On a Mission

When she was two years old, Hee Uk Chung and her family moved from South Korea to the U.S. Chung’s father, Steve, worked in advertising for Samsung and settled in Bergen County, New Jersey, in part because of the excellent reputation of the public schools there.

Chung enjoyed school, with one exception. “I used to hate the first day of class, because of all the teasing [about my name]," she says. So, in third grade, she started calling herself Stephany. “I'm not sure why I picked it. I just liked the way it sounded.”

Like her father, Chung is a devout Christian and active in a variety of civic and religious causes. As a youth, she went on evangelizing missions to countries in Europe and South America. Meanwhile back home, the demographics of Bergen County were changing. By the time college rolled around, Chung was ready to leave. "Too many Asians!" she jokes.

Chung’s first stab at college was RISD--the Rhode Island School of Design--where she studied interior architecture. Last year, she transferred to The New School. She's a little coy about why. "RISD just wasn't for me," she says.

At Lang, Chung seems to have had no problem establishing herself. She is the new photography co-editor at the student newspaper, The New School Free Press. She has also successfully proposed her own major—a combination of journalism and civic engagement that she calls “Engaged Journalism.”

Nevertheless, she admits that The New School is not always a natural fit.

“It’s pretty far left here, and I’m pretty conservative,” she says. “I don’t know who I’ll vote for this fall.”

rob's links of the day

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/nyregion/fencing-of-brooklyn-footbridge-irks-some-residents.html?ref=nyregion

http://www.thenation.com/blog/165834/atlantic-yards-good-brooklyn-public-call-host-town-hall-meeting-michael-ratner

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/nyregion/new-york-redistricting-faulted-for-unfair-representation-of-minorities.html?ref=nyregion

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/nyregion/with-muslims-using-a-brush-far-too-broad.html?ref=nyregion

http://planbnation.net/2012/01/26/what-price-an-iphone/

Not your Average City Block

The 84 William Street building was built in 1907 by Architects Howells & Stokes, who founded their company in 1897 by John Mead Howells and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes.  The building was originally the headquarters for the Royal Insurance Company, who still sells insurance globally and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.  The current market total value is two million dollars and the land value is roughly $4.6 million. 

Recently,121 apartment rooms were added to the original 17 floors during the renovation to the building in 2001 which The New School now leases from Metro Loft management, LLC.  The original exterior was kept, giving the building a 19^th-century-gothic-like appearance.  However, the renovations did remove the first two stories of the building’s original three story white marble base, as well as the original two story entrance.


"There are actually a lot of cool things left from the original building, like a beautiful staircase," said Susan Lee, 21, a resident of the William Street dorm, referencing a spiral, light blue and white staircase that is located on the North end of the building.  As well as the staircase, the paint in the stairways are original as well, according to maintenance staff at William Street.  


Lee isn't the only student nostalgic for older buildings.  "I'm sort of a nerd about building history," said Ivette Ceser, 22, a Parsons student at William Street.  "There are so many historic buildings to explore in the financial district and we don't take the time to appreciate them."  Ceser is right; With Wall Street two blocks south and Manhattans oldest standing building only blocks away, the 84 William Street building sits on a land of dense history.  Castle Clinton, the Alexander Hamilton U.S Custom House and the famous Trinity Church are all close by as well.

Although the Castle Clinton was originally built to keep the British out of New York in the war of 1812, it became famous after millions of immigrants passed through its halls to become U.S citizens.  The Castle has had many identity changes over the years; from 1840-1855 the building was an opera house, later in immigration station and finally the New York Aquarium from 1896-1941 which is now housed at Coney Island.

The Alexander Hamilton U.S Custom House was built in 1902 by the federal government to hold duty collection operations for the port authority of New York.  Inside the building houses several well known sculptures and paintings by artist such as Albert Jaegers and Louis St. Gaudens.  The building is also well known for its dome-shaped interior making it a distinguished building in the Beaux- Arts style area.    

Trinity Church was built in 1698 and approved by Governor Benjamin Fletcher but was destroyed in a fire that flattened 500 other buildings, as well, driving many New Yorkers into homelessness.  In 1788 construction for a new Trinity Church began but was torn down due to bad snow storms in the mid 1800s.  Finally in 1846, the gothic-revival church we see today was finished, making it the highest point in New York City at the time.  The church houses many famous deceits, most notably Alexander Hamilton.


"If anythings for sure, students should simply take advantage on where they are living," concluded Lee, noting that she was planning on attending Castle Clinton this weekend.        

3 articles

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/travelers-say-they-were-denied-entry-to-u-s-for-twitter-jokes/?hp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/30/afghan-strangles-wife-baby-girl

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/opinion/sunday/childrens-add-drugs-dont-work-long-term.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

3 articles

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/nbc-news-asks-romney-campaign-to-remove-ad/?hp

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/welfare-drug-testing-bill_n_1237333.html?ref=mostpopular

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/27/bp-transocean-deepwater-spill-court

fracking reconsidered

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/next-steps-on-gas-fracking-in-new-york/

Articles
Stephany Chung


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2012/01/25/sotu-bts-best-of.cnn

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/world/europe/21antonio.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/the-debt-crisis-at-american-colleges/243777/

Profile: Rob Buchanan

By Stephany Chung

For half of his life, Rob Buchanan travelled around the world to experience and cover the stories related to his fields: alternative sports, adventure travelling, and environmental issues.

As a former freelance travel writer for an American “active-lifestyle and adventure-travel magazine” called Outside, Buchanan wrote many feature pieces for a magazine he had formed a strong connection to.

His articles range from a snowboarder who chose life by deciding not to fulfill his dream of snowboarding down Mount Everest to the experience of an American skipper who entered a race in one of the fastest wind-driven vessels.

Buchanan, 53 not only reads a couple of boating and sailing magazines but also enjoys participating in such alternative sports.

“I do a lot of mountaineering, camping, kind of adventure travel. I like sailing, rowing. I like all that stuff.”

As an assistant professor at Eugene Lang College since 2006, Buchanan has been teaching subjects which reflect his interests: Environmental Studies and Journalism.

Many of the classes he teaches is oriented around the Hudson River and the New York Harbor. These courses reflect his life as a volunteer and activist.

“I’m very interested in seeing the Harbor and the [New York Harbor] Estuary cleaned up and made green and healthy and functional again.”

After diving into all three of these fields, Buchanan sees himself focusing on his passion.

“I don't want to abandon journalism but I am very interested in environmental studies and so that I think that’s where my career is going.”

Harrison's Headlines

http://gothamist.com/2012/01/25/us_falls_27_spots_on_press_freedom.php

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20120123-rangers-new-al-rival-considers-name-change-what-would-you-call-the-astros.ece

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/23/report-3-world-trade-center-may-shrink-from-80-stories-to-7/

Profile: Sorcha

By Harrison Golden

Six years ago, Sorcha Richardson visited Central Park for the first time. From eye level, cars and vans lined the streets. From above, the skyscrapers stood at heights she had never imagined possible. But what impressed her most was that, in a city like New York, she will never runs out of places to see.

“My friend and I would wake up, jump in a cab to SoHo, and get lunch,” said the 21-year-old junior at Eugene Lang College. “When you’re fifteen and you’re doing that — I thought I had made it.”

Born and raised in the Irish city of Dublin, Richardson officially moved to New York two weeks before her freshman year of college. She recalls that her parents did not immediately approve her idea of crossing oceans for her college education.

“Everyone stays in Dublin,” she added. “Most of my friends still live there. My brother is 23, and he still lives at home.”

After she completed the SATs and applied to American schools—two decisions that few in Ireland make—support from her family and friends began to come gradually.

While she does not currently have any particular career path in mind for after graduation, Richardson focuses on what she thinks are her best skills, writing and music. She majors in Fiction Writing and plays the drums in her spare time. Above all, she hopes to take classes that challenge her and lead her to newer approaches.

“I can’t see myself going down a given path,” she said. “But that leaves a lot of doors open.”

Three News Stories- Malcolm

1. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-black-keys-class-war-on-indierock,67602/

2. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/01/25/world/middleeast/100000001310958/reflections-on-an-unfinished-revolution.html

3. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-23-2012/indecision-2012---the-gingrich-who-stole-south-carolina

Brianna- by Malcolm

Brianna, 19 years old and a sophomore at Eugene Lang, grew up in the affluent plains of Erie, PA. “It’s not what people would think it would be. There’s sailing, old men, the beach… it’s antique-y,” Brianna says that Erie is nice enough in the summer, and Hell in the winter, and treats her hometown with the same tepid pleasantness anyone might use for the place they had grown up. Erie was a town of moderation compared to some of the places she had been in her life so far.

For the past several years, Brianna has traveled to an unusually large number of countries for her age: The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania. She listed countries that she had done humanitarian work for, in an apparently self-initiated fervor. “I had a passport before either of my parents,” she said, “neither of them had left the country before I had.” Getting out of the United States seems to have opened Brianna’s eyes; it’s not surprising why she may look at Pennsylvania like it’s a glass of milk.

In her first trip to The Dominican Republic, when she was only twelve years old, a man was murdered very close by to her compound. “There was a rotting body, the police didn’t care. He just stayed there until people from the village buried him on their own.” Living conditions in the Dominican Republic shocked Brianna, who said that, at the realization, she threw up on the side of the street. “The people aren’t stupid,” she says, “There’s just no way to educate.”

That first trip has seemed to send her packing to many different, new countries. But when I asked her where she will travel next, she didn’t have anywhere outside of the country in mind, “You don’t need to leave the country to see poverty.”

3 articles. B Lyle

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/africa/us-raid-frees-2-hostages-from-somali-pirates.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/arts/music/born-to-die-lana-del-reys-debut-album.html?ref=music

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/25/neil-young-crazy-horse-new-albums

Harrison Golden

Harrison Golden

 

Throughout his childhood Harrison Golden often made trips with his parents from his home in Monroe, upstate New York to his grandparents’ house in The Bronx.  When it came time to choose a college, Harrison, now 20, decided to move to New York City, a decision that was very much influenced by what he had seen on his trips to the Bronx.

“Moving to New York City offered some of the potential I saw growing up,” he says. “There was this idea that you could pretend to be anything or anyone because there are so many people and no one knows who you are.”

A culture and media major in his sophomore year,  Harrison has worked hard to learn the ropes of the media industry.  He recently began his second consecutive semester on the New School Free Press and has also worked at local community radio station, WTBQ.

“I pressed buttons and played music,” he says “sometimes I would go on air.”

Working at the radio station allowed Harrison to combine his interest in media with his love of music.  An avid music fan, his taste is more eclectic than most. 

“I might start the day listening to classical and end it listening to hip hop or metal.”

He tried his hand at the clarinet in fourth grade, but quit after two years of lessons, which sometimes resulted in him sitting in the corner, crying after being reprimanded by his teacher for failing to play his songs effectively.  Evidently recovered from the emotional trauma, Harrison laughs as he recounts these episodes.  

“I probably should have paid more attention,” he says.

Keen to continue his career in media, he hopes to intern next semester at a TV network.

“I’ve seen the media world from three other angles, you know, Internet, radio, newspaper” he says. “I’d like to see how I could contribute to TV.”

Brianna Lyle: Assignment One

For a kid who went to a high school located on a farm in Brattleboro, Vermont, Malcolm, 21, seems to be adjusting well to the Big Apple and beyond after moving here for college three years ago.

“I wanted to get away from there [Vermont] as far as possible,” he explained. “I think you should push yourself to do uncomfortable things.”  Although he enjoyed waking up to a farm every morning, the city life of Paris, where he studied last semester, was irresistible; “La ville-Lumiere” only sparked his interest to travel more in his future. 

For noe, Malcolm is a junior at Eugene Lang College where he double majors in Media Studies and Literary Studies.  His plans, however, are greater than most college students graduates, nonetheless an undergraduate still working on his degree.

“I want to own my own publication on music and not treat it like religion but more humorous.  I want a real public publication.”  Big plans for a 21-year-old who doesn’t seem to mind how much money he’ll ever make.  “I think if you’re going to get a job doing something creative and get paid for it all, you’re pretty lucky.”  And luck is exactly what Malcolm attributes his life to today.

As a child he went through a series of accidents that nearly killed him, such as jumping through a window on accident, falling of a swing-set that left him unconscious and crashing his car directly into a tree, yet he escaped all instances without a scratch.   

“I think I believe in fortune, yeah, I do.  Some people like myself get another opportunity.”  

                        

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