Washington Square News | November 18, 2019

4 CULTURE

10 SPORTS

New York’s Cuddliest Find Temporary Homes

Mustaches for a Cause: NYU Hockey Joins Movember Movement

6 ARTS

11 WALLKILL

‘Funhouse’: A Concert By, for and Featuring Students

Financial Independence at 25 Cents an Hour

VOLUME LIII | ISSUE 13

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Frat Recruitment Ban Leaves More Questions Than Answers Following the recent moratorium on IFC fraternities for the spring semester due to repeated hazing incidents, there is still a lack of transparency surrounding fraternity protocol.

By LISA COCHRAN Deputy News Editor Recruitment by fraternities at NYU was recently suspended for the Spring 2020 semester due to reports of hazing that have led to the suspension or banning of several frats in the last few semesters.

Despite this action by the Interfraternity Council, public information is lacking on what, when and how hazing occurred. WSN spoke to current and former members of fraternities, and other students, in hopes of gaining more information on the matter.

The recruitment period for Spring 2020, usually 16 weeks long, will now be confined to the month of December, according to GLS sophomore and Zeta Beta Tau Spring Rush Chair Xavier Dreux.

Dreux said, due to the shorter and abnormal rushing period, fraternities will seek out students they already know.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PHOTO BY LAURA LAROSE, VIA FLICKR

Following the suspension or banning of several frats, the Interfraternity Council has imposed a moratorium on recruiting for the spring 2020 semester.

Transgender Students Push for More Resources

By MATTHEW FISCHETTI Staff Writer Students are responsible for many of NYU’s structural changes — it was students who got the school to remove a question about incarceration from the common application, who protested its old dining service provider, Aramark, prior to its transition to Chartwells and who were part of a task force that led to the creation of the

Chief Diversity Officer position at NYU. A relatively new student group, the Silver Trans+ student collective, hopes to be the next to bring NYU to account by pushing NYU’s Student Health Center to improve its resources for transgender students.

“The main focus of the collective is illustrating the barriers to the Student Health Center and pushing and advocating for anti-oppressive research, program evaluations, trainings and change of language

around services that are unnecessarily gendered,” Silver graduate student and Silver Trans+ member Kelly Ancharski said.

The NYU LGBTQ+ Center hosted a panel discussion with members of the Gender & Sexuality team from the SHC last Thursday that discussed the existing resources for transgender and non-binary students on campus as part of Trans Awareness Week.

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SARAH MIRANDA | WSN

Tandon Transfers Discuss the Struggles of Leaving READ ON PAGE 7

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Edited by VICTOR PORCELLI

Frat Recruitment Ban Leaves More Questions Than Answers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“Our last legal window to off icially obtain these new members is this December, when it would normally be the beginning of [spring] semester,” Dreux said. “Because we don’t have that luxury of time, we’re gonna try to reach out more to people that brothers think would already be a good f it and do some more targeted recruiting.”

Dreux said his own recruitment experience began at Club Fest after he was approached by ZBT members. In proceeding weeks, he attended around four hours of interviews and was then contacted by ZBT off icials who offered him a bid, after which he was off icially initiated. “[Recruitment] events range in nature from interviews to playing pool, but all events are geared towards trying to help prospective new members f ind a brotherhood,” the NYU IFC website reads.

GLS sophomore Alex Ramirez underwent the recruitment process for ZBT, but later chose to not stay on with the fraternity because he felt he did not connect with the

other brothers.

Ramirez said while most of the interview questions attempted to gauge the character of prospective fraternity members, some questions asked were lewd.

“If they actually liked you, they would tell you to come to these little gatherings before the interview,” Ramirez said. “They mixed in a bunch of stupid questions like ‘who has a bigger d-ck’ and all that.”

According to the NYU website, 9 of 13 NYU Interfraternity Council fraternities are currently under some form of suspension or probation — with Delta Phi permanently banned from the university — all citing hazing allegations.

This leaves four on-campus fraternities currently listed as active, some of which have also been accused of hazing and suspended within the last f ive years.

“There were a few instances, from my understanding, in previous years of hazing on campus,” Dreux said.

“Last spring, Zeta Psi got put under national investigation for hazing but it was dropped by their nationals.”

Dreux did not mention that his own fraternity, ZBT, just f inished a probationary period this fall after facing hazing charges this fall, according to NYU’s website. The website does not specify when or how the incidents occurred.

Ramirez said he knew about the probation prior to the recruitment process but was never told the details. “[The probation] is also why I was very careful with joining it,” Ramirez said. “I don’t know the reason, and they never spoke to us about it.”

Suspension results in a brief loss of recognition and endorsement from the university and bars fraternities from recruitment. However, it does not necessarily prevent fraternities from operating off-campus.

“We note that there are some formerly recognized chapters that have continued to operate without university endorsement, oversight or approval and are thus considered unrecognized chapters,” the NYU website reads. “This situation concerns us because we do not have conf idence that unrecognized chapters operate with the same dil-

igence to promote student growth and development.”

Fraternities operating outside of NYU’s administrative scope are not necessarily unknown to the student body.

“A lot of frats that get kicked off still remain ‘active’ in secret, they just don’t let NYU or their national board know,” Tisch sophomore and Alpha Kappa Delta Phi member Jamie Zhang said in a text to WSN. Cases at NYU represent only a fraction of a much larger nationwide fraternity hazing epidemic. In a 2008 survey performed by University of Maine researchers Elizabeth Allan and Mary Madden, 73% of students involved with fraternities or sororities reported being hazed as part of their initiation.

Those surveyed described the hazing they experienced as including forced alcohol consumption, public humiliation, sex acts and forced sleep deprivation.

“It creates an unhealthy culture,“ Gallatin junior Clare Griff in said.

“Hazing is obviously terrible and I personally do not understand why

anyone would go through those processes to be in a frat.”

According to the book “Hazing”

by Hank Nuwer, at least one student per year has died a hazing-related death, on average, from 1959-2019, with a majority of these deaths occurring in male college fraternities.

Last week, a Cornell f irst-year was found at the bottom of a gorge following an off-campus Pi Kappa Psi party. The cause of his death remains unknown, although authorities speculate that it is related to alcohol consumption at the fraternity party.

“I see the psychological justif ication behind hazing, because that’s kind of how you create the exclusivity,” CAS sophomore Johnnie Yu said. “On the larger part it really does damage, it’s def initely harmful to individuals.”

Members of the IFC Executive Board and Center for Student Life Assistant Director David Gonzalez did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

Email Lisa Cochran at lcochran@nyunews.com.

Transgender Students Push for More Resources CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Gender & Sexuality team is one of them. It provides a range of clinical options for issues relating to SOGIE — sexual orientation, gender identity and expression — non-heteronormative relationship structures like polyamory and sexual practices, such as BDSM, per the student health website.

While NYU mandates that support and medical staff take the LGBTQ+ training SafeZone, a portion of the discussion centered around problems with misgendering and deadnaming — when a government or legal

name is used rather than the patient’s preferred name.

While students can update their name and pronouns on Albert, students at the discussion spoke about their experiences getting misgendered while receiving care outside of the Gender and Sexuality Team. Previously, during an effort to recognize seniors who donated to the 1831 Fund by putting their names on the Kimmel Center for University Life’s steps, NYU put students’ deadnames on the steps as well.

Brooke Donatone, the head of the Gender & Sexuality Team, said this has

been a problem for years and joked that “being at NYU, I’m sure you know you don’t get things done quickly,” during the panel discussion.

The team provides clinical options through the student health insurance policy such as hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgeries; voice modification and binding — a chest compression surgery — are also available. The Gender and Sexuality team provides wellness options, including personal or group counseling through the Counseling Services department.

Trans+ focuses on health disparities

A waiting area in the Student Health Center. At a town hall last week, transgender students called on NYU to increase SHC resources.

for trans and nonbinary students at the Student Health Center. It recently conducted a survey of 10 students within the Silver Graduate School Program but cited lack of funding for further research on the extent of health disparities. Trans+ has contacted their faculty and student senate representatives to demand a program review of the SHC, among other goals.

Member of Trans+ and Silver Graduate School second-year Leah Abay was critical of the training programs within the SHC. “The amount of work [in clinical

NINA SCHIFANO | WSN

procedures] they are doing is topnotch,” Abay said. “It’s more of a structural issue, there needs to be more trans-competent training.”

Abay also called on professors to create brace spaces within the classroom, rather than safe spaces, where students have the option to assert their pronouns but don’t have to. Abay said this would make classes more gender inclusive.

Students attending the discussion proposed having the option of pronoun pins or blank nametags to express preferred name and gender identity as a solution for the problem.

In a statement to WSN, the SHC said they will pilot a new platform for its electronic health record to reduce deadnaming and misgendering in upcoming months.

The SHC has researched ways to use more gender neutral language, and said “no single, universal convention or best-practice exists among comparable health care facilities” in an analysis of 10 different health care sites. The SHC says that they are incorporating less gendered language by taking down a third of the Women’s Health signs. Still, it maintains the term “Women’s Health” is welcoming to trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming students.

While the SHC works to improve, Trans+ will continue to push them to do so due to issues Ancharski says are still prevalent in the center.

“You can say what your gender identity is but in my experience providers have not called me by they/them pronouns,” Ancharski said. “They have not affirmed my gender expression or identity. And beyond that, [there is] the fear of not receiving pelvic exams or preventative care because it’s structured under the women’s health center.”

Email Matthew Fischetti at news@nyunews.com.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Underrepresented Students Demand Support From NYU

By MINA MOHAMMADI Deputy News Editor When President Donald Trump rescinded support for children of undocumented immigrants on Sept. 5, 2017, NYU’s president, Andrew Hamilton, was quick to offer support to students who were affected.

“NYU is committed to fully supporting our DACA students [...] while you may feel fearful or dismayed today, remember that you are a member of a

community that cares about you, a university where you are welcome and respected,” Hamilton said in a statement on the same day. “Do not hesitate to ask for assistance; we are here for you.”

Attendees at a town hall for undocumented, first-generation and low-income students on Thursday said these strong words have not been followed by strong action. Those who attended a town hall for Latine students one day earlier shared a similar sentiment, asking for support in the form of action.

ELAINE CHEN | WSN

Attendees at a Thursday town hall discuss struggles first-generation and/or low-income, migrant, refugee and undocumented students face on campus.

Hosted by UndocNYU and the First-Generation and Low Income Partnership, the town hall featured students who said NYU maintains a facade of supporting students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program but fails to take direct action within the university to ensure their representation.

In December 2016, Hamilton declared his support for undocumented students in an email. This October, he signed an amicus brief — along with more than a dozen universities — sent to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of DACA students. These efforts, students at the town hall said, are largely symbolic and fail to amount to positive change in the community.

“You can say you’re supporting undocumented students at NYU but if you are not providing proper financial aid, mental health services and safety training, then the support of undocumented students is called into question,” Senator at-Large and GLS junior Aya Ouda said to 30 attendees at the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium in the Kimmel Center for University Life.

Presenters highlighted two instances of racist graffiti aimed at Latine students found in Bobst Library two years ago which said “Hasta Luego Dreamers.”

The graffiti was written in the wake of the Trump administration’s cancelation of DACA. Attendees also discussed U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruiting at the NYU School of Law Career Fair and interactions with administrators in which they felt unsupported due to their status as undocumented.

UndocNYU presented a previously-written list of concrete ways the university could support students at the town hall. Initially, it asked for a meeting with various administrators, including Hamilton, as well as an Undocumented Student Liaison and a task force to address the issue. On May 13 this year, the group met with some administrators — but its demands have yet to be met.

The list of demands also included prioritizing undocumented students when giving out full financial aid pakages, providing additional housing, emergency and other student resources and establishing an NYU Center for Undocumented Students.

Students who spoke at the town hall agreed that they do not receive enough support. They spoke about the difficulties of getting on-campus jobs without having an established network and the uncomfortable nature of being a low-income student at a university with many wealthy students.

“It is hard for students who have to work multiple jobs to go up to a professor and tell them they don’t have the time to complete an assignment,” Steinhardt senior and Senator at-Large for

Latine students Karen Lemus said. “It is also hard because not many students here can relate to these struggles and it can be excluding.”

Assistant Director for the Center for Student Life Eena Singh and Assistant Vice President for Inclusive Global Student Leadership and Engagement Leah Lattimore also attended the town hall.

They both stressed the importance of these town halls in aiding administrators’ understanding of student concerns.

“These events are helpful in us understanding how we can better support these groups of students,” Lattimore told WSN. “It is very difficult to be able to determine what resources are most necessary. We are just trying our best to curate proper programs that will actually be useful.”

Chair of La Herencia Latina and Gallatin senior Rosa Baez said she especially appreciated the intersectional nature of the event.

“This event is great because undocumented, first-generation and low-income students often fall together and we want to show our solidarity in our struggles,” Baez told WSN. “We are all underrepresented at NYU and to come together to make a bigger voice is what we are all here for.”

Email Mina Mohammadi at mmohammadi@nyunews.com.

NYU Text-A-Therapist App Yields Few Users, Poor Experiences

By RONNI HUSMANN Deputy News Editor One year after the Student Health Center launched an app that allows those in need of mental health services to message a counselor 24/7, some students say the concept of online therapy is impersonal but may be necessary for those dealing with long wait times for in-person appointments.

“I most likely would not [use the app] because I prefer to talk face-to-face,” Silver first-year Lidia Pietrusza said. “There have been times where I should’ve used something like that, but I didn’t want to try it because I just feel like getting a text from someone is impersonal.”

Ten students interviewed by WSN said although they appreciate the concept behind the app, they are not comfortable sharing their own issues over text.

“I probably won’t use the app,” Gallatin first-year Gabe Guadalupe said.

“You lose that personal connection, the human connection.”

Similarly, GLS sophomore Jake Mauldin is also disinclined to use the app because of the lack of connection, although understands that it may be appropriate for some people.

“I feel like you lose the human sympathy in your issue,” Mauldin said. “If you want a quick response and you want to be anonymous I think that would make sense.”

According to Director of NYU’s Counseling and Wellness Services Zoe Raouzeos, there have been around 3,000 clinical chat cases as of Oct. 27 since the program’s inception in August 2018.

That’s about one-sixth of the 17,000 downloads over the same time period.

Even if each case represented one individual student, just 5% of NYU’s 60,000 students would have used it.

Raouzeos also said that 87% of the students who used the chat service reported they had not previously sought support from the SHC for psychological or mental health care, and three-quarters of those had never sought support from any other resource, whether NYU-affiliated or not. This suggests the app is reaching students with little experience using mental health resources.

Of the small number of students who’ve used it, some gave negative feedback in interviews with WSN — and in reviews on Apple’s App Store. The app currently has a 3.1/5 star rating based on 16 reviews.

“The idea of the app is really good and could really benefit a lot of people — but its poor execution and design just make it pointless and counter-productive,” reads a one-star review.

Other reviewers said their conversations were cut off in the middle, they had to answer repetitive survey questions and the app raised their anxiety with long wait times and transfers between representatives.

LS first-year Zishan Sun had a similar experience. She was eager to use the app due to its promise of immediate response, compared to the often long wait associated with scheduling an appointment with the Wellness Center, but her experience with the app discouraged her from using it again.

“Within the time frame of 30 minutes I received five or six replies,” Sun said. “And because the people were unresponsive, it made me hold back the information I wanted to share.

It made the entire conversation way less productive.”

When Sun received her responses, she was disappointed with the comments.

“I wanted to open up, but they seemed really unprofessional,” Sun said.

“I told them my problems and they

would just say, ‘How can we help you?’ instead of giving me advice. They were unhelpful — they barely offered me anything at all.”

NYU psychology professor Edgar Coons said the app should not be a replacement for in-person meetings with therapists.

“There’s more that gets communicated by an in-person contact,” Coons said. “We have a lot of facial expressions, body movements and so forth that are an integral part of who we are. Any therapist will tell you that one of the cues they get about a person coming in for an interview is not just what they say, but in effect how they act.”

But when Professor Coons was told

about the recent criticism the Health and Wellness Center has been facing from the NYU community regarding the sometimes month-long wait times before students are able to schedule appointments, he said the concept of a more immediate service — even online — could be beneficial.

“A sooner appointment is better than a later one, I can certainly tell you that,” Coons said. “So I guess in some ways the answer that I am giving is that to the extent that it is possible, in-person should be made available more quickly, just in general. But if to the extent that they’re not, it’s a good idea to have an over-the-internet chat.”

Similarly to Coons, LS first-year

Jada Okoye thinks the concept of the app has the potential to benefit many students at NYU. However, she thinks that the SHC needs to continue pursuing other solutions that support students’ mental health.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s a solution, because you can’t just make an app and expect everybody to just feel OK. There definitely need to be extra steps taken to show that they care about the mental health of the students,” Okoye said. “I do think by creating the app though, it was with good intention and it was to help people.”

Email Ronni Husmann at rhusmann@nyunews.com.

NYU’s Text-a-Therapist app allows students to directly chat with Student Health Center counselors.

TONY WU | WSN

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Edited by CAROL LEE

How to Shop Sample Sales, as Told by a Sample Sale Addict

Jill Fabiano is a CAS Senior and certified sample sale expert.

By KYLIE SMITH Contributing Writer If you’re confused about sample sales, you’re not alone. Movies and TV shows set in New York City have painted a cryptic picture of these crazy clearances.

See: the chaos of the “Confessions of a Shopaholic” sample sale, the “Wizards of Waverly Place” Crazy 10-Minute Sale (at a store called, ahem, “Suburban Outfitters”) and Carrie Bradshaw being robbed at gunpoint in “Sex and the City” (“Please, sir, they’re my favorite pair. I got them half-price at a sample sale!”).

There are so many questions to be

COURTESY OF JILL FABIANO

answered about sample sales: What is a sample? What is a sample sale? Where are sample sales? When are the best times to go to a sample sale? How do I know what brands are being sold at the sample sale?

How do I know when and where the best deals are? Jill Fabiano, CAS Senior and certified sample sale expert, is here to answer these questions.

“Samples are what they use on the runway or pieces that might have a messed up hem or something. They’re not perfect pieces and they’re getting rid of it for very cheap,” Fabiano said. “Designers take last season’s stock and reduce the prices and sell way cheaper than they sell

in stores. It’s up to 90% off, sometimes 95%. You can get the craziest deals.”

260 Sample Sale, one of the spots to find the best deals, has five locations throughout the city: 260 Fifth Ave, 150 Greene St., 151 Wooster St., 704 Broadway (260 Final Sale) and 2151 Broadway (260 Final Sale).

While sample sales seem like a foolproof way to score low price designer clothing, it’s a bit trickier than that.

“It’s more of an art than a science,” Fabiano said about getting the best deals. She explained that sample sales generally reduce prices as the week goes on, and shoppers should time their visit accordingly.

“If you love the brand and you would buy it full price anyway, go the first day because there will be the biggest selection and then you can stock up your wardrobe,” Fabiano said. “But if you’re buying just [ready to wear], wait until the end because they’ll most likely have a lot of stock. The sales always start on Tuesday and usually [they start reducing] on Friday, Saturday and Monday.”

Fabiano’s secret tool to navigating this Goldilocks zone is Instagram.

“A bunch of people I follow are press, so they go the day before it actually opens. They’ll post and say, ‘Definitely go the first day’ or, ‘Wait until there’s more reductions,’” Fabiano said.

Some of Fabiano’s most beloved accounts are @madisonavenuespy, @clothingline and @260samplesale. She also advises checking their Instagram stories on which they frequently post pictures of what is available.

Fabiano has also found success going to the physical stores. At her sample sale shopping peak, Fabiano went about four times per week.

Even with a calculated approach, though, sample sale shopping can go awry.

“I once bought myself a pair of Celine shoes that were $600 and they ended up being $30 and I was so excited. Then I go home and I put on the shoes and I realized they were both left feet and two different sizes,” Fabiano said, now far enough removed to laugh about the incident.

But Fabiano thinks that the daily dedication pays off.

“Last semester, I went to one and it was designer purses that were damaged.

Some would have probably cost $15 to fix. It was, like, $200 for a damaged Louis Vuitton, and you can’t get Louis Vuitton on sale. I showed up and [the sign] said $200 for Louis Vuitton and $50 for any other designer. I was one of the first people in and I was grabbing bags and hoarding them all so I could sort through it after. I was trying to find the least damaged ones, obviously. I got this brand new, perfect condition Cartier purse that was $1100 for $50 and I just need to get the damage fixed,” Fabiano said excitedly.

Fabiano has a strict rulebook for sample sale shopping.

“Wear comfortable clothing. In the beginning, you think you should like look cute, but wear leggings, a good bra and underwear so that you feel comfortable in the dressing room and so you

know what the clothing really looks like on. Be nice and friendly to the workers.

Dress weather-appropriate because you might be in line for a long time. Don’t buy just to buy. That was one mistake I made in the beginning. There will be so many good sales during the week.”

While this sounds like a lot of shopping for one college girl, Fabiano isn’t in the sample sale shopping game for just herself.

“She’s definitely not a selfish sample sale shopper,” Fabiano’s best friend, Maddy Mitchell said. “She always texts in our group chat to see if we want anything … she likes to spread the wealth and is always getting her friends and family presents from sales.”

Growing up, Fabiano loved “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” so sample sales have long been a meaningful motif for her. After moving to New York, she found herself in a world where she would go to actual sample sales all the time, which has taught her how to appreciate a really good deal. She jokes that in the pantry at her apartment, everyone has a shelf stocked with food while hers is just boxes of shoes.

“Sample sales shopping has introduced me to so many new brands and has got me really interested in fashion and now I’m realizing that I want to incorporate that into my job in the future,” she said. “Fashion to me now is more than what I look like, but more that I appreciate it.”

Email Kylie Smith at bstyle@nyunews.com.

New York’s Cuddliest Find Temporary Homes

By CASEY DAWSON Contributing Writer “I woke up on a Friday morning, about to go to class, and I look out the window and there he is on the fire escape,” Tisch junior Hannah Whitaker said. “He’s just sitting really comfortable, just basking in the sun. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’” The fire escape basker was Shadow, one of many cats that Whitaker has fostered through KittyKind, an all-volunteer organization that operates out of the Petco on Union Square. From runaway cats to unfortunately not-quitepotty-trained dogs, pet ownership can be stressful, exhausting and rewarding all at once. New York City’s foster programs provide a compromise for college students with busy schedules, allowing them to keep up with their studies while helping vulnerable animals.

Shadow is a cat of many names, previously known as Meadow, Lucifer and Michael. But his current moniker is a perfect fit for a cat that led Whitaker on a two-week hunt after he slipped through a temporary gap in her apartment AC unit.

Whitaker set up a cat trap and hung up flyers in hopes of bringing Shadow home. With the help of KittyKind volunteers and her roommates, he was safely recovered.

Despite the nerve-wracking debacle, Whitaker said that fostering pets is a rewarding experience that complements her lifestyle.

“It’s nice because I don’t know what my living situation is going to be, even next year,” Whitaker said. “Cats live for a long time, and that’s a big commitment.

I didn’t really want to commit, but I love cats and I want to help cats, so fostering seemed like a good thing to do.”

KittyKind provides food, medicine and free veterinary visits. Tisch junior Sarah Nelson fosters through the ASPCA, which provides similar assistance to include free Lyft rides to and from the organization headquarters on East 92nd Street.

In addition, most foster programs entail caring for each animal for a relatively short span of time.

Nelson had her cat for two weeks before it was adopted. Mark Slattery, an exchange student from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, fosters dogs with his roommate, Stern junior Anna Maria Buraya. They foster through Muddy Paws, where Slattery says that he rarely has a dog for more than a week at a time.

“It definitely gets easier the more times you do it,” Slattery said. “Like the first time, I was completely overwhelmed when I was picking up the dog.”

While not something Slattery was initially planning on doing, he says that fostering has been a fun and unique part of his study abroad experience.

“I think it’s just the day-to-day side of it that just makes it enjoyable,” Slattery said. “I’ve found it a really good way to see the city because you end up going for more walks than you would other-

Several students offer their homes to the foster cats and dogs of New York City.

wise. I’ve definitely seen more of the city and I’ve seen it in a different way than I would have otherwise.”

However, the foster pet parents warn that it isn’t all fun and cuddles.

“It is a commitment, for sure,” Slattery said. “It’s not something as a student that I would take on by myself. It’s good that we can split it between myself and Anna and we can manage our schedules around that.”

Whitaker also recognized how essential her roommates were in making fostering possible. Being mindful of the responsibilities that come with pets, no matter how temporary their stay, is important.

But for students who live off campus with the space and time to accommodate it, fostering can be a fairly budget-friendly way to help out local shelters and animals in need. Most organizations require

CASEY DAWSON | WSN

fosters to be at least 21, have a stable and safe living environment and be committed to each fluffy friend.

“The challenge — and this is with any animal — is that now someone depends on you,” Nelson said. “But if you miss animals and need them in your life, I’d say, do it.”

Email Casey Dawson at culture@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Culture

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Sophomore Lifestyle YouTuber Lifts Spirits (and Weights)

LENA YEO | WSN

Steinhardt sophomore Lena Yeo runs her own fitness and lifestyle focused YouTube channel.

By CHELSEA LI Deputy Video Editor When Steinhardt sophomore Lena Yeo first picked up her iPhone and started filming in her dorm room at the end

of her first year at NYU, she had no expectation that her YouTube channel, LenaLifts, would become the enthusiastic community it is today. Yeo’s channel has grown rapidly over the last few months, garnering over 17,000 subscrib-

Chef Aarti Sequeira Kicks off NYU Eats Chef’s Table: Women in Culinary Series

By DIVYA NELAKONDA Staff Writer While other children spent their elementary and middle-school years watching Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, my after school channel of choice was the Food Network. I filled our family’s DVR with recordings of “Chopped” and “Rachael Ray,” preferring cutthroat cooking shows to cartoons. So naturally, when Chef Aarti Sequeira came to campus, I recognized her from the sixth season of “The Next Food Network Star,” as well as her subsequent TV show, “Aarti Party”.

Sequeira kicked off the Chef’s Table: Women in Culinary series, hosted

by NYU Eats, on Nov. 13. The series, which will continue into the spring semester, aims to celebrate women in the culinary field, with menus featuring ingredients from local or female-owned businesses. In honor of National Vegan Month, Sequeira curated a plant-based, three-course menu. As a fan of Sequeira and vegan food, this was an opportunity well worth two meal swipes.

The event was held in The Torch Club, a venue typically reserved for NYU faculty, staff and alumni, complete with wooden furniture, warm lighting and paintings on the walls. Upon arrival, guests were led to the Tap Room, a student-accessible dining area on lower level, and offered a vegan mango lassi — a staple Indian mango milkshake. The first 20 guests to arrive were also given a free copy of Sequeira’s cookbook.

As the staff circled the room passing out appetizers, carrot hummus and olive pistachio relish served on cucumber slices, Sequeira came out to meet guests, take photos and sign books. The room was abuzz with chatter from what was clearly a niche but excited group.

The appetizers were light, but full of flavor and left us eagerly awaiting the rest of the meal.

For the remainder of the meal, we were taken back to the dining room on the main floor, where each guest found

a table setting and menu. Sequeira came out to introduce and explain each course to diners.

The first course consisted of sweet potato pakoras seasoned with Indian spices and served with fresh green chutney. The pakoras were inspired by Sequeira’s Indian heritage, and the potatoes were used to create a latke, a nod to her brother-in-law’s Jewish heritage.

The texture of the pakoras was perfect — crispy on the outside but warm and soft on the inside, with a little kick from the spicy chutney.

The main course was a mushroom potli with pickled beet tabbouleh. Sequeira explained that the dish was inspired by potli, which means “parcel” in Hindi, as the mushroom and potato stew was served in individual parchment pouches. Guests were invited to untie their pouches to reveal their main course. The mushroom and potato stew was hearty and nourishing, while the beet tabbouleh was a refreshing complement.

The dessert was Falooda, what Sequeira described as an Indian milkshake, made with red rose syrup, chia seeds, vermicelli noodles, cashew ice-cream and topped with almond milk. Sequeira invited guests to Americanize the dish by putting Pop Rocks on top. The unique textures and flavors made for a memorable finish to the meal. Many guests, myself included, declared dessert the best dish of the night.

Complete with a fireplace and cellist, the Torch Club set a nice enough scene to make you forget you were even eating on campus. The food and service was upscale but not stuffy, a perfect way to relax in the midst of midterms and cold weather, even if just for a few hours.

If you have a two meal swipes to spare, which let’s face it, we all do, spend it on a future Chef’s Table event. Sequeira will be hosting another on Wednesday at Jasper Kane Cafe.

Email Divya Nelakonda dnelakonda@nyunews.com.

ers and thousands of views per video.

Her channel features content revolving around her NYU experience, health-related videos such as workouts, healthy meal ideas and informal vlogs detailing her day-to-day life.

Yeo’s initial vision for her channel stemmed from her interest in fitness, but she quickly realized that she could share many other facets of her identity with her audience. In fact, her videos about life as an NYU student sparked the most interest among her subscribers.

“My intention with fitness was to encourage people to start living a healthy lifestyle but my channel transitioned to more lifestyle in general, not just fitness,” Yeo said. “Then I noticed that people love NYU and want to know more about my life at NYU.” Indeed, one of Yeo’s most popular videos to date — with 126,000 views — is titled “SPILLING ALL THE TEA ON NYU || hookups, parties, dorms, drama??”. In it, she and a friend discuss their university lives and offer advice to potential students. However, though Yeo recognizes the popularity of her

college-related videos, she hopes to branch out and pursue more of her own creative visions.

“The feedback I get from my subscribers motivates me,” she said. “I would have quit a long time ago, but it just really feels like a family on my channel. I try to produce the content they want to see, but I also need to remember to produce the content I want too.”

Getting started was tough for Yeo — she initially received only one or two views per video. However, with tremendous support from her friends and constant reminders to herself that she truly enjoyed YouTubing, Yeo was able to keep producing videos, especially since she had more time over the summer.

Though her parents did not understand what being a YouTuber meant at first, they cheered her on as her channel grew.

“I was actually shocked about my parents being super supportive because they weren’t always supportive of things I chose to do in the past, career-wise,” Yeo said. “But when I started to see growth on my channel, my parents watch every single video of mine and tell all their fam-

ily back in Korea about it.”

Rather than her subscriber count, Yeo is most proud about the community she has fostered through her channel.

She hopes to create a platform where her viewers feel welcome; by constantly engaging with the comments section of her videos, she feels more connected to her audience.

“I want a positive community, people who uplift each other. I love seeing in my comments people encouraging each other,” Yeo said. “Seeing people comment and seeing the same names, it feels like a genuine friendship. I never expected my channel to grow this fast but I also never expected the engagement to be so genuine.”

Motivated by her close friends and family, as well as her viewers, Yeo plans to continue expanding her channel.

“I don’t see it as my full career but I definitely see myself still vlogging, showing workouts and giving advice,” she said. “I want to encourage everyone to live a happy, healthy, fit lifestyle.”

Email Chelsea Li at cli@nyunews.com.

Fast-Casual Salad Bars Near Campus, Ranked

By CHELSEA LI Deputy Video Editor For the longest time, I couldn’t fathom why anyone would voluntarily pay the price of a comforting hot meal for a bowl of raw vegetables. However, I was determined to give salads a chance and offer my unbiased opinion on five popular, customizable salad chains based on their value, variety, customer service and taste on a scale of one to five. Also, I figured if anything, I could use this opportunity to get my health game on track. This must be what my parents meant by “eat more vegetables,” right?

5. Chopt ($9.79 per bowl + extra for toppings) I decided to go without any extra toppings, or “choppings” as Chopt suggests.

As I ordered, I appreciated that the server promptly informed me of extra costs but was disappointed that some of my favorite veggies, such as roasted sweet potato and carrots, were a whole extra dollar. It just didn’t seem worth it, considering the extremely limited space in my bowl after the server added my two bases. I also felt that my finished salad was slightly bland, with the overwhelming amount of lettuce soaking up most of the dressing. $10 for a bowl of mostly green stuff? I’m not too sure about that.

Value: 2 Variety: 3 Service: 4 Taste: 3 Overall: 3 4. Fresh&Co ($8.50 per bowl + extra for toppings) For my next salad adventure, I stopped

by Fresh&Co on my way to class. Perhaps because it was rush hour, the servers quickly scooped up vegetables and protein and sent me on my way, speeding through the whole process in less than a minute. In the haste, they hadn’t informed me that certain toppings, such as dried cranberries, cost an extra $1.20. By now, I was used to the meager amount of toppings salad servers tended to give, but I was still a tad outraged by

CHELSEA LI | WSN

At Chopt, toppings — or “Choppings” — are freshly prepared by staff upon ordering.

this price tag compared to its value. On the plus side, the cashier forgot to charge me $3 for chicken, so I definitely enjoyed my creation more than I should have.

Value: 3 Variety: 4 Service: 2 + 1 bonus point for free chicken Taste: 3 Overall: 3.25 3. Sweetgreen ($8.75 per bowl + extra for toppings) I decided to try a classic salad spot and popular choice among students — Sweetgreen. I was feeling a bit adventurous and decided to get the curry cauliflower, which was $1.25 extra and added chicken for $3.25 as well. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by these purchases — the server scooped only a few chunks of cauliflower and chicken into my bowl. At a grand total of $14.43, including tax, my Sweetgreen order boasted a good flavor, except for my saltiness over being robbed a few extra toppings.

Value: 3 Variety: 4 Service: 3 Taste: 4 Overall: 3.5 2. Dig Inn ($10-14 per bowl) At this point, I was getting a little tired of raw vegetables, so I must admit this bowl didn’t look too much like a salad.

That being said, I promise that there were some greens underneath, so I’m grouping

it in with this list. Because most of my vegetables were cooked, Dig Inn made for a filling meal on a cold day. However, when you break down this bowl, $14 for a few pieces of carrots and broccoli, a piece of salmon and a small pile of base ingredients could be easily spent on a hearty meal with more value. Perhaps I’m biased due to my relief of nearing the end of this salad journey, but I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

Value: 3 Variety: 4 Service: 4 Taste: 4 Overall: 3.75 1. Cava ($11.94 per bowl) What I got at Cava was technically a greens and grains rather than a salad bowl, but I would consider this meal a salad since half of its contents were vegetables.

I found Cava’s Mediterranean ingredients to be far more flavorful and interesting than those of the basic salad bar. I also appreciated the unlimited number of toppings as opposed to the maximum of three or four at other salad places. Though the finished bowl was a bit too saucy for me (with three dips and a dressing), the flavors and service made this the best salad experience I’ve had so far.

Value: 4 Variety: 4 Service: 5 Taste: 4 Overall: 4.25 Email Chelsea Li at cli@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News

6

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

ARTS

ARTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Edited by CLAIRE FISHMAN

‘Funhouse’: A Concert By, for and Featuring Students

By ETHAN ZACK Music Editor On the Smarties-adorned stage inside the SubCulture building on Bleecker Street, in a purple-pink haze of smoke and sweat, stood a small, huddled group. For the combined forces of college-centric streaming hub Quadio and student-run record company Tigris, it was the calm before the storm, deemed “Funhouse,” a concert that featured eight headlining student acts, seven of which were NYU musicians.

The small group, comprised of the planners and the scheduled acts, exchanged motivational sentiments and rallying cries to multiple cheers, but the final sentiment from Chief Growth Officer of Quadio Miranda Martell stood out: “This is just the beginning.”

Indeed it was, as the following hours would see hundreds of concert-goers stream into the amphitheater-style venue during its lengthy runtime from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m..

The Nov. 9 event was the culmina-

tion of over three months of planning, courting musicians to headline and a tumultuous search for a venue that nearly came down to the very last minute.

For the featured artists, it was a golden chance for greater exposure and an opportunity to win over new fans.

“It’s always underrated how much it affects an artist to have somebody believe in them,” Tisch senior and performer Beth Million said. “Giving them a platform and being like, ‘We believe in you, go,’ allows you to go up there and really take yourself seriously.”

The show started off with a low key solo performance from Clive Davis sophomore Henson Popa. Being the earliest performer, Popa’s set occurred as the crowd was still growing, but her haunting, fast-paced melodies still sparked enthusiastic cheers, especially for her final and most popular song, “Perpetual.”

“I think this is probably the biggest show that I’ve ever done,” Popa told WSN. The energy stayed high even between

Aspiring Playwrights, Submit Your Work Here

By DESTINE MANSON Staff Writer Playwrights Horizons This acclaimed “writer’s theater” is looking for “idiosyncratic, accomplished, original theatrical voices.” They accept unsolicited full-length manuscripts from anyone in New York City, and like to familiarize themselves with a writer’s style and interests, noting that “the best way to become a candidate for a commission is to start submitting your work.” They do not produce adaptations (musicals excepted), translations, children’s theater, screenplays, musicals without original scores or one-acts.

Expect to hear back within six months if your play is accepted, though they can’t personally respond to every submission. They award four to six commissions a year.

Roundabout Theatre Company “We discover talented playwrights and provide them long-term artistic support,” Roundabout’s website states.

They accept 15-page script samples for unrepresented writers to be reviewed by the company’s literary department.

While they only accept full-length submissions from represented writers, they guarantee all unsolicited samples will be read and are also receptive to email invitations to come see a writer’s work. They will not respond to every submission, but if they are interested in pursuing your play, you will hear back within a month.

New Georges “Is your play weird, or weird-ish?”

New Georges theater looks for plays that stick out from the crowd, unafraid to break all the rules in their storytelling.

The theater is committed to amplifying the voices of femme-identifying, trans and gender non-conforming people,

performances. Each gap was filled by a 15-minute dance party interlude, the speakers blasting hits like Doja Cat’s “Juicy” for a rapidly growing crowd.

Every couple minutes, a fog machine propelled a fresh puff of cotton candy-colored vapor into the rapidly growing crowd. Without fail, several people would scream and jump into the fog, morphing into spasmodically moving silhouettes.

Clive Davis seniors Cecilia Gault and Jack Laboz both delivered extremely kinetic sets and after a soulful alt-rock performance from Million, the clock neared midnight. The crowd was thinning, but the concert was barely halfway through.

Performances from Columbia University student Maude Latour and NYU alt-pop trio Moon Kissed heralded the post-midnight stretch. The venue was painfully hot, stuffy and dark and the table in the corner where sponsor Recess was offering free, CBD-infused sparkling beverages was now flooded with thirsty attendees. Couples were indiscreetly making out in every corner. It

was college party bliss.

Clive Davis first-year and performer Jeffrey Miller, also known by his stage name “Jeffrey Eli,” gave the crowd a second wind, an impressive feat at 1 a.m.. Before he even began, people were chanting his name. It was Miller’s first official concert and he told WSN beforehand that he was nervous, but it was easy to mistake him for a veteran from his confident performance, as well as the boisterous cheers and screams of his fans.

“He’s incredible and he has a voice of an angel,” Clive Davis first-year and concert attendee Serena Rutledge said.

Miller’s set coincided with an ominous visit from the fire department, which claimed that it was just checking to make sure the building had enough exits in case of emergency. Sparks literally flew as they cut through several metal locks. It was just the sort of oddness to liven up the crowd for the final half-hour.

Maxwell Musick ended the concert with an electro-tinged, high-energy hip-hop set. Bordering on 2 a.m., the

Pipeline Theatre Company Pipeline pays the most attention to submissions that align with their vision as a company. They are big on plays that explore the imagination and look for “stories that stick somewhere in your heart, your brain, or your guts.”

One of their current mainstage productions, “Clown Bar,” is a “speakeasy style cabaret replete with clown mobsters, strippers, crooners, addicts and one dashing square-jawed detective,” to give you an idea of the kind of plays they put on. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.

Email Destine Manson at theater@nyunews.com.

Email Ethan Zack at ezack@nyunews.com.

‘On Broadway’: A Glimpse at Broadway’s Grittier Side

and desires to maintain long-term relationships with writers, stating that they curate artists rather than individual plays. While they are transparent about long response periods to submissions, New Georges offers a unique space for those with out-of-the-box ideas and is a great fit for those who want to see their work produced by a company with strong investments in uplifting the voices of underrepresented communities.

They also won the 2019 Outstanding Theatre Award from the National Theatre Conference.

The York Theatre Company Their slogan is “Where musicals come to life!” so if musicals are your jam, then this is the company to submit to. They are happy to accept submissions from emerging writers as well as from those who are already established for their Developmental Reading Series, which brings 30 to 40 plays to life each year. Note that they only accept musicals with original scores and require a demo of the score as part of the submission. Expect to hear back in six to 12 months.

remaining crowd moved like the concert had just begun.

“It was just carefree,” Rutledge said.

“Everyone was having a good time and there was a lot of dancing.”

Miller stressed the power of the student-run event, especially at a time when the music industry can feel somewhat impenetrable to up-andcoming musicians.

“I’m realizing how messed up it is and how the control is in the wrong people’s hands,” Miller said. “We have so much to say and so much artistry that’s really important and it all comes from the people here.”

For the two organizing groups, the event marks the first chapter of an extended effort to give a platform to burgeoning performers and the two look forward to a collaborative future.

“We will do many more things with Tigris,” Martell said. “This partnership does not end here.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOC NYC

Oren Jacoby’s documentary “On Broadway” mixes archival footage and interviews to recount Broadway’s history.

By MEGAN CHEW Staff Writer “Success is a funny thing — what makes money and what represents the highest art is not really the same thing.”

Quotes like these littered throughout Oscar-nominated filmmaker Oren Jacoby’s newest documentary “On Broadway” sum up the universal struggle of artists when it comes to art and commerce. The film, which premiered at Doc NYC on Nov. 11, sets out to show the darker side of Broadway, normally hidden under all the glitz and glamour.

Using a mix of archival footage and interviews, the film recounts Broadway’s history, its booms and recessions: from the slump in 1969 to when Times Square was, as Sir Ian McKellen put it, “somewhere that you peep down from Seventh Avenue,” to the rise in plays centered on the black experience in the U.S., to today where “Hamilton” has taken the world by storm.

The documentary has one consistent theory about the secret behind Broad-

way’s longevity — its commitment to risk. Jacoby successfully captures this from different angles: The Shubert Organization invested in theatres and took a chance on “A Chorus Line.” Charles Dickens’ eight-and-a-half-hour-long play “Nicholas Nickelby” was brought to Broadway despite doubts from the creators about U.S. reception. Mid-’90s city planners committed to a long, arduous process to transform Times Square where all parties stood to lose millions in resources. Even so, they were committed and worked to save Broadway from the brink of self-destruction.

Covering this much ground in 85 minutes is a Herculean task — so some details were inevitably lost in the process. Key events breeze past us so quickly we have no time to sit with their implications. Not to mention the occasional cuts to the creative process of The Manhattan Theatre Club’s recent production of “The Nap”— while an interesting show, it doesn’t merge well with the main storyline or aesthetic. If anything, the momentary

breaks from the chronological telling of Broadway history take the audience out of the moment.

For interviews, Jacoby managed to nab big movie stars such as Helen Mirren and Hugh Jackman, famous producers such as Cameron Mackintosh and Harold Prince, and accomplished playwrights such as David Henry Hwang and George C. Wolfe. Their comments provide much insight — James Corden made a particularly discerning comment on the relevance of theater in modern society.

“With so many people living on — on here” — he takes out his phone and gestures to the screen — “there’s a greater premium in live theater.” In live theater, one has to disengage from the technological world around them in order to be fully present for the experience.

But with so many talking heads featured in the movie, there is the feeling that everyone is talking at once. The film features over 10 interviewees with differing opinions and no clear personal connection to the film’s events apart from the fact that they are part of the larger Broadway community. There’s a moment of irony when, in one scene, the film criticizes the exploitation of big names to attract audiences to substance-lacking shows. On top of doing just that, the film has no representation of musical actors at all, which is borderline sacrilegious given the topic at hand.

“On Broadway” has a powerful message, albeit dampened by the flawed structure and choice of interviewees.

Each wave of trials Jacoby takes us through shows the perseverance of U.S. theatre as the community overcomes them — it serves as a lesson to the new generation of Broadway to rise up, to take risks, to go on with the show.

Email Megan Chew at film@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

7

UNDER THE ARCH Tandon Transfers Discuss the Struggles of Leaving

Edited by GURU RAMANATHAN

UNDERTHEARCH@NYUNEWS.COM

“

The structure of Tandon is like a child that is growing. You can’t expect a child to be fully functioning in its first few years.

RHEA DUDANI Tisch junior and film and TV major

DA N DU EA RH OF SY RT E

Like Albach, when Jumonville started her transfer process, she noticed a lack of standard information on what credits would transfer to her new major. She felt that there was no consistency between different schools’ requirements, leaving her confused. One advisor told her that her chemistry and biology classes f it the required CAS course curriculum, while another told her the classes at an engineering school are different, so retaking them would be mandatory. She eventually decided on economics because like Albach, most of the classes she had had already taken would count toward the major.

“NYU could have made it a lot easier. Overall, I’m glad I did it,” Jumonville said. “My only complaint is

I

”

OU

The Tandon School of Engineering was founded in 1854, making it the second oldest private engineering school in the country. Previously named the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, the school acquired a new name from NYU and a check for $100 million from philanthropists Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon in 2015. NYU alone has publicly committed to investing $500 million into the school.

Despite the money being dedicated, students looking to transfer out of Tandon are plentiful Tisch junior and f ilm and TV major Rhea Dudani is an example.

Dudani started out as a biomolecular sciences major, but decided to pursue her childhood dream of being a f ilmmaker at Tisch after her f irst year.

“I loved Tandon,” Dudani said.

“For me, the classes went well and it wasn’t too time-consuming. However, I woke up everyday uninspired with my major.”

CAS junior and economics major Donny Albach came to NYU to be a member of the wrestling team and a civil engineering major. His decision to transfer came in part from the diff iculty of balancing a demanding course load with his commute. Six days a week, Albach had to travel over an hour to NYU’s Washington

Albach shared this sentiment, saying that f iguring out how his credits would transfer was the most diff icult part of the whole process.

“I basically pulled the trigger of continuing with transferring not knowing if graduating late would be my future,” Albach said. “I actually received the most help from a fellow student.”

OT OC

Photos by SARA MIRANDA Under the Arch Features Multimedia Editor

Square campus for training.

“I didn’t want to give up my sport for my major,” said Albach, who has been wrestling since he was six years old.

Albach decided to transfer out of civil engineering into economics at CAS, which has a more manageable course load for a student-athlete. Economics would give him the largest number of credits post-transfer, meaning that he would be able to wrestle and still graduate in four years.

Dudani and Albach are just two of many who have left the engineering school behind. Even though they had different transfer requirements, they both agreed that the lack of a standard process makes transferring out of Tandon extremely diff icult.

Some students go into the process blindly rather than relying on advisors. All f ive students featured in this article noted that they wanted better advisors and more consistent answers regarding the transfer process. Students say advisors directed them to websites or discouraged them from transferring in general, citing the extra cost of a late graduation. CAS sophomore Ghislaine Jumonville transferred out of Tandon’s biomolecular engineering major into economics. When asked whether the process went smoothly, Jumonville sighed.

Jumonville decided to transfer out of biomolecular engineering into economics because, frankly, she “just didn’t want to be an engineer.”

“Credit transferring … oh boy, oh boy,” she said.

PH

By KIARA ROYCE Contributing Writer

lack of coordination between schools about what classes will transfer.”

Courant junior Dev Mithal decided to leave Tandon’s computer science major due to administration not allowing him to double major in mathematics and computer science.

For those like Mithal, who transferred to a similar f ield of study at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the transfer process was made easier because the advisors of the new program he chose happened to be helpful.

“Tandon admin was not cooperating with my academic goals,” Mithal explained.

But once Mithal decided his eyes were set on Courant, he had no problem transferring.

“The Courant advisers were extremely helpful,” Mithal said. “From my experience, Tandon advisers were not helpful. If you want to get anything done, talk to the school you’re interested in transferring into.”

Not everyone believes that Tandon’s messy transfer process is a reason to dismiss it entirely; Dudani is still extremely enthusiastic about Tandon and even decided to be a Brooklyn ambassador as a Tisch student. Dudani does not live in Brooklyn but is passionate about the experiences Tandon gave her and wants other prospective students to understand their opportunities there, even if the school is not always perfect.

“The structure of Tandon is like a child that is growing. You can’t expect a child to be fully functioning in its f irst few years,” Dudani said.

Many assume that Tandon’s iso-

lated Brooklyn campus is low on community, but almost all of the students featured agree that they have found some of their best friends in college at Tandon. The decision to transfer may be driven by academic passion, but that doesn’t preclude feelings of nostalgia or regret.

“I regretted the f irst month,” Dudani said. “I missed the community at Tandon. I even called my parents to tell them I wanted to transfer back.”

Tandon sophomore Emily Bianchini is extremely passionate about her major in biomolecular sciences on the pre-med honors track and is hopeful for the opportunities Tandon will bring her post-graduation.

“I am conf ident that Tandon will aid in what I want to do in the future … I like that you have repeat professors so I can build relationships,” Bianchini said. “You really do get to know the people in your major.”

Bianchini tried out some CAS classes over the summer, which ultimately cemented her desire to stay at Tandon.

“Tandon feels more collaborative than CAS,” Bianchini said.

While feelings of attachment are common, the decision of whether or not to transfer was ultimately a highly personal one for the students interviewed.

“If I had stayed in Tandon, I would not have regretted it either, but I still felt like I had to leave,” Albach said.

Email Kiara Royce at underthearch@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News

8

OPINION@NYUNEWS.COM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

OPINION

Edited by COLE STALLONE and ABBY HOFSTETTER

HEALTH CARE

How NYU Can Really Support Mental Health

By SARAH JOHN Staff Writer For most of my life, I just wanted to be successful. Not necessarily happy — just successful. There’s a history that has led to this result, a series of sad, almost cliche events that starts with a Nigerian immigrant single mother. But regardless of the reasons, the result is the same. I did not start deprioritizing success to take care of myself until very recently, when I discovered — at 19 years old — that I have had undiagnosed ADHD and adjustment disorder anxiety for years (if not forever).

First, let me say that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is difficult.

It not only affects attention, but also affects areas like the way I view time and the way I

prioritize tasks. What I mean by that is it’s very, very difficult for me to accurately perceive the passage of time, and without help, my brain prioritizes tasks pretty much like a toddler’s brain does — solely focused on the bright and shiny ones.

In some ways, that’s a gift. But it’s also anxiety-inducing and life-consuming. Before my diagnosis, my unregulated ADHD and anxiety at times left me curled up on the floor, sobbing from my own inability to focus. I would spend hours exhausting myself to do organizational tasks others could do in minutes, repeatedly urging myself to just work harder.

The reality of the situation is that shame around mental health issues makes asking for help difficult when you need to. It feels simpler — better, even, to tough it out alone. I know this isolation; it’s a comfort from the world’s sharp edges. It makes you feel protected. But it does not help you.

I want people to read this op-ed and know there is a lot of bravery in refusing that isolation and shame — the emotions handed down by teachers, friends or family who can’t understand your situation.

I’d also like people, like the NYU adminis-

tration, to know how terrifyingly difficult that process is.

I’ve had a lot of great experiences with NYU Wellness, but NYU could be doing much better in providing resources — if only we understood that the people who need help are the least likely to ask for it and adapted the marketing of services with this new understanding in mind (and hired more therapists).

For example, NYU’s Counseling and Wellness Services provides toolkits, workshops that meet regularly to build skills and provide support for students between therapy sessions. This is an important resource. But on the days when I was being swallowed alive by anxiety from my undiagnosed ADHD, I was not going to show up anywhere, especially not at a mindfulness toolkit. Students need other resources in between therapy appointments as well — low-effort ones. We need detailed coping strategies and high-quality mental health resources available online, in print or in audio form. We need more extensive resources that teach us to recognize the signs of anxiety and depression in ourselves and in others.

Perhaps these could even be given at BASE

meetings led by RAs, or in cohort meetings, which are mandatory for students in schools like the College of Arts and Science. (And also, one last note: we are literally begging you to please, please hire more counselors.)

But we cannot place the burden of seeking help on people who are already at their absolute lowest points. When you are in that place, you sometimes don’t even feel you deserve help at all.

In the meantime, let this article also serve as a thank you to the NYU staff who have consistently showed up for me and other students. I have a French professor who once listened to me cry about my diagnosis for hours on an old bench in Washington Square Park, and then later watched me sob again over some oat milk hot chocolate.

I have a Writing the Essay professor who always takes time to remind me that my ADHD brain is creative and beautiful, even if it causes me trouble. I know a Moses Center worker who has found the ever-elusive balance between laughing at my self-deprecating jokes and rebuilding my self-esteem, and I have a therapist who calms me regularly with the sheer kindness in her voice alone. I have countless RAs and TAs who

showed up for me more than I thought I deserved, more than they needed to, in ways they didn’t even know were impacting me.

These are the staff who taught me that I was worth seeking help.

If you’re struggling with a mental health issue or mental illness: we’re in this together.

My diagnosis came with a lot of shame, and instinctively, I wanted to hide it. I spent a lot of time convincing myself I wasn’t struggling because I was terrified people would assume I was not smart or capable if they knew. Even as I write this, I am still terrified people will now assume I am not smart or capable because of my diagnosis.

But I am even more terrified of being controlled by stigma or shame. My diagnosis is a part of me, but it is not a negation of any other part. I have worked my whole life to be hard-working, dependable and brave — and I am still these things while managing my ADHD and anxiety. I am struggling so I can find my best self, and that is the most noble thing a person can do.

I am no longer ashamed of that struggle.

Email Sarah John at sjohn@nyunews.com.

CULTURE

The Manic Pixie Dream Girl Still Feeds on Insecurity

By ASHLEY WU Staff Writer I loved John Green’s writing in middle school. When my seventh-grade crush took my hands and said, “You remind me of Margo from ‘Paper Towns,’” my brain produced so many endorphins that it completely altered the way I saw myself. Margo wasn’t like other girls — she was cooler. She went on quirky adventures, was weirdly seductive for a teenager and spit out aphorisms like it was nothing. She seemed to be complex and enigmatic, though she didn’t actually harbor

any complexities. As a 12-year-old wholly unsure of my identity, I viewed Margo as a guide to the woman I wanted to become. Who cared if the trope was regressive? This was what men wanted.

Later, I came to realize that all of John Green’s heroines had one thing in common: they were all manic pixie dream girls. Sitting in a theater watching the film rendition of “Paper Towns,” everything that was wrong with the trope hit me. Cara Delevingne saunters across the screen as yet another object of male desire, just shrouded in enough layers of mystique to make her seem like a fleshed-out character. She helps the film’s brooding protagonist learn how to have fun and then promptly disappears from his life.

Her strength and her character are nothing but ruses to disguise her real role in the story: a plot device. To the men in “Paper Towns,” Margo’s disappearance is as crucial to her appeal as any aspect of her personality — it protects them from the intricacies of actually

getting to know her.

The manic pixie dream girl is a trope that feeds off of women’s unhappiness. Nathan Rabin coined the term in 2007 to describe characters that “exist solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries.” Popular examples include “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s” Clementine, the titular character of Green’s “Looking for Alaska” and almost every character portrayed by Zooey Deschanel.

Furthermore, the manic pixie dream girl is intrinsically tied to the romanticization of female mental illness. Her attractive spontaneity goes hand-in-hand with depressive episodes that are designed to be easily solved with love. When these characters become beyond “rescuing,” the protagonist usually moves on to the next phase of their life, unburdened with the responsibilities of loving a mentally-ill woman.

The trope is nowhere near as prevalent as it was when current college students were teens and preteens or, in other words, extra sensitive to pop culture’s influence. But the women who were raised in the shadow of this trope are still dealing with its emotional ramifications. By perpetuating the idea that women are ethereal muses meant to introduce color into the lives of male protagonists, the manic pixie dream girl’s influence has left modern women as plot devices in their own love lives.

In the 2010 film “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” women are placed on a spectrum of male desire. One end is embodied by Ramona Flowers, the quintessential manic pixie dream girl, and is the object of every man’s (and woman’s) desire: she’s erratic, mysterious and irresponsible — but she’s also hot. On the other end of the spectrum lies Knives Chau, a stereotypically portrayed Asian woman, trying her best to emulate all of Ramona’s qualities due to her lack of appeal to sensitive white men, including her

own boyfriend.

The manic pixie dream girl trope simply puts down girls who don’t fit the blueprint.

Manic pixie dream girls — or rather, the men who write them — feed off of female insecurity and force them to try to become a person that simply doesn’t exist.

This manic pixie dream girl couldn’t be further from reality. No amount of blackand-white photographs or poetry can immediately solve depression. Women don’t need a thoughtful artist to kiss their scars and tell them they’re beautiful — we need concrete solutions that don’t mock our complexities.

The idealization of the manic pixie dream girl creates unrealistic expectations for women and should no longer play a part in defining what is desirable. The manic pixie dream girl is a fictional device, and shouldn’t be treated as anything more.

Email Ashley Wu at opinion@nyunews.com.

UNIVERSITY LIFE

The College Club Pressure Cooker

By KENZO KIMURA Staff Writer My childhood was busy, to say the least.

Whether I was at Taekwondo practice late into the evening or hastily finishing the homework assigned by my after-school tutors, busy was an understatement — especially considering that I was eight years old. Now, as an 18-year-old beginning my college career, not much has changed.

Throughout my upbringing, it seems I’ve simply stayed busy. For first-years, that narrative persists outside the classroom, especially when it comes to school clubs.

Regardless of whether your extracurricular pursuits are aimed at making friends, discovering passions or just putting something on a resume, NYU has over 300 active clubs to choose from. But like many firstyears, you probably signed up for every club at Club Fest, left the event and then participated in basically none of them. The most substantive interaction many of us have had with all of these clubs has been clicking the unsubscribe button on their weekly emails.

And that’s okay.

In high school, I constantly felt pressured to join clubs and gain as many leadership titles as I could cram onto a college application. I was raised with the mindset

that education was an expectation but exploring outside the classroom was essential for success. The competitive culture was so deeply ingrained into my teenage mind that I began exchanging passion for positions.

This even led me to push my five-year-old brother to start after-school tutoring, violin lessons and a sport before he entered kindergarten. For me — and for many others — busier meant better.

This mentality became immeasurably tiring when I started college. Many clubs on campus serve a student body which yearns for both exclusivity and prestige.

Everyone gave me different advice. Some students recommended focusing on one or two clubs that revolve around my medical aspirations; some told me to join anything that looked good on a resume. But attending club meeting after club meeting and try-

ing to open up my availability for as many leadership positions as possible, I almost burned myself out before even taking General Chemistry I. I soon began to question how productive this thought process really was. Do I really love the club I’m in, or do I just love having a position in it?

Clubs I joined this semester, from the Model U.N. travel team to Asian Heritage Month, have been more than just expressive spaces — they’ve been places to make wholesome friends and memories. I genuinely enjoy the extracurriculars I take part in today and perceive them as completely separate from academics. Whether it’s speaking in front of dozens at the Steinhardt Dean’s Convocation for New Undergraduate Students or being part of the backstage staff for AHM Fall Festival, the

memories I’ve made have helped me understand the significance of student-led clubs.

Creating familial bonds and exploring my interests outside of my major have helped strengthen my individuality — something I didn’t know I needed.

I realize the freedom college students have when it comes to extracurriculars. Regarding my brother, I realized that creating a healthy environment for him to thrive in — instead of throwing as many activities as possible into his schedule — would nurture his pursuits. Students should have the option to explore what they love, not just what looks best on paper. At the end of the day, your passions are what determine success — don’t let a club take that away from you.

Email Kenzo Kimura at opinion@nyunews.com.

Washington Square News | Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

9

EDUCATION

Does My Breakdown Need a Doctor’s Note?

By CLAIRE FISHMAN Arts Editor One recent Sunday morning, I awoke to a queasiness in my stomach that, within minutes, prompted me to stumble out of bed and onto my knees in front of my toilet. I was violently ill and I knew in my heart that I could not go to my Sunday newspaper meetings or complete any of my assignments for the following day. How could I have? I could barely stand without falling or drink water without regurgitating it moments later. And yet, my extreme discomfort did not prompt the usual disappointment that I could not fulfill my extracurricular duties or anxiety that I would not be able to remain attentive in Monday’s classes. Instead, I felt a powerful rush of relief. This was the first true break I had been allowed in months. Sitting on my bathroom floor, covered in spit and sweat, I was finally allowed a moment of rest.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Why was it that I felt the only guilt-free break I could take had to be caused by illness? Was it that my rest was not of my own volition? That I had no choice but to stay home lest I puke in the middle of Third Avenue on my way to work? Was it that the only excusable absence I could take had to be a medical emergency?

My rationale did not manifest overnight or independently. My academic anxiety has been fomenting for years and that Sunday, it reached its catharsis. But this behavior, as irrational as it may seem, was learned and developed. The only absences I’ve been taught to allow myself have been the absences that I’ve been taught are excusable, absences that deal with serious illness or death.

It is general practice at NYU that you may be excused from your university obligations if you are sick (and provide a doctor’s note) or if you have to attend to a family emergency.

Outside of these two scenarios, absences are not guaranteed to be excused and are excused on a case-by-case basis at teaching assistants’ and professors’ discretion. And because syllabi are not standardized, attendance policies often differ dramatically depending on the course.

The consequences of this are obvious; with unstandardized, often strict absence policies, students are forced to weigh their health against their professor’s preferences. Even if one professor is lenient about excused absences, another that same day may be incredibly strict and apathetic. In this scenario, the student has to choose between staying home and being marked down by one professor or going to class and not taking the time they need to rest.

Adequate time for rest, especially in the midst of the chaos of NYU, is crucial. At a university that has been consistently voted one of the top 10 most stress-inducing in the country, with a casual culture of depression-bonding, the need for a more lenient absence policy is not just a plea for mid-week vacations, but often a matter of public health regulation.

Submitting to

And while NYU has made strides in the past few years to bolster its mental health resources, little to no attention has been paid to attendance regulations and, in a more broad sense, course hours. After all, being a student is not just about attending classes, but about completing the workloads attached to them. And when you have four professors per semester who all believe that their class should be your top priority, that workload can be unbearable.

Despite this, the university does not mandate any limits on how much homework professors can assign. While some courses could entail a one-hour homework commitment a week, another could assign readings that take five times as long.

I must acknowledge here that the student does have agency and is responsible, in part, for their workload and time management. I often overcommit, knowing that I will somehow get everything done in the end, even if its at the cost of my own mental health. This past spring semester, for instance, I served as WSN’s Film & TV editor, oversaw research at a real estate startup in Midtown and maintained a 3.77 GPA in the College of Arts and Science. By the end of the semester, I was depressed, drained and utterly demoralized. My resume had gained a few new bullet points, but at what cost? I had done everything right; why wasn’t I happy?

These questions are hard to answer and I still haven’t fully come to terms with them.

There were days that semester that I woke up and couldn’t get out of bed for hours, except to force myself to email a handful of professors to let them know what was going on. To their credit, they were all incredibly supportive, but sending those emails was both stressful and embarrassing. I don’t want to disclose the state of my mental health to my professors. Why you miss class shouldn’t be anyone’s business other than your own (and possibly a medical professional’s). Your breakdown should not have to be public knowledge for it to be excused. You should not have to leave your house and see a doctor to prove that you need to stay at home.

Change, however, does not happen overnight, and in the absence of a supportive administration and adequate mental health resources, students need to develop coping mechanisms to address the few things they can to alleviate their stress. Here are some tips that I have picked up on or have been recommended: 1. Choose your courses conservatively. If you can avoid it, try not to have four reading-intensive courses in a semester. Don’t be afraid to take easy courses; it doesn’t make you a lesser student.

2. Do not overcommit. It’s much better to have free time than no time.

3. Check in with yourself early in the semester and often. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

If you’re not sleeping enough in February, you probably won’t be sleeping at all in May. 4. Don’t rush. You have time to get it all done and you will be just fine. No GPA is worth risking your health, mental or otherwise.

College should help you grow, not break you down. Whether or not NYU recognizes that, you need to know that’s why you’re here and no one can take that away from you.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Can We Move on From a Recurring Tragedy?

Like so many others, this past weekend was defined by gun violence. On Thursday, a student murdered two of his classmates at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA. On Friday, one adult and two children were shot during the third quarter of a high school football game in Pleasantville, NJ. On Saturday, a man killed his estranged wife and three of their sons in San Diego.

The weekend’s youngest victim was three years old. As students, it’s hard for us to know how to move forward. Thoughts and prayers are sent and received; the news cycle finds a new focus; life goes on. But in a country that refuses to protect its citizens, will we ever be able to truly move on?

It’s not like the conditions are going to change anytime soon. Unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly decides that he’d like to bring gun control legislation to the Senate floor, we’re stuck until January 2021 at the earliest. It seems that there’s not much we can do but try to prepare for the worst.

It never feels right to move on. The Walmart in El Paso, Texas where 22 people were murdered in August reopened on Thursday and visible changes have been made. The memorial outside, complete with 22 white crosses, has been removed; a new set of security cameras has been installed; automatic security gates are now placed in front of the store’s glass entrances.

It’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable, but El Paso needs a supermarket.

How do we move on when the problem lurks around every corner? How do we proceed when the threat still exists? How do we mourn the victims of an everyday tragedy?

Regardless of what change may come, it’s clear that we need to adapt to survive.

We can adjust our lives to suit the circumstances — double-check that the classroom doors lock behind us, huddle together in auditoriums and bathrooms during active

shooter drills, hire another school guidance counselor — but the circumstances seem to adapt with us. A Santa Clarita teacher was prepared with a gunshot wound kit, but her student had been shot twice. The mother from San Diego was killed by her husband after filing a restraining order against him.

They did everything right; they did everything they were supposed to do. There is a point at which we will have done all we can to prepare ourselves for violence, but the violence will still worm its way in.

It became abundantly clear this weekend that adjusting our lives to fit the situation only works to an extent. But adaptation doesn’t always mean adjustment. It seems that if we want the right to live, we need to fight for it.

But we have been fighting. Survivors of the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida mobilized students across the U.S. to march, protest and fight for gun safety. Sandy Hook Promise uses shock value to motivate voters toward gun control legislation. Everytown for Gun Safety lobbies McConnell in hopes that he’ll bring legislation to the Senate floor. We are fighting, we have fought and we will fight. But still, nothing has changed — and it doesn’t look like anything will.

It seems simplistic to argue that we deserve the right to live — but most arguments for gun safety seem simplistic. It’s a demand that needs to be made and taken seriously. We have tried to adapt and we have tried to fight. We have tried to survive; time and time again, it did not work. Independent safety measures have been taken; they have never been enough. The only thing we can put our faith in is the slight possibility of effective legislation — which won’t come for at least another year — and at this point, that sounds like a pipe dream.

Until then, we’ll keep our heads down, double-check that the classroom doors are locked and hope.

Email the Editorial Board at editboard@nyunews.com.

COLE STALLONE Chair ABBY HOFSTETTER Chair JUN SUNG Co-Chair

Email Claire Fishman at cfishman@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.

Washington Square News

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

SPORTS

SPORTS@NYUNEWS.COM

Edited by BELA KIRPALANI

Mustaches for a Cause: NYU Hockey Joins Movember Movement

By BIN CHO Staff Writer This November, members of the NYU men’s hockey team are growing out their mustaches in support of Movember, a global charity dedicated to raising awareness about men’s physical and mental health. Through encouraging men to take an active role in their health and raising funds for local and global men’s health projects, the organization hopes to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.

Movember focuses on suicide awareness for men while also emphasizing the importance of testicular and prostate cancer screenings. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, men died by suicide 3.54x more often than women in 2017. Prostate cancer is the second-most common form of cancer in men, according to the American Cancer Society.

“We just thought it’d actually be a great idea as a team of 28-plus guys to make a team page and that’d be a great way to help and raise awareness,” Stern sophomore and forward Jake Geller said. “It’s a group of 18-to-25-year-old guys who all care about men’s health. It just made sense as the perfect fit for us.”

Movember also challenges the taboos surrounding men’s mental health wellness

and sucide prevention.

“Especially for men, there is this stigma that you have to be tough and that mental illnesses are weaknesses,” Steinhardt senior and goaltender Adam Salisbury said.

“Whereas that’s just not the case, and it’s very important to know that. That it’s not a weakness.”

SPS junior and forward Richard Doherty is a longtime supporter of Movember and his own personal struggles have helped him understand the importance of having a support system.

“It’s such a big change moving to the city,” Doherty said. “You get to experience anxiety for the first time. And my family was there to support me through it. I was worried that other people were experiencing something similar to what I was experiencing.”

He hopes that by growing out their mustaches, team members can show solidarity and encourage other men to take active roles in their health.

“I want to save somebody’s life,” Doherty said. “I want to help someone recognize they might be going through something, whether it be mental or physical [and] go get checked up on it.”

According to their team page, the Violets have raised over $3,500 in support of Movember, and their mustaches speak for themselves. The fundraiser will continue

Houston, We Have a (Sign-Stealing) Problem. Again.

By ARVIND SRIRAM Staff Writer Last week, ex-pitcher for the Houston Astros Mike Fiers told The Athletic that the Astros used a center f ield camera to illegally steal signs during the team’s championship season in 2017. In that year’s World Series, the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games to win their f irst-ever title.

According to The Athletic, in 2017, the Astros placed a camera at center f ield, pointed at the opposing catcher. The camera feed went directly to the Astros’ clubhouse, where the players and coaches could watch, decode the catcher’s signs and provide the batter with advance knowledge of the incoming pitch.

This is not the f irst offense of illegally using technology to steal signs in Major League Baseball. In 2017, the Boston Red Sox were f ined for using Apple Watches to steal signs from the New York Yankees.

The Astros have even been in this situation before — during the 2018 postseason, an Astros employee was caught f ilming into their opponent’s dugout.

Before the start of the 2019 season, the MLB passed a new rule banning teams from hav-

ing cameras beyond the outf ield fences focused on the catcher’s signs.

In addition to the sign-stealing scandal, the Astros have also been in the headlines recently for an outburst from their former assistant general manager.

After winning the American League Championship Series, assistant GM Brandon Taubman screamed, “Thank God we got [Roberto] Osuna! I’m so f-cking glad we got Osuna!” at three female reporters in the Astros clubhouse. Osuna, the closer for the Astros, had previously served a 75-game suspension after being arrested for domestic abuse.

Despite having a roster f illed with fan favorites such as second baseman José Altuve, ace pitcher Justin Verlander and shortstop Carlos Correa, the Astros have gone from one of the league’s most lovable teams to one of the easiest to hate.

Whether other teams have also engaged in sign stealing, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred must punish the Astros — if they are found guilty — for the sake of fairness in the league, for the sake of baseball fans and, most importantly, for the integrity of the game.

Email Arvind Sriram at sports@nyunews.com.

until the end of the month.

However, Doherty believes there is more to the fundraiser than the money raised. He hopes that the exposure will lead to at least

one man getting the medical help they need.

“That’s more than a donation,” Doherty said. “I think with the NYU community, we can push somebody to get a check-up.

I think that’s way more important than any money we raise.”

Email Bin Cho at sports@nyunews.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NYU HOCKEY

Members of the NYU hockey team are growing out their mustaches for Movember.

Monday Musings: On Melo’s Return, the Spurs’ Coaching Dilemma and Lamar Jackson ture three-point celebration brought back in his first game for the Trail Blazers on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Stay Melo.

SOPHIA DI IORIO | WSN

By BELA KIRPALANI Sports Editor Carmelo Anthony Is Back, Baby After a year away, former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony will be making his return to the league — this time with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Sure, the memory of Oklahoma City and Houston’s failed experiments with the forward is fresh in our minds, but the 35-year-old seems poised for a comeback.

After a slow start to the season and injuries to Zach Collins and Pau Gasol, the 5-8 Trail Blazers need a scorer who can play now. The 2003 No. 3 pick can be that man for Portland.

When the news was announced on Thursday, players around the league celebrated his return. After a tough couple of years, I’m ready to see Melo silence his critics and show off the skills that he’s been honing in Life Time gyms the past few summers.

We are all ready to see that signa-

Becky Hammon — Not Tim Duncan — Is the Spurs’ Answer When San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich was ejected during Saturday night’s game against Portland, it seemed logical for Becky Hammon, the team’s lead assistant coach, to take charge for the rest of the night. Instead, some confusion ensued as it looked like Hammon and assistant coaches Tim Duncan and Will Hardy were sharing coaching responsibilities. The Spurs went on to lose 121-116.

When asked, Popovich later said that Duncan was appointed head coach. If chosen, Hammon would have been the first woman in NBA history to lead a franchise. Popovich, for his part, didn’t seem to care, saying he was “not here to make history.”

Some people took to Twitter to air their concerns with Popovich’s decision. Others celebrated Tim Duncan’s promotion.

While Duncan is a 15-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, he was only hired to Popovich’s coaching staff as an assistant in July. After retiring from the WNBA in 2014 as a six-time All-Star, Hammon began her coaching career with the Spurs. In 2015, she became the first female head coach of an NBA Summer League team and she proceeded to lead the Spurs to the Las Vegas Summer

League title — the first woman to do so in league history.

In recent years, Hammon’s name has been tossed around as teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons conducted head coach searches. With her coaching experience and resume, Hammon should be the clear option to replace Gregg Popovich the next time he is sent to the locker room during a game.

I Don’t Like the NFL, but I Love Lamar Jackson I don’t watch much football these days because I don’t particularly find joy in watching grown men try to rip each other’s limbs off and suffer serious brain injuries. But I sure do love watching Lamar Jackson tear it up this season for the Baltimore Ravens.

The star quarterback has surely proven his critics wrong, eluding oncoming defenders with his speed and timely jukes, fizzing passes and sick spin moves. On Sunday, Jackson completed 17 of 24 passes, threw four touchdowns and had 86 rushing yards.

On the season, Jackson has 21 touchdowns and 2,738 total yards, leading the Ravens to first place in the NFC North with an 8-2 overall record. And, according to Fox Sports, Jackson is on pace to obliterate Michael Vick’s record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback.

If he keeps this pace, expect Jackson to be holding the MVP trophy at the end of the season.

Email Bela Kirpalani at bkirpalani@nyunews.com.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Washington Square News | Sports

11 The Wallkill Journal was created and published by individuals incarcerated at the Wallkill Correctional Facility, in collaboration with the NYU Prison Education Program and the WSN staff.

Financial Independence at 25 Cents an Hour

By OMAR PADILLA In prison, you don’t meet a lot of subscribers to the Wall Street Journal.

When you do, you take notice.

John Harnage is one of the few.

Harnage has a background in f inance, and since being incarcerated in 2010, the result of a fatal drunk driving accident, he’s been sharing what he knows with his fellow inmates.

He created an educational program, Trading for Living, a f ive-day seminar designed to provide a foundation in stock trading for students whose usual idea of trading is a pack of cigarettes for a box of frozen chicken. He estimates that more than 500 inmates have taken the course, not only at Wallkill Correctional Facility, where he resides, but at two other facilities in New York State.

Harnage, 53, who wears his hair styled like Pauly-D and is clean-shaven, said that early on in his f inancial services career, he realized that while he and his fellow brokers made good money off commissions, their clients didn’t always benef it. He realized that a lack of basic knowledge about the market was to blame, and after being incarcerated, he set out to change that.

But f irst, he said, he needed to accept responsibility for his own situation.

“Life in prison hasn’t been easy for me,” he said, sitting in his book-f illed cell with a labrador puppy (Harnage works with Wallkill’s dog training program) in a carrier under his bed.

“It’s been a struggle every day. It’s unnatural — there’s no logic, no reasoning, and everything in this environment is oppressive.” In time, he realized, “I had to completely accept the conditions that I am living in. I had to change my expectations.”

Most of all, he had to change his way of relating to other people. Working as a broker, he said, Harnage had learned to look out for himself and play things “close to the vest.” Ironically, prison made him more trusting.

“In an environment where we’re not supposed to trust anyone,” he said, he began to open up to other incarcerated men, “men who like myself tried to do something each and every day to increase their self-worth and person-

al development.”

Hearing their stories, he discovered that many had received a raw deal.

“There were young guys serving very long sentences for selling $40 worth of drugs,” he said. Many were motivated to make an honest living upon their release, but the average prison wages of 25 cents an hour weren’t going to add up to much of a nest egg, and he wondered about their ability to become self-suff icient.

“I’ve noticed the majority of prisoners are from urban inner cities where drug use and crime had become part of the culture,” he said. “Many were also uneducated. It seems like they always wanted to make a name for themselves, to f it in somewhere, and they made poor choices which brought them to prison.”

He resolved to help if he could.

“What I will do f irst is just listen to them,” he explained. “When they let their guards down, I have a chance to help them — whether it’s by sharing my life experience, or my fortitude and inner strength, I help them build on becoming better men.”

He also works in the aforementioned Puppies Behind Bars program, which trains dogs to work with police and military units.

“Because my actions resulted in costing an innocent person their life,” he said, “saving lives through the Puppies Behind Bars program was the ultimate altruistic act of service I’ve committed myself to doing in prison.”

Another way Johnny chooses to give back is by entertaining his brothers through music. Having taught himself to play guitar, he is constantly honing his abilities. “Practice and you will get better at whatever you apply yourself to,” he said. At a recent Wallkill event, he proved that point, making the guitar cry and scream at the same time in a way that had his fellow inmates referencing Jimi Hendrix.

Meanwhile, he’s written three books about the stock market he hopes to publish upon his release, when he also plans to offer a version of his stock-trading class as a f ive-day seminar.

Whatever happens, Harnage is eager to impart his hard-won wisdom to others — not only his f inancial know-

how but his personal philosophy.

“Not only is life very short,” he said, “but it’s extremely precious.

Life is truly a gift. As we walk down whatever path we choose, we need to be responsible and accountable for our actions.”

Before his incarceration, he added, “Success meant living a materialistic lifestyle. Presently and post-prison,

success for me is altruism. Prison has taught me that life is truly a gift.”

This story has been approved for publication by an official at the Wallkill Correctional Facility.

Omar Padilla is a student in NYU’s Prison Education Program. Email him at prison.education@nyu.edu.

COURTESY OF NYU PHOTO BUREAU

John Harrange, an inmate at Wallkill Correctional Facility, attends NYU’s Prison Education Program graduation on Oct. 29.

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