Washington Square News | October 15. 2019

4 CULTURE

9 OPINION

For Dorm Fish Parents, Emotional Connections Are Worth the Time Investment

Why Doesn’t NYU Release a Full Financial Report?

6 ARTS

11 WALLKILL

Rolling Loud Festival Pulls up to NYC for the First Time

Jumping the Broom: Finding Love in Prison

VOLUME LIII | ISSUE 8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

Students Fear Upcoming Supreme Court Decision on LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination With a majorityconservative Supreme Court, students are not confident that LGBTQ workers will remain protected from discrimination.

By LISA COCHRAN Deputy News Editor

MARVA SHI | WSN

The New York County Supreme Court in downtown Manhattan. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently in debate over employers can fire LGBTQ individuals because of their sexual or gender identity.

After the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for three labor discrimination cases on the grounds of transgender identity and sexuality last week, members of NYU’s LGBTQ community expressed dread and hopelessness about the outcomes.

The court cases involve a transgender woman who was fired because her employer disapproved of her gender identity and two gay men who were fired when their sexual orientation was discovered. The plantiffs assert that their employers have violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, gender, ethnicity and religion. The court will only reach a decision sometime within the upcoming year, but its conservative makeup has left students feeling that the plaintiffs will not prevail.

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Student Government, NYU Agree to Expunge Academic Probation Records

By ALEXANDRIA JOHNSON Deputy News Editor Student government reached an agreement with the university to change the current Academic Probation Policy last Friday, after a year of working with faculty in the University Senate.

The university has an internal transcript, seen by those within NYU, and an external

transcript, seen by prospective employers, for each student. In the past, when a student faced academic probation it was noted on both transcripts. Moving forward, it will only be mentioned on the internal transcript — and past students who have been on probation will have mention of it expunged from their external records.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

MARVA SHI | WSN

NYU recently reached an agreement with student government to expunge academic probation records from external transcripts.

Washington Square News

2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

NEWS

NEWS@NYUNEWS.COM

Edited by VICTOR PORCELLI

Students Fear Upcoming Supreme Court Decision on LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

To express anger over what he expects to be a major loss in rights for the LGBTQ community, Silver sophomore and NYU Queer Union Secretary Nick Rogers traveled to The Supreme Court on Oct. 8 and participated in a mass civil disobedience protest.

Rogers was one of hundreds bussed to Washington by the organization Housing Works –– a non-profit based in New York City that donates to charities that fight AIDS and homelessness. In Washington around 130 people from activist organizations nationwide conducted a sit-in on the street in front of the Supreme Courthouse, blocking the entry. The protestors, including Rogers, were all arrested.

“Being arrested as a trans person is very stressful,” Rogers said. “Getting deadnamed and worrying about how they’re going to treat me when they see that the name on my ID is very different from the masculine-presenting person in front of them.”

Twenty-seven states do not explicitly

prohibit LGBTQ workplace discrimination; New York is one of the 23 that does.

Professor of Politics Christine Harrington said some states include sexual orientation as a trait employers cannot discriminate against — underneath the umbrella term of sex — while others solely protect against discrimination based on gender. The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission defines sex discrimination as including transgender status and sexual orientation, saying discriminating based on either of these violates Title VII. “The congressmen writing the [Civil Rights Act of 1964] did not imagine there would be such a thing as sexual orientation,” Harrington said. “The issue that many people think was settled a while ago is the assumption that sexual orientation is a subcategory of the word sex in the statute.”

Following the retirement of former Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018 –– who played a pivotal role in previous LGBTQ-related Supreme Court decisions –– the decision revolves around current Chief Justice John Roberts, accord-

ing to Harrington.

After the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh by President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is now at a 5 to 4 conservative majority.

“For gay marriage, it was Kennedy who swung and made it so that the liberals had a majority,” Rogers said. “But he’s gone, and he got replaced by Kavanaugh who’s hard-right, and it just shifted the entire court right.”

Rogers’ fears may be warranted, according to Harrington, who said the implications of the decision will be complex and potentially detrimental. If the Supreme Court decides LGBTQ workplace discrimination is not a violation of Title VII, it could overrule New York’s current policy.

“The question itself needs to be opened up; it’s not just a yes or no — will things be bad or will things be good — it’s really very complicated, and importantly so,” Harrington said. “Sexual orientation is part of [New York’s] equal employment opportunity law, so it would have an effect [...] and that would be negative.

LS sophomore Declan Urffer said he would be surprised if anything positive came out of the cases.

“Given the current makeup of the court, I’d say things are not looking good,” Urffer said. “[With] the recent appointments that the Trump administration has made, I don’t see anything really happening.”

CAS sophomore Rachel Bell said if this case were happening two years ago, she would have been more hopeful for the results.

“This court cares way more about appeasing Trump than they do about following the constitution,” Bell said. “As much as I want to protest and fight, I feel so dejected.”

Rogers said he feels confident that if the Supreme Court were objective, it would rule in favor of the plaintiffs — but he doesn’t think that’s the case.

“The law and the facts are on our side,” Rogers said. “But they’re gonna go out of their way to be discriminatory.”

With many worried about the outcome, student morale is low. Some students said

they did not feel supported by NYU, mentioning instances of deadnaming and misgendering in class, as well as the decision to keep Chick-fil-A –– which donates to anti-LGBTQ organizations –– in Weinstein Food Court.

“It feels often, especially from the people higher up, like a lip service for progressive ideas,” Rogers said. “But when it comes to actually caring, they really don’t.”

Students said they have found community in clubs instead.

Queer Union Vice President and CAS sophomore Lexie Kolberg said the court cases were discussed in great length during the most recent club meetings.

“Queer Union has been trying to plug resources for our members to educate themselves on what’s being tried at the Supreme Court,” Kolberg said. “We like to talk about it with ourselves. Sometimes, just having a sounding board who understands is really helpful.”

Email Lisa Cochran at lcochran@nyunews.com.

Student Government, NYU Agree to Expunge Academic Probation Records CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Students are placed on academic probation when they fall below a 2.0 GPA — regardless of any family or health issues. This status can affect their financial aid packages in addition to their ability to study abroad. If the student is unable to raise their GPA above a 2.0 for two or more semesters, they can be dismissed from NYU.

Removing mention of academic probation from external records will, hopefully, allow students to apply to graduate schools and other positions without being penalized for past issues, according to CAS senior and Chair of the SGA Academic Affairs Committee Quentin Turner. Turner led discussions with the university on the policy.

University spokesperson John Beck-

man said, while records of past incidents are important, they often affect students’ mental health and, consequently, their academic performance.

“There are many ways that schools can track students who are on probation; notations on the official transcript are not only unnecessary for this purpose, but they can lead to increased student anxiety,” Beckman said in a statement to WSN. “In this

regard, it is worth noting that poor academic performance that results in probation is often accompanied by, if not attributable to, significant wellness concerns.”

In an interview with WSN, Turner said he had a friend that was on academic probation who saw the negative effects Beckman mentioned, partially leading him to push for the policy.

“It’s about second chances,” Turn-

er said. “No student wants to be put in this situation. They should not be penalized for life.”

If students previously faced or are currently facing academic probation, they can reach out to Academic Affairs on the Student Government site for more information.

Email Alexandria Johnson at ajohnson@nyunews.com.

NYU Launches Center for Social Media and Politics After Rise of Fake News, Russian Trolls

By AKIVA THALHEIM Social Media Editor The university has received approximately $12 million in funding to establish a new Center for Social Media and Politics, which will research topics like how social media affects political participation and the spread of disinformation.

The impact of social media on politics has seen increased attention since the 2016 presidential election, which was marred by controversies surrounding fake news and coordinated disinformation campaigns by Russia. Criticism of social media arose when the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica was found to have improperly used the personal data of millions of Facebook users to employ tailored political advertisements.

The center is an extension of the Social Media and Political Participation research lab, which has done research on topics such as disinformation since 2012, finding that those over the age of 65 were disproportionately likely to share fake news on Facebook.

They’ve also found that Russian trolls from the Internet Research Agency shared more links to local news — sometimes posing as news organizations — than fake news.

Co-director of the center and Professor

of Politics Jonathan Nagler said that the center’s goal is to inform the general public, and policymakers in particular, about the role social media plays in swaying voters.

“We really want to know: what are people doing on social media?” Nagler said.

“We want to know what’s the impact of that on their political views, their political attitudes and their political behavior.”

Politics professor Joshua Tucker and Biology and Computer Science professor Richard Bonneau will serve as co-directors with Nagler.

Beyond writing research papers about their findings, the center also provides free access to the software they develop to analyze social media data, according to research engineer and data scientist Megan Brown, who has worked in the lab since 2017, when she was a Tandon first-year.

Brown said that she’s seen a cultural shift in which there’s a greater awareness of social media’s potential downsides.

“Social media is used in a lot of really great ways,” Brown said. “But now we’re sort of in this age where it’s like, ‘okay, social media is great, but also does lead to these downstream unintended consequences.’”

The center is supported by a $5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight

Foundation and a $5 million matching grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, along with grants from other sponsors. The funds will support the center for the next six years, according to Executive Director Zeve Sanderson.

Co-director Joshua Tucker said that the grants will enable them to expand their research areas, such as looking at behaviors across several social media platforms, rather than on just one at a time. They also hope to run more experimental analyses in addition to observational studies and are working on privacy-preserving ways of doing so.

NYU Abu Dhabi senior Michael Liu, an undergraduate research associate in the lab, said that since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s been challenging to acquire and study data from social media sites. In spite of that, he thinks it’s more important than ever to research social media.

“That means it’s more necessary to study social media and politics,” Liu said. “Scandal may happen, bad things may happen, and we precisely need to understand them in order to prevent this kind of stuff from happening again.”

Nagler said that another challenge in studying social media is that the algorithms that power the sites and influence what users

see are changed frequently, making it harder to determine what trends will continue.

Facebook, for example, announced in early 2018 that it would prioritize the content of your friends and family over posts from brands and publishers in its News Feed.

Because of this challenge, the researchers aim to look at more constant trends in human behavior online, such as what circumstances lead a person to discern that a particular story is fake.

“We do want to find out basic fundamental facts about how people perceive things online,” Nagler said. “And we want to get down to a level low enough where it’s not so platform dependent.”

Brown said the research is becoming more important as social media plays a bigger role in politics.

“As social media companies become more and more common of the voting population and as it becomes a more prominent source of information for people outside of the typical news media source sources, it’s important now more than ever to understand how this information ecosystem works,” Brown said.

Email Akiva Thalheim at athalheim@nyunews.com

CHRISTIAN FORTE | WSN

NYU’s new Center for Social Media and Politics is studying how social media impacts politics, including how fake news is spread.

Washington Square News | News

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

Ten Students Received $5,000 for Human Rights Projects.

Here’s What They Did.

By ALEXANDRIA JOHNSON Deputy News Editor From working on a Queens District Attorney campaign to engaging with female survivors of war-time sexual violence in Kosovo, the 10 recipients of the Gallatin Global Fellowship in Human Rights presented their projects at The Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for the Performing Arts last week.

Students selected for the program, which prioritizes undergraduates since they often do not receive funding for projects, recieve a $5,000 grant. In the spring, the students are required to attend a weekly seminar and enroll in an independent study class where NYU professors provide mentorship in preparation for their summer internship at a human rights organization. Last week, recipients of the 2018-2019 fellowship presented their projects, leading up to this years’ application Nov. 1 due date.

Second-year Gallatin master’s student Viktoria Pashtriku is currently focusing on Human Rights, Collective Memory and Transitional Justice. As one of the recipients, Pashtriku used her $5,000 grant to work at the Women’s Association Medica Gjakova, which supports

survivors of sexual violence in the 19981999 Kosovo War. While in Kosovo, Pashtriku’s preconceptions of female survivors changed.

“I had this stereotype that women who are educated, who are from the city, who are more financially independent, who have greater access to large communities of women, are more likely to speak up for themselves and seek resources, compared to rural women from the villages,” Pashtriku said in an interview with WSN. “When I went there, I realized it was the opposite.”

Pashtriku conducted her own research for her master’s thesis, which is partially on how media is connected to wartime sexual violence. While in Kosovo, she interviewed employees at Medica Gjakova.

Pashtriku plans to return to Kosovo in January if she needs any supplemental research for her master’s thesis.

Gallatin senior Sophie Walker, whose concentration is Accessibility, Inequality and the Production of Narrative, used the stipend to intern at Court Watch NYC, a watchdog organization focused on court proceedings.

In addition to distributing political education booklets in different languages for the district attorney election, she

reached out to people to encourage them to attend events surrounding progressive DA candidate Tiffany Caban’s campaign. Caban ran a grassroots campaign, drawing many comparisons to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), against Queens political machine candidate Melinda Katz.

After seeing Caban narrowly lose the election in a hotly contested recount, Walker said she was disheartened.

“Seeing how establishment political parties prevail specifically in the Queens District Attorney election really helped me realize how politics is a scam,” Walker said in a text message to WSN. “While electoral work is important, there are a million other ways of affecting change.”

Other recipients worked on projects from a Syrian-owned online news platform in Lebanon focused on providing primary accounts of Syrian news to a Myanmar-based UNICEF center for displaced people in Southeast Asia.

Robin Jones, Jenna Mote, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Michael Clark, Judy Luo, Rachael Mattson, Ayman Mukerji and Sean Oh also received fellowships.

Email Alexandria Johnson at ajohnson@nyunews.com.

3 CRIME LOG

Vandalized Bulletin Boards in Gramercy Green

By CRIME BOT Robot Reporter From Oct. 3 to 9, the NYU Department of Public Safety received one report of criminal mischief, five reports of harassment, 10 reports of larceny and six reports of liquor law violations.

Criminal Mischief On Oct. 4 at 8:26 p.m., a staff member reported vandalized bulletin boards in Gramercy Green Residence Hall. The case is open and under investigation.

Harassment On Oct. 8 at 8:04 p.m., A student reported incidents of harassment in Rubin Residence Hall.

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

On Oct. 8 at 3 a.m., an RA witnessed harassment of a student in Rubin Hall. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 6 at 3:40 p.m., a student reported being harassed in West 13th Hall. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 3 at 3:50 p.m., a student reported being harassed at University Place and Eighth Street.

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

On Oct. 9 at 4:05 p.m., a student reported a missing phone in Forbes Building. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

Larceny On Oct. 8 at 10:36 p.m., a student reported a missing laptop in Washington Square Park. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 6 at 2:26 p.m., a student reported various items missing from her bedroom in Carlyle Court Residence Hall. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 7 at 1:10 p.m., a nonNYU affiliate reported a missing tote bag in 370 Jay St. Police noti-

fication was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 7 at 2:15 p.m., a student reported money missing from a wallet in Bobst Library. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 7 at 1:06 p.m., a student reported a missing bike in Schwartz Plaza. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 6 at 4 p.m., a student reported missing clothing and jewelry in Carlyle Court. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 6 at 3:28 p.m., a student reported missing items from her wallet in Third Avenue North Residence Hall. Police notification was declined and the case is open and under investigation.

On Oct. 5 at 12:15 p.m., a student reported a missing iPhone in Washington Square Park. A police report was filed at a later time and the case is open and under investigation.

Liquor Law Violation On Oct. 6 at 1:45 a.m., an RA reported underage alcohol possession in Third North. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 5 at 10:15 p.m., an RA reported underage alcohol possession in Third North. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 5 at 9:45 p.m., an RA reported underage alcohol possession in Palladium Residence Hall.

The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 4 at 12:30 a.m., an RA reported underage alcohol possession in Brittany Residence Hall.

The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

On Oct. 4 at 12:14 a.m., an RA reported underage alcohol possession in Third North. The case was closed and referred to the Office of Community Standards.

Email Crime Bot at news@nyunews.com.

VIA WIKIMEDIA

Gallatin is welcoming new applicants for its Global Fellowship in Human Rights.

RACHEL BUIGAS-LOPEZ | WSN

Washington Square News

4

CULTURE@NYUNEWS.COM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

CULTURE

Edited by CAROL LEE

For Dorm Fish Parents, Emotional Connections Are Worth the Time Investment

By SABRINA CHOUDHARY Staff Writer “This is Martin,” CAS sophomore Jake Schneebaum said, holding a picture of his late betta fish. “He was an angel.

May he rest in peace.”

NYU residence halls allow students to keep tanks with up to 10 gallons of water, and getting a fish can be a creative way to add color and life to a room. But for some students, owning a fish is far more than decoration.

Schneebaum kept Martin in a five-gallon tank last year in Lipton Residence Hall.

“Martin was a special-needs fish,” he said. “He had really bad separation anxiety, so I would need to be with him almost all hours of the day.”

For Schneebaum, the relationship he developed with Martin made the experience worthwhile.

“Before I had Martin, I never felt like I was truly part of a community,” he said. “But once I had him, it was like him and I against the world, and I could do anything with Martin.”

For CAS sophomore Marissa Rosa, buying her betta fish Archibald wasn’t for an individual relationship but a way for her and her roommates in Gramercy Green Residence Hall to connect as a group.

“It’s something we all share, take responsibility for,” she said.

Archibald is a happy little guy, and Rosa said he enjoyed his moment in the spotlight when a photographer started

snapping pics of him.

“He’s loving it,” Rosa said. “He’s, like, posing.”

Archibald was so at ease, in fact, that a few days ago he made a bubble nest. Rosa explained that betta fish blow bubbles to form a nest to lay their eggs on when they’re content and ready for children.

“My roommates were like, ‘Did someone spit in the tank? What is that thing?’” she said. “But my mom loves these fish, so she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he made a bubble nest!’”

Archibald and Martin seemed perfectly fine in their small tanks. But of course, for every rule there is a rule-breaker. One Gallatin sophomore, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions from NYU, told the story of the illegal 40-gallon tank kept in their Broome Street Residence Hall dorm. They’d won their fish Pietr in a game at a street market. Anxious to keep him alive, their research had led to buying an enormous tank on Craigslist and hauling it from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the subway.

“He was very happy at first in here, you know, it’s like his little McMansion,” the student said. “Everybody was like, ‘Why are you getting a big tank?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know! Everybody on the internet’s saying he needs a big tank and he’s my little boy, and he’s gonna live the high life. He’s never gonna know pain.’”

While all three students said that fish can be a relaxing pet for any college student, they stressed that fish ownership is still a responsibility.

CHELSEA LI | WSN

Fish are an easy-to-maintain pet for several NYU students.

“I definitely think that you need to be capable of feeding a fish every day,” Schneebaum said. “If you know that you’re not going to be able to be in the dorm every day, you shouldn’t have a fish because their tanks need to be cleaned — there’s a lot, you know. But I think if someone is able to fit the few needs that a fish has into their schedule, it’s a pretty therapeutic pet to have, especially in college.”

The anonymous sophomore agreed with the time commitment, and stressed caring for the mental health of

the fish as well. “[It’s] whether or not you’re gonna be able to put in the time, the emotional energy, to sit with your fish, to tell your fish about your day, to listen to your fish about their day,” the student said.

They also added that it can be surprisingly pricey.

“I accidentally spent like $250 on this fish,” they said.

While an expensive rule-breaking tank setup is probably not feasible for most students, it’s a measure of how much students care about their aquatic

companions and how hard they’ll work to ensure their health and happiness.

NYU students’ fish can mirror the same emotional struggles many college students wrestle with — sometimes we all feel a little alone, like we’re living in an empty tank. But having someone on your desk experiencing the same things, happy to hear you talk and sing to them, is a good reminder to enjoy life and just keep swimming.

Email Sabrina Choudhary at culture@nyunews.com.

Sweet Escape: The Best Places to Pick Apples Near New York City

By CLORIS YANG Contributing Writer Overwhelmed during midterm season? Take a break from your stresses and indulge in a relaxing Northeastern pastime: picking your own apples. Here are four good farms near New York City for both apple picking and taking that perfect fall Instagram photo.

Masker Orchards $30 45 Ball Road

Warwick, NY How to get there: Take the NJ Transit bus from Port Authority to Warwick Park & Ride Bus Station.

With 14 varieties of apples ripening throughout the season, you’re guaranteed to find your favorites at Masker Orchards. Forbes dubbed Masker one of New York’s best orchards for its impressive accommodations and festive atmosphere. Besides pony rides, a haunted house and an apple maze, the farm’s best feature is all-you-can-

eat apples while you’re picking. For $29.95 per bag, you can take home around 20 pounds of apples for your fall baking needs. The farm store is stocked with delicious apple butter, fresh jams and honey. Before returning to the city with your goods, don’t forget to try their fresh apple pies paired with vanilla ice cream.

Wightman’s Farms $10-$25 1111 Mount Kemble Ave. Morristown, NJ How to get there: Take the

VIA PIXABAY

Fresh, ripe apples may be a hard find in the city, so check out these apple-picking locations if you’re looking for a fun fall activity.

Morris & Essex line train from Penn Station to Morristown.

Since opening in 1922, Wightman’s Farms has maintained its picturesque orchard and delicious apples. With hayrides, a corn maze, pumpkin slingshots and apple-picking with tote bags, they deliver an unforgettable farm experience for a reasonable $25.

If you’d prefer to focus on apple picking alone, each pound of apples is $2.39 with a one-time $7 admission fee (valid for the entirety of October).

Wightman’s Farms also offers plenty of pumpkins to decorate your dorm or apartment with.

Hurds Family Farm $8-$25 2187 Route 32 Modena, NY How to get there: Take the Trailways New York bus from Port Authority to New Paltz, NY, and take a 10 minute Uber to the farm.

Hurds Family Farm is known for its welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff — a breath of fresh air from the city. Come prepared to spend an entire day munching on Golden Delicious apples and sampling freshly baked cider donuts. There are party tents with picnic tables for al fresco dining and a group discount for you and your friends. Their apples are sold by bag size: $8 per small bag and $25

EUGENE HU | WSN

per large bag. This quaint farm’s tasty treats and scenic fields are definitely worth the journey.

After you’ve picked a large portion of apples, you may be wondering what to do with them. Go for a classic and try Tasty’s acclaimed apple pie recipe, shake up your breakfast with an apple Dutch baby pancake or get creative and try Bon Appetit’s savory grilled flatbread with apples, onions and bacon. Enjoy!

Email Cloris Yang at dining@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Culture

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

I Only Ate at Upstein’s Daily Press for Two Days

By RIA MITTAL Staff Writer Sandwiches. So simple, yet so versatile. BLT, peanut butter and jelly or fried chicken — the combinations are endless, and most, if not all, are scrumptious. But last week, I began to wonder: could I eat them for every meal? I decided to find out the answer to this burning question by eating all of my meals at Upstein’s Daily Press for two whole days.

At the Daily Press, you can either choose from their menu or build your own sandwich — an option that I, unfortunately, wasn’t aware of at first. My two designated days of the week also happened to both be days I had midterms, so I was stressed, cranky and caffeinated.

When I saw that there were only two vegetarian options on the menu, I almost gave up right then and there.

That first day, I had a midterm at 11 a.m., so breakfast was not an option for me. My first meal ended up being at 2 p.m., and it was the Al Caprese sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised. There were some tasty, classic Italian flavors with smoked gouda, pesto and mozzarella. Overall, it was much better than expected. It managed to get me past my Red Bull-induced manic state and left me feeling genuinely satisfied.

For dinner, I tried the Veggie Bomb, the other vegetarian option on the menu.

Unlike the other sandwich, this one turned out to be utterly unappetizing.

It was heavy, bland and somehow tasted like absolutely nothing. I had expected it to be bomb — instead, it simply bombed.

I had to drastically lower my expecta-

tions for day two after realizing only one of my two options was actually edible. I was also determined to eat all three meals that day — no skipping, and absolutely no snacking. Upstein opens at 10:30 a.m., so by 10:45, I was there and ready to eat yet another sandwich. Desperate for options, I decided to ask the dining hall employee at the Daily Press if there were any other vegetarian options. He told me I could choose between the Al Caprese or the Veggie Bomb, or I could just make my own. This, ladies and gentlemen, was the best news I could have received.

On that glorious morning, I built my own veggie sandwich. I was happy with the number of options available — multiple types of hummus and even a vegan chipotle aioli. However, my sandwich crafting ended there. I proceeded to eat the Al Caprese for my next two meals (don’t judge me), and it got a little less yummy each time.

Only consuming food from the Daily Press for two days straight had its pros and cons — I saved money since my lovely friends with meal plans were kind enough to swipe me in, but I also had to stay on campus all day or commute back and forth from my apartment in the Financial District. I discovered a genuinely good sandwich, but eating it three times in two days ruined it. Though I definitely wouldn’t do it again, this experience goes to show that moderation is the key to enjoying anything in life — even sandwiches.

Email Ria Mittal at dining@nyunews.com.

TALIA BARTON | WSN

The Little Havana sandwich, sold in Upstein dining hall. WSN Staff Writer Ria Mittal tried to eat only sandwiches from Upstein’s Daily Press for two days.

5

NYU Vegan and Vegetarian Students Talk Protein

VIA FLICKR

Beans and lentils are a common way for vegan and vegetarian students to incorporate protein into their meals.

By ANDREA PINEDA-SALGADO Staff Writer If there’s one thing vegans get tired of hearing, it’s the question, “But if you can’t eat meat, where do you get your protein?” Luckily, we found some experienced students willing to share their tips to quell the fears of those looking to cut down or eliminate meat.

CAS junior Lila Jacobs, who is vegan, tends to shy away from meat substitutes such as the ever-popular Beyond Burger.

“I eat lots of beans, tofu, peanut butter and lentils,” Jacobs said. “Sometimes, I’ll get pasta made out of lentils or beans just to mix it up.”

College of Global Public Health alumna Supriya Lal, who also follows a vegan diet, avoids meat alternatives as well. Finding them pricey and often tasteless, Lal looks for protein in ways similar to Jacobs.

“Beans and lentils (black beans, lima beans, pinto beans, split peas and about 10 different kinds of lentils) and chickpeas,” Lal said. “I occasionally have tofu but am not a big fan. I would rather eat beans.”

Along with beans and lentils, many vegan students take vitamins and supplements in order to make sure they are

getting the nutrients their bodies need.

“I take a multivitamin that has B12 and iron, which are the nutrients I’m most worried about,” Jacob said. “I try to also drink plant milks that are fortified with calcium because that can also be difficult to get enough of as a vegan, but it doesn’t absorb well in pill form.”

CAS junior Isabela Bohren also recognizes the benefits of supplements. In order to balance out her vegetarian diet, Bohren takes a daily iron-only pill.

Bohren also mentioned that in addition to easily accessible, protein-packed foods and supplements found in grocery stores, there are also many restaurants around NYC that cater to vegan and vegetarian diets.

“I would highly recommend by CHLOE. and Beyond Sushi for any vegan and/or vegetarian students,” Bohren wrote in an email. “While they can be a little pricier, there are far more options available for students with dietary restrictions than at other restaurants.”

Lal also recommended Soho Sushi, where she orders the avocado cucumber roll, and Jacobs recommends Red Bamboo for some filling vegan comfort food.

While knowing what and where to eat is important, there are other com-

ponents to think about when considering a transition into vegan or vegetarianism. For those considering making the switch, Jacobs has some advice.

“Try it out and go slow,” Jacobs said. “I went pescatarian when I was 12, vegetarian at 14 and vegan at 17.

It’s better to make slow, sustainable changes than to try to do it all at once and get overwhelmed.”

Bohren recommends carefully thinking about the reasons one wants to become vegan, especially for college students.

“Dietary restrictions can be a stressful addition to college life and, if not well versed in proper meat alternatives, can be quite harmful to the body,” Bohren wrote. “In short, do your research and remember that choosing a diet such as vegetarianism or veganism can be quite a commitment emotionally and for the physical body.”

With the number of vegans and vegetarians steadily on the rise, it’s important to remember how to stay safe and healthy when considering joining the seasoned pros. But with the right knowledge, it’s possible to be meatless and consume all the right nutrients — even protein.

Email Andrea Pineda-Salgado at dining@nyunews.com.

The Ins and Outs of Transition Weather Outfits

By GABY BALDOVINO Staff Writer It’s that awkward time of year again when the weather goes from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees between your 8 a.m. and 11 a.m classes. How exactly can you avoid the embarrassing moment when you turn up to your next class red-faced and sweaty or shivering and drenched because you didn’t dress for the weather?

The tried-and-true answer is to dress in layers, but this doesn’t necessarily mean sticking to the Horse Girl Autumn aesthetic of long sweaters, infinity scarves, riding boots and long socks. An easier, more stylish alternative is to wear a shirt made of lightweight material like cotton and then throw on a denim jacket or a stylish windbreaker.

Layering can be trendy and functional. One of fall 2019’s hottest trends is the blazer, which pairs perfectly with shorts, jeans or pants. My take on the blazer trend included a thrifted blazer, basic

white tank and denim shorts. The outfit is also perfect for chillier days if you just switch the shorts out for jeans.

You should also allow your upper or lower body to breathe. Easy ways to do this include wearing a tank top — you can throw on a denim jacket or cardigan if it’s colder — and pants. A long sleeve and a skirt would work for breathing room as well. One of my goto outfits for when I want to look just a tiny bit more presentable is a super-soft, super-light long-sleeve shirt, a plaid skirt and my Doc Martens. Even on windy days, you’ll only feel the cold on half your body.

Don’t put away your crop tops just yet, either. They pair well with outerwear, especially lightweight puffers and denim jackets, without making you sweat. One of my favorite ways to execute this is to wear a puffer, plain white crop top, rolled-up jeans, a belt and sneakers. Moreover, cropped sweaters look super cute with high-waisted jeans or patterned skirts and are not as

heavy and sweat-inducing as chunky winter sweaters.

Buttons are your best friend during fall too. It’s simple: when it’s so windy your hair is sticking to your lip gloss, button up. When the sun is blinding your field of view, unbutton. Cropped sweaters basically tick all of the fall wardrobe boxes: cropped, button-up and super cozy when you need them to be.

However, one part of your summer wardrobe that can get shipped back home is open-toed shoes. These aren’t ideal for fall weathe, simply because you never know when it’s going to start dpouring. One of the worst feelings in the world is accidentally stepping into a puddle and having cold, dirty feet for the rest of the walk back to your dorm.

During fall, go for classic — albeit slightly VSCO girl-ish — sneakers like the Nike Air Force 1 or Chelsea boots from Doc Martens.

It’s not necessary to ship your entire summer wardrobe back home. Crop tops, ankle jeans and skirts all still have

ALEX TRAN | WSN

Cropped clothing doesn’t have to be just for warmer days, so don’t ship your summer wardrobe home just yet.

a place during fall. By dressing for the daily weather rather than the idea of fall, you’ll be prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws your way and still feel

like it’s pumpkin spice latte season.

Email Gaby Baldovino at bstyle@nyunews.com.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

ARTS

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Edited by CLAIRE FISHMAN

Rolling Loud Festival Pulls up to NYC for the First Time

By IFFAT NUR Contributing Writer “OPEN THAT SH-T UP! OPEN UP THAT MOSH PIT!” These words rang throughout the entire weekend as Rolling Loud, billed as “the largest Hip-Hop festival in the world,” made its New York debut in Citi Field this past weekend.

As the Rolling Loud began, it was hard not to think of the potential issues surrounding the festival. The NYPD requested several artists, the most prominent of them being Pop Smoke, be removed from the lineup due to fears that their sets would inspire violence. In addition, Trippie Redd, famous for his hits “Dark Knight Dummo” with Travis Scott and “F-ck Love” with XXXTentacion, called out due to illness, and Lil GotIt’s performance was cancelled for unexplained reasons.

Still, there were plenty of artists worth seeing, and even though it was a gloomy first morning, the sky thankfully cleared up as the day went on. It was a pleasantly warm Saturday as the first day of Rolling Loud got started. In place of Pop Smoke, Fetty Wap was invited, and in place of Trippie Redd came South Florida’s favorite Lil Pump.

Although the festival largely catered to modern fans of the more punk-styled hip-hop scene, one only needs a basic appreciation for the genre to get something out of Rolling Loud. For those who long for the old days of gritty, bars-driven boom-bap era hip hop, there were artists such as Fat Joe, Fabolous, Jim Jones, Pusha T and, most notably, the Wu-Tang Clan.

However, one didn’t need to wait for the big acts of the night in order to get their money’s worth. Rico Nasty, famous for tracks such as “Tia Tamera” and “Smack a B-tch,” and who played at NYU’s Violet 100 concert last year, delivered an energetic performance, laying down bars and keeping the crowd jumping. Many performers

also brought along surprise guests, such as Rico Nasty’s presentation of 3oh Black, and Sheck Wes bringing out 9-year-old Bouda Savage. They said it was an all-age festival, after all.

However, that is not to say that the first day of Rolling Loud went by flawlessly.

Those in the front rows of pretty much any act got to witness dozens of people getting pulled out of the crowd to be rushed off by paramedics after being suffocated by the crowds. During the performance of a Rolling Loud staple, Ski Mask the Slump God, a barricade fell. The set was stopped, much time was spent reforming the barricade and fans tried their hardest not to lose spots they had kept for hours.

The night ended with performances from superstars Meek Mill and Travis Scott.

However, first came Playboi Carti. After a somewhat disappointing Avant Gardner performance, which he claimed was due to faulty microphones leaving him unable to perform, Carti did his best to make up for the crowd. What resulted was absolute chaos. Kids were getting thrown all around as pockets of mosh pits, encouraged by Carti himself, opened up. Many left, completely exhausted from trying to keep themselves standing up, and retreated to the back in preparation for the hour-long wait until Meek and Travis.

Travis was definitely the draw for the majority of Rolling Loud attendees, and it came as a shock when he fell and hurt himself, shouting into the microphone “I think I broke my knee.” Despite the mishap, he still managed to deliver a stellar performance, performing a range from early hits such as “Mamacita” to his recent release “Highest in the Room.”

By the second day, it seemed that a lot of the issues with day one were ironed out, as compromises were made and the staff seemed more experienced. One large issue that remained was the lack of space in the venue. While it was still maneuverable, Citi

Field’s size was certainly felt during big shifts in performances, such as when the crowds rushed from Juice WRLD’s stage to see Rolling Loud favorite Lil Uzi Vert at another stage. Attendees were sometimes forced to leave a set early just to have a shot at making another in time.

Unfortunately, there were still more notable changes to the guest list on Sunday. DMX had checked himself into rehab and consequently had to cancel his performance. Megan Thee Stallion faced travel issues, having been slated to perform in Austin the same weekend, and ended up with a headlining stage at a conflicting time with A$AP Rocky and Lil Uzi Vert.

Still, the second day offered plenty of great moments. Lil Tecca, the 17-year old New York native who’s gained popularity with his hit single “Ransom,” was brought out to perform not only his own set, but alongside Juice WRLD and Tyga too.

DaBaby brought out someone wearing a giant costume with a bib that said “Boo Boo Baby” and delivered a stellar performance, constantly diving into the crowd only to have security fish him out. Young Thug brought out Gunna as a special guest, who gave a performance of their recent hit “Hot.” Rolling Loud closed out with A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert and Megan Thee Stallion. Those who waited to see Megan Thee Stallion at the “Sauce” stage were treated to a phenomenal performance by Pusha T. Choosing who to see for the night was an extremely tough decision, but A$AP Rocky eventually won out. A curtain was brought down so that the staff could set up the stage for his “Injured Generation” theme, and as soon as they opened, the audience was greeted with a mob that crowd surfed while wearing masks from his recent tour. He performed many of his hits, such as “Gunz and Butter,” “A$AP Forever” and “Telephone Calls.”

As the major set continued, it transitioned into a love letter to hip-hop. In addi-

IFFAT NUR | WSN

A$AP Rocky greets a sea of fans at his first show back in NYC since his arrest in Sweden.

tion to bringing along Swae Lee to perform “No Type,” A$AP Rocky brought out Queens native 50 Cent to perform crowd favorites such as “I Get Money” and A$AP Ferg to perform “Work,” as well as tracks off his new album “Floor Seats.” Attendees threw bras on stage, and A$AP Rocky gleefully walked around, holding out the bras and yelling “titties!” over and over.

The million dollar question many might have is whether Rolling Loud is worth going to, provided there is another New York show next year. Certainly, for those who call themselves hip-hop fans, Rolling Loud is a sort of holy grail. So many of the genre’s finest gathered together in one area over several days was a sight to behold, even if there were a few hiccups. Perhaps it’s something that

most should experience at least once.

However, going for a second time is definitely more questionable. The festival certainly isn’t cheap, with tickets upward of $200, and, as this weekend revealed, none of the booked acts are guarantees. Ultimately, it’s fair to always remember that Rolling Loud is a festival. One does definitely need to have a taste for festival culture to be able to enjoy it. But for any faults that Rolling Loud may have had, in the end, attendees always have their memories of seeing so many of the artists they’ve come to know and love gathered together in one place to celebrate one of the most revolutionary, experimental genres of music out there.

Email Iffat Nur at music@nyunews.com.

NYU Grad Ryan Perez Reveals Why ‘An Actor Despairs’ on New Podcast

By JESSICA XING Contributing Writer Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute at NYU is known for its catchphrase “An Actor Prepares.” Ryan Perez, a 2010 graduate of the Strasberg studio, started a podcast — “An Actor Despairs” — in which he features veteran working actors, agents, casting directors

and others in the industry who might not be featured on talk shows, but play an essential role in film and TV nonetheless.

The roster of actors he has featured so far include Denzel Whitaker from “Black Panther,” Shea Whigham from “Vice” and “Joker,” and Kathleen Turner, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for “Peggy Sue Got Married.” On the podcast,

PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN PEREZ

Ryan Perez, an NYU Tisch alum, is working on a new podcast, “An Actor Despairs.”

Perez and his guests discuss what it takes to be an actor in such a rapidly changing industry, and the struggle it takes to realize what Perez calls the delusional dream of acting.

“The postgraduate life isn’t easy for anyone, but for actors I especially feel NYU at the time didn’t do a great job of preparing aspiring actors to just survive, never mind pursue acting,” Perez said. “The actor’s journey feels riddled with despair...yet you can’t feel sorry for us because we chose this.”

Perez notes how heartbreaking it can be to willingly dedicate so much of your life to a passion, only for that passion to repeatedly lock you out. He said he struggled with selfworth coming out of college, recounting how a lack of direction lead to complications with depression and alcoholism.

Why become an actor then, if it is so miserable? Perez referenced “Jaws” and “Back to the Future” as his inspirations.

“It’s really cheesy, but when I saw ‘Jaws’ and ‘Back to the Future,’ I knew that was my higher calling,” Perez said. “It is literally the hardest thing you ever choose, but I am so lucky I had that experience so young because nothing in this pursuit for me has come organically.”

When Perez brings guests in, he notices that regardless of caliber and stardom, every

person working in the industry has a moment in which they realize that film and TV are their passion. There was so much they were willing to endure in pursuing that passion.

That drive unites a lot of actors: Perez notes that without the close friendships he’s developed with guests Whitaker and Whigham, as well as friends Harry Lennix of “Chi-Raq” and Giullian Gioiello of “Iron Fist,” he would have dropped out of the business.

“Even though it’s called ‘An Actor Despairs,’ it is supposed to be an optimistic podcast,” Perez said. “But in order for it to be an optimistic podcast, we have to talk about the dark, the beginning. I’ve seen this happen with guests in a lot of interviews — I can see them kind of reliving it — ‘Oh, yeah, I do remember that struggle.’ It drops their guard and makes them vulnerable in the right ways.”

The podcast was in part a labor of love, a love letter and a way of giving back to a craft that has given so much to Perez, but he also wanted to vocalize the struggle that is often forgotten in Hollywood. During hard times post-grad, Perez said he would find inspiration by looking at the early stages of famous actors’ careers. The podcast started because it was, Perez admits, the cheapest way to realize this project (the first episode was recorded on

the cheapest mic he could possibly find).

However, the podcast format lends itself well to creating intimacy, and it also made Perez anonymous in a way that helped highlight actors’ stories instead. So while at first he mainly asked friends in the business, including Whitaker and Whigham, as the podcast grew in listenership he was able to reach out to other New York actors, agents, and casting directors such as Fisher Stevens, Dean Winters, Tom Fontana and Malik Yoba. He currently records at Gotham Podcast Studio.

“I got sober three years ago,” Perez said.

“I’m not in AA anymore, but for AA its main component is altruism, doing another thing for a stranger and passing it along.

For every actor on the show, they’ve done the show because someone helped them along the way, and they want to help other people understand the chaos of this business — it’s just them giving back. It is a way we lean on each other, because they know what it is like having to wait tables. That is how we keep each other inspired and keep each other positive.”

You can listen to “An Actor Despairs” on Apple Podcasts.

Email Jessica Xing at film@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Arts

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

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Tisch Alumna Talks ‘Shiva Baby,’ Goal-Setting and Twitter

By JULIE GOLDBERG Books & Theater Editor “I never made any of the, like, cool comedy groups,” says Rachel Sennott, looking back on her first year at NYU Tisch. “I auditioned a bunch of times, never got in. But I started doing stand-up.”

We are sitting around the Madison

Square Fountain, our plan-b meeting spot after we wound up at two different Dig Inns within five blocks of one another.

During her second year, she started writing and performing her own sketches, which she continues to post to YouTube.

She also began auditioning for senior thesis films as a first-year and notes that she has done around 10 of them total. It was for

COURTESY OF JENNY WONG

Tisch alumna Rachel Sennott is an actress known for her appearance in High Maintenance, Shiva Baby and Hostess.

the production of one of these thesis films that she met Emma Seligman, writer and director of the short film “Shiva Baby,” about a college student who runs into her sugar daddy at a funeral.

After wrapping the film, the two spent some time together off set. Seligman remembers that Sennott was eager to hear what else she was working on. “I told her about this idea I had and she was like, okay, what are your one-month and three-month goals?” Seligman says with a laugh. “She’s definitely the best goal-setter and has gotten me on the right path.”

“Shiva Baby” premiered at South by Southwest and was featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick. It was through SXSW that Sennot caught the attention of her now-managers. “They saw ‘Shiva’ there and then went to my website and saw my stand-up and all these sketches that I made during school,” she says.

While her career has taken off since her graduation from NYU, she credits how quickly everything is moving to the preparation she had while still in school.

“I feel like people are so precious and they wait to make something,” she says.

“And it’s like, the first couple things you make are gonna be bad.”

She emphasizes that, with each attempt, the art you produce comes closer to the vision you have of it in your head. “There’s a quote about this from someone definitely famous that I’m forgetting,” she says. “I think it’s either the guy who wrote ‘Hallelujah’ or someone from NPR.” Even more valuable than the training she received at Stella Adler — her acting studio in the Tisch program — Sennott believes, was the real-world experience she gained and the connections she formed with other Tisch students, particularly those in

other departments. Each month, she hosts a stand-up-comedy-drinking-game event called “Puke Fest” with best friend Moss Perricone — “I have 11 best friends but they really all are my best friends,” she laughs — a graduate of the dramatic writing program.

“The most beneficial thing that I got out of school has been the friendships that I’ve made and the things that we’ve worked on together,” Sennott says.

“I think she got sh-t from her peers for focusing on her own stuff instead of doing, like, Shakespeare soliloquies,” Seligman says. “She’ll joke about not finishing her assignments because she was busy making connections outside of the department.”

While Sennott spent much of her time at Tisch focusing on comedy, in the last couple years she has returned to acting and come to define herself in less rigid terms.

“Now it’s like I’m a performer; I perform stand-up live, I act and that’s what I wanna do,” she says. “I also like to write, but I really only want to write if I’m also going to be in it.”

Indeed, Sennott joined Seligman as a co-writer for the feature version of “Shiva Baby,” which wrapped this August. In the feature, Sennot worked alongside big names such as Dianna Agron, Fred Melamed and Polly Draper.

Sennott and Seligman are currently submitting the film to festivals, as well as developing another feature, which Seligman describes as “more of an absurdist comedy.”

Seligman believes that “Shiva Baby,” particularly the feature version, highlights the versatility of Sennott’s talents. “She’s a really talented, vulnerable artist and I think that might be surprising to people who follow her on Twitter,” she says.

If you haven’t seen Sennott’s work, you may have read one of her tweets, which of-

ten make their way onto popular Instagram meme accounts. While her Twitter Feed may appear to be a series of off-the-cuff quips, she shares that she was actually very intentional in her efforts to build a following on the platform.

It began when she noticed that people were using their Twitter followings to help them get work. “And also because I was in this relationship with a guy who didn’t want to be with me,” she laughs “I was just telling my therapist this. Some psycho part of my head was like, ‘If I have 10,000 Twitter followers, he will love me.’”

“I just set goals for how many followers I wanted to have by a certain time,” she says. She would write tweets at night, send them to her friend Moss for approval and then tweet them at strategic times throughout the day.

“The only real knack I have is for, like, organizing and goal setting,” she says when I ask if she could see herself doing anything besides performing. “But I feel like I’m only good at doing that in terms of this career because it’s what I care about. It makes me think that if it was something else, I might not be good at it.”

She also thinks Twitter has been crucial in securing a series of stand-up comedy gigs at colleges across the nation. Even if they haven’t seen her stand-up, the students know who she is and have a sense of her humor from her tweets. “I’m not just a random comedian to them,” Sennott says.

“I feel like what’s helped me the most in booking jobs is being myself, being a little strange, a little whatever,” she says.

“But it’s only been like two years, so what do I know?”

Email Julie Goldberg at jgoldberg@nyunews.com.

Lauv Emphasizes Mental Health at Terminal 5

By DANI HERRERA Staff Writer Pop musician and Steinhardt grad Lauv has emphasized that his upcoming album, “How I’m Feeling,” will focus on his personal experience with mental illness. It’s only appropriate that his world tour for the album has done the same. At Terminal 5 last week, the singer played two sets that emphasized mental health awareness through the space, the songs and the moments in between.

The venue was small, but the intimacy worked well for the extremely personal set. His performance integrated his earlier works, such as “I Like Me Better,” with more recent releases like “Sims.” As he sang, he danced around the stage, showing how comfortable he was with the crowd. He played most songs with full instrumentation, but he also performed an acoustic interlude without any background music.

It was between the songs that Lauv’s thematic intention was most apparent. The singer briefly explained the inspiration behind the lyrics of some of his songs. Most of them were based on important times in his life, but others were inspired by fans. For example, he explained that “Superhero” was based on an anonymous note someone submitted to Lauv’s ongoing mental health awareness project, “My Blue Thoughts.” He also gave a small speech before performing “Sad Forever,” a song he wrote before he sought professional help for his mental health.

“No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to escape the voice in my head [that] beat me up for every single thing I did, told me to quit music and told me I was a bad person,” Lauv told the crowd. “I realized that mental health needed to be approached like any mental illness.”

He reached out directly to the audience, instructing them to sign up for mental health courses and giving them a mental health hotline number to text.

Even the venue itself reflected Lauv’s push for mental health awareness, as there were two telephone booth-esque installations called “blue rooms,” where attendees could privately write on a slip of paper about their own mental health. The installation was another part of “My Blue Thoughts.”

The crowd didn’t hesitate to cheer Lauv on during the non-song segments for showing his more vulnerable side.

The emphasis on non-musical components to the concert transformed the performance dynamic into something more intimate.

Right after the concert, he tweeted, “the energy on this tour has been on a whole other level and i’m feeling healthy mentally and i’m finally really happy THANK U GUYS FOR EXISTING.” Lauv’s “How I’m Feeling” tour will continue in the U.S., before venturing to Europe and Latin America. His new album will be released on March 6, 2020.

DANI HERRERA | WSN

Email Dani Herrer at music@nyunews.com.

Lauv performing on stage at Terminal 5 on Oct. 10. His performance emphasized mental health awareness, as his upcoming album “How I’m Feeling” will focus on his own experience with mental illness.

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OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

OPINION

Edited by COLE STALLONE and ABBY HOFSTETTER

UNIVERSITY LIFE

NYU Should Give Students Days Off for Mental Health

By DIYA JAIN Staff Writer Recently, legislation was introduced into the New York State Senate that would allow public school students to take days off for their mental health. If the bill is

passed, the State Education Department is responsible for implementing this change, which allows students to claim mental health reasons for absence from school.

The bill is limited to public school minors and it is heartening that some efforts have been made by New York’s government to recognize the need for proper mental health care starting at a young age. It is now time for private universities like NYU to follow suit.

Currently, NYU’s policy for excused absences is largely in the hands of professors.

Most classes allow a certain number of days off, provided the student is able to produce medical notes as proof. Students can also

seek religious exemptions. Otherwise, students are expected to attend class without exception, unless professors have their own policies. If NYU adopted a similar policy to New York state, it would allow students to take a day or two off without requiring a medical note that claims they suffered from a panic attack or a bad bout of anxiety, for example. This would make strides for students who deal with mental health issues that are hard to diagnose or don’t require a visit to the doctor. Some downtime to rejuvenate could make a world of difference in a student’s quality of life.

As mental health is brought to the forefront of conversations on campus, it’s im-

portant that NYU’s policies are constantly evolving to match students’ needs. Simply putting up flyers or setting up unprofessional chat services is not enough; NYU needs to implement change by allowing students to take a leave of absence for genuine mental health concerns. Mental health disorders like anxiety are frighteningly common; the Anxiety and Depression Association of America claims that anxiety affects 18.1% of the population every year.

In a school as competitive as NYU, where 55% of students report that they have dealt with anxiety and 59% report symptoms of depression, better mental health care is more crucial than ever. I read about heart-

breaking student suicides at NYU in the news during my very first year as a student.

This made me apprehensive about my future at NYU. Clearly, the university needs to do more to ensure that students are prioritizing their own mental health.

Allowing students to take leave for mental health care would ensure that professors are more understanding of the difficulties faced by their students and the subsequent effects on their academic performance.

Most importantly, the bill would allow students at NYU to excel in all spheres as their mental health improves.

Email Diya Jain at opinion@nyunews.com.

ENVIRONMENT

Redefining Environmental Activism

By NICOLE CHIARELLA Contributing Writer Environmental activism is not unique to the 21st century. For hundreds of years, countless individuals have fought for a cleaner and healthier Earth. The late 1890s experienced the creation of the Sierra Club, sparking the beginning of the U.S. conservationist movement. The 1960s saw Rachel Carson rise to prominence with the publication of her critically acclaimed book “Silent Spring,” which tackled the incessant use of poisonous pesticides. The early 2000s witnessed Nobel

Peace Prize winner Al Gore strike fear into the minds of the people with his Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” In 2019, the world feels the fervent anger of Greta Thunberg, the catalyst of the Global Climate Strike. These white, conservation-focused environmentalists fought, and continue to fight, for people to listen and act according to the needs of the Earth. But it’s important to acknowledge that the voices most often highlighted are those in the global elite.

Environmentalism seeks to protect the environment through action. But what exactly constitutes our definition of the environment? Does it — or should it — include humankind? Or does it only focus on the natural environment? Such questions indicate the negative consequences that such a broad definition entails. This definition, embedded in ambiguity, creates the perfect breeding ground for the exclusion of people who don’t have

the luxury of throwing their energy into the environmental battlefield. Yes, striking for climate change awareness or posting about the burning Amazon rainforest on Instagram is a luxury. Because this vague idea of environmentalism dominates environmental activism, it fails to harness the full potential of the movement.

When we have access to the fulfilment of fundamental needs — breathable air, clean water, food and shelter — it’s relatively easy to shift our focus to banning plastic straws or fighting for carbon neutrality. But doing so is a privilege — a privilege that disguises itself as activism. Millions worldwide still lack access to clean drinking water, which means that millions of people are ignored in the fight for environmental change. In a 2019 news release, the World Health Organization reported that “globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with feces.”

It plays to the idea of a hierarchy of needs — we must satisfy our most basic needs, like food, water and shelter, before moving on to satisfy more abstract needs, like conservation. In developing countries, some still struggle to meet those basic needs. In the U.S. as well, many continue to lack access to clean water.

While despair is a common theme across most environmental writing, don’t fret. There is a plausible solution to this matter: a reexamination of what environmentalism means to the world.

Blindly accepting the conservationist paradigm of environmentalism is like writing an essay with no thesis; it lacks direction, and leaves out important ideas. In the fight for environmental justice, this means that we unintentionally leave out millions of people who inevitably suffer the consequences of the unsolicited environmental injustices imposed upon them. This definition subtly discriminates against

those who don’t have the means to join the call to action. We must take a step back to realize that environmentalism should prioritize humankind. This doesn’t mean sacrificing the needs of the Earth for human luxuries; it means establishing a sense of harmony among humans, and between humans and our environment.

Throughout the history of the environmental movement, those most affected by climate change and climate politics have been silenced; instead, the most prominent spaces are given to people like Carson, Theodore Roosevelt and Thunberg. Instead of reinforcing a conservation-centric form of environmentalism, we must initiate a paradigm shift toward one focused on inclusivity. Only then will the environmental battle become equitable and ultimately find success.

Email Nicole Chiarella at opinion@nyunews.com.

RACE

NYU’s Lack of Consideration for Black Students

By CHINENYE ONYEIKE Contributing Writer I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to attend a school as prestigious as NYU. I’ve received a lot of praise from friends back home and job opportunities in my field of study, and it’s my parents’ favorite talking point at every family party. But while I’ve seen what the NYU name can do for me, I haven’t felt the same benefits when it comes to how the school actually treats me. Is the name really worth it if I have to spend four years feeling excluded?

I’m lucky enough to have fostered relationships in NYU’s black community thanks to my sorority, the Upper Echelon

Tau Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., NYU’s Opportunity Program and the Academic Achievement Program. Within these organizations, I’ve developed connections with faculty members, staff members and students allowing me not only to secure opportunities outside of NYU, but also to secure a safe space for me while I’m here. It’s nice to have a circle of people who listen to the concerns of a black student attending a predominantly white institution; once I leave these spaces, I’m just another black face to the rest of the student body.

I sat in class as one of the only black students and listened to my peers banter about the “Joker” box office numbers, production logistics and award prospects. I listened, respected their thoughts and, despite not being as interested in this movie as they are, tried to formulate my own opinion on it. But when I mentioned the opening of Tyler Perry Studios and its exemplification of growth in the black community, the conversation didn’t hold anyone’s interest for nearly as long as “Joker” did. My classmates even

tried to switch the topic mid-conversation to discuss the “Avengers” franchise; instead of listening and respecting the point I wanted to make, my white peers took the conversation and steered it in their favor to overpower my voice.

In addition to this small but loud incident, during a Fraternity and Sorority Life retreat last January, one of the members of the Interfraternity Council fraternities boldly stated that he didn’t understand the negative effects of his white male privilege and lacked sensitivity for those who are marginalized. Despite several retorts, he failed to see the other side of the conversation and continued making inconsiderate comments.

The lack of meaningful inclusion of black students on campus reached a tipping point for me at a recent NYU event.

On Oct. 1, artists Doov and 100 Gecs opened up the stage for the long-anticipated Pop Smoke concert held by NYU’s Program Board at the Kimmel Center for University Life. Both acts were given time to perform a multitude of songs as their predominantly white and Asian

fans in the audience sang and danced along. Although unfamiliar with these artists, the black students in the crowd did not let this ruin their mood for the night; they recorded Instagram stories and danced around as they waited for the main act to arrive.

Before Pop Smoke took the stage, his DJ came out to hype the crowd up, playing popular hits such as “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior” in order to get folks ready for the rest of the night. Anticipating Pop Smoke’s appearance at any second, the entire crowd was amped up and dancing to the DJ’s set. But before the main act could emerge, Kimmel staff ruined the party. They told the crowd that commotion from the concert was causing building damage and that attendees had to vacate Rosenthal Pavilion immediately.

The crowd’s energy had been high from the beginning of the night and the news that this was causing building damage should have come much earlier. But the timing of the news’ delivery seemed to imply that it was only once black stu-

dents started having a good time that the commotion became a problem. This situation exemplifies why black students feel excluded when it comes to campus-wide events.

But NYU and its white and Asian students remain in their own bubble, unaware of how their words and actions affect minority groups. Until they desire to right the wrongs they perpetuate inside and outside the classroom, black students will continue to be marginalized. The Program Board had elected to change the concert’s location from Eiser and Lubin Auditorium to Rosenthal Pavilion despite plenty of experience hosting on-campus concerts. The obvious lack of thought behind this decision is compounded by the fact that this event was attended mostly by black students: cutting the event short right before the arrival of the black main act is clear evidence of NYU’s lack of care for its black community.

Email Chinenye Onyeike at opinion@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Opinion

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

9

POLITICS

Journalism’s Impact in Wake of Impeachment

By HANNA KHOSRAVI Editor-at-Large When WSN’s Opinion Desk published its series on the Future of Journalism last May, the state of our union was distinctly different. Five months ago, as our pieces came out, the tremors of impeachment were a hushed interlude. But now, the chorus is singing — and boy, is it singing loud.

Things felt more uncertain then. How, exactly, were things more ambiguous last spring than they are now, with the branches of our government in a state of frantic war, practically no outright Constitutional blueprint for moving forward, a national association of impeachment with little more than Robert Redford or Monica Lewinsky, and just about two billion possible scenarios and outcomes regarding what this president can pull out of his hat next? Last spring, our political future felt both stagnant and untenable. Today, the threat looming over us is even clearer than it was before, but at least there’s no more denying that it exists. Despite the fact that this threat to our democracy is roaring with power — and as inexplicably daunting as that may be — the risks are brightly illuminated, and the offenses openly confessed to.

And we, in many ways, have journalists to thank for that.

It was the media, which the president has so adamantly labeled as an illicit illusion, that broke the news of a whistleblower filing a complaint regarding the White House’s gambling with the security and survival of Ukraine, a nation which is currently enduring one of the world’s most dire humanitarian catastrophes at the hands of its Russian neighbors. It was The Washington Post that first broke the whistleblower’s story — and it is institutions like The Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and any other objective news outlet in the United States that are keeping us informed of the developments within our democracy.

Journalists are center stage again after three years of incessant battering as part of the current administration’s tirade against “fake news,” and they are not letting up in their efforts for accountability. Every morning, The New York Times’s podcast, “The Daily,” educates us on our 8 a.m. coffee runs and brisk walks to the office on how to digest the impeachment inquiry as it morphs and broadens. The editorial boards, columnists and opinion writers at every major publication are currently tackling this issue from the inside out, leaving no stone unturned, whether it be in an effort to dig deep into the machinations of Rudy Giuliani, the roles and responsibilities of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or the what-ifs of the impeachment proceedings themselves. I check my NPR app every few hours, and am consistently struck by constant updates on news stories and newfound pieces of unfurling evidence.

This is democracy in action. Imagine

Submitting to

how we, as citizens, would navigate these unfamiliar waters with only the word of our government as a source of information — imagine where we would be now if the @realDonaldTrump Twitter page was all we had to lean on.

The gravest error one can make in interpreting the struggle between Trump and the media is in casting the media as a sort of resistance movement. That has never been, and will never be, the role of the journalist. Journalists want to tell the story, not take part in it — if they wanted to be the story themselves, perhaps they’d have become politicians.

But having something as tangible as the whistleblower complaint in our hands — a document which Intelligence Chief Joseph Maguire validated when he called the writer a person “operating in good faith” who was “[following] the law” — means that history has already been written. Fact has been ordained, verified and set into stone. A chapter of our textbooks has been officially inscribed, and it is now every individual’s job, whether in Congress or at home, to decide which side of history they will stand on.

It is journalists who have been tasked with locating the fire amidst all these clouds of sociopolitical smoke, which continue to blur our understanding of our own nation’s internal maneuverings. This claim is not made, however, to avow that journalistic coverage currently exists in an untouchable or flawless realm. It never has, and it never will. And in the quest to discover the origins of the fire, the media can often end up generating a copious amount of unnecessary smoke themselves.

Shortly after the whistleblower complaint was made public, there was a controversy around The New York Times publishing biographical information regarding the whistleblower’s identity, which alluded to the fact that the whistleblower was a male working within the government and for the C.I.A., potentially putting them in harm’s way. Lawyers representing the whistleblower retaliated with the argument that a whistleblower must “have a right to anonymity,” particularly in the face of the president’s increasingly dystopian implications that whistleblowers are spies and traitors.

The Times acknowledged and responded to the criticism. Executive Editor Dean Baquet wrote that the publication made its choice to publish the aforementioned details as something of a retort to those who had questioned the whistleblower’s credibility, as a way “to provide information to readers that allows them to make their own judgments about whether or not [the whistleblower] is credible.” We walk a fine line when we are embedded within a position this tenuous, and the conversation that this situation has sparked about the vital nature of whistleblower protection is a crucial one. The story is made even more perplexing by the idea that a significant contingent of our national audience could be manipulated into believing that the whistleblower’s statement is a hoax by a single presidential tweet. To jeopardize the whistleblower’s safety is a journalistic overstep — but the fact that the whistleblower’s wellbeing might be at risk, or that his reputation might need shielding, is indicative of the dissolution that succeeds the distortion of truth.

As we praise journalists working to uphold the values of democracy, it is simultaneously our utmost imperative to honor and maintain the safety of those willing to come forward as whistleblowers.

These brave individuals place the welfare of their nation before their own lives and careers, sacrificing their security for the sake of their country. Without them, our media’s ability to influence and advance would be hindered. It is when courageous Americans and determined journalists engage with one another and refuse to turn a blind eye to the facts that our checks on power can become the most effective.

When we published the introduction to our series last May, we wrote that “the truth matters.” And it is this very truth — and and all of those who strive each day to act as its arbiters — that have weakened the president to a point in which he can no longer dispute it, either. He has, as New Yorker writer Susan Glasser put it, “self-impeached.” He has admitted to his actions. He has tried to justify them, yes, by describing his conversation with the Ukranian president with inane adjectives like “perfect,” but even Trump himself has not made an effort to cast these developments as blatant falsifications. He and his team catapult other strategies on the table — drawing attention to Joe and Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine, or insisting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is really their bosom-buddy. But we know we are in uncharted terrain when Rudy Giuliani has to physically “shush” a Fox News host on live national television — yes, even Fox News, the president’s vastest and most loyal caravan of groupies, is starting to grow a little weary.

It took a fundamental shock to our foundation to prove to our nation that when facts are placed on the table, no amount of name-calling, animosity and deception can override them. I felt compelled to follow up on our findings from last spring as we steer these rapidly-altering ebbs and flows, because the journalists that are upholding their check on governmental power are manifesting a distinctly American characteristic that, even amidst this cacophony of disillusionment, we can and should all be thankful for.

This is not to say that Donald Trump will be impeached or convicted, or even that his legacy will be tarnished as vociferously as it seems it will right now. He has sustained his armor, through scandal after scandal, and perhaps his skin is thicker than we think. But the crux of the matter is not necessarily the outcome. It is, rather, the fact that regardless of who survives this period of contortion, the journalists that brought the story to the national consciousness at the very inception of this process have been here to guide us, and will continue to serve as our guides through to the end. And so as unsteady as the groundwork we are walking on might be, we can be confident that as long as we are willing to hear it, democracy is in place as a pillar in the U.S., determined to bring us closer to the truth — and that no matter what anyone writes on their Twitter page, the future of the impact of journalism is, indeed, alive and well.

Email Hanna Khosravi at hkhosravi@nyunews.com.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Why Doesn’t NYU Release a Full Financial Report?

NYU’s recently published 2017 tax returns show that the university has made some questionable financial decisions — like overpaying former university administrators and underfunding financial aid.

This news is particularly upsetting given this Editorial Board’s recent criticism of the university’s decision to under-advertise vital resources for students. The tax returns provide more questions than answers — NYU only lists what they’re required to by law. In response to the recent analysis of their tax returns by WSN, NYU has the opportunity to take a major step towards financial transparency and affordability by releasing a full financial report for the 2017 fiscal year.

One of the key highlights of the tax returns analysis was executive pay. During a meeting of the Board of Trustees, NYU President Andrew Hamilton highlighted that NYU is still the 39th most expensive university. While his affordability initiatives might be technically working, they aren’t enough. Hamilton receives a $1.5 million salary, with a $250,000 annual bonus and $200,000 in benefits. Hamilton’s income is more than ironic given his decision to “prioritize” affordability. The highest undergraduate tuition cost in 2017 was Tisch School of the Arts’ $53,882 per year. Hamilton’s salary could be used to give at least 27 students full scholarships. And while NYU’s executive salaries are similar to those of other universities, this should not be an excuse — especially if NYU wants to be a leader in affordable higher education.

Beyond overspending in the wrong areas, NYU has also consistently shown it underspends in areas that students desperately need. The university has underpromoted student resources like S.P.A.C.E. and Courtesy Meals. NYU Local reported that out of 60 students they asked about S.P.A.C.E., none knew it existed. The Courtesy Meals Program saw a spike in use immediately after publicly announcing the program.

The increase should be considered with the overwhelming problem of food insecurity on college campuses — nearly half of twoyear and four-year undergraduate students face food insecurity nationwide. At NYU, more than 20% face difficulty affording food, according to the Being@NYU survey in October 2018. What seems to be at the root of NYU’s under-advertisement is cost: the university spent 67 times more on Dining Dollars following the advertisement of the program.

NYU’s Student Health Center has also

been consistently understaffed, causing prolonged wait times. While NYU has recently launched a new initiative to address the long wait times, their program does not fix the problem. The notion that an initiative has been introduced further indicates that the university would rather put short-term solutions — like S.P.A.C.E. — over devoting money to permanent solutions that will help save students’ lives. The tax returns force us to question whether or not the university is spending the appropriate amount of money in the areas that students — not administrators — need most.

As NYU students, we don’t know how our university’s budget is allocated, because it has decided that we don’t have the right to know.

Instead, the fiscal 2019 budget — the only information relating to the budget that NYU releases on its website — simply says which departments within the university receive what percentage of NYU’s enormous budget. The current available budget is also outdated; the 2020 budget was supposed to be released this past June. By being vague about the allocation of its funds, NYU is able to use the funds within those departments in whichever way they think is best — which doesn’t always mean what’s best for their students.

Currently, NYU releases a consolidated financial report with limited information about cash flows and activities. In addition, the 990 form tax returns contain information about its revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities. Beyond this limited picture, there is no public information regarding how tuition money is spent or the reasons behind the university’s financial decisions.

Releasing a financial report of NYU’s spending is in the university’s best interests.

By releasing more detailed information about the university’s finances, NYU can show how it prioritizes its spending. Tuition revenue for 2017 was $2.5 billion, just $500,000 dollars shy of the total cost for the university portion of the fiscal budget for the same year. As students, all of us chose to be here — we have a tangible interest in being here, perhaps more than any other member of the community. Helping students better understand how their money is spent is the first step to ensuring it’s being spent in the right areas and in the best interests of the students. Until the university can show students where their money is going, their message of affordability is unlikely to be heard or felt.

Email the Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

COLE STALLONE Chair ABBY HOFSTETTER Chair JUN SUNG Co-Chair

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.

Washington Square News

10

SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

SPORTS

Athletic Trainers Serve as Bridge for Student-Athletes

By REBECCA CHOI Staff Writer On the lowest floor of Palladium Athletic Facility, a small, unassuming room operates as a hub for NYU student-athletes. Sandwiched between a conference room and the Varsity Performance Center, the sports medicine staff works in the training room to make sure athletes have a plethora of resources to optimize their performance on and off the field.

The sports medicine staff oversees much of the overall health and safety of NYU’s over 850 student-athletes. Coordinator of Athletic Training Services Nikki Webb describes her role as a professional who helps ensure the wellness of student athletes.

“We can help facilitate medical care for them, start them on some rehab and get them back to their sport safely and quickly,” Webb said.

The sports medicine staff also includes Assistant Athletic Trainers Matthew Devens, Arturo “Roy” Flores, Chelsea Nugent and Angela Severn, as well as Dr. Dennis Cardone, the supervising team physician.

As a middle ground between healthcare and the university, student-athletes see the resource as primarily a place to go for any physical issues they are having.

“If you’re injured, they can give you a program and physical therapy to help you feel better faster and get back on the team and training as soon as possible,” women’s fencer and CAS sophomore Sarah Prilutsky said.

The Athletic Training Room is open to all athletes Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Women’s soccer midfielder and Stern soph-

omore Hailey Hirano explained that the treatment is not just for when something goes wrong.

“You can go in daily to stay on top of how you feel and get ahead of your injuries,” Hirano said.

“It basically works like office hours or whenever the trainer is with your team, and you can get taped or rolled out or iced.”

Each team is assigned a trainer who oversees and specializes in injuries in that sport. That way, the trainer can develop a more personal relationship with the specific team and its athletes.

Hirano said that Severn, the trainer for the women’s soccer team, supports the players by addressing their medical and emotional needs.

“On the sidelines, [Severn] really roots for us,” Hirano said. “She really cares about us personally, but also how we do as a team, and she’s the first one to clap and cheer for us when we score.”

While each team has a designated trainer, athletes feel comfortable approaching any member of the sports medicine staff when they need assistance.

Women’s soccer player and Tandon senior Callie Delaney works with Devens and Flores in addition to Severn.

“They’re both really awesome and helpful,” Delaney said. “With any issues we have, they communicate back to [Severn] what is going on.”

These open lines of communication are also important between the medical staff and each team’s coaching staff.

“They communicate to the coaches with what is going on so that practices and lifts can be modified so that you’re not overstraining yourself,” said CAS sophomore Rachel Reistroffer, a member of the women’s swimming and diving.

In addition to working with student-athletes and coaching staff, the sports medicine staff also serves as a bridge to the strength and condi-

tioning department.

“Injury prevention is built into a lot of [student-athletes’] programs,” Webb said. “So, it’s built into their season as opposed to working on fixing injuries at the peak of their season.”

Though many athletes are subject to similar overuse injuries in their sport, Assistant Athletic Trainer Flores said there are a lot more factors at play for NYU student-athletes, specifically.

“Not only are you responsible to go to class and go to practice, but you’re also exposed to the kind of lifestyle that NYC leads — especially the walking around, and the fashion part of it,” Flores said. “[Students] complain of their feet, they complain of their hips, then you look at their footwear and you’re like ‘Well, is this what you’re wearing?’”

“Sometimes fashion can be the enemy of athletics,” he added.

Aside from physical ailments, the sports medicine department also acts as a connection between NYU’s mental health resources and students. Athletic trainers can link student-athletes to clinical social worker Lauren Shah and mental performance coach Ben Olivia, who help students work through any mental stressors they may be facing.

The department hopes to provide student-athletes the resources they need to succeed throughout their college careers — but also afterward.

“We want to make sure by the end of their four years here, anything that is bothering them — whether it is an illness or injury, or even mental health stuff — that they can go and do whatever it is that they want to do,” Flores said.

Email Rebecca Choi at sports@nyunews.com.

Women’s Tennis Trio Qualifies for Nationals

VIA NYU ATHLETICS

Stern junior Anna Maria Buraya won each of her doubles matches in the ITA Northeast Regional Championships in September.

By GRIFFIN VRABECK Staff Writer Following thrilling comebacks in their doubles and singles matches, three members of the NYU women’s tennis team advanced to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Oracle Cup National Championships.

In the ITA Northeast Regional Championships late last month, Stern junior Anna Maria Buraya and LS first-year Anastasiia Balyk won their championship doubles match in dramatic fashion after dropping the first set. Stern firstyear Karina Jensrud followed suit in her singles matchup, winning a second set tiebreaker before completing her comeback in the third.

Jensrud credits her mental toughness for her

resilient play.

“At some point in the second set I guess I clicked a bit more,” Jensrud said. “That’s when I said, ‘OK, now I’m gonna take this.’”

That same grit and determination propels the doubles pairing as well. Buraya recounted how after losing the first set 2-6, Balyk took a moment to sit and breathe before confidently reassuring both of them that they would win.

“She’s just so calm, so certain,” Buraya said.

Buraya also highlighted the pair’s different styles on the court — Balyk’s cool demeanor complements Buraya’s fiery attitude. “[Balyk’s] sense of calm gives me the ability to be all pumped up about it, and that together works really well,” Buraya said.

While their personalities complement each

other, it also helps that they both speak Russian and have similar playing styles. It all contributes to their on-court chemistry.

“I would say that coming into the net is definitely one of my favorite things,” Balyk said.

“That’s why I really enjoy doubles, especially with [Buraya]. It’s one of our strongest parts, just knowing how to work with the ball at the net.”

Head Coach Horace Choy emphasized their strong connection as a playing duo.

“I think they complement each other in regards to their style of play,” Choy said. “When they’re both playing well, I like their chances against just about anyone out there.”

Choy also commented on Jensrud’s early college success.

“She has a very versatile game and is able to adapt her style to what is needed to win matches,” Choy said. “She does have the game and ability to switch things up.”

The ITA National Championships begin Thursday in Rome, Georgia. Buraya, a Nationals verteran but new to the doubles stage, will lead the way for the first-years.

In order to succeed in Georgia, Jensrud says that she will continue to rely on her versatility and try and soak up every moment of the experience.

“I need to be all in it, zone in completely,” Jensrud said. “Footwork. Intensity. Just all-in in every match, and then do my best.”

In the end, they all want to “just make NYU proud,” Balyk said. Undoubtedly, as the three Violets gear up to represent NYU on the national stage, they already have.

Email Griffin Vrabeck at sports@nyunews.com.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

Edited by BELA KIRPALANI

The Sports Curse: Fact or Fiction?

By BELA KIRPALANI Sports Editor As Halloween approaches, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at some of sports’ biggest alleged curses and see just how ridiculous some of them are. From a video game cover to a literal mid-game earthquake, there have been some weird and unexplainable instances in sports over the years. Whether you believe in them or not, you have to admit there’s something spooky in the air.

The Drake Curse Check out Drake’s Instagram and you’ll be sure to find photos of the Canadian rapper dressed in countless different jerseys. He’s the epitome of a bandwagon fan, and he’s not ashamed of it. But with great Instagram clout comes great embarrassment — especially when your many teams consistently lose and everyone pins it on you.

In 2015, Serena Williams was upset in the U.S. Open with Drake in attendance. Last year, Drake publicly supported Conor McGregor ahead of his UFC match against Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor went on to lose the match.

In April, after Drake posed for a photo with Paris Saint-Germain defender Layvin Kurzawa, PSG suffered its worst league defeat in nearly 20 years. Later that month, Drake showed up to game four of the NHL playoffs, supporting his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs went on to lose that game 6-2.

The Drake curse is one of the few curses that has transcended sports and become embedded in pop culture — unfortunately for the rap star.

Of course, the Toronto Raptors famously beat the curse to win their first NBA championship in franchise history last season.

The Aaron Ramsey Death Curse This is arguably the scariest one on the list. Whenever former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey would score a goal, someone famous would pass away a few days later. The curse reportedly started on Aug. 22, 2009 when Ramsey scored a goal against Portsmouth. Three days later, former U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy passed away. Since then, there’s been Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston and Paul Walker, just to name a few.

Ramsey himself has obviously called the curse “ridiculous,” and even went on to say, “That’s just a crazy rumour. Although I took out some baddies!” Classic Aaron.

Aces-Mystics Voodoo I don’t even know what to call this one. All I know is that almost every time the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have faced each other in the past two WNBA seasons, some weird stuff has happened.

Last August, the Aces were stuck with over 25 hours of travel delays and had to forfeit their upcoming game against the Mystics — the first forfeit in league history. This season, halfway through a game between the two teams, an earthquake suddenly shook the stadium, forcing the game to be paused and resumed a month later. During another game, the shot clock randomly stopped working — the players seemed to have fun with it, though.

If that doesn’t bespeak this strange and unfortunate curse, then I don’t know what will. These two teams seem destined for more spooky and strange scenarios.

The Kardashian Curse I’m sure you remember Kim Kardashian’s famous 72-day-long marriage to then-NBA player Kris Humphries. Humphries was a solid role player for the then-New Jersey Nets at the time, and even averaged a career-high 13.8 points. After that whole debacle, however, his performance dropped off significantly and, within a few years, he became irrelevant.

While that was probably the most high-profile case of the Kardashian curse, it was by no means the only one. Rashad McCants, James Harden, Jordan Clarkson, Blake Griffin, Ben Simmons and more have been caught up in the Kardashian drama — I’ve honestly lost count.

The Madden Cover Curse Once one of the more popular sports curses, the Madden cover curse seems to have died out a little with time. The curse goes something like this: if a player is featured on the cover of EA Sports popular Madden NFL video game, they will likely suffer an injury or drop off in performance the following season.

The curse has affected the careers of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and even Packers legend Brett Favre. Upon taking a closer look, it might even seem the curse was alive and well from 1999 to 2009, during which all but one cover athlete seemed to suffer after being featured on the cover. However, since 2009, just four players have seen their careers suffer significantly afterward. Perhaps the Madden curse is slowly weakening. Save us, Patrick Mahomes!

Email Bela Kirpalani at bkirpalani@nyunews.com.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

Washington Square News | Sports

11 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.

Jumping the Broom: Finding Love in Prison

By OMAR PADILLA *Some names have been changed.

Life in prison can be exceedingly lonely, especially if you do not have a signif icant other in your corner to console you when the times get rough. I’ve witnessed grown men cry during the holidays, for instance, due to feeling abandoned by a girlfriend, f iance or family.

There are, of course, opportunities for f inding companionship in prison. Some develop pen pal relationships that blossom into real love affairs. Other f ind love inside, becoming open to same-sex relationships they might not have considered on the outside. Personally, I’ve never been tempted to go that route, but I’ve developed genuine respect for those who did.

Several years back, I was exercising on the weight courts at a facility upstate, when I witnessed my f irst prison wedding. Two men were participating in a ritual called “jumping the broom.” The custom, which seems to have originated in England, was practiced by African American slaves and is now a regular custom at African American weddings. The practice is much the same in prison, except that the jumping itself con-

stitutes an informal marriage. On this particular occasion, an inmate off iciated as the couple held hands, jumping together over a broom while others gathered around them to throw rice. Pronounced a couple, they kissed, then “spun the yard,” or walked around the open area, holding hands as the beaming husband showed off his new bride.

I’ll admit I found the ceremony a bit shocking at f irst. But in the years since, as I’ve gotten to know more people partnered this way, I’ve come to see such relationships with an open mind.

About f ive years later, I was hanging out in a friend’s cell when Green* waved me over.

“Ay yo, O look at these pictures bro,” Green said. “It’s my boo-boo.”

He showed me the pictures he had received through the mail, photos of a transgender woman who’d been released a few months before.

“Why you asking?” was my answer.

The whole subject made me uncomfortable. It sounded like a trick question, so I left it alone.

“You remember Lady Red,” he said. “This is shawty I was with, and now she is sending me pictures. I’m in love with her.”

“How do you hide a relationship with Lady Red from the mother of your children?” I asked him.

“I married Lady Red in prison because my baby mama stopped visiting me and she is always acting up,” he said. “Lady Red take good care of me.

My family doesn’t need to send me money or packages since Lady Red spends money on me for commissary and she will be buying expensive designer clothes for me to wear once I leave prison.”

I was shocked that he mentioned that, because being viewed as homosexual in prison can be dangerous.

Most people in prison are homophobic, biased and judgmental. But I couldn’t help wondering, who was I to judge another human being for f inding happiness in their life?

Recently, as I was pondering this question, I reached out to another

person who is in “crazy love,” as he put it, “with the girl of my dreams.”

He asked me to call him Big Black and told me how he met Moët. “This story is off-the-hook, homey,” he began.

Years ago, he was incarcerated at another facility. “It was a cold winter,” he recalled. “There was snow everywhere, and I was spinning the yard to keep warm.”

Big Black had been having an issue with his baby mama, but hadn’t been able to reach her. “Out of nowhere,” he said, “Some f ine young lady who resembled Naomi Campbell came up to me and asked me was I okay.”

“Not really,” he told her. “I just called home but no one picked up.

No one cares for me anymore.”

“My name is Moët,” she said, “and I can care for you.”

We both started to laugh.

Big Black described how he’d opened up to Moët, who was a beautiful transgender woman. And how she’d listened more attentively than anyone ever had. “By the time I noticed, off icers were yelling on the go-back and the whole rec period had went by,” he said. “The next day we met up and just kicked it again.

Moët was the only one there for me in a time of need.”

Not long after, Big Black found Moët in the yard sobbing.

Her boyfriend had hit her, she explained. Watching her cry, Big Black instinctively embraced her. “Damn, it felt so good to hug someone,” he recalled. He could feel the built-up stresses of prison life starting to fade away for both of them. “One thing led to the next and then we started to kiss right there in front of everybody in the yard. For a moment, I thought I was in a movie the way things played out.” At f irst, he couldn’t believe what he was doing, but then he realized, “I don’t care what anyone thinks of me!”

“I liked her because she has good qualities a man like me can enjoy, like listening to my bullshit. Plus her body is very curvaceous and sexy.”

Right then, Big Black proposed, and they were married the next day.

“We had a big ceremony with more than 50 people watching,” he told me. “The people were throwing rice all over us, cheering us on. Dressed in our best attire, polo shirts and state green pants, the both of us jumped the broom. She broke it off with the abusive boyfriend and started to see me as her main man. Ever since, she has been my ride-or-die chick, the one I’ve been looking for my whole life.”

“Wow, that’s an amazing story,” I told him.

“It’s us against the world,” he replied. “I told you that the story would be off-the-hook, homey.”

Living in a cage is a terrible experience, but there aren’t enough bars in prison to contain the love we can feel for our fellow human beings. Though there might be boundaries, love has no labels and no barriers.

This story was approved for publication by an official at Wallkill Correctional Facility.

Omar Padilla is a student in NYU’s Prison Education Project. You can email him at prison.education@nyu.edu, and read more writing by PEP students in The Wallkill Journal.

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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.

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