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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

Alisia Houghtaling

Alisia Houghtaling, Multimedia Editor

Alisia Houghtaling is a sophomore originally from Moscow but lives in New Orleans and is studying applied psychology. You can find her flipping through The New Yorker to look for cool illustrations and inspirations for the cover she’ll make one day. She has an addiction to tea and the Breaking Bad franchise. You can find her at @_alisiart_ on Instagram.

All content by Alisia Houghtaling
An illustration of a man with brown hair and a blue shirt wearing movie theater 3D glasses that say "VERSUS" across the lenses.

Photo: ‘Free Time’ subverts any semblance of competent adulthood

April 5, 2024

“Free Time” is a movie directed by Ryan Martin Brown, released on March 22, 2024. (Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of a mouth smiling with a flower in it emerging from dirt.

Photo: Review: Hozier’s ‘Unheard’ draws fans deeper into his conceptual art

April 1, 2024

Hozier’s “Unheard” released on March 22, 2024. (Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An email from N.Y.U.’s department of campus safety pasted on a purple background.

Photo: Campus Safety responds to wave of assaults near Washington Square Park

Aashna Miharia, Deputy News Editor March 29, 2024

The email was sent out on March 27, 2024 from the Department of Campus Safety. (Graphic by Alisia Houghtaling)

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

Photo: 6 books to read this Women’s History Month

Camryn Loor, Contributing Writer March 28, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of a person setting a volleyball.

The NCAA to change the rules of a controversial volleyball call

Volleyball players can now touch the ball twice in a row. What does this change mean for the game?
Alisia Houghtaling, Illustration Editor March 8, 2024

If you’ve ever been to a volleyball game, you understand the confusion and frustration when a match gets interrupted over a small fault. As the referee holds up two fingers,...

A pink illustration of a girl in a blue top hugging her mother, who is in a green top. In the background are pink flexed arms and flowers.

Photo: Staff Recs: Who runs the world?

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of purple players participating in volleyball, basketball, soccer and track on a yellow background.

Photo: Men’s soccer and women’s volleyball sweep all and other news

September 3, 2024

Sports Weekly recaps all the highlights from NYU athletics. (Alisia Houghtaling for WSN)

An illustration of Ozzy Osbourne with long hair and glasses forming a fist in different shades of purple.

Photo: The futility of the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominations

February 29, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of three dishes on a pink background: a purple plate with kebabs, a yellow plate with a cinnamon sweet potato, and a dark blue plate with shrimp.

Photo: 18 Below curates special tasting menu to celebrate Black History Month

February 28, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

Illustration of three athletes playing basketball, volleyball and soccer. “Weekly Sports Update” is written in between them.

Photo: Baseball opening day, wrestling wins three championships and other news

February 26, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

Collage of four books titled: “RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE,” “ONE TRUE LOVES,” “BEACH READ” and “TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS.”

Photo: Lovely books to read or gift this Valentine’s Day

Diana C. Sánchez González, Staff Writer February 13, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of four books. The top left is “Happy Hour” by Marlowe Granados. The top right is “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin. The bottom left is “Okay, Cupid” by Mason Deaver. The bottom right is “Prep” by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Photo: Books beyond Bobst: A summer-set novel, an unconventional love story and more

“Prep” by Curtis Sittenfeld (Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of book illustrations featuring: An illustration of a book cover titled “Ben and Beatriz,” by Katalina Gamarra, with two silhouettes over a colorful background of abstract shapes; An illustration of an orange book titled “The Bodyguard,” by Katherine Center. Two people stand in a garden with their backs toward each other; An illustration of a brown book titled “home body” by “Rupi Kaur,” with green leaf patterns surrounding the texts, placed on a dark green background; An illustration of the cover of “The Song of Achilles,” by Madeline Miller, with an ancient Greek gold helmet in the center with a dark turquoise background; An illustration of a book titled “The Thursday Murder Club” by Richard Osman, with a red border and a dog-like animal looking back in the middle.

Photo: 5 books to curl up with this winter

Tess McLafferty, Contributing Writer February 7, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration on a green and red split background that reads "in" on the green side and "out" on the red side. Various small drawings, like a backpack, a coffee cup and a bag of chips, are on either side of the image.

Photo: Everything in and everything out this semester

February 6, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of two long brown coats, one long green coat, one long black coat and one short black coat scattered on a blue background.

Photo: The trendiest winter coats to brace New York City winter

January 25, 2024

(Illustrations by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of a screenshot of an Albert "Grades and Transcripts" page where the "Midterm Grade" column is covered by a sticky note. On the sticky note there are three checkboxes that say “strong progress,” “satisfactory progress” and “concern with progress.” The "satisfactory progress" box is checked with a green marker.

Photo: Opinion: Midterm progress reports are the change we needed

January 25, 2024

NYU announced the decision to switch to Midterm Progress Reports rather than traditional letter grades for the spring 2024 semester. (Illustrations by Alisia Houghtaling)

An illustration of three purple silhouettes on a light purple background, with the words “Forbes Thirty Under Thirty” written on the silhouette.

Photo: 20 NYU community members make Forbes’ annual ‘30 Under 30’ list

January 23, 2024

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A yellow trophy with multi-colored confetti on a purple background.

Photo: Staff Recs: la fin.

December 4, 2023

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of four pairs of different outfits on brown, pink, green and blue backgrounds.

Photo: Serve up style with these Thanksgiving outfits

November 21, 2023

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of four pairs of different outfits on brown, pink, green and blue backgrounds.

Photo: Serve up style with these Thanksgiving outfits

Brianna Ly, Contributing Writer November 21, 2023

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

Photo: Staff Recs: Caw-caw!

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of four illustrations of books titled "Acts of Service," "Couplets," "everything I know about parties, dates, friends, jobs, life, love," and "Stay True."

Photo: Books beyond Bobst: A novel in verse, a Pulitzer-winning memoir and more

October 30, 2023

(Illustration by Alisia Houghtaling)

A collage of four illustrations of books titled "Acts of Service," "Couplets," "everything I know about parties, dates, friends, jobs, life, love," and "Stay True."

Photo: Books beyond Bobst: A novel in verse, a Pulitzer-winning memoir and more

“Couplets,” by Maggie Millner (Alisia Houghtaling for WSN)