What In The World Does Shonda Rhimes Have In Store For Us Tonight?

May 16th, 2013 by Ben Murray and Hannah Orenstein

Build your coffin and dig your grave, because if you’re under the spell of ABC’s Shonda Rhimes, then you’re probably going to die tonight.

As many of you may know, tonight marks the night of the Season 9 finale of Grey’s Anatomy, as well as the Season 2 finale of Scandal, airing on ABC at 9 PM and 10 PM, respectively. Rhimes is the showrunner for both of the dramas, and no one in the industry does season finales quite like she does.

Scandal‘s first season finale — which featured a public accusation of presidential sexual harassment, as well as a revelation that the President’s Chief of Staff put a hit out on an innocent girl — may be unparalleled. But remember: neither was the first season finale of Grey’s. Subsequent Grey‘s finales have featured a disgruntled patient’s husband shooting up the hospital, as well as six main characters crashing in an airplane in the middle of the woods, among other insane travesties. With tonight’s season finales being hyped as extremely shocking, we couldn’t wait to watch, so we made predictions for each. Check them out.

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Don’t Want To Intern For Credit? Try This Loophole

May 8th, 2013 by Ben Murray

Most of us have been there before: You’re reading through an internship posting, and it seems like the position was perfectly crafted for you, but then you get to the last line: “Please note: You must be able to receive school credit in order to intern with us.”

If the internship happens to occur during the academic year, and you happen to be taking less than a full 18-credit course load, and the position falls in line with what you’re studying, then you may be able to pursue the internship without paying additional money to NYU (though you’ll have to add some academic work to your load, as most NYU programs require papers and class time of for-credit interns). But if you want to pursue the for-credit internship over the summer, or if you’ve already signed up for 18 credits, or if your desired internship doesn’t fall in line with your major, it might be impractically costly or even impossible to take on the position.

Some students at NYU (myself included), however, have recently discovered a loophole that has allowed us to get out of interning for credit at companies that said they required such credit. The key is a “letter of support,” signed by NYU, which an employer may accept in lieu of you receiving credit. We can’t guarantee it’ll work, but it’s worth looking into. If you don’t need the credit, this could possibly save you a good amount of money and academic work.

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Senior Bucket List: Revisiting Your Freshman Year Dorm

May 6th, 2013 by McKenzie Beehler, Jorge Morillo, and Ben Murray

Local Staffers Ben Murray and McKenzie Beehler head back to their freshman year dorm, University Hall, and meet the cute freshmen currently living there. Less than a month left to finish our whole bucket list!


Accused Murderer Amanda Knox Would “Like To Be Reconsidered As A Person,” But Will She Ever Be?

May 1st, 2013 by Ben Murray

Yesterday, America was formally reintroduced to the key player in one of the most contentious, highly publicized international court cases of the past decade: 25-year-old Amanda Knox.

Back in 2009, Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher, whom Knox lived with while studying abroad in Italy. In October of 2011, however, Knox and Sollecito were acquitted by an appeals court jury, and Knox was finally able to return to America.

Just yesterday, Knox’s long-awaited autobiography Waiting To Be Heard was released, and also, her first-ever TV interview aired on ABC. In addition to attempting to clarify points from her murder trial that raised questions, Knox was forced to address more recent news in her conversation with ABC’s Diane Sawyer. In March of this year, Italy’s highest court ordered yet another trial in the Kercher case, which could lead to Knox being extradited back to Italy.

One part of what makes Knox’s trial so compelling is how divided people were — and still are — about her. Many American news outlets seem to continuously assert Knox’s innocence, yet the Italian public and the British press seem confident in her guilt. In her interview with ABC, Knox says she’d “like to be reconsidered as a person.” But with many still convinced she’s guilty and a new trial on the way, will she ever be able to escape her past?

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Could One Of These Teen Pop Songs Be This Summer’s “Call Me Maybe”?

April 30th, 2013 by Ben Murray

In middle and high schools, I used to pride myself on being a Top 40s junkie. If a song was hot, I not only made sure to know it, but also attempted to memorize every word, study every music video, and in some extreme cases, teach myself associated dance routines. (Yes, I can still do the “1, 2 Step”)

I’ve always assumed that I’ve carried this borderline obsession with Top 40s with me throughout college, but this past weekend, I had a rude awakening. I was checking out the top trending songs on Twitter’s new #music app, and although I recognized some familiar ones — like Ciara’s “Body Party” and JT’s “Mirrors” — there were a ton of teen pop songs that I had never heard of. Who is this Cody Simpson character? I thought. Why is a Nickelodeon star collaborating with Mac Miller? And why did no one tell me Selena Gomez has a new song? 

In an attempt to reclaim my identity, I binge-listened to all of these teen pop songs. While some are just as bad as you might expect, others are actually pretty great. But with summer just around the corner, the question remains: Are any good enough to become this summer’s ultimate pop hit, á la 2010′s “California Gurls” or 2012′s “Call Me Maybe”? We investigate.

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Exclusive: Rihanna Will Not Be Visiting NYU Today

April 23rd, 2013 by Ben Murray

In February, NYU Local learned that Rihanna was set to visit NYU this spring in wake of the viral “Diamonds” cover video created last semester by group of students in the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. And earlier this month, we received confirmation from the video’s executive producer Hannah Babitt that Rihanna was planning to visit today, Tuesday, April 23rd.

However, we have just heard from the Clive Davis Institute’s Events Coordinator Nikki Mirasola that Rihanna isn’t planning to grace us with her presence today. “As it turns out, Rihanna will not be making an appearance on NYU’s campus as an alternate prize (off campus) for the contest winners has been coordinated,” she wrote in an email.

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Savannah Stepped Up: How The Today Co-Host Finally Proved She Belongs

April 22nd, 2013 by Ben Murray

In June of last year, many Americans were shocked when they learned that NBC was planning to replace Ann Curry on The Today Show. Despite having been with Today for over a decade, Curry had only held the coveted co-host role alongside Matt Lauer for one year. And even though the show was struggling in the ratings — and notably had just lost to ABC’s Good Morning America for the first time in over 800 weeks — not many saw the replacement coming so soon.

Shortly after Curry’s tearful, difficult-to-watch on-air goodbye later that month, NBC announced that Savannah Guthrie would replace her. Guthrie was no stranger to Today: She had co-hosted the show’s third of four hours for about a year, and she had even stood in for Curry and her predecessor Meredith Vieira on various occasions. Still, however, many viewers were turned off by the way NBC treated Curry and thus refused to accept Guthrie as a valid co-host.

Guthrie has remained contentious in the eyes of many viewers since she started in her new role. In addition to being in the wrong place at the wrong time in terms of filling Curry’s controversially vacated seat, she also had somewhat of a reputation for stirring up drama. But this past Friday morning, after the Boston Marathon bombing news story took a surprising and dramatic turn, she proved that she truly belongs as co-host of Today.

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Thirsty? Here Are The Best Places To Drink Outdoors Near Campus

April 16th, 2013 by Ben Murray

It’s finally springtime: The flowers and trees are beginning to bloom, the temperature is slowly-but-surely rising, and most importantly, outdoor drinking is acceptable again.

One of the best parts about this time of year is being able to shed your heavy jacket, put on the sunglasses, and grab a beer, a glass of wine, or even a cocktail while enjoying the newly warm weather. Especially after a long day of work or class, it’s always nice to revel in the benefits of this glorious season in this manner.

Fortunately for us, a number of local restaurants and bars offer outdoor seating beginning this time of year. We’ve rounded up a bunch of our favorite outdoor drinking spots near campus for your convenience. Check them out after the jump.

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They’re Friends?? A Roundup Of The Best Online Celebrity Odd Couples

April 12th, 2013 by Ben Murray

Do you remember where you were when it happened? What’s ‘it,’ you ask? When you first heard about Amanda Bynes’ now-infamous tweet about ‘vagina murder’ and Drake, of course! I may or may not have been frolicking in a kitschy Philadelphia gay bar called iCandy, but that’s not really the point. The point is that you probably remember!

For a handful of reasons, we love when celebrities tweet crazy things. We really love when celebrities tweet crazy things that are flirty or even somewhat sexual. And we really, really love when the crazy, flirty things they tweet are directed at other, seemingly unrelated celebrities.

Amanda Bynes and Drake may be an extreme—and notably one-sided—case, but they’re by no means the first “Celebrity Odd Couple” to be conceived via social media. We’ve collected a handful of other such couples for you to shamelessly ogle over. Enjoy!

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Sick Of Your Same Old Lunch Spots? A New NYU Food Blog Can Help You With That

April 11th, 2013 by Ben Murray

Whether you’re a first-year student, unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the city, or a senior, jaded after years of eating at the same handful of places, every NYU student needs a little help deciding where to grab lunch from time to time. Luckily for us, a group of NYU students just launched NYU Spoon, a blog that “gives NYU students an all access guide to food in a place where the dining scene is so extensive and interesting,” according to Editor In Chief Skyler Bouchard.

NYU Spoon covers dining halls, places where dining dollars and campus cash are accepted, various off-campus restaurants near Washington Square and in many other New York City neighborhoods, as well as offering a slew of recipes. Inspired by and modeled after Northwestern University’s NU Spoon, the blog currently has a small staff of all NYU students, but it plans on expanding.

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