Washington Square News April 4, 2016

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WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | NYUNEWS.COM

NYU to Rename Nursing School After $30 Million Donation

By ANNE CRUZ AND LEXI FAUNCE News Editors

The NYU College of Nursing will be renamed after Rose Marie “Rory” Meyers, who donated $30 million dollars with her husband, Howard Meyers, in the largest donation for scholarship aid to NYU’s Momentum Campaign. The school will now be known as the Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Meyers was a first generation college student who went on to become a nurse, while her husband is a Stern alumnus and now resides as an NYU Trustee and member of Stern’s Board of Overseers. Three quarters of the fund — $22.5 million — will assist low income, first generation nursing students, while $7.5 million will support the school’s academic programs and faculty. NYU President Andrew Hamilton thanked the Meyers for their generosity, saying new

students will be able to join the nursing profession because of their donation. “In honoring Rory in this fashion, the Meyers family in a single act strengthens a noble profession; makes a nursing degree affordable to those with great talent and modest means; supports academic excellence at NYU’s nursing college; and, most importantly, honors Rory’s life as a nurse for all time,” Hamilton said in a press release. Nursing sophomore Kevin Mendoza said the Meyers’ gift will not only give assistance to students who need it most, but also increase awareness about the nursing school in general. “I feel that the generous donation from Howard and Rory Meyers will help garner both respect and attention for the wonderful institution that is the Rory Meyers College of Nursing,” Mendoza said. “So often, I feel that nursing stu-

dents go unnoticed within the NYU community.” In addition Mendoza said the donation will enable the Meyers College of Nursing to offer its students better financial aid. Nursing senior Krista Traub said with the help of the Meyers’ donation, more students will have equal opportunity to pursue their dream of becoming passionate nurses. “NYU nursing is one of the best programs in the nation and this donation will help advance the school and the nurses it creates to be the best in the the field, through better resources and opportunities,” Traub said. “Nursing is an incredible field that touches the lives of everyone at some point in their life, so it is fantastic that the Meyers’ gift recognized that and supports us.”

Email Anne Cruz and Lexi Faunce at news@nyunews.com.

COURTESY OF KRISTA TRAUB

After receiving a donation of $30 million, the College of Nursing will be renamed after Rose Mary “Rory” Meyers and her husband Howard. A majority of the funds will aid nursing students in need.

CRIME LOG March 25 to April 3 By DIAMOND NAGA SIU Deputy News Editor The NYU Department of Public Safety received two reports of burglary, three reports of controlled substances, one report of harassment and five reports of larceny between March 25 and April 3.

Burglary On March 27 at 4 p.m. a student filed a police report after $300 and two Metrocards disappeared from her wallet after she left it in the common area of her Third Avenue North Residence Hall suite at 10 p.m. on March 26. They were missing when she returned the next day. Police notification was declined after three students went to sleep at 11 p.m. in Third Avenue North Residence Hall and realized that an iPad and two wallets were missing when they woke up. One wallet had $200, credit cards and identification, while the other held $180 to $200. The iPad helped track the student thief, who admitted fault to the theft.

Controlled Substance On March 25 at 10:40 p.m., Public Safety recovered a small amount of marijuana from 12th Street Residence Hall. Public Safety found a small amount of marijuana in Third Avenue North Residence Hall on March 26 at 1:40 a.m. At 4:45 p.m. on March 26, Public Safety found a small amount of marijuana in Third Avenue North Residence Hall.

Harassment A staff member at 32 Avenue of the Americas reported at 10:30 a.m.

on March 25 that an unknown caller left multiple harassing messages to her office.

Larceny A student declined to notify the police on March 25 at 5 p.m. about the disappearance of her Bose headphones from her jacket pocket. She placed her jacket with the headphones at a designated area in the Silver Center lab at 2:15 p.m., but it was gone when she retrieved it at 3:20 p.m. On March 28 at 8:58 p.m., two unknown males put two bottles of juice, two energy bars and one bottle of detergent into their backpacks without paying for them. They ran from Weinstein Cafeteria into 19 University Place when an NYU staff member tried interrogating them about the items in their bags. Police notification was declined. An employee declined to notify the police on March 30 at 10:05 a.m. about the disappearance of construction material from the Kriser Dental Center. He realized they were missing on March 23 at 6:30 a.m. A staff member called the NYPD at 12:35 p.m. on March 30 about the disappearance of his iPhone, debit card and identification card from his desk at 726 Broadway. He left them at 5:35 p.m., but they were missing when he returned at 6 p.m. At 404 Lafayette Street, a student declined to notify the police on March 31 at 7:10 p.m. about his missing headphones. He left them by a water fountain at 2:15 p.m. to go workout, but they were gone by his 3 p.m. return.

Email Diamond Naga Siu at dsiu@nyunews.com.

STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH SHULMAN

International Pillow fight Day brought together people of all ages to not only duke it out but to also collect pillows for the homeless.

Pillow Fight Ruffles Feathers in WSP By REBECCA OH Contributing Writer

People of all ages across a hundred cities around the world whacked each other until feathers flew and rained down on them this past Saturday. Thousands of New Yorkers flocked to Washington Square Park to participate in the feathery event as International Pillow Fight Day was a memorable event enjoyed by family and friends. What many people may not know is that this event is also a charitable one. Kevin Bracken, co-founder of Newmindspace — the group that organized the event — says that they encourage participants to leave their pillows behind, so that the event organizers can donate them to the thousands of homeless children in New York City.

“Pillow fighting… it’s a very frivolous thing, right?” Bracken said. “But that’s okay as long as we do it for a good cause. So, I mean we can just buy a brandnew pillow and then throw it away after fifteen minutes of pillow fighting, but there are twenty thousand children in New York City homeless shelters — and if we can collect two thousand pillows then we can give a new pillow to ten percent of the homeless children population in New York City. So that’s our goal.” However, Bracken continued, saying Newmindspace’s charitable efforts started somewhat after they began organizing events in 2005. Bracken said he owes a great deal of credit to his friend Jennifer Small, who came up with the original idea of donating pillows to animal shelters, sparking the idea to donate the pillows to homeless

shelters instead. “Over the years, we started getting more and more brandnew pillows and so we thought that these were definitely suitable for human-use, and so now we work with an amazing charity called DaretoB,” Bracken said. Mother and daughter Patricia and Rainie Lopez heard about the event through Facebook three years ago and have attended ever since, using this event as a way to relieve stress. “This is our third year coming to this and it’s fun,” Lopez said. Her daughter, Rainie, elaborated, “[This] helps us let out stress,” Lopez said. “But we had to buy new pillows for this because if we use the ones we already have, I can’t sleep later!”

Email Rebecca Oh at news@nyunews.com.

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Startup Week to Pair Students With Tech Entrepreneurs By REBECCA OH Contributing Writer

Tech@NYU will be hosting Startup Week from April 4-9, to connect the NYU community with entrepreneurs in the field. Hosting various speakers and events each day, the week will be full of opportunities for students to hear advice from professionals, network and learn more about the startup industry. Tech@NYU is the largest student-run, tech-related organization in New York City. Hosting events is the group’s way of bringing students together and facilitating mutual growth. CAS senior Terri Burns, president of Tech@NYU, said she is most excited about this week’s Product Management Panel, which will be taking place on Wednesday evening. “We’ll be having product managers from various tech companies, talking about what

exactly it means to be a product manager,” Burns said. “Product management is a role that’s recently gained a lot of popularity in the technology industry, and I’ll be doing product management myself after I graduate, so I’m really excited for this event. We have a lot of RSVPs for it, so it looks like it’ll be one of our more popular ones.” CAS junior Freia Lobo, vice president of Tech@NYU, while also enthusiastic about the Product Management Panel, is most looking forward to another event: “I’m super excited about the Diversity in Tech panel because we have some incredible speakers and it’s a subject very close to my heart,” Lobo said. Diversity — or lack thereof — is a well-known issue in the tech industry. This week’s Diversity Panel will feature speakers such as Maureen Erokwu, an industry expert from LesbiansWhoTech, Lisa Wang,

co-founder of SheWorx, and Amélie Lamont, current Head of Design & UX for Venuebook. The panel will take place on Monday. With this week’s theme, students will be able to learn about what it’s like to work at a startup company. Student designers, for instance, may hear from professional designers on the different career paths they can take, contrasting work at startups and agencies. Tech students will have the opportunity to meet in groups with CEOs of various tech startups including including WayUp, Parcel, Pundit and Clarifai. Both events will take place on Tuesday evening. This week will culminate in a Tech Mixer, an event bringing together students across New York City interested in tech, and Saturday’s Startup Week Demo Day, where students will be able to demo their own personal tech proj-

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN FORTE

Eric Stromberg, CEO and co-founder of Oyster, spoke with students during last year’s Startup Week. ects. The event will take place at the social media giant Tumblr’s headquarters. CAS senior Kyle Hughes, Startup Week’s Team Lead, is particularly excited for Friday’s Tech Mixer. “I’m really excited for the tech mixer hosted at Clarifai’s

office this year,” Hughes said. “Because it’s a great opportunity for students interested in tech from different schools in the city to come together and get to know each other better.”

Email Rebecca Oh at news@nyunews.com.

NYU Libs Talk Freedom in Tech By STEVE MALKOWIZZ Contributing Writer

The NYU College Libertarians met this Saturday at Kimmel to exchange ideas about how their ideological perspective plays a role in the economy, technology and free markets. The Tech Freedom Conference was organized by Students for Liberty, an international Libertarian organization that seeks to empower young students to be agents of change in their community. The conference curated speakers from the tech, legal and nonprofit fields and was the pilot event for SFL’s “Focus Series” which is aimed at addressing topics ranging from energy and the environment to free speech. Tisch sophomore and College Libertarians eBoard member Calvin Tran said he saw this conference as an opportunity to bring these discussions to NYU in an engaging way. “We recognized the need for these conversations in a rapidly changing political and technological climate,” Tran said. The event itself kicked off in the morning with Daniel Halper of the global education company General Assembly, guiding the 60 plus attendees through a whirlwind tour of entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem. Switching gears, Sahid Buttar of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group, discussed the practical and political implications of Apple’s fight with the FBI. The diversity of topics was mirrored by the attendees, drawn from not only the

NYU student body but the surrounding city. Attendees included practicing lawyers, engineering students from Stevens Institute of Technology, entrepreneurs and students from Columbia’s Schools of Law and International and Public Affairs. The afternoon included presentations on Blockchain technology — the main technological innovation of Bitcoin — the sharing economy and the state of the law. Greg Reed, attorney at the Institute for Justice, warned that today’s courts are applying early 20th century laws to 21st century technology. “With the arcane regulation around Uber, Tesla and Airbnb, some of the most creative people today aren’t in tech or the arts; they’re sitting on the bench thinking of ways to stymie innovation,” Reed said. The global impact of technology not only economically,

but socially, was emphasized by speaker Fereshteh Forough, founder of Code to Inspire, the first programing school for girls in Afghanistan. Fereshteh shared her personal struggle as a woman in technology and as the first female on the faculty of computer science at Herat University. “Men would not show up for my class because it was taught by a woman,” Fereshteh said. “Out of a class of maybe 70 students only five would even show up after they found out.” Tran said technology was the perfect topic for the Libertarians’ first conference because of its scope. “It touches everything in our daily lives from the way we make a living to how we exercises free speech,” Tran said. “As a tool of freedom, technology must be kept free.”

Email Steve Malkowizz at news@nyunews.com.

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COURTESY OF CALVIN HOANG TRAN

Students for Liberty, an international not for profit Libertarian organization, put on a Tech Freedom Conference to discuss a whole array of topics.

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Tisch New Theater Gets Grooving With ‘Hairspray’ By LAURA CASADO Staff Writer

Tisch New Theatre’s production of “Hairspray” was a conglomerate of passion and talent, filled from start to finish with magical moments. The musical, set in 1960s Baltimore, follows the journey of Tracy Turnblad (Casey Whyland), a full-figured teen who longs to join the picture-perfect “Nice Kids” dance crew on a local television program, “The Corny Collins Show.” Throughout the show, Tracy endures taunts and judgements regarding her size, and fights alongside black “Negro Day” dancers to combat the discrimination they face, an example being that they are only allowed on-air performance once a month. The show is bubbly and upbeat while also sending a powerful message regarding sizeism and racism that, unfortunately, is still relevant today. The entire cast, from ensemble to lead, was phenomenal. Casey Whyland, a Liberal Studies sophomore, starred as Tracy Turnblad. Her voice beautifully carried numbers like “Good Morning, Baltimore” and “I Can Hear the Bells,” accompanied by phenomenal acting. Whyland

mixed aspects from Lena Dunham of “Girls” and Rebel Wilson of “Pitch Perfect,” creating a hilariously brash and dynamic Tracy. Sarah Musicant, a Tisch freshman, displayed wildly impressive vocals as the adorably gawky Penny Pingleton, alongside junior Haley Callahan Fish as the flouncy Amber Von Tussle, whose combined prowess of dance, voice and spot-on comedic timing was unparalleled. Clive Davis student Austin Crute swept the stage as Seaweed, giving a high-energy performance of dancing and singing that had every audience member jamming along. The show’s most tender moments were dominated by powerhouse Ada Obieshi as Motormouth Maybelle, especially in “I Know Where I’ve Been.” Lighting design by NYU senior Kelley Shih was gorgeously fresh. The stage was alternately washed in magentas and midnight purples, with hazy reds for scenes like “The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs,” and ocean turquoise blues for “Timeless to Me.” Select scenes, however, such as jail in “The Big Dollhouse,” lacked enough front lights, leaving many actors’ faces in shadows. The sound was intermittently problematic as

well, from Little Inez’s mic being dead during her “Run and Tell That” solo, which as a result was inaudible, to the “It Takes Two” duet where the vocal volume of Whyland’s Tracy and Link Larkin (Steinhardt graduate student Colten Blair) was unequally balanced. Several other solos were unfortunately drowned out by the magnificent 16-piece orchestra. The show’s most outstanding aspect were the ensemble dance numbers. Director/choreographer Marc Anthony Ferre, a recent Tisch graduate, could not have done a more stellar job, incorporating classic ‘60s moves in stunningly high-speed sequences which were executed flawlessly by every ensemble member. The second song, “Nicest Kids in Town,” deserved a standing ovation of its own for its choreography. A stand-out in the cast was Steinhardt senior Drew Carr in a dual role. His portrayal of Mr. Pinky was uproariously flamboyant and he far outshined his counterparts as Corny Collins dancer Brad. Carr emits contagious energy with every step he executes, creating a performance that is pure joy to watch. TNT’s “Hairspray,” regarding every

facet that makes musical theatre great, is one that future generations of NYU performers will find difficult to trump. “Hairspray” played at Skirball

Center for the Performing Arts this past weekend.

Email Laura Casado at theater@nyunews.com.

COURTESY OF TISCH NEW THEATRE

Tisch New Theatre put on a production of “Hairspray” this last weekend at Skirball, starring a cast from NYU.

‘Date-Onomics’ Author Alum Creates Complex Hulu Show Talks Hookup Culture By NATALIE WHALEN Staff Writer

By HAILEY NUTHALS Highlighter Editor

It’s evident to any NYU student who has spent any time trying to woo a partner that hookup culture has taken over the student population. No one seems to want a relationship, or even have the energy to look for a reason to. There are too many clubs — too many shifting cultural values on love and monogamy — for steady relationships to be appealing. Jon Birger, author of the new book “Date-Onomics” disagrees. His book is a comprehensive study into the reason why women — specifically heterosexual, college-educated women — seem to be having increasingly harder times finding steady partners and husbands. His research was spurred by his observation that while all his male friends were happily married, his female friends (who were all “catches”) remained single. Birger dug into countless studies and the depths of the US Census Bureau data to pinpoint the reason why, and it came to a rather startlingly simple explanation. “I thought there was something about cities like New York or LA or Toronto or London — something about these really big, cosmopolitan cities that were very uniquely attracting women, particularly educated women,” Birger said. “I thought it would be about these cosmopolitan cities like New York that had either shortages of men

or excess supplies of women, depending on your perspective. But when I dug into the Census data, I was wrong. The sex ratio among college grads is even more skewed in Montana than it is in New York City. This is an everywhere issue, not just a big city question.” As it happens, the gender ratio of college-educated women to men is extremely skewed, with nationwide averages being around 60-40, respectively. It’s not only an issue in larger metropolitan cities, but rural areas too, and is consistent across the nation. “Date-Onomics” is a study and explanation, what Birger refers to as the “man deficit.” WSN got to speak with Birger, and it was clear that every study into the topic, whether US-based or around the world, leads to the same conclusion. “I do think the culture has shifted, but I don’t like this idea that culture changes for no reason,” Birger said. “Yeah, things change, but as I write in the book — that idea kind of implies what I call ‘social entropy,’ it implies that things naturally go from a state of order to disorder when it comes to the way we organize our personal lives.” “Date-Onomics” compels to the point that the next time your roommate is complaining about hookup culture, you’ll find yourself considering stopping by the nearest bookstore and grabbing a copy.

Email Hailey Nuthals at hnuthals@nyunews.com.

Hulu’s new original series, “The Path”, created by NYU Tisch alum Jessica Goldberg, revolves around the lives of those within the Meyerism movement, although many outsiders refer to it as a cult. The first two episodes of the show, starring Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), Michelle Monaghan (“True Detective”) and Hugh Dancy (“Hannibal”) premiered on March 30 and demonstrates significant promise for the series with its smart writing and complex characters. The Meyerism movement — though its principles are slightly elusive — revolves around the concept of truth by way of The Ladder: the method for achieving the highest truth. In the first two episodes of the series, members of the cult hear from Cal (Dancy), the highest-ranking member of Meyerism, that the Doc — or founder of Meyerism — is busy translating the last three rungs of The Ladder in Peru so that those who metaphorically “climb” it can achieve the ultimate form of enlightenment. Simultaneously, one of the protagonists, Eddie (Paul), has just returned from a retreat in Peru, and is beginning to have doubts about the legitimacy of Meyerism upon experiencing a disturbing vision. His wife, Sarah (Monaghan), thinks he

is having an affair. We are also introduced to a variety of other characters that have complicated and changing relationships in relation to the Meyerism movement. There’s Mary Cox (Emma Greenwell), a victim of a debilitating tornado who aspires to convert to Meyerism upon being saved by their leader, Cal. Then there’s the mysterious Alison (Sarah Jones), who decides to leave Meyerism after her husband was killed for having doubts upon returning from Peru, and is now on the run. While the movement appears honest and benevolent on the outside, different truths about the reality of Meyerism are slowly revealed. In the second episode, we see Eddie undergo demoralizing affliction as he is subject to a 14-day “Program” for alleged transgressions against his wife. We also see Miranda Frank (Minka Kelly), the woman accused of cheating with Eddie, confronted by the same frightening people following the aforementioned Alison. The world created in “The Path” is a compelling one to watch as different characters slowly unravel truths and lies. So far, the show is excellently written and marvelously directed, allowing for just the right amount of mystery and intrigue. “The Path” shows us both the positive and negative aspects of the movement;

we understand why many are drawn to Meyerism as their doubts begin to manifest. Even in the first two episodes, each character seems deeply complex in their relationships towards Meyerism and one another. With shows like “The Path” added to their roster of original series, Hulu ascends to the ranks of original series streaming successes like Netflix and Amazon. For fans of cult dramas and “True Detective”-esque mysteries, “The Path” is definitely worth checking out. The first two episodes are already available on Hulu with your subscription; new episodes will be released every Wednesday.

Email Natalie Whalen at entertainment@nyunews.com.

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“The Path” is a new Hulu series created by NYU Tisch alum Jessica Goldberg and airs on Wednesdays.

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UniverSoul Circus Makes You a Kid Again By LILY DOLIN Staff Writer

The circus has come to New York City. UniverSoul Circus, a traveling, global production is putting on shows in various locations around the area from March 30 to May 30. Full of death-defying stunts, colorful performers and impressive magic tricks, UniverSoul Circus is a thrilling event. Currently, the show is set up in the Bronx in a large yellow and red circus tent reminiscent of traditional big tops. The performance began with a few warm-up acts by some enigmatic clowns. Dressed in rainbow colors, they engaged the audience with dancing, call-and-response chants and comedy. They were

great at creating a fun and energetic atmosphere that lasted throughout the whole show. Following the clown act was a graceful trapeze artist who performed on a silver hoop elevated in the air. Her act was intense and dangerous, yet she twirled around and hung from the hoop with ease. Afterwards, to the delight of the crowd, the dog act, Olate Dogs from Chile, appeared. Olate Dogs won America’s Got Talent a few years ago, and it is not hard to see why. The dogs jumped through hoops and performed incredible flips and tricks all while looking adorable. The rest of the show was filled with a great variety of acts, from African pole jumpers to magicians who transformed small

puppies into full-grown women before the audience’s eyes. Performers dropped impossibly low to the ground as they limboed underneath a bar that was lit on fire. One of the best parts of the circus was the motorsport act, in which motorcyclist flipped and twirled while hundreds of feet in the air. The circus has a wide range of stunt-based and interactive acts that are bound to suit any audience. In between some of the acts there was a brief audience game or interactive act. The emcee would call participants up from the audience and engage them in dance battles. Surprisingly, most of people brought up to the stage were talented dancers. One woman even won a $1000 American Express gift card. These

Frankie Cosmos, Out of This World By GILCHRIST GREEN Contributing Writer

Greta Kline, better known by her stage name Frankie Cosmos, sings with her eyes closed and her brow furrowed. Her short indie pop songs are filled with quirky poetry about love, being young, friendships and the intricate innerworkings of her mind. Her voice is young and inimitable as it ebbs and flows between a soothing deepness and a bright airiness. At 22, Kline has been releasing her DIY songs since the early 2010s. With more than 50 EPs, her Bandcamp is full of intimate songs that sound like they were made in her bedroom, drenched with her emotions. Her current project, Frankie Cosmos, is fluffier than Girlpool, not as depressing as Elvis Depressedly, reminiscent of the Moldy Peaches and Youth Lagoon — but uniquely Greta. To mark the second day of their tour for their April 1 “Next Thing” album release, Frankie Cosmos played their second sold out show at Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium. The venue was sticky with people, the crowd a mixture of 20-somethings and bleached blonde teens with dark eyebrows and chokers. The show was intimate despite the fact that there were people packed all the way up to the six-foot-long swordfish hanging against the back wall and never-ending lines for the bathroom. Before the set, Kline spent her time dancing with a four-year-old girl, who couldn’t take her eyes off of the singer, copying her head banging and occasional arm flailing. The set was long with many

of the songs blending together due to their soft, sway-inducing vibe. The majority of the show was a run-through of the new album almost in its entirety. The songs were all well under three minutes long with constant grooves, showcases of Kline’s vocals and bright, high-pitched duets between Kline and Eskimeaux’s Gabrielle Smith. “Sinister’s” lyrics were catchy and sweet but confusing, as nothing about Kline or her music seems like it could ever be sinister. During the second verse of “I’m 20,” the keyboardist and bassist let go of their instruments and began performing strange, Macarena-like hand motions. “Tour Good” told the story of slightly losing your mind on tour and not being able to talk coherently, and “On the Lips” was a love song that also revealed Kline’s fangirl feelings toward David Blaine who recently followed

her on Twitter. “Outside with the Cuties” was smooth. Its lyrics dashed the performer-audience veil, and the music ended with an echoing and vibrating keyboard solo tinged with darkness. To end the show, the band’s focus switched away from the new album to older material like a fast, energetic version of “Being Alive” and the electronically oriented, four-song 2015 single “Fit Me In,” during which Kline put down her guitar and sang its four songs while kneeling on the edge the stage. “Buses Splash With Rain” and “I Do Too” ended the show with the dancing crowd singing every word of their witty, honest lyrics, proving that Frankie Cosmos is already the next big thing. Frankie Cosmos’ next New York show is May 1 at Market Hotel.

Email Gilchrist Green at music@nyunews.com.

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Frankie Cosmos played a near runthrough of their new album at their concert in Brooklyn.

dance interludes did get predictable after a while, but they were a fun way to keep the audience engaged while other acts were setting up. While the age group at UniverSoul is slightly younger than the typical NYU student (try eight or nine years old), the show is fun for all ages, and definitely had mature aspects that students can enjoy. Overall, the circus is a treat for anyone, whether you are nine or 19. UniverSoul Circus runs March 30-April 10 in the Bronx, April 12-24 in Brooklyn, April 27-May 15 in Queens and May 18-30 in Newark, New Jersey. Ticket prices range from $16 to $40.

Email Lily Dolin at entertainment@nyunews.com.

PHOTO BY LILY DOLIN

The UniverSoul Circus is currently set up in the Bronx through the end of May and is full of tricks and feats fit for all ages.

Deconstructing the Psyche in ‘Demolition’ By BRADLEY ALSOP Staff Writer

There is something disorienting about observing the deconstruction of physical objects — it shows nothing truly can remain intact. As Jake Gyllenhaal’s Davis Mitchell exemplifies in the film “Demolition,” neither do people. Davis repeatedly reinforces the relations between human and material in Jean Marc Vallee’s “Demolition,” a spellbinding but often flawed work that attempts to find allegory in every moment. It makes for a truly intriguing viewing experience, but not necessarily a holistically satisfying one. The movie follows the plight of Davis, an apathetic investment banker devoid of existential purpose. The first scene lays the groundwork for Davis’ ostensibly empty life, with a particularly banal stretch of dialogue between him and his wife Julia (Heather Lind) in their car. Yet the wrought tension and metaphysical dissonance that underscores the entire film begins shortly after, as the conversation distracts Julia enough for her to take her eyes off the road. She runs a red light, causing a car to strike theirs, killing her instantly and leaving Davis almost completely unscathed. Shortly after the accident, Davis’ mental constitution begins to unravel. He becomes peculiarly consternated by a faulty vending machine. He wears the shirt he had on the day of the accident back to his home in upstate New York, the bloodstains dried. Vallee guides the viewer towards the unorthodox nature of Davis’ mechanism of coping: he is broken, but the viewer senses a therapeutic nature in his sense of disrepair. Davis’ life continues to unravel as he subverts his daily routines, bucking convention and common logic at every turn. Instead

of moving on from the issue with the faulty vending machine, Davis begins to pen lengthy letters to the customer service department of the vending machine company, letters that appear to look less like complaints and more like confessionals. The letters take the form of a human correspondence between Davis and the representative for the company, the temporarily absent but casually compelling Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts). Through the budding relationship between Karen and her son Chris (Judah Lewis), Davis reinvigorates himself through the process of destruction. He destroys and deconstructs, to the extent of purchasing a bulldozer and demolishing his own home. He essentially attempts to obliterate his past life in favor of his newfound discovery of liberation through dissembling. It is a fascinating, oft untapped method of regeneration, which Vallee playfully examines through the transformation of not only Davis, but of the objects with which he chooses to rip apart. Unfortunately, the film leaves much to be desired in terms of executional success. Some scenes are simultaneously poignant, hilarious and heartbreaking, truly utilizing the performances of Watts, Gyllenhall and Lewis, as well as Julia’s father and Davis’ boss Phil (Chris Cooper). But some scenes, which border on simple, transitional passages, recur to the point of sheer tedium, with no urgency or necessity for their inclusion. While some scenes catapult Vallee into the realm of great directors, the extra flotsam brings him back down to the dialogue of a stellar creative mind in desperate need of a better editor. “Demolition” opens in area theaters on Thursday, April 7.

Email Bradley Alsop at film@nyunews.com.

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Stern Seniors App-ify Foodie Forums By SANYA SAREEN Contributing Writer

When Stern seniors Xinyang Chen and Dorothy Qian saw a disconnect between the popularity of food culture and the lack of a platform to talk about it, they put their technological and business skills to use and created an app called Dining to give food the exclusive social platform it deserves. “Our primary aim is to connect people,” Qian said, the marketing director. “This is a social media platform, first and foremost. We’re looking for a constant engagement between food bloggers, restauranteurs, foodies, chefs... basically a giant dinner ­table bonding over food.” Dining began with Chen and Qian’s desire to integrate the best aspects of Instagram, Yelp and Tumblr into a comprehensive website and app. Users can sign up on the website and upload pictures of food they ate or cooked, recipes or recommendations of restaurants. The beta version of the app will have a main page — similar to Instagram’s “explore” page — with its users’ ­trending posts. Chen believes what sets Dining apart from apps like Instagram is the sole focus on food and users’ genuine interest in discovering new foods. “With Instagram, the pictures of food do get very popular but usually face problems in getting the right audience,” Chen said. “Bloggers

usually even post links to their sites because they want to utilize the popular appeal of Instagram, but at the same time, they’re searching for a better platform to talk about their experiences to the people who care to listen.” Chen and Qian designed the app with millennials in mind as their primary audience. They believe young professionals and college students will benefit the most from the app’s features. The team is currently on their final outreach phase, and Chen said she is working to approach restaurants around campus to ensure that NYU students have enough incentives to join. “The partnerships we establish aren’t just for discounts and advertising,” Chen said. “We’re getting people who are working in the food industry to join the app as users, so the food they recommend and the

pictures they post will be extremely interesting for other users.” Launching their beta­version next April, the team already has a big future in mind for Dining. Qian and Chen are excited by the future possibilities of the app. “We’re driven by our faith in this,” Qian said. “There’s a lot of commitment to the project, and we’ve started getting a lot of support from food bloggers, Instagrammers and NYU Food Studies professors.” “There’s a huge demand. It’s food! Everybody needs it, whether they want it or not, so it’s the ultimate universal link,” Chen said. “We’re drawn to the huge market potential. We’re starting with fewer features to see what works and what’s popular, but who knows where we could go in the future.”

Email Sanya Sareen at dining@nyunews.com.

STAFF PHOTO BY LILY XING

Freshman Alicia Gill hopes to find a balance between work and play this summer while on the hunt for an internship.

Student Summers: Relax, Intern or Both? By MEDARDO PEREZ Contributing Writer

PHOTO BY SANYA SAREEN

Stern seniors Xinyang Chen and Dorothy Qian have created a new media platform to cultivate a community of food lovers and creators.

Try Alternative Coffee With Cups By PARIS MARTINEAU Contributing Writer

With Starbucks at Faye’s and Think Coffee so close to campus, many NYU students forgo variety for the sake of convenience. It’s difficult to scope out a new location, and even harder to think about paying upwards of $5 for a cup of coffee when dining dollars are calling your name from the comfort of Faye’s. That’s where Cups comes in. Cups is the perfect discovery app for the independent coffeehouse fans who love their joe, but still want to save some money. The app, originating from Israel, has recently made its way to New York and is revolutionizing the coffee shop market. It aims to chip into the dominance of chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts by making independent coffeehouses just as affordable. The app makes revenue through its subscription plan system. It allows the user to pay a flat fee per month to receive a number of discounted “cups” that can be redeemed at any of the listed partner stores. The user is able to search for new

stores, browse menus and pay, all with a phone. The payment system seems almost criminally cheap. There are two general types of plans available depending on your drinking habits: The Basics and All Drinks, which are both pretty self-explanatory. The Basics plan includes any size of brew, drip, tea and small iced coffee. You can get your cup to stay or to go and the prices start at $2 per cup. The All Drinks plan is only a dollar more and includes, you guessed it, all drinks — essentially anything your heart desires. Cups also has an Unlimited Plan for the woefully addicted. This plan can be used in tandem with either The Basics or the All Drinks plan and allows the user to drink as much coffee as they physically can for only $4 a day. This offer is particularly impressive when viewed in conjunction with the many stores Cups partners with. These aren’t Starbucks-level coffeeshops by any means. From Coffeed to Mille Feuille, the app boasts various high-quality options. In addition, the majority of the partnering stores are located downtown and in Brooklyn, which makes

fueling your caffeine addiction all the more convenient while on campus. Whether you have one frappuccino a week or pound four cups of black coffee every day, Cups is an affordable alternative to the major coffee chains.

Email Paris Martineau at dining@nyunews.com.

VIA CUPS

The new app Cups revolutionizes coffee drinking by allowing subscribers to redeem discounted coffee from participating cafes.

Even though it feels like spring has barely begun, many students have already turned their thoughts towards summer, and the stress of finding a summer jobs and internships. It is safe to say that before college, summers were actually relaxing. Now, when asked what plans they have for the summer, most students will answer that they are hoping to snag an internship someplace, usually settling for one that is unpaid. Being at a school full of ambitious workaholics in a city known for its opportunities can put pressure on some students to find ways of keeping productive over the summer. Tisch freshman Alicia Gill says she feels the pressure to find an internship all the way from her hometown of Vancouver, Canada. “I have friends that are in high school and they have film internships,” Gill said. “I’m going to a real film school, so I should probably find one when I go home.” Stern freshman Vivian Xu said she is definitely feeling the pressure to find a job, yet understands that people should do what is best for them, even if that means going through the summer unemployed. “A lot of my friends have jobs,” Xu said. “I’m in Stern, also, so pressure is very evident. But I think that every-

one goes at their own pace. I’d rather choose something that’s more productive for me.” Also hoping to go home over the summer, Gill describes her perfect summer as having a balance between work and play. “Ideally it would probably be a really cool, lax internship that is only a couple times a week so I can hang out with my friends and family,” Gill said. “Go for hikes and camping, all that stereotypical Canadian stuff, like bonfires and maple syrup.” For some, internships do not take away from vacation time, but rather provide a balance between work and play. For instance, Gallatin sophomore Nathalia Sanchez will be working for the first half of the summer as part of a research team in New York that assesses children’s receptive and expressive language. For the second half of the summer, Sanchez plans to relax and travel. “Since [the internship] is just May and June, I have the opportunity to make up [for lost time] in August and travel,” Sanchez said. Many applications for summer internships are still open for those seeking a job. However, there is no shame in granting yourself an entire summer dedicated to wellearned R&R.

Email Medardo Perez at features@nyunews.com.

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FEATURES

EDITED BY KENDALL LEVISON FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

‘Violet Files:’ Advice from Students, for Students By TAYLOR NICOLE ROGERS Staff Writer

The biggest concern of incoming NYU freshman and transfer students is typically finding friends at such a large and diverse university. After addressing this concern countless times as a College Leader in the CAS Cohort Program, senior Arrion Azimi has launched a podcast called “The Violet Files” to answer new students’ questions through interviews with upperclassmen. After a panel he created for his cohort received an overwhelmingly positive response, Azimi created “The Violet Files” to allow more people to benefit from the testimonies of experienced NYU students.

“I’ve led that meeting for two years and the people on the panel love it because people love to share their stories and the freshman love to get inspired by people,” Azimi said. “I wanted to make that experience last longer. As a College Leader, my work can only go so far. Once people are out of Cohort, where are they going to find that outlet to hear that advice and those stories?” With each installment of “The Violet Files,” Azimi introduces his listeners to a different NYU upperclassman who shares his or her unique story. In the most recent episode, Azimi sat down with CAS sophomore Sahaana Sundar, who shared her difficulties balancing her rigorous pre-

health course load with her other interests. “Sahaana is a pre-health student but she’s involved in entrepreneurship in CAS, which is very unique,” Azimi said. “There is an authenticity and honesty to the stories and makes pursuing your goals much more attainable, because it’s not just some abstract thing telling you what to do, it is a person.” Azimi’s personal experience has led him to believe that guidance from peers is crucial to finding community at NYU. He got involved on campus after receiving suggestions from upperclassmen he met during Project Outreach, a weeklong community service experience for freshmen that takes place before Welcome Week.

“I had a pathway because I was able to build my connections,” Azimi said. “Through my time at NYU I have sort of followed the lead of my peers ahead of me to see what they were doing and accepting their invitations.” Despite the fact that he is concluding his last semester at NYU, Azimi remains committed to “The Violet Files.” “Right now, The Violet Files team is myself, and my equipment is my iPhone and my laptop,” Azimi said. “Honestly, I started this to have fun and maybe to subconsciously procrastinate from graduating, but it is important to me because it shows there is no one NYU story.”

Email Taylor Nicole Rogers at features@nyunews.com.

STAFF PHOTO BY LILY XING

CAS senior Arrion Azimi has created a podcast called “The Violet Files” to help new and prospective students through interviews with current NYU upperclassmen.

Working in Fashion Out of the City By SOPHIE FAY SHAW Staff Writer

VIA FACEBOOK.COM

In an effort to promote and poke fun at body-positive campaigns, Aerie launched #AerieMan and received mixed reviews.

Men’s Body Positivity Is No Joke By CAMILLE LARKINS Contributing Writer

Last week, American Eagle’s underwear brand, Aerie, launched a men’s underwear campaign called #AerieMan to celebrate men of various body types. Following in the footsteps of anti-retouching and body-positive advertising campaigns aimed at women earlier this year, the #AerieMan campaign reminds us that “the real you is sexy.” The videos feature “real” guys — hairy chests, beer bellies, beards and all. It’s about time that body positivity and inclusiveness extends to men, too. The video is a little wacky and over the top, but still good-natured and sincere. However, it was released the day before April Fool’s Day, and was consequently touted as an “awareness-raising hoax.” According to Aerie, the campaign was all in good fun, and for a good cause as well. The company has been a leader in body positivity and inclusiveness, and this, apparently, was just a fun way to announce their newest pledge: no more retouching of male models. “We aren’t afraid of being bold

in how we engage our customers, whether through a video that makes you think twice, or challenging the norm in how a brand markets to men,” Chad Kessler, American Eagle Outfitters Global Brand President said. “We are an all-inclusive brand and we know our male customers respond to humor.” In addition to the pledge against retouching, the company donated $25,000 to the National Eating Disorders Foundation. American Eagle is no stranger to April Fool’s Day jokes: in the past, they have launched fake ad campaigns for “Skinny Skinny Jeans” that must be sprayed onto one’s legs and clothes for dog. This year’s alleged prank, however, warrants one question: what is so funny about diverse male bodies? Fortunately, American Eagle is not the only brand out there leaning towards inclusiveness for all men. This March, IMG Models introduced the first plus-size division for men at a major modeling agency, calling it “Brawn.” Zach Miko, their first brawny model, wears size 40 jeans and modeled in an ad campaign for Target. Earlier this year, Axe ditched the ma-

cho, chick-magnet shtick for a new take on masculinity in an ad campaign called “Find Your Magic,” which highlights different ways of displaying the male body, be it kittens in their beard, a wheelchair or heels, without poking fun at any of them. What does it say about our society that Aerie’s PR team can’t bring up male body positivity without the justification of a “hoax,” however well-intentioned? Why must we use jokes in order to start an important discourse? While the actions that Aerie has taken are important, the guise of an April Fool’s gag undermines the entire message. There are smarter ways to launch a conversation about body image. It is hard to imagine a company making a similar joke aimed at women — why is it okay to make men’s bodies, and body positivity in general, the butt of the joke? I’m glad to see body positivity in advertising, no matter who it is aimed at, but shame on Aerie for choosing an April Fool’s Day prank as the platform to do so.

Email Camille Larkins at bstyle@nyunews.com.

What student isn’t worried that they are going to be jobless this summer or stuck in a passionless gig? Moreover, for many of us summer means saying adieu to New York for a few months. While getting away from campus will be a much anticipated reprieve, the bustle of the city and its fashion inspiration will be missed. However, there are many means of staying in the fashion world, even if you’re not in a fashion capital — and no, internships aren’t the only way to get involved in the industry over break.

Rack it in with Retail If clothes are your calling, think about getting a job in retail. These often come with an employee discount and the advantage of having first dibs on new arrivals. Many chain stores (Forever 21, Macy’s, etc.) anticipate the influx of students looking for summer jobs and have seasonal positions available. Local shops also hire for the summer, so if you’re willing to put some legwork into passing your resume around, look for retail jobs at boutiques, consignment stores and thrift shops. Plus, if you get your foot in the door this summer, employers will likely welcome you back in the future.

Educate Yourself Consider enrolling in a fashion-related course over the break if you are interested in the technical, hands-on side of fashion. Fabric stores and sewing shops have classes at all skill levels available for those who want to learn a new craft. Not only would you gain an impressive ability, but you could walk away with a custom made skirt or dress. Following the educational theme, various colleges across the country provide opportunities for students to

earn a few credits over the summer in condensed courses. If you decide to remain in the Big Apple, both the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons have summer classes for credit that cover a range of topics including photography, textile design and marketing. On the West Coast, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising has free Saturday workshops that give a quick look into the industry, which are available at different branches of the school. But be aware, summer programs often have registration deadlines in the spring, so start looking into them now.

Camp Creative If you’re not interested in being the student, take initiative and be the teacher. Volunteer as an art camp counselor where you can lead programs that include basic sewing classes, figure drawing or a myriad of other fashion-related skills. Also, theater camps may need someone to help with designing or styling costumes. While it may not be the glamorous internship you envisioned, you can still apply your fashion prowess to summer camp.

Be Socially Savvy If you already spend an ample amount of time on social media, make it a hobby and start a blog or YouTube channel dedicated to fashion, makeup etc. From DIY projects to lookbooks, there are countless ways to share your individual fashion sense online. Even if it’s only to entertain friends and family it could be a fun summer project that has the potential to make you YouTube- or Insta-famous. Channel your inner Sartorialist or Man Repeller and cultivate a fashion following.

Email Camille Larkins at bstyle@nyunews.com.

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | NYUNEWS.COM

Staff Recs: Unusual Courses

Drugs and Kids CAMS-UA 0180

Language LING-UA 1

Visual Foundation Studio DM-UY 1123

Nestled within the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Studies section of the College of Arts and Sciences, this jointly taught course examines everything related to drugs and kids — the two best things in life. From drug consumption rates among different age groups to long-term effects of drug abuse, this course educates students about all aspects of illicit substances and even examines how societal changes, such as politics and diseases, affect drug use rates. Although this lecture consists of around 50 students, both professors incorporate regular discussions during the class while making an effort to know every student’s name. And for those who enjoy a little grading flexibility, only the best two of three tests and best three of four response papers count towards final grades.

I signed up for this class on a whim because linguistics had always seemed vaguely interesting to me, and I’m so glad I did. My professor, Mark Baltin, made an active effort to get to know each of the students’ names, even in the huge lecture. The course gives a brief overview of each of the major branches of linguistics, like animal communication, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. But it’s not just about learning a bunch of obscure vocabulary words — it sheds light on the beauty and universality of human language, which is the one characteristic that distinguishes us from all other animals. The workload is fairly light, with weekly problem sets accounting for 50 percent of the final grade, but you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how we as humans communicate and think.

Visual Foundation Studio makes learning Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign possible in one semester. This course is part of Tandon’s Integrated Design Media program and lets students dive into the world of graphic design. Not only does this class introduce students to well-known artists, but it also provides a collaborative environment where classmates inspire and motivate each other. Students get exposure to different aspects of color, texture, image, typography and all things related to visual aesthetics. Professor De Angela L. Duff promises her students that she will be the professor to change their lives. Those who walk into the class without even knowing what a portfolio is could very well walk out as the next Andy Warhol.

This whole class is about spies, which is such a cool subject to study. The class itself is an interesting discussion of the evolution of covert action starting with World War II. Through this discussion, the course aims to answer the question: “Is covert action useful?” Like with most history courses, there is a lot of reading involved, but the sources are fascinating and provide additional context to the figures and events discussed in class. The professor, Tim Naftali, is hilarious, enthusiastic and open to questions about any of the course material. You also come away from the class with a new view of the concept of spies, as well as their effect on some of the most important events in world history.

Diamond Naga Siu_ Deputy News Editor_

Abigail Weinberg_ Deputy Features Editor_

Polina Buchak_ Video Editor_

Abbey Wilson_ Copy Chief_

Classes With Notable Professors Kavish Harjai Editor-at-large

The faculty at NYU often supercede standards of achievement with outstanding research and unique styles of teaching. If you’re looking to take a class this fall with a professor who has recently been recognized for his or her successes, check out these faculty who were featured in NYU’s list of “Faculty Awards and Achievements” from 2015 to 2016.

Pamela Newkirk

Pamela Newkirk, Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, recently won the NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction). The NAACP presents this accolade to people of color who attain success in film, TV, music and literature. Newkirk earned this award for her book, “Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga,” which details the dehumanizing

VIA STERN.NYU.EDU

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display of an African man as an anthropological exhibit at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. The New York Times Sunday book review called the book a “stellar achievement.” If you are an information and news junkie interested in what else Newkirk has to say, she will be teaching a class next semester called Journalism & Society: Minorities in the Media.

Todd Gureckis

The NYU psychology department was featured numerous times on the list. Notably, Associate Professor Todd Gureckis was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest award given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers. Gureckis will be teaching two classes: Lab in Human Cognition and Robots, Brains, and the Human Mind. Both classes require prerequisites. Other ac-

Espionage and the Making of the Modern World HIST-UA 94

complished psychology professors include Jonathan Freeman, Emily Balcetis and Ted Coons.

Jennifer Jacquet

The environmentally-minded Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Jennifer Jacquet won the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge for her use of science and technology to combat wildlife trafficking via a new program called the Enforcement Gaps Interface. Jacquet will teach Introduction to Marine Ecology and Conservation next semester.

Anindya Ghose

Stern professor Anindya Ghose co-authored a paper called “Internet’s Dirty Secret,” which won the Best Paper Award from MIS Quarterly and the Best Publication Award from the Association for Information Systems. He will teach Data Analytics in Digital Marketing.

Email Kavish Harjai_ at kharjai@nyunews.com.

st ro it ad of fo

de re ti p to w tr C in fr vi di fr fe

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

With such a large variety of courses offered at NYU, there is no excuse to have a boring semester. WSN sifted through Albert’s entire course selection and found six of the most interesting four-credit electives offered on both the Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses to spice up your Fall 2016 schedule.

course that covers both contemporary and traditional music styles. After learning about this cultural genre, you can impress your friends by belting Celtic music the next time you visit an Irish pub.

Twentysomething CAMS-UA 146

Walking the line between science and religion, this interdisciplinary course is quintessentially Gallatin. Besides analyzing the historical conflict between the two seemingly opposing domains, the course looks at where religion plays a role in affecting scientists’ perspectives.t It compares contradictions from miracles and medicine to evolution and religion — a perfect philosophy class for the non-philosopher.

Millennials, also known as teens and twenty-somethings, constitute most of the NYU student population. This generation embodies stereotypes from #hashtags to laziness. The CAS class Twentysomething destigmatizes these labels and examines how Americans in their “twentysomething” period experience discovery and development before their official entry to adulthood. The curriculum serves not only as a class but also as a guide for NYU students who are experiencing this confusing phase in their lives.

Intro to Celtic Music IRISH-UA 152 | MUSIC-UA 182

Celtic music is associated with bagpipes, kilts and Saint Patricks Day, but this class delves into its musical components like keyboards, string instruments and singing. Professor Michael Moloney teaches this Celtic music crash

Science and Religion IDSEM-UG 1514

Intro to Special Effects Make-Up OART-UT 14

This course teaches students how to fake the most gruesome of looks, from gory wounds to aggressive black eyes. The class is hidden within the Open Arts section of Tisch’s course catalogue, which offers arts courses to non-Tisch students. Students will receive hands-on instruction on how to fake it ‘til you make it (up). However, this course required a nonrefundable $723 lab fee in 2015 for the

special makeup kit each student receives during in-class projects. The 2016 fee has not yet been determined.

Ethics and Technology HU-UY 347 | LA-UY 143 PL-UY 2064 | PL-UY 2144

Death by robot seems increasingly plausible as technology advances, but this Brooklyn class deconstructs this social issue and analyzes the complex relationship between ethics and technology. Students must complete their first-year writing requirements before enrolling in this class, but this elective is worth the wait for those wishing to learn about how technology and morals may contradict each other.

Unique Electives to Take in Fall 2016 Diamond naga Siu Deputy News Editor

Food Production and Management NUTR-UE 1052

While most food courses are limited to nutrition and food studies students, any NYU student may enroll in this hands-on course. This class not only analyzes the business side of restaurant ownership but also guides students on how to design restaurant menus and looks at optimal methods of restaurant entrepreneurship. While students might not aspire to break into the food industry, this course helps them build practical business foundations.

Email Diamond Naga Siu_ at dsiu@nyunews.com.

STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH SHULMAN

Exploring Classes Outside the Classroom Polina Buchak Video Editor

STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH SHULMAN

NYU offers a variety of courses that allow tudents to get out of the traditional classoom environment and take advantage of ts location in a city teeming with life and dventures. Here is a simplified list of a few of the classes that can take you beyond the our classroom walls.

Topics in Ghanaian Culture OART-UT 958

While NYU offers various study abroad destinations, some students might not feel eady to leave New York City for an enire semester. The Topics series solves this problem by choosing a different country o study each semester and by concluding with a one-week visit to the chosen counry. This fall is bringing Ghana to New York City, allowing students to dip themselves nto all aspects of the West African nation, rom traditions to economics. Students will isit galleries and studios related to topics discussed in class, and they will even learn rom guest lecturers who specialize in diferent facets of Ghanaian culture.

Culture, Hist/Imaging Photography Studies PHTI-UT 1003 Culture, History and Imaging Photography Studies (CHIPS) takes students to galleries around the city. This course is mandatory for freshman photography majors and requires no prerequisites. It helps students gain a deeper understanding of not only the content of art pieces but also the format, structure and presentation of exhibits. Tisch freshman Kai Kim said she learned analytical art skills and gained a greater appreciation while viewing artwork in real life. Kim said, “I really liked it because I got to know about galleries I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

czynski said the first semester focuses on blowing, hot casting, stained glass, mosaic and kiln casting, while the second semester looks into coldworking, sandblasting, lampworking and beadmaking. “While the class was a huge commitment and a lot of work, the place itself, UrbanGlass, with its amazing studio space, equipment and teachers really made the class great,” Kapczynski said. “Since it was a beginner class, most of class time was demonstration and experiments, and we need to come in outside of class to make finished work.” Although commuting from Manhattan to Brooklyn is challenging, the love of the class stands stronger than the annoyance from the travel.

Glass ART-UE 1514 - 001

Cultural Foundations III CFIII-UF 103

This two-semester course utilizes the UrbanGlass studio on Fulton Street in Brooklyn to help students build a vast knowledge of glass art. Steinhardt junior Isabella Kap-

Part of the LS Core Program requires students to take three semesters of Cultural Foundations, and this class series exposes students to the history, art and culture of

Polina Buchak Video Editor

different areas around the world. Professor Karen Karbeiner encourages students to stay present during the readings, to hear recitations of religious texts and to look at art as well as performances that further her students’ understandings of the readings.

Intro to Games Development GAMES-UT 120 Tisch and Tandon both offer this class, which is located in NYU’s Game Center in Brooklyn, and it introduces methods, skills and principles of digital games. Tisch freshman Michael Dellapi said that the learning is done through hands-on methods and that students start by creating sketches and prototypes but end the semester with polished products. “It’s nice to have a space that feels like our own, considering how different game design is from art majors,” Dellapi said. “But money and time are still issues when it comes to travelling so much.”

Email Polina Buchak_ at pbuchak@nyunews.com.

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WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | NYUNEWS.COM

OPINION

EDITED BY RICHARD SHU OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

POLITICS

Keep Celebrities Out of Politics By ANNIE COHEN Staff Writer Actress Susan Sarandon found herself mired in controversy after her opinions on the 2016 election became public. A staunch Bernie Sanders supporter, Sarandon intimated that if Bernie Sanders was not the nominee, Donald Trump might be better for Americans than Hillary Clinton because he “will bring the revolution.” Fellow actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Debra Messing tweeted their opposition to this statement, with Messing questioning if Sarandon’s position would remain the same if she were poor, gay, Muslim or an immigrant. Messing’s comment

raises a larger point — that celebrities, who by and large are a privileged class, need to be more thoughtful and nuanced when it comes to making political statements. After all, they are empowered by the wide audience they are able to address. Celebrity endorsements of presidential candidates are not a new phenomenon. For countless elections, prominent actors, musicians and celebrities have used their position in the public sphere to rally support for their candidate of choice. Frank Sinatra vouched for John F. Kennedy while John Wayne backed Nixon and Oprah Winfrey endorsed Barack Obama. It’s unclear to what extent celebrity endorse-

ments — or endorsements from any other prominent figure — influence voters, but given how many Americans strongly identify with their favorite celebrities, it stands to reason that celebrity endorsements do have some clout. But fans who vote based on the opinions of their favorite celebrities must bear the same responsibilities as them. To vote for someone simply because

a favorite singer is voting for them is a vote cast in ignorance. The rise of social media has given public figures a new platform to quickly and easily communicate with their fans and speak their minds. As a result, more celebrities than ever are weighing in on political issues and candidates. This only increases the undue political influence that celebrities wield. It doesn’t matter who Kirstie Alley is rooting for in the Wisconsin primary, because there really is no reason to assume that any given celebrity knows anything more about politics than the average person. All things considered, the role that celebrities play in politics

is a complicated one. After all, Bernie Sanders released an official list of artists and cultural leaders who support him, which reads as an effective Hollywood who’s-who. This list is a powerful tool for drawing in potential voters, perhaps because people identify with their favorite stars and wish to emulate them in any way they can, either consciously or subconsciously. However, voters would do well to consider their own views and not follow a glitzy crowd of detached celebrities. The line between politics and popular culture can be fine, but it must not be blurred.

Email Annie Cohen at opinion@nyunews.com.

SPORTS

Women’s Soccer Demands Equal Pay for Superior Work

By SHIVA DARSHAN Staff Writer

Women’s soccer has continually fought for the same benefits as male counterparts. Last December, U.S. Women’s National Team goalie Hope Solo and forward Alex Morgan publicly complained of the disparity in pitch quality between women’s and men’s soccer stadiums. As part of their continuing fight for equal treatment, five members of the USWNT, including Morgan and Solo, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the United States Soccer Federation, the representative body for men’s and women’s soccer, for

wages discrimination. The common justification for paying women less than men in sports such as basketball and soccer is that they bring in less revenue. Yet, as the USWNT has pointed out in their suite, they set viewership records and exceeded revenue projections by millions during their last World Cup victory. The 2015 World Cup final was seen by 25.4 million viewers in the U.S., the highest of any soccer match of any kind in this country — men’s or women’s. U.S. women’s soccer has the potential to earn far more than men’s soccer, but women’s players still do not even earn the same amount for winning

as men’s players earn for just showing up. Simple fairness should dictate that the women’s team be paid more. The U.S. women’s team has placed in every World Cup since the inception of the Women’s World Cup, and should be the pride of the nation and an avenue through which women’s soccer can rise to the same heights as men’s soccer. Instead, the men’s team

is paid more than double, despite seldom making it past the round of sixteen. Sports commentators always herald the U.S. Men’s National Team as a way to get Americans interested in soccer. Even if the men’s team loses every time, the brand-building power of fanfare and suspension serves as the only flimsy justification for this blatant pay inequality. But the delusion cannot upstage the facts. During their respective World Cups, the men earned $9 million for losing in the round of sixteen, while the women’s team only earned $2 million, despite being the world champions. Our women’s soccer team should be an inspiration for

the next generation of female athletes. But we fail as a society in providing incentive to young girls to pursue soccer when the excellent women’s team earns only a fraction of what their male counterparts make for mediocrity. The U.S. women’s team could blaze a trail for young girls everywhere, but this can only happen if we recognize the USWNT for what it is: one of the single greatest women’s teams on the planet. We need to demand equal pay for this team that regularly brings glory to the U.S. on the international stage.

Email Shiva Darshan at opinion@nyunews.com.

CITY

By HAVEN WILLIAMS Contributing Writer

New York Skyline Marred by Gentrification

When my father and I toured different colleges last year, we surmised that each major city in the United States could be boiled down to a single word. For Washington DC, it was “stately,” for Los Angeles, it was “hype” and Chicago was “work.” New York could be summed up as “attitude,” but my time in the city has taught me that the key word is actually “wealth.” In this city, the size of personality is dwarfed in importance to the size of one’s wallet. After decades of relentlessly revitalizing neighborhoods and cracking down on crime, New York City

has attracted a new demographic in recent years: the wealthy. This takeover is furthered everyday with the rapid ascension of luxury skyscrapers in Midtown and the dwindling of historic neighborhoods. Chinatown, which over decades swallowed Little Italy, is now itself suffering the effects of gentrification. These luxury skyscrapers, which promise to raise the price of New York real estate even higher, will only degrade the culture of the city. One building in particular, 432 Park Ave., located in Midtown, exemplifies this trend. This bare, unattractive superstructure is usually empty, a capital investment for its distant patrons. As if

the construction of hollowed eyesores for the mega-wealthy isn’t enough, current New York legislation allows some luxury highrises, like the Midtown One57, to receive massive tax breaks of up to 95 percent. These are not apartments, but assets controlled by a class capitalizing on the soaring price of real estate in the city. They offer little value, as community

hallmarks or tax-generators to the vast majority of New Yorkers. Instead, they are used to sequester money from the average person, offering only an outrageous price tag to gauge the market and an ugly exterior to mar the skyline. In the 1988 documentary “The Power of Myth,” Joseph Campbell claimed the tallest building is the greatest indicator of a city’s goal. For decades in NYC, the Empire State Building broadcasted American idealism and ingenuity, and its successor, the original World Trade Center, largely upheld those beliefs. But now, for all the grandiosity of the new World Trade Center complex, it too has been passed by the growing avarice of

New York. At 1,396 feet tall, 432 Park Avenue is 10 feet taller than one WTC, and it is no anomaly. At least four more residential towers over 900 feet will be opened within the decade. We now live in a city where wealth has eclipsed the value of work. In times like this, New Yorkers must realize that their present complacency towards wealth is undermining the city’s legacy. The rise of America’s wealthiest past the height of the WTC should only encourage Americans to dream bigger and set their sights higher: to take back New York.

Email Haven Williams at opinion@nyunews.com.

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

OPINION

EDITED BY RICHARD SHU OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

ECONOMY

STAFF EDITORIAL

NY State Budget Is National Example By ABRAHAM GROSS Deputy Opinion Editor On Thursday, New York State legislators moved to pass a budget of more than $150 billion. Proposals for the budget — including state cuts to CUNY budgets — had riled great fears in the weeks leading up to the deal. But now that the dust has settled, the results exceed expectations. With a phased-in $15 minimum wage increase, funding for environmental and infrastructure projects and tuition freezes for public universities, New York State’s new budget is a model for compromise legislation and progressive change. The signature policy in the proposal is a minimum wage increase. The coming year will usher in a statewide increase from the current $8.75 an hour, though the plan charts different paths to higher wages for different businesses and regions. By 2018, New York City will have a minimum wage of $15 for fast-food establishments and businesses with more than 10 employees, while smaller employers and more economically challenged areas will see more gradual changes to their minimum wage. The current budget is

more nuanced than past proposals for a statewide $15 minimum wage by 2021, mirroring California’s historic but measured approach which was also approved on Thursday. This is precisely why New York State’s minimum wage plan is a prototype for the nation: it proves that compromise legislation that works with more conservative policymakers can still create long-lasting progress, while easing the transition for small and vulnerable businesses. Less publicized aspects of the budget proposal are no less profound. The budget apportions over $500 million for water system improvements and the Environmental Protection Fund. In addition to lead testing for school drinking water, the EPF will also offer rebates for purchases of some clean vehicles. The budget also invests in the New York’s educational future by

increasing school aid and freezing tuition in CUNY and SUNY schools. The nation has witnessed how crumbling infrastructure and environmental carelessness spawned a catastrophe in Flint, Michigan. We have witnessed how state cuts to public universities have shot up tuition costs across the country. New York’s multilayered budget addresses issues beyond the Empire State’s borders. If states are the laboratories of democracy, as former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, then New York’s 2016 budget is an experiment with nationwide implications. The boldness of the new proposals demonstrates that even in today’s highly polarized political environment, progress can be achieved through common-sense implementation. Investing in infrastructure, clean energy and education flouts a national predilection towards hope-and-pray spending slashes. New York may be treating its own ills, but its remedies can lead the cure for national ailments which have left many Americans disillusioned, sickened and indebted.

Email Abraham Gross at agross@nyunews.com.

POLITICS

Students for Bernie Launches NY Campaign By TREVOR HILL On Saturday, April 2nd, we at “Students for Bernie” hosted our first New York training session in NYU’s GCASL C95 room, marking the launch of our statewide campaign to encourage college students to vote for Bernie Sanders during the April 19 state primary. Students for Bernie firmly believes that Senator Sanders’ platform speaks to the values of all college-age voters, including NYU students, much more effectively than that of Secretary Clinton. His firm stance on tackling climate change and his advocacy for living wages, lowering interest rates on student loans and making public universities tuition free is especially salient among young voters. The proof is in the pudding: Bernie Sanders has been absolutely crushing his rival among millennial voters throughout the primary contest. New Hampshire was the most striking example, where Senator Sanders won by a 71 point margin among voters ages 18-29. Students for Bernie considers New Hampshire, where activists campaigned hard to encourage youth voter turnout, to be

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one of the greatest successes. The organization is looking to replicate that success in other states. Sanders currently trails Clinton in the national delegate count by 263 pledged delegates. That means he needs approximately 57 percent of the remaining delegates in order to win the pledged majority. This is no small feat, but if his recent successes are any indication, the momentum has finally shifted in his favor, making a Sanders victory a very real possibility. As of right now, Clinton is favored to win the majority of New York’s 247 delegates. However, over the past three weeks, her poll numbers have dropped by 17 percentage points. With more than two weeks to go, a mere 12 point lead on Clinton’s part and massive momentum favoring Sanders, a

victory in New York appears to be on its way. This is where NYU students come in. Students for Bernie is counting on a massive effort on the part of metropolitan college students to get out the vote and spread the message of Sanders’ campaign. Students have played the most vital role in keeping Senator Sanders’ campaign alive through their use of social media and their unwavering enthusiasm for his candidacy. If NYU students make their voices heard, take democracy into their own hands and turn out at the polls, Sanders will take New York and seal his nomination. This is why we are counting on the students of NYU to get involved by signing up to volunteer and getting in touch with organizers through the NYU for Bernie Facebook page. The goal for this election is to achieve record voter-turnout from NYU students, but we can’t do it alone. If we’re going to win, we’ll have to do it together.

Email New York University Students for Bernie Sanders at rla314@nyu.edu, or check out the group’s Facebook page.

Trump Supporters Can’t Expect Civility

Last week’s profile on Donald Trump supporters at NYU has placed the spotlight on the contentious political environment that supposedly hangs over fans of the Republican frontrunner. The students profiled have stated that “they’re afraid of losing friends, being ridiculed in class, getting worse grades and are even afraid of being assaulted and physically hurt.” These claims of campus-wide political persecution, however, are just the natural results of Trump’s political rhetoric characterized by fear and antagonism. Trump supporters are not going to find a safe space for their ideas at NYU, nor should they expect one. Political discourse on campuses thrives on disagreement and questioning, and when that disagreement turns nasty, the supporters of 2016’s nastiest candidate should consider why that is. Of course, this is not a call for the silencing of an outspoken minority. The problem here is not the mere existence of an idea that clashes with the NYU norm — the problem is really Trump’s status as a gung-ho political provocateur. His bid for the presidency is a unique phenomenon: an unthinkable candidate in an era where America has moved past outright bigotry as a political platform. But the nature of political discourse is inherently personal and provocative; if one contributes to the public sphere only by prodding with crude and inarticulate talking points, then they should expect that others will respond in kind. Freedom of speech is not a right to be liked or welcomed. If there’s one thing Trump has to his credit, it’s that he energized the larger political debate. By speaking directly to the racial and economic anxieties of working class white America, he has held a mirror to the institution of American conservatism. He forced mainline conservatives to consider why such a repulsive figure has taken their party hostage, to reflect on their views and hopefully alert the Republican Party to the concerns of the modern electorate. This is the healthy way to respond to disagreement. The unhealthy way is to hide behind a persecution complex and refuse to deal with other opinions for fear of unfriendliness. Trump supporters, take note: this is the skeptical America you live in. Trump poisoned the value of a rational debate long ago. The vocal minority of Trump supporters, while entitled to their opinions, are ultimately aligning themselves with a man who wants to dismantle people’s fundemental rights. Deporting 11 million immigrants, building a wall to prevent illegal immigration and punishing women for seeking abortion are not feasible nor appropriate ways to “Make America Great Again.” Those in the majority cannot exclude Trump supporters from civil discourse, but they are free to condemn those supporters for their demagogic views. Trump supporters are siding with a bully who is fundamentally incompatible with reasonable debate. They shouldn’t expect the very civility that they denounce.

Email the WSN Editorial Board at opinion@nyunews.com. EDITORIAL BOARD: Richard Shu (Chair), Emily Fong (Co-chair), Abraham Gross (Co-chair) STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BEARZI

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

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

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SPORTS

EDITED BY MICHAEL THOMPSON SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Serapilio-Frank Shines for Baseball By RACHEL RUECKER Deputy Sports Editor

The NYU men’s baseball team took on the City College of New York in a doubleheader at home in Brooklyn this weekend. NYU came out on top in both of the weekend’s outings. Friday’s game was a low-scoring affair, but NYU was able to pull out a 2-0 win. Runs came few and far between with the Violets getting on the board first in the second inning on a single from sophomore infielder Andrew Cilento that scored sophomore infielder Jonathan Iaione. The Violets’ second run was on another single in the fifth inning, this time from freshman second baseman Ryan McLaughlin, with freshman center fielder Jack Walter easily crossing the plate. Saturday’s game offered a much different flavor, with NYU delivering a 10-2 shellacking to CCNY on senior day. The team’s three departing seniors, catcher CJ Picerni, left fielder Adrian Spitz

and pitcher Jacob Bader, were celebrated pre-game. CCNY stalled after scoring two in the first inning, going cold for the remainder of the game. NYU came out hot in the third after a scoreless second, tallying four runs. After getting hit by a pitch, McLaughlin, along with Walter, made it home on an error to tie things at two. The go-ahead runs came from freshman first baseman Colman Hendershot and Spitz thanks to a two-run single from sophomore shortstop Jake Smith. NYU pulled further ahead in the fifth inning, with their fifth run coming via an RBI single from Hendershot. Hendershot then went on to score on a passed ball to earn the Violets their sixth run, and Smith played copycat, stealing third and coming all the way home due to yet another throwing error. McLaughlin sent Iaione home in the sixth inning on a fielding error. The final two runs came in the seventh; first, sophomore Michael Vokulich

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Sophomore pitcher Cameron Serapilio-Frank threw seven shutout innings in the game against CCNY. scored on CCNY’s fifth error of the game, the second came from freshman infielder Jack Elias hitting a groundout and scoring sophomore catcher Scott Hilbrandt. The remaining two innings were scoreless across the board. Sophomore Chase Denison

Volleyball Secures Big Win on Senior Day

of the season.” The baseball team be will right back again tomorrow against the State University of New York at New Paltz in New Paltz, New York at 4 p.m.

Email Rachel Ruecker at rruecker@nyunews.com.

Tough Weather Plagues Golf in Hershey By MICHAEL THOMPSON Sports Editor

By BRANDON HERRERA Staff Writer

With the United Volleyball Conference Championship tournament in the near future, the NYU men’s volleyball team knew it needed to win. Not only was the game needed to get the Violets back to .500, it was also senior day. In the last home match of the regular season, the team swept the Saints of Marymount University in three sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) on Friday at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility. With the win, the Violets finished the year with a solid 5-2 record at home. Before the first serve, a ceremony was held for seniors Colin LaPorte and Phil Bueno, both of whom were playing their final match at home for NYU. Perhaps sparked by the emotional moment, the Violets (13-13) showed their resilience and ability to bounce back throughout the day as they found themselves trailing early on in each set. In the first frame, NYU was down 9-10 before going on a 3-0 run and retaining the lead until senior captain Nick Benson’s final kill clinched the set. The second set was also a nailbiter, ending with the Violets on

got his first win of the season, pitching seven innings with two unearned runs. Spitz is hopeful that this pair of wins will propel the team to further success. “It was a great weekend,” said Spitz. “Those wins will hopefully get us going for the second half

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Seniors Phil Bueno and Colin LaPorte were honored before the match against Marymount University. top after climbing out of an early 10-4 hole. After fighting back to tie the score at 14 apiece, neither team could claim a comfortable lead as the two battled until the end, with NYU outlasting Marymount 26-24. It was Marymount’s turn to play catch-up in the third set, and the Saints would not go away easily. The Violets late 23-18 edge was answered by the Saints taking five of the next six point to narrow the lead to 24-23. But a costly service error from the Saints ended their hopes and completed the sweep for NYU. Benson led the team with 12 kills while junior setters Derrick

Chiu and Patrick Merrick had a combined 33 assists. As the regular season draws to a close, Chiu looks for the team to finish strong with the NCAA Tournament around the corner. “We’re just focused on coming together and playing our best,” Chiu said. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should be in a good position to upset some teams and win the tournament.” The Violets are back in action on Tuesday when they head over to Mahwah, New Jersey for a match against Ramapo College at 7 p.m.

Email Brandon Herrera at sports@nyunews.com.

The pros may be preparing for Augusta next week, but the NYU men’s golf team was busy competing in the Hershey Cup in Pennsylvania. Surrounded by chocolate, amusements and unseasonably cold weather, the Violets finished the first day in 12th place of a 15team field. Junior Eric Tarakjian was the Violets’ low scorer, finishing the first round with a 10-over par 81. After going +3 on the third and fourth holes, Tarakjian parred the fifth before falling behind with a double bogey on the sixth. Though he finished +6 on the front nine, he played a bit better to finish, going +4 on the back, including a birdie on the par-4 18th to finish the day. Freshman Qizhi Wong fell into a similar pattern — struggling early before finishing stronger in the final nine holes. After a difficult +7 stretch on holes two through five, Wong steadied himself, finishing the front nine +2 on the final four holes. He showed improvement in the second half of his days, birdying the attackable par-5 14th en route to a score of 85, 14 over par. Still, Wong thinks he and his teammates could’ve performed better if the conditions were ideal. “Winds were tough and it was cold,” Wong said. “Everyone was struggling and it was a grind from the first hole.” Freshman Lucas Oberholtzer —

who played as the team’s number one — and junior Matthew Love finished tied for third, finishing with scores of 89. Oberholtzer had great difficulty on the front, shooting over par on eight of nine holes to put himself in a 13 over par hole. However, he too showed poise on the back, putting together a stretch of four consecutive pars before finishing the final two holes with a bogey and double bogey. Meanwhile, Love bogeyed his first four holes before parring the fifth. He then faced a trying two holes, quintuple bogeying sixth and triple bogeying the seventh. Somehow, Love responded with two straight pars to finish the front nine at +12. He was shaky on the back too, alternating pars with bogeys before finishing the final three holes at +2. Senior Julius Oppenheimer rounded the field with a score of 92. Like Love, Oppenheimer was plagued by several difficult holes, especially his first, which he also quintuple bogeyed. However, he had his high moments as well, parring seven holes during the day. He also struggled to cross the finish line, going +6 in the final three holes. The men are back in action for the second round tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, the women’s team begins the NCAA Division III Spring Preview tomorrow in Houston, Texas.

Email Michael Thompson at mthompson@nyunews.com.

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SPORTS

EDITED BY MICHAEL THOMPSON SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Track: Women 6th, Men 29th By ASHLEY ARNOLD Staff Writer

Despite poor weather conditions, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the Roadrunner Invitational hosted by Ramapo College on Saturday. Despite the cold, rain and wind, the teams performed impeccably. The men placed in 29th overall, with freshman Daniel Sovich landing in 11th place in the 400-meter hurdles. “The weather was awful, but hard work and commitment to the team were unaffected,” Sovich said. “We came out there to show other teams that NYU is not to be disregarded.” However, Sovich wasn’t the only one who found success during the weekend. Junior Nick Torsitano finished close behind Sovich, taking 17th place. Junior Fred Lam came in 29th place in the 400-meter. In the pole vault, sophomore Sherman King shined in an eighth-place finish, while junior Nick Hespe claimed 11th place. While both teams performed well this weekend, the women’s track team definitely demonstrated their prowess. They finished in sixth place out of the 30 teams that competed during the weekend to

compete this weekend. Competing in the 4x100 relay were senior Kristina Harris and freshmen Alyssa Jean, Samantha Scoggins and Mary Conti, who placed in second behind Monroe College. Jean felt that the meet was a great experience for the team, especially the freshmen. “We’re at a point in the year where we should be constantly progressing and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Jean said. “The weather was pretty bad but as a team we all pushed each other to help us reach our maximum potential.” In addition, Conti also landed in third place overall for the 400-meter. Freshman Chelle Mitchell captured fourth place in the 100-meter hurdles. Jean, Scoggins and Mitchell respectively landed in seventh, 17th and 46th place in the 200-meter. In the 400-meter hurdles, Alexa Goldman claimed 10th place. Junior Dana Placentra led the field squad by finishing in third place in the pole vault. Jean and sophomore Brianna Yee participated in the triple jump, placing ninth and 10th place. Yee also placed in 12th for long jump. Freshman Sabrina Illiano surfaced in her outdoor debut, in which she finished 23rd for the long jump. “I think that everyone perse-

vered really well,” Illiano said. “My teammates were good at encouraging each other to go out and do their best despite the conditions, and I think that helped keep us motivated.” The Violets will continue competing next Saturday, April 9 for the Rider University Invitational.

Email Ashley Arnold at sports@nyunews.com.

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Junior Laila El Dessouki came in second in doubles and fourth in singles at the match on Saturday.

Tennis Inconsistent in Ohio Over Weekend By TONY SCHWAB Contributing Writer

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Freshman Mary Conti finished in third place for the 400-meter.

It was a mixed bag for both Violets tennis teams this past weekend in Ohio, as they kicked off their spring season with the men losing both their matches and the women winning one and losing another. The men lost to both Case Western Reserve University and Oberlin College, while the women beat Oberlin but also fell to Case Western. Worst was first, as the men lost to sixth-ranked Case Western 8-1. In the first match, senior captain Sid Thangirala fell 6-2, 6-1, which was followed by a loss from freshman Benedict Teoh by the same score. The sole bright spot of the day came after, with junior Matt DeMichiel winning against Robert Stroup 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. Sophomore Jiri Honajzer followed this up with a very close loss, falling to Louis Stuerke 2-6, 6-4, 8-10. Unfortunately, freshman Yanik Parsch and junior Sammy Aronson both fell easily. Doubles play was very rough, with the Violets losing their three matches by a combined score of 24 games to five. Tired after their loss on Saturday, the men recovered well but lost a close 5-4 match Sunday morning against Oberlin. Things started out strong, as the men won two of the three doubles matches courtesy of a solid performance from DeMichiel and Parsch, who won 8-3, and Teoh and Aronson, who won 9-8. The Violets split the first two singles matches, with Teoh losing 3-6, 6-7 and Sid Thirangala winning 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. DeMichiel lost in three sets, tying the overall score at three. Honajzer lost to Abraham Davis 5-7, 6-4, 5-7 before Aronson dominated Billy Lennon 6-0, 6-2. However, Parsch was defeated by Robert Gittings, giving Oberlin the win.

The women had a much better time in their Saturday match, playing Oberlin and winning 9-0. They came in ranked 30th, their first ever national ranking, while Oberlin was 38th. Senior Carmen Lai, junior Laila El Dessouki and freshman Fleura Shiyanova each had easy straight set wins. Senior captain Madeline King held off a comeback from Jackie McDermott to win 6-4, 2-6, 1-0. Freshman Vanessa Scott came from behind to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The three doubles matches were all close, making it clear that the blowout win was no small feat. Lai and Shiyanova beat Sarah Hughes and Emma Brezel 8-6. Scott and El Dessouki beat Mayada Audeh and Jackie McDermott 8-6, while King and sophomore Nicole Schnabel beat Olivia Hay and Erin Johnson 8-5. On Sunday morning the women, perhaps exhausted, lost 7-2 to Case Western. Things started badly when all three doubles matches were won by Case, with the Violets winning only seven games. The two bright spots were wins by Shiyanova and Scott. Shiyanova won 6-2, 6-4 against Surya Khandilkar and Scott won 6-1, 6-0 against Jessica Liu. Shiyanova agreed that fatigue played an important role in the loss. “Against Case, we had much less energy,” Shiyanova said. “We finished our match with Oberlin at 10:30 a.m. and most of us went to sleep at 2 a.m. due to homework and then we had to wake up at 6 a.m. We were exhausted and did not have enough energy.” The women play their next match against Geneseo on Saturday while the men take on the Coast Guard Academy on Sunday.

Email Tony Schwab at sports@nyunews.com.

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