NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 40, No. 43
Bronx community welcomes first ice rink
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012
nyunews.com
Sexton discusses concerns about Sandy, tuition
By TANAY HUDSON
The Bronx opened its first public ice skating rink on Nov. 19 after decades of being the only borough in New York City without a public rink. Two years after Mayor Bloomberg promised the borough its own slippery playground, the Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink opened on 242 Street and Broadway next to the Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street stop on the 1 train. The ice skating rink was slated to debut last year but was delayed because of power and construction issues. “We were hoping to have the rink open last fall, but the complexity of bringing the power necessary to operate the rink’s
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JOON LEE/WSN
On Tuesday night, Sexton opened the floor to student questions at the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. By KEVIN BURNS For a university of almost 40,000 students, the turnout at last night’s student town hall with NYU President John Sexton was sparse. Approximately 40 students peppered the otherwise empty chairs of the Global Center for
Spiritual and Academic Life’s Grand Hall, but that did not stop Sexton from addressing students’ concerns. “Town Halls are part of the [Student Senator Council’s] commitment to providing students with the resources they need to be aware of what’s going on at their university,”
said student senator and LSP sophomore Griffin Simpson said. Sexton pointed out other events he hosts as an attempt to stay connected to students, such as student dinners and round-table discussions. “Students are the agenda,” Sexton said, highlighting the fact that he teaches a full class load.
Students in the audience submitted questions, and SCC members at the meeting screened the questions that Sexton was asked. At this meeting, questions centered primarily around financial concerns of the university as well as its expanding
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‘Beware of Mr. Baker’ paints honest, brutal picture of rock star’s life By J.R. HAMMERER
The new documentary, “Beware of Mr. Baker,” makes a fair case for why Ginger Baker is the ultimate rock drummer. While not as famous by name as Ringo Starr, Keith Moon or John Bonham, Baker’s powerful, multi-rhythmic drumming and hedonistic behavior in the bands Cream and Blind Faith formed an archetype that Moon and Bonham followed to their deaths. But Baker, against all odds, is still alive, albeit alone on a South African plantation, his hands weakened by degenerative osteoarthritis, receiving no royalties for hits like “Sunshine of Your Love” or “White Room.” The story of his life is a journey to that plantation, and the classical rise and fall of life forms the structure of “Mr. Baker.” Most rockumentaries are reverent, mythmaking affairs, but “Mr. Baker” starts with its subject slamming a crutch into director Jay Bulger’s nose. “Mr. Baker” sweeps viewers into the tailspin of one of rock’s famous wild men who lived a bizarre life. Through archival footage, talking heads and some scratchy animated sequences, the picture of an influential — if publicly under-appreciated — artist
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Ginger Baker discusses the hedonistic lifestyle that typified his tumultuous career. is painted. Trained as a jazz drummer, Baker gained fame along with bassist Jack Bruce and guitarist Eric Clapton in Cream, one of the first supergroups and a flagship band of blues and psychedelia. Even though his complex rhythms and energetic drum solos received wide acclaim, his volatile personality led to
the dissolution of Cream and his other musical acts. Baker appears less than thrilled about how the public has treated him. Through the interview footage that is the core of the film Baker reveals a delightfully acerbic personality. Sarcastically humorous and
gleefully unapologetic, he boasts of his perfection in staying on beat, muses inspirations like musician Max Roach and shows ambivalence about the music industry and his own influence. When told how Cream’s legacy gave birth to the heavy metal genre, Baker responded that the genre as a whole should not have continued. Throughout the film, Bulger’s portrait is sympathetic and admiring, but not blindly so. The movie doesn’t shy away from the worst aspects of Baker’s personality, even when he justifies or jokes about his flaws. Baker chose drumming instead of his exwife and ignored and neglected his son, but these crucial individuals receive equal time in the spotlight to reveal their own experiences with Baker — even some who abandoned the title character. Baker ultimately emerges as a tragic figure whose own recklessness squandered his potential. “Beware of Mr. Baker” is a rich portrait of an artist who changed the face of rock, and an evocative cautionary tale about the dangers of excess and selfishness. J.R. Hammerer is a staff writer. Email him at film@nyunews.com.