3 SPORTS
5 ARTS
The NYU Athletics Department Remembers Levester ‘LT’ Thompson Jr.
Dancing through Distress: Tisch Dancers on Remote Learning
4 CULTURE
6 OPINION
CAS’ Red Dragon Society Emerges From the Shadows
New Yorkers Don’t Deserve Petty Politics
VOLUME LIV | ISSUE 11
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
Expecting Tuition Reimbursement, Tisch Students Receive Fee Refunds Instead Some Tisch students received refunds for fees after the closure of campus. By EMILY MASON News Editor
KATIE PEURRUNG
Tisch students have been advocating for tuition reimbursement since the transition to remote learning due to COVID-19. However, students are being offered small fee refunds instead.
Eligible Tisch students received an email on Friday, April 10 stating that they had been awarded refunds, but upon closer examination, students discovered fee reimbursements as low as $35. “We have now completed the review of the dozens of individual school and course-based fees for the purpose of determining refunds,” the email to students read. “If students had not and will not receive the services, supplies or equipment for which the fee was paid, they will receive a full refund. If students had received some of the services, supplies, or equipment, but are not able to receive the balance because of the shift to remote learning, they will receive a partial refund.” Students soon discovered that this email was offering only fee refunds, not tuition reimbursement. Tisch students have been advocating for tuition refunds due to lost practice spaces, access to equipment and in-person training, which is especially valuable for drama students. The Tisch Partial Refund effort sent a letter to university officials and deans on Monday, March 30 and have not yet received a response. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
I Lost Control Over My Life. ‘Animal Crossing’ Gave It Back to Me By ABBY HOFSTETTER Managing Editor The coronavirus gives me anxiety. I know I’m not alone in that. Specifically, mention of its symptoms and its victims, especially ones I know, sends me into a deep spiral I can’t quite get out of on my own. There’s nowhere to hide from a sudden burst of unwarranted, graphic information, which seems to come a lot more often these days. It’s even harder to hide when you work at a small news publication in New York City. I used to know the future, how my family would celebrate upcoming holidays; now, instead of hosting our entire extended family for the Passover Seder, my family ate alone. I used to rely on my color-coded calendar and make plans down to the minute; now I find
myself furiously erasing and rewriting with each email from the Provost or a professor. I used to take my relationships for granted; now I cling to FaceTime like a lifeline. My friends are miles away and even the few who live close can only come sit in my backyard at a six-foot distance. I used to assume I’d have a summer internship in the city; now all my internship applications have been rejected because the internships don’t exist anymore. I used to live in a little shoebox apartment in Manhattan, complaining about the broken elevator; now I still pay rent for that apartment, but I live with my parents, and I don’t know if I’ll ever live in that apartment again. I used to only think about the health of my friends and family when it was an immediate concern; now it’s the only thing I think about. I have a deep fear of instability, which is
further compounded upon by an unyielding fear of the unknown. The current global crisis isn’t exactly helping, and the fact that NYU has been making life-changing decisions with little warning hasn’t been helping either. Everything is spiraling out of control, and I needed a rock to grab onto, just to steady myself. Until March 20, I couldn’t find a rock, and I was losing it. On the same day I moved out of my Manhattan apartment and into my childhood bedroom for the foreseeable future, Nintendo released the video game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” for the Nintendo Switch. The game’s release was highly anticipated, but not particularly by me — I didn’t have a lot of free time, and I also didn’t own a console to play it on. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
ABBY HOFSTETTER | WSN
Animal Crossing is a Nintendo video game that quickly rose in popularity among quarantined students, including WSN Managing Editor Abby Hofstetter. Abby takes comfort in the gameplay and talks about her experience with the game.
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NEWS
NEWS@NYUNEWS.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
Edited by LISA COCHRAN and EMILY MASON
Expecting Tuition Reimbursement, Tisch Students Receive Fee Refunds Instead CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“We’re not hearing anything from them,” Tisch sophomore and supporter of the Tisch Partial Relief Fund Effort Kenzie Wilkin said. “We sent this letter to them two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing, we’ve heard absolutely nothing. So if they could at least tell us if they’re talking about it, if they could tell us why we’re wrong just so we can have a dialogue it would feel a lot more respectful.” A half-tuition refund would amount to $13,982, so many students found the double-digit refunds both insulting and dismissive. Most Tisch students are tak-
ing between 12 and 18 credits, costing $1,312 in fees. Undergraduate drama students were refunded an insurance fee as low as $35.50. The breakdown of fee refunds is available on the NYU website. “It was really frustrating because we felt we were actually getting something done with trying to get some of our tuition back in this weird, bizarre time that we’re in and it felt kind of like, ‘Really, that’s it?’” Wilkin said. Many Tisch drama students also felt that in addition to the insurance fee, they should have received production fees back. Dance students received both
insurance and production fee refunds. “We still pay a Tisch production fee that doesn’t go to our studio and we’re not getting that back,” Tisch senior Grace Traynor said. “That’s ridiculous. It’s disappointing that they say we’re going to be refunded for fees, but then not actually. It’s insulting. Like, ‘Here’s your $35.50.’” Tisch junior Lauren Quigley echoed Traynor’s sentiment. Quigley’s studio was supposed to put on full-scale magical realism plays, which are now unable to happen at the same level. “We’re not going to have a full-scale set,” Quigley said. “Costumes haven’t
been spoken about. I know that they’re going to send us ring lights for us to attach to our cameras, but still, it’s going to be at a completely different scale than what it would be if we were doing it in person.” Students at Drexel University and the University of Miami have filed lawsuits against their universities for not providing tuition refunds. These lawsuits face tough odds as long as universities continue to provide classes for credit, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal. There is talk of taking similar action among Tisch students. Quigley commented that students
are not acting unreasonably, regardless of how the university may interpret their demands. “I think it’s hard when students are upset and angry and disappointed, so it seems like we’re carrying around pitchforks yelling, ‘Give us $30,000,’ but it’s not like that,” Quigley said. “It’s asking for what’s fair and asking to be compensated properly, and we don’t want to have the wool pulled over our eyes and feel like we’re being lied to and that something is being hidden from us.” Email Emily Mason at emason@nyunews.com.
Student-Led Coalition Lobbies for Greater University Support Amid COVID-19 By EMILY MASON News Editor The NYU COVID-19 Coalition — a student activist organization — demanded a meeting with university officials in its most recent letter to NYU President Andrew Hamilton sent on Tuesday, April 7. The letter continued to lobby for greater support from the university as COVID-19 continues to affect community members. The Coalition was founded out of dissatisfaction with the university’s response to COVID-19. On March 17, the Coalition sent its petition to NYU President Andrew Hamilton outlining a list of 18 demands, ranging from reimbursement of all tuition and fees for students to hazard pay for essential university workers. The letter has 23 group signatories and over 1,000 individual student signatures at the time of publication. Among the demands listed, the petition asks the university to ensure access to healthcare for all university community members, housing for all students, compensation for evicted resident and
resource center assistants and protection for disabled students. It also dictates that a universal pass model and tuition reimbursements should be instated. For university employees, the petition says there should be ensured continuity of pay and job security, indefinite paid sick leave and hazard pay for essential workers still on campus. The petition also insisted that NYU should bear the financial burden brought on by COVID-19, rather than students and employees. “We know that even accounting for the loss of tuition and housing payments due to closing campus, the university has vast financial resources that are sufficient to guarantee the wellbeing of all workers and students during this time,” the petition reads. “We, therefore, demand that the university shoulder whatever burdens it can. NYU students and workers will not bear the costs of these changes; in fact, we cannot afford to.” Since the pandemic began, students have been kicked out of the dorms and have faced enormous financial and emotional burdens as they navigate the new
world of social distancing and virus prevention. Liberal Studies first-year Jenna Elsetouhy, a COVID-19 Coalition supporter, commented on why she became involved with the movement. “The continuing issue is how in the dark we’ve been left by all of this and how it is that we can reach out and get help, but we shouldn’t have to reach this far to get help when we’re paying so much,” Elsetouhy said. “We’re 18,19, 20, we’re young adults. We don’t know how to navigate all of this and at a time like this we shouldn’t have to reach for help, it should just be given to us.” Coalition supporters believe the university still has a responsibility to look out for students and return tuition funds for lost resources. One of these supporters is Global Liberal Studies junior and coalition supporter Mika O’Malley. “The university is responsible for these students for a certain amount of time,” O’Malley said. “We’ve signed our contracts, we’ve paid our money — we pay this exorbitant tuition to have this fantastic education, these support systems, these things we’re paying a private educa-
CHELSEA LI | WSN
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many student-led organizing groups such as the NYU Covid Coalition and Students Demanding Care have advocated for the university to equitably support the community. Various petitions and letters have garnered enthusiastic response from students, but not so much from administration.
tion tuition for. And for the university to shut that all down and say ‘we’re keeping the money’, that doesn’t make sense.” On March 31, NYU spokesperson John Beckman responded to the petition on behalf of President Hamilton, which was posted on the coalition’s Instagram. Beckman’s response opened with well wishes to students and went on to say that university officials were in regular contact with elected student representatives, a commentary which coalition members felt was dismissive of their authority to communicate with administration. “The implication that the signatories to our petition are not representatives of the university is completely false,” the coalition’s response to Beckman’s letter retorted. “In addition to over 1,100 individual signatories, our group signatories include two dozen organizations who are rightful representatives of the student body.” Beckman’s response outlined the steps the university has taken so far to address the challenges presented by COVID-19, including expanding pass/fail options, offering housing refunds, continuing to pay employees and establishing an NYU Emergency Relief Fund. The response said the university took these steps of its own volition, a notion the coalition disagreed with in its return letter. “It is necessary to point out that many of these actions (paying the RAs, expanding the emergency fund) are the product of coordinated pressure — including petitions and individual demands — on the part of students and staff,” the coalition’s April 7 letter retorted. One coalition supporter, GLS junior David McDowell, said the administration’s response was characteristically obtuse. “It’s this sort of quote-unquote ‘promise’ of understanding and compassion, but it also lacks a really important thing that we’re trying to get out of this and that’s transparency and accountability,” McDowell said. “There’s no real definitive points that have been stated; nobody has made a proclamation of we can’t give you X demand for X reason, and I think that’s more in line with what we’d be looking for. If we give them structured demands, we would also like a structured response.” The coalition’s response letter con-
cluded by stating it would continue to advocate for the petition’s 18 demands and insisted upon an open line of communication with university officials, starting with a meeting to discuss the feasibility and implementation of the demands. The coalition has received wide support from the student body and other activists, including Students Demanding Care, a group also urging the university to do more to protect and support students with the unavoidable burdens of the pandemic. The group sent its own letter to President Hamilton on Thursday, April 9, reinforcing the coalition’s points. “We are disappointed to see that despite NYU’s extensive endowment and resources, students have been left to absorb a majority of the costs since your response began,” the letter reads. “Refunding meals, housing, and the COVID emergency relief fund do not begin to cover the depth and scope of the issues raised by this pandemic.” SDC highlighted key demands: tuition refunds and freezes, guaranteed pay and job security for all NYU community members and institutional structural changes including student and faculty representation on the board of trustees, a crisis management plan and accessible healthcare for all students. Many students feel that groups like the NYU COVID-19 Coalition and Students Demanding Care are valuable ways to feel their voices are being heard. McDowell said he began supporting the coalition because a group would be harder for administration to ignore than an individual. He commented on what motivated him to get involved. “The handling of how our academics are being moved online and there’s this insistence that we’re still supposed to be working at full capacity, you know aiming for our As, even though we’re all under these very difficult circumstances,” McDowell said. “And then to top it all off, when we try to speak to the administration about it they’re rather dismissive, they dodge questions, they don’t really give us more insight than we had before. It seems very ‘keep your head down just finish the semester.’” Email Emily Mason at emason@nyunews.com.
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM
Washington Square News
SPORTS
The NYU Athletics Department Remembers Levester ‘LT’ Thompson Jr.
IMAGE COURTESY OF NYU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Levester “LT” Thompson Jr. was an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team. He will be remembered and missed by the NYU athletic community.
By PAUL KIM Deputy Managing Editor At 6 feet 5 inches tall, NYU’s former assistant women’s basketball coach Levester “LT” Thompson Jr. was usually the tallest person in the room. His bright personality, though, might’ve been even more noticeable than his height. “He was sometimes the funniest person,” long-time colleague and friend Janice Quinn recalled. “Quiet in a lot of ways, but he always kind of had that last word that was the funniest.” Thompson Jr., 46, died from COVID-19 earlier this week on April 7. His memorial, held remotely over Zoom, took place on Friday, April 10, with hundreds of mourners calling in to listen. “I think if it had been a live funeral, I think he would have had another 500 people,” Quinn said. “That just kind of speaks to the love that emanated from him.” Thompson Jr.’s career at NYU started in 1996, when he was a senior at NYU Stern School of Business. He caught Quinn, who was the women’s basketball coach at the time, in an elevator and pitched himself as a volunteer coach for the team. That was the year NYU won the national championship. That was also the year Thompson Jr. got married. Now the Senior Associate Director of NYU Athletics, Quinn said that one of the thousands of memories she treasures of Thompson Jr. is when she found out about his marriage to his wife, Simone. After talking his way onto the coaching staff, Thompson Jr. called Quinn to tell her he would be late to practice after winter break. “You don’t do that,” Quinn said. “You don’t call Coach Quinn up to say ‘I’m going to be late. I’m not coming back to practice on time.’” Yet, he did. His excuse when he finally arrived to practice: “‘I had to go get married,’” Quinn remembers him saying. “He said, ‘When you meet a woman like Simone, if she’s willing to marry you, you
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have to stop what you’re doing, and you need to marry her right that minute. You can’t let a woman like that get away.’” Thompson Jr. would help coach the women’s basketball team for the next 16 years, where he and the rest of the athletic staff proved that a school like NYU could, in the words of Quinn, “take the best of the best of the best academically, and beat the best of the best of the best athletically.” In 2013, Thompson Jr. took a job as an equipment manager at Hunter College before returning to NYU in 2015. He was promoted to Equipment & Retail Sales Manager for the athletics department in 2017. During his years at NYU, Thompson Jr. gained a reputation across the athletic department for being as caring as he was tall. “I miss his smile,” Athletic Director Christopher Bledsoe wrote in an email to WSN. “Levester’s smile is unforgettable and continues to light every room he is remembered in. A man with his physical presence could have been intimidating to students, athletes or co-workers. But LT’s easy smile quickly gave you to know you were in safe hands.” (sic) Though Quinn sees a tendency towards speaking of someone who’s recently passed in mythical proportions, this inclination doesn’t apply when discussing Thompson Jr. “You can’t use any hyperbole that would be exaggerated for LT in terms of the good and decent man that he was,” Quinn said. Equipment Room & Retail Sales Assistant Mark Weatherup wrote to WSN that Thompson Jr. wanted to be sure that everyone in his department, from coaches to anyone who walked into the gym, was taken care of. “I hope that you are able to capture even a small piece of the jovial, kind-hearted, generous giant of a man we all lost this week,” Weatherup wrote. Thompson Jr. is survived by his wife Simone and his two children, Jade-Anastasia and Chase. Email Paul Kim at pkim@nyunews.com.
Edited by ARVIND SRIRAM
NYU Athletes Discuss Their Quarantine Routines By KEVIN RYU Staff Writer CAS senior and captain of the women’s golf team Arisa Kimura did not expect to spend her second semester attending middle-of-the-night classes, watching television (her current show of choice is “Terrace House”) and, most ambitiously of all, working on a 1000-piece puzzle of Mount Fuji. “It’s all blue and white so it’s pretty difficult,” Kimura said. For many NYU athletes like Kimura, the excess hours afforded by self-quarantining feel more unusual than they do to most. The coronavirus outbreak has created an unexpected surplus of free time for some — time that would normally be spent competing to extend their undefeated season or starting the defense of their national championship. Some have tried to schedule out their time to introduce some degree of consistency. “I didn’t think I would have as set of a routine as I do,” Kimura said. “I have some resemblance of normalcy, which I didn’t think I would be able to do.” While some might have more of a set routine than others, all NYU athletes have faced a similar challenge upon the school closing: they have to figure out how to best replicate the team workouts with limited equipment. The loss of access to athletic facilities is only half of the problem. With teamwide online workouts banned by the NCAA in order to avoid giving any competitive advantages, the onus is on the students to maintain their fitness or work on their game. There are certain students who have been better equipped to train in quarantine than others. SPA junior and member of the men’s basketball team Jaden Narwal misses the camaraderie he felt during teamwide spring pick-up games. Thankfully, he has a small in-home gym, and not all of his workouts are done solitarily. “I’m lucky because my dad is crazy,” Narwal said. “He is very into fitness, health and wellness.” Like Narwal, CAS senior and the captain of the baseball team, Sal Cammisuli, has spent his time in quarantine working out and playing baseball with his little brother.
“Just training my little brother hopefully for his baseball season coming up,” Cammisuli said. “I’ve been working on his game all around.” Another student who has taken advantage of their home equipment is Cammisuli’s teammate, and SPS sophomore, Grant Berman. When he is not using the netted batting cage in his backyard, Berman has been following a regimented workout routine. “I have been using this time to stay in playing shape while working on becoming faster,” Berman said. “I spend two to three days a week doing agility work along with six days a week in the weight room.” Those who do not have the setup to workout from home have found other creative ways to keep their games sharp. Many have found self-paced workout apps and YouTube channels helpful for their fitness goals. Stern junior on the women’s tennis team Anna Maria Buraya, has been using the Nike training app to stay active. A fellow Stern junior and a member of the women’s soccer team, Fransceca Dimitrakis, has supplemented her use of a home workout app called Verv with workouts posted by fitness channels on YouTube. In addition to finding individual workouts that best work for their respective situations, many NYU athletes have made concerted efforts to not let social distancing erode their team unity. The women’s soccer team competes in footwork challenges, responding to videos sent by Assistant Coach Scott Waddell with their own videos replicating his footwork. Many of the teams also frequently meet over Zoom, whether as a whole or in smaller groups. But, as many of the athletes have realized, online communications cannot fully replace face-to-face interactions — especially for seniors whose final college season and academic year were unexpectedly cut short. For them, the end of quarantine, whenever it might be, will hopefully give them the chance to get their final closure. “Hopefully [I’ll] meet up with a bunch [of friends] so we can get to the city to receive the closure we all needed as seniors in college,” Cammisuli said. “Be able to go out with one last good-bye, and not just on an abrupt notice.” Email Kevin Ryu at sports@nyunews.com.
CHARLIE DODGE | WSN
With the abrupt end to their athletic season, NYU athletes find creative ways to remain active at home.
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MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
CULTURE
Edited by BELLA GIL
Navigating the Transition to Remote Internships By KATE SLATE Contributing Writer In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most interning students had to adjust to online internships as their employers moved out of their office spaces. In their new workspaces, their homes, students take on new responsibilities as a result of the changing norms that the outbreak has set flame to. Steinhardt second-year master’s student and curatorial intern at The Paley Center for Media Luwen Qiu has noticed a shift in her tasks as a result of the center’s changing needs. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Qiu’s responsibilities primarily involved preparing for upcoming events, conducting research on involved participants and composing interview questions for panel discussions. However, in accordance with New York state’s shelter-in-place order, events she’s worked on have been postponed. As a result, the center has opted to release content strictly online for the time being, slightly altering Qiu’s tasks. “There’s definitely a tendency to work on what people are interested in right now, instead of what is happening in the media world,” Qiu said. “It’s great when they overlap, but right now I feel like we’re more leaning toward what people want to see rather than giving them something we’ve curated more concretely.” Though Qiu is unable to work in the center’s Midtown office, the database
once used in-office is readily-accessible at home, altering her work routines minimally. Others, however, face much larger challenges in terms of drastically changed environments. Tisch senior Katie Ajemian is currently interning at Sony Music Entertainment as a Video Content and Production Intern. As an intern within their creative department, she is responsible for editing content, ranging from music video trailers to social media advertisements, that promote Sony’s artists and products. While the kinds of tasks she is performing from home have remained similar to those she performed prior to the outbreak, the biggest impact on Ajemian has been the change in her surroundings. “When I worked in the Sony Entertainment office I would edit videos in edit suites with multiple monitors and large speakers,” Ajemian told WSN in an email. “Now I edit on my personal laptop at home.” While switching to a new workspace has been a challenge in itself, many companies in the media realm, from advertising to the music industry, have taken large hits as a result of the pandemic, slowing content production and, in turn, impacting Ajemian’s workload. “I still get to edit videos with unreleased footage or music so it’s nice to know that Sony trusts their interns with confidential information even while working at home,” Ajemian said. “However, there is less work than I normally got while working in the office. I think
CHARLIE DODGE | WSN
With social distancing measures put into place, many students face the challenge of adapting to remote work for internships as well as classes. While some continue with similar tasks, others have had to pick up new skills.
part of it is due to the fact that musicians aren’t touring or doing any proper promotional work right now so there is a lot less stuff that needs to be done.” In addition to the mediascape, the fashion industry has also taken a hit, with major labels being unable to unveil new apparel. CAS senior Rika Shinozaki is facing more technology-related challenges as a Human Resources Intern at Vera Wang. Shinozaki is responsible for tasks re-
lating to the onboarding of new interns, from screening resumes and cover letters to the completion of interviews. While the fashion brand continues to hire interns, conducting these tasks from home has posed a heavier workload for Shinozaki. Working from home means digging through past communication to find proper email templates that are normally stored on the office computer. “Making a detailed excel sheet to keep track of all information and communica-
tion has been helping, but it is definitely a lot more work than how it was in-person,” Shinozaki told WSN in an email. As more and more companies continue to pause hiring, shaken up by the pandemic’s effects on the economy, students continue to hold onto their internships for both experience and financial security. Email Kate Slate at culture@nyunews.com.
CAS’ Red Dragon Society Emerges From the Shadows By SABRINA CHOUDHARY Staff Writer Secret societies seem to belong only to the fictional or otherwise-mysterious realm of dark academia. They hide behind ivy-covered walls, candlelit dungeons and cultish chants. No NYU student would say they fit NYU’s brand: cosmopolitan, nonexclusive, independent. But you may want to reconsider how well you know your university and its secrets. The internet will tell you that NYU’s Red Dragon Society has been around
since 1898. It’s a co-ed group exclusive to CAS seniors, and it’s the best-known (and only still existing) of NYU’s historic secret societies, other than the Philomathean Society, which only existed from 1832 to 1888. But to learn anything more about this elusive organization, I had to go straight to the source. The four Red Dragons on the conference call with me all kept their names hidden, simply referring to themselves as Dragon 1 (Politics, Class of 1973), Dragon 2, (Neuroscience, Class of 2011), Dragon 3 (Sociology, Class of 2011) and
CHARLIE DODGE | WSN
Red Dragon Society is the best-known of NYU’s historic secret societies. The organization is a coed group exclusive to CAS seniors that has been around since 1898.
Dragon 4 (Politics and Public Policy, Class of 2017). Dragon 1, the most senior member, confirmed that the organization emerged at the end of the 19th century. It only allowed men until the mid-1960s, when it began accepting women. He added that it took a hiatus between the 1970s and the late 1990s with the sale of NYU’s former campus — the University Heights campus, located in the Bronx — in 1973, the same year that he graduated. He believes that the Red Dragon Society was the only secret society to survive the move downtown, but no one can be sure. “The secret societies were all at the Heights,” Dragon 1 said. “I know [other secret societies] existed while I was there. If somebody says [they] exist [today], it’s conceivable.” So what exactly is this sole secret society that remains in our midst? Unfortunately, most of the details are (you guessed it) secret. The Dragons could not disclose the organization’s mission, leadership structure or selection process. Even the members don’t know it all. What they could say is that the initiation involves a dinner of inductee and alumni guests in the fall. Between 15 and 30 inductees are chosen each year — a veritable handful of CAS’ student body. Despite that, the numbers add up over the years; Dragon 1 didn’t think that any member had met all of their fellow Dragons. But rest assured, though the selection process is opaque, the Dragons are certainly high-achieving and impressive people.
“[It’s] pretty damn diverse ... There are higher governmental officials, published writers. I know of at least one Pulitzer Prize winner,” Dragon 1 said. “We really don’t pay attention to what they do. Who they are makes more sense.” “They seem to always identify the right students,” Dragon 2 agreed. All four of these Dragons had heard of the organization before being inducted, whether through word of mouth or a Washington Square News article from the late 2000s. All four had admired its prestige. And as members, the Dragons say they use their status for good. “Personally, I think it’s a way for me to contribute back to more alumni, folks that are heading off into the world, providing mentorship and guidance in a really tight-knit community that we try to create,” Dragon 2 said. “There’s nothing like this elsewhere across the university or the U.S.” According to the Dragons, NYU’s secret society is not the same animal as what you’d think of at places like Yale or Georgetown. The Heights campus was more of a traditional campus with a much smaller student body. But today’s campus at Washington Square is drastically different, and its culture followed suit. “I think that community is just something that has a different look and feel at NYU,” Dragon 3, a relatively recent graduate, said. “So I think that the Dragons are an interesting denoting of something that’s perhaps more [like] traditional residential campuses that have lots of sprawling fields and quads and whatnot.
But I think, also, it would be a mistake to lump the Dragons in with like all other secret societies or other colleges.” For the Dragons, secrecy is practical, not flashy. “The secrecy, we think, helps with a couple things we want to accomplish,” Dragon 1 said. “While we’re elite, we’re absolutely not elitist. We don’t want people fighting or overtly trying to game the system.” “I would say that the spirit of the Dragons is about meritocracy and accomplishment and involvement at the university, and in many ways, other secret societies at peer institutions and otherwise rely on nepotism and other types of relationships to induct their [members],” Dragon 2 said. “And I’d say there’s a clear difference between us and other societies.” As NYU continues to grow and evolve, you can be sure that the Dragons will adapt with it. “I think the students are the same, and the inductees are the same in their hearts,” Dragon 1 said. “That’s the only thing I really care about. And I think everybody who’s involved in it, shares those values,” So yes, NYU is a large and bustling university distant from walled campuses and mythology. But even as it sets itself apart from the pack, NYU will never shake off its history or traditions, and it will never be without its secrets. Email Sabrina Choudhary at culture@nyunews.com.
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Edited by KAYLEE DEFREITAS and ETHAN ZACK
I Lost Control Over My Life. ‘Animal Crossing’ Gave It Back to Me CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
In elementary school, my friends and I had played a much earlier entry in the series called “Animal Crossing: Wild World” on the Nintendo DS. I didn’t remember much about what I’d done in the game as a seven-year-old, but I remember that I had a town, and I named the town Butt City. I looked around — I was sitting in my childhood bedroom with two duffel bags waiting to be unpacked staring me in the face. I had more control over Butt City as a little kid than I had over my current living situation as an adult. I asked my brother if I could borrow his Nintendo Switch. My copy of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” arrived in the mail the next day. I don’t usually play video games. I once downloaded “The Sims,” but I became so worried about the health and comfort of all the different people I was responsible for that I eventually wiped the game from my hard drive. I played “Nintendogs” when I was younger and rediscovered my Nintendo DS Lite while cleaning my room last April. My virtual dogs were still alive, but nine years of abandonment
had left them emaciated and flea-ridden. I cried for an hour. Life simulator games usually stress me out. Maybe that’s because they accomplish their job a little too well. The attention to detail and dedication to realism often results in an experience that can be as emotionally taxing as real life. But everything I’ve lost control of in the real world sits in peace in “Animal Crossing,” patiently waiting for me to log on and seize the day. All of my problems are made so incredibly approachable in the game that I often forget the immense anxiety that their real-world counterparts cause. Everything, every day, follows a simple real-time schedule. The local shop closes at 10 p.m., the tailor’s shop closes at nine and the museum, airport and Resident Services are all open 24/7. A cute little anthropomorphic boar named Daisy Mae comes every Sunday until 12 p.m. to sell turnips. If there’s a change in the schedule, I’m told far in advance: the preparations for the first in-game holiday Bunny Day began two weeks before the actual celebration, and island management made two announcements prior to the Fishing Tour-
ney that took place Saturday. I don’t have to strain to stay close with my friends in “Animal Crossing.” My relationships with my villagers are pretty simple: if I talk to them every day, our relationships are good; if I give my villagers gifts (especially the ones I know they’ll like), our relationships are great. If I talk to them too much, ignore them entirely or barricade them in their house and hit them repeatedly with a net, our relationship is terrible and they’ll likely move out. There isn’t really an in-between. Some things are permanent, and those are the things that matter. My character can’t die. I’ll always have villagers, regardless of who they are. There is never nothing to do — more specifically, I’m always able to do something. Shake trees. Dig holes. Run through the museum. Shoot a present out of the sky, and hope that it’s iron nuggets so I can craft an item I want. Find five tree branches, then build a fishing rod, then go fishing. Maybe donate a fish to the museum. It’s up to me. The “Animal Crossing” economy doesn’t make sense. Money comes from both trees and holes in the ground. Those
who control the local economy — two small raccoons named Timmy and Tommy — will buy literally anything, including tree branches I find on the ground and trash I accidentally fish out of the lake. I have a steady income, which comes from selling the various things I find on my island — fish, bugs, shells, flowers. But regardless of the fact that “Animal Crossing’s” economy doesn’t really make sense, it’s a lot more stable than ours right now. My landlord, another raccoon by the name of Tom Nook, is relatively kind for a landlord: he guarantees me a living space, and I’m able to pay off my home loan on my own time. Because there are no deadlines, there aren’t any penalties for missing them. In fact, there aren’t really any penalties in “Animal Crossing” at all. There are no doctors in “Animal Crossing”; rather, there is medicine. Medicine fixes everything. Stung by wasps? Medicine. Flu-like symptoms? Medicine. Villager feeling under the weather? Give them medicine. There’s no complexity to it. It’s just medicine. It’s always in stock at Nook’s Cranny, and it’s relatively inexpensive. And if I can’t afford medicine, I can
shake a tree until I have enough branches to sell in return. Right now, I’m writing this article from my bed. I’ve left my room twice so far today, and I’ve been outside once in the past week. My phone is to my left, lying facedown so I can’t see any news updates. My Switch is to my right, just in case a stubborn notification somehow makes it through to me. But unlike my real self, my avatar in “Animal Crossing” goes outside every day — in fact, she’s almost never in her house, though it’s beautifully decorated. She spends her time tending to her flowers, talking with her neighbors and fishing. Sometimes, she’ll build something — a piece of furniture, maybe, or a tool — but it doesn’t take her much time or effort, so she doesn’t think twice about it. She showers her villagers with gifts, pays off her home loans with relative ease and sports pink hair and a colorblocked sweater she designed herself. She’s doing fine, and because of that, so am I. Email Abby Hofstetter at ahofstetter@nyunews.com.
Dancing through Distress: Tisch Dancers on Remote Learning By RACHEL LEE Staff Illustrator Since the university announced that the rest of the semester would be happening remotely due to the COVID-19 outbreak, NYU students have been adapting to new routines to enable them to continue their education. Some students have gotten used to attending lectures from their beds while others have employed virtual backgrounds on Zoom to make their classes more amusing. But for Tisch dance majors, whose education relies on in-person interaction, physicality and performing, the accommodations for online instruction are rather extensive. In New York, Tisch dancers were required to take ballet and/or contemporary classes on a daily basis. Each technique class was about 80 minutes and during that time, students were expected to be present, apply corrections from their professors and watch their classmates. Ballet began at the barre, a series of exercises for dancers to develop their technique while holding a handrail, and by the end of class, these combinations progressed into multiple turns, waltzes across the floor and large jumps. Contemporary typically followed the same process, beginning with some sort of warmup that highlighted certain technical elements to be applied later in the class in traveling combinations. But since the dancers are now out of the studio and are online, what does technique class look like for them? First-year Destiny Delancy, a student currently residing in Miami, said her days seem to have fewer hours in them since transitioning online. “I have so much work to do, and I think that’s partially why my days feel longer,” Delancy said. “There’s videos I have to record, and essays are longer. Workload has increased.” Rather than having ballet live on Zoom, Delancy is required to learn an entire ballet barre and then send in a recording of her doing it. This can take her up to 90 minutes outside of her class time to complete. During her normal class time, she logs onto
Zoom where she and her classmates check in with the teacher. “Downside is that it’s time-consuming and upside is that we get individual feedback,” Delancy stated. During in-person dance classes, dance professors would show a combination two times and then watch all the students repeat it, correcting them on technique, execution and artistry. Delancy said that video instruction allows her to break down the exercises and catch details in the exercises she may have not been able to do in-person, but she worries that she will not be able to practice learning the movements quickly, which is a required skill in the professional dance world where combinations are taught extremely fast. She says that the individual feedback has led to one-on-one conversations with the teachers which have helped her relationships with the faculty, but she fears that the dance faculty has, in turn, been too soft on her, easing up on blunt corrections. “Dance teachers are supposed to be mean, but I feel like they are barely correcting because they are thinking ‘maybe [all the students] are going through something,’” Delancy said. “Kinda like they are insinuating we are going through depression and anxiety or things like that.” And even though Delancy is struggling a little bit with loneliness, she feels that her teachers should still be strict with her. For Rafael V. Cañals Pérez, an MFA student who will graduate this year, his living room apartment in Washington Heights has turned into his new dance studio. “I think it’s been weird adjusting to this, and it’s taking me longer than I thought it would have,” said Cañals. Cañals said that in order to find a sense of routine, he has been experimenting with different tactics, such as meditation, to bring himself into the same headspace in remote classes as he would have had during in-person classes. His new routine includes breaking free from anything school-related during the day, so that his physical space can feel different somehow, creating a separation between class time and homework time so
he can be more productive. Though he feels like he has enough space to take class, without the correct floor to dance on, Cañals risks injuries. “I overcompensate with other muscles or the wrong muscles, and I end up taking longer to recover [from class,]” Cañals stated. “But I’m being careful, I think, still. I’m doing enough without being too ambitious.” Cañals misses having studio space to conduct his own movement research and people to conduct it with. Being home has given him the responsibility of his own development as a dancer and artist. Through this time, he said he is able to keep a positive mindset because he knows that everyone is struggling, and he is trying to make the best of it. “The fact that everyone’s trying [to adapt] makes me happy and makes me willing to try myself,” Cañals said. For Tisch senior Oriana Siphanoum, a final semester that was supposed to be filled with opportunity and hope for the future is instead replaced by fear and frustration. “I’ve never wanted to go to school more than I do right now,” Siphanoum said. Siphanoum explained that each dance faculty member has formatted their class differently. Depending on which teacher she has for that particular day, she’s required to attend the class live or learn class through a video and submit a recording of herself. Her dance classes are usually at 1:30 p.m. EST, but Siphanoum is currently staying in Portland, Oregon, which means she has to be ready to move at 10:30 a.m. Though she enjoys that Zoom classes allow her practice to become more personal and that she has the opportunity to continue her growth, two main issues arise for her: the lack of physical space to move which is hindering the physicality of her dancing and her battle with an unknown future. “I’m losing range of motion,” Siphanoum stated, explaining that her dance classes end before they get to jumping exercises and combinations that move across the floor because there is not enough room for her and her fellow students in their respective locations.
ALEXANDRA CHAN | WSN
“Outside The Box” was choreographed by Garet Wierdsma to “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds and original composition by Zilu Chen, performed by Tisch dancers at the Jack Crystal Theater before spring break. With remote instruction comes the challenges of online dance classes as Tisch dancers share their experiences.
Similar to Cañals, Siphanoum is also struggling to dance without a sprung floor, a standard that she’s used to at the dance studio. “Now my knees are hurting because I’m dancing on carpet or hardwood floor,” Siphanoum said. “I’m not on anything that’s safe to dance on, but I’m expected to dance.” Siphanoum still interacts with her classmates by occasionally sending chat messages between exercises and conducting virtual projects with them online, but it doesn’t feel quite the same to her. Also, because she is unsure when she will see them again, especially those who are international students, Siphanoum is sad about their abrupt partings. Beyond the question of if she will see her classmates again, Siphanoum is unsure what post-graduation life will look like for her and for them. “It’s worrisome being a senior. This is our audition season and when we are figuring out our next step,” Siphanoum said. During a dance major’s final undergraduate year, they become a part of the Second Avenue Dance Company (SADC) where they perform work choreographed by professionals
in the industry along with student-choreographed work that peers and faculty have chosen to showcase. Siphanoum said that this was the biggest loss for her. The last SADC show of the year, titled “Retro,” was supposed to be her opportunity to perform the pieces that she has rehearsed all year in front of choreographers and company directors in the industry. “I personally went to college for dance because I want to be a performer,” Siphanoum said. “So I’m losing that whole aspect of my education.” The graduating class will still have their final bow by hosting a virtual show in early May that highlights student works from the class. Though Tisch dancers are facing many obstacles and losses since transitioning to online classes, they, and the entire dance community, are trying to make the best of it. Remote dance classes are new for everyone. Yes, they may not be the safest for the body and place many limits on a dance student’s education, but this temporary solution that allows them to dance and find creativity in the chaos is better than not dancing at all. Email Rachel Lee at arts@nyunews.com.
Washington Square News
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MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
OPINION
OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM
Edited by JUN SUNG
CULTURE
The National Emergency Library Must Support Authors and Readers
By HELEN WAJDA Deputy Opinion Editor As libraries across the country have closed in response to COVID-19 in the past month, the Internet Archive announced that they were creating a National Emergency Library that will allow the public to freely borrow materials from their collection of 1.4 million digitized books through the end of the U.S. national emergency. The service has received support from The New Yorker and numerous educational institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for providing people who are currently shut out of their school libraries with free access to digital books. It’s important to note that not everyone can afford to buy books right now, especially students. With many school libraries shut, making sure that students and teachers have free access to books is more important than ever before. Despite this, the National Emergency Library’s current model exploits authors. As it operates right now, the service acquires books through donations and partnerships with various physical library locations. Rather than following the protocol that public libraries follow and paying publishers for licensing rights, the service simply scans and uploads donated books as ebooks. This does more than just prevent publishing companies from making money off of books: by bypassing licensing rights, the National Emergency Library’s model prevents authors from receiving royalties for their ebooks. With COVID-19 social distancing measures cancelling book tours and speaker-engagements, most authors — many of whom were already living on a mean income of $20,300 a year — are now forced to rely solely on royalties to support themselves. Supporting authors by purchasing their books during this time, if you can afford to, is extremely important. Making their books available to download for free makes it less likely that people will actually buy them, which can harm authors in an already financially challenging time.
Submitting to
Not only that, but the National Emergency Library does not notify authors that their books are available on their website, nor do they always honor requests to opt-out of the program. Several authors claim that they requested to have their books removed from the website numerous times, only to have them taken down for a short period of time before being made available again to the public later. It’s true that the majority of the books available through the digital library were published in the 20th century, which makes the website a great source for typical high school reading like “The Great Gatsby” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” But the library also offers thousands of modern titles, many of which were published in the last 20 years. Many libraries also already offer digital lending services, including the New York Public Library. Even in my relatively small hometown in upstate New York, I have been able to borrow an ebook for one of my English classes from my local library easily. The National Emergency Library’s services are akin to what many libraries are already doing, but with a critical difference: the Internet Archive is doing so in a way that prevents authors from earning money from their work. Providing resources for students and teachers in need is important right now. As a student who cannot usually afford to buy new books, I understand that having access to free books can be the difference between reaping the full educational benefits of a class and just scraping by without feeling fully invested in the class’s content. Public libraries provide vital services year-round, but especially during a pandemic when students might not have easy access to school resources. While ensuring that books are accessible to students is important, it is also important for authors to receive compensation for their work. If the National Emergency Library wants to truly support both authors and readers, then it needs to update their model so that authors are able to preemptively decide if they want their work to be available on the service, rather than forcing them to request it to be taken down. Without providing writers with compensation for their work, the National Emergency Library is only harming authors in the long run. Email Helen Wajda at hwajda@nyunews.com.
STAFF EDITORIAL
New Yorkers Don’t Deserve Petty Politics On Saturday, April 11, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio closed public schools for the remainder of the academic year due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus as well as the trauma children are experiencing during the pandemic. Soon after, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo overturned that decision, claiming that the state — not the city — has authority over the closure of public schools during this crisis. As a result, parents, students and teachers have been confused as to what the actual policy is, as the state and the city are unable to provide a unified answer on the issue. Natasha Capers, Director of the Coalition for Educational Justice, said the rift between the governments only increases stress for those directly affected and will have “disastrous consequences” for communities. This isn’t the first time the two governments have contradicted each other during this pandemic. On March 17 — around the beginning of the crisis in the state — Mayor de Blasio told New Yorkers to prepare for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order. Soon after, Gov. Cuomo dismissed the idea, saying that type of city-restricted policy wouldn’t work, then going on to say it would probably fail state-wide. Just three days after, Cuomo reversed his opinion, enacting an executive order modeled after shelter-in-place that cancelled non-essential gatherings and closed non-essential businesses. At an unprecedented time, Cuomo and de Blasio seem to be focused on public quarreling rather than centered on providing unified plans on these issues during an uncertain future for New Yorkers. Even before the pandemic, the relationship between Cuomo and de Blasio was known to be a strained one. In 2015, the governor disguised himself as a source familiar with de Blasio and said the mayor was incompetent. The mayor struck back in a press conference, saying the governor was hyper-political and vindictive. In that same year, the two executives conducted separate investigations on the Bronx legionnaires outbreak — resulting in two separate press conferences conducted at the same time. This behavior between Cuomo and de Blasio isn’t new at all. Rather, it’s part of a recent history that continues today. In the past, this rift has usually only been a minor inconvenience to the management of the city. But now, in the middle of one of the worst crises the city
has ever seen, this division adds to the confusion of New Yorkers’ understanding of the situation and exposes mismanagement and a lack of basic communication between both governments. It’s important to note that this tension is rooted in a conflict of jurisdiction between Cuomo and de Blasio, and in a much broader sense, the executive positions of Governor of New York and Mayor of New York City. Both the New York State Constitution and the New York Court of Appeals case Adler v. Deegan give the state Legislature the ability to act in local affairs. Adler v. Deegan gives the condition of “substantial state interest” — a fairly open-ended status that has led to issues in Albany over policies like congestion pricing and plastic bag bans. The city’s restricted legal position in comparison to the state has led to the inevitable clash between Cuomo and de Blasio. However, the mayor has pushed back against state control, especially in regards to the recent controversy over New York City public schools. In a recent interview, de Blasio stood firm against Cuomo’s response, saying his decision to close is “crystal clear.” Also, the mayoral spokeswoman tweeted that the governor’s statement was reminiscent of the belated decision on shelter-in-place, and that the current situation was similar to the one made before. Clearly, the conflict between the two executives has only become worse with the current situation, and the policy contradictions have exposed this constant battle for authority. This isn’t to say that this ever-present conflict has completely stalled both the city and state governments’ coronavirus policies. In fact, Mayor de Blasio announced on Sunday that the city will start opening testing centers in certain neighborhoods in response to data that shows the coronavirus mortality rates of Black and Latino individuals are double that of white individuals. Gov. Cuomo acted quickly earlier this month, mobilizing the National Guard to redistribute unused ventilators and supplies in the state to areas that needed them. Still, it is clear that the conflict has added to unneeded confusion among New Yorkers and has only hindered effective communication to the public. Resolving this conflict while recognizing the legal restrictions that have caused this tension, as well as establishing unified leadership between the state and the city, should be the paramount goal for both Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, especially when so much is on the line.
Email the Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com. CHAIR Jun Sung CO-CHAIR Emily Dai, Gabby Lozano, Asha Ramachandran, Helen Wajda CHAIR EX OFFICIO Cole Stallone, Abby Hofstetter,
Ronni Husmann, Paul Kim, Anna-Dmitry Muratova
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 13, 2020
UNDERTHEARCH@NYUNEWS.COM
Washington Square News
7
UNDER THE ARCH
Edited by GURU RAMANATHAN
An Artistic Tribute To College In New York
A final walk through New York City’s biggest art gallery before heading into quarantine: street murals. Photos and Words by 1. Mural on Allen Street in the Lower East Side by Gram Publishing (@gram_publishing), an e-commerce art retailer based in Italy.
3. A mural of Marilyn Monroe also graces another brick wall on Allen Street by Zimer, an artist whose first encounter with the NYC art scene began in Queens (@zimernyc).
2. Another mural on Allen Street by artist Soraya Marquez (@indie184), titled, “Not Bad For A Girl.”
4. A delectable slice of pizza found on a chain- link fence by an unknown artist on Allen Street.
SARA MIRANDA
UTA Features Multimedia Editor Four years of taxi and Uber rides to JFK has opened my eyes to the neighborhoods of the East Village and the Lower East Side — especially to their street art. With a new camera to try out on a bright, sunny July weekend, I decided to trek through the streets of East Village and the Lower East Side to document and to have a firsthand look at the murals that add splashes of color to these neighborhoods. Being that it was a humid, sweltering hot NYC summer’s day, I didn’t get to scour every street that my walking path entailed, but the opportunity to resume this eight -month-old walk presented itself on the last full day I spent in New York before Americans were told to put their lives on hold and stay home. I wouldn’t call this a goodbye ode to New York (despite me being a second semester senior), but a tribute to the largest art gallery in the city: the streets! Whether you notice them or not, the murals that line the streets are everywhere, serving as art installations that are open to all. Below, I highlight the path I walked in July 2019, and its March 2020 continuation, along with the many artists from around the world that have given our city its vibrant color. JULY 2019
5. A mural by Samo Arts (@samo.arts) on the corner East 7th Street and 1st Avenue delivers a heartfelt message to passersby.
6. Artist Conor Harrington’s (@conorsaysboom) mural decorates a wall of 266 Broome that faces Allen Street.
7. NYC graffiti trailblazer Hektad’s (@hektad._official) signature “Love Drunk” hearts color the exterior of 121 Mott Street in Chinatown.
St. Marks Place (photo #9) If you’ve walked on the east end of St. Mark’s Place near Tompkins Square Park and have never noticed this mural featuring King Kong — conveniently titled “King Kong” — then the next time you find yourself over there, I encourage you to take a look at this scene of the gorilla-like monster imposing over the city skyline. This mural was painted by Parisian artist Moi One who now calls New York his home. I just had to stop and take a photo of this mural. The cluster of skyscrapers set against the horizon just shouts New York. Moi One’s art can be found throughout Manhattan, Long Island City and on the beaches of California. (photo #7) I have a soft spot for hearts in art, and I always take a photo of them whenever I notice them on the streets. I can definitely call this heart -- constructed out of smaller hearts -- my favorite mural because of the unique way in which this heart is constructed and the rainbow of colors that comprise this composition. You have probably seen the art of this Bronx native if you’ve spent a lot of time in the Lower East Side and Chinatown because Hektad’s “Love Drunk” hearts decorate the corners of many brick walls and restaurants throughout these neighborhoods. I remember looking through photos of New York on Instagram, and when I saw photos of Hektad’s bleeding hearts, I just knew that I had to take a look at them for myself. First Avenue & East 7th Street (photo #5) This mural that formerly occupied East 7th street made me feel all the feels. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way when they looked at it after reading the words, “You are loved,” painted across the mural. This poignant mural was painted by artist and transgender activist Samo Arts for World Pride last year. Samo Arts uses their artistic ability to add sentiments of peace and love to the world.
8. A neon light-emblazoned portrait of the Virgin Mary and Child by the Australian artist Straker (@muralist) occupies a corner of 1st Avenue and East 4th Street.
9. French graffiti artist Moi One’s (@moi.one) mural, titled, “King Kong,” standing over the New York skyline is painted on St. Mark’s Place.
East Houston Street (photo #2) At the entrance of the Ridge Hotel — known as the Ridge Wall — stood a mural by artist INDIE 184 (formally known as Soraya Marquez). This portrait of
the iconic old Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn seems to have been influenced by Andy Warhol’s pop art paintings, which is one of the artistic styles that has influenced Marquez. Her art has also made its way inside art galleries and museums throughout the world. Eldridge Street (photo #3) Honestly, I found it difficult to navigate the streets of the Lower East Side, so I ended up choosing a random street that had an eye-catching mural. This mural of Marilyn Monroe by New York-based artist Zimer was the first mural I encountered on this very long street. I definitely had to do a double-take after seeing it initially since Marilyn’s dress almost seems to blend into the red-colored wall. Zimer’s talents showcased on the streets of New York City have also been seen on London’s South Bank and at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention. Allen Street (photo #1) I never realized how long Allen Street was until I saw several works of art lined one after another. This mural depicting the skull and face of a big cat by the Italian art retail site, Gram Publishing, is my second favorite piece from this walk because of the unique perspective that this composition of a big cat’s face provides. Support the independent artists that they represent by checking out the art for sale on their website. First Avenue & East 4th Street (photo #8) My walk back to my apartment in Greenwich Village greeted me with another mural sighting on East 4th Street by the artist, Drew Straker, known as Straker. I have never seen a work of art with a neon light effect before, so this is the first! According to Straker’s bio, he was most likely the first artist to integrate “the neon glow technique” in painting. MARCH 2020 Fast forward eight months later, and our time in New York is suddenly shortened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I decided the best way to collect my final memories as a college student was resuming the walk I never finished last summer. Although I didn’t fall in love with as many works of art like I did in the summer, I sure had some favorites. Broome Street & Allen Street (photo #6) This mural created by the U.K. artist Conor Harrington is truly a beauty, and it’s hard to miss this mural since it occupies a large wall at 266 Broome Street. While numerous interpretations from spectators say that this is an image of a matador, Harrington says it is actually a depiction of two people fighting. Allen Street (photo #4) Oh, Allen Street. You definitely exhausted my legs with your length, but you surprised me with many street art treasures on my walk home, like this slice of pizza. Sadly I didn’t take note of the artist that painted this delicious looking slice, but whoever did, I appreciate the visual pleasure you bring to New Yorkers that pass by your creation. If this essay has piqued your interest in taking an art walk, there are quite a few Instagram pages that showcase some of the street art to check out in the city, such as @fomofeed, @artworldnyc and the page for the hashtag: #thenewallen. Email Sara Miranda at smiranda@nyunews.com.
Washington Square News
8
UNDERTHEARCH@NYUNEWS.COM
UNDER THE ARCH
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
Edited by GURU RAMANATHAN
Magic and Glitter in Brooklyn: Interpreting the World Through Drag In this audio profile, Gallatin sophomore Milenka Bermanova discusses being a nonbinary drag performer while dealing with alopecia, a rare autoimmune disease, and how it informs their art. By MANDIE MONTES UTA Senior Editor After coming out as nonbinary in 2018, Gallatin sophomore Milenka Bermanova realized that some of their talents such as applying expressive makeup on themselves and designing chainmail headpieces are skills that would be useful as a drag performer. It wasn’t until they started attending drag shows and seeing live performances that Bermanova knew they wanted to be part of the drag community. Not long after, they met their drag mother and performed for audiences in Brooklyn. They will soon celebrate their oneyear of being a drag performer, coming up on April 18. While they have a range of performances, Bermanova’s signature performance tells the story of their resistance and acceptance of the autoimmune disease they live with, alopecia, which caused them to
lose their hair at 11 years old and set a lot of personal changes and challenges into motion. They perform to a compilation of songs from an episode of “Adventure Time” and lip-sync, imitating speaking to a wig, their “crown.” In reality, wigs were a way to hide the effects of their autoimmune disease from people, but now, rather than relying on using wigs, Bermanova embraces the way they look. They either wear chainmail headpieces they make or nothing at all on their head. Mixing fantastical story lines with their real life experiences has helped them with thoroughly processing what they’ve been through. For Bermanova, performing is not just about “getting better at applying makeup or designing props,” but rather to be present in the moment with an audience and genuinely connect with others by sharing their life story. Email Mandie Montes at mmontes@nyunews.com.
My name is Milenka. I am a sophomore in Gallatin.
I’ve seen like internal growth through my drag.
CHARLIE DODGE | WSN
I study art as community empowerment with a focus on drag and night life
Listen to the audio profile here:
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Nanci Healy
Editors-at-Large
We are telling big stories — the Bling Ring, Venmo fraud, drug donkeys — ones that expanded past our printstandard 500 words, ones that paint pictures with words. This magazine aims to be a platform where undergraduate and graduate students alike can mutter on about their love of the blue-seated MTA trains or put into words the flavor of their love of grandma’s dumplings.
nyunews.com/underthearch underthearch@nyunews.com
Sasha Cohen MUSIC
Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer CULTURE Tatiana Velasco BEAUTY & STYLE
Divya Nelakonda ABROAD Sam Brinton DINING Lauren Gruber Opinion Page EDITOR Jun Sung DEPUTY Emily Dai, Gabby Lozano, Asha Ramachandran, Helen Wajda OFF-THIRD Noah Friend
ABOUT WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published in print on Mondays and throughout the week online 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 the managing editors at managing@nyunews.com.
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