4 CULTURE
6 UNDER THE ARCH
Ranked: Hard seltzers
Unseen, overworked, underpaid: Student parents at NYU
5 ARTS
Tisch prof reveals music struggles and triumphs in new book
9 OPINION
NYU Langone failed by not designating Juneteenth as a holiday
VOLUME LVII | ISSUE 8
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Bomb threats force evacuations at Brown, Columbia, Cornell Brown, Columbia and Cornell are the latest in a slew of bomb threats targeting universities across the United States this past week. By ARNAV BINAYKIA, KRISTIAN BURT, RACHEL COHEN, RACHEL FADEM, AND SUHAIL GHARAIBEH Deputy News Editors
RACHEL FADEM | WSN
Caution tape at Columbia University.
Brown University, Columbia University and Cornell University received bomb threats on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 7. Brown evacuated all buildings on the Main Green, Columbia evacuated three halls and Cornell evacuated its Central Campus. Both Cornell and Brown received bomb threats by phone. Columbia’s evacuations appeared to be in response to two threats posted by a Twitter account, which has since been suspended. The Twitter user claimed they had placed 40 improvised explosive devices across Columbia’s campus and would open f ire with AR-15s and handguns if approached by police. Brown police and local authorities are searching multiple buildings on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
The club is bumping: Recreational ketamine usage on the rise, Langone study finds By KRISTIAN BURT Deputy News Editor Recreational ketamine use has reached a high after steadily increasing in recent years, according to a joint NYU-Columbia University study published in the American Journal of Public Health. While examining usage and availability trends, researchers found that ketamine use is still rare, with less than 1% of Americans saying they use the drug. Joseph Palamar, a professor of population health at NYU Langone, conducted the study alongside Columbia University epidemiologists Katherine Keyes and Caroline Rutherford. The researchers found that, although ketamine usage remains low relative to the usage of other drugs, the number of people who self-report using ketamine and the number of recorded medical incidents related to the drug has increased in recent years. Ketamine is mainly used by veterinarians and doctors as a dissociative anaesthetic. But recently, research into
the use of ketamine for mental healthcare in humans has increased in the medical world. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a ketamine-based nasal spray for depression in 2019, which facilitated the use of ketamine in psychotherapy. Keyes said that future media coverage, which often focuses on the recently discovered therapeutic benefits of ketamine, will need to better explain the risks of using the drug in uncontrolled and nonmedical settings. “Increases in ketamine use in nightclub and non-hospital settings indicate the need for additional public health measures so that individuals who use non-medically are aware of risks and side effects,” Keyes said. Based on the findings of the study, Palamar does not believe that college students will see significantly increased ketamine use. “I wonder if ketamine will eventually spill into social environments that aren’t EDM parties,” Palamar said. “I’ve heard of some people introducing ketamine to small gatherings, but
I wouldn’t expect this to become very common, as ketamine is an extremely antisocial drug.” Michelle Miller, a state-licensed clinical psychotherapist, practices ketamine therapy on her patients. While she believes there is potential for psychedelics to improve mental health, patients are not offered ketamine until after four to five sessions at the very least. “The preparation phase is extremely important,” Miller said. “Setting can also greatly impact a patient’s experience.” Miller said patients who participate in the therapy are given controlled medical doses of ketamine. Some of Miller’s patients came to her after having bad experiences at unregulated and nonmedical ketamine clinics, where patients reported being left alone in a room for their entire session with only a button in case of emergency. “I don’t support those ketamine clinics since they do not give enough care to patients and it can be extremely dangerous,” Miller said. “To be honest, I would probably recommend just doing
MANASA GUDAVALLI | WSN
A joint NYU-Columbia University study reported that ketamine use has steadily increased across all demographics.
it recreationally over going to the clinics. I’m not sure if people are reading about the medical benefits, but I would
assume that there is an increased validity in recreational use because of the reCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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Edited by ARNAV BINAYKIA
Bomb threats force evacuations at Brown, Columbia, Cornell CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
campus after receiving a bomb threat over the phone, according to a safety alert message posted on Twitter by the Brown Daily Herald. According to an email safety alert, Brown’s Department of Public Safety and the Providence Police Department asked members of the university community to avoid an academic building where a suspicious package had been found. Brown sophomore Jordan Cheung was off campus when he received an alert regarding the bomb threat, but said other students he spoke to had evacuated the targeted area. “We’re def initely cautious and
worried about the fact that it’s targeted towards Ivies,” Cheung said regarding Sunday’s threats. According to a Cornell safety alert, the university also received its bomb threat by phone. Kinen Kao, a Cornell senior, said that students were uninformed about what was happening. “I received a message from Cornell to shelter in place, but we did not know what happened for an hour and a half,” Kao said. “We f inally just heard [at around 3:30 p.m.] that there are bombs in the Law School and three other places.” The Cornell Daily Sun reported that there were bomb threats at
three class halls and the Law School, which are in different locations across campus. Cornell tweeted to students at around 3 p.m. to avoid Central Campus. Columbia sent four emergency messages. The f irst, sent at around 2:30 p.m., told students to avoid the three residence halls. Michael Ostuno, a Columbia sophomore who lives offcampus, said he was surprised to hear about the bomb threat when he arrived on campus with a friend; he hadn’t received the university’s safety alert message. “We didn’t get any texts, we were just at lunch when students said in a group chat that there were terrorist
threats,” Ostuno said. “Now we can’t get home ... But I’m glad they’re doing something, at least.” At 4:44 p.m., Columbia informed students that the three evacuated residence halls had been cleared for reentry by the New York City Police Department. James McShane, Columbia’s vice president of campus safety, emailed students at 4:49 p.m., acknowledging that threats were received at several other colleges and announcing that the NYPD had deemed the bomb threats at Columbia “not credible.” The threats are seemingly the latest in a series of bomb hoaxes targeting American universities. Yale Universi-
ty evacuated students from the Old Campus on Friday afternoon, Nov. 5, after police received a report that 40 bombs had been placed in various buildings. Ohio University, Miami University and Cleveland State University also received bomb threats in the past several days. Contact the News Desk at news@nyunews.com.
Alex Tey and Trace Miller contributed reporting.
IMAGES VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
On Sunday, Nov. 7, Brown University, Columbia University and Cornell University received bomb threats. Both Cornell and Brown received bomb threats by phone and Columbia’s evacuations appeared to be in response to two threats posted by a Twitter account.
The club is bumping: Recreational ketamine usage on the rise, Langone study finds CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
search in medical use.” The study did not specifically look into whether ketamine use is increasing more among college students than any other group, but an NYU student who spoke to WSN said the drug has become more popular among their peers. A CAS sophomore who uses ketamine said that accessing psychedelics at NYU is easier compared to their hometown. “New York is a whole new frontier, the drugs here are amazing and the delivery is insane,” the sophomore, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the drug’s illegal status, told WSN. “You can get any psychedelic in like 20 minutes.”
Other students have concerns about the increased prominence of ketamine in New York City nightlife. LS sophomore Rachel Lawal, who has never tried drugs, thinks the glamorization of party drugs like ketamine is dangerous, and that the adverse effects are felt disproportionately among people in lower income areas. “Once there is wealth involved, people treat these drugs like they’re just a good time, meanwhile others, myself included, have seen firsthand how those drugs can ruin lives,” Lawal said. “Addiction is incredibly real, and whether they like to admit it, doing molly and coke every weekend in order to ‘have a good time’ is addiction, and a lot of NYU kids have them.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a range of disruptions to normal patterns in recreational drug use. Substance use increased during the pandemic and use can result in heightened drug dependency and addiction. People with substance abuse disorders are also at a greater risk for adverse health effects if they contract the virus. Lawal believes that the effects of long COVID-19 could increase drug dependency as ketamine could be used for chronic pain management. “Lots of long COVID-19 symptoms have to do with pain, so any hard drugs that ease that pain and have the plus sides of being high are def initely sure to be abused,” Lawal
said. “The pandemic has exacerbated dependency on pain medication by creating a whole new population of people who live with chronic pain.” The pandemic has increased fentanyl lacings in ketamine and other drugs. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said that this summer it seized around 1.8 million fake pills — made to look like Oxycontin, Percocet, Adderall and Xanax, among other drugs — that were laced with fentanyl. “We are getting to a point now where safe supply is the only option,” the student said. “Most of the heroin and cocaine coming into the country is laced with fentanyl. That’s how my neighbor died, about a week ago.”
Palamar said that when using ketamine recreationally, people should be aware of the dangers of the drug’s dissociative effects, which can cause users to feel confused, disoriented or dizzy. “It can also leave you vulnerable to danger in general, especially if you’re out in public while high,” Palamar said. “People who use ketamine recreationally need to be in a safe place with people they trust.”
Contact Kristian Burt at kburt@nyunews.com.
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NYC taxi workers strike deal, end hunger strike
SIRUI WU | WSN
A person wore a New York Taxi Workers Alliance T-shirt at the hunger strike on Oct. 20. The two-week hunger strike ended on Nov. 3 with a successful negotiation of a debt relief agreement.
By ABBY WILSON Staff Writer A two-week strike organized by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance ended on Nov. 3 after the union representing New York City taxi drivers negotiated a debt relief agreement with the city government and the largest private equity firm financing taxi medallions in the city. “After a long and painful journey, we made it home to victory,” Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of NYTWA, said in a press release. “Drivers will no longer be at risk of losing their homes, and no longer be held captive to a debt beyond their lifetime. The city we love had our back and so today we can say, we have won.” Marblegate Asset Management, the private equity firm the union negotiated with, will now supplement the New York City Medallion Relief Program with a city-backed guarantee to reduce principal and monthly payments on medallion debt and restructure existing loans. The firm, which controls almost one-third of the city’s taxi medallions, forgave $70 million in debt and extended loan payment deadlines several times over the pandemic. NYTWA held a 24-hour picket line outside of City Hall for 45 days and began a hunger strike on Oct. 20 to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s initial $65 million Medallion Relief Program and to call for workers’ rights and partial debt relief. The prices of taxi medallions — which drivers are required to own in order to legally drive an independent cab — have fluctuated intensely. The
medallion was valued at about $1 million in 2014 but plummeted to $100,000 this year, leaving the average taxi driver with half a million dollars in debt. Illapa Saraitupac, a community organizer and democratic socialist, is a candidate for the New York State Senate’s 26th district. He attended the picket line several times, and said that when he heard about the debt forgiveness deal that NYTWA secured, he was moved to tears. “This could have been swept under the rug,” he said. “This effort could have been completely diminished in some way and luckily, everything came together. It is a victory for us and for our workers who are the backbone of the city, but we need more.” Jake Colosa, a CAS senior and member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America’s National Coordinating Committee, said there was a consistent presence of NYU students, including NYU’s YDSA chapter, on the picket line. “Every time I was at the picket line, there were other students there too,” Colosa said. “While not having any structural power over the city, student presence on the picket line helped boost the morale of the drivers and hunger strikers throughout the coldest and most difficult days of the strike.” At least one NYU student, CAS junior Karishma Chari, participated in the hunger strike. Chari, an NYU YDSA campaign coordinator, did not eat for 52 hours in solidarity with taxi workers and their families and concluded her hunger strike on Nov. 2. Chari said that the deal reached did not address all of NYTWA’s demands, but it was a big step in the
right direction. “The success of NYTWA has shown many involved on the picket that despite what the government or your boss might have you believing, you do not need to settle for crumbs,” Chari said. Steinhardt senior Gabriel Avalos, a member of NYU YDSA’s organizing committee, attended the picket line several times and organized small groups of other NYU students to join the taxi workers. He attended in support of NYTWA to advocate for justice for immigrants and workers. “It was incredibly powerful to talk to the striking taxi drivers and hear firsthand how the city was failing to adequately respond to their needs,” Avalos said. “Being part of the picket line reminded me that taxi drivers were not alone in their fight for justice and that workers can win hard-fought battles when we organize and bring members from our community together.” Although Colosa does not have any personal connections to the taxi workers, he said he is committed to fighting for workers’ rights as a member of NYU YDSA. “Seeing the joy and celebration when the deal was reached and watching the hunger strikers eat their first food in two weeks was touching and so inspiring to see,” Colosa said. “After following this strike for weeks, it was incredible to see them win and knowing that I had even a small part in that victory means the world to me.” Contact Abby Wilson at news@nyunews.com.
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CULTURE
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Edited by SABRINA CHOUDHARY
Ranked: Hard seltzers By SABRINA CHOUDHARY AND JOEY HUNG
Culture Editor, Beauty & Style Editor We’re basically seltzer sommeliers now. Our sports editor hunted down all of these seltzers for us (so shoutout to him), and we did the fun part. They were all roughly the same price, and most were available at Westside Market. Note to first-years: Our editors were carded every time. Sorry :(
8. Topo Chico
Topo Chico is 4.7% alcohol by volume.
5. White Claw
RYAN WALKER | WSN
Sabrina: I was excited for this one because I came across it in my research for this article. (Yes, we do research!) Man, what a letdown. It’s artif icial in a way I’ve never experienced before. I didn’t think you could go wrong with lemon-lime, but here we are. Well, calling it lemon-lime isn’t really fair. If I f igure out what flavor it actually is, I’ll let you know. Joey: Disgusting. I’ve never wanted to throw up from a seltzer while sober before, but there’s a f irst time for everything. 7. Two Robbers
White Claw is 5% alcohol by volume.
tered down mango juice than seltzer, which I guess could be a good thing. But it’s not really seltzer. It could be a good mixer, honestly, but I don’t see myself cracking open a can of AriZona at a party anytime soon. J: Bro?! It just tastes like a lighter AriZona. It’s not as carbonated as it should be, which is kind of disappointing because then I’d think it’s perfect. My taste is questionable, I know.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
S: A couple of weeks ago, my guy friend and I were buying White Claw at CVS and one of the employees mocked us for drinking it, because in his mind, only girls drink White Claw. He likes beer. Bitch, so do I! Look, I get it. White Claw is basic;, therefore people will call it a girly drink. But honestly, it’s popular for a reason. It’s not the best or most interesting seltzer out there, but it’s a crowd-pleaser. Case in point: They f inally realized that Variety Pack 1 doesn’t need to exist, but mango makes everyone happy. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s 2021, and White Claw sexism is boring. Please get a hobby. J: I REFUSE TO DRINK WHITE CLAW BY ITSELF. It tastes like the bottom of the soda can. It’s yummy if you mix it with a 7-Eleven ICEE because it effectively drowns out the taste. 4. Bud Light
Two Robbers is 5.2% alcohol by volume.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
S: I hate black cherry so, so, so much. At f irst the lemon twist gave me hope — it took the edge off initially — but then the cough syrup bitterness punched me in the taste buds. If I were already drunk, the flavor wouldn’t be an issue, but I wasn’t, sadly. And the taste lingers after you’re done drinking it. Blegh. J: I also hate black cherry, so I don’t know why I drank that. It just reminds me of being in the doctor’s off ice at age 6, waiting for the doctor while playing with the weird sand table. Those are the vibes: weird, icky, horrid. The packaging is sick, though, if you wanna look cool at a party. 6. Truly
Bud Light is 5% alcohol by volume.
S: We tried the Seltzer Nog flavor because it sounded horrific. It somehow tasted like the pastry part of an apple danish? How did they do that? Why did they do that? J: ?????????? I tried Seltzer Nog and it just tasted like apple pie. This is what Grandma Betty’s house would smell like during Christmas. I don’t hate it — I just want to know why they did this?
RYAN WALKER | WSN
S: I drank way too much Truly lemonade this summer because my friends always bought it. It’s sweeter than I would like, and its fruitiness makes it exclusively a summer drink to me. We’re past Halloween. I declare Truly lemonade season over. The regular seltzer, on the other hand, is solid for any time of year. J: It smells like pineapple at first, but the after-smell is wet socks. Their second mistake was making a seltzer pineapple-flavored. It’s too carbonated. Too sweet. I don’t like it.
Arizona is 4.7% alcohol by volume.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
2. Cacti S: It’s the Travis Scott seltzer, so naturally, my roommate and I tried it last year for the meme. I was pleasantly surprised. Cacti uses tequila-inspired agave liquor instead of flavorless malt liquor like most seltzers, so it tastes and feels more like a mixed drink. It also has a higher alcohol percentage — 7% compared to White Claw’s 5% — so you get more bang for your buck. And maybe it’s a placebo, but I can feel the difference. J: I really like Cacti (but NOT Travis Scott). It tastes a lot more like soda than it does alcohol. You smell and taste the artif icial flavoring, but the alcohol is only noticeable in the aftertaste. But watch out: It’s super dangerous because you forget you’re drinking a seltzer, then suddenly you’re throwing up in the bathroom of some gross bar.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
3. AriZona
Truly is 5% alcohol by volume.
Cacti is 7% alcohol by volume.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
S: First thought: AriZona makes seltzer?! Second thought: It is orange. It looks like mango juice. In fact, it’s more like wa-
Bon & Viv is 4.5% alcohol by volume.
RYAN WALKER | WSN
1. Bon & Viv S: This tastes like non-alcoholic seltzer, complete with the weird carbon-y aftertaste. Seriously, there’s no trace of alcohol. The mango flavor was impressive — better than mango White Claw, which is the best they’ve got — but it should be noted that the other flavors are kind of weird. I appreciate that they took a risk and put themselves out there, but I don’t want prickly pear, okay? Stick with the classics. Overall, it’s the hipster version of White Claw. Or alcoholic La Croix. I guess that’s the same thing. J: It tastes like infused water and a childhood memory that I can’t place. It’s sweet, but there’s no aftertaste, so it’s not overpowering. It tastes like a White Claw, but more organic — if that makes sense. A Brooklyn White Claw? Contact Joey Hung at jhung@nyunews.com and Sabrina Choudhary at schoudhary@nyunews.com.
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Edited by SASHA COHEN and ANA CUBAS
Tisch prof reveals music struggles and triumphs in new book
IMAGE COURTESY OF MIKE ERRICO
Mike Errico is a professor at the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. On Nov. 7, he released his book “Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter,” which features lessons from his years of teaching students.
By SARAH JOHN Contributing Writer Mike Errico, a professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, released his book “Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter” on Nov. 7. I sat down with Errico to talk about his career and what makes his new book such a special project. The book is now available for sale online and in bookstores. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Sarah John: Tell us a little bit about your career path and life as a songwriter and a performer. Mike Errico: My career path is very discombobulated. I think that is what gives me a unique perspective on the students. I came to the whole thing backwards. I was actually born backwards, literally—I was a breached birth. The joke in my family is that I never really turned around. I backed into songwriting because my dad, who is a pianist, took a pop songwriting course but hated it. He is a
classical guy and they were talking about popular music. He didn’t want to get his money back, and I had the same name as him, so I went in his place. I just sort of showed up the next week. They were like, “OK.” That’s how I started my songwriting career. I’ve gone on to lots of different record deals and management deals. I’ve toured the country and the world as a performing artist. I’ve written for TV and film. After a bit of that, a dean at another college asked me to speak to the students. They said, “There are a lot of people here who are interested in [songwriting] as a career path.” I was like, “I don’t really know that I know how to [explain] that. I don’t even know what I’m doing. I didn’t go to school for this, I just learned it on the street basically. I learned it in clubs and on the road.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I ended up talking to a group of students. It was kind of a revelation. It was an “aha” moment, that I had something to say to them that was productive. I really enjoyed the dynamic, I really enjoyed being able to help in that
small way. I’ve also put out lots of records, and I worked in publishing. I was the online editor of Blender Magazine, which was a music magazine that was considered Rolling Stone’s snarkier younger brother. I did a bunch of that. I teach from an artist’s perspective. I’m able to talk to students from that perspective with that sort of history behind me. I think I know what they’re thinking about, and I know what they’re scared of and worried about. I was, and am still, petrified of a lot of the same things. It’s funny what changes and what doesn’t as time goes by. There are fears that never leave us because they have evolved over centuries. We’re still nervous about the same stuff. It’s been cool to be a part of it. SJ: What do you think have been the most meaningful lessons from those experiences? ME: Especially in music, it’s like you’re constantly walking in the dark. All of the fears and anxieties that are associated with walking in pitch blackness still exist. Having done that, and having seen my way through some of those things, I’ve been able to articulate solutions to students. I’ll get into office hours. There’ll be crying and tears. There are lots of questions. But the questions are not about songwriting. The questions are “How do I do this? I want to do this so badly.” It’s not like, “I don’t know where to place my chorus.” That’s really not what we’re talking about. It’s “How do I own this and push it forward in a meaningful way?” Those are really philosophical, psychological questions. It’s about how to navigate in open water. It’s really what the art is and also what the business is. It’s a double problem. I did a lot of research for this book. For artists, I just got this sense that the people who make it are the people who can continue to find a way to stay optimistic, to find a way to compile tools that they can trust. The tools that you trust can be psychological. They can also be something else, like song form. So, if you don’t know where to go, there is an architecture that you can trust and lean on.
That’s the kind of stuff that we talk about. A lot of those lessons are really hard-won. A lot of questions students ask me are things I’ve asked myself and asked my own mentors. I’ve tried to translate that into a book. There are things about architecture and what song form is and all of that. But there’s also: “How do I survive? How do I live life when there are no guardrails at all? I have to trust myself.” That’s the kind of stuff that I learned and that I tried to translate. The tools are habits that build routine and self-care, like journaling. Every semester someone has either passed or gotten into a tremendously bad health-oriented situation, in a way that is directly attributable to the myths of the artist’s life. I look at my students and I’m like, “Which one of you do I want to have that happen to? Which obituary do I want to read?” The answer is none. Absolutely none. It’s a lot about how to be imaginative, and inspired, and also not hurting yourself. You know, George Lucas never went into space. He wrote Star Wars. You don’t have to emulate the fake sort of myths of the artist, in order to live that life. SJ: You bring in a lot of other experts. How do you think that adds to the book? ME: I do think that if you follow a pursuit in a way that’s very well-intended and deeply focused, you do find out that a lot of things are much closer to one another than not. Many pursuits have much more in common than not. That is why I go to people who are non-musical in the book. I interview a lot of people who have nothing to do with music. I do that in order to amplify the idea and make it non-musical and more universal. I think that there’s one thing I see with students who want to find out how to carve their own path in music. I say to them that pop music is a form, and if you look over time, there are forms that are a language that is in constant conversation with itself. They freak out about that. They say, “I’m going to write my own language.” So one of the things I wanted to explain to them is that ev-
eryone works within forms. To amplify that, I followed the expression “you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.” A friend of a friend is a mechanical engineer at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. I spoke to her. She makes tires. She literally makes the wheel. I asked her, “There you are at Goodyear labs. You’re always coming out with new types of tires. Does anyone ever say, ‘You know what, maybe it’s the shape that’s the problem?’” Of course, she’s like, “You’re an idiot. All our tires are round for a specific reason because round rolls.” But song form rolls. The idea of repetition, it works. That’s the way our brain is designed to learn. SJ: What are some of the things, loosely, that you’re most excited about sharing in the book? ME: When I was dealing with the edit phase of the book, my first question was “Is this funny? Are you laughing?” Because if you’re not laughing, then I’m not doing this right. So that was my first thing. I wanted to balance funny and informative because without funny no one gives a crap. I think laughter in general is an incredibly powerful and underutilized resource in teaching, in my experience. I think when people are laughing they are more willing to take chances because they feel safer. I try to keep the class, if not rolling in the aisles, at least engaged with a smile. You get more adventurous work that way, and you get weirder answers. I think the weirder answers are ultimately the better in my class. I really wanted to get my in-class voice on the page, so at every stage with the editor I was like, “Is it funny?” I think that was something that really came to light during the writing phase. It’s performative. Teaching is a performative art, but hopefully one where you’re using your powers for good. Contact Sarah John at arts@nyunews.com.
A former NYU circus professor’s lifelong juggling act By CLARA SCHOLL Contributing Writer Sitting at his permanently reserved table next to the stage at a Lower East Side neo-burlesque house, Hovey Burgess held a glass of milk — his beverage of choice — and fiddled with his rhinestone bow tie, ready to enjoy music, burlesque and cake in celebration of his 81st birthday. Burgess, a former circus performer and recently retired Tisch circus arts professor, has performed in over 10 circuses over his half-century-long career after teaching himself to juggle and ride a unicycle, though he had intended to join as a veterinarian. Among his performance credits is Circus Flora, which is directed by one of his former NYU students. This past fall was the first season he’s missed in 30 years, due to medical issues he calls his “geriatric baggage.” A couple weeks after I was introduced to Burgess in the Slipper Room, I lunched with him in the Lower East Side. He sat down in a Circus Flora bomber jacket and ordered two apple tarts with cinnamon ice cream and a glass of milk. Between bites, he told me that he joined the circus at 17 years old while growing up in Dover, New Jersey. He was inspired to join the circus by
the New Jersey Hunt Bros. Circus, where he started in 1962. When he saw them perform with a neighbor, he realized what he wanted to do. “I said [to the neighbor], ‘I’d kind of like to join a circus for a year,’ Burgess said. “He said, ‘You can’t do that because you’ll get sawdust in your blood, you won’t be able to leave.’ I didn’t think he was right about that, but he was.” After teaching at five undergraduate colleges in seven years, Burgess found it difficult to balance university life and circus performance. “I found college kind of boring and I found the circus almost anti-intellectual,” Burgess said. “I couldn’t find the balance in that. I would be in a circus and I would be discontent, and I would be at university and be discontent, and I would go back and forth. Nothing was just right until the situation arose where I started teaching at NYU, which was the best of both worlds. I had the circus world and I had the intellectual challenges.” Burgess worked at NYU as a professor of circus for over 51 years and 100 semesters between 1966 and 2017. I asked him how his students had changed throughout his years of teaching. “When you teach people, their motivation
is the ingredient that is the hardest to come by,” Burgess said. “Because I was working with acting students, some had motivation and some did not. Some were amazing, others thought that being an actor was all in their head, and that it didn’t require any physical grief at all. The students that did well with circus tended to succeed in the outside professional world, and the ones that didn’t did not seem to show up in the professional world.” Since retirement, Burgess says he still has one student left — himself. “I’m teaching myself foot juggling,” Burgess said. “When I listen to myself as a teacher it goes very well, which I don’t always do.” He does his foot juggling in a polar bear suit in preparation for an upcoming movie about a polar bear who teaches himself to foot juggle in the wild. He practices on the upstairs level of the New York City duplex he bought in the early ’70s. As we walked to Burgess’s apartment on First Avenue, he told me he had performed with a live polar bear in his early days of circus career, kindling a love for the animal that persists to this day. As we stepped through the doorway, I was met with polar bears of every shape and size, large plush stuffed animals and sculptures of quartzite and marble. Two framed polar bear adoption certificates hung
on the wall atop a bookshelf with a variety of books on polar bears like “The Man who loved a Polar Bear and other Psychotherapist’s Tales” and “Fuzzy Little Polar Bear.” He’s taken rather marvelous trips internationally with his polar bear training assistant, burlesque starlet Lil’ Miss Lixx — they travelled to the Arctic to look for polar bears and to Paris to see the Cirque d’Hiver, where “Trapeze,” the film that inspired him to join the circus, was shot.
Burgess has never slowed down, even in retirement. His life after leaving NYU has been anything but dull, so I asked him what advice he would give to students arriving here. “Take care of yourself, pay attention to detail, and be original,” Burgess said. “And if you can’t be original, copy from someone who’s really good — but wait until they’re dead.” Contact Clara Scholl at arts@nyunews.com.
SUSAN BEHRENDS VALENZUELA | WSN
Hovey Burgess is a former circus performer and recently retired NYU circus arts professor. Although he has retired, his life has been anything but boring.
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UNDER THE ARCH
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Edited by CAITLIN HSU AND SYDNEY BARRAGAN
Unseen, overworked, underpaid: Student parents at NYU By AVA EMILIONE Contributing Writer
With cutout paper hearts taped to the wall and a couple of mischievous cats climbing on her furniture, Jessica York’s Zoom background reveals a full house and a busy schedule. A thirdyear doctoral student in NYU’s physical therapy program, York is the mother of two young children and a student with a jam-packed schedule. York walked me through her typical Wednesday. “The kids always wake us up,” York said. “It’s usually around 6. My husband makes breakfast for the kids while I make lunch. I grab the clothes for them and make sure their bags are packed … then I throw clothes on and head out the door.” After commuting from New Jersey for an afternoon of consecutive classes at NYU’s Washington Square Park campus, York makes the journey back home to spend the night with her family. “I [went] back to Penn [Station], came back home, I got home in time, I made dinner,” York said. “After we ate dinner, I sat with the kids for like 10 minutes, went upstairs, did bathtime, did bedtime … Normally, after that time, I get my studying done. So I study until I can’t keep my eyes open.” Chauntenay Young — a third-year graduate student at NYU Wagner, NYU employee and mom of two — has a similarly hectic Wednesday schedule. “A typical Wednesday would involve me bringing [my kids] to school … in the morning I have like an hour to get from the South Bronx, all the way down to 8th and Broadway to class,” Young said. “And then once class is finished, I work remotely for NYU, so I have to travel back
COURTESY OF CHAUNTENAY YOUNG
In addition to her roles as a student and a mother of two, Chauntenay Young also supports her family with her job as a university employee.
up to the South Bronx.” During months of remote classes, Arthur Migliazza, another graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree in physical therapy, remembers having to attend class and do homework in his one-bedroom apartment with his wife and infant. “I had to do homework from the bathtub, just because it was the only quiet place I could go,” Migliazza said. These anecdotes reveal an experience unlike that of most NYU students. For student parents, the sleepless nights, bathtub study sessions and long commutes are commonplace. While most NYU students get to relax after their classes, for student parents, the end of class is just the beginning of their day. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that over 22% of all undergraduate students are parents, a demographic that stands over four million strong nationwide. Many student parents at undergraduate and graduate levels also hold down full- or part-time jobs. On a national level, this information is easy to find. But at NYU, it takes more than a Google search. Looking for information about NYU student parents, one is led to private Google chats, unanswered emails, websites untouched since 2013 and vague references to child care in New York City, which point toward digital dead ends consisting of few real people or NYU-specific resources. The first serious lead I discovered was Patrick Angiolillo, a new father and sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Arts & Science. He is also the Student Government Assembly senator-at-large for students with caregiving responsibilities, which has allowed him to conduct meaningful research and influence policy change on behalf of the student parent population via a survey published in January. The survey drew over 800 responses and was one of the first in-depth studies to paint a picture of NYU’s student parent population. “That picture looks like graduate students commuting to campus, probably living with a partner or family,” Angiolillo said. “I think some of our respondents identified as having over four or five children [and] likely also working a job, whether that’s on campus as a student worker, a teacher, teaching assistant or off campus.” Angiolillo added that daily commutes, child care schedules and personal responsibilities take a toll on student parents.
COURTESY OF JESSICA YORK
Despite a heavy workload in her final year of graduate studies, Jessica York still found time to read bedtime stories to her kids during a study break.
“Student caregivers, or student parents, especially at NYU, are just being stretched really thin,” Angiolillo said. “It’s this delicate balancing act that a lot of our student parents are playing that in any given month could mean they don’t have enough money to pay rent, or they don’t have enough money to buy groceries.” Angiolillo became visibly emotional and paused to gather himself. “I’m sorry, I’m not meaning to get emotional,” he said. “It’s just — it’s a really tough picture.” This situation has only worsened during the past year and a half as the pandemic heightened existing educational disparities. However, there has been little conversation on how the pandemic impacted student parents. While York conceded that Zoom classes were at times more manageable for her than in-person classes, remote learning dissolved the barrier between work and home. “It was really difficult emotionally to juggle so many different schedules … I would literally have no break in between for myself,” Young said. “I felt really burdened, overwhelmed. My house was just total chaos. My mind was total chaos.”
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Student parents adore their families, enjoy their time at NYU and are dedicated to their coursework. But standing on this balance beam day after day, largely unsupported and unseen by your educational institution, can lead to burnout and exhaustion. NYU’s guide of resources for student caregivers is one page long with a sizable heading. The first resource listed is a weekly counseling group that meets on Thursday afternoons, when many student parents are attending class, working or commuting. Other resources — such as parental leave and reimbursements for dependent enrollment in the student health plan — are only open to graduate employees. The guide also lists the Center for Student Life child care subsidy, which provides a semesterly payment of $300 to full-time graduate students with children under six years old. (The subsidy was adjusted for inflation last spring after remaining at $200 since 2000.) A 2016 report by Letitia James, who was recently appointed New York’s state attorney general, estimated that raising a child in New York City costs between $11,650 and $16,250 a year. At the very best, two semesters of NYU’s subsidy covers about 5% of the yearly cost of raising one child. It’s helpful, York said, but barely. “On one hand, I am grateful for whatever they have to offer … On the other hand, it’s a little bit of a joke,” York said. “My first year, we were paying full-time daycare that cost over $3,300 a month. So $200 [is] like pennies to the dollar.” Luckily, SGA and the Graduate Student Organizing Committee have made notable strides in securing financial re-
sources for student parents. Last spring, the SGA passed a resolution that designated an officer of the Work Life Office to coordinate services for student caregivers and called for the establishment of a university-wide task force. The GSOC child care fund for graduate student workers, which is disbursed annually to applicants, was also doubled to $200,000 in spring 2021 and is set to increase incrementally to $325,000 by 2026. Graduate employees have six-week paid leave for new births and adoptions. A new contract after the spring strike won child care benefits for GSOC graduate employees, including an annual child care subsidy and access to Bright Horizon’s child care program. While long overdue, many of these programs are exclusive to graduate employees, graduate students or GSOC members. Undergraduate caregivers or non-employee graduate caregivers are still falling through the cracks, and graduate student employees still face myriad challenges. If NYU administration stepped up to the level of student-initiated efforts, some of the burdens on student parents could be lifted. The struggles faced by NYU student parents aren’t solely financial — they also struggle socially. They are often unable to go out with their classmates after class, participate in study groups or attend office hours. Many students are left feeling isolated from their childless peers. “I adore everyone, but it’s hard to connect with people when you don’t have the time to hang out,” York said. “I’m missing out on having a tight social network.” These challenges deepen when factoring in race, gender and class.
COURTESY OF ARTHUR MIGLIAZZA
Graduate student Arthur Migliazza is joined at work by his infant child.
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“For the most part of my classes, I am the only mom … then to also be the only student of color, who’s also a mom, I do feel a little bit isolated … I feel like I have no voice,” Young said. “I have to still do the same as others to hold up to the expectations. But … [it’s] more challenging for me.” These challenges are not abstract concepts — they are day-to-day struggles that require pragmatic solutions. There is no doubt that the student parent population of NYU needs to be seen and heard, but what does that look like? The first step could be to include an option to identify as a student caregiver on NYU’s personal information database. This would allow NYU to match caregivers with necessary programs and financial resources. Student parents are advocating for more realistic subsidies paid directly to them, especially after the economic turmoil of the pandemic. Since Migliazza and his spouse lost their jobs because of the pandemic, financial support would make a huge difference. “We’ve had to [live] off loans for quite a while,” Migliazza said. “It’d be nice if NYU had had some sort of financial help, or a work campus daycare place that was either free or affordable.” While the implementation of on-campus child care may be pricey, Angiolillo argues that it’s worth the cost. “It’s not outside the realm of possibilities,” Angiolillo said. “I think in the long term, on-campus child care would make NYU much more competitive.” Campus daycares are already a cornerstone of many elite universities. On-campus child care is offered at many City University of New York campuses as well as 75% of Ivy League institutions, including Columbia University uptown. Given that the majority of mothers in college are single parents, NYU’s lack of accessible on-campus child care makes it a less feasible option for parents than other competitive institutions. Accommodating student parents doesn’t end with administrative efforts. While many of the student parents said that they have had supportive professors, there is room for NYU faculty to widen their accommodations within the classroom. Young has struggled with securing arrangements for her needs as a mother and believes training is a solution. “I would definitely ask that professors be trained or go through a workshop on how to deal with students who are parents,” Young said. “I have dealt with … professors who … couldn’t see my perspective on how a class could be challenging for a parent.” Young suggested that professors be trained to provide longer breaks and create grading systems that take child care into account. Faculty training can also focus on evaluating how parenting intersects with gender, race and class. While Young said that most of her experiences with NYU faculty have been positive, she recounted an experience at an NYU interview where her academic capability as a mother was brought into question. “One question was, ‘How do you think you can handle this as a parent?’” Young said. “I just wanted to say, ‘Would you have asked this if I were a dad?’ This is not an accident. I planned my life around this. I planned my pregnancies around this.” This lack of understanding doesn’t only do a disservice to student parents — it also spells a heavy loss for NYU. Student parents bring maturity, admirable determination and valuable perspectives
COURTESY OF ARTHUR MIGLIAZZA
Graduate student Arthur Migliazza was joined by his infant son to remote classes.
to the classroom. With so few resources for student parents, how many scholars is NYU turning away simply because they can’t afford or schedule child care? How many conversations haven’t been had, papers haven’t been written or studies haven’t been conducted? How many potential students have been altogether dissuaded from applying to NYU because of their parental status? But with the work of groups such as SGA and GSOC, the experience of student parents has moved from an invisible field to an active work-in-progress. With more representation and resources from the community, there is hope for the future of student parents at NYU. The introduction of Angiolillo’s Student Caregivers Network and corresponding newsletter is an important first step in bringing visibility to the experience of student parents. York spoke about the feeling of isolation she experienced before being introduced to the Caregivers Network. “You just get so used to expecting so little, as a parent, from work or from us being as a student,” York said. “When I got the [child care newsletter email], I was thrilled to see that there was some representation. I just feel invisible. I picked this journey, and I’m fine with that. But sometimes it’s like internal screaming … We’d all get mass emails last year about COVID, [saying] ‘Well, some of the faculty are being affected by child
care’ and … what about the students? We are also being affected by this and no one seems to care.” The fact that many of NYU’s brightest scholars are unseen, underpaid and overworked due to their role as parents should be a call to action. One of NYU’s greatest strengths is diversity, and to maintain this strength NYU must allocate resources to disenfranchised groups like student parents. These days, though, a long day struggling with classes, work and child care — with minimal support from NYU — is just another Wednesday for student parents like Jessica York and Chauntenay Young. Being a student parent should not be a lonely journey. It can be a path as well-lit as Broadway, as much a part of NYU as West 4th Street. “We’re here,” Angiolillo said, “and we deserve to be noticed.” Students interested in learning more about the experience of student parents can contact Patrick Angiolillo at patrick.angiolillo@nyu.edu, GSOC at gsoc@2110uaw.org or sign up for Angiolillo’s monthly Caregivers Network Newsletter.
Contact Ava Emilione at underthearch@ nyunews.com.
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UNDER THE ARCH
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Edited by JULIAN HAMMOND SANTANDER
Pyrite By TAYLOR KNIGHT Deputy Exposures Editor
I prayed. I went to church. My family believed in God. I thought I did as well. It was only when I discovered Greek mythology through Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series that I realized there was a gaping hole in my Christian faith. It wasn’t that I suddenly believed in the gods of Mount Olympus or that I thought I was a demigod (though admittedly it was something I hoped for). It was the fact that I couldn’t understand how these gods and myths were any different from the one I was expected to take seriously. I read the Bible voraciously, and I consumed countless stories about the inherent validity of God’s will. I loved these stories, so I chose to believe them. The fact that my parents believed them as well only helped my faith. However, when I finished Riordan’s series, I was struck with a far greater feeling: a deep connection to these works. They were much more believable than my old Bible tales, so why couldn’t they be just as true? Why are my Bible tales considered more reliable? This was a question that struck deep inside me. No one I asked could give me a satisfactory answer, and thus my faith was irreparably damaged. As I grew older and did more research, I realized that I never truly believed — I just wanted to. Of course, this caused great conflict with my family, who assured me that I would come around and find God when I really needed Him. Fine, I’ve been waiting, and will continue to wait. This long introduction is simply a disclaimer about myself before I describe what I’ve been feeling a lot lately. For the past two years, I’ve become really interested in religious history, specifically how the history of religion is intertwined with colonialism and the spread of indoctrination inside and outside of western Europe. In the case of each Abrahamic religion, it seems that almost immediately after the formation of each faith, religion became an apparatus for political activity and a way not simply to protect one’s connection with God, but primarily to regulate societal norms against tides of outsiders. This phenomenon is present in the Holy Roman Empire, the Reconquista, the Muslim conquest of Persia and many more religious conflicts. There were, of course, many who truly believed in God’s will and sought to enforce it, but it is indisputable that religion is frequently used to control its adherents and persecute its opponents. On a smaller scale, religion is passed from generation to generation as a communal possession: “I believe in God, so my children will and so will their children because my religion teaches me to act righteously.” Religion has become commonplace, almost to the point where true belief loses emphasis in favor of performativity. For example, the phrase “I go to church every week” is often used to vouch for one’s moral standing. This presents an interesting contrast between religion as a way for one to connect to one’s faith and religion as
a tool for societal order. As I’ve grown older, this relationship has continued to gnaw at me. Although I’m a nonbeliever, it would be impossible for me to disregard the massive impact religion has on society. I have the deepest respect for the Christian institutions of my upbringing. They have encouraged some of the greatest works of mankind from shining cathedrals, stunning music, enormous records of history, and even important breakthroughs in mathematics and science. They have also allowed people from the largest and most diverse groups to come together for common causes of charity and political unity. Religion has served the purpose of preserving cultural traditions and creating common ground within and between racial groups where no bond would otherwise exist. However, the common link between all of these things is that they emerged without proof of God. There has always been a conflict within communities of faith about the function and validity of religious institutions (see: the Reformation), yet these same institutions are what shape the world in the absence of God. Is the Catholic Church important because it has some connection to God, or because it is one of the oldest, richest and most widespread powers in human history? Is the inclusion of God in this equation simply a justification for an organization seemingly preoccupied with material endeavors? Do the riches accumulated in pursuit of spreading Catholic faith spit in the face of that very faith? These questions challenge me because I am not religious. I have great respect for the worldly achievements of these institutions, but is it appropriate for these gatekeepers to prioritize the earthly over the spiritual? Every day, millions of self-proclaimed believers twist and bend their founding texts to fit their worldly path instead of staying the course to fit their eternal one. It really makes you wonder: Has the use of religion as a tool largely undercut its function as an avenue to faith? While observing religion, I can’t help but be drawn to the architecture, the music, the tradition and the practices of religious institutions to the point of questioning my own unbelief. But every time, I am unconvinced. Does anyone really believe anymore? Or is it just much more convenient to act like you belong and hope for the best? Is there any way to tell?
TAYLOR KNIGHT | WSN
TAYLOR KNIGHT | WSN
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Contact Taylor Knight at tknight@nyunews.com.
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OPINION
OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM
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Edited by ASHA RAMACHANDRAN and KEVIN KURIAN
UNIVERSITY
NYU Langone failed by not designating Juneteenth a holiday
By KEVIN KURIAN Opinion Editor WSN recently reported that NYU Langone Health, NYU’s academic health center, did not include Juneteenth on its holiday calendar, instead allowing employees to choose one “Cultural Heritage Day” per year. Juneteenth, observed on June 19, commemorates the date that Union soldiers freed the last slaves in Galveston, Texas, two years after former President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation declaring Juneteenth to be a national holiday. Langone should do the right thing and add Juneteenth to their holiday calendar. But not only should they recognize the historical wrong of slavery, they should also look ahead to ending racial injustices in public health. Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. Black people are 40% more likely than white people to contract asthma, which can
cause severe complications during pregnancy. Historical injustices, such as exclusionary zoning and redlining, are largely responsible for these disparities. When Black and brown people are permitted to live only in geographic areas with concentrated contaminants and emissions, health disparities will arise. Acknowledging Juneteenth as a holiday will not solve any of these inequities. But it is necessary to acknowledge that healthcare should respond to the needs of Black people because of historical injustices, like slavery, segregation and environmental racism. Langone’s stated policy is that employees can choose any date on the calendar to celebrate a “Cultural Heritage Day.” This is immoral. It pits different holidays against each other, forcing workers at Langone to compartmentalize their beliefs regarding racial justice and equity into a single day. Surely the end of chattel slavery in this country merits a full day of remembrance and celebration, not just an opt-in, box-checking “Cultural Heritage Day.” Langone has been a leader in promoting diversity and inclusion in the field of medicine. Even before protesters took to the streets in pursuit of racial justice last summer, the institution has actively recruited people from underrepresented backgrounds, most notably through a partnership with Howard University. Langone has also been developing curricula for students on the topic of systemic racism in the field of healthcare. It’s for these reasons that Langone’s decision regarding Juneteenth is so puzzling. It’s inconsistent with their previous track record of seek-
ing racial justice. Langone rightly acknowledges Independence Day as an observed holiday on their calendar. What the institution needs to understand is that Juneteenth is another independence day for Black Americans. It’s the date where the government, at long last, took a step to ensure that everyone, regardless of their skin color, was guaranteed the
rights found in the Constitution’s preamble. It’s a holiday that is inherently imbued with hope, showing our country that no matter the wrongs we’ve done in the past, it’s never too late to work to fix them. NYU Langone should honor this and put Juneteenth on their holiday calendar. Contact Kevin Kurian at kkurian@nyunews.com
MANASA GUDAVALLI | WSN
NYU Langone Health should include Juneteenth on its holiday calendar. Recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday would be an act of recognition that shows Langone acknowledges the historical wrong of slavery.
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
OPINION
OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM
Edited by ASHA RAMACHANDRAN and KEVIN KURIAN
STAFF EDITORIAL
Support graduate student union strikes
ALEXANDRA CHAN | WSN
Earlier this year, the NYU Graduate Student organizing Committee secured a pay and benefits increase from the university after three weeks of protesting unfair compensation. Students from other universities who are going on strike deserve our solidarity in their fight for fair pay.
Earlier this year, NYU’s graduate student strike shocked the nation. After three weeks of more than 2,200 grad student union members joining together to protest unfair compensation, the Graduate Student Organizing Committee secured a historic pay and benefits increase from the university. From a minimum wage increase for graduate students to new sanctuary protections for all students against government agencies like U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, GSOC’s collective action has improved the lives of all NYU students in a significant way. The precedent set by GSOC has also bolstered other graduate worker unions in their own fights. Across the country, graduate students are going on strike to demonstrate that their employment conditions and inherent dignity matter more than extravagant paychecks and ritzy penthouses for university leadership. More workers should join them. On Nov. 3, the Columbia University student worker’s union announced that they were going on indefinite strike in order to call for a living wage, improved health insurance packages and third-party arbitration to negotiate a settlement. With around 3,000 union members, this is one of the the largest strikes occurring in the United States, just a few miles north of our campus.
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According to the Student Workers of Columbia, the university pays graduate student workers $6,000-$19,000 below a New York City living wage. The union also cited Columbia’s decision to change compensation structures in the middle of the summer with very short notice, resulting in an $8,000 loss for graduate workers. Eight thousand dollars might not be a lot for Columbia president Lee Bollinger, who earned $4.6 million in 2013, but it’s a significant amount of money for the graduate students at his university who actually have to work for a living. Graduate workers often must sign up for SNAP benefits or take a second job on top of their existing duties to put food on the table. By paying them meager and unreliable wages, Columbia isn’t treating their graduate student workers with the respect that they deserve. Last month, Harvard’s graduate students went on a three-day strike to protest the university leadership’s refusal to increase student pay or make changes to its harassment grievance policy. The Harvard Graduate Students Union is also seeking improvements to mental health and specialist care in their benefits package, a vital demand given the ongoing global pandemic. While this strike was meant to signal that HGSU is steadfast in their resolve, the university’s graduate students should be prepared to
extend their strike indefinitely. University of California system graduate student workers are also preparing to strike. 6,000 lecturers organized with UC-AFT are striking as a result of increased workloads and reduced opportunities for tenure. The median income on UC campuses for non-tenured lecturers is only $19,000, while tenure-track professors can receive six-figure salaries. The UC system refused to recognize the student researchers union in September despite the authorization of more than 10,000 workers. UC-AFT’s next bargaining session is on Nov. 10, and the SRU-UAW union of UC student researchers will hold a strike authorization vote from Nov. 10 to Nov. 19. It’s a disgrace that graduate students are getting their paychecks fleeced across the country. As UC graduate students prepare to fight for their rights, thousands across the nation stand in solidarity with them. Undergraduate students should support graduate student worker unions. About 10% of the NYU undergraduate population signed a solidarity pledge in support of GSOC. HGSU’s strike occurred during the family day weekend, where first-years staged a walkout during Harvard president Lawrence Bacow’s address in solidarity with the union. These strikes have garnered prominent national support. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called in to the NYU GSOC picket line. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sent coffee and donuts to the SWC picket line. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) tweeted at Harvard, questioning their attempts to intimidate the graduate student workers. AFL-CIO president Elizabeth Shuler wrote a letter calling on the UC system to recognize SRU-UAW. Graduate student workers are not alone in their fight, and they deserve our support. Without them, universities would completely cease to function: When NYU graduate students went on strike, lesson plans, office hours and assignment grading fell to the wayside. Graduate students elsewhere, whether in uptown Manhattan, Cambridge or California, have the power to demonstrate their importance to their universities’ daily functions and fight for the treatment they’re owed. This wave of graduate student union strikes is occurring alongside a growing understanding that if you work somewhere, you’re owed basic rights like fair compensation and dignified working conditions. As more unions consider striking, they should build on the successes of student unions like NYU’s GSOC, which was able to secure significant wins. Graduate student workers should continue to demand what they deserve. Their successes will inspire others and lead to concrete, positive change across America’s universities. Contact the Editorial Board at opinion@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.
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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.
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