New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

News

Sunrise NYU held a rally in Washington Square Park on Oct. 15. The climate justice group relaunched its initiative pushing NYU to divest from fossil fuels and private prisons. (Staff Photo by Alexandra Chan)

Sunrise NYU revives university divestment campaign

The campaign urges the university to divest from fossil fuels and private prisons. Organizers held the first rally of the semester on Oct. 15.
Rachel Fadem, Deputy News Editor October 18, 2021

Sunrise Movement NYU, the local chapter of a nationwide student-led climate justice group, is launching a renewed Divest NYU campaign that aims to pressure the NYU administration...

181 Mercer St., NYU’s new building, is being built with special glass windows to reduce energy usage and help prevent bird collisions. Up to 230,000 birds die every year in New York City from these collisions. (Staff Photo and Illustration by Ryan Kawahara)

Bird-safe glass design at 181 Mercer saves wildlife and energy

Window collisions kill hundreds of thousands of birds every year in New York City. 181 Mercer’s architects are using specially designed glass with the intention of saving birds and energy.
Alex Tey, Deputy Managing Editor October 18, 2021

Custom-designed glass on 181 Mercer Street, NYU's under-construction multi-use building, will help prevent bird-window collisions — a serious threat to native bird populations...

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently spoke at an event for NYU Law’s Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Sotomayor offered insights on diversity and gender bias in the Supreme Court. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Supreme Court justice Sotomayor addresses judicial mansplaining at NYU event

During an NYU Law event, Justice Sonia Sotomayor explained why the U.S. Supreme Court changed its oral argument format.
Kashish Bhatia, Staff Writer October 18, 2021

U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Supreme Court changed its oral argument format after studies showed that women are more likely to be interrupted by male justices...

NYU has implemented randomized COVID-19 testing for students. Some students who evaded required tests, though, faced no repercussions. (Staff Photo by Ryan Walker)

NYU’s randomized COVID-19 testing program goes unenforced

The university is requiring randomly selected students to get tested on campus for COVID-19. However, at least three students who did not comply with the mandatory testing faced no follow-up or consequences.
Kashish Bhatia, Staff Writer October 15, 2021

Shortly before the beginning of the fall 2021 semester, NYU announced that it would institute randomized COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated staff, students and community members...

An illustration of a wooden box in a park. A pair of legs with blue jeans and black Converse sneakers stands on top of the box. The box reads “WSN.”

The Soapbox: Philippines, European migrant pushbacks, Beirut

The Soapbox is a weekly column by WSN’s news desk, examining the major developments in world news and rounding up the stories we think are worth the read this week. Global consciousness for a global university.
Suhail Gharaibeh, Deputy News Editor October 15, 2021

In the Philippines, an alarming twist in the presidential race  Although observers of the 2022 Philippine presidential elections expected Sara Duterte, the daughter of incumbent...

On Oct. 4, the CDC recommended a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech for those who received their second dose at least six months ago. This left members of the NYU community wondering who is eligible to get their third shot. (Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

Explained: COVID-19 booster shots, and who can get one

The CDC’s recent booster shot recommendation left members of the NYU community wondering who is eligible to receive an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Kristian Burt, Staff Writer October 14, 2021

Editor’s note: This article was published in October 2021. Guidelines and requirements from NYU and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have since changed. On...

NYU’s Quidditch team was looking forward to returning to playing games for the first time since COVID-19 began. However, a new policy from NYU’s Center for Student Life has suspended all in-person activities for performing arts and sports clubs. (Image courtesy of NYU Quidditch)

Performing arts and sports clubs prohibited from holding in-person activities

Students expressed disappointment and frustration after hearing that performing arts and sports clubs — a staple of NYU’s student life offerings — can no longer meet in person.
Maria Freyre, Staff Writer October 14, 2021

NYU’s Quidditch team was looking forward to traveling to games, welcoming new players and heading to Warwick, R.I., for the US Quidditch Northeast Regional Championship...

Arts activism group Confront Art repainted their statue of George Floyd after it was vandalized on Oct. 3. The statue is part of the SEEINJUSTICE installation, which memorializes key figures from the 2020 racial injustice protests. (Staff Photo by Ryan Kawahara)

Union Square statue of George Floyd vandalized two days after unveiling

After a statue of George Floyd was defaced on Oct. 3, local activists and community members worked to restore and protect it.
Abby Wilson, Contributing Writer October 13, 2021

A bronze bust of George Floyd in Union Square was vandalized in broad daylight on Oct. 3, just two days after it was unveiled to the public. The statue was restored the same day...

NYU Law Dean Trevor Morrison will be stepping down at the end of the academic year. He has held the position since 2013. (Image via nyu.edu)

NYU Law dean Trevor Morrison to resign

Trevor Morrison, a tenured dean at NYU’s School of Law, announced that he will step down at the end of the current academic year after nine years as dean.
Kristian Burt, Contributing Writer October 8, 2021

Dean Trevor Morrison of the NYU School of Law announced Oct. 7 that he will be stepping down at the end of the 2021-22 academic year in an email to the law school community. Morrison...

On Thursday, Oct. 7, law students rallied outside the Park Avenue headquarters of LexisNexis. NYU School of Law students joined students from more than 20 law schools across the country to demand that universities end their contracts with legal databases Westlaw and LexisNexis to pressure their owners to cut ties with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Staff Photo by Manasa Gudavalli)

Law students push for NYU to cut ties with legal databases over ICE links

Students from more than 20 law schools across the country, including NYU Law, have launched a week of protest calling for their administrations to cut ties with two legal databases that provide immigrants’ personal data to ICE.
Suhail Gharaibeh, Deputy News Editor October 8, 2021

Students at the NYU School of Law have joined a national campaign calling for universities to stop purchasing access to two legal databases linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs...

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was chosen as this years NYU Reads selection. Members of the Native American and Indigenous Students Group at NYU have said that the university has failed to include them in the conversation about the reading. (Staff Photo by Sirui Wu)

Indigenous students demand visibility after being snubbed at NYU Reads event

Despite continuously contacting the university before an NYU Reads event, the Native American and Indigenous Students Group at NYU was left with only a few hours to prepare.
Rachel Cohen, Deputy News Editor October 8, 2021

Members of the Native American and Indigenous Students Group at NYU said they were not invited to participate in a community event about “Braiding Sweetgrass,” a book by Indigenous...

Students in class at the 6 Washington Place academic building. NYU faculty have voiced concerns about the university’s COVID-19’s safety guidelines. (Staff Photo by Manasa Gudavalli)

Faculty research challenges NYU’s claims of little to no risk of classroom COVID-19 transmission

As NYU returns to full in-person instruction this semester, faculty have expressed safety concerns with university COVID-19 prevention policies.
Natalie Thomas, Contributing Writer October 7, 2021

CAS chemistry professors Michael Ward and Stephanie Lee are currently leading an investigation to test the carbon dioxide levels in NYU classrooms and determine the quality of...