Featured, National - Friday, November 20, 2009 13:58 - 5 Comments
Yes, You Can Get Busted For Underage Drinking Based Off Your Facebook Photos
Well here we go: we fought the law, so the law decided to go on Facebook and browse random teenagers’ photos. The latest case in point: a 19-year-old University of Wisconsin student (that’s his profile picture, to the left, and no I don’t know which one he is specifically) accepted a friend request from a “good-looking” but unfamiliar girl. Shortly thereafter, the police contacted him and told him to come to the station, where they charged him with underage drinking. Great!
Eight students from the University of Wisconsin have now been charged with underage drinking based off Facebook photos. And you don’t even have to have uploaded the incriminating photo yourself! According to the article, “Someone else posted photos on a Facebook site of UW-L sophomores Brianna Niesen and Cassie Stenholt holding beer, but they still ended up in court Wednesday pleading no contest and getting fined.”
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Featured, National - Thursday, November 19, 2009 16:09 - 14 Comments
UC Students Occupy UCLA Building to Protest Fee Increase (Updates)
In Westwood, Ca., hundreds of UC students have organized a TBNYU-esque occupation at UCLA, protesting the likely approval of UC fee increase — UC students don’t pay tuition, but “fees” — to help the state overcome its absurd deficit.
About 50 students have taken over building Campbell Hall, where they have chained the doors shut and are wearing intimidating bandanas. Naturally, hundreds more (representing various UC campuses) have joined them outside the building, with picket signs and even more bandanas. Hm, this all sounds so familiar.
The group (with no distinct name) has released an audio statement encouraging students “who work two or three jobs while going to school” or for parents who will lose “the prospect of affordable education” to join in on the protest. Their only demand asks that state leadership find “other alternatives” besides increasing UC fees.
City, Featured - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:00 - 3 Comments
NYC Tip: Fat Cat
Last week, the rest of the NYU Local staff decided that I was to be “the token bro.” Whether or not this label is true, I do happen to enjoy spending nights “bro-ing out,” which is why the West Village’s Fat Cat — an NYU student’s best shot at a real college hangout — seems appropriate. No, this doesn’t mean drunk yuppies watching the Jets game (there’s actually not one TV) or frat boys creeping around for sorority girls.
Instead, Fat Cat (Christopher St. & 7th Ave.) encourages bro-ing out in a simpler, more decent fashion. The premise is simple: one massive basement that serves as a pool hall, game room, jazz club, and trendy bar every night. Seriously, you would have to try to be bored here. Although you’ll feel like you’re violating a crucial bro code rule, any visitor quickly realizes that Fat Cat isn’t the ideal scene to get wasted at. Rather, spare the hangover and play some shuffleboard with a PBR, or enjoy some Scrabble with a glass of cheap wine. If you’re alone tonight, kick back on a couch and listen to the incredible live jazz, you loser.
Entertainment, Featured - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:45 - 1 Comment
The Weezer Snuggie!
In the age of torrents and viral marketing, bands have had to think of increasingly clever ways to get people to buy their albums. While it’s certainly no Dick Towel, I’m still giving Weezer some credit for coming up with an objectively badass marketing campaign. It’s called the Weezer Snuggie, and yes, it’s a real product. Now you can listen to Weezer and work on your night cheese at the same time!
If you’re unfamiliar with the Snuggie (or the near identical Slanket), then shame on you. The epitome of laughable products, the Snuggie is a blanket with arms attached (aka a backwards robe) for those too lazy to actually put clothes on. Weezer created a hilarious infomercial for their version of the Snuggie, a product you can order for the low low price of $29.99. And they’ll even throw in their latest album, Raditude, for free! Did you catch the part where they sold you their album? Tricky. Infomercial and more after the jump. Continue…
Featured, On Campus - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:53 - 10 Comments
How To Graduate NYU for $17K Less
By the time I graduate next December, I will have saved about $6,500, which is cool. But I could have saved closer to $17,000, and that kind of makes me want to throw things. You see, I spent most of college paying $1,211 per credit instead of $1076, missing out on a prime opportunity to [sort of] Stick It To The Man by stretching my tuition money as much as possible. Don’t let the same BS happen to you.
The other day, Jess illuminated the financial gloriousness of being a part time student. This week, let’s talk about saving a few thousand dollars a year without even changing your enrollment status. (I know we go to NYU, so I apologize for the whole math thing that’s going to happen after the jump.) Continue…
Featured, On Campus - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:30 - 5 Comments
Anti-Muslim Prof Shouldn’t Get Fired, But Not For the Reasons WSN Thinks
Last week, Suri wrote about a recent column by Stern professor Tunku Varadajaran in which he used the term “going Muslim”–inspired by “going postal”–to describe the shooting at Fort Hood. And yesterday, Washington Square News runs what, if they’re lucky, will go down in history as the most baffling editorial they’ve ever run on any subject, ever. Their argument is that not only should Varadajaran keep his job, but the NYU administration should pretend that nothing happened, because, well, blockquoting is the only way for me to do this justice.
Having said that, we do support Cooley and Sexton’s decision not to penalize Varadarajan. We believe that every viewpoint from students, faculty and administration is just as valid as any other. We wrote as much two months ago in discussing prospective law professor Thio Li-ann, whose stance on gay rights drew considerable opposition among NYU students: “Intellectual discourse is rooted in conflicting opinions, and for this to happen, people of disagreeing perspectives and paradigms must come together to engage one another … No viewpoint will ever satisfy all sides, but each belief is as valid as any other.”
Featured, On Campus - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:15 - 3 Comments
NYU Has Second Largest International Student Population In U.S. (Again)
The LA Times reported that NYU had the second most international students (6,761) in the country, according to the annual Open Doors survey released yesterday. Although NYU has been stuck at No. 2 for years, this year’s foreign population is a significant increase from 2008 (6,404).
But once again, NYU trails only USC, which has nearly 7,500 international students on campus. At least we beat Columbia (6,685), albeit by less than one hundred foreigners. Phew, that’s one crowded Bobst Lower Level from being No. 3.
The survey also notes that there are about 75,000 foreign students studying in the state of New York — an increase of 7.3% from 2008 — which is second only to California (again). The top three countries of origin for students are all Asian: India, China, and South Korea. Together, all three countries produce nearly 50% of all international students in the U.S. (and approximately 75% of late-night Bobst dwellers).
In case you haven’t passed Gould Plaza lately, 20.6% of foreign students are studying Business and Management. Engineering, Physical Science, Social Science and Computer Science round out the top five majors.
Featured, On Campus - Monday, November 16, 2009 12:07 - 13 Comments
How to Save $10k Your Final Semester at NYU
Are you a senior graduating in May 2010, with only a few more credits needed to meet the 128 credit requirement for graduation? Then listen up! I’m going to tell you how you can potentially save about $10,000.
A lot of NYU students (read: overachievers) came to NYU with a few credits already under their belts, either due to college courses taken in high school, or transferable AP credits. As graduation creeps closer, you probably have more credits than you realize (check your Degree Progress Report on Albert to see how many you have). If you have 117 credits or more, you’re eligible to enroll as a part-time student for the spring semester, which will make your tuition a lot less expensive. I’ll use the numbers my parents and I crunched to demonstrate just how much you can actually save.
Entertainment, Featured - Monday, November 16, 2009 11:00 - 18 Comments
Top Five “We’re All Going To Die” Movies
With this weekend’s release of the critically acclaimed 2012 movie proving to be a groundbreaking departure for Roland Emmerich, we bring you a cute little top five list of all the greatest apocalypse movies. Because, if we’re all going to die tomorrow, you should at least have in mind the best movies to reference, so you can go down looking culturally hip. Keep in mind these are Apocalypse movies, which all differ in very nitpicky ways from disaster movies, post-apocalypse movies, and dystopia movies, so I wouldn’t be compelled to include things like Children of Men. As a side note, there aren’t any Roland Emmerich movies on this list. Weird.
5 – Gojira
AKA GODZILLA! It’s the movie that spawned nearly every giant monster killing rampage ever, so how could it not be on the list? So maybe it does give everyone in the world a terrible idea of what Japanese Cinema has contributed to the world, at least it’s still better than Cloverfield. This movie is still such a cultural phenomenon, that to this day we still have movies hearkening back to the genre created by that lovable lizard, such as Big Man Japan.
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Featured, National - Monday, November 16, 2009 9:30 - 14 Comments
9/11 Mastermind to Get Civilian Trial, Neocons Up in Arms
Nobody should be surprised to hear former New York mayor/failed presidential candidate/potential future governor of NY/blood-sucking specter of doom Rudy Giuliani express the above views. Stomping all over civil liberties and the rule of law is his job! It’s just unfortunate that, also unsurprisingly, the entire Republican party has mobilized behind him, to say with one voice: Due process for me, but not for thee.
For example, there’s the house minority leader claiming that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is being granted a trial by jury to appease “liberal interest groups.” And there’s another failed presidential candidate, John McCain, shaking his wizened head from side to side to express his disappointment.
Now you’re probably wondering: Is Joe Lieberman in on the grandstanding too? You bet your sweet ass he is! Dude could smell an opportunity to wrap himself in the neocon flag and condescend to the proles if it was twenty miles away and buried under a heap of garbage, which he would undoubtedly burrow into like a mole to get to the sweet stuff.
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