Volume 97 issue 3

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 97, Issue 3

FordhamRam.com F dh R

February F b 44, 2015

Employers to Fordham: Step it Up

SLC Deals With New Initiatives

By AKASH BHATIA & ROBERT PALAZOLLO

By MAX PRINZ STAFF WRITER

STAFF WRITERS

Students spent the days leading up to last Wednesday’s Arts and Media career fair putting the final touches on their resumes, practicing their communication skills and choosing professional outfits. They came in droves to Pope Auditorium at Lincoln Center in search of a perfect job opportunity.

Little did they know that less than two-thirds of employers would report being even moderately impressed with them.

A recent email sent to the entire student body from Career Services said, “Only 63.7 percent of employers responded that they were moderately or extremely impressed by Fordham students.”

Career Services calculated that number based on surveys of employers taken at career fairs in the fall semester.

The survey asked them to rank Fordham students in four categories: resume, Professional appearance, the “30-Second Pitch” and “Organizational Knowledge,” meaning knowing basic facts about the company.

“It may seem vain, kind of, but it is important, that first impression,” said Associate Director of Career Services Cassie Sklarz, when asked to elaborate on the results. “That first visual impression is very, very important.”

Visual impressions may actually be where Fordham students perform best in front of prospective employers.

The survey data from Career Services shows that 84 percent of employers surveyed rated student’s professional appearance at “above average” or “excellent.”

However, the rankings go down from there. While 74 percent of employers rated Fordham students’ resumes as “above average,” just 59 percent said the same thing about the “30-second pitch.” And, just 42 percent of potential employers believed Fordham students had an “above average” or “exceptional” knowledge of the company for which they were hoping to work.

Andrew Donchak, FCLC ’18, was SEE CAREERS, PAGE 3

in this issue

Opinion

Page 8

Human Trafficking in the Superbowl

Culture

Page 13

A look at Superbowl commercials

Sports

Page 24

Track sets school records

MATTHEW MOORE/ THE FORDHAM RAM

A recent Career Services survey found that 63.7 percent of employers were only moderately impressed by students.

News Analysis

Spike in Requests Means Budget Cuts for Clubs

By JOE VITALE, KATIE MEYER & LAURA SANICOLA RAM EDITORS

During its budget day for Spring 2015, United Student Government’s Budget Committee allocated close to $414,000 to almost 80 student clubs and organizations.

The allocations are used by clubs to fund events, run programs, lead trips and host guests, among other costs.

As many student leaders have learned — or, in some cases, are in the process of learning — a club’s budget allocation can determine the success of a club for a given semester, unless it is successful in the appeals

process. Without advertising funds, event attendance can suffer. Without programming funds, the quality of club events can decrease, along with its student support.

After a review of the budget report, which was prepared by the Committee Chair, Kara Norton, FCRH ’15, The Fordham Ram found some clubs fared well in the budgeting process, sometimes receiving 100 percent — in one case, 102 percent — of their requested sums. Other clubs, however, were not as fortunate. Many received just a fraction of what they requested.

In all, close to $760,000 was requested by the university’s 77 clubs, and 55 percent of all requests were

fulfilled by the committee, which consists of nine students and a nonvoting chair.

Though it outlines the budget breakdown for the semester, the committee’s 27-page report provides no explicit explanation as to why some clubs fared better than others.

A sharp contrast between requests for Spring 2015 and semesters past, however, paint a clear image of why the process brought cuts to a number of campus clubs and organizations.

SEE BUDGET, PAGE 6

Follow the Money An ongoing series covering the 2014-15 budget process and its effect on student life at Fordham.

Leaders of the four major student governments — USG, CAB, CSA and RHA — offered the latest updates on their work at the first Student Life Council meeting of the semester this past Wednesday.

SLC had a packed agenda, but one of the highlights of the meeting was the vote to write a statement of support for the Students for Fair Trade.

Students for Fair Trade, a club that operates in cooperation with the Fair Trade Program of the Gabelli School of Business, sought support to help bolster its efforts in persuading the university to make a statement committing to Fair Trade. United Student Government passed its own statement of support in November of 2013.

Students for Fair Trade (SFT) was represented at SLC by two students, Tiffany Melillo, GSB ‘15, and Michael Billotti, GSB ‘15, who serve as the club's president and vice president, respectively. Both believe the statement of support would help them as they seek to make Fordham a Fair Trade university. Fordham already meets four of the five criteria laid out for achieving Fair Trade status, and the fifth, a resolution passed through by the Board of Trustees or the President's office, is SFT's goal.

"The resolution essentially acSEE SLC, PAGE 2

Following Labs Could Use a Facelift, Argue Students Delays, Weight he has to use for that research, like atomic force microscopes, optical and fluorescence microscopes and Room Opens circular dichroism, are expensive,

By MICHAEL CAVANAUGH STAFF WRITER

After some delay, the most recent addition to Rose Hill’s athletic facilities is available for use by students and faculty.

Located in the Lombardi Center above the squash courts, this new facility was originally slated to open in late October, but a tweet by Rose Hill’s United Student Government (USG) broke the news midway through the month that the Athletic Department had pushed the opening back to January.

In an earlier interview with The Fordham Ram, Director of Athletics David Roach stated that the delay was a result of ordering higher quality equipment.

“We didn’t go with the less expensive, cheaper equipment,” said Roach.

“When we went to order it, we could get the plates, dumbbells and bars whenever we wanted, but the racks are being custom-made and manufactured.”

While many students were still SEE GYM, PAGE 6

and nowhere to be found in Fordham’s chemistry labs, on the upper floors of John Mulcahy Hall. That means he has to travel for a lot of his research, and has used the facilities at Queens College, City College of New York and Bronx Community College.

He usually commutes to one of those labs at least once a week, if not more, and Dr. Ipsita Banerjee, a professor of biochemistry and nanomaterials, often accompanies him. Her research focus is similar to Romanelli’s — designing, as she said, “nano-scale biomaterials that are potentially capable of regrowth [or] regeneration of tissue such as bone or cartilage… as well as tarCASEY CHUN/ THE FORDHAM RAM geted drug delivery to cells such as Inadequate lab equipment forces students to commute to other labs in the area. cancer cells.”

Because of her expertise, she ofis working on creating new mateten serves as his mentor, and they,

By KATIE MEYER rials for use in bone and cartilage as well as a few other students in MANAGING EDITOR tissue regeneration, as well as drug the same area, do a lot of research delivery throughout the body. It is Steven Romanelli, FCRH ’16, together. not an easy area of study, and it is is a chemistry major and biology Banerjee has been a professor at made even harder by the fact that minor who is currently studying, as Fordham for 10 years, and in that Romanelli often commutes for two he puts it, the “synthesis and applitime, she said. Fordham’s lab facilihours just to get his research done. cation of nanoscale peptide-based ties have been a source of frustraThat is because the equipment amphiphiles.” In layman’s terms, he SEE LABS, PAGE 7

NEWS

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February 4, 2015

Journal From Abroad

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

New Year, New Initiatives FROM SLC, PAGE 1

Jan. 28 Rose Hill Gym 12:45 p.m.

An unknown individual broke into the refrigerator in the Rose Hill Gym and removed several full cases of powerade soft drinks. The fridge was pried open and the lock was damaged. Public Safety is investigating the incident.

Jan. 28 McGinley Center 5 p.m. — 10 p.m.

A custodian reported that an individual had damaged the men’s bathroom stall. The individual had kicked in the stall and damaged the plastic hinges on the door.

Jan. 28 Third Ave. Gate 6:45 p.m. — 7 p.m.

A delivery man left his moped bike at the gate and entered campus to make a delivery. When he returned 15 minutes later, his bike was missing. Public Safety is investigating the incident.

Jan. 29 Keating Hall 12 a.m.

Public Safety discovered a broken window in the hallway of the 2nd floor. There was no forced entry and it appeared that the window had been pulled inward, causing it to come off its track. The building was unoccupied when the damage was discovered.

Jan. 30 Alumni Court South 6:15 p.m.

An unidentified male who was not a member of the Fordham community entered the dorm following a resident. He walked past the desk assistant and into the building. The desk assistant notified the Resident Director and Public Safety and the man was found on the 2nd floor removing personal items such as boots and umbrellas from the hall way.

Public Safety responded and took the man into custody and notified NYPD, which made an arrest.

—Compiled by Cailin McKenna, Assistant News Editor

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

COURTESY OF LUKE ZARO

Qatar, which has an economy largely dependent on oil, is looking to invest in its future through education.

Qatar: Investing to Become a Permenant Oasis

By LUKE ZARO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

QATAR — “It’s beyond amazing, but I don’t know where to begin.”

That is usually what I end up writing to friends and family eager to hear about my study abroad experience in Qatar. While that answer does not explain much, in all fairness, even native Qataris would probably share in my difficulty in describing their homeland.

For years, Qatar, along with most of the other Gulf nations, was very sparsely populated, home to nomadic Arab Bedouins living in desert lands too harsh — and too infertile — for foreign powers to even consider conquering. Pearl diving was the only profitable business, and the tiny Gulf States of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates survived (and eventually achieved statehood) due to British protection. When the current Emir of Qatar was born in 1980, there were 224,000 people in the entire country — half the population of Wyoming. While energy resources were slowly beginning to produce wealth, Qatar remained as it had for centuries — largely uninhabited with miles of sand in every direction.

Fast forward to today. Qatar has a $200 billion GDP, doubling in the last four years, and a tenfold increase since 2000. Qatar enjoys the world’s highest GDP per capita at $102,000, the only country even above $90,000. Opulence permeates almost every facet of society.

Downtown Doha looks like it came straight out of a futuristic science fiction movie with towering buildings like “The Torch” and “The Tornado” rising out of the desert sands overlooking the teal-colored sea.

Taxes are virtually nonexistent. Water costs more than gasoline. Ferraris and Rolls Royces speed around the desert roads. The dorms on my campus are the equivalent of fivestar hotels: lobbies feature indoor waterfalls and marble floors and the rooms — almost all singles — come with a complimentary 3D TV and refrigerator, private bathroom and shower — all for less than a third of the price of Fordham’s housing rates.

So how did it happen?

Despite having the land area roughly the size of Connecticut’s, Qatar has the 12th largest oil reserve in the world, larger than the U.S. But, Qatar’s real wealth comes from natural gas reserves — third in the world behind only Russia and Iran, two much larger nations. In fact, despite being 850 times smaller than the U.S., Qatar finds itself with natural gas reserves three times those of the fifth-ranked U.S. At current production levels, Qatar has enough gas for more than the next 200 years.

The Qatari government is very much aware that its country’s wealth is thanks to its energy-rich natural reserves. Qatar currently has few current industries that it can fall back on when the reserves run dry — at least for now. The Qatari government has already taken many steps towards developing a long-term solution to this eventual

problem, including the education program I am a part of this semester.

I am studying abroad at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Georgetown is one of six American colleges that collectively make up Education City.

The complex is funded by the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit, government-funded organization run by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the mother of the Emir of Qatar.

Qatar sees the writing on the wall and knows it must transform itself into being a country that relies on something other than oil and natural gas production. Using this energy-based boon in wealth, Qatar is spending heavily in projects that will secure it in the long term, like Education City, which brings Western universities and academically competitive students to study —and, for many, eventually work — in Qatar. Its capital, Doha, is becoming a key center for air travel and investment, conveniently situated between European and Asian markets.

By investing now, Qatar hopes to make Doha the world’s next international hub, a necessary stop for travelers, investors and academics, transforming Qatar into a firstworld, information-based economy that can survive independent of its energy reserves.

How will a post-energy production Qatar look? Only time will tell, but the Qataris have at least 200 years to figure that out. For now, the rest of us can awe in the flourishing desert oasis.

knowledges that Fair Trade is here and that it is good," Billotti said.

"The point of the resolution is to raise awareness about Fair Trade."

"It's a sustainable way to fight poverty," Melillo added. "Instead of just putting a Band-aid on the problem where you're giving out food, it's coming from the bottom."

SLC moved onto updates after voting to support SFT. Nevin Kulangara, USG's executive president, presented his key initiative, Fordham Student Holdings, which would be an official campus club that would oversee student-run businesses on campus.

"Currently, there isn't any provision in the student handbook that governs student-run businesses at Fordham University," Kulangara said. "Businesses provide a lot [and] add an extra dimension to our campus culture, but how do we monitor them in a way so that we're not inconveniencing students and everything is sort of transparent and out in the open? That's what FSH is about."

The club would operate like any other on campus, with a group of faculty advisors and an executive board, renamed the "C-Suite.”

Other schools, such as Georgetown and Northwestern, have similar programs already in place.

"Every single one of these schools [with a FSH-similar program] are all top 25 universities, so this is really a chance for us to step ahead and gain a competitive advantage," Kulangara said. "Prospective students look for a school, and they might be looking for a campus that fosters an entrepreneurial spirit."

Following USG, CAB, CSA and RHA also provided SLC with updates. CAB's Valentine Week, CSA's Commuter Week and Ram's Got Talent show were all discussed.

RHA Executive Vice President C.J. Cacace presented on the second annual Fordham Dance Marathon to benefit the B+ Foundation.

FDM raised over $30,000 last year and, as of the SLC meeting, was halfway to achieving that mark again.

As of this issue, RHA was 79 percent of the way to its goal.

"I'm really proud of how it's become not just an RHA effort but really a full campus effort," Cacace said. "We're all working together for a really great cause."

SLC's next meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

As always, SLC meetings are open to all students.

This Week at Fordham Friday Feb. 6

Friday Feb. 6

Saturday Feb. 7

Elvis Depressedly and Pile

Fordham Stand-Up Show

The 2nd Annual Fordham Dance Marathon

Rodrigues’ 8 p.m.

Blackbox Theater 8 p.m.

O’Keefe Commons 11 a.m. — 11 p.m.

Rodrigues’ Coffee Shop will be hosting a concert this Friday. The concert will include three bands: Elvis Depressedly, Pile and Active Bird Community. These bands offer pop black metal, post-punk rock and alternative rock music.

Fordham Experimental Theatre presents the only on campus troupe dedicated to stand-up comedy, Fordham Stand-Up in the Black Box. Troupe members will perform a one hour show of original material. There is also a show Saturday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m.

Residence Hall Association will be having the 2nd Annual Fordham Dance Marathon this Saturday. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the B+ Foundation, an organization committed to fighting childhood cancer.

Sunday Feb. 8 WAC Bingo Keating 1st 9 p.m. — 10 p.m.

CAB’s monthly bingo will be held this Sunday by the Weekend Activities Committee. Three rounds of bingo will be played. The first board is free while an additional board costs $1. There will be multiple winners.

For more campus events, visit FordhamRam.com

Monday Feb. 9 Valentine’s Week Aladdin Raffle McGinley Raffle 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.

CAB will be hosting a raffle with a prize of two free tickets to see Aladdin on Broadway. Every student is eligible for one free raffle ticket with a valid Fordham ID.

NEWS

February 4, 2015

Students Report Inflated Self-Perceptions on Career Surveys

Mayor Outlines Housing Goals in Annual Address

By KATIE MEYER MANAGING EDITOR

In Mayor Bill de Blasio’s State of the City address on Tuesday, one message came back again and again — New York City needs to be made affordable for everyone, not just the elite.

“If we do not act, and act boldly, New York City risks taking on qualities of a gated community,” de Blasio said. “We cannot let that happen.”

The way to make sure everyone has a fair shot in the city, the mayor said, is first and foremost by creating affordable housing, and lots of it. His ten-year plan calls for building 80,000 new affordable units, and preserving 120,000 that already exist.

Of course, there is not a lot of vacant space for this new housing.

The mayor addressed this, saying density would have to increase in certain areas, but only where “appropriate.” This will mean building wherever there is room, and in New York City, that means building upwards.

De Blasio noted, however, that he still wants to preserve the “culture and character “of New York’s neighborhoods.

He plans to rezone six neighborhoods in all: East Harlem, East New York, part of Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, Long Island City and Staten Island’s western Flushing and Stapleton.

Perhaps the most ambitious idea proposed, which de Blasio called a “game changer,” follows this thinking — he wants to transform Sunnyside Yards, a 200acre railroad track convergence in Queens, into a residential area

Page 3

by putting the trains under platforms and building on top.

While these changes are intended to benefit all lower-income New Yorkers, de Blasio is focusing on three groups in particular: veterans, the elderly and artists.

Veteran homelessness, he said, is rampant, and in conjunction with a recent White House initiative, he has pledged to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, finding permanent homes for the approximately 1,000 veterans in the city’s shelters.

The mayor also made a point of thanking New York’s elderly, and pledged to allot them with 10,000 affordable units so that they can “retire with dignity.”

Finally, he pledged to support New York’s cultural community of painters, musicians, writers, and all the rest of the people he said have made New York a “Mecca for tourists.” His plan calls for 150 units of live-work space specifically for active artists, as well as an additional 500 below-market workspaces. These facilities will also include public gallery and performance spaces.

While affordable housing is the biggest part of the mayor’s plan, it is not the only one. He also announced plans for a new citywide ferry service that will have the same fare as a Metro Card. He also plans to petition to raise the minimum wage to $13 per hour, and to add indexing so that minimum goes up as inflation rises.

All of this, he said, will help end the so-called “tale of two” cities, and make New York City a place where everyone, regardless of income, can at least get by.

FROM CAREERS, PAGE 1

shocked by and indignant at the survey’s findings statistic.

“I don’t believe it all,” Donchak remarked. “That statistic simply does not sound like Fordham.”

The ratings are averaged across the general Career and Internship Fair, the Common Good Career and Internship Fair and the Accounting and Finance Career and Internship Fair from last semester.

Fordham students are also consistently likely to rank themselves higher than employers do, the Career Services surveys indicate. Averaged across all three types of career fairs, 53 percent of students said they were confident they ranked highly in the “organizational knowledge” category, compared to the aforementioned 42 percent of employers. Students also ranked themselves higher than employers did in the other three categories.

Sklarz said that one possible source of the discrepancy is students forgetting what is appropriate in a professional context.

“We have workshops all the time.

If students show up in sweatpants, or they’ve just come from the gym, whatever. But if an employer is there […]we always suggest they look very professional,” said Sklarz.

The student perspective on the most prominent career fair failings is markedly different.

Ana Colliton, GSB ’18, feels that the number instead derives from the overwhelming competition from peers at highly ranked institutions.

“I think when students realize that they are competing against kids from schools like Columbia, Harvard, and NYU, they get scared,” Colliton said.

“Intimidation from other universities is definitely a big factor.”

KELLYN SIMPKINS/THE FORDHAM RAM

Less than two thirds of employers reported being impressed with students.

From her personal experience, Alex Paton Schmidt, GSB ’18, found it easy to believe that her fellow students failed to make an impression on prospective employers.

“Most people I meet at Fordham are very dedicated, hardworking and personable…but there are a few people that do not seem to care about life after college at all,” Schmidt said. “It’s crucial to make the employer feel like they need you and their company just has to hire you. Most people go to the career fair and look around but don’t really make a lasting impression on anyone.”

While some company representatives that attended the Career Fair insisted that Fordham students were far more engaging and presentable than the statistic may make it appear, others recognized areas in which Fordham students could improve.

One employer emphasized the importance of being genuine instead of having “an elevator pitch.”

Instead of utilizing a stock speech for every representative, a potential employee should express their interests in a genuine speech and determine if the company is a good fit for him or her.

Clarissa Soto, a representative of a non-profit management organization dedicated to supporting small theater companies and dance artists, articulated that while she is continually impressed with Fordham students, they fail to follow-up on their job search via email.

“When I get back to my office after visits from other universities, I am amazed at how many students have already sent me emails,” said Soto. “Comparatively, Fordham students could do a better job of showing me just how serious they are.”

Fordham In The Bronx

Changes Come, but Metro-North Love Will Remain

JEFF COLTIN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The Metro-North serves students of Rose Hill as the closest and quickest mode of transportation to Manhattan.

By JEFF COLTIN BRONX CORRESPONDENT

Life at Rose Hill, especially on the western edge of campus, is closely tied to the Metro-North. Freshmen in certain wings of Alumni Court South and Loschert Hall get their first taste of big city life by lying awake to the sound of rumbling trains passing through the middle of

the night. Cosi welcomes those who are running late for the train but not late enough to stop and grab some coffee. And lucky Campbell Hall residents can guess how soon a train will arrive even before they feel the rumble, based on how quickly people are swarming towards the Third Avenue gate. But not everything is so constant.

Changes are coming to the Metro-

North station and the plaza that serves as its cover. Fordham Plaza is getting completely redesigned, as a café replete with a swooping canopy replaces the old home of Pronto Pizza. Enough planters and trees will be added to make the formerly windswept bricks look like the Botanical Garden’s western outpost. And the vendors, now limited to a few tables along Fordham Road, will be return-

ing in some force with seating and purpose-built space for sales down at the plaza’s southern end.

At the station below, the northbound platform will be doubled in width. Travelers to Westchester County and places beyond will be treated to more benches and heated shelters as they wait for trains and Manhattan-bound travelers will get an additional access point to the platform directly from Webster Ave. The MTA, the state agency that controls the Metro-North, expects the full project to be completed by this Fall, but less-welcomed changes will be coming sooner.

When Fordham students return from Spring Break this year, they will be coming back to a fare increase on all trains, subways and busses.

As covered in the Ram’s last issue [Vol. 97 Issue 2], an off-peak ticket to or from Grand Central will rise 25 cents to $6.50, a weekend City Ticket will rise to $4.25 and a subway or bus swipe will jump to $2.75.

But don’t expect the minor increase to keep Fordham students off the train. “If it’s marginally different, I’m not too frustrated about it,” said Patrick Higgins, FCRH ‘15.

Rachel Dougherty, FCRH ‘15, agreed. “When I’m in a rush to get home, and it’s worth it to spend the extra dollars, I don’t mind it.”

Dougherty said the Metro-North gives her the option to shorten her hour and a half commute from her job in Brooklyn.

Other students don’t even have the option not to take the train. “You have to take the Metro North at night because it’s safer,” said Kenny Ducey, FCRH ’15, who works as a sports reporter for WFUV. He said that the sports department has a rule which states you cannot take the subway back to campus with the radio station’s equipment.

Many students love the MetroNorth, but few as much as Erica DePalma, FCRH ’15, whose father is a train engineer. “I’ve been riding the train my whole life,” she said.

And she means it — her first grade birthday party was on the MetroNorth. “We ate pizza on the train, we jumped over the seats and such,” she laughed.

Connections between the university and the Metro-North go back to the earliest days of the school, according to Dr. Allan Gilbert, professor of anthropology and de facto campus historian. He said Fordham was founded just as the railroad was being pushed north from Manhattan. “The timing was serendipitous.

That may have been the reason [Archbishop John] Hughes bought [the land] in the first place.”

NEWS

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February 4, 2015

Rose Hill in Retrospect

Black Student Paves Way For Integrated Fordham

By JOE VITALE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Fordham University in the 1930s was not unlike many other colleges and universities at the time.

No black students were in attendance at Rose Hill, and the prospect of diversifying the student body was the concern of few.

This nearly changed when Fordham received an application from Hudson J. Oliver, a Harlem resident and graduate of Xavier High School in Manhattan. Oliver’s father was a distinguished physician in the metropolitan area, and he was a threeseason athlete in high school.

Still, his accomplishments at his Jesuit high school did little to impress the admission staff of the university, according to Fr. Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., in Fordham: A History and Memoir.

Though Oliver had competitive grades compared to his peers, he was not admitted, and no reason was given.

“The trustees had made a decision,” said an employee of the registrar when Oliver tried to sign up for classes.

The rejection, which appeared to be based on the color of Oliver’s skin, would have remained quiet if it were not for Fr. John LaFarge, S.J. An avid civil rights activist, LaFarge was the founder of the Catholic Interracial Council in 1934 and was editor of America at the time.

Angered by the decision not to accept Oliver on the basis of his skin, he appealed to the New York Provincial, Fr. Edward Phillips, S.J. Threatening to expose Fordham for its decision, LaFarge arranged a meeting between the provincial and Oliver’s parents, who believed that if he attended a city college, Oliver would lose his faith.

“I want a Catholic education all the way through,” Oliver Jr. told his parents, “and none of that secular stuff.”

Under pressure from LaFarge, St Peter’s College in Jersey City accepted Oliver, though LaFarge remained adamant in pushing Fordham in the direction of progress.

Claiming the reason was sheer bigotry, he pegged the blame on the university president Fr. Aloysius J. Hogan, S.J. and Dean Fr. Charles Deane, S.J. Schroth suggests it has to do with keeping them safe from communist propaganda. However, despite LaFarge’s urgency, his perseverance let up: He “concluded that there was nothing to do but pray and wait for a change in Fordham’s administration.”

The incident became somewhat of a hot issue on campus.

In February 1939 — almost five years after his son was denied entry into the university — Dr. Oliver spoke at Fordham and addressed racism on college campuses.

In that same month, The Ram published an editorial expressing its support for integration on campus.

On Feb. 24, 1939, the newspaper’s editorial board suggested that the senior class turn over the profits from Senior Week to “the University authorities for the tuition of a worthy Catholic Negro student.”

The editorial, titled “The Eighth Day of March” (the date of Senior Week) suggested there was no reasons for a black student not to be offered a scholarship.

In addition, the writers appeared to be calling out those on campus who “observe much and do little.”

Those same people, the board suggested, “should be ready to back up its abstract professions with concrete action.” A scholarship funded by seniors, they said, could be a solution.

The proposal was eventually voted down, Schroth noted, with one argument being that a black student would be likely to bring a date to the senior prom as a student.

Nearly seven years later, a report in Woodstock Letters revealed the slow progress being made by Jesuit schools. A total of 26 Jesuit high schools had just 20 black students out of 23,494 students. Out of 21 colleges, there were close to 450 students out of 82,000; 150 were at Fordham while Georgetown continued to hold out.

Using yearbook pictures as a

JOE VITALE/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Braving the Cold New Yorkers exit at the Fordham Road subway station on Tuesday to find themselves walking home in frigid temperatures. This week, New York City experienced high winds and up to seven inches of snow in some areas. While city schools were not closed, Fordham closed all of its campuses because of the severe weather. More snow is expected on Thursday. guide, Schroth found that Fordham’s first enrolled black student was Matthew Adams, a pre-med student who graduated in 1947.

Still, the sluggish advancements had not escaped LaFarge.

In 1944, he returned to the topic in a letter to Fr. Maher.

Considering methods of opposing communism, he suggested that American Jesuits should be more eager to integrate black students in their schools.

In his letter, he cited one success story whom LaFarge said “has made an excellent record in both studies and in conduct,” at St. Peter’s College.

The student to whom he was referring appeared to be Oliver, who enrolled in St. Peter’s in 1934 after being rejected from Fordham.

However, Scroth notes, Oliver had hardly made an excellent record in studies: He had trouble graduating and left school after five years, still lacking one course needed for graduation.

Oliver earned credit for a biology summer course and graduated. His progress after graduation, however, was not recorded.

Regardless of Oliver’s success as a student, his application to Fordham symbolized a shift in how Jesuit educators viewed integration in the

classroom.

Writing in 1941, Fr. Robert I. Ganon, a notable theologian who studied the intersection of homosexuality in relation to Christianity and the Bible, considered the consequences of not diversifying the student body.

“Discrimination,” he wrote, “is always bloodless but cruel persecution.”

With the Second World War on his mind, his reason for integration was as theological as it was practical.

“In times of national crisis,” he wrote, “to deny our fellow citizens jobs that are suited to their abilities because of race, color, creed or national extraction is criminally stupid.”

Campus Briefs & Bites Provost Announces Recent Changes in Graduate Schools The Provost’s Report for 2013-2014 reveals the many changes in the Fordham Graduate Schools. The Fordham Law School has created many new electives to give students more focused expertise. In addition, the school added a required course in quantitative skills, which are increasingly valued by employers.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences increased marketing and recruitment, as well as began to plan for new workshops and internships to improve graduates’ speaking and writing skills with regard to science. The Graduate School of Education saw an overall decline in enrollment and plans to introduce a new “teacher leader.” The School of Social Service introducted a four-year redesign of its undergraduate and graduate social work degrees and a summer workshop in partnership with the Human Rights Consortium at the University of London began. The business school generally expanded its masters pro-

grams and made efforts to work more closelywith the undergraduate school. Finally, the Graduate School of Religion won state approval for six distance education programs and created workshops to help lay ministers reach certification.

Professor’s Book Focuses on Company and Consumer Interaction Lerzan Aksoy, a professor of marketing, and co-author Tim Keiningham, global chief strategy officer at Ipsos Loyalty, have recently completed a book titled The Wallet Allocation Rule: Winning the Battle for Share, which will be available Feb. 9. The book analyzes how many companies are not concerned with winning customers’ favor. Aksoy and Keiningham argue that large companies overlook customer satisfaction, particularly among shareholders. Using analysis from Harvard Business and MIT Sloan School of Management, the book comes to a conclusion about customer experience management. Through

these findings, the authors recommend in their book that companies shift their focus from what creates satisfied customers to why they buy from the company and their competitors.

Professor Shows Film About Nuclear Warfare Fordham University was selected to join 30 other colleges and universities for the National Screening Day of The Man Who Saved the World. The movie tells the story of Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet who is credited with averting the world from nuclear warfare in the year 1983. He did this by disregarding protocol and following his conscience. The film was screened in Freeman Hall 103 thanks to Assistant Professor Michael Peppard, Ph.D., of the Theology Department, coordinated with the film’s producers. Although Peppard suggested that the movie will be discussing issues that may seem dated to students, the issue of nuclear warfare is very alive today. Many unstable contempo-

rary countries hold nuclear arms.

Bioethicist Publishes New Article Charles Camosy, a professor of theology and bioethics, recently wrote an article for an online discussion forum for theologians called “Catholic Moral Theology.”

Camosy’s article, published on Feb. 4 and entitled “NFL Ignores its Own Concussion Rules on its Biggest Stage,” focuses on the ongoing health controversy in the league following Sunday’s Superbowl. During Sunday’s game, Patriots wide-receiver Julian Edelman took a shot to the head after sitting out the last two games of the regular season because of a concussion. In his article, Camosy continues to evaluate the ethics behind the league’s actions and continued play especially with an increased number of concussions.

-Compiled by Cailin McKenna and Erin Shanahan, Assisitant News Editors

NEWS

February 4, 2015

Page 5

Commuters Love for Fordham? Depends on the Time

By ASHLEY KATUSA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sunya Mouada, FCRH ’18, wakes up before sunrise on most days. By 6:20 a.m., she is hurrying out of the house to begin her hour-and-a-half journey from New Jersey to the Bronx.

Meanwhile in the Bronx, Michael Cibelli, FCRH ’16, lives merely 10 minutes away from campus, and sleeps in until 9:30 most mornings.

However, these individuals both have something in common: they are both part of Fordham’s commuter community which consists

of the 20 percent of the total student body who declined housing or were not offered it.

Making new friends in a new environment can be downright terrifying, but the Commuter Student Association (CSA) helps many commuters feel involved. Groups of 15-20 students are assigned a “commuter assistant.” These commuter assistants work tirelessly to ensure that their commuters feel at home.

Christian Eble, FCRH ’18, said, “Mine was pretty much there to assist us with anything we need and help us get acclimated to the commuter lifestyle.”

Paul Spano, FCRH ’15, is a senior commuter assistant. He is a commuter himself who lives in the Bronx. Both of his parents attended Fordham and took him to visit the campus where they first met. Ever since then, he fell in love. Spano commutes because of how close his family lives to the campus.

Although Spano thinks that Fordham does a wonderful job in bridging the gap between residents and commuters, he believes there is still some room for improvement. Most extracurricular activities are held late at night. While this may not pose as an issue for commuters who

KELLYN SIMPKINS/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Although CSA works to integrate commuter students into campus life, these students still feel at a disadvantage.

live close, such as Spano, it proves to be an issue for those who have to commute from the far reaches of the tri-state area. If Mouada, who lives an hour and a half away in New Jersey, wanted to stay for a 9 p.m. club meeting, she would have to anticipate getting home at midnight, or even later. Spano, who lives minutes away, also cited this issue.

“I would often find myself coming home at midnight or 1 a.m. from events that run late,” he said. “Although late programs may not be a problem for some, this is a serious issue for many who travel extreme distances who are missing out on the opportunity to bond with other students, foster new friendships and spread their horizons — an aspect that is highlighted in the Jesuit mission.”

Spano also believes that some commuter students are at a academic disadvantage. He has encountered many commuters who are interested in integrated learning communities (ILCs) to expand their study time and knowledge of certain topics. Unfortunately, many of these programs run in the residence halls at relatively late times in the evening.

To remedy these problems, Spano suggests simple changes to help further integrate the resident and commuter communities, stating that, “by planning events and club meetings at earlier times (what we often call ‘commuter friendly times’ in CSS), more students from varying backgrounds, living conditions, etc., will be able to attend. This raises the level of diversity of students

who are involved on campus along with the opportunity to share various ideas and perspectives that may otherwise go unheard. Additionally, by either holding integrated learning community meetings and programs earlier in the day or making one specifically designed with ‘commuter friendly times’ in mind, this will offer equal academic opportunities and assistance for all students.”

The Commuter Student Association makes many commuters feel like they have a “family” of their own within the commuter community. According to many students, it is an incredibly inclusive environment. In contrast, Mouada stated, “I feel like here, it is not so much as quantity of friends; I’ve made quite a few quality friends.”

While some students are happy being relatively uninvolved, many others want to meet new people and explore new things.

“In my opinion, bridging the gap between residential and commuter students boils down to the students on an individual level and how involved they wish to be while at Fordham,” Spano said.

He believes that residents and commuters must actively work together to assimilate into a cohesive group, and gives the following advice to organizations around campus: “I ask club leaders, administrator and organizers to please consider this point for the only way to attain this goal of linking Fordham's students together is through mutual action and dedication to one another.”

Student Group Takes Uganda in Fish Farming Project

By EDDIE MIKUS STAFF WRITER

Fordham students often hear the phrases “go forth and set the world on fire” and “cura personalis.” For the members of Engineers Without Borders, however, such idioms are more than just idle talk.

“We really wanted to provide both an opportunity for technical field work and to live the Jesuit mission of men and women for others,” said Grace Bolan, copresident of Fordham’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, in an email.

Founded in 2013 as a chapter of a larger national organization, Engineers Without Borders has offered its students the opportunity to participate in various community service projects.

According to Bolan, Engineers Without Boarders currently has several projects in the works, including a fish farming project with the Omorio Village in Eastern Uganda, STEM workshops and tutoring opportunities with City Squash and, finally, a subway Design Challenge to propose ways to make subway stations more handicap accessible.

The group also recently travelled to Uganda to choose a project site for its first fish pond. In addition, they met with local government officials and signed a partnership agreement. The club is still waiting for the opportunity to build its first model pond and train people to run the project.

Participation in the trip offered its members some valuable real-

world experience as engineers.

“These technical engineering projects that EWB works on provide insight into the difference between the textbook cases and real engineering projects,” Boland said. “We have to consider available supplies, community dynamics and potential barriers to sustainable success.”

Bolan also said that she feels the club can provide valuable experience to students who are not engineering majors.

“On our trip we had one of our board members who is an environmental science major with us,” Bolan said. “Having her look at the environmental implications of fish farming is very important.

Some local fish farmers were asking us about bringing in fish from across the globe that might be more resistant to disease and would grow quicker. She had the knowledge to tell them the risks of introducing a new species to a foreign environment and the impacts on the ecosystem.”

EWB also incorporates business students working on a business plan, enabling the community to properly allocate money to those working on the Ugandan farm while sustaining growth and savings for necessary repairs.

John Murray, FCRH ‘16, has been with EWB since its beginnings. He notes that while the technical skills learned at Fordham are useful in practical settings, such as service trips, they are not everything.

“Even though a solution may seem perfect, it may not be integrated well with the culture

of the village one is in,” Murray said. “Thus, it will ultimately fail.

This project requires not only engineering, but also many other fields of study such as environmental science and policy and sustainable business in order for it to be successful.”

According to Bolan, service projects will remain an important part of the group’s future plans.

“Our goals for the future of our chapter are to continue in partnership with our current Fish Farming Program with the Omorio Village and look to open new programs with other communities across the world while continue to grow and sustain our new Bronx outreach program,” Boland said.

For Rebecca Borrero, FCRH

’16, being a project leader on the Uganda trip has had an intangible but powerful effect on her life.

“What I will take away from my work with EWB is a sense of what life is really like for people in Omorio, an exponential increase in gratitude for what I have, and a sense of what it really takes to get something like this off the ground.”

JACK MURRAY/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham’s Engineers Without Borders recently traveled to Uganda to choose a site for their fish pond project.

NEWS

Page 6

February 4, 2015

Following Long Wait, Athletics Unveils New Equipment FROM GYM, PAGE 1

statement alleviated some of the concern felt by students and faculty alike.

Frequenters of the Ram Fit Center, which has been Rose Hill’s only public weight facility for nearly a year, were assured that the overcrowding issue would be resolved upon their return for the beginning of the second semester.

Unfortunately, when Jan. 12 arrived and Rose Hill was bustling again, the space designed to supplement the Ram Fit Center’s free weight equipment was occupied only by rubber platforms, dumbbells and scattered plates. Missing from the space were the three weight racks which were supposed to have been set up over the winter break.

This additional delay was not due to an error on the part of the athletic department, however, but by the company from which they had ordered the equipment.

“Whenever you order the stuff, you never know,” said Roach. “The racks had to be custom made, and when [the company] sent everything, they sent some of the wrong parts.

“Having been in this business for a long time, as much as you want things to go according to plan, they don’t always,” Roach added.

On Jan. 30, a little over two weeks after campus re-opened for the start of the second semester, it was announced via a tweet from @FordhamClub_Rec that the three power

lifting racks were in place in Lombardi and that the facility was “open for business.” Unlike the racks in the Ram Fit Center, the newly-placed ones in Lombardi Center are dualsided — one for exercises involving a bench and the other for squatting, deadlifting, etc. — so that two people may use each rack simultaneously.

Although this new area only supports six people, the goal is that this will provide enough additional space to take the edge off of the Ram Fit Center’s small free weight space.

Given the confines of the latter, six fewer people at a given time may indeed provide the long-awaited solution for which students and faculty have been waiting.

Senior Baggio Williams, FCRH ’15, is complimentary of the new weight area and the safer conditions it provides.

“The best thing about the new gym area is its spaciousness,” said Williams. “There is much more space for people to move around and do exercises without fear of someone tripping over you or bumping into you mid-exercise. It’s much safer than the Ram Fit Center in that regard.”

He also believes that, as word of the new facility circulates campus, lack of space will be less of an issue for those looking to make use of free weights.

“Wait times for squat and bench stations have gone down dramatically since there are now four times

CASEY CHUN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The new space for free weights finds its home above the squash courts in the Lombardi Center.

the number of stations,” said Williams. “[But] most people are not aware that there is new equipment in Lombardi, so hopefully, as more people find out [about it], the Ram Fit Center will be even less crowded.”

Roach admits that lack of space is “no big secret,” especially noticeable when the university pool hosts events or competitions, as one of the entrances into the spectator stands is located in the same room as the new equipment.

However, Roach does not believe this will cause any safety concerns.

“We don’t have a lot of meets,” said

Roach. “There will just have to be some recognition on the part of both the spectators and the students using the facility.”

New signs in addition to the usual ones instruct those using the facility to re-rack their weights following the completion of their workout.

Most notably, perhaps, will be one which reads, “If You Are Too Weak to Return Your Weights, Please Contact Security and Myrtle Will Be Happy to Assist You.” According to Roach, this sign, while intended to be humorous, was posted as a reaction to the theft of

equipment from the new facility.

Although Lombardi Center does have a security guard on duty at all times — including veteran guards such as Myrtle, the one mentioned in the sign — there is little that they or the athletic department can do to prevent the theft of smaller items, such as dumbbells or plates of a lighter weight.

“We’re hoping that the students will start to police it,” said Roach.

These signs are a firm, but polite, reminder to those using the facility that the equipment should be respected and returned following its use.

With Spike in Requests, Some Clubs See Cuts for Spring ’15 FROM BUDGET, PAGE 1

In Fall 2014, clubs and organizations requested more than $222,000 and the committee was able to approve nearly 70 percent of requests.

The amount requested in Spring 2015, however, was nearly double the amount requested in the semester prior. The committee only allocated money for only a third of requests. In the past five semesters, the amount requested did not exceed $400,000.

This comes after a raise in the Student Activities Fee, from which the money for club budgeting comes.

The fee was raised following a successful campaign last year by the budget committee, resulting in a raise to $135. The fee had not been raised in the past 10 years.

The Fordham Ram in an editorial (Vol. 95 Issue 13) endorsed a raise in the activity fee. Calling extracurriculars a necessity of the college experience, the editorial stated that the $15 increase was a small price to pay for students.

But a spike in requests forced the committee, which included Chairperson Norton, Thomas Roemer, GSB ’16, Anisah Assim, FCRH ’16, Melanie Falk, GSB ’15, Michael Billotti, GSB ’15, Aric Sethre, GSB ’18, Cara O’Brien, GSB ’18, Daniel Stroie, GSB ’17, and Michael Akon, GSB ’17, to deny funds to a number of clubs, according to the committee’s budget report for the semester.

The report details organization request, approval, sanction and allocation amounts. The report also breaks down the money allocated to referendum clubs. Reasons for denial of funds, however, are not listed, though sanction amounts are provided.

In all, organizations were sanctioned nearly $16,000. The committee typically cites a number of

reasons for sanctions, ranging from misprinted dates on official forms to late submissions.

The Ampersand, for example, was sanctioned a quarter of its budget and Finance Society and Fordham Flava were each sanctioned 15 percent.

A significant portion (more than half) of the allocations were granted to referendum clubs, which are defined, according to the Student Activities Budget Committee Guidelines, as clubs that “spend a consistent amount each semester and have proven to be responsible with their allocated funding.”

Referendum clubs for Spring 2015 include Fordham University Emergency Medical Services (FUEMS), Global Outreach (GO!), Mimes and Mummers, Debate Society and Campus Activities Board.

These clubs are not required to disclose their annual spending, though other clubs are required to provide

documentation of their spending when submitting their budget packets each semester.

A number of referendum clubs received the entirety of their requests.

CAB, which programs ClubLib and Spring Weekend Concert, among other events, received $174,000 — the same amount it requested.

FUEMS and GO! also received 100 percent of their requests, equaling $25,000 and $16,110, respectively.

Fordham Concert Choir received 102 percent of its request, totaling $6,950.

A handful of referendum clubs received less than requested, however.

The Ampersand was allocated 68 percent of its requested amount, though the publication also received a 25 percent sanction. In addition, the Debate Society received 69 percent of its requested amount.

The report also makes clear the

SOURCE: STUDENT BUDGET COMMITTEE

The Spring 2015 budget breakdown indicates that programming, service and special interest clubs receive a majority of the allocated funds.

breakdown of allocations based on club types.

Programming groups were allocated nearly 45 percent and publication groups received about 6 percent of the entire budget. Service clubs were given almost 15 percent and 3 percent was allocated to academic groups. Cultural clubs were allocated 6.5 percent, while performing groups were allocated a little over 8 percent of the budget.

The Fordham Ram, which is not a referendum club, requested $18,428.70 and received nearly 70 percent of that amount. It was sanctioned 10 percent.

Some of the lowest budgeted groups were campus political clubs, including the College Democrats and College Republicans. College Democrats requested more than $25,000 and the College Republicans nearly $47,000. Each group received $100 for the year, according to the report.

While political groups hold weekly meetings, they traditionally host high-profile speakers. Last year, speakers included Ezra Klein and Kimberley Strassel, both prominent journalists who drew sizable crowds.

In years past, Hillary Clinton, Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich, among many others, have been featured as guests. Without the money to compensate speakers, it is unlikely students will see a speaker brought to campus by a political group this semester.

Several other clubs received significantly less funding than had been requested, according to the report.

Academia Hispana, which requested more than $7,500, received 5 percent of its request.

The b-Sides, which requested upwards of $850 dollars, received less than $50 in total for the Spring semester.

Fordham Political Review, one of

the five publications on campus, requested more than $27,000 and received 22 percent of its requested amount. It did not receive any sanctions.

A handful of clubs, according to the report, initially received no funding for Spring 2015, including Flipside, Fordham Experimental Theatre, Fordham Flava, Fordham University South Asian Entity, Images, Operation Dreamcatcher, Polish Cultural Exchange, Project Sunshine, Sláinte: Fordham Irish Dance and The Satin Dolls.

While ten new clubs were approved this year, including Pet Advocacy for Underprivileged Survivors, Images, Social Enterprises Club, Active Minds and Model U.N., none were allocated a significant amount of money.

Allocations for the semester are not final, however. The committee hosts open weekly meetings to consider appeals for funds.

On Jan. 14, approximately a dozen clubs applied for additional funding for a total of seventeen events, according to agenda and minutes reports posted on the committee’s website. No money, however, was allocated due to the lack of budget money available.

During the second appeals meeting of the semester, other clubs were more fortunate.

Fordham Flava received over one thousand dollars to fund its annual showcase and El Grito de Lares was granted over eight thousand dollars for its 23rd annual Latin Gala artist.

In a budget appeal, The Satin Dolls, which originally received no funding for Spring 2015, requested $3,419.40 and received the full amount in a unanimous vote.

The following week, on Jan 28., Mock Trial requested $4275.15 for a spring allocation and received $4124.69.

NEWS

February 4, 2015

Page 7

Science Labs In Need of Upgrade, Say Students, Professors FROM LABS, PAGE 1

tion.

“The research labs for the most part have not seen much upgrade or reconstruction (except a paint job here and there) over the years,” she said in an email. “For the most part, basic infrastructure of the research labs in the [department] hasn't changed.”

The “basic infrastructure” she spoke of includes aesthetic concerns, like dusty cement floors, peeling paint on walls and cabinets and stained ceiling tiles. Some professors, like Paul Smith, an assistant professor who specializes in molecular biophysics and protein biochemistry, have taken it upon themselves to fix these things.

When Smith first became a Fordham professor in Fall 2013, he overhauled his entire lab.

It was a labor-intensive process — Smith scrubbed wax off his floors and painted over them with garage floor coating, stripped the old veneer from his cabinets, then sanded and painted them and wire brushed the built-up rust off his heaters.

However, that was just the surface-level work.

Smith also took it upon himself to install new vents throughout his lab and office — he considered it a necessary measure.

“They’re old and full of soot,” he explained. “[They] spew dust.”

But there were other things he could not fix so easily.

“If I were in a place to pressure the administration, what we need here is better HVAC, better heating,

ventilation and air conditioning.

Because the temperature control in these rooms is terrible,” he said.

As is the tap water, apparently.

“It’s just filthy,” Smith said. “I can’t use it for my work because it’s purely biological — pure water is absolutely key. We have good water purifiers; we just need more of them so we don’t have to go to another floor to fill our tanks.”

Despite these issues, Romanelli and Banerjee remain most concerned about equipment. Romanelli said having more sophisticated machines readily available would make a difference in the quality of the lab work that Fordham students produce.

“There are many eager science students who, given the opportunity and materials to perform research, would place Fordham on the map in the scientific community,” he said. As it is, he continued, “our lab [department] alone has won several awards and placed students at top-notch graduate and medical schools.”

Romanelli himself has been awarded for the work he has done while at Fordham. In 2014, he was named Senior Presenter at the Sigma Xi International Research Conference in the Cell Biology/Biochemistry category, a prestigious honor. Banerjee said students like Romanelli justify improving Fordham’s facilities.

“I have had some wonderful and extremely hard working students in my research lab over the years,” she said. “Needless to say, if we had better science facilities, more students

CASEY CHUN/THE FORDHAM RAM

The need for expensive new lab equiptment has long been felt among Fordham’s star science students.

would have access to more sophisticated instruments.”

Ideally, she would like what most other institutions have — either a core research center or science building, where a lot of equipment can be housed within a certain area.

This, she said, fosters “interdisciplinary research and discussion, and also is mutually beneficial to many faculty and students.”

Banerjee and Romanelli both concede that the equipment they need is expensive, particularly because, unlike state universities, Fordham does not have steady grants or funding for such things.

Despite this, Banerjee said that the quality of work her students are

capable of justifies improving the science program on their behalf, at least to the level of most other colleges and universities.

Over the years, the chemistry labs have seen some improvements, like the recent addition of a new electron microscope that Banerjee and Romanelli said is extremely helpful.

Banerjee noted this gratefully, but added, “I feel this is just the beginning.”

She is hopeful that change comes soon — rumors that the facilities might be redone, she said, have circled the labs for a long time.

The reconstruction of the biology labs last year, she noted, seemed like a promising step, one that was

corroborated by a statement from Fordham’s Vice President of Facilities, Marc Valera.

“We're going to be doing some science improvements in the labs, particularly the chemistry labs,” he said. “We've had such a great demand for STEM [science, technology, engineering and math education]."

As far as Smith is concerned, it is just a matter of waiting for a break.

“Of course we want more, but I think the trajectory’s okay,” he said.

“I’m at like a level three out of ten complaint mode. But three, five years and we’re still in the same situation, I’m going to be more insistent.”

Choose from over 200 courses, including U.N. and Political Leadership Taught by Dr. Hamid Al-Bayati Former Ambassador of Iraq to the U.N. (2006-2013)

Learn more at fordham.edu/summer

Summer Session 2015 May 26-June 25 | June 30-August 4

OPINION

Page 8

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February 4, 2015

February 4, 2015

OPINION

Page 9

The Fordham Ram

Super Bowl Prioritizes Commercialism Over Sex Trafficking

By CATE CARREJO COLUMNIST

This Sunday’s Super Bowl was a fun, unifying cultural event for the country and a much-needed success for the NFL. According to Deadline Hollywood, the overnight ratings report showed a four percent spike over last year’s game and once again broke the record for most watched television event in history. In a year that has been plagued with scandals like Ray Rice’s domestic abuse case, Adrian Peterson’s child abuse conviction and the last minute Deflategate issue, the NFL needed the good publicity.

Deflategate was not the only scandal surrounding this year’s big game.

The other is a scandal that has “gone on for decades unchecked,” according to FBI Special Agent George Steuer. It is widely known and reported that the Super Bowl and other high-profile sporting events cause huge increases in human trafficking.

According to Forbes, 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami for the 2010 Super Bowl, and according to the New York Times, more than 100 prostitution arrests were made in the days leading up to last year’s Super Bowl. And these are only the incidents that have been reported in recent years.

Some believe that the increase in arrests is due not to an increase in incidences of sex trafficking, but to an increase in policing. This year’s and last year’s Super Bowls saw huge coordinated efforts from local and federal law enforcement in the organization of human trafficking task forces, leading to more concerted

ROSS D. FRANKLIN/AP

The University of Phoenix’s stadium hosted this year’s Super Bowl, which featured the Seahawks vs. the Patriots.

investigations and, therefore, more arrests.

However, the number of children who end up involved in sex trafficking around Super Bowl time is reason enough to consider this a very serious problem. This year, 18 juveniles were rescued from sex trafficking in the three weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, compared to just nine the entire rest of the year, according to the Phoenix division of the FBI. Last year, 16 children between the ages of 13 and 17 were rescued from a single child prostitution ring operating in New Jersey over Super Bowl Weekend. If even one child is harmed as an indirect result of the Super Bowl, the NFL should feel a responsibility to take action on this issue.

Unsurprisingly, however, this issue has been almost completely ignored by the NFL. Unlike this year’s infamous ad for nomore.org focusing on

domestic violence (which, arguably, was only added to the broadcast for good PR in response to the Ray Rice scandal from earlier this year), human trafficking awareness ads have not been featured in the broadcast.

The NFL does not supply resources or support fighting human trafficking surrounding their events and the NFL Foundation does not donate to or support any human trafficking charities. The NFL seems to be treating the human trafficking problem surrounding the Super Bowl like two unrelated events so as not to bring any implication of complacency to the organization.

The worst part of the whole issue is that even though the NFL should take some responsibility for putting an end to the problem, the issue is actually caused by the same people who keep the NFL running: the fans.

The fans who go to the Super Bowl

are, in fact, the ones who are creating the demand for prostitution, and because the NFL is only indirectly responsible for the problem, it feels no need to take responsibility for it.

Even if the League were to speak out on the human trafficking problem, as long as the Super Bowl is still held, the trafficking would persist, because that practice and the league will still be supported by the same people.

Still, this seems to be a clear-cut case of priotizing commercialism over social justice. The NFL refuses to draw attention to the issue because any real crackdown or stand against human trafficking could result in a loss in profits. The league most likely believes that if it were to openly state that its events are surrounded by human trafficking problems, corporate partners such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Annheuser Busch and other companies looking to air commercials dur-

ing games, would quickly pull their financial support from the League, crippling its profits.

The league has cause to be concerned about losing its corporate sponsors if it spoke out about the issue; however, this concern might not even be necessary. Even after the whole truth concerning the Ray Rice scandal was ferreted out, those same corporate sponsors stood by the NFL, many without hesitation.

Even CoverGirl, with a customer base composed almost exclusively of women, and who received significant criticism for staying in the corporate sponsorship, decided to stick by the NFL. Clearly, the Proctor and Gambleowned company cares more about advertising and sales than standing up for victims of domestic violence, a sorely ignored and invisible issue that affects over one million American women every year.

Although the Ray Rice incident occurred on a much smaller scale than the human trafficking problem, the same principle applies: making money is more important than denouncing an organization that protects abusers and criminals. It seems the disregard for human dignity and victim protection affects the NFL and all of its corporate sponsors as well.

The league and its corporate partners are putting their profits and image over the concerns of actual people who are affected by the God complex American society has bestowed upon the NFL. Cate Carrejo, FCRH‘17, is a communication and media studies major from Houston, Texas.

Controversial ASU Course Offers New Insights on Race

By ABIGAIL HEINMEYER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

College campuses have frequently been considered breeding grounds for abstract thought and radical ideas. While open-minded discussions are accepted in the classroom, they are not always as welcomed by the general public. The latest example of this phenomenon can be seen at Arizona State University.

With the introduction of a new course, titled “Studies in American Literature/Culture: U.S. Race Theory & the Problem of Whiteness,” the university is receiving backlash from national media sources and critics.

The controversy was originally sparked by an article written for campusreform.org by ASU student Lauren Clark. Though Clark did not overtly criticize the advanced English course, she did quote fellow ASU student, James Malone, in saying that “it shows a significant double standard of higher education institutes.” This student believes that “they would never allow a class talking about the problem of ‘blackness’” but, “you can certainly harass people for their apparent whiteness.”

Clark’s article later received national attention when it was republished on Fox Nation. In addition, the student was interviewed on “Fox and Friends” for a “Trouble With

Schools” segment, hosted by Elizabeth Hasselback.

In the piece, Clark expressed concern for the required readings of the course, stating that “all of these books have a disturbing trend, and that’s pointing to white people as a root cause of social injustices for this country,” which, she believes, “causes more problems than solutions.”

Hasselback agreed with Clark, claiming that the topic of the course is “quite unfair, and wrong, and pointed.” The Fox host also questioned whether a course surrounding “the problem with blackness or the problem with being female” would “fly at the university.”

Following the airing of this segment, ASU and the professor of the course, Lee Bebout, received considerable backlash. On Friday, Jan. 30, the university released a statement regarding the class: “This course uses literature and rhetoric to look at how stories shape people’s understandings and experiences of race. It encourages students to examine how people talk about — or avoid talking about — race in the contemporary United States.

This is an interdisciplinary course, so students will draw on history, literature, speeches and cultural changes — from scholarly texts to humor.

The class is designed to empower students to confront the difficult and

KEVIN DOOLEY/AP

The controversial class in question is taught at Arizona State University by Professor Lee Bebout.

often thorny issues that surround us today and reach thoughtful conclusions rather than display gut reactions. A university is an academic environment where we discuss and debate a wide array of viewpoints.”

Though Clark and Hasselback have received considerable support for their critique, it is difficult to see past the many faults in their argument against this course - the first being that neither one has a strong foundation to build upon.

As neither of the women are of the course’s current eighteen students, nor have they seen the syllabus, it is hard to consider them reliable sources or, therefore, critics. As Fordham’s Dr. Mark Naison, of the

African-American Studies and History departments, said, “You cannot assess how open a class is to varying points of view unless you hear the lectures, participate in class discussions and do the readings.”

As for the topic of “whiteness,” Naison states that it is “a legitimate field of study” because “throughout American history, huge advantages were given to people who were defined as ‘white,’” which is a characterization that has “changed over time, as well as the advantages attached to the designation.”

The Fordham professor not only touches upon this topic in both his undergraduate and graduate courses on African-American history, in-

cluded it in his book, “White Boy: A Memoir,” which has been taught at other universities, such as Princeton.

As a nation, we have experienced so much racial tension — not just in past history but in recent months as well. Whether at Arizona State or Fordham University, is it not the responsibility of colleges to provide students with opportunities to better grasp the world around them?

And is it not our duty as citizens to acknowledge the issues of the past and present in order to remedy them?

Abby Heinmeyer, FCRH ‘17, is an international political economy major from Bethel, CT.

OPINION

Page 10

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.

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February 4, 2015

From the Desk | Erin Shanahan

Why ‘Be Yourself’ is More Detrimental than Helpful When confronting challenges — physical or personal — people naturally look to others for answers to the trials of life. This instinct is particularly visible in young people attempting to navigate the complex world of social interactions. Despite seeking this type of guidance myself, one tidbit of advice that never failed to infuriate me, especially during my preteen years, was the incredibly vague statement, “be yourself.”

Pause and think about the absurdity of this statement; now consider how it is possibly the most anxiety-inducing advice one could give. Most preteens suffer from a variety of social difficulties such as self-consciousness and awkwardness along with embarrassing physical changes (as anyone who has walked into the skincare aisle of CVS can attest).

The awkward body growth and other unavoidable physical traits that characterize that lovely period of life probably made the idea of “just being myself ” even more difficult to stomach.

No. In these circumstances, “being yourself ” is absolutely not an option.

I remember coming home one afternoon from the sixth grade in tears. As I recounted the horrifically awkward interaction I had with a cute eighth grade boy on the playground, I looked to my mother for some comfort and a solution. I remember feeling confused and even angered by her all too simple advice to “be myself.”

Although my mother’s advice was simply an attempt to bestow confidence on me, it actually created much a lot of stress. The thought of remaining the “self ” I was at that point was, frankly, terrifying.

Personally, at that point in my life, I felt uncomfortable with the awkward, pimple-faced pubescent little girl I was. That is not how I wanted to live the rest of my life.

I needed more confidence, more eloquence and more Proactiv. I wanted to change myself — and for good reason.

Although the words are sup-

posed to encourage confidence in young people, they often bring stress.

I digress — simply telling a mentally and physically underdeveloped preteen to “be yourself ” is similar to urging a person stuck in a burning building to calm down. It just does not make sense.

The last thing you want to do is get burned.

But, for some unknown reason, the advice seemed to follow me everywhere. From my first day of middle school, to my first Friday night out and, of course, to my first crush — I think I can say confidently that the advice has never actually helped me.

I can also say with equal confidence that it actually hurt any chance I had to socialize like a normal human. I second guessed everything I said or did. “Did I really just say that because I truly felt that way, or was I just playing to my friends’ expectations?”

Being yourself is supposed to be second nature and easy. For me, it was an added source of stress.

If the advice is taken too literally, it has the potential to trap the mind in such hopeless, neverending cycles of self-doubt.

Even today, “being me” is a struggle. When push comes to shove, I have no idea who I am.

But I do know that the person next to me probably feels the same way, whether they know it or not.

So, today I live my life by a new motto. The advice “be yourself ” has proven to be confwusing and useless. I think the real advice should be: “first be a more confident self, then be yourself.”

Editorial | College Drinking

Dartmouth’s Misguided Approach to Drinking A recent policy restructuring announced by Dartmouth College President Philip J. Hanlon has made waves in the higher education arena, stirring debate about how colleges administrators will combat all kinds of misconduct.

The plan, titled “Moving Dartmouth Forward,” comes after a nine-month study responding to a series of incidents on the Ivy League campus. Among its many aims, the plan announces a prohibition of hard liquor on campus scheduled to begin in March, a requirement for students to attend a four-year sexual violence prevention program, a more inclusive residential community and stricter limits on Greek life. Hanlon, in a presentation last week, suggested a reconsideration of Greek life on the campus as well.

The proposed changes certainly will increase the community aspect of Dartmouth College, and a campus-wide ban on hard liquor (defined as anything over 15 per-

cent alcohol) will make the campus a safer place for students.

Drinking — more specifically, binge-drinking —is undoubtedly a problem on college campuses.

Tied in with sexual assault and the dangers often linked to fraternities and sororities on campus, binge-drinking is a systemic problem on campuses that will not be easy to tackle.

While colleges must attend to problems associated with overconsumption, strict prohibition of hard liquor on college campuses is avoiding the root of this problem and could very well end up causing more harm than good.

An outright ban has the potential to exacerbate binge-drinking on campus. As the campus paper, The Dartmouth, pointed out in an editorial, freshman students are already not allowed to consume alcohol. It is against college policy and the law to do so.

“Paradoxically,” the board writes, “students may develop

even worse habits than they would have given a greater amount of independence.” In sweeping “their activities under the rug, they may engage in behaviors that are detrimental to their physical and emotional health.”

Secondly, a ban on hard liquor alone does nothing to solve the problems associated with binge drinking. If students on campus want to drink until intoxication, they will use beer and/or wine.

Similarly, if they really want to drink hard liquor, they will find a way to fly under the radar. If national laws cannot prevent students from obtaining liquor, how can Dartmouth’s bans be any more efffective? Furthermore, this could push drinking off-campus, where it is harder to reach a student in case of an emergency.

The ban on hard liquor is not the only element of Dartmouth’s plan. Other policies presented — including increased community building and interaction, an end

The plan, though somewhat vague, touched on some possible approaches for reaching the monumental goal that is crucial to many city residents.

The mayor called for rezoning in six neighborhoods — including some areas of the Bronx — where market rate units will be mandatory so that residents with modest income levels can afford to remain. De Blasio, to the relief of many, assured that the city would support legal representation for tenants in rezoned areas who have a difficult time fighting abusive landlords.

With a nod to the problems

posed by a denser city, the mayor also announced plans to expand express buses and ferry services across the city.

The plan was largely directed at the city’s struggling working class.

With few choices left, it would be wise to support de Blasio’s plan to become a denser and more habitable city.

With de Blasio in the crux of his tenure as mayor, the success of this effort could be a turning point for his legacy. Making the city affordable for low-income and middle-class New Yorkers may well determine whether a second term for the mayor is likely.

to pledging and a four-year sexual violence prevention program — are all undoubtedly positive steps to increase safety and educate students on campus. The ban on hard liquor is the only misstep in leading to a stronger campus community for Dartmouth students.

In Hanlon’s speech, he suggested that Dartmouth’s bold strategy will serve as a model for colleges around the country.

“We will take the lead in American higher education in restoring student life to a safe and sustainable place,” Hanlon said. “We will offer a campus experience that is in every way worthy of our name … that is in every way conducive to the promise of our future.”

We can only hope as students at Fordham that administrators see Dartmouth’s plan to curb drinking for what it is: a headline grabbing but misguided approach, and one that is ultimately unlikely to curb the behavior of students on Dartmouth’s campus.

Ramblings During his campaign, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke of a tale of two cities, a New York for the wealthy and a New York for the poor. His words highlighted mounting frustrations in the city where residents seemed to be pushed further and further from the city center.

Following a tumultuous summer when the city was more focused on policing strategies, the mayor on Tuesday announced a plan to increase the number of affordable housing units in the city.

The city, he said rather boldly, will build 80,000 and preserve 120,000 over the next ten years.

Have an opinion about our editorial?

Send an email to fordhamramletters@ gmail.com Your response may be in our next print issue.

— The Editorial Board

OPINION

February 4, 2015

Page 11

A Movie About War, Not Glorifying War

By MICHAEL CAVANAUGH

James Demetriades

STAFF WRITER

There were very few scenes in American Sniper that can be said to have lingered. In fact, in relation to most movies of a similar genre, the glimpses that director Clint Eastwood gives his viewers into the life of the late Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle, decorated Navy SEAL, may seem to whizz by at an inordinate pace. The scenes that do linger, however, the tense, gripping ones that seem to progress in slow-motion, are the very foundation of American Sniper.

It is not a war movie. It is, more accurately, a movie about war. It not only does a great justice to a good man and hero in Chris Kyle, but to all of the heroic men and women who have served, are serving and will serve in our armed forces.

For this very reason, I have been troubled by recent remarks by celebrities such as Michael Moore and Seth Rogen. In a tweet from his personal account, Moore said, “My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse.”

Soon after, he followed up with a second tweet which read, “But if you’re on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who’ve come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor.”

Now, I will not get into refuting the not-so-subtle political jabs made in those tweets, but I will say that, as someone with friends and family both currently serving and having recently retired from the military, I found this particularly distasteful and offensive.

Moore is not just criticizing the movie; he is directly insulting the very men and women who defend our freedom and security, and the freedom and security of those who are not strong enough to defend it on their own.

Enter Rogen’s comments, which were directed toward the movie itself rather than the real -life counterparts the actors represent.

“American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglourious Basterds,” read Rogen’s tweet. The aforementioned scene in Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film depicts a Nazi sniper, perched high above in a tower, killing hordes of incoming American soldiers, muttering nationalistic lines that do not try to mask their satirical intent.

While I do find Rogen’s comment ill-conceived, it is not so much the comment itself that irked me, but rather the dialogue that sprung from it. Over the next few days, enough people jumped to Rogen’s defense, bashing American Sniper film as being nothing more than propaganda to glorify war and killing (in particular, the killing of Muslims), that I found myself questioning whether these so-called critics had watched the same movie that I had seen.

One prevailing criticism of the film as propaganda is that it is racially insensitive and hateful of

Polarized Parties Endanger Elections

JORDAN STRAUSS/AP

American Sniper’s director Clint Eastwood and leading actor Bradley Cooper pose at the Oscar nomination ceremony.

the Iraqi people. Throughout the film, one hears the word “savage” used by the American soldiers.

Some of the film’s critics claim that this term is directed at the Iraqi people, and that it is not only inaccurately representing the American soldiers, but intentionally spreading hate of the Iraqi people (and, by extension, Muslims in general).

This is, of course, ignorant.

While I am sure that there are some Americans, as well as some soldiers, who broadly and igno-

not directed at the Iraqi people, but at the insurgents with whom they are in combat on a daily basis — the ones who threaten not only the lives of their brothers-inarms, but of innocent civilians as well. The savages who are willing to take the lives of women and children as collateral damage in attacks on American soldiers, to slaughter their own people; these are the people at whom the American soldiers direct this term.

American Sniper is, at its core, a movie about war and perhaps

“[Chris Kyle] is the tragic vehicle through which we can address the main issue presented by the film: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” rantly judge the Iraqi people (or the ethnic group that is referred to as “Middle Eastern”) as “savages,” this is not the norm for America or for the armed forces. In fact, many members of our armed forces find themselves building close relationships with the people living in the areas they occupy — in particular, members of the local militia forces whom they supplement. Just look at the story of Marcus Luttrell, the “Lone Survivor.” He would not be alive to tell his story, had a number of Pashun villagers in Afghanistan not risked their lives to help him.

When the soldiers in American Sniper use the term “savage,” it is

the most accurate to date. The main focus of the movie is not killing. For insightful viewers, it is not even so much about Chris Kyle. He is the tragic vehicle through which we can address the main issue presented by the film: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) onset by the horrible things experienced by soldiers while on deployments.

The so-called propaganda scenes that depict American soldiers killing enemy combatants are the building blocks for this psychological disorder. And the scenes that show American soldiers being killed in combat?

These are the mortar which binds

them together.

But PTSD is not a disorder that affects only the individual. Under Eastwood’s direction, American Sniper pulls no punches in portraying the strain it can have on those closest to the afflicted. The sincerity with which Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller capture the essence of the military family was almost uncomfortable.

I guess uncomfortable is one of the best words I can think of to describe American Sniper, and why I feel that these claims that it is pro-war propaganda are absurd.

It is at its core an uncomfortable movie. You will see a mother and her young child shot, both by Chris Kyle, and the overwhelming emotions experienced by him thereafter. You will see numerous American soldiers shot and killed.

You will listen to the mother of Navy Seal Marc Lee, the first Seal to be killed in action in Iraq, read her son’s hand-written words of disillusionment with the Iraq War as she weeps over his casket.

Then, before the emotional credits roll, you will sit in an uncomfortably silent theater as a single sentence reminds you that the loving husband, decorated soldier and hero into whose life you just had a glimpse has been dead for nearly two years, killed by a young veteran whose PTSD Kyle was attempting to help heal.

American Sniper is uncomfortable; that is what makes it real, what makes it one of the few movies that “gets it right,” as many veterans have said. There is nothing glorious about war, but there is something truly inspiring about those who put their lives on the line for a cause in which they believe, and for the men and women beside them.

Michael Cavanaugh FCRH ‘15, is an English major from Mount Vernon, New York.

This past week put an end to rumors about the potential of Mitt Romney running for president in 2016, in favor of new rumors about another Republican, Jeb Bush. At this point, no candidate has officially declared that he or she is running for President, but Bush is the current Republican front runner. No doubt he will face challenges from the radical right, as Romney did in 2012, but Jeb Bush has broad appeal and will likely win his party’s nomination.

On the other side of the aisle, the undeclared Hilary Clinton sits as the unchallenged nominee and front-runner. This does not sit well with everyone in the Democratic Party. Just as the Republican base has polarized towards the right, the Democratic base has shifted to the left. The radical left is desperately searching for someone left of left to contest the more moderate Clinton’s grasp on the nomination.

New super PACs like “Ready for Warren” popped up in the last few weeks and have begun pushing for a more radically liberal candidate to run. Last week, they sent POLTICO a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling that found that 48 percent of the 900 respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Clinton, which they claimed as evidence that the Democrats needed a different candidate. However, a Rasmussen Report survey from Jan. 26 found that Clinton would top Warren 62 percent to 22 percent among likely Democratic voters. Clinton has the name recognition, the experience and the funding base to be able to go up against the well-funded, well connected and well-known Bush.

Elizabeth Warren has repeatedly said she will not seek the nomination, and with hope she will keep to her word. Warren, though well-intentioned, is perfect where she is as a liberal senator representing a liberal-minded state. It would be natural for Warren to run for state office in Massachusetts, Connecticut or California.

However, in a national election, Warren would have a hard time connecting to moderates and independents. To win swing states like Florida, Virginia or Ohio you need a moderate candidate.

Obama did well in 2012 to tailor his message to the center, while Romney suffered for statements in the primaries that pushed him further to the right. If Warren ran, she would force Clinton to go to the left of center on many issues, muddying the waters and possibly cause her to lose swing votes to the moderate Bush. A Warren candidacy would not only end in failure, but it could also dangerously force Clinton further left, isolate independent voters and hand the election to the Republicans.

OPINION

Page 12

Marcelle Meyer McDonald’s Attempts to Spread the Love Who doesn’t love a good Super Bowl commercial? The wave of ads from companies who pay millions of dollars for 30 second time slots during the Super Bowl are often met with a mix of laughter, appreciation and also criticism. For example, a commercial that I found infuriating was the McDonald’s “Lovin’ Pays” campaign. A seemingly kind gesture came across to me as a shallow attempt to gain approval without any attempt to change their current practices.

The ad shows McDonald’s customers ordering food and hearing a total that is not an amount of money, but instead a request to perform a “loving” action. People are asked to call their mothers to say that they love them or do a dance. The campaign will last until Feb. 14, and any customer who performs the “loving” action that is requested will receive their meal for free. Is this really the best way to spread the love?

An average McDonald’s worker makes $7.73 an hour, just barely above the mandated minimum wage. If you have been hearing lots of debate lately about raising the minimum wage, it is because it is impossible to live on this small income that one can make while working full-time.

Now, McDonald’s is going to “spread the love” by giving its customers free food in exchange for some kind of gesture. Aside from it being somewhat creepy to ask people to dance in exchange for a hamburger, this promotion seems like a disservice to McDonald’s workers, who are making barely enough to live on.

Of course, we can’t just blame McDonald’s. Many companies like Target and Walmart are also guilty of profiting from their underpaid and under-benefited employees. Horror stories about Walmart jobs often grace the news.

The true problem is that American business culture tends to value the client over the employee.

This is evident from the inability of Congress to pass any meaningful reform to make the minimum wage equal to or above the minimum cost of living in America. It is also very clear from the lack of immigration reform, allowing for companies to hire illegal immigrants and pay them well below minimum wage for their labor because they cannot obtain proper documentation in the current system.

American businesses and government officials simply do not value the rights of workers to trade their skills and time for a reasonable standard of living.

They value profits over the wellbeing and livelihood of their employees. If McDonald’s wants to spend 15 days doing something for the American public, then they should look at how much they pay their workers and ask who really deserves the free meal.

February 4, 2015

The Problem with Concealed Carry on Florida Campuses

LYNNE SLADKY/AP

Thanks to the new bill imposed by the Florida state government, college students in Florida can now carry concealed guns on campus.

By ANGELICA DiIORIO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As Florida calls for a policy change to redress the increasingly common issue of mass shootings, the state also brings attention back to the issue. The Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Florida’s House recently passed House Bill 4005, which allows students of at least 21 years to carry concealed weapons or firearms on college or university campuses.

While this bill is trying to confront shootings in general, the state was directly addressing the library shooting at Florida State University that occurred this past November. The shooter was Myron May, a 31-year-old graduate of Florida State, who opened fire in the crowded Strozier Library.

Three were injured, including one victim who was paralyzed from the waist down, when May was fatally wounded by Tallahassee police. This event revisited the need to change gun policies because, if one thing is clear, it is that the current system is not working.

While it is admirable of those responsible for this bill, including Florida Representative Greg Steube, to suggest a remedy to gun violence, there are many flaws with this particular approach.

This is not to say that American citizens should be denied their second amendment right, but allowing guns on college campuses will not solve the issue at hand.

I do not believe that the promotion of guns is the answer to any

problem. While I recognize the right that American citizens have to own a gun, encouragement of gun culture is destructive to peace and safety.

There is no way around it: guns are weapons and weapons kill.

They may be used for protection of oneself, others and even the nation, but guns are not facilitators of nonviolence. Also, not only does this bill allow students to own weapons, but they can be hidden as well. This only increases the levels of uneasiness in students who do not have a weapon because, as far as they know, the person next to them could be armed.

College campuses instantly would become unsettling zones because the secretive nature of the weapon could frighten others into thinking that violence might erupt any minute. Those in favor of concealed weapons see it as a comfort that someone can surprise an attacker with a gun. Realistically, I think everyone would feel safer if there were no guns present at all, but concealed weapons only leave the discomfort of a ‘who-has-a-gun’ guessing game.

Florida State freshman Daniel Morales was in the library when the November shooting occurred, and he reported hearing a student in the library shout, “Somebody’s got a gun.” It was the gun’s presence that brought the panic. However, this bill’s philosophy suggests that more guns will help terrible situations like this one. Would that situation have been safer had another person in the library stood

up to announce that he, too, had a gun on him?

A situation with any number of guns is destructive and people in the surrounding area could easily get injured. Increasing the number of shots fired leaves a greater change of someone getting injured in the crossfire. It also becomes impossible to distinguish who is right and who is wrong when multiple people have guns. In this kind of situation, the person posing the threat is no longer distinguishable from the person trying to defend himself when the police arrive.

The main defense for this bill is that innocents should be able to protect themselves from criminals. However, allowing them to carry guns of their own does not make them protectors, but instead makes them no different from those whom they perceive to be a threat.

As stated earlier, only those who are 21 or older can have a gun on campus. Even if one buys into the idea that guns will help provide protection, a large percentage of the student body is still left unarmed. For many universities, it is those under 21 who remain as campus residents. This is the case at Fordham, too, as many students 21 and over decide to live off campus. The protection gun carriers would be able to offer is limited.

A classic response to issues of gun control for all states and situations is to change the intensity of background checks. Mental instability is a very common quality found in instigators of mass shoot-

ings and gun related violence in general. In the Florida State shooting, the shooter, Myron May, was paranoid and believed he was being watched by the government.

In the Virginia Tech incident of 2011, the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, struggled with thoughts of suicide.

In the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012, shooter Adam Lanza struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder and a fascination with mass shootings and refused to take prescribed medications. Mental instability is currently a reason for the government’s rejection of a candidate applying for a gun permit, but obviously this check needs to go a step further. Illegal guns should be feared, but legal ones in unstable hands are just as dangerous.

Along with better background checks when applying for gun permits, money and time should be devoted to aid those with mental disabilities. Colleges and universities should devote more money to facilities that better help those with mental instabilities. Not only will individuals in need receive treatment, but they will also have someone monitoring them.

If someone had been better informed on the mental state of any one of the previously mentioned shooters, or better informed on what to do to help these people, it is possible that one of these shootings could have been prevented.

Angelica DiIorio, FCRH‘18, is a French and international studies major from White Plains, New York.

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February 4, 2015

CULTURE

Page 13

The Fordham Ram

Super Bowl Brings Touching and Humorous Commericals

By DELANEY BENISON STAFF WRITER

One day each year, America stops what they are doing on a Sunday night to watch the one thing they spend the rest of the year avoiding: Super Bowl commercials. This coveted advertisement time is known to produce the best, funniest and most inspirational commercials so the nation of sports fans does not divert its attention during breaks in the game. While there were not any strict trends this year, the usual suspects did show up. This year was filled with promise from the hilarious to the truly touching.

Chevy, financially and shock value wise, came up with possibly the most brilliant commercial of all time. By this I mean this commerical managed to have every football watcher in complete terror, staring at their TV. All the company had to do was turn the screen black. The commercial began with an overview of the stadium and then the TV begins to fritz before it blacks out. After three horrifying seconds, the words play across the screen, “What would you do if your TV went out?” In addition to advertising trucks, Chevy is now offering free WiFi for the Chevy Colorado. Simple as

that, Chevy almost brought football fans to their knees and may not soon be forgiven.

Nationwide brought out the star-power in its commercial with Mindy Kaling. In the commercial, Kaling thought she was invisible and acted accordingly. She finds out she is not invisible when she tries to kiss Matt Damon in a restaurant. The humorous sketch was meant to emphasize the way that insurance customers feel ignored by other insurance companies.

Next, Katie Couric and Bryant Gumble took on the retro angle as they showed clip of them trying to understand the internet in 1994.

Now they are driving in the BMW i3 built on carbon fiber, which is now this generation’s mystery, which we will apparently understand in 21 years.

While there were plenty of funny moments, there was definitely room for the more serious and touching commercials. Dove’s #RealStrenth commercial shows dads at all ages and their relationships with their kids. Dove answers its own question “What makes a man stronger?” with “Showing that he cares.” Always’ “Like a Girl” Commercial shows that girls’ confidence plummets during puberty. They ask teenagers to do something “like a girl”

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Budweiser’s touching commerical appealed to the public’s love of puppies.

and they respond by looking ridiculous on purpose. Meanwhile, they also ask ten-year-olds to “run like a girl,” and they are shown trying to run their hardest.

Always is simply trying to promote confidence in young women and trying to change the idea that

“like a girl” should not be an insult.

On a more serious level, the commercial “No More” gives a very real and very scary look into a domestic violence call. It portrays a woman pretending to be order pizza as the only way to talk

to the police. It’s a powerful message; many homes across America can relate to this situation.

Microsoft aired a commercial showing how the company uses its technology to help young children with prosthetic legs. It shows courageous toddlers running around, playing baseball and adjusting to their new prosthetics, both adorable and inspiring.

As always, Budweiser topped the Super Bowl Commercials with its “Lost Dog” advertisement. According to USA Today, “The Budweiser puppy has done what the Seattle Seahawks could not — it won back-to-back Super Bowls.” It was the winning-ranked ad of the 2015 Super Bowl.

The commercial shows the pup getting lost once again and being saved by its best bud the Budweiser Clydesdale horse. Always emotional and adorable, the Clydesdale commercial is a fan favorite and I think everybody is already looking forward to what will come next for the #BestBuds.

This year’s Super Bowl averaged 114.4 million viewers per minute, making it the most watched television show of all time, fitting for such a historic game. All we can do is hope that the game and the commercials will be just as memorable next year.

Fordham’s Gamers United: ‘Good Games, Fun Times’

KELLYN SIMPKINS/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Gamers United meets every other week to discuss video games, practice playing and prepare for online tournaments.

By RACHEL YEO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Good Games, Fun Times” is how the Vice President of Gamers United, William Luft, GSB ’15, would describe the heart and mind of Gamers United at Fordham University Rose Hill. The club meets every other Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Hughes 208 to play and discuss games, talk about what is going on in the competitive scene of electronic sports (e-sports) and much more. Members of the club are part of the huge viewership of e-sports, which can include more than 32 million people for such popular events such as the League of Legends Championship.

It is not surprising that universities are starting to recognize games as more than a pastime and rather

as a stimulating mind-body interactive activity that might even be worth money or award opportunities.

The prospect of making money off of games is an interesting one.

Whether it is through subscriptions, donations, advertisements, participating in tournaments (physical or virtual) or maintaining personal channels, there are many ways to enter the world of mingling gaming with personal financial gain. Members of Gamers United have collected their shares through winning small online tournaments, and Luft has earned donations from online streaming.

Live-streaming and using YouTube are two of the most efficient and well-known methods of reaching a wide audience quickly and effectively. Each has its individual

merits. With live-streaming, commonly through twitch.tv, gamers can watch others play and learn techniques and strategies by watching how they are executed in real time. On twitch.tv, viewers can also actively affect the game by shout casting and commentating on a live stream. Twitch.tv also allows the gamer to choose to take the viewers’ advisement into account as well as charge a fee for subscriptions.

YouTube, on the other hand, features edited videos in which people review games, demonstrate skits of games, or simply film themselves playing. The “edited” element benefits video posters who aim to teach or review; selective cuts allow them to focus on one or a few aspects of their gameplay, and gamers can search for what specifically

addresses their needs or interests.

The ease of using these sites has given birth to the idea that anyone can live-stream, anyone can create a video, and, in response, anyone can choose to contribute financially to those gamers who are building up the gaming community.

A famous YouTuber who goes by the name “PewDiePie,” for example, is well known for the variety of games he shows himself playing along with his humorous reactions. In addition to what he earns as a YouTube star — YouTubers make 55 percent profit for video depending on subscription numbers and views — PewDiePie’s 34 million plus subscribers opens a different financial opportunity. His ability to influence the games his viewers play caught the eye of gamemakers who hired PewDiePie to play their games and use his funny quirks to advertise their products.

This is the edge PewDiePie has over the industry to make his two cents count.

Bringing it back to Fordham’s very own, perhaps if members of Gamers United were to find and be granted a huge computer room that could easily be reserved on campus, they could host larger LAN tournaments that would reward participants with cash and glory. Seeing the cooperative efforts of online tournaments that have already taken place within Rose Hill’s Gamers United and Lincoln Center’s Gamers Guild, they are more than ready to host such events if given the equip-

ment and opportunity.

President Robert Butler, GSB ’16, hopes that “anyone could have fun playing for or watching these tournaments.”

Samuel Kim, GSB ’16, a member of Gamers United says, “There’s no such thing as a non-gamer; it makes you think when you see kids growing up playing games to stretch their imaginative horizons and parents deciding at some age that those creative barriers are no longer to be pushed through.”

Games are not limited to video games; a game is any world in which one can devise one’s own rules and outline an alternate reality.

When asked if they could see themselves playing games for life, members of Gamers United unanimously stated, “for the foreseeable future, yes.”

“Honestly, I could play the Wii with my grandchildren,” says Luft.

One can observe social conventions such as healthy teamwork in competition by taking turns, being forced to make quick decisions, adapting to situations and working with spontaneity in these microcosms that we supposedly diminish by assigning the all-encompassing term, “games.” Yet, the poor connotation of the word “games” can easily be shifted, and it should be, considering how deeply embedded they are in any one person’s childhood and advancement thenceforth. Games are fun for all.

They are more than just entertainment, and according to the growing digital world, games can bring in the bucks.

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February 4, 2015

Lifetime Portrays Real Life Hardships In Biopics

By MEGHAN CAMPBELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For those who have never seen a Lifetime production, it is a very unique experience that no one should miss. Typically described as somewhat mediocre with subpar displays of acting, these movies are not your typical cinematic productions. Despite their shortcomings, Lifetime movies carry a certain charm that keeps bringing viewers back to watch more. These movies, including biopics, have covered topics from the ordinary to the bizarre such as love, drama, murder, drugs, STDs, teenage pregnancy and even incest.

Covering the real-life stories of celebrities, murderers, royalty and more, Lifetime has proved that it is capable of making a movie out of anything. In recent years, it has been converting some of the media’s biggest headlines into its own cinematic interpretations.

But, do these biopics offer viewers a deeper look into new headlines, or are they simply sensationalized entertainment?

Seizing the opportunity to make a film on the most talked-about engagement of our generation, Lifetime released William and Kate in 2011. Thrown together

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Lifetime’s Whitney displayed controversial issues about Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown’s relationship.

quickly after Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged, the film depicts the famous couple meeting in college and the story of how their relationship blossomed into their royal marriage.

Although there are some inaccuracies, the movie’s main problem is how shamelessly sappy it is. Critics simply could not get past the cheesiness of some of the scenes, such as the couple’s kiss in the rain, a cliche yet classic scene shown in many chick flicks. Despite this, romantics and royalty fans alike

appreciated the classic love story, and the movie is currently on the “popular” list on Netflix.

In the past, Lifetime has received criticism for several of its biopics.

This criticism mainly stems from Lifetime’s tendency to stretch the truth in order to up the entertainment value of the true stories it depicts.

Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret is one of Lifetime’s newer releases on Netflix. It covers Arias’ trial for the brutal murder of her exboyfriend. Another biopic covering a trial that rocked the world was that of Amanda Knox and the

mysterious homicide of her English roommate Meredith Kercher.

The movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, which was released in 2011, fabricated approximately 15 scenes. Both films included dramatic reenactments, but only Knox’s film received severe criticism. Knox’s family in particular was irritated by the movie and claimed that it would affect Amanda’s upcoming retrial.

The Knox family as well as the families of all those involved in the crime, were extremely upset with the making of the film due to the inaccurate portrayal of the

characters and events.

Similarly, on Jan. 17 of this year, the release of the biopic Whitney received its fair share of backlash from the Houston family. The movie focuses on the relationship between Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown and the struggles they faced throughout five years of their 15-year relationship. As in many other Lifetime films, the director, Angela Bassett (This Means War), was not afraid to address the couple’s issues with drugs, deceit and jealousy. When it was released after Houston’s death, the Houston family was outraged that Lifetime created the film without the permission of anyone from the family and dubbed the movie “disrespectful.” Despite the disapproval from the Houston family, Whitney was generally well received by audiences.

Lifetime entering the world of Netflix has given viewers the opportunity to explore a large range of the network’s creations.

You could settle down to bingewatch the addictive series “Dance Moms” or stick with classics like The Pregnancy Pact. Or, you could delve into Lifetime’s infamous biopics like Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and Liz and Dick to form your own opinions on the movies that tend to stir up so much controversy.

Trending Now | Natalie Sturgeon

Dollar Stretching For Dummies All college students love the feeling of having a few extra bucks in their wallet. Both men and women in college need new headphones, new jackets or the cheapest possible books. Thankfully, after a good amount of research, I am happy to say that there is a light at the end of the financial tunnel.

With the iPhone and Android smartphone takeover, the amount of money spent on accessories for these prized possessions has skyrocketed. Headphones will stop working and cases will break, so for your electronic accessory needs, I highly recommend heading over to Monoprice. Monoprice has all of the accessories that you can find on Amazon, but at a lower cost. Being a customer of Monoprice myself, I can testify to the quality of the products and the speedy delivery. My most recent purchase was a sixfoot iPhone charging cord that I bought for $3 with free shipping.

Not only has this charger worked perfectly, but the seller also threw in another one for free. Monoprice truly cares about low prices and customer satisfaction. The company acknowledges the struggle of the price of smartphone accessories and meets all of its customers’ needs.

My second recommendation on the list is an app for iPhone and Android called Poshmark.

Poshmark is an app for buying clothes and shoes that people are selling secondhand. The sellers are required to give an accurate description of each item of

clothing, including condition and how many times they have worn it. As a user, you can also negotiate prices on these items with the sellers and bring the price down to fit your budget. If you receive your item in the mail and it is as described, your money will be given to the seller, but only if you approve of the item you got in the mail. If you don’t approve, you send it back for free and get a refund. This app delivers a unique shopping experience that allows for bargaining, budgeting and the acquisition of that new winter coat or that new pair of boots you’ve needed for a while.

Last but not least is a website that blows Amazon and Chegg out of the water with its book prices. This website is called AbeBooks. AbeBooks has the same collection and availability of books Amazon and Chegg do, but for one-third of the price.

Most of the books are used, but I have never gotten a book that was used to the point of destruction. With all of the books we are required to have as college students, this website definitely works for keeping a few extra dollars in your wallet. For the courses with multiple short books, this website is definitely your best choice.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the market for a new sweater, headphones, a charger or books for your courses. All of these businesses are accessible either on your phone or on the Internet and all of them guarantee simple and hassle-free customer experiences.

Editor’s Pick | Lights

A Fresh Take on Pop Music

By BLAINE KANIEWSKI DIGITAL EDITOR

In early September, I was listening to one of my Spotify playlists when a promotional ad for an artist’s new album started playing through my speakers. I immediately looked at what song was playing and saw that it was “Up We Go,” the new lead single from Lights. I was hooked.

Canadian electro-pop singersongwriter Valerie Poxleitner, aka Lights, is three albums into her music career. Her style resembles a futuristic pop mix of Madonna, Ellie Goulding, Björk, Vanessa Carlton and even a hint of Lana Del Rey. All three of her albums are a continuation of her development in the music industry, as Lights creates her own unique voice in a sea of indistinguishable music. From writing her own songs to designing her album artwork, Lights is completely in charge of her own music destiny.

Her first album, The Listening , is a bright and bubbly album with a retro-futuristic take on melodic pop. Released in 2009, this album earned her frequent comparisions to Owl City and other solo electro-pop artists. However, Lights beats out the others by creating an album with no fillers, where every song holds its own and offers another piece to the puzzle.

“Pretend” is a stand out track, dreaming about what it would be like to be a kid again.

DIANE BONDAREFF/AP IMAGES

Lights’ electro-pop sound changes with each new album.

Released in 2011, her second album, Siberia, employed a dubstep theme and chilling tones to create a more dramatic tone. The album is more mature, intellectual and emotional. It seems to have some grit and dirt in each song, whether it is the distorted bass line of “Siberia” or the artful white noise of nine-minute album closer “Day One.” Still, it stays true to Lights’ upbeat tracks from her debut album, and is incredibly catchy.

This past September, Little Machines presented another electropop collection of songs that make

you want to get up and dance.

This album proves that simple, sweet songs go a long way, as Lights reverts to similar themes seen in her debut album. “Up We Go” is a very popular single from her latest album, created with a punching sound mixed with blasting vocals and a strong bass.

After cultivating her musical style through three albums, Little Machines is her best yet.

Whether you are working out at the gym or cleaning your room, Lights’ electro-pop beats will always be breath of fresh air in the pop world.

CULTURE

February 4, 2015

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Review | TV Show

“Parks and Recreation’s” Final Season Continues To Please

By ALYSSA OPDYKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Following the season 6 finale of NBC’s beloved sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” many fans, myself included, were shocked and confused by the surprise three-year time jump to Pawnee 2017. Would we ever get to see Ben and Leslie’s triplets?

How many names did Jerry/Terry/ Larry/Gary go through in the past 36 months? Had Craig ever stopped yelling?

But, comedy is not about comfort.

Comedy is about risk-taking and improvisation, and “Parks and Recreation” takes just enough for the lost three years to work. Showrunner Mike Schur and his writing and production teams have always promised “comedy with heart,” and as seen in last week’s back-to-back episodes, “Gryzzlbox” and “Save JJ’s,” they don’t fail to deliver.

“Gryzzlbox,” the first of the two episodes and fifth of the final season, picks up on the ongoing drama in Pawnee and main plot point of the season: the fight between Leslie Knope versus Gryzll, a hilarious and not-so-“chill” parody of Google, for a large plot of land owned by Pawnee’s infamous Newport family. However, a new twist in the continuing conflict

DEAN HENDLER/AP IMAGES

Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope, the lead female, alongside Adam Scott, Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt.

appears when Leslie discovers that Gryzzl is data mining all of Pawnee’s mobile devices, then leaving mysterious “Gryzzlboxes” of data-matched presents on many of town’s doorsteps.

The conflict is undeniably creative (Leslie’s own Gryzzlbox, complete with a Joe Biden Amtrak poem book, led to big laughs), and is representative of Parks’ “mining” of its own audience. From resurfacing jokes from

past seasons (a mention of Chris Traeger and Dr. Richard Nygard was a personal favorite), to April and new intern Jen’s deadpan standoff, to Tom and Andy’s partnership in defending Johnny Karate, the “Parks and Rec” team truly has a grip on its niche comedy.

The episodes conclude on a high note: Leslie’s workplace proximity associate turned Season 7 fren-

Culture Shock | Claire Kim

Bjork’s Album Carries Hope and Sadness I waited about two weeks to listen to Björk’s Vulnicura. The reviews that I heard from friends and the snippets of articles I read online seemed to echo the same sentiment: “Incredible, but sad.” “The best she has ever created, but so heartbreakingly sad.” “Be prepared for the sad.”

As someone who prides themselves on being a naturally happy person, it was difficult to find a time when I wanted to feel these emotions.

When I did listen to the full album, however I immediately regretted the strange procrastination game that I had been playing.

There is the type of rain, the misty, airy, delicate rain that pours down so softly that you are genuinely surprised when realizing you are completely drenched. The emotions that are delivered in Björk’s new album, Vulnicura, is that rain.

They don’t hit you like a bus; they seep into your clothes, your skin and into your memories without your knowledge. By the time you step back to process the music, the damage has already been done. Vulnicura makes you think of all the sadness you have ever felt, it makes you reflect on those emotions that you have left weighing on your psyche, and it makes you think about your future with a strangely tinted view.

Vulnicura follows Björk’s separation from Matthew Barney, with whom she has a daughter. In a loosely chronological fashion, the 10 songs speak about the different stages of their breakup: the hazy and confusing period before, the moments after and then the recovery.

Because of this incredibly personal and recent development in her life, the emotions in every song are raw

and untethered. Unlike her previous work in which the ideas in the songs were much more abstract and universal, the songs in Vulnerica are incredibly specific. But, the beautiful specificity of each song makes for an even more relatable album. After the release of the album, Björk posted on her Facebook page, “...I was worried it would be too self-indulgent but then I felt it might make it even more universal. And hopefully the songs could be a help, a crutch to others and prove how biological this process is: the wound and the healing of the wound. Psychologically and physically. It has a stubborn clock attached to it. There is a way out.”

The sound of the album also contains this strange dichotomy of the familiar and foreign. The drum and bass loops, groaning cellos and pitchwarped echoes all rush and drop in unexpected and refreshing ways. All of this is then escalated by Björk’s vocal delivery as she enunciates certain syllables while letting others escape her. She is able to put a focus on the specific sounds that makes for a more fulfilling experience. All of these components transport the listener to a strange dreamscape of heavy emotions.

It is possible to hear the entire album solely as a melancholy rendition of desperation. But the overall, louder message is one of hope and new beginnings. The album acknowledges the terribly sad experiences that people must face in their lives, but also is a reminder that there is a future that comes from this type of emotional wringer. Vulnicura is a voice that says, yes, this situation is terrible, but there is hope, there is a future and you are not alone.

emy, Ron Swanson, shows up at her home, soaked from the rain and carrying one of Gryzzl’s drones. Ron had an attitude toward Gryzzl, but after the company targets hig young son, Ron finally joins Leslie in her fight against Gryzzl.

Though not as memorable or plot-forward as “Gryzzlbox,” “Save JJ’s” does satisfy as much as the eponymous diner’s breakfast food.

Though the fight to save Pawnee’s longtime favorite eatery does bring a number of laughs, the episode ends quite predictably: JJ’s simply relocates, while Gryzzl, hoping to save its suffering reputation, promises to renovate a dilapidated area of Pawnee for its new headquarters and donate the controversial Newport land for a national park. However, it is evident that the resolution to this conflict is needed, as only eight episodes remain in the series. Nonetheless, the highlight of the episode is again a nostalgic reference: Donna and Tom’s Treat Yo Self 2017.

Unlike many reminiscence-heavy sitcoms (looking at you, “Arrested Development” season 4), “Parks” is able to revitalize the longtime joke to a refreshingly new take, writing true to character without relying too heavily on the nostalgia from the original gag. From face shields to a guest appearance by Josh Groban himself, the event is a perfect contrast for the economic disaster in Pawnee.

Overall, “Parks and Recreation” continues to thrill both its new and longtime fans in its concluding season. Like Pawnee and its devotion to JJ’s, it is undeniable that viewers will not take the end of a seven-year legacy lightly.

Review | TV Show

Colbert’s Replacement Finds His Rhythm

By ALLEGRA HOWARD STAFF WRITER

“The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” has found its rhythm since its strong premiere on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2015 as the replacement to “The Colbert Report.” The beginning segment is hilarious, insightful and spot-on, continuing to be the strongest part of the show, while the main segment of the show, the panel, is messy.

The panel, consisting of four guests moderated by host Larry Wilmore, brings experts from different fields, such as politics, medicine, journalism and comedy, into conversation with each other to examine the night’s topic. Unfortunately, Wilmore must often interrupt guests to ensure that others get the chance to speak, depriving audiences of a deeper understanding of the fascinating topic at hand.

If Wilmore does not interrupt them, the guests often interrupt each other. For example, much of the panel on U.S.-Cuba relations was just jumbled noise as John Leguizamo argued with María de la Soledad and Teresa O’Brien about whether or not Cubans approved of the U.S.-Cuban negotiations.

Some of the comedians do not seem very familiar with the night’s topic, so it might be forgivable. In fact, they only seem to have been invited to only provide witty one-liners and side comments, which detracts from the interesting conversation.

However, the panel segment

CHARLES SYKES/AP IMAGES

Larry Wilmore is a political satirist and television host.

has gotten better. Guests took turns speaking and refrained from interruptive and disrespectful side comments during the American Sniper panel, and the discussion during last Friday’s sports panel was organic and fun.

In the following segment, “Keeping It 100,” Wilmore asks each panelist a difficult question. If he or she answers honestly, Wilmore awards them a sticker that says “Keeping It 100.” If he or she does not, Wilmore gives them a tea bag because their answer is “weak T,” T standing for “truth.” With or without the patronizing awards, “Keeping It 100” is

not unique enough to be a separate segment since it is too short and also relies on the show’s guests.

Even worse, panelists often fail or are denied the chance to explain their answer. Sometimes, Wilmore actively prevents guests from explaining their answers, as he did to comedian Sherrod Small during the sports episode last Friday when Small said that he did not think the Redskins’ name was racist. Although the show’s panel is not the strongest in regards to content and humor, other strengths such as the opening segment prove that “The Nightly Show” is here to stay.

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Who’s That Kid? | Lucy Koehler

Business Student Cultivates a Passion for Travel

By AMANDA GIGLIO CULTURE EDITOR

If she is not running from meeting to meeting on campus, you can probably catch Lucy Koehler sporting business casual attire while on her way to her internship in Manhattan. A sophomore in the Gabelli Business Honors Program, Lucy is pretty busy with classes and her various clubs, but she still finds time to give back.

Lucy is the communications director on the E-board of the Residence Halls Association, getting the word out about events happening on campus and works with the various social media outlets RHA utilizes, including Twitter and Instagram. Lucy is especially excited for the Fordham Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for the B+ foundation, an organization that supports the fight against childhood cancer, which takes place this Saturday, Feb. 7. The second annual FDM event will be even bigger and better, with more activities all day, according to Lucy.

“By our students, for the children,’ that’s what the B+ Foundation’s slogan is,” said Lucy. “The thing that impacted me most and piqued my interest about this organization is that many kids ultimately die from the effects of treatment. It is so sad, and I am so excited to be as involved as I am in this event.”

Since it is her second year with RHA, Lucy is more involved in the planning aspect of FDM, focusing on finding vendors, donations and activities to happen throughout the day. FDM is not the only event Lucy is helping to plan as part of RHA. She is also working on creating events for philanthropy month this February as well as planning Under the Tent.

Her involvement in Rose Hill Society and Smart Woman’s Securities also keeps her busy and up-

LUCY KOEHLER/ THE FORDHAM RAM

Lucy focuses on preparing and promoting the upcoming Fordham Dance Marathon.

to-date with what Fordham has to offer.

Given all Lucy’s commitments on campus, one has to wonder if she has time to get into Manhattan.

Luckily, her twice-weekly internship at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management allows her to get into the city. This is her second semester interning at the corporation, and she has moved up in the ranks.

“I made a lot of copies at first, but now I have gotten more trust and can open new accounts and do due diligence,” said Lucy.

One thing this internship has taught her is to explore all of her options. As an applied accounting and finance major, Lucy has many options open to consider.

“Coming into college, I really thought I wanted to do exactly

this, through my internship. It’s been advantageous, but I’d like to try other fields first before choosing one for the rest of my life.”

This is the life of a Gabelli Honors student, and it has its perks.

Last summer, Lucy was able to travel to London for the business school, and she has Chile to look forward to for this spring break.

Besides work and corporate visits, she will be able to delve into and learn about the rich culture behind Chile, about which she is very excited.

Her love of traveling has even led her to want to study abroad next year in Lille, France through an exchange program. W While I know she will have a great time in her travels, Fordham will definitely be missing an active member of the community in the fall.

February 4, 2015

The Ramantic Often overall unhappiness tends to stem from within. A key to an improved you is analyzing yourself - strengths and flaws - and aligning them with your goals to work toward a sound body and mind. As cliche as it sounds, no progress can be made until you learn to love and accept yourself, as well as have a desire to make changes. Here are five ways I learned to do just that: 1) Pinpoint and work on your weaknesses It may seem counterproductive to begin with what you dislike about yourself, but unless you tackle the root of what makes you unhappy, your happiness will be temporary. The first step to knowing what you love about yourself is finding out what you do not love about yourself.

Once you have targeted your flaws design an incremental plan to correct them — do not tackle all things at once because if can be overwhelming and discouraging. If you are unhappy with your love life and it has become a disaster, take some time off. If you are holding a grudge towards an ex or other person, cut that person out of your life by letting go of hard feelings and moving on. This may be hard, but you are making only yourself miserable. Often indifference with someone or something you do not like is a good place to be. If your flaws cannot be fi xed, learn to embrace them.

2) Find what is unique and special about you and cultivate it.

If you are really good at singing, dancing or telling jokes then do it! If where you are from has a unique cultural tradition immerse yourself in it. Do not be embarrassed of what makes you special. If there is something that you love about your week, then make it bigger and include your friends. These actions should make you proud to be who you are.

Never let others discourage you from being different, and surround yourself with friends who support your wildest hopes and dreams.

Finding what is unique about yourself can be difficult, but is ultimately very satisfying.

3) Figure out your short and long term goals and make plans to achieve them.

Knowing that you are working towards something gives you purpose and from purpose comes a feeling of self-worth. Set goals in small, achievable steps and do not be discouraged when they may not work out. Often goals can be achieved in a variety of ways, so just because one path does not lead to a personal victory does not mean it is impossible any other way. When you reach your goals, the feeling of success bolsters self-confidence and contributes to your overall self-worth and image. Nothing worth working for is ever easy.

4) Go to the gym and eat healthy.

A healthy body will contribute to a positive attitude. Exercise will kick start your endorphins and help you have a more positive self-image. Eating healthy can prevent aches and help you feel better overall.

Also, eating on a regular schedule can help regulate your sleep schedule and make you feel more well-rested. The old saying “from a sound body comes a sound mind” is very accurate. When you look and feel better physically, you will mentally.

5) Listen to music while walking across campus.

It may seem like the most simple step on the list, but popping in your headphones and choosing a playlist that makes you feel like you’re about to take over the world could easily be the most important step on this list. Nothing is like walking across campus with a smile on your face while jamming to a classic that you know all the words to. Filling your ears with upbeat, positive music can help you love yourself and the world around you and start your day off on a good note.

Review | Movie

‘Project Almanac’ Puts Spin on Time Travel Story

By AMANDA GIGLIO CULTURE EDITOR

After attending the conference call for Project Almanac, I was extremely excited to go to a screening of the movie and experience time travel for myself.

The film begins with the main character, David Raskin, creating an audition video for MIT with his friends and sister, which eventually gets him into the school.

When he realizes that he does not have the finances to attend MIT, David goes in search of his deceased father’s old experiments and comes across an old film video of his seventh birthday party with a figure in the background who seems out of place.

Once he and his friends realize

it is David himself in the background, they go on a chase to create a time machine and eventually use it to make their lives better, whether by winning the lottery, fighting bullies or passing chemistry.

It is not until one jump into the past changes the present in unintended way that things begin to take a turn for the worse.

The movie is definitely enjoyable.

The story is interesting, and the dynamics between high school friends and romantic interests add depth. David Raskin, played by Jonny Weston, is a likable character.

For a sci-fi thriller, there are many parts that are laugh-outloud funny. Shot with the found footage technique, the movie

feels as if it was filmed as a home video. Even though the filming style is cool, it is a little overwhelming when the camera continually moves around.

My only criticism was that it was kind of anticlimactic.

You realize that certain scenes need to happen to keep the story moving, but the main arch of the movie is not prominent, especially given that you never find out whether David goes to MIT or not.

Project Almanac took the best aspects of the great time travel movies and put a unique spin on the genre.

The concept of time travel is becoming a more popular topic of speculation today and this film makes you wonder what you would do with a time machine.

AP IMAGES/ROB LATOUR

The Project Almanac cast reminds moviegoers what they enjoy about time travel.

CULTURE

February 4, 2015

Page 17

War Film Garners Both Controversy and Accolades

By MEGHAN CAMPBELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Clint Eastwood’s newest movie, American Sniper, has been creating a huge buzz since its international debut on Jan. 16. Making headlines across the nation, this newly-released film has already been nominated for several Oscars, while also stirring up its fair share of controversy.

Based on the book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US History, the film follows the struggles depicted by its author, Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. Offering a glimpse into the life of America’s deadliest sniper, the movie allows viewers to see the ordeals Kyle faced both during his four deployments in Iraq and while living at home with his family.

While the film has audiences piling into theaters, critics are buzzing about the portrayal of Kyle himself, as well as the events in the film, dubbing it just another one of Hollywood’s fantasies. Adding a Hollywood twist is a concept the public is certainly familiar with. On Christmas of last year, the war movie Lone Survivor was released and caused quite a stir, due to its complete fabrication of some of the scenes. Similarly, while the movie mainly follows the scenes Kyle describes in his novel, Hollywood took some creative liberties with American Sniper.

“The movie was pretty on point until the part where he got ‘rescued’ by the villagers. Then it went to crap,” said Lieutenant Colonel Allen Howard, one of the members of the rescue

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Bradley Cooper’s role has generated a conversation about how Americans view war.

mission depicted in Lone Survivor. “It totally distorted the book (which is true, unless Luttrel was lying) and just became a Hollywood shoot-emup.”

Similarly, while the movie mainly

follows the scenes Kyle describes in his novel, Hollywood took some creative liberties with American Sniper.

“Too many people wrap it up in a neat little Hollywood package,” said Lieutenant Colonel Howard.

“They remember Zero Dark Thirty and say ‘Hooray! We killed Bin Laden!’ like it was all so easy, but they forget Neil Roberts and the hundreds of operators we lost and thousands of brutal missions that have been going on non-stop for almost 15 years while 99 percent of the population back home carries on just like before, as if nothing ever happened and nothing about Iraq or Afghanistan touches their lives.”

Critics claim American Sniper is specifically pro-America, making out the Iraqis in the film to be the bad guys. The beginning of the movie starts with a fictional scene used to turn the audience against the Iraqis when an Iraqi mother sends a young boy into a situation in which Kyle is forced to kill him in order to save a group of Marines. Several of the antagonists in the film, such as ‘The Butcher,” are fictional characters in the movie, and strictly used to improve the plot. The black-and-white attitude toward the conflict has upset some viewers and caused them to refer to the film as a newer, modern form of war propaganda.

“I definitely think that this film could lead to misconceptions for viewers, and there was a strong bias against Muslims throughout the movie,” said Katie Porter, FCRH ’18.

“All of the Iraqi citizens were portrayed as threats and there were even a couple lines about shooting everyone the soldiers saw, which made the movie seem like propaganda.”

Throughout the film, Iraqis were referred to as “savages,” a term Kyle used in his novel. With the release of

his book in October of 2013, readers discovered a side to Kyle that some found somewhat alarming. Quotes such as, “I only wished I killed more,” disturbed many readers and caused them to rethink their vision of Chris Kyle and his true motivations. Furthermore, statements like this led to the public questioning why Hollywood would create a movie glorifying a main character who appears to be a cold-hearted killer.

Critics have taken a very public stance against the way Kyle is portrayed in the film. Many claim the movie exemplifies an assassin, and have retaliated in very public ways; even going as far as to graffiti “murder” on a billboard advertising the movie. Going off the streets and onto social media, stars also shared their feelings. Seth Rogen even tweeted, “American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglorious Bastards.”

While Rogen has apologized for his tweet, Michael Moore stood by his belief, calling snipers “cowards.”

Along with its critics, the film has gathered many supporters. Singers Blake Shelton and Kid Rock both defended the movie, lashing out on social media against the criticizers.

Despite all the controversy surrounding the film, it has experienced box-office success since its release.

After making $105 million the weekend of its debut, the movie is blowing past its original expectations of $42 million. With six Oscar nominations, including Best Actor and Best Picture, the future is looking bright for American Sniper.

Ready to Graduate?

MAKE VILLANOVA’S COLLEGE OF NURSING YOUR NEXT STOP

Don’t Forget to Recycle

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Attend the Open House on Tuesday, March 10 from 5–7 p.m. in Connelly Center or contact Kristin Barkdoll, Program Assistant at 610.519.7137 or kristin.barkdoll@villanova.edu.

The Ram

CULTURE

Page 18

February 4, 2015

STAFF OSCAR PICKS Amanda Maile Best Picture: Selma Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Steve Carell-Foxcatcher Best Actress: Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl Best Original Screenplay: Richard Linklater-Boyhood

Amanda Giglio Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Steve Carell-Foxcatcher Best Actress: Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl Best Animated Feature Film: The Tale

Robert Frerich

Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel Best Director: Wes Anderson-The Grand Budapest Hotel Best Actor: Bradley Cooper-American Sniper

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard-Two Days, One Night Best Animated Feature Film: Big Hero Six

Mae Drucker Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Michael Keaton-Birdman Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon-Wild Best Visual Effects: Interstellar

of the Princess Kaguya

Drew Casey Mike Krzysko Best Picture: Boyhood Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Michael Keaton-Birdman Best Actress: Felicity Jones-The Theory of Everything

Katie Meyer Best Picture: Birdman Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Michael Keaton-Birdman Best Actress: Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl Best Adapted Screenplay: The Imitation Game

Joseph Vitale Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Michael Keaton-Birdman Best Actress: Julianne Moore-Still Alice

Best Picture: American Sniper Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Bradley Cooper-American Sniper Best Actress: Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl Best Original Song: “Glory�-Selma

Nicole Horton Best Picture: Boyhood Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Michael Keaton-Birdman Best Actress: Julianne Moore-Still Alice Achievement in Cinematography: Birdman

Sydney Keen Best Picture: The Theory of Everything Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhoo Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne-The Theory of Everything Best Actress: Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette

Best Documentary: Citizenfour

Kristen Santer

Laura Sanicola

Best Picture: Boyhood

Best Picture: Boyhood

Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne-The Theory of Everything Best Actress: Julianne Moore-Still Alice Best Original Score: The Theory of Everything

Best Director: Richard Linklater-Boyhood Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch-The Imitation Game Best Actress: Julianne Moore-Still Alice Best Original Score: The Imitation Game

February 4, 2015

SPORTS

Page 19

The Fordham Ram

Rams Drop Heartbreaker to URI at Home

By MAX PRINZ STAFF WRITER

The struggles of Fordham’s men’s basketball continued this past week. The Rams dropped a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference matchups, losing a heartbreaker to Rhode Island at home and falling to Dayton on the road. Head coach Tom Pecora’s team is now 5-14 on the year and 0-8 in the A-10.

“I think we’ve lost one just about every way this year,” Pecora said after the team’s loss to Rhode Island.

“We’ve got to just find a way. We’ve got to take wins. No one is going to give us anything.”

Fordham’s first game of the week against Rhode Island offered the best chance for the team’s first conference win. Fordham faced Rhode Island on the road earlier in the season and lost by just three points. This second battle of the Rams was a similarly tight contest.

The two teams went back and forth in the Bronx, each battling for supremacy all night long, and Fordham held a one point, 32-31 lead at halftime.

Pecora had promised changes to the team’s pre-game preparations after the loss to George Washington, and they appeared to pay off when Fordham took their lead into the half.

“We practiced instead of just having a walk through,” Pecora said. “That’s what I’m going to continue to do. I only know one way, and that’s when things aren’t going good, you work harder at it.”

In addition to a more taxing pregame regimen, a new offensive

NEIL TENNANT/THE FORDHAM RAM

Eric Paschall and the Rams look to pickup their first conference win of the season on Wednesday night against UMass.

system provided Fordham with a boost.

“We put in a new offense, you saw that we were running a flex and we shot 50 percent in the first half—we haven’t done that in a long time,” Pecora said. “In the second half we got away from it a bit.”

Though it avoided a slow start, Fordham was unable to maintain its offensive momentum and was doomed by poor shooting in the second half. Despite the poor

shooting, the game was tightly contested all the way to the wire. It included eight lead changes and 10 different instances of a tied score.

Rhode Island’s first lead came at the 4:25 mark, but its first chance to control the game followed two controversial whistles, the first of which came with 50 seconds to play. Fordham senior Bryan Smith was called for an offensive foul on a drive that led to a Rhode Island bucket. Then, sophomore Jon Se-

vere was called for a loose ball foul while going for a rebound that drew the ire of the entire Rose Hill Gym. The two whistles against Fordham gave Rhode Island a 6261 lead with 19 seconds to play.

Out of a timeout, junior Mandell Thomas attempted to save a broken play by driving to the basket and drawing a foul.

“That wasn’t the play,” Pecora said. “What we called, they countered, and Mandell kind of just

took it into his own hands.”

Thomas made both free throws and gave Fordham a 64-63 lead with nine seconds left. Then, disaster struck.

Rhode Island inbounded the ball and E.C. Matthews drove in from the right side, but missed a layup. Fordham failed to grab the rebound, and the ball was tipped and grabbed by Gilvydas Biruta, who put it in at the buzzer for the game-winner.

The buzzer-beater was a heartbreaker for Pecora and his team.

The Rams were visibly dejected after the final horn as the referees confirmed that yes, the tip-in counted.

“You got white shirts on, and you expect to get whistles a little bit near the end,” Pecora said, “but we’ll practice our tails off and get ready to go to Dayton.”

Any improvements the Rams made against Rhode Island did not travel with them to Ohio. The Rams were upended in the Buckeye state, falling to the Flyers 10177. Dayton’s five starters combined for 98 points, and the Flyers had 21 assists on 32 field goals. It was a performance that dramatically overshadowed a strong effort from Severe and freshman Eric Paschall, who had 17 and 19 points respectively.

Next up for the Rams is a home matchup against UMass on Wednesday. Pecora remains dedicated to finding his first conference win of the season.

“The harder I work, the luckier I get,” Pecora said. “So I’m just going to continue to work hard.”

Swimming Splits Final A-10 Regular Season Meet

By DREW CASEY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham swimming and diving team split its meet with the University of Massachusetts this past Saturday at the Colonel Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center.

The women’s team took down the Minutewomen 176-119, while the men’s team fell to its Atlantic 10 foe 172.5-115.5.

“We went into Saturday with competitive spirit and drive that really helped us put forth some great racing, despite our hard training the last month,” sophomore Kalena Laurent said. “I was really proud of how we all stepped up.”

After opening with a victory in the 200yd medley relay, the women’s squad went on to win 10 of its final 15 scored events. Laurent, together with sophomores Morgan Fairclough and Megan Polaha, led the way, winning two events each.

Laurent was quickest in the 200yd freestyle and touched first in the 500yd freestyle in 5:02.68.

Polaha took two butterfly events, recording a 57.23 in the 100yd race and a 2:02.74 in the 200yd swim. Fairclough beat out the field in both the 100yd and 200yd backstroke.

Senior Victoria McGovern, and

CHRISTIAN WILOEJO/THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham’s final tune up before the A-10 Championship is Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at home.

juniors Megan Gray and Shannon Lulley each won an individual event on the afternoon as well.

“I think we had some strong performances against UMass,” senior captain Savannah Coe said.

“We had swimmers who aren’t going to A-10s, who tapered and wore race suits, who performed

extremely well and were able to get best times, which was exciting to see.”

Freshman Erin McBride, Gray, and the Lulley sisters concluded the women’s program with a win in the 200yd freestyle relay.

The men’s team did not fare as well, winning five of the 16

scored events.

Junior Steve Sholdra turned in a stellar performance in the loss, touching the wall first in three individual events. The Renton, Washington native won both the 500yd and 1000yd freestyle events, posting times of 4:38.74 and 9:34.95, respectively. He also

was quickest in the 200yd butterfly.

“Our team performed incredibly well this weekend against UMass,” Sholdra said. “UMass is a really fast team. They train very hard, and are great competition. Nonetheless, our men’s team stepped up and raced very fast, especially on our relays. I believe that this was the some of the best racing our Fordham team has done all season long.”

As Sholdra mentioned, the team turned in good performances in both relay events. Freshmen J.T. Klimko and John Furlong, sophomore Joe Mercurio and junior Thomas Shetler were quickest in the 200yd medley relay.

Shetler, Mercurio, junior Christopher Daniell and senior Patrick Militti wrapped up competition with a win in the 200yd freestyle relay.

Before the Atlantic 10 Championship, both the men’s and women’s teams will host St. Francis and LIU-Brooklyn on Wednesday Feb. 4. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with senior night ceremonies preceding competition.

“The last meet of the season is a great opportunity to fine tune our strokes, race strategies and relay starts, so that we are ready to perform at our best at A-10s,” Coe said.

The A-10 Championship begins Feb. 18 in Geneva, Ohio.

Page 20

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February 4, 2015

SPORTS

February 4, 2015

As the NHL season passes the midway point, the Los Angeles Kings face a tough situation in the powerful Western Conference. As of Super Bowl Sunday, the Kings find themselves all the way down in fifth place in the Pacific Division (arguably the NHL’s weakest division), three points behind Calgary for the last wild card spot. After winning two of the last three Stanley Cups, the Kings may be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether. This is more than a Stanley Cup hangover. Their lack of success raises two important, contradicting questions: What’s wrong with the Kings, and perhaps more importantly, is anything wrong at all?

During the 2011-12 season, the Kings barely slipped into the playoffs, nabbing the eighth spot in the conference. Nobody expected them to make it very far, yet they managed to overthrow the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks and march towards their first Stanley Cup title. They were only the second eight seed to ever make the Stanley Cup Final (along with the 2005-06 Edmonton Oilers) and the first one to win it all.

Last season, the Kings once again entered the playoffs as a low seed. As the sixth seed, they played the San Jose Sharks in the first round and actually fell behind 3-0 in the series.

However, they managed to defeat the Sharks the next four games to pull off the highly improbable upset. They were also down 3-2 in their next series against Anaheim before winning another improbable series on a path that culminated in their second Stanley Cup title in three years. Clearly, these two title seasons demonstrate that the Kings are no strangers to adversity and slow starts.

So is their slow start this year nothing to worry about, or is it cause for concern? One area in which they have struggled mightily is their special teams. Currently, their penalty kill percentage is ranked 25th in the league at a paltry 77.8 percent. Their power play is admittedly better, but it is still stagnating around the middle of the league, currently 10th in the NHL at 19.5 percent. Although it undoubtedly would be beneficial to improve this aspect of their game, the team could have worse weaknesses.

In the playoffs, the refs often swallow their whistles, allowing the players more leeway for physical play. Calling a lot fewer penalties in the playoffs than in the regular season is more advantageous for a team that excels in even strength play as the Kings do.

Another reason for the Kings’ struggles this season is their defense.

For a team that has relied primarily on their defense in the past, they are putting up pretty mediocre numbers; they allow 2.6 goals per game, putting them at 14th in the league. It does not help that Slava Voynov, one of their top defensemen, is suspended indefinitely because of domestic assault charges. The Kings’ offense has not helped to pick up the slack, as they sit in the bottom half of the league with 2.7 goals scored per game.

Last week, the Kings waived veteran center Mike Richards, most likely in an attempt to jolt the team into better performance. Perhaps it is as simple as making a controversial roster move to flip the Kings’ switch. But, the switch better be flipped quickly, because it seems that the rest of the Western Conference might have caught up to the Los Angeles Kings.

Pat Costello

Varsity Scores & Stats

Matt McCormack

Panic in Los Angeles?

Page 21

Men’s Basketball Rhode Island 31 33 64 Fordham 32 31 63 (URI) J. Terrell 18 pts (FOR) J. Severe 17 pts Fordham 30 47 77 Dayton 47 54 101 (FOR) E. Paschall 19 pts (DAY) J. Sibert 29 pts Women’s Basketball Fordham 35 31 66 Davidson 24 21 45 (FOR) E. Tapio 23 pts, 6 reb (DAV) M. Latt 16 pts, 13 reb Duquesne 24 32 56 Fordham 19 27 46 (DUQ) A. Robinson 18 pts (FOR) H. Missry 12 pts

Men’s Swimming Massachusetts Fordham

172.5 115.5

1,000 yd freestyle S. Sholdra 1st- 9:34.95 Women’s Swimming Massachusetts 119 Fordham 176 200-yd backstroke M. Fairclough 1st- 2:07.11 Women’s Tennis Fordham Duquesne (FOR) E. Wong 2-0 (FOR) A. Novacek 2-0

4 3

The Hawk Will Never Die

Men’s Track Terrier Classic 800m L. Taylor

5th- 1:50.64

1,000m J. Annelli

9th- 2:26.91

Women’s Track Terrier Classic 800m T. Fagade

2nd- 2:06.56

Squash Johns Hopkins Round Robin 3-0 (FOR) K. Webster 3-0

Athletes of the Week Jon Severe

Morgan Fairclough

Sophomore

Sophomore

Basketball

Swimming

Now that he has been for about a month from a leave of absence, Severe is finally heating up. The guard scored 17 points in back-toback games and has been shooting efficiently, boasting a .600 field goal percentage over that stretch.

Fairclough had the winning edge against Massachusetts on Saturday. She was part of the winning 200 yd medly relay team and took both the 100- and 200 yd backstroke.

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 •

35 Fordham Football Players Named to 2014 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll On Monday, 35 student athletes from the football squad were named to the 2014 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The honor was bestowed upon those who were able to maintain a GPA of 3.2 or better. Fordham had the second most honorees of any school, trailing only Georgetown. Notable players who were honored include Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Brett Biestek, quarterback Mike Nebrich and running back Chase Edmonds.

•

Taylor and Fagade Earn A-10 Weekly Honors On Tuesday, Lester Taylor and Titi Fagade were honored as the A-10 Men’s and Women’s Performer of the Week. For Taylor, this is his second consecutive week winning the honor, while Fagade has been recognized three other times throughout her Fordham career. Both set school records in the 800m at the Terrier Classic in Boston; Fagade broke her own record. In addition, both honorees helped their respective teams to strong finishes in the 4x400 relay.

•

Sholdra Named A-10 Performer of the Week Swimming’s Steve Sholdra was named the A-10 Men’s Swimming & Diving Performer of the Week, good for his second weekly award of the season and third career Performer of the Week Award.

At Saturday’s meet against Massachusetts, he won all three of his races, including both distance freestyle events and the 200 yd butterfly.

•

Seven to be Inducted into Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame This Saturday, the Rams will induct the newest class into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame at the annual Hall of Fame Awards Lunch at 2:15 p.m. in the McGinley Center. Recent graduates to be inducted include Matt DiBuono, FCRH ’09, Dominique Liguori Damian, FCRH ’09, Marcus Stout, GSB ’08 and Marcus Taylor, GSB ’07. At the 4 p.m. men’s basketball game against St. Louis, which will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, all of the inductees will be recognized at halftime.

— Compiled by Sam Belden

The 1953 Philadelphia City Championship game will go down as one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports. The high powered Overbrook High was favored over the lesser West Catholic High School. Overbrook had a seven-foot sophomore center by the name Wilt Chamberlain, who had set the city ablaze with his high scoring games and impenetrable defense. West Catholic, a school with only 2,500 students at the time, had 400 kids try out for the basketball team. One of the men they kept was named Jack Savage. Savage told the story of his upset over The Stilt in 1953 many times. Leading up to the game, West Catholic did everything it could to prepare for the young phenom, Chamberlain, including having a priest stand on a table near the basket and wave a broom in the air to simulate the Overbrook center.

The two teams finally met in the historic Palestra in Philadelphia, home to some of the best high school and college basketball games in history.

The game was fierce, but Savage’s underdog squad overcame the odds and beat Overbrook 54-42.

After high school, Savage continued his education at St. Joseph’s University, staying in Philadelphia.

He decided to walk onto the basketball team, which was coached by the legendary Dr. Jack Ramsay. During his freshman season, Savage was not allowed to play, but when he was a sophomore he was a full-time member of the team. On one occasion, in a game against Muhlenberg, Savage finally got some playing time. Savage was on the bench for most of the game, but was always ready for his name to be called. During the course of the action, the point guard from St. Joe’s, Dan Dougherty, went down hard after getting fouled while going up for a shot. Ramsay pointed his finger to Savage, knowing that he was a great free throw shooter. Savage stepped up to the line and made both shots, and was promptly subbed back out in favor of Dougherty. His name appeared in the box score for his deuce even though he hadn’t registered any official playing time. In the locker room after the game, Savage was praised by his teammates due to the fact that the Hawks won by only two points, Ramsay walked up to him and matter-of-factly said, “Hey, you did your job.”

By the time Savage was a senior, he was so well-liked that he was voted team captain. That same season, St. Joe’s qualified for the National Invitational Tournament. The NIT was a big deal in the late ’50s and was considered by many to be a better tournament than the NCAA Tournament, mostly due to the fact that they could get more media coverage at Madison Square Garden than almost anywhere else in the country. The Hawks won their first round game over Saint Peter’s, but lost by four in the quarterfinals to St. Bonaventure, effectively ending Savage’s basketball career.

Savage passed away this past weekend at the age of 78. To many, he was more than a basketball player. He was a loving husband and father, a caring friend and, to me, an amazing grandfather. In the end he succumbed to Alzheimer’s, but he never forgot one moment of his basketball career. His life was full of wonderful stories that will be remembered forever, proving true the adage that the Hawk will never die.

SPORTS

Page 22

Anthony Pucik Why J.J. Watt Deserved MVP On Saturday, the NFL announced its season awards before the Super Bowl. I agreed with nearly every award: DeMarco Murray for Offensive Player of the Year, J.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year and Odell Beckham Jr. for Offensive Rookie of the Year. But, one that I did not agree with was Aaron Rodgers for Most Valuable Player.

There’s no doubt that the Packers’ quarterback had a great season, throwing 38 touchdowns and only five interceptions with a 112.2 quarterback rating, but there was someone in the league who was even more impressive than that: J.J. Watt.

There was no question that there was no better defensive player in the league this year than Watt, who registered 20.5 sacks, 59 solo tackles, four forced fumbles, one interception and a safety. After two of those turnovers, Watt ended up scoring touchdowns, which, together with his safety, makes him responsible for at least 16 Texan points.

Even more impressive than that, though, are Watt’s abilities on the offensive side of the ball and on special teams. Aside from blocking field goals and creating havoc for kicking units, Watt also had four receiving touchdowns as a tight end in Houston’s goal line offense. With MVP standing for the most valuable player in the league, how can you not choose Watt? He isn’t only valuable on defense, but on special teams and offense as well.

Watt not winning the MVP shouldn’t come as a shock, though, because there has not been an MVP that wasn’t a quarterback or running back since 1986. Ironically enough, that happened to be the year that Lawrence Taylor won the award, being only the second defensive player ever to receive the honor. To say that defensive POY is a defensive player’s MVP award is simply ridiculous. Look at Clayton Kershaw, winner of both MLB’s National League Cy Young and MVP award this season. Kershaw was without a doubt the best player in the National League with the numbers he put up, and as a result won the MVP award. There was no question he should’ve won the Cy Young, but that shouldn’t take him out of contention for MVP if he deserved to win it over everyone else.

Kershaw was more fortunate than Watt because all he came out with was defensive POY and not MVP. Rodgers certainly should’ve given Watt a run for his money, but simply because Rodgers is a quarterback and Watt a defensive player does not make Watt any less valuable to the Texans than Rodgers is to the Packers. Sure, Rodgers was responsible for a majority of the Packers’ points this season, but Watt was responsible for points on both sides of the ball and in the special teams’ game, which I feel is even more valuable than just performing in one area of the game.

There aren’t many other players who can say they helped their team in all three phases of a football game this season the way J.J. Watt did for Houston, and for that reason I think he should have been awarded Most Valuable Player.

February 4, 2015

Drew Casey

Senior Profile | Dan Green

By BRYAN KIEL STAFF WRITER

Daniel Green is a four-year track runner and a captain for the 2014-2015 men’s squad. A graduate of Clifton High School in New Jersey, Dan has contributed in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. A mid-distance specialist, Dan is a member of the 4x800 team that took second place in the Atlantic 10 Championship last spring.

The Fordham Ram: Coming out of high school, what made you decide to go to Fordham?

Dan Green: I wanted to go to a school that was not too far from home and I wanted to go somewhere with a good business school, so Fordham fit that mold nicely. I really decided on it once I talked to coach Dewey about running here and got a look at the campus.

TFR: Which events are you most competitive in?

DG: My best event is the 800m.

Indoors we also run the 1000m and I’ve run some fast times in that too.

TFR: As a guy who runs distance, you are competing in the fall, winter and spring. Do you have a favorite season between cross country, indoor and outdoor?

DG: Cross country is a lot of fun, but I prefer track because I’m more competitive over the shorter distances. Outdoor is my favorite season. The weather is way better for training, and I’ll run faster times outdoors than I would indoors.

TFR: You must not get much of a break in between seasons.

How do you spend the limited breaks you have?

DG: Most of the breaks I get I’ll spend back at home. Every once in a while I’ll have time to visit a friend but it’s rare that I’ll get more than a couple days without a formal practice. I’ll usually use my breaks as time to relax.

TFR: As captain of a competitive team in Division I competition, what type of role do you take on? What type of responsibilities does that give you during the season?

DG: I use my role as captain as a way to be a role model. When I was a freshman, I learned a lot from my captains, so I try to pass along the knowledge I have to the younger guys on the team. As far as responsibilities go, captains will run practice on Sundays and give their input to the coaches on what meet lineups should be and how workouts are going.

TFR: Are there any events you

Arizona: The Real Super Bowl MVP

CASEY CHUN: THE RAM

A senior captian, Green has used his four years of experience on the team to help teach the younger runners.

think the men’s team can really compete in during A-10’s, IC4A’s, and other upcoming championship events?

DG: The guys’ team this year is going to be really competitive in the mid-distance and distance events. From the 800m to the 5000m we have people that can score at A-10s. I also think our throwers are going to score some important points.

TFR: Do you have any favorite track memories from your time at Fordham?

DG: My favorite memories are mostly traveling with the team.

My freshman year at indoor A-10s I originally wasn’t on our 4x800 relay, but at the last minute Coach made a switch and put me on it. It was the first time Coach had put me on a stacked relay, and we ended up winning in a meet record time. It was a crazy experience for my first conference meet.

TFR: The weather is still cold, but I’m sure lots of Fordham students are going to be running outside as it gets warmer. Where’s your favorite place to run in the Bronx?

DG: My favorite place in to run in the Bronx is Van Cortlandt Park and the surrounding trails. I always like running through the woods, and some of the trails there get so scenic that you can’t

even tell you’re still in the city.

When the weather is warmer, we goa there for practice all the time.

TFR: A lot of people were affected by the sudden passing of Michael Walsh last month. What were your thoughts on him and his sudden passing?

DG: Mike Walsh was on the team my freshman year. I used to eat dinner with him all the time.

He always made hilarious movies for Campus Moviefest and performed standup comedy at Rodriguies.

During open mic nights, the track team would pack into the small room to watch him, and he killed every time. He also acted as a mentor to all the freshmen on the team. He would show us new runs, or tutor us in math or science classes.

He meant a lot to the team. We took a bus up to Connecticut for his wake, and a lot of alumni who ran with him stayed for the funeral.

TFR: What are your plans after your time at Fordham?

DG: I’m still on the job hunt right now, but ideally after I graduate I’ll stay in the city.

I won’t run competitive track, but I’ll probably hop in some road races here and there and may try to run a marathon while I’m still in some kind of running shape.

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/theram_ sports

Phoenix – While many are asking why the Seahawks didn’t run the football on second and goal, down four with 26 seconds remaining in regulation of Super Bowl XLIX, there’s a bigger story that needs to be highlighted. And, it’s not Marshawn Lynch’s antics or “deflategate.”

The Greater Phoenix area, including Tempe, Scottsdale and Glendale, Arizona, deserves a great deal of credit. Having the distinct pleasure to cover Sunday’s game and the festivities leading up to the game, the experience could not have been better. The area put on a show for the ages, and the game didn’t let anyone down either.

The one thing that stands out most to me is the welcoming, open attitude of the people of “The Valley of the Sun.” From arriving at the airport, to late night shuttle rides, to various interctions with public safety personnel, everyone had a smile on their face. People were glad that football’s biggest game had returned to the home of the Arizona Cardinals after a six-year hiatus.

While some criticized the logistics of this year’s Super Bowl, citing that some events were nearly 30 miles apart from each other, it still was set up remarkably. Phoenix was the central hub for all the main attractions, featuring a fan zone at the city’s spacious convention center and various on-street festivities in the immediate vicinity.

Marquee attractions such as ESPN’s broadcasts and Taste of the NFL took place in various areas of neighboring Scottsdale, Arizona while the game itself was played in Glendale, Arizona. These different locations made for a better overall Super Bowl experience than last year’s game in New York.

ESPN Radio host Michael Kay, FCRH ’82, summed it up best.

“New York swallowed up the Super Bowl,” he said. “The Super Bowl swallowed up Phoenix.”

Unlike last year’s game, people’s attention in the area was only focused on the game. Everywhere you visited was filled with chattering fans and a multitude of Super Bowl gear. The atmosphere was incredible and like nothing I had ever experienced.

The game should go down as one of the best in Super Bowl history and the Phoenix area needs to be recognized for helping to put on the highest-rated Super Bowl to date.

Hopefully, Super Bowl XLIX isn’t only remembered for, arguably, the worst play call in sports history. Additionally, let’s all hope that “deflategate” doesn’t ruin anything that the New England Patriots accomplished on Sunday evening.

The game was one for the ages.

The experience was one for the ages. My hat goes off to the Greater Phoenix area. Thank you for your enthusiasm, organization and hospitality.

If the opportunity presents itself to me again in the future, I will surely jump on it as I did this time.

In the meantime, if resources allow and you can attend the Super Bowl at some point in your lifetime, I strongly recommend it. It will not let you down, even if the game isn’t a classic.

SPORTS

February 4, 2015

Squash Ends the Weekend a Perfect 3-0

By SAM BELDEN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

By ALEXANDRIA SEDLAK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The men’s varsity squash team had a successful weekend down in Baltimore, Maryland for the Johns Hopkins Jesters Round Robin, hosted by the Meadow Mill Squash Club. The team played three matches between Friday and Saturday, competing against the squash teams from Lehigh, Ithaca and Siena. In the end, Fordham came out on top, coming home with a 3-0 record against the other teams.

The first match Fordham played was on Friday against Lehigh, a team that is ranked No. 35 in the country; Fordham is currently ranked No. 47. Many of these matches, whether won or lost, had tight scores. With Fordham down 3-4, it was up to the last two matches to get Fordham the win.

Will Wardrop, FCRH ’17, who played the number two spot, won his match in a close four games, making the total score 4-4.

The deciding match was at number one, with Fordham’s Kincade Webster, GSB ’16, facing Lehigh’s Ian Udvarhelyi. Webster lost the first set, but came back to win the next two. The fourth game was dramatically close. Webster was able to squeeze out a couple of points after having a match point against him, and he closed out the match with a fourth-game score of 13-11. With consistency and mental toughness, Fordham was able to come out on top, winning 5-4 in what assistant coach Ted Clarke called, “a real nail-biter of a match.”

On Saturday, the two matches against Ithaca and Siena were both

wins for Fordham, with a score of 9-0 against both teams. Not a single match against these two teams went past three games, showing Fordham’s consistency and skill.

Though these matches were not as intense as the first, Fordham still played hard and kept its focus. As a team, the players were able to come home after an undefeated weekend with a perfect 3-0 record.

Coming up this weekend, Fordham will be hosting its own tournament on the Lombardi squash courts. On Saturday, Feb. 7, the team will be facing Colgate at 10 a.m. and New York University at 2 p.m.; both of these teams are ranked higher than Fordham, with Colgate at No. 37 and NYU at No. 41.

These matches will be both mentally and physically challenging for the team and will no doubt be exciting to watch. As coach Bryan Patterson said, “It’s a really huge challenge for the team, and one in which I believe we have the ability to do well.”

Fordham’s varsity squash team has had great momentum this season, and it looks like this positive movement will continue. With a record of 9-4 for the season so far, the team is strong, hard-working and committed to seeing improvement. The players are also supportive of each other and determined to achieve their goals for the season.

The last matches of the regular season are this weekend on the home courts, and the team is sure to play well.

It is never fun to witness the decline of an all-time great athlete.

While most of these legends find that their abilities diminish gradually, there are times when a player gives such a lousy and uncharacteristic performance that he or she is forced to endure the public outcry that comes from disappointed fans.

These can be some of the defining moments in the athlete’s career and, indeed, in the history of the sport. Willie Mays’ famous fall in the outfield during the 1973 World Series is an example of this; Roger Federer’s third round loss in this year’s Australian Open is a more recent one.

Last week, golf fans found themselves in this situation as they watched a legend give the single worst performance of his career.

During Friday’s second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Tiger Woods, that great paragon of golf, shot a startling 82 and missed the cut. It was the highest round of his twenty-year PGA Tour career.

The week did not start out too poorly for Woods; an opening round of 73 was an unremarkable start, but for someone playing his first major tour event of the season on a course that is not part of his regular rotation, it was hardly worrisome. The next day, however, Woods struggled to get any momentum as his two front nine birdies were offset by three bogies and a double over the same stretch. Once he made the turn, things turned really sour. A triple bogey on the par-5 15th hole was the lowlight on a portion of the scorecard that was littered with big numbers. It all added up to a score with which any touring pro would be disappointed.

It is tempting to dismiss this performance as an outlier; after all, Woods did undergo a lumbar microdiscectomy, a type of back surgery that necessitates a long recovery process, last April. However, the fact of the matter is that he has been practicing relentlessly and feels no pain. After Friday’s round, he categorically denied the rumors that his poor play was the result of a balky back. Instead he was selfdeprecating, acknowledging that

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his game was not in the best place and stating his intent to focus on the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

So what is going on? The answer is that Tiger Woods, in all his glory, has caught a bad case of the chipping yips. This is an almost inconceivable development; for so much of his career, the hallmark of Woods’ game has been his mental toughness. On Friday, however, he looked positively bewildered on the green as he duffed chips, misjudged approaches and left himself with unreasonably long putts. The yips are so terrifying that to talk about them is almost taboo, but the sooner fans admit to themselves that the world’s most prominent golfer has them, the sooner they can start to make some sense of the situation.

This is just the latest installment of what has been a long and somewhat exhausting journey for Woods. Ever since his numerous marital infidelities came to light in late 2009, he has struggled to perform at the level that fans

have come to expect of him; even strong seasons in 2012 and 2013 have been overshadowed by his inability to deliver at the majors.

Instead, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who has won four majors since 2011, has become a far more reliable superstar on the world’s biggest stages. Last week, the differences between the two stars were on full display. While Woods coughed up the worst score of his career and missed the cut in Phoenix, McIlroy hoisted the trophy in Dubai for his 10th European Tour victory.

With every day that passes, it becomes more likely that Woods’ career will never again reach the heights that it did in this millennium’s first decade. His defenders are quick to predict a rebound by pointing out that he is a resourceful, smart, transcendent talent. All of that is true, but so is the fact that all athletes eventually decline.

Woods can still be a force on the PGA Tour, but he’ll have to overcome Father Time as well as the yips.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Woods has fallen out of the Top 50 World Ranking for the first time since 2011.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Thursday Feb. 5

Friday Feb. 6

St. Bonaventure 7 p.m.

Men’s Tennis SAM JOSEPH: THE RAM

Squash returns home for the first time since Dec. 7 against Vassar.

Softball

Metropolitan Championship

Bucknell 5 p.m.

Kajikawa Classic

Monday Feb. 9

Tuesday Feb. 10

Wednesday Feb. 11 Richmond 7 p.m.

St. Joseph’s 2 p.m.

Colgate/NYU 10 a.m.

Squash Indoor Track

Sunday Feb. 8

St. Louis 4 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball

Saturday Feb. 7

SPORTS

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February 4, 2015

The Fordham Ram

Women’s Basketball Has Up and Down Week

By MATT ROSENFELD STAFF WRITER

In the heart of its conference schedule, the Fordham women’s basketball team split its two games this week, defeating Davidson 66-45 on the road, but falling to Duquesne at Rose Hill Gym 5646 this past Saturday.

Coming off its first loss in Atlantic 10 play, Fordham made the trek to North Carolina to get back to its winning ways. With the score tied at 17 midway through the first half, senior Emily Tapio took over, scoring all of Fordham’s points in a 9-1 run to give the Rams a comfortable lead. Tapio was not done there, however.

She managed to score the final six points in the half to send the Rams into the break with a 35-24 lead.

Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin narrowly missed another double-double in the game, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with eight points. Sophomore guard Hannah Missry also added to the scoring.

The sharpshooter went four of seven from three-point land, finishing with 14 points of her own.

But, the day belonged to Tapio.

It was a banner day for the senior captain as she scored a careerhigh 23 points, shooting 10 of 16 from the field. She also had six rebounds and four assists in an all-around great day. “She realizes

SAMUEL JOSEPH/THE FORDHAM RAM

Having lost two of their last three games, the Rams look to rebound on Thursday Feb. 5, against St. Bonaventure.

as a senior that it’s time to step up,” head coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “They gave her the opportunity, and she took it and took advantage.”

Fordham’s advantage would never come under serious threat for the rest of the game. Twice, the Wildcats would cut the deficit to single digits, but both times the Rams would counter with runs of

their own to add cushion to the lead.

After taking care of Davidson, the Rams returned home to face Duquesne, a team that is always near the top of the A-10.

The first half was a tightly contested one. Both teams shot poorly, keeping the game very low-scoring. The Rams shot just 26 percent from the field in the

first half, but at one point held the lead 17-15. But, Duquesne ended the half on a 9-2 run that started the downslide for the home team.

The Dukes led 24-19 at halftime.

Fordham could not stop the skid when the second half started.

Duquesne scored the first eight points in the second half and stretched its lead to 32-19, putting the Rams on their heels.

As usual, Fordham’s tenacity showed itself as the Rams quickly cut the lead to eight. But Fordham’s defense, which it usually relies on, failed on Saturday. It was just not able to stop the Dukes’ offense. Junior guard April Robinson, in particular, seemed to cause problems. She finished the game with 18 points, but continually hit three-pointers that deflated any Fordham comeback attempt.

Missry was Fordham’s leading scorer with 12 points, as she shot four of 10 from deep. Tapio added 11 points and six rebounds of her own, but none of it was enough.

“To beat the better teams [in the A-10], you’ve got to be on all cylinders,” Gaitley said. “We weren’t close to all cylinders on Saturday.

We’ve got to stay focused. We’ve got to take care of the ball. Nineteen turnovers against Duquesne is too much.”

“We got outrebounded,” she said. “I felt we got out-toughed, and that’s not acceptable. Our standards are that nobody outtoughs us.”

The loss dropped Fordham to 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the conference. The Rams currently sit in third in the conference, just behind Dayton and George Washington.

Fordham will host St. Bonaventure in its next game on Thursday, Feb. 5. The Rams defeated the Bonnies 72-62 on the road earlier in the year.

Track Breaks Two School Records in Boston

By BRYAN KIEL STAFF WRITER

The Fordham Indoor Track team was up in Boston this past weekend competing in the Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University. The meet was saturated with teams from throughout the East Coast, with club and college teams from Maine to Virginia. Fordham stayed strong against the tough competition, featuring a number of ECAC/IC4A qualifications, career-best times and broken school records.

The women’s team started the meet on Friday, Jan. 30, and senior captain Titi Fagade continued her dominance indoors with a secondplace finish in the 800m. Fagade’s time of 2:06.56 broke her previous school record set last year, and was briefly the fifth best time in the country.

“I was really surprised by how fast I went,” Fagade said. “I was ranked fifth in the NCAA briefly, but that changes every week as people run faster. For this meet though, I’m proud of my performance.”

Senior Melissa Higgins also placed well in the 800m, posting a time of 2:15.09 for 18th place.

Senior captain Kristen Stuart and junior Danielle Rowe both recorded career-best times and ECAC qualifications in the 500m, with times of 1:14.78 and 1:15.05, good for fifth and seventh overall. Joining Stuart and Rowe in the top 10 was freshman Merissa Wright, who

JOSHUA KIM/THE FORDHAM RAM

Titi Fagade broke her own school record in the 800m, while Lester Taylor set a school record in the men’s 800m.

took 10th with a time of 1:16.18.

Senior Mara Lieberman was qualified for the ECAC championships in March with a time of 2:55.74 in the 1000m run, good for 16th place in competition. Senior Brianna Tevnan, coming off a breakout cross country season, started her indoor campaign with a career-best time of 10:07.19 in the 3000m, slashing her previous time of 11:51.85.

The relay teams had great days

as well for the women. The 4x400 team, a senior-freshman crew made up of Fagade, Higgins, Wright and freshman Jennifer Boerke, was the final ECAC qualifier of the day, coming in fifth in competition with a time of 3:47.66. The distance medley relay team, consisting of Boerke, Lieberman, Higgins and Tevnan, competed on Saturday, finishing third overall with a time of 12:01.61.

“The goal of the 4x4 was to

qualify for ECAC and we did that, and were just shy of a school record,” said Fagade. “Overall, it was an excellent day for the women’s team. We ran some great times that placed us in a good spot for our conference meet in a couple of weeks.”

The men’s team competed on Saturday, and started again with a IC4A qualifying time and school record. Senior captain Lester Taylor, a native of the Bahamas, start-

ed the day in the 800m, coming in fifth overall with a time of 1:50.64.

This broke former Ram Brian Schmidt’s 2011 record by threetenths of a second, and is also a Bahamian national indoor record.

Joining Taylor as IC4A qualifiers were senior Jon Annelli and junior Quincy O’Connor. Annelli finished ninth in the 1000m run with a time of 2:26.91, while O’Connor finished 16th in the 5000m run with a time of 14:35.80.

The meet also featured strong performances from many other Rams. Senior captain Dan Green joined Annelli in the 1000m with a time of 2:33.92, and freshman Louis Santelli ran in the 800m with Taylor, finishing in a time of 1:55.68. A number of other freshmen had great days, like Thomas Slattery, who ran a 4:15.09 in the mile. Fellow freshman Brian Cook also joined Slattery in the mile, finishing in a time of 4:20.12. Cook returns to competition for Fordham after a great cross country season, cut short by bouts of illness and injury. Junior Mike Turi, freshman Nik O’Brien, and sophomore Ryan McGann ran in the 3000m run, with times of 8:28.66, 8:31.96 and 8:51.22, respectively.

“Everyone that ran had good races,” said Green. “We are ready to run fast on Friday and I think we’re gonna have a great showing at Mets.”

Fordham will continue its strong indoor season this weekend as it competes at the Metropolitan Championship at The Armory.