The Word

Anti-Columbus Day Protests Take Over The American Museum Of Natural History

Columbus Day protestors listen to speakers from Decolonize This Place in the American Museum of Natural History yesterday. Photo by Sarah Patt

Over a thousand protestors gathered outside the American Museum of Natural History yesterday, to show their frustration with the museum’s legacy of celebrating colonialism.

The anti-Columbus Day protest was designed to bring to light the misrepresentation of Native Americans and other people of color in the museum. Activists want the museum to hire more indigenous curators and return artifacts to their original communities.

“[We] have been organizing decolonial action since 2016,” said Natasha Singh, a member of Decolonize This Place, the organizers of the protest.  “We’ve been asking the museum to start a decolonial commission and to also change the American Museum of Natural History into a decolonial space.”

Protestors stood at the museum entrance and handed out tickets for their version of the museum tour.

Members of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative stood in the museum hall titled, “The Lore of Asia” holding signs that read, “The Looting of Asia”.

“Colonialism was a system of looting,” said Rovindra Deb, a member of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative. “There are artifacts and relics that are inside the museum. These are not things that were procured in a legitimate way, they were actually looted.”

Deb, who is of Indian descent, said the museum makes mass generalizations about South Asian people.

“There is an exhibit in the museum about India,” said Deb.  “It talks about ‘the Indian way of life’. Well, you’re talking about 1.2 billion people, like there’s no way of life for 1.2 billion people.”

Deb also noted that the in the context of the exhibit, “India is sort of a stand in for [all of] South Asia.”

Activists also demanded the removal of the Theodore Roosevelt statue at the museum’s entrance. Roosevelt is flanked by caricature-like statues of a Native American man, and an African man. While Roosevelt is dressed in his military uniform and riding a horse, the other two statues wear little clothes and walk subserviently at his side.

“I brought a group here and we were talking about the statue,” said NYU Media, Culture, and Communication Professor Nick Mirzoeff, who attended the protest with group of grad students. “I was standing with a young woman who was from Senegal and she’s in my class, she’s looking at [the statue], and her eyes just filled with tears. Racism is toxic, it’s contagious, and it does damage to people.”

Mirzoeff is not the only New York City educator to bring his students to the American Museum of Natural History. It is the most visited museum in New York City. The majority of the visitors are school groups.

“I love to be informed, so I think it’s kind of a disrespect to me on how what I learned [about Columbus and Imperialism] in school is not the same thing I learned outside of school,” said Hanna Mingo, an 11th grade student from the Bronx.

The protestors also want Columbus Day to be renamed Indigenous People’s Day.

“I think it’s really important to reclaim this day, to really be a presence here, and calling out New York City, first of all, for still recognizing this day as Columbus Day,”  said indigenous activist, Lorena Ambrosio.

She called Columbus  “a colonizer and a genocidal maniac.”

 “We don’t want to honor that,”  she said. 

More than 50 U.S. cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. 

Museum officials did not comment on the protest.

 

Protestors Take to Midtown Streets to Protest Kavanaugh Confirmation

Protestors gather in Midtown on Sunday to protest the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Photo courtesy of “Kavanaugh Protest | I Hope You’re Praying” Facebook.

The streets of Midtown rang with the voices of men, women and children singing Ke$ha’s “Praying” in solidarity with sexual assault survivors.

Yesterday’s performance protest, held on 36th Street, was in response to Saturday’s Senate-wide vote that confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault by three women, including Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified against him during the confirmation hearings late last month.

Organizers Ruby Pittman and Laura Diffenderfer say they chose the song “Praying” because it is about finding strength after surviving a sexual assault.

“It’s a very natural way for us to express ourselves,” Diffenderfer said. “I sometimes feel so sad about these events we’ve gone through recently, and I don’t know that I necessarily want to go to a protest and yell or be angry. I just want to have emotions and let them go and I want to gain strength from other women and other survivors.”

Before taking to the streets, the group of performers spent an hour rehearsing the song with one hand in the air, the position Blasey Ford took while being sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27.

“We came together against the appointment of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court but also in support of women’s voices and for those who understand what it means to be silenced or misrepresented or not given equity in situations,” Pittman said.

Fatima Sindhu, 17, attended the protest after being shocked by Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Saturday.

“Me and my mom watched the vote yesterday, and she kept saying ‘he’s going to get confirmed,’” Sindhu said. “She always believes the negative. I was so hopeful and I really thought people wouldn’t vote for him. I was like ‘how could people support that?’ I was so angry.”

Sindhu said she attended to make her voice heard despite being too young to vote.

“This morning I found out about this protest and I felt like I had to do something,” she said. “It was very emotional. I don’t know how to explain the feeling but it was like I was a part of something. Everyone here was united for one cause.”

Diffenderfer said she was moved by the scope of the protest.

“I was in awe that so many people were there and we got to have this experience together and feel supported by one another,” she said. “That was probably the emotion that I felt most. I think a lot of this has made a lot of us feel very vulnerable and to have the onlookers join us felt really powerful.”

Although she found strength in her fellow protestors, Diffenderfer said she is still concerned about the future with Kavanaugh on the Court.

“It feels unbelievable in 2018 that we have to fight for this,” she said. “It’s not just Dr. Blasey Ford, it’s also that [Kavanaugh] wants to take away our rights. It’s not just this one event like did it happen, did it not. The whole picture doesn’t look good for women.”

 

Political Party rules for women in judgement of Kavanaugh

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has sparked polarized reactions from women on both sides of the political spectrum.

“I totally believe her,” said Courtney Watson, 53, of the East Village. “I think he was blackout drunk and it’s totally conceivable that he doesn’t remember. But just because he doesn’t remember doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Watson, who is the same age as Judge Kavanaugh, said that among her generation it was uncommon for women to come forward about being sexually assaulted. Girls at that age couldn’t confide in their parents because they were expected to be virgins.

“It was unthinkable to tell your mother if something happened to you because if she found out that you were at an unsupervised party and drunk, you’d be in huge trouble,” Watson said.

But while women have become more open to sharing their stories, the accusations have a brought a sense of fear to mothers of teenage boys about the current rape culture and bro culture in the United States that isn’t much different from when Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were teenagers.

“Most women my age with teenage boys are very concerned about a culture of toxic masculinity in the United States, where men are expected to have conquests and drink excessively,” she said.

Watson is worried about what kind of message this sends to boys if Kavanaugh is appointed. She fears it will say that can get away with anything when they’re teenagers and still obtain high positions of power when they’re older. But she is optimistic that if he is appointed there will be tons of backlash, which “will only strengthen the blue wave that is coming.”

Lisa Bloomstein, a mother of teenage boy from Dix Hills, Long Island, said she hopes Kavanaugh is not confirmed.

“He has shown himself to be partisan and is obviously biased by the way he presented himself in his opening statements where he accuses the left wing and the Clintons of taking revenge,” she said. “How can you rule on things in a fair and unbiased manner when he has shown himself to be the contrary?” said Bloomstein.

But Christy Hurt, a middle aged Republican, from Glen Oaks, Long Island, called the hearing a “disgrace.” Hurt, like the majority of Republican women support the confirmation.

“This is all a setup by the Democrats in attempt to stall President Trump from appointing another Supreme Court Justice.” Hurt said. “Why would you sit on this (the sexual assault allegation) for over 30 years ago and now come forward?”

Hurt said she doesn’t think that something that happened in high school, whether or not the allegation is true, should come into play now.

“The person that I was in high school doesn’t reflect the person I am now,” Hurt said. “People change and to judge someone based on what they did in high school is hypocritical.”

Natalie Korn, an NYU student, agreed that Kavanaugh should still be appointed, even though she believes Dr. Ford’s testimony.

“I don’t even think there should be a question of whether or not you believe a woman that testifies for being sexually assaulted,” Korn said. “But I do think it is suspicious that she’s coming out with this information at this very point in time when he’s been in public office for so long.”

Korn believes Kavanaugh’s moral character is not an issue.

“All politicians’ characters are compromised,” she said. “He is a qualified politician and has been in office for quite some time.”

New Yorkers march against the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh

Protesters held up signs as they marched through Midtown Manhattan Monday night. They were protesting the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Photo by Mikaela Gegelys

The streets of Midtown Manhattan were flooded with protestors Monday night, as thousands gathered to march against Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

“It is important to show up to have these conversations,” said New York University student and protestor Sylvie Wilk. “We need to center the focus on those who are most vulnerable to this newest assault on the justice system.”

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick. But it was the testimony of Blasey Ford on Thursday and the rush to confirm the judge that led to New Yorkers marching. The march began at Madison Square Park, then stopped in front of the Yale Club, a private club for Yale alumni and faculty, and ended with a rally at Grand Central Station.

Morris Rakner, a graduate of Yale University and an attorney, is strongly against Kavanaugh’s nomination.

“I watched the hearing, I thought that Judge Kavanaugh handled himself very poorly and I think he was truly offensive,” said Rakner. “I think he would potentially be way too partisan to judge issues that had a political bearing.”

Samantha Schwartz attended the march to fight the gender double standard.

“I think it’s really disappointing that men get to grow up with this idea that their actions don’t have consequences,” said Schwartz. “With Kavanaugh in a place of power it shows young men that their actions don’t have consequences and it can get them into a place of power.”

In addition to Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault, some protestors believe that Kavanaugh should not be nominated because they think that he lied in his testimony. Dr. John Heon, an education consultant, did not believe that Kavanaugh was honest in the hearing.

“This (Kavanaugh’s hearing) is truly an indication that we are in the post-truth era,” he said. “Kavanaugh has such a record that we can’t say at this point exactly what happened, but there is enough evidence that things did happen that were reprehensible and we have to take it seriously.”

Heon also believes that Republicans should propose an alternative for Kavanaugh in the nomination.

“If the Republicans can’t come up with someone who is untainted by sexual assault, then there is a problem,” said Heon.

 

Protesters march against Judge Kavanaugh

By Alexandra Mathew

Hundreds of people marched from Madison Square Park, to the Yale Club and Grand Central Station last night in protest of the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

“They don’t get no peace, if we don’t get no justice,” they shouted as the members of the private club for Yale alumni and faculty shut their blinds.

The protest came in the wake of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Kavanaugh’s highly charged hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Despite Blasey Ford’s powerful testimony of being sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh, the committee pushed through his nomination. But they have agreed to allow a one week long FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh.

For the protesters at the Yale Club, this wasn’t enough.

“They’re just trying to ram the nomination through still,” said Susan Ryan, 48. “They’re pretending to appease the public and adhere to procedure, but in actuality this is a Republican interest agenda, it’s a corporate agenda. That’s all they care about.”

Many of the protesters shared their anger at how the treatment of Blasey Ford during the hearing was a direct example of how women are treated in America.

“We are being confronted with misogyny everywhere,” said Katie Cooney, 37. “Our radar for trouble is always on, we are always on guard and we see the direct psychological effects of how sexual assault ruins your life with Dr. Ford. We need to change the culture.”

The credibility of Blasey Ford’s statements 36 years after the alleged assault is what was most commonly called into question by Republicans during her hearing. But other sexual assault survivors said lapses in memory are common for survivors.

“She was 100 percent credible in her statement,” said Kathy Hayes, 44. “Being a survivor of sexual assault I remember what she remembers. I remember the laughter.”

Ryan expressed her anger at how sexual assault victims are left as the one’s suffering while their assailants never face repercussions for their actions.

“He thinks he’s entitled to this position,” said Ryan. “And it doesn’t matter what he did, it doesn’t matter that he lied under oath, their going to push him through. It just speaks so clearly to how we blame victims and don’t take their allegations seriously as a country.”

Wave of activism hits NYC streets over Judge Kavanaugh confirmation

Outraged and unapologetic protestors gathered outside of Yale Club in New York to rally against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Photo by Casey Dawson

The allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have incited a wave of activism and conversation in New York.

Hundreds gathered at Madison Square Park, marched to Yale Club, and then rallied at Grand Central on yesterday.

Among the chanting of “Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho, Kavanaugh has got to go,” Sarah Whitman, 34, said she was frustrated by the process that might lead to the confirmation of Kavanaugh,  despite the sexual assault allegations against him.

“They don’t care about humans,” Whitman said, speaking about politicians who support Kavanaugh. “They specifically don’t care about women.”

She believes he will be confirmed.

“I don’t know why anyone would think otherwise,” she said “Looking at history, looking at what happened in the judiciary committee hearings, and looking at the motivations behind the Republican majority, it feels very clear that he’s going to get confirmed. If they were not going to confirm him, they would have already pulled his name.”

 

Protestors rally at Grand Central Station. Photo by Casey Dawson

On a much smaller scale, a quiet group gathered in Washington Square Park to show solidarity to victims of sexual assault. Many spoke of their own experiences and reasons for not reporting at the event organized by women’s activism group, “I Will Not Be Quiet.”

One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about her reactions to the allegations against Kavanaugh.

“I am absolutely disgusted by it, but I’m not surprised by it.” she said. “Like a lot of the women here, I’ve tried to report rape. It’s a commonplace thing for authorities to either think we’re lying or say, ‘well, you know you wanted it, you provoked it’.”

 

An event in support of victims of sexual abuse, organized by women’s activism group “I will Not Be Quiet” was held in Washington Square Park. Photo by Casey Dawson

Many of Kavanaugh’s supporters cite the lack of physical evidence and the time gap between the date of the alleged assault and when Dr. Christine  Blasey Ford decided to come forward. But supporters of Dr. Ford argue that negative and often accusatory reactions are exactly why victims of sexual assault are hesitant to report.

The pending decision was also heavily discussed on New York University’s campus.

Alison Biedron, an NYU sophomore gender studies major at NYU, recognizes the problems that people have with the 36-year-old time gap, while still echoing her support for victims.

“There is such a doubt, for men all around, even liberal people, to believe survivors,” Biedron said. “There is, in the US, ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ But, you shouldn’t be shamed for coming forward and immediately be called a liar. I think that students, especially male students, have a hard time with that.”

Biedron is sympathetic to victims, especially in Dr. Ford’s case, where many feel that her motivations are pure.

“[Victims] know that there’s nothing in it for them, except for closure,” Biedron said. “There isn’t a reason for [Ford] to come forward other than to tell the truth.”

Passersby walk by signs that read “Believe Women” near Washington Square Park. Photo by Casey Dawson.

While women staunchly defended Dr. Ford and other victims of sexual abuse, many were resigned about the outcome.

“It’s not really a matter of whether they believe her at this point, it’s whether they care,” Lena Friedman, a sophomore at NYU, said. “And I don’t think they do.”

Hannah Whitaker, a sophomore at NYU, believes that the discourse revolving around Kavanaugh and Ford is having an impact.

“I think it’s really redefining how we see consent, especially with the #MeToo movement,” Whitaker said. “Some people still see it as a bad thing. But times are changing.”

Whitaker said that it is unfortunate that men grow up in an environment where inappropriate behavior with women isn’t discouraged.

“That’s why the rest of us have to scream in protest, and really put an effort in to change people’s views, minds, and just change the people that are in charge,” she said.

 

While She’s at School, Her Aunt Battles Kavanaugh

Credit: C-SPAN

Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Supreme Court nominee Brent Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.

This story is featured in the Washington Square News

Long before Christine Blasey Ford became a household name for accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, she was simply Aunt Chrissy to her niece, Haley Peters.

“Chrissy was definitely the aunt I was closest to,” Peters, a CAS sophomore, said. “She’s always someone I’ve been able to trust and rely on, and out of everyone, she has been the most supportive through the different phases of my life. She taught me how to surf when I was younger and helped me with the whole college selection process.”

The last few weeks have completely altered Ford’s life. She has been lauded as a hero by some and sent death threats by others. Since coming forward in a Washington Post article, she has been forced to move from her home and hire private security.

Peters, whose mother is Ford’s sister-in-law, says her family has felt the effects as well.

“We all found out about [the allegations] at the same time as everyone else — in the news,” Peters said. “I got a random news notification saying someone is accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. I clicked on it and I read ‘Christine Blasey Ford,’ and it didn’t really register, especially because I always call her Chrissy. And then I scrolled down, and they had her picture. I immediately called my mom and my dad.”

In a tense hearing on Thursday, Ford testified before 21 senators, saying she is “100 percent” certain that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school.

Kavanaugh, who testified later in the day, vehemently and emotionally denied the allegations.

After a Friday morning filled with confusion in the Senate Judiciary Committee, members decided to delay a Senate-wide vote to confirm Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice pending an FBI investigation into the matter.

In Peters’ mind, there is no question as to whether or not her aunt is telling the truth.

“There’s the whole argument in the last two weeks that the left has orchestrated this political attack,” Peters said. “Since June or July, she’s been trying to reach several different people, so that automatically disproves that. She was reaching out before he was the nominee.”

Not long after the allegations came to light, Ford contacted Peters and her whole family, urging them to keep their names out of it and not to speak to the press.

“She said she’s obviously very happy and grateful for the support, but she told me not to insert myself into the public eye for safety reasons,” Peters said. “Everyone she knows who has spoken publicly about it has gotten extremely harassed and publically endangered themselves.”

The family heeded the warning at first, but over the last week, her mother and her aunt have both defended Ford on national television. The family even released a letter of support for Ford that Peters signed.

But even after being directly contacted by several media outlets, Peters has been more reserved. Her fear for her own safety has kept her from the spotlight.

“I know [Ford] has received various death threats and constant harassment, along with my cousins and her husband,” Peters said. “When my mom started doing interviews and posting on Facebook, [she got] a lot of hate messages, which can easily be translated into something dangerous. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re all in physical danger.”

NYU’s campus was abuzz with news of the hearings on Thursday and Friday. Peters described the oddity of listening to students and professors talk about a family member. NYU School of Law classes were even canceled so students and professors could watch.

“It’s been very, very frustrating,” she said. “Like trying to just focus in class and trying to check my Facebook for actual news and seeing all these people talking about it. Even my friends don’t know that she’s my aunt.”

Nikta Daijavad and Cara Hume are co-presidents of Law Women, an NYU Law student group aimed at promoting women in the legal field. They are trying to provide safe spaces for people to talk about the hearings and the effect Kavanaugh could have if confirmed to the Supreme Court.

“Even before the allegations of sexual assault, I think it was really clear to us that Brett Kavanaugh posed a threat to women,” Daijavad said. “He looked like a very different threat to women a couple of weeks ago than he does now. Our thinking was [that] women will literally die if this man gets on the Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade gets overturned.”

They say the last few weeks have revealed the pain within the NYU Law community.

“Even for women that might not have had experiences like Dr. Blasey Ford had, it was still incredibly personal to watch this hearing,” Hume said. “It was very removed from politics because of the way women innately live with this sense of vulnerability of potentially being the victim of something like that.”

Multiple NYU names have been connected to the hearings throughout the last few weeks. NYU Law Professor Melissa Murray gave scathing testimony against Kavanaugh on the fourth day of the hearings. Meanwhile, Law Professor Richard Epstein spoke to the opposite side of the issue, writing that Ford’s accusations are a political move.

Politics Professor Christine Harrington expressed her frustration with the way the hearing was handled.

“To see general basic norms being just trashed,” said Harrington, who specializes in public law, “it prevents a dialogue from happening and it was just a flat-out political show. There’s something called judicial temperament and manner, and this was just out of bounds. The conspiracy theory that [Kavanaugh] put forward was just so Fox News-ish and so out of it.”

Harrington doesn’t want to make predictions about whether or not Kavanaugh will be confirmed, but she is very clear on what the effect will be if he gets on the Court.

“It will be horrific,” she said.

Peters watched the hearings through a busy class schedule.

“It was amazing how elegantly she could speak about something so painful,” Peters said. “I was really proud of her. I just can’t believe it because we’re regular people. We’re not people that are used to being in the public eye or under scrutiny like that. There’s no reason we should be experts in dealing with the press or dealing with assault publicly.”

She was shocked for a different reason when watching Kavanaugh’s testimony.

“He was so aggressive,” Peters said. “He called her testimony — which is the hardest thing she’s ever had to do — a national disgrace. I can’t believe how it was handled. How the Senate handled it was kind of an amazing thing and not in the good sense of the word.”

Peters hopes that Kavanaugh will withdraw his name from consideration, but she is doubtful that will happen.

“If he was suspected of a different crime that didn’t involve sex, like if he was suspected of murder or even a lesser white collar crime, I can say certainly that there would be way less of a stigma around how it was handled,” Peters said. “People would take it seriously.”

For her aunt and her family, Peters just wants a return to normalcy.

“I don’t know what the ideal is for my aunt moving forward and my other family that has been in the public eye,” she said. “I don’t know how they would go back to their normal life. I’m not sure what the fix is, but I know that something needs to happen or it will just be painful and uncomfortable for the rest of her life and our life. His confirmation would obviously make that so much worse.”

 

Neighbors fear L train shut down will cause East Village havoc

Nolita resident, Georgetta Fleischer, speaks at a town hall meeting about the Train. It will shut down in April 2019 and remain closed for 15 months. Photo by Sam Klein

Starting in April 2019, local transit will be significantly disrupted when the L train shuts down for a 15-month renovation.

On Monday evening, local residents had the chance to air grievances with local officials at an East Village town hall.

The event took place at Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue. Notable attendees included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Transit President Andy Byford.

One local resident, Georgette Fleischer, attended the town hall with her 4-month-old daughter Augusta. The two live on Cleveland Place, along a planned route where extra city buses will run to serve commuters displaced from their usual subway routes.

“We are really mortified about the idea of having [up to 80] diesel-fueled buses an hour coming by where we live,” Fleischer said. “I’m worried that she’s going to get asthma.”

According to Byford, the L Train carries 400,000 passengers every day; 225,000 of whom use the section of the line slated to close for renovations. Aside from the addition of new bus routes, alternatives for displaced riders will include a ferry between Williamsburg and 14th Street, improved bike lanes, changes to traffic patterns and permanent station improvements on nearby subway lines.

To accommodate increased bus traffic, the Williamsburg Bridge will implement three-person high-occupancy vehicle lanes to increase efficiency and reduce traffic, according to Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.

“You will see a tremendous drop in single-passenger vehicles,” Trottenberg said.

Many locals expressed concerns about vehicle emissions and asked officials to implement electric and hybrid buses during the shutdown. The MTA plans to incorporate five electric and 10 hybrids in April, and phase in more as the project progresses, according to department officials attending the town hall.

Fleischer was dissatisfied with the city’s response to these emissions concerns.

“Chinatown Head Start, [a preschool in downtown Manhattan], is steps away from Kenmare Street, the bottleneck where these diesel-fueled buses are going,”  Fleischer said. “There’s a senior center below that. In other words, children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. They should be having all electric buses.”

Officials took feedback from local residents. One resident, concerned with increased traffic in school zones on 15th Street, suggested the city plan an alternative bus route.

“That’s really useful feedback,” Byford said in response to the suggestion. “That’s something we’re going to take away and have a look at.”

As part of the renovations, the L train will receive long-overdue upgrades, including signal and efficiency improvements. According to Byford, the line has been in need of renovations since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when flooding significantly damaged the line’s infrastructure.

To better safeguard for future natural disasters, the renovations will add new mechanisms that will allow entrances and air vents to shut in advance of a emergency.

“We’ve just got to rip the bandaid off and get it done,” Byford said.

 

NYU students dissect the governor’s race

Alex Domb, an NYU sophomore, voted in the New York gubernatorial primary on Thursday. Domb planned on voting for incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo until an hour before he went to the polls, where he made a last minute decision to vote for challenger Cynthia Nixon.

After a day of record-breaking voter turnout, incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo defeated ultra-progressive competitor Cynthia Nixon yesterday to gain the Democratic nomination for governor of New York.

The primary brought more than 1.5 million people to the polls — more than three times as many as the 2014 primary. Among the voters were several NYU students passionate about issues of representation, prison reform and public transit.

“I was going to vote for Cuomo until about an hour before I went to the polls,” NYU sophomore Alex Domb said. “I’m really skeptical about non-politicians running for office, especially with what we have going on in the White House right now. But I learned over the course of the day by talking to other voters that Cynthia Nixon is not as under-informed as Donald Trump. She’s been activist for several years and stands for the things I really care about.”

Like many students and New York City residents, Domb said reform of the subway system was one of the main reasons he voted the way he did.

“Cynthia Nixon is also a New Yorker and she understands New York City issues,” Domb said. “The subways are a huge part of life that affect everyone in New York and they’ve just been deteriorating. She’s really pinned that on Cuomo’s back that he hasn’t been able to fix the subway and in fact it’s gotten worse.”

NYU sophomore and first time voter, Arvind Sindhwani, said he cares a lot about the city’s infrastructure and  funding the MTA.

“I’m an urban design student, so I’m very pro-public transportation,” Sindhwani said. “Cuomo’s position on the MTA made me lean towards Cynthia Nixon. Cuomo doesn’t use taxpayer money in the best interest of the people.”

Domb and Sindhwani both noted that Nixon’s election would have been a symbolic victory for underrepresented groups.

“It would be amazing if we had more women elected to office,” Domb said. “And Cynthia Nixon is a gay woman, as well, so that would be great to have more of that representation in positions of power.”

Domb said he was slightly disappointed by Cuomo’s victory but he isn’t too worried about the direction of the state’s policies.

“They’re both Democrats with progressive policies,” Domb said. “I don’t like how corporate backed he is but he’s done a lot for reforming the prison system in New York. I hope he keeps doing stuff like that.”

College-aged young people have a notoriously low voter turnout; Domb recognizes the large portion of his peers that aren’t active politically.  

“This is our responsibility,” he said. “There’s no excuse not to vote. I don’t see it as justifiable to complain about local issues if you’re not making your voice heard. It’s the only way we can hold our leaders accountable for their promises.”

Though students registered to vote in New York have the ability to participate in their civic duties, the university’s large percentage of international students were unable to take to the polls on Thursday, but they still had strong opinions on the state’s future.

NYU junior Yasmin Gulec, a Turkish citizen, supported Cuomo in the lead up to the primary.

“I like Cuomo’s policies and I have this pet peeve of people who didn’t study politics going into politics,” Gulec said. “I feel like you have to study in a field to do well in it. Cuomo has the experience and he’s done some great things.”

Gulec said she sometimes feels a disconnect living in a country where she cannot vote, and she described the apathy many international students have toward American politics.

“I live in New York and when there are issues that concern New York, of course I want to take part in it,” she said. “But, at the end of the day, I think a lot of international students just don’t really care because we can leave [the U.S.] if we want to.”

 

It’s Cuomo vs Nixon on NYC Primary Day

Democratic New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon listens during a gubernatorial debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on August 29, 2018. (Photo by Craig Ruttle / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read CRAIG RUTTLE/AFP/Getty Images)

New Yorkers head to to the polls today to cast their votes for the 2018 Democratic Primaries, in which long-time Governor Andrew Cuomo will try to stop progressive actress, Cynthia Nixon from taking his job.

While Nixon’s lack of experience may seem disadvantageous to Cuomo’s strong-hold in politics, some New Yorkers want change and with the new wave of liberalism sparked by Bernie Sanders, this election can go either way.

“We need new people in government,”  said Carrie Tunick, of the East Village. “Cuomo’s been there for a million years and it’s time for some change.”

Although she said that Cuomo has made some change recently in the right direction, most of it has been done in reaction to  Nixon being “a strong, further left candidate” and her criticism of Cuomo’s handling of the MTA system.

But Nixon isn’t the only one dissatisfied with Cuomo’s management. 

“I’m not happy with the governor’s handling of the MTA, or of legal marijuana and climate change,” said Arianne Krier.  “It’s not that her views lined up so much more with mine, it’s that his didn’t.”

Nixon’s platform of diversity and inclusion has gained a lot of support, especially among young voters and minorities.

Aliya and Imara Ikhumen, who are both in their senior year at New York University, are “excited to give her (Nixon) a chance to prove herself.”

Aliya and Imara who want minority communities to  be supported, believe that because Nixon herself is part of a minority population, the LGBTQ community, her intentions to creation change are sincere.

But with the turmoil in the Trump administration, some New Yorkers believe that Nixon’s progressive ideals aren’t enough. Joyce Rosenthal, who described herself as an “idealist that’s gotten scared,” voted for Cuomo because of what she called  his muscle power and experience.

“Things are so challenging right now that as much as I have issues with him, keeping someone who actually knows how to work the system is still better than not having any experience at all,” she said. “There’s too much falling apart around us.” 

Jeanne Krier,  a New Yorker for 35 years, calls herself a die-hard Democrat. She voted for Cuomo because of his experience and his policies.

While Krier wishes Cuomo would do more for the subways, his legislation on gun control, free tuition for New Yorkers, and stance on environmental issues have swayed her in his direction.

Even though Krier is glad to see more women running for office, she believes, “Nixon’s decision to run for governor without any experience at all in public service is arrogant.”

Another Cuomo supporter also criticized Nixon for her lack of experience and her harsh tone towards Cuomo. Stan Testinbaum, a senior citizen, believes that her views are too extreme and exaggerated.

“Her views are more in line with the Bernie Sanders side and are not all consistent with the Democratic party,” Testinbaum said.