Published: March 12, 2009

Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) is suffering from an identity crisis. From controversial performances of “The Vagina Monologues” to flyers that urge students to “Choose Life,” FCLC students have varied and sometimes contradictory beliefs. Despite our differences, however, most of us joined together for a single televised cause—Bono.

Before the sun rose on a chilly, cloudy day last week, America met Fordham University through some mutual friends: a popular morning show and a legendary rock band. But what did America see?

The view was rather limited. Anyone looking for a real peek at Fordham had only a few minutes with the gothic main campus, that big rock band and a huge cheering crowd of college students.

Still, the nation saw a Catholic university in the heart of New York City. But what does that mean?

Fordham’s Manhattan home, FCLC, hosts a liberal student body, yet it is steeped in the Jesuit educational tradition. We learn theology, philosophy, history, literature and sciences before even starting a concentration, and all within a framework that emphasizes the importance of service.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

As Casey Feldman found in her article “How Strong Is Fordham’s Catholic Identity?,” some students do not see the University’s Jesuit affiliation in anything beyond theology classes. In the Feb. 12 issue of the Observer, Ashley Tedesco’s article “‘Choose Life’ Posters at Fordham Spark Debate and Controversy,” reported that some students were offended by Campus Ministry’s posters that urged students to “Choose Life,” while others saw the posters as a natural expression of the school’s religious affiliation. There may be conflict here, but by attending Fordham, we agree to participate in a religious discussion and receive an education founded in a distinct religious tradition.

Our reputation may be confusing, but we, as students, are anything but perplexed. We are making ourselves people for others in our own special ways. Taking the Jesuit tradition of academia, we are learning to apply our expensive educations in ways that uniquely define us while still upholding the mission of Fordham University.

To those Americans that looked beyond the cheering crowds that cloudy morning, we might have appeared to be quite the puzzle. So who are we?

The school is Jesuit and conservative.

The students are liberal. Many are homosexual.

The city is New York, complex and alive and, for many, sinful and hedonistic.

What should we be?

Ourselves. Just be ourselves. We should do what we love and follow our passions.

The rest will work itself out.