The Fordham Ram Volume 106, Issue 22
Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 TheFordhamRam.com
November 20, 2024
Fordham New Items Hosts Ann M. Arrive at Sperber Book Fordham Walsh Library Prize Awards Museum Ceremony By JACK MCDONALD
By CAITLIN THOMAS
The collection at the Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art grew last week upon the arrival of items on long-term loan from the Brooklyn Museum and the Hispanic Society of America. Several of these antique collections come from Roman Spain and are now housed in the Walsh Family Library. The museum attracts students, faculty and staff on a weekly basis, several of whom are student curators assisting in the museum. The Fordham museum is one of the most extensive collections in the Bronx. The mind behind the museum is Jennifer Udell, Ph.D., the Walsh Library curator of university art and professor in the art history department. Udell joined the Fordham faculty in 2007 following her employment with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the objects provided are not permanent to the Walsh Library, they will be housed in the museum for several months
The 2024 Ann M. Sperber Book Prize Awards Ceremony was held at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus on Monday, Nov. 11. The Sperber Prize is given annually to a journalist with outstanding work. “The prize was established to promote and encourage other outstanding biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs related to the field of media and journalism,” reads the Fordham communications and media department website’s description. Fordham has been hosting this ceremony for the past 11 years, and this year, journalist Jane Ferguson won the award for her memoir, “No Ordinary Assignment.” The memoir follows her early years as a journalist, especially focusing on her reporting during conflict in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Her work shows a mastery of navigating violence and political complexity. During the ceremony, she spoke about building her career and developing her voice in
SEE MUSEUM, PAGE 5
SEE SPERBER, PAGE 4
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF GRACE CAMPBELL/THE FORDHAM RAM
Every year the Marriage Pact matches students with peers who are their statistically accurate match.
Marriage Pact Returns to Fordham For Another Year of Matchmaking By SIENNA REINDERS STAFF WRITER
Marriage Pact recently came to Fordham University for another year of matchmaking. The organization originated at Stanford University and has offered its services to the Fordham community, aimed at helping students find their soulmates. The program works by providing a survey backed by research on romantic compatibility for students to fill out. Questions range
from: “Would you date someone with a different political affiliation than you?” to “What is your communication style?” Marriage Pact’s algorithm then matches students based on their responses to the questionnaire. After students are matched, they receive an email with their match’s name, after which students may meet up with their match if they desire. “I think it’s super fun,” said
Val Arnold, FCRH ’26, one of the Marriage Pact organizers at Fordham. “It’s a cool way to bring the community together. It’s so unserious and silly.” The Marriage Pact website outlines the organization’s goal to provide college students with a backup plan if they don’t meet the love of their life before a certain age. Their website states, “Do you really want to look up from SEE PACT, PAGE 4
Student Life Council Discusses First Year Student Experience By EMMA LEONARDI STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF JACK MCDONALD FOR THE FORDHAM RAM
Scaffolding went up early last week on Keating Hall to work on the roof.
Keating Undergoes Roof Construction By JACK MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Construction outside the east side of Keating Hall began last week. The construction has caused a diversion for students, faculty and staff traveling to this portion of the building, or to Spellman and O’Hare Halls. Initially, the construction closed off
the entire staircase towards John Mulcahy Hall, however, throughout the week, some walkways began to open up. The pathway to the main entrance of Keating Hall remained closed for the construction project. “The project is a roof replacement project,” said Marcella Sino, assistant vice president for design
and construction. Sino noted this project will take some time to finish in proper order. “Because of the size of the Keating building, we will be performing this in phases,” she said. Keating is currently undergoing Phase 1 of this multi-phase project. The first phase of the roof replacement will cost the department of SEE KEATING, PAGE 5
The Student Life Council (SLC) met for the third time this year on Nov. 13 to discuss improvements that could be made to the student experience at Fordham University, specifically the First Year Experience. To begin the meeting, Dean of Students Christopher Rogers brought in a team from Proto, who joined remotely via Zoom. Proto is a company that assists in program redesign and thus was consulted for redesigning the First Year Experience at Fordham.
Proto joined the meeting in order to hear straight from the SLC what specifically Fordham University should highlight in the redesigned First Year Experience. Philip Rackin, Proto chief strategy officer, suggested three specific goals to focus on within the redesign. To gather information from SLC, Rackin asked the council for their input on a few questions. The first question was, “What was your biggest challenge in your first year at Fordham?” Dana Kien, FCRH ’25, staff development and training coordinator for Commuter Student SEE SLC, PAGE 4
in this issue
News
Page 3
Opinion Page 8
Rodrigue’s Coffee House Amends Constitution
Mindfulness or Masculinity: The Rawdogging Flights Trend
Culture Page 11
Sports
Christmas Lights Up at the Botanical Gardens
Page 20
“They’ve Revolutionized Fordham Volleyball”