en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_and_education_of_Donald_Trump
3 corrections found
He did not participate in extracurricular activities after his freshman year.
This is incorrect. Official and school sources say Trump was active in extracurriculars during his sophomore year at Fordham, including tennis, and remained in ROTC into sophomore year before quitting.
Full reasoning
The sentence says Trump stopped extracurriculars after freshman year, but multiple sources place him in extracurricular activities during sophomore year at Fordham:
- The NCAA says Trump "spent the first two years of his college career at Fordham" and that he "joined the tennis team in the spring of his sophomore year."
- The Fordham Ram reports Trump was on the squash team as a freshman and that he quit ROTC during his sophomore year, which also means his extracurricular participation extended beyond freshman year.
So the claim is too absolute: even if his extracurricular involvement was limited, it did not end after freshman year.
2 sources
- From the field to the Oval Office - NCAA.org
President Donald Trump spent the first two years of his college career at Fordham, where he played tennis and squash. Primarily a squash player, he joined the tennis team in the spring of his sophomore year.
- “A bit of a loner,” Former Classmates Remember Donald Trump in the Bronx - The Fordham Ram
Trump was on the squash team during his freshman year... Malnati said Trump enjoyed ROTC at Fordham during his freshman year but quit during his sophomore year.
Early in his sophomore year, seeking a larger business network, Trump transferred to the Wharton School
The timing here is wrong. Trump spent two full years at Fordham and transferred to Penn afterward, entering Wharton later rather than early in his sophomore year.
Full reasoning
This claim places Trump's transfer to Wharton early in his sophomore year, but the available school and athletics sources say he remained at Fordham for two full academic years and transferred only afterward.
- The NCAA says Trump "spent the first two years of his college career at Fordham" and only after two seasons of squash and one season of tennis "would transfer to Penn."
- The Fordham Ram likewise states that Trump attended Fordham for his first two years of college before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.
That means he did not transfer early in sophomore year. At most, sources say he was planning or seeking a transfer during sophomore year; the actual transfer happened later.
2 sources
- From the field to the Oval Office - NCAA.org
President Donald Trump spent the first two years of his college career at Fordham... After two seasons of squash and one playing tennis, Trump would transfer to Penn to finish his degree in economics.
- University Confirms: Cohen Threatened Legal Action Should Trump’s Records Be Released - The Fordham Ram
President Trump attended Fordham for his first two years of college before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania to finish his degree.
the school's Division III football club
This description is anachronistic. Fordham’s football team in 1964 was a student-run club team; Fordham did not return to varsity/NCAA football until 1970, and Division III came later.
Full reasoning
Fordham's own history shows that its football program was not Division III during Trump's years there.
- Fordham Now says students won approval to restart football in September 1964, and that the team that played that fall was a "newly formed club football team."
- Fordham Athletics likewise says that when the administration rejected bringing back varsity football, students created a club team that was "student coached, student funded and student run."
So describing the mid-1960s team as a "Division III football club" mixes together two different eras: the team was a club team in 1964, while Fordham returned to varsity football later and only reached the Division III level afterward.
2 sources
- As Reunion Approaches, John Connolly Recalls 'Brilliant' Fordham Faculty and That Time When Students Brought Football Back to Campus - Fordham Now
In September 1964 [the students] helped win the University leadership’s approval to restart the sport... On November 7, 1964, Fordham’s newly formed club football team beat New York University, 20-14.
- 1964 Team and Bill Burke Honored at Annual Fordham Gridiron Club Dinner - Fordham University Athletics
When the idea of bringing back varsity football was turned down by the administration, the group decided to bring football back as a club team, a team that would be student coached, student funded and student run.