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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

Government

(Kevin Wu for WSN)

Opinion: Subway safety is a manufactured crisis

New York City is spending millions on subway policing and surveillance, but these measures do more to ease public anxiety than actually reduce crime.
Steven Wang, Staff Writer February 12, 2025

Anyone who turns on the news might think that the New York City subway system is more dangerous than ever. Every few weeks, a violent subway crime becomes the subject of alarmist...

(Krish Dev for WSN)

Guest Essay: NYU is right to suspend students for rule violations

Faculty & Staff Against Antisemitism is a group of faculty, staff and administrators aimed at combating antisemitism on campus.
Faculty & Staff Against Antisemitism February 12, 2025

The fundamental right to free expression must be balanced with every student's right to safely access their education. Since the Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians and Israel’s...

(Kyra Reilley for WSN)

Editorial: NYU, step up

Over the last few weeks, NYU has denied gender-affirming care to children, refused to protect international students and faculty amid an unprecedented immigration crackdown, and demonstrated a profound disregard for the needs of its community.
WSN Editorial Board February 10, 2025

The barely three-week-old Trump administration is already taking its toll on higher education, and its discernible effects on NYU have quickly created a campus environment defined...

What to do if stopped by ICE

What to do if stopped by ICE

With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids imminent, it is important to know your rights if you’re ever confronted.
Mehr Kotval, Opinion Editor February 10, 2025

Immigration and deportation were defining issues in President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — now they are shaping his first three weeks in office. There has been...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

Guest Essay: In protest of NYU Langone

Alex Denholtz is an MPA graduate student who recently resigned from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service in protest of NYU Langone’s cancellation of gender-affirming care for children.
Alex Denholtz, Guest Contributor February 6, 2025

“NYU is the best university to be transgender at,” I confided in my physical therapist last Thursday at the NYU Student Health Center. As he massaged my post-op incisions,...

(Krish Dev for WSN)

Opinion: Trump’s new immigration policies put Arab, Muslim and pro-Palestinian students at risk

With a new travel ban on the horizon, international NYU students who are potentially at risk need to be aware of what lies ahead.
Leila Olukoga, Deputy Opinion Editor January 30, 2025

In 2017, President Donald Trump enacted a drastic and unprecedented travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, halting immigration from countries such as Iran and Somalia...

Opinion: Trump's TikTok ‘solution’ is all about control

Opinion: Trump’s TikTok ‘solution’ is all about control

President Trump’s justification for and reaction to the ban on TikTok show his intent for strict control of discourse on social media.
Leila Olukoga, Deputy Opinion Editor January 27, 2025

On the evening of Jan. 18, over 170 million TikTok users in the United States, including myself, found themselves unable to open the app. Before the app went dark, I — like many...

President Donald Trump addresses the press outside of the courtroom during his New York civil fraud case in New York City on Oct. 17, 2023. (Jason Alpert-Wisnia for WSN)

Opinion: New York City under Trump’s second term

As our country undergoes a second Trump administration, New York City faces threats to its economy, climate and progressive values.
Mehr Kotval, Opinion Editor January 23, 2025

Just days into his second term, President Donald Trump signed executive orders that will change the fundamental principles of the United States as we know it. In an alarming string...

An illustration of the flags of Ukraine and the United States crossed in front of a black-and-white drawing of destroyed buildings.

Off Topic: A ceasefire in Ukraine isn’t as simple as you think it is

For the past two years, the war in Ukraine has intensified. While President-elect Donald Trump has called for an immediate end to hostilities, he neglects the disadvantageous position Ukraine is in.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor December 10, 2024

To the non-apocalypse-minded among us, the Doomsday Clock tracks the human race’s relative proximity to self-caused human annihilation, measured by the number of hours and minutes...

First lady Jill Biden, wearing a red dress and black boots, holds a cellphone as President Joe Biden, wearing a black suit with a blue tie, and his son Hunter Biden, wearing a black shirt, walk behind her.

Off Topic: Hunter Biden’s pardon highlights Democrats’ hypocrisy

After an election predicated on preserving democracy, this was a really bad time to prove just how rife with corruption the system can be.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor December 4, 2024

Watergate was a political scandal of unprecedented scale, which revealed the seedy underbelly of political espionage rampant in the halls of government. While the whole ordeal...

Three people wearing purple graduation gowns and black graduation caps are standing raising diplomas. To the left is former N.Y.U. president standing behind a purple-and-white N.Y.U. sign.

Opinion: No longer behind bars, but not truly free

Without support systems in place, many formerly incarcerated individuals in New York risk falling into a cycle of poverty and criminalization.
Steven Wang, Staff Writer December 3, 2024

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, keeping about 2 million people behind bars at any given time and costing an absurd $182 billion...

A stone bench with armrests on Astor Place.

Opinion: Hostile city planning hides homelessness, but doesn’t solve it.

Anti-homeless structures are not only cruel but ineffective, as they simply displace and exacerbate the homelessness crisis rather than alleviate it.
Mehr Kotval, Opinion Editor December 2, 2024

Hostile architecture has a pervasive presence in New York City, though it often goes unnoticed. If you have ever seen window ledges spiked with metal, a barred street corner, or...