Results tagged “student”

A 16-year-old boy has confessed to the Monday afternoon shooting that left a Bronx girl in a medically-induced coma. Carvett Gentles, a sophomore at Bronx Leadership Academy who rarely attended class, had no criminal record before this week, and police believe that's why the .40-caliber pistol used in the shooting was passed to him, in a street version of "hot potato." The four other young men who were with him Monday afternoon all have extensive arrest records, and those boys—also members of a Bloods gang spin-off called "Gorilla Stone Blood"—passed the gun around until it ended up in Gentles's hands.

Judging by her photo in the Daily News, grad student Lorelei Lee looks like any other woman at NYU. But what sets her apart is her unorthodox way of paying for the university's sky-high tuition, by performing in porn movies. Lee, who takes her name from Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, has been working in the adult entertainment industry since she was 19, and has 200 films under her, um, belt. She's also a graduate from San Francisco State University, and is now working on her Master's in Fine Arts at NYU. But what do her classmates think about her XXX-tra curricular activities?

       

Those tabloid bottom-feeders at the Daily News are so desperate for page views that they've been reduced to publishing a gratuitous photo spread documenting the release of the 2010 Hooters calender. It's far beneath Gothamist's dignity to link to such lowbrow frat-bait, but we have taken the time to gather some photos from the event—just so you can fully understand the shameless hucksterism that's gripped the Zuckerman organization. We've also got some barely SFW video below, too... for reference.

Given the sometimes scurrilous nature of anonymous website commentary, it's often regrettable when the families of victims read blog posts about deceased loved ones. So we're relieved that the comments on Gothamist's coverage of the devastating mistaken-identity murder of 21-year-old Glen Wright have been heartfelt. Wright, beloved by his family and the community, was tragically slain Saturday by a gang of men at the Lower East Side's Baruch Houses, which Wright was visiting to help his grandmother. The funeral is Saturday morning (details), and those commenters who've expressed their condolences to Wright's family should know that one of Wright's sisters has, we believe, made this remark to you: "On behalf of the Glenn Wright family we just want you all to know we are aware of your concern and reading your messages. We appreciate everyone's support. Our brother was as phenomenal as described and he will be missed. We intend to keep his legacy alive and thriving through various humanitarian and community support efforts. At this time EHTP is designated as the official trustee and representatives on behalf of the 'Glenn Wright Fund.' Please direct all of your inquiries or contributions to them. Thank you from the entire family."

Volunteers for the New York Civil Liberties Union are present in some 20 public high schools this week to educate students on their rights when interacting with school safety agents and police officers. Students at select schools with metal detectors, high suspension rates and a heavy police presence are being handed cards [pdf] telling them when and how to object to searches. According to the cards, if a student feels "disrespected," that's enough of a basis to lodge a formal complaint against school safety officers. The NYCLU has been arguing that schools are relying too heavily on the NYPD to enforce school discipline, but according to the Post, critics think the group is "creating a confrontational tone" at the start of the school year. And City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the public-safety committee, growls, "It's ridiculous to give children the impression that police are the enemy. Kids only need to know one word when it comes to the police and that's 'cooperate.' " But familiarity with words like "bend" and "over" might also come in handy.

Detectives from the 88th Precinct have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with last week’s assault on Eddy Sanchez, a 22-year-old Pratt architecture student who is still in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Kings County Hospital Center. The suspect, Eugene Adams, is charged with assault, robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. A police source tells The Local Adams resides at 1100 Bedford Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, three long blocks east from the site of the August 4th attack at Grand and Lexington Avenues in Clinton Hill. After releasing surveillance footage of teens attempting to use Sanchez's ATM card at a bodega, police tracked down Adams through a tip called in to the Crime-Stoppers hot line, (800) 577-TIPS. According to ABC News, as many as four other teens may have been involved in the attack, but no other arrests were immediately made. It's being reported that the suspects beat Sanchez after he refused to give them money, and one of the assailants used a crowbar.

You wouldn't know it from the Daily News home page, which emphasizes such breaking news as "Scantily-clad Stars Hit the Sand" and "Kate Hudson's Set A-Rod on Fire," but today's top story, splashed across the cover of the print edition, is "Hillary Clinton Rages at Student: I'm the Boss, Not Bill." The incident happened in Congo yesterday when a university student asked what her husband thought about a multibillion-dollar Chinese loan offer to Congo. Watch the Secretary of State lash out as the audience groans like they're at a taping of Maury:

As is so often the case, a game of dodgeball erupted in violence at a New Rochelle elementary school on Friday when a substitute teacher got into a fight with a third-grader. The teacher, Daniel Sanabria, claims he was acting in self-defense, but police have charged him with third-degree assault and child endangerment. It seems that the incident was sparked after Sanabria (pictured in his mugshot), who was officiating the game, called the unidentified boy "out," and the child disputed the ruling. Sanabria tells the Post, "He wouldn't sit out when I asked him to."

Back in 2005, Glenn Storman, a guidance counselor at P.S. 212 in Gravesend, entered a special education classroom in which a fifth-grader was kneeling on his chair cursing at the teacher. What happened next is a matter of debate: Storman says he happened to be holding a rolled up piece of paper when he told the boy to "zip it." But according to the Times, the student says Storman "brushed the paper against his lips and embarrassed him." After an investigation, Storman got an unsatisfactory rating in his annual review, which is a big deal because it prohibits him from getting extra work as a summer school teacher and a tutor. But after a long legal battle, it looks like the alleged paper punisher will be vindicated: A judge ruled earlier this month that Storman's actions did not constitute corporal punishment, and said the unsatisfactory rating "shocks the conscience, was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion." The Department of Education is reviewing the decision while defending another lawsuit brought by Storman in federal court. And it's unclear if the student has yet to recover from his brush with rolled up paper.

The director of the famed Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band stepped down last month after an investigation suggested that he may have had a sexual relationship with a teenage band member. A report [pdf] released yesterday alleges, among other things, that 31-year-old Tyrone Brown went shopping at Victoria's Secret with the 17-year-old female student (called "Student A" in the report); shared connecting hotel rooms with Student A during a band trip to Bermuda; was frequently seen with Student A "flirting, holding hands, and hugging"; and exchanged some 2,999 text messages with her in one month back in the summer of '08—with a cell phone he bought for her without her mother's knowledge.

After less than 48 hours, the "Take Back NYU" student occupation of a cafeteria at the university's Kimmel Center has ended. Most of the dozen or so remaining protesters vacated the premises earlier this afternoon after NYU administrators threatened them with suspension. A university spokesman said in a statement that "any non-NYU students will be turned over to the police for arrest as trespassers; we will notify their schools of the participation in improper activity."

A 12-year-old boy was allegedly hit by teacher, who wielded a chair, in the Bronx. WABC 7 reports that police arrested Kevin Martin, a teacher at Aspire Preparatory Middle School, for reckless endangerment. According to student Joseph Santiago, Martin "was about two feet away from me and he threw it. As he threw it, one of the legs hit me." Santiago was taken to the hospital and suffered bruises; his mother was outraged, "He ended up black and blue. Regardless of anything, I understand that you are angry, but throwing furniture around is not going to help." The teacher's union says that Martin didn't mean to hit Santiago; per WABC 7, "The teacher slammed the chair on the floor and it bounced, hitting the student." In the meantime, Martin is now assigned to administrative duties.

As you've probably heard, for several days a group of students at The New School University occupied a dining hall in the Graduate Faculty building at 65 Fifth Avenue, which is scheduled for demolition. Among their demands were the resignations of university President Bob Kerrey and other officials, and voting representation on the search committee for the interim-Provost and the Provost.

The second incident allegedly occurred in July, while Rohan was attending summer school. The teen says safety agents injured his knee and middle finger, then took him to a psychiatric hospital! The school’s safety agents are members of the NYPD but are not armed; in a statement, a police spokesman says that Rohan "became irate and pushed and struck the agent. The student was restrained and subsequently removed to Long Island Jewish Hospital for psychiatric evaluation." Rohan's lawyer has filed a notice of claim stemming from the incidents, and a Department of Education rep says, "We are looking into this. We take all these types of situations seriously."

The New School's Center for New York City Affairs issued a troubling report finding that "more than 90,000 children in grades K through 5 (more than 20 percent of enrollment) missed at least one month of school." And, "In high poverty neighborhoods, the number was far higher, approaching one-third of primary grade students." You can read the whole report here--PDF--but here's an excerpt from the executive summary:

There are many reasons for high rates of chronic early-grade absenteeism: health issues such as asthma, transportation problems (particularly for children with disabilities), and dislocations caused by eviction or traveling between homeless shelters. There are issues of family instability, such as a mother’s depression or illness. Absences are also associated with cultural issues such as language barriers, and with problematic family priorities, including extended family vacations during the school year. The schools themselves bear a responsibility for attendance, both in their attention to the issue and in their efforts to create welcoming places where children want to be and that parents respect and value.

Continue reading "Map of the Day: Chronic Absenteeism in City Schools"

Emerson wrote that the "surest poison is time," but for Dru D'Amico, a teacher at the Talented and Gifted School for Young Scholars, the white powder a student slipped into her water bottle was also pretty cruel. D'Amico was taken to the hospital Wednesday after a pupil spiked her water with calcium hydroxide. The substance is used to make cement, but in this case it went to enhance that special bond of mistrust and contempt that's the hallmark of any real teacher/student relationship. Also, ingesting enough can cause internal bleeding, hypertension, and skeletal muscle paralysis. D'Amico was later released, and police have charged the 13-year-old with reckless endangerment, NY1 reports. Of course, this isn't the first time teachers have been poisoned by their scheming, bloodthirsty students: Remember the hilarious laxative cake prank?

Of all the kids in this year's freshman class at NYU, it's probably safe to say that Avijit Halder is the only one who's the son of a drug addict and Calcutta prostitute who was burned to death. At age 11, Halder was one of the children featured in the Oscar-winning documentary Born into Brothels, about the perilous lives of children in Calcutta's red light district. The film's director helped Halder get out of the slum and into America, where his talent for photography (and a lot of financial aid) won him admission to the Tisch film program. Unsurprisingly, it's been an interesting transition; Halder tells the Sun that his NYU classmates continue to amaze him: "There are these moments in the classroom when they ask, 'What's your favorite line from this movie?' and I'm like, 'Oh my God, who are you guys?'"

The mystery of what happened to 25-year-old Columbia student Toby Cohen is still somewhat of a mystery, even to him. After word came in that he was found yesterday, the NY Sun is reporting on some of the finer details today. When the family called Columbia with fears he'd gone missing, they found out their son had withdrawn in the last month. Cohen, who had left his epilepsy medication at home the night he went missing, was discovered in upstate New York. More specifically, he was "found swimming in a reservoir in Carmel, N.Y., with bruises on his face and legs and disoriented from missing doses of medication." He has no recollection of how he got there, or of any recent events, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Earlier this morning we pointed towards the Daily News article reporting a missing Columbia student. The 25-year-old Toby Cohen had allegedly left his girlfriend's apartment this past Sunday night, took $200 out of an ATM and headed back to his Washington Heights home. He then left his wallet and medication for "a life-threatening medical condition" in his apartment. After two frantic days, a friend of Cohen's just told us some good news -- Cohen has been found healthy, and his family is currently picking him up. No other details have come out yet, but it's nice to hear the story didn't end tragically.

"About halfway through, I bit in and felt something hard and crunchy." That’s what NYU senior Benjamin Jarosch declared after eating part of a found muffin, and he wasn’t talking about a walnut: his innocuous-looking blueberry muffin was stuffed with three razorblades. Jarosch and his buddies had discovered the muffin, along with four others, wrapped in tin foil, upon arriving in the classroom.

A 24-year-old Columbia University student studying late at the library Friday evening is in critical condition at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan after his bid to escape a pair of muggers ended in serious injury under the wheels of a Jeep. According to WABC News, the student had just left the library on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus and was waiting for a bus around 9 p.m., when he was approached by two young men. It's unclear whether the student was mugged or already mugged, when he fled into the street near 120th and Broadway.

The serial flusher responsible for two Koran toilet dunkings at Pace University has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 300 hours of community service. Stanislav Shmulevich, a Russian immigrant, was a business major at the time of the incidents, in which a copy of the Koran was twice discovered in the toilet – the first time "covered in feces" – in October and November 2006.

A Columbia grad student, Arun Wiita, and the New York Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit against the NYPD last Thursday. Over the summer, Wiita was photographing a subway station entrance and its surroundings at 207th Street and 10th Avenue as part of an ambitious 10-day photography project. He was detained by police, handcuffed and held for 30 minutes; now Wiita is "seeking compensatory damages and reimbursement of legal fees." He believes that his South...

A sophomore at New York University was found dead in his Water Street dorm room on Friday night. The Washington Square News reports that other residents were told about the death on Saturday and that the university did not send out an NYU community-wide email per a request from the deceased students' parents: "The family has asked that they be accorded the utmost privacy, and the university will do its best to honor its wishes...