Volume 94 Issue 2

Opinions PAGE 5

Culture PAGE 9

Sports PAGE 20

Are Santorum and Gingrich displaying racism?

Fordham participates in HOPE Count 2012.

Men’s basketball defeats George Washington.

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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2012

FEBRUARY1, 2012

VOLUME 94, ISSUE 2

“We Do Or Die”

Dolan Delivers Inaugural Address Students Welcome Designate Timothy M. Dolan to Fordham’s School of Law

The Current State of Fordham Athletics

By ERIK PEDERSEN STAFF WRITER

Hail! men of Fordham, hail! on to the fray!

Once more our foes assail in strong array.

Once more the old Maroon waves on high.

We’ll sing our battle song.

We do or die.

It has been very easy in recent years to mock the last line of Fordham’s fight song, as the school’s top-funded sports teams frequently seem to choose the latter of the two options.

Over the last five years, going back to the 2007-08 school year, Fordham’s football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball programs have a combined record of 98-234, a win percentage of only .295.

The lack of success from the top-funded teams can overshadow the strides made by several of the school’s lesser-funded programs.

Softball qualified for the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons as both an at-large team and a conference championship winner.

In 2010, women’s swimming and diving won the first ever A-10 Championship for a women’s team at Fordham. Both tennis teams, as well as men’s soccer, had highly successful fall seasons.

So why do the top-funded teams continue to struggle?

Executive Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin, Vice President of Student Affairs Jeffrey Gray and numerous coaches were all interviewed to talk about the athletic department’s current state and what they would like to see in the future.

The administrators acknowledged the recent failures of the high-profile programs.

However, they remain optimistic for the future, pointing to decisions which reflect an increase in commitment to athletics. This includes giving out football scholarships for the first time since 1954 and increasing the funding for both basketball programs.

At the same time, sports administrators expect continued success from many of the smaller programs.

An in-depth look into Fordham Athletics begins with a team that dramatically regressed last season, causing the school to make its fourth major coaching change in the last two years.

SEE ATHLETICS ON PAGE 18

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY/THE RAM

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, pictured above with Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President of the University, addressed the Fordham community last week.

Physics Research Leads to Discovery

Dr. Quamrul Haider, Head of Fordham’s Physics Department, Contributes to Research of Eta-Mesic Nucleus

By EDDIE MIKUS STAFF WRITER

Work conducted by Fordham professor Dr. Quamrul Haider, in collaboration with a colleague Dr. Lon-chang Liu of Los Alamos National Laboratory, recently led to the discovery of the eta-mesic nucleus.

Haider described the mesic nucleus in the following way: A normal nucleus consists of a mixture of protons and neutrons. These particles are held together by a strongly attractive nuclear force between them. An eta-mesic nucleus, on the other hand, is an exotic type of nuclear matter where, in addition to neutrons and protons, an eta meson is bound by the strong interaction inside a nucleus. In contrast with the normal nucleus, the exotic nucleus is at a higher energy state; the extra energy is due to the mass of the meson.

“These nuclei have a very short life,” Haider said, on the specific properties of an eta-mesic nucleus.

“During [the] decay process, many interesting things happen; so you can study a lot of properties of a nucleus and the eta meson, as well as various aspects of nuclear reactions via the eta-mesic nucleus.”

According to Haider’s calculations, eta mesons can be trapped in nuclei with a mass number (sum of neutrons and protons) of 12 or more. This is because the attractive force between an eta meson and the constituents in lighter nuclei is not strong enough to trap it.

Haider and Liu did not make the actual discovery of the eta-mesic nucleus. Instead, they predicted its existence and provided the theoretical framework which led to the experimentation that led, in turn, to the discovery; it was a process that took more than two decades.

They first published the theory in 1986, when Haider was working at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. Over the past two decades, Haider and Liu continued with their work while experiments were done at various labs around the world searching for the elusive mesic nucleus.

“I wouldn’t say negative, but the results were not positive either,” Haider said, describing the experiments done during this period.

“They could not convincingly say that the mesic nucleus was detected.”

Finally, in 2008, an international team of experimental physicists working out of Jülich, Germany, through a complex experiment showed that an eta meson could, indeed, be trapped inside a nucleus. Their results were published in Physical Review in 2009.

Haider said that the persistence over such a long period of time on the part of the experimenters was essential in discovering the etamesic nucleus.

“The thing is, people did not give up,” Haider said. “Usually, what happens, after five years, if the results are negative, they’ll say, ‘Well, it’s just a theoretical prediction; it’s a mathematical gimmick.’ But for

20 years, they’ve been hunting for this nucleus in different nuclear reactions without throwing in the towel. So what does that mean?

It means they took our work seriously.”

According to Haider, the most SEE PROFESSOR ON PAGE 2

Early Spring Weather Draws Students to Eddie’s

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

The consistent 50-degree temperatures of Tuesday afternoon inspired pick-up football games and Frisbee tosses as students camped out on Edward’s Parade.

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Jan. 24, Walsh Hall, 9:10 a.m.

An employee drove into a pole.

There were no injuries, but the vehicle had mild damage.

Jan. 24, Southern Boulevard, 4:45 p.m.

An unnamed faculty member had his driver’s-side window broken into by an unknown thief. The car was parked by the Lombardi center. NYPD took a report of the incident.

Jan. 24, Alumni Court South, 11:30 p.m.

A Residential Adviser reported the smell of pot coming from a dorm. A bong and grinder were spotted along with “possible” marijuana. The report was followed up by Student Affairs.

Jan. 25, Parking Garage, 10:30 a.m.

An employee fell in front of the garage. The employee suffered from an injury to the mouth. The employee was taken to the health center, who was then sent to St. Barnabas Hospital.

Jan. 25, Lombardi Field House, 11:55 p.m.

A student was injured while playing basketball. He broke his right thumb. FUEMS took him to Montefiore North to be treated.

Jan. 26, Walsh Hall, 7:27 a.m.

Maintenance’s work on the fire alarm system caused the fire alarm to activate. There was no evacuation, injuries or property damage.

Jan. 26, Keating Hall, 11:30 a.m.

A visitor of WFUV’s phonea-thon arrived with no formal ID. The visitor refused security’s request to leave the lobby.

Security escorted the guest from campus.

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Fordham Students Join National Movement in D.C.

By KAREN HILL ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The solidarity of those involved in the pro-life movement illuminated the rainy day in Washington, DC on Jan. 23, during the thirty-ninth annual March for Life.

The March for Life marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in Roe v.

Wade, which permitted states to legalize abortion.

From California to New York, America was fully represented at the March. To represent Fordham University, a diverse group of over 60 students gathered to show their support and raise awareness.

The event was student-run with financial assistance from the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development.

Keyne Rice, FCRH ’12, was the chief coordinator of the event; she planned it for her third and last year under Fordham’s Respect for Life Club. Two buses full of napping students, tired from a 4:45 a.m. departure, traveled to the nation’s capital on an extended field trip.

“I considered it a pilgrimage,” chaperone Julio Mansil-Ruiz, S.J., said. “It is a peaceful and prayerful event. People are singing, chanting and praying.”

This yearly pilgrimage may not attract 2.5 million followers as does Mecca, but it still attracted 200,000 pro-life advocates.

Due to increasingly large crowds every year, the media’s official counting of the March was discontinued, but one could estimate using visual comparisons of previous years’ crowds. “[Media reports] say usually between 200,000 300,000 , though those are fairly generous

numbers,” Mansil-Ruiz, S.J., said.

In comparison to the hundreds of thousands of marchers, only about 30 pro-choice protestors lined the sidewalk outside of the Supreme Court with signs that read “Trust Women.” More attention was paid to the women standing behind them, speaking about their stories of regretted abortions into megaphones.

The nearly 200,000 protestors marched with signs held high reading “Defend Life” and “I am the Pro-Life Generation”.

Complimenting the posters were many jocular call-and-response chants such as “We love babies, yes we do! We love babies. How about you?” and then another group of marchers would respond with the same phrase but with more enthusiasm. “[The pro-life movement] feels like fighting against an ocean,” Laura Notess, FCRH ’12, said.

“Going to the March and seeing all these people, we know we are not always the minority or as crazy as we think.”

The inclement weather likely hindered the predicted turnout.

“The weather motivated me to keep pushing,” Thomas Ginch, FCRH ’15, said.

Such a large event had unavoidable complications.

One student was two minutes late for the bus after attending one of the weekend’s events and was left behind because those on the bus believed he was spending the night with some friends. The bus quickly returned to retrieve the student.

Before attending the March, students, Jesuits and chaperones attended conferences across the greater D.C. area to learn more about the various aspects of “respecting life.” Respecting life ostensibly has a core focus on

abortion, but it also focuses on the death penalty and human trafficking, in addition to other humanitarian efforts.

The majority of Fordham students attended the Annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life at Georgetown University on Sunday, Jan. 22.

The conference informed attendees of the social injustices impeding the process of respecting life.

Learning such controversial information added more passion to the already ignited fervor that guided the pro-life advocates through the March.

An issue discussed in “breakout” groups throughout the conference was the march’s lack of media coverage; religious pro-life third world countries; and the increasing amount of abortions to suppress population growth.

Monday morning, before the March, there were also many Masses throughout the area celebrating life. Some attended a mega-Mass at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. The center can hold 20,000 people and was nearly three-quarters full.

“Mass was great and powerfulwith so many people, cardinals, priests and bishops,” Rice said.

“Mass was started by introducing the bishops and cardinals who told where they are from. It was cool to hear people cheer for wherever they were from. People were from all over the country.”

Other students attended Mass at Gonzaga College High School’s church. Two students, Amy Gembara and Meg Horgan, both FCRH ’14, volunteered their vocal talents for the Mass’s choir.

Invigorated by the mass, the group then went on to the March.

Dr. Haider Contributes to Recent Discovery PROFESSOR, FROM PAGE 1

recent experimental results are trustworthy because they were peer-reviewed by experts before being published.

Haider’s work has now given rise to mesic nuclear physics, a new subfield within the realm of nuclear physics. However, not enough research has been done in this field for Haider to incorporate it into his courses at Fordham.

He said that it is difficult to assess the significance of the discovery.

“One cannot put a price tag on a scientific discovery,” Haider said.

“We believe the significance of our work is purely academic in nature.

It will most likely enhance our knowledge about properties of the nucleus.”

Although he considered it unlikely, Haider refused to rule out any potential real-world implications for the mesic nucleus.

“Haider’s work has now given rise to mesic nuclear physics.”

“When Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus, we had no clue that it would eventually lead to the development of nuclear medicine and power; so we have to wait and see,” Haider said, in reference to Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand physicist who discovered the atomic nucleus.

In addition to his work in mesic nuclear physics, Haider also works in the fields of intermediate energy nuclear theory, quark confinement, computational physics and nuclear reactions involving light and medium-light nuclei.

Jan. 27, Alumni Court South, 11:50 p.m.

A smoke detector on the third floor was activated by a sweet spray fragrance. The building was evacuated without incident.

Jan. 28, Campbell Hall, 5:00 a.m.

An inebriated male student coming back from a party was transported by FUEMS to St. Barnabas Hospital after becoming ill.

Jan. 29, Jogues Hall, 2:30 a.m.

A female student tripped and fell. Her shoulder was injured, and she was later treated at St. Barnabas Hospital.

—Compiled by Kelly Kultys, Assistant News Editor Correction In the issue of The Ram [V. 93, Issue 22], The Ram wrote about an article involving Pugsley’s Pizzeria and failed to contact the company for a comment. The Ram regrets this error.

PHOTO BY KAREN HILL/THE RAM

Many students from Fordham gathered together, amidst thousands, to support March for Life in front of the Supreme Court steps in Washington, D.C. last week.

NEWS

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FEBRUARY 1, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

OSL&CD Archbishop Dolan Begins Introduces Lecture Series at Law School Club Tool

By CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY COPY EDITOR

OrgSync Reaction Mixed

By CONNOR RYAN NEWS EDITOR

OrgSync, an online networking service that Fordham has recently adopted and placed at the center of club life, is a nationally-known brand; its name extends to over 200 college campuses in all but a few states.

Reminiscent of Facebook’s user interface, OrgSync uses an extensive list of features to cater to two distinct parties. The first is club officials who, instead of lugging around mounds of budget packets and transportation requests, may now enjoy the convenience and organization of the Web. The second is the rest of the University community; who may use the network-driven page to find a perfect way to spend that Tuesday afternoon.

The Office of Student Leadership and Community Development, in an effort to save paper and become more efficient, has already begun requiring club officials to use the website when performing administrative tasks. While the service has only been in use for a few months, club leaders have grasped the transition.

“We use it for room reservations for any events that we do,” Emily Wilant, a coordinator of Global Outreach at Rose Hill, said in an interview. “A lot of the fundraising obviously has to go through OSL&CD, so we use OrgSync for that [...] it’s been really helpful just in terms of less physical paperwork.”

While club officials are happy to eliminate long lines at copiers and empty ink cartridges, OSL&CD must now look at the part of the equation that is severely lacking: the rest of the school community.

Expediting administrative processes is a plus for any club, but students seeking to explore extracurriculars at Fordham do not know what OrgSync is or how to use it effectively.

Angelo Labate, FCRH ’12 and vice president of operations for United Student Government, insists, however, that the introduction of OrgSync on Fordham’s campus must be completed in organized “phases.”

“Phase one of implementing the new system was to get all of the club leaders on OrgSync…getting all students onto [the website] is phase two,” he said.

In an effort to get more students on the website and make up for a steady lack of promotion, Jennifer Lackie, assistant director of student organizations and programming, and a cheerleader for the digital transition, recently said that a promotional campaign would begin in February.

“Students who join and use OrgSync during the month of February will be entered into a raffle to win free movie passes,” Lackie said recently in an email. “Each week, five random students will be selected to win two movie passes [each].”

Students may expect to receive an email in the coming weeks containing information on how to claim a personalized OrgSync account and begin exploring the website that has thus far inspired a mixed reaction on campus.

Timothy Michael Dolan, Cardinal-designate and archbishop of New York, admitted that he was neither a scholar nor a jurist, but a pastor, as he addressed the topic of “Law and the Gospel of Life” last Tuesday at the Fordham University School of Law. His talk, sponsored by the Law School’s Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyers’ Work, focused on how Catholic teaching should influence public policy.

Specifically, he focused on why right to life must be at the focus of any man-made legal reasoning.

This tenet, Dolan explained, was the focus of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” (literally, “The Gospel of Life,”) which was written in 1995.

Notably, the encyclical was written not only for Roman Catholics or Christians, but also to “all people of good will,” because, Archbishop Dolan said, the Pope’s teachings on the right to life did not come just from Roman Catholic canon but from natural law. As such, they are based not solely on religion but reason.

This reasoning has come under fire, he said, because today, in many ways humans are seen as matters of convenience; efficiency is more important than compassion. Dolan explained that Pope John Paul II referred to this as “the culture of death.”

To avoid caving into this culture, Dolan said that those who make the law must not set aside religious convictions or aim solely at a utilitarian construct. Laws made this way, he said, are unjust. To explain this, he read from Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” in which King quotes St. Thomas Aquinas.

“An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law

and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust,” Aquinas wrote.

Instead, Dolan said, lawmakers should not be afraid to make religious arguments, as those arguments appeal to objective truth.

“The Gospel of life calls us specifically to offer a clear, faith-based view of humanity as a basis for law,” he said.

Dolan then turned his attention to the ideologies in today’s culture that oppose against his approach of pragmatism, utilitarianism and consumerism. All of these ideologies, he said, have at their core the belief that things and people are not inherently good. Rather, they are only as good as they are useful.

These ideals, he said, have been around for a long time but, as John Paul II said, are based in a culture’s focus on “having and doing, rather than being.”

“Law’s most basic purpose is to safeguard the being of life from the rawest preferences of having and doing,” Dolan said. One example here, related to abortion. He ex-

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY/THE RAM

Archbishop Dolan contributed to the“Law and the Gospel of Life”lecture series.

of human life over “having and doing” and the preservation of the right to life above all others.

“The Gospel of Life offers us a pathway to building not just good laws, but a free and virtuous culture as well,” he said.

Responses to Dolan’s talk came from Jacqueline Norman-Haley,

professor of law, and Monica McDaniel, Fordham Law ’09 and former president of the Catholic Law Students Association at Fordham Law. They both agreed with Dolan, and McDaniel mentioned that in contemporary legal culture, it is often difficult to bring religion-based morals into her work.

This statement was echoed by a question asked of the archbishop

at the end of the talk, dealing with explaining and promoting Catholic values in a culture where they can seem diametrically opposed to modern views. Dolan responded by explaining that Catholic values and the natural law were based on more than meets the eye.

“One of the things that is frustrating is that the natural law approach is automatically thought to be synonymous with Catholic teaching but it is not uniquely Catholic,” he said. “Some of its greatest proponents, Aristotle, Cicero, never even heard of the Catholic Church.”

The evening concluded with Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. president of the University, presenting the archbishop with a St. Louis Cardinals cap in recognition of Dolan’s elevation to the College of Cardinals, a maroon New York Yankees cap and a case of Trappist beer. McShane also mentioned that Dolan had accepted an invitation to be the principal celebrant and homilist at the Class of 2012’s Baccalaureate Mass, to be held May 18 in the Rose Hill Gymnasium.

USG Evaluates Student Needs, Boosts On-Campus Presence

week at FORDHAM

“McShane [also] mentioned that Dolan had accepted an invitation to be the principal celebrant and homilist at the Class of 2012’s Baccalaureate Mass, to be held May 18 in the Rose Hill Gymnasium.” plained that a fetus is, from a utilitarian, pragmatic, or consumerist viewpoint, useless. Babies too, he said, are sometimes viewed as an accessory at best or an inconvenience or burden at worst. From a Christian perspective, he said, the way to live is for others, especially the weak and essentially useless.

Dolan concluded by asking that the audience promote the “being”

Thurs., Feb. 2 Cinevents!: Ides of March Campus Activities Board, Keating First, 9-11 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 2 Auditions for The Vagina Monologues, Keating Third, 7-10 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 3 Gabelli London Info Session Faber Hall 360, 11:30-12:30 p.m.

Mon., Feb. 6 Service Learning and Volunteer Orientation Dealy 203, 1 p.m.

Tues., Feb. 7 Resume Bootcamp McGinley Commons 235, 11a.m. - 4 p.m.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

President of USG, Caitlin Meyer, FCRH ‘12, with other student government representatives, canvassed students in the Student Lounge last Tuesday in an effort to evaluate student needs and boost USG’s on-campus presence.

Wed., Feb. 8 Go! Alaska & Go! West Application Deadlines McGinley 205, By 5 p.m.

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

NEWS

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New Morning Show Comes to Channel 10 “Fordham Mornings: Wake Up Wednesdays,” Set to Feature Hosts Cara Goldstein and Will Ganss, Will Air Wednesday Mornings From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

“Fordham Mornings: Wake Up Wednesdays” cast and crew, pictured above, have worked hard to create a campus morning show that will display a wide range of features.

By SCHARON HARDING CULTURE EDITOR

A group of Fordham students have created a new way to begin your Wednesday mornings. “Fordham Mornings: Wake Up Wednesdays,” a student-run morning show, premieres Feb. 1.

Co-producer Hannah Schaffer, FCRH ‘13, described the motivation behind the new show.

“We wanted something less traditional,” she said. “We also wanted to do something that focused heavily on Fordham students and what they care about.”

The show’s format is that of a normal morning talk show with two co-hosts and various segments. There are weather updates,

entertainment segments, current events in Manhattan, cooking segments, Fordham sports updates and a segment called “Twitter Chitter” hosted by Lindsey Festa, FCRH ‘13.

“It’s a rundown of various tweets and hashtags that are popular at the moment, and things Fordham students have tweeted,” Schaffer said. “They’re repeated in a funny way. Lindsey’s really good at it.”

The show hopes to attract audiences by keeping Fordham students involved and interested. Coproducer Alyssa Tagios, FCRH ‘13, thinks students will enjoy participating in the show as well.

“We’re going to be filming a lot of Fordham events,” she said. “So, not only will you be able to take part in the events, but you’ll also

be able to see yourself on TV.” Many of the students involved with “Wake Up Wednesdays” have also been involved with “Fordham Nightly News,” a student-run nightly-news broadcast, shown on the same channel. The two shows, however, are very different.

“Fordham Nightly News” features hard news, while “Wake Up Wednesdays” is a more laid-back program. Some of the show’s upcoming features include a practice session with Fordham Flava, a trip to Pugsley’s to learn how to make pizza and a shadowing of the process of getting discounted movie tickets from OSL&CD. “We’re trying to share what we know about Fordham with everyone else,” Tagios said.

The producers were excited

about yesterday’s edition of “Fordham Road Adventures,” a segment hosted by John Thornhill, FCRH ‘13. The segment featured an interview with the owner of Palumbo’s.

“We just filmed this package at Palumbo’s, and it went really well,” Schaffer said. “He really really loves Fordham, Fordham students and the Bronx community. He’s really interesting and cool, and we got free cannolis.”

Despite some obstacles, including a lack of cameras and conflicting schedules, the producers are confident that the show will be successful.

“We have a really great cast willing to go above and beyond,” Tagios said.

“I’m just really excited for all of it,” Schaffer said. “I just want to see

the finished product, and I want to be able to be proud of it.”

The only thing the brand new show needs now is an audience.

“Wake Up Wednesdays” is broadcast on Channel 10 on Wednesdays at 10 and 11 a.m.

“We really want people to watch,” Tagios said. “Let us know you’re watching. Tell us what you care about, and we’ll find a way to do it.”

The show is also live-streamed on Walsh Library’s website. “[The show] is relatable, it is people you know, and I think it’s something to enjoy by students as a student,” Schaffer said.

If you have any ideas that you would like to see on “Fordham Mornings,” e-mail the producers at fordhammornings@gmail.com.

OSL&CD Strives to Improve Leadership on Campus With Survey Dean Alanna Nolan Brings MLS Survey to Campus in Hopes of Better Understanding Students’ Involvement on Campus and Improving School Programs

By KELLY KULTYS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

As students, have you ever felt as though the administration and faculty do not listen to your opinions or views on what going on around campus? Right now, Fordham is offering the chance to change that.

For the first time, Fordham is participating in the leadership survey sponsored by the MultiInstitutional Study of Leadership.

Alanna Nolan, assistant dean for Student Leadership and Community Development at Rose Hill and Dorothy Wenzel, director of Student Leadership and Community Development at Lincoln Center are spearheading the project. Fordham is one of approximately 200 other schools partaking in the program this year.

“The purpose of the survey is to really understand the role higher education plays in fostering character formation in terms of leadership development,” Nolan said.

The survey will be sent out on Feb. 1 and consists of approximately 40 questions aimed at discovering the effects of getting involved in the extracurriculars at school and learning what reasons students have for not participating in extracurricular activities. It should take

approximately 20 minutes to complete.

The survey was sent to 4,000 randomly selected students between the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. The survey was also sent to a control group, made of students who are heavily involved on campus, selected by Dean Nolan to have a comparative sample.

“We intentionally, on both campuses, contacted a myriad of students in leadership positions, such as Orientation Leaders, CSA members, the United Student Government, the Campus Activities Board and club presidents,” Nolan said.

This allows for Fordham to collect a general consensus from students as well as selected responses from students who are extremely involved and see on what issues they agree or disagree. It was delivered to students from all four grades to allow for a wide range of responses.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that a senior’s response would be more helpful than a freshman’s because a senior could have decided to get involved their senior year,” Nolan said. “On the other hand you could have a freshman involved in RHA, USG, club sports, anything.”

The main goal of the survey is to help discover what kinds of pro-

grams and workshops Fordham can set in place to help improve skills in areas where students are lacking. It also will help weed out programs and events that are currently in existence but do not benefit to the student body.

“I know students are like, ‘Oh man, I have to fill out another 20-minute survey,’ but that’s how departments get data to push for funding for programs or to decide what programs and times aren’t working for the students so that we know we’ll have attendance there,” Nolan said.

The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership distributes the survey once every three years, since sending it out every year does not allow for the results to be reviewed and put into effect. The first year is spent collecting the data and compiling research. Then, the results are sent back to the school where they will be reviewed and interpreted by officials.

The second year consists of applying the data gathered, which consists of putting the programs from which the students would benefit into effect and discarding those that would not.

Once Fordham receives responses, it is able to sort them by grade, which allows officials to spe-

cifically see what the sophomore class, for example, as a whole needs as compared to the junior class.

The third year consists of theory and reflection on the programs set in to place.

“I appreciate that it’s intentionally designed that way because the whole point is you don’t want to be sending out surveys, asking students to fill these out and then not doing anything with the data,” Nolan said.

The survey will help the school officials learn exactly what students want and need rather than assuming what would be best for them. For example, many people in today’s world rely heavily on technology to communicate and have problems speaking with people face to face. If that is one of the areas that appears as weak, OSL&CD officials will work to put together a program that helps boost that skill.

“One of the common phrases in higher education is ‘Meeting students where they are,’ but how do you actually do that? What exactly does that mean? We feel that we’re benefiting the students by using this survey, distributed by an outside organization who’s doing an actual study on leadership development in higher education,” Nolan said.

The survey will help Fordham compare its results other schools of higher education, such as Georgetown and Boston College. Fordham is also a part of the Catholic Coalition within the study, which adds additional questions that deal directly with leadership skills related to Catholic values.

Fordham is participating in the first of six batches of surveys that are sent out by MSL, which means the survey will close on Feb. 22.

“You don’t want to send out a survey like this during midterms or when everybody is on spring break, because no one’s filling it out,” Nolan said. “We made sure on our end to have all of our materials in, to allow us to get the first batch.”

The pre-note for the survey was sent out on Jan. 31, with the official invitation to take the survey on Feb 1. Students that finish the survey will be entered to win an iPad or one of five $100 Amex gift cards, that will be distributed as part of an incentive program designed to drum up interest and get responses “I know it’s really hard sometimes for students to see [the benefit] some times, but a survey’s only good if it’s statistically significant,” Dean Nolan said. “We need about 20 percent of the population to participate.”

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

PAGE 5

Gingrich, Santorum Prolong Racial Biases

By DANIELLE SOLINSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Political campaigns are ugly.

No two ways about it. Mud-slinging, name-calling, fighting words, attack-ads: they are all there.

And, although it is not pretty, this article is not going to go so far as to call for an end to the heated rhetoric. I get it. Candidates are trying to win a fight to the finish.

They have to use vitriolic, controversial language to spur attention and get their messages across.

But it is never okay to use racist words. This would seem an obvious statement in light of it being 2012, but apparently the Republican field of presidential hopefuls did not get the memo.

Particularly, I would like to draw attention to the two Catholic candidates in the field: Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

These two candidates have toted their religious faith as a guiding beacon in their lives.

Despite the banner of religious piety, these two candidates repeatedly go against the fundamentals of Catholic teaching in their words and deeds, especially in reference to racist speech.

For example: On the Sunday before the Iowa caucus, while on a campaign stop in Sioux City, Santorum addressed a mostly white audience and stated that he does not want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Can someone please remind Santorum, as CBS pointed out, that nationally 39 percent of welfare recipients are white, 37 percent are black and 17 percent are Hispanic? Why single out a sole minority when it is clear that re-

LAWRENCE K. HO/MCT CAMPUS

Catholic leaders allege that candidates Rick Santorum (left) and Newt Gingrich (right) perpetuate racial stereotypes.

ceiving benefits is not limited to any particular group?

Gingrich can be found just as guilty. An editorial in the Baltimore Sun put it perfectly, stating that in the Monday night debate prior to the South Carolina primary, in response to a question from Juan Williams of Fox News, who asked whether Gingrich had been belittling African-Americans by implying they had no work ethic, Gingrich responded with a bout of under-handed bigotry: He referred to President Obama as “the food stamp president.” As stated by the Sun, “In a single phrase, Mr. Gingrich managed to conflate poverty, welfare dependency and a supposed unwillingness to work among the poor and unemployed with the

most bigoted assumptions about African-Americans.”

Moreover, Gingrich’s rhetoric seems to have a theme of racist undertones. According to the Huffington Post, while Speaker of the House in 1993, Gingrich intended to make a speech that would have included the following line: “For poor minorities, entrepreneurship in small business is the key to future wealth.

This is understood thoroughly by most of the Asians, partially by Latinos, and to a tragically small degree, by much of the American black community.” Fortunately, this line was edited out before the speech was delivered.

Recently, in response to this disparaging tone echoing from the mouths of our two Catholic

candidates, 40 respected Catholic leaders and theologians produced a letter calling on the candidates to end their racist banter.

The open letter “urge[s] Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum and all presidential candidates to reject the politics of racial division, refrain from offensive rhetoric and unite behind an agenda that promotes racial and economic justice.”

Three of the signatories of this open letter are professors here at Fordham: Professor Terrence W. Tilley, Professor Michael Lee and Professor Jeannine Hill Fletcher.

While Professor Lee could not be reached for comment, Professor Tilley and Fletcher were both able to provide insight into their reasoning for signing the letter, as

well as into the hypocrisy of Gingrich and Santorum.

“While these politicians are donning the mantle of Catholicism, they are either refusing to recognize or are oblivious to crucial strands of Catholic social teaching,” Tilley said. “These Catholics in the presidential race seem to both be making racist remarks and wanting to return to laissez-faire politics and economics which is consistently rejected by papal and other teaching.”

“The comments that they [Gingrich and Santorum] have made don’t seem to reflect a very critical and sophisticated way that race functions [in our society],” Fletcher said.

The line between church and state is often so heavily blurred that its very existence comes into question repeatedly. In this case, however, with two candidates clearly using religion as a political tool (as stated in the open letter, “courting ‘values voters’”), it is quite appropriate and necessary for respected theologians to come out and make a statement condemning the bigotry and hypocrisy on display. They need to make clear, as is done by this group, that Santorum and Gingrich do not speak for the Church, no matter how much they wear their religion on their sleeves.

As a Catholic, but more importantly, as an American, I am deeply disturbed by the racist remarks that have seeped into political campaign rhetoric. And if this is the way that these gentlemen believe they can govern a country, they will not see my vote.

Danielle Solinski, FCRH ‘14, is an undeclared major. She hails from White Plains, NY.

Republicans Complicate Processes of Student Voting

By CANTON WINER ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR

Thousands of college students will attempt to register to vote in the coming months only to be turned away. Students who have an out-of-state driver’s license, and even those who have an in-state driver’s license but who pay outof-state tuition, will be told, “Sorry, you can’t vote.” The right to vote is under attack.

Even if students manage to get registered in their home state and precinct, their votes are often uncounted. The onerous process of requesting an absentee ballot (which often requires students to send in their ballot requests a full month in advance) results in student ballots being received too late by their precincts, even when students plan well ahead. In other words, many college students who manage to get registered to vote will not have their votes counted.

For all of these reasons, young adults already vote in much smaller numbers than their older peers. Yet, Republican state lawmakers are on a crusade to further stifle student voting. To date, seven states have

CARTOON BY ANNA TIGHE

passed strict laws requiring a government-issued ID (such as an instate driver’s license or passport) to vote, which many students do not have. However, 27 other states are considering similar measures.

Republicans are at war with the right to vote. Groups that tend to

vote Democratic, such as blacks, Hispanics, the poor and students, have been targeted by Republican legislation specifically designed to stifle turnout. Over 21 million Americans do not have government IDs, and they overwhelmingly come from these Democratic-

voting groups.

How do they justify this? The answer is simple. Republicans claim they are preventing “voter fraud.”

This ignores a simple fact: there is almost no voter fraud in America.

In fact, the Department of Justice investigated over 300 million votes

cast between 2002 and 2007 and found no cases of voter impersonation fraud.

Some Republicans have no problem revealing the real reasons behind their war on voting. William O’Brien, speaker of the New Hampshire State House, said last March that students, “voting as a liberal,” are “foolish” and “vote their feelings” because they lack life experience and “that’s what kids do.”

He uses this blasphemously arrogant “logic” to support measures to end same-day registration (which many students take advantage of) and prohibit students from voting at their college addresses. O’Brien even pushed a bill that would have prohibited students who had previously lived elsewhere from voting in New Hampshire.

Restrictions such as these will only increase our generation’s apathy toward America’s democratic system. Republicans should cease their shameless war on voting and acknowledge it for what it is: a pathetic attempt to win an election by disenfranchising voters.

Canton Winer, FCRH ‘15, is an undeclared major. He hails from West Palm Beach, Fla.

OPINIONS

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The Ram Serving campus and community since 1918.

The Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate.

The Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of 12,000. The Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

www.theramonline.com Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Executive: (718) 817-4380 Publishing: (718) 817-4381 Editorial: (718) 817-4382 Newsroom: (718) 817-4394 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Connie Kim Managing Editor Olivia Monaco Executive Editors Sarah Ramirez Emily Arata Business Editor Lindsay Lersner Design Editor Elizabeth Mallozzi News Editor Connor Ryan Assistant News Editors Karen Hill Kelly Kultys Opinions Editor Rory Masterson Assistant Opinions Editors Ricky Bordelon Canton Winer Culture Editor Scharon Harding Assistant Culture Editor Devon Sheridan Sports Editors Chester Baker Dan Gartland Copy Chief Taylor Engdahl Copy Team Anisa Arsenault Casimir Black Jennifer Boland Danny Casarella Molly Dunbar Isabella Fante Katrina Feldkamp Christopher Kennedy Celeste Kmiotek Cathy Landry Tom Merante Katie Nolan Eric Pederson Fariah Siddiqui Veronica Torok Dylan White Photo Editor Michael Rezin Web Editor Anne Couture Assistant Web Editor Francesca Arturi Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at fordhamramletters@gmail.com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Ram and will not be returned. The Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

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From the Desk of Devon Sheridan, Assistant Culture Editor There are plenty of aspects that make Fordham great. It is an academically prestigious institution with a beautiful campus, a great Jesuit influence and (a personal favorite) a recently resurgent men’s basketball program. But there is one thing I really hate: the cafeteria food.

I’m not alone in this sentiment.

I know that because I have conducted the last two “Who’s That Kid?” interviews, and the perennial question regarding what they would change about Fordham has ubiquitously and immediately been something along the lines of: “I’d change the food service.”

At the beginning of my freshman year, I was naïve about the status of Fordham’s dining services. For the first week, we ate it happily. So many choices from the pizza bar and the International station kept us on our toes (the gyros may actually be the only certifiably delicious item served).

Coming from Scranton, a small town with a strong Italian

influence, I did immediately notice the poor quality of the pizza, the first red flag. Pizza is very hard to mess up, and I’m actually not picky; I will happily devour Domino’s, but the dry cardboard smothered in red sauce, sprinkled with dry cheese and is-thischicken chicken is inedible.

Fordham’s food is provided

by Sodexo, a worldwide food service corporation. Sodexo provides food services to hospitals, banks and fellow universities across the country. The company’s reputation has been plagued with boycotts by both students and employees, (most usually wage-related). Last year, Fordham failed its annual food inspection, to outcries from students and parents alike. As a prospective student, I was actually happy to hear this news, figuring that the school would ditch its current provider and search for a better one. As we all know, this was not the case, and the Class of 2015’s stomachs have also been subjected to the pain of the process.

I recently questioned a senior friend about the status of Fordham’s contract with Sodexo. According to him, Fordham is in a long-term contract with the company. I attempted to do some research on the subject, but all I could come across was an article published in The Ram last year.

Following the health violations last April, Sodexo held a town hall meeting in which a student posed the same question to General Manager Brian Poteat. The answer my friend received was just as informative as Poteat’s, who answered that all he knew was that it was a longrunning contract, suggesting that students should contact the administration. It seems Poteat failed to understand that a town hall meeting is what students interpret as “contacting administration.”

I have had a good experience eating at The Grille, but it eats up one’s flex dollars and, for freshmen, means a walk all the way across campus. Why should

there only be one place on campus that serves passable food?

Why is it that the food at The Grille is inarguably of a higher quality than that served at the caf ? Why am I paying above-average tuition and still putting up with below-average food?

These questions are not being asked by a small group of picky eaters but rather by the vast majority of students on campus.

The blame rests not just with Sodexo but with this University as well. It is the institution’s duty to listen to the pleas of the student body. Disappointment festers as the administration puts money ahead of student happiness, failing to act upon the needs of its students.

EDITORIAL: Obama Addresses Tuition Issues In his 2012 State of the Union address on Jan. 24, President Obama laid out general plans for the economy, energy, housing, immigration and, of course, education.

During his remarks on higher education, Obama proposed several measures to make college more affordable. He insisted that Congress stop student loan interest rates from doubling in July of 2012 and called for a permanent extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

His proposal also included doubling the number of federal work-study program jobs in the next five years, and a general call was made for colleges and universities to keep costs down by “redesign[ing] courses to help students finish more quickly and us[ing] better technology.”

Regarding other aspects of education, Obama had a smattering of observations: get rid of bad teachers; don’t teach to the test; keep students from dropping out of school before reaching the age of 18.

In a follow-up speech at the University of Michigan on Friday, three days after the address, he called for a “college score card” that would rank institutions according to cost, graduation rates and future earnings.

Obama hit the argument on the head, as college should never put a financial burden on a student; we need to do everything we can to make college more affordable.

As Obama said, “Higher education can’t be a luxury — it is an economic imperative that every

family in America should be able to afford.”

Luckily for us, according to Forbes Magazine, Fordham, ranked as the eighth most expensive school in the United States, extends some sort of aid to 93 percent of its students.

According to the article, the school says even the governmentcalculated average “net price” of

not they can attend Fordham based on how much the financial aid office is going to award them.

Reducing interest rates while increasing federal loans and workstudy opportunities definitely will help our own students make their way through college.

The president promised to decrease federal aid for any university that raises its tuition unduly.

“As college students, however, we have to admit how glad we were to hear about a possible tuition decrease; we can only hope that Congress and state governments write the president’s educational reforms into law.” $31,383 for students with some sort of aid gives a misleading picture; the weighted average cost for all students at Fordham is $33,280, compared with $40,000 at comparable private schools, where a much smaller percentage of students receive aid.

This, however, is not enough.

Although many students in need are being supported by Fordham’s financial aid program, there are many students who struggle to pay their way through school and still graduate with overwhelming student-loan debts.

Moreover, many potential Fordham students—just like many other future college students—suffer from agonizing waits to determine whether or

“If you can’t stop tuition from going up, your funding from taxpayers will go down,” Obama warned, putting “colleges and universities on notice.”

While seeking a more affordable college experience for the majority of students out there, we should never forget the importance of keeping up with the educational quality.

According to The Los Angeles Times, college tuition and fees rose more than 400 percent between 1982 and 2007, due to declining support from state legislatures, increased professor salaries, newly built facilities and heavy administrative bloat.

There are, however, many legitimate reasons for tuition to in-

crease. For instance, a university could be investing in the quality of its education and raising the standards for its current and future students.

None of us want Fordham to suddenly decrease the quality of education by increasing class and discussion section size, reducing professors’ quality, cutting lab funding and eliminating certain majors just to save tuition dollars.

Ever-increasing tuition prices are a problem, but in carrying out the president’s policy, we must be careful not to negatively impact students’ quality education.

We, The Ram, did not agree with the entirety of President Obama’s State of the Union address. As college students, however, we have to admit how glad we were to hear about a possible tuition decrease; we can only hope that Congress and state governments write the president’s educational reforms into law.

Obviously, we want more funding for college education. While colleges may need some changes, however, there is a much greater need to revise the public school system.

Obama, along with Congress, should focus on fixing Americans’ primary education before refining the system of higher education.

Editorial Policy The Ram’s editorials are selected on a weekly basis, and are meant to reflect the editorial board’s view on a particular issue.

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

OPINIONS

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Left of the Dial Allen Ying

Mandate Protects Rights Last week, the Obama administration required all U.S. employers to provide free contraception to their female employees through health insurance plans. This has become a contentious issue, as it entails that even organizations with religious affiliations that might oppose contraception on moral grounds must adhere to this new mandate.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been especially outraged at this, with Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan describing the directive as an “attack on religious freedom,” and that “to force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their health care is literally unconscionable.”

Those statements would be true if the president was infringing upon the First Amendment. This directive excludes houses of worship, meaning church employees would not be affected at all. Only organizations that employ many employees who desire contraception will be forced to offer them free birth control. This includes universities, hospitals and charitable organizations.

Obama’s ruling is not designed to attack religious freedoms, but rather to protect minority rights. Fordham University is a perfect example of the necessity of this ruling. By Cardinalelect Dolan’s logic, because Fordham is a Jesuit institution, it is justified in picking which benefits it gives its employees on a religious basis.

However, thousands of Fordham employees who want access to contraception would be denied it due to Fordham’s stance on birth control.

With the majority of firms in the U.S. already offering free contraception under their health care plans, denying Fordham employees free contraception becomes a denial of rights, rather than an infringement on religious freedoms. If a woman who works at Fordham objects to contraception, she does not need to “forgo [her] health care,” as Dolan states, but rather choose not to utilize the benefits at her disposal. If anything, all this mandate does is further rebuff the right to deny citizens health care.

There should be no issue passing this mandate. The Church has been vocal about the injustice of this policy, yet 28 states already enforce similar laws to ensure birth control is covered in health care plans. Most laws have been in effect for almost a decade and upheld in state Supreme Courts. In 2004, the California Supreme Court noted that many employees of Catholic charities are not Catholic and thus rejected the organizations’ challenge to overturn the law. The court stated that organizations are required to protect workers, even if those protections conflict with their political or religious stance.

These issues have been played on a state level, where protection of the worker has trumped religious affiliation of the organization time and again. These new mandates are not evil and not new; they merely expedite the process of individual states adopting the policy. By skewing the narrative towards an infringement of the First Amendment, Catholic leaders are shaming themselves to not allow average Americans to see the good this policy will do.

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 7

GOP Circus Fights for Ringmaster

By RACHAEL PRENSNER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Presidential elections always act as a gauge of political climate and a trial process for party ideology.

In the midst of current economic woes, the political talking points that always characterize the selection of a nominee assume largerthan-life significance and immediacy. The next president holds the fate of the nation in his hand; presidential hopefuls hit the campaign circuit to meet audiences who feel that their jobs and their children’s futures hang in the balance.

As the incumbent, Obama’s response to public skepticism is quite evident: He must justify his four years in office and convince voters that another four years will bring continued progress. Thus, his State of the Union address on Jan. 24 consisted largely of giving Congress a tremendous amount of homework.

For the Republican Party, times of discontent present a much more open-ended challenge. The beginning of a fourth straight year of recession means an exceptional opportunity for the power of persuasion. It is the kind of advertising opportunity that would spark Don Draper’s smoldering eloquence.

Candidates rush for the ideological high-ground, claiming to corner the market on true conservatism or American ideals.

This campaign season is one of extremes, not only in the sense that Republican rhetoric continually

returns to party ideals, but also in that the candidates seem locked in a competition to frame the most profoundly anti-Washington sound bite.

For those of us who take a casual interest in politics, the field of candidates has been remarkably odd.

Those who have dropped out have eliminated themselves through sheer wackiness. Herman Cain’s litany of scandals was soap operaesque, and his tax plan seemed devised solely for its ease of memory.

Rick Perry, meanwhile, could not remember his policies. Michele Bachmann never rose beyond being Sarah Palin’s less-SNL-ready sequel. Also, who sold Ron Paul his suits? They look like they were new twenty years ago, for someone with twenty pounds more youthful muscle mass.

Mitt Romney has stood out from early on as the front-runner, but his support among Republicans remains lukewarm. I have yet to hear anyone say they are excited about Romney. Much more often, when I poll my Republican friends, they resignedly admit that Mitt will probably get the nomination. “He’s electable,” is the usual remark, with a clear insinuation that electable is something of a dirty word.

Right-of-center voters tend to view the 2012 election as a watershed. Recent years have been characterized both by tremendous economic hardship and enormous preventative federal spending. It is easy for Republicans to forget that

the recession began, and the first bailouts were passed, while one of their own was still in office. When Election Day rolls around, voters in both parties tend to align themselves with candidates based on their perceived ideological affinities.

Public policy and voting records are secondary issues.

With three primaries down and three separate winners, it remains to be seen how Republican opinion will coalesce. Romney’s sustained predominance seems to mark him as a favorite to win the nomination, but his lack of support among the conservative party base threatens sparse voter turn-out on election day. One potential remedy to Republican apathy is the strategy John McCain employed in 2008: choosing a running-mate who could put the Evangelical and conservative voters at ease. However, McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin alienated other constituents; Palin still claims it was the fault of the liberal media elite.

As the incumbent, Obama’s support is solid, but not remarkably high. As of yet, none of the Republican candidates have proved themselves to be what Obama was in 2008, an idealist who captured the American imagination and transcended party disparities. Maybe a candidate will step up who resonates with the nation in a similar way.

Rachael Prensner, FCRH ‘14, is an English major from Harrisburg, PA.

Politicians’ Personal Lives Viewed by Public

BY CHRISTIAN BAGROW CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Many wielders of power and wealth have an admonishable affinity to promiscuity. This is, of course, not to say that every leader will cheat on his spouse. Yet, the patterns of infidelity are hard to ignore. Psychologists have largely suggested two differing explanations, both of which center around the expansive personality type: Do these men cheat because of the psychological stature which their office or station imparts? Or do these men cheat because their personalities, which lend themselveswell to leadership, precipitate their behavior?

The answer is not clear and, in my opinion, matters less in the normative conversation about leadership and infidelity. Psychologists in public media spaces continue to harp on the nature of a leader’s infidelity and thereby imply a certain lack of responsibility on the part of the man of power himself. A psychological predisposition, however garnered, is no excuse for infidelity. It is as if we are, with slight of hand, loaning adulterous behavior a version of the insanity plea.

It has been seriously suggested that the public should not care about what is supposedly a personal matter. Perhaps there is some truth to this. The French

and Italians seem somehow less perturbed by their leaders’ acts of intimate disrepute. Moreover, a leader’s sexual prowess – outside of his established marriage – is said to indicate his strength as a leader.

The wife of former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn stood by her husband through accusations of sexual assault brought against him.

I certainly see some merit in what is essentially a Freudian line of thinking. How much do we value a public display of implicit sexuality as a suggestion of leadership qualities? The Puritans would surely frown. In the United States during the last two decades, infidelity committed by political leaders has in almost every case been coupled with deception. Perhaps the lies are more harmful to a politician’s image and standing than the promiscuity itself.

But “So what? Who cares?” cannot validate a situation wherein a politician’s sordid behavior explicitly defies his values and policies.

Newt Gingrich asked his second wife for an open marriage; he wanted to have his piece of cake and a second one too, only to eat the whole thing, all the while preaching on the deadly sin of gluttony. More to the point, Gingrich cites the institution of marriage as being the sacred unity between one man and one woman as justification against legalizing same-sex

marriage, even as his convictions persuaded him to move through wives like I would buy coats. Gingrich oozes a hypocritical pus that alone exceeds wormwood in bitterness.

Gingrich has the audacity to correlate homosexuality with paganism. His “open marriage” is euphemistic speech for “gentle polygamy” – which just happens to be a pagan practice. Perhaps Gingrich looks to the Old Testament wherein several men had multiple wives. The Old Testament also contains the Ten Commandments. Oh well. Perhaps voters will be drawn to his endearingly blithe indifference to “Do not commit adultery.”

It is because of men like Newt Gingrich that I stagger in disbelief and cannot help but care. I cannot help but look at his personal actions alongside his political outlooks and cringe. Newt Gingrich never had my vote, but by behaving in a manner that clearly suggests a lack of critical insight, he should have no one’s vote. However, I would side with the French, and let our leaders have their public and private lives distinctly drawn; I would prefer not to care how many times a politician falls in and out of love.

Christian Bagrow FCRH ‘15 is a double major in art history and political science from Jacksonville, Fla.

Are your friends really tired of hearing you complain?

Write for The Ram’s opinions section.

E-mail us at: fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

Righter’s Block John P. Castonguay Crushing Catholic Conscience Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, recently refused to exempt religious institutions from regulations requiring employers to provide health insurance that covers sterilization contraceptives and some abortifacients.

This will specifically impact Catholic colleges, hospitals and charities. While churches and other houses of worship will be excluded from the rules, the only allowance that will be made to organizations run by religious groups will be giving them until Aug. 2013 to comply with the new standards.

This delay in enacting the policy appears to be a political ploy to avoid dealing with the controversy. The law seems to allow for exemption for “religious employers,” but according to the President of Catholic University, John Garvey, the exemption is worded in a way that would prevent members of Catholic groups from taking advantage of it. The relevant portion of the legislation proclaims that in order to be exempt, “The inculcation of religious values [must be] the purpose of the organization.”

Catholic universities will not be covered by this limited exemption, as they educate their students in topics other than theology.

“It’s too narrow to include St. Ann’s Infant & Maternity Home in Hyattsville, which provides care to abused and neglected children and to pregnant adolescents who need help,” Harvey said. “Nor does it encompass the Jeanne Jugan Residence for the elderly, which is across the street from our campus and run by Little Sisters of the Poor.”

Without a larger exemption, the government will demolish the First Amendment by forcing Catholic and other religious organizations to violate their religious beliefs. Already, Belmont Abbey College has declared that they would rather close than operate in a manner inconsistent with their principles. The Washington Post editorial board also believes the Obama administration is erring in their approach to religious exemptions.

The Post declares, “The federal government will for the first time require all employers to provide insurance coverage for their workers — in other words, to spend their own money to help underwrite this coverage — or, in many cases, to pay a penalty. In this circumstance, requiring a religiously affiliated employer to spend its own money in a way that violates its religious principles does not make an adequate accommodation for those deeply held views.”

Eighteen Catholic universities joined in protesting the legislation, but Fordham declined to participate. Fordham has a responsibility not only to live up to its Jesuit history but also to encourage its students to recognize miscarriages of justice. I hope our University will come out in support of recent litigation challenging this unconstitutional measure.

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PAGE 9

Making Volunteering Count with HOPE

By SARAH SULLIVAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated persons in their early twenties were the least likely demographic to commit their time to volunteer work (18.4 percent). As students at the Jesuit University of New York, however, we are called upon to be men and women for others.

Every year, the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice organizes Fordham volunteers for the HOPE Count (Homeless Outreach Population Estimation), which is an annual survey that assesses the number of individuals living in New York City’s public spaces.

Sandra Lobo-Jost, director of the Dorothy Day Center, stressed that the evening was not about doing an outreach project, but rather about gaining accurate data and capturing a moment in time during which we can analyze how many homeless people are on the streets on one of the coldest nights of the year.

On the evening of the annual event, which took place on Jan. 30 this year, the volunteers are teamed up in groups of six with one or two leaders and sent out to survey the streets of New York. The mission of this event is not only to estimate the number of unsheltered individuals, but also to evaluate city programs in hope of providing better services.

In total, more than 100 Fordham students, faculty and staff gathered in McGinley Center at 10 p.m. and

later fanned out at midnight across the Bronx to participate in the City’s ninth annual HOPE Count, after participating in a training session.

Many students bundled up in hats, leg warmers, vests and other clothes to fight the below freezing temperature. Leader Colleen Chambers, FCRH ’13, even brought extra clothes in her backpack in case any of the students in her group were not warm enough.

Dr. Susan Greenfield, a professor in the English department, currently teaches a service-learning course titled Homelessness and encouraged all of her students to participate in this event.

“If nothing else, they’ll know what it’s like to be tired,” she said.

“It’s one of the things I don’t think we think about - how tiring it is to be homeless and how hard it is to get sleep. It’s okay if you don’t meet anyone because you’re participating in a bigger movement, and if we don’t see anyone we can still ask questions and learn.”

Greenfield then continued to reflect on her experience with another organization where she met many people who were once homeless.

“I once met a man who hadn’t slept more than four hours in a row in more than seven years,” she said. “Then his mood completely transformed and it was because his housing situation had changed for the better.”

Some students from this course added their reasons for getting involved with the HOPE Count.

“Having done community work

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/ THE RAM

The annual HOPE Count took place on Monday Jan. 30. Volunteers remained in Manhattan’s cold streets until 4 a.m.

in the area, I have discovered how many homeless people are in the area, which led me to want to participate in a larger cause tonight,” Emily Santa-Donato, FCRH ’14, said.

Cathy Landry, FCRH ’14, and Alex Coumbis, FCRH ’13, noted that their work with the Global Outreach project in NYC sparked their interest in homelessness and that, after their work, they wanted to see the problem first-hand and know what it was like to spend the night on the streets of New York.

Another leader, Ann Pierret, FCRH ’14, expressed her interest in wanting to partake in the initiative.

“I volunteered last year and it was a great experience where I learned a lot,” she said. “It was very humbling and I was very excited to participate again this year in the role of a group leader.”

Chris Cepeda, FCRH ’13, who is

one of the four student coordinators for the Dorothy Day Center, confessed that he was a little worried.

“Last year I had a really awesome co-leader who was good at reading maps,” he said. “It’ll be interesting, I’ll be putting my leadership skills to the test in order to complete the mission and achieve the objective.”

Artie De Los Santos, GSB 2012, also acknowledged that he was a little apprehensive.

“After all, we will be out until four in the morning,” he said. “but tonight is truly about spreading awareness and getting the word out there.”

Carissa Avalos, FCRH ’14, another student coordinator, asserted that she thought that this event helped make the issue of homelessness ‘real’ for many students. She reflected on her experience last year.

“It’s easy to complain that our

feet feel frostbitten at 3 a.m. in the middle of January, but then you see a man who lives outside all the time in this weather, and suddenly it puts everything in perspective,” Avalos said.

Lobo-Jost also emphasized that Fordham students learn in the classroom about cura personalis, which entails paying individualized attention to the needs of others and giving distinct respect to his or her unique circumstances, but tonight was the night to turn our teachings into practice.

Once all the information is compiled, the final number will have some influence on federal aid made available under the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fordham students will have been part of a larger cause to improve this issue, which exists right outside the gates of our school.

shown to have a significant impact on one’s health.

There are many easy ways to stay active at Fordham and throughout the City. The Lombardi fitness center has a mix of weight and cardio machines, as well as a pool for open use, and now offers free magazines to read while you work out. It can get crowded at peak times, but is a good resource for on-campus students.

If the fitness center isn’t your thing, and you don’t want to shell out for an expensive gym membership, try an alternative. For a free workout, Yoga To The People (yogatothepeople.com) is a professional, but donation-based ($5 - $10) studio in St. Mark’s Place offering power vinyasa to get a sweat going.

They cater to all experience levels with a mantra of “All Bodies Rise,” and offer candlelight sessions on Sunday nights.

If group activities aren’t for you, there are also a variety of phone apps and podcasts that offer free workout tapes for in-room exercise instead. Websites like parkpeople. com offer group support towards weight loss and fitness goals.

3. Eating Right There is no easier way to increase your health than with small changes to your eating habits, even if you’re on a plan at the caf for every meal.

While it can be easy to go with a never-fail slice of pizza or fries, many

delicious options are just as easy.

Start by choosing smaller plates and bowls for your food, as this has been shown to prevent overeating.

If you’re going for sushi, choose avocados, as they are full of hearthealthy fat. The caf also offers sweet potatoes throughout the week at the pasta station, which are less starchy than their white potato brothers and are full of vitamins A and C. Skip the carb-heavy bagels and have proteinfilled eggs instead, which will keep you full for longer.

Try skim milk on your cereal. Try a mixed green salad instead of iceberg lettuce, which is mostly water.

Swap creamy ranch, which is full of fat and calories, for a lighter dressing like balsamic instead.

If you’re cooking, don’t be afraid to try new foods this year like quinoa or kale, two “superfoods” full of nutrients, and opt for antioxidant-rich green tea or red wine. Wild salmon is a low-calorie dinner choice full of Omega-3’s. Opt for organic produce if possible, which can be found without breaking the bank. Put skim milk in your Starbucks latte, or try brown rice or a salad at Chipotle instead of a burrito.

Eat This, Not That is a great online resource for the best of fast-food choices.

With just a few small changes, you can continue on your way to making 2012 your healthiest year yet.

Become a Healthier You in 2012

COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS COURTESY OF YOGATOTHEPEOPLE.COM

Yoga To the People is a great place to unwind and keep yourself fit. There are five different locations throughout NYC.

By KATIE CATALDO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

With a new year comes many new promises: study more, try new things and of course, live healthier.

There are many easy ways to keep up a resolution to stay healthy and fit in 2012, however, even throughout the doldrums of winter.

1. Sleeping For college students with a hectic schedule, it can be difficult to maintain a regular sleeping pattern. Rest time is one of the most important parts of your day, however, giving your body time to recuperate and be ready to take on all of the next day’s tasks. Adequate sleep is integral to

memory and awareness, a healthy immune system and even contributes to weight loss. The National Sleep Foundation points out that while there is no universal “magic number” of sleep hours, they find that most young adults need between seven to nine hours of sleep to function at their highest capacity.

Stress and overwork are common factors contributing to inadequate rest, but there are ways to help yourself get a good night’s sleep. Try to develop a regular pattern of sleep and avoid napping during the day.

A few hours before you want to sleep, shut down your computer and read a book instead. This is a better way to unwind from the day. Get

regular exercise, but at least three hours before bedtime. Drink a cup of decaffeinated tea to relax if you are not feeling sleepy. Even though it may feel the opposite, alcohol actually inhibits REM sleep (the most critical portion of the sleep cycle), so don’t imbibe on nights when you need important rest.

2. Exercise Cold winter weather can be a great excuse to avoid exertion, but regular exercise is a critical factor in maintaining health, even beyond weight control. Exercise has been shown to prevent disease, increase endorphins to lift your mood and reduce stress. Even just a half-hour of exercise a few times a week has been

CULTURE

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Going Global This week’s column was written by Bridget Dowd, FCRH ’13.

As an English major, studying abroad in England seemed to be an obvious choice. Just one month abroad has been enough, cheesy as it sounds, to alter my worldview. Adjusting to the metric system was a small step in acclimating myself to a completely new set of cultural standards.

Though I had thought studying in England implied a lack of language barriers, I had not anticipated befriending students from places such as Germany and Italy. Their fluency with my mother tongue makes me feel slightly inadequate for knowing no modern language besides English, and the obstacles that arise in simple conversation have given me a new appreciation for my own language and a realization of its idioms and intricacies. It is difficult to explain to someone whose first language is not English that wanting something “so bad” is, in fact, a good thing. Accomplishing such a feat is oddly satisfying, however. A few weeks ago a friend told me he “had the hunger.” Now he tells me he “could eat an ‘orse.”

Having been here for one month already, I have been constantly surprised by the similarities and differences between London and New York. I have come to realize that comparing the two is like comparing apples (or the Big one, anyway) with oranges.

Last weekend, I attended a concert by candlelight at St. Martin-in-theFields, a beautiful Anglican church in Trafalgar Square. While sitting in a pew high in the gallery, I was easily lost in a sense of history and ethereality created by the setting and the music. However, as one movement of Mozart’s Requiem came to a close, a siren began wailing in the square outside, making me smile as I associated the sound with New York and wondered at the juxtaposition of history and modernity within London itself.

While studying abroad, I’ve found myself in the bizarre yet inevitable position that exists in the limbo between tourist and local. Yes, I have taken the obligatory red telephone booth photo, but I can also calmly direct frantic tourists to the museums they seek. I can rattle off the stops of the Jubilee Line on the Underground without thinking but still cannot remember my own (11-digit) phone number.

Each day brings new experiences along with increased levels of comfort. The curvy, oddly-named streets of London (so different from New York’s neatly numbered grid) are slowly beginning to appear almost logical. I have given up on ever being able to navigate the Maughn Library, however, an intimidating, Hogwartsesque building with stairways that end between floors and fireplaces in otherwise uninhabited hallways.

Regardless, one of the most defining moments of my experience thus far was the day I told a friend I was “heading home” on the tube. Though a simple expression, I realized how quickly this foreign city has become a home to me. As I sit in my flat in northern London, however, I look at the background of my computer screen — a picture of Keating in the snow. I now recognize how lucky I am to be able to claim these two cities as my own.

theramonline.com

Dining Out: Southern Hospitality Overall Location Food Quality Atmosphere Hospitality Expense $$$ (Out of 4

PHOTO BY SASHA FISHER/THE RAM

The Upper East Side Southern Hospitality is located on 1460 Second Ave.

PHOTO BY SASHA FISHER/THE RAM

Flavorful barbeque dishes are combined with classic Southern favorites .

By SASHA FISHER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When I think of celebrity-owned restaurants, I imagine places opened by people with too much money, attempting to get involved in the food industry when they should just stick to movies. Fortunately, I was surprised by Southern Hospitality, Justin Timberlake’s Upper East Side restaurant.

Timberlake owns a second location in Hell’s Kitchen, but I went to the Upper East Side location on Second Avenue between 76th and 77th streets. It was easily accessible by taking the 4 train to 86th street and walking a pleasant few blocks

down.

Southern Hospitality offers indoor and outdoor seating, with a Southern, rock and roll and bluegrass feel. We went on a Saturday in order to take advantage of their excellent weekend deals, so we had to wait 15 minutes at the bar for a table before being seated. The bar was large, and the bartender asked what we wanted immediately. My friend used the Foursquare App on her iPhone to check in and was then rewarded by the restaurant with a free pint of her choice of Miller or Coors.

Besides the large bar, Southern Hospitality boasts comfortable booths surrounded by brick walls,

’s)

light-up signs and pictures of Elvis.

From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Southern Hospitality offers a moderately priced brunch menu with a special bottomless mimosa. The menu ranges from breakfast omelets with Asiago cheese and fresh spinach ($10.95) to traditional Southern delicacies, including biscuits and gravy ($9.95). Both plates come with your choice of crispy fries or grits, a Southern favorite.

Our waitress was friendly and quick despite the crowd, and we were able to order after a short wait. We decided to explore the full extent of the menu and ordered a breakfast dish, a Southern dish and a Mexican specialty. Our food came very quickly.

The breakfast dish, a crawfish, Andouille sausage and cheddar cheese omelet, which came with cheddar-cheese grits or crispy fries ($13.95), was delicious, but watery.

The combination of crawfish and sausage was excellent. While the watery inside did not improve the dish’s looks, luckily it did not affect its taste. We ordered the crispy fries instead of the cheddar cheese grits.

They were just as crispy and flavorful as advertised.

Our traditional Southern meal, chicken and waffles ($12.95), was a generous portion of fluff y waffles, crispy fried chicken and a large amount of syrup. While it was very good on its own, the chicken offered a chance to try Southern Hospital-

ity’s three barbeque sauces: sweet, regular and spicy. They were all delicious and forced us to use the paper towels placed on each table.

The regular barbeque sauce was also used in our last entree, smoke pit huevos rancheros ($11.95). A combination of pulled pork, eggs and cheese with pico de gallo and guacamole, this dish was very appetizing. The portion was generous, and the barbeque sauce added an extra kick.

For dessert we asked our waitress what she would recommend. Without hesitation, she suggested the banana pudding with Nilla wafers ($6.95) or the bourbon-flavored pecan pie ($6.95), Justin Timberlake’s grandmother’s recipe. We chose the pecan pie. Minutes later a warm pecan pie with a dollop of whipped cream sat in the center of our table.

The crust was flaky, the inside gooey and the pie not overly sweet. It was so large that we had a full serving of leftovers to take back.

Southern Hospitality greatly exceeded my expectations. Justin Timberlake knows what he is doing, or perhaps just who to hire. While non-brunch meals can be more expensive than the Saturday and Sunday deal, the restaurant offers a special on food or drinks every day in addition to the weekend brunch.

Every table has a great view of a television for those looking for a place to spend Super Bowl Sunday. $80 gets you top shelf open bar, family style dinner and guaranteed seating.

Southern Hospitality has great ambiance, wonderful food, excellent deals and a convenient location. It is a wonderful place to watch a game, get brunch or even guest bartend (see southernhospitality. com for details).

Editor’s Pick: The Visible Man

By EMILY ARATA EXECUTIVE EDITOR

In the six years since leaving SPIN Magazine, the inexhaustible popculture writer Chuck Klosterman has proven himself to be incredibly knowledgeable about KISS, MTV’s “Real World” and all things North Dakotan. He has published three essay collections, two non-fiction books and two novels, including his most famous, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. In October, Klosterman published his most recent novel, the incredibly profound The Visible Man. The narrator, Victoria Vick, is a therapist in the middle of a difficult marriage. She relates to the audience the story of her most interesting patient under the guise of the novel being a manuscript she is trying to get published. The man of whom she speaks, Y__ (as she refers to him) has the capability to become invisible, the result of a failed government project.

Y__ chooses to wear his invisibility suit to break into the homes of others.

He quietly observes them for days at a time because he is fascinated by the way people act when they are completely alone.

The ethical and moral issues of quasi-voyeurism begin to prickle Y__’s conscience, however. Vick be-

comes obsessed with Y__’s stories of the bizarre and truly sad lives people in modern society live when no one else is watching.

As Vick spends more time talking with her patient, she becomes obsessed with the life of Y__, to the point where she spends her time fantasizing about his stories.

The Visible Man is far from a love story. At its most basic level, it questions the idea of relationships between humans. Vick and Y__ seem to be infatuated with each other out of sheer necessity for human contact, just as the people Y__ watches suffer quietly in their loneliness.

At the beginning of the novel, Y__ seems to be a sociopath and Vick an innocent, average woman. As the plot progresses, the lines between the two blur, redefining what “normal” means in American society.

In examining Y__’s life, readers are invited to question how daily, private routines would appear to complete outsiders. Furthermore, Klosterman allows us to analyze the effect that Y__ has on the lives of his subjects.

Can humans ever come into contact, even in an invisible manner, without being changed forever?

Although Y__ states time and time again that he has no ethical code, he still makes an attempt to stop the destructive cycle of a girl he watches

COURTESY OF FLICKR.COM

In Chuck Klosterman’s second novel Y__ provides insight on human behavior.

who binges, smokes marijuana and works out obsessively to rid herself of the calories. By lacing her marijuana with speed in an effort to stop her from binging, however, Y__ sends the girl into a drug-induced shock and must call the hospital.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of The Visible Man is the question it raises about the instincts of humanity. In an age where voyeuristic games like The Sims and reality television are extremely successful, what does our desire to see into the lives of others say about us? Are we so insecure about our own lives that we must constantly compare them to others?

Klosterman uses letters, manuscripts, audio recording transcripts

and various other textual formats over the course of the book, keeping readers hooked in his ever-changing presentation of the narrative.

In many ways, Klosterman his been working up to a novel of this caliber his entire career. The perfect mix of his pop-culture analysis and idiosyncratic style of looking at life, The Visible Man succeeds for both Klosterman-devotees and new readers, alike.

Klosterman has proven himself to be a prolific writer on subjects of music and art, but The Visible Man is undoubtedly his tour-de-force.

Both the quirky, oddball plot concept and the characters make his second novel his best writing to date.

CULTURE

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Paranormal Society Investigates the Unknown

By AMANDA DONOVAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Relatively new to campus, Fordham’s Paranormal Society hosts weekly round table discussions about paranormal activity, stories of hauntings and all of that which is scientifically unexplainable. “To believe or not to believe …that is not really the question.”

Key to the club’s philosophy is its effort to remain objectively affiliated with neither the believer’s nor the skeptic’s perspective. All beliefs (and non-beliefs) are welcome and essentially serve as the backbone for discussion.

Because Fordham’s Paranormal Society is still only one semester old, it has not yet been able to acquire much funding yet.

In upcoming semesters, the club’s executive board intends to appeal for funds to buy equipment for potential club sponsored events, such as fieldwork in ghost hunting or a masquerade ball.

President and founder of the

club, Alex Avalos, FCRH ’13, first noticed students’ interest in discussions about paranormal activity when he created the RA sponsored program, “The F Files,” in Tierney Hall last year. More and more students expressed interest in the program, and soon after Avalos decided to write up a constitution to make it an official club.

Avalos felt that, although interest in these paranormal topics was particularly popular, the topics generally have the tendency to be somewhat taboo. Acknowledging this tendency, he wanted to create a structured, recurring time and place for fellow students to explore such themes.

If you are a Fordham student, you have undoubtedly heard about the hauntings in Queens Court, the unexplained 3 a.m. noises in Hughes Hall and the portrait with the moving eyes in the FMH stairwell (just kidding about the last one). Rose Hill’s campus has a reputation for be-

ing haunted — so much so that it may be featured in an upcoming episode of “School Spirits,” a reality TV show that investigates paranormal activity on haunted campuses.

Avalos recently submitted a recollection of an experience he had in Queens Court and is waiting to hear back from the show’s producer. In the meantime, he and the rest of Fordham’s Paranormal Society continue meeting weekly. “[We meet] to investigate and analyze what is considered to be beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation, and explore the sociological implications of the ever-taboo realm of ‘paranormalcy,’” Avalos said.

Fordham’s Paranormal Society (stalk them on Facebook) meets every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in Jogues’ first floor lounge in Martyrs’ Court.

All are welcome and encouraged to share their beliefs, questions and experiences.

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 11

Check Check out the latest events and hotspots in NYC!

This

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

!

Out

The Law Firm: Law and Disorder 307 W 26th St. 10:30 p.m. $10

COURTESY OF PRWEB

Since its inception in 1990 Upright Citizens Brigade has produced comic superstars such as Adam Mckay, Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh. On Friday night, the newest addition to the weekend slot, comedy troupe The Law Firm, draws comedic inspiration from the audiences’ real life problems. The show starts at 10:30, so grab dinner nearby at Kiku Sushi (235 9th Ave.) or some Persian cuisine at Pars Grill House and Bar (249 W 26th St.). If you are running late and need to grab something quick and cheap, try Taco Bandito (325 8th Ave).

RAM ARCHIVES

Queens Court is said to be one of several haunted locations at Rose Hill. Paranormal Society explores these scary sites.

— COMPILED BY DEVON SHERIDAN

Ram Reviews MOVIE

BOOK

RED TAILS

THE HEART AND THE FIST

VIDEO GAME SKYWARD SWORD

TELEVISION “SMASH”

MOVIE THE IRON LADY

By CHRISTIAN ANDREWS

By DEVON SHERIDAN

By DAVID MCSKIMMING

By MOLLY FERNS

By CHRISTOFER NICOLETTI

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The movie directorial debut of Anthony Hemingway (Changing Ways), Red Tails is the long overdue project of George Lucas about the Tuskegee airmen and their battle with racial adversity.

Unlike the 1995 HBO production The Tuskegee Airmen, this big-budget film, set at $65 million, opens in the midst of 1944, when the pilots are trained, itching for a taste of real aerial warfare. I was expecting the best with the names on board. What I got was nothing of the sort.

I would not suggest watching this movie. While George Lucas has been planning his own Tuskegee project for close to 25 years, the result seems like it was only given a couple months of thought. Save your money and memory space.

Eric Greitens’ résumé reads more like fiction than the real-life story of a 37-year-old Missouri native. The Heart and Fist serves as a memoir. Greitens’ time as a Navy SEAL vividly provides insight into the rigorous training process. Easily the most interesting part of the book is his time in training, especially Hell Week.

The book is divided into three parts: “The Heart,” describing his time as a humanitarian aid worker in Africa and Eastern Europe, “The Fist,” documenting his service as a SEAL, and “The Heart and The Fist.”

Greiten provides insight into how America should apply its military capability with proper humanitarian aid in order to better those less fortunate than us.

Skyward Sword takes place chronologically before Ocarina and sets the stage for the relationship between the quiet protagonist Link and the eponymous princess, Zelda. Skyward Sword immediately establishes a close bond between the young characters. Their friendship captures the essence of the series and adds quite a lot of depth to an otherwise standard plotline.

While the game is somewhat easy and sidequests are not as engaging or classic as other installments, Skyward Sword is a must-have for all Zelda fans. The story is better than ever and the controls and environments are fluid, natural and perfect for the series.

If Skyward Sword represents the catalyst for the rest of the series, it certainly is off to a fantastic start.

What happens when some of Broadway’s biggest names team up with the likes of Stephen Spielberg and other Hollywood notables? A big budget show aimed at saving NBC’s primetime slot, a show geared towards fans of “Glee” and “American Idol” and a show with dramatic and juicy plotlines centered on the ups and downs of theater. In short, you get “Smash.”

Although it may seem like a show targeted at theater lovers and Broadway fanatics, it is not. You might expect to be overwhelmed by huge showy numbers, but you won’t be.

You might believe that any talented character will be a diva, but don’t be so quick to judge. “Smash” is full of nice surprises.

“Smash” might be NBC primetime’s new smash hit.

The Iron Lady provides not only a glance at the tough iron exterior of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep, Doubt), but also at the soft heart that lies underneath. The audience is introduced to a now elderly Thatcher who struggles with memory loss, grief and visions from her past.

As Thatcher, Streep brings a likable humanity to a controversial leader.

Streep’s performance is more than worthy of the Golden Globe award she won in addition to her Academy Award nomination.

That should be the only award for which the film is nominated.

However, I applaud the film for reminding audiences of the brilliance and great talent of women in power.

TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN THEIR ENTIRETY, VISIT THERAMONLINE.COM AND CLICK ON “CULTURE” ON THE TOOLBAR ON THE HOMEPAGE.

CULTURE

PAGE 12 • THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

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WHO’S THAT KID? Panagiotis Tsevdos A MEMBER OF GSB ‘15, MAJORING IN BUSINESS FROM BROOKLYN, NY Describe yourself in few sentences.

Probably one of the craziest people you’ll ever meet. I live by my motto, “you’ll never see half of these people again so just have fun”.

I like to make people smile.

What is your favorite aspect of Fordham and why?

You have the campus, and once you walk off campus, you have the city. The buildings are fashionable, and the campus is just beautiful.

If there was one thing about Fordham you could change what would it be?

The cafeteria food. It is rather terrible.

What is your favorite thing to do in New York City?

I like walking through Times Square and trying out new restaurants downtown.

What is something about you

that not many people know?

I am petrified of heights. I was forced onto a roller coaster at Disney World when I was younger, and I believe I was tearing up during the ride itself.

What is your favorite class at Fordham?

Business Law with Dennis Cappallo. He really got everyone involved and was enthusiastic about the class and knew his stuff.

What is one thing you would like to accomplish over your four years here?

I’d like to create some long lasting friendships, do well in school, and give Fordham a great name when I graduate.

What show, food, artist or movie would you consider your “guilty pleasure”?

I’d say definitely Chinese food, and for my show I’d say “Storage Wars.” And The Hangover, because

Zach Galifianakis is Greek and hilarious.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

People think that I’m mean, scary, and that since I’m from Brooklyn, I have to dodge bullets every day. I sound like a fool when I talk, always screaming and stuff, but really, I’m a nice guy.

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

Hopefully expand on my father’s business. He’s a mechanical engineer, and I’d like to get involved with the business aspect, or even get involved in business law.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you bring with you?

First, I’d make sure there was a basketball court there, then the other essentials I need to survive.

And I would make sure to utilize the survival tactics shown in Man vs. Wild, my other favorite show.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Panagiotis Tsevdos, a GSB freshman, enjoys “Storage Wars” and The Hangover.

Students Seek More Freedom Off Campus

RAM ARCHIVES

Living in off-campus housing such as Terra Nova means a longer commute to school, but it also means the freedom to live rambunctiously and host many guests.

By LINDSEY WASHINGTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“I was fed up with the rules on campus,” Lauren McGrath, GSB ’12, said.

McGrath lives on 189th and Belmont. Like so many students before her, she decided to move off campus due to the campus rules.

“Living off campus, you don’t have to sign people in,” Jen Ali, GSB ’12, said. “You don’t have any rules, you get to do whatever you want.”

McGrath described some of the benefits of living off campus.

“Even though I was 21, I didn’t

want to have restrictions on how much alcohol I could have in my room as a 21-year old,” McGrath said.

Unfortunately, it is not exactly easy to move off campus.

“I wanted to move off junior year,” Becca Fritton, FCRH ’12, said. “but I was going abroad so it was going to be difficult to find someone to sublet my apartment.”

Colleen Ring, FCRH ’12, who also lives on Belmont, says that studying abroad was her main reason for waiting to move off as well.

“It was just going to be too annoying to find someone [to sub-

let],” she said. “I also moved off my senior year, but started looking as early as junior year because the process does tend to take a while, and sometimes convincing your parents can be difficult.”

There are also some other factors that many forget to take into consideration.

“Finding a place is hard,” Sarah Daly, FCRH ’12, said. “but once we did it was fine.”

Daly lives on 191st in a house near Pugsley’s Pizza.

Elisabeth Warren, FCRH ’12, and Deanna Minasi, FCRH ’12, are roommates who live on 188th and Hoffman.

The two faced some unexpected struggles while trying to find a place to live.

“The hardest thing was getting our parents to be okay with it and finding an affordable place,” Warren said.

The two girls moved off junior year and lived in a three-bedroom apartment.

“The prices are more than you would think for the Bronx, and you have to think about buying food and utilities, and all of that really does add up,” Minasi said.

For some, however, the money they save paying a separate rent check as opposed to lumping

in housing costs with tuition is enough to convince any parent.

“At first it was hard to convince my parents,” Nick Checovich, FCRH ’13 said. “but once they heard how much money I would be saving, they really didn’t care.”

Checovich also had an advantage in moving off campus that many people do not.

“I had some friends that lived in a building on Hoffman,” he said, “They suggested I move there, so I did.”

This is another benefit of moving off campus. Sometimes limited housing options and the lottery can turn many people to the neighborhoods of the Bronx.

Kaitlin Abrams, FCRH ’13, moved off campus because of convenience.

“We had a large group that wanted to live together, and Terra Nova housing was super accommodating,” she said.

For Abrams, living off campus has also had some unexpected benefits.

“I’ve been immersed in the Bronx culture living off campus,” she said.

Warren agreed.

“It’s much easier to do more things in the city,” she said. “On campus you’re more gated in and secluded.”

Ali summarized her thoughts on the entire process.

“I wish I had done it sooner,” she said.

I have not met a single person who regrets his or her decision to move off-campus.

Everyone wishes he or she had done it sooner. Although there can be some problems with finding a place, it always seems to work out in the end.

PAGE 13

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Women’s Basketball Splits Pair of Atlantic 10 Matchups Rams Downed by Charlotte 61-41; Rebound to Defeat Massachusettes to Even Record

By MATT ROSENFELD ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

It was another week of ups and downs for the Fordham women’s basketball team as it split its two games this past week.

The first, a home game against the Charlotte 49ers, was the low point of the week.

The Rams entered the contest with a record just above .500 in Rose Hill Gym, at 5-4. Unfortunately, that record would fall down to an even 5-5 in a 61-41 loss to Charlotte, ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10.

The Rams knew going into the game against the 49ers that it would be a tough one. Charlotte is an athletic and experienced team, proving to be an obstacle to the young Rams squad. “[Charlotte is] another team that is extremely athletic, all of their go-to players are juniors and seniors, and we just don’t have the same athletes and don’t have the same experience,” Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “It’s just a classic case of a more experienced and more talented team coming out on top.”

The team was especially hoping to get a win in the Jan. 25 home game, as it was Gaitley’s birthday.

“I guess they decided, ‘Hey Coach, we just don’t want to make it a great day for you’,” Gaitley

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Junior guard Arielle Collins had the assist on freshman forward Emily Tapio’s game-winning basket.

joked.

The team made the performance up to her on Saturday, Jan. 28 up in Amherst, Mass. by defeating UMass 56-54 on a last-second

shot from freshman forward Emily Tapio.

“It was great to get a good conference win, especially after tough losses to Dayton and Charlotte

and being on the road and in their house,” Tapio said.

This was Fordham’s second conference win, the first of which came at home against Rhode Is-

land and pushed the Rams’ road record above .500 to 6-5.

“When you’re trying to take over a program and change culture, I think it’s little steps,” Gaitley said about her team’s win.

“It’s about getting the current players to believe, and to do the little things right. Any time you can get a win on the road I think it’s a great thing.”

The deciding play came after UMass hit a three to tie the game at 54 with just nine seconds remaining. After a Fordham timeout, junior guard Arielle Collins found Tapio breaking down court and hit her with a pass that led to the game winning layup with just two seconds left.

“I was really excited to be in the game in that moment, and we were able to pull it together and get a great win on the road,” Tapio said.

The win put Fordham back to .500 overall at 11-11 and improved their conference record to 2-5, placing them at 10th in the standings. The top twelve teams of the conference make the tournament at season’s end.

The Rams’ upcoming games include a weekday matinee against La Salle on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 12 p.m. in Rose Hill Gym. Fordham will follow that up with a road game in Philadelphia against Temple.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming Fall to Rider; Women Pick Up Win at Rutgers

By TIM DEROCHER STAFF WRITER

With less than a month until the Atlantic 10 Championships, the men’s and women’s swimming teams’ seasons are heating up as the women go after the A-10 Championship and the men look to improve further improve on last year’s result.

On Saturday, the Rams prepared for the A-10s by competing against Rutgers and Rider. The men lost to Rider by a tally of 170-128, while the women defeated Rider 216-78 but fell to Rutgers 180-120.

The womaen took home one relay win and five individual wins. A team consisting of juniors Brienne Ryan, Alana Biagioli, Kellie Lyver and senior Alexandra Wessel won the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:31.89. Ryan also won two individual events in the form of the backstroke sprints. She won the 100-meter in 54.98, coming in almost four seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Her 200-meter time of 2:01.08 also blew away the field, this time by five full seconds.

Senior captain Courtney Collyer added a trifecta of her own, winning the 100-meter butterfly in 55.93, the 200-meter butterfly in 2:02.69, and the 400-meter intermediate in 4:25.91.

The women also managed to pick up an additional seven top three finishes. The 200-meter medley relay of Ryan, Collyer, Biagioli and senior Kelly Bunster got second in a time of 1:47.94. Bunster also placed

third in the 100-meter butterfly, clocking in at 58.44, and third in the 100-meter freestyle in 53.72.

Wessel snatched a second place in the 200 freestyle in 1:54.69, and sophomore Kara Field showed her strength in the distance events by placing second in the 1000-meter freestyle in 10:23.83 and third in the 500-meter freestyle coming in at 5:06.31. The last top three finish came from freshman Savannah Coe, who swam to a 2:30.74 third place finish in the 200 breaststroke.

The mens’ side picked up event

wins of their own as junior Devon Morris and sophomore Shintaro Noguchi continued their impressive seasons by picking up two wins each. Morris took home the 50-meter freestyle in 21.40 and the 100-meter freestyle as well in 47.18.

Noguchi won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:42.64 and the 200-meter butterfly in 49.77, the only swimmer to break 50 seconds in the event. Noguchi and Morris then teamed up with freshman Patrick Militti and sophomore Nick Belfanti to win the 400-meter freestyle

relay in 3:08.79.

Junior Thomas Yi followed up his A-10 Performer of the Week award by placing second in three separate individual events and being a member of the second place 200-meter medley relay team. Individually, he placed second in the 400-meter intermediate in a time of 4:13.00, the 200-meter backstroke in 1:54.07 and the 100-meter backstroke in 53.02. The 200-meter medley relay team consisted of Yi, Noguchi, Morris and senior Joseph Hines.

On the diving end of the meet,

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

The swimming teams will need to perform better than they did over the week in order to place well at the A-10 Champiosnhips, which are less than a month away.

junior Kevin Wong took third place in both the three and one meter dive events, scoring 218.25 and 222.75 in them respectively. Freshmen Kevin Kosciuk and Zachary Jacobsen also had top three performances. Kosciuk swam 1:57.56 in the 200 butterfly and Jacobsen went 4:15.77 in the 400-meter intermediate. Jacobsen then proved his speed by scoring second in the 500 freestyle in 4:50.69 and third in the 1000-meter freestyle in 10:03.93.

Also contributing to the young talent of the men’s side was freshman Andrew Hendrickson, placing second in the 1000-meter freestyle in 9:55.57 and third in the 500-meter freestyle clocking in at 4:51.15.

Rounding out the top three finishes for the men were sophomore Michael Grimmett-Norris, who took third in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke swimming 54.25 and 1:56.08, respectively, and senior Sean McManus, who placed third in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:14.22.

As the season moves towards the A-10s, both teams are striving to make the most of these dual meets before the Championships roll around. The women look to do well using their momentum from their second place finish last year.

The men’s side is also looking to improve on last year, as their experienced swimmers look to lead the talented underclassmen to a successful A-10 finish. The Rams’ next meet is this Saturday, Feb. 4th, against UMass.

PAGE 14 THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012 that loss, the Bills have only won one playoff game. While the Bills may have delayed the Hangover process by returning to the Super Bowl four consecutive years as the loser, it has more than felt the lasting effects.

In Super Bowl XXXIII, the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Denver Broncos. That Super Bowl is memorable for being the last CHRISTIAN game John Elway ever played, BEAULIEU walking away as a champion.

I doubt that is what the Falcons are reminded of, as they went on CHRISTIAN to open the 1999 season with BEAULIEU four consecutive losses on their At the beginning of every seaway to a horrible 5-11 record. son, the goal for all 32 NFL teams The past decade marked the is to win the Super Bowl, not just real rise of the Super Bowl Hangto get there. And after looking over. Since 2000, seven of the through history, it is easy to see twelve Super Bowl losers have why. It’s called the Super Bowl failed to make the playoffs the Hangover. following season.

The premise is simple: a team This group is highlighted by makes it to the Super Bowl, losthe 2002 St. Louis Rams, who es the big game and struggles to lost their first five games to start match the success the following the season after the Patriots naryear. rowly beat them in Super Bowl The origins of the Super Bowl XXXVI. Hangover can be traced all the The Oakland Raiders, fresh off way back to 1966. In Super Bowl their loss to the Buccaneers in I, the Kansas City Chiefs fell at Super Bowl XXXVII, went 4-12 the hands of the Green Bay Packin 2003, putting together the ers. poorest post Super Bowl season After dominating the AFL (the in history. Even a Tom Bradyfirst four Super Bowls pitted the less Patriots squad failed to make champions of the NFL against even the wildcard with a 11-5 rethe champions of the AFL) with cord after falling at the hands of a 11-2-1 record in the record, the the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Chiefs looked like a strong conIt is hard to deny that the Sutender going into the 1967 seaper Bowl Hangover exists, and it son. However, the Chiefs failed appears to be getting more prevato match their success from the lent in the NFL today. season prior and ended with a 9-5 Parity has increased tremenrecord and no playoff berth. dously since the introduction of While the Chiefs struggles may free agency. Each year, teams are have begun the Super Bowl Hangforced to give up good players to over, it didn’t become a trend unother teams willing to offer more til much later in NFL history. money.

In fact, there was only one team This makes it difficult for good within 20 years of Super Bowl I teams to retain talent and to domthat didn’t make the playoffs after inate. It is rare for a team to retain losing the Super Bowl. a core group of talented players.

The 1969 Baltimore Colts finToday, most teams have conished with an unimpressive 8-5-1 stant flux in their coaching staffs. record after losing Super Bowl Coaches have short leashes when III to the New York Jets in 1969. it comes to a team’s success. EvHowever, the Super Bowl Hangery year teams fire their coachover may have befell the wrong es, bring in the most desirable team, because 1969 is the last coaches, who happen to come time the New York Jets have even from from winning teams. made an appearance in the Super As participants in the Super Bowl.

Bowl, both teams are prone to The Super Bowl Hangover relosing a lot of coaching talent in mained mostly dormant in the the offseason.

1970s and early to mid 1980s Each season, we see a team or until the 1988 Denver Broncos two that just dominates its opwent 8-8 and failed to make the ponents and gets to waltz into playoffs after losing back to back the playoffs, while we see a whole in Super Bowls XXI and XXII. mass of teams fighting to make The 1989 Bengals suffered the the playoffs. It is becoming less same 8-8 fate after losing Super rare that a tough Wild Card team Bowl XXIII to the San Francissneaks up on its opponents on its co 49‘ers. The Niners went on way to the Super Bowl. to win Super Bowl XXIV at the However, the year after a Suexpense of the Denver Broncos. per Bowl berth, there is a big tarThe Broncos couldn’t retain get on the team. They will face their playoff status in 1990 after a tougher schedule and greater going 5-11. pressure the following season.

The Buffalo Bills of the early The Super Bowl is one of the 1990s put a new spin on the Sugreatest games in sports. It is the per Bowl Hangover when they culmination of hundreds of playgot to and lost four straight Suers on 32 different teams giving per Bowls. They lost Super Bowl their blood, sweat and months XXV to the Giants, XXVI to the of hard work for a shot at greatRedskins and to the Cowboys in ness. The ultimate goal is to be XXVII and XXVIII. etched into the sterling silver of The effects were both immedithe Lombardi Trophy and into ate and lasting. The 1994 Bills, history as the champions of the fresh off their fourth straight Sufootball world. per Bowl loss, finished a pedesIt is clear that this Super Bowl trian 7-9 and failed to make the Sunday, neither team wants to playoffs. endure the sobering reality that is However, in the 28 years since the Super Bowl Hangover.

TWO- MINUTE DRILL

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Senior Profile: Alberto Estwick

By CHESTER BAKER SPORTS EDITOR

Alberto Estwick, a business major, is one of just three seniors on a young Rams squad led by a number of underclassmen. While he may not be seeing the minutes of some of his other teammates, he has continued to be a vital member of the Fordham basketball team.

Estwick propelled the Rams to victory over Rhode Island by hitting a three-pointer with just 28 seconds left. Over his four years here, Estwick has played in every single game. The 6’ 4” guard from Brooklyn, New York was a member of an undefeated national championship team during his time at St. Anthony’s in New Jersey.

The Ram: What was it like to play for a high school that haws always competed for state and national titles and is coached by the legendary Bobby Hurley?

Alberto Estwick: It was a great experience because not too many other players get the chance to play the top high school teams in the country. But it was hard too because Coach was always tough on us, and made sure we were focused. But, it was good because he placed a lot of emphasis on making us into men.

TR: What made you choose Fordham coming out of high school?

AE: It was close to home, and [former Head Coach Jared] Grasso [now an assistant at Iona] promised my former teammate Jio Fontan [now at USC] and I that we would be getting a lot of playing time. And we looked forward to changing the program around.

TR: In terms of turning the program around, what do you attribute the team’s raise in wins over the past two seasons?

AE: The new coaches are a lot more organized and keep us more focused than the coaches from a few years ago. Also, we have been getting some good recruits that are not only better as players, but better as teammates too.

TR: How does Coach Pecora

RAM ARCHIVES

Alberto Estwick has been a vital member of the men’s basketball team during his time at Fordham. He has averaged 7.1 points per game over his career.

compare to the other two head coaches you have had while playing here?

AE: He’s just much more organized, and makes sure we keep on ourselves. He always has a plan for us and gives us a lot of confidence.

TR: What do you think the program needs to do in order to compete at the top of the Atlantic 10?

AE: Just continue to improve every season and continue to get good recruits. We’re definitely going in the right direction.

TR: Fordham plays in the oldest gym in the country and has installed new sideline scoreboards. Would you prefer it if more modernized upgrades were put in place?

AE: Yeah, it would be nice if it were a little bit more modernized.

But at the same time something makes it get really loud in here when all the fans are cheering so I wouldn’t want to see that change.

TR: Do you think that is the reason for the team’s 8-1 record at home?

AE: Yeah, of course, when the crowd starts getting loud it just gives you more motivation to keep going even when you’re tired.

TR: Throughout all the games you’ve played here, what is your favorite moment?

AE: When I was named A-10 Rookie of the Week during my freshman season. There was a stretch when I was averaging around 18 points per game, and to have that recognized showed how much all of my hard work had paid off.

TR: What did that shot against Rhode Island mean to you, especially after losing your starting job?

AE: I hadn’t been playing as well as I should have been, so it was such a huge confidence boost to hit that shot. It meant a lot that I was given the ball at the end of the game.

TR: What are your plans after graduation?

AE: I am going to try out for some teams, and maybe go overseas to play. But if that does not work out then hopefully something in advertising in sports, which is something else I’m really interested in.

TR: Both you and Chris Gaston are pretty active on Twitter. Which one of you is the better tweeter?

AE: Probably Chris, he always gets a whole bunch of retweets and he does it a lot more than I do.

TR: Take your pick: Patriots or Giants?

AE: Giants all the way baby.

They’re gonna bring it home.

Men’s and Women’s Track Place Well at Championship Meet

By ADRIAN BURKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Manhattan College’s Draddy Gymnasium was home to day one of the 2012 Metropolitan Indoor Track and Field Championship on Jan. 26. Seven Rams competed in the first six events and were led by junior Daniel Chediak and sophomore Sam Houston.

Chediak placed eighth in the men’s pole event with a height of 13’ 9 1/4,” while Houston remains at second overall in the heptathlon through four events with a cumulative score of 2,808 points. Houston started the heptathlon placing fourth in the 60 meter dash in 7.49 seconds.

Houston proceeded to win the long jump event with a careerhigh jump of 21’ 10 1/4.

Overall, the Rams claimed

three event titles and posted seven ECAC/IC4A qualifiers.

Fordham’s 101 points in the men’s competition was third only to Rutgers’s 164 and Manhattan’s 122.

Junior John Cosgrove set the pace by winning the 800-meter run in an IC4A qualifying time of 1:53.56. He later joined sophomore Ryan Polo, sophomore Brian Walter, and senior Kevin Fitzgerald to win the 4x800 relay event in 7:46.50.

Houston was the final event winner in a come-from-behind effort. Trailing Southern Connecticut State’s Nick Lebron by 59 points following day one’s results of the men’s heptathlon, Houston answered the call by posting career-high marks of 9.11 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles (6th) and 2:45.02 in the 1000 meter

run (2nd). Still trailing, Houston cleared 11’5 3/4” in the pole vault to finish fourth.

However, Lebron posted no points in the final event, making Houston’s total of 4,830 points the winner of the men’s heptathlon. The score is also an IC4A qualifier and just missed breaking the Fordham school record of 4,835 points, which was set by Dan Tucker in 2006.

The Fordham women scored 44.5 points to finish in sixth place, while Columbia won the event with 156 points.

Sophomore Titi Fagade led the charge for the women as she placed second in the 500-meter run in an ECAC qualifying time of 1:14.60. Fagade also contributed to the 4x400 relay team, which posted its best time of the season at 3:54.82.

Giants and Patriots Take Different Roads to SB XLVII

By BRENDAN MALONE STAFF WRITER

Going into their Christmas Eve rivalry showdown with the New York Jets, the New York Giants’ record stood at 7-7.

They were coming off of a brutal home loss to the hapless Washington Redskins and appeared to be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether. Just before halftime of the game against the Jets, Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz on a quick out route. Cruz caught the pass, broke a tackle and ran down the sideline for a 99-yard touchdown.

The Giants have not looked back, and for the second time in four years, they find themselves in the Super Bowl after a lackluster regular season.

The Patriots’ regular season was completely different. New England cruised to a 13-3 record behind another great year from Tom Brady.

They won the AFC East by five games and finished with the top seed in the AFC. The only question about the Patriots was their defense, which ranked at the bottom of the league in almost every category.

So how did both of these teams get here? A combination of very good football as well as some very good fortune.

The Giants were very fortunate just to make the playoffs after they played a game of hot potato with the Cowboys for the division lead over the last month of the season.

They opened the playoffs with a convincing win over the Atlanta Falcons, which led to a Divisional round match-up with the 15-1 Green Bay Packers.

The Giants played a solid, mistake-free game, but the Packers absolutely laid an egg. The Packers’ receivers dropped at least nine passes.

Aaron Rodgers missed a number of wide-open receivers and both John Kuhn and Ryan Grant fumbled. Kuhn and Grant had fumbled a combined one time in their careers before the game. The Giants also connected on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 15

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The no-show by the Packers was not the only break the Giants got in the Divisional round. The day before, the 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints. The Saints dropped 49 points on the Giants in late November, and Big Blue would have needed a minor miracle to beat the Saints in New Orleans in the NFC Championship Game.

Instead, the Giants traveled to San Francisco where they basically won the game because of two fumbled punts.

This is not meant to take anything away from the Giants; they have played extremely well and they are not making many mistakes, while their opponents are making plenty of them. There is definitely something to be said for not screwing up, and that is what the Giants are doing.

The Patriots have also been very fortunate in the playoffs.

The Broncos knocked off the Steelers, so instead of playing the Pittsburgh, which had already beaten the Patriots earlier in the season, New England got to play Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

The Patriots capitalized on this by destroying the Broncos 457. The final seconds of the AFC Championship Game might have been the most fortunate last 20 seconds of a playoff game in the history of the league.

First, the Patriots narrowly escaped defeat when Lee Evans failed to hang onto a pass from Joe Flacco. Granted, cornerback Sterling Moore made a nice play, but Evans still should have held onto the ball.

Then, the Patriots won the game when Billy Cundiff missed a chipshot field goal that would have tied the game.

There is always a little bit of luck involved in getting to the Super Bowl.

These teams just seemed to get an awful lot of luck. It is often said that it is better to be lucky than good, but when you are lucky and good, which is what both of these teams have been in the playoffs, you are unstoppable. For one of these teams, the luck is going to run out on Sunday.

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Swimming and Diving

Fordham 58-102 Richmond

Fordham 41-61 Charlotte

Fordham 128-170 Rider

Fordham Gaston Bristol Frazier McMillan Smith Zivkovic Samuell Estwick Dominique Robinson Canty

Fordham

FG

3FG FT REB A PTS

Stoddart Gaskin Collins Peters Corning Sims Durant Tapio McGovern Milner TEAM

4-9 1-8 3-14 1-6 2-8 0-3 1-3 3-7 0-0 1-1

1-5 1-5 1-6 1-4 2-6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1

Totals

FG 9-20 2-3 3-10 0-3 2-9 0-0 1-3 2-6 1-2 0-0 0-0

3FG 0-0 0-0 0-4 0-1 0-6 0-0 0-1 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0

FT 4-6 0-2 5-5 0-0 1-2 0-0 2-2 0-0 2-2 2-2 0-0

REB 11 4 4 0 5 0 2 1 4 1 3

A 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0

PTS 22 4 11 0 5 0 4 6 4 2 0

20-56 2-15 16-21 35 7 58

Blocks - CANTY

7 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 0 0 6

2 0 2 3 1 2 0 1 1 0

10 3 7 4 6 0 2 6 0 3

16-59 7-21 2-6 31 12 41

Blocks - GASKIN, SIMS

Steals - FRAZIER, ESTWICK, MCMILLAN, SMITH

Steals - SIMS, CORNING, STODDART (2), PETERS (3)

Turnovers - ESTWICK, BRISTOL, FRAZIER, MCMILLAN, CANTY (2), GASTON (3), SMITH (3), SAMUELL (3) Richmond Martel Williams Garrett Lindsay Brothers Anthony Sparrow Benjamin Duinker Estes Robbins Billings Chu Smith

Totals

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

FG 3FG 1-5 0-2 6-8 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-7 1-2 7-14`4-10 6-8 5-7 2-6 1-4 0-1 0-1 4-5 2-2 1-1 0-0 3-5 1-2 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-3 1-2

FT 1-2 4-4 3-4 1-1 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0

REB 4 7 5 2 2 1 2 0 2 1 7 0 0 0

A PTS 0 3 2 16 0 3 5 10 4 21 2 17 2 5 1 0 5 11 0 2 5 8 0 3 1 0 3 3

Turnovers - DURANT, GASKIN, STODDART (2), COLLINS (2), PETERS (5) Charlotte FG

3FG FT REB A PTS

Dowe Hailey Holmes Sigmon Forney Hammonds Tyler Meador Woodson Drayton Rankin TEAM

0-0 5-6 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0

Totals

3-7 4-7 2-5 2-5 3-6 0-1 2-5 2-2 6-11 0-1 0-0

0-0 5-6 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-2 0-0 2-2

11 10 2 2 2 3 2 1 4 0 1 3

3 0 3 1 3 1 0 0 1 1 0

6 13 4 5 6 0 5 6 14 0 2

24-50 1-2 12-13 41 13 61

Totals 20-56 16-33 14-17 33 30 102 Blocks - ESTES, MARTEL, GARRETT (2) Steals - MARTEL, WILLIAMS, BROTHERS, DUINKER, ROBBINS, SPARROW (2), ANTHONY (3) Turnovers - LINDSAY, MARTEL (2), DUINKER (3) 1 28 46

Fordham Richmond

2 30 56

F 58 102

Fordham 63-58 Geo. Washington Fordham Dominique Bristol Frazier McMillan Smith Samuell Estwick Gaston Canty TEAM Totals

FG 2-3 5-6 5-13 4-7 1-9 0-0 0-1 5-7 0-1

3FG 0-0 0-0 4-7 1-2 0-4 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0

FT 2-5 0-0 6-6 0-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-6 0-0

REB 8 8 3 4 5 0 2 6 2 7

A 0 0 3 6 1 2 1 1 0

PTS 6 10 20 9 2 0 0 16 0

22-47 5-14 14-21 44 14 63

Blocks - FRAZIER, MCMILLAN, GASTON, BRISTOL (3) Steals - BRISTOL, FRAZIER, GASTON, MCMILLAN (2) Turnovers - SMITH, ESTWICK, SAMUELL (2), DOMINIQUE (2), BRISTOL (2), FRAZIER (3), MCMILLAN (3), GASTON (5) GW Smith Mikic Edwards Taylor Kromah Bynes Ware Kopriva TEAM

FG 3-9 4-10 1-1 5-14 4-8` 1-9 1-4 0-2

3FG 0-0 4-8 0-0 2-6 3-4 0-2 0-0 0-0

FT 3-3 0-0 0-0 5-7 2-2 0-0 1-2 0-0

REB 2 7 2 2 4 2 0 3 2

A 0 3 0 7 2 1 0 0

PTS 9 12 2 17 13 2 3 0

Totals 19-57 9-20 11-14 24 13 58 Blocks - BYNES, KROMAH (2)

Fordham Charlotte

Fordham GW

1 31 24

2 32 34

2nd 24 33

Tot 41 61

Fordham 56-54 UMass Fordham

FG

Stoddart Gaskin Collins Peters Corning Sims Durant Tapio Milner TEAM

1-9 2-7 4-11 4-9 5-12 0-1 1-2 6-9 0-0

Totals

3FG

FT REB A PTS

0-3 1-6 2-6 3-6 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

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

6 0 4 5 5 3 4 5 0 2

3 0 3 1 5 1 0 0 1

2 5 12 12 11 0 2 12 0

23-60 7-26 3-6 34 14 56

Blocks - GASKIN, SIMS Steals - CORNING, TAPIO, COLLINS (3) Turnovers - GASKIN, COLLINS, DURANT, TAPIO, STODDART (3), Peters (4) UMass

FG

3FG FT REB A PTS

Teuscher Robinson Watson Zullo Clouttier Pierre-Louis Mitol Montgomery Rodney Niggeling TEAM

2-6 9-14 5-8 4-6 2-8 0-1 0-1 1-3 0-1 0-0

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

Totals

0-0 5-6 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-2 0-0

4 8 4 3 4 1 0 2 0 1 2

5 0 1 3 3 0 0 3 0 0

5 20 12 10 5 0 0 2 0 0

23-48 3-9 5-8 29 15 54

Blocks - WATSON Steals - TEUSCHER, ROBINSON, WATSON, ZULLO (2), Turnovers - TEUSCHER, PIERRE-LOUIS, MONTGOMERY, RODNEY, ZULLO (2), ROBINSON (3), WATSON (3), CLOUTIER (4)

Steals - SMITH, TAYLOR, BYNES, KOPRIVA, MIKIC (2), KROMAH (2) Turnovers - SMITH, EDWARDS, MIKIC (2), TAYLOR (2), KROMAH (3)

1st 17 28

Fordham UMass

1st 25 25

2nd 31 29

Tot 56 54

F 63 58

Visit theramonline.com for blogs covering NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, college sports and EPL. ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

David Tyree made his legendary catch against the Patriots in Superbowl XLII. The Giants defeated the Patriots in their first matchup this season 24-20.

Women 50 Yard Freestyle - 4. Lyver (Fordham), 24.87. 5. Bunster (Fordham), 25.06. 8. Carter (Fordham), 25.69.

Women 100 Yard Freestyle - Bunster (Fordham), 53.72. 4. Lyver (Fordham), 53.81. 6. Peschke (Fordham), 54.42.

Women 200 Yard Freestyle - 2. Wessel (Fordham), 1:54.69. 6. Biagoli (Fordham), 1:56.53. 7. Peschke (Fordham), 1:58.50.

Women 500 Yard Freestyle - 3. Field (Fordham), 5:06.31. 4. Wessel (Fordham), 5:11.40. 8. Biagioli (Fordham), 5:15.70.

Women 1000 Yard Freestyle - 2.

Field (Fordham), 10:23.83. 6. Warren (Fordham), 10:42.59. 8. Kaftan (Fordham), 10:50:90.

Women 100 Yard Backstroke - 1. Ryan (Fordham), 54.89. 6. Chappell (Fordham), 1:00.53. 8. McKenna (Fordham), 1:01.20.

Women 200 Yard Backstroke - 1.

Ryan (Fordham), 2:01.08. 5. Chappell (Fordham), 2:10.17. 9. McKenna (Fordham), 2:12.51.

Women 100 Yard Breaststroke - 4.

Coe (Fordham), 1:10.89. 9. McGovern (Fordham), 1:13.17.

Women 200 Tard Breaststroke - 3.

Coe (Fordham), 2:30.74. 9. McGovern (Fordham), 2:38.13.

Women 100 Yard Butterfly - 1. Collyer (Fordham), 55.93. 3. Bunster (Fordham), 58.44. 4. Jones (Fordham), 58.94. 6. Morton (Fordham), 1:00.02.

7. O’Keefe (Fordham), 1:00.63.

Women 200 Yard Butterfly - 1. Collyer (Fordham), 2:02.69. 5. Warren (Fordham), 2:10.13. 6. Jones (Fordham), 2:10.59. 8. Morton (Fordham), 2:13.24.

Women 400 Yard IM - 1. Collyer (Fordham), 4:25.91. 4. Field (Fordham), 4:39.03. 6. Warren (Fordham), 4:44.72.

Women 1 Meter Diving - 5. Krok (Fordham), 252.90. 7. Sales (Fordham) 221.70.

Women 3 Meter Diving - 4. Krok (Fordham), 266.40. 5. Salas (Fordham), 257.60.

Women 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1.

Fordham A (Lyver, Wessel, Biagioli, Ryan), 3:31.89. 3. Fordham B (McKenna, Chappell, Field, Peschke), 3:39.43. 4. Fordham C (O’Keefe, Warren, Santoro, Jones), 3:47.77.

Women 200 Yard Medley Relay - 2.

Fordham A (Ryan, Collyer, Bunster, Biagioli), 1:47.94. 5. Fordham B (Chappell, McGovern, Jones, Lyver), 1:52.00.

Men 50 Yard Freestyle - 1. Morris (Fordham), 21.40. 4. Mulligan (Fordham), 22.39. 6. Schneck (Fordham), 22.74. 7. Begley (Fordham), 23.26.

Men 100 Yard Freestyle - 1. Morris (Fordham), 47.18. 4. Militti (Fordham), 48.35. 7. Belfanti (Fordham), 50.01. 8. Burbridge (Fordham), 51.05.

Men 200 Yard Freestyle - 1. Noguchi (Fordham), 1:42.64. 4. Belfanti (Fordham), 1:47.49. 7. Burbridge (Fordham), 1:50.74. 8. Nowak (Fordham), 1:51.42.

Men 500 Yard Freestyle - 2. Jacobsen (Fordham), 4:50.69. 3. Hendrickson (Fordham), 4:51.15. 4. Kosciuk (Fordham), 4:53.69.

Men 100 Yard Freestyle - 2. Hendrickson (Fordham), 9:55.57. 3.

Jacobsen (Fordham), 10:03.93. 7.

Alemann (Fordham), 10:25.07.

Men 100 Yard Backstroke - 2. Yi (Fordham), 53.02. 3. Grimmett-Norris (Fordham), 54.25. 6. Thomann (Fordham), 57.46.

Men 200 Yard Backstroke - 2. Yi (Fordham), 1:54.07. 3. Grimmett-Norris (Fordham), 1:56.08. 5. Thomann (Fordham), 2:06.32.

Men 100 Yard Breaststroke - 4. McManus (Fordham), 1:01.58. 5. Hines (Fordham), 1:01.79. Dwyer (Fordham), 1:02.12.

Men 200 Yard Breaststroke - 3. McManus (Fordham), 2:14.22. 5. Dwyer (Fordham), 2:16.99.

Men 100 Yard Butterfly - 1. Noguchi (Fordham), 49.77. 3. Militti (Fordham), 51.82.

Men 200 Yard Butterfly - 3. Kosciuk (Fordham), 1:57.56. 4. Simpkins (Fordham), 2:00.37. 5. Strong (Fordham), 2:01.22.

Men 400 Yard IM - 2. Yi (Fordham), 4:13.00. 3. Jacobsen (Fordham), 4:15.77. 4. Kosciuk (Fordham), 4.16.24.

Men 1 Meter Diving - 3. Wong (Fordham), 222.75. 4. Landau-Smith (Fordham), 175.00.

Men 3 Meter Diving - 3. Wong (Fordham), 218.25. 4. Landau-Smith (Fordham), 181.20.

Men 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1.

Fordham A (Noguchi, Militti, Belfanti, Morris), 3:08.79. 4. Fordham B (Schneck, Mulligan, Alemann, Burbridge), 3.22.12.

Men 200 Yard Medley Relay - 2.

Fordham A (Yi, Hines, Noguchi, Morris), 1:30.87. 4. Fordham B (Grimmett-Norris, McManus, Schneck, Mulligan), 1:35.28.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

SPORTS

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Squash Drops Weekend Matches at Home

By MATT DAVIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It was a quick but restful winter break for the squash team. Having not performed to their standards in the first half of the season, the Rams were looking for redemption in the latter part of the season.

With a record of 3-9 going into this weekend’s matches, the Rams needed two wins in order to gain momentum for the second half of the season.

In the first of two matches, the Rams hosted Connecticut College.

Fordham was nervous but confident heading into the match against this 21st ranked team in the nation.

Unfortunately, the team had reason to be nervous, as it fell in all of its matches. The Rams lost 9-0 despite strong performances coming from senior Andrew Grosner, junior Ethan Brooks and freshman Matthew Ieraci. Grosner played out of the No. 2 spot against Jeremy Wong of Connecticut College, losing in straight sets 11-7, 11-4, 11-1, but still playing an exciting match.

“Each match was grueling, and the score did not reflect how even and tough each rally was,” Grosner said.

Brooks lost to Connecticut College’s Michael Coscarelli in the number five spot by the score of 11-3, 11-6 and 11-1. Although Brooks fell, he played well against his highly ranked opponent.

Going into the weekend matches, the Rams were shorthanded by two players, which meant that Ieraci had to play out of the No. 7 and No. 8 spots, no easy task when playing with limited rest. In Ieraci’s performance, he lost 11-4, 11-3 and 11-4. The score in Ieraci’s match was much like that of Grosner’s, in the way that the score did not reflect his performance.

The matches against Connecticut College were tough but ended predictably. Facing a college ranked 21st in the nation is never an easy task, but the Rams held their ground while putting on a very good performance. Losing to the highly-ranked Connecticut

College was tough for the Rams, but they knew they had to focus on their second match against Middlebury.

The Rams were expecting to play hard going into the second match as they always do, but a win was going to be difficult to achieve.

The loss to Connecticut College in the previous meet meant that the Rams fell to 3-10 on the season. A win against Middlebury was critical in order for Fordham to return to its winning style; however, the Rams knew it would be tough to beat the thirteenth ranked team in the country.

The Rams’ top player, Jack O’Brien, had the most success, falling to Middlebury’s Valentin Quan at the number one spot, 11-6, 11-4 and 11-3.

O’Brien played “very well against his opponent,” Grosner said.

O’Brien’s first set was compelling, as he and his opponent traded point for point, but in the end Quan proved to be too much for O’Brien.

Grosner played out of the number two spot, falling to Jay Dolan, 11-2, 11-6, 11-2. Grosner played an excellent match against his opponent.

Losing two players to the tennis team for the weekend was unfortunate, as seniors Eli Plangger and Andriy Kulak could not make the matches.

Although difficult for the Rams, the two matches were exciting and productive as the team played two of the best teams in the country.

Despite the outcomes, the Rams played well against both Connecticut College and Middlebury.

“Each match was tough and grueling as the opponents we faced were tough and well-trained,” Grosner said, concerning the weekend matches. “Everyone played to the best of their abilities, but in the end it came down to skill and our opponents just outplayed us.”

The Fordham squash team will wrap up its home schedule when it hosts Vassar College at the Lombardi Squash Courts on Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.

By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR

If you like meaningless exhibition games, then last weekend was a real treat. The 59th NHL All-Star Game and 2012 NFL Pro Bowl were both held on Sunday. Neither game was very compelling.

Offense abounded, effort did not.

The AFC defeated the NFC in the Pro Bowl 59-41, and Team Chara topped Team Alfredsson 12-9 in the NHL All Star Game.

Usually, high scores equal high excitement. Not in all-star games. Allstar games are played at half speed, which is understandable; it’s just an exhibition, so no one wants to get hurt. Due to their inherently physical nature, the NFL and NHL versions really suffer from this lack of intensity.

In the Pro Bowl, the rules are designed to create a cupcake game. The offense must have a tight end on the field for every play and can’t have any pre-snap motion. The defense must play a base 4-3 defense at all times and is not allowed to blitz. In other words, the game is only kind of, sort of “football.” It’s really just a glorified game of two-hand touch.

It was really upsetting to watch the defensive linemen in the Pro Bowl not even attempt to get past the offensive line. They would half-heartedly push forward for a few seconds, then lazily jump in the air as the quarterback released the ball.

Though it lacks the bone-crunching hits that earn hockey players the distinction of the toughest guys in sports, the NHL attempted to add a bit of intrigue to its all-star game by having a pair of captains like you would see on a playground. The gameplay is still largely dispirited, though watching teammates sometimes square off against each other is an interesting wrinkle, and one you don’t see in any other league’s all-star format. When the Rangers’ Marian Gaborik beat his teammate Henrik Lundqvist early in the first period for the game’s first goal, Gaborik saluted him with the rifle celebration that got Artem Anisimov (another Ranger) ejected from a game earlier this year.

It was the kind of thing that makes all-star games fun, but one of only a handful of noteworthy moments from the game.

The NBA All Star Game also features the sort of matador defense you find in the NFL and NHL games.

The last time a team failed to score 100 points in the NBA All Star Game was 1973. The Western Conference won last year’s game by an unbelievable count of 148-143. At times, the NBA is a defense-optional league.

In the All-Star Game, it appears as though the league has prohibited defense outright.

The only league whose all-star game looks similar to a normal game is Major League Baseball. The only problem with that is that baseball is already the least exciting of the four major American sports. Attempting to compensate, MLB has decided that the league which wins the AllStar Game will be granted home-field advantage in the World Series. This year, the National League won, and the St. Louis Cardinals had homefield advantage in the World Series against the Texas Rangers. The Cardinals had three players in the All Star Game; the Rangers had five. Something doesn’t add up.

Even the smaller leagues have problems with their all-star games. The Major League Soccer format pits the MLS all-stars against a European club.

Each of the past two years, the MLS stars were defeated by Manchester United. How depressing is that? The best players from our league aren’t as good as a single English team.

All-star games need fixing. TV ratings for the MLB All-Star Game have been falling for several years now; the same goes for the Pro Bowl. While the NHL and NBA All-Star Games have seen ratings increase in recent years, the figures are still low. This year’s version of the NHL game managed to match the TV ratings from last season’s, despite the absence of Alex

Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, two of the league’s most marketable stars.

Still, the game drew a 1.0 TV rating on the new NBC Sports Network.

That is the same rating as a November regular season matchup between the Bruins and Red Wings got earlier this year on NBC. The leagues need to do something to make these games more compelling.

In an attempt to build interest in all-star games, I would like to see more leagues adopt the NHL’s team selection format, but why stop there?

The Pro Bowl has already devolved into a contact-free game, so why not officially outlaw hitting? What I would like to see is a 4-team mini tournament of 7-on-7 flag football.

Make the playing field smaller (50 yards long, from the sideline to the hash). Have a captain select his team, but make each player play offense and defense, like in the old NFL Street videogame series. I’d love to see Cam Newton at defensive end or Patrick Peterson at wide receiver, or better yet, Tom Brady at strong safety.

One suggestion for the NHL’s game is to have a 3-on-3 tournament with eight or so teams. I have seen the concept mentioned on the internet. It would be a lot of fun to watch the best players in the league in a wide-open game of 3-on-3.

All-star games used to be wonderful novelties. The MLB All-Star Game was once popular enough to be played twice a year from 19591962 and earn the name “Midsummer Classic.” Now, all-star games feel obligatory. Fans tune in to see all of the game’s most talented players together in one place, only to be disappointed by a flat, uninspired game.

All-star games have the potential to be really quite exciting; it’s merely a matter of realizing that potential.

JEAN LEVAC/MCT CAMPUS

All-star games pit the best players in the game against each other.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule CAPS=HOME lowercase=away Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball Indoor Track & Field Swimming

Thursday Feb. 2

Friday Feb. 3

Saturday Feb. 4

Women’s Tennis The Fordham squash team will next be in action Saturday against Vassar.

Monday Feb. 6

Tuesday Feb. 7

Wednesday Feb. 8

CHARLOTTE 1p.m.

at Temple 7p.m.

at Temple 5 p.m.

LASALLE 12 p.m.

New Balance College Invitational New York, N.Y. at UMass 1 p.m.

VASSAR 1 p.m.

Squash

RAM ARCHIVES

Sunday Feb. 5

at Albany 1 p.m.

PAGE 18 THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012

SPORTS

theramonline.com

“We Do or Die:” An In-Depth Investigation

By ERIK PEDERSEN STAFF WRITER ATHLETICS, FROM PAGE 1

Football After three consecutive 5-6 seasons, the football team fell apart this past fall. Fordham finished 1-10, with its only victory coming against 1-9 Columbia. It was the worst season for the Rams since 1999, when they finished 0-11. Head Coach Tom Masella was fired immediately after the final game of his sixth season at the school.

“We’re obviously disappointed,” Gray said. “I think it’s indicative of our decision [to fire Masella].

I would simply stress that it’s not an evaluation of this season in specific, it’s an evaluation over the body of work over four years, which has been below what we expected based on what we put into the program.”

This season was especially disappointing considering that the team was entering its second season with scholarship players, a move which was designed to improve recruiting and increase the overall competitiveness of the program. Gray believes that improvement from the decision to give out scholarships will show over time.

“When you have scholarship players that are freshmen and sophomores, I think that you can expect a certain level of performance from them,” Gray said.

“But I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that they’re going to carry you across the goal line game in and game out.”

The team’s struggles could also be attributed to a tough schedule.

Fordham played Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision) opponents for the first time, traveling to Connecticut and Army and losing both games by a combined score of 90-3.

“We knew what we were getting into when we scheduled the Division I games, and so did the coaching staff,” Gray said. “We had an opportunity to get the program a little bit of profile. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Fordham’s decision to give out scholarships allowed the Rams to play Division I opponents, though it also came with the consequence of preventing the team from competing for the Patriot League Championship. Though the Rams still played the other six teams in the conference this season, the games did not count towards the standings.

According to Gray, the move to scholarships was made with the expectation that the rest of the Patriot League would follow suit. If this does not happen, he says that Fordham will have to look into leaving the conference.

“If they make the decision to stay their course and not make any changes, than we would have to find another solution for our football program,” Gray said. “I don’t think we would stay in the Patriot League under these circumstances, which were supposed to be shortterm circumstances.”

McLaughlin was less critical of the team’s current situation with the Patriot League.

“It’s definitely not hurting recruiting,” he said. “Would you like

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Since the hiring of Tom Pecora as Head Coach in 2010, the men’s basketball team has improved significantly.

to compete for the League championship? Yes you would, but it’s not like you’re banned from the 1-AA playoffs. We can be an at-large bid.

In some ways, we can be like Notre Dame is with the BCS.” Fordham will look to new Head Coach Joe Moorhead, FCRH ’96, to turn things around next season.

Moorhead was a starting quarterback at Fordham for three years prior to becoming a coach, and McLaughlin said that his history at the school improved his candidacy for the job. Most recently, Moorhead was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UConn.

“Whenever we have a job opening, if someone is a Fordham alum we always try to give them special attention because they understand Fordham’s academics,” McLaughlin said. “We had some really good candidates, but Joe just came in and did a terrific job.”

Despite last year’s futility, McLaughlin believes the team will have a quick turnaround in 2012.

“Having talked with a lot of people, I think that everybody agreed that we have some very good young talent,” he said. “Everyone we talked to didn’t think that this was a rebuilding job. They thought that [the team] could be somewhat successful pretty quickly.”

Men’s basketball Expectations are not as high for this year’s men’s basketball team.

Despite recent signs of life, including a victory over nationallyranked Harvard, the program is still recovering from winning just five games combined during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

Head Coach Tom Pecora was hired in March 2010 after nine successful seasons at nearby Hofstra University. His hiring represented an increase in commitment from the administration towards the program. The New York Post reported when Pecora was hired that he would earn $705,000 annually.

Gray said the team is now funded in the top half of the Atlantic 10.

“Our men’s basketball team was awful,” Gray said. “They were funded in the bottom quarter of

the conference, what do you expect to get out of a team that’s funded in the bottom quarter of the conference? The fact of the matter is [that increasing funding for] basketball was a very specific decision, made primarily because the basketball team was not performing at the level we wanted it to.”

Pecora said that he would not have come to Fordham if he were not convinced that the administration was dedicated to putting more resources into the program.

He also looked forward to the prospect of turning around a team that had only one winning season since joining the A-10 in 1995.

“I found it intriguing that they hadn’t had success in a long time,” Pecora said. “So to come in and be able to [turn it around], it’ll be a great accomplishment for the young people who are part of the program and my coaching staff and everyone involved in the program, everyone involved in the athletic department when we do it. I have no doubt that we can.”

One of Pecora’s goals is to continue to improve Fordham’s local recruiting presence. The Rams have four freshmen seeing regular playing time this season, and three of them (Devon McMillan, Bryan Smith and Jeff Short) are from New York City. Sophomores Branden Frazier and Lamount Samuell are also from the area.

“The first thing you do is take care of your own background and then you expand nationally and internationally if need be,” Pecora said. “But the first thing is to make sure that players in the area that fit the Fordham profile, we’re on early.

One of the things we did when we got the job here is jump on ninth graders, because that’s how far in advance you have to start working if you’re going to have good relationships with these young guys and get them to come in their junior or their senior year.”

Convincing potential recruits to play in the Rose Hill Gym is one obstacle Pecora must overcome as he attempts to build the program.

According to fordhamsports.com,

the gym is the oldest in Division I basketball, and it seats only 3,200.

Gray said that criticism over the Rose Hill Gym was one of the main reasons that the school decided to schedule four of its A-10 games last season at the IZOD Center in New Jersey. The decision backfired, however, with the IZOD games plagued by low attendance by students and little interest from other fans in the area.

“I was disappointed with the IZOD Center last year,” Pecora said. “[Both] in the turnout and losing our home court advantage.”

Gray agreed that the IZOD games did not work out last season, and the team will play every home game this year at the Rose Hill Gym as a result. In the future, though, he still believes the IZOD Center may be the best option if the team becomes more competitive and needs to play in a bigger arena.

“We’re not building a new gym [on campus],” Gray said. “It’s over $100 million and there are a lot of other things that we want to do here. A new arena would be nice, but it’s on the very bottom of the list here.”

“If they continue to become more competitive and there’s more draw and we start to put more people in the seats over here then maybe we have an option of scheduling a few other games over at the IZOD Center [in the future],” he continued. “We’re exploring other facilities, and Brooklyn clearly is one that’s kind of on the list that we’ve talked about but that’s not easy to get to.”

The facility in Brooklyn that Gray referred to is the Barclays Center, which will open this fall.

The arena will become the home of the New Jersey Nets when the franchise relocates for the 2012 season. The Atlantic 10 also announced that it will hold its conference tournament there beginning in 2013. For this reason, Pecora would prefer to play any non-Rose Hill home games in Brooklyn.

“I have strong feelings for the Barclays Center because we’re playing our conference tourna-

ment there,” Pecora said. “Any opportunity you can get to make that more of a home court feeling for you compared to the other teams in the conference, it’s silly not to play there. Plus, it’s going to be state-of-the-art.”

After being told about Gray’s transportation concerns, Pecora maintained his support for the Barclays Center.

“If you go somewhere and win, transportation shouldn’t be the issue here,” he said. “It’s what’s best for the basketball program.”

Both Gray and Pecora envision the team improving enough in the near future to possibly force their hand on the issue.

“We’re giving them a lot of support,” Gray said. “And they should finish, not this year, but in the next year or two they should finish in the top half and get into the Atlantic 10 Championships.”

“Every coach in the country, when the season starts their goal is to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Pecora said. “I understand that it’s going to take time, and it’s a growth process. They understood that when they hired me. I still feel very confident we can get this all done.”

Women’s Basketball The women’s basketball program has not had any more success than its male counterpart. The Rams have not had a winning season since 1994-95, with the team hitting rock bottom in 2007-08, finishing 0-29.

The team made incremental improvements after its winless season. Last year, the Rams were 12-19, the most wins for the program since 2002-03, when it managed 14 wins. Despite this, Fordham announced after the season that Head Coach Cathy Andruzzi would not return, and Stephanie Gaitley was hired shortly afterwards to replace her.

Gaitley brings a long history of success to Fordham, with a 464270 career record over 25 years at Monmouth, Long Island, St. Joseph’s and Richmond, according to fordhamsports.com. She is confident that she can bring the same type of performance to Rose Hill.

“I quite frankly don’t understand why they haven’t won,” Gaitley said. “So I just felt like maybe they just needed a different direction as far as the coaches. I’ve found in recruiting that it has been an easy sell.”

Proof of Gaitley’s ability to attract talent to the school can be found in the commitment of top100 recruit Samantha Clark for the 2012-13 season.

“Having a top-100 player tells people that she believes in us and with that comes other people,” Gaitley said. “Recruiting right now for us, we’re in good shape.

We have one more scholarship offer, and I think that we’re involved with some really good 2013 [recruits], so I think things are going in the right direction.”

The current team has continued to build off of last year, with an 11-11 record after Saturday’s win over UMass. Gray said that his expectations for the women’s team are comparable to the men’s, and Gaitley agrees that a top-half finish in the A-10 is realistic in the

SPORTS

theramonline.com

THE RAM • FEBRUARY 1, 2012• PAGE 19

Into The Current State of Fordham Athletics near future.

“I think in year three we should be in the top half,” Gaitley said. “It takes a year to get your system in.

Year two is generally the toughest transition year because you have the old and the new. Year three, you’re pretty much starting to have all your own players and they get the system. [In] year three, I would anticipate us pushing towards the middle to the top of the conference.”

Softball Moving away from football and basketball, there are several success stories among Fordham’s lesser-funded programs.

“There are a lot of schools that have great basketball programs, but the rest of their programs aren’t any good,” Gray said. “Here we’ve got the opposite.”

Led by an All-American pitcher, senior Jen Mineau, the softball team has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, a feat which is almost unheard-of among Fordham sports. Since the hiring of Head Coach Bridget Orchard in 2001, softball has been a consistent contender in the A-10 after never having had a winning season prior to her arrival.

“It feels like I’ve just started out, and we’re continuing to get better and better,” Orchard said.

“The difference between when I got here and now, just with the support from the administration; they built us a new facility, helping with travel, playing the top teams, competing; every year it gets better and better.”

College softball is not traditionally a strength for northeastern schools. In the final ESPN.com/ USA Softball Top-25 rankings from last season, no school from the Northeast was on the list.

Fordham and Syracuse were the only teams from the region to receive votes for the poll.

With the season starting during the height of winter, the Rams will play their first 27 games on the road in 2012. Orchard said that recruiting is easier now that the team has established itself as a contender. She also sells recruits on playing in New York City.

“A lot of those big state schools don’t have the academics and job opportunities,” Orchard said.

“New York City, with the internships, we kind of sell them on life after college. Especially with softball, you’re not going to go pro like you could in baseball, basketball or football. With women’s sports, it’s now or never.”

The administration has noticed the team’s success, and a third renovation of the softball field is in-progress. Orchard said that the renovation will add 300-500 seats and room for a press box which will possibly allow Fordham to host NCAA regionals in the future.

But the team still lacks many of the resources that other top softball programs have. While Orchard is full-time, she does not have a full-time assistant coach.

The team also does not have its own locker rooms, which forces the players to use the cafeteria in McGinley Center for team meetings. Orchard was not critical of these limitations, saying that they

give the team extra motivation, and she has high expectations for this year’s squad.

“The final eight is our goal,” she said. “We want to at least get to the Super-Regionals, which is a bestof-three to go to the final eight and if you get to that best-of-three you never know what can happen.”

Men’s Tennis Men’s tennis is another program which could soon be approaching nationally-prominent status. Under second-year Head Coach Cory Hubbard, the Rams have seen a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes. The team was 4-18 last season, but Hubbard recruited a class this offseason that was ranked 27th in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network.

“I was surprised how many recruits I was able to get in the first year,” Hubbard said. “Basically everyone that I talked to or brought on-campus decided that they wanted to come. I was a little surprised at how easy it was once people got on-campus to commit to Fordham. The hardest part was getting them to come to campus.”

The new players led the Rams to a 6-0 fall season, with Fordham winning 41 of the 42 individual match-ups in those six contests.

Hubbard said the Rams still have a long way to go, but that their goal is to win the A-10 this season and receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The team’s turnaround has taken place despite the fact that Hubbard is still a part-time coach with a limited number of scholarships. Fordham also does not have indoor tennis courts, which forces the team to travel off-campus to practice during the winter.

“There needs to be a lot more done with the program,” Hubbard said. “[The administration] has started to realize that the program can be successful and they tried to help out by increasing the funding a little bit from last year. They have

helped, [but] there’s still a long way to go if we want to be able to compete as a top-50 program.”

Hubbard expanded on these thoughts in an email sent the day after his interview, questioning the commitment of the administration to fully support its athletic programs.

“Here at Fordham, I feel the athletic department and administration would like to be more competitive nationally, but to do so they must make a bigger commitment financially,” he wrote.

“Too many times I feel they try to do things the cheapest way possible to keep things at the current level.”

McLaughlin defended the department’s allocation of resources.

“I think if you talk to any of our coaches they would all say the same thing,” he said. “They deal with individual sports, and they want to be successful. Our job as administrators is to oversee the whole program knowing that we do have limited resources and then we work within the University community, so we’re doing the best we can.”

Hubbard’s criticisms come as a part-time coach with a not-yet adequate facility. If softball is an indication, however, continued success could lead to consistently increasing funding.

Others Another program that has seen increased support in recent years is swimming and diving. The women’s team won the A-10 two seasons ago and finished as a runner-up to Richmond last year. The men’s team, which does not have as many scholarships, finished sixth out of seven teams in the A-10.

Gray said that $6-700,000 were recently spent to improve the swimming pool. He expects the teams to remain competitive in the upcoming years.

“Women’s swimming should achieve at a slightly higher level

than men’s swimming because they have more resources,” Gray said. “When they go to the conference championship, they should be knocking on the door; it should be Richmond and Fordham all the time. The men ought to finish somewhere between third and sixth in the conference.”

Men’s soccer won the regular season A-10 title for the first time this fall with its 11 seniors, including standout goalie Ryan Meara (who was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and recently drafted by the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer). The season included a victory over nationally-ranked Charlotte, which made it to the NCAA Championship game before losing to North Carolina.

Women’s soccer just missed out on the A-10 Tournament for the second straight season, finishing seventh in the conference. Gray expects both teams to compete regularly for the top spots in the A-10.

“Women’s soccer should not be missing the A-10 Championships,” he said. “They should be in the top six, they should have winning records, they should be in the conference championships every year. Men’s soccer is right where they need to be, more than slightly above .500.”

Gray also expects improvement from Fordham’s baseball team.

The Rams finished outside of the top six in the A-10 last year after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the year before.

Head Coach Nick Restaino was replaced after last season by Kevin Leighton, who comes over from Manhattan College.

“We don’t think they should be constantly flirting with sixth or seventh,” Gray said. “If they finish in fourth place in the regular season (in 2010), we don’t think they should get bounced out in two games when they get to the A-10

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

This year is Stephanie Gaitley’s first as head coach of the Fordham women’s basketball team. She has guided the Rams to a .500 record so far this season.

tournament. Baseball should be in the top six; they should be in the A-10 Championships every year and they should compete.”

Closing Thoughts When Fordham’s athletic department is viewed from a widespread perspective, the results are not as negative as an outsider might think if they were to look only at the football and basketball programs. Gray frequently referenced the varsity teams’ overall performance, while at the same time making it clear that the administration expected more out of its higher-funded programs.

Continuing with his focus on the athletic department as a whole, Gray said that he expects Fordham to remain in the Atlantic 10 for the foreseeable future.

“The Atlantic 10 is probably the best place for us from an all-sports perspective,” he said. “I think that it’s a great conference right now for some of the low-profile teams we’ve been talking about.”

McLaughlin was similarly positive about the department’s longterm potential for success.

“I think that we’ve made some great strides but we also have a lot of work to do,” he said. “I’m excited about our coaching staff.

I’m excited about some of the facility improvements. I’m excited about Father [ Joseph] McShane’s support and the board of trustees.

We’re not satisfied; we want to keep getting better and better.”

For the top-funded teams, there is certainly still plenty of room for improvement. It remains to be seen whether Moorhead, Pecora and Gaitley will be able to turn their teams into the consistent contenders that the administration expects.

If the initial performance of the basketball teams this season is any indication, though, there are signs that the increased financial commitment from the University is paying some dividends. The men’s team is currently 9-11, while the women are 11-11. These records will not get either program to the NCAA’s anytime soon, but it is a definite improvement from where both teams were just a few years ago.

Football regressed in 2011, but the program has a better history of success than its basketball counterparts, qualifying for the 1-AA playoffs twice in the last decade.

Entering its third season of scholarship players, with what should be a less-demanding schedule, McLaughlin maintains that the team is not far away from being successful.

“I think this season was a very difficult one,” McLaughlin said.

“We had a lot of injuries. We had some close games. It’s not like we were losing every game 40-0, so we’re close.”

“Close” was a theme that seemed to come up consistently throughout discussions with both the administration and coaches.

The performance of the teams in the next few years will determine whether the term is accurate, and whether future students will be able to chant “We Do or Die,” with an expectation that the former option is at least as plausible as the latter.

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

PAGE 20

Men’s Basketball Stays Hot at Home With Win Over GW

PHOTO BY NORA MALLOZZI/THE RAM

Senior center Kervin Bristol recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in Saturday’s win over George Washington University before he fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

By NICK CARROLL STAFF WRITER

Over the last week, Fordham continued on the same path it has seemed to be on all season – it lost another road game and won a crucial home game.

Despite having junior forward Chris Gaston return to the lineup and put up 22 points and 11 rebounds, the Rams suffered their second-consecutive 45-point loss against Richmond on Jan. 25.

Richmond made 16 of its 33 three-pointers and gave Fordham’s zone all it could handle en route to the 102-58 win.

“We’re committed to playing our zone defense,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “They just took our heart by making shots, and they made a lot of contested threes. I was very upset after the game, but after watching the film I didn’t think our zone was that bad. I think it was a night where they were really in a zone offensively, and they made some really tough shots.”

Richmond almost led wire-towire and took an 18-point lead into the half. The slow start is a recurring theme for the Rams.

“Our young guys put their heads down when they get down on the road,” Pecora said. “When they’re veterans, they’ll get mad, and they’ll go compete and keep us in games.”

Despite the lopsided loss, Fordham came back to Rose Hill and played with the energy and competitiveness to build a doubledigit lead for most of the game.

However, George Washington fought back and gave Fordham all it could handle down the stretch.

With just under two minutes left, Fordham trailed George Washington 55-53 and was on the verge of blowing a crucial game it had led all afternoon.

Then, freshman guard Devon McMillan, who has struggled for much of the season adjusting to the collegiate game, went hard to the basket, drawing contact and making a game-tying bucket to tie the game at 55 and spring a 6-0 run that would pave the way

to another Fordham win at Rose Hill, 63-58.

“This team doesn’t have any quit in them,” Head Coach Tom Pecora said. “We’re moving in the right direction. They’re respondent. You’re going to get knocked down, and there are a lot of good things happening here and it’s because of Branden [Frazier] and the other guys who took a chance at being here.”

Inspired by a strong effort defensively and on the glass, Fordham never trailed in the first half and went to the break up seven, 31-24. The Rams led despite junior forward Chris Gaston coming off the bench and playing only three minutes in the first half after coming late to a meeting.

“He was late this morning for a meeting,” Pecora said. “Chris is a very good player, but he’s gotta understand what his responsibility would be and who he is and what he’s supposed to be doing for this team. So two games ago we play without him because he gets suspended, and today I sat him in the beginning of the game.

We’re not going to do business that way; it’s all part of what we’re trying to build here.”

The Rams outrebounded GW 23-8 in the first half, with senior center Kervin Bristol grabbing six boards and anchoring a defense that allowed only six points in the paint.

“That was something we wanted to take advantage of,” Pecora said. “We thought we could take advantage of them on the backboards.”

The second half was a different story, though. Bristol got into foul trouble and was ejected from the game with 4:09 remaining. The Colonials were more competitive down low, scoring in the paint and competing on the boards, continuing to force turnovers (forcing 21 total in the game). GW eventually stormed back to take the 55-53 lead, but Fordham rallied, getting to the line and making its free throws to secure the win.

Sophomore guard Branden Frazier led Fordham with 20

points in the win, making a pair of threes over the course of three possessions to keep the Colonials at arm’s length as they cut Fordham’s lead to four and then five following a Taylor three and a fast-break layup.

“Coach was telling me that when I was coming off the screen, they were going under the screen,” Frazier said. “So I just thought on the two threes I hit that I should just do an out cut and I’ll be open, and both times the defender that was guarding me went under twice and I had an open shot.”

Frazier’s biggest accomplishment may have come on the defensive end, though. With McMillan wearing down defensively against Taylor, Pecora switched Frazier to guard the Colonials’ leading scorer, and Frazier held

him scoreless for the last eight minutes of the game.

“He’s a good player, but I just thought I could contain him,” Frazier said.

The officiating was also questioned, especially after a mysterious kicked ball called on Fordham gave GW the ball down two with 46 seconds remaining.

“It felt like we were on the road there for a while with the barrage of whistles we got,” Pecora said.

“Officials are officials, you can’t play without them.”

The win improves Fordham to 9-11 (2-5 in the A-10) and 8-2 at home. The loss drops GW to 8-13 and 3-4 in A-10 play. The win is crucial because of postseason ramifications.

“It was an important win, obviously, for us in conference play,” Pecora said. “We’re going to bat-

tle, probably with GW and Charlotte and Rhode Island, and see who goes to Atlantic City.”

Fordham follows up the win by heading to Philadelphia to take on Temple, a perennial A-10 power that has beaten Fordham in each of their last four meetings by an average of 18.5 points per game.

This year, Temple is 14-5 and 3-2 in the A-10, a record highlighted by an upset win over No. 8 Duke.

“Temple is a great challenge Wednesday night,” Pecora said.

“They’re a real good basketball team and they’re tough at home. So what? You strap them on and lace them up and go out and do the best job you can and go compete and get better and play against them. This team has not hit its stride yet. We’re more than capable of playing at a high level.”

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Junior forward Chris Gaston played only three minutes in the first half after he was late to a team meeting that morning.