Skip to Main Content
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

All content by Aryana Arora
Home care workers and allies rally outside City Hall on April 8. (Aryana Arora for WSN)

‘We are not machines’: Home care workers’ fight for fair hours

Home health aides paused their six-day hunger strike, but are still urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to support a bill that would end 24-hour shifts.
Aryana Arora, Staff Writer April 24, 2026

Caiqiong Liu works five 24-hour shifts as an elderly home attendant per week: helping patients use the bathroom, turning their bodies to prevent sores and ensuring they’re safe...

(Zara Surti for WSN)

How this Stern senator filled the menstrual product gap on campus

Bathrooms in NYU’s Tisch Hall and across campus lacked access to free menstrual products — until Rena Chen decided to change that.
Aryana Arora, Staff Writer March 26, 2026

For over nine years, NYU students could go to any building on campus and find the menstrual products they needed for free — that is, any building except Tisch Hall, the School...

(Jason Alpert-Wisnia for WSN)

How this lesbian community archive keeps queer history alive

Tucked away in a Brooklyn brownstone, the Lesbian Herstory Archives honors decades of lesbian, queer and feminist stories.
Aryana Arora, Staff Writer February 25, 2026

Unlike the sterile shelves you might be used to, the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Park Slope is a home filled with warm memories of lesbian life, transforming a once-residential...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

This dining hall employee is the heart of Palladium

In just five years at NYU, Demise Gist has earned herself a reputation for being one of the university’s kindest, most memorable employees.
Aryana Arora, Staff Writer March 20, 2025

Seated at the right-side cash register of the Palladium dining hall, Demise Gist won’t let you leave without a drizzle of motivation and motherly love.  Many students’...

An illustration of a silhouette of a person with short hair in front of several world landmarks and a turkey.

Home is where the heart finds its place

As an international student, Thanksgiving in the city is hard, but I learned how to make it feel like home.
Aryana Arora, Contributing Writer November 27, 2024

On Nov. 9, 2023, two weeks before Thanksgiving break in my first year in college, I wrote in my journal, “I am at NYU, but I just wanna go home.” While I was usually able to...