Oct 17 - Comic Con

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

Volume 64 | Issue 4

THE PACE PRESS SERVING PACE UNIVERSITY’S MANHATTAN CAMPUS SINCE 1948

y t i s r e v i n U e c a P g n i r u t Fea

Coverage begins on page 8 Rebecca Aftergood as Kim Possible and Katrina Abreu as Raven Photo by Olivia Beteta and Katrina Abreu

INSIDE FOLLOW US ONLINE !

NEWS University shows support for LGBT community Page 2

ARTS Female super heroes finally get notice at NYCC Page 11

Tweet us @thepacepress

FEATURES Office for Student Success tackles students’ problems Page 14

“Like” The Pace Press

NEWS

www.pacepress.org

2

Oct. 17, 2012

University students celebrate National Coming Out Day LGBTQA center’s coming out fair has suceessful student turn out rate JEFFREY WHITNEY Contributor

Aiden Nguyen, LGBTQA Center Intern

Lisa Boynton

The LGBTQA & Social Justice Center held a fair in honor of National Coming Out Day this past Thursday Oct. 11. The front of One Pace Plaza was packed with pride as the university’s LGBT community and their supporters came out for the fair.

This year acknowledges the 25th anniversary of the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, when half a million people gathered in Washington D.C. The march was the second of its kind, and marks the date of the first National Coming Out Day. The idea was established to counter the trend of having to defend themselves against anti-gay sentiments, and instead praise their identity.

“National Coming Out day can be a culmination of courage, pride and solidarity,” said Daniel Molina, Psychology Professor and LGBT advocate. She added, “It is giving a voice to those that may not feel they have one, today.”

The Coming Out Day Fair had several tables set up representing other university organizations that held relevance to the LGBT community. The tables for arts and crafts were consistently occupied, and the voter registration table drew in young adults with this year’s theme, “Come Out. Vote.”

“The turnout is great this year,” said Roberto Chavez, vice president of Pace University Stonewall Coalition, adding “We’ve had better luck with weather than in recent years and there’s a lot to do.”

At 12:30, Kelly Herbert, the university’s LGBTQA & Social Justice Center coordinator took the stage to begin the precession of speakers and poets. Herbert explained to a growing group of spectators the history of National Coming Out Day, and advocated for political awareness regarding the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law currently being challenged on the state level that strictly defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“National Coming Out Day is an important demonstration of Pace’s support for our LGBTQA students,” Herbert said.

There were several poetry and spoken word performances. Among those who took the stage were Sam LaRoche, Joanna Hoffman, and J. Mase III. J. Mase III, an activist within the LGBT community and outspoken poet, was present for a recitation and said that he enjoyed the fair for a variety of reasons.

“I love working with Sam, and today I got to see more of her work,” Mase said. “I really enjoy getting to hang out with other poets.”

The subject matter of the performances covered many of the negative experiences and emotions associated with a lack of acceptance. Such messages were particularly relevant on a day devoted to peoples’ ability to live openly.

National Coming Out Day focused on promoting general acceptance.

The coming out process is regarded as a complex emotional experience for a wide range of reasons. Being met with acceptance and even respect is a privilege that many people have not experienced.

“Being accepted amongst people that you invest your time with allows an individual to feel simply comfortable for who they are,” Molina said. “This truly is a personal journey for each individual.”

“Coming out is a continuous process in the life of a LGBTQ individual,” Chavez said. “A gay individual may have to come out depending on new social circles where he or she feels safe.”

Chavez, had positive things to say about his experience being gay at Pace, but elaborated on the complexity of the situation for others.

“Fellow LGBTQ individuals should not be so quick to judge someone who is in the closet. A student can be openly gay or transgender here at Pace University, but they may in fact be closeted when they go home. That is scary.

We forget that people are out depending on where they are and with whom they are around.”

The LGBTQA community at Pace is expanding, and the participation in the fair seemed to mirror that. The center itself at 41 Park Row was opened in September of 2011, but has already relocated for more space once and could look to relocate again soon. Less than five years ago, there was little LGBTQ representation at Pace, so students took it into their own hands in a style not so different from this year’s fair. Kelly Herbert formed a task force in 2008, which gathered support within Pace’s administrative departments.

We had our first fair in the Spring of 2010 outside of One Pace Plaza to create awareness around the formation of Pace’s LGBTQA Task Force,” Herbert said. “In about four hours we received almost 1000 signatures on our petition. Student volunteers personed the tables, getting folks involved, and almost everyone who signed the petition also held a sign that said “LGBTQA Center Requested at Pace” and we took their picture.”

The National Coming Out Day Far is a testament to how much a single petition was able to stimulate, as the LGTBQA Social Justice Center continues to grow, and will soon reach the Pleasantville campus. Issues that face the LGBTQ population nationally and worldwide will not be resolved with one poem or with one fair, but at Pace University, many people agreed that they were comfortable being open with their identity.

“Pace definitely has a more visible gay community,” Chavez said. “I can come down here and feel safe holding my boyfriend’s hand.”

Fair Volunteers All photos by LGBTQA & Social Justice Center

Ayana Nedd, freshman, LGBTQA Center Intern

FEATURE

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

3

LGBTQA and Social Justice Center continues expansion Center sets it’s sights on university’s LGBTQA-less Pleasantville campus RACHEL ROY Contributor This past Thursday the university’s LGBTQA and Social Justice Center marked its 3rd anniversary of the initial petition for the university’s LGBTQA and Social Justice Center.

Since then, the presence of the LGBTQA and Social Justice Center has been everstrengthening. According to Kelly Herbert, center coordinator, the movement to open the LGBTQA Center began in 2008: “Four years ago this was just an idea and now, it’s a reality because of the Pace community coming together to make it happen. We have come a long way as a University and I hope to continue developing allies and supporting students, staff and faculty around these issues.”

The LGBTQA Center is a support base for the LGBTQA community and an educational resource.

“The movement to build a center really began as a way to give voice to the many victories and tragedies of a community that is still pushing forward for equality in this Country and beyond,” said Herbert. She also added that the LGBTQA Center is there to give a voice to the struggles and successes of the LGBTQA community, as well as to educate the rest of the university.

Senior Adam Mummery thinks the Center is an important addition to the university.

“The Center is an asset because it gives a safe place to students…and it gives them somebody to talk to at all times.”

For a center that has come so far in the past few years, The LGBTQA Center has no plans to slow expansion as they continue their advocacy around campus and beyond.

The center this year is pushing to develop a sister Center on the Pleasantville campus, hoping to have a space and staff for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year.

Herbert says that this year, the Center is also putting more focus into transgender advocacy, which includes adapting the university’s name change policies “to make it easier for individuals who have transitioned or are in the process of transitioning to have their preferred names reflected on course rosters, emails, and other areas where it may appear.”

Recent successes of the LGBTQA taskforce include adding sexual-reassignment surgery to the Student Health and Sickness Plan and developing a Queer Studies Minor, which can be declared by contacting Professor Stephanie Hsu or Prof. Nancy Reagin.

The Center has also recently received discretionary funding from the New York City Council. With this funding, the Center plans to run a pilot program of their LGBTQA Ambassador program.

This program will train university students to lead workshops for LGBT youth on bullying, oppression, and advocacy.

These Ambassadors, selected through an interview process at the end of training, would receive a stipend for their work. Herbert hopes that they can begin the application process in the spring, but that it is “contingent on when the funds are released by the City.”

Getting involved with The LGBTQA Center is easy as there are numerous events being held this semester. There is a weekly discussion every Friday at 12, held in the Center, which is on the 9th floor in 41 Park Row. Additionally, there are regular “movie nights, writing workshops, art and advocacy programs, Safe Zone Trainings, monthly evening coming out discussion groups co-moderated with the counseling center, book readings and talks by LGBTQA advocates,” says Herbert.

Additional services the Center offers are, “educational workshops, community building programs and events, weekly discussion groups, advocacy, internship and student assistantship opportunities, consultation services on areas relating to the LGBTQA community, ally training and development, referral services, resources on safer sex and coming out, [and] a DVD and book borrowing system,” said Herbert, adding, “[and] free coffee, [and] an awesome lounge with rainbow hand chairs.”

The Center will be working full steam this upcoming month, November being Transgender Awareness Month. According to Herbert, planned events will include “a film festival, Transgender 101 Trainings, Trans Issues in Higher Education workshops, as well as a Gender Bender Ball on November 6.”

Rainbow chairs at the center’s new location in 903 of 41 Park Row

Lounge chairs in 903

Seating and decorations in 903 A new television stands alongside more rainbow chairs in 903

All photos by LGBTQA & Social Justice Center

4

www.pacepress.org

Oct. 17, 2012

OPINION AND EDITORIALS

THE PACE PRESS

DISCLAIMER: These opinions are expressed by contributors (students, faculty, administration and staff) to The Pace Press. These opinions are solely those of the individual writers and do not reflect the opinions of The Pace Press, the members of The Pace Press staff or Pace University. The Pace Press is not responsible and expressly disclaims all liability for damages of any kind of arising out of use or relevance to any information contained in this section.

Nazary Nebeluk Editor-in-Chief

Online dating gets facelift with datemyschool SARAH AIRES News Editor I am fully aware that after ending an on-again off-again five and a half year long relationship, it is generally expected that I remain crying in the fetal position for at least half the amount of time we were together because Cosmopolitan magazine says it takes at least that long to get over a person.

But this really wasn’t the case. There is a calm when you end something that feels reminiscent of a Jodi Picoult novel.

A lot of friends expected it to take a long time before I started dating. That is if I’d ever start back up at all and not live to be 97 with 12 cats and on an episode of “Hoarders.”

Truthfully, I couldn’t wait to start dating again. I’ve always been a flirtatious person and one who loves meeting new people. The problem arose when I realized I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about dating in this microcosm of insanity we call New York City.

This city is a smorgasbord of relationship opportunities but it is also a notoriously brutal dating scene (if it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be two films and six seasons of Sex and the City). As one friend put it recently, “It’s just hard because there are way too many options.” Whatever the case may be, I was all of a sudden thrown into the shark tank of dating experiences. Basically, I was a goner – or so I thought.

After a few dating rounds, I finally felt I had gotten my groove back. But one night out on the Upper East Side with my roommate and best friend, we began discussing the kind of guys that frequent the area – not my type by a long shot. I wouldn’t have even known how to converse with a Manhattanite , son of a cereal mogul, Upper East Side kind of guy.

We were talking quietly when she mentioned a dating site specifically for college students that two Columbia students had created. She said she had thought it sounded interesting but was apprehensive. My best friend wanted someone else to try it first to make sure they didn’t end up dead in the East River and then she’d try it herself. This was perfect – because I am just the type of “balls to wall” person who loves mini-social experiments. I was intrigued. The next morning, I did a little research. The site launched when a bunch of Columbia students began to complain about the lack of opportunity to meet the opposite sex, especially in their major. Nursing schools for example are notoriously female, business schools notoriously male etc. They also felt it was super difficult to meet people from other schools in the area. Thus, Datemyschool.com was born. The site requires a .edu email address (just like Facebook did before it opened up to every creeper on the Internet) and you can narrow down your preferences to undergrads, grads, or alumni. When you enter the age range you are interested in, you cannot see guys (or girls) outside of your age range and they cannot see you. It’s actually kind of brilliant.

In many ways its similar to other social sites where you can have a status, a picture and a description of yourself, as well as a list of your favorite movies, TV shows, books, likes and dislikes and you can be as specific or as annoyingly vague as you want. There’s also an option to list yourself as looking for fun, friendship, short-term dating, long-term dating, cuddling or networking or any combination of the six.

I was sold. I don’t know what that says about the world we live in that an well-traveled, well-spoken 20-year-old collegeeducated female “resulted to a dating site” but truthfully, I don’t care. I thought the concept was so fabulous that I knew I had to see what the hype was about. The site has appeared on

NBC, ABC, in the New York Times and reviews for the site by current and past users are overwhelmingly positive.

So I made my profile. I threw up one of the most recent solo pictures of myself from my trip to Rome this past August, and wrote out a quirky profile that I read and reread maybe ten times just to make sure I didn’t sound completely lame “Hi! I’m Sarah, I’m 20 and a Communications Major” Blah Blah Blah. When it was finally perfectly ‘me’ and exactly what I wanted to say and how, I saved it. Let the games begin.

I sat on the site for a little while and sure enough one by one I started getting Instant Messages. “Hey, you have a beautiful smile!” “Hey.. Goodfellas is one of my favorite movies too!” “You’re a Biggie Smalls fan? That’s awesome!” “You want to be a writer? What kind of stuff do you do?” It was really fun to talk to all these guys who went to Fordham, Columbia, NYU Poly, Hunter and they were all surprisingly normal!

Sure, you get the occasional “You’re super hot” but I chalked it up to those guys having little to no positive social interaction with females in high school and therefore didn’t know that wasn’t acceptable and so I laughed at it later and made friends with the ‘Block’ button.

The site shows you who looked at your profile so you can kind of gage what kind of people are interested in you. The site also has an algorithm that matches you based on the type of information you put on your profile so really, the more specific you are the more likely you are to find someone with common interests.

The most fabulous thing about this site is you cannot see people who are not the gender you’re interested in! I cannot see any females on the site and therefore don’t compare myself to other girls, their interests, their pictures, or their tone in their “about me” section. This forced me to be 100 percent myself. I don’t concern myself with what other girls are doing, or what kind of person they are and this is awesome because it shouldn’t even matter. At first, it was strange looking at a bunch of pictures of college dudes. It felt a little like a real-life game of “Dream Phone” but you get used to it. And it’s actually super entertaining.

Now, here’s the kicker: Pay attention ladies. These guys are cute! Not all of them, but a really, really solid majority.

I’d say the average guy on the site is a seven, but there are plenty of nines. And even the guys who I personally wouldn’t consider handsome are not total schleps. And for the guys, I won’t say how attractive I think I am because obviously I’m biased but of the friends who are considering joining, they’re all beautiful, fun, smart and have great heads on their shoulders, so there you go.

My friends thinks it’s hilariously ridiculous that I have a profile, but one by one I can already see them giving into the temptation of the site. Jokes on them! We refer to the guys I hit it off with mostly by key points of our conversation. So I spoke to “Dunkaroo guy” for a bit until he turned out to be kind of a dud and then there was “Baseball guy.” Now, I’m casually talking to a guy who has a plethora of similar interests, grew up five minutes from me and we share a mutual friend. Small world!

I really encourage all New York City college students to at least give Datemyschool.com a try. I think you’d be pleasantly surprised. And please email me and let me know how it goes!

EDITORIAL BOARD

Fotini Sachpatzidis Associate Editor Katrina Abreu Ads Manager Nicole Morales Managing Editor Damien Morgan Creative Director Sarah Aires News Editor Olivia Beteta Arts Editor Erick Mancebo Features Editor Brian Rentas Web Editor Kathryn Bosch Circulation Manager Michael Oricchio Faculty Adviser

STAFF Patrick deHahn Mona Khaldi Julia Yeung

The Pace Press is the student newspaper of Pace University’s New York City Campus.

It is managed and operated entirely by members of the student body as it appears above.

The Pace Press welcomes guest editorials and letters from students, faculty, administration and staff.

The Pace Press reserves the right to not publish any submitted material, both solicited and unsolicited.

All submissions must include the author’s full name and contact information.

The Pace Press 41 Park Row, Rm. 902 New York, NY 10038 www.pacepress.org editor@pacepress.org Copyright 2012

ARTS

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

5

geektyrant.com

“Arrested Development” promises you’re gonna get some walk ons SHANNON MCMAHON Staff Writer Attention all Bluth family fans, listen up, because the dreams of ascending the magical stairs of the famous Bluth stair car are that much closer to becoming a relaity.

“Arrested Development” is going to release their highly anticipated fourth season on Netflix in 2013 and all kinds of excitment is ensuing beforehand. Before the season is finished filming, in addition to the rumored filming of a movie, the show’s creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, is giving six lucky fans a chance to “walk-on” to the set of the show.

As stated by the website youregonnagetsomewalkons. com, fans may enter for a much coveted spot on the fourth season by creating an original piece of “Arrested Development” a content. Entries can include videos that are less than two minutes, photos, artwork, essays and basically any other creative piece related to the series that fans can come up with.

Producers are looking for entries that are inventive, unique and relevant to the show. They are hoping to stir up more excitement for the walk-on by having contestants post their entries on Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter with the hashtag #BluthWalkOn. The deadline to submit was October 16th at which point six fans will be selected by producers and cast members to win a trip to LA to visit the set of Arrested

Development. Entries on the website so far include a variety of creative works: the Bluth model home made out of Legos, re-creations of the famous frozen banana stand, artistic paintings and sketches of characters such as Gangy, Gob, and Tobias. A few people have gone so far as to paint themselves blue, hoping to poke fun at Tobias’ character.

There are also fan created versions of the famous Franklin puppet, in addition to popular jokes from the show that have been tailored to mock the current 2012 presidential campaign, one of the favorites being a picture of Mitt Romney proposing cuts to PBS, next to a picture of a horrified Franklin puppet.

In order to further promote the contest and create hype for the new season, there has also been a video of Michael Cera on the famous stair car promoting the contest, or rather being tricked by a cameraman to promote a contest he didn’t have much of an idea about.

The video features dialogue between Cera and a cameraman who seems to be interfering on his nostalgic moment with the stair car. Cera is fooled into saying that he’s excited about walk-ons, the cameraman begins to run, and is followed by a confused Cera demanding answers.

This is a typical promotion of the Arrested Development crew; after all, what would the show be without its hilariously awkward sense of humor.

The show, which began six years ago in November

2003, is going to be featuring many celebrity guest stars on their new season in addition to the full original cast.

One character, however, has not yet been confirmed to return: Lucille 2. Played by Liza Minelli, producers have not yet released a confirmation of her return to the show.

Regardless, Pace students are ready for the return.

Jackie Morales, Sophomore, says “I think it’s going to be brilliant. A lot of shows get boring and dried out after the first two seasons, but Arrested Development has been consistently entertaining. There’s no doubt their return is going to be spectacular, it may even attract some people who missed the first three seasons. I’ve seen some leaked pictures from their filming recently, and I can’t wait to see what they’re all about. Hopefully they’ll work in a call me ‘maeby’ joke.”

A fellow Nisha Chaudhari, Sophomore, is also highly anticipating the new season, “Arrested Development is a great show and I’m really looking forward to the new season. I think it will be cool to see all of the strange and hilarious things the characters have been up to over these past years. I’m excited that the cast has been able to come together again to make it happen.”

“Arrested Development” producer, Michael Hurwitz, is hoping to ignite passion in the show once more, and from the looks of it, people seem to be responding very well. Who knows, perhaps the series could return to a stable television network if this revival is successful

The Halloween dog parade and NYC Marathon among things to do during fall in NYC GRACE TEXTER Contributor Many students both new and returning are wondering what events will fill their fall calendars. NYC is jam-packed with events sure to liven up anyone’s schedule no matter how full.

On October 20th, the 22nd Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade will bring zombie-clad dogs of all kinds out into the streets of New York. Students should dress up and bring their friends to Tompkins Square Park at noon this Saturday to check out what is sure to be the cutest Halloween Parade this year. The canine with the most eye-catching costume, will have a chance at winning an iPod, as well as other prizes. Those without a pup should just want to gawk at the eccentric pups, show up on East 9th between avenues A and B and sample the tasty treats for sale, some for man and his best friend.

Those who haven’t gotten their fill of dogs, need to stop by the American Kennel Club Meet the Breeds event October 20th to the 21st. Over two hundred breeds of dogs and cats will appear purely for the viewing pleasure of many. Experts will be stationed to answer any and all questions people may have about their new favorite dog breed. Purchase tickets online for $15 and head up to the Jacob K Javits Convention Center at 655 West 34th street this Saturday and Sunday.

Whether it’s been on television or one of his many stand-up shows, Louis C.K. has been all over the place and he’s coming to NYC. His show is on top of everyone’s fall must-see list. From October 24th to the 28th anyone can purchase tickets to see this hilariously irritated and harsh guy perform stand-up at the New York City Center.

Winner of both an Emmy and a Grammy, this comedian is sure to cause pain, physical pain from the sidesplitting laughter fans will be experiencing during the show.

Most people don’t know there is a farm museum in Queens. From now till October 28th the Queens County Farm Museum will be hosting fall-themed activities to soothe everyone’s harvest-time appetite. Events range from an “Amazing Maize Maze” to a pumpkin patch, ripe for picking and a Halloween haunted house. What better way to spend your Halloween then at the annual Village Halloween Parade on October 31st. Every year thousands of people travel up Sixth Avenue to show off their original and amusing costumes. Whether they want to be a part of the festivities and walk along with the dazzling floats or just observe from the sidelines, head over to the west side and take in the scene. Students will not regret that they did so.

For those feeling a bit lethargic they should get moving this fall at the ING New York City Marathon on November 4th. 26.2 miles long, from Staten Island to Central Park, participants will run through the five boroughs, experiencing the city in a way they’ve surely never had before. Thousands of participants will be running and millions more will be watching form the sidewalks.

People looking to stay warm inside need only to head to BAM’s Next Wave Festival, open till January 2013, features performances in the creative arts. This festival shows everything from theater to dance to music to film. Starting November 8th, Bill Morrison’s interactive installation involves the audience as they use laser pointers to trigger videos on screen. Visit bam.org for details for when and what is presenting.

However one only need to walk down their street and sure enough they will stumble upon some event that will capture their time and interest.

6

www.pacepress.org

ARTS

Oct. 17, 2012

Photo by Mitchell Wesley Reiter

Recent university graduate spends summer swimming with sharks CHRISTIAN GOMEZ Contributor Martin Totland, recent University graduate, spent the past summer interning at Fiona Ayerst underwater photography, one of the most reputable undersea wild life companies located in South Africa. With advanced open water certification under Totland’s belt and a desire to study film in graduate school the internship seemed like a good and exciting thing to during his final summer at the University.

Totland is an international student originally hailing from Norway who “started at Pace in the fall of 2008. I went because I knew that Pace had a really good master[s] program for writing and film. I originally wanted to do that, but sophomore year I decided I would do that in grad school somewhere else and majored in communications.”

While at the Pleasantville campus Martin was the Opinion Editor for the Pace Chronicle. Martins want to travel and interest in film and photography really drew him into the internship when it was presented to him.

Fiona Ayerst started as a lawyer who decided that she wanted more out of life and sold her law firm and bought scuba and photography gear and has gone on to be the leading photography company in South Africa And runs

and continues to offer internships to the adventurous and interested.

Andrew Revkin, head of the “Dot Earth” blog on the New York Times website and world renowned environmental reporter who was the first to broadcast and report live from the North Pole, teaches at Pace University at the Pleasantville campus contacted Martin during his internship and asked him to learn about the serious topic of shark chumming.

For those unaware of shark chumming it is a tactic used by tourist cage diving companies and certain scientists to lure sharks toward boats by feeding them with chum. The problem with chumming is that the sharks are lured with small bits of chum and when around people are still looking for food and have in the past attacked scientist and tourists alike who have feed them to much or not enough.

Another problem lays in the nearness to shore that certain experiments requiring sharks occur, causing an increased danger to tourists, locals and surfers enjoying the beach and the ocean. Chumming has become a very serious issue in the wake of David Lilenfeld, 20 a South African body-boarding champion who was killed by a great

white shark that had drifted close to shore. South Africa has blamed researchers for attracting the great whites and wants no more casualties.

There are many sides to this story and Revkin asked Martin to write about it and post about it on the Dot Earth page. I asked Martin during our Skype interview his opinions on shark chumming. “I think it is not necessarily harmful, unless the cage diving industry lets sharks eat the chum. The danger comes from feeding the sharks. Conditioning them to not receive chum is the best way to keep from attracting the sharks.”

From Martins Dot Earth post he also tackled the issue and wrote on the topic of reverse conditioning. “In fact, according to Johnson’s research, negative conditioning can occur if operators adhere to the feeding and chumming regulations. In short, if you’re good enough at pulling away the bait line so that the shark doesn’t get to eat, they could eventually learn to associate the presence of boats with no food rewards.” Martin currently is home in Norway and is looking toward grad school and future internships. His time in South Africa was a good learning experience and will use what he has learned in his two months in Mossel Bay, South Africa.

New York Film Festival celebrates 50 years of sharing films ELINOR COHEN Contributor The world renowned New York Film Festival kicked off its 50th Anniversary year with a bang. The festival, created in 1962, is sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.

Every year the festival showcases independent films from around the world that might otherwise get little to no formal recognition from the public. Its goal is to show as many feature films and shorts as possible within the seventeen days of the festival.

Although there are no awards, each year an outstanding filmmaker is honored at the closing gala. Anyone, from amateurs, to established filmmakers, can submit their work. The festival typically selects around twenty-eight feature films and twelve shorts to screen; This year, however, there was a more substantial lineup.

Opening on Sept. 28, 2012, and running through Oct 14th, 2012, the 50th Anniversary was unlike other festivals in a variety of ways. Not only did it mark fifty years since the Lincoln Center conceived the idea, but it also celebrated the twenty-five years that festival director Richard Peña has been the head of the selection committee. As festival director, Peña was tasked with screening an abundance of films and deciding which ones would make the cut. 2012 was his last season with the NYFF. To make it a memorable one, he sent fifty feature films through to screening. Currently a professor of Film Studies at Columbia University, Peña will continue to teach after his retirement from the NYFF. To kick off this year’s festival with a bang, Peña opened with Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi”.

The film, an adaptation of Yann Martel’s bestselling novel of the same title, details the story of a young Indian boy named Pi who finds himself shipwrecked alongside a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a bengal tiger on the Pacific Ocean. The impressive cast includes Gerard Depardieu and newbie Suraj Sharma, who plays the title character. The release date is set for Nov. 21, 2012.

Another highlight of the festival was the French series “Cineasts/Cinema of our Time”. New York Times editor Richard Brody rave about this piece, which was curated by photographer/programmer Véronique Godard and Richard Peña. After viewing several parts of the series, Brody wrote, “They’re worth viewing in their entirety, and I wish

I could install myself in a seat for an end-to-end feast of them all.” This holds quite a bit of weight, considering how notorious the New York Times is for their overly critical reviews.

These two films, however, did not even scratch the surface when it came to the number of big-name actors and directors whose films made it through to this year’s NYFF. James Gandolfini reunited with“Sopranos” creator David Chase for the occasion.

Together they delivered the 1960’s coming-of-age film “Not Fade Away” about a group of friends who form a rock band in suburban New Jersey. The film is to be released in Dec. 2012.

Also in the program was “The Paperboy,” a southern melodrama directed by Lee Daniels , acclaimed director of “Precious.” The star-studded cast of this film includes Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, and Zac Efron, as well as John Cusack and Macy Gray. The plot surrounds the investigation of a death row inmate in 1960’s Florida.

Open in theaters since Oct. 17, 2012, “The Paperboy” has already gotten mixed reviews.

Stan Hall of The Oregonian took issue with the fact that so many different genres were crammed into one film. Still, he relented, saying there were praiseworthy performances

by Kidman, Efron and Cusack to name a few.

This heavy selection was balanced out by the teenage drama “Ginger and Rosa,” a film directed by Sally Potter. It stars Elle Fanning, who has gotten already been commended for her mature performance. Once again, the time period is the 1960’s; this time, however, the story focuses on two girls living in London, dealing with the Cold War and the onset of a sexual revolution. Rounding out the cast is Christina Hendricks, Annette Benning, and Oliver Platt. The release date is Oct. 19, 2012.

The festival wrapped up with yet another big-name feature: “Flight,” a thriller starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheedle, and John Goodman portrays an airline pilot who, while saving a plane from crashing, discovers a frightening truth. The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, will open in theaters on Nov. 2, 2012.

It was a whirlwind of a festival; all genres were showcased and all types of filmmakers got their chance to shine. Whether or not the movies do well at the box office in the weeks to come is up in the air, but film-lovers can be assured that this will not be a dull season at the movie theaters.

ARTS

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

7

MoMA attracts younger visitors with newest exhibition

Century worth of toys and educational materials on display to stimulate imagination GRACE TEXTER Contributor The latest exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, “Century of the Child,” explores the development and improvement of all things related children from the past 100 years.

On the sixth floor, where the MoMA displays special exhibitions, crowds of people surround a larger-than-life set of children’s chairs and a table. One at a time, children rush for a chance to sit on the oversized furniture as parents snap their youngster. “Century of the Child” reads across the wall behind in large print, inviting visitors into the exhibition adjacent.

The first section of the exhibit is entitled “New Century, New Child, New Art” and displays many photos and examples of children’s play environments from the 1900’s till 1910. While toys were meant to entertain children, during this pre-war era, many artists and teachers worked together to not only amuse kids, but to incorporate education into their playtime.

Rudolf Steiner, and Austrian educational theorist, would rapidly make chalk sketches and drawings to illustrate the active mind. His piece “I mir ist Gott - Ich bin in Gott” from 1924 is one such sample of how learning shapes and structure exemplify the creative energy within all of us.

Moving through the exhibit and onto section two, “Avant-Garde Playtime,” the pieces on display change from black-and-white photographs and textiles to brightly colored lithographs and innovative geometric toys and furniture from 1910 to 1930. During WWI, due to material shortages, artists digressed back to designing toys using basic supplies and subjects to help take children’s minds off what was happening in the world allowed kids to further exercise their imagination and creativity.

Far above the heads of the patrons, projected onto the wall, a film entitled “Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed” shows the oldest surviving animated feature from 1926, based on 1001 Arabian Nights. The vibrant colors and intricate scenery and subjects dance across the wall telling an ancient story shown in a way hardly done before its time.

The third section, “Light, Air, Health,” explores this emergence of the urgent need to protect children while at school in the 1920’s and 30’s. From 1927 till 1930, Dutch architect, Jan Duiker designed the “Cliostraat Openluchtschool voor het Gezonde Kind” in Amsterdam. Schools like these had previously been design for sickly children; however, providing such spaces for the healthy helped prevent sickness and encourage a more warm and adaptable learning environment.

The following section entitled “Children and the Body Politic” explores how during the 1920’s and 40’s children’s games and popular media was heavily influence by world events, particularly WWII. Local armies was everywhere, in every country and in every city, resulting in the

An original display featured in the exhibit. inevitable influence of children’s lives and products. During WWII, companies that produced children’s games and toys made the war seem fun and joining the military the dream career. In 1944, an Italian board game called “Gioco delle 3 oche” symbolically portrayed enemy geese ready for killing as the goal of the game.

The fifth section, “Regeneration,” surveys children’s culture from 1940 till 1960, when public and child safety became a huge concern in society. As motor vehicles became more popularized by the mainstream public, children’s safety and rights came in to question.

Advocates wanted to ensure that children would not be neglected and that their basic freedom would not be hindered. As a result of the increasing worry for children, traffic schools were implemented to teach children the safety of living around vehicles and traffic sights. In 1959, Werner John, a Swiss artist, designed a graphic poster inspired by the austerity of children’s building toys and the modernized road signs. “Kinder Verkehrs Garten” is one example of how artists played a major factor in the protection of youth at the time.

From 1960 to 1990, children’s culture and toys advanced exponentially. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched satellite Sputnik into outer space, and in 1969 the first Man landed on the Moon as past of the US Apollo 11 mission. As a result of these monumental events, children’s play structures and toys evolved along with the human’s ability to conceive life beyond our planet and future technology.

While Disneyland provided an enchanted and enduring escape from reality, the efforts to create such an environment were extremely complex. On display are a variety of the concept art for the “it’s a small world” attraction, painted in 1963 by the American artists Mary Blair.

Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the McDonalds Kids Meal was presented in 1979, and in 1989, the Nintendo Game Boy was released. This section also features pieces from the set of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” the Saturday morning show that ran from 1986 till 1991. On view are Globey, Conky, Clocky, and the distinctive Playhouse door.

“Pee-wee” was the first show of its time to mix live action, animation, and puppetry.

Last is the seventh section entitled “Designing Better Worlds” showing products and kids culture from 1960 to the 2000’s. Walking through this section you hear music and noises not obviously designated to any particular display but the mood of the exhibit takes a distinctly light and happy tone. Surrounding patrons are more familiar items such as Anime comics and Harajuku style snap-shots.

As a society people tend to view children as being separate from the woes and struggles of the real world; however, children are much more observant and understanding than they get credit for. Amongst the cheery toys and products is a lithograph titled “War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things” by Lorraine Schneider. This piece exemplifies the fact that while children are smaller and less experienced as the adults responsible for them, they are not void of the ability to perceive and judge the world.

Exiting the exhibit, there is one last room named “Growing by Design” where the installation by Philip Worthington, “Shadow Monsters,” attracts everyone’s attention. A light shines on a person from behind them while they sit and watch their shadow turn into various monsters and beasts. The sounds of creatures and animals burping and chatting bring smiles to all the onlookers, leaving you with a sense of glee as you exit.

“La Rue,” one of the many paining in the exhibit.

All photos by Grace Texter

8

www.pacepress.org

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Oct. 17, 2012

New York Comic Con continues to overwhelm fans

NYCC disorients attendees by coupling space shortages with over-stimulating displays NAZARY NEBELUK Editor-In-Chief New York Comic Con returned for another year at the Jacob Javits Center marking its sixth year at the convention space. The NYCC is the east coast’s answer to the long running San Diego Comic Con. The two conventions are dedicated to comic book and their fans and over the years have grown to include graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television. This year’s convention drew 116,000 attendees up from 105,000 in 2011 according to the ReedPop Group which owns and runs the for profit convention.

This year didn’t disappoint comic fans with DC and Marvel, the two biggest publishers in the world of comic books, showcasing their products. DC highlighted the strength of their New 52 line of comic books and Marvel introduced their Marvel NOW! line of comics which will also reset their continuity with #1 titles starting this fall. Both publishers seem eager to draw in new readers by giving them an easy entry point to their continuing series.

Lesser known comic book publishing companies such as Dark Horse, New-Gen Image Comics also made an appearance. Image in particular tried to capitalize on the recent success of “The Walking Dead” and promoted several panels and signings related to the series. Dark Horse introduced their “Dragon Age” series which will join “Mass Effect” as another comic based on a BioWare video game. New-Gen showcased their

continued on PAGE 10

DAMIEN MORGAN Creative Director

Bruce Timm, best known for his work in the DC Animated Universe, makes his appearance at this year’s Comic Con to reveal his newest project “The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2”.

Born in 1961, Bruce Timm made his mark in the cartoon world as an animator.

His earlier work included contributions for backdrop layouts of Warner Brothers shows such as “Blackstar”, “Flash Gordon”, “He-Man”, and even “The Lone Ranger”.

With the help of his Tiny Toons partner, Eric Radomski, Timm co-created and produced “Batman: The Animated Series”, bringing back the iconic detective comic hero that might’ve been otherwise lost. Based on the superhero known as Batman, who made his first appearance in detective comics issue #27, this series added to the DC Animated Universe and sparked a new interest amongst a lot of people for the almost forgotten story of a hero. With the exception of a few characters, Timm created virtually every character and design element in the series.

After the critical acclaim for this animated series, Timm started working on multiple other hero stories through animation, such as “Superman: The Animated Series”, “The New Batman Adventures”, “Batman Beyond”, “Justice League”and “Justice League Unlimited”. The amount of time and inspiration that Timm had

continued on PAGE 10 All photos by Damien Morgan | Pace Press

Oct. 17, 2012

NEW YORK COMIC CON

www.pacepress.org

9

OLIVIA BETETA Arts Editor

Comic con was full of celebrity sightings and artist signings, but it wasn’t on the showroom floor but rather in the press room where exclusive details on the “Monument 14” series were shared. “Monument 14” is the first of a three book series by Emmy Laybourne. The book, having just been released this June, has already received a great deal of positive press.

The post-apocalyptical tale, taking place in Colorado surrounds a group of 14 teens who struggle to survive after the “network” goes down and they lose all contact with the outside world. The kids then take refuge in a Targetlike superstore where on a display television they find out there has been a slue of natural disasters that caused the release of horribly toxic chemicals.

continued on PAGE 13

All photos by Damien Morgan and Olivia Beteta | Pace Press

10

www.pacepress.org

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Oct. 17, 2012

Skyline of Comic Con’s showroom floor Photo by Damien Morgan | Pace Press continued from PAGE 8 comic universe with several models dressed up as some of their well-known characters.

Fans had a chance to meet with their favorite writers or artists as all the publishers had their talent scheduled for signings. DC comics allowed fans a chance to meet Brian Azzarello, writer of the new “Wonder Woman” and two of their Before Watchmen titles as well as Scott Snyder the writer of their highly acclaimed new “Batman” run. Marvel had Mark Waid, who recently won an Eisner for his run on “Daredevil” and Dan Slott.

Image Comics got Brian K. Vaughan to do signings of his classic “Y: The Last Man”.

Video games also have a large presence on the show floor with major companies such as Square Enix and Activision showcasing their upcoming products. Square Enix added a new installment to the Tomb Raider series that takes the protagonist back to her roots and Activision had a playable demo of the third installment in their Assassin’s Creed series.

Comic publishers also joined in the video game display. DC had a playable demo of their new brawler “Injustice: Gods Among Us” which allowed players to pit the heroes and villains of the DC Universe against one another. Marvel was on hand to promote “Marvel Heroes” their most recent foray into the massive multiplayer online game market and “Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth” a motion capture based fighting game that relied on Kinect technology.

NYCC absorbed the New York Anime Festival in 2010 and in the years since then anime and manga have made a strong appearance on the show floor. This year several booths were dedicated to selling anime related products but no major publishers were present.

This year’s NYCC expanded beyond the scope of last year’s show including the World Cyber Games Festival 2012 on the convention floor. This was similar to last year’s

inclusion of the Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge – New York which featured a series of eSport tournaments.

It also included companies such as Craftsman and Chevrolet who were promoting their tools and cars respectively. The inclusion of such companies made one question the limits of nerd culture and whether the convention was really restricted by anything.

Walking the convention floor one was constantly bombarded by stimulation with cosplayers, salesman and bright displays. Over time it can get overwhelming and as the convention continues to sprawl it becomes harder and harder to take everything in.

The convention has been plagued with a lack of space since its beginning but as the size increase every year the convention loses its original focus. This year’s convention was the biggest it’s ever been expanding into the North Pavilion of the Javits Center.

According to ReedPop 40,000 gross square feet of floor space was added this year.

Lance Festerman, vice president of ReedPop Group, addressed the crowding issues at convention in an interview icv2.com saying “Do I think it was too crowded on Saturday and Sunday? Probably. Do I think that’s a function of paying customers? No I don’t.”He blamed the majority of the overcrowding on counterfeit badge holders and other people who attempted to gain access to con illegally although only 300 fraudulent badges were confiscated according to the same interview.

The convention manages to rapidly sell out access badges every year and addressing concerns about expansion and limits on attendees Festerman was excited to be working with the Javit Center next year as approximately 90,000 gross square feet of space would be added as construction on the center finishes.

NYCC is a major draw for comic fans across the east coast, especially when their favorite content creator or actors make an appearance. But at the end of the day many may find themselves exhausted and overwhelmed hoping for a more intimate experience.

Marvel NOW! To relaunch popular Marvel properties CRAIG HELD Contributor Coming out of a summer that saw “The Avengers” become the top grossing film of the year, Marvel finds itself at a critical juncture. The company has the opportunity to convert fans of its films into consumers of its print comics but Marvel also can’t forget its long time readers which have kept the company going. A year after DC’s controversial New 52 initiative, which re-launched all of DC’s comic books in order to bring new readers into the fold, Marvel announced its response—Marvel NOW! Toted as “re-launch, not a reboot because nothing is broken”, Marvel NOW! seeks to provide a jumping on point for new readers to the Marvel universe while maintaining continuity for longtime readers. With Marvel NOW!’s first book hitting shelves the Wednesday before New York Comic-Con started, it made sense that Marvel spent the weekend promoting the initiative in almost all of its panels.

Marvel’s first outing was its House of Ideas panels with members of its editorial, digital, and publicity departments discussing the company’s plans for the coming year. As expected, Marvel is exploring the digital aspects of the comic book industry with various ventures, most notably its Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service which, for a fee, allows readers to access almost 12,000 comics on Marvel’s website. As innovative as the service is, the company has received numerous complaints for the inability to access the service on mobile devices. Director of Digital Strategy Kristin Vincent assured attendees that the service would come to smart phones and tablets by the end of the year.

The panel also discussed the company’s biggest digital push, Infinite Comics, which are comics developed specifically for the digital medium. Award winning writer Mark

Waid, who has developed some Infinite Comics for the company, explained that it allows the writer to slow the pace of the story while creating a more cinematic experience. A select few attendees were asked to read an Infinite Comic on stage and the reviews were generally positive.

Marvel’s next panel focused on the “X-Men”, which will receive a facelift under Marvel NOW! The flagship book of Marvel’s mutant characters, “All-New X-Men”, will see the iconic mutant first class, which consists of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman time traveling to the present to prevent some kind of mutant genocide. The book is already generating a lot of buzz as Jean Grey, one of the most popular characters from the X-men, has been absent from comics for years because of her death. Among the other announcements at the panel were the return of Cable, a popular mutant character from the early 90s, in his own book “Cable and the X-Force”, a new creative team for the wildly popular “Uncanny X-Force”, “Savage Wolverine”, and new details around Deadpool’s new solo book.

Yet, it was “The Avengers” panel on Saturday that was easily the most attended out of Marvel’s comics panels. The panel started with a discussion about “Uncanny Avengers”, a story that grew from Marvel’s summer event, Avengers versus X-Men. Uncanny Avengers, which was the first Marvel NOW! book to be released sold out in less than a week and at the time of the convention was already into its second printing. The panel continued with a discussion about “New Avengers”, which would focus on the Illuminati, a group of Marvel’s biggest heroes that meet every so often to discuss pressing world issues.

continued on PAGE 13

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

11

Female fans of New York Comic Con fight glass ceiling Fans attend panels like “Women of Marvel” discuss marginalization of female characters CRAIG HELD Contributor When DC comics, the publisher of such favorites as Batman and Superman, relaunched their entire line of comic books last fall under its “New 52” initiative, fans of the company thought the move would modernize many of their stories, some of which have been running since the 1930’s. Once the relaunch occurred, fans noticed a glaring irregularity in the mastheads—there were no women. In a matter of just a few months, DC had gone from having 12% of its titles written by women to just 1%.

Shortly after the debut, fans also noticed the same overly sexualized artwork for female characters, which have plagued the industry for decades. Coupled with the sudden marginalization of many former leading female characters, it was clear—the relationship between women and comic books had just taken a few steps back.

The ongoing conversation about women and comic books has to be approached from two angles—the women creating comic books and the women who read comic books. At a panel titled Women of Marvel, 8 women who work for company in a variety of positions spoke to the issues regarding their presence in the industry.

Moderated by Jeanine Schaffer, an editor for such books as “Wolverine” and “Astonishing X-men”, the panel consisted of Ellie Pyle, editor of “Amazing Spider-Man”, Sana Amanat, editor of “Ultimate Spider-Man”, Marjorie Liu, writer of “Astonishing X-men”, Jordie Bellaire, colorist for “The Avengers”, Judy Stephens, product manager and digital producer, Lauren Sankovitch, editor of “Thor”, and Janet Lee, colorist of “Emma”.

After explaining how they came to the company, the focus turned to questions from the audience. In response to a question regarding diversity in comics, Liu responded, “I don’t want it to be a mission but of course I love to see diversity. I love to see women...I want comics to reflect the real world.”

Yet, one can’t speak about comic book creators without addressing the issues within the comics themselves. During the question and answer portion of the panel, one fan asked when Sif, a sometime love interest for Thor and supporting character in some of his stories, would get her own headlining book.

The answer, was this fall as part of the editorial restructuring known as Marvel NOW!, marks a continuing trend for female characters taking lead roles in comic books long dominated by men. The most recent example being the introduction of Captain Marvel, typically a male hero, focusing on Carol Danvers, the former Ms. Marvel who now carries the Captain Marvel title. A discussion about Captain Marvel led to a conversation about the physical representation of women in comics. The artists on the panel said that they weren’t comfortable with the status quo and that many male artists support this.

The largest debate at the panel was whether or not a panel like this was even needed anymore. The crowd responded with a general yes with one man yelling, “We don’t need it, we want it.” The panelists agreed as well. The fact that the comic book industry is typically seen as a boys club lead to Amanat saying, “the perception is that men are running the company because men are still running the company…we need to have this conversation.” Schaffer did note that there had been an increase of women hired by Marvel in the last few years and even went as far as to say that three out of the last four editorial hires were female.

As the panel came to a close, someone asked how Marvel was marketing to new female readers. Stephens, who works on Marvel’s digital presence, noted that technology has helped women who felt uncomfortable going to comic book

The new, female, Captain Marvel. sneakpeek.ca stores become part of the comic book community. She cited Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited, a digital subscription service for old comics, as a big part of that push.

However, it isn’t just women in the industry that are changing the face of it all. In fact, there were just as many female attendees, if not more, than male. Sierra Chandler, sophomore, who reads comic books and attended New York Comic-Con, recognizes the issues plaguing women in the comic book industry. She says, “I agree that woman are underrepresented at this moment…

There are more female protagonists today than there were 20 years ago but not by a lot.”

Chandler also noted the need for panels to discuss women in comics. Chandler says, “Just because they [women] exist in minority does not mean that we have ‘made it.’ If it stops being an ongoing conversation then it might become a fad and disappear. Think about all the little girls this weekend who saw a panel of all-female writers and artists. Now, that little girl knows there is a community of women she may look up to and strive to join. If we don’t offer that conversation then how can we grow?”

Of course, the men on both sides of the industry also have a responsibility to continue the advancement of an equal showing in the workplace and in the work they produce. Besides drawing women in a less anatomically offensive fashion, writers are striving to create female characters that aren’t one-dimensional or just used as plot devices.

Women of Marvel panel at NYCC Rebecca Eisenberg | Upworthy.com

12

www.pacepress.org

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Oct. 17, 2012

Iconic brand expands after twenty years of “staying strange” NICOLE MORALES Managing Editor When artist Rob Reger created the image of a gloomy little girl surrounded by her black cats in 1991, he had no idea he had created an iconic character. What began as a logo for his line of T-shirts, the solemn character known as Emily the Strange soon gained a cult following. The response surprised Reger who said, “When I started it I didn’t have a vision for it at all. I was just making some T-shirts. I didn’t really have any idea where it might go someday.” Reger added, “I just started to notice how persistent the people who bought my shirts were about always wanting them. Whoever got an Emily the Strange T-shirt thought it really represented who they were in some way or something.”

After realizing Emily’s potential, Reger began to create a brand around the spunky little character. “There became this vision of maybe a world, like where does this girl live, who are her cats, what are their names. Does she have a mom, dad? Where does she live? So we started thinking about all that stuff and then the vision kind of really became to be even less about stories for us to really understand a mythology for her, but more about the graphic style and how to brand it,” Reger recalled, before adding, “To decide to just use red as the only color in the brand; red and primarily black and white; things like that [were] the early vision.”

Over the years Emily has developed from a logo on a T-shirt to multidimensional brand that includes graphic novel comics, video games, apparel, and more. Despite Emily’s iconic status as a staple for punks everywhere, Reger hopes to keep Emily’s mission alive. “She’s kind of grown to this little iconic thing. So now the mission for the vision for Emily gets into how do I spread the message of what she represents? She really represents be yourself, think for yourself and do it yourself. So my vision now is how I use this brand to spread that message,” Reger said. “Especially for young kids who may or may not have parents that are agreeable with their strange ways.”

In many ways, Reger’s message can translate to virtually anyone. Emily’s attitude is a translation of her unique palate molded by her creators. Reger admits that music played a large part in Emily’s makeup: “From the beginning, music was always a part. It’s always been played in the art department. It was like very much noncommercial music. In the early days we’d just have punk rock, bands you couldn’t buy on major labels.”

“I have very eclectic musical taste and I like to attribute those to Emily too,” said Reger, “I love Eastern

music, some J-POP even. I like free jazz, speed metal.

There’s a lot of stuff that is in her palate. The expression of non-verbal communication is kind of important in Emily’s world, where it’s more about an attitude. A lot of her expression is through a very simple look on her face and that conveys more than her saying or speaking her mind.”

Although Emily’s sullen expressions became her signature method of non-conversational speaking, soon her creators were faced with the problem that perhaps Emily had more to say than what was able to fit in a few comic panels. The idea of branching out into a series of novels soon followed this realization. “Well we knew we had to make novels when our comic book scripts were just getting too detailed,” Reger remembers. “I realized Jessica was writing these panels for Buzz [Parker] to draw that were just impossible to capture. The words said it all; you didn’t even need a drawing because she was writing it so eloquently.” When it came time to actually put pen to paper Reger notes, “We had the decision of whether to tell it first person, third person, or what and I figured if someone’s really [going to] talk about Emily…it should be from Emily’s point of view.” Emily’s creative team decided to write the young adult series in diary format.

Reger says, “I wanted people to finally know what’s going on inside her head.”

Emily’s newly found voice has opened many doors for her. Reger recently signed a movie deal to create a liveaction Emily the Strange film starring Chloe Grace Moretz as the title character. “The subtleties of the character, just the way she captures the character, she’s just so good at it. I met her [and] we talked a little bit. I can tell she’s gonna be great,” said Reger. The premise of the film will be all original content. Originally they were going to adapt the young adult novels, but decided it would be difficult to stay true to the novels and the comics without disappointing fans, so the decision for all new content hopes to entice all Emily fans.

Emily is also in the works of branching into video game projects as well. “We’re working on an animated band project...so I definitely see that in the future. I see a lot more interactive stuff in the gaming space. We had the DS game and there’s the new skate game on the iOS,” said Reger.

Fans can look forward to “more stuff that just has Emily moving and being alive.”

Emily has remained a relevant character for nearly 20 years because of her ability to adapt to the needs of the new generations and because her message to “Stay

Srange” is always relevant. Reger is considering adding a new Emily character called Emiwee, A Little Stranger.

“We’re considered an idea of a new character that we came up with years ago, but are finally making it come alive now and that’s Emiwee, a very like baby Emily,” Reger says.

Emily also has a new comic debuting in February 2013, following the making of Emily’s band Emily and the Strangers. In celebration of Comic Con and the forthcoming comic, Reger has teamed up with the website maqet.com to create a do-it-yourself Emily doll that allows users to create her expressions and poses and even design her outfits with the option of having it come to life in a 3-D sculpture. There are also limited edition artist series where Reger notes, “Me and Buzz [Parker] will be doing our own versions of her, those will be limited edition.”

Emily the Strange seems to be showing no signs of slowing down. Her spunky attitude and her universal message seem to become more relevant as time goes on.

Reger’s iconic character has inspired many to be true to themselves and “Stay Strange.”

Creator Rob Reger Photo by Nicole Morales | Pace Press

Bruce Timm debuts latest Batman animation at Comic Con continued from PAGE 8 Though Timm is an artist that helps create a lot of animated series, he has dipped into the acting role a few times by even throwing himself into the storyboard. His cameos have been included into three of his Batman series as being multiple characters, from a toyshop owner to the leader of a Joker gang.

With the many contributions Timm has had on his renditions of Batman, he does not seem to have an end in sight for his animations. During Comic Con Timm was present to talk about and present his newest addition to The Dark Knight Returns with “The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2”.

Set to release on DVD in early 2013, this second part movie continues off of the story line based around the fact that Batman, has come out of retirement and back into the crime-fighting scene. Returning as an older grimmer version of himself, Batman is using his end-justifies-the-means methods to clean up his beloved city. With this new outlook on crime stopping, Batman soon rampages on a collision course with the government and at one point even Superman.

In the DVD features of Batman, Timm talked about the fun, but also challenging aspects of portraying the hero. He mentions, “It’s always fun and difficult to cast Batman…The neat thing about Batman is [that] there are many different ways interpret the character; there isn’t just one perfect way.”

As the latest edition to the Dark Knight animated series, viewers were excited for a sneak peak at Comic Con, as was Timm. From the original “Batman: The Animated Series”, to the “Dark Knight Returns: Part 2”, neither Timm nor Batman show sign of slowing down.

Bruce Timm during an interview Photo by Damien Morgan | The Pace Press

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

13

continued from PAGE 10 Next, the panel discussed “Avengers:Arena”, a Hunger Games style book that will show the young heroes of the Marvel universe fighting against each other for their lives as well as “Secret Avengers”, which will shift from its current focus to become more of an espionage book with an emphasis on S.H.I.E.L.D, the Marvel universe’s version of Homeland Security. Also announced was the comeback of One of Marvel’s most popular series, “Young Avengers”. Finally, a new creative team was announced for Avengers Assemble, a book that focuses on the team of Avengers from the popular film while still being true to the comics universe.

One of the most controversial stories going into Comic-Con weekend was the announcement that one of Marvel’s longest running series, “Amazing Spider-Man”, was coming to an end with issue 700 in December. In a move that only added fuel to the fire of grieving Spidey fans everywhere, Marvel announced a new Spider-man book, “Superior Spider-Man”. The relief was short lived as Dan Slott, the writer of “Amazing SpiderMan” and the upcoming “Superior Spider-Man”, announced that the new Spider-Man comic would feature someone else donning the mask, not Peter Parker. “The Amazing Spider-Man” panel on Sunday did little to assuage feelings of discontent for the SpiderMan creative team but the panelists assured the audience that the payoff would be worth it after Amazing Spider-Man’s final story arc.

However, it wasn’t all bad news for Spider-Man fans as Sunday had been declared Spider-Man day by Mayor Bloomberg for the comic book hero’s 50th anniversary. Marvel also set up a giant birthday card at its booth on the show floor to break the record for most greeting card signatures. The panel also announced a new creative team for Avenging Spider-Man, a book similar in vein to the old Marvel team-up books of the company’s past. In a spin-off from the pages of Spider-Man, Marvel announced “Morbius, the Living Vampire”, which will focus on the sometimes enemy of Spidey.

Another former Spider-Man enemy who received his own book, Venom, was announced to be moving to Philadelphia in a upcoming story arc. Venom, who has become a government agent in the books, will follow the tradition of other Marvel heroes who live in assorted American cities, unlike DC’s fictional United States with cities such as Metropolis, Gotham, and Star City.

Moving on from Spider-Man, the panel discussed upcoming plans for the award winning “Daredevil” as well as the incredibly popular “Hawkeye”, “Captain Marvel”, and “Punisher: War Zone” solo books.

Marvel’s certainly feeling the pressure to bring new readers to its pages and its efforts to attract them have been met with great response so far. While the attendees of New York Comic-Con seemed enthused with what Marvel has in store, it’s the casual readers and new fans at home that the company is counting on.

“Monument 14” gives insight into post apocalyptic world The chemical reacts differently with each person, depending on

continued from PAGE 9 what blood type a person has. The poison chemical leaves people sterile, paranoid, violent or just dead. The teens will have to rely on each other in order to make it out of the superstore alive yet they soon find out that survival may not be as easy as it seems.

“Monument 14” is the first book by Laybourne but already shows a great deal of promise. As a former actress and screenwriter Laybourne gave up her Hollywood life to focus on being a mother.

Having always enjoyed writing and the freedom it offers, it was just a natural decision to write a novel. The idea for Monument 14 was just as easy for Laybourne. She references the uncertainty of the future as her major inspiration for the novel. With the tragedy in Japan and the variety of natural disasters that continue to happen in the world, “Monument 14” comes across as very realistic.

The characters too seemed very fleshed out and believable to current trends in teens. Although the fourteen are an assortment of both older teens and children as young as kindergarten age they represent a diverse group of youths coming together to survive. Each teen takes a role and as a society begins to form, more insight into each individual is given. This is definitely a book for the older set, those between the ages of 14-18. It tackles issues every teen faces as they grow older including drug and alcohol use and discovery of sexuality.

Even though the book was just released earlier this summer it gained national attention while Laybourne presented it on the Fierce Reads Book tour. It is to be announced in the upcoming weeks that the book was also opted by Strange Weather Productions. Should all go well with the screening writing and pitching, fans should be able to see the book on the big screen within the next few years.

With the sequel set to be released in June of next year, fans will have to wait a little longer before they discover what challenges the fourteen will have to tackle.

marvel.com

14

FEATURES

www.pacepress.org

Oct. 17, 2012

Office for Student Success hopes to cut through red tape SHANNON MCMAHON Staff Writer Students who are not sure where they can go for further assistance with financial conflicts, grade disputes, and general feedback about their experience here at Pace are being encouraged to reach out to the Office of Student Success. Located in room Y31, just beyond a few vending machines on the second floor of west side of One Pace Plaza, the Office of Student Success is dedicated to helping students find strategies out of many complicating circumstances, and improving their general experience as students at Pace.

Christie Nadratowski, the advisor here at the NYC campus is responsible for a few things, such as meeting with students to discuss different, challenging situationslike finding more aid or disputing a gradeand then directing them toward the policies that will be the most helpful to them for whatever situation they find themselves in.

The most common situations that are dealt with are financial, medical or retroactive withdrawals, and grade disputes with professors. They also try to improve the student experience by getting feedback from different student populations. The

Office of Student Success then takes that feedback and turns it into real reports that can be used to make changes in other areas.

When asked why students may have a hard time resolving issues, director Christie Nadratowski says “I think that students have a hard time resolving issues at Pace because they don’t know what our policies are, or even where to find them.

The course catalog has copies of the most common student academic policies, but most students would recognize the course catalog as quickly as they would recognize a phone book..., which is to say that they wouldn’t. However, even our online copy of the catalog isn’t as accessible to students as I would have expected. Also, when students are in the heat of the moment, they often do and say things that don’t help their case. I’m able to help students stay calm and think clearly and communicate with administrators in a way that helps everyone.” Nadratowski also noted “I don’t think as many students know about my office as I would like...”

Nadratowski welcomes students to come into her office for help with pretty much any situation that they find themselves in that they are not sure how to handle.

“My door is almost always open, and I really enjoy helping students get the best outcomes possible.”

Jackie Morales, sophomore, went to the Office of Student Success after there was a glitch in her financial aid that she didn’t know how to go about fixing. This glitch threatened her ability to remain in university housing.

“Not only did the Office of Student Success give me confidence that my problems would be solved, they actually guided me in the right direction and took action to help me, rather than just telling me that things would be alright without providing concrete information and plans.”

Following her meeting with Nadratowski, she was able to use the proper resources to go directly to the source of the problem and remain in university dorms.

Much like many other university students, Lauryn Matovich, junior, had not heard much about the Office of Student Success until she saw a friend who faced a challenging issue had it resolved through the office. “I thought that the Office of Student Success was only for academics, but I was definitely wrong. The Office of Student Success advocates for students, and not many people know that- I know I

didn’t. It’s a great resource for students.”

Generally the best time to come to the Office of Student Success is between 10 and noon, and between 2 and 4pm, as Christie tends to be able to meet with students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the walk-in hours every day, and to also take advantage of emailing and making phone calls to the office expecting just as prompt a response as discussing matters in person.

Nadratowski would also like to give students some significant advice: “Administrators need to hear student feedback (in a constructive way, of course!) so that we can improve services for you! My office is certainly not the only office that cares, so feel free to email or drop by different areas to let them know what they’re doing right and different ways that you’d appreciate it if they improved.

It’s all about how you say it. But trust me, we’re listening, so please share!”

VISIT Students interested in contacting the Office of Student Success can contact (212) 3461915 or e-mail the office at success@pace. edu.

University housing to support GOAL throughout year OLIVIA BETETA Arts Editor By the time the average reader finishes this sentence, a child has already died due to hunger. In fact a child dies from hunger every five seconds. GOAL aims to stamp out such hunger around the world.

Every year, the Housing Office of the University selects a charity to fundraise for.

They hold events and activities throughout the school-year to get students involved and interested in raising money for a good cause.

Created by former sports journalist John O’Shea in 1977, GOAL—which originally stood for “Go on, give a lot”— is an Irish humanitarian emergency relief organization based in 13 countries, including Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Kenya and Uganda. GOAL is unique from most of the other organizations that work in these countries in that the charity hires locals to run most of the facilities. Once a school or shelter, for example, has been created, GOAL works on training the locals so that one day they can run it and create sustainable solutions throughout communities around the country. By doing this, GOAL aims to teach beneficiaries to function without becoming overly dependent on foreign aid.

GOAL has elven primary issues it works on; They offer aid in education in areas such as crisis recovery, healthcare creation and development, community development, food distribution and education among others. Every country has different issues and the organization tailors it’s aid to the concerns of said country. In Haiti, a big issue is cholera response, while in Uganda, HIV and AIDS education, prevention and treatment are greater priorities.

Unlike its many charity counterparts, GOAL is known for exceedingly small administrational costs and as such, 95 percent of all monies raised are fed right into the countries they are working in. According to James Kelly, the head of GOAL USA, “when you donate to GOAL over 95 cents in the dollar will go directly to the projects which we are implementing across 13 countries.” The organization operates largely on funds donated from both the U.K. and U.S. governments but also receives a great number of private donations and donations from other charities like UNICEF. The organization has only recently created an office in the U.S. It was in the New York office that Resident Advisors Katelyn James, Junior, and Cassandra Stimpson, Senior, began interning, and from that point on that the two became interested in making GOAL the housing charity for the incoming year.

According to James, “it [GOAL] came to be the housing charity after we [Stimpson and James] met last year with [then] Resident Director Erica Feldherr and GOAL USA Director James Kelly and we discussed ways that we can have GOAL as the charity for housing.” After a series of meetings and approvals, GOAL was chosen as the housing charity for the 2012-2013 academic year.

On every floor of every university residence there resides a GOAL bucket. In that bucket, students are encouraged to throw any loose change or pocket money, all of which is then donated to GOAL. Throughout the year, GOAL buckets will be seen at every housing event, encouraging students to get excited about donating.

James is perhaps the most enthusiastic about donating to GOAL: “I think it’s a

worthwhile cause because it focuses on helping those most in need…[because of] both political and natural disasters. It spends most of the funds it receives on people of the world, not marketing itself.”

The money the university raises for GOAL goes directly to the organization. At the end of every month, once the money had been collected, it then goes into a TD Bank account, which then goes directly to GOAL. The housing office is really hoping for people to get involved and is offering a number of raffles and prizes as incentives for students to donate.

The newest addition to the fundraising program is penny wars. The aim of the program is to get students to simply donate pennies. Each penny in a bucket is worth one point, while each nickel is minus 5 points, each dime minus ten and so on. The goal is to be the floor with the most amount of points at the end of the program. Each resident on the floor who wins penny wars will receive additional points towards a housing bump.

The more points a residents has, the better chance they will have of receiving an earlier housing registration, not to mention year-long bragging rights.

GOAL may be new to the university, but it is an organization that has been around the block for quite some time now. It has more than proven itself as a worthwhile cause and with all the incentives housing is offering this year it looks to be the be the most fruitful charity to date.

A breakdown of GOAL spending by category

goal.ie

FEATURES

Oct. 17, 2012

www.pacepress.org

15

Yankees fight through tough season to claim championship New and old all-star players come through for struggling team before Jeter loss DANIEL DEPASQUALE Contributor The New York Yankees have had their ups and downs this season.

Throughout the course of a 162 game season, every team will go through these prolonged peaks and valleys, but this season the Yankees have suffered substantially.

The warning signs of an underwhelming season came early: Prior to the season, the team traded with the Seattle Mariners for starting pitcher Michael Pineda. In order to acquire him, however, they had to part ways with Jesus Montero, a fan favorite and homegrown talent. This trade excited many fans but promises for a strong season were dashed during Spring Training, where Pineda was injured. He sat out the 2012 season, and to add insult to injury, was also arrested for DUI. Due to Pineda’s injury, the Yankees brought back 40-year-old Andy Pettitte but he too was injured after only a few starts with the team.

Many other key injuries occurred throughout this season. The Yankees lost Hall of Fame-bound closer Mariano Rivera, who was excused for the season after tearing his ACL. Rivera’s injury was crushing for the team. He had been the closer for as long as anyone can remember: When Metallica’s Enter Sandman plays over the loudspeakers, the opposing team knows that the ballgame is over. Without Rivera, the Yankees were left searching for an adequate replacement.

The Yankees also lost starting Left Fielder and stolen base threat Brett Gardner. Without Gardner, the Yankees suffered in the Outfield. Yet, somehow they found it in themselves to overcome these setbacks. They used veteran players like Raul Ibanez and Andrew Jones in the outfield to take the division by storm. At the trade deadline they made another trade with Seattle. This one shocked the baseball world. A diminished, but still capable, Ichiro Suzuki was brought in. Suzuki, an outfielder from Japan, was revitalized in the pinstripes. He hit .322, knocked out 5 homeruns and was a spark plug for the Yankees’ lineup that they sorely missed with Gardner being sidelined.

With Pettitte and Pineda down, Hirkoki Kuroda, a Japanese right hander the Yankees signed this offseason for 10 million dollars, really carried the load. He went on to compile a 16-11 record for the Yankees and was by far their best pitcher. Kuroda built up consistency, which was something they lacked with AJ Burnett. Burnett was the typical boom or bust starter. It was a key reason why they traded him. Kuroda’s veteran presence and workhorse mentality, the complete opposite of, Burnett’s, was an example that others could follow. Kuroda’s 3.32 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, as well as his 219 innings pitched, demonstrated how he really was a great acquisition and positive for this team.

Throughout the entire season, Mariano Rivera’s absence plagued the team. Again, however, another Yankee stepped up to the task. Last year this player was outcasted by fans because he got a big contract and struggled, but this year, Rafael Soriano was the Yankees’ knight in shining armor. He was two years removed from being the American League saves leader and regained the ninth inning dominance he once demonstrated in Tampa. Soriano was no Mariano Rivera, but he certainly did phenomenally and took the load off of the Yankees’ young relievers like David Robertson and Boone Logan. Soriano compiled a 2.26 ERA and saved 42 games. He struck out 69 batters in 67 innings pitched and did an astounding job.

Even with key injuries here and there (A-Rod, Teixeira, Swisher, Joba, and Sabathia also missed significant time), this New York Yankee team never gave up. They meshed as a unit and found a way to win the American League Eastern Division by compiling 95 wins this season.

Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano were integral parts of the offense, as always. Jeter’s resurgent year at 38 years old has put him on another level.

The team captain hit .316, clubbing 15 homeruns and driving in 58 runs while scoring 99 runs of his own and posting a .362 On Base Percentage.

Some credit also goes to Manager Joe Girardi, who assembled the lineup the way it needed to be assembled and implemented starting pitchers like Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, and David Phelps into the mix as best he could. He was steadfast on giving his older veterans much needed rest thanks in part to versatility on the bench supplied by Jayson Nix and Eric Chavez and was a great handler of the bullpen.

Most recently, team captain Derek Jeter suffered a fractured ankle during an extra inning during the first ALCS playoff game against the Detriot Tigers.

Even with the majority of the core team injured, the New York Yankees overcame obstacles during the regular season. For the most part, they are now healthy and are a legitimate threat in the playoffs this season. Their journey toward the 28th World Series Championship continues in the coming weeks.

Derek Jeter immediatly after injuring himself at the first ALCS game. sportsillistrated.cnn.com

16

www.pacepress.org

Oct. 17, 2012

FEATURES

Fans suffer as failed contract negotiations distract from sports

National Hockey and Football Leagues fumble contracts as baseball’s new Wild Card flops DANIEL DEPASQUALE Contributor Hockey fans have had every right to be upset the past month. On Sept. 15 at 11:59 PM, a collective bargaining agreement with the National Hockey League expired, and since then, the start of the NHL’s season has been delayed.

The new collective bargaining agreement players and owners are fighting over splits up the share of profits between the two sides. Players, which received 57 percent of the revenue (split between approximately 700 players) as salary last season, are being asked to take a cut to only 46 percent of the NHL’s total revenue. The owners assured players that even with the percentage cut, they will never make less than the 1.8 billion dollars they made last season.

The trouble starts with the additional caveat that players give up any revenue they make in escrow, which is third party revenue that is essentially guaranteed to players.

The players felt that they were being asked to take too large of a pay cut, and have therefore refused to agree to the agreement.

The 2012-2013 season would have started on Oct. 11, but as issues remain and debate over salary, arbitration, and revenue persist, hockey fans are left in the dust. The Players Association allegedly pushed for continuing the 2012-2013 season under the previous collective bargaining agreement until a deal can be reached, but the owners of the teams refused to agree, essentially creating a standstill for the sport.

Recently, the NHL Players association has increased their efforts to work on a new collective bargaining agreement proposal. Discussions, however, must include Commissioner Gary Bettman. Reports suggest the NHL and NHL Players Association haven’t exchanged offers in weeks.

On the bright side, Katie Strang of ESPN has tweeted, “Bill Daly said league has been given indication PA is working on a proposal.” No one truly knows if this will help this lockout come to an end, but it is a start that is encouraging to Hockey fans.

However, the NHL isn’t the only professional league that has gone through their share of disputes. The NFL hired replacement referees when they could not come to terms on an agreement with the original ones. The experiment was an absolute headline-generating failure. Players on the field had no respect for these referees, and many fans felt these people wouldn’t be fit to work in Foot Locker let alone officiate an official NFL game.

Blown calls and incorrect hand gestures were commonplace, and it all came to a climax during a game between the Packers and Seahawks. Two replacement referees were positioned in the end zone on the last play of the game. One referee signaled incompletion while another referee signaled touchdown. After a scramble for the ball on the ground, the play was called a touchdown. Everyone who saw it knew the play was wrong and that the Packers were severely robbed. The play was incorrectly ruled and the Packers wound up losing because of the two referees’ inexperience.

This caused a twitter bonanza. People were having their way with the topic on various internet blogs, prompting the NFL to succumb to the demands of the original referees. On Sept. 26, an agreement was put into place, thus ending the longest collective bargaining agreement in the history of the NFL. Many fans are still clamoring against Roger Goddell but at the very least; players have the luxury of once again playing with referees who know the true rules of the game.

Tying together these collective bargaining agreements is one that Major League Baseball adopted this offseason. A huge part of the MLB’s agreement states that the Wild Card would have two winners and they would each compete in a one playoff game. Previously, all Wild Card winners simply made the playoffs just like a division winner. Now, making it as a wild card means teams may not advance into the American League Division Series. This puts a huge emphasis on winning the Division.

The new CBA completely changed the complexity of the inning and the fate of the Atlanta Braves. In the first ever wild card game, an umpire announced a bad call, causing havoc. Fans of the Braves started throwing garbage and beer bottles onto the field.

This event, infamously referred to as the Turner Field incident, caused a delay in the game. During the regular season, this CBA agreement made baseball in 2012 some of the most exciting races fans have ever seen. In the playoffs, there was a huge controversial flaw since one game can have many things go wrong. Although playing among debris was dangerous, it worked out for the better, and that is the hope the NHL and NFL will look to know as well.

A referee making a call during a football game Arron Chambers | wordpress.com