WSN102113

NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 41, No. 79

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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Despite strong play, Violets miss goal

By MICHELLE TRAN

The NYU men’s and women’s soccer teams embarked on their first UAA road weekend, matching up against the Emory University Eagles on Friday, Oct. 18 in Atlanta and the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Sunday Oct. 20 in Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately for both the men’s and women’s teams, they struggled to claim a victory in both UAA matches against Emory and Carnegie Mellon.

In Atlanta on Friday, the men’s team fell to Emory in a 2-0 loss.

“We just didn’t match our opponent’s energy,” CAS senior captain Danny Weisbaum said. “We had moments where we did combine and do

well going forward but couldn’t take advantages of our chances.”

Emory’s junior co-captain and leading scorer Dylan Price put the Eagles on the board, outrunning the NYU defense to knock one in before the end of the first half. In the 47th minute, Emory’s junior midfielder Michael Rheaume sealed the lead with a goal after a ricocheted shot off the post.

In women’s soccer, NYU fell early with a first-minute goal from Emory midfielder Kelly Costopoulos. SCPS sophomore forward Melissa Menta answered for NYU in the 12th minute, tying the game after a breakaway to goal. But the Violets

SOCCER cont’d on PG. 4

Professor’s study links rise in cancer risks to obesity

By BRENDA LIU

Obesity has long been hypothesized to be linked to certain cancers, but a new study led by a Steinhardt professor Niyati Parekh shed light on the role of insulin -— a hormone that regulates the glucose level in blood -— in linking obesity with cancer risk.

“Since obesity and cancer rates in the [United States] are high in parallel, my research on the insulin and cancer link is seeking to provide an explanation of the connection between obesity and cancer,” Parekh said.

Parekh, an assistant professor at Steinhardt’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, recently published a study highlighting the

DANIEL COLE FOR WSN

Alumni Day welcomes past students

By KLEIN ALEARDI

NYU’s annual Alumni Day was full of seminars, reunions and a State of the University address from NYU President John Sexton.

“The purpose of Alumni Day is to provide an opportunity for alumni to reconnect with each other and their alma mater,” said Brian Perillo, the associate vice president of alumni relations.

Larry Mantrone, who graduated from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies in 2010, serves as the co-chair of the Alumni Day committee.

Mantrone said Alumni Day 2013 has been in the works for the last year.

“Over the past year we’ve had a number of meetings, great conversations with various staff from alumni relations to plan for this day,” Mantrone said. “It’s a real tremendous

feeling of excitement to see it all come together.”

As part of the event, Sexton discussed a new fundraising campaign, “Building Momentum: Unlocking Potential, Unleashing Ambition,” aimed at raising $1 billion for financial aid.

“I think what’s happening in this country around higher education is lamentable and I’m very worried about it,” Sexton said, addressing alumni. “All of you should be out there saying, education is a right and we should figure out a way to match kids with the best schools they can go to, that which will bring out most of their talent and we should then give to those kids all that you can.”

Alumni also gathered for induction into the Perstare Society, a society open to alumni who graduated at least 50

VIA NYU.EDU

ALUMNI continued on PG. 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Niyati Parekh, a Steinhardt professor, studies obesity-related cancer.

Day in the Life

In our recurring feature, follow Steinhardt junior Daniel Walsh during a day in his busy schedule.

From working at the front desk of Tisch’s drama department to co-directing a production of “Godspell,” Walsh leads WSN through his nonstop schedule.

role of insulin in obesityrelated cancers. She served as the principal investigator of the study titled “Metabolic Dysregulation of the Insulin-Glucose Axis

OBESITY cont’d on PG. 5

years ago. Alumni from the class of 1963 and earlier were inducted into the society. During the day’s breakfast, grads present reflected on how the university has evolved since they attended.

“We only had Loeb Student Center,” said Helen Schultz, a class of 1963 graduate. “I’m so impressed with how this became such a global school.”

The day also featured a variety of seminars. Morning seminars included robotics sessions hosted by the Polytechnic Institute of NYU and Hooked Up: A New Generation’s Surprising Take on Sex, Politics and Saving the World. Afternoon sessions included The Talking Dead: Our Fascination with the Undead and The God Particle, where physics Professor Kyle Cranmer talked about his contribu-

STORY on PG. 5 FELIPE DE LA HOZ FOR WSN

OPINION: Homelessness crisis must be addressed Columnist Harry Brown argues that while New York City’s homeless have become invisible to the city’s citizens, the issue can no longer be ignored.

STORY on PG. 7

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ON THE SIDE

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STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS ‘GONE GIRL’

‘NIGHT TIME, MY TIME’

ISABEL JONES If you haven’t already experienced the thrill of Gillian Flynn’s engrossing mystery novel, “Gone Girl,” now is certainly the time. Flynn, a former Entertainment Weekly critic, has stolen the literary spotlight since the book’s release in 2012. Her novel, about a husband thrown into frenzy when his wife mysteriously vanishes, is dangerously captivating and eloquently written. With a major motion picture on the way, this is the perfect moment to get “Gone Girl.”

JAKE FOLSOM

Music lovers are counting down the days to the release of Sky Ferreira’s album, “Night Time, My Time,” on Oct. 29. Following Ferreira’s recent, highprofile arrest and drug bust with Zachary Cole of DIIV, it’s exciting to think such turbulent times could inspire Ferreira, considering her specific brand of poignant pop. Last year’s “Ghost” EP was full of memorable songs, specifically the melancholy and devilishly catchy “Everything is Embarrassing.”

Hopefully a new track can meet the high standard set by her previous work.

‘THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS’ VALERIE NELSON Get in the Halloween spirit with a classic. Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is spooky fun. With music by Danny Elfman, the songs that accompany the story of Jack Skellington and Halloweentown are as captivating as the movie itself.

The distinctive stop-motion animation and twisted fantasy narrative make this throwback creepy but ultimately funny and heartwarming.

‘THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG’ ALEX GREENBERGER Jacques Demy’s 1964 musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” is neither “Les Misérables” nor “Singin’ in the Rain.” It is neither overwhelmingly sad nor overwhelmingly whimsical, but rather, it’s a pleasant mix of both. As a French New Wave filmmaker, Demy’s goal was to capture middle-class life as it was, and he does just that with this beautiful love story of a strikingly average couple. Catherine Deneuve stars in this marvelously scored Palme d’Or-winner. The film has yet to be released on DVD in America, so catch it at the Film Forum in its revival run.

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news EMILY BELL, NICOLE BROWN,

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BILLY RICHLING books/theater DYLAN JARRETT film ALEX GREENBERGER entertainment ISABEL JONES music JAKE FOLSOM the highlighter blog VALERIE NELSON features MARINA ZHENG beauty & style ARIANA DIVALENTINO dining DANIEL YEOM sports CHRIS MARCOTRIGIANO multimedia RACHEL KAPLAN, JOON LEE video ALEX LINZMEIER

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PHOTO CREDIT: GONE GIRL - COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG | NIGHT TIME, MY TIME - COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG | THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG | THE UMBRELLAS

PHOTO BY JONATHAN TAN

Managing Editor

ELLEN MCQUEEN

For horror fans burnt out by Freddy Krueger, Jason and Michael Myers, try turning to the “Sleepaway Camp” series from the ’80s, which features a most unconventional serial killer — Angela, a beautiful, young girl who kills when she becomes angry. Unlike the aforementioned horror series, “Sleepaway Camp” is silly and campy, but that doesn’t make the films any less fun or the deaths any less gruesome. Although the first one isn’t yet available, “Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers” and “Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland” can be viewed on Netflix Instant.

A pair of friends carve faces into pumpkins in preparation for Halloween.

Editor-in-Chief JONATHON DORNBUSH

OF CHERBOURG - COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG | SLEEPAWAY CAMP COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG

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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 Jordan Melendrez at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

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SSC PANEL

DISCUSSION

WSN will host a panel discussion at the Kimmel Center for University Life Oct. 24 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Four student senators will participate in a moderated discussion on student debt, the university budget and financial aid. Students can ask questions on Twitter, with the hashtag #askwsn, as can audience members at the event. Here is a look at the recent discussion of student debt going on at and outside of NYU. According to the Project on Student Debt from the Institute for College Access & Success, 2011 NYU graduates had an average debt of $36,351. NYU is currently listed among the U.S. Department of Education’s college affordability report as one of the country’s most expensive private, nonprofit universities.

It is ranked 64 out of the 65 most expensive schools in the report.

Student debt is frequently discussed on campus, with several student groups, such as the Student Labor Action Movement, International Socialist Organization and the Queer Union, protesting debt.

The university established the Finish Line Grant, which will provide eligible students in their last semester at NYU with 10 percent of the cost of their subsidized loans. This grant is made possible by the Momentum Campaign, which is NYU’s current initiative to increase financial aid.

King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center hosts panel, films to discuss Spanish economic crisis

By TOMMY COLLISON

The King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU showed a series of films and held a panel discussion titled Spain in Crisis: The Spanish Crash and the Indignados Movement, which focused on the Spanish financial crisis of 2011 and the new social movements that have emerged as a result.

Similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement that started later that year, Los Indignados, which translates to “the indignant” in English, occupied public spaces in Madrid and Barcelona starting May 15, 2011, before spreading to other cities throughout Spain. The movement is also known as 15M, a reference to the date the movement started. The occupations protested high youth unemployment and what they viewed as the government’s mismanagement of the construction bubble.

The event started on Oct. 18 with a screening of the documentary “The

ALUMNI continued from PG. 1

Former students explore campus changes, events for Alumni Day

tion to discovering the HiggsBoson particle.

Tom McEachin, a graduate form the class of 1973, attended the Hooked Up seminar in the morning.

“I have two sons who are in that age range,” McEachin said. “But it was good to kind of hear the students describe their feelings about how things work today and how it impacts their lives.”

Attendees came to see old friends, meet new ones and

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explore the changing campus.

Lillian Marks, a graduate from the class of 1928 with a degree in history, has been coming to Alumni Day since she was in her 40s. She said she returns each year for the memories.

“I feel that NYU has made it possible for me to do some of the things I have done,” Marks said.

Klein Aleardi is a staff writer.

Email her at news@nyunews.com.

DANIEL COLE FOR WSN

Alumni Day event setup takes place outside Bobst Library.

SHAWN PAIK FOR WSN

Moderator Bryan Cameron speaks with professor Germán Labrador.

Great Spanish Crisis.” On Oct. 19, NYU Spanish and Portuguese languages and literatures professor Bryan Cameron moderated a panel discussion featuring Princeton University professor Germán Labrador Méndez, University of Pennsylvania professor Luis Moreno-Caballud, and Spanish and Portuguese languages and literatures doctoral student Pablo La Parra Pérez.

Stern senior Nathan Wong said the documentary was helpful in comparing different perspectives of the oc-

cupation protests.

“I think the documentary was good at explaining the specific mechanics of what caused the market failure,” Wong said. “It’s nice to see at least one interpretation of how the pieces fit together.”

The event was organized in conjunction with Pragda, a company that distributes Spanish films in the United States. Jo Labanyi, director of the King Juan Carlos Center, said she wanted to do something special in her final year at the center.

“It was important that we include both serious journalistic perspectives alongside more artistic responses from some of the most provocative filmmakers working in Spain as well as the 15M movement itself,” Labanyi said.

Méndez said there needs to be a change of perspective from the common politics resulting from the corruption of previous years, when El País reported that Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, received “black” money from the former trea-

surer of the People’s Party, Luis Bárcenas, from what were said to be secret party accounts.

“We need to consider that traditional politics are not working from the perspective of common people,” Méndez said.

“There is a very important crisis of representation that is bigger than the social movement, so you need to separate those two things.”

Labanyi said she would also like to show that the economic crisis triggered many grassroots movements for change in Spain.

“The economic crisis in Spain has given Spain a bad press,” she said. “We felt it was important to show that it has triggered some very positive and innovative grassroots responses in the country, particularly on the part of young people who do not feel represented by the major political parties.”

Tommy Collison is a contributing writer. Email him at news@nyunews.com.

SLAM announces demands, protests during Alumni Day

By NICOLE BROWN

The Student Labor Action Movement held a protest Oct. 19 during NYU President John Sexton’s State of the University speech at Alumni Day, announcing its demands to put a 10-year freeze on tuition increases and to raise the average financial aid grant by 25 percent.

The students stood in the entrance of Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, chanting “Education is a human right” as alumni entered to hear Sexton’s speech.

They also acted out a skit about the Momentum Campaign, of which their criticism is that the university is asking indebted alumni to donate to the campaign.

“Some of the older alumni might be in a different situation, but when I talk to some of the friends that I know that graduated recently, they don’t really have the resources to be able to donate a whole lot of money to NYU,” Gallatin junior and SLAM member Daniel Jones said.

Gallatin sophomore and SLAM member Robert Ascherman said the group thinks NYU should use the money they plan to use for NYU 2031 for financial aid instead, citing the approximately $100 million in surplus NYU has each year that the Space Priorities Working

Group Interim Report said could be used toward the expansion.

“If the recent pattern of actual annual budget surpluses exceeding planned budget surpluses by approximately $100 million continue, this would mean an additional $1 billion in net revenues over the 2012-2021 period, which could be used to reduce borrowing and/or build up financial reserves,” the report said.

“We know the money’s there, and it’s really just an issue of priorities,” Ascherman said. “$100 million in itself would be 25 percent because right now about $400 million goes to financial aid.”

SLAM member and Gallatin sophomore Lucy Parks said she may have to leave NYU after this year because of financial difficulties, adding that the group believes everyone should be able to go to their dream school.

“The message that is sent by NYU’s deplorable financial aid is that NYU is judging students based upon how much money their parents have in the bank, rather than what each student brings to the school,” Parks said.

Rhi Mauldin, a sophomore in the Silver School of Social Work, saw the protest and said it’s upsetting when students have to drop out partway through their education because of a lack of financial aid.

“I don’t think enough attention is paid to the great lengths that students go to to come here and be here,” Mauldin said.

As of press time, a university spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Nicole Brown is a news editor. Email her at nbrown@nyunews.com.

NICOLE BROWN FOR WSN

SLAM protestors stand outside Kimmel on Alumni Day.

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WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

SPORTS

EDITED BY FRANCISCO NAVAS SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

SOCCER continued from PG. 1

Men’s, women’s soccer fail to beat Emory, Carnegie Mellon on first UAA road weekend

would let up another goal before the half, this time scored by Emory’s senior defender Lauren Drosick in the 30th minute.

Travelling to Pittsburgh for Sunday’s match, both teams hoped to bounce back and grab a win before returning to New York.

The men’s team started off strong, scoring two goals in the first five minutes of the game. CAS Senior midfielder Colm Dillane put one into the corner of the goal past Carnegie Mellon’s keeper to clench an early lead. Only a minute later, CAS junior midfielder Mickey Ingerman scored another goal from Dillane’s free-kick service.

“We scored two early goals

and played some of our best soccer of the season in the first half,” Weisbaum said.

In the second half, however, NYU lost their momentum and let up a goal in the 65th minute to the Tartans’ senior midfielder Mike Ferraco. Five minutes later, CMU’s graduate student Moni Sallam headed in the equalizer, knotting the game at 2-2.

“We began to play a more direct game in the second half which played to Carnegie’s advantage,” Weisbaum said.

With just 12 minutes left in the game, Carnegie Mellon’s Jerome Reano scored the game-winning goal against CAS freshman keeper Lucas Doucette.

“We were disappointed not to get a result, but will look to build off of our first-half performance heading into our final three matches,” assistant coach Ryan Finnigan said.

For the women, Carnegie Mellon led in the first half with two goals. Despite being down 2-0, NYU battled back throughout the second half as Menta put the Violets on the board in the 72nd minute with a distance shot past the keeper. NYU continued firing shots on goal until the last whistle, but it wasn’t enough to equalize.

“We put up a great fight but it felt like luck was not on our side,” said Steinhardt freshman goalkeeper Cassie Steinberg.

“We weren’t able to get the points on the road but we plan on getting the win at home in our next UAA games.”

The men and women return to the pitch on Nov. 1 against the University of Chicago Maroons at home in Gaelic Park at 11 a.m.

and 1:30 p.m., respectively.

Michelle Tran is a staff writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com.

FILE PHOTO BY CAROLINE COLLINS FOR WSN

Justin Suter goes into a tackle against a Hunter College player earlier in the season.

Violets come up even in UAA round robin In the second round robin tournament of the semester, the Women’s volleyball team finished the weekend 2-2 after playing in St. Louis, Mo. The Violets succeeded against Brandeis University and the University of Rochester while unfortunately falling to the University of Chicago and and host school Washington University in St. Louis. For highlights of the tournament, be sure to read our full recap on nyunews.com.

FILE PHOTO BY CAROLINE COLLINS FOR WSN

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FEATURES

EDITED BY JONATHAN KESHISHOGLOU FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

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DAY IN THE LIFE

P TO

Day in the Life is a recurring feature where students with interesting lives share what it is like to spend a day in their shoes.

Ways to celebrate autumn in New York

By DEBORAH LUBANGA

As the weather cools down and the leaves start to turn brighter, there is no denying that autumn is upon us. In the spirit of ringing in the new season, check out some of these attractions the city has to offer.

FELIPE DE LA HOZ FOR WSN

By KATE MARIN After wrapping up a semester abroad in NYU London, Steinhardt junior Daniel Walsh returned to the city to pursue his passion for educational theater.

If you haven’t seen him wandering the grounds of Alumni residence hall or working at the front desk at the Tisch School of the Arts Drama Department, you can most likely find Walsh eating a Quiznos turkey-mayolettuce sandwich in Upstein.

9 a.m.: Walsh stumbles out of bed and into the bathroom to clean himself up before class.

For breakfast, Walsh grabs a pack of Pop-Tarts — preferably pumpkin pie flavor — from the value-size pack his mother delivered to him.

10:30 a.m.: Walsh heads to his 11 a.m. lecture on Cuban History and Revolution. This particular class is conducted entirely in Spanish, which was unexpected, as Walsh

does not speak Spanish.

12:15 p.m.: Walsh heads to Upstein for a quick lunch — a Quiznos sandwich with turkey, mayonnaise and lettuce and a Pepsi Max — before making his way to the Tisch building. Walsh works at the front desk in the Drama Department, where he answers phones, emails and assists advisors with filing and labeling. More recently, Walsh was embellishing the floor with festive Halloween decorations.

4:45 p.m.: Walsh proceeds back to Upstein for his second lunch — another beloved Quiznos sandwich — before going home.

5:30 p.m.: As part of his duties as a resident assistant, Walsh works at Alumni’s resource center. He hands out packages and trash bags to residents and answers phone calls during his shift.

7 p.m.: Walsh relaxes for an hour before rehearsal.

He stays in his room on the seventh floor and researches

films starring Sandra Bullock for a project he is working on in a course called Collegium.

8 p.m.: Walsh makes a quick stop at Starbucks on Astor Place before rehearsal for “Godspell,” a play he is codirecting with the Steinhardt school’s Uproar Theatre Corps.

“Co-directing ‘Godspell’ is an awesome chance to get to work on the skills I learn in educational theater,” Walsh said. “I love being a part of a university that allows me to get real-life experience with my craft.”

11:30 p.m.: After three-anda-half hours full of Broadway songs, Walsh is home for the night. He snacks on Nutella and pretzels while attempting to complete some homework.

2 a.m.: Now up late, especially on a school night, Walsh lays down to sleep after a long day.

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The Queens County Farm Museum is home to the only corn maze in all of New York City. The twoand-a-half acre interactive maze, where visitors find clues and solve puzzles, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout October. Admission is $9 per person, but groups of 10 or more receive a $1 discount per person.

7350 Little Neck Parkway

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Apple Picking at Fishkill Farms

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Ghosts of Greenwich Village Tours

Professor Niyati Parekh receives grant from American Cancer Society to continue research the research program director of the American Cancer Society.

Those external panels were then chosen by an even higherlevel panel, of which many are senior directors at cancer centers. This would ensure an unbiased review of the applications, and 100 percent of the research money came from donors.

“An average donation is usually $65,” Phelps said.

From statisticians to genetic epidemiologists, Parekh’s team is a well-rounded collaboration made up of researchers from NYU, Rutgers University and Columbia University.

Parekh used data from the Framingham Heart Study, 60year study that recruited participants between 1971 and 1975 and then followed them until 2008. Parekh used the data to

measure subjects’ serum glucose, insulin and hemoglobin A1c to determine cancer risk.

Parekh and her team concluded that disturbances in body insulin and glucose levels can increase the risk of certain cancers, and obesity can create such disturbances and glucose levels. The high level of insulin and glucose provide an environment that is conducive to tumor growth and survival.

Parekh said she hopes to eventually influence cancer prevention strategies and clinical practice.

“It’s hard to say how long I work,” Parekh said. “It’s my life.”

Brenda Liu is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Finding a pumpkin patch in Manhattan is no easy task. Thankfully, NYC Parks & Recreation’s Pumpkin Fest offers classic autumn activities like this for free. This annual event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees get to pick their own pumpkin for carving on site.

Other attractions at the event include Big Apple Circus performers, Harry Potter-style Quidditch matches and the Pride of NY Farmers Market.

Enter at 72nd Street and Central Park West

Corn Maze at Queens Country Farm Museum

Kate Marin is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

OBESITY continued from PG. 1

and Risk of Obesity-Related Cancers in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Population.” The study was published on Sept. 24 in the journal “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.”

To fund her work, Parekh received a $720,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, and in 2012, she was named an American Cancer Society Research Scholar.

The American Cancer Society chooses the recipients of the grant based on a peerreview system. Parekh was just one of the 2,000 applicants that submitted a proposal.

“Her application was reviewed by outside panels who are senior associate academic scientists from around the country,” said William Phelps,

Pumpkin Fest at Central Park Bandshell

Get into the Halloween spirit with a free tour of Greenwich Village’s haunted sites. This guided-tour takes you through several spooky village landmarks, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Mark Twain’s “House of

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Get out of the city for a weekend at one of the only orchards in the region offering pick-your-own organic apples. Visitors can pick from 13 organic apple varieties, such as Empire, Golden Delicious and Mutsu. Moreover, you only have to pay for what you pick. The farm also hosts Harvest Festival Weekends throughout October with homemade food, donuts and cider, as well as entertainment in the form of hayrides ($3 per person) and live music.

9 Fishkill Farm Rd.

Horror.” Throughout the tour, guides will also entertain and frighten you with tales of ghosts and spirits involved in Marie’s

Crisis and the Club Kids Murder. Tours run every Wednesday and Friday through Sunday in October at 7:30 p.m. Reservations are required, so visit the Free Tours by Foot website to select a tour date.

North side of the fountain in Washington Square Park

The Ride: Haunted New York Halloween buffs willing to splurge for the $74 ticket should partake in this one-of-a-kind tour that exposes the dark side of New York City’s iconic sights. Patrons are transported in a luxury bus equipped with 40 plasma monitors and surround sound, which help to supplement the Halloween-themed show playing out on the streets. Ghost

stories and urban legends starring the famous and infamous missing, dead and undead New Yorkers make for a hilariously spooky adventure. Tours run Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Ride leaves on time, so don’t be late.

Departs from 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue

Deborah Lubanga is a contributing writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: PUMPKIN FEST - VIA FACEBOOK.COM | CORN MAZE - VIA FACEBOOK.COM | APPLE PICKING - VIA FACEBOOK.COM | GHOSTS - VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG | THE RIDE - VIA EXPERIENCETHERIDE.COM

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THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD & DAILY SUDOKU Crossword ACROSS 1 Man-goat of myth 4 “Make it snappy,” on an order 8 Smartly dressed 14 Media inits. since 1958 15 Guys’ counterpart 16 Mike Nichols’s comedy partner ___ May 17 Abba-inspired hit musical 19 Is unable to 20 Loud, as a crowd 21 Sign before Virgo 23 Gillette razor brand 24 River of the underworld, in myth 25 Movie starring Lon Chaney Jr., with “The” 28 Footnote abbr.

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71 Al and Al Jr. of auto racing 72 Puerto ___ 73 Suffix on juice drinks DOWN 1 Mountain cats or sneakers 2 Miles ___ (not even close) 3 Leonard who played Mr. Spock 4 Medium in bio labs 5 “Uncle ___ wants you” 6 Boxer Muhammad 7 “The Lord is my shepherd …,” e.g.

8 Wooden ducks 9 Pie ___ mode 10 Long, thin cigar 11 Mottled horse 12 Huge, in poetry 13 Adjust the margins again 18 Opposite of mini22 Brit. record label 25 Artist Joan 26 Japanese soup noodles 27 Meagerly 29 Barnum’s circus partner 31 Friend of François 32 “I Will Follow ___” (1963 #1 hit) 33 Mont Blanc, e.g.

35 White House financial advisory grp.

37 Surgery sites, for short 38 Educ. facility

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39 “___ will be done …” (Lord’s Prayer phrase) 41 “Hmmm …”

42 Honolulu’s home 43 Sir’s counterpart, informally 48 Bird mimics 49 One calling the kettle black, in a saying

51 Metal waste 52 ___ Picchu (Incan site) 53 Had dinner at home 54 Light fogs 55 Official language of Cambodia 57 Scent 58 Made a cow call 59 Tennis’s Agassi

62 Bullets, BB’s and such 64 Co. that makes A.T.M.’s 66 1011, in old Rome 67 McDonald’s Big ___

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NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

OPINION

EDITED BY RAQUEL WOODRUFF OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

PUBLIC POLICY

NYC homeless crisis must be addressed

By HARRY BROWN

Homelessness has become a sad fixture of modern life. Tonight, over 55,000 New Yorkers will be sleeping in shelters throughout the city, others on the streets. Of them, 21,000 are children. New York City — often commended for its progressive ideals and forward thinking — lags behind other cities in combating this plight. The city must do more to achieve access to affordable housing and reduce the level of homelessness.

In the last decade, the number of homeless in the city increased by an alarming 73 percent, according to a report released by the Coalition for the Homeless.

Homeless families in the city represent one-sixth of all families in shelters throughout the nation.

Ever-increasing rent costs, exacerbated by the financial crisis, have forced poorer families out of their homes, without any affordable alternative. Research has concluded that New York state could save $67 million in shelter costs if it supplied an attorney to residents facing eviction. Indeed, a South Bronx

trial program that provided legal aid to 1,200 families stopped 86 percent of potential evictions. Furthermore, the program, which ran from 2005 to 2008, cost $450,000 and saved the government over $700,000 in shelter costs.

The next mayor must tackle this crisis head on. It is an epidemic Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed to adequately address. A new plan released by United to End Homelessness offers a series of achievable suggestions, which have the capacity to resolve the homeless upsurge that has struck the city.

One of the measures proposed should be implemented immediately by increasing the funding for HomeBase — a program designed to prevent homelessness from occurring by providing a

range of services, from access to health care and mental health services to short-term financial aid. The program has been rightly deemed a “model of innovation” to prevent homelessness but has been stymied by a budget limiting its scope of helping families on the brink of eviction.

In times of crisis, such as Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers have the remarkable capacity of coming together through adversity. There are countless stories of residents assisting complete strangers, who just required a hot meal and a safe place to rest for the night, because it was the right thing to do. However the homeless have become invisible to us, a tragedy on the sidewalk that we have chosen to ignore. It’s a neglected crisis, one which can be fixed with just a fragment of the energy and humanity which arose to deal with the aftermath of a devastating storm. The time has come to help the forgotten voices of New York.

Harry Brown is a contributing columnist.

Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Tea Party faction hurts GOP constituency

By CHRISTINA COLEBURN

Although many have vocalized their dissatisfaction with the recent government shutdown, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham best captured the collective sentiment — “This has been a really bad two weeks for the Republican Party.” After furloughing 800,000 workers and costing the American economy $24 billion, pitiless gambles made in the pursuit to defund the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have nothing to show for it except falling favorability numbers. The source of the GOP’s woes begins and ends with the Tea Party, an increasingly extreme faction. In 2010, Tea Party candidates surged from their pledges to challenge the health care law through ruthless strategy. Three years later, the absurdity of their tactics has become glaringly evident to the American public and embarrassingly detrimental to the GOP. Despite Republican denial that the GOP is not fractured, the government shutdown is painfully indicative of this harsh reality.

The GOP establishment must confront the Tea Party if it intends to

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salvage its legitimacy and remain electorally competitive beyond the safeguard of solidly red districts. Although establishment Republicans palpably fear the consequences of defying the Tea Party — namely being challenged by a more conservative candidate in a primary election — they should seize the ripe opportunity that has been granted.

A recent Pew Research Center poll conducted after the government shutdown revealed 49 percent of Americans have a negative opinion of the Tea Party. Even more encouragingly, the same survey showed only 27 percent of moderate Republicans viewed the Tea Party favorably, a dramatic decrease from its 46 percent favorability rating in June. These numbers represent a rare chance for Republicans

to rebrand their image, refine their message and refute allegations that the GOP is more committed to excessive partisanship than effective politics. The widespread backlash over the shutdown, particularly directed towards Republicans, is emblematic of an inconvenient truth. Only a miniscule portion of the country believed that closing the government was a responsible counteraction.

Still, more significant than the bargain that concluded this senseless shutdown is the electoral bargain politicians all initially made.

We send representatives to Washington, D.C. to responsibly act in our interest, not threaten stability and then feebly apologize in the hope of securing undeserved reelection.

The Tea Party flirted dangerously with extremity, causing a crisis for which they will probably never take responsibility. Republicans should hold the group accountable, not only for the legitimacy of their party, but also for the security of the political system.

Christina Coleburn is a contributing columnist.

Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Website faults do not reflect Obamacare law

President Barack Obama’s health care website, healthcare. gov, has been plagued by serious technical glitches such as garbled text, error messages and page-loading delays since it launched three weeks ago. The problems have yet to be fixed. Meanwhile, millions of insurance seekers have not been able to sign up. Both parties have rightly urged Obama to fix the kinks as soon as possible, and questions have risen over whether the problems are related to inefficiencies in the law itself.

The website is designed in a way that demands customers enter detailed personal information before choosing from a range of options. Conservative political commentators have speculated that the reasoning behind the website’s design was prompted by a desire to withhold price information from customers until they are registered.

The website’s flaws have drastically hindered implementation of key components of the Affordable Care Act. But it is wrong to attribute the program glitches to the law itself — these are separate issues. Millions of Americans will eventually have the opportunity to sign up for coverage and, until this happens, it’s too early to judge the effectiveness of the actual law.

In his first public criticism of the website, Obama called the technical problems “unacceptable.” The move marks the beginning of the administration’s comprehensive damage control efforts. In an attempt to quell national concern, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has assured Americans that the site’s troubles will not last long. HHS is bringing in technology experts from inside and outside of the government to help correct the glitches. But malfunctions notwithstanding, HHS is quick to defend the site, reminding critics that individuals can still verify eligibility for credits, making it possible to shop and enroll in case-specific health plans.

The technical problems of the health care website are indeed unacceptable. But these digital kinks are far from a reflection of the Affordable Care Act’s system of providing medical coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Difficulties in the coding of a federal website have allowed the political right to continue its indirect attack on an affirmed law. More than merely frivolous and misguided, conservative criticisms of digital issues impede the possibility of a quick remedy. Rather than using these problems as another platform for political infighting, commentators should support the efforts the Obama administration is making to implement critical repairs so every American can access private health care.

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

EDITORIAL BOARD: Raquel Woodruff (Chair), Edward Radzivilovskiy (Co-chair), Peter Keffer (Co-chair), Harry Brown, Marcelo Cicconet, Christina Coleburn, Omar Etman, Nina Golshan, Nickhil Sethi

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