NYU DC StoryCorps

Highlighting NYU Washington, DC students and their experiences!

Liberal Studies Program

NYU DC VIOLETS I OPINION I High Schools Should Prepare Students For Success, Not College

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By Brianna Hall 

When we think of a really smart person, or a really wealthy person, we probably envision that they graduated college. This is a view that is widely enforced by our education system. Our lens of academic success has narrowed into whether or not students go to college, and what calibre of college they are admitted to. This is a problem. While all students should have the opportunity to pursue higher education, it should not be something they feel that they have to do if they want to be viewed as intelligent and professional. 

Highschools that have the resources to have gotten into the habit of grooming juniors and seniors to achieve one goal: college. However, the goal of college should be replaced with the goal of success. Every student should be given the resources to choose their own path of success, regardless of whether or not that path leads to college. 

I haven’t met a student who says that at one point they did not feel overwhelmed by the pressure of getting into college. This is largely due to the pressure that high schools place on students to go to college. If highschools explored multiple paths such as trade school, apprenticeships, interning, and jobs, that all lead to success students would not feel confined to fit themselves into the mold of college. 

While college is a great fit for many students, for many it is not, and they are often viewed as less intelligent and successful. Teenage years are full of difficult decisions that can be easily impacted by social norms. Highschools need to break the rigid outline of success for students and prepare them for any option they make after graduation. 

 

Image Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=graduation&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIg8bU4InoAhWKlXIEHRdUAd8Q_AUoAXoECBMQAw&biw=500&bih=296&dpr=2

NYU DC VIOLETS I FEATURE I Kim Cobb: A Notable Combatant of Climate Change

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By Kyra Brown

During the first semester of this academic year, American climate scientist and professor in the School of Sciences of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Kim Cobb, visited students of New York University’s D.C campus to speak about her findings on the impending implications she believes climate change is having on our oceans and environment. 

Cobb’s research utilizes the study of corals and cave stalagmites to reconstruct the effects of changes in tropical Pacific temperature and rainfall patterns over the last decades to millennia. 

“What we’re seeing in the last 50 years is outside any natural variability.”

Cobb relayed to students that scientists have suspected an apparent cause-and-effect relationship between climate change and El Niño, which is a natural weather cycle that has heated and cooled the equatorial Pacific ocean for many thousands of years,  in turn causing large-scale weather irregularities.

However, according to Cobb, there may be hope in reducing the cause of these climate changes. 

Her goal for the coming years was to save at least 1 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, she has since surpassed this goal with the help of her students and donors of her community,

Reducing all of society’s carbon footprint seems like a nearly impossible task, however, Cobb says that even the smallest of efforts made by many people could produce great change. She has already taken it upon herself to pursue the challenge.

Cobb now walks or bikes to work and minimizes her need for long-distance travel. She has centered her lifestyle around her avoidance of carbon emissions and urges people of this generation and future generations to do the same.

Image Sources: 

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/uploads/original/20190206-185427-kim_cobb_002-T5_05926.jpg 

http://shadow.eas.gatech.edu/~kcobb/people/images/2018_group.png 

https://live.staticflickr.com/8664/16561142711_bc0b6bd809_n.jpg

NYU DC VIOLETS I FEATURE I Finding Your Place

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By Michael-Scott Greco

NYU — the real NYU — is a massive university in the biggest city in the U.S..

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved within the university system and outside, in all that New York City has to offer. All of these opportunities could also mean that “finding your place” can be overwhelming.

Some opportunities for students include clubs and teams, volunteer for a non-profit, intern, and part-time work. 

To encourage club participation, NYU deployed a web portal, Find My Club, to gauge students’ interest and guide them to various clubs around the university.

Personally, I never “found my club” at NYU. And I tried, but the Parliamentary Debate Union, Urban Design & Architecture Society, and Stern Student Council — for some reason — never kept me engaged. Throughout my first year of exploring NYU clubs, I also pursued other opportunities as they popped up.

A Sternie at heart, I entered the undergraduate research program at Stern’s social impact program. And as a Sternie, I appreciate the work, studying strategy and brand development in the sharing economy.

I know, it’s not exactly fascinating work… at least not for everyone. But for me, research is a great opportunity to be part of a constructive team dynamic that I didn’t find during my first-year.

TLDR/My two-cents: New York’s sheer size can be overwhelming, but also has enough opportunity to find your place. Look for and take advantage of the opportunities in front of you.  You might surprise yourself.

NYU DC VIOLETS I FEATURE I A Restaurant Review: Lapis

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By Yuanle Ma 

Kalorama is a placid residential neighborhood in midtown Washington DC. Unlike most parts of the city, a complex of glass office buildings, it is elegantly decorated by some delicate residential houses and the quietness thereof. The Kalorama park, this tranquil lush garden, placates the haste and bustling of the city by its peacefulness. It is in this opulent neighborhood where Lapis, an exquisite Afghanistan restaurant, busily resides. 

Unlike most parts of the Kalorama neighborhood which serve their DC residents with quietness and relief, Lapis offers them with excitement into the adventures of cuisine. In Washington, one’s diety can not be maltreated: distinguished DC steakhouses may offer them with some finest steak in the country, as luxure Asian Cuisine may seize their clients with luscious sushi. But out of all the admirable restaurants, it is the role of Lapis to seize the appetites of the DC residents with its alluring Afghanistan grill. The dishes of Lapis deliver something more than a pleasant experience of the tone; it is more to the enjoyment of the mind.  For “afghan shepherd”, one of its signature dishes, it serves well cooked lamb chops with Afhgan rice and bread. The lamb is so properly grilled that it is fully covered with golden lamb oil on the surface, while it is accompanied by tempting sources and spices. The selection of rice is best characterized by thoughtfulness — the rice is not cooked too dry that its surface would turn hard , nor is it too moist that it would be sticky; it is in the state of almost perfection-soft and warm-decorated by Middleeastern pepper mixture. Finally, when proceeding to the Afgahn bread, the diner will find that the bread is perfectly soaked in the lamb oil and the spices; mixed with the taste of lamb and the sweetness of wheat, this bread itself has already turned into a delicacy.

Beyond the marvelous food, the decoration of the restaurant is another amazement. The first floor, with a delicate but not too sumptuous setting, welcomes its diners with the warmth of home. The bar which is located in the basement, is where the bustling and celebration reside; one would walk on well polished marble stairs, occasionally passing by some Greeco-Roman statues, into this basement full of classic decorations– it almost renders the illusion of being in a ancient classical temple which is constructed in a near east cave. 

In this city where its people would rush from places to places, where the hustling of life often besieges the castle of peacefulness, Lapis is the harbor which would appease the tired hearts of its travelers with some delicious meals. A fine piece of pearl on the necklace of Washington DC becomes what Lapis is. 

NYU DC VIOLETS I FEATURE I The Last Frontier

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By Abby Gweon

Covering more than 70% of Earth’s surface, the ocean is still, for the most part, a great mystery. 95% of it is completely unexplored and uncharted territory, making our understanding of the planet fairly limited despite our familiarity with every inch of land. All of the continents combined would still be smaller than the Pacific Ocean (NOAA). And while we’ve sailed and flown across the oceans for centuries, we’ve only recently developed the technology to see the deep oceans, a place once thought to be a lifeless void. Here is what we know about the realm below, teeming with life, hidden right beneath our noses. 

At 200 meters below the surface, sunlight begins to wane, and we enter an area called the Twilight Zone. The pressure here becomes intolerable for humans, with diver Ahmed Gabr setting a record at 332 meters for the deepest scuba dive (Agarwal). Bioluminescence, or chemical reactions that create light, are used by 90% of the species in this zone to attract prey or to hide from predators. Living here are Sea Angels–translucent, jelly-like sea slugs that propel themselves with wings–Giant Pacific Octopi, swordfish, and sperm whales. Many animals in the Twilight Zone migrate daily to and from the surface, swimming hundreds of feet every night to find food above before returning to the darkness below at daybreak. This is the largest animal migration on the planet, and happens every 24 hours. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 

The Midnight Zone begins at 1,000 meters below the surface, and looks like an endless black abyss, almost like outer space–no light can reach here, but animals still manage to live. The anglerfish of Finding Nemo fame uses a bioluminescent lure to attract prey in range of its fang-like teeth. Giant tube worms live on hydrothermal vents, or hot openings in the seafloor. The orange roughy fish grows here at a very slow rate, and can live to be 200 years old. The animals at these depths must conserve energy because of the lack of resources, and can go for long periods of time without food. These conditions also have an effect on their size, with several animals being much larger than they would be on the surface–the giant isopod can grow to be 19 inches long, huge compared to the average 5-centimeter creature, and can go five years without eating (Agarwhal). Giant squid and giant tube worms are other examples of this effect.

The Abyssal Zone starts at 4,000 meters deep. Here, animals must survive severe, near-freezing temperatures and extreme pressure. The rare megamouth shark, up to 7 meters long, filter feeds on plankton here with its large, circular mouth. The slow-moving abyssal fish tend to feed on suspended matter or mud, and may be blind. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

More humans have visited the moon than the Hadal Zone at 6,000 meters deep. Most of this zone is in trenches, and little is known about life at these depths. The Mariana Trench was explored for the first time on January 23, 1960, by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh. Despite the deadly pressure cracking one of the submarine’s windows, they continued to the bottom, becoming the first people to reach the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the ocean at 11,000 meters below the surface (Agarwal). Were their submarine to break, they would feel the pressure of 1,086 bar–the equivalent of the weight of around 1,800 elephants (Kurzgesagt)–and become “red puddles of mush,” in Don Walsh’s words, according to The Telegraph. Despite this, animals still thrive down here: sea cucumbers, snailfish, amphipods, and eels call this inhospitable environment home. 

But even here at the deepest place on the planet, plastic debris was found in 2018, 10,898 meters below the surface. According to the Marine Policy report, deep-sea pollution was found in six oceanic regions, including the Pacific and Atlantic, at least 1,000 kilometers away from the mainland and up to more than 4,000 meters deep. Most of the items were single-use plastic, and deep-sea organisms were found attached to or entangled in the plastics. (MP Report)

With the surface waters overfished, deep-sea fishing has become common, also contributing to the human footprint left on the depths of the ocean. When deep-sea fish are pulled rapidly to the surface, their cell membranes ooze internally, their swim bladders swell, and they usually die due to the change in pressure (Kunzig). The adaptations that allow them to miraculously survive in the depths make the surface intolerable, much like how the deep waters are dangerous for us. Deep-sea mining further exploits the marine environment for the retrieval of mineral deposits, causing light-pollution, noise and vibrations, sediment plumes, and the destruction of deep-sea habitats that affect the animals and ecosystems living there (IUCN).

With only 5% of the ocean explored, there is still an endless amount of discoveries to be made in the underbelly of the ocean. The deep-sea animals we know of seem like creatures out of a science-fiction movie, with transparent wings, glowing heads, and supersized bodies, and the deep sea is vital to the survival of several million of these remarkable species. Mostly unseen by the human eye, there is much to learn by diving further into Earth’s last frontier, and many to help by preserving it.

Sources:

National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/exploration.html

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/pacific-size.html

https://www.livescience.com/14493-ocean-exploration-deep-sea-diving.html

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/ocean-life/ocean-twilight-zone/

Kursgesagt — In a Nutshell

https://sites.google.com/view/sources-deep-sea/

Neal Agarwal

https://neal.fun/deep-sea/

Sea and Sky, “Deep Sea Anglerfish”

http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/anglerfish.html

National Geographic, “Anglerfish”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/anglerfish/

Wikipedia, “Giant isopod”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_isopod

Oceana, “Megamouth Shark”

https://oceana.org/marine-life/sharks-rays/megamouth-shark

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Abyssal Zone”

https://www.britannica.com/science/abyssal-zone

India Sturgis, The Telegraph, “The true story behind the deepest dive in history”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/true-story-behind-deepest-dive-history/

Marine Policy Report, “Human footprint in the abyss: 30 year records of deep-sea plastic debris”

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.03.022

Robert Kunzig, Discover, “The Physics of… Deep-sea Animals”

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-physics-of-deep-sea-animals

International Union for Conservation of Nature, “Deep-sea mining”

https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deep-sea-mining

Mariana Trench Debris  Don Walsh & Jacques Piccard

 

NYU DC VIOLETS I FEATURE I A Visit to the Supreme Court

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By Gayoung Lee 

The Supreme Court of the United States is home to three Pokéstops.

At least, that’s what I heard from the boys I walked behind on my way there. At the Supreme Court, you can also catch several Eevees and five Pikachus. It’s a Pokémon Go paradise. 

But I digress. When I was made to visit the Supreme Court as part of an assignment for Journalism Ethics, I did not expect my trip to be so rowdy. I stumbled into this group of 50-something tourists as soon as I left Union Station, and ended up staying with them for the entirety of my visit. I was lucky, though, because it turned out that these tourists had booked a guided tour in the main courtroom. And so I was able to join them and listen to the tour guide explain everything about the courtroom.

The Supreme Court was right across the U.S. Capitol, separated by a wide courtyard in front of the Greeks-style courthouse, with a basketball court on the roof. Apparently, the justices and their law clerks like to play basketball and hold fitness sessions there.

 Visitors are not allowed to use the huge staircase that leads to the main gates of the Supreme Court. Our group entered from the side, went through a security check, and waited for our tour session, which was supposed to start at 1:30. 

The ground floor has three halls. The middle one has an exhibition on the general history of the Supreme Court, which leads to a statue of Justice John Marshall. Behind the statue is a special exhibit on Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court. On the walls of the other two corridors are portraits of all the justices, group portraits of different court eras, a cafeteria, and a gift shop. I was looking at the justice portraits when the security guards notified us our session was about to start. We were instructed not to take out our phones, as all digital devices were prohibited in the courtroom, and to stay quiet, which they had to emphasize several times. Let me just say: The Pokémon Go boys were not happy to give up their hunt. 

I climbed up a set of stairs to find a huge marble room, at the corner of which was a small opening that led to the main courtroom. The room was pretty dark, with eight marble columns on either side (Italian marble, unlike the pillars behind the justices’ seats, which were 100% American marble). We sat behind a small wooden fence that separated the visitors and special guests from the justices, attorneys, clerks, etc. Once we settled down, the tour guide explained to us the analytics behind the workings of the Supreme Court, how the building came to be, and what each component of the interior meant, or didn’t – the gold-plated flowers on the ceiling are there simply because the architect thought they would be pretty. 

The children in the group were divided in their interest, with some fervently asking questions and others looking like they were on the verge of falling asleep. Nevertheless, the high-pitched voices of the excited kids bumped up the brightness of the room by a tiny bit, and it was interesting to learn what these kids felt about the Supreme Court. Were they aware that this small, dark room had been shaping their lives hundreds of years before they were born (although the current room was built in the 1930s)? Would any of them ever end up in this court? Which side would they be on?

As I was leaving the building, the Pokémon Go boys were next to me again, their experience forgotten, excited about their gaming prospects. But there were some other children that wore more serious faces, and I reveled again at how much this seemed like a microcosm of American society: People have different levels of engagement with politics and social issues, but then again, who knows? Perhaps one of those Pokemon boys could be the next Chief Justice. Perhaps the serious-looking kids will become disenchanted with politics altogether. I only realized I had been grimacing over these questions when the guide told us the lecture was over. Maybe it was a bit strange for me to suddenly wonder about these things, but I think those are the kinds of thoughts a place like the Supreme Court courtroom makes you ponder – the place itself symbolizes the possibilities of the United States, after all!

Photo by Gayoung Lee 

NYU DC VIOLETS I CREATIVE WRITING I Por Favor?

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By: Kaylie Barreda

“Back in the times of the Civil Rights Movement, people were being discriminated against just because they existed. Just because they were different. You’re all very fortunate to be born in this day and age, it’s all very progressive now.” Mrs.Collins said. 

 

Ashley sat at her desk and wrote down notes with haste, she had always been a good student in school and she was planning on going to college. Her life was just beginning, she just had to get through high school first.

 

“Psst… shit wait what’d you say her name was? Hey Maria…no, it’s not Maria,” A voice mumbled. 

“I think her name is Ashley,” Another voice said.

“Nah, I don’t think it can be that. It doesn’t fit her.” The first voice said.

“Just try it.”

 

“Hey Ashley?,” The voice asked.

Ashley pulled her eyes away from the slideshow and faced the voice.

“Yeah?,” Ashley said. 

“Do you have a pencil I could borrow, por favor?,” The voice smiled. 

Ashley didn’t react, she just nodded and reached into her bag for the extras she keeps at the bottom of it. 

Ashley handed the person her pencil.

“Gracias, you’re the best.” 

Ashley nodded and faced the board again- she sighed. Ashley thought, did they just? She just shook her head. She continued to write her notes, but only managed to get half of the slide down before Mrs.Collins would switch it. 

 

The voice would just keep saying, “Gracias” and, “Por Favor.” 

 

Ashley scribbled down notes harshly. Her lead tip had snapped.

 

The clock on the wall was ticking away at its own pace.

 

 Tick…tock…tick…tock. 

 

Ashley bit her lip.

 

Tick…tock…tick…tock

 

Ashley put down her pencil and folded her arms. 

 

Tick…tock…tick…tock

 

Ashley looked down into her lap and her hair fell into view. Her eyes focused on the hair in front of her, it was like she hadn’t seen it before. It was too brown, and too dull. 

 

She touched her hair and twisted the curls on themselves. 

How odd. 

 

She looked at her last name on the page and cringed. 

How exotic. 

 

She stared at her arms and pulled her sleeves down immediately.

 

How different. 

 

Mrs.Collins continued her lecture, “…but things are better now. People are way more accepting of different ethnicities and races. We’re all more aware of others and we try to be conscious about the things that we say to one another. It’s all very progressive.” 

NYU DC VIOLETS I CREATIVE WRITING I Wishful Dreaming

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By Jasmine Lau

Artwork by Keith Leung

In the car, you blast your favorite songs, singing along even though you are wildly out of tune and can never hit the high notes. I used to ignore you, looking out of the window at the tall shimmering buildings and the crowds of people in the streets. Now I sing along, like you, imperfectly.

The road hugs the side of the cliff, overlooking the ocean. Boats dot the glistening water, and the beach is full of people, just the way I remember. The last time we were here was three years ago when we lived near the old school. You pull the car up next to the apartment building. We get out, careful as ongoing cars pass. We walk past the gates and different complexes until we reach the little path behind the parking lot. The path is narrow, and I follow you closely, finding it kind of funny that you have to duck under all the low branches when I can just walk under them. Finally, we get the barbed wire fence, and you lead the way off the path in the soft dirt. We walk a little further until we reach the spot in the fence where you cut a hole three years ago. It’s been patched up with new wire, and you curse under your breath.

From your bag, you pull out wire cutters and begin cutting. The last time we were here, I was nervous, never straying far from my parents’ sides. Now, with you, I’m not so scared anymore. The summer heat hangs on us heavily, and it’s hard to stay still with all the mosquitoes buzzing around my legs. Finally, you remove the circle of wire and step through the opening. I place my feet on the stones gingerly as we cross the stream.

Things are just the way I remember.  The steep rocky slope, a small stream and a rope attached to the side of the mountain.

You gesture towards the rope.

“You want to go first?” I shake my head.

“Nothing much has changed, huh?” You chuckle, grab the rope, and start climbing slowly up.

At a small ledge where the stream forms a pool, you stop. I sit down as you pull out some of our favorite snacks that we bought from 7/11 from your bag. We drink lemon tea and watch as the sun fades away. The sky is painted hues of pink and orange and it’s beautiful. I lean on your shoulder and wonder how many times I’ve dreamt of this moment.

NYU DC VIOLETS I CREATIVE WRITING I Loneliness

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By Riley Searcey

 

Loneliness

 I often feel alone

even if

I’m surrounded by friends

I know that

None of them really care about me

You can’t convince me that

people still think of me

When I’m not around

It’s a fact that

the energy I put in isn’t returned

and it’s not true that

if I disappeared

people would be affected

I know I have friends

but

I often feel alone

 

Now read from bottom to top

 

Sometimes all you need is a change in perspective. It’s easy to feel like you’re not the priority and that people don’t care, but just know there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely — and that’s having people who care about you. I read this as a mantra every morning over winter break, and it can help force the perspective change you might need.