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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS
1918-2012
OCTOBER 17, 2012
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 17
Roach Emphasizes ‘Winning With Integrity’ New Athletic Director Discusses His Visions for the Future of Fordham Athletics at Introductory Press Conference By CHESTER BAKER SPORTS EDITOR
A packed house of Fordham coaches, student-athletes and administrators welcomed David Roach as Fordham’s new athletic director at an introductory conference in Butler Commons on Oct. 4. The AD placed an emphasis on “winning with integrity,” as the new AD visioned to lead the Rams to athletic prominence in the Atlantic 10 and the Patriot League. Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, introduced Roach, praising the new AD for his dedication to academic success, as illustrated by the 100 percent graduation rate Roach was able to achieve during his final year at Colgate, where he served in the same position for eight years before coming to Rose Hill. “Throughout his career, Dave has proven himself to be a man of great principle,”McShane said, continuing to describe Roach as, “a man who places an emphasis on the needs and potential of his student athletes and who has compiled an impressive record of success in intercollegiate athletics wherever he has been.” While the academic success of Fordham is at the forefront of all decisions made by the University, the school also wanted an AD who would be able to take the Rams into a new era of athletic success, something that McShane expressed to
Urban Studies Dept. Hosts Panel Speakers Discuss Future Uses of Public Spaces By SARA DESIMINE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
have to make it so that people don’t want to come to Fordham to play, whether it’s rocking in the Rose Hill Gym or Jack Coffey Field, we just have to get this place rockin’ and rollin’.” Still, Roach understands that it will take some time for Fordham to rise up from a dry spell of athletic prominence. The AD believes that the student-athletes will need to raise their performances both on and off the fields. “They have to be, as I say, great citizens on campus,” Roach said. “They need to get to know other students and have the student body
Industry heavyweights discussed how to prepare New York City’s public spaces for the projected one million new immigrants projected to move to New York over the next 20 years during the latest installment of Fordham University’s Urban Dialogues series last Wednesday. “The status quo isn't going to work,” Janette Sadik-Khan, a panelist and commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, said. “We’re not going to accommodate a million more people by single occupancy vehicles. We need to change how we prioritize the use on our streets.” Sadik-Khan said that by 2030, the population of the city will rise from its current 8.4 million residents to 9.4 million. The discussion, entitled Public Spaces, Public Good: Building the Livable City, featured a panel and commentary on the current state of public space in New York City, sponsored by the Urban Studies Program at
SEE ROACH, PAGE 20
SEE PANEL, PAGE 2
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
David Roach poses with Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., to receive his first piece of Fordham gear.
Roach during the interview process. “[McShane said] I want athletic excellence and I want success,” Roach said. Roach, who took the first few minutes of his speech to introduce the Fordham community to his family, assured members of the athletic department that he too wanted to win. “There’s nobody in this room that wants to win more than myself,” Roach said. Still, Roach made sure to illustrate his commitment to staying true to the character of the University as he described how athletics would be run while under his supervision.
“We want to win, we want to be successful, but we’re always going to do it the right way,” Roach said. “We’re going to go by all the rules, we don’t pick and choose, there are none too small. I believe that to really feel like you’ve been successful and you have excellence, you’ve got to do it the right way or it’s not meaningful.” It was clear from the meeting that Roach has big plans for Fordham, as he believes the school could become the preeminent college athletic program in New York City. “We have to get our student body and our community really excited about our sports,” Roach said. “We
Annual Ram Town Rallies Students, Athletes Students Pack the Rose Hill Gym to Show Their Support for the 2012-2013 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams and Win Prizes By DALEY QUINN ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR
The loud music and shouts of excitement from the Rose Hill Gym could be heard outside of McGinley on Friday, as Fordham’s annual Ram Town event lured massive crowds into a packed gymnasium. Free Ram Town shirts, one of the many giveaways of the night, were distributed to students at the door. Available in all sizes, the shirts featured a basketball logo on the front, with a picture of Fordham’s gymnasium on the back above the slogan, “Rock the Hill.” Students couldn’t avoid dancing to the remixed music as they walked toward the stands or picking up a pretzel or two as they made their way to find a seat. A couple of brightly-colored bouncing castles had been set up along the sidelines as well, and little children scrambled through the castle’s obstacle courses while their siblings participated in the event. The castles were just some of
PHOT O BY KATE DOHENY/THE RAM
Students, decked out in their maroon and white, packed the stands to cheer on the teams and participate to win prizes.
the many means of entertainment provided for children and Fordham students. Various arcade games had been brought into the gym, including a “Dance Dance Revolution” machine for students to battle and win gift certificates. Emceed by Fordham alum Kyle Kesses, FCRH ’12, the
opening act of Ram Town wowed the spectators. Fordham’s Flava dance group tore up the court with their well-choreographed routine to P’s remixed “Gangnam Style.” After the entirely maroon-colored crowd went wild over Flava’s fantastic performance, Fordham
men’s and women’s basketball teams ran onto the court through a cloud of white smoke. While multiple people from the stands were chosen to participate in the various competitions, many involved some of the players from both basketball teams. “I’m a huge basketball sup-
porter, so I wanted to come and support our team,” Sonja Nuhic, GSB ’14, said. “I love the music, the hype and the school spirit. It was a blast,” Nuhic was not the only student enjoying the show. Three girls from the audience were chosen to sing various karaoke songs to the crowd. The singer who received the most cheers at the end of their performance won a flat-screen television. Other prizes included a cruise, an iPad and books for a semester. Douglas Soto, FCRH ’16, winner of the free books, shared his experience of the relay event. “We had to dribble a basketball and then make a layup while wearing basketball jerseys, shorts and basketball shoes,” Soto said. “As soon as I had [won], I had like 11 texts from my friends. All of them saw me and were excited for me.” Some students, however, had no interest in participating in the competitions. “I was too embarrassed to be in any of the games,” Megan Donovan, FCRH ’14, said. “I like to SEE RAMTOWN, PAGE 2