On Campus - Wednesday, April 22, 2009 6:21 - 0 Comments
WSN Roundup: NYUAD, Finally
In case you haven’t heard, we have a new satellite campus and it’s finally opening.
The children love hip-hop; hip-hop loves the children.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 15:39 - 7 Comments
Professor Access To Blackboard Page View Data Could Lead To Discrimination
Does everyone at NYU know that professors can see how much time each student has spent on their Blackboard site? Some students know and could care less. Others throw a bit more paranoia into the mix and make sure to leave their internet windows open for prolonged periods of time. The last contingent has no idea, although it may very well be worth worrying about.
The realization that someone in charge of your grades may have a quantifiable measure of how much you care about their class is not to be taken lightly. “But my professor doesn’t have the time to track the time I’ve spent online,” you might think. But what if your in-class participation lags one day and your professor decides to check up and see just how much time you might’ve spent with that week’s online readings? When it comes time to grade your papers, that will doubtlessly be in the back of their minds, as biased and inexact as it seems. Continue…
City - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 11:16 - 2 Comments
Possible Taxi WiFi And No More Sneaky Cell Phone Use For Cabbies?
As subway fares race to become nearly expensive as those yellow cars, the Taxi and Limousine Commission is considering upgrading your cab ride with things like WiFi, games and even a potential iPod plug-in, according to this local news article. It’s almost as if the city thinks we’re Ritalin-addled children, unable to sit still in the backseat for a few minutes, what with these touchscreen TVs and all. Still, I see no reason why the back of a cab shouldn’t be like being inside of a Best Buy.
The TLC (R.I.P. Left Eye) is also reportedly considering enacting some new safety measures, including “front seat cell phone blocking” which would stop drivers from their mile-a-minute conversations and probably really hurt the Bluetooth market. All of this, of course, is still in the planning stages but it’s nice to hear that the TLC is “listening” to its customers. Unless they’re just putting us on and we’ll have to just be happy with the credit card machines.
Either way, as noted in the article, the TLC is taking your suggestions at their website until June 15th.
Photo by Flickr user NYCArthur used under the Creative Commons
On Campus - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:45 - 2 Comments
Gallatin Students May Sample Class Before Registration
If you tend to be fickle during the first week of new classes, NYU has your back. Almost. And only if you’re in Gallatin. The Gallatin Classroom Gallery provides an overly specific and almost useless “shopping period” for students interested in registering for Professor Ritty Lukose’s “Imagining India: From the Colonial to the Global” tomorrow at 5 p.m.
Basically, Classroom Gallery allows you to attend a class before registration (which begins April 20th) in order to see if you might be interested in straying from your concentration. But this sounds like a standard lecture by any other name. Which is certainly all well and good, but isn’t this essentially what the first week of classes is for anyway? Sure, some other universities are more direct with it, calling the period “drop/add week”, but the function seems identical. It is certainly beneficial to get a feel for a teacher’s style before you subject yourself to four months with them, but this Classroom Gallery exercise seems either excessive or just vaguely promotional.
Except that there’s free dinner. RSVP to gallatin.gallendar@nyu.edu.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:00 - 3 Comments
“Howard” Pens Scathing “Exposing the NYU Coles Gym!” Exposé
Despite the raging stereotype that “blogs” are supposed to be all up to the minute news, sometimes you miss a story, but the truth is, it’s never too late. At least that’s the case for “Exposing the NYU Coles Gym!”, an essay penned two weeks ago on Social Sauce, a self-proclaimed “site for travel geeks.” Apparently, our fearless narrator Howard, an NYU graduate school alum, “traveled” to our very own Coles Gym to “play some ball” with a few bros. But that’s when things went awry.
“[S]o I usually feel a bit of entitlement to be critical of my own school,” explains Howard. “Because I think I’m an insider and all… (Ed. note: I have no idea what this means.) But what happened to a group of basketball playing friends and I got me particularly fired up, so here’s my tale.” A tale, indeed.
Guest sign-in went smoothly (2 guest, $10 each—sounds mighty fair) but when it came time to check IDs, NYU unleashed the fury on Howard and his visiting friend.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:00 - 2 Comments
WSN Roundup: NYU Goes To Washington
CAS is moving in next door to the Obama’s!
Washington Square Park will be an eyesore for at least another year.
Professors’ rent heads north.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 10:21 - 1 Comment
NYU Rejects At Least Two “New York Times” Bloggers
Over at the New York Times‘ The Choice blog, a post series entitled “The Envelope, Please” gives high school seniors a chance to vent about the college admissions process through their own letters of acceptance and more excitingly, rejection.
Apparently, those NYU admissions suits are all about the drama. Earlier this week, Faithlynn Morris, 17, of Bridgeport, CT was rejected from our beloved institution, passed up for two of her friends with higher grades. “I hadn’t been fooling myself into thinking that this pipe dream would be any more than just that,” she wrote. And we’re the number 5 dream school? Yesterday, another “no” piled on as Jordan Mackey of Atlanta, GA also scored a thin envelope. A text from her grandma softened the blow, but the bitterness shone through: “The optimist in me says ‘Pssh, their loss!’” Right.
NYU Journalism kids, just be glad you won’t be competing with any students who have already scored Times bylines.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 9:52 - 7 Comments
WSN Roundup: Alvin Gets A Twitter
Finally, someone can show us how to use this thing.
Apartments are cheaper; everything is relative.
Something fishy is going on over in that CAS Student Council. But you already knew that.
City - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 8:02 - 1 Comment
NYU Mourns the Figurative Loss of the Beatrice Inn
BlackBook has the scoop on the closing of the Beatrice Inn earlier this week, with owner Paul Sevigny assuring that it was building code violations that got the A-list destination “padlocked.” Far less titillating than rumors of either Kate Moss or Page 6’s Chris Wilson getting punched in the nose.
In more NYU-centric cases, some speculators pointed toward excessive outside smoking and underage drinking violations as the reasons for the shut-down. Sevigny remained mum on details due to his establishment’s impending day in court, but did point out that for regulars it was like “locking them out of their apartments.”
For NYU students, it’s more like locking them out of their cooler older brother’s apartment. The West Village haunt is a staple for aspiring cocaine-riddled Lindsay Jr.’s who more often talk about the semi-private club than actually attend. Benicio del Toro and Ed Westwick, on the other hand, may have a more lonely week.
The “Free the Beatrice” top secret party will be either Thursday or Friday at a mystery location, but I’m sure some of you have made the right, er, friends and might just find your way inside. Snap some pictures and send them our way.
On Campus - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 7:20 - 0 Comments
Bun Week ‘09 Comes To An End
On Monday we told you about the glorious free mini Cinnabon’s on the 9th floor of the Silver Center. The buns will be served in their tiny glory from 10:30 to 12:30 through Thursday, but the Bun Week ‘09 festivities continue tonight with the Black Light Ball. According to the Facebook message, “There will be food, a DJ, and a room illuminated only by Black Light! So wear a white shirt, glow, and party in the dark!”
Um, free food is free food.
The Black Light Ball
Wednesday, 7:30PM
Kimmel E and L (4th floor)
Eat, Dance, Glow! Finish off Bun Week right, with free food, a DJ’d dance party all in E and L, lit only by Black Light. So wear your best glowing attire (a white shirt works well) and show up for CAS’ first ever blacklight party! (Because it’s not a party unless your teeth are glowing in the dark and you have an overwhelming desire to smoke up.)
