WSN041612

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

washington square news Vol. 40, No. 47

Monday, april 16, 2012

nyunews.com

NYU names new Nursing dean

RAs breach contract, terminated

NYU announced the appointment of Eileen Sullivan-Marx, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, as dean of the NYU School of Nursing last Friday. Her appointment will be effective July 1.

Sullivan-Marx has taught at Penn since 1995 and has also served as associate dean of Practice and Community Affairs since 2003. She has also worked as a health care policy leader, researcher and clinician.

“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to become the Dean of the College of Nursing,” Sullivan-Marx said.

“The College of Nursing has become a star among schools of nursing.

Working with the faculty, I hope to integrate nursing’s global mission, research in HIV and leadership in aging with the full NYU community to advance its mission as a diverse, urban, global university.”

More than half of 15 residence assistants and one Resource Center assistant in Hayden residence hall were terminated last Thursday as a result of a violation of contract.

A Hayden RA, who was uninvolved in the incident and commented on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the RAs in question had been present at a “party” a few weeks ago. Alcohol and underage students were present.

The Student Conduct handbook, which applies to both students and RAs, states that alcohol cannot be present in the rooms of students under 21 years of age and that those who are legal should take precautions to prevent the possession of alcohol by underage students and guests.

A Palladium RA, who is familiar with the matter, said RAs campuswide were called into emergency

By Julie DeVito

R NURSING continued on PG. 6

By Hanqing Chen, Julie DeVito and Amy Zhang

Demonstrators rally against Chipotle’s labor conditions

About 30 protesters rallied in front of Union Square Chipotle yesterday to demand Chipotle to join a fair labor program, which works toward ameliorating conditions for farm workers.

In an age where communication is dominated by text messages and emails exchanged at lightning speed, it is easy to forget about the role of the United States Postal Service.

But when Gallatin professor Steve Hutkins discovered that the local post office in his small hometown in the Hudson Valley was in danger of being shut down last year, he spread the word faster than an overnight express envelope.

Hutkins started a blog called savethepostoffice.

R HAYDEN continued on PG. 6

STORY ON PAGE 3

Gallatin prof. fights to save postal service

By Nicola Pring

David Lin/WSN

Violets log multiple career bests in N.J.

By John Axelrod

com to keep his friends and neighbors informed about the possible closing. Although Hutkins’s post office did not close, he learned that the USPS plans to close 15,000 post offices — half of the offices in the country — in the next five years.

“In small towns, the post office is important because it gives a place a sense of identity and community,” Hutkins said.

According to Hutkins, the closings are indicative of attempts by corporate elites to take over the Postal Service and

The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the College of New Jersey Invitational in Ewing, N.J. on Saturday.

A total of 16 schools competed but there was no team scoring at the event.

The star of the day for the women was Vanessa Ortiz. The senior placed second overall in the shot put event (11.67 meters), fourth in the discus throw (30.40 meters) and fourth in the hammer throw (33.66 meters), all career-bests.

In the 800-meter sprints, four NYU runners finished in the top eight. Freshman Alyssa Binczyk led the women’s team with a fourth place finish and personal best of 2:17.70. Following her were junior Georgina Norton in sixth place, freshman Caroline Saba in seventh place and freshman Francesca Macaluso in eighth place.

R POSTAL continued on PG. 4

R TRACK continued on PG. 8

Courtesy of NYU Athletics

Jon Simon registered a career-best time in the 200-meter event.

LUCHA club hosts 19th annual Cultural Gala

NYPD launches bike tracking initiative PAGE 3

PAGE 4

NYPD announced the start of its new bike tracking initiative earlier this month.

Latinos Unidos Con Honor y Amistad held its 19th annual Cultural Gala at Kimmel Center for University Life last Friday night.

File photo by James Kelleher

Courtesy of LUCHA

Terminated RAs leave residents unguided PAGE 7 The WSN Editorial Board discusses the Hayden residents who face the end of the year without guidance from residence assistants.

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Washington Square news | monday, april 16, 2012 | nyunews.com

on the side

Compiled by the

WSN staff

best of web TOP COMMENTS

TOP NYU tweets

@chocolatenush

In response to the article “NYU4OWS protests against JPMorgan Chase on campus” from April 13

Just donated 566 PBJ sandwiches to NYRescue! #dayofservice #NYU

“We will no longer tolerate racial profiling.

Bigotry, Islamophobia and racism will not disappear by themselves; they must be confronted. Action must be taken, and we as socially conscious students and individuals must demand an end to these injustices at NYU and throughout the city and country.”

— Paul Funkhouser

@AndrewJTall

When you walk into your #nyu welcome event and empire state of mind is playing. #winning

@jakeweinstein1

so many admitted students and parents with purple stickers! makes me sad to leave but time for the next #NYU generation! #wherediditgo?

“NYU should be supportive of students’ who want to serve in the armed forces, much as it is supportive of all other student groups on campus.”

— Art Vandelay

jaewon kang Deputy Managing Editor

@nyugirlproblems

Win some lose most :“@rubieelizI had a huge crush on this guy in my Psych class but then yesterday I saw him walk out of David Barton Gym.” 3

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All day | Various Campus Locations

5 p.m. | Palladium Multipurpose Room | 140 E. 14th St., Third Floor

Opening ceremony of Ally Week

The Center for Multicultural Education and Programs hosts this annual week of events to promote cross-cultural community building and acceptance.

Ally Week runs through Saturday.

SNAPSHOT

8 p.m. | Frederick Loewe Theatre | 35 W. 4th St.

New Voices at NYU: A Celebration of Songs

This concert will feature works by current students in the Musical Theatre Writing Program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

Creative Director

selena chen senior staff

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

university eric benson, eliza-

beth maguire city/state tony chau, kristine

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

loughran sports John axelrod, cole

riley special issues kristina bogos multimedia james kelleher copy jordan melendrez social media agent nicole gartside

opinion page

opinion editor olivia gonzalez deputy opinion editor ATTICUS

BRIGHAM, SANCHAY JAIN

advertising business manager

REBECCA RIBEIRO circulation manager

chloe coffman

Emilia Mironovici

ON THE WIRE

A 25-year-old mother of two was charged Tuesday for accepting monetary donations after fabricating a story about having had leukemia and wishing to have her dream wedding and honeymoon before she died. Jessica Vega, who went to Aruba after being married in May 2010, is accused of fraud and grand larceny. Her husband, Michael O’Connell, eventually divorced her and tipped off the newspaper that ran an article on Vega’s story about the fallacy. If she is found guilty, she will face up to four years in prison.

— MSNBC

Cornell University

sales representatives

Kaitlyn O’Brien, MICHAEL RYAN, Melissa Ynegas

advising editorial adviser

keith leighty EDITORS-AT-LARGE

jaywon choe kelsey desiderio russell steinberg KIRSTEN CHANG francis poon terka cicelOVa

NYC Official Will Oversee Building of Tech Campus

About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.

University of California, Los Angeles

Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Jaewon Kang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

— The Cornell Daily Sun

PHOTO BY Brittany Elias

james lanning

university sales coordinator

The fake cancer runaway bride

Park-goers enjoyed the weekend sun while relaxing in the fountain at Washington Square Park.

Assistant Managing Editor

deputy staff

Sitting at accepted students day at #NYU watching Disney movies waiting for finanial aid to call me down #bestschoolever #littekidatheart

“God Damn. Has NYU ever wielded it’s banhammer this strongly?”

— Lou Guberti

Displays at Goddard residence hall, Kimmel Center for University Life, the Health Promotion Office and other campus buildings will have displays this week of art exhibits by gender violence victims and their allies.

Managing Editor

BRIDGETTE DORAN

@Mbykow3

In response to the article “Hayden RAs and RCA fired for contract violation” from April 13

Traveling Clothesline Project

Editor-in-Chief amanda randone

Amy zhang

In response to the article “NYU should reinstate ROTC program” from April 10

TODAY

Washington Square News

UCLA mistakenly tells 894 waitlisted students they’re accepted — The Daily Bruin

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NYPD launches new bike tracking initiative

By Tatiana Baez

File photo by James Kelleher

The initiative will extend to NYU’s Bike Share program.

The New York Police Department launched a new bike tracking initiative earlier this month to decrease the high and continually growing number of accidents between bikers and pedestrians.

The system, which requires city residents to report bicycle accidents to the NYPD and use the same form they use for other accidents, extends to NYU students.

But the NYPD may receive less accident reports from NYU’s Bike Share program.

According to the New York Daily News, about 500 pedestrians in New York City wind up hospitalized each year after accidents with cyclists.

But Jeremy Friedman, manager of Sustainability Initiatives at NYU, said such levels of bicycle accidents in New York City are much higher than bicycle accidents among students. He added that there has not been a single injury reported from the NYU Bike Share since it began in the summer of 2010.

“Initially there was a real concern about launching a bike share program because some were worried about the risk to students,” he said. “We were pleased and

Protesters rally against Chipotle’s labor conditions

By Hanqing Chen Around 30 protesters gathered outside of the Union Square Chipotle yesterday afternoon to rally for better working conditions for Florida field workers.

“Chipotle, shame on you,” the demonstrators chanted. “Farmer workers deserve rights too.”

Demonstrators played music and marched around the storefront to draw attention to their cause, toting signs demanding justice and fair labor standards.

The protest, organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, demanded that Chipotle join a fair labor program, which consists of other corporations and works toward ameliorating conditions for farm workers.

According to the CIW, Florida field workers supply 90 percent of tomatoes and other produce for major corporations like McDonald’s, Trader Joe’s and Chipotle. On its website, the CIW says they investigative and assist in uncovering slavery rings that are taking advantage of farm workers.

In 2001, the CIW began a Fair Food Program, a worker-led program that promotes fair wages and a strict code of conduct for better working conditions.

“We’ve been trying to get the big corporations who get the tomatoes to take responsibility [for] the conditions that we live in on a daily basis,” CIW press officer Marc Rodrigues said.

Since its development, 10 major corporations like Taco Bell, Burger King and Subway have signed on to participate in the program, but Chipotle has declined to join.

“Chipotle is trying to do it by themselves without including the voice of the worker,” Rodrigues said. “That’s something we just can’t accept because there’s no way to verify that.”

But the Union Square Chipotle manager Erika Padron declined to comment about the rally.

“Some of the problems we deal with are extremely low wages that haven’t changed for the last 30 years,” Cruz Salucio, a farm worker in Florida, said through an interpreter at the rally. “We have long hours and very dangerous and heavy workload.”

Salucio said the workers do not have the right to organize for collective bargaining or to be recognized as a union.

Some NYU students, despite being regular Chipotle customers, were surprised.

“They’re always emphasizing how ‘sustainable’ they are and stuff concerning the environment,” CAS sophomore Priya Murali said.

Murali added that Chipotle’s motto of “Food with Integrity” contrasted sharply with the protest’s charges against the company.

“I usually just assumed they were following standard guidelines for labor practices,” she said.

Hanqing Chen is investigative editor.

Email her at hchen@nyunews.com.

David Lin/WSN

About 30 protesters gathered in front of Chipotle yesterday.

pleasantly surprised to find there was not a single reported injury in the time of the share.”

Friedman suggested this success might be because students who participate in the program must attend a mandatory bike safety session before they can begin riding.

Jay Zwicker, assistant director of NYU Public Safety for strategic planning, crime prevention and clery compliance, said the NYPD’s new initiative will be a solid step for the NYU community.

“As evidenced by the amount of bicycles chained to poles, bike racks and other items on the sidewalks throughout the Greenwich Village area, the use of bikes has steadily increased,” Zwicker said. “All bicyclists should also remember to abide by all traffic laws, wear a helmet and refrain from using electronic devices which can impede their awareness of street and pedestrian conditions.”

Ben Petok, a spokesman for Councilman Steven Levin (D-Brooklyn), also showed approval for the tracking and said he hopes the new initiative will lead to an even stricter policy for dealing with these types of accidents.

“We’re encouraged that this is the first step toward a more robust policy,” Petok said. “As the roads have been more congested, there is an increased need to know when and where accidents are happening, why [they are happening] and what we can do to fix them.”

But Transportation Alternatives representative Michael Murphy said the NYPD should take every crash seriously.

“Bicyclists who behave recklessly deserve to be held accountable,” Murphy said. “But the NYPD continues to give dangerous drivers free reign despite that dangerous drivers are killing and injuring so many people.”

CAS sophomore Jon Hecht bikes in the city and said he believes this may prove that bikers are not always the at fault when it comes to biker-pedestrian accidents “I’m probably not in the position to have a problem with ... this,” he said. “I will say that for all the times that pedestrians complain about bikers being reckless — pedestrians are almost never looking where they’re going in this city.”

Tatiana Baez is a staff writer.

Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

Faculty vote against NYU 2031 expansion plan

via nyu.edu

Faculty from 10 departments within CAS and Tisch have demonstrated opposition to NYU 2031.

By Hanqing Chen Within the College of Arts and Science and the Tisch School of the Arts, 10 departments have voted for various resolutions against NYU 2031 — the university plan to expand six million square feet by 2031.

Though faculty members have opposed the expansion plans in the past, this is the first time that they have officially voted against it. Because 40 percent of NYU faculty live on or near the Washington Square campus, the 2.2 million square feet of expansion in Greenwich Village over a 20-year span is considered a major issue to their quality of life.

“We had the discussion at the instigation of various faculty members,” said Michael Laver, chair of the politics department.

Most departments have voted for resolutions against the plan either unanimously or with minimal opposition. Some departments’ reasons for opposing the plan reflected their fields. For instance, the economics department raised questions about the financial viability of the plan.

NYU spokesman John Beckman said he believed that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s proposed changes to the plan would calm faculty concerns.

“The elimination of the temporary gym and keeping the interior playground on the Washington Square Village block in place till at least 2025, [...] and about the aggressive steps we will be taking to mitigate the impact of construction, [should change their] outlook,” Beckman said.

But overall, the resolutions reflect faculty members’ frustration with the lack of transparency about the plan.

“How the 2031 plan will affect the financial health of NYU, our academic mission and the university’s reputation are not addressed by this very small compromise,” associate professor Ann Pellegrini said.

Even in light of NYU’s recent reduction of the planned construction, many faculty members still feel the plan is too overwhelming.

“Many of us feel that trimming off a few concrete things in this massive plan hardly addresses the major problems which have to do with prolonged construction and with possible vast debt in the future,” said religious studies associate professor Angela Zito, who was part of a department that voted for a resolution against the plan.

The most recent faculty opposition stems from the NYU Faculty

Against the Sexton Plan group, an opposition group that wrote letters to the editor at The New York Times critiquing an editorial that supported the plan.

“For most of the faculty the key factor here is the undermining of the university’s educational mission,” said Bertell Ollman, a politics professor who wrote to The Times.

Despite the strong opposition that has emerged, the faculty do not see their mission as a rebellion against the NYU administration.

“This is not an anti-NYU plan,” Faculty Senate representative Christine Harrington said. “We are all members of the NYU community and value this institution deeply.”

NYU faculty’s opposition joins a number of vocal groups in the village.

A representative of small businesses in Greenwich Village said that while they are pleased about the reduction in plans, they are looking forward to more changes to the plan.

“We want them to reduce the density,” said Judy Paul, the founder of the Villagers for a Sustainable Neighborhood.

Hanqing Chen is investigative editor.

Email her at hchen@nyunews.com.

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Washington Square news | monday, april 16, 2012 | nyunews.com

features POSTAL continued from PG. 1

Gallatin prof. works to save post offices across the country bigger profits by privatizing government services.

“Post offices are part of a huge infrastructure [that] helped build the country, and it continues to help bind the nation together, but now it’s under attack by the ‘1 percent,’ ” Hutkins said. “The Postal Service is a prime target because it’s got over a half million well-paid, unionized, public-sector workers and it’s a symbol of the good that government can do.”

Hutkins uses savethepostoffice.com to inform followers about post office closings across the country.

He receives emails daily from people working to save their post offices and from postal workers and reporters.

“It seems pretty amazing that a niche idea of saving the Postal Service can elicit such a huge response,” said Gallatin sophomore Anthony Giambra, a student of Hutkins.

Hutkins’ blog has received a lot of attention in recent months — including a New York Magazine feature and mentions in major newspapers like the Washington Post — that he has decided

to take some time off from NYU to focus on writing blog posts and connecting with postal workers and concerned citizens.

Hutkins is not alone — the National Association of Letter Carriers agrees that post offices should be defended.

“The Postal Service needs to be preserved, not dismantled,” NALC president Fredric Rolando said. “It offers Americans the world’s best and most affordable delivery service without using a dime of taxpayer money and is the cornerstone of [the] mailing industry.”

Hutkins said the privatization of the mailing industry will likely lead to further consequences like slower delivery, higher postage rates and an end to Saturday mail delivery.

“The Postal Service is public property, like parks and the highway system, and it’s extremely valuable,” Hutkins said. “If Americans don’t wake up and do something about protecting their property, it’s going to be stolen away.”

Nicola Pring is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Wendi Liu for WSN

The United States Postal Service is in danger as post offices across the country continue to close.

LUCHA club hosts 19th annual Cultural Gala at Kimmel

By Michelle Lim

Courtesy of LUCHA

Various groups performed folklore dances last Friday night.

The Kimmel Center for University Life was transformed by a fusion of Latin cultures and traditions on Friday night when NYU’s largest Latino club, Latinos Unidos Con Honor y Amistad, hosted its 19th Annual Cultural Gala at the Rosenthal Pavilion.

LUCHA is known for meeting to discuss controversial issues happening in Latin America, including gender roles and cultural identity.

Club members also participate in several community service events and wrap up their activities for the year at the Cultural Gala, which commemorates the 1992 death of LUCHA member Carolos Oyola, who was killed near Washington Square Park. The event’s proceeds benefited a scholarship in Oyola’s honor that is awarded to a talented Latino student.

CAS senior Anggie Pena has been a club member since her freshman year.

“The premise of the club is to learn more about the Latin American countries and current events that are happening down there, such as social issues,” she said. “This event is kind of like a closing for the club.”

Every Gala represents three different Latin American countries. This year’s Gala focused on Bolivia, Ecuador and El Salvador.

While the executive board of LUCHA presented the history and special traditions of these countries, professional dance groups from each country performed traditional folklore dances.

Esau Chauca, executive director for the Ecuadorian dance group Ayazamana, introduced the group’s Andean performance.

“We are excited to share this event with everyone to honor and recognize our heritage, which is very important so we don’t lose our identity,” Chuaca said.

There was also a catered dinner showcasing some of Latin America’s most popular foods, including empanadas, grilled piquillo, fish cazuela, paella with chicken and chorizo and mango mousse. There was also a bar serving piña coladas.

Awards, recognition and the welcoming of the newly elected executive board members by the current members followed the food service.

LUCHA’s current president Catherine Peña, a CAS senior, said this year’s gala held extra

significance for the club but also for herself.

“In about a week, it will be the 20th anniversary of that tragic accident that took the life of Carlos Oyola, a former LUCHA member,” she said. “Gala was created in his memory and it is truly amazing to see that his memory is still kept alive and that we are able to maintain this tradition and maintain solidarity, regardless of time.”

This event was the conclusion to Peña’s time as president of LUCHA. “LUCHA is very special to me,” she said. “It’s like a second home, a family at NYU where I have met amazing individuals and remarkable leaders.

For me, all of our work, struggles and accomplishments come together on this special evening and forge the path for the future to come.”

There was a special guest appearance of Gallatin alumna Yadira De La Riva, a professional artist and activist, who recited a moving poem that discussed her experiences of being Mexican-American.

The evening concluded with the opening of the dance floor for every attendee to enjoy.

Michelle Lim is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

nyunews.com | monday, april 16, 2012 | Washington Square news

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edited by jessIca littman features@nyunews.com

Futures of Finance Conference questions state of economy

By Brittany VanBibber Social-cultural anthropologist Arjun Appadurai kicked off the Futures of Finance Conference last Friday with the resonating phrase, “We are destroying our economy.” His speech emphasized the goal of returning to the spirit of capitalism.

This set the theme for the inspiring speakers and experts that followed throughout the day.

NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge in collaboration with the Bruce Initiative on Rethinking Capitalism hosted this conference from Thursday to Saturday last week. A number of interdisciplinary scholars attended and spoke about the state of the economy and the world of finance.

“As a student here, you have the privilege of having free access to a lot of expertise and conversation,” CAS graduate student Emily Miranker said. “Why you wouldn’t avail of as much of that as possible mystifies me.”

Miranker said she hopes to take information from the conference that can help her learn more about the world of finance and possibly apply it to her future ventures.

The panels began with each speaker presenting a relevant theory and then moved into a question and answer session between the audience and panelists.

The first panel consisted of Prabhat Patnaik, Michael MacDonald and William Cohan. All three represented different perspectives of money and banking.

Patnaik specializes in neoliberal economic policies, Marxist economics and theory of the value of money. MacDonald focused on cultural analysis and political theory through a discussion of Thomas Friedman. Cohan is an author, journalist and ex-Wall Street employee.

MacDonald was critical of the current state of capitalism.

“Finance is both incompetent to govern and impossible to blame,” he said.

This array of ideologies was present in all panels and gave the audience varied viewpoints of financial institutions.

“I think it’s interesting because we get a lot about the free-market,” Stern freshman James Tweel said. “I think it’s more interesting to hear different people’s opinions who don’t work in the field.”

The discussion continued in the second panel of the day to discuss

the culture and ethics of finance.

At that panel, journalist and author Bethany McLean presented her view of business through the eyes of a writer.

“Narrative in business can be created that has nothing to do with the truth,” she said.

McLean was the first journalist to question Enron’s shady practices before the scandal became public, and she has since written a book on the topic titled “The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.”

The day finished with panels on scholarly knowledge and financial practices.

Bob Meister, an instructor in the Politics, Anthropology and History of Consciousness graduate program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, made one of the more potent points of the day.

He quieted the room by asking the simple question, “Now that we know what we know what do we do about it?”

The conference ended this Saturday with working group sessions and a closing student dinner.

Brittany VanBibber is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

“As a student here, you have the privilege of having free access to a lot of expertise and conversation. Why you wouldn’t avail of as much of that as possible mystifies me.”

— Emily Miranker, CAS graduate student

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Washington Square news | monday, april 16, 2012 | nyunews.com

news NURSING continued from PG. 1

R HAYDEN continued from PG. 1

College of Nursing announces new dean

As dean, she said she hopes to embrace students in their adventure of learning and to create a vibrant, exciting environment where they can apply the knowledge acquired from research.

“Eileen stood out for the excellence of her scholarship, her intellectual prowess, her compelling teaching and her demonstrable leadership abilities,” Robert Berne, NYU executive vice president for health, said in the announcement last week. “Attracting someone of her caliber and experience to the deanship is a validation of the direction in which we have been moving the College of Nursing.”

She added that current nursing students and graduates will face an exciting and complex health care environment. “[The environment is] challenged by forces that still too often neglect health promotion, disease prevention and have not yet put into place all the best practices of care,” Sullivan-Marx said. “Learning how to work in teams and learning how all the professions contribute requires interprofessional education such as we have at NYU.”

Hayden residents finish year without RA meetings last Thursday to reinforce the alcohol policies in the Student Conduct handbook.

NYU spokesman Philip Lentz, citing the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974, said administrators are prohibited from discussing private details of incidents that involve students.

But he said the university’s response was appropriate, necessary and thoughtful.

“Resident assistants play an important role in residential life at NYU and are given privileges commensurate with these responsibilities,” Lentz said. “However, the activities at Hayden hall were incompatible with our standards and expectations and violated University Policy.”

According to the university website, student grievance procedure involves first filing a complaint; the university then appoints an appeal officer. If the students are unsatisfied, they can appeal to the university judicial board. The policy states that a review of an appeal will only be considered in the case of a significant procedural error, substantial new information and/or if the sanctions issued were too severe in the nature of the student’s record or nature of violation.

Tom Ellett, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said as-

Penn associate professor of health Patricia D’Antonio said NYU’s gain is Penn’s loss and that Sullivan-Marx is a thoughtful leader in nursing.

“She is able to move beyond the silos of research or practice and create strategies and programs that integrate both to highlight the importance of nursing in our health care system and, more importantly, to improve the lives of those entrusted to our care,” D’Antonio said.

Janan McCormick, a nursing junior and president of Student Nurses at Penn, said SullivanMarx embodies the Penn Nursing motto of “Care to change the world.”

“She is driven by an innate desire for knowledge and answers and continuously inspires both students and colleagues to pursue their intellectual curiosity,” McCormick said. “She is an outstanding role model of nursing theory, practice and research. Through her dedication and compassion she has set the highest of standards for her successors.”

Julie DeVito is university editor.

Email her at jdevito@nyunews.com.

sistants from the other residence halls will support Hayden’s programs for the remainder of the year. The RAs who were released from employment will be replaced by other candidates on the waitlist once the appeals process is complete.

“It seems absurd because we only have a month left of school, and for them to fire over half of the RAs is just unwise because they’re not going to have anyone to look out for us,” Lauren Siff, an LSP freshman and Hayden resident, said.

Hayden residents have created a petition on change.org against the removal of the RAs in question. At time of publication, approximately 150 people had signed the petition.

“These are not easy decisions to make ... but it is not taken lightly

either,” Ellett said. “We have a thorough investigation into matters. A student well-intentioned who puts a petition together, we appreciate the fact that they feel so strongly that an RA did an outstanding job, but there are some things that are not tolerated.”

A terminated RA said the RAs of Hayden have composed themselves with a great level of professionalism, responsibility and dignity.

“This incident has threatened to take all of that away from us just so that we can be used as an example for residential life across NYU,” he said.

Additional reporting by Jessica Littman.

Hanqing Chen is investigative editor.

Julie DeVito is university editor.

Amy Zhang is deputy managing editor.

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation The new york times crossword & daily sudoku 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, April 16, 2012

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 German cry 4 Ice-grabbing tool 9 Bid 14 Genetic stuff 15 Cutting one may bring tears to your eyes 16 Mrs. Gorbachev 17 Oct. follower 18 Had a big influence on Philip’s music?

20 Bothered terribly 22 Envision 23 “Enough already!”

24 Fanatics 27 Grey who wrote about the Old West 29 Harshly criticized Danielle’s novels?

34 ___ Guevara 36 Starch from a tropical palm 37 Company that created Pong 38 The “L” in S.&L.

40 ___ decongestant 43 Norway’s capital 44 Chef’s wear 46 Clickable computer image 48 Hankering 49 Scared the daylights out of Elijah in “The Lord of the Rings”?

53 Soft powder 54 Bleepers 57 ___ as it is 60 British ref. for wordsmiths 62 Deplete 63 Trounced Chris in a comedy competition?

67 NBC comedy show since ’75 68 Be in harmony 69 Lacking justification 70 Rightmost number on a grandfather clock 71 Veg out

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE E L I S H A

B E N T O N

B A T A A N

S W I L L I N G

H A R P E D O N

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L O N G A G O D I D O V E R

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72 Keats and Shelley 73 Charge for a bang-up job?

Down 1 Desi of “I Love Lucy” 2 100 smackers 3 “Show some mercy!”

4 Native American drums 5 Yoko from Tokyo 6 Zero 7 “Ye ___!”

8 Eruption that might elicit a blessing 9 Web site alternative to com or edu 10 Unnaturally high voice 11 Italian carmaker 12 Canadian gas brand 13 Speak with a gravelly voice 19 Utterly exhausted 21 State between Miss. and Ga. 25 I.R.S. agent, e.g., informally 26 Company whose mascot is Sonic the Hedgehog 28 Org. protecting U.S. secrets 30 Symbolic riveter of W.W. II 31 “Careful!”

32 Mystery writer ___ Stanley Gardner 33 Leo’s symbol 34 Applaud 35 Optimist’s feeling

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No. 0312

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Puzzle by Lynn Lempel

39 Watery expanse between England and Scandinavia

56 Bowler’s challenge 57 Battle reminder 50 Floating arctic 58 Goad mass 41 High-voltage 59 Ringlet Australian band? 51 Became a winter 61 James Bond’s hazard, as a film debut 42 Actor Rob of road “The West Wing” 64 Evil spell 52 W.W. II 65 Keats or Shelley 45 Vardalos of “My intelligence org. work Big Fat Greek Wedding” 55 Quarrel 66 Abridge 47 Peacenik’s mantra

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nyunews.com | monday, april 16, 2012 | Washington Square news

OPINION

edited by olivia gonzalez opinion@nyunews.com

politics

STAFF EDITORIAL

Voter fraud crackdown harms democracy

By Charles Cochin de Billy In an era when democratic participation in the United States is at a frightening low in comparison to other advanced democratic countries of the world, 2012 seems increasingly unlikely to be a year that turns the tide. Not only is the dialogue between the Republican candidates disturbingly off-putting but, and perhaps more importantly, there has been an unprecedented crackdown on voting rights since the 2008 election.

It is always worrying to see the voter turnout rate of the most advanced nation in the world — one that cherishes the democratic process so dearly — to be stagnated between a meager 50 to 55 percent over the past 40 years. These statistics become even more pathetic when compared with other democratic countries of the West.

In 2007, France had an 84 percent voter turnout, and the United Kingdom lagging behind in 2010 at a steady 65 percent. And while many celebrate the historic rise of first-time voters in the last elec-

tion, some Republicans have denounced it as voter fraud, acting in many states to make it more difficult to vote. As you might expect, those most hurt by this campaign are minorities and young voters, precisely the ethnicities and demographics that pushed President Barack Obama through to his first term in the White House.

Although justified as an honorable attempt to defeat supposed ineligible voters who hijack the system, the Republican-led campaign has begun to resemble a dirty ploy to deny key votes to the Obama camp this coming November. There is much to blame for small voter turnout; however, to try to shrink the electorate to undermine an opponent is despicable. It is an assault on democracy at a time when it desperately needs a spark of vitality.

Little evidence has actually been found regarding voter fraud. It probably exists somewhere on a small scale, but the idea that there is a massive conspiracy driven by immigrants to turn elections is preposterous. The campaign has already been

successful in many states, which now require a valid governmentissued photo identification to vote.

Such IDs can be hard to come by, especially when the prerequisites and bureaucratic processing are lengthy and limited to one’s ability to access the DMV and other state offices — often few and far between. Considering around 10 percent of U.S. citizens lack such identification, most young and minority voter turnout is sure to suffer, as are the Democrats.

In some states, ex-felons have been barred from voting under Republican governorship, again targeting a segment of the population that is overwhelmingly Hispanic or African-American.

What America needs is an unprecedented effort to revitalize the democratic process, not stifle it on the grounds of baseless claims of voter fraud. The veiled attempts to reduce Obama’s support base is not only hurting the Democrats but also hurting American democracy.

Charles Cochin de Billy is a contributing columnist.

Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

Technology

Ambient Intelligence: the future of cities

By J.S. Adams

Like most mornings, the first thing I did when I woke up on the day of the iPhone 4S keynote was thumb through my Twitter feed.

Normally this is followed by responding to texts, checking my calendar and deleting emails from Facebook and Amazon. But a tweet from @mashable compelled me to toss my phone across the room, roll over and go back to bed: “Artificial Intelligence is coming to the iPhone.” I hoped that every one of Mashable’s almost 3 million followers had a healthy enough dose of skepticism to keep them from casually throwing around the magic words “artificial intelligence” when talking about Apple’s new virtual assistant, Siri. (Apple is currently juggling two lawsuits filed against them in a single month for overpromising on Siri’s functionality.)

Apple is by no means the only culprit; technology companies will slap the AI seal on any new product with sufficiently sophisticated voice recognition software. With every less-than-intelligent product that hits the market, the consumer technology business takes one step closer to becoming the boy who cried wolf.

But virtual assistants and robots are not the kinds of artificial intelligence that are going to make our George Jetson dreams come true.

Instead, networks of advanced sensors and robotics using ambi-

7

ent intelligence are the key to the smart homes and cities of the future. Many homes in the developed world are already equipped with the type of sensors and networking devices needed to make smart homes and cities a reality. These networks monitor and control conditions automatically without human intervention. Smart networks equipped with advanced sensors and robotics running ambient intelligence technology will be able to gather data from virtually anywhere and use this information to identify and address health and safety issues on multiple levels from private to public.

Diane Cook, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at Washington State University, said “The home of the future will harness information from appliances, computers, smart phones and other devices to intuitively meet the needs of its residents.

“Computer software will play the role of an intelligent agent by perceiving the state of a home’s physical environment and residents via sensors, interpreting this information using ambient intelligence and automatically adjusting heating or cooling, lighting or other resources based on that information,” she continued On a larger scale, smart cities will integrate and analyze data to record city-wide conditions and then relay this information to individual smart homes within city networks.

Communication between city-wide

and home networks can be used for anything as simple as sending a text that it is raining, and you might want to bring an umbrella to something as complicated as strategically cutting off electrical usage to reduce pressure on the grid during hot summer months or checking traffic conditions and adjusting the timing of traffic signals to unblock jams.

From monitoring the health of individuals within smart homes to controlling energy usage in smart cities to make them more green, the goal of smart networks is to increase quality of life across the board. However, as with any datasourcing technology, there are legal and ethical issues that need to be addressed with regard to privacy. Connecting to smart networks demands that users share personal information, and regulations about how this information can be used and who can use it need to be coded directly into the networks. These ambient laws need to be worked out between civic, legal and technological communities before these networks roll out. While Orbit City may be hiding just beyond the horizon of our very near future, we have to consider just how much privacy we are willing to sacrifice for a flying car that folds up into a briefcase.

J.S. Adams is a contributing columnist.

Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.

Terminated RAs leave unguided residents Last Thursday, more than half of Hayden residence hall resident assistants were officially relieved of their duties. Though the details remain murky, the incident in question appears to have involved underage consumption of alcohol.

Without further details, it is impossible to pass judgment on the conduct of these RAs. Regardless of whether or not they were in breach of contract with NYU, we believe the administration should have better contingency plans for such unexpected incidents.

We should recognize that Hayden residents have been needlessly deprived of the useful resource that their RAs are supposed to be for them. RAs are an invaluable part of the freshman experience for their guidance, among other things.

The timing could not have been worse.

Anxious freshmen are concerned with cramming for finals and preparing for moving out. In this time of need, it is imperative to have RAs on hand to facilitate Hayden residents’ emigration from NYU. Without policies to quickly compensate for negligent RAs with competent substitutes, students who have questions about the myriad complications of packing and cleaning up after a chaotic semester are inappropriately left without guidance.

In this scenario, we do not care as much about the justification of the termination of these RAs’ employment as the clear dearth of service their absence leaves. The resulting situation is bad for the NYU community as a whole.

NYU policy already calls for a pool of stand-by waitlist candidates for consideration should an RA leave his or her position. Although new RAs will be put into Hayden, they do not have enough time to acclimate to the high-pressure environment of being an RA during the end-ofsemester crunch.

Six of the RAs from Hayden are appealing the infractions they were accused of.

Considering the circumstances Hayden residents are faced with, it makes sense for these six to be reinstated as RAs for the remainder of the semester. The remainder of the RAs can be replaced from the waitlist pool. Ultimately, this is the best course of action to facilitate a smooth transition for freshmen students in Hayden.

Email the WSN Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

Editorial Board: Olivia Gonzalez (Chair), Atticus Brigham (Co-Chair), Sanchay Jain (Co-Chair), Chris DiNardo, Emily Franklin, Matt Kao, Ben Miller, Peter Murphy and Richard Zhang.

FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF OP-ED LIVE, WHICH TACKLES EDUCATION REFORM, SCAN THIS QR CODE.

8

Washington Square news | monday, april 16, 2012 | nyunews.com

SPORTs

edited by daniel hinton sports@nyunews.com

Men’s tennis splits weekend, women continue to faultier

By Sebastien Van Heyningen

Courtesy of NYU Athletics

Violet freshmen highlight weekend.

TRACK continued from PG. 1

Shot put, sprinters highlight weekend The 4x400-meter relay team of junior Marion Burns, freshman Maddie Danielson, sophomore Katie Calder and Binczyk placed fourth with a season best time of 4:15.60.

The Violets’ top sprinter of the day, freshman Caroline Spring, posted career-bests in the 200-meter (28.58) and 400-meter (1:01.12) events. She earned eighth place in the 400.

The men’s team also had an impressive showing.

Junior Brian Broderick and freshman Steve Crnic placed second and sixth, respectively, in the 3,000meter steeplechase; Broderick’s time of 9:38.06 was a career-best.

In the 1,500-meter event, senior Andrew Zitek and freshman Sebastian Oja led the way with third and fourth place finishes, respectively.

Three Violets notched top-ten finishes in the 3,000-meter sprints.

Junior David Knowles earned third, sophomore Ross Wistar placed sixth and junior Kyle DeLeon finished tenth.

Freshman Jon Simon earned fifth in the 100-meter and eighth in the 200-meter, which was a career-best.

The 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Ramon Perez, sophomore Gilson Cortes, junior Daniel McKinney and Simon placed fourth with a season-best time of 42.72. The finishing time also registered as the best of the University Athletic Association this season.

The Violets return to action on Friday, April 20, at the Larry Ellis Distance Races in Princeton, N.J. John Axelrod is a deputy sports editor.

Email him at jaxelrod@nyunews.com.

Violets; however, they were unable to capitalize on the early lead and lost the other games on the day.

In doubles play, freshmen duo William Smithline and Ting Yee Lai lost 8-1. Sophomore Bowen Xu and Leong were also defeated 8-4.

The loss dropped NYU down to .500 at 5-5.

The Violets took on Wilkes University in the Bronx yesterday. NYU dominated the day with an 8-1 victory highlighted by great play in the doubles matches.

NYU went 3-0 in doubles play with sophomore Connor Witty and Wu teaming up to win 8-2 in the first slot, Lai and Smithline won 8-6 in the second and Xu and Leong claimed victory 8-3.

The NYU tennis teams hit the courts over the weekend. The men’s squad went 1-1 against Vassar College and Wilkes University, pushing their overall record to 6-5 in the regular season. The women had another tough weekend, going 0-2 against SUNY Geneseo and Wilkes University.

On Friday, April 13, the men traveled to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on the Vassar Brewers. The Violets were defeated 7-2 with sophomore Steven Wu and freshman CJ Leong serving as the day’s only bright spots.

Wu won his singles match 6-4, 6-4, and Leong took down his opponent 6-1, 7-6(2). The match looked promising after a quick start by the

With momentum on their side, the Violets took care of business in the singles matches. Lai, who lost 7-6, was not happy with his performance.

“I didn’t take the match seriously and ended up losing,” Lai said. “I’ve learned to never underestimate your opponent. I think this is important to everything in life, not just on the tennis court.”

With another two losses this weekend to SUNY Geneseo and Wilkes University, the women dropped to a disappointing 0-8 on the season.

In the first match against the Geneseo Knights, NYU lost 9-0.

Freshman Megan Moore played the closest match, falling 6-3, 6-1 in the third singles game. Freshman Haley Mears lost 6-2, 6-0.

NYU had to forfeit their last three matches because only four players suited up.

The game against Wilkes University played to a similar tune as NYU lost 9-0 again on Sunday.

Sophomore Ramya Pokala fell 6-3, 5-7, 10-7, and Moore dropped 6-1, 6-3. Pokala and Moore teamed up for 8-3 loss as well.

The men’s team returns to the courts on Wednesday, April 18, to take on Manhattanville College in the Bronx. The women return on Saturday, April 21, to take on Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. Sebastien Van Heyningen is a staff writer. Email him at sports@nyunews.com.

Top seeded Violets fall in first round

By Sara Levy NYU hosted the United Volleyball Conference tournament at Coles Sports Center this past week. Unfortunately, NYU’s impressive regular season came to a close after a tough first round loss to Pennsylvania State University-Behrend in five sets on Saturday.

The Violets struggled in the first two sets against Behrend’s aggressive attack, losing 25-22 and 25-21, respectively. Despite the tough start, NYU was determined not to fold in the third set.

The team’s positive attitude and never-give-up mentality sparked an impressive comeback by the Violets. During the tenth point of the third set, the

Violets started to pick up the pace. NYU finished off Behrend 25-19 in the third.

The fourth set was even more exciting as NYU started playing a much tighter game and were better on the ball. Through four sets, junior outside hitter Taylor Fauntleroy had 20 kills while senior outside hitter Patt Dodd and sophomore middle blocker Nick Capriccio both had 10 kills each. The Violets took the set 25-13.

The fifth set was extremely contentious. With momentum on their side, NYU was set on advancing past Behrend to the semi-finals. In a decisive point, the linesman for the match missed calling Behrend on four touches, sparking the Lions to a 17-15 win in the set and match victory.

“This is the nature of fifth sets,” head coach Jose Pina said.

“There’s a lot of luck involved in winning these, and things did not go our way.”

At match end, Fauntleroy finished with 27 kills. Capriccio tallied 17 kills, and Dodd recorded 15.

“Although it is a disappointing end to our year, it was a good season in which we overcame a lot of issues to win the regular season conference title,” Pina said.

The loss ended an impressive first season in the UVC for NYU. The Violets now await a potential at-large bid for the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.

Sara Levy is astaff writer.

Email her at sports@nyunews.com.

File photo by Rachel Kaplan

Junior Taylor Fauntleroy had 27 kills.

Women’s golf places sixth, men 12th over weekend

By Mary Jane Dumankaya

Both Violet golf squads were in action this past weekend. Men’s golf co-hosted the NYU/Manhattanville Spring Invitational at Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. and finished 12th

Courtesy of NYU Athletics

Sophomore Kristina Shalhoup led NYU to a sixth place finish.

out of 13. The women’s team traveled to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take part in the Vassar College Invitational. The Violets finished sixth out of 11 teams.

For the men, the tournament was held on a par-71, 6,236-yard course.

NYU finished 12 strokes behind No. 11 Williams Colleges (647) and 29 strokes ahead of No. 13 Stevens Institute of Technology (688). Skidmore College, who is ranked 17 in the nation, captured the first-place title, shooting a two-round total of 621. Second place went to Middlebury College with a score of 624, and further rounding out the top five were University of Rochester (625), co-host Manhattanville College (630) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (631).

In the first round, NYU shot a total of 329. The team failed to improve in the second shooting a 330 for a two-round total of 659. Senior captain Matt Riccio shot an 83 in

the first round and an 80 in the final round, tying for 38th out of 76 competitors with a total score of 163. Freshman Charles Van Cook scored an 83 in the first round and 82 in the second, landing him in 49th place. Close behind Van Cook was senior captain Scott Dow Jr. in 51st place with a total of 167 and sophomore Kyle Demshki in 55th place with a score of 168.

The women’s squad hit the links at the par-72, 5,805-yard course at the Duchess Golf and Country Club also in Poughkeepsie.

The Violets had an unusually high score in both rounds — a 360 in the first and a 358 in the second.

Their final score of 718 pushed them into a tie for sixth place with St. Lawrence University.

The top five was lead by Amherst College with a score of 663, which was closely followed by Middlebury College with 667 and Williams College in third place

with 682. Host Vassar College and Ithaca College tied for fourth place with a total of 691.

NYU’s top scorer was sophomore Kristina Shalhoup who shot an 86 in round one and an 84 in round two, for a total of 170, tying her for 13th out of 62 golfers. Junior Jiye Kim finished with a two-day total of 182, which tied her for 29th place. Senior Meaghan Kenny and freshman Deanna Lee Jia Yi both finished with a two-day total of 183, landing them in a tie for 32nd.

Men’s golf will finish their season next weekend at the Fred Kravetz Invitational, hosted by University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y. Women’s golf will also finish their season next weekend at the Jack Leaman Championship, hosted by Amherst College in South Hadley, Mass.

Mary Jane Dumankaya is a staff writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com.