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 Noah Zaldivar
An S.A.T. a practice pamphlet sits alongside a book featuring the words S.A.T. Test Preparation on it, and other study items on a desk.

Opinion: NYU needs to bring back mandatory standardized testing

Reinstating standardized test scores is, perhaps surprisingly, the equitable admissions policy NYU needs.
Noah Zaldivar, Deputy Opinion Editor April 17, 2024

Recently, NYU announced that it will reevaluate whether it should make standardized tests mandatory for future admissions cycles. The announcement raised some concerns — after...

A crowd of students and three police officers stand outside Alumni Hall.

Opinion: NYU needs to refine its emergency communication

In the wake of Alumni Hall being evacuated due to a false bomb threat, the university needs to take steps to hasten communication with students during emergencies.
Noah Zaldivar, Staff Writer February 16, 2024

Last Thursday, residents at Alumni Hall were told to evacuate the building, anxiously waiting in the cold from 11 p.m. to around 1:45 a.m. while the New York City Police Department...

A group of people sitting in a room. Two speakers stand in front of the crowd, and one of them holds a microphone while pointing to the crowd.

Opinion: The CAS Student Council’s decision to oust a candidate was unfair

The student council president’s unprecedented overreach of executive power sets a dangerous example for future presidents.
Noah Zaldivar, Staff Writer April 28, 2023

This month has been tumultuous for the College of Arts & Science Student Council. Two weeks ago, amid elections for the council’s next president, one of the candidates, Adiba...

A laptop displaying the webpage of N.Y.U.’s Albert course registration system.

Noah Knows Best: Your course load needs to be perfect. Here’s how to make it happen.

Course registration can be a very complicated process, and many wind up unsatisfied with what they choose. Here's a guide on how to pick a schedule that works best for you.
Noah Zaldivar, Staff Writer April 20, 2023

One of the most stressful parts of college is selecting which classes you’re going to take each semester and when you’re going to take them. You log into one of NYU's many...

A photo of a classroom that is full of unoccupied chairs.

Opinion: Lectures are a thing of the past

Large lectures are an outdated style of education. Smaller, more personal class sizes are simply better.
Noah Zaldivar, Staff Writer February 17, 2023

Picture the scene: You signed up for a course titled something like "Interdisciplinary Perceptual Psychology of Architecture.” For some reason, you’ve always wanted to take...

An illustration of a white speech bubble that reads “This shit sucks” in black font. Next to it, another speech bubble that is blue and reads “Right?”. Both speech bubbles are against a gray grid background.

Opinion: A 3-step guide to complaining correctly

Life sucks sometimes. School is hard. It’s OK to complain about it.
Noah Zaldivar, Contributing Writer December 14, 2022

It’s finals season and we all know what that means: everybody is complaining. Just walk through Bobst Library, and you’ll hear the classic “Writing the Essay is killing me!”...

The facade of a brick building. A small plaque reads: “New York University Silver School of Social Work.” To the right, a gray-haired man wearing a jean jacket walks by.

Opinion: NYU’s Silver School of Social Work should be tuition-free

New York City has the highest demand for social workers of any city in the country. NYU should make tuition free to fill that demand.
Noah Zaldivar, Contributing Writer November 2, 2022

Although gratifying, the field of social work is stressful and emotionally taxing. In their interactions with clients and communities, social workers often encounter feelings of...

A group of four people wearing the same yellow sorority t-shirts all take a selfie with a smartphone. They stand on a rooftop with other sorority members in the background.

Opinion: Fraternities suck. Here’s why they’re still important.

The prominence of NYU’s Greek life is minimal. Maybe it’s time we brought it back.
Noah Zaldivar, Contributing Writer October 18, 2022

I’ve often heard it said that joining a fraternity at NYU is a social death sentence. Though frat propagandists might try to tell you otherwise, Greek life is barely a part of...