NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
washington square news Vol. 39, No. 51
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011
nyunews.com
Life at NYU Abu Dhabi, one year later
Sexton statement supports Dream Act
By Jaewon Kang
By Jessie Schultz
The night before ralliers gathered on the steps of City Hall to back the New York Development, Relief and Education Act for Alien Minors Act, NYU President John Sexton offered his own words of support. Commending members of the New York State Senate and Assembly who introduced the legislation, Sexton said in a statement on behalf of the university that he hopes the act passes quickly. “NYU recognizes that New York City owes much of its growth and character to the contribution of immigrant communities and has always encouraged students of all ethnic and economic backgrounds to pursue a quality higher education,” Sexton said in the statement. “Expanding educational opportunities for children of immigrants not only helps individual
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james kelleher/wsn
Supporters of the DREAM Act gathered to back the legislation on Saturday.
Clive Davis Institute to expand faculty By Nitasha Maindiratta
The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU plans to increase the number of faculty professionals in the coming years. The announcement comes after the program received a $5 million donation last May from its benefactor and namesake, record producer and NYU alumnus Clive Davis. The institute, which is in its ninth year, is one of the university’s most exclusive programs with an acceptance rate of about 10 percent. “It was important to solidify our mission and our position,” said Jeffrey Rabhan, chair of Recorded Music at Clive Davis. “We have reached a place where everyone feels comfortable and ready to go to the next level.” The program is looking for teachers in three major areas: business, history and criticism and production. While the institute currently has seven full-time faculty, it is looking to expand to 19 full-time faculty over the next five years. To recruit more teachers, the institute plans to spread the news through periodicals and word of mouth. “I’ve never felt better in my life,”
The Tisch program looks to add 12 new faculty members over the next five years. Rabhan said. “The time is right, and the need is there so it is a natural progression for us.” Sheril D. Antonio, associate dean at Clive Davis, said the number of faculty will need to increase as interest in the department grows. She hopes to do so by expanding the collaborative team that delivers the curriculum. Bob Power, a teacher of recorded music at Clive Davis, thinks the faculty expansion is reflective of
the fact that the institute is one of the most popular programs at NYU and in the country. “We stress entrepreneurship in the unique program, and we couple that with the instruction of the staff and faculty who are really professionals at the top of their game,” he said. Nitasha Maindiratta is a staff writer. Email her at university@nyunews.com.
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T-Pain’s album appeals to masses but lacks substance By Alexandria Ethridge
file photo by omari allen
After reaching an official agreement with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2007, NYU opened Part one the doors to of a two-part its first portal series about campus last living AT NYU S e p t e m b e r Abu Dhabi and welcomed the inaugural class of 150 students from over 30 different countries. Since, NYU Abu Dhabi has introduced its second class, now with 161 freshmen hailing from 60 countries. Counting the Class of 2014, the current NYUAD student body represents more than 70 countries and speaks 68 different languages. As the university continues to take shape and solidify as an institution, members of the NYUAD community are reflecting on their first year in the Emirates.
When an artist releases an album titled “rEVOLVEr,” with extra emphasis placed on “evolve,” one would expect a certain level of maturity and change. When that artist is TPain, however, you can bet that will be tossed aside in favor of a dance track and repetitive verses that remind everyone how rich he is. T-Pain gives his haters plenty of new material with an album that delivers more of the same trend-chasing, cheap club-playing songs that have made his over-inflated ego what it is today. “rEVOLVEr” is loaded with 14 songs that all boast immense potential for radio popularity. Give T-Pain this: He demonstrates surprising skill at producing commercially appealing tracks. But the praise ends there. The album opens with “Bang Bang Pow Pow,” a schizophrenic mix of orchestra instrumentals, gunshot sounds and incoherent lyrics that are
angry and defensive for no intelligible reason. Lil Wayne’s verse is the only redeemable aspect of the song. “Bottlez” is more an advertisement for different brands of alcohol than it is a legitimate song. Other songs like “Sho-Time (Pleasure Thang),” “I Don’t Give a Fuk” and “Default Picture” show that T-Pain certainly hasn’t evolved past his disrespectful demeanor toward women, nor his audacious and lavish lifestyle. “Drowning Again” is the only song on the album that seems to make an effort to be taken seriously, using the exhausted cliché of drowning in an ocean to express the artist’s broken heart. But it’s hard to find any genuine heart in this song when it is surrounded by tracks that employ the same sleazy themes T-Pain is known for. Rather than take this opportunity to develop into a
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