www.newschoolfreepress.com @nsfreepress
March 2020
Editor-in-Chief Kurt Burger
Senior Editor Sammi Fisher
Creative Director Nico Chilla
Social Media Editor Jihan Basyah
Art Director Olivia Heller
Reporters Simon Chen Sam Ford Susie Fordi Nomaris Garcia Rivera Mia Gilling Elia Griffin Ben Guess Dorita Kardonski-Szerer Ayesha Le Breton Sonya Lustig Rebecca Mesonjnik Anjali Nold Andrew Orellana Emily Pavis Brooke Quast Jemiece Raphael Rory Rucker Chelsea Sarabia Francesca Story Samantha Vogel Emmet White
The Roundup
p. 2
Multimedia Editor Lauren Hoffman News Editors Claire Boudour Michael Izquierdo
The Transcript: Window Weather
Deputy News Editor Siri Chilukuri
p. 3-4 The View: Another Reason to Vote for Sanders: Climate Change p. 5 The View: Why Hasn’t Vaping Been Canceled Yet?
Arts & Culture Editors Daniela Garcia-Arce Gaby De Gracia Deputy Arts & Culture Editor Kevin Martinez Fashion Editor Mila Greenberg Opinions Editor Martin Kaff
Faculty Advisors Allison Lichter Joseph Nigel Chiwaya
Hello friends, family, outlaws and others! Welcome to our FIRST print issue of 2020! Before you all dive into some delicious journalism, I want to make a couple things clear, inspired by a very specific passage from Twilight. About three things are absolutely positive... First, The New School Free Press is a student-run, faculty-advised newspaper that is constantly growing and changing. Second, The Free Press is a class that is funded by Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, and is not a club. Third, all we literally want to do is serve our community (you). At the beginning of this semester, most of our staff lurked the halls of The New School and asked some questions. “Where do you get your news?” “Have you ever heard of the Free Press?” “What types of stories do you currently follow?” We got an array of answers: A security guard wants to learn more about our new president, a couple of Lang students wanted to read about diversity among professors, a Psychol-
ogy major at NSSR does NOT want to read streetwear stories, and a lot of our respondents said they want to learn about university finances. Quite the wide net. And although we can’t please everyone (check out Emily Pavis’ profile on streetwear brand Thug District on pages 11-12) that is our end goal. This term, our editors have dedicated beats that they will be pursuing throughout the semester. To name a few: local NYC news, mental health, fashion sustainability, student housing, artist profiles, and diversity issues on campus. We’ve definitely checked a lot of those boxes in this issue. AND for an unlimited time, if you aren’t completely satisfied with your community-serving paper, tell us! Call us! Beep us! If you want to reach us, email us at nsfreepress@gmail.com, or DM us @nsfreepress. I can also get down with a carrier pigeon.
p. 6 “Paper or Plastic?” Is Now a Question of the Past
p. 7-8 “No Justice, No Peace, F--k These Racist A-- Police”
p. 9-10 Thug District: The Clothing Brand Redefining the Definition of “Thug” p. 11-12 Siobhan McPhail: The Lang student celebrating 15 years in the Irish dance world p. 13-14 1 The New School Free Press | March 2020
Kurt Burger Editor-in-Chief
The Roundup Compiled by Sam Ford | Illustrations by Helen Niu
New Residential Housing for New School Students:
transition from President David Van Zandt to President-Elect Dr. Dwight A. McBride, aiming to provide McBride a financially stable university. Dr. Browner emphasized the hiring freeze will have exceptions on a caseby-case basis and the university will continue to fulfill both academic and operational missions despite the slowdown in hiring or replacing faculty and staff.
have a problem [infection] we need to treat them the right way,” Zhou said.
Dr. Dwight A. McBride to Take Position as President in April:
In fall 2020, The New School will open up a new residence hall at 301 First Avenue, between 17th and 18th Streets. Only a 15-minute walk from the University Center, the dorm is 24 stories and will house 630 students Students who currently live on campus can decide to live in university housing over the summer, with the updated option of staying either nine or 12 months. The university has not renewed their ties to the 20th St, 92Y or The Alabama residences, in an effort to centralize The New School residence halls to Greenwich Village and Stuyvesant Park, as stated in an email from the university.
Faculty and Staff Hiring Decline:
While President David Van Zandt leaves The New School after his tenyear contract expires, President-Elect Dr. Dwight A. McBride will take on the position starting April 16. McBride is the first person of color to lead The New School as president, and according to an Instagram post from the university’s account, he’s already getting acclimated to the campus and community.
“My mother always said that you should be able to talk to anyone. She said it’s not people’s job to come to your level.”
On Feb. 13, the community was alerted that an attack had occurred off-campus against a student. The following day, the university sent an email stating: “On Wednesday night at around 10 pm, a New School student was assaulted at the Wendy’s on 14th St. The student, who is Asian, was punched or hit by an unknown man, who disparaged her Asian identity and referenced coronavirus,” said Director of Campus Safety Thomas Ilicito and Interim Chief Enrollment and Success Officer Michelle Relyea.
O Cafe Shuts Down:
“My mother always said that you should be able to talk to anyone. She said it’s not people’s job to come to your level. It’s your job to meet people where they are. I take that very seriously,” McBride said in the Instagram video.
The grab-and-go coffee shop that New Schoolers often rely on has been closed since Feb. 10 due to a rodent infestation. “The [11th Street] location has a little rodent problem right now,” an O Cafe employee said. “Everybody uses the side doors, and people sometimes leave that open, so when that happens, rodents tend to get in and that causes a problem for us because we’re an establishment. We can’t have rats just running all over the place.”
Coronavirus Fears and Conflicts:
A university-wide pause on hiring faculty and staff was the result of a decrease in student enrollment this academic year. In an email sent to the Lang community, Dr. Stephanie Browner, the dean of students, said the decision was due in part to the
Last month our reporters talked to Alex Zhou, an illustration major at Parsons from northern China. Like many other students from China at The New School, Zhou has concerns about the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments experienced by those who identify as Chinese or Asian. “As humanity, we shouldn’t be racist to each other. When people Edited by Michael Izquierdo
2
The Transcript
Indie Rock is Here to Stay: How Two Recent Graduates Are Keeping the Music Alive Lang alum Georgia Sebesky and her band Window Weather released their first EP on Friday, March 6th. | Interviewed by Emily Pavis & Samantha Vogel
Green and white paint adorn the walls of Window Weather’s recording studio in Hoboken, New Jersey. Light fixtures hang from the ceiling by rope and a large rug covered in amps and music gear blankets the floor. In the corner, light pours in through a window, adding to the rustic coziness of the space, making the four flight hike up the stairs worth it. The atmosphere is fulfilled even before they begin to play. Then the performance begins. Sweet, melodic harmonies and woody guitar notes float around the room. The space becomes enveloped in sound. Meet Window Weather: an experimental indie-rock band who released their first self-titled EP on Friday, March 6th. Led by Eugene Lang alumnus vocalist Georgia Sebesky and Bard College alumnus guitarist Evan Dibbs, this songwriting and singing duo started playing music together during their high school years in North Bergen, New Jersey. ‘Winter’, a single from the debut, was released early on February 14 and their EP is now available on music streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music. Sebesky and Dibbs sat down with us to talk about everything music related, from their mentors to why music is their passion, and treated us to a private performance.
Q: What genre of music would you classify the EP as? Dibbs: Well, there’s definitely some ties to an Americana sort of feel; jazz in its harmony, but not so much in its pathos because it’s not very improvisitory. I guess generally we fall under the huge umbrella of indie-rock, but with those two things guiding it. Sebesky: It feels like you’re traveling somewhere, moving somewhere in motion. So if you could encapsulate that into a sound, that’s probably what it is. 3 The New School Free Press | March 2020
Q: How long have you been playing music for?
a ton of the mixes for this EP. I played them for my grandpa in the car on the way to Thanksgiving, and he offered to make an arrangement for us on our next project, which was really cool. It’s really nice to just be able to express what it is that I love and have people in my family understand it.
Dibbs: We’ve been playing music together—not as this band—for a long time. We met in high school at High Tech High School in North Bergen [New Jersey], and we were in the music program there together. We were both under the tutelage of our mentor, Q: Who are some artists who have inScott Killian. He’s our man; we would spired you as musicians? What specifplay together at the Spring and Fall ically about their work has influenced concerts and then didn’t end up playing your own? This could be both spiritually music together for a while, like pretty or musically. much through college. And then when we both moved back to the area, we’re Sebesky: Definitely as far as style goes, like, ‘Hey! We should do something.” Amy Winehouse. Just in her freedom; Sebesky: We started working on this she paved her own way as an artist. As project about a year ago. far as writing goes, one of my favorite bands is called Hop Along and the front Q: How did you get into music? woman named Francis Quinlin. Her lyrical style really influences my own. Sebesky: I think I was probably sub- She gets very specific, in a way that no consciously inspired to play music one else could possibly know exactly because my dad is a jazz guitarist and what she’s talking about, but somehow my grandpa is an orchestrator and ar- feels really universal. And not to say I ranger, so it’s always been very present captured that but I definitely strive to. in my life. Dibbs: “I asked for a guitar Dibbs: Someone who has been a big for Christmas one year and I got a influence for me is a guitar player Bill rinky-dink, hundred-dollar, Starcaster Frisell. It was very serendipitous how Fender and I would just learn a bunch I discovered him; it was my birthday of tunes on my own.” one year and my mom went into a record store and asked, ‘My son’s a guiQ: Georgia, with both your Dad and tar player. What can you recommend?’ Grandfather being musicians, what was it And the guy handed her this live CD of like growing up around notable musicians his called “East and West” and I just and how did that influence your musical gobbled that up. career? Q: What inspired you to name your band Sebesky: It was awesome growing ‘Window Weather’? up in a musical family. I think it definitely, if anything, made me believe Dibbs: I went to Iceland with my famthat I could do it myself; that if I cared ily right after I graduated. And I was about it enough, it was possible. I feel just curious; I wanted to be able to super-grateful to have parents and a pronounce things when I was there, family that know a career in the arts and not sound like an idiot — which is valid and encourage me to pursue I probably still did. But, I was looking it no matter what. Some of the other up different Icelandic terms and there auxiliary things are that I can always was this one term, that the translation ask my dad for advice. He listened to of it meant ‘window weather,’ which
Evan Dibbs, Bard alum, and Georgia Sebesky, Lang alum, perform as the indie rock duo Window Weather. Photo by Mia Gilling
just meant: The way the weather looks as you’re viewing it from inside, looking outside — just sort of how you’re envisioning it. Q: What do you think makes good music? What is good music to you? Dibbs: I definitely feel for me like good music is separate from personally liking things because there are a ton of times where I’m like, that’s really good, and I don’t like it, you know? And actually, it happens in opposite circumstances where I was like, this kind of sucks, but I love it. But the characteristics of what actually makes it good
is hard to say. Sebesky: As corny as it may sound. I think that good music makes you feel something. It makes you feel emotionally attached or moved or make you think about something in a different way. Q: What do you hope people feel or receive from listening to your music? Dibbs: I think there’s a little bit of a quiet sort of personal reflection thing that happens, this music is arranged for quieter setting. On the EP when you play it live, it’s a little louder, but and the fact it has like a sort of bedroom, basement, living room, setting
to a dust those are all the places that it was recorded. People may be listening to it by themselves, and daydreaming when they listen to it.
Window Weather has tour dates booked throughout March and April. To keep up with the band and what they’re working on, you can follow their Instagram @WindowWeatherBand. For their music, go to windowweather.bandcamp.com. For the full WindowWeather Interview and video of the performance, visit www.newschoolfreepress.com/ Edited by Gaby De Gracia
4
The View:
Another Reason to Vote for Bernie Sanders: Climate Change With a limited amount of time left to slow down the powerful forces of climate change before it’s too late, voting for Sanders is also voting for your future. | by Sam Ford
Illustration by Chelsea Sarabia
The planet is transforming right before our eyes; oceans are rising and eroding coastal cities like Miami, Australia just witnessed wildfires destroy about 30 million acres of land, the UN reports that around 200 species are going extinct everyday, and the increased power of hurricanes is felt even in New York, where cleanup from 2012’s Hurricane Sandy is still ongoing. “Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030” before life on Earth is drastically different from the one we inhabit now. That was the warning we were given a year ago from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We currently have a president who denies every bit of climate science and remains adamant about undermining vital Environmental Protection Agency laws, and his supporters are right there with him. Another four years of Trump means our futures are destroyed, as the US would continue to spew out tons of earth-warming fossil fuels and degrade its own land. Come November, voting for a president who has robust plans for the cli5 The New School Free Press | March 2020
Sanders seems to fully understand the severity of the crisis we’re in, and has vowed to actually do something about it.
mate crisis is simply no longer negotiable, because in the interest of time and humanity’s fate, it’s essential. “This is the first time in American political history where climate change is not just a top-tier issue—it is the top-tier issue,” Anthony Leiserowitz, a senior research scientist at Yale, told The Atlantic. Leiserowitz was part of the team of non-partisan researchers who polled Democratic voters about their top issues. Climate change is a top issue for the majority of those polled, second only to health care. So if you’re scared of this crisis, and you would like to have a prosperous and healthy future, vote for Bernie Sanders, because these frightening realities give us no other choice. Bernie has spent decades championing environmental justice and advocating for those most affected by environmental crises. He’s co-sponsored bills like the Environmental Justice Act of 2017, the Climate Protection and Justice Act of 2015, the End Polluter Welfare Act of 2015, and a 2019 bill requiring 100 percent zero emission vehicles by 2040. If you look at Sanders’ campaign website, his climate and environmental justice plans are extensive. Most notably, Sanders co-sponsored the Green New Deal, a bill that calls for the end of fossil fuels by 2030, thousands of new jobs in the transition to clean energy, and finally acknowledging environmental justice communities. The environmental activism organization Greenpeace comprised a 2020 candidate scorecard, which is based on the candidates’ public records and a survey put out by Greenpeace, ultimately indicating where each potential president stands on ending the use of fossil fuels and implementing a Green New Deal. Sanders scores the highest, receiving an A+ with a 45/50 for his commitment to the Green New Deal and a 49/50 for plans to end the use of fossil fuels. Other candidates we’ve seen on the debate stage have plans for climate change, but they’re not nearly as rig-
orous as Sanders’. Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg both have C+’s on the scorecard, viewing the Green New Deal as an “aspiration” rather than a commitment. Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg are a grade above, but both candidates also have loose ideas for the climate, like carbon capture technology that requires fossil fuels to make. Elizabeth Warren scores close to Sanders with an A, but despite Warren’s promise to hold the fossil fuel industry more responsible, Sanders still takes the cake. While each candidate addresses climate change in one way or another, if our government and those in power sit around for another four years twiddling their thumbs debating how to best go about the climate crisis, or entirely deny it as Trump does, the planet will continue to burn. Environmental justice communities like those in the Bronx will have to keep fighting for clean air and water, while reservations, such as Standing Rock in North Dakota, will continue protesting oil pipelines that threaten sacred land, as we saw with the Dakota Access Pipeline. Sanders seems to fully understand the severity of the crisis we’re in, and has vowed to actually do something about it. So when you’re voting in the upcoming primaries and in November, ask yourself who on the ballot has your best interest in mind. Who cares the most about your future, or the future of your friends and family? Who cares the most about the planet you live on? The answer lies within Sanders’ campaign: “As president, Bernie Sanders will boldly embrace the moral imperative of addressing the climate crisis and act immediately to mobilize millions of people across the country in support of the Green New Deal. From the Oval Office to the streets, Bernie will generate the political will necessary for a wholesale transformation of our society.”
Edited by Martin Kaff
Why Hasn’t Vaping Been Cancelled Yet? How trends at The New School brew hypocrisy and potential environmental consequences. | by Simon Chen While walking into school on day in away from combustible cigarettes, February, I saw a handful of students eliminate their use, and combat undervaping, counted five Juul pods on the age usage of our products,” according ground, and over 20 cigarette butts to the Juul website. scattered on the sidewalk outside the Juul’s mission includes combating University Center. the underage use of their products, At a university where the students however Juul labs “purchased ad space are so openly proud to be sustainable in its early days on numerous youth-foand Earth-conscious, littering the cused websites, including those of sidewalks with Juul pods and cigarette Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, butts is an interesting way to show it. Seventeen magazine and educational As the climate crisis escalates, more sites for middle school and high school and more people are committed to students” according to The New York making the world a more sustainable Times. place, and everyone can do that in their Sadly, vaping recently affected my own way. hometown of Grosse Pointe, MI when a Of course, not everyone that vapes teenager named Daniel Ament needed says they are interested in sustain- a double lung transplant because of his ability, and not every sustainability vaping addiction. “I spent 29 days on conscious person vapes, but hypocrisy life support as a 16-year-old and I only is something I’m sure many of you have had a 10% chance of survival... I lost 50 noticed at The New School. days of my memory, 40 pounds, and all A few months ago, I helped con- of my muscles atrophied, which means duct a survey in the UC lobby where I basically lost all of my muscles so I we asked passing New Schoolers if couldn’t even walk,” Daniel said in an they thought cigarette butts or Juul article from the Detroit Free Press. pods were better for the environment. My mom told me that Daniel is Some said Juul pods because they are working to help other students who refillable, others said cigarette butts vape learn from his experience. I live in because they are paper — but in re- a town with a pretty tight-knit school ality, neither of these things is better system, and when something happens than the other. Both are hurting the to a student everyone knows about it. environment. Daniel’s story is scary, but he is telling I was doing this survey because I it so he can hopefully make a change in am double majoring in Journalism + our community. Design and Interdisciplinary Science Something that could also affect at Lang. Being exposed to classes the health of teens like Daniel are that relate to more than one branch of disposable vapes. There has been a knowledge has taught me to holistically recent rise in disposable, single-use look at our effects on the environment. vape devices that have changed the I’ve tried vaping before. It’s hard game. This is a result of the a loophole not to, e-cigarettes are everywhere: in in the Trump administration’s ban on tote bags, pockets, purses, and class- flavored vape cartridges for refillable rooms. The sleek and discreet look of devices and it doesn’t apply to the sinmany e-cigs has made them incredibly gle-use vapes, according to The New popular because they are easy to car- York Times. ry around and use in public. Juul Labs’ The popularity of disposable e-cigsales increased 641 percent — from arettes poses a threat to the environ2.2 million devices sold in 2016 to 16.2 ment as well. The continual purchase million devices sold in 2017, according of different disposable vapes such as to The Center for Disease Control and Puff Bars, Mojo Disposable Vapes and Prevention. “Our mission is to transi- so many more increases the production tion the world’s billion adult smokers of these devices, and since they are
Are you making a conscious effort to be sustainable for the health of the Earth, or is it something that you do when it works for you?
single-use they will need to keep producing more to keep up with the high demand. Producing and disposing of these devices is bad for the planet. The environmental consequences of vaping are overlooked because we like how vaping makes us feel. We are addicted to the nicotine and the buzz that comes with inhaling the chemicals into our lungs. That’s the danger, not realizing how bad something actually is because it’s popular. I am not perfect. Sometimes I use plastic bags if I forget my reusable ones, sometimes I fall asleep with a lamp on, or forget to recycle a bottle or two. I really hope you can see the danger that vaping poses to yourself as well as the environment, and how it is important to be aware of what you say versus what you do. Are you making a conscious effort to be sustainable for the health of the Earth, or is it something that you do when it works for you?
Illustration by Ha Tran Edited by Sammi Fisher
6
Illustration by Sophie Lee
“Paper or Plastic?” Is Now a Question From the Past On March 1, the state of New York officially banned all single-use plastic bags. | by Elia Griffin and Emmet White Leftover plastic bags from carrying “Plastic! Waste, Design, Entanglement, the week’s groceries and bodega and the World’s Most Formidable Subsnacks will no longer be stuffed to the stance”, in a phone interview. back of New Yorker’s cabinets for later “You see plastic bags hanging in reuse. In a push to preserve and clean trees, blowing down the streets, in up the state’s environment, water- landfills and in our waterways, and ways, and air, single-use plastic bags there is no doubt they are doing trewere banned on March 1 and replaced mendous damage,” said Governor with paper bags with a fee of five cents Andrew Cuomo after signing the New under the New York State Plastic Bag York State Plastic Bag Waste ReducWaste Reduction Act. tion Act on Earth Day, April 22, 2019 “New Yorkers use an estimated 23 Plastic bags have been such a probbillion plastic bags annually - each for lem for New York that the state created about 12 minutes - and approximate- a Plastic Bag Task Force in 2017 with ly 85 percent of this staggering total the goal of developing strategies to mitends up in landfills, recycling machines, igate the state’s reliance on bags. The waterways, and streets,” said a Feb. 17 Task Force’s 2018 report laid out the press release from the New York State issue in stark terms. Department of Environmental Conser“Plastic bags also interfere with vation. wastewater treatment plants, pose a “From my understanding and re- threat to fish and wildlife, and break search, there is no way to keep plastic down into microplastics. These microfrom breaking down into the envi- plastics, which can be millimeters to ronment,” said Dylan Gaulthier, who micrometers in size, can absorb toxins teaches the University Lecture titled and leach chemicals. When ingested by 7 The New School Free Press | March 2020
“You see plastic bags hanging in trees, blowing down the streets, in landfills and in our waterways, and there is no doubt they are doing tremendous damage”
wildlife, these chemicals and toxins bioaccumulate up the food chain to humans,” the report read. “In 2010, approximately 4 to 12 million metric tons of plastics found their way into aquatic environments. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic by weight in the world’s oceans than fish,” said the same report. In advance of the new law, shoppers were greeted in stores by signs near check-out areas announcing the beginning of the plastic-bag-free era for the state. “As a business, because you are already established, all you can really do is prepare because now that’s the law,” said Eli Singleton, associate manager of the Blick Art Materials at 21 E. 13 St. Singleton said that the store had not done much to prepare for the ban but was waiting on Blick’s corporate offices to give the word on what the next move would be. “We just know we aren’t going to get plastic bags anymore.” Lin Ko mans the counter at H&H Fruit and Grocery, the bodega at 471 6th Ave. After the regulations were finalized last month, Ko initially fretted about how she would replace the frequently used plastic bags. “Right now, it’s kind of a headache,” said Ko, holding up a pint-sized paper bag. She explained that their supplier for these smaller paper bags will now provide them with large paper bags. The manager of Merci Market at 59 5th Ave., James Shim, had mixed feelings on the plastic bag ban, “One is good, one is bad,” he said. “It’s good for the environment, but for the customer it is very hard.” Additionally, Shim said that the cost of paper bags is “double or triple” the cost of the plastic bags he bought before. Getting rid of the old stock of single-use plastic carry out bags is being dealt with in different ways for these three businesses around school. For Merci Market, Shim said the plastic bags leftover will be returned to the seller for a refund in New Jersey. Days before the plastic bag ban went into effect some businesses still had questions left unanswered. “The only thing I genuinely don’t know about is what we are going to do with the stock of bags we already have. I don’t know if we are going to throw them out or give them out,” said Singleton.
Bagging and weighing a crop of tur- bag with handles that is continuously nips at the Union Square Greenmarket, reusable by design. Tim Gorzynski of Gorzynski Organic Tax revenue collected through the Farm viewed the ban in a mostly pos- bag fee must be put towards the puritive light: “It is going to force people chasing and distribution of reusable to prepare, to do things with purpose.” bags, specifically in low and fixed inWhile Gorzynski believes in the come areas, with the remainder being ban, he said that cloth bags are more placed in an environmental protection breathable and do allow produce to rot fund. The fee will not apply to those more quickly. Gorzynski noted that utilizing the USDA’s Supplemental Nuplastic bags used to carry produce trition Assistance Program or Special are exempt from the ban and that the Supplemental Nutrition Program for preparation necessary for his business Women, Infants and Children. was minimal. Other exemptions to the rule inBecause plastic waste washes down clude bags containing uncooked meats into sewer drains, New York City’s or fish, bags used to package made to Wastewater Treatment Plants must order foods, newspaper bags, bags filter out large pieces of plastic, like intended to be sold in bulk, trash and soda bottles, while microplastics still garment bags, takeout food and prelinger during the treatment process. scription medication bags per New “Plastic bags are the worst offenders York State sanitary code. Vendors that get caught up in the gears of the caught distributing plastic bags will
4 Million Tons of Plastic At least 4 million tons of plastics were estimated to have entered aquatic ecosystems in 2010. This is equivalent in weight to:
432,432 Volkswagen Beetles (0.925 tons each)
2,857 Blue whales (140 tons each)
“The environment definitely needs to be cared for a little more, it’s already awful enough living in New York and seeing the way things are. It could definitely use a change. It’s [the ban] is a good start.” machinery there,” said Gauthier of the first receive a warning but then are city’s wastewater treatment plants, subject to an initial penalty of $250 “They have to actually shut down their and $500 for any subsequent violations. filtering and processing operations “If we are comparing one disposable while they clear plastic bags.” technology to another disposable tech“The environment definitely needs nology we aren’t seeing the greatest to be cared for a little more, it’s already gain,” said Gauthier, explaining that awful enough living in New York and reusable bags are also produced with seeing the way things are. It could defi- plastic and will inevitably be disposnitely use a change. It’s [the ban] a good able. “You need to be willing to reuse start,” said Singleton. that organic cotton bag about 20,000 Singleton and Shim share the sen- times for it to have the same overall timent that the ban is good for the en- footprint as a plastic bag.” vironment, but Shim also believes that Additionally, Gauthier expressed forcing the use of paper bags will be an concern that plastic bag producers inconvenience for customers. would simply shift their target mar“Customers will complain a lot and ket, saying, “In places where there are then they will get used to it,” said Shim. plastic bag bans, those industries move But in the meantime, he worries about into selling plastic bags to the consumcustomers who are in a rush and how er, not the store.” easily damageable paper bags are. However, Gauthier emphasized the Consumers are encouraged to positive impact of the ban as a whole. bring their own reusable bag while “As we’ve seen, these plastic bag bans shopping if they want to avoid the five do have a real impact on the amount cent charge for paper, and the new law of plastic bags that people have acsays stores must make reusable bags cess to and can use. We will see a net available to customers in the store to reduction in the use of plastic bags in purchase. A “reusable bag” is defined New York State. It’s a step in the right in two forms under the law. Either it direction and it shows a will to enact is a cloth or machine washable fabric environmental policies.” with handles or it is a “durable” plastic
1,212 MTA
L-Trains (330 tons each)
8 World Trade Centers combined (500,000 tons each)
Illustrations by Olivia Heller Data compiled by Emmet White
Edited by Claire Boudour
8
This photograph is from the FTP protest on January 31st, and does not reflect the current state of police presence in the subways. Photo by Elia Griffin
“No Justice, No Peace, F--k These Racist A-- Police” New Yorkers go head to head with the city’s transit system demanding reform— discontented with high fares, lack of accessibility, and an increased police presence. | by Ayesha Le Breton New Yorkers are fed up with the current state of the MTA, saying they face numerous issues on a daily basis, including harassment from the police, a lack of accessibility, and high fares. “The thing is, everyday, no matter what station, there are police there. They have stepped up their obvious presence, they are stepping up their undercover presence. I got stopped by undercovers evading the fare,” said 31-year-old Crown Heights resident, Elsa Waithe. “If they were trying to deter people from hopping the turnstiles, 9 The New School Free Press | March 2020
why would you be there undercover, why would you hide behind a door, or around the corner? You’re there to catch people, to generate revenue, they would much rather catch you doing a crime than prevent you doing a crime— it has nothing to do with that.” Blacks and Latinos made up 90% of New Yorkers arrested for fare evasion in the fourth quarter of 2019, a New School Free Press analysis of NYPD records shows. “If you [police] were concerned about fare evasion, stop doing it to
“They would much rather catch you doing a crime than prevent you doing a crime.”
black and brown folk.” said Terrea Mitchell of People’s Power Assemblies, a local advocacy group that fights discrimination and oppression. She continues, ”they are just criminalizing poor people and further criminalizing marginalized communities with these cops.” The MTA announced plans last fall to hire an additional 500 uniformed officers to patrol subways, bringing the total number of officers in the system to 3,000. The agency defended the decision, saying the officers would prevent crimes in the system. “NYPD and MTA PD officers act as a deterrent throughout the transit system against those who would violate rules and/or endanger our customers and employees. In some situations when rules or laws are broken, summonses are appropriate,” said Aaron Donovan, MTA spokesman.
MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. the MTA. Within a few weeks, a secFoye addressed questions surrounding ond was announced through a DTP the police expansion at a press con- instagram post refuting the hiring of ference after the agency’s December Dermont Shea, New York City Police board meeting. According to Foye, the Commissioner who has long advocated increase would realistically result in an for maintaining the department’s gang additional “40 to 60 officers per shift.” database. But some commuters aren’t buying Recurring chants shouted at these these explanations. Sabrina Chapa, a protests included “No justice, No police, graduate student at Milano School of F--k these racist a-- police” and “How Policy, Management, and Environment, do you spell racist? NYPD.” said she thought the extra policing The NYPD condemned violent prowould lead to more tension. testors. “Changes aren’t going to come from “In no way will this be tolerated. the policies, policies are going to bring While the NYPD will always protect these fights up,” said Chapa. “I mean people’s right to protest, we will not we know with the extra 500 police of- accept illegal behaviour that threatficers in the MTA, public dollars [are] ens the safety of others,” said Chief going to basically enforce structural of Department at the NYPD Terence and physical violence on people. And Monahan in a video posted on Twitter maybe these policies are well inten- the afternoon of the protest. tioned but it’s also like, we’re done with “Whenever the narrative is saying these neo-liberal policies that are just what we’re doing is violent, which is harming people, instead of helping us.” what the media says a lot, they fail to The MTA’s decision to expand acknowledge that it’s actually self-deits police force has sparked several fensive because the first violences are protests, with scores of New Yorkers actually structural,” said Chapa. “Getswarming transit hubs to express their ting the general public to acknowledge anger at the agency. the structural violence is just as harmOne such protest, on January 31, ful as physical violence, if not worse, saw protestors pack Grand Central because it continues for generations.” Terminal at the height of rush hour. Commuters have other concerns. The protest, which according to Goth- Evan, a New School student, said that amist drew over one thousand people, the system is difficult to use for comwas dubbed “F--k the Police III” and muters with disabilities. was the third organized since last No“For me the main thing is the accesvember by a coalition of city groups, sibility; all stops on the subway should including Decolonize This Place, NYC be accessible. My mom is in a wheelShut It Down, and PPA. chair, and for her and everyone else it “My goal was to get The New School should be accessible,” said Evan. organized on an institutional level, beLess than 25% of Manhattan stacause a lot of people that are here have tions are wheelchair accessible, acjobs here,” said Chapa, who helped cording to the website Wheelchair organize TNS protestors at FTP III. Travel. “We don’t just come to school so you Other commuters say the cost of can just talk theory all the f--king time.” riding the trains is too high, with the “I don’t believe in paying for this ser- cost of a 30-day unlimited ride metvice, especially when my money doesn’t rocard reaching $127 after the MTA go towards making it better but it goes raised prices last year. to all the over-policing,” said Waithe. “Paying $127 every month is the “I’m not a legislator, I’m not here to fig- bane of my existence,” said Vienna ure out the solution and I don’t think Vernose, a fourth-year Journalism + it’s on the populace to figure out the Design student at Lang. solution. What we are seeing is ‘we’re According to a New York Times armad!’ and the powers-that-be need to ticle, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated figure out the solution.” that the MTA loses $240 million a year The first FTP action took place because of fare evasion on the subway in Downtown Brooklyn and was a and buses. Currently, individuals who direct response to surfaced videos do not pay the fare are faced with a of officers fighting with teenagers on $100 fine. A reduced-fare Metrocard
A homemade banner at the protest at Grand Central terminal. Photo by Elia Griffin
“They are just criminalizing poor people and further criminalizing marginalized communities with these cops.”
program for low-income New Yorkers is part of the MTA’s effort towards improving affordability. “The Fair-Fares program is available to any family meeting income threshold requirements, and we encourage college students and others who qualify to submit applications to the New York City agency that administers the program,” said Donovan. On Jan. 1, the MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Plan went into effect—the largest in the corporation’s history. It includes $54.8 billion of investments in the region’s transit system, increasing spending on infrastructure by 70% over prior levels. The agency’s website also lists “upgrading stations and improving accessibilities” as one of the plan’s top priorities. Meanwhile, this movement continues to encourage fellow New Yorkers to take the steps available to them to make transit more accessible. “They can swipe it forward, they can come to our [PPA] meetings. You can’t solicit a swipe, but if you see someone that needs to be swiped in on your way out, just swipe them in,” said Mitchell. In an Instagram post, DTP recently put forward the possibility of an FTP IV, but has yet to announce details. “I’m sure we can look forward to an FTP four, five and six. That’s the thing, it’s not on us to come up with a solution, I’m telling you what the problem is. Nobody hired me to figure out the solution,” said Waithe. Rebecca Mesonjnik contributed reporting.
Edited by Claire Boudour
10
Thug District: The Clothing Brand Redefining the Definition of “Thug” Breaking boundaries with art activism through fashion and music. | by Emily Pavis
Justin Hebrard (left) in his bedroom, pictured with his canvas painting of 2 Chainz. All of the art on the wall was also done by Hebrard. His friend Ramon (right) is in the corner. Photo by Emily Pavis
Thug District is a streetwear clothing brand and an artistic community that’s aiming to redefine racial stereotypes and promote emotional expression through fashion, music and art. “Thug District is an artistic collective that I founded about a year and a half ago,” said Justin “Yung Freeza” Hebrard, a second-year Product Design major at Parsons. “It was created in my three-room apartment, housing at least six to ten people at all times,” Hebrard said. “We all united as outcasts, from certain societies that we were brought up in, and we were always striving to do better and be our best selves. But that didn’t necessarily 11 The New School Free Press | March 2020
mean being accepted by the groups types of backgrounds,” Hebrard said. that brought us up or different people “And everyone in the house had made that we originally felt like we had to mistakes before, which was one of the belong to.” biggest things that we all united on. As Hebrard settled into The New We had all messed up.” Some of the School community, moving to a build- members had experienced being in ing in the East Village from Oakland, the foster care system, been faced with CA, he observed that he was surround- homelessness, and had to combat raed by a group of artistically talented cial stereotypes, according to Hebrard. people. While his circle was comprised The idea of uniting in hopes of of creative people, these friends all had redefining their difficult upbringing something else in common: a troubled through art inspired Hebrard’s deand sometimes violent past. velopment of the Thug District motto “We had some people who were cit- and logo. The letter’s “T” and “D” in izens of the United States, some who Old-English font depicting a submaweren’t, people of all different colors, chine gun, otherwise known as an Uzi, people who were born to all different is the iconic symbol of the brand. The
logo is paired with the collective’s motto, a poem written by Hebrard: “From the gates, we were all Dealt different cards. It is true, that we have done wrong and continue to beat the odds. This district is comprised of THUGS. A unit, united by LOVE. Although we used to tote guns, We are no longer on the run. From all walks of life, We have gathered here for fun. We compose beautiful art To be praised in the light, Not to be hid in the dark.”
The Thug District clothing line includes handmade, screen-printed hoodies, crewnecks, t-shirts, shorts and more, including repurposed denim. The hoodies come in black, neon-orange or pink, with the Thug District poem on either side and the logo in various spots. The development of the logo expedited the creation of the clothing brand. The profits from the clothing were spent on further creative endeavours for the group. “We started paying for studio time and buying can-
vases financed through our clothing sales,” Hebrard said. Thug District also makes custom clothing orders, available through direct messages on their Instagram @ThugDistrict. They currently make most of their sales through Instagram and events such as pop-up stores, parties with live performances and gallery shows. They have a website in development, according to their Instagram bio. Brooklyn resident and rapper, Isaac “Yung Rugrat” Smith, who is friends with the reporter, is one of the original artists in Thug District. The sales of clothing he made through Thug District allowed him to produce a professional studio album last year, titled “smoke bomb” and an EP released in 2018, “IN Zeus We Trust,” available on SoundCloud under “Yung Rugrat”. Thug District was founded with Hebrard’s mission to promote healthy emotional expression through art in order to avoid conflicts in one’s community, as well as redefining stereotypes and racial assumptions. “I have a belief that raw emotion can produce some of the best art that the world has ever seen,” Hebrard said. “But raw
“We all kind of united as outcasts, from certain societies that we were brought up in, and we were always striving to do better and be our best selves.” Hebrard wearing one of the shirts from the Thug District line. Photo by Emily Pavis Edited by Mila Greenberg
emotion can also be the cause of some of the most horrendous crimes that we see in society. So Thug District focuses on direction of energy, and trying to direct our energy in a positive way, rather than a negative way resulting in violence.” Justin Hebrard founded Thug District in 2019 as a creative support system for the diverse struggling artists in his community. “As we continued to live together, it was easy to practice art within the household because it was a place free of judgment with a lot of support.” Hebrard no longer resides in the original apartment where Thug District was born. “It got to the point where I was sharing my space with more people than it was designed to have.” Smith was one of the first struggling artists that Hebrard lived with in his first apartment. “I decided to move in with Justin because I lived with my family at the time, and there were a lot of family problems,” Smith said. “They didn’t think that me pursuing music was really going to get anywhere, they wanted me to do other things and I didn’t want to. So I just decided to become an adult and move out. I was on the streets for a while, until a mutual friend introduced me to Justin and he took me in.” Smith soon became involved with a community that developed into Thug District, where he was able to express his artistic passions. “I really want to do this,” Smith said. “I’ve always wanted to make clothes and I just never found people in my life in my experience that really want to.” Thug District is also aiming to combat racial restraints by redefining the definition of thug through the name of their collective. “It’s definitely a word that I feel as if needs to be redefined. The word “thug” to me is someone who doesn’t necessarily fit in with the norm, or the masses, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad, right?” Hebrard said. “I feel like as long as you’re going through all the trials of day to day life with other people that are going through similar things that care about you and help support you, it makes it a lot easier, and it makes it a lot easier to continue to do right and to do good and try your best when you don’t feel as if you’re alone in this world.” 12
Meet Siobhan McPhail: The Lang student celebrating 15 years in the Irish dance world We sat down with the qualifier for the 2020 World Irish Dancing Championships to discuss life balancing college and her Irish dance career.| by Ayesha Le Breton
Siobhan in her solo dresses across her dance career. Photos courtesy of Siobhan McPhail
Siobhan McPhail’s busy schedule keeps her on her toes. From balancing a career in Irish dance, to being a full time Eugene Lang student, McPhail also qualified for the 2020 World Irish Dancing Championships. At 20 years old, McPhail is a graduating junior pursuing a degree in Contemporary Dance, and about to celebrate 15 years in the Irish dance world. The Milwaukee native has been smitten with jigs since she was five and has competed in more shows than she can count. “Once I started I couldn’t stop, I haven’t been able to stop since—I can’t think about my life without it,” she said. The “Worlds” — the term for the World Irish Dancing Championships — have been McPhail’s goal throughout her entire competitive career. “I’ve been trying to do that since I was 8 when I started competing,so a long while. I’ve been within 10 [places] of qualifying since my senior year of 13 The New School Free Press | March 2020
“I’ve been trying to qualify for so long, it was just so exciting. I got on stage they’re all hugging me, they know I’ve been trying for this for a while.”
high school, every year I would keep are some instances where they go moving up.” hand in hand so it’s okay,” said McPhail. Last year, over Thanksgiving week- This semester she registered for online end in Louisville, Kentucky, McPhail courses, giving her more time to dance placed second in the Mid-America outside of school. Regionals getting her one step closer McPhail struggled to find her footto fulfilling her dream. ing. She would practice in her dorm in “I’ve been trying to qualify for so Loeb Hall or wait until 1 a.m. for the long, it was so exciting,” she said. “I gym and mirrors to free up in the got on stage they’re all hugging me, building’s basement. Now she uses the they know I’ve been trying for this for fitness studio in the University Center, a while so they’re congratulating me, I and practices at Brooklyn’s Donny started crying.” Golden School of Irish Dance, where Freshman year, balancing college she’s found a community of fellow Irish and her career was tough. She moved dancers. to New York after leaving her local “Golden’s this really big guy in Irish dance studio—Kinsella Academy of dance. My teachers remember doing Irish Dance— in Milwaukee, while re- workshops with him when they were covering from a sprained ankle. “I’m younger, so they were like, “He’s in New really close with my dance teachers. It York. You should look him up and see was really hard being away from them, if you can practice with him. He’s been having to practice on my own,” she said. so great ever since I moved here. I go “I’m not sure I do the best job bal- to his class at least once a week and he ancing school and dance. I’ve always gives me corrections,” she said. prioritized dance over school. There
In February, McPhail placed second at her first competition of the year—2020 Feis na Nollag— in Kingsborough Community College. She dances in the under 21 category, where the allocated set is called “reel hornpipe.” “My first round is about a minute and a half, my second round is like 50 seconds, my third round is also about a minute and a half,” said McPhail. McPhail dedicates hours of work towards perfecting her short sets. “I practice anywhere from 7 hours to 14 hours a week.” said McPhail, “Sometimes I’ll get to class and I won’t get called up for the first half an hour so I’ll spend that time stretching and warming up. Other times I get there and I’ll get called up onstage right away so I have to warm up after dancing first. When I practice on my own I like to take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to warm up depending on how my body is feeling that day. On competition days I’ll start warming up about 2 hours before I dance,” she said. On a Thursday morning in February, while she stretched in the UC’s fitness center, McPhail shared her rehearsal Spotify playlist entitled Siobhan performing at the competition, where she placed 2nd overall. Photo by Sam Ford
After the awards were announced, the competition’s air became less tense. Photo by Sam Ford
“Trebe Gigs” and an app called Feis, created for the Irish dance community and featuring Irish dancing music “from the best and most popular artists on the scene today.” She rehearsed in regular gym wear, and the respective footwear—hardshoe or softshoe. But once she hits the stage, she adorns a one-of-a-kind solo costume. “When I got my first one I was eight, and I think I’m on my ninth one. Nine dresses in 13 years,” she said. Stage fright is foreign to McPhail. “I don’t get nervous. I always wake up about four hours before my round is supposed to start because it always takes an hour and a half to do my hair and makeup which I do listening to Beyonce. Then I’ll go to the competition warm- up, stretch out. That’s it really,” she said. The next time McPhail takes to the stage will be April 10th and 11th to compete at the Worlds in Dublin, Ireland. In the meantime, she documents her journey as an Irish dancer online via Instagram.
Edited by Gaby De Gracia
14