Silver Tower, that unfortunate-looking complex South of Bobst, has officially been landmarked, making NYU's desire to add a fourth building to the complex pretty difficult to accomplish. Neighborhood preservationists have been ...
Those of you who checked your NYU email this morning probably found a not-so-pleasant email from Jules Martin, NYU’s VP for Public Safety and Transportation. In the email entitled, “Possible Disruptions to the NYU Transportation System,” Mr. Martin notified students of the possibility of a union strike this weekend, one that would leave us without our regular and much depended on NYU bus transportation.
According to the email, CoachUSA, the company that operates all of NYU’s buses/trolleys, has been negotiating with its union drivers since their contract expired last week.
Should a strike occur, students will be left without bus transportation, but Mr. Martin tells us that NYU has set up a “reimbursement process,” through which students could receive compensation for their transportation costs. This compensation is quite measly though; it covers a daily Metrocard of $4 and is only available to students living in the following dorms: University Court, 26th Street, Gramercy Green, Greenwich Hotel, Broome Street, Lafayette Street, and Water Street. Continue…
Friday, November 21, 2008 19:01 - by Karina Grudnikov
Over the past month, NYU Local received 14,000 unique visitors, nearly twice as many received by the Washington Square News, the school newspaper of 36 years. The number of hard copies WSN prints and stacks around campus every single weekday is now greater than the amount of unique visitors the site gets in a month. The stats, which come from top US analytics company Compete.com, show that either everyone at NYU has an anachronistic love for reading news on the printed page or that the majority of NYU’s 30,000 undergraduates ignore the paper and don’t read it online. This information has been publicly available for a few weeks, but Daniel Levinsohn’s comment about traffic reminded me that the news hasn’t spread. Continue…
Friday, November 21, 2008 3:32 - by Cody Brown
This week’s Homecoming festivities are the latest misguided attempt to traditionalize our untraditional school. There’s a basketball game, carnival, a dance, and by the end of this week, we’ll have a new Homecoming King and Queen! The celebration started on Monday and the good stuff happens this weekend, but it’s already Thursday and I still don’t understand exactly what we’re celebrating.
Is anybody else laughing about this? Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 13:55 - by Henry Chan
Tired of NYU’s lack of campus community? Homecoming might be the spirited solution. Founded in 2006 by Lyle Matthew Kan, Homecoming transformed from a one night carnival to a full week of events from a Poker Tournament to an Alumni-Student Sunday Brunch.
In the past, Homecoming has faced some criticism. For one, the event used to exist solely as part of Fraternity and Sorority Life. According to the committee’s Office of Student Activities Advisor, Myoung Marquez, this year is the first year that they have applied to become an OSA Theme Week. In addition, Many students frequently argue that NYU isn’t suited for a homecoming celebration. “I get asked how we can have a homecoming with a football team a lot,” says Cara Jean Gourley, one of the week’s Co-Chairs. “It’s not about asking Alumni for more money. It’s not about having a sports team. It’s about having events where students can come out and meet other students.” Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 13:50 - by Elizabeth BohincSilver Tower, that unfortunate-looking complex South of Bobst, has officially been landmarked, making NYU’s desire to add a fourth building to the complex pretty difficult to accomplish.
Neighborhood preservationists have been arguing for the landmarking of the eyesore, designed by I.M. Pei, since 2005. “Landmarking Silver Towers not only helps preserve an eminently livable place and honors a great work of architecture, but it also acknowledges the importance of our city’s past efforts to create affordable housing,” said Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman to Crains.
The icky thing about buildings that are “eminently livable” is that they also tend to be ass-ugly. But hell, let’s preserve Silver Tower’s low cost look even if affordable living in the East Village is no more than a pleasant dream at this point.
It’s the thought that counts, right?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 21:49 - by Lily Q
So, interesting tidbit for all you NYU students: our beloved JSex makes the big bucks. The really big bucks. Bet you didn’t know that, huh? Neither did I, until I saw an article in WSN yesterday. Citing their own analysis of NYU’s tax returns, the WSN reported that JSex is receiving an annual compensation of over $1.3 million, a 56% increase from what he was receiving in 2006 (which was $800k).
My initial reaction upon hearing this was to laugh. Others had different reactions. Here are some responses from your NYU peers:
“I can’t say anything about that. It makes me depressed.” – Lucie Graham, Gallatin ‘11
“Yes, I would say that $1.3 million is a lot, but I think we need to be careful and realize that a Board of Trustees of a university (not a Fortune 500 company) usually doesn’t make pay increases like that without good reason. After this financial crisis, a lot of paychecks from Wall Street came out in the open and we saw how much these people were making in a week. Is it that ridiculous to think that a president who runs a humongous private university of over 40,000 people and numerous researchers gets paid, in a year, what some I-bankers make in a month? Also, I think a lot of us assume that the money is coming right out of students’ pockets and I don’t think that’s necessarily true.” – Vera Chau, CAS ‘10 Continue…
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:34 - by Henry ChanLocal has picked the winning suggestions; congrats Jack Boone, Christine Williams, Joseph Steinberg, and Ryan Shoe. The Poll closes November twentieth at midnight.
Where Should Pi Kappa Alpha Do Community Service?
Total Voters: 86
Loading ...Forget 90210 or reruns of CSI. Tuesday night, I’ll be edumacating myself about the B-I-B-L-E (Yes, that’s the book for me!) and expanding my horizons beyond the silly drivel of Sunday school sermons. Whether or not you believe in the man (or woman) upstairs, it’d be worth your time to take a look at NOVA’s newest documentary: “The Bible’s Buried Secrets.” Sounds exciting, no?
Okay, so probably not. If anything, it’s like a spruced up version of your ConWest lecture with low-budget CGI animation and a Liev Schreiber voiceover. But still, even with the campy special effects, the subject matter is certainly interesting. Like, how did the Israelites come up with the idea of one god? Or, did God have a wife?
Twenty-five minutes worth of clips from the documentary were shown to an audience last Thursday at a panel discussion hosted by NOVA and the Interfaith Center of New York. The discussion was a lot more interesting than clips of out-of-breath, elderly archaeologists. Continue…
Monday, November 17, 2008 15:25 - by Henry Chan
In the weeks and days leading up to November 4th, a lot of my friends and acquaintances went missing. They weren’t standing on the endless line at Starbucks, ordering tall skinny vanilla lattes like they usually did between classes. They weren’t sitting in Washington Square Park, brooding about the fact that we still couldn’t sit at a fountain or walk through the arch. They weren’t even cramming for exams at Bobst, which is the NYU home away from home.
So where were they? They were on street corners, handing out pamphlets in support of candidates to undecided voters. They were in offices, participating in phonathons and calling people to persuade them to vote. School and social life were set aside to focus on the election and help influence people.
In those days, I saw an incredible amount of student activism and felt energy on campus that I had never felt before. Continue…
Monday, November 17, 2008 10:25 - by Karina Grudnikov
Fan girls beware, you’re about to shed a few tears. Looks like our favorite Spiderman hottie and James Dean look-alike, James Franco, is no longer taking classes at Tisch School of the Arts. The tip was passed along to me by an NYU faculty member, but has yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, I guess all the girls who stalk the Tisch building waiting for Franco to exit are going to have to find a new object of their affection. Haley Joel Osment, perhaps?
Photo: flickr courtesy of David Shankbone.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 23:37 - by Karina Grudnikov
