NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 41, No. 34
MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
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Hepatitis A reported in local restaurant By NEELA QADIR
RACHEL LIQUINDOLI FOR WSN
Annual pillow fight hits Washington Square Park Thousands of people toting pillows, some wearing costumes, converged on Washington Square Park on Saturday for the eighth annual New York pillow fight. The fight is part of International Pillow Fight Day, which takes place in 22 cities around the globe.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: BEST OUTDOOR HIKING FINDS FOR FITNESS:
Get some fresh air, explore the outdoors and get fit with these great hiking spots in and near the city. VIA FACEBOOK.COM
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NEW NYU LAW SCHOOL DEAN ANNOUNCED:
Columbia law professor Trevor Morrison will replace NYU Law dean Richard Revesz at the end of May. COURTESY OF NYU
Alta, a Mediterranean bistro located in the West Village, has come under scrutiny after reports revealed that a restuarant food handler tested positive for hepatitis A. Customers who ate dessert at Alta between March 23 to April 2 have been warned by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to get the hepatitis A vaccine as a precaution. “We are working closely with the health department to ensure the safety of our customers. This is an isolated incident, and the infected employee is no longer on premises,” said Alta owner Christopher Chesnutt in a press statement. Yesterday, the univeresity sent an email notifying students about the Health Department’s investigation into the restaurant. The email provided students and faculty with locations where they could receive a hepatitis A vaccine. The university recom-
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ONLINE VIDEOS CAN BE USED FOR EDUCATION:
Though many believe YouTube videos merely provide entertainment, some channels are valuable educational tools. CICCONET on PG. 7
University rugby team rises in popularity By FRANCISCO NAVAS
Rugby football, a game of elegance and aggression, originated in the early 19th century and is played worldwide. The same basic rules apply to rugby union and rugby league, two distinctive forms of rugby: get the ball over the line for a 5-point try. Started in 1996 by a group of Stern graduate students and later combined with other NYU graduate schools, the Stern Rugby Football Club kicked off competitive rugby play in NYU. Since then, the NYU rugby scene has been steadily growing as interest expands. After years of being only adjuncts to the graduate team, Old Violet — led by senior and team captain Yuriy Trimba, and until recently coached by SCPS graduate student Gary Mc-
Cormick — has been trying to organize its team of undergraduates to become an official school club. It continues to seek members. Playing officially as a sevens team — a truncated form of rugby with seven players on each team instead of 12 or 15 — since the 2012 spring semester, the men completed their first tournament in late November of that year, where they were knocked off in the semi-finals by a stiff Canadian side. “We finally got to play undergrads … and got a taste of real college rugby. It was also a fun experience to be the sole leader on the field,” said Trimba, who usually shares his captain duties with a graduate student when they play joint 15s, rugby with 15 players. Old Violet is comprised of play-
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JEREMY STEBENS FOR WSN
NYU rugby players race across the field in heated competition.
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NICOLA PRING
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hile I am happy you have picked up a print copy of the Washington Square News today, if you have recently checked out our website at nyunews.com, you may have noticed major updates that we hope will provide more avenues to interact with our content. Our revamped comment system is the most significant update made to the website. We will now be using the Disqus platform, which allows for a faster commenting process than ever before. Log in with your Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or Disqus profiles to comment rather than filling in unnecessary fields of information. This shift did cause us to lose our old comments. Though many interactions already present on the website offered wonderful insight, we believe the move to Disqus is essential to keep the conversation going without the hindrance of entering extra log in information. We have also shifted our social media icons to be above the comment section to encourage you to not only share your favorite stories but also offer your opinions. Over the last few months, we have been overjoyed with how often we see you interacting with our stories on a daily basis. These stories affect all of us, and we want to ensure your voice is heard. A major part of our goal this year is to make you as much a part of the conversation as we are. I cannot wait to see the conversations that grow on our site, and I hope the changes we have made — and the many more exciting ones yet to come — will encourage you to be an active member of our community.
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By FRANCISCO NAVAS THE NATURAL (1984) “The Natural,” starring ’70s heartthrobs Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall, is a captivating sports story that deals with the theme of human perseverance. In the movie, based on the novel Bernard Malamud wrote about the life of baseball prodigy Roy Hobbes, Redford portrays a baseball player with natural talent who suffers the hardships of being a star. This movie is an older classic, but don’t skip it because of its age or because your dad likes it. It might be a little slow for today’s viewers, but stick through it until the epic, lights-out ending.
HINTON, CHARLES MAHONEY, CLIO MCCONNELL, STEFAN MELNYK, LAVYA YALAMANCHI
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EDWARD RADZIVILOVSKIY, RAQUEL WOODRUFF
SPACE JAM (1996) Warner Brothers brought NBA legend Michael Jordan’s almost magical basketball skills and their actually magical characters, including Bugs Bunny, Pepe Le Pew and Yosemite Sam, together to save the world from a league of evil basketball-playing aliens in this classic, half-animated ’90s movie. Other NBA legends, such as Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing, join Jordan in this children’s adventure that can still captivate adults today.
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REMEMBER THE TITANS (2000) Seemingly ABC Family’s favorite feature, this is a sad yet heartwarming movie about a football team’s triumphs over its rivals and over racism. Starring Denzel Washington as Herman Boone, this movie displays the challenges in sports during the 1970s after desegregation in schools during the ’50s. “Remember the Titans” demonstrates how sports can build brotherhoods that transcend differences, and it is a quintessential sports movie with a great lesson.
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THE LONGEST YARD (2005) This comedic remake of the 1974 film by the same name stars funny man Adam Sandler in an unusually serious role. This is the story of a disgraced former NFL quarterback who is forced to play in the prison league. Despite the film’s serious topic, Sandler’s classic comedic personality shines through.
Enjoying the beautiful weather, a few SoHo residents eat lunch in the midday sun.
PHOTO BY CHUCK KUAN
MONEYBALL (2011) With six Academy Award nominations, “Moneyball” is the most decorated film on this list, and definitely deals with one of the deepest topics. Brad Pitt plays a baseball manager who, despite the doubt that surrounds his methods, powers through them to get his Oakland Athletics into the playoffs. “Moneyball” is a slow but well-told story that teaches viewers to believe in themselves.
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MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN, JAEWON KANG, FRANCIS POON, MERYLL PREPOSI, AMANDA RANDONE, EMILY YANG About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods. Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Amy Zhang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.
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West Village bistro announces that employee has hepatitis A
mended any patrons to the restaurant within the specified time period to receive the vaccine. “There is currently no ‘outbreak’ but rather an isolated individual case in an employee at the Alta restaurant,” said Carlo Ciotoli, associate vice president for student health and executive director at the NYU Student Health Center. “As such there is no reason for there to be widespread concern or worry among members of the NYU community.” When asked for comment, three Alta employees threatened to escort a Washington Square News reporter off the premises. Restaurant patrons and employees are also being offered free vaccinations, which will be available today at the Chelsea Health Center from 9 to 5 p.m. According to the Health Center, the vaccine is an inactivated virus available in both the pediatric formulation and the adult formulation. People age 18 and younger are given the pediatric formulation and people 19 and older are given the adult formulation. Patrons and employees who are unable to get the vaccine should receive immune globulin. “We are asking these restaurant patrons to get this vacci-
nation as a precautionary measure,” New York City health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. “If people experience symptoms, they should see a doctor immediately. This incident serves as an important reminder to always wash your hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease.” Hepatitis A is most likely contracted from contaminated food or water from someone who is already infected. Symptoms of hepatitis A include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or discomfort, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, dark urine, muscle pain and yellowing of the skin and eyes. This warning applies to approximately 450 customers who ate dessert at the restaurant between those time periods, as reported by The New York Times. Anyone who believes they may have visited the restaurant during those dates can call 311 for more information or 212-443-9999 for the NYU Wellness Exchange. Neela Qadir is a deputy university editor. Additional reporting by Kevin Burns. Email them at cstate@nyunews.com.
HANNAH COHEN FOR WSN
Vaccinations are recommended for recent Alta patrons.
Feathers fly at eighth annual New York pillow fight
By AMANDA ZAMBITO
Feathers and laughter filled the air as people dressed as Vikings and dinosaurs carried pillows and invaded Washington Square Park on Saturday for New York City’s eighth annual celebration of International Pillow Fight Day. International Pillow Fight Day is a part of the Urban Playground Movement, a non-consumer group that aims to “organize free, fun, all ages, non-commercial public events,” according to the organization’s website. Hundreds of people of all ages, including foreigners, NYU students and native New Yorkers, filled Washington Square Park to either participate in the
feather-flying frenzy or to watch from the park’s stone benches at a safe distance from the fight. New York was one of 22 cities across the globe that hosted a pillow fight on April 6. “I saw it last year because I lived in Hayden, but I was too scared [to join in],” said CAS sophomore Katerina Sevastakis. “I think it’s just a good time. It’s a non-violent way to get your aggression out,” said CAS sophomore Maddy Kessler, a friend of Sevastakis. Some participants have attended New York’s pillow fight for several years. “It’s about the same size crowd, maybe more people. Usually people join in as it goes along,” said New
York resident Melissa John, who has participated in the last four International Pillow Fights. “I’m here to defend my title, because I won Pillow Fight [Champion] in France in July 2012,” said Julian Roge, who sported a Santa Claus hat. “But honestly, the level [of competition] is very high here.” Eric Das, another visitor from France, attended with his friends. Das, who wore a skin-tight red bodysuit and a red afro as a costume, said he had been looking forward to the pillow fight for weeks. “It was a great day, we had a lot of fun,” Das said. Amanda Zambito is a contributing writer. Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.
All-University Student Council Elections open voting portal By NICOLE BROWN and VERONICA CARCHEDI
The All-University Elections will begin today at 9 a.m. and will end Friday, April 12. Coordinated by the Student Senators Council, the elections will institute student leaders for each of the nine participating schools. A full list can be found online at nyu.edu/ studentvote, where a voting portal allows students to vote throughout the week. Designed by two NYU Abu Dhabi students, junior Juan Felipe Beltran and freshman Morgante Pell, the online voting process allows all students in the participating schools to vote for the candidates in their school. The positions for each school, as well as who can run for them, vary according
to the school and its constitution. However, the university bylaws state that each school must have a senator and a president. The only exception to this is if there are elections for smaller groups or cohorts within a school. In this case, only the students involved in those groups will be able to vote. In the past, school council elections took place at different times, but the University Committee on Student Life has made efforts to hold all the elections during the same time period in recent years. CAS junior and UCSL vice chair Mariam Ehrari said this has increased voter turnout and made the process more efficient. Campaigning methods are different in every school, but Ehrari said the SSC will be en-
couraging students to vote all week by promoting and advertising the elections. In addition to posters and a banner in the Kimmel Center for Student Life, incumbent senators and presidents will wear election T-shirts and run tables at Bobst Library and Kimmel where students can vote and hand out voting stickers. “We want to get the best voter turnout possible,” Ehrari said. “There is growing interest in how representation in the university works, and I believe it is timely and of utmost importance to make sure you vote and have your voice heard.” Nicole Brown is investigative editor. Veronica Carchedi is city/state editor. Email them at university@nyunews.com.
Columbia professor named 15th dean of NYU Law
By TATIANA BAEZ
Columbia Law School professor and constitutional law expert Trevor Morrison will replace Richard Revesz as dean of the NYU Law School — big shoes to fill, some would say, since Revesz has served as dean of the law school for the past 11 years. Morrison will become the 15th dean when Revesz steps down on May 31. Morrison, the first dean who is an outside hire, brings with him a long list of accomplishments, including acting as the Liviu Librescu professor of law, co-director of the Center for Constitutional Governance and faculty co-chair of the Hertog Program on Law and National Security, all at Columbia Law School. He also
spent 2009 in the White House, serving as associate counsel to President Obama. “He’s had a terrific record in academia and in government,” said James Jacobs, a professor who teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and criminal justice at NYU. “He’s a great scholar and he’s an extremely nice person.” “NYU Law is a spectacular and inspiring institution, and I am deeply honored to have been selected as its next dean,” Morrison said in a press release. Jacobs said the law school faculty is enthusiastic about Morrison’s deanship. Morrison became popular after he came to NYU as a visiting professor a few years ago. Jacobs also said
the faculty is impressed with the ideas Morrison offered when he spoke to the faculty recently. Morrison’s induction marks the end of Revesz’s career as dean of NYU Law. Revesz will remain on the law school faculty and will continue to serve as director of the Marron Institute on Cities and the Urban Environment. “There are so many things about the law school that make me proud,” Revesz said. “Our exceptional faculty and students, the vibrant and collegial community we’ve created and the school’s deep dedication to public service, to name just a few.” “While I am stepping down as dean, I care deeply about NYU Law’s future, so it gives
me great comfort to hand over the reins to Trevor Morrison,” he said. “The school will be in very good hands.” NYU President John Sexton was the law school dean for 14 years before he was followed by Revesz. The law school faculty will miss Revesz but look forward to the next phase of leadership. “The past 25 years of leadership ... is almost an unprecedented record of outstanding leadership in legal education, and we’ve been incredibly fortunate,” Jacobs said. “We just hope the next phase will go well and I’m sure it will.” Tatiana Baez is university editor. Email her at tbaez@nyunews.com.
COURTESY OF NYU
Columbia professor Trevor Morrison is the first dean appointed from an outside university.
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FEATURES RUGBY continued from PG. 1
Playing ball: NYU rugby team enters final game of season
ers of a range of skill levels. “Most guys on the team who are undergraduates usually start out in college,” said Trimba, describing sophomore flyhalf Hubert Chan. “He actually played for their [Hong Kong] national under [a] 14s team before moving to the United States and he picked it up again in college.” Losing volunteer coach Gary McCormick last week was a blow to the team, but Trimba is grateful for the work McCormick put in. “Really solid guy, taught us a lot about rugby and our team became so much better because of him,” said Trimba. An old English proverb says, “Rugby is a game of scoundrels played by gentlemen,” but on the pitch the rugby
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team, Old Violet, look like stallions. Despite losing 35-3 in their semi-annual rivalry game “The Gotham Cup” against Columbia’s team Old Blue, Old Violet played a vicious defensive game in the second half. “Although their forwards were really big, we weren’t afraid to get in and get the tackle … it was a tough game,” said prop Kiyoshi Atkins. “Our presence wasn’t there [in the first half]. We needed to wake up,” said Chan. The Old Violets play their final game of the season, united with the graduate team, at the 15s MBA Tournament at Duke University in North Carolina.
By KEERTHI HARISHANKAR The city announced last week that the Statue of Liberty will reopen for visitors and tourists on July 4, which will attract thousands of people from around the world to New York. To avoid the rush, check out these hidden gems to develop a richer sense of the city.
SECTION OF THE BERLIN WALL 520 Madison Ave. It’s a piece of world history, and you don’t have to travel to Germany to see a part of the Berlin Wall. Located in a courtyard near an office building on Madison Avenue, there are five panels of the famed wall by cafe tables where one can sit and observe them. The panels display the work of French artist Thierry Noir, who painted sections of the wall in an attempt to beautify it. It’s a monumental bit of history, hidden in plain sight.
Francisco Navas is deputy sports editor. Email him at fnavas@nyunews.com.
WHAT’S IN YOUR BAG? By NICOLE DEL MAURO Maggie Rogers, a freshman at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the Tisch School of the Arts, is hopelessly in love with music. She is the lead singer, songwriter and banjo player in the indie-rock band Del Water Gap, and she already has two recorded albums and a new single under her belt. Even in between the chaos of endless New York City gigs and planning a tour for this summer, Rogers is always off on a musical venture, which is evident from the contents of her brown leather purse. BANJO PICKS Rogers plays harmonica, tambourine, guitar and banjo in her band. Her banjo picks are good luck charms that never leave her bag. “It took me a little bit to get used to them because you can’t feel the strings, so the physical connection is taken out of it,” Rogers said of using the picks. “Then you realize how fast you can go, and it becomes sort of like a video game.” SONGWRITING NOTEBOOKS When it comes to creating content and lyrics for her songs, Rogers looks to her everyday experiences for inspiration. She documents the detailed moments of her life in a small Moleskine notebook she always keeps with her.
City’s hidden tourist attractions
THE PANORAMA AT THE QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY Have a visitor in town who wants to see every last bit of the city? The Queens Museum of Art has you covered. It contains a 9,335-square-foot scale model of New York City that was built by Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair and contains all five boroughs.
“I write down everything I see,” Rogers said. “It’s like you’re taking colors from what you see every day to put into a quilt. It helps me to have details or phrases that I can pick and choose from later.” Rogers also keeps a second notebook that she made herself in her bag. She uses it to draw sketches and write down quotes and ideas from people she is inspired by, which she later uses in songwriting. “The [notebook] I made is more purposeful,” Rogers said. “I really have to love something to put it in.”
KOREATOWN West 31st through West 33rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues Everyone knows Chinatown, but another Asian enclave that’s well worth the visit is Koreatown near Herald Square. Try out a classic Korean dish like bibimbap, purchase some authentic stationery and then sing the night away at one of Koreatown’s many karaoke clubs.
ROLL OF FILM After buying a Canon AE-1 at a thrift shop, Rogers has used her camera to capture and document Del Water Gap as the band travels and performs. “I usually have it slung on my arm when we’re walking to a gig,” Rogers said. Rogers sees photography as an essential part to her development as a songwriter. “I think the real craft that I love about [photography] is the words, the ability to think of something in creative terms, but also making someone see something,” Rogers said. “I really like personifying things and giving things shape and name and form.”
UPRIGHT CITIZENS BRIGADE 307 W. 26th St and 153 E. Third St. United Citizen’s Brigade is an improvisational theatre that hosts some of New York City’s finest comedy shows — one of the founders of the theatre is none other than Amy Poehler. There are shows every day of the week in their Chelsea and East Village locations, and with tickets as low as $5, UCB is much more affordable than a Broadway show. BROOKLYN FLEA MARKET 176 Lafayette Ave. and East River State Park Now that it is spring, your guests from home and from other schools will surely want to spend their time outside enjoying the warm weather. Why not take a trip to the seasonal Brooklyn Flea Market that features over 250 vendors? They sell everything from dresses and jewelry to vintage bikes and house ware — you’ll find something one of a kind.
Nicole Del Mauro is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
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Banjo picks, notebooks and film are the essentials for a traveling singer.
Keerthi Harishankar is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
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EDITED BY KRISTINA BOGOS FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM
Gallatin Arts Festival showcases student work By BRYNA SHUMAN
Video game retellings of legendary Greek epics, short plays on mental illness told through the eyes of psychiatric patients, and a short comedy sketch about a plane ride gone wrong are only a few of the interesting performances occurring at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study this week. From April 8 to April 12, Gallatin will present the annual Gallatin Arts Festival. Since its inauguration in 1992, the festival has become the largest public event sponsored by Gallatin every year. The weeklong celebration showcases the unique artistry and interdisciplinary work of Gallatin students in the visual and performing arts. “The Gallatin Arts Festival is a learning experience emphasizing the development of ideas and collaboration,” said Kristin Horton, a professor at Gallatin and the festival organizer. “We’re particularly interested in work that serves as a springboard for action and dialogue.” Gallatin students are chosen to be featured in the festival through a highly selective application process that takes place each fall. Students also help organize the events. “The festival team looks for students interested in curating, producing and community engagement, among other things, to serve as members of the student leadership team,” Horton said. “Under guidance from members of the Gallatin faculty, the student team then produces and presents the festival each spring.” This year’s festival has expanded to include two new initiatives: an art forum series and Gallatin Arts Festival Global, an installation displaying work from students studying abroad. The art forum series features panel discussions following several of the festival’s performances, and will begin with a panel discussion after the screening of “A Piece of Forgotten History” by junior Monica Cortez on April 9. Guest panelists include widely known figures such as Sylvia Mendez, an acclaimed civil rights activist. GAF Global will feature photograpy by Gallatin students who are currently studying abroad
at NYU’s global academic centers. The photographs focus on small details that are familiar to local eyes, yet unique from the perspective of student visitors. GAF Global is curated by junior Emma Hazan and senior Alex Craig under the direction of professor Nina Katachadourian. Nicole Johnson, a Gallatin junior studying ethical management and production, will present in the festival this year. Collaborating with fellow Gallatin student Andrea Torres, Johnson’s piece “God is Love” shares recorded conversations about the relationship between homosexuality and Christianity through a presentation of dance choreography and spoken word. Johnson said her Gallatin education has prepared her for the festival. “Participating in the festival is such a privilege,” Johnson said. “Gallatin has given me the chance to create platforms for mutual understanding and fostering peace through art and conversation.” All events at the Gallatin Arts Festival are free and require an RSVP. A full list of events can be found at http://gallatinartsfestival.squarespace.com/events. Byrna Shuman is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
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FITNESS FINDS By ALENA HALL Now that spring has finally arrived, it’s time to reconnect with nature after six months of treadmill time and countless crunches. A variety of hiking trails map each of Manhattan’s neighboring boroughs, creating wooded getaways and exciting new workouts just a subway or bus ride away. Climbing steep hills, scaling rocky surfaces and maneuvering uneven trails challenge almost every part of the body. From engaging your quadriceps to your core to your stabilizer muscles, hiking creates an entirely new workout experience that not only connects you with the surrounding environment but also keeps your body guessing what’s coming around the next bend. Hiking trails also vary in terrain, difficulty and distance, so muscles cannot adapt to the exercise like they do with a 30-minute treadmill jog. This inability to remember the next move in the routine keeps the muscles working harder and more efficiently, preventing a workout rut and a performance plateau. Unlike other gym-based cardio, hiking has a slower pace and prolonged focus that improves cardiovascular endurance, builds muscular fitness and simultaneously prevents joint injury. It can also be mentally and emotionally therapeutic, helping to relieve a week’s worth of stress. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation catalogues each hiking trail located in every borough outside of Manhattan. Try out one of recommendations below, or visit its website for additional options. BROOKLYN Lullwater in Prospect Park Length: 1 mile Difficulty: Easy
QUEENS South Preserve Trail in Cunningham Park Length: 3 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate STATEN ISLAND Yellow Trail in Latourette Park Length: 8 miles Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult BRONX Cass Gallagher Nature Trail in Van Cortlandt Park Length: 1.4 miles Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult For an additional challenge, bring along a hiking daypack. Adding more pounds to natural bodyweight increases the resistance placed on muscles. A daypack takes the workout to a new level, challenging shoulder strength, core stability and leg power. More experienced hikers looking for an adventure close to home can plan ahead for a day hike this weekend at Breakneck Ridge. Accessible by car or the Metro North Railroad’s Hudson Valley line, Breakneck Ridge is just an hour outside the metropolitan area and offers five different trails worth trekking. The Taste of Breakneck Ridge Hike, a 2.4 milelong hike with a medium-to-difficult trail challenge, caters to novice hikers looking to take their workout up a notch. The Breakneck Ridge and Mount Taurus Hike, on the other hand, will challenge even the most seasoned hiker with its 7.2-mile path and strenuous trail setting. Alena Hall is a contributing columnist. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
‘Recalling 1993’ phones in New York City history
By HELEN HOLMES
For most people, history is something to be contained within the confines of a glass box, something to be sealed, gawked at and controlled. For New Yorkers, however, history is in every crack of the pavement. A new exhibit and advertising campaign by Manhattan-based independent advertising agency Droga5 takes New Yorkers back in time to the year 1993. In “Recalling 1993,” which opened in late March, over 5,000 of the city’s pay phones are transformed into a time machine in affiliation with the New Museum’s exhibit, “NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.” Passersby can pick up a pay phone, dial a toll-free number and listen to the history of the area where they’re standing. “The idea for ‘Recalling 1993’ began with the New Museum’s current exhibition, which fea-
tures art created and exhibited in New York City in 1993,” said Carly Bennett, the associate communications manager for Droga5. “The New Museum exhibition reflects that time of turmoil and helps to transport you back to what New York City was like back then. In order to promote the exhibition, Recalling 1993 brought the visceral feeling that 235 Bowery evokes out onto every street corner of Manhattan using one of the last relics of that time: the pay phone.” To encompass the vast number of stories and experiences that defined New York City in 1993, each individual payphone provides a highly specific view of that particular street and area. The pay phone located on Third Avenue and 11th Street, just a few blocks down from the Third North residence hall, features the insight of Lisa Keller, a history professor at SUNY-Purchase. “Rent in SoHo has doubled in
the last 20 years,” Keller said in the audiotape. “[In 1993], you couldn’t drive half a block down Houston Street without someone throwing a newspaper at your windshield ... squeegee men were everywhere.” The era of Rudy Giuliani and squeegee men, people who wiped down paused cars and then demanded money, was one troubled with petty crime and violence, according to Keller. Other payphone locations near NYU include 8 Washington Square North, which discusses life in Greenwich Village in 1993, 51 W. Fourth St., which delves into the SoHo way of life in 1993, and 721 Broadway, next door to the NYU Student Health Center. CAS freshman Dominic DeLuque is interested in dialing in because he was born in 1993. “A lot of DIY-activism was happening [in 1993] around things like third-wave feminism and the AIDS crisis, and it’s reflected in
the art that was being made,” DeLugue said. “There’s so much history in New York that people walk on top of and around every day, and the ’90s was sort of New York’s last really gritty decade.” To get a fresh perspective on a
time just before your own, visit any pay phone in New York through May 26 and dial 1-855-FOR-1993. Helen Holmes is deputy features editor. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
RACHEL KAPLAN/WSN
Some city payphones are a part of an exhibit that recalls the past.
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Crossword Across 1 ___-Saxon 6 Chicago winter clock setting: Abbr. 9 Daffodil-to-be 13 Big name in plastic wrap 14 Performance for one 15 Norway’s capital 16 Legal thriller author who wrote “Presumed Innocent” 18 One-named supermodel from Somalia 19 “___ see now!” (“Aha!”) 20 End of the Greek alphabet 21 Thyroid, for instance 22 Illustrious warrior returning from battle 25 Diner coffee container
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OPINION
EDITED BY SAMEER JAYWANT OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM
POLITICS
Plan B debate presents flaws in political system By JESS LITTMAN
Two years ago, in the midst of controversy over the provision of the Affordable Care Act that mandates free contraception for women through their health insurance, the Obama administration made a very conservative move in the opposite direction. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration and began requiring girls ages 17 and under to have a prescription for the morningafter pill, commonly known as Plan B. On Friday, a New York federal judge ordered that the pill be made available over-the-counter for women of all ages. Sebelius had — and still has — the right to create this type of restriction, but precedent and common sense dictate that restrictions on medications be based solely on scientific evidence demonstrating their safety and effectiveness, or lack thereof. Scientists at the FDA, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have all been publicly in favor of unrestricted access to Plan B for many years. But in 2011, Sebelius — who is not a doctor
— decided that her concerns about the safety of the drug were more significant than the science on which these doctors based their recommendations. The move was undoubtedly political, meant to appease conservatives who were up in arms about more liberal contraception laws created by the Affordable Care Act. Proponents of the restriction also claim that making Plan B more available actually encourages young women to have sex because they have a safety net to avoid pregnancy. This claim has not been proven, and is similar to the idea that teaching kids how to use condoms will encourage them to have sex, even though significant research has proven this is not true. By lifting the restrictions on Plan B,
New York federal judge Edward R. Korman took a huge step forward in the movement for women’s health, making it more likely that young women will avoid unwanted pregnancy with a safe drug. He gave the FDA a month to comply, during which time the Obama administration may decide to appeal. This draws attention to the crucial issue here, which is not women’s health at all, but rather that the Secretary of Health and Human Services can make arbitrary decisions regarding medication. Restrictions on specific medicines should not be made by a single bureaucrat, but by panels of scientists in a regulated environment who study the drugs and come to decisions based on health, not morals or politics. If a drug is safe to take without a doctor’s approval in the form of a prescription, and it works to make the user healthier, there is no reason to restrict it. While Plan B is safe for now, too much power to restrict basic rights to health care still rests in the hands of one person. Jess Littman is a staff columnist. Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.
TECHNOLOGY
YouTube lessons can have educational merit -By MARCELO CICCONET
An interesting set of smart, wellproduced, educational channels have emerged on YouTube in the last couple of years. Alhough YouTube has, in general, degenerated into something resembling television, some educational series are worth the extra time spent watching the ads that come with them. At the top of the list are Crash Course, a channel created by two brothers who themselves evolved from authors of purely entertaining content, and MinutePhysics, a series of short lectures on physics that can be accurately described as the video version of webcomic XKCD with more modest qualifications in the comic area. John and Hank Green, the brothers behind Crash Course, became YouTube sensations by making a channel out of video messages to each other posted over the course of a year. Crash Course is a series of lessons, each about 10 minutes long. The first courses were in world history, taught by John, and biology, by Hank. Those courses finished and the brothers now teach U.S. history and chemistry, respectively. The subjects are somehow irrelevant, though. What makes them
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worth watching are mainly the writing and performing skills of the guys, especially John, who often delivers clever footnotes about society and the process of reaching adulthood. Of particular wit are the dialogues between him and his younger self, a student referred to as “me from the past.” MinutePhysics, created by Henry Reich, deserves a bit more credit for its content. The channel features short videos with hand-drawn frames on topics ranging from the popular Schrödinger’s Cat experiment to an open letter to President Obama about the outdated high school physics curriculum in the United States. Even though Reich is certainly not the first specialist to step down to the layperson level to teach advanced physics, he is the first to suc-
cessfully approach the YouTube format. Video lessons are uniquely appealing due to their multimedia nature: More complex information can be transmitted more effectively than in any other unidirectional way. Yet, most educators still choose writing a book as a method for sharing knowledge. In an age where digital tools for production are widely available and video sharing online is easy and free, YouTube is underused as a media for knowledge transmission — especially since time is so scarce. The successes of Crash Course and MinutePhysics are evidence of the effectiveness of education through video. The important lesson to take away from instructional channels like these is that it is not necessary to solely post the ridiculous, the laughable, the sex appealing, the feline or the equine — I’m looking at you, “Gangnam Style” and your parodies — to become popular on YouTube. Charisma is an essential factor, no matter the content. In other words, as Crash Course’s John Green always says at the end of his lessons, “don’t forget to be awesome.” Marcelo Cicconet is a staff columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.
STAFF EDITORIAL
Guantánamo Bay should be closed
Despite President Obama’s 2008 campaign promise to close down the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, it is still open, and conditions have deteriorated so much that prisoners are engaging in a hunger strike. While the Obama administration contends that 41 prisoners are participating, the detainees’ lawyers report that the number is closer to 130 of the 166 prisoners. The strikes began in February after prison guards began searching detainees’ Qurans for weapons. But with only nine out of the current 166 prisoners having been charged or convicted of a crime, the detainees shifted the purpose of the strike to protest their indefinite detention. In 2005, when over 500 prisoners were being detained, a hunger strike was held to protest these same violations of international law, leading to the Detainee Treatment Act — a document with nonspecific provisions that remains loosely interpreted and unenforced. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, asserted that the indefinite detention of the detainees “is in clear breach ... of international law” and “severely undermines the United States’ stance” as “an upholder of human rights.” The majority of prisoners at Guantánamo are held in solitary confinement, and grotesque violence and degradation are reportedly common. Guards have beaten prisoners without provocation, cut them and urinated on them. Some of Obama’s defenders blame the lack of progress in closing Guantánamo on a partisan Congress. However, the president has the ability to either close Guantánamo through an executive order or to transfer prisoners with a national security waiver. With these powers at his disposal, Obama’s deliberate choice not to exercise them clearly indicates that he wants to keep the prison open. This marks one of the most drastic and disappointing differences between Obama as president and Obama as a senator. The 2005 hunger strike of more than 200 detainees in Guantánamo Bay led to an act that prohibited the “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” of any prisoner. The only humane response to the hunger strike is not more laws the U.S. government can trample over, but the shutdown of Guantánamo Bay once and for all.
Email the WSN Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com. EDITORIAL BOARD: Sameer Jaywant (Chair), Raquel Woodruff (Co–Chair), Edward Radzivilovskiy (Co–Chair), Nickhil Sethi, Matt Luo, Nina Golshan, Ian Mark, Jess Littman, Marcelo Cicconet
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