NYU

what do you do for nyu, jw?

standoff in the cafeteria!!!!

a Mexican standoff? is John Woo a visiting prof?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/nyregion/19nyu.html?ref=nyregion

From what I've been picking up about this today, after walking past everything in the morning, they seem to have jumped a bit rapidly from the making-demands stage to the occupying-things stage -- I don't get the sense there's been any long engagement with the administration that is culminating in this ... ?

I mean, I want to give everyone involved the benefit of the doubt as far as seriousness goes, but this does not exactly look like any widespread flashpoint of the student body and the administration long having butted heads over specific issues, to put it really, really, insanely mildly.

not compared to the New School, where it seems all the faculty & students hate Bob Kerrey. (New School infiltrators reported in Times!)

yeah the administration seems more confused than anyone else by this

probably not helped by tacking on a couple weird pro-palestine measures to the end of their mostly sort of ho-hum college stuff list of demands

hilarious requests.

I taught there for 4 years.

the new school thing looked like it was the culmination of a long period of discontent, this looks a lot more like a bunch of students felt like protesting, which may just mean they need a better PR agent

well, Palestine is the new South Africa, only no Mandela

When will these flashmobbings end?

Full legal and disciplinary amnesty for all parties involved in the occupation.

Full compensation for all employees whose jobs were disrupted during the course of the occupation.

Public release of NYU’s annual operating budget, including a full list of university expenditures, salaries for all employees compensated on a semester or annual basis, funds allocated for staff wages, contracts to non-university organizations for university construction and services, financial aid data for each college, and money allocated to each college, department, and administrative unit of the university. Furthermore, this should include a full disclosure of the amount and sources of the university’s funding.

Disclosure of NYU’s endowment holdings, investment strategy, projected endowment growth, and persons, corporations and firms involved in the investment of the university’s endowment funds. Additionally, we demand an endowment oversight body of students, faculty and staff who exercise shareholder proxy voting power for the university’s investments.

That the NYU Administration agrees to resume negotiations with GSOC/UAW Local 2110 – the union for NYU graduate assistants, teaching assistants, and research assistants. That NYU publicly affirm its commitment to respect all its workers, including student employees, by recognizing their right to form unions and to bargain collectively. That NYU publicly affirm that it will recognize workers’ unions through majority card verification.

That NYU signs a contract guaranteeing fair labor practices for all NYU employees at home and abroad. This contract will extend to subcontracted workers, including bus drivers, food service employees and anyone involved in the construction, operation and maintenance at any of NYU’s non-U.S. sites.

The establishment of a student elected Socially Responsible Finance Committee. This Committee will have full power to vote on proxies, draft shareholder resolutions, screen all university investments, establish new programs that encourage social and environmental responsibility and override all financial decisions the committee deems socially irresponsible, including investment decisions. The committee will be composed of two subcommittees: one to assess the operating budget and one to assess the endowment holdings. Each committee will be composed of ten students democratically elected from the graduate and under-graduate student bodies. All committee decisions will be made a strict majority vote, and will be upheld by the university. All members of the Socially Responsible Finance Committee will sit on the board of trustees, and will have equal voting rights. All Socially Responsible Finance Committee and Trustee meetings shall be open to the public, and their minutes made accessible electronically through NYU’s website. Elections will be held the second Tuesday of every March beginning March 10th 2009, and meetings will be held biweekly beginning the week of March 30th 2009.

That the first two orders of business of the Socially Responsible Finance committee will be:
a) An in depth investigation of all investments in war and genocide profiteers, as well as companies profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories.
b) A reassessment of the recently lifted of the ban on Coca Cola products.

That annual scholarships be provided for thirteen Palestinian students, starting with the 2009/2010 academic year. These scholarships will include funding for books, housing, meals and travel expenses.

That the university donate all excess supplies and materials in an effort to rebuild the University of Gaza.
Tuition stabilization for all students, beginning with the class of 2012. All students will pay their initial tuition rate throughout the course of their education at New York University. Tuition rates for each successive year will not exceed the rate of inflation, nor shall they exceed one percent. The university shall meet 100% of government-calculated student financial need.

That student groups have priority when reserving space in the buildings owned or leased by New York University, including, and especially, the Kimmel Center.

That the general public have access to Bobst Library.

why wd the public want access to Bobst?

are you seriously asking why the public would want to access a university library

Administration has responded with a demand for serial commas

NYU Admin offers shitty deal; denies food to guards
Feb 20th, 2009 by Take Back NYU!
Caitlin Boehne, a student representative from Take Back NYU!, was offered the following:

Linda Mills (Senior Vice Provost), and Lynn Brown (Senior Vice President) will negotiate with a group of 5 students at 5pm today, IF the rest of us vacate the space by 4pm today.

She said: “No thank you.” She then told them that will absolutely NOT leave before they negotiate with us, and that negotiation does NOT necessarily mean we are leaving - we’re not moving until we get our first two demands of amnesty and worker’s compensation. So the NYU Admin is still refusing to speak to us.

We have also heard that the guards stationed outside the space have not been given lunch breaks (this has been neither confirmed nor denied by the NYU Admin). We’re DEFINITELY not leaving until they get their food (we’ve offered them some of ours, but they’ve politely declined).

It is obvious that NYU cares neither about its students, nor about its employees.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

haha are you doing this bro pono

i'm a listen ashamed at my fuck these assholes impulse but the gaza shit is just...

http://takebacknyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/silly-faces.jpg

Max OTM about better PR, by the way -- yeah, a lot of these are sort of typical collegiate demands that I would more or less get behind, which makes me wonder what sort of push for those things has happened through more conventional channels up to this point. I mean, typically an occupation would have some sort of spur to it like an identifiable rejection of some set of demands, no?

And like -- just for instance -- with regard to unionization for assistants, I think I can say from visual observation that there doesn't appear to have been any kind of, umm, coordination with groups pushing for that (which groups have been pretty good at arranging protest events at other schools and looked notably absent this morning)

Take Back NYU! is a student-run coalition united by the dream for transparency, accountability, and democracy at NYU.

Here’s some history. Back in 2007, the group Students Creating Radical Change decided they wanted to take up a campaign for disclosure at NYU. They kicked things off with an event called “What is NYU Hiding?” in October. After building energy and support throughout the 2007-8 school year, SCRC collaborated with a number of student groups to write Take Back NYU!’s three demands: budget disclosure, endowment disclosure, and placing a student on NYU’s Board of Trustees.

Over the summer, SCRC reached out to dozens of student groups asking for endorsements of the Take Back NYU! demands. The groups that endorsed the three demands formed the core of the TBNYU! Coalition that now leads the campaign. On September 2nd, 2008, Take Back NYU! presented its three demands to the NYU administration and asked for a reply within one month. October 2nd came and went with no reply from NYU, leading SCRC and other groups to unite to form the TBNYU! Coalition and escalate pressure on the administration.

Already in the 2008-9 school year, Take Back NYU! hosted Have Your School and Eat It Too, an edible exploration to imagine our ideal university, and began flyering actions to increase student pressure on the NYU administration.

Also, members of TBNYU! are currently pursuing shareholder activism, reviewing NYU’s tax forms, and helped elect a SCRC and TBNYU! member to the University Senate Finance Committee.

Take Back NYU! is a dynamic, evolving campaign for accountability student democracy. Our ‘history’ changes almost weekly, so be sure to check back here for regular updates on our campaign and NYU news.

NB there really didn't look to be too many of them involved, either, something that might be underlined by the Gaza-related demands

Does anyone here have enough of a relationship with NYU to know how much this resonates with the student body? I work every morning in a cafe full of NYU kids and they were barely even talking about this

ask jon williams!

most of the list makes sense. i remember groups at AU in DC (where i went to undergrad) went through this kind of stuff after our former president was using university funds for personal stuff, and it was understood fairly well that some kind of transparency/accountability campaign was necessary (though they didn't occupy any buildings...as that wasn't really necessary...)

but yea the gaza shit is kind o_O at least for this kind of campaign (NYU doesn't have a SJP to take that end of it?)

i think i hung out with college activist types a bit too much in college so my first impulse is like eehh fuck these kids mostly cuz it brings back to many personal memories of megolomaniacal self-righteous activists that were often pretty repulsive on a personal level

sux how nyu is forcing these kids to give them $40k a year

My undergrad days are long long ago, but Bobst didn't strike me as having anything on the city libraries except more gay cruising perhaps.

Eh, I am totally fine with students anywhere making complaints about tuition rates and financial aid, especially if they don't feel like the budget's transparent enough to know whether they're being hosed -- universities do claim to have missions that are about broad access to education, and it's perfectly legitimate for students to make noise about holding them to those missions. (Especially since education isn't like a discrete purchase, it's a long-term relationship with an institution)

i spent a lot of my undergrad time demanding all sorts of similar transparency/greater student voice things from our administration/board of trustees (and our school had a really fucked up admin with an absurdly high rate of turnover--i had 4 difft presidents in the 4 years i was at school)--and we were only sort of vaguely successful when we went through "the proper channels" as it were.

so im sympathetic to the idea of occupying a building as a last resort to get your voice heard. but as nbsco points out they need to make it clearer that theyve spent X amount of time trying to effect change thru student government, town hall meetings, whatever (if thats true), becauase right now it just seems like a bunch of college kids decided they wanted to protest something

cambridge university student union doing pretty much all of this, to the letter

becauase right now it just seems like a bunch of college kids decided they wanted to protest something

yah just emailed a bro whos in a grad program at nyu and he was like "who's doing what now" - the way none of this seems to have been communicated to any other student organizations makes it feel like an attention-grab

a lot of the demands esp re: transparency, student rep are valid thats why i cringe at my own dismissiveness

sux how nyu is forcing these kidsthese kids' parents to give them $40k a year

There's no reason to pay this much for higher ed. You're paying for a brand, kiddies.

they're now refusing to accept nyu's food because it "supports prison labor" and also plz to bring vegan snax btw so you can tack that one onto their list of "demands" as well.

i got accepted to nyu for undergrad & grad school but didn't go either time. i don't think most of you besides morbs are old enough to remember when nyu was kinda an also-ran university after a disastrous period in the 70s. the transformation has been remarkable, altho built on some pretty scummy real-estate policies.

do u think if i dropped by and offered my services as a publicist pro bono theyd accept

Thanks, Kate -- if only everyone in the world could talk to you before making all major personal life decisions about their educations and career paths

ask kate

hahaha a) i tht u already had and b) these dudes would be the worst clients for sure just thinking of that mad men episode where peggy agrees to do ads for her church but with more manifestos and sustainibility clauses

making labor demands on behalf of NYU employees without apparently making any effort to bring them in on it is pretty o_0 too

lamp i think u and i need to go into "lamp & max inc. public relations" for student protestors

making labor demands on behalf of NYU employees without apparently making any effort to bring them in on it is pretty o_0 too

ya seriously it seems like this happens at wayyy too many colleges

I mean it's not like NYU food service employees, bus drivers and maintenance workers are in some Chinese prison and can't be consulted with or make their own demands heard. Student solidarity with worker demands is fine, butstudent preemption and assumption of worker demands is really not helpful.

not to mention that it's shows a pretty condescending, if well-intended, attitude toward them

well part of the problem, like i was saying before, is that its unclear whether or not the group has contacted the university employees, and if so how theyve interacted, and what kinds of joint demands theyve made, etc.

max u need to go in there and get then to shorten their list of demand to

1 amnesty

I went to BU and if this ever happened at BU when I was there I would just lollllll and go chill in my shitty on-campus apartment.

I don't want to act like my eye-based observation is at all meaningful, but seriously, I feel like if they'd gotten any serious cooperation whatsoever from the groups trying to unionize assistants, I would have seen it. (Doesn't mean those groups aren't rhetorically or officially supportive, but they're certainly not outside banging drums.)

1 demand i have for them is stop posting shit like this to ur blog:

We have also heard that the guards stationed outside the space have not been given lunch breaks (this has been neither confirmed nor denied by the NYU Admin). We’re DEFINITELY not leaving until they get their food (we’ve offered them some of ours, but they’ve politely declined).

It is obvious that NYU cares neither about its students, nor about its employees.

Well apparently there is some "fair labor" group as part of the "coalition" and the group has a petition going with some general labor-related demands about the Abu Dhabi campus. But that's about all I can glean from their site.

"nor about its wi-fi"

why are so many of their demands related to eating?

college students are baked

(Hurting, I mean specifically groups working to unionize teaching/research assistants, which have been active on campuses all around the city)

Actually looking at the list of demands I think we should all be asking ourselves if Hans Gruber maybe survived falling off that building

BTW, I'm pretty sure I met a guy who was in a current NYU program that gives scholarships to Israeli and Palestinian students and has them do some kind of peace-related study.

NYU Abu Dhabi might be encouraged to siphon off some cash to Palestinians. If Sheikh Zayed was still in charge...

Haha, I was actually missing some of the most ridiculous elements of their demands:

Disclosure of NYU’s endowment holdings, investment strategy, projected endowment growth, and persons, corporations and firms involved in the investment of the university’s endowment funds. Additionally, we demand an endowment oversight body of students, faculty and staff who exercise shareholder proxy voting power for the university’s investments.

LOLWUT? Give college students voting power over a private university's investments?

Tuition stabilization for all students, beginning with the class of 2012. All students will pay their initial tuition rate throughout the course of their education at New York University. Tuition rates for each successive year will not exceed the rate of inflation, nor shall they exceed one percent. The university shall meet 100% of government-calculated student financial need.

With what? The student-managed endowment? And 1% is less than inflation! So tuition should be locked in for four years and actually decrease in inflation-adjusted terms.

http://takebacknyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dsc_0963.jpg

Blue steel.

omg owen wilson i <3 u where is tiny pony

The details are off there, but I'm a firm believer in tuition being stable across a four-year career, for fairly obvious reasons

I'm all for that too for my own purposes, but, like, it's a private university?

Also even where the law steps in to stabilize the costs of things (rent, wages, whatever) there are often year-on-year increases. It's kind of hard to plan operating budgets four years in advance.

I'm not sure public/private is really an issue, is it? I mean, this is basically a demand, from the student's perspective, that if you're investing in an education that kind of "matures" at the end of a four-year period, you want to be insulated by mutual agreement from getting hosed by a dramatic increase midway through -- I mean, on the large scale, most schools already know they can't push too hard with tuition increases without creating serious problems for their students, so they already try to do things like phasing them in year by year. Details aside, it doesn't strike me as unfair or odd for students to push an administration to make a firm commitment to some kind of reasonable stabilizing figure -- this is pretty obviously an interest students have reason to push for

blue states lose

^^^ right the problem is that, like most modern protests, they've couched this completely reasonable and sensible discussion in like 400 other things for no fucking reason. it infuriates me -- focus ppl. focus.

Hahaha bad phrasing on my part: I don't mean universities are just trying not to burden people with tuition hikes -- I mean they know there are numbers where they start getting backlash and losing students

I can't help but sympathize with these clowns, if only because I know that NYU administrators are serious crooks. For example, when an alum willed half a million dollars to the radio station in the late 90s, the university bought a plaque with the fellow's name on it, and proceeded to hide the remaining $499,990 in the endowment. But I'm sure stuff like that happens in every university.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/02/nyu_the_protests_get_serious.html (very slightly NSFW)

btw one of my first recommendations to the group as their publicist is--more college girl boobs

http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/2009/02/20090219_nyuboobs_560x375.jpg

UNRATED EDITION!!!
http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/02/19/flashy-protesting/

^^^ right the problem is that, like most modern protests, they've couched this completely reasonable and sensible discussion in like 400 other things for no fucking reason. it infuriates me -- focus ppl. focus.

― the schef (adam schefter ha ha), Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:17 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

fwiw this happened a lot with writing documents like this while i was at school--ur at some meeting and uve got this long list of things about student representation or whatever and some jackass wants to put palestine on the list in some way, and enough people at the meeting agree, or at the very least dont disagree for whatever reason, and so you sort of resign yourself to adding "build a peace bridge dedicated to palestine in the quad" and figure that people will pay attention to what are obviously your REAL demands--say greater power for student reps on the board of trustees--of course the lesson you learn is that people will immediately identify your most far-fetched and/or ridiculous demand and use that one to judge the whole process

yeah, such is the nature of "student coalitions" and "solidarity"

To be fair it doesn't sound all that different from the US legislative process

this is typical of student protest groups because theres no top-down management structure, so everything has to be agreed on (this is also why quakers never get anything accomplished) collectively

top-down vs. top-off

now thats a movement i can get behind, LITERALLY, am i right

behind, you know, SEXUALLY

as in, FROM BEHIND

they pretty much out pred u w/their boobs

take off NYU

trying to work in some kind of "support"/bra joke

omg owen wilson i <3 u where is tiny pony

― the schef (adam schefter ha ha), Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

those were the days

I love the "Make NYU affordable" sign in the NY Mag article. Ha. Yeah, wrong school.

I work right on the edge of the campus, but sadly I stayed in NJ today & missed all the insanity. Are they protesting again tomorrow?? ;-)

Wait, there's nudity now? Because I'll be walking home past all this, I don't want to get caught by surprise

It's happened before, you're just walking down the street and then BLAM, tits, it's a little unsettling

tits are never unsettling--they are delicious and wonderful

I have no memory of starting this thread. I was probably drunk at the time.

This is v long. Can someone briefly tell me what's happening? I have a headache.

nabisco is showing his tits to nyu students to conduct "research" for the Palestine state

seriously, Que, I'm telling you -- when you are just walking down an empty street at night and suddenly some girl is standing there with her top off, it can trigger a whole bunch of freezing and looking around suspiciously and feeling like you're stumbling into something you shouldn't

no no no i feel you, nabisco really. i'm sure there's lots of stuff running through your mind all at once not all of it BOOBIES YAY

when that happens

With what? The student-managed endowment? And 1% is less than inflation! So tuition should be locked in for four years and actually decrease in inflation-adjusted terms.

This should probably happen at all schools, really. There's no honest explanation for the explosion in tuition costs in the last 15 years - except for the fact that, ya know, the other guy's charging that much too.

Well, it wouldn't necessarily stop long-term tuition explosions; it would just mean that entering students would have some assurance they'd be about as able to afford their senior year as they were their freshman one:

All students will pay their initial tuition rate throughout the course of their education at New York University.

^^ this is more of a per-student locked-in rate, so you can't be, say, squeezed of an extra few thousand a year that you pay because what're you gonna do, transfer?

I hate to get all free-markety, but not all the "other guys" are charging what NYU charges. NYU students have the option of going to plenty of comparable state schools that are far cheaper even at out-of-state rates (let alone in-state). If what NYU charges is too much, don't go there.

wake me up when this turns into the end of 'taps'

Why Palestine as apposed to, say, Bangladesh?

i would like to bang la desh

http://nyulocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/img_0273-397x530.jpg

nearly all of the nyu students i've talked to about this think this is a total joke

I hate to get all free-markety, but not all the "other guys" are charging what NYU charges. NYU students have the option of going to plenty of comparable state schools that are far cheaper even at out-of-state rates (let alone in-state). If what NYU charges is too much, don't go there.

I'm ALL about state schools (and went to one). But, realistically the best schools in the country (in terms of 'where can this degree get me' rather than 'how much did I learn') are private. And I think considering how huge a role private universities play in the American job market and how huge a role they play in American class mobility - it's absurd to treat them as something that should be completely left to market forces. It's way more complex than buying brand name oreos vs. buying generic brand oreos.

The specialized art/design/theatre/film is very good there but as for the rest of NYU, there's an air of Not Good Enough and I could smell it all the way from one of those aforementioned Midwestern towns.

I was all about the school that would give me the most financial aid, which wound up being a small private college. This same college was the nation's most expensive, but it had a deal in place for rich kids' folks: they could pay all four years' tuition upfront and avoid any hikes. Surprised NYU does not have something similar in place.

I'm ALL about state schools (and went to one). But, realistically the best schools in the country (in terms of 'where can this degree get me' rather than 'how much did I learn') are private. And I think considering how huge a role private universities play in the American job market and how huge a role they play in American class mobility - it's absurd to treat them as something that should be completely left to market forces. It's way more complex than buying brand name oreos vs. buying generic brand oreos.

― iatee, Friday, 20 February 2009 07:14 (6 hours ago)

But this is flatly not true. First, studies have shown that going to a public vs. a private university has no visible impact on your lifetime income. Second, there are plenty of publics held in as high regard as the better private colleges - in fact UC Berkley, UVA, U Michigan, William and Mary, UNC and UCLA are all ranked higher than NYU in the US News thingy.

First off, nothing wrong with the state school around here- there are some very, very, very good ones in the northeast.

But, realistically the best schools in the country (in terms of 'where can this degree get me' rather than 'how much did I learn') are private.

There are several private schools that are "need blind" admissions and then will give grants to low income students who need help paying. I mean, from what I've heard, NYU is pretty stingy with financial aid compared to other private schools that cost that much. I was lucky & went to a $$$$ private college, but I worked like crazy and got a scholarship. So yeah, maybe I'm seeing this differently, but I wouldn't automatically say "i have to go to a state school bc i can't afford private college" bc there are options out there.

as poorly as the kids were handling this yesterday it seems like nyu isnt doing a great job either--offering to give them all probation and a meeting w/ two administrators. i dont really see what the harm is in just giving them "amnesty," setting up saturday meeting w/ the board of trustees or whoever and letting them air their concerns...

Not all those in the dining room were N.Y.U. students. Saher Almaita, 22, a senior philosophy major at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., said curiosity and sympathy led him to join the protest.

“We’re so alienated from each other that the opportunity to do something together is a rush,” he said, then added with a smile, “I want to experience humanity to its fullest.”

The students passed their first night chatting, reading and playing cards. They ate food they had brought, including apples, oranges, hummus and peanut butter. Some joined in an exercise session they called the “calisthenic dialectic workout,” stretching and jumping in place before adjourning for a discussion of Hegel’s philosophy that lasted nearly until daybreak.

The students’ numbers dropped briefly on Thursday when some left to go to classes. School officials had sought to keep others from joining.

man i don't want to be all neg but sometimes i'm just like fuck college.

The students passed their first night chatting, reading and playing cards. They ate food they had brought, including apples, oranges, hummus and peanut butter. Some joined in an exercise session they called the “calisthenic dialectic workout,” stretching and jumping in place before adjourning for a discussion of Hegel’s philosophy that lasted nearly until daybreak.

tbh i find it hard to be neg about this stuff its so earnest and sweet-hearted.

on the other hand if i was in the same room i probably would have killed myself. but hearing abt it second hand is funny.

my frosh year @NYU in the Dark Ages was almost entirely covered, but tuition was only $4-5 G and I had mostly Pell grant, Nat'l Merit etc.

the few campus activists I knew then were too jaded to try performance-protest like this ('60s hangover).

The public/private/go-elsewhere stuff is well and good, but honestly, once you've entered into a four-year relationship with an institution, you absolutely have an interest in things like tuition hikes, no matter what other schools are doing. It doesn't seem like a good idea to think of student groups like these as people who are demanding something they feel absolutely entitled to, as if they own the school; the point's more that it's an institution that has to balance various interests, and every group with a stake in things has reason to apply pressure to serve its own interests. It's kind of especially critical with students, because the constant turnover makes it very, very easy for them to lose any real long-term voice in things. Hahaha it's just that students, being students, aren't always going to be very organized or focused or professional or brilliant-sounding about these things.

NB it's not like anyone flatly tells donors or really any other stakeholder in this kind of institution "oh, you could just go be involved in some other university you like better" -- the idea is to cater to their interests enough so that they don't think about doing that. There's obviously a short-term temptation to say that to students, because they'll keep enrolling whether your budget's transparent or not, but there's still a stake they're holding that I think the institution has to be cognizant of (and over the long term, ignoring it really does erode the institution as a whole).

(P.S. Not that it's really relevant, and I know a lot of their programs have seen real growth/resurgence lately, but a whole bunch of what NYU's selling is the environment in which you go to school.)

Ah yes the cultural stimulation of Emporio Armani and Whole Foods

/Morbius

There's obviously a short-term temptation to say that to students, because they'll keep enrolling whether your budget's transparent or not, but there's still a stake they're holding that I think the institution has to be cognizant of (and over the long term, ignoring it really does erode the institution as a whole).

this is more or less happening at my alma mater right now--10+ years of the administration/board of trustees ignoring student concerns, demands, ideas is crystallizing into an incredibly disaffected student body, less impressive incoming classes, and the general dissolution of the 'character' that made the school unique.

and the weird part about it is that because of what nabisco is saying about students being unable to voice their concerns in the most, um, effective way possible (i.e. without tacking on semi-meaningless resolutions abt gaza), its up to the administration to aid student discourse and representation while also often acting as "the enemy" or what have you. the best administrators are the ones who can actually balance the need to be an administrator and the need to be a student advisor without losing their power as either.

But this is flatly not true. First, studies have shown that going to a public vs. a private university has no visible impact on your lifetime income. Second, there are plenty of publics held in as high regard as the better private colleges

But the studies were about kids who got into both, say, Harvard and Mich, and chose Mich. And I think the number of poor kids / middle class kids nationally who get into top 25 schools is such a relatively small number due to the biases in the college admissions process...that those who do get into Harvard are gonna be the super driven type, and yeah, probably doesn't matter if you're crazy driven.

in fact UC Berkley, UVA, U Michigan, William and Mary, UNC and UCLA are all ranked higher than NYU in the US News thingy.

And rightly so. NYU is a different beast cause, as Nabisco said 'a whole bunch of what NYU's selling is the environment in which you go to school.'

I'm not sure what your pint is. A lot more poor kids probably go to top 25 state schools than top 25 private schools. They're cheaper! The only exception would be the few that do full financial aid for anyone who can't afford to pay.

Poor kids are also a lot less like to choose a school based on the fact that it's in the fucking village.

Are you saying that in some general sense a poor kid would not do as well at Michigan as at an equally-ranked private college?

I mean I think what you mainly get from a small private college vs. a large public is more amenities, more individualized attention, more interaction with professors, etc., but I don't know of any evidence that you actually miss out on job opportunities as a result.

in fact UC Berkley, UVA, U Michigan, William and Mary, UNC and UCLA are all ranked higher than NYU in the US News thingy.

obv, every single college student in the country lives is able to prove themselves residents of these four states.

Even out of state they're cheaper than NYU that was my point. Not to mention that there are plenty of other very good state schools -- U. Md, U-Texas, Rutgers, the SUNYs, etc.

Not to mention the extra extra cost NYU brings due to high housing and cost of living expense.

Besides, a big part of what is driving college costs is an arms race to provide ridiculous amenities and programs for self-entitled affluent kids.

I mean I think what you mainly get from a small private college vs. a large public is more amenities, more individualized attention, more interaction with professors, etc., but I don't know of any evidence that you actually miss out on job opportunities as a result.

i can, off the top of my head, think of at least half a dozen firms that only recruit from "top" schools the vast majority of which are incredibly expensive private schools. in my experience fields like mgmt consulting and i-banking are staffed with grads from the same 20 schools. not to mention the bias when applying for grad and postgrad, professional programs &c.

there was a lol gladwell article that talked about this - the clubby, re-inforcing attitude among grads of elite colleges that basically concluded that a smart, motivated student will do as well at UMichigan as Yale but that there are, esp. among low-income minority students, benefits to attending an elite school. there was also that book by the WSJ reporter that went into why those students are the among least likely to be admitted to such schools

^^^ Lamp said pretty much was I was gonna say

ok, so I think there might be a small exception for the absolute upper-echelon of private schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.), but otherwise I think it's safe to say that there's not that significant a job-boost from private versus equally ranked public. In any case, we're talking about fucking NYU here.

And NYU seems to me the absolute archetype of "Why the fuck would you go here if you have a decent public option, unless you can afford it and really want the 'experience'"

equally ranked being the key term

Right, and as I said, there are quite a lot of either higher or not significantly lower-ranked public schools to NYU, if the rankings even matter that much outside of the top echelon. Does going to the #30 (private) school give you a significant edge over the #50 (public) school?

I mean I just don't see this. I went to a big public school. I see no evidence that anyone I know had any trouble getting good jobs or getting into top grad programs because of it. I have several friends doing PhDs in top schools in their fields. I have friends who went to top 5 law schools. I have friends who have kick-ass jobs in media. I have friends who went straight to high-paying i-banking jobs. etc.

I hate to get all free-markety, but not all the "other guys" are charging what NYU charges. NYU students have the option of going to plenty of comparable state schools that are far cheaper even at out-of-state rates (let alone in-state). If what NYU charges is too much, don't go there.

i dunno if youre in law-school pick-a-fite mode or what hurting but this isnt just "oh i cant afford to go to this school"--a schools price & its ability to address financial aid needs are huge components in any applicants decision process, so its therefore an important factor (one of the most important) in determining the makeup of a student body. and since as a student i have a vested interest not only in the student body during my own tenure there but in the makeup of the student population afterwards, it makes sense that if i believe a socially & financially diverse student body is the "best" kind of student body im going to demand that the school be accessible to kids from less well-off backgrounds!

so unless you want to argue that my $40k/yr (& beyond) stake in the school gives me absolutely no say in the direction of the school (another thing determined of course by the student body makeup), i dont see why its problematic for the students to protest

and yes i have a vested interested in student bodies, if you know what i mean ;-)

Well, it's hard to break down because, like you said, it's a garbled protest. I don't think it's reasonable to protest the tuition you agreed to pay. I think it's perfectly reasonable to protest an undue tuition hike. I think it's laudable to ask for more financial aid for poorer students, but it seems disingenuous or at least naive to expect the school to take in less tuition overall (both by providing more financial aid and by lowering your own tuition) while at the same time expecting it to provide more for students (not to mention for library using members of public as well as the people of Gaza).

yeah no one here is disagreeing that the protest is garbled, poorly thought-out, and possibly demanding the impossible--but you seem like youre arguing they have no grounds for protest?

I also think the manner of protest is out of sync with the nature of the demands. Barricading yourself in a student center is a very immediate, drastic kind of protest that seems more suited to immediate, drastic kinds of situations. These are very complex issues that, even if NYU were to give in some to student demands (which it won't) would require tons of long-term planning and figuring. You don't just barge in and DEMAND a complete overhaul of the way a multi-billion dollar institution runs itself.

yeah, see above, no one is saying "wtg protestors, great job on having a clear and achievable set of goals and exhausting all other avenues before resorting to a sit-in"

I wd also protest that mega-ugly student center.

Ok, true I AM in law school arguing mode (procrastinating writing my appellate advocacy brief in fact, so REALLY in that mode).

Also I'm just slightly annoyed at people who think going to NYU is a necessity and or right.

Because it seems like the ultimate luxury school to me.

did u grow up in the city?

No. DC.

its all over: http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/02/20/kimmel-occupation-day-3-updates/

12:13 - Hey, all. Charlie here. I just spoke to Emily Stainkamp and she informed me that administrators and security guards raided the 3rd floor and rounded up the remaining protestors. They are all being suspended.

The team of five negotiators (before this raid) went to negotiate and were apparently detained and suspended as well. It’s currently unclear if any negotiations actually took place.

This is the end I think. Will update with any new news.

12:26 - Lily Q is at Kimmel and informes me that people are still inside and on the balcony. They should be coming out of the building in about 15 minutes. Although the press release says that non-NYU students will be turned over to police, some tips are coming in that a few have left the building and were not give to police. More info forthcoming. Be sure to follow our twitter for comprehensive coverage.

12:43 - 4 protestors remain on the balcony. They say they won’t be leaving until they’re removed. I don’t see what this accomplishes. They’re not going to meet any demands, they’re just going to arrest/expel/pwn you. Working on getting names and photos.

12:48 - Via our twitter: yan olander and drew phillips two of the students remaining, 1 student on balcony goes to drew university.

12:50 - Everyone else is out of the building, only the 4 on the balcony remain.

again, i think this is a really dumb way to end this on nyu's part

Also I'm just slightly annoyed at people who think going to NYU is a necessity and or right.

I don't, and like I said I went to a public school. I just think that considering the significant role they play in American society, letting private universities (and public universities!) slowly raise tuition to infinity is a very, very bad thing.

I think it probably is too - it's a much larger, systemic problem for sure. Causes probably include the over-availability of student credit (and school complicity in dubious loan practices) and the "rankings" race, but also ever increasing expectations about what kinds of amenities and programs schools should provide. I mean that last part isn't exactly students' fault, per se, because the schools very much fuel these expectations in the race to compete with each other.

I would think the best solutions would be 1) Tighter regulation on student loans, 2) More government-given need-based aid, and 3) More funding for public universities (coupled with better management of spending).

Also I'm just slightly annoyed at people who think going to NYU is a necessity and or right.

You really think there is no reason for students who don't want to go (or yes, can't get in) to Columbia to go to school in NYC?

I didn't say there was no "reason" for students to "want to go."

ok fine. You don't think NYU could possibly offer students a combination of unique benefits (being located in NYC and all) and a high quality education?

I mean, I'm sure there are many students who go to NYU for suspect reasons, but "the ultimate luxury school" seems to be a ridiculous generalization

slightly annoyed at people who think going to NYU is a necessity and or right

^^ "I am slightly annoyed at imaginary people who are not participating in this conversation or, so far as I have evidence, these protests"

P.S. Based on visual observation 20 minutes ago and my socialist co-worker's casual phone conversations with people involved in this, there may be some Straighter Dope we're not catching yet -- stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Occupation: NYU

Nabsico: Our Man On The Inside

nabisco can i get a titty update

thx

^^ the thing about breasts is that a small amount of them can create a large amount of attention

it's my professional opinion that the titties were a red herring

Well it is over, in any case:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/students-end-nyu-building-takeover/

as poorly as the kids were handling this yesterday it seems like nyu isnt doing a great job either

Haha I will admit to being impressed by the sly "step out here and negotiate" trick

What would be a good way to "handle" the situation? They offered a sit-down and conditional amnesty. What do you want them to do?

from what i read they offered to have 2 midlevel admins sit down and theyd put them all on probation--i dont understand what nyu stands to lose by having the president or dean or whoever sit down with these yahoos for 20 minutes, say the university will consider their demands, and then do nothing...

i mean "get" what they stand to lose--i just think if i was a college admin and i wanted to make these kids look dumb and ineffective i would be as accommodating and sympathetic as possible on the face of it. the protests thrive on an oppositional stance; if nyu acts the bad guy the protest looks justified. if they act like concerned parents or whatever, the protesters look like little kids.

Ok, so president instead of mid level admin -- says he'll consider demands -- students say FUCK YOU WE WANT IT NOW -- how does that help anything?

Protesters already look like little kids.

Max, I think if NYU were a campus in a college town in the Midwest or something, they'd have been a lot more likely to take that stance, treat the whole thing as a kind of teachable opportunity -- I can't help but feel like the location here w/r/t media coverage, safety issues, neighborhood relationships, etc. contributes to their taking a different approach

Ok, so president instead of mid level admin -- says he'll consider demands -- students say FUCK YOU WE WANT IT NOW -- how does that help anything?

university looks like kind caring people, students further marginalize themselves and their positions... (thats help from the pov of nyu btw)

Max, I think if NYU were a campus in a college town in the Midwest or something, they'd have been a lot more likely to take that stance, treat the whole thing as a kind of teachable opportunity -- I can't help but feel like the location here w/r/t media coverage, safety issues, neighborhood relationships, etc. contributes to their taking a different approach

― nabisco, Friday, February 20, 2009 2:43 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is probably right--when u have large crowds outside fucking up traffic & safety i guess you have to end it asap

Do you think they'd be so into the Palestinian cause if weren't for those cool Kaffiyehs the NYU kids like to wear?

ugh, dude, what is your point

palestine's really become the go-to cause right now for college activists, huh? i guess it was always around but it's really over taken tibet, fair trade, and living wage campaigns, at least in my experience. the last issue of the student newspaper of the college where i work was nearly 100% comprised of articles about palestine

nabisco otm about the nyu kids getting tricked:

Near the end of the occupation NYU put some of its dishonesty on wide display. 5 students occupying the building were told they would be offered negotiations with Lynne Brown, and willingly passed their barricades to begin serious talks. As soon as they left, a cadre of NYU security guards swept them away and served them with papers saying they would be expelled. No negotiations ever took place.

(from tbnyu)

http://www.zuguide.com/image/Joe-Pesci-Goodfellas.8.jpg

The news sources I read said "suspended" not "expelled."

I have no problem with college students making Palestine the cause-du-jour, btw. I could make a whole separate argument about why I think political causes-du-jour are perfectly fine and why I don't buy the "Why Israel and not x other bad country?" question. But here the tacking on of that issue is just ridiculous.

Both a bad call and one that, per Max's upthread discussion of democracy in student activism, makes total, total sense

i think comparing palestine protests now vs palestine protests however long ago is kind of futile now; i think the wall makes it seem a way more accessible, involving issue that's like an entry point for activism/criticism or whatever

To my eyes Israel has gotten more and more o_0 over time and therefore easier to protest. There used to be at least an outward sense of a genuine desire to work toward a solution, even if you could make Chomskyan hay of Israel's actions.

Ooo, my local activist is on the phone and telling someone "everything (he) know(s), briefly," I'll take notes

haha okay this is turning out neither brief nor especially informative, and the person on the other end would seem to talk a whole lot

Our Man On The Inside.

21 Guix

To all of you who don’t understand the actions taken by TBNYU, and therefore put yourself in adamant opposition to this organization, the bliss of your ignorance has already begun to erode. I will do everything in my power to make sure you have trouble getting comfortable the next time you sit down to some TMZ celebrity news, or other mind-numbing nonsense. I hope the fact that you are being used begins to loom around the edges of your narrow conscious. But I know your narrow field of vision will not permanently change.
The only concern I have, however, is that as you play their game, you dilute our efforts.

open contempt is usually a good strategy

I have to admit that in spite of everything I've said there's this weird counterurge in me to see an even bigger, more radical, less clear-political-meaning-driven student eruption on campuses. Maybe I'm just jealous of people who actually got to see that stuff in the 60s/70s.

hurting where is that statement you quoted from?

comments on the TBNYU blog

Actually it's funny, in the brief I'm writing/procrastinating I have to argue the school's side against a kid suspended for a medical marijuana t-shirt. I wonder if I'm "in character" and it's making me more adamantly against the students in this.

the NYU admin. press release:

From the outset, the University made clear to the protesters that they were violating the University rules and engaging in improper activity.

Nonetheless, we offered to sit down and have a dialogue with the students if they left the cafeteria; the students rejected our offer of a dialogue.

Yesterday afternoon, the University directed the protesters to leave the building, telling them that the building closes at 1:00 a.m., and after that they would be considered trespassers and would have to bear the consequences.

A number of students left during the night. This morning the University summarily suspended the remaining students. Any non-NYU students will be turned over to the police for arrest as trespassers; we will notify their schools of the participation in improper activity. Any students who refuse to identify themselves will be assumed to be non-NYU students.

Despite the protesters’ stated principles that the protest was to be non-destructive and non-violent, the protesters broke the lock on a balcony door despite specific warnings to stay off the balcony, and protesters injured an NYU security officer during a tussle last night. These actions dishonor NYU’s commitment to free exchange of ideas, reasoned debate, and legitimate forms of protest. We have some information on the students involved in those activities; they will be summarily suspended as well.

In an effort to bring this episode to a conclusion, last night the University gave the students an opportunity to sign an agreement stating that discipline charges stemming from the protest would be held in abeyance, but would be fully activated if there were any further disciplinary charges during their time at NYU; this would not apply to those students identified in breaking the lock or injuring the officer. One student signed the agreement.

Others who were in the room who have not signed the agreement will continue to have an opportunity to do so for a short while; after that, we will pursue discipline against any of the others. We have some information on who was in the room and will pursue those students, but we urge all the protesters, as self-described people of conscience who wish to demonstrate the courage of their convictions, to either come forward to sign the agreement or acknowledge their role in the protest and make themselves available for discipline.

id like to make myself available for discipline by a student body, u feel me

I'd like to see some transparency on her endowment if you know what I mean

lol

hahaha i kinda thought that phrasing was weird but between the ethan humor thread and the mancrush thread my mind's gonna be in the gutter for days

I'd like to open her library to the public.

I'd like to offer scholarships to (see) students from Gaza Strip

I'd invade her gaza strip

was totally going to say something w/ "gaza strip"

ugh, dude, what is your point

― max, Friday, February 20, 2009 7:59 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

The point is people are living under occupation and in poverty all over the world. So why Palestine in particular? I think they're into the Palestinian cause over others because it's trendy and has been so for a long time.

yeah, like South Africa was 'trendy' in the early '80s and OH HEY INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE HELPED END APARTHEID

oh my god college students influenced by peers film at 11

I'd rather they'd asked for 13 scholarships for kids from Bangladesh. Much more people living poverty there than in the West Bank.

iirc Gaza is one of the poorest places in the world

Yeah, it's not so much an argument about the validity of Gaza as a cause, but about whether it's strategic to make a hodgepodge of demands without a clear focus on why you're making them or how they're connected.

And if they were doing it for Gaza, it's pretty sad to give up after a day because some of them were told they might be suspended...doesn't sound like they prepared very well.

UN List of World's 50 Poorest Countries
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, East Timor, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia.

are you thinking gaza is a country

suspended in gaza

where's gaffa?

http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/02/23/raw-footage-from-the-last-moments-of-the-kimmel-occupation/

kind of lol but mostly sad for america's future

Alex Lotorto
Feb 23, 2009 7:28
oo and btw, using corporations’ stuff to liberate yourself isn’t a contradiction. Organizing also has to be accessible…if I told you I don’t use computers, would you listen to me and join my cause?

If I walked up to you naked organizing against sweatshops, would you listen? and so on…get some movement literature, talk to some real progressive people, not mainstream Democrats, and then start calling me out on hypocrisy.

Poo poo poo. When are YOU going to do something to liberate someone?

Excuse me, brutality. You are on camera.

fwiw i am not really scared for the future of america because it seems like the vast majority of nyu students regarded this group as misguided, ineffective & ill-considered

were using democratic process here i dont know if u guys understand that...

also the dude who filmed that went to muhlenberg which is well known as the school for hippies who werent smart enough to go to sarah lawrence

itd wouldve been better if the admin had just taken down the barriers and started severing lunch like o r u still here tuesday is meatloaf

Don't brutality me bro!

See here I was thinking HAMPSHIRE was the main 'too dumb for Sarah Lawrence' hippie college.

omg the inventory of macbooks at the v end loool

WE NEED TO DEMOCRATICALLY DECIDE ON A CONSENSUS AREA

lol that was some bullshit

i don't think i can bring myself to watch that

its pretty funny

It's hysterical. The blogger/journalist who covered the whole thing from the inside had it right when he said they were all playacting at being protesters, but without the actual protest.

This may be the funniest video on Youtube

"BRUTALITY! You may not detain us! You are on camera!"

the vast majority of nyu students regarded this group as misguided, ineffective & ill-considered

and yet, mostly registered Democrats.

dude Morbs if you're going to pull this at least make sense

just a cheap joke... As a contemporary student I'd be way more frantic about the Same Old Overlords, under the Change banner, letting us slip closer to eco-oblivion than a kiddie activist sideshow like this.

(i guess econo-oblivion & eco-oblivion are overlapping but different)

you are cool, Morbs, but sometimes you sound like you're wearing homemade pants

I wish! The sub-Levis I favor wear out too easily.

AND I'm a registered Democrat. (perhaps if the mayoral dance turns out as disgusting as I fear I'll go back to indy.)

"Hey, what's up? How's it going, I'm getting the same footage" is actually one of the most sublime moments of unintentional comic genius I've seen in a long time

Heh. He says "they probably drink corporate water" after displaying a bunch of Macs.

gets better every time

wow this guy

I'm starting a band called Corporate Water.

woah max

??

^^

http://gawker.com/5873148/the-crazy-department+wide-emails-that-everyone-at-nyu-is-talking-about

This is very long and I have to run out the door in a couple mins - can you pls summarize it?

Or I guess i could just read it later.

that is some wacky stuff

uh wow

I mean, I am not at all discounting the "I do not feel safe going there" argument, that actually seems to be a relatively rational reaction all things considered, but nothing about the way that is written is rational or sensible; in fact, it's pretty upsetting and I hope she gets help.

college students, especially ones at schools like nyu, and especially ones at nyu, are such awful human beings

lol not sure this is really the case where it makes sense to paint with the broad brush

jordan, how many NYU students have you spent any amt of time with? i mean, this girl is pretty disturbed and maybe a bit egocentric, but idk if it's fair to her or her fellow students to classify them as "awful human beings."

this girl really reminds me of a friend of mine that disappeared halfway through her sophomore year due to the onset of schizophrenia

hyperbole, by j0rdan s. xp

well hopefully the student body of NYU will be able to withstand the unfair accusation i just made on ilx

yeah onset of schizophrenia was my first thought tbh

this is my favorite part btw:

Lastly, I have over 1,000 friends on facebook, and if Professor Zaloom does not resign, or is not fired by 9 am tomorrow morning, I will publish every single email exchange we have had, on my facebook account.

I don't know if this is current but:

Sara Ackerman is currently a sophomore at New York University, pursuing a degree in English and American Literature, with a minor in Creative Writing.

:-(

lol that's what I graduated with

Also Jordan fuck you. Just kidding - you're actually probably a lot closer to being on the money then off ime.

finally, I am gonna read this now

school w/ the most student debt among non-profit institutions in the country has assignment to go visit OWS

gonna guess sara ackerman doesn't have much tho

Need more information, to be honest. What was Professor Galoob's exact assignment, for example? What class did Professor Zaboom teach?

would zaloom

It's just that, the first time I went down to an Occupy site, I met someone within 5 minutes who I would have immediately peaced out from, given their mental health indicators, had I not been in the company of an OWSer I trusted. And I'm a big guy who can take care of himself. But in terms of assuming personal risk, thanks, but no. I wouldn't blame someone for trying to sort out an alternative assignment. Need more information.

beachville is def best new sock

eh

i'm goin to zaloom zaloom's!!!

nebville

i feel bad for this girl though, sorry. it makes me hate the internet that a meltdown gets amplified into a lifelong embarrassment. she shouldn't have melted down over email but maybe she couldn't help it.

eh I sympathize with that idea but at the same time this was too public a meltdown to become not-a-public-meltdown, remember all her friends in the media she was about to contact

i don't disagree, just sucks

plus lol republicans. anyway maybe she can leverage it into an internship at morgan stanley or something.

All I was trying to say is that people shouldn't automatically assume that because she's freaking out that she's mentally ill. Like, if she legitimately wanted to do an alternative assignment and the teacher put up a lot of resistance to that? Usually professors are amenable to that sort of thing.

The story needs more context, is all I'm saying, and I'm sure it'll turn up.

Sara, this seems to be a continuation of the same matter about which I met with you and your mother a few weeks ago after the disruption in Professor Zaloom's class.

xp when you're in college and the professor gives you an assignment, you better have a good reason to request not doing it.

Rachelle Greta
Yesterday
This might sound like a stretch but the behavior of the NYU administration reminds me of what happened at Penn State. Someone should have done something.

if she was really worried about personally safety she presumably could've found one of the many NYU undergrad + grad students involved with OWS and asked them for help

i imagine she had worked herself into a state where she wasn't really able to recognise what options were actually available to her - just as she wasn't able to stop and think "is there a formal way i can complain" (ie the grievance procedure that exists, which there must surely be details of on the college website and in the student handbook), or "what kind of formatting/wording will make my email more effective" (rather than crazy-lookin), she wasn't able to think beyond "i am FORCED to do this and it is a danger to me" to develop a strategy by which she'd feel less endangered, e.g. requesting that a TA come with her, or someone she'd otherwise feel protected by.

one of my friends who's got some problems with compulsive behaviour has a really bad habit of getting herself onto a track and being unable to recognise that 1. it's the wrong track 2. there are other options 3. what she thinks is 'logical' is actually fantastical, while remaining very bright and capable.

well this is something

college students, especially ones at schools like nyu, and especially ones at nyu, are such awful human beings

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 6, 2012 5:50 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://www.weddingspeechesforall.com/affiliate/images/up_arrow.gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEQJZ8Ccpqc

rang.ashley @yumpopink
Entitled narcissist is good but I was thinking dumb ass bitch so . . . let's hope NYU kicks her out. What an idiot.

hear, hear

then again, i adhere to the "be brief or be quiet" school of dialogue. endless screeds are rarely, if ever, a positive sign.

so i have discovered the incredible news today that this young lady will be attending one of my brother's weddings this year O_o

that should be brothers'*

is she also available for bar mitzvahs

i guess if she's friends w/ the bar mitzvah boy!

lol schlump

lol jordan and whiney, if only everyone could lead lives as worthy as "internet music critic"

wow @ all that.

this is kind of a timely update because i realized that i should probably try to get a job at nyu so i can go back to school for free since i just figured out what i want to study again (at an undergraduate level). i wish i could be in school forever.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/18k52sqrf3d1qjpg.jpg

Really would like a "where are they now" on this crew.

None of the google image search results for silly-faces.jpg are the Take Back NYU silly-faces.jpg