Author Archives: Katti Gray
Making Art With News Headlines
By Erinn McKenzie Staff Writer A poster on Cem Kocyildirim’s desk says “Everything is So F*cked Up.” That’s one of the first things a visitor might see in Kocyildrim’s studio in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where he creates art with plenty of messages, some subtle, some not so subtle. “She Said” is how he titled one piece. It’s a […]
Mental Health Helpline Goes Online
By Evie Newman Spectrum staff To broaden its mental health services to students, New York University plans to add an online chat service to its current list of services, which include a telephone hotline and a walk-in clinic. The online chat tool goes live August. The services are offered through NYU’s Wellness Exchange, which also […]
“I’m Just a (Muslim) American Girl”
By Siddrah Alhindi Spectrum staff My little sister and I listened to the sounds of protesters and police clashing back home in Syria. “Don’t look,” our father commanded, while his eyes were glued to his laptop computer and Facebook. It was 2011. We were at home in Staten Island, where my sister and I, native […]
Blogging About a Black Girl’s World
By Tyler Newman Spectrum staff Since kindergarten, I’ve attended a private, predominantly white, all-girls school. I’m a black girl. And, at first, that didn’t make me feel much different than anyone else of my classmates. In 8th-grade, though, a white teacher stuck her hand in my cork-screw curly, natural hair. Without asking. I was sort […]
Khachan: Chess as a Common Bond
By Tyler Newman Staff writer Imad Khachan switches off the storefront display window’s chandelier. In the near-darkness, the glass chess pieces light up. They show as orange and purple while placed on the chessboard, but not when he holds them in his hands. Because of its color and magic, this set is his favorite. Inside […]
Washington Square Park, A Constant Amid Change
By Annie Li Spectrum staff Back when Victoria Larkin was growing up, the rent her single mom—a part-time actress and liquor store cashier—paid for the family’s Upper West Side apartment was $340. Today, it’s $4,000. “Somebody like her could never make it here, now,” fiftysomething Larkin said of her working-class mother. “And that is just […]
Striving to Cook Up Authentic Chinese Food
By Celina Zhou Spectrum staff Delicacies like chicken feet and century eggs are familiar fare to many Chinese immigrant and Chinese-American people, but unheard of by many Americans. Some restaurants in New York City, however, make these dishes available to anyone willing to try. Under the experienced eye of Joe Si, founder and owner of […]