TYLER STOVALL
Revolution of One
The Nation 12-11-21
Tyler Stovall was a professor of history and the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. His most recent book is White Freedom: the Racial History of an Idea. He died last week, on Friday, December 10, at the age of 67. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

ARNALDO CRUZ-MALAVE
Many Latinos say ‘Latinx’ offends or bothers them. Here’s why.
NBC News 12-14-21
Latinx proponent Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, a professor at Fordham University, says the use of Latinx “has only picked up momentum with the struggles for queer and trans rights in the past decade both in Latin America and the U.S.”

Denzel Washington Isn’t Afraid To Say “Macbeth” Out Loud In A Theater
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 12-15-21
“… And starting years ago, when you were in college at Fordham.. [Colbert shows Denzel a photo of him in a Fordham Theatre play] there’s your first production in college, right?”

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Pilot program offers free access to the internet in Yonkers
News 12 Westchester 12-14-2021
The Westchester County Association [along with partners organizations and institutions, such as Fordham University]is spearheading this pilot project, with a $450,000 grant from a nonprofit called U.S. Ignite.

Spikes in COVID cases among young people hit some hospitals, schools hard
CNY Central 12-15-21
Fordham University has just announced that all faculty, staff and students will now be required to get a booster shot before returning to campus in the spring. More than 20 colleges now require them.

A Trove of Artifacts Officials Call ‘Stolen’ Are Returned to Italy
The New York Times 12-15-21
The Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art at Fordham University surrendered roughly a hundred items, including this hydria, or water jar, depicting the deeds of Hercules.

SCHOOL OF LAW FACULTY

BENNETT CAPERS
The inequality, frustration, suffering and work that led to 2020’s protests
The Washington Post 12-10-21
Bennett Capers is a professor of law at Fordham Law School and the director of the Center on Race, Law and Justice. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Prosecutor’s Turn.”

ZEPHYR TEACHOUT
Zephyr Teachout exits race for New York attorney general
AP News 12-12-21
Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout has officially dropped out of the race to be New York’s attorney general, days after incumbent Letitia James decided to seek reelection.

ZEPHYR TEACHOUT
Look Out, Big Tech, We’re Coming for You
New Republic 12-10-21
Zephyr Teachout is a professor at Fordham University School of Law, and the author of Corruption in America (2014) and Break ‘Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom From Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money (2020).

KAREN GREENBERG
Here’s How We End America’s Forever Wars
The Nation 12-13-21
Karen J. Greenberg is director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School. She is the author of The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First 100 Days, Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State, and most recently, Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump.

LAWRENCE BRENNAN
Navy hearing will decide if a sailor should face court martial for ship fire
NPR 12-13-21
Lawrence Brennan is a former naval officer and a law professor at Fordham University.
“If the accused is truly guilty of igniting a fire that caused damage and intended to do it, that’s a crime. But is the captain, the executive officer, the command duty officer – are they culpable in a criminal sense?”

GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FACULTY

KEVIN MIRABILE
Inside Alts, an Email Community Dedicated to the Fascinating World of Alternative Assets
Money.com 12-10-21
“Millennials think about investments that are more aligned with lifestyle,” Mirabile says. “That has put a lot of these asset classes on the map.”

ARTS & SCIENCES FACULTY

ARNALDO CRUZ-MALAVE
New ‘West Side Story’ by Steven Spielberg lessens racism in the original, but not enough
NBC News 12-11-21
“No Puerto Rican of a certain age can watch it without cringing,” says Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, a Puerto Rican professor of Latin American and Latinx Studies at Fordham University.

CHRISTIANA ZENNER
EarthBeat Weekly: ‘Pursuit of climate justice is inextricable from the pursuit of racial justice’
Earthbeat Weekly 12-10-21
In matters of environmental and climate justice, words matter, as biologist and ethicist Christiana Zenner of Fordham University said in a presentation about humanitarian action and climate change in October at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

TYLER STOVALL
Revolution of One
The Nation 12-11-21
Tyler Stovall was a professor of history and the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. His most recent book is White Freedom: the Racial History of an Idea. He died last week, on Friday, December 10, at the age of 67. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

ARNALDO CRUZ-MALAVE
Many Latinos say ‘Latinx’ offends or bothers them. Here’s why.
NBC News 12-14-21
Latinx proponent Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, a professor at Fordham University, says the use of Latinx “has only picked up momentum with the struggles for queer and trans rights in the past decade both in Latin America and the U.S.”

ATHLETICS

Kevin Decker discusses installing Josh Heupel’s offense at Fordham
USA Today 12-10-21
Kevin Decker has served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Fordham since 2019.

Coach Gregg Popovich took over the Spurs in a controversial move 25 years ago
MySanAntonio.com 12-10-21
As for Bob Hill, he went on to coach at Fordham University before reentering the league to coach the Seattle Supersonics in 2006. He was most-recently the Phoenix Suns assistant coach in 2016.

STUDENTS

From schools to sports, a new wave of COVID-19 disrupts U.S. life
Reuters 12-16-21
Chris Johnson, a sophomore at Fordham University, said he would wait as long as it takes. “I gotta get a test to take my final tomorrow,” he said.

ALUMNI

From Litigation to Salivation: Long Time New York Attorney Publishes Cookbook Featuring Over 70 Original Recipes
Fox 40 12-10-21
She [Danielle Caminiti] is a seasoned legal professional who graduated from Fordham University School of Law and New York University undergraduate, both with honors.

Here’s What a Lot of College Grads Don’t Know About Their First Job Offer
CNBC 12-11-21
Mattathia Komla, a current MBA candidate at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business, said after she got her undergraduate degree, she was just happy to get a job. “I didn’t even know what a typical starting salary would be,” Komla said. “I was naïve to the fact that I could negotiate my salary.”

10 Dividend Stock Picks of Billionaire Mario Gabelli
Insider Monkey 12-12-21
Billionaire Mario Joseph Gabelli graduated from Fordham University’s College of Business Administration in 1965 with a summa cum laude. He founded GAMCO Investors, formerly known as Gabelli Asset Management Company, an investment hedge fund based in Rye, New York.

Ocean Power Technologies Appoints Robert Powers As New CFO
The Street 12-13-21
He [Robert P. Powers] received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree from Fordham University and an MBA in Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and he is a Certified Public Accountant.

tarte cosmetics appoints General Counsel
PR Newswire 12-13-21
A graduate of Fordham University School of Law, Iuliano specializes in corporate transactional work and has more than 20 years of experience working at Stone Point Capital, SG Cowen and Dewey Ballantine.

Summer House: Everything To Know About New Castmate Alex Wach
ScreenRant.com 12-11-21
He [Alex Wach] graduated from Fordham University with a degree in economics and mathematics.

Seaman Dankner and the African-American Role in the WWII Coast Guard
The Maritime Executive 12-12-21
One only needs to remember Petty Officer 3rd Class Olivia Hooker, a yeoman and later professor at Fordham University.

Posse Foundation Welcomes New Director to Lead New York Chapter
PR.com 12-13-21
Michell [Tollinchi] received a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from the State University of New York at Albany, a Master’s of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and she attended Fordham University where she obtained her Ph.D. in Social Services.

Forthcoming book is a thrilling exploration of policing sex workers in Johannesburg
Human Rights 12-14-21
[India] Thusi earned a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in New York, and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology and Law & Society from University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Edwards bests D’Ambrosio in special state Senate primary, earns 95% of Cambridge vote
WickedLocal.com 12-14-21
[Lydia] Edwards graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and legal policy, American University Washington College of Law with a juris doctorate and the Boston University of Law with a masters of law in taxation.

Skanska Promotes Clark and Doherty to Vice President, Field Operations
ACPpubs.com 12-14-21
She also holds an executive Master of Business Administration in transitional management from Fordham University.

Maple Gold Adds a Second Drill Rig at Douay, Prepares for Phase I Drilling at Eagle, and Announces Board Changes
DMNnews.com 12-14-21
Ms. [Michelle] Roth earned her MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

Matt Lewis returns for third season with Kansas City Comets
The Examiner 12-14-21
Lewis was a three-time Atlantic 10 all-conference selection for Fordham University, where he set program records for starts and appearances.

Denzel Washington’s Next Act Isn’t an Act
Relevant Magazine 12-14-21
He cut his teeth in the title role of Othello while at Fordham University and attended graduate school at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

Information Regarding the Sub-Adviser
StreetInsider 12-14-21
Owen [Fitzpatrick] earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and his MBA from Fordham University.

Italy’s Cesena FC Is Set To Be Acquired By American Private Equity Manager Robert Lewis
Forbes 12-14-21
A Georgetown University and Fordham University School of Law graduate, Lewis is fluent in Italian, which will come in handy during his meetings as a new Cesena FC board member.

Michelle Jubelirer Named First Female CEO in 80-Year History of Capitol Music Group
EDM.com 12-15-21
She graduated from Fordham University School of Law with her Juris Doctorate in 1999, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Gov. Mills nominates attorney from Yarmouth as next public advocate
Sun Journal 12-15-21
Harwood, a graduate of Harvard University and Fordham University, lives in Yarmouth with his wife, Ellen, and has five grown children.

OUI the People: A black-woman-owned beauty brand that prioritizes black women
The Grio 12-15-21
“Each OUI The People razor is a modern version of a timeless tool, hand-crafted in Germany with a weighted handle and a special non-aggressive angle,” explained [Karen Young] the Fordham University graduate.

OBITUARIES

John J. O’Connor
Cape Cod Times 12-11-21
He grew up in Manhattan and graduated from Fordham University and went on to earn an MBA.

Brother Thomas P. Lydon C.F.X.
Legacy 12-12-21
Brother Thomas received his bachelor’s degree in 1957 from Catholic University and in 1966 received a master’s degree from Fordham University, both in biology.

James P. Dugan,1929-2021, Former Assemblyman, State Senator, Democratic New Jersey State Party Chair, and Influential Attorney
Insider NJ 12-11-21
Jim was the model of a Jesuit education with St. Peter’s Prep and Fordham Law School in his life. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri. Fordham recognized him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Annetta E. Ducato – Charleroi
The Mon Valley Independent 12-13-21
Annetta also spent one summer studying fashion design at Fordham University in New York City.

Jere Hayden Davis, obituary
Penobscot Bay 12-15-21
During this time, Jere also attended Fordham University and earned a Master of Science Degree from Long Island University.

The Ever Given was freed after six days, but Lawrence Brennan, a retired U.S. Navy Captain who served aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and now teaches admiralty and international maritime law at Fordham Law, said the snafu illustrates just how dependent we are on a system we often take for granted—one that has real vulnerabilities worth considering.

Listen below:

Full transcript below:

Lawrence Brennan: Look in your room, look in my room, look in the classroom, look everywhere, look in your closet. Everything that we buy today is most likely partially the result of global trade.

Patrick Verel: The other day, I did something absolutely unremarkable. Thinking about the warm summer months ahead, I shelled out $25 for a 10-foot long inflatable pool that had traveled some 7,000 miles to the store from its factory in China. I was able to do this thanks to a $20 trillion sector of the worldwide economy that became jarringly public on March 23rd when the Ever Given, a ship the length of the Empire State Building, ran aground in the Suez Canal, causing a traffic jam of epic proportions in one of the busiest shipping routes on the planet. The Ever Given was free after six days, but Lawrence Brennan, a retired US Navy Captain who served aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, and now teaches admiralty and international maritime law at Fordham Law, said the snafu illustrates just how dependent we are on a system we often take for granted, one that has real vulnerabilities worth considering. I’m Patrick Verel, and this is Fordham News.

So now the image of a seemingly tiny excavator trying to dig out the enormous bow of the Ever Given inspired some really clever memes on the internet. But in fact, there are some serious consequences to stacking 20,000 containers the size of tractor-trailers onto one boat. You said that this was an episode, that it was a little bit like the Hindenburg without the loss of life. Why that comparison?

LB Patrick, I’ve learned in 40 some years of doing this that somewhere between technology and liability, there’s an ascending risk. The larger the ship we build, the different types of propulsion we build, the more likely it is that there will be larger and less easy to handle casualties. So when we have a ship with 20,000 containers grounded and literally blocking all traffic north and south of the Suez Canal, that’s a billion or a trillion-dollar problem.

PV: The Hindenburg was a specific reference that you brought up in the sense of a shift in the way things might be done going forward.

LB: Absolutely. The Hindenburg is famous or notorious for the end of international air transportation, passenger transportation, until the end of World War II. At that time, people who were traveling between continents couldn’t just go to the airport and take an airplane. The ability of planes to fly that far wasn’t possible. The Germans built dirigibles before World War I, but they had one fatal flaw, as Hindenburg proved, hydrogen gas which was highly explosive. And that’s precisely what happened at the Naval Air Station Lakehurst in 1936 or 1937, when a fair number of the people on board were killed. Literally, the German international airline that ran Hindenburg ended transportation by dirigible.

PV: Do you think there might be a reckoning here for the idea, the wisdom of having ships this big plying these routes in areas where they could get stuck like this one did?

LB: Well, absolutely. This is like the trouble you have if a child who I should not have blamed, I should blame myself, stuck a large pencil in a narrow cup and it got wedged at top and bottom. And you put your fingers down and barely reach and you try to move it and neither side will move. You don’t want to break it in two. That’s the type of trouble the salvors had. And the fortuity here was that there was a proper full moon, a quarterly full moon that gave a magnificent tide and they were able to get the extra water off the ship to increase or decrease the draft a little and the tugs were there and they were able to move both ends off. But the people who run canals such as the Suez Canal particularly but also Panama Canal and others, need to consider what the limits of transportation are.

The length of this ship, Ever Given is limited by the statute or the regulation imposed by Suez Canal Authority. It has to be under 400 meters long. This ship was about a meter less than the maximum length. The international community also has to invest in assets to be able to respond when the fortuitous event or the intentional event occurs. You have to have assets, and we’ve seen that in the United States within the last two years with a car carrier that capsized in Brunswick, Georgia, and they’re still trying to cut up the ship and remove the wreck. And that was hundreds of millions of dollars of loss of cars and a ship.

PV: How important has the shipping industry become in our lives over the years?

LB: Look in your room, look in my room, look in the classroom, look everywhere, look in your closet. Everything that we buy today is most likely partially the result of global trade. There are very few things I can drive down to the Costco and say is a domestic product. If I want Qingdao beer, I’m having beer imported from a province in China. If I want Barry’s Tea, I’m having tea and ported from Ireland. If I want to be a fashionista like my older daughter who is a fashion lawyer, I need to buy things in Paris or London or wherever. And we’re talking about trillions of dollars of trade.

PV: It’s funny, I’m just thinking about the headlines that came out after that ship got stuck, and there was all this focus on the traffic jam. I remember reading that there were animals stuck on ships behind it, and there was some organization that was very concerned about whether or not they were all going to be fed or whether they would starve. And I remember just thinking, wait, what? Really? Even animals are traveling around through the Suez Canal on ships.

LB: Yeah. Animals travel, particularly to Muslim countries, because the lamb that are shipped are religiously acceptable. These are large ships with hundreds or thousands of lamb under deck and above deck. That’s how food travels. I’ve spent years becoming a quasi expert in the travel of soybean from the US Gulf Coast or Brazil to China and Japan. A shipload of soybean is $30 million depending on the exchange rate and the market rate, but that’s a common amount, and they can easily be damaged by delays in transit and by humidity or rain or improper ventilation. And pretty much things that we rely on for food, as well as clothing, as well as automobiles, petroleum, rocks, and things to manufacture, they all are imported today.

PV: Can you tell me a little bit about why the industry is still so important to New York City?

LB: New York has been, since the start of this nation and particularly during World War I and World War II, the major port of arrival and departure, both of US armies to Europe in 11917, 1918, and from 1941, the occupation of Iceland through the end of World War II in 1945. It was the manufacturing hub of heavy industry war material. Monitor, which won the Civil War at sea, was built in Brooklyn, but the economics of the port of New York, whether you’re importing oil for the industrial northeast, exporting grain, paper stuff, whatever you’re importing on a container ship, a bulk ship is important. But behind that is the economics of the international banking system, the international insurance system and the domestic insurance and banking system. Every piece of goods being shipped by sea is properly financed. It’s subject to a negotiable bill of lading and almost all are insured.

PV: I live in Brooklyn, and every summer my family goes over to Governor’s Island at least once, and I always get a kick out of looking back over towards Red Hook and seeing all those shipping containers. Do you know the connection between the shipping cranes and Star Wars?

LB: No.

PV: So the legend has it that if you watch, you know the movie Empire Strikes Back?

LB: Generally.

PV: George Lucas based the four-legged walkers on the cranes that he saw living in the Bay Area. So now every time I see a shipping crane, I think of Empire Strikes Back.

LB: They’re magnificent things. None of them are built in the United States. You have to see how they’re transported. They’re transported on really small, low ships as deck cargo. It’s the same type of ship that would lift a 10,000 ton US Navy destroyer.

PV: Talk to me about your classes. What’s unique about this sort of law and what do students typically use it for?

LB: It’s unique in that it is international law, and that I have to teach different US federal procedure jurisdiction in US federal courts and in state courts, and I have to teach some practices that are specifically maritime. I also teach evidence and procedure. Probably the best part of the class is that every year I learn more from my students than I teach them. They’re all different personalities with differing backgrounds. I get a few people who have been in the Navy, and I get some international students in the LLM program. We try to write a project at the end of the year. They have a choice. They can take an exam or they can write a final paper of 20 to 25 pages, and they can write any topic they can convince me is in some way attached to admiralty and international maritime law. And that’s not hard. If you can show me there’s some water linked to it and convince me, I am happy to do that.

I’ve had a fair number of students whose articles have been published, particularly in Fordham International Law Journal, and those who are cited. And I have a number of students who have gone on to practice admiralty, either part or full time.

PV: What was one of the most interesting papers one of your students wrote?

LB: A couple of piracy papers were excellent. There’s a recurring interest today in piracy because it’s the anniversary of the freeing of the officers on Maersk, Alabama that was seized and it became a famous movie. So, piracy cases are interesting. They present tremendous risk. In a sense, more difficult to predict than what we see with Marine casualties. You can go to the actuaries and you’ll see the statistics, and there will be a finite number in a range every year of fires on ships, of collisions, of strandings. Technology should reduce those, but when you get something like Ever Given, where it’s just off the charts and beyond what the insurers have prepared for, and the amount at risk is so large, that’s the game-changer.