Volume 94 Issue 8

News PAGE 5

Sports PAGE 12

RHA elections take place.

Fordham goes 1 in 4 during home stand.

Sports PAGE 10 Softball opens A-10 play with four victories.

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SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2012

MARCH 28, 2012

VOLUME 94, ISSUE 8

Student Petition Protests Commencement Speaker Call to Unity

By EMILY ARATA

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Controversy boils under the surface of Fordham University following the announcement of John Brennan, chief counterterrorism advisor to President Barack Obama, as the 2012 commencement speaker. Students Mike Pappas and Scott McDonald, both FCRH ’12, have penned a petition protesting Brennan’s presence on campus to supplement the petition already circulating through the Lincoln Center campus. “[It] outlines everything that this man has done and explicitly why he stands against the principles that we’re supposed to stand for here at Fordham,” Pappas said. “I feel like, if Fordham students don’t see that and see, actually, what he’s done, they’re just going to see, ‘Hey, CIA, government . . . great guy.’”

The petition, entitled “John Brennan’s Selection as Fordham’s 167th Commencement Speaker: Stand Against This Outrage” is posted on the website Change.org.

It outlines accusations against

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Students petition against selection of John Brennan as this year’s graduation speaker.

Brennan.

“By choosing John Brennan as the speaker for its 2012 commencement ceremonies,” it reads, “Fordham University is implicitly endorsing the ‘War on Terror,’ the use of rendition, the CIA’s heinous

drone campaign and the subversion of the rule of law in America, including the assassination of its own citizens.”

One of the petition’s sponsors is Chris Brandt, adjunct professor in the communications and media

studies, and English departments.

“Mike had already had the idea of a petition to the administration, which I encouraged as a first step,” Brandt said via email. “He and his roommate, Scott, wrote it, and Mike showed it to me. I think it is an excellent petition — calm, well reasoned, clear. Fordham should be proud of it.”

The petition originated at Lincoln Center. Pappas, however, did not find the wording strong enough.

“The [petition] from Lincoln Center — when I read it, I thought it was in no way, shape or form incriminating enough,” Pappas said.

He and McDonald drafted their own version, including more precise details. They hope to start a grassroots campaign involving handing out flyers, using social media usage, and chalking blackboards in classrooms. The two hope to make Fordham students aware of Brennan’s ethical choices and his political history.

“This choice by our administration — they’re hoping that nobody SEE PETITION ON PAGE 4

Broadway-Themed Commuter Week Takes Fordham

By KAREN HILL ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

This week, Fordham is our school, and Broadway is our campus, as the Commuting Students’ Association (CSA) hosts the annual Commuter Week themed “CSA the Musical: A Broadway State of Mind.”

This Broadway and New York City theme will be prevalent across campus in the form of posters, Broadway ticket giveaways and various activities.

CSA has been working arduously since January to plan the events.

The week spans from Monday to Friday, and two events will be hosted every day at commuterfriendly times. With one held in the afternoon and the other held in the evening, more commuters will able to participate in the various events being sponsored.

Although it is called “Commuter Week,” all students including residents and Resimuters (off-campus residents) are more than welcome to participate in the events.

One of the events inspired by the musical In the Heights includes salsa lessons, which took place Monday, March 26. CSA provided free food and free Broadway ticket vouchers were raffled, as they will be at every event.

Other event titles include “Phantom of Fordham,” and “Road to Oz.” “Road to Oz” is inspired by Wicked and will consist of a Wizard of Oz carnival with a dunk

tank to melt the Wicked Witch of the West, and a Munchkin Land where tickets are redeemable for real prizes.

The Broadway themes extend to “Off-Broadway events” as well.

There will be a screening of Rent, followed by a discussion of the topics present in the film.

Also planned is a large game of Sharks vs. Jets capture the flag, and even a murder mystery dinner, which will be a first for Commuter week. All of the events and locations can be found on the Commuter Week Facebook page.

The goal of Commuter Week is to spread commuter awareness and appreciation.

CSA works to integrate commuters into the campus life and with the residents. Becoming a part of the Rose Hill campus at Fordham can be a challenge for commuters.

“It’s hard taking Metro North to get here, and it’s weird because I do not get to stay overnight that often, or even stay on campus that much,” Ella Baginski, GSB ’12, said.

Even with programs such as Commuter Week, commuters are busy students traveling back and forth, who find it difficult to make time for such events.

“Life as a commuter is what you put into it,” Artie De Los Santos, GSB ’12 and CSA executive president, said. “There is a lot of positive and negative [of being a commuter] and I think for the most part we really build a really strong community.”

COURTESY OF CSA

“CSA The Musical: A Broadway State of Mind”is this year’s Commuter Week theme.

Events such as Commuter Week are very important to some commuters, as they make them feel included on campus.

“Commuters also usually get a lot of stigmas placed on them so our [CSA’s] goal is really to try and destroy those preconceptions and make sure people see a strong commuter presence on campus,” sophomore CSA president Sara Caro said.

Bonds are not only formed among commuters, but also between all residents and commuters.

“One thing I would like to emphasize is that a lot of students who live on campus are discouraged and assume ‘Oh that is for

commuters and not for us,’ but that is not the case. We encourage everyone to come,” Chris Cepeda, FCRH ’13, said.

Caro described the community to be formed as “a Fordham family rather than a resident family or a commuter family.”

Ultimately, CSA has high expectations for this year’s Commuter Week.

“Although past Commuter Weeks have been phenomenal, I think this one is going to be the best because some of the ideas for the events are so out of the box and creative,” Caro said. “And a lot of the decor for the events we made ourselves, so a lot of love was put into each event.”

Encourages Community to Rebuild

By CONNOR RYAN NEWS EDITOR

Many students, diverse in class year and background, and a solid number of campus administrators quietly shuffled into the University Church on Rose Hill’s campus last Thursday evening for A Call to Unity.

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, led the “interfaith ecumenical service” on Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus last Wednesday before “[raising] awareness and [rejoining] the conversation” at Rose Hill, McShane said in an interview.

The prayer service was in direct response to three cases of hateful vandalism, found on both campuses. The latest incident was reported to students via email on March 2.

“My sisters and brothers, it is a great grace to be with you this afternoon,” McShane said as he welcomed the community to the service. “It is an especially great grace to see so many of you here, gathered together as a family of faith and a family of mutual love and respect.”

McShane quickly grasped the attention of those gathered, as he set a serious tone for the rest of the service and outlined the purpose of the gathering.

“We gather this afternoon to say to those who have those intentions [to hurt Fordham through ignorance] that we simply will not abide by it,” McShane said during the service. “[We] will not allow [ignorance] to damage or destroy or in any way undermine the community of mutual love and respect that we, together, have worked so hard to build and to nurture [at Rose Hill] and at Lincoln Center.”

Rev. Erika Crawford, M.Div., coordinator of Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries, offered a brief invocation prayer before Rachel Dougherty, FCRH ’15, Muhammad Sarwar, GSB ’14 and Ashley Davis, FCRH ’13, each delivered a reading. Following the “all are welcome” message of the opening hymn, the readings were diversely selected from Hebrew Scripture, the Holy Qur’an and Christian Scripture, respectively.

Dr. Mark Chapman, associate professor of African and African American studies, was at the helm of what was perhaps the most moving part of the service, as he connected current events — namely the controversy that surrounds Rush Limbaugh’s encounter with SEE UNITY ON PAGE 4

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • MARCH 28, 2012

Tim Lynch and Paul Cammarata

PHOTO BY KATE DOHENY/THE RAM

“We spoke to the students and the first thing they ask is ‘What is USG?’ and the second more sarcastic answer is ‘What has USG done for me?’” Paul Cammarata, FCRH ’13 and candidate for executive vice president, said at the executive debate held on March 27.

This is the center for the platform for two of the candidates, Cammarata and Tim Lynch, GSB ’13. They are looking to be a voice for the students since, according to them, that is the main point of the United Student Government.

Lynch and Cammarata have both been a part of USG, with four years of experience between the two of them. Lynch has served as the president of GSB for the class of 2013 twice and is currently serving as the executive vice president of GSB on the executive board, as well as the chairman of the Gabelli Dean’s Council. Cammarata served briefly on USG as FCRH 2013 president and as a member of the Operations Committee during his freshman year. Cammarata left USG

after freshman year and co-founded the men’s and women’s club soccer teams.

“We have a lot of support behind us with clubs, athletic teams, organizations and students,” Cammarata said. “We’re just trying to put it across, that we have people who believe in our message and if we get elected, hopefully, when we get elected, we will have everyone involved going forward, so then we can actually get things changed.

You can’t get things done with just USG. You need everyone involved.”

Lynch and Cammarata have a goal to put the students back in charge. They look to do this through a variety of initiatives to improve student life. These include supporting a free speech intiative, the Maroon Square, which would be a zone for students to have respectful discussion of different ideas.

They also are strong supporters of creating a bias-reporting system, similar to the one in place at Georgetown University.

“The rationale behind it is that if we

A Message from the Candidates

Qualifications and Experience

Dear Friends, We want you to join with us in a vision of a better Fordham. We are not content with the status quo and see many areas for change and improvement. Our goal is to make sure that students have the power on campus and that every initiative that USG pursues works to better your life in some fashion. We want USG to facilitate clubs processes and make sure that there are as few barriers to realizing your goals as possible.

We seek to refocus USG on its policy-making core and work on the most pressing issues, such as free speech, cafeteria quality and options and library hours, that directly affect your well-being and satisfaction on a day-to-day basis.

Ultimately, our goal is to create more collaborations and relationships, both internally within the Fordham community and externally with

other important stakeholders. For instance, creating stronger relationships between FCRH and GSB, as well as between Rose Hill and Lincoln Center, will be vital to creating a more unified Fordham community. We think it is also important to work on improving relationships with other Student Governments, such as through the New York Student Government Alliance (NYSGA), to provide a forum where we can all collectively address common problems.

Please join us on this journey in actively rejecting the status quo and working to build a community that will better help both current and future students realize their goals and expectations. This is our student government. Together we’ll take it back.

Best regards, Tim Lynch & Paul Cammarata

Executive Board Candidates

- FCRH 2014

Writing Center

Stephen Ross -Executive Vice President of Fordham College - FCRH 2014 - Strengthen the communication between students and academic deans by creating an online forum to address students’ academic concerns - Improve accessibility to undergraduate research through the freshman advising program

Joe Campagna - Vice President of Health and Security - GSB 2015 - Improve the resident hall sign-in policy through direct work with security - Work to install an ID swipe system in the residence halls

Michael DiTanna - Executive Vice President of Finance - FCRH 2013, Computer Science Brendan Francolini - Executive Vice President of Operations - GSB 2014 Sama Habib - Vice President of Communications - GSB 2014 Abbey Santanello - Vice President of Student Life - FCRH 2015 -Organize on-and-off campus events to promote spirit and unity among Fordham members and the Bronx community.

- Encourage students to do simple acts of kindness and promote good deeds by continuing the community building intiative that was started this semester Bridget Fox - Executive Vice President of Fordham College

John Mantia -Executive Vice President of Gabelli - GSB 2013 Joseph Lauberth -Executive Vice President of Gabelli - GSB 2014 Brandon Vasquez -Vice President of Health and Security -GSB 2013 -Work on a bias-reporting system to allow students to report instances of hatred, disgrace or bullying -Create a system for online health center scheduling, similar to the one used in the

draw racism or other issues to the public consciousness, we can openly reject them together,” Lynch said.

Another important part of the team’s platform is to increase communication between the schools. They propose to create meetings between the Dean’s Councils of both schools and more town halls where students could sit down and propose their academic concerns to their respective deans.

Lynch and Cammarata strongly emphasized that the clubs and students have given them a lot to do, and have pushed them to make a lot of changes.

“There needs to be a change,” Cammarata said at the March 27 debate. “I hear others saying ‘continue’, but the students don’t want things to continue the way they are.

We need to change the status quo and give the students a voice again.”

Lynch and Cammarata’s campaign website is http://www.lynchcammarata2012. com.

Tim Lynch USG - Executive Vice President of GSB - Past President of GSB 2013 - Past Chairman of the Gabelli Deans’ Council OTHER - Member of the Global Business Honors Program - Finance Scholars, Business Editor of the Fordham Political Review

Senate Candidates Donald Borenstein -President, FCRH 2013 John D’Olimpio -Vice President, FCRH 2013 -Continue to work on the “adopt a local school” proposal to make it a reality at Fordham - Work to make the campus more handicap accessible for disabled students Matthew Lindblat -Secretary/Treasurer, FCRH 2013 William Marcley - President of GSB 2013 - Rewrite the election law to

Paul Cammarata USG -Past President of FCRH 2013 -Past Operations Committee Member OTHER - Co-Founder of Men’s and Women’s Club Soccer Teams - Peer Educator, Ambassador for Ben & Jerry’s at Fordham -Involved with the Progressive Students for Justice encourage more candidates to run by reducing regulations - Hold USG meetings in residence halls to increase awareness of USG’s presence on campus Luke Pontier - Vice President, GSB 2013 - Ensure that the new integrated business core comes to fruition, since it will prepare students for the job world.

- Improve Alumni relations by putting students and alumni in touch, especially with those in the students’ planned field of work Derek Beaupre -President, FCRH 2014 -Intiate a swipe system at the Grille, which would allow students to use their meal swipes after 9 p.m.

- Reform the budget to move the club sports to the athletic department to allow for proper funding for club sports teams and make sure all clubs are held to an equal standard Sara Yoon -President, FCRH 2014 -Revitalize the bond between the students of Fordham and

NEWS

MARCH 28, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Stephen Erdman and Aileen Reynolds “We’ve both seen USG go through successes and failures,” Aileen Reynolds, FCRH ’14 and executive vice president candidate, said at a March 27 debate. “We can take these and utilize them to be as successful as possible.”

With four-and-a-half years of United Student Government experience between them, executive president and vice president candidates, Stephen Erdman, FCRH ’13, and Reynolds hope to build and continue to improve USG. Erdman, currently studying abroad in the Dominican Republic, has served as the vice president of FCRH 2013 for the past three years, not including this semester abroad. He has also been a member of both the Operations and Budget Committees. Reynolds has served as the president of FCRH 2014 for the past two years.

The Erdman and Reynolds platform plans to remain committed to eliminating discrimination by continuing to work and improve Fordham Activating Consciousness Together (ACT) and by creating a bias-reporting system. It also plans to reach out and expand into the Bronx community.

“Aileen’s being modest,” Erdman said, via Skype, at the March 27 debate. “She recommitted the Fordham Friendly program contracts when they expired from when Sara Kugel started them.”

Erdman and Reynolds also are working to create a more open communication between USG and the students.

“Everyone should know what USG does,” Reynolds said. “USG meetings should be full of people bringing things to meetings because they are comfortable talking with us.”

Another important part of their platform is to continue to increase transparency in the allocation of funds, especially in regards to the Budget Committee.

“We need to eliminate Budget Committee members advocating their clubs at budget meetings and the same thing goes for budget day,” Erdman said at the March 27 debate. “We need a fair system in which funds are allocated evenly.”

They also hope to restructure the student activities funds to change how funds are calculated and have the Student Life Council (SLC) to its

A Message from the Candidates Dear Friends, We are honored to be running to be the next executive president and vice president of the United Student Government. We have five years of combined USG experience, and we intend to use it to change the organization for the better by building upon its successes and drastically improving its unsuccessful aspects.

USG serves as a balance beam between the administration and students; recent student perception has been that it leans too far towards the administration. We will rebalance this bridge so that USG is at the forefront of serving students while addressing the concerns of the administration. If elected, we will begin our term by reestablishing this relationship, and will take steps to ensure that the USG is seen to be a true government of, by and for

Fordham students.

The true strength of our platform is practicality. Drawing upon our observations and first-hand experiences of working on USG, we will ensure new initiatives can be pursued effectively. Likewise, we will encourage accountability of USG to the student body by making sure that we are actively seeking your opinions while pursuing initiatives we believe will make Fordham better.

We are two qualified, determined, ambitious, passionate yet practical candidates. If elected, we will prove our love for Fordham and all of its assets by challenging its flaws, instigating conversations, and constantly striving for excellence.

Thank you very much, Stephen & Aileen

the Bronx community -Improve the relationship between students and career services to better address student concerns

- Introduce legislation calling for the establishment of meal equivalency swipes to be used at the Grille and the Deli -Increase the bandwidth so the internet slowdowns will be less debilitating to the Fordham community

Anthony Bradley -President, FCRH 2014 -Start active distribution of open-source software to encourage student technology usage -Make USG meetings more accessible by posting meeting times and locations as well as keeping minutes, voting tallies and records online.

Tara Cuzzi -Vice President, FCRH 2014 -Create a delivery service that would bring newspapers to the floor of every dormitory to encourage students to keep up with current news -Develop a system where professor evaluations are completed by students from the past two semesters Ted Conrad -Vice President, FCRH 2014 Matthew Freeze -Secretary-Treasurer, FCRH 2014

Muhammad Hassa Sarwar -President, GSB 2014 -Establish clear lines of communication between the faculty especially the IP Coordinator and students -Promote greater understanding and respect on campus through continued work as cochair of Fordham’s ACT (Activating Consciousness Together) Anthony Kevin Conroy -Vice President, GSB 2014 Jennifer Lim -President, FCRH 2015 -Create a more connected community through communication and publicity around campus for sports teams, events run by clubs and student-led intiatives -Expose underclassmen to the benefits of career networking with more access to infomation about internships and jobs

full potential.

Erdman and Reynolds addressed the gap between FCRH and GSB saying that it shouldn’t exist. They hope to create an overlap between the two by promoting minoring across the colleges and creating more programs which would allow students to do so.

The Erdman-Reynolds group has had to deal with some controversy during this campaign.

They have been accused of sticking too much to the “status quo” of the bureaucracy surrounding USG. “We need to hold USG members accountable for their actions and how they conduct themselves in public,” Reynolds said at the debate. “If elected, we’ll set a tone of accountability to not tolerate students working just on their own initiatives instead of ones for the students.”

“We need to do things to reduce cronyism by having the most qualified candidates, not just bringing in friends,” Erdman said. “This is one of the first times we’ve had competition for the executive ticket. We need to have more types of things like this.”

COURTESY OF ERDMAN AND REYNOLDS

Qualifications and Experience Stephen Erdman

Aileen Reynolds

USG - President Pro Tempore, USG Senate - President, FCRH Class of 2013 - Member of the Budget and Operations Committee

USG - President, FCRH Class of 2014 - Original Member of Fordham’s ACT - USG legislation included the creation of pamphlets for majors

OTHER - Coordinator for the Parks Action for the City of New York -Urban Plunge Assistant -Tour Guide for Rose Hill Society

OTHER - FUEMS Member - Tour Guide for the Rose HIll Society

as well as making the alumni network more available.

Nevin Kulangara -Vice President, GSB 2015 - Establish greater marketing resources for innovative student entrepreneurs to allow their businesses to flourish -Create an evaluation system to critique the new core

Gregory Gaafar -President, FCRH 2015 -Change the guest pass policy to make it more accessible by reducing the number of hours of notice required -Improve cafeteria hours by working with Sodexo to extend the hours until 9 p.m. and opening the cafeteria at 10 a.m. on weekends Sarah Skrobala -Vice President, FCRH 2015 -Keep Fordham College students more informed about networking, researching and club opportunites available to them.

-Promote and encourage the study abroad program while instituting more study abroad programs Daniel Beecher -President, GSB 2015 -Build networks among members of the business school, which will assist in job placement -Establish a separate job/internship fair for underclassmen

Stanley Stillwell -President, GSB 2015 -Ensure student needs are prioritized in the budget process -Promote social justice and equality for all students Stephen Frost -President, GSB 2015 Ishann Sadhwani -President, GSB 2015 -Work with Fordham IT to improve technology in the classrooms and access to technological resources for students -Engage a team of vendors to supplement Sodexo This spread was compiled by Kelly Kultys, assistant news editor

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • MARCH 28, 2012

SECURITY

BRIEFS

theramonline.com

Hundreds Sign Community Pledge UNITY, FROM PAGE 1

March 23, Terra Nova House, 9:15 p.m.

A smoke detector was activated as a result of burning food. FDNY responded to the incident. The building was evacuated and the alarm was reset. No injury resulted from the incident.

March 24, Hoffman Ave, 1:15 a.m.

There was a noise complaint filed at 2551 Hoffman Ave. The supervisor responded to the location and police were notified.

Students were advised to lower the music because they were disturbing the neighbors.

March 24, 189th and Hoffman Ave 5 a.m.

Security was alerted that a student was robbed on the way back from Hoffman. A man in a hoodie struck him in the face without warning and told the student to ‘give me money’.

He took a black wallet with $30, his identification and a credit card.

The suspect fled in an unknown direction, and the student was not injured.

March. 24, East Fordham and Creston Ave, 3 a.m.

A Fordham student, along with two non-Fordham friends, exited the 4 train at Jerome and Fordham Road. They were walking eastbound by Creston Ave. Six females grabbed the girls and pulled them down to the ground by their hair.

One stole the student’s kindle and iPhone from her handbag. The six perpetrators went east-bound on Fordham Road. The students and friends reported the incident to security. NYPD was notified and conducted a search with negative results.

— Compiled by Karen Hill, Assistant News Editor

THIS

week at FORDHAM Thursday., March 29 Cinevents!: Sherlock Holmes 2 Campus Activities Board, Keating First, 9-11 p.m.

Thursday, March 29 Commuting Students’ Association Road to Oz McGinley Ballroom 6-9 p.m.

Friday, March 30 Contemporary Science Fiction Club Keating 215 4 p.m.

Saturday, March 31 Get to Know ALPFA Dealy 201 6-8 p.m.

Saturday, March 31 Vagina Monologues Fordham Prep Auditorium 6 p.m.

Wednesday., Apr 4 Discussion with Noam Chomsky MacNally Amphitheater, LC 7-9 p.m.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, signs pledge banner.

a Georgetown Law student and the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, Fla. — to Fordham’s culture of awareness.

“Unlike the [Georgetown student] case, in the actual murder of Trayvon Martin there was no swift or immediate national attention,” Chapman said. “In fact, it wasn’t until this past week that the national media turned its eye to Sanford, Florida.”

Chapman transitioned his discussion to Fordham, as he said the recent acts of vandalism have “urged us to examine, more closely, some of the policies that prevent our community from being a more inclusive and more diverse and more tolerant community.”

Chapman apologized the “passion for justice and care for [Fordham] students” he expressed at last week’s faculty symposium, entitled Cura Personalis. During the meeting, Chapman reportedly challenged the administration to increase the diversity among resident assistants on campus.

McShane later said that he admired Chapman for his “tremendous, tremendous devotion to the justice of the Gospel.”

As the service came to a close, McShane touched upon the importance of remaing a strong community, dedicated to repelling those who wish to harm the principles Fordham was founded upon.

“We all come together to say we will protect one another, we will stand up for one another, we will say no to those who wish to hurt anyone,” McShane said. “And that behavior, that mindset, is simply unacceptable, it’s not Fordham.”

Dr. Michael Latham, dean of Rose Hill, was among the administrators present at the service.

“As an intellectual community, a university must be a place in which all members are able to grow and learn without fear of discrimination or harassment,” Latham said in an email.

A pledge stating that the Fordham community will “not commit, condone, or be silenced by acts of hatred or bias” was displayed on a banner for students to sign after the service.

According to administrators, the banner has hundreds of signatures and will be publicly displayed beginning Wednesday in front of the Campus Ministry office in the McGinley Center.

Students Criticize Pick for Graduation Speaker PETITION, FROM PAGE 1

is actually appalled enough to do something about it,” Pappas said.

“If we can just get some type of dialogue going, then [the petition] will serve its purpose. People are going to have some kind of emotional reaction to this. You need to get people at least thinking about having some type of dialogue about it.”

Brandt agrees with Pappas’ point about the manner in which the university relies on students to take statements at face value.

“Fordham is a bit schizophrenic, being both a Jesuit university and a corporation, but its greatest traditions have always been in the areas of ethical action,” Brandt said via email. “So I have some hopes that the administration, having been made aware of its mistake by its own students, will honor their moral stance by rescinding the invitation.”

The petition itself does not specifically mention any type of action, which Pappas says his group is still debating amongst themselves.

“Ultimately, they’re probably not going to disinvite the guy,” he said.

“Another idea — get someone from the other side. If you have somebody who has supported rendition, who has basically defended torture, got retroactive immunity for the telecom companies — if you have somebody who did all that type of stuff, at least have somebody on the other side, like Ray McGovern, to balance it out a little bit.”

McGovern (Letter to the Editor, V. 94 I. 7) is a Fordham alum who has been quick to condemn the choice of Brennan as commencement speaker.

This issue coincides with a larger alleged problem that Pappas cites: trading in the professed ethical and religious values of the University for the interests of the Board of Directors.

“When I first came to Fordham, Father McShane stood up in front of the freshman class and said, basically, ‘My goal here is to make every single student in this room not okay with the world’,” Pappas said. “I still remember him saying that, word for word. He said, ‘to make students who are men and women for others and to go out and set the world on fire.’ Those were his words. And it seems to me that the University [does not have] very many things that challenge students.”

Brandt also believes that the decision to invite Brennan is a reflection of Fordham’s economic interests.

“Fordham University may be ‘New York’s Jesuit University’ and thus hold itself, at least in theory, to a higher moral standard than other colleges, but it is also a corporation, in many respects just like GM or HP or Goldman Sachs,” he wrote.

“And corporations over a certain size are among the least efficient organizational bodies ever invented, and follow an internal ‘logic’ which often supersedes their stated moral or ethical [or even economic] principles.”

Pappas hopes to motivate the student body and possibly take some yet-undecided action at graduation if Brennan speaks. In light of the recent protests on campus, Pappas believes there to be a significant number of students who will be willing to take action about a subject in which they believe.

“Based on my own moral compass, it’s something that I’m not going to stand for,” Pappas said. “I would at least hope that some other students would stand with me. Even if there’s a small handful of students, just to bring some sort of attention to this would be worth it.”

Shortly after being published online, the petition reached 55 signatures.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Pink Noise, the cover band, will return to Fordham this year to provide music.

RHA Announces Spring’s ‘Under the Tent’ Theme

By KELLY KULTYS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Residence Halls Association (RHA) has announced that this year’s theme for the Under the Tent Dance will be “Jungle.”

RHA decided to go with “Jungle” as a theme in contrast to last year’s “Ice Palace” theme.

“We wanted a colorful theme that we could work with as far as decorations,” Elisa DiMauro, FCRH ’12, RHA president, said via email.

“I think ‘Jungle’ sounds like a great idea for Under the Tent, because it’s a fun, unexpected theme,” Gabriella Vella, GSB ’15, said.

Other students are not so sure about this year’s theme.

“I really liked the ‘Ice Palace’ theme from last year, so I have my reservations about the ‘Jungle’ theme, but this year’s theme has potential to be pretty ‘wild’,” an anoymous sophomore said.

The event will be held from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. on the Saturday, April 28, of Spring Weekend. Food and refreshments that will be served at the event are included in the ticket price. Beer and wine, on the other hand, will be available for purchase

at the event for those who are of age.

“I’m really excited to attend the Under the Tent Dance for my first time this year,” Elizabeth Hughes, GSB ’15, said. “I had amazing time at the President’s Ball with my friends, and I’ve heard so many great things about Under the Tent.”

Pink Noise, the cover band and DJ, will also be returning to provide the entertainment and excitement for this year’s dance.

“Every year students have told us how much they love the band, so we asked them to come back,” DiMauro said. “[Pink Noise] said no to a few events because they love playing at Under the Tent so much.”

The RHA executive board will be displaying posters with more details around campus for the event after Easter Break. Tickets to attend the Under the Dance will cost $20 again, and they will go on sale soon after the students return from the break.

Students should keep their eyes and ears open as more details about the entire Spring Weekend, April 27-29, such as who is performing at the concert, will be released very soon over the next few weeks.

NEWS

theramonline.com

MARCH 28, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 5

A Letter to Candidates and Voters from USG Dear Candidates and Voters: As USG elections near, we want to wish everyone the best of luck in their candidacies and in making their voting decisions. It is exciting to see so many students eager to serve Fordham.

We also want to provide you with some accurate information about what USG has accomplished this year, to assist you in assessing the candidates’ platforms and messages and deciding where you’d like to see USG go next year.

In the spirit of service, your current USG has worked all year with one goal in mind: to listen and respond to you. USG members serve without compensation, and most of us devote more time each week to USG initiatives—initiatives dictated by you and pursued for you—than to our school work. We try to hold ourselves accountable to students by regularly seeking feedback and even criticism from

USG members and constituents, and then tailoring our priorities accordingly. Although we fall short at times, we do our best to be your staunchest advocates. This year, for example: • We successfully lobbied for on-campus dining location hour extensions • We are currently lobbying for library hour extensions and latenight-zone expansion • We are working with OSL&CD to increase the amount of money that goes directly to student organizations from the Student Activities fee • We are lobbying to make permanent, systemic changes that would increase funding for club sports • We successfully lobbied for the installation of a wheelchair lift near the McGinley Music Room staircase (coming Summer 2012) • We developed and successfully advocated for the implementation

of the Gabelli “Value Investing” program, making Fordham the only undergraduate college in the nation to offer courses of this nature • We created the Fordham College Academic Deans Council • We launched and managed “Fordham Achieving Consciousness Together (ACT),” the first working group of its kind—comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators—devoted to building a stronger, more unified and understanding community • We instituted budget reforms designed to create a more equitable budget allocation process • We collaborated with and helped develop a nation wide Jesuit Student Government Alliance • We hosted a free-speech meeting with former USG President and Maroon Square proponent, John Gordon, to evaluate the current situation of free-speech on campus and its future possibilities • We maintained entirely open

Budget Committee and Operations Committee meetings • We allocated nearly $5,000 to student clubs and initiatives from our own USG budget • We hosted Festivus Fordhamensis, a week-long celebration of our proud Fordham traditions • We raised thousands of dollars for organizations that are important to students, including: NYC Food Bank, POTS and Operation Christmas Child • We added magazine racks and subscriptions to the Fitness Center • We organized a lobbying trip to Washington, DC for students to meet with their elected representatives • We hosted focus groups for students and analyzed student surveys to address areas of dissatisfaction with Residential Life policies • We raised awareness of alcohol consumption and distributed free food, water and substance abuseprevention literature to students

on Halloween weekend • We expanded “Fordham Friendly,” creating more retail locations off-campus at which Fordham students receive discounts • We are working with Sodexo to increase swipe options at various dining locations on campus Please see our website, www.usgrh.com to view information about other initiatives, and to access our complete “First Semester Progress Report.”

We don’t always publicize our work. We strive to serve humbly, and when we have accomplished an initiative, we move immediately on to the next; but everything we do, we do for you, not for anyone else.

We hope that this information will help you in your campaigns and in your voting. We wish you the best of luck!

Peace & Rams, Caitlin & Bryan

RHA Shares Symposium Rekindles Racial & Gender Discussion Election ’12 Results

By CONNOR RYAN NEWS EDITOR

Rose Hill’s Residence Halls Association (RHA) recently announced the seven students who have been elected to take over the executive board next fall.

Mike Meehan, FCRH ’14, is set to replace Elisa DiMauro, FCRH ’12, as executive president of RHA next fall.

“I love RHA and being able to lead it next year is an amazing opportunity, and I’m really grateful to the RHA members who have given me the opportunity,” Meehan said in a digital message.

Meehan said that his campaign was centered on a “solid vision,” in finding a balance between policy and programming.

Meehan hopes to “pursue policy initiatives by restarting the Resident Life Committee.”

The committee will consist of eight students: four from RHA (one student from each class year) and four who are not associated with RHA. Meehan referred to the committee as next year’s “policy brain trust.” The goal of the group will be to work on programs and policy for residents, according to Meehan.

“We have a lot of great ideas planned out for next year,” Constantine Demopoulos, GSB ’15 and the newly-elected program coordinator, recently wrote in a message. “I specifically am very eager about improving the sports environment here.”

John Treseler, GSB ’14, will take over as executive vice president; Will Thibeau, GSB ‘14, was named chief of staff, Sarah Hill, GSB ’14, will take over as chief financial officer; Julie Foglietta, GSB ’15, will be the communications director; Tim Leucke, FCRH ‘13, will be the publicity director.

COURTESY OF VBARK.COM

Cura Personalis, the faculty symposium that was organized after hateful vandalism was found at both Rose Hill and Lincoln Center, was held last week in Keating.

By EDDIE MIKUS STAFF WRITER

Several incidents of racial abuse have shocked Fordham University over the last few weeks. However, the community is hardly taking such insults lying down.

On March 21, Fordham professors Jeanne Flavin, Father David Marcotte S.J., Maureen O’Connell, Carina Ray, Mark Chapman, Jay Wade and Celia Fisher spoke at the Cura Personalis symposium against hate speech on campus.

Father Patrick Ryan opened with some introductory remarks, during which he invoked the Greek concepts of “love of brothers” and “love of strangers.” He also spoke about his experiences as a missionary priest in Africa.

“I lived as a stranger for 26 years in Africa, and ‘you are welcome’ was the most common sentence I heard during those years,” Ryan said during his introductory remarks.

Ryan, however, was not the only professor to invoke personal experience.

Ray, a professor of history, spoke of spending the first eight years of her life in an experimental community which emphasized racial integration. (Ray specified

the time period during which she was in this community as being the “late ’50s and largely the ’60s, 70s).

“I was born and raised in a place where multi-racial families were normal, multi-racial identities were normal and the people of all different races came together to form a community,” Ray said.

Although such personal anecdotes carry tremendous emotional weight, one of the most impassioned speeches came from Chapman, who likened the response of Fordham officials to the racial incidents to the response in the Trayvon Martin murder case.

(He believed that the responses to both incidents were too slow.)

“The killing of Trayvon Martin was horrific; what was even more horrific was the reaction and response to it. The writing of a racial slur on someone’s door is horrific, what was even more horrific was the reaction to it,” Chapman said in an impassioned speech during which he lambasted Fordham officials for not doing enough to help the victims of racial abuse.

Chapman also called on the University to increase the number of black resident assistants in campus dormitories. He said that he had learned an hour and a half

before the symposium that only six of Fordham’s 90 resident assistants are black.

Other major themes discussed at the symposium included the motivations behind such incidents of racial abuse.

“You have to be in the in-crowd in order to hear these things,” Wade, a professor of psychology, said. His comments were intended to convey the sense that abuse is often directed towards those that are different and, thus, more vulnerable.

O’Connell furthered on this theme a little bit, with an emphasis on the interaction between racist acts and popular culture.

“A failure to engage racism as a cultural reality has contributed to white complicity perpetuating racism,” said O’Connell, who also claimed that racism derives from the natural tendency for groups of people to band together and that racism was not about isolated acts.

Flavin, a professor of sociology, spoke of the need for popular culture as a whole to denounce racism.

“When someone scrawls a slur on your door or they dress in blackface for Halloween, or someone calls a woman a slut because

she uses contraception, we’re understandably upset, and we’re outraged,” Flavin said. “We send emails, we circulate petitions, we announce this on Facebook. We discuss it in hallways, we raise it with our colleagues. We’re outraged, we’re indignant, we’re deeply troubled as we should be.”

She continued, “But I’m also concerned about the quieter, more insidious aspects of our culture that not only give rise too blatantly to the racist, elitist, misogynistic and homophobic actions, but also those aspects that are going to marginalize minorities and blacks, and some cases silence people within our community, some more than others,” she added.

Some speakers also invoked Fordham’s tradition as a Jesuit University in condemning the incidents.

“The goal of a Jesuit education is to overcome this primitive fear, that is to study the pursuit of reason and to better understand ourselves so we can understand others,” Father Marcotte said.

“Slurs and hate speech carry tremendous symbolic meaning,” Falvin said. “And they have no usable place in an institution of higher learning.”

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • MARCH28, 2012

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MARCH28, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 7

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PAGE 9

Softball Opens Conference Play With Four Straight Wins

Fordham Stands Atop Atlantic 10 Following First Weekend of Conference Matchups

By MATT ROSENFELD ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham softball team opened up its 2012 conference schedule last Friday in the midst of a five game winning streak.

The initial Atlantic 10 battle took place in a doubleheader against the La Salle Explorers.

The first game of the day had Fordham continuing its winning ways as the Rams defeated the Explorers 9-1.

The game started with a blast as senior Jamie LaBovick led off with a home run to put the Rams up early 1-0. Fordham did not stop there. Freshman Paige Ortiz homered following a walk by senior Nicole Callahan to put Fordham up 3-0 in the first.

After a perfect inning with senior Jen Mineau on the mound, Fordham continued to pile on the runs in the second. An RBI double by LaBovick that drove in the pinch-running sophomore Brianna Ciuffi, which made it 4-0 in favor of the Rams. Ortiz would add on another run with an RBI single. This was followed by a sacrifice fly from freshman cleanup hitter Brianna Turgeon.

The Rams exited their half of the second with a 6-0 lead.

La Salle managed its only run in the bottom of the second when freshman Kristin Tavers hit a solo home run off of Mineau.

After scoring one in the fourth, Fordham ended the scoring in the fifth when sophomore Elise Fortier cracked a two run home run that made it 9-1 after four and a half innings. The scoring ended after that, giving the Rams the eight run win.

The second game proved to be

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN THE RAM

Freshman Michele Daubman cleared the bases with a grand slam in a blowout victory over the La Salle Explorers.

an even bigger blowout for the Rams.

Ortiz hit her fifth home run in as many games, a team-leading seventh of the season, to give the Rams a 2-0 lead in the first. A bases loaded single by junior Chelsea Palumbo plated two, putting the Rams’ lead up to four before the Explorers could even bat.

The second inning got even better for Fordham, as the Rams scored five more to make it 9-0.

An Ortiz RBI single made it 5-0, and a few batters later, freshman Michele Daubman hit a grand slam that gave the Rams the ninerun lead.

Two more runs were added in the fifth to give Fordham the 11-0

lead that would carry the Rams through the remainder of the game. Freshman Taylor Pirone picked up the win in a complete game, two-hit effort.

“We’ve been waiting for this offensive outburst,” said Coach Bridget Orchard of her team’s 20run day. “We’ve been hitting like that at practice, we knew the girls had it in them to hit like that and put runs on the board.”

Freshman Ortiz of Katy, Texas has proven to be a big bat in the middle of the lineups for the Rams, who are now hitting their offensive stride.

“Paige has been our one hitter that has been pretty consistent throughout the year,” Orchard

said. “Even early on against Arizona she put one off the wall. She’s been playing at a high level for a long time. She has really stepped in and taken advantage of all of her at bats.”

Fordham continued conference play on Sunday in Washington D.C, where they faced off against George Washington in another doubleheader.

The opener was a pitching duel between the staff ’s two aces.

Fordham’s Mineau and George Washington’s sophomore Courtney Martin both had tremendous outings.

The first hit did not come until the third inning, when sophomore Gabby Luety connected on a solo

home run to give Fordham a 1-0 lead. Senior Lindsay Kay Bright then singled and later scored on an error that would stretch the Rams’ lead to 2-0.

That proved to be enough for Mineau, who only allowed one hit, a solo home run in the fifth, en route to a 2-1 win for the Rams.

“We were hoping for a few more runs,” Coach Orchard said.

“I’d like to see us score five or six against the pitching that we are facing, but with Jen on the mound, we are able to get away with scoring two.”

The Rams did not have to sweat as much in the second game of the day, as Mineau pitched another gem in a 5-1 Rams victory.

Fortier came up with the bases loaded in the first and scored all of them on a three RBI double.

The Rams would extend the lead for Mineau in the third, when again, Fortier had a basesclearing double.

This time only two would score, but it was enough to give Fordham a 5-0 lead.

George Washington junior Tara Fogarty would provide the Colonials with their only run of the day with a solo home run in the fifth. Mineau would hold the Colonials right there, taking home her 13th win of the year and extending the Rams’ winning win streak to nine.

Now with a 16-14 overall record (a perfect 4-0 in-conference) the Rams will look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Lehigh in Easton, PA. Fordham returns home next on March 30 to face Charlotte in a conference duel.

Men’s Tennis Drops Pair of Matches; Bounces Back Against Wagner with Win

By KARA SCAGLIOLA STAFF WRITER

The Fordham men’s tennis team dropped two of its last three matches, while still looking forward to the Atlantic 10 championships which are just on the horizon.

This past Wednesday, the Rams faced the Temple Owls who narrowly defeated them by an overall score of 4-3. Temple was expected to be a tough opponent, as they had just beaten the reigning champs, George Washington, a few weeks prior. While doubles play opened on a hopeful note, with freshmen of Srikar Alla and J.J. Tauli taking their match (8-4), the Rams other duos fell short, eventually awarding Temple the doubles point. Losing this point proved crucial to the end of the match.

In singles play, Sophomores Kuba Kowlolski (6-2, 6-0, 6-4), and Mischa Koran (6-4, 6-2) gave the Rams some early victories, as Fordham grabbed a 3-2 lead. After dropping the fourth singles to

Temple, the fifth singles match ultimately decided the match. Fordham dropped the fifth The Fordham men extended this losing streak on Saturday at their second home game of the season against St. Josephs. Oddly, this match started with singles play, which began with Tauil’s defeat (6-2, 6-2). But, the Rams battled back with Kowalski (6-2, 6-3), Alla (6-2, 6-3) and Koran (6-1, 7-5) all picking up victories pushing the Rams ahead to a 3-1 lead.

This was not enough for Fordham, as these were the only points the Rams managed to get, eventually surrendering to St. Joseph’s with a score of 4-3.

Coach Cory Hubbard commented on these losses and how they might affect the Rams shot at a title.

“Of course we’re hurt and disappointed to come so close and that would have put us atop the A-10 for first time in school history” Hubbard said. “But I will take a lot of confidence from this match, because we showed we are

definitely in the mix with the top three teams. I hope this makes our team hungrier than before and motivates us to work harder.”

The Rams had a chance to redeem themselves yet again on Sunday, however, which they did in flying colors by shutting out the Wagner Seahawks, 7-0.

In singles play, all Fordham players took their matches in straight

sets which was an impressive feat coming off of their first two-game losing streak of the year. The Rams also took the doubles point with an overall scores of 8-3, showing much improvement from the previous two matches. This brought the Rams’ season record to 13-4.

Perhaps the Fordham men can turn this into another winning streak on Wednesday, March 28

against Farleigh Dickinson University at a home match on the Hawthorn/Rooney courts.

The freshmen laden team will have to face off against another premier rookie when they face FDU. The Knight’s freshman Arvis Berzins was recently named a Rookie of the Week of the Northeast Conference.

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

The men’s tennis team has enjoyed a great regular season, boasting a 14-5 record, led by freshmen.

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • MARCH 28, 2012

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MARCH 28, 2012 • THE RAM • PAGE 11

Baseball Fordham 5-4 UMass Fordham

AB

R

H HR RBI

Cianci cf Kownacki ss Lee rf Maghini R. 3b Swatek 1b Mauri dh McSherry lf Phelan c DeSilva 2b Small ph/c Totals

4 3 3 4 2 4 3 3 3 1 30

3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

UMass

AB

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 5

R H HR RBI

Cusick 2b 5 McLam 3b/ss 3 Serino cf 4 Conley c 4 Begin 1b 5 Picard rf 3 Adie ph/rf 2 Compero dh 4 Sanford ss 3 Tuneski ph 1 Graef lf 5 Totals 39

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4

3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 10

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

New Orleans’ Superdome will play host to this year’s edition of the Final Four.

By ADRIAN BURKE STAFF WRITER

Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville and Ohio State are each two wins away from a National Championship.

Each team earned a spot in the Final Four in New Orleans by winning its respective region. Kentucky will play Louisville on Saturday, March 31 at 6:09 p.m., followed by Ohio State against Kansas at approximately 8:49 p.m.

The University of Kentucky Wildcats stormed into the Final Four with a 102-90 win over Indiana, followed by an 82-70 victory over the Baylor Bears in the Elite Eight. Against Indiana, the ’Cats were led by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who put up 24 points, 10 rebounds and an assist. The Elite Eight victory was sparked by an impressive performance from freshman forward Anthony Davis, whose score sheet included 18 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and an assist. Kentucky has scored at least 81 points in each game of this year’s tournament, and could be labeled as a favorite at this point, with a young but highly talented group of underclassmen.

The fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals pulled off a commanding upset of Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans in a 57-44 affair. In one of the sloppiest games of the tournament, the Cardinals shot just 38 percent from the field, while the Spartans shot an abysmal 29 percent. In the Elite Eight, the Cardinals beat a hot Florida Gators squad known for its shooting. Louisville

ended the game on a 23-8 run en route to a narrow 72-68 win. The Cardinals now add another chapter to the “Battle of Kentucky” as they take on their in-state rival for the second time this season, the first ending with a Kentucky victory on New Year’s Eve. The Ohio State Buckeyes beat an athletic Cincinnati team 81-66 in the Sweet Sixteen. Defending Player of the Year, Jared Sullinger, scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds, maintaining his elite status. Following that win, the Buckeyes knocked off the No. 1 seed, Syracuse Orange.

The game was tight throughout, but Ohio State stood tall on defense to win by seven. To beat the Kansas Jayhawks, Jared Sullinger will need to stay out of foul trouble and maintain his presence as an unstoppable forward.

The Kansas Jayhawks had a scare against the 11th-seeded North Carolina State Wolfpack, but earned a slim three-point victory. In the next round, Kansas beat a better team in the University of North Carolina Tar Heels by thirteen. Tyshawn Taylor had 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead Kansas over its old coach, Roy Williams.

They now face a tough team in Ohio State in what might be the best game of the tournament thus far.

With the Final Four in place, we are in store for another great ending to the college basketball season.

Both Final Four games will take place on Saturday, March 31, and the National Championship game will be on Monday, April 2.

Fordham

IP

H

R

ER BB SO

Pike Morrill

7.0 3 2.2 3

4 1

2 2 5 1 1 1

UMass

IP

H

R

ER BB SO

Misho McCarthy

7.0 8 3.0 2

4 0

3 1 6 0 1 2

E - McLam, R(2); Picard, A(1); Misho, G(1); Kownacki(3); Swatek(3); Phelan(3); Porter(2). DP - Minutemen 1.

LOB - Minutemen 11; Rams 6.

2B - Cusick, R(5); Lee(4). HBP - McLam, R; Cianci; Kownacki; Phelan. SH - McLam,R(4); Cavanaro, J(1); Kownacki(6); Lee(1). SF - Maghini(3); Swatek(1). SB - Cusick, R 2(8); Serino, A(1); Conley, T(1); Kownacki(6). CS - Sanford, N(1); Maghini(2); Buckley(1).

Reached on CI - Sanford, N.

Softball

Men’s Tennis

Fordham 2-1 George Washington

Fordham 3-4 St. Joe’s Singles

Fordham LaBovick Callahan Ortiz Turgeon Fortier Daubman Palumbo Luety Bright

1b 2b dp cf 3b rf ss c lf

Totals GW Wilson Dos Santos Taylor Lenhart Valos Orlandi Fogarty Del Prete Garlinger Saporito

dh c cf lf ss 2b 3b rf 1b ph

Totals

AB

R

H HR RBI

4 4 2 2 3 3 3 3 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2

27

2

5 1 2

AB

R

H HR RBI

3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

23

1

1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

1. Kowalski (Fordham) def. Veronis (SJU) 6-2, 6-2 2. Alla (Fordham) def. Kessler (SJU) 6-2, 6-3 3. Koran (Fordham) def. Gates (SJU) 6-1, 7-5 4.Barrus (SJU) def. Peara (Fordham) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 5. Montague (SJU) def. Tauil (Fordham) 6-2, 6-2 6. Brondeau (SJU) def. Puntillo (Fordham) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 Doubles 1. Kowalski/Koran (Fordham) def.

Kessler/Montague (SJU) 8-6 2. Gates/Barrus (SJU) def. Alla/ Tauil (Fordham) 9-8 (7-3) 3. Veronis/Cognetti (SJU) def.

Peara.Gram (Fordham) 8-6

Fordham 7-0 Wagner Singles

Fordham IP H R ER BB SO

1. Kowalski (Fordham) def.Ovechkin (Wagner) 6-2, 6-1

Mineau

13

2. Srikar (Fordham) def. Garzon (Wagner) 6-0, 6-2

H R ER BB SO

3. Koran (Fordham) def. Santoro (Wagner) 6-0, 6-0

GW

7.0 1 1 1 IP

Martin 7.0 5 2

0

1 2

4

4. Peara (Fordham) def. Richards (Wagner) 6-0, 6-1

E - TAYLOR, A; MARTIN, C. LOB Fordham 6; GW 1. HR - Luety; VALOS, V. SB - Turgeon.

5. Tauil (Fordham) def. Rautenstra (Wagner) 6-5, 6-1 6. Gram (Fordham) def. Yuzon (Wagner) 6-0, 6-0 Doubles 1. Kowalski/Koran (Fordham) def.

Ovechkin/Garzon (Wagner) 8-3 2. Plangger/Peara (Fordham) def.

Santoro/Rautenstra (Wagner) 8-3

Fordham 5-1 George Washington

3. Kulak/Maloney (Fordham) def.

Richards/Yuzon (Wagner) 8-3

Fordham 1-3 UMass AB

R

H HR RBI

Fordham

4 3 2 3 4 4 4 4 3 1

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 0 2 2 1 1 0 0

LaBovick Callahan Ortiz Ciuffi Turgeon Daubman Fortier Luety Palumbo Bright

Totals

32

1

7 0 1

UMass

AB

Fordham Cianci Kownacki Lee Maghini R. Swatek Mauri McSherry Small DeSilva Maghini B

cf ss rf 3b 1b dh lf c 2b ph

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

1b 2b dp pr cf rf 3b c ss lf

Totals

2b dh cf c 3b 1b rf ss lf

Totals

R

H HR RBI

4 4 4 0 3 4 3 3 3 3

0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0

0 0 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 2

31

5

9 0 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1

30

4 5 0

3

Fordham 3-4 Farleigh Dickinson Singles 1. Rapoport (FDU) def. Ali (Fordham) 6-1, 6-0

AB

R

H HR RBI

3. Dabu (Fordham) def. Prantl (FDU) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6)

3 2 3 3 2 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 25

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5

4. Leong (Fordham) def. Dementyeva (FDU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 1-0 (10-6)

R H HR RBI

4 3 2 3 4 4 4 4 2

Women’s Tennis

2. Botes (FDU) def. Genkina (Fordham) 6-2, 6-0 GW

Cusick McLam Serino Conley Campero Tuneski Adie Sanford Graef

AB

Wilson Dos Santos Taylor Lenhart Valos Orlandi Fogarty Del Prete Saporito Garlinger O’Donnell Moynihan Totals

dh c cf lf ss 2b 3b rf ph 1b ph ph

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

5. Fritzinger (Fordham) def. Morina (FDU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9) 6. Lane (FDU) def. Tremaine (Fordham) 6-2, 6-2 Doubles 1. Rapoport/Dementyeva (FDU) def.

Ali/Genkina (Fordham) 8-3

Fordham

IP

H

R

ER BB SO

Fordham IP H R ER BB SO

2. Morina/Prantl (FDU) def. Fritzinger/Tremaine (Fordham) 8-6

Charest Adel

8.0 5 1.0 0

3 0

2 3 2 0 0 1

Mineau

3. Dabu/Leong (Fordham) def. Botes/ Lane (FDU) 8-3

7.0 5 1 1

H R

ER BB SO

GW

Popielarczyk 9.0 7 1

1 4 10

Clauss 7.0 9 5

UMass

IP

E - DeSilva(3). DP - Minutemen 1. LOB - Minutemen 5; Rams 8. 3B - Adie,K(2). SH - Serino, A(2); Graef, R(3). SB - McLam, R(4); Kownacki(7);Swatek(2). CS - Graef, R(1).

IP

1

6

H R ER BB SO 2 1

2

E - VALOS, V. LOB - Fordham 6; GW 5. 2B - Fortier 2. HR - FOGARTY, T. SH - DOS SANTOS,S. SB - Bright; TAYLOR, A.

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Fordham 5-1 St. Joe’s Singles 1. Robinson (SJU) def. Simidian (Fordham) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 2. Ali (Fordham) def. Jadeja (SJU) 6-0, 6-2 3. Dabu (Fordham) def. Davis (SJU) 6-0, 6-4 4. Genkina (Fordham) def.

Matz (SJU) 6-1, 6-3 5. Fritzinger (Fordham) def.

Roy (SJU) 6-2, 6-0 6. Leong (Fordham) def. Mulquin (SJU) 6-3, 6-4

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Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari has led his teams to four Final Fours, though two of those were vacated by the NCAA due to violations.

MARCH 28, 2012

PAGE 12

Baseball Drops Series Versus UMass-Amherst

Rams Open Conference Play with 1-2 Record, Lose Four Out of Five During Homestand

By CHESTER BAKER SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham baseball team opened conference play over the weekend with a three-game series against UMass-Amherst on March 23 at Houlihan Park. The Rams are looking to improve on their 12-11-1 Atlantic 10 record from last season, in which they missed postseason play. The Minutemen got the best of Fordham in two of the three games, taking the series Also on tap for the homestand were out of conference games against Stony Brook and Marist, both of which ended in losses for the Rams. Entering the matchup against Long Island on March 28, the team’s record stands at 8-16.

The five-game homestand was plagued by errors and runners left on base for the Rams, who committed 13 fielding mistakes and left 32 men on base over the week.

Head Coach Kevin Leighton knows that errors will come back to hurt the team, and they must be reduced in order to be successful.

“We don’t have an explosive offense that can have the big innings to come back from our mistakes,” Leighton said. “It puts more pressure on our pitcher and our defense by making all those errors.

And then that pressure can lead to more errors, which will lead to runs.”

Fordham committed a seasonhigh five errors in an 11-2 loss to Stony Brook while tallying four in the lone win of the homestand, the second game against UMass.

Leighton also acknowledged that squandering so many offensive chances played a critical role in the 1-4 week for the Rams.

“Hopefully we keep getting these opportunities,” Leighton said. “We have to be able to capitalize when we have runners on. I think a lot of it is anxiousness and just swinging at the wrong pitches, so that is definitely something that we will need to work on.”

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Matthew Cianci has broken out of his early season slump, scoring a careerhigh three runs in the win over UMass-Amherst.

Despite the four losses, there were some bright spots for the team, especially for junior second baseman Matt DeSilva. The junior registered his first two career hits

in the game against Marist, a 3-2 loss for the Rams. DeSilva was put in the lineup due to a concussion suffered by senior third baseman Brian Kownacki, who missed

two games this week. Kownacki returned to action in the opening game of the UMass series.

DeSilva was unable to continue his hot start in the conference series, collecting just one hit in nine at bats. DeSilva was the fifth starting second baseman for the Rams this season, making that position the least stable in the lineup.

“We just don’t have an answer yet. [Senior Mike] Mauri brings more power, but he is a little bit of a step down defensively,” Leighton said. “[Freshman Joseph] Calabrese is a step up defensively but a step down offensively, and DeSilva is the same deal. Right now DeSilva is holding on, but we may look to try some new people there.”

Junior outfielder Ryan Lee led the charge for the Rams, knocking five hits against UMass, good enough for .586 batting average within the conference.

“We have been working on his swing,” Leighton said. “So I don’t know if it is something physical or if it was just something mental, but he has really been coming

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

Stephen McSherry was used in an emergency relief effort in the loss against Stony Brook. Although he had never pitched in college before, the outfielder threw two scoresless innings while striking out three.

around for us.”

Senior shortstop Ryan Maghini came up with the biggest hit of the homestand, bringing home the winning run in the UMass game on a walk-off single in the 10th inning, giving Fordham a 5-4 victory. Junior infielder Mike Mauri was another highlight in the week, blasting his first career home run, and the team’s third four-bagger of the season for the Rams.

Fordham has now tripled its home run tally at Houlihan Park from 2011.

The team was also treated to several solid pitching performances, especially from junior Joseph Charest, who carried a perfect game into the fifth inning in the third game of the UMass series. The righthander had taken a perfect game into the seventh in his last start, a win over Seton Hall. The outing was not enough for the Rams though, as they dropped the rubber match of the series, 3-1.

“He has been a hard-luck loser a couple of times now,” Leighton said. “He goes out there, and he does exactly what we want him to do. He’s pitched prett y well for the most part, and he’s been the guy that we just haven’t gotten much run support for.”

Senior Dan Munday turned in a strong start in the opener against the Minutemen, going 7.1 innings while giving up four earned runs. Sophomore Chris Pike followed up Munday by going seven innings and also giving up four earned runs.

Fordham will take on Long Island in a home game (originally scheduled to be played as an away game) before its next conference series starts on March 30. Later, the Rams will travel to upstate New York to battle St. Bonaventure, a team that also missed the playoffs last season. In its three contests last season, Fordham picked up one win over the Bonnies.

Women’s Tennis Splits Pair of Matches

Fordham Dropped By Fairleigh Dickinson; Rallies to Defeat St. John’s

By KARA SCAGLIOLA STAFF WRITER

Fordham women’s tennis returned to local action this week at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tennis Center in a match against the Knights. The Rams were unable to top the Knights, though, as they were without their top player, junior Amy Simidian.

The two sides split the first two doubles matches. Freshmen Sarah Ali and Bella Genkina were ousted at first doubles, 8-3, by the Knights’ best duo. Freshman Julie Leong and sophomore Angelika Dabu were victorious at second doubles by a count of 8-3.

Third doubles went to Dickinson,

as sophomore Hanna Fritzinger and senior Sarah Tremaine were defeated 8-6.

Dickinson earned wins in the first three singles matches, and in the overall match. That did not stop the Rams from competing, though, as they did capture three singles victories, all of which came in third set super tie-breakers.

Tremaine, Ali and Genkina all dropped their matches, none of which were very close. Fritzinger, Leong and Dabu then won the next three.

Fritzinger dropped the opening set of her match at fifth singles, 3-6, but came back to win 6-2 and 11-9 in the following sets.

Leong experienced a similar outcome. She dropped the first set, but rebounded to win 6-2 in the second and 10-7 in the tie-breaker.

At third singles, Dabu won the first set, 6-3. She dropped the second set, 2-6, and won 10-6 in the tie-breaker.

The loss against FDU put Fordham’s overall record at 12-4 for the season.

The Rams next took on Saint Joseph’s University on March 24 at home. After having their threematch winning streak snapped against FDU, the Rams rebounded and won 5-1 against SJU. The teams made an interesting decision before the match, decid-

ing that they would not play doubles unless needed to determine the outcome of the match. The Fordham singles players made sure that the doubles matches were not necessary.

Genkina won at first singles for the Rams, winning in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-3. Fritzinger was then victorious following Genkina’s win, winning in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-0.

Ali, Dabu and Leong all won in straight sets as well, sealing the victory for the Rams. The win improved their overall record to 13-4.

The Rams travel to Stony Brook, NY for a match against Stony Brook University on Saturday, March 31 at 11 a.m.

The teams continued their dominance off the court as well, as three players were named to the Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2011 semester on Monday.

Seniors Bethany Boyle and Sarah Tremaine and freshman Amy Simidian were all honored by the Commissioner.

In order to qualify, student-athletes needed to earn a 3.50 GPA or better.

Out of the 1,359 students honored by the committee, 122 were Fordham students. Fordham was third amongst Atlantic 10 schools, finishing behind Massachusetts (128) and La Salle (125).