On Campus News · NYU Local

The Best Of NYU Local: Spring 2012

May 11th, 2012 by NYU Local Staff

Well, Spring 2012 is over. ~~Now that the snow has melted~~ Now that summer is here, we can finally drag our pale hollowed carcasses out of Bobst and remember what the sun feels like. We’ll be tanning in the park all next week—come say hi.

Again, we need to thank you for reading. If it wasn’t for the tips, links, photoshops, tweets, and comments, we’d be so lost. We at NYU Local appreciate everything you do, always and forever. Stay safe over summer—we’ll be back.

But hey, in the meantime: whether you’re coming back in the fall, transferring, or—eep—graduating, you might get a little bored. (“Call Me Maybe” won’t last you until September.) So to keep you occupied over summer, here are a few links to our favorite stories from this past semester. Starting with… Read more…

Advice Goodbye

No One Wants to Be The Miranda, And Other Important Things We Learned This Year

May 11th, 2012 by Alex Bedder

At the closing of another year, the NYU Local Staff has turned to glean the lessons we have each learned, the little tidbits we take with us into another summer after our time at NYU and in New York City. So here are the best lessons of 2012, neatly packed into Felicity-like monologues.

“It was finals week, and then I had a thought:

You actually have time to read: “No, really, you do. For all of last year, I felt like I was too busy, stretched hour by hour, and I couldn’t do anything as time-consuming as going to the park and reading a book. But spend a few hours every week outside and stuck in a book. It sounds cheesy, but really improves perspective for the rest of the week. Especially if you used to read obsessively in high school like a lot of us.”

There’s no shame in being a tourist in NYC: “I used to snub certain NYC attractions because they felt cheesy. Studying around Europe has changed my feelings about this. There’s obviously a balance here — but there’s so much I haven’t seen in NYC, despite living there for a couple years. Started making a list about places to go, I’ve never been to the MET!” Read more…

Chen Guancheng China NYU Law

BREAKING: Chinese Activist Chen Guangcheng To Serve As Visiting Scholar At NYU Law

May 10th, 2012 by Brett Chamberlin

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng will attend NYU Law’s US-Asia Law Institute as a visiting scholar, Professor Jerome Cohen confirmed today. “He’s clear that he’s coming to NYU,” Cohen, co-director of the Institute, told NYU Local in a phone interview today. “He would come here immediately.”

Chen, a blind human-rights activist, captured headlines recently after escaping house arrest and seeking asylum at the American Embassy in Beijing. Chen had been detained without charges since 2010, after spending the previous four years in jail.

Chen’s escape put the United States is a tricky diplomatic position. Sheltering Chen would strain an already tense relationship with the Chinese government, but releasing the blind activist back into custody was deemed unacceptable by American diplomats. Read more…

Finals lists NYC Summer

While You’re Gone: NYU During The Summer

May 10th, 2012 by Olivia Loving

However nice it is to leave the city and get away for the weekend, winter break, or the summer, there’s often that ever-present fear that you are missing everything all the time. Though NYU does have summer events, these are mostly for high school students. The park, thankfully, will be here for you when you get back.

1. What There Won’t Be: CAS has cut its summer orientation program, so your orientation leaders will work just as cheerfully at the beginning of the year instead. Apparently, there were cost issues, but we can think of some unwise ways NYU is currently spending its money.

Best Of Netflix Instant Watch: Life’s A Drag

May 10th, 2012 by Chelsea Beeler

Everyone knows that exams are the worst, so when it’s finals week life can be such a drag. You study hard and get all hopped up on Adderall, and half the time your “high” is completely wasted on Facebook.

However, when all is said and done it’s important to find ways to blow off steam that don’t involve stress eating and/or chain smoking outside of Bobst. So to help you out and to celebrate finals nearly coming to a close, this week NYU Local is bringing you all of the fiercest and realest drag-related films and shows that Netflix Instant Watch has to offer. So gentleman start your engines—take a breather and relax for a minute— and may the best woman win.

Absentee Ballots: What You Need To Know To Vote Out Of State

May 10th, 2012 by Devika M. Balaram

Last week we encouraged all of you to register to vote and flex your over-18 muscles. This week, we’re interested in demystifying the Absentee Balloting process, which varies from state to state.

Already Registered (outside of New York)

For those of you who nonchalantly registered to vote when you went to the DMV to pick up your new 18+ drivers licenses outside of New York state, voting in the 2012 election will be a remote process.

Those who decide to simply invalidate any out-of New York voter registration can register to vote in New York. But if you live in what’s being called a “purple” state – like Pennsylvania – why on earth would you do that? Absentee voting is a great way to have your voice heard back home – especially in a tight election year. Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or independent, you should really think about where your vote and your voice will matter the most.

The Value Of Writing A Thesis

May 10th, 2012 by Sharon Wu

Right before the last year of college, every undergraduate at NYU is given the chance to compose a senior honors thesis. The opportunity is usually optional, and application requirements vary by department and school.

The prospect of writing a thesis is pretty daunting and many reject the option in favor of a more relaxing senior year. It is indeed true that a thesis will absorb the vast majority of your free time, particularly during second semester.

A thesis demands immense dedication, an enormous amount of independent research, late night writing when you’d rather be sleeping, and weekend work when you’d rather be drinking. There were many nights when I, and most of my fellow thesis writers, desperately regretted writing one. My thesis was, without a doubt, the most challenging assignment of my academic career. Regardless of school or major, a thesis requires a lot of independent decision-making without much guidance. Advisers offer some help, but the biggest decisions are up to you.

Gay Marriage Local Stops Obama

Local Stops: It’s About Time, Obama.

May 9th, 2012 by NYU Local Staff

Fox Nation obviously responded in a hateful manner, but we would like to take this opportunity to remind you that linking to them still gives them traffic, money, and power. If you really don’t like what they’re saying, take a screen shot and share that.

Adderall F My Finals procrastination nation

[VIDEO] How We Cope With Finals

May 9th, 2012 by Jorge Morillo and McKenzie Beehler

How We Cope With Finals from NYU Local on Vimeo.

Earlier this week, we spoke with some delusional students as they procrastinated.

dining dollars snacks on snacks

Use It Or Lose It: How To Spend The Last Of Your Dining Dollars

May 9th, 2012 by Lizzie Azran

Dining dollars are the necessary evil of the meal plan. They’re like campus cash, or any other form of money, yet expire at the end of the semester (May 16 at 8pm, to be exact). But hidden delicious treasures oftentimes go overlooked, as the incalculable amounts of bruised bananas and bags of chips inundate the campus marketplaces. While we endure the perfect week for stress-eating and subtly bribing teachers with food, check out these items that will put your dining dollars to great use.

Crumbs cupcake from Upstein or Kimmel
Buy as much food as you can and donate it to a food shelter
Coffee or tea for your teacher