By Amanda Giglio

“What does The Fordham Ram mean to me?” As my last semester on staff comes to a close, I feel like this question has continually come up in conversation. Everyone expects this heartfelt story of how The Fordham Ram changed my life and has been the best and only experience I’ve had at Fordham in the past almost four years, but that’s not the right way to put it. If anything, The Fordham Ram showed me just how dedicated people can be to a cause.

I started as a copy editor my first semester freshman year and had the weirdest experience. There was pizza, a bunch of upperclassmen who looked like they had their lives completely figured out and a lot of conversation that went way over my head. I was lucky enough to have found an awesome buddy for those strange Tuesday nights in Amanda Maile. Yes, we made it this far together, and I give us all the props.

By the time December rolled around, I knew that this quirky, music-bumping environment was something I wanted in on so I applied for Assistant Culture Editor (back then the Arts and Entertainment section) and surprisingly got the position. This could be the start of my Ram story, but it was still just a stepping stone. I was thrown into a position with little experience alongside an editor who was in the same boat as I was, so it was a rocky start, but we managed to put together an interesting and fun Culture Section each week, even bonding in the meantime. It was during this first year on the Volume 96 staff that I realized The Fordham Ram was something of a phenomenon on campus.

The Fordham Ram runs every week, with a budget meeting on Sundays, layout and editing on Mondays and finally publication night on Tuesdays, where all the editors are in the office from 5 p.m. until anywhere around midnight to five in the morning.

This is on top of reaching out to writers, writing our own articles for different sections, coming up with an editorial, sending out story ideas each week and then lugging huge stacks of the paper around campus on Wednesdays for distribution. It may seem like some insider business that goes on, as most people on campus just see the finished project mid-week, but these are real hours that full-time students are devoting to this newspaper without being paid or getting credit. That’s insane!

After being a part of this craziness for a year, I somehow found it in myself to tackle it again as Culture Editor for Volume 97 and I was still astonished at the time and effort each and every one of us put in each week, but it wasn’t all work and no play. We blast music and sing along to horrible throwbacks while discussing articles and sharing opinions on the most random events and ideas. We eat pizza and random crap from Best at 1 a.m., while yelling over each other about which is the best movie (my vote is still that everyone should watch One Day; you have to cry at least once watching it).

We share our worries and aspirations with each other, while roasting one another until someone dissolves into laughter. Yes, my Tuesday nights weren’t filled with Beer Hall Karaoke or much sleep, but they were in a room full of people from different, and sometimes conflicting, backgrounds and interests that came together each week.

I spend a majority of my week with people I don’t necessarily choose to be with, but still look forward to seeing them and hearing about their lives each Tuesday. Volume 97 brought me more experience than I could have asked for, as well as friends that I know I will keep in touch with and people that have taught me so much (I am looking at you, Sydney Keen, Cailin McKenna and Joe Vitale).

Having had all of that, it only made sense to stick with it for Volume 98. While it was a rough transition for us all, I think we were able to pull through with few casualties. I’ve been Editorial Director for the past year, holding a position on the e-board and spearheading the editorial for the newspaper.
I forewent going abroad to stay another year on The Fordham Ram staff. That was a huge decision for me that at times I regret, but I am also glad that I have had the extra experience with the newspaper.

This year has been one of learning and adapting that has been invaluable for me. I would not have been able to get through this volume without our reckless, yet practical Copy Chief and my good friend, Tara Martinelli, and the rest of the amazing copy editing team.

This volume has seen many changes, some more obvious than others, but ultimately has shown me that even when the going gets tough The Fordham Ram staff, regardless of its changes, always pulls together and prints out the best journalistic newspaper Fordham has to offer (yes, I know I’m biased).

So, what does The Fordham Ram mean to me? It means a group of talented and hardworking students who devote way too much of our time and social lives to print a newspaper.

It means printing hard-hitting news pieces, sensational op-eds, fun culture features and sporty sports. It means reaching their to administration in futile attempts over and over to get that one quote that will make or break an article.

It means being forgotten by most of the Fordham community and getting little to no recognition for how much we put in, yet still coming to work every week and trying our best. It means dragging yourself down to B-52 every Tuesday night just to crawl out of bed Wednesday morning for class or internships.

It means creating relationships and memories during my time at Fordham. It means making a physical printed newspaper that I am always so proud of, even if my friends hardly ever pick up a copy. The Fordham Ram means a lot to me, and I hope that it continues to prosper and becomes a part of other students’ Fordham life too.