WSN030215

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 43, No. 18

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

nyunews.com STUDENT LIFE

Steinhardt freshman wins UVL contest

By KATHERINE STEIN Contributing Writer

STAFF PHOTO BY RECCA SORIANO

Steinhardt freshman Yasmin Williams, competing for Palladium, plays guitar on the Main Stage of Skirball during Ultra Violet Live, NYU’s Violet 100 talent show. Williams took home the grand prize for her unique guitar style.

New curator plans to modernize MoMA

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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SPORTS

Basketball teams salute seniors

By MICHAEL THOMPSON Contributing Writer

NYU men’s and women’s basketball celebrated their soon-tobe graduates with victories at senior day on Saturday. The seniors, Iyoha Agho, Conor Smith, Melissa Peng and Lexi BoveDomenech, were honored with a ceremony before each game.

The men’s team, on the brink of NCAA Tournament play, convincingly defeated Brandeis University with a 90-75 win.

The Violets built their lead in the first half and never relinquished it. They shot over 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Brandeis by a dominant margin of 48 to 26.

Junior Hakeem Harris continued his stellar play, leading the

Love TED talks?

Students compete to win The Pitch by giving 5 min long TED talks.

STORY on PG. 3

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The photography department at the Museum of Modern Art is undergoing a conceptual overhaul.

On Feb. 26, NYU’s La Maison Française hosted a conversation between Quentin Bajac, the department’s chief curator, and Shelley Rice, a Tisch art history professor.

The discussion focused on Bajac’s current work and his goals for the museum, which he says represent a major departure from the tenure of his predecessors.

“I think that it would not make sense today to go on doing the same thing,” Bajac said.

“One of the problems today of

the mega-institution is that they are all doing the same thing.

It’s maybe time to change and be young.”

Part of this fresh perspective stems from his French heritage, which makes him MoMA’s first non-American curator. Before joining MoMA in 2013, Bajac was most well known for curating collections at the Musée d’Orsay and the Centre Pompidou.

The New York City art community has anticipated Bajac’s stateside arrival. Tisch sophomore Phoebe Boosalis was intrigued by what Bajac had

STAFF PHOTO BY MATHILDE VAN TULDER

By ZOE THOMPSON Contributing Writer

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team in scoring with 25 points, 15 of which came from threepoint range. He finished the regular season with an average of 18.6 points per game.

Junior Evan Kupferberg led the way down low with a double-double, racking up a teamhigh 17 rebounds in addition to his 16 points. Running the offense up top was freshman guard Ross Udine. Udine was a floor general against Brandeis, with a career-best 13 assists.

On the women’s team, Peng and Bove-Domenech were honored pre-game en route to a 71 to 62 win over Brandeis University. Bove-Domenech, who made her first career start, played seven minutes, totaling two points, two assists and two rebounds. Peng finished with a

Sophomore’s music video debuts The video for “Open Their Eyes” is now on YouTube.

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career best 17 points, including a three-point buzzer-beater to close out the first half and tie the score at 36.

The Violets played much better in the second half, outscoring Brandeis by nine points in the final 20 minutes to seal their 21st victory of the year.

Although senior day emotionally wraped up the regular season, there is still basketball to be played. The Violets, ranked as one of the nation’s top 25 teams in several different polls, are a virtual lock for an NCAA Tournament bid.

The men, on the other hand, are on the bubble. With impressive wins on their record — including their

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FEATURES

NYU students showed off their skills at UltraViolet Live, the univeristy’s annual talent competition, on Thursday at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

From a hula hooper who improvised most of her act, to a beat boxer who performs often with his acapella group, there was a wide spectrum of experience and skills.

Host Nicole Byer, an actress and comedian starring on MTV’s “Girl Code,” kicked off the event with a comedy routine. The judges for the night were Lea Delaria (“Orange is the New Black”), Jack Falahee (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Manila Luzon (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) and Brandyn Burnette, winner of UVL in 2009 who is now signed with a Warner Bros music deal.

Divers make waves NYU Divers are set to compete in regional chanmpionships.

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Interactive Arts Performance Series Tae Hong Park is directing this event in conjunction with the Programs in Music Technology and Music Composition at 7 p.m. in the Frederick Loewe Theatre.

A man stands in Union Square protesting Mexican drug lords on Sunday.

STAFF PHOTO BY HARK KANWAL

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JESSICA TIEN

Picturing Chicago’s Jewish Ghetto Adjunct professor of history Daniel Greene is giving a lecture about “Todros Geller and the Imagined Past” in the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at 6:30 p.m. as part of Grey Art Gallery’s “The Left Front” exhibit.

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Justice for All? The NLG Animal Rights Activism Committee is hosting a panel discussion about the intersectionality of animal rights with other social issues, such as race, class and gender. The discussion will take place in Smart Classroom 204 in Vanderbilt Hall at 6 p.m.

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Students pitch potential TED talks

By JIMMY CHIN Contributing Writer

Discovery in science, inequality in India, the importance of net worth and succeeding in entrepreneurship were the focus of student presentations at The Pitch: Spotlight for TEDxNYU on Friday at the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. Four students competed for a chance to present at an actual TED event.

As part of the competition, students presented a five minute version of a TED talk they would like to give in the future. Steinhardt sophomore and speaker/director for TEDxNYU Nasrin Jafari and Wagner professor Ellen McGrath evaluated the competitors based on presentation and content.

CAS sophomore Sudhi Kaushik, the winner of the competition, shared the story of his non-profit Equality Initiative, which aims to provide education to India’s rural population, and called for awareness and help.

“According to UNESCO there are 800 million adults and 122 million

children that are illiterate currently,” Kaushik said. “We as NYU students have the resources and the capabilities to get one step closer to finding those answers, to finding those solutions and to keep trying.”

CAS sophomore Sanjna Verma competed in The Pitch, and shared her story about teaching herself to code. Verma told the audience to focus on something she calls net worthing, rather than on networking.

“In teaching myself how to code, I really began to do something different,” Verma said. “All of a sudden I was increasing my net worth.”

Impana Srikantappa, a Poly graduate student, gave a talk drawing on her experience running a start up clothing company in India, and urged others to seize the resources that are available to them to pursue entrepreneurship. Among those resources, she listed crowd funding and angel networks that could aid entrepreneurs with their ideas.

“We live in such a connected world that has unprecedented access to information, unprecedented access to capital and resources, unprecedent-

STAFF PHOTO BY MATHILDE VAN TULDER

CAS sophomore Sanja Verma presents her pitch at the TEDxNYU conference. ed improvements for entrepreneurs and innovators,” Srikantappa said.

CAS alumnus and student at Einstein College of Medicine Niloy Iqeal talked about the dangers of rigidity and memorization in teaching science.

“Think about for a minute how much better science would be, how much better science education would be, if instead of asking little children to memorize an equation, we gave them some tools for guid-

ance and have them discover those equations using their own intuition,” Iqbal said.

After the event, Jafari said he would like to see more people attend the event.

“I’m glad that TED at NYU has expanded from the past couple years that it’s been here,” Jafari said. “I think the word has been getting out more, but I think we have a long way to go.”

Kaushik said the benefits of win-

ning are deeper than just a victory.

He said he hopes to use TEDx as a platform to help his non-profit.

“It always feels good to win, but I think it’s what you get afterwards,” Kaushik said. “I recently just met some people in attendance that would improve Equality Initiative — the organization the talk was about — substantially.”

Email Jimmy Chin at news@nyunews.com.

Iraqi ambassador discusses military, ISIS

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Student talents impress at Skirball

The grand prize winner was Palladium contestant and Steinhardt freshman Yasmin Williams, who strummed, drummed and plucked her acoustic guitar to create a cacophony of sound, creating the effect of multiple instruments playing at once.

“I still can’t believe it to be honest, I thought they made a mistake,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘Guys, stop playing with me right now.’ That was crazy. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

Williams said she hopes to make more music in the future and visit different places.

“Going to different places, making more music, it’s what I do,” Williams said.

Each of the 15 acts won a preliminary talent contest within the commuuter community or their residence halls in the New York campus, NYU Abu Dhabi or Polytechnic School of Engineering.

Apart from vocal performances, acts included card tricks by Poly freshman Matthew Beaudoin-Lafon, an original poem recitation by Gallatin sophomore Daniel McCauley and a breakdance-turned-violin performance by Steinhardt sophomore Sam Kang.

In addition to the grand prize

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By AMANDA MORRIS Contributing Writer

STAFF PHOTO BY RECCA SORIANO

The Recovery Room performs at Ultra Violet Live. winner, who won $1000, there were four category winners who each won $250. Audience favorite was singer Moonie Sohn, a sophomore from NYU Abu Dhabi. Other category winners included Julia Gilson for Best Solo Performance, Sam Kang for Best Group Performance and Austin Davidson and Ben Chavez for Best Group Performance.

Luzon said she found the audience energetic and encouraging.

“The audience was an amazing audience, they all really had a lot of fun,” Luzon said. “It’s nice when you have a bunch of support coming from the crowd.

I think everybody really had a great time.”

CAS junior Avanti Rajan said she thought the competition was all deserving of the win.

“I was completely confused because I do not know who I would pick, so it was a wonder that they picked someone,” Rajan said. “Everyone was so talented.”

LS freshman Elizabeth Kuan said the quality of the acts at Utra Violet Live astonished her.

“I thought it was amazing, I was really surprised,” Kuan said.

“I didn’t realize NYU had that much talent. I think [Williams] deserved to win, but I think everybody deserved to win, I think everybody did an amazing job.”

Email Katherine Stein at news@nyunews.com.

In response to the escalating Islamic State threat, Iraq ambassador to the United States Mohammed Alhakim and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dr. Leslie H. Gelb discussed the the possibility of the United States’ involvement in another war against terrorism. NYU School of Law hosted the event, which was held at Kimmel Center for University Life on Thursday.

Alhakim said helping Iraq would be in the United States’ best interest because terrorism is not exclusively a threat in Iraq.

“It’s a problem not only for Iraq but for all of the world,” Alkahim said. “What we need to do to face a brutal group like that is fight them together and fight that ideology. I personally think that without the help of the United States, Iraq will need miracles to get rid of ISIS.” Gelb questioned where the forces for a war would come from, and Alhakim continually said he believed Iraqis are capable of fighting terrorist groups, given that they receive proper training and proper tools.

Gelb said Iraq should supply the troops. He said Americans fail when they try to fight other people’s wars, citing Vietnam and Afghanistan as examples.

“The only way we can win is if the people we’re trying to help are carrying the burden of the fight and doing it effectively,” Gelb said.

Gelb said he believes the United States has a responsibility to provide help to other countries that are threatened.

“We have to get involved,” Gelb said. “It’s a real threat. It’s a threat to our friends in the area and also a terrorist threat throughout the world.”

GSAS student and audience member Sulafah Al Shami said our responsibility to Iraq stems from the United States’ history with the country.

“A more serious approach to helping Iraq overcome its difficulties would’ve been directly assisting Iraqis in maintaining law and order in their country, which it has failed to do,” Al Shami said.

GSAS student Karim Dewidar said she was disappointed with some of the ambassador’s responses.

“The ambassador was a bit frustrating,” Dewidar said. “He gave very diplomatic answers, danced around touchy subjects, and followed a script seemingly. I was disappointed on the substance.”

CAS sophomore Krishna Kulkarni said the United States should not get involved in another conflict, but rather have a supportive role.

“The United States shouldn’t get tangled in the conflict, but it has an important role in bringing countries together to support armies that have a genuine interest,” Kulkarni said. “And that’s where the future lies: helping smaller groups take on ISIS.” Email Amanda Morris at news@nyunews.com.

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FEATURES

EDITED BY MARINA ZHENG FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

Eyeopening video hits the web

By AMANDA D. MORRIS Staff Writer

Recent controversies around race, sexual orientation and prejudice inspired several Tisch students to collaborate on “Open Their Eyes,” a song by Tisch sophomore Nic Hanson.

Hanson teamed up with Tisch sophomores Michael Ayijan and Stephen Skeel who produced an accompanying video.

Ayjian and Skeel, co-founders of 7 Wonders Cinema, produced the video that accompanies “Open Their Eyes,” in four months with no funding. The collaboration comes as a result of a continued friendship between the men.

“Nic had been sending us stuff for a while,” Ayjian said.

“We thought this song was not only a good song, but also is culturally relevant with everything going on right now, This song has a story behind it, has meaning.”

The lyrics of “Open Their Eyes” came easily for Hanson, who wrote the song quickly over the summer after waking up with the idea. Hanson was inspired to write out of anger and confusion relating to the amount of ignorance in the world.

“It goes deeper than just race

COURTESY OF 7 WONDERS CINEMA

Michael Ayjian and Stephen Skeel film Nic Hanson’s new video.

or sexual orientation — it’s the idea that prejudice extends from ignorance,” Hanson said.

Hanson and 7 Wonders Cinema will likely release another music video this spring. The second one will be a dance video to Hanson’s song “Serena.” Skeel and Ayjian hope to produce more memorable content similar to the “Open Their Eyes” music video, which enhances the experience of listening to the song.

“We feel like it’s one of his best songs,” Skeel said. “we want the video to be the best it can be.”

“Serena” is more upbeat and fastpaced than “Open Their Eyes.” The inspiration for the song came from Hanson’s real life experience with a girl.

“The lyrics of Serena are very sad,” Hanson said. “I don’t really like sad songs, but I like taking sad concepts and making it into something happy or driving to get rid of frustration and negativity.”

A self-described happy person, Hanson is currently working on a few other projects, including

a melancholy yet inspirational hip/hop collection, an electronic album with producer The 83rd and a ’90s throwback R&B collection that Hanson described as being all about sex and weather.

His music style tends to vary as much as the pitch of his voice, ranging from rap to hip hop to gospel.

Hanson already has about 60 songs that have yet to be released, 40 of which he wrote over winter break. His inspiration comes not only from his background in gospel and in choir music, but from the people he is surrounded by in New York City.

“I’m so happy to be here, I get my energy from connections with people, and from connections you can make art,” Hanson said. “My favorite thing to write about is actual relationships and how beautiful that is. It’s something you can’t describe particularly.”

Email Amanda Morris at features@nyunews.com.

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Bajac talks plans for MoMA’s future

to say.

“I’ve been excited to hear Quentin speak for some time since he moved from the Pompidou in Paris to MoMA,” Boosalis said.

By incorporating a fresh look at 19th century masters and encouraging the integration of new works by contemporary photographers, Bajac focuses on the history of the photographic medium while instilling a more narrative, international and cross-disciplinary approach.

“With the first collection I did in February 2014, I tried to focus on studio practices and to try and tell a narrative that was slightly different from the narrative you usually associate with MoMA,” Bajac said. “It was a good time to write a narrative on studio practices, especially on the contemporary American scene as a lot of young artists are working directly within their studio on their laptops.”

Bajac likes to format a mixed-

media dialogue by including film, sculpture and drawings within his photographic displays. His exhibition incorporates a synthesis of formal images, amateur photographs and scientific works.

“I’m a little tired of classical presentations, starting with early 19th century photography and then going to contemporary photography through a progression of techniques,” he said. “I am interested in trying to have an inter-disciplinary approach, and this is why I decided to include video and film. Each exhibition is a kind of montage and I like that contamination.”

Rice considers Bajac’s contemporary perspective an exciting step forward for New York City museums.

“It’s an enormous shift,” Rice said. “It seems to me that he works less with the idea that you should go into an installation and essentially walk through the history like you’re

going through the Stations of the Cross. Instead, he seems to be working off a much more montage basis — an installation opening up possibilities of the medium while giving form, context, and history et cetera.

That’s a very different attitude.”

Bajac also hopes to revitalize MoMA by applying modern technology to the world of art.

In the future, he foresees a transnational gallery, which can be translated to an online platform for the viewer’s benefit.

“We should also consider the website not only as an extension of the physical museum but to try and build a real online museum,” Bajac said. “We will commission works or buy works just to be seen online because a lot of artists today are producing that form of work, to be seen from the screen of a laptop.”

Email Zoe Thompson at features@nyunews.com.

MARINA ZHENG FOR WSN

NYU researchers have been working with East China Normal University to explore the impact of urban design on obesity.

Health impacts of urban design analyzed

By TIFFANIE HWANG Contributing Writer Researchers from NYU and East China Normal University conducted a study that explores the relation of urban design on the level of physical activity in that area, giving rising concern that the architectural layout may be a possible cause for the rising obesity rates and chronic diseases in Chinese cities. The study, “Walking, obesity, and urban design in Chinese neighborhoods,” was led by Kristen Day, Mariela Alfonzo, Zhan Guo of NYU and Lin Lin of East China Normal University.

The study explores the design of an environment and its influence on the health of the communities of six populous Chinese neighborhoods. These neighborhoods ranged from urban, inner-suburban and outer-suburban areas in Shanghai and Hangzhou. They were analyzed for walkability, street widths and number of trees and benches. Over one thousand residents were surveyed and evaluated for rates of walking, bicycling, Body Mass Index and demographic information. Each neighborhood was measured on the State of Place Index, which classifies and assesses the area’s urban design features including density, number of parks, amount of public space and pedestrian infrastructure, for a total of 11 analyzed dimensions. A higher ranking in this index indicates a greater level of observed physical activity in the form of walking and bicycling for commuting for the neighborhood.

The research found that income level had an influence on the amount of bicycling and walking. Respondents with higher and lower incomes were more likely to have a lower BMI in comparison to respondents in the middle income bracket. It is possible that because these middle-income respondents

are more prone to living in suburban areas, they had more access to auto-transportation and were less likely to walk, bicycle or utilize physical-activity oriented travel, compared to high and low-income respondents.

According to Day, this finding shows that creating more walkable urban environments may have especially important impacts on the middle class.

“We need to do more research to understand why this is — it may be that low income residents already walk more because they don’t have access to cars, and high income residents may have less risk from obesity because of other factors, such as knowledge about healthy eating and physical activity,” Day said.

The researchers are also interested in observing how other future studies investigating food intake might reveal the connection between income, obesity and levels of physical activity in China. But this current study can be part of a greater advancement to encourage the Chinese government to improve and create more walk-friendly urban layouts. This change would help foster increasing levels of physical activity and lead to decreasing rates of obesity in Chinese cities.

“In our future research, we hope to identify the economic, environmental and health benefits associated with three ‘model’ walkable urban developments, compared to more traditional, car-oriented developments in China,” said Day. “We also plan to find out more about how these model urban developments were created and why they worked. We want to share these stories with government decision makers and developers, to help persuade them of the benefits of walkable development.”

Email Tiffanie Hwang at features@nyunews.com.

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SPORTS

EDITED BY BOBBY WAGNER SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

NYU divers advance to DIII championship

By JONATHAN SCHIFMAN Contributing Writer

In hopes of advancing to the NCAA Division III National Championships, five divers from the men’s and women’s squads competed in the NCAA DIII Regional Diving Championships from Feb. 27 to 28 at Springfield College. Senior Austen Blease from the men’s team and freshman Austin Campitelli from the women’s team were the only NYU divers to advance.

Day one of the men’s tournament featured the 11-dive 3-meter competition, where Blease finished in fourth place out of 30 divers. He scored 571.90 points, only 13.30 shy of the leader freshman Matthew Rohrer from Tufts University. Blease qualified for the national championships with his strong showing.

“I think I was able to have success because I feel really comfortable with where I am in my diving ability,” Blease said. “This meet was more difficult than other meets because every diver had to qualify for it. So there was a standard which all the competitors had met so the competition was stiff.”

Though Blease had already qualified, he had an even stronger performance on the second day. Blease came in first place in the 11-dive

1-meter competition with a score of 533.30. It was a narrow victory, as Springfield’s Jack Lewis finished in second place with 532.45 points.

Senior Brian Blum also competed in the men’s tournament, finishing in 16th and 18th in the 3-meter and 1-meter dives, respectively. However, he did not advance to the national championships, as only the top seven male divers could qualify.

Only 28 divers competed in the women’s tournament, including Campitelli, sophomore Ashlie Pankonin and senior Kate Donnelly. Campitelli was one of only six to advance.

But unlike Blease, Campitelli needed both days of the tournament to qualify. On day one, she competed in the 11-dive 1-meter competition, finishing in ninth place with 468.10 points. Maura Sticco-Ivins of Wellesley College had an impressive first place score, beating Campitelli by 78.55 points.

Campitelli knew she would have an uphill climb.

“It was a really hard meet,” Campitelli said. “There were so many good divers, both girls and guys. It was really nerve wracking.”

Campitelli overcame her nerves on day two, scoring 464.05 points for a second place finish, solidifying her spot in the nationals.

VIA GONYUATHLETICS.COM

Austen Blease won the NCAA Regional 1-Meter competition and now qualifies for nationals.

Pankonin posted a middling performance, coming in 14th place with 395.70 points in the 3-meter dive and 17th place with 425.40 points in the 1-meter dive.

In the same competitions, Donnelly finished in 20th and 23rd place, respectively.

With one tournament left, Campitelli and Blease are the only NYU divers remaining. They both plan on training rigorously in preparation for the nationals.

“It’ll be interesting since only two

of us will be training,” Campitelli said. “I think we will just be working really hard on perfecting our dives for nationals and getting in the right frame of mind. I’m both nervous and excited. It’s really cool to have made it and be representing NYU, but it’s going to be the best of the best there, so I’m scared.”

Blease shared Campitelli’s sentiment about perfecting their dives, but stressed that he would have to avoid the temptation to overwork himself in the next few weeks

Email Jonathan Schifman at sports@nyunews.com.

Track impresses at UAA tourney

BASKETBALL continued from PG. 1

By ANNE CRUZ Contributing Writer

STAFF PHOTOS BY RACHEL KAPLAN

Lindsey Oldshue, right, and Hakeem Harris help the Violets win against Brandeis.

Basketball teams win last regular season games two wins against Emory University — they have a case to make, but several disappointing setbacks jeopardize their chances. The Violets will either find themselves in the NCAA Tournament or the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.

in preparation.

“I know what I need to do and that is to not over-work myself, do what I feel comfortable doing in terms of practice, and remain motivated so as to end the season and my career with no regrets,” Blease said.

Nationals will take place from March 18 to 21 at the Conroe Independent School District Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas.

Both teams will learn their tournament standings later today. The NCAA selection show for men’s basketball airs at 12:30 p.m. and the women’s selection show airs at 2:30 p.m.

Email Mike Thompson at sports@nyunews.com.

This past weekend, the NYU men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the University Athletic Association indoor track championships at the University of Chicago. Other competitors included Brandeis University, Emory University and Carnegie Mellon University.

After the first day of competition, the men’s track and field team was in sixth place. Though they were not at the head of the pack, there were some outstanding performances. Sophomore Carter Beardsley finished in third place in the weight throw with a personal best of 13.94. The distance medley relay team, consisting of senior Sebastian Oja and sophomores Nick Karam, Chevron Samuels and Curtis Mann, won fifth place with a time of 10:19.70. Sophomore Nick Torsitano finished 10th in the 60 m hurdles.

VIA GONYUATHLETICS.COM

Stern freshman Max Avila finished sixth in the 800m race.

Beardsley met his own expectations for the weekend, and was very grateful to his coaches for providing him the opportunity to do so.

“My major goals were to beat my previous personal record and to improve my technique,” Beardsley said. “I achieved one personal record and I like to think I improved my overall form. My coach and teammates greatly contributed to my success. They help push me and ultimately, I learn from them.”

He went on to credit his team, not just himself, for his accomplishments.

“I would say that the atmosphere the team creates is great for achieving goals.” Beardsley said. “For instance, the team members and coaches support all of the athletes.”

The women’s team fared similarly, ranking seventh after the first day of competition. Junior Danielle Medellin finished ninth in the 60 m hurdles with a time of 9.85. The distance medley relay team consisting of seniors Alyssa Binczyk and Caroline Spring, junior Becky Turlip and sophomore Wendy He took fifth place with a time of 12:33.29.

The teams’ successes are indicative of hard work and training throughout the season. This weekend’s championship was the first of three major competitions; the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and the NCAA championships will take place this month as well.

Email Annie Cruz at sports@nyunews.com.

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Crossword ACROSS 1 Attendees 6 Genre for Jay Z or J. Cole 9 Hop, ___ and a jump 13 What subjects and verbs should do 14 Right-hand man or woman 15 Furry red monster on “Sesame Street” 16 1970s comedian whom Time magazine dubbed “TV’s First Black Superstar” 18 Puppy bites 19 Bank charges 20 Drink in a stein 21 Aches (for) 22 Upper-left computer key: Abbr.

23 Clever person 26 Copycatting 28 One with misgivings

29 Tiny nation surrounded by France and the Mediterranean 31 Shampoo in a green bottle 35 Washerful 36 Verbal thumbsup 37 Relaxation 38 Type meant to stand out 41 Sounded like a cannon 43 Days of ___ (past times) 44 Cocktail with vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and lime juice 45 Counterpart to a lateral 49 “Weekend Edition” airer 52 Achilles epic 53 Jean-___ Picard (U.S.S. Enterprise captain) 54 Eye affliction 55 Smelting waste

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE B L U S H

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56 New beginning … or what 16-, 23-, 31-, 38and 45-Across each have?

59 Longtime Yugoslav leader 60 Attire for one lounging at a 58-Down 61 Peeling gadget 62 Ian : Scotland :: ___ : Ireland 63 Poem of praise 64 Fidgeting

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DOWN 1 Mistake that people laugh about 2 Stares rudely at 3 Albany-to-Buffalo waterway 4 Bench press count 5 Use needle and thread 6 Chorus stand 7 “Much ___ About Nothing” 8 Pig’s digs 9 Tuxedo rental occasion 10 “Hogan’s Heroes” colonel 11 Chinese-born American architect 12 Group helping a sheriff 14 To whom Muslims pray 17 Retort to “You are not!”

21 Browning or Kipling 23 “___ ’em!” (“Attack!”)

24 Wearying journey 25 Junkyard dog 27 Police van

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PUZZLE BY IAN LIVENGOOD

29 Org. for the A’s and O’s 30 Winning “Hollywood Squares” line 31 Container at the end of a rainbow 32 Tangy teatime offering 33 “___ the Force, Luke” 34 The “S” in E.S.T.: Abbr.

36 Pink-slipped 39 Warty creature

40 Go wrong 41 “The Garden of Earthly Delights” artist 42 W.W. II spy org.

44 “Rebel Without a ___” 45 What boxing gloves cover 46 Kukla, Fran and ___ 47 Looped calfcatcher 48 West Point newcomer

50 Combustible funeral piles 51 Hear again, as a court case 54 Musial of Cardinals fame 56 Jimi Hendrix’s do, informally 57 Curtain hanger 58 Where one might get a facial

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NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

OPINION

EDITED BY TESS WOOSLEY OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

STAFF EDITORIAL

Historic New York assault policy praiseworthy

The 2015 New York state budget includes a proposal to address the issue of on-campus sexual assault. The legislation would expand the State University of New York system’s recently expanded sexual assault policies to all universities. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his “Enough is Enough” campaign on Wednesday in order to advocate for this much discussed legislation, which includes a statewide hotline, website and educational materials. As of Jan. 7, New York had the highest number colleges with pending Title IX sexual violence violations of any state — 11 total at eight private colleges and three public. If passed with the budget this March, this progressive legislation will make New York the first state with government standards for the handling of sexual assault cases, and represent a positive shift in the handling of these crimes.

The proposal outlines many different policies for combating sexual assault, including a statewide definition of affirmative consent, an amnesty policy to ensure that students who report sexual violence cannot be punished for related drug or alcohol infractions and provisions for

the distribution of a “bill of rights” for victims of sexual assault. It also includes critical comprehensive education and prevention training for students and staff. In addition, New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico introduced a 24-hour hotline at 1-844-845-7269 exclusively for reporting sexual assaults on college campuses. Only through increased education and awareness will the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses begin to decline.

NYU’s recently updated policy on sexual assault has a lot in common with this commendable statewide campaign. It not only provides students with support when an assault occurs, but also in instances of intimate partner violence and stalking.

One of the core aspects of Cuomo’s plan is a dedicated hotline, and the NYU Wellness Exchange already provides students with a 24-hour confidential outlet to speak to a counsellor. On Jan. 26th, President John Sexton reiterated via e-mail that a mandatory online educational program would roll out later this semester. Cuomo’s campaign will standardize similar sexual assault prevention policies across New York state college campuses, and provide educational materials to smaller schools that may lack resources to develop their own.

“New York must take a stand to combat the culture of sexual violence in higher education,” Cuomo said. “This is a call to action for everyone who believes students should be protected by their college or university.” The willingness of the state government to directly approach these difficult issues is admirable, especially given the surprising politically contentious nature of sexual assault legislation. Other state governments should heed his call to action and replicate this type of legislation in order to eradicate sexual assault on college campuses.

ECONOMY

Walmart wage hike too little, too late

By KENNY KYUNGHOON LEE Contributing Writer

Walmart recently announced it will raise the minimum wage of its lowest-level employees twice — first this spring to at least $9 an hour and then to $10 in 2016. This change is expected to challenge other businesses to consider wage hikes, yet it falls short of what is needed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed on Jan. 18 to raise the New York City minimum wage to $11.50 an hour and the stage wage to $10.50, both of which go beyond Walmart’s planned changes. More significant actions are needed to improve wages and benefits for minimum-wage workers in order to combat increasing income inequality in America.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the minimum wage has been falling since 1938 when taking inflation into account, representing less purchasing power for those who work at this pay level. Yet the nation as a whole has been getting richer, with its real GDP per capita increasing steadily over time. This disparity signifies the increasing income gap between minimum wage earners and wealthier Americans. More wealth needs to be

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reach those with lower income to mitigate increasing income inequality in the United States.

Walmart has hardly contributed to closing this deepening income gap.

The retail giant is known for its aggressive control of employee benefits and wages, which do not benefit the local economy. Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed his discontent with Walmart’s cost management policies and feels the company has no place in the city. He has previously criticized Walmart for destroying good jobs and hurting small business, which ultimately forces the government to subsidize a low-paid workforce.

Stingy wages hurt not only the local economy, but also long-term business performance. In 2006, Harvard Business Review found that low wages and benefits lead to high turnover costs and low workforce productivity. The

study found that Costco, which provides unusually generous wages and benefits compared to retailers of similar size, showed 16 percent turnover rate, while Walmart’s turnover was 44 percent a year. The City Council has allowed Costco to build several stores throughout New York City. The increase in such measures can offset the costs of generous wages and benefit the company in the long run.

It is undeniably true that Walmart’s recent decision to raise wages will improve the financial situation of its lowest-level workers. However, there should be more generous benefits from all employers. Despite opponents’ arguments that minimum wage hikes would hurt job growth because of higher labor costs for employers, academic studies have conclusively shown otherwise. More generous employee benefits and wages will benefit not only the local community, but also the business itself. Until Walmart takes more actions to improve the benefits of low-level employees, the City Council should continue to block its entrance to the New York City market.

Email Kenny Kyunghoon Lee at opinion@nyunews.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor, [The February 25th “NYU fundraising, spending choices ridiculous”] editorial suffers from issues of both incorrect facts and faulty logic.

First, the $6 billion figure cited for new construction is a red herring, and its repetition by the WSN does the paper no credit. The finances of what has been proposed are available for all to see on the web in the final report of the University Space Priorities Working Group, which both concludes that moving forward with the Coles site is well within the University’s financial means and makes clear the pressing need NYU has for additional academic space if we are to remain competitive.

Second, while it is fair to say that NYU wishes it could do more by way of scholarship aid, fairness also requires that one note that NYU has in fact already done a great deal to improve financial aid, all of which went unacknowledged in the editorial. The financial aid budget has increased by approximately 140% since 2002, the average scholarship grant has increased from covering 34% of tuition to covering 55% of tuition, the average debt upon graduation at NYU has been decreasing for several years (down more than $10,000 in the last five years and — contrary to the editorial — lower than the national average among private, four-year colleges [which is an apples-to-apples comparison]), and the University now spends some $200 million/year in scholarships to undergraduates. And we have done all this with an endowment that is, on a per student basis, about 1/20 of Harvard’s and 1/10 of Columbia’s.

Part of the reason we have been able to do all these things is because of fundraising. And that brings me to my third and final point.

Speaking personally, I didn’t receive financial aid from the college I attended. Yet I give yearly to that college because I valued my education and I want to help some young man or woman to attend who might otherwise not be able to afford it (I also give to NYU for the same reason — even though I didn’t go here, I believe in its goals, mission, and value, and want to make it possible for others to attend).

NYU is currently working to raise $1 billion for financial aid; we are about 40% of the way to our goal. Asking people to contribute is the only way we will get to our goal.

Which is why I find it disappointing, illogical, and selfish that the WSN’s editorial board’s reaction to the 1831 campaign is “Ask others, not us.” What must it say to other potential donors to read an editorial suggesting that those who are the recipients of an NYU education should not be asked to contribute to making it available to others?

NYU — like every other college and university — relies on donations from previous generations to help make it more affordable for the current generation of students. If the editorial writers choose not to become donors, I think it is regrettable, but that is certainly their right. But it is spectacularly wrong-headed of them to suggest that those who are the beneficiaries of an NYU education should not be asked to give.

Sincerely, John Beckman

Email the WSN Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

EDITORIAL BOARD: Tess Woosley (Chair), Annie Cohen (Co-chair), Tommy Collison (Co-chair), Matthew Tessler (Co-chair) ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDAN ENRIQUEZ

Send mail to: 838 Broadway, Fifth Floor New York, N.Y. 10003 or email: opinion@nyunews.com WSN welcomes letters to the editor, opinion pieces and articles relevant to the NYU community, or in response to articles. Letters should be less than 450 words. All submissions must be typed or emailed and must include the author’s name, address and phone number. Members of the NYU community must include a year and school or job title.

WSN does not print unsigned letters or editorials. WSN reserves the right to reject any submission and edit accepted submissions in any and all ways. With the exception of the staff editorial, opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

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