NYU’s Independent Student Newspaper | est. 1973
nyunews.com
Monday, April 9, 2018
Volume L, Issue 11
ARTS
FEATURES
OPINION
SPORTS
Lorde Embraces the Intimate on ‘Melodrama’ Tour
Leaving the Bars Behind and Starting Anew
Early Decision Favors Affluent Students
The Hidden Injuries of Athletes
ON PAGE 5
ON PAGE 6
ON PAGE 9
ON PAGE 10
TISCH STUDENTS
ENCOUNTER
RACIAL
INSENSITIVITY
IN DRAMA PROGRAM
By Miranda Levingston Editor-at-Large The names of most students have been changed for their safety and the protection of their privacy.
T
amara was walking down a hallway after class last spring when one of her professors plunged their hands unexpectedly into her hair. Tamara is a black drama student at Tisch School of the Arts, and she said the same encounter happened earlier that year at the hands of a different Drama teacher. Both professors were white. After the second incident, Tamara said she almost started crying. “That is a violation of personal space, and for what reason?” Tamara said. “It was even more hurtful because it was a professor. They should know better than just to walk up to me and mess my hair up.” Stories of microaggressions were told to WSN by nine black Tisch students, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss issues surrounding race at Tisch because they did not want to affect relationships with their professors who control both their grades and oftentimes future job prospects in the close-knit theater community. Drama students said their instructors are typically active in the theater industry and become their employers and references. An amiable relationship with their teachers is crucial for their financial wellbeing and success in the field. The students described an atmosphere of racial insensitivity, where some professors stereotype, exclude and silence students and treat race as merely an academic topic. At a school that prides itself on sensitivity and respect for identity, students said the university’s flip attitude toward race is alarming. Ruben Polendo, the recently appointed chair of Tisch Drama, said he is working to address the concerns of marginalized students. Polendo said he recognizes some members of his faculty can be insensitive toward students of color and said he feels a sense of urgency in responding to these issues. “For me, as an artist of color, these conversations aren’t merely important, but they’re actually very personal,” Polendo said. Polendo said that his team has been working with Center for Multicultural Education and Programs to conduct a year-long investigation into each of the 10 Tisch Drama studios and produce mandatory workshops for faculty, staff and students which complement the program. Last September, a Tisch Drama teacher told Drama sophomore Paige she “can’t be all alone on her big mama island,” while critiquing her independence in work. Paige said that she feels constantly and unnecessarily chastised by a few of her teachers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 |