WSN040212

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

washington square news Vol. 40, No. 39

Monday, april 2, 2012

nyunews.com

Seventh annual Shabbat for 2,000 a success

Study says businesses profit from NYU

By Hanqing Chen

Wendi Liu for WSN

Approximately 200 volunteers worked to host a dinner for 2,000 students and faculty on Friday night at Coles Sports Center.

By Sydney Wu Challah bread and serving spoons replaced basketballs and pom-poms at Coles Sports Center Friday night. The gym was transformed into an el-

egant, sophisticated banquet hall. Approximately 200 volunteers worked tirelessly to lay down carpeting, set up tables and put up decorations throughout the venue. The final result was a dazzling dining

area full of color and a sense of warmth and welcoming.

The redecorated space was at capacity as 2,000 people filled up every seat for the seventh annual Shabbat for 2,000 hosted by the Bronfman Cen-

ter for Jewish Student Life and HillelNYU, which provided the food for the event. Dinner consisted of gluten-free chicken, couscous, a gluten-free veggie medley and vegetarian moussaka. An assortment of gourmet

R SHABBAT continued on PG. 5

R SURVEY continued on PG. 3

Columnist offers update on sex ed

By Jeremy Grossman

There is no topic too taboo for Dan Savage.

Best known as the co-creator of the It Gets Better project, the sex columnist is now bringing his passionate voice to the television screen. “Savage U,” which premieres on MTV this Tuesday at 11 p.m., follows Savage and his producer Lauren Hutchinson as they travel the country, visit college campuses and discuss topics that would make some students cover their ears in shock.

“When it comes to sex, everyone wants to pretend that they know everything and that they’re good at everything, and that they’re an expert already,” Savage said. “People have a real inhibition around seeming vulnerable when it comes to sex.”

A graduate of the University of Illinois, Savage acknowledged that students are more informed than when he was in college. Still, he considers sex education to be generally lousy, and that the focus should be on the social dynamics

Statistics from a recent survey by the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce provide an economic argument in favor of NYU 2031 — the university’s longterm plan to expand six million square feet by 2031.

According to the survey, 95 percent of businesses in the rectangular area bordered by 14th Street, Broome Street, Broadway and Sixth Avenue receive at least 10 percent of their profits from the NYU community.

The study randomly surveyed 110 businesses around the area. The GVCCC, which recently announced its support for the NYU 2031 expansion plan alongside other Village organizations, used the survey to further bolster its support for the construction.

“The way the 2031 plan is laid out, density will be placed next to density, and they will not be encroaching on the existing neighborhood,” Tom

of a sexual relationship rather than merely reproductive biology.

“The analogy I always use is if we taught driver’s ed the way we teach sex ed, nobody would survive their first trip in a car,” Savage said. “We would be all about how the internal combustion engine works and nothing about how to drive.”

And as Savage and Hutchinson toured many of the country’s college campuses, they found many students in need of help. Some were unsure of how to communicate in their relationship. Others had never asked anyone out on a date and even some admitted to never using protection.

For much of this confusion, Savage said he believes abstinence-only education is to blame; he described the practice as both ineffective and dangerous.

“It doesn’t serve young people well [as] 95 percent of people are not virgins on their wedding nights, including people like Callista Gingrich,” Savage said. “So even the right-wing douchebags who are

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Violets swing for second in Pa.

By Mary Jane Dumankaya

NYU men’s and women’s golf competed against 11 schools in the McDaniel Spring Invitational over the weekend. The two-day invitational was held on a par-71, 6,713-yard course at the Bridges Golf Club in Abbottstown, Pa. Women’s golf failed to defend the title they won at last year’s McDaniel Invitational but still hit well as a team.

“This weekend was a great one for the team,” said women’s sophomore co-captain Kristina Shalhoup. “We came in second, and many of our girls played really well today... There are two tournaments left in the season, which leaves plenty of room for improvement.”

NYU finished the first day of competition in a tie for second place with St. Lawrence University. No. 11 Allegheny College was in first with a score of 337. On the second day, NYU failed to capture the lead, scoring the same as Allegheny with 365 points and putting the Ga-

tors in the lead with 676. The Violets were left in second place with 679.

Shalhoup finished round one in third place, two strokes behind SUNY Cortland’s Rebecca Studin. At the end of the two-day tournament, Shalhoup placed third out of 58 golfers with a total score of 162.

Three other Violets shot in the 80s on day one, including junior Jiye Kim (83), senior co-captain Meaghan Kenny (88) and freshman Deanna Lee Jia Yi (89). Kim finished

sixth after adding 83 to her previous score for a total of 166 while Jia Yi placed 15th with 176 and Kenny placed 19th with 177.

“We beat SUNY Cortland who’s ahead of us in the rankings,” head coach Todd Kolean said. “We feel very positive about how the women’s program is going. It was a good tournament for us.”

Meanwhile, the men’s team did not perform as well, finishing 13th out of 18 teams at

R GOLF continued on PG. 7

Courtesy of NYU Athletics

Senior Meaghan Kenny finished tied for 19th place.

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Washington Square news | monday, april 2, 2012 | nyunews.com

on the side

Compiled by the

WSN staff

BEST OF WEB Washington Square News

TOP NYU TWEETS @nycgrlproblems

@tylmills

Can you make this gluten, carb, and sugar free with soy milk? #nycgrlproblems

#petpeeve when people don’t stay to the right on an escaltor #NYCproblems

Editor-in-Chief amanda randone Managing Editor

jaewon kang Deputy Managing Editor

Amy zhang

@AlexSongXia

Assistant Managing Editor

james lanning

I thought this was an April Fools’ joke.

RT @villagevoice: New York Times Supports NYU Expansion In Editorial http://t.co/NT2hshfH

Creative Director

selena chen senior staff

TOP COMMENTS In response to the article “Congress must uphold constitutional rights of women” from March 28 “News flash: when you demand that everyone around you pay for your ‘most private decision,’ IT IS NO LONGER A PRIVATE DECISION.” — Sic Borodin

TODAY

In response to the article “Operations Clean Halls invades privacy” from March 29

In response to the article “NYU 2031 will not affect Village’s historical charm” from March 27 “I have no doubt that in the weeks and months to come, more and more members of the press and (one can only hope) local politicians will show the courage to stand up and be counted in the ongoing debate.”

— Proud but concerned Villager

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“Wow! This is completely absurd.

Even NYU will not conduct an unannounced search of someone’s room, not to mention by the thousands.”

— Alec K. Foster

Free Tea on Meet Us Mondays

university Julie devito city/state emily yang investigative hanqing chen arts jonathon dornbush features jessica littman sports daniel hinton multimedia david lin copy maximilíano durón senior editor jack brooks,

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From Eleanor Roosevelt to Qaddafi: An Insider’s Account of Human Rights at the U.N. The head of a watchdog non-governmental organization and an editor at Tablet Magazine will discuss the evolution of the United Nations’s Human Rights Commission.

city/state tony chau, kristine

itliong, jessica schultz investigative feiye wang music josh johnson film stefan Melnyk entertainment jeremy grossman books/theater clio Mcconnell dining hannah borenstein beauty & style shannon

loughran sports John axelrod, cole

riley 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

A miracle in 10 days James Klemovich, 76, was found alive by military personnel doing training exercises nearby after being stranded in the snow for 10 days in Nevada’s Pershing County. The area is populated by 7,000 people over a 6,000-square-mile area. Despite Klemovich’s miraculous survival, his friend Laszlo Szabo, 75, passed away after being stranded with Klemovich for four of five days and then leaving to look for help. Klemovich — who suffers from diabetes, wears a pacemaker and has had triple bypass heart surgery — attributes his survival to regular water intake.

— The Associated Press

University of Southern California

PHOTO BY david lin

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

Shriver to be Annenberg grad speaker

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.

— Daily Trojan

University Hall’s hall council hosted a Carnival for Life event featuring food, balloon animals, a bounce house and a Pie Your RA game. Benefits went toward Relay for Life.

sales representatives

Penn researchers discover possible cause for male baldness — The Daily Pennsylvanian

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nyunews.com | monday, april 2, 2012 | Washington Square news

Panel discusses religion in democracy

SURVEY continued from PG. 1

GVCCC survey points to economic benefits of NYU 2031 Gray, executive director of GVCCC, said.

NYU is a gold member of the Chamber of Commerce Champions, along with Google, which means that the university invests in the chamber at a higher rate than the other 225 GVCCC organizations.

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and a long-time opponent of NYU 2031, disagreed that the expansion would provide economic benefits.

“NYU is asking for zoning that would turn the Village into Midtown,” Berman said. “While that might increase foot traffic into some local businesses, it would nevertheless help destroy neighborhood character and eliminate exactly what has drawn so many tourists, visitors, residents and shoppers to the area.”

NYU Urban Policy and Planning professor Mitchell Moss said the survey seemed like an accurate portrayal of the university’s contributions to the health of local stores.

“Clearly, NYU students and faculty, as well as visitors to NYU, contribute in a substantial way to the local economy,” he said.

Families purchase from local food establishments while tattoo parlors

By Julie DeVito

and other eccentric shops attract many tourists, according to Moss.

A local bakery said nearby businesses are attentive to the number of student customers they serve.

“We’re very aware of the people we’re serving,” said Andre Juan, manager of Financier Patisserie on Broadway. “More buildings will mean that more NYU students will be able to walk by.”

However, some stores are less concerned about the final site than the negatives that could come with the expansion process.

“A giant construction across the street in 10 years would not be good for businesses,” Mercer Street Bookstore employee Chris Shook said.

The GVCCC’s survey also included several recommendations for the university in order to facilitate the businesses’ transition, including renting space out to small businesses and providing grants to businesses that will be affected by construction.

NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the university will take these suggestions into consideration as they continue their conversation with the Village about the plan.

Hanqing Chen is investigative editor.

Email her at hchen@nyunews.com.

A two-day conference hosted by the Deutsches Haus invited members of the NYU community and beyond to discuss the role of religion in oppression, democracy and terrorism. International scholars brought the conversation to an end on Friday evening.

Steinhardt professor Marcia Pally organized the conference and Friday’s panel, Devout Faith and Liberal Democracy: Contribution or Contest? She said she hoped participants had learned from each other and had come up with ways to continue the discussion.

“I thought I would try to pull together a conference where we bring people from different disciplines and different countries and different research areas, where the idea would be to talk about what they thought was most important on the question of how and under what conditions religion intrudes on liberal democracy,” Pally said.

The conference invited evangelicals and scholars, who gave presentations about religion in democracy and opened up discussions. They addressed the theological components of religion, structure of church and the economic and political im-

Job applicants’ statuses concealed

By Sarah Skirmont New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn recently proposed a legislation that would ban employers from considering applicants’ current job statuses.

Also under the new legislation, newspaper advertisements suggesting that currently unemployed people should not apply for the offered position will be banned.

With New York’s unemployment rate rising in January to a 16month high of 9.3 percent, Quinn saw it necessary to take action in further preventing the downturn.

“The long-time unemployed face some of the bleakest job prospects in our economy,” Quinn said. ” We can’t stand by and watch them be needlessly held back.”

If the legislation is passed, the

law will require an employer to request an applicant’s unemployment status information.

Stern professor William Baumol believes the situation is a catch-22.

“If prospective employers do not know that the job candidate was fired for larceny they may end up making themselves vulnerable to employee misconduct,” Baumol said. “On the other side, information on joblessness may unfairly deny job opportunities to applicants.”

According to Stern economics professor Heski Bar-Isaac, economists lean toward what is most efficient for the company or business.

“Economists think that more information is better. If an employer knows less about the kind of employee that he is hiring or has

Carina Wong for WSN

A new law hides the statuses of unemployment.

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to spend more time to find out, that might make the employer less likely to hire,” Isaac said. “It is often important to learn about a prospective candidate [which is] why they ask you for your grades, what school you went to, what your experience is.”

However, council member Vincent Gentile disregards all of these situations, considering the future of New York’s economy is the number one priority.

“Now is not the time for catch22s,” Gentile said. “We need to be doing everything we can to help New Yorkers get back to work. Preventing otherwise well-qualified men and women from applying for a job simply because they are currently unemployed is counter-intuitive and unconscionable.”

Many NYU students have not faced such discrimination.

CAS sophomore Alyssa Cosentino interns at a debt collection agency and was not even asked if she was employed.

“I was asked to come into an interview in New York and a few days after that, I received a phone call and was asked if I wanted the job,” Cosentino said.

LSP sophomore Randi Amalfitano, who works at America Reads, experienced a similar job search.

“I applied and I got it,” Amalfitano said.

Sarah Skirmont is a staff writer.

Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

plications of both.

Stefan Huster, a professor of Law at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in West Germany and an expert on constitutional law, gave a presentation on Friday.

“We have to see that in a globalized world the law concerning state and religion is at a familiarity level in the system,” Huster said. “Neutrality means equality.

The state must not identify with a particular faith and must declare all religions and religious communities equal.”

He said that though neutrality sometimes means separation of church and state, the religious communities are integrated with the public institutions in Germany.

“Is there room for religious institutions and authorities to have, not just social or cultural clout but also clout in economic or political spheres?” Fordham University professor Christiana Peppard said. “The question of authority and agency in a globalizing world is one that very much has been on the table.”

Pally also compared the German experience with the American experience regarding religion in democracy.

“There are fundamental commonalities in certain religious traditions and European cul-

tural and political traditions,” Pally said. “On the other hand, there are distinct differences that reflect differences between the United States and many countries in the world.”

Deutsches Haus director Martin Rauchbauer said the conference exceeded their expectations and goals. He said bringing the Germans and the Americans together helped surface the misconceptions about religion in their countries.

“The most surprising outcome was that preconceptions of each other has to be modified,” Rauchbauer said. “The realities are more complex.”

Julie DeVito is university editor.

Email her at jdevito@nyunews.com.

Julie DeVito/WSN

International scholars gathered at the Deutsches Haus last Friday.

OWS resurge results in mixed feelings

By Jessie Schultz

Winter hibernation for the Occupy Wall Street movement has officially ended. As the temperature has increased, so too has the movement’s activities across the city and country.

“Most people thought that Occupy was done, but we were planning and regrouping until the weather has gotten better,” OWS protester Andrew Collins said. “It’s still alive and will continue to be until there is social and economic equality in this country.”

Since its six-month anniversary on March 17, the movement’s activities have begun to pick up.

Starting on March 20, a group of 40 protesters began to occupy Union Square, holding lectures and more at the park. Each night the police come to clear out the park with barricades, but the occupiers have returned each morning.

The occupation of Union Square has not been the only action by the movement in the past few weeks.

On Sunday, a couple hundred protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge from Zuccotti Park to commemorate the six-month anniversary of the same march that resulted in the arrest of hundreds of protesters.

After months of planning, members of the movement have said the city can expect more marches and protests in the coming months.

“The first few months were dominated by planning without much certainty about a future more than a couple of weeks ahead,” said Aaron Bornstein, NYU graduate student and OWS member. “But now, plans are being formed for three, six, twelve months into the future.”

With a more active Twitter site, OWS is also heavily promoting May 1 as the People’s General Strike.

Though May 1 is traditionally a day of labor solidarity, they are calling upon all citizens to leave school and work for this day of action to protest and disrupt daily economic activity.

But students and residents around the Union Square area have mixed feelings about the presence of the protesters in the public space.

“It’s a nice reminder to walk out there and see them every morning,” Tisch sophomore Alex Reynolds said. “It’s a reminder that we have to continue to fight for what we want, but also that we’re able to peacefully do it without intervention from the government.”

However, Union Square resident Kayla Jones said the movement’s occupation of the park has served as a disruption in her life.

“The movement has brought nothing but chaos to the city and now they’ve brought it right outside my doorstep,” she said. “I now understand what the residents around Zuccotti Park felt like.”

Jessie Schultz is a deputy city/state editor.

Email her at jschultz@nyunews.com.

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Washington Square news | monday, april 2, 2012 | nyunews.com

NYU ranked fourth on students’ list of dream colleges

By Claire Zajdel

College applicants continue to dream about NYU, according to a recent report by the Princeton Review.

Each year, the Princeton Review releases its annual poll of college applicants and their parents.

About 11,000 students and parents responded to this year’s 15-question survey and shared what their dream school would be if financial circumstances and admissions were not factors.

NYU ranked fourth on the students’ list but failed to make the parents’ list for the first time since 2007.

“A lot of the schools on these lists are usual suspects,” Princeton Review spokesman David Soto said. “We make two lists because the students have different opinions on what to look for in a college than their parents do.”

Last year, the university placed third on the students’ list and eighth on the parents’ list.

Tom Ellett, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said he thinks the appeal of New York City

contributes to NYU’s dream image in addition to its academics.

“Think about an 18-year-old freshman living on Fifth Avenue or taking classes with world-renowned faculty,” Ellett said. “Waking up and seeing the Empire State Building out of your residence hall room or having any kind of cuisine for breakfast, lunch or dinner 365 days of the year. This place is mad crazy in terms of you name it, you can do it here.”

Pointing to the drop on the students’ list, Ellett said he thinks the university is still doing well.

“Over 4,000 higher institutions, dropping one spot is 0.00025 percent,” he said.

“I have no idea why parents wouldn’t [want] their child to be a part of the most exciting globally connected school in the world,” Ellett said of the decrease on the parents’ list.

For Steinhardt freshman Jessica Hawk, NYU was her dream school.

“I feel at this time in our lives, we are finding out who we are and identifying ourselves,” she said.

“NYU is such an amazing place to do this with so many different cultures

right outside our door.”

Institutions often rank on students’ and parents’ dream lists in the same year. University of Southern California ranked 10th on both lists this year.

USC freshman Elaine Krebs said the university is her definition of a dream school though she did not realize it at first.

“It has a very good international reputation for having stellar academics,” Krebs said. “It has the athletic atmosphere of a state school with crazy fans and really good sports. Plus it’s in a major city, but has a really pretty campus with trees and red brick buildings and everything.”

Recently admitted NYU student Kaitlyn Kieronski from Illinois said the location is what she loves about NYU. “Every time I’m there, I get this fluttery feeling like anything could happen in an instant,” Kieronski said.

“There are endless possibilities in New York City and, therefore, at NYU.” Claire Zajdel is a staff writer.

Email her at university@nyunews.com.

Carina wong for wsn

NYU ranked third place on students’ list of dream college and eighth on parents’ last year.

Graduates compete in second annual Threesis Challenge

By Esha Ray

The final 12 contestants of the Threesis Academic Challenge presented t heir projects on Saturday in Kimmel’s Eisner and Lubin Auditorium, each competing for the grand prize of $1,000.

Organized by the Graduate School of Arts and Science students, this was the event’s second year. And unlike traditional academic conferences, the Threesis Challenge is an “American Idol”-style competition in which master’s students across a variety of disciplines present

their research in a three-minute teaser to an audience and a panel of three judges. The panel included Lauren Benton, FAS dean of the humanities; Dalton Conley, dean of social sciences and Michael Purugganan, associate director at the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology.

After the competition, audience members vote for their favorite presentation. The winning and runner-up students of the Audience Choice receive a $750 prize.

Of the 70 total applicants, 12 competitors made it to the final round. Topics ranged from the cinema of revolution during the

Arab Spring to the role of interactive video games in museums.

After each presentation, judges asked hard-hitting questions about the students research.

This year’s judges’ choice and $1,000 grand prize winner was second-year graduate student Christopher Cappelluti, who presented his research on “Joyce & Dante: The Politics of Filiation.”

The Audience Choice winner was Neil Okey, who spoke about the ethics of euthanasia. Runner-up was Roy Schwartz, whose project was named “Is Superman Circumcised?

The Hero in Jewish Literature from the Bible to Comic Books.”

“I’m a creative writer,” Cappelluti said. “And the rule is always, ‘Get your reader’s attention. Keep your reader interested.’ And I take that into everything else I do. If you’re not interested, then why would you even want to hear what I have to say?”

Acting Dean Malcolm Semple brought this competition to NYU after being inspired by a conference in Adelaide, South Australia.

“I was looking for a vehicle to show that what the master’s students were doing in research was academically really rigorous, really interest-

ing and perhaps doesn’t get as much attention as it should,” Semple said.

Second-year graduate student Kathryn Barnard, who came out to support her fellow students, said she thinks this type of contest is important to the master’s education process.

“It’s rare that we can talk about [our research] to people outside of the field,” she said. “So having to think about it in that way, I think is an important step in the research process.”

Esha Ray is a staff writer.

Email her at university@nyunews.com.

Students share experience of competing in sixth annual F.Y.R.E. Olympics

By Julie DeVito and EMILY YANG

Freshmen gathered for the annual First-Year Residential Experience Olympics yesterday at Coles Sports Center. Third Avenue North took home the prize again for the sixth year in a row. Olympics consisted of six events: volleyball, knockout, tug-of-war, relay race, trivia competition and critical thinking. Students share their experience participating in the competition.

“All of the pressure of having a target on our backs and five previous years of reputation was relieved by the amazing skill of our team. The battle felt as though it lasted a lifetime, though finally, when they announced that Rubin had come in second after much anticipation, our cheers erupted as we knew that our effort had paid off. We celebrated with Sundaes and Cones shortly afterwards, and even while covered in ice cream, our smiles were clearly visible.”

— Dylan Sprouse President of Third Avenue North residence Hall (First place)

“It was great. It was a lot of fun. People got really into it … and I really enjoyed that part.

I liked the knockout event — you got to compete directly with all seven halls. You were facing each hall in a very fast-paced setting.”

— Forrest Durell President of Rubin residence hall (Second place)

“The way the residents of Founders banded together to compete for F.Y.R.E. Olypmics was very special and awe-inspiring. The passion and pride we have at Founders was on full display today. And placing in third made this day even more epic. Founders is my home away from home, and I could not have lived with a better cast of characters this year.”

“I had an awesome time organizing the team. And we had so much fun participating today — everyone was so into it. The adrenaline in that room was off the charts. And obviously it’s a very competitive event — everyone wants to win and/or beat Third North. But I saw a lot of inter-hall support going on as well.

Rubin cheered for Brittany, Founders cheered for Hayden. It was nice to know that it wasn’t 100 percent about crushing the competition.”

— Ayden Rosenberg President of Weinstein residence hall (Sixth Place)

Sam Bhakuni — President of Founders residence hall (Third place)

“As a loveable muppet once said, ‘it’s not easy being green’ — but I think we proved him wrong today with some amazing team spirit and a whole lotta heart. And congratulations to all the F.Y.R.E. halls — I was definitely feeling the rainbow connection.”

— Matt Puccini on his team color, green.

President of Hayden residence hall (Fifth place)

Courtesy of Saige Martinez

Third North’s team prepares for the tug-of-war event of F.Y.R.E.

nyunews.com | monday, april 2, 2012 | Washington Square news

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Features Student company takes delicious approach to building communities

By Angel Chang With their start-up company WeCookSocial, Gallatin junior Ryan Kuhel and CAS freshman Ben Borodach have created a cutting-edge approach to building community through dynamic culinary education, according to Kuhel.

Hoping to initiate a business venture that would go beyond material gain, the duo focused on equipping WeCookSocial with socially profitable aspects. Originally designed to be a business-to-consumer model, WeCookSocial has since transformed into a businessto-business model. This means that the company deviates its promoting of the educational and cooperative aspects of food from individuals to companies.

For the creators of WeCookSocial, food is an intrinsic element of social bonding. Nis Frome, chief marketing officer of WeCookSocial and whose team at Take it Worldwide, LLC worked logistically with Kuhel this past summer to develop marketing

and business consulting, sees the company as a philosophy.

“We don’t see ourselves as a cooking class,” he said. “We view WeCookSocial as a set of principles that enables and drives us to use food in order to build relationships.”

Kuhel’s signature tagline — “Food is the great equalizer. Everyone eats.” — effectively communicates the company’s campaign.

Staying true to this, the team hosted an event for Tumblr last Thursday at the blogging company’s office. This event was their first collaboration with a company in its own office building.

“Tumblr is a paradigmatic of startup culture,” Kuhel said. “The work environment has a unique aura in its fluidity and freedom.

Tumblr CEO David Karp recognizes that Tumblr benefits from creating a dynamic, interactive space that attracts and retains the best talent.”

WeCookSocial has already attracted the attention of NYU student groups eager for the experience of cooking and eating together. It recently hosted

an event that was designed for students in the Stern Cohorts during the summer and at the beginning of the semester.

Borodach’s goal is to promote environments that are conducive to sharing ideas.

“Since we’re students and a company in its infancy, we need to have the time and resources to host events,” he said. “Many residence halls have contacted us, so we’re hoping to host events for many more students in the future.”

Kuhel also said he hopes to have more events at NYU. “Ideally, WeCookSocial would be granted space on campus to host events for transfer students, international students, athletes, artists and all groups that compose the macro-NYU community,” he said.

Stern senior Justin Silver, who learned of WeCookSocial through Kuhel and attended an Indian cooking event in November, said he was pleased with his experience.

Angel Chang is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Courtesy of Ryan Kuhel

WeCookSocial hosts cooking events that allow for social bonding within organizations.

‘West 10th’ launches fifth edition

By Jordan Melendrez The power of poetry, prose and art was apparent on Friday at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House. NYU undergraduates gathered to celebrate the launch of the fifth edition of the student-run literary journal “West 10th.”

Creative writing professor and “West 10th” executive editor Matthew Rohrer began the evening by thanking the audience for their attendance and by introducing the editor-in-chief of the journal, CAS senior Phillip Polefrone.

Several student contributors presented their work while the audience followed along in their own copies of “West 10th.”

The executive editors give an Editor’s Award, including a $200 prize, to one author of poetry and one author of prose each year. CAS senior Nick Chrastil said he was very excited to win the prose award for his piece “Fish Tacos,” the last piece in the journal.

After the undergraduates completed their reading portion of the night, guest reader and award-winning poet Michael Dickman read some of his own poetry, including his piece featured in “West 10th” and four others.

Dickman said he was impressed with the talent featured in the literary journal “If I were an undergraduate I would not make it into [the magazine],” Dickman said. “I’m excited to be included.”

Dickman was an important poet and guest because his contempo-

“I think the company is an unbelievable concept that will potentially revolutionize the idea of a cooking class,” he said.

Stern freshman Masha Leonov attended the Feb. 12 Gramercy Cohort 2015 event.

“The atmosphere was relaxing and engaging, slyly informative and very helpful in terms of finding a recipe to impress the in-laws one day,” she said.

James Kelleher/WSN

Undergraduate reader Courtney Bush presented her poem “God for me.” rary style impacted the poetry Polefrone chose to read, Polefrone said.

“I usually read the classics like Yeats,” Polefrone said. “[Then] all of a sudden there’s Dickman, and that changed everything.”

CAS junior Martin Spasov said he attended the event to support Chrastil and because he had submitted works that were not selected. He did not, however, seem discouraged and said his work was not the style the editors were looking for this year.

“I don’t think I’ll change my aesthetic,” Spasov said.

CAS sophomore Maeve Nolan, a poetry editor for “West 10th,” described the selection process for the journal’s content, which took several weeks.

“It was a long process but it was fun,” Nolan said. “Everyone gets a vote. If you really felt strongly about the piece, you could argue for it. It’s very democratic.”

Rohrer expressed his pride in the end result, especially because he had either taught or is currently

teaching 7 out of the 10 students who were selected for the poetry portion of “West 10th.”

“Every year has a new editor, new flavor,” Rohrer said.

Polefrone said this year was the largest submission turnout for undergraduates vying for a spot in the magazine: approximately 500 poems, 200 prose pieces and 80 photographs were submitted.

In the end, only ten poems, five prose pieces and 19 visual art works were selected.

Copies of the 2012 volume of “West 10th” are available at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House at 58 W. 10th St. Jordan Melendrez is a contributing writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

For video coverage, scan this QR code.

SHABBAT continued from PG. 1

Shabbat unites students cookies and brownies were served for dessert.

Shabbat for 2,000 is the largest student-run event in the United States and occurs at college campuses across the country.

“It’s amazing,” Tisch senior and event co-chair Rachel Channon said. “It makes me realize how much people can do when we unite and work toward a common goal. It’s really inspiring. We can make a change, and we can make things happen if we work together.”

“It’s surreal,” Gallatin junior Joan Kagan said after seeing the room filled with students and alumni.

“This year, we have a new element that we’ve never had before,” Channon said.

“We’ve gone global.”

Shabbat dinners were set up at each of the NYU global sites, and the event was able to reach out to at least 150 students across the world.

NYU President John Sexton was also in attendance.

Sexton said he was astonished by the number of students who turned up for the event, describing it as inspiring, elevating and exhilarating.

“NYU is a great lesson in building community in the face of complex-

ity,” Sexton said. “We’re cacophonous. We’re this huge complex place. We don’t do anything easy. We have to work hard to create community. So, when I walk into a room like this and I see 2,000 have come together to celebrate the joy of life, it makes my heart very warm.”

Sexton said he was also impressed by the students who put the dinner together.

“The thing that makes it so special is that it wasn’t easy to do,” he said. “I think that these students have shown that they are capable of running the world, which is what we are training our students to do. The skills they will have learned in dealing with complexity here will help them make that even more complex world better.”

LSP freshman Jonathan Patarkatsi, who attended the event, said, “[It was] powerful and a great way to bring together people from different religious backgrounds and make new friendships.”

At the end of the dinner, several students donated the leftover food to the Bowery Mission.

Sydney Wu is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

6

Washington Square news | monday, april 2, 2010 | nyunews.com

Features

edited by jessica littman features@nyunews.com

Gallatin sophomore explores brother’s autism through dance

By Nicola Pring Grant Johnson stood proudly in the center of the stage at the Professional Performing Arts School auditorium on Saturday night. He donned a brown safari hat, a vest and a pair of binoculars around his neck.

“Welcome to ‘Grant’s Safari,’” he announced.

With that, the audience was taken on a journey into the autistic 12-year-old’s mind through a multimedia movement performance.

Grant’s sister, Gallatin sophomore Nicole Johnson, choreographed the entire performance to raise money and awareness

for autism in honor of National Autism Awareness Month, which is in April.

As founder of Javanna Productions, a nonprofit dance company, Nicole’s love for animals inspired her to create “Grant’s Safari.” The performance featured live hip-hop and contemporary dance pieces along with video clips from Grant’s favorite wildlife videos. Each dancer’s face was intricately painted to look like a different wild animal.

Grant narrated parts of the performance, offering the audience facts about the animals he saw.

Nicole used movement to represent what she believes her brother sees when he watches wildlife videos or reads about animals.

“We need to make it easier for members of the autistic community to live in this world. They can bring things to the table for us, especially artists. [Grant] brought so much creativity to my table.”

— Nicole Johnson, Gallatin ’14

“I hope I’ve been able to choreograph it in a way [that] really showcases the complexity and the fascinating abilities Grant has to look at these animals on different levels,” she said. “It’s not just about watching how these animals move, it’s watching how the animals feel.”

Nicole founded Javanna Productions when she was 15.

When she moved to New York from her home in Florida to attend PPAS at 15, she began a series called Motivation Opportunity Vision Entertainment, which presents performances to benefit different social causes.

“I started feeling like I needed to give back or find something to contribute to my brother’s development in some form,” Johnson said about her motivation for the M.O.V.E. series.

Javanna Productions presents M.O.V.E. for Autism every April.

“Grant’s Safari” was the company’s fourth and largest M.O.V.E. for Autism showcase.

Nicole began choreographing the show in January. The diverse cast included dancers from PPAS and Broadway Dance Center.

“Grant’s Safari” was dancer Charles-Alexis Desgagnés’ third show with Nicole.

“I’m very proud to be part of [this show],” Desgagnés said.

“Nicole always amazes me. She is passionate about her commu-

via Youtube

“Grant’s Safari” showcased hip-hop and contemporary dance pieces. nity work, and she’s really an inspiration for my own future work,” he said.

Nicole supports a variety of social causes through Javanna Productions, and M.O.V.E. Autism awareness is an especially important issue for her.

“We need to make it easier for members of the autistic community to live in this world,” she said. “They can bring things to the table for us, especially artists. [Grant] brought so much creativity to my table.”

Nicole’s classmate, Gallatin junior Catherine Leavy, was in the audience on Saturday night.

“Nicole’s energy and enthusiasm are just contagious,” Leavy said. “She’s so passionate about

SPORTS

what she does, and she’s really inspiring. This show just blew me away.”

Proceeds from “Grant’s Safari” will support Autism Speaks and Quality Services for the Autism Community. Nicole will continue to spread awareness about autism through classes and workshops throughout April.

“Grant has inspired me to put this piece together, and that’s what I think we should start to call attention to when it comes to autism,” Nicole said. “Autism isn’t something to be afraid [of ], it’s definitely something to be inspired by.”

Nicola Pring is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

edited by daniel hinton SPOrts@nyunews.com

Distance runners, relay teams stand out in weekend meets

By Amy Rose Ramapuram

NYU’s relay teams, distance runners and sprinters from the men’s and women’s track and field teams registered impressive times at the North Carolina State Raleigh Relays and at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Invitational this weekend.

On Friday the men’s team kickstarted their successful weekend in Raleigh with strong performances

in the 5,000-meter run. Freshman Sebastian Oja placed fifth in his heat and ran a time of 15:24.03 while sophomore Ross Wistar ran a personal best of 15:18.28.

In the 1,500-meter run, All-American senior Matt Turlip finished seventh in his heat. Turlip, freshmen Zac Kish, Dharen Kadiyala and Ryan Gilmore placed third in their heat and 12th overall in the 4x800 relay.

Kish and Kadiyala, with junior co-

captain Dan McKinney and sophomore Gilson Cortes, also made up the relay team that won their heat in the 1,600 sprint medley.

“The weather was great for running and it showed as we had several solid performances,” Cortes said. “As a team, we all improved from last week, and it’s looking like a great start to the season.”

The 4x100 relay team gave the Violets a good start to the final day

Photos courtesy of NYU Athletics

(From left to right) Evans, Zelinsky, Santoski and Norton broke the NYU record in the 4x1500 relay.

of the competition as freshmen Ramon Perez and Jonathan Simon along with McKinney and Cortes led the team to a second place finish in their heat and 12th overall. Simon also competed in the 100-meter dash on Friday and Saturday, finishing with times of 10.94 and 10.76, respectively. His time on Saturday earned him 10th place overall.

On Saturday, the women’s 4x1500 relay team broke the school record of 19:25.67 by nearly four seconds with a time of 19:21.98. The relay team, comprised of senior AllAmerican Maeve Evans, fellow seniors Paige Zelinsky and Laura Santoski and junior Georgina Norton, finished sixth overall.

“Everyone has been training really hard the past few weeks so we all have tired legs,” said Evans, who finished ninth in her heat of the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.94. “Right now it’s about trying to work through that and peaking toward the end of the season.”

Santoski, freshman Alyssa Binkzyk and junior Marion Burns also had impressive performances.

Santoski took third in her section with a personal best time of

4:42.96, and Binkzyk recorded a personal best time of 4:54.21, placing 21st. Burns placed sixth in the 400-meter (59.49 seconds).

Members of both the men’s and women’s teams also competed against schools from the metropolitan area at Farleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, N.J., on Saturday.

Junior Brian Broderick won first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and freshman Steve Crnic finished fourth in the race. Meanwhile, junior Yitao Zhang ran the 200 in 24.40 seconds for second place, and freshman Zach Ship also earned a spot in the top 10 in the discus throw.

For the women’s team, freshman Caroline Spring placed 10th in the 400 and fourth in the 200.

In the field events, senior Vanessa Ortiz earned eighth place in the hammer throw and fourth in the discus throw.

NYU will return to action at The College of New Jersey Invitational in Ewing, N.J., on Saturday, April 14.

Amy Rose Ramapuram is a contributing writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com.

nyunews.com | MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2010 | Washington Square news

edited by daniel hinton SPOrts@nyunews.com

Violets take down NYU-Poly in straight sets

SPORTS Men serve up 2-1 weekend while women flaunder at 0-3

By Sebastien J. Van Heyningen

Wendi Liu for WSN

Karl Johnson (right) and George Koch (left) rose to the occasion on Saturday, leading the Violets to a 3-0 victory.

By Sara Levy In their final home match of the regular season on Saturday, NYU men’s volleyball swept three straight sets against NYU Polytechnic Institute.

The Violets won the first two sets 25-18 and the third set 25-20.

Senior opposite hitter Pat Dodd led the team with 13 kills.

Junior outside hitter Taylor Fauntleroy and senior opposite/middle blocker Luke Hamlet sat in preparation for the United Volleyball Conference playoffs, which will take place at NYU on April 14 and 15.

“Given the lineup I played today, we played well,” head coach Jose Piña said. “Dan Huang set really well, and Parker Kolodka, Dylan Ramey, Karl Johnson all played very well.”

Johnson made 15 assists and two serving aces, and Kolodka recorded six kills and two spikes on 10 total attempts.

The team also celebrated the annual Senior Day and Family Day before and after the match.

“I’m very appreciative, and it was a nice closing to my career [at NYU],” said senior captain Jay Hayes, who will graduate along with Hamlet and co-captain Dodd at the end of the semester. “It was nice to have fun and feel relaxed at home on Senior Day and Family Day.” The Violets will next play at Baruch College on Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m.

Sara Levy is a staff writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com

GOLF continued from PG. 1

Golf captain drives NYU to 2nd place finish the end of the first day of competition. The Violets shot a 328 on day one, placing far behind leaders Skidmore College with 305. The second round did not result in much better as the Violets finished in 14th for the second day, but the team finished with a two-day total of 655.

No. 17 Skidmore College finished first with a score of 609 — one less stroke than second-place St. John Fisher College.

Sophomore Timothy Lau had the best score for NYU in the first round with 81 strokes and tied a personal season-low score of 76 in the second round.

“Timothy Lau had a great tournament this weekend,” Kolean said.

Senior co-captain Scott Dow Jr. tied for 52nd with a 165 while senior cocaptain Matt Riccio and freshman Charles Van Cook tied for 60th, with 168 strokes each.

Men’s golf will host the NYU/Manhattanville Spring Invitational at Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., on April 14 and 15. That same weekend, women’s golf will be competing at the Vassar College Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Mary Jane Dumankaya is a staff writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com.

7

The NYU tennis squads saw mixed results this weekend as the men’s squad tallied a 2-1 showing while the women lost all three matches. With the impressive showing, the men continue to flirt with a .500 record on the season while the women took a major step back in the wrong direction.

Junior co-captain Connor Witty led NYU’s 9-0 rout of St. Lawrence University on Friday. Witty was victorious in his singles match 6-1, 6-3, and freshman co-captain CJ Leong won 6-0, 6-4. Sophomore James Dean also recorded a singles victory with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep.

“Witty really stepped up, playing on an injured foot,” assistant head coach Donald Person said. “I am very proud of our guys.”

In doubles play, Witty and Leong teamed up to win 8-6 in the first slot. Freshmen duo Ting Yee Lai and William Smithline also won 8-2.

The women’s squad fell in all nine matches. Freshman Alexandra Ziarko put up the toughest fight, falling 6-2, 6-2.

On Saturday, the Violets traveled

to the University of Rochester.

The men’s match was a hard fought contest, with freshman Gerardo De La Concha securing a come-from-behind win with scores of 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. De La Concha’s win pushed NYU to a 5-4 match victory over Rochester.

Other notable singles victories came from Leong, Lai and sophomore James Dean who all won in straight sets.

All doubles teams were swept by the Rochester Yellowjackets.

The women again could not register a victory on the road and fell 0-9. Rochester absolutely dominated the Violets sweeping every singles match.

With a 2-0 weekend in the fold, the men’s team looked to carry the momentum to Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. Hobart got off to a fast start, winning two of the three opening doubles matches. Witty and Leong fell 8-3 in the first slot while Lai and Smithline recorded an impressive 8-5 victory. However, De La Concha and sophomore Karamveer Dhilon were defeated 9-7.

NYU came back in singles play led by Witty’s opening victory of

7-5, 6-4. Leong and Lai both won in two sets, but Dean fell 6-3, 6-4.

“I’m really impressed with the way our guys played this weekend,” Witty said. “The group we brought with us is a fairly young group, and they all held up admirably under pressure.”

De La Concha was in familiar territory with the match on the line in the sixth slot. Disappointingly, the freshman fell 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 closing out the loss.

“They all fought for three days straight,” Person said. “It really was a great effort on everyone’s part.”

The women’s squad traveled to Geneva as well to take on William Smith College. Unfortunately, the women dropped to 0-6 on the season with another 0-9 romp.

The Violets lost all of their matches and forfeited the last doubles match. Only one of the matches went three sets.

NYU will be back in action when it travels to Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday, April 4 in Hoboken, N.J. Sebastien J. Van Heyningen is a contributing writer. Email him at sports@nyunews.com.

8

Washington Square news | monday, april 2, 2012 | nyunews.com

ARTS

App for frog fun founded

by NYU Game Center graduates

SAVAGE continued from PG. 1

Dan Savage discusses TV show, ‘Savage U’ promoting abstinence education don’t do abstinence in their own lives.”

Savage is also not hesitant to criticize Catholicism. But he admits how his religious upbringing has helped to incorporate a set of morals in his own teachings, including the concept of right and wrong.

“Savage U” was also an opportunity for Savage to have fun. He even learned to throw a football for the first time while visiting Ohio State University. Savage’s trip to Texas Tech University was also memorable.

“I was thinking ... this isn’t going to be a very queer-friendly place, and I’m going to be the only gay for 1,000 miles,” Savage said. “And the very first students that we met ... were openly gay students who were telling me that it was a great school for them.”

Even for a man like Savage, whose name has become synonymous with sexual education, it is still possible to learn more. It is this very theme that dominates the goals and messages of “Savage U.”

By Katie Monigan While there are quite a few Apple iOS games that are somewhat constructive — for example “Scramble With Friends,” where players interact and practice spelling — there are also a number of games that are brainless. They are incredibly addicting and leave iPhone owners procrastinating late into the night instead of completing assignments.

Enter “Don’t Fry The Frog,” another game that is almost impossible to put down, but with a twist — it is controlled by using two thumbs moving across the entire screen at once. It works differently from most other iPhone games but is designed with the essential components to make it a hit.

The premise of “Frog” is to take care of a frog with an insatiable appetite as flies buzz around him waiting to be eaten. When the frog eats a fly, he gains weight. If he eats another, he becomes fatter, and if he eats a third, he explodes. The user’s thumbs wield an immense amount of electricity, which is the only means of protecting this food-addicted frog. Players must use their electric beam to zap the unhealthy flies while making sure not to zap the frog and the healthy flies that also fly by.

Though the mechanics are fun, the game’s unbeateable price-point ­­of being free makes it a must-have app. Perhaps even more notable is the developer behind the app. Blacktorch Games is known for employing current and former students from the NYU Game Center, a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree program housed in the Tisch School of the Arts.

The company was founded collectively by NYU student and graduates Charlie Brillant, Kevin Porras, Mike Astolfi and Max Meyers, a team always eager to find new talent. “Frog” is their first real gaming project and is definitely a strong debut to the entertainment world.

“We’ve had thousands of downloads,” said Astolfi, the project’s lead game designer. “And we found out that more than 50 percent of our players play two or more times per day.”

This May, Astolfi will graduate from NYU, allowing him and the entire team to devote their full attention to their projects at Blacktorch Games. If “Don’t Fry the Frog” is any indication, the company has a long future of distracting students from their schoolwork ahead of them.

Katie Monigan is a contributing writer.

Email her at entertainment@nyunews.com.

via Don’t Fry the Frog

In this fast-paced smartphone game, users must use both fingers to fend off point-reducing flies.

via Facebook

Dan Savage discusses the intricacies of sexual relationships.

Jeremy Grossman is entertainment editor.

Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.

TV’s alternate realities reflect online society

By Alex Greenberger Of the many bold storytelling strategies that “Lost” embraced during its seven-year run, one of its most ambitious was placing characters in alternate universes. In its final year, the show presented viewers with two different realities — one where the narrative continued as normal, and one where characters led completely different lives and evolved into entirely different people.

The plot device has seemingly inspired a wave of television shows that revolve around alternate realities. NBC’s “Awake,” ABC’s fairy tale-infused “Once Upon a Time” and Fox’s cult sci-fi series “Fringe” all follow the gimmick in one way or another. Even CBS is jumping on the bandwagon, developing a series based on the movie “Source Code,” which follows a soldier travelling between various different realities.

With television consistently growing as a medium for smart and thought-provoking storytelling, showrunners can trust audiences with a concept as daring as alternate universes. By envisioning new worlds for its core characters, the show asks viewers to understand the characters on a deeper, more profound level than traditionally reached. On the production side, the concept allows actors to explore uncharted territory.

Yet aside from artistic merit, the trend of alternate universes is a cultural reflection. Interestingly enough, the aforementioned shows portray separate realities as a result of technology. “Lost” is

Courtesy of Fox

Fox’s cult sci-fi hit “Fringe” is one of many shows that has boldly incorporated the strategy of alternate universes in its narrative. the product of a plane crash while “Awake” begins with a car accident. “Fringe” and “Source Code” both feature science-based companies who intervene with different realities. In “Once Upon a Time,” fairy tale characters are forced to trade in their magic spells for actual human creations.

Because of these real-life connections, alternate universes can be seen as a commentary on the way society leads two lives — one on the Internet, and one in reality. With the popularity of Facebook, Twitter and text messaging, people are now more than ever distanced from their own human existence. Their genuine, palpable relationships are a complete contrast from those that develop through technology.

If there is one message that can be taken from this trend, it is that people have lost their sense of self. That two universes exist at all means that characters are incomplete and need to discover what is real and genuine — just as all people who have been enslaved by technology must confront the reality of their own lives.

The concept of alternate universes has been featured on television for decades, perhaps most prominently with “The Twilight Zone.” But today, the concept is more appropriate than ever. The trend is alive, and with good reason as these shows have something very real and human to say.

Alex Greenberger is a staff writer.

Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.

nyunews.com | monday, april 2, 2012 | Washington Square news

9

edited by jonathon dornbush arts@nyunews.com

Audiences united by mixed musical genres

‘Republic’ lacks empathetic protagonist

By Christopher Gellert Unlikeable characters can sometimes enchant an audience when an author’s empathy for them is clear. A writer can often run into problems, however, when their creations lack charm and remain unappealing.

Edgar Kellogg, the protagonist of “The New Republic” written by Lionel Shriver (“We Need To Talk About Kevin”), is unlikable not because he is an obnoxious boor, but because Shriver has no empathy for him, which ultimately makes his attitude unbearable.

Kellogg is described in broad strokes as a successful corporate lawyer who quits his lucrative career to be a journalist. In doing so, he follows in the footsteps of his high school friend and idol Toby Falconer, a journalist for “The National Record,” a prestigious publication.

The plot requires a leap of faith: Would Kellogg really strive to be like Falconer at the expense of his comfortable way of life? This backstory feels forced to meet the needs of the plot rather than serving as Edgar’s organic choice.

Alexandria Ethridge/WSN

Spoek Mathambo at Sounds of Brazil last Thursday night.

By Alexandria Ethridge As the birthplace of rock-androll greats like Sonic Youth, The Strokes and The Ramones, New York City is often overlooked for its thriving hip-hop, salsa and soul music culture. Fans of these neglected genres found a home last Thursday at the album release party for Spoek Mathambo’s “Father Creeper” at Sounds of Brazil in SoHo. Sounds of Brazil is an unassuming bar and restaurant by day and a lively, spirited venue by night.

Although the crowd ranged from young college students to older urbanites, all were united by a shared passion for fun and interesting music. The party for Mathambo was a veritable melting pot of musical tastes, featuring a variety of guests who came out to show their support for the guest of honor’s contribution to the industry.

MuthaWit started the party with a slow, soulful set, followed by newcomer Lyadede, who charmed the crowd with lively pop melodies and pleasantly funky vocals. Other guests included rising dubstep artist CHLLNGR, who cast an ethereal feeling with tracks full of distorted bass lines and eerie vocal samples.

The crown jewel of the night was, of course, Mathambo’s set. Mathambo has a knack for blending seemingly exclu-

sive styles into his own brand of music. He incorporates aspects of rock, R&B, electronic and pop for an entirely original sound. Every track had the crowd moving, demonstrating how the beautiful power of good music brings people together. With a medley of songs ranging from his first to his new albums, Mathambo served as the perfect finale to a night bursting from the seams with musical talent.

Mathambo’s most refreshing quality was his complete lack of ego. At one point during his set, he leaped off the stage to cheer on his accompanying band, clapping and dancing with the rest of the crowd.

When asked about what he would like to achieve with his music, Mathambo said, “I want to talk about my generation of South African kids without any commercial pressure, explain points that have never been explicated [and] dimensions and dynamics of us growing up that have never been discussed.”

New York is a city that could always use more reasons for people of different tastes and cultures to come together, and Mathambo’s release party for “Father Creeper” succeeded in uniting strangers through a common love of music.

Alexandria Ethridge is a staff writer.

Email her at music@nyunews.com.

It is not impossible to believe that Edgar still resents his time being teased for his weight at prep school nor unlikely that this former bullying fuels his sense of dissatisfaction and ambition.

The protagonist’s personality, however, feels more constructed than alive, infecting the entire work with his bitterness.

That may not be the worst of it. Edgar is sent to Barba, a fictional peninsula off the coast of Portugal, where he is to replace Barrington Saddler — a Hemingway-esque journalist and man’s man — who is nowhere to be found.

Saddler’s disappearance is rumored to be related to a crime story he was pursuing about a Barban terrorist group, the SOB, who are fighting for independence from Portugal.

Edgar must now follow-up on the investigation, discovering more fiction than truth in Saddler’s evidence.

From here on, the problem lies not so much with Edgar’s power trips, nor even in that he treats terrorism as high comedy. Rather, the issue is that Shriver indulges her main character in his glib notions

Courtesy of Harper Collins Publishers

about the bombings without providing any sort of grisly contrast.

Fundamentally, Shriver needs to gain an empathetic perspective. While it would be an overreach to assume that she is not an empathetic human being, as a writer she seems as disdainful of Edgar as he is of everyone else.

Christopher Gellert is a contributing writer.

Email him at books@nyunews.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @nyunews The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation

Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 The620Fornew york times crossword & daily sudoku Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, April 02, 2012

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 ___ Longstocking (children’s story character) 6 Dating from 10 Shaping tool 14 Energy giant that filed for bankruptcy in 2001 15 Rob of “Parks and Recreation” 16 Relative of a frog 17 Exhibits pride 19 Hens lay them 20 Calc prerequisite 21 Fine and dandy 22 “Loud and clear, bro” 24 ___ Vegas 25 Betray a lover’s confidences 29 Lashes grow from it 31 Confederate general at Gettysburg

32 ___ v. Wade 33 Surround with a saintly light 36 Craps table surface 37 Symbol of embezzlement 41 Landlord’s due 42 Surface for an unpaved road 43 Docs’ grp.

44 Abbr. on a garment sale tag 46 2001 Sean Penn movie 50 E-ZPass pays it 54 Israeli gun 55 One of nine on a Clue board 56 Water, when it gets cold enough 57 Greek H’s 58 Spirited horse 60 Group with the 1971 3x platinum album “Aqualung” 63 Bough

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18 Greeted informally 23 Ike’s inits.

25 Ilk 26 Honolulu hello 27 Laze 28 Court do-over 30 Gave temporarily 34 Wrathful 35 8›" x 11" paper size: Abbr.

36 “Annie” or “Annie Hall”

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37 Prefix with sphere 38 “Slot machines” and “cash lost in ’em,” e.g.

39 More fiendish 40 Freshwater duck 41 “Go team!”

44 ___ Jima

45 Kind of engine for an airplane

47 Sew up, as a wound

48 Rhododendron relative 49 Deceived

51 Model building or stamp collecting

52 “Annie” or “Annie Hall” 53 Autumn hue 57 Coup d’___ 58 Swiss peak 59 ___ de Janeiro 61 QB Manning 62 Photo ___

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nyunews.com | monday, april 2, 2012 | Washington Square news

11

OPINION

edited by olivia gonzalez opinion@nyunews.com

policy

Focus on poverty key for economic recovery

By Dan Connelly Poverty. It’s a dirty word. Many of us have to venture out of our neighborhood or social circle to see what this epidemic looks like.

Less than 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson brought the issue to the forefront of the national conversation with his Great Society programs and the accompanying War on Poverty. However, after years of dissatisfying results from government intervention, a social stigma has developed that poverty is associated with some lack of work effort and self-motivation. Simply put, poverty has gone from being a social problem to a personal problem.

In a nation where bipartisan consensus is nearly impossible to achieve, one thing that Democrats and Republicans have come to agree upon is that the poor do not matter. Talk of restoring the middle class to their rightful place in American society dominates the political discourse and the stump speeches of both the Republican candidates and President Barack Obama. Some candidates have even been as callous as to suggest that they do not

care about poor people. This would be dismissible if the problem were not so serious. More and more evidence has emerged that long-term poverty, increasingly a characteristic of American society, is associated with a number of other negative externalities including poor health and developmental disabilities in children. The talk of austerity as a step on the road to economic recovery would hit many of the most vulnerable the hardest with reductions in education and many other basic services on which they rely for daily living. Such steps would plunge many Americans further into the abyss.

This problem is far from just the welfare queen, mother of five sitting back on the dole as the rest of us work to provide for her. In the past decade, suburban poverty rates rose by nearly 25 percent, five times faster than cities, making the suburbs home to the largest poor population in the country.

These are folks who have had their chance at the American Dream pulled out from under them just as policies that would give them the opportunity to restore that chance are being eliminated. As Tavis Smi-

ley put it, “There’s a highway into poverty, and there’s no longer even a sidewalk out.”

Economically, such a shift in policy priorities would seem logical. Where else provides the opportunity for economic growth for millions of Americans moving into the middle class — similar to the middle class expansion in the mid-20th century that established a generation’s enduring economic foundation? I dare to suggest this is more plausible than the current mindset that most people are just one lucky break away from fortune.

Politicians get breathless talking about the need to put policies in place that allow for middle class prosperity, but more and more they are referring to an artifact of our past. For the 46 million people toiling below the poverty line in the United States, such policies are wayward at best and deceitful at worst. If the current recovery is to kick in with full force, the discussion of poverty in America needs to come out of the shadows.

Dan Connelly is a staff columnist.

Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

politics

Insider trading not an obstacle

By Darius Rafieyan

Congressional insider trading is obviously a heated issue for many Americans, but is it really a problem? I say not.

First, we must come to terms with the fact that Congressmen are inevitably exposed to privileged information. As it should be. They are running our country, and therefore I expect and even demand that they be as well-informed as possible, that they be privy to all high-level discussions and illuminated about every possible outcome.

Take, for example, the case of a meeting held three days before the start of the 2008 financial crisis among Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury secretary Henry Paulson and the House financial services committee. In this meeting Bernanke and Paulson gave the committee so-called apocalyptic briefings on an imminent global financial meltdown.

This is obviously not something I would want hidden from the committee elected to oversee financial services, and it is not something that I would want made public either, as that would have led to a financial panic the likes of which would have made 1929 look civilized. It was perfectly appropriate that the men in that room should do their best to avert the crisis or cushion its impact without announcing it to the world and converting what was a potential danger into a forgone tragedy.

In the meantime though, what was ranking Republican committee member Spencer Bachus supposed to do? Should he be expected to pretend as though he does not know that the market is ailing? Should he be expected to sit back and watch as his life savings are reduced to dust? No rational person could possibly be expected to do that, but to support antiinsider trading laws for Bachus is to support legislation which effectively mandates self-destructive behavior. Knowing full well that a speeding train was about to hit him square in the face, Bachus would have been forbidden from moving himself, his family and his property out of harms way.

I mention Bachus because he was one of many congressmen singled out in an inflammatory episode of “60 Minutes” that aired last fall and subsequently reignited the debate on insider trading. In the episode Peter Schweizer of Stanford’s Hoover Institution said Congressmen were “getting out of the market, before the rest of America knew what was going on” [3.23].

It seems that the popular outrage associated with this issue stems from some intuitive reaction against perceived unfairness.

There seems to be a prevailing notion that congressmen should not be entitled to extra perks and privileges simply because they are in a position of power, that they should have to abide by the same rules as

everyone else. If you believe this, then you fail to comprehend the electoral systems we have in place to ensure that representatives take your wishes into account. The only logical reason that any elected official has to care about what you think is that you get to decide if he gets re-elected. In order for this incentive system to work, he has to care about getting re-elected.

In other words, it has to be extremely desirable to be a congressman. They sure are not doing it for the meager $174,000 salary, and somehow I doubt it is the immunity from traffic tickets in the greater D.C. area. There has to be something more to make politicians care about their jobs, and in turn, care about you. In fact, the more desirable the seat, the more competition there is to fill it and the more incentive there is for a congressman to actually listen to their voters.

So yes, Bachus benefited from having advanced knowledge about the financial crisis, but does that really matter? Did his benefiting somehow accelerate the financial crisis? Did it somehow harm anyone else? Or was he just making a rational decision based on the information that he is inevitably exposed to during the course of his work?

Darius Rafieyan is a contributing columnist.

Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

staff editorial

Debate behind ‘Hunger Games’ shows prejudice

“The Hunger Games” has recently been the subject of racially steeped commentary surrounding auxiliary character Rue. The film plot revolves around a group of 24 teenagers who are selected to fight to the death in the context of a dystopian totalitarian state controlled by a poly-sexual elite from afar.

Outrage has centered around the casting of Rue, who some had imagined to be white because she was ambiguously described in the novel. As one disgruntled fan put it on Twitter, “No way rue is a little black girl #ruined.” What do tweets like this say about our collective psychology?

For starters, there appears to be an intentional distortion or projection of deep-seated personal identification with fictional characters. People imagine characters in books to look much like themselves. As Harry M. Benshoff, professor at the University of North Texas, told CNN, “For a white person reading a book, they’re very rarely going to go, ‘I’m just assuming this is a black character’ if he or she isn’t marked as such.”

“The Hunger Games” presents a fictional world onto which viewers superimpose their real-world biases and historically based racial prejudices. The rather simplistic and gruesome novella and antecedent film does not intend to use Rue as a character implying racial themes. The world of “The Hunger Games” is so far removed from our reality that it makes little sense to draw comparisons between it and ours.

The criticism surrounding Rue’s casting posits a second, more troubling social issue: the pervasive abuse of social media. Two decades ago people could not hide behind the guise of anonymous avatars and showcase their stupidity for the whole world to consume. The claim to be an Internet celebrity is addicting and comes with the painful consequence of too many people willing to compromise their intelligence in order to garner re-tweets and followers.

While fans have long considered themselves entitled to shape the works that they love, snide remarks about a fantasy world have real repercussions. Such repercussions stir racial animus that has little place in our world and absolutely no place, from what we can tell, in the world of “The Hunger Games.”

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, Peter Murphy and Richard Zhang.

This week on Op-Ed Live: The case for Treyvon Martin.

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FRINGE APRIL 5, 2012