Volume 93 Issue 13

FORDHAM’S SERVICE AND JUSTICE DAY — PAGE 13

CLUB SAILING MAKES FIRST TRIP TO NATIONALS — PAGE 19

SERVING THE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 90 YEARS

1918-2011

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

VOLUME 93, ISSUE 13

Fordham Remembers 9/11

Security Remains Vigilant After Threats of Terrorism

By BRIAN KRAKER EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Students remembered members of the Fordham community who were lost on 9/11 during the memorial service.

By EMILY ARATA ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

On the 10th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in the history of the United States, the Fordham community gathered in the University Church to remember the friends and family that were lost in a tragic act of terrorism.

Although the anniversary brought a feeling of great community to all the boroughs of New York City, many Fordham students chose to stay on campus to memorialize their loss, fearing that panic might break out in Manhattan, either from a legitimate threat or a false alarm.

“My mom told me, ‘Better be

safe than sorry,’” Lauren Femia, FCRH ’13, said.

Hundreds of students, alumni and community members packed into the church, crowding not only the pews but also every bit of available space to commemorate those lost. Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of University celebrated SEE SEPT. 11 ON PAGE 2

Fordham Safety and Security prepared to enact emergency procedures over the weekend, following terrorist threats made against New York City in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

After information regarding a possible bombing by two members of Al Qaeda was deemed credible, New York City prepared for any eventuality, and Fordham quickly followed suit. Although no attacks came to fruition, John Carroll, the associate vice president for Safety and Security, described plans to increase the awareness of Fordham security officers.

“The instructions I pass out to our supervisors at the different campuses — Westchester, Rose Hill and Lincoln Center — are to just be much more vigilant about any people entering the campus,” Carroll said. “The people in Safety and Security are even more vigilant on a weekend like this than what might be ordinarily called for.”

While additional supervisors were present on campus during

Students Initiate Compass Program

By EDDIE MIKUS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As a Jesuit University, Fordham often borrows a quote from Saint Ignatius Loyola and tells its students to, “Go forth, and set the world on fire.” While many students may just listen to these words, four students at the Gabelli School of Business have incorporated them into their college lives.

This year, Nick Durante, GSB ’12, Alex Schillaci, GSB ’12, Greg Holman, GSB ’12, and Jen Smith, GSB ’14, have attempted to introduce the Compass Fellowship Program at Fordham University.

Founded at Georgetown University in 2009, the Compass Program enables 10 to 15 college freshmen at every participating institution to become social entrepreneurs. To date, the Compass Program has established fellowship programs at several universities in the United States, mainly in the Washington, D.C. area, and has also expanded to Sweden.

“Entrepreneurship is really, if you start a business, your goal is only to make a profit off it,” Durante said, defining the difference between social entrepreneurship and regular entrepreneurship.

“Social entrepreneurship, you can have other goals in mind other than just money. So, you can be trying to solve a social problem

or a community issue.”

Students in the fellowship can seek to solve whatever issue they wish. Schillaci cited the example of a Compass student at Georgetown who established a trade route between two villages in Ethiopia.

In order for such ventures to take root, the Compass Program attempts to instill four values in its members: to participate proactively, to live consciously, to think adventurously and to commit unreasonably.

To achieve this goal, Compass has designed a two-part curriculum, which is designed to help students identify who they are as people and to develop the skills necessary for business success.

Upperclassmen who have passed through Compass are responsible for imparting the curriculum to new fellows. For example, Durante, Schillaci and Holman are all seniors and therefore responsible for leading Compass instruction. Next year, that role will fall to Smith, who is currently a sophomore.

Although many other universities that have the Compass Program open it up to the entire school, Fordham’s version is only open to those students enrolled in the GSB. While the Compass curriculum is not officially connected to Fordham’s general curriculum, SEE COMPASS ON PAGE 3

the weekend, Carroll said there were no plans for a significant increase in security personnel.

“I’m not going to, for example, put two guards in any dorm,” Carroll said.

Carroll also did not alter any guest policies or procedures for bringing people onto campus but did encourage security officers to increase bag inspections.

“If there are bags that look suspicious, I want my guys to look through them,” Carroll said.

Fordham also received information from the New York Police Department regarding information about the threat as well as the city’s response.

“We reach out and make contact with members of the NYPD, who can be helpful to see what kind of information is out there, what’s the threat, what’s the problem,” Carroll said. “We’re also more than willing to take any recommendations they have.”

Security was also informed of road closures and checkpoints established by the NYPD. Carroll recommended that students use mass transportation rather than the roadways to avoid the ineviSEE SECURITY ON PAGE 3

Fordham Up to 53rd in Rankings

By PATRICK DEROCHER COPY EDITOR

to an impoverished child for every pair purchased: one for one.

While speaking at the Leonard Theatre at Fordham Preparatory School Tuesday night as part of CAB’s American Age lectures series, Mycoskie took time to reflect on the complex emotional journey that led him to begin TOMS. After his experience in Argentina giving used shoes to the underprivileged, he realized that the children he had met were part of a larger, systemic

Once again, Fordham University has risen in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings, continuing a decade-long trend.

The University is ranked 53rd on the 2011-2012 list, up from 56th last year and 84th in 2002. For the second year in a row, Fordham is tied with Boston University.

“Each year for the past several years, Fordham has continued to climb in U.S. News & World Report rankings,” Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, said in a Fordham press release.

“You should know that we attribute this rise to a belated recognition of a Fordham education’s worth, as much as any other factor; worth that is the result of the hard work, dedicated teaching and diligent research by thousands of students, faculty and staff.”

Additionally, Fordham was ranked 36th on the list of best universities as decided by high school

SEE TOMS ON PAGE 5

SEE RANKINGS ON PAGE 4

PHOTO BY MIKE REZIN/THE RAM

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS, speaks to Fordham students last Tuesday.

TOMS Founder Discusses Entrepreneurship at Prep

By EMILY ARATA ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Six short years ago, while spending a day with impoverished children in Argentina, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie was forced to confront an unpleasant truth. His teacher asked him, “Who’s going to give them their next pair of shoes?” That question became the foundation for TOMS shoes, which sell on the premise that the company donates a pair of shoes

INSIDE Opinions PAGE 10

Sports PAGE 24

Culture PAGE 13

Applicants put too much emphasis on college rankings.

True freshman, Peter Maetzold, leads Fordham football.

Fordham flocks to Manhattan for Fashion’s Night Out.

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

SECURITY

BRIEFS

Sept. 4, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Alumni Court South A student left his wallet on the dresser and took a nap while leaving the door open. When he woke up, his driver’s license and $20 was taken from his wallet.

Sept. 5, 3 a.m.

Subway Sandwiches Three different groups of students were standing by the Subway. According to the students, a male approached them and asked for money, claiming that he had a gun. The man repeated the same message to several other students. Students reported to security about the incident. An individual was arrested by the police officers from the 48th precinct. The individual was mentally disturbed. The students were not injured and got their money back. The individual was hospitalized.

Sept. 6, 10 p.m.

Lombardi Center A student reported to the security that his iPhone has been stolen. According to the student, he left his iPhone on his knapsack and went running. When he came back after 15 minutes, he realized that his phone was stolen.

Sept. 7, 7 p.m.

Martyrs’ Court Goupil A student put his clothes in a washing machine at around 7 p.m.

He went back to take his clothes out at 1 a.m. He found that his clothes had been removed from the machine, and that his long sleeved shirt had been taken.

Sept. 9, 12:30 p.m.

Fordham Bookstore A bookstore employee reported that a non-Fordham employee took his $600 iPod. Security investigated and identified the individual who stole the iPod. He was arrested by police officers from 48th precinct, and the iPod was returned to the rightful owner.

Sept. 11, 12 a.m.

Jolly Tinker Bar A student was at the Jolly Tinker bar. She left her Coach wallet on the floor, which had a $100 bill, a credit card and went to the bathroom. When she returned, the wallet was gone. The student refused to contact NYPD. Sept. 11, 12:30 a.m., Dagger John’s A security officer was inspecting McGinley center, and he discovered something burning in the kitchen of Dagger John’s.

The officer discovered that one of the grills was burning. He extinguished the fire. There was no damage.

—Compiled by Connie Kim, News Editor

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Members of USG carried roses to honor each member of the Fordham community that passed away on Sept. 11 as they process toward the 9/11 Memorial Garden.

Fordham Reflects on 9/11 with Memorial Service SEPT. 11, FROM PAGE 1

the mass, which culminated in a homily that was “fantastic as usual,” Mairead Lawyer, FCRH ’13, said.

“We are all New Yorkers, whether by birth or by adoption,” McShane said to the packed church, going on to pay tribute to the 39 members of the Fordham community that died on 9/11.

He spoke of the temptation to succumb to anger as something that must be overcome.

“In the aftermath of September 11 . . . we are, all of us, called to live lives of conspicuous compassion,” McShane said. “Let us all celebrate the memory of our beloved dead by living well. That is our triumph. That is our revenge.”

The student body response to McShane’s words of wisdom was overwhelmingly positive.

“He managed to keep our spirits up,” Kristina Brindici, GSB ’14, said.

Two speakers from both the University and the larger New York City community closed the mass. John Tognino, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees, spoke of his memories from 9/11. He remembered experiencing the frustration and fear that comes with being unable to reach loved ones in a time of crisis. Tognino also described the gratitude he felt towards the selfless first responders and their “herculean” efforts, as well as the resolve of the entire community to aid those in need.

“We were all tested and everyone, in their own way, rose to the challenge,” Tognino said.

He also explained to the newer members of the community that the Interfaith Memorial Service originated 10 years earlier on Sept. 12, 2001, in the midst of the initial shock over the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. More than 1,500 people from all over the county came to the Church of St. Paul, the Apostle, near Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus to experience a sense of community and “to help begin the healing process.” Those killed were honored at that first service

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

American flags on Alpha Lawn were arranged in the shape of the World Trade Centers to honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11.

“Let us all celebrate the memory of our beloved dead by living well. That is our triumph. That is our revenge.”

REV. JOSEPH M. MCSHANE, S.J.

but “they will always be with us,” Tognino said.

Kim Unger, executive director of the Security Traders of New York, then took the opportunity to explain her experience.

Working only a few blocks from the World Trade Center, Unger watched the horror unfold. In the aftermath of great destruction, she witnessed great courage.

“Sept. 11 saw everyday Americans become true heroes . . .

Members of our community rallied together in the face of unthinkable terror,” Unger said. “To quote my grandfather, who survived the concentration camps,

‘Every minute spent reflecting on evil is truly a minute lost.’”

In Unger’s opinion, we best honor the dead by reflecting upon the lessons from which our nation can learn, so that those lost can “say they are proud” of our actions.

After the mass, the Fordham community followed the Army ROTC Color Guard and two bagpipers from Local 21 Pipes and Drums across campus to the gardens in front of Finlay Hall, where a stage had been erected.

Upon leaving the church, attendees were given a white carnation, which they laid in front of the 9/11 memorial, creating a carpet of flowers.

Rev. Erika Crawford, coordinator of Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministry, began the memorial service with a dedication to the cause of peace in the wake of horrific destruction.

The gathered crowds then joined together to participate in a memorial litany read by AnnaMaria Shaker, FCRH ’13, of the Interreligious Council.

Afterward, Leah Newman, FCRH ’12, read a poem entitled “We Remember Them,” taken

from a Reform Judaism prayer into which were inserted the names of the thirty-nine lost members of the Fordham community. As the leaders read each name, a student brought a yellow carnation to the stage to represent the lost life.

“The poem was really appropriate,” Angelo Labate, FCRH ’12, said. “It represented everyone in the community. There were lots of moments of reflection.”

Crawford concluded the service with a general benediction, and the crowds joined in a verse of “Amazing Grace,” accompanied by several choir members and bagpipers, made even more powerful by the overcast skies that seemed to reflect the solemnity of the occasion.

After the memorial, the community walked to the McGinley Center ballroom for a Fordham Community Reception. To conclude the evening, participants were invited to have a buffet-style meal and discuss memories and emotions with fellow students, teachers and community members.

THIS

week at FORDHAM Wed., Sept. 14 Free Lunch Rodrigue’s Coffee House Rodrigue’s 2:30 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 15 “My Name is Khan” Muslim Students Association Flom Auditorium, 1-4 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 15 Lecture by Raymond Schroth Tognino Hall, 4:30 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 16 Fordham Manicures McGinley Lobby, 1-5 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 17 Homecoming Tent Edward’s Parade, 11:30-5 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 18 Bronx Pizza Taste Testing Finlay Gate, 1 p.m.

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 3

Gabelli Students Bring Compass Program to Fordham COMPASS, FROM PAGE 1

the two can work in conjunction with each other.

“In Compass, it helps you apply those concepts that you learn from your entrepreneurship classes, and all your other business classes, to the real world through starting your own business,” Durante stated.

Compass students are expected to create a firm plan for their ventures by the end of freshman year, and then implement that plan throughout sophomore year.

While the program will offer its members post-graduation assistance, the program’s intention is to produce self-sufficient entrepreneurs by the end of four years.

Another major tenet of the Compass Program is presentations by guest speakers who have been through the process of starting their own business.

“We try to get entrepreneurs from smaller businesses that aren’t necessarily big names because kids can relate to them and the entrepreneurs are usually more willing to go down to the kids’ level,” Schillaci said.

However, the Compass guest speakers also include well-known entrepreneurs, such as clothing designer Kenneth Cole and Nextel founder Morgan O’Brien.

Durante learned about the Compass Program from his older brother, Mike Durante, who is the vice president for expansion of Compass Partners, the organization that runs the program.

Last spring, Durante contacted Compass Partners about starting a branch at Fordham. The students then needed to sell the program to Donna Rapaccioli, dean of Gabelli School of Business,

RAM ARCHIVES

Members of the Gabelli School of Business will now be able to join the Compass Program and enrich their education with teaching about entrepreneurship.

and Professor Christine JanssenSelvadurai, who runs Gabelli’s Entrepreneurship Society.

Rappacioli and Janssen-Selvadurai both supported the idea, a fact which Durante called “instrumental” in bringing the program to Fordham University.

This summer, the students had to undergo mentorship training, as well as take part in weekly conference calls, to learn about how to become Compass mentors.

Durante is currently leading efforts to recruit Gabelli freshmen into the program. So far, about 25

students have expressed interest in joining the program, and four have applied.

Janssen-Selvadurai explained her role in the program.

“I’m not the advisor for the program here, so what I know is what Nick and his team have shared

with me,” she said. “They’re managing this themselves in bringing it to Fordham, which is very commendable. They’ll come to me if I need exposure or some help — I said I would help them in that respect. But it’s not like an official Fordham club.”

Security Prepares in Face of Terrorist Threats SECURITY, FROM PAGE 1

table traffic and delays that would occur. Carroll also rerouted Ram Van services, changing the pickup and drop-off point to 61st Street to help drivers avoid expected traffic delays.

While Fordham did not need to exercise its plan for emergency situations, Carroll said that the security office is always prepared for any possibility.

“Fordham has a plan in place for any kind of occurrence,” Carroll said. “Should any event happen, we automatically have one of the seats on the New York City Emergency Operations Center, to make sure we’re in constant connection and informing our faculty and staff of facts rather than rumors.”

In the event of an emergency, Carroll could also convene a meeting of the Emergency Management Committees, which he chairs.

With two committees at Fordham, one at Rose Hill and the other at Lincoln Center, these groups bring faculty together from the offices of Safety and Security, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Facilities and Information Technology Services to determine the best course of action in response to an event.

“I don’t think people should change their plans or live watereddown lives because of some ambiguous threat on the news.”

BRYAN MATIS, GSB ’12

PHOTO BY LOUIS DELUCA/MCT

New York City police increased security following threats of terrorism surrounding the anniversary of 9/11.

Despite threats of possible terrorist activity, many members of the Fordham community continued with their weekend plans.

“I didn’t notice an overwhelming amount of law enforcement except for one police officer in Grand

Central and two others outside of the Empire State Building,” Bryan Matis, GSB ’12, said after meeting friends in Manhattan for dinner and a concert. “Ultimately, I felt as safe as I usually do in Manhattan. I don’t think people should change

their plans or live watered-down lives because of some ambiguous threat on the news.”

Even with the increase in security, Carroll still recommended that members of the Fordham community not alter weekend

plans.

“I want our students, faculty and staff to have a wonderful weekend,” Carroll said. “I don’t think there is a reason for them to change what they’re doing.”

While Carroll encouraged students to enjoy their weekend, he also recommended that students be responsible with their festivities.

“I don’t think you can take care of yourself if you’re intoxicated,” Carroll said. “I think people need to be vigilant and aware. I don’t think you can be vigilant and aware and also drinking too much.”

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Fordham Rises to No. 53 in U.S. News Rankings RANKINGS, FROM PAGE 1

guidance counselors, tied with five other schools including Brandeis University and the University of Texas at Austin.

These rankings were determined by polling counselors at the schools on the U.S. News Best High Schools list, who were asked to rank individual schools on a scale of one to five; Fordham averaged 4.1, falling one-tenth of a point behind George Washington University, two-tenths below New York University and Boston College and above Syracuse and Tulane Universities.

“We’re certainly pleased that we have moved up in the rankings,” John Buckley, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment, said. “We’re equally delighted to learn about the guidance counselors’ ranking. We recognize them as very influential in the admission and decision process.”

Contentment about the new rankings extended beyond admissions staff.

“I think it’s really great and it’s really gratifying,” Stephanie Pennacchia, FCRH ’12, said. “It reflects what we all believed to be true about Fordham.”

Pennacchia, a member of the Rose Hill Society, said that whatever significance the rankings may

PHOTO BY NORA MALLOZZI/THE RAM

Presentations of school spirit, including students filling the Rose Hill Gym, contributed to Fordham’s rise in the rankings.

or may not have on a personal level for Fordham students, they are a strong asset in attracting students to Fordham.

Drawing top talent into the University is a major concern for Buckley, a fact highlighted by Fordham’s position as the top-ranked school on a list titled “A+ Options for B Students,” a list that U.S. News creates by combining retention rates,

average high school grades and its own rankings.

“Ideally, we’d like to be seen as an A+ option for A students,” Buckley said, adding that, based on admissions data, Fordham is attracting higher caliber students.

In a first for the U.S. News rankings, for-profit universities, such as the University of Phoenix, and new colleges and universities placed

alongside the normal assortment of state schools, private liberal arts colleges and Ivies. This is rather unusual, as new schools are normally given some time to work out any start-up issues and gain their own identity, while for-profit institutions tend to be regarded as less academically strong than traditional schools and moreover as propagators of predatory loans.

“They are looking to be as comprehensive as possible,” Buckley said. “I don’t think that it diminishes the ranking in any way.” He added that Fordham rarely competes with such schools for students.

U.S. News is not the only ranking group to give Fordham high marks recently; the magazine Washington Monthly ranked Fordham 37th, between Wake Forest University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, while a Huffington Post list had Fordham as No. 6 among “Colleges that Give Back to Communities.”

The Washington Monthly list bases its rankings on the number of students who come from low-income backgrounds, the production of what it deems “cutting-edge” research and service by college students to their communities.

Forbes annual “America’s Top Colleges” list was not as generous, however, ranking Fordham at 162nd out of 650 undergraduate institutions.

As in years past, Fordham is the fourth-highest ranked Catholic university in the rankings, behind only the University of Notre Dame, Georgetown University and Boston College, though none of those schools improved their ranking from last year.

Andy Laub Appointed Regional Director of College Democrats

By JOHN MULLIGAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

From a very young age, Andy Laub, FCRH ’12, was always interested in the Democratic Party.

At 14, Laub worked for John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Laub’s young political career continued to grow during his time at Forhdam when he was appointed the New England regional director of the College Democrats of America.

“I decided to get involved because of former Vice President Al Gore losing the Presidential election in the very close recount battle of 2000,” Laub said in an email exchange. “[I] saw how much elections matter…so I decided that I wanted to be a part of the process and have an impact.”

Even before arriving in the Bronx, Laub was an active member of the Democratic party, holding a political position in his home of Westchester.

“I have the honor of being the youngest district leader at home in Westchester County where I work on a lot of local campaigns,” Laub said. “I also worked on Andrew Cuomo’s campaign last year for Governor.”

Laub soon became an active member of Fordham’s chapter of the collegiate political organization.

“I got more involved with the College Democrats here at Fordham sophomore year, when I was elected club secretary and still hold that position today as a senior, having been re-elected twice,” Laub said. “The impact that college campuses have in American politics across the country is great and has only been growing, so I wanted to be a part of that process of getting

“I think the Fordham College Democrats are in a really great position right now and we are only getting better.”

ANDY LAUB, FCRH ‘12

students involved and making a difference right at the grassroots level.”

Laub continued to demonstrate his interest in politics as a member of the United Student Government, rising to President of Fordham College Class of 2012.

As for the post of Northeast regional director, the application process was fairly grueling.

“This year was very competitive,” Laub said. “They had twice as many as last year, which is a good thing given how much the organization has grown in the number of students who want to be involved and participate with their schools.

It was online and you had to answer a series of questions about why [you] wanted the position you were applying for.”

Laub had a month to prepare and submit his response, where he had to include his ideas for what he would do as the Northeast regional director of the College Democrats.

“The executive board and national council reviewed them for about two weeks and the chair of the National Council, who I report directly to, called me for a phone interview, where I explained my credentials and vision for the job,”

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Andy Laub, FCRH ’12, was appointed to the position New England regional director of College Democrats of America.

Laub said.

Not long after, the National Council chair contacted Laub and offered him the appointed, praising his credentials and ability to organize. As far as Fordham’s College Democrats are concerned, Laub is pleased with the direction in which they are headed.

“I think the Fordham College Democrats are in a really great position right now and we are only getting better,” Laub said. “We have two great leaders in President, Nora Walsh-Devries, FCRH ’12, and Vice President DJ Ryan, FCRH ’13, who have done a really good job at increasing membership and bringing great speakers to

campus.”

Laub also has high hopes for Fordham’s College Democrats in the coming year.

“We also have an excellent political director, Rebecca Lamorte, FCLC ’13, who is the vice president of the Statewide College Democrats of New York,” Laub said. “I am proud to serve with her as secretary as well and she was also my predecessor as Northeast regional director so [I’m] very excited to continue working with her.”

Laub mentioned that he was “honored and humbled to be chosen for the position.”

Now that he is Northeast regional director, Laub, “really wants to

charter more schools into College Democrats of America like in Vermont and help campuses’ College Democrats that haven’t been as active become more active.”

Laub believes it is important to keep college students involved politics, believing these voters can have a large impact on elections.

“It was the youth vote in 2008 that delivered President Obama a great victory and we need to make sure they come back to give him one again next year,” Laub said.

“Because even though times are tough right now, this is such an important moment for our country in terms of who we want in elected office right now.

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 5

TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie Shares Entrepreneurial Spirit TOMS, FROM PAGE 1

problem in many countries around the world.

Mycoskie was forced to question his actions.

“Did we just do something that was truly good for these kids today, or did we just do something to make ourselves feel better? I went to bed that night a little conflicted.”

That experience planted a seed in Mycoskie’s entrepreneurial soul.

For the last few days of his trip, he spent time with local shoemakers planning a design for shoes that included key elements that would later define TOMS shoes; namely, a cross-stitched toe, a leather insole and an elastic v-shaped shoe top for comfortable wear. Mycoskie arrived back in Los Angeles with his first 250 pairs of shoes “literally stuffed into three duffel bags.”

Mycoskie’s first big break came in the form of a phone call from Vogue magazine’s infamous editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who called asking to do a feature on his up-and-coming shoe company.

“Vogue made it look like I knew exactly what I was doing,” Mycoskie said, admitting that the entire operation was being run from his apartment at that time.

The day that the magazine article hit stands, the TOMS Web site received so many orders for the brightly hued shoes that Mycoskie’s phone, set to send him an alert for every

order made, overloaded and froze.

He eventually found out about the public response through his friends instead of through his own Web site.

The Vogue piece was the catalyst TOMS needed to launch into the public eye. Mycoskie promptly received shoe orders from Urban Outfitters, Macy’s and Nordstrom.

To this day, Nordstrom remains the largest vendor of TOMS shoes, selling them all over the country.

That summer, with $10,000 worth of shoes sold, Mycoskie finally returned to the village in Argentina that changed his outlook on life.

Bringing only his closest friends and family members, Mycoskie personally washed and gave the shoes to the children he had met so many months before. While watching his mother treating those with nothing so tenderly, Mycoskie broke down. “[Those] kids may have never worn shoes before. I started crying so much I think I scared the kids away.” he said.

Since that time, TOMS has continued to flourish and expand. Mycoskie explained that one of the key benefits of including charity in a business is that he has never spent money on advertising.

“When you incorporate giving into your life and into your business, people want to help you out,” he said.

Because TOMS champions a cause, his customers not only buy a product but also commit to the idea of giving

PHOTO BY MIKE REZIN/THE RAM

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, spoke in the Leonard Theatre at Fordham Preparatory School on Sept. 6.

children around the world the chance to go to school and live healthy lives that are free from disease.

This past summer, TOMS revealed its next initiative: eyewear.

Nordstroms stores, in addition to the official Web site, now carry TOMS sunglasses.

“If you have bad eyesight as a young child, they treat you like you have a learning disability even though you just can’t see the board.

There’s nothing wrong with your brain,” Mycoskie said.

Purchases will not only give impoverished people a pair of eye-

glasses, but in many cases will pay for simple cataract surgeries that can change the course of a worker’s life in minutes.

TOMS hopes to begin selling eyeglasses to the general public early next year.

The very day of Mycoskie’s talk at Fordham coincided with the release of his new book, “Start Something that Matters.” In preparation for writing it, Mycoskie spent two years interviewing other social entrepreneurs and combined their stories with his personal journey.

The book focuses on the question,

“How do you make that first step?”

Mycoskie said.

In the hopes that his book will inspire other entrepreneurs to follow in his footsteps, Mycoskie is donating half the profits from the book to create TOMS grants. Those looking for funding for a charity business operation will be able to apply via the TOMS Web site.

Mycoskie closed his talk with a few words to sum up the last five years of his life.

“TOMS is the greatest example of karma I’ve ever experienced,” he said.

Fordham Ranked Sixth-Best Community Service College

By MARK HERREROS STAFF WRITER

Fordham University is ranked sixth among all national universities for university-wide commitment to service, according a recent ranking released by Washington Monthly.

The magazine’s annual college guide seeks to recognize universities that contribute to social mobility, preparing students for graduate-level work and beyond, and instilling within students a lifelong commitment to service.

“The best thing about showing what you do for the country is that it gives the country more reasons to do something for you in return,” the editors of the 2011 college guide said. “The nation is badly in need of cutting-edge research, wise and knowledgeable citizens and workers, and renewed focus on service. Our top-ranked colleges are poised to deliver.”

Sandra Lobo-Jost, director of the Service and Justice Program, is entering her 13th year working with the Dorothy Day Center for Service & Justice (DDCSJ). She said she was proud of the ranking and was not surprised that Fordham is receiving more recognition for its commitment to service.

“Because of our mission and roots, service is integrated into the very fabric of Fordham University,” Lobo-Jost said. “Many of us have worked to bring together the various areas of the University working on justice-related work, building collaborations and sharing our stories.”

In addition to recognition for student participation, Fordham

PHOTO BY NORA MALLOZZI/THE RAM

Students participate in Relay for Life, only a small portion of Fordham’s many community service opportunities.

rose 18 points in the number of service staff, opportunities for service-learning courses and amount of financial support given to service programs on campus.

Lobo-Jost said that DDCSJ has expanded immensely in the past decade, with more full-time staff and a new focus on solidarity with the community instead of charity.

“There are literally thousands of Fordham students, faculty and staff engaged in service and justice work dedicating hundreds of thousands of hours in building relationships and working toward ridding the inequalities we see in our local and global communities,” Lobo-Jost said. “We must also work in solidarity with those

we serve to create social change by getting at the root of the inequalities that we see in our society.”

In its efforts to recruit incoming freshmen and get them involved as soon as they enter Fordham, DDCSJ leads Urban Plunge, a three-day pre-orientation program engaging incoming freshman in service projects in the Bronx and facilitating reflections about service and justice for Fordham students.

Emily Kurtenbach, FCRH ’14, worked as an assistant and facilitator for Urban Plunge this year, and also participated in Urban Plunge when she was a freshman.

“Urban Plunge let me get to know the community around

Fordham and the Bronx itself,” Kurtenbach said. “That changed for me when I was an Urban Plunge assistant. Now I had the opportunity to learn about and challenge many of the issues facing the Bronx head-on.”

In addition to the DDCSJ, many programs such as Global Outreach and Campus Ministry have reflected a surge in the level of student involvement in service projects, both on- and off-campus.

Paul Francis, the director of Global Outreach, said that student leadership has helped the program grow into its own separate entity, and continuing alumni support has generated a robust

scholarship pool for new students. The program, which gives students the opportunity to work on domestic and international service projects, is leading a record 33 projects across different continents.

“I think the world is becoming much more of a global campus, and we’re providing students the opportunity to see what’s happening in the world,” Francis said.

“We’re really lucky to have such a great program here.”

Fr. Philip A. Florio, S.J., is the director of Campus Ministry. He said that nearly all facets of the program such as masses, retreats and small groups have seen unprecedented levels of participation.

“I am thrilled that we recognize the tremendous work of our students and staff,” Florio said.

“There is a powerful spirit of faith on this campus, and people aren’t just sitting idly with their faith, but they are putting it into action.”

Although Fordham’s ranking for service is its highest, Fordham did not break the top 50 for social mobility or academics among national universities. Additionally, Kurtenbach said that Fordham still has a lot of room for improvement in getting more students involved.

“There are still pockets of students on campus who are excluded,” Kurtenbach said. “We can still expand, and I think more people could not only give their time, but also their knowledge and expertise. As a group with a lot of different interests and strengths, we could solve a lot of issues in the community.”

ADVERTISING

PAGE 6 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

us on Facebook!

We’re really excited to see some legends and a bunch of old faces! Happy Homecoming!

Leadership is talent, and Anthony and his boys definitely got it.

Anthony Tochet Tony Vozza Sergio Lara Representing the Italian Club

Making a good pizza is simple but not easy. You have to know the science of the dough. Plus the best cheese, good tomato sauce, patience, and lots of love!

What beauty looks like!

Pizza is good but love is it!

Come to Pugsley and enjoy a wild but relaxed atmosphere and some homemade, mom-and-pop operation food!

590 E. 191st Steet • Fast Delivery ($5 Minimum) • (718) 365-0327 • www.pugsleypizza.com Mon. — Sat. 11 a.m. - 3 a.m. • Sun. — 2 p.m. - 3 a.m.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

PAGE 7

Complicating the Study of Secularism: Looking Beyond Convention

By PATRICK DEROCHER COPY EDITOR

It is almost a cliché, here in the 21st century, to point out the increased conflict between the religious and secular worlds, the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the humanistic. This is especially true in the case of Catholic colleges and universities, where contemporary teaching and subject matter must be balanced with longstanding, deeply held and rather specific theological traditions, and the two are often at odds with one another.

How, as an illustrative example, does a university like Fordham fulfill its responsibilities as both a Catholic institution and as an institution of higher learning and research when dealing with such cutting-edge, morally problematic topics as stem cell research? Unfortunately, I cannot say this article will answer that question, nor can I claim to have anything close to an answer (starting with the fact that biology is my least favorite science). I will, however, be looking at and dealing with the broader issue of the relationship between the religious and the secular in higher education, particularly Catholic higher education.

Bringing this conflict to the forefront is the recent announcement

by Pitzer College, a small but prestigious liberal arts college in Claremont, Calif., that it will be offering a major in secular studies beginning this fall. It is an interdisciplinary major, drawing on the fields of history, philosophy, religion, science and sociology, amongst others, and offering courses with titles including “God, Darwin and Design in America” and “Bible as Literature.”

Pitzer will be the first college in the country to offer such a program, although other schools have dedicated substantial money and effort to secular studies. The major’s creation was spearheaded

by Phil Zuckerman, a sociologist who was described in a New York Times article as “culturally Jewish, but agnostic-atheist on questions of deep mystery.” Zuckerman, who

spent time living and teaching in the highly secularized and nonreligious nation of Denmark, is known for his work on the topic of secularism, including a 2008 book entitled Society Without God. “There are hundreds of millions of people who are nonreligious,” he goes on to say in the same article. “I want to know who they are, what they believe, why they are nonreligious.”

He emphasizes (as do other scholars who teach at, run and support institutions that study secular life) that such endeavors are not rejections of religion, but rather studies of another, opposing worldview, one that is claimed by an everincreasing portion of the world’s population.

To understand this new major, it is helpful to understand Pitzer College, which was founded in 1963 as a women’s college, although it is now coeducational and a member of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergraduate and two graduate schools on a single campus in Southern California.

“Pitzer has always had a reputation, certainly as a strong academic school with a focus on the social sciences,” Dr. Michael Latham, dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, said; Latham is a graduate of Pomona College, another Claremont College. “They value free inquiry and the full range of free inquiry. Where other schools might be afraid of dealing with conversations that would occur well to the left, Pitzer is not.”

Now, it is possible to go on without end about some of what Zuckerman has said and is doing, namely his “agnostic-atheist” worldview, but that is not the point of this article (and none of my business, to boot). Rather, I will support what Pitzer and Zuckerman have done with the secular studies major, and the study of secularism in general, even, to a certain extent, in the context of a Catholic school such as Fordham. First, and perhaps most obviously, is the inherent importance of secularism as a social movement and as a generator of culturally significant scholarship

and art, everything from Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra to Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses to Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Secularism’s importance as a social movement is crucial, and key to Zuckerman’s defense of a secular studies major.

There has been, quite simply, a decline in religiosity in the developed world, with more people than ever before claiming agnosticism and atheism as their worldview.

“There is, in the West, a decline of religious belief, and a decrease in the importance of religious institutions,” Dr. William Gould, junior class dean at Fordham College at Rose Hill said. In particular, he noted his recent experience in Spain, where a large minority of people, and especially those under the age of 30, are claiming no religion as their own.

“That’s a major change in a country that was, until recently, very Catholic,” he said.

Speaking to the value of secular studies as an academic pursuit, he called the decline of religious institutions and rise of secular worldviews “certainly a worthy field of scholarly study,” a point similar to the one made above, that secularism is a way of thought, an academic area worth looking at simply because of the impact it has had on contemporary thought and culture, let alone its growing importance as a philosophy to which a growing portion of the world’s population adheres.

Though specifically declining to endorse the secular studies major at Pitzer, Gould did say that he believes there is academic value in students at Catholic universities such as Fordham studying religious matters from perspectives outside of religion. He questioned, as do I, whether the “amorphous” nature of secular studies and the rather scattershot course selection that covers everything from literature to sociology in a single breath, lends itself to a department and specifically defined major in the field, and whether secularism itself can be defined narrowly enough for such

RAM ARCHIVES

While Fordham emphasizes Catholicism, Pitzer College examines secularism.

study. Coming at the issue from a different angle, Latham said that, while he sees value in studying secularism and even atheism at a Catholic university to understand the diversity of the human experience, he argues that the field is too narrow for a major.

“Why would you study an ‘ism’?” he said. “You want to be exposed to competing ideas.” He also expressed bemusement at Pitzer’s offering of such a course of study, saying that he did not believe it was within that college’s tradition of allowing and encouraging a full range of inquiry.

“There’s a kind of illiberalism about it,” he said.

I must stress that everything from here on out is my opinion and mine alone and should not be interpreted as reflective of the opinions of any Fordham University faculty member or administrator.

Secularism, defined as the rise of nonreligious thought institutions where religious thought and institutions had previously held sway, is of course a valid field of scholarly study. Examining these responses to organized religion is inherently useful in understanding the modern world, as is looking at religion from non-religious perspectives, but there is more, a deeper reason that even Catholic students and

universities should embrace the study of secularism, if not the major as proposed by Zuckerman and Pitzer. It is, I believe, through the study of opposing forces and ideas that we best learn about our world; through no coincidence do we examine the work of Karl Marx in the context of Adam Smith’s, read the modernists and the postmodernists of English literature together, study both English and American attitudes toward the Revolutionary War. If you will forgive the triteness of such a statement, light makes no sense without dark. The attitude should be no different with religion and secularism. If we, as students at a Catholic, Jesuit university, wish to more fully understand and appreciate our faith and heritage, it can only be beneficial to look at what comes out of the absence of that faith and heritage.

Should Fordham abandon its efforts toward becoming the best Jesuit university it can be and fully embrace secularism? Of course not, and as I state above, I am not convinced a major in secular studies is necessary at any school, but we should still be willing, even eager, to explore the world outside of our faith.

Patrick Derocher, FCRH ’12, is an international political economy major from Loudonville, N.Y.

Monthly Payment Plans Hold Hidden Hazards

By RICKY BORDELON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Yes, I got in! Now I have to pay for it…”

Admission to college is certainly an exciting event in any person’s life, but it seems that more and more students are turning down colleges’ admission offers due to cost. In response to this growing issue, many colleges have begun to offer more financial aid and have begun to strongly encourage payment plans in order to help families pay for college in a more reasonable time frame. However, these payment plans should be scrutinized and considered along with other possible alternatives, such as federal loans.

At first glance, payment plans seem like a great idea. It is like layaway at Target, but for college.

The college allows the student

and his or her family to pay for expenses over time, whether it is month-to-month, semester-to-semester, etc. For example, Fordham participates in a month-to-month payment plan; however, this option may not be nearly as helpful as it sounds.

Across the nation, colleges have seen an increase in the cost of education. According to College Board, the company behind the SAT and AP tests, the average cost of tuition at a four-year private college rose almost $7,000 in the 1996-2006 period (published in USA Today). Tuition has risen even more in the past five years, due to inflation and various other economic problems.

Although the payment plan is interest-free over a 10-month period, there may be hidden charges. Fordham, for example, contracts out its payment plans

to Tuition Management Services (TMS). This company charges a $55 fee simply to start a payment plan. But it may increase if one enrolls too late. In addition to this upfront fee, depending on the school, TMS will charge up to a 2.99 percent fee for all payments made by a credit card.

The Office of Student Accounts says that Fordham does not have a fee for this, but if one makes 10 monthly payments of $5,000 each, by credit card, for all four years of college, the student will end up paying over $5,000 in credit card fees alone over the four years.

It seems that payment plans are almost working against lowincome families who are trying to send their children to college.

If a family cannot pay by cash or check, credit card is the only option; however, this form of pay-

ment results in these added fees that total another entire monthly payment.

There are many programs put in place by the federal government, however, to help aid those who are struggling to afford college. These programs include Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans and Pell Grants. Many colleges, including Fordham, offer financial aid through the school itself, including options such as workstudy jobs. Moreover, as financing is an extremely complicated issue, it is best to talk to a financial advisor and a representative from the university to plan the best course of action.

The rise in tuition also hurts the feasibility of monthly payment plans. As tuition increases, the monthly payments and credit card fees do as well. Some colleges offer plans in which fami-

lies pay tuition one to three years in advance, in order to freeze the price of tuition; however, only families with high incomes can afford this huge financial burden.

This plan does not help families in the middle and lower classes unless the families have previously saved money specifically to pay for college.

Many universities advertise that they have monthly payment plans to help parents and students afford college; however, the hidden fees and rising cost of tuition might hurt any help that may be offered. The issue of financing an education is a complicated issue, and all options for payment, including payment plans, should be examined carefully before embarking on this road.

Ricky Bordelon, FCRH ’15, is a political science major from New Orleans, La.

OPINIONS

PAGE 8 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

The Ram Serving campus and community since 1918.

The Ram is the University journal of record. The mission of The 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 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 12,000. The Ram office is located in the basement of the McGinley Center, room B-52.

www.theramonline.com Editorial: (718) 817-0873 Production: (718) 817-4381 Newsroom: (718) 817-4394 Advertising: (718) 817-4379 Fax: (718) 817-4319 theram@fordham.edu Fordham University - Station 37 Box B Bronx, NY 10458 Editor-in-Chief Nick Carroll Executive Editor Celeste Kmiotek Managing Editor Victoria Rau Design Editor Stephen Moccia Business Editor Lindsay Lersner Executive News Editor Brian Kraker News Editor Connie Kim Assistant News Editor Emily Arata Opinions Editor Christine Barcellona Assistant Opinions Editor Sarah Ramirez Culture Editor Sandy McKenzie Assistant Culture Editor Scharon Harding Sports Editors Dan Gartland Erik Pedersen Copy Chief Mary Alcaro Copy Team Tara Cannon Patrick Derocher Abigail Forget Taylor Engdahl Tom Haskin Olivia Monaco Veronica Torok Hussein Safa Anisa Arsenault Cas Black Hadley Brochy Colleen Chambers Alyson Murphy Laura Muse Connor Ryan Austin Thomas Photo Editor Nora Mallozzi Web Editor Kelly Caggiano Faculty Advisor Beth Knobel Opinions Policy The Ram appreciates submissions that are typed and saved on a disk in *.rtf, *.txt or *.doc formats, or sent to the staff via e-mail at RamLetters@fordham.edu.

Commentaries are printed on a space available basis. The Ram reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason, without notice. Submissions become the exclusive property of The Ram and will not be returned. The Ram reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions in The 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 Ram may be reproduced without written consent.

From the Desk of Veronica Torok, Copy Editor I have always loved words, but it took going abroad for me to more fully appreciate the beauty of language. Some of the best, most interesting moments of my life have come at times when I had the least language at my disposal, demonstrating how dynamic just a few words can be.

When I think of happiness, I now see myself standing on a lightfilled hillside in Morocco with a little boy named Anas, kicking a soccer ball. Soccer, we study abroad students found (doing the Fordham in Granada program, Spain), was the best way to communicate with the boisterous Moroccan children who flocked around us in the street. “Real Madrid or Barça?” we asked about the two rival Spanish teams, thereby prolonging the goodwill of our inept salaams.

“Barça!” they inevitably shouted, laughing and pumping their arms.

Our group used an interpreter to speak to Anas’s father, a farmer, about life in our Western world.

The father asked insightful questions about our education system, and we answered him, ashamed to disclose its expense. In return, he shared with us his radiant joie de vivre. A family member translated the Arabic as we sat on a mat eating a lunch we had prepared together.

Anas’s father had lived in the modern world and rejected it for a simpler existence, and his inner peace

transcended language. This serenity was perhaps best communicated when he led us up a mountain to gaze over his land, but listening to him explain his life philosophy made the experience still infinitely more precious.

I started sketching the mountains in a little notebook because I had no camera, and Anas repossessed my pen and notebook, pantomiming something insistently.

I eventually understood; I was completely foreign, but Anas, just learning to write in Arabic, was certain that I too must have a word for mountain. I wrote it, and satisfied, he began copying the strange letters with great determination, writing from right to left as in Arabic. Then, with the air of one triumphantly giving a gift, Anas wrote his name in childish Arabic letters that his mother completed for me in her flowing script, after which she wrote her own name, Aziza.

We smiled at each other across the beauty of the moment, sharing the power of words although we did not share the same language.

On a different occasion, also during my study abroad adventure, I learned that panic is every bit as universally communicable as beauty. Language can enhance beauty, and lack of language certainly heightens panic.

My roommate and I spent several days in France before going

to Spain for the first time, because we feared we would not have the time after our classes started. Still jetlagged, we departed in the wee hours of the morning only three days after arriving, to head for our home-to-be in Spain. After stealing through the dark Paris streets and surviving several different transportation fiascos, including being kicked out of the subway as smoke billowed from the platform, we found ourselves wedged into a taxi next to a massive Russian couple. They somehow realized that we were heading to the airport as quickly as humanly possible, and I had them rapidly bundled in next to me and promptly started choking on one of their fur coats.

We began jabbering at each other in a variety of languages, and it soon became apparent that we had absolutely none of these in common. After several minutes of frustrated attempts, the woman pulled out a paper and wrote “€?” This was the breakthrough we needed.

I diagramed the fare for each person with a series of arrows, thankful that our numbers were at least the same.

All was calm until a few minutes later, when the Russians resumed their frantic gesturing. After some energetic gesticulations of our own, my friend and I figured out the Russians had begun thinking about the next stage of the jour-

ney: disembarking. Understanding failed again, and soon these complete strangers surrendered all of their ticket information to my friend, who began to decipher the French. It took some doing to convince Vladomir and Galina (their names, as we learned from the tickets) to stay on the taxi after we left and to give their money to the driver, not to me as they attempted to do. Exhausted, my friend and I sprinted to our plane 10 minutes before takeoff, at last miraculously oriented toward Spain.

These experiences impressed me with the extraordinary capacity of language to unite human beings, even across linguistic barriers. Without words, we can still share the beauty of a Moroccan afternoon or panic together about reaching separate destinations; but although extreme emotions transcend words in an amazing way, language’s power is singular. I will never forget the hunger of fiveyear-old Anas to possess my foreign words, nor the bridge through panic that a few written symbols created in a dark French taxicab.

Over-Reliance on Technology Would Hinder Education

By BOBBY BUKOWSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It is difficult to remember a time before PowerPoint; surely universities everywhere would crumble if it ceased to exist. The program represents the constant and ever intensifying battle between novelty and necessity over the use of technology in education. Computers and a growing collection of various programs are now considered as essential to many classes as notebooks and pens are.

Yet, despite the obvious userfriendly and visually satisfying features of such improvements, their value, which goes largely unquestioned, is certainly disputable in their contribution to overall education.

PowerPoint, in all its bulleted brilliance, remains the most frustrating technological classroom presence. At times, the program wonderfully streamlines and summarizes presentations for both student and teacher, providing a visual aid that consolidates the facts with the greatest of ease in a manner which is pleasing to look at. Yet the abuse PowerPoint sometimes takes (and gives) surely must impart in its designer a feeling of frustration and dismay similar to that which the Earl of Sandwich would feel were he handed a KFC Double Down.

The extent to which some professors consolidate lessons into a handful of bullet points is at once impressive and dreadful. In such cases the program comes off as a dependency-creating handout.

Worse still are the pre-packaged slide shows generously provided by textbooks with CDs touting the noble merits of interactive lesson planning.

While I do not question the value of interaction, I do challenge what frequently appears to constitute “interactive.” Is it interactive to enlarge and project diagrams from a textbook?

The problem presented by PowerPoint and most other technological educational tools is the propensity to rely too heavily upon them as inherently valuable.

Tangible progress is rewarding, but not when classes are based on a necessity to get through slides before time runs out. Similarly, the tendency to merely copy the bulleted points during each class session dooms any gained knowledge to a quick and final death once exams are through.

Perhaps the most annoying piece of technology one comes across in class is the expensivelooking SMART Board. The concept is wonderfully suited for elementary education, but at the university level it becomes little more than a dry-erase board requiring an outlet.

Are your friends tired of hearing you complain?

Write for The Ram opinions section.

E-mail us at: fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

A liberal arts education does not lend itself to the gimmicky benefits technology brings to lower levels where making learning as fun as possible is not only useful but largely necessary. The majority of Fordham professors do indeed integrate technology into class well, or at least steer clear of overuse.

While today’s novelty may be tomorrow’s necessity, good and bad instructors are likely to remain so despite advents in technology. Concepts may be made palatable and easily understood, technological advances are best used as study aids. Teaching shapes and colors in a hands-on computer lab makes sense; whittling down monetary policy or St. Thomas Aquinas to bulleted slideshows does not benefit nearly as much from the mode of presentation.

Where technology improves life most is in the consolidation of information and the standardizing of new modes of convenience into everyday life. Touchscreens and the wonders of computers make paying bills and reading the news more efficient, yet efficiency sits low on the list of educational values and priorities (or it should, particularly at a Jesuit university).

Human nature and potential are not matters of convenience.

Thankfully, the technology overlords at Fordham do not ap-

pear overly smitten with the next best thing, avoiding innovation and the sacrifices it forces. The ubiquitous presence of massive, caged projectors and their accompanying super-integrated lecterns serves as a useful and reasonable method of modernizing Rose Hill classrooms; a welcome presence in lieu of overhead projectors or TV carts even if they do sometimes require a quick call over to IT to work properly.

Where technology should dominate at the university level is in the way of research and communication. Far from pushing the boundaries of novelty, practical progress prevails in the right areas at Fordham more often than not; for instance, I am thrilled to have seen the demise of OASIS as opposed to the rise of classroom live-tweeting.

A healthy skepticism of the infallibility of technology would serve us all well. No program can substitute for content. Some of our best instructors are naturally those who use technology as a starting point for explanation and discussion of their larger points.

Practicality has at this point won the battle over novelty at Fordham without compromising improvement, and I do hope that continues.

Bobby Bukowski, FCRH ’12, is a political science major from Paramus, N.J.

If you have an opinion about something you saw in this week’s issue of The Ram, send us a Letter to the Editor at: fordhamramletters@gmail.com

OPINIONS

Homeland Insecurities Isabel Brown

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 9

Away Games Take Their Toll Fordham’s Few Home Games Hurt Athletic Enthusiasm, Force Fans to Go the Extra Miles

By RORY MASTERSON STAFF WRITER

A Misspent Decade We all remember That Day. I was eight years old and I remember that unpleasant feeling when your teachers clustered, looking around nervously, whispering. The principal paced the halls. At 3:30 p.m., your parents, your relatives, ran toward you after school and clung tighter than you’ve ever felt them. At 5:30 p.m., the local news came on.

I grew up in Connecticut — hardwired into my memory are the names of the dead, those who still haven’t called, haven’t come home, rolling up the T.V. screen, mainly from Fairfield County. Family after family pleaded on screen: “Do you know these people? Have you seen them?”

No one wants to recall the images from his or her day on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nevertheless, the fear it instilled in every American can never be forgotten.

We know this, and so did the Bush Administration — too well.

In barely a month, the passage of the PATRIOT Act pried into the phone lines and library records of U.S. citizens. America’s formerly tidy human rights record was marred by illegal torture of suspects in foreign prisons.

Trillions of dollars, as we are now so painfully aware, were frittered away, not just by war but also by outlandish and occasionally illegal executive decisions to increase national “security.”

The Bush administration seized our fears and, rather than leading the nation back into a feeling of relative calm and recovery, exploited America’s shaken public for its own initiatives.

Without consulting the Supreme Court to verify the constitutionality of the Act, the executive office plowed forward, justifying its extreme secrecy in the name of security. Eight years of this behavior alienated the president and his men from the experts who could have guided Bush into a more pragmatic reaction to this catastrophe.

Senior members of the judiciary, FBI and CIA — people who devoted their lives to security — threatened to resign under Bush when their advice was so foolishly rejected. At a time when citizens needed the government to be strong, as they were for each other, squabbling was endemic within the administration.

In 2011, there exists constant fear of “government intervention.”

Conservatives bemoan government regulation as if the Securities and Exchange Commission — which puts corrupt bankers behind bars — is run by communists, not economists.

Yet, when we think of dystopian, Big Brother-esque government, doesn’t the idea of a suit listening to your conversations come to mind slightly more easily than a billionaire having to pay a higher income tax?

President Obama recently renewed the PATRIOT Act. Although economic and financial crises have taken priority since 2008, failing to prosecute Bush officials for their constitutional violations set a terrible precedent for future administrations to invade private lives with impunity.

Seventy years before Sept. 11, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reassured Americans to “fear nothing but fear itself.” It does no good, today, to be told to fear everyone else.

The Sweat of the Brow Harry MacCormack

TOMS: The Right Idea When you read this article there will be a small, italicized sentence telling you my name, major and the state from which I moved to come to Fordham.

That state is South Carolina, home to two teams in major NCAA football conferences: the University of South Carolina, whose Gamecocks play in the Southeastern Conference and who have recently received some national championship contender consideration, and Clemson University, whose Tigers are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Football, especially at the prep and collegiate levels, is a celebratory affair below the MasonDixon Line. The pageantry of an afternoon tailgate featuring barbeque, beanbag toss and, my personal favorite, beautiful women in flowing sundresses, is one of the aspects I miss most about living in the South.

Having come to Fordham, situated in a city where football fields are scarce by necessity and where professional football reigns supreme, I was not expecting a direct translation of Dixie football, mainly because sundresses are impractical in sub-freezing temperatures.

Nonetheless, it was disappointing to scroll through Fordham’s football schedule earlier this year and find that we are hosting only four home games this season.

Even though we play in the Patriot League of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA, it should not be the case that we only have four home appearances as opposed to seven games played away from Jack Coffey Field. For a school that boasts about the Seven Blocks of Granite from the annals of Fordham history, it seems a shame to write off any hope in a season by taking away any kind of home-field advantage.

The school could use a little more enthusiasm for its athletics department, being that our major men’s sports have gone pretty

BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

No matter how well the football team performs, fewer fans attend away games.

much idle for a long time. Save for John Skelton’s place on the Arizona Cardinals, the football team has lacked relevance for a long time.

The men’s basketball team, which went winless in the Atlantic-10 Conference for almost two entire seasons from 2008-09 through last year, has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1992 and has not won a game in the tournament since defeating the aforementioned South Carolina Gamecocks in 1971.

One game that should prove to be a fun time for most will be Columbia’s visit to Fordham for Homecoming weekend on Sept.

17, in the annual battle for the Liberty Cup. Fordham has won the last two meetings in the rivalry.

We can only hope that the winning trend continues this season, as it is always a good time to shove victory in the face of the first-ranked research institu-

tion in the United States as well as its prominent alumni, among them President Barack Obama, Warren Buffet and the sweaterwearing faux hipsters in Vampire Weekend.

All told, it would benefit the University to schedule, or at least to attempt to schedule, more home fixtures in future seasons.

It may benefit the football team themselves as well.

We can joke about the impact of home-field advantage during a rout like University of Connecticut Huskies’ 35-3 seasonopening victory over the Rams, but who is to say that Fordham’s student body would not have willed a win had we played the game in the Bronx?

Schedule 11 home games next year, put the girls in sundresses in the middle of November and make everyone happy.

Rory Masterson, GSB ’14, is a business administration major from Fort Mill, S.C.

BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Crowds tend to be larger at home games, and having more away games dimishes already-lacking sports enthusiasm.

I promise I will get around to talking about politics next issue, but for this week I want to talk about TOMS and its creator Blake Mycoskie.

For those who are unfamiliar, TOMS is a shoe company that sells canvas shoes with the promise that every time a pair is bought, a pair will be donated to a child who needs them.

Mycoskie came to Fordham to speak about his company and about how he has managed to create a profitable business that also helps people.

The first thing I thought when I listened to his speech was that his business model is the epitome of socially conscious objectivism. One of the core beliefs in my philosophy is that altruism is a crutch. To remove oneself entirely from an equation is totally irrational, and altruism is just a flimsy justification to do so, thus leading only to progressively more irrational behavior.

By that logic, capitalism is the most virtuous of lifestyles and business ultimately leads to good, a lifestyle of self-interest and careful thought.

Think about it, which rational person would commit a suicide attack out of self-interest?

It is out of a misguided sense of altruism that they are achieving some moral high ground by giving themselves as a sacrifice.

That said, that is not to say we cannot look out for others, but we must consider ourselves as well. The TOMS story is the perfect example of this. What Mycoskie saw while he was in Argentina working with a charity to bring shoes to children is that charity is not sustainable.

To ask someone to give for nothing is not a reliable way to help others.

So instead he turned to a more logical alternative: instead of asking for charity, he introduced incentives throughout the system.

The buyer pays a premium for a shoe, and with that shoe comes a sense of decency for the buyer, profit for the company and its investors and finally, a new pair of shoes for a child who needs them.

By using a capitalist business model, TOMS has introduced reward to each party in the equation, something charity could never do. Mycoskie has founded a profitable company, while at the same time providing valuable aid to others.

TOMS is the ideal example of virtuous capitalism: by being a good person, conducting good business and presenting a product and model that people can feel good about, a person’s inherent desire to do good has become his most powerful asset.

So I thank you, Blake Mycoskie for showing people that you can be a successful business man and still have a soul.

OPINIONS

PAGE 10 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Undue Emphasis is Placed on College Rankings

By GIRISH SWAMINATH STAFF WRITER

Numerous periodicals, including Newsweek, Washington Monthly and U.S. News and World Report, have released rankings of American universities based on different categories, ranging from the best party schools to the schools with the happiest student populations. As a result of the media’s hype of these rankings, prospective undergraduates and their parents tend to take the rankings too seriously, often to the extent that they utilize the rankings as a basis for deciding on their undergraduate institution or desired group of colleges to which they should apply. In addition, the general American public has developed an attitude that certain universities, predominately the Ivy League schools, are the only good colleges in the country and that others outside the top 10 lists are unworthy of consideration.

Ever since Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report began publishing rankings, Americans have forgotten that different types of valuable educational opportunities are offered at every single institution in the country. Instead, they have resorted to focusing their attention on only the “top-

tier” schools. People have been feverishly competing with one another to attend one of a handful of universities, just because the media has drilled into their heads through these rankings that only certain schools can provide the so-called “prestige” and “societal acceptance” that Americans seek today.

This attitude is detrimental to society, as unnecessary stress created in high school takes away from students’ learning experiences and affects student health.

Instead of acquiring and applying the skills taught in various classes,

year can get into the “top-tier” schools. Furthermore, to gain the maximum benefit of their college experiences, prospective undergraduates should choose schools based on the learning and social environment of a particular university, in addition to location and climate. This criteria should match their personality types, preferences for an ideal school and goals for a college education. People should not base their life decisions on opinions conveyed by a magazine and must realize that what they are looking to receive from a college experience can be provided by numerous other institutions, perhaps in a manner even better than the top 20 schools listed on a rankings site.

In addition, it is important to realize the criteria on which magazines like Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report are basing their rankings.

Newsweek, which recently released a new set of rankings, categorizes top 25 universities according to: best weather, return on investment, gay-friendly, future politicians, happiest and horniest. All these factors are subjective aspects of the college experience and have been quantified into numbers by these ranking systems based on the opinions of a few people in

“College rankings have instilled in people’s minds an incorrect perception that top 10 universities are the only avenues to economic and overall success in one’s future.” students, partially due to parental and societal pressure, worry more about the grades they earn. The 2400 SAT score and 4.0 GPA have become ingrained in students’ minds because the rankings suggest that those credentials are required for students to be admitted into Ivy League universities.

Americans are forgetting that accommodating millions of students into a few universities is physically impossible. Only a small fraction of college applicants each

each university, which clearly vary from person to person. For instance, The Huffington Post ranked Fordham University as the sixthbest “college that gives back to its community,” but Newsweek failed to include Fordham in the list of service-oriented schools. With Fordham’s active involvement in the Bronx community, especially through the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, how Newsweek decided not to include the University in the service-oriented school list remains shocking.

Also, classifying weather and food quality can be difficult, as students have different preferences based on their personalities and backgrounds. The strangest category is happiness, as Newsweek actually went through and ranked colleges based on how happy students are. Newsweek authors have forgotten that happiness varies from individual to individual. At every university, there are bound to be people who despise their college experience and those who feel personally and academically enriched by the university they attend. Therefore, the subjectivity of Newsweek rankings, as well as oth-

er ranking systems, demonstrates that one cannot compare or quantitatively rank universities based on different subjective aspects of a college experience.

College rankings have instilled in people’s minds an incorrect perception that top 10 universities are the only avenues to economic and overall success in one’s future. Just as the definition of success tends to be quite arbitrary, people have different opinions regarding the college experience. Consequently, rankings should not quantify such subjective matters. Once admitted to college, young Americans soon realize that whether or not they attend a “top-tier” university ranked

by Newsweek or U.S. News and World Report is irrelevant to their futures. Therefore, society should stop placing such an incredible amount of emphasis on college rankings and should just allow youth to attend the institutions they feel are compatible with their personality types, goals and academic strengths and weaknesses.

Girish Swaminath, FCRH ’14, is a biology major and chemistry and business administration minor from Monte Sereno, Calif.

Staff Poll: Do people put too much stock in college rankings?

Twenty Ram staffers say yes.

Two Ram staff staffers say no.

Have an opinion?

Write a letter to the editor at fordhamramletters@gmail.com.

Career advice?

There’s an app for that.

KPMG’s Branding U app is full of advice to help you brand yourself for success. Watch fresh videos, read smart articles, and get tips on polishing up your brand directly from KPMG recruiters and professionals. All at the touch of your finger.

Download today to find out what it takes to stand in a class of your own. kpmgcampus.com The best advice on a mobile device To download KPMG’s free KPMG GO app, visit http://itunes.com/apps/kpmggo or scan the code here.

You can get a free code reader from getscanlife.com on your mobile browser or by texting “SCAN” to 43588.

© 2011 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

Printed in the U.S.A. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. 24696NSS

ADVERTISING

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 11

with 2-year wireless svc agreement on voice and minimum $15/mo data plan required.

with 2-year wireless svc agreement on voice and minimum $15/mo data plan required.

Purchase of Unlimited Messaging plan required. Available with select plans. International long distance calls and International roaming calls not included. Calls to directory assistance, voicemail, pay-per-use, call routing, and forwarding numbers not included. Other restrictions and conditions apply. See att.com/anymobile or store for details. Monthly discount: Service discount applies only to the monthly service charge of qualified plans and not to any other charges. Available only to qualified students and employees of colleges/universities with a qualified business agreement.

Other service discount qualification requirements may apply. Restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply. See store for details. Limited-time offer. Subject to wireless customer agrmt. Credit approval req’d. Activ. fee $36/line. Coverage & svcs, including mobile broadband, not avail. everywhere. Geographic, usage & other conditions & restrictions (that may result in svc. termination) apply. See contract, rate plan brochure, and rebate form at stores for details. Taxes & other chrgs apply. Prices & equip. vary by mkt & may not be avail. from ind. retailers. See store or visit att.com for details and coverage map. Early Termination Fee (ETF): None if cancelled during first 30 days, but a $35 restocking fee may apply; after 30 days, ETF up to $325, depending on device (details att.com/equipmentETF). Subject to change. Agents may impose add’l fees. Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge up to $1.25/mo. is chrg’d to help defray costs of complying with gov’t obligations & chrgs on AT&T & is not a tax or gov’t req’d chrg. Offer Details: HTC Status price with 2-year wireless svc agreement on voice & minimum $15/mo. data plan required is $49.99. HTC Inspire 4G price with 2-year wireless svc agreement on voice & minimum $15/mo. data plan required is $99.99. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment. Smartphone Data Plan Requirement: Min. $15/mo. DataPlus (200MB) plan required; $15 automatically chrg’d for each additional 200MB provided if initial 200MB is exceeded. All data, including overages, must be used in the billing period in which it is provided or be forfeited. For more details on data plans, go to att.com/dataplans. Screen images simulated. Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc. ©2011 HTC Corp., Inc. All rights reserved. The HTC logo, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Status, and any other trademarks used herein are trademarks owned by HTC Corporation and used under license. ©2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. Service provided by AT&T Mobility. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

PAGE 12 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

ADVERTISING

FORDHAM Little Italy Gardens NEWLY CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS LOCATED ON BELMONT, HUGHES, AND HOFFMAN ST. ALL JUST ONE (1) BLOCK OFF FORDHAM ROAD

Join a Tradition of Excellence Become part of an extraordinary community grounded in research and innovation that offers a rich learning environment, outstanding faculty, and access to the resources of a worldrenowned institution. The Johns Hopkins University School of Education offers a variety of doctorate, master’s, and certificate programs that can advance your career in:

BRAND NEW 1 &2 BR APARTMENTS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR FORDHAM STUDENTS IMMEDIATE AND FUTURE OCCUPANCY AVAILABLE! Amenities include: air conditioning, video intercom, dishwasher, microwave oven, and laundry facility on premises.

(347) 330-9190 Vlad (718) 364-5700 Main Office

NO FEE!!!

WWW. FORDHAMHOUSING.COM

TEACHING COUNSELING SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Learn more about paid research and student teaching opportunities, and interdisciplinary offerings with other JHU schools.

Visit our admissions advisers at the NYC Idealist Grad Fair - Metropolitan Pavilion Tuesday, September 6 Visit education.jhu.edu/Fall2011 for a full list of online and in-person info sessions.

1-877-JHU-SOE1 soe.info@jhu.edu

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

PAGE 13

Record Turnout for Fordham Service and Justice Day

By KATIE TUZZIO CONTRUBUTING WRITER

To honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept.

11, 2001, over 100 students, administrators and faculty members gathered in O’Keefe Commons early Saturday morning to partake in Fordham’s annual Service and Justice Day. Service and Justice Day is organized every year by the Dorothy Day Center located in the McGinley Center. The past two years, the events have taken place on the anniversary weekend of Sept. 11 in response to President Barack Obama’s call for a “National Day of Service.”

According to Sandra Lobo-Jost, director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice (DDCSJ) for over 13 years, this year’s Service and Justice Day saw the best turnout yet.

“Participants ranged from new freshmen wanting to follow up their Urban Plunge experience to the women’s basketball team,” Lobo-Jost said. “While there are many reasons why Fordham volunteers have chosen to take part in Service and Justice Day [National Day of Service], their hope is to learn from and give back to our Bronx community.”

Before groups depart for their projects, they met in O’Keefe Commons for breakfast and words from guest speakers. This year, three speakers took part in the morning program. Rev. Erika Crawford opened up the day with an inter-

COURTESY OF KATIE TUZZIO

On Saturday, more than100 members of the Fordham Community participated in Fordham’s Service and Justice Day.

faith prayer, followed by remarks from Dr. Orlando Rodriguez, professor of sociology. Rodriguez lost his son on Sept. 11 and now works as an activist, promoting peace and reconciliation as a response to the violent attacks. Finally, Heidi Hynes, executive director of the Mary Mitchell Center for Youth and Families, invited volunteers to

consider poverty and inequality.

According to Hynes, who has lived in the Bronx for 20 years, the Bronx is the poorest district in the country and is a product of “systematic violence” and “generational poverty.” There are high rates of unemployment and disease, she added.

“We never get peace [by]re-

sponding to violence with violence,” Hynes told the participants.

After applauding each speaker, participants split into groups under the guidance of a trained student leader.

“Groups vary in size depending on the need of the organization and project,” Lobo-Jost said.

“Groups are established based on

interest and experience of registered volunteers. For example, we have groups of students who asked to volunteer together, and students who will be together because they each expressed interest in working in community gardens.”

This year, a variety of community partners within the Bronx hosted volunteers including: Beacon 45, Bronx is Blooming, Bainbridge Urban Garden, Fordham Bedford Lot, Busters Urban Garden, “Toughman” Triathlon (which is raising money for Sept. 11 victims), the Mary Mitchell Center for Youth and Family Services, Garden of Happiness, Bronx River Alliance, the New York Botanical Gardens and more.

After spending the day working at their assigned projects, participants reconvened at O’Keefe to reflect on the day and share their experiences over lunch.

“This experience has really opened my eyes to the needs of the community and the many opportunities that are easily available to us as Fordham students,” Brandon Buchla, FCRH ’13, who assisted at a car wash to benefit Beacon 45, an after-school program for local elementary school children, said.

The Dorothy Day Center looks forward to holding many more Service and Justice Days. In the meantime, students are encouraged to stop by the Dorothy Day Center to find more information about Fordham’s community partners and to discover how they can get involved in service projects during the school year.

Fashion’s Night Out Kicks off Fashion Week

By HOLLY LEMANOWICZ STAFF WRITER

Do celebrity sightings, complimentary mani-pedis, DJs mixing tracks, free food and drinks and discounts on designer duds sound enticing?

Those who were intrigued found it all at Fashion’s Night Out, an annual event that was held this past week on Sept. 8.

For those who do not know, Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) is a global initiative sponsored by Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. An event which has come to fruition with the help of Vogue’s very own Anna Wintour, FNO aims to encourage consumers to support the fashion industry during these difficult economic times.

How can consumers help the industry and emerging designers?

Through shopping, of course.

Stores in more than 250 cities chose to participate in FNO this year and online retailers were encouraged, for the first time, to take part in the event as well; even those who could not make it out to one of the FNO locations, could still take part in the event.

Fashion’s Night Out also has philanthropic interests. FNO donates 40 percent of the proceeds from its official collection, which

includes (but is not limited to) t-shirts, baseball caps and tote bags to the New York City AIDS fund in the New York Community Trust.

Although FNO’s initial intention was to stimulate sales, this one night has become so much more. Each store offers perks and a unique atmosphere as part of Fashion’s Night Out. Raffles, contests, complimentary champagne, styling consultations and photo booths were available to those who attended this city-wide event.

Do not be dissuaded from attending a future Fashion’s Night Out if you do not have money to spend on pricey designer items, as most of the events held are free and are open to the general public without an RSVP. Celebrity sightings were aplenty in Midtown; Stacey Bendet, Dakota Fanning, Daphne Guinness, Tilda Swinton and Sarah Jessica Parker were just a few.

While Alice + Olivia had a carnival-themed party, SoHo was where one could spot fashion models sporting the latest fashions in store windows. Mobile food trucks were out in full force, offering free samples to famished shoppers, while music blared from inside the stores.

Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren also had com-

COURTESY OF FLICKR

Stores in over 250 cities participated in this year’s Fashion’s Night Out, 40 percent of the proceeds of which benefited the New York City AIDS fund in the New York Community Trust.

plimentary snacks and drinks available throughout a night that everyone seemed to enjoy the night.

Fashion’s Night Out also serves as the kick-off event to MercedesBenz Fashion Week. FNO, almost an entirely public and free event, is typically seen to be in stark contrast to New York Fashion Week, which is exclusive and always invite-only; however, with the help of new and participatory medias, NYFW is becoming accessible

to fashion-lovers throughout the world. Countless designers now “live-stream” their runway shows on their Facebook pages, blogs and company Web sites.

Bloggers are now considered to be fashion insiders and are welcomed to these shows due to their influence. Some fashion icons have even taken things to the next level; Oscar de la Renta for example, will be including real-time photos on his Tumblr page, taken by guests at his show, so that those interest-

ed in fashion can get a glimpse of his newest collection.

Whether you attended Fashion’s Night Out 2011 or not, you still have time to get in on the action by embracing what New York Fashion Week has to offer. Industry critics and fashion lovers alike are eagerly waiting to review what designers have in store for Spring 2012.

For more information on Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, visit mbfashionweek.com.

CULTURE

PAGE 14 • THE RAM SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Cooking With Clara CLARA ENNIST

Tapas It is a universally acknowledged fact that women love tapas. Actually, a more appropriate and less absolute statement would be that almost all people enjoy tapas.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with tapas, tapas are appetizers or hors d’oeuvres in Spanish cuisine.

However, the word has quickly come to refer to any snacks that are served either before a meal or are combined to make a full meal. We have all substituted a meal with tapas, whether on a date, with friends or family, at a restaurant or at home.

One such gathering that necessitates an assortment of snacks is a football game party.

Last year was the first time that I noticed that avocado-growers were making a concerted effort to promote their product using commercial slots during NFL games.

Personally, I love avocados and therefore could not understand why they were a product that actually needed advertising campaigns.

Because football season has officially begun, and because avocados are apparently synonymous with football, I have decided to dedicate this week’s column to the marriage of tapas and football.

W hile tapas and football may seem like an unlikely combination, they go well together if you are having a group of friends over to watch a game.

Another combination that goes surprisingly well together: grapes and avocadoes. The recipe is simple enough: diced avocado, grapes, peppers, onions and a few spices.

Mix and serve on top of your favorite chips, crackers or bread. This alone is definitely not enough to serve to a group of guests, but it is a good start.

So why do we love tapas so much? I am not entirely certain. Maybe it has to do with the fact that sharing food, especially smaller portions, facilitates more conversation at the table.

Maybe it is because when we eat tapas we feel like we are eating less or that we get to sample more.

W hatever the reason, tapas combine so many good things that it would be nearly impossible to dislike them. Wine: check. Small portions of food: check. Classiness: questionable.

Do tapas have to be upscale and classy, or is it better for them just to be fun?

Given the difficulty of making a football gathering classy, my suggestion is that you just try to make tapas fun.

So guys, I return to my first statement: Women really do love tapas. To get your lady friends to watch football, offer to make some tapas.

Visit The Ram’s Web site for the recipe.

Dining Out: Hill Country Chicken everyone can get what they like without having to fight over what is left in the bucket (Hello KFC) There are few things more comA crispy exterior reveals perfectly forting than fried food, but it is diffiseasoned and surprisingly juicy cult to find joints in the city that are chicken. This is quite a challenge, esfrying things up just right. At Hill pecially since restaurants often have Country, you can leave your hesitato prepare food in bulk ahead of time tion at the door. to meet demand.

However, at Hill Country they A red rooster is perched over the maintain a top notch standard for front door, calling you in for a taste. keeping fried food tasting like it is Wooden tables and stools create a fresh out of the fryer. casual but not “counOverall Mac and cheese try bumpkin” vibe Location ($3) is a go-to side perfect for hunkering Food Quality dish when it comes down to gnaw on a Atmosphere to Southern food, but nice piece of chicken.

Hospitality Price $ $ this variety is worth Warm yellow and skipping. A promiblue hues round out (Out of 4 ’s) nent cheddar sauce décor fit for Paula is off-putting, as are Deen. With anticipathe chunks of red bell pepper mixed tion, you wait and order your chicken throughout. I am all for eating my by the piece. Whether you are a leg PHOTO BY KAYLA LE GOFF/THE RAM veggies, but when it comes to mac ($2.25) or a breast ($5.50) person, Foods included on the menu are fried chicken, biscuits and mac n‘ cheese. and cheese the only additions I want to see are bacon or more cheese.

The biscuit ($1) was simply good.

Flaky with buttery richness, it is, of course, only enhanced by the addition of more butter (my personal favorite topping) and a drizzle of honey, a simple and delicious combination I crave for breakfast, lunch and midnight munchies.

For a sweet finish, I ordered the Cowboy Pie. Chocolate chips, coconut flakes and condensed milk are united in a delightful way: a candy bar with a graham cracker crust.

With a wink and a smile, you can get them to warm it up too.

Is there anything better than warm pie? No, there is not.

In this urban environment that thrives on quick fixes, Hill Country PHOTO BY KAYLA LE GOFF/THE RAM Chicken is bringing down-home comfort to mealtime in the city.

Hill Country Chicken is located in the Flatiron District at the corner of Broadway and 25th Street.

By KAYLA Le GOFF STAFF WRITER

Editor’s Pick: Cold Souls, starring Paul Giamatti

By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR

I’m not usually one for indie movies. In fact, I don’t really watch many movies at all; however, one boring winter evening during my senior year of high school, my friends and I found ourselves at the local Blockbuster. We were looking for a movie to rent. None of the newer, popular movies really appealed to us. What did appeal to us, however, was a DVD case featuring a stone-faced Paul Giamatti and the tagline, “Paul Giamatti has lost his soul. And he wants it back.” That, we decided, was too interesting to pass up.

You’ve probably never heard of Cold Souls. It stars Paul Giamatti, who plays an actor named Paul Giamatti. Giamatti, the character, is preparing for the title role in a production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, but eventually the role becomes too much for him.

He cannot separate himself from the character, and the depressing nature of the role begins to weigh him down. Luckily for Paul, he reads an article in The New Yorker that may provide a possible solution: soul extraction. This is where the fun begins.

Paul has his soul extracted but soon finds that he cannot play the part of Uncle Vanya with the necessary emotion. He goes back to the soul extraction office to

COURTESY OF FLICKR

have his soul replaced. The only problem is that his soul cannot be found. The plot thickens when it turns out that it has been stolen to be sold on the black market, and Paul must go to Russia to retrieve it.

What the film does so well is mix complex philosophical questions with dark humor reminiscent of the Coen brothers. At one point, soulless Paul lays on his bed, staring at his feet and says, “I have feet. These are my feet.

How do I know they’re mine?”

Something about Giamatti’s delivery makes this moment one of the film’s more humorous scenes, but the metaphysical question it poses also makes it one of the more thought-provoking moments.

The film constantly juxtaposes the absurdly humorous with the profoundly deep. The viewer becomes absorbed by the push and pull. When Paul’s soul is removed, it is placed in a glass tube and we see that it is in fact, a chickpea. Now, the idea that

Paul’s soul is nothing more than a chickpea is preposterous and certainly warrants a laugh, but the scene makes us wonder if the soul is something tangible. The viewer is forced to consider both aspects. This sort of emotional conflict drives the film.

If dark comedy is your thing, or maybe if you just want to know if Paul Giamatti ever gets his soul back, Cold Souls is certainly worth putting in your Netflix queue. You will be glad you did.

CULTURE

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 15

Top Places to Visit in New York City before Graduation

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located close to Fordham at 2300 Southern Blvd. The Zoo contains numerous exhibits, including the Congo Gorilla Forest, the Wild Asia Monorail, Tiger Mountain and Madagascar.

By SCHARON HARDING ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

Time spent at college can be one of the most valuable experiences of a person’s youth. By attending Fordham, we have the opportunity to seek high-quality experiences.

Often, between fighting for a 4.0, bending over backwards for internships and spilling our last bit of energy into extracurricular activities, we forget the other type of opportunity college offers: the opportunity to explore, make memories and, dare I say, have fun for the sake of having fun.

“You’ll never have another chance in your life when you’re young and have the freedom

to spend your parents’ money,” Nick Momeni, FCRH ‘13, said.

“You can come home at 6:30 in the morning and have the luxury to miss one class before you do it all over again the next day.”

This may not be the most responsible advice, but there is truth to it. A little bit of fun never killed anyone.

These are some of the last years during which it is almost understandable to be a little reckless, especially in one of the greatest cities of the world.

That is why many Fordham students have resolved to spend as much free time adventuring around the city as possible before graduation.

“I think before people graduate they should really explore Cen-

tral Park,” Erica Kadel, FCRH ‘13, said. “The forest on the Upper West Side of it would make you think, even just for a little bit, that you’re not in the city.”

Though New York City is famous for being a concrete jungle, there are some sprinkles of nature where students can escape city life.

“You look above at the trees all around you [in Central Park] and can barely see the tops of the skyscrapers,” Kadel said. “And definitely check out Strawberry Fields.”

“Go to the Bronx Zoo,” Momeni said. “Take a date to the Botanical Gardens.”

Exploring Manhattan seems like a given, but with at least four years to spend at Fordham, stu-

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

dents want to make sure they also investigate some of the less popular places in the city.

“Try to stay away from Times Square because it’s just a tourist trap,” Momeni said. “Look for underground stuff in the path less taken.”

Fun, underground activities can be found in all of the boroughs of New York.

“People always forget to visit Queens,” Kadel said. “Queens has its own feel to it and some dope hookah.”

New York is a beautiful city with excitement hiding beneath every corner. It is an understatement to say that you should find as many of these hidden gems as possible before leaving the Rose Hill campus.

“If you can’t find somebody to fall in love with, at least fall in love with the city,” Momeni said.

With all this gallivanting, you might find yourself exhausted. Do not worry, there are worthwhile ways to enjoy life before graduation without leaving campus.

Finally, the most important thing you can do before graduation is to find people with whom to connect and share memories. Anything you do with true friends is valuable and therefore, time well-spent in the hunt for making your time here priceless.

“If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon the right people to share your misery and joy with, then the next four years will really be something unmatched,” Momeni said.

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Strawberry Fields, a Quiet Zone located inside Central Park, is a memorial to John Lennon. The memorial was officially dedicated on Oct. 9, 1945, which marked the 45th anniversary of Lennon’s birth.

PAGE 16• THE RAM SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

WHO’S THAT KID? Sean Pinckney A MEMBER OF GSB ’12 MAJORING IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

FROM QUEENS, N.Y. What campus organizations are you involved in?

I am in the Global Business Honors Program. I drive the Ram Van, the best job on campus. I manage the GSB Facebook pages for the entire school and the current freshman class, and I am also an advisor to the GSB Class of 2015, the best class on campus (empirically, of course).

Please describe yourself: I would say that I’m someone who takes a lot of pride in the things I do, be it Ram Van, other extracurriculars or my classes. I do what I love, I love doing them and the people I do them with, and I do them well. I’m someone who came to college very unsure of what I liked and didn’t like but through trial and error have definitely figured that out, at least compared to freshman Sean, and am going full-steam ahead into senior year.

Please describe something about yourself that not many people know: I was formerly a registered Democrat and voted for Obama once. I don’t like mentioning that. Also, I think I’m really hilarious, but my humor is very off-beat and sarcastic and many people don’t understand my humor (see: my roommates).

What is your favorite aspect about Fordham? Why? It’s the people that go here and work here. For every disgruntled cafeteria worker and anonymous student waging pointless arguments on Fordham Facebook events, there are exponentially more wonderful people that are involved with this school and I feel so grateful to have found the amazing people that make up the day-to-day events that are my

life, and for all they have done and continue to do for me, I thank you.

What is your favorite class and professor at Fordham? Why? Defensive driving class with Marc Canton, Scott Kocher and Greg Rivas. They taught me how to take what seems like a glorified clunker driving on some of the worst roads in the country and turn it into a safe, semi-comfortable Ram Van that has taught me more about myself and other people than any book written by any highly paid author could ever do. Thanks, guys.

What is your favorite memory while attending Fordham?

The morning U2 came to play at Fordham. U2 is one of my favorite bands in general and them coming here was especially amazing, but to me it had a much bigger meaning.

My grandfather passed away earlier that week, and the day before U2 came we buried him, so when Bono sang and told us it was a “beautiful day,” it took on a lot of other meaning for me and remains a very special moment in my life.

CULTURE What is your favorite thing to do in NYC? My favorite thing to do in the city that I can put in The Ram is going out to eat at nice restaurants and trying new types of food. When I worked in Manhattan this summer, I diversified my food experience and I hope to continue to do that.

What are your plans for after college?

I do have one job offer sitting on the table and am hoping more come in. As college went on, I actually switched interests from accounting to finance, so I’m looking for something in the finance world as we speak and I hope to go into investment banking as soon as possible and see where that takes me, but I feel pretty confident that I will be in the business world for quite some time.

What do you want to do or accomplish before you leave Fordham?

I want to stop worrying so much about the future. If my schedule allows me to, I really want to take on a more active role in Ram Van and be nominated for driver of the year because that would mean a lot to me.

Anything else you want people to know about you?

Yes, don’t touch my radio in my Ram Van. Also, yes, we do hear everything you say when you are on the van, and some of us (myself definitely included) judge you.

what’s Know “what’s going on” on campus or in NYC?

Going

15

?

On

Send tips, event listings, or comments to theram@fordham.edu.

THURSDAY Live From the Runway Youtube.com/liverunway 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fashion Week’s exclusive fashion shows will be streamed live, including BCBG Maxazria.

16

FRIDAY Harper’s Bazaar: A Decade of Style International Center of Photography 1133 Avenue of the Americas See the photography exhibit of the former editor of Harper’s Bazaar, featuring the work of legendary fashion photographers.

17

SATURDAY Daphne Guinness Exhibit The Museum at FIT 527 W 23rd St. One hundred pieces of the designer’s closet will be displayed, including pieces from Chanel and Valentino.

18

SUNDAY Picasso to Koons: Artist as Jeweler Museum of Arts and Design 2 Columbus Circle The exhibit features jewelry created by 20th-century artists, such as Pablo Picasso.

19

MONDAY Bingo Night with Murray Hill and Linda Simpson The Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery) 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Drag queen, Linda Simpson and comedian Murray Hill host a free, weekly Bingo night with fun and strange prizes.

20

TUESDAY Slavic Soul Party Barbes Bar (376 Ninth St.) 9 p.m.

The Eastern European dance band will be performing for just $10.

21 COURTESY OF SEAN PINCKNEY

Sean Pinckney, who is from Queens, is a senior in Gabelli School of Business.

WEDNESDAY “The Once and Future Pennsylvania Station” New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex Grand Central Terminal (East 42nd St. ) The free exhibit will show images of Penn Station at its creation, as well as plans for the new station.

— COMPILED BY SCHARON HARDING

Ram Reviews MOVIE THE ART OF FLIGHT

By SANDY MCKENZIE CULTURE EDITOR

The Art of FLIGHT premiered on Sept. 7 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City to high praise.

“I loved the movie,” Luigi Mascia, GSB ’12, said. “Although I am an avid skier, and this was about extreme snowboarding, I could not get enough of this movie.”

The Art of FLIGHT follows a group of snowboarders as they push the envelope of snowboarding, attempting jaw-dropping tricks and conquering dangerous terrain in Canada, Patagonia, Alaska, Romania, Wyoming and Austria.

The film stars Travis Rice, a snowboarder from Jackson, Wyo., and winner of two X-Games gold medals. Rice was also named the 2005 and 2009 TransWorld and Snowboarder Rider of the Year.

“I’m kind of speechless, all of

that leading up to it, talking about it and now finally playing it,” Rice wrote in a statement. “And having so many people here to support it.

Our whole posse is here. It’s amazing!”

The Art of FLIGHT is directed

by Curt Morgan, the President and owner of Brain Farm Digital Cinema. He is also the director of That’s It, That’s All, which also starred Rice.

Other snowboarders featured in The Art of FLIGHT include Nicolas Muller, DCP, Lago, Mark Landvik, Jake Blauvelt, Pat Moore, Eero Niemela, John Jackson and Jeremy Jones.

The action in the movie keeps the audience members on the edge of their seats, as the snowboarders are filmed jumping out of helicopters, soaring over trees and performing astonishing stunts on dangerous slopes. In one scene, the snowboarders are filmed knocking down tree branches with their snowboards; in another, the athletes are seen escaping avalanches as they descend the mountain.

“The tricks performed, the places they went and the sheer madness of what these guys did make you appreciate the sport,” Mascia said. “These guys do stuff we dream of—riding down basically vertical mountains, doing amazing flips and hitting tree branches and still landing a jump.”

The movie also portrays more vulnerable moments, however, such as when Lago gets injured and is taken to the hospital or when the athletes must build a giant bonfire, because the weather is too severe for snowboarding. As a result, the audience is able to get a behindthe-scenes view into the lives of the snowboarders.

“It was a two year buildup to see what people thought of the film,” Curt Morgan, who directed the movie, wrote in statement. “I’m kind of in shock right now. Just left the theater feeling really excited and satisfied, I’m finally satisfied.”

The cinematography and soundtrack enhanced the movie, allowing the film to flow seamlessly and complement the athletes’ incredible snowboarding. For more information and to see the movie trailer, visit The Art of FLIGHT’s Web site.

“I recommend [that] not only those who like winter sports, [but also] anyone who likes action and craziness go see it,” Mascia said.

MOVIE CONTAGION

By JAKE KRING-SCHREIFELS STAFF WRITER

Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s gripping medical thriller, depicts a germ-infested world that undoubtedly is an unpaid advertisement for the Purell business.

By the time this pandemic concludes, subway poles, elevator buttons and doorknobs look like evil transmitters for a disease rather than the helpful devices they claim to be.

Soderbergh interweaves criticism of government with a Lord of the Flies mentality as the international epidemic develops.

While the film doesn’t go as deep as the virus does wide, it still creates an eclectic mix of scientific examination and emotion-filled decisions that form its unsanitary core. Contagion shares a taste of human fallibility that comes with worldwide panic.

COURTESY OF RED BULL

The Art of FLIGHT, starring snowboarder Travis Rice, premiered on Sept. 7th.

TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN THEIR ENTIRETY, VISIT THERAMONLINE.COM AND CLICK ON “CULTURE” ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HOMEPAGE.

ADVERTISING

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 17

Interested in writing for The Ram? Contact one of our section editors: News fordhamramnews@gmail.com

Sports fordhamramsports@gmail.com

Opinions fordhamramopinions@gmail.com

Photo fordhamramphotos@gmail.com

Culture fordhamramculture@gmail.com

Web fordhamramonline@gmail.com

Start Your Career in Accounting.

Northeastern’s MS in Accounting/MBA for non-accounting majors: t &BSO UXP EFHSFFT JO KVTU NPOUIT t $PNQMFUF B NPOUI QBJE SFTJEFODZ BU B MFBEJOH BDDPVOUJOH mSN t 1SPWFO USBDL SFDPSE PG KPC QMBDFNFOU

Take the ďŹ rst step.

7JTJU PVS CPPUI BU UIF "DDPVOUJOH 'JOBODJBM 4FSWJDFT $BSFFS 'BJS Date: 4FQUFNCFS Time: QN Location: .D(JOMFZ $FOUFS OE 'MPPS -PVOHF 3PTF )JMM $BNQVT -FBSO NPSF BCPVU UIF QSPHSBN BOE VQDPNJOH FWFOUT BU www.msamba.neu.edu.

Become our fan on Facebook. facebook.com/northeasternuniversitymsamba

617-373-3244 gspa@neu.edu www.msamba.neu.edu

GRAND OPENING SEPTEMBER 16-18, 2011

NYC-Upper West Side 2152 Broadway at 76th Street 212-873-4001

GREAT PRIZES AWESOME GRAND OPENING DEALS Find us on Facebook at Eastern Mountain Sports Upper West Side

PAGE 18 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

ADVERTISING

PAGE 19

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

After Historic Season, Sailing on the Rise with New Coach

By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

Sixty years after the founding of Fordham sailing, the program celebrated its greatest accomplishment last spring when the women’s fleet team was able to qualify for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association of North America (ICSA) Women’s National Dinghy Championship for the first time.

The positive developments for sailing continued into the summer, when it was announced that Reed Johnson had been hired as the first professional coach in the program’s history. Members of the program hope that the momentum gained from these events will carry into the 2011-2012 season, which began this past weekend.

Fordham competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA), one of seven regional conferences under the control of the ICSA, which is sailing’s version of the NCAA. The conference consists of 46 schools, with 10 fielding varsity programs and the other 36, including Fordham, competing as club teams. At the end of the spring season, a conference championship is held for both the coed and women’s groups to determine which schools qualify for Nationals.

In the women’s championship, the Lady Rams finished seventh out of the 12 schools competing.

Originally, the conference was only going to send six teams to Nationals; however, a team from the Midwestern Conference

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX WIGGINS

The Fordham sailing team advanced to nationals for the first time ever.

dropped out, enabling Fordham to advance.

“The two most competitive conferences [in sailing] are the Mid-Atlantic and New England conferences,” junior Alex Wiggins, a member of the crew that went to nationals, said.

“One of the boats [from the Midwestern conference] was unable to go, so they gave the final berth to MAISA because the New England conference already had seven qualifications. It was decided that the two most competitive conferences should have the same amount, and Fordham qualified as a result.”

At the National tournament, which was held in Cascade Locks, Ore., Fordham finished 14th out of 18 in their semi-final race, and finished the year ranked 23rd in

the nation out of over 100 schools.

The team was led by graduated senior Ryann Hall, who served as skipper. Other crew members included Wiggins, senior Sarah McKay, junior Emma Pfohman, sophomore Mary Hamilton and sophomore Mia Cooper.

“We were absolutely ecstatic that our women’s team was able to participate in Nationals,” Head Coach Joe Sullivan said. “We had a very experienced team that we were able to send, a team that was battle-tested and they just did a terrific job.”

Sullivan has served as volunteer coach for the program since it was restarted in 2000 after a 27-year hiatus, while also serving as the director of Sailing Operations.

He will now focus solely on that role after hiring Johnson to

be the first professional coach in the program’s history. Johnson arrives after serving as an assistant coach at Boston College, a sailing powerhouse that was frequently ranked No. 1 in the country during his time there.

“With Reed Johnson, we’re hiring a bright, intelligent young coach who’s been a paid assistant coach for the last two years, and who has been an incredible competitor in intercollegiate sailing at the very top,” Sullivan said. “We feel very strongly that he has what it takes to help Fordham compete at the highest level in inter-collegiate sailing.”

The hiring of Johnson would not have been possible without generous contributions from the Fordham University Sailing Association, a fundraising group which consists of Fordham alumni and other supporters of Fordham sailing.

“We get a minimal stipend from club sports,” Sullivan said.

“Our expenses are five times [that stipend], excluding the cost of a coach. Our goal was to raise $100,000 to buy new boats. We ended up raising $153,000 in a down economy.”

“There were a number of influential alumni who were so impressed with the program that they initiated a second fundraising effort and as a result we have enough money to fund a professional coach for three years.”

Starting this fall, the team hopes to build on last year’s strong finish. In addition to the women’s team making it to Oregon, the coed team was also very

competitive, finishing ninth in its conference championship, one spot away from qualifying for Nationals.

“This year we’re definitely hoping to qualify for Nationals again,” Wiggins said. “We want to continue to build on last year’s momentum so that it will become a regular event rather than a onetime occurrence.”

Sailing for Fordham requires tremendous commitment, with practices three days a week and weekly regattas which take place on Saturdays and Sundays.

The fall season lasts from Labor Day until the middle of November, while the spring season runs from March through May. “There are no scholarships in sailing,” Sullivan said. “These are kids who absolutely love the sport, they love to be able to compete and represent Fordham at the highest levels.”

As a club sport, interested students are always welcome to give the sport a try. Competitions for the fall started this past weekend, with Fordham competing in regattas at Old Dominion and Cornell. The team finished eighth out of 16 at ODU and fifth out of 15 at Cornell.

“It’s never too late to join,” Wiggins said.

“We’re a big family, and we’d love more students to join. It’s a big commitment, but I actually joined at the club fair and I’m so glad I did. My Fordham experience wouldn’t be the same without it, and, you never know, you might get a chance to go to Nationals yourself.”

Volleyball Loses Three of Four Over Weekend, Now Prepares for Brown Invitational

By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR

This past weekend, the Fordham volleyball team hosted the 11th annual Rose Hill Classic, with the Lady Rams going 1-3 on the weekend. Siena, Colorado, Albany and St. John’s also competed.

It was the first action for the Lady Rams since the Bucknell Invitational the week before. Fordham went winless at Bucknell, and the team was looking to turn things around on its home court.

“It’s always important to have a strong showing when you’re playing at home whether you won your last tournament or not,” junior Randi Ewing said. “I think that because we went winless at Bucknell there was even more incentive to get as many wins as we could to make up for it.”

The tournament opened Friday with Colorado taking on Siena. After Siena earned a thrilling five-set victory, it was time for the home team to take the court.

Fordham’s first match was against Albany.

Albany jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set. Eventually they stretched that lead to 14-6 and seemed to be in total control; however, an impressive run by Fordham

narrowed the deficit to 15-13.

Following the run, Albany called a timeout. The Great Danes responded well out of the timeout, going on a run of their own. After Albany pushed the lead to 21-16 they seemed ready to put it away.

Fordham did manage to make the score 23-20 after a pair of kills by senior Brittany Daulton, but it was too late. Albany won the next two points to take the first set 25-20.

The second set was tight throughout, though Fordham trailed the whole way. Down by five late in the set, a kill by Daulton and a block by freshman Rose Diaz-Vasquez made it 23-20. Albany then called a timeout. The timeout seemed to reenergize the Great Danes; they won the next two points easily, taking the second set 25-20.

After dropping the first two sets, Fordham faced a must-win situation in the third set but, they never stood a chance. Albany jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They won the third set by a score of 25-11 and earned the 3-0 sweep.

Fordham had a short turnaround before its next match as they took on Siena the following morning in the first match of the tournament’s second day.

Fordham won the first set rather

easily, 25-14. Siena responded by taking the next set by a score of 25-18, evening the match out at one set apiece. Fordham went on to win the next two sets 25-19 and 25-17 and win the match 3-1.

Fordham carried the momentum of the win into their next match later that night against Colorado.

The Lady Rams displayed a lot of energy early. The set was tight in the beginning, highlighted by several impressive kills by Ewing, Daulton and sophomore Krissy Buongiorno; however, Colorado was able to pull away and win the set 25-17.

Colorado won the second and third sets easily by scores of 25-15 and 25-13, earning a 3-0 sweep.

Fordham had a chance to bounce back in the tournament’s final match the following night against St. John’s.

The first two sets were among the most exciting of the entire tournament. In the first set Fordham took an early 6-5 lead and maintained that lead until St. John’s was able to tie it up at 18. St. John’s took the lead on the next point. It turned out to be a lead they would never relinquish as they went on to take the first set 25-22. Fordham responded by taking the second set 25-20.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL REZIN/THE RAM

The Lady Rams have fallen to 1-7 following three losses at the Rose Hill Classic.

St. John’s dominated the third set, cruising to an easy 25-13 victory. Fordham came out in the fourth set trying to stay alive and put up a fight, though they ultimately fell 25-20. St. John’s won the match 3-1, sending Fordham to their third loss of the weekend.

The Lady Rams will be in action

again this coming weekend at the Brown Invitational.

“We are going to keep getting better and that will be seen at Brown this weekend,” Ewing said.

“We are going to play hard and play together and I think that we will be able to produce a consistent and solid team this weekend.”

ADVERTISING

PAGE 20 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

from the director of milk and good will hunting “RESTLESS sets itself apart from the rest.

Mia Wasikowska is captivating. Henry Hopper makes an impressive debut.”

Good with grammar?

-A.M. Homes, VANITY FAIR

Be a Ram copy editor! henry hopper mia wasikowska un certain regard opening night

JASON LEW BRIAN GRAZER RON HOWARD BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD GUS VAN SANT DIRECTEDBY GUS VAN SANT WRITTEN BY

PRODUCED BY

cannes film festival

toronto film festival 2011

WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

STARTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH!

LINCOLN PLAZA CINEMAS

REGAL CINEMAS AMC THEATRES UNION SQUARE 14 B’WAY BET. 62ND & 63RD ST. FOR INFO & EMPIRE 25 ADVANCE TICKETS, CALL 212-757-2280 OR 42ND ST. (BET. 7TH & 13TH ST. & B’WAY VISIT WWW.LINCOLNPLAZACINEMA.COM 8TH AVE.) 398-3939 777-FILM #777

E-Mail theram@fordham.edu or visit McGinley B-52 on Tuesday nights.

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.RESTLESSMOVIE.COM

Visit

THERA

M O C .

E N I L N MO

Check out our new look!

Click “Register” on the top-left side of the page.

Follow the on-screen instructions to create your account today!

Receive breaking news updates and comment on our stories!

MLB Should Shorten Season

By MATT ROSENFELD CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Yankees. Red Sox. Tigers. Phillies. Braves. Brewers. Diamondbacks.

With about three weeks and approximately 20 games, or oneeighth of the baseball season remaining, I am able to name seven virtually guaranteed playoff teams.

All of those teams, barring a monumental collapse, will make the playoffs. There is only one playoff spot that has any urgency down the stretch of the regular season.

This precious spot belongs to the American League West, in which the defending AL Champion, the Texas Rangers, hold a slim 3 game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With 14 games left and three against each other, only about 30 of the approximately 250 remaining MLB regular season games have any real playoff implications. That’s 12 percent.

Many people are interested in the remaining Yankees/Red Sox games, but both teams have secured a spot in the playoffs and are simply playing for home field advantage. Consequently, home-field advantage matters the least in baseball, compared to all other major professional sports.

Think about the relevancy statistic again, though. In the playoff push, at the end of a long, grueling summer of games, only 12 percent of the league’s games are even relevant from a postseason point of view. It’s awful for the fans, but more importantly, it’s awful for the league.

As I sit writing this on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, on the first full Sunday of NFL games, America’s “National Pastime” sits in the back seat. By the time the playoffs roll around for baseball, the NFL will be almost a quarter into its season, college football will be in full swing, the seasons will be changing, and Major League Baseball expects you to be fully excited to take in a month of October baseball.

The fact of the matter is nobody really wants to at that point.

I think everybody has accepted the fact that baseball has relinquished “America’s Sport” duties over to football, but baseball has bigger problems than that. How

does a relatively boring sport stay relevant when its postseason is during the time when everybody is in football mode? The solution is simple, very simple.

Shorten the baseball season.

Obviously, this is a bit of a drastic measure, but if you look at World Series ratings in any year that the Yankees don’t play in the Fall Classic, it’s easy to see that a drastic move is just what the sport needs.

Baseball played 154 games from 1904 until 1962 it expanded to the 162-game season we know now. The unbelievably long baseball schedule begins in April and continues all the way to the end of October; however, as we see year after year, come October, people are over baseball.

What I propose (and I’m certainly not alone in this thought) is that the MLB takes a month off its season. Instead of finishing in October, the World Series should be at the end of September.

Of course, this would never fly with the baseball community, which would cry over records and traditions that would be lost forever. To them I say, get over it.

Baseball needs to take a page out of other sports’ books and be progressive. It is stuck in the past, and that’s why it is losing the young demographics, and losing its audience in general. That’s why baseball needs this change. A shorter season would mean playoffs at a time when people are interested in baseball. Instead of a meaningless September, baseball could take advantage of a new NFL season before people are immersed in football and capitalize on momentum from the summer.

Imagine an August full of tight playoff races, leading to September playoffs. All this could capitalize on the time when the nation has baseball fever, instead of wasting that on endless regular season games.

Alas, baseball is stuck in the Stone Age, afraid to move forward and make its product more appealing. Of course, there are more reasons than that. Owners don’t want to give up home games to shorten the season, which is understandable; however, baseball’s popularity is in steady decline around the country, and something needs to be done, preferably soon.

SPORTS Men’s Soccer Fordham 0-1 Creighton Fordham Player Ferrantello Curran Bekoe Gimand Niyonsaba Richardson Markowitz McHugh Stalker Seidenthal Substitutes Jolly Nagel Caputo Gulbins Murphy Courtenay Totals Gk Meara Creighton Player Polak Castro Miller Gomez Jordan Duran Finlay Kelly Brown Ribeiro Substitutes Seger Acoff Clark Pena Peters Kallman Totals Gk Holt

0 1 0 0 0 0 7

0 1 0 0 0 0 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sh SOG G A 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 18

Min 90:00

Fordham Creighton

1 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Fordham Player Ferrantello Curran Bekoe Gimand Niyonsaba Richardson Nagel Markowitz Stalker Seidenthal Substitutes Jolly Jerome McHugh Gomez Caputo Gulbins Murphy Courtenay Bouchard Totals

Gk Gallagher

Fordham Drake

Women’s Soccer Fordham 0-1 Manhattan Fordham Player Murphy Worden Carballeira Wah Canicatti Solimine Widmann Madasci Romano Abrams Substitutes Dougherty O’Conor Poiesz Nowakowski Ross Swift Totals Gk Suther

Gk Davis

2 0 0

Fordham Manhattan

F 0 1

Sh SOG G A 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 22

2 0 0 0 0 0 8

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Min Ga Sav 90:00 1 3

Manhattan Player Iovine Landes Barry Lavecchia Lutz Diamond Luithle Reinhard Greco Pfeiffer Substitutes Kearns Howden Schlauder Jones Tomashosky Garrity McGarty Totals

Ga Sav 0 6

Fordham 1-3 Drake

Drake Player Crall North Jantsch Schwartz Eck Noonan Ostrander Kuhn Marshall Kennedy Substitutes Arde Whigham Payne Latz Stanley Lyons Parato Mims Schermoly Totals

A shorter season would hopefully lead to fewer poorly attended games in MLB.

Sh SOG G A 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Min Ga Sav 90:00 1 5

Gk Berotti

PHOTO BY SARAH RAMIREZ/THE RAM

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 21

Sh SOG G A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 8

Min 90:00 1 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Ga Sav 0 8 2 0 1

F 0 1

G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 15

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Min Ga Sav 90:00 3 5

G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

A 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Min Ga Sav 90:00 1 5 1 1 3

2 0 0

Player Kershaw Schoenbeck Adamkiewicz Palm Pfeiffer Bosnyak Lindo Fernandez Katsimpalis Grogan Substitutes Lambros Rea Lander Mendoza LaBadie Garufi Totals Gk Castanio Lambros

Sh SOG G A 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

0 0 0 0 0 0 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Min Ga Sav 69:26 2 5 20:34 0 2

Fordham Player Murphy Dougherty Worden Carballeira Canicatti Solimine Widmann Nowakowski Romano Abrams Substitutes Rooney O’Conor Wah Madasci Ross Swift Totals Gk White

Stony Brook Fordham

Sh SOG G A 1 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 14

1 0 1 0 0 0 9

0 0 0 0 0 0 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Min Ga Sav 90:00 0 3 1 0 0

2 0 2

F 0 2

Fordham 0-3 Colorado

Siena

Stoklosa Ahearn Ives Akana Skeen Sivertson Smith Akeo Brown Sawlsville Totals

K PCT Dig BS BA BE 4 .000 4 0 1 0 10 .273 0 0 2 1 2 .286 9 0 2 1 9 .000 10 0 1 2 4 -.10 2 0 2 0 2 -.08 2 0 3 0 0 .000 3 0 0 0 0 -1.0 7 0 0 0 9 .500 0 0 1 0 1 .000 2 0 0 0 33 .048 39 0 12 4

Fordham

1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 15

Stony Brook

Volleyball Siena 1-3 Fordham

Sh 0 0 3 1 3 1 1 0 2 0

Sh 2 0 0 1 0 1 3 1 3 1

Stony Brook 0-2 Fordham

F 1 3

Diaz Buongiorno Daulton Konkel Rodenberg Ewing Moore Hipp Diamantidis Moore Totals

K PCT Dig BS BA BE Diaz-Vazquez 10 .444 2 0 1 0 Buongiorno 6 .176 1 2 4 1 Konkel 2 .250 3 0 0 0 Daulton 12 .143 7 0 2 0 Hipp 6 .050 10 1 2 0 Ewing 6 .176 1 0 4 1 Moore 1 .167 1 0 1 0 Capicotto 3 .429 1 0 2 0 Rodenberg 0 .000 3 0 0 0 Diamantidis 1 -.33 10 0 0 0 Moore 0 .000 15 0 0 0 Totals 28 .192 54 3 16 2

Siena Fordham

Fordham

1 14 25

2 25 18

3 19 25

4 17 25

K PCT DIG BS BA BE 3 .071 1 0 1 0 4 .154 2 0 1 1 5 .059 6 1 1 0 1 .333 7 0 0 0 0 .0 1 0 0 0 3 -.067 0 2 3 1 4 .071 0 0 1 0 2 -.235 1 0 1 0 0 .000 6 0 0 0 0 .000 7 0 0 0 22 .000 31 3 8 3

Colorado

English Schroeder Valentine Santos Alexis Lindow Beckwith Aschenbr.

Totals

Fordham Colorado

K PCT Dig BS BA BE 5 .222 1 0 0 0 12 .267 5 1 0 0 3 .429 7 0 3 0 4 .182 1 1 2 1 11 .318 13 0 1 0 7 .333 1 0 2 0 0 .000 9 0 0 0 0 .000 4 0 0 0 42 .287 41 2 8 1 1 17 25

2 15 25

3 13 25

PAGE 22 • THE RAM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

NICK CARROLL “This album’s dedicated to all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothin’ … It was all a dream.”

As LeSean McCoy found a hole and dashed down the left sideline, leaving the Philadelphia Eagles’ questionable offensive line literally and figuratively behind him, and danced his way into the end zone, nothing rang clearer than Vince Young’s misguided attention-grabbing quote in training camp.

After the Eagles’ free agentsigning frenzy, in which the team brought in the much-heralded Nnamdi Asomugha, along with Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin and a host of role players, Philadelphia stole the national spotlight.

Not much later, NFL pundits turned on the seemingly stacked roster. Preseason offensive line concerns made Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce household names.

Suddenly Casey Matthews was garnering more attention than his AllPro brother, Clay, for his issues at middle linebacker.

These concerns exist despite the fact that the Eagles’ offensive line, which really could not have been much worse last year, was good enough to enable a less-talented Eagles team to take the eventualchampion Packers to the brink of elimination. Also, the successful Eagles have never had good linebackers.

By the time the regular season came around, it became hard to find an expert who believed in Philadelphia to handle the overmatched Rams (who were fourpoint underdogs), much less win the NFC. But when push came to shove, and things were decided on the field, the Eagles were everything Philadelphia fans expected them to be.

Sure, there were some concerns with the run defense and with momentary breakdowns on the offensive line, but the Eagles’ talent was on full display throughout the afternoon.

Despite completing fewer than half of his passes, Michael Vick was, as he was in 2010, exceptional, turning near-sacks into big gains and never losing his composure, even when the Rams scored early and had all of the momentum.

DeSean Jackson, who has suffered the wrath of statheads for catching a low percentage of passes thrown to him, made a variety of big plays and created havoc for the Rams’ defense all day.

The newly renovated defense picked up five sacks, three from newcomers, and the receiver Asomugha was covering was only targeted twice all afternoon.

In short, despite all the worries and concerns, the Eagles looked like the dream team Young expect-

ed them to be.

Then why didn’t the experts see it the same way? This was a 10-win team that went out and addressed its biggest needs with top-flight talent; not to mention Head Coach Andy Reid has had one losing season since the new millennium.

As currently built, the Eagles will never be as traditionally dominant a team as the Patriots, Packers or Saints. They will never be a high-percentage attack that systematically destroys defenses. They may not have fearsome linebackers like Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

With that said, they may not be any worse off the way they are built, and maybe that is the reason for the disconnect between the Eagles’ on-field success and the analysts’ skepticism.

The Eagles are hip-hop personified; they are completely unlike anything that ever came before them. The players carry themselves with a confidence and swagger unmatched by any other collective team in football, and maybe even in sports. This was especially noticeable watching McCoy waltz into the end zone and dance, just as he and his teammates had done earlier in the game, with total disregard for Roger Goodell and the personality-free NFL. They play with a fast tempo and with flow. With their tendency for big plays, they show flash and exuberance that is rarely seen in sports.

Just as Notorious B.I.G. started “Juicy” defending his unconventional path, the Eagles looked like they were on a mission to prove the doubters wrong and start off the season hot. They not only did that, but they let everyone know that they are just getting started and expect to improve.

After the game, Vick and Reid both were critical of the teams’ performance, expecting a much cleaner, better-played game. The Eagles beat the Rams, the favorite to win the NFC West, 31-13 in St. Louis.

If they do get better, there is no ceiling for what this team can do.

There is no defense to stop Vick when he is at his best and comfortable in the pocket. There is no team that can match up with McCoy, Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant and Steve Smith when they are healthy.

No team has the weapons to overmatch the Eagles’ deep secondary or the ability to fend off the Eagles eight-man-deep defensive line completely. This team’s speed and talent on both sides of the ball give the Eagles the ability to be a completely unique team in NFL history. With a team built around Vick, no team has ever won playing the style the Eagles play; no team has ever had the weapons they have, either.

The go-to comparison for the Eagles has been the Miami Heat, like that is a bad thing (if there’s anything we should have learned from the basketball season, the Heat were the NBA’s best team, they just ran into the hottest team in basketball); however, this is an unfair comparison. The Heat were top-heavy and filled with holes.

The Eagles are deep with few weaknesses.

With how deep this Eagles team is, you cannot call them the NFL’s Miami Heat; you have to dream a lot bigger.

SPORTS

Senior Profile: Darryl Whiting

By DAN GARTLAND SPORTS EDITOR

Senior running back Darryl Whiting is now in his third year as a key piece of the Fordham backfield. As a sophomore, he appeared in each of the Rams’ 11 games, starting twice. Last year, as a junior, he made four starts and finished the season as the team’s leading rusher. In this year’s only game, he was limited by a knee injury and gained only 21 yards on 12 carries.

Whiting and the Rams take on Columbia this coming Saturday in the Homecoming game.

The Ram: What made you choose Fordham?

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

Darryl Whiting: I had a couple offers fall through. In my junior year of high school, I got into a little bit of trouble so I had to leave my high school for a while and I had some money to pay but I didn’t have any money at the time so I ended up leaving for a year. I came back for my senior year and I ended up missing out on the recruiting process because I was gone. My senior year I got an offer from Temple but I had already committed here.

TR: Are you happy with your decision?

DW: Yeah, I’m happy. At Temple, I didn’t even know if I was going to play, so I was happy. I wanted to play running back and at Temple I didn’t know if I was going to play.

Whiting will be an important part of any success the football team has this year.

UConn, but obviously we lost that one, next is to beat Army. Then we want to win the Patriot League. We want to win the Liberty Cup this weekend and make the playoffs.

TR: Do you have any individual goals for the season?

DW: I just want to be the best running back in the conference.

That’s really about it. I just want to win.

TR: What can the team learn from the game against UConn?

TR: What sort of goals does the team have this year?

DW: We learned a lot. I think if our defense plays like that in the Patriot League, we’ll do really good. Offensively, I just think we have to move the ball more. I think we were playing a little too safe.

But I think we’ll be all right.

DW: We want to beat the odds.

The beat-the-odds games are, first

TR: What does the future hold for Fordham football?

DW: I think we’ll be good.

We’ve a couple freshmen that are really good. I think Pete [Maetzold] will be good. Sam [Ajala] is good, [Brian] Wetzel will be good.

I’m thinking real big. I’m thinking they will get a new stadium someday. I think it’s going to be good, especially with these full scholarships.

TR: What will you remember most about your time at Fordham?

DW: My teammates. My teammates make everything that’s not fun, fun. A normal, boring day with them is fun.

TR: What do you plan on doing next year?

DW: I haven’t even thought that far. Hopefully I can play in the NFL, but if not, I don’t even know, hopefully find a job.

Cross Country Teams Debut at Fordham Fiasco finishes. Navy followed in second Individually, sophomore MeBy KELLY KULTYS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sept. 10 the Fordham men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their seasons at the annual Fordham Fiasco race held at Van Cortland Park in Bronx, N.Y. The event, which hosted more than 30 teams, had two races, one for the Division I teams and another for the Division II and III teams.

The Fordham men’s cross country team tied for fifth place with NYU out of 16 teams, while the women’s team placed seventh out 17 teams, with both teams running in the Division I races.

The day opened with a ceremony honoring the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Fordham’s ROTC played the national anthem and displayed the colors. Sr. Regina De Vitto of Fordham’s Campus Ministry then gave an opening invocation that commemorated 9/11, and Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee who represents New York’s Third Congressional District, addressed the crowd before beginning the race.

“It was good to have,” sophomore Julian Saad said. “It’s good to think, remember and work for those who put their lives on the line so we can be here today.”

On the men’s side, Princeton took home first place with 26 points, claiming four of the top six

with 41 points with Yale in third with 88 points. Fordham finished in fifth, tied with NYU, as both scored 155 points.

Individually, senior Donn Cabrel of Princeton took first place with a time of 25:30.37 on the five-mile course. He was followed by teammate freshman Eddie Owens (25:42.43), who placed second, and by senior Cody Rome (25:44.00) of Navy, who placed third. Sophomore Julian Saad was the first finisher for Fordham, placing fourth with a time of 25:45.21, while senior Brian Leung of Princeton finished in fifth with 25:53.08.

“It was the cream of the crop out there,” Saad said. “It was nice to be in good company, to really attack the field that was both ahead and behind us. We were right in the mix of the competition.”

Also for Fordham, freshman Jon Annelli (26:54.72) took 41st, senior Brian Riley (26:57.11) took 44th, junior Nick Synan (27:14.55) took 55th and sophomore Brian Walter (27:21.56) took 59th.

On the women’s side, the Fordham team placed seventh with a score of 224 points. Princeton once again claimed first with 34 points, with four of the eight top runners.

They were followed by Yale in second with 43 points, Penn (96) in third, Rutgers (147) in fourth and Sacred Heart (164) in fifth.

lissa Chapman of Yale claimed the top time of 18:03.63 on the five kilometer course. A familiar face, former Fordham runner, Melissa Salerno, FCRH ’08, running with the New Balance Club, placed second with a time of 18:05.87. Junior Jacque Sahlberg (18:10.52) of Yale followed in third, with junior Leslie Kovach (18:17.12) of Penn in fourth and sophomore Clare Gallagher (18:23.83) of Princeton in fifth.

“It was different,” sophomore Anisa Arsenault said. “It was hard to get out, but to see all this competition definitely helped a lot of our girls.”

Arsenault was the first Fordham woman to cross the finish line, coming in 30th place with a time of 19:16.62. Freshman Emily Osman (19:36.95) was the next to finish for Fordham in 45th place, while freshman Sarah Glockenmeier (58th-19:55.87) and senior Mairin O’Connor (59th-19:56.47) finished quickly behind with junior Ashley Davis (69th-20:06.39) rounding out the scoring for Fordham’s women.

“As a team, we had four girls under 20 [minutes],” Arsenault said.

“I can’t ask for more than that at the Fiasco.”

Both the men’s and women’s next meet is C.W. Post Invitational held in Brockville, N.Y. at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 17.

Men’s Soccer Loses Two to Start Current Roadtrip

By DANIEL BRADLEY STAFF WRITER

The Fordham men’s soccer team travelled to the Midwest for two challenging matches against Creighton and Drake this past weekend.

The Creighton Blue Jays, ranked fifth nationally, were up first. The opportunity to make a splash on the road against a national powerhouse was one that Head Coach Jim McElderry and the Rams were going to make count.

“We feel we can compete with anyone,” McElderry said. “We went into the game with the mentality to meet them high up the field, and cause problems.”

The Rams came out on the back foot with Creighton having two corners and a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. The Blue Jays made them pay in the 18th minute when junior midfielder Jose Gomez registered his first goal of the season with a top corner shot that originated from a counter attack after a Fordham corner.

The Rams picked up the intensity after that, and almost got level when senior midfielder John Niyansaba and sophomore forward Julian Nagel each had shots on goal in the span of less than a minute, but Creighton senior goalie Brian Holt was able to make the saves.

“I am very proud of our effort as not only did we make it hard for them to score, we created some excellent chances and were unlucky not to score,” McElderry said.

Fordham continued to press into the second half when senior defender Phil Ferrantello blasted a shot that Holte once again saved.

One minute later, it was senior goalkeeper Ryan Meara who won the battle against Gomez when he saved his shot on goal. In the 73rd minute, sophomore midfielder Nathanial Bekoe headed a shot that Holte once again turned aside.

Unfortunately for the Rams, that would be the last action the Creighton goalkeeper would see.

The Rams were not able to mount a sustainable charge after that and frustration and fatigue started to set in when both junior defender Ryan Curran and sophomore defender Michael Starker received yellow cards.

“We are always disappointed to lose a game, no matter the opponent to lose a game, no matter the opponent,” McElderry said. “With that said, I am proud of the way the boys played and competed.”

Although a tough result, the team can look with confidence on how close they competed with a national power heading into the

Atlantic-10 season (where only Charlotte was named in the Sept. 6 NSCAA Top-25 poll at No. 21).

“We represented ourselves very well against a top-five nationally ranked opponent in front of a crowd of over 4,000 Creighton supporters,” McElderry said. “We will build on this performance.”

With a lineup that is returning 10 of 11 starters from last year, and with freshmen contributers such as Irish midfielder Jack-Tim Murphy, the potential for this season is definitely there.

“We have a ton of potential with this group,” McElderry said. “We need to continue to defend well and increase our chances on goal. I know we will.”

The squad would not have much time to rest; with Sunday came the challenge of the Drake Bulldogs.

While harsh, two away fixtures back-to-back will prepare the team for the demanding A-10 schedule.

The Rams went into the game without Meara, who pulled his quad late in the game on Friday.

Freshman Ricky Berotti filled the gap in goal.

Drake came straight at Fordham in the first half. After three minutes, a deflection right in front of the net saw Nick Marshall put the Bulldogs ahead.

Things would get worse before they got better for the Rams. After Drake got off three shots and forced a save out of Drake sophomore goalkeeper Rich Gallagher, freshman Ross Payne of the Bulldogs scored from a play that developed from a corner.

Senior midfielder Matt Courtenay briefly got Fordham back in the game when he scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1, but just eight minutes later, freshman midfielder Jarred Arde restored Drake’s two-goal advantage that they would take into the half.

The Rams rattled off 11 shots in the second half, but their failure to convert resulted in a second straight loss and an 0-2 weekend.

“The work rate and commitment was excellent from the entire team,” McElderry said. “We just cannot afford to concede three goals in the first half of a game and come away with a win.”

Both teams recorded 15 shots.

Berotti finished with five saves in his debut.

The Rams had a pair of excellent performances this weekend by Ferrantello and sophomore defender Casper Gimand at the back.

“They really stood out this weekend,” McElderry said. “Very good at the back.”

The Rams next play on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Columbia.

By TOM HASKIN COPY EDITOR

With what is arguably Fordham’s single largest home sporting event of the year coming up this Saturday, the yearly struggle to promote student attendance at games begins once again. The Homecoming game on Sept. 17 (also the team’s home opener) against New York City rival Columbia, a matchup now known as the Liberty Cup, will prove to be a benchmark for student support for the rest of the season.

For sure, some of the past few years have demonstrated remarkable improvement in student support for the Rams. Of course the men’s basketball win over St. John’s in Rose Hill Gym last December readily comes to mind, but there have been other instances of impressive student turnout. Fordham’s Residence Halls Association’s efforts last year to bring nearly 100 students on its own accord to away football games at both Columbia and Yale is a sign that other seemingly-unrelated student groups are valuing school spirit and unity in the context of our athletic programs.

Still, the same lingering questions at the beginning of the school year remain. “Does anyone even go to the games?” is one that echoes through the air at freshman orientation. Another: “I heard we suck.”

(If that can even constitute a question.)

Like most rumors, there is — to be sure — an element of truth to both statements. If the discussion is only in regards to the primary spectator sports at Fordham, namely, football and men’s and women’s basketball, there can be no evading those teams’ poor results over the past few seasons.

The Rams of the gridiron won the Patriot League in 2007, not too far in the past, but last year fell to teams like Division II Assumption on the way to a 5-6 record. Men’s basketball, while entering its second season with a promising young coach,

CAPS=HOME lowercase=away

Thursday Sept. 15

If negative student sentiment were centered upon the belief that Fordham teams were unsportsmanlike, for example, then there would be some justification for lack of game attendance, but that has not been the prevailing sentiment I have experienced in my two-plus years at Rose Hill.

Just as tens of millions of registered American voters each year rationalize their decision to forfeit their rights in the democratic process, the idea that “No one else is going, so why should I?” falls quite flat. In elections that are decided by margins of hundreds of thousands or even millions of votes, it is quite true that one more ballot cast for one candidate or the other will not swing an election.

Similarly, one more body in the stands at Coffey Field or Rose Hill Gym will not make or break the success of the student section or whether or not our teams on the field perceive to have the support of their fellow students.

What we do know, though, is that any mass of people is foremost made up by individuals. What we do know is that if one person speaks up and says, “I’m going to the football game this weekend — who else is in?” others will follow. No one likes being in an empty stadium, but we cannot stand by idly hoping for someone else to magically pack the bleachers. We can only do what we are able to as individuals, and that means taking that leap, even when it seems unpopular or odd, of showing up for a game and bringing a group of friends.

As we know from politics, sustained success is about creating a movement. I do not presume that the 2011 Rams will suddenly have a fervent following akin to those in Norman, Okla. or Gainesville, Fla. What I do hope is for good weather and a packed student section against Columbia on Saturday, and for all students to enjoy themselves, regardless of the stigmas and pessimism that we have been taught.

Men’s soccer

Women’s soccer Men’s Tennis

Women’s Tennis

Golf

Cross country

Friday Sept. 16

Saturday Sept. 17

Sunday Sept. 18

Monday Sept. 19

Tuesday Sept. 20

Wednesday Sept. 21

COLUMBIA 1 p.m.

Football

Volleyball

Senior midfielder Matt Courtenay scored the Rams’ only goal this weekend.

has won a mere two conference games in the last three seasons combined. Women’s basketball brings in a new head coach this year after Cathy Andruzzi went 8-62 in Atlantic-10 play during her tenure.

To a school in large part made up by fans of New York’s professional sporting teams, Lombardi Trophies and World Series titles in recent years make rooting for the cellar of the A-10 a difficult task. When we’re used to winning at the highest level, supporting college teams that have goals such as finishing over .500 can seem pathetic and not worth our energy, but the defeatist attitude that “no one goes to games anyway” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when it is fostered by returning students and even new ones alike.

It does no favors to Fordham athletics when we as students refuse to go to games on the basis that none of our fellow peers seem to be doing so. Moreover, we do ourselves no favors when we perpetuate the ugly cycle of apathy and cynicism directed toward sporting teams that bear the same school name on their jerseys that we will (or do) bear on our diplomas.

I am not attempting to make the tired and tenuous argument that having successful sports teams improves the academic reputation of a university and thereby the value of our diplomas, especially considering that I would then additionally need to make the argument that attending games will drastically improve our teams’ chances of winning games. Neither point is in question here, though they both do deserve some sort of attention.

What I am arguing here is that when a Fordham student hears another Fordham student demean our very own athletic program on the sole basis of a win-loss record, we accomplish nothing while simultaneously creating an environment that continually makes it difficult to foster communal pride in this institution.

Upcoming Varsity Schedule

Water Polo

PHOTO BY SIMON SULIT/THE RAM

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 • THE RAM • PAGE 23

SPORTS

at Columbia 7 p.m.

at Adelphi 5 p.m. at Utah Valley 4 p.m.

at Texas A&M 1:30 p.m. at Siena T.B.A.

SPC 11 a.m.

SFC 3 p.m

CWPA North vs. South Tournament Annapolis, M.D. Brown Inviational at Providence, R.I. Stony Brook Invitational Stony Brook, N.Y. Bucknell Invitational C.W. Post Invitational

MARIST 7 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

PAGE 24

Maetzold Adjusts to Life as Starting QB, Living in The Bronx

By NICK CARROLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The freshman transition is not easy for anyone. The adjustment to life at Fordham and in the Bronx can be overwhelming and unfamiliar, bringing changes to every aspect of life.

When Fordham takes the field on Saturday, the most noticeable addition will be at quarterback, where freshman Peter Maetzold will make his first start at Jack Coffey Field.

Compared to most freshmen, Maetzold has had an even bigger adjustment to Fordham. In addition to beating out two upperclassmen for the starting quarterback job, Maetzold is also balancing his athletic career with a pre-med courseload and an adjustment from the suburbs of Houston to the Bronx.

Maetzold did not expect so much on his plate so soon.

“The coaches told me I had a chance to play early,” Maetzold said.

“I had no idea it was going to be first game. I definitely thought it was going to be a longer process … I knew that there were two guys who already played quarterback who were already there, so I was like, I’ll probably be behind them. So I didn’t even come with the attitude that this is my spot.”

“I thought it would be [sophomore] Griffin [Murphy] or [junior] Ryan [Higgins],” Head Coach TomMasella said. “But strange things happen in sports. This is one that I didn’t expect, but it’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Maetzold made his impact in training camp, showing off impressive football intelligence and, considering that he is a freshman, a surprising command of the offense.

“Our second scrimmage he was

PHOTO BY BRIAN KRAKER/THE RAM

Peter Maetzold has quickly transitioned from high school football in the Houston suburbs to starting QB for Fordham.

the only one who kind of separated himself from the other two guys,” Masella said. “He was 12 of 16 or 17 and made the right decisions, and, again, he protected the football. He just did everything a little bit better than the other guys.”

“I think I showed them I could play within myself,” Maetzold said.

“I don’t try to force things or put the whole team on my shoulders or anything. I use the guys around me and I take care of the ball. I guess I kind of showed them my intelligence for the game.”

“In all sports I’ve played, I’m always thinking,” Maetzold added.

“I’m always thinking of the next move, I guess. I’ve trained my mind to react to certain things really quickly and to pick up things real quickly. Like when coach says ‘you’re doing this,’ I go out and make that correction right away. So I think learning fast also helps.”

“He ran our offense efficiently, and he was accurate with the football,” Masella said. “He didn’t hurt us, and that’s what separated him from the other two guys. He

seemed to make the right reads, the right decisions, and protected the football a little bit better than Griffin and Ryan. He accounted himself well against UConn, and hopefully he’ll progress and get better.”

Maetzold honed these skills playing high school football in Texas, where football is king and a way of life, creating one of the country’s most competitive high school football atmospheres.

“My high school coaches really helped me out,” Maetzold said.

“They were really great coaches.”

“Certainly he played in a lot of big games down in Houston, and hopefully he’ll play in a lot of big games at Fordham,” Masella said.

“He’s been around; he’s played a lot.

He carries himself in a very positive framework, and he seems totally calm with everything we throw at him.”

The atmosphere will certainly be different playing at Fordham. Maetzold claims to have played in front of 22,000 during a playoff game, and regularly in front of around 7,000 people. These experiences

leave him overqualified for life in the Patriot League, where crowds are small and passion is absent.

“It definitely helps take some of the pressure off,” Maetzold said. “I think sometimes playing in front of your home crowd, especially your hometown, it’s a lot of pressure.

I think it helps a lot, noise, and I guess it’s the pressure of the fans. I guess the amount of people there, just knowing you’re going to have to go to school with these kids, you’re going to have to see all of these dads around town. It just adds pressure, and I kind of learned how to handle it.”

The adjustment to Fordham extends beyond football. Maetzold comes from suburban Houston, a much different environment than the Bronx.

“I knew it was going to be different,” Maetzold said. “I didn’t know really how different, but coming from Houston, everything’s kind of like wide open. It’s not totally like the Texas people imagine it would be, but it’s just driving around, there are just so many things that are just

culturally different. Outside of these gates, it’s a different world.

“Coming from somewhere, especially where you know almost everybody, I mean my town, it wasn’t a huge town, I mean I could go out to work out or something at the local gym and I could just talk to just a bunch of dads and moms and some people I didn’t meet, just make new friends,” he added. “It feels like everybody’s approachable in my town, and I come here, and it’s like everybody’s for themself. That’s how I see it. That’s a big difference. I just feel like if I want to get something done I’m going to have to get it done myself. I can’t wait for someone to help me, I guess. At Fordham it’s different […], I come from an almost allwhite town. That’s really different. … It’s definitely a little different.

Texas in general is just, it’s wild.”

Maetzold, despite the heavy workload on the field, is not taking it easy in the classroom. He came to Fordham for the academics and is making the most of Fordham’s educational possibilities.

“It’s not too bad,” Maetzold said.

“My days are definitely crazy busy.

I think once it gets into like exam weeks and stuff, I’ll be able to tell how I’ll be able to handle this. Right now it’s not too bad. I hear it’s supposed to get hard.”

Even with that in mind, Maetzold has been active. With his work on and off the field, Maetzold has been busy.

“There are a couple of days where I have to go 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. without a break,” he said. “I go from meetings, to lifts, to practice and then I have a 12:30 class. I mean, like today I didn’t even eat lunch, I just went to class for like, six hours. You’re always going to have your mind engaged. It’s tough. When I get back to the dorms, I’m just dead.”

Women’s Soccer Splits Pair Before Tough Trip to Texas A&M

By ERIK PEDERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

After a difficult 1-0 defeat to Manhattan College on Friday night, the women’s soccer team was able to recover on Sunday with a straightforward 2-0 victory over Stony Brook. Junior forward Annie Worden scored both goals on assists from freshman midfielder Maria Lorena Canicatti. The 1-1 weekend moves the Lady Rams to 3-3-1 on the season with three more games before the start of the Atlantic-10 season.

Against Manhattan, Fordham was in control for most of the game, out-shooting the Jaspers 22-8 on the game, including 13-3 in the second half; however, Manhattan was able to make one of those three shots count, as senior forward Devon Lutz scored her first goal of the season in the 63rd minute. Lutz won a 50-50 ball from junior goalkeeper Rachel Suther and scored on what had become an open net.

Worden led the Lady Rams with six shots on goal, while sophomore midfielder Mary Solimine and freshman defenseman Jessica

Widmann each had four shots, but the team was unable to get anything past junior goalkeeper Kara Davis.

“We totally dominated them,” Head Coach Ness Selmani said.

“But soccer is a cruel game. One bad goal, one bad decision can make the difference. I hope the team learned from it.”

Fordham recovered nicely against Stony Brook, controlling possession for the majority of the game. The defense prevented the Seawolves from getting any good chances against freshman goalkeeper Ally White, who was making her collegiate debut. White was credited with three saves as she picked up her first shutout.

After a quiet first half, the Lady Rams’ offense came out fast in the second. In the 48th minute, Worden made a great cross to sophomore forward Kelsey Dougherty Howard, but sophomore goalkeeper Ashley Castanio was able to make the diving save.

Dougherty Howard led the team with five shots.

Not to be deterred, Fordham scored its first goal just three minutes later. Canicatti led Worden on

PHOTO BY AARON MAYS/THE RAM

Annie Worden scored two goals in the second half on Sunday to lead the Lady Rams to a 2-0 victory over Stony Brook.

a breakaway, and Worden fired a shot into the lower left-hand corner of the goal to open the scoring.

Fifteen minutes later, the duo struck again, with Canicatti sending a cross right in front of the net and Worden emphatically driving the ball past Castanio. Worden now has three goals on the season.

“Canicatti seems to get an assist most games because she knows exactly what kind of ball to make,”

Selmani said. “But at the same time you also have to be there and Worden did a great job.”

Next weekend, the Lady Rams travel to College Station, Texas to face Utah Valley and Texas A&M in the Texas A&M Tournament.

Texas A&M is 4-4 on the season, but they are coming off a 4-3 victory over North Carolina, who had been ranked No. 1 in the nation and has won 20 National Championships out of the 29 years that

NCAA women’s soccer has been in existence. The Aggies have also drawn crowds of up to 4,887 this season, so the Lady Rams will certainly be playing in an unfamiliar environment.

“We’re very excited to go [to Texas A&M],” Selmani said. “It should be a great crowd, and I’m glad the girls will have a chance to experience playing in front of a bigger crowd, but we do not fear them. We fear nobody.”