By Suzanne Zionts
New York University students are lucky enough to be honorary Village people for the duration of their stay at N.Y.U. This fall these students are looking forward to a lot more than just books and study groups.
The Princeton Review recently ranked N.Y.U. number one in America in the “college town” category out of the 351 campuses surveyed. In other words, students come here not only for top academics but also because the college’s location in the heart if Greenwich Village is a big attraction.
“I am going to see a lot of off-Broadway plays this year, said William Wichert,” a senior at N.Y.U. “I really am looking forward to getting tickets for ‘Matt and Ben.’ ”
Justina Butera, another N.Y.U. senior, loves Union Sq. and the farmers market that takes place there several times a week. She saw the White Stripes playing for free there once.
“I am looking forward to seeing local bands. Last semester, I was abroad in Australia, so this semester I can’t wait to take advantage of more music opportunities,” said Butera
“It’s fall of a new year and you never know what’s going to happen,” said Butera. “New York University is just where everything is. It is in the middle of everything.”
Last year, Butera lived near St. Mark’s Pl. at N.Y.U.’s Alumni Hall on Third Ave., and this year she is living right off of Union Sq. in Carlyle Court, also N.Y.U. housing. She feels that St. Mark’s is more edgy but the cafes and convenience of Union Sq. cannot be beat.
“I always look forward to more shows during the school year in terms of jazz and funk music,” said Eric Newman a junior journalism major at N.Y.U.
Newman said that coming from Kentucky to the city, there was no place on Earth that can mirror New York City.
“You are exposed to so much culture. Just in Washington Sq. Park alone there is a mixture of yuppies, people who live in the park, artists and the Greenwich Village bohemian types,” said Newman. “Instantly, New York is accessible to you.”
Newman enjoys that N.Y.U. has a vibrant intellectual community. He likes the fact that there are lots of young professors at N.Y.U.
“I love the West Village, the cobblestone streets, the brownstone houses,” said Diana Collins, a junior.
Collins rushed back to school early this year to try and audition for “American Idol.” She said that only N.Y.U. would allow her so many chances to go to auditions and have different internships. Collins interned in Senator Hillary Clinton’s press department last year.
“There is no other college that has this independent of a student body,” said Collins. “Students here are eccentric but for the most part they are also really friendly and accepting.”
Aniela Sioczynski is excited about the choices of restaurants in the West Village. She said the location is her favorite place in the city.
In New York City where the streets are paved with fool’s gold, N.Y.U. students are learning to become alchemists with the resources of Greenwich Village as their base ingredient.
