CUNY Interactive Journalism

By Jacqueline Vergara

“Honesty is the best policy” is a well-known Benjamin Franklin quote. According to a scientific study released earlier this year, ants could not agree more. The ubiquitous, six-legged creature upholds the value of honesty in order to ensure collaborative effort and, ultimately, ant colony success (NY knows all about this pest’s achievement). In accordance with this principle, on Thursday a federal court asserted the right of gay U.S. military personnel to be open about their sexual orientation while serving in the colony-like armed services.

On Friday, the LA Times reported that Judge Virginia A. Phillips declared the “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy unconstitutional, citing First Amendment and due process rights violations. In 1993, Congress passed a law banning openly gay men and women from wearing the military uniform. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy allowed homosexuals to serve, as long as this personal characteristic was not discussed or disclosed.

The Log Cabin Republicans political group challenged the policy in 2004. After 6 years, Thursday’s ruling brings momentum to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal efforts.

The Courage Campaign, a California-based online activist network, has began a grassroots campaign to pressure Senator Harry Reid to bring the “don’t ask, don’t tell” issue to the Senate floor on September 20th. Iraq war veteran Lieutenant Dan Choi expresses his support for the repeal of “don’t, don’t tell” on his website.

Whether the Obama administration and the Justice Department will uphold the ruling remains unclear. The Washington Post reports that an appeal is not discarded.

Sometimes two thumbs will do just fine.

by Stuart White

Evolution is responsible for thousands of stunning entries in the pantheon of biological annoyances.  New York alone is blessed with rats, roaches, bedbugs, pigeons, and even the innocuously named, yet profoundly disgusting water-bug.  It would seem that pests are an inevitable outcome of any evolutionary system, so it comes as no surprise that technological evolution has given New York a new breed of pest: the inconsiderate cell phone user.

While titans of commerce, glowering hipsters, and chatty teens are annoying enough in their own right, listening to one side of their private conversations seems to have a multiplying effect on their despicability.  Just hearing about Blackberry protocol in the business world is almost enough to justify being unemployed.  But what’s worse is that people’s absorption in their cell phones is extending beyond being casually, infuriatingly rude.  In some cases, people are so consumed with their constant communiqués that they actually neglect the real world.  Oftentimes these people become glassy-eyed roadblocks, haltingly weaving down the sidewalk, oblivious to the gaggle of purposeful pedestrians jockeying for a chance to pass.

Despite the fact that more and more people agree that it’s inconsiderate to constantly check your phone, and hammer out text after text at the dinner table, it seems that more and more people are guilty of it.  And while the whole situation is enough to give heartburn to any right-minded person with a shred of common decency, there may yet be a glimmer hope—for New York at least.

By An Phung

Before moving to New York City, there were certain topics and issues that I typically associated with this metropolis. These subjects range from extreme and inclement weather, to exorbitantly high rent for shoebox-sized pods, to potty-mouthed cab drivers who steam roll the city’s pedestrians. In my mind, these are New York’s pesky problems, not mine. Why should a girl from sunny San Diego worry about things like slumlords, snow, heatwaves or public transportation?  I had plenty of sunshine, ocean air and a reliable car to boot. And if I ever got evicted from my comfortable three bedroom house, I could probably live in my car and still have more space than the average New Yorker.

So it was no wonder that when I first heard about New York’s bed bug infestation back in September, I dismissed it as yet another New York issue. This “not my problem” attitude continued well into my third week here. Sure, I heard about the epidemic in the daily news. I even learned about its spread throughout the midwest. But it wasn’t until it affected my ability to shop that I started paying attention. I attend school full time, work hard at my studies, pay my bills, exercise and eat right. I just want to go shopping with some happy abandon. What is a California girl to do?

Perhaps the more operative question is why, in this economic climate, during this city’s worst heatwave, where subway platforms feel like steam rooms and homes are infested with creepy critters, are hopeful and ambitious young people like me still swarming this city like parasitic insects?

By Geoff Decker

Bedbugs infestations were a steady conversation topic for New Yorkers this summer but it’s not all paranoia, as NY Mag claimed last week. Two affirming surveys issued in August – one from the extermination company Terminix, the other from a Daily News-Marist Poll – reveal just how widespread the problem is.

But these bloodsuckers aren’t just confined to private residences. The bedbug resurgence has included infestations in several commercial establishments as well. Retail clothing stores, movie theaters, office buildings and even government buildings have fallen prey to these pervasive pests.

In the span of three weeks, three upscale retail stores were temporarily closed for bedbug infestation. First it was the SoHo-based giant Hollister Co.. A day later, Hollister’s parent company, Abercrombie & Fitch, closed a store in South Street Seaport for what it called a “similar problem” to their subsidiary. A couple weeks later, at Victoria’s Secret’s Midtown East store, managers discovered bedbugs and reopened the same day.

Lest you think you’re safe by avoiding retail clothing stores, bedbugs also turned up in Goldman Sachs, Time Warner Center and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. They were even treated for at Time Square’s AMC Theaters.

Commercial buildings aren’t required by the city to report infestations, so its hard to know just how many business have been affected. Fortunately, help is on the way. City officials promised $500,000 for an “attack strategy” to raise awareness and hopefully eradicate the problem for good.

By Daniel Prendergast

Florida pastor Terry Jones said Thursday that he he would cancel plans to burn the Quran on the ninth aniversery of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Jerusalem Post reported that Jones had agreed to cancel his event after speaking with central Florida Imam Muhammad Musri. Jones claimed that Mursi had assured him that the Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero would be moved if Jones promised not to burn copies of the Muslim holy book. Mursi and others say no such agreement was reached. CBS News reported late Thursday that Jones might reconsider canceling the burning because, as he sees it, Mursi and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the center’s main proponent, have reneged on their agreement. The Wall Street Journal chose to illustrate the vulnerability and overall frustration of Muslims in New York concerning Jones and his event that may or may not happen, while The Guardian took an interesting look at the Pastors past, reporting that Jones mistreated those in his employ during a stint as a preacher in Germany.