Volume 97 issue 16

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham dh University Community Since 1918 Volume 97, Issue 16

FordhamRam.com

October 7, 2015

Graduate Enrollment in Decline

CARE, Bias Crime on SLC’s Radar

By LAURA SANICOLA NEWS EDITOR

The September 2015 Monthly Report sent to the Fordham University community by the Office of the President was one of introductions and of steep losses.

On one hand, the university welcomed 16 new tenured faculty members, new windows and air conditioners in Walsh Hall, new endowed chair appointments, new growth in representation of ethnic minorities and new sexual assault policy in line with federal legislation Article 129-B regarding affirmative consent.

But the report also indicated something not so new: a steady trend of loss in graduate school and law school enrollment credits, evidenced by a fall of over 1,500 projected credits.

Graduate enrollment credits came in at 46,227, a drop of 1,060 from last year.

Law school credits came in at 1,311 this year, 38 below those budgeted and a drop of 69 credits from last year, despite the building of a new law school building at Lincoln Center.

Fordham is not alone in its struggle to keep law school enrollment numbers from declining rapidly. Following the financial crisis of 2008, law school applications dropped nation wide. In 2013, the American Bar Association reported that, in that Fall, 39,675 full and part-time first-year students matriculated, which was an 11 percent drop compared to 2012.

Graduate school and law school drops were accompanied by a hit in overall university enrollment. Although undergraduate enrollment is up 298 people at 8,069, overall university enrollment is down 677 students from last year, bringing the total university headcount to 16,110.

In November 2014, the university reported that graduate credit-hour enrollments reached 46,790 — down 92 enrollments from 2013.

“Over the past several years, we have seen an erosion in enrollment in many of our graduate programs,” Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, said last year in the November 2014 message to the university.

SEE UNIVERSITY, PAGE 2

in this issue

Opinion

Page 7

Looking at University Sexual Assault Policy

Culture

Page 11

Renowned Organist Performs at Rose Hill

Sports Page 20 Fordham Football Defeats Lafayette

By KENNETH ISELHART CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Hornbeck offered insight on how CUSP can increase the efficiency of a university that employs hundreds of faculty members and caters to over 15,000 students.

“In many cases the different processes that govern administration of the university do not always line up with each other….We hope that CUSP can allow us to make recommendations as to how the university can work in a more holistic and more efficient way.”

According to Hornbeck, CUSP will meet monthly and reach out to student organizations in the meantime to get feedback on what they

Recent bias incidents at Rose Hill, along with new changes to Campus Assualt and Relationship Education (CARE), were brought to the forefront of discussion last week at the first Student Life Council (SLC) of the year. These monthly meetings are platforms for students to share their concerns with student organizations and university administration.

Plans to restructure the Core Curriculum in response to the recent bias incidents were announced at the council. “As it’s structured now… you can go through all four years and only take American Literature, American History…and never go beyond those courses,” said Ashley Domagola, FCRH ’16 and president of United Student Government (USG).

Christopher Rodgers, assistant vice president and dean of students, spoke of plans currently underway to include requirements for multiculturalism in the core curriculum. The plans will have to go through many phases of development. “It is [a] long term and very complex process,” said Rodgers.

Dean Rodgers also showed admiration for student groups in handling the wake of the bias incidents. “I want to specifically praise the Jewish Students Organization (JSO) and the Black Students Alliance (ASILI.) I think they’ve taken … exactly the kind of tone and approach to the aftermath of this kind of incident that is

SEE CUSP, PAGE 5

SEE SLC, PAGE 5

FORDHAM RAM ARCHIVES

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, speaks about the state of Fordham University in 2011.

With New Initiative, McShane Sets Sights on Future

By LAURA SANICOLA NEWS EDITOR

A new planning initiative created by the university president is asking the student body for feedback on what Fordham should strive to look like in the comming years.

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, met with 22 members of the Fordham community on Sept. 9 in the first meeting of the Continuous University Strategic Planning committee (CUSP).

CUSP, composed of faculty, administrators and deans was created

by McShane in April of this year. It meets monthly to assess the needs

of the university for the next 10 years in what is called by CUSP a “continuous planning process.”

“It is time for the university to think very carefully about how to deploy the tremendous resources that we have in a way that is in keeping with our mission as a Jesuit school,” said Patrick Hornbeck, associated professor of theology, Faculty Senate secretary and co-chair of CUSP. McShane appointed Hornbeck, Debra McPhee, dean of the Graduate School of Social Service and Peter Stace, vice president for enrollment, as co-chairs of CUSP.

Student Backtracks on Sexual Asssault Claim

By JOE VITALE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Following a university-wide email, an investigation by the NYPD Special Victims Unit and Public Safety, as well as embellished coverage from local media, a Fordham student who claimed she was assaulted steps away from campus has confirmed to administrators that “no crime occurred.”

Public Safety verified that the claims were false on Sept. 30 in an email sent to the university, informing the Fordham community that the student “advised” Public Safety that the assault she reported “had never occurred.”

Students were first alerted of the incident through an email from Public Safety. “A female Fordham student reported she was sexually assaulted in an alleyway adjacent the Fordham Road Dunkin’ Donuts at 10:05 p.m.,” the email, sent on Sept. 27, stated.

The student told Public Safety she was passing through the alleyway of a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts when two males “accosted her,” then “one male grabbed her and forcibly held her

ZACK MIKLOS/ THE FORDHAM RAM

The initial report named the alleyway next to Dunkin’ Donuts as the sight of the crime, which the student later retracted.

arms behind her back while the other forcibly groped her body.”

Specifics continued from Public Safety, with many detailing the “incident” that was said to have occurred around 10 p.m. on Sept.

26.

“As one of the males was unzipping his pants, unknown individu-

als approached the rear parking lot of Dunkin’ Donuts, apparently alarming the assailants, who fled on East Fordham Road, possibly westbound,” the email stated.

The claims were reported as unfounded according to an email sent three days later.

Following an investigation,

which included the collection of video and physical evidence as well as interviews with the student and witnesses, detectives on the case “determined that the alleged assault had not taken place.”

The investigation, which was being conducted by the Special VicSEE ASSAULT, PAGE 5

NEWS

Page 2 s

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

Sept. 30 Bathgate Avenue and Fordham Road 12 p.m.

A student reported that she was pickpocketed of her student ID and MetroCard. The student left campus to go home. She caught the bus at the corner of Bathgate Avenue and Fordham Road. Upon entering, she realized that her iPhone and metrocard were missing from her bag. The student remembered being bumped by an individual shortly before realizing the absence of her belongings.

However, she was unable to identify this individual. She then returned to campus to report the theft to Public Safety as well as the NYPD. The incident is now being investigated as grand larceny.

Oct. 3 5th Avenue H&M 9 p.m.

While shopping downtown in Manhattan, a student left her backpack on the ground. She noticed a woman moving her bag and, as a result, apologized for it being in the way. The student then took her bag up and went to pay at the counter.

Her wallet, which contained her Metrocard, Visa card, and $200 in cash, as well as her iPhone, was missing. Security is now investigating.

Oct. 4 John M Hall 1 a.m.

A member of the Fordham community notified Public Safety of three individuals removing computers from campus behind Walsh Hall.

Public Safety received a description of the three individuals as well as a direction of their flight. Public Safety responded to Fordham Road and Hoffman Avenue. There, it found two computers as well as keyboards and mice on the corner. The individuals were not found. The NYPD was notified and they responded.

Broken glass was discovered on the door of JMH 407. The NYPD of the 48th precinct as well as Safety and Security are now investigating the incident further.

—Compiled by Erin Shanahan, Assistant News Editor Correction: Last week, the byline for New Name, Same Message: Fordham’s Smart Girls Group Re-brands was wrontly attributed to Marianys Marte. The article was actually written by Meredith Nardino.

October 7, 2015

Journal From Abroad

Sandstorms Stir Up a New Perspective

Admin Tells of Decline in Enrollment FROM UNIVERSITY, PAGE 1

COURTESY OF TWITTER

A recent duststorm, seen above, covered the capital city of Jordan and showed the increasing effects of climate change.

By MIRANDA MORTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

AMMAN— On a Tuesday morning, two weeks after my arrival in Amman, a sandstorm settled over the city. The weather forecast on my iPhone, which read “Hazy” and “Dust,” surprised me, but could not have described the floating particulate matter outside more perfectly. I had gotten into the habit of walking to school, so my host mom made a point of telling me to either wear a protective mask or take a taxi. I felt silly with the surgical-style mask in my hand, so I opted for a taxi.

Initially I thought this was a relatively normal occurrence — Jordan is basically a desert, so a sandstorm makes sense, right? In all reality, however, sandstorms of the magnitude that descended over the Levant at the beginning of September are extremely rare occurrences. This meteorological enigma engenders many questions regarding anthropogenic change and its palpable effects on human society.

Because dramatic news of failed states and extremist groups dominate the Middle East headlines of American media, the region’s environmental problems are often overlooked. Don not be fooled though; understanding the relationship between the environment and current events is crucial. For example, substantial evidence now links the

civil war in Syria to a severe drought that happened between 2007-2010.

The drought, which caused pervasive crop failure and mass migration, was the worst in Syria’s modern recorded history.

For environmentalists, the correlations between climate change, especially water scarcity, and social unrest continue to multiply. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to the outbreak of political conflict, but an acute lack of water resources compounds ineffective governance and civil unrest. Many organizations are working to mitigate the problems associated with climate change and address water crises throughout the Middle East.

This past week, I had the opportunity and pleasure to visit a unique environmental non-governmental organization called EcoPeace Middle East and interview the regional deputy director. The main objective of EcoPeace is to promote cooperative efforts between Jordan, Israel and Palestine that confront the region’s water issues. While a popular call to action among governments and international institutions is to invest billions into state-of-the-art infrastructure such as the Red Sea Dead Sea mega-project, EcoPeace advocates for water-interdependency between the three states and the rehabilitation of the Jordan River, which has been wrecked from decades of pollution and water diver-

sion.

EcoPeace’s aspirations are of the highest order, considering the political climate of the world’s “most intractable conflict.” However, a water settlement may be an important step in long-term stability and security in the region. Moreover, from a Jordanian perspective, a water settlement may be the only option in meeting the country’s water needs in the coming decades.

Jordan is already considered one of the most water scarce countries in the world. On average, the country’s annual per person water share is 145 cubic meters (the average American enjoys 900 cubic meters of water annually). With climate change affecting the water cycle and a growing refugee crisis, Jordan’s per-person water share is expected to fall to 90 cubic meters bt 2025.

Speaking from my personal experiences this past month, Jordanians are well aware of the long-term implications of water scarcity, and they take great measures to conserve and reuse water. However, the sandstorm that hit Amman and the Levant this past month reflects the more immediate concerns of climate change. As policy-makers and researchers continue to develop various peace-building frameworks for the Middle East, attention to the water crisis and sustainable environmental practices must remain bedrock principles.

He attributed the decline of 8 of the 10 graduate schools as aligning with national trends, noting that “two schools show real enrollment strength: The Graduate School of Social Service and the Graduate School of Business Administration (which has seen robust gains in its non-MBA programs in the past few years, fueled largely by students from China.)”

No such breakdown of enrollment credit by graduate school was offered in the September 2015 report.

Still, this year’s incoming class had strong statistics, with an average GPA of 3.64 and an average SAT score of 1,275 out of 1,600, up 16 points from the year previous.

These financial challenges created by the decline in graduate school credits were addressed two years ago by former Senior Vice President and CFO John Landon.

In October 2013, Landon told the Fordham Ram that, for that fiscal year “Eight out of 10 schools failed to achieve budgeted tuition and fee revenue…It’s rare that so many [schools] went in a single direction.”

The university developed a plan last year to offset falling graduate school enrollment rates and the opening of the new residence hall at Lincoln Center. McShane wrote in the November 2014 report that the university had planned to expand the size of our freshman class by 200 students, a goal that was exceeded when the class of 2018 welcomed 300 additional freshmen.

McShane addressed this in his September message when he delineated the creation of 94 converted triples in residential halls in response to the influx of students in the Class of 2019 dorming .

McShane addressed this in his September message when he delineated the creation of 94 converted triples in residential halls in response to the influx of students in the Class of 2019 dorming .

The university president did not comment in the September 2015 Message to the University community as to whether continued decline in graduate enrollment and failure to meet projected enrollment hours will necessitate further readjustment of funds.

This Week at Fordham Wednesday Oct. 7

Thursday Oct. 8

Friday Oct. 9

Fall Career and Internship Fair

Cinevents! Presents: 10 Things I Hate About You

The Day My God Died Screening

McGinley Ballroom 1 p.m. — 4 p.m.

The Office of Career Services will host the annual Fall Career and Internship Fair. The fair will feature employers from HBO, Ipreo, Lenox Advisors, NY State Dept. of Civil Service, Northwestern Mutual, Peace Corps and others.

Keating 1st 9 p.m.

Campus Activities Board will host a presentation of “10 Things I Hate About You.” This coming of age romantic comedy stars Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger.

Friday Oct. 9 Mimes and Mummers: Bonnie and Clyde

Keating 3rd Floor Auditorium 6 p.m.

Collins Auditorium 8 p.m.

South Asian Entity will host a screening of the documentary The Day My God Died. The documentary shares the story of several Nepalese girls who were forced into the international child sex trade. The event will raise money to support Maiti Nepal.

The theatrical group, Mimes and Mummers, will present their first musical of the year about the notorious bank robbers, Bonnie and Clyde. There will also be shows on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.

For more campus events, visit FordhamRam.com

Saturday Oct. 10 Fordham Stand-Up and Stranded in Pittsburgh Comedy Show Blackbox Theater 8 p.m.

Fordham’s only stand-up comedy troupe, Fordham Stand-Up, will perform with Fordham’s only long-form improv group, Stranded in Pittsburgh. Both groups are part of Fordham Experimental Theatre.

NEWS

October 7, 2015

Page 3

Brazilian Students Travel to New York for a Year of Science

By CAILIN MCKENNA ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

In late August, four students arrived on Fordham’s campus to take part in a year long exchange program focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as part of the Brazil Science Mobility Program (BSMP).

The program provides students with an opportunity to expand their English language skills and learn about science and technology in a fast paced environment.

The four students Caio Batista de Melo, Dicksson Rammon Oliveira de Almeida, Aryadne Guardieiro Pereira Rezende and Tulio Aimola are all natives of Brazil. For the majority of these students it is their first time studying and living away from home.

BSMP is a one-year, non-degree program for Brazilian college students in STEM majors to study abroad in the United States. The program is a component of the Institute of International Education and works in collaboration with an education entity in Brazil known as CAPES (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior).

“The Brazil Science Mobility Program gives the Brazilian students an opportunity to learn science and English at Fordham,” said Clara Romney, associate dean for STEM and pre-health education. “The program also gives Fordham College Rose Hill students, faculty and staff an opportunity to learn about

COURTESY OF CAIO BATISTA DE MELO

Four Brazilian college students will spend the year abroad at Fordham studying computer science and chemistry.

Brazil.”

Due to economic instability in the country, the Brazilian government has been working to create initiatives that strengthen its foothold in the STEM fields and incentivizes students to travel and study in countries such as the United States.

Brazilian STEM students rely heavily on the resources provided by these entities as well as the Science Without Borders Program.

The BSMP requires an above-average academic standing, in addition to recommendation letters and essays describing a student’s goals for the program. After acceptance into the program, Brazilian students are placed at universities around the

United States.

Before leaving for the United States this summer, Guardieiro Pereira Rezende, a computer science major who studies at Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, talked to alumni of the program to get a feel for what the program would entail and what the experience abroad would be like. “It seemed [like] an amazing opportunity to improve my major and my language skills,” she said. “Many friends that returned from this program said that it had been an unique experience.”

While at Fordham, the students take part in the university’s core curriculum as well as courses in their

field. Batista de Melo, a computer science major, has been exposed to a variety of courses in and outside of his major. “I’m taking classes that I wouldn’t have the chance to take back in Brazil,” he said. “So I’m eager to learn new things in different areas of study.”

Batista de Melo, who studies at the University of Brasilia in his nation’s capital, commented on the differences in class sizes between universities in Brazil and Fordham.

“Classes here have fewer students, and that’s a good thing,” he said.

“Professors can take more time to help you individually and you get to know each other more.”

Rammon Oliveira de Almeida

has also noticed differences between his home institution and Fordham. He has found the slower pace of classes allows students to take advantage of their diverse curriculum and setting. “Students have a better learning curve, and more free time to learn other things,” he said.

Before returning home to finish their degrees at their home universities, the students must either partake in a summer internship or research project. Aimola, a chemistry major who studies at Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, plans to work with Dr. Christopher Koenigsmann, a professor of chemistry, who works with the application of synthesized nanowires as a catalyst on fuel cells and biosensors.

At Fordham, Aimola has utilized his background in organic and computational chemistry in his three chemistry classes this semester.

“The professors are great and really committed to teaching and helping students,” he said.

After he completes his degree at Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Aimola hopes to attend graduate school and teach chemistry at the college level.

Over the course of the exchange program, Rammon Oliveira de Almeida plans to stay focused on his academic work while taking advantage of the many opportunities at Fordham and in New York. “Getting involved with my surroundings will earn me a lot of experience to share with my country, and help [it] grow as much as I did,” he said.

University Clubs Promote Sustainability

By JASNAAM GREWAL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham became a little greener this past week as United Student Government’s Sustainability Committee, as well as the Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice Club, sponsored this year’s Sustainability Week. The campus was alive with numerous events celebrating conservation, environmental upkeep, resource reduction and all things green.

In an effort to get more students involved in lessening our university’s resource consumption, the members of the Sustainability Committee organized talks, movie screenings and interactive activities. Fordham students left feeling motivated to both change how the campus operates regarding sustainability and increase awareness not only campus-wide, but from a global perspective as well.

Perhaps the most interesting event of the week, “How Many Earths?” took place in Campbell Commons and illustrated how destructive each student’s lifestyle is to the planet as a whole. In the activity, each student calculated how many planet Earths would be required to sustain a planet of humans living with their current lifestyle. Based off questions in different categories such as energy and electricity usage, transportation and consumption, ping pong balls were given to students to

represent the land area required for each of their activities, and at the end, the results were tallied up and presented.

Duncan Magidson, FCRH ’16, the communications chair of the Sustainability Committee who led the activity, stated his lifestyle required three earths. “I would describe it as shameful, but that’s below the American average.

What the activity really highlighted for me was that the bulk of my ecological impact was from plane travel, however I am also a vegetarian, which helped reduce my impact to a point below the American average.”

The week also consisted of a screening of the documentary, “The Cove,” highlighting dolphin hunting practices in Japan, and a discussion, in partnership with the College Republicans, on conservative action regarding climate change and global environmental challenges. Many students gathered in McGinley for a special program, aptly named “Dirt, Plants, and Food,” in order to plant their own basil plants.

The week then concluded with an event titled “Social Justice and Sustainability,” which featured various faculty members as well as important members of the Bronx community.

Anisah Assim, FCRH ’16, head of the Sustainability Committee, in reference to the event stated, “I think that conversations on climate change and sustainability often stray away from the human

element of the problem. This is really unfortunate because environmental issues are more often then not also social justice issues.”

The event specifically looked at the relationship between social justice and environmental justice.

“It is a cruel injustice that are impacted the most by climate change are often those the least capable of coping with it. The event did a great job of exploring that concept and it really tied together the week,” Assim said.

In the larger picture, Sustainability Week gave students an opportunity to engage with sustainability concepts and increase their own awareness. “Additionally, we hope that by hosting the week that students start to understand sustainability as a part of the Fordham experience and mission,” said Assim. The importance of sustainability on campus was clearly defined through the week’s events and activities, and it is the hope of the Committee that the dialogue only continues

among the student body.

“I think that by far the largest problem on campus is a lack of understanding of sustainability as an intrinsic part of the campus culture,” said Assim. “While many students directly ask and care about sustainability issues, many students don’t see that as a commonality amongst all students.

Having that kind of foundation for sustainability would significantly advance any efforts to increase campus sustainability.”

COURTESY OF ANISAH ASSIM

Fordham faculty and community members joined together to discuss social justice and sustainability.

NEWS

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October 7, 2015

Fordham In The Bronx

History of King’s Bridge in the Bronx

By MICHAEL DOBUSKI BRONX CORRESPONDENT

So far on Fordham in the Bronx, we have explored local food, music, housing and books.

Now, we are focusing on the next logical topic: bridges. OK, so perhaps it is not as clear a leap, but the bridge in question is a fascinating bit of Bronx history, and yet another small piece to the Bronx’s puzzle.

This week, we are going to take a trip through history via a little known mystery that has pestered architecture academics for centuries: what is the oldest bridge in New York City? Many would assume that the answer is obvious.

After all, the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty old, right? Well, having been open since 1883, it is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the city, and indeed the country, but the Brooklyn Bridge is not the answer to this question.

For that, we have to go much further back in time, but interestingly enough, not very geographically far away at all.

Kingsbridge is a neighborhood in the northwest Bronx. It is pre-

dominantly residential, middle class and has a population of just over 10,000. But turn the clock back just over 300 years, and the story is very different. In essence, there were less people — significantly less people. In fact, New York City was less of a city and more of a soggy marshland under British control.

During that time, in what is today the Kingsbridge neighborhood, there was a small island called Marble Hill, which was separated from the surrounding landmass by the Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Harlem River. In 1914, the creek was filled in, and Marble Hill joined the Bronx, though today it is technically still considered a part of Manhattan.

In the process, however, a small structure was covered up: the King’s Bridge. The King’s Bridge was built in 1693 and — just to be upfront about it — it was not all that exciting to look at. It was not very big and was only made out of wood.

Not many pictures of the bridge exist from this time period, but we do know that you had to pay to cross it, unless you

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

The King’s Bridge in the Bronx was covered up in the early 20th century, and stands as a symbol of the changing landscape.

happened to be a soldier for the King, in which case you were able to cross for free. This is where the name of the bridge, and subsequently the name of the neighborhood, comes from. This form of taxation was exactly the kind of behavior that irritated the colonies in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. In 1713, the bridge was remodeled, this time using stone, which meant that it stuck around for much longer. It was destroyed by a fleeing George Washington and

his troops in 1776, and rebuilt after the war.

The King’s Bridge was also involved in one of the first recorded automobile races on Memorial Day in 1896, which was sponsored by Cosmopolitan Magazine.

But here is the most interesting part: in the early days of the twentieth century, the King’s Bridge was never officially dismantled.

Which means that when they filled in Spuyten Duyvil Creek in 1914, the bridge was still there.

So today, the oldest bridge in

New York City is actually buried somewhere deep underneath the Bronx. No one knows exactly where it is.

The King’s Bridge is an excellent example of the hidden wonders of the Bronx, and a testament to the sheer volume of industry and change that swept over New York since the industrial revolution. In fact, it resembles the Bronx itself: often overlooked, but historically indispensable and an integral part of a rapidly evolving cityscape.

SLC Covers CARE, Bias Incident During October Meeting FROM SLC, PAGE 1

positive and constructive and I think healing,” he said. Commenting on the open dialogue hosted by ASILI earlier in September, Rodgers said, “There is some deep thinking going on about these issues in the community, and I was quite impressed with that… I think that generates light as opposed to heat around the situations.”

An underlying concern of the SLC was how to sustain “deep thinking” on bias issues all the time, not just when an incident occurs. “When there isn’t an incident, there aren’t as many people looking towards wanting to be engaged with some of these things,” said Juan Carlos Matos, assistant dean and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “I think

a part of the challenge is having ongoing conversations.”

Domagola expressed a similar opinion; “It’s very easy to have a discussion in the week after an incident like the ones in Martyrs’, but it’s important to continue the conversation,” she said.

Groups on the board of the SLC discussed the ways they plan to keep this conversation of bias alive. Alanna Nolan, assistant dean for student involvement, mentioned the importance of having a “multi-pronged approach,” in which students are engaged in bias awareness through multiple aspects of student life, such as classroom discussions and programs. She also brought up the Bias Incident Resource Group, which is composed of administrators, whose

aim is to “promote an environment of care, inclusion, respect and moral reflection.”

Sarah Horrax, assistant director of leadership and Commuter Student Services, expanded on Nolan’s call for a multi pronged approach in dealing with these issues; Fordham community. “One of their goals this year is collaboration… especially making connections with Resident Assistants,” said Nolan. The goal is to form a more cohesive bond between residents and commuters. She also mentioned plans of an art exhibit on multiculturalism at Fordham.

The university also plans to keep discussion of bias going through the use of core programming. Justin Muzzi, assistant director of Residential Life, spoke about how the recent

bias incidents have been incorporated into the civility program. He said the programming confronts students with the question, “What do we do when people act in a way that’s not civil?” The programming “reminds all students that they all play a role in helping to rebuild the community,” said Muzzi. Core programming is mandatory for all freshmen and can therefore reach a large population of students.

In addition to business related to the recent bias incidents, SLC discussed new changes to CARE. Updated brochures now include a Students’ Bill of Rights, which is required by law for every New York State school. The Students’ Bill of Rights is essentially a guide to sexual misconduct policy and Title IX pro-

cedures. More inclusive language is used in the new brochure so that it may serve as a guide for the entire population of students at Fordham.

It aims to use gender neutral language and be applicable to both victims and responders of sexual misconduct. The updated brochure can be distinguished by its white cover, as opposed to the older brochure’s maroon cover.

Kimberly Russell, dean of students and director of Residential Life, shared with the SLC that Residential Life appointed Tyler Martins, FCLC ’15, to fill the new position of Graduate Assistant to CARE. Martins will be working with Resident Assistants and holding staff meetings, as well as planning future CARE projects with Residential Life.

Campus Briefs & Bites Demacopoulos Delivers Inaugural Lecture

Tom Hanks Finds ID in Central Park

Researchers Gather at Bronx Zoo

Alex Trabek Donates $1 Million to Fordham

George E. Demacopoulos, PhD, was named as the inaugural holder of the Father John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies. The event was held on Monday, Oct. 5, in Keating Auditorium. The event was open to the university community. Demacopoulos is also the co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center. He founded the center with Aristotle Papanikolaou in 2012, built up the Center’s endowment and started several globally recognized initiatives such as the National Endowment for the Humanities Matching Challenge Grant, which funds two research fellowships in orthodox studies at Fordham.

Demacopoulos specializes in the history of Christianity for late antiquity, the early medieval west and Byzantium. At his installation, Demacopoulos gave his inaugural lecture.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, a photo of a Fordham ID was found in Central Park by Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks announced that he found the ID around 1 p.m. via Twitter. As of Tuesday evening, the tweet had 5,200 retweets and 11,400 favorites. In addition, the tweet was shared over Facebook as well as other forms of social media. The story has also been picked up by news outlets such as BuzzFeed and a local ABC affiliate. The student who lost her Fordham ID, Lauren Whitmore, is a senior at Fordham College, Lincoln Center. She most likely lost the ID while she was teaching pilates in Central Park. Hanks’ public return of the ID is most likely in response to an act of kindness he received earlier in the year when someone found his credit card in New York and returned it to him.

The annual Bronx Science Poster Session brought student researchers and scientists from around New York City together to discuss research topics ranging from rat migration to venomous lionfish. The event was held on Sept. 30 at the Bronx Zoo and included the five-member Bronx Consortium consisting of the zoo, Fordham University, the New York Botanical Garden, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Researchers were able to update other program participants on the status of ongoing data collection and results.

Among Fordham students and the Wildlife Conservation Society researchers, many area teens were also present to represent Project TRUE. The project is an urban ecology field research program. Fordham biologists and WCS educators worked together with teens during the summer to promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

This past Tuesday evening, Alex Trebek, famous “Jeopardy!” host, donated $1 million to Fordham University. The money will be used to create a scholarship to support Fordham Students in the Harlem area. Trebek restricted the gift to this neighborhood with the hopes that this restriction will make a meaningful impact. Estefania Cruz, FCRH ’17 history major, is the first recipient of the Trebek scholarship. Trebeck was influenced by his son to donate the money. Matthew Trebek graduated from Fordham in 2013.

In addition, Matthew now resides in Harlem and will soon be opening a restaurant in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood. “I’m at the age now where I don’t need the money,” said Mr. Trebek. “So I guess the goal now is to find new ways to help other people and different ways in which to do it.”

— Compiled by Cailin McKenna and Erin Shanahan, Assistant News Editors

NEWS

October 7, 2015

Page 5

FFAT Responds to University Decision on Cosby’s Degree

By YASMIN MERCHANT STAFF WRITER

When Fordham University rescinded Bill Cosby’s honorary degree, the decision was trending on major news outlets from TIME to TMZ. The university’s statement acknowledged this had never been done in the history of the university and that to do so, “a recipient's actions would have to be both unambiguously dishonorable and have a deep impact.”

The news was especially surprising for the members of Fordham Faculty Against Torture (FFAT). The group has been petitioning the Board of Trustees to revoke CIA Director John Brennan’s, FCRH ’77, honorary degree due to his connection to the torture tactics outlined in the Senate Intelligence Committee report. Even though they delivered a petition to Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, bearing the signature of 722 members of the Fordham community, their request was declined.

Both men have publicly admitted to their actions, with Brennan defending the torture program several times. Neither Cosby nor Brennan have been formally indicted for the crimes of which they have been accused.

The nature of Cosby’s crimes was described in the statement as “premeditated and ongoing. Equally appalling is his longtime strategy of denigrating the reputations of women who accused him of such actions.”

Cosby’s sexual exploitation of women is certainly against Fordham’s Jesuit principles. As many members of the community argue, so is torture.

The university’s stance is not so straightforward.

“As a public servant, Mr. Brennan

answers to elected officials, including the president of the United States, who are the originators of such policies and who are legally responsible for their creation and implementation,” Senior Director Bob Howe said. in a statement to The Fordham Ram. Brennan was acting under orders, whereas Cosby was acting as an individual; this distinction may be what makes the differences for the board of trustees, according to Howe.

FFAT does not oppose the uni-

versity’s decision to revoke Cosby’s degree. In fact, they applaud it.

“President McShane and the board of Trustees have acted responsibly and conscientiously in deciding to rescind the honorary degree awarded to Bill Cosby, in the light of what we now know, ” the group said in a statement.

However, they are questioning why the same moral logic is not being applied to Brennan and a situation that significantly impacted international politics. “We must ask,

J SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ AP

therefore, how Fordham can be so attentive to the actions of Bill Cosby while ignoring the actions and words of John Brennan, especially in the light of what we now know of his support for torture in the aftermath of the Senate Report on Torture,” the statement reads.

The group is also questioning why the decision was made without consulting the Fordham community at all. “In contrast, the petition to revoke John Brennan’s honorary degree emerged from the Fordham community itself, was vigorously debated by proponents and opponents alike, and had the support of more than 700 faculty, students, staff, and alumni, only to be rejected on the flimsiest grounds. If the decision to revoke the Cosby degree can be said to represent the university, how much more compelling is the strong evidence of community support in the matter of John Brennan?”

The statement goes on to thank all the Fordham staudents, faculty and alumni that supported the petition.

Though it was not able to convince the board of trustees, the group said it will remain committed to fighting for human rights and justice and to guarantee that the labors of so many will result in a permanent resource for the Fordham community.”

Fordham Against Torture is calling for the University to revoke CIA Director John Brennan’s honorary degreee.

New Planning Initiative Created Student Retracts Claim FROM CUSP, PAGE 1

time to get feedback on what they believe could be incorporated into its goals.

“First semester will be an information gathering semester,” said Hornbeck. “At our next monthly meeting on Oct. 13, CUSP plans to draw up a list of all organizations. Right now that includes USG of both campuses, as well as student associations for graduate and professional school.”

On CUSP’s website, McShane lists the two objectives of the planning initiative.

“First, we will build on the strengths of the university and its schools and use this foundation to create a fresh vision for Fordham’s future in the form of a strategic framework that will guide us in the coming years,” he says. “Second, we will design a process of continuous planning — one that ensures that we are continuously monitoring our internal and external environment and modifying our plans to take advantage of new challenges and opportunities that arise.”

To assist CUSP, Fordham will continue to use AKA Strategy (AKA), a consulting firm that helps institutions of higher education with strategic planning. McShane notes that AKA Strategy has worked with the university in the past.

“The AKA consultants will serve as facilitators of the process and will also conduct interviews and analyses and prepare drafts of the strategic framework and models of the continuous planning process for CUSP to discuss and develop,” McShane said in an email to faculty.

CUSP is not the first planning initiative that McShane has established since taking office. In October 2003 he created a strategic plan entitled Toward 2016, which incorporated a myriad of university initiatives put in place to achieve ultimate goals in 2016. The plan’s mission was for

Fordham “to regain national prominence and preeminence among Catholic institutions.”

Towards 2016 outlined very detailed goals for the 10 years for which it was designed.

Some of these goals were achieved, such as having at least 30 percent minority and international students.

However, several others, such as reducing the university’s acceptance rate and maintaining benchmarks for SAT 1350-1400 range and students that perform in the top quartile of their high school class were not reached. Notably, the goal of having targeted endowment of $2 billion by 2016 mapped out in the Towards 2016 plan are likely to blame for these growing pains. The current university endowment is $700 million, approximately 35 percent of the 2016 goal that was set a decade ago.

Hornbeck attributes the endowment shortfall to the the economic climate in 2008 and the loss of a significant amount of the university’s endowment in the stock market.“Like everybody else we had part of our en-

dowment invested in the stock maerket...when the market went down the value of our investments went down.”

Hornbeck noted that CUSP’s goals are to be broader and less specific.

“We don’t want to be binding ourselves into a set of goals articulated in a set of goals ten or more years in advance then we wouldn’t have an opportunity to be flexible,” Hornbeck said.

“So the goals will be broader and less specific. Every year or so [we will] look back at initiatives and ask if those are still good and getting us where we want to go, and whether or not we need to make slight adjustments,” he said.

Hornbeck said that through a method of constant adjustment, as opposed to setting goals 10 years in advance, CUSP might better meet the needs of the university.

“Our hope is that the goals we have articulated in this first phase will stand the test of time for at least a number of years…we do anticipate this being a process of continuous planning,” Hornbeck said.

RAM ARCHIVES

University administrators are working on a new plan for Fordham’s future.

FROM ASSAULT, PAGE 1

tim’s Unit, had been closed as of Wednesday, Public Safety said.

During a Student Life Council meeting on Wednesday, Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill, said that the NYPD found that the incident was fictitious. No further details have provided to students, including specific details about the investigation or the student’s reasoning.

“What I can confirm is…the NYPD found that no crime had occurred and that the student confirmed this,” Rodgers said during the meeting following a question from a student journalist.

“Though rare, false reports are a very serious matter, not only because they alarm our community, but because they might cause real victims of this under-reported and serious crime to hesitate in asking for help,” said Rodgers in a statement to The Fordham Ram on Tuesday.

CBS, relying on an unnamed source, first reported on Sept. 29 that the student recant the story, saying that she “may have falsified her story because she had an argument with a friend about being late.”

“Investigators were unable to find sufficient evidence,” CBS said in its report, “and the woman later admitted that she made the story up.”

Fordham Public Safety did not go into specific details about this claim by CBS. Many students took to social media to voice criticism and concerns about the incident, questioning the reporting of sexual assaults.

The Sexual Misconduct Task Force, which is a joint ventured between United Student Government and Women’s Empowerment, issued a statement.

“As the Sexual Misconduct Task Force, we cannot condone false re-

ports of any crime, especially sexual assault,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday. “However, we want to emphasize that despite the level of publicity this particular incident has received, false reports of sexual assault are in the minority.”

Noting that just over a third of sexual assaults are reported, the statement continued: “We want to reaffirm the importance of fostering a culture in which consent is respected and the voices of survivors are heard.”

“It can be incredibly difficult for survivors to come forward; seven out of ten survivors are assaulted by someone they know, and the cycle of abuse that many survivors live in can be incredibly hard to break. It’s imperative that we as a community are supportive of survivors, that we care for, listen to, and believe them,” the statement said.

WABC-7 ran a story on its website with a headline saying students were “on edge” following a sexual assault near Fordham University.

After an anchor from the channel reported that the student was “allegedly raped in an alley,” a newswoman showed the email alert to a group of students, drawing visible and audible gasps.

Another clip showed the student walking though the same alley, near Dunkin’ Donuts, with another student commenting that she would opt to walk through the business as opposed to walking through the alley adjacent to the business.

1010 WINS, a New York radio station, reported that “many students” told one of its reporters that “they are walking in groups from now on” following the incidents.

Only two news sources, however, published stories reporting that the investigation was closed following insufficient evidence.

The list included CBS and News 12 Bronx.

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OPINION

October 7, 2015

Page 7

The Fordham Ram

Taking Sexual Assault Seriously

By MATTHEW CALHOUN STAFF WRITER

Reports of a graphic sexual assault just a block off of the Rose Hill campus shook not just the university community this past week, but much of the Bronx and New York City as well. NYC media outlets were calling the search for the two alleged assaulters a “manhunt” and students exercised extreme caution around East 191st Street and East Fordham Road.

The university allotted an abundance of resources to find the alleged perpetrator and to handle the situation in a sensitive way.

To most students, it appeared to be the most gruesome attack on a member of our community in recent memory. Many were astonished that such a thing could happen at only 10 p.m. in an area that is traversed by students and local residents nearly every minute of the day.

This buildup of emotion and terror all took a drastic U-turn just four days after the report, when the alleged victim recanted the entire story.

At first, many of us were relieved that such a horrendous attack on our student body had not actually happened, and we were just as safe as we had felt before.

This sense of reassurance was short-lived. After the idea of a hoax of such severity by a member of our school settled in the minds of Fordham students like myself, we became angry.

While Public Safety and the

NYPD hold the right to protect the identity of the “assault victim” who cried wolf, many want her to be barred from the community.

Falsifying an attempted assault is not only damaging to the panicked community, but to all college students who have to deal with such a gruesome and disgusting attack.

Over the past year I was lucky enough to work at a startup company that is closely partnered with NO More, It’s On Us and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSRV). These great organizations work to alleviate the problem of sexual violence on U.S. college campuses as well as spread awareness for the ongoing crisis.

According to the NSRV, there is a rape on a U.S. college campus every 21 hours. One in four female college students of our generation will be the victim of a sexual assault or rape, and so will one in 12 male college students. Only about 10 percent of rapes and sexual assaults on college campuses are reported. For males, the statistic is a mere three percent. Many victims choose not to report the crime in fear of embarrassment or retaliation.

Here at Fordham, a member of the 75 percent of female students who have not been sexually assaulted decided it was OK to do what 90 percent of actual victims are too scared to do: report a sexual assault to campus officials and the police.

Not only is this despicable act a

ZACK MIKLOS/THE FORDHAM RAM

A Fordham student claimed she was assaulted in the alley next to Beer Cave before retracting the story.

smack in the face to the thousands of victims who have survived rape whether or not they reported it, but this member of the Fordham community has betrayed us all.

She has violated all of the major Jesuit moral principles Fordham vows to instill in its students through its mission.

One of the most commonly versed of these principles is Homines Pro Aliis, or Men and Women for Others. By betraying the Fordham community, the Bronx and the countless of victims of sexual assault, this person betrayed her promise to live by this moral principle.

Before this whole whirlwind of events even took place, Fordham broke international headlines in the media by revoking the hon-

orary degree that was issued to Bill Cosby amid his sexual assault scandal. The Board of Trustees unanimously agreed that, due to Cosby’s actions which violated the principles Fordham draws its mission from, he did not live up to the values that Fordham upholds to its students and alumni.

As these are two separate events, the Cosby incident does not establish a direct precedent to be upheld in regard to the most recent chain of events to hit our community. It does, however, prompt the question: can we still call this person a woman of Fordham? Has she committed crimes deep enough to sever her from our school and university?

To any reasonable person, her actions are inexcusable, and the

amount of disrespect she has bestowed upon our community and the millions of sexual violence victims across the globe astonishes myself and many others.

I am certainly in no position of power to decide anything regarding this woman’s status as a student here at Fordham, but I am deeply disturbed that someone in our community, which upholds moral dignity, would act in this way and disrespect so many people.

Everything regarding this event is shameful, and we can only learn from the mistakes of this woman to never falsify an assault or act of violence of any kind.

Matthew Calhoun, GSB ’17, is a finance major from Springboro, Ohio.

Are We Global Citizens or a Generation of Bystanders?

CAROLINE LEBRANTI/THE FORDHAM RAM

The free Global Citizens concert took place in NYC on Central Park’s Great Lawn this past Saturday.

By BAILEY HOSFELT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I spent my fourth Saturday living in New York City on Central Park’s Great Lawn, surrounded by over 10,000 people as we simultaneously sang lyrics at the top of our lungs and danced for seven consecutive hours.

Looking back at the skyline during the sunset and seeing just how many strangers were behind me experiencing the same day, I practically had to pinch myself to prove that it was my present reality. How did I go from living the mundane day to day in a town nobody has ever heard of to this? How did I get to become a part of this revolutionary event?

The answer to how I got tickets to attend the Global Citizen Festival is fairly simple. After noticing various advertisements for the free ticketed event, I did a quick Google search and learned that anyone could win entrance into the festival after completing a series of action journeys.

Because I signed petitions, made phone calls to my state government, sent emails persuading world leaders to attend and tweeted to raise awareness for the cause, I was entered into a lottery system to win a pair of tickets to the festival on Sept.

26. As soon as I received the email that I was one of the lucky winners, I was overcome with excitement not only to see a handful of my favorite artists perform live, but to learn more about how I, as a global citizen,

could bring about change.

With the United Nations General Assembly meeting the same weekend, the festival had a clear political overtone that was at the forefront of the event. Considering the main Global Citizens goal is to eradicate worldwide issues such as extreme poverty, hunger and disease, as well as provide insurance for the education of girls, environmental sustainability and investment in foreign aid by 2030, it was understood that the audience members supported the global goals displayed on the stage.

However, the argument can be made that those in attendance were not truly devout social activists dedicated to the movement, but simply people who saw an opportunity to see Ed Sheeran for free and seized it.

I disagree with this claim.

The main objective of the event was to make members of the audience aware of the injustices occurring in the world, thus inspiring them to become global citizens who take action in whatever way they can, as opposed to being a generation of bystanders.

Because this event was free of charge for those who took action, the teenagers and twenty-somethings that accounted for a large percentage of the audience saw that you do not need big bucks to make a difference.

The Global Citizen movement is not heavily reliant on an influx of monetary donations from its supporters, but rather reinforcement through personal action and word of mouth.

Young adults in previous generations were likely to parade through the streets passionately vocalizing their opposition to the Vietnam War, holding homemade signs that read “Make Love Not War.” Conversely, the way millennials show their awareness towards societal problems and injustices is typically through 140 characters on Twitter or photos shared on Instagram.

After letting down the audience with a video message instead of a physical appearance earlier in the concert, Michelle Obama shocked the crowd when she came on stage to speak about her campaign titled “62 Million Girls,” which highlights the large amount of females who are deprived of the basic right of educa-

tion. The First Lady urged the audience members to post pictures on Instagram with the #62MillionGirls explaining what necessary tools they learned in school. Because Beyonce posted an image to her profile supporting the campaign, her 47 million followers could see the hashtag, click on it to inquire about its significance and learn more about the motion to let all girls learn.

Ultimately, it is the start of a conversation that is extremely important. If 60,000 people attend the festival and only half of that number take away the message to become more conscious of world issues, it will still bring about change.

Malala Yousafzai is one individual who believes that girls deserve an education and has dedicated herself to make a difference despite living in a place where she had no voice.

At just 18 years of age, she was able to stand before an enormous audience and give a powerful speech urging for justice, equality and peace throughout the world. The warm ovation given in support for her tireless efforts of activism proved just how impactful a singular person can be.

As Vice President Joe Biden said, “It’s within our reach. We can change the world. We really can. You can.”

Bailey Hosfelt, FCRH ’19, is undecided in her major from Wheeling, West Virginia.

OPINION

Page 8

R Serving Fordham University campus and community since 1918 The Fordham Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The Fordham 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 Fordham 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 over 10,000. The Fordham Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

FordhamRam.com Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Executive: (718) 817-4380 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458

Editor-in-Chief Joe Vitale Managing Editor Katie Meyer Copy Chief Robert Frerich Assistant Copy Chief Sydney Keen News Editor Laura Sanicola Assistant News Editors Erin Shanahan Cailin McKenna Opinion Editor Margarita Artoglou Assistant Opinion Editor Kristen Santer Culture Editors Nicole Horton Amanda Giglio Sports Editor Anthony Pucik Assistant Sports Editors Sam Belden Drew Casey Photo Editor Casey Chun Assistant Photo Editors Zach Miklos Caroline LeBranti Digital Editors Blaine Kaniewski Anna Carey Ellie Bruckner Business Director Mike Krzysko Executive Copy Editor Zachary Jones Faculty Advisor Dr. Beth Knobel Editorial Page Policy The Fordham Ram’s editorial and ramblings topics are selected on a weekly basis and reflect the editorial board’s view on a campus issue.

Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram appreciates submissions to fordhamramletters@ gmail.com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Fordham 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 Fordham Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

October 7, 2015

From the Desk | Kristen Santer

Hashtag Activism Needs to #Stop Hashtag activism was first defined

by Philip Howard, the principle investigator for the Digital Activism Research Project, who described the term as “what happens when someone tries to raise public awareness of a political issue using some clever or biting keyword on social media.”

Some popular examples of hashtag activism are #Kony2012, #BringBackOurGirls, #IceBucketChallenge and #ICantBreathe.

It is good to feel impassioned when we witness and experience injustices, and there is nothing wrong with spreading awareness and caring about society. Hashtag activism is a great way to give charities and social causes much-needed exposure.

Through the medium of Twitter and other social media sites, many people believe they are helping their cause by retweeting its slogan.

However, hashtag activism is a pas-

sive form of true activism. We believe that pouring ice water over ourselves, instead of actually donating to the ALS charity, and retweeting #ICantBreathe, instead of talking to our senators and congressmen, will make a difference. Hashtag activism is a good way to have an instant impact and spread awareness, but there are not many examples where it actually produced major societal changes.

In a commencement speech to the Dartmouth Class of 2014, Shonda Rhimes stated, “A hashtag is not helping. A hashtag is not a movement. A hashtag does not make you Dr. King.

A hashtag does not change anything.

It’s a hashtag. It’s you, sitting on your butt, typing into your computer and then going back to binge-watching your favorite show.”

Nigerian-American writer, Teju Cole criticized the #BringBackOurGirls campaign on Twitter, arguing

that the recent interest oversimplified and sentimentalized the country’s issues, especially since this kind of activity has been going on for quite some time.

I reacted the same way during the height of #Kony2012. I remember seeing the posters around my school and my friends on Facebook constantly reminding everyone that the date to stand up was coming. Jason Russell’s video that started this craze is very cute and well intentioned, and features his adorable son.

However, there were no real steps or practical solutions to #Kony2012; all we knew was that Kony needed to be stopped. Further, no one really knew anything about Kony besides the fact that he was abducting children and forcing them to become child soldiers. People also ignored the fact that Kony had pushed out of Uganda several years before the short

film was released.

Hashtag activism does not replace the benefits of solid societal restructuring and change put in place by physical organizations based on relationships and dedication. Prescribing to the “cause of the day,” only to move on to another in a few months, will not produce lasting change. I advise everyone to choose one cause and stick to it, either by taking 10 dollars out of your monthly budget or donating time to your local food kitchen.

Editorial | Campus Safety

Campus Shootings Point to Necessary Change Last week, when nine people were killed in a senseless shooting at an Oregon community college, the national dialogue launched into what has become, as President Barack Obama stated, a “routine.”

Many on the left were quick to note that the shooting was far from an isolated incident. Many media websites, like Vox, were quick to point out that the school shooting had been one of many in recent years, despite the fact that not every shooting receives the same publicity.

According to Everytown, a pro-gun regulation group, there have been 142 shootings in American schools alone since January 2013. The incidents have killed 73 and injured more than 100, the site states.

President Obama’s own remarks struck a tone of frustration, saying that the American public had “become numb to this.”

He continued, “And what’s become routine, of course, is the re-

sponse of those who oppose any kind of common-sense gun legislation. Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out.

‘We need more guns,’ they’ll argue.

‘Fewer gun-safety laws.’”

He then asked: “Does anybody really believe that?”

Columnists and media pundits weighed in, too, though perhaps The Onion, in a satirical article it circulates after every shooting, made the point most succinctly with the headline, “No Way to Prevent This, Says Only Country Where this Regularly Happens.”

The attempts to capitalize on the Oregon shooting were seen by Republicans as an attempt to politicize the issue, however, resulting in critical comments from Republican Presidential candidates.

“Imagine a politician politicizing something,” Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and current GOP candidates said during an interview. “When do

we get to the point where we have people who actually want to solve our problems rather than just politicize everything? I think that’s what the American people are so sick and tired of.”

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and current GOP candidate, said, “There’s always a crisis and the impulse is always to do something, and it’s not necessarily the right thing to do.”

Donald Trump, the business mogul and GOP candidate, said that he supports the ownership of assault weapons and said that shootings are unpreventable. In an interview he said, “No matter what you do — guns, no guns, it doesn’t matter — you have people that are mentally ill, and they’re going to come through the cracks, and they’re going to do things that people will not even believe are possible.”

Call it a routine, call it a ritual, but the cycle will continue unless our

politicians at the state and federal level enact tougher restrictions on guns.

Though bold, the plan proposed

by Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential candidate, is a notable blueprint of further action. The plan, for instance, includes a mix of new legislation as well as executive action and would expand background checks and close several loopholes in federal policy. Other candidates on the left, like Bernie Sanders, may not support federal action on gun control, but advocate for action in state legislatures.

In the meantime, many GOP candidates will continue to oppose restrictions and even advocate for easier purchasing laws, like many politicians in Texas are doing.

The refrain from the right is that there is “No way to prevent this.”

This could not be any further from the truth.

Letter to the Editor Re: “Sexual Assault Alarms Community” and “Following Claim of Assault Off Campus, Student Retracts Story” Sept. 30, 2015 Dear Editor, In the course of one day, The Fordham Ram published two articles relating to the same incident, one that was brought to the university’s attention through the Public Safety Alerting system. By now, we should all be aware that Saturday’s sexual assault in the alleyway of Beer Cave was a hoax.

A female student accused two men in the Bronx of assaulting her — one for restraining her while the other groped her. They were allegedly alarmed by unknown individuals approaching the parking lot “as one was unzipping his pants.” She implied that he was going to rape her.

On Wednesday, we learned that “the assault she reported had never occurred.”

Obviously, there is something twisted and sinister happening in the mindset of this individual, to be able to lie about something so horrifyingly sick, and I honestly hope she receives the care she needs. That be-

ing said, she is welcome to seek that treatment outside the gates of Fordham University.

What she did is unforgivable. It is not acceptable. It is not permissible.

It is not OK. Not only is it an insult to anyone who has ever been a victim of sexual assault here, both on and off campus, it belittles their experience. It takes away from their credibility. Again, they are invalidated as people.

The consequences of one “isolated” incident are felt most intimately by a focus group, but this hurt and harm affects our entire Fordham community. In light of the recent bias incidents, this should sound painfully familiar.

How can we say that we, members of the collective and expansive Fordham community, are genuinely proud of the Bronx, that we care about our relationship with the Belmont community, and that we promote diversity and are advocates for social justice, when one of our own students accuses innocent individuals from a vulnerable group for a serious and punishable crime?

But I, too, am guilty of assump-

tion. I didn’t think twice about the validity of her story. My friends didn’t either. We had walked through that same parking lot, on that same night, less than an hour beforehand. We had even seen two men huddled on the curb near the alleyway. Later, we immediately assumed that they had been the two assailants.

But are we wrong to assume for the sake of safety? Her story was appalling, but not difficult to conceive - not here, not anywhere. But we are here, and the circumstances have only been heightened by an ever-present sense of caution that is the reality of our location in the Bronx.

Her lie has widened a rift that we hesitate to acknowledge but is impossible to ignore. We all struggle with the stark contrast that exists on either side of the iron fence that surrounds our beautiful home. I don’t believe that most students are comfortable flaunting their money and privilege (I also acknowledge that this is a broad generalization of our student body), but the vast majority do acknowledge that we have an obligation to the poor and impoverished, and that we have an opportunity to perform charitable

work and create a positive presence in Belmont.

She has hindered attempts to establish that presence. She has damaged the sanctity of our mission.

To me, the answer is clear: she has betrayed our university’s standards, and hence she is not a part of our Fordham community.

This conclusion follows the same logic that has been applied to the bias incidents from earlier this month by the campus minority groups who have bravely and compellingly spoken out, and as indicated in Father McShane’s email from September 18: “There is no place for hatred and prejudice at Fordham.”

I implore the administration not to take this incident lightly, despite the intimate circumstances. I hope that it will become a constructive lesson for our community, despite the anger and confusion that now upsets us. And if we as students have learned anything from the past few weeks of emails, classes, dorm talks and floor programming all centered on the essential importance of diversity, now is the time to prove it.

— Claire Bailey, FCRH ’18

OPINION

October 7, 2015

Page 9

Closing Schools for Muslim Holidays

STEVE RUARK/AP

Many Muslim families are faced with the decision of whether to send their kids to school or keep them home on holidays.

By HALIMA BEGUM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Two weeks ago, my little brother stayed home from school during Yom Kippur. The next day, he stayed home during Eid. This is because last March, the de Blasio administration announced that it will add Eid as a holiday to the New York City public school calendar. I was very happy to hear this news and feel that all public schools should close during this important holiday. This move by the administration not only meant that my little brother would get to attend Eid prayer in the morning with my dad and participate in Eid festivities, like visiting relatives and collecting Eid money, without missing a day of school, it also meant that NYC public school students would get a chance to learn about and celebrate a growing community that has been misunderstood and mistreated since 9/11. This is also a learning moment for adults.

Having come to America two

years post 9/11, I have personally faced discrimination from peers who had no idea what 9/11 was and how it happened, but accused all Muslims of part taking in it. I think ignorance that was passed to them by their parents, relatives and other adults played a major role in this dynamic. Muslims were not the only ones that were affected by 9/11. Sikh communities also felt the impact.

One of the most talked-about incidents was a shooting in a Wisconsin gurdwara, Sikh house of worship, in August of 2012. In 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing took place. The immediate reaction of the crowd after the explosion was to jump a Saudi man who happened to be a spectator at the marathon. Soon after, Palestinian doctor Heba Abolaban, who lives in the Malden area of Massachusetts, was punched in the face by an angry man. As he walked away, he called out religious stereotypes against all Muslims. Earlier this year, an Indian grandfather was

left paralyzed by a police officer who received a call about a “suspicious man in the neighborhood.”

And just last month, 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for building a clock that school authorities mistook for a bomb. I can keep going, but I will not. Again and again, the Muslim community faces widespread discrimination for something one fundamentalist group did 14 years ago. We are currently living in an Islamophobic America and this discrimination has to come to an end. I personally think it must start in the classroom because the media is not helping.

Shows like “Quantico,” which follows the lives of young FBI trainees, one of which is the halfIndian main character who is suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, do nothing to break the stereotype that Muslims are terrorists. Similarly, “Aliens in America,” which aired from 2007 to 2008 and followed a Pakistani exchange student living with an American family in Wisconsin, simply showed that people

of the Islamic faith with brown skin tone cannot be normal Americans and blend into the American culture.

Currently, several schools districts in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Jersey close their public schools in observance of the Muslim holidays. New York’s move to embrace the diversity of public school students, 10 percent of whom are Muslim, a 2009 study revealed, should encourage other school districts to celebrate the diversity of their students. Students should not have to choose between their faith tradition and school. Some parents and school administrators are concerned that if they add Eid to the public school calendar, their children will miss two days of school. The de Blasio administration addressed this issue by turning two half-days into full school days. This is something they should consider.

Having attended public school for eight years in America, I was aware of other faith traditions. I knew what Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and Easter were. I knew what the “Ash Wednesday” designation on my calendar meant. The lines to “Kwanzaa Child” are still ingrained in my memory from middle school choir. I still know how to play “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” on a clarinet. My point is, we should not prioritize one faith over another when they all share values that promote human goodness. Plus, if children get a holistic understanding of different faith traditions, they will become more worldly and less ignorant of the diverse world around them. Is that not what school is supposed to teach?

Halima Begum, FCRH ’16, is a humanitarian studies and urban studies double major from Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Cosby Degree Rightly Rescinded

By THERESA SCHLIEP CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Bill Cosby’s quick evolution from lovable sitcom father Heathcliff Huxtable to serial rapist is startling, even to the most infrequent Cosby Show viewers. In my youth, when I watched reruns of his hit television series on TV Land, I never thought that the affectionate father with his charming array of color-blocked sweaters could ever be a potential rapist.

Perhaps the most despicable parts of the fallout from the dozens of accusations against him were not the alleged premeditated, drug induced assaults themselves, but the subsequent verbal assaults on his accusers. From accredited people like Whoopi Goldberg to anonymous trolls on the internet, Cosby’s fan base has proved more valuable in protecting his public image than his lawyer.

On Sept. 24, 2015, the Office of the President of Fordham University sent a statement via email to both students and faculty that reported the university had rescinded Cosby’s honorary degree, given to him in 2001, saying “By his own admission, Mr. Cosby’s sexual exploi-

tation of women was premeditated and ongoing. Equally appalling is his longtime strategy of denigrating the reputations of women who accused him of such actions.”

Cosby’s lawyer has provided consistent defense, though. In a statement attacking the email sent by Rev. Joseph McShane S.J., president of the university, John P. Schmitt said “Mr. Cosby has been convicted of no crime and has steadfastly maintained his innocence.”

However, the standards of law and the standards established by Fordham should and do differ. Our bar should be higher than that of the court of law.

In 2005, Andrea Constand accused Cosby of drugging and raping her. This past July, a deposition was released that details Cosby’s testimony.

These facts can be found in the many pages of the documents.

He obtained a prescription for Methaqualone, a sedative, to give to women he desired, and did give it to at least one of them. Regarding this, Cosby said “She meets me backstage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex.”

Cosby offered money to one of his accusers for her education. This

woman just wanted an apology.

Beth Ferrier’s story that detailed another Cosby allegation was prevented from being printed in the National Enquirer.

In January 2015, Cosby joked at a stand-up performance that “you have to be careful about drinking around me.”

More than fifty women have accused Cosby of sexual assault. Many of those assaults were allegedly drug induced. The efforts to defend Cosby have often come at the expense of the victims. They are accused of falsifying claims and of profiting off the fame of Cosby, and of being “un-rape-able,” according to Damon Wayans.

The actions of Cosby and his associates, regardless that he has not yet been convicted of a crime, do not reflect Fordham University’s values. Honorary degrees must be given to only those with the most outstanding moral character.

The law does not indicate morality. Just because Cosby is innocent until proven guilty does not mean that he did not commit these crimes.

We live in a society where 97 out of every 100 perpetrators of sexual assault walk free, according to The

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Women often do not report rape because of this overwhelming statistic. In a culture that blames victims and has discouraged dialogue on sexual assault, it is not only advisable, but also necessary for Fordham to revoke Cosby’s honorary degree.

Fordham’s nullification of Cosby’s degree establishes that the university does not condone sexual assault. This seems like the lowest standard of morality that an educational institution can command.

But it is currently a higher standard than the one imposed by the law.

Cosby had a remarkable career.

He made a television show about an African-American family not only popular, but a pop culture phenomenon.

However, this does not excuse Cosby of sexual assault, drugging or contributing to rape culture through jokes and light-hearted banter about rape. He has not yet been convicted of any crime. His actions and morality, though, are not deserving of an honorary degree.

Theresa Schliep, FCRH ’19, is undecided in her major from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

Marcelle Meyer Holding U.S. Accountable Oversees On Saturday morning, the United States conducted targeted airstrikes in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in response to reported fighting around a Doctors Without Borders hospital. The hospital was destroyed, and at least 22 people, both doctors and patients, were killed.

The use of airstrikes is a controversial issue for reasons such as this: civilians often become unintended casualties when the target is near a populated area or facility. Doctors Without Borders has called for a completely independent investigation, as opposed to the current investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Defense, and it is the obligation of the United States government to agree.

Despite varying opinions on the implementation and results of its missions, the United States certainly has many good intentions in its international interventions.

We generally become involved in foreign conflicts when there is a concern about oppression, human rights violations or international instability. The current mission in Afghanistan that the airstrike attempted to aid is to reinforce Afghan troops fighting against Taliban occupation. We want to hold governments and leaders responsible for their crimes and help citizens find power in their own countries.

Should we not expect the same of ourselves?

How can we as a nation involve ourselves in international conflicts with the intention of holding governments accountable for their mistakes if we are not also held to that standard? Regardless of intent, is an airstrike that kills over 20 civilians not a potential violation of international war standards and worthy of an independent investigation? How can we claim to play by the same rules as the rest of the world if we are only held accountable by ourselves?

It would certainly be a stretch to say that the United States is going to become a tyrannical dictatorship any time in the future; however, that does not mean that we are not held to the same standards that are set to protect other countries from this kind of oppression. The purpose of independent investigations into war crimes, or any other type of international conflict, is to stop one government from having the ability to exempt itself from international law.

Conducting a domestic investigation sends a message to countries like Afghanistan, where we conducted an airstrike under the justification of enforcing international standards of human rights, that we are above the rules we expect them to follow. The Afghan people, Doctors Without Borders and the international community deserve an independent investigation that holds the United States responsible for its actions in the same way that every other country is held responsible.

OPINION

Page 10

October 7, 2015

What Is the Point of Sending in a Ballot?

Ending Gun Violence

By LINETTE MUNOZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

We have all seen awareness campaigns and have heard speeches that try to motivate us to get out there and vote for the national election, but nothing changes. The 18-24 year age range still has the lowest voting turnout overall. The previous election was the 12th year that less than 50 percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 to 24 actually voted. Only 38 percent of young adults voted. The question is: why aren’t college-aged adults voting?

Some people will say it has to do with the issues politicians tackle and how young adults do not care about them. Out of the contenders in the current primary season, the only one who seems to be delving into the issues of tuition fees and student loans is the old guy that seems like the grandfather I have always wanted (I am looking at you, Bernie Sanders).

The other politicians just touch the surface of these issues while diving into issues that deal with things older voters are interested in.

And why wouldn’t they? It makes the most political sense to appeal to the older population, the population that had the highest voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election. But at the same time, they are closing off the voters who could vote for them. How do they expect college-aged adults to get involved in voting if nothing pertains to us? Why would we care about things such as social security while we are being punished for years with debt because we decided to get a better education and pursue a better life? But if topics are the case, why are some young adults still voting? Topics, then, can’t be the sole reason as to why voting is so low among young adults.

Others will say it is because we are constantly moving and are not

CHRIS GARDNER/AP

Many public awareness campaigns and programs are dedicated to getting college students to the polls on election days.

settled down until we move up to the next age bracket. We have other things on our mind, like finding a job.

Filling out the paperwork to vote in a state you might move out of for a job is time consuming and impractical. While this may be true, there are other reasons for low voting among the 18-24 age group that has not been touched on by the public.

Think back to your high school days, before you turned 18. What did you learn? Maybe how to balance a chemical equation. Maybe how to say hello in Spanish, Italian or German. Maybe you learned how to identify the powerhouse of the cell (it is the mitochondria for those who did not know). Now, think about when you used any of that information outside of academia (other than to win a trivia night). Personally, the things I spent hours studying in high school have rarely helped me out in the real world. That is the problem.

The education system is not teaching us practical tools to navigate through this democratic nation. Voting was only mentioned to me once while I was in an advanced placement his-

tory class, and my teacher had us watch and discuss a debate. That is more than what some of my friends or even my brother, who went to a different school, learned. We are not taught the importance of voting until we get to college, and by then we have already been taught that it isn’t important. If voting was as important as finding the the derivative, something my calculus teacher said I would use in real life one day, wouldn’t it have been taught to us in high school with the rest of the things we have learned?

Voting is portrayed to us as something that adults do on a Tuesday in November. It is a spectacle to be seen on a late night as if we were watching the “X Factor” or “So You Think You Can Dance,” not determining the leader of the nation. We are not taught that voting is a voice for us, a way to get what we want done. Instead, we are told to write letters to our Senators and Representatives.

We are told to stand outside in protest and sign petitions. We are told to share a picture on Facebook. We are taught to do things after the votes have been cast, after people who will

do nothing for us are in power.

We do not vote because we do not realize the power that we have. Our votes can be seen as our voices; who we decide to pick as the leader of our nation, our states and our districts determine the legislature of our future.

We have been failed by the systems in this country that were supposed to empower us. Instead of teaching us what tools we have for change, we were taught a lot of useless information to make us seem competitive to other countries.

Young adults have an obligation to ourselves to vote. It is the most effective way to make our voices heard. If we do not like something, let’s change it. We can do it, so why not? Learn how to apply for an absentee vote (something that is counted regardless of the myth that says it is not). Make sure to vote if you can. Get involved in politics because our votes matter in determining the future of this nation, and our own future.

Linette Munoz, FCRH ’16, is a psychology major from Toms River, New Jersey.

Turning to the Fordham Community

By KACIE CANDELA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sunday, Sept. 27, my boyfriend Kieran and I got on an 8:24PM Metro North train back to Fordham’s campus after a day in Manhattan. He had a splitting headache and was resting his head on my backpack, which was on my lap. I smiled at two uniformed members of the FDNY as they walked on and sat across from us. I have always felt safer knowing that there are uniformed personnel present. But these two firemen were quite obviously drunk, and were not even settled into their seats before they began to harass us, saying, “Hey smiley, why don’t you come sit on my lap?” and “You’re not a real man, she should be sitting on your lap. . .I’ll show you what a real man is.” I was shocked into silence. How could I respond to such rude comments, especially coming from the mouths of men who are supposed to command respect and authority? I looked away, squeezed Kieran’s hand a little tighter and tuned out their voices as best I could.

As their taunts blended into the humdrum of the moving train, another voice began to contribute to the noise. It was a voice I thought I had heard before, cheerfully discussing baseball with his across-the-aisle

Cate Carrejo

KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP

The FDNY is supposed to make people feel safe, but sometimes they do not.

seatmates. Lo and behold, Father McShane was sitting in the seat behind us. In an instant, my anguish dissipated and was replaced with comfort and a slight giddiness — I have seen Father McShane speak at Fordham events, but never had the chance to talk with him one-on-one before.

His conversation partners were also Fordham students, and we all had a great time speaking with Father McShane until the train pulled up at the Fordham Road Station.

When I reflect on this unusual train ride, two important lessons come to mind: primarily, that not all servicemen fulfill the ideal image we

are taught to have of them. There is nothing wrong with two grown men getting drinks after work, nor does their behavior reflect the entirety of the FDNY. But I expect uniformed persons to act nobly, at the very least, out of respect for the uniform and all that it symbolizes. What I find most disappointing about the behavior of these two firemen was the biases that were revealed through their comments. They exposed a view of gender roles that are still (unfortunately) widely held today: that men must always put up a strong face in public and that women should be male-dependent instruments of pleasure.

To me, this prompts the question: how are these biases expressed in high pressure situations such as rescue missions? Do these men secretly sneer at the tearful man who just lost his home to fire? Do they comfort the tearful woman out of genuine humility, or for their own pleasure? My hope is that all firemen and servicemen, of every branch, are able to set their biases aside and act objectively when interacting with the public, both on and off duty.

The second lesson and true silver lining of this episode was the demonstration of how truly supportive and nurturing the “Ramily” is. I felt undoubtedly safer knowing that at least three members of the Fordham community were there to step in had the situation escalated further. Father McShane is truly the embodiment of our community and its values — although he was exhausted after a long week of Papal obligations, he cheerfully engaged with the students around him and made us feel as if our housing assignments and sports preferences were the most important thing he discussed with anyone all day. If that isn’t cura personalis, I don’t know what is.

Kacie Candela, FCRH ’19, is an international political economy major from Franklin Square, New York.

A few of you might have seen this on Facebook, but I’m hosting an open, unaffiliated gathering in remembrance of the victims of the Umpqua Community College mass shooting that occurred this Thursday and I want to see every member of the Fordham student body there.

I was originally intending to keep this event more politically neutral, to simply hold a communal gathering to show support for this community that is in so much pain. But I wouldn’t want to organize it and attend it and ostensibly lead it if I didn’t want some action to spring from it. I can’t pretend to be there and not be actively wishing for change in this society, where a mass shooting is a fairly common occurrence.

Everyone should be paying rapt attention to this issue right now. Sandy Hook Elementary saw the second deadliest school shooting just under two years ago in December 2013; since then there have been 986 mass shootings in America, resulting in at least 1,234 deaths. And the numbers will keep climbing if we continue to do nothing about it. We really haven’t done anything about it. The reporting is dwindling and inconsistent.

Shootings where only a few people lose their lives are no longer worth covering (the University of South Carolina’s shooting earlier this year received little more than passing notice by national news organizations).

There is no more moral outrage anymore, no call to action to accompany these attacks. Twice, politically moderate gun control laws have been proposed to Congress and have been shot down by the Senate. The gun rights activists are louder and more organized than the massive majority of the U.S. population that is pro gun control, so nothing changes.

We can no longer act as though this is acceptable. It must change if we are to call ourselves a developed nation. We are the only country in the world where gun violence happens with such frightening regularity. We are facing a domestic terrorism problem that is not present anywhere else on Earth. We have to come together to change our laws if we are to remain a society with any human dignity at all. There’s no way I could stand before anyone who shows up on Thursday night and not be honest with my thoughts about this subject. The tone of this gathering will be solemn and respectful to the victims of this heartbreaking act of violence, but in its very existence, it will be in active protest to the gun laws that are degrading American society. The event will be politically neutral in that we will not take the time to discuss politics in that moment, but by showing up, you will be making a statement.

I really hope to see many of you there. This is not an issue we can be passive about anymore. As a community, we should be publically responsive to a tragedy of this nature and clear in our urgent need for change.

We have to be united as a student body against this violence. So please, meet me on Eddie’s on Thursday night at 8:00 to join in remembrance of the 10 lives lost at Umpqua Community College and all victims of gun violence in our society.

October 7, 2015

CULTURE

Page 11

The Fordham Ram

Organist Brings Magnificent Music to University Church

By ANNEMARIE MARCONI STAFF WRITER

When it comes to classic fall activities to do on a Sunday afternoon, attending a classical organ concert is not something that comes up on many people’s lists. And yet, there I was, sitting in the University Church this past Sunday, October 4, listening to nationally renowned concert organist Nathan Laube create beautiful music from what my untrained ear can only describe as a three-tiered behemoth of a piano. In fact, the church’s regular baby-grand piano looked almost miniscule next to the image of the grand and powerful organ, coming from a projector in the choir loft so that the audience could both see and hear Laube perform. A friendly usher told me that I would find the acoustics better in the front, and I am so glad I took his advice, because to be completely immersed in the world of Laube’s music was such a privilege.

Nathan Laube has made a living by teaching organ and performing all over the world. He is really young and hip, which is surprising considering his choice of profession, but this seems to give him a kind of Josh Groban-esque qual-

ity. The concert itself was put on in memory of Rev. James Boyce, O. Carm, who served as chair of the Department of Music and Art History at Fordham University until pancreatic cancer took his life at the young age of 60. It was the second annual performance dedicated to the late priest.

Before the concert started, I began to think that the organ might sound naked or incomplete without a choir. However, within the first few bars of Laube’s first selection, I knew that I was about to be proven wrong. Laube performed selections that displayed the full range of the organ’s musical capacity. He commanded the instrument to work, and it brought forth a powerful and magnificent sound from its pipes as his fingers moved deftly through winding, melismatic runs.

Nevertheless, in the next selection he tamed the beast, making the instrument sound as dainty and pretty as the garden-variety violin.

Being able to see Laube through the projector added an invaluable multi-sensory experience to the concert. Everything about Laube was intentional, from his posture to the subtle movements of his head and rocking of his body. He never once slipped, faltered or hesitated.

THE FORDHAM RAM/ZACK MIKLOS

People gather to hear renowned organist Nathan Laube perform a variety of classical pieces.

He and the organ commanded such a sense of awe that I felt almost guilty tearing my attention away to take notes for this article.

Laube’s performance became an invitation into the world of each song he performed, which was especially apparent when he would take a microphone after each selection to explain the origin of the

next one. His second piece, which was written during World War I, made the sobriety and contemplativeness of war so vivid that there was actually no applause following its conclusion. The emotion of the piece sat thick and heavy in the air until Laube relieved the audience with a lighter, more jovial selection. When he was done, he re-

ceived not only a standing ovation, but also a request for an encore, which was then followed by a second standing ovation.

Overall, Nathan Laube’s concert was a tremendous success. Mr. Robert Minotti, Fordham University’s director of music, said that over 60 more people attended this year than last.

Review | Television

Colbert and Noah Settle Into Late Night Gigs

By NICOLE HORTON CULTURE EDITOR

The late night television shakeup led to the highly anticipated debuts of “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” taking over for David Letterman and Jon Stewart, respectively. As they have had the chance to settle into their roles, how do the two compare to their predecessors and late night show competition? First, it is important to take a look at the public’s reaction to their hiring.

For both CBS and fans, Colbert was the clear choice in terms of experience and popularity.

Fans were advocating for a female host to take over for Stewart and join late night, like Chelsea Handler, Amy Schumer or Kristen Schaal. When it was announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah would be filling the role, people were both surprised and angry. First of all, they did not know who he was. Apparently, I was one of the few people who had checked out his Netflix special.

They then took to Twitter to criticize Noah for his tweets (that some called inappropriate jokes but others called sexist or bigoted) from a few years ago.

Consequently, people were more excited to see Colbert take over for Letterman (who looked tired and bored of his guests for at least

EVAN AGOSTINI/ AP

South African comedian Trevor Noah took over for Jon Stewart on Sept. 28.

a few years) than to see Noah replace Stewart, whose departure came as a surprise to fans.

Both Noah and Colbert poked fun at themselves and their critics as they settled into their new gigs. Noah acknowledged that he was not a popular choice to replace Stewart and that he was not even the network’s top choice.

He joked that the others who declined knew something he did not, and the job was being outsourced to an immigrant. Some people wondered who the “real” Colbert was since he spent nine years portraying a caricatured

version of a political conservative, so Colbert decided to find out in the first installment of “Stephen Colbert’s Who Am Me?” That was, of course, after googling “Stephen Colbert Inner Self ” failed.

Spoiler alert: he is an INFP. However, Fordham seniors did gain some insight into the “real Stephen Colbert” during “The Cardinal and Colbert” event in 2012. Colbert showed his sensitivity during an interview with Vice President (and rumored presidential candidate) Joe Biden.

They had a very sincere, emotional conversation about the loss of

Biden’s son, Beau, and discussed the role of religion when coping with loss. They discussed how Colbert lost his father at a young age, and his mother raised 11 children on her own. It definitely showed how Colbert was able to empathize with guests and allow them to feel comfortable enough to open up.

Noah’s first guest was comedian Kevin Hart, who shared that he was taking his comedy tour international. He presented Noah with a gift — a selection of ties.

Hart said that he expected him to get more excited, which showed that Noah may have been anxious.

However, Hart’s anecdotes took the pressure off of him and the interview ended up flowing well. Colbert’s first guest was George Clooney, who promoted a fake movie entitled Decision Strike to poke fun at celebrities who only go on late night shows to promote their latest projects.

It was fun to see Clooney show more humor in a talk show appearance.

Colbert and Noah are using to their advantage the upcoming 2016 presidential election and the general controversy (or craziness) surrounding Donald Trump. Colbert had Trump as a guest, and started off the interview by saying, “I’ve said a few things over the years that perhaps in polite company are unforgiv-

able.” Colbert may have played nice when Trump was there, listening to him talk about the wall between the United States and Mexico, but that did not mean he would be off-limits for future jokes. After all, there would be no fun in that since Trump jokes have become a late night staple.

Noah humorously compared Trump to African presidents in terms of attitude and policy, showing that Noah is looking to bring an international perspective to “The Daily Show” as he settles into life in New York City and tries to wrap his head around American politics. However, Noah showed that he lacked Colbert’s expertise in interviewing and talking politics during an interview with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was a guest during his first week.

Both Colbert and Noah showed that they can bring their signature comedic styles to programs that have a reputation for a certain brand of comedy. Noah’s inexperience is evident, but he is bringing a different perspective and comedic edge to “The Daily Show.” Colbert will prove to be a must-watch as the presidential election approaches.

It seems likely that Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien will continue to be the more entertainment-focused late night entities that spawn more viral hits.

CULTURE

Page 12

October 7, 2015

La Dolce Vita

A Trip to the Homeland: Food, Family, Sicilia

By PASQUALE GIANNI STAFF WRITER

Sicily — the crown jewel of the Mediterranean. And it is indeed among the more captivating places I have ever seen: the beauty, the climate, the history, the warmth and animation of the people, and yes, the food.

Ok, I must confess: this is not my first time visiting Sicily, nor can I claim to be unbias ed (I trace my roots back to the island where many relatives of mine still reside). And there is perhaps no better place to have family to visit than Sicily, where family is at the core of all things. But my chief concern lies in my fear that I will be unable to convey with words on paper the unimaginable warmth, affection and love I was met with. At the same time, I am left speechless by the cuisine and sheer magnificence of everything I saw and experienced.

In its 2700-year history, the island had been conquered as a key trading port for the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards, just to name a few.

And it all shows in the food, the language, the architecture, the genetic makeup and the daily lifestyle. In this way, Sicilians are always Sicilian first and Italian second, as it is a culture unto its own. Sicily is famous for so many

COURTESY OF PASQUALE GIANNI

Sea urchins, along with clams and swordfish, are abundant in Sicilian markets.

things and among them, of course, thanks to Hollywood films and profit seeking media outlets, is ‘The Mafia.’ You can rest assured that this trip did not include any ‘Mafia Tourism.’ This one was about family, unparalleled beauty and food.

Upon my arrival, I was chauffeured around like a young prince by close loved ones of mine who were able to show me around Palermo and treat me to a truly authentic experience. This included unbelievable Arab-influenced street food, which you will find a great deal of in Palermo. After a night at their lovely home, I was whisked away to their enormous farm estate where I roamed among

their many sheep, horses and cattle and sampled divine homemade cheeses. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for their feast, which was incredibly difficult for me to resist after I saw the lamb that was being prepared. However, other relatives were anxiously awaiting their turn to see “Il Cugino” (the cousin). My next stop was Corleone, the town made internationally famous by Mario Puzo and The Godfather. It was tranquil, warm and welcoming. I did not refuse any loving offers of affection and food from my generous relatives. This included, of course, fresh meat, arancine, pasta and homemade wine, just for lunch.

And for dinner, another feast had

been arranged at an Agriturismo with more fresh cheese, olives, mushrooms, pork, pasta and homemade ricotta cheesecake.

Next I went to stay with relatives in Palermo, the city center.

In the open air markets, I ate fresh shucked clams, sea urchin and swordfish. My cousin prepared a typical Sicilian lunch for me, consisting of pasta con le sarde (sardines), pasta alla norma (with fresh eggplant, tomato sauce and ricotta), swordfish, caponata, and for dessert, two Sicilian specialties — cannoli and cassata (a ricotta cake). This was followed by a Saturday night out on the town in the ‘Vucceria’ section of Palermo, which is the main strip of night life consisting of bars and pubs lined down a narrow cluster of streets. Young folks imbibe into the wee hours of the morning, snack on delicious street food after catching whiffs of the glorious aroma and scream at each other in the sweet sound of Sicilian dialect. Ironically enough, it lies in the midst of abandoned ruins of buildings that were bombed by allied forces during World War II, which instead of being torn down and repaired, remain as a constant reminder of the history and perseverance of Sicily and the Sicilian people. Sunday consisted of a trip to Renzo Barbera Stadium to see Palermo vs. AS Roma which, unfortunately for Palermo, did

not end well. It was a good game nonetheless, and the fans were crazy, spirited and, above all, devoted. After the game, I took a much necessary trip to Mondello, the beach pier of Palermo, which is lined with luxury beach hotels, spectacular seafood restaurants and mansions. Before my departure I had to stop for brioche con gelato, another Sicilian specialty which consists of an almost ice cream sandwich on a sweet brioche roll. And I know it may be hard to believe, but this trip was less than four days.

Lots of details, I know. But in Sicily it is about the small details — the family, the food, the laughs — that matter most. Sicily will forever have a special place in my heart, constantly running through my thoughts and my veins, but not just because it is the land of my grandparents. Perhaps nowhere else on earth can one find a culture like it: rich and unique, with the various and quite diverse influences at work, with food that people around the world try, unsuccessfully, to replicate, and people with a certain warmth embodied by a never-ending effort to give and serve others. Next time you plan a European vacation, make sure Sicily makes the list, but only if you plan on returning again and again because if you go once, it too will be a part of you forever.

Culture Shock | Claire Kim

Chvrches’ Transition To Complexity Chvrches released their second studio album, Every Open Eye, on Sept. 25th after a long three year wait. Burdened with the difficult task of topping their critically acclaimed debut album, The Bones of What You Believe, the Scottish synthpop band spent a substantial amount of time preparing their follow-up.

Their first album included their hit single “The Mother We Share,” which has greatly affected the music styles of today’s pop. But, Chvrches has overcome incredible odds and has returned to fans with an album that does not disappoint. Every Open Eye is brimming with optimism and ambition with an underlying grit that keeps the sound addicting. The main vocalist of the band, Lauren Mayberry, creates a relaxing and pure vibe with an edge that is wonderfully integrated with the 80’s inspired funky synthpop.

The pop music produced by Chvrches is a new and refreshing take on classic pop music. (It’s no wonder Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen have adopted similar textures and released them on their own albums). The colorful sounds that have the possibility of coming off as simple or juvenile are paired with deeply meaningful lyrics about everything from the struggles of finding happiness as a millennial to the misogyny that cloaks the music industry. The

connection to millennials is especially pronounced in their song, “Playing Dead,” where a bold Mayberry belts out, “I am chasing the skyline more than you ever will.”

During their three years of preparation for the album, Chvrches became well-known for receiving and countering misogynistic online abuse. The target of these attacks Lauren Mayberry, has been openly defiant and unrelenting in exposing these offenses both online and in her music. The abuse that Mayberry faces as a female public figure is saddening but all too familiar. Her lyrics in the songs “Never Ending Circles” and “Leave a Trace” demand closure to these experiences while leaving the listener devastated.

Chvrches has taken a step back from the fame they received with their debut to construct a cleaner and more refined sophomore album. They have come back to the music scene with songs that are sonically, musically and visually much more complex and thoughtprovoking than their previous work. In a time where synth music is being produced and shared more than ever before, Chvrches still dominates by being the best in the field. The shiny novelty of synth music will not fade for this group as their dedication to the lyrics and meaning continues to be clearly shown in each of their works.

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CULTURE

October 7, 2015

Page 13

Horror Shows Taking Over Television

By MEGAN BRONNER STAFF WRITER

There have been TV shows in the past that have had a mix of scary, science-fiction and drama. But we have not come across TV shows specifically categorized as “horror.” Recently “American Horror Story” has become one of the most popular shows on TV and, rather than being an ongoing drama series, each season is like watching a separate horror movie. “American Horror Story” has become a huge success, and is also known for the famous actors and actresses who join the cast each season. This season comes with extra buzz and excitement as Lady Gaga joins the show. The popularity of “American Horror Story” could have influenced the start of other horror television series.

Recently, two shows have aired which are also considered a part of the horror genre: Fox’s “Scream Queens” and MTV’s “Scream.” Considering that horror and psychological thrillers are such popular genres in film, it was only fitting that they come to TV. “Scream Queens” is an anthology in its first season and in addition to its horror genre is a comedy. Being considered two genres, rather than only horror, allows for this show to be seen as different from “American

FX

“American Horror Story: Hotel” comes out October 7, featuring Lady Gaga.

Horror Story” and brings a lighter edge to the horror genre in general. This aspect of “Scream Queens” can appeal to more viewers who may be turned off by the horror genre. The first season of “Scream Queens” is centered on a

series of murders that take place at a sorority. “Scream Queens” is a show that is able to poke fun at itself, considering the idea of murders taking place at a sorority is intended to be comedic, which

A New Take On an Inspiring Story

By MARIE D’ANDREA

This film focuses on the heroism of not only Yousafzai, but her dad.

possible: “I used to leave their house after interviewing and filming each night wondering what I would do in her father’s situation. As the father of two girls, I would like to say yes, I’d be able to do what he did.”

The most significant idea he continued to reiterate was how important it was to him for channel the perspective of a young female in the documentary.

He explained that he wanted the documentary to appeal to young females all over the world, and hoped that they would be inspired by Yousafzai’s struggle, as well as her continued fight for women. After hearing this, I realized that there was only one question I had for the director: “Mr. Guggenheim, what best allowed you to channel the perspective of Malala in the film? Or rather, to channel the perspective of a young female, since you are, in fact, not a young female.” He finished my trailing sentence for me, joking, “since I am, in fact, a 51-year old man.”

His response was inspiring. He began by stating that the one thing he feels he is best at is, “being a very empathetic person. I try to get inside

people’s brains, that’s my job. I tried to get Malala to speak about things she’d never spoken about before.

Some of my best moments with Malala were spent just sitting with her at her kitchen table one night, talking.”

Guggenheim ended with words that summed up his own mission: “It’s my job to sort of help people burst, and give birth to their own story.” These words have resonated with me ever since. I would like to think that is exactly what Malala feels is her job, as well — to make people feel bothered, to provoke a sense of passion and purpose in others so that they may be moved to act. And in acting, perhaps, give birth to their own stories, too.

Yousafzai, now age 18, remains a fervent activist of women’s education today. She started a global movement, inspiring thousands, helping them burst. “Malala” can be translated as “grief-stricken” from an Afghan dialect called Pashto; it is safe to say that this young woman is anything but that.

show is always refreshing and exciting.

This coming season of “American Horror Story” added Gaga to the mix, which has definitely added to the excitement and hype of “American Horror Story: Hotel.” The same is true for “Scream Queens,” also an anthology, with many famous cast members like Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts and Lea Michele. In general, “American Horror Story” and “Scream Queens,” have been given more recognition in the media than MTV’s “Scream.” This could be attributed to the fact that “American Horror Story” and “Scream Queens” have better-known casts.

In general, the horror genre will always remain popular, considering its ability to captivate audiences through mystery and intrigue. In recent years, there has been a general surge in the popularity of TV shows. Horror television shows bring new life to the genre because, rather than watching one horror film, audiences will be able to follow the plot for multiple episodes and seasons. It will be interesting to see how “American Horror Story” will potentially continue to shape the future of the horror television industry, and how new horror television shows will fare in seasons to come.

Binge Guide | Nicole Fiorica

Arrow At a glance: Genre: Action Seasons/Episodes : 3/69 Avg Episode Length: 42 minutes Available on: Netflix

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head for promoting women’s education. Having remarkably survived this attack, the young Pakistani female has become a symbol of hope for women seeking education across the globe.

Today, she is a winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the author of her best-selling autobiography, “I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban.” Yousafzai continues to be an advocate for women’s rights — primarily education — as she shares her story with the world.

Inspired by her story, director Davis Guggenheim sat down with Yousafzai and her father, who is the owner of a chain of low-cost private girls’ schools in Pakistan. In Guggemheim’s new documentary, He Named Me Malala, he unveils the story of a young, feisty female on a mission.

Despite the in-depth detail of her autobiography, Guggenheim’s chronicle of Yousafzai’s journey makes for an inside look into the life of a spirited adolescent. The film also sheds light on the influence of Yousafzai’s biggest fan: her father.

I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Guggenheim in a phone conference last week. The director spoke of his experience working with Yousafzai and her father in a way that showed her father’s curiosity and dedication to his child.

At one point he was cornered by another college student with the question: “What would you do in Malala’s father’s situation? Would you support her continuing to fight for what she believed in despite the possibility of more danger?” Guggenheim let out a sigh and paused before responding to this, carefully crafting his response in what he wanted to be the most sincere and genuine way

means that this show will not be as serious. However, MTV’s “Scream” takes on a different perspective than “Scream Queens” and “American Horror Story.” “Scream” is a television series based off of the movie franchise by the same name. This television adaptation follows a group of teenagers after a brutal murder in their town.

The difference in plots across shows means that they will not get repetitive or be deemed “too similar.”

“American Horror Story” has probably influenced the direction of the genre by being able to appeal to audiences in a different capacity and for consecutive seasons. Given that the creators of “American Horror Story” and “Scream Queens” are the same, it is probable that there was some cross-influence. However, it is interesting that the shows can come under the same umbrella genre of horror but have completely different premises, proving that this genre is diverse.

As mentioned, horror television shows are becoming more popular but is their popularity due to their intriguing plots or the slew of famous celebrities who are a part of the casts? Considering that in “American Horror Story” many of the characters change from season to season, a change in plot is ensured and the

What it’s about: Based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, the CW’s “Arrow” is about Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), a playboy billionaire presumed dead after his yacht capsized five years ago. However, it turns out he was actually stranded on an island and he picked up some neat tricks along the way. Now returned to his home in Starling City, a much-changed Oliver assumes the persona as a vigilante in order to take out the people he believes to be ruining his city.

Why it’s so good: It certainly helps to be a fan of the superhero genre before tuning into “Arrow,” as the show introduces a lot of DC characters such as the Black Canary, Arsenal and Deathstroke, dropping hints along the way so comic fans can predict who’s who.

At the same time, the show is incredibly welcoming to new fans and provides a part-action adventure and part mystery aspect, as flashback scenes slowly uncover what happened to Oliver during those five years he was presumed dead.

“Arrow” has also led to spinoffs like “The Flash” and the upcoming “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” so viewers with any interest in those shows might enjoy starting at the beginning.

Why you should binge it: While “Arrow” initially lays the groundwork for a “villain of the week” episode format, with Oliver seeking retribution from one criminal at a time, the plot of the show

picks up midway through the show’s first season, and it quickly becomes hard to stop watching. In the grand scheme of things, three seasons isn’t all that much, so watching the show quickly will set you right on pace to tune into the fourth season, which starts this week on the CW. Standouts: Stephen Amell does a great job carrying the show, and it’s a lot of fun to watch him grow as an actor, even over just a few seasons. Newcomers to the series should definitely keep an eye out for IT girl Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), a guest star who quickly becomes a trusted ally of Oliver’s, and is eventually promoted to a series regular in season two. Fans of “Teen Wolf ” will also recognize Colton Haynes as Roy Harper, an initial love interest to Oliver’s sister in season one who will eventually join Team Arrow as well. Lastly, the vastly underrated Detective Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) is a fascinating and brilliantly-played contrast to Oliver, who pushes him more than anyone to examine his conscience as his vigilante exploits begin to escalate.

Potential Pitfalls: Naturally when the CW picks up a superhero show, you can expect things to get a little bit campy. Very few characters that die actually stay dead — with several exceptions I obviously can’t specify outright — so you can predict a certain amount of eye-rolling in the show’s later seasons. At the same time, the show can be super dark and a little depressing — leading to jokes in the lighthearted spinoff “The Flash” about how the team at Starling City never seems to have any fun, although producers have alluded to happier things for Season Four.

CULTURE

Page 14

October 7, 2015

Who’s That Kid? | Zane Larwood

Advice | Catherine Kastberg

Fun Fall Activities At Fordham and Beyond It’s finally fall, and we all know what that means! It’s finally time for apple picking, pumpkin patches, hot apple cider, cider donuts and football Sundays. We are so used to experiencing these fun, fall activities when we are at home with our families, so why can’t we do them with our friends while at school, too?

A good thing about Fordham is there are a lot of students who live nearby and have access to a car, so you can take a day trip to go apple and pumpkin picking. Some orchards are only about an hour away in North Salem, Croton Falls and Yorktown, New York. If taking a car is not an option, you could take the train right to the Golden’s Bridge stop and take an Uber to whichever orchard you choose. There is also an awesome list of the best orchards in New York in Time Out, and I recommend you check it out! Enjoy some hot apple cider and donuts while walking around the orchard.

Once you return to school, it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy all the incredible goodies you’ve brought back. There are so many delicious pastries and pies you can make with apples and pumpkins.

At my house, Sundays are for watching football all day while eating amazing finger food. You can have this same experience at a friend’s apartment or dorm here at school. There are tons of easy recipes, such as taco dip, one pot mac and cheese, chips and guacamole, pigs in a blanket and so many others. Pinterest is a great place to get recipes and ideas for all of these.

If you do not feel like making your own delicious dishes, you always have the option of ordering food from Howl! They have amazing wings and delicious burgers. Or if you are feeling very adventurous, you could go and have a sit down meal, enjoy a beer and watch the game on the big screen.

Sundays are not the only days made for football anymore. Joe Moorhead, has brought new life to the football program these past three years.

The team’s winning mentality and results have sparked a great new atmosphere for football Saturdays that have not been seen in years past.

Jack Coffey field is no longer just a football facility. It is a gathering area for all Fordham students to come together, united by the same rooting interest and desire to cheer on their school and peers. It has become an all-day festivity and is right on campus, an easy and free commute and great experience for all students.

Fall is also the only time during the year when the MLB baseball playoffs take place.

This year especially is a unique one: both New York teams are in the playoffs and are located only a train ride away. There is nothing like October post-season baseball where everything is on the line. It provides an entertaining activity with friends in an energetic ballpark atmosphere. It may be costly, but from experience, it is certainly worth it.

Review | Movie

By HALEY HUGHES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Scott Ridley’s The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut working for NASA who becomes stranded on Mars and has to learn to survive. Based on the novel “The Martian” by Andy Weir and adapted into a screenplay by Drew Goddard, the movie explores the struggle of survival of Mark Watney, the American astronaut who was incorrectly pronounced dead by his crewmembers when a nasty storm hit Mars.

Watney was knocked out after he was speared with a metal rod during the epic storm. After realizing he was isolated, Watney performs self-surgery on the wound in the first scene, a bold and remarkable portrayal maintained by Matt Damon throughout the movie.

Scott assembles a well-known cast with Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), who all play charac-

Student Takes on Politics in Washington D.C.

By KATIE MEYER MANAGING EDITOR

At the end of this past summer, Fordham student Zane Larwood, FCRH ’16, landed a great four-week State Department internship. The only caveat? The department’s location was in Washington D.C., which made for one heck of a commute.

Every Wednesday, Zane left his Rose Hill dorm at 3:45 a.m. to catch a 5:45 plane to D.C. After the hourlong flight, he worked two days at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and South Central Asian Affairs, or NEASCA. He stayed overnight in D.C. and then, after work on Thursday, caught a plane home, sometimes not arriving back at Fordham until 10 p.m.

Zane, an honors student and International Political Economy Major, with minors in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, is quick to admit that the amount of travel could be daunting. However, perhaps he was better prepared for it than most — his father is a pilot, and not only has Zane been flying regularly for most of his life, he can also fly for free.

His dad’s job, Zane said, was a major factor in his life growing up. He, his parents and his two younger sisters moved frequently when Zane was young, settling first in San Diego, California, then Chinle, Arizona, where they lived on a Navajo reservation.

After that came Columbus, Ohio, for a short time, and then Honolulu. The longest stretch was spent in Honolulu — they stayed there for ten years while Zane’s father flew for Northwest Airlines. They moved once more before Zane started high school, this time to Minnesota, when Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Airlines and his base was relocated to Minneapolis.

Hawaii, Zane said, was his favorite place to live. It is more laid-back than anywhere else he’s been, and has a vastly different culture than anywhere else in the U.S. It was also there that he learned to surf (he calls himself “not

COURTESY OF ZANE LARWOOD

At the urging of his mother, Zane no longer has the mustache pictured above.

great, but confident”) and developed his love for hiking and camping.

Through it all, Zane developed a perpetual fascination with politics.

He can recall exactly when it started, too — in middle school, he wrote a detailed preview and analysis of the Bush versus Kerry election (and is quick to note that he predicted a Bush win). Over a decade later, that interest is what led him to make the (arguably insane) commute to D.C. every week.

“I want to work in foreign service…and this internship was a kind of perfect way to get some insight into what that actually entails,” Zane explained. There was a lot of normal “intern stuff,” like managing schedules, drafting cables, and getting everything approved by undersecretaries, he recounted. But there were also ample opportunities for biggerpicture learning.

Every Friday, for instance, Zane had the opportunity to attend a gathering of officials called the All Hands Meeting, a top-level briefing at which

the department’s specialists gave a rundown of the week’s events in their particular units.

Experiences like this helped him fine-tune his job aspirations. Zane had known he wanted a political position, but, he said, working at the state department made managementbased positions seem more attractive.

“The state department, yes it’s very political, but it’s not like Congress,” he said. “There’s so much partisanship…but here, it’s more that you’re representing the U.S. as a whole from a foreign policy perspective. There could potentially be a new president every four years, but your allegiances and your job here don’t change.”

And a position like that could allow him to make good use of his interest in the politics of small, developing countries, Zane said. Down the road, he wants to use a political position, as well as his particular interest in struggling nations, to make a difference.

“At the end of the day,” he mused, “isn’t that every college student’s goal?”

Space Adventure Takes a Serious Turn ters who work for NASA and contribute their smart, yet serious, dispositions in order to bring Watney back from Mars. The movie consists of two parallel narratives, the first being NASA’s scramble to fix the disaster, and the second being Watney’s search for resources to sustain himself. The two narratives eventually intercept when Watney establishes communication with the NASA station.

What could have been a quiet movie focused on a single consciousness is filled with Watney’s lighthearted humor and pleasantness as he frequently video logs his days, which Damon skillfully portrays in a performance that shows off his range. His wide-ranging intelligence is shown when he uses his knowledge of botany to grow a potato crop and expand his limited food source. The audience sees how Watney remains playful during his unprecedented time on Mars, as he complains about being forced to only listen to 70s disco, the leftover belonging of his commander, played by Jessica Chas-

tain (Zero Dark Thirty).

After many mishaps, including a botched shuttle launch meant to send Watney shipments of food, the Ares III crew, to which Watney belonged before they mistakenly left him on Mars, turns their spacecraft around after heading home to Earth and rescues Watney. The movie ends abruptly, ensuring that Mark Watney has made it home safely and gone on to instruct beginner astronaut candidates at NASA. Watney’s solitude is frequently interrupted by the scenes featuring the happenings of Earth, the result of Scott’s contrast of narratives to demonstrate that when one is alone and isolated, he really isn’t alone at all. Even at Watney’s most isolated moments, his actions are still being watched and accounted for from 50 million miles away.

The Martian is a movie that takes you into the vastness of both outer space and the human mind to then focus on the ideal that humans can never truly be alone and isolated as long as society exists.

October 7, 2015

SPORTS

Page 15

The Fordham Ram

Men’s Soccer Starts A-10 Play with Big Win

By TARA CANGIALOSI STAFF WRITER

In its first game against competition in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Fordham men’s soccer team dominated the visiting La Salle University Explorers on Saturday, Oct. 3, winning 3-0.

The wind and rain from Hurricane Joaquin made conditions less than ideal, but it did not stop the Rams’ offensive outburst bolstered by the German brothers, sophomore Jannik Loebe and freshman Janos Loebe. The Loebs accounted for all three goals, while senior outside midfielder Ryan Walsh assisted all three.

The Rams first scored in the 11th minute. Red-shirt senior Andres Penfold controlled the ball on the far sideline, and then centered the ball into the box.

Walsh was there, where he sent the ball airborne with a back-heeled flick. Jannik Loebe chested the ball down for control and sent a scorching shot into the back of the net from 12 yards out, scoring his first goal of the season and giving the Rams an early 1-0 lead.

The Rams continued to dominate throughout the half, and capitalized again in the 44th minute.

Walsh started the attack on the right side from 30 yards out. He dribbled toward the left and sent a pass through to an oncoming Janos Loebe. The younger Loebe, who has speed on his side, managed to get to the pass before La Salle’s keeper, Matt Kirk. Loeb snuck the ball around Kirk, expertly placing

ZACH MIKLOS: THE FORDHAM RAM

The Fordham men’s soccer team began their Atlantic 10 title defense with a dominating 3-0 win over La Salle on Saturday.

it into goal to put the Rams up 2-0 by the end of the first half.

“It feels really good to contribute,” Janos Loebe said. “But [it is] most important to win the game and I try my best to help the team.”

The first part of the second half was fairly even, as La Salle began to put up more of a fight. But Fordham remained sound on defense, shutting down any attempts the Explorers made.

However, the Rams were not finished on the offensive end as they scored a third goal in the 69th minute.

Again, the score came from a combination play from the Loebe

brothers and Walsh.

Jannik Loebe broke away from his defender 30 yards from goal.

He passed it wide to Walsh on the left side, who then crossed it to the penalty spot. Janos Loebe was in the exact place he needed to be, and scored a one-timer that went off the right post and into the net.

The goal sealed the 3-0 victory for Fordham, capping off a stellar first performance against an A-10 rival. The team only allowed two shots in the game, both of which missed the frame of the goal. Fordham’s keeper Rashid Nuhu did not record a save, while La Salle’s Kirk had two.

The victory brings the Rams’ record to 3-4-3 on the year and 1-0 in the A-10, while La Salle drops to 4-6-1 overall and 0-1 in the A-10.

With family from Germany in the stands, the Loebe brothers could not have pulled off a better performance at home and Walsh arguably had his best game of the season. If all three players continue to excel, the Rams will be in great shape.

“This game was very important for all of us and it felt amazing to be able to contribute to the success of the team,” Walsh said. “Everyone on the team came out ready to win.”

The Rams must keep up this momentum and continue to improve in all aspects of the game to have a chance at another A-10 tournament berth. In the next few games on the road, against Davidson on Oct. 7 and Duquesne on Oct. 10, Fordham will need to set the tone for the rest of the season.

Consistent offensive performance will be crucial, especially in terms of finishing goals in the final third. If the Loebe brothers can continue their prolific scoring and if Penfold can get more involved up top, the Rams are unstoppable.

Continued productivity and a forward mentality from Walsh, junior Ole Sandnes and senior captain Ryan Cupolo will also aid the Rams in the midfield.

Additionally, Fordham’s previous keeper, Sean Brailey, kept Fordham in games with some magnificent saves at critical moments last season, especially down the final stretch of the season.

Though this puts pressure on Nuhu as a freshman, he has noticeable athleticism and is fit to handle it.

“It will definitely build momentum going into our two away games next week,” Walsh said, when asked about how the win will impact the team’s next game. “Going into this week with confidence and a win under our belt will be very helpful.”

The Rams will look for their second A-10 conference win on Wednesday, Oct. 7 when they travel to Davidson, North Carolina. to take on the Wildcats.

Water Polo Wins Four of Six in California

By BRENDAN TAGUE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham water polo team headed to southern California this weekend, the heart of United States water polo, to compete in six games over three days. They began competition on Thursday, when they faced LaVerne and Mount San Antonio in preparation for the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament held at PomonaPitzer College.

The Rams first traveled to LaVerne, where they won by a comfortable 12-6 margin, including three goals from from junior RJ Simmons and two from senior Andrew Gonzalez, who was named CWPA Northern Division Player of the Week honors on Thursday.

Following this victory, the team visited Mount San Antonio College, where they handily beat the Mounties, 12-8. The Rams showed dominance again, never trailing at any point in this game, as senior Patrick Lennihan tallied four goals, backed by scores from Gonzalez, Simmons, senior Patrick Reyes, sophomore Ethan Vandeventer and freshman Magnus Sims. Alex Jahns started both games in the goal, being relieved by sophomore Bryce Charles in the fourth quarter against La-

SAMUEL JOSEPH: THE FORDHAM RAM

Tallying wins against La Verne, Mt. San Antonio, Occidental and California Lutheran, the water polo team is now 10-8.

Verne, and recording seven saves against Mount San Antonio in the second. Coach Harris said of the two Thursday victories, “...overall it was a good day. Two wins after a cross-country flight is a success.”

Over the next two days, Fordham competed in the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament, in which

they split four thrilling games.

The Rams began the tournament against Whittier College and led Whittier at the end of each of the first three quarters, leading 9-7 going into the fourth. However, Fordham gave up four late, unanswered goals and dropped the close game to Whittier in the final

minutes.

Next, the Rams played Redlands University, in what was likely the most tightly-contested game of Fordham’s weekend, if not the season. It was a defensive battle, and Fordham entered the second half leading 3-0. Redlands, however, came back with a fierce

5-2 run in the second half to send the game into overtime.

The Bulldogs scored first in the overtime period, taking advantage of the exclusion of Reyes. Soon after, freshman Magnus Sims scored a late goal to send the game into a second overtime.

Early in the second overtime period, Bulldogs senior Nelson Glendinning scored to seal a sudden-death victory for Redlands.

In the third game of the tournament, Fordham faced Occidental and won 7-6, bolstered by a stunning five goals from Lennihan.

This tight victory was followed by yet another close match against Cal Lutheran.

The game was close the whole way through, but Simmons netted a goal with less than one minute left to break a 7-7 tie and send the Rams home with another win.

The Rams showed resilience on this away stretch, competing in six very close games after a cross-country flight, and coming out 4-2, to improve to 10-8 on the season.

Fordham will have a break until their next conference macth, which will be played at home against Iona this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Last year, the team dropped two of its three matches with Iona, including the lone contest held at Fordham’s Colonel Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center

SPORTS

Page 16

Varsity Scores & Stats

Giulio Ricciardi Champions League Round-Up Manchester United 2-1 Wolfsburg: A wonderful performance

by Mata sparked United to a crucial Champions League victory at Old Trafford. Despite the away side scoring first, United rallied to pick up its first points in the group stages and rose to second place in its group table.

Manchester United has had a tough Champions League campaign so far after it lost its opener away to PSV back in early September. This match against Wolfsburg was definitely a must win in its journey through the Champions League. Meanwhile, its opposition, Wolfsburg, led by young star and summer signee Julian Draxler, is embarking on its first CL group stage since 2009.

The flood gates opened early as Wolfsburg midfielder Daniel Caligiuri beat the offside trap to slot home a point blank shot, leaving Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea with no chance.

The home side looked under pressure during the early stages of the match as it tried to recover from going down. It had a fantastic chance late in the first half when Rooney was found wide open in the center of the box but put his shot way over the bar to the dismay of home fans. After a handball in the Wolfsburg box, Juan Mata converted a penalty to tie up the match. United would continue to pile on the pressure and would be rewarded as Mata was again crucial in its second goal. A wonderful flick pass from him went perfectly to the feet of United defender Chris Smalling who calmly finished, giving the Red Devils a much needed victory.

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Benfica: Benfica earned a surprise away victory over Atletico Madrid, putting it in first place in its group.

Despite the home side taking the lead early through youngster Angel Correa, the Águias were clinical and scored two unanswered goals to grab all three points.

Coming into this match, both teams picked up wins in their first Champions League matches. Atletico picked up an important 2-0 away victory over Turkish giants Galatasaray while Benfica defeated group minnows FC Astana in a convincing 2-0 victory.

This match opened up with an early first half goal for the home side. It took the lead when French starlet Antoine Griezmann found Correa wide open in the box as he volleyed it in to send the fans at the Vicente Calderon into raptures. This lead wouldn’t last for very long, as Benfica came back into the match with a wonderful strike by midfielder Nico Gaitan. The Argentine slotted the ball perfectly, leaving goalkeeper Jan Oblak with no chance. In the 51st minute, young striker Goncalo Guedes had a clinical finish to steal the match away from the Spaniards. A Benfica counter-attack took advantage of the numbers Atletico put up front and led to a great finish by the 18-year-old forward. Despite the effort of Atletico to try to salvage a point, the away side left with all the spoils.

Benfica returned to Portugal as the only undefeated squad in its group.

October 7, 2015

Football Fordham 14 7 14 0 31 Lafayette 7 0 0 0 44 (FOR) Edmonds 234 yds (LAF) Brown TD Volleyball Fordham 0 Dayton 3 (FOR) Martinez 8 K, 9.5 pts (DAY) Emmenecker 22 ast Fordham 0 Saint Louis 3 (FOR) Fronk 20 ast, 8 digs (SLU) Rygelski 13 K, 10 digs Golf Macdonald Cup (FOR) Mongey

Men’s Soccer La Salle 0 Fordham 3 GOALS: Jannik Loebe (FOR) 11’, Janos Loebe (FOR) 44’, Jannik Loebe (FOR) 69’ Women’s Soccer

Rhode Island Fordham

0 1

GOALS: Widmann (FOR) 83’ Fordham 1 Saint Joseph’s 0 GOALS: Wagner (FOR) 50’

7th T-6th

Water Polo Fordham La Verne

12 6

Fordham Mt. San Antonio

12 6

Fordham Whittier

9 11

Fordham Redlands

7 8

Fordham Occidental

7 6

Fordham California Lutheran

8 7

Athletes of the Week R.J. Simmons

Natalie Martinez

Junior

Freshman

Water Polo

Volleyball

It was a busy weekend for Simmons.

Traveling with the team to California for a six-game slate, his eight goals helped the Rams go 4-2. He had a hat trick in the first game, scoring three goals against La Verne.

Martinez has been making the most of her first year as a Ram, and last weekend was no different. In two games, the California native logged 13 kills, 17 points, two digs and an assist.

Each week, The Fordham Ram’s Sports editors honor one male athlete and one female athlete for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”

News & Notes • Rowing Meet Cancelled,

• Widmann Shares A-10 Player of the Week Women’s

conditions over the weekend, the West Point head race, in which the Fordham women’s crew team was slated to race, was cancelled.

Not wanting to waste a day of practice, the team members scrimmaged among themselves. Four women’s 8 boats headed out on the water, despite the choppy conditions and 18 to 20 mph winds. This weekend, the team will head to Connecticut for the Head of the Housatonic.

Soccer graduate student Jessica Widmann was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for last week, the first weekly award of her college career. In two games, she scored three points, including Fordham’s lone goal in its win against Rhode Island. VCU’s Kailyn Slade, who extended her points streak to five games, shared the honor with Widmann.

Team Scrimmages Due to rainy

• Edmonds Earns Player of

the Week Awards

On Monday, Fordham sophomore running back Chase Edmonds was named Corvias Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week. During Saturday’s game against Lafayette, Edmonds rushed 30 times for 234 yards and scored two touchdowns, including one that came as the result of a 67-yd run to end the first quarter. Edmonds was also named the College Sports Madness Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and the HERO Sports Offensive Stud of the Week.

•

Jack McLoone

O’Neil Announced as Assistant Swimming Coach On Monday, Fordham Swimming and Diving announced Jen O’Neil as its new assistant coach of the men’s and women’s squads. Previously, O’Neil was an assistant with Central Connecticut.

There, she assisted with all facets of the program, including recruiting, practices and travel coordination. Before coaching, O’Neil was a Division II All-American in breaststroke at Southern Connecticut.

– Compiled by Sam Belden

The NFL Has Its Best Month Ever This season, the NFL is celebrating the 50th iteration of the Super Bowl. But hidden in this milestone year is a milestone month, one that is every bit as impressive as a 50th Super Bowl. On Aug. 26, San Francisco 49er Ahmad Brooks was arrested and indicted on a charge of sexual battery.

That’s the most recent case of an NFL player being slapped with handcuffs.

For the first time since July of 2009, the NFL went an entire month without a player getting arrested. Now that is a milestone.

On one hand, the NFL can now say, “Hey guys, we’re doing better now!” But on the other hand, it has to qualify it by saying, “For the last 72 months, at least one player in our league has gotten arrested.” Seventytwo months is a really long time!

To remind you of how long ago that is, July of 2009 was the middle of “The Summer of Brett Favre Part II.” On July 28, he announced that he was rebuking the Minnesota Vikings’ offer to sign him out of retirement, which the New York Jets had done just a year before. However, by Aug. 18 (a month in which six NFL players were arrested), the Vikings convinced him out of retirement, and he led them to the playoffs.

Or an even more ironic throwback: on July 27, the day before Favre announced he would stay retired, Roger Goodell announced that he would conditionally reinstate futureEagle Michael Vick, who had just been released from jail following his dog fighting charges.

The point I’m trying to make is that the landscape of the NFL has changed as much as it hasn’t in the past six years. The only other months that this has happened in the NFL since 2000 (when USA Today started keeping track of NFL player arrests) were August of 2004 (a five-year gap between then and July of 2009), April of 2002 and December of 2000.

In other words, of the 176 months since January of 2000, only four of them haven’t featured an NFL arrest.

Sure, Roger Goodell came in 2006 and started laying down the hammer on law-breaking players in an effort to “protect the shield,” and he was lauded as the savior of the NFL. Well, how quickly the tables have turned. Now he’s almost universally despised, in part due to his poor handling of NFL player transgressions and his taking upon himself to punish players for their off-the-field crimes, oftentimes before things are settled in a court of law. These practices are supposedly a deterrent, but why do NFL players need a stronger deterrent than the full power of the law?

For all the NFL has done to change by being harsher on law-breaking players, it is still at its core a violent sport that tends to attract violent people. That much will remain the same ad infinitum, at least until the NFL decides to transition to two-hand touch. And really, what is the NFL to do? Clearly, its harsher punishments have done nothing to change anything except for the public’s perception of the commissioner. However, that doesn’t mean we should just accept this as fact.

Every month, thousands of Americans are arrested. Almost always, a few are NFL players. That is a denominator of statistical significance, and shows that no matter how much they smack the wrist, the hand punches someone else.

SPORTS

October 7, 2015

Page 17

Golf Takes 7th at Macdonald Cup

By SAM BELDEN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Last weekend, Fordham Golf moved further into its fall season with a seventh-place finish at the Macdonald Cup, hosted by the Yale University Bulldogs. The players had to fight through rainy and windy conditions, but the Rams, who turned in rounds of 298 and 294 to finish four strokes out of the top five and 24 strokes behind the victors.

The host track, Yale University Golf Club, is one of the most prominent college golf courses in the northeast and was designed by a team consisting of Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks.

After arriving in New Haven, Connecticut on Friday, the Rams’ opening 298 was enough to put them in the top five through the first 18 holes. However, although Fordham followed that score up with a 294, it was overtaken by teams that managed even more significant second round surges: Yale (285) and Rutgers (288). When all was said and done, the Rams stood in seventh place, just outside of the top half of the 13-team field.

“For a tournament with as much history as the Macdonald Cup, finishing seventh is very respectable,” said sophomore Joseph Trim. “The weather was awful. We were dodging the hurricane the whole weekend. The tournament became a test of which team could withstand the elements the best, which I believe we did very well.”

Sophomore James Mongey delivered a career-best finish, a tie for sixth place, and paced all Fordham players over the weekend. While others watched their performance fluctuate between the two days of play, Mongey was steady, shooting twin 72s to remain among the leaderboard’s upper reaches. Sophomore Matt Schiller did not finish far behind, signing for rounds of 74 and 72 en route to a tie for 13th.

“It was a solid finish,” said Mongey. “I putted really well. My ball striking isn’t as good as it normally is, but I made putts and it gave me confidence.”

The other Rams were not so productive. Junior Fernando Morett,

coming off of a career-best finish at the Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge in Vermont, failed to keep the magic going, signing for a 75 and 76 and tying for 35th. Trim stumbled out of the gate with an opening 79, but was able to right the ship on Saturday for a closing 74. Finally, freshman Tommy Hayes notched twin 77s for a tie for 45th, rounding out the scoring for Fordham.

“With multiple blind spots and the weather as bad as it was, it’s hard to stick to your original game plan,” said Trim. “I got off to poor starts both days, but once I settled in, I was able to hit some better shots and salvage what I could from the round.”

The Harvard Crimson was victorious, managing the top two round scores of the tournament: 285 in the first and 283 in the second. It was enough for them to cruise to a 12-stroke margin of victory over Minnesota. Minnesota’s Jon DuToit was the medalist, opening with a 72 and closing with a tournament-low 67 to shoot up the leaderboard.

While the Rams were likely looking to remain in the top five all weekend, it was still a strong performance, something that has become the norm for this season. Despite losing three seniors between last season and this one, Fordham has improved dramatically. In last fall’s full-field tournaments, the team finished in the top seven in just one out of six events, but this fall it is threefor-four.

Fordham Golf will tee it up again next week at the Lehigh Invitational, the final event of the fall. When the Rams arrive at Saucon Valley Country Club, they should feel the good vibes from last year — the team finished fourth in the 2014 edition.

That week, Trim tied for 23rd on the individual leaderboard, while Schiller, making just the fifth start of his collegiate career, tied for 60th.

Whether or not the Rams can match their performance from last year in the final event of this fall season, it has been a positive few weeks for the team. Although they have yet to win, they are, if nothing else, wellpositioned to compete in the spring and armed with the knowledge that the new-look Fordham golf team is holding up just fine.

By ANTHONY PUCIK SPORTS EDITOR

If you told Yankee fans at the beginning of the season that they would be in the playoffs, they probably would’ve been content. That’s a weird word to describe any New York sports’ fan base, but for the 2015 Yankees, fans would accept being content.

There were tons of question marks heading into the season. Masahiro Tanaka was coming off an elbow injury and elected not to receive Tommy John surgery. Ivan Nova started the year on the disabled list recovering from his TJ surgery. Alex Rodriguez was returning to MLB for the first time since his suspension and Derek Jeter was being replaced

by Didi Gregorius, a twenty-fiveyear-old shortstop from the Arizona Diamondbacks. A lineup full of aging, injury-prone veterans, a depleted starting rotation at the start of the season and a bullpen that was almost completely new, garnered low expectations, even for the “if you aren’t first you’re last” Yankee fan base.

So it came as a surprise to many when the Yankees found themselves in first place by a wide margin at the end of July. The top of the lineup, led

by Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, were both hitting around .300 and setting the table nicely for the middle of the Yankee order: Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Teixeira was having one of his healthiest years as a Yankee while putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the cleanup spot, but the real story was Alex Rodriguez. Last playing professional baseball in 2013, A-Rod looked like his old self, hitting 33 homers and knocking in 86 runs on the season and coming through in numerous clutch situations.

During this time, it wasn’t the starting rotation that was getting it done for New York, but its bullpen. Adam Warren converted from starter back to reliever, and was a valuable asset in the sixth inning when needed, but the real heroes were Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson, Delin Betances and Andrew Miller.

Shreve and Wilson, both additions from the offseason, proved to be manager Joe Girardi’s go-to seventh inning men throughout the year,

with earned run averages just over three. If Wilson and Shreve were impressive, then Betances and Miller were indescribable. The pair was nearly unhittable the entire season, striking out 209 batters combined.

Betances had a 1.50 ERA on the year with a 1.01 WHIP, while Miller filled the hole left by David Robertson at the closer position, saving 36 games with a 0.86 WHIP and 2.04 ERA to his credit.

The Yankees were flying high, and fans were overjoyed with the way they were crushing uncharacteristically mediocre expectations. That is, until the trade deadline. The Toronto Blue Jays, who were in the middle of the pack in the American League East, went all in at the deadline, acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki in an effort to catch the division-leading Yankees. Meanwhile, New York decided not to make too many changes to its roster because it was not willing to part with top prospects like starter Luis Severino, first baseman Greg Bird, outfielder Aaron Judge and shortstop Jorge Mateo.

Severino and Bird ended up being key contributors in the last few month for the Yankees, but did not have nearly the same impact as Toronto’s additions. Tulowitzki added to an offense that was already one of the best in the league, while Price brought an ace to a starting rotation

that was the Jays’ weakest link. Over in the Bronx, things weren’t going so well for the Yankees. Gardner and Ellsbury hit a cold streak, as did nearly the entire Yankee lineup, not to mention Teixiera going down with a season-ending leg injury. The bullpen also began to struggle, Betances and Shreve mostly, possibly due to fatigue. The end result was the Yankees losing its comfortable division lead to the Blue Jays.

With the division unattainable, the Yankees surely would get the first Wild Card spot, having at one point a four and a half game lead, but even that was a struggle. The Yankee struggles continued in September, and they didn’t clinch a berth until their last home game of the season, and it took a Houston Astros loss on the last day of the season to officially clinch the first Wild Card spot.

So in one way, the Yankees could look back at the regular season and see it as a success, because they did better than originally expected.

However, if you look back and see how well the Yankees played at points this year, only to see large leads in both the division and Wild Card slip away from them, you can say that plenty more could have been accomplished. Since we are in New York and New York fans are relentless, the latter is how this season will be remembered.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Alex Rodriguez is one of the main reasons for the Yankees’ success this season.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Thursday Oct. 8

Friday Oct. 9

Football

U Penn 1 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

Duquesne 7 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

Volleyball Cross Country TORD SOLLIE/FLICKR

The team barely missed coming in the top half of the 13-team tournament.

Women’s Tennis

Monday Oct. 12

Tuesday Oct. 13

Wednesday Oct. 14

St. Bonaventure 1 p.m.

VCU 7 p.m.

Head of the Housatonic

Rowing Water Polo

Sunday Oct. 11

Saturday Oct. 10

Iona 7:30 p.m.

St. Francis BK 7:30 p.m.

Duquesne 7 p.m.

Metropolitain Championship

La Salle 7 p.m.

Albany Invitational

Lehigh 7 p.m.

SPORTS

Page 18

Drew Casey

October 7, 2015

Stephen Fragano

Senior Profile | Ryan Cupolo

By TARA CANGIALOSI STAFF WRITER

It’s Good to be Amazin’ I’ve been an avid Yankees fan my entire life. My family roots for the Bronx Bombers, and my dad went to many games at the old Yankee Stadium as a kid. The pinstripes are in the Casey blood.

But it’s a different story for my three best friends. They’re all Mets fans.

For years, I’ve questioned their leanings, and admittedly, I have often found myself laughing uncontrollably at their team’s fate.

From the most bizarre injuries you could ever think of in baseball to the famous Bobby Bonilla day to the recent Wilmer Flores trade saga, I’ve found myself feeling bad for my friends time and time again. Through all of this, I’ve learned there’s no way I can ever root against the Mets.

Consequently, I couldn’t be happier for the Mets’ success in the regular season and their National League East crown. Mets fans truly deserve it. David Wright, although breaking, deserves it. Even Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson deserve it. They’ve endured so much criticism in the toughest city in the world to succeed, and they’ve now shown that they truly belong.

Citi Field, not Yankee Stadium, was the place to be this summer in New York City. And trust me, it wasn’t just for Shake Shack or the unique promotions. When an organization makes win-now roster moves, even if it’s still not in the best financial shape, it’s more than encouraging to fans.

Furthermore, when the changes pan out successfully, the conversation turns to one of even more promise. Can the Mets win the pennant and their third World Series?

Three weeks ago, when the Mets won eight games in a row, I would have answered with a definite yes.

But after losing five of their final six regular season games and only scoring two runs in their last four games, I’m not so sure.

It hurts me to say it, but the Mets picked the wrong time to go ice cold. Their brand new season starts Friday in Los Angeles, and there is next to no margin for error.

With the Mets’ youth and chilled bats, it doesn’t look good.

Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard are the most promising trio of young starting pitchers in the league, but no one can argue against the fact that they are seriously inexperienced in the postseason.

If the Mets are taken out by the Dodgers without a fight in the NLDS, will it be even worse for Mets fans? Yes, the team won 90 games and captured the New York media world, but if it’s all for nothing, I suspect it will hurt that much more.

To be honest, I’ll be devastated with all Mets fans if this dreary speculation comes true. I really hope it doesn’t, but Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw won’t be easy to top nearly 3,000 miles away from home.

If this is simply just incorrect speculation, then this could be an Amazin’ start to fall.

Ryan Cupolo is a senior and one of the captains of the Fordham men’s soccer team. Cupolo has been a steady part of the Rams’ lineup since his freshman year, starting all 21 games for the squad last year. Playing at center back position, the Astoria, New York, native has been a communicative leader for the Rams’ young defense, while also scoring three goals in his Fordham career thus far. Recently, Cupolo moved into the midfield to suit the team’s needs and will look for opportunities on the offensive end in his final season as a Ram. The Fordham Ram: How did you get started playing soccer?

Ryan Cupolo: My parents played sports in high school, and my dad has always been a huge sports fan.

When I was five or six years old, I began playing football, basketball, baseball and soccer. I was on a local travel [soccer] team until I was 12, and we became pretty well known.

At that point, I was playing travel baseball and soccer, but soccer was getting more serious for me and I had to choose. I played overseas in the Nationals Cup in France, which had 32 teams and that was an amazing experience. From that time, I stuck with soccer because I loved it and being at the level I was at, I wanted to make a future out of it for myself.

TFR: Describe your early playing career and recruiting process.

RC: Recruiting was really exciting. I was [recruited] the last year that we were allowed to play in high school and at The Academy — my club team that played in an elite league. College coaches would come watch Academy games. I captained my U16 and U18 teams at The Academy because the coach had known me and my capabilities. The best thing about the Academy was that we went to showcases. I was 16 at my first one, and you could see all the coaches on the lines, which was exciting, but nerve-racking. I had a really good showing at my first showcase, [but] my parents had not been through the process before. We kept our options as open as possible because we didn’t know the protocol for how to interact with the coaches.

TFR: Why did you choose Fordham?

RC: Fordham happened to be one of the first schools along the line. At first, it was so close to home — I went to The Beacon School near Columbus Circle and I would pass the Ram Vans every day — and I didn’t know that I would end up here. It came down to three schools: Northeastern in Boston, California Polytechnic State University and Fordham. I knew I wanted to work in New York eventually, I’m close to my family and also didn’t want to be a plane ride away. Boston is a [great] city but nothing compares to New York.

Now that I’ve been here, I like being close to home. I can go visit my mom in the city and my parents can come to all the home games.

TFR: What was the adjustment from high school and club soccer to college soccer like? How did you have to step up your game?

RC: In terms of skill level, it is a natural progression from the Academy level to the college level. You come in as a freshman, and you’re not as physical as everyone. When

Isles in Need of Smiles

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Cupolo started every match last year for the Rams, and is also a captain.

you get to college, you have guys who are way older than you. You’re lifting weights and trying to catch up with the competition in terms of physicality. The skill level at the Academy wasn’t too far [behind that of] the college level though, and it helped me keep up with the pace of the game.

TFR: You have played center back for the entirety of your Fordham career. Why the switch to the midfield this year?

RC: We had a really strong defense last season, and we didn’t lose any of the back four this year. So all of us expected to play together. But we had graduate student Lars [Zimmerman] come in, and he said that he could play either center back or center defensive mid. But he came in injured, and when he started playing at center defensive mid, his injury was a deterring factor for him to enter the midfield. Gabe [Stauber] asked me if I wanted to join the midfield instead. I like the position because you can control the game from where you are and be more creative. It’s been a learning experience, but once you get your positioning down, you can settle down and play your own game.

TFR: Describe the team’s run at the end of last season, and into the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.

RC: Last year was an up and down season for us. But what remained the same throughout was the positive energy and team chemistry. No matter a win or a loss, no one would get down on themselves because everyone wanted to fight for the seniors. Having not made the [Atlantic 10 Conference] tournament in the two years prior, we wanted to get there for them. And once you make it, anything can happen. Getting that first win against VCU on their home field gave us the confidence to say that it was anyone’s tournament. We pulled out a couple of clutch goals, and the next thing we knew, we were moving on to the finals. In the final, there’s this desperation where you say ‘there is no way I’m stepping off the field without the trophy.’ We didn’t want it to be all for nothing.

It was momentum, and a phenomenal team chemistry that brought us together to have the win.

TFR: How have you taken on more of a leadership role this year as captain?

RC: When you wear the captain’s band, I think it is a privilege.

From the moment you come onto the team and as a player who plays a lot of minutes, you are always try-

ing to put yourself in a position to mentor the younger guys. It’s just when you are a senior, it’s easier for them to look toward you. If we have a tough game and the younger guys are down, someone has to put a hand on their shoulder and say we have another game coming up and we need you. We have a good core group of seniors this year that can all play the leadership role.

TFR: What do you think you guys need to do right now to change momentum and get back to that spot?

RC: We have to keep our team morale high and [continue] moving in the right direction. We have some younger guys that are playing and they don’t realize that it is a long season. The non-conference games aren’t unimportant, but they are a stepping stone to building momentum going into conference play. Now that we have gotten here [to conference play], we recognize we had a tough time and had a slipup at Lehigh. But it is nothing that is not fixable with a good week of training. In soccer you have to learn from your mistakes, but also move forward after a bad result and recognize the potential the group has.

TFR: Do you have a personal favorite moment on the field that stands out to you?

RC: There are definitely two for me — the two goals I scored last year in the A-10 Championships.

When we went to penalties [in the game against VCU], we hadn’t decided the order. Four guys volunteered and we needed a fifth, so I did it. Our guys did a great job of burying every single one before me. And when you’re the fifth, you can’t put your finger on the feeling when you step up in that pressure moment. When it went in, that was an incredible feeling because I’ve never been in the situation to score a game-winner. It was such a big moment. I didn’t even have time to process it because, in the next game against St. Louis, I scored off a corner kick. Out of the air, I swung my foot at it and it just connected really well. Looking back at tape, both of those moments still give me chills.

TFR: Have any plans for after graduation?

RC: I know that I want to work in the advertising world, but I’m keeping my options open. I worked in national broadcast media buying this summer, but I’m just not sure if I want to be on the buying side that I worked in or the creative side, which would require some graduate school. It’s a decision I will come to in the spring.

For hockey lovers, Oct. 7, the first day of the NHL regular season, has been a much-awaited date. For New York Islander fans specifically, the ninth of October holds even more weight as it is the first game of the Isles’ regular season and the first ever regular season game played in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

The Barclays Center is a wellequipped, state-of-the-art arena compared to the dated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the Islanders have played since their first season in 1972. However, there is a buzz of dissatisfaction with the move in Islanders nation.

There is a wide range of reactions to the move from happy, to indifferent, to frustrated to all-out abandonment regarding the move. I can understand the frustration and dissatisfaction from those who live close to Hempstead, New York’s, Coliseum. The team has been a local mainstay for over four decades and is close to the Long Island Expressway., the Northern and Southern State Parkway. There are also some physical disadvantages of the Barclays as a hockey venue, but does the move warrant as much negativity as it has been receiving?

I think it would take much more than a relatively minor move to make abandoning one’s favorite team justifiable. When the Islanders’ contract with the Coliseum was about to expire and everyone knew they would not renew there was a lot of speculation that the team would go to Kansas City, Missouri or Quebec City, Canada. Compared to a move to another state or country, the move to another county on Long Island is peanuts.

They kept their name, still play in New York and are still on the island. For some reason the “Kansas City Islanders” just doesn’t make much sense. What many fans fail to think of is the increased draw for fans from within NYC and points north. The new home in Brooklyn is interesting because it helps the team branch out as a member of NYC’s five boroughs.

Another thing which has drawn a lot of negativity is the team’s new third jersey. It is mostly black and white with a small presence of orange. Many complain that it lacks a sense of tradition and is a sell-out to the Brooklyn Nets fans. The best way to get rid of it is to vote with your dollars and refuse to buy it. In any event, and maybe it’s just me, jerseys should play second fiddle to athletic ability. If a team wins me a Stanley Cup, I don’t care if the players skate around in pink dresses. It definitely would not be pretty, but as long as they win, I could live with it.

There should be some more smiles in Isles nation. This past season proved to be one of the most impressive seasons in recent years.

The combination of experienced players like Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy plus young, alreadyestablished players like Travis Hamonic and Brock Nelson. Plus new call-ups like Michael Dal Colle should prove to build the team into a consistent contender for years to come. At least that’s the plan.

October 7, 2015

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A SOLDIER OF FAITH Captain Lukasz Willenberg, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, knew from a young age that he had been called to a life of service in the Church. But it was only recently that he felt called to serve within the U.S. Army.

While it was a change for him, he still values the new way he’s exercising his calling by serving Soldiers.

“I feel blessed and possess this overwhelming peace and joy, which reassures me that I am doing what God wants me to.“

FILLING A GREAT NEED In recent years the civilian priestly ministry has been facing a human resource shortage, which directly impacts the ministry in the Army.

With fewer qualified clergy to recruit, there are fewer Catholic priests to help serve the needs of Soldiers. It was this shortage that initially inspired Father Willenberg to consider the Army.

“In 2010, I met [Maj.] Father Paul A. Halladay. He was the one who actually told me about working with the Soldiers and about the great need [for] chaplains in general, but especially Catholic priests.

I always had a desire to serve where I am needed the most. After learning about [the] shortage, I took it as a sign as to where I should be.”

SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE Although Father Willenberg has been serving as an Army chaplain for a short time, he has already distinguished himself by earning the Bronze Star, the third-highest recognition in the Army, for his contributions to his unit during his deployment in Afghanistan. But for Father Willenberg, the most important thing is the work he does with other Soldiers. One program that helps him make a positive impact is Strong Bonds, where Father Willenberg plans workshops for Soldiers, couples, and military families off base. During the workshops, he helps Soldiers tackle difficult life questions, strengthen their faith, reintegrate into civilian life, and more. “[Strong Bonds is] a wonderful resource for us as chaplains. … I love doing it. I have a chance to get to know the Soldiers, get to know the families during the workshops. And … going outside of post, going out to eat together — that’s where you build relationships with them.”

Outside of workshops, he has organized several events for Soldiers in his unit and congregation.

In fact, one of his greatest logistical undertakings was creating and organizing an officially

CAPT. LUKASZ WILLENBERG U.S. ARMY CHAPLAIN

sanctioned version of the Boston Marathon run in Afghanistan. But above all, he finds his best work is done by being a part of Soldiers’ lives.

“The ministry of presence, that’s such a powerful tool. When you just spend time with Soldiers, doing physical training, going on road marches, when you eat with them at the dining facility … you experience what they experience and automatically you are one of them. That’s where the ministry happens.

The Soldiers know that they can trust you, and that you are there for them. You build those relationships so then when they need you as a chaplain, they know where to go. [They] know that I’ll be there for them. That’s what I’m trying to do.

That’s my ministry. My battalion commander, (Lt. Col.) Brian C. North, told me once to ‘just take care of my Soldiers.’ That’s what I try to do every day.”

THE JOYS OF SERVICE While focusing on being a part of the Soldiers’ everyday lives, Father Willenberg cherishes the bonds he’s made with his fellow servicemen and women.

“You keep giving of yourself, but at the same time the ministry is so rewarding. [It’s in] those small things. Those small words of appreciation from the Soldiers mean much more to me than the formal recognition. From time to time, [a Soldier] says, ‘Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for your encouraging words.’ It’s the biggest reward that you can get.”

If you’d like to know more about serving Soldiers as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, visit goarmy.com/au34

Page 19

SPORTS

Page 20

October 7, 2015

The Fordham Ram

Football Speeds By Leopards, Moves to 4-1

By SAM BELDEN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Like last year, Fordham Football split its first two games of this 2015 season. Since then, the team has been undefeated and kept on pace to qualify for a third consecutive playoff berth. In their most recent game, a 35-7 road win against Patriot League opponent Lafayette, the Rams pulled it out by continuing to do what they have done all year: mixing it up on offense and refusing to let the other team charge down the field.

It was the first win for the Rams while visiting the Leopards since 2007. In the three matchups between the two teams at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium Lafayette won every time.

On Saturday, however, Fordham’s explosive ground game was on full display. The running back tandem of sophomore Chase Edmonds and junior Kendall Pearcey combined for 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns en route to the decisive victory.

“Our offensive success is contingent upon our ability to run the ball well,” said head coach Joe Moorhead, currently in his fourth season at the helm. “I was very pleased with the performance of our offensive line, tight ends and running backs in the run game.”

While the end result was positive for Fordham, the Rams started the game off on the wrong foot. After junior Jihaad Pretlow, returning the opening kickoff, failed to successfully lateral to Pearcey, Lafayette took over on the Fordham ten. A

MIKE GROLL/AP

Sophomore running back Chase Edmonds helped pace the Rams to a 35-7 victory over Lafayette College on Saturday.

short touchdown run from running back DeSean Brown gave the Leopards the first lead of the game.

Later on in the first quarter, the home team prepared for a field goal attempt, but graduate student Stephen Hodge swooped in to block the kick, holding Lafayette to a onescore lead. Then, junior George Dawson recovered the ball for Fordham and ran it to the Lafayette five, giving his team an opportunity to score the equalizing touchdown.

On the next play, junior quarterback Kevin Anderson did just that, finding senior tight end Phazahn Odom in the end zone to tie the score at seven apiece.

Just as the first quarter was winding down, Edmonds broke through the Lafayette defense to go on a 67 yard touchdown run, doubling

the Rams’ score. They scored again within the first few minutes of the second when Pearcey ran it 16 yards into the end zone. By the end of the first half, Fordham lead by 14.

Early on in the second half, Anderson continued the Rams’ scoring demonstration, connecting with freshman wide receiver Corey Caddle on a 71-yard touchdown pass. Edmonds scored the Fordham’s final seven points toward the end of the third, running the ball a single yard into the end zone. The fourth quarter was scoreless, and when the clock ran out, Fordham was ahead by 28 points.

Statistically, Edmonds was the main difference-maker for Fordham, putting up a career-high 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

It was his third 200-rushing yard game of his collegiate career. Now, the Pennsylvania native has 654 on the season, along with 237 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.

Moorhead praised Edmonds, calling him a “special player.”

Anderson was also valuable, hitting just half of his targets but throwing two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. After throwing for five touchdowns with a 70-plus completion percentage in each of the past two weeks, it was notable regression, but this game was Edmonds’ show. Two of his receivers, Caddle and Odom, made a pair of catches, both scoring a touchdown.

Not to be forgotten are the contributions of Fordham’s defenders.

While the Rams were three-for-

three in scoring touchdowns once in the red zone, Lafayette crossed the goal line in just one of five attempts. The defenders dished out 10 tackles for losses and five sacks, stopping the Leopards time after time. By the end of the game, they had successfully worn down the opposition; the Rams controlled the ball for almost 11 minutes in the fourth quarter.

“I was very pleased with our defensive performance,” said Moorhead. “We focused on four primary factors entering the game: stopping the run game, limiting explosive plays, playing well on third down and pressuring the QB. And, for the most part, we succeeded.”

Fordham’s special teams unit also had a banner day, blocking two Lafayette field goal attempts to hold its score to the single-digits.

The fact that Saturday’s win was Fordham’s first game of conference play makes it all the more significant. After this week, the Rams will begin a five-week slate of Patriot League games to close out the regular season. While Fordham currently has the best overall record in the conference, Moorhead is aware of how quickly things can change.

“There is tremendous parity in our [conference],” he said. “We have to be on top of our game every week in order to achieve our goals.”

Next, Fordham will head to Philadelphia for a road matchup against the University of Pennsylvania, its second Ivy League opponent of the year (the Rams previously defeated Columbia, 44-24). The game will be held this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Penn’s Franklin Field.

Women’s Soccer Starts Atlantic 10 Play 2-0

By LEIGHTON SCHNEIDER STAFF WRITER

Behind two shutouts by Junior goalkeeper Megan Fitzgerald, the Rams opened up Atlantic 10 play with two 1-0 wins over the University of Rhode Island and St. Joseph’s University. The last time the team started 2-0 in A-10 was in 2012.

On a cold and rainy Thursday night, the Fordham Rams opened up against the Rhode Island Rams.

Graduate student midfielder Jessica Widmann scored her eighth goal of the season and Fitzgerald made two saves.

Fitzgerald was tested early on in the match. A Rhode Island forward got past the defense and shot a ball across the goal, but Fitzgerald was able to dive and corral the ball.

Head coach Jessica Clinton thought her goalkeeper came up big again.

“She was solid,” said Clinton.

“She didn’t really have much to do, but she kept the ball out the back of the net and that’s what matters.”

Red-shirt senior forward Kristina Maksuti had the first chance for the Fordham Rams in the 17th minute.

Junior defender Nicole Bates sent a cross into the 18-yd box, where Maksuti headed toward goal 11 yards from the net. The Rhode Island Rams’ goalkeeper was able to catch the ball.

COURTESY OF ANDREW ESOLDI

Picked to finish 11th of 14 teams in conference, the women’s soccer team is off to a 2-0 start after two 1-0 A-10 victories.

Rhode Island was able to test the Fordham defense in the first half, but ended up with only three total shots. However, it turned up the offense in the second half.

In the 51st minute, freshman midfielder Brooke Salmon sent a shot from 15 yards out that glanced off the crossbar.

In the 78th minute, Bates had a header following a Fordham corner kick, but a Rhode Island defender headed the ball off the goal line.

Fordham was able to break the stalemate in the 83rd minute on Widmann’s goal. Junior defender

Brianna Blunck started the play by crossing the ball towards sophomore midfielder Carlie Wagner.

Wagner passed the ball off to Widmann, who took two touches before firing a shot into the upper right hand corner of the goal.

Clinton thought that winning this game was a big relief for her players.

“The girls were feeling a little bit tense,” she said. “They played a little bit safe and a little bit timid because they have pressure on themselves to be successful. I think this win gives them a little extra confidence mov-

ing forward.”

They were able to keep that confidence going on Sunday when Fordham ventured down I-95 to face St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia. They came away with their second 1-0 shutout in four days, with Wagner scoring her second goal of the season and Fitzgerald making four saves for her fifth shutout of the year The game featured two of the top ten teams in NSCAA Division I Women’s Mid-Atlantic region with St. Joseph’s at eight and Fordham at 10.

Wagner’s goal came in the 50th

minute. Widmann had the ball near the right post and found a Wagner player, who fired it into the open net.

Clinton was happy to see something they worked on earlier in the week manifest itself on the field.

“I thought it was great,” said Clinton. “It’s something we practiced this week, as far as getting wide to be able to drive a ball across the box.”

Near the end of the game, St. Joseph’s sent all ten players forward, to try to even the score, but the Rams defense held firm. Fitzgerald was able to handle the pressure, including a late point blank chance by the Hawks in the 87th minute.

“I thought our players adjusted really well,” said Clinton. “They handled the pressure, the balls being thrown at them. It was a good day from back to front.”

Fordham moved to 8-3-0 on the year, the program’s best start through its first 11 games. The Rams have let in one goal or fewer in nine of their 11 games, with seven shutouts this season.

Widmann leads the A-10 with eight goals and 18 points.

Fitzgerald is second in the A-10 with goals against average of .78 and a save percentage of .841.

The Rams will travel down to Richmond, Virginia to face off against Virginia Commonwealth on Thursday at 7 p.m.