The bserver THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER October 10, 2002 www.fclcobserver. com VOLUME XXI, Issue 3 Columbia Halftime Comment Grimes Discusses Draws National Attention New Block Schedule By Jessica Arabski, FCLC'04 Schmalz. "I think the commu- at USG Meeting nity as a whole was looking for FORDHAM- A public jeer more of an institutional By Alexandra Chojnacka, FCLC'05 Thursday sessions, classes made by a Columbia inarching response than that." & Jessica Arabski, FCLC'04 would instead meet during band announcer at a recent Fordham University chap- Monday-Thursday and Columbia-Fordham football lain, the Rev. Gerald FCLC- In order to answer Tuesday-Friday sessions, with game has touched a nerve with Blaszczak, agreed. He said he, questions and dispel rumors several Monday-Wednesday university officials, students, too, was unsatisfied with the about the university's recently- blocks serving as the exception. and alumni, as well as the apology, as well as with press announced decision to switch to Grimes said time blocks would Catholic League. The comment coverage of the incident. a new block schedule, the Rev. remain the same. referred to the current sexual Fordhom Qffico of Student Affairs "The New York Times report- Robert S. Grimes, S.J., Dean of As he explained at the meet- Junior quarterback Kirwin abuse scandals within the Watson at the controversial ed as if 'these silly Catholics Lincoln Center, discussed the ing, the new scheduling would Catholic priesthood and has Sept. 21 Columbia-Fordam foot- are being hypersensitive,'" he issue with students at a Sept. 24 give students the opportunity to attracted national media atten- ball game at Columbia's Wien said, noting that Columbia had United Student Government diversify their schedules, tion. Stadium. Columbia won 13-11. not truly apologized for the (USG) regular meeting. because class times would be As Columbia band members O'Hare, S.J., university presi- comment, but instead apolo- University officials more spread out and varied. He walked onto the field during dent, promptly wrote a letter to gized that Fordham had been announced several weeks ago said adding more blocks of halftime at the Sept. 21 game, Columbia President Lee C. upset. "I wanted them to say, that Fordham's Lincoln Center available times would allow the school's marching band Bollinger. O'Hare later 'I'm sorry we did something and Rose Hill campuses would departments within the univer- announcer announced that, received a phone call from wrong.'" adopt a new block schedule for sity to spread out certain types "Fordham's tuition is going Bollinger, who expressed his Blaszczak said the comment the 2003-2004 academic year. of classes. For example, he down like an altar boy," a com- "personal regret" and said he was an illustration of "residual Grimes said the new schedule pointed out that instead of ment taken by many as a dis- was seeking the "appropriate bigotry and unreflective preju- would be similar to the current bunching all of the communica- play of anti-Catholicism. institutional .response." dice." He noted that the com- schedule, with the exception tions courses into a certain time According to university Schmalz said Bollinger's ment was reflective of the that classes would be paired on slot, they would be more spread spokesperson Elizabeth response was "disappointing." stereotypes and anxieties that different days. Instead of class- out. Schmalz, after hearing about "Obviously an apology is existed in American society. He es meeting for Monday- He also noted that another the comment, -the Rev. Joseph and it was received," said (continued to page 4) Wednesday and „ Tuesday- (continued to page 5) Alumna Experts Go After The Sopranos INSIDE Dies in By Anabella Paola Rolando, FCLC'04 FCLC- A panel composed of Fordham scholars and two guests, who work very closely with the cast COMMENTARY: Times of HBO's hit The Sopranos, met for a symposium on Sept. 30, called "A Scholarly Look at The Sopranos at the Start of its. Fourth Season" at the Fordham University McNally Amphitheater. The presenters dis- Starbucks or cussed the appeal of the show to mass and intellectual audiences as well as the cultural context, the geo- Square graphic locations and the role of women in the series. Rose Hill? Meir Ribalow, an artist-in-residence at Fordham who moderated the panel discussion, was joined by You Choose. Office several professors from the university's communication and media studies department including Paul Levinson, Al Auster, and Lance Stratem, and page 8 ' | ''^^BMMtetf-^''^ ^^^M^amSm sPecia' guests David Lavery, editor of the book Shooting This Thing of Ours: Investigating The Sopranos, and Christine Gee, the show's script supervisor. FEATURES: By Sheniqua Gore, FCLC'OS Levinson talked about the flaws in network tele- Interview with Teen vision that allowed HBO to produce shows that FCLC- A Lincoln Center would eventually come very close in viewer People's Car a alumna was one of three indi- numbers to those of any major network channel. viduals left dead following a Levinson discussed reasons for the show's suc- Shultz Sept. 16 office shooting in cess including HBO's unlimited use of language page 14 Times Square. and imagery, repetition of the same episode at The alumni, 36-year-old least three times during the week, and the advan- Isabel Perez Munoz, FCLC'89, tage of having a one-hour drama without com- ARTS: was shot and killed by co-work- mercial breaks every twelve minutes. Sex, Logs and er John Harris at the Empire "Speaking as a male viewer, I can't say that Blue Cross Blue Shield Health curse words are as pleasurable to hear as nudity Robert Downey, Jr. Insurance Company office to see in Bada Bing! But their presence in The page 15 where she worked. Sopranos lends a reliable verisimilitude to every According to The New York episode," said Levinson Times, the shooting occurred at Auster discussed what The Sopranos have kept LITERARY roughly 8:20 a.m. on the and let go from the original gangster films, as eleventh floor of 1440 well as how the role of women in the genre has Kissing Country Broadway. Munoz reportedly changed over tim. According to Auster, who page 21 arrived at work early, accompa- took a close look at every feminine role in the nied by her supervisor, Vincent scries, the female characters are stronger in The La Bianca, to meet with Harris, Sopranos than they had ever been in earlier SPORTS: assistant vice president of the gangster films. Auster recounted a couple of Soccer Club ..-. company's fraud and protection Pictured above, the HBO hit The Sopranos. Professors scenes that reveal this shift including one where and guests discussed the show at a Sept. 30 symposium. department, She was shot Carmeia (Falco) throws a cell phone at Tony, who Finally Official moments later. Harris also shot is complaining about the choice of orange juice she purchased, or when Tony's daughter, Meadow, is dat- and killed La Bianca before ing a half African- American and half Jewish college classmate. page 23 turning the gun on himself. Auster noted that, "Despite all its contemporary elements of suburban life, psychoanalysis, popular (continued to page 5) (continued to page 6) News October 10, 2002 mpage 2 News Anchor Weighs in on Media and More it have more of a positive influence thinking how could we get infor- break down: it just wasn't on the or a negative impact'/ mation out to people about what air. they could do, what they should DW: -There are so many news out- do. How could we calm them? AH: How did you and everyone lets now, I think you have to talk Prepare them? We didn't know else at Channel 7 plan for cover- aboul news in general and what what to expect, but we knew that ing the anniversary? impact it has. I think it's a way of our job was to provide informa- DW: We just planned we would telling people about what's going tion, and we didn't know what was be here and we would work a very on in their world. It's not always going to come next. We didn't long day; it was a very long day. 1 the best of what's going on in their know if there were other planes in was at work at 10 a.m. that day world; more often than not, it's the the air. We didnt want people to until midnight that night, and worst. I think sometimes people panic or anything. I think the city everybody else pretty much was are more afraid than they should handled it very, very well. The too, or earlier. I know Roz be. A good example of that would leadership of the city handled it |Abrams| had to work from like 5 be all of the kidnappings of young well, and I think the media han- a.m. in the morning until 6 p.m. children this summer. Yet, at the dled it well. that night. same time if we aren't cautious, if we aren't aware, we aren't care- AH: How have you changed AH: According to Nielsen Ratings ful...more of those incidents could what's selected to go on air. after during the 9111 Anniversary cover- happen. So you have to balance Sept. II'.' age. ABC-7 had over 450.000 what you watch on television with households tuned in at any given the reality you know exists in your DW: I think we are very cognizant time, making it the highest-rated neighborhood or in the area you in terms of what we show on the station in New York for the day.