Volume 103 Issue 9

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 103, Issue 9

TheFordhamRam.com

April 21, 2021

POTS Still Vital Bronx Nonprofit

RHA Hosts 8th Annual FDM Event

By ABBEY DELK

By ABBEY DELK

Many Fordham students have crossed paths with the staff members and volunteers at the nearby nonprofit Part of the Solution (POTS). The organization provides food, legal and social work and other day-to-day services for Bronx community members in need. Many community outreach programs and student groups at Fordham have partnered with POTS over the last several decades.

But when COVID-19 first began to spread rapidly across New York City and most Fordham students left the Bronx, the staff members at POTS continued to deliver essential services to the surrounding community.

As the virus triggered mass lockdowns in New York, it was unclear whether POTS would continue to operate. “At first, it was just understanding if we were allowed to stay open,” said Christina Hanson, the executive director of the organization.

However, it soon became clear that nonprofits like POTS were

Fordham’s Residential Hall Association (RHA) hosted its eighth annual Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) event on Saturday, April 17.

The event raises donations for the Andrew McDonough B+ (“Be Positive”) Foundation, an organization that provides funding for research on pediatric cancer. This year, FDM raised over $92 million for the charity organization, according to the official FDM Instagram page.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s 12-hour long event was set up in a hybrid format to accommodate COVID-19 guidelines, said Cara Gosselin, FCRH ’21, executive co-director of FDM. The first half of FDM was held in-person on the second floor of Fordham’s McGinley Center, while the latter part of the event took place virtually via a YouTube live stream.

Normally, the big FDM event is scheduled in March, but this year, FDM members decided to delay it until April, explained Mackenzie Allen, FCRH ’21, the other executive co-director of FDM. The RHA’s final event each year is usually the “Under the Tent” dance. When it was canceled, FDM decided to host its event in its place, said Allen.

FDM members spent the last 13 months planning and organizing the event, said Allen. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic made the planning process much more difficult, which is another reason why FDM chose to delay the event.

“Because of COVID-19, we weren’t really sure what the rules would look like,” she explained.

Fortunately, the RHA’s lack of large-scale in-person events during the past two semesters gave FDM organizers access to a larger budget than normal, said Allen.

This allowed FDM to bring in outside vendors for the in-person

NEWS EDITOR

SEE POTS, PAGE 3

NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY OF TWITTER

New York State government legalizes the possession, sale and recreational use of weed for New Yorkers age 21 or older.

Weed Legalization Prompts Colleges to Examine Drug Policies

By ABBEY DELK NEWS EDITOR

As of March 31, New York State has legalized the possession, use and sale of marijuana, according to New York Magazine. This landmark legislation comes after years of efforts from activists and

politicians alike to decriminalize the drug.

The bill, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the end of last month, established the Office of Cannabis Management, which will implement “a comprehensive regulatory framework that covers medical, adult-use and cannabinoid hemp,” according

to a statement released by the Governor’s Press Office.

The state projects that the legalization of marijuana and the subsequent development of a cannabis industry will bring in tax collections reaching $350 million annually.

SEE WEED, PAGE 3

Fordham Provides Vaccines On Campus

By ISABEL DANZIS

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Republican mayoral candidate Fernando Mateo says he will seek to “add thousands more cops” to the NYPD if elected.

Mateo & Sliwa Vie for Republican Nomination in Mayoral Primary

By Sebastian Diaz

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

In an election dominated with coverage of the crowded field of Democratic candidates, two Republicans manage to stand out as viable candidates in the New York City mayoral primary elections.

Republican mayoral candidates are much less likely to win the general election. New York City, a historically Democratic city, has regularly elected Democratic mayors. The last NYC mayor to hold a Republican status for their full term was Rudy Giuliani between 1994 and 2001. Prior to Giuliani, NYC elected Democratic may-

ors for two full decades. Michael Bloomberg, Giuliani’s successor, was only Republican for the first six years of his 12-year service. Because of this precedent, media coverage surrounding the mayoral election has focused on the numerous Democratic candidates rather than the two Republicans.

Fernando Mateo, a member of the SEE MAYOR, PAGE 4

On April 6, New York state permitted residents over the age of 16 to make appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

With the increase in the number of people eligible for vaccination, as well the increase in the number of doses New York state has received recently, Fordham acquired doses of the vaccine on campus for students.

According to Marco Valera, vice president for administration and COVID-19 coordinator, Fordham has been ready to distribute vaccinations for four months.

The university had fridges ready to store the vaccines and the medical staff to administer them; however, it only recently received the actual doses.

The Fordham on-campus vaccination site is administering the Moderna vaccine, which requires a second dose four weeks after receiving the first.

SEE VACCINE, PAGE 4

SEE FDM, PAGE 4

in this issue

Opinion

Page 6

Vaccine Pauses Highlight Public Concerns

Sports

Page 13

Men’s Soccer Wins Atlantic 10 Championship

Culture

Page 9

Bronx Night Market Back in Full Swing

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS

April 21, 2021

Fordham Professor Mark Naison Describes A Lifetime of Radical Activism

By ALLISON LECCE

Tuesday, April 13 9:50 p.m.

Public Safety observed a man attempting to enter campus through the Bathgate entrance. He tried to enter using a screenshot of a VitalCheck confirmation on his cell phone. When questioned, the man stated that he did not have his Fordham ID on his person.

Further investigation determined that the man was not a Fordham student. He admitted that a friend, who is a Fordham student, sent him the screenshot so he could enter the campus. The man was escorted off-campus and the matter was forwarded to Student Affairs for adjudication.

Saturday, April 17 2 a.m.

Public Safety was notified of a large off-campus party in the rear of the 2400 block of Belmont Avenue. The caller stated that party attendees were drinking alcohol and playing loud music.

Both Public Safety and NYPD arrived on the scene to observe approximately 50 people not wearing masks. The entire party left through the rear yard. Public Safety is investigating and pursuing disciplinary action against those who threw the party.

Saturday, April 17 5 p.m.

A Fordham student reported that she had opened the front door of her off-campus apartment on the 2400 block of Lorillard to find an unknown man loitering on her front steps. The man told her, “Hey mama, your taxi is here.” The student shut her front door, leading the man to knock and attempt to get the student to open the door. The man eventually left and Public Safety canvassed the area. The man had fled, but Public Safety is investigating.

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dr. Mark Naison of Fordham University has a crucial piece of advice for his students: “You’re a much happier person if you’re working for justice.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn by two first-generation collegeeducated school teachers, Naison’s parents had high ambitions for him. “[They] wanted me to excel in school and go on to bigger things than were marked for other kids in the neighborhood,” he said.

Mark Naison is now a professor of African American studies at Fordham University and runs the Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP), one of the largest oral history projects in the country. He is also a prominent social activist and scholar, both in New York City and nationwide.

For a young Naison, race was never an issue, he explained. He was always exposed to diverse groups. But his parents didn’t feel the same way. Naison recalled how they would switch to Yiddish when talking about race-related issues and used the Yiddish slang word “schvartzes” to describe Black people.

Later on in his life, Naison fell in love with a Black woman, something almost unheard of in the 1960s. “When I told my parents that I was in love with a Black woman, my mother threatened suicide,” he said, mirroring the exasperation he felt in that moment.

Reading became Naison’s escape from the pressures he felt from his parents. “One way I would block out the world was reading,” he said. “My parents would leave me alone when I had a book.”

When Naison entered the undergraduate program at Columbia University, he was just a 16-year-old boy who was socially insecure and “academically, getting his ass kicked.” His college years were some of the most formative in his journey for social justice, Naison explained.

His epiphany on racism came when he read “Another Country” by James Baldwin. “It opened my eyes that being Black was a totally different experience than being white in America,” he explained. “All these Black kids I’d grown up with were go-

(MARK NAISON FOR THE FORDHAM RAM)

Fordham professor Mark Naison shares a page from a comic book he created as a student at Columbia University.

ing through something that they never talked to anybody about, certainly not to me.”

Naison knew he had to get involved, so he joined Columbia’s chapter of the civil rights group, CORE. His activism thrived in college, and despite growing into himself and finding his place at Columbia, his self-described tough streak from his childhood didn’t end. Naison was arrested twice and almost expelled for fighting a counter-protestor during a strike on campus.

“There were 30 seconds of this on CBS News,” he said with a chuckle. “The disciplinary officer said, ‘Mark, with that, we have to kick you out. You beat up another student on national television.’”

But Naison wouldn’t go down without a fight. He wrangled up a group of professors, teammates and fellow students to write letters to the administration on his behalf. Now, his Columbia transcript is stamped with the word “censure.”

“They created a special category for me called permanent censure, which means that I would be automatically expelled for the next violation of university rules,”

he said. He then joked about his application to work at Fordham: “I don’t know if anyone has even seen my transcript.”

Naison applied to Fordham’s Afro Studies program in the early 1970s with a cover letter that began, “First of all, I’m white.” Now in his 50th year of teaching, his spirit has not been diminished. “[He has] so much energy and passion for whatever he’s doing,” said former student Melissa Castillo Planas, GSAS ’11, recalling the many debates they had in class. “It’s a very infectious energy.”

Dr. Mark Chapman, Naison’s friend and colleague from Fordham’s African American studies department, can attest to this energy, describing how Naison leaves his office door open and plays music for the rest of the department to enjoy. “Everybody knows when they get off the elevator and hear music blasting from down the hall that Dr. Naison is in his office,” said Chapman.

As for Naison’s activism, it has only grown stronger. In addition to the BAAHP, Naison is part of the residential assistant training

program for Fordham dorms and recently raised money to fund a mural at the local Boys and Girls Club.

When asked about Naison’s passion for activism, Chapman launched into a story about a campaign that Naison helped organize against a slumlord in the neighborhood where Chapman’s church is located. Naison connected Chapman’s group with other activists in the area and partook in protests and campaigns over the course of multiple years.

“It was a huge victory, and he came and did that just out of friendship,” Dr. Chapman said.

It is clear that Naison has left quite the legacy on Fordham, its students and faculty and the surrounding community. And even at age 75, Naison is still grateful for all the experiences that got him to this point. “The day I joined the civil rights group at Columbia and started working against discrimination is the day my life opened up to a lot of experiences that had been closed off to me,” he said. “Every day, I wake up and say, ‘Damn, this has been a great ride.’”

This Week at Fordham Wednesday April 21

Wednesday April 21

Thursday April 22

Friday April 23

Saturday April 24

USG Sustainability Flea Fair

SWS Women In Leadership Conference

Commuter Student Services Tie-Dye Event

Movies for Mental Health with Art with Impact

Spoon University Brooklyn Food Crawl

Come participate in USG’s Sustainability Committee flea fair. Students can come buy used clothing on campus in an effort to lead more sustainable lives and combat the waste caused by consuming fast fashion.

Join Fordham’s Smart Women in Security Club’s annual conference. Attend the event to hear speakers discuss the challenges for women in leadership in the financial industry.

Commuter Student Services is hosting a tie-dying event for Fordham students. Attend the event on Hughes Terrace to spend the afternoon tie-dying and enjoying the sunshine.

Come to a virtual workshop featuring award-winning short films!

There will also be a panel of students and mental health resources. Register online at ArtWithImpact.org to attend the event.

Join Fordham’s Spoons club for a fun-filled food crawl around the Prospect Lefferts Gardens area of Brooklyn! Visit their Instagram page to sign up and learn more about the trip.

Outside Dealy Hall 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Virtual 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Hughes Terrace 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Virtual 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Off Campus 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

NEWS

April 21, 2021

Page 3

POTS Executive Director Talk Navigating Pandemic FROM POTS, PAGE 1

considered essential by the city government. Hanson said POTS staff worked quickly to adjust their services to accommodate COVID-19 safety guidelines.

POTS’s mailroom remained open for community use, but the organization had to close its shower facilities and halt its haircut service.

The clothing service was also temporarily suspended, according to the organization’s website. During normal times, the building’s bathrooms are open for public use, but the staff began turning people away during the pandemic, said Hanson.

POTS adapted its legal and social work services to become remotely accessible. POTS staff in these departments served clients via phone call or text.

At the beginning of the pandemic, part of the challenge was creating the infrastructure to serve clients remotely and work through technical issues, explained Hanson.

“We were able to adjust our programs before we had a huge increase in the number of people seeking our services,” she said. “POTS had been a very ‘show up, and we’ll serve you’ kind of place for all of those services, but we had to change that working remotely because we couldn’t just have people sitting in a waiting room anymore.”

POTS was also able to continue to serve meals Monday through Friday from 12:30-3 p.m. But that staple service did have to change to protect the safety of both staff and

COURTESY OF TWITTER

POTS adjusted its services to accomdate COVID-19 safety guidelines but still serves meals every weekday to guests.

guests. The organization expanded its food pantry service but had to close its dining room space, said Hanson. This closure resulted from safety concerns and limitations of physical space — the expanded pantry took up space previously used for dining, she explained.

Guests could still come to pick up meals every weekday afternoon but could not eat inside the building like they normally could.

One of the biggest challenges beyond logistical concerns was maintaining the sense of community that POTS has created throughout the years with its guests.

“We try to create a loving and respectful environment for everyone

who comes through our doors,” said Hanson. “Our staff often does the extra mile for people because we take the time to hear what’s going on in their lives and address the challenges.”

However, safety concerns and social distancing requirements made those bonds harder to maintain this last year, Hason explained.

“When you’re suddenly afraid to interact with people because you’re afraid you are going to get them sick, or they’re going to get you sick, it means those interactions are going to become a lot more cursory.

You’re not going to have that kind of relationship with people.”

To combat this issue, POTS staff

has brainstormed ways to interact with guests in a more personal way outside of the building. There is more space to maintain distance outside than in the pantry or cafeteria area, explained Hanson.

POTS staff members also had to pick up the slack of volunteer groups that were forced to cancel planned service trips because of the pandemic. However, Hanson said that while group volunteering has declined in the last year at the nonprofit, individual volunteers stepped in to fill the gaps.

“Early on in the pandemic, there were many people who felt like the world was collapsing around them — for obvious reasons, and the thing

that they could do to help would be to come to POTS and continue to contribute,” said Hanson.

Despite the obstacles presented by the coronavirus pandemic, POTS has continued to serve community members this past year. “For the last couple of years, we’ve served 30,000 people a year,” said Hanson.

“Last year, we served 40,000.”

Hanson also said the number of total meals increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million provided to community members in 2020.

POTS staff were also able to help clients access roughly $7 million worth of public benefits last year.

In the last two weeks, POTS has begun to require staff to work in-person a few days each week, slowly transitioning back to pre-pandemic norms, said Hanson. Fortunately, many staff members have received vaccinations, so Hanson hopes that POTS will continue to move towards more in-person services and interactions with guests in the coming months.

The stress of the pandemic has been difficult for staff, explained Hanson, but working at the nonprofit during such an unprecedented time felt worthwhile and fulfilling.

“Being able to actively help at a time when you feel out of control in a situation can be really rewarding for individuals and staff members in particular,” Hanson explained.

“We’re making sure that our neighbors have what we need — it’s a really valuable thing.”

Fordham Will Likely Continue to Prohibit Weed FROM WEED, PAGE 1

“This is a historic day in New York — one that rights the wrongs of the past by putting an end to harsh prison sentences, embraces an industry that will grow the Empire State’s economy and prioritizes marginalized communities so those that have suffered the most will be the first to reap the benefits,” said Cuomo.

New Yorkers age 21 years or older may now possess up to three ounces of marijuana, roughly the equivalent of 50 to 75 joints, according to New York Magazine.

New Yorkers can smoke marijuana in any area or building where cigarette smoking is allowed, like sidewalks, streets, parked cars, rooftops and private residences.

Police in New York will no longer arrest anyone for possession of marijuana, but it’s still illegal to drive under the influence of weed.

The bill also mandates the expungement or resentencing of anyone with a previous marijuana conviction for an infraction that is now made legal in New York.

It’s expected to take at least 18 months for recreational marijuana to be available for purchase in stores, according to New York Magazine. It is still technically illegal to purchase marijuana from an unlicensed seller, though police can’t arrest New Yorkers for selling weed unless they see an exchange of cash.

Despite the legalization of weed for anyone 21 or older, it does not appear that New York college students can expect to “light up” on the many college campuses across

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Some Fordham students may wish to celebrate the new legislation by smoking a joint on Eddy’s, but Dean Rodgers says weed is still prohibited on campus.

the state any time soon.

On the whole, it appears that college students across the country overwhelmingly support the legalization of weed. A Pew Research survey conducted in 2019 found that 75% of undergraduate students in the U.S. support the recreational use of marijuana, even though only 55% of those students surveyed reported having used the drug before.

But students’ enthusiasm seems to have little effect on weed rules on New York colleges.

The Dean of Students at the University of Albany, Clarence

McNeil, emailed students earlier this month to remind them that marijuana is still prohibited there.

“Despite this change to state law, the use and possession of marijuana on UAlbany’s campuses remains prohibited under federal law," he wrote. As a publicly-funded university, UAlbany’s policies on marijuana must align with the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, explained McNeil.

Private universities like Fordham also typically receive federal funding and risk losing or repay-

ing Title IV funding for knowingly permitting students to possess, use or distribute marijunana on campus, according to Times Union. In other states that have legalized weed, like Colorado and Massachusetts, universities’ policies largely reflect federal marijuana restrictions.

According to Fordham’s Student Handbook, “Fordham University strictly prohibits the unauthorized possession, use, distribution, sale, facilitation in the sale, purchase, or production of barbiturates, amphetamines, marijuana (including medical

marijuana and cannabis oils), opiates, hallucinogens or any other addictive or illegal drugs and/or drug paraphernalia.”

Dean of Students Chris Rodgers indicated that Fordham students likely won’t be able to smoke weed on campus any time soon.

“The University is monitoring the changes in the law here in New York State and will make any necessary adjustments,” Rodgers wrote in an email to the Ram. “We don’t anticipate any major change in policy regarding marijuana use among students, however.”

NEWS

Page 4

Hybrid FDM Event Reaches Donors Around the Country

April 21, 2021

Fordham To Require Vaccinations in Fall FROM VACCINE, PAGE 1

ABBEY DELK/THE FORDHAM RAM

FDM members host activities and performances both in-person and via livestream at this year’s big event.

FROM FDM, PAGE 1

portion of the event, including a caricature artist, a fortune teller and airbrush-tattoo artists.

The hybrid nature of this year’s FDM event also allowed the group to reach donors all over the country, said Allen. This year, Fordham family members, and students’ friends from other schools, could join the virtual portion of the event as well.

The virtual stream included performances from singer-songwriter Maude Latour and a question and answer session with Christi Luka-

siak of “Dance Moms.” Including a live stream as part of FDM allowed the organizers to bring in guests and performers that normally might not make it to campus, explained Gosselin.

“It was nice to have names like that to bring people’s attention to the stream,” she said.

Despite the challenges and setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic, both Gosselin and Allen called this year’s event a success.

“We’ve been working on this for about 13 months, and all 13

of those months were in the middle of a pandemic,” said Gosselin.

“So I would definitely say that all things considered, I’m definitely happy with how it went.”

Going forward, Gosselin and Allen said FDM members might consider keeping certain virtual elements they added to events in the past year. Being able to increase donations coming from outside sources was a huge advantage, explained Allen, and FDM might try to maintain this new stream of revenue in future years.

As of April 13, the university had around 400 doses. According to Valera, the university must request vaccinations through a centralized distributor in New York City at the beginning of each week. It then hears back from the distributor about the exact amount of vaccines that will be allotted.

Because of this system, Fordham receives different amounts of doses each week, he explained.

However, Valera said he is confident that the university will continue to receive more doses.

Students are encouraged to book an appointment for a vaccination through VitalCheck.

According to an email sent out to the Fordham community

by John Carroll on April 16, the university will be distributing the vaccine this week.

On Tuesday, April 20 and Thursday, April 22, the Rose Hill campus’s vaccination clinic will be open to students. The university has 150 doses of the vaccine to distribute each day. Lincoln Centers students can visit the clinic on their campus to receive a vaccine on Wednesday, April 21.

Some Fordham students have already taken advantage of the new on-campus vaccination clinics in the past several weeks.

“Getting the vaccine on campus was very easy, and the staff was very accommodating,” said Malvi Patel, FCRH ’24, a student who received the COVID-19 vac-

cination on campus. “The line was short and everyone was socially distanced nicely. It was an efficient and simple way to get the vaccine.”

In addition to providing vaccines on campus, the university has worked with Doctor Urgent Medical Care to administer the vaccine. Doctor Urgent Medical Care is located at 538 E. Fordham Road and is administering the Moderna vaccine by appointment and walk-in.

Although they are an off-campus distributor, Fordham has worked with the clinic to make their hours more accessible to students. The clinic is currently distributing the COVID-19 vaccination from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

Fordham announced on April 16 in an email from Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, that COVID-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for undergraduate students to return to campus in the fall.

In the email, McShane justifies this decision by stating that this requirement is “to provide a COVID-safe environment in which our students, faculty, and staff can pursue our mission; and to help protect the health and safety of our off-campus neighbors.”

Although the university is now offering vaccinations on campus, Valera urged all students to get the vaccination any way they can, even if it is through an offcampus provider.

Both Candidates Promise to Revitalize NYC Businesses FROM MAYOR, PAGE 1

White House Presidential Scholars Commission under former President George W. Bush, and Curtis Sliwa, a founder of the New York City Guardian Angels, are competing in the Republican primary election in May. Mateo’s campaign website refers to him as a “high-performing, civic-minded, serial entrepreneur,” and his list of experiences reflects his entrepreneurship.

With a history that dates back to his teenage years as a small business proprietor in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Mateo has a track record that shows his capability as a businessman in New York City. As a business leader, Mateo has also made charitable contributions to the city, such as taking steps to protect taxi drivers as the President of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and creating job-training programs for non-violent, firstoffense inmates at Rikers Island.

Although Mateo’s political platform is not published on his campaign website, he has spoken out in interviews as to what he believes New York City needs moving forward. In an interview with Ben Max for GQ’s “Decision NYC,” Mateo stated the basics of his platform regarding public safety and tackling the rise of gun violence.

“I would look at quality of life issues. I would look at bail reform. I would look at how the recruits are being trained and how

they’re being taught in the academy,” said Mateo.

Mateo’s plans for reforming the New York City Police Department are centered around removing NYPD leaders who he recognizes as not having done their job. Mateo says he would replace them with better leaders “so that you trickle down that good energy” to the rest of the police force.

“I would add thousands more cops to the police force,” Mateo promises.

Mateo’s plans for bolstering the NYPD may be a controversial move. As the incidence of police brutality is being increasingly spot lit by the media, many New Yorkers are beginning to call for the defunding of the NYPD. In July 2020, the New York City budget was revised to remove up to $1 billion from the NYPD budget, though many have criticized the plan for not going far enough in its reform.

Among those critics was the notable New York Civil Liberties Union. As for COVID-19 recovery, Mateo’s plans are focused on revitalizing struggling local businesses and helping bring back those that left as a result of the pandemic.

Mateo also describes himself as an “urban Republican,” a politician born from the city life of NYC that wants to re-engage the political legitimacy of Republicanism. “I am going to show this

city that, having me as their urban Republican mayor, they’re going to have so many good things and so many changes that I’m going to bring to this city,” Mateo said in the interview with Max. Curtis Sliwa’s political platform mirrors Mateo’s in the general sense of wanting to support local New York City businesses but also has much more of a focus on property tax reform. In what he calls the “Right to Business Plan,” Sliwa plans on removing all the obstacles and hurdles that New Yorkers might face when they try to start local businesses.

This plan includes making it easier and quicker for entrepreneurs to be granted business permits and licenses, creating new business loans that entrepreneurs can take advantage of, expand the NYC Business Express initiative and create an Entrepreneurs and Small Business Council consisting of industry leaders.

Sliwa’s other plan titled the “Property Tax Reform Plan” lays out the groundwork for exactly what its namesake suggests. Sliwa promises he will “deliver muchneeded property tax reform, which will provide economic relief to millions of low- and middle-income residents,” according to his website.

The plan reveals a set of reforms that will place a 2% property tax cap on NYC’s annual tax levy, an exemption from the tax for senior citizens with a sub-$75,000 income and a reassessment of

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Curtis Sliwa says he will reform property taxes to benefit low-income New Yorkers.

residential homes that are based around current market value.

Additionally, Sliwa plans on placing property taxes on the richest landlords in New York City, which will target Columbia University, New York University and Madison Square Garden.

Currently, these organizations are exempt from property taxes.

Madison Square Garden is exempt under Article 4, Section 429 of New York Real Property tax law, while universities are granted tax exemptions under Section 420-A of the same article.

The extent of Sliwa’s political experience goes to his founding of the Guardian Angels program in the late 1970s. The program brought together volunteer NYC residents to help protect the everyday subway rider from the rising crime rates found in the city’s metro system.

Sliwa is endorsed from both the Brooklyn Republican Party and the Staten Island GOP. Mateo, on the other hand, has been endorsed by the Republican Parties of the remaining three boroughs: the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.

April 21, 2021

OPINION

Page 5

The Fordham Ram

Arkansas Passes the Country’s Strictest Anti-Trans Bill Yet

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Arkansas state has just passed action HB 1570, one of the strictest laws against transgender youth in the country.

By MADELINE BYRNE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Arkansas state legislature has just passed action HB 1570, one of the strictest laws against transgender youth in the country. HB 1570, the third anti-trans bill passed in Arkansas this year, bans trans youth from having legal access to puberty blockers or hormone therapy administered by professionals. This law, amid many others in Arkansas and other conservative states, is impeding social progress. HB 1570 and every legislation targeting the transgender community are nefarious and violate individuals’ human rights.

HB 1570 is not the first law in Arkansas that targets the LGBTQ+ community. In late March, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill banning transgender women and girls

from competing on school sports teams aligning with their gender identity. Hutchinson quickly signed another anti-trans bill granting medical professionals the agency to turn away patients on moral or religious grounds. This law puts those in the LGBTQ+ community as well as others in danger of discrimination and serious health concerns.

While the signing of these two prejudicial laws seemed to foreshadow support for HB 1570, Hutchinson actually vetoed the bill at its inception. He claimed the law constituted a “broad government overreach,” holding that legislation should not concern family or physician matters. Unfortunately, his veto was overridden.

A popular misconception in conservative states is that utilizing medical means to change gender is dangerous or irreversible. In reality,

much of the medical care received by transgender individuals is psychological rather than purely surgical.

Dr. Karen Tang, a gynecological surgeon, clarified the actual process of gender reassignment on Instagram in a direct response to the restrictive legislation. She said that youth can choose from various options, including “counseling and treatments like puberty suppressants,” which allow the child to “explore and confirm ideas of gender identity.”

These puberty suppressants effectively stop unwanted physical developments. However, if the patient decides they would no longer like to continue transitioning, they can stop taking their dosage, and puberty will continue as normal. Suppose the individual is slightly older and has already gone through bodily changes.

They can opt to use gender-affirming hormones, which allow them to

identify physically with the opposite gender and feel more comfortable in their own skin. As Dr. Tang mentioned in her livestream, both of these options have been proven to be completely safe and effective for trans youth.

Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum, the representative who sponsored HB 1570, argued that the state should be able to intervene in this health matter just as it does in preventing youth from doing drugs or drinking alcohol prematurely.

This baseless comment equates transitioning one’s gender to harming one’s body, undermining the legitimacy of being transgender. In denying trans youth safe and legal access to gender-affirming care, the state is only putting them in a greater state of danger.

Transgender youth are statistically at higher risk for suicide than others, making the implications of this situation even more grave.

While the U.S. is more progressive compared to other countries in terms of LGBTQ+ rights and support, American trans individuals struggle with self-acceptance and criticism from society on a daily basis, and bills like this only make this experience harder for LGBTQ+ community members. Not only will the mental health of trans youth suffer, but there will undoubtedly be attempts to receive gender-affirming care in illegal ways, leading to an entirely new set of issues.

While little can be done to reverse this ban immediately, the ACLU is planning to sue the state of Arkan-

sas, while transgender individuals and allies are openly protesting.

Other organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics are fighting back and citing studies that show the positive effects of gender-affirming care in reducing depression and suicide rates. While waiting for lawsuits to ensue, it is vital to show transgender youth in Arkansas support on a local level in any way possible.

The actions taken in Arkansas to target the transgender community have significantly set us back as a country. These bills infringe on the human rights and liberties of American individuals, limiting their say in what they can do with their own bodies. Blurring the line between state and personal interests is a dangerous game, one that will result in irreversible and destructive consequences. Law is meant to be objective and should provide for the safety of citizens.

Kristofer Eckelhoff, a trans voice coach who formerly lived in Arkansas and experienced the discrimination of the state first-hand, has spoken out about these legislations.

“We were always taught, you know, love the sinner, hate the sin. How about just stop at love? You don’t have to understand me or agree with me to respect me and to honor my civil rights that everyone should have.”

Madeline Byrne, FCRH ’23, is a psychology major from Freehold, N.J.

Israel-Palestine Conflict Requires American Solidarity

By HANI JAWABRAH

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As one of the most controversial topics in American politics, the Israel-Palestine conflict has left even the most daring political hobbyists at a loss for words.

However, the controversy surrounding the issue is entirely unnecessary. Instead, open discussions about how we can untangle this knot are extremely important.

One of the reasons this conflict is so controversial is that people tie their identity to it, or even worse, because people tie someone else’s identity to the conflict.

People label Palestinians as terrorists, as I have experienced from a young age, or assume that Jewish Americans support everything Israel does.

However, the solution to this is simple: dialogue and solidarity. There is no reason why a Palestinian person should be called a terrorist who supports Hamas or a Jewish person should be assumed to be a member of the Netanyahu fan club. It is hard to put biases aside, but it is necessary for progress to occur.

There must also be some form

of solidarity. Jewish and Muslim communities in America are both subject to the ire of the rising white nationalist threat. Our communities have been attacked at places of worship by people who subscribe to similar views.

In this environment, we have to be careful in how we talk about this conflict lest we supply ammo to the people who want us out of America.

Earlier this month, Professor Norman Finkelstein talked to the Advocates for a Palestinian Perspective, a club about human rights in Palestine. He laid out many of the obstacles that inhibit us from achieving this goal.

Finkelstein is particularly emphatic about achieving actual results over aesthetic victories. He advocates for making a change instead of making yourself feel better. It is hard to know what will actually get results, but there needs to be solidarity at the heart of the movement.

Sometimes people spray paint a slogan, such as “Free Palestine,” on synagogues. This type of action is harmful to the movement that actually seeks to free Palestine from oppression. The assumption behind this vandal-

ization is that Jewish people will always support Israeli apartheid, but this is demonstrably not the case.

The Palestinian rights movement in America is slowly but surely gaining steam. A poll said that about 53% of Democrats now support putting pressure on Israel, about 59% of Middle Eastern scholars recognize that Israel practices apartheid in the West Bank and Israeli human rights organizations like B’tselem have deemed Israel an apartheid state.

It is hard to say whether or not the Palestinian Authority or Israel will do what needs to be done

to end this conflict, but America is now showing some signs that it is moving in the right direction.

But all the gains that we have made can disappear if there is an unnecessary conflict between American Jews and Palestinians.

There is more evidence that solidarity is the key to bringing this issue to the public consciousness. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign demonstrated that there are Jewish people who want to treat Palestinians with dignity.

He changed many people’s minds on the conflict. We need solidarity. Our communities need to take care of each other and be at-

tentive to each other’s concerns.

It is unacceptable to excuse Israel’s war crimes or the apartheid regime they are running in the West Bank. It is intolerable to advocate for families to be expelled or excuse the attempts that have been made to take their homes.

You cannot confuse the struggle against this regime and against these crimes as a struggle against Jewish people. If you do, time will be wasted, and people will get hurt.

Hani Jawabrah, FCRH ’22, is a political science major and Arabic minor from Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.

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Professor Norman Finkelstein spoke to the Advocates for a Palestinian Perspective, a club about human rights in Palestine.

OPINION

Page 6

April 21, 2021

New York’s Millionaire Tax Is a Step in the Right Direction

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a tax increase on New York residents earning over $1 million in annual revenue.

By MICHELA FAHY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Recently, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would be imposing an increased tax on residents earning over $1 million in annual revenue.

“The personal income tax rate would increase to 9.65% from 8.82% for individuals making over $1 million and for joint filers making more than $2 million,” according to the New York Times.

Members of the Democratic party have floated around this idea of a millionaire tax for many years despite Cuomo’s consistent objections throughout his past three terms. However, with the extreme losses in revenue in

several areas, such as tourism, due to the pandemic, it seems he has reevaluated the benefits of this proposition. It is also worth indicating that Cuomo is facing two major scandals in his political career: sexual assault allegations and the handling of the disclosure of virus-related deaths in nursing homes across the state.

Gov. Cuomo also needs to prepare to run for his fourth and hypothetical final term in 2022. His approval ratings have plummeted in the few months since the height of the pandemic in 2020, when many of the sexual assault allegations were made public.

This drop comes at a bad time for Cuomo, as the race for New York State’s next governor has already begun, with elections in just

over a year. Could this new tax be to pacify and appease his Democratic constituents?

Although this proposition is an attempt to return Cuomo to the good graces of those who have elected him for the past decade, he is not the first to suggest the tax.

New Jersey passed a millionaires tax at the end of 2020, although New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy attempted to pass his bill six times before the COVID-19 pandemic indirectly supported his proposal.

However, New Jersey’s tax is in effect only until 2023, and New York’s will be in effect until 2027.

New York has also disclosed where the funds will be allocated once they are taxed.

The tax will apply to those who did not struggle nearly as much

as other citizens did throughout the ongoing pandemic. Frontline workers of minimum wage jobs did not have the luxury of staying home or temporarily relocating out of one of the nation’s COVID-19 hotspots. Instead, they worked, putting themselves and their families at risk for over a year. More than half of New York State’s frontline workers are immigrants. 19% of those workers are not United States citizens, meaning that they are not entitled to any federal aid such as the stimulus checks.

By comparison, 7.03% of New York’s population are millionaires. After looking at the number of minimum wage workers on the front line compared to the number of people that will get their annual tax raised a little more than 1%, it is difficult to argue that this will create a negative impact on the population.

This tax would expand opportunities and protect residents that have been underfunded for far too long. The New York Times explained the impacts of the tax: “If enacted, the deal would raise income and corporate taxes to generate an extra $4.3 billion a year.”

By extension, middle class income would be lowered in phases to allow for the new income brackets.

The new tax would primarily serve to help ease economic strain directly related to the pandemic.

The proposed budget priorities are very exciting, even simply to imagine the impacts: a record

amount of $29.5 billion in relief aid to schools, $29 billion in public and private green economy investments, $2.4 billion for rent and homeowner relief, $2.1 billion for excluded workers and $1 billion for small business recovery. Furthermore, the new budget shrinks the statewide deficit and reinvests in the ongoing recovery from the pandemic.

An issue Cuomo may run into is that the millionaires, who currently fund 40% of the statewide budget, will relocate to states that do not take as much of their wealth. This is the disadvantage of not having a federal millionaire income tax. With newfound abilities to work remotely, it is certainly likely that these households will find that they do not need to rely on location for employment.

Although this outlook may be naive, it seems as though people can have practically anything they want once they reach millionaire status. This might even motivate them to adjust their goals to attain an even higher status of wealth.

Moreover, millionaires can obviously afford to adjust their budget and spending allowances. Regardless of why this tax became a priority for Gov. Cuomo to instate, it will have clear positive effects and create a new era of optimism and opportunity for those who are the true heart and soul of New York.

Michela Fahy, FCRH ’23, is an English and humanitarian studies major from Cedar Grove, N.J.

Distribution Pauses Highlight Public Concern about COVID-19 Vaccines

By ALLY DUGAN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The rollout of the coronavirus vaccine has advanced significantly over the past few months.

Despite countries’ attempts to make sure their citizens are vaccinated, many people will still not get the vaccine. Many countries have stopped distributing certain vaccines, such as the AstraZeneca vaccine in the U.K. and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, due to rare cases of blood clots. These rare cases and the regulation of the vaccine merely provide a scapegoat for people who, for whatever reason, do not want the vaccine.

It is natural to be concerned about something that may seem very foreign to the average person. It is also natural to be concerned about the effects of a vaccine that was created in less than a year. However, vaccines have been proven to work and would not be distributed without proper research and trials.

Vaccines have been a highly debated topic for quite some time, especially in the United States.

The term “anti-vaxxer” has become popular in recent years, referring to a person who will not take a vaccine due to personal beliefs.

“Anti-vaxxers” only represent a small percentage of the population. Nonetheless, this idea has existed for decades and is noted to have started in the early 1800s, when some people cited religion

and health concerns as reasons to reject vaccines. While “anti-vaxxers” have a variety of reasons for why they disagree with vaccines, they are usually debunked.

Recently, the United Kingdom has stopped the usage of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, causing many people to worry and form strong opinions against the vaccine similar to “anti-vaxxers.”

On April 7, British authorities recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be suitable for adults under 30. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) discussed the “possible link” of blood clots to those under 30 who received the vaccine. The EMA let their 27 member states determine if they wanted to continue the use of the vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has advantages that seem to outweigh the disadvantages. The AstraZeneca vaccine was created in Britain

and is the most frequently administered coronavirus vaccine in the world. It is less expensive and easier to store than other vaccines, as other vaccines typically need refrigeration. It is currently being used in 111 countries.

However, many seemingly forgot these advantages after blood clots were found in people who received the vaccine.

Similarly, on April 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States announced a pause in the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Out of the 6.8 million doses of the one-shot vaccine given to Americans, there were only six reported cases of rare blood clots.

All six cases were in women from ages 18 to 48 and all required medical treatment. As a matter of caution, the FDA announced a pause on the vaccine in the United States although the

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Some countries have paused the distribution of certain COVID-19 vaccines.

group affected only represents a very small minority of people vaccinated.

When news broke of the blood clots in the United States, there were a variety of reactions from Americans. A popular comparison was made to blood clots women can get while on hormonal birth control. Combined hormonal contraceptives contain estrogen and progestin, which can pose a risk of blood clots.

For women on birth control, blood clots are very rare but still can occur. Dr. Melanie Davies is a gynecologist in London who commented on the comparison of birth control blood clots to the effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “For 10,000 women over a year, one to five will have a blood clot anyway, and on the [pill] that rises to three to nine, so it is still less than one in 1,000 chance,” she said.

While this is a rare occurrence, the blood clots due to birth control pills require special treatment, as they are uniquely similar to the blood clots from COVID-19 vaccines.

The comparison has become widespread on social media, with the intent to inform others on how many medical treatments can pose a risk. However, medical risks cannot be compared. Medically, different things affect people disproportionately, depending on factors such as gender or race, as seen in birth control.

In light of the Johnson & Johnson news, people began to share

their experiences with the other two popular vaccines in the United States: Pfizer and Moderna.

Symptoms like body aches, fever, chills and more can be common after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Dr. Robert Wachter, the chief of medicine at UCSF, notes that symptoms mean that the vaccine is doing its job. He spoke to Luz Pena of ABC7 on the symptoms saying, “the way I think about them is it is a sign that it’s working … The side effects are a sign that your body is producing its immune response.”

Regardless of potential symptoms, the vaccines have been proven to be effective. Data that the CDC released on March 29 showed that in real-world conditions, as tested in first responders and frontline workers, the vaccines were 90% effective in preventing contraction of COVID-19.

The vaccine represents a light at the end of a tunnel for many people. By solely choosing to focus on the disadvantages and rare cases of blood clots and deciding to not take the vaccine, it will only prolong an already year-old pandemic. Choosing to not receive the vaccine not only puts a person’s health at risk, making them highly vulnerable to a deadly virus, but it also affects everyone around them.

Ally Dugan, FCRH ’23, is a communications and culture major from West Chester, Penn.

April 21, 2021

OPINION

Swifties: Victims of Internalized Misogyny

By TAYLOR HERZLICH OPINION EDITOR

She started as a wavy-haired, platinum blonde teenage country singer, sweet and shy, before skyrocketing to stardom. Taylor Swift has now dominated the music industry for more than a decade. Revered as a role model for her poise and grace, Swift is surely one of the public’s most beloved celebrities — but this wasn’t always the case.

Swift has received plenty of bad press and has been the brunt of numerous jokes due to her reputation for “dating around.” The media was especially harsh on Swift in the mid2010s. Publicity surrounding sexist jokes about Swift has resurfaced after the singer called out Netflix for an offensive line in the streaming service’s new show, “Ginny & Georgia.”

In the show’s season finale, Ginny gets into a fight with her mom, Georgia, and exclaims, “What do you care?

You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”

What is noteworthy here is that Swift decided not to remain silent.

Her reply was quick-witted and hit the mark when she took to Twitter March 1: “Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse s--- as [funny].”

Swift also attacked Netflix in her tweet, expressing her shock at the sexist dig after the release of “Miss Americana.” The documentary Netflix released last year covered Swift’s disappointment with the current state of politics and her refusal to remain silent any longer.

This is not the first time Swift has had to endure blatant sexism. In the mid-2010s, pop culture references and media specials were chock full of misogynistic digs at the singer.

In 2014, Swift was asked why most of her music revolves around past relationships. Swift shot back by pointing out some of her male counterparts in the industry at the time, such as Ed Sheeran and Bruno

Mars, whose music also centered on ex-partners.

The same remains true today.

Swift is constantly attacked for writing songs about her ex-boyfriends while male colleagues of similar fame remain noticeably untouched. Harry Styles, a singer and ex-boyfriend of Swift, centers most of his songs around his ex-partners. Styles’ song, “Cherry,” even includes an audio clip of a voicemail from his ex-girlfriend, French model Camille Rowe. Yet, Styles is not burdened with a reputation for only writing about his exes.

Michela Fahy, FCRH ’23, whose admiration for Swift has grown alongside Swift’s career, chimed in on the topic. “I can think of a dozen different artists who all write about their love lives exclusively, but … for some reason that’s [seen as Swift’s] thing, to … write about her exes and stuff, even though that’s … not unique at all,” said Fahy.

In 2015, Swift was attacked for writing “male-bashing” music. This accusation is reminiscent of the hordes of people who blindly label all feminists as man-haters. Swift quickly spoke out against the male-bashing comment, saying, “[Referring to my music as] boy-bashing songs … is a sexist way of saying heartbreak songs.

To [trivialize] someone who’s heartbroken is really cruel.”

It was not just the media attacking Swift, though. Despite Swift’s talent, it was decidedly “not cool” for children to like the singer in the early stages of her career. Outspoken admiration for Swift was widely ridiculed according to sympathetic Swifties on Instagram.

“I remember back in middle school when everyone was always talking about how Taylor Swift was always with a different guy every week,” writes Jake Ritchie (@jake_ ritchie47 on Instagram), a self-proclaimed Swiftie.

This sentiment is not uncommon among Swift’s fans. Plenty of fans are recent arrivals after years of dissing and dismissing Swift as cultural taboo.

“A lot of girls [and] guys hate [Swift] for no reason because they

just want to go along with everyone else … like she’s had a normal amount of boyfriends for someone who’s been in the public eye for so long and people always try to put her down for it but the same wouldn’t happen for men,” agrees Jessica Michels (@jessmichelss on Instagram), another fan of the singer.

On Instagram, Swifties display an outpouring of love and support for Taylor Swift, but many admit to being ex-haters of the singer.

“I have always struggled with my relationship with Taylor Swift but I think as I’ve become more educated and have grown up the real issue, I see now, is myself,” explains Swiftie Jackson Giammattei (@jacksongiammattei on Instagram). “I remember joking about [Swift] in middle school about how she dates too many guys and can’t keep a relationship, but what I didn’t realize is I was slutshaming [her].”

The question, of course, turns to why so many young children and preteens dislike Taylor Swift. The answer? Internalized misogyny.

Adrian J. Dehlin and Renee V. Galliher, researchers at Utah State University, explore the paradox of misogyny present in young women in their journal “Young Women’s Sexist Beliefs and Internalized Misogyny.”

While sexism is a well-known phenomenon that demonstrates the belief that men are superior to women, attempting to justify the discrimination and mistreatment of women, internalized misogyny is a lot harder to identify. Internalized misogyny is defined as the internalization of these sexist beliefs and practices. According to Dehlin and Galliher, internalized misogyny is made up of both self-objectification and the unquestioning acceptance of gender roles.

“Given the omnipresent nature of misogynistic and sexist messages received by women in patriarchal societies, the internalization of sexist ideologies is often automatic and unnoticed,” write Dehlin and Galliher.

In other words, internalized misogyny is the innate acceptance of sexist practices by both women and

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Taylor Swift is often a target of sexism, but she refuses to let that define her.

men as a result of the inherently misogynistic society they are being raised in. Young girls’ hatred of Taylor Swift is a perfect example of this.

Public discourse is the only reason young girls (and boys) cited for disliking Swift. Young women do not want to be seen supporting Swift because she is depicted as being girly and ridiculed for writing about her boyfriends too often. Young girls idolize being different, or “not like other girls,” because they recognize the disadvantageous treatment of women in society. Many young girls dislike Swift because of an innate fear of being seen as too feminine, and femininity is often punished by society. Young girls witnessed this in the media’s attacks of Swift.

This generational dislike of Taylor Swift is a display of inherited patriarchal instincts. The fact that many fans of Swift have grown from being haters of the singer only further proves this theory, since it takes growth and maturity to recognize these instincts.

Taylor Swift has demonstrated a calm elegance far beyond her years starting, of course, with the 2009 VMAs. Swift was just 19-years old when she attended the 2009 VMAs. Her career was still fragile and young. It was her first time performing at the award show, and she was up for one award: Best Video by a Female Artist.

When Swift won the award, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Kanye West jumped on the stage and

critiqued the win, explaining that the award should have gone to Beyoncé.

The crowd immediately started booing West, but Swift believed the boos were for her. It was a traumatic experience for a young woman to go through.

Swift has also been a role model for young girls with her outspoken feminism. After being sexually assaulted by a man in 2013, Swift sued for all of $1, a move that was meant not to make financial gains but to encourage other young women to speak out about their experiences.

Swift wanted her experience to be an “example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”

Swift is quite obviously a wonderful role model. Even her musical accomplishments are undeniable. Swift recently won the Album of the Year award at this year’s Grammys, making it her third Album of the Year win. She is the first woman to do so and only the fourth artist in history so honored — tying with the recording legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

If you are not a fan of Swift because you do not like her music, that is understandable. But if you do not like Swift because of her dating history, ask yourself: Is that reasonable? Or are you just being sexist?

Taylor Herzlich, FCRH ’23, is a journalism major from Mt. Sinai, N.Y.

OPINION

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R

Serving the Fordham University campus and community since 1918 The Fordham Ram is the university journal of record. The mission of The Fordham Ram is to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community and to act as a student advocate. The Fordham Ram is published and distributed free of charge every Wednesday during the academic year to the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses with a readership of over 12,000 and a web readership of over 300,000.

Website TheFordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu Editor-in-Chief Rachel Gow Managing Editor Dylan Balsamo Editorial Director Erica Weidner Multimedia Director Hunter Benegas Digital Director Katie Morris Business Director Aidan Youngs Production Editor Vanessa DeJesus Copy Chief Megan Dowden Assistant Copy Chief Ginny Belt News Editor Abigail Delk Features Editor Hasna Ceran Assistant News Editors Sebastian Diaz Isabel Danzis Opinion Editors Emma Lipkind Taylor Herzlich Culture Editors Ava Erickson Sara Tsugranis Assistant Culture Editor Hanif Amanullah Sports Editor Alexander Wolz Assistant Sports Editors Michael Hernandez Kaley Bell Digital Producer Collette Campbell Visual Director Pia Fischetti Photo Editor Mackenzie Cranna Graphics/Illustrations Cory Bork Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Editorial Page Policy

The Fordham Ram’s editorial is

selected on a weekly basis and reflects the editorial board’s view on a campus issue.

Opinions Policy The Fordham Ram accepts submissions to fordhamramopinions@gmail. com. Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Fordham Ram. The Fordham Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The Fordham Ram’s editorials are those of the editorial board; those expressed in articles, letters, commentaries, cartoons or graphics are those of the individual author. No part of The Fordham Ram may be reproduced without writte consent.

April 21, 2021

From the Desk | Taylor Herzlich

The Danger of Sexism on College Campuses I never fully understood the dangers of sexism until I started living on a college campus.

My first experience with blatant sexism occurred in one of my business classes, all of which were composed of a clear majority of male students. In my largest business class, for every four male students, there were only two females. The problem became clearer when one male guest lecturer attended our class and made a joke about how men will claim to go out to Home Depot for wood and will come back with a plank of wood, while women will claim to go out for a scarf and will come back with a scarf, handbag and dress. Hilarious, right? But I told myself that maybe he just didn’t know his audience.

The next week, there was a new guest lecturer. He came to class early to meet all of the students — or rather, all of the male students. He mingled and introduced himself to all the men in the class, shaking hands and talking industry. I waited and waited for him to make himself available to the women in the class, to at least one female student. Finally, he did. He complimented one young woman on the color of her sweater. He said it reminded him of his mother. But maybe he was just being friendly.

Then it was time for our big group project of the semester.

We had to create our own business plan, and I was placed in a group with one other woman and four men. My professor, a woman herself, came over to assign us each our roles. She needed someone for finance, so she asked each of the four men, completely ignoring the other young woman and me. One guy offered himself for the role, saying he could “totally do that.” Once the professor walked away, I jokingly said, “You wouldn’t want me doing finance, anyway; I suck at math.” I ended up having a math class with that

same finance man later. He was failing the class. I had a 103% average. So why was he so confident in himself, and why was I so doubtful?

Then I had a group project for a philosophy class with one other woman and a man. The woman and I each created five slides and presented for 10 minutes each.

The man had one slide, half-full of incorrect information and halffull of bullet points that he copied and pasted from our previous slides. My professor complimented us afterward, saying, “It seems like you all did a good job splitting it up equally.”

Later on, in a math class, I sat next to a man who would always ask for help with the worksheets, and I was glad to help since we were encouraged to do partner work. However, he always felt the need to ask another man the same question after I just helped him.

They were usually wrong.

Of course, this problem is not unique to Fordham. Things like this happen at almost every other university in the country. The problem is that we are not taught to expect better. I remember asking friends who attended different universities if they thought they had ever experienced sexism on campus. They all said no.

I shared my stories with them, and suddenly, we were talking for hours about how they had all gone through similar experiences.

A friend from the University of Rhode Island explained how a man sitting next to her in her math class would insist on checking over her equation answers completely unprompted. He was almost always looking for mistakes in her work. She was a math major, having taken AP Calculus and upper-level math classes all throughout high school.

There was a friend from Long Island University who was carrying a rose back to her dorm room while she talked on the phone

with her mother. A male student started harassing her, yelling, “Is that for me?” and becoming increasingly angry when she did not respond.

A friend from Stony Brook University described a professor who walked over to a female student when she raised her hand asking for help on a question. Instead of helping the student, he just gave her the answer to the test, rubbing her back and saying, “Don’t say I never did anything good for you.”

There was the time I sat in class and listened to a fellow classmate joke with his friend about consent, saying, “What are we supposed to do? Check-in multiple times?”

The worst part, by far, about the blatant sexism on college campuses is the rampant sexual assault and harassment that occurs and goes unpunished. One of the most commonly cited statistics is that one in five college women will be sexually assaulted during their time at school.

This issue is well known. It is talked about in speeches. But in reality, little has been done to solve this issue. Colleges’ reporting processes have not improved.

I know that I, along with plenty of

other college women, would not know what to do if I were ever to experience sexual assault or harassment. I know I could talk to a clergy member confidentially, or I could turn to a teacher, resident assistant or counselor. But those “solutions” rarely ever bring justice. The next step is to file a Title IX report, a long and arduous process that rarely ever punishes the assailant and more often places the victim in dangerous and uncomfortable situations.

Unfortunately, I’ve met plenty of women in college who have been sexually assaulted and harassed.

I don’t know any who have been delivered the justice they deserve.

I am sick of hearing about improved counseling services and mandatory reporters when these reports never seem to lead anywhere. I am sick of hearing about the men who are falsely accused by women when statistically, that situation is an incredible rarity compared to the women who remain silent or dismissed.

I’m glad that the conversation around sexual assault and harassment is opening up, but that is simply not enough. It is time for society to become comfortable punishing the men who commit these heinous crimes.

Editorial | COVID-19

Moving Toward a Better Normal A little over a year after the coronavirus pandemic changed our lives, it’s safe to say we all want to go back to normal. We’ve settled into the routine of the “new normal” — whether we like it or not, wearing masks outside of our homes has become second nature — but the promise of the real “normal” is what propels us through daily life. As COVID-19 restrictions ease and vaccine rollouts gain speed nationwide, we’re starting the slow return to prepandemic life.

However, returning to “normal” includes returning to a country and world fraught with social justice concerns, mass inequalities and violence that transcend health concerns. The “normal” that we remember is far away, and we tend to reminisce more about the good times than we dwell on the bad. In the past few weeks, stories of mass shootings and gun violence began to dominate our

newsfeeds. These events are a horrific reminder that the American “normal,” as much as we miss it, was far from perfect.

If we’ve learned one thing in the past year, it’s that even a deadly pandemic does not pause the other issues we struggle with.

The Black Lives Matter protests last summer taught us that structural racism does not stop for COVID-19 and that calls for change will not wait until the pandemic ends. Likewise, every issue we struggled with before COVID-19 remains with us, and many of them still lie unaddressed. Further, the pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities as Americans struggled with health care and unemployment.

As a nation, we have a history of not addressing our long-term problems. We react to the daily news cycle — we talk about shootings when we see one happen. When we don’t see them in

the news, we talk about something else. In the past year, that “something else” was usually the pandemic, the 2020 presidential election or the Black Lives Matter movement. Yet other issues, such as gun violence, never disappeared; they simply received less news coverage.

Our old “normal” leaves a lot to be desired and, more importantly, a lot to be fixed. The same issues that plagued us at the beginning of 2020 still demand answers. In the face of a nationwide return to normal, we ask: Why go back to the old normal? Why not build something better?

We don’t need to reinvent the whole world, but we should put some thought into what we want life to look like once the coronavirus pandemic is behind us. As college students, we’re uniquely poised to do this; we’re at the beginning of our adult lives. We have hopes and dreams for the

future, and we have our whole lives to realize them. We hear your ideas every week: banning assault weapons, embracing electric transportation and rethinking police departments. A brighter future is calling, and we cannot allow ourselves to fall back into the same status quo we knew before everything changed.

At the core of our desire for normality is our desire to be together again. Fordham students miss going out, visiting their friends and going to events in the city. Across America, millions of people are eager to go out for dinner, hug their friends and travel the world. We’ll all eat, drink and be merry again. These hopes are what drive us forward, and it’s the same hopes that should push us toward progress. There is so much hope for the world after COVID-19, and we can harness that hope into making the world a better place.

April 21, 2021

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Bronx Night Market Returns After Hiatus

By Taylor Mascetta STAFF WRITER

If you walk right off campus on an early Saturday evening, a heavenly aroma immediately overwhelms your senses. It’s the Bronx Night Market — a pop-up food festival that runs from April to November every year.

The quarterly magazine “Edible Bronx” and creative agency “BLOX” first conceived the market back in 2018. Now tucked away between Fordham Road’s TJMaxx and Walgreens, the Night Market attracts thousands of customers

nearly every weekend. The Market’s primary goal is to showcase a diverse array of food and support dozens of local, up-and-coming chefs. Someone attending the Night Market will walk away, having experienced a multitude of cultures.

However, things look a little different at the Night Market this year. Since thousands of hungry attendees often swarmed, the Market needed to restrict its capacity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the Market requires

all visitors to register online before attending the event to maintain proper social distancing protocols.

The registering process is free of charge but cannot take place on the day of the festival.

Additionally, the Market usually runs from April to November without hiccups, but rising cases in the Bronx caused the festival to postpone the majority of its fall 2020 dates. However, the Market made its highly anticipated return in 2021 when it opened to the public on April 3.

COURTESY OF TAYLOR MASCETTA FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

The Bronx Night Market food festival, which takes place in Fordham Plaza, will run every Saturday until November.

Once you successfully register and get inside, the Night Market runs relatively as usual. Many of its mainstay vendors are still there, selling their culinary creations and making small talk with customers. Despite COVID-19 upending the Market’s trajectory towards success, its popularity has shown no signs of decline. Even with the registration system, the Market’s space was completely filled by 5 p.m., with hundreds of masked individuals dashing from booth to booth.

Since its start, the Night Market’s organizers wanted all of its options to be affordable for any customer. Therefore, most of the vendors’ price points range from only $3 to $11, so $20 can go a long way.

You can easily feast on a threecourse meal at the Night Market.

There is “Fresh Maine Lobstah Rolls,” which sells a tantalizing array of seafood straight from the sea, “Hangry Dog,” which offers a unique spin on corn dogs, “Twisted Potato,” which sells thinly-sliced potatoes on a skewer and “Wah Gwaan” which sells Caribbeanstyle tacos.

If you still have room in your stomach after dinner, the Night Market continues to tempt you with a wide selection of dessert options. These include “Dre’s Water Ice and Ice Cream,” “Island Love Cake” with their famous aged rum cakes, “Sweet Shots with AJ,” which adapts Italian, Latin and American flavors in their experimental cupcakes and “Sam’s Fried Ice Cream.”

Altogether, these vendors repre-

sent cuisines from over 20 nations around the world, giving attendees a makeshift global culinary tour.

However, the Bronx Night Market offers much more than just food — its assortment of beverages is truly a sight to behold. The festival offers a wide selection of alcohol, such as craft beer and spiked seltzers, for customers to sample.

TRULY, a popular spiked-seltzer brand, sets up a tent each week for attendees to try new flavors.

Aside from the food, you can rep the Night Market every day of the week with their merchandise. They sell sweatshirts, t-shirts and beanies, all emblazoned with its trademark blue and pink logo.

The Night Market offers a beautiful glimpse into Bronx culture.

Bronx residents from all across the borough make their way to the Night Market every weekend.

Some serenade audiences with their various musical talents; when visiting the market, you will most likely hear the sound of someone’s saxophone chorusing through the air. It’s a place where both the Bronx community and those just visiting for the day can come together and enjoy some incredible food and drinks.

Fordham students should absolutely take advantage of what the Night Market has to offer. It gives an incredible, affordable alternative to the cafeteria or other on-campus eateries, all while supporting local small businesses. Students should definitely stop by before the end of the semester since the Bronx Night Market is something you don’t want to miss out on.

Who’s That Kid? | It’s T.J. Hokunson, FCRH ’22!

Junior Helps Organize the FDM During a Pandemic

By Collette Campbell DIGITAL PRODUCER

Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) has always been an integral part of T.J. Hokunson, FCRH ’22, and his college experience. He has shown his positive attitude and commitment to the organization since the start of his involvement in 2018.

From freshman year to his current junior year, Hokunson has always displayed leadership in his various positions on FDM. In 2019, he was a Freshman Liaison, spreading awareness of the club to the freshman class on the Rose Hill campus. In FDM 2020, Hokunson was an auction chair, helping coordinate the largest fundraiser of the year. And in FDM 2021, he stepped into a leadership role by serving in a newly created director position: fundraising director.

“Navigating this position was a bit tricky at first,” Hokunsonsaid. “But once the semester began and we had planned our first couple successful fundraisers, everything felt normal.” He also said that stepping up from the chair position to the director position was a noticeable difference, citing more time commitment and more meetings. However, Hokunson was not alone in leadership. Sarah Huffman,

FCRH ’21, served as the auction director for FDM 2021 in the Auction and Fundraising committee. Huffman and Hokunson had worked together on the same committee before, and as they led such a passionate team this year, it was clear that this duo was set up for success. The two of them collaborated heavily on fundraising ideas to pursue in FDM 2021, meeting frequently together and with their committee. Their team would get together weekly to brainstorm new ideas for fundraising throughout the year, with meetings that lasted a few hours on occasion.

However, there was more to the challenge than stepping into a new director position. Hokunson had to also effectively lead his committee to successfully fundraise during a pandemic, where money had become tight for many. Due to COVID-19, in-person fundraisers were no longer allowed. Relying on social media was the only option.

“There were definitely times throughout the year where there were concerns with overusing social media,” Hokunson said.

As if those challenges were not enough, FDM 2021 took on a hybrid model: half of the event was in person, and half was online.

Hokunson and his team still had

to create fundraisers for the 12hour event, with a new fundraiser happening each hour. It was clear that the Auction and Fundraising committee had a lot to tackle.

However, Hokunson’s unwavering support and confidence he placed in his team was what led them to be as successful as they were.

As it was revealed on Saturday, April 17, FDM raised over $92,000 throughout the year.

Those countless hours of meetings and collaboration brought Hokunson and his team the success that they had sought out.

Reflecting on FDM 2021, Hokunson credited a lot of this positive experience to the Auction and Fundraising committee.

After meeting collaboratively on Zoom the entire year, the committee finally met for the first time altogether at FDM itself.

“It was so much fun getting to spend our day-of-event with the people who I worked so closely with all year and who put so much hard work into this day,” Hokunson remarked. “I could not have done this without all of the hard work of our chairs.”

With FDM 2021 officially over, Hokunson already has his eyes set on FDM 2022. And though Hokunson has clearly displayed leadership and will continue to do

COURTESY OF T.J. HOKUNSON FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

T.J. Hokunson, FCRH ’22, served as the Fundraising Director for FDM 2021.

so, his goal remains the same as it has been since freshman year.

“For FDM 2022, I just want to further spread our message that kids get cancer too and to raise as much as we can to help every

child have the chance to grow up,” he said.

No matter what next year brings for FDM, it is clear that Hokunson will face and overcome any challenge head-on.

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April 21, 2021

Editor’s Pick | Television

Dear “Love Island,” I Love You

By Katherine Morris DIGITAL DIRECTOR

Within the ever-growing dumpster known as reality television, there is one shining piece of trash that glistens more than the rest.

“Love Island” is 10% competition, 30% relationships, 54% unintentional social experiment and 6% “bruv.” Since 2015, the show

has aired six seasons (don’t worry, all are available on Hulu) and also spawned a U.S. version (which lacks British accents and is therefore slightly inferior). Luckily for avid fans of trash TV who are desperate to microdose escapism, both series have been renewed for a 2021 season this summer.

For the U.K. version, a group

of British contestants spends the summer in an isolated mega villa in Mallorca. At the beginning of the season, the initial group of five male and five female islanders meet and couple up with each other. For context, during this slightly awkward ceremony, the men are shirtless and the women are wearing bikinis and high heels. As time

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

The seventh season of the popular British reality show “Love Island” is set to air on ITV this spring.

goes on, they can “re-couple” with others in the villa, existing islanders can be dumped and new islanders can enter. No one is safe, and the show is ripe with fresh drama and tension. At the end of the summer, the public votes for their favorite couple to win a $50,000 prize.

Love Island turns out an impressive 50+ hour-long episodes per season, nearly one new episode every weekday. Unlike other reality TV programs, “Love Island” episodes are aired only a few days after the filming occurs, and the winners are declared live in the final episode.

The real-time effect feels authentic and also creates an opportunity for viewers to participate in “Love Island” by voting for their favorite or least favorite couples or contestants. Within a day or two, audiences watch as the results of their votes put couples in jeopardy of being dumped from the villa. Even more cruel, some-

times the islanders must vote between themselves for who should be sent home. Once, the producers made a couple decide between themselves who should leave.

In the meantime, episodes are filled with challenges, confessionals, surprise dates and villa parties.

The camera closely watches the islanders’ every move, snog, gossip, mistake and lie.

It’s easy to feel compassion when an islander is rejected, like Zara Holland in season four, or annoyance when an islander is not honest with themself, like Tyla Carr in season three. Contestants range in age and personality, but if you look closely, you can see how contestants mature throughout the summer and are affected by their time in the villa.

Whereas other reality shows can feel forced, disingenuous or slow, “Love Island” keeps viewers captivated with public participation, genuine emotion and, of course, its abundance of British slang.

NYBG Presents “Kusama: Cosmic Nature” by Yayoi Kusama

By Sara Tsugranis CULTURE EDITOR

After being postponed last spring due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the New York Botanical Gardens finally presented “Kusama: Cosmic Nature” on April 10, 2021. Designed by famed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, the art exhibition spans a significant portion of the botanical gardens. The exhibition presents various structures with polka dot designs, a signature characteristic of Kusama. The installations are integrated among nature as wormholes into Kusama’s mind and her perspective on nature.

Upon entering the gardens, the small pond at the center roundabout holds an animated sun painted in bright reds, blues and yellows. The face is in a state of surprise, the mouth in an “O” shape as its rays twist like octopus tentacles as if it was traveling through dimensions and trying to keep its balance.

Some of the installations Kusama displays are new presentations of previous pieces such as “Ascension of Polka Dots on Trees,” in which white polka dots are scattered across a red background clinging to the shape of majestic trees. Some trees are grouped together, and a few are isolated deeper into the gardens. This installation integrates calm natural elements with bold color. At first glance, it may be too stark a contrast, but if you look deeper, the tranquil mysticism of the natural world is paired with a bold, imaginative cosmic world. Two fascinating aspects of the universe are brought together perfectly, blurring the line between what is of this earth and what is otherworldly.

Kusama has been open about her traumatic childhood and hallucinations, which she cites as major influences on her art. She

has described these hallucinations as “flashes of light, auras or dense fields of dots,” as seen in works like “Ascension of Polka Dots on Trees.” Kusama also cites the white stones covering the river by her family home as another influence on her signature dots.

“Dancing Pumpkin” is a 13foot yellow and black structure on the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Lawn. It looks like a skeleton of a pumpkin and seems as if it is in motion, ready to twirl with a few legs slightly lifted and the entire structure leaning back. Frozen in motion, visitors young and old marvel at the “pumpkin,” almost waiting for it to come alive and prance around the gardens. This is likely what Kusama intended, as she has also spoken about experiencing hallucinations where flowers took form in various shapes and patterns that came to life and engulfed her.

“Narcissus Garden” is another installation Kusama has previously presented. Reflective orbs lie in the pond at the native plant garden at the Botanical Gardens and slowly drift away from each other and float back together. Debuting in 1966 at the Venice Biennale in an unofficial exhibit, Kusama stood beside the piece with a sign that said “Your Narcissism For Sale,” selling the balls for two dollars each. This piece has been exhibited at many different locations worldwide and was once presented at Central Park.

You can find other installations in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the LuEsther T. Mertz Library and an Infinity Mirrored Room experience. The Infinity Mirrored Room will be available this summer following New York social distancing guidelines.

Though Kusama is open about her hallucinations and how she uses art as a vehicle to express herself and her struggles, there is next

to no mention of this in the exhibition. Someone who is not familiar with Kusama’s work would likely not have received the message she is trying to portray without familiarizing themself with her life and work. Even exhibitions unrelated to her hallucinations and mental state, such as “Narcissus Garden,” do not mention key reasons why the installation came to be, which in this case is Kusama’s focus on narcissism.

Art can be, and is, interpreted differently by every person. Still, it is important for observers to understand the artist’s intended message when viewing their art.

“Kusama: Cosmic Nature” mentions nothing of Kusama’s hallucinations and melancholic connection to nature. While I interpreted the exhibition as a commentary

on the earthly and non-earthly worlds — and still do after learning more about Kusama — I would have welcomed information on Kusama to view the exhibit as intended.

This is not Kusama’s first exhibit that has neglected or minimized her mental health’s influence on her work. Phillip Kennicott of The Washington Post also commented on the lack of publicization of Kusama’s mental state and her intentions for her pieces in the 2017 exhibition “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.”

Kusama is greatly praised as one of the greatest contemporary artists, but unfortunately, social stigma regarding mental health has prevented her biography and true inspirations from reaching more audiences. Despite her re-

vered status as an artist, critics and high art consumers perceive her as a wacky, eccentric spectacle who chooses to reside in a mental hospital. Artists like Vincent Van Gogh, who were known to struggle with their mental health, are often made into similar spectacles with audiences romanticizing their struggles. It is absolutely necessary to view artists as humans.

Kusama deserves credit and respect as a person who has found success and peace in presenting her trauma and mental struggles. Hopefully, future exhibitions will be as open and proud as she is about discussing her mental health.

Be sure to visit “Kusama: Cosmic Nature,” on view until Oct. 31, 2021.

COURTESY OF SARA TSUGRANIS/THE FORDHAM RAM

“Kusama: Cosmic Nature” by Yayoi Kusama finally opens at the New York Botanical Gardens.

April 21, 2021

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Sláinte: Fordham Irish Dance Presents Irish Night Performance

By Emily Huegler

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Wednesday, Sláinte, Fordham’s Irish Dance team, virtually premiered their sixth annual Irish Night. The performance showcased new choreography from a semester of in-person and Zoom rehearsals. It included dances to songs from the classic Riverdance to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. The entire show is available to watch on Sláinte’s YouTube page, where it already has over 700 views.

Student Steven Ruggiero, FCRH ’22, recorded Sláinte per-

forming six numbers, and the YouTube video features performances from the a cappella groups the Fordham B-Sides and the Satin Dolls. Members of Sláinte share their favorite part about being on the team, and an instrumental performance of Irish music by student Kenny Vesey, FCRH ’22, plays as the credits roll.

The dances are done to a combination of traditional song and modern pop music, with both soft shoes and hard shoes. In “Team Building,” choreographed

by Brianna McCartney, FCRH ’23, dancers performed classic

four-hand and eight-hand reels — although they didn’t hold hands as is traditionally done, due to COVID-19 safety standards. In “Capone,” dancers took the stage in sparkly skirts and hard shoes to perform a jazzy number to music from the show Celtic Tiger.

Co-president Reilly Keane, FCRH ’21, said filming went on without a hitch, thanks to the amount of practice the team had done this semester. Keane is excited for the team to have a professional film as a way to look back on this performance. “It’s up on YouTube, which means it gets to

COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM

Fordham’s Irish Dance team Sláinte, premiered a virwtual “Irish Night” performance on April 14 on YouTube.

stay there forever,” she said. “For anybody who is looking to go to Fordham, wants to Irish dance, or wants to know more about [us], there’s a whole video right there, put together.”

The team had to adapt many of their typical practice and performance routines to follow Fordham’s COVID-19 protocol and keep students safe. “There were obviously a lot of stumbling blocks we hit,” Keane said. “Even though it’s nowhere near what we’ve done in the past, it’s completely different. It’s great.”

Typically falling the week of St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Night was originally planned for March 16, and it was going to be a two-night performance with a live audience in addition to a livestream.

However, following Fordham’s two-week shutdown of in-person activities, Keane and her co-president Madi Carr decided to postpone the performance until April 14 and make it an exclusively virtual event.

“It’s just a massive, massive change,” Keane said. “It’s really tough to do something when you don’t have a rulebook.”

Sláinte also had to begin rehearsing for Irish Night before the semester had started. Over winter break, e-board members choreographed new pieces from their homes and recorded themselves dancing. Through a shared Google Drive, the rest of the team accessed these recordings and taught themselves the dances.

By the time students returned to

campus in February, Keane says they were familiar enough with the steps to accelerate the pace of in-person and Zoom rehearsals.

The team held a Zoom session on their computers at every rehearsal to allow the people who couldn’t come in person to remain acquainted with the choreography. They also held a few practices outside.

Keane says it was a challenge to balance both keeping people safe and putting on a good show.

“It can be tough to clean dances, put people in spots and figure out formations if people don’t come in person. But at the same time, we don’t want to push people if they don’t feel safe.”

Despite the difficulties Sláinte faced this semester, Keane and Carr were able to implement many goals they had for the team. They began holding open beginner classes on Saturday afternoons and doing more acrossthe-floor work and team exercises. They were also able to put on an outdoor performance on Hughes Terrace on St. Patrick’s Day, in addition to their performances during the first semester of this year.

And through the added isolation and stress of this year, Sláinte has found ways to cope through team bonding and a fun, lowpressure dance environment. “Everyone’s excited that we still are able to dance,” Keane said “And it’s a fun way to keep doing something that we’ve done since we were kids.”

Digital Poetry Festival at Fordham Creates Collaborative Poem

By Mason Rowlee STAFF WRITER

In her dystopian novel “Parable of the Sower,” science fiction pioneer and acclaimed novelist Octavia Butler writes: “All that you touch / You Change. / All that you Change / Changes you. / The only lasting truth / Is Change. / God / Is Change.” This is the central tenet of “Earthseed,” Butler’s conception of a religion where God is a malleable being that is shaped by individual practitioners who manifest positive change in the world.

This was the subject of the Poetic Justice Institute’s (PJI) first-ever digital poetry festival, entitled “All that you touch / You change. / All that you change / Changes you.” held in support of Demos, a creative “think-and-do” tank closely aligned with Butler’s message for a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy. Over 100 participants joined the PJI to construct an 89-page poem shaped by Butler’s imagination for democratizing change in the world and prompts curated by six visiting poet guides.

These poet guides included: Aracelis Girmay, author of “the black maria” and nominee for the 2018 Neustadt International Prize for Literature; José Felipe Alvergue, whose poetry collection “scenery” was selected by Fordham University Press as the winner of the Poets Out Loud Editor’s Prize; Tamiko Beyer, author of the forthcoming poetry collection “Last Days;” Chen Chen, author

of “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities,” which was longlisted for the National Book Award; S. Brook Corfman, whose poetry collection “My Daily Actions, or The Meteorites” was chosen as a New York Times Best Poetry Book of 2020 and Carolyn Forche, whose anthology “Against Forgetting” received widespread acclaim, most notably

by Nelson Mandela.

After reading a poem or instructing a guided meditation, each poet guide asked attendees to record their thoughts to a unique prompt inspired by Butler’s quote.

As Sarah Gambito, co-director of the PJI and director of the Creative Writing program at Fordham led the event, participants shared their answers to these prompts in the Zoom chat, creating what she called a “waterfall of collective reading and writing.”

“What we see in this event is the opportunity for an act of empathy, of conversation and of community,” Gambito said as she introduced the poet guides. “We will listen deeply; we will write and hold each other’s words.”

And in holding each other’s words, the PJI designed its festival as an event that could only be hosted on Zoom. With most attendees listening to poetry and joining guided meditations in their bedrooms and offices, the event’s presentations utilized digital art and chat features to create an environment that felt “so special and

intimate,” said Bea Mendoza, an undergraduate fellow at the PJI. “The festival made me think so much more about the relationship between poetry and justice, and I am very grateful to have been a part of it,” she said, adding, “I cried during some of the presentations!”

In response to these presentations, attendees filled the Zoom chat with 89 pages of poetry and comments centered around questions of ancestry, gratitude and the resonance of change. Saved and disseminated after the festival, each participant and poet guide received the collective work to reread.

“It’s been so long since you’ve called us,” wrote one of the poet guides in response to Tamiko Bayer’s prompt about searching for truth in ancestry. “Called on us / Called to us / The phone is right there / Yep, a landline / A line to the land / Touch the phone cords. /Touch the cords in your throat /Remember / Remember / But we are not only memory / We are yours / We are here, in any quiet now your ear can find.”

And in the many, quiet windows of a Zoom room, the PJI festival embraced its collective voice amidst the constraints of COVID-19, making poetry and community in isolation. Much like Butler’s words that framed the festival, each individual attendee at the event contributed to the manifestation of a brighter, more positive future.

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

The PJI based its Digital Poetry Fesitval around Octavia Butler’s words.

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April 21, 2021

Kat’s Mental Health Column

Combating Dangerous Narratives During Autism Acceptance Month

By Katherine Timofeyev COLUMNIST

April is Autism Acceptance Month. Though it is typically referred to as “Autism Awareness Month,” there has been a recent movement for widespread adoption of a new name. The phrase “awareness” is problematic. The harsh reality of the situation is that this label feeds into ableism against autistic people and opens the door for Autism Speaks to take further advantage of the autistic community and those who genuinely support it.

Before we get into why Autism Speaks is so detrimental and what we can do to support the autistic community, we should touch on a very brief overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder and some basic facts that everyone should be cognizant of. Autism is a developmental disability that impacts an individual’s social skills, communication, relationships and self-regulation. In the U.S., about one in 54 individuals are born with autism, and it is the fastestgrowing developmental disability, meaning that it is becoming more common.

Though the controversy has been heavily reported, the shorthand recap is that Autism Speaks is a corporation that has actually done immense harm to autistic people under the guise of advocacy and support. It focuses on finding a “cure” and spends far too much money on marketing instead of helping autistic individuals. Their slogan, “light it up

blue,” reflects their fake support.

Not only is blue typically considered a symbol of despair, but it also perpetuates the false stereotype that boys are more likely to have autism.

The first and simplest thing you can do to help combat these false representations is to refer to April as “Autism Acceptance Month” or “Autism Action Month” instead.

Sure, this may seem like a minute difference, but that’s all the more reason to do it. The rationale behind this shift is to foster change and inclusivity. While there will always be a need for awareness, there is an even higher need for acceptance. For practically no effort on your part, you can help begin dismantling some of these barriers.

Another thing you can do to help combat the detrimental effects of Autism Speaks is refuse to “light it up blue” and refrain from using the puzzle-piece symbols, as these often evoke negative associations. Instead, use the rainbow infinity symbol and go #RedInstead. As mentioned above, the color blue presents several invalidating implications for the autistic community. The #RedInstead movement seeks to use a more positive association with passion and heart to support autistic individuals. This campaign promotes acceptance, which is what autistic people want and need.

Independent of Autism Speaks, an important clarification is needed with terminology and

COURTESY OF TWITTER

You can follow @autisticats on Twitter and @the.autisticats on Instagram to learn more information about Autism.

phrasing. The majority of autistic people prefer to be referred to as autistic, not as people with autism. Again, this is another seemingly small difference that is much more important than it appears to someone on the outside. Remember to always keep personal preferences in mind, and when in doubt, default to identity-first language (aka “autistic”) or simply ask. It’s always better to ensure that you are being sensitive to someone’s

personal needs and preferences than to be offensive due to a lack of effort.

Perhaps most importantly, as you seek out more information about autism, make sure you’re going to the right sources. Don’t fall into the trap of organizations such as Autism Speaks. Instead, get your information from reliable and representative sources.

If you have a specific question, consult an ethical organization or

ask an autistic person themselves.

Some good places to start are the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Organization for Autism Research or Learn From Autistics.

You can also read this piece from a mother of three autistic girls who illustrates their experiences, or follow @autisticats on Twitter, a page run by three autistic young adults that shares important information in quick and easy to read posts.

Have any thoughts?

Send your ideas to fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

April 21, 2021

SPORTS

Rams Draw Marshall in NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship

By ANDREW POSADAS

MANAGING EDITOR EMERITUS

Fordham Men’s Soccer didn’t have the reaction one might expect upon hearing host Will Haskett reveal their place in the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Show on Monday afternoon. The Rams were not caught up in adulation and exuding “We’re just happy to be here!” energy throughout Bepler Commons. Head coach Carlo Acquista and his players celebrated quite calmly instead, carrying themselves like it was business as usual after capturing the program’s fourth Atlantic 10 Championship over the weekend against George Washington University.

“It has to be all business,” said Acquista in an interview. “I give a lot of credit to our leaders who have been on board from day one and are an extension of the coaching staff. They’ve bought in, and this team culture keeps growing our way.”

Acquista has helped guide the Rams to their fifth NCAA Championship appearance in only his second season at Rose Hill. It’s Fordham’s first trip back since 2017 when former head coach Jim McElderry and the Rams went on an improbable NCAA quarterfinals run featuring signature wins over the University of Virginia and Duke University.

McElderry’s accomplishments over 16 years with Fordham — which included a pair of A-10 titles and three NCAA Champion-

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

After winning the Atlantic 10 Championship, Coach Acquista shifts his attention to a familiar face in Marshall.

ship appearances — left massive pressure on Acquista as his successor when McElderry departed for Rutgers University. Luckily, Acquista’s close friendship with McElderry and his previous knowledge of Fordham made it easier when he accepted the job back in 2019.

Acquista went on to say, “I’m very fortunate in that Jim and I are pretty close friends, so I’ve watched his coaching journey, and he’s watched mine. He carved and paved the way for where Fordham [Men’s Soccer] is today.”

Fordham looks poised to replicate success similar to McEldery’s

2017 squad in this season’s championship, but Marshall University will be standing in the way of that.

Just like Fordham, the Thundering Herd have clinched an automatic bid for the second consecutive year following their win over the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Marshall is currently ranked 10th in the United Soccer Coaches’ most recent poll and finished the regular season at 9-2-2.

Even more interesting is the history between Acquista and Marshall head coach Chris Grassie. Both coaches met once before in the 2016 NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer National

Quarterfinal when Acquista and Grassie were coaching at Adelphi University and the College of Charleston, respectively. Grassie and the Golden Eagles ultimately prevailed in penalty kicks to advance; something Acquista shared with his team following the selection show.

Asked about potentially evening the score this time around, Acquista said, “This is more of a friendly competition, but it’s nice to see it, go to round two and whatever happens, happens.”

The Thundering Herd may have outshot their opponents 223-71 so far. Still, Fordham’s

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stout defense figures to make life difficult behind a backline that allowed just five goals in nine matches and led the A-10 in lowest opponent scoring average (.56) this season.

The Rams enter, boasting six players who were named to the A-10 All-Championship team: Graduate student goalkeeper Josh Levine, freshman defender Galen Flynn, graduate student forward Alberto Pangrazzi, senior defender Luke McNamara, senior forward Sameer Fathazada and graduate student defender Matt Sloan. Sloan, one of the team’s four captains, was also named Most Outstanding Player of the Championship.

Punching their ticket into the NCAA Championship also earned Fordham national recognition in the most recent national top 25 rankings. Fordham is ranked 23rd in both the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News Poll this week while ranking 24th in TopDrawerSoccer. The Rams (7-0-2) are one of four unbeaten schools among the 36-team field alongside James Madison University, the University of New Hampshire and Loyola Marymount University.

The 2020 Division I Men’s Soccer Championship officially gets underway with four first-round matches on Thursday, April 29, before Fordham and Marshall meet on the pitch in secondround action. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on May 2 at the J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex in Wilson, North Carolina.

Men’s Tennis Drops Two Against St. John’s, Concordia

Women’s Tennis Falls at Stony Brook

By ALEXANDER WOLZ

By MICHAEL HERNANDEZ

After winning their first two matches of the season, albeit spaced weeks apart while traversing through a COVID-19 delay, Fordham Men’s Tennis has entered a bit of a dry spell as of late.

Following a loss to Temple University one weekend ago, Fordham fell in their latest two matches this past weekend as well, 0-4 against St. John’s University and 2-5 against Concordia College of New York.

First, Fordham headed into Queens to face the surging Red Storm, who improved to 13-1 on the year with the clean sweep of the Rams. St. John’s went ahead and secured the doubles point, defeating the Fordham combinations of juniors Tom Russwurm and Jofre Segarra at second doubles and seniors Alex Makatsaria and Max Green at third, 6-3, 6-2, respectively.

Fordham was at a disadvantage on the day, unable to field competitors in first doubles along with third, fifth and six singles, leading to the abbreviated scoreline. Opacic rolled past Fordham senior Fabian Mauritzson in singles, 6-2, 6-0. At second singles, freshman Nicholas Kanazirev fell to Ignacio Garcia and Giuseppe De Camelis rounded out the day by defeating Makatsaria.

Then came a quick turnaround for Fordham just 24 hours later against Concordia College of New York. Despite not being a household name, Concordia is a

On Saturday, the Fordham women’s tennis team continued its season away at Stony Brook University. The team was supposed to play Temple University on Friday at the Hawthorn/Rooney Courts, but the match was canceled. Another scheduled matchup against George Washington was canceled as well. Unfortunately, the Rams lost 6-1 to Stony Brook.

Before the match started, Fordham was already at a disadvantage.

The team was only able to put in five players for the matches, one short of the standard lineup of six players. This has been a recurring problem for the team. As a result,

SPORTS EDITOR

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham lost the doubles point despite splitting the two double matches they played. After that, the Rams could only win one of the single matches, with senior Ariana Taluyenko being the lone victor. She won her match in three sets. She won the first set 6-4, lost the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 and won the third set 6-3.

With this loss, the Rams now have a 5-3 record. Their final regular-season match will be this Saturday against Army West Point at home on the Hawthorn/ Rooney courts. With the Atlantic 10 championships around the corner, where they entered seventh the last time it happened in 2019, the team will hope to finish their regular season on a high.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Max Green (above) picked up one of Fordham’s points on the weekend.

force to be reckoned with on the hardcourt. Concordia has not only a perfect 7-0 on the season following the win against Fordham but is ranked 21st overall among Division II teams.

Fordham leaped forward on the Sunday afternoon, including a pair of wins from Green and Makatsaria at third and fourth singles, but that was not enough to overcome the Clippers. At first doubles, Lutwin de Macar and Mauritzson won 7-5, but Concordia won the other two matches to steal the singles point.

Tobias Lentz defeated Mauritson at first singles 7-6, 6-2 and Henry Masters downed Kanazirev 6-1, 6-2 at second

singles. Outside of the two Fordham wins, de Macar fell in a hard-fought battle that ended in a third-set tiebreak against William Nilsson for a final line of 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-8). The final point went Concordia’s way, 7-6, 6-2, over Russworm at sixth singles.

With the two losses, Fordham falls to 4-4 on the season before heading into another pair of matches this weekend. The first will be against St. Bonaventure University and the latter versus Queens College, ultimately culminating in the season’s final match before the Atlantic 10 Championship against Eastern Florida State College.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham hopes to rebound against Army before the A-10 Championship.

SPORTS

Page 14

Varsity Scores & Stats Men’s Soccer Fordham 2 Saint Louis 1 (FOR) Pangrazzi: 1 G, 1 AST Atlantic 10 Championship Fordham 2 George Washington 0 Women’s Track & Field Stockton Invitational #3 (FOR) O’Connor: 1500 Meter - 5:16.93 - 1st Monmouth Meet (FOR) Hill: 100 Meter - 12.37 - 1st Men’s Track & Field Stockton Invitational #3 (FOR) Rhee: Long Jump - 20’ 10’’ - 1st

Softball Army Fordham

4 3

Army Fordham

2 3

Army Fordham

3 5

Army Fordham

9 8

Baseball Fordham Towson

2 3

Fordham Towson

3 5

Fordham Army

2 8

Monmouth Meet (FOR) Raefski: 500 Meter 14.33.70 - 1st

Women’s Tennis Fordham Stony Brook

1 6

Golf Lafayette Invitational 598 - 7th (FOR) Kryscio: 142 (-2)

Men’s Tennis: Fordham St. John’s

0 4

Fordham Concordia

2 5

Finishing Strong

By KEVIN DINEEN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last week I may have run the last race of my college career. It has been a few days now since I ran, and I am still unsure how I feel about it.

It’s been a long four years, especially this year. Injuries and quarantines really limited my ability to train consistently, and I spent lots of time considering if it was even worth continuing. Additionally, I have had to deal with lots of race-day anxiety every time I get told I’ve got a race coming up.

Before this race, though, the feeling was different. I wasn’t nervous like I normally am. I was really excited. I can’t remember the last time that I was more excited than nervous about getting on the track and running. I was at peace with whatever the outcome would be because this was, truly, the end of the line.

The race was slow. In my memory, it was actually the slowest 800 meters time that I ran during college. The 800m is a wonderful race if you are fit enough to run it. The problem with me was that I was not. To do well, you need a blend of great speed and great strength. At this point in time, I have neither.

My lasting memory of the race, however, was not the time. It was the finish. I did not go out fast enough to hang at the start and found myself in last with 200 meters to go. But I found another gear in my legs and finished strong, making my way up to a third-place finish in my heat.

During that sprint to the finish and immediately after the race, I was in a lot of pain. My lungs burned, and my legs felt like jello.

April 21, 2021

Athletes of the Week John Kryscio Kryscio shot a career-low 142 (-2) at the Lafayette Invitational, good for a tie for fourth overall and leading the team to a seventh spot in the standings. Exceeding expectations all-season long, Fordham now looks to do the same at next weekend’s Atlantic 10 Championship.

Arina Taluyenko Despite the team’s loss against Stony Brook, Women’s Tennis’ Arina Taluyenko earned a 6-4, 6-7, 7-3 victory at first singles. The win is Taluyenko’s seventh of the season in singles, offset by just one loss. She has also added four victories at doubles to her season resume as well.

Matt Sloan

With two goals in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, a stunning volley from the top of the box into the bottom corner against George Washington and a header in the final against Saint Louis, Sloan was named Most Outstanding Player and paced the Rams to a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Each week, The Fordham Ram’s Sports section honors athletes athletes for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”

News & Notes • Men’s Soccer Earns Top 25

•

After winning the A-10 Tournament and booking a meeting with Marshall University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Fordham Men’s Soccer has caught the national eye. Fordham was ranked 23rd in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, their first time in the rankings since the 2018 season.

•

Athletic Department Announces Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group

• Casey Metzler Sets Hammer Throw Record Twice

National Ranking

As part of its social justice initiative, Fordham Athletics announced the formation of a DEI Facilitator group. The organization will be led by volleyball head coach Ian Choi and leaders from throughout the department.

With training from Dr. Victoria Farris, the group aims to act as “change agents” for the betterment of student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

DeMorat and Greenhagen Nominated for FCS Honors

Following a successful short spring campaign, Fordham Football’s Tim DeMorat and Ryan Greenhagen have been named finalists for NCAA FCS awards. DeMorat is vying for the Walter Payton Award as Offensive Player of the Year and Greenhagen for the Buck Buchanan Award as Defensive Player of the Year.

At the Monmouth Meet this past weekend, junior Casey Metzler broke the school record in the women’s hammer throw for the second time. On Friday at the Stockton Invitational #3, Metzler threw 144' 7" to set a new record and win the event. Just two days later, she surpassed her own total and finished fifth with a distance of 145' 9".

- Compiled by Alexander Wolz

Track & Field Takes On Double-Header

By KEN O’KONIS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Anyone who has run the 800m, or has had to kick it in at the end of any race, knows those last 100 meters can get sloppy.

My kick also gave me another feeling I had not experienced in a long time, aside from searing pain throughout my body. It gave me the satisfaction of a strong finish.

It is hard to describe, but closing out a race strong, and passing people while doing it, gives a level of satisfaction that is impossible to achieve outside of competition.

It is not something that you can do every race. Sometimes you don’t have the juice to finish it out, or sometimes somebody just has a little bit more than you. On the occasions that you can pull it out and finish strong, though, there is really nothing like it.

I don’t know when I will get to experience that again. It might never happen. So, through all of the struggles and frustrations that I have dealt with because of track and field, I am happy to say that I was able to finish out my career without cutting it short.

Fordham Track & Field returned to Galloway, New Jersey, this Friday to kick off their double-header weekend with the Stockton #3 Invitational Meet.

The men’s squad was led by a pair of first place finishes from freshman Justin Lombardi, running the 1500m race in 4:08.95s, and freshman Justin Rhee, landing 6.35m in the long jump. Sophomore Benedict Reilly joined Lombardi in the 1500m with a time of 4:11.99s that was good enough for third, and freshman Eric Galante also joined Rhee in the long jump with a third place finish of 5.96m. Other significant performances included freshman Thomas Lewis and sophomore Eric Jacobson’s respective second and third place tallies of 1:58.39s and 1:59.33s in the 800m, freshman Steve Zucca’s second place finish of 8:57.52s

in the 3000m, junior Alec Wargo’s third place hammer throw finish of 39.30m, and Rhee’s second place finish in the triple jump at 13.39m.

The womens’ efforts were defined by sophomore Amanda Gurth’s third place shot put finish at 11.42m, freshman Abigail Llach’s first place 800m finish at 2:24.35s, senior Maeve O’Connors’ first place 1500m finish at 5:16.93s, freshman Clodagh McGroary’s first place 3000m steeplechase finish at 12:16.10s, and, most notably, junior Casey Metzler’s first place victory in the hammer throw with an incredible 44.07m. What set Metzler’s performance apart was that her throw broke the Fordham women’s hammer throw school record. The record was previously held by Ariana Washington, set in 2006 with a throw of 43.76m.

However, Metzler was not done breaking records after the meet on Friday. As Fordham traveled to West Long Branch, New Jersey, this Sunday for the Mon-

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Metzler’s school record highlights a successful weekend for the Rams.

mouth Meet, Metzler once again beat her team’s hammer throw record, finishing her weekend with a throw of 44.43m that earned her 5th place. Also representing the team was sophomore Kyla Hill, winning the 100m dash with a finish of 12.37s, landing second in the 200m dash with a time of 25.43s and taking a 4x100m team composed of freshman Michele Daye, herself, sophomore Ruby Avila and freshman Skylar Harris into a third place finish at 49.21s.

The men’s team finished Monmouth with five top-3 finishes.

These were notched by senior Antony Misko in the 400m dash with a third place time of 49.61s, junior Zalen Nelson in the 800m race with a second place finish of 1:52.52, graduate student Nicholas Raefski and junior Brandon Hall with first and second place finish in the 5000m with respective times of 14:33.70s and 14:42.28s and a second 4x400m finish of 3:19.11s belonging to the team of Misko, sophomore Erik Brown, junior Patrick Tuohy and junior Jeremiah LaDuca.

The unprecedented rebound season that the Fordham track & field team has managed after a year off is nearing its close. Beginning the season with a historic home meet, the Rams will carry their momentum to finish the 2021 season with another double-header weekend, this time composed of the Tom Farrell Classic on Saturday, May 1 in Jamaica, New York, and the Atlantic 10 Championship between May 1-2 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

SPORTS

April 21, 2021

Rowing Competes in Philadelphia

By ANDREW FALDUTO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham rowing team returned to the water last Saturday in its second regatta of the season. The Rams contended at the 2021 Jesuit Invitational on the Schuylkill River, just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on an unfortunately cold and cloudy day. The Rams battled fellow Jesuit schools Saint Joseph’s University and Loyola University Maryland. The fourth and final entry into the invitational was fellow Atlantic 10 conference competitor La Salle University.

Three boats represented the Rams in the event: Varsity Four, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Eight, with the Varsity Four placing the best out of the three. The Varsity Four took the gold with significant leads over Saint Joseph’s and both Loyola entries.

Fordham trailed behind Saint Joseph’s yet finished ahead of Loyola’s boat in the Second Varsity Eight.

For the last and most important race of the day, the Fordham Varsity Eight placed third with a time of 7:17.1 across 2000 meters, in front of Loyola but behind Saint Joseph’s and La Salle.

By the time the sun had set, it felt as if Saint Joseph’s had dominated much of the day, placing first in two out of three races, and it was a dis-

appointing day on the river for the Fordham crew team.

However, the team faced a variety of challenges in the weeks leading up to the race. Not only was the program forced to pause following a possible COVID-19 outbreak, but the team had significant changes in the coaching staff. For over 30 years, the team had been led by Ted Bonanno, who retired following the abrupt conclusion of the 2019-2020 season. Former assistant coach Jenn Thomas took over the helm and was set to oversee the team for the 202021 season. However, two weeks ago, former novice coach, Katarina Francis, stepped up as interim head coach of the entire program.

With the combination of these sudden coaching changes and extended period of inactivity leaving only approximately a week of preparation time, it is not all that surprising that the Fordham team saw some disappointment on the water.

The positive side is that once the natural transition period that comes with a new coach is over and the team has a normal training schedule again, their preparation can be more focused and their performance more successful.

The Rams get back on the water on Saturday, May 1, when they travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Bucknell Invitational.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham found success at the Jesuit Invitational amid difficult circumstances.

By MICHAEL HERNANDEZ ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Every time I watch a soccer game, I have the chance to relax for 90 minutes and watch two teams play the worldwide game. The only thing better than a domestic league match is the Champions League because it includes the best teams in the world as they fight to win the prestigious title and bring glory to their fanbase. And over the weekend, there was a chance that all of this would have changed forever.

Over the weekend, 12 teams from Europe (six from England, three from Spain and three from Italy) announced the formation of a brand new European Super League. With this shocking announcement, UEFA, the governing body for all European soccer, condemned these actions and announced devastating consequences that could occur if the league goes through.

This proposed new Super League would have 20 teams split into two divisions of 10. Each team would play home and away against the nine opponents in its division.

The top four teams in each division would advance to a playoff round of quarterfinals, semifinals and final. As of now, there are only 12 founding clubs, but this is expected to increase to 15 clubs. The remaining five spots would be awarded to teams who can qualify based on their previous year.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal are the six English clubs. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are from Spain.

The Italian teams are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. This new league would replace the Champions League as the primary European competition since the best teams would play here instead.

The backlash was swift and immediate. The topic started trending on social media with outrage over this plan to change soccer forever.

The fans of the 12 teams who have publicly announced their intention to play in this league have called for the owners to change their minds

Page 15

and not ruin the game’s fundamentals.

On paper, this seems like a dream come true. We would have the best teams in Europe constantly playing against each other in clashes to win the trophy. However, there is more to see if you take a step back and think about it. The 15 founding clubs would always be entered into the Super League, regardless of their performances. This would create a sense of a closed league since spots are guaranteed instead of earned like the Champions League.

The league is also criticized because it was created for the sole purpose of making more money.

Each team that participates in this league will make approximately $400 million per year, which is four times the amount that Bayern Munich, the current Champions League holders, received when they won the trophy. Most of the fans and pundits view this as a cash grab for the owners of the clubs and frankly, they are right. This decision would ruin football. This would lead the teams to treat their other competitions, like their domestic leagues, as jokes since the real prize is the Super League. They could also use that money and buy all of the players that they could possibly want with their profits.

The big clubs would become richer and better while the lower clubs would suffer from a lack of talent.

Alexander Ceferin, UEFA President, has stated that any player that plays for any of those 12 teams will not be allowed to play for their national teams during international tournaments like the upcoming European Championships this summer and 2022 World Cup. UEFA is also focusing on kicking them out of any future Champions or Europa Leagues. They have stated that they will also be banned from playing in their domestic leagues or cups, making the Super League the only way for those teams to play soccer.

Finally, it was too much. After protests from fans and pundits alike, eight of the 12 clubs an-

nounced they are discontinuing their plans to enter the super league including all of the English clubs.

Additionally, the Super League announced that it was suspending the season as the number of teams dwindled down to four. The only teams that never officially backed out are Juventus and all of the Spanish clubs. The Super League lasted for two days, and in all honesty, it was two days too many.

Clubs mainly backed out because of the fans. Fans were stunned that the clubs were planning on changing soccer without their input. As a Liverpool supporter, I was disgusted by this cash grab and attempt to ruin the sport that I have loved all of my life. For a soccer fan, one of the best parts of the sport is its unpredictability and its surprises.

For example, Leicester City winning the Premier League with 5000-1 odds or Manchester United winning the Treble back in 1999.

Liverpool’s miraculous comeback against Barcelona to reach the Champions League final is another example. These achievements are fundamental to the DNA of those clubs. In soccer, anything can happen.

But the Super League would remove that possibility because it would eliminate the unpredictability and the underdog stories. These stories make soccer more than a sport.

Before Chelsea announced they were backing out, kickstarting today’s events, a massive crowd of Chelsea fans protested the new league. When it was announced, you could see the pure emotion from the fans as they realized that their club listened to them and made the right decision not for profit but for the club.

If this actually went through, the history of all of these clubs would become redundant. This would have killed soccer and the emotions that are essential to the game.

Soccer is much more than a sport; it is a place where people from all walks of life can relax and watch 11 people run around a field. The passion that comes from supporting a team can’t be described because it’s different for everyone. But knowing that we saved soccer, we can get back to what fans do best: supporting our teams and enjoying the beautiful game.

Softball Win Streak Ends with Series Split Against Army

By ALEXANDER WOLZ SPORTS EDITOR

All good things cannot last forever, and the same is true for the Fordham Softball winning streak.

After a 3-3 start to the season, the Rams reeled off twenty consecutive wins that featured perfect games, complete outings, home runs and everything in-between.

However, at some point, things were going to end. That they did against the same team that handed Fordham its first loss of the season in the opening game — Army West Point. The Patriot League team came ready to face Fordham this time, earning the first win of the series 4-3 on Saturday.

Fordham’s ace, graduate pitcher Madie Aughinbaugh, took the mound with her perfect 11-0 record on the line. Through six innings, she was up to form, allowing just five hits and a single run.

At that point, Fordham already held a two-run cushion. Just one inning later, Fordham pulled off a move they have many times before in the double steal. Senior outfielder Brianna Pinto walked to take first, proceeded to steal second, making her a perfect 22 of 22 in those attempts this season.

Aughinbaugh then singled to left, pushing Pinto to third and hence came the double steal. Now, with a comfortable 3-1, Fordham looked to be in good shape heading into the top of the seventh.

However, Army had other plans, giving a reminder of just how quickly outcomes can change.

Pinch hitter Kayla Edwards singled to add the winning run to the bases. A passed ball moved

them both into scoring position, and Aughinbaugh earned the second out with her eighth strikeout.

Neither mattered. Angelina Bebek laced a ball into right center and out of Bahoshy Field to give her three RBIs — all unearned against Aughinbaugh — and the lead.

Fordham went one-two-three in the bottom half to seal the crushing loss and an end to the win streak. However, there was no time to pout. Making amends in another tight battle in game two, the Rams pulled out a 3-2 victory.

In the second half of Fordham’s two-headed monster, sophomore pitcher Devon Miller took the mound this time and pitched the distance.

This time, Army jumped out to the early lead. Muffett earned a two-out single and was brought home by an Ally Snelling triple, both her and Miller’s first allowed on the season. Snelling was not done yet, as the Black Knights’ most prolific hitter struck again just two innings later with an RBI double into center field.

That, however, was all Army got on the afternoon. Miller allowed base runners, including a pair of doubles to put runners in scoring position, but worked out of each jam she faced, and Fordham did just enough at the plate.

The Rams’ first action came in the bottom of the third. Sophomore outfielder Michaela Carter singled to lead off the inning and then went ahead and stole second.

Pinto doubled into left, surprisingly failing to bring Carter home, but Aughinbaugh completed the job with a sacrifice fly.

In an even ball game where runs were hard to come by, Fordham

had the last laugh in the sixth, courtesy of another home run.

This time, it was Martine with her sixth rocket of the year that was enough to lend Fordham the lead, and despite some pressure from Army in the seventh, the game as well.

Day two was a test of depth for Fordham, sending out senior pitcher Anne Marie Prentiss in the opener and senior Gianna Ranieri for her first start in the second.

Prentiss, 3-0 on the season, delivered exactly the type of performance Fordham hoped to see.

After back-to-back singles from Hubertus and Enoch, Prentiss drove the former home with an extra base hit to hand Fordham the game’s first run. A key play at the plate on a grounder from sophomore Amanda Carey limited the damage to just that, however.

Fordham added the two-run cushion in the fourth innings thanks to the use of the long ball again. Hubertus sent one out of left field on the first pitch for her sixth home run of the season, and more impressively, 31st RBI. Fordham secured things in the bottom of the fifth with an unconventional home run of the inside the park variety. A fielding error advanced Carter all the way to second base, where Pinto scored both Carter and herself.

Army made things interesting as the day of home runs continued with a two-run blast in the top of sixth from Snelling, her first of two on the doubleheader. A single from Amanda Carey restored the Fordham lead to two, but head coach Melissa Inouye was not about to take another chance.

Prentiss earned the first two

outs of the seventh and looked to be on her way to a complete game until a single from Taylor Livingston. Inouye then turned to her bullpen, sending out Enoch to finish things off with a fielder’s choice. She earned her second save and Prentiss her fourth consecutive win.

Whereas the series’ first three matches were back-and-forth pitching battles, both teams decided to go out with some fireworks in the final game, a 9-8 victory for Army that saw a Fordham comeback fall just one run short.

Marking his first mound appearance of the season, Ranieri was understandably shaky in the opening inning. Leila Hurst singled to move Snelling over to second, and the latter was then brought home with the third consecutive single from Madi Gilmore. One run was in, but three more came as well.

Again, it was Grace Snyder with her second homer of the day to give Army a 4-0 lead.

After two walks, including a grueling 13 pitch at-bat to Annie Brock, Ranieri was pulled from the game with junior Makenzie McGrath asked to go the distance.

Her afternoon did not start off any better. Bebek doubled to right field to score Brock and Little from first base, and advanced to third herself on the throw. A groundout from Livingston was enough to score Bebek, and one more run came after a Snelling single and an RBI triple by Leila Hurst.

Fordham now had a major deficit to overcome, and for some time, it looked like they were unable to do so, blanked through three innings. However, in the fourth, Fordham got things going.

Four consecutive hits opened the inning, first a Martine single and a two-run blast at the hands of Aughinbaugh. Enoch then added a home run, her second of the series, to put three on the board for Fordham and bring them one step within striking distance.

In the sixth, the Rams fought back again. Now trailing by six runs and facing two outs after a double play, senior catcher Aubree Barney singled and legged around the bases to score after a triple into the right center field gap from Carter.

With speed on base, Pinto scorched a ball down the left field line to bring home Carter and then crossed home plate herself after a single from Hubertus. Following that flurry of hits, Fordham creeped back into the game with three runs, behind by an equal amount, 9-6.

That lone insurance run — a homer from Snelling in the top of the sixth — ultimately proved to be more than just that. On their last breath, Prentiss belted a ball out of Bahoshy to bring Fordham within two. The Barney-Carter combination struck in the exact same way — single from the former and triple from the latter — to inch within a single run and put the tying run just 60 feet from the plate.

Fordham was unable to finish the job, though, and its valiant comeback fell one step short after a foul out from Pinto ended the final game 9-8.

All in all, the weekend ended in a deadlock, with Army claiming the temporary edge in the overall season series. Fordham will have a chance to even things up on May 4.

SPORTS

Page 16

April 21, 2021

The Fordham Ram

Nihad Musovic’s Mission to Change Youth Basketball in New York

By ALEXANDER WOLZ SPORTS EDITOR

New York is a mecca of basketball, whether that’s under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden or the blacktops of Brooklyn. However, things look much different today than they ever have before, especially on the youth basketball scene.

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic aside, organized basketball can become an expensive venture.

Volunteer coaches with little expectations or experience can be tasked with leading a group of young men at their most crucial moment. And ultimately, the fun is far too often taken out of the beautiful game.

Nihad Musovic’s experience was a bit different, however. Growing up as a multi-sport athlete in Yonkers, Musovic ultimately found his footing in basketball. “I don’t necessarily think I knew immediately … around seventh or eighth grade; things just started to click.”

And it was in no small part due to the environment around him; he had supportive parents and a well-run CYO system that promoted growth and development. Ultimately, he said, “I’m pretty good. I like it. I’m getting really good at a quick pace. So I said, let’s do it.”

Part of that experience came from Fordham Prep, and the ‘it’ in this case meant taking basketball one step further, both at Fordham University and with the Montenegrin U-20 team.

Musovic’s Fordham experience was not marked by victories on the court, falling behind in a very talented Atlantic 10, but he took away more than that.

“The people that I shared that court with and every day practicing and on road trips are just really great people who loved basketball, and we cared about each other … There was still a good team aspect and atmosphere that existed beyond the wins and losses, so I’m always going to remember that.”

Musovic’s real basketball education came in Montenegro, training eight hours each day en route to the European Championships.

It certainly came with its chal-

lenges, as Musovic recalled: “That was tough too because as much as I am Montenegrin — My parents were born there and I speak it fluently, and I love the culture and all that — they still look at you as an outsider, so you go there, and you’re the American boy. You’re not one of us, so to speak.”

However, basketball bends beyond those boundaries, and Musovic was able to play on a significant stage and against some noteworthy players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“To be able to share the court with someone like that is unbelievable, considering I’m just a guy from Yonkers.”

But even at the level, Musovic never lost sight of his roots. When it came time to graduate, he had a decision to make about where to go next. His first plan? To travel, enjoy the summer and savor the last days of being a kid after four tiresome years of Division I basketball. It also led to a revelation.

“I just remember thinking to myself; I can’t sit at a desk for the next 25 years. I gotta figure something else out,” he said.

Instead, Musovic tapped back into the game he loved and the struggles that he had with it. “I just remembered all those rough experiences that I had, and if I didn’t have my mental state, if I wasn’t strong, I probably would have quiet basketball … Like most kids do.”

“I think that’s what unfortunately is missing in America right now, is the fact that we only value coaching really at the upper, higher levels, and then the rest is just the wild, wild west,” he said.

How does a problem turn into a solution, however? Musovic says it is hard to explain. “I got started there. I just believed that I could — beyond whatever I knew about basketball — just provide a better environment for kids to learn …”

He gambled in the form of coaching just a single kid on his block in New York for six months. Word then started to spread, though. That one player turned into 40 at a camp right here with the Fordham women’s basketball team. “Ever since then, it kind

of just started flowing.”

Thus, 6th Boro Hoops was born, a youth basketball academy in New York focused on developing its players as both athletes and people. Beyond just camps, 6th Boro has evolved into individual and group training programs, instilled a fleet of coaches and, most notably, a full-fledged AAU program.

That wasn’t the initial plan but rather a request from the parents. “We want our kids to play for you guys.

They’re training with you; they love you; they’re learning more from you than they are from their other coach.

So what’s the point?”

In just his second year of having teams with the program, Musovic realized he was onto something, leading a team to the Jr. NBA Global Championship Final Four in its first year of existence.

From having a fleet of six-foot 14-year-olds on the roster to meeting Vince Carter and Dwyane Wade amid a fully catered trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, it was an experience he referred to as “otherworldly.”

And it was an equally memorable experience on the floor. Knowing the talent he had, Musovic recalled the message he told the team: “Listen, there is no team you can’t beat. You guys are good enough. You guys are that good right now. But it’s when you go down ten, what’s gonna happen? … Are you going to lift your teammates up or are you going to drop them?”

That isolated experience echoes so much of what Musovic hopes for in his players, and it is not the only success story he has to share. Take the 2019 City Championship with Fordham Prep as one example, or the myriad of collegiate players and those on that track.

“Just thinking about coaching a game on national television, I didn’t think I’d ever get there. Let alone at the age of 24 with a group of kids that were just unbelievable to have,” he said.

“In the summer we could only do outdoor work so I did it in my drive-

COURTESY OF NIHAD MUSOVIC FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Musovic coaching his Jr. NBA team at the Global Championships.

way, and they were there every day helping out with the younger kids, wanting to be a part of it. And that’s just important for me to see because it clearly helped them in some way that they feel attached to the program, and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.”

Musovic understands the challenges that children face, with his youth experience standing in contrast to that. “I say it all the time, I was insanely lucky to have the upbringing I had at home. And the coaches I had, for a large part of my life, were coaches that I could still call to this day, I still had fond memories of them. It was that feeling of those guys had belief in me and they never tried to hold me back but rather only believe that you could do it, try it, go for it. And a lot of kids don’t have that.”

6th Boro’s philosophy recognizes that basketball, and sports in general, transcends beyond the play on the floor. It is about the emotions, the relationships and the fun of the game that cannot be lost. That is what is so special about youth sports and what, unfortunately, has been lost in it. For Musovic, “at the end of the day, it’s just the kids.”

Musovic jokingly said the sport can be changed, but that love will still be there, and he strives for his players to feel the same way. “We want them to always feel that when they’re on the court, yes, our common goal is winning, yes, our common goal is getting better, but our common goal is also, and really the golden rule is, to be

happy and have fun.”

“They know they can come and joke around for ten minutes and then get to work. They know that they can do certain things and be themselves, and it’s okay to be themselves, and we encourage their whatever-it-is.”

It’s part of what makes 6th Boro so appealing, why it has grown to its successful point and why that commitment has never wavered for Musovic.

Evident in his work toward a master’s in Sports Coaching at West Virginia, it is a mission that is only getting started.

As Musovic says, 6th Boro has become a “staple in the lower Westchester, Bronx area,” and there is a desire to grow beyond it, but quality will never be lost. “It’s getting there, but it just has to be a perfect fit.”

And for Musovic, that fit is perfect right where it is. “6th Boro is their own. The guys that have played for me and are in college already playing and the high schoolers now … it brings a smile to my face like it’s theirs. It’s not my program, it’s their program, and they know that because they feel at home there.”

“It just means a lot that I can do something and help them and give them a different view of things and a different perspective and hopefully a different path that they can try and see if it works out for them,” he said.

It’s the reason Musovic started, the reason he is still going and the reason 6th Boro Hoops stands where it does today. And no matter what stage Musovic is standing on next, that will always be the case.

Baseball Drops Doubleheader with Towson, Falls to Army

By JIMMY SULLIVAN

SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

This was a bizarre week for Fordham Baseball from the start.

The Rams were supposed to take on the University of Rhode Island this weekend in the Bronx. Rhode Island was unable to play this weekend due to issues with COVID-19 contact tracing. After a successful week in which it won four out of five games, Fordham wanted to continue playing. The Rams already had a scheduled opponent, Army West Point, for this past Tuesday but wanted to add some action this weekend.

Fordham ultimately scheduled Towson University for a Saturday doubleheader, and the Rams looked to continue their winning ways.

Instead, Fordham found difficult matchups this week, and a run-in with an old friend did them in along the way.

In Saturday’s first game, the Rams got a shortened outing from senior pitcher Matt Mikulski. The star lefthander tossed four scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking three while giving up three hits. The issue for Mikulski, though, was a high pitch count, as patient Towson atbats forced him to throw 92 pitches in those four innings. While Mikulski was able to escape without allowing any runs, his high pitch count

forced him out of the game after four innings.

The Rams scratched across their first run of the game in the third, when junior outfielder Jake Guercio grounded into a double play with the bases loaded. In the fifth, with Gabe Karslo on the mound, Fordham catcher Will Findlay attempted to pick Towson’s Nolan Young off first.

The throw went awry, and former Ram Billy Godrick came home to score the tying run.

The Rams struck back in the sixth, but once again, Fordham could not get more out of a bases-loaded opportunity. Senior first baseman Nick Labella grounded into a double play, and while it drove in a run, the Rams were unable to get anything more out of a promising rally.

As Fordham tried to piece together the final few innings of the game, more trouble emerged. In the eighth, with freshman Declan Lavelle on the mound, Towson started its comeback. Young whacked a double down the left-field line to start the inning, but he was later retired at third base on a fielder’s choice. After a one-out walk to Javon Fields, he and Noah Cabrera attempted a double steal of second and third base. Another throwing error by the Fordham catcher — this time junior Andy Semo — allowed Cabrera to come home with the tying run.

In the ninth, after Fordham failed to get anything going in the top half of the inning, the Tigers continued to attack Lavelle. Nick Brown led off the inning with a single, and Jacob Terao followed with a single of his own. Lavelle was removed in favor of senior pitcher Joe Quintal, and the next batter, Brandon Austin, bunted to third base. Fordham infielder Jack Harnisch committed a fielding error, which loaded the bases. With no one out in the inning, Danny Becerra grounded into a fielder’s choice, but the bases were still loaded.

An opportunity to win the game with in the ninth was left to Godrick, who spent the previous four seasons in a Fordham uniform. Godrick delivered, hitting an RBI single to right and winning the first game for Towson, 3-2. Lavella earned the loss, despite the fact that both of the runs he allowed were unearned. The unsung hero for Towson was reliever Kody Resser, who threw four scoreless innings in relief and earned the win for his efforts.

In the second game, Fordham once again jumped on top. Labella scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch in the second. While Towson’s James Lysaght hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning, Fordham answered with two runs in each of the next two innings. In the third, Semo drove in a run with a double,

and in the fourth, junior Jason Coules drove in Findlay with an RBI single.

But Fordham junior Garrett Crowley, who pitched so well in his last outing against St. Bonaventure, gave it right back in the bottom half of the fourth. Austin hit a drive into deep left field in the fourth inning to make it a 3-3 ballgame and kickstart a Towson comeback. Fordham’s offense floundered in the next three innings, unable to get a runner on base in that time. In the seventh, Godrick struck again, putting the Tigers in front with an RBI double.

After Fordham was unable to cash in an opportunity in the eighth, Austin drove in his third run of the day with a double. Towson pitcher Austin Weber locked down the Rams 1-23 in the ninth, and Towson swept the hastily-scheduled doubleheader with two close victories.

On Tuesday, Fordham visited Army after the Rams defeated the Black Knights 3-2 last week. This week’s game didn’t go so swimmingly for the Rams.

In the midweek game, Fordham head coach Kevin Leighton used an “opener” strategy, turning to freshman pitcher James Springer and piecing the rest of the game together from there. Springer struggled in the first, allowing an RBI single to Carter Macias and an RBI double to

Nick Manesis to negate Labella’s RBI in the first.

Leighton went to his bullpen after the first, enlisting sophomore Alex Henderson to pitch the second. His first inning went even worse than Springer’s. After allowing two runners to reach base, Henderson conceded a two-run triple off the bat of Macias and an RBI single by Anthony Giachin. The game had been blown open with two outs in the second inning, and it was up to the Rams to try to mount a comeback.

Ultimately, Fordham was unsuccessful in its comeback attempt.

Giachin’s two-run homer off senior Alex Hernandez made it 8-1.The only other offense Fordham could muster was a sacrifice fly by senior infielder C.J. Vazquez in the ninth inning. Junior Ben Kovel, freshman Brooks Ey and Quintal pieced together four scoreless innings in relief, but Fordham could not get meaningfully closer for the rest of the game.

With the three losses this week, Fordham’s record on the year stands at 16-10. This week’s events shouldn’t affect Fordham’s quest for an Atlantic 10 title, as long as the Rams don’t let it. Fordham will look to get back in the win column against St. Joseph’s University this weekend, with four games scheduled over three days starting on Friday in Philadelphia.