Fordham Spotlight: FLASH Magazine

At Fordham, if keywords like fashion, city culture, or even simply the arts catch your attention, then look no further than FLASH Magazine!

FLASH is a fashion, culture, and arts publication on campus that has had multiple issues and is something that I've been a part of since my sophomore year. I've modeled for the magazine, written articles, and am currently the marketing co-chair. Fashion, culture, and beauty are just a few sections that we feature. From articles on health, to discussing current trends, to reporting on Fashion Week, to articles about the best bucket lists for Manhattan, there's a little something for everyone in the magazine.

We're in the process of becoming an official club on campus, but we have a very good following so far! A lot of people are involved in the production of the magazine, from layout, to writers, to models, to photographers. It's a lot of fun, creative people that get together to create something beautiful.

A fun experience that I've had with FLASH is definitely being able to go to Fashion Week. I went to the BCBG fall 2015 runway show. I took pictures for the magazine and got to see the new collection! What I love about fashion is that it truly is an art form to me, it's so creative and each individual piece is literally a work of art. I'm so happy that because of FLASH, I have an outlet to express my appreciation and passion for this. It's a lot of really motivated people who are working together to design something awesome that's centered around the best city in the world (although I admit I am biased)! Check out FLASH magazine, you won't be disappointed, and when you come in the fall if fashion or art is something that you're impassioned about, you have plenty of channels to express that!

A picture I snagged from the show!

Speakers and Celebs on Campus!!

In high school, if I heard the words "speaker" or "lecturer" I would've cringed, like most other kids my age. I associated these words with boredom and was so excited to go to college to have these lectures be optional. Since coming to Fordham, my opinion has changed completely. 

Some other club members and I before a speaking event on campus!

Fordham has brought some super cool speakers to campus, whether they're politicians, famous business people, musicians, you name it. I go to events around campus not because I have to, but because I want to. For example, I'm a part of the College Democrats. Every year we bring two speakers to campus and we've had some really big names! We just had Ezra Klein, political news journalist; we've had former Senator Dennis Kucinich, Bobby Kennedy Jr., and David Axelrod just to name a few! In college, especially at Fordham, it's important to take advantage of all the events that are offered to you, or you really are missing out! 

The exec board of the College Dems with Ezra Klein!

Another fun example is Jerry from Ben & Jerry's ice cream, who came to Fordham's Spring Weekend 2 years ago and brought free ice cream for everyone! It was super interesting to meet such a famous person and hear his success story. These are awesome opportunities that you won't find just anywhere! While my classes at Fordham have been great, it's amazing to be able to see world-class speakers and presenters, for free! When you come to Fordham and finally officially become a Ram, make sure to check out all of the events that Fordham has to offer!

GO! Trip to Navajo, New Mexico

One of the best things that Fordham has to offer is its Global Outreach (GO!) program. This program is completely unique to Fordham and gives students the opportunity to travel all over the world. There are trips to India, Romania, Guatemala, Mexico, and even ones within the US including Nashville, New Orleans, San Diego, and New Mexico. These are just a handful of the many trips to choose from.

GO! is not an ordinary club or organization that you would typically find on a college campus. It is completely student-run and organized and is centered on service to others as well as community, simple living and spirituality. Every week throughout the semester, you will meet with the eleven other people going on your project and get the chance to build amazing friendships with them. This way by the time the trips comes around, you know your team very well and cannot wait to spend an entire week with them.

The beautiful reservation in Navajo, New Mexico

In May I had the opportunity of going on a GO! trip to Navajo, New Mexico. Navajo is home to the Navajo Native Americans in northern New Mexico right on the border of Colorado. My team and I stayed with a welcoming Native American on his reservation that has been in his family for multiple generations. This trip was not only a chance for my team and I to bond and form life-long friendships, but it was also an educational experience. I learned about some of the injustices that Native Americans have faced in the past and how I can help change the dialogue about the way in which people speak about Native Americans. I also learned a lot about their unique culture, which included emersion trips to Pow Wows where more than twenty different Native American clans would gather together and join in traditional dances and other festivities. Living in a tent on a beautiful piece of land for more than a week with my closest friends and learning about a culture completely different from my own is an experience that I am thankful to Fordham for giving me.

My GO! team and I on our last day in Navajo before heading back to Fordham

The great thing about GO! is that you do not have to say goodbye to the wonderful people that you went on the trip with once you return to Fordham. All of a sudden you have a close-knit group of friends that live right on campus with you that you can talk about this unforgettable experience with. I could not recommend more highly getting involved with GO! before your time at Fordham is complete.

Blog By: Abby Collins

News Experience at Fordham

I am a member of many different clubs and organizations on campus, but Fordham Nightly News is definitely one of my favorites. Fordham Nightly News is Fordham University’s very own student run and student produced television program. The show airs at 5:30pm Monday through Friday. The studio is located in the basement of the library. It is fully equipped with cameras switchboards, teleprompters, soundboards and more!

This is the Fordham Nightly News desk!

There are so many different ways to get involved with Fordham Nightly News. There are opportunities to become involved in both the technical side of the news, and the on air aspect. Students who wish to learn the technical side attend a variety of tech workshops in the beginning of the year. They are then assigned to an experienced member of Fordham Nightly News and act as an apprentice. Once they are comfortable, they are assigned a night where they are responsible for certain aspects of the show. Students who want to be on air must first take a screen test to see how well they can read off a teleprompter. They then attend a variety of writing workshops and eventually earn a spot on the air.

This is the technical control room.

I am on air for Fordham nightly news on Monday nights. I act as an anchor, reporter, interviewer, or provide the editorial. These positions rotate on a weekly basis, giving students the ability to try a little bit of everything. A typical show lasts a half hour and consists of 10 anchor stories, 5 of which are breaking international news and 5 local or Fordham related stories. In addition to these short stories there are two student produced packages, two interviews, and finally the show is wrapped up with an editorial. Fordham Nightly News is more than just a club; it provides students with hands on experience that makes them more competitive when they apply for internships and jobs.

Taste The World Celebration

On Friday October 24, ASILI, or The Black Student Alliance at Fordham, hosted their third annual Taste The World Celebration. This year more people attended the event than ever before, with nearly 300 people lined up at the door. This event, which took place in McGinley Ballroom, celebrated the rich traditions of cultural diversity, and was open for all students to attend.  The students that went feasted on delicious cuisines of all different cultures, including sushi, pernil, lasagna, cannolis, macaroni and cheese, and roasted chicken. They also were able to sit and watch performances from some of Fordham's most talented performing groups including Fordham Flava, The Ramblers, The Satin Dolls, Expressions Dance Alliance, Sláinte: Fordham Irish Dance, and other awesome individual performances. The emcees were absolutely hilarious, keeping the audience amused the whole time, and the event was an entertaining and fun way to begin the weekend.

The event's logo!

I am part of Expressions Dance Alliance, and when our group was asked to perform at the event, we were so excited. We chose two dances that we performed last semester to rework: Ooh La La and Last Love Song. On the Thursday before the show, we performed our rehearsed dances for the ASILI board, who put up little previews of all of the performing groups on social media to get other students excited for the performances to come the next day. We then quickly picked costumes that would work for both dances, and got ready for the performance the next day. All of the performing groups got there early to help set up, rehearse on the performance space one more time, and take a group picture. Then at 7:00 PM, it was showtime. 

The Expressions dancers before they perform!

Each group did an incredible job, and it was so cool to see a little presentation from all of the groups at one event because they all usually have their own separate shows. ASILI did a great job organizing everything, and I am already looking forward to next year's event. Everyone attending definitely left feeling like they did get a little taste of the world and some impressive entertainment while they were at it. This is one Fordham event you should be sure not to miss!!

Peer Educators: We Save Lives!

As a sophomore, I became involved with a club on campus called Peer Educators, which has been an extremely rewarding experience. Peer Educators is a club that strives to improve the quality of student life at Fordham by encouraging positive behaviors on and off campus. Our goal is to decrease the harmful effects associated with the misuse and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Fordham's Peer Educators are advised and trained by the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Support (OSAPSS). As a club, we provide accurate information to the student body so that students make informed and safe decisions. 

Peer Educators is split into three main committees: Substance and Alcohol Education (SAE), Marketing, and Passport. Each of these three committees plays a vital role in reaching out to the student body to provide accurate information and promote safe behaviors. 

We distributed water to Seniors for their first Senior Night

This year, I am a Co-Chairperson for the Substance and Alcohol Education Committee (SAE). As a committee, we have many important responsibilities. One of our biggest responsibilities is providing information on drugs and alcohol to freshmen for Core Programming, which is mandatory for all freshmen. We also have Student Awareness Days throughout the year to gauge student knowledge and usage of various substances, as well as to provide all students with information on the substance that we are focusing on for the particular Awareness Day. Additionally, we distribute water to students to encourage them to drink responsibly, which includes staying hydrated. This past Thursday, we handed out water to the Seniors who attended this semester's first Senior Night. We put labels with fun little phrases that encouraged safe drinking practices on every bottle of water.

The September poster this year

The Marketing Committee, like SAE, strives to spread knowledge to the student body about how to make safe and informed decisions. Each month, the Marketing Committee creates a poster that is posted in every building and all around campus. These posters give advice or facts to the students about a particular topic. We are usually able to determine the success of a particular poster campaign by seeing how many of the posters are taken by students. By the end of the month, there are usually very few posters still where they were posted because students take them and hang them in their dorm rooms. 

The Passport

Staten Island Ferry Excursion

Our third committee, the Passport Committee, plans free excursions for students. In September, I led an excursion to the Staten Island Ferry, which was a ton of fun. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great view of the Statue of Liberty from the Ferry. The Passport Committee is also responsible for creating the Passport, which is a great resource for students. The Passport is a small booklet that easily fits in a purse or a pocket that is filled with restaurants, entertainment, sightseeing locations, museums, sporting events, and anything else that students should know about in the city. Even as a junior, I still refer to my Passport whenever I want to do something in the city. 

I really love being a Peer Educator. We are a student-run organization that is focused on helping our fellow students. We are all Fordham students who want to encourage our peers to make safe and informed decisions both on and off campus. At one of our induction ceremonies, a Fordham Dean told us that we save lives. I am not sure if we have actually saved any lives with our work as Peer Educators, but I certainly feel like we are making a difference on campus. By simply distributing accurate information to students, we are making sure that students are not ignorant about the consequences of their actions. We cannot force anyone to make safe decisions, but we are making sure that they are informed decisions, which I consider to be invaluable.

Don't Forget Your Dancing Shoes!

Back when I was a freshman, I was very excited to start my college experience by getting involved on campus in any way possible, so at the annual Club Fair around Eddie’s, I signed up for at least twenty different clubs that all sounded interesting.  One of these clubs was Fordham Ballroom Club.  Like many girls, I had taken ballet classes for a while when I was little, but I never thought of trying to dance with a partner.  Because I signed up for Ballroom at the club fair, I received all of the emails describing the fun activities the club put on, but I was always too nervous to show up by myself and try something out of my comfort zone.  Now as I junior, I realize how much I regret not participating in Ballroom Club my first year here.  One of my roommates this year, Dorina, is actually the President of Fordham Ballroom Dance.  Before coming to Fordham, she had even less dance experience than me, and she learned at club meetings through the teaching of previous president Fred Engelhardt.  She persuaded me to come to Ballroom one week after teaching me some basic moves in the dining room of our apartment.  As a beginner, I was nervous that I would embarrass myself, but there were other people with little experience that were learning for the first time along with me, and the veteran dancers were very nice and helpful.  I was able to convince two of my friends to come with me, and we all ended up having a great time.

Learning some new moves

For Fordham Ballroom Dance, each week we meet in the McGinley Center Ballroom for an hour and learn moves to different standard ballroom styles.  We separate into sides, with boys on one side and girls on the other. Dorina teaches a couple of moves to the group, and then we pair up and practice what we just learned.  Each week we review and then build upon the previous week. So far we have learned aspects of the Waltz, Salsa, and Swing.  We switch partners each time we practice a new move, so another plus of this club is that I am always meeting new people.

Along with the weekly classes, the Ballroom Club coordinates a couple of trips a semester to a Club 412, a dance club in Manhattan where they have separate rooms that each are dedicated to a different style of ballroom.  I am really excited for our first trip so I can actually use what I have been practicing each week.  

Time to practice

Members having fun at Club 412

Check out some of these amazing performances from members of Fordham Ballroom Club!

(My talented roommate Dorina is the female lead featured in the first two videos)