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NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 42, No. 39

TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2014

nyunews.com

Sexton fields student questions at final town hall

Campaign opens racial dialogue By ANJANA SREEDHAR

HANNAH LUU/WSN

Members of NYU Divest protest the university’s investment in fossil fuels at the town hall meeting. By CAREN DOUEIRY During the last town hall of the semester on April 14, students asked NYU President John Sexton about both ongoing and new initiatives. Students from NYU Divest, a club aiming to pull investments away from oil and gas companies, voiced their concern

about the university’s investments in fossil-fuel companies. As part of a demonstration against these investments, the group unrolled a petition on a large piece of paper with over 1,400 signatures. Sexton said NYU does not directly invest in fossil-fuel companies and recommended that NYU Divest bring this issue to the University Senate, which could then recom-

Coen brothers’ ‘Fargo’ translates well to television By JONATHON DORNBUSH

Adaptations of beloved works are often burdened by high expectations. The case is no different with “Fargo.” Inspired by the Coen brothers’ film, the new FX series of the same name wisely avoids copying the story and characters of the film. The television anthology delivers a fresh set of Minnesotans but embodies the same quirky tone, dark humor and penchant for gruesome murders as the movie. In the first episode, “The Crocodile’s Dilemma,” “Fargo” introduces drifter Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), but it is the meek Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) who takes center stage. Nygaard

is berated by his wife, fails miserably at his salesman job and loses a fight to his high school bully, Sam Hess, without the man ever hitting him. Nygaard is hopelessly inept, but Freeman brings a sweet likability to him that saves the character from existing simply as a mockery. When Nygaard runs into Malvo at the hospital, his life in Bemidji, Minn., is disrupted in horrific fashion. Malvo’s arrival signals the start of a string of peculiar murders, and Thornton plays the reserved yet calculated killer with an amusing, nonchalant attitude. As Nygaard and Malvo continue to interact, Nygaard’s

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mend the project to the Board of Trustees. “We invest in investors, not in companies,” Sexton said. “What I can try to do is coach you on how to succeed.” Tisch senior and member of NYU Divest Saleem Gondal said NYU Divest will follow the procedure advised by Sexton in

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“I, Too, Am NYU” organizers brought their campaign to campus at an open forum titled “Racial Solidarity: A Vision of Coalition” on April 14. The campaign was inspired by an independent project started by a Harvard student that documents the experiences of students of color called “I, Too, Am Harvard.” This project has since spread to other campuses, including Oxford and Duke. The NYU project, in collaboration with NYU’s Center for Multicultural and Educational Programs, encourages students of color to take pictures holding whiteboards with discriminatory messages they have encountered. Unlike Harvard’s initiative, which only included black students, the project at NYU has sought to include students of other backgrounds such as Latino, Asian-Pacific American, Native American and international students. Gallatin senior and “I, Too, Am NYU” organizer Mark Putterman said the campaign team decided to adapt the campaign for NYU students of color because at NYU these students still deal with bias and hostility from others, despite the perception of diversity.

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Moms anticipate forthcoming album By ALYSSA BUFFENSTEIN

Apart from their name, the similarities between New Jersey punk band the Moms and the cast of “Dance Moms” are nonexistent — these guys play pure punk rock and roll. The group’s sound falls somewhere between bands like Joyce Manor, The Hotelier, Red City Radio and Iron Chic. The Moms opened for A Loss for Words at the Studio at Webster Hall on April 11 and after their set two-thirds of the trio — singer/guitarist Joey Nestor and bassist/singer Jon Stolpe — sat down with WSN to talk about their formation and forthcoming album. Nestor, Stolpe and drummer Don Saraceno are childhood friends who grew up playing

VIA FACEBOOK.COM

Joey Nestor and the rest of the Moms played at Webster Hall. in bands together. After high school, Nestor attended Rutgers University for a year, where Stolpe and Saraceno visited him on the weekends to participate in drunken college debauchery.

It is also where the Moms, who formed in 2011, wrote the bulk of the material they play today. Referring to the creative output

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