Furthermore, the Italian “pissolino” or “siesta” as they call it in Spain (a short, mid-afternoon nap) has proven to have short and long-term health benefits for its devotees.

In short, Italians have an increased alertness and productivity, which leads to a reduction in the number of mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34 per-

cent and alertness by 100 percent.

In the long-term, it can help combat memory loss, prevent caffeine dependency and foster creativity, although this is less conclusive.

Undeniably, Italians have a tremendous passion for wine-ing and dining well. “Life is too short for average meals,” they say. Studies have proven the wonders of a Mediterranean diet’s for one’s health and longevity. This includes, but is not limited to, lower risk of stroke, developing certain types of cancers, heart disease, type two diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

GMO’s in Italy? They do not exist. Fast food? It is few and far between. Fast food resturants are very often concentrated in tourist areas because Italians, on the whole, view the concept as contrary to what dining is supposed to be all about: the time of day when you unwind with good company or loved ones, and celebrate life and the fruit of your labors. Food is a religion in these parts, and it is for the better.

Am I saying Americans ought to abandon all of our customs and traditions and turn into Italy? Of course not. But we stand a lot to gain from incorporating what they seem to have gotten right as a necessary complement to what makes America an exceptional nation.

Just as we have greatly benefited from the Italians through their pioneering architecture, design, cooking, fashion, romance and sport, it has come time to follow suit in bringing a little more “dolce” to the American apple pie.

Review | Food

The Value of Food: Green Planet Exhibit at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

By VICTORIA BORKOWSKI STAFF WRITER

Have you ever wondered how scientists at NASA develop ways to grow food aboard space shuttles? How about where the “ugly” potatoes and tomatoes go when they arrive in supermarkets? Forget everything you thought you knew about the food in your pantry.

“The Value of Food: Sustaining a Green Planet” is a must-see installation that depicts an often ignored and frightening truth behind where our food comes from.

The exhibit is featured in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a New York City landmark worthy of visiting on its own. Throughout its installations placed thematically within the bays and chapels of the cathedral, the exhibit begs the ultimate question: can the way we produce and sell food sustain life for our growing populations?

“The Value of Food” features the work of environmental artists and activists. Besides their paintings, photographs and multimedia pieces in various chapels

COURTESY OF FLICKR

The origin of the food people eat is an important concern for consumer’s health and the well-being of the environment.

of the cathedral, the site-specific, interactive works are thought provoking to say the least.

An artificial skeleton of a large extinct bird stands on the main altar of the cathedral — a power-

ful representation of the fleeting nature of life and of the species we take for granted. A pyramid of soil ingots resembling bars of solid gold stands illuminated within an alcove of the church aisle.

The exhibit is organized according to several themes pertaining to the process of food production: water, soil, seed, farm, market, meal and waste.

But besides these areas of the

exhibit, viewers have the chance to observe works of the most prominent land artists and documentary filmmakers like land artist Mel Chin.

Taking on the role of curator and artist of the exhibit, Chin’s “Revival Field Reliquary” features a mini-version of his famous project “Revival Field,” a series of circular gardens in the center of a hazardous waste landfill that he has since been developing within landfills around the world.

Despite the evidence he offers of the toxicity within such landfills, the plants he chose to grow in these areas have been thriving since his first installation of the work in Minnesota in 1991.

Chin’s work, along with the countless other installations, “The Value of Food” offers hope to its viewers. Most importantly, the exhibit thoughtfully revisits the meaning behind the building block of not only human life but of our ever-changing society. Furthermore, it teaches one to notice the process behind growing, harvesting, marketing and selling our food — a lesson worthy of attention.

CULTURE

March 30, 2016

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Review | New York City

DUMBO: A Bustling Neighborhood Found Between Two Bridges

By ELIZABETH SMISLOVA CULTURE EDITOR

Brooklyn is the most populated borough in New York City, which makes its diversity and liveliness a given. It is quite a trek from Rose Hill, though, and the multitude of amazing places to go can be intimating. If you are a greenhorn to Brooklyn, or just looking for a foolproof place with good food and sights to explore this weekend, DUMBO Brooklyn has something to offer to everyone.

DUMBO is located on the water in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The easiest and fastest way to get there from Rose Hill is from Grand Central (use the city ticket on the Metro North on weekends for a halfprice ticket), where you can take the 4 train (Lexington Avenue Express) to Fulton Street, then the A train (8 Avenue Express) to High Street Station. The best part of the DUMBO area is closer to the water, which is about a five min-

ANDREA GARCIA / THE FORDHAM RAM

DUMBO, a popular Brooklyn neighborhood, is sure to entertain visitors with impressive views and delectable eats.

ute walk from the subway—just remember that the water is downhill.

Besides the spectacular view of the Freedom Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, East River and the Statue of Liberty in the distance, DUMBO is home to TripAdvisor’s rated best pizza in the United States: Juliana’s Pizza. The restaurant serves slices of heaven and is

located right next to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (there is history between the two, but basically Juliana’s is the real Grimaldi’s). There is usually a line, our wait was forty-five minutes, but it was worth it. To start, we got the arugula salad with goat cheese and walnuts that made a strict junk-food-eater lick the plate. We then split a

large margarita pizza—it is that good—and savored every bite.

The bill was cheaper than Tino’s on Arthur Avenue and my mouth waters thinking about it. If you’re sick of pizza from late night Pugsley’s runs, Shake Shack is also on the same block and offers the Chicken Shack sandwich (because Brooklyn is even trendier

than Manhattan).

If you’re feeling extra adventurous and want some beautiful photo ops, the stairs to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge are easy to find. If you can, do it while the sun is setting for on incredible view. Regardless, you have to stay in DUMBO until it gets dark because the city lights up and reflects on the water.

While admiring the amazing view, be sure to grab some ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory in the former fireboat house.

Everything is made in-house in small batches, so the flavors are limited but delicious. I got the coffee chocolate chip, which was insanely good. Then, walk towards the Manhattan Bridge to see a signature filming spot in “Gossip Girl” (cue Kristen Bell’s voice) and have a life changing cappuccino from One Girl Cookies. Their cookies are tiny but melt-in-your-mouth good and definitely worth the belt loosening after the pizza and ice cream—you can walk it off on the uphill haul back to the subway!

Theater | Claire Del Sorbo

Food | Allison Russo

12 Years a Slave Star, Lupita Nyong’o Takes the Broadway Stage

Taim Restaurant: A Falafel Find That Won’t Break the Bank

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o tugged at the heart strings of audiences in her harrowing performance as the young slave girl, Patsey, in 12 Years a Slave.

It made us weep for the former state of the world and how Africans and African-Americans have endured so much injustice over the course of their history.

It was upsetting, shocking and, in a way, empowering.

Her performance in “Eclipsed” on Broadway is not much different. In a drama written by Danai Gurira, better known to most as Michonne on “The Walking Dead,” and directed by Liesl Tommy, Nyong’o portrays a nameless woman, simply referred to as “the Girl,” who represents the face of all the women who endured the hardships of the Liberian Civil Wars.

The play is set in Liberia sometime in the late 1990s, taking place in a sparsely furnished room where four women live to serve as sex slaves to a commanding officer of a rebel faction. They sleep on thin sheets and survive on irregular meals.

Their one purpose is to sleep with the commanding officer, commonly known as the C.O., and his soldiers.

They have names, but they refer to themselves and each other as what their captor assigns them: usually numbers such as “Wife Number One” or “Number One,” serving as a powerful symbol of their dehumanization, made even more apparent by their self-alienation.

Helena, the first wife (Saycon Sengbloh), is the maternal figure of the brothel. Bessie (Pas-

cale Armand), the third wife, is a cheerful woman carrying a baby.

Maima (Zainab Jah), the second wife, has disappeared from the camp to join the rebels.

When Nyong’o’s character, the Girl, wanders into the camp after fleeing violence in her own village, two of the women attempt to hide her in a rubber tub. Much to their horror, the C.O. discovers her, rapes her and effectively makes her the fourth wife.

The plot revolves around the Girl’s decision to either remain complacent in her oppression as a wife of the C.O., like the two remaining wives have done, or to forge her own destiny and become a soldier like Maima. She is naive, young and unsophisticated, but she is not dumb.

She understands that, in this society, women are the first to experience the man-made horrors of war, since they are politically powerless. However, she realizes that they must draw upon moral assets such as strength, dignity and compassion to counter the senseless violence caused by the wars without giving up their humanity.

While Gurira makes the Girl’s fate at the end of the play unknown, she leaves with a message that encourages women to defend their honor and rights not only as humans, but as women, a message that is empowering for all women – especially women of color.

“Eclipsed” magnifies the adversities faced by Liberian women.

Its recent place and time serves as a disturbingly grim reminder that we still have a long way to go in order to achieve equality for women, not only in the Western world, but everywhere.

LARRY CROWE / AP

Taim is a popular and affordable New York City lunch spot known for flavor-packed falafel.

Falafel is the ultimate street food in New York City. And while I’m always up for a late-night Halal Guys bite on the way home, one of my favorite NYC lunch spots is Taim. For a couple of extra dollars, you get a high-quality, flavor-packed falafel sandwich at this bustling spot.

Taim markets itself as a falafel and smoothie bar, with locations in Nolita and the West Village.

Both storefronts have limited seating and are definitely “grab and go” types of places. I would recommend checking it out on a sunny day and having lunch outdoors. They also have a food truck, Taim Mobile, which rotates between FiDi, Flatiron and West SoHo during the week— perfect for a midday work lunch!

Everything on the menu is vegetarian, but the amazing sandwiches will make both meatlovers and veggie fanatics believe that a better falafel is possible. To add to the deliciousness, all of the homemade falafel is gluten

free, and the produce is locally sourced when possible.

The falafel sandwiches here are definitely a little fancier than the standard halal cart. At the legendary Halal Guys, the options are pretty much limited to white sauce or hot sauce. Taim has taken things to the next level and offers three flavors: green, red and Harissa. Green is the traditional version, made with parsley, cilantro and mint. If you’re looking for something a little spicier, try the Harissa, made with Tunisian spices, or the red flavor, which is falafel mixed with roasted red peppers. Every sandwich also comes with plenty of hummus, Israeli salad and tahini.

Mix it up by adding toppings like mango chutney, homemade hot sauce and feta cheese. Since I’m a falafel purist, I recommend keeping things simple but flavorful with the green falafel on whole wheat pita, topped with a dash of hot sauce and extra tahini.

If you’re not a huge fan of

falafel, Taim has a number of amazing salads and side dishes. If you’re being a little less health-conscious, I definitely recommend the house made french fries, which are served with a super tasty saffron aioli. The fried eggplant is also an incredibly tasty way to eat your veggies. If you are trying to eat healthy, the salads are packed with good stuff like kale, quinoa and almonds, and you’ll want to put the homemade lemonmint dressing on everything.

For an afternoon snack, Taim’s smoothies are the perfect pickme-up. You can choose from their signature menu or create your own concoction. For something refreshing, I recommend the strawberry, raspberry and Thai basil smoothie.

You can add things like soy milk, wheatgrass and vitamin C for an extra boost.

A falafel sandwich and a fountain drink at Taim costs just under $10, so it really is an affordable NYC lunch spot. The next time you’re downtown, pop by for a healthy and satisfying bite.

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March 30, 2016

Who’s That Kid? | It’s Lorenzo Obeso GSB ‘18

Student with Passion for Business Comes to the Big Apple to Make a Big Change

By ZACK MIKLOS BUSINESS DIRECTOR

“Our world needs more people that do what they love to do.”

This simple, yet inspirational thought comes from one standout sophomore here at Fordham.

His name is Lorenzo Obeso, GSB ‘18, and he is an entrepreneur.

Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, Enzo, as he is commonly called, travelled quite a distance to come to Fordham.

He decided to attend for three specific reasons. He is passionate about business, he wants to be in New York City and he identifies closely with the university’s Jesuit values.

Enzo is planning on majoring in finance, and he is involved in several campus activities. First and foremost, he is a mentor to fifteen freshman students through the Compass Fellowship.

“I help them incorporate their passions into a profession that can positively impact society,” he said. He is also actively involved in the entrepreneurship society on campus.

While Enzo’s involvement on campus is admirable, it only brushes the surface of who he truly is. He has a profound ability to innovate and apply his knowledge and experience to support those

COURTESY OF LORENZO OBESO

Lorenzo brings together his passions for creativity and business in his company, which is releasing a multipurpose backpack.

in need. This is most clearly exemplified in Ventir, the creative outlook company he founded last year.

Enzo’s childhood played a key role in his ventures. “When I grew up, I had many creative outlooks — I enjoyed playing the violin and soccer. In high school, I

stumbled upon music production and got really into photography.

I then began getting really serious about school and was able to get a good internship at a private equity search fund. I began really focusing on business, but wasn’t able to incorporate my creative outlooks. So I decided to create a

company that would incorporate both.”

His company releases its first product in the coming weeks. It is a backpack designed for adventurers, photographers and other people who are enthusiastic about incorporating creativity into physical activity.

It will have separate compartments with magnetic locks, making it very easy to store a camera or any other creative tool.

Enzo hopes to make a social impact with his ideas. “When I pitched my idea to Kenneth Cole at the end of my freshman year, part of my idea was that a portion of the profits will be donated to Gear to Dream, which partners with orphanages to give impoverished kids supplies and sports equipment,” he said.

Gear to Dream is a non-profit organization that Enzo started when he was a junior in high school. He explained that the mission of his company was to “help people incorporate their passions into what they do every day.” Enzo emphasized how the mission is vague, but he designed it that way.

One guiding principle for his company is the idea that, “we need more people that pursue their passions.” A restrictive mission statement, like a career that it not aligned with one’s passions, would likely limit the company’s potential.

Enzo wants to change the world. “I want to find the right resources, find the right people who need those resources, and find easier ways for these people to get them, changing their lives in the process,” he said.

Editor’s Pick | Music

Chocolate and Cheese by Ween Demonstrates a Unique Attitude in Music

By SAM BELDEN SPORTS EDITOR

The band Ween is best-known for releasing The Mollusk, which is probably the finest example of nautical-themed prog in existence.

Its members, Dean and Gener Ween, were the masterminds behind the iconic “Loop de Loop,” the song that taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes in that classic episode.

Before all of that however, came their 1994 release Chocolate and Cheese, an album that is as hilarious and musically mesmerizing as it is diverse.

After recording their first three albums in their basement, Ween moved to a professional studio for Chocolate and Cheese, and the results are apparent right from the first track. “Take Me Away,” an uptempo blues rocker, features higher production values than any of their previous songs, and this level is maintained for the rest of the album.

They put the new equipment to good use, utilizing it to record some of the best songs on the Ween catalog. The third track, “Freedom of ‘76,” is the first to truly stand out.

Gener, doing his best Eddie

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Ween’s 1994 album features a plethora of genres that demonstrate the band’s incredible repertoire of musical styles.

Kendricks impression, unleashes a startlingly authentic-sounding falsetto performance and successfully creates a Motown vibe, even while singing of Philadelphia favorites like the “Liberty Bell” and “Boyz II Men.” The next track marks a dramatic shift in tone. “I Can’t Put My Fin-

ger On It” is a grungy guitar-fest accompanied by Gener’s muffled vocals and interludes that include some fascinating sound effects, including seagull calls.

These interludes pave the way to the band’s progressive future.

The fifth track, “A Tear for Eddie,” is a straightlaced instrumen-

tal homage to the late Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic fame, while “Roses Are Free” is a fun track featuring strong performances from both members.

The second half of the album also provides plenty of great music. The aggressive blues riffs of “Voodoo Lady” makes it an espe-

cially entertaining number, while the closer, “What Deaner Was Talkin’ About,” is one of rock music’s most pleasant drifts off into dreamland of the ’90s.

Chocolate and Cheese features plenty of mighty performances, but the really notable thing about the album is its diversity. Listening to just one song is not even close to enough to get a clear picture of what the band is trying to do with the album.

Ween is not trying to perfect a style of music, but an attitude — an attitude of being irreverent and witty while also letting loose and having a good time. Gener and Deaner experiment with a variety of genres in order to do this, from punk to pop and from prog to soul.

Some of Ween’s other albums, such as GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, The Mollusk and White Pepper are comparable to Chocolate and Cheese, but none can claim to be such a diverse tapestry of different genres.

Through it all, they maintain the distinctive mood that characterizes their entire discography. If you are looking for something different with expert musicianship in a variety of different styles, look no further than Chocolate and Cheese.

March 30, 2016

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March 30, 2016

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March 30, 2016

Page 15

Track Opens Spring Season Strong

By ALEXANDRIA SEDLAK STAFF WRITER

The Fordham men’s and women’s track and field teams started their outdoor season this past weekend in Virginia, competing in the Fred Hardy Invitational held at the University of Richmond. The Rams had some stellar performances, with one event win and many top 10 finishes.

Many of the Fordham women finished in the top 10. Sophomore Stephanie Leo came in second in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:43.01, while freshman Laurel Fisher came in sixth with a time of 12:05.3. Many also competed in the 3000m race. Freshman Kate McCormack placed 4th with a time of 10:31.09, junior Shanna Heaney placed fifth with a time of 10:34.31 and senior Rachel Picard placed sixth with a time of 10:36.25. Sophomore Brynna Harum placed seventh with a time of 10:36.81 and junior Josephine Jacob-Dolan placed eighth with a time of 10:37.47.

Heaney also finished ninth in the 1500m with a time of 4:43.32.

Graduate student Brianna Tevnan

placed fourth in the 5000m with a time of 18:33.86. Freshman Mary Kate Kenny came in sixth in the 100m race with a time of 12.64.

Senior Danielle Rowe competed in the 400m run and came in seventh with a time of 57.45. Finally, freshman Morgan Menzzasalma came in fourth in the 400m hurdles with a finishing time of 1:05.10.

The men’s side also had a number of top 10 finishes. Sophomore Louis Santelli came in third in the 1500m with a time of 3:58.37.

Freshman Sean Phillips came in third in the 800m with a time of 1:56.01, also finishing eighth in the 1500m with a time of 4:03.82.

Freshman Jordan Allen finished fourth in the 200m run with a time of 21.87, and also came in ninth in the 100m run with a time of 11.15. Sophomore Fritz Heinrich finished fifth in both the 800m with a 1:57.78 time and in the 1500m with a 3:59.99 time.

Sophomore Michael Campbell placed sixth in the 800m with a time of 1:58.00. Freshman Patrick Dineen finished eighth in the 3000m with a 9:16.21 time. Finally, junior Ryan McGann finished

ninth in the 1500m race with a time of 4:03.90.

Besides the top 10 finishers, there was an event winner and four relay teams that showed great success.

Junior Jake Duckworth took the first place title in the 5000m with a finishing time of 15:15.61.

There were two women relay teams, the 4x400 A team and the 4x400 B team. The B team was composed of all freshmen, Elizabeth Morisseau, Aidan Moroz, McCormack and Laurel Fisher, who came in sixth place with a time of 4:03.41. The A team, which took second place with a time of 3:56.20, consisted of Kenny, Heaney, Menzzasalma and Rowe.

The men’s relays ran the 4x800 race, and both the A and B team had successful results. The B team, which came in third with a time of 8:11.50, consisted of Campbell, Dineen, Duckworth and Heinrich. The A team, composed of graduate student Jonathan Annelli, sophomore Brian Cook, sophomore Nikolas O’Brien and senior Quincy O’Connor, took the first place position with a fin-

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The men’s and women’s track teams traveled to Richmond this past weekend.

ishing time of 7:56.20.

The Rams turned in a solid performance at the Fred Hardy Invitational. Proud of its start to the 2016 outdoor season, the team is looking forward to working

harder and competing in the upcoming meets.

The teams return to action this weekend, April 1 and 2, competing in the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Crew Notches Two Gold Finishes

By TOM TERZULLI STAFF WRITER

It was one meet in the books and two gold finishes for the rowing team. In their first appearance of the spring season in the 34th annual Murphy Cup Regatta on Saturday, the Women’s Varsity 8 and Men’s Lightweight 4 took home the gold. That coupled with several other solid performances, made for the quite the optimistic debut in Philadelphia.

The Varsity 8 was utterly dominant all day long. They took their heat with a time of 6:42.67, nearly seven seconds faster than second place finisher Holy Cross and way ahead of Lehigh, Hamilton and La Salle.

Competition was much fiercer in the Grand Final in the form of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, winners of the fourth heat with a time only a second slower than that of the Rams. The two boats were neck and neck all the way to the finish line, but Fordham was able to outlast the Scarlet Knights by 2.18 seconds for a final course time of 6:43.92. Following Rutgers were Bates, Temple, Navy and Drexel, with none really posing a threat to the first and second place finishers.

The Rams qualified for one other Grand Final in the Junior Varsity 8. Fordham easily coasted past Connecticut, Villanova, Buffalo B and Delaware B in the first heat, posting a 6:56.31 time. Working out of lane 3, the Rams placed fourth in the final in 7:02.64, ahead of George Washington by 11 tenths of a second.

Fordham could not get past St. Joseph’s, Temple and Navy A, who raced the two fastest times in the Junior Varsity in their heat and gold finish.

Two Ram boats participated in the Varsity 4 with Fordham A taking third in Heat 4, in front of Buffalo and Lehigh B and behind

ANDREA GARCIA/THE FORDHAM RAM

Temple A and La Salle A. Fordham B did not fare as well, taking last in Heat 5, finishing a full eight seconds behind the next best La Salle B. Finally in Novice 8 action, the Fordham boat finished in the fifth and final spot in Heat 1, reaching the finish in 8:10.47.

In men’s action, the men’s lightweight 4 A squad were the stars of the day, blowing past NY Maritime, Temple, La Salle and Fordham B in 6:54.50, close to seven seconds ahead of Maritime. The only other male event was the Varsity 4 with the Rams garnering a third place finish in the first heat, finishing in front of Loyola A and Drexel for a time of 6:59.15. Virginia B and Colgate took the top spots, separated by just seven tenths of a second.

With two golds in their back pocket, Fordham travels to sunny San Diego, California this weekend to take part in the San Diego Crew Classic on April 2 and 3.

At the 34th annual Murphy Cup Regatta the Varsity 8 was dominant, winning both of their heats easily.

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Sam Belden Jason Day: Golf’s Top Dog Prior to this season, you might have believed that Jason Day was the least among equals in golf ’s new Big Three. After all, Rory McIlroy has won four majors in his career, and Jordan Spieth was coming off a 2015 season in which he took five events, including the Masters and the U.S. Open. Meanwhile, it took Day a long time to learn how to close on the PGA Tour, and last summer’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits remains his only major title.

That narrative has changed significantly over the past two weeks.

Day has been playing some absolutely outstanding golf, logging back-to-back wins at a pair of venerated tournaments, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGCDell Match Play. The Aussie has risen to the top spot in the world rankings, holding a healthy lead over Spieth, and he’s now won six events in his last 13 starts, a positively absurd run.

Spieth and McIlroy, on the other hand, have seen their share of struggles over the past few weeks. All things considered, both are playing well, but doubts exist about both men as they prepare for the Masters next week. Spieth has looked fatigued at times in 2016, and he’s been signing for more poor rounds than usual. In interviews, he’s sounded frustrated, acknowledging various mechanical problems but sounding unsure of how to fi x them. McIlroy has been pretty good (he finished fourth at the Match Play) though not dominant, as he’s trying to adjust to a new putting stroke.

There are no such doubts about Day. While the others have cooled off, he has continued to heat up.

There is no disputing that Spieth had a superior 2015 season, but it’s also undeniable that Day has been better over the past six months. Since last August, he has accumulated more wins than his fellow Big Three members combined. While 2016 has seen a kind of resurgence for the PGA Tour’s 30-something stars, he has maintained a stellar level of play.

The fact that Day has bagged only a single major in his career still looms large, but the Masters is just around the corner. He’ll be the odds-on favorite at Augusta National next week and if he keeps hitting the ball like he has been, he could win it going away. He’s seen some Masters success in the past — he was co-runner up in 2011 and notched a solo third in 2013.

That experience, along with his current form, puts him at the top of the shortlist, above past champions like Bubba Watson and Adam Scott, both of whom have enjoyed fantastic seasons so far.

Once regarded as a talented player who simply couldn’t win, Day has shed that reputation and is now the frontrunner to win the most coveted prize in golf: a green jacket. If he pulls it off, he’ll still be trailing McIlroy in the major count, but he will cement his status as the top player in the world.

Day’s day at the Masters may finally be approaching.

March 30, 2016

Senior Profile | Rachel Picard

Drew Casey

By ALEXANDRIA SEDLAK STAFF WRITER

Rachel Picard is a senior on the Fordham track and field team. She runs mid-distance for track, usually the mile for indoor and the 1500m for outdoor. She is double majoring in humanitarian studies and sociology.

The Fordham Ram: How did you feel about this season?

Rachel Picard: I was really happy with my own and the team’s performance in the cross country season in the fall. We all worked so hard together and definitely pushed and helped each other during the races.

We kept a close pack in most races which was great. The indoor season was tough for me personally as I came back from an injury I got at the end of the XC season, but towards the end of the season, I was happy to be racing again. I was also really excited for our teams who competed in indoor ECACs last week.

TFR: Anything you are looking forward to for the team for the spring season?

RP: I am so excited for the spring season. The entire team is together and it’s such a nice change to be outside after a long winter on the indoor track. I’m excited for the Mets Championships, where everyone is able to compete, and then for A-10s at the end because it’s such an exciting and important meet.

TFR: Even though running is generally a solo sport, would you say the team plays an important role for you?

RP: The team is definitely my favorite part of running at Fordham.

I would dread the hard workouts if I didn’t have such a great mid-distance and distance group to work with. So, they play the most important role for me, because they make it easier to push through the really rough days and make it a lot more fun.

TFR: How would you describe your experience on this team over the past few years?

RP: I have loved getting to know my teammates and getting to run with them. As I said before, they’re the most important part of my time running here and have helped me improve as an athlete (and person) so much. There were of course times when sleeping in or having a full break would have been nice, but overall I have loved traveling

Orange Madness

COURTESY OF RACHEL PICARD

Rachel Picard is in the midst of her final spring season for the Rams.

and competing with my team. It has been my biggest commitment at Fordham, but one I am so grateful for and have really enjoyed.

TFR: What ultimately guided your decision to come to Fordham all those years ago?

RP: I was looking for a different experience from my high school, which was a boarding school in rural New Hampshire. I wanted something different in terms of wanting to be a part of a larger community in college, and I also wanted to experience living in a big city.

TFR: Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently during your running career?

RP: I would probably have taken the possibility of injury more seriously, and done better rehab over the summers. I have struggled with bone injuries, and although some of that is no one’s fault, I do wish I had worked on more prevention and strength over the summer breaks.

TFR: What is your favorite memory from your four years on the team?

RP: My favorite memory is from this year’s XC A-10 meet in the fall.

I was worried I was getting another injury, and I found out shortly afterward that I was correct, but it was a great trip. We were so close personally as a team, and we actually ran close together throughout the race.

I felt so fortunate to have such a sup-

portive and strong team who could make the stress of A-10s into such a fun time. On the bus, hanging out at the hotel, and preparing for the meet was all a lot so much fun, and definitely one of my favorite races.

TFR: Looking forward, do you see running as a part of your future?

What are your future plans?

RP: I’ll definitely continue to run for as long as I can, but not as competitively as I have in college. I’m hoping to run a marathon with my dad after I take a bit of break from running after graduation. I am hoping (and applying) to spend a few years in service, such as the Peace Corps or Teach for America. Then, I have no idea yet.

TFR: What is one thing you would like to tell your teammates, as well as prospective runners, about how Fordham has shaped you as a person and as an athlete?

RP: I am really grateful to be part of this community and could never have pushed through the challenges of competing over the past four years without them. If you really love to run, to compete, and to be a part of a team, then I think that being on a formal running team could be a really wonderful experience and make you a much better runner.

I hope I leave Fordham as a kinder and more aware person than I was when I arrived, and as a stronger athlete.

Women’s Tennis Heats Up

By ANDREA GARCIA PHOTO EDITOR

While Fordham fans left campus to celebrate spring break, Women’s Tennis travelled south to Orlando, Florida to face off against Quinnipiac University, the University of Rhode Island and Bethune- Cookman University. The team returned to campus with three more wins under its belt.

The weekend opened up with a matchup against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. While the Bobcats took two doubles wins against the Rams, the women had four standout singles wins. In first and second singles, Mayu Sato and Estelle Wong won in two-set matches of 6-2, 6-4 and 6-0, 4-2, respectively.

Hannah Drayton and Alexis Zobeideh came out on top in triple set matches. Zobeideh finished first with a 6-1, 4-6, 10-6 decision.

Drayton took the fourth and final

singles win in 6-4, 3-6 and 10-7 sets.

After rallying with the University of Rhode Island, the Rams swept the court in all three doubles matches. They continued the day to take the six singles wins in two set rounds each.

In their lineup against BethuneCookman, Fordham’s three doubles teams challenged their opponents. In singles play, Estelle Wong moved up to first singles, but was ultimately defeated 6-4, 6-2. Sato, Drayton, Grunin and Insogna took each of their singles points against the Wildcats in quick two set matches of 6-3, 6-2 (Sato); 6-2, 6-0 (Drayton); 6-1, 6-0 (Grunin); and 7-5, 6-1 (Insogna). Zobeideh lost the fifth singles match in three close sets of 5-7, 6-4, and 1-0 (104).

The Rams then returned to Rose Hill to host the University of Albany. Although the team lost to the

Great Danes, 2-5, there were two standout performances by Captain Estelle Wong and Mayu Sato. Wong and Sato teamed up in first doubles to take the win against Paulina Torres and Dajana Ognjenovic in a 7-6 (7-3) match. Both went on to play a component of their opposing doubles team. In first singles, Wong defeated Paulina Torres, 6-1, 6-4. Sato took the second singles win against Dajana Ognjenovic in repeat sets of 6-2, 6-2.

The women are progressing forward in their spring schedule, which culminates with the A-10 Championship in April. On Wednesday, March 30, they will travel to play at the metropolitan campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.

On Saturday, the team will travel on to Pittsburgh for a showdown against Duquesne before returning home to play the NYIT Bears the following day.

They call it March Madness for a reason.

Northern Iowa hitting a halfcourt buzzer beater. Yale taking down Baylor. Texas A&M winning in double overtime, despite being down 12 with 44 seconds remaining in the second half. And now a 10 seed, Syracuse, in the Final Four.

To any college basketball fan, it’s difficult to understand how the Orange have reached the pinnacle of college basketball, which will take place this weekend in Houston.

Syracuse finished the regular season at 19-12 overall and 9-9 in the ACC, enough to tie for ninth in the conference. In the conference tournament, the Orange were downed by Pittsburgh in the round preceding the quarterfinals. To make matters worse, the program was trying to put 2015’s self-imposed postseason ban and other NCAA sanctions behind them.

Should the Orange have gotten into the NCAA Tournament with their pre-tournament resume?

No. But once you get in, whether based on reputation or true merit, anything can happen. Clearly, the Orange have embraced this as they’ve taken care of their first four opponents, winning by a combined 53 points.

It’s no secret as to how the former Big East power has been able to succeed on college basketball’s biggest stage. Head coach Jim Boeheim’s patented 2-3 zone has forced pressure and stymied opposing offenses, holding them to below 37 percent from the field and just above 34 percent from three point range.

The Orange have also dominated on the offensive glass, collecting 51 offensive rebounds and outscoring opponents 50-30 in second chance points. Junior Tyler Roberson has accounted for 22 of the offensive boards.

Graduate student Michael Gbinije has led the offense, averaging 16 points in the NCAA Tournament, but Roberson’s high school teammate, freshman Malachi Richardson, has also come up huge for the Orange. The New Jersey native is pouring in nearly 15 per contest in the Big Dance, but totaled a career-high 23 in the team’s Elite 8 win over Virginia.

Does Syracuse’s performance thus far validate their selection into the field of 68? No. Do I think Syracuse, a 9.5 point underdog late Sunday, stands a chance against North Carolina on Saturday? Not at all. Once again, the Orange will be the underdogs.

If these two teams met three weeks ago, I would have taken Roy Williams’ bunch to win by at least 25. But with Boeheim and the way Otto’s Army is playing right now, you never know. We’ll have to wait and see if the magic continues in Houston this weekend.

Say what you will, but March Madness, the greatest annual multi-day sporting event in the world, continues to outdo itself.

SPORTS

March 30, 2016

Page 17

MLB Hits Home Run With Cuba Exhibition

By MATTHEW MICHAELS STAFF WRITER

If the entire Obama family is at an event, it is obviously a momentous occasion. Thus, the baseball game that the First Family attended on March 22 was more than a mere exhibition game between a national team and a MLB club fine-tuning before opening day.

For the first time since 1999, a Major League club played ball on Cuban soil, a sign of warming relations between America and Cuba 55 years after the former cut diplomatic ties with the latter. The Cuban National team lost 4-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Estadio Latinoamerica, but the significance of the game could not be held in a box score.

At the game in Havana, President Obama sat beside Cuban President Raul Castro, making Obama the first sitting American leader to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

In the 88 years since, Cuba has gone through massive transformations, rejected capitalism and furthered itself from an American identity. Through all of the change the island nation has seen, baseball has always been a constant, a source of pride and spirit.

In the spring of 1947, Jackie Robinson was preparing to make his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and break MLB’s color barrier. Instead of playing Spring Training in the team’s usual location of Jim Crow-era Daytona Beach, Florida, the Dodgers spent the pre-season in Havana to protect Robinson from racial taunts and threats. Jackie’s widow, Rachel Robinson, traveled with the president to Cuba to return to the same ballpark in which she watched her husband play 69 years earlier. In a time of need, Cuba embraced Robinson and other black American baseball players. Similarly, it is now time for the United States to use baseball as diplomacy and help Cuba as the two countries improve

relations.

Baseball is truly an international game and as Commissioner Rob Manfred suggested at the exhibition game, it is MLB’s responsibility to strengthen and develop the game across the world. Manfred sees international expansion of the MLB in the future and mentioned Cuba as a possibility. Considering the cold shoulder these two nations shared as recently as last year, it seems incredulous to think that a major American sports league could come to Cuba, but so is the power of baseball.

Cubans currently make up a notso-insignificant portion of all MLB players. The league has a stake in diplomatic relations that could make it easier and safer for young players from Cuba to come to America, eliminating the current archaic and unethical method of defecting. Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Aroldis Chapman are some examples of extremely popular Cuban major leaguers. The MLB would like to continue to make strides for a more convenient relationship. With the love Cubans have for baseball, the sport could also be a driving factor in political discussions.

Eduardo Perez, former player and son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez, was one of the analysts for the game on ESPN. He mentioned how his father came to America from Cuba in 1960, shortly after Fidel Castro took over politically. Perez also discussed how important baseball is for Cuba and the impact that it can have on Cuban-US relations.

Derek Jeter, Dave Winfield and Joe Torre were also at the game, but not merely as a symbolic gesture. They are major ambassadors for, and faces of baseball. Major League Baseball is dedicated to the improvement of the sport and will not stop until every child has access to a bat and glove. If that means they will lead the way to a lift on a half-century old embargo, even better.

By JACK McLOONE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Have you ever watched baseball with someone who has an encyclopedic memory of the golden ages of the sport? If you haven’t, I recommend it. Baseball, more than any other sport, is majorly reliant on its history and mythos as part of the spectacle and allure of the game.

This is often the reason why many, like the maligned Goose Goosage, feel the need to protect the old ways, but that’s a whole other discussion.

This is about acquiring a different appreciation for the game. I’ve always loved baseball, a love that grew exponentially during my high school years. It’s certainly not for everyone, but once you get into it, it’s easy to get hooked. The major reason for this hold on me is my dad.

My father turned 68-years-old this past February. Being that old, he was actually a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Naturally, he was heartbroken when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1957. But he was starved for baseball, especially since the thought of being a Yankee fan was nauseating. He stayed devoted to the Dodgers for a time, even listening to late-night broadcasts done by Nat Allbright, who would receive basic transmissions of the games (nothing more than “fly out to right”) and would extrapolate them into a full play-by-play.

But then it was 1962, and the New York Metropolitans came to town. My father was 14-years-old.

And just like that, he had a new favorite team and is a true original Mets fan. He lasted through their dismal inaugural season, during which the Mets went 40-120, the worst season in MLB history. “But Jack,” you may say. “The MLB season is 162 games. They only played 160.” Well here is the story, as my dad has told a million times: “The Mets that season had a few rainouts.

When it got down to the end of the season, the league decided, ‘Maybe just forget about those ones. We’ll spare everyone the trouble.’” And so the Mets managed to have the worst season on record without even playing a full 162.

For some reason, my dad stuck with them. Just seven years later, he got to witness the Amazin’s win

their first World Series in 1969. In 1986, they were at it again, with one of the most exciting World Series of all-time, featuring the famous groundball through the legs of Bill Buckner to win the Series for the Mets.

That brings us to last season and the near future. The Mets run in the second half of last season was the most excited I have seen my dad in my lifetime, and I was totally swept up in it as well, even as their run continued while I was on campus. While they stopped short of a World Series win, the hype for this team is at an all-time high.

So if there was any better time for my father, who has been a Mets fan since the very beginning, to go to spring training for the first time, this was as good a year as any. We flew down to Florida for five days, and saw three games in that span.

We saw Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz pitch. We saw David Wright hit an opposite field homerun despite his recent serious back issues. We watched Yoenis Cespedes forget that he could actually pick up a baseball sitting under the centerfield wall padding.

While the Mets didn’t perform well (Harvey was shelled in the first game, and in the other two, the Mets blew leads and ended up tying, the most beautiful part of spring train-

ing), it was incredible all the same.

Watching spring training baseball is much maligned by non-baseball fans, but for the baseball junky, there’s nothing better. Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie is no bigger than a minor league park, so there’s a certain intimacy to the game. And outside of the pure closeness of the game, there’s a sense of peaking behind the curtain. You’re watching a team begin to take shape and try to make a run, something you gain a better perspective of when watching the game with someone like my father.

My younger brother, who, along with my older sister, also went to the three games, is a great example of how one’s experience watching baseball can change for the better by doing it with a lifelong fan. My brother could not care less about baseball, and he was even talking about not attending all three games.

But there he was each game, just as caught up as the rest of us, due at least in part to the historical reference we had just a seat or two away.

Is baseball slow? Yes. But that just leaves room for the stories baseball holds. Next time you try to watch it, find someone that has enough experience to fill you in on those stories, and I’m sure you will fall in love with the sport as well, regardless of the game itself.

COURTESY OF JACK MCLOONE

The New York Mets will open their season next week against the Royals.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Thursday March 31

Richmond 4 p.m.

Baseball Softball Men’s Tennis Women’s Tennis Track Golf COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Jose Abreu is one of many Cuban stars in Major League Baseball.

Rowing

Friday April 1

Iona 3 p.m.

Saturday April 2

Sunday April 3

Richmond 2 p.m.

Richmond 12 p.m.

Monday April 4

Saint Joseph’s Saint Joseph’s 12 p.m.

12 p.m.

Yeshiva 12 p.m.

Hunter 10 a.m.

Duquesne 1 p.m.

NYIT 1 p.m.

Colonial Relays 9 a.m.

Lafayette Invitational San Diego Crew Classic

Tuesday April 5

Lehigh 4 p.m.

Wednesday April 6

Rutgers 3:30 p.m.

St. Bonaventure 3 p.m.

SPORTS

Page18

Anthony Pucik Wideman Case Sets Wrong Precedent Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman was originally suspended 20 games for delivering a check to the back of the head of linesmen Don Henderson in a game on Jan. 27. Wideman had just recently been checked violently to the ice and appeared to be out of sorts, but it did not stop him from aggressively hitting Henderson in the back, a check that we know now will keep the linesman out for the rest of the season. Wideman appealed the suspension, but it was upheld by the NHL on Feb. 17. However, independent arbitrator James Oldham felt differently on the matter, reducing Wideman’s suspension to 10 games this past Friday. This ruling by the independent arbitrator is particularly puzzling and concerning.

In his explanation, Oldham said the NHL did not substantially support its case against Wideman, saying the Flame’s defenseman had no intention to injure Henderson due to his concussed state. Wideman had already been suspended for 19 of the 20 games in his original suspension, and will get back $282,258 of salary he lost from the now nine extra games he missed.

The NHLPA is happy with Oldham’s decision, agreeing that Wideman’s concussed state played a role in his actions, while the NHL is not, saying the message to NHL players and its fans is that “the code of conduct towards officials has changed.” I am on the side of the NHL on this one. While it’s true that Wideman has been a clean player for 11 years in the league, actions of this nature cannot be condoned, especially towards an NHL official. Luckily, the NHL has Rule 40.2, which states a player will be suspended at least 20 games if he does one of three things, one being deliberately striking an official and causing injury. You can look at the video for yourself, but it seemed to me as if Wideman saw exactly who was in front of him and offered no hesitation to let up. In addition the hit has rendered Henderson out for the rest of the season, which is enough to say Wideman’s actions “caused an injury.”

Oldham’s argument is that Wideman could not have possibly intended to injure Henderson in his concussed state. Unfortunately, the other two stipulations of Rule 40.2 emphasize an intent to injure, which does work in Oldham’s ruling favor because he can argue that, while concussed, Wideman did not intend to injure Henderson and could not have possibly attempted to, but that shouldn’t mean that causing an injury to a defenseless official should be taken lightly.

I’m glad that Wideman was still given a 10-game suspension, showing that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. But, if a player who is hit hard on the ice proceeds to recklessly hit a player – or worse, another official – and then later cites concussion-like symptoms as the reason for his actions, Oldham’s ruling proves that players could possibly get away with cheap shots and dangerous hits, which is not the impression the NHL wants to portray to its officials or fans.

March 30, 2016

Varsity Scores & Stats Softball Fordham 5 UMass 3 (FOR) Van Hoven 3-3, RBI (FOR) Gillen 2-3, HR(1) UMass 3 Fordham 2 (MASS) Carbone 2-3, HR(2) (FOR) Mayer 1-3, RBI

5 2

Men’s Track Fred Hardy Invite

40th

5,000m (FOR) Duckworth 1st- 15:15.61

4x800m Fordham 1st- 7:56.20

Fordham 4 UMass 0 (FOR) Hughes 2-3, HR(1)

Men’s Golf Wildcat Invitational (FOR) Hayes- 14th

Women’s Tennis Albany Fordham

Women’s Rowing Murphy Cup Varisty 8- 1st 6:43.92

5 4

Fordham 10 NJIT 4 (FOR) McNally 3-3, 2 HR(5) (FOR) Knehr 1-1, HR(1) NJIT Fordham (NJIT) Halibej 1-3, 2 RBI

3 2

4x400m Fordham 2nd- 3:56.20

Fordham NJIT (FOR) McNally 1-3, RBI

2 0

300m Steeplechase (FOR) Leo 2nd- 11:43.01 (FOR) Fisher 6th- 12:05.3

Fordham NJIT (FOR) Donadio 1-3, run

3 1

Women’s Track Fred Hardy Invite

5th

Baseball NYIT Fordham (FOR) Runco 2-5, 4 RBI (NJIT) Mele 1-4, 2 RBI

Brendan O’Connell

34th

Athletes of the Week Jake Duckworth

Rachel Gillen

Junior

Graduate Student

Men’s Track

Softball

Duckwroth was the only Ram to win a solo event at the Fred Hardy invitational. His time of 15:15.61in the 5,000m gave was only one-tenth of a second faster than his opponent.

Duckworth was also a member of the victorious 4x800 relay team, who won with a time of 7:56.20.

Gillen propelled herself into the record books with her last outing. She threw a complete game shutout, the 43rd of her career, putting her in fourth place all-time. The complete game was also the 34th in her career, which ties her for sixth all-time.

Each week, The Fordham Ram’s Sports editors honor one male athlete and one female athlete for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”

News & Notes • Men’s Golf Places Ninth in

Wildcat Invitational

The Men’s Golf team started their season off on the right foot, placing ninth out of 21 teams at the Wildcat Invitational. Freshman Tommy Hayes carded a second round 73, which brought his score for the weekend to +7, good enough for 14th.

Sophomore Matt Schiller andf junior Joe Trim both shot +11 on the weekend and tied for 37th. Junior captain Oscar Cabans played as an independent and carded a +13, placing him in 62nd. The men return to action next weekend in The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Invitational.

• Atlantic 10 Honors 153 Student-Athletes Fordham

was well represented on the Atlantic 10 Commisioners Honor Role, with 153 StudentAthletes being given the award. Fordham had the most honorees of any A-10 school, although Massachusetts not far behind witth 150 honorees of their own. The A-10 had a record number of student-athletes selected this year, with 1,667 honored for their dedication in the classroom furint the Fall 2015 semester. To qualify student must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the semester.

• Pitcher Kirk Haynes Jr. Wins Weekly Award Junior Pitcher Kirk Haynes won his second straight A-10 Pitcher of the Week award after his dominant performance last week.

Haynes threw his first career complete game shutout against NJIT. The righty only allowed four baserunners, three hits and a walk, while striking out a career-high nine batters. Haynes has a 2-0 record on the year and an ERA of 1.93. In the month of March Haynes has appeared six times, striking out 24 in 26.1 innings of work. His ERA for the month is an incredible 1.03.

•

Sophomore Tennis Player Cameron Posillico Named Rookie of the Week Posillico clinched back-to-back wins for the first time in his young career. He wrapped up a team victory against Hofstra, and followed that performance with another win the following day. Posillico is elligible for the Rookie of the Week Award due to this being his first season as a collegiate athlete. This was the fourth time a member of the team was honored with a weekly award.

– Compiled by Pat Costello

Spit Take: The Ban of Chewing Tobacco On March 22, legislation to ban the use of smokeless tobacco products at all professional sporting venues, including baseball stadiums, was passed by the New York City Council.

The vote comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio promised he would prohibit smokeless tobacco use by professional athletes and fans alike at sporting events.

“We don’t want young people seeing the players they look up to engaging in something that’s bad for their bodies,” de Blasio said in an interview with ESPN. “We don’t want young people thinking that’s cool to do.”

Smokeless tobacco has long been a staple in baseball, especially at the Major League level. Whether they are at the plate, on the mound, or in the dugout, a large portion of players can be seen with a hefty lump in their cheek, spitting from time to time.

Even managers and umpires take part in the practice.

However, the problem is that chewing tobacco is not so much a practice as it is an addiction.

Because of nicotine and other chemicals present in the product, smokeless tobacco is an addictive substance. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the drug gives off as much nicotine as smoking three cigarettes in just one half-hour, on average.

Players become hooked without realizing the potential consequences, and even if they do, quitting is extremely difficult.

In 2014, at age 54, eight-time NL Batting Champion Tony Gwynn, a Hall of Famer, passed away after complications from cancer and a long battle with many health issues.

Before his death, Gwynn attributed his health problems to decades of dipping during his career. Although doctors say they cannot prove this to be true, they cannot rule it out, as studies have linked tobacco use and cancer countless times.

In an article published on The Players’ Tribune in 2015, former World Series co-MVP and pitcher Curt Schilling detailed his struggle with smokeless tobacco. He lost his sense of taste and smell, developed gum and tooth decay, gum cancer, along with a guilty conscience, stemming from losing his father to a heart attack and lung cancer attributable to tobacco use. He recalled meeting others who suffered through the same addiction, some of whom even lost their jaws, chins, cheeks and noses to the disease.

Many believe it has no place in baseball because of stories like these.

Baseball players can do what they want off the field and in their own homes, but while enjoying the privileges of being paid and televised to play a sport, they do not need to be afforded the right of using a harmful, carcinogenic drug.

For their sake, as well as for the sake of kids everywhere looking up to them, MLB players should not be allowed to use smokeless tobacco.

Chewing tobacco has been banned in the minor leagues for decades, and has helped decrease the issue. Over time this problem can be diminished to a near-negligible level, or even eradicated entirely. Getting rid of the problem before it starts is a good strategy to eliminate tobacco from the major league field, and thanks to the recent passage of legislation, the problem could be abolished entirely.

March 30, 2016

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Page 19

Fordham Graduate School Fair Monday, April 4, 2016 | 5:30 – 7 p.m. | Rose Hill, McGinley Commons Thursday, April 7, 2016 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Lincoln Center, Plaza Learn more about graduate education right here at Fordham.

You’ll have an opportunity to meet with representatives from the following schools:

Gabelli School of Business Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Graduate School of Education Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education Graduate School of Social Service School of Law

Application fee waived for fair attendees

fordham.edu/gradschools

Session I: May 31–June 30 Session II: July 5–August 4

Catch up or get ahead!

• Biochemistry (BISC 3521)

• Law and Economics (ECON 3453)

• Psychology of Human Values (PSYC 4900)

• Imagining Empire (HIST 4120) Or choose from 200 available courses.

SUMMER SESSION 2016

Learn more at fordham.edu/summer eeo

SPORTS

Page 20

March 30, 2016

The Fordham Ram

Baseball Goes 3-2 Over Spring Break

By SAM BELDEN SPORTS EDITOR

While most Fordham students spent their spring break relaxing and recharging for the rest of the semester, the baseball team stayed busy.

Over the last week, the Rams played a five-game slate and logged three wins, improving their record to 1113. Although it has no bearing on their postseason status, the team’s overall record currently ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10.

On Wednesday, March 23, the Rams traveled to Long Island for a showdown with the New York Institute of Technology Bears. The game was hard-fought and featured several lead changes, but NYIT ultimately picked up the 5-4 victory.

The Bears opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, when first baseman Jake Lebel doubled to score catcher Robert Fiato from second. Fordham evened the score in the top of the third when junior centerfielder Jason Lundy scored off a ground out by senior second baseman Joseph Runco. However, NYIT plated another runner in the bottom of the inning, maintaining its one-run advantage.

The fourth inning was scoreless, but Fordham managed to generate some offense in the fifth. With runners on first and second, Runco knocked a single into the outfield and wound up advancing to second base due to a poor throw; both run-

ANDREA GARCIA/THE FORDHAM RAM

The Rams pitchers posted a 2.63 ERA over spring break.

ners scored, putting Fordham ahead by one. However, the Bears rallied in the bottom of the inning, making the score 3-3 through five. Runco knocked in yet another run in the top of the seventh, but a big two-run double from NYIT third baseman Louis Mele put his team ahead by one, and the score went unchanged for the rest of the game. The Bears took the game 5-4.

Two days later, the Rams headed to Newark, New Jersey for a four-game series against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders. The first game featured one of Fordham’s strongest offensive performances of the season, in which they rode to a decisive victory. Graduate student leftfielder Ryan McNally got things

going with a two-run homer in the top of the first, and Runco knocked in the third run of the game with a sacrifice fly two innings later.

The Highlanders had a big fourth inning, scoring four runs to take the lead and knock Ben Greenberg, Fordham’s sophomore ace, out of the game. The Rams bounced back, however, and scored four runs of their own in the sixth inning, two of them thanks to McNally’s second roundtripper of the day. Another home run in the seventh from freshman Reiss Knehr put the score at 10-4, where it would remain for the remainder of the game.

The second game of the day got started less than an hour later and featured far less offense. The Highland-

ers rallied in the bottom of the third, putting them up by two, and another run in the fourth stretched their advantage to three. The Rams plated a pair of runners in the top of the last inning, making it 3-2, but they fell just short in their comeback attempt.

NJIT starter Sean Lubreski went the distance, allowing just two runs over seven innings of work.

The second day was a banner one for Fordham. The Rams came out on top in a pair of hotly contested pitchers’ duels, giving them the series win over the Highlanders. In the first game, junior pitcher Kirk Haynes Jr. was on fire, striking out nine batters in as many shutout innings and allowing just three hits. Fordham’s offense was not especially productive,

managing just three hits in the game, but they managed to score two runs, earning the narrow victory.

While there was a bit more offense on both sides, the second game of the doubleheader strongly resembled the first. This time, it was senior starter Joseph Serrapica who went the distance for Fordham, striking out five and allowing just one run over seven innings of work. All of the scoring took place in the game’s earliest stages. NJIT designated hitter Stephan Halibej got things going for the Highlanders with an RBI double in the first, but they could not hold on to their lead. In the top of the second, pitcher Justin Chin walked home a run and allowed a bases-loaded single to Runco, putting the Rams up by two. The rest of the game was scoreless, and the Rams walked away with the 3-1 victory.

All in all, the week was a positive one for the Rams. The pitching staff allowed just 12 earned runs in 41 innings, good for an ERA of 2.63.

McNally continued his hot hitting, raising his batting average to .309 and his slugging percentage to .580 for the season.

This weekend, the Rams will kick off A-10 play with a three-game home series against Richmond. After that, they will hit the road, traveling to New Jersey for a one-game showdown with Rutgers before heading to Philadelphia for another A-10 series against La Salle.

Softball Impresses In Spring Break Action

By PAT COSTELLO ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

While the students were away, softball continued to play. The Rams played eight games over the break, winning five of them. The ladies started their spring break slate against the Hofstra Pride.

The high-scoring contest came down to the final out, when sophomore infielder Madison Shaw stepped to the plate. Shaw’s walk off double was the exclamation point on a three-run rally in the final frame, and it allowed the Rams to collect the 12-11 win. The offense exploded for 15 hits, four of which came from Shaw. Five Rams accumulated multiple hits in the contest, including a teamhigh four RBI’s on two hits from junior outfielder Sydney Canessa.

The continued success of Canessa earned her Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors, while freshman infielder Jessica Hughes earned her second straight Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week.

Two days later the Rams played a doubleheader, with the first game against Towson and the second against Mount St. Mary’s.

After falling in a 3-1 hole during the second inning, the Rams scored 11 unanswered runs over the next four innings, ending the game in the sixth with a score of 12-3. A two-run homerun from junior infielder Lindsay Mayer in the third inning served as the goahead, and the Rams offense never looked back. Graduate pitcher

ANDREA GARCIA/THE FORDHAM RAM

Multiple individual standout performances led softball to a 5-3 record over spring break.

Rachel Gillen came in to relieve junior pitcher Lauren Quesne in the second and threw four shutout innings, ultimately picking up the win.

Later that day the Rams faced off against Mount St. Mary’s in the mid-afternoon cap. The Rams scored three runs in the first inning before giving up five over the course of the second and third.

They responded with force, scoring 10 unanswered runs and ending the game in the fifth inning.

There was no flash in their rally, but rather timely hitting, good base running and smart plate appearances. Quesne pitched four innings and gave up five runs, but still picked up the 13-5 win. The victory marked the eighth consecutive win for the Rams, a season

high.

The Rams faced the Towson Tigers the following day, this time as the away team, while they had been the home team in their first meeting. The score was tied in the bottom of the seventh, and the Rams had their ace on the hill in Gillen. The game had been back and forth all day, with both teams trading innings of either three or four runs. Towson’s Kendyl Scott was the hero for the Tigers, hitting a walk off solo homerun on the first pitch of her at bat and handing the Rams and Gillen a streak busting loss. Hughes continued her impressive rookie season, going 4-5 with two RBI’s.

The clutch hitting that the Rams displayed the previous day did not reemerge, as they left 11 runners

on base in the 8-7 loss.

The team had the opportunity to respond hours later, which it did in an impressive manner. Quesne pitched one of her best games so far, throwing a two hit shutout over six innings while striking out four. The Rams scored eight runs in the game, including an RBI singled from Canessa in the first, which proved good enough to win the game. The victory marked the ninth in their last 10 games.

After the five game Tiger Classic, in which the Rams went 4-1, the ladies finally got their first crack at the A-10 against UMass.

Gillen overpowered the Massachusetts batters, collecting nine strikeouts in another complete game win. Gillen helped her own cause in the fifth inning, crush-

ing a two-run homerun to rightcenterfield, which gave the Rams a 5-1 cushion. UMass battled back, scoring two more runs in the sixth and seventh, but could not overcome Gillen’s authority.

The 5-3 win was the 700th for the program and its first in the A-10 this season.

UMass was not yet through with the Rams, as they bounced back on the following day to capture a 3-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader. The contest started as a pitchers’ duel, with Quesne getting the nod for the Rams. Neither team surrendered a run in the first three innings.

The Minutewomen pounced first, scoring two in the top of the fourth. The Rams responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, but a third UMass run in the top of the fifth proved insurmountable.

In their final spring break game, Gillen was in complete control once again against UMass. The grad student threw nearly six innings of perfect softball before finally giving up the only UMass hit of the game. She threw all seven innings, collecting another win.

Her complete game victory was the 43rd in her career, putting her in fourth place in Fordham history, as well as sixth place for complete games with 34. The Rams scored four runs on that day and collected their 11th win in their last 13 games. The ladies return to non-conference action against Iona on Wednesday, March 30.