NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 42, No. 47
nyunews.com
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014
Professor’s study finds microbes on dollars By CAREN DOUEIRY
Campaign fosters discussion about NSA
A professor’s recent research project gives new meaning to the phrase dirty money. Biology professor Jane Carlton’s project, known as the Dirty Money Project, revealed the presence of about 3,000 microbes on dollar bills. The Dirty Money Project, funded by an NYU Grand Challenge grant, is part of a larger study called Mapping the NYC Metagenome. The aim of the project is to characterize all New York City microbes by relying on novel DNA sequencing techniques and methods of analysis. “We started the study by undertaking a pilot project looking at the microbes on $1 bills circulating in New York City so that we could develop the protocols and algorithms for analyzing the data,” Carlton said. Researchers hypothesised that skin microbes would be found on the bills due to the contact between people and money. In addition, traces of oral and vaginal microbes were also discovered.
Students and faculty are trying to raise awareness about surveillance in the United States. The Student Net Alliance, an organization started by Steinhardt senior Alec Foster, has drafted a letter from NYU Students and Faculty in protest of the National Security Agency’s surveillance policy. The letter, the first to be released in a nationwide effort, is part of the Students Against Surveillance campaign, which launches today. The letter expresses concerns toward individual surveillance, and also the larger impact of surveillance on a community, such as a university. “Even if we aren’t all being individually observed, we are compelled to act as if we are,” the letter says. “We have a right to free spaces such as universities where we can explore ideas and experiment without fear of retribution. We have a right to
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By VALENTINA DUQUE BOJANINI
FELIPE DE LA HOZ/WSN
Doctoral student Julia Maritz examines the bacteria found on dollar bills.
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Alumni discuss new Musical moments elevate ‘Violet’ film, industry struggles By DYLAN JARRETT
By IFE OLUJOBI
Antonio Campos and Sean Durkin met at NYU and are now making it big in the film industry. They spoke with WSN to discuss their production company Borderline Films, their new film “James White” and the struggles of film financing. Campos and Durkin are twothirds of the head trio that makes up Borderline Films, a production company that, along with third member and fellow NYU alumnus Josh Mond, was conceived and started while the three were film students. “We happened to meet at the exact right time for all three of us,” Campos said. “We all were itching to make a movie and we
really wanted to take advantage of everything we had in film school. And at the same time we were all developing our tastes together.” The three friends were new to the industry and optimistic about working together in order to make it as far as possible. “We didn’t know exactly what the company was going to be,” Durkin said. “We just knew that we all wanted to be directors and that we would help each other do that.” Campos has already directed two films — his debut “Afterschool” starring Ezra Miller and followup “Simon Killer” with Brady Corbet — while Durkin directed 2011’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” The
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Over the past decade, Sutton Foster has tap danced her way into audiences’ hearts. Often sporting sequin-encrusted costumes that cannot match the glitter of her smile, her charm has proven irresistible in plays such as “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Anything Goes,” both of which won her Tonys. But in the Broadway revival of “Violet,” Foster plays a young woman for whom both sparkles and tap dancing would be distinctly out of place. “Violet,” with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, is the story of a young woman who suffered a tragic accident as a child. As a result, she bears a disfiguring scar across her face that is
COURTESY OF JOAN MARCUS VIA ROUNDABOUT THEATER
Colin Donnell plays a soldier alongside Sutton Foster. so disturbing to look at that it causes bystanders to flinch away in fear. Set in 1964, the musical tells the story of her
journey to visit a faith healer in an attempt to fix her face and finally become beautiful. Foster’s Violet is in many ways an antithesis to most of the roles she has played before. She is neither beautiful nor popular, but she does have the steely determination that Foster is so excellent at portraying. Foster plays the role wonderfully, showing the audience Violet’s insecurities and doubts while maintaining a tough and likeable exterior. Foster is also surrounded by an excellent supporting cast. Alex Gemignani plays Violet’s father, present only in flashbacks but providing context for how Violet became such a strong young woman.
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