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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

Off Topic

Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the Grand Canyon University on Oct. 28th, 2024. (Courtesy of Gage Skidmore)

Off Topic: Charlie Kirk fought for what killed him

Kirk’s murder was a tragic product of the ideology he championed.
Maggie Turner and Noah Zaldivar September 15, 2025

“I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

Off Topic: We can’t afford to prioritize AI in early education

The rise of private, artificial intelligence-powered schools pose a threat to the next generation of students and the development of their critical thinking skills.
Maggie Turner, Opinion Editor September 8, 2025

Stanford graduate MacKenzie Price founded the “AI-powered” Alpha School for her own children in 2014, bent on the idea that “education needed a revolution.” At the institution,...

(Suditi Sircar for WSN)

Off Topic: Vaccine mandates aren’t ‘slavery’ — they’re necessary for safe schooling

Unqualified MAGA adherents are running Florida’s new health commission with an anti-science agenda that puts children at risk.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor September 5, 2025

On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced their plan to eradicate all of the state’s vaccine mandates. DeSantis also...

(Jason Alpert-Wisnia for WSN)

Off Topic: Foreign films aren’t foes

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign-produced films only serve to further the interests of Hollywood executives at the detriment of menial workers and foreign filmmakers.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor May 7, 2025

President Donald Trump shocked film fans across the country with his nonsensical announcement on Truth Social that he’d be ordering a 100% tariff on all films “produced in...

Pinnacles National Park. (Krish Dev for WSN)

Off Topic: Public lands deserve priority

President Donald Trump’s national park cutbacks are a slap in the face to a century of environmental care and could have lasting effects for the future.
Piper Clark, Contributing Writer April 29, 2025

At the beginning of his term, President Donald Trump issued an enormous amount of budget cuts, layoffs and buyouts to almost every major area of the federal government, including...

(Courtesy of Gage Skidmore)

Off Topic: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s autism solution is worse than the problem

The health secretary’s proposed autism study is unrealistic, prejudiced and sets dangerous precedents for federal data collection and compilation.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor April 25, 2025

As part of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s proposed plan to find the cause of autism, the National Institutes of Health has announced its plan to collect troves of...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Matt Petres for WSN)

Off Topic: Trump’s war on the arts

The current administration’s new executive order to limit the exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution mirrors actions of past authoritarian leaders.
Alexa Donovan, Arts Editor April 16, 2025

On March 27, President Donald Trump signed yet another executive order with a deceptively benign title: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” What this order actually...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

Off Topic: Today’s feminism prioritizes performance over action

In an era of conservatism, feminism cannot afford to be merely symbolic.
Maggie Turner, Deputy Under the Arch Editor April 11, 2025

During President Donald Trump’s 2025 address to Congress, House Democrats reluctantly filed into the chamber of representatives, some holding black paddles reading “False,”...

(Courtesy of NYU Athletics)

Off Topic: The hysteria around trans athletes is a distraction

Republicans and Democrats alike will have you believing that transgender women are a threat to women’s sports. Don’t let them.
Sam Kats, Staff Writer April 10, 2025

Transgender people — especially athletes — have become political pawns for both Republicans and Democrats. No longer human beings who make personal choices about their bodies,...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

Off Topic: DOGE is both misleading and inefficient

From numerical errors to study mischaracterizations, the Department of Government Efficiency has been anything but efficient in its conquest over the federal government.
Sam Kats, Contributing Writer April 4, 2025

On Nov. 12, 2024, President Donald Trump announced a new federal department: The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Led by the “Great Elon Musk” and “American...

(Akshay Prabhushankar for WSN)

Off Topic: We must protect our libraries’ federal funding

Libraries and museums provide knowledge, community and equity, yet recent federal funding cuts threaten to undermine these invaluable institutions.
Antonia Ang, Staff Writer March 21, 2025

On Friday, March 14, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will remove funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, as well as half a dozen other...

(Alexandra Chan for WSN)

Off Topic: The disastrous new direction of the EPA

The Trump administration’s new direction of deregulation for the EPA will undoubtedly promote business interests at the expense of the environment.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor March 17, 2025

This past Wednesday, Lee Zeldin, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a startling change of direction for the government agency. Rather than...