Vol. 41, No. 38 MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 nyunews.com

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWSNYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

NYU Abu Dhabi Dragon Boat team glides through waterAmong the many offerings at NYU Abu Dhabi’s campus, the NYUAD Dragon Boat team competed in its final event of the season over the weekend. The team will continue to race next semester.

COURTESY OF THE GAZELLE.ORG

Students, faculty discuss journalism school merits

Behind the scenes of ‘Diamonds’: Clive Davis students reveal process

By KRISTINA BOGOS Tisch senior Rachel Kanner

was riding a bus in the middle of the desert in Israel when she heard the news. Halfway around the world, fellow vocalist and Tisch freshman Sabrina Reitman was asked to leave a New York restaurant for being too theat-rical. A few miles away, Tisch freshman Cari Fletcher left half-way through a Broadway show.

The three were members of a group of 15 students from the Clive Davis Institute of Re-corded Music and one from Hof-stra University that competed against over 40 groups in a Uni-versal Music on Campus contest to create a cover of Rihanna’s hit single, “Diamonds.”

In early January, the NYU entry won first place. Their video, which currently boasts over 169,000 views on YouTube, caught the at-tention of Rihanna who is sched-uled to visit NYU on April 23 to meet the winning group.

“It’s amazing that an artist is coming and has recognized what we have been doing, but we just

did this in the beginning to rep-resent our school,” said Tisch ju-nior Hannah Gross, the group’s vocal director. “We just wanted to… have fun, really get into our artistry and get into our produc-tion skills and really showcase what our school has taught us.”

FROM FACEBOOK TO FAMILY

For Hannah Babbit, Tisch junior and the video’s producer, social media was the perfect platform to spread the word about the contest. After posting on several NYU-affil-iated Facebook pages, Babbit met with interested students. With pen and paper in hand, she organized schedules and asked each vocalist to do an impromptu audition.

“It’s funny how you can be in such close quarters with some-body and not realize how freak-ing talented they are,” Babbit said of her fellow Clive Davis students.

The group’s musical skills have been recognized not only within NYU, but also across the nation. Vocalist and Tisch freshman Son-ali Argade was featured in her hometown newspaper in Florida. Even The Huffington Post and en-

tertainment guru Ryan Seacrest have acknowledged their success.

The recognition, however, ex-tends beyond the 16 students who participated in the project.

“I felt like it made NYU closer and more tight-knit,” Reitman said. “The fact that you’re com-municating with people you wouldn’t normally communi-cate with ... it’s something we all kind of bonded over.”

BEHIND THE SCENES

The group filmed the video in and around Greenwich Village on a frigid, rainy day in December. Each vocalist recorded tracks in the studio a few days prior, and was given the creative freedom to select a spot around campus as their backdrop. Campus marks like the Washington Mews and the 8th Street subway stop ap-peared in the video.

Video director Ryan Hutchins, a sophomore at Hofstra Univer-sity and a film enthusiast who re-ceived his first camera at the age of nine, spent 15 to 20 hours over

CLIVE continued on PG. 4

By TANAY HUDSON

Members of the media have been questioning the place of journal-ism graduate education as stepping stone to a journalism career.

For instance, New York Times columnist David Carr recently called a journalism degree an “es-calator to nowhere,” and Crain’s New York Business reported that between 2003 and 2012, Gan-nett Co., who owns several local newspapers, television channels and USA Today, cut more than 20,000 employees.

Also, according to mediafinder.com, 23 magazines launched in the first quarter of this year, while 44 magazines were launched in the same period last year.

New York City is home to a num-ber of popular journalism schools including Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism and

NYU’s own journalism institute. Despite the decreased launch

numbers, graduate programs are showing high success rates.

NYU’s business and economic reporting program has a success rate well above 90 percent, and of CUNY’s 2011 class, 92 percent of the 85-person class in 2011 are employed full-time, freelancing or working at paid internships.

NYU journalism professors argue that journalism is not de-clining, but rather shifting away from traditional platforms.

“Journalism is going through a pe-riod of rapid technological change, but people still want to know what’s going on in the world,” said Meryl Gordon, director of magazine writ-ing at the NYU journalism school.

Gordon added that the maga-zine writing program at NYU has added videography and social me-dia classes to enhance students’

JOURNALISM continued on PG. 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

FITNESS on PG. 4

REACH NEW HEIGHTS ON FLYING TRAPEZE: Those daring enough can exercise their bodies and minds at trapeze and trampoline classes, like those offered by Trapeze School New York.

COURTESY OF JASON KLEIN FOR TRAPEZE SCHOOL NEW YORK

CICCONET on PG. 7

TECHNOLOGY IS PROGRESSING TOO RAPIDLY:With the amount of reliance people place on high-tech devices, there is a lack of attention to the possible negative side effects.

FASHION DUO DAZZLES AT FIRST TRUNK SHOW:The designers behind TILLYandWILLIAM featured versatile pieces at their first trunk show last week. Read our review at nyunews.com.

NYUNEWS.COMCOURTESY OF TILLYANDWILLIAM

TONIGHT on PG. 3

‘TONIGHT SHOW’ PLANS MOVE TO NEW YORK CITY: The late-night entertainment television show will come to the city in spring of 2014, over 40 years after it last filmed in the Empire State.

GRAPHIC BY RACHEL KAPLAN

ON THE SIDE COMPILED BY THE WSN STAFF

2 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

Lightning bolts brighten up the New York City skyline during an evening storm.

PHOTO BY WILIAM MARTIN

SNAPSHOT

GOT AN EVENT? EMAIL US AT AGENDA@NYUNEWS.COM OR TWEET US @NYUNEWS. GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? EMAIL US AT TIPS@NYUNEWS.COM.

54321

IN AND OFTHE CITY

It’s a big city and a widespread university. Catch up with our daily updates on university and city/state news headlines other publications are covering.

STAFFRECOMMENDATIONS Editor-in-Chief

JONATHON DORNBUSH

Managing Editor

AMY ZHANG

Web Managing Editor

HANQING CHEN

Deputy Managing Editor

JORDAN MELENDREZ

Assistant Managing Editor

NICOLA PRING

Creative DirectorKALEEL MUNROE

SENIOR STAFFuniversity TATIANA BAEZcity/state VERONICA CARCHEDIinvestigative NICOLE BROWNarts JOSH JOHNSONfeatures KRISTINA BOGOSsports MARY JANE DUMANKAYAmultimedia RACHEL KAPLANcopy MICHAEL DOMANICO, WICY WANGforeign correspondent JULIE DEVITO senior editors GENTRY BROWN, DAN HINTON, CHARLES MAHONEY, CLIO MCCONNELL, STEFAN MELNYK, LAVYA YALAMANCHI

DEPUTY STAFFuniversity KEVIN BURNS, NEELA QADIRcity/state EMILY BELL, ANDREW KARPANbooks/theater OLIVIA GEORGEfilm JEREMY GROSSMANentertainment ALEX GREENBERGERmusic ALEXANDRIA ETHRIDGEthe highlighter blog SAM RULLOfeatures HELEN HOLMES, JONATHAN KESHISHOGLOU beauty & style MICHELLE LIMdining ANGEL CHANGsports FRANCISCO NAVASmultimedia REBECCA CLEMENTI, JOON LEE

OPINION PAGEopinion editor SAMEER JAYWANTdeputy opinion editors EDWARD RADZIVILOVSKIY,RAQUEL WOODRUFF

ADVERTISINGBUSINESS MANAGERREBECCA RIBEIRO

CIRCULATION MANAGERCHLOE COFFMAN

UNIVERSITY SALES COORDINATORKAITLYN O’BRIEN

SALES REPRESENTATIVEELLEN MCQUEEN

SALES ASSOCIATESARIANA DIVALENTINO, ALISON LIZZIO, SAM WANDER

CIRCULATION ASSISTANT BENJAMIN SWINEHART

GRAPHIC DESIGNER KALEEL MUNROE

ADVISING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

NANCI HEALY

EDITORIAL ADVISER

KEITH LEIGHTY EDITORS-AT-LARGE

MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN, JAEWON KANG, FRANCIS POON, MERYLL PREPOSI, AMANDA RANDONE, EMILY YANG

About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.

Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Amy Zhang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

NYUNEWS.COM

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

ABU DHABI EXPANDS COMMERCIAL SERVICESThe Tourism Development Investment Company in Abu Dhabi

announced the release of 38 commercial land plots on Saadiyat Marina District for sale. The new location for the NYU Abu Dhabi campus lies in the Saadiyat Marina District, and the students there will be able to use the new services the area will provide, such as retail outlets, commercial centers, entertainment facili-ties, educational institutions, hospitality and residential proj-ects. Infrastructure and utilities work has already started. – GULFNEWS.COM

TOP FIVE COLLEGE MAJORSamNewYork recently reported the most popular majors at

most of the New York City colleges, including NYU. Our top five are as follows:

1. Visual and Performing Arts2. Social Sciences3. Business/Marketing4. Health Professions5. Liberal Arts

– AMNEWYORK

HUGH JACKMAN STALKER ARRESTED Actor Hugh Jackman was working out in a gym in the West Vil-

lage on Saturday morning when 47-year-old Kathleen Thurston rushed in and proclaimed her love for him. She then pulled out a razor filled with hair, threw it at him, and left the gym. She was arrested nearby and charged with stalking.– NBC NEW YORK

TIMES SQUARE PROTEST AGAINST WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALThousands of immigrants and human rights advocates gath-

ered in Times Square on Saturday to express their outrage over a war crimes tribunal taking place in Bangladesh which re-cently sentenced a Muslim leader, Abul Kalam “Bachchu” Azad, to death. Human rights officials say the tribunals have not fol-lowed correct procedure in their courts.– NY1

9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM FEE STIRS CONTROVERSYFor those hoping to reserve passes online or via their phones

to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, a new fee has been put in place. Installed last month, those placing elec-tronic reservations will incur a $2 fee. Family members of vic-tims of 9/11 have spoken out against the fee, but the memorial’s website states that the fee is only meant to cover the costs of some current construction projects. Patrons can still visit the memorial on the World Trade Center site for free.– ABC NEWS

SUNDAES AND CONESSundaes and Cones, located on 10th Street between Third and

Fourth Avenues, has a wide variety of delicious homemade ice cream flavors. Try their corn, black sesame, green tea or wasabi flavors. If you’re less adventurous, the shop also offers traditio-nal flavors and an assortment of sorbets. As the name suggests, make any flavor into a sundae or have it on your choice of cone.

BIG GAY ICE CREAMThe first thing you’re likely to notice about Big Gay Ice Cream

in the East Village is the enormous line that’s usually leading out the door. Don’t be discouraged — the ice cream is worth it. The flavors have quirky names such as Salty Pimp a delicious combi-nation of vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt and chocolate. Look out for the Big Gay Ice Cream truck this summer.

LULA’S SWEET APOTHECARYIt would seem that ice cream and vegans don’t always go to-

gether, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth at Lula’s Sweet Apothecary, a vegan ice cream shop on the Lower East Side. The sweet vegan treats at Lula’s are made daily on the premises and come in a variety of flavors. But it’s important to go early, because the shop only serves the ice cream until the batch sells out.

MOMOFUKU MILK BARMomofuku Milk Bar, located on 13th Street between Second

and Third Avenues, is the place to visit if you’re searching for reminders of your childhood in ice cream form. A popular item is the cereal milk ice cream — vanilla soft-serve ice cream made from cereal milk and sprinkled with cereal flakes. The shop also offers a large selection of desserts other than ice cream, such as birthday cake truffles, compost cookies and crack pies.

While you can grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or Häagen Dazs at any nearby Duane Reade, New York City offers a plethora of unique ice cream joints. Here are a few of our favorite odd but delicious spots.

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 3

versatility and storytelling abilities.Perri Klass, the director of the Arthur L.

Carter Journalism Institute at NYU, said a graduate degree in journalism is still use-ful today because it teaches valuable skills needed to work in such an evolving field.

“We take a lot of time and trouble mak-ing sure that all of our students learn some of the digital and multimedia skills which people need to operate in the new journalism universe,” she said.

Some students who have graduated from journalism schools find the programs ben-eficial because they help them network and make long-lasting connections.

“I had no journalism experience before I went to journalism school. Not only did I learn the basics, I also made invaluable contacts that are still helping me to this day,” said Alyson Krueger, who graduated from NYU’s journalism school in 2011.

Krueger has been published in The New York Times, Wired, The Village Voice and The Jewish Daily Forward.

Also, although journalism schools like NYU’s journalism institute encourage internships and on-the-job experience, professors emphasize the importance of the classroom as a laboratory.

“The wonderful thing about a graduate program is that you get to do everything

yourself and produce a major piece of journalism,” said Marcia Rock, director of NYU’s NewsDoc program.

Students agree that the journalism school’s curriculum is field-based.

“NYU’s program is very hands-on, which is important, because journalism is a hands-on profession,” said graduate student Anders Melin, a first-year gradu-ate student in the business journalism program who is also pursuing an MBA.

Melin admits that the academics can be difficult to manage on top of in-the-field experience.

“It is frustrating and sometimes men-tally draining to juggle everything, but I think it’s also crucial to master that way of working,” he said.

Moreover, especially at NYU, a jour-nalism degree can be a significant fi-nancial commitment.

“I have a lot of friends who had thought about becoming journalists and going to journalism school, but economically it didn’t make any sense,” said Jenise Morgan, a first-year graduate student in NYU’s news and documentary program. “[But] I believe in making the investment,” Morgan said.

Tanay Hudson is a staff writer. Email her at university@nyunews.com.

Degrees, graduate program costs ques-tioned by journalism students

JOURNALISM continued from PG. 1

‘Tonight Show’ returns to New York

By EMILY BELL

In the circus of late-night television, there is about to be a big swap. It was recently an-nounced that Jimmy Fallon, who currently hosts “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” will be hosting “The Tonight Show” in spring 2014.

Not only is there a hosting change, but the filming will return to New York City for the first time since 1972.

“‘The Tonight Show’ will bring even more jobs and economic activity to our city, and we couldn’t be happier that one of New York’s own is bringing the show back to where it started and where it belongs,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a press release April 3.

The Empire State Film Post Production tax credit was also recently expanded and given a five-year extension. The New York Daily News reported that “The To-night Show” could receive the benefits of this tax credit, dubbed the “Jimmy Fallon tax credit.” In addition, the tax credit law would make shows that relocate to New York receive the credit.

This change in credit laws presents some opportunities for independent filmmakers a chance to experiment — an exciting pros-pect for Tisch film students.

“This new tax credit law is very exciting in that it encourages the growth and expansion of the independent film industry,” Tisch film freshman Christina O’Neil said. “They no lon-ger have to heavily lean on huge production companies [like] the situation in Los Angeles.”

NBC is also building Fallon a new stu-dio. It is unknown who will take over his current position as host of “Late Night.”

“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I am pleased to welcome ‘The Tonight Show’ back to its first home here in the Empire State,” New York City Gov. Andrew Cuo-mo said in a press release April 3. “As one of the longest running television shows

in American history, ‘The Tonight Show’ is an iconic production,” he said.

According to Bloomberg’s press release, there has been a 30 percent increase over the course of the last decade of New Yorkers who work in television production.

“I believe the film business brings in much revenue to New York,” said Frank Prinzi, an alumnus of NYU’s Maurice Kan-bar Institute of Film and Television, and worked on the show “Law and Order” from 2001 to 2006. “It not only brings in jobs and supports vendors, but it also builds its tourism and helps build the im-age and magic of the city.”

The band from “Late Night with Jimmy Fal-lon,” The Roots, will stay in New York with Fallon. One of its members, Questlove, is cur-rently teaching a course at NYU.

More recently, The New York Times also reported that NYU alumnus Alec Baldwin is being considered for a late-night show to replace “Last Call,” currently hosted by Carson Daly.

Emily Bell is a deputy city/state editor. Email her at ebell@nyunews.com.

Fallon will replace veteran TV personality Jay Leno on ‘Tonight.’

GRAPHIC BY RACHEL KAPLAN

New York fast food workers protest minimum wage

By TANAY HUDSON

Nearly 400 New York City fast food workers picked up picket signs to par-ticipate in one of the largest strikes in city history. The workers marched and chanted for an increased minimum wage, union rights and better treatment.

The April 4 strike was an initiative by the Fast Food Forward Campaign. The organizers included New York Commu-nities for Change, United NY and the Black Institute, and was backed by the Service Employees International Union. The workers’ campaign was also sup-ported by community groups, clergy, elected officials and civic leaders.

The number of participants in the re-cent protest doubled from the group’s first strike last November, which gath-ered 200 workers.

The New York Communities for Change said they selected April 4 as the date of the strike because of its historical signifi-cance and relevance to the plight of fast food workers. On the same day in 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated during a visit to Memphis, Tenn., in sup-port of striking sanitation workers.

Though New York City’s minimum wage is already set to gradually increase to $9 over the next three years, workers say that that is not enough.

Jonathan Westin, director of Fast Food Forward, said giving fast food workers a wage of $15 an hour and allowing them to establish a union would not only bene-fit the economy but will also help rebuild the middle class.

“It’s a wage that will allow them to cover their basic needs and help lift our entire economy … the protection of a contract will prevent companies from the unlawful treatment and manipulation of hours that has come to define too many American jobs,” Westin said.

Tim McIntyre, vice president of com-munications for Domino’s Pizza, said employees who participated in the strike were not penalized, as it was their right to protest. McIntyre said however, that they may be missing the bigger picture.

“They have as much opportunity to grow within our system as anyone else. Because so many of our managers, super-visors, owners and other higher level peo-

ple in our company started in the stores, we are a company of opportunity. They have as much opportunity to grow as any-one else,” said McIntyre.

Burger King media relations representa-tives also said their employees are provid-ed with opportunities for growth within the economy.

“Burger King restaurants offer compen-sation and benefits that are consistent with the [quick service restaurant] indus-try. In addition, through the Burger King McLAMORE Foundation, all Burger King employees and their families are eligible for college scholarships to encourage fur-ther growth and education,” a representa-tive said in an email.

Westin said the fast food industry is lu-crative, and can afford to give their em-ployees more financial backing, but em-ployers choose not to.

“The fastest growing jobs in the United States are also the lowest paid,” Westin said. “Fast food workers are paid between $10,000 and $18,000 each year, less than half what it costs to support a family in our city ... McDonald’s and Burger King are part of a $200 billion industry. They should pay their hard-working employees enough to cover the necessities and sup-port their families.”

Westin said that workers will continue to campaign and strike until fast food em-ployers give them the wages they need to support themselves and their families.

“Fast food workers are not paid enough to afford basic needs like food, cloth-ing and rent,” Westin said. “They often qualify for food stamps and other public assistance, which means that big, profit-able corporations are forcing taxpayers to subsidize their low wages and burdening our economy.”

NYU alumna from the Silver School of Social Work Ronda DeShields said this strike is a great effort for fast food work-ers.

“The minimum wage was fair at the time I worked in fast food in the late 80’s early 90’s ... Minimum wage hasn’t kept up with the cost of living and the econ-omy, especially in New York,” DeShields said.

Tanay Hudson is a staff writer.Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

Fast food workers associated with the Fast Food Forward Campaign demanded increased minimum wage and union rights during a strike this month.

HANNAH COHEN/WSN

4 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

FEATURES

five days editing the video. He says he’s thankful for the opportunity to have worked with a group of such talented student artists.

“Regardless of whether or not it went viral, or whether or not we won, it’s still something that we’re proud of because it’s something we made from scratch,” Hutchins said.

A NETWORK OF SUPPORT

AND FUTURE PLANSProducing the video not only

introduced student artists to one another, but fostered collabora-tions between the vocalists. Dis-cussion about another video is in the works to thank the commu-nity for its endless support.

“I had professors on the phone with me the day the video came out just offering their support,” Babbit said. “It doesn’t happen of-ten that you’re at a college where professors care so much that they’re willing to help you out in any way professionally.”

Professors like Jeffrey Rahban, chair of recorded music at the Clive Davis Institute, and Nick San-sano, associate chair, have served

as mentors since the video’s re-lease. Sansano is currently work-ing with juniors Alexandre Gresh and John Phillips, who helped engineer “Diamonds.” For San-sano, the video is an affirmation of the skills the students learned inside the classroom. Clive Davis will fully support the students in any future endeavors, he added, whether through a music video channel or a large-scale project.

“You have to capitalize on suc-cess when it comes because you never know when it is going to happen,” Sansano said. “You never know when it’s going to strike.”

The experience has not only placed a future collaboration on the table, but has propelled each mem-ber forward in their artistic pursuits.

“We created something big-ger than just ourselves,” Kanner said. “It represents not just a cover of a Rihanna song but our trials and tribulations being art-ists in New York City, and this positive attitude to keep going.”

Kristina Bogos is features editor. Email her at kbogos@nyunews.com.

Clive Davis students reveal inspiration, motivation

CLIVE continued from PG. 1

Tisch junior Kiah Victoria contributed vocals to the video.COURTESY OF RYAN HUTCHINS

FITNESS FINDSBy ALENA HALL

For many, April is a month of

overwhelming work schedules and daydreams of summer va-cation. Exercise routines often take a backseat, but squeezing in a little “me time” can go a long way toward rebooting the mind, relieving stress and renewing inspiration. Take a couple of hours this week to consider the world from a new perspective and accept a unique mental and physical challenge at one of New York City’s outdoor fly-ing trapeze schools.

Flying trapeze is no longer an activity enjoyed only by circus performers and gym-nasts. Facilities like the Tra-peze School New York make it accessible to any brave soul in the metropolitan area. The sport leaves even the fittest athletes sore after their first flying lesson. Like yoga and pilates classes, trapeze ses-sions challenge every abdom-inal and back muscle of the body’s core as flyers stabilize their bodies and control each minor movement when they shift from one position to another. The arms and shoul-ders share in the workout as well, connecting the body to the swinging bar and sup-porting the flyer as he or she leaps from the raised plat-form into the air.

Regardless of the workout factor, the most compelling part of flying trapeze is the adrenaline rush that continu-ously floods the body during the two-hour long lesson. It is as much about the mental chal-

lenge as it is the physical one. Learning to trust your body and its abilities, relinquishing control as you soar through the air and taking in the world around you from an entirely different vantage point devel-ops strength far more useful in life than activities like power-lifting in a gym ever could.

TSNY operates two outdoor trapeze school locations in Manhattan, challenging art-ists, athletes and adrenaline junkies alike to test their per-sonal limits and learn how to fly. Trapeze students take in iconic views of New York City from Pier 40 near Hudson Riv-er Park, a site just a short walk from the heart of the NYU campus to Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport. Professionals teach classes with a 10-person limit in state-of-the-art facili-

ties and keep the experience as safe, hands-on and interactive as possible.

If the idea of abandoning solid ground for two hours still leaves you more anxious than excited, opt for a trampoline class instead. Focusing on flips rather than flying will enable a participant to improve body awareness, challenge core muscles and time for tricks that will come in handy when giving the trapeze a whirl.

Flying trapeze classes last for two hours and range from $50 to $70. Introductory and beginner trampoline classes last 60 to 90 minutes and cost $35, and intermediate classes cost $65.

Alena Hall is a contributing columnist. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Flying trapeze lessons take participants to great heights.COURTESY OF JASON KLEIN FOR TRAPEZE SCHOOL NEW YORK

NYU NEWS(DOT) COM

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 5

EDITED BY KRISTINA BOGOSFEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

TOP5 Outdoor concert spots for enjoying spring tunesBy UTPALA MENON

When musicians begin to wheel their in-struments into Washington Square Park, it’s clear that spring has arrived. Visit these outdoor venues in and around New York City this spring to see diverse street performan-ces of many musical styles.

SOUTH STREET SEAPORT | 19 Fulton St.

Located beside the East River, this histori-cal trade site is a perfect blend of the Fi-nancial District’s modern buildings and the port’s cobblestone grounds. The river views and spring weather make this a perfect spot for musicians and larger performances. The Spirit Project will be held at the South Street Seaport on April 18, featuring perfor-mances by The Hollows and Jeff Tuohy.

J.J. BYRNE PLAYGROUND | Fourth Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, Brooklyn

This three-acre playground is located in the quaint Park Slope neighborhood. On a warm spring day, one can expect to see its grounds filled with children and visitors at the Old Stone House, now a Dutch farmhouse mu-seum. While it hosts interactive performer-audience dialogues, this outdoor venue is also known to feature classical musicians. Upcoming performances include David Hy-les, The Harmonic Choir and Zach Layton.

QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDENS | 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, Queens

Queens Botanical Garden’s serene walk-

ways are completely transformed during the spring, when crowded park-goers flock to its lush green compounds. The park hosts many festivals and outdoor perform-ers along with interactive sessions, includ-ing the upcoming Arbor Fest on April 28 featuring the band No Regrets.

BROOKLYN PROSPECT PARK | 95 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn

Prospect Park is often considered the Cen-tral Park of Brooklyn, as it features elaborate green spaces and facilities such as a zoo, an ice rink and an athletic center. From the Brooklyn philharmonic and dance perfor-mances to indie and rock band concerts, the venue hosts a versatile group of fantas-tic musical performances. The venue, which stands tall at three stories, was built with one of the oldest sound systems in New York.

RUMSEY PLAYFIELD AT CENTRAL PARK | Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, Manhattan

Though it is known for hosting the annual Summerstage festival and high school performances, Rumsey Playfield also features smaller, impromptu and solo artist performances. While the Playfield’s surroundings serve as a common area for street performances, upcoming shows such as Marina and the Diamonds on May 29 should draw indie and pop music fans to this venue.

Utpala Menon is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BAG?

By ARIANA DIVALENTINO

World traveler Valeria Rotella is by no means your average film student. Although only a freshman in the Tisch School of the Arts, Rotella has already scored an intern-ship with a documentary film production company. Her big black tote not only holds her academic necessities but has also been halfway around the world.

Rotella’s short summer excursions in 2012 weren’t exactly touristy beach vacations. She crossed Rome, Copenhagen and Madrid, among other cities, off her travel list. Be-sides her vacations, she’s lived all around the world. Rotella was born in San Diego, Calif., but has lived in Argentina, France, Spain and finally Washington, D.C., before starting col-lege in New York. The contents of her bag reflect her worldliness and her aspirations as a film student.

ITALO CALVINO’S “LEZIONI AMERICANE”A family friend gave Rotella Calvino’s book of

transcribed lectures, which are an important read for anyone who aspires to work in the arts.

“It’s in Italian, which is a bit of a challenge, but I’m piecing it together,” Rotella said.

Rotella speaks three languages, none of which are Italian. She has been using a dictionary as well as her knowledge of French and Spanish to

read the book in its original, untranslated form.“I think reading might be a bit of an exag-

geration,” Rotella said.

MOVIE TICKET STUBSAs a student who plans to work in film,

it’s only logical that Rotella watches mov-ies frequently. A thick wad of ticket stubs from theaters both in New York City and Washington, D.C., are in the crevices of her wallet, including a hefty proportion of this past Oscar season’s nominees.

“I have tickets for probably everything I’ve seen since June,” Rotella said. “Some-times I’ll reach in and pull one out and I’ll think, ‘Oh, I remember seeing that.’ Or I won’t, which probably doesn’t speak very highly of that film.”

USB DRIVERotella keeps busy with work. When she

isn’t in her room blasting European dance mu-sic or the occasional ’90s hip-hop while com-pleting her Writing the Essay homework, she is in front of her computer with headphones on, polishing her film projects for class.

“I always try to keep a USB card on me in case I need to go to the editing lab,” Rotella said.

“I have an interest in cinema verite, in adapt-ing real life for film,” Rotella said. “Right now, my focus is on writing and producing for TV.”

Ariana DiValentino is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com. Movie tickets and foreign texts reflect this worldy student’s interests.DANA RESZUTEK FOR WSN

VIA FLICKR.COM | COURTESY OF JTHE OLD STONE HOUSE | VIA FACEBOOK.COM

6 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD & DAILY SUDOKU

Across  1 Noggin  5 Sturdy walking 

stick10 Bug14 Folklore villain15 Part of the eye16 Rest ___ 

(roadside stop)17 Prankish 

activity19 Not quite all20 No-tell motel 

get-togethers21 Attic 

accumulation22 Before, in verse 23 Double-

whammy economic condition

28 Lose30 The “A” of 

Chester A. Arthur

31 Sought-after rock

32 ___ no good

33 Did some figuring

35 Without a stitch on

39 Again42 Farm unit46 Hi-___ graphics47 Came down on 

a branch, say48 Men’s grooming 

scent50 Impromptu, 

wide-ranging conversation

53 Stomach muscles, informally

54 Oolong and Earl Grey

55 “Ain’t gonna happen”

57 Church seats58 Shoddy and 

unsturdy62 Part of the eye63 “___ a 

Nightingale”64 Slithery fish

65 Bygone U.S. gas brand

66 “Untrue!”67 “Dang!”

Down  1 On a streak  2 Display of self-

importance  3 What two 

theatergoers may share

  4 Boldly resist  5 Hit-or-miss  6 Oklahoma oil 

city  7 Go ___ (flip 

out)  8 Tree with 

needles  9 Go by plane10 Full range11 Wearing away 

of soil12 Put back in 

good condition13 Wrestling 

surface18 Greek peak21 “___ schön” 

(“Thank you very much”: Ger.)

22 Relative of an  ostrich

24 Red gems25 One nipping 

Nipper, maybe26 Be short of27 Flanders of 

“The Simpsons”29 Brain section34 Jazz chanteuse 

Anita36 Amherst 

school, informally

37 ___ slaw38 ___ Kringle39 Big ball in 

space40 Spays, e.g.41 “The Lion, the 

Witch and the Wardrobe” writer

43 “Polly want a ___?”

44 German measles

45 Letters on an ambulance

48 “Gee, that’s really too bad”

49 Forever ___ day51 Catch, as a calf 

at a rodeo52 Research 

facilities: Abbr.

56 Treated, as a sprained ankle

57 ___ à la mode

58 Song syllable repeated after “Da Doo”

59 Big fuss

60 Encountered

61 D.C. winter hrs.

puzzle by robert fisher

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS.AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

32 33 34

35 36 37 38

39 40 41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48 49

50 51 52 53

54 55 56

57 58 59 60 61

62 63 64

65 66 67

N I C O L A S C A G E B A HA D O B E R E A D E R A L EW A R R E N Z E V O N U T A

R A I S A S I S S Y B A RP E L E Z E A L A L I TB Y R N E M R P E E P E R SJ O E M A T M A L AS U D S E S V E T O E S

P R I G Y E N N T HD A I R Y F A R M A S T R AA L F A L O A M C H U MS P I T T O O N O B O E SH E M W O O D F U R N A C EE R A I N T E R R A C I A LS T Y G A S L A N T E R N S

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018

For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550For Release Monday, April 15, 2013

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0311Crossword

Interested in working for us? Come to our Sunday Pitch Meetings.

NEWS: 5 P.M.FEATURES: 6 P.M.

ARTS: 6 P.M.SPORTS: 6:30 P.M.

MULTIMEDIA: 7 P.M.OPINION: 7 P.M.

NYU Quidditch team fails to snitch victory in World CupBy MARY JANE DUMANKAYA

Over a thousand Harry Potter fans descended on Kissimmee, Fla, for the Quidditch World Cup VI on April 14 and 15. The annual World Cup, hosted by the International Quidditch Asso-ciation, draws teams from around the world to compete for Quidditch glory. NYU’s very own Nundu Quidditch team made it to the World Cup playoffs.

CAS senior Bryan Hall is one of the founders of Quidditch at NYU and serves as co-captain and president of the Nundu team.

“It is sad to know that this is my last cup competing in my NYU purple, but the journey that this club has endured from creation to World Cup VI has been an amazing ride,” Hall said.

The NYU Nundu Quidditch team has had a long journey to the World Cup stage. At the IQA Northeast Re-gional Tournament last November, teams competed for a spot at the World Cup. NYU was one of 11 teams out of 24 to qualify for the competi-tion in Florida from the Northeast.

“Competing at the World Cup has

been amazing,” Hall said. “It’s a gru-eling process that involves little to no sleep [and] two intense days of game play.”

The first match for NYU was against No. 1 seed Texas A&M University. NYU lost 140-50. Next up was Flem-ing College from Ontario, Canada, which NYU easily defeated 200-20.

The third game of the day was a gru-eling match against the Johns Hopkins Hallows, who are of the same caliber as NYU. At the end of the 30-minute match, the Nundu team had secured their second victory 200-130. NYU seeker Ryan Blewett, a Tisch junior, caught the Snitch in the Hopkins game, possibly due to his superstition of only wearing one shin guard to each game.

“The one shin guard is a bit of a good luck charm. Left shin always,” Blewett said.

The final match of the day was against the University of Michi-gan. The close match ended 120-110, bringing the Nundus’ record to 2-2. NYU was able to advance to the second day of competition.

On Sunday, NYU competed in the

round of 32. NYU, seeded 27, was elim-inated from the playoffs in the first game against the No. 6 Los Angeles community team Lost Boys.

“Our losses were to top-ranked teams, and given a different team up on the second day, we could’ve ad-vanced further than we did,” Blewett said. “There’s no shame in losing if we feel we went as hard as we could.”

The Division II final was between No. 3 Loyola and No.1 Sam Houston State University, with SHSU capturing the victory by catching the Snitch. The fi-nal score was 110-70. Division I culmi-nated in a final matchup between No. 1 University of California, Los Angeles and No. 2 University of Texas at Austin. The Texas team is now the new Quid-ditch world champion.

Despite the outcome, Hall has seen a great deal of growth in the Nundu team.

“I see the depth that is forming with-in our team, and I can’t wait to see what they can do with another year of practice under their belt,” Hall said.

Mary Jane Dumankaya is sports editor. Email her at mdumankaya@nyunews.com. NYU Quidditch team celebrates its hard work.

VIA FACEBOOK.COM

U.S. fails to provide adequate child welfare

STAFF EDITORIAL

WSN welcomes letters to the editor, opinion pieces and articles rel-evant 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 ex-pressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

Send mail to: 838 Broadway, Fifth Floor New York, N.Y. 10003 or email: opinion@nyunews.comSUBMITTING TO

OPINIONEDITED BY SAMEER JAYWANTOPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

Email the WSN Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

TECHNOLOGY

Digital age overlooks timeless solutions

Arrest presents overreaction to graffiti photoCENSORSHIP

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 7

EDITORIAL BOARD: Sameer Jaywant (Chair), Raquel Woodruff (Co–Chair),

Edward Radzivilovskiy (Co–Chair), Nickhil Sethi, Matt Luo, Nina Golshan, Ian Mark, Jess Littman, Marcelo Cicconet

By NOAH ECKSTEIN

Last Wednesday, Jennifer Pawluck, a 20 year-old student, was arrested in Montreal for posting a picture on Instagram of a graffiti painting that depicted the city’s police command-er, Ian Lafreniere, with a bullet hole in his forehead. Pawluck did not draw the anti-cop graffiti, which was plastered on a brick wall in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbor-hood — she simply snapped the pic-ture and posted it.

It is true that Montreal has rath-er strict laws in place to fine and even arrest graffiti artists, but it is incredibly unfair to penalize someone for simply taking a pic-ture of a contemporary form of art. Montrealers take pride in keeping Canada’s most European city look-ing clean and picturesque, but the idea that someone wishing to cap-ture a creative image and share it on an Instagram account should be arrested is completely ludicrous. At a time when people around the world are participating in many

protests and uprisings, we should be able to post, tweet, share and scream whatever we feel.

It seems that as time progresses and the authorities around the world see how empowering social media is, censorship and surveil-lance is on the rise. For example, the FBI has made it extremely clear that it intends to spy on In-ternet activity in real time instead of waiting for warrants.

So what happens to Pawluck? She is set to be tried in court on April 17 and will likely be charged with “uttering threats,” or “criminal harassment,” ac-cording to her attorney. A spokes-person for the Montreal police,

Constable Dany Richer, told the CBC: “There are circumstances that surrounded the publication of this image, circumstances that we can’t reveal because it is still under investigation.”

It truly frightens me how such a modern and artistic act is still under investigation. What is there to investigate? A 20-year-old snapped a photo of some cool and worthy graffiti that ended up on Instagram — what is the big deal? If we take a step back and analyze this situation from a dif-ferent perspective, all we see is a student who took a picture; how could this be a punishable act?

Jennifer Pawluck is just one case out of the rising number of censor-ship attempts being made by the au-thorities. This kind of extreme po-lice intervention and examination is distasteful and does not belong in a society that values free speech.

Noah Eckstein is a contributing columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

By MARCELO CICCONET

When Apple launched its own navigation app for the iPhone, causing countless Internet jokes due to its poor quality in comparison with Google Maps, I looked at the event with dis-dain. Not because I’m an Ap-ple fan or because I don’t use maps, but because my way of navigating modern urban land-scapes doesn’t rely on any por-table digital device.

Like a tobacco addict who always carries a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, my pock-ets always contain an A4-sized piece of paper folded thrice and a Strand pen with enough ink to last the next seven years. Be-fore venturing to a new place, I visit Google Maps on my laptop and draw a small copy of the neighborhood of the target lo-cation in one of the unfilled 16 slots of my sheet of paper. My method never gets me lost.

It seems a little outdated, but I don’t do it simply for fashion. The problem with our time of technological transition is that, though one can find many digi-tal alternatives for what has been historically done with

microchip-less devices, many of them do not match the user ex-perience of the old technologies.

Look at the digital note-tak-ing task, for instance. You can find a number of tablets with digital pens in the market, some with only the input inter-face and others with real-time display. Some have cell phones included. But often the experi-ence is as bad as writing with a nail on a marble surface. While the texture of the interface is okay, the pen doesn’t quite touch the display — it’s like writing in one side of a glass for the text to appear on the other side. For the alternatives that give up the all-digital goal and adopt a scanning kind of

approach — the pen has real ink, and writes on real paper but also localizes itself so that the text can be turned digital — the drawback is that you have to use a special kind of paper or an additional gadget to localize the pen.

It’s difficult to predict which alternatives will survive, as there are non-technical fac-tors involved — sometimes the company that has the best CEO, not the best product, suc-ceeds. In reality, new technolo-gies never retain all the good qualities of the old ones. Even-tually, new generations lose access to the old way of doing things, and they don’t get to know how it may actually have been better in some sense, and those refined, non-digital tools will be forever lost.

We are often too busy rush-ing towards the future to notice this side effect of progress. May-be if we spent more time think-ing about what we really need and progressed a bit slower, we would actually get there faster.

Marcelo Cicconet is a staff columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

The United States was recently ranked 26th out of 29 wealthy countries by UNICEF regarding overall child welfare. The re-port found that the United States has high rates of child drug use, obesity, homicide, performs poorly in education and teen-age pregnancy and infant mortality.

Although there are many factors — including overpopula-tion — that are frequently attributed to the reason for this low ranking, reports such as these fail to look at the bigger picture: Child well-being is just one part of a larger, systemic political problem. In the last 30 years, policies have turned in favor of extreme wealth, and the disparity between the rich and poor has sharply intensified.

There is also a clear ideological barrier in our method of aid-ing impoverished children, namely the ludicrous belief that the poorest class is already living lavishly off the government dollar. This ideology leads politicians to campaign against aid for those living below the poverty line and cut spending on welfare programs. As the UNICEF report demonstrates, the poor in America do not live comfortably because of govern-ment aid, and children in this country are suffering greatly because of it.

Our youth are clearly in need of improved social services. Instead, the religious right pours its time and money into preventing abortions, while staunchly opposing policies that would make children healthier, safer and better educated. We are not doing what we need to for our kids because we are distracted by the anti-abortion lobby, which, if successful, will ensure that more children are born to parents who cannot af-ford to care for them properly.

The tragedy in Newtown, Conn. has renewed a political em-phasis on the welfare of America’s children — rightfully so, because after all, shouldn’t the test of a truly developed na-tion be its ability to provide the most basic security and op-portunity to its most helpless citizens? The United States un-equivocally fails this test on multiple grounds. Our politicians clamor about protecting our kids but hedge on gun proposals supported by 90 percent of Americans, restrict any debate re-garding children to abortion and then blame the poorest for being a drain on our system. Hypocrisy permeates our entire political system, and the duplicitous refocus on the welfare of American children is shameful.

FRINGESPRING 2013ON NEWSSTANDS

APRIL 18