“This man-made calamity—the great “The UN, which embodies all that should liquidity crisis—has had the same be good about effect on the international [financial] international diplomacy, is suffering a crisis of system that the asteroid had on the legitimacy in many parts of the world because it natural world…. There will be an reflects the distribution extinction. Many, many species will not of power i n1945, and not i n 2015.” survive this change of atmosphere.” —DAVID MILIBAND , THE UNITED KINGDOM’S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND —NIALL FERGUSON , LAURENCE A. TISCH PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS, ON WHAT AND THE AUTHOR OF THE RECENT BOOK THE ASCENT OF MONEY , SPEAKING AT THE MATTERS SHOULD BE IN PRESIDENT SCHOOL OF CONTINUING AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES CENTER FOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS BARACK OBAMA’S “IN-BOX” HEARD ON CAMPUS “[The Large Hadron Collider] will “Ha ving courage to reproduce, in a very small volume for a look beyond your very short time, the conditions last seen in the universe own pe rsonal safe ty, when it was about a 10,000th of a to rea lize a vision for second old in the early moments of coming genera tions, the Big Bang.” —NOBEL LAUREATE AND MIT PHYSICIST FRANK can cost you your life.” WILCZEK AT THE INSIDE-OUT SPEAKER SERIES, SPONSORED BY THE SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND —HER MAJESTY QUEEN NOOR OF JORDAN AT AN ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE ON ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING PROGRAM AT THE COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP, SPONSORED BY THE ROBERT F. WAGNER ARTHUR L. CARTER JOURNALISM INSTITUTE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE NYU / SPRING 2009 / 1 ISSUE #12 / SPRING 2009 C F 34 E A ECONOMY: CODE RED T IN THE MIDST OF AN ECONOMIC MELTDOWN, STERN FACULTY U EXPLAIN HOW WE GOT HERE AND HOW TO ESCAPE THE MORASS R O E S WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? SCIENTISTS PURSUE NEUROLOGICAL AND BEHAVORIAL EXPLANATIONS FOR FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKING / BY JILL HAMBURG COPLAN N 42 LOST IS FOUND PHOTOGRAPHER RIAN DUNDON DISCOVERS AN UNDERGROUND SCENE OF SEX, DRUGS, AND DISAFFECTION IN CHINA T / BY CHRISTIAN D EBENEDETTI DEPARTMENTS THE SQUARE 8 / EXPERT ADVICE 14 / WHAT THEY’RE LEARNING EN FIVE NYU AUTHORITIES STUDENTS STRIVE TO KEEP OFFER COUNSEL TO THE THE PLANET HYDRATED T NEW PRESIDENT 16 / CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH 12 / WRITERS WORKSHOP FLOSSING TO FIGHT VETS TELL THEIR STORIES ALZHEIMER’S, DECODING MALARIA PARASITES, AND 13 / IN BRIEF DELVING DEEPER TO UNDER - S A NEW EDUCATION FOR NYC STAND AUTISM SCHOOLS, ABU DHABI SETTLES IN AT WASHINGTON SQUARE, AND BUSINESS STUDENTS GET THEIR PASSPORTS READY NYU ALUMNI MAGAZINE (ISSN: 1938-4823) IS PUBLISHED TWICE YEARLY IN FALL AND SPRING BY NYU OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS, 25 WEST FOURTH STREET, FOURTH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10012; 212-998-6912.CONTENTS COPYRIGHT © 2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLEASE ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO: EDITORS/ NYU ALUMNI MAGAZINE AT 25 WEST FOURTH STREET, FOURTH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10012, OR E-MAIL TO: [email protected]. NO RESPONSIBILITY WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS AND ARTWORK. BYLINED ARTICLES REFLECT THE VIEWPOINTS OF INDIVIDUAL WRITERS AND ARE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS EXPRESSION OF OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY POLICY. MAILED THIRD-CLASS NONPROFIT AT BURLINGTON, VT. 48 60 CAN WE TALK ? CLASS NOTES SCHOLARS ARGUE THAT WE MUST CHANGE THE CONVERSATION TO MAKE AMERICA TRULY “POSTRACIAL” / BY CARLIN FLORA ALUMNI PROFILES ALUMNI ART 62 / ROBERT RENNER / WSC ’64 76 / MK GUTH / STEINHARDT ’02 SPREADING SMILES ABROAD RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL 66 / ANDREW D. HAMINGSON / PLUS ALUMNI NEWS, STEINHARDT ’08 BENEFITS, AND UPDATES MAN OF THE THEATER 68 / D E’SHAWN WRIGHT / WAG ’02 52 NEW SCHOOLING WALKING THE GLOBAL WALK WITH A NEW AND UNPARALLELED CAMPUS OPENING IN ABU DHABI IN 2010, NYU CONTINUES TO ADVANCE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES OVERSEAS / BY JANET ALLON IN NYC CULTURE IN PRINT EVERY ISSUE 18 / PREVENTION 22 / FILM 28 / CREATIVE WRITING 1 / HEARD ON CAMPUS HIV CLINICS HIT THE CLUB REBEL FESTIVAL WITH A CAUSE JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER CIRCUIT AND THE WEB TRIES HIS HAND AT TEACHING 4 / PRESIDENT’S LETTER 24 / DOCUMENTARY 20 / THE INSIDER SOUTHERN RECONSTRUCTION 30 / FICTION 4 / CONTRIBUTORS THE CITY’S TOP SPOTS FOR JAMES M CBRIDE REIMAGINES STARGAZERS, FOUR-LEGGED 25 / GALLERY VIEW THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 5 / STAR POWER FRIENDS, AND MORE FROM TOWN HOUSE TO ART HOUSE 32 / POETRY 6 / MAILBAG LAUGHTER IS SHARON OLDS’ 25 / CREDITS BEST MEDICINE 80 / CAMPUS LENS ALUMNI STRIKE HOLLYWOOD GOLD 32 / TRAVEL WRITING DAPHNE BEAL’S DEBUT NOVEL 26 / URBAN ART DRAWS ON MEMORIES OF NEPAL HIGH-TECH GRAFITTI PLUS MORE BOOKS BY NYU ALUMNI AND PROFESSORS MIXED SOURCES: PRODUCT GROUP FROM WELL-MANAGED FOREST, CONTROLLED SOURCES, AND RECYCLED WOOD OR FIBER. CERT. NO. SW-COC-002556. WWW.FSC.ORG. © 1996 FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL. VISIT US ONLINE! IN KEEPING WITH NYU’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY, THIS PUBLICATION IS PRINTED ON FSC-CERTIFIED PAPER www.nyu.edu/alumni.magazine THAT INCLUDES A MINIMUM OF 10 PERCENT POST-CONSUMER FIBER. (THE FSC TRADEMARK IDENTIFIES PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN FIBER FROM WELL-MANAGED FORESTS CERTIFIED BY SMARTWOOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES OF COVER PHOTO © TETRA IMAGES/CORBIS; THE FORESTS STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL.) FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NYU’S GREEN ACTION PLAN, GO TO VITO PALMISANO/GETTY IMAGES WWW.NYU.EDU/SUSTAINABILITY. COMPOSITION BY RICK'S IMAGEWORKS LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Issue #12 / Spring 2009 pring is the season of renewal, when we JASON HOLLANDER (GAL ’07) wake with expecta - Editor-in-Chief NICOLE PEZOLD (GSAS ’04) tion from the winter. S Deputy Editor As we mark a new REN ´EE ALFUSO (CAS ’06) era in Washington, D.C., and a fresh Staff Writer chance to tackle the challenges of the JOHN KLOTNIA / OPTO DESIGN Creative Director day, we have rarely felt the need for ANDREA CRAWFORD rebirth more vividly or more urgent - Contributing Editor ly. After taking in the harrowing Articles economic news of recent months, it JOSEPH MANGHISE feels like we are staring down one of Copy Chief the greatest tests of our lifetime. DAVID COHEN Such was the sentiment among Research Chief scholars at the Leonard N. Stern Art / Opto Design School of Business last fall when NYU AT THE FAR REACHES OF THE GLOBE: BRITTANY LAUGHLIN (STERN ’06), TRUSTEE JAY RON LOUIE they watched the astonishing global FURMAN (LAW ’71), AND PRESIDENT JOHN SEXTON POSE WITH ADELIE PENGUINS DURING A Art Director economic crisis unfold. Even as they RECENT TRIP TO ANTARCTICA. KIRA CSAKANY SHIHO OSUMI rushed to make sense of the ruin, whether we now live in a “postra - in which we live—and to help MASHA ZOLOTARSKY they realized that they must put for - cial” society. While the researchers that world understand us—the Designers ward their best ideas on how to re - featured in “Can We Talk ?” (p. 48) university is expanding overseas to MARGARET LANZONI Photo Research Director build a stronger financial future. The wouldn’t say we’ve come that far, a branch campus in Abu Dhabi and Obama administration has taken there is consensus that we’re in a a network of new study-abroad Advertising note of their recommendations, as better place than ever to have a sites, as examined in “Walking DEBORAH BRODERICK seen in this magazine’s feature, frank conversation about how race the Global Walk” (p. 52). Associate Vice President of Marketing Communications “Economy: Code Red” (p. 34), and affects our work and personal lives. As always, we hope this issue in a new book published in March. From this introspection, the of NYU Alumni Magazine offers you Alumni News Editors Barack Obama’s ascendency to magazine widens its lens to look new opportunity for both reflec - JENNIFER BOSCIA SMITH (SCPS ’04) the presidency has not only prompt - at NYU’s efforts to redefine the tion and connection. Director of Development and Alumni Communications JOHN SEXTON ed new hopes for economic policy; term “global education.” In order KATIE D. GRAHAM it has also inspired many to wonder to truly understand the world Communications Associate New York University MARTIN LIPTON (LAW ’55) Board of Trustees, Chairman JOHN SEXTON CONTRIBUTORS President LYNNE P. BROWN Senior Vice President for University JANET ALLON CHRISTIAN D EBENEDETTI BETH STEVENS is a freelance writer is a (TSOA ’93, Relations and Public Affairs living in Manhattan who has writ - contributing editor to National Ge - ’95) is the managing editor of DEBRA A. LAMORTE ten for The New York Times , New ographic Adventure magazine who Broadway.com. She has con - Senior Vice President for University York magazine, and AVENUE. also writes for Esquire and Outside . tributed articles to American Theatre Development and Alumni Relations REGINA SYQUIA DREW (WAG ’01) magazine and Time Out New York. Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives TED BOSCIA lives in Ithaca, New CARLIN FLORA is a senior editor York, and is a writer for Cornell at Psychology Today who has written JACK UNRUH is an illustrator New York University Alumni Association University. He has written for the for Glamour and Women’s Health. who lives in Dallas. His work has STEVEN S. MILLER (LAW ’70) San Francisco Chronicle , Stanford Mag - appeared in Rolling Stone , Time , President azine , and Baseball America . JOIE JAGER-HYMAN is a Brook - Sports Illustrated , and National Geo - JOHN CALVO (STERN ’91, LAW ’95) lyn-based writer who specializes graphic magazine. MICHAEL DENKENSOHN (STERN ’73) BEVERLY HYMAN (STEINHARDT ’80) JILL HAMBURG COPLAN is an in topics on youth and education. GERALD KLACZANY (DEN ’86) adjunct professor in NYU’s jour - ANNA WEINBERG is a freelance RONALD G. RAPATALO (CAS ’97) nalism institute who also works at JAMES STEINBERG is an illus - writer living in Brooklyn. She has Vice Presidents TAFFI T.