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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS
1918-2012
SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 13
Winning the Top USG Spot From 1,492 Miles Away Students Hit Stephen Erdman, USG Executive President and Urban Studies Major, Demonstrates Leadership at Home and Abroad By KELLY KULTYS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Stephen Erdman, FCRH ’13, is the most prominent student leader on campus. He is a tour guide and a tutor, but he is most known for overseeing the United Student Government (USG). Many students, especially underclassmen, have no idea who USG Executive President Stephen Erdman really is. Even for those who have some idea, there is a lot more to him than just giving tours and dealing with Fordham’s policy issues. Hailing from Allentown, PA, a town about two hours west of New York City, Erdman broke his family’s tradition of attending the University of Scranton when he chose Fordham. “I wanted to go to a school in a big city, since I am an urban studies major, and I knew that I was interested in those issues, even back then, so New York stood out,” Erdman said. “But I also wanted a traditional college campus and Fordham obviously has that, so it was a great match. It all fit with what I wanted to do after I graduate.” Once he arrived at Fordham, Erdman immediately got involved, both inside and outside the University, and from there he never looked back. At Fordham, he began his USG career as the vice president of FCRH ’13 as a freshman, a position he held during his sophomore year and half of his junior year before leaving to study abroad in the Dominican Republic. Erdman was also elected the president pro tempore by the senate as a sophomore. Aditionally, he serves as a member of the Rose Hill Society
the Shops for FNO
By LAUREN MANZINO COPY EDITOR
PHOTO BY PAT DOHERTY/THE RAM
Erdman, an urban studies major, participates in programs centered around helping the Bronx community.
as a tour guide. As an urban studies major, Erdman wanted to work outside the University’s gates, so he became involved with Fordham’s programs in the Bronx community. He served as an Urban Plunge Assistant, and he has worked closely with the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice. Erdman also works with the Crotona Achievement Program as a tutor for middle school students. Outside of Fordham’s reach, Erdman is just as involved. He is the coordinator for Parks Action for the City of New York (PACNY). He is part of a team that goes into the parks and communities specifically in the Bronx to help the Parks and Recreation Department maintain the parks’ appearances. Erdman knew early on that he would eventually like to have a chance to be the executive president of USG.
“I really enjoyed working on different projects and being involved with USG,” Erdman said. “There were a lot of things I wanted to see changed or shifted in a different direction so I felt like [becoming the executive president] would be a good way to enact those visions.” Last semester, while studying abroad in the Dominican Republic, Erdman had the chance to put those visions into place when the USG elections for the 2012-2013 term were announced. The first step in his campaign process was picking a running mate. Erdman says he quickly decided that it was going to be Aileen Reynolds, FCRH ’14. “Aileen was one of the most motivated members of USG when she came on my sophomore year,” Erdman said. “I felt like in discussions, in meetings we were seeing eye-to-eye, spearheading different initiatives. On a personal level, I
felt like we got along really well, so she seemed like the clear choice for me.” It seems the choice truly paid off. Reynolds worked on the faceto-face campaign groundwork, such as hanging up posters, gathering signatures, going to meetings to work on endorsements and speaking with students. Erdman, meanwhile, handled behind-thescenes work, like emailing clubs, students and administrators to gain support, designing fliers and putting together their platform all the while living in Santiago de los Caballeros, located in the heart of the agricultural district in the Dominican Republic. “It is a very different place than the tourist destinations that may come to mind when U.S. Americans think of the D.R.,” Erdman said. While there, Erdman lived with a host mother, brother and sister. SEE ERDMAN ON PAGE 4
Fordham Remembers 9/11 Victims, 11 Years Later By KELLY KULTYS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM
Students gathered Tuesday for a prayer service to remember those who died on Sept. 11, 2011. The service began at the McGinley Center and finished near Finlay.
The Fordham community gathered on Tuesday night to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the lives lost and the sacrifices made on Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial service began at 8 p.m. in front of the McGinley Center. A group of Fordham students and faculty processed with lit candles to the Finlay Garden. Conor O’Kane, director of Interfaith Ministries, began with an invocation reminding students to remember those lost, pray for peace and embrace humanity. The choir followed with a poignant song, “There Is a Longing,” calling for God to be there “in sorrow, in grief…in weakness, in fear.” The service continued with a reading from the Book of Isaiah and a prayer for peace from the Qur’an, calling for a lasting peace emanating from God. Stephen Erdman, FCRH ’13 and
executive president of USG, led the group in a litany of peace. O’Kane then began the litany of remembrance, where he and some students read the names of the 39 members of the Fordham community who lost their lives that day. Muhammad Hassan Sarwar, GSB ’14 and USG vice president of finance, followed with a moving reflection that included where he was that day and how each of us should appreciate the blessed community we are a part of here at Fordham. O’Kane closed the ceremony with a prayer, and the choir finished with the hymn “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” before the students recessed in silence. The memorial, which reminded us that the sacrifices made that day were not in vain, gave students a chance to come together to grieve for those lost and learn how to move forward in their honor. See 9/11 Photo Spread, Page 3
New York City streets are famously packed with the most fashion-forward people sporting the most chic of styles. Last week, New York welcomed in Fashion Week, a celebration of highly respected and distinguishable style. Though New Yorkers hardly need lessons on the elements of trendy dress, Fashion Week calls on one and all to observe new couture and strut their own sense of style, beginning with New York’s “one night only” shopping extravaganza, billed as Fashion’s Night Out. Held also in London, Milan and Paris, Fashion Week is an industry showcase that invites fashion designers and brands to display their latest collections in runway shows, appealing to both industry consultants and to the public. The runway shows serve both buyers and the media, as the fashion elite and countless media outlets get a glance at the latest tastes and trends in what to wear now, thus determining the “ins” and “outs” of the season for New Yorkers. Running from Sept. 6 until Sept. 13, 2012, the eight days of New York Fashion Week showcase more than 300 exhibits of the most exquisite lines of fashion in hopes of enticing anxious editors, buyers and fashion junkies with the latest fads for the 2013 season. On the night of Sept. 6, Manhattan’s boutiques and department stores were bustling with shoppers, among them many Fordham University students, out and about at the fourth annual shopping extravaganza known as Fashion’s Night Out. Spanning from uptown to downtown, Fashion’s Night Out took over city shops, promoting fashion and retail while offering exclusive giveaways, special deals and surprise celebrity appearances. Many stores stayed open past usual business hours with specially-designated merchandise advertised at sale prices, making the shopping experience truly exhilarating. In distinct New York manner, shops and department stores staged musical performances while DJs spun dance tunes. Of course, free food and drinks completed the fun. Many Fordham students had front row seats to the night’s festivities. “It was cool to see not only the fashion in the stores, but also the fashions of the crowd,” Blanche Hedrick, FCRH ’15, said. “I loved SEE FNO ON PAGE 13