NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 43, No. 41
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015
nyunews.com
SPORTS
ACTIVISM
Protest held for minimum wage hike
Pitcher shares devotion to softball By KATHRYN JONES Contributing Writer
By MIKE ADAMS Contributing Writer
On the softball field, Sage Scheiwiller is the one throwing no-hitters from the pitcher’s mound. But if you catch the Poly freshman off the field, you might find her in a chemistry lab before she gets to the dugout. The chemical and bioengineering major studies when two things are meant to bond together — like her and softball, which she could never see herself without. Since starting at age five, Scheiwiller has never skipped a season. Her parents put her and her brother in tee ball as a way to expand their social circle after moving to Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. Her mother cheered on the siblings at every game, rain or shine. Her father, a former athlete, acted as a catcher when she needed one. For her, softball transformed from just fun to a new passion that taught her to persevere and believe in herself.
NYU students joined forces with college students from around New York City at Columbia University to protest for a $15 minimum wage on Wednesday. The Service Employees International Union organized the rally in conjunction with NYU’s Student Labor Action Movement. Demonstrators targeted the practices of big corporations like McDonald’s and Best Buy, where workers are underpaid and often work menial jobs for long hours. In addition to campaigning for a $15 minimum wage, the rally aimed for businesses to recognize the rights of their workers to unionize. The first federal minimum wage laws were enacted in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Originally, the minimum wage was 25 cents — $4.13 in today’s money. After nearly 80 years, the minimum MIKE ADAMS FOR WSN
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Protesters at Columbia University on Wednesday demanded an increase in minimum wage.
REVIEW
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FEATURES
Gallatin Arts Festival Students unite to promote ‘allyship’ explores range of issues By ZOE THOMPSON Staff Writer
By AUDREY DENG Entertainment Editor
The Gallatin Arts Festival launched its weeklong gallery curated and created by Gallatin School of Individualized Study students on Monday. The gallery is packed with students’ dynamic perspectives, forming a creative atmosphere. The gallery is divided into two floors — interactive multimedia pieces dominate the ground floor, while the next floor provides a quiet oasis for photography. A floating mannequin bound by string commands the gallery entrance. To the right of it is a clothbound booth with video on loop, followed by Jacqueline Grossbard’s
series of photographs, “Almost Famous.” This piece features the daily life of Michele Marzano, a celebrity impersonator based in Central New Jersey. The biographical photographs serve as a bright pop of color before the gallery leads into a dark and spacious area where two videos play in loop. The first is a similarly biographical YouTube confession by Kai Cameron, and the second is “Shadow May Resolve into Beauty,” a black-and-white video of the artist, Luke Smithers, interacting with a dark-cloaked figure. Toward the middle of the floor is Parissah Lin’s “Mourning Weaver.” For her performance art piece, she
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For the fifth consecutive year, NYU is hosting Ally Week from April 13-17. As can be read on the back of the striking gold T-shirts created for the event, Ally Week is working to promote “allyship,” described by organizers as “an active and consistent practice of unlearning and re-evaluating beliefs and actions, in which a person seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized individual or group of people.” Hosted and organized by NYU’s entire diversity team, including the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs and the LGBTQ Stu-
dent Center, Ally Week 2015 is sponsored by 12 different offices and student groups on campus. Planning for the week-long event started at the beginning of the semester. Administrative Chair for Ally Week Paulina Abaunza acknowledged NYU’s uniquely diverse campus that created the environment to host such an event. “There are other Ally Weeks across the country, but it started at NYU,” Abaunza said. “We are such a diverse culture in terms of representation. We know diversity and social justice.” Abaunza stressed the event’s commitment to not only broaden students’ perspectives but also instill a sense of
proactiveness among students. “The big message we are trying to strive for is the notion that allyship or being an ally is a verb, not a noun,” Abaunza said. “It is something that takes active participation. We want people to think about the specific steps that they will take in being an ally.” Throughout the week, students have been able to attend “allyship” training in topics of diversity, ethnicity, class and spirituality. Ally Week has also incorporated a safe zone in which students with physical, mental and intellectual disabilities can collaborate. SPS graduate student and
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