TUITION INCREASES SHOULD STOP — PAGE 9
BASKETBALL LOSES TO NO. 5 SYRACUSE — PAGE 20
SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS
1918-2011
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
VOLUME 93, ISSUE 21
USG Passes Joint Resolution to Save Student Aid By CONNIE KIM NEWS EDITOR
The United States Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 on Aug. 2, which reduced our nation’s deficit while simultaneously raising the debt ceiling and creating the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to find further cuts this fall. Given the potential harm that these cuts could have to Fordham students and other college students, United Student Government addressed the issue with a joint resolution. While the current Pell Grant funding received a boost from the debt reduction package, it still faces $1.3 billion shortfall and is now caught up in the ongoing Congressional debate, which means that Congress could still reduce awards when it finalizes spending levels for the remainder of the 2012 fiscal year. In addition, all other student aid programs, including the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program, could face cuts in the coming months. Students may see cuts to their federal student aid packages because Congress has not finalized federal spending for student
PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM
United Student Government discussed how serious federal spending cuts could affect college students and passed a joint resolution with USG at Lincoln Center.
aid programs for the upcoming school year. “This is an issue that directly impacts thousands of our friends and fellow Rams,” Caitlin Meyer, FCRH ’12 and executive presi-
dent of USG, said. “Cuts to student aid, however, do not simply affect those who currently receive federal aid. The implications of further cuts to student aid will affect all of us in some way or an-
other. Too often, young people’s concerns are overlooked in our nation’s political processes because we do not show our representatives that we care, that we matter, that our voices and our interests
are relevant and that we will hold the government accountable for its actions.” Recent budget deals have cut $30 billion from federal student SEE STUDENT AID ON PAGE 3
Fordham Hosts Fox Business’ John Stossel Stossel Sits
PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM
John Stossel, former “20/20” anchor, gave a speech entitled “Prosperity and its Enemies” at Fordham on Nov. 10.
By MARK HERREROS STAFF WRITER
In a speech organized by the Fordham College Republicans last Thursday, former “20/20” anchor John Stossel called for America to return to its more prosperous roots and restore faith in businesses and consumers. Stossel, a libertarian, won 19 Emmy Awards during his career as a consumer reporter at “ABC News,” exposing how companies have cheated and misled consumers. In recent years, Stossel became more skeptical of government regulation and the actual culpability of business in society’s woes, and
eventually left “20/20” in 2009 to host his own news program, “Stossel,” on Fox Business Network. The lecture, entitled “Prosperity and its Enemies,” focused on how big government and regulations stunt the prosperity and economic growth of the United States. Stossel criticized agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency for creating new problems, rather than solving existing problems. Thousands more people die waiting for lifesaving drugs to be approved than are those lost to the greed of pharmaceutical companies, according to Stossel.
“My first instinct was to say ‘Good, I don’t trust those greedy people. Who knows what they might sell me?’” Stossel said. “Now I say, ‘Was it worth it?’ I don’t think so anymore, because government, by protecting us from bad things, protects us from good things too.”
While Stossel has worked as a consumer reporter for the majority of his career, he describes himself as non-traditional by defending business, rather than levying criticism against it. “People think of business as a zero-sum game,” Stossel said. “So if someone’s getting rich selling stuff, you’re getting ripped off. But a business doesn’t work that way. In reality, corporations have no power because they have to persuade you to buy the stuff.” In addition to the immediate consequences of drug regulation, Stossel also said it produced unintended consequences, such as additional crime and resources spent dealing with enforcing laws that people are going to circumvent anyway. Instead, Stossel said he promoted voluntary regulation, which would allow consumers to use unregulated drugs at their own risk. Regarding illegal drugs, Stossel said that regulatory laws do not deter enough individuals to justify their existence and their mixed messages to America’s youth. “We’re telling kids in ghettos that entry-level jobs working at SEE STOSSEL ON PAGE 3
down with The Ram By BRIAN KRAKER NEWS EDITOR
The career of the award-winning journalist and television commentator John Stossel spans the full gamut of television success. Breaking into the industry through local television stations, Stossel went on to gain notoriety for his work as a correspondent and co-anchor of “20/20.” He now hosts his own show, “Stossel,” on Fox Business Network. During his visit to Fordham University, Stossel sat down with The Ram to discuss his career in journalism and his opinion on current hot-button issues. What advice do you have for college journalists who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism and reaching a position like yours? Try stuff. The world changes so fast that it’s hard to say that in college you should take this route. I SEE INTERVIEW ON PAGE 2
INSIDE Culture PAGE 11
Opinions PAGE 7
Sports PAGE 15
Society of Visual Arts showcases artwork at Rodrigue’s.
Four-year graduation guarantee is not a good deal.
Fordham loses to Bucknell 21-0 for 8th-straight loss.
NEWS
PAGE 2 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
SECURITY
BRIEFS
John Stossel Sits Down with The Ram
Nov. 11, Hughes Avenue, 11:30 p.m. A student from another university was attending a house party at an apartment between 188th and 189th street, accompanied by student from Fordham University, when she discovered $100, a Visa Card and her driver’s license had been stolen. NYPD responded and she filed a complaint. The police are still investigating.
Nov. 13, John Mulcahy Hall, 1 p.m. A faulty smoke detector activated a fire alarm in the roof fan room of JMH. There were no injuries or damage to the building and the fire alarm was reset. PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM
On Nov. 10, John Stossel, longtime “20/20” reporter, spoke in Keating First about his career and gave advice to the newest generation of journalists.
Nov. 13, Parking Garage, 5 p.m. An individual parked his car in the first level of the parking garage at 11 a.m. He returned at 5 p.m. and discovered that someone had scratched the side of his car with what is presumed to be a key. Security is continuing to investigate the incident.
Nov. 13, Arthur Avenue, 4:00 p.m. A student reported that her phone was lost or stolen at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Arthur Avenue and Fordham Road on Oct. 25. After the phone went missing, the student received $2,000 in charges toward her phone bill. The NYPD was immediately notified and is continuing to investigate the incident.
Nov. 14, John Mulcahy Hall, 2:00 p.m. A smoke detector was activated on the roof of JMH. The FDNY was notified and the building was evacuated. There were no injuries or damage to the building.
Nov. 15, Edwards Parade, 12 a.m. Two students were observed driving golf carts on Edwards Parade. The students were identified and referred to the dean of students.
INTERVIEW, FROM PAGE 1
do not advise journalism school because most of the people I know who have succeeded did not go or did not attribute their success to journalism school. And the nice thing is that you can learn [journalism] by doing [it] if you just work on the student paper or make videos and put them on Youtube; you get to see if you like it and you are able to have something concrete to show somebody. So, just doing it is the best way. And getting an internship if you can. What kind of things did you do in college that, looking back, helped you get to where you are now? I had seven roommates and I learned how to get along with them. I didn’t like my courses; I was bored. Maybe I became successful on TV because I became bored with all these lectures. I wanted to use pictures and sounds to make it easier for people to learn. I took psychology courses. I was a psychology major. I never took journalism courses. I got my worst grades in English. Having smart roommates and being around ambitious, interested people did more for me than any course. What advice do you have for graduating seniors who are interested in getting involved in the ground floor of a journalism career?
An unknown person pulled the fire alarm system in Loschert Hall, stairway B. The building was evacuated and FDNY responded. The fire alarm system was reset without incident and security is still investigating the incident.
Well that’s where I go back to saying try stuff and do it yourself because, say you go to Montana and work for a small television station, they’ll let you try stuff. If you read the trade journals, they advertise. But if you just get a job for a large organization, you might just get locked into doing one thing. At Fox, I notice there are all these young people in the basement, doing research and writing something, writing copy for the anchors and that has to be a learning experience.
—Compiled by Brian Kraker, News Editor
When you see younger people working at Fox, what type of traits or skills help them really stand out?
Nov. 15, Loschert Hall, 12:20 a.m.
“The people who can speak in a way that you hear them. The people who do extra stuff. The people who anticipate the problem you might be having or a problem that might come up. They stand out. Most people are quiet and wait to be told what to do. The ones who volunteer advance.” — JOHN STOSSEL
The people who can speak in a way that you hear them. The people who do extra stuff. The people who anticipate the problem you might be having or a problem that might come up. They stand out. Most people are quiet and wait to be told what to do. The ones who volunteer advance. In your career, are there mistakes that you have made or regrets you have, that if you could go back, you would change? Sure. My first 20 years were bashing business, which is fine, which is a valid role for a journalist, pointing out when people cheat, but I would call for a solution and reporters often judge themselves by the laws they get passed. And I got laws passed. The laws almost always makes things worse, and I didn’t realize that. I regret the scare stories I did. “Your coffee pot might explode and set your house on Fire,” “Danger in the Grass,” because something terrible happened to one person; their skin fell off after being exposed to pesticides on a golf course. The trial lawyers use us to share these stories and enrich them and people are scared about small risks when they ought to be scared about the big risks. What is your opinion on Occupy Wall Street; do you believe
the movement is successful? It is [successful] in the measure that they are getting a lot of attention, despite having very few people. Downtown Wall Street has about 3,000 people, says The New York Times, and it’s probably less than that. The Boy Scout Jamboree gets 500,000 people, so it’s successful that they get the media to cover them. But, I think it’s mostly silly, ignorant children. There is a lot of talk about the economy being poor. What do you think should be done politically or otherwise to improve the economy? If they pass the Stossel rule, which is for every rule they pass, they have to repeal 10 old ones. Every year the [Federal Reserve] adds 80,000 pages of rules and local bureaucrats add probably another 80,000 pages, so the old rules never go away, which means some poor immigrant here in the Bronx can’t support himself by borrowing his friends’ car and offering to drive people around. He can’t become a street vendor without permits, which require him to hire lawyers he can’t afford. So rules are the biggest impediment to prosperity. In 1982, unemployment was 10.8 percent, so for 10 percent it’s awful for people who cannot find work, but 90 percent
are working and over the history of the world, that’s a miracle. Prosperity is not the norm, miserable poverty is and it’s a delicate balance of limited government and freedom that allows that to happen. What is your opinion of the different candidates in the Republican primary, and do you think any of them can challenge President Obama in the general election? I go by the betting, which is that somebody could. He’s about a 50-percent favorite so I assume the nominee will be [Mitt] Romeny. I’m a Libertarian, so I’m more in agreement with Ron Paul, but he doesn’t seem to be getting traction. Ron Paul gets a lot of attention, but not all of it involves taking him seriously, do you think he deserves a more serious look as a legitimate candidate? Yes, that’s one of the things Jon Stewart got right. He did a riff on the mainstream media ignoring Ron Paul.
THIS
week at FORDHAM Thurs., Nov. 17 Planning Your Global Future! G.L.O.B.E, Keating First, 1-2 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 17 Nalesniki Polish Cultural Exchange, McGinley Lobby, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 17 OMA Stop the Violence Office of Multicultural Affairs, Keating B-19, 6-9:30 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 17 Cinevents!: The Help Campus Activities Board, Keating Third, 9-11 p.m. Fri., Nov. 18 Joseph DioGuardi Lecture Campbell Multipurpose Room, 6-9 p.m. Mon., Nov. 21 CSA Thanks-Give-Away McGinley Ballroom, 5-9 p.m.
NEWS
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 3
Stossel: America’s Overregulation Reduces Innovation STOSSEL, FROM PAGE 1
McDonald’s is to learn the habit of showing up on time and doing the math at the register,” Stossel said. “Meanwhile your little brother can make more working as a lookout for the drug lord in the neighborhood.” Stossel cited Prohibition as a textbook example of how similar regulations fail and described today’s gangs as the modern-day mafia. “The gangs we are creating now are even richer,” Stossel said. “Drug sales help to fund the terrorists. Now we’re destroying whole countries, with thousands of people being killed in Mexico.” In addition, Stossel said that a demand for professionals to navigate regulatory laws has led to reduced innovation in America. “A lot of your fellow students are going to law school rather than engineering school,” Stossel said. “That doesn’t make us richer in America. We need some lawyers, but the engineers are the ones who create things. But that’s where the action is in America, because more and more it’s about the rules.” In part, Stossel said he blamed the media, along with many of his past reports on “20/20,” on diverting audiences’ attention and political activism from the issues that matter. For example, Stossel explained how much of the media’s time and energy is devoted toward reports on plane accidents, terrorism and house fires – when smoking and poverty kill thousands more each year in the United States. With reduced government in-
“Now I say, ‘Was it worth it?’ I don’t think so anymore, because government, by protecting us from bad things, protects us from good things too.” — JOHN STOSSEL
PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM
John Stossel speaks his opinions on the state of journalism, his own career and politics in the United States.
terference and more trust in consumers to make their own decisions regarding business, Stossel said that America would continue to prosper and regain financial and creative resources that were lost navigating through regulations. Sam Martin, FCRH ’14 and president of the College Republicans, said he was very satisfied with Stossel’s speech and his solu-
tions for American regulations. “We live in New York, and New York is one of the most entrenched regulatory states in the United States,” Martin said. “We don’t think it’s good for America, so Stossel raises some very good concerns and very good answers.” Emily Harman, FCRH ’15 and a member of the College Republicans, said she agreed with almost
everything Stossel had to say. “Everything he talked about was really common-sense knowledge,” Harman said. “I wish we had more people like him. He’s very pro-business, and that’s what conservatives are all about.” In contrast, Thomas Byrens, FCRH ’13, said he could not find any common ground with Stossel and thought his brand of libertari-
anism was unoriginal. “He didn’t really say anything new,” Byrens said. “I think it’s a flawed philosophy. It’s different than what you normally hear, but once you actually think about it, he talks about how less regulation would make us safer, when there’s a lot of evidence that it doesn’t.” As reported in The Huffington Post last month, Occupy Wall Street protestors have also expressed their skepticism toward the Stossel platform, heckling him and calling him a liar during his visit to the protest site. Nonetheless, Stossel said a free society, for both consumers and businesses, is more important than anything government can do to solve America’s problems. “Isn’t allowing us the choice what America’s supposed to be all about?” Stossel said. “Patrick Henry never said ‘give me absolute safety or give me death.’ America is supposed to be about freedom.”
USG Passes Joint Resolution to Save Student Aid STUDENT AID, FROM PAGE 1
aid programs in the name of balancing the budget after this summer’s debt crisis. These cuts completely eliminated graduate student loan benefits, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) state grants and yearround Pell grants. GEAR UP and SEOG grants are also significantly reduced. Now Congress assigned the ‘Super Committee’ to come up with a federal debt reduction plan by Nov. 23, which may include further cuts to federal student aid. Both Pell and SEOG are very important to Fordham students. According to USG’s Web site, during the 2010-11 academic year, 1,799 students received more than $7.9 million in Pell Grants and 1,248 students received more than $2.1 million in SEOG funding. “Since last spring, United Student Governments at both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center remained in contact with Fordham Government Affairs to stay informed on congressional activity as it pertains to student aid,” Meyer said. “Undergraduate and graduate students across the nation, including those at Fordham, simply cannot afford and do not deserve to have the budget balanced on their backs. As elected representatives,
USG believes it is its duty to advocate on behalf of students’ best interests.” Lesley Massiah, vice president of Government Affairs at Fordham, attended this particular USG meeting to explain the current situation and to encourage student leaders to help spread the word on campus. “The group that has been appointed to do this is called ‘Super Committee’ made up of 12 members of Congress [comprised of both] Democrats [and] Republicans,” Massiah said. “If they don’t come up with $1.5 trillion in cuts by Nov. 23, it will automatically happen.” According to Massiah, there are several ways that these cuts can take place, but Congress will most likely target certain areas and eliminate certain programs. “Now what we are most concerned about is the fact that higher education has already taken $40 billion worth of hits,” Massiah said. “Many of you who are looking to grad school no longer can get graduate Pell [grants]. Many of you, if you have Pell grant, you are not getting it a year around. Many of you who are in college workstudy might have seen the amount of money you get in college workstudy reduced. Even your hours are reduced. Fordham right now,
“Too often, young people’s concerns are overlooked in our nation’s political processes because we do not show our representatives that we care, that we matter, that our voices and our interests are relevant and that we will hold the government accountable for its actions.” CAITLIN MEYER, FCRH ’12
this is just recently, in 2010, we got close to $9 million not we Fordham; you students. It’s got to come from somewhere. Now $9 million doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of whether someone can actually go to school or not, whether they can take full classes or full class load where they can actually graduate? That needs something. That’s why I’m coming to you.” Massiah emphasized the importance of active student participation. “Certain groups of people will
not be touched in the process [of spending cuts],” Massiah said. “But you, however, will. Because people think you don’t vote. People know you don’t vote. The 2008 election, if you go back, the only reason why your age group came up on conversations is because of what happened at university campuses in Iowa in the Midwest. No one expected those students to actually vote […] No one thought you were going to do it, regardless of whom you voted for during that time. It was the largest of the youth vote. The college-age popu-
lation who actually came out and vote since Kennedy. And what do you do with it, you haven’t voted since. It doesn’t translate to local or congressional levels. That’s why it is so easy to cut you. That’s why I’m here. You guys have to get this. This is your voice. It is not just about this particular campaign.” USG presidents Meyer and Ryan O’Toole, FCLC ’12, and executive president of USG at Lincoln Center, co-authored a resolution. USG voted in favor of this joint resolution that acknowledges the current situation and agrees that cuts to student aid detrimentally affect all students and that it is necessary to act now to save student aid. USG plans to have an online campaign, door-to-door campaign, tabling and USG-created “toolkits” to encourage students to support the cause and to sign a national petition supporting student aid. “We have the opportunity now to ensure that current and future young people have the opportunity to earn degrees, to ensure that a new generation of leaders and innovators have the opportunity to contribute to their own personal development and to our nation’s well-being,” Meyer said. “So, we must ask ourselves: what will our legacy be?”
PAGE 4 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
ADVERTISING
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ADVERTISING
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 5
ADVERTISING
PAGE 6 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
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PAGE 7
Social Media in the Classroom: Some Benefits, Many Drawbacks By RICKY BORDELON STAFF WRITER
In recent years, social media has become increasingly more prevalent in institutions of higher learning across the country. Some professors are starting to use blogs, discussion boards, chat rooms and even Twitter to enhance and supplement classroom learning. While there are some benefits to social media’s use in the classroom, there are many drawbacks. According to Derek Bruff, a lecturer of mathematics at Vanderbilt University, some professors are using alternative channels such as Twitter to supplement their classes; they are having students discuss readings with each other in class and then post and comment on their observations via Twitter. Some claim that this enhances students’ abilities to connect and to follow the course and their fellow students’ findings. However, this idea seems impractical. Having students discuss material can enhance learning, but using social media in class can be distracting. Students with laptops in class would not simply use them only for posting about the course. Many would also check their Facebooks, personal emails, non-academic Twitter accounts, etc. Also, by placing much of the class discussion online, it removes some personal in-
teraction that enhances and fuels a vivacious, intellectually stimulating live discussion. Although imperfect, blogs seem to be a better way to incorporate social media into the classroom. They allow professors to post students’ work, including essays and presentations to the blog and then have students comment on this work. Students can then evaluate their own work based on the critique of their fellow classmates and then revise the works to make them even better. This idea has some merits; mainly, it helps students learn from the advice of others and thereby improve their work as a whole. They gain knowledge from others rather than only from a professor’s lecture. Although this seems like a better way to use social media in the classroom, it still has a few of the flaws of online discussions, such as being potentially distracting in class and, in turn, inhibiting learning as well. At Fordham, specifically, after talking to many students, it seems that the most common type of interactive media used in the classroom is Blackboard. The professors who use Blackboard usually require their students to post on the discussion board once a week about an assigned topic. However, there seems to be a problem with this idea. “Twenty kids in a class can’t all
COURTESY OF BLACKBOARD
Students often use social media for procrastination, but some professors use them instead of older sites like Blackboard.
have something original, meaningful and profound to say [about one article],” Christie Campbell, FCRH ’13, said. “Students also only read the article to find something to post, not to actually comprehend the article.” More problems exist with an online discussion board. Students who are required by their professors to post once a week will post their one submission and then never go back to the discussion; moreover, even if the
student does return and read all of the posts, he or she will most likely not respond to any comment about their post, as he or she was only required to post one response. This assignment does not foster an exchange of ideas as intended. Again, it pushes students toward reading for the answer, not reading to actually learn the material that can be gained from the article. Social media has become in-
credibly popular over the past few years, and — although many hail social media as a way to greatly enhance the learning experience in the classroom — there are many drawbacks to implementing it. Social media, while occasionally helpful with academic work, can be distracting and even disruptive to the learning environment. Ricky Bordelon, FCRH ’15, is a political science major from New Orleans, La.
Four-Year Graduation Guarantees, with Strings Attached
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
Baldwin-Wallace College is one of the few schools that currently offers a four-year graduation guarantee for students.
By DARLEEN EIERMANN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A new trend is taking form among some colleges in the U.S. According to The New York Times, schools like RandolphMacon College in Ashland, Va. and Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, Ohio are allowing students and their parents to sign documentation stating that the school will guarantee a degree in four years, and if the promise cannot be kept, the school will pay for the fifth year. The terms of the agreement state that payment will be produced if the school fails to pro-
vide the appropriate classes when needed by the student or if the student does not receive proper advising from their designated counselor. Many schools that have already adopted the policy, however, are finding ways out of the agreement of paying for the fifth year. The colleges will only produce the funds if they are at fault for the extra year, but universities are finding students to be at fault. The adoption of this policy is not a good idea; it seems to be a tactic of colleges to draw students in without the intention of upholding their end of the
deal. Many of the students who have signed this deal have not received the payment that they were “guaranteed” for their fifth year because their school found a way to put them at fault. It has not been shown whether or not the students really were at fault, however. They may have been messing around with the intent of getting another year of schooling. The school also may not have provided them with the necessary means to graduate on time, but there will always be two sides to that argument. Fordham is right not to offer this deal to incoming students. The tuition here is very expen-
sive and can put a family in a tough situation if the future does not bring what they had hoped. For example, if Fordham offered this sort of agreement, students might opt to attend Fordham instead of a state school that might cost less, but does not offer a four-year guarantee. There is never a guarantee of what will happen in the future for a student. The entire policy comes off as a trap to get students to attend schools that are slightly more expensive than what they can actually afford. This only poses a problem if this deal is the sole reason a student attends a school. It should be used as an added incentive, rather than a primary motivation. Many students end up staying in college for more than four years to complete their undergraduate degree. According to a general study done by the Education Trust, only 37 percent of students graduate in four years. The other 63 percent either take between five and six years to receive their degree or do not earn a degree at all. The National Center for Higher Education reports that 2009 six-year graduation rates for students seeking a bachelors degree as 55.5 percent for the US average, and 59.2 percent for the New York average. According to Fordham.edu, the four-year graduation rate is 76.7 percent for fall 2003 full-time freshmen. The six-year gradua-
tion rate for fall 2009 freshmen is approximately 79.9 percent. Another reason Fordham might not implement a plan like this is because students generally do graduate within four years, unless they are participating in a five-year masters program, in which case they still have earned their bachelors within a period of four years. It would be interesting to see, however, if the schools that are offering the four-year deal end up having increased graduation rates. If they work hard to ensure that every class needed is available to a student, then the likelihood of a four-year graduation would most likely increase as well. If that were the case, then both the institution and the student would benefit from the deal. This kind of setup would be especially beneficial at state schools, where four-year graduation rates tend to be lower because of a large student body and other factors. At private schools, however, this is less likely to be helpful for students, who might be encouraged to commit to a more expensive private school with a four-year guarantee than a cheaper state school where it would more likely take five years to earn a degree. Darleen Eiermann, FCRH ’14, is a communication and media studies major from Bay Shore, NY.
PAGE 8 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
The Ram Serving campus and community since 1918. The Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The 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 Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of 12,000. The Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.
www.theramonline.com Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Executive: (718) 817-4380 Publishing: (718) 817-4381 Editorial: (718) 817-4382 Newsroom: (718) 817-4394 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Nick Carroll Executive Editor Celeste Kmiotek Managing Editor Victoria Rau Design Editor Stephen Moccia Business Editor Lindsay Lersner News Editors Connie Kim Brian Kraker Assistant News Editor Emily Arata Opinions Editor Christine Barcellona Assistant Opinions Editor Sarah Ramirez Culture Editor Sandy McKenzie Assistant Culture Editor Scharon Harding Sports Editors Dan Gartland Erik Pedersen Copy Chief Mary Alcaro Copy Team Tara Cannon Patrick Derocher Abigail Forget Darlene Eiermann Taylor Engdahl Tom Haskin Olivia Monaco Katie Nolan Veronica Torok Hussein Safa Anisa Arsenault Cas Black Hadley Brochy Colleen Chambers Connor Ryan Photo Editor Nora Mallozzi Web Editor Kelly Caggiano Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at fordhamramletters@gmail.com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Ram and will not be returned. The Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Ram may be reproduced without written consent.
OPINIONS
From the Desk of Celeste Kmiotek, Executive Editor When I visited Fordham on an accepted students’ day nearly four years ago, one comment from Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, stood out. Roughly paraphrased, he told the gathered high school seniors to choose the school that fit them best. He was adamant that it did not have to be Fordham, though he hoped it was; it only mattered that the students would be happy. This was the most honest and gracious statement I had ever heard from a college, or even from my high school. Finally, an administrator was ceding his acknowledged wish that we all attend (and pay for) Fordham to our overall wishes and wellbeing. More examples of Fordham’s integrity followed. After tours where unnamed schools qualified their Jesuit identity as being second to their desire to be an Ivy, and where other unnamed schools promised that their inner-city location was only “not a problem,” this was a school that loudly proclaimed its Jesuit mission of producing bothered students and interacted with and celebrated the vibrant community outside its walls. Four years later, I still see this integrity every day. It is evident in the art history professor who sat with me for hours so I could pass my class, even though it was just a core requirement, and who still greets me by name. It is evident in the advisor who always welcomes me with a genuine smile and who
gives me honest advice, whether or not it agrees with the University’s party line. It is evident in the students who stand by their clubs and their causes, even when their goals are met with roadblocks. Every day I am proud to be here. Never am I more proud, however, than when I am at The Ram. In my three and a half years here, I have seen us successfully break stories that rouse the student population, and I have seen us cobble together decent articles that no one reads. Nevertheless, every single article, from every single writer, is written with the sole intent to share information with the student body. After seeing the staff work themselves to the bone to publish 22 issues of this newspaper every year — no matter what schoolwork, internships or personal problems they struggle with; no matter what little compensation they receive; no matter how few people will read the article or how many people will complain — I can think of no better example of Fordham’s integrity. In fact, I remember seeing Ashley Bray’s, FCRH ’08, “Farewell to the Copy Team” (V. 90, i. 22) as a freshman, and feeling proud to belong to a club that so highly valued its members, even down to the inexperienced freshman copy editors. This is why I feel that I must emulate Stephen Moccia’s “From the Desk” (V. 93, i. 19) and thank the staffers, past and present, who have set the bar so high for the rest of us. Will and Amanda: I can’t
think of better first examples for editors-in-chief. Both of you ran the newspaper with an incredible precision and set an unbeatable standard. It was an honor to work under you. Ashley: You literally taught me everything I know about the newspaper. Thank you for teaching me AP style with such patience and for making my first semester on the copy team hilarious and wonderful. You and your purple pen are still missed. Mark: Thank you for intimidating me into writing my first indoor track preview freshman year. In your own creepy way, you pushed me to become better; it was wonderful to have you as my boss, whether as a sports writer or the culture editor. Claire, Ryan, Sean and Mark: Thank you for accepting and helping the quiet little freshman who looked like she was 12; it meant the world, and The Ram isn’t the same without you. Nick, Victoria and Patrick: We never thought the first issue would make it out, and yet it did. Thank you for your dedication, and for pushing through, no matter what came up. Claire, Ryan, Sean, Anne, Jackie, Melissa, Andrew, Hussein, Taylor, Connor, Olivia, Tom, Abby, Patrick, Mary, Tara, Nikki: Thank you all for the amazing copy teams. Aside from awesome grammar skills, you made the copy table the most hilarious and most cynical spot in McGinley on Tuesday nights. Hot and cold drinks until the end.
Christine, Patrick, Abby, Hussein, Mary, Brian, Erik, Sandy, Stephen, Kelly, Nora, Nick: Our class has an amazingly talented group of people, and I’ll miss all of you. No matter what, we can walk across Keating this May proud of what we did for the school, even if the process wasn’t always easy. Thank you. Stephen, Kelly, Hussein: Four volumes later, we did it. Here’s to all the Tuesday nights. As every graduated Ram staffer has said before me, I will miss Fordham, but I will miss The Ram most. I will no longer spend Tuesday nights in McGinley B-52, nor will I spend nights on a Fordhamissued mattress and days rushing between Dealy and FMH. In fact, I have no idea what I will be doing one year from now. I can be assured, however, that more than the majors and minors listed on my diploma, more than the courses and GPA listed on my transcript and more than the extracurriculars and internships listed on my résumé, the Fordham seal means that I have had the privilege of going to a school with a legacy of integrity.
EDITORIAL: Seeing the Dark Side of School Spirit We at The Ram admire school spirit. We respect a good football team that fosters that spirit. We support a sense of pride in one’s university. Except when all of these things combine to produce an environment in which students riot against the firing of a legendary football coach who admittedly failed to do everything he could in response to allegations of child abuse. The events of the past week at Pennsylvania State University demonstrate the incredible sense of spirit that the students have for their school, which is something to be emulated. Unfortunately, student outrage at the news of Coach Joe Paterno’s dismissal also demonstrated a blind, emotional reaction, and a culture in which football seems important enough to look past accusations of a repulsive sexual assault. While we realize that most students at Penn State would never directly condone child abuse,
their reaction against the Board of Trustees’ decision to fire the popular coach, known to most as “Joe Pa,” sends a message that borders on uncompassionate. Certainly, Paterno himself was not the one who abused children, and his dedication to the university and to the football program during his career should count for something, but Paterno admitted that he did not do everything in his power to stop the abuse. “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” he said in a statement. Hopefully, with hindsight, the students of Penn State will come to understand that their university cannot and should not continue to employ people who permit such serious allegations to pass without an equally serious response. Telling a higher-up about what is going on is the first step in a case like this. It is not sufficient, however, when said higher-up fails to investigate ad-
Are your friends tired of hearing you complain? Write for The Ram opinions section. E-mail us at: fordhamramopinions@gmail.com
equately. As a cog in the wheel of a university’s bureaucratic hierarchy, perhaps, it is enough to transfer responsibility to the next person in the chain of the command and hope for the best. As a human being, it is not. We at The Ram think that the students’ reaction was misguided, but we understand from where the initial reaction arose. To sympathize with the administration is more difficult. The dismissal of Penn State University President Graham Spanier highlights the severity of the errors committed by every official in his administration who knew something about the allegations and failed to pursue them to a greater extent. We deplore a university administration that fails to stand up for the victims of abuse, regardless of the public relations challenges that doing so could pose to a very popular program. It does not matter whether the
accusation is against a member of the maintenance staff or an assistant football coach: administrators, faculty and staff have a duty to report criminal offenses, as Fordham Associate Vice President of Safety and Security John Carroll reminded the Fordham community in an email dated Nov. 11. The Ram applauds Fordham’s efforts to emphasize the gravity of these responsibilities. We stand in solidarity with the victims of child abuse and with the Penn State community as it works to reshape the culture that produced a failure to act. We commend Fordham’s proactive response and hope that these events prompt greater awareness and prevent such tragedy in the future. Editorial Policy The Ram’s editorials are selected on a weekly basis, and are meant to reflect the editorial board’s view on a particular issue.
If you have an opinion about something you saw in this week’s issue of The Ram, send us a Letter to the Editor at: fordhamramletters@gmail.com
OPINIONS
H Homeland Insecurities Ins
Stopping the Tuition Inflation System By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR
Isabel Brown The Sad Priorities of Penn State On most issues, student protests are justifiable. Usually, I tend to think student passivity is a serious problem. The riots at Penn State late last week, however, left me nearly slack-jawed at their organizers. Fifteen miles south of our campus, hundreds are (finally), peacefully protesting the nation’s glaring economic inequalities. At Penn State, thousands of students set cars on fire and rampaged through campus because someone who turned a blind eye to a known child molester was fired from his beloved football coaching position. Young boys’ lives were ruined at the hands of men in positions of trust, and students set cars on fire because the victims wanted some hope of justice. At what point are we supposed to open our eyes and realize that some things come before a brutal and senseless game? Did any of these protestors stop to consider the lifelong suffering their precious coach’s colleague forced upon lives that had barely begun? Considering the staggering proportion of Americans who have suffered some form of sexual abuse in their lives (one in three women, one in six men), the violence at Penn State shocked me all the further. Surely some portion of those protestors had a similar trauma. Why, then, did they go along with the others? Why is it normal for a victim of sexual abuse to hold on to his or her secret for 10 years, only to be criticized for coming forward? Would we treat a child who had withstood a more visible abuse with similar disrespect — especially if we didn’t want to believe the abuser was guilty? Jerry Sandusky’s victims, even with years of intensive therapy, will forever shoulder the humiliation and pain of all that was done to them — and how little was done for them. The fact that the University president knew about the issues and said nothing — because a football legacy was worth a few ruined lives — reflects just how disastrously misguided our culture’s priorities are. Sexual abuse is a national taboo. It’s relatively acceptable to talk about physical and emotional abuse, but the most terrifying, most emotionally shattering form of mistreatment is ignored at best. The anger and sadness about which victims are forced to remain silent often manifests itself in ruinous ways. The risks sexual abuse victims have of drug and alcohol problems, suicide, self-harm and criminal activity — not to mention the problems they’ll have in maintaining interpersonal relationships — is apparently not steep enough to merit losing a football game. Never mind the threats to society created by sexual abuse. Never mind that another, less revolting coach apparently couldn’t bring Penn State football victories. Thinking about how unlikely it is for the victims to ever feel safe again, compounded by the antagonistic reaction of students who should have shown them support, leaves me horrified. I can only hope, as usual, that we might finally learn from yet another tragedy.
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 9
The American higher education system is increasingly characterized by rapidly mounting tuition and student debt. According to The New York Times, Americans owe more in student loans than they do on credit cards. In the face of this broken system, institutions should be reexamining their costs to determine where they can cut tuition, instead of recklessly raising tuition as their expenses increase and their endowments dip. Unfortunately, Cooper Union, which does not charge tuition, is unique among elite colleges in America — and its days as a tuition-free institution may be numbered. According to several recent New York Times articles, Cooper Union, which was founded as a way to provide higher education for the working class, might have to change its business model because of the current economic climate. This announcement comes at a time when more students are expected to attend college, many families find themselves in financial trouble and the price of a college education has skyrocketed. In the midst of today’s web of mounting student debt and decreasing job opportunities, institutions should be reducing their tuition, not increasing it. Cooper Union should be an example for other universities, instead of a lone and endangered affordable institution. Universities may face lower endowments, but they must consider that families’ funds have also decreased. Because students are able to take out immense amounts of loans (which then crush them after graduation), this system of rising tuition has endured. Colleges should be examining their budgets, cutting the fat in every department — particularly in non-academic areas like student life — and decreasing tuition and student cost. A college education is, first and foremost, valuable because of the academic instruction. Universities’ first priorities should be the quality of the classroom experience, hiring excellent faculty members and maintaining important elements of the university, like the library. Students’ tuition should directly fund their education and contribute to covering costs like paying professors’ salaries, buying new books for the library or maintaining class-
room facilities. The purpose of an education is education. That fact is often obscured by a flurry of guest speakers, special programming, ever-increasing sports funding and other activities that help universities brand themselves and gain name recognition. Perhaps universities should consider cutting such programs, reducing students’ tuition (and debt) burden and simplifying in order to deliver the best education possible for the fairest price. It is ironic that Fordham, a university that promotes social justice, is part of the system that perpetuates student debt. Fordham and other well-regarded, extremely expensive universities would do well to begin soul-searching. Clearly, it costs money to maintain a campus like Fordham’s. It costs money to recruit new students, to keep current students safe and to operate offices that represent the University’s core values and goals, like the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, Campus Ministry and Career Services. There must be areas of student life or facilities management that could be trimmed down or made more cost efficient. Furthermore, if the overwhelming opinion is that people must possess a college degree to perform many jobs (even those that do not necessarily require four years of a liberal arts education), then there must be another option for educating a workforce cheaply and efficiently. Certainly, a liberal arts education is nice (as most members of the Fordham community might contend), but not everyone wants or needs to learn about classical philosophy in order to work and lead a full, happy life. One of the problems in America is that there is a sense that attending a four-year university is the right choice for everyone, and that it guarantees graduates a job. As America faces the worst recession since the Great Depression, it has become clear that not every college graduate is handed a job alongside his or her diploma. All bets are off in this new economic climate, and it seems that people have very slowly begun to realize that the system must be reformed. In an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Shai Reshef describes his experience creating the non-profit University of the People, an online learning community that charges minimal pro-
cessing fees and offers courses in business and computer programming. Uopeople.org details their methods, expenses and admission, and explains that their method is that “within the online study communities, students will share resources, exchange ideas, discuss weekly topics, submit assignments and take exams.” Reshef writes that he does not intend for the University of the People to replace traditional college campuses, especially elite institutions. “Top research universities lead society and should probably continue to serve only a limited number of students,” he wrote in the article. “But other colleges and universities, the vast majority of them, can provide other options.” Clearly, online learning delivers a product that is different from what a residential university like Fordham can produce. In today’s world, more institutions might do well to follow University of the People’s lead, because while some people want a traditional residential college experience, it is not for everyone. Part of the current problem is that many people are encouraged to attend a pricey fouryear university even though their desired career paths might not require that type of education. In a country where there is a surplus of college graduates deep in dept and not fully employed, there must be another way to gain an affordable, quality education. Students who do need to attend a four-year university also deserve a fair price, so they can begin their lives after college armed with both an education and a chance for financial stability as an adult. President Barack Obama has just announced a plan to reduce the percentage of income that low-income graduates must pay in student loans. While this is a step in the right direction, it does not solve the problem of high tuition and the necessity of copious loans. There are no easy fixes to this problem. No one can wave a magic wand and heal the broken higher education system. I hope that through self-examination and dialogue, however, Fordham and its fellow institutions of higher education will help be part of the solution. Christine Barcellona, FCRH ’12, is an English major from Dallas, Tex. She can be reached at cbarcellona@ fordham.edu.
COURTESY OF UOPEOPLE.ORG
In the face of a broken system, sites like University of the People (free, nonprofit but unaccredited) have arisen.
The Sweat at off w the Brow Harry MacCormack Thoughts on Ron Paul Ah, Ron Paul, I am very conflicted about you. Paul, a committed Libertarian with the behavioral track record to match…who also is openly against abortion? What bothers me most about Ron Paul is his tendency to, at one turn, seem like the only person using common sense in politics, and in the next moment, say something that makes him sound completely off his rocker. This dichotomy is especially painful when the rest of the Republican candidates have proven to be either insane, completely unscrupulous, inexperienced or otherwise unfit to be president. Because, while other candidates are off getting bad publicity, Common Sense Ron Paul chimes in with something reasonable. When every other candidate was supporting the completely irresponsible Budget Bill, Paul openly stated that the Bill was no good for anyone. And now, when Bachmann, Cain and Romney, in the wake of the recent GOP debate, have all said they believe waterboarding is not torture, there is Common Sense Ron again, standing out among the typical Republican crowd to say that waterboarding is in fact torture, which has been corroborated by waterboarding recipient and fellow stalwart GOP outlier John McCain. I like Common Sense Ron; he always seems to be both right on the money with an intelligent and wellphrased statement on the issue of the week, and steadfast with his previous views. If nothing else, the man is committed to his beliefs. In those moments between issues, however, Ron tends to get a little kooky. As mentioned before, he is all for personal rights, but is staunchly pro-life; he is for peace in the Middle East and against war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but consistently supports Israel. He, of course, is also infamous for his economic pipedream of reinstating the Gold Standard. The things I like about Ron Paul, I love. He is all for the free market and personal liberty; his non-interventionist views on war are completely reasonable and make perfect sense in the context of the present American economy. His somewhat contradictory views make it hard to support him. In contrast with his fellow candidates, though, even the worst of his flaws and bizarre juxtaposition of ideals seem palatable. My final lament with Ron Paul is his inelectablity. He consistently underperforms in debates, saying very little or clumsily communicating his ideas, many of which could appeal to the common sense of many. Often his best statements and opinions come in the form of an article or commentary on an issue shortly after it occurs, but sadly, when it comes to speaking off the cuff, Paul simply does not have what it takes to compete with political sweet-talkers like Barack Obama, Herman Cain and Rick Perry. While I am almost certain it is a futile effort, I stand behind Ron Paul; I hope that he succeeds. Though he has his faults, ultimately his policy makes far more sense than that of his opponents, and that is what should matter.
PAGE 10 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
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PAGE 11
Society of Visual Arts Showcases Artwork at Rodrigue’s By CONNOR RYAN COPY EDITOR
The Society of Visual Art (SoVa) showcased some of the semester’s finest pieces last Friday night to a disappointingly meager crowd at Rodrigue’s Coffee House. In fact, besides the slew of friendly baristas stationed behind the coffee counter and the artists gazing in admiration at their own pieces, there were no more than a few visitors circulating between the art-filled walls. The exhibit consisted of paintings, one piece made of paper cutouts (in the style of Matisse), a few simple drawings, a colored pencil landscape and 30 photographs. Lyle LeBlanc, FCRH ’13, offered 10 photographs, each consistent with the cultural theme of New York City. (Traces of Occupy Wall Street and Sept. 11 were evident in the works portraying a side of the city for which even a native New Yorker would be unprepared.) Erin Reynolds, FCRH ’13, switched gears and boasted five photographs of an abstract and water-centered nature. For instance, a powerful image of wilting flowers and the sight of an ignored faucet spewing wasted gallons of water into an empty sink were two of the scenes the photographer displayed. By refining subtleties, Reynolds did more than just capture the moment — she inspired thought, a tricky feat for any photographer. Teresa Salinas, FCRH ’13, contributed 15 very scattered but wellcomposed photographs to the exhibit. The photographs ranged from a close-up of a yellowed tshirt to a dimly lit alleyway. Lis Warren’s, FCRH ’12, six
COURTESY OF ALEXANDER JAHANI
The Society of Visual Arts, an academic club at Fordham, will also have a student showcase during the spring semester.
drawn hands presented a fascinating collection of pieces. Each drawing, created with black ink on plain pieces of white paper, focused on a different action being performed by what appeared to be, the same wrinkled hand. In one picture, a spoon is intertwined with the hand’s fingers. In another, the hand is carefully holding a ring. Warren’s skill made the collection a simple standout. Despite the many pieces worthy of praise, Alexander Jahani’s,
FCRH ’15, three paintings proved to be, with little competition, the highlight of the exhibit and the main attraction of the night. Jahani’s paintings each contained a bold pallet and a liberal but disciplined brush–stroke — found only in a truly skilled artist—creating three very different portraits. “Decay in Yellow,” “Dexter” and “Colors Emerge” were constructed with canvas and acrylics, and each displayed unique qualities, but faithfully represented one face.
“That face in the paintings, the one that remains so special in my life, is Komitas Vardapet,” Jahani wrote in an email. “Komitas is known today as the originator of Armenian classical music. I love his music and his story, so I’ve always kept him close to me as a symbolic figure.” Keeping that heroic figure in mind, Jahani paid particular attention to the enlarged “Decay in Color” (which sat in the center of his three-part collection) and
through violent brush–strokes and fierce color mixture, embodied the struggled harsh of Vardapet. “That piece is chaotic and there is a lot going on at once, if you look close enough at the brush strokes,” Jahani said. Jahani remarked that beginning a new piece can feel like a helpless struggle, but one that allows him the opportunity to travel backwards, in himself and in the art, to a time of ultimate innocence. “Art is one thing that allows me to truly maintain that sense of just being a child,” Jahani said. Jahani says that his mother has told him he has been painting since “day one” — namely, on the kitchen floor; however, he will tell you that he only began “seriously painting” about two years ago — which, after seeing his art, would shock you. The fact that Jahani is only a freshman and paints only as a hobby makes his work all the more impressive. He plans to study psychology and literature. Despite his academic ambitions, Jahani still plans to create and showcase his art both on and off campus. In the coming month, Jahani plans to compete for the second time at the Elusive Vision Artists Showcase at the Gallery Bar in New York. He is also trying to organize a solo exhibition in Philadelphia this spring and plans to showcase and sell his work at the Armenian Students’ Association Artists’ Ball, which will take place next spring. “We all have our own lives to attend to, but it would be nice to improve the ‘art scene’ here at Fordham,” Johani said when asked about the poor reception SoVa received from the student body this past Friday.
PaperDoll Performs at Asian Cultural Exchange’s Dynasty Event By SCHARON HARDING ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR
On Friday, Nov. 11, Asian Cultural Exchange (ACE) held its Dynasty X event. Indie-dance pop band PaperDoll headlined the show. The band features American Teresa Lee on vocals and keys, American Steve Paelet on bass, Irishman Patrick Moloney on guitar and U.K. native Will Haywood Smith on drums. “We’re all local East Village area musicians,” Lee said. “I met Patrick at an open mic, and we got a few other friends together.” Since then the band has toured all over the world. In 2010 it took China by storm with performances in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianji, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Its performance during the Shanghai Word Expo attracted record-breaking crowds. In 2011, PaperDoll headed back to China for its NY2CN: Can’t Stop!!! tour which included concerts in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningjing, Ningbo, Wuxi and Kunshan. “We just got back from our tour in China and, as always, it went by too fast,” Lee said. “The audiences
are incredible — a lot like Fordham in that the fans are not self-conscious. If they feel like dancing (and they usually do), they get up.” PaperDoll’s phenomenal success landed them a Greater China Commercial Campaign with Nike, where their song “If Nothing Happened” is played in commercials. “It helps that I’m Chinese, so I can communicate and connect with the audience,” Lee said. Fans fall in love with the band because of its unique sound. Its influences include a variety of artists such as Muse, Metric, Blondie, Robyn, Sia, The Black Keys and even classical artists. These musical inspirations, along with PaperDoll’s dynamic performing style, have helped the band create its own distinct name. The band’s lively shows have drawn in many new fans who cannot help dancing along. “We try to make everyone feel like part of our family,” Lee said. “When we’re playing that’s what we are — the audience, the band — we’re one big family just partying together. It’s the best feeling.” PaperDoll’s popularity has begun spreading around America. The
band has headlined in Central Park Summer Stage, opened for Mos Def in the Ft. Greene Festival and performed in Asia Fest in Queens, Manhattan and Washington D.C., to name a few of its American concerts. “We work really hard at our music and making sure our live show is kickass,” Lee said. “We’re lucky to have amazing fans who recommend us to friends and post on Facebook and Twitter.” PaperDoll’s dedication to making every show a party made it the perfect selection for Dynasty X. “We love playing at colleges — it gives us a chance to get to know our fans better,” Lee said. The show featured a projector showing videos from their 2011 China tour, including some of the band’s favorite memories. “A recent experience [since touring with PaperDoll] that sticks out in my mind is Will killing a chicken in Kushan,” Lee said. “Then we ate it in a hot pot — it was delicious.” This memorable scene was played during the show, which included performances from the band’s first album, Ballard Nerd Pop, and songs from its upcoming album, includ-
COURTESY OF PAPERDOLL
PaperDoll, an indie band from NYC, has toured major cities throughout China.
ing “Can’t Concentrate” and “You Can’t Stop It.” “Fordham was so fun,” Lee said. “We love making our shows into dance parties, so there were balloons, and I inevitably end up in the audience dancing.” PaperDoll is currently working on new music with Meteor Award – winning producer Michael Moloney. The band’s current hits,
commercials and tour videos are featured on its YouTube page, and its music can be found on iTunes, Amazon and other online venues. Fans can also stay up to date with giveaways, tours and all PaperDoll news via its Facebook page. “Our success is grassroots in every sense of the word,” Lee said. “So, yeah, it feels incredibly rewarding to have all our hard work pay off.”
CULTURE
PAGE 12 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
Cooking With Clara
Dining Out: Restaurant Burger Club
CLARA ENNIST
a butcher block, the Burger Club burger patty ($7.75) was thick and STAFF WRITER juicy, covered in melted, yellow There is a new burger joint in American cheese. It came with lettown, or rather, in another town in tuce, onion and a dainty little pickanother borough. Burger Club, lole, all of which I declined to eat. I cated in Astoria, is a trek from the only wanted to sink my teeth into Bronx, but my philosophy is if the that burger. food is good, then it is worth the It was well-salted, the meat was trip. not overcooked and the bun was Walking in, it looks like you are in soft. There was nothing wrong a decked-out garage. Neon orange with the burger. After resting on it, sliding doors open up for al fresco I concluded that while the burger dining (though it was good, I did not Overall has been a little too want more of it. I Location “fresco” to eat outwould not go back Food Quality doors lately), and for it, knowing there Atmosphere wooden tables give are better burgers Hospitality the place a relaxed, just blocks away at Price $ Bare Burger or Five cool vibe. Some(Out of 4 ’s) thing about such Napkin Burger. a classic food like Dessert was nothburgers in a contemporary setting ing special, but that does not mean has an appealing vibe. I had a good I passed it up. A scoop of generic feeling about this place. vanilla ice cream over a warm First up were waffle fries ($4.75), brownie, which tasted like it was super crispy and truly fried to perrefrigerated, drizzled with Smuckfection. I could not stop popping er’s hot fudge and caramel. Tasty, them in my mouth. Then came but if you have the willpower, unthe beef, supplied by Pat la Frieda necessary. — a well known meat distributor My advice to you Fordham stuwho also caters to popular joints dents: don’t make the hour – long such as Shake Shack. Presented on trip. It is just not that good.
By KAYLA LeGOFF
Velvet Coconut Cake Can your pancake mix do this? I constantly see advertisements trying to get me to use Bisquick for every meal of the day because, according to the commercials, Bisquick is more than merely pancake mix. Truth be told, I already knew that Bisquick was much more than a pancake mix; I’ve used it to make biscuits, waffles and even cookies when I’m in a pinch. All of those recipes always came out pretty well, but I wanted to try something with Bisquick that I had never done before: a cake. I could have easily gone on Bisquick’s Web site to find one of its gussied up recipes. Instead, I decided to try a recipe that used to appear on the back of the Bisquick box nearly three decades ago, “Velvet Coconut Cake.” Servings: 8 Ingredients: -1 1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix -1/2 c. sugar -1 egg -1/2 c. milk - 2 tbs. butter -1 tsp. vanilla -1/2 c. flaked coconut -1/3 c. packed brown sugar -1/4 c. chopped nuts -2 tbs. milk -3 tbs. butter Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a nine-inch round cake pan. On a low speed, beat together the Bisquick, sugar, egg, milk, two tbs. butter and vanilla for 30 seconds. Continue beating at a high speed for four minutes or until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake it for 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl to create a streusel topping. After allowing the finished cake to cool, set the oven to broil and put the streusel topping on the cake. Broil the cake three inches from the heat for three minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm. The only Bisquick I had on hand was of the “Bisquick Heart Smart” variety and, much to my chagrin, the cake did not rise as much as I hoped it would, perhaps due to my attempt to use a healthier, lower cholesterol version of Bisquick rather than the original mix. Otherwise, the recipe was a success; by “success” I mean that my dessert was excessively sweet and contained coconut. While I understand that Bisquick has to keep coming out with new recipes, it is unfortunate that the old, classic recipes go by the wayside. Does the passing of time really make a recipe less delicious and enjoyable than it used to be? Not really; especially if you think about all the recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation in your family. If Bisquick itself hasn’t changed in over 80 years (with the exception of creating a “Heart Smart” version), then I see no reason why the best, classic recipes should have to change. So yes, my pancake mix can do “this” because apparently, my pancake mix has been doing “this” for decades.
PHOTO BY KAYLA LEGOFF/THE RAM
Burger Club burger patty and waffle fries are among menu items at Burger Club.
Editor’s Pick: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By MARY ALCARO COPY CHIEF
I’m not a frequent moviegoer, but I could not be more excited for the Christmas release of David Fincher’s (Fight Club) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Billed as “the feel-bad movie of Christmas,” the film will be the American adaptation of the first novel in the bestselling trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I’m a big fan of the books in what is called “the Millennium series,” Larsson’s trilogy of books that chronicle the adventures of brilliant, antisocial computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and the suave but deeply moral journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The editor of an independent watchdog newspaper, Blomkvist is down on his luck at Dragon Tattoo’s opening; he finds himself facing a prison sentence for libel after publishing an article about the unethical business practices of financial giant Hans-Erik Wennerström. The opportunity to redeem his reputation, as well as legally bring Wennerström’s unethical practices to light, comes in the form of an unexpected commission from the retired business tycoon Henrik Vanger. Vanger claims that he wants Blomkvist to chronicle his family’s history, but in reality, he wishes for the journalist to investigate the cold case disappearance of his great-niece Harriet; in addition to investing the money necessary to keep Blomkvist’s publication afloat, Vanger offers the promise of information that will put Wennerström behind bars once and for all. Blomkvist, a journalist — not detective — by trade, questions his qualifications for such a task, but Vanger seems to have total confidence in Blomkvist, not only as an investigator, but also as a man of moral integrity and determination – information he gained by hiring a particularly clever private investigator. Enter Lisbeth Salander. An expert
hacker with a photographic memory, Lisbeth is the best at what she does. Lisbeth is withdrawn, pierced and anorexic-looking — but she’s far from your typical Europunk. She is, instead, a person betrayed by the Swedish legal system meant to protect her. Not long after “all the evil” transpired in her past, Lisbeth became a ward of the state, classified as violently antisocial and mentally disturbed almost to the point of mental retardation. After moving from an institution to various foster homes, Lisbeth now finds herself under the legal guardianship of Nils Bjurman, an unscrupulous pervert who soon abuses his position of power in an unforgiveable manner. Soon, Blomkvist and Lisbeth’s paths cross, making the womanizer and the anarchist an unlikely pair investigating the dark history of the Vanger family. While TGWTDT is not likely to be remembered as classic piece of literature, the novel — and in fact the entire trilogy — is a captivating crime thriller, with its strongest element undoubtedly being the character of Lisbeth Salander — the girl with the dragon tattoo — herself. Lisbeth is a breath of fresh air for a female protagonist. She is undeniably strong, a survivor in the truest sense, and she meets the challenges of her life with a mixture of intellect and brute force. She is absolutely unpredictable in this sense; just when you think she’s surely got her back against the wall, she finds a way to weasel her way out of the worst of situations. Undeniably, she is a woman with problems; her past, cloaked in mystery for most of the TGWTDT, comes to light slowly throughout the trilogy, revealing an upbringing of extreme violence and unfathomable abuse — physical, emotional and sexual — at the hands of those she should have been able to trust the most. As a result, Salander trusts no one, reveals little about herself and insists that for the human race, “there
COURTESY OF FLICKR
is no innocence: just varying degrees of responsibility.” Lisbeth is damaged and imperfect, a fact that is reflected perhaps most obviously in her physical appearance. A far cry from being beautiful, Lisbeth is the reverse image of sex appeal: she is small (4’ 11”), pale, pierced and tattooed, flat-chested and thin to the point of “looking anorexic.” Consequently, she is a heroine defined not by her looks, but own intrinsic, idiosyncratic morals; her loyalty to those she loves; the quickness of her wit; and the strength of her spirit. In an era where leading women are expected to be level-headed, beautiful and well-liked, it’s refreshing to have an imperfect female lead to embrace — a real flawed woman who triumphs over circumstance. Of course, to those who have not read the books and only seen the promotional photos for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the value and uniqueness of Lisbeth’s character may not be immediately clear; on the contrary, I find myself wondering if the marketers for the film, who present a topless Rooney Mara (The Social Network) wrapped in the protective embrace of Daniel Craig’s (Casino Royale) Mikael Blomkvist, have read the books. Do they not realize that Lisbeth is not a sex symbol? That, on the contrary, there should be some sort of ethical
conflict in casting a victim of heinous sexual abuse in such a sensual light? It’s disheartening to think that we are a culture so hung up on sex that this is the only way to sell a film. Come on, Hollywood, give some of the population credit for embracing a heroine who is defiantly not sexy — who is complicated instead. H&M also seems to have neglected to do its homework on the character of Dragon Tattoo’s protagonist; the clothing company has launched a “Lisbeth Salander” inspired clothing line that features fake leather jackets, “edgy” T-shirts, and studded belts. To me, there is nothing less “Lisbeth Salander-inspired” than a mainstream clothing company targeting teenagers with the lure of pleather and prepackaged punk. David Fincher has a difficult task ahead of him; it is hard to make a movie about such an unglamorous, abrasive character in a market where sex sells — especially when such a movie not only defies the allure of sexuality, but also examines the horrors of sexual abuse directed at women. However, looks at the trailers and murmurings that the director intends for the film to “live up to its R rating,” inspire me with confidence that perhaps the new film might be as edgy and groundbreaking as the novel.
CULTURE
WHO’S THAT KID? John Thornhill A MEMBER OF FCRH ’13 MAJORING IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES AND MUSIC FROM SLIDELL, LA. What campus organizations are you involved in? I have been a special music segment correspondent for “Fordham Nightly News” since spring semester of sophomore year. I am also the 2011-2012 Treasurer of Fordham University PRIDE Alliance and have been a member since sophomore year. I was also on the starting lineup for Fordham men’s tennis team 2009-11.
What is your favorite memory while attending Fordham? The weekend of Feb. 6, 2010, hands down. That Sunday was the best day because the Saints won the Super Bowl. What is your favorite thing to do in NYC? How often do you go into the city? My favorite thing to do in the city is going out to bars and clubs. I
find myself down there about twice a week. What are your plans (career or otherwise) for after college? I would like to get a Masters’ in Business Administration and with that, who knows where I will end up. I would love to be a broadcast journalist or even start my own record label. What do you want to do or accomplish before you leave Fordham? I’d like to learn how to play the guitar before leaving Fordham. And I’d like to go skydiving before I graduate. Anything else you want people to know about you? I plan on having an arranged marriage with Anne Hathaway.
Please describe yourself in a couple of sentences: I’m a fun-loving guy who finds every opportunity to laugh. I am a man of many passions from music, to tennis, to health and fitness and I’m here at Fordham using my passions to establish a successful career.
what’s Know “what’s going on” on campus or in NYC?
Going
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Send tips, event listings, or comments to theram@fordham.edu.
THURSDAY Simply Improv: Improvisational Comedy in Two Acts The Blackbox 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. Laugh with Fordham’s improv troop, Stranded In Pittsburgh.
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FRIDAY Chase Granoff The Chocolate Factory Theater (549 49th Ave.) 8 p.m. Granoff will perform intuition is preceding over my understanding, a solo piece about the expression of time and place.
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SATURDAY Housing Works’ Fashion for Action 2011 Altman Building (135 W. 18th St.) 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Shop discounted designers like Marc Jacobs and Christian Dior. Proceeds will be donated to Housing Works’ HIVprevention and integrated health-care.
SUNDAY “Inventing Brooklyn: People, Places, Progress” Brooklyn Historical Society (128 Pierrepont St.) 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Examine 400 years’ worth of artifacts and documents depicting the development of Brooklyn’s culture.
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Please describe something about yourself that not many people know: My love for tennis started after evacuating from Hurricane Katrina and moving to Dallas for a month.
MONDAY “Masterworks: Jewels of the Collection” Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th St.) 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Explore a variety of Himalayan artwork from the past millennium.
What is your favorite aspect of Fordham? Why? A combination of the beautiful campus and our enormous green field called Edwards Parade. It’s there where my friends and I can chill, sunbathe and get a great view of our surprisingly green campus. What is your favorite class and professor at Fordham? Why? My favorite class is Musician 1: Counterpoint with Professor Ott. It’s the first class that I can see actually benefiting my career, and I’m actively engaged the entire time.
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 13
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TUESDAY Female on the Beach Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Ave.) 8:45 p.m. Watch the 1955 film starring Joan Crawford in a mysterious beach romance.
23 COURTESY OF JOHN THORNHILL
John Thornhill, from Slidell, La., is a correspondent for “Fordham Nightly News.”
WEDNESDAY Shilelagh Law live album recording Connolly’s Times Square (121 W. 45th St.) 10:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. The Irish band will record a live album and wants fans to be a rowdy part of the creation. — COMPILED BY SCHARON HARDING
Ram Reviews MOVIE J. Edgar
By JAKE KRING-SCHREIFELS STAFF WRITER
It has been almost 40 years since J. Edgar Hoover, the former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, died. He served under four presidential terms and was considered, at times, to be the second most powerful man in government. Now, he is speculatively labeled as a crossdresser, a gay man and someone who was too fearful to reveal his true personality. Hoover had all his personal files shredded at the time of his death. This is why director Clint Eastwood (Invictus) does not focus too much on Hoover’s endeavors so much as on Hoover’s emotional complexity and how certain actions and people affected him ideologically and personally. Like some of Eastwood’s earlier films (Hereafter, Invictus, Mystic River), this bio-pic centers on
influential moments, key decisions and human relationships. J. Edgar, which was written by Dustin Lance Black (who coincidentally wrote Capote, a bio-pic of a homosexual), begins with Hoover, played forcefully and scrupulously by Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception), as an old man relaying his past endeavors for a personal manuscript. He imparts his history to numerous scribes, the first played by Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”). Eastwood portrays this in Slumdog Millionaire fashion, including past scenes as Hoover divulges his former life. His recollections, however, assert a revisionist history of sorts, reaffirming the public image that he was the man on the front lines, taking bullets and capturing the bad guys. Some of these incidents include the gangster John Dillinger and the Lindbergh baby case. Hoover disregards his failure to appear in person during these arrests, painting the picture of himself as a G-Man, a comic superhero and an admirable figure of law enforcement to be emulated.
On the outside, Hoover is stern, inflexible and unequivocally paranoid. When elected head of the bureau, he wipes the department clean, keeping only those he believes he can trust. Affected by the early American communist movement in his youth, he brings a fear-based ideology to the office. He receives an application from Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, The Social Network), a dapper and determined man with whom Hoover develops an instant connection. Their relationship, both professional and personal, is condensed. Tolson becomes his right-hand man and, moreover, a companion who provides moral support for Edgar, while lobbying for further federal power. Eastwood insinuates that there is more to Hoover’s relationship with Tolson in some particularly masterful scenes of confusion and jealousy. The rumors about Hoover and Tolson’s romance and subsequent political ragging — namely persecuting the homosexual community — could have set the stage for a po-
larizing depiction of hypocrisy, but Eastwood neither dresses Hoover with noticeable flamboyance nor creates an unsympathetic impression of him. Instead, Eastwood portrays him as a man containing elegant charm. Hoover’s struggles with speech gently reinforce his fragility. While Hoover remains assertive in public, the movie also conveys him as someone vain. Hoover’s inventiveness and extreme Red Scare also influenced the investigative tactics in practice today. His demand for scientific forensics, such as fingerprints, were products of his interminable work ethic and demand to purify a country of its apparent evil. The two women in the film, though they share little spotlight and screen time, have significantly formidable roles and a heavy influence over the characterization and reputation of J. Edgar. An unconventional first date to the National Library begins the professional relationship between Edgar and his lifetime secretary Helen Gandy
(Naomi Watts, 21 Grams), the woman who would secretly dispose of all of his files. His mother Annie (Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal), however, is portrayed as a nagging force in his side. She insults “daffodil” men, and issues discrete warnings of her disapproval with some of Edgar’s life choices, forming a foundation of inadequacy that ripples his entire life. Though Eastwood does not delve into it much, this relationship, appears to be the most intriguing: Freudian complex that withers Hoover’s insides, and still ignites his strong desire to maintain a structurally sound exterior. Eastwood subtly moves through time, and, while the ridges in Hoover’s forehead become more pronounced, his anti-communist ideals fail to waiver. “Even great men can become corrupt,” DiCaprio narrates, but as his life toggles back and forth and his paranoia amplifies, we begin to question if he can apply this to himself. For more reviews, visit http:// fieldoffilms.wordpress.com.
TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN THEIR ENTIRETY, VISIT THERAMONLINE.COM AND CLICK ON “CULTURE” ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HOMEPAGE.
CULTURE
PAGE 14 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
Afia Offers Sustainable Women’s Clothing Line By CODIE LANDSMAN STAFF WRITER
Tired of shopping at the same retail stores that you have been browsing since high school? Then check out Afia, a sustainable women’s apparel line that is fashionable both in style and in purpose. Afia was founded by Meghan Sebold, who works side-byside with Partnership Director Elizabeth Cloyd and a growing team of passionate people. Sebold created the clothesline as an attitude, mentality and lifestyle that allows young women to freely express themselves, not just as a brand. After studying abroad in Ghana in 2006, Sebold developed a fondness for the vibrant textiles she encountered there. “The ladies in my group and I would take a few yards of fabric picked from the market [and bring it] to local seamstresses to have custom dresses made,” Sebold said. “Ghanaians were quick to tell me that this iconic industry and its players are struggling. The imported imitation prints and second-hand clothing were crippling locally-made textile sales.” Sebold did not just listen, she acted. Afia works to connect the West African textile industry to our consumer market here in the U.S. Producing in Ghana provides these seamstresses with well-paying jobs where there normally would not be any. On one side, young women benefit from this brilliantly unique clothing line. The debut collection features highwaisted shorts, crop tops, paperbag skirts, rompers and a variety of dresses.
Afia also created fanny-packs from the remnants of the collection which sold out almost immediately. They even designed a few men’s skinny ties as a gift for crowd-funding contributors. Afia has received an abundance of positive attention since its launch. Afia’s first clothing line was featured in The New York Times. FashionStake named the brand the “Best of the Web 2011” in Instyle Magazine and coined the collection as “the Sundance of style.” Afia will also be featured within Moxsie, which contains fabulous indie brands and designers, in the spring of
2012. Look for Afia styles in Dagny & Barstow on 64 Gansevoort Street in New York’s Meatpacking District. The collection is also available online at Shopafia.com. What comes next for Afia? In the future, they plan to build a facility in Ghana to bring in large and consistent orders for the many skilled seamstresses. “I’m not quite ready to reveal the new collection,” Sebold said. “But I am very excited about it.” New York’s fashionable young women will be too.
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Afia was named “Best of the Web 2011” by FashionStake in Instyle Magazine.
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Question: What happened to the Fordham student when he became angry? Answer: His face turned such a dark shade of red, it became U
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
PAGE 15
Bucknell Runs Past Fordham, Rams Drop Eighth Straight By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR
It would be hard for things to get much worse for the Fordham football team. After losing 21-0 at home to Bucknell on Saturday, the Rams have lost their last eight games and their record this season is a miserable 1-9. Bucknell’s run-heavy, pro-style offense proved tough to stop on Saturday afternoon. The Bison gashed the injury-depleted Fordham defense to the tune of 252 yards on the ground; 204 of those yards came courtesy of junior running back Tyler Smith, who averaged over seven yards per carry. It was Smith’s second consecutive 200-yard game; he had 212 yards against Lafayette. Bucknell threw the ball only 14 times, compared to 46 running plays. Fordham had a more balanced offensive attack with 33 passes and 28 runs. The Bucknell offense relied upon a lot of pre-snap motion. On nearly every play, the Bison had two or three men in motion, overloading one side of the line of scrimmage. Head Coach Tom Masella thought his players were unfazed by the all the pre-snap confusion. “I thought our kids handled it pretty well for the most part,” he said. “That last drive they scored on, we didn’t handle some things. Overall I think our defense played hard and played well enough to give us a chance. We just didn’t convert on offense to make a game of it. You’re not going to win many
PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM
Junior quarterback Ryan Higgins was sacked three times in the Rams’ loss on Saturday. He also threw three interceptions.
games that way.” In that regard it was a bit of a role reversal for Fordham’s offensive and defensive units. In recent games (with the exception of the 55-0 loss at Army), Fordham’s offense had racked up significant yardage, while the defense allowed its opponents to march up and down the field unimpeded. This week the offense struggled, while the defense played better than it had in a while. “Bucknell’s very good on defense and we struggled on offense immensely today,” Masella said. “We had our chances but didn’t
convert any.” Bucknell’s defense was led by senior defensive back Bryce Robertson, who had two interceptions on the day. It was the third consecutive two-interception game for Robertson, who leads the FCS in interceptions. Fordham went three and out on its first two offensive possessions. After that second three and out, Bucknell took possession at its own 29 yard line. A pair of long runs by Smith set the Bison up with first and goal. Smith plunged into the end zone on second down for a two yard touchdown run and
PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/ THE RAM
Freshman kicker Michael Marando had one of his field goal attempts blocked, and missed another wide to the right.
gave his team an early 7-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Fordham freshman receiver Lourenzo Smith returned the kick 16 yards before coughing up a fumble. Bucknell recovered and was set up with great field position at Fordham’s 28 yard line. The Fordham defense stood tall, however, forcing a three and out and a 40-yard field goal attempt. The kick was no good, and the Rams dodged a bullet. The Rams shot themselves in the foot on the next possession, though, when junior quarterback Ryan Higgins completed a pass to freshman receiver Brian Wetzel. Wetzel immediately fumbled and Bucknell recovered. On the very next play, Bucknell sophomore quarterback Brandon Wesley completed a 35-yard pass to sophomore receiver Victor Walker, setting up first and goal for the Bison. On third down, junior running back Jeremiah Young ran in untouched for a one-yard score and Bucknell took a 14-0 lead with a little more than a minute to go in the first quarter. Fordham nearly turned the ball over on the next drive when Higgins fumbled, though he was able to fall on it and retain possession. Fordham’s best chance for a score came in the middle of the second quarter. The drive started with Higgins connecting with Wetzel on a screen pass. Wetzel took advantage of good downfield blocking and ran for an 18-yard gain. A few plays later, Higgins hit Wetzel deep down the middle. Wetzel broke a tackle and had a 30yard gain. The play set up first and 10 from the Bucknell 13-yard line. After a run play gained no yards on first down, Higgins dropped back to pass and was faced with heavy defensive pressure. He dropped back farther, trying to elude the rush but was sacked for a 12-yard loss. The Rams were then faced with a third and 22 at the Bucknell 25. Higgins did manage to find Wetzel again and move the ball back to the original line of scrimmage to give
the field goal unit a better chance, but freshman kicker Michael Marando had his 30-yard attempt blocked. Later, Marando had another short field-goal attempt, this time from 28 yards, but he missed it wide right. Marando’s misses accounted for two of Fordham’s three red zone trips. The Rams’ third red zone chance came on their most impressive drive of the day, early in the fourth quarter. Fordham took nine plays to go 55 yards. The drive was highlighted by an 11-yard reception by freshman receiver Sam Ajala, a 12-yard run by senior running back Darryl Whiting and a 26-yard catch by freshman tight end Dan Light. Light’s reception set up first and 10 at the Bucknell 20. After a draw by Higgins on first down went for no gain, Higgins handed off to Whiting, who gained five yards. On third down, junior receiver Blake Wayne lined up in the shotgun, took the snap and ran up the middle. Wayne was stopped for no gain and the Rams were faced with a fourth down. Trailing 14-0 with time running out in the fourth quarter, Masella decided to go for it. Higgins looked to connect once more with Wetzel, but the ball sailed over his head and the Rams turned the ball over on downs. On the very next play, Bucknell’s Smith broke a 52-yard run. Fordham sophomore defensive back Ian Williams chased him down and made a touchdown-saving tackle. Several plays later, Smith ran into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day, stretching the Bison’s lead to an insurmountable 21-0. When the Rams came out for their next drive, freshman Peter Maetzold replaced Higgins at quarterback. According to Masella, the move was not prompted by Higgins’ mediocre performance (1929, 185 yards, 2 INT’s). Rather, Masella felt it was a good opportunity to get the freshman some more experience. “I thought it was time to get him a couple reps,” Masella said. “He hadn’t played in a while so I thought it was time to get him some work.” With the 21-0 win, Bucknell recorded its first shutout since a 2001 game against Georgetown and clinched its first winning season since 2006. The Rams will next be in action when they close out the season at home against Holy Cross next Saturday. “Obviously we’ve got to play a heck of a lot better on offense and defensively we got to keep working on it,” Masella said about next week’s game. “We didn’t play well on offense today and if you don’t score any points, you can’t win games. We’re going to have to improve on offense and keep working on it on defense and play better on special teams. We didn’t play well in two phases of the game, on offense or special teams and it’s hard to win football games that way.”
PAGE 16 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
SPORTS
Men’s Soccer Shutout by Xavier in Semifinals of A-10 Playoffs By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR
The men’s soccer team’s season ended Friday night in the Atlantic 10 semifinals when the No. 1 seeded Rams were upset by sixth-seeded Xavier, 2-0. The Musketeers scored two second-half goals to eliminate the Rams from the playoffs for the second straight season and end the collegiate careers of Fordham’s 11 seniors. “I thought our guys did a real good job of competing, we just didn’t get enough good looks on goal,” Head Coach Jim McElderry said. Fordham entered the game on a four-game winning streak. They had defeated Xavier on the road earlier in the season when the Musketeers were ranked No. 23 nationally. Defending A-10 champion Xavier upset third-seeded Charlotte to advance to the semi-finals. The Rams outshot Xavier 7-3 in the first half, but none of the seven shots were on goal. Senior forward Aaron Markowitz had a good chance to score early in the game, but charging junior goalie Justin Marshall forced the shot wide and the teams remained scoreless at the half. Xavier took the lead off a free kick 13 minutes into the second half. Sophomore midfielder Gino Depaoli crossed the ball to junior defender James Queree, who was able
to beat senior goalie Ryan Meara to give the Musketeers the advantage. Eighteen minutes later, Xavier doubled its lead on another free kick close to the penalty box. Depaoli took the kick once again, and this time he found sophomore defender Nick Hagglund, who made it 2-0. “We knew one of their main ways to score goals was through set pieces and that’s exactly what they did,” Meara said. “Maybe we could have defended them a little better but you have to give Xavier some credit.” The Rams outshot Xavier 1614, led with four shots from senior midfielder Tim Richardson, but they were only able to get three of those 16 shots on goal, and the Musketeers held on for the shutout victory. “It’s difficult when you get down a couple of goals, especially in the second half,” McElderry said. “You start to get really desperate to force the game, and sometimes that doesn’t help you get better scoring chances, it just makes it easier for a team that’s very defense-oriented and very good at the back.” Xavier would go on to defeat second-seeded George Washington on Sunday to win its second consecutive A-10 title. McElderry, meanwhile, still considers the season a success after the team won its firstever regular-season A-10 title. “This season we did a lot of great things,” he said. “We beat two top-
25 teams and we played very well on the road against a team that’s currently ranked second in the country (Creighton). I thought there was an opportunity for us to maybe win the conference championship as well, but it just didn’t turn out that way.” Seven members of the team were recognized for their regular season success. Meara was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year after posting career-highs in save percentage (.878) and goals against average (0.57). He was also named First Team All-Atlantic 10 along with sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Bekoe. Senior forward John Niyonsaba (who led the team with nine points), Richardson and junior defender Ryan Curran were named to the Second Team, while freshman midfielder Jack-Tim Murphy made the All-Rookie Team. Senior forward Aaron Markowitz was named to the Academic AllConference list. Meara in particular will be difficult for the Rams to replace. This was his third straight season on the A-10 First Team, and he leaves Fordham as the program’s all-time leader in shutouts (31). “We’ll miss him greatly on and off the field, but we also know he’ll go on and get a really good opportunity to play at the professional level,” McElderry said. “I’m excited to have him represent Fordham as he goes on to the next stage of his career.”
RAM ARCHIVES
Regular-season scoring leader John Niyonsaba was held to one shot on Friday.
Despite losing so many seniors, Meara believes the team can remain successful next season. “We have a pretty good recruiting class coming in, and even though we’re losing 11 seniors, the whole defense besides myself and [senior
defender] Phil [Ferrantello] will be intact, with [Bekoe] in the midfield. I’m sure there will be some growing pains next year with a younger team but I think they still have the potential to be successful next year and years down the road too.”
Cross Country Competes Squash Sweeps Weekend Matches With at NCAA Championships Strong Performance From New Players By KELLY KULTYS STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Fordham men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the 2011 NCAA Division I Northeast Regional Championships at the Audubon Golf Course in Buffalo, N.Y. The teams faced tough competition as the men’s team placed 13th out of 33 teams and the women placed 30th out of the 36 competing teams. “The competition at the NCAA regional meet was a little overwhelming, but definitely a good experience,” sophomore Anisa Arnenault said. “It’s amazing to see the talent that exists in our sport.” On the men’s side, Syracuse won the meet with a score of 54. Iona (72 points), Columbia (96), Providence (108) and Brown (176) followed Syracuse, rounding out the top five. Fordham placed 13th with a score of 415 points. Individually, Iona’s Leonard Korir captured the title with a time of 31:10.4 for the 10k race. Fordham’s junior Julian Saad continued his strong season by placing 32nd with a time of 32:21.4 in the race. Also placing for the Rams behind Saad were senior Kevin Fitzgerald in 55th with a time of 32:45.9, senior Brian Riley in 90th with a time of 33:22.6, sophomore Michael Belgiovine in 110th with a time of 33:35.5 and sophomore Brian Walter, who finished 142nd with a time of 34:11.4. Other racers for the Rams included Ryan Polo in 148th with a time of 34:21.8 and Sam Stuart in 166th with a time of 34:41.5. On the women’s side, Syracuse again captured the team title with a score of 116 points. Boston College (127 points), Cornell (137),
Columbia (151) and Providence (163) placed behind Syracuse, respectively. Fordham’s women placed 30th with a score of 825 points. Individually, Dartmouth’s sophomore Abbey D’Agostino placed first, grabbing the women’s individual title with a time of 20:25.3 for the 6k race. Arsenault led the Rams, finishing in 107th place with a time of 23:06.6, less than three minutes behind the winner. “Personally, I looked to pass girls from other schools that I recognized from different races, and whose ability levels I am familiar with,” Arsenault said. Other runners scoring for the Lady Rams included freshman Danielle Drummond, who placed 170th with a time of 24:06.1; freshman Sarah Glockenmeier, in 180th with a time of 24:18.0; senior Mairin O’Connor, who placed 183rd in 24:22.1; and freshman Emily Osman, in 190th with a time of 24:31.3. Also racing for Fordham were senior Nako Nakatsuka who took 200th in 24:53.3 and senior Ashley Davis in 207th with a time of 24:54.5. “Because the field was so crowded, and because the wind factor made mile splits somewhat insignificant, it was difficult to gauge how we were competing during the race,” Arsenault said. Both the men’s and women’s teams return to action on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx for the ECAC/ IC4A Championships, one of the most important and toughest races for both of the cross country teams. “It’s our final meet of the season next weekend, and I think we need to approach it confidently and not feel daunted,” Arsenault said. “We need to rise to the level of our competition.”
By MATT DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Having left Annapolis, Md. last week winless, the squash team headed to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to face off against Bard College and Vassar College. The Rams sought revenge, having lost every match the previous week in the Navy round robin tournament. Facing Navy in the first week of play prepared the Rams well. “Navy is one of the nation’s top teams, so playing them will prepare us well for our upcoming matches,” Head Coach Bryan Patterson said. His analysis proved true as the Rams earned their first two victories of the season. The first opponent the team faced was Bard. The Rams expected to win their match against Bard but knew they would have difficulty with Bard’s No. 1 and 2 spots. Senior Andriy Kulak, playing out of the No. 1 spot, lost to sophomore John Levering 11-3, 11-8, 11-7. Junior Jack O’Brien, who lost to junior Dylan Coburn in four sets, losing 9-11, 11-7, 14-12, 119, played out of the second spot. Even though O’Brien only won one set, his match could have gone either way. An extra point determined the third set, making his match that much more exhilarating. From the third through ninth spots the Rams found their stroke. They continued the match with high hopes and proved to be a tough team for their opponent as they won their next seven matches. Senior Andrew Grosner took charge as he defeated his opponent, senior Andy Hoffman-
Pantzlo 10-12, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8. “We all played exceptionally well,” Grosner said. “Returning senior Eli Plangger played very well, winning his first match of the season out of the No. 4 spot. The new guys—Alex Williams and Ethan Brooks—both picked up much needed wins in the seventh and eighth spots respectively for both their first college career wins. We were looking for revenge as last year we won the first match against them and then lost to them in the spring match.” The Rams then took on Vassar where, they were victorious. “As a team, we dominated almost all positions against Vassar, except at the top two where they were strong,” Grosner said. Fordham’s No. 1 and 2, Kulak and O’Brien fell against their
opponents, respectively, while Fordham won the majority of the remaining matches. Junior Ethan Brooks had a phenomenal match against Vassar’s freshman Shail Bajpai, as he won 11-6, 4-11, 119, 9-11, 11-7. The victory against Vassar gave the Rams the confidence they failed to achieve in the Navy round robin. They swept both of their opponents this week and are looking forward to their next match on Dec. 2. “The newer players are developing into better squash players so we expect to have a much strengthened middle-bottom of our team come the rest of the season,” Grosner said. “We hope to build off this and play better squash against the teams we will play the rest of the season.”
RAM ARCHIVES
No. 3 Andrew Grosner won both of his matches to lead the Rams on Sunday.
SPORTS
NFL Midseason Awards By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER
MVP- AARON RODGERS, QB, GREEN BAY PACKERS This should be a unanimous decision. You cannot possibly play the quarterback position better than Rodgers has so far this season (24 TD, 3 INT, 72.5 percent COMP). The Packers don’t have much of a running game, and their defense is 28th in total yards allowed, but they are the only remaining undefeated team in the league because of the way Rodgers is playing. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR- DARRELLE REVIS, CB, NEW YORK JETS Revis has been the best defensive player in the league for three years now, but has not won this award yet. He matches up against opponents’ No. 1 receiver every week and shuts them down. He has single-handedly turned two games in the Jets’ favor with red-zone interceptions, one of which he returned 100 yards for a touchdown. The fact that defensive backs are barely allowed to breathe on receivers makes what Revis does every week even more impressive. OFFENSIVE R.O.Y.- ANDY DALTON, QB, CINCINNATI BENGALS Cam Newton has been great, but the Panthers are 2-7 and Dalton’s Bengals are 6-3. The statistical comparison is close enough that the records of the two players should put Dalton over the top. Watch out for Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, though. The way he is playing (674 yards, 6.7 yards/carry), he may vault past everybody and win this award. DEFENSIVE R.O.Y.-VON MILLER, OLB, DENVER BRONCOS The second overall pick in April has lived up to expectations so far. He has eight sacks and has started each of the first nine games for the Broncos. COACH OF THE YEAR- JIM HARBAUGH, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS Before the season many people wondered if Harbaugh and the 49ers would be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. At the halfway point, people are wondering if the road to Super Bowl in the NFC will go through Candlestick Park. It has really been a remarkable season for Harbaugh. He even has Alex Smith playing well. Now on to the Week 10 Gamess • I think the league has figured out the Buffalo Bills. Two weeks ago, they were beaten handily at home by the Jets, and last week they were absolutely destroyed by the Cowboys 44-7. Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to struggle, throwing three interceptions in the loss. • Tim Tebow completed two more passes than I did this week, and the Broncos still beat the Chiefs. Tebow is now 3-1 in his four starts this season, and the Broncos are right in the thick of the AFC West “race.”
The Tebow offense is unconventional, and NFL defenses will eventually figure it out, but will they figure it out soon enough to keep the Broncos from winning the AFC West? • The Colts have a full twogame lead in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes after the Rams beat the Browns (on a missed field goal attempt from 22-yards) and the Dolphins beat the Rex Grossman-led Redskins. • I don’t know what Falcons Coach Mike Smith was thinking in overtime. With the Falcons facing a fourth and inches from their own 29-yard line, Smith decided to go for it, which was the first awful decision. The second awful decision was not calling a quarterback sneak. Michael Turner was stopped for a loss, and the Saints took over already in field goal range. Four plays later, they hit the gamewinning field goal and took firm control of the NFC South • It might be officially time to declare the dream team dead. The Eagles are now 3-6 after losing at home to the Cardinals and former Fordham quarterback John Skelton. Skelton capped the come-from-behind win with his third touchdown pass of the game to Early Doucet with 1:53 remaining. Michael Vick threw two interceptions and should have thrown at least two others, but was bailed out by a holding penalty and a replay review. • I can’t figure out this Ravens team. When they feel like playing, they might be the best team in the league, but they just have too many games where they play down to their opponent. • Huge win by the Bears this week at home against the Lions. The Bears defense, which is always near the top of the league in turnovers forced, was at their ball-hawking best. They forced six turnovers, including four interceptions from Matthew Stafford, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Both the Lions and Bears sit at 6-3 and, as it stands now, the NFC North would have three teams in the playoffs. • The 49ers’ win over the Giants was a big confidence booster. We see it every year: those outof-nowhere teams finally start getting some recognition for being pretty good, and then they can’t deal with success. Just ask the Bills. The 49ers showed that they are not afraid of the spotlight, and this win adds to a pretty impressive list of wins for them so far this year. They now have a five-game lead in the NFC West. • The changing of the guard in the AFC East will have to wait at least another year after the Patriots beat up the Jets. The makeshift Patriots defense held up well, and Andre Carter absolutely abused D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The Jets had no answer for Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots capitalized on the Jets’ inability to catch the ball and kick 24-yard field goals. The Patriots now have sole possession of first place in the AFC East and appear to have righted the ship after back-to-back losses.
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 17
Men’s Basketball Syracuse 78 Fordham 53
Women’s Basketball Albany 59 Fordham 42
Fordham
fg
Albany
fg 3pt
Estwick
0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 1
Forster
7-13 0-0 2-3 8 16 2
Gaston
4-12 0-0 5-8 5 13 4
Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 0 1
Bristol
1-2 0-0 1-2 8 3 1
Callaway 4-13 0-2 2-2 1 10 3
Frazier
4-12 0-7 1-1 1 9 3
Henry
7-22 2-8 3-4 4 19 3
McMillan 2-8 1-3 2-2 3 7 3
Lowrie
1-3 1-2 0-0 2 3 0
Hage
Volleyball Charlotte 3-2 Fordham Charlotte
3pt ft reb tp a
ft reb tp a
0-0 0-0 2-2 0 2 0
Royals
0-1 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
Zivkovic 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
Cronin
0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Samuell
0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Jones
4-11 0-1 2-2 6 10 0
Dominique 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 2 0
Cohan
0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith
Makopondo 0-2 0-0 0-0 5 0 0
5-11 3-8 0-4 3 13 1
Robinson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals
Canty
0-1 0-0 2-2 3 2 0
Blocks - Callaway (2), For-
Totals
18-52 4-21 13-21 32 53 13
23-65 3-13 10-13 32 59 9
Steals - Henry (6), Forster
Steals - Frazier (3), Gaston
(5), Callaway (3), Jones (3),
(2), McMillan (2), Canty, Est-
Makopondo (2)
wick, Zivkovic
Turnovers - Forster (4), Cal-
Turnovers - Gaston (4), McMillan
laway (3), Williams (2), Henry,
(4), Estwick (3), Samuell (3),
Lowrie, Jones
3pt ft reb tp a
Gaster Rouse Cannon
Vera Totals
3pt ft reb tp a
Gaskin
1-5 0-1 1-2 6 10 1
Joseph
6-12 2-4 2-3 5 16 1
Collins
2-10 2-5 0-0 2 26 2
Melo
1-4 0-0 2-2 4 4 2
Peters
2-6 0-0 3-5 10 8 6
Jardine
3-7 1-3 0-2 2 7 3
Corning
5-8 1-2 3-4 5 2 2
Triche
3-10 0-3 3-4 7 9 3
Sims
0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Carter-Wi 2-6 0-2 0-1 1 4 2
Durant
1-2 0-0 1-2 0 0 0
Resavy
0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Griff
2-2 1-1 0-0 0 2 2
Waiters
6-9 2-4 0-0 0 14 2
McGovern 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fair
3-5 1-2 2-2 5 9 0
Milner
1-2 1-1 0-0 1 0 0
Keita
0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals
14-39 5-12 9-15 37 71 14
Hoffman
0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Blocks - Collins
Lyde-Caju 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Steals - Gaskin (2), Milner (2),
Jones
0-1 0-1 1-2 0 1 0
Collins, Peters, Corning, Durant
Reese
1-1 0-0 0-1 0 2 0
Turnovers - Collins (7), Peters
Tomaszew 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
(7), Gaskin (5), Corning (4),
Southerla 3-5 1-2 0-0 4 7 2
Stoddart (3), Durant (2), Sims,
Totals
Milner
Capicotto Konkel Daulton Hipp Thompson Ewing Diaz-Vazquez Arend Rodenberg Diamantidis Ritchie
Blocks - Melo (4), Fair, Keita,
1
2
F
Southerland
Albany
33
26
59
Steals - Jardine (3), Souther-
Fordham
24
18
42
Atwood Totals
land (2), Christmas, Joseph, Carter-Williams, Waiters, Fair, Jones Turnovers - Triche (4), CarterWilliams (3), Jardine (2), Christmas, Joseph, Fair, Keita, Jones, Reece 1
2
F
Fordham
19
34
53
Syracuse
32
46
78
Football Bucknell 21-0 Fordham BUC FOR
1 14 0
2 0 0
3 0 0
4 F 7 21 0 0
First Quarter BUC Tyler Smith 2 yd run(Orth kick), 6:20 BUC Jeremiah Young 1 yd run(Orth kick), 1:22 Second Quarter None Third Quarter None Fourth Quarter BUC Tyler Smith 2 yd run(Orth kick), 5:49 BUC FOR First Downs 14 16 Total Yards 346 267 Rushing 252 51 Passing 94 216 Punt Returns 0-0 2-28 Kickoff Ret. 1-23 4-89 Comp-Att-Int 7-14-0 22-33-3 Punts 7-38.0 4-39.8 Time of Poss. 35:27 24:33 Individual Statistics PASSING- Fordham, Higgins 19-29-0, Maetzold 3-4-0 Bucknell, Wesley 6-11-0 RUSHING- Fordham, Whiting 15-55-0 Bucknell, Smith 28-204-2 RECIEVING- Fordham, Wetzel 7-79-0 Bucknell, DeNick 2-28-0
Men’s Soccer Fordham 0-2 Xavier Fordham Player Sh Ferrantello 2 Curran 0 Bekoe 3 Gimand 1 Niyonsaba 1 Richardson 4 Markowitz 2 Stalker 0 Courtenay 1 Seidenthal 1 Substitutes McHugh 1 Gulbins 0 Murphy 0 Totals 16 Gk Min Meara 90:00 Xavier Player Sh Walker 2 Boisvert 0 Spencer 1 Cohen 1 Queree 1 Hagglund 2 Depaoli 1 Kaplan 0 Rickert 0 Ryan 2 Substitutes Kruzich 0 Walker 3 McDermott 0 Jetton 1 Halfhill 0 Totals 14 Gk Min Marshall 90:00
Charlotte Fordham
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 Ga 2
0 0 0 0 Sav 3
G 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
A 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 2 Ga 0
0 0 0 0 0 2 Sav 3
Fordham
1 0
2 0
F 0
Xavier
0
2
2
DIG BE 1 0 2 0 0 1 8 0 3 2 11 2 0 0 12 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 43 5
K PCT BS BA 6 .231 0 1 2 .667 0 0 14 .108 0 3 10 .103 0 2 7 .231 0 4 9 .120 1 3 14 .321 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 62 .180 1 14
DIG BE 1 0 7 0 8 1 8 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 16 0 2 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 57 3
Fordham
Stoddart 0-4 0-2 1-2 8 23 1
Christmas 2-3 0-0 1-1 6 5 0
30-64 7-21 11-18 43 78 15
Davis
Drake
Bristol, Frazier, Hage, Smith Syracuse fg
Videmsek
McLean
Blocks - Gaston (2)
fg
Rees
Litoborski
ster, Henry
Fordham
Leventhal
K PCT BS BA 6 .062 0 1 0 .000 0 0 16 .462 1 5 7 .353 0 4 2 -.22 0 3 22 .436 1 2 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 -.05 0 3 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 58 .234 2 18
1 2 3 4 5 27 19 23 27 15 25 25 25 25 9
Squash Fordham 7-2 Bard 1. John Levering (Bard) def. Andriy Kulak (Fordham), 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 2. Dylan Coburn (Bard) def. Jack O’Brien (Fordham), 9-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 3. Andrew Grosner (Fordham) def. Andy HoffmanPantzlo (Bard), 10-12, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8 4. Eli Plangger (Fordham) def. Youseng Kim (Bard), 11-4, 4-11, 115, 11-6 5. Raymond Chen (Fordham) def. Houston Stebbings (Bard), 11-2, 111, 11-2 6. Chris Souther (Fordham) def. Aiko Roudette (Bard), 11-7, 7-11, 117, 9-11, 11-7 7. Alex Williams (Fordham) def. James Spreunberg-Ste (Bard), 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 8. Ethan Brooks (Fordham) def. David Gookin (Bard) 11-7, 11-1, 11-2 9. Quetzalli Torres (Fordham) def. No Player (Bard) by default
Visit theramonline.com for blogs covering NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, College Sports and EPL.
SPORTS
PAGE 18 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 16, 2011
Senior Profile: Point Guard Becky Peters By MATT ROSENFELD STAFF WRITER
NICK CARROLL These days, it’s becoming harder and harder to be an NFL fan. While my Philadelphia Eagles’ immensely disappointing season might have something to do with that, the imminent dark cloud that is the Andrew Luck era is what really ruins my appetite for the future of NFL football. I mean, why bother? If you listen to any expert who isn’t Phil Simms you know that the next decade-plus is bound to be dominated by Luck. In all seriousness, though, isn’t the Andrew Luck hype getting a little out of hand? If Luck is anything short of Peyton Manning, the legend he might force out of Indy, he is an utter disappointment. Multiple Super Bowls and a bust in Canton are already expected, and Luck hasn’t even left Stanford yet. Luck hasn’t even beaten a team currently ranked in any top 25 this season. In his biggest test, at home against Oregon, Luck averaged just over six yards an attempt (pedestrian numbers, really) and threw two interceptions. Luck plays in a very mediocre Pac-12 and hasn’t exactly played elite competition, and when he finally got that opportunity he played an ordinary game. Also, let’s be honest, Oregon isn’t a defensive powerhouse. The Ducks are a team built around their potent offense. Sure, Luck tore apart a good Virginia Tech team in last year’s Orange Bowl, but most of his body of work is against the weak defenses that make up the Pac-12, and the one year Stanford knocked off a top-10 team, Oregon and USC in 2009, running back Toby Gerhart carried the load. In addition, it’s not exactly like Luck’s numbers are legendary. He’s thrown interceptions in five of his past six games and is just another great quarterback at the college level. Now, I understand why Luck is the best pro prospect and I realize that he should adjust to the NFL well. With that said, I think the hype for Luck is getting out of control. “Suck for Luck” has been a leaguewide mantra since Week 1 of the NFL season. Looking back at No. 1 overall picks, though, it’s clear that quarterbacks are anything but a guarantee. Since 1971, only two quarterbacks selected first overall not named Manning won Super Bowls: John Elway and Troy Aikman. Aikman had the support of a legendary Dallas team and Elway’s path to a Super Bowl was not exactly easy. Also, that’s just the upside. The number of top-pick quarterbacks to bust is astounding. Luck should end up being a good NFL quarterback and is deserving of the first overall pick, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Luck is mortal and NFL success can never be guaranteed.
Becky Peters has been a mainstay on the women’s basketball team throughout her time at Fordham. She has started at least 20 games during each of her first three years, led the team in steals her freshman and sophomore years, and was the team’s leading scorer last year. Peters looks to lead the Lady Rams to a successful season during her senior year. She is the only senior on the team this year, and just scored her 1,000th point during the Lady Rams’ season opener last Friday. The Ram: What made you choose Fordham to continue your career? Becky Peters: First of all, it’s a tremendous academic school, especially in business. Since my major is in accounting, that was a very big plus. New York is also my favorite city; it’s a wonderful place to live. Lastly, Fordham is not far from my home. I’m from Central New Jersey, so it’s not too far. TR: What are your goals coming into the season?
BP: My goal is to return to the Atlantic 10 Tournament this year. I wasn’t able to go my freshman year since we didn’t qualify, but we did make it the last two years. Even though we have a completely new team and we’re very young, I don’t want that to be an excuse. We definitely have the potential to make it. TR: How’s it feel to be the only senior on the team? Is it any more responsibility? BP: It’s a ton more responsibility. Last year I had six seniors, so I led in my own way, but I didn’t need to as much as I need to now. Not only am I the only senior, but we have eight freshmen. So there are a lot of new people, a lot of new minds, meaning me and my fellow upperclassmen, as well as the returners, are doing our best to help the girls shape Fordham women’s basketball. TR: What was your favorite basketball moment here at Fordham? BP: Scoring my 1,000th point was great last Friday, because all of my family was there and it was just a really great moment, but my
PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM
Becky Peters scored her 1,000th career point in a loss to Albany last Friday night.
favorite basketball moment was definitely the George Washington game last year when we beat them. I had a good individual game, but beating that team that we hadn’t beat in years was great. That also really sealed our berth into the A-10 Tournament. TR: What are your plans after
you graduate? BP: I am not entirely sure yet. There are a few options I am looking into: playing overseas, continuing my education or working. Right now those three things are what I’m considering after I graduate. Hopefully one of those will work out for me.
Volleyball Closes out Season with Two Five-Set Losses By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR
With the Fordham volleyball team already eliminated from playoff contention, the games may not have meant much, but the Lady Rams treated the fans who showed up to this weekend’s matches to some of the most exciting volleyball of the year. After qualifying for the Atlantic 10 playoffs last season, Fordham knew a return trip would be difficult, having to replace six departing seniors. “This season was a rebuilding year because we lost a lot of starters from last year so we knew it would be tough and challenging, but we ended up doing well in my opinion,” sophomore Carina Thompson said. “We had a rocky start and little trouble finding our niche, but by the end of the season I feel that we now have an idea of how to move on.” Fordham played host to Charlotte and George Washington on Friday and Saturday afternoons, losing each match in five sets. “It wasn’t the end we were hoping for, but we all played really well and I feel like we left everything we had on the court,” Thompson said. When Charlotte came to the Rose Hill Gym on Friday, the 49ers trailed Rhode Island by one game for the final spot in the Atlantic 10 playoffs. Fordham looked to play the role of spoiler. The Lady Rams trailed early in the first set, falling behind 5-1 out of the gate, but they did manage to keep the deficit from growing any larger and eventually tied the score at 15. Fordham later took the lead 22-19 before a three-point Charlotte run tied the score at 22. Charlotte would win the set 27-25. The second set was tight, with neither team able to build more than a two-point lead, until a block
by Thompson and senior Kim Capicotto put Fordham ahead 1512. Fordham would hold onto that lead and take the second 25-19, tying the match at a set apiece. Fordham took the lead early in the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead on a pair of kills by senior Brittany Daulton and two service aces by sophomore Sara Konkel. Fordham held onto the lead until an attack error by sophomore Lisa Hipp put Charlotte ahead 16-15. Fordham took the lead back at 2019, but Charlotte took it right back 23-22. The Lady Rams then scored three consecutive points and won the set 25-23. Fordham led late in the fourth set as well, at one point holding a 20-16 advantage. Charlotte then went on a 6-0 run, after which the 49ers led 22-20. Fordham responded and eventually took the lead at 25-24, but Charlotte scored the next three points and won the set 27-25 to force a deciding fifth set. Charlotte carried the momentum from its fourth-set victory into the fifth set, taking an early 6-1 lead. Fordham was never able to close the gap and Charlotte won the set 15-9, taking the match 3-2. Fordham closed out its season the following day against George Washington. Senior Day ceremonies were held before the start of the match as the Lady Rams honored their three seniors: Brittany Daulton, Megan Arend and Kim Capicotto. Overall, Fordham played well against a strong Colonials team that will be seeded fourth in the upcoming A-10 tournament. The Lady Rams did struggle in the first set, losing 25-15 and posting a .024 hitting percentage compared to .294 for George Washington. The second set was an entirely different story. With the score tied
at seven, Fordham scored five consecutive points to take a 12-7 lead. That lead was stretched to seven points at 19-12 before the Colonials were able to draw even at 21. Fordham was able to score four of the next five points to win the set 25-22, tying the match 1-1. Fordham out-hit George Washington .212 to .162 in the set. Fordham cruised in the pivotal third set, 25-12. The Lady Rams hit .429 as a team compared to .061 for George Washington. The Colonials turned the tables in the fourth set, holding Fordham to a .000 hitting percentage and forcing a do-or-die fifth set. Trailing 14-11 in the fifth set, Fordham fought off three straight match-points and tied the score at 14. George Washington would
eventually win the set 17-15, for a hard-fought 3-2 victory. With the loss, Fordham finished the season at 7-23 (4-11 in conference). The Lady Rams failed to qualify for the A-10 tournament after dropping 12 of their final 14 games. Next season, the Lady Rams will lose only three seniors, while many key contributors from this year team will be back. “For next season things are looking great,” Thompson said. “We are sad to see the seniors leave, but being that we are losing only three it shouldn’t be as hard as this past year. We did lose three really key players, though, so those of us left need to be ready to fill those spots and get those jobs done.”
PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM
Brittany Daulton was one of three seniors honored before Saturday’s match.
Swimming Travels to Boston, Returns with More A-10 Honors By TIM DEROCHER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Fordham swimming and diving teams entered their third week of competition this past week with a challenging tri-meet in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 12. The women faced the America East Conference’s 2010-11 runner-up, Boston University Terriers, and came out the victors with a score of 158-125. The men had an even more difficult task as they, too, faced a 2010-11 second-place Terrier squad, in addition to the Texas A&M Aggies, who place second in their 2010-11 conference championships in the prominent Big 12. The men lost both battles with close margins of 166-111 and 156113, respectively. The women took 10 individual event wins, along with one relay win in the 400 freestyle relay composed of juniors Kellie Lyver, Alana Biagioli, Brienne Ryan and freshman Ariana Peschke. Individually, the same members of the 400 freestyle picked up four more wins between them. Lyver won the 50 freestyle in 24.62, Peschke won the 100 freestyle in 53.55 and Ryan pulled in both the 100 backstroke at 55.47 and the 200 backstroke at 2:00.80. Rounding out the wins for the women were senior diver Andrea Krok’s win in the one-meter dive (255.50), and another triple win from senior Courtney Collyer who won the 100 butterfly in 56.75, the 200 butterfly in 2:02.52 and the 200 individual medley in 2:06.67. Despite facing an extra opponent, the men’s side still reeled in two individual and one relay event wins. The 400 freestyle relay team complemented the women well, as they too won. The team was comprised of junior Devon Morris, sophomores Nick Belfanti and Shintaro Noguchi and freshman Patrick Militti. Noguchi also went on to take the 100 butterfly in 50.20. His win was equalled by junior Thomas Yi’s victory in the 200
individual medley relay, clocking in at 1:57.77. Even more telling than the three dual meet scores was the fact that, over the course of the meet the Rams posted a total of 16 seasonbest swims thus far this season, or about half of the events in a meet. The Rams’ continued signs of improvement and their season gradually progresses towards the Atlantic-10 Championships. After the Rams’ first week of competition, the team pulled down one A-10 weekly accolade. In the season’s second week, they upped that and came down with two more A-10 awards. After the completion of competition this week, the team still managed to up the expectations in the conference by earning three A-10 awards. Ryan and Yi won the Atlantic 10 Women’s and Men’s Swimming & Diving Performers of the Week awards. Joining in on the festivities was Militti, who captured the Atlantic 10 Men’s Swimming & Diving Rookie of the Week award. Ryan was awarded for her aforementioned two individual wins and one relay win at the trimeet. Along with the wins themselves, the times from Ryan’s three wins are season-bests in the A-10 conference so far this season. Ryan also still holds the fastest 50 freestyle time in the conference. Yi was awarded for his efforts in winning the 200 medley at Boston against the Terriers and the Aggies. Along with the 200 medley, Yi posted team-best times in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the meet. Militti was part of the winning 400 freestyle team at the tri-meet and also posted season-best times in three additional individual events: the 100 and 200 freestyles and the 100 butterfly. The Rams will be back in the lane again this upcoming weekend as they travel to Lewisburg, Pa. for the Bucknell Invitational. This is their second and final invitational of the season and will take place on Nov. 18-20.
NOVEMBER 16, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 19
SPORTS
By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR
I normally consider myself a relatively calm sports fan. There are very few issues about which I get overly emotional. This past weekend, however, I was reminded of one topic that never fails to drive me insane throughout football season: the complete unreliability of kickers. Saturday night, No. 5 Boise State faced off against TCU in a game that was the Broncos’ last legitimate obstacle to an undefeated regular season. Trailing 36-35 in the last minute of the fourth quarter, Boise State drove to TCU’s 21-yard line, setting up a game-winning 39-yard field goal attempt from freshman kicker Dan Goodale. The kick was nowhere close, and the Broncos’ chance at a BCS game was gone. While painful, Saturday’s game was nothing compared to the anguish Broncos fans felt last season. The day after Thanksgiving last year, I remember watching undefeated Boise State face Nevada. The Broncos lost their chance at a perfect season, and a possible chance to reach the BCS Championship Game, after senior kicker Kyle Brotzman shanked two attempts from 26 and 29 yards to close out the game. Going into the game, Brotzman had missed only one kick from less than 50 yards all season. After Brotzman missed the second kick, I called a friend and went on a rant about the mental fragility of kickers. My stepbrother, who was over to watch the game and had never seen me get angry about anything, still laughs about my furious ramblings in the game’s aftermath. The worst thing about Brotzman’s misses was that he had been one of the most highly-regarded kickers in college football. Earlier in the season, he was named one of 20 semi-finalists for the Lou Groza award, given annually to the best collegiate kicker. Yet when he was needed most, the importance of the game got to him. Brotzman is far from the first kicker to waver under pressure, however. In the NFL, there have been countless examples of kickers that inexplicably lose their ability to kick in important situations. Last Sunday, Browns kicker Phil Dawson, who has been on the team since they returned to Cleveland
in 1999, missed a 22-yard chipshot with two minutes left in the game, and his team went on to lose to St. Louis, 13-12. Dawson made four longer field goals earlier in the game, but missed what was by far the easiest of his five attempts, and he ended any chance Cleveland might have had to get back into playoff contention. San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding is the most accurate regular-season kicker in NFL history. Kaeding has an 86.5 percent success rate in the regular season. In the playoffs, however, he is an abysmal 8-15. In the Chargers most recent playoff game against the Jets in 2009, Kaeding went 0-3, allowing the Jets to escape with a 17-14 victory. Kickers as a whole in the 2009 playoffs were 24-38 (63 percent). Their average in the regular season that year was around 85 percent. What exactly is the purpose of having kickers in football? It will never happen, but I think the sport would be better off if the position was eliminated entirely. Kickers are barely a part of their teams as it is. I will always remember going to the Giants’ training camp a few years ago and noticing that the kicker spent the entire two-hour practice watching from the sideline while his teammates worked. They also look ridiculous whenever they are
forced to try to make a tackle on a kick return. The only kicker that I have ever liked (solely for comedic value) was ex-Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica. What was his claim to fame? He tore a knee ligament while celebrating a first-half field goal that put his team up 3-0. Football would probably need to find some other way to award teams three points if kickers were eliminated. I can’t say that I have a solution to this problem, but there has to be some way to involve the actual athletes instead of relying on a 5’9’’ 160-pound guy that has a 50-percent chance of choking in a crucial situation. If there isn’t, then just force teams to go for touchdowns. Most sports do not give partial credit for getting close to scoring anyway. You don’t get anything in baseball for getting to third base; you have to make it to home plate. Hockey does not reward teams for controlling the time on attack or having more shots; players have to actually score. Football without field goals would take some getting used to, but I would still prefer it over watching a team’s season end because its kicker cannot handle the pressure during the rare times that he actually has a chance to contribute to his team.
PHOTO BY GEORGE BRIDGES/MCT CAMPUS
Nate Kaeding’s regular season success has not translated to the playoffs.
Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away
Thursday Nov. 17
Friday Nov. 18
Women’s Basketball
Cross Country
RAM ARCHIVES
This week, three Fordham swimmers earned Atlantic 10 Conference honors.
Swimming
Sunday Nov. 20
HOLY CROSS 1 p.m.
Football Men’s Basketball
Saturday Nov. 19
BINGHAMTON 7 p.m. at Holy Cross 1 p.m. ECAC/IC4A Championsips at Van Cortlandt Park Bucknell Invitational at Lewisburg, Pa.
Monday Nov. 21
Tuesday Wednesday Nov. 22 Nov. 23
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
PAGE 20
Men’s Basketball Stifled by No. 5 Syracuse at Carrier Dome By NICK CARROLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
With seven freshmen and four sophomores, Fordham is the youngest basketball team in the nation. That was evident on Saturday, as No. 5 Syracuse took the young Rams to school, 78-53. “Obviously they’re a tremendous basketball team,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “There’s a method to our madness. You want to play a tough game to open the season; it can be a great point of reference for the rest of the year.” Fordham’s biggest struggles came offensively, where the team shot 34.6 percent from the field and made only 3 of 11 attempted 3-pointers. “The perimeter guys did a really good job and when they got inside, our big guys were there,” Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim said. Syracuse is known for its 2-3 zone, and limited Fordham’s open shots throughout the day. “Their length and their ability to take away space defensively made us struggle,” Pecora said. “We’re a good shooting team, but their ability to contest every 3-pointer we took was great.” The Rams also struggled on the glass. Syracuse out rebounded Fordham 43-32, including 16 offensive rebounds. “We gotta be more physical on the glass, and our guards need to fill up box scores,” Pecora said. “We had a couple guys play over 20 minutes and didn’t have a re-
PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM
Chris Gaston was held to 13 points on 4-12 shooting by Syracuse on Saturday.
bound. That’s just unacceptable. We worked on our rebound skills last year and we were fourth in the [Atlantic 10] in rebounding.” Syracuse spread out its scoring with only two players in double digits and its leading scorer, senior forward Kris Joseph, with 16 points. “We’re going to be balanced,” Boeheim said. “We have a lot of
guys who can score.” The first half was sloppy on both sides. Syracuse turned the ball over 10 times; however, with Fordham shooting a measly 25.9 percent from the field and making only one of 10 threes, the Orange was able to go to halftime up 3219. “We took care of the ball better,” Boeheim said. “Most of the
turnovers in the first half were unforced.” Fordham shot the ball better in the second half, but was unable to get back in the game as Syracuse forced 11 second-half turnovers and dominated the glass, paving the way to the 25-point win. “Our keys were, as I said to the guys, ‘If we don’t turn the ball over and don’t give them second shots we’ll have a chance,’ and we didn’t have a chance because we didn’t do either,” Pecora said. Boeheim agreed that turnovers had an impact on the game’s outcome. “Offensively, we struggled a little bit in the first half, too many bad turnovers, which cost us some opportunities,” Boeheim said. “Second half we turned it over five times, that was much more efficient.” According to Pecora, inexperience played a part in Fordham’s turnover woes. “That’s what’s gonna happen when you’re playing a lot of freshmen in the backcourt,” he said. “You have to take care of the basketball, and it’s something we work on every day in practice. Start making the simple play instead of the more difficult one. I think those numbers will come down as the year progresses.” Freshman guard Bryan Smith and junior forward Chris Gaston led the Rams in scoring with 13 apiece. “It’s a confidence booster, even though the game was really decid-
ed already,” Smith said. “It’s a good start for me, we’ll move on, try to win the next couple of games.” For most of the game, Gaston struggled to find space and open shots in the Orange’s zone. “They’re really long,” Gaston said. “It was really hard for me to get shots up, trying to get around a couple defenders. They’re a long team.” Syracuse focused on taking Gaston out of the game. “I think Gaston’s a very good player,” Boeheim said. “You’ll probably see him average 20, 22 points per game. We just made it difficult for him to get easy shots in there.” Smith was one of four freshmen to play significant minutes for Fordham. Guard Fatty McMillan started the game and had seven points and three assists. Center Ryan Canty and forward Luka Zivkovic each played nine minutes. “They’re going to get time and they’ve got to play to improve on their mistakes and that’s how they’re going to get better and be good enough later in the year,” Pecora said. After losing its season opener for the third straight season, Fordham will open its home schedule at the Rose Hill Gym on Friday, Nov. 18 when it takes on Binghamton. Binghamton lost its first two games to Colgate and Cornell to start the season after going 8-23 last season in the America East Conference.
Women’s Basketball Commits 30 Turnovers, Loses Opener By MATT ROSENFELD STAFF WRITER
The Lady Rams opened their season last Friday night, falling to the Albany Great Danes, 59-42. Fordham started the game quickly, getting out to an early seven-point lead and scoring on each of its first four possessions. Junior guard Arielle Collins hit two early 3-pointers, contributing to the Lady Rams’ quick start. The lead did not last long, however. Halfway through the first half, Albany started pressuring Fordham heavily, leading to many turnovers. The two teams had met two previous times, with Fordham winning both games, most recently last year’s 48-43 win in Albany. “You’re playing against a team with a lot of experience,” Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “They returned four starters and we returned one. We made shots early, but what got exposed was our inexperience. Our inexperience with handling the press, our lack of game time experience from last year made it tough on us.” Albany then went on a 16-0 run to take the lead, which it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. It took the Lady Rams six minutes between baskets during the run, but the team remained close, cutting the
lead to 23-20 late in the first half. This was then followed by a 10-4 Albany run to close the first half, leaving the Lady Rams trailing 33-24 at the break. A bright spot for Fordham came with 18:44 remaining, when senior guard Becky Peters scored her 1000th career point with a layup. “It definitely felt great, and it was even better because a lot of my friends and family were there,” Peters said. “Of course I wish the game had gone better, but it was absolutely a great feeling.” Peters became just the 15th player to score 1,000 points at Fordham, and the first since Mobolaji Akiode, GSB ’03, in 2003. Fordham and Albany traded baskets early in the second half, until midway in the half when freshman guard Taryn Durant provided a spark with a threepoint play. Sophomore guard Abigail Corning, who finished the game with a career-high 14 points, continued the run with a basket that brought the Lady Rams within four points, 42-38, with eight minutes left in the game. Turnovers got the best of the Lady Rams late, however, preventing them from finishing the comeback effort. Albany then finished the game on a 17-4 run. Fordham finished the game with
30 total turnovers. “It was a tough game,” Peters said. “There was a lot of potential, but we had 30 turnovers. You can’t win with that many turnovers. The good news is that we can fi x that.” Even with the opening game defeat, the Lady Rams are optimistic about the rest of the season. “We’re a work in progress, and I’m going to focus on the positive things,” Gaitley said of her team. “We played hard, now we got to combine that with playing smarter. Our motto is passion with a purpose. We had the passion, but we didn’t really have the purpose Friday.” The Lady Rams also had some trouble on the boards Friday night. Although they did out rebound Albany, 37-32, highlighted by Peters’ 10 rebounds, Fordham lost some key offensive rebounds to the Great Danes. “We allowed way too many second shots and way too many opportunities off of turnovers,” Gaitley said. Second-chance opportunities and turnovers were clearly the difference in the game, as 46 of Albany’s 59 points came off of either turnovers or offensive rebounds. Gaitley said that her team is ready to learn from the loss and continue on with their season.
PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM
Becky Peters scored her 1,000 point at Fordham in a losing effort on Friday.
“We learned, and now we have to continue to get better in practices between games,” Gaitley said. “The problem against Albany was that out of the 10 practices we had before the game, maybe two of them were good,” she said.
“That has to change. We need that to be eight good practices. We need to get better everyday.” The Lady Rams continue their season on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at home against Cleveland State. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.