NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 42, No. 22
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
nyunews.com
TEDxNYU names student speaker
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VIA FACEBOOK.COM
Students take sides in pipeline debate
By CLAIRE SCIMECA
Several members of NYU Divest were arrested last week while protesting outside the White House. PIPELINE on PG. 3
VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style Catch a parade in New York City and enjoy some traditional Irish food and music. TOP 5 on PG. 5
LAWRENCE WU/WSN
Six NYU students competed to have their own TEDx Talk at the next TEDxNYU in April by giving a five-minute speech on March 7 in a competition called the Pitch. CAS sophomore Nia Cavazos won the competition with her discussion called the Contagion Behind Cultural Identity. CAS sophomore and TEDxNYU vice president Abhinay Ashutosh said this year was the first time a spot at the annual conference was partially decided by the audience. “It’s a great chance for the audience to get involved with the TEDx community and pick a talk and a speaker they’d like to hear more from,” Ashutosh said. “TEDx, at the end of the day, is all about sharing ideas and expanding your own understanding of the world.” The speakers’ topics included education, networking for career advancement and activism. SCPS sophomore Lina Yue said
Students had five minutes to present their topics to the audience on Friday.
Kathleen Hanna brings girl power By SAM DEL ROWE
Homosexual material comes under fire Banning literature is a backwards practice the U.S. must avoid. HOUSE on PG. 7
VIA GONYUATHLETICS.COM
Women’s basketball comes up short in NCAA tournament The team lost the first round of playoffs to the University of New England last Friday. NCAA on PG. 8
Musician and feminist activist Kathleen Hanna held a lecture at the Kimmel Center for University Life on March 6, attracting a large group of students that filled the room to capacity. Hanna is best known for being a member of the punk band Bikini Kill and an important figure in the riot grrrl movement. Recently, her ventures include being a part of the multimedia electronic group Le Tigre and her current band, the Julie Ruin. In her lecture, Hanna spoke about the importance of language in feminism and its role in female empowerment. She said by the end of the riot grrrl movement in 1996, the language of feminism had undergone a change. “I felt the language we had made to empower ourselves, for lack of a better phrase or word, was just stolen and cheapened and didn’t mean anything,” Hanna said. “I felt like I had
kind of lost language.” Hanna discussed how girl power has been appropriated by teen magazines that feature nearly naked female pop stars. Hanna said this loss of language is almost irrelevant because artists such as herself are constantly creating new language to voice their ideas, which she does with her musical projects. Hanna also spoke about her work at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for girls, where she mentors young aspiring female musicians. She explained that this work fulfills the riot grrrl goal of involving younger women in bands and the music world. Although the original riot grrrl movement ended, Hanna continues to voice her strength through her work in musical projects and the mentoring of young female artists. During the question-and-answer session, students asked
HANNA continued on PG. 4
PITCH continued on PG. 3
Skirball series celebrates Chinese visions, voices By JESSICA TIEN
The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts’ second annual cross-cultural event “Visions and Voices,” is highlighting China with a vibrant collection of performances and events throughout the month. The event, which started Feb. 20, showcases global cultures through dance, film, theater and music. Renowned groups, such as the Hangzhou Opera Company and the National Theater of China, are featured in this year’s productions. The series coincides with NYU Shanghai’s first year as a degreegranting portal campus. Michael Harrington, executive director of the Skirball Center, cited the opening of NYU Shanghai as a factor in choosing China as this year’s theme. “We want to celebrate the global network of NYU here at the Washington Square campus,” Harrington said. “Through Skirball’s ‘Vision and Voices’ series, students
can get a taste of international cultures, right here at NYU’s home campus.” On the first day of the series, the dancers of TAO Dance Theater moved fluidly across the stage of Skirball. Their bodies formed a dynamic, unified group that spun, evolved and transformed before the audience’s eyes. The loose folds of their grey and black tunics swirled around them as they danced to the staccato, chant-like rhythm of the accompanying music. The program’s organizers hope to present an intersection of past and present by displaying traditional Chinese culture through a modern lens. The next event in the series is a rendition of “Richard III” by the National Theater of China. Their version of Shakespeare’s dramatic, murder-filled classic will be performed using Chinese costumes, music and acrobatics. The performance is set to take place at Skirball from March 26 through March 30.
CHINA continued on PG. 5