WSN110414

Vol. 42, No. 87 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2014 nyunews.com

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWSNYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

Students gather to

debate key issues

Violet wrestler reflects on academic, athletic goals

Student life as: Plaza Hotel waiter

WAITER continued on PG. 4

DEBATE continued on PG. 3

DININGWRESTLING

POLITICS

WRESTLING continued on PG. 8

By BOBBY WAGNER

Staff Writer

CAS sophomore John Messinger was one of the top performers for the NYU wrestling team on Nov. 1. Messinger, a neural science major from Putnam Valley, New York, was in midseason form as the team started its 2014-15 campaign.

Over the past weekend at the Monarch Invitational in Wil-kes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mess-inger compiled a 3-2 record in the 165-lb. weight class. He finished fourth in the contest, one of four NYU wrestlers to finish in the top six.

Off the mat, Messinger has focused on taking advantage

of going to school in New York and on his pre-med studies.

“I chose NYU because it al-lowed me to live in the city and be exposed to hundreds of internships and connections while competing in the sport of wrestling at a high level,” he said. “I’m a neural science major and I’m also doing my pre-med requirements, so the internship opportunities are extremely important on top of a great education.”

Messinger learned quickly when he came to NYU that he would have to work hard for everything he wanted to

By LINGYI HOU

Contributing Writer Carlos Sinde is no stranger

to celebrity encounters. The SPS graduate student

has been working for the Todd English Food Hall at The Plaza Hotel as a part-time waiter for four years.

“Montel Williams, the famous talk show host, is a regular for our sushi, and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patri-ots, has invited our manager to a football game before,” Sinde said.

While these unique meetings are a regular and exciting part of Sinde’s job, they are just one aspect of working in the food industry.

Sinde, who is studying public relations and corporate commu-nications, moved to New York

in 2010 from Memphis, where he had been devoting himself to sports marketing and sales. Driven by the motivation of living

in the biggest city in the United States, Sinde chose to start a new life in New York.

Securing a job in New York was not an easy task. After six months of searching, Sinde’s close friend recommended he try The Plaza Hotel. Though The Plaza provides him with an in-come, he does not want to work in the food industry forever.

“The Plaza is a union hotel, so we get higher pay than av-erage waiters with both wages and tips, but, it is still just for survival,“ Sinde said. “I miss working in an office, so I applied for this Master’s pro-gram to prepare myself, and use the money I earn at The Plaza Hotel to sponsor this.”

Nuclear energy and security the topic of panel

Experts discuss the ramifications and potential of nuclear energy.

Australian cafes become popular

The Australian drink flat white, creamier than a latte or cappuccino, is offered at many city coffee shops.

A successful play about a play

“Buzz,” playing in Gowanus, Brooklyn, revolves around playwright Tom.

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By MARITA VLACHOU

Deputy News Editor The Ebola epidemic, the threat

of ISIS and income inequality were the main topics driving the debate between representatives from NYU’s College Libertarians, College Republicans, College Democrats and the International Socialist Or-ganization at NYU on Nov. 3 at the Kimmel Center for University Life.

Audience members guided the discussion with questions directed at the student speakers. The de-bate was moderated by the NYU Politics Society.

John Martin, CAS junior and a speaker for the College Libertar-ians, answered a question asking how the United States should ad-dress the threat of ISIS. He argued that the United States should not be intervening in Iraq.

“I don’t think it’s our position to infringe upon any Iraqi policy,” Martin said. “It’s their country, not

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From left to right: Samuel Rascoff, Dorit Beinisch, Rajesh De and Jane Harman discuss intelligence oversight and Edward Snowden on Nov. 3 in Furman Hall. STORY ON PAGE 3

STAFF PHOTO BY CALVIN FALK

Carlos Sinde works part-time at The Plaza Hotel.

STAFF PHOTO BY LEO LIEN

ON THE SIDE COMPILED BY THE WSN STAFF

2 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2014 | NYUNEWS.COM

Jason Gordon of Alpha Epsilon Pi takes a shaving cream pie to the face for the funding of childhood cancer research.

PHOTO BY HARK KANWAL

SNAPSHOT TODAY ON CAMPUS

TODAY’S EVENTS ARE FREE FOR NYU STUDENTS.

Reel Queer Film Series: “Elliot Loves” and “Crush”Two films on being queer in communities of color, “Elliot Loves” and “Crush,” will be shown in room 802 of the Kimmel Center

for University Life at 6 p.m.

Reading and Signing with Timothy KuhnerTimothy Kuhner, author of “Capitalism v. Democracy: Money in Politics and the Free Market Constitution,” will host a reading

and book signing in the NYU Bookstore at 6 p.m.

Economics and Psychology/NeuroEconomics Seminar

Economics professor David Cesarini will present a lecture titled “Smoking, Genes and Health” in room 517 of 19 W.

Fourth St. at 2:30 p.m.

GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? EMAIL US AT [email protected] OR TWEET US @NYUNEWS.

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

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Managing EditorsEMILY BELLDANA RESZUTEK

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About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.

Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact the managing editors at [email protected] or at 212.998.4302.

“

CHARLES OH

WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST DURING YOUR YEAR ABROAD AT NYU LONDON ?

“ EVERYONE WAS NOVEL AND NEW. PEOPLE WERE LAID BACK AND DIDN’T JUST WORK FOR MONEY. THAT LETS YOU FIND YOURSELF. TRAVEL-ING SHOWS YOU THAT THE AMERICAN WAY OF

LIFE ISN’T THE ONLY WAY OF LIFE.

CLASS OF 2016CAS

MAJOR IN ECONOMICSMINOR IN PHILOSOPHY AND

BUSINESS STUDIES

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

STAFF PHOTO BY LEO LIEN

NYUNEWS.COM | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2014 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 3

Student leaders discuss foreign, domestic topics DEBATE continued from PG. 1

Pros, cons of nuclear

energy weighed

By RUBY SCHWARTZContributing Writer

Experts discussed the use of nuclear technology as alterna-tive energy, along with questions of safety and cost at a panel on Nov. 3. The discussion, hosted by the Center for Global Affairs, ad-dressed doubts about the prolif-eration of nuclear energy.

Chris Gadomski, SPS profes-sor and lead nuclear analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, moderated the panel, which examined these issues and dis-cussed the changing landscape of global energy, focusing on three specific areas.

“The first is safety, the second is economics and the market and the third is spent fuel manage-ment,” Gadomski said. “These are three issues that surface all the time in this area.”

Gadomski introduced the issue of safety of nuclear energy, which he said is one of the greatest con-cerns with this form of power. He framed much of the panel around the events following the Fuku-shima Daiichi disaster of 2011.

Alan Hanson, executive director of the International Nuclear Lead-ership Education Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy, explained that slow cleanup following the Fukushima disaster was caused by Japan’s homoge-nous and consensus-based society.

“I am absolutely sure that if this accident took place anywhere else in the world the progress of

cleaning up the site would have moved a lot faster,” Hanson said.

Hanson added that his team at MIT is looking into the use of ad-vanced fuel in the area of nuclear energy. These fuels — known as accident-tolerant fuels — can withstand accidents similar to Fukushima without many of the negative effects.

Godomski also questioned panel-ists on the ways in which nuclear energy fits into the climate change movement. William Horak, chair of the Department of Nuclear Science and Technology at Brookhaven Na-tional Laboratory, said the current climate change movement seems to be promoting the use of renew-able energy technologies rather than nuclear energy, which may be a mistake.

“One of the things my labora-tory does is energy analyses for all types of systems, called life cycle analysis,” Horak said. “When you do these analyses consistently, nuclear matches up essentially the same as renewable sources of en-ergy, and actually better than some kinds of renewable energies.”

Another question addressed whether the proliferation of nu-clear weapons is an overstated concern, and how to prevent the

spread of nuclear materials. While all panelists agreed that nuclear material proliferation is definitely a concern, Seth Grae, president and CEO of the Lightbridge Cor-poration, said this threat could be minimized through the involve-ment of a U.S. company.

“If you want to ensure there is never nuclear proliferation in a country, get a U.S. company em-bedded in their nuclear develop-ment,” Grae said. “In the coun-tries that Lightbridge works, there will never be a nuclear weapons program due to our strict inspection regimes.”

Giovanni Dubon, an SPS gradu-ate student, said he agreed with the panelists’ view that safer nuclear energy looks promising, adding that his studies in this area informed his belief.

“The more I learn about nuclear power, the more it does sound like it is safer than what the gen-eral public believes,” Dubon said. “The panelists mentioned ideas more in line with what studies have shown, and it is information the general public doesn’t always read or get access to.”

Email Ruby Schwartz at [email protected].

Panelists explain USinformation secrecy

By ALANNA BAYARINStaff Writer

The modern security state, Edward Snowden’s leaks and the National Security Agency have been in the public sphere for over a year, and the debate about secrecy continued with three members of the intel-ligence community on Nov. 3. The panelists discussed the need to withhold some infor-mation when dealing with the public at the event hosted by NYU School of Law’s Center on Law and Security.

Jane Harman, a former U.S. rep-resentative and former member of the House Intelligence Commit-tee, said even though Snowden was a detriment to national secu-rity, he initiated a much-needed conversation about intelligence.

“If I had to say one nice thing about Edward Snowden, and this is the only nice thing I have to say, he has stimulated a debate that we should have had a long time ago,” Harman said.

General Counsel of the NSA Rajesh De said Snowden changed the public view of the NSA, but he thought the public would not be surprised if it were able to see what the NSA was doing.

“I would hope that generally the public would not be surprised by what we do, maybe the details and so forth,” De said. “I think there are a couple of changes post-Snowden that are important. There is a sense that we need to provide more guidance to the public with more broad outlines of what we are doing.”

With the extreme confidential-ity of the NSA, De said it is impor-tant to have an open dialogue with

the public. “Public discussion is a good

thing,” De said. “I believe in my core that what Snowden did was awful. It is possible to think both of those things at the same time.”

Dorit Beinisch, former Chief Justice of Israel, said in Israel, like in every country, officials dealing with confidential infor-mation have good intentions.

“We do our best,” Beinisch said. “We look into the confi-dential material and make the best decision that we can under all circumstances.”

Jeff Smith, a second-year student in NYU Law, said he felt the con-versation demonstrated that the United States is trying to restore the integrity of the intelligence community after 9/11.

“I think that intelligence oversight is extremely im-portant for the health of our democracy,” Smith said. “We went through a dark period after 9/11 in terms of intelli-gence oversight, and it’s good to see that the balance is shift-ing back toward where it was before 9/11 with a strong intel-ligence community that pre-serves civil liberties.”

Zachary Goldman, executive di-rector of the Center on Law and Security, said the panel should serve as a foundation for more debate on intelligence oversight.

“It was a very important dis-cussion about a very important set of issues,” Goldman said. “Moreover I hope that it is only the beginning of the conversa-tion and very much not the end.”

Email Alanna Bayarin at [email protected].

Students turn out to watch the debate among representatives from the four major party groups at NYU.STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BEARZI

The three panelists talk about various aspects of nuclear energy. STAFF PHOTO BY HARK KANWAL

ours, we are the United States, not Iraq, so I can’t support any Ameri-can taxpayer dollars going towards funding any Iraqi programs. I see no need for it.”

CAS senior Megan Powers, the speaker for the College Republi-cans, argued the opposite.

“If we allow ISIS to continue to take over areas that it is interested in, that is appeasement, that is what happened in World War II, and we can’t just allow them to take what-ever they want,” Powers said. “We need to go in there, put boots on the ground and solve the conflict.”

Shifting to income inequality, doctoral student and representa-tive for ISO Paul Heideman dis-cussed metrics that indicated the median U.S. household income has dropped, while the top 1 percent of the population has in-creased its income.

“Economic inequality in the scale we have it in the United States is

actually corrosive of democracy it-self,” Heideman said.

CAS senior Bennett Hampilos, who represented the College Re-publicans, compared income in-equality to graded taxation.

“We’ve heard about the rich owning a disproportionate share of the wealth in this country, but why isn’t anyone talking about the disproportionate share of taxes they have contributed?” Hampilos said.

College Democrat and CAS ju-nior Jack Sterne said the United States should address the Ebola crisis by building health care in-frastructure in West Africa, allow-ing healthcare workers to travel to West Africa and not placing restrictions on travelers from the affected region.

“In the end, there is one main thing the U.S. can do: keep calm,” Sterne said.

Stern freshman Abigail Lyall,

who represented the College Liber-tarians, said while their organiza-tion usually protests infringement on individual liberties, they think some preventative action should be taken on the issue of Ebola.

“Normally, walking around with a deadly virus on one’s body that is threatening to the common epi-demic is equivalent to biological

terrorism,” Lyall said. “Those who show symptoms of Ebola should be quarantined either in a hospital or their own home until they no lon-ger show signs of the disease.”

Nisha Bolsey, a CUNY senior and ISO member, criticized the government’s response to the Ebola crisis.

“I think we need to be clear

that it’s not a force for humani-tarian intervention, it’s a way, a foot in the door to get the military into this country and spending money on that instead of where it has to be spent on: healthcare,” Bolsey said.

Email Marita Vlachou at [email protected].


WAITER continued from PG. 1

DINING EDITED BY REBECCA RIDDLE

[email protected]

This is the second semester of Sinde’s studies at NYU, and he currently works four days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Though his schedule is busy, he still ap-preciates that his job allows him both the flexibility and economic means to improve his life. Sinde said he enjoys the variety of peo-ple his job allows him to meet.

“You never know who you are going to meet,” Sinde said. ”I love to deal with tours and get to know the stories of peo-ple from different places like the Midwest and Brazil, as well as New Yorkers. Sometimes, you might also have a chance

to talk with elites, like the ce-lebrities I mentioned before.”

Working at The Plaza has taught Sinde useful people skills, as he has to work with a variety of customers.

“The job also requires us to get a very good sense about different people,” Sinde said. “They might be picky or nice, rushed or leisurely. You have to [be able to] tell that and serve them in the way they want.”

After graduation, Sinde hopes to work in the sports industry.

Email Lingyi Hou at [email protected].

Graduate student on working at !e Plaza

Australian co!ee popular in NYCBy ANNA FERKINGSTAD

Staff Writer Move over New Yorkers,

specialties from Down Under are making their way into the New York coffee scene. For-get the Italians who invented espresso, or the Seattleites who created Starbucks — the next big thing comes from be-low the equator. An increas-ing number of cafes in the city opened by Australians or New Zealanders has led to a rise in popularity of special-ties including the flat white.

Even if you are an avid caf-feine drinker, you may still be unfamiliar with the flat white. The term flat white was coined in the 1980s and refers to the combination of microfoam and shots of espresso. A flat white differs from its counterparts, the latte or cappuccino, primar-ily in how the milk is prepared. When milk is frothed using a steam wand, three layers form, with the creamy microfoam layer used in a flat white set-tling in the middle. Baristas “stretch” the milk by injecting steam, which creates a maxi-mum amount of microfoam.

Flat whites contain a smoother mix of this velvety microfoam and a coffee base, which creates a drink similar to a cappuccino, but with a smoother, thicker texture. If you want to try a flat white or authentic Austra-lian and New Zealander fare for yourself, check out some of these popular spots.

Two Hands

Sydney natives Giles Russell and Henry Roberts founded this Little Italy coffee shop. It offers a plethora of juices, smoothies and food options in addition to caffeinated bever-

ages. The texture of the flat white is rich, yet not too heavy for a sunny autumn day. The wooden tables and succulents create an inviting atmosphere, and customers are served by baristas with Australian ac-cents. 164 Mott St.

Happy Bones NYC

Smaller than its neighbor Two Hands, Happy Bones NYC is an ideal place to stop if you are willing to take your coffee to go. Opened in 2012 by New Zealander Luke Harwood and Miami-born Jason Woodside, the exposed brick and painted white and metallic details give this cafe a sleek, mod-ern feel. Happy Bones offers notable coffee and delicious baked goods from Ovenly. The red-and-white striped straws they use for their iced drinks practically beg to be uploaded to Instagram. 394 Broome St.

Bluestone Lane Collective Cafe

If you are looking for good food to go with your coffee, Bluestone Lane Collective Cafe

is the perfect spot. The menu, created by Melbourne-based restaurateur Sappho Hatzis, contains a variety of break-fast, lunch and dinner options, including the classic avocado smash. Hatzis’ avocado medley has fresh and light flavors ac-companied by tahini, heirloom tomatoes, feta and a poached egg. 55 Greenwich Ave.

Bluebird Coffee

Founders Alexander Hall and Sabrina Godfrey created a cozier, friendlier atmo-sphere than is usually found at other coffee shops of its kind. The counter is between the street and the interior, of-fering seating both inside and outside. Blue porcelain cups and plates provide a splash of color and work in conjunc-tion with their namesake. If you decide to check out Blue-bird Coffee, be aware that it attracts enough people to fill it to capacity at almost all hours. 72 E. First St.

Email Anna Ferkingstad at [email protected].

Classic types of local eateries explained By OLIVA ROOS

Contributing Writer Everyone has a go-to place for a

cheap bite to eat: a diner for pan-cakes, a luncheonette counter for a chocolate milkshake, a bistro for decadent boeuf bourguignon, a brasserie for steak-frites.

These classic haunts save us from cooking up another batch of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese or Ham-burger Helper. But we may not know the history of these lovable eateries or the characterisitcs that make them different from each other.

The classic, 24-hour American diner was established in 1827 by a Rhode Island resident named Wal-ter Scott. He wanted to open up a restaurant that would cater to late laborers, theatergoers and other night wanderers.

A diner is not a part of a large chain and is usually a “mom and pop” owned by a sole-proprietor, giving the restaurant a warm fam-ily feel. Classic diners serve a wide range of American food such as eggs sunny-side up, French toast and burgers. The menus vary throughout different parts of the country, with offerings such as seafood and chowder in New Eng-land and grits and biscuits in the South. Diners often sport neon lights, drive-thru signs and stain-less steel exteriors. Popular diners in New York City include Odessa (119 Ave. A) and Waverly Restau-rant (385 Sixth Ave.).

The luncheonette was a com-mon establishment from the early 20th century to the end of the Civil Rights Movement, though a small number still exist. Often located inside a retail store, such as a five and dime, customers sat at the counter while employees cooked and served food in the tight space behind the counter. These lunch counters reaped a

larger profit than merchandise sales alone. Similar to diners, lun-cheonettes served American food, though with a smaller variety of options. Today, one can still find vintage luncheonettes in New York that have survived since their heyday, such as Lexington Candy Shop (1226 Lexington Ave.) and George’s Luncheonette (2157 Utica Ave.).

The brasserie was first estab-lished in Alsace, France, as a property of brew houses. In fact, brasserie literally translates to brew house in French. Decorated in the art nouveau fashion of La Belle Époque, they are character-ized by large mirrors, wood pan-eling and mosaics. Food options usually include escargot, frisée aux lardons and steak-frites. The buoyant, talkative atmosphere of these airy restaurants made it a popular hangout for intellectu-als and artists such as Picasso, Sartre and Hemingway. Though New York may not be the creator of these traditional French estab-lishments, it still boasts several popular French-style brasseries such as Balthazar (80 Spring St.) and Brasserie Les Halles (411 Park Ave. S.).

The bistro is another type of tra-ditional French restaurant. Bistros have a smaller and more intimate atmosphere than the brasserie and, like diners, are often family owned. The menus are small and typically change depending on what the owner finds in the mar-ket that day. Food options, often displayed on a chalkboard menu, typically include French special-ties like Pâtés, terrines and coq au vin. Some bistros worth trying in New York City include Bistros les Amis (180 Spring St.) and La Sirene (558 Broome St.).

Email Olivia Roos at [email protected].

Happy Bones is one NYC cafe that has Australian influences.

STAFF PHOTO BY HANNAH LUU

Waverly Restaurant offers traditional 24-hour fare from eggs to burgers. STAFF PHOTO BY REECA SORIANO

NYUNEWS.COM


ARTSEDITED BY ALEX GREENBERGER

[email protected]

Exhibit features personal

sculptures By TALIA MILAVETZ

Contributing Writer

For “Christmas Creep” at the Lisa Cooley Gallery, Josh Faught exhibits textile sculptures that reveal a per-sonal aspect of the artist. Each one is titled with the name of one of Faught’s ex-boyfriends or one-night stands. His works juxtapose skilled weaving and ancient Japanese dye-ing techniques — all intentionally done with mistakes. His pieces are adorned with onion rings, spilled coffee, broken glass and buttons.

Faught aims to capture his past re-lationships with precise and unique objects. This is in part a response to the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a project started in the ’80s as a way to me-morialize those who have passed away from AIDS, which includes names and objects stitched into squares. It was challenging for the quilt as a single object to capture the essence of everyone who has died from AIDS. Faught’s response to this was his textile sculptures, which are more of a personal refer-ence or archive.

While his pieces pertain to his own life, they are also general enough that the viewers are able to relate. The name Scott appears three times in the exhibit. While the audi-ence does not know Faught’s per-sonal life, the simple recurrence of the name implies a complicated and possibly tumultuous relationship, something any viewer can relate to in some capacity.

The idea that the pieces are both about individuality and community is apparent throughout his work. It is clear in the objects of the sculptures,

but, more uniquely, it is noticeable in the process of the pieces. Faught uses many different techniques to create his textiles and each one is used with purpose.

The woven works are more com-munal pieces, as weaving is a pro-cess of multiple strands coming to-gether. The pieces that are knitted or crocheted are more individual, as the structure builds upon just one strand of yarn. Many of the pieces in-clude loose strands hanging out, and pulling out one strand would lead to the destruction of an entire piece.

This relates to Faught’s interest in transitions. He uses materials that comment on the issues of continu-ity and permanence, such as tapes-try and perishables. There are snack foods on many of the sculptures, and Faught uses snacks because they are not quite a meal, but something in-between. Snacks are a transition of sorts — something one eats between meals for sustenance, and genrally not nutritional.

Throughout “Christmas Creep,” Faught expresses themes of time, transition, relationships, commu-nity and individuality. The way he expresses these themes, however, is specific and personal. His process of incorporating precise objects and the names of his relationships into textile sculptures make his work ex-citingly uncommon.

Email Talia Milavetz at [email protected].

Josh Faught utilizes a variety of media in his latest exhibit.

PHOTO BY TALIA MILAVETZ

Play has audience heads buzzingBy CLIO MCCONNELL

Editor-at-Large Audiences watching a play

about a play always run the risk of being out of the loop, confused by theatrical jargon and inside jokes. While Benjamin Kunkel’s “Buzz” is nothing if not metatheatrical, it engages viewers on levels most plays about plays never reach.

Performed in front of about 40 audience members, “Buzz” features five nearly naked ac-tors in an intimate apartment that belongs to protagonists Tom and Sasha. Trevor Kluck-man plays Tom, a semi-famous playwright working on his latest masterpiece and trying to please his pregnant girlfriend Sasha, played by Jeri Silverman.

While the small audience seats itself in the Brooklyn loft space, actors in white hazmat suits traipse around the infor-mal stage, rearranging the white furniture and white books, dig-ging into white boxes and check-ing behind the white telephone. They seem to be looking for something and failing to find it.

If at first this play looks like it is going to be annoyingly experimen-tal, it only takes a few minutes for the actors to win the viewers over. The first words spoken seem to be a soliloquy by Sasha, but it quickly becomes clear that she is speaking to the audience directly. Right off the bat, it is obvious that “Buzz” is not a traditional play.

Soon after, Tom enters, begin-ning the witty banter that the couple keeps up whenever they are onstage together. Tom and Sasha’s relationship is an under-current throughout the show, and Kluckman and Silverman make a delightful pair. They talk about the play Tom is writing and “the service” — apparently an extermination company

hired to come and rid the apart-ment of insects.

Little by little, it becomes clear that these bugs are not a per-sonal problem, but a widespread, apocalyptic infestation. There are flies everywhere, and no one can seem to exterminate them. Friends come over for dinner, and later a college reporter comes to interview Tom, but he and Sasha are so preoccupied with the pests that they cannot maintain the pretense of normalcy.

The play raises interesting ques-tions about climate change, roman-tic relationships and even customer service, but perhaps the most thought-provoking aspect of “Buzz” is its commentary on the current state of theater in the United States.

While being interviewed for a radio segment, Tom is asked to spout some insightful knowledge about contemporary theater.

“I find the contemporary the-ater fascinating and robust, in much the best condition of all the arts,” he says impassively.

“Sorry, would you strike that? Ugly sarcasm isn’t nice.”

Despite his bitter self-ridicule, Tom goes on to make some truly intriguing comments about the role that drama plays in American society. Kunkel gets to the heart of this issue while still appealing to an audience that might not all be well-versed in the art of theater. In fact, the playwright emphasizes the fact that drama, more than any other art form, can appeal to anyone and everyone.

As Tom explains to his inter-viewer, “The theater is a flesh and blood audience in the room with flesh and blood art.”

To be sure, any audience mem-ber at “Buzz” will understand the powerful experience that is getting up close and personal with flesh and blood art.

“Buzz” is playing at Tom and Sasha’s Loft in Gowanus, Brook-lyn, through Nov. 22.

Email Clio McConnell at [email protected].

Jeri Silverman plays Sasha in the Brooklyn play “Buzz.” COURTESY OF LANIE ZIPOY

REVIEWREVIEW


THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD & DAILY SUDOKU

ACROSS 1 Friend of Gandalf 6 Put ___

disadvantage 9 Microwaves,

informally14 Like a whole lot15 ___ Chemical

(Fortune 500 company)

16 NATO alphabet letter between Alfa and Charlie

17 Mars explorer18 Modern host of

35-Across20 Erupted21 Aplomb22 “Peter Pan” dog23 Proctor’s

command25 Touches27 King with a

golden touch28 Reliever’s stat30 Air Force One

occupant, acronymically

31 Shopping ___32 Ad Council

output, for short

35 Long-running game show with a feature spelled out clockwise by this puzzle’s circled letters

38 Dummkopf

39 Its chips aren’t for eating

40 Device read with a laser

41 How some home videos are stored

42 Food that gets tossed?

43 ___ Madness (Snapple flavor)

45 Principle

46 Father-___

47 Exudes

50 Crumble under pressure

53 Longtime host of 35-Across

55 Sal of “Exodus”

56 “O, I am ___!” (Polonius’s last words)

57 ___ fly (R.B.I. producer)

58 ___ Marbles (British Museum display)

59 Unhealthily pale-skinned

60 Flamenco shout61 “In my opinion

…”

DOWN 1 Zinger 2 Winner of a

popular TV talent show

3 Red marks of affection

4 Fomented, as trouble

5 Anthem preposition

6 Append 7 Doughnut shapes 8 Leaves

slack-jawed 9 Jimmy Fallon’s

home10 Planet with 27

moons11 One of 14 in a

gold chain12 18 of 38 roulette

numbers13 ___ bean19 Drives recklessly21 ! ! !24 Blue circle on a

range26 Fraternity party

detritus27 Mineralogist for

whom a scale is named

28 Drive recklessly, maybe

29 Seed coat30 Bake sale grp.,

perhaps31 Canadian

comedy show of the 1970s-’80s

32 They may be given for rude humor

33 Like many horses’ feet

34 Banking convenience, for short

36 Like many rainy-day activities

37 Original name for J.F.K. Airport

41 At all

42 Parisian possessive

43 Dinero

44 Palestinian leader Mahmoud ___

45 Canonical hour before sext

46 Recipe amt.

48 “Your point being …?”

49 Enthusiasm

51 Luke Skywalker’s twin

52 Broadway honor

54 “___ questions?”

55 “Don’t tell ___ can’t!”

PUZZLE BY KYLE T. DOLAN

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS.AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

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30 31 32 33 34

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46 47 48 49 50 51 52

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M P H A G H A S T S I B SS E R L O I T E R J A M I EN A H I K N E W Y O U W H E NB L A H A D A A L L T O L DC E L E B R I T Y D I O

D R A T E S M E N A BS T E E L A R G U E M I R EH U M B L E B E G I N N I N G SE B A Y L E A S T O R E O SP A N I T L L G U A M

S R O M A K E S G O O DC L I P A R T A N O E N Z OH O M E T O W N H E R O T A PA P A C E I C E A G E H R EP E C K N O D D E D S K Y

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0930Crossword

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NYU should promote higher voter turnout

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ENTERTAINMENT

Streaming content broadens TV audience

Foodies idealize organic revolutionCULTURE

By ZAHRA HAQUEStaff Columnist

It is now cliché to list “watching Netflix” as a hobby. The vegetative act is ordinary. Almost everyone has, at some point, relished in the simple joy of staying home and binge-watching “Orange is the New Black.” Online consumption of television has become a unify-ing experience for our generation. With HBO planning to release a new streaming service in 2015 and Showtime rumored to follow suit — and now that students liv-ing in NYU housing have HBO Go access — even more content will be readily available. More impor-tantly, that content will be avail-able to more people.

From “Breaking Bad” to “True De-tective” to “Mad Men,” the number of high-quality dramas in recent years has skyrocketed. With HBO leading the cable television renais-sance, we are enjoying a surge in smart content. Of course, television is no longer a medium limited to established network and cable play-ers. Netflix has produced a range of original programming, includ-

ing the brilliant “House of Cards.” More recently, the onset of original YouTube shows points to even more avenues for TV consumption.

With the growth of quality con-tent comes an increase in the con-versation surrounding it. So many people are anxiously awaiting the next season of “Game of Thrones.” Every reaction to what is hap-pening onscreen is an experience shared with millions of other view-ers. Until recently, however, high-end programming has been exclu-sively consumed by viewers able to afford steep yearly rates. With HBO and Showtime leading the charge, the conversation surround-ing these programs will extend to include a new segment of viewers.

In its early days, television was a swamp of mindless sitcoms and procedurals. It was considered low-

brow entertainment, not conducive to criticism and analysis. Today’s television, however, is rich in in-tellectual and emotional depth. It tackles heavy social themes. It contains nuanced, morally ambigu-ous characters. Frank and Claire Underwood, of Netflix’s “House of Cards,” are fascinating, not because they are categorically good or bad people, but because they constantly straddle the line between. But the biggest advancement in television is not the improvement in quality of content — though that has been crucial — it is the democratization of the best content this medium has to offer.

Television has evolved to meet the needs of a society that craves complexity and intelligence in its media. Discussion and cultural analysis of shows with other fans is half the fun of watching tele-vision, and soon that enjoyment will be shared with more people. The modern dilemma, then, is trying to decide which show to stream next.

Email Zahra Haque at [email protected].

By RICHARD SHUStaff Columnist

The most prominent foodie voices have certain peculiarities that make them, in a word, distressing. Mem-oirs from chefs and prominent food aficionados bear titles like “Blood, Bones & Butter” and “Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine.” Anecdotes in these books detail the simple joys of slitting the throats of pigs, tearing out the offal, then laughing while coated in blood. When coming from renowned chefs and writers like Gabrielle Hamilton, Michael Pollan and Anthony Bourdain, these grisly depictions feel like angry postur-ing. This is real cooking, they say. It is bloody, manly and gross. The ag-gressiveness is almost comical. But in an age where everyone watches what they eat and judges others for their food choices, these types of unruly personalities have more cul-tural holds than perhaps we would like to admit.

These foodies, many of them men who view individuals turning away meat as an insult, would not be so mean if they did not truly believe in their cause. Indeed, the prominent

foodie preaches just what is expected: reverence for the home-cooked meal and the organic ingredient. Their en-tire philosophy revolves around the idea that consumer choices, particu-larly about what we eat, represent some kind of revolutionary political outcry, the greatest way to change society for the better. The heirloom tomato becomes their lifestyle, their ideology. Consumption becomes the greatest signifier of the self.

This is not a new idea. Consum-erism has defined the American lifestyle since the invention of the advertisement. Buyer-side environ-mentalism, characterized primarily by boycotts and conscientious pur-chases, has long trumpeted the belief that ethical consumption can change things for the better. It has also been discredited as ineffective. These food-ies, posing themselves as challengers

of the status quo, are full of it.Rather, foodie-ism is perhaps best

understood as a reactionary move-ment. It carries a certain wistfulness of an imagined past, one of rolling verdant hills and fresh vegetables and the whole family gathered around the table. Like most retreats into the past, it comes as a backlash to a per-ceived artificiality of the world we live in now. Processed foods become a metaphor for this artificiality, and so, naturally, fine food and home cooking must be the antidote.

But, as with most reactionary movements, foodie-ism makes dan-gerous assumptions about the wider world as it hides inside a self-righ-teous bubble. It ignores the unsus-tainability of organic production as population growth accelerates. It dismisses the continued environ-mental impact of producing red meat. It turns a blind eye to the rise of food deserts and the growing in-accessibility of their Eden. Foodies are not the heralds of a bold future. If anything, they are best left alone in their cycle of gluttony.

Email Richard Shu at [email protected].

OPINIONEDITED BY CHRISTINA [email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARD: Christina Coleburn (Chair),

Omar Etman (Co-chair), Adam Fazlibegu (Co-chair),Tess Woosley (Co-chair)

Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].

Since 1990, the Rock the Vote campaign has led well-in-tentioned initiatives to bring young people to the polls, the #TurnOutForWhat video being its most recent effort. Rock the Vote has championed this cause for good reason — youth are underrepresented at the ballot box.

According to a 2014 census report, only 45 percent of citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 are registered to vote, the lowest of any demographic. While overall turnout is habitually mea-ger in midterm elections, young Americans are especially likely to stay home. According to an April 2014 poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, only 23 percent of American youth have committed to vote in today’s election, which can be attributed to youth cynicism toward elected officials, self-identi-fication as independents and a tendency to be swayed by issue-oriented appeals rather than partisanship. Despite this skepti-cism, universities — including and especially NYU — are in a unique position to encourage civic participation among college-age voters by assuming a larger role in pre-election day efforts.

NYU has not made a significant push to encourage its stu-dents to be involved in regional and national politics. Beyond an October email and instructions for voter registration on the university website, NYU has not actively promoted vot-ing this season. Considering the highly politicized nature of our campus, this oversight is a wasted opportunity to attract a vibrant population. In comparison, Columbia University organized a “Voting Week” in early October that brought well-known politicians to the campus, including former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and helped students work through the voter registration process.

NYU’s two major political groups, the College Democrats and the College Republicans, each canvassed for local candidates, but neither targeted their efforts at students. They instead used phone banks and door-to-door campaigning to reach potential voters in certain districts, many of which were not in areas where students tend to reside. But it should not be the sole re-sponsibility of student-led political organizations to raise aware-ness about voting. Because NYU has the capability to influence so many students, it too must take ownership.

Civic participation is a worthy endeavor that cannot be over-emphasized. Despite the political polarization that currently plagues government efficiency, only a miniscule percentage of youth expressed interest in voting. NYU students manage academics, extracurriculars and jobs — a universitywide voting initiative could make the registration process easier. No matter how many views its videos attract or mentions #TurnOutFor-What draws, Rock the Vote may not be as effective as a localized recruiting attempt. A university-led initiative would be the most successful way for students to learn about voting and registra-tion. Galvanizing this demographic could improve low voter turnout, particularly in the midterm elections.

ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDAN ENRIQUEZ

8 NYUNEWS.COM | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2014 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

SPORTS EDITED BY CHRIS [email protected]

achieve, both in the gym and in the classroom.

“The biggest transition in both athletics and academics is that everybody around me is working at a higher level,” Messinger said. “In high school, I was able to separate myself academically and in the wrestling room, but here everybody is competitive and being the top 10 percent is not as easy.”

It is common for athletes to see a considerable uptick in the level of competition when transitioning to college. But Messinger said he has found a way to keep his work ethic at the level where it needs to be to succeed.

“The best thing I did last year was staying dedicated to the sport outside of practice on weekends and free time,” he said. “Instead of eating junk food and watching TV, I would make sure that my diet was good and that I used free time to improve in some way.”

This year Messinger is aiming to qualify for Nationals and receive All-American honors, which is a high bar for anyone, especially a sophomore. His work ethic and attitude will surely give him a leg up on the competition.

Teammate and sophomore Ro-man Accetta discussed what Mess-inger brings to the team with his particular leadership style.

“John is humble and he leads by action and example, which is why he is a leader on our

team,” Accetta said. “John never celebrates wins and he never moans or complains when he loses. He treats everything seri-ously, as if it were a job.”

Accetta also commented on Messinger’s mental toughness.

“If things don’t go his way, if he is phased, he doesn’t show it,” Accetta said. “He just gets right back on the horse and works harder.”

Messinger and his fellow teammates look to continue their success next weekend against Ithaca College, in a meet on Friday, Nov. 7 and Sat-urday, Nov. 8.

Email Bobby Wagner at [email protected].

WRESTLING continued from PG. 1

Wrestler balances athletics, classwork

NFL season brings

surprises By CHARLES SURETTEContributing Columnist

Rarely does the NFL regular sea-son ever follow preseason predic-tions. At its midway point, this season is no different. Through its first nine weeks, the NFL has been full of surprises, both pleas-ant and unpleasant. Here is a rundown of some of the biggest storylines that almost no one saw coming in September.

Cardinals Taking FlightDespite making few moves in the

offseason, the Arizona Cardinals sit at 7-1 in their best eight-game start to a season since 1974. In addition to journeyman Carson Palmer at quarterback, eight-time Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald and other wide receivers have powered the Cardi-nals offense. Led on the ground by second-year running back Andre Ellington, the Cardinals find them-selves in sole possession of the best record in the NFC. Backed by a top-five scoring defense, the Cardinals have managed to stymie their com-petition on the way to potentially securing their first trip to the NFL playoffs since 2009.

Browns Bite BackFew ever thought they would see

the day that the Cleveland Browns returned to relevance. That day, however, has finally arrived. At 5-3,

the Browns are locked in a tight race for the AFC North title with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincin-nati. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has performed admirably in spite of the presence of heralded rookie Johnny Manziel. The team has remained competitive despite the absence of last year’s leading receiver Josh Gordon, who is currently serving a 10-game suspension for league drug policy violations. Powered by Ben Tate at running back and An-drew Hawkins at wide receiver, the return of Gordon to the Browns’ re-ceiving corps could spell trouble for the rest of the division.

Seahawks StruggleLast February, the Seattle

Seahawks bulldozed their way to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title with a 43-8 thrashing of the Den-ver Broncos. Seattle seemed poised to become the next NFL dynasty with its league-leading defense and exciting, young quarterback Rus-sell Wilson. This season has been a different story. Seattle’s defense has proved inconsistent through eight games, with only the 10th-best defense in the league in terms of points per game. Meanwhile, the team’s offense has done it no favors thanks to a mysterious lack of car-

ries from four-time Pro Bowl run-ning back Marshawn Lynch and the trading of the talented but often-injured wide receiver Percy Har-vin, who also caused locker room strife. Although far from being disregarded, Seattle’s 5-3 record is underwhelming for the defending champions of football.

The Saints Aren’t Marching InWith the level of talent on the

New Orleans Saints’ roster, there is no reason for them to be 4-4 through their first eight games. While injuries to running back Mark Ingram have proved det-rimental, the passing attack of quarterback Drew Brees, tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Marques Colston seems more than enough to overwhelm opposing defenses. The Saints have sported an unimpressive defense, however, and have only managed to climb back to .500 after beating the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Pan-thers. Despite New Orleans’ strug-gles, no one has moved to secure control of the NFC South, with all but lowly Tampa Bay still in the hunt for the division title.

Email Charles Surette at [email protected].

John Messinger strives to excel as both a wrestler and a student.

VIA GONYUATHLETICS.COM

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