As exam season approaches, the 15 NYU students taking Making an Exoneree have a different type of final: working to get victims of wrongful conviction out of prison. The class, a four-credit Law and Society elective in the College of Arts & Science, was offered at NYU for the first time this semester in conjunction with a program with the same name created at Georgetown University. The program, which receives hundreds of potential wrongful conviction cases, pairs groups of undergraduate students with their “program participants” to produce a short documentary advocating for their exoneration. Throughout the semester, students not only dive into legal documents surrounding their cases, but also conduct…

During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, you can catch a cultural heritage parade, food festivals and many other community events happening throughout New York City. But take a closer look at these events, and you may notice a lack of representation from certain Asian cultures.  First established in 1979 as a week-long commemoration of AAPI culture and people, the celebration expanded to the month of May in 1991 — since then, it continues to serve as a means of recognizing the contributions of AAPI individuals in the United States. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent “Stop Asian Hate” movement, there has been increased awareness of the unique…

Although young girls are arrested at a lower rate than to their male counterparts, they not only make up a growing proportion of teen arrests in the United States but are also disproportionately incarcerated for low-level offenses. To combat this, the program ROSES — Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education and Strength — at NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change works one-on-one with young girls involved in or at risk of having involvement in the juvenile justice system and helping them effectively navigate personal challenges.  ROSES began as an experimental intervention when Shabnam Javdani, an associate professor of applied psychology and founder of ROSES, was first exploring the possibilities of…

Many people associate the disciplines of history, literature and politics with analyzing old laws and lengthy manuscripts. However, after meeting the people behind NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, you’ll realize that this is not the only way to study history. Housed in the College of Arts & Science and the Graduate School of Arts & Science, the department had a humble start in 2005, meant to consolidate five existing programs ranging from ethnic to metropolitan studies. On their own, the programs did not have the power to hire new faculty and would have had to partner with larger departments to do so, according to current Department Chair Nikhil…

For more than 1.2 million New Yorkers, food insecurity is a daily struggle. Facing a rising cost of living, heightened grocery prices and inadequate access to fresh, nutritious food, more than 800,000 households in New York City don’t know where their next meal will come from — and students at NYU are no exception. A 2019 study of 257 undergraduates found that 41% of NYU students met criteria for food insecurity — a substantial increase from 14.6% across the city.  With meal plans costing up to $3,338 per semester, the university’s standard dining offerings are already inaccessible to many students. Still, on-campus organizations are finding ways to navigate scaled prices…

If you’ve walked on Prince Street or strolled down Fifth Avenue recently, you may have come across a giant inflatable rat. With bloodshot red eyes, claws stretched outwards and scars covering its underbelly, the rat’s larger-than-life presence is undeniable. Meet Scabby — a 10- foot-tall inflatable rodent who has served as an icon for unions and worker rights for nearly four decades.  Scabby’s name comes from the label “scab,” a derogatory term used in the early 1800s to describe strikebreakers who refused to join picket lines. Jim Sweeney, the president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 in Chicago, said that he first created Scabby as an attempt to…

It’s a running joke that LGBTQ+ students outnumber straight students at NYU. While it may be a joke, it’s hard not to believe it — especially since NYU has eight student-run LGBTQ+ clubs and its own LGBTQ+ center, all dedicated to uplifting and supporting students who identify as part of this community. From groups like SHADES, which works to support LGBTQ+ people of color and their allies, to Queer Union, which advocates, educates and builds community, these clubs offer robust support for the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. But beyond campus, New York City is home to hundreds of organizations working to advance LGBTQ+ equity and meet the community’s immediate…

Content warning: This article contains mentions of violence and sexual harassment.  Over 60 NYU community members and New York City residents gathered for the university’s first-ever Kwibuka, an annual commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, at the Kimmel Center for University Life on Tuesday.  Titled Kwibuka 31, the event was organized by NYU’s African Graduate Students Association, African Students Union, Association for African Development and John Brademas Center. The commemoration featured four speakers, including survivor Consolee Nishimwe and Deputy Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations Robert Kayinamura, and screened a short video on the history of the genocide.  Robert Kayinamura, the deputy permanent representative of…

Strobe lights flashing on the dance floor, heavy pours of liquor gushing from glass to glass and the aroma of poppers wafting through a sea of men. It’s far from a typical night out at Josie’s — it’s a thrilling night out at a gay bar in the epicenter of queer nightlife, New York City.  In neighborhoods like Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and Greenwich Village, gay bars line the streets — they’re bustling hubs for gay culture, but also sites rich with queer history. The Stonewall Inn is just a five-minute walk from Washington Square Park. This West Village bar, which opened in 1967 and is still in operation, has not…

Any New Yorker who has explored the city’s plethora of coffee shops has undoubtedly encountered a pattern of homogenization. Many cafes that follow the formula of a single brick wall, polished hardwood floors and chalkboards with lighthearted jokes about caffeine addiction have been labeled by the internet as millennial coffee shops. While these coffee shops largely cater to the minimalist millennial aesthetic, this year, many in New York City have attempted to distinguish themselves by catering to the more daring preferences of Gen Z — think Blank Street Coffee’s new Iced Strawberry Shortcake Matcha or Enly’s tiramisu latte. Though a major aspect of New York City’s contemporary food culture, the…