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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

Jules Roscoe

Jules Roscoe, Opinion Editor

Jules Roscoe is a junior studying journalism and linguistics, and minoring in classics. They’re passionate about labor reporting, learning new languages, and trying to hit new deadlift PRs. Find them chugging a C4 energy drink at 3 a.m. or on Twitter @julesaroscoe.

All content by Jules Roscoe
Illustration of a classroom with students sitting at the chairs. Students sit in costume at school desks. In order from the front of the classroom back and from left to right, there is a student dressed as an angel, an alien, a devil, a cat, a cowboy, and a banana.

Opinion: Wear your Halloween costume to class today

College students underappreciate Halloween, but it should be our favorite holiday of the year.
Jules Roscoe, Opinion Editor October 31, 2022

Today marks the end of spooky season. The extensive costume planning and horror movie marathons will culminate tonight as Halloween — one of the United States’ most popular...

An illustration of a megaphone with a red handle. Written in orange on the megaphone are the words “Staff Rants.”

Staff Rants: Midterms and midterms

It’s the middle of the term! The WSN staff offers our thoughts on our exam-packed weeks and the ongoing congressional election season.

On unoriginality: It’s really unoriginal of NYU to hold midterm exams during the midterm elections. As an academic institution that discourages plagiarism, it shouldn’t steal...

A student holds up their phone displaying a purple Violet Go pass to enter an NYU building.

Opinion: Violet Go is completely pointless

NYU’s one-and-done Daily Screener revamp is unnecessary. We should simply have all our information on our NYU IDs.
Jules Roscoe, Opinion Editor September 7, 2022

NYU unveiled its brand-new Daily Screener update in late August in anticipation of the new semester. The revamp, called the Violet Go pass, aims to make students’ lives “just...

An illustration of a megaphone with a red handle. Written in orange on the megaphone are the words “Staff Rants.”

Staff Rants: First day of classes

Welcome, or welcome back! WSN staff shares our thoughts and feelings about the start of the semester.

On Thursday: NYU feels very comfortable disrupting the traditional week by starting classes on a Thursday — and not only a regular Thursday, but a Thursday before a long weekend....

An illustration of a woman with makeup, wearing glasses and a graduation cap and gown. She is smiling in front of a pink background surrounded by purple floating hearts.

Off-Third: Judith Heumann fans hassle NYU seniors for graduation tickets

Disability rights activist Judith Heumann, along with some random singer, will speak at NYU’s commencement ceremony. Desperate to catch a glimpse of their favorite disability rights activist, Heumann’s fans are trying to buy tickets from NYU graduates.
Jules Roscoe, Deputy Opinion Editor April 28, 2022

Avid Judith Heumann fans aggressively harassed NYU graduates on Twitter for graduation tickets following NYU’s announcement that she would speak at the university’s doubleheader...

Bright red-and-white decorations hang from a tree with a very thick patch of branches. The bramble is in front of an evergreen tree.

Chestita Baba Marta: The monthlong welcoming of Grandmother March

The Bulgarian holiday signifies the coming of springtime.
Jules Roscoe, Deputy Opinion Editor March 31, 2022

March brings a lot of things. We watch the snow give way to budding tree branches, get buffeted by the cold wind tunnels between tall buildings, and, this year, even got somewhat...

An illustration of a purple computer and a green background. On the top left of the computer screen, in purple text, are the words “NYU Albert.” At center, the words “New and Improved Course Search,” and under this, “but this time it’s only core classes.” Under this centered title, there is a green button with white text reading “Search.”

Off-Third: Keep the core classes, get rid of majors

NYU needs to champion the well-rounded individual. The best way to do that is by getting rid of majors entirely.
Jules Roscoe, Deputy Opinion Editor March 31, 2022

Core requirements have always mystified students. Why do we have so many? How do professors come up with these topics? From a Texts & Ideas course on doubling in French literature...

Six protesters stand by the Washington Square Park fountain holding up cardboard posters and a Ukrainian flag in support of ending the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Opinion: Stop publishing pieces on how to ‘cope’ with the invasion of Ukraine

Coverage of the war should focus on how to help Ukrainian people, not how to destress.
Jules Roscoe, Deputy Opinion Editor March 8, 2022

I was walking out of a morning class on Feb. 28, just four days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Two of my classmates strolled...

An illustration of a Rooted Fare Dried Chili Sichuan Sauce jar with red chilis and garlic bulbs laying next to it.

NYU alum’s business partners with immigrant chefs to spread the sauce around

With help from her aunt and a childhood friend, Steinhardt alum Ashley Xie’s school project has become a business that supports immigrant chefs by helping their sauces reach a national market.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Editor March 2, 2022

Anyone who has tried their hand at cooking knows that the sauce is the hardest part of a dish to get right. Too much salt, too little garlic — it's a complicated yet sacred element...

Two TVs mounted on the wall behind a help desk at the Bobst Library Computer Center. Both TVs are turned off.

Opinion: Bobst should stop playing CNN on that one TV all the time

Since LL1-16 has been converted into a study space, it should be fully treated as one. Watch Anderson Cooper on your own time.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Editor February 25, 2022

If you spend serious time at Bobst Library, you know about LL1-16. It's the glass-encased room located just off the staircases down from the lobby. Before NYU adjusted its...

Forty-one percent of NYU students face food insecurity, according to Steinhardt alum Maura Puscheck. Food insecurity has become a dire issue across New York City amid pandemic. (Images courtesy of Alesha Gooden and Tera Nakata)

Food activism: taking food justice into your own hands

The "Zoom in on Food Activism" panel, part of NYU's MLK Week celebration, aimed to involve students in food activism.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Writer February 18, 2022

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and ideas have spread far beyond the U.S. Civil Rights movement. NYU hosted its 17th annual MLK Week last week, theorizing what a changed world...

A tree-planting program spearheaded by Mayor Eric Adams and New York City’s borough presidents has overcome partisan barriers to improve habitability and living conditions for low-income residents. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Opinion: Adams’ new tree-planting program will bring New York back

The mayor's revitalized "Million More Trees" project will expand green space in the city and welcome people back after the pandemic drove them away in 2020.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Editor February 16, 2022

Mayor Eric Adams joined the New York City borough presidents on Monday morning to announce another "Million Trees" program. The meeting, as The New York Times reported, called...

Bobst Library is NYU’s hub for studying and research. Its main atrium is a sight to behold that ought to be graced with a slide. (Staff Photo by Luca Richman, Staff Illustration by Susan Behrends Valenzuela)

Off-Third: Bobst Library needs a slide

The title says it all. NYU can do more with Bobst Library. Put a slide in it.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Editor February 10, 2022

The installation of solar panels on the roof of Bobst Library is a welcome move by a university that has faced substantial environmentalist criticisms. But sustainability isn't...

Despite opting for in-person classes this spring, NYU has not provided adequate support to students and faculty — making it difficult for them to navigate the new semester amid the ongoing pandemic. (Staff Photo by Manasa Gudavalli)

Opinion: NYU’s handling of COVID-19 is a valid reason to take a leave of absence

Between confused faculty and administrators, ineffective online learning methods and a tuition of $80,000 per year, it's OK that you want time off.
Jules Roscoe, UTA Staff Editor January 28, 2022

NYU announced its spring 2022 reopening plans in a university-wide email on Jan. 12. The reaction was a mix of enthusiasm and concern. Students have been yearning for a normal...

Tommy Tran: "I was inspired by the concept of divine femininity where a feminine figure can just be themselves — they don’t have to fit into the narrative that men have painted them to be." (Photo by Tommy Tran)

Victoria Husain on leaning into pleasure: sex, nature and community

Victoria Husain teaches us what it means to be accepting of happiness and sexual energy.
Jules Roscoe, Contributing Writer December 10, 2021

"I hope we're not in someone's backyard."  Victoria Husain and I are standing on a stone path in a community garden one block east of Tompkins Square Park. We had been walking...

As seniors look forward to an in-person spring commencement, fall 2021 graduates have been left in the dark. These students have not received adequate information regarding graduation. (Photo by Alana Beyer)

Dec. grads left confused about graduation plans

Left largely in the dark about graduation, December 2021 graduates are focusing on the future as they prepare to enter their careers. 
Jules Roscoe, Contributing Writer December 9, 2021

NYU announced last month that an in-person graduation ceremony will take place for the class of 2022 at Yankee Stadium, with the classes of 2020 and 2021 also invited to a ceremony...

The best hot chocolate spots around campus

The best hot chocolate spots around campus

These are the best spots around Washington Square Park to grab a quintessential winter cup of cocoa comfort.
Jules Roscoe, Contributing Writer November 23, 2021

As another New York winter approaches, we break out our puffy coats and thick boots and prepare to hunker down. Hot chocolate, the drink of comfort and nostalgia, starts calling...

(Charlie Dodge for WSN)

Opinion: NYU’s mask policy is just for show

NYU's mask policy is far stricter than local guidelines and sends the wrong message about vaccine efficacy. It would be more beneficial for the university to focus on encouraging booster shots. 
Jules Roscoe, Staff Writer November 22, 2021

Last year, the medical community rejoiced as Sandra Lindsay, a New York nurse, became the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and more...

The inside of the Colosseum, which was the largest amphitheater in the Ancient Roman world. NYU’s course syllabi, and Western academia in general, neglect the study of non-white cultures in favor of Roman and Greek art and history. (Staff Photo by Arnav Binaykia)

Opinion: NYU should stop idolizing the Greeks and Romans

NYU propagates harmful attitudes about the type of history that matters with an overall lack of focus on the ancient world outside of the Classics.
Jules Roscoe, Staff Writer October 22, 2021

On a Wednesday in October, I attended an introductory anthropology class in the Cantor Film Center to hear a lecture on the history of evolutionary theory. Students typed notes...

Gallatin sophomore Tara Shear enjoys some quality time outside with her emotional support dog Dakota. NYU students who meet certain criteria are permitted to keep pets in dorms for emotional support. (Image courtesy of Tara Shear)

Emotional support animals offer students comfort

Bringing a pet to college as an emotional support animal is beneficial for some students’ mental health, especially when living away from home for the first time.
Jules Roscoe, Contributing Writer October 19, 2021

For students who leave home for college, the transition is one of the biggest in our lives. It’s an entirely new dynamic of meeting friends, finding work and feeling comfortable....