Volume 102, Issue 2

The Fordham Ram Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 Volume 102, Issue 2

FordhamRam.com

January 29, 2020

PVH Partners With Gabelli

University Extends Shuttle Hours

By HASNA CERAN

By SARAH HUFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The fashion giant PVH Corp., owner of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and IZOD, has established a new partnership with the Gabelli School of Business in the school’s centennial year. The partnership intends to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability.

PVH Corp. announced the partnership, along with a contribution of $1 million towards the Gabelli School of Business, on Jan. 2 of this year. According to PVH Corp.’s press release on their website, this curriculum-oriented partnership aims to develop students into the conscientious business leaders of tomorrow using a range of conferences and new academic proposals for undergraduate and graduate students.

PVH Corp. chairman and

SEE PVH, PAGE 3

ABBEY DELK FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Janaya Khan lectured about activism at Fordham Law School last Thursday. Their lecture was part of MLK Jr. Week.

Fordham Hosts Janaya Khan as Keynote Speaker for MLK Jr. Week

By ABBEY DELK

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Thursday night, Fordham students, faculty members and administrators gathered at the Fordham Law School to hear Janaya Khan, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Canada, speak.

Khan was invited to be a keynote speaker as part of Fordham’s Martin Luther King Jr. Week 2020 celebration. The week is meant “to honor, celebrate and explore the legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement on today’s civil and human rights agenda,” according to an email sent from

the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.

Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer, said at the lecture event that he hopes students will also learn the full story behind Dr. King, including his radical and often-overlooked SEE KHAN, PAGE 3

Public Safety Plans for Winter

By GRACE McLAUGHLIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF MEGHAN KEOUGH

Fordham’s team won more than $50,000 in institutional awards and individual scholarships at the Deloitte competition.

Five Fordham Students Win Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Study Competition

By SARAH HUFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

Five Fordham students made up the winning team at the 19th annual Deloitte FanTAXtic national case study competition on Jan. 17 and 18 at Deloitte Univer-

sity in Dallas, Texas.

The students competed against nine other universities from around the country in this national competition. Each of the nine universities that competed won the Deloitte FanTAXtic competition in their respective regions.

The competition required students to present the best analysis on a complex, issue-driven business tax case.

This year’s case challenged students to analyze the impact of using debt versus equity to expand operations for a startup venture, according to a SEE DELOITTE, PAGE 6

When there is a prospect of snow, many Fordham students wait for an alert from Public Safety announcing that classes have been cancelled. Fordham Public Safety sends out severe weather alerts through email and certain updates about campus closures and reopenings through text messages.

On Jan. 7, most of the university’s staff and students were still on Christmas vacation, but Public Safety sent out an alert over text messages to confirm that the system of communication would work efficiently in the event of a real emergency.

These alerts are sent out to all registered phone numbers and email addresses.

John Carroll, associate vice president of Public Safety, said the Emergency Management Team, which consists of members and faculty from the Fordham community, always tries to notify the rest of the university of a closure or cancellation with SEE WINTER, PAGE 6

On Thursday Jan. 23, Public Safety sent an email informing the university community that the hours of the late night shuttle service to the D train and Belmont community would be extended to start at 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

Robert Fitzer, director of Public Safety for Rose Hill and Westchester, said the decision was made in response to a meeting with representatives from the United Student Government.

Kaylee Wong, GSB ’20, executive president of USG, said John Carroll, associate vice president of Public Safety, and Fitzer were extremely receptive to the idea.

“When we explained the ways that we thought it would benefit all students, especially commuter students, they understood our reasoning and told us they would reach out and see if it was possible,” she said. “We were so shocked that the next day they confirmed that it would be extended by the end of the week.”

Fitzer said Public Safety surveyed the local businesses along Fordham Road and realized that many of the businesses are now closing earlier.

“We decided for the safety of our students we would expand the hours to 8 p.m.,” he said. “This will be of great benefit to many of our commuter students that have class until 9:15 p.m. and utilize the subway at Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse.”

The initiative was originally proposed by senator Alex Chavez, GSB ’23.

“I proposed this initiative because I noticed the need that many students had regarding safety at night,” he said. “During the winter, the sun sets at around 5:30 p.m. or even earlier. Many commuter students that stayed for events and night classes that SEE RAM VAN, PAGE 5

in this issue

Opinion

Page 7

Problematic Rikers Must Close

Sports

Page 24

Kobe Bryant Remembered

Culture

Page 14

Students Get Rowdy at Rod’s Coffee House

NEWS

Page 2

PUBLIC SAFETY BRIEFS Jan. 22 Walsh Family Library 8:05 p.m.

Public Safety was notified that a student was trapped in an elevator in the Walsh Family Library.

FDNY was called and removed the student without injury or incident.

Jan. 23 Hoffman and E.191st Street 9:45 a.m.

An employee at Fordham reported that he parked his vehicle on the corner of Hoffman and E. 191st Street. He returned to his vehicle at 12 p.m. and noticed that his laptop bag was missing and that items were removed from the armrest and glove compartment. Public Safety is currently investigating.

Jan. 23 McGinley Center 10:10 a.m.

Public Safety received a call for a fire alarm in the McGinley Center. The building was evacuated, and the fire alarm control panel was reset.

Jan. 25 McGinley Center 1:05 p.m.

A student reported that a black hooded sweatshirt that he had left in the fitness center was missing when he returned. Public Safety is currently investigating.

Jan. 27 O’Hare Hall 9:30 p.m.

A student reported that his laundry was removed from the O’Hare laundry room. Public Safety is currently investigating.

— Compiled by Hasna Ceran

Follow us on Twitter! @TheFordhamRam

January 29, 2020

Administration Explains Sustainability Plans Student Groups Demand Additional Action

By GRACIE DAVIS STAFF WRITER

Fordham University began overhauling its sustainability efforts in 2005, which Vice President of Administration Marco Valera designates as Fordham’s “baseline year.” In 2007, it joined the New York City Carbon Challenge, which involved reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017.

As The Ram previously reported, after missing the goal by 5.4%, the university committed to a new goal of reducing emissions by 40% by 2030.

In order to do so, Fordham began replacing over 100,000 lightbulbs at both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses with energy efficient LED bulbs in 2015. Valera said the project is almost completed and will theoretically conserve 712,000 kWh of energy annually.

He said Fordham has the largest solar array installed in New York City of any other university or college. It is located on top of the parking garage and provides about a megawatt of solar energy.

He said the university has entered into a 20-year agreement with a third party provider to purchase 2.6 more megawatts worth of solar panels, which would be located off-site. Valera said he is also looking to install another megawatt worth of solar panels at the Westchester campus.

Fordham University is also involved in climate research at biological field stations at the Calder Center in Armonk.

“You really don’t necessarily see our sustainability efforts — a lot of them are behind the scenes and have to do with more efficient equipment that uses less electricity and so on,” said Valera.

Gabby Perez, co-president of Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ), FCRH ’21, said she is not impressed with Fordham’s efforts so far.

“This school has a long way to go,” she said.

Perez said she is critical of Fordham’s use of fossil fuels, its lack of sustainability specialists in the administration and the Ram Vans’ use of normal fuel instead of biofuel.

“I want this campus to divest from fossil fuels and run on 100% clean energy. I want gardens of beautiful native New York flow-

JENNIFER HOANG/THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham University plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions for sustainability purposes by at least 40% by 2030.

ers everywhere,” she said. “I want this school to stop selling plastic bottles and instead have a bunch of refill stations everywhere, I want this school to compost its food waste instead of throwing it in the trash every night.”

USG Senator Maya Bentovim, GSB ’23, is leading a push to hire a commercial compost collector for McGinley’s food waste, although they have denied Perez in the past.

“Compared to our peer institutions, Fordham is underdeveloped in a lot of different areas of sustainability,” said Maggie Tattersfield, Vice President of Sustainability and chair of the Sustainability Committee in USG, FCRH ’22.

“My dream for Fordham is 100% renewable energy, zero-waste dining locations, energy-saving lights, water-saving restroom facilities, compost on campus, LEED-certified buildings and so much more.”

Within USG, there are six subcommittees working on concrete initiatives on campus and two subcommittees working with the organizations Environment America and Herbicide Free Campus.

Some of these initiatives include Fordham Flea, which launched an Instagram page within the past week and looks to sell used, high-quality clothing to Fordham students. Tattersfield said having a local version of something like Depop or Poshmark eliminates the waste involved in shipping to non-local locations.

Additionally, the USG Sustainability Committee is rereleasing a petition for Fordham students, asking Fordham to convert to

100% renewable energy. Valera said he does not see this as a possibility.

“It’s quite a challenge,” he said.

“One of the things that I see is the infrastructure around us is a significant issue of getting to 100% renewables or zero emissions. As long as the energy we’re getting is from non-renewables, I don’t think it’s something that’s achievable, even though we try to do the best we can inside our campus.”

St. Rose’s Garden, which is located just behind Faculty Memorial Hall, is another place where Fordham takes steps toward sustainability. Joe Laske, FCRH ’21, and Owen Socher, FCRH ’21 ,both joined the garden during their sophomore years.

Socher said he joined the club because it was an opportunity to experience nature in the midst of a busy, urban setting like New York City.

“A lot of people who come from city backgrounds don’t have many rural areas to experience this, so it’s a good chance to give back,” Socher said.

The garden, which is a wing of SEAJ, tries to host regular potlucks which, of course, are vegetarian.

“The communal aspect of this place is really cool — it’s an environment based around mutual respect for each other and cooperation,” said Laske. “It’s a very hands-on approach, and people can actually see the impacts. If you compost, you can see your food go and turn into soil, which

can go and create more food.”

Both Laske and Socher said people are dissociated from the production of their food.

“I think that alienation of the consumer from the production of what they consume has some serious impacts on society where you lose the empathy of what’s going into things that you consume,” he said. “I think that any kind of program or event or community that tries to bring people closer to their roots is so helpful for a society.”

Socher agreed that it is important to know where your food comes from.

St. Rose’s garden contains eight garden beds, several compost piles and a newly-added greenhouse which are open to anyone who is willing to participate. Both students said they are excited for the future of the garden.

“It’s not about a couple people doing a lot — it’s about a lot of people doing a little. I think that even [the garden] is just one step toward making Fordham a more sustainable place,” Laske said.

Valera also said even individual students can have an impact.

“As an individual, you can make an effort. You can actually have an impact by looking at your own lifestyle. We can all collectively work toward these goals,” said Valera.

To learn more about Fordham University’s sustainability efforts, visit www.fordham.edu/ info/23673/sustainability_at_ fordham.

Saturday Feb. 1

Tuesday Feb. 4

Circle K KEEN

FMA Weekly Meetings Spring Semester

This Week at Fordham

Thursday Jan. 30

Friday Jan. 31

Friday Jan. 31

RHA FDM Promotional Dinner

MSA Jummah Prayer

Peaer, Spirit Was and Student Opener Jadeworm

Join the Resident Halls Association for the Fordham Dance Marathon Promotional Dinner. Fordham Dance Marathon hosts events all year that raise money for the B+ Foundation, which is working to combat pediatric cancer.

Every Friday the Muslim Student Association holds Jummah Prayer.

The prayer room in Faber is too small, therefore, they have requested to use the classroom in McGinley so as many Muslims as possible can pray there.

Come out to Rodrigue’s Coffee House for a fun night of music, including New York City based bands Peaer and rock group Spirit Was. These bands have been on tour around the country. The concert will be opened by Jadeworm.

McGinley Ballroom 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

McGinley 236 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Rodrigue’s Coffee House 8:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

St. Mary's Recreational Center 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

The Circle K student organization will lead a trip to the St. Mary’s Recreational Center. There they will facilitate work with children with disabilities. All Fordham students are welcome and encouraged to participate in this volunteer opportunity.

Dealy 201 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Join the Fordham Marketing Association for their general meeting.

Their meetings include professor keynotes and networking panel discussions. The meetings rotate between different classrooms, but will be held in Dealy 201 this week.

NEWS

Januaray 29, 2020

Page 3

Gabelli School of Business Receives $1 Million Donation FROM PVH, PAGE 1

CEO Emanuel “Manny” Chirico, GSB ’79, is an alumnus of the Gabelli School of Business. Two of his sons also attended the Gabelli School of Business. Chirico is currently on the Board of Trustees of Fordham University.

Chirico gave multiple talks to Fordham students and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham University in 2018. He said he supported the partnership in a press release for PVH “This partnership demonstrates PVH and Fordham’s shared commitment to educate the future by harnessing the power of corporate responsibility for both financial successes and societal impact," he said.

According to PVH Corp.’s website, the company's commitment to corporate responsibility in the pursuit of sustainable fashion has been especially prevalent over the past few years with it’s Forward Fashion strategy, which promotes corporate responsibility in the world of apparel.

The corporation described several steps it took for the establishment of corporate responsibility in its 2018 CR Report, such as signing on to initiatives promoting sustainability and the circular economy. One such initiative is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular Initiative, which would help to reduce the waste created by

MIKE DOBUSKI/THE FORDHAM RAM

PVH Corp. donated $1 million to the Gabelli School of Business in addition to starting a partnership program.

the production of new garments by ensuring that clothes can be easily recycled and reused.

“The concept of business with purpose is deeply embedded in our DNA at the Gabelli School,” said Donna Rapaccioli Ph.D.,

dean of the Gabelli School of Business, about the partnership’s particular focus on sustainability.

“People are more aware than ever that business has a tremendous potential to address social

and environmental needs,” she said. “Partnerships like this one will let our students live out their commitment to doing good through business."

Rapaccioli said this sustainability-focused partnership aims

to take a holistic approach to impact by promoting sustainability for both students and faculty. "[Partnerships] help us see that those lessons on business with purpose aren’t only lessons in theory, but things they’ll be faced with practicing when they leave here and quickly have to make crucial decisions as business leaders," said Rapaccioli.

PVH executives will also be teaching Gabelli students in Ground Floor classes about sustainability in supply chains and judging their business plan competition.

According to Rappacioli, PVH Corp. will partner with the Gabelli School of Business and Ernst & Young, the leading multinational professional services company, for the first of a series of yearly conferences, said Rapaccioli.

On Mar. 5, the first of these conferences, “Work 2040: Future of Work in a Sustainable World Conference,” will be held in the McNally amphitheater at Lincoln Center.

“The agreement also allows [the university] to expand our CSR and sustainability curriculum across all programs, and to enhance research by funding a faculty fellowship program, a visiting scholars program and a new global grant program that will really help form [the university] into the leading hub for the study of CSR,” said Rapaccioli.

Khan Lectures About the Black Lives Matter Movement FROM KHAN, PAGE 1

anti-capitalist and anti-war views.

“Tonight’s speaker embodies [Dr. King’s] spirit,” Zapata said, introducing Khan.

On their personal website, Khan is described as “a Black, queer, gender-nonconforming activist, staunch Afrofuturist, boxer and social-justice educator.”

Khan and their co-founder Ali started the Black Lives Matter chapter in Toronto after the murder of Jermaine Carby by police in Brampton, Ontario. According to their website, the two activists have “worked to resist anti-Black racisms in the Greater Toronto Area,” since then. Khan also serves as an international ambassador for the Black Lives Matter Network.

Khan opened the lecture by recognizing the question that many minority groups in America have heard: “Do you belong here?”

They talked about the difference between how people with privilege carry themselves versus how those without power exist in the United States.

To illustrate this contrast, Khan talked about the highlypublicized conflict in 2019 between Native American activist Nathan Phillips and a white teenager, Nick Sandmann. Khan said the difference in how the two parties were treated after their confrontation went viral.

Sandmann was invited onto talk shows and celebrated while Phillips’ side of the story went largely ignored.

ABBEY DELK FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Students went up to Janaya Khan after their lecture at Fordham Law School to ask questions and say thank you.

Khan said they remember that when Sandmann was asked about the conflict, his response was, “I had every right to be there.”

Khan said that for members of minority groups across the country, this statement would not be received the same way it would be from a young white man.

They drew a comparison between how the left embraced the activism of the teenagers protesting gun rights after the Parkland mass shooting but criticized this same spirit in young black people at the outset of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“What do you think it does to us as a society when we decide some children are worth more than others? What does it do to our humanity?” they said.

Khan said they observed leadership and power as a part of Black Lives Matter, despite the fact that a large portion of the public is reluctant to praise the movement or recognize its accomplishments.

They also said black activists struggle against certain thinking.

“On some level, we believe black people deserve what happens to them,” Khan said.

However, Khan also said listen-

ers should look to forge bonds and relationships with others, even if their beliefs do not always perfectly align.

“Sometimes we have to go into the place of tension,” Khan said.

At the end of the event, Khan turned to the young people in the crowd to give them advice for entering activism.

“We expect queer folks ... to come out ... But every single one of us needs to come out of the closet as freedom fighters and revolutionaries,” Khan said.

A true activist is “simply the person that you need most in your

most vulnerable moment. That’s it,” said Khan.

They asked each member of the audience to recognize their power as individuals. Khan said people idolize figures like MLK Jr. and Malcolm X without realizing they were not born the heroes they became.

“No one starts out as remarkable ... We become remarkable when we fight for freedom and when we fight for justice,” they said.

As Khan concluded, the activist was met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, said Khan truly reached the audience with their message.

“It was an invitation, not a lecture ... A necessary conversation,” he said.

In the question and answer session after the talk, students and faculty members were able to interact with Khan more directly.

Audience members asked them questions on topics ranging from what Khan dubbed their “rant on billionaires” to their struggles with self-care as an activist whose day-to-day is often filled with tension and difficult moments.

“It’s been a process ... to use this idea of love to build connections ... And I box,” said Khan.

Afterward, many students stuck around to talk to Khan one-onone and express their own experiences to the activist. They shook hands and shared jokes as well as serious moments of reflection.

However, the most common exchange was simply, “Thank you.”

NEWS

Page 4

January 29, 2020

Research Spotlight

USG Column

Student Researches Gender Gap in Positivity Discovers Language Associations and Bias

Senate Discusses Housing

By ALEX PARKER

By KRISTEN McNEAREY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Henry Zink, FCRH ’20, understands the power of words more than anyone. It is the focus of his research at the EEG Lab for Language and Multilingualism Research on campus, run by Sarah Grey, Ph.D. Most of the lab focuses on studying the difference between bilinguals and monolinguals by using an electroencephalogram (EEG), a series of electrodes placed on a person’s head that measures the brain’s electrical output. Zink, a psychology major, has worked on various projects in the lab as a research assistant since last year. He was even listed as a co-author on a study that was presented at a conference in Montreal this past fall.

However, Zink said he wanted to take a slightly different approach for his senior thesis project for the Honors program.

“I was looking for something that fused our linguistics work with psychological theory, which is my field,” he said.

The official title of his study is “Effects of Western Culture and Sex Differences on Electrophysiological Brain Responses to Language-Induced Self-Positivity Bias.” It focuses on the way people associate different positively or negatively connotated words with themselves.

“There’s a natural tendency for people to associate positive words with themselves and disassociate negative adjectives with themselves,” Zink said.

“What I’m doing is looking at how those results are present in our brain’s electrical activity.”

Zink said other researchers have show that there is a significant response in the brain.

His research is specifically focused on how two factors affect the response: a Western cultural setting and biological sex.

The United Student Government (USG) Senate reflected on recent successes and announced action plans for the semester at their meeting this past Thursday.

Executive President Kaylee Wong, GSB ’20, spoke about her experience at the Jesuit Student Leadership Conference during the winter break.

She said sessions focused on marketing, divestment, and diversity and inclusion, specifically LGBTQ+ issues.

Executive Vice President Ashley Qamar, GSB ’20, who also attended the conference, said some of the issues that came up in discussions included bias reporting, paid working positions for students and gender-inclusive housing.

In a joint effort with USG, the Jesuit Student Government Alliance wrote a gender-inclusive housing policy. Qamar presented a final draft of the document to be approved by the Senate. She said the goals of the policy are to encourage student activism, engage the larger student body in conversation and show transgender and gender non-conforming students recognition and support on campus.

“We want to address systemic barriers that prevent students from feeling that our campuses are their home,” she said.

The statement calls for the presence of dorms that are not based on traditional gender standards, as well as gender-inclusive bathrooms throughout campus. Sen.Tyler Raciti, FCRH ’21, spoke about the importance of showing solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community at a Jesuit university.

The senate approved Historical Society as an official club. President Kathleen Collins, FCRH ’21, said the club will allow for students to understand Fordham’s legacy more deeply, explore New York City’s past, conduct research projects, apply for federal landmark status and express their interest in history.

Collins said she hopes to have biweekly meetings that include watching documentaries and hosting guest speakers, as well as going on local excursions to museums and working on long-term historic preservation projects.

The USG is also looking to improve its social media presence. Senator Emily Silfies, FCRH ’20, said she has been working to gain an Instagram following for the Dean’s Council account and would like to feature students who are participating in research on campus. Vice President of Communications Thomas Reuter, FCRH '22, spoke about enhancing USG’s website and newsletter.

Sen. Domenic Setaro, FCRH ’20, announced a new program with Aramark, titled “Rams for Rams,” in which students who are not able to afford a meal plan can request one for free on behalf of students who choose to donate their extra swipes.

Setaro said he has also worked with the Dining Committee to bring new furniture to Cosi this semester.

Sen. Carlos Rico, FCRH ’21, announced a mic check event on April 3 at 7 p.m. in McGinley. The event is being co-sponsored by CSA, ASILI and the Bronx African American History Project.

COURTESY OF HENRY ZINK

Henry Zink is studying the way people associate words with themselves based on connotation for his senior thesis.

To collect his data, Zink fits participants with an EEG cap and then asks them to read a series of sentences.

While they are reading, he monitors their brainwaves on the EEG. After they leave, he analyzes the data to determine whether the factors he is researching had an effect on the results.

Zink said that working on other projects in the lab with. Grey has helped prepare him to lead his own project.

“I had learned a lot about research methods in my classes,

but getting to actually take part in the research process gave me a much keener insight into a lot of the intricacies and details that go into a study,” he said.

While there has been research on this topic before, Zink noted that it is important for scientists to continue to reevaluate their conclusions.

“That’s how a lot of this research works,” Zink said. “You find something and then you either add something or you tweak it or you see if it’s replicable in your own study. More studies in more contexts equals more con-

HUNTER BENEGAS/THE FORDHAM RAM

Photo of the Week: The longstanding Duane Library is now the home of the theology department, Butler Commons and the admissions office. Last year it housed the Metropolitan Museum of Art'sreproduction of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

crete information.”

Zink is still in the middle of collecting data. He hopes that by the end of the project he will have around 30 participants in the study.

In addition to defending his thesis, a process where his mentor and other professors will critique his findings and ask questions while determining his grade, Zink will also present his project at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.

Although Zink intends to pursue a career in psychology, he said he is not sure he will continue his research on this topic after his thesis. However, he said he still thinks the experience running his own research study will help him on his professional path.

“It’s definitely been a big part of my application process to graduate school,” he said. “In psychology, as in many of the other social sciences, research experience is a very key part of admission to a doctoral program.”

If Zink could give advice to anyone looking to pursue research later on down the road, he would tell them to get started now.

“The ability to lead a research project, which involves applying for a grant, doing the background research and designing the stimuli, running the experiment yourself and presenting the findings, I believe that has been looked on very favorably by the graduate schools I applied to,” Zink said.

He said he encourages anybody interested in research post-graduation to look into opportunities to do research in undergrad.

NEWS

January 29, 2020

Page 5

Public Safety Announces D Train Shuttle Service Extension FROM RAM VAN, PAGE 1

ended at 9:15 p.m. had to wait up to 40 minutes at the bus stop just to go home. Also, many off-campus students who wanted to get to their apartments would have to walk through snow and slippery sidewalks at night, which increased the risk of accidents.”

Chavez said he thinks that the new changes will help students who have a long commute and will increase student safety, positively enhancing students’ experiences.

Wong said she thought it was extremely important to bring Chavez’s idea to Public Safety because the extended hours would be beneficial during the early dark hours in the winter. She said it would also allow students who take night classes or stay on campus late to utilize the service more often.

According to the email, the shuttle service hours would start at 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m., effective Friday, Jan. 24. The service will continue to be provided for free.

The vans will operate seven days a week between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Two vans will go to-and-from the D train Fordham Road-Grand Concourse stop at East 188th Street and the Bathgate entrance to Rose Hill’s Campus.

There will always be at least one van at the subway station. The service will be reduced to one van traveling back and forth to the D train during winter and summer breaks.

“As always, our primary concern

JENNIFER HOANG/THE FORDHAM RAM

Public Safety announced that the Ram Van shuttle service to the D train would be offered earlier than it originally was. The shuttle will now operate at 8 p.m.

is the safety of our Fordham community members,” said Fitzer.

“I anticipate that we will see a marked increase in the usage of our shuttles. This expanded service will benefit our community

that utilize the subway system at that time.”

Fitzer said Public Safety does not have any plans to start a shuttle service to the 4 train; therefore, students must transfer from the D

train at 161st Street/Yankee Stadium.

“This is a very safe place to transfer, as there is a Transit Police station at that stop,” he said.

Fitzer said they are not currently

planning to expand this service any further.

“The hours that are currently available will benefit the greatest amount of students in the safest possible way,” he said.

NEWS

Page 6

January 29, 2020

Fordham Students Win National Tax Competition FROM DELOITTE, PAGE 1

press release Deloitte put out.

Steve Kimble, chairman and CEO of Deloitte Tax LLP, congratulated all of the students that participated for their technical proficiency, teamwork and innovative thinking in the press release.

“These students are truly getting a real-world experience that provides the opportunity to build their skills and be exposed to the types of challenges that will face them as they prepare for the tax profession of tomorrow,” said Kimble.

Vickie Carr, partner at Deloitte Tax LLP and Deloitte Foundation board member, said the FanTAXtic competition shows students what a career in the tax industry is like.

“Aligning with our mission to help prepare the next generation of talent, the competition connects the academic experience to real-world business scenarios enabling students to use a variety of technical and soft skills to deliver a solution to the case,” Carr said.

“I am continually impressed by the caliber of students participating in this competition.”

Meghan Keough, GSB ’20, was one of the students who competed at the competition. She said she has been interested in taxes since she took an introductory class her junior year.

She will be starting full-time in PwC’s Core Assurance practice in a few months and has been

looking for opportunities to learn more about taxes before focusing on audit work.

“Because I liked the intro tax class so much, I decided to take Professor Veliotis’ advanced class," said Keough. "While I was in it, he mentioned that he was looking for another senior for the regional competition. I sent him my resumé and he placed me on a team.”

Benjamin Haney, GSB ’22, got involved in the competition after receiving an email last spring inviting students to apply for the competition.

“I applied despite not having a particularly strong interest in accounting; it just seemed like a unique experience,” Haney said.

“It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made. It led to me developing a love for accounting and deciding to pursue it as a career.”

Keough said the competition had two parts that each built off of the presentation that the team gave at the regional competition last semester.

The night of Friday, Jan. 17, they were given two hours to prepare a tax research memo and supporting calculations based off of a new scenario.

“The scenario was that one of the owners of the fictional company that we had previously consulted for had inherited a stake in a new business, and we had to consider both tax and non-tax considerations to recommend whether or not he should take over manag-

ing the business,” said Keough.

The next morning, they were given a new scenario and asked to create a 10 minute presentation to be judged by Deloitte tax professionals.

“This time, the scenario was that the company from Regionals was looking to expand its operations, and we needed to recommend whether it should take on debt or equity to finance the expansion,” she said.

Keough said the team only had a few hours to prep for each challenge, but ended up having a lot of free time to meet other students and professionals in the tax field.

Haney said the competition fostered his passion for accounting.

“The experience was absolutely incredible. Deloitte University was a remarkable campus and an amazing place to stay and explore,” he said.

Keough said she loved the experience, but the time constraints made it stressful.

She said it was interesting to work on a case that was a realistic representation of what a tax professional does because most class projects do not go into the same level of detail.

“We had to work very quickly, so it was tough to delegate the work on the spot (especially the first night when we didn’t really know what to expect), but the time passed so fast that we only had to focus on the cases for a

COURTESY OF BENJAMIN HANEY

Five Fordham students won the Deloitte FanTAXtic competition.

few hours total," said Keough.

Keough said the free time they had throughout the weekend involved a bunch of great events and that Deloitte University, the training center where the competition was held, was really cool.

Keough said this is the first time that a team from Fordham has placed at Nationals and that she was so proud of the team.

“I think the reason we were able to do so was because we worked so well together,” Keough said.

“Since we had to work so quickly, we didn’t have much time to decide how to split up the work, but I was really impressed by the way

that everyone stepped up to take on different parts of the projects so that we could get everything done. I’m so grateful to have had this experience, and I would recommend the competition to anyone interested in accounting.”

Haney said a lot of people encouraged them to be proud just for winning the region and not to stress too much about the national competition.

“But everyone on our team had the goal of winning. We were honored to represent Fordham well and bring back the championship,” said Haney.

Public Safety Discusses Emergency Winter Weather Policies

Poor Weather Cancellations Impact Commuter Students FROM WINTER, PAGE 1

sufficient time to plan ahead.

"One of the most significant reasons for delays, closures and cancelations is travel conditions," said Carroll.

Commuters make up a large percentage of the Fordham community. Carmen Wynn-Santana, FCRH ’23, is a commuter from the neighborhood around W. 234 Street and takes the bus every day regardless of the weather. She said it is the easiest and most affordable form of transport.

“In [my] experience, commuting is a toss-up when the weather gets bad," said Wynn-Santana. "I’m almost guaranteed to have clear roads in my area when it gets snowy or icy because of the great amount of people that depend on public transport here,” Wynn-Santana said it usually takes around 30 minutes to an hour to get to the Rose Hill campus, but snow plows and road closures delay her commute.

“On several occasions, I have found myself walking two miles to campus because I will get there faster than if I sat on the bus for an hour in stand-still traffic,” WynnSantana said.

Wynn-Santana said she and many other commuters rely on public transportation in order to get to school.

Wynn-Santana said there have been instances when she has not been able to make it to her morning classes because the bus never

came, which is a gamble, especially in inclement weather.

“I’m not sure if there is anything that Public Safety can do about this problem, but nonetheless I find it important that we make as many people as possible aware of this problem because it is not something that we can control, so it should not reflect badly on commuter students who may miss their classes because they were unable to get there in the first place,” Wynn-Santana said.

Similarly, Sabah Munshi, FCRH ’23, commuted during her first semester of the 2019-20 school year from Piscataway, New Jersey, which is around an hour to an hour and a half from the Bronx.

Munshi said she left her house at least two hours before her first class of the day. She said she drove a car and therefore had to take the George Washington Bridge every morning.

Munshi said there was one instance when the bridge was closed due to the danger of ice falling on cars.

“I had a final exam this day, and I was terrified I was not going to be able to make it on time,” Munshi said. “Fortunately, I was able to find a faster route to decrease my traffic time and was able to make it to campus.”

For the spring 2020 semester, Munshi moved on campus and no longer commutes, but said that commuting taught her to always be prepared for anything on the road.

“Whether it be traveling through bad weather or being stuck in traffic,

COURTESY OF RAM ARCHIVES

According to John Carroll, Public Safety ensures that campus pathways are always clear in the case of snow or ice.

leaving the house earlier in order to give yourself more time is always more helpful down the road because the commute is always unpredictable,” Munshi said.

Although many students look forward to closures, Carroll said Public Safety will only announce a closure or cancelation if it is absolutely necessary for the safety of the staff and students who are on campus daily.

“We do not seek to close; we seek to educate; but we must value the safety of our community as our top priority,” said Carroll.

Unlike most public high schools, Fordham does not have any days that must be set aside in the event of a snow day through-

out the year.

“The university is not a K-12 operation and has no allotted snow days — every class is important,” Carroll said.

Over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, it snowed significantly on Sunday. Since there were no classes, on-campus students were, for the most part, not affected.

However, the maintenance staff snow plowed throughout the day and cleared most of the sidewalks even as the snow was still falling.

Carroll said the university prioritizes student safety first and foremost — even if that requires extra work by the dedicated facilities staff.

Regardless of the weather prediction at the beginning of the winter,

Public Safety orders the equipment, material and vehicles they need in order to remove snow and ice from the campus adequately, said Carroll John Puglisi, associate vice president for Facilities Management, said the facilities staff will typically wait for at least an inch or two of snow to plow overnight, and facilities will put down salt once the snow has slowed or stopped.

“Sidewalk clearing starts with the first bit of accumulation, especially in areas of congregation like McGinley Center,” said Puglisi.

Facilities and Public Safety urge all students to report dangerous icy conditions in order to keep everyone on campus safe this winter.

OPINION

Page 7

January 29, 2020

The Fordham Ram

Problematic Rikers Must Close

By SEAN FRANKLIN STAFF WRITER

New York City is in the midst of efforts to close its most notorious jail, Rikers Island. The sprawling 400-acre facility, located in the East River between the Bronx and Queens, is notorious for corruption, violence and inhumane conditions. It also serves as the city’s most visible emblem of mass incarceration and a dysfunctional criminal justice system. The plan to close it down is a prudent as well as a symbolically powerful move that should be applauded.

After opening in the 1930s, Rikers intended to serve as a model prison for the country, an exemplar of humane incarceration.

However, over the last 80 years, the opposite has happened. Few jails in the United States are more notorious for their violence and corruption. According to NPR, inmate-on-inmate violence, arbitrary use of solitary confinement, beatings and abuse by guards are everyday occurrences.

The jail’s hellish conditions were made most visible to the public recently through the case of Kalief Browder, who was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years in Rikers awaiting trial because his family could not afford to post bail. After being beaten, held in solitary confinement and otherwise abused, Bowder was eventually acquitted and released, but later committed suicide. His death brought a flurry of media attention to the facility, and calls for it to close grew louder.

A 2014 Department of Justice investigation into the facility (spurred by Browder’s death)

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Rikers Island, first opened in the 1930s, has become controversial for its violence and corruption in recent decades.

found that “a deep-seated culture of violence is pervasive throughout” the system and that conditions in the jail violated both the eighth and fourteenth amendments. These amendments are the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the right to due process, respectively.

Conditions on Rikers Island are so unconscionable as to be unconstitutional. A strong case could be made to close it on those grounds alone.

The city’s plan to close Rikers, however, is more than just a plan to shut down a facility rampant with abuse. It is a plan for a top-

to-bottom reform of the city’s jail system. It plans to replace Rikers with four smaller jails, one in each borough (Staten Island’s small prison population will be housed at the Brooklyn jail).

The plan states that each jail will be designed to rehabilitate, not traumatize, its inmates. Representatives from the city visited Norway and the Netherlands, countries with model prison systems, to figure out how to design the new facilities. They will, according to the city, be designed to allow more natural light, provide better sight lines for guards to monitor conditions and provide

space for educational and recreational programming. In other words, the city is consciously trying to design jails that will be more humane — a welcome change from the dehumanizing facilities at Rikers.

The new jails will also fix other problems with Rikers. Inmates will be closer to both their communities and the courthouses where they will face trial. One of the most prominent complaints about Rikers was its isolation — far from everything in the city, and only accessible via a bridge from Queens. For lawyers and loved ones, that often meant an

all day trek to visit inmates. The city currently spends $31 million a year shuttling detainees to-andfrom trials and hearings. With the new jails, none of that will be necessary. Inmates will no longer be cut off from their communities and getting them to trial will be quick and efficient.

Secondly, Rikers, built in the 1930s, is old. Its facilities are outdated and crumbling. The city council picked an opportune time to build a new facility, given that the current one is in a dire state of repair.

Furthermore, the sprawling complex on Rikers Island is not what the city needs anymore.

With the advent of new bail laws in New York state, the majority of NYC’s jail population, made up of people who are awaiting trial but cannot pay their bail, will no longer need to be detained. Detainees like Kalief Browder will no longer be subjected to Rikers’ conditions as they await trial, and instead will be monitored at home until their court date. The city’s jail population is expected to hastily drop.

The four smaller boroughbased jails will be perfectly adequate to house the 5,000 or so daily inmates the city projects to have by 2026. It is clear that Rikers is an idea whose time has come and gone. It is old, isolated and plagued by a culture of violence and abuse — a relic of an era of mass incarceration that mercifully looks to be coming to an end. The city is right to shut it down.

Sean Franklin, FCRH ’21, is an urban studies major from Alexandria, V.A.

Disagree with our takes?

Write in to us at fordhamramopinions@gmail.com!

OPINION

Page 8

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. The Fordham Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

Website FordhamRam.com Email Address theram@fordham.edu

Editor-in-Chief Helen Stevenson Managing Editor Andrew Posadas Editorial Director Kelly Christ Multimedia Director Kristen Egan Business Director James Rosato Operations Director Robert (Max) Quintas Production Editor Vanessa DeJesus Copy Chiefs Emma Butler Erica Weidner News Editor Sarah Huffman Projects Editor Joergen Ostensen Assistant News Editor Hasna Sena Ceran Opinion Editors Kelly Christ Emma Lipkind Culture Editors Rachel Gow Kieran Press-Reynolds Sports Editor Jimmy Sullivan Assistant Sports Editors Dylan Balsamo Alexander Wolz Digital Producer Katherine Morris Visual Director Hunter Benegas Photo Editor Jennifer Huang Graphics/Illustrations Pia Fischetti Faculty Advisor Jessica Baldwin-Philippi 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 Ramaccepts 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 written consent.

January 29, 2020

From the Desk | Erica Weidner

Thank You, Man at Starbucks When I was 16, I sat down next to a stranger at a Starbucks. He held up a chocolate chip cookie that he’d just gotten warmed up by the barista. It was not his first cookie of the evening. He told me that they were victory cookies — his way of celebrating getting through the day. It was clear that he needed to vent, and I let him.

He told me his whole life story: about how his menial job as a line cook was draining his soul, how he didn’t go to college, how he struggled with his aging parents’ health and how playing guitar at open mic nights was the only thing giving his life meaning.

Then he turned to me, a girl half his age, and asked me about myself. Who was I? What did I want to do? What gave my life meaning?

I said that I liked to write, and I was thinking about journalism, but I’d never tried it. He told me to go try it. Get a car, drive, find news and write about it. (I told him I wasn’t very good at driving, and he said that he wasn’t either.

He bragged that he’d gone 120

miles per hour on US 422. The speed limit is 55.) He told me to go out and try to accomplish my dreams.

I never ended up taking him up on that advice. Maybe I was too scared to venture out alone as a young teen, or maybe I just didn’t want to get a speeding ticket. Yet his words stuck with me, and I’ve never forgotten them.

Perhaps he’s the reason why I signed up for the Ram at my first club fair, the reason I actually went to the general interest meeting and the reason I signed up for my first copy editing shift.

When I first started copy editing for the Ram in fall of 2018, I leapt into the unknown. My high school didn’t have a student newspaper, and I’d never been a part of any publication before. I didn’t know any of the processes, I didn’t know anyone’s name and I didn’t know what AP style was.

Effectively, I was gunning it down US 422 at 120 miles per hour.

But at least I was going somewhere. There was no longer a question of “Am I interested in

journalism?” circling around in my head. I took that plunge, and I found out the answer. I found out that I like writing, but that I really like editing others’ writing.

I found out that I like nitpicking about things like grammar and punctuation, and I found out that I like the atmosphere of a table full of people who like the exact same things.

Fast-forward three semesters.

The Fordham Ram is in its 102nd volume, and I’m one of its two copy chiefs. The man at that Star-

bucks told me to find what I was passionate about and to follow it. I’d like to think he would be proud of me for finding and following that passion at the Ram, but I’ll never know.

I didn’t get his name. He saluted me as I walked out, and I never saw him again.

So I salute to you too, man at Starbucks. Thank you for dispensing life lessons to me.

Here’s to open mic nights, copy tables and everything else that gives life meaning.

Editorial | In Memoriam

Rash Reporting of Bryant Tragedy Shows Flaws in Modern Journalism On Sunday, Jan. 26, NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna on their way to a youth basketball game. Seven other victims have been identified in the crash: Gianna’s teammates Alyssa and Payton, Alyssa’s parents John and Keri Altobelli, Payton’s mother Sarah Chester, the team’s assistant coach Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan.

News of the tragedy flooded the media at a rapid pace. Just over an hour after the first police reports about a crashed aircraft, celebrity news outlet TMZ published an article breaking the news of Bryant’s death online.

Popular news outlets followed suit. Many were littered with inaccuracies. Many misstated how many victims were involved in the crash — with President Trump tweeting condolences for Bryant and “three others” killed in the accident.

On a live broadcast, ABC News made an egregious error when they reported that Bryant was on the helicopter with all four of his daughters. Rumors circulated online that Bryant’s fellow NBA player Rick Fox was also aboard and killed, but these were later refuted by members of Fox’s family.

The frenzied nature of the media for hours after the initial story broke demonstrates a larger problem that journalists and social media users must pay attention to. When it comes to big stories like this, especially involving such a tragedy, it is imperative that accuracy is prioritized over

being the first to break the news.

TMZ has developed a reputation for breaking the news of celebrity deaths. However, in this case, they were perhaps criticized more than ever for their handling of the story.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters that TMZ’s actions were “wholly inappropriate” and did not prioritize the need for the families to be fully informed before the news was to be made public. The New York Times explained, “authorities had not contacted Mr. Bryant’s family before TMZ published its report.”

As Villanueva told the press, “It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved ones perished and you learn about it from TMZ.” Considering that the victims of the crash included multiple parents traveling with their children, the surviving family members should have been the first priority. Authorities must be able to inform the families before the public is made aware of the situation.

Bryant’s wife, Vanessa and their three surviving children already have to deal with so much pain. It is unacceptable for anyone — especially reputable news organizations — to exacerbate this by reporting false stories in order to attract more traffic on their websites.

Of course, in situations as shocking and heartbreaking as this, many of us seek to find the answers, some comfort for the how’s and why’s that plague our minds. However, this is just the

type of circumstance that must be handled with immense care in reporting.

Another major factor in the prioritizing of immediacy over accuracy is the influence of social media. On the internet, stories spread like wildfire if they catch the right attention at the right time. Though social media can be incredibly beneficial in terms of having a wealth of information readily accessible to users, much of the information posted online — especially in the immediate wake of a tragic event — is not entirely accurate.

There has been a consistent pattern of this misinformation being spread online, especially after violent tragedies such as mass shootings or acts of terrorism. Initial reports of these events are often inundated with a flood of false claims that quickly circulate social media.

Journalists should not adapt to the nature of social media. Journalism’s purpose must stay at the heart of all decisions made by news organizations.

Social media serves to keep people connected and share information, both personally and publicly relevant. Journalism, on the other hand, must focus on a drive to report the truth and maintain respectability and authority.

Despite the mishandled information, the response on social media has been largely moving.

Tributes have been pouring out since the news broke from celebrities and everyday basketball fans alike, honoring Kobe Bryant as a legend on and off the court

as well as remembering the loving relationship he shared with Gianna. Social media has allowed many to share their personal connections to the victims and honor their memories.

In terms of news outlets, the Los Angeles Times, which covered Bryant’s 20-year tenure with the Lakers, tweeted that they would not be publishing anything on Bryant’s death until all the information could be confirmed as accurate. They also removed the paywall on all of their articles about Bryant that they had published in the past.

Most of all, we must remember that on Sunday, a mother lost her daughter and her husband.

A brother and sister lost both of their parents and sister. A husband lost his wife and daughter.

A flight student lost his beloved teacher. And three children lost their mother.

As much as we are all grieving the tragedy of the situation, there are many who are affected in such a way that we at the Ram cannot imagine their devastation.

To think of any of these surviving family members reading a headline that wrongly identified victims should make any journalist think twice about rashly publishing unconfirmed stories.

In the face of heartbreak, the best thing we can do is honor these nine lives, all of whom were filled with immense potential.

These mishaps should serve as an example of how modern journalism must maintain their standards in all circumstances. These families deserved better. Journalists must do better.

OPINION

January 29, 2020

Page 9

Safe Injection Sites Will Quell Opioid Crisis

By ALLISON LECCE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The opioid epidemic in the United States has grown to such an extreme that in 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services declared it a public health crisis.

Yet, despite this declaration, lawmakers and society have continued to treat it as a legal issue. The surgeon general recently condemned supervised injection sites by saying, “Safer doesn’t mean safe.” But does that mean we’re supposed to ignore the safer option while we continue to search for a “safe” option?

According to the New York City

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, overdose death rates in the city have been increasing since 2011, with more than 1,444 overdose deaths in 2018. Supervised injection sites, part of a larger effort known as harm reduction, can help reduce these numbers. Harm reduction is built on the principle of meeting drug users where they are in an effort to minimize the impact of drugs on both the user and the outside community. Whether it be instituting a needle exchange program, admitting someone into rehab or creating supervised injection sites, harm reduction lets drug users have a say in “programs and

COURTESY OF TWITTER

Safe injection sites may not be perfect, but they are a useful tool in the fight against the opioid epidemic in the United States.

policies designed to serve them,” as stated on the Harm Reduction Coalition’s website.

There are 30 states across the country that have needle exchange programs. Needle exchange is a type of harm reduction in which drug users are able to access sterile syringes at little to no cost. Recently, cities such as Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco have considered taking the next step and opening supervised injection sites. These sites are places where users are given clean needles and other materials they may need and are supervised by medical professionals with naloxone, a drug also known as Narcan, which can be used to reverse an overdose. While the U.S. does not have any supervised injection sites yet, there are hundreds all over the world. According to University of South California’s School of Nursing, one particular site in Oslo, Norway has an overdose risk of only 0.9% for every injection.

These sites create a judgementfree space to safely use drugs, gain access to treatment programs and other support systems and, most importantly, give these people the rights they deserve. Many people are against these sites because they feel they condone, or even encourage, drug use. However, these sites do not go that far: they simply acknowledge that no matter what, there will be drugs in the community. It is safer to have official sta-

tions for use rather than subject people to horrible conditions with serious risks. These sites do not punish people for their addiction or turn their backs on those who do not agree to abstinence treatments.

Instead, they recognize the root issue of this epidemic, that addiction is a disease that alters the brain.

These sites deal with addiction in a way that minimizes the harm of it, rather than simply locking these people up to ignore the problem.

Penalizing people for their addictions, especially through legal action, only perpetuates the cycle of despair that drug addiction creates, both for the users and their loved ones. Supervised injection sites provide a way to meet a drug user halfway and show them that society still cares about their rights as human beings. Giving these people a safe and welcoming environment might encourage them to reach out for help or to learn more about treatment programs.

Shaming and stigmatizing people, forcing them to use on the streets where they are as good as dead if they overdose, will only make the search for a “safe” option harder.

At the very least, we need to work on making needle exchange programs legal in all 50 states. This is one of the most basic levels of harm reduction. Clean needles can greatly decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS and other intravenous diseases. Naloxone is a major factor in preventing drug related

deaths. A step in the right direction would be if the government or other organizations set up naloxone centers around drug hotspots, such as the infamous Philadelphia neighborhood, Kensington. This would allow volunteers and other professionals to administer naloxone in case someone overdoses, but it does not go so far as to allow a space for people to take the drugs. Supervised injection sites might be too progressive for our country at the moment, but that does not mean there are not other forms of harm reduction that can be adopted.

It is not right for our surgeon general to turn his back on an effective method for combating drug use. Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of death in New York City and the nation for years, and clearly the initiatives we have taken so far are not enough. Supervised injection sites may not be completely safe, but they are still safer.

Shouldn’t that count for something?

If you are interested in finding out more about harm reduction and ways to get involved, check out VOCAL NY, a nonprofit that works with people affected by homelessness, HIV/AIDS, drug addiction and incarceration.

Allison Lecce, FCRH ’22, is an international studies major and journalism minor from Westchester, N.Y.

Sanders Should Embrace Rogan Endorsement

By THOMAS TEDESCO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) is incredibly consistent. He has propagated mostly the same message for at least 30 years, and it is a message that stands to the left of all of his Democratic primary opponents. Sanders’ consistency strikes a chord with millions of voters who feel they have been left out of the political process their entire lives. He instills in them the kind of trust that is required to build a movement capable of transforming a country, and he has recently won over an admittedly problematic comedian and podcaster, Joe Rogan.

Rogan does not have a clean track record. He spews ignorant views on transgender people, resorts to gendered and homophobic slurs and, in a particularly controversial segment, referred to entering a black neighborhood as walking into “Planet of the Apes.” His comedy targets a predominantly white, male, millennial audience.

In addition, Rogan hosts a podcast with 211 million views, and these viewers are potential voters that corporate Democrats are now insisting that Sanders turn away.

If your number one priority is winning the 2020 election, then taking advantage of Rogan’s base of socially conservative young, white males is good electoral politics. Although Sanders is extremely popular among young voters, never before have voters under 35 ar-

rived at the polls in the same numbers as baby boomers. With 2016 loss margins like 60,000 in Pennsylvania and 10,000 in Michigan, turning away socially conservative voters who are willing to compromise those stances for economic revolution is a ridiculous proposition. The Rogan base is exactly the type of politically uninspired youth voter that could win the entire election in 2020. This endorsement is a huge boost in that regard, and it further proves that there is an economic avenue to socially out-of-touch voters.

More broadly, though, rejecting problematic voters is a terrible way to build a working class movement. We reach voters where they are and getting people we disagree with to sign on to our agenda is kind of the whole point. There is no compromise being made here: Rogan is pushing his base left, and we are staying right where we are.

Coming from the perspective of someone dedicated to changing the hearts and minds of people — to build bridges and educate the masses — there is no controversy here. Rogan is not being signalboosted for hate speech but rather for breaking with a problematic pattern and endorsing a progressive agenda.

This attack does not square with the popular “electability” narrative that is weaponized against Sanders. Media often claim that Sanders lacks the ability to draw in the slightly right-of-center voters and

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Controversial comedian Joe Rogan recently endorsed Senator Sanders.

independents that candidates like Senator Amy Klobuchar or Mayor Pete Buttigieg can. Now this is, to borrow a word from the Biden campaign, “malarkey,” and it has been from the beginning. Sanders consistently polls better with independents than the rest of the Democratic field, so those who have been following from the beginning never bought into this narrative anyway.

However, those uninformed now interpret Joe Rogan’s slightly right-of-center, politically independent endorsement as a concrete counterexample to the DNC narrative. Sanders, who they said could not reach across the aisle to right-wing independents, is now apparently reaching too far across the aisle by accepting the endorsement of a man who makes offensive statements. It would be nice to

see some consistency in the attacks from the corporate center, but of course, we never will. Their narratives are never consistent because they have no consistent ideology.

They will argue whatever points are necessary to advance their career, and there is never a reason to believe the arguments of tomorrow will logically follow the arguments of today.

With this, it seems that the media is reaching for a story that will halt Sanders’ momentum. It is not genuine; it is manufactured. When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cried that transgender rights pose a genuine concern for cisgender women, liberal media did not bat an eye. When Vice President Joe Biden claimed in 2019 that black parents held the blame for the educational performance gap between black and white stu-

dents because they did not read to their kids, the pushback came largely from the Sanders camp.

Democrats like Clinton and President Barack Obama, who celebrated endorsements from noted Iraq War criminals like Henry Kissinger and Colin Powell, have now found the nerve to lecture you on the ethics of a Rogan endorsement. Supporters of Buttigieg, the candidate who held a closed fundraiser in a billionaire’s wine cave, are now telling you that Sanders is reaching too far across the aisle. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s supporters, who dismiss that she harmed Native American communities for years by lying about her Native American ancestry, are now incredibly concerned about the offhand comments of a socially regressive white comedian.

Since I began writing this article, Buttigieg has accepted the endorsement of podcast host Charlamagne tha God, who admitted to giving a woman a spanish fly, an aphrodisiac and raping her in 2015.

I have yet to see any centrists express outrage at the endorsement and amplification of a sexually violent individual.

Overall, the outrage is not in good faith. Stay educated, remember what we’re fighting for, and talk right past the detractors, because they are not listening.

Thomas Tedesco, FCRH ’22, is an integrative neuroscience major from Westwood, N.J.

OPINION

Page 10

January 29, 2020

Puerto Rico Still Lacks Necessary Aid

COURTESY OF TWITTER

The United States must help Puerto Rico as it recovers from natural disasters under a corrupt government.

By ERICA STANLEY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In 2017, Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico and altered the lives of nearly three million citizens. The disaster caused countless forms of physical destruction to the island and its people, including its cultural history, rainforests, homes and power source.

On top of these hardships, the people of Puerto Rico were subjected to a corrupt government, making restoration of everyday life on the island even more difficult. In addition to rebuilding their homes and lives, the people of Puerto Rico gathered on the streets of Old San Juan to protest their governor at the time, Ricardo Rossello.

In Aug. 2019, Rossello officially resigned, giving the public a feeling of political hope and a moment of peace.

That moment ended in the last

30 days when earthquakes and aftershocks shook the island, destroying the recently rebuilt lives of many of its inhabitants. These earthquakes were so destructive that the entire island was left without power yet again, and Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency.

They were in need of aid from their new governor Wanda Vazquez and the government they attempted to reform. The people were let down once again when a warehouse of unused disaster relief aid was found collecting dust in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico.

Governor Wanda Vazquez was accused of having knowledge of this warehouse and its supplies, some of which had been there since Hurricane Maria two years ago. The people lined the streets of Old San Juan once again to protest for the resignation of the second governor in a year.

Since the incompetence of the Puerto Rican government has rendered the island in need of responsibly managed aid, President Trump has assigned the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to monitor how the funds are used. While this is a productive method for managing fiscal aid, based on the recent displays of political corruption, these limits may be destructive for the people of Puerto Rico.

“Given the Puerto Rico government’s alleged corruption, fiscal irregularities and mismanagement, we will appoint a Federal Financial Monitor to oversee the disbursement of all HUD disaster recovery funds,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

On the one hand, these limitations protect taxpayers and ensure the deliverance of aid to the people who need it most. On the other hand, it delays the distribution of that aid.

Therefore, this restriction could harm the citizens of Puerto Rico more than help them if the process is not expedited. The U.S. government cannot be lackadaisical with this process.

Puerto Rico needs help right now.

Since we cannot know how hastily HUD will handle this dilemma, it has never been more important for public officials and the American people to help Puerto Ricans in whatever ways they can.

New York City government officials recognize this need and have begun to take important steps toward helping Puerto Rico beyond the influence of the federal government. Bronx Councilmember Ritchie Torres is proposing a bill that would create an Office of Puerto Rico-New York City Affairs for the purpose of “expressing our solidarity” with the people of Puerto Rico as well as helping to house the displaced citizens of Puerto Rico in New York City.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced that the New York Power Authority deployed electric utility experts to assist with the Puerto Rico electrical power grid.

This grid has failed the island multiple times and needs serious maintenance, so this aid will do a great deal for the people and will help bring the island to where it was before disaster struck.

Additionally, Governor Cuomo has sent a team of bilingual mental health professionals to help with an extremely important, yet often overlooked, aspect of disaster: mental stability after trauma.

“The people of Puerto Rico have been through hell, and while the federal administration abdicated its responsibility to help American citizens during difficult times, New York is continuing to step up to provide assistance,” said Governor Cuomo.

These are vital and progressive steps, but there is much to be done by the citizens of New York beyond our governor’s or councilmember’s activism.

I had the pleasure of visiting the island of Puerto Rico just days before the first high-grade earthquake struck in early January. I was enthralled by the culture of the place, and I tried to take as much of it in as I could in the short that I was there. The most striking aspect of my trip was how the island still struggles to repair itself after Hurricane Maria, which took place almost three years ago. Historic and cultural sites were not spared by the hurricane, and neither was the rainforest and all of its inhabitants. The people of Puerto Rico have struggled significantly with every aspect of the place they call home.

What stunned me, though, were the attitudes of every Puerto Rican I met during my trip. Despite what they have been through, an overwhelming sense of strength, resilience and heritage remains. In honor of this, the government must make effective change.

Erica Stanley, FCRH ’22, is a classic civilization and English major from Fairfax, V.A.

Message of the Women’s March Continues to Resonate

By ABBEY DELK

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

How do you defeat a woman with conviction? The answer clearly isn’t with freezing cold and snow. Last Saturday, Jan. 18, thousands of women, myself included, walked from Foley Square to Times Square as part of the annual Women’s March.

This march was the fourth in the movement’s history, the first having occurred in 2017 in response to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. According to Business Insider, the first Women’s March on Washington holds the record for the largest single-day protest in American history.

However, recently the turn-out has not been quite so high. Organizers expected a mere 10,000 participants in this year’s main event in Washington, D.C., according to CNN. This represents a fraction of the half a million protesters that attended the first march in 2017. The dwindling numbers raise questions about the future of the Women’s March.

Perhaps people are staying away after controversies over the organization’s leaders last year. Despite the organization’s claim to fight for equality for all groups, at least two were accused of harboring antiSemitic views, according to NPR. There have also been complaints that leadership in the Women’s March also lacked the diversity to truly connect with the experiences of all women.

The organization has worked to erase these concerns. According to the official website of the Women’s

March, in September of last year, 17 new board members were appointed to lead the organization. The original founders who had been the main focus of criticisms, Timika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, planned to leave the Women’s March Board in order to focus on other ventures.

As the organization states, “The new board consists of leaders from a wide variety of communities, disciplines, ethnicities, religious beliefs, gender identities, and experiences.”

Is this move too little, too late?

Can women who for so long did not see their unique experiences reflected in the highest-ranking members of the movement now feel heard?

Is it time to hang up our pink pussy hats and move on to the next feminist movement, one without controversy?

I don’t think so. That shiny and perfect social movement isn’t out there, and I think it is time that we stop looking for it. The left has become repulsed by any imperfections. To be clear, I am not reducing issues like anti-Semitism to “imperfections.” Those concerns were valid and needed to be discussed out in the open. It is never a good idea to accept any movement at face value. Context is always important.

However, so is action. The Women’s March in 2019 was the first event of its kind I ever attended.

Bundled in thick coats, my friends and I walked together, along with thousands of other women, because we wanted change. We had come of age too early, some of us only 15 when Donald Trump was elected president on a platform of bigotry

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The Women’s March still remains important, despite dwindling numbers.

and racism. The first presidential election I truly remember resulted in the inauguration of a man who had openly bragged about sexual assault. Too many Americans forgave him for it, excused it and called it “locker room talk,” as if a man in his fifties shouldn’t know better.

The organizers of a social movement are, of course, important. It is their vision that sets the ball in motion. However, after that, it is the people that show up in response that truly represent the cause. Most of the people marching each year probably do not know the names of the founders of the Women’s March. Each of them only needs to know one thing: why they are there.

Perhaps the true issue I see in the Women’s March is the idea that “women” is a category that can ever be narrowed down into particular political agendas and proposed legislation. The women who march certainly do not agree on every issue. There are arguments over what feminism means and who it should include. People who deserve a seat at the table are often forgotten or intentionally left out, especially trans women. There is still quite a long way to go before there is a true consensus — if that is even possible.

Each year, we are brought together by a common experience: inequality. We have all experienced pain brought on by a deep-seated societal view that some people are worth less than others. Some, like me, are admittedly lucky. As a white woman, I experience a kind of privilege that so many others do not.

Women of color, queer women and trans women all experience a different kind of oppression and hate,

and I cannot speak to their experiences or claim them as my own, but each one of us knows the feeling of being left out of the conversation, out of the room.

Last Thursday, Janaya Khan, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada, spoke at Fordham Law School about their experience as a black, non-binary activist. The words that resonated with me most deeply were about accepting imperfect allies in the fight for social justice. “It’s an ugly thing when people and places and institutions do good and do harm,” she said, “But that’s every single one of us … and that’s every single one of our movements.”

The Women’s March will never be perfect. We should criticize this movement when it fails, but we should also recognize the good it has done. The Congress that Americans elected in 2018 has more women of color than ever before, and the Women’s March and the activism it inspired has a lot to do with that victory. This is a movement that was able to inspire real change, even while being flawed.

Last Saturday, I saw women in their seventies walking with their friends and little girls lifted up onto their fathers’ shoulders. I saw women fighting for their freedom to choose, for equal pay and for environmentalism. I definitely didn’t see anyone perfect, but that’s not really what being a woman, and what fighting for social equality, has ever really been about.

Abbey Delk, FCRH ’22, is an English major from Wheeling, W.V.

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January 29, 2020

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January 29, 2020

Mac Miller’s Backstroke of Ingenuity: “Circles”

By SAM HADELMAN STAFF WRITER

Not only did Mac Miller save me from drowning, but in fact, his music taught me how to swim.

A year ago, I was given the bittersweet opportunity to give my thoughts on an album that I held so close to my heart: “Swimming” by Mac Miller.

At the time, I was barely eating, most nights, I wouldn’t sleep and every day brought about new, seemingly unwinnable battles. I had tried counseling, but it didn’t do much for me, and every day I felt myself slowly sinking into an abyss.

This was the peak of my relationship with “Swimming.” I couldn’t bear to listen to anything else. The review I wrote for the album had every ounce of my soul in it and it was cathartic for me to put my turmoil out in the open.

At first, I felt exposed and vulnerable to the community of people who read it, thinking to myself that I had worn too much of my heart on my sleeve.

Then people came up to me and told me how the piece helped them access their own emotions. That was the best feeling in the world. Eventually, I ended up winning the Sunshine State Award for “Best Review” in the collegiate category for the piece. I had

never seen my name on an award, and the recognition for something that brought solace not only to me, but others, gave me a triumphant feeling of joy.

Now, in 2020, I have the privilege to review Mac Miller’s posthumous album “Circles,” and my life is completely different. I am at the highest point I have found in my adult life, and I am currently beating the demons that had me in a chokehold not too long ago.

This aspect of my life actually gave me doubts about writing this review. I worried I couldn’t do Miller’s work justice by reviewing in a mental state so contrary to the direction in which his work was heading, but after listening to the album, to my exuberant surprise, this was not the case.

The upbeat energy is a constant on “Circles,” and it initially threw me off.

The only tangible pieces of information fans have about his last few months are his public cries for his tour to finally start and the turmoil involved in his romantic life. From the direction that “Swimming” was going in, I assumed that this album would sound like the deep end of the pool, rather than floating in the shallow section. The first time I heard “Swimming” I thought it was a record about recovery, and, at points, that is true. That is the notable aspect of Miller’s post-"FACES" career: his music is extremely reflec-

tive, and maybe I interpret “Circles” as an uplifting album because, right now, that is where I am.

The production is spacious, with a multitude of instrumentation layered throughout the album. This is most likely the work of the album's curator, Jon Brion.

For those who aren’t familiar, Brion is the multi-instrumentalist producer extraordinaire whose hand was heavy in the discography of Fiona Apple, Kanye West and Elliott Smith. He took the most responsibility in creating this album after Miller’s passing, and assumed a very conservative approach to wetting Miller’s paintbrush.

This record doesn’t feel incomplete or indistinguishable from Miller’s discography, and the aura seems as organic as possible. Recovering the lost ideas of genius is an unbearable task, yet Brion’s efforts aren’t futile or nonchalant, as

we have seen in other posthumous releases. At the end of the day, it still feels like a Mac Miller album.

The most illuminating portions of the album’s composition are its influences. We had seen Miller diverge from traditional hip-hop structure on “Divine Feminine,” and, further on in his career, we found him utilizing the hip-hop stature he acquired quite liberally. We can see how far he has traveled from his roots on this album.

The sounds are reminiscent of The Beach Boys, Elliott Smith, Jack Johnson and other seemingly opposite artists. I feel weary hypothesizing Miller’s trajectory because Brion had expressed in an interview that this was meant to be the middle of a trilogy of “Swimming” albums. The third was intended to be a straight-up hiphop record, so it’s impossible for me to calculate how far his career would have paddled away from “K.I.D.S.” It will take me awhile to get hip to the sound that Miller was exploring on “Circles.” Note that I was not someone who found Miller later in his career: “K.I.D.S” was the first mixtape I ever downloaded off the internet. Mac Miller rapping was one of the most treasured memories of my adolescence, so to hear him completely transform into what he does on “Circles” is going to require

some patience from me — just like “Swimming” did.

The difference is that this incarnation of Miller is permanent, which makes its effects just as enduring. I cannot gear up to figure out what metamorphosis Miller’s career will take. I must put my excitement to hear his new music to rest. Mac Miller’s talent and means for expression were limitless, and this last chapter in his long, transformative discography only emphasizes such to his fans.

I always felt extremely disheartened by assuming what Mac Miller’s last months were like, and to know that he was on the upswing only deepens the blow of his loss.

I am enthused to know Miller was beating his demons, but to know that wasn’t permanent leaves me feeling nothing but dejected.

“Circles” fills in the blanks, but the answers don’t make me feel much better.

This album wasn’t meant to be the final chapter in Miller’s life, yet I am at least satisfied to know what was on his mind.

Mac Miller was the songbird of many lives in my generation, and I would never reject a chance to listen to his last tune. I am just happy it was a good one.

TEMPLATE COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM / GRAPHIC BY KIERAN PRESS-REYNOLDS/THE FORDHAM RAM

Left in Awe at the Yellow Vest Movement in Paris

By LINDSAY GRIPPO STAFF WRITER

It is an interesting experience to find yourself an accidental participant in a grassroots political protest abroad.

As a traveler visiting Paris, France several weeks into the 2019 yellow vest demonstrations, I was woefully uneducated on the political unrest in the country.

So when I was walking through Place de la République on my way to some coffee shop I had just found on Yelp to spend what was, to me, an otherwise lazy Saturday afternoon, and a crowd of impassioned protestors quite literally grew around me, I did not at first realize just what I was in the middle of.

The yellow vest movement has its roots in an internet petition created

by Priscillia Ludosky in May 2018 which, after revealing that taxes made up half the cost of gas prices in France, called for a decrease in fuel prices that burdened working class citizens with climate change responsibility she felt wasn’t theirs to undertake.

The petition gained significant ground sometime in November of that year and incited protests across the country. Participants were pre-

dominantly workers who relied on their cars to get to work each day and lived in rural towns or outside of major cities.

Organizers encouraged protestors to wear the high-visibility yellow vests that every driver must carry by law (in case of roadside trouble) in solidarity with the movement’s initial fuel-related goals. Now, the iconography of the yellow vest is recognized as a symbol of both grassroots change and populist ideology, as the movement has since expanded to serve as a larger challenge to the general policies of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist administration.

On Jan. 4, I casually walked through Paris, slightly deficient in caffeine but nonetheless full of wonder at the beautiful city. I saw the statue of Marianne towering in the distance, standing tall and poking the clear blue sky with her symbolic olive branch.

Then I began to notice trickles of grey smoke climbing up her arm. I started to pick up the sharp sound of whistles in the distance. Surrounding pedestrians hastened at an alarming rate, and I looked around to find rows of French police standing behind intimidating walls of plexiglass riot shields.

It was not until I noticed a dynamic

herd of neon pushing toward me with audible fervor that I understood I was witnessing a gathering of the yellow vest protestors.

After the initial and frightening confusion came to pass, I found myself first and foremost enamored with the workers’ democratic initiative. It was energizing to be a firsthand witness to the yellow vests’ sustained action as workers, citizens and people — in short, participants of society — who were challenging frameworks they felt weren’t supporting them as they deserved.

I had stumbled onto the event because of my personal ignorance, but I was directly implanted into its spirit of change because of the protestors’ passion.

When it comes to political action, there is a fine line to walk between active participant and objective observer; a boundary one does not want to cross if they don’t think theirs is an opinion worthy of a say in the matter.

However, as I witnessed hundreds of yellow vests marching onward, under Marianne’s gaze and through cobblestone streets that have seen centuries of (sometimes violent) civilian action, it took

some sustained effort to remind myself I was simply a bystander.

I left Paris with a reinforced sense of awe at the power of collective action and a renewed understanding of the contagion that is activism. For Americans, such reminders are crucial in reinvigorating the spirit of those fighting for change in our country.

Since returning to New York, I have tried to keep up with the ongoing developments of the yellow vest movement, though I will never be so close as I was that incidental day in Paris.

The French government formally unveiled its controversial pension reform on Friday, just as a man named Philippe Martinez stepped up to become the public face of its opposition.

I am interested to see how the movement will continue to unfold, what it will mean for French workers and what type of example it will set for the world.

For now, several thousand miles away, I’ll just have to concede the foreign correspondence to the professionals.

LINDSAY GRIPPO FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Lindsay Grippo, FCRH ’20, left Paris with a renewed awe for activism.

CULTURE

January 29, 2020

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“Weathering With You” Shines Brightly

By MATT DILLON STAFF WRITER

Director Makoto Shinkai’s (known for the film “Your Name”) newest animated film, “Weathering with You,” follows 16-year-old Hodaka (Kotaro Daigo), who runs away from home to travel to Tokyo.

His struggle to make a living is both alleviated and complicated when he meets Hina (Nana Mori), a girl who can make a bout of apparently endless rain stop by praying.

The film is first and foremost a love story between Hina and Hodaka, which is more than convincing.

Thankfully, the film does more than just sell the viewer on their relation-

ship. There’s a lot more going on in “Weathering with You” than the average rom-com in terms of visuals as well as writing.

“Weathering with You” has an outthere premise and an at times questionable narrative. Thankfully, all of this is carried, if not elevated, by the presentation. There are some unwieldy fairy tale and soap opera elements, but those form a nice contrast with the sense of authenticity present throughout the film.

No matter how fantastic the plot of “Weathering with You” gets, the actual setting feels believable. You would never mistake the film for being realistic, but the characters, dialogue and situations feel genuine even

at their strangest. Even with the supernatural elements, the film still resonates in a way few others manage to.

Gorgeous animation also sells the experience. It allows the fantastic elements to properly unfold and the more down-to-earth elements are just as vividly represented. The film convincingly captures the way people move and act while still maintaining a unique art style.

“Weathering with You” effortlessly bridges the mundane and the supernatural in a way that liveaction films almost never do.

Visual spectacle aside, “Weathering with You” has a likable, well-

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"Weathering With You," Director Makoto Shinaki's newest feature film, is visually-pleasing and deftly constructed.

developed cast of characters with quality performances to match the writing. While the story might not be the cleverest or most innovative, it’s communicated in an artful, at times surprisingly understated way and acted out by a cast that makes it easy to get invested in even the more contrived parts.

The film goes to some surprisingly dark places and ends on a bittersweet note. The story covers a respectable range of emotions and has a strong sense of humor that rarely misfires.

“Weathering with You” plays a balancing act, managing to present some heavy moments without ever feeling overly bleak. There’s a strong emotional core that pulls everything together.

All the laughter and tears in “Weathering with You” carry an overt message, though they lead to some more uncertain themes. Tokyo is presented as both an enchanting place of tradition and a relentless hub of commerce. Every conflict in the film stems from struggling to make ends meet in an uncaring, bureaucratic world.

It would be easy to take this as an anti-capitalistic message if not for the egregious product placement throughout “Weathering with You.” Most of the anime I watch takes place in deep space, but even then, I don’t think it’s normal to have so

many recognizable brands pushed so aggressively.

The film’s ending faces some similar contradictions. “Weathering with You” sets up a conflict with welldefined consequences and sticks to them. The characters ultimately make a decision that’s as selfish as it is completely understandable.

On one hand, it’s refreshing to see a film with such a confrontational yet uncertain ending. The characters made a difficult choice, and that means they don’t get a nice, clean resolution. However, there’s also an allusion to the climate crisis, which further complicates matters. The ending and the characters’ reactions definitely leave mixed feelings, to the point where it’s hard to figure out what “Weathering with You” is specifically trying to say.

It’s entirely possible the audience is just supposed to appreciate a story about a boy falling in love with a girl who can make the sun shine. However, intentionally or not, the film offers a difficult, uncertain message alongside the escapist elements.

Movies, especially fantastic ones, are supposed to push boundaries in a constructive way. Blockbusters that commit to this are rare and even more so nowadays. Taking that into account, “Weathering with You” is an enjoyable experience specifically because it does more than just entertain.

Editor's Pick | People

Kobe: Great in Game, Great in Humanity

By DYLAN BALSAMO

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

It is difficult to say what Kobe Bryant’s legacy will become. Out of high school, Kobe exploded like a supernova into the cosmic theatre of the National Basketball Association.

Beginning the century with Shaquille O’Neal by his side, Kobe led the Lakers to three straight championships to begin the century. A decade later, without Shaq by his side, he brought Los Angeles two more titles in a row. He was also a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He retired after the 2015-16 season, and in his final game, he put up 60 points. He wore 8 and 24, and the Lakers have retired both numbers.

We have become desensitized to the words “legend” and “icon,” but if anybody was either, it was Kobe.

When he first arrived in the public eye, his name was a peculiar proper noun, but in the span of two decades, the word Kobe took on the status of an improper noun. It was not somebody’s name. It was just a word, an idea that existed in the universe. It was a word synonymous with his sport, his style, his spirit and his mentality.

It is a chant involuntarily said by millions who imitate his three pointers.

He was an author, a philanthropist, multilingual, a favorite on the late night talk show circuit and perhaps the nation’s foremost public ambassador for professional women’s basketball and even women’s soccer. Above all, Kobe was a husband and a father.

He had publicly said that his daughter Gianna, who also tragically left us in the horrific helicopter crash, was to

be the basketball player in the family to carry on his legacy.

Some have called for all 30 NBA squads to retire number 24 for him.

Others have suggested that he become the new model for the NBA logo.

He was also an Academy Awardwinning filmmaker, which brings me to “Dear Basketball.”

Upon announcing in November 2015 that he would retire, Bryant wrote a letter that was published in The Players’ Tribune called “Dear Basketball.” The letter was not only Kobe coming to terms with the fact that his playing days were coming to an end, but it was also his joyful and spiritual psalm of devotion to the sport he had given his entire life to. In the letter, Kobe recounts his earliest memories of the game, from rolling up socks to shoot into a hoop, to when blood, sweat and tears brought him from his childhood home of Philadelphia to the Los Angeles Lakers.

A couple of years later, Kobe collaborated with director Glen Keane to turn his emotional letter into a short film, also titled “Dear Basketball.” The film debuted on Apr. 23, 2017 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was even played on the screen at Los Angeles’ Staples Center to begin the ceremony of Kobe’s double-number retirement.

At the 90th Academy Awards, Kobe and Keane accepted the award for Best Animated Short Film for their work.

Kobe is the first professional athlete to receive an Oscar.

You can find the whole thing on YouTube. It’s more than a love letter from one person to their particular sport: it's the story of romance, fixation and child-like fascination.

Kobe’s letter looks upon the dream which was his life and is told with the energy and the spirit of the young boy who became enthralled by the sport of basketball.

It is a work that can stand on its own as thoughtful prose. It encompasses the very determination, wit and relentless sense of wonder that made Kobe so beloved in the first place.

He is not just some athlete. He is a role model of how hard work and passion can lead you beyond your wildest dreams to make this world a better place. Kobe’s film portrays his life as a personification of the American Dream.

There was no filmmaker better to direct Kobe’s life story than Keane.

Keane is a veteran of Walt Disney Animation, having worked for them as a character animator on films like “The Little Mermaid.” Keane gives the film a flowy, playful, watercolorlike scheme with each frame, illuminating Kobe’s ageless wonder in the way it truly deserves.

And to put a soundtrack to “Dear Basketball,” there is only one composer who is not only of Kobe’s degree of greatness, but can also compose music of childlike wonder: John Williams. Williams wrote the music to “Star Wars” and “E.T.,” and that is just the top of his resume. In

fact, upon his return from injury in 2014, Kobe chose Williams’ “Imperial March” to enter the court.

With these three at the helm of the project, “Dear Basketball” is able to breathe new life into a career and life story that has inspired millions and will only continue to do so.

The work, along with most everything Kobe ever did, stood as a testament to the power of perseverance, the willingness to work harder than anybody else, even when it seems unnecessary and an undying spirit in the face of anything and everything.

That is what Kobe stood for, and with works like this short film to show for it, his message will live on.

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While many only know Kobe Bryant for his exploits on the court, he is also an award-winning filmmaker.

CULTURE

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January 29, 2020

Students Get Rowdy at Rod’s Coffee House

By SARAH SULC

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past Saturday, Jan. 25, Fordham’s beloved student-run Rodrigue’s Coffee House (Rod’s) welcomed performances from dreamcrusher, Deli Girls, Bitchney Boy Fellowship and Black Ergot. If you are unfamiliar with Rod’s, it is not only a coffee house.

It is a study space, a space for clubs and organizations to meet, a place for professors to hold office hours and of course, a venue for talented artists and bands to perform.

As a member of Rod’s and a regular show attendee, I knew we were all in for something new and experimental. Rod’s secretary, Jack McKernan, FCRH ’22, booked the artists for this show because of his own personal liking for each of the performers and their music. He told me he’d been eyeing dreamcrusher for a while because of their notable live performances. I would soon learn that McKernan was right; dreamcrusher would put on one of the most fascinating live performances I had ever seen.

Upon arriving a few minutes before 8 p.m., dreamcrusher was busy conducting a sound check when one of the monitors began smoking and nearly broke. This was simply the beginning of a night filled with excitement. Before the show began, I noticed both familiar faces and faces I’d never seen at a Rod’s show, or even around campus. Deli Girls’ and dreamcrusher’s monthly Spotify listeners sum up to approximately 15,000 individuals, so it only makes sense that some of their local fans would take advantage of a free performance.

First in the lineup was Fordham’s own Hugh Potter, FCRH ’21, performing as Black Ergot. As a container of complementary earplugs was passed around, those in the audience who may have shown up without expectations, myself included, began to understand the concept of noise music.

Noise music has been around since the early 20th century. Black Ergot’s

set consisted of harsh and intense layers of noises that elicited an emotional experience usually evoked by a song’s lyrics, not its sound.

The turnout was so impressive that we ran out of earplugs during the first set. For the majority of the night, I walked around with one earplug in and one out so I could somewhat protect my hearing while maintaining the ability to converse with the people around me.

The following set was a performance from Bitchney Boy Fellowship, another one of Fordham’s own, comprised of Will Pasko, FCRH ’21 and Bryan Wozniak, FCRH ’21. I noticed a significant increase in both moshing and dancing during this set, and more people began to show up.

Despite similarities, I noticed some key differences between the first two sets. Pasko and Wozniak said Bitchney Boy Fellowship is a new project and this was their first time performing at Rod’s.

They told me they had recently performed at a fraternity at Seton Hall University and noted the difference in crowds in these two shows.

“We had a home field advantage here,” Pasko said. “Our music is a combination of techno, industrial techno and gabber,” which works well in an environment like Rod’s that usually draws in individuals with experimental music tastes.

Potter explained that when creating noise music as Black Ergot, texture was one of the most important things.

I compared part of his set to the sound of a race car revving, a sound I was very familiar with as a kid watching my dad at the racetrack. Potter appreciated this sentiment and said that it is rarely his goal to create a specific sound, but to layer different noises to create an aural experience.

At this point in the night, Rod’s was packed, including the basement.

During their set, Deli Girls performed songs from their recent album, “I Don’t Know How to Be Happy.”

Everyone around me was wearing earplugs and the excitement and ener-

gy throughout the night never simmered. In fact, it only increased as each performer went on. The music was so loud that the crowd became an ocean of people moving in sync with the vibrations that could be felt no matter where in the room you were standing. What happened next is what I imagined to be the moment of peak excitement during the night.

As if on cue, everyone suddenly noticed the smell of something like burning plastic. Deli Girls stopped their set, and the lights came on.

The monitor that nearly broke during dreamcrusher’s sound check smoked even more and unfortunately seemed to be irreparable.

During a brief intermission which the monitor was taken outside, most attendees stepped out for a breath of fresh air or a cigarette.

Next came the final performance of the night, a hardcore noise/ punk set from dreamcrusher. The room was completely dark except for a single strobe light and several burning incense sticks that dreamcrusher lit on the table in front of them. The darkness intensified the importance of sound and movement during the set, and the audience seemed to catch on quickly.

No one seemed to care about a single thing besides enjoying the excitement of the set. The set also brought about one of the most memorable moments of the night.

The smoke alarm went off as someone decided to crowd surf.

The combination of a fog machine and burning incense is likely what set off the alarm.

It was chaotic to say the least, but the attendees of this show seem to enjoy the chaos.

“I think we counted at least 100 people,” said McKernan.

This will be one of the most memorable Rod’s shows for a while to come.

Next up for Rod’s is a show this Friday, Jan. 31, featuring PEAER, Spirit Was and Jadeworm.

TOP AND BOTTOM COURTESY OF SARAH SULC / MIDDLE MACKENZIE CRANNA/THE FORDHAM RAM

Students had a wild time at Rodrigue’s Coffee House this past Saturday.

Who's That Kid? | It’s Madi Burkart, GSB ’21!

Junior Passionately Dances Through Life

By SARAH HUFFMAN NEWS EDITOR

MADI BURKART FOR THE FORDHAM RAM

Madi Burkart, GSB ’21, is the secretary of Fordham’s Expressions Dance Alliance.

Madi Burkart, GSB ’21, spends most of her nights in the Keating basement dance studio, rehearsing choreographed dances as she and her peers prepare to perform on Collins mainstage at the end of the semester.

Burkart has been a member of Expressions Dance Alliance for the last three years, auditioning and making it onto the team in the fall semester of her freshman year.

Since then, she has moved into an executive board position and is currently serving as secretary.

“I really wanted to get involved and be more involved in the company on a more leadership level,” she said. “So I ran for treasurer at the end of my freshman year, and then did that. And then I went abroad, so I missed the semester, obviously, and now I’m back as secretary.”

Dance has been an integral part of Burkart’s life since she was a child.

She started dancing at the age of three and by the time she was 11 she was dancing at the pre-professional level.

“I really wanted to be a professional dancer at that point, but as I got into high school, I sort of realized it wasn’t really for me in terms of the political nature of it,” Burkart said.

Burkart said she didn’t like the drama associated with dancing at that level. She said she also dealt with a lot of body shaming and faced instructors telling her what to and what not to do with her body.

“I was excited when I got to college and Expressions was there, and we can just come together, do this for fun, and there’s no pressure to be perfect,” said Burkart. “It’s just about, you know, creating stuff together.

And that’s what really drew me to dance in the first place.”

Burkart is originally from Chicago but had always wanted to live in New

York City, especially growing up as a dancer.

“I always thought I’d be on Broadway, or I’d be in the Rockettes, you know when you’re little. And that’s just this big dream for dancers. That really is the dream, to be in New York City,” Burkart said. “But as I got older, I became a city girl, and I just love the city lifestyle. I love to be busy. Just the city life, the grind, the ambition and the passion that everyone has here.”

Despite her love for New York City, Burkart said she misses Chicago and her family, especially her nephews and niece.

“Being an aunt is a huge part of my life, and I love being an example for them,” she said. “They’re the lights of my life.”

New York City and Chicago are not the only cities Burkart loves exploring. She spent the 2019 spring semester abroad in London and recently took a trip to Tokyo over winter break with her global immersion marketing class.

CULTURE Ichiran Serves a Delicious Bowl of Solitude

Page 15

January 29, 2020

By HARRISON SHI

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Upon hearing the word “ramen,” most are quick to imagine the cheap Maruchan packaged ramen that college students are all too familiar with.

For this reason, people are often confused to hear that my favorite food to eat is ramen.

However, the ramen that I am referring to is not packaged, and sadly it cannot be bought for 99 cents at the grocery store. True ramen is art, and while there are a plethora of authentic ramen shops in New York City, I feel that ramen is at its best at Ichiran Midtown, located at 132 W. 31st street.

Taking a step into Ichiran is like taking a step into Japan. One of the most defining features about Ichiran — besides their marvelous pork tonkatsu ramen — is the seating arrangement.

Similar to traditional Japanese ramen shops, Ichiran is set up in a long aisle with private flavor concentration booths. These booths are fully equipped with dividers and a curtain that separate you from the server.

Imagine a study desk at the library, except you are there to enjoy a full meal. It is peculiar at first, yet intimate, as it encourages the focus of the meal to be primarily on the food.

Ichiran is unique in that you go through your whole meal without seeing your server’s face, as the curtain is low enough that it doesn’t al-

low you to see the upper half of their body.

Once it’s time to order, you get the pleasure of choosing your preferences for your bowl of ramen via pen and paper. This impersonal process allows for full customization of your bowl from noodle thickness to spice level. After finalizing your order, you press the call button located on the corner of your booth. A server will promptly roll up the curtain and obtain the order form, and thus your journey towards flavor excellence has begun.

As the curtain begins to rustle and the overwhelming smell of broth hits your nostrils, you can’t stop your mouth from watering. Served in a black ceramic box, this beautiful ramen concoction features a milky pork broth, vibrant green scallions, a shiny soft-boiled egg that you are forced to peel yourself, tender pork belly, delicate wheat noodles and a hint of fire red spice.

My one rule when it comes to eating ramen, which I consider the golden rule, is to always taste the broth first. When you dip your spoon into the beautiful broth, it swirls into the spoon with elegance. The broth is oily yet thick as it carries the fat of the pork.

As soon as the broth hits your tastebuds, you are met with a porky explosion of flavor. The broth is strong and complex, as the porky flavor and intense spice fuse together to create a masterful mayhem of flavor.

Each slurp of soup will have you savoring the richness of the pork broth while being enticed by the addicting heat of the spice.

Next come the noodles, which should never be overlooked. While there are a variety of different styles and preferences when it comes to ramen noodles, a reliable indicator of good noodles is how well they absorb and hold onto the broth.

Ichiran’s noodles effortlessly grab onto the thick broth, creating an amazing bite that fuses the bold broth flavor with a refreshing springy chew from the noodles.

When you need a break from the broth and noodles, it’s time to explore the delicacies of the ramen, which happen to be the pork belly and the soft boiled egg. Starting off with the

pork belly, it is important to note how fatty and rich these pieces of pork are.

The pork belly melts in your mouth and hardly requires any chewing. Pair this with a piece of egg to create a deliciously creamy bite. The velvety egg yolk goes perfectly with the pork belly, and if you chase it with some broth and noodles, you’ve got yourself a bite of food that you will not forget.

I would like to give a three part rating based on taste, presentation and economic value. Starting off with taste, I give Ichiran a hefty nine out of ten. The fact that the flavors are so bold and complex yet perfectly in tune with one another is why I appreciate Ichiran’s flavor so greatly.

Moving on to presentation, I give a score of seven. Like most ramen

places, the beauty of Ichiran lies in its flavors, and while these flavors taste beautiful, I believe the ingredients could be configured in a more visually pleasing way. By all means, Ichiran’s ramen looks delicious, but I wouldn’t say that its presentation is its strong point.

Finally, I give the value score a seven as well. In terms of ramen prices, Ichiran is standard, running at about $24 a bowl. However, in terms of food as a whole, it is not the greatest deal to pay over $20 for a bowl of noodle soup, which is why the value score is where it is.

Overall, Ichiran is a must-try, and I definitely recommend it as a first stop for those who have never had traditional ramen and are looking to try a place in the city.

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Ichiran Midtown, a traditional Japanese ramen restaurant serves its food in private booths that isolate the customer.

TikTok Catapults Trevor Daniel to Fame

By ALEXANDRA LANGE STAFF WRITER

Anyone who has been on TikTok recently has probably heard Trevor Daniel’ssong“Falling.”Nowstreamed nearly 300 million times on Spotify and peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Falling” has become one of the defining songs of the TikTok generation.

However, long before teenagers were dancing to the song on TikTok, hoping to go viral for their fun performances, Trevor Daniel was recording songs in his bedroom, hoping to go viral for his musical talent.

He started releasing music on SoundCloud in 2015, but it wasn’t until he dropped “Pretend” in late 2017 that his efforts were recognized

by Taz Taylor, a multi-platinum producer and founder of the production

collective Internet Money.

It was during Daniel’s first session with Taylor that he recorded the trapinfused heartbreak track “Falling.”

Coming together in a matter of hours, Daniel recalled in an interview with Billboard, “That night was just a crazy energy.”

When the track dropped in Oct. 2018, though, it didn’t receive much attention from those outside the Internet Money fanbase. Even a blackbear remix a few months later failed to send it to virality, although it became the most popular song off Daniel’s debut E.P., “Homesick.”

Without any playlisting on streaming services and little promotion, “Falling” began to rise on the charts over a year after its initial release in late 2019. Unbeknownst to Daniel, his song was going viral on the videosharing app TikTok.

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Trevor Daniel’s song was released in 2015 but recently went viral on TikTok.

Ironically, the 25-year-old Houston native did not even have a TikTok account at the time. He has often spoken about his indifference towards social media and his following on these platforms. He simply wanted people to hear his music organically.

While some artists would lose patience with the slow burn of a song like “Falling,” Daniel embraced the time it took for the song to reach stardom as it gave him the opportunity to mature as an artist and watch his fanbase grow.

When “Falling” became number one in the world on the Billboard pop charts in late December, Daniel wrote on Instagram that he was “speechless” and that it was “something he dreamed about.” He believes the song’s delayed success was a blessing.

“I’m glad it took so long, because a year was perfect timing for me to get mentally prepared,” he told Billboard.

This preparation was evident in Daniel’s Jan. 21 show at New York City’s Mercury Lounge, his first time performing since “Falling” blew up on TikTok. One might have expected the 250-seat venue to be filled with young TikTokers, only there to hear their beloved “Falling,” yet by the screams of lyrics to some of Daniel’s deep cuts, it was clear that the young star’s most loyal fans had shown up.

“You guys packed this s--- out,” Daniel said in awe at the sold-out venue, a stark contrast to his last New York show that only drew about 40 loyalists.

On stage, he donned the same offwhite Converse he had worn at his New York City show last April.

“You guys all signed the shoes,” he said.

Now studded with the signatures of those who were vibing to “Falling” long before it was ingrained into the soundtrack of Gen Z, his shoes are a reminder of both the journey Daniel has been on in the past year and his immeasurable growth as an artist.

Based on his physical appearance alone, it would be easy for Daniel’s inner transformation to go unnoticed.

Along with his Sharpie-covered Converse, his signature beanie and black outfit went unchanged from his last New York show. However, his command of the stage told an entirely different story.

A confident frontman, he effortlessly moved across the stage, taking time to belt out high notes, rest on top of speakers and borrow fans’ phones to record videos. Midshow, he ignited a mosh pit when he jumped into the audience, prompting cries of excitement from fans thankful to have the up-close-and-personal experience.

The live production of Daniel’s music also underwent a transformation. Usually relying on trap drums and digital tools to achieve his R&B/ pop sound, Daniel substituted these elements for a live band. The smooth, understated production of Daniel’s lovesick melodies were reimagined into heavy-hitting, Warped Touresque rock songs.

Thudding percussion and flashing strobe lights energized the venue during songs like “Wild” and “Never,” in which Daniel rearranged his vocals to fully embrace the punk rock vibe.

Near the end of the show, Daniel was on the verge of tears as he took a step back from his newfound rockstar persona to thank the audience and his band for their support.

“The last few months have been absolutely insane,” he said.

After taking a moment to embrace the outpouring of love, he transitioned into his final song.

“I know you guys know this one,” he said with a smirk.

The crescendo of the simple guitar loop of “Falling” vibrated throughout the venue and transfixed the audience.

After once again jumping into the audience for a mosh pit during the second chorus, fans decided they hadn’t had enough and continued to belt out the lyrics despite the band going completely silent.

YouTuber David Dobrik, a surprise attendee who was at the center of the mosh pit, said in his post-concert TikTok that fans felt like they truly went “inside TikTok” as Daniel sang the viral lyrics. However, Daniel shows promise to be more than just a TikTok hitmaker. Without any promotion of his own, fans gravitated toward “Falling” and gave it an immortal status.

Daniel has said himself that he doesn’t think “Falling” will be his biggest song and has repeatedly praised his upcoming album as being “the best you’ve ever heard.” Capturing global attention with his newfound platform, Daniel is showing the entire world what those 40 fans saw in him a year ago. Before long, TikTok will not be the only place people are “falling” for Trevor Daniel.

CULTURE

Page 16

January 29, 2020

Wake Up To New York’s Winter Wonderland

By ISABEL CELIO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When snow first covers the ram statue outside of Hughes Hall, many students take it as a sign to hunker down in their dorms and hibernate for the winter.

It sounds appealing to stay in your dorm room all day, only braving the weather when it is time for class, but you will miss out on all of the great winter activities New York City has to offer, some of which are free.

Instead of binge-watching a series on Netflix for eight hours, go and ice skate at Bryant Park on the Winter Village ice rink.

The ice rink at Bryant Park is the only skating rink that has free admission in New York City, with skates, helmets and lockers available for rent.

Once you are done skating, you can go inside The Lodge and enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate, along with an assortment of comfort foods.

There are also many other ice skating rinks, some of which are New York City’s prominent tourist attractions, like the Rockefeller Center Rink and the Wollman Rink in Central Park.

Although these ice skating rinks will be more crowded and cost money for admission, you will be able to see some of New York City’s most iconic sites as you skate.

However, if ice skating is not for you, there are also indoor

COURTESY OF FLICKR

New York City and the surrounding areas offer many opportunities to participate in winter sports such as ice skating.

winter activities, such as the Brooklyn Flea Market and Smorgasburg, which are open on the weekend.

The Brooklyn Flea Market and Smorgasburg allow you to stay warm while you get to look at a vast array of gifts, including antiques, clothing and handmade trinkets, all while eating unique food and desserts.

There are also many activities outside of New York City that can help separate you from the chaos and craziness that you call home.

After taking a 50-minute bus ride from Port Authority Termi-

nal, you can arrive at Campgaw Mountain Ski Area in New Jersey.

This mountain is great for beginners as well as advanced skiers and snowboarders, with trails ranging from green squares to black diamonds.

If you just want to tag along with your friends but do not feel like skiing or snowboarding, there is also a tubing track that will tow you up the mountain and allow you to plummet down it.

If there are a lot of beginner skiiers in your group, Mount Peter Ski Area might be a better fit.

There are more beginner trails and they offer a free skiing or

snowboard lesson when you buy a weekend lift ticket.

Mount Peter Ski Area is accessible by a 60-minute bus ride from Port Authority Terminal to Warwick, New York. There is also tubing at Mount Peter Ski Area, as well as a pub with food to warm you up, like hot chocolate, soup and chili.

If you want to try skiing or snowboarding but do not want to leave the city, there is also a Winter Jam Fest in Central Park on Feb. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Winter Jam Fest is a free event where you can learn to ski or snowboard in Central Park,

made possible by a mountain of snow that is blown onto Rumsey Field.

There are also other events that you can take part in and watch, such as snowshoeing, sledding, ice sculpting, ice skating as well as snowboard and ski performances.

There is also a FrostFest in Bryant Park that takes place between Jan. 24 and Feb. 2 near the ice skating rink at Winter Village.

This festival is free and allows you to take part in events such as silent disco, cozy igloos and bumper cars on ice.

However, do not worry if you miss FrostFest, as the bumper cars on ice will be at Bryant Park from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28 as well. All you have to do is go on the Bryant Park website and reserve your ticket. It is important to note that although the ice skating rink has free admission, the bumper cars cost $17 to reserve.

If these winter activities are making you excited to brave the outdoors, look into the Fordham Outdoors Club, a wonderful resource for winter activity ideas that puts on many events throughout the year.

Next time you watch the freshly fallen snow hit the ground and are about to curl up underneath a blanket in your bed, think about all of the fun winter activities that await you in New York City and beyond.

After all, it is much more fun to use bumper cars on ice than it is to take a nap.

The Ram Crossword: Thank You, Kobe Bryant 1. Kobe’s nickname 6. Pixar movie 10. Kitchen measurement (abbr.)

14. World’s fastest man 15. Ruckus 16. Whitman or Disney 17. Musical note two to three times the length of a breve 18. Aquatic mammal 19. Desire 20. Heavenly

22. Impact sound 24. “The Matrix” hero 25. Football measurement (abbr.)

26. Kobe’s team 29. Communication for the deaf (abbr.)

30. Reared 32. Informal denial 33. Kobe’s second act 37. Printing stat 38. Depend 39. Appendage 40. Lo ____ (Chinese Dish)

41. “The greatest” 42. You’re a fan of them 45. Food enhancer 46. Mild expletive 47. Pinnacle 48. Kobe’s hometown 50. Chum 51. Magician’s prop 54. Expressed disapproval 56. Let go 58. “Creme __ __ Creme” 60. Swell 62. Analogous 63. Not odd 64. “Avatar” blue race 65. Pedal pusher 66. Hodgepodge 67. Paradise 68. Word with “hired” or “fired” Down

ANSWERS TO ISSUE 1

1. A Disney princess 2. Together 3. Exotic fruit 4. Ettore Ewen’s WWE stage name 5. Stock market expert 6. Holey shoes 7. Atmosphere 8. Mythical birds resembling vultures 9. Fastening device 10. Fine-tune 11. Shot giver 12. ___-mo 13. Bball score system 21. Leisurely 23. Boy 27. Swift

ANSWERS IN ISSUE 3

Across

CREATED BY KEVIN DINEEN

28. Kickers’ targets 29. Whatever amount 30. Metallic element 31. Jamaican exports 33. Lady’s love 34. Celtic language 35. Those qualified to partici pate or be chosen 36. MacDonald’s place 40. Floor cleaner 42. Hot condiment 43. Check out 44. Australian mammal

46. D’Angelo Russell’s nick name 49. Bank offerings 50. Vladimir of Russia 51. Short poem 52. One who questions 53. Yonder 55. Exhausted 57. Timothee Chalamet’s “Call Me by Your Name” role 58. JFK or LBJ 59. Poetic time 61. Park in NYC., e.g.

SPORTS

January 29, 2020

Men’s Tennis Falls to Davidson, Brown

By JIMMY SULLIVAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Men’s Tennis started off the 2020 spring season with positive momentum after defeating Bucknell in its first team match of the year.

That momentum came to a screeching halt this past weekend, as the Rams dropped two matches to Davidson College and Brown University.

The weekend started with Saturday’s match against Davidson, where the Rams got off to a slow start and never recovered. The doubles combinations of junior Max Green and sophomore Jofre Segarra and senior Finn Kemper and junior Alex Makatsaria fell in straight sets, and the third doubles tandem of junior Lutwin de Macar and senior Fabian Mauritzson retired from the match due to injury. Things didn’t get much better from there; Kemper was the lone Ram to win his singles match, doing so over Davidson’s William Clark. However, the end result of the day’s events was a blowout loss for Fordham, and the team needed to regroup

quickly against a talented Brown team on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Fordham, Sunday’s match went even worse.

Fordham was unable to win even one of its individual or doubles matches on Sunday, falling to the host Bears by a final tally of 7-0. All three of Fordham’s doubles teams once again faltered with Mauritzson and de Macar again being unable to finish. Ford-

ham was also far less competitive in the singles matches, losing each one in straight sets despite some impressive rallies to make the sets close.

Fordham is 1-2 after this weekend’s defeats. The Rams will take on Fairfield in an early-season road test at 6 p.m. on Saturday. It is not that Fordham fell down this weekend that counts, it is how the Rams will respond.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Rams look to rediscover their initial success as the season begins.

Women’s Tennis Starts Spring with Losses to Harvard and Boston College

By JIMMY SULLIVAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Women’s Tennis faced a tough task this weekend, starting its team season with matchups against Harvard and Boston College. The Rams got an early wakeup call from both teams, losing both matches by scores of 7-0 and 5-2, respectively.

The team’s weekend started on Saturday with its matchup against Harvard University. Fordham got steamrolled for the doubles point, as the combinations of sophomore Valeriya Deminova and freshman Avery Aude, junior Arina Taluyenko and freshman Weronika Pociej and sophomore Nicole Li and sophomore Gen-

evieve Quenville were no match for Harvard’s doubles pairings.

Things did not improve much in the singles portion of the event, as Taluyenko, senior Maia Balce, Deminova, Aude, Pociej and Quenville all lost in two sets.

Fordham looked to right the ship on Sunday afternoon against Boston College, but the Rams had a hard time doing so against a team that entered Sunday’s match undefeated.

Fordham put up a more competitive effort on Sunday but ultimately fell 5-2. The Rams took the doubles point to start the match as a sign that maybe Sunday would be different, but the host Eagles showed their depth in the singles matches, winning five

out of six to run away with the match.

With the loss, Fordham Women’s Tennis has started its season 0-2. This part of the schedule looked difficult from the start of the fall season, and it reared its ugly head to begin the spring campaign. Fordham has what it hopes is an easier match this Saturday against Quinnipiac University in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Rams are looking to build off an 11-11 season last year that saw the team fall to George Washington in its second match at the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament at season’s end. Saturday’s match — the only one of the weekend for Fordham — gets started at 5:30 p.m.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Following a difficult start to the Spring season, the Rams look to bounce back against Quinnipiac.

Page 17

Men’s Basketball Goes Cold Offensively Against Saint Louis

By ANDREW POSADAS MANAGING EDITOR

After earning its first Atlantic 10 win against George Washington University, Fordham Men’s Basketball seemed to have figured things out on offense. However, Fordham was brought back down to earth over the weekend by Saint Louis University, as the Billikens beat the Rams 55-39 and held head coach Jeff Neubauer’s team to just 31% shooting.

Considering that Fordham has been battling attrition all season, it would have been easy for the team to pack it in and accept what many believe is already a lost season, but behind a career-high 22 points from sophomore guard Jalen Cobb, Fordham snapped a five-game losing streak to begin conference play. The Rams beat GW 59-54, shooting 45% from beyond the arc in the process.

Fordham would look to take that momentum on the road against the reigning A-10 conference tournament champions in Saint Louis.

The Billikens presented a much different challenge than the Colonials did, especially with their dynamic duo of guard Jordan Goodwin and forward Hasahn French.

Goodwin and French came into Sunday afternoon’s matchup as the only teammates in Division I basketball to average a doubledouble in points and rebounds.

Fordham’s solid defense would certainly be tested against a Billikens team that averages over 70 points for the season.

From the opening tip-off, Saint Louis asserted its aggressiveness and made a concerted effort to win the battle down low in the painted area. The Billikens opened the game on a 13-0 run, while Fordham missed their first eight shots and went scoreless for

nearly the first seven minutes of regulation. The only Ram to have success was the aforementioned Cobb, who scored nine points and accounted for more than half of Fordham’s first half total.

Saint Louis never allowed its lead to be cut back down into double digits, dominating Fordham on its way to a comfortable 32-16 lead at halftime.

Fordham’s offense began the second half much like it did the first, missing its first five shots before senior guard Antwon Portley knocked down a three-point shot.

It was Portley’s first game back since injuring his hamstring back on Dec. 20 against James Madison University. Portley played 16 minutes in his return, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds. Unfortunately, having Portley back could not stop Saint Louis from dominating the paint, outscoring the Rams 24-12 in that category.

The Rams shot 37% in the second half and were unable to take advantage when the Billikens went on a scoring drought for nearly six minutes. Goodwin was as good as advertised, dropping 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The game was never in doubt, and the Billikens won their fourth A-10 game this season, moving to 15-5 on the year.

As for the Rams, Cobb led all Ram scorers with 12 points and added two assists. Sophomore guard Ty Perry played every minute on Sunday, scoring five points with seven rebounds.

Fordham now drops to 7-12 on the season and are now 1-6 in the A-10. Fordham Men’s Basketball will be back in action this Wednesday against St. Bonaventure University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be seen exclusively on ESPN+.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

The Rams struggled to find the bottom of the net against the Billikens.

SPORTS

Page 18

Golf

SPRING

Rowing

By CHRIS HENNESSY

By ALEX WOLZ

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham golf team is coming off an “up-and-down” fall season that saw a couple of dead-last finishes, according to junior Dean Cerimido, and a few where the team was towards the middle of the pack. They are looking to improve upon these bottom-feeder finishes as they move toward the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament, which begins on April 24.

The team is very young and went through some growing pains throughout the fall.

Freshman PJ O’Rourke posted the lowest scoring average with a 76.8, and freshman Nicholas Manning posted the lowest round of the year with a 70.

Though even these two players struggled at points, both posting multiple rounds in the 80s, the consistency of all of the young players, especially these two, will be key for the Rams heading into the spring season. Cerimido said that the youth are “very exciting for the program.” These young players will provide scoring depth this season and become top players for the Rams in the future.

The fall season was about improvement, but when you consider the level of play that the team showed at certain points of the first half, the second half of the season should be about consistency. All of the

One year to the next, there has been nothing but improvement for Fordham Rowing. 2018 saw a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Championship. A third-place performance would follow in 2019, as the Rams made steps toward winning the conference once again. The 2020 spring season lies just a few months away, and there is nothing but excitement for the team that has continually shown it can compete with the best.

That third-place squad has seen some losses in the likes of last year’s seniors Erin Parker and Caroline Roncinske, two of those named to the all-conference team, but a third member of that group remains, junior Aleksa Bjornson.

As a significant contributor to that successful performance and the first varsity boat that medaled for the first time in thirteen years, Bjornson describes last season as “an extremely special moment … we truly came together to achieve something larger than ourselves.”

The past two years have proven quite a lot to these Rams, and Bjornson comes into the spring season motivated with sights set on another top performance in the A-10 Championship.

Four meets in the fall season were an excellent way for Fordham to put that goal into motion.

One of the primary concerns of the past season was consistency, as the Rams seemed to find their groove as the year went along, but struggled in the early going. The fall aimed to change this reality, putting talented competition in front of the crew and providing a first-look at the A-10 opponents of the future. As expected, there

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham’s golf team looks to rebound from a fall season where it struggled.

players, including O’Rourke and Manning, had up-anddown scores throughout the season. O’Rourke was the most consistent on the team, posting all of his scores within a range of 72 and 85. Manning shot a 90 at one point, and sophomore Chan Park posted an 86 at the Lehigh Invitational. All of the players on the team had similar rounds. O’Rourke did not play in the first two events of the year, making his season debut in the Quechee Invitational, and he only played eight rounds in the fall. O’Rourke will undoubtedly be an integral part of the spring

roster.

One of the main things that Fordham will have going for it in the future is that it will have no seniors on its team. The team is in the process of rebuilding and creating an atmosphere of winning for future years. The team will most likely look the same next fall as it does now, and that means they are in the process of improving and beginning the hunt for the A-10 Championship.

The spring will be about consistency and keeping the rounds out of the mid-to-high80s. It will help them finish top 10 at more tournaments as a

January 29, 2020

were results on both ends of the scale, but most importantly, rowers of all levels witnessed valuable growth. Especially so for the incoming freshmen: with multiple top finishes, they performed at a high-level in the warm-up to the season.

Returning rowers such as Bjornson valued the opportunity to get on the water early and scout the competition. However, improvement is critical. Bjornson says the fall “helped us assess the areas in need of improvement in order to be competitive with our rivals.” If that improvement remains a central focus moving forward, Bjornson knows “great things are going to happen.”

From here, the crucial word becomes consistency. If one were to critique the past year, it was partially stifled by imbalance, with struggles in the early portion of the season. The Rams would soon find their stride, especially against conference opponents. Still, they want to exit the gates at 100% this season. With the performances in the fall and confidence of the team, that looks to be exactly the case.

Each race has brought improvement for the rowers, while each year has produced a better conference finish than the last. For the Rams, they believe that both trends will continue and that 2020 will be even better than before, culminating in a finish at the top of the A-10.

The Rams will embark on their spring campaign at the San Diego Crew Classic beginning April 2. A scrimmage with La Salle will follow, along with the Cooper River Race Series from Pennsauken, New Jersey and the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Cooper River will play host once again for the A-10 Championship on May 16.

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COURTESY OF ROW2K

Fordham Rowing is looking ahead to ambitious goals in the spring of 2020.

January 29, 2020

Baseball

By JIMMY SULLIVAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Baseball had a historic 2019 season, and the Rams are already looking to put it behind them. No, not in a bad way — the Rams won the Atlantic 10 and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years — but success can weigh on a team just as much as failure, and Fordham is looking to build off its success instead of basking in it.

“Our approach is the same as every year,” Fordham head coach Kevin Leighton said. “The goal is to make the A-10 tournament and from there, win it.”

Fordham will look to do that despite some key losses to its starstudded 2019 roster. Junior closer Kyle Martin was drafted by the Orioles shortly after the end of the season after posting 10 saves and a 2.44 ERA. Senior Anthony DiMeglio graduated and then signed with the Brewers as an undrafted free agent. Another top reliever, Anthony Zimmerman, also graduated and signed with the Reds. Finally, senior Mike Cowell transferred to Fairfield.

“Every year we have to replace the guys that we lose to graduation and the MLB Draft, and there is no doubt it is a challenge, especially replacing the draft guys,” Leighton said. “We lost some incredibly tal-

Softball

By EMMANUEL BERBARI STAFF WRITER

Fordham Softball and Atlantic 10 Champions go together like traffic and weather, but the program hopes to disassociate from that label — in a good way.

Head coach Melissa Inouye did not come back to Rose Hill to simply satisfy the norm.

“Still pretty disappointed that we didn’t get to settle it outright,” said Inouye, referring to the Rams shared title with George Washington University. “I think we still talk about that now, but nonethe-

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ented guys from last year’s group but I am confident that we will have new guys step up this year.”

For all Fordham is losing off last year’s team, the Rams are bringing a lot of talent back. The Rams’ top five hitters in OPS (on-base plus slugging) are all returning, as are seven of the nine position players who played 50 games or more last season. Leading the Fordham hitters is junior infielder Jake MacKenzie, who hit .305 last season and stole 43 bases, which was fourth in the country last season. Seniors Jake Baker, C.J. Vazquez and Alvin Melendez, along with sophomore Jason Coules — all of whom hit at least .270 last season — will also return to fortify a strong Fordham lineup. Baker led the team in hitting last season with a .309 average.

Also returning as position players are senior infielder Matt Tarabek, who hit .250 and scored 35 runs, and a potential bounce-back candidate in senior Billy Godrick, who had just 23 hits in 149 at-bats last year but brings speed to the lineup, particularly if he can get on base.

In addition to the position players, Fordham brings back perhaps the best player on the roster, 2019 All-American junior pitcher John Stankiewicz. Stankiewicz was outstanding in 2019, pitching to just 1.47 ERA in 13 starts. In postseason play, he was equally as dominant, giving up just one run in seven innings in his lone A-10

Tournament start against VCU. The team will have to replace DiMeglio in its starting rotation, but with Stankiewicz leading the charge, the starting rotation should be in extremely good hands.

Fordham also will add six freshmen to its roster when it begins play in 2020. Leighton specifically cited infielder Zach Selinger, pitcher and infielder Jack Popolizio and pitcher Ben Kovel as players to watch. He also called freshman pitcher Garrett Crow-

ley “very impressive” so far in the team’s early practices.

“I think we have a number of guys that will be challenging for playing time this year which will push everyone to bring their best day in and day out,” Leighton said.

Fordham will look to reach the summit of the Atlantic 10 for a second straight season. It will not be easy and the Rams will have a target on their back every time they take the field, but last year’s championship experience, coupled with

the multitudes of players returning from last year’s team, bode well for the team’s chances of repeating in 2020. That being said, the team seems to be over the high of winning a conference championship last season.

“Last year was a great year for us, but last year is over, and we need to continue to work hard day in and day out if we want to accomplish our goal of winning another A-10 Championship,” said Leighton.

less I thought it was pretty good and, if anything, we’re trying to maintain the legacy here.”

That is the competitive drive behind seven straight A-10 titles and nine NCAA Tournament appearances over the last decade.

Fordham maintained supremacy despite dealing with some injuries, with seniors Jordy Storm, Chelsea Skrepenak, Molly Roark, Maria Trivelpiece, Deanna Burbridge and Kylie Michael all elevating their games and leading the Rams to a regional appearance in Seattle.

“I think they’ve not only circled several series on our schedule, but if anything it leaves a little bit a bad taste,” said Inouye. “I

know it’s crazy to think, winning a championship, and I think it just goes to prove the regular season title meant a lot last year, but it leaves a chip on our shoulder for sure.”

With the impactful seniors out of the fold, Fordham can turn to one of the best players the program has ever seen, whose competitive drive is as rich as ever.

Senior Madie Aughinbaugh continued to build on her increasingly iconic resume, winning A-10 Pitcher of the Year and a second straight A-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

“She worked for it and deserved it and carried us quite a bit,” said Inouye. “She’s a never-satisfied

kind of kid, and that’s what makes her competitive and successful because of the standard she holds herself to.”

She not only thrived in the circle, but hit a team-high .354, and she enters her senior season within the program’s all-time top 10 in starts, complete games, wins, innings, strikeouts and career ERA. Aughinbaugh is one of only two seniors on this year’s roster, but sophomores Makenzie McGrath, Sarah Taffet, Gigi Speer, Kelly Bright and Julia Martine all bring beyond-their-years experience, having conquered the A-10 battles and competed in a regional setting.

“They were really proud of the performance we had there,” said Inouye. “It said a lot to our competitiveness, not backing down to whoever we’re playing.”

Fordham fell to No. 2 Washington, 2-0, with Aughinbaugh mostly silencing one of the nation’s most potent offenses, and dropped a heartbreaker to Seattle, 1-0 in eight innings, effectively ending their season.

Many Rams spoke to the program’s loftier aspirations on various occasions last year.

Freshmen Devon Miller, Katelyn Vara, Amanda Carey and Michaela Carter are acclimating to a culture that expects them to maintain the A-10 standard and compete on a national level.

“The team and the program wants to push past a regional,” said Inouye. “If you’re looking at the future, we want to push for a super regional. That would be our next vision.”

Miller projects to be one of the

more promising freshman, and could slot behind Aughinbaugh as the Rams look for answers in starting pitching depth.

The Chadds Ford, PA native earned Pennsylvania State Softball Association 5A Player of the Year honors at Bishop Shanahan High School, fanning over 1,000 batters in her career.

Fordham adds transfer catcher Aubree Barney out of Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington, who batted .400 and stroked 14 homers.

These are some of the reinforcements Fordham will count on as it strives for new heights.

With their senior ace, fearless leader and one of Softball America’s Top 100 players ready to lead the charge, it is on the newcomers to adapt to a longstanding tradition, just as Inouye did in her first year as head coach a season ago.

“Competitiveness, not afraid to play anybody, the championship culture and that we are always going to work harder than anyone else,” said Inouye. People could see it as pressure, but if anything, it’s very motivating to be a part of a program that’s already had so much success.”

The Rams will make trips to Houston, Texas; Fresno, California; Fort Myers, Florida; Durham, North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina as part of a demanding and formidable out of conference slate.

“We schedule hard for a reason,” said Inouye. “It’s to get us in a regional type of atmosphere early, so when we do get to regional it’s not a deer in the headlights look, and we want to play the best.”

JULIA COMERFORD/THE FORDHAM RAM

Fordham Baseball went to the NCAA Tournament last season, but the team is off to new goals as the season begins.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Softball endured several offseason losses, including six of its nine starters and outfielder Chelsea Skrepenak (above).

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Squash Rebounds, in Health And Results, Against Bucknell

By JIMMY SULLIVAN

Aughinbaugh On Top-100 List

By JIMMY SULLIVAN

SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham squash team was forced to deal with some early adversity to kick off 2020. After a strong start to the season in November and December, the Rams dropped four matches in a row between Jan. 14-19, all of which were at home. Fordham was without some of its best players, and the team simply could not get its entire roster healthy at the same time.

Last weekend though, the Rams righted the ship, both with the health of their star players and the team’s fortunes.

Fordham defeated Bucknell 8-1 last Saturday at the Lombardi Squash Courts on the Rose Hill campus. Junior Griffin Fitzgerald — one of the Fordham players who was in-and-out of action the week before — won the first individual match over Bucknell’s Delancey McFadden, who, ironically, retired before a potential fifth set against Fitzgerald. In the next match, junior Tommy White fell to Bucknell’s Riggs Johnson to tie the match at one apiece.

From there, though, the rout was on.

The Rams took their next seven individual matches to close the day with a much-needed 8-1 victory over Bucknell. Senior Bruce Czachor, junior Justin Deckoff,

January 29, 2020

SPORTS EDITOR

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Squash was in top shape this week against Bucknell after regaining sick players.

sophomore Jack Reed and freshman Justin George won the next four matches to clinch the victory for Fordham. No match after the first two went longer than four sets. On Saturday, Fordham returned to the form we knew it was capable of, but did not get to see while the team was going through injury.

With the win, the Rams moved to 15-9 on the season with just a handful of matches to play.

With the season entering its final month, the story of Fordham’s year and its best players is beginning to take shape. Freshman Caleb Schumacher moved to 16-6 with his victory on Saturday, and the first-year player is tied with

Deckoff for the best record of any Fordham player. Another freshman, Justin George — who Fordham head coach Sahel Anwar said would “really help our team” back in October — sits at 12-5. Other standouts for the Rams include freshman Jacob Bennett (15-9), Fitzgerald (15-7) and sophomore Dylan Panichello (14-6).

Fordham’s next matches are at home this Saturday against New York University, Boston University and Siena College. The Rams are in the midst of a rare eight-game home stretch to cap off their regular season before the ever-looming CSA (College Squash Association) Championships commence on Feb. 28.

Fordham senior pitcher Madie Aughinbaugh is expected to have a big year for the Fordham softball team. Those expectations were ratcheted up ever so slightly this week.

Aughinbaugh has been named to Softball America’s list of the top 100 players in America, in the 99th position. This honor comes off the heels of another NCAA Tournament appearance for Fordham Softball and another stellar campaign by Aughinbaugh.

In 2019, the Rams’ ace pitched to a 2.44 ERA and 17 wins in a staggering 33 starts. The then-junior stalwart really picked it up, though, as the season wound to a climactic close, starting each of Fordham’s final six games — four in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and two in the NCAA Tournament. She gave up just 10 runs in those games and went the distance in each one.

With her large part in Fordham’s seventh straight conference title and the team’s trip to the NCAA Tournament, Aughinbaugh was unsurprisingly named the A-10’s

Pitcher of the Year. Fordham needed everything Aughinbaugh had at the end of last season, and Aughinbaugh was up to a task to which few other pitchers in America would have been able to achieve.

The senior was the best player on the field for Fordham last season, and it was not just for her exploits in the circle. As good as Aughinbaugh was there, she also provided great value from the plate, where she hit a team-high .354 and tied for the team lead in hits with 63. As easy as it is to forget that in her pitching exploits, she can do it all with the bat in her hands as well.

Aughinbaugh will look to build off a historic 2019 season that saw her make her mark on Fordham’s softball program and the school’s record books. The Rams will need her to be at her best again, with the team replacing several key losses at important positions.

That being said, if last year taught us one thing, it is that as long as Madie Aughinbaugh is playing for Fordham, the Rams’ potential is almost limitless.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Madie Aughinbaugh has received another well-deserved honor while at Fordham.

Fordham Swimming and Diving Sweep the Iona Gaels in Final Home Meet

By JACK ROCHE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In their final home meet of the season, the Fordham swimming and diving squad put their talents on full display, sweeping the Iona College Gaels on Wednesday night. The women posted a commanding 175-114 score en route to victory, while the men followed suit with a 143-119 tally.

The evening began with the women’s 200 medley relay, where Fordham captured the top two spots (senior Naima Mackrel, junior Vaula Vekkeli, senior Mia Bullock and senior Sammy McDonald touched first with a time of 1:47.93). The Rams never turned back after claiming this event, leading the Gaels throughout the entire meet.

Senior diver Molly Dunn led Fordham off the board, taking home the three-meter competition with a staggering score of 310.80, a school record (previously held by Wendy EspinaEsquivel, class of 2018, with 307.20). Dunn also won the onemeter dive with a mark of 254.25.

Vekkeli and freshman Ali-

BY MACKENZIE CRANNA

Both Men’s and Women’s Swimming won big against Iona this weekend, finding success in multiple events across the board.

son Lin were the other two multi-event winners, as Vekkeli was victorious in the 200 freestyle (1:55.47) and the 400 IM (4:29.38), while Lin placed first in the 100 backstroke (59.15) and 500 freestyle (5:10.86).

The men were victorious at the Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center for the first time since Nov. 22, where they handily defeated NJIT, 194-102. This go-

around marked the 12th competition between the schools, in which Fordham improved their record to a pristine 12-0. Senior Casey Sawyer from Syracuse, New York spoke about how a home win down the stretch can impact a team.

“It is definitely a good push for our team as we move into preparing for the conference tournament.” He added “it also

showcased some very good inseason swimming by plenty of people on the team.”

Some of these swimmers included junior Patrick Wilson and sophomore Josh Stegen. Wilson touched first in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events (58.02, 1:55.74), while Stegen contributed with first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 freestyle (47.47, 1:41.91).

Additionally, Wilson had an incredibly crucial role in the 200 freestyle relay, joining senior Sean Finlay, junior Bryce Bollesen and Kevin Berry in their win.

Berry, the senior from Garrett Park, Maryland, also helped propel the Rams to first place in the 200 medley relay with junior Scott Stern, sophomore Julius Ekstrand, and Bollesen with a time of 1:35.55.

Sophomore Connor Wright from Monmouth Beach, New Jersey also took the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:55.74.

The women now sit at a nearperfect 9-1, and the men currently boast a record of 4-5 as they look to finish the season .500 in dual-meets.

The Rams will be on the road from here on out, following the dominating sweep in their final home meet. Looking ahead, Fordham travels north to Amherst as they look to challenge the University of Massachsetts.

That match kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1:00 p.m.

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January 29, 2020

Track Has Plenty of Success at Boston U’s Terrier Classic

By DYLAN BALSAMO

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The winter track season is not particularly long. The Fordham men’s and women’s squads came into this past weekend with just five more meets before the Atlantic 10 Championships kick off on Feb. 29. Right after that comes the ECAC/IC4A Championships and then the NCAA Championships to conclude the winter schedule. Needless to say, both of the Rams’ teams need to prove themselves, and there is not a real host of time to do so.

On Friday, the women kicked off the Fordham campaign at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University’s Track & Tennis Center in Boston, Massachusetts. They spent most of the day in the spotlight, as all but one event featured a Fordham Ram. The women also found success on the day, led unsurprisingly, by junior Kathryn Kelly. Kelly had a couple of solid finishes, placing second in the 200-meter dash with her best time of the season at 24.61 seconds, which is good enough to be an ECAC qualifying time. Next up, her time of 7.79 seconds in the 60-meter dash invitational was enough to earn second place.

Also of note was the 4x800

On both days of the Terrier Classic, Fordham Track saw event wins and success

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Fordham Track had plenty of event wins ans success at the Terrier Classic at Boston U.

relay team of senior Sydney Snow, sophomore Helen Connolly, sophomore Jilli Jones and freshman Taylor Mascetta. They teamed up to post an ECAC qualifying time of 9:19.83, finishing second on the day behind only the University of Texas.

There were three other events on Friday that showcased the Fordham women. Junior Sarinnagh Budris ran the 500-meter race with a final time of 1:16.93, her best time of the season and good enough for 15th place in the competition. Budris was also joined by her teammates, sophomore runner Dominique Valentine, freshman Mary Kathryn

Underwood and freshman Kyla Hill to come in 18th in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:57.48, also a season-best. There was one more season-best finish for Fordham on the day, and it came from sophomore Jade Dyer-Kennedy in the triple jump, coming in 18th at 36’2”.

Other events for the women on the day included freshman Radha Dooley’s turn at the 60-meter hurdles and high jump, with marks of 10.34 and 5’11”, respectively, and Snow coming in 44th at the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:57.87.

The Friday portion of the Classic also included one event

Page 21 for the Fordham men, as junior Christopher Strzelinski, junior Antony Misko, freshman Erik Brown and sophomore Brandon Hall competed together in the distance medley relay and finished with a IC4A qualifying time of 10:06.00, good enough for fourth place on the day.

The following day, the men took center stage at BU and had themselves an outstanding day.

They had only one event win, and it came in the final showing of the day, as sophomore Zalen Nelson, junior Arthur Gooden Jr., Strzelinski and sophomore Jeremiah LaDuca ran 4x800 relay in a time of 7:41.07, a IC4A qualifying time as well.

While that may have been the only first place finish the Fordham men saw on Saturday, they would place qualifying times in six other events.

Three of the four members of the medley-winning squad, Nelson, Gooden and Strzelinski, all had qualifying finishes on their own. Gooden competed in the 500-meter run and came in fourth with a time of 1:03.55.

Meanwhile, Nelson and Strzelinski competed alongside each other in running the 1,000-meter event, as Nelson came in seventh at 2:27.36 and Strzelinski finished 13th at 2:28.56.

Racing in the 500 with Gooden was his teammate, junior Antony Misko, who himself finished with a qualifying time of 1:04.04,

good for 10th place. LaDuca also competed in the race, but came up short with a time of 1:05.31 in 17th.

There were two more qualifying finishers for the Rams on Saturday, as senior Ryan Kutch and graduate student Nicholas Raefski ran together in the 3,000-meter run. Kutch came in at 8:11.29 to come in 17th while Raefski crossed the finish line at 8:19.62.

Other notable events for the men on the day were freshman Robert LeFevre having a seasonbest mark in the 200-meter event at 22.62 seconds and junior Nikolas Reardon coming in sixth place in the triple jump with a height of 46’6 1/4”.

To cap off the day, the women competed in one last event as Budris and Jones were alongside sophomore Bridget Alex and the freshman

Alexandra

Thomas

when they competed in the distance medley relay and came in eighth at 12:20.97.

It was a successful trip up to Boston for the Rams, who will face the challenge of the first championship of the season next.

They will participate in the Metropolitan Championship at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island on Thursday, Jan. 30 and Friday, Jan. 31.

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January 29, 2020

Student-Athlete Column: Mental Training

By GIGI SPEER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Houston Astros have their own methods for improving their hitting results. Unlike the MLB, Fordham Softball doesn’t use garbage cans or buzzers: we rely on time-tested old reliable drills (front toss, tee practice and hitting live off of our preeminent pitchers) and have recently incorporated a modern mental training system.

This week, we had a visit from successful global hitting coach Tony Abbatine. We met him in Hughes for an hour-long lecture, then made our way over to Lombardi to put his teachings to the test and experiment with everything we’ve ever known about front toss, tee practice and hitting live. Coach Abbatine spoke of sunsets, mountains and oceans when it came to visualizing the pitcher. His premise is to find calmness and stability in a natural image and to openly gaze at that imagined landscape so that by “seeing nothing, we see everything.”

Coaches in the past have told my teammates and I from a young age to simply “See ball. Hit ball.” This caveman-like directness urged us to visually pick up the ball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand and stare at it as it barrels closer.

Turning that world on its head, Coach Abbatine wanted us to trust

our vision and timing and to challenge our eyes to imagine things that weren’t necessarily there in order to better react to what actually was there.

Although it’s hard not to focus on the details we so often obsess over, the importance of remaining cool, calm and confident in high-pressure situations is paramount.

When we get caught up in the little details that might hold us back, we hinder our reaction to fastballs, ground balls and even the adversity we face in normal human experience.

Earlier in the year, in our training sessions with mental performance coach Ben Oliva, we learned the value of taking deep breaths, dealing with controllables and responding to things out of our control. To break free from patterns of self-doubt and worry, we learned ways to stay grounded and confident.

Sometimes life throws us difficulties that uproot us and send us into a Descartes-like whirlpool of anxiety, and while it may seem as if there is no way out, we have to use the words of coaches Abbatine and Oliva and see things that aren’t necessarily there.

As we prepare to play in less than two weeks and the pressure of both softball and academic assignments heightens, I will try to see sunsets, mountains and oceans and not worry about the little things.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Visualization and other mental training is particularly helpful to student-athletes.

By ALEX WOLZ

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

This article comes at an interesting time in the sports world. Zion Williamson has made a thunderous debut in the NBA, the Australian Open has been a rollercoaster of surprises and perhaps the biggest national sporting event is quickly approaching: Super Bowl LIV. Instead, I am going to a place that rarely gets discussed in the States: the Premier League and Liverpool.

My relationship with soccer has varied over the years. I played as a young child like many others and loved playing the sport until the beginning of high school. All the while, though, I was never an avid watcher.

The World Cup — the biggest sporting event there is next to the Olympics — was a quadrennial phenomenon and Champions League finals a delight, but these events were few and far between, and I never really engaged with soccer outside the field itself.

For whatever reason, that relationship changed this past year, and I developed a new appreciation for soccer. Maybe it was seeing the United States women claim another trophy in the 2019 World Cup, the stunning comeback by Lucas Moura and Tottenham and the dramatic collapse of Barcelona at Anfield in the Champions League. I think it is the latter that sparked my interest, not solely Liverpool’s victory on the biggest stage in club soccer, but the incredible streak they maintain today. Incredible is an understatement: I should say historic.

For those who may be unaware, after a late win against the Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool extended an unbeaten streak in perhaps the toughest league in professional soccer — the Premier League — to 40 matches, now the second-longest of all time. Liverpool has not dropped a game in the Premier League in a calendar year, boasting a 22-1 record this season and leading the table by 16 points. That is not to mention winning the FIFA Club World Cup, making their way through the FA Cup and actively defending their title in the Champions League. They are one of the busiest clubs in soccer, yet

have remained nearly invincible.

I bring this up not just to note Liverpool’s unbelievable run of success, but also to reignite a larger conversation surrounding greatness as a whole. As a longtime fan of Stephen Curry, I have been lucky to witness an equally impressive run of success these past few seasons. The Warriors advanced to five consecutive NBA Finals and hoisted two trophies. Yet their success was always considered with an asterisk.

While the 2015 title was celebrated across the country, as the Warriors drafted a team from the ground up to win their first championship in 40 years after years of struggle, the dynamic changed with the arrival of Kevin Durant. Regardless of one’s thoughts on the decision, it dominated the conversation. Instead of celebrating the Warriors’ team-oriented way of playing basketball, fun exuding from the court and ultimate victories, we did the opposite, saying that the trophies were undeserved or insignificant and waiting for the day it all collapsed.

A similar story could be told for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. I have always liked James and followed him to the Heat — my favorite team in the league — and was equally lucky to witness James lead the Heat to back-to-back titles in four Finals appearances. Yet the celebrations for the Heat occurred through a similar lens, one that discredited James for joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a “big three,” inspiring teams like the Warriors to take shape in the future. People continually resented his time with the Heat instead of appreciating perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever live.

Similarly, the 3-6 Finals record of a

man who — on many occasions single-handedly — led a team to eight straight championship appearances continues to loom over his head in comparison to Michael Jordan.

Thankfully, James would find salvation by bringing a trophy to Cleveland. Durant looks to do the same for Brooklyn, but attempts to slight these two historically great players persist today.

This is why Liverpool’s run of success has been particularly fascinating.

We all like to see underdogs with an unexpected rise to victory, such as Leicester City with an unprecedented title run in the 2016 Premier League or the Toronto Raptors earning their first NBA Finals trophy to end the Warriors’ reign of terror.

These victories come without any asterisks and fans embrace them, especially because they do not happen very often. The same is true for the greatest teams, yet they rarely receive the same treatment.

Fortunately for Liverpool, that does not seem to be the case. The run of the Reds may have fans enraged and teams dumbfounded in attempts to stop them, but it has not been unrewarded like many other dynastic teams. It has come with admiration, just as it should have.

I have to say, though, despite Liverpool’s impressive run and my admiration for Jurgen Klopp’s squad, which has a few favorite footballers of mine, I want to see them lose a match, because when it is not your favorite team, greatness is not all that fun. I guess I am just like everyone else, but while we may not like it, we should all take the time to appreciate greatness because, despite its frustrations, it will always be missed when it is over.

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Liverpool FC is on its way to a historic season, and not all fans are happy for them.

Varsity Calendar HOME AWAY

Follow us on Twitter at @theram_sports

Thursday Jan. 30

Friday Jan. 31

Saturday Feb. 1

Men’s Basketball

Dayton 4:30 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

La Salle 2 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

Fairfield 6 p.m.

Women’s Tennis

Quinnipiac 5:30 p.m.

Squash

NYU 10 a.m.

Swimming

UMass 1 p.m.

Track

Metropolitan Championship

12 p.m.

Sunday Feb. 2

Monday Feb. 3

Tuesday Feb. 4

Wednesday Feb. 5

Rhode Island 11 a.m.

SPORTS

January 29, 2020

Anthony Cardone Ninety Nine Point Seven

Last week Derek Jeter, the legendary shortstop for the New York Yankees, was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with a record-setting 99.7% of the voters. It was his first time on the ballot, and he entered with longtime Rockies player Larry Walker for the class of 2020.

Jeter was a five time World Series champion, a 14-time All Star, a Rookie of the Year, a World Series MVP, five-time Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner.

He collected 3,465 hits, which is sixth on the all-time list. Why are people still upset about his induction?

It wasn’t unanimous.

A year after his longtime teammate Mariano Rivera was the first unanimous player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Jeter received 396 of 397 votes to get in.

One person did not vote for him, but in the end, who cares?

This doesn’t matter. Why look at the negative paspect of an unbelievable 20-year career under the brightest lights in New York?

Look at his accomplishments as a player, athlete and role model to millions since coming up in 1996.

He was a first ballot Hall of Famer and has the record for most percentage of the votes for a position player.

People are trying to find the person who didn’t vote him in, trying to understand why they would not vote for someone like Derek Jeter. Why does it matter?

He had his opinion as a baseball writer. That is what sports is about these days: opinions, arguments and debates. Don’t sit there and look at the 0.3% out of 100%.

Take a look at the bigger picture, stop looking at the negative part and actually focus on what Jeter has done for the game of baseball.

Jeter was always a humble player. He never looked at his accomplishments and just looked forward. He was a competitor and champion who always wanted to win. He was still nervous on the day he got called into the Hall of Fame, even though he was sure to get in.

As an icon to the Yankees, a hero to children and a name that will live in infamy for the rest of eternity. Jeter did it right, the way an athlete is supposed to play the game they love. When he retired, he asked, “I always wondered why they thank me. For what? I’m just doing my job every day, you guys [the fans] made it easy.”

Part of me thinks Jeter didn’t want to be unanimous. I feel he wouldn’t care either way, just like the rest of us shouldn’t.

The number 2 means something different to baseball because of Jeter. People wear the number today because of him. Yes, his imduction wasn’t unanimous, but look what he did. Look what he gave to the world and how far he came, from a small town kid just wanting to play baseball to becoming a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Page 23

Varsity Scores & Stats Women’s Basketball Saint Louis 54 Fordham 66 (FOR) Cavanaugh: 27 PTS, 4 3PT Fordham 44 Dayton 48 (FOR) DeWolfe: 15 PTS. 6 FG Men’s Basketball George Washington 56 Fordham 59 (FOR) Perry: 22 PTS, 5 3PT Fordham 39 Saint Louis 55 (FOR) Eyisi: 12 PTS, 3 3PT

Women’s Swimming & Diving Iona 175 Fordham 114 (FOR) Dunn: 3M Dive - 310.80 - 1st Men’s Track & Field Terrier Classic Individual Results Only (FOR) Gooden: 500m - 1:03.55 - 4th

Men’s Swimming & Diving

Iona

143 Fordham 119 (FOR) Stegen: 200 Freestyle - 1:42.77 1st

Women’s Track & Field Terrier Classic Individual Results Only (FOR) Kelly: 200m - 24.61 - 2nd Men’s Squash Bucknell 1 Fordham 8 (FOR) Panichello: 11-5, 113, 11-3 Men’s Tennis Fordham 1 Davidson 6 (FOR) Kemper: 7-5. 6-4

Athletes of the Week Arthur Gooden Jr.

Kathryn Kelly

Junior

Senior

Track & Field

Track & Field

Gooden was part of two successful events at the Terrier Classic. He teamed up with three of his fellow Rams for a 4x800 relay-winning time of 7:41.07, and on his own, he put up an IC4A-qualifying time of 1:03.55 in the 500-meter run.

At this weekend’s Terrier Classic, Kelly put up top 10 finishes in two events, recording an ECAC qualifying and season-best time of 24.61 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

She also finished the 60-meter dash in 7.79 seconds.

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

News & Notes • Aquista Camp Dates Decided

Fordham Men’s Soccer head coach Carlos Aquista announced the dates on Tuesday for the 2020 Spring ID Clinics and Prospect ID Residential Camp for the Carlos Aquista Soccer School. The Spring ID Clinics will hold its first session on March 30 and its second one on May 31, while the dates for the Summer Prospect ID Residential Camp will be July 24-26. The Aquista-run camps and clinics are geared towards high school-age students and will focus on both individual and team development. The cost for both of the single dates will be $100 and will begin at 6:30 p.m. The three day camp will be $625 for the residential option and $400 for the commuter option. Aquista has just finished his first year as the head coach at Fordham.

• Aughinbaugh Named to Top 100

The Softball America Top 100 College Players in anticipation for the 2020 season was released on Thursday, and Fordham senior pitcher/utility player Madie Aughinbaugh was listed at the 99th position on their list. She is one of just three athletes on the list from the Atlantic 10 Conference, one of 33 pitchers and one of just nine utility players to make the cut of 100 players. This is just the second year that Softball America has put out the list. Last season, Aughinbaugh became just the fourth Fordham Ram in program history to win A-10 Pitcher of the Year.

• Carter Named All-American

Dequece Carter. a freshman wide receiver for

Fordham Football, was named to the 2019 Third Team Phi Steele FCS Freshman All-America Team, as was announced by the NCAA last week. carter, who was a standout receiver for the Rams this past season, was one of five players from the Patriot League to be named to the honorable team.

In 2019, a year that saw his team go 4-8, Carter caught 53 passes, good for 723 yards, along with five touchdowns. While placing second for the Rams in receptions, he led the squad in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. With his receiving yards and receptions, Carter set the freshman school record. He was fourth in the Patriot League in receiving yards and sixth in receiving yards per game.

• Sports World Mourns Kobe

On Sunday afternoon, it was learned first through

a TMZ news report that former Los Angeles Laker basketball star Kobe Bryant tragically died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash just outside of Los Angeles, California. Alongside Bryant in the helicopter were eight other people, including Bryant’s 13-year old daughter Gianna, as the helicopter was on the way to a travel basketball game in which Gianna was to play and Bryant was to coach. The identities of the rest of the victims were not released by police reports but were learned through families confirming their deaths.

—Compiled by Dylan Balsamo

Chris Hennessy All-Star Weekend in Review This past weekend marked the 2020 National Hockey League AllStar Game, hosted by the Stanley Cup Champion, the St. Louis Blues.

Friday night was the skills competition, followed by Saturday’s 3-on-3 tournament and both were a success but left something to be desired.

Friday was a huge success for NHL, as they rolled out two new events into the popular Skills Competition. They began with three familiar competitions, with Mathew Barzal winning the fastest skater, Jordan Binnington winning the save streak title and Jaccob Slavin taking the accuracy shooter crown. Then, they cleared the ice and made way for 20 of the best women’s hockey players in the world to play a 3-on-3 game.

The game was nine skaters and one goalie for the US and Canada, playing two ten-minute halves of 3-on-3.

The game was great, their skill was apparent, and having the best women in the world at a huge NHL event wearing the NHL crest on their chests was huge for the women’s game. The U.S. team is two years removed from their dramatic gold medal victory. The two teams are set to meet again multiple times before the 2022 Olympics as they continue to travel the continent playing the “Rivalry Series.” The second new event was the Shooting Stars, which saw eight NHL players and two players from the women’s game standing on a platform above the crowd shooting pucks into targets 30 feet below them, ala TopGolf.

Patrick Kane won, but the event was marred by a gimmicky set up. It appeared that the 10-point target was the easiest to hit, and all the players were going for it and missing. The event could be a lot of fun if they made the targets more even and allowed the players to spread their shots around.

The game itself left a lot to be desired. As usual, the players were not trying at the level they do during 3-on-3 overtime. This is obviously because it doesn’t count, but the best players giving it their all in the 3-on3 tournament would be awesome.

There is much discussion out there about how to incentivize the players, because splitting $1 million clearly does not get the game to the level the NHL desires. While theories about that vary, the tournament was won by the Pacific Division defeating the Atlantic in the championship game 5-4. One of the top moments was Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames assisting on a Leon Draisaitl goal just a few weeks after the Flames and Draisaitl’s Oilers scuffle centering around the St. Louisan Tkachuk.

After the game, Draisaitl said he would “get off the ice” if they ended up together in the All-Star game, but after this weekend said that he was “joking.” The Battle of Alberta is back in full force, and with both teams in the heat of the playoff race, hockey fans everywhere should be rooting for seven games between these two teams.

It will be interesting to see if the NHL makes any changes to the All-Star game to make it more competitive, but for now the skills competition takes the cake as the most entertaining part of the weekend.

SPORTS

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January 29, 2020

The Fordham Ram

Beyond the Scoreboard: A Letter to the Black Mamba

By ANDREW POSADAS MANAGING EDITOR

You didn’t know me. But I knew you. Last year, I created Beyond the Scoreboard to talk about stories in sports that go outside the limits of box scores, beyond who won or lost.

However, this one is different. It is the first time I have typed an article or column while simultaneously sobbing uncontrollably.

What makes writing this even more difficult is knowing when I finish this letter, I will officially be saying goodbye to you. Now, while my mind can rationally comprehend this inevitability, my heart will never truly fathom the horrifying reality that you are no longer with us.

How do I begin to explain the impact that you, one of the greatest athletes we have ever seen, has had on the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the game of basketball?

Or on the millions of fans, diehard and casual alike? Or on me personally? For a majority of my life, you were always there. Even though I am a San Antonio Spurs fan and you gutted them several times in your career, much to my dismay, you were still my favorite player to watch.

From those who played against you throughout your career, like Michael Jordan and LeBron James, to the next generation of emerging stars such as Luka Doncic and Trae Young, who your daughter Gianna loved to watch, your loss resonates deeply within the NBA community. Hundreds of players, former and present, who credit you with founding their love for the game. You left a lasting impression on them, and most of all, you never passed up an opportunity to teach and provide knowledge on a game you mastered mentally.

You should see the millions of people who have taken the time to

COURTESY OF FLICKR

A cultural icon, father and basketball legend, Kobe Bryant’s legacy will be remembered forever. mourn you around the world and celebrate your legacy these last few days. On Sunday evening, there were thousands of people surrounding the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but they weren’t there to attend the red carpet festivities of the Grammys being held later that night. They were there for you, man. That is how much your death put the rest of the world on hold: nobody cared about the biggest night in the music industry.

In the sports world, even the biggest week in the National Football League (NFL) doesn’t feel the same anymore. All the hype and appeal for Super Bowl LIV has lost its luster. Players from both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers find themselves wanting to talk more about your memory than about the biggest game in their careers.

From China to Europe, your unexpected departure from this world has devastated everyone. You always

emphasized growing the game of basketball, bringing your love and wisdom around the globe for all to see.

In a world where communication gets lost in translation, your name never needed translation. The name “Kobe” became universal to those who admired you on and off the basketball court.

I think about your biggest fans, some of them who are close friends of mine. Like my friend Darnell, even in those final years when you battled injuries and the team wasn’t contending, who never wavered on his loyalty to you. Or my friend Shane, who idolized you from the moment I first met him in high school. I swear when he and I initially met, his first words to me weren’t an introduction. All I can remember him saying is, “Kobe is the GOAT!” and then punctuating his proclamation by making the sound of a goat.

For me, there are so many memo-

ries that I will always cherish. The game-winning midrange jumper you hit against the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 playoffs. When you didn’t flinch in 2010 after Matt Barnes tried you off a baseline inbounds pass. Making two free throws just moments after rupturing your achilles.

Your desire and fearlessness was never questioned or criticized. You even decided to share your philosophy with us, eventually giving it the title “Mamba Mentality.” When implementing this mindset, you made it a point of emphasis that we should love whatever it is that we do. You would go on to say, “If you love what you do, and it’s making you happy, all the hard work and perseverance will pay off.”

Ever since I began pursuing a career in sports media, I have adopted your mentality as my own. Never taking no for an answer. Never passing up on an opportunity to show those

around me how great I can be. Putting the extra time and effort because somewhere, I know there are others out there trying to outwork me.

One thing I can promise you is that nobody will ever want this more than I do.

What kills me the most is that there were eight other victims in this tragedy, including your daughter Gianna.

In between the tears, I think about her final moments in that helicopter.

The fear she must have felt. And you, holding her in your arms, reassuring her that everything would be alright.

The tears start cascading down my face even harder than before knowing her life will forever be unfulfilled.

Were you a perfect person? No. But you point me in the direction of a perfect person, and if we were to put any of us under a microscope, we would find flaws and imperfections in all of us. What truly matters is what we do after making those mistakes, and you showed us you were more than just a basketball player. You were a wonderful husband to your wife, Vanessa. A loving father to your daughters, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and of course, “Mambacita” herself, Gigi.

There was so much more left for you to accomplish. Now it is up to those of us who believed in what you stood for to continue celebrating your memory and attacking life as relentlessly as you did since you first picked up a basketball at the age of two.

I would hope you didn’t mind if I take one of your famous quotes from your final NBA game against the Utah Jazz to conclude this letter to you. Considering you stole a bunch of MJ’s moves on your way to a Hall of Fame career, something tells me you wouldn’t. So, Kobe, what more can I say? Andrew out.

Women’s Basketball Splits Against Saint Louis, Dayton

By JIMMY SULLIVAN SPORTS EDITOR

Fordham Women’s Basketball is in the midst of its toughest stretch so far this season. The team is taking on three teams — Saint Louis University, University of Dayton and Virginia Commonwealth University — who entered last Thursday with just three combined losses in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

With such a tough schedule, expecting Fordham to run the table would have been an unreasonable expectation, and two games into this gauntlet, Fordham is finding out just how difficult it is to beat the best teams in the A-10.

Fordham defeated Saint Louis 6654 on Thursday night in the Bronx, but fell 48-44 to Dayton in a defensive struggle on Sunday. With the recent results, Fordham is now 12-7 overall and 4-2 in Atlantic 10 play.

On Thursday, the Rams found themselves down by 12 points in the third quarter against Saint Louis, who entered the night 2-3 in conference play. The Billikens jumped out to a 43-31 lead minutes into the second half, but Fordham buckled down shortly thereafter, outscoring the Billikens by 24 points for the rest of the game to cruise to a 66-54 victory that belied the seesaw nature of

the game.Fordham’s comeback was highlighted by 12 unanswered points to end the third quarter that brought the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 43.

Junior Bre Cavanaugh led the way for the Rams with 17 points in the second half and 27 points for the game. Freshman Anna DeWolfe and sophomore Kaitlyn Downey also combined for 27 points themselves, and freshman Sarah Karpell hit a three-pointer on her lone shot attempt of the night to put Fordham ahead for good with 7:16 to play.

The Rams shot 44% from the field (23-52) and 35% (9-26) from the three-point line. Encouragingly, sophomore Vilisi Tavui played her second straight solid game, with six rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

With a win in hand, Fordham looked to make it four in a row on Sunday against preseason conference favorite Dayton. The home Flyers entered the game at 6-0 as one of three teams still undefeated in A-10 play.

Unsurprisingly, Dayton didn’t make things easy for the Rams all day.

The Flyers’ conference-best defense came to play on Sunday, holding Fordham to a staggering 10 points and 4-29 shooting in the first half. If I would have given you those

numbers after 20 minutes of play, you would have said that Fordham was getting blown out of the water.

As it turned out, the Rams were down 12, but not out of striking distance thanks to a solid defense of their own.

Fordham slowly started to chip away in the third quarter, outscoring Dayton 12-7 to cut the deficit to seven going into the fourth. Fordham’s shooting numbers were not exponentially better — the team was shooting a putrid 20% heading into the fourth — but thanks to gritty defense and perseverance, Fordham somehow stayed in the game, and shots began to fall.

Fordham started the third quarter on a roll, with Cavanaugh and DeWolfe spearheading the offense.

DeWolfe’s three-pointer with five minutes left tied the game at 35 and brought Fordham as close to a lead as it would get all day. Dayton responded with five straight points, but Fordham had another answer in store, as DeWolfe continued her personal 10-0 run and tied the game at 40 by completing an and-one with 1:09 to play.

Dayton senior Jayla Scaife’s jumper on the next possession put the Flyers up two, and the teams played the free throw game the rest of the way, but

MACKENZIE CRANNA/THE FORDHAM RAM

Despite a loss, the Rams have confidence against their toughest tasks.

Dayton was able to survive with a 4844 victory.

Despite the loss, Fordham can be encouraged by the fact that it competed with one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the conference.

The other, VCU, awaits the Rams on Wednesday night in Richmond, Virginia. Fordham should also be encouraged by the fact that it stayed

competitive at UD Arena, which has been a house of horrors for the Fordham program over the years. In fact, the Rams had lost their last three road games at Dayton by a combined 69 points.

The road does not get easier for the team; the Rams take on the Rams of VCU at the Siegal Center at 6 p.m.

Wednesday night.