30 must-dos this fall

1. Cooper Union
Buckminster Fuller Symposium
The Coop co-mounts a discussion on all things Fuller—and how best to carry his ideas into the 21st century. (Sept 12–13, cooper.edu)

2. School of Visual Arts
“Millions of Artists, and All Pretty Good”
Artforum contributing ed Katy Siegel talks about the “crowd scene” in the contemporary art world, and how it affects the individual artist. (Sept 9, schoolofvisualarts.edu)

3. New York University
The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships
This doc dissects how the acceptance of pornography has changed gender roles and romantic relationships. (Oct 17, nyu.edu)

4. The New School
“Wild Nights: The Poetry of Eros”
David Lehman, editor of The Best American Erotic Poems, discusses some of his fave themes—including self-pleasure. (Oct 3, newschool.edu)

5. Marymount Manhattan
Joseph O’Neill
The author, whose novel Netherland was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review, reads as part of a new Irish Voices Series. (Sept 17, mmm.edu)

6. Pace University
Maya Angelou
Yes, that Maya Angelou. (Oct 10, pace.edu)

7. SUNY Stony Brook
“Depression, Too, Is a Thing with Feathers”
Andrew Solomon, winner of the National Book Award for The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, examines the history of depression. (Oct 28, sunysb.edu)

8. Wagner College
Tick, Tick… BOOM!
This musical hinges on composer Jonathan, who dreads turning 30. It was written by late composer Jonathan Larson (Rent), right before he turned 30. (Nov 5–15, 718-390-3259)

9. Cooper Union
Oliver Sacks
The renowned neurologist, author and professor lectures about the mind’s relationship with music, drawing on case studies from his latestbook, Musicophilia.(Sept 24)

10. The New School
“An Evening with Tim Gunn”
The beloved ProjectRunway personality shares his thoughts on “quality, taste and style”—three things we know nothing about. (Nov 3)

11. Pace University
“Door for the Bees”
Artist Jenny Lynn McNutt wraps up her installation, Precise Breathing or Why I CallMy Baby Honey, an exploration of humans’ relationship with honeybees. (Through Mon 1)

12. Wagner College
As Bees in Honey Drown
In Douglas Carter Beane’s comedic play, a con artist named Alexa Vere de Vere manages to dupe numerous people—despite the fact that her name is so obviously fake. (Sept 24–Oct 4, 718-390-3259)

13. The New School
Daniel Rich
Rich creates stark, political images that are often a little disconcerting—a piece titled Kuwait City, Kuwait wouldn’t feel out of place in an old video game. Not to mention he’s already exhibited his work at Elizabeth Dee and Perry Rubenstein galleries. This is someone you want to invest in before everybody else does. (Sept 17)

14. Pace University
Mark Napier and Kelly Richardson
Though new-media artist Napier gets first billing, the real star here is Richardson, whose photo and video installations (below) have been featured in places as diverse as London’s Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art and the Gwangju Biennial in South Korea. (Sept 18–Oct 8)

15. The New School
“Lolita in America”
An impressive panel of authors discuss the impact of Nabokov’s seminal novel, on the 50th anniversary of its first U.S. printing. The symposium wraps up with a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation. (Sept 27)

16. New York Institute of Technology
“Student Work in Animation”
Might we remind skeptics that these are the people who invented Pixar? (Sept 18–Oct 9, nyit.edu)

17. Juilliard
Bachauer Competition Winners’ Recital
The 2008 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition winners perform. This is basically, like, the Olympics if you’re 11 and infuriatingly good at piano. (Oct 15, juilliard.edu)

18. Pratt
Election Night Watch Party
Suspicious Package performs with burlesque queens. Bust out thesequins! (Nov 4, partyheadquarters.org)

19. City University of New York
“The 2008 Presidential Election and the Future of the Nation”
CUNY’s College of Staten Island brings in the heavy hitters, including presidential scholar Michael Waldman. (Oct 28, www.csi.cuny.edu)

20. Yeshiva University
“Jewish Youth and Cultural Change”
Get excited, party people! It’s a full-day conference at the Center for Jewish History on…American Jewish history. (Oct 26, yu.edu)

21. Fordham University
“Sinners & Winners: How the Media Are Covering Religion, Morality and the 2008 Campaign”
The left, the right, evangelicals and everything in between! (Sept 16, fordham.edu)

22. Columbia University
“What Is Feminist Politics Now?”
The Institute for Research on Women & Gender mounts a two-day conference, moderated by Farah Griffin and Marianne Hirsch. (Sept 19–20, columbia.edu)

23. St. Francis College
“Should Our Parks Be Privatized?”
Judi Francis, of the Brooklyn Bridge Defense Fund, makes her case. Sparks fly! (Sept 23, 718-489-5372)

24. Juilliard
“Blues in the Church”
The Juilliard Jazz Ensemble plays standards and original compositions in an intimate setting, marking perhaps the only time of year you can see its coeds really cut loose. (Oct 1)

25. CUNY
Tambourines to Glory
Harlem Repertory Theatre uses the City College of New York’s Aaron Davis Hall to present this show about two women who start a gospel church on a street corner. (Sept 12, harlemrepertorytheatre.org)

26. Fordham University
“Torture & American Culture: An Inquiry and Reflection”
As of press time, there was no description. Which is almost more ominous. (Oct 21)

27. Columbia University
Café Science
“Eat. Drink. Talk science with Columbia scientists.” Key word: drink. (Sept 8)

28. CUNY
Hesperia
This commissioned work for the piano by Anna Cazurra will be performed at the Instituto Cervantes in a special concert dedicated to the music of Spain. Not only is the show free, it’s being broadcast on WQXR. (Sept 12, web.gc.cuny.edu/brookcenter)

29. Columbia University
Iannis Xenakis: Oresteia
Xenakis gave Aeschylus’s classic play (a literal must-read in Columbia’s core curriculum) the opera treatment; now choreographer, designer and director Luca Veggetti reimagines it. This immense project is performed by 36 adult singers and a children’s chorus, and incorporates theater, dance, music and projections. (Sept 13, 16 and 17, millertheatre.com)

30. CUNY
Drunk-Driving Simulator
CUNY’s Lehman College is parking a Hyundai Accent, outfitted with a drunk-driving simulator, outside its bookstore. Like most New Yorkers, it’s not likely CUNY students drive much, but still—this is totally insane! (Sept 24, lehman.edu)