WSN042213

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 41, No. 42

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

nyunews.com

Bitcoin currency comes to local bar

Admitted students explore campus

By LESLEY GREENBERG

By MICHAEL DOMANICO and LYANNE NATIVIDAD

New York loves to be ahead of the curve and EVR, a bar in midtown Manhattan, is no different.

EVR now accepts payment in the form of Bitcoins, digital money that is not tied to any central bank.

The controversy over Bitcoins has received a lot of media attention from sources such as CNNMoney, Yahoo, and Wired in recent weeks due to its fluctuating value. In February, the value of one individual Bitcoin was $20, but rose to $250 in recent weeks, and then fell to $150 on April 11.

Bitcoins are mathematically generated by computers through algorithms in a process called “mining,” but the algorithms become more complex over time to ensure the value of the currency.

Bitcoin users acquire the digital currency by purchasing them from other users or by trading goods with Bitcoins owners. They can be stored in an electronic de-

COIN continued on PG. 3

CHUCK KUAN FOR WSN

Admitted students and their parents toured NYU for Weekend on the Square.

Moviora app suggests movies based on mood

By UTPALA MENON

While sitting down at 3 a.m. one Saturday, CAS junior Daniel Fein went on a coding spree. Just 18 hours later, he finalized the concept for Moviora, a website that suggests movies based on a viewer’s current mood.

Fein, a computer science major, launched Moviora on March 2. The site, which was completed in just one week, had over 300,000 unique users the first weekend it launched.

Creating a user-friendly space for moviegoers wasn’t the only thing on

“Go, Emory, go,” her dad cheered from behind the crowd at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. His daughter, incoming Tisch freshman Emory Parker, weaved through the sea of potential class of 2017 students to her school’s presentation.

The family was one of many that came to the city for NYU’s annual Weekend on the Square this past weekend. At one of the first events NYU hosts for admitted students, admissions ambassadors led groups of admitted students through campus to show what NYU could offer those students who confirmed their acceptance.

Sporting a class of 2017 T-shirt — which she had fashioned into a makeshift scarf — Mrs. Parker walked alongside her daughter and Mr. Parker, who was wearing

WEEKEND continued on PG. 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: REFLECTING ON BOSTON MARATHON TRAGEDY:

VIA FLICKR.COM

In the wake of the events that unfolded in Boston over the past week, contributing columnist Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs, a Boston native miles away from her home city, reflects on the significance and impact of the tragic event as a way of grieving and standing in solidarity with the people of Boston in a time of shock and mourning.

OPINION on PG. 7

FROM PARK TO FITNESS PLAYGROUND:

Make the most of springtime in Washington Square Park by turning it into a gym. Exercise every muscle in your body using park benches and even the Washington Square Arch as guides for push-ups and lunges.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES CONNECTS STUDENTS:

With Global Technology Services at NYU, students from Washington Square to Abu Dhabi can communicate during classes via video conferencing.

COURTESY OF DANIEL FEIN

MOVIORA continued on PG. 4

Moviora recommends movies depending on emotions.

FITNESS on PG. 5

TECH on PG. 3

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WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

ON THE SIDE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

By MARY JANE DUMANKAYA and FRANCISCO NAVAS “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: A TOWN, A TEAM, AND A DREAM” BY H.G. BISSINGER Considered one of the greatest sports books ever written, “Friday Night Lights” has inspired a television series and a box office hit. The non-fiction book follows the journey of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers to the state championships. Bissinger spent a year in Odessa, Texas with the coaches, the players and the people of the town so he could observe high school football culture and its importance in America, particularly in rural communities. The end result is critical of Odessa, a town with many misplaced priorities, as football and the state championship triumphed all else, including academics.

“OPEN” BY ANDRE AGASSI Andre Agassi, formerly the best tennis player in the world, released his autobiography in 2009 — three years into his retirement. The autobiography is a tell-all that reveals shocking details, including Agassi’s crystal methamphetamine use.

In this New York Times bestseller, we are given an anti-sports book by one of the greatest tennis players to ever grace the court. Agassi honestly details his hatred for the sport and the prison it represented for him, which all started with the pressure his father, Mike, imposed from the day he helped young Agassi pick up a racket.

“A CHAMPION’S MIND” BY PETE SAMPRAS Like Agassi, Pete Sampras dominated the No. 1 spot in the ATP, winning 14 grand slams in his 14-year professional career. Similar to Agassi’s “Open,” this autobiography recounts Sampras’ experiences with life and tennis. From his first attempts to switch to a one-handed backhand to his final professional match at the U.S. Open to his retirement, Sampras recounts the lessons he learned about life through tennis. This is a great read for any aspiring tennis player or Sampras fan.

“FEVER PITCH: A FAN’S LIFE” BY NICK HORNBY This autobiographical novel takes a look at life in a way that any team-obsessed fan can relate to. In many short essays, English author Nick Hornby examines and recounts moments in his life through his favorite English Premier League team from North London, Arsenal F.C. Hornby recounts his personal highs and lows, concentrating on specific matches between 1968 to 1992. Major soccer fans will be able to quickly relate to the realistic view Hornby offers in this great read.

SNAPSHOT

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IN AND OF

THE CITY

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It’s a big city and a widespread university. Catch up with our daily updates on university and city/state news headlines other publications are covering.

PHOTO BY RACHEL KAPLAN

WSN STAFF

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Editor-in-Chief JONATHON DORNBUSH Managing Editor

AMY ZHANG Web Managing Editor

HANQING CHEN Deputy Managing Editor

JORDAN MELENDREZ Assistant Managing Editor

NICOLA PRING Creative Director

KALEEL MUNROE SENIOR STAFF

university TATIANA BAEZ city/state VERONICA CARCHEDI investigative NICOLE BROWN arts JOSH JOHNSON features KRISTINA BOGOS sports MARY JANE DUMANKAYA multimedia RACHEL KAPLAN copy MICHAEL DOMANICO,

WICY WANG foreign correspondent JULIE DEVITO senior editors GENTRY BROWN, DAN

HINTON, CHARLES MAHONEY, CLIO MCCONNELL, STEFAN MELNYK, LAVYA YALAMANCHI

DEPUTY STAFF

university KEVIN BURNS, NEELA QADIR city/state EMILY BELL,

VIA FLICKR.COM

UNCLAIMED CARS TO BE AUCTIONED Of the vehicles unclaimed in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, 535 will be auctioned off by the city and auction house David R. Maltz in New York in May. Many of the vehicles were flooded or badly damaged after the storm last fall. Buyers need a 25 percent deposit in cash or a bank check. Proceeds will go to the city with 10 percent premium to the auction house.

— ABC JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EVACUATED On Sunday afternoon, baggage screeners at JFK believed they found a suspicious package and caused Concourse B in Terminal Four to be evacuated. The package was later discovered to be a tube of toothpaste.

— Newsday

ANDREW KARPAN books/theater OLIVIA GEORGE film JEREMY GROSSMAN entertainment ALEX GREENBERGER music ALEXANDRIA ETHRIDGE the highlighter blog SAM RULLO features HELEN HOLMES, JONATHAN KESHISHOGLOU beauty & style MICHELLE LIM dining ANGEL CHANG sports FRANCISCO NAVAS multimedia REBECCA CLEMENTI, JOON LEE

OPINION PAGE opinion editor

SAMEER JAYWANT deputy opinion editors

EDWARD RADZIVILOVSKIY, RAQUEL WOODRUFF

ADVERTISING BUSINESS MANAGER

REBECCA RIBEIRO CIRCULATION MANAGER

CHLOE COFFMAN

UNIVERSITY SALES COORDINATOR

KAITLYN O’BRIEN

THOUSANDS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST NEW YORK CITY RUN AFTER BOMBINGS Thousands of runners participated in the New York Road Runners’ first organized run since the Boston Marathon bombings. Participants were asked not to bring backpacks to the race, and every garbage can in the vicinity of the 4-mile course was removed. However, a bomb scare occurred when police discovered a bike rider carrying an unidentified package on the route. The New York Police Department investigated the package and came to the conclusion that it was harmless.

— DNAinfo NYUAD STUDENTS PERFORM THE PLAY ‘THE ODYSSEY’ Students at NYU Abu Dhabi performed an original adaptation of the epic poem by Homer to packed audiences over the weekend at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The play featured 14 student actors and 16 student musicians, and included elements of Japanese anime, Indian Kathakali, Japanese kabuki, butoh, Chinese object puppets, Greek bard tradition and percussion, as well as an original music score to bring the story to life.

— Gulf News

Members of Panda Diplomacy gathered in Union Square on Sunday to celebrate Earth Day.

COMPILED BY THE

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCES REPLYALLCALYPSE Fordham students experienced a similar episode of Replyallcalypse as NYU when a student sent an email to the all_students@ fordham.edu account, resulting in 120 emails being sent to the student body. Approximately 7,000 students have been affected.

— Gothamist

GOT AN EVENT? EMAIL US AT AGENDA@NYUNEWS.COM OR TWEET US @NYUNEWS. GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? EMAIL US AT TIPS@NYUNEWS.COM.

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ELLEN MCQUEEN SALES ASSOCIATES

ARIANA DIVALENTINO, ALISON LIZZIO, SAM WANDER CIRCULATION ASSISTANT

BENJAMIN SWINEHART

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

KALEEL MUNROE

ADVISING DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

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KEITH LEIGHTY EDITORS-AT-LARGE

MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN, JAEWON KANG, FRANCIS POON, MERYLL PREPOSI, AMANDA RANDONE, EMILY YANG 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.

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 Amy Zhang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

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NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

WEEKEND continued from PG. 1

Prospective students and families spend weekend discovering Washington Square

what his children have designated the “suit that he only wears to NYU.” Two hours earlier, Lauren Fleming, another admitted student, and her family had just arrived from Burlington, N.J., in time for refreshments and the Steinhardt welcome at the Kimmel Center for University Life.

Though each college held its own welcome this weekend, the ninth floor of Kimmel served as the first official stop for many of the families that arrived. Nervous groups huddled to discuss navigating NYU’s urban campus, and parents forced their children to introduce themselves to others.

The Flemings were among them, and Mrs. Fleming casually sipped her coffee as Mr. Fleming proudly slapped on his admissions guest sticker and greeted the admissions ambassadors. As the group set off, Lauren tried to distract herself from her nerves by flipping through the program. Lauren’s 13-year-old brother, a basketball fanatic, stopped and asked his sister to take a picture of him with the NYU Bobcat.

Though the university assured the students they would acclimate to the city, parents still expressed concern.

“I was afraid that after she left NYU, she’d be left to her own devices,” Mrs. Parker said. “But the presentation assured me that opportunities will come if you work hard. And she works hard.”

And some, like Emory, make the transition to city life smoothly. Strolling along Broadway with Delaney’s arm draped across her shoulder, Emory said NYU was fitting.

“It’s really cool to be going somewhere,” Emory said. “Not only somewhere, but the best place for me in the world.”

Meanwhile, it was time for questions at Lauren’s program meeting for communicative sciences and disorders. Her father nudged her to ask a question.

“I thought you’d ask a couple of questions,” he said. “I always have a list of them.”

Shaking her head, she turned her eyes back toward her sample course syllabus.

Later, as Lauren walked ahead on the way to Third Avenue North residence hall, her dad looked at his daughter.

“I never got the chance to live in New York City,” he said. “Now, Lauren will have that opportunity.”

In the Tisch building, Emory’s parents waited as their daughter familiarized herself with her future collaborators.

“It’s so satisfying to be here, knowing these are the teachers I’m going to have, these are the kids I’m going to be working with, this is my experience,” Emory said. “I think I’m ready to go to a place where I can be immersed.”

Michael Domanico is a copy chief. Lyanne Natividad is a contributing writer. Email them at university@nyunews.com.

COIN continued from PG. 1

Bitcoins present alternative digital currency for businesses, consumers

vice such as a cellphone or computer, can be instantly transferred, are anonymous and do not go through any third-party financial institutions.

For EVR founder Ian Magid, accepting Bitcoins was “a no-brainer.”

“There is a lower processing rate than credit cards, roughly one percent processing rate versus 2.5 to 3.5 percent for credit cards,” explained Ian Magid, operating owner of EVR and a Stern alumnus. “In terms of cash flow, Bitcoins make EVR run more efficiently, with money being deposited in our account the next day instead of taking two to five days with normal credit card processing.”

EVR has only been accepting Bitcoins for a short while, but about 20 customers have already used it as a payment method through a special app. CNNMoney reported that, according to co-founder and CEO of BitPay Anthony Gallippy, over 100 global retailers are using the app.

Magid said businesses will start accepting Bitcoins because they are easy to use and allow business to run more effectively at a lower processing cost.

However, Stern professor of finance Matteo Maggiori pointed out that two evident advantages of Bitcoins may turn out to do more harm than good.

“Two often cited advantages [of Bitcoins] are the absence of a central bank and the control of the supply via computer mining,” he said. “Think of the problems with pure commodity money, like a strict gold standard — we abandoned it and progressively switched to fiat money precisely because of the inability to control the money supply,” he said.

NYU Global Technology Services link overseas classes

By JULIE DEVITO

Students in Mary Killilea’s class Where the City Meets the Sea settled into their seats as they watched students in Abu Dhabi and London also sit down at their desks on large, high definition screens. In a routine Wednesday morning session of Killilea’s course on coastal areas, she greeted professors John Burt in Abu Dhabi and Andy Brown in London, and the lecture began.

This semester is the first time that students at three different campuses could take part in a joint class. The environmental studies course in CAS initially launched in spring 2012, joining students in New York and Abu Dhabi. The course added a location in London this semester and announced the addition of Shanghai as the fourth city for spring 2014.

“I’ve always heard that NYU is a global network university, but I finally understand the extent to which it actually is,” CAS sophomore Evan Powell said. “For our final group presentations, in which our groups are made up of students from each campus, we asked Mary if we could be in the same group, and she was thrilled to hear that we’ve connected across campuses.”

Peter Schilling, associate vice president for global technology services, was asked to help prototype ways to teach undergraduate science courses at global study away sites.

Schilling, Killilea and Burt collected publicly available environmental, census and other data and organized it into a software system that students would be able to use to input their own data out on the field.

VIA YELP.COM

Maggiori conceded that Bitcoins have a useful potential as an international payment system. However, it does not appear that students will be jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon anytime soon.

“I like not having to worry about cash or credit cards, but I don’t like that the value changes,” said Caroline Kaplan, a Tisch sophomore. “Plus, it seems really difficult to get Bitcoins.”

Furthermore, value could be a problem for Bitcoin in the future, Maggiori said.

“Electronic currency seems to be a pure coordination phenomenon.” Maggiori said. “These types of assets are very volatile and subject to shifts in people’s expectations about their reliability. Governments go to great pains to make their money a credible store of value — it is unclear that the same holds for bit-currency.”

Lesley Greenberg is a staff writer.

Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

The tablet devices automatically record the location with a GPS device and place a timestamp in Greenwich Mean Time. It also asks students to input meta-data, such as water temperature to help ensure data accuracy.

CAS sophomore Cindy Pi said studying globally enhances the students’ understanding of coastal cities.

“We recently had a lab where all three campuses measured formaldehyde levels and indoor air quality of their campuses’ buildings,” Pi said. “We got to compare air qualities across the world and were not just confined to studying New York.”

Despite the reliance on technology, Pi said they rarely experience problems with communication across sites.

The technology highlights the intersection of instruction and research.

“In the past students were more the receivers of instruction, and what we’re trying to do is make folks realize that combining the two can be powerful,” Schilling said.

Google has recently taken an interest in the initiative and is offering tools and on-call assistance to GTS. Other departments within NYU are now requesting to participate in the data collection as well.

“We’re building a living archive,” Burt said. “If you look at a place like Abu Dhabi or Shanghai, the sheer scale and speed of development is phenomenal ... The course is global in nature. We’re looking at issues that affect cities anywhere on earth.”

Julie DeVito is foreign correspondent editor. Email her at jdevito@nyunews.com.

Admissions offices consider more than racial diversity

By FAY LIN

Midtown bar EVR began using Bitcoins to create an efficient business model.

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The legality of affirmative action is being questioned once again as another affirmative action case heads to the Supreme Court.

Inside Higher Ed reported last month that the Supreme Court had taken on a case regarding affirmative action. The justices discussed whether Michigan residents had the right to remove race from the admissions process in the state’s public colleges and universities.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that the measure passed by the voters, known as Proposition 2, was unconstitutional.

For NYU, assistant vice president of admissions Shawn Abbott said that while diversity is indeed crucial to the university’s pursuit of excellence, race and ethnicity are not the only factors considered.

“At NYU, we define diversity not just by race and ethnicity, but also by geographic origin, citizenship status, gender in various disciplines, religious beliefs, political viewpoints, cultural and family context, socioeconomic status, worldview and special talents,” Abbott said.

Abbott stated that the most important factors in making admissions decisions are still the academic record, special talents, letters of recommendation and personal essays.

“If a student does not indicate his or her race on the Common Application, it is simply information that we do not have and cannot consider,” Abbott said.

According to the 2012-2013 fact sheet, 11.9 percent of the current undergraduates at NYU did not include their race or ethnicity on their application. The most common race of current undergraduates is white,

with 40.4 percent. The second highest percentage is Asian, with 18.9 percent.

NYU higher education professor Ann Marcus said NYU strives for diversity, but does not have any type of quota.

“On the other hand, [NYU] might make special efforts to recruit in regions or particular schools with significant minority populations,” Marcus said.

NYU higher education professor Robert Teranishi said the strive for diversity is beneficial to students in a global network university. “[Diversity] is correlated with positive learning and civic outcomes, improved inter-group attitudes and higher levels of satisfaction during college,” Teranishi said.

Marcus added that the historical diversity at NYU makes the university more appealing to a variety of students.

“Minority students don’t want to be in a place without other students from their group, and white students don’t want to be on an all-white campus,” Marcus said.

Marcus said NYU’s diversity compares favorably to the diversity at other highly selective private universities and has more diversity than non-urban public or private institutions.

LSP freshman Andrew Cho said NYU’s diversity makes the college experience rewarding.

“It is great to be a part of a diverse campus as we have the opportunity to learn from people from different countries, their cultures and their lives,” Cho said. “I have never seen such diversity in my life, especially coming from Los Angeles.”

Fay Lin is a staff writer. Email her at investigative@nyunews.com.

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WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

FEATURES MOVIORA continued from PG. 1

CAS junior develops mood-based movie app

his agenda. On Friday, April 19, Fein released an app version of Moviora.

“I didn’t want [users] to use the site and forget about it later,” Fein said. “If you have this app, suddenly you’re thinking about it all the time as opposed to having just a site.”

The website, which is driven by a model based on a simple concept, asks the users yes or no questions as to whether they would prefer a drama, a romance, a comedy, etc. Once all of the questions have been answered, the site recommends one primary movie along with several alternatives.

Unlike mainstream movie sites that look at viewing history, Moviora suggests films based on the viewer’s present mood. Other features include trailers, summaries and ratings by Rotten Tomatoes and links to movies on Netflix and iTunes.

“It is like playing 20 questions with your computer, literally guessing your character,” said CAS junior Nick Williams, who uses Moviora.

Even though Fein learned the language to code while interning at MTV in the summer of 2012, Moviora is not his first coding experience. Previously, he launched website OMGwire, an online symposium that discusses ongoing news in popular culture.

The website had roughly 200,000 unique visitors per month. But after eight months, he decided to end the project.

“My first project turned out well, but I cut it off too early,” Fein said.

“I wanted to create something new, something that is different.”

Deena Engel, associate director of undergraduate studies for the computer science minors programs, worked on an independent study with Fein.

“It is a joy to watch our students learn and grow.” Engel said. “Daniel is enthusiastic about his work, personable and open to learning new things.”

CAS junior Colm Dillane and Fein frequently discuss new prospective ventures while simultaneously critiquing his ideas. Dillane attributes Moviora’s success to Fein’s creative and curious entrepreneurial skills.

“He’s the type of kid that you want around you. If he isn’t inspiring you through his own personal drive, he is pushing you with whatever you are working on,” Dillane said. “Last week he wanted to manage musicians, this week he wanted to make a site similar to Kickstarter, all while working on Moviora. That’s Danny.”

Utpala Menon is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

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Outdoor study spots for academic in

By BRYNA SHUMAN With winter finally over and the warm spring weather upon us, it is too nice outside to spend time huddled in the lower levels of Bobst Library. Instead, try studying at one of the top five outdoor study spots in the city.

CENTRAL PARK | 4 E. 60TH ST. Despite being one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City, Central Park is large enough that it’s not hard to find a quiet spot to study. Settle on a bench at Conservatory Water on East 72nd Street to read while watching children sail toy boats across the water.

Sheep Meadow, at West 67th Street, is optimal for spreading out a blanket and basking in the sun while writing an essay.

THE HIGHLINE | 210 10TH AVE. This elevated public park that runs over the west side of Manhattan offers numerous spots to sit and study among the trees, bushes and flowers that are beginning to bloom. Recline on one of the Adirondack chair-like benches that are scattered along the walkway, or steal a seat at the Urban Theater at 10th Avenue and 17th Street, where a giant window overlooking the avenue provides interesting distractions during study breaks.

MUDSPOT CAFÉ | 307 EAST NINTH ST. The Mudspot Café, known to regulars simply as Mud, is the stationary, East Village

version of the legendary Mudtruck, a food truck that serves a variety of delicious coffee blends. The Mud Café not only offers strong coffee, but a wide range of breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and desserts. An outdoor patio in the back doubles as a tiny, quiet haven from the city with brick paneling and plenty of natural light. Linger on the patio with a hot cup of coffee as you study for final exams.

THE CLOISTERS | 99 MARGARET CORBIN DRIVE Located in Washington Heights, the Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that features art and architecture from the medieval European period. The collection is housed in a building designed to look like a medieval European abbey with covered archways, stone walkways and cloistered gardens.

Grab a table at the Trie Café on the lower level to study under the arches while overlooking a garden of medieval plant species.

THE TABLES AT BRYANT PARK | FIFTH AVENUE AND 40TH STREET With the snow finally gone, the main lawn at Bryant Park has said farewell to the ice rink and has once again been converted into an expansive lawn with garden tables and chairs. Grab a seat in the heart of the lawn and enjoy the sun as you study. If you’re stuck on your research paper, the New York Public Library is right next door.

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Bryna Shuman is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Students support nomadic culture with Mongolian

By LAYLA ILCHI

When SCPS senior Matthew Scanlan became aware of the poor living conditions of nomadic herders in Mongolia after his former roommate Diederik Rijsemus made a trip there, the duo decided to find a way to improve lives.

In 2010, Scanlan and Rijsemus, who is a master’s candidate in the Netherlands, launched Naadam Cashmere, a socially conscious clothing line, to assist the herders who struggle with poor conditions. The brand sells sweaters made from 100 percent Mongolian cashmere harvested by the nomadic herders.

On April 5, Scanlan launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise awareness of the herders and their struggles while building their brand. As of April 20, the duo has raised over $36,000. When individuals contribute to the campaign, which ends on May 15, they receive rewards ranging from Naadam Cashmere socks to a trip to Mongolia with Scanlan and Rijsemus.

“We wanted to help these herders to protect their culture and livelihood,” Rijsemus said. “Along the way we found an avenue for doing this through the cashmere business.”

The name Naadam comes from the Naadam Festival, Mongolia’s biggest annual festival which unites both city dwellers and nomads to celebrate their rich ancestry.

Scanlan and Rijsemus collect fibers from the herders and then manufacture the sweaters in Mongolia. Once the sweaters are sold, the pair takes 10 percent of the profits and invests in the Index-Based Livestock Insurance Program, an initiative created by the World Bank, to protect the herders who sourced the garments.

“We realized we could contribute to the program and pay premiums for individual families of the herders,” Scanlan said. “The cost is relatively low for us but quite substantial for a family of nomads.”

Naadam Cashmere is currently sold at small boutiques in New York City and Washington, D.C. Scanlan and Rijsemus collaborate with designers to create exclusive items that can only be found in stores.

“We do 70 percent of sales online and 30 percent via brick and mortar,” Scanlan said. “The idea is to build an e-commerce business where we can lower prices and respond quicker to customers’ needs.”

As the duo and their brand continue to gain exposure through the Kickstarter campaign, Scanlan’s main goal is to raise as much support and help as possible.

“We need to get the word out,” Scanlan said. “If we want things to change, we have to be the ones to do it.”

Layla Ilchi is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Scanlan and Rijesmus use cashmere sales to impro

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

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EDITED BY KRISTINA BOGOS FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

nspiration

FITNESS FINDS

App brings sound mixing capabilities to aspiring DJs

By BHARGAVI GANESH

By ALENA HALL With daily New York temperatures now hovering near 60 degrees and park landscapes blossoming with green grass, spring fever has finally set in. Washington Square Park offers 10 acres of space to engage in a fun fitness routine that challenges the body, provides unlimited breaths of fresh air and forges a stronger bond between the body and the urban outdoors.

Venture to the park this week and try these five bodyweight strength-training moves. Begin with a slight jog to warm up the body, and complete each exercise three times with a minute or two of rest between each set. Wrap up with a few minutes of solid stretching.

PHOTOS: VIA FLICKR.COM | VIA FACEBOOK.COM

n cashmere line

COURTESY OF NAADAM CASHMERE

ove the lives of Mongolian herders.

PARK BORDER BOX JUMP Works: Quadriceps, hamstrings and calves Find an open length of cement bench along the edge of the park. Stand in front of the raised ledge with feet hip-width apart. Powering through your legs, jump with feet together onto the raised ledge, sinking into a standard squat as you land smoothly.

Return to a standing position on the ledge, and step back down onto the sidewalk.

Repeat 10 to 20 times.

FOUNTAIN STEPS STATIONARY LUNGE WITH A TWIST Works: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and obliques Place your right foot two steps higher than your left foot on a section of open steps at the central fountain. Drop your left knee toward the ground as you lower into a lunge position. As you lunge, rotate your shoulders to the right as far as you can with your hands on your hips.

Return to the starting position.

Repeat 10 to 15 times, and then switch legs to complete the exercise on the other side.

SHADED CHATURANGA Works: Chest, arms, abdominals and lower back Spread a towel beneath your favorite tree in the park. Begin in a plank position. Lower slowly into a push-up, and hover over the ground with elbows aligned with your torso. Roll over your toes, press through your hands and lift your chest and chin toward the tree canopy. Return to the starting plank position.

Repeat 10 to 15 times.

Alena Hall is a contributing columnist. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

PARK BENCH BALANCE CRUNCH Works: Abdominals, lower back and quadriceps Sit on the edge of an open park bench with hands by your sides. To balance the body with your feet off the ground, tuck your knees toward your chest to engage the abdominals. Extend your legs out straight in front of you to maintain your balance. Contract your abdominals to bring your legs back toward your chest.

Repeat 10 to 20 times.

BURPEE BENEATH THE ARCH Works: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, chest, shoulders, triceps and abdominals Claim a space the size of a yoga mat beneath the Washington Square Arch. From a standing position, bring your hands down in front of your feet and raise your legs into a plank position. Complete one push-up, then jump your feet together back toward your hands. Return to a standing position and jump as high as you can toward the top of the arch.

Repeat 10 to 15 times.

“If you can move, you can mix” is the tagline for Crossfader, a free disc jockey iPhone app that allows users to mix songs and to add sound effects simply by moving their bodies and tilting their phones.

Crossfader was launched on April 10 by web company DJZ, which showcases electronic dance music and engages aspiring DJs on a collaborative platform. The startup team began discussing the idea for the app last year. Their goal was to give all users, irrespective of their prior experience, the opportunity to be a DJ. “We were given this challenge: Allow anyone to perform great sounding DJ sets, mashups and remixes, even with zero previous DJ experience,” said CAS sophomore Kiren Srinivasan, the music curator and marketing spokesperson for the app.

Srinivisan works on the Crossfader team with CEO and Columbia graduate Seth Goldstein, product manager Andy Chimicles, head developer and Stanford University graduate Ilias Karim, head of audio and music composer Jake Lamante and graphics and animation designer Jonas Goldstein.

The name Crossfader was derived from the tools used to create the app. A crossfader is the part of a mixing board that DJs use to smoothly switch between two songs playing at once. True to its name, the app allows users to add effects to two songs at the same time. Crossfader also provides users with a library of tracks to choose from when creating their mixes, and it allows them to share their music creations using SoundCloud, an audio distribution app.

Crossfader initially only consisted of interactive tutorials, but

the app has since grown to include other features. “[It is] the result of exploration in immediacy and magic,” Srinivasan said of the final product.

The more the team delved into the production process, Lamante said, the more they realized many people wanted to be DJs. “Toward the end of development, we made this major conceptual Uturn and decided to focus [on] user experience,” Lamante said. “We stripped away most of the other interface elements, until all we had was this giant crossfader.”

Gallatin sophomore Forrest Durell said he downloaded the app because of its user-friendly nature.

“It’s disarmingly simple,” Durell said. “There’s only a limited number of movements ... tilt back and forth, shake, change sample, change sample volume. But the combinations of all these things makes the app interesting, fun and easy to use.”

Since its release, the interactive DJ app has garnered the attention of many music professionals including music artist Snoop Dogg, who tweeted “This Crossfader App goes hard” and linked to the iTunes home page where the app has been featured.

The team said they hope the app will expand and become an alternative to established DJ music systems.

Srinivasan also discussed the possibility of the app serving as a music preview device for DJ and electronic music fans to find new music.

“Ultimately, we see Crossfader becoming a whole new way for people to consume, discover, perform and interact with music,” Srinivasan said.

Bhargavi Ganesh is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

CHUCK KUAN FOR WSN

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Crossword Across

38 Basic physical

1 Book after Jonah 6 Droops 10 Floating arctic mass 14 Spitting ___ 15 Opposites of departures: Abbr.

16 Lens holders 17 Native Floridians 20 Leave in, to a proofreader 21 Sir’s counterpart 22 Creepy 23 “Uh, excuse me” 25 Open ___ of worms 27 Denizen of the least populous New York City borough 33 Tendon 34 Relatives of egos 35 Fleecing 37 ___-la-la

measures … or a hint to 17-, 27-, 48- and 63-Across 42 “Cat ___ Hot Tin Roof” 43 18-wheeler 45 An A student has a high one, for short 46 The Great Lion in “The Chronicles of Narnia” 48 Clark Kent vis-à-vis Superman 52 Shade akin to beige 53 “Casablanca” heroine 54 Take unrightfully 57 Latvia’s capital 59 Winnebago driver, informally 63 Stickler’s grammatical no-no 66 Sean of “Milk”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE S W A M I

T E L O S

D M A J

U C L A

W H A T

H A T H

E L M S T C R A Z Y I D E A

P L A T O

S A M E

I W A S H J A T E D A E N P A Z P A K S N I E I N A T N E

T A T T E R A G A R E C D

U P R E E R F R U L B E B E E R L Y U M X P L E V D

T I G R E T R E S T B H A O R M E N L E A R B O

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67 Southpaw’s

side

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2

3

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68 Board game

14

69 Love letter

17

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70 Häagen-Dazs

20

21

insert abbr.

competitor 71 Laid out, as cash

Down 1 Start of a pageant winner’s title 2 “How ___ Your Mother” 3 Showed up 4 Rile up 5 Rooster’s partner 6 Deli meat 7 Zone 8 Ruling house of Monaco 9 Taxpayer’s ID 10 Sitcom with the theme song “I’ll Be There for You” 11 Word repeated before “pants on fire” 12 Prefix with present 13 To be, to Brutus 18 Portent 19 Academic overseer 24 Chops 26 Players in a play 27 Booming jets of old, in brief 28 Michelins or Goodyears 29 “What’s in ___?”

30 The Bible’s Mount ___

9

10

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25

34

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44 48

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52 55

31

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No. 0318

36 42

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puzzle by daniel landman

31 Troublesome

food bacteria 32 Charged 36 Word repeated before “moons ago” 39 Disney chief Bob 40 Like a snob’s nose 41 Without: Fr.

44 Place to see a

Zamboni 47 Fledgling business 49 Proof of purchase: Abbr.

50 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

51 Pizazz 54 Org. with stamps 55 Emit, as lava

56 Arm bone 58 Not definite 60 Revolting 61 Like 2, 4, 6, 8,

etc.

62 Lie down for a

while

64 ___ de France 65 Agcy. that gets

a flood of mail in April

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OPINION

EDITED BY SAMEER JAYWANT OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

BOSTON MARATHON

After tragedy in Boston, we stand together

By JESSICA KASMER-JACOBS

In a way, Boston has been through this before.

The two airplanes that hit both World Trade Center towers took off from Boston’s Logan Airport. The hijackers stayed in Boston hotels, squatting until their time came. In the 12 1/2 years since those attacks, my hometown of Boston has been otherwise untouched by such drastic violence. But the whispers have yet to cease.

After last week’s attacks, the whispers have turned into screams.

In the aftermath of the attacks, it became clear that this was going to be unlike anything Boston had ever seen before. During the manhunt for Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the entire city retreated indoors, locked down and waited as Dzhokhar evaded capture until late Friday evening. As the story continues to unfold, the country is hungry to find out why they did this.

There are quite a few of us who have left Boston for various reasons. We couldn’t run over to Massachusetts General Hospital to donate blood. We couldn’t be there to support our families during lockdown hours. We couldn’t commiserate with our community

and we feel estranged. I write to paint a picture of what the Boston Marathon should have been, and, if I can, connect with my city while it mourns.

Last Monday was Patriots’ Day, a holiday observed to commemorate the Battles of Lexington and Concord, battles which set the stage for the American Revolution. On Patriots’ Day, Boston feels more like a village than a sprawling metropolis. Children are off from school, offices close, families gather downtown to watch the proud participants cross the finish line, doling out high fives and overflowing cups of water. Beach chairs and lemonade stands line Commonwealth Avenue, from Heartbreak Hill into the heart of the city.

Cafes and restaurants fling their windows open to welcome guests, college

students cluster around checkpoints to cheer the runners on, Boylston Street quakes under the weight of happy spectators sharing a beer and a laugh.

The Boston Marathon is a yearly ritual practiced with almost bacchic revelry. Last week’s astonishing violence unhinged my city, and we in New York watched in horror as one of our proudest traditions dissolved into carnage and disarray. I never felt more like an ex-pat than I did on this year’s Patriot’s Day — I was stranded, and unable to experience the weight of the attack and its harrowing aftermath with the people of Boston.

Boston is historically territorial. We have our own ways of doing things, from baseball to beer and all those rickety T-stops in between. Our instinctive reaction to the marathon bombing will no doubt be staunch solidarity with our small city. As the Internet erupts with memes of the Green Monster and Neil Diamond plays on a constant loop on our radio stations, we will stand proudly in the face of violence. We ask that in the days to come, the nation follows suit and stands by us.

Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs is a contributing columnist.

Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.

GUN CONTROL

Background checks will reduce gun violence

By NIKOLAS REDA-CASTELAO

Last Wednesday, the Senate voted on nine proposed changes to federal gun legislation, including the banning of assault weapons, the increase of funding to mental health institutes and, most importantly, the enforcement of background checks. The amendment concerning background checks was proposed by Sens. Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, to hold gun shows and online vendors accountable for background checks of their customers before selling weapons. Although most of the proposed measures are designed to ensure the safety of American citizens, one could argue that an effective handling of the background check will actually curb the death rate the most.

But not in the way we think.

The reason I discredit the banning of assault weapons is because it actually won’t do much to change the actual number of homicides, which constitutes less than 2 percent — only a couple hundred — of gun-related deaths. The larger justification at play is the fear of the indiscriminate mass killer bearing assault weapons to prey on his or her victims, but these episodes are rare and difficult

SUBMITTING TO

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to predict. In regards to those individuals, one cannot clearly label all such killers as psychologically deranged. Take the example of Charles Whitman, who shot 45 people from the University of Texas’ clock tower in 1966. This incident did not indicate a man snapping under psychological strain. Rather, Whitman spent his life leading the model example of normalcy until he developed a tumor in his amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for processing emotional stimuli.

Even the worst school shooting predates us by over 80 years, when a farmer in Michigan blew up a school, killing 45 people. Banning assault weapons will not deter mental instability. I do not mean to discourage the banning of assault weapons, as they are clearly dangerous and superfluous.

Instead, I feel the background check

should have utmost prevalence in the vote due not to fear of homicides or massacres, but instead of the greater life toll it would prevent. According to statistics from 2010, over 11,000 homicides were gun-related. However, nearly 20,000 suicides were carried out using guns in that same year. There were around 38,000 suicides that year, so more than half were facilitated by the unfiltered distribution of weapons. Almost two-thirds of all gunrelated deaths are by suicide and half of all suicide is gun-related, and this has more or less been true in America for nearly a century.

When the rhetoric of gun control opens into the vitriolic demagoguery of both sides, seldom is this silent majority acknowledged as recipients who could benefit from improved background check systems. The common precedent to suicide is any form of mood disorder or depression, either clinical or manic.

I am unaware of whether background checks for guns take into consideration such cognitive disorders, but they ought to, as it would prevent thousands of Americans from easily taking their lives in their darkest hours.

Nikolas Reda-Castelao is a staff columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Gun control necessary in wake of tragedies

Amid the terror and tragedy that unfolded last week was a travesty committed by our nation’s elected representatives that went relatively unnoticed. The gun reform bill, long awaited by many Americans, was brought to the congressional floor. Yet, in a series of failed amendments to the legislation — including reinstating the federal assault weapons ban — that tangibly illustrated the forceful influence of money on our political system, Congress failed to pass the sensible, bipartisan gun-control policy to protect Americans.

Preventable tragedies like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School must be used to bring this debate to our collective attention, in the hope that meaningful reform will be passed one day. This bill was the result of a movement that started after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and had the public’s support. But attention waned and the bill was quietly defeated after pro-gun groups poured money into efforts to kill it.

Just look at the four Democrats who voted against background checks. They come from North Dakota, Arkansas, Alaska and Montana — decidedly conservative states. And these Democrats, along with the congressional Republicans who voted against the bill, are up for re-election in 2014. These senators have constituents and a gun lobby to appease, which far outweighs the more than 80 percent of Americans who support expanding reasonable background checks for gun shows and Internet sales.

President Barack Obama reacted to the defeat by declaring the debate unfinished. “I see this as just round one,” he said. When the issue will return to the table is difficult to predict. What seems obvious is that no public shooting, regardless of how horrifying it is, will induce a change of mentality among gun fanatics.

Should the public opinion on the gun issue be remembered in the next midterm elections, perhaps there will be a good opportunity for round two.

Finally, national catastrophes like the recent Boston marathon bombings can do more than bring Americans together — they should act as catalysts for change.

Public outrage should be used as a tool for Congress to make progress, but our representatives have failed to take advantage of this. Now, with the sense of immediate urgency gone for the moment and the political conversation turning toward immigration, an overhaul in gun control policy seems to be slipping away once again.

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

EDITORIAL BOARD: Sameer Jaywant (Chair), Raquel Woodruff (Co–Chair), Edward Radzivilovskiy (Co–Chair), Nickhil Sethi, Matt Luo, Nina Golshan, Ian Mark, Jess Littman, Marcelo Cicconet

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