WSN030812

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

washington square news Vol. 40, No. 30

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

nyunews.com

Grad student keeps film history, culture alive

Thirty NYC cabs to receive iPads

By Aliza Katz

By Tony Chau

Tisch graduate student Benedict Salazar Olgado devoted himself to film preservation because he does not want to forget the history of his culture. For him, archiving film is critical in the effort to preserve history.

At the end of last year, Olgado was awarded the 2011 Kodak Fellowship in Film Preservation for his work.

“I believe in the value of information, I believe in the value of culture and I believe in the value of the arts,” Olgado said.

According to his classmates Rufus de Rham and Marie Lascu, Olgado is one of the youngest students in the program but also the most experienced. Currently in his second and final year of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Master’s Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, Olgado has instilled in

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File photo by Kelsey Ledgerwood

Square, a mobile payment company, will begin a pilot program to install iPads in 30 cabs.

‘Carter’ an other-worldy thrill

By Jonathon Dornbush Viewers may think Disney’s “John Carter” borrows liberally from almost every famous sci-fi series from the past few decades.

They would be mistaken, as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original tale was published almost a century ago.

While the film adaptation does feel like an amalgamation, it provides a largely entertaining romp through a not too distant world.

The story of “Carter” centers on Burroughs, who receives a telegram from his uncle, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch). Having passed, John leaves Burroughs his estate and a journal detailing his last adventure.

John, a former-Confederate soldier attempting to evade the conflict he has been thrust into between the United States and the Native Americans, stumbles upon a cave he believes contains gold.

After killing a mysterious figure,

John finds himself transported to the barren deserts of Mars, or Barsoom — as it is referred to by Tars Tarkas (Willem Defoe), a member of the native green martian species, the Tharks.

A stranger to this new world, John becomes embroiled in another war in which he claims to have no role. The Prince of Zodanga threatens to destroy the people of Helium unless its Princess Dejah accepts his marriage proposal.

Meanwhile, the Tharks fight to survive as their world is torn asunder, paralleling the war on Earth.

The plot of “Carter” sounds both trite and complicated on paper, but the familiarity of the plot makes it an easy and exciting tale to follow on screen. Much setup is required to establish the warring factions, but the relatable characters make the exposition enjoyable. Princess Dejah evokes Princess Leia as an independent woman who takes com-

The customary television sets displayed in the backseat of taxicabs will soon be replaced by iPads in the upcoming months.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission recently approved a proposal by Square, a mobile payment company run by Twitter-founder and former NYU student Jack Dorsey, to pilot a program that would bring iPads to 30 New York City taxicabs.

Traditionally, the taxi televisions — owned by Creative Mobile and VeriFone — aired advertisements, news segments and clips of late-night hosts from ABC and NBC. Allan Fromberg, deputy commissioner for public affairs at the Taxi and Limousine Commission, said the approval was in response

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Students react to Fla. shooting

By Nicola Pring

Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

“Carter” travels across worlds. mand in a number of combat situations while Tars deals with complex personal and societal conflicts.

The emotional beats of the film are some of the most surprising and welcome. One battle scene, which is interplayed with a scene of John digging the grave of his

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Several NYU students were shocked to learn about a murdersuicide at their alma mater, Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Shane Schumerth, a Spanish teacher who had been fired on Tuesday morning, brought a gun back to the school in the early afternoon. Schumerth shot and killed headmistress Dale Regan in her office before turning the gun on himself.

CAS freshman and Episcopal alumnus Mahala Rummell was in class on Tuesday when she received several messages about the shooting. She was initially nervous and confused about the situation.

“I was worried for the students but also for the teachers,” Rummell said. “I went to that school for five years, and [I hold] many of those

faculty members and students very dear to my heart.”

Police were notified of the shooting at 1:23 p.m. on Tuesday. Grant Simon, a senior at Episcopal High School and an applicant for the NYU class of 2016, was in his physics class next door to Regan’s office when the shooting occurred.

“There were several loud banging noises near the middle of class,” Simon said. “There was a pause [and] a moment of confusion. My teacher locked our door and turned out the lights. Our school bells went off three times in a row to signal a school-wide lockdown. We sat against the shelves in my physics room for nearly an hour.”

Students were shocked that such an incident could occur in their tight-knit school community. The school has about 900 students, and many faculty

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Washington Square news | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 | nyunews.com

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THIS WEEKEND 1

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Thursday | 7 p.m. | Le Poisson Rouge | 158 Bleecker St.

Friday | 8 p.m. | Circle in the Square | 159 Bleecker St.

Saturday | 12 p.m. | The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center | 55 W. 13th St.

Sunday | 7 p.m. | Bowery Poetry Club | 308 Bowery

Flamenco Festival 2012: La Shica with Javier Moreno Emerging artist and former flamenco dancer La Shica will perform at this celebration of flamenco dance and music.

“Godspell”

See this enduring and award-winning musical without trekking up to the theater district.

The New School Student FILM Collective MultiCultural Film Festival Visit the New School for the first annual festival of diverse films, panel discussions and workshops.

Red Hen Press at Bowery Poetry Club

Award-winning poets Andrea Scarpino, David Yezzi, Brynn Saito and George Green will read and discuss their work.

special issues kristina bogos multimedia james kelleher copy jordan melendrez social media agent nicole gartside

opinion page

opinion editor olivia gonzalez deputy opinion editor ATTICUS

BRIGHAM, SANCHAY JAIN

advertising business manager

REBECCA RIBEIRO circulation manager

chloe coffman

university sales coordinator

Emilia Mironovici

SNAPSHOT

ON THE WIRE

Forbidden nose job

An ultra-conservative Islamic and Egyptian member of Parliament resigned from his party post after getting a nose job and lying about it. He said he had been attacked on a desert highway near Cairo the week before. From his hospital bed, he fabricated a story about masked gunmen and a robbery, recounting how he had been beaten and left unconscious on the road. At first, the MP denied accusations of his nose job, but when the head of the party questioned him in the hospital, he confessed and resigned. The Salafist Nour Party has issued a demand for an apology from the former MP to the party, parliament and doctors.

— ABC News

Duke University

PHOTO BY Aarushi Chopra

Kaitlyn O’Brien, MICHAEL RYAN, Melissa Ynegas

advising editorial adviser

keith leighty EDITORS-AT-LARGE

jaywon choe kelsey desiderio russell steinberg KIRSTEN CHANG francis poon terka cicelOVa

Number of men lacking from study abroad programs

About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.

University of Pennsylvania

Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Jaewon Kang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

— The Chronicle

A student sat atop a tree in Washington Square Park to enjoy the weather while studying.

sales representatives

Students participate in mock same-sex marriages — The Daily Pennsylvanian

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Steinhardt dean appointed to serve on accreditation commission

TAXI continued from PG. 1

iPads to replace taxi TVs in upcoming months to the government’s obligation to experiment with new technologies.

“It’s been several years since the existing technology was created, and we saw the need to see what’s now out there,” Fromberg said. “Tabletbased tech is particularly interesting because it allows for the development of apps down the road without fundamentally altering the system.”

Riders who find themselves in one of the 30 taxicabs would be able to play games and access pre-installed apps on the iPad. More importantly, the pilot program would allow riders to pay at any time during the ride. Currently, riders are only allowed to pay at the end.

“By partnering with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission on this pilot, we’ve built a system that meets the specific needs of New York City taxi drivers and makes the payment experience even better for their passengers,” a spokesperson for Square said.

Fromberg said Square is financing the pilot and will not affect taxi fares in any way.

With the introduction

of this new payment system to the 30 cabs, Square is entering a market dominated by Creative Mobile and VeriFone. Despite the new competitor, VeriFone remains confident in its future in New York City taxicabs, and already has a tablet computer pilot program in place.

“We have faced a number of competitors since the inception of this program,” Chris Polos, vice president of media for Verifone, said. “We handle millions of transactions every month efficiently and reliably with unparalled uptime. I am 100 percent confident we have the best team in the business.”

Some NYU students who are familiar with taxicabs would rather do without both of the technologies.

“I think all the extra media around you is unnecessary,” Gallatin freshman Tim Klepp said.

CAS senior Brittany Holzheer said, “It is annoying sometimes. I would prefer just a GPS map [and nothing else] so you know where you are.”

Tony Chau is a deputy city/state editor. Email him at tchau@nyunews.com.

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By Walinase Mbekeani

Steinhardt dean Mary Brabeck has been appointed along with 31 others to serve on the Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting, a national commission that was recently founded to raise accreditation standards in educator preparation.

The commission was created by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation — a national council that accredits elementary and secondary school teachers after training.

CAEP president James Cibulka said the council established the commission because it wanted to set new standards to guide its accreditation programs. They will recruit a wide range of stakeholders, critics and teachers to focus on the need of preK to 12 schools.

“We’re glad Dean Brabeck will be a member,” Cibulka said. “I’m sure she will bring much leadership. It’s a very distinguished group, and she’ll be an important educator.”

To access teacher preparation, Brabeck said the commission will focus on the inputs and outputs of education training defined by their performance as teachers.

“Today, there is a great emphasis on output,” she said. “The focus is on how to get the best outcomes.”

According to Brabeck, the positive outcomes may reflect upon the number of prospective teachers who pass the licensure exam, and their pass rate on exit exams. The programs also analyze the manner and subject areas that teachers can educate.

The assessment includes a numerical ranking that represents how the teachers are doing their jobs.

Stephanie Seaman, a junior at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and an aspiring teacher, said she would not mind working harder to be an educator.

“I think it’s a really good idea because I know teachers need to be more educators in order to teach the amount of students,” she said.

Midtown resident Nancy Shapiro, 49, has a daughter who is in the eighth grade. She said she regrets she only had a handful of great teachers when she went to school and hopes her daughter will have a better experience.

“I think it’s great to have a higher standard for teachers,” Shapiro said. “I think the benefits will be tremendous.

The higher the teacher standard, the better potential a student will have.”

As a member of the commission, Brabeck will question whether educator preparation programs measure the effectiveness of a teacher and will determine what outcome measures will define teacher programs.

“I look forward to the opportunity to shape standards for the preparation program,” she said.

Cibulka said the commission will first meet in May and will release a report on their findings in 2013.

Walinase Mbekeani is a contributing writer.

Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

via steinhardt.nyu.edu

Mary Brabeck will work toward improving teaching standards.

7-Eleven to open up new locations in Manhattan

By Hanqing Chen

via Flickr

Chain stores have long been trying to break into the Manhattan market, and 7-Eleven is leading the charge.

The Dallas-based chain convenience store, which already owns many stores across Manhattan, is planning to open up to 14 new locations in many neighborhoods throughout the borough including Greenwich Village.

“Our development plan for Manhattan calls for some 100 new 7-Eleven stores in [the city to] be open over the next several years,” said Margeret Chabris, director of corporate communications for 7-Eleven.

This latest advance by 7-Eleven reflects a renewed effort from chain stores to break into the New York City market after a dip in chain stores in the city last year. According to an annual study by the Center for an Urban Future, Manhattan had fewer chain stores in 2011 than in 2010.

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said the expansion was a major cause for concern.

“Independent businesses give our neighborhoods character and vitality,” he said. “Chain stores may have their place, [but] it would be a tragic loss if all our stores became the same chains you see in every strip mall or shopping center in America.”

Chabris said the expansion plans would not hinder the Village’s cultural history but serve the needs of its residents.

“Keep in mind that we tailor our product assortment to the needs of our customers at each location,” she said.

Charbris said 7-Eleven will be able to adapt to each neighborhood’s needs with its adaptive ability.

“We are a chain store, but we are also your local neighborhood store with a franchisee who is from the area and an independent store owner,” she said. “We can develop in a competitive environment that includes large retail chains and the smaller mom-and-pop stores and believe we can all operate successfully.”

However, many of these mom-andpop stores may not benefit from this kind of localization of products.

According to Stern professor of marketing Adam Atler, chain stores can easily steal business from local businesses.

“If the products in large chains overlap with the products sold by existing mom and pops, they often poach business from those smaller stores,“ he said.

The bodega convenience stores that dot the city streets said in case a 7-Eleven came to town they would be happy to hand over their store space if they were paid enough.

“If they give me good money, I’ll sell,” Delicacity owner Latique Haque said.

But Atler said chain store can stimulate the local economy as long as if does not offer the same products as smaller businesses.

“Popular chain stores tend to act like magnets, attracting people not only to the store itself, but also to other stores in the surrounding area,” he said.

Early 2012 plans are only the first step in an aggressive expansion plan for years ahead. Next year the retailer projects to begin adding 20 locations throughout Manhattan, ranging in size from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet, every year until 2017.

Additional reporting by Feiye Wang.

Hanqing Chen is investigative editor.

Email her at hchen@nyunews.com.

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Washington Square news | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 | nyunews.com

features

edited by jessIca littman features@nyunews.com SHOOTING continued from PG. 1

OLGADO continued from PG. 1

Tisch grad student preserves culture through film his work the values of openness and availability of old records of history.

“It’s not just about storing things or keeping things,” he said. “When we talk about preservation, it’s also about providing access, and that’s what we do.”

Olgado is originally from the Philipines, where he attended Ateneo de Manila University in Manila, Philippines. In Olgado’s final years as an undergraduate, he began working for the South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association, which piqued his interest in the profession of audiovisual archiving and preservation. He has also worked with such prestigious organizations as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Anthology Film Archives.

Each year, Kodak awards a fellowship with the Association for Moving Image Archivists, which is given to one student or young professional. “[The Fellowship] means a lot to me because it’s an affirmation of my dedication to the field and my eagerness to learn more,” Olgado said.

The fellowship includes a scholarship and a four-week internship at Kodak-affiliated institutions in Burbank, Calif. Olgado will spend several

weeks at Pro-Tek, followed by several weeks at Chase Audio, both affiliates of Kodak.

“It’s perfect because right after graduation I will have four weeks of professional experience and networking with people in the field,” Olgado said.

De Rham said he is very proud of Olgado for receiving the award.

“It’s a very competitive program, but there’s also a lot of support in the community,” he said.

Olgado’s peers were all glad to see his work and dedication to the field recognized.

Preservation is about much more than just storing facts for Olgado.

“It’s all about preserving and providing access to voices and faces that would have otherwise been forgotten, not heard or not seen,” he said. “That’s why we do what we do.”

But to Olgado, archiving and preservation serves an important role, more specifically in his own cultural heritage.

The Philipines, as Olgado describes it, “is known for its seeming lack of memory of preserved visual history.”

“We have a rich history and yet culturally we tend to always forget, and I grew up knowing that,” he said.

Courtesy of Bendict Salazar Olgado

Salazar Olgado received a Kodak Fellowship last year.

Olgado said he hopes the connections he makes in America and his growing professional experience will help him give back to his homeland and assist in the archiving of Filipino history.

Aliza Katz is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Stern sophomore reveals organized iPhone

By Blima Gottlieb It is hard to believe that Stern sophomore Ash Bhatia has any free time. But while hanging out in his dorm room, he turned a blind eye and let me snoop around his iPhone.

At first glance, it is easy to understand how he manages schoolwork, Greek life and entrepreneurship.

Every one of his apps is thoughtfully categorized in various topics like news, entertainment and finances. By taking a look at the different apps he has downloaded, it becomes even easier to see how he manages his life with the help of his electronic companion.

Lemon Within Bhatia’s finance folder, Lemon keeps track of receipts.

As NYU project coordinator and customer relations specialist for DormAid, an in-dorm laundry service, Bhatia has to stay on top of his personal finances.

“It’s a great way for me to keep track of my personal finances while I’m on the go,” he said.

Facebook Though the Facebook app can be found in the entertainment

Translate Bhatia reveals his lingusitic side as he admits he likes to practice his French, though he has yet to visit the country.

“I try to retain the French that I know, so I text in French sometimes,” he said. “I took it for six years in school.”

COURTESY OF Temple Run

Bhatia’s app “Temple Run” in his favorite iPhone game. folder, its uses for Bhatia go far beyond mere amusement.

“I use it for keeping the social media part of my business updated and for entertainment in a very busy day,” Bhatia said. “It also allows me to keep a pulse on the Greek community.”

In addition to being a brother in Pi Kappa Alpha, Bhatia is sorority relations chair. He also serves as the Inter-Greek Council vice president for Greek activities.

Temple Run Bhatia shows not only his favorite game but also his secret to beating the system.

“Objectives are a list of tasks that you can do, which raise your multiplier, which helps you get points faster,” he said.

CNN Among his many news-related apps, CNN, TimeMobile and ESPN get the most finger traffic.

“They help me remain a citizen of the world. They constantly remind me there’s a bigger picture,” Bhatia said. “They keep me up to date on politics, business, science and movies — I love movies.”

Blima Gottlieb is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Students react to shooting in Fla.

members remain at the school for years.

Schumerth, 28, was a new addition to the teaching staff. Students described him as an ineffective teacher and were not surprised to hear that he had been fired.

“I found him to be a rather eccentric person, but I never got the impression that he would act violently or aggressively,” said Savannah Beck, an Episcopal senior and one of Schumerth’s students.

Steinhardt junior Caila Koster graduated from Episcopal in 2009.

“It blows my mind,” Koster said.

“These weren’t teenagers, these were adults. To me, it was more serious than if it had been two kids.

[This] has the power to shake thousands of people.”

Rummell remembers Regan as a dedicated administrator.

“She took individual interest in her students,” she said. “She led the school with integrity and vision. It was a privilege and a blessing to have been a part of the EHS family while she was head of school.”

Following the incident, faculty members remained on campus for several hours mourning their loss and comforting each other.

A small vigil for Regan was held on Tuesday evening.

“I felt like I was there all day,” Koster said. “No matter how far away we are, it’s our community.”

Nicola Pring is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

nyunews.com | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 | Washington Square news

ARTS

edited by JONATHON DORNBUSH ARTS@nyunews.com

Olsen elevates ‘Silent’ to great horror

By Jeremy Grossman Eventually there must come a time when the exceptionally talented Elizabeth Olsen will stop being referred to merely as the sister of the Olsen twins.

With “Silent House” and “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” NYU alumna Olsen has more than proven herself as an actress who can determine the path of her career.

In “Silent House,” Olsen portrays a character falling victim to her own mind. She plays Sarah, a young girl trapped in her family’s lakeside home, plagued by the familiar tropes of no cell phone reception and the attacks of a madman.

While the lunatic’s sledgehammer is certainly terrifying, the film’s true villain is the dark, suspenseful setting.

Directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau know how to evoke anxiety. “House” is presented to look like a single 90-minute

shot, in which Sarah’s every move and reaction is recorded unblinkingly. This film expects patience from its viewers, and it does not disappoint — a scene where nothing happens can terrify more than viewers would expect. When the lights vanish, Sarah is left with nothing but brief camera flashes to observe her surroundings. In a wildly ironic twist, the darkness becomes more comfortable than the light.

It is this experimentation with the genre that adds “House” to a short list of unique horror films to hit theaters recently, like “The Innkeepers.” Similar to “Innkeepers,” the ending will not please everybody.

The culmination is too outrageous for the casual moviegoer yet too facile for the avant-garde viewer.

But what makes Olsen’s performance so great is the way she tells her own story of uncertainty and confusion,

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‘Carrie’ reimagines former flop

By Michael Ryan

Courtesy of Open Road Films

Elizabeth Olsen stars in a single-shot horror film. even as her directors struggle to perfect their narrative and storytelling — “House” coddles its viewers by providing them with all the information they need.

Whether Olsen is starring in a psychological thriller or a pure horror film, she is up to the task. The camera does not leave Olsen throughout “Silent House,” and even at the star’s young age, there are few other actresses capable of handling such a challenge.

Jeremy Grossman is entertainment editor. Email him at jgrossman@nyunews.com.

Poor Carrie White. Even after a bestselling novel and a celebrated film adaptation, the blood-soaked prom queen still had to weather the ridicule of being one of Broadway’s biggest flops. The 1988 show experienced last-minute rewrites, cast replacements and technical malfunctions and did not even produce a month of performances before closing at a huge loss.

Hell-bent on rectifying the mistakes that plagued the original production — as light rather than liquid soaks Carrie’s prom dress in red this time — this revised “Carrie” scales back the spectacle of its predecessor, attempting to bring forth the wayward show’s heart.

Director Stafford Arima and the production’s original writing and music team have found a pulse in the title character.

Carrie, the telekinetic teenager made famous by the 1976 film, looks surprisingly comfortable in the spotlight.

When Carrie sings, it is not the expected awkward oddity. Powerfully realized by Molly Ranson, Carrie is a natural fit in the realm of musical theater.

Marin Mazzie’s portrayal of Margaret, Carrie’s religiously zealous mother, is searing in personality. The duo’s dysfunctional relationship, which is the focus of the revival, is what make this “Carrie” justified as an adaptation.

Everyone else is a problem. Saddled with cute yet angst-ridden choreography by Matt Williams, the ensemble feels trapped in the distinct style of “Rent,” which it cannot seem to shake.

Scenes of high school hierarchy, teenage romance and sugary pop-rock staging make “Carrie” feel stale.

When the high school stereotypes give way to the grim mother-daughter relationship, the show shines. The bullying aspect is relevant, but its message is bluntly delivered. The darker, more complex bond between mother and daughter allows this intimate production of “Carrie” to right its blighted past.

“Carrie” is at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, located at 121 Christopher St. until April 22.

Michael Ryan is a contributing writer. Email him at theater@nyunews.com.

CARTER continued from PG. 1

‘Carter’ launches into action-adventure history

wife, proves particularly effective. Moments like this set “Carter” apart from the films it has influenced and to which it will be compared — in large part because of director and writer Andrew Stanton.

“Carter” is not the smoothest ride — the ending rushes through its proceedings to reach the conclusion, and the C.G.I. can be downright shoddy. John, however, is the reluctant hero audiences will want to cheer for

even as he resists this noble calling. But it is a thrill to watch John accept his destiny because of Stanton’s directorial choices and clear understanding of how to craft a classic adventure tale that will have audiences anticipating a return to Barsoom.

Jonathon Dornbush is arts editor.

Email him at jdornbush@nyunews.com.

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Thursday, March 08, 2012

The new york times crossword & daily sudoku Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Nursery rhyme vessel 5 Candy used to be seen on it 9 Like a celestial body 14 Oscar Wilde poem “By the ___” 15 Ingredient in traditional medicine 16 Uncertain 17 Start of a Confucian aphorism 20 Man’s name that’s Latin for “honey” 21 Not so great 22 Arm raiser, informally 23 Like the gang, in an old song 25 Single, e.g.

28 Accept eagerly, with “up” 29 A goner

31 Dig it 32 Work assignments 35 TV network that broadcast live from Opryland USA 36 Two-time Oscarwinning cinematographer Nykvist 37 Aphorism’s middle 40 Draftable 41 Tick off 42 Journalist Howell 43 Actor Wheaton 44 Medgar ___ College 46 Number twos, for short 47 Some galas 49 Accustoms 53 Place for family portraits 54 Together, in Toulon

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE H A W K A G E E G R E A S P O P C A R E P R O V W A N R P M C H A R C O V E O N E A L E N T A S S A

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55 Suffix with manager 56 Aphorism’s end 60 Beau 61 Call ___ (stop play after service) 62 “Am ___ only one?”

63 Terminals in a computer network 64 Minuscule issues 65 Word with china or chop Down 1 Cheese city 2 Staggering 3 Probably 4 Joke follower 5 Not being such a daredevil, say 6 Place for many a hanging 7 Brings along 8 Speed: Abbr.

9 Guinness superlative 10 “La ___ du jeu” (1939 Renoir film) 11 Music featured in “A Clockwork Orange” 12 “___ tu” 13 Faulty: Prefix 18 One who’s working out of pocket, informally?

19 “Elf” co-star, 2003 24 Co-creator of “The Flintstones” 25 Curse

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26 Memorable 2011 hurricane 27 Sights at Occupy protests 30 More 32 Stores 33 “Pagliacci” clown 34 Turns 36 Mushroom stem 38 ___ jolie

39 Chicago’s Saint ___ University 44 Fishermen with traps 45 Browning piece 48 Hindu princess 50 Bad demonstrations 51 Prefix with meter

52 Time out?

54 ___ fruit

56 On one’s ___

57 When doubled, Miss Piggy’s white poodle 58 N.H.L.’s Laperriere

59 Start of an alphabet book

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nyunews.com | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 | Washington Square news

OPINION

edited by olivia gonzalez opinion@nyunews.com

velvet state

Pub crawl ban violates our right to assemble

By Atticus Brigham

Last fall, Community Board No. 6 passed a resolution banning commercial pub crawls in its jurisdiction, 33 to 10. This ban covers approximately 14th to 59th streets east of Madison Avenue.

While the Board’s recommendation for the City Council, The Department of Consumer Affairs and The Department of Health to “put an end to these disruptive and unhealthy activities” has no legal standing, one need not be inebriated to be outraged about the Board’s expressed intent to trample the rights of its residents.

This resolution is a blatant attempt to infringe on the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly, not just some sophomoric right to party — as the Beastie Boys put it. These representatives acting as myopic moralists, drunk on minimal power, wish to deprive fun-loving New Yorkers of the commercial and convivial benefits pub crawls confer.

NYU students should not tolerate any teetotaling nanny state’s efforts to ban social drinking among responsible adults and infringe on our freedom to peaceable association, regardless of the force of law these efforts command.

The resolution seeks to drain an area that includes NYU upperclassmen living in Coral Towers, Palladium and Gramercy Green residence halls of income and gaiety under the pretense of increasing its residents’ quality of life. Such a puritanical attempt to chip away at the neighborhood’s tax base is neither pragmatic nor specific.

Their disapproval of pub crawls is a gross overreaction to the excesses of holiday festivities. The resolution explicitly targets boisterous St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo celebrations and associated themed pub crawls.

I fully understand the Board’s effort to make the area safer, but this effort is unwarranted, unwise and misguided. Destructive drunken debauchery is indefensible, and the city already has disorderly conduct laws to maintain public order. For the rest of us, hangovers and some sense of shame are enough to discourage binge drinking. We do not need any more rules to quell excessive rowdiness. We should not harm an ailing economy and infringe on civil liberties in the process.

The Board should steer clear of Elaine Jen for WSN symbolic legislation that targets young people and instead regulate From a practical standpoint, any atthis profitable pastime. Instead of unduly tempt to disperse law-abiding drinkers restricting the nightlife that makes Lower and sanction the vendors that profit Manhattan a destination, they should adfrom them lends itself to selective envocate for drinking our way out of debt, forcement and collective punishment. partying to prosperity.

The resolution is also overly broad: It Though the New York State Liquor Audoes not even explicitly define what a thority has sensibly said it would not enpub crawl is, leaving much room for arforce bans on these, representatives must bitrary and capricious interpretation. For take notice that they cannot quietly wage example, do informal mobile birthday cultural warfare without provoking the celebrations qualify as pub crawls? What ire of the community they would subif roving revelry is not commercially orstantively reshape if given the chance. We ganized, but subsidized by bars? Would drink here. We vote here, too. the Board criminalize organized investment and discounts acquired through Atticus Brigham is a wholesale purchases of a legal product? deputy opinion editor. His column, Why would elected officials ever support “Velvet State” is about liberty and order. this measure in the first place?

Email him at abrigham@nyunews.com.

Health care

Obamacare does not infringe upon religious freedom

By Brittany Sherman There has been enormous conflict regarding President Barack Obama’s new health care rule, which established that businesses must provide insurance coverage for birth control. The rule simply stated that religiously affiliated institutions were part of this mandate but religious institutions were not.

Obama recently announced an accommodation to the rule. He contended that if a woman’s employer — part of a charity or hospital — objected on religious grounds to providing birth control, then the insurance company would offer birth control free-of-charge for the woman. The hospital or charity would take no part.

Considering the circumstances, Obama did the best thing possible to appease both the women in need and the Catholic bishops who objected. He could not have taken a more conciliatory route. Now, of course, it will not be long until Republicans like Rick Santorum jump on an issue like this and assert that Obama is infringing on the Catholics’ religious freedoms.

While this is a nice attempt, the argument gains no muster whatsoever.

First of all, as Andrew Rosenthal of The New York Times points out, about 99 per-

7

cent of women rely on birth control at some point in their lives. If a large number of women were abstaining from using birth control because of their religious views, then this issue would be more immediate. But clearly, a large number of Catholic women use birth control. That is not to say all, but certainly the number does not send an alert that religious freedom is severely at stake.

Next, the argument that Catholic bishops and other objectors affiliated with the Church present is stretching the issue a little too far. They demand that this is a breach of their religious rights and thus The First Amendment, which says they do not have to do anything against their moral values. Obama’s accommodation to the health care rule, however, dissolves this argument completely. An employer of a hospital or charity who chooses not to provide health care to their female employees on religious grounds does not have to do so. Instead, the insurance company does.

Since the Catholic employers are not forced to directly provide birth control to women, what is the argument about?

It seems as if the freedom of conscience argument is settled.

Also, simply because Catholic employers have a certain view about birth con-

trol according to their religion does not mean that every person working in the religiously affiliated institution has those same beliefs. These institutions cater to the public. Thus to deprive women of birth control needs because of an employer’s religious belief cannot be tolerated. Institutions do not and cannot speak for all of their employees. They do not all share the same beliefs and thus cannot be treated as if they do.

Lastly, Rosenthal brought up an excellent point when he referred to the 1990 Supreme Court decision of Employment Division v. Smith, in which it was decided that religious liberty cannot supersede a neutral law. This rings true in this case as well; the health care rule is neutral and so is the subsequent accommodation Obama added. A religious group’s belief cannot take precedence over a genuinely neutral law, especially when this would have negative effects on a large number of women.

Though Obama will definitely be flooded with criticism for his new accommodation, it is evident that he did what was necessary and appropriate for the benefit of our citizens.

Brittany Sherman is a staff columnist.

Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.

staff editorial

Invisible Children promotes false activism For seven years running, Joseph Kony has been the most wanted man in the world, according to the International Criminal Court — but he only garnered widespread international attention two days ago. Why is this?

The charitable organization Invisible Children, Inc., has spread a viral video campaign called “Kony 2012.” It is an attempt to make Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel force called the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, famous.

The LRA is a militant movement that has abducted an estimated 66,000 children in the past two decades. Boys are captured and forced to work as child soldiers while the girls are subjected to sexual slavery.

Invisible Children, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 2005 soon after its founders produced the documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut.” It appears to be a benevolent organization working to draw attention to Kony’s heinous practices and bring him to justice. Yet Invisible Children is ineffective in providing funds to the cause that they claim to advocate for. A paltry 32 percent of the $8,676,614 they have spent in their campaign has been used in direct services to the people of Uganda. The rest has been spent on these viral internet campaigns that conflate retweets and Facebook links with significant social activism. Such a false sense of empowerment may prevent a more effective intervention.

Raising awareness is a necessary step to promote change, but awareness cannot be divorced from action. And in light of Invisible Children’s questionable use of funds, we must question the actions this organization is advocating for. As part of its campaign to rid the world of the menace that is Joseph Kony, Invisible Children advocates for American military intervention in Uganda. President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of 100 American troops in October, but sending more soldiers to become embroiled in a conflict between the lunatic war criminal Kony and Ugandan President Museveni — who has been in power since 1986 and has abolished presidential term limits since 2006 — will escalate a cancerous situation.

Sure, the LRA must be stopped, but justice is not about finding the lesser of two evils. We should remember military campaigns against terrorist organizations that lead to unreported massacres. Let history serve as a reminder of counterproductive actions of the past so that we don’t repeat them with a villain like Joseph Kony.

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

Editorial Board: Olivia Gonzalez (Chair), Atticus Brigham (Co-Chair), Sanchay Jain (Co-Chair), Chris DiNardo, Emily Franklin, Matt Kao, Ben Miller and Peter Murphy.

8

Washington Square news | THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 | nyunews.com

SPORTs

edited by daniel hinton sports@nyunews.com

Violets fall in five sets against Springfield

By Sara Levy

NYU men’s volleyball dropped their second consecutive match last night, falling to 12-4 overall. The Violets, who are currently ranked No. 6 in Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, lost in a five-set thriller to No. 2 Springfield College.

“We played a very good match tonight,” head coach Jose Pina said. “We were shorthanded, missing two of our regulars and were able to take the number two team in the nation to five games.”

The Springfield Pride took the first two sets with close scores of 25-23 and 25-22. Though NYU played without starters senior opposite and middle blocker Luke Hamlet and freshman opposite and setter Matthew MacDonald, who could not play because of academic obligations, the Violets won the third and fourth sets 2521. Junior outside hitter George Koch and sophomore outside hitter Parker Kolodka substituted for Hamlet and MacDonald, and sophomore libero Dylan Ramey

filled in for Koch after he suffered an injury during the third set.

In the decisive fifth set, junior Taylor Fauntelroy led all players with five kills and 11 total attacks. Springfield, led by junior outside hitter Alistair Matthews, freshman outside hitter Angel Perez and freshman setter Keaton Pieper, still won the set 15-12 to seal the match.

“The high point of the match was the way the team came together and how the starters meshed with the guys who don’t usually get as much playing time,” Pina said.

Kolodka recorded 16 kills, and senior captain Pat Dodd produced 13.

Fauntleroy put up a career-high of 28 kills while sophomore setter Connor Mortland led with 52 assists.

The Violets will travel to Rochester, N.Y., on Saturday, March 10, for the United Volleyball Conference Crossover at Nazareth College. NYU’s first match of the weekend begins at 1:30 p.m. against D’Youville College.

Sara Levy is a staff writer.

Email her at sports@nyunews.com.

Saints under scrutiny amid bounty scandal

By Sebastien Van Heyningen Earlier this month, the National Football League publicly released the results of an investigation into a bounty program managed by Gregg Williams, who was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 2009 until the 2012 playoffs. Fans and members of sports media were surprised and disappointed by coaches and athletes creating monetary incentives to injure opponents. Even with all of the full speed collisions, head cracking hits and painful slams to the turf, it was always assumed that there was mutual respect between the athletes. The same player that knocked you down should be just as willing to pick you up and say, “Good play.” The NFL is violent, of course, but is not supposed to be hateful.

The system that Williams instituted was wrong — plain and simple. It is also a mark that will stain the Saints’ sole championship season for years to come, as the Saints’ general manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton knowingly failed to end it.

Players would receive cash bonuses based on certain parameters, including but not limited to special teams’ tackles within the 20-yard line or knocking an opponent out of the game.

Some players would put their money back into the pot after games, increasing their possible financial gains for inflicting injury and pain. The fines the league has recently imposed for rough play could easily be compensated by adding to the gambling pot.

For instance, when the Saints defeated Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings to advance to Super Bowl XLIV, Favre was the victim of many vicious hits, some of which were fined by the league.

He was also knocked out of the game for a while with a sprained ankle.

Football is without a doubt the most popular, as well as the most violent, professional sport in the country. Collisions on the field are rewarded with roaring applause from the stands. In a contact sport that rewards tough players with national exposure and endorsement deals, serious injuries are

unavoidable. The applause for a hard hit does not stem from enjoyment of the pain felt by the ballcarrier; it is due recognition for playing the game with heart and intensity. There is a fine line between intensity and a mean-spirited desire to hurt others. That is why fans cringe when seeing bad hits and why players take a knee when they see a colleague injured on a play.

Williams, Payton and Loomis all deserve to be singled out for strict punishments from the league’s head offices. However, some players — including linebacker Bart Scott — have implied that bounties are commonly practiced throughout football. If that is true, each team should be investigated as part of an effort to eliminate bounty systems on a leaguewide scale. This story should not die down soon. Every player, coach and executive must know that such reckless and dangerous behavior is deplorable and immoral.

Sebastien Van Heyningen is a contributing writer. Email him at sports@nyunews.com.