NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
washington square news Vol. 39, No. 51
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011
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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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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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Washington Square news | MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 | nyunews.com
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Compiled by the
WSN staff
BEST OF WEB THE BEST TWEETS A B OUT
Washington Square News Editor-in-Chief JAYWON ERIC CHOE
NYU
Managing Editor
KELSEY DESIDERIO Deputy Managing Editor
@TheHopsHoney A perk to living by NYU? I can still get away w/ a wknd coffee run in sweats, Uggs & a baseball cap, even tho my college days are long gone! @emiilysweety omfg...bobst is like ktown now lol @bustanutent What’s up in all the naked Santas in Washington Square park?
RUSSELL STEINBERG Assistant Managing Editor
KIRSTEN CHANG Creative Director
@apachefashion Hey old dude, why are you carrying a bag of collard greens throughBobst at 1am?
@elevatedinsight EVERY organization at NYU is starting all their promotional emails for events the same right now. “Stressed over finals? ...”
TERKA CICELOVA senior staff
university JAEWON KANG city/state AMY ZHANG arts CHARLES MAHONEY features AMANDA RANDONE sports JAMES LANNING multimedia LAUREN STRAUSSER enterprise ARIELLE MILKMAN special issues FRANCIS POON brownstone JAKE FLANAGIN copy jack brooks senior editors elizabeth gyori,
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university gentry brown, julie
devito, susannaH griffee city/state hanqing chen, brian
tam, emily yang music parker bruce film/books stefan Melnyk entertainment jonathon
@James Goldstein @sportsguy33 Up to grantland standard? Uh yes @ RHappyGilmore: Tebowmania annoying, but good for the gamenyunews.com/sports/2011/11… via @nyunews
dornbush theater ERIC SHETHAR features EMILY MCDERMOTT dining SARAH KAMENETZ fashion CARRIE COUROGEN sports SANCHAY JAIN, DANIEL
HINTON production MERYLL PREPOSI multimedia DAVID LIN copy MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN,
TODAY
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Uncle Sam’s Fashion on Fifth
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10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 595 Madison Ave.
Tracking the Credit Crisis
10 to 11 a.m. | 48 Wall St.
Fashionistas, gear up for the style excursion of your lives. Head over to Madison Avenue for a walking tour of some of the city’s most lavish, powerhouse designers. Discounts will be offered.
Take a trip to the Museum of Modern Finance for an exhibit looking at the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath.
Dance away those Monday blues with some sizzling salsa beats at the Taj Lounge on 21st Street. The night will feature live performances by Willy’s NYC Salsa Band and will even host a dance lesson at 6:30 p.m.
SNAPSHOT
5 to 11 p.m. | 48 W. 21st St. (between First and Sixth avenues)
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Ground beef
Ten cows died Friday morning on a farm near Hamilton, N.Y. after being electrocuted by a fallen power line, New York State Police reported. The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m., when someone trimming trees accidentally brought the line down. A vet was dispatched to the scene and no humans were hurt, but power remained out in the area until late afternoon. — WKTV-TV
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University prepares emergency operations for snowfall — Yale Daily News
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CSU cycling team fundraises for next season — The Rocky Mountain Collegian
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
KATIE THOMPSON 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 Kelsey Desiderio at managing@nyunews. com or at 212.998.4302.
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nyunews.com | MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 | Washington Square news
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NYUAD continued from PG. 1
Life at NYU Abu Dhabi one year later HOME (FAR) AWAY FROM HOME For NYUAD sophomore Rafael Scharan, walking down the hallways at NYUAD feels like walking through the middle of the United Nations General Assembly. “The diversity of the student body is simply awesome,” Scharan said. “But the most exciting thing is that even though we come from all over the world, we still have lots in common. We all get along perfectly well.” Many students described this bond as being what makes the university stand out from any other. But this bond does not make the distance from campus to home any shorter. NYUAD sophomore Jessica Boren is currently on a leave of absence. Boren is from a small town in Indiana and said she was “horribly homesick” her entire time in Abu Dhabi because she was so far from her husband and family. Still, she said that even homesickness was a way that NYUAD students bonded. “Everyone sort of dealt for each other ... since there were so few of us, and we were all so far away from home,” she said. “Everyone really cared about how everyone else was doing.” At a university with over 300 students and 100 faculty members, surrogate families often form. NYUAD students and most of the staff and faculty live in Sama Tower, located about ten minutes from the downtown campus. Students commonly have dinners, take trips with
professors and even babysit their children. P.J. Henry, associate professor of psychology at NYUAD, taught at DePaul University in Chicago before joining NYU in 2009 and moving to Abu Dhabi a year later. Because he is normally a private person, it was at first difficult to be a part of such a closeknit community, he said. “The other day I was playing Rock Band with a group of students and had a blast,” Henry said. “It’s a closeness I wasn’t anticipating and anywhere [else] would creep me out, but here it’s different.”
A CHANGING CAMPUS Opening a brand new portal campus also means building a robust student life from scratch. When NYUAD opened its doors in 2010, it did so without a formal student government or institutionalized student groups. “If you wanted to get [involved], you had to found a club,” NYUAD sophomore Mohammed Omar said. Omar, who now serves as the president of the student government, said the group has worked particularly to form a unified structure for club recognition process this semester. “Before, there was no structure, [and] there was no organized student opinion,” he said. “Now that there has been an election and there have been students chosen, it’s a lot easier to organized opinion and understand what students want [and] how to move forward.”
Since the university welcomed its first class of students last year, this has drastically changed. In September, the university welcomed its returning and new students with a Hall Council and an Executive Board for its student government that consists of 10 members. Omar said progress was slow at first, because with such a diverse student body, varied cultural and religious identities had to be accounted for. Outside the realm of student life, changes are being made in academics as well. Though the university required all students to declare a major and a multidisciplinary concentration last year, they have since eliminated this requirement. As a result, students now have four additional electives they can take with more room to explore their interests. According to NYUAD provost Fabio Piano, the university is offering about 50 percent more courses than it did last year. “Developing further the relationships between students and faculty remains a primary goal, and giving students opportunities to begin to think of research projects as well as their study abroad — New York included — is not far behind,” he said. NYUAD students have played a significant role in implementing these changes. Students have participated in forums and voted on how they envisioned their student government to operate. They also provided feedback to professors
Debate across NYU’s global network to launch next spring By Jessie Schultz Students from NYU’s Washington Square, abroad and portal campuses will come together as the university launches its first-ever global debate next spring. The debate will be sponsored by the Bickel & Brewer law firm, which partners with NYU to host the High School International Policy Forum. William Baker, director of the Global Debate Program, said the university hopes to encourage discussion and highlight the presence of NYU’s global network. “The goal is to inspire conversation, more so than anything else, and to inspire connectivity, to let students really understand that wherever they are in the network, they’re still part of something larger,” he said. The first round of the debate will take place on Feb. 24, 2012,
where students will participate in the knockout rounds. Teams of two will compete with students at study abroad sites via teleconference until there are only 16 teams remaining. The second round of discourse will take place in New York in April, with the winning team being crowned on April 23. Cash prizes will be awarded to all students who make it to the “Sweet 16,” while the winning team will receive a prize of $5,000. The topic for the spring is whether Wall Street or Washington is more responsible for the current financial crisis. “It really is an important discussion that is part of a much larger and broader debate,” program coordinator Vik Keenan said. “It doesn’t just have to do with here in New York but on the global scale as well.” “It becomes a goal of promoting discussion in a productive
way, so that people understand both sides of the issue,” he added. More than 100 students from abroad sites have already applied and even more have applied from the NYU campus. Gallatin freshman Dani Grant, who is currently on the NYU Debate team, is among the many applicants. “It’s really an exciting opportunity to have the chance to participate on a debate of this scale,” she said. “I’ll prepare the same way I do for other debates. Lots of research so that I can know both sides of the argument.” While the debate is in its first year, Baker said he hopes that the global debate will become a lasting tradition for NYU and that it will bring the different campuses together. Jessie Schultz is a staff writer. Email her at university@nyunews.com.
COURTESY OF NYUAD
After a little more than a year, NYUAD has started to find its identity. about what they liked and disliked about life at NYUAD. Boren said the university has been open to hearing student feedback and concerns. “Because we see [the] administration every day and start a
conversation with them, they are extremely receptive to student voices,” NYUAD sophomore Alistair Blacklock said. Jaewon Kang is university editor. Email her at jkang@nyunews.com.
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Sexton supports DREAM Act students, it helps entire communities, states and the nation as a whole.” Sexton’s statement came on the eve of the New York State Assembly hearing last Friday, which hosted speakers from organizations around the state that support the bill. If passed, the New York DREAM Act will allow universities to give financial aid to undocumented students. Along with the act, members of the state assembly have also pushed for a DREAM Fund to help children of immigrants obtain educational opportunities. Sexton has been a major supporter of the federal DREAM Act, which has yet to pass in Congress. In June, he submitted testimony advocating for the passage of the latest version of the federal act. NYU’s DREAM Team, which was created earlier this fall, advocates for the passage of the act on a federal, state and local level and helps undocumented New York students access higher education. In addition to creating an online petition urging NYU to support the legislation, the coalition is
working with the Student Senate Council to create a scholarship fund for undocumented students at NYU. “For me, it just comes down to right and wrong, and I think everyone has the right to higher education in the states,” said Leah Giffin, a DREAM Team leader and second-year graduate student in Steinhardt. Fred Sanchez, a DREAM Team leader and second-year graduate student in Steinhardt, thinks NYU’s support for the act and scholarship fund is fitting because of its influence and political power in the city. “As we’ve seen, when one university does something so meaningful others will follow, and that’s the kind of way were helping to really push,” he said. “If we think about what it means to be American and be engaged in the democratic process, the students, the dreamers and the people that have led this movement nationwide are by all means American.” Jessie Schultz is a staff writer. Email her at university@nyunews.com.
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ARTS
edited by CHARLES MAHONEY ARTS@nyunews.com
Drawing from experience, Rees finds success in ‘Pariah’ By Jeremy Gossman The heroine of “Pariah,” Alike, would probably feel most comfortable in a coffee shop. But as a young girl struggling with her sexuality and searching for an identity, Alike instead finds herself spending time at a lesbian club, lost in a confusing, hypersexual environment. Director Dee Rees of NYU’s graduate film program set out to create a film about finding one’s own voice. Alike (Adepero Oduye) is trapped among several identities: the perfect daughter, the party girl and the normal teenager. “Alike’s struggle is to just be herself,” Rees said. “Alike’s a pariah because she feels like she doesn’t fit [into] the gay world or the straight world.” Unlike Alike, who lives in Brooklyn, Rees is originally from the suburbs of Nashville. And while her experiences weren’t nearly as traumatic as Alike’s, she still related to the protagonist’s struggles to come out as a lesbian. “When I came out, it wasn’t so much a struggle as knowing my sexuality. It was clear I liked girls,” she said. “The hardest part was within the queer community and being accepted. I wasn’t butch. I wasn’t fem. I was somewhere in between.” Oduye, a second-generation Nigerian immigrant to New York, also knows what it’s like to be an outsider. When Oduye showed up at the Kimmel Center for University Life dressed in her little brother’s clothes, Rees knew that she had found her Alike. “As a director you really know from the first time you meet the actress whether she’s the one,” Rees said. The film provided an environment on set that burst with passion and that kept the cast and crew glued to the set. Everybody, from the production designer and the editor to the actors, was there because they were excited to be part of
and artistic community. In all, the film was shot in just 18 days. One other key element — music — also contributed to Rees’ story of identity and community. Each female character in the film is associated with a different style of music. Rees uses this to show that there isn’t a monolithic presentation of black femininity. The femaledriven soundtrack speaks to where the characters are in their respective journeys. It reflects what is being said on the screen, but also underscores what isn’t being said. “Pariah” was always meant to be a feature film. But since she needed a short film to graduate from NYU, Rees took the first 30 minutes from her feature and turned it into a short, which then made its way around the festival circuit and was granted entry into the Sundance Institute. In its final form, “Pariah” will finally be released on Dec. 28, but it is already drawing critical attention. The film has just been nominated at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Female Lead and the John Cassavetes Award. “It’s kind of validating what we thought, that it’s a universal story,” Rees said. “It’s not just an LGBTQ story. It’s not just a black story. It’s about identity.” Jeremy Grossman is a staff writer. Email him at film@nyunews.com.
COURTESY OF FOCUS FEATURES
‘Pariah’ is a story of finding female identity.
Alfredson masterfully brings genre-setting tale to the big screen
By Alex Greenberger
Some say James Bond single-handedly revolutionized the spy drama. But fans of John le Carré’s best-selling novels will tell you that it was le Carré himself who turned that genre on its head in 1963 with his famed mystery “The Spy Who Came in Cold.” And after seeing Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of le Carré’s 1974 novel “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” I think they might be right. The plot of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is so simple, it may strike the reader as unartistic. George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is the head of the English Circus (the British Secret Service). He is now retired though, and his life has been undone by a broken marriage with his wife. Just when he hits rock bottom, he uncovers a complex conspiracy inside the Circus: There is a Russian traitor somewhere in the Secret Service. Someone is leaking secrets, and it’s up to George discover who it is before it’s too late. The film’s simple plot quickly complexifies over time. The first hour is so laced with British slang, reveries within reveries, false leads and mysterious figures that the film can threaten to be frustrating. The pacing is also quite slow, much slower then the books airport parentage would suggest. For patient viewers, the speed with which things occur will prove to be calculated and suspenseful. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” starts as a le-
COURTESY OF WORKING TITLE FILMS
Gary Oldman heads and all-star cast in “Tinker.” thargic mystery, but at a critical point, it grabs you by the neck and refuses to let go. Yet it’s the ensemble cast and Alfredson’s direction which really make this film great. In what could be one of the greatest British casts ever, Alfredson has managed to assemble Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Graham and, most importantly, Gary Oldman, and direct them in key. Oldman has already been highly praised for his performance in “Soldier Spy,” and there is good reason for this. Most of the acting he does in this film is portrayed through slight facial expressions. Oldman acts with a quiet wit, much like the rest of the cast and the film itself. Alfredson stylizes the film to fit his actor’s restrained performances. The cinematography
of the film is absolutely gorgeous. The camerawork, full of leering tracking shots and beautiful telephoto zoom outs, is wild. Alfredson uses music in a similar way to Tarantino and films his actors with a coldness that could be compared to Kubrick. The marriage of the styles of two masters of cinema is effective. It couldn’t be much better for a movie like this. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is not the average spy movie. If you’re expecting Judi Dench as Q, if you want beautiful women, or if you crave car chases, this is not your movie. Alfredson’s film is, instead, modern cinema at its finest. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is one of the most thrilling films to come out in a long time. Alfred Hitchcock would be pleased. Alex Greenberger is a staff writer. Email him at film@nyunews.com.
HBO’s ‘Life and Times of Tim’ resists evolving and fails By Clio McConnell HBO is known for some pretty weird programming. After all, that’s why HBO exists — to broadcast shows that wouldn’t make it on basic cable. One such show that found its home on the Home Box Office is “The Life and Times of Tim,” which first aired in 2008. Steve Dildarian, the creator, director and producer of the show, also voices the title character. The show follows Tim, a hapless 20-something who tries to cope with his pathetic life in New York City while taking part in all sorts of unfortunate shenanigans with his friends and coworkers. Filled to the brim with sexual jokes, weed humor and social awkwardness, “The Life and Times of Tim” will certainly have its audience, but after watching its second season, I have to say
it’s not quite my cup of tea. The second season, which will be released on DVD on Dec. 13, attempts to simplify social and cultural constructs. While these attempts are occasionally clever (for example, Debbie, the workfrom-home prostitute, tries to turn a trick by yelling down from her living room window), they are often just vulgar and even cringe-worthy. The “slutty Natalie Portman” poster in Tim’s office, and the rather nonsensical line, “If Katharine Hepburn was here, she would kick you in the face,” are both examples of the show going too far, too fast. Based on the season two “making of” bonus video, I think the character Tim was a lot more fun for the actors to work on than it was for me to watch. The cast members have nothing but praise for Dildarian, citing his miraculous ability to act and di-
rect at the same time. Nick Kroll (the voice of best friend Stu) said, “Steve is so good at letting people walk away from the script and find something and come back, and then it gets integrated [into the episode].” “The Life and Times of Tim” is uniquely simple in the way it is created. To make the dialogue as realistic as possible, the recording room was set up to accommodate at least eight actors at a time. The DVD shows that the cast loved this method, though they had a hard time stifling their laughter during scenes they were not part of. Another interesting aspect of Dildarian’s process is the animation. The cartooning style is extremely basic — easily achieved by manipulating layers in Photoshop. The characters have no complex facial expressions; in fact, Dildarian said that the eyes
and mouths “are the only things we have to work with.” The almost childish drawings are purposefully amateurish because, Dildarian said, “People really like the fact that this doesn’t feel polished. It doesn’t feel like TV people made it.” When the cast or crew suggests that they make the animations nicer-looking, the creator wills them to “remember how bad this started and not try to evolve.” Personally, I’m not a fan of the visual style. I can’t stomach most of the humor. And I find it hard to condone the pathetically pitiful lifestyle that Tim is determined to live. That said, the DVD’s bonus features did inspire respect for Dildarian’s firm vision. While I don’t really like the finished product, that may be the consequence of the show’s unique vision. It’s sure to please
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the show’s cult following and, in all likelihood, that will probably be enough for Dildarian. Clio McConnell is a staff writer. Email her at entertainment@nyunews.com
nyunews.com | MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 | Washington Square news
TPAIN continued from PG. 1
T-Pain’s repetitive album lacks substance mature hip-hop artist, T-Pain produces yet another album of crowd-pleasing noise for mindless bodies to enjoy while they gyrate away in dark, pulsing dance clubs — which would be fine, if he didn’t sound so desperate. Artists like Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne have proven that there can still be sophistication within a genre riddled with manufactured stars, but this album demonstrates how far T-Pain has to go if he ever wants to earn prestige as a musician instead of just rapping about it. Despite a noticeable lack of substance, “rEVOLVEr” is sure to get a lot of play on stations due to the absence of thoughtprovoking material and abundance of mass-appeal tracks. Unless you want to be pelted with verses that use repetition of monosyllabic words as a rhyming device, leave your radio off and stay away from MTV. I believe it’ll be a while before these songs will fade away. But once they do, I can’t imagine they will ever be thought of again. Alexandria Ethridge is a staff writer. Email her at music@nyunews.com.
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Best Songs of
2011
“Best of” lists help us make sense of the mountains and mountains of music piled on top of us year after year. These songs, compiled together by the music staff here at WSN, are a cross-section of a year filled with contradictions: the xx-sampling rap music, poppy indie music and (at least) one Yellowcard song that was actually pretty good. If you haven’t checked out these bands or these songs, maybe you should; they’re this year’s best lifelines into new musical worlds. “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West Easily the second-best Kanye West/Otis Reding collaboration, “Otis” is a rare pop song that exudes actual joy, rather than just a punch-drunk party high. The excellent production reduces Reding’s appeal to his purest, most gut-pleasing elements — a choppy guitar line and a few yells — and Jay-Z and Kanye play off each other like two old pros. — Charles Mahoney
“Brown Haired Daughter” by Old 97’s This track has everything that makes an Old 97’s song so great: the sharp lyrics, the rumbling guitar and the wonderful harmonies of Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond. — Josh Johnson
“Sing For Me” by Yellowcard “Sing For Me” takes the violin Yellow-
card is known for and weaves it through a story about lead singer Ryan Key’s late aunt. It is a beautifully sad and poignant song about one woman’s ability to inspire strength and hope in those around her. — Rebecca Kovach
“Marvin’s Room” by Drake Drake had everyone thinking about “those times we used to have” on “Marvin’s Room.” Who hasn’t drunk-dialed an ex with this song in the background? — Justin Block
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“Terra Incognita” by Atlas Sound
“When Will You Go” by The Dodos
A total departure from Atlas Sound’s gritty, loop-centric style, “Terra Incognita” simultaneously feels incredibly isolated and yet massively expansive. Bradford Cox’s vulnerable voice complements a lonely acoustic guitar, creating a totally enthralling and otherworldly experience. — Daniel Fuchs
Every time I listen to this song, I get completely lost in it. There’s this amazing moment of culminating energy in the final verse that really strikes a chord within me and will keep speaking for years to come. — Gabi Jensen
“Puzzle Pieces” by Saint Motel This song by San Francisco-native Saint Motel is the kind of indie pop that mixes just enough indie with just enough pop. — Brian Capuder
“Midnight City” by M83 This electro-synth pop band has graced 2011 with this dreamy, uplifting track. Listen for it, and you’ll start hearing it everywhere, from HBO shows to Victoria’s Secret commercials. — Gloria Lee
“Polish Girl” by Neon Indian With its sleepy, nostalgic vocals, the melodic, electronic beats of this song leave listeners with a feeling of complete satisfaction and relaxation. — Matthew Levine
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“Ungirthed” by Purity Ring Succinct and kooky, “Ungirthed” is music from Toronto that you wish would go on and on all day long. — Parker Bruce
Sports
Commissioner’s realignment plan a boon to NHL By Daniel Hinton Who would have ever thought that while NBA commissioner David Stern’s popularity sank to an all-time low, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s approval would rise to an all-time high? At a meeting of the Board of Governors on Monday, NHL officials approved Bettman’s conference realignment plan. The plan will transform the current East and West conferences and their respective divisions into four geographic conferences — two made up of eight teams and two made up of seven. Each team will play out-of-conference teams twice, while conference teams will play each other six times per year. Disparate amounts of travel and the Atlanta Thrashers’ switch to the Winnipeg Jets helped spur on the realignment. However, the change places the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning at a disadvantage in terms of travel distance, as the current southeast division franchises will join conferences with the five teams from the northeast division. Bettman’s plan ingeniously avoids separating historic rivals,
while at the same time fostering more recent rivalries. For example, the Pittsburgh Penguins will play the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals at least six times each season. The plan also avoids separating the rivalries between teams in Western Canada and Southern California. The realignment will also change the format of playoffs. NHL officials have agreed that the top four teams within each conference will qualify for the playoffs. The first-place team in each conference will play the fourth-place team, while the second-place team will play the thirdplace team. The winners will then play for their respective conference championships before advancing to the semifinals, where they will compete to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. This would maintain the current length of the playoffs at four rounds. The best-of-seven series format has worked well in recent years, with legendary elimination
games and improbable comebacks. Although a decision on how the league will reseed the remaining third-round teams will likely not come until the general managers meet in the spring, these teams should be reseeded based on their regular season point totals. Teams currently divided by the East-West alignment will also no longer have to make it to the championship to play each other. This means that teams from Canada and the Sun Belt will face off much more often in the regular season and in the playoffs —
another plus for fans. With the recent relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers and a possible move for the Phoenix Coyotes at the end of this season, the adjustent will make the league more flexible overall. The Jets, who have to play in the Southeast division this year, will be placed in a conference with geographically closer franchises, such as the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild. If the Coyotes move to Quebec or Ontario, they will be added to a conference as the eighth team, which would not upset the balance as Winnipeg’s relocation did. The new plan, however, is not without its flaws. Players and fans will have reason to complain when one or more teams make the playoffs over teams with better records from different conferences. For instance, if the playoffs started tomorrow, the Ottawa Senators and the St. Louis Blues would make the playoffs and the Wash-
ington Capitals and the San Jose Sharks would not. Under the proposed realignment, the opposite would be true. And teams placed in eight-team conferences will statistically have less of a chance to make the playoffs than teams in seven-team conferences would. Furthermore, the new plan may create a competitive gap. Three of the bottom four teams currently in the Eastern Conference will be placed in the same seven-team conference. The top four teams currently in the Western Conference will be placed in the same eight-team conference. Although these inequalities will exist under the new realignment, they are either inevitable aspects of all professional leagues or they will be negated by competitive parity in the NHL. The NHLPA, the league players’ union, has yet to approve Bettman’s plan. Hopefully they will consider the immense benefits it creates for both the league and fans alike. Well done, commissioner. Daniel Hinton is a deputy sports editor. Email him at dhinton@nyunews.com.
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500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 The new york times crossword & daily sudoku For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, December 12, 2011
Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Healthful retreats 5 Suitcases 9 Minor quarrel 13 Result of four balls, in baseball 14 Ear-related 15 Nothin’ 16 “A Death in the Family” author 17 1964 Beatles hit 19 Part of school that includes push-ups and situps 21 Hive dweller 22 Alternative rock genre 23 Showman associated with the quote “There’s a sucker born every minute” 28 Religious observance 30 Illustrator Edward
31 WSW’s opposite 32 Determined to do 33 Ski lift 34 Somewhat 35 Family groups 36 Gangster’s gun 37 “Et tu, ___?” 38 Is bedridden, say 39 Sumptuous 40 More fit 41 Hawaiian souvenir 42 Any of the Seven Dwarfs, by profession 43 Constricting snakes 44 Chinese restaurant chain 46 “___ the ramparts …” 47 Superannuated 48 Acidity or alkalinity 52 Rating of “Avatar”
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE A B O W
N A N A
A N G E L A
C O R N E T
A N S E P O
A L F R E D H I T C H C O C K
I T A L I C L A T O R T U E
S G A I M O R M I L I O R D N C H F A I A I R S L E D I L C D E L L X E E P E H E R F R I T Y S S I
B E A T E N R O A D S I D E
A O R R T B O O T E L A M R N Y S A L N E E P T
N I E L S E N S C L A M O R
N O R T H V I E T N A M E S E
E S L E M S E E N S I E
A N O I N T
I S I S
S S T S
57 Neat 58 Hawaiian island 59 Expenditures 60 Consumer 61 Collector’s ___ 62 Seven things for a sailor 63 Stable locks? Down 1 Exchange 2 Call on an intercom, as a doctor 3 Baldwin who has hosted “S.N.L.” more times than anyone else 4 Some Halloween costumes 5 Kiss 6 “Exodus” hero 7 Rodeo female 8 Drool 9 Expression that includes a lip curl 10 Salary 11 Brouhaha 12 Sigma’s follower 14 Lhasa ___ (dog) 18 Calf’s meat 20 Prayer enders 23 U.S. mail holders 24 Merchant 25 Part of a galaxy 26 Brings together 27 Something that’s fed along a street 28 What the Red Cross provides 29 Like this clue
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No. 1107
48
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Puzzle by David Steinberg
30 Like tennis rackets and harps
32 Where dandruff accumulates
42 West African land 45 Dull 46 Cry of panic
48 Things to hang 34 Place where hats on trees are studied 49 MasterCard 37 Tower of ___ competitor 39 Retired hockey great Eric 50 Place of bliss
51 Bard’s instrument 52 Hawaiian dish 53 Gangster’s gun 54 Article seen in many places 55 Election day: Abbr. 56 Pilot’s approximation, for short
For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.
nyunews.com | MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 | Washington Square news
7
OPINION
edited by JOHN SURICO opinion@nyunews.com
TABLE TALK
Israel must not feed flames of hatred and inequality By Raquel Woodruff
Lately, Israel has received much criticism from people like Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, from The New York Times’ Roger Cohen and from the American Jewish community. Whether its accusations of increasing isolationism or response to offensive video advertisements intended to coax Israeli expatriates living in the U.S. to go back to Israel, the nation has received some poorly lit media coverage in recent weeks. Sure, it may be insulting that the Israeli government-sponsored videos suggest, whether intentionally or not, that Jewish culture and identity are lost in the United States — with one ad, for instance, showing an elderly Israeli couple heartbroken that their American granddaughter mistakes Hanukkah for Christmas. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed respect when he immediately took the ads down after hearing negative responses from the Jewish Federations of North America. Perhaps Netanyahu could show the same sort of promptness and respectfulness in more cases than one — like when President
Obama was slighted by continued Israeli expansion in the West Bank, against his distinct requisition. And here’s why. After World War II, an influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews migrated to Israel as a place of acceptance — a haven where they finally wouldn’t be persecuted. It was a vision of hope, unity and recovery for the Jewish people. Unfortunately, the Palestinians wouldn’t allow this peace to be realized, and Israel is now caught in a war that sees no end — a war where its enemy would rather die in chaos than live in peace. As ex-Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir had once said, “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate [Israelis].” That statement rings true. The fact that Palestinians keep fighting a war that they cannot — and know they cannot — ever win speaks volumes about what they want. Some of the hard-line extremists won’t settle until Israel and its people are completely destroyed. So, you can understand what Israel is dealing with. But the sad thing about it all is that now, Israel has fallen to strict nationalistic principles
deep-seeded in extreme religious sanctities — just like the people it is fighting against. Israel, in its treatment of Palestinian citizens, is now prostituting the very purpose of its inception — peace. It shouldn’t be feeding the flames of hatred, inequality and racism that dictate the life of its enemy. In Israel, maps outline the roads where Palestinians cannot drive, open shops or even walk. Palestinians in the West Bank face the same persecution that the Jewish people faced and fought against throughout their history. The reality is that the outcome — if there will ever be one — will offend someone. And if it does happen, Israel will have to be the bigger person. The “he started it” sensibilities and relevancy of the drawn-out conflict between Israel and Palestine have long been lost in a goal that was once honorable and legitimate. Israel, along with Palestine, must take responsibility for its own actions before a peace agreement can be put on the table. Raquel Woodruff is a columnist. Her column, “Table Talk,” is about international affairs and domestic issues. Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.
CAMPAIGN 2012
With or without Trump, GOP debate a carnival By Louis Loftus
GOP debates have been in the news lately with the controversial announcements that TV personality and entrepreneur Donald Trump will be hosting a primary debate and that current frontrunner Newt Gingrich will be attending. Much of the backlash in response to this idea has come from Republicans who are afraid that, in the words of former Bush press secretary Ari Fliescher, “Trump risks making a carnival out of a serious presidential campaign.” Yes, Mr. Secretary, and Ashton Kutcher risks making an immature sitcom out of “Two and a Half Men.” Alas, I am afraid that ship has very much sailed. The quality of debates in this country has already deteriorated. presidential debates have always been more show than actual discussion. For better or for worse, American political discourse has evolved to avoid confrontation. Watch a major news network’s presidential debate and then 10 minutes of Parliamentary question time and you will immediately see the difference. In America, there is no thrust and parry, no exchange, no formal argument. It is not entirely correct to even call it debate, as candidates are often barred from rebuttal or from asking their opponents questions. American politicians make speeches, not arguments. One typical example of our new
embarrassing standards came at the CNN Tea Party Debate on Sept. 12. The moderator, Wolf Blitzer, asked Newt Gingrich if it was fair that many U.S. oil companies get tax exemptions and exploit loopholes while making billions of dollars. He responded by saying that President Barack Obama has been hypocritical by giving equivalent tax exemptions to companies focused on green technology like General Electric. Blitzer followed up by saying, “If you eliminate some of those loopholes, those exemptions ... there are those who argue that is, in effect, a tax increase and it would violate a pledge that so many Republicans have made not to raise taxes.” Gingrich’s response was: “Yes, a lot of people argue that. They’re technically right, which is why I’m...” From the trajectory of Newt’s sentence and its context in the argument, one would guess that his next words would either be that he was pro-leaving the corporate loopholes open, even for companies like GE, or that he would need to make some tough calls and close all corporate loopholes. Amazingly, his very next words were, “Look, I’m cheerfully opposed to raising taxes.” Then he rolled out a few lower-taxes-smaller-government platitudes, dropped the term “Obama Depression” and, before you could say Ronald Reagan, the difficult question was gone. And what was Wolf
Blitzer’s response to this shameful and transparent equivocation? “All right, let’s go to Cincinnati.” What is most disheartening about an exchange of this kind is that it is typical, and has thus become unremarkable. The standards of political discourse in this country have fallen so low that when Newt Gingrich (who is actually among the best debaters in the Republican field this year) obviously avoids answering a question about tax policy — likely the most important issue to Republican voters this election — the moderator lets it go and the country forgets about it. And who could be surprised that in the same night, when asked if she agreed with Rick Perry that Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke should be tried for treason (and, I don’t know, hanged), Michele Bachmann’s response was not an immediate “no” and, when asked what he would bring to the White House, Herman Cain answered, “A sense of humor.” In front of a rhetorical backdrop of this kind, Newt Gingrich begins to look like Abraham Lincoln. In explaining his acceptance of Trump’s invitation, Gingrich explained that Trump “is a great showman.” Maybe so, and maybe this new kind of debate is the right kind, but I haven’t heard a good argument for it yet. Louis Loftus is a contributing columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.
NATIONAL SECURITY
NDAA bill to strip Americans of rights By Chris DiNardo Last week, the Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which, along with the annual defense budget, included a section that President Barack Obama has threatened to veto if it comes to his desk intact. Sections 1031 and 1032 include language that, if passed into law, would give the president and the military full authority to arrest, indefinitely detain and interrogate anyone involved in Al Qaeda, the Taliban or anyone associated with a terrorist organization. American citizens would not be exempt from these provisions and thus, if arrested, would also be afforded no trial, no representation and no charges — basically stripping them of their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. Without going into a slippery slope argument about the foreseeable application of this act on law-abiding Americans, there are numerous causes for alarm here. The language of this bill explicitly affirms for the future what the president is already doing now — detaining alleged terrorists with no charges. To give one singular person the power to do this, unchecked by anyone else, is incredibly troubling. And nothing is more corrosive than unchecked power. The government claims that most of Al Qaeda is dead. Combat troops will be coming home from Iraq by month’s end, and there is a popular movement to significantly scale back combat in Afghanistan. The NDAA is what Congress is using to convince the public that the war is still necessary and that the prior justifications for indefinite detention still exist. But, luckily, all of that Congressional gridlock and lack of bipartisanship we hear about — wait, what? It passed 93-7? Even Senator Mark Udall’s amendment, which would have stripped the bill of its most unconstitutional provisions, failed by a 37-61 vote, with more than enough Democrats joining Senate Republicans — the alleged party of small government — to strike it down.
The bill, cosponsored by Republican Senator John McCain and Democrat Senator Carl Levin, also stipulates that these prisoners, potentially American, can be detained “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” The AUMF, passed in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, is another murky statute, granting the president the broadly interpreted power to pursue any of the individuals or groups associated with the Sept. 11 attacks. Since then, this has basically meant, well, anybody we want. If you are declared a terrorist by the state, sans trial, you fall into this realm. And you’ll be able to count on the American people to vigorously nod their heads in blind loyalty, acquiescing to a strippingdown of liberty in the name of security. We nodded in agreement when the president assassinated an American citizen without due process, so why not give him the power to detain who he wants as well? No need to flaunt our justice system’s efficacy by affording them rights and placing them behind bars. In this new, 21st-century international landscape, war has become more amorphous than ever. The U.S. is waging war on a tactic instead of a state, and acts of a criminal nature have been redefined as acts of terrorism and thus, acts of war. The ever-widening “war zone” is not where the bombs are planted; it includes our own backyards. This creates a perpetual Orwellian state of war, one in which we can detain individuals indefinitely, without the slightest bit of evidentiary support. Obama has threatened to veto the bill with these current provisions, and I pray he does. Lost in the partisan kerfuffle where winning and losing power dominates headlines, Congress can sneak this in and the American people end up losing. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, that makes us neither free nor brave. It makes us less American. Chris DiNardo is a contributing columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.
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