WHILE YOU WERE HERE- 2011

Washington Square News PRESENTS

2008

FRESHMAN

2009

SOP H OM OR E

2010 J U N I OR

2011 S E N I OR

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Washington Square news | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | nyunews.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I’d like to ask you to try something. Take a moment, close your eyes and take a look back over the last four years. What shaped your time at NYU? Think about it. Now, answer.

If you can’t or had a hard time doing so, don’t worry. It’s a much tougher question than it sounds.

There is no doubt we have all made memories during our time here at NYU. Living in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, we’ve seen history unfold before us. We’ve seen the first black president elected, NYU students stage a sit-in, Britney Spears resurrect her career from what seemed to be a black hole of self-destruction. We’ve made friends, we’ve shared stories and we’ve gone to class. So with so much going on in your lives, it’s no wonder why something may not immediately come to mind. This is where we hope to help.

Our editorial team has pored over our archives to compile a list of some of the most important events since the 2007-08 school year. In no way is this a comprehensive list, nor is it meant to be. What it is supposed to be is a starting point, something to help you reflect. What it will do is help you remember some of the things that have made your time here at NYU memorable.

And keep in mind, it’s not important to remember something like the Kimmel occupation just because some students managed to take over a building. Instead, what’s more important is remembering how that moment shaped you. It could have been the strong reaction you had to their actions, or it could have been the discussion you had with your friends on how you couldn’t get your daily quesadilla fix. Both are valuable, and we want you to be able to remember that.

Four years is a short time. But the memories you formed during that time will last you forever. They will serve as your eternal reference point, something you will always be able to point to in the future.

So I urge you to flip through these pages and take a close look. Then, go back and see if that question is any easier for you to answer. We hope it is.

— JAYWON CHOE, Editor-in-chief

nyunews.com | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | Washington Square news

FRESHMAN YEAR

2007/ 2008

JUNE 6, 2007

NYU President John Sexton meets with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent. The university meets the challenge in just four years.

JULY 1, 2007

Suzanne Wofford, previously the director of the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, assumes her position as dean of the Gallatin School for Individualized Study.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007

Columbia University students gather to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the university.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2007

Obama rallies over 24,000 people in Washington Square Park to boost votes for the New York primary in his presidential race against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

OCTOBER 8, 2007

Track and field star Marion Jones surrenders her five medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics after admitting to using steroids.

OCTOBER 12, 2007

NYU formally announces plans to open NYU Abu Dhabi, its first degree-granting portal campus outside of New York City.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

Hayden dining hall reopens after changes that include a new menu of locally grown produce, vegan entrées and antibiotic free meats are made.

NOVEMBER 5, 2007

The Writers Guild of America goes on strike, demanding better wages and putting the future of many popular television shows in jeopardy.

NOVEMBER 17, 2007

The NYU men’s cross-country team wins the NCAA Division III Championship against host St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

NOVEMBER 19, 2007

Michael Vick surrenders to U.S. marshals three weeks before being sentenced to jail for being involved in a dogfighting ring.

DECEMBER 10, 2007 The three-year renovations of Washington Square Park begin.

DECEMBER 27, 2007

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state, is assassinated at an election rally in Rawalpindi.

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Washington Square news | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | nyunews.com

07/ 08

JANUARY 22, 2008

FEBRUARY 17, 2008

FEBRUARY 3, 2008

FEBRUARY 19, 2008

Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger is found dead in his New York apartment.

The New York Giants beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots 1714 in Super Bowl XLII, in arguably the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia.

Cuban president Fidel Castro resigns and appoints his brother, Raul, as his successor.

MARCH 6, 2008

A definitive agreement is made to merge Polytechnic University with New York University.

MARCH 12, 2008

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns after it is revealed that he was a frequent client of a prostitution ring.

MARCH 29, 2008

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

NYU announces purchase of Gramercy Green residence hall for $275 million.

The NYU women’s golf team plays in its first ever tournament, the McDaniel College Spring Invitational.

The team placed fifth.

APRIL 7, 2008

NYU Student Cody Brown launches NYU Local.

MAY 12, 2008

The Wenchuan earthquake kills over 69,000 people in southwest China.

AUGUST 8-24, 2008 Beijing, China plays host to the Summer Olympics.

2008/2009

SOPHOMORE YEAR

JUNE 16, 2008

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates steps down from daily duties to devote more time to philanthropy.

JUNE 17, 2008

The Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA championship, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

JUNE 24, 2008

NYU announces NYU Framework 2031, the university’s plan to expand the campus by six million square feet by the school’s bicentennial.

AUGUST 24, 2008

U.S. basketball wins gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

FALL 2008

Construction begins on the Provincetown Playhouse amidst community opposition to the university making changes to the historical landmark.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2008

Celebrated author David Foster Wallace commits suicide at the age of 46.

nyunews.com | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | Washington Square news

JANUARY 15, 2009

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley “Sulley” Sullenberger successfully landed the commercial aircraft in the Hudson River after a bird struck the plane. All passengers survived.

and claims over 15,000 lives worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

April 2009

NYU announces that an NYU campus is to be built in Washington, D.C., the university’s first “study away” site.

April 10, 2009

Three NYU students are arrested after assisting an occupation of the New School, similar to the Kimmel occupation.

April 13, 16, 2009

Citi Field and Yankee Stadium and open as the new homes for the New York Mets and New York Yankees.

Spring ’09

NYU announces that they will build a center for spiritual life next to the Kimmel Center.

April 20, 2009

A car from the parking garage across the street from the NYU Fairchild Building on 12th Street falls from the fifth floor, damaging the building.

February 5, 2009

The University Senate votes to bring Coca-Cola products back to campus after a twoyear ban on the soft drink due to allegations of human rights violations in the company’s South American factories.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, severely depressing the stock market and escalating the global financial crisis.

February 18-20, 2009

Take Back NYU occupies the Kimmel Center, protesting tuition hikes and demanding more university transparency.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

Britney Spears makes a comeback, debuting her song “Womanizer.”

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

California voters pass Proposition 8, a measure stipulating that only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in the state.

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

Barack Obama defeats John McCain, becoming the first African-American president of the United States.

NOVEMBER 10, 2008

NYU students receive a Green Grant to start the NYU Bike to School program. The grant laid infrastructure for the NYU Bike Share, which allows students to rent bikes from different locations on campus free of charge.

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

NYU women’s basketball coach Chris Kosiba abruptly resigns for unknown reasons.

March 7, 2009 NYU women’s basketball advances to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

March 24, 2009 Narnia, a marijuana den within Hayden Residence Hall, is discovered and NYU takes disciplinary action.

April 2009

A new strain of the H1N1 virus, deemed the “swine flu,” breaks out in Mexico

April 15, 2009

Blair Waldorf of TV’s Gossip Girl confirms that she will attend New York University.

April 28, 2009

NYU admits they have incorrectly reported their study abroad crime statistics as being too low.

May ’09

Construction of Founders Hall, a 26-story dorm on 12th St., is completed. NYU purchases the building nearly eight months later for $134.2 million.

May 1, 2009

One of NYU’s secret societies, The Eucleian Society, resurfaces, leaving letters in the Silver Center.

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Washington Square news | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | nyunews.com

2009/2010

JUNIOR YEAR

JUNE 25, 2009

The “King of Pop” Michael Jackson dies in his California residence at the age of 50.

June 25, 2009

Author Zadie Smith joins the NYU Creative Writing faculty.

June 29, 2009

Bernard Madoff is sentenced to 150 years in prison for defrauding hundreds of investors, including NYU, of over $65 billion in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history.

SeptEMBER 2009

NYU eliminates free and 24-hour printing in order to decrease waste and increase university savings.

SeptEMBER 2009

The Tisch drama department cuts ties with Collaborative Arts Project 21 and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, two of its external studios, partly for financial reasons.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Awards and declares Beyoncé had “the best video of all time.”

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

President Obama appoints NYU Tisch Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell as Vice Chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

September 18, 2009

NYU’s Board of Trustees announces that NYU President John Sexton will serve as university president until at least 2016.

Sexton has led the university since 2001.

October 24, 2009

Women’s swim coach Lauren Beam coaches her first meet after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

While coaching under treatment, her team, “Team Beam,” raises over $23,000 for the American Cancer Society at NYU’s Relay for Life the following spring.

November 4, 2009

The New York Yankees win their 27th World Series championship, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Hideki Matsui is named MVP.

NOVEMBER 18, 2009

Lady Gaga releases her critically acclaimed album “The Fame Monster.”

November 21, 2009

The women’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, finishing 24th out of 32 teams.

nyunews.com | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | Washington Square news

November 25, 2009

The National Enquirer publishes a story claiming Tiger Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel. Woods later admitted to multiple infidelities, was divorced by his wife, Elin Nordegren, and took an extended leave from competition.

February 10, 2010

NYU announces University Court and 26th Street residence halls will only house medical school students, removing 6.5 percent of beds from the undergraduate housing system.

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April 10, 2010

New Meadowlands Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets, opens.

January 12, 2010

A devastating 7.0 earthquake hits Port-auPrince, Haiti, killing some 300,000 people and leaving another million homeless.

MARCH 2010

NYU releases its Climate Action Plan, the university’s initiative to become climate neutral in 30 years.

MARCH 4, 2010

January 27, 2010

Historian Howard Zinn, an NYU alumnus and the author of “The People Speak,” dies at the age of 87.

SENIOR YEAR

NYU announces that “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin will be the 2010 commencement speaker.

April 14, 2010

After racking up nearly $700 million in debt, St. Vincent’s hospital declares bankruptcy and shuts its doors just weeks later.

April 26, 2010

Senior Mike Liebfried leads the NYU men’s golf team to their first ever UAA Championship.

2010/2011 JUNE 2010

NYU’s bookstore moves from Greene Street to 726 Broadway. The new location is larger and includes a branch of Think Coffee.

JULY 9, 2010

In the most anticipated free-agency period ever, LeBron James announces he’s leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, “taking his talents to South Beach” to join the Miami Heat.

JULY 11, 2010

Spain wins the FIFA World Cup, defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

NYU Abu Dhabi, the university’s first international degree-granting campus, holds its first day of classes.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2010

NYU announces plans for a new study abroad site in Sydney, Australia, which is set to open in Fall 2012.

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Due to space constraints, NYU officially ends its tradition of holding the all-university commencement in Washington Square Park.

OCTOBER 13, 2010

33 Chilean miners are rescued after spending months trapped underground in a collapsed mine.

OCTOBER 22, 2010

WikiLeaks releases 391,832 classified U.S. Army reports that document the number of deaths in the Iraq war.

OCTOBER 30, 2010

Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear takes over Washington, D.C. for a day.

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Washington Square news | TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 | nyunews.com

10/ 11

NOVEMBER 2010

Four NYU sports teams (men’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country and women’s volleyball) make the NCAA Tournament, capping the most successful fall season in the history of NYU athletics.

November 2, 2010

The GOP gains a majority in the House of Representatives and seats in the Senate in the midterm election.

November 14, 2010

The alcoholic energy drink Four Loko is banned in New York after many of its users became ill.

January 8, 2011

February 16, 2011

NYU Law fellow Nir Rosen resigns after making offensive remarks about CBS reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted in Cairo.

March 11, 2011

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan causes a 23-foot tsunami and a nuclear meltdown. In May, the death toll stood at about 15,000, and about 10,000 were still missing.

March 17, 2011

In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, military intervention is authorized by the U.N. Security Council.

Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is shot by college student Jared Loughner while speaking at a grocery store.

January 21, 2011

After weeks of popular protests, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps down amid revolution in the country.

The New York Times begins charging users who read more than 20 articles per month on the previously free nytimes.com.

April 4, 2011

Former NYU basketball player Tom “Satch” Sanders is elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

April 6, 2011

New York City is taken by Bobby and Violet, two hawks nesting outside Sexton’s office on the 12th floor of Bobst Library.

April 27, 2011

President Obama releases his birth certificate after years of calls from “birthers” who believe he was not born in America. He is, in fact, an American citizen.

April 29, 2011

NYU announces its natural gas-fired cogeneration plant is fully operational.

The plant will save the university $5 to $8 million annually and reduce greenhouse gasses by 23 percent.

February 11, 2011

March 28, 2011

Prince William weds longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

March 28, 2011

Sexton announces that Shanghai will be the home to the university’s second international degree-granting campus.

May 1, 2011

The FBI’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden is killed by U.S. troops in a mansion outside of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Washington Square News Editor-in-Chief JAYWON ERIC CHOE KELSEY DESIDERIO ARIELLE MiLKMAN Deputy Managing Editor KATIE THOMPSON Managing Editor | Print

Managing Editor | Online

Assistant Managing Editor RUSSELL STEINBERG Creative Director FRANCIS POON

senior staff

university SAMANTHA WILSON city/state LILY ALTAVENA campus FEIYE WANG arts MEL ZAHND features DO HOON BAE sports ELDON KHORSHIDI multimedia DAVID LIN copy LAURA SANTOSKI senior editors KIRSTEN CHANG, CLARISSA WEI

deputy staff

university BRIDGETTE DORAN,

JAEWON KANG, LIZZY OTT city/state OMARI ALLEN, JACKII WANG campus YINGYING YU, AMY ZHANG music aaron gonsher film/books ELINA MISHURIS theater ERIC SHETHAR feature SARAH MILNER BARRY dining CLAIRE HOEFFEL fashion JAKE FLANAGIN sports JAMES LANNING, GERALD SCHIFMAN production MERYLL PREPOSI multimedia LAUREN STRAUSSER copy JACK BROOKS

advertising business manager REBECCA RIBEIRO sales manager Stefanie Yotka circulation manager MEagan Driver Advertising coordinator Emily Chen university sales coordinator Emilia Mironovici sales representatives Sophia Aizin, Kaitlyn O’Brien, Melissa Ynegas

advising director of operations editorial adviser

david cosgrove

keith leighty

EDITORS-AT-LARGE

RANDY KREIDER MATT MARGINI RICHA NAIK SARAH NGUYEN ERIC GREGORY PLATT web consultant MICHAEL STRICKLAND

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.

nyunews.com

PHOTO CREDITS

Ricardo/U.S. Air Force; TBNYU: Ben Norman/WSN; Bike: Lauren Strausser/WSN; Spiritual: Julie DeVito/WSN; Gossip: Courtesy of The CW

COVER: smilygrl via Flickr

2009-2010: Smith: Courtesy of NYU; Printing: Nate Hurtsellers/WSN; Sexton: Courtesy of NYU; Kanye: Courtesy of MTV; Gaga: Courtesy of Interscope Records; Haiti: AIDG via Flickr; Campbell: Courtesy of NYU Tisch; XC: Courtesy of NYU Athletics; Zinn: Courtesy of NYU; Climate: NYU; Baldwin: via Wikipedia; St. Vincent’s: File photo by Felicity Wilberg

2007-2008: WGA: Kim Shattuck via Flickr; Spitzer: U.S. Department of State; WSP: File photo by Kate Guenther; Ledger: Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures; China: Cj Jimenez via Flickr; Bhutto: via Wikipedia; Hayden: Courtesy of NYU; XC: Courtesy of NYU Athletics; Gramercy: Brandon Knopp/WSN; Poly: NYU Poly; Golf: Courtesy of NYU Athletics; Local: NYU Local

2008-2009: Celtics: j_lai via Flickr; Britney: Courtesy of Jive Records; Gates: World Economic Forum via Flickr;

DFW: Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company; Prop 8: Max Talbot-Minkin via Flickr; Inauguration: Master Sgt. Cecilio

2010-2011: WSP: Jeffrey Bary via Flickr; Giffords: Bill Morrow via flickr; NYUDC: Courtesy of NYU; Rosen: Center

for American Progress via Flickr; Bin Laden: David Lin/WSN; Mubarak: Presidenza della Repubblica via Wikipedia; Wikileaks: Espen Moe via Flickr; Hawk: Amy Zhang/WSN; Wedding: UK_repsome via Flickr; Japan: Lauren Strausser/ WSN; Shanghai: Casey Kwon/WSN