Hi everyone!
You wouldn’t have known it from our coverage, but WSN’s staff has been disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak. Several of us, myself included, are isolating right now with symptoms of varying severity. Later on in this newsletter, I’ll talk about how we manage COVID-19 risk and how we handled things this week. First, the week’s top stories.
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The Daily Screener
Nobody really loves the Daily Screener. At best, some would tell you that the COVID-19 pass required to enter NYU buildings is a necessity that, despite being tedious at times, helps keep us safe. Others, though, see it as a waste of time. For our Features desk this week, Jae Jin explored the lengths to which some students are going to save a few minutes, employing techniques from coding to photo editing to fake their screener results.
We also spoke to a student whose petition to do away with the Daily Screener entirely gathered about 300 signatures before losing steam.
Communication failures after mental health crisis
Five students in Coral Tower wanted to talk to their residence hall administrators after their roommate’s mental health crisis. Their residence hall director, citing privacy regulations, refused to meet with them. “He never tried to find out what actually happened, and nobody tried to get our side of the story,” one of them told me. In our top trending article this week, I wrote about how those students felt shut out when they attempted to communicate with NYU.
UTA’s tips for NYU life
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With Taylor Swift slated to speak at NYU’s commencement ceremony, Swifties are trying to buy tickets to the event from graduating NYU students. (Staff Illustration by Susan Behrends Valenzuela)
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Taylor Swift fans, desperate for a chance to see her speak at NYU’s commencement, are trying to buy tickets from graduating students. Some are offering hundreds of dollars for tickets that students are not allowed to sell.
NYU is suing New York City over a rezoning plan that would impede potential university developments in the future, claiming that the university was not consulted and that the clause in question violates the state constitution.
NYU’s adjunct faculty union began contract negotiations with the university on Thursday, seeking fair compensation for their work during the pandemic. Adjuncts and allies rallied in a march from Union Square to Washington Square that day.
A food drive held by student government distributed 80 meals in 30 minutes on Tuesday. Organizers hope the event will push NYU administration to do more to combat food insecurity on campus. |
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For a perfect picnic, choose your favorite sweet and savory snacks. (Staff Photo by Roshni Raj)
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Spring’s finally here — why not celebrate with a picnic?
You probably know Matt Maltese’s viral TikTok hit “As the World Caves In,” but there’s much more to him and his music than that. Check out our interview with him.
Culinary influencer and Food Network host Skyler Bouchard started her career as a CAS student with a passion for food. Now, she pushes back against unrealistic narratives around food. “I think it’s important as a female in this industry, who loves to eat, to show that you can balance eating cheese, oils and butter with a healthy lifestyle,” she told WSN.
NYU’s V100 spirit week isn’t over quite yet. If you’re not too cool for a little school spirit, check out our guide to the events. |
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Police stand on East Fifth Street between Second and Third avenues as officers escort Frank James into a police vehicle. (Staff Photo by Manasa Gudavalli)
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Opinions and perspectives
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This week’s house editorial: The New York City Police Department just showed us exactly how incompetent they are. Why should we reward them with more funding?
Russian students stand against Putin’s war, Russian CAS sophomore Alexandra Azarova writes in a guest essay.
Opposing the Russian invasion shouldn’t mean supporting U.S. imperialism, and criticizing U.S. imperialism shouldn’t mean supporting Putin, says Karsten Stoeber, president of NYU’s International Youth and Students for Social Equality chapter. |
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This week’s Editor’s Note is shorter than usual, on account of the fact that I’m recovering from having COVID. Fortunately, my symptoms weren’t very severe and are already easing. I don’t know exactly where I or the other staffers who tested positive were exposed, but we didn’t want to risk exposing others.
After the first staffer tested positive, the managing team decided to work remotely for that day; after the second tested positive, we made the decision to work remotely for the rest of the week. I also asked everyone who had been in the office during the likely exposure period to get tested.
It’s possible that we were exposed in the office on Sunday, but if that was the case, it wasn’t because we weren’t careful enough. We’ve been continuing to wear masks at the office, even after NYU’s confusing guidelines for partially lifting the indoor mask mandate went into effect, and avoid gathering closely. Vaccines are also required for all NYU students, reducing the risk of transmission.
We’re hoping to return to in-person work on Monday — by then, anyone who got sick the previous week would have completed the CDC-recommended 5-day isolation period. But this past week has shown how flexible we are in adapting to the rapidly changing circumstances of the COVID-19 era.
Stay healthy, everyone — we’ll be back at full strength soon enough.
—the editor
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