NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 43, No. 43
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
nyunews.com ENVIRONMENT
NYU celebrates Earth Day all month By CHRISTINE WANG Staff Writer
STAFF PHOTO BY SHAWN PAIK
Jared Sexton speaks during an A/P/A discussion on mixed race in Washington Mews on Monday. Sexton is a professor on Director of African African Studies at the University of California Irvine.
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STORY ON PAGE 3 ENTERTAINMENT
All-female improv passes Bechdel Test By TALIA MILAVETZ Staff Writer
NYU is home to many comedy troupes — including decadesold teams like Dangerbox and Hammerkatz — but the newest team, Bechdel Test, is unique in that it is the first and only team made up entirely of women. The president and founder of the group, Tisch senior Meghan Sullivan transferred to NYU after she was a part of an all-female comedy group at Muhlenberg College. When she started at NYU, Sullivan was shocked to find out that the university did not have an all-female troupe, so she decided to start her own.
Earth Day may be only April 22, but throughout April NYU is celebrating the 46th anniversary of the holiday with eco-friendly events including clothing swaps, presentations by guest speakers and environment-themed plays. The program will conclude on April 30 with the meeting of the Sustainability Task Force, a body of activists interested in improving environmental sustainability and increasing awareness, to discuss green projects on campus. The organizers of the events hope to generate awareness of environmental issues, educate the student body and provide hands on opportunities for students to get involved with environmental initiatives. EarthMatters@NYU helped organize many of the events
Sullivan said she enjoys being a part of an all-female group, and is proud to take steps toward increasing the prevalence of women in comedy. While Sullivan recognizes women’s comedic power, she also is well-aware of the challenges that women still face in the industry. “Women are hilarious and comedy groups are fun to be a part of,” Sullivan said. “I guess I am tired of waiting for female humor to become mainstream. I created this group because women are funny and they bring a unique voice to the comedy world.”
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DINING
Terrific tea to thrill the tastebuds By KENDALL LEVISON Staff Writer
Although films and TV shows typically portray college students chugging huge mugs of coffee to fuel their allnighters, these days many are reaching for a different source of caffeine — tea. If you don’t know much about the beverage, there are a few things to consider when picking out which kind of tea you want to drink. Though there are thousands of varieties of tea, they all come from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. This is where things start to get murky, however, because blends of herbs like peppermint and chamomile are labeled as tea when they are really ti-
sanes. True tea can be divided up into four categories: black, green, oolong and white. All of these teas begin as leaves on a Camellia sinensis bush, but are treated differently after being picked. To make black tea, the leaves are first left in the sun to wither. They are then rolled to remove the remaining moisture. The next step is oxidation, where the cells in the leaves react with the oxygen in the air. Then the leaves turn from green to brown, which results in tea with a strong, although sometimes slightly bitter taste. Green tea is produced in almost the same way, except there is an extra step between the withering and rolling. The leaves are steamed or pan fried,
and the blast of heat stops the oxidation process, which gives the tea a grassy, earthy flavor. Oolong tea is somewhere in the middle, since it is only partially oxidized. White tea can only be picked a few days a year when the plant’s buds are still closed, and it then undergoes the same process as green tea. White tea has a much lighter flavor, and has less caffeine than green or black tea. Tea is renowned for its health benefits, particularly its high concentration of antioxidants. If health is a main concern when choosing your variety of tea, consider trying matcha, a form of green tea popular in Japan. Matcha is thought to
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