Swami’s Stress Relief Tips Fail Students Who Need Real Help

by Jessica Kramer

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If you’re feeling stressed out and are looking for laughter, a self-described swami’s teachings may be a diverting but ultimately fruitless use of your time.

Students who are feeling pressure due to midterms and major papers may feel like they have few options to deal with their anxiety. But many dorms offer various stress relief activities that are supposed to expose students to novel ways to cope with life’s frustrations. One such activity this week was the reprisal of a Welcome Week program that attempts to teach students how to use laughter as a tool to lift their spirits and relax.

Titled “Laughter: The Best Medicine,” the event promising music, meditation, and laughter was held in the Hayden Library Tuesday at 8 p.m. Laraaji Nadananda led the hour-long session of 12 people, surrounded by the quiet atmosphere of tables, chairs, and books in the large room.

Nadananda, who is also a musician, tried to find the best words to describe himself. Some call him teacher, others a “laugh master.” Still others call him a “workshop facilitator.” But, he said, perhaps “swami” could best “sum it up and explain why I do what I do.”

The night began with plenty of mirth, both in the exercises taught as well as the leader’s unique sense of humor. Nadananda showed everyone various ways to practice laughter on their own and how to best enhance their sensation of delight. The pituitary gland in our brain was said to be a tool they could use to laugh, and the swami made fun of his speech when he turned it into a mock slogan you could use: “Touch your pituitary today!”

While they were doing exercises, he was dispensing advice. “You can’t take a laugh pill like you can take a headache pill,” he said. He told them, “Laughter is energy work.”

Tamara Whitehouse, a CAS freshman who attended the program, said that her current greatest source of stress is school. She said she was skeptical of the methods at first, but that it was really cool. Though she enjoyed the program and said it was helpful at the moment, she doesn’t think she’ll use the techniques shown in the future. “I’m not going to laugh by myself,” she explained.

While everyone was practicing exercises, Nadananda joked, “Don’t you think of yourselves as yummy? You could walk around after this saying, ‘I’m in a yummy body!’”

Other advice he gave people included grounding themselves. “Have you ever heard the saying ‘get grounded’?” he asked them. “It’s like when someone is in a bad neighborhood and then pulls out his wallet full of money,” he explained. “Someone will come up to him and say ‘GET GROUNDED!’ You need to become aware of the situation."

He also told them a “therapeutic smile” can lift their spirits. They rated theirs on a scale of 1-10 and practiced varying degrees of smiling and they then unwound with some relaxation activities where they laid down and closed their eyes, to the sound of an accompanying gong and gentle sounds.

The event was organized by Lindsay Tadych, a Hayden RA and nursing student graduating in spring 2008. She is currently most stressed about graduating in May, and everything that comes with that, including getting a job and apartment. Even with this stress, Tadych said she doesn’t use the techniques shown at the program that often.

Normally the laughter event is just during Welcome Week, Tadych said. But she brought it back.

All of this started when, in 1985, Nadananda read a meditation book, The Orange Book: The Meditation Techniques of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (aka Osho), that suggested laughter meditation. He tried it on himself and liked it. Then he shared it with his concert audience (he described his music as “ambient inspirational non-traditional sound music”) for about five minutes at a time, and then it “mushroomed into its own workshop.”

He explained, “I developed techniques [with] people sharing observations.” Osho was a “spiritual teacher” for him.

The laugh master is not without stress. His greatest stress now is musically “performing with someone whose technique is not fluid or spontaneous.”

“I have to cover them,” he elaborated. “I have to stay present in a certain way.” Another big stress for him is going through the airport check-in.

As for using his own techniques on himself, he said, “I do it myself, inwardly,” in places like car rides before a performance.

“I touch into it briefly during the day,” he said. “I find I can get the results by just dipping back into it.” He also participates in “laughing fits” with a group, making laughter more therapeutic, incorporating his own practice into it.

He’s currently trying to develop laughter as a performance art, and have it be an “infectious energy moving experience.”

The stress event itself could be classified as that. The RAs always try to have some kind of stress-relief activity during exam weeks, Tadych said. There was a similar stress relief event last week, a Peer Educator organized workshop on the eighth floor of Hayden. It included meditation and smoothies for “stress-free midterms.”

Gallatin freshman Brianna Sahagian attended that program and said she learned deep breathing techniques she now practices for stress relief.

“[T]his past week I’ve had a lot of papers and tests and stuff, so I’ve been really stressed,” she explained. “I haven’t been doing as well coping with stress this semester.”

The meditation and breath control are now part of her newfound coping process, along with muscle relaxation techniques, listening to music, and dancing in her room when no one’s around.

While the meditation workshop techniques are put to use, the laughter ones are not. Both attendee Whitehouse and organizer Tadych said they won't use them much in the future. If there's any point to the event, it’s to have a secluded time to let loose instead of any genuine, constructive methods to “de-stress,” as was advertised.

At the laughter event’s end, the participants repeated the phrase “play is the spontaneous exploration of sensation,” and ended the session with a rousing trip around the room skipping and declaring their various body parts “happy.”

Nadananda then proclaimed everyone “radiant yum yum[s].”

And really, if that isn’t helpful, what is?

Hard to Veg Out at NYU

By Piper Wallingford

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Fluorescent lights flicker above wilted lettuce and oozing tomatoes at New York University’s Rubin Dining Hall. A student stops at the shabby salad bar to get dinner – a handful of carrot sticks and hummus smeared across a wrap. While this meal would leave most stomachs grumbling, these scraps of subsistence are all vegans and vegetarians can eat at NYU.

The university champions its vegan and vegetarian dining programs, earning recognition from PETA as one of the nation’s Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges. But vegans and vegetarians at NYU think that dining halls lack sufficient protein alternatives. The limited variety frustrates students trying to eat meat-free, balanced meals.

While vegetarians do not eat meat, vegans avoid animal by-products of any kind, including dairy and even honey. Because of their dietary restrictions, vegans and vegetarians find little variety at NYU. They often eat the same meals throughout the week, simply because there are no other options.

Hannah Hodel, a sophomore, is a vegan who was required to have a meal plan her freshman year. Hodel felt limited by what she could eat at NYU. “You get stuck with a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and salads,” she said. “You’re just going to eat broccoli for every meal.”

As a freshman Alex Neinast, a vegan, also ate at NYU dining halls. “I got tired of eating carrot sticks, hummus and salads, which is pretty much all I could eat,” she said.

With the opening of Hayden Dining Hall, NYU has tried to present a more welcoming attitude to vegan and vegetarian diners. Hayden offers three vegan options a day and they rotate each week. Students who do not enjoy Veggie Indian Curry, Asian Sesame Pasta, or Stir-Fried Tofu can eat a soy burger or a salad.

In other residence dining halls, these few options are not available. Junior Lauren Dunivant, a vegetarian, lived at Rubin as a freshman and felt that the school catered to meat-eaters. NYU’s monthly Vegan Night and weekly Vegetarian Night offered a wide variety of meat dishes, said Dunivant. NYU Dining canceled both events last year, while weekly events like Steak Night and Seafood Night continue, offering only a salad for those who do not eat meat.

“Seafood Night at Rubin smelled horrible,” said Dunivant. “It’s probably cool for some people, but I’m definitely not a fan.”

But Owen Moore, the Director of Dining Services at NYU, said that every dining hall has vegetarian and vegan options for all three meals of the day. According to Moore, NYU still has vegetarian and vegan nights, which is not obvious from an online menu. Entrees for this week at Hayden are Beef Stroganoff, Rotisserie Chicken, and Roast Lamb. Hayden’s traditional vegan night offers the very un-vegan Baked Ham, with the bone still in.

Moore said that vegetarian and vegan options are readily available and easily recognizable. Students can always speak to a staff member, and signs identify vegan and vegetarian options. “Some are obvious like the salad bar,” said Moore.

Not quite so obvious, according to Neinast. At the salad bar, Neinast has seen students use the same scoop for vegetables and bacon or cheese. Not all foods marketed as vegan really are, like the vegan pancakes, which cooks make next to regular buttermilk pancakes. Neinast has also had her soy burger grilled next to hamburgers. “I’m forced to get something I hope is vaguely vegan,” she said.

Neinast eats vegan, and saves money, by eating off campus or making her own meals. “Eight dollars on campus gets a salad and a water bottle,” she said. “It’s cheaper to go to Whole Foods and load up at the salad bar.”

Some students cannot afford to eat off campus, however. Sophomore Kelly Sielert, who is vegetarian, also lived at Rubin, but could not afford to eat off campus. “I didn’t have a job and pretty much stuck to my meal plan and eating at dining halls,” she said. Sielert did not mind eating at NYU and felt that there were enough vegetarian options, although she opted out of a meal plan this year. “Some days I still eat on campus,” said Sielert. “It’s not so bad when you don’t have to eat there every day, three meals a day. You just get sick of eating dorm food.”

For some students, they got sick from eating dorm food because they were not getting necessary nutrients. For vegans, the lack of alternative sources of protein can be dangerous to students’ health. When Hodel ate at NYU, she could not find enough sources of fatty proteins. “I didn’t go off campus, I just tried to get by,” she said. “I had trouble with my health. Over the summer, I was finally able to get the nutrients that I needed.”

Moore says that the campus dining halls offer the nutrition needed by vegan and vegetarian students. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t be getting the nutrition they need,” said Moore. “There are plenty of proteins and B12s in fruit.”

Besides B12 vitamins, vegans and vegetarians need to make sure they consume the recommended amounts of protein, iron, and calcium, said junior Chi-Ser Tran. As a peer educator, Tran informs NYU students about the best ways to get their nutritional needs. According to Tran, the first step is to make existing options more vegan and vegetarian friendly. “Separate vegan-only stations, with sterilized serving utensils, would make sure students can eat without worrying about what they’re eating,” said Tran. “Another option would be to list food ingredients on the on-line menu.”

Adding more options would also benefit the entire NYU dining community, said Tran. “It would be great to see more nuts and avocados or meat alternatives like tempeh or seitan,” said Tran. “Eating the right amounts of protein-rich foods isn’t only for vegans, it’s just good nutrition.”

In 2007, PETA ranked NYU No. 7 in its top-ten list of the Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges, considering the university’s proximity to off-campus restaurants and canceled programs, but not nutritional value. “Not only does NYU have the benefit of being close to many of the nation’s best vegetarian restaurants, it also promotes Weekly Vegetarian Nights and Monthly All Vegan Meals,” the organization’s website said.

Sielert agrees with PETA’s ranking, but points out that NYU could work harder to support vegan and vegetarian students. “Other schools don’t pay as much attention to vegetarians, but that only says how bad other schools are, not how good NYU is.”

Even students like Sielert who do not mind eating at NYU still want to see variety in the dining halls. Until NYU addresses students’ frustration, vegans and vegetarians will be opting out of a meal plan instead of vegging out in a dining hall.

NYU's General Studies Program Leads to Transfer Woes

By Cathryn Horwitz

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Twenty-two year old Lael Laderman said she plans on applying to veterinary school. Having excelled at New York University for four years, leaving the General Studies Program for the College of Arts and Science with great enthusiasm for her major, Laderman hoped to be in vet school now.

But somewhere between GSP and CAS, someone missed a beat.

Laderman is taking her final required class as a fifth year senior.

NYU’s General Studies Program—a two year liberal arts core curriculum—gives its students an associate’s degree, after which they transfer to the school housing their intended major. However, some students have been encountering obstacles, from changing major requirements to poor communication with advising—whether GSP’s or their chosen school’s. Students have been left hanging, unsure where to go next, as the semesters tick by. But these students’ complaints may be part of larger problems in organization and communication in GSP, and perhaps NYU.

Though GSP certainly has many important and useful resources for its students—a thorough curriculum, personalized advising and a favorably small instructor to student ratio—which the students appreciate, at times they are not enough to balance out the negative experiences.

Jennifer E. Gottlieb, 20, a Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies major in the CAS, made the transfer out of GSP when most do: spring of her sophomore year. The process, however, was difficult for her as she was studying abroad in London that same semester.

Gottlieb explained that a GSP student is supposed to talk to their intended major’s department head at NYU’s campus in Manhattan.

“I had to do it all by email and it was really hectic,” she said.

In the end, she successfully transferred, but trouble with the advising department brewed ahead.

CAS requires one math course for the Morse Academic Plan (MAP)—the core program of the College of Arts and Science. Gottlieb said she was concerned about fulfilling this Quantitative Reasoning requirement (QR) with NYU, because she struggled with math. As an alternative, she hoped to take a summer math course during at the University of Massachusetts and transfer the credits.

Gottlieb contacted both GSP and CAS advising, as she was still in GSP, but it was CAS’s math requirement. But Gottlieb only became more stressed, confused and frustrated.

She said GSP advisers told her they could not advise her on CAS requirements, only on internal issues with GSP.

Gottlieb did not yet have an official CAS adviser to inquire about the specifics of the QR requirement, so she attended walk-in advising hours and met with a CAS adviser, Jennifer Bell, from whom she said she didn’t get any information.

“She pretty much flat out told me she couldn’t help me,” Gottlieb said. Bell explained that there were too many variables involved in determining whether the math credits would transfer to CAS: which school, what professor, what the syllabus was like, and what her final grade was.

Caught in limbo for the summer, Gottlieb said she worked very hard to achieve an A in the class at UMass. Though the credits did transfer in the end, Gottlieb found the situation incredibly stressful and frustrating.

But meeting a school’s core requirements, such as the QR requirement, is not a problem that GSP students alone experience, said Fred S. Schwarzbach, 58, an associate dean at GSP.

He explained that if, for example, an intended English major took an easier QR course to fulfill the requirement with minimal stress, and then decided to switch majors to psychology, it is possible the QR course that student took will not fulfill the major’s QR requirement.

“So I’m sure in that case the student may feel that the quality of advising was poor,” Schwarzbach said, “but it’s not really an advising issue so much as there are lots of complex requirements, and a lot of them will change depending on the student’s course of study.”

Certain requirements are consistent within NYU’s schools. For example, CAS’s language requirement calls for four semesters of the same language to fulfill the core requirement.

Laderman’s adviser for her Medieval and Renaissance Studies major told her that she needed three semesters of a modern language and two semesters of an ancient language in order to graduate with her major degree. Laderman took three semesters of Hebrew as her modern language, and two semesters of Latin as her ancient language.

Senior year crept up on Laderman, and her adviser did not address the issue that CAS would require her to finish another semester of Hebrew in order to graduate.

When her adviser made her aware of the issue, Laderman was already past the point where she could register for Hebrew in her final semester of senior year. She did not graduate with the rest of her senior class.

After fighting the decision for a semester, insisting she had completed all other requirements, and had taken not four, but five semesters of languages, even if they were two different languages, she gave in. She is now taking Intermediate Hebrew II in her fifth year at NYU and is struggling to recall information from its prerequisite courses, now almost two years displaced.

Laderman said she felt that GSP prepared her very well for CAS from an academic standpoint—for classes, intensive writing and studying techniques.

“But to prepare me to go into CAS for what I needed to do to graduate, they didn’t tell me,” Laderman said. She said she there were no informational meetings for incoming CAS students advertised.

Laderman also cited that she did not have an assigned GSP adviser. “They just kind of sent me to whoever was free,” she said.

But with dozens of majors in CAS, where most GSP students transfer, GSP staff must deal with unique advising issues.

Schwarzbach explained that when he began his tenure at NYU three years ago, one of the largest departments within CAS, which he declined to name, had radically restructured its program and requirements. GSP students account for about 15 or 20 percent of the majors in that particular department, and because of the changes, GSP advisers had been telling their students incorrect information.

“Looking back it’s easy to say, well that department should have given us advance warning and easily could have done so,” he said. “But it requires people working hard to think about every step of the process and to recognize that things change and it changes for our students, too.”

Schwarzbach said GSP faculty is working on ways to improve communication flow between its advising and that of the other schools, primarily CAS, to avoid problems such as these.

“One of the things we’ve also done is that we’ve advanced the timing of our students’ sophomore admission,” Schwarzbach explained.

GSP students used to transfer by April 1, only a couple weeks before CAS advising or fall begins, but this year, students transferred by the end of February, giving them more time to seek departmental advising before mid-April registration.

Svetlana Keselman, 20, a CAS junior majoring in English and Italian-Linguistics, found the GSP program very personal and rewarding.

“If GSP was a four year thing I would just stay in GSP,” Keselman said.

Keselman spoke highly of her GSP adviser, Martin Reichert, and said she had classes with him twice. She explained with the small classes, the professors knew everyone’s name, and could get to know their students better.

Schwarzbach also emphasized the favorably small instructor to student ratio.

“It’s…important that GSP has its own faculty and we’re a teaching faculty,” Schwarzbach said. “Students don’t encounter graduate assistants in our classes. They’re taught by full time faculty, in small groups.”

However experiencing up to two years in a school where professors give individual attention carries its own detriments. Ilona A. Margiotta, 20, a Gender and Sexuality Studies major, said she almost chose Psychology as her major, but GSP’s small classes did not prepare her for the major’s 200 person or more lectures.

Margiotta selected her major based on a GSP elective she took first semester of her sophomore year, after which she transferred into CAS a semester early, because of extra high school credits.

While she valued the GSP experience, and is happy that she discovered her passion for her major within the program, Margiotta said she did not see a difference between CAS and GSP beyond the name.

“I know they [GSP] like to coddle you but I don’t think I would have sunk down into the floor of the ocean if I had gotten into [CAS instead of GSP],” Margiotta said.

Schwarzbach sees distinct differences between CAS and GSP.

“We’re both liberal arts programs,” he said, “but the MAP is really nothing like a core curriculum. There are really only two classes in the MAP that every student will take: expository writing and Conversations with the West. Other than that every student is choosing from fairly large lists of different courses.

“Our curriculum is one coherent program of study, and every single student in the program will do it,” he said, “and I feel that’s a pretty important difference.”

GSP will continue to make improvements, and Schwarzbach said the school is already better than it was even two years ago about communicating with the CAS advising staff and directors of undergraduate studies and many large departments at CAS.

In the meantime, GSP’s academics are putting students on track to be in stellar standing with their new schools. Schwarzbach says GSP’s writing intensive curriculum prepares the students for their major classes.

Gottlieb felt GSP prepared her in many ways. Like Margiotta, an elective course offered at GSP inspired her major—“Near Eastern Cultures”—and she received credit towards her major from the class. She felt GSP laid the foundations for her to continue studying in CAS.

“I think that it just, like most organizations, has a few [traps] that I fell through,” Gottlieb said, “and that I know other people have fallen through.”

A New School Student Doing Something Odd Is Not New

by Walter Ancarrow

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In the future, everyone will be pleasured for $15. Until then, as one New School sophomore knows, it’s going to cost something closer to $1500, and that’s not for anything kinky.

Perry Gregoire, who chose her pseudonym to match her company’s French theme, works as personal assistant for the owner of an upscale New York city-based escort service. Gregoire doesn’t escort herself, but knows that, even when filing paperwork, her job is far from ordinary.

Traditionally, the collegiate crowd clamors for internships, or jobs as barista or salespeople. But some college students are taking a different path and snatching up unusual positions at odd jobs in order to stand out from the crowd and avoid cookie-cutter resumes.

For Gregoire, a typical day includes writing saucy bios about the escort (a personal favorite: “allow her legs to lead you for a night out, or let them keep you warm on a night in”), or doing background checks on clients, or interviewing people to find out what they can do with a prostate. While the whole thing has become second nature to Gregoire, starting in the business was a bit of a shock.

“As I went in I was like, ‘Am I really doing this?’ but eventually it was no big deal and [I] stopped thinking about it,” she said about her initial reaction.

But no matter how comfortable Gregoire gets with the job, the lives of escorts (and the men who love them) never get humdrum.

“One day a woman couldn’t do a photo shoot on the scheduled day because she had bruises all over from a wrestling match with one of the customers. And she just acted like it was no big deal,” recounted Gregoire.

She could go on and on with bizarre anecdotes and, in fact, she’s planning on writing a novel which does just that. A writing major, Gregoire knows her job gives her insights into a business most people know very little about. And that’s what makes her often times ridiculous job so valuable, Gregoire believes.

Cheryl Mazlen, an administrator at the Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYU, said that students looking for creative jobs might benefit from unusual experiences, as they help students stand out to employers.

“Take the transferable skills – the skills that could be marketed to the mainstream and put that on the resume,” she said.

As personal shopper for a 5-year old, Charlotte Simmonds hopes to somehow market her current job to future employers.

Simmonds, a sophomore at NYU, buys clothing for the girl, whose name Simmonds didn’t want to mention, approximately every month, though it’s usually less frequently. Because the girl’s parents work full-time and the girl’s nanny is older and foreign, Simmonds was hired to take care of the girl’s wardrobe. Simmonds is told how much she’s allowed to spend, but otherwise she’s free to make her own choices and bases her selections on personal tastes with an eye towards upcoming trends.

Simmonds would like a career in art, either as a curator or gallery owner, and believes her current job relies heavily on design.

“Basically, this job is about design and I’m designing an image for [the parent’s] child. The parents want the girl to project a certain image,” she said.

Although Simmonds loves what she does, she’s aware of the absurdity that comes with it.

“I find that kids have tendency to be really materialistic if they’re allowed. It’s such a naturally seductive thing for children. They don’t have a sense at all really of what it’s worth and why some people can have these things and others can’t,” she explained.

She added that some people might not agree with what she does.

Mazlen suggested leaving anything potentially controversial off the resume, instead, highlighting the good that comes with any job. However, before taking the job, students should decide for themselves if an odd job is beneficial by questioning their motives and considering the consequences.

Gregoire said she would stress the responsibility, multi-tasking, and people skills that come with her job and would just list “personal assistant” on her resume.

The stories about escorts will have to wait until her book.

Mind the Cultural Gap: Stereotyping International Students

By Michael Ronan

As one student from India said, “People don’t realize India is not a land of snake charmers anymore.”

Even so, many people in NYU can still be surprised by what real Indian and Pakistani international students are like.

NYU has nearly 6400 international students. Despite these large numbers, international students can still encounter cultural friction. These students say they are sometimes offended when asked questions like how they learned English so well. Students from regions in and around India and Pakistan can be subjected to stereotypes even though the reality of who they are points otherwise.

While there can be ignorance from people outside the culture some of the most culturally ignorant can be NYU’s American-born ethnic students. When these students are from the India/Pakistan region they are referred to as ABCDs. ABCD is an acronym standing for American-born confused Desi, used to denote minority students with misconceptions on their own culture.

Aditi Khandelwal, a student from India, talked about the stereotyping that goes on from American-Indian students. She said that international students have the reputation of being rich white wannabes. “ABCDs say we watch English movies or listen to English music because we are trying to fit in,” she said.
Anvi Byani, another student from India, explained that ABCDs “have a preconceived notion of how Indians are…Some call us wannabe-whites…Just because I have Indian roots doesn’t mean I’m not modern.”

Similar stigmas can also be held against Pakistani students who do not fit in with stereotypes. Pakistani student Anum Shahnawaz explained that the two most common points of ignorance are clothing and language. “People think they understand us before we come but they really don’t know,” she said. “People back home wear what people here wear. It is not your dress that makes you a good girl; it’s how you project yourself.”

Bisma Ahmad, an international student from Pakistan, explained how clothing fit in with her religious views. “People see me wearing jeans and shirts without sleeves and, yeah, I know my religion is against it, but I pay attention to the more important aspects of being Muslim like how to be a better person. I don’t pay attention to the trivial things.”

Internationals students speaking English is another issue that American students can sometimes fail to grasp. In many countries like India and Pakistan, English is taught alongside of their native language. Because of this, international students come to NYU already knowing how to speak English fluently. Many American born students, however, are unaware of this fact. Students interviewed stated that how they learned English so well was one of the more frequently asked questions about their country.

Byani found this out when a friend of hers asked her this same question. Reflecting on the incident she said “People here don’t realize that English is like the second language of India. You get taught it all your life along with Hindi,” the native language of India.

Even though she knew English fluently, Khandelwal about how Indian accents are sometimes made fun of. She recalled being mocked of in NYU’s Bobst library because of her accent. According to her, an ABCD and his friend started making fun of the way she spoke, imitating her in a mock Indian accent.

Besides dealing with cultural friction, International students have also needed to make transitions to fit into American culture. One of these transitions was the relative acceptance of homosexuality. Homosexuality is a taboo subject in other countries. In countries like India, it is even outlawed as being unnatural. Coming to America, where homosexuals are more free to express themselves, many international students were forced to take a new look at being gay or lesbian. As one Pakistani student said, back home “if someone was to tell me he was gay I would be shocked. Here it is not such a big deal. I’m immune to it.”

Another transition was in understanding American religiousness. Byani said that before coming to NYU, she generally believed that Americans were not religious people. This changed, however, in meeting several devout Christians and Jews who keep up with their religious obligations.

Dr. David Benton Austell said it is this learning process on both sides that makes it important for international students to come to America. Dr. Austell is the Director of The Office of International Students and Scholars, OSIS. Besides returning home with the prestige of a degree, Dr. Austell mentioned the importance of learning about American culture. “It is important for nationals to learn about the culture of this country in this governmental experiment of democracy,” he said. Dr. Austell also mentioned how this learning process breaks down stereotypes on both sides. He said, “America is still seen as the land of opportunity but the downside is it is seen as godless, unethical and immoral.”

This images foreign nationals have, they can compare to what they see here and figure out what is stereotype and what is true.” The same went for American students learning about other cultures, he said. Dr. Austell explained that Americans are in many way isolated from the rest of the world. It is through bringing international students here that Americans can understand other cultures more fully.

Cultural friction can be seen as just the growing pains of a generation being exposed to the outside world. By allowing international students to study at NYU, both the international and American-born students partake in a learning experience that you will not see in a classroom. Even with the occasional bad experience, all international students interviewed said they were still happy with her decision to study in a different country. It is thanks to international students that NYU has such a high number of groups geared toward minorities. These groups can help build ties among students of similar backgrounds. So while NYU may not be completely tolerant, thanks to international students breaking down American isolation, perhaps it will be soon.

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Dumpster-Diving: Hobo Practice or Political Statement?

By Damon Beres

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It’s 9:30 p.m. when dinner is served for Damian Leslie. A hunched old man labors to bring the massive feast to him and it takes several trips just to haul it all out. No, it’s not Thanksgiving, nor is Leslie about to devour a ten-course meal. In fact, he may not get to eat anything at all; the meal he’s waiting on is buried in heaps of garbage delivered to a street corner by an employee of Gristedes Supermarket in Manhattan.

Most people probably associate sifting through trash with the homeless or poor. But so-called “freegans” turn dumpster diving into a political movement. Eating discarded food items from groceries and restaurants has been turned into a demonstration for better waste management and environmental policies, complete with rallies, “trash tours,” and a website called Freegan.info to provide information and freegan networking.

“I’ve been doing it since ’98 or ’99,” said Leslie. “It facilitates a cheap lifestyle. I like to travel a lot throughout the U.S., hitchhiking or using free modes of transportation.”

For many college students, the thought of free meals probably seems appealing. Meal plans at any university take a big bite out of students’ already hurting wallets, and there are other environmental concerns to take into account, as NYU freshman Alex Hart describes.

“I think a large amount of food waste is generated by the dining halls, and I’d really like to see some system go into order to either reduce that or put it to use somehow,” said Hart. “I know they officially discourage people from taking more than they can eat in the dining halls but I’ve never really seen that enforced in any formal way.”

Nevertheless, the thought of turning to dumpsters and refuse for every meal may be difficult to choke down, especially at a school like NYU where there are 12 different locations to use the meal plan. But freegans can make an impact in other ways, and they don’t necessarily need to eat rotten eggs mixed in with used diapers to get a meal. Leslie works at a food co-op, a grocery store that gives its workers food instead of cash, which he says embodies the DIY, or “do-it-yourself,” spirit, “a cornerstone of freegans.”

Blair Ednie, a freegan from the New School, also integrates a host of waste-reducing, eco-friendly alternatives into his life that those too squeamish to dumpster dive might consider. “My goal as a freegan is to limit my destruction of the environment, which I take to mean the world as a whole,” said Ednie. “I do this by reducing my personal waste and the waste of others, and by boycotting as many products as possible, which removes the economic incentive for those who produce them, and by riding a bike instead of driving, using a handkerchief instead of disposable tissues, patching my pants instead of buying new ones.”

And a number of organizations exist to help any and all interested parties reduce their waste production. The Freegan Bike Workshop, for instance, offers a host of mechanics that assist people in repairing and constructing bicycles for no cost (“come out and get a free bicycle, anyone” the website proclaims). Meetings occur every Wednesday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and every Saturday from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Located at 123 Community Space in Brooklyn on 123 Tompkins, the bike workshop is seated in the heart of the freegan community, where an array of freegan-favorite grocery stores are also located. Leslie himself is from Brooklyn and says that many freegans congregate there.

However, there are also a number of locations in Manhattan and elsewhere that are sympathetic to the cause, like Bluestockings, a “radical bookstore” on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which has an organic café and stocks everything from books to “alternative menstrual products and other oddly hard-to-find good things.”

With a mounting garbage crisis in New York City and the popularization of “going green,” the freegan way is one worth considering. From baby steps like patching pants to the sheer glory of inhaling discarded fish bits, freeganism offers a variety of ways to better the urban jungle you live in. And for students, it may even offer a little peace of mind, as well.

“Being freegan helps me to feel like I am actually accomplishing something in my own way, and I don't have to make concessions,” said Ednie. “I don't have to despair at feeling one thing and doing another. I can live my beliefs.”

NYU College Republicans: The Elephants in the Room

By Lisa Bonarrigo

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Think you can find one Republican at New York University? You may not know any. But attend a College Republicans meeting, and you’ll find that they do, in fact, exist.

Conservatives at NYU are undoubtedly in the political minority, but their smaller number hasn’t stopped them from engaging in a dialogue with the Democrats. With a few primaries remaining and the general presidential election quickly approaching, the College Republicans haven’t lowered their voices.

Hampton Williams, President of the NYU College Republicans, says that he’s never found it difficult to voice his opinions at NYU, and that this year is no different. “Because it is an election year doesn’t mean that my beliefs and views are not challenged on a daily basis. I think I am more outspoken now,” Williams said.

He also stressed the importance of being able to discuss important issues with the Democrats. “I think that that kind of political discourse has been twisted to the point where we don’t even allow the opposition to talk. And that’s one thing that my club and many across the nation are very concerned about – that these political organizations and politically affiliated clubs are not engaging in an academic examination or discussion,” Williams said.

Professor of Sociology at NYU, Ed Lehman, says that dialogue is a “central feature of academic life.” “It’s good to be with people who share the same beliefs and values, but it can’t become so rigid that the dialogue and academic component disappears. This requires a considerable degree of tolerance and understanding,” he said.

Fraser Ridgely Dachille, Webmaster for the NYU College Republicans, says that although he doesn’t find it difficult to be a Republican on campus, he does find it hard at times for his point of view to be understood by others. “Most of the legitimate discussion is open-minded and genuine; however, there have been a few people who have just shut down upon hearing my opinion,” Dachille said.

Professor Lehman said that forming groups, such as the College Republicans and Democrats have done, “creates a common sense of identity and a level of support.” But, as Dachille has seen, this can also lead to isolation, Professor Lehman said. “The danger is that we simply become isolated in our islands…Sometimes we create tribes that see others as heretical and alien,” he said.

Others have found it to be rewarding to engage in friendly discussion on political matters. “A lot of my friends are Democrats. It’s nice to be with people who share such different political beliefs. A façade is down because you’re friends, so you get to really see what their views are,” Sports Coordinator and Intramural Captain of the NYU College Republicans, Rick Halmo, said.

Halmo agreed with Williams, saying that the Democratic dominance at NYU has not stopped the Republicans from sharing their thoughts during this election year. “A lot more people are involved this year. A lot of people feel like they have something to lose now – they’re more vocal, and it’s more interesting,” he said.

The NYU College Republicans seemed to be just as, if not more, vocal last year. They put together a notorious event last spring, titled “Find the Illegal Immigrant,” which was nationally covered by the news and stirred much controversy among students. Though the club hasn’t cowered from voicing their opinions this year, Rick Rossi, Social Chair for the club, said that the events they’ve hosted this year are more toned down.

Halmo explained that although the event last year was viewed by some as negative, it provided the necessary dialogue and debate discussed by Williams and Professor Lehman. “The illegal immigration event contained both civil and non-civil experiences. There was a six-on-one debate – obviously, I was the one…But it was actually fun. We welcomed the challenge…It’s important that we understand the fact that not only should we say what we feel, but we should deliver our message in a way that doesn’t alienate [the Democrats], but engages them in a dialogue that’s fruitful,” Halmo said.

Cheap Digs a Scarcity at Pricey School

By Nicholas Luckenbaugh

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When Jessica Golden told her parents three years ago that she wanted to transfer from the University of Maryland to New York University, they cringed. If their daughter transferred, they needed to slash high tuition costs. So under her parents’ instruction, Golden requested low-cost housing on her transfer application.

Golden, a senior at NYU’s College of Arts and Science, is dependent on the school’s low-cost housing, which saves her thousands of dollars on tuition costs. But low-cost housing is incorporated into the general housing lottery, making it available to all students, regardless of their financial situation. Students must battle their way through the lottery each spring, praying that their ideal low-cost room has not been snatched up already by students hungry for their own ideal housing assignment.

Libby Carlson, a sophomore at NYU’s Steinhardt School, worried that she had a terrible time slot in the housing lottery last year. But when she and her roommate were able to snag a low-cost studio at Water Street residence hall, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“We were both conscious [of the cost],” said Carlson. “Why would we make our parents spend more money for the same NYU experience? I feel bad making them pay.”

Faustyna Hariasz, a CAS freshman who lives in a low-cost room in Hayden, also depends on the cheaper housing to afford tuition.

“Every bit of money that I can save, I’ll take the opportunity,” said Hariasz.

The NYU housing office controls the placement of freshman and transfer students, giving them the opportunity to request low-cost housing. Only continuing upperclassmen use the lottery to secure housing.

Hariasz and her three suitemates are hoping for a room in 13th Street or Lafayette Street dorms next year. But NYU’s current policy is making her nervous.

“It’s not fair,” said Hariasz. “There should be a special low-cost housing lottery.”

Even though she has certain residence halls in mind, Hariasz doubts that she will secure her preferred locations. Certain low-cost dorms like 13th Street, Coral Towers and Lafayette, said Hariasz, get filled up immediately because of their desirable location. Hariasz feels that this leaves students that require low-cost housing at an automatic disadvantage even if they can secure a cheaper room through the lottery.

NYU currently offers low-cost housing to upperclassmen in 13th Street, 26th Street, Broome Street, Coral Towers, Lafayette Street, University Court and Water Street residence halls. Broome Street is only available to students participating in the Residential College program, which offers students in high academic standing the opportunity to live in a learning-centered environment. 13th Street and Coral Towers boast locations near NYU buildings, while many students praise Water Street and parts of Lafayette Street dorms for their spacious rooms. However, the 26th Street and University Court residence halls are criticized for the buildings’ conditions and distant locations from campus.

“If [26th Street residence hall] collapsed right now, I would not be surprised,” said Sutton Stewart, a Steinhardt junior living in a low-cost room in 26th Street. “I mean, I’d be upset because all my stuff is in there, but I would not be surprised.”

When Stewart entered the lottery last year, the only low-cost rooms that were available were four floors of 26th Street, most of University Court and a few single spaces in Lafayette Street.

“It suffices,” said Golden, commenting on the living conditions at 26th Street. Since transferring to NYU as a sophomore, Golden has lived in 26th Street every year. Golden would prefer a nicer dorm, but as long as she gets the low-cost housing that she needs, she will be happy enough.

Lynn Higinbotham, Director of Financial Aid, said that NYU tries to assist students with low incomes, noting that on-campus housing and its costs are often a concern of students who contact the financial aid office.

“This office accommodates students’ requests as best we can and adjusts award packages as eligibility allows,” said Higinbotham.

“Typically one’s loans are increased to meet the added housing costs,” said Higinbotham.

According to the NYU Department of Housing, NYU can also provide a student with more affordable accommodations after the lottery process is finished. If a student does not get a low-cost room through the lottery, the housing office is able to rectify this through post lottery changes.

But not all low-income students are aware of this post-lottery policy.

“I had no idea that you could switch into a low-cost room right after the lottery,” said Hariasz. “That makes me feel a little better.”

But Hariasz feels that even with the post-lottery policy, students pursuing low-cost housing are still at a disadvantage.

“The reality is that most if not all the unused low-cost spaces will be in 26th Street,” said Hariasz. “So that means low-cost students automatically get placed in the worst dorm because of their inability to pay the full housing cost.”

NYU should offer low-income students more options, said Hariasz, such as providing a set number of low-cost rooms in every residence hall or creating a special low-cost lottery. This would give more students pursuing a low-cost residence hall the chance to select their preferred dorm rather than having to resign themselves to their last choice, said Hariasz.

But determining an appropriate income range for low-cost housing is not so simple, said Higinbotham. Aside from yearly income, the financial aid office uses assets, family size and many other considerations to determine a student’s financial need. Because so much is incorporated into determining a student’s need, a need-based lottery is difficult to implement, leaving students seeking low-cost housing to contend with the standard lottery this spring.