Observer Issue 2 Spring 2024

Observer the

February 7, 2024

The Student Voice of Fordham Lincoln Center

VOLUME XLIV, ISSUE 2

Queer Students Now Eligible To Donate Blood

By STEVIE FUSCO Asst. News Editor

Following the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) updated guidelines removing restrictions that barred blood donations based on sexual orientation, queer Fordham students weighed in on the policy change and shared their intention to donate blood at the upcoming Lincoln Center blood drive on Feb. 12 in the Bateman Room on the second floor of the law school.

The university also hosted a blood drive at the Rose Hill campus on Jan. 30 in the Joseph M. McShane, S.J.'s Great Hall located on the third floor. University Health Services urged members of the Fordham community to donate in a university-wide email sent on Jan. 18, citing a “great need for blood donations.”

On May 11, 2023, the FDA announced that they will no longer prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating

see BLOOD DRIVE page 3

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TARA LENTELL/THE OBSERVER

The 66th Grammy Awards Recap

By JANE ROCHE Contributing Writer

The 66th annual Grammy Awards aired live on Sunday night in Los Angeles and were dominated by women, showcasing many of the music industry’s oldest and newest icons receiving recognition for their successful past years.

The first Grammy of the night was awarded to Miley Cyrus for her song “Flowers” in the best pop solo performance category. This was also Cyrus’ first Grammy that she received in her music career.

All nominees in the best pop solo performance category were women, an appropriate start for a night that showed victory for women in all major categories. Cyrus’ win was followed by a show-stopping performance from song of the year nominee Dua Lipa, who climbed on a metal jungle gym lifted in the air by her dancers while singing her new release “Training Season.”

Following Cyrus’ big win, American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman made a surprise appearance to perform her song “Fast Car” with country music singer Luke Combs. Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” earned him a nomination for best country solo performance. The duet received a standing ovation from the star-studded audience. Nearly 36 years since its release, Chapman’s song climbed the charts and reached #1 on U.S. iTunes following the live performance.

blood. Instead, the screening questionnaire will ask risk-based questions that do not target sexual identity.

Per the FDA’s regulations, MSM were initially banned from donating blood starting in 1985 due to fear of spreading HIV/AIDS during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s to the early 1990s. Throughout the AIDS crisis, queer individuals — particularly gay men — experienced a new height of stigmatization that perpetuated gay and queer sexuality as the cause for the spread of the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS spreads through the transmission of bodily fluids, including blood as well as rectal or vaginal fluids. While the CDC notes that the majority of HIV diagnoses are due to unprotected sexual intercourse or the sharing of drug injection equipment, past regulations on donating blood have specifically targeted gay men on the basis of sexual identity.

Fordham Awarded $50 Million Grant from the EPA

The grant allows the university to address environmental injustices and advance research initiatives

By CLAIRE HABIG Contributing Writer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Fordham University a $50 million grant to focus on advancing environmental justice on Dec. 20, 2023. The university has been designated as a grantmaker with the ability to allocate funds to community-based groups in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin

Islands to address environmental injustices in disadvantaged communities.

The grant will also support faculty environmental research initiatives.

As a part of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program (EJ TCGM), Fordham will collaborate with partner organizations to uplift those disproportionately impacted by climate change, pollution and other environmental challenges over a threeyear period. The university stands among

only 11 institutions nationwide chosen to oversee the distribution of $550 million in federal funding allocated for the program, according to the EPA. Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) will lead the grant initiative. Julie Gafney, executive director of CCEL and assistant vice president for strategic mission initiatives, said that the grant is a historic award and the largest one to be received in the university’s history.

Gafney also explained that the effort is a new approach by the EPA to allocate federal funds to community organizations that typically do not receive them. The grant allows credible organizations and institutions with adequate infrastructure to manage large sums of money allocated for subgrants for these organizations.

Want to read more?

Head to www.fordhamobserver.com for the full piece

see GRAMMYS page 11

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Fordham University secures a $50 million grant from the EPA, empowering the university to address environmental injustices and propel faculty-led environmental research initiatives.

NEWS PAGE 3

SPORTS & HEALTH PAGE 5

Commemorating a beloved professor and activist

Back-to-back defeats punctuate A10 Conference ranking for Rams

Remembering Rodriguez Women’s Basketball

CENTERFOLD PAGE 6-7

Parlor Entertainment

Eliot’s troupe fosters musical family and eager crowds

OPINIONS PAGE 9

Oscars ‘Snubs’

“Barbie” loss discourse is undermining other actresses

ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 11

Baldwin Selections

Pioneering Black, gay essaysit has a lasting legacy through his work

2

News

February 7, 2024

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

Anti-Racism Advisory Hosts Inaugural Beloved Community Celebration

Students and faculty came together to discuss their vision for a university that is committed to anti-racism

By SHELBY WILLIAMS Social Media Editor

The Fordham Arts and Sciences Deans’ Anti-Racism Advisory (FASARA) hosted its inaugural Beloved Community Celebration on Jan. 31 in Platt Court and McNally Amphitheater. Based on the concept of “The Beloved Community” that was popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the celebration aimed to foster conversations and visions of social justice on Fordham’s campuses.

Upon entering Platt Court, students and faculty were met with refreshments and encouraged to mingle and exchange introductions. Attendees were then ushered into McNally Amphitheater, where they were greeted by Michele Prettyman, faculty co-chair of the advisory group and professor of communication and media studies. The mixer commenced with a brief introduction from Prettyman who outlined anti-racist ideals at their core.

Prettyman cited The King Center website during her remarks and stated that, “Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth.”

The Beloved Community is a dream of an all-inclusive space

rooted in the ideals of social justice and equality as a means to reconciliation, which King envisioned as a universal goal. Members of FASARA pushed Fordham students to consider what a Beloved Community would look like at Fordham’s campuses and how to bring goals of anti-racism to fruition by conversing with one another.

The program included an activity where five large notepads and writing utensils were displayed on the stage. Audience members were encouraged to share their dreams on what King’s vision can look like in the Fordham community. The activity worked to create a space that acknowledges and serves the needs of students of all communities. Attendees were provided the option to write ideas and feedback on sticky notes and display them onstage on the large notepads, or by completing an online form.

In 2020, former University President Joseph M. McShane, S.J., announced an action plan in which he pledged Fordham’s commitment to addressing racial inequality. As a member of FASARA, Prettyman said she was eager to show the community the work being done to achieve these goals.

“We meet constantly as a body, but we don’t get out into the community space at Fordham.” Prettyman said. “We wanted people

to know that we exist and that there are anti-racist efforts that didn’t get lost.”

Attendees expressed excitement in seeing the work being done to create a safe space for Fordham community members of color.

Terrence Mosley, visiting artist and interim head of directing, invited students of his directing production workshop class to attend the mixer, which took place during their class time. He shared that he believes that this event is a step in the right direction for the Fordham community, as he’s seen the student body become increasingly diverse in the past few years.

Mosley adds that it is crucial for the university to stay consistent in its anti-racist efforts in order to sustain momentum toward its goals.

“I think there’s always going to be work. It’s like any relationship that you have in life: you’re going to need to work on it consistently, and the moment you stop, something calcifies, something goes wrong, and it gets minimal support,” he said.

According to Fordham’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, the university’s student body has been diversifying over the years, with less than 30% of students identifying as a student of color in 2014 increasing to over 40% in 2022. Notably, Black/African-American student

enrollment slightly decreased from 2021 and Hispanic/Latino student enrollment continued to increase.

Cora Therber, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’24, and a member of Mosley’s theater class, attended the Beloved Community Celebration with their classmates and was enthusiastic about the work being done.

Therber treasured the space created for often overlooked conversations that are needed to transform the university positively. They especially appreciated the push to critically consider how to bring about change at Fordham.

“I think that it’s cool to reach out to people and to talk about things,” Therber said. “Just because an ideal seems impossible to reach, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth talking about.”

Members of FASARA intend for Beloved Community to be an annual event and to expand as more students and faculty participate. They are aiming to continue building their presence on Fordham campuses and respond to the feedback they receive, using it to continue anti-racist efforts in a way that holistically meets the needs of all students.

SHELBY WILLIAMS/THE OBSERVER

Attendees at the anti-racism focused event were motivated to consider Dr. King Jr.’s idea of a ‘Beloved Community’

Seniors Face Uncertain Job Market Conditions

Fordham Lincoln Center's graduating seniors struggle with uncertainty as graduation approaches, but job growth continues despite economists’ predictions

By ANA KEVORKIAN Managing Editor

Graduation is quickly approaching for Fordham seniors,and with that, a certain level of unpredictability comes with the post-graduation job search. With new reports of unexpected job growth according to the Associated Press and contradictory job shrinkage reported

by Bloomberg Business News in some industries, however, seniors are navigating changes in employment availability in the technology sector, which are described as outliers.

Since the outset of the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, economists have predicted that the United States would soon face a recession, with Bloomberg reporting in October 2022 that such a downturn was 100% certain.

Yet, the U.S. is now experiencing an unexpected growth in its economy, including a significant jump in job creation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) most recent report published on Feb. 2 saw an additional 335,000 jobs enter the market, defying economist’s predictions, with unemployment remaining low.

Despite the surprising surge in job growth, layoffs have targeted some industries into which Fordham graduates hope to enter. Large tech companies such as Google and Meta are among the worst offenders, pouring investments in artificial intelligence and seeking to correct their overhiring during the pandemic.

According to Stanford Economics Scholar Jeffrey Pfeffer, these layoffs are an example of “social contagion.”

“Layoffs are the result of imitative behavior and are not particularly evidence-based,” Pfeffer explained to Stanford News. “The logic driving this, which doesn’t sound like very sensible logic because it’s not, is people say,

‘Everybody else is doing it, why aren’t we?’”

Annette McLaughlin, director of the Career Center at Fordham, said that while postgraduate life is always anxiety-inducing for seniors, her office has noted that this anxiety has set in sooner in recent years.

McLaughlin recommended that students participate in Career Center programming designed to support them in their transition out of college. She specifically highlighted the “Senior Series,” a collection of workshops curated to prepare students for the job search process, and “Rams Helping Rams,” which pairs students with alumni. She also highlighted ongoing industry-specific career fairs throughout the semester.

“The main thing that would relieve anxiety is to have a plan,” McLaughlin said.

Amid this uncertain economic situation, Fordham seniors are now attempting to secure the near future, seeking out jobs, graduate school admissions and other postgraduate paths.

Madeleine Crew, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’24, who is majoring in English with a double minor in theatre and film and television, said that she plans to pursue graduate school, studying either acting or media management. She noted that the state of the economy has not impacted these plans.

“Wanting to pursue a career as an actor, bottom line, is uncertain,” Crew noted. She said she feels lucky to be able to “collect degrees” as she moves forward and described herself as a “lifelong learner.”

The BLS reported growth in motion picture and sound recording industries by 12,000 jobs over the last month, with telecommunications decreasing by 3,000 in its February report.

Crew also highlighted that her education feels “incomplete” due to the disruption to her collegiate

experience caused by the pandemic, due to which her first year at Fordham was almost entirely virtual.

“I didn’t get a proper freshman year, so I’m not done learning,” she said.

Gillian Gural, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’24, said that she initially planned to pursue a graduate school education but has decided to enter the workforce after receiving a full-time offer from a startup at which she interned last summer. Gural’s major is global business with a concentration in digital media and technology on the technology track, and she is minoring in computer science.

Gural emphasized that despite her primary interest in technology, she decided to obtain a business degree in order to increase her job prospects. She praised the Gabelli School of Business’ ability to prepare students for the workforce, though she noted she had not

participated in career preparation programs such as resume workshops.

Professional and business services saw a huge uptick in job growth, with 74,000 new jobs created in January 2024 compared to a 14,000 growth during January 2023. Employment in information saw a small increase but the BLS reports a general decrease in the sector.

While Gural said she would have liked to receive more technical training within the technology track of the global business program, she also noted that she understands its focus on preparing students for management work within the tech sector.

She added that she felt prepared for her internship in the tech industry and current part-time and future full-time position.

With regard to a potential future recession, Gural highlighted the particular impact of the economic

uncertainty on the tech industry, despite having received what she described as “one lucky chance” with her internship.

The tech industry has suffered its worst year of layoffs since the dot-com boom in 2023, with more than 262,000 workers losing their jobs. In the first month of 2024, an additional nearly 30,000 employees were laid off.

Gural noted that the majority of these layoffs targeted entry-level positions, often filled by recent college graduates. She added that because of the downturn in the tech industry, many of her professors have recommended that students temporarily delay their entry into the workforce by pursuing graduate school. “‘Just go to grad school and it’ll be better when you graduate,’ is what every economics professor has told me,” Gural recalled. “But now that I’m a senior, I’m like, I don’t want to go to grad school.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TARA LENTELL/THE OBSERVER

Fordham seniors grapple with a paradoxical job market as overall job growth clashes with mass tech layoffs, creating uncertainty for graduating students in the face of economic shifts.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

February 7, 2024

News

3

Orlando Rodriguez, Proponent of Restorative Justice and Peace Activism, Dies at 81 A professor of three decades, Rodriguez is remembered for his ability to translate tragedy into empathy

By INSIYA GANDHI News Editor

Orlando Rodriguez — professor emeritus of sociology at Fordham who advocated for restorative justice and peace in the wake of losing his son in the Sept. 11 attacks — died on Jan. 4 in a nursing home in White Plains, New York, following a battle with Parkinson’s disease.

He was 81 years old.

Born on Feb. 22, 1942 in Havana, Cuba to Marta Iglesias, a seamstress, and Jesus Rodriguez, a cracker salesman, Rodriguez and his parents later immigrated to New York City in 1955 — when he was 13 — where they were united with his maternal uncle, Francisco Iglesias.

An alumna of the New York City public school system, Rodriguez graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and later completed his undergraduate studies at the City University of New York in 1965, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology.

“ I remember that day

he was asking ‘do you have a lift back to the city? Do you have a way home?’ He was concerned about other people even as he did not know where his son was,

”

Jeanne Flavin, Professor of Sociology

In 1974, Rodriguez completed his doctorate in sociology at Columbia University. He went on to begin his teaching career at Brooklyn College and then served as a researcher at the Vera Institute of Justice in Brooklyn, NY, where he researched about released prisoners' paths to re-entering the job market and other topics related to criminal justice reform.

The bulk of Rodriguez’s professorship, however, was at Fordham University, where he spent three decades teaching, mentoring and paving the way for an approach to the field of criminal justice and sociology that centers restoration over punitiveness.

Rodriguez served as a senior research associate at Fordham’s Hispanic Research Center in 1987, where he conducted studies on mental health in Latino communities. He was the center’s director from 1990 to 1997. Between 1990 and 2020, Rodriguez was a professor in the university’s department of sociology and anthropology, where he served as department chair at one point. Rodriguez was a crucial player in establishing the Peace and Justice Studies minor program and criminology course Harm and Justice, Crime and Punishment.

When Jeanne Flavin, professor of sociology, first met Rodriguez, she was a recently tenured colleague of his at the Rose Hill campus, where their offices were located next to one another. She recounts first coming to know Rodriguez on Sept. 11, when they first caught wind of the attacks.

Rodriguez’ son, Gregory, worked on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center nevertheless, his immediate reaction was to inquire into the well-being of others, Flavin shared.

“I remember that day he was asking ‘do you have a lift back to the city? Do you have a way home?’ He was concerned about other people even as he did not know where his son was,” Flavin said.

In the aftermath of his son death in the Sept. 11 attacks, Rodriguez and his wife of 58 years, Phyllis Rodriguez, penned an open letter titled “Not In Our Son’s Name,” in which they encouraged the U.S. government to avoid drastic military measures and instead adopt a “rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world.”

The letter garnered widespread media attention. Rodriguez connected with other victims’ family members and peace activists across the globe. The letter was included in Howard Zinn’s “Voices of a People’s History of the United States,” was publicly read by actor

Benjamin Bratt in 2007, featured in the 2009 film “The People Speak,” and was the subject of a 2015 documentary “In Our Son’s Name.”

Phyllis stressed that after Sept.

11, Rodriguez utilized his sociological imagination to improve the well-being of others.

“He used the tools of his training in education to do some good for others, he taught on terrorism and society, got the Peace and Justice Studies to become a minor concentration and led him to teach in the prison,” she said.

Flavin emphasized that Rodriguez’s work normalized approaches to criminal justice that weren’t inherently punishment oriented, but instead stressed the importance of allowing people second, third or even fourth chances.

“It was kind of this larger commitment; we’re not going to punish our way to a better tomorrow, we’re only going to get so far by responding to violence with more violence,” Flavin said. “It’s a really powerful thing to have a senior colleague who takes that position.”

Flavin also underscored that Rodriguez fostered a communal and supportive environment within the sociology department at Fordham, among his colleagues and his students.

“He made it okay to care about your colleagues. He was always profoundly professional, but he made it okay to let your colleagues know that you cared about them and you think about them,” she said. “He carved out a space to see people in their larger capacity as human beings and not only students or co-workers.”

Stacy Torres, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’02, and an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, San Francisco said Rodriguez was a major source of support for her while she navigated caretaking responsibilities for her three young sisters and conflict at home during her junior and senior year at Fordham.

“Those two years, I really feel if I did not have the support of Orlando, I don’t really think I would’ve made it,” she said.

She also shared that Rodriguez flagged different opportunities

COURTESY OF JULIA E. RODRIGUEZ

Orlando Rodriguez leaves behind an impact on the field of criminal justice and sociology.

— such as fellowships and graduate programs. Torres credits him as a model of mentorship both professionally and personally, inspiring her to practice empathy.

“He helped me believe in myself when I didn’t always believe in myself, he offered a mirror for me to appreciate myself in ways that I maybe didn’t,” she said.

Julia E. Rodriguez, professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, and daughter of Orlando and Phyllis Rodriguez, recalled her father’s habit of cutting articles out of The New York Times’ print copies to share with his classes in the hopes of instilling media and social literacy skills, inadvertently influencing her path to academia. In her current professorship, Julia finds herself employing a similar tradition with her students.

She reflected on chats with her dad on politics while on a trip in Madrid where she was embarking on her research project.

Julia said her parents were always committed to making the world a better place, but in the days following Sept. 11, they saw an opportunity to propel a positive and affirming message about peace. For her father — she believes his actions were a natural way to process the events and harness his scholarly background to

rationalize her brother’s passing.

“Instead of anger or desire for revenge, we would rather encourage people to visualize a world where there’s no more terrorism and no more killing, where people don’t lose their family members in such a tragic way,” she said.

Julia stressed her father’s love for teaching at Fordham, noting he remained in his professorship until age 78.

“He just really loved teaching and loved his colleagues at Fordham,” she said.

His family, colleagues and students remember Rodriguez’ dry humor, quiet grace and desire to uplift others through hardship. Rodriguez was a member of the Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains, NY, and Braver Angels, an organization which promotes civil conversations across political differences.

A private burial was held on Jan. 13 at White Plains Rural Cemetery. A public memorial service will be held in spring of 2024.

Donations in Rodriguez’s memory can be made to Rising Hope or September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Rodriguez is survived by his wife, Phyllis Rodriguez; daughter, Julia E. Rodriguez and her husband Charles B. Forcey; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Soudant; and three grandchildren.

Blood Donors Will No Longer Be Restricted on Basis of Sexual Orientation

Students intend to participate in the blood drive after FDA eliminates restrictions based on sexual orientation BLOOD DRIVE from page 1

In 2015, the FDA lifted the lifetime ban to allow men who have sex with men to donate blood if they abstain from sexual intercourse for at least one year. In 2020, the abstinence period was shortened to 90 days.

Under the past FDA regulations, Jason Maina, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24, would be restricted from donating his blood. Maina said he believes that the former policy is “blatant discrimination.”

Similarly, Nate Dallimore, FCLC ’24, who would have also been ineligible to donate blood before the regulation changes, speculated that the regulations came from hysteria following the AIDS epidemic.

“It’s restricting an entire group of people from donating blood, when donated blood is incredibly important, solely based on their sexuality because of the fear their blood is contaminated,” Dallimore said.

Maina and Dallimore both

mentioned their intentions to donate blood at the upcoming blood drive located in the law school.

Access to information for queer people has greatly decreased the spread of HIV, noted Maina, which leads him to believe that blood donation guidelines required revisions.

“The rules needed to change with the times,” he continued.

“HIV is spread through certain sexual acts, not depending on who these people are, what their gender is, or how they identify.”

According to the American Red Cross, donors will be questioned on specific behaviors, not their identity or the identity of their sexual partners.

Current FDA regulations still exercise some level of restriction on who can and cannot donate blood with concerns to HIV/AIDS transmission. Potential donors who have participated in intravenous drug use, had anal sexual intercourse with a new sexual partner, have had anal sexual

intercourse with more than one person, or had sexual intercourse in exchange for money or drugs in the last three months will not be allowed to donate blood.

Under the new regulations, those taking HIV/AIDS preventative or treatment medication will be deferred from donating blood.

According to the FDA, these medications could delay the detection of HIV/AIDS and cause false negative results.

Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, noted the importance of altering the previous regulations in a news release announcing the changes to blood donation eligibility.

“The implementation of these recommendations will represent a significant milestone for the agency and the LGBTQI+ community,” he said.

The Human Rights Campaign echoed the importance of allowing LGBTQ+ donors due to the great need for donated blood on their website.

“Modernizing the eligibility guidelines will expand the pool of eligible donors and has the potential to increase the blood supply and, in turn, help respond to blood shortages.” the FDA lifted the lifetime

ban to allow men who have sex with men to donate blood if they abstain from sexual intercourse for at least one year. In 2020, the abstinence period was shortened to 90 days.

LUA JAWDAT/THE OBSERVER

Following revisions of FDA blood donation regulations over the years, the agency has officially eliminated the broad restrictions excluding blood donors on the basis of sexual orientation.

Sports & Health Editor Chris Murray

Sports & Health

February 7, 2024 THE OBSERVER

Fordham Men’s Basketball Fails to Capitalize on Thrilling Victory

Despite winning a riveting game against Saint Louis University over the weekend, the Rams could not convert the momentum into a victory in their Tuesday matchup against VCU

By CHRIS MURRAY Sports & Health Editor

The Fordham men’s basketball team played an intense pair of games within the last week. Over the weekend, the Rams matched up with the Saint Louis University (SLU) Billikens in a tightly contested affair. Fordham ultimately emerged victorious, as Elijah Gray, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’26, nailed a turnaround jump shot with 2.2 seconds remaining to secure the exhilarating 67-65 win.

The Rams followed up this momentum-swinging performance with a lackluster effort, falling to the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams by a score of 75-60 at Rose Hill on Feb. 6. This dropped Fordham to a 4-6 record in the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference and the demoralizing loss continued a trend of subpar play at home this season.

Fordham entered the Feb. 3 game against the Billikens having beaten their intraconference foes only four times out of their 19 total matchups. The tide had begun to turn, however, as the Rams tackled Saint Louis at Rose Hill last season.

This time would be different, with Fordham traveling to take on the Billikens on their home court.

Sensing an opportunity to pounce on their struggling A10 rival — Saint Louis entered the contest a measly 1-7 in conference play — the Rams jumped out to an early lead. A 3-pointer from Kyle Rose, FCRH ’24, with 9:40 remaining in the first half extended the Fordham lead to 12, leaving the score at 22-10. Rose finished the day with a game-high 26 points, adding four threes, two blocks and three steals in the process.

As the half came to a close,

the Billikens fought to narrow the visitors’ advantage. They never came close to leading, however, and Fordham entered the halftime break up by 9 points, 41-32. Saint Louis shot the ball well in the first half, but the Rams capitalized on turnovers and played just better enough to exit the break with a comfortable lead.

The home team emerged from its locker room with a vengeance.

Saint Louis began the second half on an 8-2 run to cut Fordham’s lead to three by the 17:57 mark.

The Rams quickly regained their bearings, holding their opponent scoreless over the next five minutes to build back the lead. Djordje Curcic, SLU ’27, finally stopped the bleeding, connecting on a 3-pointer with 12:49 on the clock to make the score 49-43.

For the remainder of the game, Fordham did all it could to fend off a Billikens comeback in front of the raucous home crowd.

The ice finally broke at the 8:12 mark when a jumper from Kellen Thames, SLU ’26, tied the game at 55. For every Saint Louis effort to gain an edge, however, Fordham had a response.

Despite tying the game three times in the ensuing six minutes, the Billikens failed to take a lead.

That is until Sincere Parker, SLU ’25, connected on a pullup jump shot at the elbow to give Saint Louis a 65-63 lead with 1:17 remaining. A pair of free throws

by Rose tied the game with 48 seconds left before Gray forced a turnover to give the Rams the ball once again. After running down the clock, Will Richardson, FCRH ’26, missed a 3-pointer, but the loose ball could not be corralled and careened out of bounds off of a Saint Louis player.

Richardson inbounded the ball

to Gray, while the rest of the Rams cleared out. Gray took a dribble into his defender before turning and shooting a fadeaway that gracefully arched through the air.

A stunned Saint Louis crowd could only watch as the ball floated through the hoop to give the Rams a 67-65 lead and all but secure a Fordham victory. Gray is now averaging 14 points and 5.6 rebounds per game over his last nine outings. With a reinvigorated spirit, Fordham returned home to take on the VCU Rams.

The Rose Hill Gymnasium was packed for the Tuesday night showdown, as the basketball program celebrated Black History Month.

Fordham competed valiantly in the first half, although without Gray for the most part. He struggled with foul trouble throughout the game and played only 11 minutes in total.

The lead changed five times in the first half, as both teams attempted to draw away from each other. VCU led, 32-28, with less than a minute remaining in the half, but Japhet Medor, FCRH ’24, made a picturesque pass through traffic out to Richardson who connected from behind the arc to cut the deficit to one heading into halftime.

The crowd stayed on its feet as the Brooklyn United drumline took the court for the halftime performance. The enthralling show kept the Fordham fans energized as the second half began, but the energy did not last for long.

VCU launched a 9-0 run to amass a quick 10-point lead in the first 4:30 of the half. The flustered home fans could only watch as the visitors put the game out of reach.

Fordham only managed to score four points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and with 9:31 remaining VCU led 52-35.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Elijah Gray, FCRH ’26, nailed a game winning jumper against Saint Louis on Feb. 3, but struggled in limited minutes in Fordham’s loss to VCU on Feb. 6.

Any attempts at a comeback were short-lived, as VCU successfully defended its lead at every turn and ended the contest with a 75-60 win. Fordham was ultimately no match for its opponent in the second half in what made for uncompetitive viewing for the fans. Medor and Richardson contributed 17 and 13 points respectively, totaling half of Fordham’s points in the game.

“We need to be more consistent game in and game out. We can’t get too high after a win and too low after a loss,” Head Coach Keith Urgo stated in his postgame press conference following the

VCU loss. “We’re getting better…

I like the direction that we’re going in.”

The two games illustrated the two sides of the Fordham men’s basketball team. On any given night, the Rams can deliver either a competitive, thrilling game or a flat-footed effort. With eight games left in the regular season, however, Fordham has plenty of time to regain momentum and achieve a level of consistency heading into the A10 Championship. The Rams will now have eight days to regroup before they take on St. Bonaventure at Rose Hill on Feb. 14.

Love Story (NFL’s Version)

Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule

In a Feb. 6 interview ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11, Roger Goodell spoke about the impact of Taylor Swift on the NFL, arguably one of the most striking and extraordinary phenomena that has emerged from this past year’s football season. Swift and her romantic partner, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, have certainly generated enormous interest among popular culture.

Looking to get back on track following consecutive losses, the women’s basketball team faces a manageable set of games to close out February. The Rams’ next three games will be against teams near the bottom of the A10 Conference standings. Tonight, they face off against the University of Dayton Flyers who boast a 4-7 record in the conference. The Flyers sit only one spot ahead of Fordham, presenting an opportunity to gain ground on an A10 rival. Following that matchup, the Rams will meet the University of Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure University, the two teams at the very bottom of the A10 standings. On Feb. 21 and 24, Fordham takes on Saint Louis University and Davidson College before capping the month with a matchup against the A10-leading Saint Joseph’s University Hawks on the 28th.

The NFL has always been a TV juggernaut — Forbes reported in 2022 that 93 of the top 100 telecasts in the nation were NFL games. Additionally, the average viewership has increased steadily since 2015. That year, an average of 14.5 million people tuned in to regular season games. In 2023, that number jumped to nearly 18 million, according to Fortune. A major source of that change has been renegotiating lucrative TV contracts, according to Fortune, but the impact of a pop culture icon directing her attention to this enormous league should not be discounted. On Feb. 6, Goodell confirmed the positive impact Swift has had: “Obviously, it creates a buzz, another group of young fans. Particularly young women,” Goodell said to a reporter.

Even as the new TV contracts bump up revenue for the league, the introduction of a new group of fans is important as the NFL has sometimes struggled to attract younger people.

Over 55% of NFL viewers are over the age of 35, according to a 2021 poll by Statista. So if you are tuning in to an NFL game for the first time this Sunday, and it’s because of Swift and Kelce, you certainly are not alone. Not to mention, you are actively changing the demographics of NFL viewership.

A New Era for College Athletes On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team qualify as school employees under the National Labor Relations Act. This is the latest in a string of decisions that have increased the rights given to collegiate athletes, with a recent example being the expansion of name, image and likeness compensation after the Supreme Court sided with NCAA athletes in 2021.

As a result of the NLRB’s decision, the Dartmouth athletes can now move towards unionizing. This may set a new precedent for relations between colleges and their athletes, especially with a similar case pending in California involving the University of Southern California’s students. Dartmouth College will likely request a review of the ruling and hope for it to be overturned or nullified, but the verdict still stands as a momentous one for collegiate athletics as the pendulum continues to swing toward an expansion in players’ rights.

Feb. 10 / 2:00 p.m. vs. UMass

Feb. 18 / 1:00 p.m. @ St. Bonaventure

Feb. 21 / 7:00 p.m. vs. Saint Louis

Feb. 24 / 12:00 p.m. @ Davidson

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

February 7, 2024

Sports & Health

5

Fordham Women’s Basketball Loses Back-to-Back Games, 54-47 and 79-60

The tough games in the middle of the A10 schedule ultimately have moved the Rams to 12th in conference, with a 7-15 overall record

By AURELIEN CLAVAUD AND ANA KEVORKIAN Asst. Sports & Health Editor and Managing Editor

The night of Jan. 31 did not end well for the Fordham women’s basketball team. Despite a moderate scoring deficit, the Rams dropped their eighth game in their last 10 Atlantic 10 (A10) outings, this time to the George Mason University (GMU) Patriots, 54-47.

This certainly wasn’t the worst performance by the women’s basketball team — see this season’s Nov. 12, 2023 loss to Miami University or their Dec. 21, 2023 meltdown against Virginia. The game on Wednesday, however, was yet another heartbreak: a close contest, lost to free throws and poor field goal shooting. The Rams’ record now stands at 7-14 overall.

Within minutes of tipoff at EagleBank Stadium, both teams struggled to find their form. Shots stubbornly refused to fall, and going into the second quarter no team had a decisive advantage.

In the game’s first minute, the Patriots opened the score with a layup by Jazmyn Doster, GMU ’24. For the rest of the quarter, the Rams were forced to play catch up.

Fordham did find moderate success in fastbreak actions while half court sets for the Rams were hit or miss. Taylor Donaldson, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’24, who averages 18 points per game, tried to propel her team to a successful run.

Fordham leads the A10 in steals, averaging 10 per game, but the first quarter was marred by the Rams’ lackluster defensive play. George Mason found wide open lanes to exploit, and despite converting at a low clip, Fordham was clearly in trouble.

Throughout the quarter, the Rams quickly responded to each of GMU’s shots but never took the lead themselves through a series of back-and-forth shots by Aminata Ly, FCRH ’24; Ta’Viyanna Habib, GMU ’25; Donaldson and Doster, respectively. As the quarter drew to a close Sonia Smith, GMU ’24, received a screen from Doster and floated into a 3-point shot, nailing it from a foot behind the line. A layup from Zahirah Walton, GMU ’26, placed the Patriots in the lead with 11-6 at the buzzer.

Despite the rocky start, Fordham saved face and maneuvered its way to a 13-point tie at the end of the first, setting up for a strong second quarter for the Rams.

Just 15 seconds into the second quarter, Fordham broke from its earlier trend with a 3-pointer from Donaldson. The Rams peaked with a 6-point lead at the 6-minute mark, but the Patriots clawed their way back into competition by way of a 10-4 run going into halftime, ending the first half of the game with Fordham in the lead, 25-24.

At the outset of the second half, George Mason made it clear that the previous quarter was an exception, not the rule. With two back-to-back 3-pointers by Habib

and a third by Smith in the second minute of the half, the team kicked off what would be their strongest quarter of the game.

The Patriots ran away in the third quarter, taking a commanding 11-point lead by the end of the period, but they were not met without resistance from the Rams.

A layup by Matilda Flood, FCRH ’24, and a jumper by Kaila Berry, FCRH ’26, kept the score within arm’s reach. As the quarter drew to a close, Rose Nelson, FCRH ’26, kicked the ball out to Donaldson, who promptly rose up from the corner and drained a 3-pointer.

While Fordham had been keeping up for the whole game, hopes for a comeback grew slim as the clock dwindled. The quarter ended with George Mason in command, 43-33.

As the buzzer sounded to announce the final period, play became scrappy on both sides. With such a decisive lead heading into the fourth quarter, George Mason only needed to keep Fordham at bay. After an opening layup by Donaldson, Habib scored yet another 3-pointer to expand the Patriots’ lead to 11, 46-35. Throughout the rest of the quarter — including a 3-minute long drought marked by steals, blocks, turnovers and endless substitutions — this lead would never dip below five points. The game ended with two successful free-throws from Taylor Jameson, GMU ’24.

Fordham flew home to New York despondent following another

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The Rams lost two tough battles in a row in Virginia, deepening their losing record.

loss and now a 7-14 record on the season. The Rams had an opportunity to turn things around the following weekend, however. The women’s team returned to Virginia on Saturday to compete against the University of Richmond (UR) Spiders.

In the first quarter, the Spiders took command. Within five minutes, Richmond was up 12-5 having shot an exceptional 83% from beyond the arc. Donaldson kept Fordham afloat with a 3-pointer, but things were off to a rocky start for the Rams. By the end of the first quarter, the Spiders were in total control, 27-15.

The second quarter was a different story entirely, as Fordham woke up and shot over 40% from the field and held Richmond to 27%. In the

Earn your master’s degree with as little as one year of study beyond your bachelor’s degree.

final minute of the half, Donaldson nailed a three to tie the game at 31, but she was quickly thwarted

by Grace Townsend, UR ’25, who laid the ball up to give the Spiders a 33-31 edge going into the locker room.

Fordham kept up the good shooting in the third quarter but were simply outpaced and outperformed by Richmond as the Spiders took a 10-point lead into the final period. By the fourth quarter, Fordham was exhausted. The Rams shot a dismal 27% from the field and 16% from three and allowed the Spiders to end the game up 19 points, 79-60 — a decisive rout.

Fordham will return home on Feb. 7 to face off against the University of Dayton Flyers as the conference schedule continues.

To learn more, scan the QR code or visit fordham.edu/ accelerated.

Parlor Enterta 30 Years of J

Marjorie Eliot’s Harlem apartment after a fam sound — I loved the sound.”

She would even follow him around and watch as he took apart the instrument. “I saw him take all the keys and do all those things,” she said.

By COLBY MCCASKILL Asst. Features Editor Scene I Marjorie Eliot stood in her Harlem kitchen as she prepared a tray of styrofoam cups. It was a Sunday afternoon in early December of 2023, and that only meant one thing: Jazz.

Early in her music career, as a “prize” for completing a week of piano lessons, Eliot would have the opportunity to pick out sheet music from the music store. “I loved that, because that is so grown up,” she said.

Outside her door, on the third floor of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, a line of concert attendees had begun forming. Eliot’s intimate Sugar Hill apartment possesses both a literal and figurative warmth that makes out-oftowners feel at home. The Parlor was quiet. It wouldn’t last long.

“Some people have been watching this, on livestream, that have never come here.

Isn’t that something?” he mused. The livestream element of the afternoon was a fairly recent addition, coming as a response to the COVID19 pandemic.

Drears explained how the pandemic hadn’t just meant a new livestream, but had meant an absent crowd and distanced performers. At this

“So I just took my horn out, wet my reed, and then she almost pushed me in,” Choukroun remembered.

“The idea of an audience sitting, and you’re right there, is not new to me,” Eliot added. “Doing a concert in the house — I grew up with that. They wanted to show you off when company came and other relatives. You had to do that.”

“I used to live a few blocks away,” he said. “I just came in and volunteered to help.”

As Emory put it, Drears is “a brilliant pianist in his own right.” Drears fiddled with the tripod, trying to get the best angle.

“I have someone that I can introduce you to,” a photojournalist friend told Choukroun weeks into his new life in New York. Eliot — always on the lookout for new talent — noticed Choukroun’s saxophone case on the floor. After asking if he played, she said, “The next solo is for you.”

When Eliot was 12, her first-grade teacher came and asked if she could play at church for the junior choir.

It was her first job. The piano tuner taught her how to play the baseline on the organ with her foot: “Oh, did I feel grown up!” she exclaimed.

Soon, a friend named Emory arrived and began pouring chilled cider and snapping on plastic lids as Eliot readied the rest of the apartment for the show, adamant that she didn’t need any help. A tray of fig bars was waiting on a stool behind Emory.

Someone played a few notes on the piano that sat in the living room. The bassist arrived and began to warm up. Eventually, the whole place was alive with movement and sound. Emory was finishing the cups of cider as Rudel Drears, Eliot’s son, walked in. He began setting up a tripod for the concert’s livestream.

Choukroun moved to New York City in 1999 and rediscovered the wonder he had first felt during a summer in the city a decade prior.

“I found my 17-year-old self back here,” he recalled.

“He never left,” Drears said. “It’s kind of funny. It really is that simple. He came with a friend. He sat in. And never left.”

Chourkroun met his wife at a “Singer’s Workshop” that Eliot hosted on a Saturday afternoon more than a decade ago. Now, audience members watch him play in front of a wall plastered with pictures of his son; the “Parlor Baby,” as they call him. “There’s even pictures of him when he was two weeks old and then all through the years,” Chourkroun said.

The public Sunday afternoon concerts, though, were instituted to help grieve a family tragedy.

“I started this here because of the passing of my son,” she said.

Phil died on a Sunday.

point Eliot walked back into the kitchen and offered her own wisdom.

“We were here,” Eliot said.

“We were here,” Drears agreed.

“The music never stopped,” Eliot concluded.

Scene II Eliot grew up in the 1930s and 40s, “in a house where everybody played. This is multigenerational,” she said.

The same music teacher that educated her mother and aunt also taught her.

The piano tuner lived within eyesight, “and the

“Because of grief, she actually found a way to express her grief by honoring Phil by doing these concerts,” Emory said.

“What this does for me emotionally, I can’t even express in words,” Eliot said.

“They care about me. They care about each other. And we are more alike than not.”

Eliot has come to view the guests as not just consumers of her production, but family: “That’s how they see it, and that’s how I see it,” she said.

Scene III The gaggle of audience members streamed through the door, past the kitchen and into the parlor. Rows of folded seats awaited them, each donned with a red

“Nicholas Mauro!” Eliot announced next.

Mauro nodded with a smile. cushion.

In these seats, hundreds of people on hundreds of Sundays have sat and listened to Marjorie’s Jazz troupe, Parlor Entertainment, play their hearts out. In these seats, countless conversations have been held about the joy of music and the pain of life.

Some have come for healing, others have come for worship.

Eliot entered stage left.

She spoke above the applause to introduce her bandmates.

“Sedric Choukroun!” she announced to the Parlor with an outstretched hand.

Choukroun took a deep bow with a clarinet in hand.

Fresh out of school with a masters in education, Mauro had contacted The Jazz Foundation of America to see if they would send musicians to expose his new students to the tradition.

Mauro, raised in New Haven, Connecticut, comes from a family of artists.

Before the age of 10 he had picked out the trumpet while on a trip to a music store with his father; he’s “been doing that since,” and now even teaches music himself.

The Jazz Foundation, a group dedicated to supporting struggling musicians and sponsoring concerts in low income schools, granted Mauro and his class at The

ainment Nears Jazz Therapy

concerts began as an avenue of grief mily tragedy Eliot focused on producing the show.

That was September 2012, and since then Mauro has been a consistent brass player with Parlor Entertainment.

“One moment it’s four years,” he said. “Then it’s fourteen years.”

“He’s a fabulous teacher,” Eliot said. “Very patient and loving with the children, all age groups.” When Mauro would bring students to her apartment concerts for field trips, they would ask her if they were allowed to call him Nick (since they weren’t at school). “Yeah!” she would say. It made her giggle.

Scene V At the end of the show — before the final song — Eliot got up from the piano bench, took center stage and delivered a monologue.

“This is where I applaud you,” she said. “You are the critical piece of this story.”

“I haven’t gotten tired of it,” he explained. “I’m not even thinking about notes when I’m there — or chords or anything. I’m thinking about how we’re going to blend together and make something that’s going to sound good to the audience.”

Eliot talked to a packed house populated with people whom she knew by name and also some who were strangers.

Even so, her words didn’t reflect this potential disconnect.

“You’ve taken a story — incredibly sad — and you brought joy to it and given great purpose to the story. You’re my family, you took me in, you took us on and made me better. I look at the world in another way,” she said.

Mauro still teaches during the week — now at a school in Kips Bay — playing in the Parlor on the weekends.

“We’re all a big family but there’s definitely nothing else like it that I’ve experienced,” he said.

Ms. Eliot turned to the bassist, then to the crowd.

“Yuma Takagi!” she declared.

He took a big bow. He was the band’s current bassist. When the previous one passed away, Mauro brought him aboard; he said “I know a guy.”

“We fell in love with Yuma the minute he started playing,” Eliot said.

Children’s Storefront four concerts. Parlor Entertainment showed up first — it wasn’t long before Eliot learned that Mauro played the trumpet.

After the concert, he was the one being asked, now by Eliot, to come and play in her apartment.

Admittedly, Mauro was confused as to why the concert was in Eliot’s apartment, but after hearing her story, he was in. “Then she wanted me to come after that once a month. Then it was every other week. Then it was every week,” he said. “The rest is kind of history. We just clicked.”

Takagi grew up in the countryside surrounded by mountains and lakes of Shiga, Japan. He was introduced to music by his father’s records and instruments, and was inspired to play by his brothers’ influence.

Drears nodded along to the music from behind the piano.

Jazz had been so essential to his childhood that he wasn’t able to say how long he’d been playing.

That Sunday was incidentally Takagi’s birthday, which meant a hearty birthday song near the end of the night.

After his mother, his next teacher was Mary Kirk – wife of Andy Kirk, “one of the great band leaders of Harlem.”

Scene IV

He remembered when these Sunday afternoon concerts actually began to be a thing.

“We had a few prototype concerts in ’94. But every single Sunday? June 1995. I’ll let you do the math,” he said.

Eliot and Drears took turns playing a few songs each on the piano. The rest of the band cycled in and out from song to song. There were mellow solos, rambunctious trios and copious applause.

For a few years, he was the primary pianist of the group as

Eliot’s message then turned from herself to “our children who are being slaughtered and abused all over the world.” It feels as though there is no way for us to do anything about it, she said. “But we can. We have each other. And we must promise that we will care for them on this side,” — at this moment she paused as her hand reached up toward the ceiling — “and on the other side. Their stories must be told. It’s up to us to do that. You can do it, because I know what you’ve done for me.”

Slowly, the audience trickled out of the room as the band continued to pluck and chat. The livestream replayed on a tablet laying on the piano. Messages from friends popped up on the screen.

Drears strolled around the room, pointing out pictures of former band members and Parlor friends, honoring them by name.

Bob Cunningham: “He helped build this place; passed away 10 years ago at the age of 88.”

Gaku Takanashi: brought us Gaku.”

“Sedric

He pointed to one wallet-sized

school picture of a child. “That’s Sedric’s son,” he said. “He’s taller now, Sedric, right? Taller than this picture, right?”

“He’s fourteen now.”

Choukroun responded with a smile.

“It’s been that long?”

Drears wondered aloud.

Eliot sat in the third row and gazed upon the Parlor. “It started and it grew, because they knew I would be here. I wasn’t going to close because we don’t have enough people.

That’s how it started,” she said. “The door has never been closed. I love the people that come here. They give purpose to my life.”

ALL PHOTOS AND PAGE DESIGN BY COLBY MCCASKILL GRAPHICS BY GIADA EVANEGLISTA

Opinions Editors Jake Eraca Matthias Lai

Opinions

February 7, 2024 THE OBSERVER

I Hate Netflix, and You Should Too

Streaming services are increasing their prices, and I am here to tell you that it isn’t worth it BRETT DALIS Staff Writer

Subscription streaming services are my least favorite form of entertainment — the pressure of having to consistently watch from a catalog of shows and movies under the looming threat of an expensive, auto-renewed monthly charge is overwhelming.

Aside from the fact that the prices of subscription plans has steadily increased in recent years, features of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Max that originally gave them their charisma and made them unique are being traded out for ones that ultimately make the experience for patrons more stressful.

The lifespan insecurity for titles on the platforms leave users unprepared for certain shows or movies to be taken off.

This also applies to shows being added either season-by-season, as is common with original titles, or with gaps between seasons, which can disrupt the streaming flow for the unaware user.

Original films and television shows produced by subscription streaming services, such as “Netflix Originals” and “Hulu Originals,” are dominating content that attracts patrons to these services in the first place. The concept of platform-specific programming can be charming if you are willing to see any non-original show you may like disappear while Netflix pushes an eighth season of “Élite”.

I have never felt a bigger pit in my stomach than when I saw the entire “Twilight” saga get sacked after staying

on Netflix for less than a year. “Call Me By Your Name” (2017), “Get Out” (2017), “La La Land” (2016), the “Spy Kids” franchise and “Ma” (2019) are some examples of titles that Netflix slaughtered this January.

College kids are either forced to make additional accounts on their parents’ dime or fund it themselves, creating an unsustainable dichotomy of options for a demographic that is often not financially independent.

It is understandable that Netflix pushes their original titles in an effort to make a profit, but what possible reason could they have for removing such critically acclaimed movies and series? Netflix’s profits seem to be prioritized over customer satisfaction, and viewers are inconvenienced by these business choices.

Streaming services make unfortunate decisions to increase their revenue.

These cost-cutting moves, however, are not reflected in their pricing options. For example, Netflix offers three plans with ad-free and ad-supported options. The ad-supported option costs $7 per month, which, believe it or not, is almost as much as its original unlimited streaming with no ads plan, which cost $8 in 2012.

Other platforms have followed suit

with Netflix’s price hikes. In 2023 and 2024 alone, Prime Video increased their ad-free option by $2.99 more per month, Max increased theirs by a dollar, Peacock bumped up both their ad-supported and ad-free tiers by $1 and $2 respectively, and Disney increased prices among all of their platforms — which include Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. The trend of rising prices extends beyond Netflix and into streaming service culture as a whole, signifying that there is an inherent structural problem with platform planning in recent times.

As many weeping college students know, Netflix has cracked down on password sharing, which makes the organization of multiple profiles pointless if users outside of the household where the Netflix account is set up on the television. College kids are either forced to make additional accounts on their parents’ dime or fund it themselves, creating an unsustainable dichotomy of options for a demographic that is often not financially independent.

For the population of watchers who still live by the standard streaming service model but do not have the funds to pay for a monthly subscription, pirating websites exist. Sites such as The Pirate Ship and 123movies allow users to bypass the paywall of a subscription streaming service, drawing viewers away from big companies by offering a free option.

In addition to piracy being illegal, these websites are often unsafe for users’ computers and leave them vulnerable to viruses. In order to combat the prevalence of piracy sites, streaming services either have to step up their game with titles and features to justify these price hikes or lower prices to more reasonable rates.

TikTok, Instagram Reels and other short-form content platforms offer yet another free alternative to subscription streaming that is fortified by the appeal of bitesized clips.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NORA KINNEY/THE OBSERVER

Streaming services encourage mindless consumption, not artistic appreciation.

Observer the

The rapid shuffling of content and addition of weekly release schedules is a ploy to keep up viewership and combat streaming fatigue. With the practical monopoly on short-form content platforms, mainly TikTok, were able to secure over the past four years, attention spans are at an all-time low.

Personally, I would never consider watching “Grey’s Anatomy” — a 20-season-long commitment — on Netflix when instead I can watch each episode in 20 or more parts on TikTok. Although this seems inconvenient, TikTok’s model of short videos keeps me hungry for more in a way binging on Netflix does not.

It seems as though the trend of watching short clips of shows and movies on social media has caught on; streaming services have picked up on it and have begun implementing it in their own ways. For example, Hulu’s Instagram account is now incorporating clips of the shows and movies they offer as advertisements. TikTok, Instagram Reels and other short-form content platforms offer yet another free alternative to subscription streaming that is fortified by the appeal of bite-sized clips.

While there are a few worthwhile series and movies on streaming platforms, it does not mean you should be spending an exorbitant amount on subscriptions. Instead of a streaming subscription that is not worth it, maybe use your $23 for that Chipotle burrito and agua fresca.

Editor-in-Chief Maryam Beshara

Managing Editor Ana Kevorkian Online Editor Quincy Reyes Creative Director Tara Lentell Layout Editor Giada Evangelista Head Copy Editors Smile Butt Grace Ehle Asst. Copy Editors Emily Davis Leeya Azemoun News Editors Insiya Gandhi Alexa Villatoro Asst. News Editors Stevie Fusco Gabriella Gutierrez Megan Yerrabelli Sports and Health Editor Chris Murray Asst. Sports & Health Editor Aurelien Clavaud Opinions Editors Jake Eraca Matthias Lai Asst. Opinions Editors Avery Grafeld Ana Winston Arts & Culture Editors Aditi Praveen Kariyanahalli Avery Loftis Asst. Arts & Culture Editors Julia Jaramillo Juliana Sharon Features Editors Lola Cravath Madeleine Signore Asst. Features Editors Caroline Sensenig Colby McCaskill Fun & Games Editor Abby Grunzinger Asst. Fun & Games Editors Damian Grove Jasmine White Social Media Editors Eeshita Wade Shelby Williams Asst. Social Media Editor Sofia Strelnikova Multimedia Editors Lauren Bocalan Maria Terzulli Asst. Multimedia Editors Riley Kraus Ava Min Podcast Host Morgan Johnson Podcast Producers Nellie Podokshik Sukriti Varma Editorial Adviser Richard Rosen Visual Adviser Hamidreza Nassiri

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February 7, 2024

ResLife’s Overnight Guest Policy Is Outdated

Opinions

9

With the Rose Hill campus’ impending changes to the rules for on-campus overnight guests, Lincoln Center should be included in the conversation AVERY GRAFELD Asst. Opinions Editor

I’ve often heard people say Fordham’s overnight guest policy inadvertently favors same-sex couples — It’s obvious that they are poking fun at an old-fashioned rule. The policy remains controversial among Fordham students. Should residents have a right to sign-in guests as they please?

Currently the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) at Fordham requires residents to sign out guests of the opposite sex before 3:30 a.m., or else they risk incurring a $15 fine after an initial warning. The fine then increases by $15 with each subsequent violation during the semester.

Guests of the opposite sex can only be signed back into the residence hall at 6:00 a.m. However, if a guest is the same sex as a resident, that student can get a guest pass from res life, allowing them to stay overnight at no cost.

On-campus residents should be allowed to use their dorms however they please. Otherwise, it violates a basic safety precaution — some residents might risk their safety by having late-night rendezvouses off-campus, and especially in New York City, that can be dangerous. As long as the rooms or the apartments aren’t being physically damaged, there is no reason why a student

shouldn’t be allowed to sign in a person of the opposite sex for the night.

I can see how the policy protects residents who might be unwary of someone of the opposite sex occupying their space at night, particularly if they aren’t comfortable saying no to their roommate. Regardless, there are simply too many loopholes for that worry to warrant a proactive response from the university. Not only are the dorms at Fordham co-ed, it is also fairly easy to ask a resident of the opposite gender to sign in an individual who lives off-campus for you. In addition to this, the policy itself assumes a gender binary norm; it implies that only heterosexual students are having sex.

As long as the rooms or the apartments aren’t being physically damaged, there is no reason why a student shouldn’t be allowed to sign in a person of the opposite sex for the night.

The ResLife manual does not explicitly defend the policy — however, the economic incentive is shrouded by “Jesuit values.”

Fordham accumulates fines every year, therefore it wouldn’t make sense for the university to suddenly revoke the law when it inherently benefits from it.

Having to present a “case” to allow someone gender-fluid to spend the night in a co-ed dorm is wildly illogical.

Evan Cramb, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’18, wrote in 2016 for the Fordham Alternative: “These policies are listed under the disturbing title of ‘Moral Growth and Responsibility’ in the Residential Life Handbook, a title which unfoundedly paints all sexual activity as immoral, immature and irresponsible.

These policies have fostered a stigma surrounding sex and sexual health on campus.”

Gender should not constitute a requirement for a guest policy. During one of my floor meetings in the Fall 2023 semester, a student asked our Resident Assistant (RA) about the protocol for signing in a non-binary guest overnight. The RA did not have a clear answer, and I have since heard that each request would be on a case-bycase basis with ResLife. I can

only imagine how awkward that conversation would be. Having to present a “case” to allow someone gender-fluid to spend the night in a co-ed dorm is wildly illogical.

According to The Fordham Ram, there is currently discourse in place in concerns to revoking the policy. In fact, following winter break, students at the Rose Hill campus were anticipating changes to the rule — starting Jan. 19, they could sign in overnight guests of the opposite gender. However, ResLife later announced that it was keeping its policy in place for an undetermined period.

ResLife at Rose Hill appears to still be debating changes to the policy. An email sent to Rose

Hill residents from ResLife on Jan. 24, announced that there would be anticipated changes in Fordham’s overnight guest policy. At the moment, these changes appear to be restricted to Rose Hill, and it would only be fair for a shift in the rule to be implemented at Lincoln Center, too.

I believe that the guest policy is outdated because I am an adult, I pay rent for an on-campus apartment and I’m old enough to make my own decisions. Who I choose to sign in to my dorm is the university’s business. As long as students respect their roommates and their spaces, there is no reason a same-sex guest policy should be enforced.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TARA LENTELL/THE OBSERVER

ResLife’s overnight policy is both outdated and illogical.

‘Barbie’ Wasn’t Snubbed at the Oscars

Complaining about the film’s missing nominations minimizes what women in film have accomplished this year CHARLIE KUSTER Contributing Writer

The Academy of Motion Pictures released its official list of nominees for the 2024 Academy Awards on Jan. 23. Fifty-three different films were nominated for awards, most notably Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which racked up thirteen nominations. It is “Oppenheimer’s” summer blockbuster competitor, “Barbie,” however, that has consumed much of the online Oscars discourse following the nominations announcement.

“Barbie” received eight nominations, including best picture and best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in the film. Despite this recognition, most of the online commentary regarding “Barbie’s” nominations revolve around Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “snubs” for best leading actress and best director respectively. People should stop complaining about them not being nominated because the outrage online takes attention away from the accomplishments of women in film in 2023.

According to Charles Curtis of USA Today, Robbie’s omission proves the point of “Barbie’s” plotline: that women face extra struggles compared to men in a contemporary patriarchal society. In the article, he cited his opinion in agreement with many fans of “Barbie” on X, formerly known as Twitter. Many of the posts linked in the article are about how the film’s themes regarding sexism and misogyny’s presence in modern society are validated by the Academy dismissing Robbie.

While sexism and misogyny are real, contemporary issues

in modern society, placing Gosling’s nomination side-by-side with Robbie’s “snub” as “proving the film’s point” is completely asinine. Although I did not consider Gosling’s performance to be worthy of nomination either, his selection doesn’t come at the expense of Robbie’s, as they were never up for the same category. Pinning the two against each other doesn’t make sense.

Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times shared Curtis’ sentiment. In an article published on Jan. 23, McNamara explained her stance by attacking the performances of this year’s favorites in the best actress category instead of providing any thoughtful reasons for her viewpoint.

McNamara opened her article with crude and demeaning synopses of the performances of Emma Stone in “Poor Things,” Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Sandra Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall.” Reducing their performances to plastered skeletons of their films’ plotlines as McNamara did is incredibly ignorant, especially when their respective films also tackle feminism, as Gerwig’s “Barbie” is lauded for doing.

Stone, Gladstone and Hüller all portray interesting and complex characters who face incredible challenges that deal with the patriarchy in a much more subtle and imaginative manner.

In “Poor Things,” Stone portrays Bella Baxter, a woman with an infant’s brain who constantly and unapologetically rejects the societal norms set for women. As Molly Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Gladstone encapsulates the pain and suffering of a people who were the victims of a genocide. Hüller’s character, Sandra Voyter, is tried for the murder of

her husband as her mistakes as a partner, parent and professional are aired out during trial.

McNamara’s attack on the three best lead actress performances of 2023 is not the way to make an argument for Robbie to receive a nomination.

Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton also voiced her outrage regarding the omissions of Gerwig and Robbie on X. In her post, she said, “Greta and Margot, while it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you.” Clinton alluded to the similarities between the Academy’s supposed neglect of Gerwig and Robbie despite the film’s popularity to her loss in the 2016 presidential election despite winning the popular vote.

Being 2023’s top movie at the box office, “Barbie” was bound to be at the center of Oscars discussions. This, combined with the more overt feminist message from the film, gave Clinton a layup to publicly call out the Academy for being anti-feminist.

Clinton did not, however, reprimand the Academy for disregarding both “Past Lives” director Celine Song and lead actress Greta Lee. Similar to Gerwig and Robbie, Song and Lee were not nominated for best director and lead actress, although “Past Lives” was nominated for best picture.

It is unsurprising that other critically-acclaimed films with feminist themes that didn’t pack the same box office punch — films such as “Past Lives” — are not given the same treatment. Pointing out “Barbie’s” “snubs” while completely disregarding those of “Past Lives” reeks of the ignorance tied to the virtue signaling of corporate feminism present in much of the discussion surrounding these nominations.

Instead of putting other

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TARA LENTELL/THE OBSERVER

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tweet in support of “Barbie” illustrates the corporate feminism which underpins the “snub” discourse.

actresses down, we should uplift and spotlight the accomplishments of women in film this past year. Gladstone became the fourth Indigenous actress nominated for best actress and the first ever Native American to receive the nomination. Justine Triet and “Anatomy of a Fall” received five nominations despite the fact that France did not submit the film for the best international feature category due to Triet’s outspoken criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron. Additionally, Song’s debut film “Past Lives” received nominations for best picture and best original screenplay. Song became the first Asian American woman ever to receive a nomination for best original screenplay.

Despite their omissions in the actress and director categories,

both Robbie and Gerwig did in fact receive nominations for their work on “Barbie.” Robbie’s role as a producer of the film landed her a nomination in the best picture category, while Gerwig received a nomination for her screenwriting in the best adapted screenplay category. They each received nominations for their hard work, which deserves to be celebrated.

The discourse surrounding “Barbie” nominations is wrong and disrespectful to other films in addition to other actresses in the industry. Awards ceremonies are supposed to be celebrations of people’s achievements in their respective fields, and the Oscars is no exception. In a year with as many great films as 2023, it’s important that we applaud more than just 2023’s most popular film.

Arts & Culture Editors Aditi Praveen Kariyanahalli Avery Loftis

Arts & Culture

February 7, 2024 THE OBSERVER

Winterfest 2024: Ricky Montgomery’s Private Concert Before Heading to Terminal 5 Prior to Montgomery’s performance, student musicians performed in front of their fellow Rams

By CHAISE JONES Staff Writer

Amid spring semester cabin fever, Lincoln Center’s Campus Activities Board hosted its 11th annual Winterfest on Friday, Jan. 26 in Pope Auditorium. While the auditorium’s wood paneling and clinical interior could have dissuaded attendance, this year’s festival-goers queued as early as an hour before doors opened at 5 p.m. to see the headliner and American singer-songwriter Ricky Montgomery.

Montgomery wasted no time in captivating the audience with his infectious energy and dynamic performance style.

Prior to Montgomery’s performance, 2024’s Winterfest featured a lineup of talented artists, including the multi-genre superstar and singer-songwriter Renee Majé, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’25, and heavy rock band Zephyr. From soul-stirring melodies to arousing rhythms, Winterfest offered a mesmerizing blend of musical styles that captivated the audience and created an atmosphere of pure musical magic.

While the audience sported baggy jeans, corset tops, retro sneakers and thrifted flannels, the fashion sense and atmosphere — thanks to the beach balls being passed around and the audience’s palpable anticipation — can leave someone to imagine themselves on a knitted picnic blanket at Woodstock ’69 rather than the blissless auditorium.

As the lights dimmed and the auditorium came to life, Majé took center stage, ready to captivate the audience with her soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Majé is an up-and-coming singer with a voice that is both soothing and powerful. Though Majé’s confidence with the mic and natural guitar ability were apparent, she said the experience was “nerve-wracking.” Majé added that she had “butterflies, but everyone was so nice and the crowd was very responsive.”

Majé’s setlist included three covers and two original songs, each with a flair showcasing her musical talent and versatility.

Her unique styling of Lianne La Havas’ “Weird Fishes” was an enchanting affair of guitar and alto tones. With each note, Majé drew the audience into her world, creating a mesmerizing concert-going experience that set the stage for the rest of the evening. Standing on the shoulders of industry giants and her inspirations such as Willow, Tyler, The Creator and Erykah Badu, Majé was a powerhouse not to be reckoned with.

Following Majé’s performance, the stage was set ablaze by the energetic sounds of Zephyr, a rock band based in the Bronx known for their potent musical style reminiscent of iconic bands like Led Zeppelin and Sonic Youth. Sebastian Diaz,

Fordham College at Rose Hill ’24, the drummer; Brenda Bouvier, FCLC ’25, the bassist; and Aidan Concannon, FCLC ’25, the guitarist and vocal lead make up the group. With their electrifying guitar riffs, repetitive, yet memorable, lyrics and pulsating rhythms, Zephyr kept the crowd on their feet and ready to rock.

Many in the crowd were familiar with the new band from their appearances at house parties in the Bronx.

One highlight of Zephyr’s set was the performance of their original song “The Color Blue,” a captivating and euphonic journey that underscores the band’s musical prowess. As they rocked the stage, Zephyr was the perfect addition to the Winterfest lineup, delivering a jolting performance that left the audience craving more. The members exited stage right with the roar of the audience at their backs and armors of sweat to show for their performance.

Jackie Kobeski, FCRH ’24, said, “Renee was amazing. It was really cool to see multiple Fordham students opening the show, especially because I might not have gotten the chance to see them perform otherwise.”

OWAMI MASIYANDIMA-MLOTSHWA/THE OBSERVER

Bassist Brenda Bouvier, FCLC ’25, plays on stage with the Bronx-based band, hyping up the crowd.

Winterfest served as a unifying force, bringing together Rose Hill and Lincoln Center students to celebrate their shared love of music.

Rams erupted into cheers and applause as the headliner, Montgomery, took the stage ready to deliver a performance that would leave a lasting impression. He began their set with Kyle Moore on the guitar and David Cola on the drums. Known for their catchy melodies, introspective lyrics and charismatic stage presence, Montgomery wasted no time in captivating the audience with his infectious energy and dynamic performance style.

Though their name was not on the original Winterfest voting ballot, Montgomery drew in a new crowd to Winterfest who might’ve opted out in previous years. Hannah Devlin, FCRH ’24, said that she “knew a few Ricky Montgomery songs from TikTok.” Devlin added that, “I didn’t know what to expect going into it since I’ve never been to one before, but I thought that he was great on stage! He had a lot of energy, and it was really fun even though I didn’t know every song.”

Devlin’s experience was similar to many of the audience members’.

While several attendees could not sing the verses to Montgomery’s latest single and his first ever live performance of “It’s Ok to Cry,” they moved in a perspiring wave as the opening notes to “My Heart Is Buried In Venice” rang out, pushing to get a view of the animated singer.

Montgomery treated the crowd to a selection of his well-known hits, including “Line Without a Hook” and “Black Fins,” each delivered with a passion and intensity that had the audience excitedly singing and dancing along. One of the standout moments of Montgomery’s performance was their rendition of “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” during which he playfully

OWAMI MASIYANDIMA-MLOTSHWA/THE OBSERVER

Live at Pope Auditorium, FCLC’s 11th annual Winterfest captivated the crowd with performances by singer-songwriter Renee Majé, rock band Zephyr, and indie sensation Ricky Montgomery.

changed the lyrics to pay homage to Fordham, much to the delight of the crowd, singing: “Maybe I’ll go back to Fordham / Maybe I’ll go back to school.” Though his set was roughly an hour, his stamina persevered. Montgomery paced the stage, jumping emphatically and encouraging the audience to do the same.

As the night drew to a close, Montgomery and his band delivered a powerhouse finale with three crowd-pleasing songs that he claimed “were tested by MIT as the Holy Trinity of songs to end a show.” From the energetic “Out Like a Light” to the heartfelt “This December” and “Mr Loverman,” Montgomery’s per-

formance was a testament to his musical talent and infectious spirit that energizes a crowd.

Beyond the captivating performances and thrilling energy that crescendoed in Pope Auditorium, Winterfest served as a unifying force, bringing together Rose Hill and Lincoln Center students to celebrate their shared love of music. The event provided a unique opportunity for the student body to bond and create lasting memories that will be cherished thanks to the bringyour-own-phone photobooth.

Winterfest is more than just a concert; it’s a celebration of music, friendship and the vibrant spirit of the Fordham communi-

ty. The show-stopping openers, Majé and Zephyr, helped to make this Winterfest one to rival for years to come.

One day, we’ll look back on Winterfest 2024 not for its cold Friday night, five-dollar tickets or Aramark pink lemonade, but instead for the birth of Fordham musical genius: Majé’s melodic magic and Zephyr’s sublime acoustics. Montgomery and his band held their own, mesmerizing the audience with a priceless performance.

While Montgomery is going on to play at Terminal 5 later this month, his performance at Winterfest was an unforgettable private concert — a serenading session — for students.

www.fordhamobserver.com

THE OBSERVER

February 7, 2024

Arts & Culture

11

A Beginner’s Guide to James Baldwin

The literary legend is a must-read for anyone looking to explore some classics during Black History Month

By KATIE BROSKY Contributing Writer

“Nobody Knows My Name” (1961)

Essayist, novelist, journalist and playwright James Baldwin combined his poetic prowess and unique experience as a Black gay man in 20th-century America to produce some of the most influential works of the Civil Rights Movement.

Baldwin, who lived from 1924 to 1987, wrote many daring essays, short stories and poignant fiction — a collection of work that has labeled him as one of the most powerful voices of his time. He was a man of passion who embodied optimism even in the face of the harshest form of abasement.

The American writer and civil rights activist’s work continuously brought to light the origin of major issues concerning racism in the US by carefully examining surface-level perspectives, myths and misunderstandings to reveal hardto-swallow truths about ourselves, our lives and our world.

Although Baldwin’s works were published over 40 years ago, many of their central themes still resonate with the racial climate in America today. His candid explorations of race, sexuality and gender challenged, and are still challenging, this nation to uphold the values it promised of equality and justice.

Any reader looking to begin a journey through Baldwin’s bibliography will have to navigate across genres, but his lyrical composition and intersecting themes are distinctive in any form. It is impossible to suggest an “easy-read” due to the nature of his work, but devoting some time to any of Baldwin’s writing helps one to understand his ongoing relevance to our troubled nation. Below are three suggestions that offer a point of entry to his body of work, shedding light on and intersecting race, homosexuality and religion throughout his works.

Told with Baldwin’s characteristically unwavering honesty, this collection of insightful and profoundly emotional essays delves into topics ranging from race relations in the United States to a writer’s role in society. “Nobody Knows My Name” follows the years Baldwin faced the question of his identity, traveling from New York to Paris to the American South, and then back to his home in the Northeast.

The author invites his readers into an intimate world of discovery and pointedly states the discomfort his writing might bring to its audience. If nothing else, this is what Baldwin seeks to do as a writer: to force his reader to look grim facts in the face because if we as a society choose to look away, we can never hope to change. This book serves as an ideal entry into Baldwin’s bibliography as it journeys his self-discovery, helping readers to understand everything that shaped him into who he was — a talented writer, a man of fine intelligence and a true ally in the pursuit of making life human.

To take a cue from his title, this is the book from which we can learn his name.

“Giovanni’s Room” (1956) Baldwin’s second novel, “Giovanni’s Room,” is set in 1950s Paris — vibrant, liberating and hopeful, or so the main character, David, wishes it to be as he flies across the Atlantic Ocean with dreams of starting a new life. David finds himself unable to quell his instinctive desires despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself.

After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls for an Italian man, Giovanni, and begins a lengthy affair. A short but power-

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AURELIEN CLAVAUD/THE OBSERVER

Over 40 years later, Baldwin’s writing remains relevant to societal issues the United States faces today.

ful novel, “Giovanni’s Room” examines gender and sexual identity, the mystery of love and passion and the qualms of social isolation.

“Giovanni’s Room” is an excellent place to start in Baldwin’s body of work for anyone who prefers fiction to nonfiction. The story itself is a heart-wrenching exploration of doomed love, but the meaning behind this publication goes far beyond its brilliant narrative. With this book, Baldwin became one of the first Black authors to include queer themes in fiction, marking another characteristically bold act by the author.

This short novel transcended the boundaries of the cultural landscape of its time, and Baldwin transcended the boundaries of the identity the world gave him. In interviews, Baldwin noted that race had no place in this novel; he felt that he couldn’t tackle the dual agonies of racism and homophobia at one time. Accordingly, he did not confide in the standard that he must write Black characters. Although fiction, this novel spoke of Baldwin’s character and mo-

tives in ways his personal essays never had.

“The Fire Next Time” (1963) Composed of two letters, “The Fire Next Time” is an intimate and powerful examination of the intersectionality of race and religion in the United States and confronts themes of identity, power and the complexities of human relationships.

The first, “My Dungeon Shook,” is framed as a letter to his niece, which details the social struggles faced in the United States by Black Americans in the most vulnerable and honest prose.

Following it, “Down at the Cross” addresses the damage of Christianity on the Black community and recounts Baldwin’s religious journey from teen pastor to atheist.

Among many other grievances, he leaves the church due to its inability to love a Black gay man like himself. The title alludes to the biblical story of Noah’s Ark, and as retold in a folk song, God’s next punishment for man will come in the form of

fire as it once did as a flood.

Baldwin took the risk of publishing these essays in 1960s America, a world hunting for targets of hatred during a time of heightened political unrest. An era marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging “generation gap.” He wrote with fervent passion and urgency for his life, the life of his nephew and the lives of so many generations to come. Tragically, however, the world looked away.

This book might be one of the author’s most difficult reads in style and content, but it is on this list because of its undeniable timeliness. To read “The Fire Next Time” in 2024 is to realize that the “progress” our country prides itself on is not enough. The fact that Baldwin’s words still resonate with the racial climate in our country today should be testament that we must do more. These essays are a plea for change, a plea for country-wide self-reflection and a plea that we should not look away from now on.

The 2024 Grammys: Controversies and Celebrations

The awards ceremony was a night dominated by women and full of several firsts GRAMMYS from page 1

For the first time, performances were prefaced with a short film about the artist’s year.

In a clip played before Combs’ and Chapman’s duet, Combs explained that “Fast Car” was his “favorite song before I even knew what a favorite song was.”

Chapman wasn’t the only icon to perform this year. Ten-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Joni Mitchell sang her classic ballad “Both Sides Now” for her performance debut at the awards ceremony.

Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile introduced Mitchell with a passionate, goosebump-inducing speech and joined alongside her for the performance. Grammys host Trevor Noah presented Mitchell with the best folk album award for her live album “Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live)” after her performance.

Billy Joel returned to the Grammys stage to play his first new song in 17 years. The tune, “Turn the Lights Back On,” is how Joel found the joy in songwriting again after 30 years, he said in the short film that preceded his performance. Joel, suited in all black and a pair of sunglasses, played the piano and sang alongside a string sec-

tion and band. At the end of the evening, Joel closed the show by singing his 1980 classic “You May Be Right.”

SZA entered the evening with nine nominations, more than any other artist of the night. She took home three prizes: best R&B song for “Snooze,” best progressive R&B album for “SOS” and best pop duo/group performance with Phoebe Bridgers for their collaboration “Ghost in the Machine.”

One of the biggest pop stars of our time, Taylor Swift, accepted her 13th Grammy for best pop vocal album for her album “Midnights,” released in October 2022. To say “thank you” to her fans, Swift let viewers in on a “secret”: she said, “My brandnew album comes out April 19th. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poet’s Department.’”

Swift went on to set a new recording academy record when her album “Midnights” honored her with her fourth album of the year award, surpassing Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, who each have three, host Trevor Noah said.

Additionally, 24-time Grammy winner Jay-Z was presented with the second-ever Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to honor the success the artist has had throughout his decade-long ca-

reer. Jay-Z stood on stage alongside his daughter, Blue Ivy, as he delivered a powerful speech, calling out the academy for Beyonce’s album of the year snubs: “She has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.” This message provides a far more important point, however, that the Grammys often leave deserving artists overlooked.

The Grammys took a step in the right direction by adding three new categories to the awards this year: best African music performance, best alternative jazz album and best pop dance recording.

Entering the night as one of the most nominated artists for the Grammys, Victoria Monet received seven nominations, breaking the record for the most nominations of any openly queer, Black woman artist in a single year. Monet took home the award for best new artist.

Her album “Jaguar II” won best R&B album and best engineered album earlier in the night. Accompanying her three awards, Monet’s 2-year-old daughter, Hazel, broke the record for youngest Grammy nominee ever for her feature in Monet’s nominated song “Hollywood.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ISABELLE PETERSEN/THE OBSERVER

This year’s Grammys were filled with many notable moments, including iconic performances and controversial snubs.

This year’s Grammys did not disappoint in regard to its many outstanding performances and big-time wins. However, the online buzz that followed proved the awards show cannot avoid

controversy. Other notable wins from the night were “Flowers”

by Cyrus, winning record of the year, and “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish winning song of the year.

Fun & Games Editor Abby Grunzinger

un & ames

February 7, 2024 THE OBSERVER

Crossword: Bath and Body Words

BY DAMIAN GROVE

Across 1. Madison Square Garden, for one 6. Stuck in the ___ 9. Famous Chinese restaurant in the Lower East Side: ___ Wonton Kitchen 12. Where the Buddha hails from 13. Inspire confidence (2 Wds.) 15. Suffix following prop and

hum 16. Quick remark given to the audience 17. Award nomination that Margot Robbie was “snubbed” for, according to some 18. More informally known as a “link” (Abbr.)

19. *Prickly Powerpuff Girl?

“A sweet, crisp, tropical oasis” (2 Wds.) 22. Forcefully pull 23. “Currents” music project by Tame _____

24. *Joker’s greeting “Well, ___, ___” “Picking flowers on a bright spring day” (2 Wds.) 30. ___ of expertise 31. What a vendee does 32. Passport souvenir?

34. The meaning of British slang: “blub” 35. You would not want to have done this before dinner 40. Arabic name meaning “prince” 42. Tortoise vs. Hare competition medium 43. *Social gathering MVP “A bright, sparkling, sweet party pleaser” (4 Wds.) 49. Copy that is exact 50. “...through the perilous fight the ramparts we watched…”

51. *Admirable rarity “A modern twist on a timeless white floral — delicate, feminine and romantic” (4 Wds.) 56. “Anchors Aweigh” Armed Forces branch (Abbr.)

57. Calm’s antonym 58. Proclamation given by authority 61. Canadian Province with capital Charlottetown (Abbr.)

62. 43,560 square feet (plural) 63. Silver, Vector and Knuckles’ franchise of origin 64. What you might put at the end of a list when you run out of examples (Abbr.)

65. To shorten clothing 66. What Google assumes is a misspelling for America’s

Down last president 1. Two indefinite articles, which make a name 2. Booking at a restaurant, for short 3. Video game company behind “Unreal Engine” 4. Zilch 5. The “unceasing” goddesses of vengeance who lived in Hades 6. Church service 7. South Carolina Sand Shark school (Abbr.)

8. What Yin and Yang represents 9. Wisconsin city informally known as “Arts Town, USA” 10. What paper towel does going down the stairs 11. Alabama city where Martin Luther King, Jr. started a march to Montgomery 13. Overcharge in a big way 14. “All Too Well” lyric: “You call me up again just to break me like a ___” 20. Bathing location 21. Most doctors recommend this at 30 or higher to protect your skin (Abbr.)

24. Maintains or retains 25. NYC safety service 26. Actress Salonga who provided Mulan’s singing voice 27. To run from the cops expression: “on the ___” 28. To abandon a mission 29. The reincarnation of Kid

Logic Puzzle

KenKen

BY ABBY GRUNZINGER

BY JASMINE WHITE

Last Sunday, Karen, Susan, Bea and Judy went out to run some errands together. They need to make some returns as soon as possible, but their receipts have gotten all mixed up! Please help them put everything back in order so they can get the items returned before their sons’ soccer game.

Use the clues to deduce the item each person bought and where each item was bought. The first clue has been put in for you as an example — use “X” to cross out the incorrect placements and “✓” to denote the correct matches. After you’ve placed every competitor, you can check your answers with the grid in the bottom corner!

Ann Taylor

Banana Republic

Karen

X

Susan

X

Bea

Judy

X

J. Crew

Talbots

Slacks

Buu in “Dragon Ball Z” 33. Peony in Greek 34. Incident that may be fatal (Abbr.)

36. Constellation that represents the altar which Zeus took vows before defeating the Titans 37. 2022 drama featuring Cate Blanchett 38. Prefix meaning outside 39. Wooden, Middle Eastern flute 41. Butterfly also known as the common tiger 43. Yellow Indian fruit 44. Name meaning peace, derived from the goddess Eirene 45. Government agency with motto synonymous to loyalty, courage, honesty (Abbr.)

46. Removable discontinuities in calculus 47. Popular fishy sushi sauce 48. Tania Tetlow is the first Fordham University President to not be one 49. Horse-drawn carriage without rear-facing seats 52. Stallion opposite 53. Inventory object 54. *What each themed clue’s fragrance is meant to replace 55. Girl, in Spanish 59. Approach of using computers to control an entire production process (Abbr.)

60. Chris Hansen Dateline confrontation series (Abbr.)

Necklace

Blouse

Cardigan

1. Each row and column of the KenKen puzzle should be filled in with a number from 1-5 exactly once.

2. The bolded lines break the puzzle into multiple sections of 1-5 cells, with each section containing a target number and mathematical operation in the top left. The numbers in each section must be combined using the given operation to create the target number. For example, in the top right section made up of three cells and given the rule of 11+, the three cells should be added together to get the target number 11, but should not be a number that violates the first rule.

2÷

20x

2÷

11+

9+

4

4—

7+

10+

3

X X

Slacks

Necklace

Blouse

J. Crew Banana Republic

Bea

Ann Taylor

Susan

Talbots

Karen

Store

Name

Necklace Cardigan Slacks Blouse Item

1. Bea shopped at Banana Republic.

2. Of the blouse and the necklace, one was bought at J. Crew and the other was Karen’s.

3. Susan did not buy anything at Talbots.

4. The cardigan was either bought at Ann Taylor or Banana Republic.

5. Judy got a necklace.

6. Susan got either the slacks or the blouse.

2—

Judy

Cardigan

GRAPHICS BY GIADA EVANGELISTA