Dear Washington Square News readers,
We are living in the midst of an unprecedented federal crackdown on higher education. In just two months, President Donald Trump has ferociously followed through on his promise to “reclaim our once-great educational institutions” from the “radical left.” Since taking office, Trump has crudely threatened universities with the cancellation of federal funding if they do not comply with his staunch crusade. WSN has been at the forefront of reporting on his attacks on universities and holding NYU accountable for the decisions it has made in response.
Since Trump has taken office, NYU has denied gender-affirming care to transgender children, refused to protect international students amid heightened immigration enforcement, enacted an administrative hiring freeze and is one of several institutions under fire for pro-Palestinian activity on campus and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. As the Trump administration — in conjunction with our university — quickly created a campus environment of fear and uncertainty, WSN’s incredible team of editors and reporters have worked tirelessly to serve and inform the campus community, covering the government’s discernible effects on NYU ever since his reelection in November without fail.
A week into his presidency, Trump cut off trillions of dollars in federal aid to research institutions, terminating at least two NYU grants — a development our news team caught onto immediately. In our tenacity, WSN has also covered NYU’s seeming ability to escape retribution from the Trump administration’s multiple investigations into the university, a reflection of its arbitrary and reckless response to dissent against Israel’s U.S.-funded siege in Gaza. Despite the personal toll many of the new administration’s policies have taken on members of WSN staff, our student journalists remain steadfast in their mission to provide quality, impactful journalism to our campus.
Though our accountability journalism is especially prevalent in our hard-hitting news coverage, we’ve given a voice to the voiceless across all sections. The role of opinion journalism is at its most precarious, and our remarkably talented editors and writers brought to life its great potential as a beacon for change and advocacy. Our contributors expressed their individual, oftentimes intensely personal, perspectives on a variety of issues plaguing higher education in the United States, including cuts to research funding, climate change, Trump’s deportation of pro-Palestinian students and faculty, women’s rights, trans rights and so much more. Our sports section helped unload the uncertain future of trans student-athletes under Trump, and our arts and culture sections — in addition to our astonishing magazine team — continue to reveal the importance of diversity and free speech in a country working adamantly to suppress those universally shared values on campus.
On March 8, WSN won an online Pacemaker award, the most prestigious in college journalism, for all content published after June 2024 — nearly a year of rigorous coverage defined by a federal onslaught against higher education. WSN will continue to work toward serving our campus community in the face of adversity and financial hurdles.
In spite of this, Trump’s crackdown, especially where DEI is concerned, won’t only affect NYU’s operations — it could have a severe impact on WSN’s funding and the compensation of our student journalists. As demonstrated by several college newspapers across our peer institutions, student journalism is more vital now than it has ever been, and with that comes a heightened demand for support and engagement.
We at WSN ask for your support to ensure that we can continue our mission for years to come: Please consider donating to the Sarah Raybin Portlock Fund for WSN. Your generosity will help us keep the tradition of independent journalism thriving on our campus and beyond. In order to persevere in our goals to hold NYU to account, our readership must show its support. If you believe in the mission we hold dear, please stand with WSN. The future of student journalism depends on you.
Please consider supporting and empowering student journalists.
With hope,
Yezen Saadah
Contact Yezen Saadah at [email protected].
