Washington Square News April 8, 2019

4 CULTURE

12 SPORTS

Two NYU Students Combine Coffee and Cosmetics

Despite Its POC Star Players, Sports Has a Race Problem

11 OPINION

14 THE WALLKILL JOURNAL

Language for a Changing World

Let It Unfold

VOLUME LII | ISSUE 10

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

NYU Names Poet Elizabeth Alexander as 2019 Commencement Speaker

By VICTOR PORCELLI News Editor

The poet who spoke at former President Barack Obama’s inauguration will speak at the 2019 commencement ceremony.

PHOTO BY DJENEBA ADUAYOM, COURTESY OF NYU

Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, educator, cultural advocate and president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Celebrated poet and Yale University Professor Elizabeth Alexander will speak at NYU’s all-university commencement on May 22 at Yankee Stadium, university spokesperson John Beckman announced on Monday.

Alexander is president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which has given over $3.5 million to NYU since 2017. With an endowment of nearly $7 billion, the foundation funds humanities programs in higher education and has awarded 105 grants collectively worth over $50 million to NYU since 1970.

The commencement ceremony has featured high-profile speakers in recent years, including 11-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who spoke in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Still, Alexander has a long list of accomplishments. She is the former Chair of the African American Studies Department at Yale University, a current Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and her memoir “The Light of the World” was a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Biography or Autobiography in 2016. She also performed her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

NYU will award Alexander, who holds degrees from Yale, Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania, an honorary degree at the ceremony.

NYU will also award honorary degrees

to Abdel Kader Haidara, a researcher from Mali who works to save manuscripts from destruction; Carla Diane Hayden, the first woman and African American to serve as the Librarian of Congress; Douglas R. Lowy (NYU School of Medicine ’68), deputy director of the National Cancer Institute whose research helped in the development of the HPV vaccine; and Terrence McNally, a four-time Tony Award-winning playwright. “[Each honorary degree recipient is] at the forefront of their fields, and they embody NYU’s core values — the generation, dissemination and preservation of knowledge, and its use in service of humanity,” NYU President Andrew Hamilton wrote in the press release. “The powerful achievements of each of our honorary degree designees inspire us all to reach ever higher degrees of wisdom, empathy, and understanding.”

Former NYU President John Sexton will make an appearance at the ceremony and receive the Albert Gallatin Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Society for his part in creating NYU’s global network, which includes the university’s expansion to Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Former chairman and current member of the Board of Trustees Martin Lipton will receive the Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City while Chancellor of NYU Shanghai Yu Lizhong will receive the Presidential Medal for his work as the first leader of a Sino-U.S. joint research university.

Email Victor Porcelli at vporcelli@nyunews.com.

What It Means for NYUAD to Be Fully Funded by the UAE

By MEGHNA MAHARISHI and VICTOR PORCELLI News Editors Public information on NYU Abu Dhabi is limited — to say the least. From labor abuses involved in building the campus to professors who have been denied entry, much about the site has been kept quiet. According to tax returns, though, here’s what we do know: NYUAD is completely funded by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

As originally reported by The Gazelle,

NYUAD’s student newspaper, the tax returns of NYU and NYUAD are publicly available on ProPublica.

In the past, NYUAD has faced controversy over visa denials of professors some said were due to their religious beliefs or their research fields. Other professors have claimed that academic freedom is limited in the region.

When the Emirati government arrested U.K. postgraduate student Matthew Hedges and sentenced him to life imprisonment for espionage charges last year, faculty pointed to his arrest as another example of a lack of academic

Gallatin Arts Fest Embodies School’s Unique Spirit

freedom in the country.

Since its creation, government grants have made up an average of 99% of NYUAD’s revenue — something abnormal for private universities — with the rest coming from investment and rental property income. In a country that has come under fire for increasingly restrictive laws that inhibit free speech, criminalize samesex relations and discriminate against women, NYUAD has faced scrutiny for its relationship with the UAE’s government.

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 MIN JI KIM | WSN

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MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

NEWS

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Edited by VICTOR PORCELLI and MEGHNA MAHARISHI

What It Means for NYUAD to Be Fully Funded by the UAE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Hedges, who was released last year after international on the UAE, said that a fear associated with monetary exchanges is that the independence of those receiving the money, in this case NYUAD, is lost in the process.

“In the U.S., it’s a bit more complicated, simply because of the amount of money that there is in the States from these Middle Eastern countries,” Hedges said in an interview with WSN in February. “The Center for American Progress had to publicly state that they wouldn’t take more money from these Middle Eastern states because it was affecting their independence in their own analysis.

There is an effect.”

The UAE government funds the costs associated with NYUAD, as was referenced in a 2007 provost’s report overviewing the terms between NYU and the UAE government.

Even the costs of construction — which was criticized for labor violations that included housing as many as 15 workers in a room and breaking strikes through police retaliation — were covered by the UAE, as former NYU President John Sexton mentioned in his initial announcement about the campus.

In a statement to WSN, NYUAD spokesperson Kate Chandler said that the university is looking into ways to obtain other forms of revenue.

“As NYU has long made clear, the government of Abu Dhabi addresses the costs associated with the NYU Abu Dhabi campus,” Chandler wrote in an email. “That said, as the institution continues to grow, NYUAD is looking to diversify its sources of revenue

in [the] future through external research grants, philanthropic support and other programs and services.”

At NYU’s Washington Square campus, grants and funding make up about 20% of revenue. Totalling over $6 billion in 2017, NYU’s revenue is much greater than NYUAD’s $164 million.

When it comes to costs, a major expense for both universities is employee salaries and benefits. Since 2011, they have made up about 40% of both universities’ expenses — but since 2015, salaries and benefits made up over 92% of NYUAD’s expenses. It is unclear what caused the disparity in the distribution of expenses.

NYUAD Vice Chancellor — the highest ranking administrator at NYUAD — Alfred Bloom started out with a reported compensation of $56,930 in 2009. Since then, Bloom’s reported salary has increased, peaking at $1,205,476 in 2015. Bloom’s 2015 reported compensation is almost 76% of former NYU President — who oversees all of NYU’s operations — John Sexton’s reported salary in the same year. Sexton’s total compensation was reported to be $1,587,885.

In 2010, Vice Provost for Public Programming at the NYUAD Institute and Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Philip Kennedy was among the highest compensated faculty, with a total compensation of $304,965. Kennedy attended a faculty-hosted forum in New York City on academic freedom in the UAE last December in light of Hedges’ sentencing. At the forum, Kennedy scrutinized the panelists’ experiences

A student walks on NYU Abu Dhabi’s campus. The global site’s revenue is almost 100% government grants from the UAE.

with NYUAD, which included NYUAD Assistant History Professor Lauren Minsky, Social and Cultural Analysis Professor Andrew Ross and Associate Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Professor Arang Keshavarzian. Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Zachary Lockman moderated the event. The panelists primarily shared experiences of harassment and security clearance denials on the basis of research or religion.

“I was interested to note the number of sponsors mentioned,” Kennedy said at the forum. “Where is NYU Abu Dhabi in that?

Why are three people and [Lockman] here with an antagonistic voice on NYU Abu

Dhabi without any of the faculty there on this floor? It strikes me as a bit flawed. I’m not sure there’s a level playing field here.”

NYU’s revenue is around 40 times that of NYUAD’s, but it spends only 20 times more than its Abu Dhabi counterpart on salaries and benefits. Using estimates from NYU and NYUAD concerning the number of employees at each university, NYUAD staff members are paid around $15,000 more on average in yearly salaries and benefits.

In the UAE, there are strict restrictions on research. After the arrest of Hedges, some NYU professors brought up the concern that their counterparts at NYUAD may not have

SAM KLEIN | WSN

as much freedom to pursue their work. Lockman suggested that the administration would not address the issues surrounding NYUAD due to their monetary ties.

“If you go back, John Sexton and Andrew Hamilton said there would be complete academic freedom,” Lockman said in an interview with WSN in November. “We need a conversation as a community, and, unfortunately, the administration doesn’t want to have that conversation, because they made a pact with the devil.”

Email Meghna Maharishi and Victor Porcelli at news@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | News

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

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Green Grants Fund Sustainable Menstrual Products, Film Sets

By ALEXANDRIA JOHNSON Staff Writer From building a carbon-neutral film set to a starting podcast about climate change, eight students and faculty members received Green Grants to finance their eco-friendly projects from the Office of Sustainability last month.

Tisch senior Vanneeda Keowmang will use her Green Grant — which awards up to $20,000 — to create a carbon-neutral set for a television pilot called “Mary and the Mob,” produced by the Advanced Television class at Tisch Film.

Film sets often buy single-use products like water bottles or markers in bulk — products that can increase the project’s carbon footprint.

“Productions buy a case of plastic water bottles a day for the crew, but since you can’t have those bottles on you while you work, you end up with tens of half-drank bottles lying all over and a production assistant has to come around and toss them,” Keowmang said in an email to WSN. With about 300 intermediate and advanced productions done by juniors and seniors in Tisch per semester, film sets can accumulate a huge amount of single-use products that take a long time to decompose. Keowmang said she hopes to apply a step by step process to ensure the set of “Mary and the Mob” is as environmentally friendly as possible.

“Film sets are notoriously wasteful, serving up to about three or four bags of trash a day on a student set,” Keowmang said. “In terms of trash management, we had four bins on set — mixed recycling (plastic, cans, glass), paper, compost and trash.”

In addition, Keowmang encourages

the use of sustainable makeup products for actors, reusable batteries and organic, responsibly sourced snacks for the cast and crew.

NYU Abu Dhabi sophomore Lubnah Ansari wants to apply her grant to a menstruation initiative she began in 2017.

Ansari worked with NYUAD’s Health Promotions Office and an on-campus student group centered around sustainability and environmental justice called Ecoherence on the program, which encouraged the use of environmentally-friendly menstruation products.

Ansari wrote an article for The Gazelle, NYUAD’s student newspaper, where she analyzed chemicals such as bleach and pesticides found in menstrual health products that can harm women’s physical health. Ansari’s alternative is to use menstrual cups or reusable pads. For those who do not wish to transition from tampons, she suggested using organic cotton tampons, but stressed that they also contain non-biodegradable elements.

Jasmine Soltani and Regina Cantu de Alba, research residents from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at Tisch, will use their grant to create a workshop that discusses how to repurpose electronics.

“This project builds on a free store area for abandoned and/or discarded materials and projects, and an electronics garage sale organized by students that allows for re-selling of used materials,” Soltani wrote in an email to WSN. Soltani noted that the electronics found in the free store include optical equipment, circuit boards and home devices. Soltani hosts workshops with students, teaching them how to reuse the electronic equipment. In one workshop, students learned to deconstruct things

COURTESY OF NYU

The Green Grant recipients Vanneeda Keowmang and Heather Vaxer will use their award to build a template for carbon-neutral student film sets.

like a fax machine and a foot massager.

GSAS assistant professor Elaine Gan will create a podcast called the Multispecies Worldbuilding Lab meant to spread knowledge and awareness concerning climate change across generations. Tandon Ph.D. student Omar Gowayed will receive his third Green Grant to teach a vertical farming class to 17 students and volunteers.

Vertical farming uses space more effectively — which can be especially useful in places where space is scarce such as cities — by stacking plants on top of one anoth-

er rather than planting them side-by-side.

Gowayed’s class will expand on his existing aquaponic farming project in the Tandon School of Engineering’s Makerspace, which utilizes underwater plants.

“We put plants in water and their roots are suspended in fish waste, which we use as fertilizer,” Gowayed said to WSN. In addition to his projects, Gowayed’s students plan to pursue their own, such as teaching middle school students about vertical farming or researching types of bacteria.

In order to qualify for the award, mem-

bers of the NYU community had to write both a proposal and an expression of interest that details their budget and scope.

The university has funded more than 100 projects such as these over the years, according to Director of Sustainability Dianne Anderson.

“We look forward to continuing to support the incredible wealth of ideas coming from the NYU community,” Anderson wrote in an email to WSN. Email Alexandria Johnson at news@nyunews.com.

CRIME LOG

Bronx Prep School Encourages Black Students to Excel

By EMILY MASON Deputy News Editor The sound of banging drums reverberates throughout the auditorium as lines of students in long-patterned skirts dance while stepping to the beat of their classmates’ rapid playing. This is African dance class at The Learning Tree Cultural Preparatory School.

The Learning Tree is a private cultural preparatory school in the Bronx established with a curriculum focused on helping black students find an area in which they excel, whether that’s in arts or academia, and serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The school teaches students everything from math to dance to sewing. Now, Learning Tree alumna and Gallatin senior A’nisa Megginson is donating the proceeds from her Stay Woke & Meditate retreat to her old elementary school. “[There was a] big emphasis on wellness and self-esteem promoted at [The Learning Tree],” Megginson said. “I felt so safe and protected in that school and that’s something I didn’t necessarily get to experience until creating Stay Woke & Meditate.”

Megginson transferred to a public school after spending kindergarten through second grade at The Learning Tree and commented on how the difference in curriculum negative-

ly affected her.

“What’s being taught in history courses around the black experience is beginning in slavery and then the general brushstroke that we have Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Obama,” Megginson said. “That’s just one example of the reductive depiction of the black experience.”

Megginson never forgot her experience at The Learning Tree and described that when she transferred to the public school system, she began to feel additional pressures as a black student.

“You hear about school being the vehicle of your liberation and your social mobility,” Megginson said. “But what is never revealed is how detrimental it can be to overwork yourself, especially when you’re coming from an underserved demographic.”

According to Megginson, this pressure can become detrimental to black students, making self-care especially necessary for students of color. Recognizing this, Megginson began Stay Woke & Meditate at NYU, a program for students of color to take time for themselves.

Principal and founder of The Learning Tree Lois Gregory says her upbringing in the Midwest under Jim Crow laws helped her craft a vision for the school.

“The crime was that I believed it,” Gregory said. “I really believed that I

was inferior. To this day I feel unconfident, unaccomplished and I really don’t feel good about myself because that was embedded in me as a child, but I want other children not to ever have that feeling.”

The Learning Tree follows the New York State curriculum but infuses all of its lessons with accomplished black figures to inspire young black children.

“The children know that there are leaders, inventors and artists that were accomplished that look like them,” Gregory said. “You don’t have to say it, scream it, that makes it artificial. You just let them see all people and let them know that they are an integral part of a whole world.”

Megginson’s donation of the proceeds from the Stay Woke & Meditate retreat to The Learning Tree works toward filling a fundraising gap which prevented all eighth graders at the school from attending a trip to Brazil. Gregory emphasized the importance of the trip and how it contributes to The Learning Tree’s ability to maintain their students’ confidence in any environment.

“We find a way to give them every experience that everyone else can have,” Gregory said. “We know that if we don’t do it, they may not get that opportunity.”

Email Emily Mason at emason@nyunews.com.

Student Elbowed in Brittany Hall

By CRIME BOT Robot Reporter From April 1 to 4, the NYU Department of Public Safety received one report of criminal trespass, four reports of larceny, one report of drug law violation and four reports of harassment.

Trespassing On April 4 at 10:17 a.m., a Public Safety Officer reported that an unidentified man refused to leave the lobby of Bobst Library.

NYPD was called and escorted the person out without further incident. The case was closed and referred to the NYPD.

Larceny On April 3 at 12:45 p.m., an NYU staff member reported that two computer adapters were missing from the Silver Center for Arts and Science. A police report was filed. The case is open and under investigation.

On April 2 at 12:28 p.m., an NYU staff member reported a vinyl bag missing from Bobst Library. Police notification was declined. The case is open and under investigation.

On April 2 at 12:26 a.m., a student reported that his laundry bag was missing from a laundry room in Palladium Residence Hall. Police notification was declined. The case is open and under investigation.

On April 4 at 2:13 p.m., an NYU staff member reported a missing camera in 238 Thompson St. A police report was filed. The case is open and under investigation.

Drug Law Violation On April 1 at 8:31 p.m., a resident assistant reported illegal drug possession in Lipton Residence Hall. Police notification was declined. The case is open and under investigation.

Harassment On April 2 at 12 a.m., a student reported being harassed in 1 Washington Place Police notification was declined. The case was closed and referred to the Title IX office.

On April 3 at 1:52 a.m., a student reported being elbowed in Brittany Residence Hall. No injuries were reported.

Police notification was declined. The case is open and under investigation.

On April 2 at 9:40 p.m., an NYU Public Safety officer reported being harassed in Carlyle Court Residence Hall. Police notification was declined. The case is open and under investigation.

On April 1 at 5:10 a.m., an NYU staff member reported being harassed in Rogers Hall. Police notification was declined.

The case is open and under investigation.

Email Crime Bot at news@nyunews.com.

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CULTURE

Edited by FAITH MARNECHECK

Two NYU Students Combine Coffee and Cosmetics

By ARIN GARLAND Dining Editor Over 11 million tons of coffee are produced annually around the world, the vast majority of which ends up in landfills. Gallatin senior Parker Reposa and Stern junior Drew Enyedi are co-founders of Grounded, a company that upcycles coffee grounds into cosmetic products in an effort to minimize this enormous amount of waste.

They partner with local coffee shops looking to rethink their practices around organic waste and use their spent grounds to create soap bars. So far they have three partners: Think Coffee, Ancolie and Urban Backyard. All of their products are available to purchase online and in store at their partnering locations.

Reposa and Enyedi first met in their Social Entrepreneurship class in 2017, where they were charged with the heavy task of coming up with a sustainable business solution to a global crisis.

“In the beginning, we had a very different idea,” Reposa said. “We thought we would address the overall waste problem by starting a socially progressive waste management company — one that excels in organic collection and composting.”

However, entering the waste management business was simply too expensive.

They racked their brains for something that they were uniquely able to provide rather than trying to single-handedly solve one of the world’s biggest waste crises — and they came up with Grounded.

“We were like, ‘Let’s start a brand that makes it very core to our mission to be creating social impact around reducing organic waste,’” Reposa said. “And then we decided to focus in on the coffee industry first.”

Enyedi is majoring in Finance and Sustainable Business and Reposa is concentrating in ‘Regenerative Business and Biomimetic Design.’ Using their experience, they reimagine waste by taking organic byproducts — specifically coffee grounds — and turning them into consumer products.

Coffee grounds are an exfoliant alternative to the now banned microbeads, or small plastic particles often put in personal care items to exfoliate the skin but end up in the oceans after being rinsed off in the sink or shower. Not only are spent coffee

grounds biodegradable, but they also have beauty benefits.

“Coffee grounds just have a lot of really beneficial properties for cosmetic products,” Enyedi said. “It’s a natural exfoliant.”

However, Reposa and Enyedi aren’t the only ones to realize these natural benefits.

Other companies, such as Lush, have their own coffee-incorporated products, but Reposa and Enyedi are selling both beauty and sustainability. Reposa pointed this out while describing the prototype for one of their new products, a coffee scrub mask.

“I think the soap is great,” Cocoburg marketing manager Meg Caccavale said.

Cocoburg is a fellow upcycling company that repurposes coconut meat to make vegan jerky. Caccavale met Reposa at a food and technology event where they both presented their respective company’s products.

“It’s a product that’s helping fight food waste,” Caccavale said. “Also, it’s an all-natural product, so doesn’t make me feel like I’m putting harmful chemicals on my body.”

Their soap is 100% organic and packaged in post-consumer, recycled packaging.

But the creation process was a difficult one for Reposa and Enyedi.

“We’re not chemists, and we’re not soap people,” Reposa said. “We don’t have a cosmetic background or anything.”

Only after multiple tests and iterations were they able to create a fine-tuned product that they were ready to put on the market.

Each bar of soap consists of eight simple ingredients: coffee grounds, coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin (kosher, of vegetable origin), goat’s milk, water and sorbitol for moisturizer.

“It is fairly simple but tackles a pretty huge issue when we think about how much coffee is consumed daily,” Gallatin senior and EarthMatters Co-President Lilly Peale Ferris said. “I can’t imagine how many coffee grounds are thrown away each day and the idea of using a waste product, not only to reduce that waste, but also generate another product, the soap, in a sustainable, low-impact way, is awesome.”

According to a 2014 Vice article, “In Today’s Landfills, Food Is Embalmed for Decades at a Time,” most landfills are covered,

MIN JI KIM | WSN

Gallatin senior Parker Reposa (left) and Stern junior Drew Enyedi (right,) founders of the up-cycling company Grounded, display their handmade face mask and soap. All of their products are made from recycled coffee grounds.

which deprives oxygen from reaching organic matter and prevents decomposition.

Grounded works to alleviate this problem, diverting coffee grounds to waterways, where they naturally decompose and reduce methane emissions.

“I honestly don’t know all the potential negative impacts of this,” Ferris said. “But I can imagine it is less harmful than the alternative of the grounds being sent to landfill, because the excess of landfill bound waste is enormous in this country.”

Reposa acknowledges that it is a system with its caveats. The ideal situation would be that the grounds are returned to their natural cycle, which doesn’t happen 100% of the time when they are washed down the drain. The bottom line is that it is better than the alternative: the grounds ending up trapped in a plastic bag and releasing a substantial amount of methane.

One of the dangers of sustainable branding is falling into a profit-driven mindset, where the goal of the company is selling the

idea of sustainability for profit rather than doing good for the environment.

“Sustainability is becoming more trendy,” Ferris said. “Because of this, I think businesses that brand themselves as sustainable aren’t always as ethical or environmentally responsible as they claim but want to appeal to the trend.”

Sustainability is at the center of Grounded’s mission. However, when Reposa and Enyedi first created their company, their goal was not financially motivated. It started with their environmentally conscious project in their social entrepreneurship class.

“The final project is basically a business plan,” Enyedi said. “So you don’t necessarily need to have a product or anything like that. Definitely didn’t need a website.

I think we were so excited about it, that we did have all those things by the end of the class, and that excitement just sort of drove Grounded into actually becoming a real company.”

To get an A, they created a business model. They decided to continue to develop their product after the class ended and eventually launched Grounded as a full fledged company later that year.

Will lathering our bodies with recycled coffee grounds save the planet? No. But it’s a start.

Grounded allows people to slowly incorporate eco-friendly practices into their lives without having to make any sacrifices.

“I think both of us would like to see a future where there’s a lot less waste, especially in the organic category, and maybe even a future of zero waste in our lifetime,” Reposa said. “Coffee grounds is just one waste stream.”

Though it may seem like a miniscule solution, change cannot be forced, only inspired. But for now, we can take on sustainability slowly, one cup of coffee at a time.

Email Arin Garland at agarland@nyunews.com.

Coffee ‘n Clothes: Instagram Delight, Practical Disaster

HANNA MCNEILA | WSN

Located at 11 Bond St., Coffee ‘n Clothes is a fashion-inspired cafe that started as a trending hashtag and grew into its own brand.

By HANNA MCNEILA Staff Writer Amid the influx of SoHo’s designer streetwear shops, Coffee ‘n Clothes on

11 Bond St. combines luxury fashion with New Yorkers’ favorite caffeinated beverage. Decor and mugs branded with Supreme, Jordan, Bape and Versace logos give the cafe the illusion of

a hypebeast heaven.

The name is somewhat misleading: there’s no retail component to the cafe. A trending hashtag in 2014 that grew from numerous Instagrammers

posting their aesthetic drinks, Coffee ‘n Clothes went from being a media marketing company to a full-fledged cafe that opened a permanent location in March on the ground floor of the multimedia-inspired store Showfields.

Latte art is typical of any quality coffee shop, and Coffee ‘n Clothes goes above and beyond by printing popular brand logos, including Chanel, Comme des Garçons and Balenciaga, onto its coffee and baked goods. However, while the store brands itself as an innovative idea for the media world that blends beauty with taste and offline experiences with online ones, Coffee ‘n Clothes at its core is all appearance and no substance.

The shop delivers on neither of its promises — there are no clothes and the cofee is subpar. The barista recommended I steer clear of ordering a latte if I wanted an actual caffeine fix. While the logos that brand the food and drink are an inventive form of promotion, the small serving size of my coffee and its steep

price made me wary of returning to Coffee ‘n Clothes.

As I walked around the small space, I noticed that everyone had their phones out to document their experience — Coffee ‘n Clothes successfully targets an audience of tourists and Instagram influencers. Even if these customers share their pictures and tag the cafe, Coffee ’n Clothes can’t be expected to grow beyond its numerous Instagram followers. To them, the cafe is a photo op — a chance to wear Stüssy and drink Stüssy at the same time. I guess in this case, the saying is wrong; you actually wear what you eat.

Coffee ‘n Clothes is not going to be your go-to coffee shop. Not suitable for studying, working or doing anything other than taking pictures, this is not a place I would frequently return to. Customers, however, cannot deny that this cafe offers a new way to drink coffee — or at least photograph it.

Email Hanna McNeila at culture@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Culture

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

How to Finesse Some Free Food

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Winter’s Out, but Ice Isn’t

By RIA MITTAL Staff Writer As the weather gets warmer and students slowly begin to creep out from the shadows and into the sunlight, there are bound to be more midday trips to SoHo or Chelsea Piers to enjoy the good weather and overpriced food.

However, with hectic commuting and class schedules, it’s hard to earn some extra cash outside of school to support your hungry habits.

Luckily for us, many New York City establishments offer some opportunities to snag that free dish you’ve been craving.

Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day – April 9 Once a year, Ben & Jerry’s shows its customers just how much it really loves them by giving out free cones of ice cream for an entire day in stores all over the world. So, if the pints of Cherry Garcia and Phish Food in your freezer aren’t enough, hit up the Ben & Jerry’s on St. Mark’s Place this Tuesday between noon and 8 p.m. for some cold, velvety goodness made even sweeter by the dollars you saved.

JORENE HE | WSN

Located at 269 Elizabeth St., Love Adorned is a place to shop for one-of-a-kind jewelry.

Baskin-Robbins Mobile App Another opportunity to get a free cone comes from the Baskin-Robbins mobile app. Customers can enjoy one free regular scoop of any flavor after downloading the app and registering as a first-time user. We all get a little tired of Lipton Dining Hall’s frozen treats selection sometimes, so why not mix it up with some free Baskin-Robbins?

Insomnia Cookies – April 20 Insomnia Cookies are great for both midday munchies and late night sugar cravings. Not only are they offering 20% off on orders over $20 from April 1 to 8, but according to Thrillist, they’re also giving out free cookies on April 20. Let’s be blunt about it — it’s high time you take advantage of this deal.

Foursquare Check-Ins Foursquare is the holy grail of free food. Including free appetizers, drinks, entrees and desserts, Foursquare’s got your back. All you have to do is check in to get free starters at places like Curry & Tandoor Corner, Mexicue, Pangea, Anfora, El Rio Grande and many more. Check in on the Foursquare app for the first time and you could get a soft cookie from Subway, a slice of cheese pizza at Gerorgio’s Pizzeria or any sandwich on the menu at Terri.

For free.

Fests and Fairs There is always a street fair or festival to look forward to in the city and around campus, and we know that most of the time, these lead to free food. So mark your calendars for events like the Bridges International Easter Spring Festival on April 13, New York City’s first-ever Maple Fest on April 14, NYU’s Earth Day Street Fair on April 26 or the NYU Strawberry Fest on May 3 to enjoy the good weather and, even better, free food.

By CELINA KHORMA Staff Writer If you thought the start of April meant that ice season was over, think again.

Load up on unique jewelry to complete your spring outf its from these six places near campus.

Awoke Vintage $ 16 Bedford Ave. This Brooklyn gem sells vintage jewelry staples, from thick gold hoops to quirkier pieces. You’re guaranteed to find items that add instant elegance to any outfit. The best part? Most pieces are in the $20 range, making this spot as affordable as it is trendy. Also, if Brooklyn is too far, the store’s Instagram account doubles as an online store.

Gorjana $$ 298 W. Fourth St. Nothing elevates an outfit like a few understated, yet elegant pieces of jewelry. And at Gorjana, you can find a plethora of just that. Minimalism is the move here with fine, dainty accessories that seem simple at first glance but add instant glamor. The Chloe Short Lariat necklace, a thin, gold piece embellished with occasional charms, pairs perfectly

with a basic white shirt and some lightwash blue jeans.

Cloak & Dagger $$ 334 E. Ninth St. Not just a jewelry store, the East Village’s Cloak & Dagger is the perfect spot to find any addition to your wardrobe.

All items adhere to the neighborhood’s classic boho look. The Vanessa Mooney Claudette earrings with a drop-down , black thread accent add instant whimsy, and the By Boe Glassy Orbit earrings offer a new take on your classic hoops.

Clay Pot $$$ 22 Spring St. For some, like Steinhardt junior Jane Kirby, simplicity doesn’t cut it. She instead looks to Clay Pot for eccentric pieces from a range of different designers.

“They have great gold hoops and studs,” she said.

The vibe is decidedly bohemian. Many of the pieces are adorned with outlandish stones and archaic-looking designs.

One of their most unique items is Debbie Fisher’s Ruby and Garnet necklace, a beaded chain with magenta stones dropping down the middle. Be watchful though; things can get pricey here.

Erica Weiner $$$ 173 Elizabeth St. Erica Weiner is another spot that sells jewelry across a variety of price ranges. The most expensive pieces are in its antique selection, which it collects from jewelers around the globe. CAS junior Lily Bilton says that Erica Weiner is her spot for simple pieces that can absolutely transform an outfit.

“I love their rings and necklaces,” she said. “You can find a ton of items that are great quality and not super expensive.”

The cashmere chain ring is one such piece. It combines rocker-chic with a minimalist finish, as does the Diamondz & Pearlz necklace with black nuggets.

Love Adorned $$$ 269 Elizabeth St. Love Adorned carries a range of delicate earrings to curated vintage pieces along with home decor items. Its pieces are on the expensive side, so look here for a piece you plan on rocking often.

If you’re looking to propose to the one, Love Adorned also has engagement rings so you can can adorn your loved one in diamonds.

Email Celina Khorma at bstyle@nyunews.com.

Email Ria Mittal at dining@nyunews.com.

ALINA PATRICK | WSN

Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day will be on Tuesday, April 9.

JORENE HE | WSN

Immune to waves of fast fashion and throwaway culture, Love Adorned values utility, aesthetics, and craftsmanship.

Interested in working for us?

Come to our Sunday pitch meetings.

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MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

ARTS

ARTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Edited by GURU RAMANATHAN

Gallatin Arts Fest Embodies School’s Unique Spirit

By ALEX CULLINA Theater & Books Editor The 26th annual Gallatin Arts Festival, a weeklong showcase of artwork and performances by students in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, kicks off tonight with a gallery opening, an evening of performances and wine and hors d’oeuvres.

A team of more than a dozen undergraduates, two faculty members, a graduate student and a smattering of building staff and administrators collaborated to assemble GAF over months of assessing submissions, organizing and workshopping performances, installing pieces, social media outreach and more.

“This festival, especially this year’s content, is trying to challenge the norm of festivals and performance and audience experience,” said Artistic Director Kristin Horton, a theater director and Gallatin professor.

The work the curators and producers select often grapples with apparently disparate academic fields. “I think it’s very reflective of the Gallatin community where everything is so interdisciplinary and people don’t engage in just one practice or one theme,” said Andrea Meyer, a curator and Gallatin senior.

One example the curators cited is Mamoun Nukumanu’s work “Polyzome,” which includes a microbial culture housed in a hand-blown glass container.

“It’s like the cross-section between fine art and biology,” said Emily Cunningham, a curator and Gallatin senior.

“And it’s executed so well,” said fellow curator Laura Rendon, a Gallatin firstyear. “[Nukumanu] really knows what he’s doing,” she said.

Operating within Gallatin’s signature framework of independent, student-led

academic inquiry, GAF is put together mostly by a team of Gallatin students, led

by Festival Manager Cheyenne Myrie, a second-year graduate student in the school.

“Kristin and I have a very similar philosophy that it is the students’ festival,” said Visual Arts Advisor Keith Miller, who also serves as the director of the Gallatin Galleries and as a member of the Gallatin faculty.

He and Horton give the producers and curators general guidance, but their approach is relatively hands-off.

Starting at the beginning of the spring semester, two groups of undergraduates — a team of curators and a team of producers — evaluate submissions over several months; they make decisions about which works to accept and then about how to present the accepted work.

“We looked for innovative ways of being interdisciplinary, and asked the question, ‘Why is this piece important to show in the here and now, and how does it connect to the world at large?’” said producer Cheryle Chong, a Gallatin senior.

Generally speaking, the curators — guided by Miller — work with the visual arts pieces, which will be on display in the Gallatin Galleries, while the producers — guided

by Horton — focus on performance-based work that will be shown in the Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for the Performing Arts.

The curators’ job is relatively straightforward — they work together to figure out how best to display work within the Gallatin Galleries’ space. The producers’ responsibilities are less strictly defined.

“In the initial stages, it’s a lot about like envisioning what the sort of long-term plan is, what the timeline is,” producer and Gallatin sophomore Mouli Ghosh said. “Then as we get closer to tech [week], it’s a lot of logistical sorts of things.” “[Producers] also serve as an outside eye,

and reflect back on the audience experience,” Horton said.

In classic Gallatin fashion, many of the pieces to be shown straddle the line between performance and visual art. Pieces that fall under the umbrella term “performance art” are generally within the curators’ purview, and are presented in the gallery space.

The first GAF was held in 1992, spearheaded by Gallatin professor Laurin Raiken and graduate student Barry Spanier before Gallatin had its own building. When Miller first became involved with the festival in 2007, it was still being held in whatever spaces around the city GAF could find.

“I think that our ambitions have gotten bigger [since 2007],” Miller said. “Originally it felt maybe a little bit more like a college student show, and now it starts to feel more and more like a show,” he said.

Today, the festival occupies a unique place within both Gallatin and NYU as a whole.

“There aren’t a lot of avenues for fine art especially, so this is just a really good opportunity for artistic Gallatin students to show their work,” Cunningham said.

“A lot of these works are emerging from the scholarship that we’re engaged with here at Gallatin, but also expanding beyond that,” said Ellie New, a producer and junior in the school. “We’re a venue and an opportunity in which artists can try new forms or new mediums and look at how to engage their artistic practice with what they’re doing here at school, and also work outside of their comfort zone.”

But GAF is also a moment for the Gallatin community, defined by its students’ independence and self-directed academic inquiry, to come together.

“This is a community festival that really emphasizes community-build-

MIN JI KIM | WSN

A poster for the Gallatin Arts Festival, which opens Monday night.

ing,” Horton said.

The Gallatin Arts Festival runs April 8 to 12 in the Gallatin Galleries and the Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for the Performing Arts, both in the Gallatin building at 1

Washington Place. A full list of artists and a schedule of performances can be found here.

Email Alex Cullina at acullina@nyunews.com.

Fanning Brings Depth to the Flossy Sugar High of ‘Teen Spirit’

COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE FILMS

Elle Fanning plays Violet Valenski in “Teen Spirit,” which is about a teenager who competes in a singing competition, trying to become a pop star.

By JULIE GOLDBERG Staff Writer It’s no secret that Elle Fanning is a captivating presence on screen. In “Teen Spirit,” an indie take on a Cinderella story, she proves to possess not only serious acting chops but an ethereal singing voice and establishes herself as an infectiously exultant vocal performer. I wouldn’t be shocked if the 20-year-old starlet finds herself at the

precipice of a second career; her performance of Sigrid’s “Don’t Kill My Vibe” in one of the final scenes of the film is electric, wild and even therapeutic — everything that a pop song, and perhaps “Teen Spirit” aspires to be.

Opening to the bubbly, electronic beat of Grimes’s “Genesis” laid over images of the sublime yet desolate landscape of the British Isle of Wight, Max Minghella’s directorial debut tells the story of a 17-year-

old girl with pop star aspirations.

The daughter of a Polish immigrant mother (Agnieszka Grochowska), Violet Valenski dreams of being a pop singer a la Grimes or Ellie Goulding but is resigned to singing in church choir, and to a smattering of belligerent old men at a local pub. Vlad (Zlatko Burić), a loveable drunkard who happens to be a retired but once hugely celebrated opera singer, takes note of her talent and insists on being her manager.

When the popular talent competition known as “Teen Spirit” holds an open call on the island, Violet grasps onto her chance to escape her bleak reality and seize her dreams, progressing, with a few hitches along the way, through the various stages of auditions to the televised finals in London. Vlad and Violet form an endearing bond, as he mentors her not only in vocal training but in the more enigmatic qualities of performance as well.

“When you’re on stage, you’re exposed,” Vlad tells her. “Yes, your singing is important. But what they are really seeing is your soul.”

In some ways, it is a predictable, cookie-cutter film about a small-town girl with big dreams, from the gruff, unlikely mentor — think Hagrid if he were a washedup opera singer — to Violet’s horse-girl roots, to the offer of a shiny yet heavily stipulated contract with a big-time record label. When Violet tells reporters, “I don’t believe in love. Love doesn’t exist,” all of

the particularity of Violet Valinski and the idiosyncratic wonder of Elle Fanning is instantly squashed into a two-dimensional archetype of the child of a broken home.

In other ways, however, it is decidedly subversive, and particularly so in its decision to leave a number of different subplots — Violet’s tentative romance with a curly-headed boy in her back-up band, or Vlad’s estranged relationship with his daughter — open-ended. In ignoring these plotlines, the film asks a bold question: Who cares? In the end, Violet gets what she wants. Perhaps none of the other stuff requires a resolution; perhaps it can all be transcended through the joy — so contagiously written across Fanning’s face each time she is on stage — of music, of the assertion of an individual’s power through that which they love most in the world.

While we wish we could see more of Violet’s personality and dig deeper into her psyche, I’d argue that what we see is enough. Each time she steps on stage to perform, we are blasted into the technicolor world of a pop music video, allowing us a glimpse into her world and the transcendent nature of performance. Violet may appear to be an enigmatic protagonist, but when she is onstage, we see her soul, as Vlad says.

The film is also refreshingly realistic about its heroine. While Violet isn’t the most popular or social girl at school, she isn’t an outcast either. Despite her la-

ser-like focus on her goals and ostensible ambivalence towards dating, fashion and more, she is not so wise beyond her years as to be immune to the flirtations of a handsome pop star or the consequences from a night of binge drinking. She also doesn’t go unnoticed by boys just because she is typically seen bare-faced with her hair in a sloppy bun.

While the film may occasionally capitalize on the lo-fi appeal of pink mood lighting and trendy vintage windbreakers — Violet looks like your average Gen-Z art student — to mask a dearth of substance, the aesthetic appeal is irresistibly seductive and inextricable from the substantive claims made by the film about the intangible power of pop.

With a less gifted actress at its center, the emotional heart of “Teen Spirit” may have easily disappeared beneath its twinkly, neon exterior. Bolstered by Fanning’s enchanting portrayal of Violet, however, as well as by an on-the-pulse soundtrack and strong supporting cast, Minghella delivers a film that, if not exceptionally insightful, at least offers a 92-minute pop-suffused thrill, a kind of film reproduction of the obliterative euphoria of a good pop song.

“Teen Spirit” will be in limited release starting April 12.

Email Julie Goldberg at film@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Arts

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

Earl Sweatshirt ‘Fires Up’ Irving Plaza

Behind the Script of Tisch’s ‘Medusa’

By AASHNA AGARWAL Staff Writer “Medusa,” a new musical presented by Tisch Drama’s New Studio on Broadway, sheds light on how long humans have been grappling with assault at the hands of men in power. Based on the ancient Greek myth of a woman transformed into a murderous, snake-haired monster, the show turns the story on its head, focusing on its protagonist’s humanity as a survivor of rape.

The show, running through April 13 at the Frederick Loewe Theatre, was written in 2017 at the start of the #MeToo movement; it originated as a graduate thesis by Wes Braver and Rachel Dean, at the time students in the Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

The story follows Medusa, played by Akilah Ayanna, a mortal and an outsider in Athens. Once Poseidon (Ray Fanara and Jack Brinsmaid), the god of the sea, rapes her, her life soon begins to unravel, and she is accused of crimes she hasn’t committed.

In the original myth, the goddess Athena transforms Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair; she is later killed by Perseus (Javier Fox and Oliver Prose), son of Poseidon, who is revered for doing so. Braver and Dean interpreted the myth differently, writing the script to instead empower Medusa.

“During the summer of Brock Turner and Bill Cosby and everything, we were just shocked and outraged that a story that is this old is still so relevant,” Dean said.

“So we kept that central tenet of Poseidon raping Medusa and then her being turned into a monster.”

Set in Ancient Greece with modern dialogue and music, “Medusa” is both authentic to its origins and relatable to a contemporary audience. The show utilizes a chorus like those found in ancient Greek drama, while its music incorporates elements of rock, pop and hip-hop.

Braver and Dean make sure to address the many facets of violence against women, including the racism that permeates the conversation about assault.

“We are tired of seeing violence on women’s bodies,” Dean said. “We especially are tired of seeing violence on black women. In our show, Medusa is always portrayed by a black actress. They’re always the sacrificial characters, that other character who’s dying to make people feel grief. It’s not really fair to them as characters or as humans.”

The musical is co-presented by Collaborative, Development & Production, an initiative that organizes workshop productions of new musicals from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. The show has gone through multiple workshops, but this is the largest production of “Medusa” yet — with a five-piece band, 23 cast members and an even more expansive crew. With earlier rehearsals before spring break being held in cramped rooms at Pearl Studios on Eighth Avenue, the process of putting together a show of this scale

9

has been hectic.

“Everybody has carried themselves really professionally in this process,” Music Director Mark Evans said. “I think part of that has to do with the fact that everybody really cares about the show and thinks the show is very strong and important.”

Brandon Anderson, Artistic Director of CDP and Managing Artistic Director of the Tisch New Musical Theatre Workshop, has been integral to the progression of “Medusa.” He, along with Evans and Director Mia Sommese, selected “Medusa” for CDP’s summer workshop, where it went on to become a part of this year’s curriculum for New Studio.

Evans has loved watching the show come to life. The advanced tech and devoted crew have made Braver and Dean’s latest rewrite all the more larger-than-life. Braver, Dean and Evans all attribute much of the production’s vibrancy to set designer Anton Volovsek’s incredible work, each citing the marble floor as one of the many aspects they’re excited for.

“The crew is doing awesome. We’d be nothing without the incredible dedication of everyone involved,” Braver said. “I walk in and there’s 20 people doing work on this thing that’s been our dream for three years who I’ve never even met before.”

Braver can’t imagine the production without the creativity and insight of costume designer Kt Harris. Her neutral and cool designs for the chorus allow room for characterizing accessories that emphasize their transitions into soldiers, priestesses and other background roles.

One of the biggest changes made in their recent rewrite was an entire overhaul of the original ending.

Both Braver and Dean have undergraduate degrees in music, which allows them to share credit for both the music and the script. Their best ideas are born out of the tension from the intermingling of their responsibilities. Braver is even playing keyboard for the show.

“When we’re all looking for these answers together, we are bound to find more.

We are all voices in this piece,” Braver said.

“Musical theatre is inherently the most collaborative art form I feel.”

The show was partially inspired by central ideas of the essay “The Laugh of the Medusa,” by French feminist philosopher Helene Cixous. “The first was that men are afraid that women will laugh at them and women are afraid that men will kill them,” Dean said, “and then the other thing was, and I’m totally paraphrasing, but in order to evince change in society, we need to change the stories that we tell ourselves as a society.”

“Medusa” is running at the Frederick Loewe Theatre, 721 Broadway (Second floor), through April 13.

Email Aashna Agarwal at theater@nyunews.com.

VIA NYU

Located at 35 W. Fourth St., Frederick Loewe Theater puts on performances nearly every week.

VIA FACEBOOK

Earl Sweatshirt performs at Irving Plaza on March 30.

By KAMAU LITTLETREE HOLSTON

Contributing Writer Thebe Kgositsile, better known as Earl Sweatshirt, returned to New York City Saturday to put on an unforgettable sold-out show at Irving Plaza, his first concert in the city in almost two years. Though Kgositsile hasn’t been in album-tour mode since 2015’s “I Don’t Like Sh-t, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt” run, he’s kept himself busy these past few years.

This past December, the wordsmith and former Odd Future affiliate released his third studio album “Some Rap Songs” to widespread critical acclaim; the record stands as a unique and avant-Hip-Hop meditation on fame, family and finding one’s self in a saturated arena of pop-rap and formulaic trap bangers. In January, Kgositsile released a short film to accompany “Some Rap Songs” titled “Nowhere, Nobody,” which sees the rapper delve deeper into experimental ways of communicating the lyrical motifs that often pervade his music — concepts like depression, death and growth.

Aside from his own music, Kgositsile has spent the last few years quietly collaborating with other artists and working on his own hobbies. In 2016, Kgositsile teamed up with Red Bull Radio to host “Stay Inside” featuring guests like Knxwledge, Standing on the Corner and Solange — the last of which he opened for on her 2017 “A Seat at the Table” tour and also contributed production credits for her most recent project “When I Get Home.” Despite Kgositsile’s last album title, the 25-year-old producer-rapper-radio host seems to be both enjoying life and going outside.

The energy at Irving Plaza was already palpable by the time Kgositsile arrived onstage Saturday night, partly due to the buoyant performances put on by opening acts Na-Kel Smith and BbyMutha. For fans who had the opportunity to see Kgositsile perform in years past, there was a stark difference between the energy of past shows and this one, namely symbolized in the tour’s name “FIRE IT UP!” While Kgositsile’s last tour came from a place of solitude, depression and a clear aversion to the outdoors — feelings which fans believe were definitely

reflected in his onstage energy — this tour sees Kgositsile back with a vengeance — healthier, happier and even better than before.

Though Earl’s “FIRE IT UP!” tour came directly off the heels of “Some Rap Songs,” this didn’t stop the MC from opening his set with three fan favorites from his 2013 debut studio album “Doris.” After getting the crowd warmed up with a few bars from “Molasses,” Kgositsile quickly transitioned into the abrasive, bassheavy “20 Wave Caps,” before ending the “Doris” medley with “Burgundy.” For longtime fans and Kgositsile purists in the audience — attendees whose presence seemed to surprise the singer — there could not have been a better way to open the show than with nostalgia-laden tracks from over half a decade ago.

Kgositsile seemed genuinely happy and visibly more confident in his ability to keep the energy going. He started with a three-track medley from “Some Rap Songs,” featuring “December 24,” “Ontheway!” and “The Mint” alongside Navy Blue, who came onstage to rap his verse. Kgositsile continued his “Some Rap Songs” medley with the next three songs from the album, “The Bends,” “Loosie” and “Azucar,” and concertgoers struggled to keep up with Kgositsile’s continuous lyrical onslaught while battling the inevitable dehydration and cottonmouth that plagues rap concerts.

Excited to hear material outside of “Some Rap Songs,” the crowd came to life again as Kgositsile followed with “Huey,” “Faucet,” “Grief” and “Off Top,” before bringing out Da$h for “Grown Ups” and Wiki of Ratking for “AM // Radio.” Two longtime collaborators and friends of Kgositsile, Da$h and Wiki turned their energy levels up to 11, pouring their hearts and souls into every lyric and encouraging the crowd to rap every word along with them. At this point in the show, the camaraderie among fans and artists alike was too palpable to ignore.

Kgositsile followed up his ode to “I Don’t Like Sh-t with “Pre,” the opening track from 2013’s “Doris” and another throwback to his post-Odd Future days, then immediately brought the audience back to the present with “Nowhere2go,” the lead single from “Some Rap Songs.” Call the move symbolic or unintentional, but there

was something almost surreal about seeing Kgositsile trade raps like “bruh the broad aryan / know the squad loiterers” — referencing his ex-girlfriend Mallory and the 2012 Odd Future-led variety show “Loiter Squad” — for introspective bars like “I redefined myself / first I had to find it (uh)” from “Nowhere2go” and “there’s not a black woman I can’t thank.”

Before delving back into “Some Rap Songs,” Kgositsile took some time to shout out the dedicated fans in the audience with a few unreleased deep cuts. For those Kgositsile fans in the audience who have been able to keep up with his unreleased YouTube live recordings, low-key SoundCloud accounts and sporadic non-album music, this was truly a treat. After performing two unreleased tracks from his post-“I Don’t Like Sh-t,” pre-“Some Rap Songs” era — 2016’s “Wind In My Sails” and mid-2017’s “Head Heavy” — Kgositsile showed more love to the internet heads in the audience with “Quest/Power,” a pre“I Don’t Like Sh-t” track that helped separate the longtime fans from his newer ones.

At this point in the show, Kgositsile had twice warned his audience that the next song would be his last, but there was still no end in sight.

While it was difficult to discern whether or not Kgositsile was treating the audience with music not originally on the setlist because he was so happy with Irving Plaza’s energy or if he was just joking around for the sake of it, it seemed like he was having a blast.

Finally, after the third time Kgositsile mentioned the subsequent song would be the last, it really felt like the show was coming to a close.

Wrapping up his ode to “Some Rap Songs” with “Shattered Dreams” and “Cold Summers,” Kgositsile brought back out Na-Kel for “DNA” off of “I Don’t Like Sh-t” to close out the show. In an extremely heartfelt moment, Na-Kel, after wrapping up his verse from “DNA” that dealt with losing a close friend, he thanked Kgositsile for the opportunity to open the show and for all the friendship he’s shown him over the last decade.

After a tender “I love you, bro” was exchanged between both Kgositsile and Na-Kel, they closed out the show with “Riot!” which samples an original composition by South African jazz pioneer Hugh Masekela, a close friend of Kgositsile’s late father Keorapetse Kgositsile.

Refusing to end on a solemn note, Kgositsile encouraged the crowd to turn up with him one last time for the night, to which he received chants to play popular track “Hive.” He exclaimed “I’m not [trying to] turn up to my music!” before encouraging his DJ to play something to get the crowd going. At this point the show seemed like it might go on longer before the DJ growled into the mic — leading Kgositsile to finally end the show.

Clearly caught off guard by this classic New York City radio DJ move, Kgositsile joked “this man really growled into the mic y’all […] we gotta get outta here. Yeah that’s it, I can’t believe you just growled,” and the concert ended soon after.

With all the love and positive energy in the building Saturday night, fans of the new-and-improved Kgositsile might be expecting more positivity and less self-deprecation from his music in the future.

Email Kamau Littletree Holston at music@nyunews.com.

10

Washington Square News | Opinion

OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

OPINION

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

Edited by HANNA KHOSRAVI and MELANIE PINEDA

OP-ED YOUR EYES

Online Courses Are Ultimately a Step Forward for Learning

By DIYA JAIN Columnist This past week, the executive director of UNICEF released data stating that 364 million children worldwide do not have access to the internet. For most of us, losing internet access means not being able to check our Instagram feed or, god forbid, losing our Snapchat streaks.

For some, though, the internet can be more than just a way to connect on social media. A number of young people are choosing to study online rather than go the old textbook route. This has its own set of

disadvantages — online courses are more susceptible to cheating and fraud on both ends with no one to monitor them. But despite their flaws, these classes are more of an advantage than a disadvantage to people around the world.

While access is limited to those with internet, there is work being done to bring online education to every corner of the globe.

Online courses are an important part of the changing nature of education and should not be dismissed.

Universities such as the University of California, Berkeley and Ashton College in Canada provide a variety of online courses for students who want to study at their own pace or from a space in which they are comfortable. The internet facilitates easy access to a host of professors who can convey information through video and audio.

Thousands of underprivileged children across the world also make use of online courses. For example, Elvis Chidera, a Nigerian boy who did not have the resources to further his passion for coding, was able to

do so by taking online classes. Chidera saved 100 Nigerian Naira — the equivalent of about 28 cents — every month, in order to pay for the internet to learn coding languages online. This story presents the perspective of a completely different consumer of online courses — eager students who simply want an education.

Resources such as Khan Academy provide the perfect mix of an ethical forum and a medium that is free for all who are eager to learn. As an international student, I made use of Khan Academy to study for my AP Microeconomics course, because it was so different from the way economics was taught in my home country. Soon, Salman Khan — the founder of Khan Academy who teaches most of the courses himself — became less like a distant voice and more like an influential teacher. Khan Academy boasts an impressive success rate — students grow using the colorful interface, lectures offered by experts in their fields and consistent exercises available on the platform.

A study conducted by the Interna-

tional Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning in 2018 found that nontraditional mediums of learning such as e-laboratories could be just as effective as a traditional classroom. But as someone who prefers physical copies of textbooks and makes full use of the printing facilities afforded by NYU to make copies of all my online notes (my printing balance is a single digit), I know the old-school way of studying still has its pros. Face-to-face interactions with a professor, a dynamic classroom and an emphasis on discussion all help to foster the growth of a student’s emotional quotient.

Another problem with online methods is the element of cheating. A friend in high school gamed the system by making multiple accounts in the same online course.

When she’d get a wrong answer, she’d click the correct one in another account. She learned close to nothing but received five A-grades in courses ranging from engineering to computer science. She is now a student at a prestigious Ivy League school.

This kind of story isn’t unique — a study published by the dean of Northcentral University found that cheating and plagiarism occur more often online than in face-to-face lectures due to a lack of supervision and poor time management by students.

Although online courses have their own set of fallbacks, it is important to remember that they do more good than harm. By providing a means for curious students of all ages to learn, online courses help progress our society. It’s worth it for students like Elvis Chidera, now a successful software engineer in Dubai. Perhaps some fine-tuning of online courses is what is needed for them to slowly make learning accessible and fair for all.

“Op-Ed Your Eyes” is a commentary on current affairs, and Diya’s goal is to make her readers more aware about what’s happening in the world. Diya Jain is a first-year in CAS studying economics.

Email Diya Jain at opinion@nyunews.com.

GOVERNMENT

Midnight Confirmations and Bad Governance

By COLE STALLONE Deputy Opinion Editor Anyone who’s ever taken the subway in New York City probably doesn’t like the Metropolitan Transit Authority. At 2 a.m. on Monday, in the midst of finalizing the state budget and making important legislative decisions, the New York State Senate confirmed Pat Foye as the new chairman of the MTA. The decision to rush the appointment of one of the most important state positions falls somewhere between

bad governance and corruption. No matter what motivations lie behind this decision, it is representative of the state’s historic mistreatment of transit reform and only further supports the idea that the state government is not able, or willing, to fix the MTA. Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the crisis is the question of who has control over the MTA and who is responsible for fixing it. The MTA is a private corporation owned by the state of New York and run by a board of officials appointed by the governor of New York. The governor is responsible for recommending the chairman of the MTA as well as the largest share of board members. The mayor of New York City, as well as other nearby county executives, are responsible for recommending other board members, but all are officially appointed by the governor.

As confusing as it may seem, the answer is clear — the governor of New York

is responsible for the MTA. This has been especially true in recent years, with Governor Andrew Cuomo exercising significant control over the agency during his second term. Two years ago, Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the subway system, but the problem is far from fixed. The severity of the crisis is only compounded by New Yorkers’ dependency on the transit system, with close to 6 million riders daily.

The transit crisis has existed for far longer than Cuomo cares to recognize and is the result of bad governance spanning 20 years.

As reported by the New York Times, state and city officials consistently defunded the agency, often using the money for their own political projects. Cuomo used $5 million from the MTA budget to help save three upstate ski resorts. Even when money was spent on the subway system, it often wasn’t spent where it was needed the most.

Cuomo introduced the Enhanced Station Initiative, which put $1 billion toward

superficial station changes like lighting, clocks and other upgrades transit officials deemed unnecessary.

Cuomo’s actions haven’t gone unnoticed. Daily commuters know the subway is far from empty, but ridership has declined, with a 5% decrease in annual ridership from 2015 to 2018. But New Yorkers are dropping Cuomo faster than they’re abandoning the subway system. Despite re-election in 2018, Cuomo’s approval ratings have reached historic lows as a result of his handling of the crisis. His midnight appointment of Pat Foye is sure to only make matters worse.

Foye was the former president of the MTA and is well-liked by those within the agency. However, when answering questions from reporters the afternoon after his confirmation, he seemed out of touch, comparing fare evasion to stealing a squash ball. Despite being a self-proclaimed daily commuter on the Long Island Railroad

prior to his entry into transit politics, Foye was a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, and so his dependence on public transit is certainly questionable. As head of the Port Authority, Foye was responsible for reopening the George Washington Bridge lanes, whose closure sparked a national controversy. Despite being praised for demanding the bridge be reopened, he also falsely told reporters the bridge was closed for a study, which he knew wasn’t true at the time.

Ultimately, the history of the MTA is a history of bad governance. There’s something to be said about the lack of clarity present in today’s mass transit discourse, and there’s more than enough blame to go around. If Cuomo’s appointment of Foye is supposed to be a new start for the MTA, he’s starting off on the wrong foot.

Email Cole Stallone at cstallone@nyunews.com.

POLITICS

Stop Sharing Traumatizing Images of Migrant Kids

By MELANIE PINEDA Opinion Editor It’s no secret that migrants entering the United States from Mexico are being treated inhumanely. We’ve seen shoeless children crying at the border. Kids greeting their parents after being separated for months, only to barely recognize them and shove them away. Although migrants must travel a dangerous journey to get to the U.S. with no guarantee of water or food, grown men have told news outlets that if they had known about the suffering U.S. immigration officials would put them through, they would’ve never made

the journey. Adults and children alike are dying in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody without any clear indication as to how responsible the agency is for these deaths.

The situation only gets worse. A story recently broke with advocates claiming there were visible bruises on children being held in an unofficial holding center for migrants under a bridge in El Paso, Texas. Images of the children laying on space blankets on the ground were shared by media outlets such as CNN. Accounts from the migrants forced to stay under the bridge said they were afraid they were going to die there.

Many of these images, however, come at a cost. Most reliable news outlets share these images with the intention of providing much-needed attention to the issues currently going on at the border. And although journalists and news outlets hold a certain responsibility to inform the public, these images of children are often overshared and turned into what is known

as trauma porn, or media which exploits people living in poor conditions for personal gain. Rather than focus on the issues at hand, people fixate on the trauma itself, indirectly belittling the actual human subjects behind the photos.

Time and time again we’ve seen the argument of where the line between exploitation and education lies, such as the 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a vulture creeping on a Sudanese child, or when videos of black people being killed by police go viral. And while it is important to note that photojournalists bring stories alive and hold an important role in informing the public, images of kids — specifically those who are crossing the border — should not be the next demographic that photographers and social media users capitalize on.

The bigger problem starts when audiences romanticize these images by sharing them. During the family separations migrants endured last summer — and are still enduring — countless videos of children

being reunited with parents were shared, filling my timeline. But there are also unexpected consequences with sharing these images. By not taking into account the effect these videos may have on others, people become inured to these occurrences. In fact, a photo of a child symbolically being held in a cage went viral last summer and was automatically thought to be a part of the family separations as well.

What these users and videographers also don’t realize is how truly haunting some of these videos were for Latino communities. Seeing men and women who look like my own parents cry over children who look like my nephews and nieces was an emotionally exhausting and triggering experience for me. It brought on the same sense of fear and despair I feel when these same people share videos of immigration officials arresting people and dragging them away from their homes. The same fear ingrained into my family members who aren’t U.S. citizens. The same anxiety felt at every checkpoint, every court

check-up, every interview with an ICE agent. Awareness of the issues may have increased, but at an emotional cost felt by others in similar situations, such as sexual assault survivors forced to share their stories and the black community when discussing police brutality.

As a journalism major, I understand the importance of spreading awareness of the crimes occurring at the U.S.-Mexico border. But as the daughter of immigrants, I also know that we should be caring about these children regardless of whether or not photos of their heart-wrenching experiences are being taken. Their narratives should be controlled by those directly affected by the issues at hand. If we continue to allow outlets with inauthentic intentions to profit off vital issues affecting migrant youth, we are only further creating room for harmful, false narratives surrounding immigrant communities.

Email Melanie Pineda at mpineda@nyunews.com.

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Washington Square News | Opinion

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019 CITY

Will the Hudson Yards Shed Help or Hurt the City?

By ZANS BRADY KROHN Contributing Writer The Shed, a shape-shifting museum, gallery and performance space with a $500 million dollar price tag officially opened at the Hudson Yards on Friday. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in partnership with the Rockwell Group, the Shed is a dynamic building created to “commission original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences.” The inaugural programming kicks off with a five-night concert series dedicated to Steve McQueen, with upcoming performances by Quincy Jones, Björk and a new play

by NYU’s very own hybrid classicist and poet Anne Carson.

Despite the Shed’s emphasis on redistributing privilege and injecting life into the Hudson Yards, the project’s exorbitant budget and design have already added to the controversy of the exclusive neighborhood. But how useful is the structure actually going to be for both current and future needs of artists and audiences?

The installation of the Shed highlights the question of whether there is a way to support creatives, in an effort to offset the marginalization that comes with trying o earn a living as an artist, beyond a one-time commission and gimmicky facilities.

Named after the humble shed, “a slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop,” the venue aims to provide artists with the necessary tools to realize their craft, and the unique design of the building itself is marketed as the greatest boon.

The Shed’s main structure, dubbed the Bloomberg Building, is more machine than building. It boasts up to 200,000 square feet of space, including multiple galleries, a theater, a new Danny Meyer restaurant, a large plein-air plaza and the heavily-hyped McCourt, aka the aforementioned “slight structure.”

In reality, the McCourt is an intricate exoskeleton that can be deployed through a wheel system to convert the plaza into an indoor hall for larger-scale programs.

This retractable bubble is designed to be light-, sound- and temperature-controlled.

The Shed’s considerable budget — funded in part by the city at former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s

Submitting to

direction as bait for the Olympic games, and also by the billionaire himself — raises questions of both necessity and intent. Is it possible to achieve the promised level of interconnectedness in an area that is already among the most divisive? The art space could become yet another posh cultural institution for the elite to hobnob, not unlike the Armory or the Vessel, a honey-combed shaped building likened to the Eiffel Tower that also debuted at Hudson Yards earlier this year. Though the Vessel was designed with the intent to bring people together, it has since been condemned as a vessel of capitalism.

What does the community require in order to incite real change in the art world? Is a half-billion-dollar, high-tech building the answer to healing socioeconomic disparities and issues of representation? New York City is rife with gallery spaces, museums and cultural arts centers — the problem is not their technological capability, but rather a lack of long-term support and funding for artists.

The Shed’s Open Call program is its response to these questions. By directly commissioning emerging artists to create works specifically for the arts center, it aims to change the relationship between artist, artwork, audience and institution — or, as lead architect Liz Diller called it, “an anti-institutional institution.” The Shed fronts between $7,000 and $15,000 for the selected artists to realize their proposed project, and this summer the first 52 will roll out their exhibitions. But in a gig economy, this kind of money would be better invested in real support of artistic practices rather than cast into another shiny trophy for the city’s architectural landscape.

It seems fallacious to conflate what looks like a Transformers SmartBuilding with the ability to cut through important social issues.

The Shed promises big things, from “minimizing social and economic barriers to entry” to “offering access and insight into the creative process” — all on New York’s largest private real-estate development bloc.

One could argue that any money poured into the arts is worth it. If the wealthy donors want to make a building and stamp their name on it for the sake of the community, have at it. The people behind the Shed know the stakes and the dangers that loom ahead. Hopefully the venue will take on a new definition, in which it will work to transform the cityscape and facilitate a new discourse between art and community.

But to do so, it must shed the extra weight of the Hudson Yards.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Language for a Changing World The question of how to fairly write and talk about race in journalism has come under controversy in journalism in the last few years. This debate has permeated the culture of our everyday language and our media coverage.

In the media, the AP Stylebook serves as a guideline for proper usage of phrasing and terminology. Recently, the Stylebook has been expanding its scope to settle charged debates over how to write about diversity. These changes are particularly pertinent in an era when the language of our leading politicians seems to be growing more and more discriminatory.

As editors at WSN, the Stylebook is far more prevalent in our everyday lives than for most college students — that’s just part of the job. But even if you are not dealing with the rules and guidelines on a day-to-day basis, they help set the standard for communication. Late last month, AP announced its annual slew of changes. While many were grammatical — even a grammar-naysayer might have heard about the decision to use the “%” symbol rather than the word “percent,” which incited a fair bit of facetious commentary — the most signif icant alterations came in the form of a new addition to the Stylebook called “race-related coverage.”

These changes elucidate how to communicate on race-related issues and terminology in an off icial — and accepting — way.

Lead editor Paula Froke has been open about the fact that there are many more changes than there have been in years prior, and this seems like a conscious choice. As the rhetoric and policies of our government grow more and more bombastic, and as those in power continue to contort the usage of language in hurtful ways, it is encouraging to see these off icial declarations on how our changing language must adhere to our changing society.

We’ve seen the gradual alterations of language in the last ten years. In fact, the Stylebook made waves in 2013 when it removed the term “illegal immigrant” from its guidelines.

Examples of older reforms also include a guideline suggesting to not use the word ghetto “indiscriminately as a synonym for the sections of cities inhabited by minorities or poor people,” and outlines that terms like “Oriental” and “Aborigine” are considered outdated and offensive. But the changes are growing more

and more f ine-tuned. The AP itself says that adding regulations regarding “race-related coverage” is an effort to “[challenge] journalists to think broadly about racial issues before having to make decisions on specif ic situations and stories.” In essence, it is an attempt to make journalists more proactive members of their community. Changes like these, which permeate the structure of our language and our institutions, encourage critical thinking, active engagement and unbiased judgment.

These newer reforms seek not only to prevent the use of offensive terms, but also to create a new mindset of specif icity and respect amongst journalists. The changes may have been spurred in part by public criticism of the media for failing to adopt the nuance necessary to discuss racial tensions today. Tweets criticizing vague phrasing choices like the frequent use of “racially tinged” have become commonplace on social media as people begin to demand that the media reflect the specif icity that conversations about race today try and achieve. The new delineations work actively against the use of language like “racially charged,” “racially motivated” or “racially tinged” to refer to racist incidents, deeming them too vague.

The new decisions also standardize the use of phrases like “black people” or “white people” instead of “blacks” and “whites” as nouns.

While previous AP style suggestions mostly aimed to prevent the use of slurs, the latest additions work to actively facilitate conversation.

The WSN Editorial Board appreciates these changes for what they are: a step towards using language to positively shape conversations and mindsets about race. These changes let journalists assess how their phrasing contributes to media portrayals of people of color, and that is an achievement. It is important to consider the manner in which the words we use shape the way we think and how these conscious linguistic alterations may be the catalyst needed to spark important exchanges both in and outside of the newsroom.

While these guidelines are outlined explicitly as reference points for journalists and media, the embrace of them signif ies a positive change in the standards of English language and communication — which is crucial, now more than ever.

Email the Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

HANNA KHOSRAVI Chair MELANIE PINEDA Chair COLE STALLONE Co-chair SARAH JOHN Co-chair

Email Zans Brady Krohn at opinion@nyunews.com.

SEND MAIL TO: 75 THIRD AVE. #SB07, 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 450 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.

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Washington Square News

SPORTS

SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM THE SPORTS GIRL

Despite Its POC Star Players, Sports Has a Race Problem

SOPHIA DI IORIO | WSN

By BELA KIRPALANI Deputy Managing Editor Last week, Moise Kean, a 19-yearold black Italian soccer player, was subjected to incessant racial abuse from opposing fans during Juventus’ match against Cagliari. After Kean scored Juventus’ second goal of the game, he stood tall in front of the crowd with his arms outstretched as boos, whistles and jeers filled the stadium. After the match, his own teammate and captain Giorgio Chiellini criticized Kean for his celebration and said that the striker shared responsibility for the racist fans’ actions. Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus’ coach, also placed blame on his young player, saying, “He should not have celebrated in that manner.” Following the episode, several other European soccer stars took to social media to support Kean. Unfortunately, this was not a lone incident. Racism runs rampant — not just in Italian soccer, but in all sports across the world.

From being mocked with monkey-like gestures on the field to having their homes vandalized, black athletes suffer the most at the hands of socalled sports fans.

English soccer star Raheem Sterling, who is black, has had to deal with unfair treatment his entire career from the media and fans alike.

In a recent interview, fellow soccer player and countryman Danny Rose opened up about his own frustration with the lack of action from authorities and said, “How I program myself is that I think I’ve got five or six more years left in football, and I just can’t wait to see the back of it.”

From Adam Jones to Lewis Hamilton to Serena Williams, the abuse knows no bounds, no matter how successful or influential a black athlete becomes.

It’s a sad state of affairs that is only exacerbated by the demographic divide between the stars and their fans. In the NBA, for example, almost 75% of the

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

league’s players are black, while fewer than 32% of fans are, according to FiveThirtyEight estimates from 2014.

Just last month, Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Russell Westbrook was involved in an altercation with a Utah Jazz fan after the fan made what Westbrook described as disrespectful and racist comments toward him. The Jazz rank number two in terms of teams with the whitest fan bases. Following the incident, the NBA fined Westbrook $25,000 for using profanity and threatening a fan. The Jazz banned the fan for life, and 22-year-old Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell issued a powerful statement on Twitter, denouncing the actions of the fan with the caption, “We have to do better… we will do better!”

Why do fans think it’s acceptable to treat players as if they are any less human? Why should the basketball court or soccer field be any different than anywhere else? Often, players are expected to turn the other cheek and refrain from responding to the personal insults and racial attacks barraged at them.

And fans are able to get away with even the most egregious acts simply because they paid big bucks to go to the game in the first place.

While the Utah Jazz’s actions were commendable, and European soccer’s largest governing body is, at least on the surface, taking steps to promote social justice though its “Say No to Racism” campaign, I think it is clear that this isn’t enough. Until fair sanctions — like lifetime bans — are consistently imposed on fans, referees, coaches, commentators and others who use their position to attack or abuse athletes, we will continue to see more incidents like these. And that is bad for sports, our country and our world.

Edited by BRENDAN DUGGAN and ZACH HAN

Track and Field Shines in New Jersey

By BRENDAN DUGGAN Sports Editor Softball After defeating Hunter College twice this past Thursday, the NYU softball team lost four straight games to Brandeis University and are now 13-9 on the season.

In the first game against Hunter College, SPS senior Claire Stefanelli blasted a two-run home run to tie the game at 4-4. The two teams remained tied until the Violets scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Stefanelli and CAS first-year Serena Ponciano each added an RBI. Meyers College of Nursing senior Scarlett Murphy entered in the fourth inning and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to earn the fourth victory of the season, as the Violets secured the game 7-4.

In the second game against Hunter, the Violets dug themselves out of a 2-0 hole when Nursing first-year Sarah Mehrle hit a sacrifice fly to start the Violet comeback. In the fourth inning, SPS senior Ashley Mains added a two-run single to give the Violets a 5-2 lead. Stern first-year Maggie Swan pitched five innings to earn the win, improving to 4-2 on the season, as NYU added five more insurance runs to win the game 10-2.

The Violets return to action on Friday, April 12 when they travel to Atlanta, Georgia to take on Emory University in UAA conference play.

Baseball After defeating the City College of New York 17-4 last Sunday, the NYU baseball team lost four straight games to Case Western Reserve University at MCU Park this past weekend, and currently stands at 13-7 on the season.

On Saturday, the Violets dropped a pair of games to the Spartans when the two teams faced off as part of a doubleheader. Trailing 4-1 in the first game, Stern senior Ryan McLaughlin hit a two-run double to cut the deficit to 4-3.

In the seventh inning, CAS senior Jack Elias added an RBI single to tie the game at 4-all, and in the next inning CAS first-year Zane Baker drove in a run to give the Violets a 5-4 lead. However, in the top of the ninth inning, the Spartans rallied for two runs to defeat NYU 6-5.

During the second game of the Sunday doubleheader, the Violets found themselves in another 4-1 hole after the second inning. SPS senior Nick Villanueva hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2, and in the eighth inning, SPS senior Colman Hendershot hit a solo home run, but the Violets fell to the Spartans 5-3.

The team returns to action on Friday, April 12, when it travels to St. Louis to take on Washington University in St. Louis in UAA conference play.

Men’s Volleyball The NYU men’s volleyball team concluded its season by dropping two games to Vassar College and Lancaster Bible College this past week, ending its regular season at 12-10.

Against Vassar College, the Violets lost in five sets, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12. Stern junior Alex Li led the Violets with a season-high 23 kills, as CAS junior Matin Bikdeli dished out 48 assists. Tandon junior Neil Ferraro added nine kills and a teamhigh four blocks.

Traveling to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Violets lost to Lancaster Bible 2523, 25-18, 25-20. Leading the Violets were Tandon junior Neil Ferraro and CAS junior Evan Lindley who finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Stern first-year Ryan Whealen contributed with a match-best 28 assists.

The Violets resume action this Friday, as they take on MIT in the first round of the UVC conference tournament in Caldwell, New Jersey.

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field The NYU men’s track and field team competed in two meets in New Jersey this past weekend — the TCNJ Invitational in Ewing and the Sam Howell Invitational in Princeton.

At the TCNJ Invitational, CAS first-year Owen Mountford won the discus with a mark of 41.32m. CAS junior Ben Karam placed second in the 1500m, and SPS senior Brandon Shirazi won the 3000m.

At Princeton, SPS senior Malcolm Montilus placed seventh in the 400m with a season-best time of 48.79. His brother, SPS junior Julian Montilus

earned fifth place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 55.02.

The team returns to action on Saturday, April 13 when they travel to the Coach P Invitational at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The women’s track and field team also competed at the TCNJ Invitational this past Saturday. CAS junior Evelyn Nkanga led the Violets by winning the triple jump with a season-best height of 11.55m. The Violets also secured a ninth-place finish in the 4x100m relay, as Stern sophomore Joanna Li, Tisch first-year Danielle Fuller, CAS first-year Anna Langlois and Gallatin first-year Grace Mautz combined for a season-best time of 53.67.

The team resumes action on Saturday, April 13 when they travel to the Coach P Invitational at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Men’s and Women’s Tennis After defeating Vassar College 6-3, the men’s tennis team lost to Brandeis University 6-3 this past weekend, and is now 4-4 overall.

Against Vassar College, CAS senior Shrikar Kundur and Stern junior Vishal Walia won their doubles match 8-5.

Walia also won his singles match 6-4, 6-1, and CAS senior Yanik Parsch won 6-3, 6-3 in singles. Against Brandeis University, Walia won his singles match 6-3, 6-3, and CAS sophomore Lucas Biondi won 6-3, 6-0. However, the Violets failed to win a doubles match and fell to Brandeis 6-3.

The Violets resume action on Thursday, April 11 when they host Yeshiva University in the Bronx.

The NYU women’s tennis team also lost to Brandeis University this past weekend, and now sits at 6-1 on the season. In singles play, Stern sophomore Anna Maria Buraya won her match 6-4, 7-5, CAS junior Coco Kulle won 6-2, 6-1, and Stern senior Vanessa Scott won 6-2, 6-0. However, the Violets could not win a doubles match and lost to Brandeis 7-2.

The Violets return to action on Saturday, April 13 when they host William Smith College in the Bronx.

Email Brendan Duggan at bduggan@nyunews.com.

The Sports Girl is a weekly sports column that will feature a girl’s take on sports. Yes, a girl. Yes, on sports.

Email Bela Kirpalani at bkirpalani@nyunews.com.

SAM KLEIN | WSN

First-year Owen Mountford competes in the shotput in a meet on March 24. Mountford won the discus at the TCNJ Invitational Saturday with a mark of 41.32m.

We are telling big stories — the Bling Ring, Venmo fraud, drug donkeys — ones that expanded past our print-standard 500 words, ones that paint pictures with words.

This magazine aims to be a platform where undergraduate and graduate students alike can mutter on about their love of the blue-seated MTA trains or put into words the flavor of their love of grandma’s dumplings.

nyunews.com/underthearch underthearch@nyunews.com

Washington Square News

14

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

The Wallkill Journal was created and published by individuals incarcerated at the Wallkill Correctional Facility, in collaboration with the NYU Prison Education Program and the WSN staff.

Let It Unfold

By AUNRAY STANFORD My parents both had formidable reps, established back when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” was the soundtrack to everyone’s life.

It was the era of stonewashed jeans and door-knocker earrings, and the Bronx was swiftly being renovated with new buildings erected on what used to be empty, rat-f illed lots.

The thread that bound my parents together was wearing thin. The Wu-Tang Clan made smoking dust a fad, which my father embraced, and Mom’s temper was infamously short.

Eventually, her anger and his addiction worked together to destroy their Bonnie and Clyde affair. After my birth, Mom drew away from the streets and Dad drew closer to them.

My f irst years were innocent. My daydreams were inspired by Disney VHS tapes, and I mostly dully wandered my apartment. I hadn’t yet heard the legends of my parents, or registered that I was presumed to inherit their gangsterism. Instead, I was inquisitive and awkward. The fact that I could draw but not f ight was seen as blasphemous, except by my Mom, who devoted herself to cultivating my emerging talents rather than grooming me for our warzone of a neighborhood. If only I’d done the same.

I entered elementary school sharp but unequipped. While my homeschooling consisted of flashcards on long division, my classmates were learned in other dimensions. Their slouches, their scowls and their mispronunciations of words all hinted at an ambient culture to which I was oblivious. I went through elementary school adopting new manners, losing f ights and overlooking the school curriculum in favor of studying the perverse behaviors of my peers. Despite these efforts, I excelled academically. My exceptional fourth-grade test scores led to my enrollment in Maritime Academy of Science and Technology, a school for excelled learning.

The year of my enrollment, Maritime was named the second-best charter school in the city by The NY Daily News. My new classmates constituted the largest number of white people I’d ever seen assembled in one place. The school was located in the center of the Bronx’s Country Club section, surrounded by lovely houses, manicured lawns and minivan f illed driveways that seemed to mock me. It was clear in the eyes of the deli clerk that this space was theirs exclusively each time he held my bill up to the light. And yet somehow, something as trivial as a test score had dictated that I belonged among them. Rather than f illing me with pride, the realization that one had to be white or test extremely well to receive what was considered an ideal education left me depressed. How promising were the odds of someone testing well where I was from?

Maybe I was lucky, but I didn’t feel that way.

My lessons, however unintentionally, seemed to highlight the origins of the inequitable society that I was growing to despise. History lessons

celebrated the Conquistadores, acclaimed the Columbuses and Amerigos. We recited the stories of “heroic” men who’d discovered indigenous lands, colonized those lands and made civil the native people. And we sought to be like the explorers, on the winning side of history.

After classes, we — the Black few — staked claims on particular cafeteria tables and exact corners in the recess yard, to the obvious disapproval of our teachers and peers.

The claiming of things that belong to others was a privilege reserved for whites, and to mimic them only proved that we — the Black few — lacked proper training.

Mrs. Hewitt, the assistant principal, and only Black member of the faculty, fumed. “Don’t y’all bring that mess in here,” she’d say, as if to tell us, leave your primitive attitudes at the door.

I resented my entire experience at Maritime. I felt like a spirit kept in limbo — not ghetto enough for the ghetto, but too ghetto to be comfortable anywhere else. And each summer after vacation, I returned to school more def iant, more ghetto, until f inally, in the eighth grade, I stepped over the line. An accumulation of reprimands and suspensions led to my expulsion.

By high school, I was done with learning. I would stay just long enough — a period or two — for people to compliment my outf its, and cut out. Mom’s chiding became futile and less frequent with what I assume was a bitter realization that my attitude was hereditary. The perils of my young adulthood are highlighted with gunf ire. Feeling alone and victimized, I felt justif ied in wanting to instill those same fears in others, to rid me of my pain’s burden and make it theirs to keep. It didn’t hurt that there were always others around who shared my sentiments, boys who each understood in their own way that we’d been wronged by the world. And at 15, I found my equalizer in the form of a matteblack .45 llama. My best friend at the time, Timeek, bargained it from a crackhead. Its weight in my palm promised safety and respect, and its boom demanded power in a way my high school diploma never could.

Timeek mostly devoted himself to mischief, plotting robberies.

Our MO was flash iron on Hispanic men, relieve them of their jewelry and sell it on Canal Street. Timeek’s rationale for targeting Latinos was that Blacks wore counterfeits — and whites were nonexistent in our realm. His logic was supported by a soaring success rate. I learned a lot from him. There were times when my anxiety threatened to ruin a heist, but Timeek was a wise and prophetic coach.

“Let it unfold,” he’d say. “Patience is the key.”

I may have been more afraid than the men we robbed. What if he’s a former Marine who knows karate?

What if he’s an off-duty cop and shoots me in the back while I’m running away? Being on the right side of the gun did little to make me braver in these instances, because I was also

terrif ied of pulling the trigger. Then again, in my neighborhood, you’d be celebrated for shooting someone, which came with its own tempting sense of accomplishment.

I shadowed Timeek, knowing his stature validated my own. The men who loitered on our corners said we were ahead of our time. They sang our praises, drunk on cognac, sounding happiest during the summer of ’09 when Timeek and I pled to our f irst felonies.

“You little n-ggas are off icial,” they’d boast.

After the corner legends inducted us into their hall of fame, our names radiated with majestic hues. When, at age 15, we both were sentenced to three years in maximum security juvenile detention centers for robbery and weapon charges, it seemed like a promotion in status.

I thrived in juvie, emerging unscathed three years and 95 f ights later. I spent the next three years building a bulletproof reputation and making annual trips to Rikers Island for petty charges that were often dismissed or resolved with probation.

My f irst awakening came at 21 in Manhattan’s Mt. Sinai Hospital. Depression loomed, and I was frequently consumed with suicidal thoughts. I found myself Googling absurd things like, “If I shoot myself in the head, will it hurt?” So the arrival of my son couldn’t have been at a more crucial time. I called him Messiah, because I needed one, needed this new excursion — fatherhood — to deter me from a path that was bound for hell. He came into the world wailing, using his bright eyes to stir all the unrealized potential within me that lay dormant. And for the few hours I held him in that hospital room, I almost believed he could transform me. The reality was, by this time — like my own father — I struggled with drug addiction.

And I still wasn’t ready to disassociate myself from the persona I’d worked so hard to build.

I straddled the fence that way for the next two years, being a part-time dad and a full-time drug-dealer, pill addict and aspiring rapper.

The epiphany didn’t come until Timeek’s murder. A bullet went through the headrest and lodged in the back of his brain. I think he reached back, by reflex, to grab his head: in Jacobi Hospital where I visited him, dried blood caked his nails.

I didn’t cry until that night when I was alone. And a few days later, when his family revealed their intentions to “pull the plug,” I spoke to him like I knew he’d wake up again.

They counting you out bro. Not me. I know how strong you are. Get the f-ck up, because they’re going to let you die in here.

And if I’d known in advance that those would be my last words to him, I might’ve added more.

This story has been approved for publication by an official at the Wallkill Correctional Facility.

Aunray Stanford is a student in NYU’s Prison Education Program. Email him at prison.education@nyu.edu.

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