Dodransbicen-what? Fordham Celebrates 175 Years!

2017 marks the 175th year of Fordham University's existence; in other words, Fordham celebrates its Dodransbicentennial! Everyone is in on the celebrations with the university providing students and staff with a year of special events, programs, and exhibits that highlight Fordham's history and influence as the Jesuit University of New York.

Even the Empire State Building showed its colors for Fordham last night in honor of the 175th anniversary!

Here's to another 175 years, Fordham! So that would be a... Semiseptcentennial? Have fun trying to say that in speeches! 

Rams Deli Plus: A Fordham Favorite

Coming from the suburban Midwest, I had never been to or experienced a bodega. The closest I have to them at home are gas station convenience stores, where the food is subpar at best. However, when I came to Fordham, I was suddenly introduced to the wonders of bodega food, satisfying my hungers at all times of the day. Enter Rams Deli Plus, the premier bodega in the Belmont neighborhood. Located on Fordham Road between Hoffman Street and Arthur Avenue, Rams Deli Plus, simply known as “Rams” or “RDP” to students, has been a Fordham staple for years, serving hungry students 24/7.

Starting with breakfast, you cannot go wrong with a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich from RDP. Whether you like it on a roll, wrap, bagel, or croissant, RDP will make you a breakfast sandwich you will write home about. If you are feeling a little more adventurous for breakfast, try the Hashtag, a bold creation boasting a chicken cutlet, hash brown, bacon, egg, and cheese. With so many options for breakfast being served at all times of the day, you can’t go wrong with a quick bite from Rams.

Rams Deli Plus’ options for lunch and dinner are even greater. Whether you want a sandwich, a burger, a wrap, or even halal food, Rams has it. A few of my personal favorites are the Calito’s Burger, which is a cheeseburger with avocado, bacon, ranch, and sriracha, and the California Wrap, sporting grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, ranch, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. If you want something that will fill you up for hours and for cheap, Rams is the place to go. With friendly staff, a welcoming atmosphere, and some of the best food close to campus, Rams Deli Plus is a most go for all Fordham students.

Songs For Smiles

The show was excellent!

It was oddly warm outside for a November evening. As I walked across the Plaza, muffled sounds of acoustic guitar drifted my way. I followed the sounds and saw that the Atrium was lit up with twinkle lights and filled with smiling people. Where one could usually find a row of tables filled with students who are cramming before an orgo-chem exam while scarfing down a sandwich, was instead a small stage with a keyboard and three microphones. Operation Smile was hosting their “Songs for Smiles” event, complete with dinner foods, a photo booth, and live music. 

My roommate and I decided to join in for a few minutes so we could watch the performers. Such groups as Deadpan, featuring Andrew Abbensett, Kaleigh Young, and the Bright Red Cardinal gave uplifting and exciting performances. Some performed original songs, with only their guitar to accompany the freshly written poetry about home, while others jammed out to classics and pop with their friends.  Juliet Mengaziol, who performed as the finale act, sang three songs on her acoustic guitar. The first was a mashup of Adele’s well-known hit single “Someone Like You” with indie-artist Crywolf’s emotional song “Eye Half Closed.” The song was rich with emotion, putting a clever “emotional” twist on a  well known pop number. She then slowed it down with Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 “Torn”. She finally wrapped up the evening with the uplifting song “Landslide” by Oh Wonder. After the campus had experienced heartbreak from the resulting violence across the nation following the election, the song was a beautiful part of Lincoln Center’s Healing Process.

A great evening for a great cause :)    
Overall, the event was a great way for Fordham students to come together to support Operation Smile, an non-profit organization which is dedicated to providing the world with life saving surgery, while also enjoying a wonderful sense of community.

Fordham FlipSide

Blog by Brendan Batcheller

Fordham Flipside!

Many students arrive at Fordham and immediately want to get involved on campus. Being in New York City, there are endless opportunities to explore and have fun outside of Fordham’s gates as well. The goal of FlipSide is to provide fun opportunities for students to get off campus and experience different events around New York City. 

FlipSide is a programming group that developed to fill a need on campus; many students wanted to attend “classic” New York events such as going to the top of the Empire State Building or going to a Broadway show, but found that these often cost a little too much for a typical college student budget. In order to provide students with opportunities to attend these events, FlipSide needed to form a mission as to how attending these events could benefit students. What we developed was for FlipSide to provide alcohol-alternative programming. 

A typical view from the top of the Empire State Building.

As the current treasurer for FlipSide, my goal is to coordinate with our executive board to plan and organize trips for Friday nights that go into NYC. These events serve as alternatives to attending a party while also making it affordable and easy to plan around going into the city. Some of our upcoming trips for the Spring semester include Knicks and Yankees games, Broadway shows including the Lion King, Aladdin, and Wicked, and our touristy trips including Top of the Rock, the Empire State Building, and a Circle Line river cruise of famous NYC landmarks.  

This past Friday, we brought thirty students to the Empire State Building!

Baseball in the Bronx

Blog by Michelle Dastur

As exciting as it would’ve been to be at Game 7 of the world series last night, I’m still content with the game I did get to go to this year, thanks to CAB at Fordham. CAB stands for “Campus Activities Board” and gives students many opportunities on and off campus, throughout the year. Once a month they hold raffles where students show their student ID, receive a raffle ticket, and are entered for a chance to win up to two tickets to one of 3 or 4 exciting events. These events are usually a broadway show, comedy show, tickets to the Top of the Rock or Empire state building, or tickets to various baseball and basketball games.

The golden tickets!

The September raffle during the end of the first month of school granted me $20 tickets to the Yankees vs. Sox game on September 27th. As a Sox fan, this was especially exciting to me, because I knew this would be one of the last games Big Papi would ever play at Yankee Stadium. When I called my parents to tell them, they were even more excited than I was, and

ended up telling many of their friends what section I was sitting in and to watch out for me.

Being a student at Fordham, we’re lucky enough to be able to get virtually anywhere with multiple transportation options only a few minutes off campus. So at 6pm on that warm September evening, my roommate and I made the quick trip up Fordham Road and hopped on the subway (the D train), towards Yankee stadium. In a short 15 minutes (during which we saw other Fordham students and fellow Sox fans) we were at the stadium!

Not a bad view, eh?

Though the seats were inexpensive thanks to CAB, the view was not. We had great seats in the 200s section, close to the jumbotron, and close enough where we could still sort of make out the names on the backs of the players’ jerseys. Though it was pretty weird to be a Sox fan in a sea of Yankees fans, we somehow landed ourselves in a section with other Sox fans, and it wasn’t as weird to cheer when everyone else booed. When Big Papi came out, we cheered as loud as we could every time.One of those times even cost me a ketchup stain on my favorite Sox shirt, but it was entirely worth it.

Biggest Sox fans ever!

We even got to see a marriage proposal, waiting in line for our famed Nathan’s hot dogs and cheese fries! This became a proposal much of the US would come to see that night and over the next couple of days, after the man proposing dropped the ring mid proposal. We watched with wide eyes as everyone in his section managed to pull their weight and someone luckily found the ring. They were even interviewed on Ellen the next day!

Though this had to be the one game the Sox lost at Yankee stadium, it was still a great night for baseball and a great night to be a Sox fan. I’m so glad I’ll get to say I saw one of Big Papi’s last games at Yankee Stadium, and got to cheer loud enough for my friends and family back home.  

Here's a link to the video of the couple on Ellen!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqOouC_sBw

Campus Involvement: Celebrating Ignatian Week as a Resident Assistant

             One of my favorite parts about being a Resident Assistant at Fordham is getting to plan programs for my residents.  This week, I am hosting a talk given by Mrs. Carol Gibney, the Assistant Director of Campus Ministry for Faith Formation and Sacraments at Rose Hill.  Mrs. Gibney will be coming to my Residence Hall for dinner and a discussion about the life of Saint Ignatius.  She will also be leading a guided meditation and speaking about ways to live out Ignatian teaching as a college student.  This program is a timely event, since Ignatian week begins this Sunday, on October 30th, and lasts until November 7th.  

Fordham's Campus Ministry Staff

         As a Jesuit university, it is important to know about the history of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) in order to grow in our tradition and celebrate our history. 

Ignatian Week Schedule, Rose Hill, 2016

This Igatian week will be even more special, because this year is Fordham’s 175^th anniversary.  The weeklong celebration, held by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities will include a students vs. Jesuits softball game, Opening Mass, Habitat for Humanity Build, and many dinners and discussions with members of the Fordham community, including Father McShane.  As a Resident Assistant and member of the Fordham community, I am excited to participate in the Ignatian Week activities, and teach my residents more about Fordham’s history and Jesuit heritage. 

Campus Involvement: The Liturgy at Fordham

My favorite activities on campus that I am involved in are Fordham's masses, held in the University Church at Rose Hill. The masses are primarily student run, and make up one part of Fordham's large and diverse Campus Ministry. Currently, I am an Altar Co-Chair on Fordham's Liturgy Board. This role gives me the opportunity to help run the masses at Fordham, train new campus ministers, and get involved with the many other interfaith and community service-based activities Fordham's Campus

Ministry has to offer. I have been involved with Fordham's liturgy since my freshman year, and it has been a very unique and rewarding campus experience for me.

Fordham's Liturgy celebrations are held in
the University Church on the Rose Hill campus

Fordham's liturgy offers masses every Saturday and Sunday, but some of the most exciting liturgy events are special masses that occur at different times during the semesters.  One exciting mass on Fordham's campus is the Mass of the Holy Spirit that occurs every September. This mass reminds students of Fordham's Jesuit values of education and service to others as the fall semester begins. Another one of the most popular liturgy events at Fordham's Rose Hill campus is the Gaudete Sunday mass to celebrate the holiday season. The mass is presided by the University's president, and is a great opportunity for Fordham students to gather together as a community near the end of the fall semester.

Although Fordham's liturgy is Catholic, students of all different faiths and beliefs enjoy attending the masses on campus. Since most Sunday masses and special masses are led by Jesuit priests and scholars, Fordham's liturgy has a very academic and practical tone that applies to students of all backgrounds. The inclusive environment of Fordham's liturgy is my favorite part about the masses on campus. The liturgy at Fordham welcomes and accepts every type of student, which makes mass at Fordham an event for all interested students to become involved in. 

A great outdoor view of the
University Church

The masses and liturgy at Fordham are only one part of Fordham's rich and diverse Campus Ministry! For more information about the liturgy as well as the wide variety of service projects, retreats, interfaith ministries, and other Campus Ministry opportunities, follow the link below!

http://www.fordham.edu/info/20094/campus_ministry

Midterms: Keys to Success

You’re halfway through the semester and it’s going swimmingly so far. However, midterms are approaching and they are stressing you out. No matter how much they are worth towards your final grade for each respective class, midterms are extremely important. Not only do they count a lot towards your grade point average, but they are also an evaluation for how much you have learned so far in the course. Here are some good tips for keeping your composure and making sure you succeed on your exams.

First, you must plan ahead. This means looking at each of your midterms, evaluating how much studying is necessary for your success, and executing your plan. If you have an exam worth 40% of your final grade, it might be a good idea to study a week or two in advance, even if it is just for 30 minutes a day.

You also must try to find a study place that fits the way you learn. If you need quiet, go to the library and find a secluded spot. If you’re comfortable in your dorm room, make sure there are no distractions around to interrupt your studying. If you retain information well in a group sessions, find a partner or a group to study with and make sure to keep your focus the entire time.

Finally, keep a level head and try not to stress. If you put in the work correctly, there is no doubt you will ace your midterms. It may require more effort than you thought, but as long as you stick to your personalized plan you will succeed.

Getting to the COR: Fordham Retreats

The Whole Gang: A Final Group Picture from COR 7, Spring 2016

Earlier this month, Fordham Campus Ministry's Retreat Ministry sent a group of Fordham student's up to Goshen, NY for a weekend of food, camaraderie, and friendship. What is this magic, you ask? Enter COR 8, the eighth wonderful installment of Fordham's very own student directed retreat focused on the heart, love, and the spiritual exercises of Ignatius. So, in short, the best of the Jesuits for a whole weekend with some pretty cool Fordhamites.

When I first came to Fordham LC in Fall of 2014, the last thing on my mind was retreats. All throughout high school, I'd been a part of a youth ministry leadership team at my parish where a large part of my responsibilities came with leading Confirmation small groups and retreats. I thought I'd seen all there was to see, and closed that chapter of my life when I came to college. When I arrived, the experience was nothing like I expected. In my first week, sitting in a meeting with Dean Desciak, I explained feeling a little odd and out of place. Almost immediately, he recommended I register for the Fresh Vision Retreat: a Fordham retreat tailored specifically to freshman students and the transition to college life. Begrudgingly, I nodded, and filled out the handy Google Form to register for the retreat.

The Famous FV18 Photo on the Deck: Now on Various Campus Ministry Literature Near You!

The day I left for Fresh Vision 18, I learned I would be the only Lincoln Center student on this 30 person retreat. Anxiety filled me up almost immediately: I was going to be the outsider. Riding the Ram Van up to the retreat house in Goshen with a bunch of people I had no connection to was absolutely terrifying. Once the 30 of us got into the house and introduced ourselves, the stress started to melt away: we were all students from the same university just trying to get through the first semester of our freshman year, and we all ended up there, in the same living room. Ultimately, Fresh Vision was the absolute best experience of my freshman year. Fresh Vision gave me some of the most important and formative friendships I have at Fordham, even now. In spring, I decided to go on the Women's Retreat, then COR 7 in spring of the following year. Retreats became the place where I could take a break and be myself. On Women's Retreat, we had a late-night, 26 person Beyoncé dance party in the house kitchen while making milkshakes; we were totally free of homework, social media, and the stresses. 30 of us who had been complete strangers less than 2 days prior cooked a full dinner together on COR 7. These are just a few of the memories that have become so integral to my Fordham experience. I didn't have to be the leader anymore and be responsible on retreats like I had in high school: I could just be me and focus on my own journey rather than making sure all the events I'd planned went off without a hitch.

Anyone who knows me knows that I can't stay quiet about Fordham Retreats and the community they've created for me over these past couple of years. My advice to anyone would be to just GO. Fordham Retreats are about more than spirituality; they're really a picture of the Jesuit ideals at work. Care for the whole person (cura personalis) includes the self care of taking time out to be reflective and focus on ourselves, and that's exactly what these weekends provide. All of the retreats have different focuses and themes: from Fresh Vision, to Second Wind (a Sophomore retreat), to the Interfaith Retreat, to the Charis Senior Retreat in the spring, just to name a few, there's truly something for everyone. They are also not limited to students of the Catholic faith tradition: these are open, accepting communities that allow you to participate at your own speed, in your own way. There's almost 20 retreats happening this academic year from start to finish, so take a chance, fill out the Google Form, and see what you'll find.

(See the link for more info! http://www.fordham.edu/info/26121/retreat_ministry/145/retreat_registration)

Making the Most of MTV

Whether it's transcribing an interview with a celebrity, sitting in on a podcast taping, or sporting a completely tinsel ensemble for a photo shoot, it's hard to bored as an intern at MTV News.

A typical day starts with the editorial staff meeting at 9:30. I sit at the table and listen as different writers update us on what the big stories are for their sections today. With sections like music, movies, TV, style, politics, and celebrity, there's always a lot going on and a lot to be caught up on from the night before.

My desk at MTV News!

After the meeting, I'll head over to my desk and see if I've been emailed any assignments. Usually, there will be an audio file of an interview waiting for me in my inbox. My task is to transcribe the interview and send it back so the writer will have a written account to pull quotes from for her story. The interviews range in length and content -- the longest one I've transcribed was 54 minutes and took me the ENTIRE work day. However, that's definitely on the longer side because they're typically around 20-30 minutes.

One of my favorites was getting to hear one of the writers interview the two directors of the Amanda Knox documentary. I got a ton of behind the scenes information on what their process was like making the documentary -- a lot of which didn't even end up in the article. So naturally, as soon as the documentary was released on Netflix, I grabbed a blanket, some tea, and watched in awe. Knowing some of the details from the directors prior to watching definitely made the experience more interesting because I knew to pay special attention to certain things.

That's me on the left as a "Tinsel Mammal".

Other than daily office tasks, sometimes I get to assist with non-written projects. The silliest and coolest of which was a photo shoot and interview with musician Helado Negro. My boss emailed me the day before and asked if I would be interested in helping out with a photo shoot the next day from 10-12. It sounded like a great opportunity, so naturally I responded with an enthusiastic yes. Later that day, the producer for the shoot emailed me with details about the project. She said that I would be wearing a tinsel suit and be posing in the background of various photographs.

A truly bizarre yet wonderful experience that
ended up with me looking like this.

This definitely wasn't what I anticipated when I was asked to "help out with a shoot." Regardless, I went into it with an open mind and a smile on my face. The crew for the shoot was super nice and was thrilled that I had volunteered to be one of the Tinsel Mammals. The musician was also incredibly kind and was so grateful that I was part of his creative journey. He also snapped the killer photo of me in the suit.

I think it's safe to say that even if I only end up fact checking and transcribing interviews for the rest of the semester, I already have more than enough stories and experiences to talk about from my first few weeks.

The Gabelli School at Lincoln Center is the perfect place for students to get an excellent education both in the classroom and outside, when they step out into one of the countless F500 firms in Midtown Manhattan. There are numerous internship opportunities, on campus competitions, and events to which Fordham students have access. Here, every interaction is a chance to learn something new, meet someone who has valuable insight and experience, or to explore new career paths. As a junior in the finance major at Gabelli Lincoln Center, I can personally attest to the network it provides.

The biggest advantage of studying finance in New York City is the opportunities that await you right off our campus grounds. Hiring manager look for Fordham students because of their drive, commitment and sensible business background. In tandem with the Fordham Alumni network, the possibilities are endless. Personally, the Fordham network has taken me to J.P. Morgan, where I intern with the Equity Derivatives Billing Group here in New York City. I have been given the privilege of seeing the trading happen live, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and I've even gotten to sit in meetings across from senior leadership and clients on a regular basis. The internship has truly opened my eyes to the scale and scope of a large bank that I really had to see to believe. I was offered the opportunity to return for the coming semester and continue exploring further! Fordham first gave me the coursework to prepare for the internship, and then it gave me the alumni connections and resources to push myself into having the opportunity to learn within such a prestigious firm and outlook.