Volume 93 Issue 22

Opinions PAGE 7

Culture PAGE 11

Sports PAGE 15

Major flaws in GRE hurt students applying to graduate schools.

The best ways to spend your holidays in New York City.

Fordham fires football coach Tom Pecora after one-win season.

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2011

NOVEMBER30, 2011

VOLUME 93, ISSUE 22

Paralyzed Student Sues Fordham

By CONNIE KIM NEWS EDITOR

Kei Usami, GSB ’13, became paralyzed from his neck down after he fell from his lofted bed in Finlay Hall back in February while intoxicated. Usami’s story became known when New York Post published an article regarding the incident on Nov. 14.

“Back on Feb. 20, I fell off from my lofted bed in Finlay Hall,” Usami said. “I was taken to St. Barnabas, but they said I had to have an immediate surgery or else I would not be able to walk forever.”

Usami claims that he does not remember anything — the fall, the transportation or the surgery — up until this point.

“When I woke up, I tried to move in my bed, but I couldn’t,” Usami said. “I was able to raise my arms, but my hands were closed and my fingers were all curled in. My legs were so heavy; it felt like they were steel. I was in the ICU for about two weeks, then taken to the stepdown unit for about three to four SEE PARALYZED ON PAGE 3

By CONNIE KIM NEWS EDITOR

nee must possess in order to have a chance at winning the presidency.

“One is for candidates to try and show that they are solidly conservative candidates in line with the values of the Republican base,” Fleisher said.

“Second is the thread that candidates try to show that they are electable and most likely to beat President Obama in the general election. And so, we see these two things, both electability and being on the right side of issues that are important to the Republican base, affecting the strategies of all of the candidates involved.”

Fleisher suggested that the inability of one candidate to meet these

Dr. Kirsten Swinth, an associate professor in the history department, is currently working on a book which will be titled Competitive Society: Forging the Working Family in America. In her research, Swinth is at work on a cultural history of the working mother in the United States since 1950. She focuses on the transformation in the American workforce since World War II and explores the ways that the entrance of women, particularly mothers, not only transformed the work place, but also remade American families.

The fellowship and grants the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship awarded her in 2007, a travel grant from the Sophia Smith Collection in 2008 and a Research Support Grant from the Arthur & Elizabeth Schlesinger Library in 2008, enabled her to embark on her research.

“It started out as a book about the working mother and the ways that working mothers were what I consider, like, ‘lightning rods,’ which are the figures that became focal points for all kinds of controversies in American culture since the period after World War II,” Swinth said. “I explored all of these controversies around the fact that more and more mothers were going to work and began to discover that those controversies had a lot to do with how roles in families were changing, what kind of policies would be in place to support families in the workplace and how people’s expectations about their lives were shifting.”

Swinth’s research interests center on gender history, cultural history and U.S. visual culture. Her longtime interest in women and work made her begin her research on this topic.

“I wrote a book before about American women artists and looked at how women in the late 1800s and in early 1900s managed to make careers as artists, such as how they went to art school and studied in Paris and sold their works in galleries and exhibitions and made a living as artists,” Swinth said. “So I have always had an interest in that.

And I began to think about this project also at a time when I had young children and I was really in the midst of taking care of small children myself.”

During the time she started research, there were a lot of books

SEE ELECTION ON PAGE 2

SEE RESEARCH ON PAGE 3

COURTESY OF KEI USAMI

Kei Usami, GSB ‘13, became paralyzed after falling off from his bed in Finlay Hall in February while intoxicated.

Russ Talks Pro-Life Ethics in the Media

By KAREN HILL STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF RAM ARCHIVES

RHA has replaced local pizza eatery Pugsley’s pizza for future Fordham events.

RHA Replaces Pugsley’s in Food Programming

By EMILY ARATA ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

After a series of financial mishaps with Pugsley’s temporarily left the Residence Halls Association (RHA) stranded, RHA has chosen to work with other food service locations in the neighborhood.

“There was an issue with Accounts Payable where the charges weren’t lining up with the records they had,” Elisa DiMauro, FCRH ’12 and president of the RHA executive board, said. “So they sent out a memo to all the Fordham departments and asked them to stop invoicing from Pugsley’s.”

When RHA orders food for

Professor Researches History of Working Mother

its programs, it chooses to use invoices on orders made several days ahead of time to avoid having each individual front the money him or herself and go through the reimbursement process. According to DiMauro, using invoices adds a great deal of convenience and ease to the process of organizing programs. ““If an invoice isn’t set up, our residents have to use their own money to get reimbursed,” DiMauro said. “So invoices are easier.”

Even though the invoice process has caused discrepancies between the amount of food ordered and the final charge, DiMauro SEE PUGSLEY’S ON PAGE 2

On Monday, Nov. 21, Fordham’s Respect for Life group hosted a lecture by broadcast journalist, Dick Russ. The Emmy Award-winning managing editor and news anchor of Cleveland’s NBC affiliate WKYC-TV, Channel 3, has worked in journalism for over 35 years. In this time, he has witnessed the growing trend of pro-choice dominance in the media.

Russ was raised Catholic and his father was one of 17 children.

As a result, he is a “pro-lifer” who refuses to conform to the majority view in the media industry.

“We had a very good spiritual life in our family and a very good balance of the sanctity of life,” Russ said.

“When you try and analyze it objectively, even when you are raised in that milieu, you know that it is right and it is always true,” he said.

Russ’s lecture delved into the controversy of pro-life versus pro-choice. He introduced the subject by presenting the staSEE PRO-LIFE ON PAGE 3

Professor Analyzes Presidential Race

By EDDIE MIKUS STAFF WRITER

Between now and November 2012, the American media will be dominated by names including Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul.

These are several of the Republicans seeking to take down the incumbent President Barack Obama in next year’s election.

Fordham political science professor Richard Fleisher tried to explain it all in an interview with The Ram. Fleisher believes that there are two qualities any Republican nomi-

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Professor Analyzes Presidential Candidates

Nov. 15, Loschert Hall, 12:20 a.m.

An unknown person pulled a fire alarm in Stairway B. The building was evacuated and the FDNY responded. There was no fire and the alarm was reset.

Security is still investigating the incident.

Nov. 17, Lorillard Avenue, 11:30 p.m.

A fire alarm was activated due to steam in the basement of the building. There was no fire and the FDNY responded. The boiler room corrected the condition.

Nov. 19, Crotona Avenue, 2:15 a.m.

Two students were at a party when they left their purses on a chair in the apartment. During the party a student discovered a Droid cell phone and BlackBerry were taken from the purses during the party.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Nov. 19, O’Hare Hall, 4:20 a.m.

A student became stuck in an elevator on the third floor. After being stuck for several minutes, the elevator corrected itself and traveled to the first floor, where the student left unharmed. The elevator company corrected the condition soon after.

Nov. 19, Tierney Hall, 2:45 p.m.

A student returned from the laundry room and found an individual in his room going through his wallet. Security was notified and the individual was taken to the security office and arrested by the NYPD for burglary.

Nov. 20, Lombardi Center, 2:30 p.m.

A student placed his bag on the steps of the Lombardi Center and returned about an hour later.

He did not check the contents of the bag until around midnight, when he discovered his iPod was missing from the bag.

Nov. 21, Southern Boulevard, 6:30 p.m.

A person parked his/her car and returned to find their passenger side window was broken and that a GPS was taken from the car.

Nov. 22, East Fordham Road, 5:50 p.m.

A student was walking to campus when he was approached by a male and asked for money.

The male said, “I have a gun and a needle. Give me your money.”

The student gave the male $5 and the individual fled. A search of the area by the NYPD and Security was met with negative results.

— Compiled by Brian Kraker, News Editor

Dr. Richard Fleisher, political science professor at Fordham, analyzes the presidential candidates for upcoming race in 2012 in an interview with a Ram reporter.

ELECTION, FROM PAGE 1

two qualities has contributed to the still-wide open field.

“None of the candidates has proved adept at both of those things.

We have some candidates who are well positioned, vis-à-vis the Republican base, but polls suggest they may not be the strongest in terms of electability,” Fleisher said.

When asked to name a winner, Fleisher said that he currently thought that it would be Romney, but emphasized that everything relating to the election was open to change.

“I think it’s still a pretty fluid situation,” Fleisher said. “Nobody has been able to really firmly position themselves as the alternative to Mitt Romney. Romney has remained at the top of most polls, but he has not been able to expand his support among Republicans.”

Fleisher believes that the economy will play a greater role than social issues in the upcoming election.

“2012 is not going to be overtly

a fight about social issues,” Fleisher said. “It’s going to be about economics, it’s going to be about jobs, it’s going to be about the condition of the economy, it’s going to be about the nation’s debt, it’s going to be about the growing class divide in American society.”

Fleisher also said, however, that the Republican candidate would not be immune from issues regarding morality.

“Moral values are there; they’re underneath the surface. Any Republican candidate is going to have to be on the right side of the party’s moral values platform,” Fleisher said.

Fleisher stated that the condition of the economy has left the future Republican nominee relatively wellpositioned to win the general election.

“I think the President is very vulnerable in the general election, in part because of the condition of the economy and continued economic uncertainty,” Fleischer said. “The

President’s approval ratings are lower than what we would typically expect for a President who’s going to win reelection.”

According to Fleisher, this fact will shape both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns.

“The Republicans are going to want to make the general election a kind of referendum on the President and the President’s performance in office,” Fleisher said. “The President is going to try to make this a twocandidate race. And the more ideologically extreme the Republican candidate is, the more the President will try to argue that the Republican candidate is out of the mainstream of American politics.”

Fleisher said that a Republican faction known as the Tea Party would be more significant in choosing the nominee than winning the general election.

“I think the Tea Party will play a meaningful role in the selection of the Republican nominee,” Fleischer

RHA Replaces Pugsley’s during Programs PUGSLEY’S, FROM PAGE 1

believes that the system has been successful.

“They’ve been using invoicing for awhile,” Di Mauro said. “I think [Pugsley’s is] a unique circumstance. But invoicing is really helpful, especially for just the ease of ordering. So I don’t think it’s anything they would be getting rid of.”

Although there is no official Fordham University ban on the Fordham favorite, RHA was advised to avoid using invoices because of overcharged fees from Pugsley’s, according to DiMauro.

RHA, which oversees the creation and execution of events both in specific dormitories in addition to those on a campus-wide scale, was not the only move to change policies based on the discrepancies.

“I think as far as ResLife [goes], they do a lot of food programming, and RHA does as well,” Di-

Mauro said. “I think we were one of the bigger hits, but a bunch of different clubs and a lot of departments use Pugsley’s for different things, so I think it happened to everybody.”

Instead of relying on the pizzeria, RHA has chosen to make new contacts with food establishments in the Fordham area.

“We set up an invoice at China City for Chinese food,” DiMauro said. “We have an invoice set up at Tino’s for subs and such, and then for pizza we have an invoice with University.”

Soon after the Pugsley’s memo, Fordham followed up with a second memo regarding Simon’s Deli as a food provider for events.

“We got a notification that Simon’s was okay to use, and then we got one that said they weren’t okay to use,” DiMauro said. “We used Simon’s for Midnight Breakfasts, and there was no problem using them for that, but they said

[for] anything after midnight breakfasts not to use them. I couldn’t tell you why.”

Individual students may still order from Simon’s Deli and Pugsley’s. University programs may use them on the assumption that they pay up front instead of using the invoice system.

“They’re still allowed to deliver on campus,” DiMauro said.

“Fordham students are obviously still allowed to go there. If a Fordham club wants to pay and order Pugsley’s, they are allowed to do that.”

Since the incident, RHA has not utilized Pugsley’s for programs run by the executive and general boards. RHA has been utilizing creative programming, however.

“I don’t think we’ve had even an opportunity to consider Pugsley’s,” said DiMauro. “The programming that we’ve done this year has been more creative than just food programming.”

said. “I think what has happened is that the Tea Party has basically been co-opted into the Republican Party, so it’s now a constituency of the Republican Party.”

He added that the Tea Party had successfully increased focus on debt as a Republican issue.

Fleisher believes that simply winning the presidency will not be enough for one party to control public policy.

“I think, in general, we expect way too much of presidents and what presidents can accomplish,” Fleisher said. “The American political system is a fractured political system. It’s hard to move it [in] unison under the direction of any single individual.”

He cited the example of the Senate, where 60 votes are often needed to prevent filibusters on legislation.

Fleisher does not believe the Republicans could gain a filibuster-proof majority, which would then contribute to continued gridlock within the government.

THIS

week at FORDHAM Thurs., Dec. 1 Cinevents!: The Smurfs Campus Acitivies Board, Keating First, 9-11 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 3 Woodbury Commons Trip Campus Activities Board, McGinley Lobby, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sun., Dec. 4 Holiday Performance Extravaganza

Collins Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Mon., Dec. 5 Improv Everywhere Keating Third, 7 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 6 Gingerbread House Making Rodrigue’s Coffee House, 3-5 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 6 Cinevents!: Elf Keating First, 9 p.m.

NEWS

Paralyzed Student Sues Fordham PARALYZED, FROM PAGE 1

days. After that, I moved to Mt. Sinai Hospital for rehabilitation purposes. That’s when I realized I couldn’t sit still or control my balance […] I really didn’t know how severe this injury was. I thought I could go back to school in couple of weeks. I was there for 60 days, and I moved to Hospital for Special Care up in New Britain, Conn., for more rehab.”

In the Post article, the reporter accuses Fordham of “putting three students into dorm rooms designed for two people,” but this was not the case, since Finlay Hall offers rooms that are designed for three students.

There has been a lawsuit that blames Fordham for neglecting to install guardrails on the beds. Fordham, however, offers guardrails for beds two feet above ground upon request.

“I did not know that Fordham offered guardrails for beds two feet above ground,” Marina Kobayashi, FCRH ’14, said. “I think the majority of other students never heard of that, either. Although I do not real-

ly care about having guardrails for my bunk bed, but I bet that many students would have requested if the University advertised more about offering guardrails.”

According to Post, the court records show that Fordham blames Usami for the incident due to his voluntary consumption of large amounts of alcohol, which is against Fordham’s drinking policy.

Jeffery Gray, vice president for Student Affairs, was unable to comment on this matter due to the pending legal action against the University, and Fordham administrators are also limited in what they can say by Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requirements.

“Taking notes and writing is still difficult because my right fingers are not moving so well,” Usami said. “Commuting from Connecticut to the Bronx, taking classes four days a week and going to rehab for twice a week is not an easy thing to do. But I have to do it because I want to get back on my feet, play tennis and attend my graduation in 2013, walking.”

Working Mothers’ Roles Have Evolved

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Dr. Kirsten Swinth, an associate history professor, conducts research on cultural history of the working mother in the United States since 1950.

RESEARCH, FROM PAGE 1

out that were linked to so-called “mommy wars,” which were about conflicts between working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

“I became interested as a historian in understanding why those conflicts were so intense and what were the historical roots of them,” Swinth said.

According to Swinth, the working mother is at the center of three revolutions of the last half century.

First, she embodies a major social revolution: the transformation in gender roles in U.S. society. She is also the engine of a fundamental economic revolution: the emergence of a postindustrial economic order. Finally, the working mother is at the heart of a cultural revolution: the disintegration of ideologies of separate spheres of work and home for men and women.

Historians have written at length on the cultural and social order created by the first industrial revolution of the 19th century; they have yet to come to terms with the new order accompanying post-industrialism. Swinth argues that we must

look to the figure of the working mother.

Swinth not only looks at the working mother, but also many developments that took place within the United States to better explain her research.

“I look, for example, at the debate over the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s,” Swinth said. “I look at what feminist activists in the early 1970s had to say about the need for child care as more women started to enter the work force. I look at debates about the economy in the early 1980s when we faced another serious economic recession, pretty much like the one we are in right now in the middle of this period.

There was enormous pressure on American families, and it became clear that mothers were central to a family’s well-being. So I [also] look at the debate about the economy and women’s labor in that period.”

Her forthcoming book offers a fresh approach to this topic by showing how working mothers have been a “lightning rod” for deeper transformations in American culture and society.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Russ Talks Pro-Life Ethics in the Media RUSS, FROM PAGE 1

tistics from various major news sources such as The New York Times and ABC News that conclude that the public is generally evenly split in its views of prolife and pro-choice.

Major news sources have a large disparity, however, with 79 percent of media outlets identified as pro-choice, or rather “pro-abortion,” in Russ’s disdainful words.

Russ discussed how pro-choice bias is prevalent in the media, especially in bold headlines.

“ABC News: ‘Abortion Foes Seek to Lure Staff into Legal Limbo and Deceptive Calls’[...]

Dallas Morning News (which has won awards for its ‘unbiased religious reporting’): Protest Stifled Abortion Foes to Change Tactics’[...] New York Times: ‘Abortion Foes Reveal Deceptive Tactics’” Russ quoted.

These headlines from mainstream media outputs intrinsically have a bias toward pro-choice, evident in words with negative connotations such as “foes” and “deceptive tactics.” Speaking on behalf of all pro-lifers, at times Russ feels that life issues are too often dismissed.

For further example, Russ discussed the scant coverage of major movements, such as the March for Life every January, in Washington, D.C. Having screened many major news stations, he is fully aware of this particular event’s neglect.

The pro-choice voice has been on the rise since the seventies, in the wake of 1973’s Roe v. Wade, where it was decided that women are entitled to abortions.

Young impressionable journalists coming into the media industry have grown up in a society where abortion is relatively acceptable.

Without firm beliefs set within themselves, “there is great pressure in society in general, and in

COURTESY OF AMY GEMBARA

Fordham’s Respect for Life hosted Dick Russ, a broadcast journalist on Nov. 21.

Russ discussed the growing trend of pro-choice dominance in the media.

nuts, nut jobs, anti-life radicals, hypocrites and people who should have been aborted themselves,” Russ said.

Journalists are in control of what is shown in the media, but pro-life advocates can control how they are portrayed, through wise choices of actions and words.

“What you need is the cooperation of as many people as possible in an effort to bring out more accurate and balanced news media coverage,” Russ said.

Pro-life advocates need to

“We had a very good spiritual life in our family and a very good balance of the sanctity of life.”

— DICK RUSS

journalistic circles to conform,” Russ said via email correspondence.

According to Russ, conforming to the mass view is perpetuated not only through the pressure of society, but also by the judgment of employers.

“If you make a very strong-life position known, you may have that job nixed before you even apply for it,” Russ said warningly.

“We [pro-life advocates] are cavalierly dismissed in the newsroom as cuckoos, right-wing

make a cumulative effort within an organized movement and keep the message consistent and on target. If there are large disparities between various parties’ ideas, reporters will gladly twist the spots of weakness in favor of pro-choice on the news.

According to Russ, pro-life advocates need to be pro-active.

Something as simple as turning off the TV when one does not like what one is viewing greatly affects networks.

Since 2010, the viewership of the evening news, which was

approximately 21.5 million, dropped by over 1 million.

“The major networks are being turned off in droves by the American public who correctly sense the slant and the twist of what they are being fed every night, not just on life issues,” Russ said.

Pro-life advocates can affect media coverage in more proactive ways by writing to various networks and publications with a “credible rebuttal” to what they felt was biased.

Through his own experience in the newsroom, Russ said he has seen the difference one email can make.

Russ’s final word of advice was to be prepared for reporters who may approach pro-lifers at a liferelated event.

“You represent yourself and the cause,” Russ said. With this responsibility, one must anticipate any reporter’s question and respond with a concise and educated answer.

Russ stated that pro-life advocates may have an “audience of a million but [are] only trying to reach one person.”

The lecture’s audience, mostly members of the Respect for Life club, found it encouraging and motivating, having felt dismissed on campus themselves.

“As a communication major learning about issues in media in class and coming here and learning that my views are quieted, I want to change this perception [of pro-life advocates],” Megan Langston, FCRH ’14, said.

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

ADVERTISING

FORDHAM Little Italy Gardens NEWLY CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS LOCATED ON BELMONT, HUGHES, AND HOFFMAN ST. ALL JUST ONE (1) BLOCK OFF FORDHAM ROAD

BRAND NEW 1 & 2 BR APARTMENTS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR FORDHAM STUDENTS FUTURE OCCUPANCY AVAILABLE! PARKING SPOTS FOR RESIDENTS AND NON-RESIDENTS AVAILABLE! Amenities include: air conditioning, video intercom, dishwasher, microwave oven, and laundry facility on premises.

(347) 330-9190 Vlad (718) 364-5700 Main Office

NO FEE!!!

WWW. FORDHAMHOUSING.COM

ADVERTISING

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 5

Public Education to the Highest Degree Highly regarded doctoral programs The Graduate Center is the principal Ph.D.-granting institution of the City University of New York.

Many of the Graduate Center’s more than thirty doctoral programs are regularly ranked among the best in the country.

Renowned teacher-scholars Over the last decade, the Graduate Center has added dozens of world-class scholars to its already eminent faculty roster. Among their many recent awards are five Guggenheim Fellowships.

Fellowships for incoming students About 300 fellowships available to first-year students provide each recipient with $18,000–$24,000 a year for five years, plus tuition remission and low-cost health insurance.

The heart of New York City Located across from the Empire State Building in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan environments, the Graduate Center offers students a wide range of research opportunities and presents myriad cultural events.

Please visit www.gc.cuny.edu to learn more about this remarkable institution.

Office of Admissions CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 Phone: 1-212-817-7470 admissions@gc.cuny.edu

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN Win a Europe trip for two Enter at:

Contiki.com/christmascountdown While you may have stopped believing in Santa, he never stopped believing in you. To prove it, this Christmas Kris Kringle himself is making a special delivery. One lucky winner will receive a Contiki trip for two! Plus, every Monday Mrs. Claus is throwing in weekly stocking stuffers. ‘Tis the season for giving - let the countdown begin!

NOW OPEN! NYC-Upper West Side 2152 Broadway at 76th Street

212-873-4001

College Student Discount Must show valid college ID. Exclusions may apply; visit store for details.

Visit our

NYC–SoHo location at Spring & Broadway 212-966-8730

Over 200 trips worldwide CST#1001728-20

ADVERTISING

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

LOVE is it!

What can we say? It has been a pleasure working with him and we hope that when he makes it big he won’t forget us. And, therefore, we say that Steve is a man with class, intelligence, professionalism, and also has been patient with me - and I appreciate it very much. So we wish for him to go out there and conquer the world. Because people like Steve make this world just a little better.

From Sal and the Pugsley staff.

To Steve.

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

– President Theodore Roosevelt

A double dose of beauty but two individual classy ladies with great personalities!

What is Chris going to do without Steve?!?

Happy, beautiful, and enthusiastic. That’s who they are. And if I might say, they love Pugsley’s eat-ups!

She spells beauty with her smile!

590 E. 191st Steet • Fast Delivery ($5 Minimum) • (718) 365-0327 • www.pugsleypizza.com Mon. — Sat. 11 a.m. - 3 a.m. • Sun. — 2 p.m. - 3 a.m.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

PAGE 7

Attitudes Must Change to Fight Racial Oppression

By REYNOLD GRAHAM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As a student coordinator in the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, I encounter many students interested in serving the Bronx community.

Oftentimes, they are looking for a service opportunity where they can volunteer their time for a few hours a week. Volunteering is a great way to get involved in a local community, and it is something Fordham does very well. In fact, just this year the Huffington Post ranked Fordham sixth in the nation for colleges that give back, which is certainly an honor of which to be proud.

It would be naïve of me to believe that this honor is in any way enough.

If part of our mission as a Jesuit University is truly to make a difference in the surrounding communities, we need to look beyond just volunteering and begin standing for justice.

Social justice has become a colloquial term seemingly used to describe the need to promote equality on the behalf of underprivileged communities.

Fordham as a community needs to take this definition a step further.

First of all, using the term “justice” implies that injustice exists.

Injustice has occurred in the past, and unjust living conditions continue to exist today.

To combat injustice, justice work needs to begin by acknowledging the systems that oppress people and examining how we as individuals play a role in these systems. As Fordham students, we are extremely privileged to be able to receive a post-secondary education; however, the educa-

tion system in the United States is unjust because it fails to adequately educate its citizens.

There are many reasons these systems are unjust, but issues of race, gender and heternormativity, to name a few, are primarily at the root.

In the lives of many Bronx residents, race in particular plays a large role in perpetuating injustices and influencing the systems they navigate on a daily basis.

Race has an ugly history in the United States, and because of this, it is something we avoid tackling in real conversations. A discussion about race and privilege is imperative to understanding why these volunteer opportunities exist in these communities of color in the first place.

This issue of race is of particular importance to the Fordham community, because the majority of Fordham students volunteering in the Bronx are white. Before entering communities of color to engage in justice work, white students need to understand the existing systems of injustice and also how they themselves directly benefit from these systems.

Every day, there are privileges white people enjoy in this country and globally that may go unnoticed. Fordham is not exempt from perpetuating these privileges.

At Fordham white students can: • Attend a party without the possibility of being mistaken for a “local.”

• Attend a large-scale event (e.g. President’s Ball) and count on the music and culture of their race to be represented.

• Never be expected to speak solely on behalf of their racial group in a classroom.

RAM ARCHIVES

Fordham students tend to focus on social justice, but acknowledging systemic guilt is an important part of the process.

• Anticipate that the person in authority in any given situation on campus will be a person of their race.

• Walk past a security booth without being seen as a potential threat to the Fordham community.

These are just a few small privileges white students enjoy on this particular campus, and I would challenge the Fordham community as a whole to consider those privileges white people enjoy even outside our gates.

Although white students benefit from many unearned privileges, it is important to reiterate that white students are not responsible for systematic racism, but it is the system itself that presents

them with these advantages. It is even more important to realize the great impact white students can have in deconstructing these unjust systems.

Being an ally is one of the best things one can do to stand in solidarity with a group that has experienced oppression. To be an ally to people of color in the Bronx community, white students can begin by first acknowledging their own privilege. There needs to be an understanding of how privilege for some has perpetuated a system of oppression for others. Students can then collectively challenge the unjust systems that exist by realizing their own power to change the systems with which we interact.

Regardless of racial background, we all play a role in systems that oppress others. I challenge you to consider what your role is as a Fordham student in the system of racial oppression.

Consider other forms of oppression that perpetuate the status quo and what we as a community can do to address them.

Realizing our place of privilege within an unjust system can indeed be a heavy burden to carry; however, we should view this as an amazing opportunity to be men and women for and with others and deconstruct systems of oppression together.

Reynold Graham, FCRH ’12, is a sociology major from Englewood, N.J.

International Students’ Numbers Increase around the Country

By PATRICK MULLEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The United States of America has always been a land of opportunity. More than perhaps any other nation in the world’s history, this country has become home to a variety of races and ethnicities for centuries. One can see why the U.S. is referred to as a “melting pot”; diversity enlivens the city of New York as well as American universities.

The fact is that more and more foreign students are coming to American universities. While this has been a steadily increasing statistic for some time, 2010 saw a very large jump in numbers (a full eight percent increase), culminating in an all-time high of 723,277 students. Primarily, these students have been coming from two specific countries: China and Saudi Arabia.

As a freshman here at Fordham, I have already had a somewhat diverse experience with foreign students in high school.

My high school in Waukesha, Wisc. was very active in accept-

ing foreign-exchange students, and there was a fair number of South Korean students there. As I expected coming to college in New York City, there are plenty of international students. What surprised me, though, is that this is not specific only to Fordham, but applicable to American universities as a whole.

Qisheng Qian, GSB ’15, a finance major and native to China, spoke about why he thought this is the case.

“In China, most students think American education is better,” Qisheng said.

He said that they learn this at a fairly young age. This does not surprise me, mostly because English has become almost a necessity in the eyes of many well-educated foreign people. Qisheng, for instance, speaks English well.

One must also look at China

as a whole to fully understand the desire to come to America to study. As Qisheng explained, the Chinese economy is rapidly growing, as one might expect in the most populated country in the entire world.

That, combined with low wages in China for non-college graduates, makes American uni-

though he amended his statement by noting that not all can afford it. That being said, I am somewhat surprised at the rising numbers of foreign students enrolling at American universities, considering that the prices of tuition are also rising.

Foreign students’ arrival in America for college is good for all students.

If a student is smart enough to attend a good university, then they should be able to.

It is unfortunate that so much of being able to go to college is having enough money. It is also unfortunate that opportunities have so much to do with where one is born in the world.

Saudi Arabian and Chinese students are coming to American colleges because they offer more opportunities for their fu-

“The recent trend in foreign students shows that the world is changing. While perfect equality is certainly not present (and arguably impossible, I suppose), where one is born is starting to become less of a factor in a student’s future.” versities all the more appealing for one who wishes to make money, if indeed American education is the best education.

According to Qisheng, many people in China, perhaps even most students, would be willing to come to America for college,

tures.

The recent trend in foreign students shows that the world is changing. While perfect equality is certainly not present (and arguably impossible, I suppose), where one is born is starting to become less of a factor in a student’s future. Being born in another country does not always have to be a hindrance.

Ultimately — with the help of scholarship offers universities have — the smartest and most deserving students should be able to go to the best universities.

In turn, as students from around the world attend universities in the United States, all students benefit from increased diversity, new points of view and interaction with other great minds. As it should be, work ethic and intelligence is beginning to become a way to earn scholarships and help students from around the world afford American tuition.

Patrick Mullen, FCRH ’15, is an English major from Delafield, Wisc.

PAGE 8 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 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 Editor 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 Patrick Derocher Abigail Forget Taylor Engdahl Tom Haskin Olivia Monaco Veronica Torok Hussein Safa Cas Black 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 Nick Carroll, Editor-in-Chief I’m sure everyone has that uncle in his or her family. When he opens his mouth, you roll your eyes. Rarely does he say anything of value, and he personifies the downsides of family get-togethers.

With plans to spend Thanksgiving with that uncle in my family, I was prepared for the worst. For the most part, my basement-level expectations were met, aside from one moment just before dinner.

While it may be cheesy — and I’m sure it was said at Thanksgiving dinners throughout the country — that uncle reminded my family that, while times are tough and most of the news around us is negative, we ought to be thankful for what we do have.

While I have spent much of the last three years disenchanted with this city, this school and this world at large, I really do consider myself lucky. Everything may not be ideal, but that’s life. Everyone’s issues vary in degree of severity, but it’s important to be thankful for what we do have in our lives that make them so special and to not focus on the negatives.

Personally, I’ve been blessed with

some pretty special people in my life.

With this being my last opportunity to shout from this soap box, I’d like to thank a lot of those people who have been with me through hell and high water over the years and found ways to keep life fun.

I’ll start with Celeste and Patrick.

Around this time last year when our staff came together, they both acted completely selflessly, and I could not be more appreciative of their contributions and dedication.

Even though they do not go to Fordham and I do not see them on a day-to-day basis, I owe a great deal to some of my friends from home.

First is Jim, who I’ve known for about as long as I can remember. Although I’m technically an only child, I look to you as my older brother.

Whenever life seems to get complicated and dicey, you always find a way to simplify the most difficult situations and find fun in them.

Pat, thanks for constantly bringing me back down. Even though being the ultimate reality check doesn’t seem like much fun, it always has been.

Then there’s Vinny, who finds a way of turning every drive into some

kind of soul-searching exploration of character and life. Even though it often leads to butting heads, knowing you provide some depth to life that most people fail to explore.

I’ve also been lucky enough to meet some pretty awesome people here at Fordham.

While I’m usually pretty quiet, my roommate Erik is subjected to me voicing all my bullshit and, for whatever reason, he actually seems to listen to it all. I can’t count the times I’ve needed to rant and he’s heard me out. Thanks, Wiz. In the same vein, I’ve been lucky to have essentially grown up with Brian. Thanks for challenging me as a thinker more than any class ever could and just as much for adding a level of eccentricity to my life that no one else could even imagine. You’ve always made things interesting.

Also, thanks to Brendan, Neil and Mike for always managing to keep the mood light and a smile on my face, no matter how stressed I was. I look forward to returning to the fun Tuesday nights.

In one final cliché, I’d like to thank Mom and Dad. Mom, thanks for always being the

backbone of our family. I probably don’t deserve you, but growing up I needed you. I know it has not been easy and rarely has been fun, but no matter how tough things got you always supplied the kick in the ass or the shoulder on which I needed to cry.

Finally, I’d like to thank my dad.

Even though you went too soon, a day doesn’t go by without me thinking of you. You pushed me and challenged me academically and as a person. You taught me what it means to be a man through both your words and your actions. Through my many memories, I continue to learn from you every day.

Even though Thanksgiving continues to become more and more of an afterthought, it still holds a lot of value to me. Thanks for reading this, as well as The Ram, and good luck to Connie Kim and the rest of the Volume 94 staff.

EDITORIAL: A Fond Farewell With this week’s issue, Volume 93 draws to a close, and while the contributions of all our writers and editors are evident in each issue, the work of one staff member may go unseen, but never unnoticed.

Dr. Jonathan Sanders, visiting assistant professor of communication and media studies, officially served as an advisor to The Ram during the first half of Volume 93, but his guidance and insight can be seen with the turn of each page. At the end of this semester, Sanders will leave Fordham University, leaving behind a legacy as a dynamic proctor in the classroom and a committed mentor outside of it.

Sanders did not serve merely as an advisor, but also as a mentor. Rarely a week would pass when Sanders did not stop an editor while walking across campus to give him or her the next big scoop. Sanders always knew what article each writer had penned and was happy to discuss them, to critique them and to teach.

Sanders’ style of advising does not involve sitting in an ivory tower, bestowing knowledge from afar. He was personal and always involved, marking up rough drafts of articles and finished copies of the newspaper during meetings with members of the editorial staff. Even when he presumed his job to be done, Sanders willingly

answered late-night emails on production nights and offered his critiques and criticism when they were needed most.

This volume clearly bears the style of our advisor. Sanders was always the first to come to us with a lead on a story and rumors that needed investigating. He taught us to dip our pens in acid and paint our pages with scathing critiques of our university, not to politely ask for reform. Sanders encouraged us never to become complacent with our paper but to push out boundaries and speak our minds. He was always the first to defend the paper from criticism and the first to offer critiques when we made mistakes.

Although you were only our official advisor for a semester, your impact will still be seen for volumes to come.

So, Professor Sanders, thank you. Thank you for all the hours you spent teaching, for the stories you shared and the advice you gave. Thank you. We wish you the best of luck, and just know that the halls of The Ram office will forever be a little less bright without you and your snazzy suspenders.

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.

Letter to the Editor Dear Editor: Though there may not be a consensus on the validity of race-based affirmative action in Dr. Mark Naison’s senior seminar, Affirmative Action and the American Dream, we seem to agree on the idea that something must be done in order to minimize the gap between the wealthy and the disadvantaged in our country. Rather than simply discussing social issues, several members of our class have committed to a project through which we will focus specifically on the issue of educational access. Studying affirmative action has given us background knowledge of the inequities in educational access that exist in our country. Many capable young people do not have the chance to attend a four-year university for financial reasons. Many others do not even graduate high school because they attend under-funded public schools in low-income neighborhoods.

We believe that it is Fordham’s responsibility as a Jesuit institution to make an effort to minimize these inequities through active involvement in the surrounding Bronx community.

“It is only logical for Fordham to extend its values of community and

brotherhood to the community that immediately surrounds us,” Angel Melendez, FCRH ’12 and a student in Naison’s class, said. “We want Fordham to follow their traditions of uplifting and educating poor communities.”

The members of our class who feel passionately about minimizing these inequities are preparing a proposal that we believe is a necessary initiative for Fordham to take. This program will involve the University’s adoption of the schools within the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus, located on Fordham Road, across the street from our Rose Hill Campus.

“Jesuits are known for being educators, and they should extend that tradition to Roosevelt,” Melendez said.

Theodore Roosevelt High School, which was first opened in 1919, had the lowest graduation rate — only three percent — in New York City in 2005 and was closed the following year. The building now houses six autonomous schools: Belmont Preparatory High School, West Bronx Academy for the Future, Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology, Fordham High School for the Arts, KAPPA International High School and the Bronx

High School for Law and Community Service, in what is called the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus. Though these schools have much higher graduation rates than Roosevelt High School’s meager three percent in 2005, they still range from only about 50 percent to around 80 percent, while some public high schools in more affluent communities boast graduation rates of 99 percent.

We intend for Fordham to become involved with these schools financially, and for University students to have an active presence in the schools, whether it is through tutoring or programs that will help students with the college application process. While some similar programs may already exist, we hope to expand them and increase involvement. We also intend for Fordham to recruit students from these high schools to apply to the University and ideally create a system that would guarantee a set number of spots for students from these high schools to attend Fordham each year. Some students in our class, like Drenica Camaj, FCRH ’12, know from experience that admission to a university is not always enough.

“I’m working on this project because I went to a high school very

similar to Roosevelt, and now going to Fordham, I’ve realized that I wasn’t prepared for college at all based on what I was taught in high school,” Camaj said.

We intend for our program to be more than just a quota system to guarantee that students from the Bronx attend Fordham University.

We also intend to help students prepare for their college experience.

We hope that once this program is put into action, in whatever form that may be, it will influence other schools to develop similar programs.

“We want to set a precedent that colleges should be more involved in their communities and should actively seek to help [students] who may be at a financial disadvantage,” Thomas Gill, FCRH ’12, another student from Professor Naison’s class who has committed himself to developing this program, said.

Though our immediate goal is to improve educational access in the Bronx community right outside our university’s gates, a long-term goal is to be the first university to adopt a high school in a nationwide effort to increase educational access in lowincome neighborhoods.

Thank you, Laura Dragonetti, FCRH ’12

OPINIONS

H Homeland Insecurities Ins Isabel Brown Nontraditional Campaigns’ Flaws This fall, the options on the stage of Republican candidates have weakened my hopes for a meaningful election year. Certainly, candidates with diverse skills are interesting and even useful in office. I wouldn’t mind another president from either party who designs buildings like Monticello in his spare time. But what leaves me baffled in this election cycle is how voters can support a candidate who possesses no political deftness whatsoever. Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann — even Mitt Romney with his yawn-inducing speeches — all embody the disappointing level of cluelessness that threatens the credibility of national politics today.

That’s not to say that ordinary Americans ought not run for president. I can’t help but observe, however, that the United States has historically suffered less when said “ordinary” American commanderin-chief has at least some inkling of how politics works (unlike Cain, most of whose top advisers quit recently due to his poor management skills).

Perhaps electing a president with a more substantial graduate education than an unaccredited law school that teaches that the Bible is equal to the Constitution in the American judicial system (here’s looking at you, Bachmann) would be less likely to be laughed out of the next economic summit at Davos by any nonProtestant heads of state, or Newt Gingrich, the more experienced but less morally constrained frontrunner of the week, could bond with Silvio Berlusconi and Dominique Strauss-Kahn over creative ways to commit adultery instead of austerity measures. Sarah Palin’s bus tour over the summer (“Driving Miss Crazy,” as Jon Stewart so aptly put it) turned the campaign trail into an unfunny joke.

The immaturity of these candidates in the Republican primary is making a mockery of the democratic system they so loudly tout as the best in the world. The “American exceptionalism” on which the primary candidates prides themselves apparently is guided by the stumbling rhetoric and uncoordinated agendas that any one of these candidates would bring us as president.

The campaigns we read of from American history, like those of JFK or Eisenhower, were notable for the resonance a candidate’s message had with voters and for the strength of their leadership. Yet the “nontraditional” campaign route which Republican candidates now find so thrilling is mostly exceptional for its illogic and selfishness.

I don’t understand what makes Americans turn up their noses at candidates who — for shame! — are clever enough to work both sides of the aisle and still have a common touch with the real, individual, noncorporate, voting public. It need not count against a candidate that they come from a wealthy, educated family any more than an impoverished one. Sadly, claiming ignorance, making a show of one’s hick roots, has become incomprehensibly more appealing than the shrewd and articulate leader we now desperately need.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 9

GREs Focused on Making Money, Not Aptitude

By CELESTE KMIOTEK EXECUTIVE EDITOR

It is the complaint of countless professors: Students are only worried about their grades. For four years, students do the assignments, write the papers, take the tests and go to office hours in the hope that, when the time comes to graduate, they will have a solid GPA and relationships with professors that are deep enough to garner a few recommendations for grad school.

Yet, for those students who wish to continue their studies in graduate school, this is not enough.

There is still one test that merely allows students to apply to any given school — the GRE. For $160, students are allowed to take a computer-based test measuring verbal and quantitative reasoning and analytical writing. Students can have the scores sent to as many as four institutions; sending the scores to any subsequent schools costs $23 each. For students who struggle in standardized testing, Kaplan, the self-proclaimed “proven leader in GRE prep,” charges between $499 for online video courses and $1,999 for one-on-one tutoring.

After four years and nearly $160,000 worth of being evaluated in at least 56 classes in order to meet the 124 credit graduation requirement, are these tests necessary?

Would not a transcript and a curriculum vitae tell colleges what specific areas students thrive in, while recommendations and supporting documents such as writing samples and research proposals point to students strengths and qualifications?

What does a $160+ standardized test add?

For Fordham’s graduate English program, the GRE does add something, but only as a part of a whole.

“When we assess applications, we look at all parts of the application seriously and in detail,” Dr. Eve Keller, English professor and director of graduate studies, said.

“We want to assess the candidate as a whole, and the GRE score is part of that whole.”

She stresses, however, that the GRE must be understood for what it is.

“As hitting a target from afar, it’s acceptable,” she said. “There is nothing fine-grained about its findings, and we are making decisions on the basis of a much more fine-grained analysis. Do I think the GREs distinguish between minds that are 500 level and 700 level? Yes. By and large, looked at from afar, these students have a different quality of mind. It cannot accurately register distinctions more subtle than that.”

Of course, many schools require not just the GRE General Test, but a subject test as well. For another $140, students can take tests in the fields into which they plan on go-

ing; unlike the GRE General Test, however, these aim to evaluate knowledge gained from memorizing information, not from critical reasoning and analysis. In fact, these tests subvert the goals of the General Test; by the tests’ standards, students in any given major should leave college with a certain body of knowledge. While this is true to an extent — one should hope that chemistry majors understand the periodic table, and that all English majors have a basic understanding of symbolism — the point of college is to think, not to memorize Macbeth’s soliloquies and all of hydrogen’s isotopes.

Keller sees the subject tests — and specifically the Literature in English test, which is required for Fordham’s English Ph.D. program — as similarly double-edged.

“If someone does really well on them, it’s great, but it’s much more common not to do well on them,” she said. “It might be different in chemistry, where there’s a particular body of knowledge to learn, but

facts, but low GRE scores would be an issue for us.”

He noted that, especially as the department admits several foreign students from colleges with which it is not familiar, and since the department does not heavily weigh such supporting documents as a writing sample, the GRE provides a good benchmark as to the quality of a student.

Furthermore, Weiss notes that the program’s generally high GRE scores, which, according to the Fordham Web site fall between 780 and 800 in quantitative reasoning (according to the old scoring system), increase the department’s prestige.

“We have thought about not requiring the GREs, and the reason why we currently require it is because we do have standards,” he said.

He is clear, however, that there is no definite number that students must reach; the program looks at students as a whole in the admissions process.

Students do not need to prove themselves to a test; they have already done this, several times over. Graduate admissions committees may appreciate the added criteria, but that does not mean that students should shell out money for courses and books just to increase their scores, in the hopes that they perform well enough on one day, for a few hours, that they will be admitted to graduate school; nor should they take survey classes simply to memorize enough facts to score well on a subject test.

Luckily, it seems that most professors understand that the GREs are not the be-all-end-all criteria for admitting students; however, this does not excuse the exorbitant fees that students must pay for tests that merely allow their applications to be complete. Students have enough stressors in their lives.

Commercialized and over-emphasized standardized tests should not be one of them.

Celeste Kmiotek, FCRH ’12, is an English and communications and media studies major from Townsend, Mass.

“After four years and nearly $160,000 worth of being evaluated in at least 56 classes in order to meet the 124 credit graduation requirement, are these tests necessary? Would not a transcript and a curriculum vitae tell colleges what specific areas students thrive in, while recommendations and supporting documents such as writing samples and research proposals point to students strengths and qualifications? ” this is certainly not true in English literature. On the other hand, it’s very hard to get into Ph. D. programs, especially ones that are fully-funded, as Fordham’s is. But the test can tell as only what students know, not how they think: Did they read this book? This is not seeing quality of mind.”

Naturally, not all the disciplines agree. According to Dr. Gary Weiss, assistant professor and interim chair of the computer and information science department, the GREs, and especially the quantitative reasoning section, play a substantial role in admitting graduate students; the subject test is not required.

“There is not a single magic number,” he said. “We do look at their majors, look at their courses, look at other

COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM

The Sweat at off w the Brow Harry MacCormack Orwell Wants His Dystopia Back With bills like the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act soon to be voted on, now seems like as good a time as ever to discuss American liberty, and the funny way it seems to be evaporating before our very eyes.

These two new bills are not the first that use fear as a vehicle for stripping honest citizens of their rights but are part of a growing trend. It’s safe to say that the first bill of this nature was the infamous Patriot Act, which gives the government an unhealthy amount of breathing room when it comes to things like search and seizure and wiretapping in addition to allowing for indefinite imprisonment of any alien who seems to pose any threat to national security.

While the Patriot Act has gotten its fair share of flack over the last 10 years, and rightfully so, these two more recent bills have gotten frightfully little attention considering how completely outrageous they are.

I suppose that SOPA is a good place to start. This new bill would allow the Department of Justice and copyright holders to raise lawsuits against anyone who could be considered to be infringing on copyright laws.

While normally this would seem fair, the criteria for what qualifies as copyright infringement are so vague that a record label could order search and ad companies like Google and Paypal to deny service to any company which aids in copyright infringement. This would make YouTube liable for every song that is uploaded without proper copyright information on it, in addition to permission from the artist or rights holder.

This bill could also be used to effectively prosecute the uploader.

While under most circumstances copyright protection is important, this would effectively turn the Internet into a minefield of copyright law, which would stifle the creative drive that defines it.

Last, but most certainly not least, is the Enemy Belligerent Act, which would explicitly give the government the right to militarily imprison American citizens indefinitely, without right to trial or attorney. Now, I’m no legal expert, but this sounds downright unconstitutional on many levels.

There are restrictions, technically, but like SOPA’s, these conditions are so broad that just about any average American could qualify as “valuable to intelligence” or in line with “other such matters as the president considers appropriate.”

This last provision is downright insane: it allows the president exclusive power to take someone into custody without any reason or due process.

I can only hope that both SOPA and the Enemy Belligerent Act don’t get the same welcome that the Patriot Act received. If they do, someday writing something like this may fit into those “other such matters.”

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

ADVERTISING

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

PAGE 11

Experience the Holiday Season in New York City lighting becomes our own family, gathered around the tree in the living room. The “Happy Holidays” we once exchanged with friends and family are now exchanged with strangers on the subway. New York becomes an elaborate version of the holidays we once celebrated with our own families.

By SANDY MCKENZIE CULTURE EDITOR

With final exams approaching, it is easy to forget about the many ways to celebrate the holiday season in New York City. There are plenty of winter festivities in the city, including ice skating in Bryant Park and going to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. Take it from students who have experienced these activities first-hand, the holiday season is an exciting time to live in New York City.

Frank Coffey, FCRH ’12:

Will Ganss, FCRH ’14: A soft snow falls, dusting your eyelashes and powdering your hair.

You hear the bells of St. Patrick’s Cathedral calling parishioners to Christmas Eve Mass. As you turn the corner, you catch sight of the thousands of lights twinkling on the snow-dusted branches of the Rockefeller Center christmas tree.

All at once you’re lost in some decade-old memory of the holidays in your childhood home…

Dramatic? Maybe. Sensationalized? Just a little. The point I’m trying to make here is that if you can’t go home for the holidays, New York is the perfect place to be.

With the holiday season just around the corner, countless people are busy making travel plans. Before any more decisions are made, however, let me tell you: New York City is the perfect home away from home for the holidays, and according to NYC and Company, which handles the tourism department in the mayor’s office, millions of people agree with me. Last year, NYC shattered its own record for tour-

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Walk-in skating lessons are offered seven days a week in Bryant Park, which is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

ism. NYC and Company reports that 48.8 million tourists visited the Big Apple last year, with a significant amount attributed to those who came for the holidays.

Why is New York the place to be? I mean, one would think a cabin in Vermont might be preferable to the grungy, overcrowded streets of New York, right? Wrong. We learn from a young age that there is magic in the air at Christmas time in New York. Just ask Susan Walker from Miracle on 34th Street. In addition, Buddy the Elf has a wonderful time in New York, minus the incident with the fake Santa in Gimball’s. Shoot, even the Pigeon Lady from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is in a cheery mood during the holidays.

Surely a lot of the magic comes from the brilliant decorations all over the city. Companies spend millions of dollars to create elaborate window displays and trans-

form their merchandise floors into winter wonderlands. Some companies bring in celebrities to make their holiday displays that much brighter. In fact, this year Barney’s has invited Lady Gaga to take over its entire fifth floor, displays and merchandise alike, which I think might be a bad choice, as I am almost positive she is on the naughty list.

Anyway, the money spent on beautifying the city for the holidays is money well spent. Even the protesters down at Wall Street will have to suppress a smile when they catch a glimpse of the twinkling, corporate-sponsored angel figures at Rockefeller Center. I am sure the Occupiers reading this would assert that corporate contributions toward the décor are a waste of money that could be much better spent elsewhere, but that is another argument. The usual complaint is that these companies are commer-

cializing the holiday and stripping it of its true meaning. I understand their concern, but the meaning of the holiday season must be retained on a personal level. It is fairly easy to enjoy the commercial décor while reminding yourself that, “Jesus (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa,) is the true reason for the season.”

Blaming the big companies for the loss of the holiday’s real essence is silly. These million-dollar decorations do much more than advertise for the companies they represent.

They take on a personal meaning for each New Yorker and tourist alike. When we see the Rockettes in the parade, or the Bryant Park Christmas Market, or the Salvation Army Santas on the corner, we are taken back to a much simpler Christmas.

The gleaming lights in Saks Fifth Ave. become the lights that adorned our childhood homes. The crowd gathered at the Rockefeller tree

There are a lot of great things to do in NYC during the winter, but it unfortunately coincides with finals, so you have to pick your limited excursions carefully. Although I find Christmas shopping to be stressful, I do enjoy shopping around for relatives, especially down on Canal Street or at the Merchants Gate in Columbus Circle.

Seeing all the decorations either in the Village or in Central Park help give that ‘Christmas feel’ you don’t always get at school. There’s also the classics like snowball fights and building something on Eddies after a big storm. However, my favorite thing to do in winter is head to Penn Station after finals are all done and head home for the holidays.

Molly Thompson, FCRH ’12: One of my favorite things to do in the city at Christmas time is to go to Bryant Park. They set up an ice rink, which is free if you bring your own skates — or even if you do not, you only have to pay to rent skates, but not for rink time.

There are also a myriad of shops set up around the park that are fun to wander in and out of, as well as to get some Christmas shopping done.

Students Plan Adventures for Spring Semester

By SCHARON HARDING ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

As the semester slowly draws to a close, everyone is looking for ways to make next semester even better. Every student begins his or her semester with a mental “ToDo List” of fun New York City adventures in which to partake, but it often takes more than a semester to complete every goal.

Many have begun daydreaming about spring semester, a time for a fresh start and additional opportunities to take advantage of city life.

“I would like to walk from Manhattan back up to the Bronx, weather permitting,” Erickson Brown, FCRH ’12, said. “It would be very cool to see how the environment totally changes between the two boroughs, and being with friends would make the walk more enjoyable.”

This long walk can be completed by crossing the RFK Bridge or the Henry Hudson Bridge, whose pedestrian walkway re-opened in 2010 after three years of construction. Walking along a New York City bridge is considered a rite of passage for some New Yorkers.

“I have always been obsessed with the Brooklyn Bridge,” Dylan Rico, FCRH ’13, said. “I have never walked on it, though; I really want to do that next semester.”

If you are not much of a walker, there are other ways to make it to Brooklyn and create memories once you arrive.

“I would love to take the D train to the edge of Brooklyn to Coney Island in the springtime with a large group of friends,” Brown said.

“The beach, amusement park, the boardwalk and the Cyclone sound so appealing with a few drinks and good friends.”

Brooklyn is a great borough to explore, but you can not forget to do some essential Manhattan activities.

“One thing I really want to do is go to the MoMA,” Rico said. “I have also always really wanted to eat in Nolita. It’s a shame that I’ve never eaten there, because I love Italian food.”

Unfortunately, spring semester playtime does not always happen as easily as planned, especially in New York.

“When I was a freshman, my friends and I got kicked out of

COURTESY OF FLICKR

RFK Bridge connects Manhattan to the Bronx. Erickson Brown plans to observe the two boroughs’ changing scenery.

some little bar in the village called Destination Bar & Grille, owned by child star Mason Reese,” Sean Colburn, FCRH ’13, said. “We were under-dressed, and they wouldn’t even sell us drinks, so I want to go back there, dress nicely and order a two-dollar beer and a water just to prove I was there.”

“I have always wanted to go to the top of Rockefeller Center,” Rico said. “The observation deck

has the best view in the city, but I’ve never felt like spending the money.”

Our campus is surrounded by endless opportunities to try new things. Sticking to the things you like, however, can also be done with a new twist.

“I’ve been to a lot of raves in Brooklyn and Queens, but I’m taking class at Lincoln Center specifically so I’ll be motivated to do fun

stuff in the city,” Colburn said. “I’ll officially be 21, so I want to check out some smaller venues. There’s a lot of smaller rock shows and some free ones.”

If you have not made the most of your free time this semester, start thinking about some ways to make spring semester count.

A couple of buds, five boroughs and endless city beauty can make next semester the best.

CULTURE

PAGE 12 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Cooking With Clara CLARA ENNIST

Dining Out: Café Cortadito

Banana Muffins During the holiday season, it is really easy to get food tunnelvision, which results in food comas. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s all present opportunities to stuff ourselves with way too much food, but they also tend to make us forget about the simple meals that occur between the large parties.

Over my Thanksgiving break, however, one of the most important meals I had was the breakfast before my sister’s wedding.

Like my other tasks leading up to the day of my sister’s wedding, I took her food requests seriously; she certainly had to have some sort of breakfast, and I wanted to know what food she would be able to eat no matter how excited or nervous she was.

Her answer was relatively uncomplicated: banana muffins.

Servings: 18 Ingredients: -1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour -1 c. rolled oats -1/2 c. white sugar -2 tsp. baking powder -1 tsp. baking soda -1/2 tsp. salt -1 egg -3/4 c. milk -1/3 c. vegetable oil -1/2 c. Greek yogurt -1/2 tsp. vanilla extract -1 c. mashed bananas Directions: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl; stir in the milk, oil, Greek yogurt and vanilla. Add the mashed banana. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into a lined muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes.

Greek yogurt is one of my go-to additions to most baking recipes. While some people use sour cream in order to keep their baked goods moist and soft, I use Greek yogurt because it is much lower in fat and extremely high in protein.

As with most other banana muffin recipes, 1/2 a cup of walnuts and/or chocolate chips can be added depending on your preference.

The muffins I made for my sister were nowhere near comparable in quality or importance to the meal that she would share with her wedding guests later that evening; in the time surrounding any major celebrations or holidays, the meals that are not the focal point tend to be lost.

Sometimes, though, the meals that we share with our family and friends between large events are more relaxing and less stressful. For me, it’s the dinners at the beginning and end of my winter break, the snacks I grab with my friends while I study for finals and the last banana muffins I had with my sister before she started her married life that keep me sane amidst the flurry of excitement.

PHOTO BY COURTNEY HO/THE RAM

Cuban restaurant Café Cortadito is located on 210 East Third St. in Alphabet City.

By COURTNEY HO STAFF WRITER

This past weekend, my friends and I were thrifting in the East Village (which is the best place to thrift in Manhattan, by the way).

It was around 4 p.m., and we were starving from walking around all day. I checked Yelp! from my phone and saw that there were great reviews for a Cuban restaurant called Café Cortadito in Alphabet City.

When we were about a half a block away from the restaurant, we could already tell the place was crowded. With the outdoor seating, loud music, an abundance of people and casual atmosphere, Café Cortadito made the corner of Third Street and Avenue B come to life.

My friends and I only had to

wait for about 10 minutes for a table and snagged the best seat, which was the corner next to the window. The place was packed at 4 p.m.

The walls were painted warm, muted mustard yellow, which contrasted with the earthy red ceilings.

The huge back wall holds a painting of what seems like a classic ’60s Cuban cafe. The crystal chandeliers gave the place that nice pretentious New York touch. If there seems like there’s no room to sit when you arrive, ask if you can sit in the back room.

Before we even get into the food, I want to point out that there was one huge problem with my experience at Café Cortadito: the loud music. I’m all for partying with my friends on a Sunday afternoon, but this music was blaring. I would’ve enjoyed my time there a lot more if

the music was just a tiny bit lower.

When I go into a new restaurant, I always ask the waiter if he or she recommends anything. The waiter suggested I start off with croquetas de pollo, which are smoked chicken croquettes served with a side of salsa Camaguey.

The croquettes were fantastic.

When I first saw them, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical, but when I took that first bite, the perfectly fried coating crunch perfectly juxtaposed with the smooth texture of the minced meat. It was extremely flavorful.

The salsa was spicy and gave just the right amount of kick to the croquette. When we finished the croquettes, my friend proceeded to finish the small bowl of salsa by itself. That’s called love.

For my entrée, I ordered the cubanito, or in other words, the classic Cuban sandwich. I was really excited for this because I consider myself a Cuban sandwich connoisseur. A Cuban sandwich primarily consists of pulled roasted pork, smoked ham, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles all thinly pressed between two pieces of crunchy Cuban bread.

The sandwich was served with a salad (which was good, but why would I want a salad with my meatlicious sandwich? I’m not a rabbit) and yummy plantain chips. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that good. Cuban sandwiches are really simple, but they can be easily messed up.

This was a prime example.

Firstly, although the bread was delicious, but the sandwich was half-soggy. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was because they made it 1015 minutes ago and they accidentally left it out? Cuban sandwiches are supposed to be amazingly thin and have that famous crunch factor. This sandwich did not have that.

Secondly, the meat lacked flavor. I was yearning for more roast pork; I want to taste the fat and the moisture from the meat — that’s where all the flavor is. That’s what it lacked. I don’t want two slices of cheese, 2.5 slices of ham, sad looking pickles and some pork.

Furthermore, the pork had this weird color to it, like it came out of a tuna fish can. Obviously, that’s not the color of pork.

So, even though I didn’t enjoy my dish, my friends did and everyone else in the place looked satisfied. I hear nothing but good things about this place, so I’m sure that their other dishes are better.

Next time, I’m not ordering the cubanito.

People come here for the fun atmosphere, and music, but they stay for the food. I have to say that I had a great Sunday afternoon sitting with my friends, eating familiar yet foreign foods and talking about life.

For additional blog posts, please visit http://fordhamfoodgirl.blogspot.com.

Editor’s Pick: Paradise Theater on Grand Concourse

By TOM HASKIN COPY EDITOR

I don’t pretend to be a music connoisseur, especially when it comes to anything outside of Top 40 pop hits. For that reason, I won’t even bother to explain why I’m taking Dr. Mark Naison’s Rock and Roll to Hip Hop class this semester, but I will say it was instrumental in introducing me to a beautiful venue just up the road from Rose Hill that I had always wanted to explore.

A few hundred feet south down the Grand Concourse from its intersection with Fordham Road is a building that seems a bit out of place, both for its location and, also, as it is an architectural anachronism.

The Lowe’s Paradise Theater, with its five-story façade wedged between the usual dollar stores, bodegas and sneaker outlets, is a building one could walk by many times without really noticing it.

As someone who likes to think that he enjoys walking around the neighborhood beyond these gates, I’ve been curious about the Paradise Theater since I first became aware of its existence sometime during my freshman year. When a girl in my music history course announced to the class that her “homegirl,” who bartends at the theater, was giving away some free tickets for a show that very night, I jumped at the chance.

Ignoring the fact that I knew practically nothing about the two performers on the bill for the evening (Marsha Ambrosius and R&B singer Miguel), I tried to recruit some friends to come with me,

using the free tickets, the historic building and the proximity to Fordham as incentives.

Because of its location on the Grand Concourse, one might not expect a theater designed in the style of Italian palaces of the Renaissance and Baroque periods to be part of the neighborhood, much less one that remains an operating venue. For that reason, a trip to the Paradise Theater becomes a lesson in Bronx history, taking a visitor back to the early 20th century when city planners envisioned the Grand Concourse as a boulevard of wealth and magnificence.

The exterior of this theater was built in the late 1920s — opening just weeks before the stock market crash of 1929 — and is not likely the sight that it once was, but the interior is a marvel to behold. Over decades of neglect and maltreatment, like many buildings in the Bronx, it has seen better days. The theater closed — seemingly for good — in 1994, but has been renovated multiple times in recent years. Just catching a glimpse of the interior of the building makes the Paradise Theater well worth the trip.

Walking through the gilded doors, I entered an upward-sloping foyer area, plush red carpet and all. Though a bit too dimly lit, as I looked around, I thought I was somewhere in Europe — there were marble busts set into the walls (Ben Franklin was the only one I was able to identify, and he was definitely not a European). The main lobby is even more ornate and gilded, even though on the particular night I went there were ads for the co-

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

sponsor of the event, Grey Goose Vodka, plastered everywhere.

Still, with delicate chandeliers dangling from a ceiling covered with glimmering murals of angelic figures and marble everywhere, I forgot pretty quickly that this theater is on the same block as the “Free phone, free phone!” recordings.

Everywhere I looked were marble columns and pillars, stained glass, wood paneling and gold-wrought fixtures of all varieties. It’s clear that the original name intended for the building — the Venetian Theater — would have made a lot of sense.

The music was lively but again, I can’t really speak to the performance itself, other than it was just as loud and rowdy and had all the colored and flashing lights that one would expect anywhere else. The seating area itself is massive, bigger even than the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, with a capacity of nearly 4,000 including a humon-

gous balcony.

Not knowing the artists at all, my friends and I were a funny group, the three of us white kids, sitting far in the back of this massive, opulent theater. We didn’t know any of the songs, but — at least for me — the night was worth it for the experience of seeing the building alone.

Even if there isn’t a show playing, I recommend that all Fordham students go check out the Paradise Theater at some point during their time at Rose Hill, seeing as it is a historic landmark just a few blocks south of the Fordham Road D train stop.

Though performances are sparse as the theater is just getting back on its feet as a functioning venue, acts like Miami rapper Rick Ross have played at the Paradise in recent months. Get out in the Bronx and enjoy some music, culture and history — and you don’t even have to go to Manhattan.

CULTURE

WHO’S THAT KID? Nate Schiller A MEMBER OF FCRH ’13 MAJORING IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES FROM MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. What campus organizations are you involved in?

I am a third-year member of Fordham Nightly News, where I produce on Monday nights and go on air as a sports anchor on Wednesday nights this semester. This semester, I also became a member of WFUV’s sports workshop.

be Intro to Criminal Justice with Professor Sweet. Not only is Professor Sweet an NYPD detective with tons of experience with what he teaches, he is also one of the funniest and [most] easygoing teachers I have ever had. He makes the information easy to understand and the class enjoyable for his students.

Please describe yourself in a couple of sentences: I am an easygoing guy who likes to live in the moment. I’m a sports lover ( J-E-T-S!), and I’ve come to Fordham to ready myself for a career in sports media. I’m big on family and would do anything for my friends. I’m from northern New Jersey, and I could not be prouder.

What is your favorite memory while attending Fordham?

My favorite memory has to be my first night after moving in freshman year. Against my better judgment, I went out to a party and ended up meeting the guys who have become my best friends to this day. And at the end of it all, I got to ride the ram for the first time.

Please describe something about yourself that not many people know: Something not many people know about me is that I got my first tattoo this summer. On my upper left arm, I have a medieval dagger with the Latin “Esto Vir” or “Be a Man” above it. I’ve considered getting a second tattoo, but for now I am still just enjoying the one I have.

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 to explore places I’ve never been with my buddies.

I had been to the City plenty of times before college, but since

coming to Fordham, I’ve seen and experienced new places like Central Park, Canal Street, Columbus Circle and other neighborhoods I had never been to.

What are your plans (career or otherwise) for after college?

After college I am hoping to make a name for myself in the sports media industry, whether in front of a camera or microphone or behind the scenes.

I know it will take a lot of time and hard work to get a job in the City like I hope to, but sports media is my calling, and it is fun enough that I will never get bored.

What do you want to do or accomplish before you leave Fordham?

Before I leave Fordham, the biggest thing left on my checklist is to get into the Keating bell tower.

I have ridden the ram and went [sic] into the Finlay tunnels, but the bell tower is my Great White Buffalo. If you are reading this, McShane, a tour would be great.

Anything else you want people to know about you?

I love meeting new people and making new friends, so if you see me out at party, feel free to say hi.

For an exclusive interview with Nate Schiller, watch FNN on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 5:30 p..m. to 6:00 p.m. or visit library.fordham.edu and click on live webcast.

what’s Know “what’s going on” on campus or in NYC?

Going

01

?

On

Send tips, event listings, or comments to theram@fordham.edu.

THURSDAY Bowl Train: ?uestlove Brooklyn Bowl (61 Whythe Ave.) 10:30 p.m.

Listen to the legendary Roots drummer-producer spin funk, soul, boogie, R&B and more.

02

FRIDAY EDA Presents: Heartbeats Collins Auditorium 8 p.m.

Enjoy Expressions Dance Alliance’s Fall Showcase featuring performances by FET members.

03

SATURDAY Satin Dolls Concert Fordham Preparatory School Leonard Theater 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Satin Dolls’ last concert of the semester also features Fordham Flava.

04

SUNDAY “Real/Surreal” Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Ave.) 11 a.m. - 6.pm.

The collection features works from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s, a time of convergence of Surrealism and Realism.

05

MONDAY T Blues Band and Michael Powers Terra Blues (149 Bleecker St.) 7 p.m.

Jam out to gritty soul with these singer-guitarists.

06

What is your favorite aspect of Fordham? Why? Definitely the people I’ve met in my three years here. Like most undergrads, I was nervous making the transition into college, but I’ve met some great people and made even better friends, and I am always meeting more.

What are your favorite class and professor at Fordham? Why? My favorite class this year has to

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 13

TUESDAY Park Avenue Trees Park Ave. between 54th St. and 96th St. 12 p.m. - 12 a.m.

Surround yourself with trees dressed in white and gold lights in memory of fallen U.S. Soldiers.

07 COURTESY OF NATE SCHILLER

Nate Schiller, who is from Morris Plains, N.J., is majoring in communication.

WEDNESDAY “Obscene Diary: The Secret Archive of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist and Pornographer” Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Ave.) 10 a.m. - 8p.m.

Visit the exhibit curated by Justin Spring.

— COMPILED BY SCHARON HARDING

Ram Reviews MOVIE

The Decendants

By JAKE KRING-SCHREIFELS STAFF WRITER

New Yorkers, and East Coasters in general, can be brutally honest, harsh, cold, edgy, passionate and sometimes just downright rude. The West Coast is portrayed as just a bit more laid back, so it makes sense that we think of Hawaii as a place full of mellow, easy-going people who relax, unwind and lose themselves under the palm trees. Matt King, played

by George Clooney (Ides of March), however, wants us to forget this West Coast stereotype.

“We have the same problems everyone else has,” Clooney says in The Descendants. He makes a valid point, but competing against the background of white sand and infinite ocean is not an easy task.

The Descendants, adapted from the book by the same name, and directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways),

beautifully portrays filial strife. Matt, from the very beginning must immediately learn to parent by himself.

The first shot captures the boating accident caused by his wife Elizabeth’s (Patricia Hastie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) “wave runs.”

She is sent to the hospital in a coma, leaving Matt to uphold their luxuriant, bohemian lifestyle. The property and land they own is an inheritance from Matt’s ancestors.

Matt, the real estate lawyer in the family, sees the 26 square acres of lush Hawaiian land as too much of a burden to maintain. With his relatives, he searches for a group to purchase the up-for-lease land. This decision curries displeasure from the natives, who foresee businesses and corporations exploiting the land with hotel chains and commercial shenanigans.

This, coupled with his deteriorating, unresponsive wife, leads to some late nights and also the resolution to have his two daughters be at home

together. Matt brings his 10-year-old daughter Scotty (Amara Miller in her film debut) to retrieve her older sister Alexandra (Shailene Woodley, “Secret Life of an American Teenager”) from the boarding school she resentfully attends.

They return home bickering, disputing Matt’s authority. Clearly Matt, “the back-up parent,” is out of his fatherly element and must hurry to win back some credibility so as not to aggregate any more stress.

The core agitation between dad and daughter is Matt’s marital blindness. In a fit of anger and surprise, Alexandra reveals her mother’s infidelity to a bewildered, grieving husband.

Matt humorously shuffles in his sandals to his neighborhood friends, and in a funny bit of affirmation, validates his wife’s misgivings and even gets the offender’s name, Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard, Scooby Doo).

But what is Matt to do? His wife shows no signs of returning to a state of consciousness, and so his hospital visits become outbreaks of ire

to Elizabeth’s unresponsive, altered mug. His state of perplexity complements his grizzled appearance, and Clooney masterfully highlights this cluelessness. He keeps Matt’s integrity, however, with sincere gazes, his eyes creating a pallet of mixed fallibility and tenderness.

Unaccustomed to striking the balance between grief and malice, Matt looks for a healthy catharsis. Alexandra, along with her indolent, happygo-lucky sidekick, Sid (Nick Krause, How to Eat Fried Worms), persuades her dad to find Brian and confront him in order to somehow earn back some dignity.

Matt’s challenge is deeper than the economical side of the deal. Payne pans over the household’s myriad of black and white family photos. They surround Matt’s messy office, like invisible judgment beaming from the walls. His current relatives, including an imposing father-in-law Scott (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown), refuse to accept his daughter’s infidelity. Proud and unwavering, he disre-

gards his grandchildren’s defense of their father.

Judy Greer (Three Kings) makes an impressionable cameo as Speer’s devoted wife, Julie, struggling with her husband’s lies. Payne parallels her and Matt as lonely victims, but for the first time Matt embraces his role as dad and learns to reserve judgment in mourning.

It is here where Payne induces the gentle push from bitterness to amnesty. A film filled with warm comedic insertions that are grounded with unconditional love, The Descendants succeeds because of its characters’ ability to mature socially and spiritually.

It celebrates imperfection as a natural condition, something human and existent in our everyday struggles. If the film has any flaws they are surely covered by a sense of tender remembrance and forgiveness, values to be learned and embraced at any stage in life.

For the full review, 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 30, 2011

CSA Sponsors Annual Thanks-Give-Away interested in winning prizes to donate either cash or cans of nonperishable food.

Donated food went to Part of the Solution (POTS), a soup kitchen sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of New York and located next to Fordham’s gates. The event raised $780 in donations, up nearly $200 from last year, which CSA and USG donated to the Food Bank for New York City.

“We had a great turnout this year of 300-plus students,” Artie De Los Santos, GSB ’12, president of the CSA, said in a phone interview. “We did

By CONNOR RYAN COPY EDITOR

Fordham’s annual Thanks-GiveAway is a mixture of a classic Thanksgiving dinner with friends, charity and free giveaways – the perfect event to kick off the spirit of the upcoming holiday season. This year, the event took place on Nov. 21 in the McGinley Ballroom.

The Commuter Student Association (CSA) sponsored the event with Sodexo and United Student Government (USG) and required students

T

B

E

L

C

E

A

E

pretty great this year, but one thing we want to do is improve [the event] for years to come.”

Each can or dollar students donated translated into one raffle ticket. A large donation translated into a large chance of winning a prize. The prizes awarded ranged from commuter meal plans to a Kindle Fire, Nutcracker tickets, or Ram Van tickets.

“This event is about bringing the campus together — not only giving back, but being thankful and enjoying each other’s company,” De Los Santos said.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

This year’s Thanks-Give-Away raised $780 for Part of the Solution (POTS).

R

O

D

Y

H

I

L

A

By SANDY MCKENZIE CULTURE EDITOR

Y

F

I

A

L

M

N

W

T

I

R

E

Question: What is the Fordham student’s favorite dessert to eat during winter break?

Answer:

Answers to previous Ram Scrambler: Dormitory, Scholar, Keating, Manresa, Ignatius Answer to question: Maroon The first person to e-mail the correct answers to Issue 22 21’s Ram Scrambler to fordhamramculture@gmail.com wins a prize!

O

F

W

A

L

N

K

E

S

Interested in writing for The Ram? Contact one of our section editors: News fordhamramnews@gmail.com

Sports fordhamramsports@gmail.com

Opinions fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

Photo fordhamramphotos@gmail.com

Culture fordhamramculture@gmail.com

Web fordhamramonline@gmail.com

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

PAGE 15

Fordham Parts with Head Coach Tom Masella

By NICK CARROLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Following a disappointing 1-10 season, Fordham has decided to fire Head Football Coach Tom Masella.

“We feel bad for [Masella] and we’re sure he’ll be okay wherever he goes, but we have to turn this program around,” Executive Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin said. “We don’t want to just be good, we want to be a very, very good program.”

McLaughlin made it clear that the move was more than just a reaction to the past season.

“This was not based on one season,” McLaughlin said. “The three years prior we were 5-6, and we feel we should be better.”

Masella finishes his Fordham career with a 27-40 record, highlighted by a Patriot League championship in 2007. It is his impact off the field, though, of which he is most proud.

“This program is in a lot better shape than when I took over. We have a brand new locker room, money was raised,” Masella said.

“I’m most proud that we straightened out the graduation rate and graduated our players. We had 42 players All-Patriot academic. That wasn’t the case when I walked in the door here. Our kids go to school and our kids graduate. That, to me, is as important as anything.”

Fordham hired Masella before the 2006 season to take over a team that finished 2-9 in 2005 after he won back-to-back Northeast Con-

ference championships at Central Connecticut State.

It did not take long for Masella to establish success at Fordham.

Fordham improved to 3-8 in 2006 before going 8-4 and winning the Patriot League in 2007. After that season, the Patriot League named Masella Coach of the Year, the AFCA named Masella regional CoCoach of the Year and Masella was a finalist for FCS National Coach of the Year.

Masella was unable to maintain the success, though. He followed up the conference championship with three straight 5-6 seasons before this year’s unexpected and injury-ravaged 1-10 season.

“The one thing I didn’t do here is change the culture,” Masella said.

“If I had one regret, it’s how you have to have winning football yearin and year-out. We had one great year, then three mediocre years, and I could never get over that hump.”

“I could not change the culture, and there is a culture that needs to be changed,” Masella said.

Masella helped introduce athletic scholarships for the 2010 season; however, Fordham football failed to improve, going 5-6 in 2010 and 1-10 this season.

“We’ve had two years of scholarship players,” McLaughlin said.

“Teams like Lafayette, Georgetown, Bucknell we’d like to beat.”

Masella concluded his coaching career at Fordham with a loss against conference-rival Holy Cross for the fourth straight season.

The move did not become official until after the Holy Cross game, but Masella knew that Saturday would be his and his staff ’s last game coaching at Fordham.

“It was going to be a long uphill fight this year,” Masella said. “I knew it was coming.”

The players found out about the decision after the loss, according to senior running back Darryl Whiting.

“We found out just now,” Whiting said. “He told us he was relieved of his duties.”

According to Masella, he plans on coaching again.

“I’ll be coaching in probably a month or two, somewhere,” Masella said. “That’s just the way it works out. I’ve got to figure out what’s best for my family.”

Fordham’s search for a new coach begins soon, as McLaughlin expects to find interested candidates for the coaching vacancy this week.

“There is an institutional commitment to be good, so we will not have a problem finding a coach,” McLaughlin said. “In the next week or so we’ll find out who’s interested.”

There is no timetable on naming a new head coach.

“When we find the right person, we’ll move forward,” McLaughlin said. “We do a lot of talking so it will be a thorough search.”

McLaughlin did make it known that it should not be a long search.

“We’ll have a search in a timely manner,” McLaughlin said. “We have eight commitments.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF FORDHAMSPORTS.COM

Head Coach Tom Masella was fired after compiling a 27-40 record at Fordham.

Women’s Basketball Splits Two Games at UCF Tournament

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Sophomore Abigail Corning had a career-high 29 points against Central Florida.

By MATT ROSENFELD STAFF WRITER

It wasn’t your typical Thanksgiving break for the Fordham women’s basketball team. After coming off a nice 54-43 win at Holy Cross, the Lady Rams made a trip down to Orlando, Fla. to

compete in the UCF Holiday Tournament. A four-team event over the Friday and Saturday of break, Fordham’s first game came against the host team, the University of Central Florida.

In a close game, Fordham eventually pulled away and developed as big a lead as 19 points with 8:41

to play. The Lady Rams eventually won the game by a score of 70-57.

“We beat a team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year in UCF,” Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley said of her team’s first game in the tournament.

Sophomore guard Abigail Corning led the Lady Rams with a career performance, notching 29 points and six rebounds.

“I don’t really expect any amount of points out of myself every game,” Corning said. “I just go out and try to do the best that I can. Fortunately for me I was hitting all my shots and my teammates were helping me get open looks.”

Corning more than doubled her previous career high in points, which was 14.

“Abigail is an extremely hard worker,” Gaitley said of her player’s performance. “Her game was a reflection of her hard work.”

The win over UCF gave Fordham a 3-1 record heading into their final game of the trip against the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University.

The game against the Horned Frogs went quite differently than the UCF contest.

The first half did not go the Lady Rams’ way, as TCU dominated and pushed out to a 14

point lead by the intermission, leading 28-14. Fordham shot 17 percent from the field, and Corning was held scoreless by TCU. The second half was a different story. At one point, TCU held a 19-point lead, but the Lady Rams stepped up the defense and mounted a comeback highlighted by tough defense from freshman guard Kelly McGovern and junior guard Arielle Collins.

The Lady Rams had cut the deficit to 14 when Corning scored all seven points in a 7-0 Fordham run, making the score 45-36. With tough defense and good rebounding, Fordham managed to make it a one-point game when Collins drew a foul and went to the freethrow line with the chance to give Fordham the lead. She did just that, and Fordham led 47-46 with just 17 seconds remaining.

TCU had the ball to end the game, and after missing a layup with four seconds to go, the Horned Frogs’ senior guard Antoinette Thompson got the rebound and put it in to give TCU a 48-47 lead that would be the final score. Fordham’s comeback effort would fall just short.

“It says a lot about our team dynamic,” Corning said of the team’s game against TCU. “We stick together, we never give up. It shows a lot about how hard we work.”

Overall, Fordham came away from the trip to Orlando with a 1-1 record, but it was an experience that will go far beyond the two games played over the break.

“I was very pleased,” Gaitley said. “I thought we got better as a program. I saw a lot of positive things, a lot of things to build on.

We beat a team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year, and came close to knocking off TCU, who is picked to win their conference.”

“At this point, we’re trying to change the culture,” Gaitley said.

“Fordham hasn’t had a winning season since 1995. You don’t learn to hate losing until you win.”

Now with a 3-2 record, the Lady Rams are looking forward to a full month of games in December.

“We do a really good job of pushing each other in practice,” Corning said.

“We work hard to simulate games during our drills in practice,” she said. “I think we’ll continue to move forward and hopefully get a couple more wins this week.”

The Lady Rams’ next game is Wednesday, Nov. 30 at Manhattan College, which defeated Fordham 49-45 last year at Rose Hill. The Lady Rams’ next home game is Saturday, Dec. 3 against San Diego.

PAGE 16 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

ADVERTISING

SPORTS

NFL Coaching Hotseat

By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER

Going into this season, the Eagles and Chargers were expected to cruise to division titles and maybe meet in the Super Bowl.

Through 11 games, both teams sit at 4-7. Both are all but eliminated from postseason contention, and their coaches sit firmly in the hot seat. Both teams have gotten extremely disappointing play from their quarterbacks. Michael Vick has shown, once again, that he cannot stay healthy or string together back-to-back productive seasons, and I don’t know what the heck happened to Phillip Rivers this year. Both Vick and Rivers were pre-season MVP candidates, but neither has come close to those expectations.

Not meeting expectations has become a yearly theme for the Chargers in the Norv Turner era.

Turner took over as head coach of the Chargers in 2007 after Marty Schottenheimer was fired following a 14-2 season that ended with a home playoff loss to the Patriots. In Turner’s first year, the Chargers actually made it to the AFC Championship Game, but lost to the then undefeated Patriots.

They followed that with an 8-8 season in which they somehow won the AFC West when the Broncos blew a three-game lead with three to play. The Chargers rebounded in 2009 with a 13-3 record, but again lost a home playoff game, this time to the Jets.

The Chargers missed the playoffs last year and are going to miss the playoffs again this year. Known for their slow starts, they reversed the script this year by starting 4-1 and going 0-6 since. It appears that the team has quit on Turner, who really should have been fired at the end of last year after failing to make the playoffs. The Chargers are, on paper, the most talented team in the AFC West, but they continue to play dumb football, and it all starts with their head coach.

The situation in Philadelphia is pretty similar. The Eagles were the undisputed champions of the wild post-lockout offseason. We all remember the dream-team talk and Miami Heat comparisons, and actually most of the players the Eagles signed have played well. Jason Babin already has 10 sacks. Nnamdi Asomugha has not been great, but he is certainly not what is wrong with the Eagles; their biggest problems have been their core players from last year’s team. Michael Vick has been bad, DeSean Jackson has

been a headache all season long and the Eagles once again did not address their linebacking corps, which has been their biggest defensive weakness for years now.

Maybe Andy Reid should get a little break because of the fact that so many key players on this Eagle team were acquired in August, and offseason programs were much different this year, but Reid has not done a good job with this team. He has been the head coach in Philadelphia for 12 and a half years, maybe it is time for a new voice.

Reid is a much better coach than Norv Turner, however, and if the Eagles do decide to go in a different direction; it better be in someone like Bill Cowher’s direction, otherwise be careful what you wish for, Eagles’ fans.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

Men’s Basketball Loyola (Chicago) 64 Fordham 50

Women’s Basketball Fordham 70 Central Florida 57

Fordham

fg

Fordham

Gaston

6-16 0-0 7-10 10 19 1

Stoddart 2-7 0-1 0-0 3 4 0

Bristol

1-3 0-0 1-1 5 3 0

Gaskin

5-11 0-3 0-0 12 10 2

Frazier

3-15 0-6 1-1 3 7 1

Collins

4-11 1-4 0-0 3 9 6

McMillan 3-13 0-4 3-6 2 9 2

Peters

6-11 0-2 3-4 7 15 1

Estwick

1-3 1-1 0-0 5 3 0

Corning 11-15 3-3 4-4 6 29 0

Samuell

0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

3pt ft reb tp a

fg

Football Holy Cross 41-21 Fordham

3pt ft reb tp a

Sims

0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Dominique 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 0 0

Durant

0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 4

Smith

Milner

1-1 1-1 0-0 0 3 0

4-13 1-7 0-0 4 9 0

Team Totals

7

Team

18-65 2-19 12-18 40 50 4

3

Totals 29-58 5-14 7-8 36 70 13

Blocks - Gaston (6), Bristol

Blocks - Gaskin

(2), Smith

Steals - Collins (2), Stoddart,

Steals - Frazier (2), Gaston

Peters, Durant, Milner

(2), McMillan (2), Smith (2),

Turnovers - Collins (3), Peters

Estwick

(3), Corning (3), Gaskin (2),

Turnovers - McMillan (5), Gaston

Durant (2), Stoddart

(3), Estwick (2), Smith (2), Frazier

UCF

fg

3pt ft reb tp a

Keough, K 6-13 0-0 1-1 4 13 1 Loyola

fg

3pt ft reb tp a

Jones

4-8 0-0 0-0 6 8 3

Other Thoughts From Week 12

Averkamp 5-12 0-0 3-5 8 13 1

Keough, M 1-7 0-1 0-0 1 2 2

Gibler

2-6 0-0 0-1 4 4

Carter

4-8 2-3 2-2 0 12 2

• Stevie Johnson basically singlehandedly ended the Bills season.

His endzone celebration, in which he made fun of Plaxico Burress shooting himself and the Jets’ airplane celebration, drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which gave the Jets a short field to work with and led to, fittingly, a Plaxico Burress touchdown. Later, on the Bills’ final drive, Johnson dropped a pass that likely would have gone for a touchdown.

• Plaxico Burress’s leaping, twisting one-handed catch on the Jets’ final drive saved the season… for now anyway.

• Mark Sanchez played the worst game by a quarterback who threw four touchdowns that I have ever seen.

• Ndamukong Suh deserves his two-game suspension for stomping on Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith: one game for the stomp and one game for the lame “explanation” he gave after the game about how he only trying to regain his balance.

• The Colts lost at home to Carolina. That was probably their last legitimate shot at a win this year.

• The Houston Texans have lost their top two quarterbacks in back-to-back games. They will now try to hold of the Tennessee Titans and make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with either T.J. Yates, a rookie fifth-round pick from North Carolina; Kellen Clemens, a 2006 second round pick of the Jets who has started nine games in the NFL; or newly-signed Jake Delhomme at quarterback.

Brito

4-7 1-3 2-2 4 11 10

Patrick

9-19 0-2 0-0 7 18 1

Crisman 6-10 2-4 0-1 4 14 0

Montalvo 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Kadima

3-4 1-2 0-0 3 7

1

Hines

0-0 0-0 2-2 0 2 0

Dokubo

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0

1

Blair

0-2 0-0 2-2 4 2 3

Thomas

3-5 0-1 0-0 2 6

2

Kelly

0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Gac

1-3 0-0 2-2 4 4

1

Davis

0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Benkoske 1-1 0-0 3-3 1 5

0

Team

Totals 25-48 4-10 10-14 34 64 17

2 24-58 2-6 7-7 25 57 12 Blocks - Keough, K, Jones

Blocks - None

Steals - Patrick (6), Jones,

Steals - Crisman (2), Averkamp

Carter, Montalvo, Hines

Turnovers - Brito (8), Thomas

Turnovers - Patrick (3), Blair

(4), Averkamp (2), Gibler (2),

(3), Jones, Keough, M, Carter,

Team

4

Totals

Kadima

Montalvo, Kelly 1

2

F

1

2

F

Fordham

25

25

50

Fordham

35

35

70

Loyola

34

30

64

UCF

27

30

57

Fordham 79 Colgate 69

TCU 48 Fordham 47

Colgate fg

Fordham

3 7 0

4 F 20 41 0 21

First Quarter HC Charles McCall 5 yd pass from Ryan Taggart(Macomber kick), 11:03 FOR Greg Wilson 44 yd pass from Ryan Higgins(Mirando kick), 5:14 FOR Greg Wilson 40 yd pass from Ryan Higgins(Mirando kick), 1:21 Second Quarter HC Jon Smith 25 yd pass from Ryan Taggart(Macomber kick), 12:06 FOR Carlton Koonce 6 yd run(Mirando kick), 0:37 Third Quarter HC Kyle Toulouse 71 yd pass from Ryan Taggart(Macomber kick), 8:03 Fourth Quarter HC Ryan Taggart 6 yd run(Macomber kick), 10:33 HC Eddie Houghton 28 yd run(Macomber kick), 5:21 HC Eddie Houghton 3 yd run(kick failed), 1:57 HC FOR First Downs 31 27 Total Yards 582 445 Rushing 248 156 Passing 334 289 Punt Returns 2-32 2-0 Kickoff Ret. 4-85 7-97 Comp-Att-Int 24-37-0 28-46-0 Punts 4-35.5 5-41.6 Time of Poss. 29:47 30:13 Individual Statistics PASSING- Fordham, Higgins 23-41-2, Holy Cross, Taggart 24-37-3 RUSHING- Fordham, Whiting 20-92-0 Holy Cross, Houghton 15153-2 RECIEVING- Fordham, Wilson 5-113-2 Holy Cross, Toulouse 4-105-1

Swimming and Diving Bucknell Invitational

fg

3pt ft reb tp a

1. Collyer, Fordham, 4:56.94

Melville 2-7 1-2 8-10 4 13 1

Stoddart 3-8 1-3 0-0 5 7 0

Pascale 5-9 0-0 2-5 10 12 2

Corning

3-10 3-8 4-4 2 13 2

Rolls

4-11 3-8 0-0 3 11 3

Collins

2-17 0-7 3-3 13 7 3

Moore

4-7 3-5 2-2 4 13 0

Durant

1-2 0-0 0-1 4 2 1

Venezia 4-11 2-6 0-0 2 10 0

Peters

2-14 0-3 2-2 7 6 1

Johnson 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0

1

McGovern 0-1 0-1 0-0 2 0 0

Women 100 yd Butterfly

Brandenb 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0

1

Milner

1-2 0-1 0-0 2 2 0

1. Collyer, Fordham, 56.59

Roh

0-2 0-0 0-0 5 0

2

Gaskin

3-10 1-3 3-4 4 10 0

2. Opatrny, Georgetown, 56.60

James

2-3 2-2 4-6 6 10 1

McMullen 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 Team

1

Team

8

Totals 15-64 5-26 12-14 47 47 7

Women 400 yd IM 1. Dodd, Delaware, 4:22.65 2. Collyer, Fordham, 4:24.49

Men 100 yd Butterfly 1. Thomas, LaSalle, 49.30

Blocks - None

1

2. Pontecorvo, Boston U, 4:57.81

Totals 21-53 11-24 16-24 37 69 12

Steals - Collins (2), Peters

2. Noguchi, Fordham, 49.96

Blocks - Pascale, Rolls, Roh

(2), Stoddart, Corning, Durant,

Women 100 yd Backstroke

Steals - Johnson, James, McMul-

McGovern, Milner

1. Ryan, Fordham, 54.76

len

Turnovers - Stoddart (4), Corn-

2. Kunnapas, Colgate, 56.99

Turnovers - Pascale (5), Rolls

ing (3), Peters (3), Collins

(5), Moore (5), Johnson (2), Roh

(2), Gaskin (2)

Women 800 yd Freestyle Relay 1. Fordham, 7:37.12

(2), Brandenburg TCU

fg

3pt ft reb tp a

2. Georgetown, 7:40.79

Fordham

fg

Gross

0-3 0-2 0-1 2 0 1

Men 800 yd Freestyle Relay

Gaston

4-13 0-0 7-8 11 15 1

Colbert

2-5 0-0 0-0 3 4 0

1. Bucknell, 6:43.68

Bristol

2-3 0-0 0-1 8 4 0

Thompson 4-9 0-3 3-3 7 11 1

Frazier

3-9 1-4 1-4 3 8 1

Williams 1-6 1-3 1-2 1 4 5

McMillan 6-11 0-1 8-13 1 20 2

Ventress 2-7 1-3 0-0 2 5 0

Estwick

1-3 1-1 1-4 2 4 1

Prince

1-4 0-1 0-0 6 2 1

Samuell

1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2

Henson

1-2 1-1 0-0 1 3 1

2. Kunnapas, Colgate, 2:03.61

Dominique 3-3 0-0 1-2 1 7 0

Lovings

5-8 0-0 0-1 7 10 3

Women 200 yd Butterfly

Smith

Mittie

1-2 1-2 0-0 1 3 1

1. Collyer, Fordham, 2:01.96

Parker

0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 1

2. Carter, Georgetown, 2:05.54

Wynn

3-7 0-1 0-0 1 6 0

Totals

3pt ft reb tp a

5-11 2-5 7-8 3 19 4 4 25-54 4-11 25-40 33 79 11

2. Fordham, 6:55.46 Women 200 yd Backstoke 1. Ryan, Fordham, 2:00.21

Men 200 yd Butterfly

Blocks - Bristol (3), Frazier,

Team

Estwick

Totals

Steals - Smith (6), McMillan

Blocks - Gross (2)

2. Noguchi, Fordham, 1:52.72

(5), Frazier (2), Gaston, Bris-

Steals - Thompson (2), Prince

Women 400 yd Freestyle Relay

tol

(2), Gross, Lovings

1. Fordham, 3:29.06

Turnovers - Gaston (3), McMillan

Turnovers - Thompson (4), Lov-

2. La Salle, 3:29.66

(2), Smith (2), Frazier, Samu-

ings (3), Ventress (2), Mittie

ell, Dominique

(2), Gross, Williams, Prince

7 20-54 4-16 4-7 38 48 14

1. Nicholson, Boston U, 1:48.57

Men 400 yd Freestyle Relay 1. Bucknell, 3:03.99

Vick and the Eagles’ performance could mark the end of Andy Reid’s tenure.

Visit theramonline.com for blogs covering NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, College Sports and EPL.

1 2 7 7 14 7

Women 500 yd Freestyle

3pt ft reb tp a

Team

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

1

HC FOR

1

2

F

Colgate

33

36

69

Fordham

32

47

79

1

2

F

Fordham

14

33

47

TCU

28

20

48

2. Fordham, 3:05.58

PAGE 18 • THE RAM • NOVEMBER 30, 2011

NICK CARROLL I have to be honest – for most of the NBA lockout, I was almost rooting against the league. As a fan of a middle-of-the-pack team, the structure of the league infuriates me, as the same handful of teams are the only ones capable of competing for a championship year-in and yearout. Also, as a diehard hockey fan, I had (probably blind) optimism that the NBA’s absence could help get the NHL some attention; however, when the NBA settled its labor dispute, I found myself surprisingly excited that the league is coming back. The NBA is loaded with storylines and drama going into the season. So after hearing about nothing but CBA negotiations and legal proceedings for months, let’s go over six of the NBA’s most scintillating storylines for this 66-game season.

The Trials and Tribulations of the Heat: George Costanza could not have picked a better time to leave on a high note when the Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat, setting the stage for what could be a make-or-break season for Miami’s big three. Now, after spending a year developing chemistry and becoming a team, the Heat has no excuses. Regardless, Miami is good for the NBA, as difficult as it is to admit. The league is more fun with a villain, and LeBron’s Heat has definitely played the role nicely.

It will be interesting to see what happens if the Heat does not take the first step in acquiring the eight-plus championships LeBron seemed to expect in Miami. Does Chris Bosh take the blame? He’s one of the three guys taking up Miami’s salary cap space and could probably fetch a nice return.

The Class of 2012: The summer of 2010 reshaped basketball history.

The balance of power in the league saw a dramatic shift, and the closely linked identification between a star player and his franchise was completely thrown out the window.

The NBA is on the verge of that happening again. After this season, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard will all be free agents. It will be interesting to see where they land after the season, and it will also be interesting to see what happens this season with their looming free agency. After Cleveland let LeBron walk as a free agent, the Cavs were left decimated and hopeless, fielding one of the league’s weakest teams last year.

While it is clear that the Nets are invested in Williams for the long run, will the Hornets and Magic run the same risk? Could Paul or Howard move to a contender on the verge of winning a championship? The NBA could potentially have one of the most interesting trade deadlines in recent memory.

The Next Step: Last season, the league saw two young teams, the

Thunder and the Bulls, come within three games of the NBA Finals.

Now, those two teams face major questions in their pursuits for a championship.

The Thunder is the more talented team. With Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and an emerging James Harden, the Thunder should be poised to explode; however, the Thunder is in a precarious situation.

As talented as Westbrook is, Durant is the league’s best scorer and the team’s best player. Even though he is not a natural point guard, Westbrook controls the ball and often approaches the game with a shootfirst mindset. It will be interesting to see who becomes the team’s alpha dog and if any tension surfaces.

The Bulls have a similar situation with Derrick Rose, last year’s MVP. Rose attacks the basket like no other guard, with aggression and fearlessness, reminiscent of a young Allen Iverson. But Rose is a point guard.

When teams focused on him in the playoffs, his shooting percentages plummeted, and he was not nearly as effective. Iverson never won a championship. Can Rose make the adjustments to take the next step, or have the Bulls topped out?

Completing the New York Trifecta: Last season was huge for the Knicks’ franchise. Even though New York lost out on LeBron and Dwyane Wade in the offseason, it went forward with Amar’e Stoudemire and might end up okay. Stoudemire helped bring the Knicks back to a respectable level last season, helping to make the franchise more attractive for Carmelo Anthony, who forced his way out of Denver to the Big Apple. Now, with two star players in place, the Knicks appear one piece shy of competing for a title; however, with Stoudemire’s bad knees and Anthony being an old 27 (having played only one year at Syracuse), the window will not be open for long. If the Knicks can acquire a point guard like Paul or a defensive force like Howard (which the Knicks porous defense desperately needs), New York might be able to compete immediately.

Changing of the Guard: After playing in two out of the previous three NBA Finals, neither the Lakers nor the Celtics made it to the conference finals. In addition, the Spurs, who had the best record in the West and the second-best record in basketball, lost in the first round to a younger Memphis squad. It will be interesting to see if the older faces of the NBA (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan) are still capable of leading their teams to a championship, or if they are in the twilight of their careers.

Dirk and the Mavs: The Mavericks got hot last summer, plain and simple. They probably were not better than the Heat. That said, it is one of the most important titles in NBA history. What will this do for Dirk Nowitzki’s legacy now that he has shed the choker label? Will the Mavs’ regular season success carry more weight after finally carrying it over to the playoffs? Can the Mavs actually be better without the demons from the 2006 Finals looming? How obnoxious can Mark Cuban be now that he actually won something? With a brand new reputation, the Mavs are like a new team, but a perfect fit in the constantly evolving NBA that will be loaded with storylines this season from start to finish.

SPORTS

Senior Profile: Kervin Bristol

By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

Kervin Bristol is in his second year at Fordham after transferring from Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. As a sophomore at Broward, Bristol averaged 12.4 points per game while leading the team in rebounds (10.8 per game) and blocks (5.8 per game), gaining recognition as a top junior college ( JUCO) player.

In his first year at Fordham, Bristol started 23 of 28 games. While averaging only 3.8 points per game, Bristol finished second on the team in rebounding (behind junior forward Chris Gaston), and 13th overall in the Atlantic 10 with 6.8 rpg.

He also led the Rams in blocks with 53, and he ranked fourth in the A-10 in blocks per game. Bristol has started every game so far this season, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game thus far.

Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Bristol grew up in Brooklyn.

He is an economics major.

The Ram: What made you decide to transfer to Fordham?

Kervin Bristol: I was being recruited by [Assistant Coach] David Duke for over three years, so I decided to be loyal to him. Also, I’m from New York, so I wanted to come back and go to Fordham.

TR: What was it like moving up to Division I after two years at JUCO? KB: It was different; we compete at a lot higher level in D-1 than JUCO, but I think the coaching staff has been much more approachable here, so it’s been good.

PHOTO BY NORA MALLOZZI/THE RAM

Kervin Bristol was second on the team in rebounds last year with 6.8 per game.

TR: How do you think the young guys on the team have done so far?

TR: What are your personal goals for this year?

KB: It’s only three games into the season, but I think they’ve adapted pretty quick. With time, they’ll probably get better and gain more confidence.

KB: Being a senior, I want to be a part of building the program into a winning program, which Fordham can have. I’d like us to have a .500 season this year.

TR: The basketball program here has been through some rough years.

What do you think the expectations should be for this season?

TR: Have you had a favorite arena to play in so far?

KB: Hopefully it will be different than last year. We have a lot more talent here now, and they should be more dedicated. The [players] before me, they were used to losing, so they didn’t really know what it takes to win. Winning is not easy; if it was, a lot of people would be good. So the extra motivation and dedication should help [this season].

KB: We haven’t played there yet, but going to Madison Square Garden on December 17. It’s everyone’s dream to play at the Garden, so I’m excited for that game.

TR: What are your plans for after graduation?

KB: Hopefully I can keep playing basketball by getting a deal overseas or somewhere, but if not, I hope to get a job around here.

Cross Country Wraps up 2011 Season

By KELLY KULTYS STAFF WRITER

The Fordham men’s and women’s cross country seasons came to an end with the ECAC/IC4A Championship race held on Nov. 19. There were six races in total, including the Coaches’ Race, the University Division Race and the Championship Race.

“ECAC’s was a busy day, and I give a lot of credit to our track team for working in the chutes and making everything go smoothly,” sophomore Anisa Arsenault said.

On the men’s side, the day started with the five-mile Coaches’ Race.

The Fordham men did well, as they placed two runners inside the top 15: senior Rich Grandelli (27:37) in ninth and senior Andrew Roddin (27:41) in 13th. The next race for the men was the IC4A Championship Division race, where Princeton captured the team title with 50 points, followed by Albany (121) in second and La Salle (145) in third.

Princeton’s senior Joe Stilin captured the individual title with a time of 24:47.

The final race on the men’s side was the IC4A University Division race. Binghamton barely beat out the Rams for the top team prize, finishing with a total of 35 points to Fordham’s 50. Fairfield (109) in third, Monmouth (167) in fourth

and Temple (189) in fifth followed closely behind.

Junior Julian Saad captured the individual title with a time of 25:28.

He became first-ever winner of the IC4A University Division race in Fordham history. Senior Brian Riley also joined Saad in the top 10, placing 10th with a time of 26:17. Other scorers for the Rams included junior Nick Synan (14th – 26:26), senior Kevin Fitzgerald (17th – 26:34) and sophomore Michael Belgiovine (18th – 26:36).

On the women’s side, the day also began with a 5k Coaches’ Race.

Freshman Courtney Cramer of La Salle claimed first with a time of 19:34. The Fordham women placed two inside the top 10: sophomore Christine Vivinetto (fifth – 20:01) and freshman Brianna Tevnan (sixth – 20:07). Other runners for Fordham included sophomore Shannon McKenna (29th – 20:44), junior Olivia Hustleby (42nd – 21:38), senior Fallon France (47th – 22:20), sophomore Amanda Foggia (54th – 23:03) and junior Allison Russelll (57th – 27:33).

The next race was the ECAC Championship Division Race.

The final event for the women was the ECAC University Division Race. Arsenault finished fifth with a time of 18:30, a mere 24 seconds off the top time.

“I was happy with my race since I

moved up five places from last year,” Arsenault said. “My time was only a few seconds faster, but I’m hoping to see bigger time improvements on the track this winter.”

The ECAC/IC4A race wrapped up successful seasons for both teams.

The men finished their season with impressive second-place finishes at two of their most important races: the Metropolitan Championship and the IC4A University Division Race. Their notable finish complemented Saad’s standout season, which included taking first place at the Williams Invitational, the Metropolitan Championship and the IC4A University race.

The women’s team also had a notable year with impressive finishes at the C.W. Post Invitational (first), Metropolitan Championship (fourth) and the St. John’s Fall Festival (second). Arsenault capped off the women’s season with great times at the C.W. Post Invitational (first), Metropolitan Championship (fourth) and the ECAC Championship (fifth).

“I would say the most memorable meet of the season was Mets,” Arsenault said. “We really hyped it up, and almost everyone ran a personal best time on the Van Cortlandt course. That meet probably was the best indication of how much we have improved as a team since last year.”

Bucknell Invitational Holds Success for Fordham Swimming

By TIM DEROCHER STAFF WRITER

In their fourth week of competition, the Rams and Lady Rams swimming and diving teams competed in the Bucknell Invitational last weekend. The men’s team had 16 top-five finishes and finished fourth out of seven teams. The women’s team also fared well, with 17 top-five swims in addition to six outright wins to help it to a secondplace finish at the invitational.

The six wins for the women came in the 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 800 freestyle relay, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke and the 400 freestyle relay. Senior Courtney Collyer won the 500 free with a time of 4:56.94 and the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.59. Both of these were season-best times for Collyer.

The 800 free relay saw the team of Collyer, junior Alana Biagioli, sophomore Kara Field and junior Brienne Ryan clock in the winning time at 7:37.12. Ryan continued her winning ways with a seasonbest 2:00.21 in the 200 back to take home first place. Collyer also picked up a win with another season-best time of 2:01.96 in the 200 butterfly. Ryan kept the winning streak going with the top time in the 100 back at 54.76. The 400 free relay team of Collyer, Ryan, Biagioli and freshman Ariana Peschke capped off the women’s win with a season-best time of 3:29.06.

Additional top-five finishes came from Collyer in the 200 individual medley (fourth- 2:07.97) and the 400 individual medley (second- 4:24.49). Ryan also added to the tally with her finishes in the 50 freestyle (third- 23.83) and 100 butterfly (third- 56.78). Field tacked on an additional three top five finishes of her own in the 500 freestyle (fourth- 5:02.67), 200 freestyle (fourth- 1:55.18) and 1650 freestyle (fourth- 17:14.89).

Also contributing to top five individual finishes were Biagioli in the 200 free (third- 1:55.10), Peschke in the 100 back (fifth- 58.44) and freshman Frances Warren in the 200 butterfly (fouth- 2:06.97).

Relay top fives included the 200 freestyle relay of Kellie Lyver, Kelly Bunster, Collyer and Ryan (second -1:36.9), the 400 medley relay of Busnter, Ryan, Collyer and Peschke (third- 3:53.36) and the 200 medley relay composed of Ryan, Collyer, Bunster and Biagioli (third- 1:46.40). On the div-

ing side of the meet, seniors Andrea Krok and Elizabeth Droger finished third and fourth, respectively in the one meter with scores of 248.05 and 242.90, respectively.

Krok went on to place in the threemeter dive as well (third - 257.85) along with Dorger (fouth- 249.60).

Junior Brittany Salas joined them in scoring in the three meter dive with a fourth place worthy score of 251.81.

The men’s team compiled their own list of top-five finishes. Sophomore Shintaro Noguchi led the way with his 200 individual relay (fourth- 1:54.49), 100 butterfly (second- 49.96) and 200 butterfly (second- 1:52.72) races. Junior Devon Morris had top-five finishes in the 50 free (fifth- 21.14) and the 100 free (third- 46.58). Junior Thomas Yi had top-five finishes of his own in the 200 individual relay (fifth- 1:55.56), and the 200 back (fourth- 1:51.96). In the 400 individual medley freshman Zach Jacobsen took home third with a time of 4:05.41. Another freshman, Patrick Militti, finished fifth in the 100 butterfly in a time of 51.29. Sophomore Nick Belfanti took fourth in the 200 free, clocking in at 1:43.64. In the distance event of the 1650 freestyle, freshman Andrew Hendrickson pulled down a fifth place time of 16:22.91.

Relay-wise the men had plenty of success as the 400 freestyle took second in a time of 3:05.58 (Noguchi, Militti, Yi, Morris). The 200 free relay consisting of Noguchi, Yi, senior Patrick Mulligan and Morris grabbed third place, finishing in 1:23.98. The 400 medley relay came in the top five as well, placing third in 3:27.59 (Senior Sean McManus, Yi, Noguchi, Morris). The 200 medley relay of McManus, Yi, Noguchi and Morris took home fourth place in 1:34.78. Lastly, the 800 freestyle relay composed of Militti, Belfanti, Jacobsen and Noguchi finished with a second place-worthy time of 6:55.46.

Over a dozen of these top-five finishes were season-best times.

This stat, along with the fact that the women’s team was ranked No. 16 in the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Division-I Rankings, are positive signs for the team in the season to come.

The teams next compete on Saturday, Dec. 3 as they take on both Boston College and Williams College in a tri-meet in Williamstown, Mass.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 19

SPORTS

fense was (second-to-last in the FCS in points per game), the only way to go is up.

As bad as the offense was, the defense was worse. The Rams allowed an astonishing 466 yards and 33.5 points per game. Their 254.6 rushing yards allowed per game was second-worst in the FCS. Looking at the statistics, it would be hard to justify keeping Masella as coach. A team coming off a season like that needs a clean slate.

Fordham announced the move a little more than an hour after the Rams lost 41-21 to Holy Cross. The Ram reported the news shortly before this, but the story wasn’t picked up by the Associated Press until the Fordham athletic department issued a press release later that evening. On ESPN.com, Masella’s firing is buried in a story with the headline “Holy Cross 41, Fordham 21.”

By comparison, Columbia’s decision, which was announced early Sunday, was featured as one of ESPN.com’s top eight college football headlines that day.

This reveals something troubling about Fordham football: nobody cares.

Certainly, it’s difficult to care much about a team that went 1-10 and very well could have been winless, considering that lone victory came in a close game against another one-win team.

By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR

The Columbia marching band came under fire earlier this month, when the team’s 0-9 record led the band to change the lyrics of the school’s fight song to poke fun at the roar-less Lions.

“We always lose, lose, lose; by a lot, and sometimes by a little,” one verse began.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were referring to Fordham.

Columbia did manage to finish the year at 1-10 with a win in its final game of the year, upsetting a much better Brown team, but Head Coach Norries Wilson was fired after going 17-43 in his six seasons as coach.

Fordham, too, won just a single game this year (against those ferocious Columbia Lions), and fired its coach, Tom Masella, who only had one winning season in his six years at Rose Hill.

Masella can’t take all the blame for this year’s disastrous season. Injuries plagued the Rams all year long, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but a team coming off such an awful season needs a fresh start.

Under Masella, Fordham football began offering scholarships for the first time. Because of that, the future is reasonably bright for Fordham.

Scholarships will attract more talented players. Current sophomores were the first players to be offered scholarships. Once these players become juniors and seniors, Fordham should be a more competitive team.

Indeed, this year’s team showed flashes of competence at the end of the season. That’s hardly any sort of praise, but it’s really the best thing you can say about a team that won only a single game.

Several offensive players proved themselves down the stretch. Ryan Higgins and the offense played fairly well (aside from shutouts against Bucknell and Army.) Freshman Peter Maetzold started a handful of games at the beginning of the year.

He should be able to use that experience to challenge Higgins for the starting job next season.

Whoever the quarterback is, they’ll have six of the team’s top seven pass catchers returning. Leading rusher Daryl Whiting will graduate, but juniors Langston Lacroix and Carlton Koonce should be able to fill that hole.

Considering how putrid the of-

PHOTO COURTESY OF FORDHAMSPORTS.COM

Carlton Koonce will be a senior in 2012 and will be crucial to the running game.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away

Thursday Dec. 1

Friday Dec. 2

Saturday Dec. 3

Women’s Basketball Indoor Track and Field Swimming

Squash RAM ARCHIVES

Sunday Dec. 4

Monday Dec. 5

Tuesday Dec. 6

SAN DIEGO 1 p.m.

Wednesday Dec. 7

at Manhattan 7 p.m.

HAMPTON 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball LEHIGH 7 p.m.

Senior Courtney Collyer won the 500 yard freestyle at the Bucknell Invitational.

I could make some naïve, hidebound reference to the “Seven Blocks of Granite,” but the reality is that the landscape of college sports is different than it was then. It would be even more naïve and hidebound to suggest that a return to that level of success is possible.

As a fan, all I ask for is respectability. A 1-10 season is unacceptable, especially considering that this was the second season with the team offering athletic scholarships. Is it too much to hope for a football team that isn’t a source of embarrassment? It would be nice to walk into Jack Coffey Field and reasonably expect a win.

The first order of business for whomever replaces Masella will be to get people interested in Fordham football. Just look at what Tom Pecora has done for the basketball program. The basketball program Pecora inherited looked a lot like the football program looks now.

Now Pecora has created a mild buzz around the team. The student section in the Rose Hill Gym was nearly full for last week’s home opener against Binghamton. The pressure will be on Masella’s replacement to create a similar degree of excitement.

A return to the glory of the 1930s is unlikely, if not impossible, but a return to relevance and respectability shouldn’t be.

at Bucknell 7 p.m.

FORDHAM SEASON OPENER vs. BC and Williams College Wesleyan Round Robin

NYU 1 p.m.

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

PAGE 20

Rams Struggle at Loyola, Recover at Home to Beat Colgate

By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

Coming off of a successful home opener against Binghamton, the men’s basketball team was unable to maintain its momentum at Loyola (Ill.) on Saturday. The Rams never led against the previously winless Ramblers, losing 64-50 and falling to 1-2 on the season.

“We were manhandled,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “[Loyola] did a great job of playing through the body. We’ve got to be tougher; we have to respond to that. We’re not going to win every basketball game, but I’m not going to tolerate us losing games like that.”

Fordham was playing its first game in eight days, and the team got off to a slow start. Loyola started the game on an 8-0 run, and the Rams were never able to catch up.

Fordham shot only 27.7 percent (18-65) from the field, including 10.5 percent (2-19) from 3-point range.

“Hope is not a game plan,” Pecora said. “You can’t go into it saying, ‘I hope this jumper goes in.’ When people are flying at you it’s much more difficult to shoot the ball, so you’ve got to have some space and you’ve got to be patient. I thought our shot selection was poor.”

After trailing 34-25 at halftime, Fordham started the second half on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two with 17:16 left. The Rams stayed close for the next 10 minutes, and they were down by only five (52-47) with 7:34 to play.

Loyola then went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach. Freshman guard Joe Crisman led the Ram-

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Chris Gaston scored his 1000th career point Tuesday night against Colgate.

blers with 14 points, while sophomore guard Denzel Brito added 11 points and 10 assists. With the win, Loyola improved its record to 1-4.

Junior forward Chris Gaston headed the Rams’ effort with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a career-high six blocks, though he shot only 6-16.

Sophomore guard Branden Frazier and freshman guard Devon McMillan both struggled offensively for Fordham, shooting a combined 6-28. They were also

0-10 from behind the arc.

“Frazier looked like a freshman,” Pecora said. “That’s how he looked at the beginning of last year, and I reprimanded him for that. You can’t shy away from contact anymore, he’s big enough, he’s strong enough and he’s a sophomore.”

Fordham used primarily a seven-man rotation Saturday. The team played without freshman center Ryan Canty and freshman guard Jeff Short. Pecora said that Canty has a hip injury and that he will receive an X-ray on Wednes-

day, while Short remains day-today with a pulled hamstring.

Defensively, the Rams generated 18 turnovers against Loyola, but Pecora was not satisfied with the team’s performance. The Ramblers shot 52.1 percent from the field.

“It’s unacceptable,” Pecora said.

“We’ve got to guard and rebound first and foremost. We’re not going to win games and go into games saying we’re just going to out-score people. That’s not the way this team is going to play, that’s not the way this program is being built.”

Fordham was able to recover Tuesday night at home against Colgate, pulling away late in the second half to win 79-69. The Rams are now 2-0 at the Rose Hill Gym this season.

“It’s a good win,” Pecora said.

“We made mistakes down the stretch, but we’ll be able to learn from these mistakes.”

Gaston scored his 1,000th career point midway through the first half. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, picking up his third straight double-double.

The game was a back-and-forth affair until the 6:52 mark of the second half, when a layup by McMillan gave Fordham a 59-57 lead that they would never relinquish.

The Rams then went on a 12-2 run to put the game away.

McMillan and freshman guard Bryan Smith led Fordham, with the two of them combining for 28 second-half points. McMillan scored 20 points with five steals while Smith added 19 points and six steals.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Peco-

ra said. “They did a good job, they made some big-time plays. They tease you, there’s [sic] flashes of them as freshmen, and what separates good ones from great ones is they become consistent quicker, and that’s what we need to do as a team.”

Fordham increased its aggressiveness on offense after Saturday’s poor performance, drawing 32 fouls which led to 40 free throws (the team made 25 of them). The Rams also improved their field goal percentage, shooting 46.3 percent for the game.

“We played through contact,” Pecora said. “We learned Saturday how physical it can be, these young guys did, and even our vets against a real physical team. Today when there was contact, we played through that contact and I thought we did a much better job of mixing up our shot selection as well.”

McMillan in particular drove to the basket whenever he had a chance, leading to 13 shots from the free throw line.

“The big thing was our [forwards] setting screens, making sure I was open,” McMillan said.

“The lane was open and I made the plays.

The Rams, now 2-2 on the season, will continue their threegame home stand on Thursday night against Lehigh before finishing up against Hampton on Monday. Pecora hopes that the team will be able to continue to use the Rose Hill Gym to its advantage.

“We’ve got to win,” he said.

“Like I said at the beginning of the year, the first step to building something is becoming a tough team to beat at home.”

Estwick, Bristol Receive Limited Minutes in Home Opener

By NICK CARROLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Looking around at a Fordham men’s basketball game, it is not hard to find senior guard Alberto Estwick and senior forward Kervin Bristol; however, looking on the court during the team’s home opener was a different story.

Despite both being in the Rams’ starting lineup, Estwick played only five minutes and Bristol played 13 in the 64-49 win over Binghamton.

Head Coach Tom Pecora made it clear after the game that Estwick, who led the team in three-point shooting last season, and Bristol, who was second on the team in rebounding, have to work for their minutes.

“Alberto just wasn’t getting it done early,” Pecora said. “I want him to, he’s a senior. I need him to. I need Kervin Bristol to do more than get one point and two rebounds. But hey, I don’t decide who plays, they do, and I talk to them about that all the time.”

After the team’s opening-night loss at Syracuse, Pecora called out the guards for their inability to rebound. In the game, Estwick played 20 minutes and failed to

pull in a rebound. Pecora said he expects more effort from his team.

“It’s about performing, and every time you get an opportunity to bring it, you gotta bring it, and especially seniors,” Pecora said after the Binghamton win. “I believe defending and rebounding is 80 percent heart and toughness … If I gotta make it a samba line, even though they don’t know what that is, and just have guys running in and out from the scorer’s table if they’re not doing their job, I’ll do that.”

Estwick took the reduced minutes in stride and pointed to an individual play early in the game that led to his benching.

“I started off the game pretty bad,” Estwick, who played only two minutes in the first half before sitting, said. “I wasn’t following the game plan. We were supposed to go under screens, and I went over and the coaches wanted to set an example for everyone to do the right thing.”

“I just didn’t come into the game focused,” Estwick added.

“Just gotta make sure next game I come in more prepared, more focused and stay positive.”

After the game, Bristol attrib-

uted his reduced minutes to early foul trouble.

“I got in foul in the first three minutes of the game and that kind of threw me off,” Bristol said. “Early in the game I took some silly fouls, fouls away from the basket.

So I think I put it on myself.”

The Rams went on a 22-0 run early to put the game out of reach early. Bristol feels like this contributed to his play.

“They were a good team but not good enough for us not to beat them by 20 or more,” Bristol said.

“By the 10-minute mark the bench should have been in the game getting experience. So I think we put it down on ourselves-we took them for granted and we didn’t push ourselves.”

Both Estwick and Bristol saw their minutes increase in the team’s following game at Loyola (Ill.). Estwick played 18 minutes; Bristol played 21 minutes. Each scored three points and grabbed five rebounds in the 64-50 loss.

Against Loyola, each played over 20 minutes, though Pecora made it clear he still expects more out of his veterans.

“They’ve got to get going,” Pecora said. “I’ve always said, you’re as good as your seniors.”

PHOTO BY NORA MALLOZZI/THE RAM

Alberto Estwick and Kervin Bristol have had their playing time cut early on.