Volume 93 Issue 6

SUMMER HOUSING IN MARTYRS’- PAGE 9

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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2011

MARCH 9, 2011

VOLUME 93, ISSUE 6

Fordham Mourns ‘Abundant’ Levels of Mold Loss of LC Junior Spores Found in O’Hare

By CONNIE KIM NEWS EDITOR

Shortly after the tragic death of a student at the Rose Hill campus in the beginning of school year, the Fordham community mourned the loss of another student, Hayden Hartnett, FCLC ’12, who was found unconscious in her room and later announced deceased, at the Lincoln Center campus on the morning of Feb. 20.

According to Bob Howe, University director of communications, at about 10:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 18, two days before the actual incident, a student, who was concerned about a phone conversation he had with Hartnett, called 9-1-1. The New York Police Department responded to McMahon, but found Hayden had left her room.

A Fordham security supervisor tracked Hartnett down and asked her to come to McMahon from off-campus, so he could evaluate her condition. At 12:40 p.m. on the same day, Hartnett returned to McMahon, and the supervisor interviewed her. She appeared to be coherent, lucid and in good physical condition. Hartnett said that she was not in need of any medical attention.

The supervisor informed her of the availability of the counseling center in McMahon Hall and suggested that she contact her psychiatrist, which Hartnett said she would do.

Two days later, Feb. 20, at approximately 6 a.m., a security supervisor went to Hartnett’s McMahon Hall room in response to a 9-1-1 call reporting an unconscious female. The supervisor arrived at about the same time as the New York City Emergency Medical Services, where he found Hartnett on the bedroom floor, face

up, unconscious and unresponsive.

Paramedics began the CPR and continued it while transporting her to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7 a.m.

“The entire University community is deeply shaken by Hayden’s death,” Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, said in a press release. “We are heartbroken to lose someone so young and full of promise, and our hearts go out to her family and loved ones as they grieve for her. I know the entire Fordham family will keep Hayden, her family and loved ones in their thoughts and prayers.”

The cause of her death is still unknown. The University is waiting on the Medical Examiner’s report.

According to Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill, there were no significant changes made after the death of the late Jacob Miller, FCRH ’14, in terms of dealing with students.

“Our experience is that our approach works,” Rodgers said. “We are very successful with getting students to the Counseling Office and other places.”

According to Rodgers, the annual surveys of the Fordham student body indicate that there is a higherthan-average percentage of students aware of Counseling Services compared to the national average percentage of students. Also, the vast majority of the student body knows that resident directors and resident assistants are there to help.

In addition, there are mandatory programs for both commuter and resident students during the freshman orientation to educate them with mental health problems and SEE HARTNETT ON PAGE 3

Lab Results Confirm Presence of Mold Spores, Facilities Plans ‘Heavy Maintenance’ for Break

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

An air quality sample, taken by exposing the test solution to the environment in question, resulted in a culture abundant with mold colonies. The sample was sent to an independent laboratory, which confirmed the presence of mold.

By STEPHEN MOCCIA DESIGN EDITOR

Separate laboratory reports confirm the presence of several types of mold spores in O’Hare Hall. A combination of direct tape lifts and air quality samples sent by The Ram to two independent labs veri-

While watching a documentary on the life of Thomas Merton, a 20th century Trappist monk, he became interested in the religious life.

He admitted that, before speaking to his parish priest, he had little-tono knowledge of the Jesuit order.

It was only after speaking to a psychologist at G.E. that he realized that he was being called to the Jesuit order. The psychologist asked Martin what he would do if he could do anything he wanted.

“Well that’s easy, become a Jesuit priest,” Martin responded. “Then become a Jesuit priest,” he was told.

The speech seemed to be wellreceived by those of all faiths.

the health center, facilities workers wearing surgical masks eventually responded to the situation and supposedly resolved the issue.

However, recent testing conducted

by The Ram – prompted by student complaints – finds that mold is still an issue in the building, even in that same room supposedly cleaned earlier this year.

“I consistently wake up with headaches, a scratchy throat or itchy eyes,” Rachel Malinowski, FCRH ’12 and roommate of the aforementioned Ram staffer, said.

“When I’m home I have no issues, but as soon as I return to school, the problems return. Even if friends from other dorms come over to visit or study for as little as an hour, they sometimes show symptoms too.”

Malinowski noted that, because of her roommate’s issues and the article earlier in the semester, their room was recently serviced. Despite that fact, both continue to show signs of an allergic reaction.

“Clearly the fundamental cause or problem has not been addressed,” she said.

An air quality test, conducted by exposing a test solution to the environment in question for the hour, resulted in 21 mold colonies.

The sample was sent to a laboratory in Weston, Fla., for analysis. The laboratory reported that the mold culture consisted of four different varieties: Clasosporium, Penicillium, Pithomyces and yeast.

While all four types are fairly common molds, the report indicates that they can still cause respiratory and other health difficulties, such as headaches, runny nose, wa-

SEE MARTIN ON PAGE 2

SEE MOLD ON PAGE 3

fied residents’ belief that mold is the underlying cause of their allergy-like symptoms.

One Ram staffer who lives in O’Hare reported her problems with mold in an article last fall [“From the Desk of,” Volume 92, Issue 20]. After a severe allergic reaction that prompted a visit to

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Mold growth is visible on the surface of vents and ceiling tiles both in residents’ rooms, in addition to in public lounges and common areas.

Jesuit Guide Author Speaks at Fordham

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

James Martin, S.J., gave advice to students at Campbell Hall Commons.

By CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY STAFF WRITER

“Do what your best self would do.”

This was among many pieces of advice given by the Rev. James Martin, S.J., the author of My Life with the Saints, and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, his most recent book. In his speech, held March 2 and sponsored jointly by the Office of Campus Ministry

and the Office of Residential Life, he discussed Ignatian spirituality, Catholic church teaching and the importance of joy and humor in faith, the subject of his next book.

His discussion on Ignatian spirituality, however, was in no way limited itself to Catholicism. In fact, he explained that he decided to publish with a nonreligious company so his book would not be seen as being only for Catholics. His advice in the book, he said, was for anyone

“who has ever had to make a major decision.”

The first half of his talk, which left Campbell Hall Commons with standing room only, was largely built around his own biography, interspersed with guidance on how to live a fulfilling life. Martin grew up in a Catholic household in Philadelphia, although he described it as “not very religious.” Because he was unsure what he wanted to do with his life as a teenager, he enrolled in the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, later working at General Electric in New York City and in Connecticut.

He explained that, although he was making lots of money, he gradually became disenchanted with his job.

INSIDE Sports PAGE 24

Opinions PAGE 7

Culture PAGE 13

Men’s basketball snaps 41-game A-10 losing streak against UMass.

Guns should not be allowed on campus.

How to have an exciting spring break.

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Feb. 23, Freeman Hall, 9:10 a.m.

Someone reported that there were broken windows and a discharged fire extinguisher in the first floor lecture hall (Room 103). Additionally, a stained glass window in the lobby was broken.

Two of the window panes were smashed, and the third sustained a crack.

Feb. 23, Bathgate Entrance, 9:15 a.m.

A student’s ex-boyfriend was present at the gate, attempting to get onto campus. He said he wanted to see his girlfriend, though they had already broken up. Security contacted the girl and she said that she did not want to see him. He tried to enter campus and was denied entry. After he began to give the supervisor a hard time, he was warned that he would be arrested if he continued.

Feb. 26, Eddie’s Parade, 2:50 a.m.

Security officials observed an abandoned utility cart in the middle of Eddie’s Parade. The cart was found without a key, the passenger side window broken and a detached driver’s side door laying on the ground. This is considered a case of criminal mischief.

Feb. 26, Murray Weigel Hall 6:30 p.m.

The security guard assigned to the desk said that several people were stuck in the elevator between the second and third floors. The security supervisor responded and instructed the occupants to pull the emergency stop button.

Feb. 27, Bathgate Entrance, 5:15 p.m.

USG Senator Proposes Value Investing Course

By VIKRAM BHATIA

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

SiHien Goh, United Student Government vice president of GSB ’13, proposed a plan for a value investing course at Fordham at Thursday’s meeting. The course would be the first of its kind offered by an American undergraduate business school.

The addition of such a course seeks to improve the reputation of Fordham on Wall Street, as most undergraduate business schools do not offer a value investing course.

Instead, most schools teach what is known as the Modern Portfolio Theory, otherwise known as the Efficient Market Hypothesis. This school of thought suggests that all the factors that affect the value of any financial security are already considered in the price.

“We are sending students who are taught that there is no money to be made on Wall Street — to make money on Wall Street,” Goh said.

The program will be based on the one offered at the Columbia Graduate School of Business, the alma mater of the Gabelli School of Business namesake Mario Gabelli, GSB ’65.

In order to implement the plan to offer this course, USG will need to obtain faculty and administrative support.

Goh offered ways for the school to promote this unique addition to the curriculum.

“Prominent value investing proponents should be invited for lecture series and intensive marketing should be pursued to promote our school as the one and only undergraduate business school in America to spearhead this initiative,” he said. “A great first step would be to formalize the structure behind the Center of Global Investment Analysis that Gabelli instituted when he donated $25 million to the school.”

While there are some Fordham graduates who are now working in front office positions of bulge bracket investment banks, Goh

said he believes that offering this course can make a big difference in terms of opportunities available for students.

“Today, our school is largely a feeder school for the top-four accounting firms and the back office of bulge bracket investment banks in New York,” he said. “Will a program in value investing propel Fordham to the very top of recruiter’s lists? Probably not. At least, not instantly. However, promoting a philosophy of investing that Wall Street practitioners adhere to or believe in will positively differentiate us from our competitors.”

The competitors mentioned during the meeting were Ivy League schools, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Notre Dame, Boston College, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and the Stern School of Business at New York University.

“Ivy League students can be an environmental policy major and still make it on Wall Street,” Goh said.

The course will be available to all students at Fordham, not just business students.

“Students majoring in subjects like Economics or International Political Economy (IPE) have as much to benefit from a value investing program here at Fordham as a Gabelli School student,” Goh said. “A successful value investing program may also increase the value of an FCRH degree as faculties in other schools hear about the Fordham brand name.”

Sidney Henne, vice president of GSB ’11, is optimistic that the course will have a great impact on Fordham’s reputation.

“It’ll bring the best banks to us for recruiting,” she said.

In addition, plans for a sustainable business minor continued to take shape. The minor, backed by a proposal authored by Elizabeth Anderson, secretary and treasurer of FCRH ‘13, strives to provide students with a wide range of op-

portunities after graduation.

“Sustainability concerns are integral to all businesses, both in traditional business markets and in the emerging ‘green sector’ job market,” Sandie Habib, executive vice president, FCRH ’12, said.

“The sustainable business minor will enhance the career opportunities of our graduates in both arenas.

While traditional business jobs are now concerned with many aspects of sustainability, ‘green sector’ jobs necessitate more detailed training.” “[The minor] will also help align the University with the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools’ recommendations to ‘aggressively expand focus on issues of global sustainability’,” she said.

All Sustainable Business minors will be required to take a foundations course and six electives. They hope to have the minor available by next semester.

“So far it has been presented to both the academic deans and gained approval,” Habib said. “We predict that it will be offered in the fall of 2011.”

USG also provided official support to the community investment proposal suggested by the Progressive Students for Justice. The proposal urges Fordham to invest more money into local banks rather than large banks.

“This is an institutional way to empower our local community, while making a safe investment in the future of the Bronx, which in turn is an investment in Fordham, since Fordham is a major institution of this borough,” Brett Vetterlein, FCRH ’11, said.

They argue that by investing in local banks, the University would be aiding in the growth of the Bronx economy; they also say that the proposal will potentially make Fordham a better institution as well.

“It’s about doing good for others, but also doing good for our university,” Vetterlein said. “Practicing community investment will put us a cut above the rest. Georgetown,

THIS

week at FORDHAM Wed., March 9

A father estranged for about a year came to the post at Bathgate.

He wanted to speak to his son and drop off some property. The son said that he did not want to see his father, however.

“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Walsh?”

Rose Hill Writing Center Dealy 301 & 302

Mar. 4, Goupil Hall, 11:25 p.m.

An RA observed a male exit a first floor window, who joined a group of five others standing in the roadway. When the RA approached, the group became hostile. When the supervisor responded, they fled. The supervisor keyed into the room and nobody was present. A security guard caught a student who tried to enter the building with an identification card that had been altered. The number on the card did not match the Goupil number. The security guard made a phone call to which a supervisor responded and the student was referred to the Dean of Students.

— Compiled by Vikram Bhatia, Assistant News Editor

Boston College, and all our competitor schools will begin questioning ‘Hey, why aren’t we doing this?’

And we can brag that we were at the forefront.”

Vetterlein said that it is more than just local investment. “[It is] also about investing in Community Development Financial Institutions, which are a specific and federally qualified type of financial institution which have explicit goals of community development and investment,” he said.

“We want Fordham to begin to invest in these CDFIs because they give quality loans and financial products to our neighbors who have been historically preyed upon by the larger corporate banks,” he said.

At the same time however, Fordham will be materially rewarded for making these investments.

“It’s not just a charitable donation,” Vetterlein said. “We will be getting market return rates on these investments.”

Although USG has now officially joined PSJ in asking the University to consider the project, further steps must be taken to make it a reality.

“We just submitted the proposal officially to the Chief Financial Officer of Fordham, John Lordan, and the Treasurer, Robert Steves,” Vetterlein said. “We are trying to set up a more formal meeting with them after spring break. We also have been contacting faculty members, especially from the law school and graduate business school, to support us.

“On top of this we are writing a statement of support for students and faculty members to sign on to which will be submitted to the administration. We will begin circulating that following spring break as well.”

In other business, the College Democrats were voted as the Club of the Month for February. USG members cited the Robert Kennedy, Jr. event as the chief reason for the decision.

2:30-4 p.m.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Reverend James Martin, S.J., the author of My Life with the Saints, discussed Ignatian spirituality, Catholic church teaching.

MARTIN, FROM PAGE 1

“His use of humor and personal stories in order to relate the importance of Ignatian spirituality to college life was innovative and eye-opening,” Rachel Malinowski, FCRH ’12, said.

Martin used this story to explain how easy it is for people to live up to their ideals.

“Imagine your ideal self,” he said.

“Then try to do what that person would do.”

He explained that, as you try to strive for your ideals, you slowly

turn into who you want to be.

During the Q&A that followed, he fielded topics ranging from women’s ordination to why he left G.E. He also explained how important it is for Catholics and nonCatholics alike to realize that there is a humorous side to religion. He recounted the story of Nathaniel in the Gospel of John, who upon hearing that Jesus was from Nazareth asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“By discussing the importance of humor in faith, Fr. Martin brought

up a point very few others have, and one that gives Catholicism a less-serious twist,” Jacob Torpey, FCRH ’13, said.

Before concluding his talk to sign copies of his books, he told several of his favorite jokes regarding Jesuits, one of which involved heaven-bound priests and nuns from different religious orders being summoned to God, who from His throne asked each one, “What do you believe?” According to Martin, the Jesuit said, “I believe you’re sitting in my chair.”

Wed., March 9 “Bella” Screening Keating 3rd 8-10 p.m.

Wed., March 9 Pretty Pretty Princess Party Faculty Lounge, 8-11 p.m.

Thurs., March 10 Cardio Kickboxing and Zumba Campbell Common Room, 5:30-8 p.m.

Mon., March 21 Broadway Ticket Lottery O’Keefe Commons, 1 p.m.

Tues., March 22 Cinevents!

“The Tourist” Keating 1st, 9 p.m.

— Compiled by Connie Kim, News Editor

NEWS

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Students Have Coffee Talk with Fr. Tueth

By KATHRYN HILLMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

At a coffee talk hosted by the Campus Activities Board on March 2, Rev. Michael Tueth, S.J. on Mar. 2. Fr. Tueth started the discussion, with a question: “Can anything the media says shock us anymore?”

The event was sponsored by CAB’s American Age Lecture Series and by Rodrigue’s Coffee House.

Tueth, who is currently teaching Films of Moral Struggle, a Senior Values class, grew up in St. Louis.

After entering the Society of Jesus, he completed his doctoral studies at New York University in American studies and then taught at Regis College in Denver for 10 years.

After moving back to St. Louis, he worked in radio and television programming for some time.

Then, Tueth decided that he wanted to teach at college again, so he interviewed for a position at Fordham with Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, who was the dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill at the time.

Tueth teaches in the communication and media studies department and is on the American studies affiliate faculty. He strives to incorporate American studies into many of his classes.

The lecture was structured around the concept of shock as used by modern media. Although it was a lecture, the listeners were encouraged to participate freely.

He explained that the term “shock,” used in the sense of jarring the mind or emotions, quite accurately describes the effects of the media’s desires.

Shocking news draws audiences’ attention, and can be utilized in order to make a point. Recently, the New York Times ran photos of all of the men and women who had died in the past year while serving in the armed forces overseas, formatting the pictures in a yearbookstyle format. For many Americans, it brought the reality of the conflict home in a way that statistics are not capable of conveying.

Shock is sometimes used when making satirical observations. For example, the popular show “South Park” has resorted to shock on multiple occasions to make point-

ed satirical observations about current events. Just as often, however, shock is not used as a means to convey a message, but is used simply to gather an audience.

Tueth has studied the effects of “shocking stuff ” in the media (typically defined as violence, sexuality, crudeness, etc.) and has noticed three main effects it has had on society: modeling, reinforcement and desensitization.

People view the acts they see in programs as models for behavior.

Continued depiction of certain behaviors can reinforce certain behaviors. For example, many shows depict teenage sex, and the mentality that it is cool quickly comes to dominate the mindset of viewers, particularly younger viewers. It will also reinforce certain thoughts and behaviors; violent television will often reinforce the inherent violent inclinations of certain individuals.

One of the most important effects, and possibly the most dangerous to society, is the desensitization that comes with repeated depiction of certain behaviors and actions – graphic violence becomes “no big deal.”

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM

Ceiling tiles, which are made of organic materials, are a perfect substrate for molds to reproduce, as evidenced by the visible growth near the vent openings.

MOLD, FROM PAGE 1

tery or irritated eyes, itchy throat, excessive coughing and chest congestion. The report also states that prolonged exposure to elevated concentrations can lead to asthma, edema (swelling from fluid accumulation in tissue), facial eczema or bronchospasms. Individuals with chronic cases, however, may develop pulmonary emphysema.

The report says that “[the] mold identified in this report is often associated with excess moisture and can be a problem in indoor environments at high levels. Since mold requires water to grow, it is important to prevent moisture problems in buildings. The presence of mold, water damage or musty odors should be addressed immediately.”

The second test, called a tape lift, involved pressing strips against surfaces throughout the building. These strips were then sent to a laboratory in Texas. All eight

samples recorded the presence of mold, with three samples measuring “abundant” levels, one “major” levels and the others “minor” or “trace” amounts.

Aside from the same molds discovered in the first test, the second report revealed signs of Basidiospores and Hyphal fragments. According to the lab’s Web site, Basidiospores are classified as an allergen or contaminant.

The Web site also says that “[high] concentrations in an indoor air sample might be indicative of water damage or too high humidity” and that the mold is “[often] abundant at night or predawn hours when there is high humidity.”

The Center for Disease Control Web site explains that all molds can be hazardous to health, regardless of whether they are non-toxic to humans. The Web site also instructs that anyone who believes they are ill because of exposure

to mold should contact his or her health-care provider to determine what action, if any, is appropriate, since some people are naturally more sensitive to molds.

“What scares me is that these findings seem to match some of my friends’ symptoms, Shachi Patel, FCRH ’12 and second-year O’Hare resident, said when informed about the mold. “I definitely don’t want that stuff in my room.”

After receiving the results of the testing, The Ram learned that Facilities Management had already scheduled what will be extensive work on the O’Hare ventilation system for Spring Break, when impact on residents will be minimal.

“Our usual maintenance in those spaces is essentially the replacement of filters, which is the same that you do at home,” John Puglisi, assistant vice president for Facilities Operations at Rose Hill, said.

“But this is a pretty full-fledged duct cleaning.”

HARTNETT, FROM PAGE 1

The discussion moved on to consider things that are still capable of shocking people; it has been found that people are usually most affected by shock when things are brought down to a personal level.

When the effects of horrendous acts of violence are seen affecting one specific person, it tends to stick with people. It appears that the viewing public is still capable of being shocked; when things are personal and human, we tend to become re-sensitized to what exactly is going on.

The discussion continued as people discussed their reactions to certain types of behavior portrayed heavily in the media and the effect it had on them. At times, shock can have a beneficial impact on society, by drawing people’s attention to serious situations and making them aware of what is really going on, as seen in The New York Times article illustrating the impact that United States’ involvement overseas is having on American citizens.

It is up to the audiences to differentiate between shock used to draw awareness and shock used to boost ratings.

places.

“We redouble our efforts in terms of fundamentals,” Rodgers said when asked how the University handles the situation after these tragic incidents. “We make sure staffs are trained, and they are open and approachable to all students who visit them. There are trainings twice a year for main resident directors and assistant directors. RAs are also trained to respond to mental health emergencies.”

He also emphasized that is is important for students to recognize their friends’ conditions and not to be afraid to let someone know about their mental health conditions.

“If you see something, say something,” Rodgers said. “It’s simple as that.”

Administration officials encourage students in need of help and counseling to seek it from their resident directors and resident assistants. Fordham staff members are urged to contact Rodgers or Dean of Students at Lincoln Center Keith Eldredge if they have any concerns about students. All members of the University community should call the Office of Security at (718) 817-2222 if they have any concerns or need to talk to someone immediately.

“This is a heavy maintenance,” he added. “These airborne molds are not uncommon in areas where there is high humidity and moisture. Things live on dust, and the more dust, the more chance for having mold.”

Puglisi also noted that O’Hare houses the Millennium Grille and that grease from fume hoods can serve as a substrate that allows mold to reproduce. Additionally, because of the cooler temperatures last spring, he said that Facilities was pulling in more external air to cool the building, and that this would draw more materials into the system.

However, because O’Hare’s system is somewhat different from the others on Fordham’s campus, Puglisi explained that Facilities does not really have a standard protocol for dealing with the building’s ventilation system.

In the course of usual maintenance and repair work, Facilities noticed that a couple of the “ducting” systems looked particularly built-up over time, which prompted the impending cleaning.

“In ventilation systems we’re always sensitive to airborne air quality, and we do follow up on all complaints we get,” Puglisi said. “We’ve probably had a higher number of complaints in various buildings but nothing that would kind of put your finger on it and say that there was a particular instance [in O’Hare]. However, we take respiratory distress very seriously and know that people are susceptible to it and that there is a wide variety of effects and sources. Indoor air quality is very important to us and we try to minimize factors that will reduce comfort.”

Puglisi also said that the scheduled maintenance is routine in the sense that it is not addressing or repairing a defect in the system but that it is much more thorough than their usual servicing. Although routine, it will be what he describes as “heavy” because workers will be in all of the spaces and will be clean-

ing all of the ducts.

Because the work will be so comprehensive, Puglisi expressed concern that they will be hard-pressed to get it done in a week. Spaces will be treated with bactericides and microbial agents to inactivate any living spores in the building, and cleaning will involve the use of negative pressure and vacuuming. He added that particular areas where there is visual mold growth will require physical removal.

The Ram’s independently commissioned lab report states that “mold growth will often occur, particularly, if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed. Building materials, such as drywall, are made of cellulose and are highly absorbent, perfect surfaces for mold growth when wet.”

When asked about the issue, Elizabeth Amico, assistant director for housing operations in the Office of Residential Life, said that while she commonly receives pictures of dirty vent covers, there have been few complaints specifically related to health problems caused by mold; however, she said any concerns that are brought to her attention will be efficiently handled and that Residential Life works closely with Facilities to address urgent health matters. She also said that signage regarding the upcoming work would be posted in O’Hare.

Students who are experiencing any difficulties are encouraged to reach out to Residential Life or to place a “trouble call” to Facilities so that they can try to address the issue.

“A lot of it has to do with individuals and their sensitivities, but O’Hare is probably one of our larger ducted spaces,” Puglisi said. “We do a lot of visual work and check the filters we are pulling out to be sure that particularly nasty molds are not propagating. […] We are committed to making sure that all of the environmental conditions are as safe as possible.”

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

Student Life Council Discusses ResLife Matters Topics included Summer Housing, Integrated Learning Communities and Walsh Hall Renovation

By CONNIE KIM NEWS EDITOR

The Rose Hill Student Life Council met in the Common Room of Campbell Hall on Feb. 23 in carrying out a unanimous decision to move its meeting to a handicap-accessible site. At its second meeting of the semester, the Council discussed numerous Residential Life-related matters.

The first matter that came up was the project that Residential Life is planning to work on at Walsh Hall.

Due to its location, Walsh Hall is extremely drafty, and since the windows have not been sealed properly, many students have suffered low temperatures in their rooms.

“The biggest project we have to do for Walsh, which is very necessary, is the replacement of the windows,” Greer Jason, assistant dean of students and director of residential life, said. “We have been working with the facilities on that.

[However,] it is an extremely complicated and expensive project.

When you are not an expert on something, you tend to think that it is kind of an easy process. I have learned [during my years] in Residential Life that whatever you think is simple is actually extraordinarily

complicated. Walsh windows are no exception.”

According to Jason, the way the windows need to be replaced is very specific, because how one replaces a window is contingent upon how other windows are replaced due to how the whole building sits upon itself.

She added that the plan is to start part of the renovation this summer, though it may start a year after.

“It’s definitely our priority,” Jason said. “It will happen in phases.”

“In terms of how the capital has been planned for a few years as to what the University has been able to invest in, we saw about a $100 million dollars, a couple of years ago, having been invested in [Campbell Hall],” Christopher Rodgers, dean of students, said. “So that was really the focus for a number of years in terms of campus Residential facilities. After that, this year, we are focusing a lot on Jogues Hall [in Martyrs’ Court], for the integrated learning communities. What we do for ongoing basis is working with facilities operations and architects of the University; [we] do largescale capital planning and come up with [a] strategic plan.”

According to Rodgers, there is a limited amount of funding that the

University has for building renovations, because they cost a lot of money. The funds for this year are tied up in Hughes Hall, which is being renovated to headquarter for the Gabelli School of Business.

The next matter they discussed was the status regarding Integrated Learning Communities — West Wing, Global Business and Science Integrated Learning Community — for the upcoming year.

According to Jason, despite multiple and varying efforts to promote the ILC programs, the interest level is very low this year. The SILC program, however, did not suffer from a lack of applicants.

“ILC-GB has, I believe seven students that expressed interest so far and West Wing has 20 [as of Feb. 23]. For ILC-GB, we need 37 students, and for West Wing, we need 45,” Jason said. “Last year, there were much more grassroots efforts, but not this year.”

Kathleen Biemer, GSB ’11, president of the Campus Activities Board, suggested that the reason for the lack of applicants for the ILC programs is that there are better options for sophomores next year, since Martyrs’ Court is turning into an all-freshmen dorm.

“Yes, you do not have to find an

alternative to Martyrs,” Jason said, in response to Biemer’s reasoning.

Then, she added, “It’s good that we have lots of great housings for upperclassmen students, but it’s not so good in terms of having a healthy applicant pool for ILCs.” The next issue they discussed was summer housing. The summer housing will be in LaLande and Goupil Halls of Martyrs’ Court, and all the rooms will be air-conditioned.

Jonathan Roque, GSB ’11, president of the Commuter Student Association, raised a question.

“There are not enough food options over the summer, and many students have [a]hard time without a kitchen in their dorms. Is there a possibility for us to have a summer housing with proper kitchen supplies?”

Jason explained that it is essential that the summer housing is located in a freshman building due to numerous reasons.

“A lot of residents do not go home between housing and summer housing, which means that we need to give them a place to go before they must vacate the residence halls,” Jason said. “Since we need them in [their assigned dorms for the summer session] the Friday be-

fore commencement, any building that is largely populated by seniors is not an option; we need a building that is mostly occupied by freshmen because freshmen move out right after finals.”

Also, she added that another reason for being unable to use upperclassmen buildings is due to intersession.

“When the students move from their summer assignment to their next assignment, their newly assigned rooms have to be ready,” Jason said.

“However, sometimes there are conferences or circumstances where we cannot let students move in their rooms. We cannot keep them in upperclassmen buildings because they prevent someone else from moving into their assignment.

Since there are almost no students that move in early [to freshmen dorms], besides urban plunge and a few select athletes, it is easier for us to keep summer housing in a freshman building [through the end of August].”

“As for the kitchen, there is a microwave/convection that can be used as an oven and refrigerator and kitchen facilities will be available in the lounge in between LaLande and Goupil Hall,” she said.

College Republicans, Democrats Host Debate

By CHRIS GRAMUGLIA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The College Republicans and College Democrats hosted their second debate of the academic year on Feb. 23. After the last scheduled debate was cancelled, both parties seemed eager to engage with each other in a spirited dialogue regarding the matters of federalism, gun control, foreign policy and collective bargaining. The debate was moderated by Dr. Jonathan Crystal, associate professor of political science at Fordham, who has been working at the University since 1997. Attendees were sparse relative to previous debates, but those present appeared engaged and focused on the discourse that took place.

John Mantia, GSB ’13, president of the College Republicans, and Mark Guarnaccia, FCRH ’11, started the debate with a discussion on federalism, specifically focusing on state legislation as opposed to a growing national legislation.

Mantia, argued that a larger central government is inefficient because it could not account for the needs of individual citizens dealing with issues in their respective states.

“Politicians and bureaucrats in Washington have enacted legislation for the whole country […] this has continually resulted in a loss of liberty,” Mantia said.

Guarnaccia responded by proposing that oftentimes a larger central government can be more beneficial to the well-being of a nation when monitored and utilized efficiently.

“Throughout the course of history, the issues we’ve dealt with have become issues that need to be tended to at the federal level…historically things like banking regulations and insurance were dealt with at the state level,” he said. “Today

that’s unfathomable.”

Both debaters demonstrated an expansive knowledge of American history and of constitutional ideals, discussing the political philosophy of James Madison, one of the primary authors of the Constitution, and how his avenue of thought continues to influence contemporary notions of government. The discussion concluded with a brief gloss over the shift in healthcare policy in the United States, which Mantia argued is not only counterproductive, but a violation of individual liberties.

Following Mantia and Guarnaccia were William Marcley, GSB ’13, and Isabel Brown, FCRH ’14, who tackled the controversial topic of gun control. With the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords taking place only a month earlier, the topic of firearm legislation seemed especially pressing. Marcley argued that gun ownership is not only a right, but that it actually keeps crime rates lower. He pointed out that even in gun-free zones crime still escalated explaining that criminals are not deterred by stricter gun legislation, but instead continue to break the law by purchasing and using firearms, thus making them more dangerous to law-abiding citizens who would not attempt to obtain weapons.

“Law-abiding citizens such as myself and other people will obey legislation, but criminals couldn’t care less,” he said.

He also cited an instance on Arthur Avenue in which a jewelry store was broken into by a burglar, who was deterred by the proprietor who happened to be in legal possession of a firearm.

Brown responded with a point regarding the relative ease with which citizens can purchase guns and subsequently use them for malicious

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

The College Republicans and College Democrats debated federalism, gun control, foreign policy and foreign bargaining.

intent. She mentioned that current background checks do not take into account the psychological history of applicants, indicating a major flaw in the eligibility regulations of firearm purchase and citing a phenomenon known as “the iron pipeline.”

“Unlicensed gun-sellers will go to various states, buy guns in bulk and then return to states in which laws are more stringent, and then resell those guns,” she said.

Brown and Marcley concluded that the second amendment had a very small chance of being repealed, if any at all, but disagreed on the need for guns in the home. Marcley proposed a scenario in which an intruder entered someone’s home and insisted that Americans have the right to, “do what needs to be done” in the event that their lives are threatened; Brown claimed such scenarios are unrealistic.

Concluding the event was an exchange on both the topics of collective bargaining and of foreign policy between Samuel Martin, FCRH ’14, and DJ Ryan, FCRH ’13. Ryan and Martin agreed that unions need the

right to collectively bargain. “[It] gives workers the right to get what they deserve.”

Ryan pointed out that because education costs are so disproportionate, collective bargaining is a necessity.

“It gives workers the chance to earn what they deserve, because they got an education. They shouldn’t be making $40,000 a year when they spend $200,000 on their education,” he said.

The discussion focused primarily on teachers’ unions and Martin offered his view.

“I do believe in the right for people to join unions, but I do not believe that they all have to join unions […]people can still do their jobs without joining unions, and they can do them well,” he said.

Both students then briefly discussed foreign policy, a topic that seemed appropriate, especially with the recent push for democracy by citizens in Egypt. Martin explained that, although he would not receive credit for it, the spread of democracy in the Middle East was, “President

Bush’s gift to the world,” and pointed out that because of the changes in governance in Iraq and other areas, a ripple effect is occurring and will continue to occur as a result.

“George Bush liberated an entire region, and he deserves credit for it,” Martin said.

Ryan staunchly disagreed with Martin and purported that the events in Egypt and the Middle East, “proved Bush dead wrong.”

“It’s not our job to create democracy in other parts of the world,” he said.

Tom Emala, FCRH ’11, of the College Republicans, offered his opinion of the debate after the last exchanges concluded.

“I thought it was a great debate … it represented a good division between the two groups and I enjoyed coming out and hearing both sides,” he said.

The College Republicans and College Democrats host several debates each year, and plan on continuing to work to keep the political discourse at Fordham lively and productive.

NEWS

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 5

Huyler:Government’s Purpose is to Protect

By MICHELLE FLORCRUZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dr. Jerome Huyler, an associate professor at Seton Hall University and author of the controversial book, Everything You Have: The Case Against Welfare, arrived at Fordham University on Monday, March 7, with goals of persuasion.

Dr. Huyler, who was brought in by the College Republicans, has spoken at many universities, bringing attention to the current economic debt crisis and advocating specific reform of government spending.

In his address, Huyler describes the solution to the national debt crisis that is currently consuming the nation as, “the one single reform that can save this country.”

Huyler warns that other options to the problem are simply ineffective.

“Other alternatives to mitigating the financial crisis are tepid, timid and tentative,” he said.

Huyler described the general role of government as falling into two categories: protector and provider.

His answer to the fiscal crisis is to discredit all government spending that can be categorized as providing, namely welfare.

“The only legitimate function of government is to protect our lives, our family, our safety, our security” Huyler said. “The moment a government acts not to protect us, but

to materially assist one segment of the population at the expense of another, the government becomes not a protector, but a provider.”

If government subsidies and funding goes solely to protective measures such as the military, intelligence and the criminal justice system, Huyler estimates that spending would decrease by 75 percent.

Huyler adds that the benefits of welfare cuts are not only extensive, but also imperative in maintaining the American values and rights set by forefathers.

“The crusade of abolition of welfare is a just and necessary crusade for the 21st century,” Huyler said.

“Once our nation goes off that gold standard, we are doomed from that point forward.”

“A government that is big enough to give you everything you want can take everything you have,” Huyler reiterates, quoting former President Jimmy Carter.

Huyler is not oblivious to his critics that suggest subsidizing education and environmental groups is essential in preserving American principles and rights.

“There are categories of function that may not fall squarely on one function [of providing or protecting], like the EPA,” he said.

“Any form of welfare, regardless of what special interest, is fundamentally illegitimate.”

Huyler was assertive in saying

that government spending should not be allocated to the educational system.

“There is no role for government in subsidizing education,” he said, arguing that current funding in education is disproportionate because the department of education is bureaucracy-laden.

His final point was an appeal to the generation of students whom he often addresses, suggesting that the consequences of not doing anything will most profoundly affect us.

“We can’t count on politicians to cut spending deeply enough,” Huyler said. “We cannot rely on the politicians who are in the pockets of various interests. Rather, people must be the backbone of the politicians.”

“Professor Huyler’s talk, if anything, opened our eyes to the great crisis that our generation in particular faces,” John Mantia, GSB ’13, president of College Republicans, said. “The exploding national debt and size of the federal government are leading the U.S. on the path to fiscal ruin, and Professor Huyler concisely and passionately warned us that we must act now, or risk total collapse. I hope the Fordham community was able to come to realize the significance of this most important issue and perhaps demand their legislators take action to stop the spending.”

Fordham in Brief

Eight Hundred Years of Service? That’s no Small Feat

“Today we tip our hats, our birettas and our mortar boards to the men and women who, for 40 and 20 years, have kept faith with the ideals that have informed, fired and enriched Fordham for 170 years.”

These are the words Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, used to honor 33 of the school’s employees who had demonstrated high levels of loyalty throughout their careers on March 6. This ceremony was part of the 2011 University Convocation at Lincoln Center.

Fifteen administrators received the Archbishop Hughes medal for completing 20 or 40 years of service. sixteen members of the school faculty received a special medal for their 20 or 40 years, called the Bene Merenti medal.

“These good souls have lived out and continue to live out the words of Saint Ignatius,” Msgr. Joseph G. Quinn, vice president for University Mission and Ministry, said.

“To them, we say thanks.” He said that the employees had given 800 years of service to the school collectively.

The Susrum Corda was awarded to Georgina Calia Arendacs, Ph.D., and to Steven Madigan.

Arendacs, who has served at Fordham for 36 years, earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in sociology. She wrote her dissertation on Title IX and applied what

she learned in her studies when she was University director of equity and equal opportunity.

“Fordham has meant home,” she said. “It has meant development.

It has meant everything to me, really.”

She has volunteered with the Fordham chapter of Kiwanis International and the Fordham University Association for over 25 years.

Madigan, who has served as an electrician for the University, was recognized for his diligent work on campus lighting and for his work on Fordham’s emergency response team. Last March, he worked for 36 hours in a row in order to make sure that buildings were lit and online.

The Sursum Corda award was started in 2005 by McShane. It symbolizes outstanding contributions to the life and mission of the University.

Every honoree received a medal, handshake and applause from their peers.

Elizabeth Johnson, L.S.U., distinguished professor of theology, said that Fordham is a wonderful place to develop and grow as a professor and as a professional theologian for 20 years.

“Fordham has a wonderful spirit de corps,” she said. “I have cherished the academic freedom that I can think about feminist theology with no fear of retribution. The support I’ve received for the direction of my own research has been priceless.”

— Compiled by Vikram Bhatia, assistant news editor

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PAGE 6 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

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PAGE 7

Trigger Happy Politicians Aim at Colleges

RAM ARCHIVES

While states, including Arizona and Texas, are considering allowing guns on colleges campuses, Fordham does not permit firearms on the grounds; only security supervisors are allowed to be armed.

By BRIAN KRAKER OPINIONS EDITOR

College campus, meet Quentin Tarantino. The director of cinematic depravity, such as Pulp Fiction, now corrupts a university with his heinous world. An institution founded upon Christian morals now boasts a GPA based on a kill count. A pristine school marred by bullets and body bags.

While this scenario appears to be another manifestation of Tarantino’s warped reality, this Hollywood hyperbole is creeping closer to reality.

Arizona, the Yosemite Sam of the 50 states, is entertaining three bills that would arm college professors and students over the age of 21.

The law is a response to the recent tragic shooting in Tucson and past gun violence on college campuses.

Arizona politicians rationalize that an increased gun presence deters

students from using firearms.

While it is imperative that universities address campus safety, colleges do not need classrooms that resemble Clint Eastwood movies.

The last thing nervous freshmen want before a midterm is a professor putting a gun to their heads and asking if they “feel lucky.”

Fordham is a far cry from this lawless western fantasy. With a campus locked down like a Las Vegas casino, students have a better chance of bringing an abortionist to speak in Keating than a gun onto campus.

Of Fordham’s 175-person security staff, only about 20 supervisors are permitted to carry guns. To qualify for gun possession, these officers must have 20-plus years of service in law enforcement and complete rigorous training. All other individuals are banned from carrying a gun onto Fordham’s campus, even those legally permit-

ted to possess a firearm.

“Any college or university, in any state, Arizona or any place, that thought they are going to some way prevent shootings by arming people not well-well trained and well disciplined to carry a weapon, are not going to prevent anything,” John Carroll, associate vice president for Safety and Security, said.

While Fordham is not substituting Hail Marys for hails of gunfire, Arizona’s proposed law is no anomaly. About a dozen legislatures are considering similar bills, with Texas expected to prohibit collegiate gun bans this year.

With politicians putting an emphasis on gun control, these legislatures are ignoring the underlying cause of the violence. With the disturbing images from Virginia Tech still lingering in the public eye, it is easy to point to guns as the sole culprit. However, the majority of these crimes are committed by

troubled individuals.

Saturating a community with firearms is not the way to prevent these shootings. If politicians wish to protect their schools, they need to begin by getting these students help. Colleges need extensive counseling and psychological services, safe havens for students to turn to when overwhelmed with collegiate life. Rather than creating watchdog professors to deter students from committing violence, colleges must prevent students from reaching the point of lashing out.

Carroll believes the best tool at a university’s disposal is communication. Fordham security coordinates with counseling services and meets with professional emergency coordinators to discuss prevention techniques.

Fordham does not need desk assistants breaking into dorm rooms, Elian Gonzalez style, to enforce the guest policy. Rather, our cam-

pus utilizes preventive measures to mitigate the possibility of violent action.

Politicians are trigger happy with gun legislation, in turn ignoring the root of the violence. Stockpiling arsenals at universities and infusing schools with an omniscient presence of firearms are not answers for gun violence. When Arizona treats these heinous actions as inevitable, they become inevitable. Putting a gun in every classroom all but ensures another dead student.

Rather than this policy of mutually assured destruction, college campuses must offer the necessary psychological services for these students. College campuses need a little more Analyze This and a little less Kill Bill.

Brian Kraker, FCRH ’12, is a double major in English and computer science from Pompton Lakes, N.J. He can be reached at kraker@fordham. edu.

New Transfers Voice Praise and Point to Problems

By SARAH TEYSSEN STAFF WRITER

Nationwide, the number of transfer students is increasing. With the economy only slowly recovering and tuition rates rising drastically, many students now choose to attend affordable two-year community colleges and then transfer to four-year institutions. There are also more students mustering the courage to not give up the search for the university that is the perfect fit for their needs.

According to collegeboard.com, Fordham received 1,567 applications from students wishing to transfer here last year and accepted 895 of them. With these high numbers, it is important that Fordham makes the already daunting experience of switching schools as easy as possible. After all, transfer students make up a significant share of the student body now and their experience will help define the way Fordham is perceived in general.

In fact, it seems that most transfer students here are generally happy with the process. Students were especially pleased with advising resources and communication.

“Fordham was really helpful,” Emillie DeBoissiere, FCRH ’12 and a transfer student from Saint Leo University, said. “They always were quick to respond to my calls and

RAM ARCHIVES

Undergraduate admissions handles transfers and is housed in Duane Library.

emails, with all of my crazy mother’s questions.”

Lauren Sposato, FCLS ’12, a transfer student from Roger Williams University, agreed.

“The staff at Fordham was very, very helpful and sweet,” she said.

“They made me feel much more comfortable and went out of their way to help me in as many ways possible.”

The housing process, which is a very high concern for those transferring to the unfamiliar Bronx neighborhood, received praise.

“Fordham was very helpful in the housing process and my RA is very friendly and supportive,” Madlen Bayer, GSB ’12 and a transfer student from the Fashion Institute of Technology, said.

The only thing that received significant critique was the acceptance of transfer credits, especially for core

requirements.

“It was difficult to get the classes counted for some of the core classes,” Katie Demyan, FCRH ’12 and a transfer student from the University of Rhode Island, said. “Even if the class had similar titles and topics, the course description from the class at URI had to match Fordham’s course description. I found it difficult to complete the core requirements as a transfer student because you have to catch up with everyone else that took the classes Freshman year.”

Sposato agreed that credits were a problem.

“It was a rather difficult and tedious process concerning my transferring of credits,” she said. “I do feel like the core requirements are a little intolerable at times.”

Students were especially frustrated that Fordham requires syllabus course descriptions to line up al-

most exactly with the classes offered here, if they wished to receive credit for the course.

Still, there was a general sense that if a class had the right content, Fordham was willing to let it count towards requirements.

“Fordham tells you exactly what to do if you want credit, so it is up to you to hunt down whoever’s signature you need to get that course approved,” DeBoissiere said.

Guillermo Garrido-Lestache, FCRH ’12 and a transfer student from an American university in Spain, found improvements during the advising process.

“It was easy once I got to meet the transfer advisor personally in her office,” he said. “It didn’t take long and having my syllabuses with me helped. I had all my 59 credits transferred.”

Garrido-Lestache was able to fill many core requirements including Philosophy of Human Nature, History of Western Civilization, two English literature courses, Introduction to Psychology, Art History, Geology and Statistics. While students may dislike Fordham’s disinclination to count courses from other institutions, especially towards the core, it is in line with the University’s mission to educate the whole person.

Students who enroll at Fordham for their freshman year willingly submit to a large, diverse core and it is per-

fectly right to expect the same background of transfer students.

However, transfer students did point out some specific room for improvement in the process.

“It would have been helpful to know which classes were going to be credited before coming here,” Garrido-Lestache said.

Bayer expressed a wish for more help in settling in socially.

“It’s quite difficult to settle into a college mid-year when everyone has formed their group of friends already,” she said. “There had been a trip planned for transfer students that was supposed to take place during our initial orientation but we ended up never going and I wish Fordham had been better at organizing that.”

While the process obviously has its flaws, the vast majority of those transfer students interviewed by The Ram were satisfied with their treatment over the span of their transition and were excited to finally be attending Fordham. When asked whether she was happy she had come here, DeBoissiere said she was.

“Absolutely,” she said. “The Fordham community is one of the strongest and most welcoming college campuses I have been on.”

Sarah Teyssen, FCRH ’13, is an international politcal economy major from Erding, Germany.

OPINIONS

PAGE 8 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 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.

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Editor-in-Chief Nick Carroll Senior Executive Editor Patrick Derocher Managing Editor Victoria Rau Design Editor Stephen Moccia Business Editor Lindsay Lersner Business Editor Emeritus Caroline Dahlgren News Editors Connie Kim Vikram Bhatia News Layout Contributer Sarah Ramirez Opinions Editors Christine Barcellona Brian Kraker Culture Editor Sandy McKenzie Assistant Culture Editors Sarah Ramirez Scharon Harding Sports Editor Alexander Vilardo Assistant Sports Editors Jonathon Smith Chester Baker Copy Chief Celeste Kmiotek Copy Team Taylor Engdahl Abigail Forget Tom Haskin Olivia Monaco Erik Pedersen Hussein Safa Photo Editor Nora Mallozzi Web Editor Kelly Caggiano Faculty Advisor Jonathan Sanders Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in a *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at RamLetters@fordham.edu. 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 expressed in the articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author.

No part of The Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

From the Desk of Vikram Bhatia, Assistant News Editor tor Last April I had to make a decision about which university to attend. There were three main factors that led me to choose Fordham. One was the school’s proximity to Yankee Stadium. Another was the idea that being in New York would help me network my way into a job in finance.

The third and most important reason was that Fordham is a Jesuit school.

This last reason is why I was shocked on the third and final day of the New Student Orientation, when Elaine Pasqua spoke to all new students in Fordham College. The title of her lecture was “Surviving the Party.”

The description provided in the New Student Orientation guidebook reads, “Can you engage in high-risk behavior and maintain your goals toward a successful college education and beyond? In this high-energy, fun and interactive program, Elaine Pasqua challenges students to reassess their goals and evaluate the negative effects of high-risk behavior.”

Pasqua is a remarkable woman.

She travels to numerous universities throughout the nation and speaks to students about the risks of unprotected sex, namely HIV and AIDS. She lost both her mother and stepfather to AIDS, and she has also lost many of her friends to the disease. Pasqua creatively demonstrated the risks associated with unprotected sex during the talk and also advocated the idea

of students practicing abstinence from sex. She linked the risks of unprotected sex with the potential cases of alcohol abuse that students experience over their first four years away from home.

I do not have a problem with Pasqua’s talk in general. Her success is based in the fact that she has changed the lives of many of the students she has addressed; however, since Fordham is a Jesuit school, the circumstances are somewhat different. Within 72 hours of arriving on campus for a new phase in their lives, students had been encouraged to use contraception when having sex. Again, Pasqua did promote abstinence as the best way to avoid any trouble; however, Jesuit and Catholic values are very clear in that contraception is not to be used except in extreme circumstances. Last year, after this orientation took place, the Pope did signal a looser view of the role of contraception according to the Roman Catholic Church. He said that it could morally be used in order to curtail the spread of AIDS. The Pope’s message did not go without criticism from many within the Catholic community, but it is what it is.

Still, I am certain that the majority of my fellow classmates do not have any sexually transmitted diseases, and while people do make stupid decisions when under the influence of alcohol, the reason that most students

use contraception is to prevent pregnancy. That’s the bottom line. The balance of this talk was not sending a message to abstain from sex. The overall theme was simple; it is ideal to practice abstinence, but we recognize that many of you will not do that. So, here is how you can protect yourself when you have premarital sex, which is blatantly against Catholic social teaching.

“On both the undergraduate and the graduate level,” reads the Fordham Web site, “a Fordham education embraces rigorous scholarship and adherence to ethical values.”

That sentence is stated on the “Jesuit Tradition” page of the Web site.

The use of contraception, however, is traditionally viewed as a mortal sin by the Church. So why is somebody speaking to the newest members of the Fordham community and uttering the words, “don’t be a fool, wrap your tool”?

Contraception should not be promoted on this campus, so long as it is technically considered a Jesuit school.

If students choose to use it, fine, but it should not be encouraged.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited our nation in 2008, he made sure to send a message to the presidents of Catholic universities. He urged them to “reaffirm the great value of academic freedom,” and then said that “to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the church

would obstruct or even betray the university’s identity and mission.”

The Pope was clearly expressing his concern about the direction in which Catholic universities are headed. The next year, the University of Notre Dame, the nation’s premiere Catholic institution, invited Barack Obama, a pro-choice president, to deliver the University’s commencement address and honor him with a degree. This is not appropriate. Within 72 hours of his inauguration, Barack Obama stated his support for Roe v. Wade. A couple of months later he was being honored at Notre Dame.

Fordham’s reputation as an academic institution has been improving, and this trend will probably continue.

As its name becomes more recognizable, the school can earn respect by moving in the opposite direction that Notre Dame has. It should seek to promote Jesuit values more often.

If there is going to be a mandatory event to see Elaine Pasqua at the orientation, there should be another one that is completely focused on conveying the benefits of not engaging in sex outside of marriage.

Rankings are Misleading Measures of School Success

By SAM VINCENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This year, US News and World Report will celebrate the 18th anniversary of publishing its “America’s Best Colleges” rankings. This occasion, however, is not something to celebrate. The US News rankings, like many college rankings, contain serious methodological flaws and have substantially negative effects on the college admissions process.

One of the main problems with college rankings is that they create a false sense of hierarchy in the realm of higher education. Consider Georgetown and New York University.

Georgetown is ranked higher than NYU in the US News rankings. As a result, people who look at the rankings think that Georgetown is a fundamentally better school than NYU,

which is simply not true. These two schools are like apples and oranges in that they are virtually incomparable, different in many more ways than they are similar. Even for two schools that have more in common than these two, the differences vastly outnumber the similarities. Why else would college applicants spend so much time and effort trying to find the school that is just right for them?

Now it is possible to compare colleges on the basis of a specific characteristic, for instance, academic quality. In this case, the most appropriate standards of comparison would be the degree to which students are learning and the degree to which they are being prepared for the professional world, since these standards lay at the heart of what is considered a quality education. The college rankings, however, ignore these standards

and instead use ones like the academic reputation index and the student selectivity score, in the case of a US News rankings, or the research level, in the case of international rankings like the Times Higher Education rankings. These standards simply mimic the shallow traits of elite institutions and fail to evaluate a school’s true academic value.

Another major problem with college rankings is that they turn the college admissions process into an arms race. The two fundamental reasons that a school admits a student is that it believes the student will fit in well with its community or will help to further its mission or objectives. Because so many students use the college rankings, schools have to work through the rankings in order to attract the students who they want to admit. This process, however, re-

quires schools to admit students who give them a favorable position in the rankings instead of students whom they want to admit, so the entire process becomes purposeless. Moreover, the process leads schools to consider students as numbers in the context of a ranking instead of as multifaceted, qualitative beings and detracts from each school’s unique mission and identity, both of which are inherently negative effects.

The popularity of the college rankings is indisputable. They are used by students all over the country to decide which school they want to attend. This popularity, however, is misguided due to the rankings’ methodological flaws and the negative impacts that they have on the admissions process.

Sam Vincent, FCRH ’13, is an international political economies major from West Palm Beach, Fl.

Letter to the Editor Dear Editor: We appreciate your thoughtful consideration and reporting of the Vagina Monologues on campus (“The Vagina Monologues Encounters Resistance,” V. 93, issue 5); in these last weeks before the production; however, we also wanted to clarify a few things about the show.

Your articles about the monologues, particularly in the Opinions section, were extremely thoughtful and we appreciate them, but we feel that it is important to emphasize the balance in tone that occurs from one monologue to the

next, because the monologues that receive the most attention are often those centering around rape or other violence toward women.

These monologues are vital to the show’s meaning and purpose, but they are only one facet of a very nuanced presentation. Overall, you will find that this production is a celebration of women, relationships, passion and, yes, sexuality.

While it is true that the V-Day Movement is directed toward ending sexual violence globally, and that certain monologues expose such violence, we think it is important to emphasize that the show is also fun, funny, empowering and

Are your friends tired of hearing you complain?

Write for The Ram opinions section.

E-mail us at: fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

beautiful. We hope you join us to think and to challenge the realities of sexual violence, but also to enjoy honesty, to laugh and to appreciate womanhood in all of its complexities, joys and sorrows.

It is certainly a show that will challenge you, but importantly, it also celebrates and honors women in our lives and all over the world.

We encourage you all to come check it out March 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Collins Auditorium (please note that there will not be a matinée performance), and to have the kinds of thoughtful dialogue that will help you process and appreciate the experience.

Tickets will be available for the evening performances in McGinley in the week leading up to the performances as well as at the door a half hour before the show starts.

Tickets are $5 with student IDs and $10 without. All of the money raised goes to the V-Day organization as well as local charities that support women. Thanks again for your thoughtful coverage of the V-Day Movement on campus. We hope to see many of you there!

Sincerely, The producers, directors, cast and supporters of Vagina Monologues

If you have an opinion about something you saw in this week’s issue of The Ram, send us a Letter to the Editor at: fordhamramletters@gmail.com

OPINIONS

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 9

Martyrs’ is Inadequate to House Summer Students

By CHRISTINE BARCELLONA OPINIONS EDITOR

Unfair Trade Eric Horvath

After the Rose Hill campus empties out in May, several hundred students will remain to take classes or work.

Without these students, the campus would literally shut down; the University implies that summer residents are unimportant by forcing them to live under deplorable conditions. This summer, Fordham plans to house residents in Martyrs’ Court, which many students consider the worst residence hall on campus and which lacks a full kitchen, while other buildings stand vacant or almost vacant. Because the meal plan is limited during the summer, students should be housed in a building equipped with kitchen facilities, such as Campbell, Salice-Conley or Walsh Hall.

Some of the rationale behind housing students in Martyrs’ makes sense.

Because it is a freshman residence hall, its residents will move out after finals, while matters are more complicated in upperclassmen residence halls.

Administrators claim that Campbell and Salice-Conley Hall cannot house summer students because seniors stay late for commencement and most oncampus seniors live in CSC. If they allowed students to live in CSC during the summer, summer residents could remain late in their academic year housing assignments, and then move into the CSC after commencement, so that would not be a problem.

Another option would be to use Walsh Hall for summer housing, since it houses mostly juniors during the academic year. The University could install window air-conditioning units to make it livable during the summer, as it did in Hughes Hall for the past two summers, and as ResLife plans to install in Martyrs’ this year.

While some summer residents intern or work off campus, the majority of students stay on campus to take pricey courses or work for the University. Students working off campus or taking classes must spend a couple thousand dollars to live in university housing, but those who work on campus full-time receive a 75 percent housing discount.

The discount is essential, because many students who work on campus during the summer but reside offcampus in non-discounted housing struggle to break even after a summer of full-time work. Because of this, students and student workers are forced to live on campus over the summer if they want to keep the money they make. Most summer jobs on campus pay between $8-10 per hour. As a captive population forced to choose between living on campus and keeping their wages, or living off campus and ending the summer emptyhanded, student workers deserve adequate

Entry 31

BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Martyrs’ Court houses primarily freshmen during the academic year, but it is slated to house summer residents this year.

Ken Layne, Wonkette

Rich Noyes, Newsbusters

“Barack Obama has remained completely invisible during the intense labor battles. It’s one thing for you to be a clueless spectator on something like Egypt or Libya, but it’s very much another thing to be out to lunch on midwestern labor battles.”

“Radical and inflammatory signs were easily found at the Wisconsin protests, but the networks uttered not one peep of disapproval, overwhelming evidence of a double standard that should embarrass any network journalist who still purports to be fair and balanced.”

BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

A tiny “kitchenette” is where hundreds of summer students will prepare meals.

housing.

The largest problem with Martyrs’ Court is its lack of acceptable kitchen facilities. While microwaves are scattered throughout the building, there is only one small “kitchenette” on the second floor, where students can prepare their meals.

The cramped lounge has a halfstove with two small burners, a single sink without a garbage disposal, a refrigerator and another microwave with a “convection” setting. Because the kitchenette lacks a real oven, summer residents will be unable to bake anything in Martyrs’. Basically, Res Life will be encouraging students to survive off ramen noodles the entire summer. So much for encouraging healthy eating habits.

During the school year, the small kitchenette is adequate, because all Martyrs’ residents have meal plans.

That is not the case during the summer, when the Caf is closed for much of the day and on weekends.

When open, the Caf has a skimpy food selection. Typically, for the first portion of the summer, residents have the option to purchase an expensive meal plan and can eat in the Faculty Dining Room in the McGinley Center, which offers few options.

During summer 2009, students usually had the choice between one or two hot dishes like pasta, a salad or make-your-own sandwiches. Later in the summer, when dining transitioned to the Caf, many stations remained closed, such as the vegan station and the sandwich station during certain mealtimes. Students with dietary restrictions like vegetarians, vegans and people with food allergies struggled to

Issue of the Week:

Union Protests A Look at the World Outside of Fordham from the Perspective of Professional News Bloggers

find adequate meal options.

The Caf not only had scanty offerings, but it was also overrun with visiting elementary, middle and high school students participating in different camps hosted by Fordham. At times, it was nearly impossible to get a sandwich or salad, and seven-year-olds made hyper by unlimited ice cream created treacherous footing.

Expensive, inaccessible on weekends and afternoons and badly stocked, the Caf is an abject failure during the summer. Since a meal plan is not a good option for summer residents, most students choose to cook for themselves. The past two summers, however, most students have been forced to live in Hughes Hall, except for a lucky few who managed to land a coveted room in Tierney.

Both Hughes Hall and Tierney had insufficient kitchen facilities, but they were better than Martyrs’. During the summer of 2009, Hughes Hall did not have a kitchen for the first month or two of summer. When the newly renovated kitchen reopened, it looked nice, but was inadequate for a residence hall with five floors worth of students living in quads. In addition, cooking was an ordeal for residents, since it involved transporting ingredients, utensils and cooking supplies down to the basement. Even if a student successfully made the trip down five flights of stairs without breaking any eggs or dropping a milk jug, he or she then faced the prospect of sharing four burners, a single oven, a single microwave and a few square feet of counter space with all of the residents of Hughes Hall.

The situation in Martyrs’ is even more dire. Hughes Hall had one el-

evator that helped students bring their cooking supplies safely to the kitchen.

Also, during most of the summers of 2009 and 2010, Hughes had a small but fully functional kitchen with four stovetop burners and a full-sized oven.

Martyrs’ lacks an elevator, an oven and has half the stovetop burners that Hughes Hall had.

Students rejoiced after Hughes closed last August, but the announcement that Martyrs’ Court will house summer students and workers adds insult to injury for returning summer residents.

Never mind that the summer meal plan is a joke, basically forcing students to cook for themselves. Never mind that students are paying big bucks to stay to take classes, or dedicating 40 hours a week to keep the campus operating during the summer. Never mind that the other buildings will either stand vacant or house visiting groups who are not Fordham students, like apparently lucrative short-term summer camps or alumni staying for Jubilee Weekend.

The University forgets that students are customers, too. For some reason, the administration has decided that it makes more sense to force Fordham students to spend three months living in what is considered to be the worst residence hall on campus, instead of apartment-style residence halls, where students could cook for themselves in comfort, without having to travel through a maze of stairs and hallways to reach an undersized community kitchenette.

Current Fordham students who help keep Rose Hill running during the summer by taking classes or working for the University deserve good housing just as much as guests on campus. It is as if the Office of Residential Life has decided that summer students and workers deserve only the worst.

By relegating current students to inferior housing for months while treating brief visitors to campus like royalty, Fordham sends the message that it does not want students to remain on campus during the summer.

Christine Barcellona, FCRH ’12, is an English major from Dallas, Texas. She can be reached at cbarcellona@fordham. edu.

See what commentators from the Left and the Right have to say about protests against anti-union legislation in the Midwest.

Hourly reports of violent protests in the Middle East and military clashes in North Africa are accompanied by standard photographs of rebels wielding guns and children displaced by instability, all with a backdrop of a “revolutionary square” or sandy dunes. Photographic coverage of the historic unrest sweeping across more than half a dozen Arab countries is easily substitutable. Fortunately, a recent list of media from The Daily Beast entitled “Shocking Photos and Video from Libya” delivers far more than its generic title suggests.

Published several weeks ago, The Daily Beast’s photographic documentation (aggregated from Libyans’ Twitter feeds) of the initial uprising in Libya provided the most graphically disturbing images I have ever seen. Entry 29 reveals the remnants of two men on what appears to be a makeshift operating table; however, there’s nothing to operate on, because there are no legs or abdomens to go along with their faces. Entry 31 implores the world to “open your eyes to what’s happening in Libya” and is accompanied by a picture of a young man, wearing blue jeans and a button-down shirt, with blood and brains leaking onto the pavement from a baseball-sized hole in his forehead.

In democratic societies, censorship is viewed as the stifling of expression: infringement on the right to free assembly, limitations of obscenities or altering the presentation of controversial literature. History class teaches us that censorship delved deeper in times of war or undemocratic paradigms (think letters from army men and completely stateowned presses). What is not often considered is censorship as a form of omission and not simply as a form of deletion. Concealing gruesome pictures from the public view is a censorship akin to a dictator deleting media that criticizes him; both acts protect a privileged party.

Entry 31 does not exist if I do not look at it. The omission of Entry 31 from my conscience absolves me from guilt and makes the massacres in Libya a violent abstraction (“people” are dying, but I cannot pinpoint a “person”). The photographs of Libyan protests are not generic and bland for the sake of protecting innocent American youths. They are mild because the world does not want to open its eyes to see what is happening in Libya (and what sort of government commitment it might require).

By ignoring Entry 31, I am protecting myself from inconvenience, protecting Gaddafi by censoring any media that reflects poorly on his regime and harming those who have been boiled down to entry numbers on a Web site. So I look at the pictures once, twice, three times, knowing that I may become desensitized by them but praying for the opposite.

OPINIONS

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

Starting the Conversation

Value Investing a Needed Addition to GSB

Breaking Barriers on Sex Talk

By SAMUELLE LAZAR STAFF WRITER

Sex at Fordham is happening.

Whether or not the administration or the Vatican wants it to, students are having sex on every college campus in America, even the Mormon ones, as we learned earlier this week from Brandon Davies from Brigham Young University.

Fordham is pretending that sex is not happening by refusing to talk to students about it, which is about as effective as the “abstinence-only” sex education programs in most schools in America. Without proper sex education and resources, our school is not only ignorant, but completely dangerous.

Fordham does not have to be a school that throws condoms at students like candy or that constantly talks about sex, but the University’s policies are outdated and are bound to lead to negative consequences.

According to recent statistics, roughly one in four college students has a sexually transmitted disease.

This is due to dangerous sexual behaviors, such as not using a condom and not communicating with one’s partner. Most students are aware that the only way to 100-percent effectively prevent STDs and pregnancy is to abstain, but after that, Fordham leaves students on their own.

Fordham has not given students the tools to lead safe sex lives, which could blindside the school if it is suddenly faced with having to counsel a young woman with an unexpected pregnancy or address an STD outbreak among students due to unsafe sexual practices.

Catholic colleges provide no data on their STD or pregnancy rates because they are confidential, but the Health Center does offer a batter or STD testing for students, in addition to a basic pregnancy test. It is hard to find information on Fordham’s stance on sexual health on their Web site. It is discreetly tucked into the FAQs, sending those with questions to a Web site that (in a very confusing manner) outlines why Catholic health centers are unable to provide any contraception, since that would violate the Vatican code from 1968 that states that sex is specifically for procreating and nothing more.

This is an ignorant mindset that simply utilizes a “hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil” tactic. The idea is that by not providing students with contraception and by enforcing guest policies, such as the requirement that no visitors of different sexes can visit each other’s rooms between 3 and 6 a.m. or that opposite sexes cannot be overnight guests, Fordham prevents students from having sex.

This is not the case, however. Abstinence-only sex education does not stop teen pregnancy (if anything, it adds to the numbers by promoting ignorance in place of safe sex), and similarly, refusing to provide sex education and contraception is not stopping students from engaging in sex.

So why, instead, does the University not accept what is already happening and adapt to the changing times and practices? Because 50 years ago, the Vatican said not to.

Samuelle Lazar, FCRH ’13, is from Greenwich, Conn.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Many business students want to work on Wall Street; Fordham shortchanges them by teaching one financial philosophy.

By SIHIEN GOH & STEPHEN ERDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

No philosophy professor at any respected college could ever get away with teaching one philosopher’s ideology as fact. At Fordham, we read a wide sampling of ideologies, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Descartes, before we even attempt to embrace one philosopher’s viewpoint. Examining different theories is essential for understanding.

Most undergraduate business institutions in America today, however, violate this seemingly foundational educational principle, that exposure to a breadth of theories leads to knowledge. In any undergraduate business classroom, including all of those at Fordham, you will hear one, and only one, theory on investing: the Modern Portfolio Theory. This school of thought stipulates that security prices (stocks, bonds, etc.) adjust to market information so quickly that no investor can ever consistently “beat” the market return. While many of us are in business school so

that we can eventually make money on Wall Street, our classes emphasize a very disconcerting prospect: that there is no money to be made on Wall Street.

The Modern Portfolio Theory is not as dogmatic as our classes may make it seem. In fact, there is another investing theory widely used on Wall Street today. It is known as value investing and it is the business philosophy of choice for some of the world’s most successful investors. Warren Buffett, the second richest man in America, subscribes to value investing. Mario Gabelli, the very namesake of our business school, is also a value investor. Yet Fordham, in addition to all mainstream undergraduate business schools, fails to teach the value investing practices that made these, and countless others, the immensely successful individuals they are.

What is value investing? The Buffett model calls for investors to view themselves as “owners” of the businesses in which they invest. As such, investors must have a thorough and complete understanding of their investing endeavors; they must un-

derstand the cultural, scientific and political developments that impact markets. For example, if a value investor were to purchase an agricultural stock based in Brazil, he or she would have first studied Brazilian politics, trends in Brazil’s climate, advancements in agricultural technology and any other factors that could have provided a complete picture of the financial commitment. The investor would then hold onto this stock longterm, perhaps even for many years. In contrast, before purchasing such a stock, a Modern Portfolio theorist would consider the volatility of the stock’s price and the degree of risk associated with the general market.

He would strive to diversify his stock holdings and be willing to sell the stock as soon as he meets his target price or the “risk” becomes too great.

Investing becomes an act of speculation, a gamble.

In this sense, value investing integrates business and Jesuit principles in ways Modern Portfolio Theory could never achieve. Value investing encourages a culture of broad understanding and consideration

of multiple perspectives. It parallels Fordham’s goals of producing wellrounded students who are men and women for others. If undergraduate business schools empowered the kind of moral ideology that defines value investing, perhaps America could better respond to the speculative irresponsibility that has contributed to one of the worst financial crises of the past century.

Fordham has the opportunity to be at the forefront of this ethical redefinition of business education.

With the rebranding of the Gabelli School of Business and the renovation of Hughes Hall, Fordham is primed to develop new programs centered on value investing. In doing so, Fordham would become the only undergraduate business school in America to sponsor such a program; it would differentiate itself from competition in New York and elsewhere and become known as a business school that emphasizes multiple perspectives.

As Gabelli is no longer a top-50 business program, according to BusinessWeek, it is even more imperative that Fordham seeks innovative ways to improve its reputation. A value investing program could help entice front-office investment banks to actually show up to our career fairs and hire our students. No longer would Fordham be known only as a feeder for accounting firms. Perhaps these new opportunities would allow Gabelli to meet the high expectations its students have when they come to Fordham. This transformation of the way recruiters view Fordham and the way Fordham’s own students view their school could help propel us to the next level of undergraduate education.

Sihien Goh, GSB ’13, is a finance major from Singapore. Stephen Erdman, FCRH ’13, is an urban studies major from Allentown, Pa.

Fire Drills Become Late-Night Headaches

By GIRISH SWAMINAH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Throughout the fall semester, fire alarms in every on-campus residence hall were tested daily, often causing immense disturbance to residents and some classrooms. In addition, recently, numerous fire drills have been held at random times of night, ranging from 9 p.m. to midnight. Students were forced to evacuate their buildings and stand outside in the freezing winter weather. Fair, or unfair?

Mandating that residents leave their dorms and wait outdoors is extremely unjust on the part of Fordham Campus Security, especially since it interrupts students’ sleep and study schedules. Although safety is important and students must learn what to do in the case of an actual fire, Fordham must consider an alternative system to ensure the proper functioning of fire alarms without infringing on students’ lifestyles.

The University should avoid holding fire drills at late hours of the night so frequently. Many students no longer take the alarms seriously and remain indoors, which could prove extremely hazardous during real incidents. This lack of regard for safety protocol is primarily caused

by Fordham housing’s excessive fire alarm set-offs. When a real fire does occur, students might stay inside without realizing that the fire alarm is, in fact, not a drill, but an actual fire, which could put their lives at risk.

In addition, each time a fire alarm goes off in a campus building, the New York Fire Department (FDNY) must dispatch fire trucks.

With buildings such as Campbell Hall, Salice-Conley Hall and Queen’s Court, numerous fire drills have happened and the University must pay an unnecessary charge to the city each time the fire department must enter campus only to discover that a real fire did not occur. Fordham can save and utilize this money for other purposes, including campus renovation, facilities and research grants and funding.

Though the fire alarm incidences are mostly false, one attribute that could contribute to these repeated happenings is on-campus dining facilities such as the Deli in the basement of Queen’s Court, Campbell Café located in Campbell Hall and the Grille in O’Hare Hall. Employees of Fordham Dining and Hospitality Services seem to take fewer safety precautions when preparing their meals for students than they

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Except during planned fire drills, every instance during which the fire alarms go off in residence halls, FDNY fire engines arrive on campus.

should be. Students have observed employees of places like the Deli placing paper inside toasters while heating sandwiches or bagels. They attribute the fire alarms to the employees’ negligence. Perhaps Fordham University Hospitality Services could take greater precaution while carrying out their tasks, to avoid setting off the fire alarm.

Regardless of whose fault the fire alarms are, making students stand outside during frosty winter weather is extremely unfair. It takes away

from their studying and leisure time, while forcing the University administration to spend unnecessarily for the FDNY fire engines that constantly enter campus attempting to combat a “fire.” Fire alarms should be tested during a time in which students are in class or are least likely to be disturbed, as opposed to the daily or frequent tests currently present in on-campus residence halls.

Girish Swaminath, FCRH ’14, is a biology major from Monte Sereno, Calif.

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Spring Sports Preview 2011

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Golf Men’s Tennis Baseball

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Rowing Women’s Tennis Softball

SPORTS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

Men’s Tennis Begins First Men’s and Women’s Track Kick-off Spring Season Season Without Hawthorn

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Kevin Maloney and the Rams were picked to finish in last place in the A-10.

By DAN GARTLAND STAFF WRITER

For the Fordham men’s tennis team, this season began unlike the past 54. For the better half of the past century, Bob Hawthorn served as the Rams’ head coach.

After Hawthorn’s retirement this July, former Arizona University Assistant Cory Hubbard was chosen as his successor. Hubbard’s task is to improve on the team’s 3-6 record from last spring when the Rams finished in a tie with LaSalle for last place in the Atlantic 10.

Though the Rams graduated only two seniors from last year’s team, it will be hard to replace Dallas Harting, who graduated last spring after being named the team’s MVP in three consecutive seasons.

Still, this year’s squad has plenty of experience, with four seniors all in starting roles.

Senior co-captains Austin Shoup and Kevin Maloney have been integral parts of the team for several years now.

Fellow senior Nick Kelly brings plenty of doubles experience to the table, while senior Ken Fukumoto will compete in singles and doubles this season.

The team also has its fair share of

youth. Sophomore Alex DeRienzo has been competing at first singles this season in addition to teaming up with fellow sophomore Dan Kane-West in doubles play.

The Rams posted an 0-5 record in the fall exhibition season.

Attempting to turn things around, they opened their spring season at Cornell, falling 7-0 on Jan. 22. After February losses to Quinnipiac and Penn, both by scores of 7-0, the Rams had fallen to 0-3 on the season.

The Rams now turn their attention to the meat of their schedule.

After their match at St. Peter’s on Mar. 9, they will have a little over two weeks to prepare for an important doubleheader in Philadelphia against LaSalle and St. Joe’s.

In the A-10 preseason coaches’ poll, Fordham was picked to finish last, tied with LaSalle.

The St. Joe’s-La Salle doubleheader will be the start of a crucial weekend in Philadelphia for Fordham on March 26 and 27. When the Rams take on Temple the following day, it will be their third conference match in two days.

A strong showing that weekend would help improve the Rams’ seeding in the A-10 tournament, to be held April 15th-17th in St. Louis.

Women’s Tennis Hopes to See Improvement During Spring After Disappointing Fall Season

By NANCY BUCKLEY STAFF WRITER

The women’s tennis team has recently been through some rough patches with injuries and losses, but as the spring season progresses, the Lady Rams are showing some improvement and hope.

On Feb. 20, the team defeated Vassar College for the first time in three years with a 7-2 win. The Lady Rams won all five singles matches, including four straight sets. Freshman Angelika Dabu won first singles over Vassar’s junior Jennifer Beckerman, 6-1, 6-1.

In second singles, freshman Hanna Fritzinger defeated Vassar’s captain and junior Nicole Block, 6-3, 6-1, while sophomore Mia Fiocca beat Vasser junior Joy Backer in third doubles, 7-5, 6-1.

Senior Bethany Boyle earned a 7-5, 6-2 victory over sophomore Natalie Santiago.

Junior Sarah Tremaine won her first set of fourth singles against sophomore Jennifer Ruther, 6-4, but fell in the second set 4-6. In the tie-breaker round, Tremaine defeated Ruther 10-7.

In the doubles matches, the Lady Rams won the first and third doubles.

Fiocca and Dabu won first doubles 8-3, and Tremaine and sophomore Jennifer Mullen took third doubles 8-4.

Fritzinger and Boyle had Fordham’s only loss for the day in second doubles, as the pair fell 8-3 to Vassar’s Beckerman and Alyssa Roush.

“Last weekend’s win did not really change my outlook on the season because I was already confident in the team’s abilities,” Boyle said.

“But I think it provides us with an important boost of self-esteem.”

The win against Vassar proved to be more emotional for the Lady Rams, coming off a 6-1 loss against Quinnipiac on Feb. 19.

The Lady Rams had only one victory against the Bobcats in second singles when Frizinger won in a tie-breaker 6-2.

In third doubles, Fiocca went into a tie-breaker round, but fell to Quinnipiac freshman Juliet Labarthe.

The team’s next match will be March 16 at Loyola, MD.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

The men’s track team will begin their spring season schedule on March 18th at the University of Mary Washington.

By CELESTE KMIOTEK COPY CHIEF

Though they are still competing in the indoor season, the men’s and women’s track and field team are already thinking ahead to their spring outdoor season.

After a slew of injuries kept many of the men and women sidelined for the indoor season, the teams are hoping that those members’ returns will increase their chances to earn points; still, due to Title IX requirements, the coaches had to cut 20 men after several women quit the team.

“Nobody likes cuts, but it’s a natural part of a competitive program,” senior Gus Gleason said. “Both the guys and women need to fill the gaps with field the events. Outdoor track adds several events, too, including the javelin and discus.

These are events, along with some of the other jumps, in which both the men’s and women’s teams lack numbers.

Nevertheless, the teams are looking to what they can accomplish despite this setback.

“Our goals, for the men, are to duplicate the indoors A[tlantic]-10 meet,” Head Coach Tom Dewey said. “For the girls, to do better in outdoors than we did in indoors.”

The men’s team epically jumped from sixth out of 12 teams to third over the two-day A-10 Championship on Feb. 18 and 19 during the indoor season. Now, they are looking to stack their team to replicate that finish.

“The guys are looking to build off our great showing at A-10s,” Gleason said. “Spring track is a completely different season from indoor and so we need to attack it as such.”

Though Dewey credits the 11 senior men as being strong leaders on the track, Gleason is quick to credit the underclassmen.

“This year we have a great mixture of young and old on the team, and every class is doing their parts,” Gleason said. “Seniors Pat Brown, Chris Lyons, Brian Schmidt, Tim Hutchinson and Tom Kelly are leading nobly on and off the track, and we have had quite a few freshman really step up this past indoor season. [Freshmen] Sam Houston,

Brian Walter, Ryan Polo and Kevin Harvey have all had break out seasons, and look for them all to get even better in this coming outdoor season.”

In the running events, the men were dealt a blow when junior Kevin Fitzgerald sustained a leg injury; he will now be out for the remainder of the indoor season and the entirety of the outdoor season.

Dewey is confident that other runners will fill in. “[Redshirted senior] Paul Szczepaniak should pick up the slack, and should be healthy,” Dewey said. “[Sophomore] Dan Chediak, if we keep him healthy, he’s going to do very well.”

Dewey is also looking for points from sophomore John Cosgrove in the heptathlon and Schmidt in middle distance.

Gleason reiterated Dewey’s faith in the middle distance crew, which has always been one of the men’s team’s strengths.

“Again, the men’s middle distance is still running strong,” he said. “Look for Brian Schmidt [and] John Cosgrove to lead the 800- to 1,500-meter group to middle distance glory.”

Dewey is further excited for junior Brian Riley to compete in the steeplechase; along with the four other Fordham men who will competing, the event should garner points for the team.

He is also confident in Gleason and Houston as they compete in middle distance.

The women’s team is similarly looking to recover from injuries, though Dewey hopes for improvement.

“The goal is to do well in the big meets,” he said.

“On the women’s side, one of our goals is to break into the upper half of the team placements at A-10’s,” freshman Anisa Arsenault said, who has consistently stood out through the cross-country and indoor track and field seasons, said.

“If everyone competes at their full potential, it is definitely a possibility.”

Currently, Dewey plans on looking to senior Kerri Gallagher to provide the basis for the team.

“With Gallagher, I’m going to build the team around her.”

Dewey has hopes that she will make it to the NCAA Championship.

Gallagher is currently ranked 36th in the country in the 800-meter run, according to MileSplit.

Dewey is also looking forward to strong performances from three girls whose injuries kept them out of the indoor season: senior Kerry Kwalwasser and freshmen Titi Fagade and Darleen Eiermann.

“Hopefully they’ll be healthy and happy,” he said.

He is also looking to several individual competitors who he sees as promising. “[ Junior] Blair Hassel was an A-10 scorer, and this is her season,” he said. “[Freshman] Averie Sheppard, [freshman] Diane Bain, [junior] Elisabeth Warren, [junior] Kelly Connolly and Anisa Arsenault in the five-k[ilometer run]; we should be pretty good with them.”

Still, he is looking to bolster the roster in upcoming seasons.

“We recruited a ton of kids,” he said.

Overall, the teams are excited to get to the outdoor season, despite its more strenuous requirements.

“A-10s in outdoor is going to be much more competitive compared to indoor, but we know that our team is highly competitive and always wants to win,” Gleason said.

“We’re going to have our hands full this spring, but I know we will get the results we need.”

“Everyone is really enthusiastic about the outdoor season,” Arsenault said.

“There is quite a bit of traveling involved, so that will keep things exciting,” he said.

“By not really backing down in our training between the winter and spring seasons, we hope to be well-prepared for the first outdoor meet over break.”

“We use the first meet to test,” Dewey said. “When we get to a meet like the Colonial Relays, we need to be ready to run.”

The teams will look to improve on last years results during there first meet at the Battleground Relays at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19.

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

SPORTS

Crew Heads to Southern Waters for Training

Lady Rams Have High Expectations Golf Team

Looks to Build Off Fall Success

By JARED ALEXANDER

By BRODY NIEPORTE

STAFF WRITER

STAFF WRITER

It is always crew season for the Fordham Lady Rams. Despite not having their real season begin until spring, the rowing team has been hard at work in the gym all winter preparing on ergs and doing weight and cardio training to ensure that they will have a strong season.

“As physically and mentally demanding as winter training is, we know that if we put the time and hours in on the erg, then we will see the results during the spring season,” sophomore Elizabeth Anderson, on of the team’s top rowers, said. “These first few weeks of practice have really shown the commitment and determination of the team, and given me a lot of confidence for the upcoming season.”

The fall season was a successful one for the Lady Rams, as they finished second in the Head of the Charles Regatta, where they were the top collegiate boat. At the Head of the Schuylkill regatta, they finished third. They capped their fall season with their eighth-consecutive win at the Fall Metropolitan Championships.

The team looks to carry over their strong fall performance into the spring.

The spring season will kick off over spring break at the College of William and Mary Regatta in Willamsburg, Va. From there, the Rams will head to the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia, after which the team will travel to San Diego for a team-bonding West Coast trip. Hopefully, the team will be making a return trip to California for the NCAA Championships at the end of May. “We are most definitely ready to put our strength as a boat to the test and hope to finish strong at these two upcoming regattas,” junior coxswain Abigail Paparo said. “On Saturday, we leave for our spring training trip in Virginia, [and] I have no doubt that we will return to the Bronx looking even stronger. The girls have been staying focused and training hard on and off the water for our first two upcoming races.”

In between these trips to California, the team will have three Regattas in Collingswood, N.J.: the Knecht Cup, the Atlantic 10 Championships and the ECAC Championships.

The Rams will then travel back to Philadelphia for the Dad Vail Regatta; soon after, just before the NCAA Championships in California, they will compete in the U.S. Rowing Collegiate Championships in West Windsor, NJ. With a team made up of a majority of underclassmen, the women’s crew team should only continue to get better, and with a successful fall season already under its belt, look out for the team to have a very exciting and strong spring season.

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Senior utility-man Jocelyn Dearborn had 12 homers and 40 RBI last year and was named a Second Team ECAC All Star.

By CHESTER BAKER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Last season, the Lady Rams had one of the best seasons in program history. The team made its first conference finals since 2006, but fell to UMass. Along with their second-place conference finish, the Lady Rams were able to compile a record of 4912, while also going 16-2 in conference play.

The season was the school’s first ever 40-win season, and the team set new highs in numerous statistical categories, including a record 21-game winning streak.

For its stellar performance throughout the year, Fordham earned its first-ever selection to the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Maryland twice to cap off the season. Fordham made it to the regional finals, where its championship dreams were dashed in a loss against Oklahoma.

In the Atlantic 10 preseason coaches’ poll, Fordham was projected to finish second this season. Most expect that UMass will once again beat out Fordham for the conference championship.

The Lady Rams hope to prove those people wrong.

Fordham has received numerous accolades from national polls, including ESPN and USA Today. In the ESPN poll, Fordham received 41 votes, putting them just 15 votes behind a spot in the Top 25.

In the USA Today poll, Fordham received 13 votes, placing them 38 votes behind the No. 25 spot, which was held by North Carolina.

Obviously, there is some pressure on any team with such high expectations and it is something the Lady Rams will have to deal with throughout the season. The pressure does not seem to bother Head Coach Bridgett Orchard, who was named the ECAC

Coach of the Year in 2010.

“We are all very excited for the season,” Orchard said. “We know there is a lot expected out of us, especially after the success of last season. But we really think we can make more noise this season, and we’re thriving off that pressure. We just need to stay within ourselves, and not get too caught up in it.”

Along with their outstanding team performance, the Lady Rams also had their best season in terms of individual accolades, as the team produced its first AllAmerican in junior pitcher Jen Mineau. Mineau struck out 503 batters last year, the most ever for any Fordham pitcher.

Mineau also set the all-time school record for ERA in a season at 1.03 in addition to tossing three no-hitters and two perfect games throughout the year. Mineau has been tabbed

by ESPN.com as a pre-season All-American, one of only three pitchers to make the list.

“Jen is really consistent when she pitches and she will be a key part to our team this season,” Orchard said. “We will definitely be turning to her in the big games.”

Along with Mineau, Fordham returns seven starters and four pitchers, including senior infielder and pitcher Beckah Wiggins. The senior led the team with 60 RBI while batting a stellar .328. Wiggins was selected to the ECAC First Team All Star list last season.

Senior utility-man Jocelyn Dearborn was selected as a Second Team ECAC All Star, and she returns for her senior season after belting 12 homers with 40 RBI last season.

The No. 2 pitcher for the Lady Rams will be senior Chelsea Plimpton, who won 11 games for Fordham last season. Plimpton’s ERA of 1.57 speaks for itself, and her eight complete games do not hurt, either.

Some key additions to the team include freshman catcher Gabby Luety, who has already made her mark on the team by hitting a walk-off home run last weekend in the team’s upset win over No. 7 Texas. Luety was her high school team’s captain and was a three-time All-State selection in New York.

It would take a couple of paragraphs to list all of her accomplishments in the sport, so suffice it to say that big things will be expected out of the highlytouted freshman.

Fordham has scheduled numerous tournaments in preparation for their conference schedule, including two games against Georgia Tech, whom Fordham defeated last season. Fordham also took on the top-ranked team in the nation, Alabama, but was defeated 3-1.

“It’s important for us to have a tough schedule, and to see the best pitchers in the country,” Orchard said. “We really like to have the girls go up against the best, that way when they start the conference games they’re ready for everything.”

Fordham begins their A-10 schedule in Saint Louis on March 20th, followed by another series on the road against St. Bonaventure.

Their first home conference matchup will be on April 1st against Temple.

Their much-anticipated matchup against conference champion UMass will not take place until April 29th.

Until then, Fordham will have to battle whatever comes their way and see if they can land a spot in the Top 25, and maybe a berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. If things go their way, the Lady Rams will have built off of last season’s momentum and come away with the A-10 Championship.

As many of us leave campus for our spring break accomodations, the Fordham golf team will be taking a 10-day trip to sunny West Palm Beach, Fla. to shake off the winter cobwebs and get in gear for the upcoming spring season.

“We’re just kind of itching to get out there and get into a groove,” sophomore Brody Nieporte said.

During the fall season, the Rams got off to a strong start, placing in the top three of the 13 teams present at their first two tournaments; however, during their next four tournaments they placed near the back of the pack of all the schools competing.

To the naked eye it would look as if the Rams were not playing the same golf as they were before, but they actually were.

As the team went deeper into its fall season, it started facing tougher competition in the form of perennial golf powerhouses Cornell, Temple, Princeton and Villanova. As much as they tried to rise to the occasion in facing tougher competition, the Rams were simply outmatched in each of the tournaments.

They did, however, end the season on a high note, as they finished second out of seven teams present at the FDU Invitational, behind only Robert Morris University.

With the way the team played and ultimately finished the fall season, the team has high hopes for this spring season. Last year, the Rams finished eighth in the Atlantic 10, and there is talk among them that they will do even better this year.

“The best Fordham has ever finished in the A-10 is fourth,” Nieporte said. “Our main goal is to finish better than that. We can definitely beat the top four teams in the A-10.”

They believe that there is a lot of potential on the team this year, with six of the members on the team registering average round scores below 80 for the fall season, led by Jason Del Rosso’s average score of 75 and singleround team best of 71.

“I feel really confident this spring,” junior Devon O’Rourke said. “I have always been confident in our team’s ability, but now I think we can finally put it all together thanks to some offseason work. We’re a sleeping giant.”

The entire spring season will take place over just about a month’s time, a very grueling ordeal. The season will last from the first weekend of April until the first weekend of May, when the A-10 Championship Tournament will take place.

“We’re really looking forward to the spring,” Nieporte said.

“We have a lot of great players, and we can definitely do some damage. We all need to come together at once.”

SPORTS

PAGE 4 THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

Rams Aim for Nothing Less Than Atlantic 10 Title

Team Picked to Finish in Middle of A-10, Believes it Can Finish Much Higher

By DANNY ATKINSON STAFF WRITER

In the Atlantic 10 Preseason Baseball Poll, released on January 18, Fordham was chosen seventh out of 13 teams in the conference, one spot out of the playoffs.

Being chosen to finish in the middle of the conference is no insult; however, it could easily be argued that Fordham was chosen too low based on the program’s accomplishments and who is returning.

The Rams have qualified for the Atlantic 10 Championships five times in the last seven years and return a healthy portion of its 2010 squad that went 21-35 and 15-12 in the A-10, good for fourth in the conference.

“I didn’t agree with where we were picked in the poll,” Head Coach Nick Restaino said. “Sometimes I think we get lost in the shuffle, but it shouldn’t happen. In the six seasons I’ve been here we’ve played one meaningless game.”

The team has a heavy amount of experience between 15 juniors and seniors, and that experience is particularly notable on the infield and at catcher, where the Rams return three starters and First-Team-AllAtlantic-10 senior catcher Chris Walker.

Walker broke out in 2010, setting the program’s single-season record with 25 doubles. His 61 RBI are second on that list. Walker was also selected to the ECAC All-Star Team and to the ABCA All-Region Second Team.

Junior third baseman Ryan Maghini returns after totaling 16 RBI last season, as does junior second baseman Nick Martinez, who scored 39 runs last season, and junior shortstop Brian Kownacki, who had 39 RBI. Though Fordham has fewer players returning in the outfield, there are still significant contributors re-

turning to patrol the grass for the Rams. Junior outfielder Stephen McSherry started 37 games as a freshman and 21 as a sophomore and drove in 12 runs in 2010.

Though senior outfielder Alex Kenny played in only 11 games in his junior season due to injury, he posted 20 RBI in his sophomore campaign.

Finally, sophomore outfielder Ryan Lee had one of the better freshman seasons in recent Ram history, one that featured a .285 batting average and 11 multi-hit games.

Second-Team-All-Atlantic-10 senior pitcher Max Krakowiak returns as the ace of a solid Fordham pitching staff. Krakowiak is coming off a season in which he set a career high for wins (7), starts (15), complete games (3), ERA (4.10) and strikeouts (69). He improved mightily in conference play, recording a perfect record with a 2.63 ERA in 68.1 innings.

Senior starting pitcher Brian Prendergast should serve as a solid number two for the Rams. He went 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched, before missing the second half of the season due to injury.

After Pendergast, sophomore Jeremy Adel and senior John Flanagan will serve as the main weekday starters for Fordham. Adel threw 14.2 innings last year, making one start, and displayed good pitches but struggled with his control.

Flanagan had nine starts last season and, although he struggled to a 0-6 record, had 28 strikeouts in 51 innings.

Fordham’s bullpen will feature a number of freshmen, but does have two strong arms at the top.

Junior Jordan Grangard is coming off of a 2010 season where he held hitters to a .185 opponent batting average and recorded a 1.74 ERA , the 10th-best single-season mark

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior pitcher John Flanagan started in nine of 16 appearances last season.

in team history.

Sophomore Rich Anastasi makes for an excellent second option. In 2010, he whiffed 37 batters in 44 innings and earned three saves; a few freshmen are expected to contribute to the team’s bullpen.

Notable recruit Chris Pike joins the Rams after a high school career where he was twice a First-Team All-Long Island Selection, and Tim Swatek accomplished the same in northern New Jersey.

Fordham baseball did lose a number of valuable offensive players from the 2010 team: Infielder Ryan McCrann posted a .355 batting average and a .500 slugging percentage on the season, and the Rams had another valuable source of power in graduate Mike Mobbs,who had three home runs and 24 RBI. Angelo Ponte and his .326 batting average are gone, as are P.J. Como’s 16 stolen bases. While all of the team’s top pitchers are returning, Fordham has lost some power and much of their speed. If the Rams are to have a successful offense, it will happen because of the team’s collective patience and discipline.

Fordham baseball has started about as well as one could expect.

The Rams are 9-2, with a five game winning streak. While the team has been impressive in every facet of the game, Fordham’s pitching, in particular, has stood out.

The staff has a collective ERA of 3.27 and opponents are hitting .266 against it. Pendergast and Krakowiak have each started three games, and sport ERA’s of .145 and 2.04. Pike has already been handed the bulk of the relief load as a freshman and a month into his career, he has a miniscule ERA of 0.75, along with three saves.

Everyone involved with the team is appreciative of the pitching staff ’s efforts, particularly the position players who rely on them to carry the team day in and day out.

“Our pitching is healthy and the staff is a lot deeper this year,” Martinez said. “The whole team gets their confidence from the guys on the mound.”

The Rams’ offense is also performing very well. Fordham is bat-

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Junior infielder Brian Kownacki batted .282 with 32 RBI last season.

ting .299 with a .438 slugging percentage. Though the team has hit one less homer than its opponents, a sign that power may be an issue for the team, the Rams have more RBI and a higher on-base percentage, meaning that so far, Fordham has displayed no obvious weaknesses.

Restaino pointed to the Rams’ discipline and intellegence at the plate as the main reason for the offense’s success so far, and his players seem to agree.

“A lot of the guys at the top of our lineup know the game and know how to stay disciplined at the plate,” Martinez said. “Our hitting coach has helped the players a lot with our approach, and we know how to anticipate what’s coming next in any count and still stay disciplined while using an aggressive approach.”

Fordham has played a strong level of competition up to this point in the season, and has proven itself up to the task. The Rams took two of three games from Virginia Commonwealth, defeated Wake Forest and had a big comeback against Towson.

Fordham will continue playing

tough teams through the rest of its out-of-conference schedule before A-10 play starts, including Charleston Southern, Seton Hall and Rutgers. Maintaining this level of play against these schools will make Fordham capable of beating anyone in conference play. Restaino is proud to have seen his players’ reaction to Fordham’s schedule.

“Our schedule was meant to make the team play a high level of competition and to challenge people,” he said. “It is and will keep paying off.”

Fordham baseball was chosen to finish seventh in the conference, and was seen as a team that would make little impact, but those predictions were mistaken.

A close-knit group with a significant amount of depth, the Rams have proven, and hope to continue to prove, that they are a tough opponent for any team. Fordham is stocked with players who can be considered leaders, and they will not let the team experience mediocrity.

“Our team deserves respect,” Martinez said. “We will not respect anything less than winning the conference.”

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Despite the doubters, the Rams remain optimistic and believe that they will be a contender for the Atlantic 10 Title.

MARCH 9, 2011

PAGE 13

Secrets to a Successful, Enjoyable Spring Break

By CELESTE KMIOTEK COPY CHIEF

Spring Break. For those who grew up in the ’90s, the phrase conjures up images of MTV, with bikini-clad girls and bare-chested guys dancing on a beach, eager to get away from the stress of college life.

Is this a reality for Fordham students? Certainly for some, though maybe they do not head to Cancun or Florida.

For some students, the time is better spent exploring cultural sites, while they still have the time. Molly Thompson, FCRH ’12, and Johana Borjas, FCRH ’12, decided to use their break to visit friends studying abroad in Paris and Spain.

“I feel that juniors tend more to plan the long haul to Europe in order to visit their friends, who are studying abroad, while the seniors realize the value of spring break and plan a relaxing trip to places like Florida or Mexico in order to truly enjoy their last college spring break,” Thompson said.

Of course, not everyone has the funds to go abroad or even to a warmer state. Unfortunately, as friends pack their suitcases and drop off Verizon’s network, it becomes easy to fall into the dol-

drums of reruns and the goodies from your mother’s latest grocerystore trip.

There comes a point, however, when you must leave the house; the biggest excitement of the break should not come from how many times Elliot Stabler gets attacked during the daily “Law and Order: SVU” marathon.

If you are lucky enough to have friends who will be home during your break, try to see them. Even if you are not as close to them as you were before, it is nicer to go see a movie with someone than by yourself and you may be able to reestablish old connections.

“For me, enjoying spring break also means seeing friends I haven’t seen since Christmas or last summer, taking advantage of a week when many schools have break,” Katie Corrado, FCRH ’12, said.

Never rule out day trips either.

If you live close enough to a city to commute in for an evening, look up what is going on during the week. As spring approaches, there are sure to be signs of farmer’s markets and festivals emerging.

Do not forget the holiday that Fordham students are so lucky to have during their Spring Break: St. Patrick’s Day. Even if you are

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

A popular destination for students to go during spring break is Europe, as many know friends who are studying abroad.

too young to imbibe a Guinness, most cities, at the very least, have parades and there are usually other celebratory events as well.

Most importantly, resist the urge to finish every Sporcle quiz or to read every page of DamnYouAutocorrect. While it is perfectly acceptable to have one or two movie marathons, you will want something to tell your friends that you did. Even if it is simply going to the mall to

pick out a new pair of shoes for the spring, or going to see if that new Chinese place is as good as the one across town, remember to change out of your sweatpants.

“Enjoying spring break at home is about going to new places that you’ve always wanted to try, like a coffee shop or restaurant that you often pass but never go,” Corrado said.

No matter how much fun your

spring break is, it is always satisfying to come back and regale your friends with the adventures you had during your week off.

Whether you stood in front of the Eiffel Tower at twilight, or danced through Miami until the wee hours of the morning, or did a taste comparison of the pizzerias in your town, as long as you make the effort, it is sure to be a successful break.

GO! Teams Take a Fresh Fundraising Approach

By SCHARON HARDING

ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

Global Outreach, commonly referred to as GO!, is a program formulated under the Office of Mission and Ministry. The program selects a group of students to thoroughly examine social, economic and environmental issues around the globe through service.

Each team travels to a variety of different places and culturally immerses themselves into a community in need for days or even weeks.

These trips range from homeland locations such as San Diego and the Adirondack Mountains in New York, to more exotic places such as Ecuador and Romania .

The GO! teams use fundraisers to earn some of the money to fund the trips. This year, different and exciting forms of fundraising have taken place on campus and off campus, in order to assist these students in working with those in need.

Andrea Waterman, GSB ’13, a member of GO! Romania, is not a stranger to the game of fundraising.

Last year, she was part of the GO! Alaska team, where she worked in Bethel, Alaska to learn about alcoholism and domestic violence in the area.

Last year, Waterman’s team raised funds by selling food. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches and bake sales helped bring the team toward their goal.

“It worked well because hungry students who needed a break from studying would stop by to buy from us,” Waterman said.

The members of GO! Adirondacks also noticed the hungry Fordham community. Their fund-

COURTESY OF SARAH DORMAN

GO! Adirondacks held a thrift-store clothing swap in Rodrigues Coffee House as a sustainable fundraiser.

Adirondacks team, said. “I had never been to one before. Everyone was so talented and we got to dance and chill out.”

The GO! teams get ideas for fundraising through their weekly team meetings and also draw ideas from other teams.

For example, GO! Romania is planning on having some events off campus, an idea that was inspired

by GO! Ecuador.

GO! Ecuador recently held a popular mini-concert at The Blend Café. Team member Harry Kim, COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA FCRH ’13, thought the concert Students take in the scenic views of Ecuador while traveling with GO! had multiple good qualities. raisers included a mobile bake sale, Other teams have stepped out of “My favorite fundraiser so far was which they named “Don’t GO! the culinary world, and have tried the mini-band show at The Blend,” Hungry.” other interesting fundraising ideas.

Kim said. “It not only brought the This year, the GO! Romania GO! Adirondacks sold “awkward” Fordham community together, but team is putting a new spin on what homemade Valentine’s Day= cards. was also a great exercise for our works. The sales, which will not The team also held a thrift-store team to practice our teamwork as it begin until after Spring Break, will clothing swap in Rodrigue’s Coffee was done in such a short notice.” take advantage of the warm weathHouse, entitled “Don’t GO! NaAlthough the GO! teams have been successful in raising money er. ked,” as well as an open mic night thus far, there are some obstacles Sales will be on Eddie’s, where in the Ramskellar. when it comes to coming up with the GO! team can capitalize on “My favorite fundraiser was ideas that will truly make the teams lounging students by selling cold the open mic night,” Casey Ryan, money. beverages and baked goods.

FCRH ’13, a member of the GO!

“We have talked about selling T-shirts, but it is difficult to gain a profit from selling apparel unless a team comes up with a really great idea,” Waterman said.

Long breaks also become obstacles for the teams while raising money. Kim noticed this as a member of a summer trip last year.

“It felt like my trip last year had more time to host fundraisers as there are no big breaks such as Winter Break,” Kim said.

GO! teams have searched for and found useful methods of fundraising, however.

“When fundraising, it is key to make sure that the team advertises that it is part of Global Outreach,” Waterman said. “People are more willing to make bigger donations if they know their money is going to a good cause.”

Other useful methods in fundraising include letting customers decide the amount of their own donation and collecting food donations from grocery stores.

Another unique thing about GO! fundraisers is that it can help the members share some of the themes and messages of the Global Outreach program.

“The great thing is that a lot of the GO! messages can be applied to everything,” Ryan said. “For example, simple living was incorporated into the thrift store fundraiser.”

If you are interested in helping fellow students accomplish a worthwhile goal, or are just interested in some yummy food or entertainment, look for GO! fundraisers all around the Fordham campus.

“Definitely look for GO! events and sales come spring because we are looking for all the help we can get,” Waterman said.

CULTURE

PAGE 14• THE RAM MARCH 9,2011

Cooking With Clara

Dining Out: The Nook Restaurant

Clara Ennist

By MARTY MERCADO

Spring has all but arrived and while that means that the meals will be getting lighter, I wanted to fit in one last winter comfort food.

Servings: 8 Cost per serving: $1.35 Ingredients: -1/2 pound elbow macaroni -3 tbs butter -3 tbs flour -1 tbs yellow mustard -3 c milk -1/2 c red onion, finely diced - 1 bay leaf -1/2 tsp paprika -1 large egg -12 ounces cheese -1 tsp salt -black pepper -1 tbs olive oil -1 c Italian-seasoned bread crumbs Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, cook the pasta al dente; meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate pot.

Whisk the flour and mustard in with the melted butter and continue whisking for five minutes.

Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf and paprika and let this simmer for 10 minutes before removing the bay leaf. Beat the egg and temper it into the milk mixture.

Stir in the cheese and season it with salt and pepper.

Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour it all into a large casserole dish. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and olive oil and then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pasta.

Bake this for 30 minutes and allow to sit for five minutes before serving.

One technical note: Tempering an egg is when you slowly add the warm mixture to a beaten egg so that you do not end up with bits of cooked egg making your sauce lumpy.

To temper an egg, first beat the egg and then using a soup ladle, slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg, whisking well after each addition, until you think that it is warm enough to all be added to the milk mixture.

For my endeavor I used equal parts Swiss, colby and Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar and munster cheese, and I decided to use Ronzoni Garden Delight Radiatore for the pasta because it’s enriched with vegetables and made my dish more colorful.

You could really use any mixture of cheese that you like as long as you have some hard cheese in there.

While this meal is really good for freezing cold days, I do not see why it would be terrible to have during the springtime.

Baked macaroni and cheese is simple to make and it yields such a large amount of food that you can save the rest and have quick meals for the rest of the week.

I know that baked macaroni and cheese is not the healthiest food in the world, but adding the pasta enriched with vegetables gives me slightly more peace of mind.

Whether you want to serve this as a main meal or a side dish is entirely up to you — it works perfectly either way.

a wide selection of coffee and tea.

Once I ordered, it did not take more than 10 minutes for the food to arrive. The eggs Florentine with The appropriately named Nook smoked salmon ($11.50) were Restaurant is a small establishexecuted perfectly. The eggs were ment that packs a big punch. The poached to perfection, the spinplace seats no more than 20 people ach was warm but not overcooked (and it is tight), but it makes for a and the English muffins were fresh refreshing break from the chain and delicious, while the smoked establishments, over-elaborate ressalmon did not overpower any flataurants and pubs that litter that vors. Every bite had layer after layer side of Hell’s Kitchen. of great flavors and textures that While it is a popular destinamade for a satisfying experience. tion for the after-show crowd (loThe sides were also fantastic. The cated steps away from the Theatre “house home fries” looked more District), the best time to visit is like mashed potatoes with tomafor weekend brunch. Waiting for toes and fresh herbs, but the flavors a table is almost inevitable, but were absolutely dynamite. It was it is never an obscene amount of nothing like anytime. The turnover Overall thing I have tasted is quick, and the serLocation before. The side vice is impeccable Food Quality salad was simple but considering that Atmosphere perfectly executed.

The Nook only has Hospitality The arugula was one waiter and two Price $ $ fresh and crisp and cooks.

(Out of 4 ’s) it had just the right The first thing that amount of vinaicatches your eye is grette. When a restaurant creates the size (or lack thereof), but after sides as well as this, it is a testament squeezing into your seat, you are to the quality of the kitchen staff. good to go. What The Nook lacks The entrée was washed down in size of area and staff, it makes up with freshly squeezed orange for in service and food. You are imjuice ($3), and iced hot chocomediately greeted by the friendly late ($4.50). I cannot emphasize host and served complimentary enough how much you have to orbread. der the iced hot chocolate. It is rich The brunch menu follows the with a perfect balance of sweet and overall theme of the restaurant; it bitter and topped with homemade is small but contains an item from whipped cream. It is the perfect all the right categories. You have complement to the hearty meal. a choice of anything from sweet All in all, with tax and tip, the treats (apple pancakes, $8), to a entire meal set me back just a little variety of egg dishes (Nook egg over $20, which on quality alone is scrambles, $8.50), to dishes that an absolute steal. just sound plain awesome (Nutella The Nook, a small, humble eson a baguette with strawberries and tablishment, holds its own. bananas, $6). The Nook also boasts STAFF WRITER

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

PHOTO BY MARTY MERCADO/THE RAM

PHOTO BY MARTY MERCADO/THE RAM

The Nook Restaurant is located at 746 9th Ave. between 51st and 52nd St.

Editor’s Pick: The Movie Balto

By KELLY CAGGIANO WEB EDITOR

Tucked away in an isolated corner of Central Park is a statue with a forgotten story. Balto, the dog commemorated by the statue, captivated the hearts and minds of America in 1925 after he led a dog sled team on the final leg of a lifesaving journey.

In January 1925, the small and isolated town of Nome, Ala. realized that a deadly diphtheria epidemic was likely to spread through the town. Doctors requested the serum necessary to stop the outbreak, but it was located approximately 1,000 miles away in Anchorage, Ala. Due to the extreme weather the only means of transportation available was a train from Anchorage to Nenana, 674 miles away from Nome. In order to transport the serum the last 674 miles, a dog sled relay was established that consisted of 20 mushers and approximately 150 sled dogs.

Balto led his sled team through a blizzard to safely deliver the serum to Nome. This 674 mile relay is commemorated each year with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

In 1995 Amblimation (which became DreamWorks) released Balto, an animated movie loosely based on the events that occurred in 1925. Balto, although intended

for children, is a heartwarming movie that all ages can enjoy.

Balto centers around the title character, a half-dog, half-wolf misfit, voiced by Kevin Bacon (Footloose), who roams around Nome. Rosy, voiced by Juliette Brewer (Vegas Vacation), a young girl in town, is the only person who continuously shows Balto kindness, despite the mistrust the adults have for him.

When Rosy falls ill with diphtheria, Balto is determined to be selected for the dog-sled team that will bring the serum to Nome from Nenana. Thanks to a glory-seeking champion sled dog named Steele, voiced by Jim Cummings (The Princess and the Frog), however, Balto is excluded from the team.

When the team, led by Steele, gets lost in a blizzard on the return trip, Balto braves the unknown to find the team and bring back the medicine before Rosy dies.

While I, and some of The Ram staffers, have taken to watching Balto in the wee hours of the morning on production nights, I cannot help but wish that the plot of the movie stayed more true to the real life story. Despite this shortcoming, Balto is a movie that should not be missed.

While it may be 16 years old, the animation in Balto is well done and, fortunately, does not have the creepy 3D animation that is being

COURTESY OF FLICKR.COM

used in newer movies.

Balto also skillfully includes an introduction and conclusion that features live-action scenes in Central Park.

Although the transition between live-action and animation was well done, it was not necessary and added to the misconception that Balto was based purely on truth.

Although the movie is very loosely based on the true story of Balto, it still gets the same idea across; those involved in the sled dog relay from Nenana to Nome accomplished a remarkable feat

that saved many lives.

The plaque located beneath the Balto statue sums it up: “Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin 600 miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925. Endurance - Fidelity - Intelligence.”

So sit back, grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy this feel-good movie that will surely take you on a journey back to your youth.

Who does not need a break from the daily grinds and midterms?

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 15

WHO’S THAT KID? Sarah Elizabeth Lahoud A MEMBER OF FCRH ’12, MAJORING IN ENGLISH FROM MCLEAN, VA. Where have we seen you?

With my Fordham Flava family. In the good old days, on stage.

But now, do you see that girl stalking the team with a video camera?

That’s me.

Favorite childhood show and favorite current show?

I have to admit, I’m not up to speed with my knowledge of current pop culture.

My favorite shows growing up were definitely “Boy Meets World” and “Kenan & Kel.” Now, I love curling up with a cup of tea and “Murder, She Wrote.” Yes. I am that old.

Who would play you in a movie and why?

Though I harbor a strong affinity for Kate Winslet, I would have to say Anne Hathaway. I think she plays the curly-haired geek pretty well.

If you could be anywhere and doing anything right now, what would it be?

Lying on the beach surrounded by family and the wild of the Trinidad rainforest, somewhere off the coast of Venezuela. My mom is from Trinidad, but thanks to college and many others of life’s hassles, I haven’t been back in almost two years. It’s about time for that to change.

Favorite class at Fordham and favorite professor?

I love my 19th century Novel of Manners class that I’m taking now at Lincoln Center with Professor Vranjes.

We’re reading Frances Burney, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton et al.

Phew, every Monday and Thursday, I am in heaven.

How do you blow off steam?

If you mean in the relaxing way, honestly, I love reading young adult fiction (sans the vampires, please).

If you mean when I’m mad, I have this bad habit of kicking things.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

I never know what people think of me. I’ve heard such different accounts of myself as to puzzle me exceedingly.

I asked a bunch of my friends what they thought when they first met me in order to try to sketch out my own character, but I got too many different answers.

Stuck on an island, what would you need?

If I were stuck on an island, I would need a pair of turtles, some serious gumption and a little hair from Jack Sparrow’s back.

What is your dream job?

My lifelong goal has been to play the villain in a Disney animated movie.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Coloring.

Going

10

?

On

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

THURSDAY “The Early Show” and CBS Backstage Tour The Early Show Plaza 767 Fifth Ave. Take a free tour of the morning show studio.

11

The Adjustment Bureau AMC Loews Kips Bay Theatre 570 Second Ave. 7 p.m. and 8:05 p.m.

FRIDAY

See the Fordham campus in this action movie.

12

SATURDAY Center for Book Arts 28 W 27th St. between Broadway and Sixth Ave. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Enjoy a free and educational experience as you learn how books are a contemporary art.

13

SUNDAY

1001 Inventions New York Hall of Science 111th St. at 47th Ave. Opens at 10 a.m.

Learn about inventions throughout history, from the toothbrush to algebra.

14

MONDAY How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying Al Hirschfeld Theater 302 W. 45th Street 8 p.m.

Hear J. Pierrepont Finch, the Vice-President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company, speak

If you could have a dinner with any historical person, who would it be and why?

I should probably say someone important to the history of the world, but I would love to meet Judy Garland. Or Bing Crosby.

I would also say Gene Kelly. Or Vera Ellen. I like thinking we would sing and dance all through dinner.

What would your ideal day in Manhattan consist of?

Scouring every used bookstore within the city limits and then settling down in a coffee shop with my finds. In the evening, I would go to the New York Philharmonic.

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

15

TUESDAY The Orchid Show: On Broadway New York Botanical Garden Opens at 10 a.m.

See over 300 types of flowers in the nineth annual Orchid Show.

16

WEDNESDAY Birth of the Modern: Style and Identity in Vienna 1900 Neue Galerie New York 1048 Fifth Ave at 86th St. Opens at 11 a.m.

Enjoy the paintings of Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele.

COURTESY OF SARAH LAHOUD

— COMPILED BY SANDY MCKENZIE

Sarah Elizabeth Lahoud is a junior at Fordham and an English major.

Ram Reviews MOVIE CEDAR RAPIDS

In Cedar Rapids, Ed Helms (“The Office”) plays Tim, a disillusioned thirty-four year old insurance agent who has never left his birthplace of rural Brown Valley, Wisconsin.

Losing of both his parents at an early age, Lippe looks to his boss Bill (Stephen Root, Dodgeball) for fatherly nurturing and his “preengaged” former middle school teacher Macy (Sigourney Weaver, Avatar) for support.

Yet when Bill asks him to travel to Cedar Rapids for the annual insurance agent convention, Tim has to leave the nest.

Directed by Miguel Arteta, Cedar Rapids softly invites us to chuckle at Tim’s irregularities. Unexpectedly humorous, little in Arteta’s creation seems forced except for the unbridled enthusiasm of lowlife agents to emerge Tim into the throws of living outside his rural Wisconsin.

MUSIC 21- ADELE

In her sophomore album 21, Adele returns stronger than ever with her smoky, soulful vocals.

The singer continues to explore her sound and, while the tracks on 21 still have that jazzy, bluesy feel of her first album, they take on a decidedly more pop sound that often calls to mind classic singers of the 1960s, like fellow Brit Dusty Springfield.

With 21, Adele takes her listeners on a personal journey through her own heartbreak.

Inspired by a breakup, the songs of 21 range from angry to bittersweet and capture a whole range of post-breakup emotions, including both the juvenile, bitter reactions and the mature, forward-facing ones.

Taking on a more contemporary pop sound, “Set the Fire to the Rain” will undoubtedly be one of the album’s biggest hits.

TELEVISION

PLAY

PLAY

“MR. SUNSHINE”

BULRUSHER

WILD PARTY

It’s been almost seven years since the longtime favorite comedy “Friends” has said goodbye to its audience, and castmember Matthew Perry’s charm and talent have not gone unnoticed, but his new role in ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine” seems a bit out of place for him.

The show revolves around Ben Donovan (Perry), the operations manager at a sporting arena in San Diego. Each episode revolves around Ben’s labors with the quirky crew of the Sunshine Center.

Unfortunately, Ben’s personality betrays Perry’s inherent likeability. To his credit, Perry tries his best, and his performance is by no means displeasing.

The place where the show does in fact succeed is through Ben’s interaction with his supporting crew.

Overall, “Mr. Sunshine” isn’t a terrible show, but it’s not fantastic either.

The first thing one notices about the Fordham College at Lincoln Center Mainstage production of playwright Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher, which took place in the Pope Auditorium from Feb. 23-March 5, is the set. It resembles the basket in which Bulrusher (Moire Kiyingi, in her Mainstage debut), the play’s heroine, floated as an infant, and creates a calming and pleasing visual aesthetic for the backdrop of the show.

Bulrusher, a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize, tells the story of Bulrusher, a young black woman who whose gift of fortune telling make her an outcast in her small town.

For the most part, the dense script is handled well by a solid cast.

While Bulrusher often falls short thematically, however, it succeeds technically. Lincoln Center’s production brings spirit and passion to the story of Bulrusher.

The Mimes and Mummers performance, on March 3-6, of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party has many in the Fordham community buzzing. The musical is set in the 1920s, sporting a Great Gatsby-like feel, accompanied by a decade-appropriate jazz score.

The plot revolves around four main characters: a showgirl named Queenie (played by Emily Weaver, FCRH ‘12), her lover of a few years, a clown named Burrs (played by Mike Dahlgren FCRH ‘14), Queenie’s best friend Kate (played by Kristie Koos FCRH ‘11), and Kate’s most recent lover, Mr. Black (played by David Cavanaugh FCRH ’11).

All-in-all, the Mimes performance was very much enjoyable.

The cast and crew pulled off a Wild Party, one that all of Fordham should have taken the time to attend.

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PAGE 16 • THE RAM • MARCH9, 2011

PAGE 17

MARCH 9 , 2011

Fordham Announces Head Coach Cathy Andruzzi Will Not Return Next Season

Lady Rams Finish 12-19 After First-Round Tournament Loss at Atlantic-10 Tournament against St. Bonaventure

By ALEXANDER VILARDO SPORTS EDITOR

After five years of struggle, the Fordham women’s basketball program is looking to head in a new direction; yesterday, Executive Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin announced that Cathy Andruzzi will not be returning to Fordham for a sixth season.

“We really appreciate Cathy’s efforts at Fordham,” McLaughlin said through fordhamsports. com. “She is a tireless coach who worked extremely hard to elevate the women’s basketball program in the very competitive Atlantic 10 conference.”

In Andruzzi’s five years at Fordham, the Lady Rams have finished last three times and once a secondto-last 13th place in the A-10. This season, the Lady Rams finished 10th in the conference and posted 12 wins, the most during Andruzzi’s tenure as head coach. During her time roaming the sidelines for the Lady Rams, Andruzzi posted a record of 31-116 and a conference record of 8-62.

“I am grateful to the Fordham community for giving me the opportunity to coach and bring pride back into the women’s basketball program,” Andruzzi said through fordhamsports.com. “I would like to thank the alumni who supported our program during my tenure.

While I took over a program during a trying time, we created a solid

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Cathy Andruzzi will leave Fordham following a 12-19 season. During her five seasons, Fordham went 31-116.

foundation which will lead to continued success.”

“I wish the Fordham women’s basketball student-athletes much academic and athletic success.”

The Lady Rams finished this season with an overall record of 12-19 and a conference record of 4-10. They ended their season by splitting the final pair of regularseason A-10 games and losing in

the first round of the A-10 tournament. On Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, the team beat UMass (7-23, 3-12) by a score of 61-52 in the Rose Hill Gymnasium. The Lady Rams then traveled to Dayton where they lost to the Lady Flyers (21-10, 9-5), 6951 on Saturday, Feb. 26.

The team’s postseason hopes were crushed early, as they lost to the seventh-seeded St. Bonaven-

ture (20-11, 9-5) in the first round of the A-10 tournament in Lowell, Mass. by a score of 48-41. The 10th-seeded Lady Rams had a hard time making baskets, as they shot just 29.1 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from three-point range.

“We had struggles on the offensive end,” Andruzzi said. “We had some really good looks at the bas-

ket. Twenty-nine percent from the field isn’t going to cut it. We don’t have scorers.”

Junior guard Becky Peters led the Lady Rams in scoring with 13 points and four steals in 31 minutes. Senior forward Tiffany Stokes was next in line with nine points, six rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes. Senior forward Caitlin Shadbolt had just two points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. “[Shadbolt] never fully recovered from her [stress fracture] injury,” Andruzzi said. “She had a hard time getting back and getting into a groove.”

The first half was filled with back-and-forth basketball, and the Lady Rams went to the locker room trailing 27-24. The seventhseeded Lady Bonnies were in the lead for most of the second half, but never led by more than eight.

The Lady Rams trailed by just five with only 28 seconds left, but they were forced to foul, and the Lady Bonnies sunk the necessary free throws to seal the game.

“I can’t say enough about our players; they never gave up,” Andruzzi said. “It was a tremendous game.”

Next year, the Lady Rams will have to find leadership in not only a new head coach, but with different players, as well, as five seniors — Shadbolt, Stokes, guard Kyara Weekes, center Alexandria Zamora and guard Kristina Bell — will be set to graduate this spring.

Fordham’s ‘Home’ Should Remain in the Bronx, Not the IZOD Center

By DANNY ATKINSON STAFF WRITER

“The IZOD Center is our home.”

I have spoken to Frank McLaughlin, Fordham’s executive director of athletics, dozens of times. These conversations are always equally frustrating and illuminating, as McLaughlin tries to justify the constant failings of Fordham athletics. He has made a number of statements that infuriate me, but none compare to this. The IZOD Center is not our home. The IZOD Center is a poor excuse for a home arena, and playing at the Meadowlands is a betrayal to the Rose Hill Gym and everything it represents.

By playing at the IZOD Center, Fordham is permanently injuring Rams basketball and any chance for its success.

Here are some facts: Fordham basketball played four games at the IZOD Center this season as part of a permanent plan to establish a modern, big-time arena where the Rams could play a few prominent opponents a year; however, all of the team’s opponents at the arena were fellow Atlantic 10 members, with Saint Joe’s and Saint Louis residing near the bottom of the conference. Only Temple, a top-25 team, could be considered a prominent IZOD opponent. I ask you, what average college basketball fan is going to attend a match-up between two lousy A-10 teams at an

empty, lifeless arena?

Ah yes, the attendance. The combined recorded attendance at the four games in New Jersey was a paltry 7,194, a total that was severely doctored. If I had to guess, none of these games had an attendance that exceeded 1,000. A student, realizing how poor the team was this year and how disengaging of an experience it was to see lousy games in Jersey, never filled more than two buses for the trip over.

The cheering is nearly nonexistent and Fordham fans are constantly bored and miserable.

The arena workforce, seemingly outnumbering the Ram’s fan base, sleepwalks through their jobs while the attending media comment on how the IZOD experiment was “a shame” and “a dumb decision.” No game experience I’ve been present at is more depressing than a Fordham Ram basketball game at the IZOD Center. The lack of cheering and interested fans makes one question the worth of attending.

The empty seats and non existent energy, along with the completely draped upper sections, make the IZOD Center a literal morgue, one in which the fans and basketball players are equally trapped. Fordham frequently looked bad this year, but their play was even poorer at the arena, lacking energy and focus. The Rams were bad, but at least they were sometimes interesting to watch at the Rose Hill Gym. Every architect of the IZOD

Center experiment, from Frank McLaughlin and Tom Pecora down to the pawns that take the court, follow the same absurd talking points when advocating for the experiment.

Ask Coach Pecora and McLaughlin, and playing in Jersey will give us “another facility to attract recruiting” and “prevent the Rose Hill Gym from hurting recruiting.” Pecora will make an interesting comment about the “wheels of motion” already going on during the games when he arrived at Fordham and needing to re-evaluate the experiment, only to return to arguing that IZOD games are all part of the process of becoming a national program.

These two major figures, along with Mike Grahime, the head of events at the IZOD Center, maintain that the experiment can be a success if Fordham is able to play more popular, out-of-conference opponents at the arena next season, possibly in the context of doubleheaders.

But McLaughlin, Grahime and anyone else at Fordham seems either to have any concrete opponents or any ideas in place to make these games more appealing. You can keep saying, “These games won’t get support if the team isn’t winning” but then, maybe they should be played on campus.

Tom Emala FCRH ‘11, the head of the Sixth Man Club, reflects the conflicted feelings even the most

rabid student basketball fans have about playing at the IZOD Center.

“Student turnout has been pretty considerable and consistent this year, with the marked exception of each and every game at the IZOD Center. I think that the IZOD Center is an impediment to our rate of improvement, unfortunately.”

At least Emala, while exhibiting disappointment in the experiment, also displays hope for it and the program. Ace93, the moderator for the Fordham Fans forum, who goes by Andres in his personal life, represents the views of the many long-suffering Rams fans who hate the team playing in New Jersey. Andres argues that though it has much nicer amenities, the IZOD Center’s actual game-day experience is quite depressing and for long time fans, it takes away from the opportunity to return to campus and feel a part of the Fordham community again.

He sees other-long time fans that have no desire to trudge to the IZOD Center to cheer for a poor team, and adds a kicker to how disengaged playing at the IZOD makes him feel.

“I have had season tickets since the 1999-2000 season and the only time I have ever thought about not renewing my season tickets was when I heard the rumor that we might have even more games at the IZOD next season.”

Playing games at the IZOD Center, especially in the manner in

which Fordham is doing it, seems to have no rhyme or reason. Fordham can argue that playing at the arena will make the program seem more major and attract recruits, but when the game-day experience and the attendance is so poor, that argument falls flat on its face.

Fans have an attachment to the Rose Hill Gym, and attending games there is part of the Fordham community experience. Our games are alive.

IZOD games are a death sentence. Recruits would prefer to play at a more modern arena than Rose Hill Gym, but would they not want to play in front of more than 100 students?

How about Fordham focuses on restoration efforts for our gym, and on making the game day experience the ones our fans deserve?

Fans and players want to see that happen at the Rose Hill Gym. We want a winning program, but on campus. Let’s abandon the IZOD Center experiment until our program is heading in the right direction.

Remember one of Father McShane’s most memorable quotes: “New York is our campus, Fordham is our school.”

“Under Coach Pecora, our basketball program will reach frightening glory.” Well Father, that frightening glory will be achieved on our venerated court in the Bronx.

Let’s honor the program’s history, and keep the Bronx our home.

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SPORTS

NHL Changing Times

By NICK CARROLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In my last blog post, I wrote about the impact that Tomas Kaberle, Kris Versteeg, Erik Johnson, Chris Stewart and James Neal would have on their new teams.

With so much activity involving high-profile players before the trade deadline, it was only natural to expect that there would be a flurry of activity at the deadline; however, unlike most seasons where the NHL trade deadline is one of the most interesting days on the NHL calendar, not much happened. The biggest deal involved Dustin Penner being salvaged from Edmonton to help Los Angeles make a playoff push.

Really, if that was the biggest move at the deadline, there was not much of an impact felt around the league. In the long run, not much changed and whatever we thought before the deadline should hold up now.

The teams are essentially the same.

There was not a trade like the Marian Hossa deal in 2008 that could have an impact on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The one trade that has seemed to have an impact was Boston’s acquisition of Kaberle, as the Bruins have been scorching-hot in recent weeks.

Where does that leave us?

Pretty much where we were before, except we have had a few recent developments.

For one, it looks like the East is much tighter at the top than one would have thought. The Flyers have been in a pretty awful funk, and hit rock bottom with an embarrassing 7-0 loss in Madison Square Garden last Sunday.

Even though it is just a slump, and the Flyers should rebound and be the favorites to win the East, they have allowed the Bruins, Penguins and Capitals to reenter the mix for the top seed in the conference.

Right now it should be clear that the B’s are the second-best team in the conference. Kaberle has proven to be a significant addition, and the Bruins stingy lock-down game has them four points behind Philadelphia. Between the team’s scoring depth, steady defense and top-notch goaltending, the Bruins have what it takes to make it through the East this spring; however, the Bruins will need to overcome the ghosts of playoffs past, as they have struggled to win when it matters most for years now.

The Penguins have continued to play solid hockey without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. With that said, it is hard to imagine Pittsburgh making a playoff run without Crosby, who remains out with a concussion. There is still no timetable for the superstar’s return, and it is looking more and more likely that the Penguins might enter the playoffs without their franchise player.

The Capitals made a variety of crafty pickups at the dead-

line, bringing in Jason Arnott and Dennis Wideman.

The personality of the team is really starting to change, and the Caps are starting to win the low-scoring, grind-it-out games that they were unable to win in the past. It will be interesting to see if this carries over into the playoffs.

In the West, the Canucks are still leading the way, but it appears as if there are some new contenders for the long haul.

For years, the West regular season was dominated by the San Jose Sharks.

This year, the Sharks got off to a very average start, and it seemed as if they had regressed to a fringe playoff team due to age and the loss of goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

Lately, though, things have been clicking in San Jose. The Sharks have finally committed to last year’s Cup-winning goaltender, Antti Niemi, and it has paid off. His stellar play has catapulted the Sharks to the top of the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Meanwhile, Niemi’s former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, has been making a late-season push of its own.

Led by Captain Jonathan Toews, the Hawks have closed within six points of the Red Wings in the Central Division and have moved into the fourth seed in the Western Conference standings. Overall, not a bad spot for a team that was right in the middle of the rat race for a playoff spot in the West.

Since the All-Star break, Toews has led the way for Chicago with 10 goals and 25 points in 16 games, while also providing his typically outstanding two-way play. Toews is proving, once again, why he is one the best leaders in the NHL and is establishing himself as an MVP candidate.

Like San Jose did with Niemi, the Blackhawks have chosen a goalie, and it has paid dividends.

Corey Crawford has stolen the job in Chicago from Marty Turco and has not looked back.

Crawford has posted a goalsagainst average around 2.00 and a save percentage around .930 since the turn of the calendar and has been a driving force behind Chicago’s surge.

So, even though the deadline dealing will not have much of an impact on the result of the 2011 playoffs, recent weeks have made it clear that it is more than a two-horse race.

At one time, it seemed like a done deal that Philadelphia and Vancouver were destined to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals as hockey’s two best teams; however, the gap between the top two and the rest of the league has quickly closed and it is looking like it could be an open race.

Almost like the baseball playoffs, it really might just come down to who can stay healthy and who can find the momentum when they need it the most.

There are favorites, but they are not nearly the shoe-ins they appeared to be just weeks ago.

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 19

Men’s Basketball

Men’s & Women’s Swimming

Fordham 77 UMass 73

Atlantic-10 Championships

Women’s Basketball Bonnies 48 Fordham 41 Fordham

UMass

fg

3pt

ft

reb tp a

Vinson

3-7

1-3

3-5

10 10 0

Farrell

4-9

0-0

3-5

4

11 3

Carter

2-2

0-0

2-5

5

6

0

Correia

0-4

0-3

0-0

3

0

4

Gurley

9-23 3-13 9-13 4

30 0

Morgan

3-7

2-2

0-0

4

8

2

Carter

0-2

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Riley

0-1

0-1

0-0

0

0

0

Putney

2-4

1-2

3-4

5

8

1

Bailey

0-0

0-0

0-0

1

0

0

Hill

0-2

0-1

0-0

2

0

1

Totals

23-61 7-25 20-32 42 73 11

Fordham

fg

3pt

ft

reb tp a

Green

3-5

0-0

0-0

6

Gaston

7-15 0-0

5-9

14 19 4

Frazier

1-5

1-4

0-0

3

3

4

Estwick

2-6

1-4

1-2

2

6

4

Butler

9-19 7-14 4-4

2

29 2

Samuell

5-6

0-1

1-5

1

11 3

Bristol

1-2

0-0

1-2

3

3

Totals

6

1

1

28-58 9-23 12-22 40 77 19

Blocks: Carter (3), Putney, Green

(4), Butler, Samuell (2). Turnovers: Vinson, Farrell (2), Correia (2), Gurley, Morgan (2), Carter, Putney, Frazier (3), Butler (3), Samuell (2).

Totals

1st

2nd

Final

Fordham

37

40

77

UMass

33

40

73

La Salle 86 Fordham 61 Fordham

fg

Gaston

3pt

ft

reb tp a

9-20 0-0

1-5

17 19 0

Bristol

3-11 0-0

2-2

7

8

2

Frazier

0-13 0-4

1-2

3

1

4

Estwick

1-7

0-2

0-0

5

2

3

Butler

5-13 3-8

0-0

6

13 1

Hage

0-1

0-1

0-0

2

0

2

Samuell

4-10 0-1

1-2

3

9

3

Grayhack

0-3

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Moquete

1-5

1-4

0-0

3

3

0

Gifford

2-2

2-2

0-0

1

6

0

Green

0-2

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Totals

25-876-22 5-11 52 61 15

La Salle

fg

3pt

ft reb tp a

Williams

6-11 0-0

0-4

9

Murray

8-16 0-2

4-7

13 20 1

12 5

Duren

1-3

1-1

0-0

3

3

Guillandea 6-14 1-4

0-0

1

17 2

Pettis

2-6

1-4

0-0

7

5

Mills

0-3

0-1

3-5

2

3

0

Stefan

2-4

2-3

0-0

4

6

1

5 4

White

5-6

0-0

1-1

4

11 1

Sheehan

0-1

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Danish

0-2

0-2

0-0

0

0

1

Weingarten 3-6

2-3

1-2

8

9

3

Totals

33-72 7-20 13-2356 86 23

Blocks: Williams, Murray (3), Pettis, ton

Stefan, (3),

Weingarten,

Bristol

(5),

Gas-

Samuell.

Steals: Gaston, Frazier, Estwick (2), Samuell, Moquete (2), Williams, Murray, Duren (2), Pettis, Mills (4), White. Turnovers: Gaston (5), Frazier, Estwick, Butler (2), Samuell (4), Moquete, Williams (5), Murray (2), Guillandeaux, Pettis, Mills (2), Weingarten (2).

Totals

1st

2nd

Final

Fordham

21

40

61

La Salle

45

41

86

3pt ft

reb tp a

Women 500 Yd Freestyle 1. Krebs, Richmond, 4:48.51 2. McGorry, Fordham, 4:53.60 6. Field, Fordham, 4:58.95

Shadbolt 1-4 0-2 0-0 3 2 0

Women 200 Yd IM 1. Kobelja, Richmond, 2:00.07 4. Collyer, Fordham, 2:04.98 12. Jones, Fordham, 2:08.24 Men 200 Yd IM 1. Zennedjian, XU, 1:48.71 14. Gitman, Fordham, 1:55.62

Stokes

3-13 0-1 3-4 6 9 0

Bell

2-7 1-3 0-0 4 5 4

Weekes

3-7 1-4 0-0 5 7 3

Peters

5-11 1-5 2-2 3 13 1

Collins

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

Zamora

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

Corning

1-5 1-4 0-0 4 3 0

Totals

16-55 4-23 5-6 30 41 9

Bonnies

fg

Ortega

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

VanTatenhove

Women 50 Yd Freestyle 1. Hines, Richmond, 23.21 3. Ryan, Fordham, 23.36

3pt ft reb tp a

6-15 0-0 2-5 5 14 1

Walker

2-6 0-0 5-9 12 9 0

Jenkins

1-5 1-4 0-0 2 3 3

Gustafson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Men 50 Yd Freestyle 1. Thomas, La Salle, 20.45 7. Morris, Fordham, 21.05

Dixon

1-4 0-1 2-3 5 4 1

Bowker

4-7 2-3 0-0 3 10 1

Horton

1-5 0-0 2-2 7 4 0

Women 200 Yd Relay 1. Richmond (Hines, Kobelja, Brackett, LePere), 1:31.57 3. Fordham (Lyver, Bunster, Cosentino, Collyer), 1:34.90

Ashton

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

Totals

17-45 3-8 11-19 43 48 9

(2), Gaston (2), Bristol (3). Steals: Farrell, Correia, Putney, Gaston

fg

Men 200 Yd Relay 1. Bonnies, (Robinson, Martin, Kundzik, Baker), 1:22.24 2. Fordham, (Noguchi, Morris, Thrall, Colton), 1:22.53

Blocks: Stokes (3), Weekes, Van Tatenhove.

Steals:

Stokes,

Bell

(2), Peters (4), Collins (2), Corning, Van Tatenhove, Walker (2), Jenkins. Turnovers: Shadbolt (3), Stokes, Bell, Weekes (2), Peters (2), Collins (2), Corning, Ortega, Van Tatenhove (2), Walker (2), Jenkins (3), Gustafson, Dixon, Bowker

Women 400 Yd IM 1. McGeath, Duquesne, 4:17.32 2. Collyer, Fordham, 4:21.04 Men 400 Yd IM 1. Zennedjian, XU, 3:52.81 11. Grimmett-Norris, Fordham, 4:06.67 Women 100 Yd Butteryfly 1. Bunster, Fordham, 56.34 3. Jones, Fordham, 56.55 Men 100 Yd Butteryfly 1. Kundzik, Bonnies, 49.49 2. Noguchi, Fordham, 49.56 Women 200 Yd Freestyle 1. Brackett, Richmond, 1:48.85 3. McGorry, Fordham, 1:51.10 Men 100 Yd Breaststroke 1. Backler, UMass, 55.89 6. Grabiak, Fordham, 57.47 Women 100 Yd Backstroke 1. Hines, Richmond, 52.76 2. Ryan, Fordham, 53.94 Women 400 YD Relay 1. Richmond (LePere, Kobelja, Smaniotto, Vucic), 3:44.93 2. Fordham (Ryan, Collyer, Bunster, McGorry), 3:45.21 Men 400 Yd Relay 1. UMass (Butler, Backler, Howard, Ziegler), 3:19.71 2. Fordham (Colton, Grabiak, Noguchi, Morris), 3:21.68 Women 1650 Yd Freestyle 1. Krebs, Richmond, 16:32.80 3. McGorry, Fordham, 16:43.96

(3), Ashton.

Totals

1st

Fordham

24

Bonnies

27

2nd

Final

17

41

21

48

Women’s Softball Fordham 1 UNC 0 UNC AB Wheeler lf 4 Mahon rf 3 Morrison ph 1 Blake c 2 D.Manko pr 0 H.Dickey 1b 2 C.Butler pr 0 Robinson 3b 1 Scarboro 2b 0 Vitale dh 2 Elliott pr 0 McKinney ph 1 Foulks ss 3 Williams ph 0 Nece cf 3 Spingola p 0 Totals 22

R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fordham Dearborn 3b Kay Bright lf Callahan dh Crowley pr Luety c Wiggins 2b Pellechio ss LaBovick 1b Palumbo rf Richards cf Mineau p Totals

AB 3 3 3 0 3 3 2 3 2 2 0 24

H 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3

RBI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

R H RBI 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1

Score by Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fordham 1 0 0 0 0 0 UNC 0 0 0 0 0 0

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SPORTS

PAGE 20 • THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

Rams Start Season on a High Note, Look to Build Off Momentum

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Junior infielder Nick Martinez started in 55 games last year and held a .305 batting average. This year, he has started in the team’s 11 games and batted .302 with an on-base percentage of .423.

By DANNY ATKINSON STAFF WRITER

Fordham baseball has earned a reputation for its consistency, finishing in the top half of the Atlantic 10 nearly every year.

Despite this accomplishment, the program has not earned much respect. It is hard to determine why Fordham is usually overlooked, but the Rams were chosen to finish seventh in the conference in the A -10 preseason poll, just out of the playoffs.

Sometimes preseason polls do not know what they are talking about.

With a 7-1 record in the last week and a half, including a fivegame winning streak, the team has improved its record on the season to 9-2. During this streak, Fordham swept Iona, winning 3-1, 7-2 and 10-9. The team then took games from Manhattan and Wake Forest by scores of 8-6 and 5-3, and Towson and

New York Institute of Technology by scores of 16-9 and 7-3.

The only loss the team suffered was to Radford, 5-4. The Rams’ blazing start exceeded outside expectations, though not their own.

“We’ve both pitched and played defense very well,” Head Coach Nick Restaino said.

“When we get timely hitting, those free elements coming together make it tough for the team to lose.”

Fordham’s pitching staff performed excellently in these eight games. The staff held opposing offenses to four runs or fewer five times. The Rams’ pitching combined for an ERA under 4.00 and an average of about a strikeout per inning, a recipe for success if there ever was one.

While the pitchers were impressive throughout this period, a few performances stood out.

Junior Max Krakowiak threw six innings in Fordham’s 7-2 victory over Iona on Thursday, Feb.

26, allowing only one hit while striking out six. In a 5-3 victory over Wake Forest on Friday, March 4, freshman Chris Pike relieved senior Brian Prendergast following an already strong start and whiffed six in three scoreless innings.

Finally, sophomore Rich Anastasi earned his third win in relief with three dominant innings on March 8.

“Guys have really pitched to their potential,” Restaino said.

“They’ve been throwing a lot more strikes and benefited a ton from the continuity we now have at pitching coach.”

During this early start in the season, the team’s offense has been impressive. Fordham has a team batting average of .299, with an on-base percentage of .369 to go with it. The Rams’ offense is exceedingly balanced, with six players featuring a batting average of .295 or above. It is hard to choose one or two players that stand out from the pack, but se-

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Senior catcher Ryan David played in 18 games last year as a junior. This year, David is serving as a team captain.

nior catcher Chris Walker has two home runs and twelve RBI, and sophomore outfielder Ryan Lee has gotten off to a blazing start that earned him the A-10 Player of the Week Award for the week. In four games, Lee posted a .857 slugging percentage and had four multi-hit games.

Restaino sees a very clear reason for why his offense has seen so much early success.

“The guys have been very disciplined at the plate,” he said.

“Our lineup has been able to get itself into good fastball counts and wear other pitchers out. Our experience is really paying off.”

“The older guys at the top of our lineup know the game,” junior second baseman Nick Martinez said. “We’re able to hit in any count and know what’s coming next.”

Though every Fordham win has established the Rams as an accomplished team, two victories particularly stand out to the team. The first is their 5-3 defeat of ACC member Wake Forest, a win that extended the team’s win streak to seven games. The Rams were constantly challenged in that game, as the Demon Deacons mounted rallies every time Fordham took a lead.

The Rams began the game by scoring three runs in the first, but Wake Forest answered with a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame. After Fordham extended its lead on a double by freshman infielder Rob McCunney, a second home run by Wake Forest cut their deficit to 4-3.

From there, however, Fordham regained a two-run edge on a solo home run to left by junior infielder Ryan Maghini. Pike shut down the Deacons’ offense late to earn his third save and seal the victory. Maghini was 2-4 with two runs scored and a homer.

Martinez characterized the performance as important for demonstrating Fordham’s legitimacy.

“The game against Wake Forest was a huge test because they

were seen as the better team,” he said. “The performance showed we are a strong team and have come a long way.”

Restaino was most satisfied with the team’s 16-9 victory against Towson on March 5, when Fordham fell into a 5-0 hole before eventually putting on an offensive clinic. Towson took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Rams retaliated with an eight-run bottom frame, highlighted by a three-run double from McSherry and a tworun double by Swatek.

Fordham would add another five-spot to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, and would finish the game by scoring 16 runs on 17 hits. Chris Walker led the attack, going 4-4 with three runs scored.

Although the Rams’ pitching would allow five runs in the first two innings, its relievers would limit Towson’s offense to four runs in the final seven.

“The Towson game was impressive,” Restaino said. “I was very happy that we responded with a big inning after going down early. We took control and I didn’t get the feeling we were going to let the game slip away.”

Fordham’s strong record and impressive play belies a team that has an impressive amount of camaraderie.

Lee and Martinez both describe a team that has a lot of leadership and is very close, and whose players rely on one another to pick up the whole team.

The Rams have a few tough matchups over beak, including a big series against Charleston Southern, but right now this group’s confidence is sky-high.

“Our team has already improved a lot in the last year,” Martinez said. “We have a lot of ways of beating guys. This team is going to keep winning, and I am not going to accept anything less than eventually winning the A-10.”

After the Rams’ hot start, there is nothing stopping them from carrying their momentum further into the season.

SPORTS

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 21

Softball Upsets Texas, Goes 5-5 in California and Florida Tournaments

By CHESTER BAKER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Lady Rams continued their string of tournaments to open this season, participating in two more over the past two weeks. Coming off a 3-2 tournament finish at the University of Southern Florida Tournament, Fordham packed its bags and headed west to Catherdral City, Calif. for the Cathedral City Classic. The tournament was a good litmus test for the Rams, as they went up against three top-25 teams.

“Any of these games would be a big win for the program,” Head Coach Bridgett Orchard said.

“These teams are top in the country, and some of the best teams we’ll face all season.”

It did not take very long for Fordham to get that big win, as they upset No. 12 Texas with a 2-1 upset victory in the first game of the tournament.

In the first inning, Fordham got two baserunners on when they started the inning with singles from junior right fielder Nicole Callahan and senior shortstop Samantha Pellechio. However, Fordham continued a trend of not being able to get runners home when sophomore first baseman Jamie LaBovick once again grounded into a double play with runners on base.

“Jamie has been hitting the ball really well in those situations,” Orchard said. “She just needs to stop hitting them right at people. All of those groundouts that she has been having were very well hit balls, and if they go a few feet another way, she would bringing somebody home.”

Junior Jen Mineau was on the mound for Fordham, who held the Longhorns hitless until the fourth inning.

In the fourth, Texas got on the board following a leadoff triple and took a 1-0 lead.

After the two singles in the first, Fordham was held hitless until the sixth inning.

Fordham finally got a runner on when junior infielder Lindsey Kay Bright singled up the middle, and was moved to second after a groundout. Callahan came to the plate with two outs in the inning and ripped a single up the gut to bring home Bright, tying the score at one.

Mineau retired Texas in order in the top of the seventh to set up some theatrics for freshman designated hitter Gabby Luety. With two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Luety crushed a ball to deep left field that cleared the wall and gave the Lady Rams a win.

“That was huge,” Orchard said.

“For a freshman to do that, it was our first homer of the season, it was just a big play. We expect big things from Gabby.”

“When I recruited her, I was hoping that should would be able to replace Erin Fisher, who led our team in home runs last season. So, hopefully we can expect more of the same from her.”

The win will also help the Lady Rams’ NCAA Tournament hopes.

“The win against Texas will look very good for us later in the year if we need to rely on an at-large bid

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Junior pitcher Jen Mineau currently has a record of 5-3 following the past two tournaments. Mineau pitched a complete game in the team’s upset victory over No. 11 Texas at the Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.

to make the tournament,” Orchard said.

In the second game of the day, Fordham could not pull off another upset as it fell to No. 7 Washington 2-0. Senior A-10 Pitcher of the Week Chelsea Plimpton got tagged with the loss, despite a three-hit complete game.

The only blip on Plimpton’s day came when senior shortstop Jenn Sailing scored on a sacrifice squeeze following a leadoff double.

Sailing added to her game by tripling home a run in the fifth.

The Rams ran into the same problem they have had all season: an inability to score with runners on base. In the first inning, Fordham loaded the bases for Game 1 hero Luety, who promptly grounded out to end the inning.

Fordham got runners on second and third in the second inning, but was unable to score once again as senion Jocelyn Dearborn and Kay Bright failed to bring anyone in.

The Lady Rams opened Day 2 of the tournament with a 1-0 win over Cal State Fullerton behind Plimpton’s arm. The senior surrendered just three hits for the second straight start. Mineau came on in relief in the sixth, and struck out four to get the win.

The lone run came in the top of the seventh, as Kay Bright led off the inning by reaching on an error. Kay Bright was moved over to second following a bunt and then reached third after a passed ball.

Senior catcher Meghan Shager singled Kay Bright home, and Fordham was on top for good.

The team could have scored more than just one, but they once again left the bases loaded in the third and were unable to push anyone home.

On the final day of the tournament, Fordham split a pair of games, falling 6-2 to No. 20 LSU, and reversing the score to beat Nevada 6-2.

Fordham held a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth inning against LSU, as Mineau was leading the way for another upset win; however, the Tigers scored five runs in the frame,

and grabbed the 6-2 lead. LSU hit back-to-back-to-back homers off Mineau, including the second on the day for junior infielder Annisa Young.

The Rams’ offense came from sophomore inflielder Chelsea Palumbo, who singled with the bases loaded in the fourth. Fordham also scored an unearned run following an LSU error.

In the win over Nevada, Plimpton threw her second complete game of the tournament, despite giving up a pair of runs in the first inning.

Dearborn answered right back for the Lady Rams, as they finally capitalized with the bases loaded.

Dearborn tripled with the bases juiced to give Fordham a 4-2 lead.

Senior catcher Samantha Pellechio extended the lead in the next inning by driving in two with a single.

Following their 3-2 record in California, the Lady Rams travelled to Walt Disney World to compete in the Citrus Classic.

In the first game of the tournament, Fordham defeated Illinois State with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory behind Jen Mineau’s complete game.

Fordham got a runner on second in the first inning, but the threat was ended when Callahan struck out to end the inning. Mineau then surrendered a home run and the Lady Rams were down 1-0.

Dearborn doubled to tie the game in the top of the third, followed by an RBI single from Luety.

Mineau was able to shutdown the Redbirds for the rest of the game, and Fordham walked away with the win.

The next day was one the Lady Rams would like to forget, as they dropped both of their games. In the first matchup of the day Fordham fell to Illinois 4-1.

Already down 1-0, Fordham threatened to tie the game in the third as it had the bases loaded with just one out; however, a Callahan line drive was caught in the infield, and Dearborn was doubled off as Illinois escaped without any damage.

Fordham was able to tie the game in the fourth following an RBI from Bright.

In the sixth inning, Mineau came in to relieve Plimpton. Mineau gave up three runs in the sixth, and the Fighting Illini grabbed a 4-1 lead, helped by an error by Bright in center.

The Lady Rams once again loaded the bases in the sixth, and once again they were unable to score, and they fell to 8-8 on the season.

Fordham then went up against No. 1 Alabama, but were unable to knock off the nation’s top team, falling 3-1.

Fordham tied the game at one in the second following a wild pitch.

The Lady Rams had a chance to grab the lead when they got runners on the corners following hits from Dearborn and Callahan; however, sophomore infielder Beckah Wiggins went down on strikes with two outs, and the threat was averted.

The game remained tied until the seventh when Plimpton served up a two-run homer that gave Alabama the 3-1 win.

“I was really proud with way we played,” Orchard said. “We were tied with the top team in the country in the seventh, and we could have won the game. I think the girls played really well, and showed everyone, including themselves, that they can play with any team in the country.”

On the final day in Florida, the Rams were defeated by Notre Dame 6-0, but got back on track with a 1-0 win over North Carolina.

In the loss to Notre Dame, Fordham once again failed to get a clutch hit with runners on. The first inning began with a Dearborn double and a Bright single to put two on with nobody out. The Lady Rams went down in order, and they continued to struggle with runners on base.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the pitching we’ve been facing,” Orchard said. “We’re playing the best teams in the country right now, and I think soon those runs will start to

come.”

Notre Dame did what Fordham could not, as it scored three runs in the first inning.

In the fourth the Lady Rams again got runners on first and second, but LaBovick grounded into a double play and Wiggins struck out to end the inning.

Plimpton gave up two more runs in the fourth, and was relieved following 3.1 innings of work, while being touched up for six runs.

Fordham closed out the tournament on a high note with a win over North Carolina. Luety drove home the only run of the game in the first inning with an RBI single.

In the second, North Carolina loaded the bases against Mineau with just one out, but Mineau proved why she was selected as a preseason All-American, as she put the Tar Heels down without losing the lead.

Mineau pitched another complete game, surrendering five hits while striking out eight.

With the win, Mineau improves to 5-3 while Plimpton stands at 4-7.

Following the two tournaments, Fordham currently boasts a 9-10 record.

“Overall, I am pretty pleased with the results of the last two tournaments,” Orchard said. “I think that is an advantage that we have played such good teams, because this way we will be prepared for any team that we play in the conference” Next up the for the Lady Rams is the Charlottesville Classic, beginning at the University of Virginia on March 12.

“We’re going to be playing some more really good teams,” Orchard said. “I think if we can get some more wins and hopefully get our record to above .500, we would be in good shape.”

“Also, we’re going to playing two teams [UVA and Syracuse] that are currently ranked ahead of us. So, if we can knock either of those teams off, it will help us in the polls,” she added.

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Sophomore Jamie LaBovick has struggled this season with runners on base.

LaBovick went 1-for-3 in the team’s 1-0 victory over North Carolina at the Citrus Classic in Disney World this past weekend.

SPORTS

PAGE 22 THE RAM • MARCH 9, 2011

NICK CARROLL As far as mob movies go, it’s hard to find a much better film than Goodfellas. Besides The Godfather, it really does not get much better.

So, it was only natural that Martin Scorsese would try to replicate his Goodfellas success, which he did with Casino.

Casino was a very similar movie.

It had similar use of narrative, a similar Mafioso culture, a similar cast (with Joe Pesci essentially playing the same character that he did in Goodfellas); everything was in line for another spectacular movie.

Something was missing. The narratives, which were fantastic in Goodfellas, were overdone and took up way too much of the movie (if this column was a Casino narrative, I’d run this introduction 800 words and maybe make a point late), everything involving Sharon Stone was pretty atrocious (as opposed to the Lorraine Bracco Goodfellas scenes, which were solid) and the movie never seemed to end.

With that said, Casino wasn’t a bad movie, it just wasn’t great.

This is how I feel about the Miami Heat.

After the stars aligned in Boston and the Celtics won an NBA Championship, it seemed that a collection of superstars was the only way to win a championship.

After all, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett only enjoyed mild success on their own, surrounded by mediocre sidekicks. They needed each other to win.

In the meantime, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade enjoyed little success, essentially playing alone.

They were widely considered two of the three best players in the league; however, they could not win. LeBron’s dominant Cleveland teams only made the NBA Finals once, just to get demolished by San Antonio, and Wade’s Heat have not made it out of the first round of the playoffs since winning the 2006 Championship, when Wade was still playing sidekick to Shaquille O’Neal. Throughout the league, it was becoming clear that it took more than one guy to win it all.

It should not have been a surprise when LeBron bolted from Cleveland in the offseason to join Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

He needed help and it is becoming clear that no one can do it alone.

NBA history has made it obvious that at least two stars are needed for a championship and the Celtics have to be considered the gold standard for building a contender through trades or free agency. The Celtics built their big three and fortunes immediately changed in Boston. Bosh and James tried to imitate the Celtics’ success and formed their own threesome with Wade in Miami and immediately were considered contenders. After all, if it worked in Boston, it should work

in Miami, especially considering that Miami’s top stars are younger and more talented than Boston’s group. Even Jeff Van Gundy forecasted 70 wins for the Heat.

What makes the Celtics great, however, is their spectacular chemistry. Each player in the Celtics’ big three contributes something different. Pierce adds consistent perimeter scoring, Garnett is a dominant low-post presence (especially defensively) and Allen is one of the best shooters in the history of the league, and is built to play without the ball. More importantly, all three contribute to the team’s stellar defense and play a style that is conducive to big games and playoff basketball.

Also, there was more to the Celtics beyond the big three. Rajon Rondo was an emerging star during their Championship season and has become a perfect unselfish set-up man to play with the starstudded lineup. Kendrick Perkins, James Posey and Glen Davis have also proven to be reliable role players over the years by doing a little bit of everything for the C’s.

The Miami trio did not realize this. All three players have a similar offensive game. LeBron and Wade are both slashers with inconsistent jump shots. Combine that with Bosh’s finesse style and the three all contribute a similar ability: perimeter scoring. The Heat’s big three does not contain any dependable shooters (maybe that’s why they struggle so much in late-game situations: None of these guys can actually hit a contested jumper), any dominating rebounders or any low post threats. Also, the team has a very poor bench. Miami’s role players do not add much of anything.

They have shooters in Mike Miller and James Jones, but that’s about it.

The Celtics are an outstanding team. The Heat can barely even be described as a team. Miami enjoys its most success on the fast break and in up-tempo games. This style is conducive to its stars’ athleticism and allows them to use their individual abilities. With the loss against the Bulls on Sunday, Miami still has not beaten any of the top four teams in the league.

There is no reason to think that this will change any time soon.

Even if the Heat do gain depth in the coming years and develop a well-rounded team, it is difficult to envision them as a championship contender unless the star players change their games. They are inherently flawed because of Bosh, James and Wade’s contrasting styles and seem destined to continue beating up on lesser teams while being unable to overcome a strong defensive team or a team that can control the tempo.

In reality, despite Miami’s quantity of stars, the Bulls resemble a contender much more than the Heat do. They play strong defense, have a plethora of big men that they can play at any time and have a legitimate star in Derrick Rose (and a nice sidekick with Boozer).

Chicago was the best fit for LeBron, although even without him they will compete for a championship. Instead, by choosing Miami, he attempted a Boston knockoff.

Just like Casino, however, the Miami situation looks great on the surface, but lacks what has made the Boston good fellas so great.

Senior Profile: Chelsea Plimpton

By ALEXANDER VILARDO SPORTS EDITOR

Senior starting pitcher Chelsea Plimpton has been improving on the hill ever since she transferred from St. John’s after her freshman year.

During her sophomore year, her first as a Lady Ram, Plimpton went 12-4 with a team-best 1.88 ERA .

Last year, she went 11-2 with a 1.57 ERA .

Plimpton, however, is not focusing on her own statistics, but rather the team’s, as she and her teammates hope to finally bring an Atlantic 10 Championship to the Bronx at last.

The Ram: Why did you choose Fordham?

Chelsea Plimpton: I chose Fordham because it’s a great school.

Also, because [Head Coach] Bridget Orchard is known for being a great coach, and the team has been successful [during] the past few years.

TR: Are you happy with your decision?

CP: I am very happy with my decision. I love my team; all of [my teammates] are my best friends and are like family. The opportunities and the experiences that I have had while I’ve been here have been unforgettable, and I know [they] have helped me grow as a person.

TR: What is your favorite part of Fordham?

CP: As corny as it is, I would have to say softball. I spend the majority of my time with my team and my coaches; I have the most fun when I am with them.

TR: What is the goal for the softball team this season?

CP: The main goal is to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. We’ve never done that before, and this is the year we can do it.

TR: What are the differences

PHOTO BY MARK BECKER/THE RAM

Chelsea Plimpton has posted a 4-7 record this season. Last year, Plimpton finished second on the squad with eleven wins and a 1.57 ERA.

between this year’s team and last year’s team?

CP: We are more experienced [this year]. We have [only] three freshmen. This season, we know what to expect and to not make the mistakes we did last year.

CP: I don’t know what I want to do, but I hope it [will be] something that I love doing.

TR: What are you going to miss the most at Fordham?

CP: My team.

TR: Other than softball, what is your favorite sport?

TR: Describe your Fordham softball career in one word.

CP: I guess it would have to be volleyball. I played back in the day, and I think it’s a fun sport to watch.

CP: “A blast.” Is that two words?

If it isn’t, then I would say, “Unforgettable.”

TR: Who is your favorite professional athlete?

CP: Derek Jeter. Besides the looks, I love the way he plays and [the way he] carries himself off the field.

TR: To what school do you like to travel the most?

CP: UMass, because it’s great beating them on their own field.

TR: What would you like to do for your career?

TR: What has been your most memorable moment in your Fordham softball career?

CP: Finding out we got a bid to the tournament last year during the selection show [and] feeling accomplished that everything we did all year paid off.

TR: To whom do you credit your successes in softball?

CP: My dad, because he did everything in his power to allow me to succeed, and without him, I never would have gotten here.

Men Finish Sixth at A-10 Championship while Women Finish Second

By BRIAN JASINSKI STAFF WRITER

Although the Fordham women’s swimming and diving team could not repeat as Atlantic 10 Champions, it managed to capture second place and set nine school records in the process. On the other hand, the men came in sixth in a tough A-10 Conference.

The Lady Rams finished the four-day event with 578 points, 177 behind first-place Richmond, which captured its ninth title as A-10 Champs.

UMass won A-10s for the fifth consecutive season in the men’s event, followed by St. Bonaventure, La Salle, George Washington, Xavier, Fordham and Saint Louis.

Both the men and women got off to a hot start at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, N.Y., after day one.

The women sat atop the conference, while the men broke a school record in the 200 medley relay.

Seniors Billy Colton and Mat-

thew Grabiak, freshman Shintaro Noguchi and sophomore Devon Morris set the new mark at 1:31.29, which broke the old record of 1:31.62 set in 2009.

Day two of the 2011 A-10 Swimming and Diving Championships ended with the Fordham women breaking four school records.

Senior Megan McGorry swam a 4:52.07 in the 500 freestyle, which broke the previous school mark of 4:50.05 set in 2009 by Caitlin Napoli.

Junior Courtney Collyer broke her own school record and finished the 200 individual medley in 2:03.06.

Sophomore Brienne Ryan then lit up the pool with a 23.36 finish in the 50 free which broke her old mark of 23.57. The 200 free team of sophomore Kellie Lyver, junior Kelly Bunster, senior Christina Cosentino and Collyer finished third but set another school record in the process. The ladies posted a 1:35.21, breaking the old mark.

Ryan set another school record in the 100 backstroke (53.94) which was also a NCAA “B” qualifying time.

Later in the evening, she broke her record for the 100 back again as the lead leg of the 400 medley relay.

Ryan continued her amazing performance the next night by setting a new A-10 and school record in the 200 back; she posted a 1:56.11 in preliminaries and broke the school record by two seconds.

McGorry also broke two more school records in the 1,650 (16:43.96) and 1,000 free (10:07.25) events.

Despite nine school records being set and several swimmers on both squads being named to First and Second All A-10 teams, it was not enough to win.

“Everyone gave it their all and so many people stepped up and improved their times from the season,” Bunster said. “In the end, that’s all you can ask for.”

Track Has Two All-East Runners at IC4A/ECAC Championships

By CELESTE KMIOTEK COPY CHIEF

Qualifying members of the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the IC4A/ ECAC Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 8.

The men’s team tied for 33rd out of 51 teams that scored, while the women’s team tied for 29th out of 50 teams; combined, the teams put out two All-East performances.

“The meet went pretty well,” senior Kerri Gallagher said. “It seems like it was more competitive than last year, but the men’s 4x800 made finals and took second with an incredible time. [Senior] Brian [Schimdt] and [junior] Kevin [Fitzgerald] didn’t make finals individually but that opened them up for the 4x800 which ended up with a school record performance.

Everybody ran hard and gave it their all which is what we were looking for.”

On Saturday, on the men’s side, sophomore Sean Atkinson took second in his heat and 14th overall in the 400-meter dash, coming in at 48.22; this narrowly missed Fordham’s record of 48.11, set by Marc Porcaro in 2004.

Schmidt finished third in his heat for the 800-meter run, coming in 28th overall with 1:52.88, while in the 1,000-meter run, Fitzgerald came in fourth in his heat and 13th overall with his 2:27.11 finish.

In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Julian Saad placed seventh in his heat, 16th overall, with 8:22.59.

In the relays, the men’s 4x800 team of sophomore John Cosgrove, freshman Brian Walter, freshman Ryan Polo and Schmidt finished fourth overall in Saturday’s preliminary race, coming in at 7:31.26, the best time of the season, qualifying the team for the next day’s finals.

The distance medley team, consisting of senior Thomas Kelly, freshman Sam Houston, senior Tim Hutchinson and freshman Michael Belgiovine came in seventh in their heat, 19th overall, with a time of 10:12.78, and the 4x400 relay team of Atkinson, sophomore Michael Bongiorno, junior Nick Delligatti and sophomore Michael Rossi took second in its heat, 15th overall, with a time of 3:17.15.

For the Lady Rams, Gallagher took second in her heat in the preliminary 800-meter run, finishing fourth overall in 2:08.79, qualifying her for Sunday’s finals; last year, Gallagher won the 1,000-meter run at the ECACs. Freshman Anisa Arsenault took 14th in the 5,000-meter run with 17:34.66.

On Sunday, Gallagher took second in the 800-meter run final race, coming in at 2:08.72 and earning her All-East honors.

The men’s 4x800 relay team, this time consisting of Cosgrove, Fitzgerald, Polo and Schmidt also took second, setting a new school record of 7:26.00, beating the 1975 time of 7:27.2 set by Eric Trammell, Gene McCarthy, Alex Trammell and John Jurgens. The team also earned All-East honors.

The teams had two chances the previous week to qualify for and to prepare for the ECAC/IC4As, the first of which was Feb. 24, at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York.

For the men, in the 1,500-meter run, junior Rich Grandelli came in at 4:10.1, followed by freshman Joe Hartnett (4:11.8), sophomore Devin Kelly (4:13.6), sophomore Ben Delikat (4:18.7), freshman Patrick Burke (4:22.7) and freshman Conor O’Malley (4:23.1).

Freshman Tim Kazanjian finished the 3,000-meter run in 9:09.6.

On the women’s side, also in the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Christina Machado finished in 5:08.5.

Sophomore Kim Naples (5:09.7), freshman Christina Vivinetto (5:27.8), freshman Shannon McKenna (5:36.8) and junior Siobhan Cooney (5:47.4) followed. In the 3,000-meter run, senior Jana Trenk finished with a time of 11:10.4.

The second meet was the Armory Collegiate Challenge, also at the Armory, on Feb. 25.

For the men’s team, the highlight was Schmidt’s second-place finish in the 500-meter dash, coming in at 1:03.17, breaking the Fordham record of 1:03.34 set by Deric Zaphire in 2003. He was just 0.17 seconds shy of first place.

Cosgrove followed Schmidt in the 500-meter dash, coming in eighth with 1:05.11, qualifying him for the IC4A meet. Atkinson finished seventh in the 400-meter dash with 49.42, while Kelly took seventh in the 1,000-meter run (2:30.41).

On the women’s side, Gallagher won the 800-meter, coming in at 2:08.93, nearly six seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Junior Kelly Connolly took fifth in the 500-meter run (1:16.78), while senior Sherilyn Groeninger took seventh in the 60-meter dash (7.93).

In the field events, sophomore Courtnay Newman took fifth in the high jump with 5’ 5.25”.

In other news, Schmidt, Delligatti and Fitzgerald were named to the 2011 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team, voted on by the conference’s Sports Information directors, due to their athletic achievements and their maintenance of a 3.0 grade point average or higher.

This is Delligatti’s second season being honored, while it is the first season for both Schmidt and Fitzgerald.

The teams are now looking forward to the outdoor season.

“This pretty much wraps up the season for indoor so now we shift focus and get ourselves ready for outdoor,” Gallagher said. “We will be doing a lot of strength training in the coming weeks. Overall, the season went remarkably well.

Particularly on the men’s side, but both teams showed a great effort and spirit. I am very excited to see what we can do this outdoor season.”

The teams will next compete at the NCAA Championship on Friday, March 11 and on Saturday, March 12 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

MARCH 9, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 23

SPORTS

By CHESTER BAKER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

There has been a lot of talk lately about Charlie Sheen’s nownotorious meltdown. For those of you that have been living under a rock, Sheen decided to let loose, and his head basically exploded.

He was throwing huge parties filled with adult film stars, alcohol, cocaine and all other kinds of illegal things. I have always been a big Charlie Sheen fan, and I love him as Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn in Major League, as well as in the classic Eight Men Out, a solid flick if you ever have a Saturday to kill.

The best things to come out of this, aside from some supposedly amazing parties, are the fantastic interviews that Sheen has been doing. He has done numerous interviews trying to tell his side of the story about what has been going on with him lately.

From these interviews, we have heard some of the most amazing quotes in the history of human society. If you think I am being a little bit over the top, then clearly you have not seen any of the interviews.

Without question, the best one so far has to be: “I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

There is no way that you have not seen at least one of his quotes as someone’s Facebook status over the past week. The most common one that I’ve seen has been, “I’m bi-winning,” which was Sheen’s response when a reporter asked him if he thought he was bi-polar.

You’ve probably also had people tell you that they have tiger blood at some point over the last week.

So if you’ve been confused about where all those random statuses were coming from, Sheen is probably the source.

Sheen’s connection to sports has been well-documented over the past couple of weeks, with numerous articles popping up all over the internet.

ESPN ran an article discussing Sheen’s baseball talent and the roles he has played in the sports movies he’s done. Some scouts said that Sheen had a pretty good breaking ball and his fastball clocked in at just under 90 miles per hour. By most accounts of the

MARCH 2009/COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Charlie Sheen has recently stunned the world with his gnarly tv interviews.

people that saw him play when he was younger, Sheen could have played college ball and maybe even some level of professional baseball.

With all of these awesome quotes from Sheen, and his baseball prowess, I began to think about some of the best quotes from athletes over the years. There have been a million (maybe a slight exaggeration) books devoted to quotes by athletes. Sometimes, ballplayers just really aren’t that bright and only focus on the game. After all, as Sheen would say, “What’s not to love?” So let’s take a look at some of my favorites.

You can’t do a list like this without including Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, who was one of the first athletes to be known for his sound bites. One of my personal favorites from Yogi is: “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats.

After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”

This is great, because anyone who plays baseball is always willing to blame the equipment before themselves, myself included. Berra has a lot more classic quotes, and most of them are kind of stupid, but still amusing.

Another one that I have always liked comes from professional golfer Greg Norman, who said, “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.”

Oh really Greg, those two parents? Thanks for clarifying. I’ve seen this in most slideshows of quotes I’ve looked at, and I’ve always wondered what the reaction from the crowd was, but I can’t find a clip, so I guess I’ll have to move on with my life.

I’m sure by now I have tons of

loyal readers, and you all know that my last “Overtime” article was about how pathetic my life has been since I decided to become a Cubs fan. Well, every Cubs fan has to have a favorite quote from longtime announcer Harry Carey, and I’m no different: “Aw, how could he [outfielder Jorge Orta] lose the ball in the sun? He’s from Mexico.”

Maybe a little bit racist, but still amusing.

And now, we get to the cream of the crop of all quotes. You must have known that big Mike Tyson was coming up at some point. I could honestly do an entire article on how much I like Tyson. He has so many classic quotes, most of which I am not allowed to publish here without fear of being yelled at by a lot of people, but if you can, make sure you look him up on YouTube, seeing as how half the comedy comes from the way Mike talks.

A great one from Tyson is: “Lennox Lewis, I’m coming for you, man. My style is impetuous.

My defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children.

Praise be to Allah!”

The best part is that he just shouted it randomly during an interview, and then walked away.

And for those of you who haven’t heard, Tyson has a new show premiering this month. The show is called “Taking on Tyson,” and it centers around his love for pigeons; clearly this is must watch TV. So there you go: Just a few great quotes from some athletes. I guess we’ll just have to see if these quotes from Sheen can stand the test of time, and rank up there with some of the all-time greats. I’m guessing they will, though, because that’s how Sheen rolls.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away Baseball

Softball

Thursday March 10

Friday March 11

Saturday March 12

Sunday March 13

Monday March 14

Tuesday March 15

Wednesday March 16

Charleston Southern 3 p.m.

Charleston Southern 2 p.m.

Charleston Southern 2 p.m.

Charleston Southern 2 p.m.

Campbell 3 p.m.

Princeton 2 p.m.

Syracuse 4:30 p.m.

Virginia 11:30 a.m.

Princeton 4:30 p.m.

Virginia 3 p.m.

Maryland 5 p.m.

Women’s Rowing

William & Mary

Women’s Tennis

Loyola Maryland 3 p.m.

Track

NCAA Championship Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m.

MARCH 9, 2011

PAGE 24

Rams Snap 41-Game Conference Losing Streak Butler Scores a Career-High 29 Points in Senior Day Thriller Against UMass

By MARK BECKER STAFF WRITER

A roller coaster of a season, which got off to a heartwarming start before the Rams fell back into their old ways by losing 17 straight, finally came to an end this weekend, but with a different story line than expected.

After an entire semester of embarrassing losses and heartbreak, the men’s basketball team slammed the door shut on its troubles, defeating Massachusetts (15-14, 7-9) to stop a 41-game skid in Atlantic 10 play spanning the past three years. The upset came on the heels of three more decisive losses, to St. Bonaventure (16-13, 8-8), Rhode Island (18-12, 9-7) and La Salle (14-17, 6-10), and may have exorcised the Rams’ demons just in time to allow for an offseason pointing toward the future rather than dwelling on the past. “[My first year] has been tremendous,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “I understood what I was getting into; I didn’t come in here with false hope. I understood that our opportunity to win the majority of our games would be in non-conference play and that we were going to be undermanned once we got into conference play. However, as every coach, you think you’re going to find a way, and there’ll be some nights when you get hot enough to pull a game out.”

It took a little longer than Pecora might have hoped, but his team rarely looked soundly beaten in his first year.

The Rams kept things close at St. Bonaventure until the nine-minute mark, when the Bonnies rode six straight points to take a 23-16 lead, which they stretched to a 14-point margin after scoring the final 10 points of the half, capped by sophomore guard Demetrius Conger’s buzzer-beating three-pointer for his 11th point of the half.

Although junior center Andrew Nicholson picked up his third foul on an early technical, Fordham could not capitalize and never managed to cut the deficit to single digits, allowing St. Bonaventure to stretch its lead to 20 points on two occasions before finally falling 8263.

The Rams shot below 40 percent from the field as usual. Junior guard Alberto Estwick led three doubledigit scorers with 21 points.

Free throws killed the Rams in the last matchup, with SBU hitting 26-41 as opposed to the Rams’ 5-9 in a 41-foul game and, although this was another physical battle (39 fouls), the Rams actually got an advantage in the category this time, but hit only 18-31 compared to SBU’s 17-24.

Against Rhode Island, Fordham quickly forgot about fighting for its first A-10 win, the last of four Fordham games at the IZOD Center this season, when the Rhody Rams jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

URI extended the lead on two big runs of 13 unanswered points and a 16-5 advantage to end the half up

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Senior guard Brenton Butler had a career-high 29 points on 7-14 three point shooting in the UMass game. He shot 31.9 percent from three this season.

27. Senior forward Delroy James led the way with 18 points and six rebounds and would finish with 29 and eight.

“Rhode Island came in and looked very good, very focused, and kind of gave us a good shot to the gut to start the game,” Pecora said. “I thought it was the first game we weren’t as competitive as we had been the rest of the year.

That’s something I expressed with a great amount of spirit to my group here and how unacceptable that is.

No matter what the record is, you have to go out and compete and play as hard as you can every night and we didn’t do that on Saturday. If I’m coaching effort, I’m not coaching basketball.”

The second half went no better for Fordham, as Rhode Island scored the first five points to take a commanding 51-19 lead and rode a 13-1 run to go up 39 before pulling its starters and allowing Fordham to fall by 32, at 90-58.

Fordham enjoyed four doubledigit scorers but little else, as All-A10 Honorable Mention sophomore forward Chris Gaston scored only one point in the second half to finish with a 10-9 line. Junior transfer center Kervin Bristol posted his usual one-point, 11-rebound stat line.

“I just think there’s a maturation process, so often we talk about freshmen having to go through a transition period; well, in my time, most junior college players have had to go through that as well,” Pecora said. “It’s difficult when you’re not surrounded by a lot of veteran experienced players. The expression I’ve used with him is just get a little bit better each day. I think he’s positioning himself to have a very good senior season next year.”

Against La Salle, the Rams found themselves down early once again, with the Explorers jumping out to a 19-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and using a 26-8 run over the last seven minutes of the half to head into the break up 45-21 after a Gaston layup

at the buzzer.

Sophomore center Aaric Murray dominated the first half, scoring 13 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots in just 13 minutes on the court. Gaston was right behind him with nine points and 11 rebounds and Bristol pitched in with six points and six rebounds. They got no help from the rest of the Fordham team, with no other Rams topping two points.

La Salle came out strong in the second half, pushing the lead up to a game-high 31 with 3:24 left.

Fordham’s walk-ons fought hard in the final four minutes, hitting eight straight points thanks to back-toback sophomore guard Bernard Gifford treys on assists from junior guard Ryan Hage to cut the loss down to an 86-61 scoreline.

Murray finished with a doubledouble, with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Gaston returned to his long-bereft form with 19 points and 17 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.

Redshirt senior guard Brenton Butler also broke into double digits, scoring 13 and grabbing six rebounds. Three other Explorers hit double digits and the team pulled down 56 rebounds, beating the Rams out by four in a 159-shot game.

The Rams then returned home to end the season against UMass, and did so in style. Despite allowing three double-digit scorers, including redshirt senior guard Anthony Gurley’s 30 points, the Rams looked like a real Division I team in edging the Minutemen out, 77-73.

Fordham jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes before UMass fought back to lead by one at 11:39. The Rams stretched the lead to 10 with just over two minutes to go, but UMass scored eight unanswered points and went into the half behind by only four.

Rather than let UMass back into the game in the second half as they had all semester when holding a halftime lead, the Rams caught fire

early, pushing the lead to double digits and holding strong until the final minutes. With 1:37 left and down 10, UMass began fouling to slow the clock, and with Fordham’s paltry 63 percent free-throw percentage on the season, the Minutemen clawed back to within five with 1:18 to go.

Butler hit the ensuing two free throws to take it back up to seven points and Estwick made it nine at just under a minute, but Gurley created a three-point play with a layup and foul, sinking the free throw to make it a one-possession game.

With the shot clock on their side at 27 seconds remaining, Fordham could expect to be fouled on the inbounds. Butler got the ball, was sent to the line and nailed both free throws for the five-point lead, and after Gurley missed a three-point attempt and Bristol hit one of two free throws, it was all but over. Gurley managed a layup on the next possession and UMass tried to foul again on the inbounds, but time had run out and the Rams had snapped two extensive losing streaks in winning their first A-10 game of the season, 77-73.

Gaston capped an up-and-down season with one of his better performances, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to go with four assists, two blocks, four steals and, amazingly, no turnovers for his 17th double-double of the year.

Butler led the Rams with a career-high 29 points, going 7-14 from behind the arc, and Samuell joined them in double digits with 11 points. Senior forward Jacob Green made the most of his final

game with six points and rebounds each, and the Rams posted their best assist-to-turnover margin of the year at 19-8.

“Brenton’s just a wonderful young guy, and he’s helped on so many levels, not just with the team but early on with me and my staff just getting us around campus and letting us know,” Pecora said. “He’s been such a great ambassador for this program and he’s really an icon on this campus. He’s a true Fordham man in that sense.”

Gurley scored his 30 points on just 9-23 (3-13 on three-pointers) shooting, while Vinson scratched out a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Fordham shot 48.3 percent from the field and limited UMass to just 37.7 percent while overcoming yet another free throw deficit, at 12-22 to 20-32, in a whopping 47-foul game.

The Rams (7-21, 1-15), of course, will not play in the A-10 Championship for the third consecutive season, having fallen three wins and a tiebreaker short of qualification.

They did, however, manage to end Pecora’s first season at Rose Hill on a high note.

“There’s no buyers’ remorse here, I have no regrets about being here,” Pecora said. “I still believe that Fordham basketball can become a player in the Atlantic 10.”

“I think it’s been a very positive experience on a lot of levels. Obviously I hope to find a couple more wins but nobody died here, this is college basketball and it’s all part of a process and we’re going to continue to get better.”

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Sophomore forward Chris Gaston had 19 points and came down with 14 rebounds against UMass for his 17th double-double of the season.