Volume 105 Issue 6

The Fordham Ram

President Tetlow

Meets

By TASNIMAH RAHMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Walsh Library preserves an exhibit called “The Remnants of Jewish Life in the Bronx.”

The pieces establish Professor Magda Tetter, Ph.D’s vision of showcasing the geographic breadth of Jewish society consisting of high school yearbooks, memoirs, memory books, some efimeras restaurant receipts, business information and advertisements.

This past Wednesday, March 1, Reyna Stovall, FCLC ’25, who curated the exhibit, and Sophia Maier, FCRH ’23, shared their research with students, faculty and staff in the “Jews in the Bronx: Oral and Archival Histories” event.

As Fordham is based in the Bronx, Stovall and Teter came to the realization that there was a good period of time, through the ’40s and ’50s, where Jewish people made up most of the Bronx and thus began documenting this period by collecting efimeras/artifacts.

Stovall began curating this exhibit with a limited number

SEE JEWISH, PAGE 4

Fordham Resident Assistants Union File

Anti-Labor Charges Against University

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ MANAGING EDITOR

The nascent Fordham Resident Assistants union (FRA), alongside the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), filed anti-labor charges against Fordham University with the National Labor Relations Board on March 3, accusing the university administration of violating national labor laws in an email last week.

The email, sent out to Resident Assistants on the evening of March 2 by Jeffrey L. Gray, senior vice president for Student Affairs, informed Resident Assistants (RAs) about the upcoming election to finalize the unionization process, which will take place on March 21. The full email can be read on the Ram's website. Alongside general information about the election, the email also provided a bulleted

Fordham Ukranian Students Raise Awareness Over One Year of War

By ALEXANDER HOM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The one-year anniversary of the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and start of Russia’s subsequent war was spotlit by a tabling event hosted by the Fordham Ukrainian Society

(FUS) and sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA). With their showcase held in the McShane Campus Center’s, FUS sought to teach the Fordham community not only about the ongoing war raging in their homeland, but also to promote Ukrainian culture

and traditions.

The War in Ukraine began in 2022 when boiling Russian military aggressions spilled across the two nations’ shared border in a “special military operation” mirroring the 2014 Crimea peninsula

SEE UKRAINE, PAGE 5

list of information pertaining to what unionization will entail. The FRA claims that some of the items in the list are misleading and aimed at keeping student RAs from voting for unionization, which is in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a law passed by Congress in 1936 to guarantee “workers’ full freedom of

On March 1, members of the student press met with President Tania Tetlow to discuss her tenure as president. In the meeting, Tetlow touched on current unionization efforts, tuition increases, diversity initiatives, admissions and integration into the Fordham community.

Tetlow addressed Fordham and many other higher education institutions’ ongoing tuition increases. Tetlow said that the university will be raising tuition for the upcoming academic year.

However, the degree to which it will be raised is unknown. According to Tetlow, an increase addresses ongoing inflation and rising prices.

“We skipped a year in tuition increases at Fordham during COVID, for obvious reasons, but our costs still went up that year, so it created — we kind of got forever behind trying to sustain ourselves because we had a year without tuition increases. The inflation that is hitting all of you and your families as a kick in the shin is hitting the university as well. And so, there are costs that go up like utilities.”

Fordham Weighs in on Presidential Candidate Opinion

Tetlow said that she knows the strains the increased tuition places on many students and their families.

She said she is working on cutting down on “waste” and “inefficiencies” to help save money.

By ELEANOR SMITH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador for the Trump administration, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, Feb. 14. In her half hour speech, Haley discussed ongoing foreign policy issues such as the war in Ukraine and recent national security issues like the Chinese spy balloon found earlier in February. While Haley never mentioned former President (and de facto leader of one wing of the Republican Party) Donald Trump by name, she did say that it was time for Republicans to leave “faded names” and “stale ideas” in the past.

Haley, the “proud daughter of Indian immigrants,”

SEE CANDIDATE, PAGE 3

“I am working really hard with how we bend the cost curve, how we find ways to be more efficient and frugal. How we constantly remind ourselves that every penny we spend at this university represents the life savings of your families. And

in this issue

Former History Teacher

Ron DeSantis Bans AP

Culture

Page 17

Two of the Fordham Acapella Groups Go to the ICCAs

African American History Sports

Men's Basketball Wins

Three of Last Four, Finishes Third in A-10

COURTESY OF OPEIU 153

The FRA and the OPEIU filed anti-labor charges against Fordham University on March 3, 2023.

Fordham Ukranian Society (FUS) held an event in the McShane Campus Center to raise awareness.

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

March 3 Walsh Hall 11:59 p.m.

On Friday, the security officer assigned to Walsh Hall reported that an occupied elevator was stuck. The supervisor responded and determined students were stuck on the second floor.

Centennial elevator company was unavailable and FDNY was requested. FDNY responded and removed the students. The elevator was taken out of service.

March 4 Walsh Hall 8:40 p.m.

On Saturday, a student reported that a fellow student had taken drugs and was acting strangely. The reporter said the student who ingested the drugs was on the phone with 911. The aided student was in front of Walsh Hall attempting to enter a passing car while screaming for help. The student was escorted to the Public Safety Office. The student said they took a mushroom chocolate bar and smoked marijuana. FUEMS removed the student to Saint Barnabas Hospital.

March 5

O’Hare Hall 12:01 a.m.

On Sunday, an occupied elevator was stuck in O’Hare Hall. The supervisor responded and discovered an Aramark employee was stuck in elevator one. FDNY responded and removed the employee from the elevator.

Diversity Action Coalition (DAC) Hosts Lecture and Workshop on Anti-racism

By MICHELA FAHY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

By EMMA KIM NEWS EDITOR

On Monday, Feb. 27, United Student Government’s (USG) Diversity Action Coalition (DAC) hosted a Black History Month event with Clarence Ball, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Gabelli School of Business. The event was a lecture and workshop on anti-racism and allyship with food from Paula Soul’s Food Cafe in Bepler Commons.

Briana Al-Omoush, FCRH ’24, vice president of diversity and inclusion on USG and chair of DAC, explained that Black History Month is an important time to celebrate Black Americans’ achievements.

“The Fordham community needs to use the month to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans despite the tremendous amounts of hardship and oppression they have had (and continue to, due to systemic issues) to face at the hands of white oppressors,” said Al-Omoush. “As a PWI [predominantly white institution], Fordham is responsible for creating spaces that reflect on Black history in programming.”

Al-Omoush added that DAC is a committee that is able to educate via programming.

“Bringing in someone with expertise in antiracism and allyship, such as Professor Ball, is vital in taking us beyond the limiting and whitewashed history books that the majority of students have been taught with throughout their education,” said Al-Omoush.

She added that the event was an opportunity to raise awareness about intersectionality.

“I want to use this as an opportunity to remind the university community that Blackness is not a monolith, and we hope such programming teaches attendees that there are so many intersections within the Black identity,” said Al-Omoush. “More critical than DAC’s event, are events that are being put on by Black student leaders (kudos to ASILI’s monthlong programming). However, nonBlack students are still responsible for educating themselves on Black history, and not just in February.”

Ball started with ground rules and definitions for the workshop, and he then proceeded to show a video that explained unconscious biases and how we automatically make snap judgments that affect

Wednesday March 8

Leon Lowenstein 12th Floor Lounge 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

The Communications, Arts, Media and Marketing Micro-fair will feature over 20 employers recruiting students for full-time, part time, internship, volunteer and fellowship opportunities.

Diversity Action Coalition (DAC) hosted a lecture and workshop on anti-racism and allyship to celebrate Black History Month.

how we treat the people around us. Ball explained that there are ingroups and outgroups, where people are put into us-versus-them situations.

Throughout the event, Ball kept the floor open for discussion, and he asked various questions throughout the presentation to keep students engaged.

Ball explained a ladder of inference, which he said includes observations, selected data, meanings, assumptions, conclusions, beliefs and actions. He explained that many gaps are filled in within the ladder which end up affecting our actions.

He also explained that these judgements can stem from past experiences, culture, background or exposure to media.

“Unconscious bias can be triggered,” said Ball.

Ball explained an example with charts from his presentation. The chart showed preferences for certain body types over others. He explained that unconscious biases lead to automatic assumptions about these people.

After going through the definitions, Ball moved on to a section on anti-racism, and he gave an explanation of what racism was.

“It is an institutional power,” said Ball. “Prejudice is not the same thing. An individual person not liking an individual person is prejudice. Racism is when the col-

lective power of your group has the power to do an entire disenfranchisement, subordination of another group of people.”

Ball then went through Supreme Court cases to show racism throughout history in legal doctrine.

His first example was Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, where the doctrine “separate but equal” was created. Ball explained that since Homer Plessy was only 7/8 Caucasian, he was not allowed to sit in the “whites-only car.”

Plessy argued to the Supreme Court that their rule was an asymmetrical rule, and it showed an asymmetry in the system.

Justice John Marshall Harlan argued for color blindness and said that segregation was not needed, but the majority opinion upheld the state-imposed racial segregation.

Ball also discussed Brown v. The Board of Education, University of California v. Bakke, City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. and Grutter v. Bollinger, which were all landmark Supreme Court cases concerning race and affirmative action.

Ball raised the question of who was the primary beneficiary of affirmative action during its apex. After the room discussed it, Ball explained that it was white women.

“The prevailing idea was that

This Week at Fordham

Wednesday March 8

McShane Campus Center Room 112 2:30 p.m.

Make your voice heard and join your fellow classmates, faculty and staff to discuss questions, concerns or ideas for our campus community. Lunch will be provided for attendees.

Wednesday March 8 Freman 103 6 p.m-9:30 p.m.

The Fordham Gaelic Society is hosting a screening of Des Henderson’s award-winning documentary “How to Defuse a Bomb: The Project Children Story.” There will be a short Q&A following the screening.

Thursday March 9 Barclays Center 7:30 p.m.

Cheer on the men’s basketball team during the fourth quarterfinal game as they wrap up one of their most successful seasons in almost 30 years. Students who buy tickets for $10 receive a free t-shirt.

affirmative action was only helping Black people,” said Ball. “But in fact, the primary beneficiary of affirmative action was white women.”

He then explained that the media distorted who it actually benefited. Ball explained that the same thing is happening with critical race theory.

The workshop ended on the topic of allyship, where he showed a continuum from apathetic to aware to active to advocate to help explain how someone can become an ally.

At the end of the event during the discussion, an audience member raised the question of how to reach people who don’t want to listen. Ball responded by saying that too much anti-racism work is directed at people who do not want to listen, and it is better to focus on the people who are open and want to listen.

At the end of the event, USG’s DAC raffled off a book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell to one of the attendees of the event.

“I hope attendees were able to have a broader conversation about Black history and racism as a whole,” said Al-Omoush. “This event was one of the best antiracism discussions I have been a part of at Fordham because it left attendees feeling uncomfortable about the lack of discussion that is being had on this front.”

Thursday-Friday

March 9-10

Blackbox Theater 8 p.m.

Support Fordham Experimental Theatre (FET) at their Bi-Annual Playwright’s Festival. The performance will consist of 3 short plays back-to-back. Join FET for D&D, horror and train-related dramedy.

Fordham Weighs in on Presidential Candidate

FROM CANDIDATE, PAGE 1 grew up in South Carolina and served as a representative in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005-11 and as governor of the state from 2011-17. She was ambassador to the Trump administration for two years in 2017 and 2018.

She is the second person, after Trump, to announce she is running for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential race, and is the first woman to enter the 2024 race.

There were a number of Democratic female candidates that gained national attention in the 2020 election — Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar — but there were no female Republicans that officially announced a bid for the presidency.

There was only one Republican woman in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, and no Republican women ran in 2020.

Women running for office face a double-bind: they need to show that they are capable leaders and also come off as likable enough. So far, Haley has painted herself as a strong candidate while also leaning into her femininity.

She stated in her candidacy announcement that America needs a “tough-as-nails woman” in the White House, testing Republican voters’ attitude around female candidates. A

female Republican candidate has never won a state Republican primary, and female Republican candidates in all races often face a harder battle than female Democratic candidates. Many Republican voters want women to be traditionally feminine, but want their politicians to be strong, creating a situation in which it is even harder for Republican women to get elected.

While 59% of Americans believe that there are too few women in positions of power in politics and business, only 52% believe that there will someday be gender equality in these positions of power.

Along with the double-bind, a major obstacle that women running for president face is the idea among voters that while they themselves would vote for a woman, America is not ready for a female president, and a female candidate would lose the general election.

Dakota Calcaterra, FCRH ’26, the freshman liaison for the Fordham College Republicans, said that he believes a female politician could win the GOP presidential nomination in the near future, but that it likely would not be Haley.

“I think that, unfortunately, her vision of the party is a few years out of date,” said Calcaterra. “I think that Haley will have a hard time trying to define herself outside of being a woman,” Calcaterra said, because he believes that Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are going to be the two

Republican candidates that define this election.

Luke Irvine, FCRH ’26, a freshman studying political science, felt similarly with Calcaterra about Haley’s prospects. He said he believes that Haley “is the right candidate for the 2016 election,” but agrees with Calcaterra that the “GOP has really evolved since that election.” Irvine said that he did think that America would elect a female president in the near future, but that he “would be surprised if the first female president is a Republican,” because of many Republican voters’ views on both traditional femininity.

Monika McDermott, a political science professor at Fordham, recently wrote a book examining how masculinity and femininity affect voter behavior and voters’ views of candidates.

When asked if she believed a female president was in the near future, McDermott said that the biggest challenge to having a female president would be finding the right candidate. She cited Hillary Clinton as a female candidate who was palatable enough to voters to win the popular vote.

She expanded, explaining that “in some ways a woman as the Republican nominee would have a crossover appeal that could be really advantageous in the general

Haley is the first woman to announce her run for the 2024 election.

election. Democrats and independents could, conceivably, view a female candidate as less threatening as a Republican (meaning less of a far-right conservative) than a male in the same position.”

While some view Haley’s lack of a clear stance on Trump as a weakness, McDer-

mott said she believes that this actually acts to Haley’s advantage.

McDermott said that Haley has not yet alienated herself from Trump supporters, but that she has “made some clear distinctions between herself and Trump,” which could lead to her having support from both wings of the Republican Party in the primary.

Fordham Community Celebrates Mardi Gras Leading up to Lent

By EMMA KIM NEWS EDITOR

On Feb. 21, the Fordham community celebrated Mardi Gras in different ways and then transitioned into a season of Lent.

While Mardi Gras is a popular celebration for many people, it is also originally a Christian holiday, and it dates back thousands of years ago. Because of its connection to Lent, it holds special importance for Christians and especially Roman Catholics.

Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” which is the day the celebration always falls on. Fat Tuesday comes from the tradition of using up certain items in the pantry before the Lenten season, where fasting then occurs. After Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a period of penance and reflection, which leads up to Easter.

Mardi Gras holds a special meaning specifically for New Orleans, where the first celebration took place in 1699. President Tania Tetlow, who grew up in New Orleans, sent a message to the Fordham community about the celebration.

“Where I grew up, we take getting ready for Lent very seriously. New Orleans, along with a collection of cities around the world, celebrates Mardi Gras with astonishing creativity,” wrote Tetlow. “Going back centuries, Carnival has been a

time of masking, of upending structures of race and gender, a time to mock the power structure with impunity.”

In her message, Tetlow included that McShane Campus Center would be lit purple, green and gold leading up to Mardi Gras.

Emma Eitmann, FCRH ’26, who is from New Orleans, celebrated the holiday.

“I celebrate Mardi Gras by spending time with my family and friends at parties and parades, eating traditional New Orleans food like crawfish, poboys, and king cake of course,” said Eitmann. “It is a time when the whole city is really able to come together, and I think that’s what makes Mardi Gras so special.”

Eitmann finds that for her Mardi Gras is a time of preparation and celebration.

“Mardi Gras for some is preparation for lent and for others just an excuse to get together with friends and family to have a good time. For my family, it’s a bit of both,” said Eitmann.

Campus Ministry also celebrated Mardi Gras on Feb. 21 with food and music in McShane Campus Center.

Kathryn Anderson Kuo, associate director of Campus Ministry for liturgy, said that the Campus Ministry Mardi Gras party is a tradition.

“Campus Ministry’s annual Mardi Gras party is a long-

standing tradition,” said Anderson Kuo. “This was our first year hosting the party after a two-year hiatus for COVID-19. We were thrilled to be able to host the party safely again.”

During their party, Anderson Kuo explained that they honor religious traditions connected to the holiday.

“Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday, and the Carnival season began as a way to use up meat and rich foods before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, when Catholics and many other Christians abstain from meat and other treats,” said Anderson Kuo.

“We began the party with a prayer and a reflection on the origins of Mardi Gras and the spiritual meaning of Lent,” said Anderson Kuo. “That said, we make an effort to ensure the party and reflection are inclusive of everyone. One doesn’t need to be Christian or even religious in order to find something to reflect on in Lent’s invitation to admit when we’ve fallen short and commit to doing better, and, of course, everyone can enjoy the Cajun food, music and sweets.”

Anderson Kuo said that after Mardi Gras, Lent is a season of penance in preparation for Easter.

“We reflect on Jesus’ suffering in order to celebrate his Resurrection at Easter time. Lent is a time to clear our minds and lives from distractions that keep us from God, engage in spiritual practices that deepen our faith, and make sacrifices as a way to repent of and

atone for things we’ve done wrong,” said Anderson Kuo.

“Catholics are also encouraged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and avoid meat on Fridays.”

During the Lent season, Campus Ministry has various programs, which can be found on the Fordham website. The events are available to all Fordham students to attend.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

COURTESY OF OLIVIA GRIFFIN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

The Mardi Gras party had food and music for students to enjoy.

COURTESY OF OLIVIA GRIFFIN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM Campus Ministry held a Mardi Gras party in McShane Campus Center.

President Tetlow Meets with Student Press

FROM TETLOW, PAGE 1

that we have such incredible caution and carefulness about how we use money.”

Tetlow said that the university holds back “tens of millions of dollars” every time tuition is raised to try and help students who can not accommodate the increases. Tetlow’s tenure at Fordham has been marked by three prominent unionization efforts and negotiations: Fordham Faculty Union, Fordham Graduate School Workers Union and the Fordham Resident Assistants Union. Tetlow said the push for unionization and higher wages stresses the university’s finances.

“We are trying to sustain ourselves, and we are trying against all odds and often failing to keep your education as affordable as we possibly can. And so, it is not true that we can run the university with the goal of maximizing the wages with the people who work here without that really penalizing you, the students, who provide about 90% of the revenue for Fordham University.”

In the same light, Tetlow also mentioned the need to stretch university financial resources to plan for future generations.

“We are not going — the en-

dowment that supports and sustains the university for generations to come — if we took it all and spent it on those of us here at this moment and shut down the university that would not be planting the tree for the future generations. We are — we play a very long game in universities.”

In terms of unionization processes, Tetlow said that she supports university members in voicing their needs; however, she said she wants people to work with her before assuming that she won’t be able to help.

“I do wish people would give me a chance and come to me to solve a problem before being certain that I would tell them no. That’s not who I am, and boy are things quicker and more efficient if you just come and ask instead of being sure that it won’t help, and I can’t solve every problem, but my instinct is to try very hard.”

Tetlow also addressed Fordham’s Rose Hill campus’s presence in the Bronx and the social and economic impact the university has on the Bronx community. She said she was impressed with Fordham programs like Urban Plunge and the Collegiate Science and

Technology Entry Program’s (CSTEP) engagement with the Bronx. Tetlow also said that the university is seeking to source supplies and resources from the surrounding community to try and leave a positive economic footprint.

In addition, the university purchases many supplies for everyday functions and said she is looking for ways to implement ways to start procuring these supplies from smaller businesses, specifically those that are minority and womenowned.

“Universities are anchor institutions. They create their own economic activity, but also educational opportunity, research and innovation that also fuels industry, so it’s much easier to attract other kinds of businesses and companies to the Bronx because you can point to Fordham and other institutions here.”

Tetlow also addressed the ongoing conversation regarding university health centers being prohibited from offering and distributing contraceptives.

“We are a Catholic institution, and this is a strong and absolute doctrine of the church.

I am happy to tell you publicly that it is one I disagree with, along with about 99% of American Catholics, and I hope the church changes its mind. In the meantime, we are bound by it, not by funding but by our identity, and it would be more of an issue if we weren’t smack in the middle of the city, where that access is not hard to get to. If we were in a rural campus far from the nearest pharmacy or health center, this would be an even more difficult question, but that’s where we are.”

Tetlow came to Fordham after a presidency at Loyola University New Orleans. She said that Loyola was a much more economically diverse university than Fordham, meaning that they often had to be “creative” when it came to creating efficient budgeting and spending plans. According to Tetlow, she took a lot away from that experience.

“There are ways sometimes where we only look at aspirational institutions and think, ‘oh, if only we had more, then we could do what we want,’ but actually the schools that make do with less are so much more creative and inspiring in their way of what they come up with

because they must, and I think we have a lot to learn there too.”

She said that moving to New York has been a shift for her and her entire family, and she has been spending the last few months getting to know the Fordham community. Tetlow said she hopes to continue to listen to the Fordham community and meet everyone in it. She said that her family has come to enjoy New York, including her dog, Archie.

“It was asking a lot of them to uproot them, so I've been very grateful for their sense of adventure and willingness to take it on.”

Moving forward, Tetlow said she wants to continue to work with students, faculty and the wider Fordham community. In a message to students, she said:

“I am going to try my very best to do right by all of you. That this job is such a labor of love for me because of the students, and I really want to partner with you and with the work of finding ways that Fordham can constantly do better.”

Sebastian Diaz and Emma Kim contributed to this report.

Fordham Displays Remants of Jewish Life in the Bronx

of documents. Ellen Meshnick’s parents’ old documents from living in the Bronx are a large part of the collection. As news of the collection has widely been shared, new artifacts are donated, and the collection continues to grow.

“We had a few other documents as they related to what was in there. I was pulling through those and trying to incorporate them so that people viewing the exhibit can get a well rounded idea of what the Bronx was because Parmeshnic was one family, and Bronx consists of thousands of Jewish families. Now that we have more documents we’re able to tell more stories but mine was focused on showing off their experiences,” said Stovall.

Stovall is a Jewish studies minor, and at the end of her freshman year she participated in the Center for Jewish Studies Fellowship. Her deep interest in Jewish studies brought about learning of the Jewish studies internship she’d participate in the fall 2022 semester.

“Dr. Teter and I were talking about what I wanted to do with my internship. She showed me what had just been sent to her Pharmermeshnic documents. We both thought it would be amazing if we showcased Jewish history of the Bronx, and it becomes a much bigger thing than the one internship exhibit,” said Stovall.

It currently is its own exhibit with many eager to donate. Her favorite piece is a joke dictionary, originally a blue hard-covered book with classic Yiddish words and funny definitions. The closing of the book states the “hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem, a different version than

the national anthem of today.

Maier describes the discussion that took place during the event.

“The event was a discussion between myself and Reyna Stovall, who presented our undergraduate research concerning the Jewish Bronx, and professors who specialize in the field who asked us follow-up questions. Those professors were Dr. Daniel Soyer, Dr. Ayala Fader and, as moderator, Dr. Ayelet Brinn. Conversations included methodology, the limitations of oral histories, cooperative housing communities, what makes a Jewish neighborhood and more. I considered it a wonderful learning experience and an exceptionally fun way to share my work with others who are equally as passionate about it,” said Maier.

Dr. Teter has historical objects from around the world that originate from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries that are accessible to her students, but nothing that is as close to home as Fordham. This initiated the search for Bronx artifacts.

“So it had this geographic breadth as I was acquiring these materials [and] realized we have nothing from the Bronx so far, but we are here in the Bronx. I started searching for the Jewish Bronx thinking what I might find so that when students take Jewish history class I can take them as far as Australia or home to Fordham University in the Bronx, instead of historical experience,” said Dr. Teter.

She began with a bar mitzvah invitation from 1951. She pursued rare efimoras that seem to not survive or are rare of Jewish experience in the Bronx. Once, she participated in a webinar with photographer Julian Voloj,

where she was able to display remnants of the past presence of Jews of half a million that had moved out. She announced to the audience of 200 people on the webinar if there were families with archives they wanted to share to get in contact with her. A few weeks after she received boxes of some archives Stovall worked on, one being the Parmermeshnic family.

There are two Jewish history classes taught by Teter at the Rose Hill campus, as it is difficult for Lincoln Center students to travel uptown for class and with the archives assignments.

An assignment for class is writing page descriptions for artifacts in the archives, and it becomes a catalog for students and viewers to enjoy at the end of the semester.

Professor Mattie Armstrong, who teaches European history and British colonial history, uses some artifacts from this collection and from special collections in his classes. Other professors use it extensively as well.

There are two ways of going about the offered internship. One is doing an independent research project earning credit or for interested students how many will participate in working with collections and are paid.

In the summer, Fordham offers a stipend to students and free housing to work on special projects with faculty members, where students develop projects with Teter and collection.

Teter hopes the future of the archive will have it made available to the public through digital means and integrate into

classes and exhibit a part of the public history program.

Her favorite, a newer addition to the archive, is a trowel dating back to 1916.

“It is a trowel, [a] commemorative trowel, that was used to put a cornerstone for the Daughters of Jacob,” said Dr. Teter.

Stovall and Maier are collecting oral stories inspired by the Bronx African American History Project in use of oral histories.

“Currently, I am training Rey-

na to conduct oral histories (first with me and then she will do so on her own), and she and I work together to transcribe them. My favorite item she has curated is a little wedding book of songs from the 1940s that includes a list of Yiddish phrases with joke definitions. I am not involved with the Jewish Studies internship, but they currently employ me as a student researcher to do the oral history work for the Bronx Jewish History Project,” said

FROM JEWISH, PAGE 1

COURTESY OF TASNIMAH RAHMAN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM Professor Magda Teter, Reyna Stovall and Sophia Maier worked together.

COURTESY OF TASNIMAH RAHMAN FOR THE FORDHAM RAM Walsh Library has the exhibit "The Remnants of Jewish Life in the Bronx."

Fordham Ukrainian Students Raise Awareness Over One Year of War

invasion. This attack erupted in a full-scale assault incarnating the centuries-long Russian policy and goal of attempting to gain control of the historically independent Ukraine.

“Today, Friday the 24th, marks the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine,” said FUS President Yustina Hryciw, FCRH ’23, “and it’s so significant for us to remind people it is still going on, but that the people of our Ukraine also fight on.”

FUS and their event shared their customs with the Rams, voicing their patriotic pride for their homeland, as well as against the Russian government and their war.

In their aim of educating students and raising awareness about the Ukrainian conflict, FUS created and displayed a timeline illustrating major events and developments in the war, including notable Russian missile strikes, Ukrainian advances and visits to Ukraine and the U.S. between members of each other’s governments.

A zine pamphlet was also created and distributed as a portable format for students to continue learning and sharing facts about the conflict.

FUS’ treasurer cooked a pot of homemade Ukrainian borscht, a customary beetroot soup and handed out samples to visiting Rams, along with various traditional Ukrainian chocolate and gummy candies.

“Everyone can read our timeline to learn the truth about Ukrainian customs and Russia’s war, and try our soup and snacks to be exposed to our heritage,” said Hryciw. “We also want to attract Ukrainian students and anyone who is interested to know more about our cause and culture.”

“Having grown up all over

Europe, with much of my family in Ukraine, dealing with finding my identity was very hard while not living in the country where I feel like I’m from,” said Alexander Yankovsky, FCRH ’24, treasurer and “Head Babushka” who was born in New York and raised in Hungary.

“We want the FUS to be a place where Ukrainians can come together and have something to share that they can be a part of.”

“The Russian government has claimed it’s part of their heritage in their efforts to steal our culture, and so Ukrainian borscht has become a symbol of our persevering drive and sovereign originality,” said Yankovsky.

Borscht, a brothy vegetable soup, is made with fried and boiled carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage and beetroot. “It tastes wonderful, and cures all your ills,” said Yankovsky. Borscht is a biweekly treat at Yankovsky’s home, and especially during Christmas Eve for Hryciw.

“The soup’s great, great, amazing,” says Anton Bilozor, GSB ’26, who visited the FUS event. He moved from Kyiv seven years ago, and his grandparents are still in the city — but they’re safe. “It’s cool this club is promoting the Ukrainian nation and origins.”

Secretary Amy Herd, FCRH ’25, worked on the zine for the tabling event. “With all the exaggerations and propaganda about the war, we wanted to distribute ‘real news’ in response,” says Herd. “We felt we had to do so, for the justice of Ukraine. It’s something people can take to continue to learn about aid resources to donate to, local cultural sites in N.Y. and facts about the Ukrainian diaspora.”

The Ukrainian Society is not an officially registered Fordham organization. “A Ukrainian club has existed at Fordham before, and though it dissolved due to a lack of membership, there’s always been a lot of Ukrainian students who attend Fordham,” Hryciw said. “I’ve still always felt there was a need to celebrate Ukrainian culture since my freshman year, even before Russia’s invasion.”

When Hryciw was in Bilbao, Spain, studying abroad during the spring 2022 semester, the war broke out, and she realized the time was very ripe to start a club to raise awareness. Her quest to resurrect the FUS began by a coincidence in Wildwood, N.J., where she met George Mychajluk, GSB ’23, at a beachside Ukrainian Independence Day event in August 2022.

“Once we realized this,” Hryciw said, “I grabbed George, looked him in the eyes and grinned, ‘We’re starting a UKR club again,’ and he laughed back ‘OK!’ And I wasn’t sure if anyone else was going to start the club, so I realized I had to do it and started contacting everyone I knew.”

“The whole idea behind the club wasn’t about the war,” said Mychajluk, vice president.

“It was always about increasing visibility of the Ukrainian community in the city, and to show our culture to Fordham students and teach them all they want to know. But if we can provide reliable resources about the war, that’s super important because we want to do our part here at Fordham, for our people.”

Social Media Coordinator Nicholas Levytsky, FCRH ’23, who created the zine with Herd, said he also thinks having a Ukrainian club on campus is important.

“Ukraine is something I wake up with every day, and I’m thinking about my family there — and

that doesn't ever go away; it’s something I can’t turn off,” said Levytsky. “I’m trying to get that feeling and reality out to people. Voicing it to people who don’t see that as easily is really important. I’m proud to identify with my Ukrainian culture. But now it feels even more dire to express that, because now it’s under threat.”

Sofika Levytsky, FCRH ’24, a member of the club, worked on the timeline with Hryciw and Herd. “I really like the club very much; it’s important for all of us,” Levytsky said. “As a freshman, it’s nicely different to share cultural similarities with fellow Ukrainians. I’ve looked for something like this since fall 2022. It’s cool to have a place where I can celebrate Ukrainian customs because someday I want to do pysanky egg decorating.”

“We need to become an official club because we want to organize authentic Ukrainian cultural events and promote a better understanding of our traditions to the student body,” said Hryciw. “FUS creates an environment for the community to get together, take advantage of great fundraising opportunities and create a Ukrainian space on campus. We dream

of even connecting the Ukrainian students of NYC as well.”

Hryciw wore a pink bucket hat, a trademark symbol of the Ukrainian Kalush Orchestra, which won the Eurovision music competition in 2022. When Kalush won Eurovision, Ukrainians began wearing pink bucket hats in unity, just like Yustina’s, which is signed by several members of the orchestra.

Joshua Fiorentino, FCRH ’25, spotted Yustina’s hat from the second floor balcony above the event. “I watched Eurovision, and as a fan, it’s very nice to see everything connect together.”

The Kalush Orchestra’s winning music video features mothers sacrificing everything to save their kids, an enduring theme of present strife and striving for growth by the next generation.

“We want Ukraine to win completely,” said Hryciw on the war in Ukraine. “And take back all Ukrainian territory.”

“No matter what, I’ve always been proud to be Ukrainian,” said Coordinator Levytsky. “Always going to be proud, too.”

FUS has an Instagram page, @fordham_ukrainians, with different resources and upates about the club.

Fordham Resident Assistants Union File Anti-Labor Charges

FROM UNION, PAGE 1

association” and fundamental rights in the workplace.

Two of the organizing members, FRA Peter Wolff, FCRH ’23, and Tarchithaa Chandra Sekharan, FCRH ’24, spoke to The Fordham Ram about the contents of the anti-labor charges: that the wording and implications of various points made in the university’s email are in violation of Sections 7 & 8 of the NLRA. These sections prohibit employers from interfering with the rights of their workers.

In response, Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications and special adviser to the president of Fordham, stated that, “the email referenced in the complaint was a statement of the labor law that binds us, an explanation of our inability to immediately respond to the issues raised in the RA’s petition.” Howe was referencing a petition that FRA filed with the university on February 1 requesting voluntary recognition of their union.

Howe’s statement seems to be referring to Section 8 of the

NLRA, which states that it is an unfair labor practice for an employer to “interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization.”

Section 7 of the NLRA guarantees that employees have “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations” in various modes.

“It’s threatening,” said Wolff, describing Gray’s email. “The way it comes off, it interferes with our right to organize.” The organizing members pointed to specific statements made in the email that they felt were especially misleading. The first of these statements regarded union dues.

“If the union is voted in,” reads the email, “we do not know what your dues will be, however, Local 153 represents Fordham’s clerical staff and their dues are approximately $582 per year.” OPEIU-Local 153 also represents the FRA.

In response to this point, “the numbers are just wrong,” said Wolff. “Union dues [for resident assistants] will not be $582. They are actually half that, they’ll be $24 a month.”

Wolff said that organizers had made it clear to potential union members that the FRA would be seeking a raise for its members that would more than make up for any union dues RAs had to pay.

“We only start paying dues once we get a contract and start making more money from either an RA stipend or some sort of hourly wages depending on the contract we negotiate,” he said.

“Statements regarding the union dues created a chilling effect in employees,” Wolff said, characterizing the antilabor charges and responding to the nature of the violations.

Wolff also claimed that the union dues would be outweighed by the increased financial compensation that would be negotiated by the union during bargaining sessions.

The organizing members also took grievance with another statement from Gray’s email, which reads:

“[T]he University cannot address the issues the RAs are organizing around now… as the University is not allowed to do

so during the union campaign and until the election has concluded.”

In response, Chandra Sekharana argues that the university has had plenty of time to address longstanding issues while Gray’s email suggests that the university needs to stay silent during the union’s campaign.

“They could have faced [the issues] many times before or after… they could have absolutely been like, ‘we hear your concerns, let’s do this,’” Chandra Sekharan stated.

The FRA also took issue with another statement in the email, which stated, “if the union is voted in, the union would become the exclusive representative of RAs at Rose Hill on matters related to pay, benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. If the union is not voted in, the university would be able to continue to work directly with RAs on those matters.”

Wolff said that the vagueness of the statement caused multiple RAs to question whether or not they would still be able to communicate with Resident

Directors or other bosses if the union is voted in by student RAs. “It creates a very dramatic image of what Residential Life is going to look like after the union is created,” Wolff commented about the statement, stating that it seemed to imply that RAs would not be able to talk with their RDs after unionization. “That very directly goes against parts of the Labor Relations Act and interferes with employee rights by threatening adverse consequences,” Wolff said.

The Fordham Ram asked for comments from various RAs, though the requests were declined.

The National Labor Relations Board is a federal agency dedicated to protecting workers’ rights to organize and petition for better working conditions. According to the NLRB’s website, “[m] ore than half of all charges are withdrawn or dismissed. In cases where an investigation finds probable merit, the majority settle by agreements between the parties. If no settlement can be reached, the Regional Director issues a complaint detailing the alleged violations.”

This is a developing story.

COURTESY OF ALEXANDER HOM FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Members of the club worked on a timeline of the War in Ukraine.

Students Speak on Study Abroad Program in Rome

By SOFIA DONOHUE ASST. NEWS EDITOR

On Feb. 1, Fordham Study Abroad emailed students who were completing applications to study at Loyola Chicago’s John Felice Rome Center (JFRC) to inform them that it was unlikely that students would be able to participate in the program in 2023-24 as they had anticipated. The email suggested that students move their application to one of the other study abroad partner programs in Italy or to a program in a different country. Students who had already started their applications to the JFRC frantically scheduled appointments with Fordham’s study abroad office to transfer their applications to a different program.

However, on Feb. 17, Fordham Study Abroad contacted students to inform them that “conversations with JFRC have progressed since our last outreach” and students can reinstate their application with the JFRC.

The Fordham Ram reached out to the Fordham Study Abroad office, who did not wish to comment, and the Ram did not receive a response from the Loyola Chicago Study Abroad office. Loyola Chicago’s John Felice Rome Center is the oldest U.S. university program in Rome and has a withstanding partnership with Fordham. Laura Kelly, FCRH ’23, chose to study abroad at the JFRC to be in the epicenter of Rome as well as reap the benefits of still attending a small, Jesuit college.

“I chose to go to the JFRC because I wanted to live with other American students, to have a

campus within the city of Rome, to feel like I had a slice of home in a foreign country [...] We had green spaces to lay and read, tennis courts and a library that were all our own. I can’t speak for every program in Rome, or in any country for that matter, but I think I would much rather prefer the JFRC style of studying abroad than being put up in an apartment somewhere without the tight-knit community feeling of still being at a Jesuit school,” said Kelly.

Michela Fahy, FCRH ’23, chose to study at the JFRC because it was the best study abroad option that fulfilled her major requirements. The fact that the JFRC has a Jesuit curriculum made it feasible for Fahy to complete her English, humanitarian studies and Italian classes. However, Fahy also developed an appreciation for the JFRC’s campus.

“Coming from New York’s greenest borough, I didn’t realize how nice it was to have an abundance of free space. In Rome, all the free space is made of ruins; I certainly found a different kind of beauty and comfort in that, but getting back to our little campus and sitting outside with a book or some music was a privilege,” said Fahy.

Kelly also noted the uniqueness of participating in a partner program with another Jesuit college rather than another Italy partner program Fordham offers such as the IES Rome Center, IES Siena Study in Tuscany and partnership with the Sapienza Università di Roma. “We did service projects together, had talent shows and performances, took field trips,

had a final banquet, had JFRC organized trips and went on hikes together as a community. That was really important to me. I don’t want to speak on behalf of every other study abroad program out there, to each their own, but the JFRC is really special,” Kelly reflected.

Fahy had the opportunity to participate in an internship at the Jesuit Curia, the Jesuit headquarters while studying at the JFRC.

“I got to work at the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, which is an office that works with different social centers on those social justice initiatives internationally. I went to work at the Jesuit headquarters in Vatican City and every day was a pinch-me moment,” said Fahy.

One of the reasons why Kelly chose to attend Fordham was due to the fact that they had a study abroad partnership with Loyola Chicago. Before committing to Fordham, she knew that she wanted to study abroad at the JFRC.

“I was between Loyola and Fordham when choosing a college, but when I realized I wanted to be in New York for school, one of the main reasons I chose Fordham is because I was still able to do the JFRC program through the partnership that they had.”

Although Kelly values the time she spent in Rome and is grateful for the opportunities she was able to take advantage of, COVID-19 and general communication issues within Fordham’s study abroad office tainted her experience abroad.

“The Fordham study abroad office was difficult to work with at times. I have to call out their ‘virtual

office,’ which is a singular Google Slide with a bitmoji and some clipart on it, linking to different pages on the Fordham study abroad website [...] If a student or parent has a question about something, odds are they have already read the website and don’t need a bitmoji telling them to read it again.”

Kelly was abroad in Rome during spring 2022, when COVID-19 was a major concern in Italy and Fordham had a travel ban on all their study abroad programs. Although Loyola Chicago students studying at the JFRC were permitted to travel outside of Italy, Fordham students had to abide by the travel ban or face expulsion from the program. During this time, Fordham students and their families negotiated with Fordham in order to try and lift the travel ban.

“The travel ban debacle that occurred in the spring 2022 semester showed the true colors of a few people in the Fordham study abroad office. They [Fordham study abroad] refused to speak to the director of the JFRC on the phone to talk about the travel ban and the disadvantages the Fordham students had while being at the JFRC when all the Loyola students were allowed to travel outside the country and we were not.”

Although Fahy’s experience abroad was affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, she recommends that Fordham students look into studying abroad at the JFRC; the tight-knit community at the JFRC is one of the aspects of Fahy’s semester abroad that she cherished the most. “Fordham had imposed a counterintuitive travel mandate to keep students

from contracting the coronavirus. Everything was very much in flux, and yet it was a beautiful experience… Having a community is one of the things that was hardest for me to leave behind at Fordham, and the JFRC did a great job at trying to create community spaces throughout the semester to bring people together in an unfamiliar environment. We had planned trips, special event nights at the campus, a JFRC newspaper, a calcio (soccer) league, exercise classes and even karaoke nights,” said Fahy.

However, since she was participating in a partner program rather than a Fordham study abroad program, Fahy had difficulty preparing for her semester abroad in terms of organizing transfer credits and attaining student visas. “It became clear that the checkpoints needed to prepare for a semester abroad would be completely selfmotivated. I had friends who were participating in Fordham programs like Granada and London and they had the ease of course transfers, were given help attaining student visas and had virtual sessions with information pertaining to their individual programs,” noted Fahy.

According to Kelly, lack of communication between Fordham’s study abroad office and students is a continuing problem. “I’ve called in recent weeks to inquire about the complications with the partnership [Loyola’s JFRC] because I know some people who really want to attend, and I was simply met with ‘we don’t work with them anymore’ and was refused any further information.”

Fordham Prepares For Another Year of Room Selection

By SOFIA DONOHUE ASST. NEWS EDITOR

For students who plan to live on-campus for the 202324 academic year, room selection is fast-approaching. Student housing is guaranteed for four-year students at both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center. 48% of Fordham students live in on-campus housing.

In recent years, getting first-choice housing has been challenging for many undergraduate students, particularly freshmen and sophomores, due to increases in first year class size.

“Our returning students who have returned to housing continue to return at steady rates. Our first year student classes in housing have been slightly larger the past two years and we work hard each year to make good on Fordham’s guarantee of housing,” said Nicole Vaughan, assistant director of Residential Life for Housing Operations at Rose Hill.

Room selection is designed to give upperclassmen more options to choose their housing as well as fair opportunities within classes. Upperclassmen are assigned an earlier time slot to select housing than underclassmen.

“Students are assigned a time slot based on their class year. Other than class year, students who deposited for housing on time and are go -

ing through our room selection process are randomly assigned a time slot to ensure a fair and equal opportunity to choose their preferred housing,” said Vaughan.

Although time slots are assigned randomly to ensure fairness throughout the room selection process, students can only hope that they or their roommates are assigned an early time slot. If students have a later time slot, there’s the possibility that there will be no rooms available by the time it’s their turn to select their room.

Elizabeth Sadler, FCRH ’25, was placed in Post-Room Selection while completing room selection last year. Sadler was trying to select a double-room in O’Hare Hall for her and her roomate.

“There wasn’t any housing left in O’Hare or Finlay [Hall] that fit my group size during my time slot, which was 11:30 [a.m.]. My time slot was the earliest between me and my roommate,” said Sadler.

“In part because of the housing types available and strong demand we have seen — especially first year housing — room selection has for many years been designed to give students in the upper classes more options to choose their housing,” Vaughan said.

The Room Selection Manual states that, toward the end of room selection, there comes a point where there are no rooms

left to choose. Students unable to pick a room go into PostRoom Selection and are guaranteed housing and are placed in housing throughout July and August.

“Our office sends a Post Room Selection form to all students in the post room selection pool to gather their housing preferences including style of housing/hall preference, roommate requests and these factors’ order of importance. The number can vary, but is generally between 300 and 500 students [in the post-room selection pool] depending on demand. Of course, the pandemic affected demand greatly.”

Although Sadler and her roommate were eventually guaranteed housing in O’Hare, they didn’t receive their housing assignment until mid-July.

“I was extremely stressed about my housing assignment. I heard tons of stories of people being separated from their roommates, getting placed with random people and winding up in totally different dorms than they requested,” said Sadler.

The class of 2026 consists of 2,600 students, an enrollment number only slightly lower than the class of 2025. Although Fordham’s class sizes have increased over the past two years, Residential Life is equipped to accommodate all students who wish to live

on-campus.

“We continue to handle the housing demand through our room selection process and work with Admissions very closely to ensure there’s space for all incoming students accepted with housing,” said Vaughan.

“I am anticipating some housing issues; getting a time slot is always stressful and I would definitely prefer not to have to go into post room selection. Most people I know are dreading housing sign ups,” said Sadler.

Residential Life said it is available to assist students who have any unanswered questions about room selection, who are unsure about the housing options or who

are anxious about the upcoming room selection process. “Call us or send us an email — we are here to help. We would also recommend that students take the process one step at a time. To start, reading the Room Selection Manual will provide great insights into the process and the best steps. If there are particular questions, please reach out to roomselection@fordham.edu and we are available to answer questions. On the days of room selection, we are available via phone and will monitor the email account as well if students have any questions or difficulties,” said Vaughan.

COURTESY OF NICOLETA PAPAVASILAKIS/THE FORDHAM

Housing Selection is an annual process for students.

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 every Wednesday during the academic year to all campuses.

Website

TheFordhamRam.com

Email Address theram@fordham.edu

Editor in Chief

Isabel Danzis

Managing Editor

Sebastian Diaz

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Michael Sluck

Editorial Director

Jamison Rodgers

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Frances Schnepff

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Matthew Colucci

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Hannah Boring

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Sophia Forlenza

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Emma Kim

Features Editor

Samantha Minear

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Sofia Donohue

Grace Galbreath

Opinion Editor

Nicole Braun

Assistant Opinion Editors

Evan McManus

Olivia Teare

Culture Editors

Kari White

Ilaina Kim

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Lauren Lombardi

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Maddie Bimonte

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Lou Orlando

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Editorial Policy

The Fordham Ram’s editorial reflects the editorial board’s opinions or views.

Opinion Policy

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

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The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject or edit any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. No part of the The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

From the Desk | Grace Galbreath

Finding My “Thing” Through Trial and Error

In my first two years at Fordham, I have joined every club you can imagine. It has become quite an impressive list, spanning from Magic Club to College Democrats to Women’s Empowerment. The list, however, becomes a little less impressive when you consider how few of those clubs I’ve kept up with.

I would categorize myself as a joiner. I spent my first two semesters searching for a hobby that I enjoyed and religiously joining clubs in hopes to find one that I actually wanted to pursue. Regardless, I have probably joined (and abandoned) more clubs in my first two years at Fordham than most people do in their whole college careers. During my freshman year, weekly calls to my family always inevitably circled back to their favorite question: “What new club did you join this week?”

The reason for my serial abandonment of clubs was not a lack of motivation, but due to a lack of inspiration. I know it sounds cheesy, but I was determined to find a club that I really enjoyed. Sure, I could just simply attend weekly meetings, put the club membership on my resume and call it a day, but I wanted to find something that

was “my thing.”

It may not come as a shock, but finding “your thing” does not come easy. It took me a semester of aimlessly joining clubs, attending random meetings and embarking on odd club sponsored trips, to find something that I felt truly passionate about.

Although none of the clubs I joined during the “trial period” were a perfect fit, they all helped narrow my search. Through each club I joined, I was able to meet a lot of new people and make some lifelong friends. In fact, I met my current roommate Carolyn as a result of attending a last-minute club meeting.

Around this time last year, I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel. Freshman year was coming to an end and it was fine if I didn’t find something that I really enjoyed. I had a good group of friends and my grades were fine, and most of all I liked Fordham. I was no longer concerned with finding something perfect for me.

Then, I found the newspaper. I’m proud that since joining the Ram, I can say I have finally found “my thing.” Writing, specifically for the news section, is something I enjoy doing

weekly. Each week, I anticipate the arrival of an email containing possible stories to cover. I even look forward to setting up interviews with outside sources and getting student opinions.

Because I put less pressure on myself to succeed, the Ram came a lot easier than the other clubs I tried. More importantly, I returned to the Ram my sophomore year, meaning a club finally stuck! Although I am relatively new, having only become a member of the Volume 105 staff this January, I am so thankful to have found something that sparked my interest.

I won’t lie and say writing for the Ram came easy. Sometimes I still get frustrated trying to

Editorial | Labor-Based Grading

get in contact with unreachable sources or trying to hit daunting word counts (I don’t remember the last time I turned in something over 600 words!), but at least I have finally found something that is right for me.

While I definitely do not condone leaving something behind without giving it a chance, I have realized that it is an important step to learning and growing. I guess my point in writing this article is to provide reassurance that finding your passion takes time. “Your thing” is waiting, you just need to find it.

So try something new, and if you don’t enjoy it, give something else a chance!

Labor-Based Grading Gets a Solid C+

Midterm season is coming to a close as the university approaches spring break, and with it an enormous weight has been lifted off of students’ shoulders. The stress and time consumption of studying, writing or preparing for these exams has come and gone and now students can breathe a sigh of relief. That is until the realization of a new stressful time period settles over the student body: the limbo of waiting for midterm grades to be released.

Every student feels differently about grades, but for most, there is some degree of stress surrounding them. Whether grades are tied to a scholarship, a graduation requirement or simply a source of pride, they tend to produce a sense of anxiety in students. In an attempt to alleviate some of this anxiety related to the outcome of a course and refocus that energy to enjoying learning for learning’s sake, some professors have implemented a labor-based grading system.

In essence, the labor-based grading contract is setting a default grade for a class and if students complete their assignments according to directions they are guaranteed a certain grade in the course. For example, if a professor sets the default grade at a B, then the student should turn in their assignments in accordance with the instructions they are guaranteed a B at the end of the semester. Additionally, should a student want a grade higher than the default, there are opportunities to

increase that score through additional, optional assignments.

Keeping this description in mind, labor-based grading sounds eerily similar to receiving a participation trophy. The methodology behind awarding a participation trophy is mirrored in the way that labor-based grades are given out. The purpose of a grade is not just a completion check mark, but a tool for students to use to monitor academic progress. Grades can be used as a tool to help students improve a skill or expand their knowledge. It is disheartening to receive a lower grade than expected or desired, but that lower grade can help springboard the student to a higher grade and they can learn something along the way. Using the feedback from the lower grade to see what went wrong and how to improve is the way students can build on their skills. Without that feedback, how will students know what needs to be improved for the future and how will they know when they have successfully incorporated those improvements?

Additionally, a labor-based grading system is unnecessary. Professors using a traditional grading system outline their grading criteria in the syllabi at the beginning of the semester, meaning students have access to the expectations of their work. It is not a requirement for students to earn the highest grade possible. If a student is comfortable with earning a B or C, then they can self-select how much labor to put into their assignments based on their professors’ grading cri-

teria. Furthermore, a student should be able to earn an A in a course without having to complete optional assignments. It should be possible to earn the highest grade in a course based on what is assigned in the course.

Also, while grades can be a source of stress, they can also be used as a source of motivation. College is supposed to be a time of preparation for students before they graduate and are sent into the workforce or pursue postgraduate studies. There will be times in those paths that a task or assignment comes up that will not be appealing. It is necessary to build and foster internal motivation skills now in order to carry out those tasks. Now is the time to learn how to self-motivate and grades are one way to do that.

Moreover, there is a psychological theory related to how moderate levels of stress can help people achieve their peak performance. This theory, the Yerkes-Dodson Law, proposes that there is an optimum level of

stress needed for a person to perform well on a task. Any lower or higher than that level and the performance diminishes. Granted, individual levels of stress differ, but taking away the incentivization of grades which results in lower levels of stress could lead to a lower performance.

Labor-based grading is nice in theory: decrease student stress about the outcome and increase their interest in the course material. However, there are many flaws to this method of grading. It can lead to poorer performance in students without the incentive of grades to motivate them, it becomes much more difficult to track student progress and improvement and it does a disservice to the self-motivation skills that students will need to have in the future.

If you have any questions, concerns or inquiries, please email therameditorialdirector@ gmail.com

More Transparency Needed Regarding Murky Ohio Chemical Spill

By AVA CARREIRO DIGITAL PRODUCER

Though the plumes of toxic black smoke engulfing a small Ohio town have dissipated, much about the incident still remains unclear. Now being named the biggest natural disaster in the United States, the Ohio train derailment that took place in early February is still far from resolution due to insufficient transparency from officials.

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train traveling from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa., derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, resulting in a hazardous chemical spill and widespread fire. The small town of East Palestine, located on the Ohio and Pennsylvania border, was engulfed in smoke.

The derailed train cars carried a variety of toxic chemicals, posing an imminent threat to those living in the surrounding areas of the spill. Fears of an explosion resulted in a mandatory evacuation on Feb. 6, with Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine telling residents that leaving was a “matter of life and death.” While residents who evacuated were cleared to return to their homes on Feb. 8, the effects of the derailment appear to still be persistent.

The way that Ohio state officials, Norfolk Southern and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have handled the situation thus far is abysmal. Not only is their lack of transparency suspicious, but it’s life-threatening. Far too much time has gone by for residents to still have burning questions, waiting on answers and worried for their lives.

A month has passed since the incident and officials have reassured residents that the area is cleared

for safety, however, not everyone is convinced. Many residents within the vicinity of the chemical spill have reported symptoms of exposure such as nausea, headaches, burning sensations in the eyes and a lingering smell of chlorine in the air.

Among the chemicals that spilled were thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride, which is colorless, highly flammable and has been linked to liver cancer, leukemia and lung cancer. When vinyl chloride catches on fire, it can produce hydrochloric acid and phosgene gas, which was commonly used as a choking agent in World War I.

Short-term effects of exposure to the chemicals spilled include dizziness, shortness of breath, coughing, nausea, drowsiness, burning in the skin and eyes, hospitalization and even death. When dealing with such dangerous substances, it is imperative that law enforcement communicate their findings to residents to the fullest extent possible.

Norfolk Southern — the company of the train that derailed — is currently being sued by local business owners under the argument that it “failed to exercise reasonable care to protect local residents who were exposed to toxic substances.”

It’s time for Norfolk Southern, as well as Ohio state officials and the EPA, to face the public and address their concerns.

Another concern is the fact that this spill has contaminated water in the Ohio River, which is connected to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and it is a source of drinking water for many Americans. In the weeks following the incident, Ohio residents noticed the river bubbling with the appearance of

an oil slick. Some residents took to social media to show fogginess and film in their tap water, deemed safe for consumption by the EPA. It is estimated that over 43,000 fish have died as a result of the chemical spill, causing many to feel skeptical on how transparent the EPA and Ohio state officials really are. It seems rather suspicious that within just two days, residents were cleared to re-enter the area as if nothing had happened.

In an interview with Purdue University professor Andrew J. Whelton, he explained that “state, federal, and local officials haven’t been forthright and transparent enough with the population.” When the incident first occurred, it took nine days for officials to reveal the contents of the train cars to the public. Lives depend on the information released from these officials, and their response time and communication effort has been despicable.

Whelton also mentioned that drinking water test results have not been made available, and thousands of other chemicals may have been created when the initial ones were burnt. He stressed the fact that none of these chemicals are meant for human exposure, and that both the Ohio government and Norfolk Southern must take initiative and answer the many questions that have been raised.

The best course of action is for Ohio officials, Norfolk Southern and the EPA to answer these questions explicitly with proof. By focusing more effort on public relations, education and data, these organizations can help remedy the public hysteria caused by their lack of communication.

First, public hearings need to

be held with representatives from each organization. That way, the communities that have been directly affected can voice their concerns and have their questions answered in real time. For the broader public, a press conference must be held, and representatives must be trained to answer each question in a clear and specific manner.

These organizations must also take the initiative to educate the public about this disaster. This can be done through utilizing websites, social media or even helplines to report concerns. It is their responsibility to inform the public about the long-term effects of exposure, treatment recommendations and how to take the proper precautions.

The last component is data transparency. They need to create an area, such as a website, where all

of the results from safety tests can be publicized. Residents are still waiting to find actual results from drinking water and soil tests, and they have a right to see for themselves that they are no longer in danger.

In any crisis, clear and quick communication is critical to ensure the safety of those it has affected. The Ohio state officials, along with Norfolk Southern and the EPA, must take initiative and be transparent with their findings. Lives depend on the answers that they can provide, and by remaining silent, they keep thousands of people in the dark.

Meta Verified Exploits the Necessity for Cybersecurity

By EMMA FOLEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In lieu of CEO Elon Musk’s decision to charge Twitter users a monthly fee for that coveted blue verification check, Meta has followed suit, with their recent rollout of Meta Verified. While the move will increase security for those who pay the monthly fees, the precedent it sets is problematic.

Meta Verified will allow its users verification services — guaranteed security and engagement enhancements — if they pay the $11.99 monthly fee for the web or $14.99 for iOS. This marks a massive shift, as so far the blue checkmark has been reserved for a select group of public figures and experts. Musk criticized this old method, calling it a “lords and peasants system,” and seems to see his and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decisions as more egalitarian approaches to social media. However, this is complete hypocrisy.

One of the most obvious criticisms of this decision is that people shouldn’t have to pay to protect their online security at all. The sentiment is best expressed by

Facebook user Jason Waterfalls, who tweeted: “making users pay for account verification and security services is like a car manufacturer charging extra for seatbelts and airbags. Twitter, Instagram [and] Facebook gotta do better.”

He’s right, security should be a given, not an add-on.

Meta Verified being a premium and paid-for service is absolutely strategic, considering how much of a necessity online security is. Around one-fifth of U.S. adults and teens experienced their social media profiles getting hacked, just in the first three months of 2023. So obviously, there’s a problem with identification. However, other apps like Tinder offer the same blue-checked promise of security without asking its users for money. This only reinforces the idea that a user shouldn’t have to pay for these features. Instead of equalizing the process of verification, both Meta and Twitter are replacing the old social media feudalism with a new hierarchy: one based on wealth instead of intellectual or social status.

Additionally, the move has also been criticized by cybersecurity experts, who think this racket will

have a crazy upsell effect on customers. They see the blue check as becoming the “have or havenot” of social media security. And in my own opinion, giving someone the choice to pay for something perceived as necessary isn’t choice at all; it’s exploitation.

This is all especially ridiculous considering that every user of social media — whether they realize it or not — are already paying for these platforms with their personal data.

Social media data mining is an incredibly profitable business. Advertising as an industry has always been around, but only until the existence of Facebook have companies had the opportunity to cherry pick a desired audience.

By this point in the age of media literacy, most people probably understand that the awesome-hipsterT-shirt-of-their-favorite-band’s presence on their Instagram feed isn’t a coincidence. By making it desirable to show off all aspects of our lives to our hundreds (or thousands if you’re really cool) of followers, these third-party social media sites gain access to all of this precious data and subsequently sell it to advertisers. All of our posts, comments,

likes — everything down to the seconds spent looking at an image on these sites — are desired commodities.

In my opinion, it’s only the general populous’ acceptance of data mining that has made decisions like Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s possible. Like I wrote earlier, we generally know that the things we see on advertisements are curated towards us. And historically, we’ve accepted this selling of our data as a baseline condition of social media. In my view, this is primarily the fault of social media companies, who (based on my experience with the terms and conditions pop up) strategically try to make their policies impossible to read and leave us

to sigh at our screens mouthing something like “oh well.”

Through our lack of protest and dependence of social media, I think we’ve de-valued the necessary data that we provide. It is imperative that we view our data as the premium commodity that it is, if it has to be commodified at all, and demand more from social media companies in return. The benefits — especially in terms of security — that this expensive verification process provides feels like a proper place to start.

Ava Carreiro, GSB ’24, is a marketing major from New Providence, N.J.

Emma Foley, FCRH ’24, is an English and philosophy major fromBurlington,Conn.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Ohioans believe they’re being lied to in the aftermath of the chemical spill.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Social media users should not have to pay an extra fee for cybersecurity.

Jimmy Carter: An Exemplar for U.S. Politicians

By NORA LEACH STAFF WRITER

During a time when we only focus on the negative aspects of our politicians, there is one politician we should all look up to for his kindness and service to others: former President Jimmy Carter.

The Carter Center announced that Carter, now 98 years old, has decided to enter hospice care surrounded by the support of his family. He will certainly leave an important mark on the history of the United States, but the question is, what type of legacy will that be?

Carter’s presidency from 1977 to 1981 had its achievements, such as efforts to improve the environment, the creation of the Department of Education and internationally the Camp David agreements to promote peace between Egypt and Israel.

However, despite these successes, Carter’s presidency was far from perfect. His presidency has usually been remembered more negatively, particularly for his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis, which eclipsed his administration’s accomplishments. He was voted out of office after one term, and Ronald Reagan’s landslide victory has forever tainted his reputation. As time has passed, more Americans have started to recognize Carter was dealt a bad hand during his presidency, including author Jonathan Alter, who called Carter “the most misunderstood president.”

Despite this, his failures will probably always be at the forefront of discussions.

After leaving the Oval Office, Carter had something that not many other former presidents have: a prominent and important post-presidential career. He couldn’t make the long-lasting, meaningful impact he would have wanted during his four years in office, but he did during his post-presidency. You could be a Republican, Democrat or neither, but you cannot deny that Carter’s dedication to philanthropy and human rights is monumental and meaningful. Arguably, he has done more good for this country and the world than many American politicians. He sought to do this during his four years in office, but when he couldn’t, he decided to devote the rest of his life to causes that he cherishes. This is admirable; he could have taken the paycheck once he left office and retired, but he saw that there was still work to be done and persisted in making a difference.

There are so many of his postpresidential accomplishments that I cannot list them all, but here are the three that I believe are the most impressive and showcase his kindness and commitment to the good of all people.

First, he established the Carter Center in 1982, an organization dedicated to resolving conflicts such as human rights and health. The center’s achievements have been impressive and include the near eradication of the Guinea

Worm. The center reported an alltime low of merely 13 cases worldwide in 2022.

Second, he has remained active in international relations. In 1994, he was involved in the first peacemaking efforts between the United States and North Korea in 40 years, which led to North Korea’s agreement to denuclearize. He remained passionate about such negotiations in 2019 when he volunteered to travel to North Korea on behalf of former President Donald Trump. Even though he did not belong to the same political party as Trump, his suggestion showed that he was willing to put political and personal differences aside for the safety and good of other countries. It’s a shame that there are many American politicians who cannot do the same.

Finally, he and his wife, Rosalynn, have dedicated their lives to volunteering throughout the United States. They have formed a partnership, the Carter Work Project, with Habitat for Humanity to combat the issue of affordable housing, where they have volunteered for over 35 years. Even in his old age, he cared about going forward and helping the most vulnerable populations.

All of these successes and more earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, one of only four U.S. presidents to do so. And this is why Carter is unlike most politicians. Every decision he made during his post-presidential career has kept human rights in

mind. His work demonstrates that he prioritized making a difference during and after his presidency; the power and prestige were never priorities. This isn’t to say that politicians do not care about the problems in and outside of the United States, because I’m sure many of them do. But when most debates among former and current politicians consist of personal attacks and corruption, it’s not unreasonable to assume that they do not have our best interests. Meaningful change requires years of hard work and dedication, and all politicians, especially former presidents, should follow Carter as an example, with or without the titles of “senator,”

“representative” or “president.”

If I had to name the most important takeaway from Carter’s life, it would be that your past mistakes do not always define you. If you are committed to making a difference, even if you failed at first, you should dedicate yourself to the causes you care the most about, with or without the power. He may not have been the perfect, ideal president for many Americans, but he was a phenomenal activist, philanthropist and, most importantly, human. That, in my mind, will be his legacy.

Lack of Personal Connection Is a Barrier to Academic Success

By ALEXANDRA RAPP CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The midterm season typically includes stress, exhaustion and questions about what a student needs to do to be successful. As Fordham University plummets into the spring-semester midterm season, students struggle with concerns over excessively difficult materials or exams and differences in professors’ teaching styles impacting their likelihood of success. At least, these are the top two concerns according to Inside Higher Ed’s 2023 Student Voice survey. According to their survey, students identified that not only are excessively difficult materials and differences in teaching methods a perceived barrier to success, but balancing obligations, unclear expectations from professors and mental health difficulties all impede their success.

Midterm season can leave a lot of students and faculty feeling scattered, as the anticipation for spring break and anxieties over how to complete everything makes even the most put-together students and faculty on edge for a two to three week period of the spring. According to Higher Ed’s survey, nearly 6 in 10 students want professors to be more flexible about deadlines to ease the course load

burden. But would this really aid students’ real and perceived barriers to success? What about getting to know students better — would that help a student’s success in the long run? According to one-third of Higher Ed’s respondents, yes.

55% of the students surveyed said they had received guidance on required courses and course sequences needed for graduation from an advisor. So, is the issue more administrative than it is personal or academic? American University Provost Emeritus, Scott Bass’ book “Administratively Adrift: Overcoming Institutional Barriers for College Student Success” tackles this issue head-on, calling for reforms to the educational philosophy that has left the current generation of college students feeling left behind and overlooked by their schools. He echoes the same sentiments of many college students, and Fordham’s own “cura personalis” that the role of the administration is to care for the whole student. He claims that administrations have failed to consider the “whole-student experience,” and have thus impeded the success of their students.

Each individual at Fordham comes away with their own unique experiences and any number of factors can make a difference in a person’s experiences

academically and socially. And similar to how every person’s college experience is unique to them, so too is Fordham unique to other academic institutions who have their own merits and pitfalls to face. Higher Ed cited that students often wanted to gain closer relationships with their professors, believing that this relationship would improve their success academically. When asking a Fordham student about this same concern, Ben Reilly, FCRH ’23, said Fordham’s “small class sizes have really empowered me to succeed academically. Personal relationships with faculty, staff and other students create a community of practice which is the best environment in which to learn, grow and succeed.” One of the university’s greatest assets echoed by students across campuses and majors is its small class sizes, making the learning environment feel more personalized and adaptable to class needs. Fordham’s Jesuit structure provides a unique experience to students and professors, but barriers to academic success can come in all shapes and sizes. The sentiment appears to be that it is both up to the students and Fordham as an institution to take responsibility, shifting academia towards a culture built to foster student curiosity and in-class engagement. Unfortunately, a real difficulty

during Fordham’s midterm season, and a great example of the stressors that permeate throughout the Fordham campus this time of year, is getting anyone to voice their concerns about their students’ and own barriers to success — professors and students alike are faced with higher-than-average expectations, and asking more of them seems to be expecting more than is realistic. This time of year makes it difficult for anyone to take on even more than is already expected of them, including the time to unpack classroom level and personal barriers to academic success.

As the midterm season comes to an end and students and faculty get a much deserved break, maybe more people will have the time to worry about the stressors that make the midterm season so difficult, and what they need to do to make themselves or their students successful. At least enough time to consider the necessary changes needed before finals season sneaks up on the students and faculty of Fordham University.

Alexandra Rapp, FCRH ’24, is a history and international studies majorfromHershey,Pa.

Nora Leach, FCRH ’24, is an English and American studies major from Groton, Mass.

COURTESY OF TWITTER Carter devoted his post-presidential career to philanthropic efforts.

COURTESY OF PIXABY

Fordham’s small class sizes help students feel connected to their professors.

Former History Teacher Ron DeSantis Bans AP African American History

By HANNAH BORING COPY CHIEF

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) sent a letter to the College Board Florida Partnership on Jan. 23 stating that FDOE will be banning the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course from being taught in Florida schools. The reasoning was that the course, in its pilot state, “is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

This is just another example of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reaching into the spheres of education, believing he is the almighty knower of all that is good and American and only he can protect our children from “woke indoctrination.”

But instead, this is only an attack on education, on history and the necessary understanding of how our society came to be.

Among the topics DeSantis had an issue with are intersectionality, Black queer studies, Black Lives Matter, Black feminist literary thought and the reparations movement. The new official framework for the course, shortly released after DeSantis’ ban, omits many of the topics he disagreed with, along with certain (and very important) scholars like bell hooks and Angela Davis. While this isn’t surprising coming from the same government that passed the “Don’t Say Gay” law last year preventing certain classroom discussions

surrounding gender and sexual identity, it is every bit as depressing and disappointing.

As if this situation couldn’t get any worse, in early February following the backlash of the AP African American Studies ban, DeSantis suggested that Florida should do away with College Board altogether.

This would be detrimental to high school students in Florida, as the state has one of the highest participation rates in AP courses in the U.S. Passing the AP exam with a high score can transfer as college credit to many higher education institutions, and a good SAT score puts you higher on the acceptance list than those who haven’t, even though many institutions have made it optional following COVID-19.

As exploitative as College Board can be, it is necessary for students to participate in their programs if they want to pursue higher education. Other advanced courses, like International Baccalaureate and dual-enrollment programs, are not as easily accessible as College Board. If Florida were to stop their collaboration with College Board, thousands of students would be negatively impacted, especially those who wouldn’t be able to afford to take AP classes or standardized testing outside of school-funded programs.

The main priority of education should be to better the students’ knowledge and equip them with

the necessary tools to succeed in life. Providing ethnic studies classes can help students in many more ways than just learning about history; A study done on a ninth-grade ethnic studies class offered by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) showed that these classes have strong, positive impacts on participating students, including more consistent attendance, higher graduation rate and increased likelihood of attending higher education. When these students, especially students of color, got to study in-depth about different cultures, they were able to view history through their own perspective, which is incredibly important when considering that roughly 54% of all U.S. public school students are persons of color.

Ironically, in 1994, Florida became the first state to mandate the teaching of African American history in schools. With everything DeSantis is fighting against, it seems almost impossible that Florida is the state that started passing laws to teach Black history.

Through this, DeSantis has made his possible 2024 presidential campaign about the eradication of history, banning vital cultural topics and controlling the classroom, all under the guise of education reform.

While current Florida politics are interesting in a majorly infuriating way, I will admit that I am not well-versed in the overall

aspects of DeSantis’ time as governor. I am, however, adamant about the need for a well-rounded education and the importance of schools being a safe-space for students to learn and live — both of which DeSantis has proven he does not really care about outside of his personal political agenda.

Given the situation, I was surprised to find that DeSantis was actually a history teacher at Darlington School in Georgia prior to his political career. With his experience working in education, it should be assumed that he wants the students of Florida to learn as much as they can, but his actions are contradicting that assumption. If DeSantis truly cared for students, he wouldn’t limit what they could learn. He wouldn’t ban history classes, no matter how “controversial” they are. The bright side of AP classes is that they are optional — no one is required to take them. It’s a choice, and it should be

God, Hallowed Be Thy Gender

By NICOLE BRAUN OPINION EDITOR

Despite what Ariana Grande said, we really can’t be sure if God is a woman. While the language of the Church of England should reflect this fact, changing that gendered language is a much more nuanced issue than it may initially seem.

Last month, officials of the Church of England announced that they were considering implementing the use of gender neutral language in how they refer to God. This is a remarkable step forward in dismantling the patriarchal language of one of society’s foremost institutions.

While I doubt the extensive validity of the church’s claim that using gender neutral language is “nothing new,” as “Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female,” this announcement comes amidst more discussion and acceptance of a genderless God, as gender is an arbitrary concept enforced by societal norms.

Many Christians have already been using gender neutral language to describe God. Yii-Jan Lin, an associate professor at Yale Divinity School, says that the way we often refer to God with masculine pronouns is a

result of a “patriarchal society through almost all of history. And so that has just been a part of human constructions of God, which has been dominated by masculine power.”

That being said, I am skeptical if such language will ever be implemented and what kind of significance it will have as the Church of England “currently has no plans to drop the use of male pronouns for God.”

In the weeks following the Church of England’s announcement, the church’s spokesperson has been quick to clarify that “there are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation.” This is an interesting clarification because… then what is the plan, if not to revise existing liturgies? Where and when exactly will the gender neutral language for God be implemented?

Take the Lord’s Prayer, for example. Even those of us who are only somewhat Christian and hardly religious know that it begins with “Our Father.” How does the church plan on adjusting that prayer to include neutral language? Should they even change this language, because in changing the pronouns and switching “Father” to “Parent”

that would also change the connotation of the prayer? “The fact that God is called ‘Father’ can’t be substituted by ‘Mother’ without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralized to ‘Parent’ without loss of meaning,” according to Rev. Dr Ian Paul.

I understand that this is probably one of the main questions to be deliberated by church officials, but, along with their announcement, the Church of England should have at least given some insight as to how the proposed language changes would be put into practice.

Without any specifics on how exactly these changes would be implemented, and already being told not to expect any major liturgical changes, it feels as though this is merely a ploy to bolster the church’s falling attendance levels. This would not be the first time in recent years that the Church of England has done something similar — as in, implement, or float the idea of, a modern practice, and then not follow it up with any meaningful action. For example, around the time of the announcement regarding rhetorical changes, the Church of England stated that they would allow samesex couples to be blessed in the church following their marriage ceremonies, yet they still aren’t

the students’ choice, but DeSantis wants to decide for them.

When we limit what students can learn, we limit their knowledge of the world. We remove opportunities for these students to grow into well-rounded people. We hurt the students who just want to be seen in a textbook, to see their history laid out in front of them in a way that isn’t solely from the lens of their ancestors’ conquerors. These students deserve the opportunity to understand, to grow, to learn.

As renowned Tallahassee pastor Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes Jr. said, “Black history is not inferior, and Black history does not lack educational value.” Once DeSantis and the FDOE can finally understand this, maybe our country will start making some progress.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

the church has been discussing making such linguistic changes since 2014, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

At first glance, it seems as though the Church of England’s decision to consider implementing gender neutral language in reference to God is a wholly positive thing, as it reflects changing attitudes and modern understandings of religion. Yet the lack of clarity in how exactly the rhetoric will be altered exposes the hollowness of the institution and calls the sincerity of their decision into question.

The Church of England considers changing the language used to refer to God. allowed to get married in an Anglican church. Such half measure probably appeased some people who have been critical of Christianity’s historically staunchly anti-LGBTQ+ stance, but the lack of definitive acceptance and embrace of queer people makes the decision feel slightly shallow. It also causes one to question if the decision was motivated by a genuine desire to be more inclusive, and how much of it is motivated by their need to supplant a decreasing audience? Such a question can be applied to the neutral language proposal, too.

Significant or not, if these changes are ever made it is unclear when they will actually be enacted. Considering that

Hannah Boring, FCRH ’25, is an English major from Annapolis, Md.

Nicole Braun, FCRH ’24, is an English major from Saddle River, N.J

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Ron Desantis’s culture war stances have put the national spotlight on him.

“Running in Heels” Looks Difficult for 2024 Hopeful

By NOAH OSBORNE STAFF WRITER

Temperatures aren’t all that’s warming up this spring, as anticipation around the 2024 presidential election continues to reach new highs. Talks are simmering about who will challenge President Joe Biden, and for the most part, Democrats seem united around Biden running for a second term. However, things look much less certain among Republicans, as members of the GOP contemplate what the future of the party looks like in the wake of former President Donald Trump tossing his red hat in the ring for a third time. One thing is certain — Nikki Haley’s bid for the ticket looks wobbly.

There are quite a few reasons as to why that’s the case. Firstly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is heavily rumored to run, and following his dominant victory during the midterms, seems to be a Republican favorite to challenge Trump. Secondly, early polling data looks lukewarm for the former South Carolina governor, as Haley trails behind both Trump and DeSantis. However, most noticeable is the fact that Haley served under Trump as UN Ambassador — signifying a glaring hole in her campaign pitch to not put up with bullies.

While those are three highly legitimate reasons as to why a Haley run looks like an awkward walk, what truly stands to hold her back as a viable candidate for the Oval Office

is the fact that she, like the rest of the GOP, refuses to acknowledge the big red elephant in the room — Donald Trump. Specifically, Haley has demonstrated a visible reluctance when speaking against her former boss, opting for subtlety over explicit call-outs. While one can chalk this up to Haley’s strong record as a politician, the rest of the country stands to sum it up to weakness in the face of a brash political juggernaut like Trump who has a track record of going for the jugular against his opponents — especially women. One cannot fight what they refuse to acknowledge, and tip-toeing around a still wildly popular Trump will not prove to be an effective strategy in the long run.

Trump’s tenacious grip on the Republican party has manifested itself in drastic ways –ranging from legislation to ban a woman’s right to choose to inflamed racial relations which saw an alarming resurgence of hate groups to democracy quite literally coming under the chopping block during the Jan. 6 insurrection. The GOP needs a candidate willing to denounce many of the systemic harms of the Trump-era for an American future rooted in principle rather than preference. The Trump administration has done far too much to disrupt the political atmosphere of America, and Haley’s decision to remain mum on many of those moral failings signals complicity.

Such silence is a surefire way to hand Trump the GOP nomination for what is bound to be one of the most unanticipated bouts for the presidency since 2016’s upsetting race.

Of course, many things stand to change between now and 2024. More Republican candidates are bound to enter the field, and it will only be so long until the GOP is forced to make a decision about the future of the Republican party. If 2016 has taught Americans anything, it should be that polls aren’t everything, and Haley should not yet be written off. After all, she has seen some growth among the Republican population, proving her power in the white male-dominated gladiatorial colosseum that is American politics by becoming the first female governor of South Carolina. As a woman of color who held the gubernatorial seat for three consecutive terms, she has accomplished notable feats such as removing the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds following the particularly gruesome killings of nine Black churchgoers at the Emanuel AME Church.

UN Ambassador Haley demonstrated her willingness to stand against foreign threats to America, controversially opting to sanction Russia. She also was a vocal critic of legislation that would have imposed upon transgender rights, denouncing a bill that would have had trans people use bathrooms as their gender assigned at birth. Make no mistake about it — Haley

is a political superstar who is indeed very capable of clinching the nomination, as well as securing the presidency. However, so long as she remains under the looming shadow of Trump, and continues to resort to soft-spined veiled jabs, she stands to be yet another one of Trump’s political victims or pawns.

There is a lot that Haley could do to prevent this. Specifically, Haley stands in a rather unique position as only the second contender for the GOP nomination. She is also momentarily the only female candidate in what is soon expected to be a crowded pool of male republicans vying for Biden’s seat. Adding to this, as a woman of color who admitted to experiencing discrimination given her Indian heritage, it’s not a longshot to predict that she enters the field with a chip on her shoulder. After all, she already found herself a victim of xenophobic attacks from Ann Coulter,

claiming that America is not a racist country. She also found herself the subject of sexist and ageist remarks by CNN’s Don Lemon, who inappropriately dubbed Haley past her prime for being 51, after she suggested the GOP needs a new generation of leaders. This is Haley’s chance to appeal to both women and people of color — especially as DeSantis continues to vocalize against the teaching of AP African American history. When announcing her campaign, Haley remarked, “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.” 2016 was a lesson in how difficult politics can be for women. If Haley wants to mount a successful campaign, she’ll need to stop flip-flopping on two of America’s most contentious issues of our time — Trumpism and race. Until then, running in heels will get a lot harder.

Narcan Appears to Be More Than Just a Nasal Spray

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ MANAGING EDITOR

An over-the-counter version of naloxone administered to patients via a nasal spray, called Narcan, was certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in midFebruary. For those unfamiliar with it, naloxone is a life-saving generic medicinal drug that is incredibly effective for helping reverse opioid overdoses. While naloxone can be administered in a few different ways (generically through intramuscular injections via syringe), what makes the Narcan version notable is its needle-free nasal spray that’s much easier to administer.

While being available for sale without prescriptions is by and large a good decision, it’s not quite enough.

In a country decades-ravaged by an opioid crisis, the widerspread accessibility of Narcan by being sold over-the-counter without prescriptions is not only significant for its new availability to help save lives, but, in the long term, I believe it will help end the stigma around drug addiction and recovery.

It’s undeniable that the

FDA’s decision is a big step in the right direction. That being said, in order for Narcan to fully realize its sociocultural potential, it should not be locked behind capitalistic pharmacological profit motives. The cost of over-the-counter medicine has always been a roadblock for lower-income and workingclass communities to receive the help and care they need to fully recover from institutional damages.

The origins of the opioid epidemic are rooted in a lack of regulation in the financial and advertising practices of pharmaceutical companies as far back as the mid-1990s when OxyContin was invented by Purdue Pharma. OxyContin, an opioid-based product, is used as a prescription drug to help treat severe and persistent pain. Painkillers are generally the primary usage of opioids, however, an unfortunate side of opioid use is its heavily addictive nature; those who have been prescribed or used opioid products in this way have reported feelings of euphoria.

When Purdue Pharma first began marketing its new drug, they claimed that OxyContin was non-addictive and safe

for painkiller use, despite the opposite being true. This was common practice for pharmaceutical companies advertising opioid products. In fact, Purdue Pharma was well-aware that their marketing was based on lies, and they admitted this knowledge in a lawsuit in 2007. Unfortunately, doctors bought into the “safe” marketing and over-prescribed OxyContin to patients, an issue that still persists today. Between 2012 and 2020, the annual number of written opioid prescriptions decreased from 259 million to 142 million. While the latter number is still incredibly high, the decrease seems to signal a shift in the right direction.

After millions of American citizens got hooked on opioids, the wide injection of heroin into communities across the country and the rising popularity of prescription drugs to be taken recreationally have only exacerbated the issue.

In recent years, the increased frequency of fentanyl, either taken purely or used to lace other drugs, has raised public alarm about the presence of illicit synthetic opioids, which can be even more dangerous.

The opioid crisis is far from

over. In the 20-year period between 1999 and 2020, opioid overdoses caused by both prescription and illicit drugs have taken approximately 564,000 lives, and the rates of opioidrelated deaths are still rising. In 2021, of the 108,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in that year alone, more than 80,000 of those deaths involved opioid usage. This is a record high for annual opioidrelated deaths.

I cannot overstate how essential the availability of naloxone is in combating the opioid crisis, especially when it can be purchased in an easy-to-use form like Narcan. Unfortunately, one of the biggest obstacles to ending the crisis is the widespread social stigma around drug addiction that makes it difficult for addicts to obtain the necessary resources for recovery and rehabilitation.

With Narcan now being sold over the counter, ease of access will make it easier for these resources to be shared and the stigma to come to an end. However, the non-prescription sale is still stifling the medicine’s potential, as it will still be difficult for underprivileged, underresourced, low-income communities, families and addicts looking for recovery resources to pay pharmaceutical prices.

If you care for your community and want to help it in a materially meaningful way beyond the monetary support for local businesses, I’d encourage you to start looking into Narcan training. Plenty of resources and classes (both virtual and inperson) will help teach you. Buy Narcan and learn how to use it.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Nikki Haley will have to run to keep up in the 2024 presidential election.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

An ease of access to Narcan could be a gateway to lessening the opioid crisis.

China and the U.S. Struggle to Make Amends

By MICHAEL DUKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the past three years, the Chinese Communist Party and the United States government have become increasingly hostile. Accusations over the origin of COVID-19, acts of espionage put into public display and the power struggle in Taiwan are all prime examples of how our nation’s relationship with one of its most threatening enemies is getting too volatile for either side to sustain meaningful or reasonable diplomatic relations.

When the British government handed over Hong Kong to the CCP in 1997, it ended a 99-year lease through which the Chinese allowed British rule on the northern fringe of the tropical zone. Because of how territorial the Chinese are of lands they consider their own, this was a major win for the Chinese because they stripped a former empire of one of the few lands that they were able to still champion. Moreover, this handover and return of land, despite minor concessions, is the best example to introduce the Chinese mentality of today; win big, embarrass enemies and gain further power.

Similarly, the Chinese see the lands of Taiwan as their own and would prefer to have self-governance over the island as opposed to dealing with a sovereign nation and government that is backed by capitalist allies and natural

Chinese enemies in the West. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway state, Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly stating that he will use whatever means necessary to ensure that China reunifies with Taiwan. However, this issue goes beyond the question of soil and delves into the topic of exportation.

The Chinese government is determined to see itself as an international influence and exporter of ideas, culture and values. Because of their already-bolstered stance as the world’s manufacturer, their attitude toward foreign nations and governments tend to be one that you would typically find in a boardroom and not in a diplomatic setting. Needing to get out of talks or discussions with fewer concessions than gains, or any move that might threaten their total gains are those that would anger the Chinese. A recent example of this would be former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.), two-day Taiwan trip where she caused a stir and brought about the question of Taiwanese independence and the measures the Chinese government will take to ensure their recovery of the island, despite reaffirming American support for Taiwan and executing our government’s stance on the issues relating to Taiwan.

However, this debate over Taiwan and the Chinese question over the legitimacy of their government is something that is not new in regard to vivifying

the tensions between the government of the United States and the Chinese, as there are many other recent factors at play that threaten the stability and peace of not only our nation but the world’s.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is at the center of this question as of late. In the past four weeks, the question of how to act in response to the recent Chinese-tied spy balloons entering United States airspace and gathering intelligence over sensitive military installations in states such as Montana, South Dakota and Alaska has been afoot. President Biden’s quick and decisive response to the balloons is notable, and the actions taken have been praised by Republicans and Democrats alike for protecting national security. The interest of American safety has been established by the Biden administration’s actions, and a line in the sand has been drawn. However, the greater question as to whether or not the actions taken are sufficient to deter further Chinese aggression toward America is in play.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is at the center of the questions being asked as his visit to China has been postponed since the recent aggressions have been unveiled. Further, Blinken hasn’t apologized or rolled back any of the actions taken or statements made by government officials, stating, “We haven’t heard anything that provides any kind

of a credible explanation for what this balloon was. The U.S. stands firmly behind our assessment.” Despite this stance, diplomat and state councilor Wang Yi met with Blinken and though the two have not made a roadmap for how to trek past these recent revelations, the Chinese are finding new ways to force the U.S.’s hand and put us in a weaker position compared to the Chinese, themselves, looking weak and approaching the table looking sheepish and embarrassed as this situation might otherwise demand and many Americans or bystanders of the situation would expect. One outlet that the Chinese are utilizing to execute this strategy is their diplomatic and military alignments with Russia. Embattled in Ukraine, Russia has recently been at the center in the question of Chinese-U.S. relations as the question over the true extent of Chinese involvement in the Ukrainian war has been revealed to be more meaningful than previously thought, and as sources close to China indicate that it is highly likely that lethal military aid could be arriving in Russia soon. Should this be the case, questions to our allies and many other sovereign nations who treat with Russia, namely those in the United Nations, will have to assess what to do in response to deter the Chinese and prevent further escalations.

Simply put, this issue is one that is deeper and has far more strings attached to

it than what might appear at the surface. Americans do not wish for more unnecessary war as the echoes of conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq or Vietnam are still very open wounds. China’s forcefulness is dependent on our reaction, and with such hostile and fast-paced times, owed in part to the on-demand nature of our society, it is something that we must reassess. No good actions are taken by any person or nation when adrenaline is pumping to an extent that is uncontrollable. It is because of this that if I were to suggest anything to the leaders of our nation in Congress, the president and Secretary Antony Blinken, I would ask them to stay firm in their approach and to value American interests, sovereignty, peace and allies first. We are stronger together, and thankfully, this seems to be the case proven in our climate today when debates or squabbles might attempt to pull us apart. We must continue to be active and aware in the face of demanding foreign adversaries who would wish none of these and see further conflict ensue, specifically China’s inexcusable efforts.

Michael Duke, GSB ’26, is undecided from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Who’s That Kid? | Sophie Genolio, FCRH ’23

Senior Creates Community With Theory and Conversation

By SEBASTIAN DIAZ MANAGING EDITOR

When she transferred to Fordham for her junior year, one of the first things Sophie Genolio, FCRH ’23, knew she wanted to do was find a way to organize the Fordham community in a meaningful, practical way. In doing so, Genolio began the process of organizing the student group Theory & Praxis, which, in her own words, is part-book club with a focus on books “that rewrite history that you learn in school” and partvehicle for community involvement, “trying to get involved in community survival programs in the Bronx.”

While she knew that she had always wanted to get involved in helping community organizations and social mobilization,

the foundational elements of what would become Theory & Praxis came to Genolio during a gap year before starting at Fordham. In that gap year, Genolio spent a considerable amount of time reading political literature and history books, though she cites one particular book as a major inspiration.

“When I really started thinking about it, I was reading a book called ‘As Long As Grass Grows,’” Genolio said. The book, written by Dina Gilio-Whitaker, provides a history of North American indigenous resistance and the historical relationship between indigenous peoples and the U.S. government, all through the perspective of Indigenized environmental justice. The book would go on to be the first book selected for Theory & Praxis discussions.

“In the introduction, [GilioWhitaker] says ‘theory and praxis,’ and I started thinking about that phrase a lot,” Genolio said in reflecting how the book formed her relationship to making material change based on text. “Over my gap year, I got more into reading social-justice-oriented books,” Genolio stated before mentioning how, in the conversations she had with leftist groups and organizations, found frustration in the lack of applied praxis to the conversations created from the types of literature she found herself reading.

The frustrations Genolio cites come from how ineffective pure discussions are when arguments about particular details of how theory should be applied gets in the way of actually applying theory for community change. “I was frustrated with the lack of practice and arguments within theory, I wanted to see if we could get the voices of these really smart authors heard in a meaningful way where people don’t just forget it.”

The group has focused on one book each semester since its inception in fall 2021, with the current semester reading being “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” by Walter Rodney. The book explores how, historically, European colonial powers have exploited the natural resources and nations of Africa, stripping the continent’s potential for economic and social progress through imperialism.

Other books Genolio has selected for the club’s readings are “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond and “The Jakarta Method” by Vincent Bevins.

Of those, Genolio’s favorite was “The Jakarta Method,” saying,

“that’s when we switched from reading on specific topics and going more into broader leftist movements throughout history.” What made the book so impactful, Genolio argues, is the educational potential in its multifaceted histories.

“It’s about the genocide in Indonesia in the ’60s and how the U.S. was involved,” Genolio said. She explained how the CIA replicated the methods of genocide exhibited in Indonesia, a strategy dubbed “The Jakarta Method,” and started using the strategy in other countries, including Vietnam. The method, according to Genolio, is “the elimination of any leftist group through mass murder” and, among other acts, kidnapping and torture. She continued, “it was an interesting thing to learn about and see our involvement and how little people know about it.”

Theory & Praxis’s open discussion format, where anyone can come to the group’s meetings and discuss the readings, lent itself well for discussing the topics that surfaced during the readings.

“We come in with a few starting points and see where it goes. We are often connecting things to seemingly unrelated situations. People bring their own personal experiences into it,” Genolio said. For “The Jakarta Method,” discussions helped people understand topics that could otherwise be fairly confusing, like the differences between “genocide” and “massacre.” The former being targeted against specific populations and the latter being less targeted and more random based on who is in the terrorized space.

After reading the texts, Theory & Praxis takes the energy generated from group discussions

and channels it towards material practices based on the readings. Following “As Long As Grass Grows,” the group’s first praxis project was fundraising for Line 3 Legal Defense Fund, a “fund for those arrested for protesting the building of the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota” and helping water protectors pay legal fees, as written in the student group’s email. The fundraiser, a bake sale, raised over $300.

As the group transitions into community-building, it’s become more involved with Part Of The Solution (POTS), a local organization in the Bronx dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty, by signing up for volunteer shifts to help distribute food to those in need.

In all of the passion involved in pushing for community mobilization, Theory & Praxis faces a problem well-known to all student organizations: the challenge of balancing the hectic life of a college student and the desire to dedicate oneself to making a difference. At the same time, as Genolio describes, being a college student also has its benefits:

“It helps that I’m in a community of people who want to do things,” Genolio said. Transferring into Fordham as a junior, Genolio didn’t already have a social foundation to draw from in putting together an organization.

“I started it before I knew anyone at Fordham, so I made an Instagram post… but a lot of people started DMing me and I made an application for the other positions and we got a group going.” Being able to find a community that is engaged with political theory and history and is capable of directing that enthusiasm towards praxis is still an exciting opportunity for Genolio.

Venturing Into the Cult of Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room”

By GRACE CAMPBELL DIGITAL PRODUCER

This past Saturday, my eyes were opened to a whole new world as I went to the Village East by Angelika for a screening of “The Room.” “The Room” is a cult classic movie from 2003 that has been deemed by many critics as the worst movie of all time. That assessment is not exactly wrong.

I want to say that it’s so bad it’s good, but really it’s just so bad. However, it still has managed to amass a cult following with many inside jokes, which were yelled out throughout the showing.

“The Room” is notoriously known for its poor production quality and nonsensical plot. The movie follows the tumultuous relationship between Johnny, played by Tommy Wiseau, and his fiancée Lisa, played by Juliette Danielle, who is cheating on him with his best friend. Despite the

main plot, the movie is also filled with numerous subplots that never fully develop and characters that seem to appear out of nowhere.

The acting in “The Room” was honestly shocking. It is clear that most of the cast had little to no experience in acting, and their delivery of lines comes off as forced and wooden. It was definitely hard to watch. The production quality of the movie is equally as bad. The camera work is shaky and amateurish, and the sound quality is often inconsistent. The set design is cheap and tacky, and the green screen used in some scenes is laughable.

Despite its many flaws, “The Room” has gained a following for its unintentional comedy.

The movie’s terrible acting, ridiculous plot and poor production quality have made it a cult classic among fans of so-bad-it’s-good movies. Throughout the show, the audience was wildly interactive.

I still don’t completely get all the meaning behind the jokes, but I definitely picked up on the trends. They would yell out whenever Lisa’s name was said, and whenever her mom was on screen they would yell out about her breast cancer. At random times that I couldn’t understand the pattern of, they would throw plastic spoons at the screen. Those are just to name a few. I have never been to a movie with such a passionate fan base before, and it was definitely an interesting experience to say the least.

At the screening, the writer, director and star of the film, Tommy Wiseau was there in person. He took photos with fans and did a question-andanswer session before the screening. It was… interesting. I had never heard of or seen this man before, but I will never forget taking a picture next to him as he was wearing three belts and standing inside of a glass enclosure. But he was

honestly a really nice guy and not what I was expecting at all. During the Q&A portion of the film screening, he had a lot to share about keeping a

positive attitude and how important kindness is. Overall, it was one of the weirdest nights of my life, but not something I would ever take back.

COURTESY OF SEBASTIAN DIAZ / THE FORDHAM RAM Genolio founded Theory & Praxis to spark conversation and action.

Despite its bad press, “The Room” continues to garner a cult following.

A Film You Can’t Bear to Miss: “Cocaine Bear”

By MICHAEL SLUCK PRODUCTION EDITOR

There is a scene in the trailer for the 2023 blockbuster “Cocaine Bear” where Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s character describes the plot in a single concise phrase: “Apex predator, high on cocaine, out of its mind.” If that line doesn’t make you crack a smile — even just a little one — then this movie probably isn’t for you. If however, something about the idea of a bear going on a cocaine-fueled rampage — with all the ridiculousness and hilarity such a premise promises — amuses you, then you should definitely go and see “Cocaine Bear” before it leaves theaters.

Based (very, very loosely) on true events, “Cocaine Bear”

tells the story of a large amount of cocaine that was dropped from a drug smuggler’s plane in 1985. A black bear finds the cocaine and goes on a rampage, clawing its way through the unexpecting visitors to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. In real life, the bear died mere minutes after consuming the cocaine, but the writers of the film insisted this movie was the “bear’s revenge story,” a retelling of what might have happened.

In the era of too-long blockbusters that seem to drag on endlessly, “Cocaine Bear” manages to squeeze the entirety of its plot into a tight 93 minutes. In that hour-and-a-half, however, the film introduces half a dozen different groups of

characters, all complete with different motivations and backstories. A non-exhaustive list of this film’s characters include: Dee Dee and Henry, two middle schoolers who ditch school to visit the national park; Dee Dee’s mom, Sari, who goes after them; drug dealers Daveed and Henry, sent to retrieve cocaine; police officer Bob, following the drug dealers; and Liz, a park ranger with a crush on wildlife activist Peter.

If that seems like a lot of characters to squeeze into 93 minutes, it is (and there are more characters and plot threads I didn’t mention here). For the most part, however, “Cocaine Bear” manages to balance its enormous cast with scenes of blood-filled gore, never deviating

too far from its central premise.

The characters are entertaining, and at times surprisingly complex, with each character having a backstory that is explored in small ways throughout the movie. The film also benefits from the incredible star power it employs: Keri Russel from “The Americans,” Jesse Tyler Ferguson from “Modern Family,” Isiah Whitlock Jr. from “The Wire” and esteemed character actress Margo Martindale all delivering hilarious performances, never allowing the silliness of the title to distract from the skill of their performance. Perhaps most notably, the film bears the distinction of being Ray Liotta’s last, as he portrays Syd White, the drug lord to whom the missing cocaine belongs.

The most memorable parts of the film, however, are every time the bear is on screen. The wanton destruction wrought by the titular character is never that horrifying — but it isn’t supposed to be. Most of the time, the audience was cracking up when the bear was tearing people to shreds. One only has to hear the name of the film (and they do refer to the bear as “Cocaine Bear” in the movie) and one can’t help but chuckle.

It might seem ridiculous to refer to “Cocaine Bear” as a “deep film,” but there is something deeper lurking beneath

the surface of this shallow slasher flick. The film attempts to explore themes of parenthood, grief and friendship, and while it never digs too deep (it is, after all, “Cocaine Bear”), the undertones of the story provide a heart to the movie that makes it more memorable than a lot of big-budget action films.

Flaws aside, however, this film is a joy to watch. From the opening scene, director Elizabeth Banks leans into the sheer ridiculousness of the concept, making it a hilariously self-aware comedy. The opening scene features “The Americans” star Matthew Rhys, portraying drug smuggler Andrew C. Thorton II, dancing around his crashing aircraft, simultaneously tossing bags of cocaine out of the plane door and snorting the drug himself, all while a Jefferson Starship song plays in the background. It’s silly, but never stupid. I honestly cannot recall having such unadulterated fun in a movie theater in years. I highly recommend seeing the film before it leaves theaters, if possible; half the fun of the movie is the reactions of the audience. If gore-filled bear attacks aren’t your thing, then feel free to skip this film. If, however, you want an uncomplicated flick to take your mind off midterms, then this is one movie you can’t bear to miss.

Remembering “Natural Heritage” in NYBG’s Orchid Show

By ALAINA STANISCI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Feb. 18, the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) opened its doors for the 20th annual Orchid Show, “Natural Heritage.” This year, Lily Kwong, the show designer, created a meditative, unique experience unparalleled to years before in its beauty and distinct personal connections. In a cold, dark winter of sleeping dormant plants, the orchid show brings a sense of liveliness, plant diversity and color to the New York Botanical Gardens. As seen in multiple areas throughout the exhibit, Kwong’s inspiration for the piece stems from her ancestral connections to nature. More specifically, in creating this piece, Kwong incorporated art objects that were valuable to her family and Chinese roots. For instance, Kwong received a scroll passed down from her ancestors as a gift when she got married. At the beginning of the exhibit, Kwong displays a magnification of an image of a wave of moth orchids that appeared on the scroll. By incorporating this personal connection into the exhibit, Kwong directly connects her ancestral roots and family background with her audience. In designing this autobiographical piece, Kwong hopes to inspire her audience to examine their

own personal stories and backgrounds and believes that doing so can be a powerful experience for all individuals, no matter where they come from.

This year is unprecedented because Lily Kwong is the first female designer of the NYBG’s yearly orchid show. For the past twenty years, there has never been a female designer for the show. What’s more, as the first female designer, Kwong took the initiative of using an all-female team throughout creating the show. Additionally, Kwong expressed that the show is dedicated to her grandmother, an important female figure in her life who she kept in mind throughout the entirety of her creative process.

The exhibit transports you to a tranquil, creative peace of mind as soon as you enter. In every direction you look, your eyes are met with explosions of color from the orchids. In the center of Haupt Conservatory, an array of violet, pink and white orchids are arranged on top of large pieces of soft moss. The sheer size of these moss sculptures draws your eye to the orchids and probes you to acknowledge their beauty. The fusion of the moss and the orchids creates an aesthetically pleasing, peaceful piece of nature. In this part of the show, Kwong combines many natural elements to create beautiful sculptures out of the

different orchid species. Walking through the show, I noticed tranquil, soft music playing throughout the conservatory, which further adds to the meditation aspect of the exhibit.

As you continue to walk through the conservatory, there are more opportunities to meditate and resonate with nature. In one walkway, I noticed poems on the placards of the plants, which offer another chance to meditate and be at peace with the beautiful green and white flowers in front of you. Throughout the walkways of the exhibit, the diversity of the texture, size and color of the plants represents the beauty of diversity in nature. When the different species of orchids, moss and other plants come together, there is harmony amidst a celebration of plant diversity.

In admiring the beautiful orchid show created by Kwong, I was reminded of the beauty of nature and how nature can be an empowering work of art that can heal the soul. No matter what we face, nature will always be a powerful escape. Located right across the street from the gates of Fordham University, I strongly recommend checking out the orchid show at the New York Botanical Gardens. More specifically, “Natural Heritage” is open until April 23 at the Gardens. If you’re looking for a dreamy

escape to relax, unwind and settle your mind, visit the show before it closes and get lost in its floral beauty.

Step into Lily Kwong’s orchid-filled imagination at the NYBG.

A historical event turned ridiculous slasher, “Cocaine Bear” reminds audiences of how bear-y fun film can be.

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

What We Can Learn From“Ragnarok”

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

I have always loved reading ancient mythology. When I was a child, I found my heart and soul inside of one series, Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson & the Olympians.” This Editor’s Pick is not about that, nor is it about the cultural mythology Riordan’s books draw on. This EP is about the world that I discovered after I exhausted the seemingly unending Greek mythology and moved on to another set of stories: Norse mythology. These myths include gods like Thor and Loki, both of whom have returned to the forefront of common knowledge through such films like “Thor: Ragnarok.” The film, as the title suggests, depicts a reimagined version of Ragnarok, the final battle that shall end the world. In the movie, Thor fulfills the prophecy of Ragnarok by inviting Surtur to Asgard, allowing him to destroy it in a last ditch attempt to defeat his malicious half-sister, Hela. Thor, Loki and the few remaining Asgardian watch on, finding hope in their community even as they watch their home fall. The original tale, however, is much more grim. A prophecy to the ancient Norse, it foretold the absolute destruction of the world — earth, the cosmos and even the gods above.

According to the myth, there will come a day when an unending winter drives humanity to madness, causing them to fight within families and destroy

their communities. After this, the two wolves that have hunted the sun and moon throughout eternity shall finally succeed in their quest. Loki’s monstrous children, Fenris the wolf and Jormungand the serpent, shall break free of their imprisonment and attack Midgard, the home of humanity. Loki and the giants shall follow, marching on Asgard as they finally bring about the battle that will end the world. Heimdall, the sentry of Asgard, will alert the gods, known as the Aesir, who shall meet their foes on an impossibly large plane. Odin will lead the army of Valhalla against Fenris, but they will fail. Another god will sacrifice his life in killing Fenris. Thor will slay Jormungand, but inevitably die after succumbing to the serpent’s poison. Loki and Heimdall will kill each other. When so many of the gods and monsters have slain one another, the earth shall be swallowed up by the sea. Nothing will remain, except for a few goddesses playing chess in what remains of Asgard.

In some versions, the story stops there. However, in the one I read as a child, something comes afterward: life returns. Grass, trees and even people, Lif and Lifþrasir (“life” and “striving after life” in Old Norse). The ending is a bit on the nose, and some scholars wonder whether the invention of this happy(er) ending was due to Christianity’s introduction into the region. Regardless, this story, which ends in rebirth, captured my whimsical 11-year-old imagination and has never left it.

You see, I minor in environmental studies. So much of my college experience, and my life beforehand, revolved around nature, human apathy and the crisis that has resulted from the combination of the two. It’s bad. The effects of climate change have already destroyed people’s homes and livelihoods: in 2021, wildfires on the west coast burned so much and for so long that the smoke filled the sky in my hometown of Wilmington, Del.; in 2022, flooding from melting glaciers and unprecedented monsoon rains affected 33 million people in Pakistan; in 2023, Europe suffered a heat wave that left the tops of mountains snowless in January. Look outside, the temperature in New York City this winter barely dropped beneath thirty degrees. The Hudson used to freeze.

Climate change is the existential threat of our time, and while it probably should have been regarded as such much earlier, this truth began to grow in popularity when I was about 11. I, like many other people of Gen Z, grew up with the burden of the world on our shoulders. There were a few sayings that rang throughout my home and elementary school: “Turn the lights off, or you’ll kill a polar bear!” As if one child could prevent the massive loss of life happening around the globe by flicking off one light. It’s a hard thing, coming of age and hearing how your generation is going to watch the world die right before your eyes.

When I first read the story of Ragnarok, I found peace. In it,

the whole world ends — the oceans flood the land, the monsters come unleashed and the gods die — but I found comfort in it, because life began again. It’s an interesting rejection of the Western, or at least the American, obsession with immortality. We long to have some part of our individuality continue beyond the veil of death, enabling us to remain a part of this world until the edge of eternity and then, somehow, beyond. If not our bodies, then our souls. If not our words, then our writing. If not our society, then our monuments. Something has to survive. But, ultimately, everything that we know will someday be gone. Our bodies, our language, our gods. Whether the end comes with the slow and excruciating

drying of the planet’s surface or the inevitable explosion of the sun, humanity simply cannot outrun the advent of oblivion. However, life will continue. I have no quarrel with the potentially Christianized ending of Ragnarok’s story, for life is resilient. Animals and plants took over the Chernobyl nuclear site almost immediately, there’s bacteria that can break down plastic and life itself likely began as a mess of molecules, lightning and some really hot rocks. Life will always continue, even if it doesn’t appear in a form we recognize. That’s the answer as to why this grim, awful tale of death calmed my 11-year-old heart. The sea may flood the land, the gods may die, but when the waters recede, life will return green and growing.

“Good Riddance” to Toxic Relationships and Inauthentic Music

By GRACE CAMPBELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gracie Abrams’s debut studio album,“Good Riddance,” came out Feb. 24 and is a testament to her exceptional talent. The album follows the release of Abram’s two successful EPs, 2020’s “Minor” and 2021’s “This is What it Feels Like.” On her first official album, Abrams is more honest and vulnerable in her lyricism than ever before. Overall, the production as a whole is truly unmatched.

The album features 12 tracks, each one showcasing Abrams’ unique vocal style and honest songwriting ability. The album dives into topics such as heartbreak, anxiety, confusion and love. There’s truly a song for every mood and listeners are bound to relate to the work.

Songs like “Best,” “I know it wont work,” “Will you cry” and “Where do we go now,” describe Abrams’ feelings as she realizes her relationship isn’t working and feels guilty about leaving. In other heartbreak songs on the album including “h,” Abrams sings about missing her ex and who she was

with when they were together. The album delves into other topics and in “Difficult,” “Amelie,” “Fault line” and “Right now,” the topics revolve around personal growth, anxieties and feeling lost. “The blue” stands out as the only love song on the album, however the intense and vulnerable lyricism is still present and contains some of the most heart wrenching lyrics on the album like, “I wonder if you know / if you can tell I’m losing / I’m going down without a fight.”

The production on this album is different from her previous work, which had a cozier and softer tone. In “Good Riddance,” Abrams experiments with different sounds and melodies, some of which are more upbeat and pop focused, whereas others follow the softer indie sound that she once stuck to. In this album, they have developed in more elevated , interesting, and creative ways than in the past.

The album contains no features and is a solo project for Abrams as she details honest details about her life the past few years. She worked on the album with producer Aaron Dessner, who is a part of the music groups The National and

Big Red Machine. The duo’s compatibility is obvious on this album, as the melodies and production are soft and beautiful which really let the lyrics shine. Dessner has also worked with Taylor Swift, who has spoken highly of Abrams. Abrams will also be opening at many of Swift’s upcoming shows for her Eras Tour.

Some songs that stood out to me when I listened were “Right Now,” “Full Machine” and “I Should Hate You.” Since I discovered Abrams’ music, I have always been able to relate to her lyrics and at times even felt like she was writing to me, personally. Many of her fans feel the same way and this album is no exception. So far, this is my favorite piece of work from Abrams, and I am so excited to see all that will come along.

What sets Abrams apart from other contemporary musical artists is her ability to connect with her listeners on a personal and emotional level. Her songs are honest and vulnerable, and she isn’t afraid to tackle various difficult subjects that many can relate to. “Good Riddance” is a testament to her authenticity and raw talent.

Abrams’s debut studio album is a testament to her musical authenticity.

COURTESY OF TWITTER

There are many important lessons to learn from the grim folktale, “Ragnarok.”

Two Fordham A Cappella Groups Go to the ICCAs

By KARI WHITE CULTURE EDITOR

On Saturday, March 4, two of Fordham’s very own a cappella groups traveled all the way to Long Island, N.Y., in order to perform at the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). Featured in the 2012 film “Pitch Perfect,” the ICCAs are an a cappella competition where the best of collegiate a cappella compete since its founding in 1996. The competition has a bracket system, meaning that a cappella groups must win a series of smaller competitions before they make it to the ultimate competition. The Satin Dolls, Fordham’s all-female group, and Hot Notes, the jazz fusion group, performed in the quarterfinals at St. Joseph’s in Patchogue, N.Y. Both groups performed a ten-minute set, consisting of three arrangements and choreography, and neither returned empty-handed.

The Satin Dolls placed in the regional competition, winning fourth overall and falling only two places shy of continuing on to the semifinals. They received Outstanding Arrangement for their arrangement of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” which their music director, Maya Bliffeld, FCLC ’24, created. Toleeya Napolitano, FCRH ’26, won an Outstanding Soloist award for her performance of Greta Van Fleet’s “Flower Power.” The Dolls did remarkably well in many aspects.

“Our group has bonded so much, and we truly just had a

blast and gave it our all,” said the president of the Satin Dolls, Julia Leahy, FCRH ’23. “This is a huge improvement in comparison to the last time we competed.”

The Hot Notes similarly received commendations from the judges. They won the Excellent Arrangement for Taylor Swift’s “I Know Places,” which their music director, Hannah Gied, FCRH ’24, put together. “I actually wrote most of the arrangement for ‘I Know Places’ while I was on vacation and started writing ideas down on the plane.

I’m a huge Swiftie, so the basic outline came very naturally to

me,” Gied said. “After listening to the original song and writing out everything I could hear in the background, I came up with my own rhythms and harmonies to make the arrangement my own. I could not have completed the arrangement without advice from Maddie Huff, the assistant music director of Hot Notes, Rhett Bailey, the president, and Abby Housberg, the former music director and president. Their advice was extremely helpful, and they definitely pushed me to make the final product the best it could be.”

Both groups agreed the overall rehearsal process was exhausting,

but fulfilling. Leahy explained that the Dolls began their rehearsals at the beginning of the semester, and would practice three times a week. Rhett Bailey, GSB ’24, the president of the Hot Notes, echoed Leahy’s point. “The rehearsals leading up [the] ICCAs were difficult; now that we were competing against groups from all over the Northeast, we knew we had to step it up and focus on the little details.”

And step it up they did, as a crucial facet of the ICCA performances, which does not typically appear in the a cappella group’s regular concerts, is choreography.

The Hot Notes specifically enlisted a member of the dance team, Katherine Shearin, GSB ’23, to help them. Yustina Hryciw, the Dolls’ music director, designed their whole set. “It’s always a challenge to implement choreography as a singing group, but we really whipped into shape,” said Leahy.

The Dolls did not make their choreography a walk in the park, either, as at one point they lifted Gracie Kunik, FCRH ’24, into the air, during her performance of “Running Up That Hill.”

Gied explained that the increased intensity of rehearsals brought the Hot Notes even closer together, “Overall, the extra rehearsals and hard work were so worth it! We have completely transformed as a group, and are closer friends and better musicians because of the experience.”

For older members of the Satin Dolls, these performances were even more meaningful.They poured their hearts into this performance as they could finally return to a tradition that had been interrupted during the volatile first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leahy described her experience as “bittersweet.” “We competed my freshmen year and didn’t place, and then didn’t compete for the last two years due to COVID. I couldn’t have asked for a better comeback to the ICCAs stage… It was amazing to see our hard work come to life on the stage last weekend, and I am so thrilled that I got to have this experience just before I graduate. Dolls forever!”

“Cuts and Bruises” Leaves a Mark on Music Charts

By LILLIAN VERDI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Since their first single was released in 2019, Inhaler has skyrocketed to the top of the UK and Irish charts. Inhaler’s sophomore album, “Cuts & Bruises,” released on Feb. 17, debuted at number one on the official Ireland music chart. Their debut album, “It Won’t Always Be Like This,” was the first from an Irish band in over a decade to top the UK music charts when it was released in the summer of 2021. Some may blame their rising success on nepotism, as their frontman, Elijah Hewson, is the son of Ireland’s most famous rock star, Bono. Their growing fanbase would strongly disagree — so would popular artists Harry Styles and Arctic Monkeys, as the young band will be opening for both later this year.

Hewson and his bandmates Robert Keating, Josh Jenkinson and Ryan McMahon turn the struggles of love while on tour into songs perfect for casual listeners or long-time fans. While “It Won’t Always Be Like This” was an upbeat LP about the emotional struggle of quarantine and relationships, “Cuts & Bruises”

reveals the metaphorical beating life and those past relationships have taken on the each of the band members.

With Hewson as the lead singer, Keating on bass, Jenkinson playing guitar and McMahon on the drums, the new album adds more depth to their indie-rock sound. Along with increasingly complex lyrics, a feeling of maturity shines throughout the 11-track record. Inhaler starts the album with “Just To Keep You Satisfied,” a slightly forgettable opener. In an interview with Apple Music, Hewson explained “We were mindful that the first track on the first album was such a big-sounding album opener, whereas this one’s a little bit more minimal. It’s a bit more intriguing; it pulls you in.”

In my opinion, it had the opposite effect. Contrastingly, “Love Will Get You There” and “These Are The Days” are reminiscent of their past songs, with upbeat choruses and positive lyrics. “If You’re Gonna Break My Heart” adds a country sound to their otherwise indie-rock vibe. The slow ballad is just what you’d expect to hear played on a piano in a country-western saloon.

“The Things I Do” is another prime example of Inhaler actively working to diversify their sound

further but in a noticeably different way. It includes violin and piano, but the prominent drum beat makes it sound much more like rock than country. The remaining songs do little to engross listeners. Although each is unique in its own way, they don’t have the same “oomph” effect as the other tracks.

If you’re looking for a record to dance around your room to, this probably isn’t the one. While a few of its songs are energetic, the variety of the tempos and melodies make the album wellrounded — so much so, I’d argue “Cuts & Bruises” is a no-skip album. “These Are The Days,” a personal favorite of mine, conveys the naivety of early adulthood. It has a similar sound to “When I’m With You,” one of Inhaler’s earliest songs. The only negative from the album is the feeling that most of its songs won’t be remembered or favored as much as their early singles. For example, “My Honest Face” will always be a favorite of mine, and none of the songs from this album were able to replace that spot in my opinion.

In short, this album was good, but not awe-inspiring. I have been listening to the album nonstop and haven’t gotten sick of it, so it definitely isn’t bad. The new

diversification of their overall sound was a step in the right direction, but it felt somewhat less intriguing than their past works.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mature vocals and varied guitar riffs, but adding a couple more lively

songs would’ve made “Cuts & Bruises” a noticeably bigger staple in the world of indierock. Inhaler’s newest album will have a place on my playlist for a while, even if only half the songs make the cut.

“Cuts & Bruises”

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

The Satin Dolls and Hot Notes showed off their talents in the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella.

FIT Displays Hip-Hop’s “Fresh, Fly and Fabulous” Fashion

By RORY DONAHUE SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Fashion’s brightest and most embellished clothing, worn by hip-hop’s most renowned stars, is on display at the new exhibit at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Opened on Feb. 8 and lasting until April 23, the exhibition celebrates the culture, history and style of popular artists such as Mary J Blige, Doja Cat and more.

Over the past few decades, hip-hop’s evolution in society and fashion has been exponential. In 2023, the style is seen everywhere, from saturating small businesses to fast fashion. But we can not celebrate it today without recognizing where it came from, and that is what this exhibit seeks to do.

Dating back to 1973 in the South Bronx, hip-hop culture emerged from DJing techniques by artists like Grandmaster Flash. He experimented with turntables and records at home, the original art form of hip-hop. The creation of music and dance despite the poverty and discrimination Black Americans were undergoing proved much aspiration and

excitement for the community. As this art form rose in popularity, it became documented on film and television. “Beat Street” (1984) was one of the earliest films to deal directly with this community and it showcased breakdancing and graffiti writing. Famed director Spike Lee became a big name in the culture, sporting luxury jackets and was seen as “a sort of messenger for young Black America.”

The integration of high-end fashion into hip-hop culture emerged from the want to sport European brands as symbols of wealth and exclusivity. As hip-hop artists became mainstream, they embraced luxury fashion that took nods at trends deemed “old school.”

Puffer jackets started as practical pieces produced by everyday brands then were reimagined by Moncler. Today you see many stars and artists of hip-hop culture sporting the French brand.

At first, luxury companies did not embrace their hip-hop fans. Young designers like Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton and John Galliano at Dior created pieces geared toward this culture. At Dior, Galliano’s love of hip-hop artists led to

them designing a custom look for Missy Elliot based on their famous Rasta saddle bag.

Euro-American fashion was traditionally designed with certain colors deemed feminine or masculine. In Black and Latinx communities, these traditional values were not as pervasive which allowed designers to embrace creative visions and break norms. Classic preppy brands like Ralph Lauren took traditional feminine colors and created menswear in pink which encouraged rappers like Sean Combs and Pharrell Williams to sport their gear. Ralph Lauren was used to a stylized version of old wealth, so they were foreign to creating looks like these. Their incorporation of the color pink made statements, as it represented rebellion and diversion from the traditional image their brand stood by.

Women’s style in hip-hop is often overlooked. Early on, aerosol artists, DJs and MCs sported looks that took inspiration from male style in order to be taken seriously in an industry that was male dominated. As hip-hop culture grew and women were more represented, female figures created their own looks that embraced

feminine fashion like Christian Louboutin heels and Adidas Basket Profi wedge sneakers.

Before the age of digital media, hip-hop artists worked with styles, photographers and designers to make influential images for magazines. These were printed in Vibe, XXL and Honey Magazines in addition to many live performances and music videos produced.

While this exhibit cannot encompass all the rich history

that goes into how we know hip-hop today, it highlights brands that worked to incorporate the art of their culture in their fashion lines.

After many decades, we still see hip-hop’s influence on red carpets today, as celebrities make bold choices that break the internet. I encourage you all to check out this exhibit as it is free to the public and holds beautiful history in the form of fashion.

NYC Neighborhoods | East Village

Easy to Find Fun in Manhattan’s East Village

By CALEB STINE COLUMNIST

Sitting below 14th street and north of Houston Street between Bowery (which extends north as 4th Ave.) and the East River, is the East Village. A neighborhood seeping with artistry and innovation, grungy grit and some of the most popular restaurants in Manhattan, and the world.

Originally settled by the Lenape Native American Tribe before being displaced by the Dutch West India Company, the East

Village has undergone major demographic shifts in its 200year history as a developed neighborhood.

Functioning as a wealthy pocket of lower Manhattan in the early-to-mid 1800s, the East Village was the residence of many upper-class families and political bosses during the “Gangs of New York” era.

Towards the 1860s, when most of the city’s wealthy fled to either side of Central Park uptown, the East Village functioned as a certain overflow for the Lower East Side and

the famous surge of migrants that the neighborhood bordering the East Village south of Houston famously experienced late in the 18th century and early in the 19th century.

After the development of office buildings and apartments in the area after the destruction of tenements, the East Village’s entertainment industry began to take shape in the form of a concentrated cluster of Yiddish theaters, thanks to a recent influx of Jewish immigrants to the neighborhood.

The “Yiddish Rialto” developed along the East Side of Manhattan in the early 1900s and 1910s, and prompted Second Avenue’s National Theatre and the Second Avenue Theatre to popularize the theater scene downtown.

Towards the 1960s, during the height of hippie culture and all that jazz, such revolutionaries moved a few miles east of the rapidly-gentrifying West Village, which propelled its eastern counterpart to become the artistic mecca it is today.

In 2023 the East Village’s target demographic is young, liberal, artists and art lovers.

A solid chunk of the Fordham student body has access to a neighborhood right up their alley on a Metro-North connection from Grand Central and then taking the 4, 5 or 6 train to Union Square before walking a few blocks southeast.

What was once a Yiddish theater a century ago stands

the Village East Theater on 12th Street and 2nd Ave. Village East plays international and repertory features as well as current blockbusters and is often on a slate of dozens of theaters that consistently host limitedrelease showings. Appropriately, Village East shows “Fiddler on the Roof” later in the year, as well as “Singin’ in the Rain” and 2007s “Hairspray.”

For visual art outside of film and theater, the Swiss Institute displays modern art in an admission-free space off of St. Marks Place. Their “Ser Serpas: Hall” is featured here until late April, with experimental photography and paintings.

Tompkins Square Park is the East Village’s own Washington Square, only the two are drastically different.

Tompkins Square is a dense urban park that’s always packed and doesn’t let visitors take a break from the iconic East Village rebellious vibe that has defined the neighborhood over the past decades.

In recent years, the restaurant landscape has greatly diversified in the neighborhood.

An Irish pub that’s been in the neighborhood since 1854, McSorley’s Ale House is as classic as they come. Serving two ales, light and dark, and sprinkling the floor with sawdust serves as a time machine as soon as patrons walk in the wooden doors.

The city’s largest Ukrainian ethnic enclave is best eaten

sitting outside at Veselka. The spot has been in the neighborhood for 100 years less than McSorley’s and is most famous for their egg cream drink and pierogi. Their beef stroganoff is worth a try as well.

In the last half-century, modern restaurants that were typically reserved for the West Village have popped up east of Bowery.

San Marzano on 7th and 2nd Ave. is a chic cafe building on the inside, serving modern Italian food and old staples. While it won’t compete with Arthur Avenue in terms of tradition or class, it offers a trendy atmosphere and pasta that won’t disappoint.

Rosie’s on 2nd and 2nd is to Mexican food what San Marzano is to Italian. Contemporary dishes mesh with classics on a spacious patio and an inside that sometimes goes convertiblestyle with open windows in the warm months. The prices are modest for downtown and the fish tacos are absolutely filling and delicious.

Rosie’s is my favorite restaurant atmosphere in Manhattan south of 59th street and a mandatory journey when the temperatures rise above 65 degrees.

There’s a reason the East Village now holds the title for my longest column to date. It has so much.

New York has a way of making people free and confident, and on a summer night in the East Village, the power of the city’s neighborhood is palpable.

FIT’s new exhibit explores hip-hop’s impact on mainstream fashion.

COURTESY OF RORY DONAHUE / THE FORDHAM RAM

COURTESY OF CALEB STINE FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

The East Village is a neighborhood flourishing with freedom and fun.

Baseball Suffers in Tough Weekend Stretch Rangers Skid After Blockbuster Trade

By ALLIE COPPOLA STAFF WRITER

On Saturday, the New York Rangers lost their second game in a row since acquiring Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane on Feb. 28. In Kane’s first game as a Ranger, they fell to the Ottawa Senators 5-3 and to the Bruins in his second game on Saturday with a 4-2 score. The Rangers are skidding in crunch time, but the three day break before their next game will give them time to adjust to the new additions in the team and subsequent line changes on the power play.

Chris Drury’s deal for Patrick Kane seemed to be in place for almost a week, but salary cap issues and Kane’s no-movement clause prevented them from acquiring him until the end of February. Because of the circumstances regarding Kane’s preferences, the Rangers had all the leverage they needed. The star right-winger would reportedly only waive his full no-movement clause for the Rangers, and the Blackhawks wanted to get a return for him instead of losing him for nothing in the offseason. The return for the Blackhawks was abysmal, but their hands were tied. Drury only had to send a 2023 conditional second round pick and a 2025 fourth round pick in exchange for Kane and Cooper Zech, a defenseman who has spent most of his career in the American Hockey League. In order for the Rangers to get the deal done with enough salary cap space, they’ve been playing with only 11 forwards and five defensemen after the NHL denied their request for an emergency recall. They edged out wins against the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers, but dropped the past two to the Sens and Bruins with the shorthanded lineup.

Despite the Rangers’ recent shortcomings and roster gymnastics,

the excitement around Kane has been palpable. He has no points in his first two games, but head coach Gerard Gallant hopes that the issue will sort itself out in the three practices before the next game. The young players on the Rangers’ roster are excited to play with their childhood idol, and star winger Artemi Panarin is happy to be reunited with his former linemate. In Panarin’s short-lived Blackhawks tenure, he and Kane combined for 346 points, demonstrating their lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry that they are looking to reignite.

During the 2015-16 NHL season, Kane won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league MVP, and Panarin won the Calder Trophy given to the best rookie. Gallant has them on the same line during five-on-five play, and placed them both on the first powerplay unit to spark the chemistry in time for the playoffs.

Evidently, Drury’s biggest move of the season has a lot of implications for the team at this point in the season. The addition of Kane and Tarasenko signals that the Rangers are truly in the “cup or bust” mindset: this is the season that they need to win the Stanley Cup. Kane is not likely to resign due to the salary cap unless he takes a major pay cut in order to stay, and Tarasenko isn’t likely to stay for the same reason. Drury was able to acquire these players without completely jeopardizing the team’s chances in the future, but young players like Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere will be looking for larger contracts in the offseason, only complicating the situation even more. With all of this in mind, the Blueshirts’ only goal this season is to go the distance and bring the famed Stanley Cup back to New York for the first time in 29 years.

Athletes of the Week

Fordham Track and Field took home some major awards this past weekend at the ECAC/IC4A Championship, courtesy of graduate student Zalen Nelson. Nelson finished in second place in the 1,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:24.45. The graduate student previously set the school record back in 2022 with a time of 2:24.90.

By MADDIE BIMONTE SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham baseball team is off to a rocky start in their nonconference schedule after being swept by North Florida University in Florida this past weekend during a four-game stretch. With the Rams returning for their first game at Houlihan Park this year against Stony Brook, the competition was tough as they went on to drop their opening day game.

After a stretch of rough nonconference battles against schools such as Dallas Baptist University and Old Dominion University, the Rams hoped to start off this series on a brighter note, bringing a more well rounded pitching rotation as well as in-the-clutch offense.

There surely was no shortage of home runs for both teams in game one, as the Ospreys opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run. Fordham wouldn’t shy away so easily with senior Will Findlay hitting a solo shot. While the Rams tacked on another RBI to bring their total to two, North Florida began to pull away, adding on three more runs courtesy of an RBI double and a fielding error from the Rams.

Senior Zach Selinger also added another solo home run to the Rams’ total. However, the lead was still 6-3 for the Ospreys, and they did not slow down from there. The Ospreys hit three home runs. North Florida’s Dallen Leach cemented himself as the man of the game as he hit a two-run home run followed up by a three-run shot later in the game. Fordham was able to tack on some last-minute home runs from Selinger and Findlay, but the Rams would go on to drop the match 13-6. Saturday featured a double header, but bad luck continued for the Rams.

Things started off on a better foot with the Rams finally getting their first lead of the weekend in the third inning with five runs. To start things off for the Rams was sophomore Cian Sahler, driving in an RBI double.

The Ospreys’ pitching struggled tremendously during the inning,

with a wild pitch causing the Rams to score another, and later on a passed ball would result in another Ram scoring.

North Florida stayed resilient, working back to tie the Rams by the bottom of the eighth, and then taking the lead on a few Fordham errors to add two to their total.

Things just weren’t in the cards for the Rams as they attempted to rally back, however, sophomore J.T. Watcher struck out with a man on base, ending the game, 7-6.

Another nail biter followed for the Rams, as their second rubber match of the day stretched into 10 innings.

Fordham came out the gate hot with a four-run third inning, as three Fordham players all reached base on singles. Watcher was able to redeem himself after the last game, driving in two runs during the inning, and two other Rams made it safely around the base path to score four runs.

Then, in the fifth, junior Michael Taylor joined the hitting party, scoring junior Ryan Thiesse, for a 5-0 ballgame heading into the sixth.

Yet, the Ospreys have shown to be a tenacious team during the series, and today’s double header was no different.

North Florida put up one in the bottom of the fifth and three in the sixth to pull within one run at 5-4. With one run just in sight, the Ospreys then tied the game at five on a solo home run by Alex Lodise, in the bottom of the eighth.

Fordham later loaded the bases in the 10th, but Sellinger’s line drive to the third baseman was safely caught, giving the Ospreys another chance to wrap things up.

It was a smartly played bunt by Drew Leinenbach to conclude things for the Ospreys as they had runners on the corners. Junior pitcher Trey Maeker was in position to get the bunt, but to no avail.

The Rams dropped the double header, this one with a score of 6-5.

With one last game on the line, things just weren’t coming up for the Rams.

The Rams and Ospreys would trade runs for the lead, as Fordham pitching suffered in the third as

they gave up four straight walks. Thiesse would score thanks to graduate student Peter DiMaria on a sac fly to make the score 3-2, but the Ospreys were ready for the challenge.

Fordham was facing a strong performance all weekend from North Florida’s Alex Lodise, who showed up once again in the bottom of the fifth to deliver a threerun homer breaking open the game for the Ospreys. This marks Lodise’s fifth home run of the year.

While the Rams would add one more run to their total, slimming the lead down to two, they couldn’t get it done as North Florida would once again answer the call, extending their lead to 8-4 to end the series.

The Rams finally were able to return home as they began to enter a six-game homestand, starting things off on Tuesday against Stony Brook. With the Rams jumping to score first, they added three runs in the first, with Thiesse, Sahler and DiMaria all scoring.

However, it would be that long ball that would continue to plague Rams pitchers as graduate student Austin Sachen would give up a tworun homer to Evan Giordano in the third. Fordham answered back with another run, this time, from a Watcher RBI single, but once again, the long ball was back with a vengeance.

In the fourth inning, sophomore pitcher Connor Haywood would be the one to give up another home run, allowing the Seawolves to tie things up at four. Things went downhill for the Rams from then on, as the Seawolves went up to tally four more runs throughout the game, giving the Seawolves their first win of the season.

For the Rams, there is still work to be done in the rotation. However, with conference play still a little bit of time away, there is enough time for the Rams to improve.

The Rams will be back in action, continuing the homestand on Wednesday, March 7 against Saint Peter’s University for one game and then a three-game stretch this weekend against Quinnipiac University.

Varsity Calendar

While the Fordham women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 women’s basketball tournament, the highlight of the game was graduate student Asiah Dingle. Dingle put up a team high 25 points in her 39 minutes played. Dingle has a laundry list of accolades this season, including A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive.

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

Softball Golf

Women’s Tennis

AWAY

Track and Field Closes Out Indoor Season on a High Note

By LOU ORLANDO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Track and Field wrapped up its indoor season with two straight weeks of championship meets. The Rams traveled to Kingston, R.I. in the final week of February for the Atlantic 10 Championship before their season came to a close. Then, the teams pivoted to Boston for the ECAC/IC4A Championship.

Despite carrying some momentum into the A-10 Championship, the Rams struggled against some tough competition, as the men finished 9th out of 11 teams while the women ranked 10th out of 15 teams.

For both sides, the championship began on Saturday. On the men’s side, the Rams scored in two of five scoring events as freshman Michael Croke tied for eighth place in the pole vault while junior Steven Zucca put up a personal best of 14:23.88 in the 5,000-meter run, good for fifth overall. Fordham qualified for three Sunday finals, this time scoring in eight events. Sophomore Rodolfo Sanchez and graduate student Zalen Nelson headlined the day with top-five finishes as the Rams concluded the championship in ninth place with 26.5 points, ahead of just the University of Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure.

The women’s side also suffered a slow start in the A-10 Championship, scoring in just one of six events and finishing day one in 13th place out of the 15 competing teams. Junior Skylar Harris accounted for the lone points of the day with a season best long jump of 18’ 2 1/2”. Still, the Rams qualified for three finals on Sunday, rallying to score in five events on Sunday as they finished 10th

Varsity Scores & Stats

overall. Senior Kyla Hill’s magical season continued, showing her prowess in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dash. Hill scored fourth in the 60 meter while her time of 24.55 seconds in the 200 meter earned her Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Graduate student Jane Rokitta picked up Fordham’s second medal of the day, taking silver and Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in the high jump.

The calendar flipped to March for the ECAC/IC4A Championship hosted by Boston University, as both men’s and women’s finished their season on a high note with remarkable showings. The events began on Saturday, in what proved to be a fruitful day for Fordham as the Rams set four program records and qualified for six Sunday final events.

The Rams scored in two events on Saturday, both coming from the women’s side. Graduate student Tiffany Hanna was the first to put new ink in the record book, scoring fourth in the weight throw with a school record distance of 61’ 1 1/2”.

Hanna had already set the program record twice this season, this time breaking her own record by nearly three feet. Rokitta accounted for Fordham’s other score, ranking fifth in the high jump.

Unsurprisingly, Hill joined in on the record-breaking fun, first tying her own program record in the 60-meter dash with 7.57 seconds before etching her name in program history for a second time that day, breaking the program record in the 200-meter dash previously set by graduate student Kathryn Kelly in 2020.

Hill ranked third and fifth overall in the 60 meter and 200 meter, qualifying her for finals the following day. Fordham also qualified in both the 4x400 and

the 4x800 relays.

On the men’s side, Nelson set a record himself, qualifying for the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:24.17, breaking the record he set last year. The men’s other qualifier came from the 4x400 relay team of senior Erik Brown and freshmen Kevin Callaghan, Matthew Nurse and Yariv Simhony, who ranked sixth with a season-best time.

Saturday may have come to an end, but the record-breaking did not. After tying her record in the 60-meter dash on Saturday, Hill decided to go one step further and break it, setting a new program record with a time of 7.56 seconds, good for fourth overall. Hill also ran in the 200-meter dash, setting the program record for a second day in a row with a time of 24.05 seconds.

The Rams also earned a bronze medal in the 4x800 relay, as the unit of seniors Taylor Mascetta and Mary Kathryn Underwood, graduate student Helen Connolly and junior Marin Bogulski finished third with a season best time of 9:04.72.

Nelson brought home a medal for the men’s side in the finals on Sunday, grabbing silver in the 1,000-meter run as he fell just shy of his record time from Saturday.

The remaining finalists came in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays, with both units finishing seventh overall.

The record-setting weekend officially caps off a remarkable indoor season that saw records set for both men’s and women’s. It’s been a truly outstanding stretch for Hill, Hanna and Nelson, who seemingly set Fordham records on the regular.

The Rams will get a much deserved break as they set their sights on the start of the outdoor season, beginning on March 18 at the Stony Brook Snowflake Classic in New York.

News & Notes

Keith Urgo Wins Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year

After a 24-7 overall record, including a 12-6 record in the Atlantic 10, Fordham Men’s Basketball coach Keith Urgo has led his team to a season the Rams haven’t had in over 30 years. Urgo secured the accolade in his first year of being head coach, replacing former coach Kyle Neptune, whom Urgo served as an assistant coach under. Urgo is now the second Fordham head coach to earn coach of the year honors, after Nick Macarchuk who won the award in 1999.

Fordham Men’s Basketball to Play in Atlantic 10 Tournament

The Fordham men’s basketball team will travel to the Barclays Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to participate in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Seeded number three, they will face the winner of the Duquesne University, La Salle University or University of Rhode Island game. Students can purchase tickets for a discounted price of $10 and will receive a free T-shirt.

Fordham Softball Loses Three in South Carolina

By NICK GUZMAN SPORTS EDITOR

What has been a difficult beginning to the season for Fordham Softball continued at the Winthrop Garnet and Gold Tournament in Rock Hill, S.C. beginning on Feb. 25. The Rams dropped three out of four contests, picking up a sole victory against North Carolina Central University.

The reigning Atlantic 10 champions now sit at 3-10 overall in this still very young season. Although it’s been a rough start for this year’s squad, last year’s team endured similar struggles early on.

The 2022 team was 4-9 through 13 games, yet they finished the season on top of the mountain. For Fordham, these early non-A-10 games against quality programs are useful as a measuring stick for where they stand heading into conference play. A-10 play is a different beast entirely, and battling Power Five schools and other talented teams now will prove to be beneficial once the conference gauntlet begins.

The Rams got started in South Carolina against Harvard

University early on Saturday. For Harvard, Winthrop Garnet and Gold was their first action of the season, with the Rams being just their second opponent of 2023.

Harvard got off to a fast start, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first after Fordham tallied a run in the top half of the inning. Senior Devon Miller was chased after recording just one out. Although she allowed just two hits, Miller couldn’t find the strike zone as she walked five in the first. Three of those walks were run-scoring, with Fordham finding themselves down 5-1 after a frame.

Fordham didn’t go away, scoring four runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at five. After junior Julia Petrovich doubled and Miller reached on a fielder’s choice, senior Amanda Carey launched a three-run homer to get the Rams within one. Freshman Kate McGuire then scored the tying run on an RBI groundout from graduate student Sarah Taffet.

But the Rams’ lead didn’t last long, with Harvard scoring the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Holly

Beeman, who was excellent in relief of Miller, surrendered her lone run of the day on a Finley Payne RBI single. That was enough for Harvard, who shut down Fordham in the final three innings to win 6-5.

Looking to rebound later on Saturday, Fordham went up against North Carolina Central University, a team that entered the contest at 0-8. Junior Bailey Enoch sparked the Rams in this one both at the plate and in the circle, blasting two home runs in addition to tossing a six-inning shutout. Enoch slammed a tworun homer in the first and a solo homer in the fifth while also adding an RBI walk in the sixth.

Fordham also received offensive contributions from freshman Eva Koratsis, senior Michaela Carter and graduate student Julia Martine, who each contributed an RBI.

The Rams were unable to carry this momentum into Sunday, though, as they dropped two low-scoring contests to Long Island University (LIU) and Winthrop University.

Against LIU, Fordham was stifled by Kira Buckner, who tossed

a seven-inning shutout with 13 strikeouts while allowing just one hit. Buckner struck out an LIU program-record 11 straight batters between the third and seventh innings as Fordham struggled for base runners throughout the contest. Beeman got the start and went the distance for the Rams, allowing three runs (two earned) across six innings of work.

Fordham and Winthrop saw their contest go into extra innings, with the Rams ultimately falling just short by a score of 3-2.

After falling behind by a run early, Koratsis tied things up for the Rams in the fifth inning with a solo bomb. Junior Bella Ayala then gave Fordham the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI groundout that scored Martine, but Winthrop replied in the bottom

of the frame. Down to their final strike, Mackenzie Smith smacked an RBI double off sophomore Emilee Watkins to tie things up and send the game to extras.

In the ninth, Smith struck again for Winthrop with a game-winning, walk-off single that scored Ella McGalliard. Despite getting dinged with the loss, Watkins tossed over eight innings for the Rams on a whopping 157 pitches.

Fordham now will take the long trip to Honolulu for the Rainbow Wahine Classic this coming weekend. The Rams will once again be up against some tough opponents, including Iowa State University and the University of Hawaii. Looking to finally get some momentum going in 2023, Fordham will hope the tropical weather is a cure for their early season struggles.

Golf Competes in South Jersey Kick Off

By WILL TALLANT STAFF WRITER

The spring season is officially under way for the Fordham golf team as the Rams made the trip to Ocean View, N.J. to compete in the South Jersey Kick-Off at the Shore Gate Golf Club hosted by Iona University this past Saturday and Sunday.

The opening weekend action was not so smooth sailing for the Rams, battling through winds between 30 and 45 miles per hour all afternoon. After the completion of the first 18 holes on Saturday, Fordham sat in seventh place and 32 strokes back of the tournament champion La Salle University.

Fordham had a pair of individuals competing in the Kick-Off, as seniors Charles Smollen and Andreas Aivazoglou concluded their first rounds of play with scores of 82 and 85 respectively.

Smollen’s 82-stroke performance netted a 19th place standing when all was said and done Saturday afternoon.

The Rams were led by senior P.J. O’Rourke and sophomore Chris Konefal, both of whom carded scores of 84 during the day one festivities. Five strokes behind the Fordham leaders was sophomore Jake Mrva and senior Nicholas Manning, tallying a pair of 89s on the scorecard.

Making his debut collegiate appearance with the Rams was

sophomore Mashu Nishi. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. native shot a score of 90 in his debut round for the Rams.

With much more favorable weather conditions this time around, the Rams saw a satisfying turnaround in overall scores from all of their competing golfers the following day. Fordham pulled it all together during Sunday’s portion of the meet as the Rams tallied the fourth best score of the day two totals and finished sixth in overall standing.

It was once again O’Rourke and Konefal doing the heaving lifting as the duo notched mirroring scores for a second consecutive day.

O’Rourke and Konefal both etched a pair of 74s on Sunday and completed the South Jersey

Fordham knotted for a 17th place finish overall. Aivazoglou was able to shave four strokes off of his day one performance and

Columbia Trounces Fordham Women’s Tennis 4-0

By BRETT TULIP STAFF WRITER

grab a score of 81, good for a 31st place finish.

Fordham’s underclassmen continued to thrive in the spring’s first contest as Mrva crafted an impressive score of 79, a 10-stroke improvement to his Saturday score of 89.

Mashu Nishi saw the most benefit from the shift in course conditions as the sophomore, in just his second collegiate round, netted a 76-stroke showing. Nishi’s 16-stroke improvement was the largest margin from any competing Ram all weekend. Manning and Smollen, like fellow teammates O’Rourke and Konefal, wrapped up their play in a tie for 44th place among individual standing.

After the encouraging Sunday turnaround, the Rams will look to replicate that same type of play on April 4th as they journey down to Colts Neck, N.J. to take part in the Monmouth One-Day.

Student Athlete Column: Two Down, One to Go

By TAYLOR MASCETTA STAFF WRITER

Every time I step on the track, I remind myself that every race is an opportunity. An opportunity to do something special, to make yourself proud and to bring it home for your teammates. You have to make the most of every moment you’re given, even when the going gets tough.

This indoor season has been the epitome of “tough.” I reached the peak of my frustration at Atlantic 10s, not having the chance to compete at the level I knew I was capable of. I was on the brink of my breaking point, but I knew after every storm comes a rainbow.

And that rainbow always seems to be the same meet every year.

After A-10s every season, there’s one last meet the following week — the IC4A/ECAC championships. For some reason, the team always goes crazy at this meet. It could be airing out some postA-10 frustrations or wanting to end the season on a high note. Nevertheless, we’re always heading home to the Bronx with hardware, school records and personal bests galore.

Personally, ECACs have always served as a light at the end of the tunnel. My freshman year, I set all sorts of goals for myself that I didn’t reach without acknowledging how tough the collegiate transition was. But at ECACs, I dropped a massive season’s best on my relay leg. I’ll never forget my head coach practically jumping up and down as I tried to catch my breath. Just last year, I failed

to qualify out of the prelim during A-10s, a season-long expectation I held for myself. Bummed was an understatement. The next week, I channeled that frustration once again on the relay, and we came home with a sixth place medal. I came to ECACs this year wanting to prove that the old me was still in there, more so to myself than my team. I initially made the ECAC roster as an alternate. But I wanted a spot, and when the coaches gave me one last chance, I knew I needed to take full advantage of that opportunity.

I entered the races this weekend mad at the card the universe dealt me with all year long. Rather than go wallow in self pity, I turned it into fuel for what became the biggest race of my season. It turned into two season-bests, one of which was just a few seconds off my PR.

More importantly than the times themselves, I just felt so confident

On Friday, the Fordham women’s tennis team went up against the fearsome Columbia University Lions where they were handed their second loss of the season. This comes after Fordham had a dominant 4-0 shutout against Long Island University just a week prior. Unfortunately, the team could not keep that magic going as they were bested in almost all factors.

It wasn’t all bad, as the team showed signs of life throughout, leading head coach Michael Sowter to state: “Great fight from the team today, the match was much closer than the score indicates.” Sowter certainly believes in the heart of this team, and for good reason as the team won multiple sets against a top Ivy League program such as Columbia.

Singles play was certainly not as dominant as it had been in recent weeks. As the score would project, individual players did not win any of their matches on Friday. Graduate student Valeriya Deminova lost in three sets, while junior Eleni Fasoula and graduate students Carlota Casasampere Escoda and Lindsay Hung had their third sets go unfinished. Both senior Avery

Aude and sophomore Lorraine Bergmann were swept in two sets. The scores were relatively close overall, but Columbia were just a step above the Rams.

In doubles play, the team of Deminova and Aude dropped the first set in a close one 5-4 and did not finish the second. Unfortunately, both teams of Casasampere Escoda and Hung and Fasoula and Yang dropped their sets on the day. All around, it was competitive, but Fordham just could not get it done. Coming up short against Columbia should not be considered a large blemish on the team’s record. They now sit at 5-2 with tough opponents ahead, but expect to remain firmly in the top half of Atlantic 10 teams. This year’s roster is an extremely talented and experienced group that will look to build on this loss and grow from it.

Up next, Fordham will take on Yale University this Saturday, in what will surely be an interesting match. Yale sits at 6-5 but has many big wins against other Ivy League programs this season. It will be intriguing to see how the Fordham Rams bounce back against another tough opponent this season.

going in for the first time in so long. I got the baton and stayed right up with the group. If you run with me I’m usually dropped off just a little bit, more so this year than usual. I typically rely on my kick to pass at the finish. But this time I told myself I deserved to be there, stuck with the pack and kept our team in the mix.

We went home with a thirdplace finish in the 4x800m, the best ECAC finish I’ve experienced during my time at Fordham. The team was so excited, collapsing in a hug at the finish line. It was the best possible way to end what may have been my hardest season as a Ram.

I wrote earlier this season that, while my season didn’t exactly go as I planned, I still had time to turn things around. I’m glad to say that I had the capability to do so. With graduation on the horizon, I’m more fired up than ever for the outdoor season.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The fearsome Columbia Lions were a big test for the Rams this past weekend.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Rams showed out on Saturday with fantastic play to open the spring.

MLB Pitch Clock Problems: Better Now than Later

By LOU ORLANDO AST. SPORTS EDITOR

Picture the scene. Bottom of the ninth. Tie game. Bases loaded. Two outs. A 3-2 count. You can’t dream up a better scenario. All of the possibilities and all of the tension. No matter what happens, this will undoubtedly be thrilling. We could see a game winning hit or a game saving strikeout. Perhaps even a foul ball to keep things right where we stand. Or maybe… a pitch clock violation resulting in strike three? Well, that seems kind of anticlimactic.

That’s exactly what happened in a Spring Training game between the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox. With the game tied 6-6, Boston’s Ryan Kwiatkowski got set to deliver a full count, two-out pitch to Atlanta’s Cal Conley. There was just one problem — Conley wasn’t ready to hit. A pitch clock violation was called, and the game ended in a 6-6 tie.

It’s been an inauspicious start for Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock. Starting this season, a timer will be put in place to help improve the pace of play. This involves enforcing a 30-second timer in between batters, a 15-second timer in between pitches and a limit to the number of pickoffs. Furthermore, a batter must be in the box and ready to hit with eight seconds left on the timer. Needless to say, it’s an adjustment, and unsurprisingly, one the fans aren’t too thrilled about.

Anytime changes are made to a sport like baseball in which tradition is so closely rooted to its core, there’s going to be

pushback and outrage. And naturally, anytime a game ends because of a pitch clock violation, there’s going to be rage, chaos and potentially threats of extreme violence towards MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

Now, it’s worth noting that if the Braves-Red Sox exhibition game were a regular season affair, the game would not end, but rather move into extra innings (where fans would get to see a ghost runner at second — but that’s a separate discussion). Still, no one wants to see a game go into extra innings because of a pitch clock violation. Especially not with the bases loaded and a full count. What if the game wasn’t tied? What if a team won a regular season game because of a pitch clock violation? These are all valid concerns that people have every right to ask.

The goal of the pitch clock is to speed up a game that was trending in the wrong direction in terms of average game length. In 2022, the average length of a baseball game was three hours and six minutes. The previous year, it was a record three hours and 11 minutes. In the small sample size of Spring Training, games are averaging closer to two hours and 30 minutes, an average runtime we haven’t seen since the 1970s. If this average were to hold up over the course of

the regular season, it would be the first time since 2011 that the average length of an MLB game was under three hours. Outside of a blip in 2000, the average length of a game was under three hours for every season in existence prior to 2012. It’s only been until fairly recently that we’ve crossed the three-hour barrier.

I think it’s important to highlight that this rule has the game’s best interest in mind. A quicker pace would lead to less dead time between pitches and more action every minute. Furthermore, the pitch clock would theoretically make it more difficult for pitchers to throw max effort every pitch. This would suggest an uptick in contact and a decrease in the home run-or-bust, swing-and-miss game about which fans often complain. The MLB very clearly believes that more balls in play equals more action.

Critics raise the point that sometimes the game slowing down is a good thing, particularly in these big moments. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I also think we’re conditioned to think that way because that’s how we’ve consumed every big moment. A couple summers ago, I sat down and watched some of the postseason games from the Mets’ 1986 World Series run. I’m no Mets fan, but it really is some of the

Squash Ends Season at CSA Championships

By MADDIE BIMONTE SPORTS EDITOR

It is the end of the road for Fordham Squash as they conclude their winning 2022-23 season in Philadelphia at the CSA Individual and Doubles Championships.

This event included both a singles performance from freshman Nicholas Gilman and two doubles performances from freshman Jack Stanley and sophomore Bennett Van Liew, and the mixed doubles pair of sophomore Sofia Arseniev and junior Henry Frawley.

Gilman went into the singles play as the 16 seed, starting off his play against number one seeded Joachim Chuah from Trinity College. He went on to drop the match in three games, 11-1, 11-3 and 11-5.

His run wasn’t over yet as Gilman fell into the consolation bracket and played United States Naval Academy’s Matthew Wang, who bested Gilman in three games, 116, 11-5 and 11-1.

Over in the doubles categories, Stanley and Van Liew also had difficulties, dropping their round of 32 match 11-1, 11-2 and 11-2

to Western Ontario University’s Griffin Manley and Dylan Deverill.

The group with the most success at the CSA’s came in the mixed doubles pairs with Arseniev and Frawley advancing to the round of 16, winning their match on Friday, 11-4, 11-3 and 11-5.

They would go on to drop their match on Saturday, 11-7, 11-4 and 11-6, eliminating them from the rest of competition.

While it may have not been the most ideal ending to a great season, the Rams have greatly

improved upon what they wanted to accomplish last season after going 9-15 in 2021-22.

This year, the Rams dazzled at home, going 13-3, and starting off the season strong with a five-game win streak, their highest of the season.

The team will stay relatively the same going into next season as the team only has two seniors, Caleb Schumacher and Justin George. Hopefully, these Rams can improve their record even more than a solid 20-11 finish.

best baseball you’ll ever see. One of the things that immediately stands out is how quick the pitchers work. And let me tell you, it never took away from the suspense and the tension of the moment.

Joez McFly, a personality from Jomboy Media and a popular presence on baseball Twitter, posted a clip from the 2016 NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. On the mound is Pedro Baez, a reliever infamous for taking his time in between pitches. In the clip, there’s nearly two minutes of dead, non-action time in between Baez’s first pitch and second pitch. Simultaneously, a looped video of a Jose Altuve insidethe-park home run was able to play in full seven times. Jose Altuve hit seven inside-thepark home runs in between one pitch to another. That’s insane, and while it’s obviously an extreme example, it is a reminder of how slow these games can get, especially in the big moments.

Right now, the pitch clock doesn’t look great. The important thing to remember is it’s not supposed to look great. The goal of Spring Training is to get MLB players in the rhythm so that they’re ready for the pitch clock come April. Umpires are being told to enforce the pitch clock rules as strictly as possible. The goal is for the pitch clock to be an afterthought. No one wants pitch clock violations, and they certainly don’t want it affecting the game’s big moments.

In the winter, former MLB player Raul Ibanez and EVP of Baseball Operations Morgan

Sword, who both served on the rules committee, sat down with Jomboy Media to discuss the rule changes. “Our minor league experience was very bumpy as people get adjusted, and the first couple weeks of Spring Training, you’re gonna see some bumps,” said Sword. “But people get adjusted. The number of violations each week of the minor league season just falls off a cliff. As players get into a routine, they figure it out.” Right now in Spring Training, the average is close to two a game. As players get used to it, that number will fall.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty about how these rules will ultimately be enforced. Recall that a pitch clock has technically been in place for several years, it just hasn’t been enforced. That’s what it really comes down to.

What we all need to keep in mind is this is the point of Spring Training. We have a chance to work out the kinks before it really matters. MLB might have to put in place a new amendment to prevent Mets starter Max Scherzer from manipulating the pitch clock to mess with batters. Who knows exactly what April will look like? There’s a very real possibility that come the regular season, the umpires are not as strict with enforcing the clock as they were in Spring Training.

There’s also the possibility that players will adjust to the speed. As long as games aren’t being decided by pitch clock violations, everything should turn out alright.

Men’s Tennis Falls to Bucknell

By JOE MASTERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham Men’s Tennis team took on a red-hot Bucknell University Bisons squad this past weekend, falling 5-2 at the Central PA Tennis Center in Lewisburg.

Coming into their Saturday showdown, the Bison had won seven straight, overcoming an 0-4 start to the season. Despite the overall loss, the Rams did win two crucial singles points, with the first of which coming from graduate student Quinn Fender. He battled back from behind to top Harrison Gold of Bucknell 2-6, 7-6, 7-6. Another win came on the sixth singles court from impressive freshman Sampras Rakotondrainibe who won 6-3, 4-6, 3-2 after Bucknell’s Oscar Moreno was forced to retire from the match.

In doubles play, Bucknell won all three matchups to take the point. Among the defeats were the duo of Fender and junior Nicholas Kanazirev, who fell to Harrison Gold and Brendan McDonald 6-1. Juniors Toi Kobayashi and Giorgio Soemarno were also defeated, falling to Oscar Moreno de Vega

and Amar Tahirovic.

The Rams find themselves in a rut of late having lost four straight and are now 1-6 on the season. The record, although disappointing, is part of a growing process for a relatively young team who is looking to grow together on an individual and group level.

The squad will be forced to look past last weekend’’s disappointing outcome when they take on Wagner College on Saturday, March 11, at 6:00 p.m. at the Life Time Athletic in Harrison, N.Y.

Squash took a nice leap this season, finishing the year 20-11. Tennis falls to 1-6 on the season.

2023 MLS Western Conference Preview

By JAMES BIRLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Major League Soccer’s (MLS) 28th season kicked off on Saturday, Feb. 25, with all 29 teams but the Chicago Fire taking part in MLS’s opening weekend. Most notably, new expansion franchise St. Louis City SC took part in their first MLS game, dramatically defeating Western Conference heavyweights Austin FC 3-2. As MLS gears up for its most ambitious and biggest season yet, here’s what you need to know about the West in 2023.

Reigning Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC headline the stories of this year’s season as they look to solidify their status as an MLS dynasty. Despite departures from stars like Chicho Arango and Gareth Bale, LAFC will certainly be favorites to repeat as both Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup champions as they still maintain one of the strongest cores of players in MLS history. In addition to captain and talisman Carlos Vela, the black and gold’s roster of Denis Bouanga, Giorgio Chiellini, Ilie Sanchez, Kellyn Acosta, Jose Cifuentes and Jesus Murillo plus the additions of Stipe Biuk from Hajduk Split and Aaron Long from the New York Red Bulls give LAFC the deepest crop of players across MLS.

LAFC, however, will have the added challenge of playing in their second Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Champions League (CCL), an opportunity they earned for their success in 2022. Historically, a deep CCL run can spell disaster for a team’s MLS season as the tournament conflicts with the early part of the MLS schedule and

By JULIA MOSS STAFF WRITER

It’s no surprise that Caitlin Clark is a dominant presence week in and week out for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team. Her name is consistently mentioned in the same breath as the likes of college legends Breanna Stewart, Skylar Diggins and Sue Bird. She’s averaging 27 points per game this season, and that number has never dropped below 26 in her three-year collegiate career with the Hawkeyes. She’s also averaging a teamhigh in both assists with 8.3 per game and rebounds bringing in 7.5 per game.

However, her recent performances have reached new heights. In the Big Ten championship game, she secured herself a 30-point triple-double taking on a whopping 17 assists and 10 rebounds, the first to ever happen in Big Ten tournament history. She’s no stranger to triple-doubles either — Clark currently sits at second all-time in

contributes greatly to injuries and midseason fatigue. Most recently, the Seattle Sounders became the first team in MLS history to win the continental trophy in the CCL era (since 2008) last season, but went on to miss the MLS playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.

Joining LAFC in the CCL this year will be their MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield adversary in the Philadelphia Union as well as Orlando City SC, Austin FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps, all of which but the latter could be considered MLS Cup contenders.

In the Western Conference, LAFC’s biggest challengers take the form of teams in green in Austin FC and the Seattle Sounders, as well as crosstown foe the LA Galaxy and perennial playoff candidate FC Dallas.

Austin FC’s second place Western Conference finish came in large part due to consistency in defense and goalkeeping from Brad Stuver as well as an MVP caliber year from star midfielder Sebastian Driussi. While the club overperformed in expected goals, it added strength to its forward core, bringing in U.S. international Gyasi Zardes to sniff out chances expected to be created by Diego Fagundez, Driussi and new signing Emiliano Rigoni.

The Seattle Sounders, on the other hand, are coming off of a whirlwind year that saw them win CCL but fail dramatically in MLS. Returning from injury will be star defensive midfielder Joao Paulo, whose injury in the CCL final was felt throughout the year. He will rejoin Cristian Roldan, Jordan Morris, Raul Ruidiaz, Yeimar, Albert Rusnak, Stefan Frei and captain Nicolas Lodeiro in what is probably the second

most talented crop of players MLS’s Western Conference. The Sounders looked impressive but not quite fit yet in their FIFA Club World Cup defeat to Egyptian giants Al Ahly on Feb. 4.

FC Dallas, who made massive strides as the 2022 season went on, can be expected to play out a similar season as they did in 2022. Finishing third in the west, Dallas excelled in their system of internal development despite selling U.S. International forward Ricardo Pepi abroad before the season. Paxton Pomykal, Jesus Ferreira, Paul Arriola and goalkeeper Maarten Paes in particular played big roles in advancing the Toros back to the playoffs last season. However, losing veteran defender Matt Hedges means Dallas will have to tinker with options along the backline, likely meaning that Nkosi Tafari will step into a long term starting role alongside the established Jose Martinez.

The Galaxy are in a familiar setting as their squad has a polarizing distribution of players, with a lot of strength in certain areas and serious weakness in others. LA’s midfield of Gaston Brugman, Marky Delgado and Riqui Puig is good enough to be the best across the entire league and Javier Hernandez has shown that he can be a consistent top level scorer in MLS with back to back 15-plus goal seasons. However, as always, there are questions surrounding the Galaxy’s defense that conceded 51 goals last year and only brought in the aging Chris Mavinga from Toronto to tighten things up. Likewise, Mexican international Julian Araujo’s departure for Barcelona B makes the defense situation that much thinner and that’s not to mention how

thin the depth chart is at winger after the homegrown Efrain Alvarez.

Rounding out the playoff hunt in the Western Conference are the Portland Timbers, who were only one point shy from making the playoffs last year and brought in highly touted Brazilian midfielder Evander from FC Midtjylland of Denmark. They still maintain a solid core of Sebastian Blanco, Santiago Moreno, Claudio Bravo, Aljaz Ivacic and Yimmi and Diego Chara. The Timbers, however, have uncertainties up top, as Jaroslaw Niezgoda is likely to be the starter despite putting up a modest nine goals last year while Chilean international Felipe Mora is not expected to return from his complicated knee injury until the end of the spring.

Minnesota United have earned the status of perennial playoff candidate but are in serious limbo as star attacking midfielder Emanuel Reynoso has yet to turn up to preseason activities in light of his 2021 arrest for assault of a teenager potentially going to trial. Real Salt Lake were one point behind Minnesota last season for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and while their roster has not turned over much, the progression of teams around them could see them be phased out of postseason contention.

The bottom tier of the Western Conference is likely to be shaken up a bit, not only because of the introduction of St. Louis and their less than inspiring roster, but also because sides like Sporting KC, the Colorado Rapids, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the last place finishing San Jose Earthquakes all made considerable changes in the offseason. Namely, KC brought in defender Tim Leibold as well as

Caitlin Clark’s Rise Reaches New Pinnacle

NCAAW, second to New York’s own Sabrina Ionescu during her time at the University of Oregon.

But it doesn’t stop there. Just last week against Indiana University, in what was a rematch circled on the Hawkeyes calendar since their defeat against the Hoosiers earlier in February, Clark hit one of the most electric game-winners you’ll see this season. With just 1.5 seconds left in the game on the inbound, Clark took the pass, turned, shot the ball off balance and sank it as the buzzer sounded.

What was most telling was her immediate reaction to seeing the ball go in, and that was to run right to the Hawkeye fanbase. Without hesitation, she sprinted to the baseline section of fans to celebrate, and that truly embodies her commitment to bringing these fans a championship before she moves on to the WNBA in a year or two. The entire fanbase completely adores her as well. Recently when asked if she was considering taking a fifth year from COVID-19 eligibility, she replied, “I just love this

place. I love getting to play in front of a sold-out crowd every single night. I love college basketball. I don’t know. It would be hard to leave.”

Her dominant statistics are extensively aided by her threepoint shooting range, which seems to have no limit. Clark consistently shoots from logoarea distances and oftentimes drills them. Outside of that, she’s also a dynamic playmaker who can get in the paint for a rebound too. Her play style has left many wondering what she can’t do on the court.

The success she’s found doesn’t stop at individual accolades either, she’s now led her team to a 26-6 record and most recently secured the Big Ten tournament championship in dominating fashion against The Ohio State University, winning 105-72.

The timing for the team’s success could not come at a better time. With the NCAA Tournament just around the corner, Iowa has proven they can compete with

late season acquisitions of midfielders Erik Thommy, Nemanja Radoja and forward Willy Agada, who scored eight goals in just 12 games played last year.

Vancouver made improvements at both ends, bringing in FC Augsburg striker Sergio Cordova and defender Mathias Laborda from Uruguay’s Nacional while San Jose brought in former Dallas and Augsburg midfielder Carlos Gruezo and goalkeeper Daniel from Internacional despite losing veteran midfielders Jan Gregus and Eric Remedi. Colorado may have made the biggest splashes among the lower finishing teams in the west, including designated player center back Andreas Maxso from Denmark’s Brondby, midfielder Connor Ronan from Wolves in the Premier League and winger Kevin Cabral, whose salary is being partially retained by the LA Galaxy.

Likely to join newcomers St. Louis at the bottom of the Western Conference are the Houston Dynamo, who despite bringing in Artur from Columbus, Brad Smith from DC, Ivan Franco from Club Libertad in Paraguay and Amine Bassi from Ligue 1’s FC Metz, have been dwelling in the West’s basement since 2017 and are probably still beneath playoff quality.

Imbalance between the Eastern and Western Conference is not a new thing in MLS, the East was probably stronger than the West last year as well, but the only thing that matters in the end is who lifts the trophy at the end of the season. With MLS’s famed unpredictability and advertised parity, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for every word you have just read to be proven wrong as early as June. Only time and the soccer gods will tell.

Clark recorded a 30-point triple-double in the Big Ten title game. anyone. Expect this team to still be around come Final Four time where we could be poised for a generational matchup against powerhouses like Dawn Staley’s University of South Carolina or even Geno Auriemma’s University of Connecticut.

Regardless if the NCAA gets one or two more years of Caitlin Clark,

it’s clear as long as she’s suiting up for the Hawkeyes, she’s going to be electric. Iowa has capped off an amazing season as Big Ten champions as Clark and the Hawkeyes’ eyes are solely squared on the NCAAW Tournament, with Selection Sunday being on March 12 and the first round tipping off on March 17.

Men’s Basketball Wins Three of Last Four, Finishes Third in A-10

By THOMAS AIELLO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

The Fordham men’s basketball team continues to dismantle opponents in a multitude of methods; between blow outs or close affairs, the Rams have won games with every possible style.

The quest for Atlantic 10 supremacy continued against conference basement dweller Loyola University Chicago in Chi-town last Wednesday.

The Ramblers have been on the learning curve, going from the Ohio Valley Conference to a much more competitive A-10 with a ruthless opening season.

Sitting in last place, and being notorious for their performances at home, the Ramblers resembled everything you could want out of a trap game on the road. A much more talented, stronger Fordham side found that out rather quickly when the Ramblers went toe-totoe with Fordham in the opening minutes.

26 points from graduate student Darius Quisenberry were the deciding factor in the game, especially when he drained the game winning three to put Fordham up two late in the second half. 19 points from graduate student Khalid Moore gave Fordham enough leeway to tread water in Chicago against Loyola-Chicago.

The Ramblers were led by Philip Alston who added 19 of his own with a helping hand from Bryce Golden who dropped 13.

Quisenberry saved the day with

a huge three to go up 67-63 late, but then Loyola chopped the lead back down to one with 34 seconds to play.

Fordham was deadlocked in a very tight contest that saw 14 lead changes, but an eight-point boost from junior Abdou Tsimbila and two huge free throws with seven seconds left allowed for the Rams to escape 71-69.

Even after junior guard Antrell Charlton bricked two free throws in the wee seconds of the game, Loyola failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer. It was no secret the Rams should have beaten Loyola by double figures, but as the coaching staff has preached all year, a win is a win.

A return to “Rose Thrill” on Saturday was paramount for the group. Not only would they be able to feed off the crowd, but they were also tasked to perform in front of Fordham’s greatest team in school history.

In came the University of Rhode Island for a rematch from January that saw URI escape 8279 in what was a herculean effort. Rhode Island gave Fordham all they could handle, once again generating six lead changes.

The second-to-last place Rhode Island gave Fordham fits when Malik Martin killed them from three. A player who was shooting under 30% from range for the season went a perfect 3-3 from distance, leading all scorers with 17 points.

Three Rams hit double figures in this game between Quisenberry,

Moore and senior Rostik Novitskyi piling 14 points each to lead the Fordham charge. Freshman Will Richardson included nine of his own while Rose added eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the effort.

Tsimbila added eight points and seven boards alongside three rejections despite his 3-11 shooting from the field. Charlton, who came off the bench, only put up five points and four dimes but did turn the ball over three times.

Fordham was able to pull away 74-71 and secure a second straight win over an A-10 basement dweller but was yet another close call in the payback win.

The Saturday tilt was headlined by the 1971 team celebration and the jersey retirement of Charlie Yelverton, objectively one of the greatest players in school history. Yelverton, alongside head coach Digger Phelps, led the Rams to a 26-3 record that saw them end the year ranked ninth in the nation.

The ceremony saw his number 34 reside among those of legendary Fordham greats; Ed Conlin, Bob Mullens, Anne Gregory-O’Connell and Yelverton’s teammate, Ken Charles, in the rafters of Rose Hill.

His senior year saw Yelverton win the 1971 Haggerty Award, receive UPI Third Team AllAmerican honors and score over 1,000 career points at Fordham while averaging 23.3 points and 12 rebounds en route to a sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament and a third-place regional finish.

The halftime ceremony was met with Yelverton’s jersey encased in a shadowbox, and him witnessing his jersey being unveiled to those in attendance at Rose Hill surrounded with thunderous applause.

As Fordham continued their quest for the coveted double bye, the team headed south to the commonwealth one more time to square off against George Mason University, a team that Fordham has owned since they joined the conference in 2013.

With an all-time record of 10-4 against the Patriots and two hard fought wins under their belt, the Rams went into EagleBank Arena with the utmost confidence. In spite of all this, Kim English’s group came out as the aggressors and pushed the Rams around in the post.

George Mason’s game plan was simple: eliminate the Fordham bigs and slow down Quisenberry with overly physical tactics. Josh Oduro was able to contribute to both Tsimbila and Novitskyi both fouling out of the game, leaving Fordham to play freshman Elijah Gray as the lone true center.

28 paint points and 38 team rebounds propelled the Patriots in what was a truly physical game. Josh Oduro poured on 17 points on 6-14 shooting. Ronald Polite also added 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven helpers simultaneously going 7-8 from the free throw line.

Fordham was led primarily by Moore with 21 points, 11 of which came from the charity stripe. Despite the horrendous 3-25 shooting from three, Fordham was able to get the game into overtime with a heroic layup from Kyle Rose.

Unfortunately, the Rams crumbled under pressure and missed some free throws at the end of the game. Even with Oduro fouling out and Davonte Gaines getting hurt, the Patriots found heroics from Saquan Singleton and Malik Henry who had a huge game changing dunk late in overtime to take the lead. In the 6458 defeat, Fordham missed their chance to clinch the double-bye a game earlier than they would have planned.

All was not lost though, with the final game at Rose Hill against Duquesne University last Saturday on Senior Day. With the celebration of Quisenberry, Moore, Novitskyi and Patrick Kelly, the team had extra incentives to send the seniors out right against the Dukes.

This Duquesne team is a vastly improved unit from last year’s

six win disaster, headlined by Miami Ohio transfer Dae Dae Grant. Coming into Rose Hill, Fordham and Duquesne traded leads before a massive altercation sparked what would be a turning point in the game that led to a Duquesne loss.

At the 3:44 mark in the first half, RJ Gunn fouled Quisenberry on a basketball play, then proceeded to throw him to the ground that resulted in a massive scuffle. Gunn was assessed a technical foul and a flagrant one foul, which gave Fordham four free throws (all of which were made) and possession.

The ensuing possession saw Khalid Moore draw an and one, hitting the free throw, adding up to seven points in a matter of seconds.

The Rams ran wild the rest of the way; chewing up Duquesne by 27 to secure the double-bye for the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn. Moore and Quisenberry closed the curtains on a phenomenal regular season, with Moore posting 24 points and 9 rebounds and Quisenberry tallying 21 points to close out their career at “Rose Thrill.”

The most telling part of the game was the three-point shooting: 9-21 from distance for 43% for the Rams to lock up the double-bye in the conference tournament.

With Fordham securing the third seed in the A-10 tournament, they’ll be back in action after a much needed rest. Their quarter of the bracket saw La Salle University defeat Rhode Island in round one, with La Salle advancing to face Duquesne in the second round which then leads to Fordham in the quarterfinals.

It is also expected that a massive following of Fordham fans will be in attendance in what could be a de facto home game for the Rams at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m start.

Women’s Hoops Falls to Richmond in A-10 Quarterfinals

By COLIN LOUGHRAN STAFF WRITER

Momentum can move mountains, but even the fiercest runs can come to an end in the blink of an eye.

After winning their last two regular season games against the University of Rhode Island and Davidson College, the former of which included a senior Anna DeWolfe game-winning buzzer-beater, Fordham fell to the Richmond Spiders in the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals last Friday by a final of 70-65. The loss essentially marks the end of the Rams’ season, barring a WNIT invitation.

Women’s hoops entered the A-10 tournament with a doublebye as the #4 seed. Prior to their matchup against Fordham, 5th seeded Richmond bested the 12th seeded University of Dayton Flyers in the second round of the tournament.

The Spiders held the A-10’s best field goal percentage this season and also boasted the third best team mark from distance.

Fordham got off to a fantastic start thanks in large part to graduate student Kaitlyn Downey.

An 8-0 Ram run gave them an early lead, and two Downey three’s made it a 19-5 game deep in the opening frame.

In fact, the fifth-year played an important role on both ends of the court in the first complete half of action and tallied 13 points. The New York native would finish her day with 15 points, three rebounds and four assists.

The second and third quarters were controlled by Richmond. They outscored Fordham 45-32 over those periods and received exceptional outings from Maggie Doogan and Addie Budnik.

Doogan put up a team-high 20 points and also tacked on three boards, one assist and one

steal. Budnik may have had the most holistic game for the Spiders though. The junior forward poured in 18 points and provided eight rebounds.

Graduate student Asiah Dingle did all she could and posted a team-high 25 points as well as nine rebounds, two assists and four steals. The guard also made six trips to the free throw line and made four attempts, cementing what was an aggressive offensive effort. Defensively, Graduate student Jada Dapaa collected a team-high 11 rebounds and served as a stabilizing force.

Meanwhile, DeWolfe struggled to find her groove and only collected 10 points on a 5-18 shooting performance from the field. The Maine senior has enjoyed a plethora of hardwood highlights over the course of her Fordham career, but could not add one more to her resumé.

The score was tied entering

the fourth quarter, but the Spiders ultimately played a more efficient final frame. They outshot the Rams by more than 20% in the fourth quarter, and while it was a one possession game at multiple moments, Fordham was not able to swing momentum or the scoreboard back in their favor.

The early exit could signal the conclusion of Fordham’s season, and an era that included talented mainstays such as DeWolfe, Dingle and Downey.

Women’s hoops will hope for a WNIT berth, and a chance to end their campaign on a more jovial note.