A group of seven Fordham grads who have been friends for decades recently made a splash on TikTok for their wholesome spin on a popular trend.
The “pass the phone” challenge—a trend in which members of a group quip about the next person to appear on camera unbeknownst to them—is normally an occasion for light ribbing among friends. Instead, the Fordham grads, all members of the Class of 1983, used the occasion to speak earnestly of their love and support of one another throughout the years.
“We cannot believe how much attention this video received,” said Cara Rothenberg, who filmed the video and posted it on her TikTok account. “My sister and I spent our lives surrounded by this version of positive masculinity and we are better for it. The Fordham boys, and their wives and children, are all family to us.”
The TikTok has amassed more than 650,000 views and generated more than 150,000 comments so far.
“I’m stunned,” said her father, John Rothenberg. “When we heard the number of views, we said, ‘Is that us? Is it because we keep clicking on it?’’’
The friends met when they were all placed in the same residence hall in the fall of their first year at Fordham. Irv Gonzalez, who had just arrived from Florida, counts sharing the first college meal with those new friends as one of the great blessings of his life.
“It’s more than friendship—I was an only child until August of 1979,” he said. “We’ve been there for all the great stuff in each others’ lives. We’ve seen our kids get married. Who would have thought?”
