The Paw Print

A news publication created by Baruch's College Now high school journalism class

Archives for August 2017

Without A Home In New York City.

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Every year more New Yorkers find it almost impossible to live in the city. As affordable housing has become  more difficult to find, it’s affecting lower income classes to be homeless.
In the last 20 years the number of homeless persons has quadrupled from 15,000 homeless people in NYC to 60,717 in 2017. These statistics only document homeless people living in shelters, which doesn’t include the homeless people living on the streets or subway stations. New York has reached its highest homeless population since the Great Depression in 1930.
In the last ten years the cost of housing has doubled in all areas of New York City, which has impacted poorer communities.The Coalition for the Homeless has conducted a study that over 22,000 families are homeless, which is more than the amount of single adults who are homeless in NYC.
The question is what is causing so many New Yorkers to become homeless in this century?
To take an example from the app Trulia, rent for a simple 1 to 2 bedroom apartment anges from $2,000 to $6,000 in Brooklyn; while a 1 to 2 bedroom apartment in Furnace, Pennsylvania  ranges from $500 to $2,000.
New York City is one of the biggest cities in the world with a population of over 8 million people. It is understandable why it’s so expensive to live in. But In this political climate rates of affordable housing in not only New York City but in other places all over the U.S will soon increase.
“I’m here everyday the same routine, I come here and play for everyone who want to listen to me play.” said a homeless man who plays the guitar at the Lexington Ave/53rd Street subway station. He said he comes to that station almost everyday to play music to make every penny he can to get food that day.
He also said that with his old age and not being able to hold a job that he isn’t in a financial state to own any type of housing.
“Dollars here and there help me to get something to eat but not enough to put a roof over my head…and shelters nowadays are way too crowded so this is all I can do” he said.
Many homeless New Yorkers are in the same situation as this man. Lack of affordable housing in New York has put more people into shelters; making homeless shelters population increase by 76 percent in the last ten years.
Poorer neighborhoods in NYC have higher rates of homelessness because rent is increasing each year. The lower class neighborhoods consist of mainly African American and Latino/Hispanic people, so they’re affected by homelessness the most.
If the number of people becoming homeless in New York keeps increasing, the possibility of a decrease is very unlikely in the near future.

 

Momix Dancer-Illusionists Blow New York Audience Away

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Momix dancers received a standing ovation as their show came to an end July 12 at the Joyce Theater as the dancers stood there with sweat dripping down their faces,

The audience clapped with enthusiasm rewarding the dancers for their impressive performance. All the clapping recognized the infinite amount of hard work the dancers had to put in toward performing well.

The Momix company was created 37 years ago and has been traveling the world showing off its skills ever since. The founder and artistic director is Moses Pendleton.

He has been managing dancers and their shows all over the world for about 40 years including the Opening Ceremonies for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Now, people line up in front of the theater in Chelsea waiting anxiously to see his artistic creation.

The company considers itself to harbor a new type of dancing known commonly as dancing-illusionism. As they’re performing there is a strange type of music playing in the background.

At this specific show, named “Opus Cactus”, the music was of a Middle Eastern and Indian style but it had no words. All the music consisted of was instrumental sounds and vibrations.

It is almost impossible to describe the crazy movements that go on upon that stage.The dancers pretend to be animals and then the curtain closes. When the curtain reopens the dancers are swinging from ropes all over the stage with a huge skull moving around behind them. The stage glows with dim lights and the muscular performers move the audience using only their bodies and their imaginations.

 

A Hindu Community Celebrates Prabhu Jagat Bandhu

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On July 15th, 2015 a community of Hindu remembered Prabhu Jagat Bandhu on his birth anniversary celebration at Bangladesh Hindu Mandir, a Hindu temple in Elmhurst, NY.

A lady who went there said that the celebration started at 7:00 pm and ended at 9:30 pm. Two or three priests arranged the veneration. They had decorated the entire room with flowers. The Gods’ idols were offered fruits, flowers, and foods. According to Hindus, these fruits and foods are called Prasad (sacred offerings).

The priests were worshiping the Gods by singing Kirtans, songs which are sung to respect the Gods. They talked about the great deeds of Prabhu Jagat Bandhu, a religious saint who spent his life singing Kirtans of Lord Krishna and Chaitanya.

Many people were part of this celebration. They were attentive to the priests when they spoke about Jagat Bandhu. After the veneration, everybody went to have the Prasad.

An authority and one of the trustees of the temple said, “It is one of the greatest occasions of Hindu religion.”

How Some Small Businesses are Surviving West Village Gentrification

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It’s not news to New Yorkers that neighborhoods around the city become less and less affordable by the day. But in one of the most historical and gentrified neighborhoods in New York, small business owners are doing all they can to keep from being the next one to fall.

Gentrification of the West Village began in the late 1990s and by now has already pushed out most of the diverse local businesses that had been there for years. Most of them were small family restaurants, clothing stores, bodegas, video stores, bookstores and bars.

When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, most remaining small businesses were forced out by building owners as the housing market collapsed. Once the economy recovered, these small businesses couldn’t return due to the staggering price of rent. They were replaced with multi million high end retail companies like Burberry, and large food chains like Starbucks which could afford it.

Gentrification has been happening throughout the city for years and in most neighborhoods all traces of its original local business roots have been wiped away. But in the West Village, business owners are fighting back.

“Cones”, a family run ice cream store on Bleecker Street in the West Village has been in business since the 70s. The store owner Jeremy has been fighting off the gentrification of this neighborhood since he first bought the storefront. In a recent interview he was quoted as saying that they “have maintained a strong customer base for many years” and “Good reviews from larger sites like Zagat and Yelp have put us on the map.” Business here has been improving for years because of their strong presence online and connections with customers, he said.

In fact one of the greatest methods of fighting gentrification is the choices that we as consumers make.  For example the decision to purchase food or coffee from a small coffee shop means you have favored that business over a chain coffee shop like Starbucks. The more power and business we give to small stores, the more profit is diverted to them from other large corporations that might run them out of business.

This is the basis behind many small stores in the West Village’s plans to combat increasing gentrification: Continue to be better than the competition and offer an alternative to the identical look and feel of a chain store that doesn’t change no matter where you are.

For the West Village it will take many years to reverse the effects of gentrification but in other parts of the city the fight to prevent it from spreading is in full effect.

‘Baruchians’ Fight Back Against the System

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“Between the new curriculum, exchange trips, dress code, an entire year of ap calculus gone to waste, allowing discriminatory teachers to teach our classes, completely disregarding the arts programs, and so on, we are pretty upset!” a Baruch junior stated.

With the loss of art programs, international exchange trips and funding for several outstanding teachers, Baruch College Campus High School students finally have enough. The demanding outcry for change within the community has grown in numbers over the past couple of months.

Several juniors have been put through unexpected changes within their assigned classes such as Eunjoo Jung, a rising senior. “I know a lot of people are being upset with being forced into AP’s or not having a chance at an AP they’d like to be in,” he said.

Numerous issues emerge as many complaints by students have been sent to the authorities. However, student representatives have noted that many of these problems have gone unnoticed.

Although student schedules cannot change, programs such as the arts, band, drama and much more have been cut.  One student noted, “It’s true that nothing can be changed anymore with the curriculum next year however it is our responsibility to take back student-elective classes.”

Even though some students feel the need to “protest” so that their voices can be heard, others may disagree. It was agreed that schedules were changed to comply with the AP classes in one’s schedule. A junior of the Baruch community said, “The new curriculum wasn’t changed to satisfy all 410 students. It was built because there were so many complaints about having school period 0 and 9 and how students were getting random freezes in their schedule.” Protesting would lead to the conflict being, “stretched out to more than it really is” creating more problems and fewer solutions.

Dunkirk Film Review

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For a movie about World War 2, Director Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ seems to lack actual combat.

 It depicts the historical events of the Battle of Dunkirk through a beautifully shot and composed series of scenes; (Nolan again used film for this movie rather than digital,) but with all the astonishing visuals and sound, the movie was at times incoherent. In addition to having a choppy feel throughout, ‘Dunkirk’ leaves out critical details about the battle, which would have greatly enhanced the film.

The Battle of Dunkirk: The defense and evacuation of British and Allied forces in Dunkirk, France from 26 May to 4 June 1940. With the German Army closing in on over 400,000 troops on all sides, the only option was to evacuate all soldiers to Britain, just 26 miles over the channel. However, since the water was too shallow for large navy vessels, hundreds of civilian boats came to the soldiers’ rescue from Britain, and in the end 330,000 troops were rescued.

The movie does a good job of documenting that last part, but it fails to show anything other than the British perspective; Canada, France, Poland, Belgium, and the Netherlands all had men on the beach as well. Furthermore, there were some 40,000 French troops left behind and forced to surrender to the Germans – ‘Dunkirk’ never once acknowledges this.

Other disappointing qualities in the movie are some meaningless dialogue, and unessential plot elements at times. Although the cast is filled with stars like Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, and Harry Styles; they are unable to save the movie from the sparse and mediocre writing. There’s no real ‘message’ in Dunkirk. Also, the film has a sub-plot line about a man’s son, whose friend is injured on a rescue boat, and while adding nothing to the story, it provides a superficial layer of emotion.

Now with all that set aside, ‘Dunkirk’ is a beautiful film. The score, sound effects, and cinematography are fantastic, and it’s great in 70mm film IMAX. But with its greatness comes many, many flaws – and it doesn’t really compare to some of the other great WW2 films in past decades. 

Incarceration Issues

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The United States has many flaws with its incarceration system.

Overcrowded prisons in the United States have become an issue throughout the years. When there are too many people placed in a prison, it causes the prisoners to use their time poorly. It may be assumed that overcrowding is caused by faults in the penal system. New laws may play a major role in the situation, due to the fact that it may cause more arrests and former prisoners returning to the system.

Over time, it seems that the number of prisoners sent to a facility has increased tremendously. This issue has been recognized to the point that sociologists have created the term mass incarceration to describe the issue. According to a study about prison policy, there are almost two million people in prison in the United States. The United States has more prisoners than any other nation, which raises the question, why are so many people being sent to prison? The crime rate does not get lower, even with this many incarcerations.

Private prisons introduce a major issue. They are for profit and cut down on as much as they can in order to make money without any regard for the prisoners’ benefits or health. Prisoners in these private institutions aren’t given as much food as those in state run prisons and are given clothes that are cheaply made. Prison labor is a massive source of income, paying the inmates pennies to make military equipment.

There are many reasons why people end up in prison,. The war on drugs has caused a huge increase in prisoners. There are now 11 times more prisoners due to drug crimes since 1980.

Mandatory minimum sentencing also proves to be a major issue. When a person commits a crime there is a set amount of time they must serve, no matter the circumstance. There is no one who candecide if a sentence should be higher or lower due to the word of these laws.

The school-to-prison pipeline has also been proved to be a major issue. Zero tolerance policies have made students much more likely to get in trouble for minor things, pointing their finger as if it was a gun. Schools have even brought officers in to control students with them arresting students for disorderly conduct for doing minor things that the school could have handled itself. This causes students to create a criminal record early on and made students of color targets, thus making the system racist.

Prisoners are also treated horribly by staff. They can face physical and mental abuse. Staff members rape inmates and offer favors in exchange for sexual acts. Some guards don’t ensure the safety of the inmates.

There are many issues surrounding the prison system, and many people attempt to ignore it or say that because they committed a crime they deserve it. But now its the time to fix these problems or they will get worse, and it is important to be aware of these issues. Prisoners are being punished in inhumane ways and, but who can punish those meant to punish the prisoner?

How Public Facilities Could Help Fathers

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Characters Baby Changing Area Changing Table Symbols

“I just want to change my daughter’s diapers.”

This is what a father said after he found out there was no place in the male restroom to change his daughters diapers.

Recently, Mr. Gu took his family to the mall to shop. While his wife was changing clothes, Mr. Gu found out that his daughter needed a diaper change only to find out that the male restroom did not have a changing table for the baby. Mr. Gu asked a staff member where he could change his baby’s diapers. They told him that there is a room for mothers and infants on 1st floor. Mr. Gu went to the 1st floor and was unable to go into that room. “I just want to change my daughter’s diapers,” said Mr. Gu, “why is there not a changing table in male restroom? Can’t a father change his child’s diapers?”

In ancient times, women had no power, all they did was take care of families. Now, with developing technology and the spread of knowledge, the idea that women are the only ones who have to take care of the kids is weaker than ever before in America. Many fathers are willing to share the work of taking care of the next generation.

“I usually wake up at night to look after my son, because my wife had taken care of him all day, I think it is fair enough for me to just watch him at night.” said Mr. Lin, a father of a three month baby.

However, most fathers feel that it is inconvenient to carry a baby in a public place just by themselves. “I had never tried to take my boy outside by myself. Because I feel like it is not gonna be easy…there is specific room for mothers to watch the baby, but no room for fathers, and when the baby need to change the diapers, it really gives me a big trouble…” said Mr. Lee.

On the other hand, many people think that men can’t take care of children well because “men are careless”. However, Mr. Lin said, “it is not about who can do it well, it is about how we take on the responsibilities. Taking care of a family isn’t one person’s responsibility, it requires the effort from both father and mother.”

 

America’s Rejected People Struggling for a Chance

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Imagine not being able to hug your parents for over a decade. Imagine being scared to go home and having all you’ve worked for taken from you.

Mery (her last name will be excluded for privacy reasons) is an undocumented citizen living in New York. She is originally from Ecuador but has been in the United States for almost 16 years. Mery, like many other undocumented citizens, lives in fear in a country where she thought she could have a great life. Her dream has become her worst nightmare. The struggles of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are extreme. No matter what kind of person they are, they’re limited in what they can do for themselves and for their loved ones.

Mery was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, in the mid nineteen hundreds. Her family wasn’t rich but they were able to provide her with decent schooling and discipline. She grew up playing basketball and loving sports. She would wake up early in the morning to play basketball so that she also had time for the homework she was given. She was at the top of her class and always worked hard.

“I was offered many scholarships to play basketball in universities all over Ecuador.” But she decided it was best to stay in Quito for college. She worked as a teacher for elementary school, middle school and high school. She also became a gym teacher and a coach to help kids develop their love for sports the way she did. She was facing a good life in her own country but it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to make the most out of what she had, so Mery decided to get a working visa and come to New York City.

When Mery arrived she looked for work as a Spanish teacher or a gym teacher but no one would hire her because her university degree from Ecuador meant nothing in the United States. In desperation she had her friend help her find work as a housekeeper, taking care of an elderly woman. All was fine for the first year until she was told that she had to renew her visa. “I didn’t know I had to renew it. 9/11 had just happened and I was scared that I would get sent back to Ecuador. I was still hopeful for the future.” She was now an undocumented citizen living in a difficult country. According to globalcitizen.org, immigrants in the United States face challenges such as; difficulties securing work, difficulties securing and owning housing and troubles accessing services. Pewhispanic.org says, “The 2007 median household income of unauthorized immigrants was $36,000, well below the $50,000 median household income for U.S.-born residents.” It’s fair to see that being an undocumented resident of the U.S. is not an easy life.

She continues to work as a nanny and has been lucky enough to find a family that has employed her for almost all of the 15 years she’s been here. Mery is happy now but as the kids grow up and get older, as much as they may love her and consider her family, Mery is needed less and less. She’s looking for work and part time jobs. But there is little happiness or hope for the future in the life of an illegal American, no matter how amazing or law abiding you are. “I don’t regret coming here. I love my family and I love the family I work for. I’m happy and for me that’s all that’s important. I hope that in time people will realize that I’m a good person and I just want to be part of society like everyone else” she says.