The Fordham Ram Volume 106, Issue 7
Serving The Fordham University Community Since 1918 TheFordhamRam.com
March 13, 2024
Fordham Tetlow Professor Hosts Speaks at Seminar About Common Learning Grounds Conversation Disability Justice By CRISTINA STEFANIZZI
By JULIANNA MORALES
Fordham University President Tania Tetlow spoke about her experience as a woman in the professional world during the Common Grounds Conversation at the Lincoln Center campus on Thursday, March 7. Numerous campus groups, including Campus Ministry Pedro Arrupe Volunteers, Alpha Sigma Nu and Smart Women Securities, sponsored the panel where Tetlow spoke to attendees about women’s leadership in the Ignatian tradition. The panel, moderated by Vanessa Retundo, deputy chief of staff, opened with Tetlow sharing her experience and past that led to her taking over as president of Fordham. Tetlow attended Tulane University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in American studies, and later graduated from Harvard Law School. After years of working as a federal prosecutor, focusing on issues of constitution and race, she learned “how to grapple with ways the truth can be clouded by
On March 5, Fordham University held an interdisciplinary seminar run by Associate Professor Laura Wernick, focusing on their recent article relating to their career and experience as someone with learning disabilities and ADHD. Wernick explained that their goal was to help Fordham students and the greater community understand the benefits a disability justice lens would bring to the university, saying, “[it] will not only make the Fordham community more accessible, but it will help us engage in much stronger, socially relevant, meaningful and impactful scholarship that benefits us all.” Wernick spoke on their personal experiences going through the education system with learning disabilities. They explained that they went undiagnosed before college, and the one time an assessment was done, it was more of an IQ assessment, after which they were told they were just being lazy and needed to work harder. Undergraduate studies took Wernick 7.5 years to complete due
SEE COMMON, PAGE 4
SEE SEMINAR, PAGE 4
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
FEATURES EDITOR
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Alexander Shah competed in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo representing Nepal.
Fordham Student to Represent Nepal in Paris Olympics By ALEXANDER HOM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Alexander Gadegaard Shah, FCRH ’25, qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games following his personal-best performance in the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar this past February. The Fordham University men’s swimming and diving cocaptain emerged as the event’s
highest-scoring male competitor in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle. Paris 2024 marks the second Olympics in which Shah will represent his home nation in the 100-meter freestyle after his 2021 debut in the COVID-19-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Qualifying for Paris was surreal, and a huge relief,” Shah said, recalling his emotions after his Doha success.
“Achieving it was more than satisfying, and difficult to put into words. Relieving in the first moment, but motivating the next.” For the Thailand-born Shah, who lived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu for much of his life, swimming didn’t always come easy, but with a little luck and a lot of hard work, Shah strengthened his abilities. SEE OLYMPICS, PAGE 5
Fordham Students Attend 5k For Gaza Aid By RACHEL WANAGOSIT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY OF NORA MALONE/THE FORDHAM RAM
The lounge has new furniture and offers students an alternative study space with accessible playlists.
Walsh Library Opens New Student Lounge By NORA MALONE NEWS EDITOR
A new student lounge has opened in Walsh Library in room 108A. The space has been available to students previously, but was recently revamped. The lounge aims to provide students
with a space to relax and take a break from academics. “It’s something that the director of the library has been wanting to do for a little bit. There was a small amount of donor funding to get some more furniture. There’s been a push to update furniture and
what-not, and we thought it would be fun to make it a lounge-like setting,” said Hannah Herrlich, emerging technologies librarian. The space also offers curated Spotify playlists, where students can SEE WALSH, PAGE 5
Last Saturday, March 2, a group of 10 Fordham students participated in the Gaza 5K on the Global Day of Action for Palestine, organized by activist groups the People’s Forum and the Palestinian Youth Movement. New York City hosted both a 5K run and a march in support of Palestine. This day of action was to put as much pressure on people
in power to call for a ceasefire before March 10, the start of Ramadan, a holy month in which Muslims fast, allowing for more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Students went to the race as part of a Residential Assistant (RA) program in Martyrs’ Court and in Campbell, Salice and Conley Halls. Six RAs coordinated to get sufficient funding to cover the $40 tickets in order SEE LEADER, PAGE 4
in this issue
News
Page 3
Opinion Page 8
Fordham Community Remembers Luke Santos
The Ethical Implications of Alabama’s IVF Decision
Culture Page 16
Sports
Behind the Scenes of "Disaster: The Musical"
Page 20
Inches From Victory: WBB Comes Up Short Against #8 Loyola Chicago