Washington Square News | April 12, 2021 by Washington Square News

4 CULTURE

7 OPINION

How Sweet Pickle Books keeps the Lower East Side’s legacy alive

NYU must do more for low income students

5 ARTS

Making performance art possible online: Marina Abramović collaborates with WeTransfer

8 UNDER THE ARCH

Forgotten dreams come back as inpiration

VOLUME LVI | ISSUE 6

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

SGA passes three resolutions, and all of them require student participation

JORENE HE & MANASA GUDAVALLI | WSN

The NYU Student Government Assembly passed three resolutions. The three resolutions are on Anti-Racism and Justice, Holistic Representation on the NYU Board of Trustees, and Student Notice and Comment, which will be brought before the University Senate on April 22.

The NYU Student Government Assembly passed three resolutions to address racial justice, student representation on the Board of Trustees and student participation in university policy changes. By KAYLA HARDERSEN Staff Writer SGA Chief of Staff Anthony Cruz co-proposed three resolutions: Resolution on Anti-Racism and Justice, Holistic Representation on the NYU Board of Trustees and Student Notice and Comment, which will be brought before the University Senate on April 22.

The Resolution on Anti-Racism and Justice The Resolution on Anti-Racism and Justice proposes creating an “ad-hoc” Committee on Equity, Belonging, and Justice that would meet at least three times a semester. The committee would review current NYU policies — including those on the recruitment and retention of students and faculty — and publish recommendations on incorporating diverse perspectives into the review process. The committee would also be responsible for ding to instances of hate against marginalized communities at NYU. The resolution was co-written by Reese Antoinette, who is the gradu-

ate senator for Tisch School of the Arts and director of diversity. “I’m excited about this resolution and all that it represents,” Antoinette wrote in a statement delivered to the SGA by Cruz. “This is the work of diversity, equity and inclusion in a collaborative and impactful way … At a time when we are demanding that institutions incorporate representation into their infrastructure, this resolution provides a plan of action.” The resolution acknowledges existing committees dedicated to anti-racism and justice education at NYU, such as the diversity, equity and inclusion committees of the two faculty senators councils.

“[The proposed committee] being ad hoc allows us to invite members that are not on the University Senate to sit on this committee,” Cruz said. “We would also hope to invite members of the Off ice of Global Inclusion, the LGBTQ+ Center, CMEP, NYU’s Metro Center and other off ices and centers within NYU that are already conducting this work to propel their voice and experience forward to be on a university-wide level.” “Anti-racism and justice work is usually … forced upon the BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ members of the room that they’re in,” Cruz continued. “The labor to do this work is def initely overburdened without

compensation for BIPOC members and LGBTQ+ members of our community.” The Resolution on Holistic Representation on the NYU Board of Trustees Cruz proposed the Resolution on Holistic Representation on the NYU Board of Trustees. This resolution recommends that the Board of Trustees add student senators, faculty, deans and administrative staff as voting members of the Board. It also asks the Board of Trustees to invite all members of various university committees to join board meetings as observers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

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Edited by TRACE MILLER

SGA passes three resolutions, and all of them require student participation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

On April 13, 2017, the Tenured/ Tenure-Track Faculty Senators Council voted in favor of a similar resolution, which requested the Board of Trustees add NYU faculty members to the Board’s voting council. The University Senate passed the resolution on March 29, 2018, but the Board of Trustees vetoed it shortly after. On July 24, 2018, William Berkley, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, and University President Andrew Hamilton wrote a letter to Wen Ling, then-chair of the Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Senators Council Executive Committee, outlining their reasons for denying the proposal. “The Board’s longstanding view continues to be that each Trustee should bring a holistic outlook … rather than having members who are representative of specif ic stakeholder groups and their particular interests,” Hamilton and Berkley wrote. “While we do want to have people who have a broad vision, we also want to have people who have a nar-

rower scope in what they focus on and who they represent,” said CAS senator Paul Ibuzor, co-sponsor of the current representation resolution. “I think that both can coexist and I hope that the Board of Trustees would agree with me on that this time around.” Berkley and Hamilton sent a second letter in 2018 to Hüsniye Çöğür, then-chair of the Executive Committee of the Student Senators Council, similarly explaining why they vetoed the SSC’s proposal to add one undergraduate and one graduate student to the Board of Trustees. “The Board agrees more can be done to take account of the full range of student and faculty issues in our deliberations and to generally improve communications in both directions,” Berkley wrote in the letter. Berkley and Hamilton continued to explain that the board would dedicate time each year to meet with executive committees representing students, faculty and staff. The current SGA resolution recognizes the Board’s goal of cooperation with stu-

INFORMING YOU FIRST

dent government, but deems it “ineff icient” in representing student and faculty needs. “Students themselves have the tremendous ability to be able to have impact in the spaces that they’re in,” Cruz said. “But when access to those spaces is not granted, then students can’t do the work that we’re supposed to be doing.” Ibuzor told WSN that this resolution intentionally left out specif ic demands in order to allow the Board of Trustees more flexibility that was not present in previous, overturned resolutions. The Resolution on Student Notice and Comment Finally, the Resolution on Student Notice and Comment intends to give students a chance to respond to proposed university policy changes. Examples outlined in the proposal include faculty hiring decisions, budget alterations and changes to course registration. Student government members in each school will send students a survey for potential decisions

in the future. After comments are closed, student government members will compile a summary of student responses to return to NYU administration for review. The resolution was co-drafted by Adam George, a student representative for NYU Law, and other members of the NYU Law Student Bar Association. Daphne Fong, another NYU Law student representative, told WSN that SGA spent the past summer understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect the law school’s tuition, class structure and spring breaks. The lack of communication between their student government and the NYU administration revealed a clear need for a policy that would keep students apprised of decisions that have the potential to seriously affect them. At the beginning of the pandemic, Fong described a survey sent out to all NYU Law students about the school’s grading policy. Over 1,400 students responded with their thoughts on pass/fail policies and the mental and physical stress they were under.

“[The university was able to] get individual responses that tell you, ‘Our students are hurting and they need something,’” Fong said. “And that was very effective. That led to a fundamental change in the grading policy last spring.” George speculated that the NYU administration may want to trial their proposal before committing to the work this resolution requires. If it is successful, he told WSN it could revolutionize the way universities represent their students. “It reflects a hope on the part of students,” George said. “A hope that we can really change the way universities make decisions and recognize that students are very frequently the main recipients of these decisions.” The University Senate will discuss and vote on each of these resolutions at their f inal meeting of the 2021-22 academic year on April 22. If passed, the resolutions will be sent to the Board of Trustees for f inal approval. Email Kayla Hardersen at khardersen@nyunews.com.

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MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

Washington Square News | News

GSOC authorizes potential strike

ALEXANDRA CHAN | WSN

The members of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee have voted to authorize a strike. The strike authorization voting period started March 23 and ended April 9, with more than 96 percent of participating union members voting to approve the potential action.

By RACHEL FADEM and TRACE MILLER Members of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee voted to authorize a strike, with 96.4% of participating union members voting to approve the potential action. The results do not necessarily mean that graduate student workers will strike, but rather that the GSOC bargaining committee is now empowered to call a strike. “NYU can’t run without our labor,” GSOC wrote in a press release regarding the results. “That puts a ton of pressure on NYU to meet our demands for a living wage, improved healthcare, protections against power-based abuse, tuition remission, health & safety protections like getting cops off campus, and support for international workers.” The strike authorization voting period started March 23 and ended April 9. Out of 1,386 participating union members, 1,336 voted to authorize a strike. According to Anila Gill, a fifthyear Ph.D. student in Cinema Studies and member of the GSOC bargaining committee, GSOC represents around 2,200 graduate student workers at NYU, but does not have a final headcount of eligible voters and therefore cannot calculate a concrete percentage for voter turnout. The GSOC bargaining committee is currently discussing strategies for setting a strike deadline. “Regarding questions of strategy, we can’t discuss these issues directly since they are the subject of ongoing internal discussions,” GSOC wrote in an email statement to WSN. “All these

decisions ultimately depend on how NYU chooses to respond in upcoming bargaining sessions.” “Decisions regarding the strike, deadlines, and negotiations are shaped by what happens at the bargaining table,” Gill clarified in a text to WSN. GSOC and NYU have been bargaining over a renegotiated contract for more than nine months, since GSOC’s previous contract expired in August 2020. As WSN previously reported, GSOC is demanding a living wage of $38 an hour (negotiated down from $40 an hour), free healthcare including dental care, a severance of ties between NYU and the NYPD, and fixed childcare subsidies. They also want lower-cost access to tax accountants and immigration lawyers, housing and transit subsidies, and an extension of paid sick leave from five days to 30 days per academic year. In response to GSOC’s demands, the university proposed a wage of $21 an hour, 90% coverage of healthcare premiums and an extension of paid sick leave to seven days per academic year. It rejected demands to sever ties with the NYPD and to offer subsidized access to legal assistance and reimbursement for tax consultation services. According to the union, the university is stonewalling negotiations by rejecting the majority of the GSOC’s proposals and failing to make meaningful counterproposals for the rest. According to the university, the bargaining stalemate is the union’s fault. “The strike vote, unfortunately, is premised on a false narrative that the Union has spun: that the University hasn’t made meaningful proposals

and concessions, or that the University is ‘stonewalling,’” university spokesperson John Beckman wrote in an email statement to WSN. “All of that is false. In fact, it is the Union that has been responsible for the slow progress of bargaining. NYU has been bargaining seriously and in good faith for many months.” According to Beckman, NYU is proposing doubled subsidies for childcare, expanded subsidies for healthcare, “weeks of paid family leave” and six years of pay raises that would increase hourly wages — currently at $20 — by 20%. “GSOC remains fixated on issues that are outside the scope of bargaining or on excessive demands, such as a near-doubling of hourly wages,” Beckman wrote. “Bargaining doesn’t mean that the University says ‘yes’ to every demand, no matter how unreasonable or costly.” The last time GSOC authorized a strike was in 2015 when 95% of participating union members voted to endorse the strike. The university and the union agreed on a contract the night before the strike was set to begin, resulting in terms that included a 100% increase in wages for grad student workers. GSOC has yet to decide if they will move forward with the strike and when it will begin, but third-year American Studies Ph.D. student Chloe TruongJones, a member of GSOC’s bargaining committee, told WSN that graduate students would not strike if it were not absolutely necessary. “An almost-unanimous yes vote shows that graduate students are really hurting, in terms of living con-

ditions [and] working conditions,” Truong-Jones said. “NYU was not meeting their needs and they’re ready to take action in response. So I think if NYU continues to stonewall, to not engage with the demands, to not take the needs of graduate workers seriously, then we are ready to strike.” Truong-Jones supported GSOC’s statement that NYU depends upon graduate student labor, noting that a strike would greatly impact the functioning of the university and the ability of undergraduate students to do well in their classes. “We really care about our students,” she told WSN. “That being said, learning conditions for undergraduates are by nature tied to working conditions for graduate workers, so our strike will impact the ability for undergraduates who are the source of revenue for the university, to be able to attend recitations, and for the university to continue to function.” Fifth-year Comparative Literature Ph.D. student Smaran Dayal was not involved in strike planning, but believes the demands of GSOC make perfect sense — especially since the cost of living in New York City is much higher than that of smaller cities. Like the majority of international graduate students, Dayal attends NYU on an F1 student visa, which means he is not allowed to work off-campus and is therefore completely dependent on the university for his income. With sufficient income, many international graduate students must weigh the pros and cons of finishing their degrees. “I’ve heard talk of people either considering dropping out or active-

ly having to drop out,” Dayal told WSN. “It can be really devastating. Imagine working through a really rigorous Ph.D. program, reaching your ultimate or your final year, and then having no options.” Aside from the demands for higher wages, GSOC is bargaining for health and safety demands including removing the New York Police Department from campus buildings. Students such as Truong-Jones and Dayal do not think universities should collaborate with law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dayal said NYU is putting undocumented students at risk by cooperating with ICE. “Universities have always been a haven for education and for research,” he said. “If we’re talking about building safe spaces for LGBTQ students [and] students of color, we also need to make sure that NYU is a safe space for undocumented students.” According to Truong-Jones, one of the obstacles that prevents NYU from being a safe space for students is the university’s relationship with the NYPD. She criticized NYU’s disregard for GSOC’s demands regarding the NYPD. “I think that this is a really important moment to bring attention to NYU’s complicity in state and police violence,” Truong-Jones said. “We’re hoping that NYU will recognize and engage with us on this, and that we also can gain the support of everyone else who cares about this issue.” Email Rachel Fadem and Trace Miller at news@nyunews.com.

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CULTURE

Edited by DANA SUN

How Sweet Pickle Books keeps the Lower East Side’s legacy alive

SABRINA CHOUDHARY | WSN

Sweet Pickle Books, located on 47 Orchard St, opened its doors in November of 2020. This Lower East Side small business is a used bookstore that also sells jars of pickles.

By SABRINA CHOUDHARY Deputy Culture Editor Sweet Pickle Books, located at 47 Orchard St., is a place where you can buy secondhand copies of psychology texts, celebrity biographies and classics like “Little Women.” It’s a place where you can find zines made by local artists alongside stolen library books and cassettes (“Remember those?” the sign asks). It’s a shop with a disco ball. Oh, and it sells twopound jars of pickles. While the economic stress of the pandemic forced many small businesses to close, it also inspired owner Leigh Altshuler to create the shop of her dreams. After losing her job, she had time to reflect on where to go next. “I was just thinking about, you know,

how do I want to be spending my time? What do I really believe in?” she said. “And as things were closing, and liquor stores were essential but bookstores were shutting, I was just thinking about the importance of a bookstore, and especially a local bookstore.” According to Altshuler, the role of a bookstore is irreplaceable. “It’s a place where you can go when you don’t know what you’re looking for. But you’re looking for something. It’s a safe space to be curious. It’s a place where there’s no judgment,” she said. For Altshuler, that place was Mercer Street Books. She was there on the day that New York City bookstores were ordered to close, buying as many books as she could carry and checking out right before time ran out.

One of the books Altshuler found that day was Alexander Chee’s “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.” After reading it in one sitting, she became determined to realize her dream of opening a shop. “That’s what really made me think, I want to become who I want to become,” she said. “And this is a part of me that I really needed to do ... I really needed this just as much as people needed a bookstore in a community, you know, so it was totally symbiotic.” As a former Strand employee, Altshuler had experience buying books, but she did not know how to start a business. When she passed by the ever-growing number of empty storefronts, she called the numbers on the for-rent signs to inquire about the properties. She encountered an additional challenge

due to the pandemic: researching the city’s ever-changing COVID-19 safety guidelines for businesses. “I felt like it was really hard to find the information that the city was putting out there to make sure you could operate your business safely,” she said. “I was going into it, like, blind and then blindfolded.” Sweet Pickle Books opened its doors in November 2020, after New Yorkers had lived in isolation for eight months. Though independent bookstores naturally serve their community, Altshuler turned her shop into a service for her community’s needs. When Altshuler purchased books around the Lower East Side, she became a much-needed friend to the elderly folks she visited. “I was going into, you know, [the homes of] people who are in their 80s and 90s and buying books from them, and really seeing people who truly had not seen anybody in a long time,” she said. “So yes, it was great because I was getting inventory and I was, you know, buying whatever. But I was also making these connections with people who really make New York what it is.” Altshuler also supported small businesses during the economic crisis, from carpenters building shelves to designers helping with the store’s branding. She even made a point of paying unemployed and homeless people to help her move boxes. “Mutual aid has been amazing, because it’s like, those 25 or 50 dollars or whatever that’s going back into the community is going to go so much further,” she said. Sweet Pickle Books doesn’t just have the present Lower East Side in mind — it also honors the community’s history. As a used bookstore and pickle vendor, it continues the legacy of early 20th-century Manhattan. Greenwich Village served as New York’s literary center 100 years ago. Altshuler explained that in the 1920s, the area between Astor Place and Union Square used to be known as Book Row, due to the large amount of used bookstores and publishing

houses in the area. At the turn of the 20th century, the Lower East Side was heavily populated by Jewish immigrants who sold pickles. There were about 3,000 pickle vendors in New York by 1900, but now Altshuler’s store and The Pickle Guys are some of the only ones left. Altshuler is Jewish, and many of her family members immigrated to the Lower East Side. Between her heritage and all the times she watched Crossing Delancey with her mom growing up, the intersection of books and pickles seemed like a natural way to honor the history of the neighborhood. “That was a big part of my culture and my history, my relatives, and so that was something that I really wanted to pay homage to because I feel like I’m so lucky to have my store here,” she said. “I’m such a guest in this neighborhood. And it wouldn’t have been what it is without all of those people who, you know, sat on the street and sold pickles and all of the upholsterers who’ve been here for so many years and all these old businesses.” Altshuler took this pickling legacy into her own hands by creating her own recipes for the store. She currently sells two types of pickles, original dill and spicy farmhouse. She researched the ingredients, sourced cucumbers from an ethical farm upstate, and conducted countless taste tests in her apartment kitchen to achieve the perfect crunch. “I truly couldn’t have had more salt and vinegar in my body at all times,” she said. Firmly rooted in the Lower East Side’s past and present, Sweet Pickle Books’ future will continue to revolve around the community, something highly important to Altshuler. In the future, Altshuler said she might expand her one-woman operation. For now, she is hard at work maintaining the magical space that is Sweet Pickle Books. “It’s definitely a labor of love, and it’s very laborious,” she said. “Books are really heavy.” Email Sabrina Choudhary at schoudhary@nyunews.com.

How K-pop groups create community during COVID-19 By DESTINE MANSON Contributing Writer Whether it’s in an impromptu dance class in the space between your bed frame and your dresser or a filmed video with some friends in Washington Square Park, the K-pop movement is everywhere. We all know at least one person who is obsessed with the choreography to a catchy K-pop single. K-pop groups have created an international wave of movement with their distinct dance style utilizing classic boy and girl band moves and hip-hop elements. Aaliyah Flournoy founded the K-pop dance team Hush Crew with one of her friends after being inspired by the intricate choreography and star power of some of the genre’s biggest artists. “I had some friends who came over… and they showed me this K-drama called Dream High, and I was addicted right away,” Flournoy said. “I saw that K-pop groups like 2PM and 2NE1 and like a ton of K-pop groups were in it.” Hush Crew has since competed in different K-pop cover competitions.

They have also racked up over 5,000,000 views on their YouTube channel. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Hush Crew has had to alter their usual practice techniques and adopt new safety measures to keep the team healthy. “We have a COVID tracker so if you have gotten a recent test update it yourself so people in your group know who’s been recently tested,” Flournoy said. Teams in the New York City area like the dance team Harmonyc have also found creative ways to practice while still abiding by CDC guidelines. “When we first started doing covers again, we would spread out the rehearsal times and we wouldn’t do groups with more than five people,” Harmonyc Co-Director Victoria Tyszka said. “We were practicing at Penn Station because there’s a window area and it wasn’t open air but there’s a lot more space to breathe and stand further away from each other.” Harmonyc is a New York City-based team with members from New York, New Jersey and as far away as California.

Harmonyc has also built a substantial following on their YouTube channel with a mix of “K-pop in Public’’ performances and original choreography videos. “I think we all made really strong friendships and relationships that are going to last a really long time, and I think that’s probably the best part about doing K-pop dance covers,” Tyszka said. As the world has adapted to the pandemic, so have K-pop fans. A number of teams including NYU dance team KNESIS have been posting K-pop in Quarantine videos, which stitch together clips of team members in different parts of the world performing a new cover K-pop dance. “We aren’t allowed to film ourselves with other people in groups because of NYU policy, so we’ve resorted to doing online covers,” KNESIS Vice President Nicole Nguyen said. What may have started out as a common interest for a lot of K-pop dance team members has turned into something more, becoming a beacon of light for many during this time. “KNESIS” allowed me to discover

JAKE CAPRIOTTI | WSN

Harmonyc Movement poses in Times Square for the thumbnail of their cover of HyunA’s I’m Not Cool. K-pop dance groups have managed to find ways to continue to develop their community and create content during the COVID-19 pandemic.

myself,” Nguyen said. “I know that sounds really cheesy, but it helped me discover my passion for dancing, even though I’m not the greatest dancer. I realized it’s something that I have fun

doing, especially when I’m doing it with my friends.” Email Destine Manson at culture@nyunews.com.

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

Washington Square News | ARTS

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Edited by SASHA COHEN and NICOLAS PEDRERO-SETZER

Making performance art possible online: Marina Abramović collaborates with WeTransfer

SUSAN BEHRENDS VALENZUELA | WSN

Performance artists are finding innovative ways to continue connecting with their audiences during the pandemic. Marina Abramović, a New York-based Serbian performance artist, partnered with a file sharing service, WeTransfer, to release a digital work and promote rising performance artists.

By JENNIFER REN Performing Arts Editor If you missed the legendary performance art star Marina Abramović who moved many to tears through “The Artist Is Present” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010, just wait until the next time you use

WeTransfer. The company partnered with the renowned performance artist through its editorial platform to share her teachings on performance art. A digital manifestation of The Abramović Method will be available to all of the site’s users this summer, with the goal of reaching 70 million people worldwide, according to the company’s press release.

In an attempt to promote accessibility to performance art, Abramović has chosen five respected performance artists from around the world to launch her Guest Curator Series on WePresent: Ana Prvački, Maurício Ianês, Yiannis Pappas, Terence Koh and Regina José Galindo. These rising artists build upon their past experiences as performance artists, demonstrating how performance art continues to evolve in spite of recent restrictions resulting from COVID-19. Abramović is a New York-based Serbian performance artist whose work explores the connection between performer and audience, the limitations of the body and the possibilities of the mind. With a method centered around being present in both time and space, her participatory meditation focuses on ‘breath, motion, stillness and concentration,’ inviting audiences to explore their mental and physical limitations through immaterial art, according to Mai. Incorporating more digital aspects into her work during this time of isolation, Abramović’s use of the internet as a performance space is a way of breaking boundaries. In embracing the digital sphere, Abramović accepts the internet as another form of interaction; albeit, a more contemporary form of it. Abramović’s impact on all of the artists being showcased via WePresent points to the

potentiality for more groundbreaking work in the realm of performance arts. Maurício Ianês’ relationship with art completely changed when he saw Abramović’s work, as witnessing her go against the norms of performance art opened up limitless possibilities that redefined his understanding of art. Ianês dedicates himself to creating work that collapses the barriers between artists and audiences by addressing the universal accesability going online offers. “I hate the term interactive. My work is about collaborative action,” Ianês told WePresent. “It’s working together, producing something together. It truly questions the ideas of authorship.” The digital manifestation of the Abramović’s Method will be delivered to and practiced by the audience on their own, in their own space. However, the process of practicing it through the digital realm makes it a collaborative action. The gap between the artist and the audience is instantly destroyed when the audience becomes the artist, creating their own work along with the artist. “I [approach] the artworks just like life: It just comes [to me] and I do it,” Terrence Koh said.“It’s almost better that everybody experiences it themselves.” Koh wants his audiences to lose themselves in his performance and have their own

perceptions of his work. If the connection between artist and audience can go beyond watching artists perform or talking with them, which can’t be accomplished because of the pandemic anyway, then we could even view the digital performance as a gift rather than a regret. Now the audience has their own space to be fully open and follow all their impulses without having to worry about being watched, judged or compared. Collaborating with Abramovic by themselves rather than in a group, the audience will have their most authentic response and most sincere understanding of the practice, without being distracted by other audiences’ feelings. During a pandemic, communication and interaction have greatly diminished. However, instead of remaining complacent, artists have chosen to rise to the occasion by turning to another dimension: the digital realm. The WeTransfer platform spotlights emerging artists online, which could not be more invaluable than during a time when artists need support. Through this file sharing service, artists can once again provide a glimpse into their artistic lives and inspire young artists — something all audiences could use as they starve for new content to consume. Email Jennifer Ren at jren@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

OPINION

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Edited by EMILY DAI and ASHLEY WU

CITY

The NYPD’s war against racial justice protesters

By ASHA RAMACHANDRAN Deputy Opinion Editor Beaten with batons, assaulted with pepper spray, shoved to the ground and unlawfully arrested — these are only a few examples of the force inflicted by the New York Police Department on New Yorkers demonstrating against police violence last summer. According to newly leaked internal police documents, New York City deployed its police department’s anti-terror

unit at summer demonstrations and deliberately instructed off icers to violate the constitutional rights of protesters. Dubbed the NYPD’s “Goon Squad” by activists, the Strategic Response Group, established in 2015 by then-Commissioner Bill Bratton, was intended to be a specialized unit devoted to crime suppression, emergency response and counterterrorism activities. The SRG and the police department as a whole has conflated protest policing and counterterrorism operations, quickly becoming a regular presence at demonstrations across the city — from Abolish ICE marches to protests against police violence and the murder of George Floyd. Their presence at protests, however, has brought anything but peace or lawfulness. The SRG’s presence during the protests has only created chaos and further escalated violence. The leaked documents have outlined the source of the illegal and violent prac-

tices of the NYPD during protests: the department’s own instruction manuals. 750 reports to the Civilian Complaint Review Board concerning off icers’ brutal violence against demonstrators detail the exact tactics off icers tasked with protest policing are taught. Mass arrests, encircling protesters, and the abandonment of all discretion when handling civilians can all be traced back to the SRG manual. The manual’s outlined tactics and NYPD protocol have enabled off icers to assault civilians on multiple occasions with a complete lack of accountability. Majority-Black neighborhoods have also been specif ic targets of the SRG’s violence and infringement of communities’ legal rights. Last June, during a protest in Mott Haven, a largely Black neighborhood in the South Bronx, the NYPD unit led a preemptive crackdown that inflicted brutality and mass arrests on entirely peaceful protesters. The off icers actually blocked protesters from leav-

ing before curfew, then used their violation of curfew as justif ication for beatings and detainments. These aggressive measures were orchestrated and carried out by the SRG and the department’s highest-ranking uniformed police off icer. This illustrates that the abuses stem from the uppermost levels of power. Such actions are not isolated to this one incident in the Bronx, but rather reflective of larger patterns of violence by the SRG and the NYPD at large, specif ically targeted towards protesters f ighting for Black lives. The city has done little, if anything, to take accountability for police terror over the course of the summer protests, as the CCRB has been shown to be subordinate to the NYPD in practice. Neither the SRG nor the NYPD have fulf illed their purported goal of protecting and serving civilians over the course of the summer protests. Instead, civilian lives have been put in danger and their constitutional

rights have been essentially trampled. The SRG’s practices of targeting, attacking and arresting marginalized people and protesters is in contradiction of public safety, and those who have already been subjected to its violence are entitled to recompense and independent accountability proceedings. The police have not protected civilians at protests, and the size and scope of the department’s power over public safety should be called into question after hundreds of incidents of violence reported to the CCRB. Accountability for the department’s abuses must also begin with the disbanding of the SRG, which has proven itself to be a force for brutality and unlawfulness. Police units like the SRG that unlawfully terrorize protesters cannot be allowed to wage war on civilians — disbanding such forces is a f irst step in eliminating such violence. Email Asha Ramachandran at aramachandran@nyunews.com.

GOVERNMENT

President Biden: cancel student loan debt

By KEVIN KURIAN Deputy Opinion Editor In a sharp departure from his centrist posturing during the Democratic primary, President Biden embraced the power of his off ice by signing more executive orders in his f irst two weeks than former Presidents Trump and Obama did in their f irst two weeks. Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain revealed that President Biden directed the Department of Justice to determine whether he has the presidential authority to forgive student loan debt. If constitution-

Submitting to

ally permissible, President Biden should take immediate action on this issue to provide relief to students at NYU and other institutions of higher education. The average debt of an NYU graduate is $21,250, with the majority being in federal loans. This translates to a median monthly federal loan payment of $221. Interestingly, graduates of public universities carry an average debt of $25,500, suggesting that debt issue is characteristic of institutes of higher education, regardless of whether an institution is private or public. Approximately a third of undergraduate students had to take out student loans to pay for their education. This is especially cruel when for decades, college graduates have outearned high school degree holders to the tune of $14,000 per year. A college degree might help its bearer make a better living, but it should not be necessary to shoulder tens of thousands of dollars in debt to afford such an education. College students from all educational backgrounds struggle with unprec-

edented levels of debt and urgently need relief. Forgiving up to $50,000 dollars of debt would have great economic benef its. Professors at Brandeis University argued that this potential executive order would create “consumer-driven economic stimulus” by increasing the disposable income of millions of Americans. By removing a costly monthly student loan payment, millions of Americans would have more money to spend on small businesses and basic essentials. The Brandeis professors stated that much of this money would go toward additional wealth generators, leading to greater home-buying rates and increased business creation. With one executive order, President Biden could improve the f inancial stability of an entire generation and provide additional stimulus to jumpstart the economy. Furthermore, this is also a racial equity issue. The average Black borrower still owes more than 100% of their student loan balance after 12 years of graduating. The lack of

generational wealth in the Black community is a result of systemic racism. The student debt crisis disproportionately affects Black students. We still live in a country where Black college graduates do not have access to the same level of economic opportunity as white people, so it is also harder for Black borrowers to pay their debts off. I am glad that President Biden said that Black Lives Matter, and that his stimulus plan provides much-needed relief to minority communities, but we need to forgive student loans to bring economic prosperity more attainable for Black graduates. Legal scholars are convinced of the potential order’s constitutionality. Yale Law Ph.D. candidate Luke Herrine has stated his belief that the president could direct the Department of Education to stop the collection of federal student loans. Laws governing disaster relief payments have already established that the president has the ability to “reimburse or pay reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred

as a result of a qualif ied disaster.” With a creative def inition of “qualif ied disaster,” this executive order could be issued. Reporting from WSN has shown that many students have dropped out of NYU because of mounting student debt. At NYU, just 12% of students have their full f inancial needs met, driving students into debt that can occasionally reach upwards of $100,000. The allure of a private college degree attracts students to institutions like NYU. They should be able to walk away after graduation with their diploma and the skills to lead a happy life — and such extreme debt runs counter to that. President Biden can halt the rapidly growing debt that NYU students are left to deal with. If the DOJ rules that it is constitutional for President Biden to forgive $50,000 of student debt, he should do it. He will save a whole generation with the stroke of a pen. Email Kevin Kurian at kkurian@nyunews.com.

SEND MAIL TO: 75 THIRD AVE. #SB07, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10003 OR EMAIL: OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM WSN welcomes letters to the editor, opinion pieces and articles relevant to the NYU community, or in response to articles. Letters should be less than 450 words. All submissions must be typed or emailed and must include the author’s name, address and phone number. Members of the NYU community must include a year and school or job title. WSN does not print unsigned letters or editorials. WSN reserves the right to reject any submission and edit accepted submissions in any and all ways. With the exception of the staff editorial, opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

Washington Square News | Opinion

STAFF EDITORIAL

NYU must do more to help low-income students Each year, NYU touts accepting their most diverse class ever, admitting a myriad of international students, first-generation college-attendees and students from underrepresented communities. This year, NYU received 100,131 applications, one of the highest number of applications in U.S. college history. After admissions decisions for the class of 2025 were released earlier this month, the university saw a sharp drop in admissions rates, decreasing from 15%the previous year to 12.8%. Despite its academic selectivity and diversity, New York University remains one of the most expensive colleges in the world with its tuition fees coming in at $54,880 a year without student housing. After COVID-19 forced colleges around the country to adapt to a remote learning model, students were ousted from the classroom, in-person extracurricular activities, and many other functions that make college life worth paying for. As a result, students came forward with suits against the university, urging them to make their remote experience affordable. However, in January of this year, Bloomberg reported that NYU threw out numerous lawsuits requesting partial tuition refunds due to the pandemic’s toll on the quality of education. This blatant disregard for students’ shifting economic needs as a result of the pandemic lends credence to the fear that elite colleges like NYU are run like businesses rather than an environment that fosters professional growth. Yet beyond the pandemic, economic needs, and the neglect students feel from the university, are ever present among students. Socioeconomic diversity is much more than just a noble goal. A diverse campus provides critical opportunities for students who have been traditionally excluded from elite higher education. Furthermore, economic diversity benefits all students — not just students from low-income families. One study found that universities with socioeconomically diverse student bodies have more frequent interactions across class lines. This, in turn, is associated with more frequent interactions across race and greater engagement in diversity-related activities overall. Campus diversity enriches the educational experience, as students have the opportunity to interact with people with different backgrounds and upbringings. Aspiring for greater economic diversity at NYU or any other university is an obligation that underscores a fundamental, yet often overlooked, goal of higher education: providing expanded opportunities for all and offering experiences that broaden each student’s worldview. Furthermore, universities are one of the main conduits of social mobility. This makes maintaining diversity, including economic diversity, matter significantly to universities. Consequently, over the last decade, dozens of colleges have proclaimed new commitments to maintaining economically diverse student bodies. NYU was among these schools — in February 2016, President Hamilton announced affordability as a top priority and created two committees to help look for ways to make NYU more affordable. NYU has already achieved significant strides in economic diversity, as the university is ranked fourth among elite colleges

enrolling the highest percentage of low- and middle-income students. To investigate the outcomes of such claims about affordability, The New York Times created a College Access Index to measure top colleges’ strides toward economic diversity. While NYU ranked near the top in terms of overall mobility, with 18% of students moving up two or more income quintiles, the university is still lacking in fostering a genuine economically diverse campus. The median family income is $149,300, with 11% of students coming from families in the top 1% of incomes, and 1.7% of students come from the top 0.1%. The university still holds an infamous reputation for dealing out poor financial aid. This is in large part due to NYU failing to commit to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, whether or not the student has to take out loans.One study conducted by the College Board found that NYU only meets 71% of financial need. Roughly 30% of NYU students take on federal student loans to pay the high price of attendance. Many students don’t take out loans either because they are international students — meaning they are ineligible for federal financial aid — or because they are able to pay the full cost of attendance. NYU has failed to make the university an institution that’s affordable to all of its admitted students. As a start, NYU must begin to allocate more of their resources towards financial aid and support. While NYU has repeatedly emphasized their lack of financial resources to simply cut tuition, often citing their low per-student endowment levels, this explanation fails to account for the questionable ways in which NYU chooses to allocate their budget. In his first year as president, Andrew Hamilton was paid $1.8 million by the university, making him one of the highest-paid university presidents in the nation. The university spent $1.1 million alone renovating his expensive penthouse overlooking Washington Square Park. While NYU administrators enjoy their high-rolling lifestyles, students are stuck paying off debts from exorbitant student loans for years after graduation. The average student loan amount for undergraduates at New York University averages $6,497 per year, which comes out to $25,988 after four years of college. If NYU continues to boast of their socioeconomic diversity, they must first provide ample financial aid so that all of their admitted class can actually afford to attend. In order to avoid massive student debts and maintain diversity, NYU must aim to meet 100% of need. Although this might sound like a hefty proposal, many other elite universities promise this kind of aid so that students of all economic backgrounds can attend. Examples include schools like the University of Michigan, Columbia and Harvard. NYU is also noticeably absent from the Questbridge program, which guarantees full rides to top private universities for high-achieving low-income students. The best schools in the country promise their students an administration that prioritizes talent over profit. If NYU wants to become even more illustrious, they must demonstrate their financial commitment. Each

year, NYU touts accepting their most diverse class ever, admitting a myriad of international students, first-generation college-attendees and students from underrepresented communities. This year, NYU received 100,131 applications, one of the highest number of applications in U.S. college history. After admissions decisions for the class of 2025 were released earlier this month, the university saw a sharp drop in admissions rates, decreasing from 15%the previous year to 12.8%. Despite its academic selectivity and diversity, New York University remains one of the most expensive colleges in the world with its tuition fees coming in at $54,880 a year without student housing. After COVID-19 forced colleges around the country to adapt to a remote learning model, students were ousted from the classroom, in-person extracurricular activities, and many other functions that make college life worth paying for. As a result, students came forward with suits against the university, urging them to make their remote experience affordable. However, in January of this year, Bloomberg reported that NYU threw out numerous lawsuits requesting partial tuition refunds due to the pandemic’s toll on the quality of education. This blatant disregard for students’ shifting economic needs as a result of the pandemic lends credence to the fear that elite colleges like NYU are run like businesses rather than an environment that fosters professional growth. Yet beyond the pandemic, economic needs, and the neglect students feel from the university, are ever present among students. Socioeconomic diversity is much more than just a noble goal. A diverse campus provides critical opportunities for students who have been traditionally excluded from elite higher education. Furthermore, economic diversity benefits all students — not just students from low-income families. One study found that universities with socioeconomically diverse student bodies have more frequent interactions across class lines. This, in turn, is associated with more frequent interactions across race and greater engagement in diversity-related activities overall. Campus diversity enriches the educational experience, as students have the opportunity to interact with people with different backgrounds and upbringings. Aspiring for greater economic diversity at NYU or any other university is an obligation that underscores a fundamental, yet often overlooked, goal of higher education: providing expanded opportunities for all and offering experiences that broaden each student’s worldview. Furthermore, universities are one of the main conduits of social mobility. This makes maintaining diversity, including economic diversity, matter significantly to universities. Consequently, over the last decade, dozens of colleges have proclaimed new commitments to maintaining economically diverse student bodies. NYU was among these schools — in February 2016, President Hamilton announced affordability as a top priority and created two committees to help look for ways to make NYU more affordable. NYU has already achieved significant strides in economic diversity, as the university is ranked fourth among elite colleges

Email the Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com. CHAIR Emily Dai, Ashley Wu CO-CHAIR Diya Jain, Kevin Kurian, Asha Ramachandran CHAIR EX OFFICIO Alexandria Johnson, Paul Kim, Kaylee DeFreitas

Washington Square News

UNDERTHEARCH@NYUNEWS.COM

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021

UNDER THE ARCH

Edited by CAITLIN HSU and VAISHNAVI NAIDU

Forgotten dreams come back as inspiration

A glimpse into the relationship between a mother and daughter as they talk about their dreams, forgotten and new, over laundry.

SUSAN BEHRENDS VALENZUELA | WSN

By VAISHNAVI NAIDU UTA Managing Editor It was a blisteringly hot summer day in June of 2019. The jasmine flowers populating the terrace wilted from the heat. Beads of sweat rolled down our tanned faces. Pari Naidu, my mother, balanced on her tiptoes to throw a soaking wet pillowcase over the highest rung of the drying rack. She was a rather small and slim woman, standing at just an inch shorter than me at 5’4”. She was 40 years old at the time. I was a senior at Oakridge International School, just a 15-minute car ride away each morning. People often remarked that we looked like sisters. Many joked that she looked like my younger sister. We’d always have a good laugh about that. I was helping her wring the water out of the freshly washed laundry. It would all be placed on the drying rack of our three-story terrace overlooking the rows of identical villas we had lived amongst for the past eight years. As I continued to hand her my failed attempts at wringing out all the water, she glanced at me to say, “Life is full of

limitations for us.” She paused to wipe the sweat from her damp and sticky hair before saying, “There’s certain things you can’t do as a girl, and journalism is one of them.” I sighed. I was in the midst of applying to colleges and this seemed to be a conversation we’d keep having. Over and over again. It was almost painful at this point. The large metallic “Cyber Meadows” sign glinted in the harsh rays of the sun. It was the name of our villa complex. A perfect set of 70 identical three-story houses that never saw a change in its occupants or activity. I hoped and dreamed every night for that acceptance letter from a top journalism school that would whisk me away from my small-minded neighbourhood. From my suffocating high school that had no writing or arts program. From my dictator-like father who refused to acknowledge my writing dreams. And from my fearful mother who discouraged me by constantly reminding me of her reality. She had dreams of becoming a doctor when she was my age. A pediatrician, to be exact. But her father forced her into an accounting degree before abruptly pull-

ing her out of university to marry my father. I carefully passed on her sopping wet T-shirt. She muttered under her breath and violently shook it out, spraying droplets of water all over us and the jasmine flowers below. After that she would cook dinner, help my 13-year-old brother with his homework, wash the dishes, prepare breakfast for the next morning, and then finally go to bed. Rinse and repeat. She didn’t like talking about her past, so she kept moving forward without much thought. I knew my dreams excited her. Especially since she could see how passionate I was about them. But they also scared her. She knew all too well what it was like to have your hopes dashed and dreams shut on you forever. So she pleaded with me to be realistic. To understand that for some people, washing and drying laundry every three days was the most exciting thing they could do. There were rare nights where she would dream again. When the evenings had ended a little earlier and my father and brother left her alone to watch a movie in the living room. Those were the nights she’d

tell me in a hushed voice about her plans to eventually go to grad school and get a degree in psychology. With that she’d pursue a career as a motivational speaker and encourage everyone to follow their dreams. Because if she could do it in her mid 40s, then anyone could. But right now was not one of those quiet nights where she could dream. Right now we were in the sweltering sun with a million things on her mind. One of them being the need to remind me that those dreams were nothing more than wilting jasmine flowers begging for my mother to water them. “Prepare yourself to be disappointed,” she said, “but if you do manage to get out of here, then make sure you visit from time to time.” With that, she finished hanging up the last of the laundry and left me to myself on the terrace. I didn’t go after her. I gingerly watered the jasmine instead, hoping that one day she’d be inspired to do it herself. Email Vaishnavi Naidu

at vnaidu@nyunews.com.

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