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“I Miss You” — The Case for Long Distance Relationships . . . PAGE 10

How to Report a Title IX Violation at the New School . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 6 - 7

December 2018

ISSUE 2

A student-run newspaper since 2007

MOVED BY MOLD, LEFT IN THE COLD Some former 13th Street residents unsure where they’ll be living next month by JULIA METRAUX

students feeling more confusion than clarity. On Oct. 15, former 13th Street residents found out that they would be moving again, and that their former home, which housed mainly first-years, would remain closed for the rest of the academic year. The residents who moved off-campus to Educational Student Housing (EHS) 97th, the Markle and a residence at Marymount Manhattan were given the option of moving back on-campus or being released from their contract. Some students who chose to move back on-campus from temporary housing will not know where they will live until

TURKISH SCHOLAR IN EXILE ARRIVES AT THE NEW SCHOOL by EMMA TUCKER In January 2016, Cem Özatalay was one of the 1,128 Turkish scholars to sign a petition urging the Turkish government to end what they called acts of violence against Kurdish people. “When I read the petition, I signed it without hesitation,” said Özatalay. “But to be honest, when I signed, I didn’t believe for even a moment that this petition would have a consequence because I had doubts about the political utility of petitions. Now I understand that I was mistaken.” The consequence: Özatalay was blacklisted in Turkey the following year, excluding him from all academic activities except teaching. He now faces 15 months in prison, and will find out his fate next month when a Turkish judge will decide if he is guilty of “spreading terrorist propaganda,” according to BBC’s

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“Unions work” — Success for Student Workers by JERVEY INGLESBY

First-year Lang student Ava Richards pets Lil’ Boy, a cat they adopted after being relocated to the Alabama Apartments, a gender-neutral housing option for displaced 13th St. residents. Photo by Orlando Mendiola

161 students were scattered across the city after mold was discovered at the 12th Street Residence Hall, which housed mostly first-years. Students said the New School hasn’t given them consistent information moving forward. “I’m very frustrated about the lack of communication for next semester,” said Rebecca Darcy, a first-year at Lang. “At our current residence, the Markle, we were not informed that the lease was only until January 14.” Administrators have given students changing information about who to contact regarding refunds, meal plans and their room assignments for the spring semester. This has led to

YouTubers Go to School, Too: Ella Snyder @ Parsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 8

reporting on four of the Turkish signatories who have been put on trial. Özatalay, a sociology professor at Galatasaray University in Istanbul, is the first visiting scholar to come to the New School as part of a revival of the University in Exile. The original University in Exile was established at the New School for Social Research in 1933 by the university’s first president, Alvin Johnson, as a response to the growing threat of Nazism in Europe. The New School brought more than 180 Jewish academics and their families to safety in the United States, many of whom became integral to the New School community, such as German political theorist Hannah Arendt CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Dec. 17. Students who moved to the Alabama, a student residence in Greenwich Village, the 92Y, EHS in Brooklyn, or another campus dorm can stay through spring term. In addition, all 13th Street Residence Hall students are eligible to be released from their housing contract and seek housing outside the university system. While the New School had initially stated that 13th Street would re-open in January 2019, the university changed their decision at the recommendation of TRC Environmental Corporation’s (TRC), the company hired CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

The academic student workers union at the New School secured an increase in wages, signing bonuses and discounts in a new contract with the university on Dec. 3. This contract came after more than 64 sessions of negotiation between the two groups’ bargaining committees, and will be valid until Aug. 31, 2023. This agreement comes after protests and a labor strike at the end of the Spring 2018 semester. SENS-UAW planned to strike on Nov. 26 if an agreement had not been made with the university. “Cancellations were happening [on Nov. 30].” said Michael Dobson, a fifth-year PhD student in global politics at NSSR and a member of the bargaining committee. “We had faculty on the picket line.” SENS-UAW released a statement on the contract before it was approved on their Facebook page on Nov. 20, saying, “This is a major victory: the administration increased their total offer significantly from their previous positions.” Members of the bargaining committee, who have been negotiating with administrators since Sept. 20, 2017, said they are happy with the contract. The new contract includes protections against safety issues in work spaces. “You can’t be put in a position where you have certain things that you have to do that

are not listed in your contract. If there’s a safety concern in your job place you can actually reach out to HR and the administration will address it and you will not be forced to stay in your workstation.” said Cagla Orpen, a fifth-year PhD sociology student at NSSR, and a member of the bargaining committee. “Another thing were all really proud of is our workplace protections against discrimination and harassment. We now have a way that workers can report these sorts of incidents up to a year after they occurred which is much longer than Title IX offers,” Orpen said. Students at the SENS-UAW’s contract information session on Thursday, Nov. 29, said that clear guidelines of their responsibilities was one of the wins in this contract. Previously, many workers weren’t provided with descriptions in previous positions, members of the bargaining committee said. “We actually know what our jobs are now, because we will have accurate job descriptions and mandated hours that we work.” said Zoe Carey, fifthyear PhD student in psychology at NSSR, and another member of the bargaining committee. Specifics of the contract include “wage increases starting in Spring 2019 that will bring hourly rates to $40.80 for TFs, $30.60 for TAs, $20.40 for RAs, $19.38 for tutors, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Why is Christina Aguilera in the Equipment Center? by KURT BURGER Dressed in a black and white striped dress and an orange fire warden vest, Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera stands in all her two-dimensional glory behind the confines of the New School’s Equipment Center. “She’s a legend,” said Karen Sepulveda, a senior at the New School of Media Studies. Despite being an employee of the Equipment Center, Sepulveda has never heard the full story of Christina’s origin. But Bruce Bickley, lab supervisor at the Equipment Center, will always tell the story of finding Christina if someone asks. At the end of a semester six years ago, when things were being thrown away in a lockersurrounded area, Aguilera, sometimes referred to as Xtina, was spotted “chilling in a classroom” by Bickley on the ninth floor of Arnold Hall. Bickley saved Christina from a lonely classroom and thought it would be funny to drag her

Photo by Orlando Mendiola

into the Equipment Center. “I guess no one wanted her,” he said. Who once was discarded as trash, Xtina now represents the EQC’s profile picture on email. A former manager had

been stationed at the Equipment Center shorter than XTina, and was fascinated by her. He decided she should be the face of the production equipment hub, Bickley said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

MASTHEAD Editor-in-Chief Ryanne Salzano Creative Director Sarah McNutt Deputy Creative Director Candice Wood Arts & Culture Editor Sammi Fisher Opinions Editor Shayna Seid Deputy News Editor Emma Tucker Graphics Editors Olivia Heller Rowen Griffith Photo Editor Orlando Mendiola Social Media Manager KC Badala Designer Alyssa Achacoso Reporters Bryan Bedolla Kurt Burger Nicole Collazo Santana Jessica Davies Tuongvi Diep Jake Drabinski Andrew Giacco Jacquelyn Greenfield Joseph Gobran Trishana Hardjono Katherine Huggins Jervey Inglesby Lundon Lafci Valerie Laxague Kedoo Lightbody Marissa Matozzo Julia Metraux Molly Mintz Gus Perry Celina Rios Radhiya Sabnani Georgia Sebesky Julia Seng-Sourinho Hannah Tacke David Willner Faculty Advisors Irwin Chen Kevin Dugan Allison Lichter Joseph

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The New School Free Press is a student-run class where we try to sift through the complexities of life at The New School, and give clarity — and sometime comic relief — to the daily juggle here. See, for example, the story in this issue about the specter of Christina Aguilera. We also dig into some serious issues. Jacquelyn Greenfield’s personal essay about restoring voting rights to felons in Florida is an important perspective on the power of voting. We also turned over our center spread to print Molly Mintz’ piece on how to report a Title IX violation at the New School. The story also lives online. These processes to report should be simple and easy. Someone who has been hurt should know the clearest path of reporting how they’ve been hurt, if that’s their decision.

We know that they’re not easy. I think we could poster this story around campus and it wouldn’t be too much. As editor-in-chief, I try to think about how the Free Press can best serve this community I want this newspaper to inform the community on the issues that affect it. A piece like Molly’s is necessary for this campus, for this moment in time. It’s a hard time to live in. The Kavanaugh hearing and confirmation made me, and so many people, feel especially powerless. I’ve often been sent into a dark tailspin reading the latest account of a man using his power and the systems that enable him to take advantage of people. It feels as though these abuses are inescapable. It’s been a rough time. I’ve been working through some personal trauma this year. This year would have

been easier if I took the time to take care of myself. It was especially hard to bear amid the accounts of sexual assault that dominated much of the news cycle. Some medical professionals said that this coverage is causing secondary trauma. These responses are common when sexual assault is in the news, said Nancy Glass, associate director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health. “When people hear others telling their stories, it can ‘trigger’ them, it can bring back memories of their own experiences, even if it’s from a long time ago,” Glass told the Washington Post. Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OB-GYN and fellow with the Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Forbes that the secondary trauma caused by the coverage of Kavanaugh hearings caused many survi-

vors of sexual assault is real, with real psychological and physical health effects. I’ve been working to practice better mindfulness recently. I’ve committed to taking more time to take care of myself. We have to take care of ourselves before we can help others, before we can do anything else. We hope you take this issue into your break with you, and that this break gives you time to take care. Take some time off. Enjoy it. We’ll be back in the spring.

— RYANNE SALZANO, editor-in-chief If you’re a victim of sexual assault and need assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800)799-7233 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800)656-4673.

Take a Holiday from the Neighborhood by RYANNE SALZANO 1 2

4 5

8 9 10

ACROSS 5. Something to do in Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center or Central 6. Park, now that it’s cold enough An important layer, or how you eat your food when you get out 7. of a three-hour class 8. Where TNS is located, or what it takes to raise a child 10. A UC cafeteria mainstay, for meat-eaters 11. Where the closest holiday market is located 12. LES spot for pastrami, if you’ll have what she had Landmark bookstore, only a couple blocks away

1. 2. 3. 4. 9.

DOWN The classic street to go shopping on The only college with name recognition at TNS One way to get a fire going The reason why everyone is coupling up in this cold weather The most famous snowman, or something you might pick up from Wendy’s

EDITORIAL

December 2018

EXCLUSIVE: THE DETAILS OF SANCTIONS ON ANDREW ARATO by MOLLY MINTZ Barred from entering his office. Prohibited from interacting with students except when teaching. Forced to participate in an anger-management program. Forbidden to attend faculty meetings. These are a few of the sanctions New School for Social Research political theorist Andrew Arato faces this semester. The New School Free Press has obtained the document detailing the sanctions the university placed against the NSSR professor at the beginning of the fall 2018 term. The sactions: that he cannot enter his office at any time or university buildings unless he is teaching, interact with students, faculty, or administrators outside of teaching obligations, and attend department meetings or university events. The sanctions will be enforced for the fall 2018 semester, according to the sanction agreement signed by the Arato, who is the Dorothy Hart Hirshon Professor in Political and Social Theory at the New School for Social Research, at the start of this term. “In the event that you [Andrew Arato] satisfactorily complete the terms of this informal resolution for the Fall 2018 semester, the University irrevocably agrees to take no further disciplinary action in relation to disciplinary complaint in relation to conduct occurring prior to and through the end of the Fall 2018 semester,” the document states. Arato will not be “permitted to attend or participate in (including via face-to-face, telephone, or email) faculty meetings, [and/or] committee meetings at TNS facilities or primarily TNS-sponsored events involving NSSR faculty” for as long as he is employed by The New School, even after

the other sanctions are lifted in Spring 2019, according to the agreement. Referred to within the document as the “Sanction Statement,” the agreement was sent to Arato by deputy provost Bryna Sanger via email on Sept. 4. The document was sent as a memorandum to an Aug. 24 letter sent by Sanger that notified the professor that he was charged with “noncollegial, inappropriate and bullying behavior” against his colleagues. The Free Press exclusively obtained the “Sanctions Statement” agreement and has published the document online. The New School evaluated 20 accusations against Arato made by faculty members concerning his alleged disruptive behavior in an April 2018 investigation, and charged the professor using four claims deemed most credible. Arato has been accused of acting insultingly and disrespectfully in meetings, harassing a colleague on the street about a university-related matter, and intervening into a separate Title IX case against a peer. Arato has denied the charges. When asked to comment on the details of the agreement, the provost’s office responded with an statement sent via email by the University’s communications director, Amy Malsin: “The New School is proud to be a place of impassioned debate, sophisticated academic inquiry and diverse, sometimes difficult discussions. While we can’t comment on confidential personnel matters, regardless of the instance or the issue, the university does not tolerate unprofessional conduct, including demeaning, intimidating or disrespectful behavior that unreasonably interferes with the ability of members of

Arato has been accused of acting insultingly and disrespectfully in meetings, harassing a colleague on the street about a universityrelated matter, and intervening into a separate Title IX case against a peer. the university community to participate in educational or employment activities.” This is the same statement given to Free Press and Chronicle of Higher Education in Oct. “Professor Arato deeply regrets the sanctions’ negative impact on students, and is doing his best to mitigate it by, for example, arranging an off-campus meeting with them before the exam period. And he continues to search for other mitigating solutions,” Arato’s lawyer, Katherine Jackson, wrote in an email to the Free Press. New School students and faculty, as well as scholars around the world, have taken interest in Arato’s situation, which has drawn controversy and scrutiny. Aura Angelica Hernandez Cardenas, a second-year NSSR Masters student in sociology who is taking one class with Arato, told the Free Press that the situation at The New School reminded her of a “totalitarian state” and of a professor in her home country of Colombia who had been imprisoned for his political views. “The professor in Colombia couldn’t share his knowledge, he couldn’t share with his stu-

Screenshot from Youtube video titled “Andrew Arato and Christopher Hitchens Debate War in Iraq”

dents,” she said. He was prohibited by the state from being able to present his work publically, according to Cardenas. “If you disagree with one point of view, if you don’t agree with many different kinds of things that are happening at NSSR, you can be sanctioned. Your voice could be silenced. I think that’s a huge issue here. That’s the most important issue for me.”

“Professor Arato deeply regrets the sanctions’ negative impact on students, and is doing his best to mitigate it by, for example, arranging an off-campus meeting with them before the exam period.” Bahareh Ebne Alian, a Ph.D. candidate, and Arya Vaghayenegar, a second-year Master’s student, told the Free Press that Arato advocates for students in faculty and department meetings, sometimes aggressively. Both students are advisees of Arato’s. “If he is dangerous, why is he allowed to teach classes?” Hernandez Cardenas said. “Nobody knows what’s happening after this.” On Sept. 11, an anonymous letter publicly supporting Arato was released by more than 100 NSSR students and 24

faculty members, saying they are “disturbed by the secretive and discretionary manner in which these sanctions were decided” and demanding their removal. The Chronicle described the university’s punishment as “unusual.” NSSR philosophy and politics professor Nancy Fraser told the Chronicle that Arato is “‘brilliant’ and ‘very articulate’ but added that she ‘wouldn’t defend all of his behavior.’” The conservative news network The Blaze reported on the Free Press’ previous coverage of the situation, and Arato’s sanctions were the subject of a recent episode of the sociology podcast Sociocast. University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter wrote on his blog about the situation, quoting a letter from NSSR faculty that described the sanctions as “a direct attack on the principles of faculty self-government and tenure” and stated that “[t]he actions taken against Andrew Arato are wrong in principle and set a dangerous and unacceptable precedent.” Hernandez Cardenas told the Free Press that the situation most affects students and has started to divide students within NSSR. Emmanuel Guerisoli, a sociology Ph.D student and one of Arato’s advisees, said that the situation has caused friction between NSSR faculty and the student body. “It does affect me,” he said. •

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Students Moved By Mold Don’t Know Where They’re Living in January

Illustration by Olivia Heller

to evaluate the mold infestation. TRC is assessing what modifications would help prevent incidents like this in the future and will provide a new report, said university spokesperson Merrie Snead. Snead also told the New School Free Press that the administration

expects TRC’s next report to come in mid-January. Hearhee Kang, a first-year student studying interior design, will have to move from her new home on 97th Street at the end of the semester. Kang learned her room assignment on Dec. 7. She’ll be moving

to Kerrey Hall for the spring semester. Housing officials changed who students should contact if they want to be released from their housing contract. Meg Beyer, 13th Street Residence Hall director, first told students via email that they would have to file a complaint with Michelle Relyea, senior vice president of student success. Later, an email from Housing and Student Residential Education, the university’s housing office, told students that they would instead need to contact Joyce Arias-Brown, associate director of housing relations. A university spokesperson confirmed that this change occurred because Arias-Brown was out of the office when students were initially evacuated. That update followed other changes that strayed from initial announcements. On Sept. 24, administrators

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said they would expand the meal plan to include dining options near displaced students’ new housing locations. However, an email sent from Beyer to former residents on Oct. 4 said that they could request to be released from the meal plan and be given the remaining balance via check. If they stayed within the meal plan, students would have to eat at existing meal plan locations. The refund would replace an expanded meal plan, according to Amy Malsin, a university spokesperson. The university cited difficulties in building relationships with new eateries in a short period of time. Kang said that she would prefer the refund rather than eat in the University Center cafeteria. However, Kang wishes students had known that there was a possibility that expanding the meal plan would fall through. Kang did not learn about this change un-

til she received an email from Beyer announcing the refund option. “I don’t like how they said that they were going to find places to eat [near EHS on 97th Street] with our meal plan, and then they changed it to a refund without telling us,” Kang said. Darcy said that the moving and confusion following the discovery of mold disrupted her first-year experience. “I recognize the New School is working hard to find places for people to live,” Darcy said. “The constant change of residence has left me and many others feeling ungrounded and overwhelmed.” • Katherine Huggins contributed reporting.

December 2018

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Student Union Approves Labor Contract $16.32 for CAs,” according to SENS-UAW’s Facebook page. In addition, the University Services Fees, which costs $40 per term, will be waived for academic employees working five hours a week or more. The New School has also committed to cutting student workers’ health care costs, with health insurance rebates, which currently start at 35 percent or 50 percent depending on eligibility. The rebate will increase to 50 percent or 65 percent by the end of the contract. An ad-

“This contract came after more than 64 sessions of negotiation between the two groups’ bargaining committees, and will be valid until Aug. 31, 2023.”

and equitable contract for the academic student workers who play such an important role in our community.” The SENS-UAW bargaining committee described this agreement as part of a larger labor organization trend across the country. “This is part of a bigger movement that is happening throughout the United States in the context of neoliberal situations at higher education institutions. We will be in solidarity with other movements that take place throughout the United States,” Orpen said. “Numbers and majority involvement was really important every step of the way. We had a majority strike that brought us this contract.” Carey said. “They put another $2.5 million on the table because they really wanted to avoid a strike because of how obstructive a strike is. That was demonstrated by the strike that we did last semester.” Many faculty members sent joint emails to the administration advising them to meet SENS-UAW’s demands, as a strike would obstruct class time and take away from important final projects. “The president of our local [Emily Barnett] is a part-time faculty member at Parsons,”

by ABBY MARTON

Illustration by Rowen Griffith

Illustration by Olivia Heller

ditional $300 will be added to this rebate for any student who has been working this semester or worked last year under the old contract. The university also committed to work with SENSUAW’s labor committee to find a framework for providing childcare. “This is an awesome contract. It’s a really good contract. It’s not settling. We’re also setting ourselves up to be very strong when we bargain the next contract in five years.” said Carey. Voting started Thursday, Nov. 29, and continued until 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3. The contract was ratified with 260 votes for yes to 33 votes for no, according to an email sent to student workers. The SENS-UAW bargaining committee unanimously recommended this contract. The university released a statement on Nov. 30, saying that, “We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with SENS-UAW on a strong, fair,

HOW SOME STUDENTS ARE NAVIGATING THE L TRAIN SHUTDOWN

“I think we concluded a powerful first contract and [I’m] very proud of what was accomplished.” Carey said. “She was at the bargaining table with us the whole time and was also really supportive and helpful in forwarding all of our messages to the part-time faculty, which are a unionized workforce, but also make up a majority of the faculty at the New School.” “I think we concluded a powerful first contract and [I’m] very proud of what was accomplished.” said Barnett. “It’s been a long road, but it’s been worth it,” Dobson said. “Unions work.” •

Starting in April of next year, the L train will be shut down for 15 months between the Bedford Avenue station and the Eighth Avenue station. The impending changes are already putting some New School students on edge. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York back in October 2012, seven million gallons of water flooded 7,110 feet of the Canarsie Tunnel, the tunnel where the L train runs. The Canarsie Tunnel suffered significant damage to the tracks, signals, switches and cables. As a result, the L train will undergo major repairs. The tunnel needs a “complete overhaul,” according to the MTA. The closest subway station to the New School, 14th Street - Union Square, is the fourth busiest subway station in the entire city, with an annual 34,557,551 riders, according to the MTA’s Annual Subway Ridership Report. But the L train is already starting to shut down. The train is no longer running on weekends, and shuts down at 10:45 p.m. on weeknights, only to start working again at 5 a.m. — just in time for the morning commute. There are free shuttle buses, as well as M14 bus service, that will run between Broadway Junction in Brooklyn and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, to make up for the L train not running on weekends. Tabitha Liucci, a 20 year old sociology major who lives off the J and M trains, said, “I’ve already noticed that it has gotten way more crowded. I’ve definitely noticed a difference, especially during the weekends when the L train isn’t running.” The MTA is also renovating the J, M and Z lines until the end of January, making the commute from Northern

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“I’ve already noticed that it has gotten way more crowded. I’ve definitely noticed a difference, especially during the weekends when the L train isn’t running.” Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan even more difficult. Due to the L Train being closed on weekends, other lines, like the J and M, become more packed than usual. MTA NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in an MTA press release, “To make sure our alternate service will be as reliable as possible before the project starts, we’re doing accelerated work now on those subway lines and stations that will absorb customers going to and from Manhattan,” in regards to the JMZ lines being repaired ahead of the L Tunnel Reconstruction. Thana Pramadono, 19, product design major, said she has a lot of friends who live off of the L train. “It affects their daily routes. They have to take multiple trains just to get here [Manhattan], when it would [normally] just take one.” Some students are in the position to avoid the L train shutdown by moving to Manhattan. Keaton Bullen, 18, a second year studying interior design student at Parsons, will move when his Williamsburg lease ends in June. “I’m definitely going to be moving somewhere in Manhattan when the L train shuts

down. It’s a huge inconvenience for me,” he said. Bullen said alternative train routes aren’t a viable option. “By other train routes, it takes me 50 minutes, when it would usually take me 20 minutes,” he said. Bullen said he takes cars to travel. “I don’t pay for my own Ubers, my parents do. But it adds up a lot,” he said. On average, 225,000 people use the L train to go between Manhattan and Brooklyn, according to the MTA’s Annual Subway Ridership Report. The total daily weekday ridership from the Eighth Avenue station to the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway Station reached 400,000 people in 2017.

“I used to come in on the weekends and work in the studio and labs, but I can’t come in on the weekend anymore.” Other students, like Moram Dankner, a fourth year photography major at Parsons, can no longer come to Manhattan during the weekends. She said that she has stopped renting photography equipment from the Equipment Center on the weekends due to fear of not being able to get back to Manhattan to return it on time. “I used to come in on the weekends and work in the studio and labs, but I can’t come in on the weekend anymore, so all my work is squeezed in the middle of the week,” Dankner said. •

December 2018

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Turkish professor flees his country after signing a petition to end violence against Kurdish people and German economist and sociologist Emil Lederer. This modern-day University in Exile (UIE) launched at a time when universities, scholars and students in countries around the world are under threat. Over the past five years, 41 countries have suffered “at least five attacks on education, including at least one that was intentional or deadly,” according to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. The New School launched the initiative on Sept. 6 with a mission to lead the academic community in the United States in hosting what TNS calls “endangered scholars” from around the world. Dr. Arien Mack, Alfred and Monette Marrow Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, was the driving force behind the initiative. “Our mission is to create a community among exiled scholars who have suffered loss of position and home, as a way of trying to help them cope with their deep sense of estrangement,” she said. There are currently 12 universities involved with the New University in Exile Consortium, including Columbia, Brown, Barnard and Georgetown University, as well as the New School. The UIE is currently running online seminars with Richard Bernstein, a philosophy professor at NSSR, for all of the scholars hosted by the Consortium’s colleges and universities. The seminars are held weekly and focus on topics such as the reasons for fleeing their countries, the conditions of their countries, and the political and social nature of exile. “I see that the scholars who are in New York experience more difficulties than others,” said Özatalay. “When you arrive in the United States, you have no credit score or bank account so landlords prefer not to give you an apartment. It

Illustration by Olivia Heller

is very difficult to set up a life here.” Özatalay qualified for the two conditions for a scholar to be granted exile at one of the Consortium’s universities: applicants must have a valid passport and they must be living and working in his or her country under threat. As pressure from the Turkish government was increasing, Özatalay and his wife had a son. He was born in October 2017, two months before the scholars were set to face legal scrutiny for their political positions.

“When you arrive in the United States, you have no credit score or bank account so landlords prefer not to give you an apartment. It is very difficult to set up a life here.” His public university’s administration took away his right to a sabbatical because they adhered to the Turkish government’s accusation that he was supporting terrorism, according to Özatalay. However, unpaid parental leave is a right allocated to all public servants in Turkey that does not need to be approved by a supervisor. His leave would allow him to move away from Turkey and keep his position at his Galatasaray University for one year. One of Özatalay’s former undergraduate students in Turkey is currently continuing his graduate studies at NSSR and told Özatalay about the opportunity to apply for the Endangered Visiting Scholar position at the New School, before the New UIE was established. “After I was accepted by the New School,” said Özatalay, “Arien Mack wrote me an email and told me about the development of the New UIE and asked me to be a part of this initiative, which I accepted.” Özatalay and his wife decided that moving to New York was the best opportunity for him to continue his career. Özatalay, 45, has written book chapters and articles in French, Turkish and English. His areas of focus are on social inequalities, sociology of power, economic sociology of capitalism, neoliberalism, morality and economy, and art and economy. In 2002, Özatalay was recruited to become a research assistant by the sociology department in Galatasaray University. In 2010, he completed

Photo by Emma Tucker

his PhD at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris. In 2015, he became an associate professor in sociology at Galatasaray University. Now at the New School, Özatalay said he has the space and resources to finish his book, which focuses on Turkey’s social structure, and three research papers, which detail Turkey’s discrimination and moral conflicts in the country’s economic sphere. He arrived in New York on Aug. 31 and spends his days in a communal workspace that overlooks the Empire State Building, pursuing his work with the Zolberg Institute, a research center part of NSSR. In addition to funding his research studies, the New School provided Özatalay with office space. Will Milberg, dean of the NSSR, became Özatalay’s guarantor in his search for an apartment, which he was able to secure after being in New York for more than a month. Still, living in New York is not what he wants. “Being here is not a salvation for me,” said Özatalay. “You have to leave your position, your network, your home, and move to an unknown place.” Özatalay does not regret signing the petition that has had such an effect on his life. “In this period, hundreds of people lost their lives, their relatives, their children,” he said. “These are all unrecoverable losses. I regret only for not having been able to prevent all these tragic events in my country.” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, elected in 2014, has been criticized for restricting

“Being here is not a salvation for me. You have to leave your position, your network, your home, and move to an unknown place.” NEWS

freedom of speech, a prejudiced position against women, and failing to protect human rights. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed by the Turkish government as a terrorist organization, has been in conflict with the Turkish government since the 1980s. As of December 2017, at least 265 signatories of the petition are on trial, at least 13 have been convicted, and hundreds more have been investigated for spreading so-called terrorist propaganda, were blacklisted, had their passports revoked, lost their jobs and were banned from public service, according to a Human Rights Watch report from May 2018. “It was a terrible period,” said Özatalay. “Yes, some of us were not put in prison, but the psychological pressure was overwhelming. We became excluded academics.” Özatalay decided to sign this petition after a sniper killed the cousin of one of his students. Aziz Yural, a nurse at Cizre State Hospital, was killed in December 2015 while attempting to aid an injured woman on the street outside his home in the town of Cizre, Ozatalay said. “We did not support the actions of PKK,” said Özatalay. “We just defended the rights of citizens who live in the southern province of Turkey. In collaboration with nationalists, the Islamic populist government had decided to benefit from this petition to start eliminating left-wing and democratic academics in universities.” Özatalay moved to the U.S. during a time of heightened hostility by the White House towards refugees and immigrants — something that isn’t lost on him. “Of course it would be considered irrational to choose the U.S. as a temporary sanctuary, where immigrants and newcomers are under systematic attacks by Trump’s administration,” Özatalay said. “It’s clear that it’s not encouraging for me to be here under the Trump government. But I did

not make my decision with a long-term perspective.” Though he has temporarily escaped his country’s authoritarian regime, Özatalay sees similarities between Erdoğan and Donald Trump. “These two leaders use populist tactics for winning the support of the majority of the people,” he said. Özatalay is not confident or hopeful about the result of his trial and the future of his country. “Perhaps my hearings will be postponed, but this process is very worrying for me. It is a vulnerable situation to be in,” he said. “On the other hand, I think that the rise of authoritarianism is a global issue. Until that changes, critical thinking and egalitarian perspectives will be under threat all around the world.”

“I think that the rise of authoritarianism is a global issue. Until that changes, critical thinking and egalitarian perspectives will be under threat all around the world.” Özatalay is comforted, however, by the support of his colleagues, who have assisted each other in finding new jobs, attended each other’s court hearings, and raised funds to help scholars who are unemployed in Turkey and abroad. “We have constructed a solidarity network between us that has never been seen before,” Özatalay said. “I consider the New UIE as one of the initiatives that will play an important role in overcoming the attacks against critical thinking and the scholar.” •

December 2018

HOW TO REPORT TITLE IX COMPLAINTS AT THE NEW SCHOOL by MOLLY MINTZ

In the four years since I started college, 10 of my close childhood female friends told me that they had been raped. They attend different universities across the country, but they share a similar story: no one reported her alleged violation to her school, or to law enforcement. I think about this often. What would I do if I were a victim of discrimination or sexual misconduct on campus? How would I report my Title IX complaint to the New School? I consulted the university website in search of answers, but found myself lost in links and pages of information. I felt overwhelmed, and I wasn’t even in a real situation of wanting to report an incident. As the lead investigative reporter for the New School Free Press, I’ve interviewed students, faculty, and staff members with experiences and opinions to share about the way the New School handles gender-based offenses. I’ve reported on the administration’s proposed Title IX policies and about a scholar sanctioned for bullying behavior. Figuring out the simplest way for an individual to report a Title IX violation to the New School was challenging. The Free Press has requested interviews with the administrators in charge of Title IX several times, but they have not been available. The amount of reported alcohol and drug violations at The New School dramatically surpassed the number of reported sex offenses and incidents of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus, according to the university’s 2017-2018 campus safety report released on Oct. 1. This doesn’t mean that the university is free from sexual violence. Incidents of sexual harassment and abuse are under-reported on college campuses, according to the Association of American Universities’ landmark 2015 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct. Title IX protects students, faculty, and all employees from gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment and assault. The New York Office of Civil Rights requires complaints be reported within 180 days — about a semester’s worth of time — after the

“I think about this often. What would I do if I were a victim of discrimination or sexual misconduct on campus?” most recent violation occurrence, but the New School does not appear to offer a deadline or statute of limitations for reporting Title IX complaints. However, the Sexual Harassment Policy, which is posted on the website separately from Title IX procedures, requires sexual harassment complaints, which fall under Title IX, to be made no more than 60 days after the alleged act occurred. The proposed Title IX policy, shared by the New School administration in September, removes any statute of limitations for reporting, but has not been officially implemented yet. New School community members were invited by the administration to submit comments on the proposed policy through a confidential GoogleForm, according to a Nov. 5 university announcement email, the comment period closed on Nov. 30. There may not be an easy way to deal with trauma — but there is a way to file a complaint. For anyone who has experienced or witnessed discrimination, sexbased harassment and/or assault, here is a simplified guide to reporting informal and formal Title IX complaints with the New School, according to the current Title IX reporting recommendations listed on the Student Conduct and Community Standards webpage. This webpage is also linked to the Title IX section of the MyNewSchool mobile application.

SHARE THE DETAILS OF AN INCIDENT ANONYMOUSLY, WHICH WON’T START AN INVESTIGATION: The university has an online system called the Anonymous Sexual Assault Incident Report for people who want to report Title IX violations anonymously. Filing a complaint through the form will not trigger an investigation and “the university will only follow up if any specific, identifying information is provided in this report,” as stated in the online system. Inputting personal information, contact information for others involved in the incident, and documentation

HOW TO

unrelated to the situation is optional. The form requires the date, location, and the “story of the event.” Students can talk to healthcare providers at Student Health Services and student Ombuds, and school employees can meet with faculty and staff Ombuds, all of whom who are considered “confidential employee[s that] will not report information to the university’s Title IX Coordinator (or anyone else) without permission from the person who disclosed that information,” according to the university website.

FILE A FORMAL INCIDENT REPORT THROUGH A FORM OR WITH A “RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYEE” TO START THE TITLE IX INVESTIGATION PROCESS: Contacting the Title IX Office directly, filling out a form with your identifying personal information, and/ or speaking with “university responsible employees” are first steps in initiating a formal Title IX investigation. Jennifer Francone and Rhonnie Jaus oversee Title IX at the New School. Francone is the university’s official Title IX coordinator and is the contact person for claims regarding students. Jaus was hired by the university in February to assist in drafting the new Title IX policy, and is the contact person for claims of Title IX violations involving faculty and staff. Jerry Cutler is The New School’s Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer and can be a contact person for Title IX incidents involving full-

December 2018

time and part-time faculty and administrative staff. Title IX coordinators’ responsibilities include “overseeing all complaints of sex discrimination and identifying and addressing any patterns or systemic problems that arise during the review of such complaints,” according to the Department of Education’s “Know Your Rights” fact-sheet. The New School offers a form titled the “Concerning Behavior” form, on the the New School Portal for Incident Reporting, for formal complaints to be filed. While it is not drastically different from the Anonymous Sexual Assault Incident Report form, some of the examples of concerning behavior offered for respondents to choose on this form (like “academic concern”) don’t necessarily pertain to Title IX’s jurisdiction. Inputting personal information to the “Concerning Behavior” this form is optional, even though the Title IX office needs to know the identity of the person complaining to look into their situation.

ed. The privacy of both parties is respected throughout the investigation process as much as possible, but depending on the circumstance, the name of the complainant can be shared with the accused in order to help advance the investigation, according to past incident reports reviewed by the Free Press.

decision, according to the Non-Academic Disciplinary Procedures document. If new information arises after the 10-day period that wasn’t available during the investigation and adjudication process, an appeal can still be made if the reasoning for not appealing sooner is appropriately explained.

The university website explains that to investigate the allegations, Title IX officers will speak with witnesses, hold a disciplinary review meeting with the accused student to discuss the allegations, and look into other relevant details of the complaint.

The school is permitted to publicly share the name and other identifying information about students found guilty of sexual misconduct after the investigation is finalized once appeals are made, according to the legal blog Campus Clarity. Students who are found responsible for sexual misconduct and leave the New School during an investigation or complete their sanctions following the decision can appeal to have notations of the investigation removed from their transcript. Faculty members’ complaints are investigated through multiple procedures. According to the Sexual Harassment Policy, reports made by clerical union employees are “handled through the grievance machinery established in the collective bargaining agreement.” Faculty members filing reports of sexual harassment, discrimination, or abuse can meet with Jaus or Culter to discuss the incident, relevant policies, and next steps. During the investigation, the accused and witnesses will be interviewed, and the officials will “determine whether the University’s anti-discrimination policies were violated, and recommend appropriate disciplinary/corrective measures” upon the investigation’s conclusion.

A hard-copy incident report form can also be printed and sent to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office. “Responsible employees” are any school staff members that have the “authority or duty” to report claims of sexual misconduct to the Title IX office, according to the DOE. Both full-time and part-time professors, as well as security staff and administrators, are typically considered “responsible employees.” The administration’s new proposed Title IX policy clarifies that all university employees (who are not in the Counseling Center, Student Health Center, or faculty/staff/student ombuds) are “responsible employees,” as well as resident advisors and resident housing directors, teaching assistants and fellows, peer advisors, and orientation leaders.

HOW THE TITLE IX INVESTIGATIONS AT THE NEW SCHOOL WORK: The Student Conduct Title IX webpage gives a brief overview of the investigation process. The Non-Academic Disciplinary Procedures document, which applies to students, and the New School Institutional Policies and Procedures Manual and “guidelines for dealing with issues of sexual harassment and discrimination” section of the Sexual Harassment Procedures, which apply to faculty, give more detailed explanations of the respective procedures. Once a formal incident report has been made by a student, the Title IX Office will review the complaint to determine its legitimacy, according to the NonAcademic Disciplinary Procedures. Complaints can be classified as either a Level 1 Review, in which officers decide the violation “is unlikely to result in the suspension or expulsion of the student from the university,” or a Level 2 Review, in which “the nature of the alleged violation could result in the suspension or expulsion of the student from the university or falls under the Sexual Misconduct and Violence Policy.” (That’s another policy on a separate webpage in a separate document.)

Title IX will take “immediate remedial actions to ensure the safety and well-being of victims if appropriate in the given circumstances,” according to the process overview section of the Student Conduct Title IX page. In dealing with previous Title IX complaints, the administration has moved accused students into different dorms and banned people from entering relevant university buildings, according to a series of incident reports about sexual misconduct at the university, reviewed by the New York Office of Civil Rights as part of their resolved 2011 investigation into the New School’s Title IX practices.

AFTER THE INVESTIGATION: The New School doesn’t offer many any online resources detailing what occurs after an investigation is finished and finalized.

If, for example, a student accused of sexual misconduct is moved from one dorm into another, The New School cannot and does not notify students in the new dorm that the new resident is under Title IX investigation, as the investigation is not finalized at this time. Student privacy is protected under the federal law known as FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Considering someone innocent until proven guilty is a basic legal right and a foundation of due process.

Students found responsible for sexual misconduct will be sanctioned by verbal and written warnings, disciplinary probation, restrictions on using university facilities, housing relocation and/or suspension, and removal from the university temporarily or entirely.

At the conclusion of the investigation, both the person who filed the complaint and the person accused are notified by emailed documentation of Title IX Office’s decision.

Complaints can be filed with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) even after the university finalizes its own investigation.

The findings of the investigation will be presented to administrators for Level 1 violations. A disciplinary review hearing will be held for Level 2 violations, if the accused does not accept responsibility, according to the Non-Academic Disciplinary Procedures document.

The Non-Academic Disciplinary Procedures document also states that “if Student Conduct and Community Standards finds insufficient information or basis to support the complaint, the Office is authorized to dismiss the complaint.”

An investigation is not final until any and all appeals are made. The final result will be reported by the Title IX Office to “relevant parties,” meaning the complaint and accused, according to the webpage.

The Title IX officers will notify the complainant and accused in writing that the incident is being investigat-

Both parties can appeal the results of the investigation. Appeals must be submitted to Title IX officers in writing within 10 business days after receiving the

The Title IX investigation into Emanuele Castano, former New School for Social Research psychology co-chair who was accused of sexual misconduct with students, faced scrutiny because it did not reach a result. Castano resigned one day prior to the investigation’s conclusion, and the Title IX Office’s letter to the complainant stated that “in light of Professor Castano’s resignation, we consider this matter closed.”

HOW TO

If a student feels uncomfortable or unsafe around certain people or in certain places after the investigation, the Title IX Office can make arrangements to accommodate the student’s well-being.

“Complaints can be filed online via email to the regional Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights office where your school is located,” according to the victims advocacy organization End Rape on Campus. In 2011, a then-Lang sophomore filed a complaint with the New York OCR after the New School’s Title IX investigation into her sexual misconduct claim was finalized. She believed the university mishandled her case and had retaliated against her for reporting. The OCR investigated the New School and found four out of five of her allegations to be unfounded, but by bringing her complaint to the governmental office, she ultimately prompted the university to rewrite its Title IX policy to be compliant with federal law. •

December 2018

ELLA SNYDER: PARSONS STUDENT, MODEL, YOUTUBER, AND CONTENT CREATOR by NICOLE COLLAZO SANTANA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Why is Christina Aguilera in the Equipment Center? In order to achieve her legendary status, Christina Aguilera has withstood adversity. Today she stands comfortably in the back of the EQC, but her life has not always been so easy. Daniel Perez, an Equipment Center worker, once taped Ms. Aguilera against the wall so her head would pop out of the checkout counter. Perez broke Xtina’s foot, forcing her to “walk with a limp,” according to Bickley. “I’ve known her since I was an undergrad. Now I’m a graduate student and she’s still the same, but now her foot is broken,” said Sepulveda. While the “Dirrty” singer is often a spectacle, she has often blended into the background and surprised the staff when they notice her. Bickley has sometimes thought that the standee is a new employee then quickly remembers that it’s just the former “The Voice” judge. “Every time I walk back

I’ve known her since I was an undergrad. Now I’m a graduate student and she’s still the same, but now her foot is broken.” there I think some lady is hiding back there,” said Vanessa Clifton, another staff member of the EQC. Despite scaring quite a few workers and withstanding injuries, there are no plans to see Christina leave her post. Stavroula Psonis, Lab Supervisor at the EQC, has been with Christina for quite a few years. “She’s not going anywhere,” she said. •

Photo by Orlando Mendiola

Ella Snyder, 19, was greeted by a group of friends from Parsons as she walked into Joe Coffee, and ordered a slice of pumpkin bread. “I’ll keep my jacket on ‘cause it’s so cold! Did you know they have the best pumpkin bread here? It’s so good,” she said with a smile, as she sat down for an interview. Snyder had some time to chat in between classes and describe how she handles her multiple responsibilities, including studying photography at Parsons, her job at Brandy Melville, modeling for Hello Models, and her YouTube channel. Snyder is a vlogger, a fashion influencer, and a YouTuber. She began recording YouTube videos in her hometown of Savin Hill, in Boston, when she was in middle school. It served as an escape for her depression. Now, she considers it “the most consistent thing in my whole life.” Before starting the channel, she asked for her parent’s permission. They were concerned for her safety but still supported her decision. “None of us thought it’d be where it is today,” she said. Even with a high social media standing and as a YouTuber, she does not share every detail of her life right now. There are some things, she said, “I want to talk about when the time is ready.” Recently, Snyder hit 30,000 followers on Instagram and currently has over 91,000 YouTube subscribers. Her channel is a balance between her art, such as her short videos from her portfolio before and during her time at Parsons, and her hobbies, such as storytime videos of significant moments she has experienced and vlogs of her day-to-day activities. For one of her latest video, My Self Care Nighttime Routine (night in my life), Snyder got paid her month’s

Snyder hit 30,000 followers on Instagram and currently has more than 91,000 YouTube subscribers. rent to talk about a skin care brand for two minutes. “I’m still a struggling New York art student and I got to pay my rent, so occasionally I’ll do a brand deal or a sponsored post,” she said. However, she avoids falling into the traps of influencers with the constant promotion of brands. “I don’t want to come off across as a sell out. That’s one of my biggest fears: seeming inauthentic or like I only do this for the money,” she added. Snyder sometimes wants to enjoy the money she made for her personal use, not necessarily spend it all on rent. “I really want to buy Margiela boots,” she said with a laugh. “I just wish I could treat myself,” she added. (Snyder bought black Tabi boots last week.) Going out of her routine can be risky, because maintaining a YouTube channel is a large commitment. Not only does she need time to record the content, whether it is a short vlog or a tour of the place she’s in for the day, she also needs to organize and edit it before posting. “It’s really hard to manage all of it. I have to take a lot of time off from other things to be able to maintain peace within my own life.” In order to appropriately use her time, she mixes responsibilities. “With YouTube if I’m not doing a sponsored post or a sit down video, I vlog at school, at Brandy or at a shoot just to get two things done at

the same time.” But, she is clear that taking care of her health is priority. While she initially guessed that she gets at least seven hours of sleep, she later corrected herself, “Wait, that’s too much. I try to get five or maybe six,” she said. With her job as product researcher at retailer Brandy Melville, she’s had the opportunity to travel to Shanghai, China. The company paid for all of her expenses so she could design, try on, and sample jeans. The opportunity came about in a time when Snyder was overwhelmed with adjusting to the city after being home in Boston for the summer. Even though it was a drastic decision, she decided to go. Taking a couple of days off from her New York schedule helped her reflect on her purpose of being in New York City.

“I’m still a struggling New York art student and I got to pay my rent, so occasionally I’ll do a brand deal or a sponsored post.” “That distance helped me prioritize all the things that were on my plate and I was like ‘school has to be my number one priority.’ Modeling and Brandy are not that important to me right now. I’m at school to get an education,” she said. Snyder has been modeling since she was 16. It began when she took headshots for her best friend and when visiting the agency, she got

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“I don’t want to come off across as a sell out. That’s one of my biggest fears: seeming inauthentic or like I only do this for the money.” signed. However, it was very unexpected. “Everyone told me, ‘You’re too short, You’re not special.’” Since the start of the school year, due to the Parsons workload, she has been less active in modeling. Social media plays a big role in how Snyder’s platform has grown in the past couple of years. “Ella Snyder Fan Accounts” have sprung up on Instagram. Mary Zech, 20, Snyder’s roommate since freshman year, created a fan account as well. “I’m, like, obsessed with Ella,” she said jokingly. Because they saw each other every day, Zech would put up pictures of Snyder cooking or studying in their room. But Zech also experienced the creative and formal side of her roommate. “She is the most motivated person I know.” Zech said, referring to Snyder’s ability to maintain a steady platform and healthy lifestyle. Walking around campus, Snyder has been stopped by other students to share how she has inspired them to attend The New School. “I’m honored when people come to me, it is something I don’t always keep in perspective,” she said. Diversifying her passions, Snyder is also taking Intro to Screen Studies at Lang. “It is so fascinating and my favorite class right now.”

This complements her secret film obsession. Her favorite film is Spike Jonze’s “Her.” Even though Snyder may be an open book on her social media platforms and channel, few may know her love of film inspires having a YouTube channel. “Film production plays a role into why I do YouTube,” Snyder says. Snyder has videos on her channel of her art portfolios with photography and short animations she has created during her time at Parsons. She is conflicted over what path she will take when she graduates. She dreams of working in Los Angeles someday but she would also love to be a creative director “of anywhere, really,” she says. Her work as a student, model, YouTuber and content creator, gives Ella Snyder numerous possibilities of where to go. “I think that what I’m doing by making these videos and modeling and working and school is really just part of The New School culture. We are all struggling, and as corny as it sounds, we are all in this together,” Snyder said. •

“I think that what I’m doing by making these videos and modeling and working and school is really just part of the New School culture.”

December 2018

WOMEN ARE LEADING UNDERGROUND NEW SCHOOL GAME CLUB by ANDREW GIACCO

Illustration by Rowen Griffith

The students are loud, you can hear Super Smash Bros blasting through the hallway, and there are boxes and Diet Coke cans everywhere. It’s as if you’ve entered a secret tech start-up hidden on the 12th floor of E. 16th Street. This is the New School Game Club, led by women, who occupy four of the six club leadership roles. Students come to this video game oasis after class to take a break from doing homework and trade in school pressure for some friendly competition. Early in 2017, the long-standing, student-run Game Club wasn’t cutting it for several of the members. A

few friends banded together and decided to bring it back to life. After grinding it out, and strategically planning to get funding for their members, they received $3,800 in funding from the University Student Senate (mostly for pizza). As of right now, the club is now up to over 40 members. “Everyone went out and broadcasted about the club, advertised it, made posters, and updated all the social media, which was dead,” said Dahee Lee, Design and Technology major at Parsons. “We got email lists from the people at student organizations and started reaching out.” If you’ve ever seen a Playsta-

tion advertisement, a commercial for the hottest new video game system, you’d expect the club to be male-dominated, and you’d be wrong. With this female leadership, other women have been encouraged to join. Currently, women outnumber men with a 3:2 ratio with a regular membership of 15-20 people. They say they have built a community for students to come together to play video games and board games. They also serve as an outreach and contact point for the NYC game design community. “We worked really hard and built it from the ground up,” said Lee. “We collaborated with Pratt Institute to get in touch with other art schools about game clubs and held a really big Super Smash Bros tournament at Pratt. It was a big event, about 50 people.” In the beginning of the fall semester, New School Game Club proposed a budget of $3,800 for the 2018-19 school year to the University Student Senate. They were denied. “They said we weren’t inclusive and that the club was just for Design & Technology and Parsons students, even though there was a slide [in the presentation] that specifically stated that it was for everyone,” said Lionel Miele-Herndon, a Design and Technology major,

TABI BOOTS TAKE OVER PARSONS By SAMMI FISHER

Would you pay $1,000 to look like a goat? The Maison Margiela Tabi boots have been turning heads since their debut in the late ‘80s. 30 years later, Parsons students can be seen strutting the halls sporting the “hooved” footwear. The history of the split toe design goes back to 15th century Japan. Split toe socks, called “tabi,” were produced in Japan to be worn with traditional sandals that would fit right between the toes. This is where Margiela found the inspiration for his shoes. In 1988, Margiela revealed the Tabi boots to the world in his first show. He drenched his models in red paint, so the new footprint they left behind would be imprinted on the white catwalk. Retailing at $965, the Tabi shoes have become a luxury fashion item. They’re available in a range of styles and colors that often increase the price, like fluorescent yellow boots or sparkly ballet flats. “Are they ugly? That, and its interpretation, is all in the beholder’s eye. And that concept is what gets to the heart of a Parsons student,” said Tim Stock, a professor who teaches a course on analyzing trends at Parsons. “It’s not unexpected that Parsons students have taken to Tabi boots. They are, at the very basic level, conversation starters,” said Stock. “Yes, they are cloven hooves. There’s a fairytale, Guillermo del Torostyle storytelling aspect going on.” The Tabi comeback is right

on trend, said Jamie Ross, a trend spotting professor at Parsons. “It is speculated that nostalgia peaks every 30 years for that prior timing, so in general, we are seeing a strong resurgence of ‘80s/’90s elements,” Ross said. Jane Ha, a 19-year-old fine arts major at Parsons, purchased the black Tabi boots about a year ago. “A lot of people don’t like them but the other half that do, love them,” said Ha. “I think its always been trendy, but I guess especially big at Parsons because it is an art school known for fashion and the students here all want to feel different and strive to go for a certain image,” she said. Compared to other New York City universities, the students who attend Parsons tend to dress more with trends and fashion history in mind. “I think Parsons kids always love a flex or trying to look the best at school, and Tabi boots are definitely a way to do that,” said Max Donahue, 20, a fashion design student. “The reason I wear them is to shock. It was so fun wearing them at a conservative family wedding — people thought I was insane.” “People say they’re ugly because they don’t know what to think. They really are a shocking pair of shoes,” said Donahue. He purchased a pair of white men’s Tabis in July. “I wish the heel was higher, but my feet are too big for women’s.” “Since these shoes are such a unique and unusual shape, I feel like people need to have an understanding of the artistic

background of how they came about [to appreciate them],” said Minna Kim, 19, integrated design major. Last year, five pairs of Tabi shoes were featured in the MoMA’s exhibit, “Is Fashion Modern?” confirming the design as a classic as well as bringing up the question: can these shoes be considered art? “What makes the Tabi so appealing is that it marries both eastern and western cultures in terms of style, silhouette, materiality, etc. and I think this is what makes it a favorite among our diverse, international student body,” said Dimitri Koumbis, a trend spotting professor in Parsons fashion school. “The style came from historical Japanese footwear, but I think Maison Margiela has appropriated it to a point where the design is more close-

one of the Game Club organizers. “Most of their criticism was that they wanted a really detailed spreadsheet on what we were spending, down to the dollar. In that sense, they were really thorough and that’s a good thing.” The club took the feedback from the USS seriously, and reworked their proposal to procure the necessary funding to give their new-found members the club they were promised. On September 28th, they went in, presented, and were awarded the full amount of $3,800, according to the USS Fall 2018 Meeting Minutes. “The student senators approve and fund everything, based on the strength of the proposal,” said Ahad Ali, a NSSR USS Senator. “The proposal includes a budget, what they need the money for, and how many New School Students will benefit from it.” If you’re wondering where all this money comes from, look no further than your tuition bill. The USS collects $8 from every New School student each semester, so all organizations are funded by New School students themselves. “We need receipts for every event and USS handles the money. All the USS cares about are the receipts. They’re not involved with the club at

all, and they’ve never showed up to a single meeting,“ said Miele-Herndon. This niche community thrives on a shared passion for gaming — they hold weekly Thursday meetings with its members, a number they say is increasing as more students are signing up. Students from the Design and Technology program come into the room asking questions about games they’re creating themselves. The club leaders provide the members a full Dell PC setup with an all-access Steam account, an entertainment platform that allows users to interact with over 100 million other members, join game groups, and create new content that can be shared across the platform. The desktop is also used for research, so if students want to create a game there, they have everything they need. “[Design and Technology] is a really small major so we’re all really close to each other,” said Lee. “We’re so proud of this club. It’s our baby. We’ve created this community where gamers can come in here and feel a sense of acceptance because we’ve finally created a free space in a school where it’s often hard to find community. It’s really great.” •

ly associated with the French fashion house,” said Donahue. Ross clearly remembers when these were launched in the ‘80s, and as a student studying fashion, finding them oddly attractive. “Later, travelling with a very directional colleague in Europe, I remember seeing them again in mass, and noting to my colleague that I rather liked them, and her being disgusted. When I probed, she likened them to hooves and said they reminded her of ‘Animal Farm,’ and the merging of humans and animals,” said Ross. Students who have them got the money for the boots in different ways. Ella Snyder, 19, a photography major and this reporter’s roommate, bought them with the money she received from a sponsorship for a video on her YouTube channel. “A skincare company sent me an email saying that they would pay me $1,100 to make a video about my skincare

routine using their products. Immediately, when I saw that $1,100 price tag, I was like I can use that to buy Tabi boots.” Snyder got the black Tabi boots last week. While other students saved up money over time from working different jobs, Ha used the money she saved up from a summer job. “I saved up enough money, but I was always hesitant to buy them just because they are so expensive. But one day, I felt like splurging, and I did it,” said Ha. Kim has two pairs of Tabis. She saved money from her retail job for about three months to get each pair. “If I had to sum up the attraction? They’re weird. And weird is good. They agitate questions, for which there is always a retort. — ’That’s so impractical.’ ‘Actually, the split is designed to promote more natural movement.’,”said Stock. •

Max Donahue, second year fashion student wears white Tabi boots. “The socks I got from Amazon.” Photo by Orlando Mendiola

ARTS & CULTURE

December 2018

I FLEW TO FLORIDA FOR THE MIDTERM ELECTION AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GOVERNOR OR SENATE RACE by JACQUELYN GREENFIELD At the age of 21, the act of voting seems like a right of passage — another milestone as I enter adulthood. I believe every American should exercise their right to vote and create change in our democracy. When I went to the polls to vote in the 2016 presidential election, I felt like I put a checkmark on this act and didn’t think about it again. At first, when midterm elections came around in November, I didn’t think much of it. But in this election, my vote counted directly toward my older brother getting his right to vote back. Here’s how it happened: When it was time to start thinking about the midterm elections, I requested an absentee ballot. When I went home for a weekend in the beginning of the semester, I filled out who I wanted to win for governor and Senate before giving my ballot to my mother, so she could fill out the state-level candidates and legislature. I signed it, left it for her to mail out and didn’t think about it again. I felt no excitement or urgency about voting. I was already registered. I had voted before; there was nothing else to care about. It wasn’t until the Sunday before election night that I began to care. My mother called me, frantic, telling me she forgot to mail out my absentee ballot. She wanted me to fly home Monday night, so I could vote

Tuesday morning. I told her it wasn’t that serious; I wasn’t going to fly all the way back to Tampa, Florida just to fill in bubbles. Still, being from Florida, I am aware of how especially important elections are. I know that swing states, like Florida and Iowa, have the ability to change the outcomes of elections, such as the controversial 2000 presidential election between Democratic candidate Al Gore and George W. Bush. This really gives the people that live in those places a stronger voice. However, my voice and vote didn’t seem important enough for me to jump on a plane. My mom disagreed. She told me to look up “Florida Amendment Four,” and then I would understand. After looking it up, I realized I had to go home. I packed a bag and brought it with me to school Monday morning, and after my last class ended at 5:30 p.m., I hopped on the R train to catch the last flight out of LaGuardia Airport to Tampa. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, I was among the 5.13 million people who cast a “yes” vote on Amendment 4. The amendment “restore[s] the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions,” as reported by Florida Election Watch. The amendment passed. As a result, an additional 1.4 million people will be able to vote in the next election. My brother is among those people. My older brother, at the age

of 19, lost the right to join the military, receive federal aid for college, travel abroad and vote. He made a stupid choice that landed him in a state prison for a nonviolent crime. Now, almost 24, my brother was unable to finish college and has never had the chance to exercise his right to vote. The prison system was made to punish and rehabilitate people for their crimes. If the prison and criminal justice system really did rehabilitate ex-cons, they should be able to transition back into society without a constant reminder of the crimes they already paid the time for. Just because someone made a bad choice doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a say in what the society they still have to live in should be like. For me, traveling more than 1,000 miles to vote on this amendment was more important than any governor’s or Senate race. I’ve always thought there were flaws in the criminal justice system and in how ex-felons are treated when they leave jail or prison. My brother isn’t a bad person; he just made a bad choice. He spent a year of his life paying for that choice, and he still continues to pay for it every time he applies for a job and the question, “Have you ever committed a felony?” appears. With Amendment 4, there is one less thing my brother, and other felons, will have to pay for. My brother, along with 1.4 million people, will have his

Illustration by Olivia Heller

voice heard and his vote count. The presidential election of 2020 will be his first time ever heading to the polls. Under the revised amendment, someone who is convicted of a felony now has the right to vote “after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.” Those who have been convicted of murder and sexual offense are

still unable to vote, unless the “Governor and Cabinet restore their voting rights on a case by case basis.” Casting my vote for Amendment 4 made all the difference for me and my family. I know things won’t change overnight for my brother and people like him, but this is a start, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of that change. •

knowing each other without a physical sense is important. It’s not all about physicality,” he continued. While living two completely separate lives may make the relationship feel boring, you always have new things to discuss and share with each other. On top of that, you are forced to remain independent and live your own individual lives without doing everything together or making choices based off of each other. “I can kind of be my own person and still grow and figure out what I like to do as my own person, but I get the support of someone even if they’re not physically here,” said Emily Starobrat, a fashion design senior at Parsons. Starobrat and her boyfriend from Los Angeles, California have been in a long distance relationship for almost three years now. Still, this kind of a relationship is hard. Linett Santana, a transfer student that just graduated in fashion marketing at Parsons, has been in a long distance relationship for two years now with her girlfriend who lives in the Dominican Republic, where they are both from. From not spending special occasions together to having to work through fights on the phone rather than in person, Santana does not think there are any benefits to her long distance relationship. “If I could, I

would always be with my girlfriend. She makes me feel like I’m home and there’s no other better feeling than that one for me,” she said. But one thing is for sure, long distance relationships change people and push them to grow. “This relationship has taught me how to be more accepting and more patient, even with others. It has also taught me that the better things in life do not come easy,” Santana said. “Always explore,” she answered when asked what she would say to others debating a long distance relationship.

Long Distance Relationships are Better, Fight Me by RADHIYA SABNANI

Illustration by Olivia Heller

“I know you said you want someone that’s down for you no matter what the circumstances are. I know it took me a while, but I do want to be with you. I am down for you, and I’ll do anything to make this work.” I read this text message nine months ago in my apartment with by two of my closest girlfriends after Nicholas Fuentes, the boy that I had the biggest crush on, finally told me he wanted to be with me after two months of getting to know each other. He anxiously awaited my response 2,920 miles away, during a long and stressful day at work in California. We met briefly in Los Angeles, where I was born and raised, at a summer party thrown by a mutual friend. We reconnected in the winter and

developed a great friendship which was followed by his visit to New York. I dreamt of the day he would ask me to be his girlfriend, but when asked, I really didn’t know what to do. Was it realistic? Could it last? I told him I had to think about it. After a few hours, I took a leap of faith and said yes. Over nine months later, I am thankful I chose to take the risk. My long distance relationship has been full of up and downs, like any other relationship, but this situation has helped us grow both together and individually — in a way we would not have otherwise. 14 million couples are in long distance relationships, according to Marketwatch. 58 percent of singles are open to long distance relationships,

according to StatisticBrain. It’s clear that this phenomenon is here to stay and is working for many. But why is that? Long distance relationships work and can even be considered healthier than relationships that are closer in proximity, according to Reader’s Digest. “It seems like the big finding here is that because of the distance, [long distance relationships] force greater communication and deeper communication,” said Vinita Mehta, a PhD clinical psychologist and writer. Long distance relationships force partners to connect beyond a physical level. When you are not physically together, your only choice is to talk and learn about each other. My boyfriend and I talk at least once a day on the phone or FaceTime, where we exchange our days, complain about missing each other or make plans for the next time we’ll see each other. “I really do think it strengthened my trust and communication,” said Christian Glover, a strategic design sophomore at Parsons. Christian was in a long distance relationship for a little more than a year, until his boyfriend moved from Colorado to New York. “You’re forced to talk, and you’re forced not to talk,” Glover added. “Having the roots of that trust and ways of

OPINIONS

“If I could, I would always be with my girlfriend. She makes me feel like I’m home.” Everyone’s situation is different and some are more complex than others. However long it’s long distance, they’re a healthy and beneficial experience for everyone. You have space to find yourself and to grow as an individual. When and if you finally end up together physically, you will not resent your partner for holding you back from experiencing life the way you want to and your relationship will be more meaningful. •

December 2018

WINTER EVENTS Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28 & Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25 Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again Go to the Whitney on one of its free days for the first U.S. retrospective of artist Andy Warhol’s work in three decades. Location: The Whitney 99 Gansevoort St Price: Free on these dates!

Jan. 5 & 6 Noname Concert Rising star Noname will be in New York this break, so be sure to grab a ticket to one of her shows while you still can. Location: Brooklyn Steel 319 Frost St, Brooklyn Price: Door price $30

Dec. 21

Dec. 21 & 22

Dec. 18

Jan. 4 - 12

Brooklyn Queer Comedy Festival

Roy Hargrove Tribute Performance

The Office Trivia Night: Christmas Party Episodes

New York Winter Jazz Fest

Love comedy? Head to Brooklyn for a showcase of some of New York’s best queer comedians and entertainers.

Jazz legend and Jazz gallery co-founder Roy Hargrove tribute performance. Join in for the annual end of the year performance celebrating music, community and Hargrove.

Big fan of The Office? Head to the Lower East Side for Michael Scottfilled trivia party.

Brings together lovers of jazz from all over, this festival showcases some of the best and most exciting jazz being made today.

Location: 3 Dollar Bill 260 Meserole St, Brooklyn Price: $10

Location: The Jazz Gallery 1160 Broadway Price: Tickets starting at $35

Through Jan. 12 Clueless: The Musical Got a few extra bucks this holiday season? Try to snag a seat to the Broadway adaptation of the hit 90’s movie Clueless! Location: The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre 480 W 42nd St

Jan. 17 & 18

Location: New York Historical Society 170 Central Park West

WORLD‛S BE S T B O SS

Jan. 19 Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco Performs

Big fan of indie pop/ rock? Check out this powerhouse performer.

Location: Madison Square Garden 4 Pennsylvania Plaza

Location: Brooklyn Steel 319 Frost St, Brooklyn

Price: Tickets from $65

Price: Tickets from $23 Throughout the Holiday Season Snow Day Sledding If it does happen to snow this break, run out and grab your sled to make the best of the cold weather. Location: Pilgrim Hill in Central Park Price: Free

Price: Students from $13

Location: TBA / winterjazzfest.com Price: Tickets from $25

Check out the hilarious stand up comic for his Stay Hungry tour.

Through Jan. 27

Hogwarts letter lost in the mail? Make sure to look into this fun and spirited exhibit from The British Library while you still can.

Price: Free

Japanese Breakfast Performs

Price: Prices Vary

Harry Potter: A History of Magic Exhibit

Location: The Late Late 159 E Houston St

Through Jan. 21 The New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show Lover of gardens, model trains and the holiday season? You’re in luck! Get to the New York Botanical Garden’s annual holiday train show. Location: The New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Blvd Bronx Price: Students from $20

Stroll while admiring the many houses with beautiful and over the top holiday light displays. Location: Dyker Heights, Brooklyn or Embrace a classic New York winter activity at one of the cities best holiday markets. Location: The Bryant Park Winter Village, The Brooklyn Winter Festival, or Grand Holiday Bazaar Price: Free

EVENTS

December 2018

OUT FOR A SPIN New Schooler’s Favorite Spots to Pick Up Vinyl by MARISSA MATOZZO It may surprise some, but college students from all over the city can still be found in record stores. The act of putting needle to LP is not outdated. In 2017, Billboard reported that vinyl album sales hit a record high, celebrating 12 consecutive years of growth. Vinyl’s resurgence in popularity over the last decade is not a shock to many New School students. “I think our generation is very enamored with nostalgia, due to all of the technology we have been chained to.” said Journalism + Design sophomore Gio Osterman. With more and more popular retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Urban Outfitters selling vinyl, the option of buying vinyl is everywhere. “I enjoy vinyl because it has a more full and richer sound than just listening off your phone or speaker,” said Gillian Rivera, a sophomore in the Journalism + Design program. “It has a way of enveloping the room.” “I really like vinyl because I can have a physical collection of my favorite music,” said Zack Dresher, a third year screen studies major. “It also just kinda makes me feel like an old man.” Some faculty think Generation Z revisiting records is unexpected. “I am surprised because of how fragile vinyl is, and how digital everything is, and how difficult it always is to go backwards with technology,” said Amy Burton, a vocal instructor at Mannes. “The sound quality is acoustic, not digital, at least the old vinyl was, and it’s better. So I’m glad to see it back.” “I’m surprised younger generations are listening to vinyl,” said Blake Eskin, a professor in the Journalism + Design program, “I grew up listening to vinyl. I would borrow my friend’s vinyl and tapes and I brought them to college with me, but lost interest in it. It’s inconvenient. You have to flip the record over.” Here are New School students’ favorite places to pick up a record around the city:

3. EARWAX RECORDS 167 N 9TH ST, BROOKLYN, NY WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN This Williamsburg record shop, which opened in 1991, is a one-room store filled with curated vinyl and sells vintage recording equipment. “I think this store has a great collection,” said Osterman. “It has plenty of albums I never saw before on vinyl. There is also a great variety of genres, it has everything from classic rock to modern hip-hop.”

1. GENERATION RECORDS 210 THOMPSON ST, NEW YORK, NY GREENWICH VILLAGE, MANHATTAN This Greenwich Village record store has two floors filled with rarities from every decade. Formerly known as “Bleecker Street Records,” the shop moved its precious cargo in 2017 from the Bleecker Street location to its current one on Thompson Street. “I am fond of Bleecker Street Records, though it isn’t on Bleecker anymore,” said Emilia Copeland Titus, a junior and culture & media major. “I bought a record by the 1960s model Twiggy there years ago. It’s her debut album from 1976 and it’s very cutesy,” she said. “It now reminds me of being a teenager.”

4. ACADEMY RECORDS 12 W 18TH ST, NEW YORK, NY CHELSEA, MANHATTAN At this Chelsea record store, customers can both buy and sell vinyls, LPs, CDs and DVDs. This shop has a wide variety of genres for both art forms. “This is my favorite place that sells vinyl,” said sophomore Journalism + Design major Chelsea Frazer. “I once found a rare, unsealed Sonny and Cher album there.” This shop is a destination for many avant-garde collectors, and fans of jazz.

2. ROUGH TRADE NYC 64 N 9TH STREET, BROOKLYN, NY WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN Rough Trade is a London-based independent record label that first opened in 1976. The Brooklyn store, and the only one in the U.S. is their largest out of its five locations. With one floor dedicated to vinyl and another to books, this location is known to be a favorite of music lovers. “It is my favorite and go-to record store in Brooklyn,” said Rivera. “I had the rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen sign a CD there a few years back, so I’ve had some pretty cool memories there.” Live concerts and artist signings happen at the store monthly. Illustrations by Olivia Heller