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

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Staff Rants & Raves: Welcome Week Edition

Welcome Week might technically be over, but it lives on forever in the hearts of our staff. Here’s why.
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Grace Halio

Staff Rants

On Getting Rejected from Events
By Sam Brinton, Copy Chief

My Welcome Week experience can be summed up by long waits and longer-lasting disappointments. For instance, my friends and I waited an hour and a half for Drag Bingo. I was thrilled when we finally arrived at the front of the line, only to be told that they had underestimated the turnout and that there was no space left for us. This exact situation happened to me twice more. Of course, all I saw on social media was how fun and wonderful these events were. Most of the people with me on those fateful nights are still my friends — yes, they actually didn’t ghost me after Welcome Week. But that’s probably because the feelings of disappointment and rejection brought us together.

On Taking Things Seriously
By Ethan Zack, Music Editor

The Welcome Week Reality Show foils its own well-intentioned goals due to its unrelentingly cheery approach to serious problems. Sure, each of the musical numbers address very important social and cultural issues, but the lighthearted tone of the whole production reduces the serious connotations that issues like discrimination and negative mental health should carry. At the end of the show, it feels like not much has been done to change anyone’s minds. People who agree with the show’s points will continue on as they did before, while dissenters will simply mock the program and its air of campiness. As it stands, the Reality Show features some stellar talent and integral messages, but the way it approaches its own subject matter should be reconsidered.

On Exhaustion
By Anna-Dmitry Muratova, Under the Arch Senior Editor

I don’t think I’ve ever been more tired during my time at NYU than throughout my first-year Welcome Week. It made me want to go into a very, very, very long hibernation. Honestly, students should get at least a couple of days off (fully off, no events or anything) after they’re done with their Welcome Week. It’s a wild experience, and the amount of information one needs to process during it — how do I put it? It’s hard to process, even for a computer (I assume, not that I know much about technology).

On the Stress of Being a Welcome Week Leader
Alex Johnson, Deputy News Editor

Each year, Welcome Week fills me with a multitude of emotions. As a first-year, the excitement of Bed, Bath and Beyond After Dark, the Acapella Show and Starball made me look forward to my first year apart from my family. These spaces gave me the opportunity to meet my best friends at the university, and they were the reason I applied for a Welcome Week Leader position the semester after. As an incoming sophomore, the long hours of training, forced high-energy levels and last-minute schedule changes dampened the excitement of Welcome Week. Can’t forget to mention that the loss of my voice and not getting paid also attributed to my discontent with the experience. With all of the work Welcome Week Leaders contribute to the overall experience of greeting each incoming class, the least NYU could do is pay them an hourly wage. And no, housing is not enough.

Staff Raves

On Nostalgia
By Bela Kirpalani, Sports Editor

I am a senior, so allow me to put on my rose-colored glasses for a moment. Ah yes, Welcome Week. A simpler time. I remember cheerily wandering around Washington Square Park, having the time of my life at the silent rave and losing all sense of time. While some may get disgruntled at the slow-moving swarms of NYU first-years with lanyards swinging from their necks or the frighteningly peppy Welcome Week Leaders, I will always remember Welcome Week as that point in time where I had literally no responsibilities and was basking in all my newfound freedom. What a concept.

On Kindness (and Merch)
By Diya Jain, Deputy Opinion Editor

Some of my closest friends (and boyfriend) are people I met at Welcome Week. Although some students find the enthusiasm over-the-top and the forced interactions awkward, as an international student, I found the bubbliness warm and, well, welcoming. I didn’t actually go to a lot of events, but I appreciated the time to meet new people and explore the campus. Getting free NYU stuff was a definite perk. I would love to cancel classes and do Welcome Week all over again. And take more free stuff. 

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

Email WSN Staff at [email protected].

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About the Contributors
Sam Brinton, Beauty & Style Editor
Sam Brinton is a junior studying Journalism and Metropolitan Studies. She loves New York Times crossword puzzles, clarinet and playing Nintendo games to avoid her problems. A native North Carolinian, she will say "y'all" without shame, and has dreams about Cook-Out when she's away. Don't follow her on twitter @sumanthuhbee because it's embarrassing.
Ethan Zack, Deputy Managing Editor
Ethan is a junior in CAS majoring in Journalism and History. When he's not stumbling through an endless stream of Zoom classes, he's doing fun and cool things like reading the Wikipedia plot summaries of horror movies because he's too scared to actually watch them or making yet another three-song playlist that he will literally never touch again, ever. He's most active on Twitter (@ethanzack), so feel free to reach out with any spicy takes.
Anna-Dmitry Muratova, Under the Arch Managing Editor
Finley  comes from Moscow, Russia! They're a junior studying Journalism and Environmental Studies and it's their fifth semester at WSN. Finley loves all things inclusive, sex. ed., ecology and advocacy for a whole bunch of stuff. They'd love to chat with you if you want to write for Under the Arch! Find them @veryawkwardfinley on Instagram. :-)
Alexandria Johnson, Editor-in-Chief
Alex is a senior double-majoring in Journalism and Public Policy. She is a New York native (representing Queens!), and she loves to talk about how songs have gotten shorter recently, trying to meet her celebrity crush (she'll never tell) and her passion for painting album covers. She's definitely NOT a professional artist, but it helps her pass the time. Follow her on IG and Twitter @a_johnson_2021.
Bela Kirpalani, Sports Editor
Bela is a senior in CAS studying history. Born and raised on Long Island, her love for bagels knows no bounds (the same goes for blueberries, but that really doesn't have anything to with Long Island). She also loves all things sports — how fitting — and finds way too many unfunny things funny. When not in the newsroom, she is probably off playing FIFA or wishing she were playing FIFA.
Grace Halio, Editor-at-Large
Grace Halio has spent the past three years working at WSN because her job has an actual title, unlike her concentration in Gallatin. She's studying how journalism and public art can be narratives for social and climate injustice, but has a soft spot in her heart for New York Fashion Week and all things Features Desk. A Long Island native, she could likely live off of bagels. Grace spent her spring 2016 semester studying in Florence, Italy. Unfortunately, she did not turn into Lizzie McGuire; fortunately, she ate a lot of cheese. She looks forward to returning to the motherland. In the meantime, however, you can find her fighting for the necessity of the oxford comma and making pasta for dinner six nights a week. Follow her on Twitter to see her creative 140 character complaints or on Instagram to take a peek at how she spends her free time.

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