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NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 40, No. 49

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012

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University to open new science facility next fall

By ISAAC MARSHALL NYU’s most recent graduate program will host it’s first class at MetroTech in Brooklyn come next fall.

The program, Center for Urban Science and Progress, which will focus on training students to apply their skills in science and technology to solve problems, is one of the winners of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Applied Sciences NYC competition. In December 2010, the city launched the competition and challenged institutions from around the world to propose an applied science and engineering campus in New York City.

A year later, the city announced it would be partner with Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a $2 million, 2 million-square-foot campus on Roosevelt Island. In April, Bloomberg, NYU President John Sexton and Joseph Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, announced a second agreement to create

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JONATHAN TAN/WSN

Fast food frenzy Despite the continued popularity of fast food among college students, workers in the industry are unsatisfied with the payment they earn for their services relative to the industry’s success. United under the Fast Food Forward movement, employees have started a petition and gone on strike for higher wages.

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‘Les Misérables’ may mark movie musical return

By STEFAN MELNYK

The decline of the movie musical was not a process of gradual atrophy; it was abrupt. Between 1929 and 1968, nine movie musicals took the Oscar for Best Picture. Since 1968, only one has captured that same prize. There was clearly a point at which audiences decided — silently, but in perfect unison — that they weren’t interested in movie musicals anymore.

That’s not to say that good movie musicals were not made between 1968 and 2002. “Cabaret,” arguably the best movie musical ever made, was released in 1972, losing Best Picture to “The Godfather” but winning virtually every other trophy out from under it. Master

director and choreographer Bob Fosse was the talent behind this success, but as time wore on it became clear that he was more or less the only artist capable of crafting a serious musical for the silver screen. Efforts like “Pennies From Heaven” matched the darkness of a Fosse production but lacked even a fraction of the intelligence.

While the stage musical was experiencing a renaissance spurred by the steady stream of megamusicals from Europe, the movie musical was relegated to the realm of children’s entertainment, and although movies like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” featured some of the

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Professor analyzes Gaga’s gender politics

By PAIGE BROTT Pop icon Lady Gaga’s experimental music and performative persona have moved off the stage and into academic discussion.

On Tuesday, NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis will host a talk titled “What’s Gaga Got to do With It?: Gaga Feminism and Queer Anarchy,” featuring University of Southern California professor Judith Jack Halberstam as the guest speaker.

Halberstam, a professor of English, ethnicity, gender studies and American studies at USC, is the author of five books about issues such as feminism, masculinity, crossdressing culture and gothic culture.

“What’s Gaga Got to Do With It?” will focus on Halberstam’s latest book, “Gaga Feminism: Sex,

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An NYU lecture will explore Lady Gaga’s influence on feminism.

Gender and the End of Normal,” released earlier this year. The book recognizes the pop singer not as a musical icon but an example of a new variety of feminism that centers on gender and

sexual fluidity.

“We are really at an interesting juncture right now when it comes to sex and gender politics because

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FRANCIS POON 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.

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Modified lights make taxi availability more clear

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NYU to open its newest graduate program next fall an applied sciences center in Downtown Brooklyn.

Constantine Kontokosta, deputy director of the program, said CUSP will build on the strength of the partnership that includes City University of New York, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Toronto, University of Warwick, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, as well as IBM and Cisco.

Kontokosta said CUSP is a primarily research institution that will focus on bringing together the best and the brightest from NYU and from all of its partners. He added that the program recently finished designing and getting approval for its first degree, a masters of science in applied urban science and informatics. The center is also developing a post-masters certificate of the same general theme and title.

Kontokosta also said the university will work directly with New York City agencies.

“We’ve reached out to all the commissioners and involved agencies, and we sat down with them and said, ‘Okay, what are your biggest challenges? What are the things that keep you up at night?’” he said. “We’re seeing a whole range

By KAYANA JEAN-PHILIPPE

of things. There are fundamental questions about building efficiency and how to develop better ways to reduce carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption in our buildings.”

But Gallatin freshman John Bradshaw said there are more complicated issues surrounding the program, such as financial aid.

“I support the idea of a program that trains students to make the city more sustainable, but I think that the tuition is a larger issue for some people,” Bradshaw said. “NYU is expensive and financial aid seems to be less and less available here.”

However, others said programs like CUSP are vital to the future of the university in an increasingly tech-savvy world.

“New York just became rated as one of the best cities in the world for tech companies,” said Josh Vazhappilly, a CAS freshman studying chemistry. “So, I think that a program geared towards teaching students how to apply technological thinking to improving the city is very important.”

Isaac Marshall is a staff writer.

Email him at university@nyunews.com.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a plan at a public hearing on Nov. 29 to modify taxicab roof lights so that they can show their availability more clearly.

The off-duty designation will be eliminated and the lights will convey one of two messages: available or unavailable.

“We believe, and survey results have strongly agreed with this, that the current system of lights is confusing to people and does not communicate effectively,” said Alan Fromberg, Taxi and Limousine Commission deputy commissioner for public affairs.

According to Fromberg, taxi owners and operators are required to convert to the new roof light configuration by the date of their next scheduled inspection, which occurs three times a year between Jan. 1 and April 30. As a result the new lights can be seen as early as Jan. 1, and all cabs will be implemented with the new system by April 30.

“An ancillary benefit of this equipment update, is that the roof lights will no longer be in the driver’s manual control, which would circumvent their ability to cherry-pick passengers by flipping the light on and off,” Fromberg said.

Fast food employees push for higher wages

By ANDREW KARPAN

Since its start in January, Fast Food Forward movement has organized fast food employees across New York City to push for higher wages and the right to unionize.

The movement began with employees in a number of fast food chains in the city organizing with the help of local economic justice coalition New York Communities for Change.

At the end of last month, the campaign held its biggest demonstration that involved a day-long strike of 200 employees at more than a dozen fast food restaurants. The employees, whose current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, are demanding a pay of $15 an hour.

“The goal of the workers’ campaign ... is to get New York’s economy moving again by putting money back in the pockets of the 50,000 men and women who work hard in the city’s fast food industry but still can’t afford basic necessities like food, clothing and rent,” Fast Food Forward said in a press statement last month.

The group’s online petition has accumulated more than 20,000 signatures so far.

In response, Scott DeFife, executive vice president of the National Restaurant As-

sociation, refuted the statements of movements like Fast Food Forward.

“An overwhelming majority of employees describe the restaurant business as an industry of choice,” DeFife said. “The New York City restaurant industry is to be commended for providing jobs through a sluggish economy.”

Jeff Goodwin, a published expert on social movements and a professor of sociology at NYU, said the few efforts in recent history to organize fast-food and other lowpaid service workers have mostly failed. “[They] have met resistance from the large corporations that dominate this sector of the economy,” Goodwin said. “These workers are also easily replaced compared to more highly skilled workers ... and they often just fire union organizers.”

None of the 200 workers on strike have been fired.

William Greene, an economics professor at Stern School of Business, was also critical of how much impact Fast Food Forward could have.

“It is premature to call this more than a protest,” Greene said. “Unionization is not something done overnight; it takes a huge organized effort and ultimately, involves

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government intervention by the [National Labor Relations Board].”

But Simone Goldenberg, 34, of Brooklyn was more sympathetic to the cause and signed Fast Food Forward’s online petition. She said that the $15 an hour salary Fast Food Forward is demanding is more than she earns at her job at a local bookstore.

“The issue of ensuring that people earn a living wage is still critical, and I’m relatively optimistic the movement will achieve something,” Goldenberg said.

However, Alessia, an employee at a McDonald’s in Brooklyn who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was not as optimistic.

“I think it’s a long shot, and it’s probably not gonna happen,” she said.

Even though Alessia is pessimistic of the outlook, she said she would openly welcome such a change.

“Of course I would love for that to happen,” she said.

“When people think you’re going nowhere in life they say you’ll be working at McDonalds your whole life, but it’s not as easy as some think. I think we deserve it.”

Andrew Karpan is a staff writer. Email him at cstate@nyunews.com.

Sharr Prohaska, clinical associate professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said New Yorkers will adjust well to the new roof lights, and tourists will also welcome the change.

“From the tourists’ perspective, I think this is a good change as the current signage is confusing unless you are from the city and understand how the lighting works,” Prohaska said. “Several times when the lighting says the cab is off duty they will pick you up if they are on their way home so personally, I would prefer to know if the cab is or isn’t available.”

The conversion comes at a minimal cost for taxi owners, according to Fromberg. The process includes blacking out the off-duty signal of the existing roof light, upgrading the software for the meter and the Taxicab Passenger Enhancements Project Systems and cutting the wires that enable manual manipulation of the roof light.

The Taxi and Limousince Commission also proposed regulations on a taxi-hailing smartphone app, after the release of Uber’s controversial app. The app helps connect cab drivers with potential passengers and allows for automatic credit card payment. But the legality of the app was challenged because of cab drivers’ were using their mobile devices while driving, so it was eventually

pulled from Uber.

According to Fromberg, surveys have proven that a majority of those asked own smartphones and would use transportation apps.

“While we cannot say how exactly this would affect riders, we can speculate that they will be popular with the riding public looking to make their riding experience easier and more convenient,” Fromberg said.

Prohaska said the app would drive business especially during off-peak hours and it is a personal choice whether to utilize the app or not.

“I think it is better that they know where the potential riders are rather than riding around the city and wasting gas,” Prohaska said. “The biggest challenge is if several taxis [and] riders use the same app and it confuses the taxi drivers.”

However, CAS sophomore Manel Sentouhi does not think the app is necessary.

“I feel like people will abuse the app,” Sentouhi said. “People can hail a taxi even when they are not ready or [don’t] even need a cab. Actually going out and hailing a cab when a person is ready is more efficient for both the taxi driver and the customer.”

Kayana Jean-Philippe is a deputy city/state editor. Email her at kjeanphilippe@nyunews.com.

NYU alumna receives prestigious scholarship

By DANIEL HUANG On a drizzling spring morning in 2010, a senior in the Silver School of Social Work stepped onto the podium at Yankee Stadium and delivered the NYU commencement address.

“Tremendous achievements await us,” she told her 15,000 classmates as they received their diplomas and ventured out into the world. Two years later, Jessica Mason, who went on to receive a masters degree from Silver, is busy fulfilling her own prophecy.

The Marshall Scholarship awards American students with two fully funded years of study at any university in the United Kingdom, applicable to any field of study. It is among the most selective postgraduate scholarships in the world, and Mason became one of the 34 students nationally to receive it this past November.

Past instructors and advisers said they could not have been more thrilled.

Kim Germain, director of Scholarship Programs at NYU, has known Mason since her junior year and has played a huge hand in coaching her through the application process.

“Sometimes I almost feel spoiled in my position because I get to work with the most high-achieving, passionate kids,” Germain said. “Jessica is smart, articulate, passionate [and] the perfect example of why I love my job.”

In her second year at NYU, Mason and classmate Amanda Raposo launched a venture called Baby’s First Home, a program in Queens, N.Y. that aimed to provide housing and support to homeless teen mothers and their children.

The business was very successful. It

won the Grand Prize at the NYU Reynolds Program Be A Changemaker Challenge in 2008, received a $10,000 grant and has continued assisting young homeless mothers to this day under its new name Power House NYC. Since then, Mason has directed disaster relief efforts in Haiti, toured the country spreading awareness for extreme poverty and landed a job at Google, pushing forward the development of a new corporate social responsibility program called YouTube for Good.

“With something as selective as the Marshall Scholarship, you never really plan to get it,” Mason said. “I’m in New York right now with a great job and a great circle of friends. It’s a nice place to be in.”

“Time to make a whole new plan,” she said.

Mason said she will spend her time in the U.K. pursuing two consecutive Master’s degrees — the first in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and the second in Social Science of the Internet from the University of Oxford.

In blending a broader policybased education with a more focused instruction on the impact of technology, Mason hopes to prepare herself for the large-scale change in her future.

“I’ve been given so much in my life, especially in terms of education, the only thing that’s ever really made sense to me is to find a way to give back,” Mason said.

Daniel Huang is a contributing writer.

Email him at university@nyunews.com.

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FEATURES

EDITED BY NICOLA PRING FEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

Desolation on display at Zwirner Gallery

By TOLGA GOFF

Social media prime tool for start-up Sandy relief efforts

By KRISTINA BOGOS

When you walk into the David Zwirner Art Gallery in Chelsea, you are surrounded by an overwhelming sense of desolation and destruction.

The gallery has opened its doors to a video installation by artist Diana Thater that demonstrates the aftermath of the infamous catastrophe at Chernobyl, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant that exploded in 1986 and effectively created a wasteland in its wake.

The installation focuses on the current state of the city where the power plant was located: Pripyat, Ukraine.

Thater, who is known for examining the relationship between humanity and the natural world, graduated from NYU in 1984 with a degree in art history. In the exhibit, she takes the observer on a realistic tour of the wildlife, natural landscape and the ruins of the city, showing how they all interact.

The Ukrainian government is currently making efforts to bring wildlife and endangered species back into the area. Although the government is labeling the area safe and suitable for organic life, Thater conveys the paradoxical nature of their attempt to produce life in a permanently scarred region.

The exhibit is set with six projectors, each showing different clips on connecting walls, which create an incomplete hexagram and an opening that provides entry and exit. The ceiling and concrete floor have been purposefully left untouched and unkempt to enhance the simulation effect. To make the video experiences more life-like, Thater multilayered the clips she recorded. The video clips are surrounded by an overarching video of the local theater in Pripyat, which was built for the people who worked for the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

“You see this world inside the theater, but then, you see this theater inside that world,” Thater said. “So there is this relationship between the theater and the world and you see the theater inside [the gallery]. So there is a relationship

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A Chelsea art gallery reveals the contrast of chernobyl conditions. between who you are, where you are [and] what exists in Pripyat.”

“I am trying to enclose you,” she added. “That is, a cognitive understanding or a kind of question or a kind of empathy which I’m trying to elicit about the animals who live or who are attempting to persist in this world with small lives, whose need is to live and this is the only landscape to live, theater in the world and the world in this theater.”

The exhibit is impactful and illustrates the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster in a new way. It has the power to plunge visitors deep into a different world and pull them back out in a matter of 15 minutes.

“In particular I thought it was really striking that you could see your shadow on the walls caught between projectors,” said Stern sophomore Becky Waddell, who visited the gallery. “I already had the feeling that I had been transported, but that gave it an even more eerie feeling.”

“I think my favorite part though was that the destroyed, abandoned areas were juxtaposed with really beautiful images of thriving wildlife,” Waddell added. “I felt like it brought a little bit of hopefulness to the whole exhibit.”

Diana Thater’s “Chernobyl” will be open through Dec. 15 at the David Zwirner Gallery located at 525 W. 19th St. Tolga Goff is a contributing writer.

Email him at features@nyunews.com.

While clearing underbrush and bagging debris from obliterated houses, Youssef Soras, a first-year graduate student in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, joined Rosally Sapla, vice president of communications at New York-based start-up DramaFever, to brainstorm ways for students across the nation to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy.

This post-Hurricane Sandy trip to the Rockaway peninsula, volunteering with a group of young army veterans from the disaster relief organization Team Rubicon, was the inspiration behind Soras and Sapla’s fundraising campaign Operation: Winter Break.

DramaFever, an online video platform that streams primetime TV, worked with Team Rubicon to design a campus-wide fundraising campaign for hurricane relief in the days following the storm’s landfall.

Under Operation: Winter Break, students can contribute donations until Jan. 6 by creating an online profile to share with friends and family or by purchasing a yearlong subscription to DramaFever. One hundred percent of the money raised will go directly to hurricane relief.

“We want to get people involved,” Sapla said. “If they want to volunteer with their hands, [they can]. If they want to volunteer by raising funds, then this is what Operation: Winter Break is. Here you have idle weeks of time ... We thought, that’s the best audience to talk to ... make a huge difference.”

Team Rubicon and DramaFever view techsavvy and socially active college students as the target audience for raising funds and quickly spreading the word. DramaFever’s audience is roughly three million monthly viewers; a large proportion of the audience is college students. Using outlets like Facebook and Twitter, students play an integral role in reaching a wider audience in the hopes of exceeding the campaign’s $15,000 goal, though the public can pitch in as well.

“Young people should be aware of [giving back] because if they are aware of this ...

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Professor lectures on cultural impact of Lady Gaga marriage as [an] institution is losing currency due to high divorce rates, and people really are exploring all kinds of different options for their intimate lives and their sense of kinship and community,” Halberstam said. “My book argues that feminism is still a very important conversation and that we may need to revamp what we mean by feminism in order to address contemporary questions and issues.”

Gayatri Gopinath, associate professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU, has organized the event. Gopinath said Halberstam’s work exemplifies the cutting edge of scholarship in gender, sexuality and popular culture — issues the SCA Department is particularly committed to examining.

“The topic of Halberstam’s book is relevant to the NYU community and beyond as it questions the taken-for-granted aspects of gender and sexual identity, and [it] looks to both popular culture and queer subcultures for alternatives to normative notions of marriage, family, kinship, desire and community,” Gopinath said.

The event will begin with a short lecture by Victor Corona, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, on the history of the queer performance in New York City. Halberstam will then present “Gaga Feminism,” aided by audiovisual clips of Gaga’s performances.

“I am going to address Lady Gaga’s actual performance history and argue why she might be an

intriguing figure around whom to build a sense of gender politics,” Halberstam said. “I will also be exploring some new ideas about anarchy, music and power, and I am excited to engage with people about anarchy, occupations, protest, music and queer politics.”

After Halberstam’s presentation, she will hold a discussion with Corona and have a question and answer session with the audience.

“What’s Gaga Got to do With It?: Gaga Feminism and Queer Anarchy” will take place 6:30 p.m. this evening at NYU’s SCA Department at 20 Cooper Square, fourth floor. The event is free and open to the public.

Paige Brott is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

then they will teach it to their kids and their grandkids and it will keep on growing,” Soras said. “If we don’t start here, I don’t know where else is a good place to start.”

Jennifer Shin, Steinhardt junior and former DramaFever intern, plans to fundraise once she completes final exams. She sees the campaign as an opportunity to build a community that extends further than the NYU campus.

“The ultimate goal is to get students together for a greater cause because something like this really hits home especially when it’s so close to us,” Shin said. “Hopefully it will create some sort of sense of community so we can all help, so we can all do something.”

Soras described the current state of the Rockaways as a condition where families struggle to recuperate and where the devastation is a clear indicator that the need for assistance is still strong.

“If there was no street sign, I think you wouldn’t know that you were in America,” he said. “You would think you were in a third-world country.”

Part of the reward for the person who raises the top funds is a guided tour of a Team Rubicon volunteer site. Visit fundraise.teamrubiconusa.org for more information.

Kristina Bogos is a staff writer.

Email her at features@nyunews.com.

KRISTINA BOGOS/WSN

Team Rubicon encourages students to assist with hurricane damage repairs.

NYUNEWS.COM | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

ARTS

EDITED BY STEFAN MELNYK ARTS@NYUNEWS.COM MUSICAL continued from PG. 1

After extended absence, movie musicals might return best-made musical sequences ever committed to film, such productions never effectively made the shift into musicals for adults. Disney’s only major attempt at a serious movie musical, the animated “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” contained mood swings so jarring that it was more like being on an anti-malaria tablet than reading the Victor Hugo novel.

Even the financial and — at the time — critical success of “Chicago” failed to revive what seemed to be an increasingly like a dying form. Looking back at “Chicago,” this is not terribly surprising. Even though it is not quite as bad as the present backlash might suggest, it is hurt by its apparent embarrassment at being a musical. Trying to pass off the musical numbers as dream sequences, a technique director Rob Marshall would use again with far less effect in 2009 with “Nine,” “Chicago” stays at such an ironic distance from its story that only occasional moments seem emotionally genuine. Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Sweeney Todd” had the opposite problem, being too cerebral and psychologically introverted for a mass audience — or even fans of the stage show — to appreciate.

The upcoming adaptation of “Les Misérables” will attempt to present its own solution to this

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problem. The film’s much-ballyhooed method of having the cast sing every take live suggests that it is aiming at a greater degree of emotional engagement than any of its recent predecessors. While it seems set to become an enormous box-office draw no matter what its artistic merits, it will still be some years before we are able to determine whether the film is destined to father a new and vital generation of movie musicals or simply end up another historical curiosity; posterity is watching.

Stefan Melnyk is arts editor.

Email him at smelnyk@nyunews.com.

Theatrical take on Dickens classic encourages audience imagination

By KELLY LETOURNEAU Each performance of Roundabout Theater Company’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” remains mysterious no matter how many times you have seen it, for it can end in more than 400 ways.

Based on Charles’s Dickens’ last novel, which was unfinished at the time of his death, this production mirrors the craziness of Dickens’ characters. “Drood’s” performers each play two characters: members of their traveling troupe and a character in the murder mystery.

Set in a traditional 19th-century British music hall — bedecked with Christmas garlands galore — this ensemble brings Dickens’ incomplete story to life. How does playwright Rupert Holmes handle the unfinished mystery of Edwin Drood’s death? Audience participation.

Essentially presented as a chooseyour-own-adventure story, the musical comes to a screeching halt where Dickens’ novel ends: about halfway through the second act.

Until this point, the ending remains a mystery not only to the audience but to the actors themselves.

Audience members cast their votes as to which character has disguised himself as Detective Dick Datchery, as well as guessing who murdered Edwin Drood. Completely breaking the fourth wall throughout the musical, and even before the show begins, cast members frequently visit the audience.

Theatergoers cannot avoid being involved and engaged in this plot.

While no moral can be drawn from the various goings-on, audience members will certainly be entertained by this frolicking romp — Holmes did not intend the show to be a meditation on the human spirit.

The entertainment value of this whodunnit is supplemented by its all-star cast, including two-time Tony Award-winning actress Chita Rivera (“West Side Story”), the belting singer Stephanie J. Block (“Wicked”) and actor Will Chase (“Smash”). Even with such big names, though, “Drood” breaks the mold in that it is truly an outstanding ensemble show; every actor shares the spotlight.

“Drood’s” vocal performances are especially impressive. Block’s final note in “The Solution” is sure to make any aspiring musical theatre major jealous. The one exception, however, is Rivera; she is

enthralling as the Princess Puffer, but her singing days have long passed, and she needs the audience and cast to join in at the end of her songs.

Other standouts in the show included Jessie Mueller and her perfect timing as Helena Landless, the smooth Andy Karl as Neville Landless and the awkwardly hysterical Gregg Edelman as the Reverend Mr. Crisparkle.

Then again, just the sight of Block storming out of the theater, carrying a small dog in her ultimate diva moment, is worth traveling to the Roundabout Theater Company’s Studio 54 to see “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is playing at Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., through March 10, 2013. For tickets and more information, see roundabouttheatre.org.

Kelly Letourneau is a contributing writer. Email her at theater@nyunews.com.

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A lively cast helps bring Dickens’ unfinished tale to life.

Best concerts of 2013 highlight impact of indie scene

By JOSHUA JOHNSON

EMA SMASHES THE LIGHTS Music Hall of Williamsburg, March 16 After a tremendous debut album in 2011 and a few headline-making CMJ Music Marathon shows, Erika M. Anderson, also known as EMA, took it up a notch with a hell-raising show at the MHOW earlier this year. During her rendition of the lyrical masterpiece “California,” Anderson took the glass light bulbs that ornately decorated the stage and smashed them on the ground. The music lurched, the glass shattered and EMA cemented herself as one of today’s most exciting live acts.

ALISON BRIE IS ON FIRE Le Poisson Rouge, April 7 Television and music fandom collided when The Girls, led by actress Alison Brie from the muchbeloved series “Community,” made their New York City debut at Le Poisson Rouge. Backed by altcountry band Jones Street Station, Brie and fellow actresses Julianna Guill and Cyrina Fiallo powered through a set of covers, highlighted by a smoky rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.”

JACK WHITE RESURRECTS HIS STRIPES Webster Hall, April 27 After the White Stripes officially broke up last year, many feared they would never get to hear the band’s music live again. That’s what made Jack White’s intimate show at Webster Hall so in-

credible. When the opening riff of “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” shot through the venue, spines shivered, tears were shed and the spirit of the White Stripes was once again alive and well in our fair city.

METRIC GOES ACOUSTIC Music Hall of Williamsburg, June 13 As a live band, Metric has an interesting and enviable dilemma. Even though they are known for playing electro-rock — a genre they play with a fantastic, full-throttle feeling live — their show became transcendental when guitarist Jimmy Shaw switched his electric for an acoustic, and lead singer Emily Haines tenderly sang a strippeddown version of “Gimme Sympathy.” The crowd soon joined in with full force and supplied Metric all the electricity they needed.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS HAIL SATAN Music Hall of Williamsburg, Oct. 14 “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” by The Mountain Goats may have the best ever song title, but, as proven at the band’s second of four shows in New York City, it also may be the best ever live song. Lead singer John Darnielle stood beaming behind his keyboard as he led a chant of “Hail Satan” so gloriously happy that even Mitt Romney would have sung along.

Joshua Johnson is music editor.

Email him at jjohnson@nyunews.com.

6

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 | NYUNEWS.COM

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD & DAILY SUDOKU 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Crossword ACROSS

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For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

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NYUNEWS.COM | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

OPINION

EDITED BY CHRIS DINARDO OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

FISCAL CLIFF

Charity tax credit must be protected

By JESSICA LITTMAN As we approach the fiscal cliff, President Obama and Congress are finally looking for creative ways to increase revenue for the government without crippling taxpayers. One innovative solution has come to light: eliminating or drastically reducing the federal charitable tax deduction. The gain in revenue here would be substantial, but it is not worth the losses for taxpayers and charities.

If the deduction were entirely eliminated, then the government would have $239 billion in new revenue in the next four years. That’s $239 billion more in taxes that citizens would not have to pay. Under the current tax code, when Americans give a part of their normally taxable income to charity, they can subtract the amount donated from their taxable income.

This law is nothing if not fair — it does not provide taxpayers with extra money. It just ensures that one does not have to pay taxes on income that they gave away for free, presumably to a good cause; exemptions are only made when the money is donated to an IRS-approved charity.

The new revenue the government will receive denotes just a percentage of actual charitable donations, because income is not taxed 100 percent. So the $239 billion figure is 15 to 30 percent — depending on the tax rates of the donors — of the actual money that the White House assumes taxpayers will donate in the next four years. This means that if the government is getting $239 billion, taxpayers are actually donating a whole lot more.

If Americans have to pay taxes on the money they are donating, they will ostensibly donate less because they will not be able to afford it. The beauty of this plan from a federal, fiscal point of view is that the resultant reductions in donations won’t mean a reduction to tax revenues from eliminating the deduction; the government will just continue taxing all income while taxpayers donate less.

In 2011, Americans gave $346.1 billion to charities — an increase from 2010 — even though household income declined that year. Not only does this money help charities serve those in need, but it helps them employ 10 percent of the American workforce. Any decline in donations,

inevitable with changes to the deduction, will not only hurt those in need whom these charities serve; it will also hurt American workers.

In general, I believe that a tax increase is in fact a large part of the solution to the fiscal cliff crisis. But this particular tax-exemption elimination, which will cause so much harm to charities and those they serve and employ, is not the way to go. Rather, we should return to the Clinton-era income tax levels where the wealthy are taxed more heavily and more in proportion to their income than they are now under the Bush-era tax rates. Revenues from increased taxes on the wealthy would account for just as much as elimination of the charitable deduction and would cause far less social and economic harm, all without pretending that the current cuts actually trickle down to help the economy. It is essential to protect Americans’ ability to donate to charity if we want the social goods industry in this country to survive.

Jessica Littman is deputy opinion editor. Email her at jlittman@nyunews.com.

2013

Need resolution ideas? Don’t make one

By CHRIS DINARDO

When the Huxleyan soma-holiday of 2012’s glorious recollection slips away into oblivion at the drop of a silver ball and a drunken chorus of “Auld Lang Syne,” 2013 New Year’s resolutions will officially be underway. And so long as the Mayans didn’t have very attuned powers of revelation, it will be a time of year that will nonetheless prove disappointing for many.

This year, millions will make New Year’s resolutions in the name of self-improvement — and millions will fail. This has led many to deem them completely pointless.

But, to be fair, New Year’s resolutions do have a point, and that point is to seep any and all pride and optimism you have from within and turn you into an uptight, dejected human being for breaking a carefully crafted promise you made to yourself. Bah humbug.

Many may desire to lose a few pounds, quit a bad habit or improve their standard of living at work or at home. But a couple weeks into their pact, countless resolution-setters slack. And when that Stairmaster starts to look

SUBMITTING TO

7

more like an M.C. Escher drawing by the end of January, it’s checkout time and the 11-month wait kicks in until next year’s façade of self-improvement commences.

But if the resolutions can be so easily abandoned, how much do they really mean?

Setting personal goals is no doubt a worthwhile endeavor. But it should be done for the betterment of self, not because it’s trendy this time of year or because every self-help columnist with a six-inch soapbox is writing the next “Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2013.” When they are made for haphazard reasons simply for the sake of making them, you can’t sincerely expect the result to come to fruition and disappointment will inevitably ensues.

Wouldn’t it be easier to simply stick to a script to which you were deeply devoted? Yes, but this other side of the coin presents just as wary a case for engaging in the annual Olympics of personal quantum leaps.

Because if you were deeply devoted to your resolution, whether it is for the sake of health, of others or just for the hell of it, why must you do it in accordance with an arbitrary timeline? If you’re going to stand

on a desk and shout “Carpe diem,” why force yourself to wait until Jan. 1 to start?

It’s easy to be the pessimistic prognosticator when you don’t make New Year’s resolutions yourself. But a simple wholesale effort to be a better person is good enough for me. It’s what we should aim for every day. And it is part of a comprehensive effort that strays from irrational reasons and doesn’t require some capricious start time.

So, when yoga mats begin to collect dust again and you dig through the freezer for that chocolate ice cream, remember that it’s not the end of the world. Many are extensive ambitions, which, in the grand scheme of things, are not worth the trouble. There is no need to make yourself feel worse off if you aren’t truly committed to such commonly formed goals.

So this holiday season, make that list, check it twice, then crumple it up and throw it away. That’s the perfect New Year’s resolution.

Chris DiNardo is opinion editor.

Email him at cdinardo@nyunews.com.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Fast food workers deserve higher wages

A labor movement has recently been gaining momentum under the name Fast Food Forward, a collective of New York City fast-food workers in pursuit of higher wages and the right to unionize. Considering the high cost of living in the city and the discriminatory terminations of those whom attempt to exercise their right to organize, their demands are understandable, but may be unattainable at their present desired levels.

The current working conditions for New York City fast-food employees require them to deal with a stagnant minimum wage that has not kept up with rising costs of living in the city, particularly for food and housing. Coupled with hourly pay that makes this unsustainable for workers, greater conditions of employment must be implemented to ensure fairness.

In addition, fast food workers are limited in their ability to organize — those who attempt to create or lead unions are routinely fired. This limitation is the root cause of the wage issues that workers now face. Because they are largely replaceable, they have no leverage to demand the living wage that they deserve. The ability to organize is a fundamental right for workers; without it, they are at the mercy of their employers, who only see profits and not their employees’ subsistent needs.

While we think the minimum wage for fast food employees in New York City should be raised, the union’s hyperbolic $15-an-hour demand is a lofty place to start. Fast food is not the only industry in the city that pays minimum wage. It would be unfair for only fast-food workers to realize a wage increase while workers in similar conditions watch helplessly on the sidelines.

If this movement catches on, we could see a general increase in the state-wide minimum wage from those in power, which would affirm these efforts and solidify the status of all workers regardless of position.

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

EDITORIAL BOARD: Chris DiNardo (Chair), Jessica Littman (Co-Chair), Christopher Drake, Sasha Leshner, Peter Murphy, Raquel Woodruff and Richard Zhang.

Send mail to: 838 Broadway, Fifth Floor New York, N.Y. 10003 or email: opinion@nyunews.com WSN welcomes letters to the editor, opinion pieces and articles relevant to the NYU community, or in response to articles. Letters should be less than 150 words. All submissions must be typed or emailed and must include the author’s name, address and phone number. Members of the NYU community must include a year and school or job title.

WSN does not print unsigned letters or editorials. WSN reserves the right to reject any submission and edit accepted submissions in any and all ways. With the exception of the staff editorial, opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

8

NYUNEWS.COM | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

SPORTS

EDITED BY THE WSN STAFF SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Rookie quarterbacks can revitalize franchises, fans’ hopes

By EVAN KENDALL As we have now seen for almost the entire 2012 National Football League regular season, drafting a rookie quarterback can be many things: exciting, inspiring, terrifying and regretful. In the cases of Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson, the first two feelings have consistently come to mind.

Luck has led the Indianapolis Colts to a 9-4 record through 13 games — all but guaranteeing a playoff spot unless they lose every game remaining. Luck has brought hope back to Indianapolis after a 2-14 record last season that landed them the bumber one overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. So far, Luck has amassed 3,792 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. That is incredible offensive output for someone with no previous NFL experience.

Griffin, also known as RGIII, has led a similar rookie campaign. He has the Washington Redskins at 7-6, just one game behind the leader of the National Football Conference East, the New York Giants, and has done most of the team’s offensive work to get them there.

So far, RGIII has totaled 2,906 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns with only 4 interceptions, 748 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns. RGIII has been nothing short of phenomenal and has fans happy about their football team for the first time in at least a decade.

Wilson, on the other hand, has not been as dominant but has still led his team to an 8-5 record — good enough for second place in the NFC West. Wilson currently has 2,492 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 310 rushing yards. Most importantly, Wilson has been a leader on Seattle’s offense. Although Luck and RGIII garner most of the NFL’s attention, Wilson has done well enough to be considered one of the league’s top rookie.

COURTESY OF KEITH ALLISON VIA FLICKR.COM

Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III’s offensive strength brought fans back to the National Football League.

Not all players are created equal, and for every good quarterback drafted, there is usually another bad one. Enter, Brandon Weeden.

Weeden was surprisingly drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. At 29 years old, Weeden is by far the oldest rookie quarterback from last year’s draft, but his age did not give him the experience he would need to face the NFL’s best defenses. So far in 2012, Weeden has done very little to be proud of, and his 26.1 quarterback rating, ESPN’s statistic that measures overall QB performance on a zero to 100 scale is ranked 35th out of 36 quarterbacks eligible for the stat this season.

The most unfortunate part about drafting a rookie quar-

terback who flops in the NFL is not about the rookie season or even the year after but about the three-year disaster that it may become. Usually, general managers will give a rookie quarterback three years to develop, but if the QB just is not talented, as is most likely the case with Weeden, it will be a disastrous. By hurting the team, but it also hurts the fans.

When an NFL team is in position to draft a top quarterback because of a bad record that landed them a high pick, it can be a blessing or a curse: The QB can become the savior for the franchise or a joke for future generations of fans.

Evan Kendall is a staff writer.

Email him at sports@nyunews.com.