Look out for Jack “Blue” Donaton racing around the Rose Hill campus on his rollerblades. Jack Brennan/The Fordham Ram.
By Tyler Dikun
What were the first words out of Jack Donaton’s mouth during our interview? “Call me Blue.”
The name and color are in more ways than one, a perfect description of Blue. This Scarsdale, NY native stands out as a vibrant, unique individual. Blue’s hair is a bright pink, the tails he wears span from black to blonde and the purple goggles around his neck are a reminder of how fast he likes to go. Why so fast you may ask? This Ram doesn’t walk to class, he rollerblades.
“I became interested in rollerblading after watching the Japanese anime, Air Gear,” Blue said. “It also takes less effort to rollerblade than to walk.”
It makes sense, I may try my hand at it as I can never seem to master getting to an 8:30 a.m. class on time.
For Blue, Fordham University was not actually his original choice of school. “I am originally from Chicago and had initially preferred to study in the Midwest, but my parents preferred that I stay closer to home,” he said.
At Fordham, Blue has been able to take advantage of the many clubs that Fordham has to offer. When he is not writing for The Paper, Blue can be seen finding his inner chakra at the Meditation Club or sitting in on a meeting of the Women’s Empowerment Club.
A frequent patron of the Astor Place shops in Manhattan, Blue enjoys rummaging through his favorite comic book shop for that next hero versus hero comic or trying his hand at arcade games. While his favorite movie, Airplane, is a pretty obvious choice for even the less adventurous movie goer, his favorite band left me with more questions than answers.
“I’m big into the band Lady Baby right now,” he told me. Lady Baby? “The whole thing centers around an Australian wrestler’s alter ego, Lady Beard who plays off the soft tone of two female Japanese singers by performing death metal,” he explained.
Blue found his real passion in life, the environment, through the hilarious cartoon you might recognize as “Rocco’s Modern Life.” “One of the episodes involved the depletion of the ozone layer, he said. “This freaked me out as I realized the reality of the situation. I needed to strike back.” As an environmental science major, Blue can go on for hours about the problems facing our planet that inexorably affect future generations.
On the topic of overpopulation, he laid down the problems the Earth will face if we continue to deplete our most precious resources. He ended our meeting on one final note:“We need to think about the future generations — what will be left for them?”
After graduating from Fordham in 2018, Blue foresees himself earning his doctorate degree and fighting back against the growing dilemmas our planet faces. He hopes to one day become a public figure in the fight for the protection of the environment.
For right now, Jack “Blue” Donaton continues to glide seamlessly down the walkways of Fordham, weaving in out of his fellow peers. He is likely listening to Japanese Pop music that is a little bizarre but slowly growing on me (emphasis on slowly), and rocking his style on campus as only he can.
If the Ram statue outside Hughes Hall could talk, I think he would look back at Blue as he rode by on those rollerblades and shout, “you’re my boy, Blue!” he would look back at Blue as he rode by on those rollerblades and shout, “you’re my boy, Blue.”
