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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

Noah Zaldivar

Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor

Noah Zaldivar is a senior studying psychology at CAS and a member of WSN’s editorial board. You can find him sternly reading up on Alan Moore or Aleister Crowley, rewatching video essays on Youtube and seething with spite at the state of the world, usually while blasting his ear drums out with industrial metal or psychedelic pop. Send comics and songs to be judged at [email protected].

All content by Noah Zaldivar
(Courtesy of U.S. Air Force)

Off Topic: Trump’s Vietnam War doesn’t need a draft

Mandatory military service ingrains nationalist programming through the lens of violence, conquest and the preparation to commit it.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor April 17, 2026

Rob Schneider — former star of the piddling TV show “Real Rob” and currently selling a new book, “You Can Do It!: Speak Your Mind, America.” — recently laid out an...

(Suditi Sircar for WSN)

Off Topic: Epstein’s legacy proves the king can bleed

The Epstein Files Transparency Act has created divisions among Republicans. Only time will tell who is implicated and who is protected.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor November 21, 2025

After months of bureaucratic delay and years of being trivialized as nutjob conspiracy fodder, the Epstein scandal has ostensibly taken one of its final steps toward being unraveled....

(Courtesy photo by Chris Rank)

Opinion: Cuomo’s desperation has reached new lows

Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo's AI ad draws from an old bag of dirty political tricks and shows how Cuomo is grasping wildly as the election draws nearer.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor October 27, 2025

Ahead of California’s 1934 gubernatorial election, William Randolph Hearst and MGM Studios cooked up a batch of attack ads aimed at besmirching the socialist upstart Upton Sinclair....

(Courtesy of HBO Max)

After ‘Peacemaker’ season 2, it’s time for a change of pace

While setting new standards for comic book raunchiness, this new entry in James Gunn’s DC Universe will have you wishing for a different creative vision.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor October 22, 2025

Warning: This review contains spoilers for seasons one and two of “Peacemaker.” Hot off the success of “Superman” and “Creature Commandos,” season two of “Peacemaker”...

(Maryam Lootah for WSN)

Off-Third: The Third North basement’s AC problem violates free speech

NYU’s obfuscatory and mendacious treatment of its noble journalists is unacceptable. Will the university finally step in, or will they continue to turn up the heat for the press on campus?
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor October 9, 2025

Off-Third is WSN's satire column. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 14,000 Americans have died directly from heat-related causes since 1979. Since...

(Jason Alpert-Wisnia for WSN)

Off Topic: Foreign films aren’t foes

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign-produced films only serve to further the interests of Hollywood executives at the detriment of menial workers and foreign filmmakers.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor May 7, 2025

President Donald Trump shocked film fans across the country with his nonsensical announcement on Truth Social that he’d be ordering a 100% tariff on all films “produced in...

(Samson Tu for WSN)

Opinion: Betar has no place at NYU

The radical Zionist group based in the United States has used its platform to attack noncitizen students and faculty who protest Israel's ongoing siege in Gaza.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor April 14, 2025

Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has taken advantage of the ongoing war in Gaza to push his anti-education agenda. Recently, his administration was handed...

(Danny Arensberg for WSN)

Opinion: Trump’s mass deportations are immoral and illegal

The Trump administration’s mass deportations violate due process, promote profiling and set dangerous precedents for political dissent.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor April 1, 2025

President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration has long been defined by fearmongering and dehumanization — boldly claiming that legal immigrants take advantage of loopholes...

(Alexandra Chan for WSN)

Off Topic: The disastrous new direction of the EPA

The Trump administration’s new direction of deregulation for the EPA will undoubtedly promote business interests at the expense of the environment.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor March 17, 2025

This past Wednesday, Lee Zeldin, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a startling change of direction for the government agency. Rather than...

Two blue N.Y.C. Emergency Rescue Kit bags with two packages of 4mg Narcan Nasal Spray in front.

Off Topic: Patent abuse is to blame for the price of prescription drugs

Big Pharma employs business practices aimed at prolonging the profitability of their drugs, at the expense of sick consumers.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor March 11, 2025

Between 2005 and 2015, nearly three-fourths of issued drug patents were for already existing drugs. A common argument in favor of the current patent approval process for drugmakers...

(Alex Woodworth for WSN)

Opinion: The role of opinion journalism

In a world where the quality of political debate has been compromised, ethical opinion journalism is more important than ever.
Mehr Kotval and Noah Zaldivar March 3, 2025

“There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based...

(Kiara Mujica for WSN)

Off Topic: The alt-right is lying about free speech

Despite its supposed commitment to freedom of speech, the Trump Administration’s actions reveal its commitment to stifling political opposition and controlling narratives.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor February 26, 2025

One of the biggest talking points of the alt-right has been the so-called destruction of free speech, which they often blame on the rise of politically correct speech, or wokeness,...

A red snake wrapped around a black and white rifle like the Rod of Ascelpius, in front of a blue background.

Off Topic: A shot heard around the health care sector

The public reaction to the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO reveals how broken the U.S. health care system is.
Mehr Kotval and Noah Zaldivar December 13, 2024

The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was killed in broad daylight on the curb outside the Hilton in Midtown. A man wearing a hoodie — identified by the New York City...

An illustration of the flags of Ukraine and the United States crossed in front of a black-and-white drawing of destroyed buildings.

Off Topic: A ceasefire in Ukraine isn’t as simple as you think it is

For the past two years, the war in Ukraine has intensified. While President-elect Donald Trump has called for an immediate end to hostilities, he neglects the disadvantageous position Ukraine is in.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor December 10, 2024

To the non-apocalypse-minded among us, the Doomsday Clock tracks the human race’s relative proximity to self-caused human annihilation, measured by the number of hours and minutes...

First lady Jill Biden, wearing a red dress and black boots, holds a cellphone as President Joe Biden, wearing a black suit with a blue tie, and his son Hunter Biden, wearing a black shirt, walk behind her.

Off Topic: Hunter Biden’s pardon highlights Democrats’ hypocrisy

After an election predicated on preserving democracy, this was a really bad time to prove just how rife with corruption the system can be.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor December 4, 2024

Watergate was a political scandal of unprecedented scale, which revealed the seedy underbelly of political espionage rampant in the halls of government. While the whole ordeal...

An illustration of an armed man with a redacted face in front of a collage of U.S. conspiracy imagery.

Review: ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ is annoyingly fun

The multiplayer is enraging, the campaign is disappointing, but the gameplay is so enjoyable that I can’t help but suffer.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor November 27, 2024

“Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” is the 24th game in the “Call of Duty” franchise, which is a ridiculous statement in and of itself. I've been playing these games since 2010...

An illustration of seven people standing at purple podiums. One of the podiums has a spotlight on it, with a person raising their hand under the light. There is another spotlight that highlights the words “UP FOR DEBATE”.

Up for Debate: Should NYU adopt institutional restraint?

Following a recent trend of universities adopting institutional neutrality, NYU has expressed commitment to practicing “institutional restraint” in order to give “respect to the diverse experience and backgrounds at NYU.”
Mehr Kotval, Noah Zaldivar, Omar Drissi and Naisha Roy November 26, 2024

Naisha Roy, Editor-at-Large: The concept of institutional neutrality is inextricably linked to freedom of speech. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which gave...

Hands typing at a computer with the words “FORECLOSE” on the screen. There is another computer in the background that reads “FAKE NEWS”.

Off Topic: You should be worried about the future of journalism

Misinformation is almost as rampant as mistrust of the news is, and it’s furthering the interests of those in authority. Modern journalism isn’t speaking truth to power — it’s feigning the truth on behalf of those in power.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor October 25, 2024

Media being used to mislead the public in the interest of policy makers and government is nothing new. The explosion of the U.S. battleship Maine on Feb. 15, 1898 — and its subsequent...

An illustration on a blue background of popcorn and a laptop with the Netflix logo on the screen.

Off Topic: Streaming services are the death of good entertainment

The creation of a comprehensive streaming world has been a step forward in convenience, and a monumental step backward in quality.
Noah Zaldivar, Opinion Editor September 16, 2024

Enshittification, the American Dialect Society’s word of the year for 2023, refers to “a gradual worsening in the quality of service on digital platforms.” It’s perhaps...

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 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...