NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 43, No. 38
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
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Activists rally against catcalling By LARSON BINZER Senior Editor
STAFF PHOTO BY SHAWN PAIK
Queen GodIs emcees an anti-street harassment rally in Washington Square Park on Saturday. The Brooklyn poet reaches diverse audiences through activism and her writing.
For Slam! at NYU, the streak continues. On March 29, the club won College Union’s Poetry Slam Invitational 2015 for the third time in four years. NYU’s team of six burgeoning poets, including CAS senior Zev Alexander, attributes the team’s ongoing success to the members’ dogged commitment, integrity and intimate relationships with one another. “This year, the thing that went really well with the team was that we were writing together,” Alexander said. “It was a team effort.”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Hosted at Virginia Commonwealth University, CUPSI 2015 fostered a diverse and supportive space for students to share their stories. CAS junior and three-year member Crystal Valentine finds solace in voicing her thoughts in a judgement free environment. “As a woman of color, everything that I do is affected by the politics of this world,” Valentine said. “Performance poetry gave me a voice. In spoken-word communities, I feel more at home and safe.” Alexander has been involved in spoken-word poetry since
SLAM continued on PG. 4
TEDxNYU competition STAFF PHOTO BY SHAWN PAIK
By ZOE THOMPSON Staff Writer
Six speakers took the TEDx stage at GCASL to give talks on a range of topics. STORY on PG. 3
Track teams looks to improve By KYLE LUTHER Deputy Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s track teams excelled at the Rider Invitational over the weekend, continuing their recent impressive finishes. The men’s team earned a second place finish and the women finished third at Lawrence Town, New Jersey. The men scored a total of 194 points, six less than the host, Rider University, who came in first place with 200 points. The Violets took the first seven non-Division I places in the 5,000-meter race. Senior Sebastian Oja added to his already impressive season with a first place victory, clocking in at 15 minutes, 28.88 seconds. Junior
Daniel Rieger and sophomore Jorge Maldonado finished in close succession for the second and third places, while sophomore Zach Karas finished fourth. The three of them finished just seconds behind Oja, clocking in at 15:36.72, 15:37.58, and 15:44.82 Senior Zac Kish was the fastest non-Division I runner in the 800 meter with a time of 1:56.57, while junior Max Avila placed third with a time of 1:58.03. The Violets also had strong showings in the 1,500 meter, with six runners scoring. In relays, the Violets’ 4x800 meter was the fastest non-Division I team, clocking in at a time of 8:19.28. The 4x400 meter team placed second with
Site promotes green products The online store Greener Square does online shopping greener. STORY on PG. 4
a 3:26.75 time and the 4x100 meter was third at 43.24. Senior Johnny Lake and sophomore Budd Brown won the 3,000 meter and 400 meter steeplechases respectively. After finishing in the middle of the pack at the ECAC Championship, the Violets have done markedly better, recently finishing seventh out of 28 teams at the Roadrunner Invitational and now second out of 23 teams. The women’s team has also excelled lately, finishing the Rider Invitational in third place. The women had been placing near the end of the pack for the majority of the season, but have turned things
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ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDAN ENRIQUEZ
Slam! at NYU continues win streak
STREET continued on PG. 3
SPORTS
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Through spoken word, dance and demonstration, the nonprofit Hollaback hosted its third annual Anti-Street Harassment rally Saturday afternoon on Washington Square Park’s outdoor stage. The rally included speeches from elected officials, representatives from nonprofit organizations, testimonies from harassment victims and performances. Each speaker or performer took the stage in front of a large, blown up black cat with “Cats Against Catcalls” printed across its side. Emily May, co-founder and executive director of Hollaback and an NYU alumna, said these rallies are effective in helping the victims of street harassment learn they have a right to fight back and defend themselves. “So many of us are trained to just walk down the street and ignore the harassment,” May said. “But
Opinion: Talking about catcalling The Hollaback rally is the latest in a positive chain of street harassment conversation starters. STORY on PG. 7