Fordham takes part in National Screening Day

One of my favorite things about Fordham academics is that learning takes place not only in the classroom, but outside of the classroom as well. At Fordham, there are so many opportunities to learn and explore at events in New York City and on Fordham's own campus! 

On February 3, 2015, colleges and universities across the country took part in a National Screening Day of the soon-to-be released film, The Man Who Saved the World, Fordham being one of them. The Theology Department at Fordham even arranged for one of the film’s producers to come to the viewing and answer questions afterwards.

The film tells the story of Soviet Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov’s actions that ultimately averted nuclear war in 1983. Petrov followed his own conscience over protocol. Since the film provides an  entry point to consider the scientific, ethical and moral challenges presented by nuclear weapons, my Research Ethics professor encouraged my class to attend the filming. 

My Professor asked us to e-mail her a "selfie" from the event!

The next day in class we were able to have an in-depth discussion of the movie. It was a great way to examin ethical issues using a real-world example. Attending events on campus as part of a class is one of the great ways in which professors make learning exciting at Fordham. 

Opening scene of the film. 

For some of my other classes I have attended on campus events as well as events in the city. For my Irish Literature Class, I went into the city to see a showing of the play Juno and the Paycock. Similarly, for my Jewish History Class, I attended events at the Museum of Jewish Heritage as well as guest lectures in Walsh Library right here on campus. Lastly, as a math major I am always attending math talks on campus and even travel into the city frequently to hear mathematicians speak at other universities! 

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!

Christmas in McGinley

Some friends and I with Fordham's very own Santa

Today, Fordham's Campus Activities Board (better known as CAB) kicked off the holiday season with its annual Holiday Fair! The second floor of McGinley was magically transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with snow, candy canes, Santa, and even two elves à la Zooey Deschanel. Stations for making cups of good hot chocolatey holiday cheer and ginger bread men were offered to students for free, as were pictures taken with Santa. There were also a number of stalls dedicated to fundraising for groups such as Circle K, Walk for Life, and many Global Outreach projects.

Ugly Christmas sweaters!

While some offered items such as koozies, lanyards, and homemade jewelry, most stuck to the Christmas theme. There were stands where you could buy miniature Christmas trees, decorate ornaments, or pie Scrooge in the face. My favorite by far was (of course) my own stand which sold ugly Christmas sweaters as part of a fundraiser for GO! Glenmary. After weeks of gathering together our best Salvation Army finds, my teammates and I haggled with fellow Rams over the prices of our most atrocious pieces. In the end, we sold all and made a bundle to be put forward for our service trip's funding.

Such is an example of just one of the many events Fordham has to offer during the Christmas season. Whether you are looking to craft some decorations, support service teams, donate to the Coat Drive, or just in general spread the season's cheer, Fordham has the event for you! December is a great month to be a Ram as there is always something to do.

One of Fordham's Best Kept "Secrets"

One of the best-kept secrets at Fordham is the Saturday night mass in Keating Blue Chapel. I say “secret” because it is a small, intimate mass that generally only about twenty or so members of the Fordham community attend. Since Sunday masses are so popular and lively most of the community will begin their week/end their weekend by attending the 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM, or 8:00 PM masses on Sundays.

This is a photo taken from the back of Keating Blue Chapel. You can see it is beautiful, little chapel. 

However, Saturday night mass is offered at 5:30 in Keating Blue Chapel for people who are unable to attend mass on Sundays due to their busy schedules. The Blue Chapel is on the third floor of Keating and it is a small, beautifully decorated chapel in which I find myself able to reflect deeply on my Jesuit values. The chapel seats about 20 people, but recently I have noticed more and more members of the campus community attending. I enjoy celebrating mass in this smaller setting and was glad when my friend and I came across this mass time last year when we were unable to attend mass one Sunday.  If you like attending mass on the weekends, but find Sundays too hectic you should definitely try going to Saturday night mass!  

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!!

Polish Cultural Exchange

At Fordham there are so many different clubs and organizations to join. When I came to Fordham I was surprised and excited to learn about the Polish Cultural Exchange.

At club meetings we spend time learning about the culture and language of Poland while eating Polish chocolates and other treats. However, we also do many other fun activities that may interest everyone, regardless of their nationality. Two of the Polish Cultural Exchange’s major events include hosting a “Pierogi Take-Out Dinner” and marching in the Pulaski Day Parade.

The “Pierogi Take-Out Dinner” takes place in McGinley Center during the Fall Semester. During the dinner, club members sell pierogies (Polish dumplings stuffed with potato, cheese and meat typically served with onions or sour cream) to students. Pierogies are delicious and they always sell quickly!

PCE Pierogi Take-Out Dinner 

The Pulaski Day Parade takes place in October in New York City. We dress in red and white (the colors of Poland) and march on 5^th Avenue from 30^th Street to 60^th Street alongside other schools like NYU and Pace. The parade is a great time to show Polish pride and it is a great opportunity to march in a parade in the city.

PCE Members Marching on 5th Avenue in the Pulaski Day Parade

So, if you are Polish, or even if you are not, the Polish Cultural Exchange hosts many activities that may interest you! 

Semester in Review!

            The semester is officially done. All the finals have been taken. Grades are staring to come in. Students are starting to head home. Everything on the Lincoln Center campus is quiet as we recuperate before the new semester starts in January.

            I thought I would take this moment to do one of those popular end of the year thing, but really just an end of the semester review to reflect on the fall semester of my junior year here at Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

         Starting with the fact that I once again got to live literally a block from Lincoln Center. I may be biased but I think it is one of the most gorgeous places in the city – and it’s hone.

       But when Manhattan was no good I could escape to Williamsburg. Which has lots of rumors about how hipstery it is, but is actually gorgeous and quaint and quiet and a great place to go when you need some good thrift store clothes, an escape from the city and a gorgeous view of Manhattan.

            This semester my friend Ian and I got to meet Grace Coddington. The creative director of Vogue. Vogue is kind of a big deal, you know? And after staring at Grace in the Balenciaga store for a solid 15 minutes and taking a multitude of stalker shots we worked up to courage to go talk to her. And she was so sweet. She signed a copy of Vogue and told listened to us blabber on about our huge geeky fandom for her and didn’t even call security.

             As if that wasn’t enough Ian and I also met Lena Dunham. You know the writer/director/producer/creator/star/perfecthumanbeing from HBO’s show Girls? Yeah, met her. Got a picture with her (which we failed to do with Grace Coddington) and once again rambled on about our obsessive fandom. I still can’t really believe that this semester I got to meet two of my biggest inspirations in life.

            Speaking of Lena Dunham – as Ian and I met her we delivered her a letter, a letter begging her to do an interview for The Observer, the Lincoln Center newspaper (which I have written about before), and while we have yet to hear back from her we still have hope – she’s a super busy lady, right?

            Speaking of The Observer, this semester I got to travel to Chicago for the AssociatedCollegiate Press and College Media Advisers conference. I got to spend three days attending seminars about different aspects of college journalism and newspaper design. It was inspiring and challenging and wonderful. And to top it off I got to attend two seminars taught by Tim Harrower, you may not know who he is, but he’s kind of a big deal in the journalism world.

            There are a ton of other experiences I had this semester that made it one of my best yet. Including but not limited to: spending too much time at the Fordham-Friendly diner across the street from the dorms, buying and quickly killing a Chia Pet and utilizing the Residence Hall Association’s discounted movie passes for some really good films.

            All of this would not have been possible if I did not go to school in New York City and more specifically if I didn’t go to school at Fordham. Every time I have an amazing semester like this one I know I made the perfect choice for me when coming to Fordham.

            Enjoy your holidays and see you next semester! 

Living at Lincoln Center during the Summer

Having a campus in Manhattan provides many great benefits for the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. In addition to being able to take classes at both campuses throughout the academic semesters, Rose Hill students also have the ability to live in McMahon hall for the summer sessions. Most students who decide to do so intern in Manhattan as well as take classes during the evening courses. By living in Manhattan for several months, students can take advantage of everything the city has to offer during the summer.

Unlike most universities, this is a very unique opportunity. McMahon has four or six person apartments and students can specifically request to live with their friends when they fill out the summer housing application. It also provides a great opportunity to meet new Fordham students. Furthermore, the Lincoln Center campus has an ideal location between MidTown West and Upper West Side. It is near several subway lines, including A, C, D, B, and 1, and it is one avenue away from Central Park. This location boasts a wonderful variety of restaurants, activities, and events.

I have lived at McMahon Hall for the past two summers, between my sophomore and junior year and between my junior and senior year. Several of my friends and I took advantage of the nearby attractions. For example, the Harry Potter 7 Premiere was at Lincoln Center and we were able to see this from our room and easily walk over to star-gaze. The summer of 2010 involved all of the restaurants along 9th Avenue promoting the World Cup in South Africa with special discounts. There is also free kayaking located at 12th Avenue and 56th Street as well as biking or running down the west side highway along the waterfront. In addition, being so close to Central Park

made it fun to picnic on the weekends as well as attend the free summer concert program, or SummerStage, put on by the City Parks Foundation. The most spectacular part about living at McMahon was the view of the Hudson River. Every night, we had a clear view of the sun setting on the river and on the Fourth of July we were able to watch the amazing fireworks.

I would highly recommend to every Rose Hill student that they spend a summer living at Lincoln Center's McMahon Hall.

The Curran Center and American Catholic Studies

Paul Elie speaks at last weekend's symposium honoring Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood

Photo by Michael Dames

As a prospective student, I remember picking up countless flyers and leaflets from admissions offices around the country. If the on-campus events seemed interesting to me, I, naturally, became much more interested in the school. Fordham stood out to me then, and it certainly has not disappointed.

The Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham embodies both our University’s commitment to intellectual inquiry, and the benefits garnered from our location in a city teeming with ideas, people, and a distinct history. Throughout the year, the Curran Center sponsors lectures and other programs on subjects related to faith and culture in the modern world. This past weekend, I attended a symposium honoring and celebrating the 60th anniversary of Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood. Guests offered their own analyses and interpretations of a novel and an author to which each had dedicated much of his or her own academic work. The crowd consisted not only of Fordham students and faculty, but of visitors from outside the Fordham community as well. As a prospective student, Fordham's on-campus events stood out to me because the topics were different and often thought-provoking. This symposium, as have others I've attended, brought new ideas and voices to campus - which is why I think the Curran Center is one of the hidden gems at Fordham.

The Curran Center also offers an undergraduate program in American Catholic Studies. As described by Associate Director Angela O’Donnell, American Catholic Studies is a program for “academically motivated” students who want to study “the culture, the faith, the history, and the theology of the American Catholic Church.” For students both inside and outside of the department, the Curran Center offers courses that investigate Catholicism’s distinct permeation into personal histories, as well as into our larger popular and political culture. O’Donnell explains that the Curran Center would not be what it is without the foundational history of New York City and those whose Catholicism was influenced by it, i.e. Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and others. In this way, the Curran Center is a model of Fordham’s commitment to extending one’s academic life past the Third Avenue gates. As is evident by our blog, Fordham is inextricable from the social and professional opportunities offered by New York City. Yet the Curran Center, and similar bodies, make Fordham’s on and off-campus life academically enriching as well.