NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 43, No. 14
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
nyunews.com STUDENT LIFE
NYU Secrets passes the torch By MARITA VLACHOU News Editor
STAFF PHOTO BY RACHEL KAPLAN
Nathan Pike finished this season with an 18-5 record. He is now preparing for the NCAA East Regional in order to advance to the National Championships.
SECRETS continued on PG. 3
STORY ON PAGE 5
STAFF PHOTO BY MATHILDE VAN TULDER
VIA THEGAZELLE.ORG
INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Gazelle: NYU Students demand human rights action NYU students release a letter in reaction to the most recent Human Rights Watch report. STORY on PG. 2
What an NYUCard can get you A look at the discounts and free services available to NYU students, from museums to motor rentals. STORY on PG. 4
STAFF PHOTO BY RACHEL KAPLAN
Profile of wrestler Nathan Pike The junior talks about his athletics career since coming to New York City after he transferred to NYU this past semester. STORY on PG. 5
Rikers Island needs to reform ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDAN ENRIQUEZ
NYU Secrets will close down after 9,000 posts, but the page’s followers will still be able to share their anonymous secrets through a new page titled NYUSecrets. After only one day the new page has 5,230 likes. NYU Secrets, which has been active since November 2012, was made for sharing anonymous secrets and building a community within the university. NYU Secrets founder Aristo Orginos said community response was the main reason he chose to allow NYU Secrets to continue on a different page. “So many people said that for better or for worse, NYU Secrets was an integral part of their experience here,” Orginos said. “A lot of people said they weren’t ready to see the page end, which to me meant that the page hadn’t
After several reports of abuse at Rikers Island Correctional Facility, New York City cannot continue to ignore misconduct. STORY on PG. 7
FEATURES
‘Blackfish’ writer talks animals, tech By ZOE THOMPSON Staff Writer
Activists and writers gathered at NYU’s Hemmerdinger Hall on Friday for the Digital Animals Conference. The conference was held to confront the unique set of problems that technology poses to animals, who participants argued are often ignored in the name of progress. CAS junior Celia Salisbury, who majors in animal studies, considers collaborative nature of such events as a vital part of fomenting dialogue on animal rights. “I think that New York is a central area for issues like this, and especially at NYU there’s a lot of people who are activists who have their own passions,” Salisbury said. “It’s a really good cause.” Tim Zimmerman, the associate producer and writer of the documentary “Blackfish,” gave a personal account of journalism and the powers of digital activism. “Blackfish” is a narrative based on the captivity of killer whales in SeaWorld. “What sparked my interest in
animal welfare was the captive life of a killer whale and the welfare issues surrounding their lives in captivity,” Zimmerman said. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘Well why just killer whales?’ I became much more aware in thinking about animal welfare issues more broadly.” For Zimmerman, the biggest technological threat to animal welfare is the food people choose to eat. He said the lack of public understanding regarding animal farming and food production has had a vast impact on animal protection. “I think without doubt the biggest issue related to animal welfare is factory farming, where animals are living just unspeakably difficult and painful lives ending in slaughter for the consumption and production of cheap meat that we all eat,” Zimmerman said. “If you just consider the number of animals, the scale and suffering involved, it dwarfs pretty much all other animal issues.” However, both Zimmerman and Joanna Zelman, the co-sponsor of the event and editor of the animal
welfare website The Dodo, argued that technological advances could also be used for animal protection. “I think we are learning that there is digital risks, but there is also a lot of benefits to having technology,” Zelman said. “Now, we can hunt down poachers who are killing rhinos with drones and do medical research now that isn’t testing on animals.” Zimmerman said social media has proven to be a highly effective way to promote animal issues, adding that a major component of the success of “Blackfish” was the reaction it received on sites like Twitter and Facebook. “[Technology] is hugely powerful in exposing information and the reality of different experiences that animals have in terms of when they are used in human commerce and entertainment,” Zimmerman said. “Thinking about the “Blackfish” experience, there is no question that digital tools have had an enormous impact on SeaWorld and other marine parks.” Email Zoe Thompson at features@nyunews.com.