Vol. 41, No. 42 MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 nyunews.com

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWSNYU’s Daily Student Newspaper

Bitcoin currency comes to local bar

Admitted students explore campus

COIN continued on PG. 3

Moviora app suggests movies based on mood

WEEKEND continued on PG. 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

OPINION on PG. 7

REFLECTING ON BOSTON MARATHON TRAGEDY: In the wake of the events that unfolded in Boston over the past week, contributing columnist Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs, a Boston native miles away from her home city, re-flects on the significance and impact of the tragic event as a way of grieving and stand-ing in solidarity with the people of Boston in a time of shock and mourning.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SER-VICES CONNECTS STUDENTS:With Global Technology Services at NYU, students from Washington Square to Abu Dhabi can com-municate during classes via video conferencing.

FROM PARK TO FITNESS PLAYGROUND: Make the most of springtime in Washington Square Park by turning it into a gym. Exercise every muscle in your body using park benches and even the Washington Square Arch as guides for push-ups and lunges.

FITNESS on PG. 5 TECH on PG. 3

Admitted students and their parents toured NYU for Weekend on the Square.CHUCK KUAN FOR WSN

By UTPALA MENON While sitting down at 3

a.m. one Saturday, CAS ju-nior Daniel Fein went on a coding spree. Just 18 hours later, he finalized the con-cept for Moviora, a website that suggests movies based on a viewer’s current mood.

Fein, a computer sci-ence major, launched Moviora on March 2. The site, which was completed in just one week, had over 300,000 unique users the first weekend it launched. Creating a user-friendly space for moviegoers wasn’t the only thing on

MOVIORA continued on PG. 4 Moviora recommends movies depending on emotions.COURTESY OF DANIEL FEIN

By MICHAEL DOMANICO and LYANNE NATIVIDAD

“Go, Emory, go,” her dad cheered from behind the crowd at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. His daughter, incoming Tisch freshman Emory Parker, weaved through the sea of potential class of 2017 students to her school’s presentation.

The family was one of many that came to the city for NYU’s annual Weekend on the Square this past weekend. At one of the first events NYU hosts for admitted students, admissions ambassadors led groups of ad-mitted students through cam-pus to show what NYU could offer those students who con-firmed their acceptance.

Sporting a class of 2017 T-shirt — which she had fashioned into a makeshift scarf — Mrs. Parker walked alongside her daughter and Mr. Parker, who was wearing

By LESLEY GREENBERG

New York loves to be ahead of the curve and EVR, a bar in mid-town Manhattan, is no different. EVR now accepts payment in the form of Bitcoins, digital money that is not tied to any central bank.

The controversy over Bitcoins has received a lot of media at-tention from sources such as CNNMoney, Yahoo, and Wired in recent weeks due to its fluctuat-ing value. In February, the value of one individual Bitcoin was $20, but rose to $250 in recent weeks, and then fell to $150 on April 11.

Bitcoins are mathematically generated by computers through algorithms in a process called “mining,” but the algorithms be-come more complex over time to ensure the value of the currency. Bitcoin users acquire the digital currency by purchasing them from other users or by trading goods with Bitcoins owners. They can be stored in an electronic de-

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ON THE SIDE COMPILED BY THE WSN STAFF

2 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

Members of Panda Diplomacy gathered in Union Square on Sunday to celebrate Earth Day.

PHOTO BY RACHEL KAPLAN

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IN AND OFTHE CITY

It’s a big city and a widespread university. Catch up with our daily updates on university and city/state news headlines other publications are covering.

STAFFRECOMMENDATIONS Editor-in-Chief

JONATHON DORNBUSH

Managing Editor

AMY ZHANG

Web Managing Editor

HANQING CHEN

Deputy Managing Editor

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SENIOR STAFFuniversity TATIANA BAEZcity/state VERONICA CARCHEDIinvestigative NICOLE BROWNarts JOSH JOHNSONfeatures KRISTINA BOGOSsports MARY JANE DUMANKAYAmultimedia RACHEL KAPLANcopy MICHAEL DOMANICO, WICY WANGforeign correspondent JULIE DEVITO senior editors GENTRY BROWN, DAN HINTON, CHARLES MAHONEY, CLIO MCCONNELL, STEFAN MELNYK, LAVYA YALAMANCHI

DEPUTY STAFFuniversity KEVIN BURNS, NEELA QADIRcity/state EMILY BELL, ANDREW KARPANbooks/theater OLIVIA GEORGEfilm JEREMY GROSSMANentertainment ALEX GREENBERGERmusic ALEXANDRIA ETHRIDGEthe highlighter blog SAM RULLOfeatures HELEN HOLMES, JONATHAN KESHISHOGLOU beauty & style MICHELLE LIMdining ANGEL CHANGsports FRANCISCO NAVASmultimedia REBECCA CLEMENTI, JOON LEE

OPINION PAGEopinion editor SAMEER JAYWANTdeputy opinion editors EDWARD RADZIVILOVSKIY,RAQUEL WOODRUFF

ADVERTISINGBUSINESS MANAGERREBECCA RIBEIRO

CIRCULATION MANAGERCHLOE COFFMAN

UNIVERSITY SALES COORDINATORKAITLYN O’BRIEN

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SALES ASSOCIATESARIANA DIVALENTINO, ALISON LIZZIO, SAM WANDER

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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 managing editor Amy Zhang at managing@nyunews.com or at 212.998.4302.

NYUNEWS.COM

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS

UNCLAIMED CARS TO BE AUCTIONEDOf the vehicles unclaimed in the aftermath of Hurricane Sa-

ndy, 535 will be auctioned off by the city and auction house David R. Maltz in New York in May. Many of the vehicles were flooded or badly damaged after the storm last fall. Buyers need a 25 percent deposit in cash or a bank check. Proceeds will go to the city with 10 percent premium to the auction house.

— ABC

JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EVACUATEDOn Sunday afternoon, baggage screeners at JFK believed they found

a suspicious package and caused Concourse B in Terminal Four to be evacuated. The package was later discovered to be a tube of toothpaste.

— Newsday

THOUSANDS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST NEW YORK CITY RUN AFTER BOMBINGS

Thousands of runners participated in the New York Road Runners’ first organized run since the Boston Marathon bombings. Participants were asked not to bring backpacks to the race, and every garbage can in the vicinity of the 4-mile course was removed. However, a bomb scare occurred when police discovered a bike rider carrying an unidentified package on the route. The New York Police Department investigated the package and came to the conclusion that it was harmless.

— DNAinfo

NYUAD STUDENTS PERFORM THE PLAY ‘THE ODYSSEY’Students at NYU Abu Dhabi performed an original adaptation

of the epic poem by Homer to packed audiences over the week-end at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The play featured 14 student actors and 16 student musicians, and included elements of Japanese anime, Indian Kathakali, Japanese kabuki, butoh, Chinese ob-ject puppets, Greek bard tradition and percussion, as well as an original music score to bring the story to life.

— Gulf News

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCES REPLYALLCALYPSEFordham students experienced a similar episode of Replyallca-

lypse as NYU when a student sent an email to the all_students@fordham.edu account, resulting in 120 emails being sent to the student body. Approximately 7,000 students have been affected.

— Gothamist

By MARY JANE DUMANKAYA and FRANCISCO NAVAS

“FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: A TOWN, A TEAM, AND A DREAM” BY H.G. BISSINGER

Considered one of the greatest sports books ever writ-ten, “Friday Night Lights” has inspired a television series and a box office hit. The non-fiction book follows the journey of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers to the state championships. Bissinger spent a year in Odessa, Texas with the coaches, the players and the people of the town so he could observe high school football culture and its importance in America, particularly in rural commu-nities. The end result is critical of Odessa, a town with many misplaced priorities, as football and the state cham-pionship triumphed all else, including academics.

“OPEN” BY ANDRE AGASSI Andre Agassi, formerly the best tennis player in the world,

released his autobiography in 2009 — three years into his retirement. The autobiography is a tell-all that reveals shock-ing details, including Agassi’s crystal methamphetamine use. In this New York Times bestseller, we are given an anti-sports book by one of the greatest tennis players to ever grace the court. Agassi honestly details his hatred for the sport and the prison it represented for him, which all started with the pres-sure his father, Mike, imposed from the day he helped young Agassi pick up a racket.

“A CHAMPION’S MIND” BY PETE SAMPRASLike Agassi, Pete Sampras dominated the No. 1 spot in

the ATP, winning 14 grand slams in his 14-year profession-al career. Similar to Agassi’s “Open,” this autobiography recounts Sampras’ experiences with life and tennis. From his first attempts to switch to a one-handed backhand to his final professional match at the U.S. Open to his retire-ment, Sampras recounts the lessons he learned about life through tennis. This is a great read for any aspiring tennis player or Sampras fan.

“FEVER PITCH: A FAN’S LIFE” BY NICK HORNBYThis autobiographical novel takes a look at life in a way that

any team-obsessed fan can relate to. In many short essays, English author Nick Hornby examines and recounts moments in his life through his favorite English Premier League team from North London, Arsenal F.C. Hornby recounts his personal highs and lows, concentrating on specific matches between 1968 to 1992. Major soccer fans will be able to quickly relate to the realistic view Hornby offers in this great read.

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NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 3

what his children have designated the “suit that he only wears to NYU.”

Two hours earlier, Lauren Fleming, another admitted student, and her family had just arrived from Burling-ton, N.J., in time for refreshments and the Steinhardt welcome at the Kim-mel Center for University Life.

Though each college held its own welcome this weekend, the ninth floor of Kimmel served as the first official stop for many of the families that ar-rived. Nervous groups huddled to dis-cuss navigating NYU’s urban campus, and parents forced their children to introduce themselves to others.

The Flemings were among them, and Mrs. Fleming casually sipped her cof-fee as Mr. Fleming proudly slapped on his admissions guest sticker and gree-ted the admissions ambassadors. As the group set off, Lauren tried to dis-tract herself from her nerves by flip-ping through the program. Lauren’s 13-year-old brother, a basketball fana-tic, stopped and asked his sister to take a picture of him with the NYU Bobcat.

Though the university assured the students they would acclimate to the city, parents still expressed concern.

“I was afraid that after she left NYU, she’d be left to her own devices,” Mrs. Parker said. “But the presentation as-sured me that opportunities will come if you work hard. And she works hard.”

And some, like Emory, make the transi-tion to city life smoothly. Strolling along Broadway with Delaney’s arm draped across her shoulder, Emory said NYU was fitting.

“It’s really cool to be going somewhere,” Emory said. “Not only somewhere, but the best place for me in the world.”

Meanwhile, it was time for questions at Lauren’s program meeting for com-municative sciences and disorders. Her father nudged her to ask a question.

“I thought you’d ask a couple of ques-tions,” he said. “I always have a list of them.”

Shaking her head, she turned her eyes back toward her sample course syllabus.

Later, as Lauren walked ahead on the way to Third Avenue North residence hall, her dad looked at his daughter.

“I never got the chance to live in New York City,” he said. “Now, Lauren will have that opportunity.”

In the Tisch building, Emory’s parents waited as their daughter familiarized herself with her future collaborators.

“It’s so satisfying to be here, know-ing these are the teachers I’m going to have, these are the kids I’m going to be working with, this is my experience,” Emory said. “I think I’m ready to go to a place where I can be immersed.”

Michael Domanico is a copy chief. Lyanne Natividad is a contributing writer. Email them at university@nyunews.com.

Prospective students and families spend weekend discovering Washington Square

WEEKEND continued from PG. 1

vice such as a cellphone or computer, can be instantly transferred, are anonymous and do not go through any third-party fi-nancial institutions.

For EVR founder Ian Magid, accepting Bitcoins was “a no-brainer.”

“There is a lower processing rate than credit cards, roughly one percent process-ing rate versus 2.5 to 3.5 percent for credit cards,” explained Ian Magid, operating owner of EVR and a Stern alumnus. “In terms of cash flow, Bitcoins make EVR run more ef-ficiently, with money being deposited in our account the next day instead of taking two to five days with normal credit card processing.”

EVR has only been accepting Bitcoins for a short while, but about 20 customers have already used it as a payment meth-od through a special app. CNNMoney re-ported that, according to co-founder and CEO of BitPay Anthony Gallippy, over 100 global retailers are using the app.

Magid said businesses will start accept-ing Bitcoins because they are easy to use and allow business to run more effectively at a lower processing cost.

However, Stern professor of finance Matteo Maggiori pointed out that two evident advantages of Bitcoins may turn out to do more harm than good.

“Two often cited advantages [of Bit-coins] are the absence of a central bank and the control of the supply via comput-er mining,” he said. “Think of the prob-lems with pure commodity money, like a strict gold standard — we abandoned it and progressively switched to fiat money precisely because of the inability to con-trol the money supply,” he said.

Maggiori conceded that Bitcoins have a useful potential as an international pay-ment system. However, it does not ap-pear that students will be jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon anytime soon.

“I like not having to worry about cash or credit cards, but I don’t like that the value changes,” said Caroline Kaplan, a Tisch sophomore. “Plus, it seems really difficult to get Bitcoins.”

Furthermore, value could be a problem for Bitcoin in the future, Maggiori said.

“Electronic currency seems to be a pure coordination phenomenon.” Mag-giori said. “These types of assets are very volatile and subject to shifts in people’s expectations about their reli-ability. Governments go to great pains to make their money a credible store of value — it is unclear that the same holds for bit-currency.”

Lesley Greenberg is a staff writer. Email her at cstate@nyunews.com.

Bitcoins present alternative digital currency for businesses, consumers

COIN continued from PG. 1

Midtown bar EVR began using Bitcoins to create an efficient business model.

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NYU Global Technology Services link overseas classes

By JULIE DEVITO

Students in Mary Killilea’s class Where the City Meets the Sea settled into their seats as they watched students in Abu Dhabi and London also sit down at their desks on large, high definition screens. In a routine Wednesday morning session of Killilea’s course on coastal areas, she greeted pro-fessors John Burt in Abu Dhabi and Andy Brown in London, and the lecture began.

This semester is the first time that stu-dents at three different campuses could take part in a joint class. The environ-mental studies course in CAS initially launched in spring 2012, joining students in New York and Abu Dhabi. The course added a location in London this semester and announced the addition of Shanghai as the fourth city for spring 2014.

“I’ve always heard that NYU is a global network university, but I finally understand the extent to which it actually is,” CAS sophomore Evan Powell said. “For our final group presentations, in which our groups are made up of students from each campus, we asked Mary if we could be in the same group, and she was thrilled to hear that we’ve connected across campuses.”

Peter Schilling, associate vice president for global technology services, was asked to help prototype ways to teach undergraduate science courses at global study away sites.

Schilling, Killilea and Burt collected pub-licly available environmental, census and other data and organized it into a software system that students would be able to use to input their own data out on the field.

The tablet devices automatically record the location with a GPS device and place a time-stamp in Greenwich Mean Time. It also asks students to input meta-data, such as water temperature to help ensure data accuracy.

CAS sophomore Cindy Pi said studying globally enhances the students’ under-standing of coastal cities.

“We recently had a lab where all three campuses measured formaldehyde levels and indoor air quality of their campuses’ buildings,” Pi said. “We got to compare air qualities across the world and were not just confined to studying New York.”

Despite the reliance on technology, Pi said they rarely experience problems with communication across sites.

The technology highlights the intersec-tion of instruction and research.

“In the past students were more the re-ceivers of instruction, and what we’re try-ing to do is make folks realize that combin-ing the two can be powerful,” Schilling said.

Google has recently taken an interest in the initiative and is offering tools and on-call assistance to GTS.

Other departments within NYU are now requesting to participate in the data collec-tion as well.

“We’re building a living archive,” Burt said. “If you look at a place like Abu Dhabi or Shanghai, the sheer scale and speed of development is phenomenal ... The course is global in nature. We’re looking at issues that affect cities anywhere on earth.”

Julie DeVito is foreign correspondent editor. Email her at jdevito@nyunews.com.

Admissions offices consider more than racial diversity

By FAY LIN

The legality of affirmative action is being questioned once again as another affirmative action case heads to the Supreme Court.

Inside Higher Ed reported last month that the Supreme Court had taken on a case regard-ing affirmative action. The justices discussed whether Michigan residents had the right to remove race from the admissions process in the state’s public colleges and universities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that the measure passed by the voters, known as Proposition 2, was unconstitutional.

For NYU, assistant vice president of admis-sions Shawn Abbott said that while diversity is indeed crucial to the university’s pursuit of excellence, race and ethnicity are not the only factors considered.

“At NYU, we define diversity not just by race and ethnicity, but also by geographic origin, citizenship status, gender in vari-ous disciplines, religious beliefs, political viewpoints, cultural and family context, socioeconomic status, worldview and spe-cial talents,” Abbott said.

Abbott stated that the most important fac-tors in making admissions decisions are still the academic record, special talents, letters of recommendation and personal essays.

“If a student does not indicate his or her race on the Common Application, it is sim-ply information that we do not have and cannot consider,” Abbott said.

According to the 2012-2013 fact sheet, 11.9 percent of the current undergraduates at NYU did not include their race or ethnic-ity on their application. The most common race of current undergraduates is white,

with 40.4 percent. The second highest per-centage is Asian, with 18.9 percent.

NYU higher education professor Ann Mar-cus said NYU strives for diversity, but does not have any type of quota.

“On the other hand, [NYU] might make special efforts to recruit in regions or par-ticular schools with significant minority populations,” Marcus said.

NYU higher education professor Robert Ter-anishi said the strive for diversity is beneficial to students in a global network university.

“[Diversity] is correlated with positive learn-ing and civic outcomes, improved inter-group attitudes and higher levels of satisfaction dur-ing college,” Teranishi said.

Marcus added that the historical diversity at NYU makes the university more appealing to a variety of students.

“Minority students don’t want to be in a place without other students from their group, and white students don’t want to be on an all-white campus,” Marcus said.

Marcus said NYU’s diversity compares favor-ably to the diversity at other highly selective private universities and has more diversity than non-urban public or private institutions.

LSP freshman Andrew Cho said NYU’s diversity makes the college experience rewarding.

“It is great to be a part of a diverse campus as we have the opportunity to learn from peo-ple from different countries, their cultures and their lives,” Cho said. “I have never seen such diversity in my life, especially coming from Los Angeles.”

Fay Lin is a staff writer. Email her at investigative@nyunews.com.

4 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

FEATURES

his agenda. On Friday, April 19, Fein released an app version of Moviora.

“I didn’t want [users] to use the site and forget about it later,” Fein said. “If you have this app, suddenly you’re thinking about it all the time as opposed to having just a site.”

The website, which is driven by a model based on a simple concept, asks the users yes or no questions as to whether they would prefer a drama, a romance, a comedy, etc. Once all of the questions have been answered, the site recommends one primary movie along with several alternatives.

Unlike mainstream movie sites that look at viewing history, Movio-ra suggests films based on the view-er’s present mood. Other features include trailers, summaries and rat-ings by Rotten Tomatoes and links to movies on Netflix and iTunes.

“It is like playing 20 questions with your computer, literally guessing your character,” said CAS junior Nick Williams, who uses Moviora.

Even though Fein learned the language to code while intern-ing at MTV in the summer of 2012, Moviora is not his first cod-ing experience. Previously, he launched website OMGwire, an online symposium that discusses ongoing news in popular culture. The website had roughly 200,000 unique visitors per month. But after eight months, he decided to end the project.

“My first project turned out well, but I cut it off too early,” Fein said. “I wanted to create something new, something that is different.”

Deena Engel, associate direc-tor of undergraduate studies for the computer science minors programs, worked on an inde-pendent study with Fein.

“It is a joy to watch our students learn and grow.” Engel said. “Dan-iel is enthusiastic about his work, personable and open to learning new things.”

CAS junior Colm Dillane and Fein frequently discuss new pro-spective ventures while simulta-neously critiquing his ideas. Dil-lane attributes Moviora’s success to Fein’s creative and curious en-trepreneurial skills.

“He’s the type of kid that you want around you. If he isn’t inspir-ing you through his own personal drive, he is pushing you with whatever you are working on,” Dillane said. “Last week he wanted to manage musicians, this week he wanted to make a site similar to Kickstarter, all while working on Moviora. That’s Danny.”

Utpala Menon is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

CAS junior develops

mood-based movie app

MOVIORA continued from PG. 1

TOP5 Outdoor study spots for academic inspiration

By BRYNA SHUMAN With winter finally over and the warm

spring weather upon us, it is too nice outside to spend time huddled in the lower levels of Bobst Library. Instead, try studying at one of the top five outdoor study spots in the city.

CENTRAL PARK | 4 E. 60TH ST.

Despite being one of the most popular tour-ist attractions in New York City, Central Park is large enough that it’s not hard to find a quiet spot to study. Settle on a bench at Conservatory Water on East 72nd Street to read while watch-ing children sail toy boats across the water. Sheep Meadow, at West 67th Street, is optimal for spreading out a blanket and basking in the sun while writing an essay.

THE HIGHLINE | 210 10TH AVE.

This elevated public park that runs over the west side of Manhattan offers numerous spots to sit and study among the trees, bushes and flowers that are beginning to bloom. Recline on one of the Adirondack chair-like benches that are scattered along the walkway, or steal a seat at the Urban Theater at 10th Avenue and 17th Street, where a giant window overlooking the avenue provides interesting distractions during study breaks.

MUDSPOT CAFÉ | 307 EAST NINTH ST.

The Mudspot Café, known to regulars sim-ply as Mud, is the stationary, East Village

version of the legendary Mudtruck, a food truck that serves a variety of delicious cof-fee blends. The Mud Café not only offers strong coffee, but a wide range of break-fasts, salads, sandwiches and desserts. An outdoor patio in the back doubles as a tiny, quiet haven from the city with brick pan-eling and plenty of natural light. Linger on the patio with a hot cup of coffee as you study for final exams.

THE CLOISTERS | 99 MARGARET CORBIN DRIVE

Located in Washington Heights, the Clois-ters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that features art and architecture from the medieval European period. The collection is housed in a building designed to look like a medieval European abbey with covered arch-ways, stone walkways and cloistered gardens. Grab a table at the Trie Café on the lower level to study under the arches while overlooking a garden of medieval plant species.

THE TABLES AT BRYANT PARK | FIFTH AVENUE AND 40TH STREET

With the snow finally gone, the main lawn at Bryant Park has said farewell to the ice rink and has once again been converted into an expansive lawn with garden tables and chairs. Grab a seat in the heart of the lawn and enjoy the sun as you study. If you’re stuck on your research paper, the New York Public Library is right next door.

Students support nomadic culture with Mongolian cashmere lineBy LAYLA ILCHI

When SCPS senior Matthew Scanlan

became aware of the poor living condi-tions of nomadic herders in Mongolia af-ter his former roommate Diederik Rijse-mus made a trip there, the duo decided to find a way to improve lives.

In 2010, Scanlan and Rijsemus, who is a master’s candidate in the Netherlands, launched Naadam Cashmere, a socially conscious clothing line, to assist the herders who struggle with poor condi-tions. The brand sells sweaters made from 100 percent Mongolian cashmere harvested by the nomadic herders.

On April 5, Scanlan launched a Kick-starter campaign to raise awareness of the herders and their struggles while building their brand. As of April 20, the duo has raised over $36,000. When in-dividuals contribute to the campaign, which ends on May 15, they receive re-wards ranging from Naadam Cashmere socks to a trip to Mongolia with Scanlan and Rijsemus.

“We wanted to help these herders to protect their culture and livelihood,” Ri-jsemus said. “Along the way we found an avenue for doing this through the cash-mere business.”

The name Naadam comes from the Na-adam Festival, Mongolia’s biggest annual festival which unites both city dwellers and nomads to celebrate their rich ancestry.

Scanlan and Rijsemus collect fibers from the herders and then manufac-ture the sweaters in Mongolia. Once the sweaters are sold, the pair takes 10 percent of the profits and invests in the Index-Based Livestock Insurance Program, an initiative created by the World Bank, to protect the herders who sourced the garments.

“We realized we could contribute to the program and pay premiums for in-dividual families of the herders,” Scan-lan said. “The cost is relatively low for us but quite substantial for a family of nomads.”

Naadam Cashmere is currently sold at small boutiques in New York City and Washington, D.C. Scanlan and Rijsemus collaborate with designers to create exclu-sive items that can only be found in stores.

“We do 70 percent of sales online and 30 percent via brick and mortar,” Scanlan said. “The idea is to build an e-commerce business where we can lower prices and respond quicker to customers’ needs.”

As the duo and their brand continue to gain exposure through the Kickstarter campaign, Scanlan’s main goal is to raise as much support and help as possible.

“We need to get the word out,” Scan-lan said. “If we want things to change, we have to be the ones to do it.”

Layla Ilchi is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com. Scanlan and Rijesmus use cashmere sales to improve the lives of Mongolian herders.

COURTESY OF NAADAM CASHMERE

Bryna Shuman is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

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NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 5

EDITED BY KRISTINA BOGOSFEATURES@NYUNEWS.COM

Outdoor study spots for academic inspiration

Students support nomadic culture with Mongolian cashmere line

Scanlan and Rijesmus use cashmere sales to improve the lives of Mongolian herders.COURTESY OF NAADAM CASHMERE

FITNESS FINDS

By ALENA HALL With daily New York tem-

peratures now hovering near 60 degrees and park land-scapes blossoming with green grass, spring fever has finally set in. Washington Square Park offers 10 acres of space to engage in a fun fitness rou-tine that challenges the body, provides unlimited breaths of fresh air and forges a stronger bond between the body and the urban outdoors.

Venture to the park this week and try these five bodyweight strength-training moves. Begin with a slight jog to warm up the body, and complete each exercise three times with a minute or two of rest between each set. Wrap up with a few minutes of solid stretching.

PARK BORDER BOX JUMPWorks: Quadriceps, hamstrings and calves

Find an open length of ce-ment bench along the edge of the park. Stand in front of the raised ledge with feet hip-width apart. Powering through your legs, jump with feet together onto the raised ledge, sinking into a standard squat as you land smoothly. Return to a standing position on the ledge, and step back down onto the sidewalk.

Repeat 10 to 20 times.

PARK BENCH BALANCE CRUNCHWorks: Abdominals, lower back and quadriceps

Sit on the edge of an open park bench with hands by your sides. To balance the body with your feet off the ground, tuck your knees toward your chest to engage the abdominals. Ex-tend your legs out straight in front of you to maintain your balance. Contract your abdom-inals to bring your legs back toward your chest.

Repeat 10 to 20 times.

BURPEE BENEATH THE ARCHWorks: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, chest, shoulders, triceps and abdominals

Claim a space the size of a yoga mat beneath the Wash-ington Square Arch. From a standing position, bring your hands down in front of your feet and raise your legs into a plank position. Complete one push-up, then jump your feet together back toward your hands. Return to a standing po-sition and jump as high as you can toward the top of the arch.

Repeat 10 to 15 times.

FOUNTAIN STEPS STATIONARY LUNGE WITH A TWISTWorks: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and obliques

Place your right foot two steps higher than your left foot on a section of open steps at the central fountain. Drop your left knee toward the ground as you lower into a lunge position. As you lunge, rotate your shoulders to the right as far as you can with your hands on your hips. Return to the starting position.

Repeat 10 to 15 times, and then switch legs to complete the exercise on the other side.

SHADED CHATURANGAWorks: Chest, arms, abdominals and lower back

Spread a towel beneath your favorite tree in the park. Begin in a plank position. Lower slowly into a push-up, and hover over the ground with elbows aligned with your torso. Roll over your toes, press through your hands and lift your chest and chin to-ward the tree canopy. Return to the starting plank position.

Repeat 10 to 15 times.

Alena Hall is a contributing columnist. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

Enjoy five ways to work out in Washington Square Park.

CHUCK KUAN FOR WSN

App brings sound mixing capabilities to aspiring DJs

By BHARGAVI GANESH “If you can move, you can mix”

is the tagline for Crossfader, a free disc jockey iPhone app that allows users to mix songs and to add sound effects simply by moving their bod-ies and tilting their phones.

Crossfader was launched on April 10 by web company DJZ, which showcases electronic dance music and engages aspiring DJs on a col-laborative platform. The startup team began discussing the idea for the app last year. Their goal was to give all users, irrespective of their prior experience, the opportunity to be a DJ.

“We were given this challenge: Allow anyone to perform great sounding DJ sets, mashups and re-mixes, even with zero previous DJ experience,” said CAS sophomore Ki-ren Srinivasan, the music curator and marketing spokesperson for the app.

Srinivisan works on the Cross-fader team with CEO and Colum-bia graduate Seth Goldstein, prod-uct manager Andy Chimicles, head developer and Stanford University graduate Ilias Karim, head of audio and music composer Jake Lamante and graphics and animation de-signer Jonas Goldstein.

The name Crossfader was de-rived from the tools used to create the app. A crossfader is the part of a mixing board that DJs use to smoothly switch between two songs playing at once. True to its name, the app allows users to add effects to two songs at the same time. Crossfader also provides users with a library of tracks to choose from when creating their mixes, and it allows them to share their music creations using Sound-Cloud, an audio distribution app.

Crossfader initially only con-sisted of interactive tutorials, but

the app has since grown to include other features.

“[It is] the result of exploration in immediacy and magic,” Srinivasan said of the final product.

The more the team delved into the production process, Lamante said, the more they realized many people wanted to be DJs.

“Toward the end of development, we made this major conceptual U-turn and decided to focus [on] user experience,” Lamante said. “We stripped away most of the other in-terface elements, until all we had was this giant crossfader.”

Gallatin sophomore Forrest Du-rell said he downloaded the app because of its user-friendly nature.

“It’s disarmingly simple,” Durell said. “There’s only a limited number of movements ... tilt back and forth, shake, change sample, change sam-ple volume. But the combinations of all these things makes the app inter-esting, fun and easy to use.”

Since its release, the interactive DJ app has garnered the attention of many music professionals in-cluding music artist Snoop Dogg, who tweeted “This Crossfader App goes hard” and linked to the iTunes home page where the app has been featured.

The team said they hope the app will expand and become an alterna-tive to established DJ music systems. Srinivasan also discussed the possi-bility of the app serving as a music preview device for DJ and electronic music fans to find new music.

“Ultimately, we see Crossfader becoming a whole new way for people to consume, discover, per-form and interact with music,” Srinivasan said.

Bhargavi Ganesh is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.

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ON NEWSSTANDSAPRIL 25

Gun control necessary in wake of tragedies

STAFF EDITORIAL

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GUN CONTROL

Background checks will reduce gun violence

After tragedy in Boston, we stand togetherBOSTON MARATHON

NYUNEWS.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 7

EDITORIAL BOARD: Sameer Jaywant (Chair), Raquel Woodruff (Co–Chair),

Edward Radzivilovskiy (Co–Chair), Nickhil Sethi, Matt Luo, Nina Golshan, Ian Mark, Jess Littman, Marcelo Cicconet

By JESSICA KASMER-JACOBS In a way, Boston has been through

this before.The two airplanes that hit both World

Trade Center towers took off from Boston’s Logan Airport. The hijackers stayed in Boston hotels, squatting un-til their time came. In the 12 1/2 years since those attacks, my hometown of Boston has been otherwise untouched by such drastic violence. But the whis-pers have yet to cease.

After last week’s attacks, the whispers have turned into screams.

In the aftermath of the attacks, it be-came clear that this was going to be un-like anything Boston had ever seen be-fore. During the manhunt for Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsar-naev, the entire city retreated indoors, locked down and waited as Dzhokhar evaded capture until late Friday eve-ning. As the story continues to unfold, the country is hungry to find out why they did this.

There are quite a few of us who have left Boston for various reasons. We couldn’t run over to Massachusetts General Hospital to donate blood. We couldn’t be there to support our families during lockdown hours. We couldn’t commiserate with our community

and we feel estranged. I write to paint a picture of what the Boston Marathon should have been, and, if I can, connect with my city while it mourns.

Last Monday was Patriots’ Day, a holi-day observed to commemorate the Bat-tles of Lexington and Concord, battles which set the stage for the American Revolution. On Patriots’ Day, Boston feels more like a village than a sprawl-ing metropolis. Children are off from school, offices close, families gather downtown to watch the proud partici-pants cross the finish line, doling out high fives and overflowing cups of wa-ter. Beach chairs and lemonade stands line Commonwealth Avenue, from Heartbreak Hill into the heart of the city. Cafes and restaurants fling their win-dows open to welcome guests, college

students cluster around checkpoints to cheer the runners on, Boylston Street quakes under the weight of happy spec-tators sharing a beer and a laugh.

The Boston Marathon is a yearly ritual practiced with almost bacchic revelry. Last week’s astonishing vio-lence unhinged my city, and we in New York watched in horror as one of our proudest traditions dissolved into carnage and disarray. I never felt more like an ex-pat than I did on this year’s Patriot’s Day — I was stranded, and unable to experience the weight of the attack and its harrowing after-math with the people of Boston.

Boston is historically territorial. We have our own ways of doing things, from baseball to beer and all those rick-ety T-stops in between. Our instinctive reaction to the marathon bombing will no doubt be staunch solidarity with our small city. As the Internet erupts with memes of the Green Monster and Neil Diamond plays on a constant loop on our radio stations, we will stand proudly in the face of violence. We ask that in the days to come, the nation fol-lows suit and stands by us.

Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs is a contributing columnist. Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.

By NIKOLAS REDA-CASTELAO

Last Wednesday, the Senate voted on nine proposed changes to federal gun legislation, including the banning of assault weapons, the increase of fund-ing to mental health institutes and, most importantly, the enforcement of background checks. The amendment concerning background checks was proposed by Sens. Pat Toomey, a Re-publican from Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Vir-ginia, to hold gun shows and online vendors accountable for background checks of their customers before sell-ing weapons. Although most of the proposed measures are designed to en-sure the safety of American citizens, one could argue that an effective han-dling of the background check will actually curb the death rate the most. But not in the way we think.

The reason I discredit the banning of assault weapons is because it actu-ally won’t do much to change the actual number of homicides, which constitutes less than 2 percent — only a couple hun-dred — of gun-related deaths. The larger justification at play is the fear of the in-discriminate mass killer bearing assault weapons to prey on his or her victims, but these episodes are rare and difficult

to predict. In regards to those individu-als, one cannot clearly label all such killers as psychologically deranged. Take the ex-ample of Charles Whitman, who shot 45 people from the University of Texas’ clock tower in 1966. This incident did not indi-cate a man snapping under psychological strain. Rather, Whitman spent his life lead-ing the model example of normalcy until he developed a tumor in his amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for processing emotional stimuli.

Even the worst school shooting pre-dates us by over 80 years, when a farm-er in Michigan blew up a school, killing 45 people. Banning assault weapons will not deter mental instability. I do not mean to discourage the banning of assault weapons, as they are clearly dangerous and superfluous.

Instead, I feel the background check

should have utmost prevalence in the vote due not to fear of homicides or mas-sacres, but instead of the greater life toll it would prevent. According to statistics from 2010, over 11,000 homicides were gun-related. However, nearly 20,000 sui-cides were carried out using guns in that same year. There were around 38,000 sui-cides that year, so more than half were facilitated by the unfiltered distribution of weapons. Almost two-thirds of all gun-related deaths are by suicide and half of all suicide is gun-related, and this has more or less been true in America for nearly a century.

When the rhetoric of gun control opens into the vitriolic demagoguery of both sides, seldom is this silent majority acknowledged as recipients who could benefit from improved background check systems. The common precedent to suicide is any form of mood disorder or depression, either clinical or manic. I am unaware of whether background checks for guns take into consideration such cognitive disorders, but they ought to, as it would prevent thousands of Americans from easily taking their lives in their darkest hours.

Nikolas Reda-Castelao is a staff columnist. Email him at opinion@nyunews.com.

Amid the terror and tragedy that unfolded last week was a travesty committed by our nation’s elected rep-resentatives that went relatively unnoticed. The gun reform bill, long awaited by many Americans, was brought to the congressional floor. Yet, in a series of failed amendments to the legislation — including rein-stating the federal assault weapons ban — that tangi-bly illustrated the forceful influence of money on our political system, Congress failed to pass the sensible, bipartisan gun-control policy to protect Americans.

Preventable tragedies like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School must be used to bring this de-bate to our collective attention, in the hope that mean-ingful reform will be passed one day. This bill was the result of a movement that started after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and had the public’s support. But at-tention waned and the bill was quietly defeated after pro-gun groups poured money into efforts to kill it.

Just look at the four Democrats who voted against background checks. They come from North Dakota, Ar-kansas, Alaska and Montana — decidedly conservative states. And these Democrats, along with the congres-sional Republicans who voted against the bill, are up for re-election in 2014. These senators have constitu-ents and a gun lobby to appease, which far outweighs the more than 80 percent of Americans who support expanding reasonable background checks for gun shows and Internet sales.

President Barack Obama reacted to the defeat by de-claring the debate unfinished. “I see this as just round one,” he said. When the issue will return to the table is difficult to predict. What seems obvious is that no public shooting, regardless of how horrifying it is, will induce a change of mentality among gun fanatics. Should the public opinion on the gun issue be remem-bered in the next midterm elections, perhaps there will be a good opportunity for round two.

Finally, national catastrophes like the recent Boston marathon bombings can do more than bring Ameri-cans together — they should act as catalysts for change. Public outrage should be used as a tool for Congress to make progress, but our representatives have failed to take advantage of this. Now, with the sense of immedi-ate urgency gone for the moment and the political con-versation turning toward immigration, an overhaul in gun control policy seems to be slipping away once again.