NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 42, No. 41
THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014
nyunews.com
Syrian crisis comes to life on campus
Scam puts email addresses at risk
Syrian activists and journalists discussed health, education, women’s issues and the plight of refugees within and outside of Syria at #Speak4Syria, a panel hosted by the International Relations Society. Mohammed Aly Sergie, a former senior editor of the online news outlet Syria Deeply, moderated the panel, which took place on April 16. Syrian activist Qusai Zakarya shared his experience as a survivor of the chemical weapons attack that began on Aug. 21, 2013, in Moadamiya, a suburb on the outskirts of Damascus, the capital city. Zakarya said he witnessed hundreds of people running in fear and lying on the streets unable to breathe from the Sarin gas President Bashar al-Assad’s regime allegedly used. “Before I realized what was going on, I lost my ability to breathe, my chest was set on fire, my eyes were burning like hell and I wasn’t able to scream to alert my friends,” Zakarya said. “I started beating my chest over and over again until I managed to get my first breath.” Zakarya recalled an incident in which he drove injured children to a hospital with only eight doctors, three of whom had not yet graduated from medical school. “One of our neighbors started knocking on the door,” Zakarya said. “She had two of her kids, one the age of 4 and the other one the age of 6. Both of them were suffocating and they were vomiting some white liquid from the chemical exposure.” The Assad government then carried out a siege that affected many suburban areas including Moadamiya. Five days later, UN representatives went to Moadamiya. U.S. activist Kenan Rahmani, director of operations and development for the Syrian American Council, said the UN Security Council tried to provide food to civilians, which the Syrian government denied. GSAS senior Gabriella Pena, a former member of the International Relations Society, explained
Throughout the past few weeks there has been a phishing scam circling the university. Three types of emails with the same threat have been sent to students’ NYU email addresses. Students who either click on the links provided within the emails or respond to the emails with personal information are in danger of being scammed. If someone falls victim to the scam, their account will send out emails to other NYU affiliated addresses. Google then suspends the student’s NYU email address and account, and the student will lose access to NYU Wi-Fi, until the student proves he did not send the emails. Aidan Dahlin Nolan, a Tisch performance studies master’s student, said he received a couple of these emails from other NYU addresses in the last few weeks. However, Nolan said there were signs that the emails were illegitimate. “It was pretty easy to tell that
By CHRISTINE PARK
SYRIA continued on PG. 3
By MARITA VLACHOU
EDELAWIT HUSSIEN FOR WSN
The first annual Stern Art Gallery showcased talent of business students Business students displayed their artwork last night at the a gallery organized by three seniors.
PHISHING continued on PG. 3
STORY ON PAGE 4
‘Promise’ suffers from unsatisfactory screenplay By LAURA WOLFORD
The cinematic love story has a long history of being a hit or miss with audiences. Whether indieor studio-financed, these types of films will generally gather an audience due to the market for the genre. Although “A Promise,” directed by Patrice Leconte, gives audiences the love story they crave, the rest of the film falls flat due to writing and editing techniques that do not support the film in the ways they should. “A Promise” is the story of Friedrich Zeitz (Richard Madden), a young man who comes to work for Karl Hoffmeister (Alan Rickman) at his family-owned steel company. As Karl’s health declines, he begins to entrust his business to Zeitz, who has proved himself a worthy protégé.
COURTESY OF MARS FILMS
Alan Rickman shines above the rest in ‘A Promise.’ Friedrich makes regular trips to Karl’s home, where he meets his employer’s significantly younger wife, Lotte (Rebecca Hall). Friedrich and Lotte fall in love, but
must face several obstacles before they can be together. Although the narrative appears to be straightforward, the editing transitions between scenes are too abrupt, throwing the viewer from one plot development to another too quickly and never letting them register with the audience. “A Promise” only focuses its narrative on the tension between the two young lovers, a story that is transparent and plain. The plot is only used for building the relationship between Friedrich and Lotte when it could have been so much more — since the film is set right before World War I in Germany, the undertones of unrest and discord within the country should have been more apparent, especially in the life of a man who runs a steel business. Lotte is the strongest character
of the film. Since both men love her, the story takes a natural shape around the young woman, and Hall’s portrayal does her justice. The filmmakers accentuate Lotte’s ability to light up a room and many scenes reflect this vision, each emphasizing what she means to both Karl and Friedrich and even her son Otto (Toby Murray). Despite Lotte’s magnetism, the other characters are not allowed to flourish. With all the talent in the cast, one cannot blame the flatness on unsatisfactory performances — rather, the writing is at fault. The overall structure of the narrative keeps the personal dialogue from providing the audience with a surprising, captivating story. The script has some poignant lines, but this may be due to Alan
PROMISE continued on PG. 5