Comments on: Silence of the Rams: Fordham’s Free Speech Problem

By: Zoila

Zoila — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:11:29 +0000

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By: Melody

Melody — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 19:54:48 +0000

Joseph , the problem with Fordham is that we have students like you that cow tow to the administration and acquiesce along with their machinations on our dollar. Suggesting that others leave if they have problems with Myanmar type levels of authority is ludicrous ! I see your attitude as blending in with the problem and suggest maybe you try Oral Roberts University or a military academy given the “leave” comment. There are those that came to attend without really caring about Jesuitness. In my opinion Fordham needs outed as a fraudulent college masquerading as a university-when in reality it is a small liberal arts religious college, one where it overly promotes all forms of Jesuit greatness while hiding budgets and financial mismanagement. The Jesuits are narcissistic and the administration ill transparent as to both reality and student concerns. We pay the freight and if students want to politely voice their concerns so be it and without intimidation. SAGES is simply the tip of the ice berg. There is a universal culture of intimidation, lying and misrepresentation at Fordham, shooting the messenger is standard practice. I respect your say but let other paying students voice theirs, without our dollar Jeff Gray etc would not be here. I respect a catholic institution but it cannot impose moral authority outside of the constitution. It is also an ok school that is falling back in the rankings. In my view campus security also over uses it’s relationship with the Bronx NYPD further intimidating students.

By: Canton Winer

Canton Winer — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 02:58:40 +0000

You’re correct, Joseph, that Fordham’s repressive atmosphere affects students across the political spectrum. And I think I’m pretty upfront in my views regarding SAGES, regardless of your intent to suggest otherwise. This is, after all, an opinion article.

I am troubled by your assertion that choosing to join an institution means that you cede your right to push that institution to change. Following your logic, even U.S. elections would be irrelevant because no lawmaker (conservative or liberal) should ever criticize—or try to change—anything about the institution he/she is trying to join.

I “profoundly criticize” Fordham because I love Fordham. Yes, the school has it’s flaws, and I’m proud to say that I love Fordham enough to criticize it and encourage it to change.

By: Joseph Collini FCRH '16

Joseph Collini FCRH '16 — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 19:42:29 +0000

The reason for needing a permit for demonstrations is not done to prevent them from taking place but to ensure that they are done safely. Moreover, I can definitely make the case that a college campus, full of young adults whose families trust that they will be kept safe, needs “different” demonstration and free speech policies than those of New York City sidewalks. This article takes an extreme bias towards SAGES in terms of discussing free speech at Fordham. What happened when the College Republicans chose Ann Coulter to speak here? What happens when Resident Directors document students for having decorative shot glasses or beer boxes taped to the walls? In the end, this school doesn’t let its students do a lot of things that aren’t illegal in the city of New York. However, we’re all paying to come here and we all chose this place because, whether you want to admit it or not, you are willing to accept these rules that you disagree with in order to attend a great school that you chose over all the others for whatever reasons you had. Let’s be honest, the best way to hurt this University you so profoundly criticize is to go somewhere else and stop paying those very large tuition checks. If Fordham is such a corrupt and overbearing institution you are free to leave at any time.

By: Marc D'Ambrosio FCRH '77

Marc D'Ambrosio FCRH '77 — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 18:41:55 +0000

It seems that the Rose Hill campus could use a chapter of the ACLU. A contemporary of mine wondered why a university with one of the country’s top law schools did not have such an organization on campus.

By: Michael Garcia

Michael Garcia — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 04:26:03 +0000

Fordham really has a free speech problem that has bled its way into the student body. I remember a fear years back, students essentially forced the students to cancel their invitation to Ann Coulter. The administration who has silenced their opponents created a student body who does the same.

By: Margaret Thokar

Margaret Thokar — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 15:27:31 +0000

One of the problems with changing an entrenched culture such as the one at Fordham is the fact that students are there for a short and swift period of 8 semesters. Those time periods are too limited to effect lasting change, especially when the university understands it need only intimidate and wait-out that generation of dissidents. Another is the prohibitive cost of university education; too much is on the line financially for most students to risk. Third, all entering Fordham understand to some extent that it is a Catholic institution and therefore will reflect the conflict the Church experiences as an autocratic institution within a democratic culture. If change is to be effected, a brutal spotlight must be cast on all issues of freedom denied by the press. The press is the only profession granted recognition in the Constitution precisely because of its necessary role in defending our rights.