Alisia Houghtaling

(Alisia Houghtaling for WSN)

Dear readers,

Three years ago, I stepped into the basement of Third Avenue North and, unbeknownst to me, began a long journey at the Washington Square News. 

Coming to NYU, I was convinced I wanted to be a filmmaker, or at the very least work in something remotely cinema or arts-related. I was admitted into the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies for crying out loud, and whatever bit of journalism experience I had leading up to the start of my college years amounted to a review of “The Shining” and creative think pieces for my high school paper. At WSN, I was hell-bent on pushing that trajectory further by honing my arts journalism with festival coverage, attending press screenings, interviewing artists, writing about museums and reviewing books. This was my calling — that is, until I started writing three news pieces a week. 

Writing for WSN’s news desk was a decision that changed the course of my college career, for better and for worse. My phrasing could imply that my interest in news essentially appeared out of thin air, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. My first article for the section was published quite early on in that fall 2022 semester, when one of the deputy news editors at the time sent out a last-minute pitch in the Slack channel for someone to cover former NYU President Andrew Hamilton’s final Presidential Welcome speech. Naturally, being the people pleaser I am, I took the pitch and spent the rest of that evening in the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. I interviewed a student and an alum, got back to my dorm and started writing “Hamilton begins his final year at NYU.” 

The draft was bad — laughable, in fact. I believe I called his speech, “heartwarming, insightful and endlessly entertaining,” which was understandably cut. This was one of my many pieces that were heavily rewritten by senior editors, and looking back on that draft now, I can’t say I blame them. In complete honesty though, if it wasn’t for this event, I wouldn’t have known or even begun to care about who Hamilton was, who then-Interim Provost Georgina Dopico was, what the Student Government Assembly is — and they, among other key details about the university’s administration, have been deeply seared into my brain. My understanding of NYU leadership at large began with this one admittedly inconsequential story about an NYU Welcome event, which in hindsight I wouldn’t have even attended if it wasn’t pitched out by the news team. 

By the end of my first semester at WSN, I was writing an average of six articles a week across the news and arts desks, attending every pitch meeting and keeping in touch with editors and writers, some of whom would grow to be my closest friends. I was given the opportunity to cover protests, book talks, student government meetings and town halls, and I learned so much more about the NYU and Greenwich Village communities in the process. I was offered the position of deputy news editor by the end of that semester, and at the start of the spring, I was promoted to news editor, a prospect with which I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I was so eager to apply the skills I’d attained as a writer to a greater role, and serving as one of two people in charge of spearheading WSN’s news coverage was a challenge I was ready to take. 

Long story short, I was not ready. Far from it. The job was brutal. I was constantly checking my phone, coming into the office from around 2 p.m. to well past midnight on most days, maintaining avid communication with dozens of writers, photographers, administrators and other senior officials — and to top it all off, I was still a full-time student. I was tasked with staying on top of all news developments across NYU, its medical center and its slew of study away sites, all in addition to sustaining a somewhat decent work-life balance. I wasn’t sure how much of myself I would be able to give up in pursuit of that mission, stuck in a vicious cycle of self-doubt, overworking and burnout. Looking back on that semester, everything is a blur. All I remember is how intense it was and how unprepared I was — the long nights and feeling too afraid to ask for help. It soon dawned on me that I would have to do this job again in the fall, and I was terrified. All my mentors were either graduating or moving to a higher position at the paper, and I certainly wasn’t looking forward to the added responsibility of filling their shoes.

I’m not sure what it was — maybe it was the summer — but that fall 2023 semester, I was a machine. My co-editor and I pre-planned our production schedule and ensured we had a top story to run every day. I got news writing down to a science, strengthened WSN’s relationship with NYU’s administration and oversaw some of the most talented journalists I’ve ever met. The first month was defined by rigorous news coverage and a surprisingly healthy balance with my academic and personal life — probably because I knew what I was getting myself into this time. The job was still stressful, but I was good at it and made sure the work got done. But in a cruel twist of fate, I would soon be faced with what has been by far the toughest challenge I’ve ever had to face as a student journalist and, especially, as a Palestinian. 

Right from the beginning of my career at WSN, I made it a point to embrace my culture in as many articles as I could. This included covering a talk about Palestinian author Suad Amiry’s novel “Mother of Strangers” and a lecture on higher education in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip from Birzeit University professor Rami Salameh, among other events. My identity as a Palestinian Muslim is the most central part of my life, and I wanted to channel that weight through my work as a journalist. Then, Oct. 7, 2023 came along. I immediately took the lead in covering the news from an NYU angle — through the perspectives of students studying away at NYU Tel Aviv and covering President Linda Mills’ response. That article was the start of a semester defined by protest coverage, student and faculty suspensions, policy changes and a persistent crackdown on dissent — all of which started because of NYU’s failure to address the immense, and still ongoing, loss of Palestinian life. 

I can’t even describe how I felt. As a journalist, I am meant to separate myself from the stories I cover. That’s always how I approach every article I write or edit, and a situation like this should be no different. So that’s what I did. I tried my best to close myself off from the protests, the petitions, the terminations, all of it. I instead ensured that every article and every story, down to the headline, was reported as accurately, authentically and empathetically as possible without it affecting my work ethic or mental state — which, I suppose it goes without saying, was difficult. Consistently reporting on demonstrations for Palestine as the death toll ticked up was miserable. Holding NYU accountable for its apathetic response to people protesting the mass bombings of men, women and children as a Palestinian student who was also deeply affected destroyed me. But I did it, and despite immense backlash from both Zionists and pro-Palestinian activists, I like to think I did it well. 

The end of the year came around, and although I was proud of the work I did, I was exhausted beyond belief and — in total transparency — I was ready to quit. A full calendar year as news editor was enough to satisfy my sudden love for the craft of journalism, and I was convinced I didn’t have more to learn. I was content. But I was encouraged to stay by the editor-in-chief and managing editor at the time, not to continue my work as news editor, but to stay in a higher capacity as a deputy managing editor. And I loved it. Getting to take more of a managerial position at a publication I spent a whole year pouring my heart and soul into was indescribably gratifying. In the role, I was also able to reestablish my passion for the arts and began my now great love for opinion journalism. 

Perhaps above all else, being on the management team gave me the opportunity to connect with other members of staff in ways I simply could not have as news editor. I was surrounded by some of the smartest, most talented journalists ever and got to form relationships that will last a lifetime. It was a huge factor in my decision to apply for editor-in-chief and very much informed how I approached my leadership style. 

Of course, protests for Palestine continued throughout the spring 2024 semester and came to a head on April 22 when a group of protesters set up a Gaza Solidarity Encampment in Gould Plaza at 4 a.m. — and, in typical Yezen fashion, I was already up. I got my camera, my press badge, packed my bag for my 8 a.m. math class and walked on over from Carlyle Court. My colleagues and I covered the day minute-by-minute across our website and social media. We were taking turns writing from Bobst Library and reporting on the ground as the demonstration grew throughout the day, culminating in Mills’ authorized police sweep of dozens of students, faculty and alumni at around 7 p.m. After that night, we effectively shifted to a 24-hour news cycle, providing day-to-day updates on the encampment’s aftermath, calls for Mills to resign and increased demands for NYU to divest from Israel. This continued through June as I started my run as editor-in-chief.

This all sounds like it should be mentally and physically draining — which it very well was — but it was also exhilarating. Being the primary source of information about rapidly changing developments on campus was an honor in and of itself, but the messages we received from parents, alumni, students and faculty expressing gratitude for our coverage reminded me why I loved the medium so much. Student journalism is intrinsically a community-oriented mission, and to know that our work has served at least one person was enough to satisfy my commitment to keeping the NYU and Greenwich Village communities informed. Separately, as a Palestinian American student journalist, to have been part of spearheading national news coverage about this widespread support for my people meant the world to me, and it is still the most invaluable journalism experience I’ve ever had. 

I had quite the lead-up to my tenure as editor-in-chief, and couldn’t have been more fortunate for the chance to practice journalism with such diligence. That being said, having come from newsroom environments I would personally characterize as stressful and anxiety-inducing, I wanted to foster a community that was welcoming, compassionate and genuinely exciting for my staff. The challenge arose in whether or not I could maintain that kind of environment while improving upon the quality and quantity of the work we produced. And one year later, with the help of the best management team I could ask for, I am pleased to say I believe we’ve achieved that.

This past year, amid an unprecedented federal attack on higher education and free speech, student journalism cemented its already proven importance. The Trump administration tested the tenacity of student journalists across the country, but I am especially proud of the vital work my team of writers and editors has done in continuing to hold NYU accountable. That, in addition to overseeing the work done across all of WSN’s sections by our incredible editorial staff, has been a genuine honor, and I couldn’t be more indebted to those who’ve supported our mission. 

I was initially going to refrain from making a few shoutouts besides our news coverage, but this letter has gone on long enough so I’m doing it anyways: We revitalized our opinion section, including publishing a total of 10 house editorials throughout the school year; our Under the Arch magazine produced four exceptional print issues; our arts, sports and culture coverage have sustained and built upon their indelible quality and quantity; our copy team demonstrated a remarkable dedication to staying up late in pursuit of fact-checking; our multimedia team has continued to produce what I believe to be the best photography, illustrations and all-around visuals in the history of student journalism, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise; and, to cap it off, we were named an online Pacemaker winner as one of the country’s top college news sites. 

My experiences at WSN have pushed my mind and body to what I, a 20-year-old college student, believe to be its limits. I’ve pulled all-nighters in the newsroom, published breaking news stories in class, woken up to phone calls from university administrators, camped inside Bobst Library for hours on end — this place has truly put my colleagues and me through the ringer. But I’ve also gotten to practice my love for the field in other capacities, including the chance to attend the New York Film Festival which, to this day, is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever gotten to do as a student journalist — and this is coming from someone who covered encampments, police sweeps, immigration, civil rights lawsuits and protests. 

Between my time as a staff writer, later as news editor and now as editor-in-chief, I’ve been with WSN for three years. Yes, I will be taking a significant step back, but this organization has been my home for most of my college life. I am enormously grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given here, and I thank everyone I’ve met along the way for making it all possible. WSN has shown me that journalism would be futile if not for the independent crusaders who breathe the much-needed passion, rigor and empathy into the admittedly arduous medium, and I have no doubt in my mind that this place will continue to thrive.

With gratitude,

Yezen Saadah

Editor-in-Chief, 2024-25

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.

Contact Yezen Saadah at [email protected].