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

Students in a classroom attend in-person classes with limited safety precautions. NYU needs to provide virtual class options for students who cannot attend campus due to COVID restrictions. (Photo by Manaal Shareh)

Editorial: NYU must expand virtual attendance options

Although we’re making progress in the fight against COVID-19, it is essential that virtual attendance options are available to the NYU student body.
WSN Editorial Board October 4, 2021

Students received some revolutionary advice from a wise and ever-helpful NYU Returns email on Sept. 30: stay home if they feel sick and report any symptoms to the NYU COVID-19...

Many students are experiencing crowded classrooms in NYU buildings. The high-density classes contrast with the guidelines that NYU is implementing in other areas of student life. (Photo by Olivia Hughart)

Packed classrooms provoke COVID concerns

NYU returned to full in-person instruction this fall, but students are concerned about large class sizes, limited room for social distancing and contrasting rules for academic and non-academic spaces.
Abby Wilson and Alisha Meghani September 29, 2021

Despite the university’s COVID-19 guidelines for the fall 2021 semester, some students believe classroom regulations are too lenient. Students are frustrated that though on-campus...

Local businesses near Washington Square Park experienced a difficult time during the COVID-19 lockdown and only recovered when the campus reopened. They form the backbone of the neighborhood, and NYU students and faculty function as a major source of income. (Photos by Camille Harvell)

Return to campus eases 18 months of financial distress for local businesses

Bagel Bob’s, Irving Farm and many other businesses near campus are household names around NYU. During the height of the pandemic, however, they almost disappeared for good.
Api Dhadda, Contributing Writer September 29, 2021

Peter Karounos’ family has owned and operated University Floral Design on University Place since 1928. But in the months following March 2020, the pandemic wrought nearly irreparable...

Salsa learners gather at Washington Square Park for their lesson. Free salsa lessons are scheduled between 5:30pm to 8:00pm every Tuesday till the end of September. (Photo by Maria Freyre)

Salsa dance classes bring spice to Washington Square Park

Free weekly dance classes have brought salsa to Washington Square Park every Tuesday. The classes continue until the end of September.
Maria Freyre, Contributing Writer September 22, 2021

Parkgoers become salsa dancers when they step into Washington Square Park’s Garibaldi Plaza for salsa Tuesdays.  These weekly salsa classes are for everyone from beginners...

The Smith continues to be a popular dinner spot for NYU students. New mandates and recommendations have changed the way you can expect to dine in the city. (Staff Photo by Jake Capriotti)

Dining indoors during COVID-19, safely-ish

Here’s everything you need to know about eating at restaurants during the pandemic. Because despite CDC recommendations, we know you’ll do it anyway, so you might as well be safe about it.
Gabby Lozano, Dining Editor September 17, 2021

After nearly a year and a half of being stuck at home, most diners are eager to hit the streets again to experience the comforting thrill of eating at a restaurant. As more and...

Universities and colleges have loosened their standard testing requirement for incoming students considering the impact of the pandemic. Such a test-optional policy, in fact, successfully promotes diversity in schools. (Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

Opinion: NYU should commit to test-optional applications

Batoul Saleh, Staff Writer September 14, 2021
NYU’s announcement that the 2021-22 admissions cycle will be test-optional is the perfect opportunity for NYU to fully commit to a more equitable practice.
NYU announced its plans to return to an in-person semester for the fall of 2021 however, there has been no broad action on addressing class attendance policies. With strict attendance policies along with the increasingly contagious new COVID variants like the delta variant, students worry that they will once again have to prioritize class attendance over their physical health. (Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

Opinion: Mandatory attendance policies are irrational and ableist

Before the pandemic, some NYU professors and schools were notorious for strict attendance policies. As the pandemic continues with rising cases and dangerous new variants, though, do mandatory attendance policies make sense for NYU’s first in-person semester since the start of the pandemic?
Srishti Bungle, Deputy Opinion Editor August 25, 2021

In spring 2021, NYU announced its plans to return to an in-person semester in the fall. Along with the announcement, the university released a number of requirements to keep students...

A screenshot from the US State Department’s Visa Appointment Wait Times page reveals the difficulty of obtaining visas of all kinds for individuals from Russia. Russian international students have to go through unusually extreme measures to study in the United States this year. (Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

How COVID-19 affected my visa status

Family members catching COVID, apprehension by Swiss cops and a last-minute trip to Warsaw: my journey around Europe to obtain a U.S. visa during the pandemic.
Polina Tyurikova, Contributing Writer August 25, 2021

International students at NYU are familiar with the hardships of the visa process, but most don’t have to worry about renewing their visas until they’re already out of college....

New York got its first vaccine passport app which is the first government-issued immunity pass in the country. However, the prospect of widespread use of a vaccine passport has prompted both critics and supporters. (Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

Opinion: A premature vaccine passport can threaten public health and equity

The vaccine passport has arrived in New York and is being debated around the country. Vaccine hesitancy poses a fundamental challenge to reaching herd immunity – therefore, a vaccine passport is contingent on increased vaccination efforts.
Lucy Yama, Staff Writer May 6, 2021

The stark ideological and political divide between American conservatives and liberals has been considered a proxy for one’s views on pandemic-related mandates, including mask-wearing...

When the pandemic hit, the drag culture was hit just as hard. Many queens, such as Honey Davenport, turned to the internet and social media, attempting to translate the extravagance of a live performance to a camera. (Staff Illustration by Arnav Binaykia)

New York drag queens share struggles and successes of online performance

Drag queens speak on the drastic changes that New York City’s drag culture experienced during the pandemic.
Valentina Arrieta, Staff Writer May 6, 2021

Drag is a performance of gender expression, most commonly seen when someone performs femininity, or personifies a female character, as a drag queen. Regardless of gender identity,...

NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 Laguardia Pl. In March 2018, the center hosted performances of Gob Squad's 'War and Peace.' (Staff Photo by Alexandra Chan)

Revisiting Gob Squad’s performance techniques in a time of remote theater

While it’s been more than a year without live theater, the enlivening experience of Gob Squad lives on.
Perry Gregory, Contributing Writer May 6, 2021

On a Thursday night in 2018, I felt emotionally stagnant. I decided to see Gob Squad's rendition of "War and Peace" at NYU's Skirball Center. I left the theater in tears and came...

Hate towards Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander people increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. NYU students of Asian and Pacific Islander descent are sharing their experiences with racism in New York City during the pandemic. (Photo by Sirui Wu)

Asian students ‘terrified’ by surge in New York City hate crimes

Asian students share stories of the pandemic-related racism and fear they’ve experienced in New York City. This article is the first in Sabrina Choudhary’s series documenting Asian Pacific Islander students’ experiences with race at NYU.
Sabrina Choudhary, Deputy Culture Editor April 26, 2021

Hate toward Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander people in the United States is by no means new, but it has surged since the start of the pandemic. Though its roots and expressions...