Urban Journalism Workshop
High school reporters cover local stories for NYU Journalism Institute’s summer program.
Oh, the pressure! (To get into a top college)
By Isabella Alvarez-Gomez On a typical school day, Aryan Vadlamudi, 16, dashes through the front doors of Troy Athens High School at 7:20 a.m. From then until 3 p.m., he trips from class to class: AP chemistry, AP US history, honors pre-calculus and honors English. When classes end, he dives into his duties as treasurer […]
Masking still, despite pandemic’s official end
By Isabella Konecky As she waited at an East 14th Street bus stop, Lynn Chealander had her KN-95 plastered around her mouth and nose. Diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020, Chealander hasn’t fully recovered. She considers herself “mildly disabled” from long-COVID. A manager for a tech company, the 35-year-old said she’s lucky to work from home. […]
Street performers aim to inspire and uplift
By Anthony Jose Urena On a patch of concrete in Washington Square Park, Adjua Ajamu lays down his paisley-printed red carpet and, on top of that, a tip jar and a cube-shaped speaker that is connected to his phone. It powers the synthetic music that is the background for his singing. On a second carpet, […]
Combining basketball and clothing design
By Fouday Singateh He dribbled up and down the court, passing the basketball through his legs and behind his back. He drove toward the hoop, collected his rebound, dribbled back toward the free throw line and took his shot. Swoosh. He watched the ball drop through the hoop. “I’m trying to bring everyone together at […]
Self-styled, self-defined Muslim women
By Liyana Illyas Djenabou Diallo’s loose blue jeans were paired with a long-sleeve, flowy white shirt and a cornflower blue hijab. Mariam Sayeed wore her cream-colored, three-quarter-length sleeved T-shirt with blue jeans and a periwinkle colored hijab. Both are Muslim, dressed to reflect their religious beliefs that women should be more covered up in public, […]
One church’s 132 years of justice, arts activism
By Jordan Gay Pointing to a decades-old fountain on the corner of Washington Square South and Thompson Street, Keen Berger, 80, gives some background on Judson Memorial Church, the congregation she joined 42 years ago. “That little corner thing that has the spigot, it used to have water,” said Berger, who chairs Judson’s board of […]
Men also are concerned with body image
By Sophia Herrera Brady O’Keefe, 16, stands at 5’ 7” and weighs 125 pounds. Ask him about his self-image, and the summer 2022 NYU Precollege Program student will give you a straight answer: “I try to avoid thinking about what I like and dislike because that will inevitably bring out what I dislike.” Society, in […]
Skateboarders demanded a space of their own
By Tarak Jayachandran It’s 5 p.m on a Friday in July in the East Village. The sky is overcast. The National Weather Service has registered the day’s high at 96 degrees, 10 degrees above the norm for this time of year in New York City. The skaters pile in, mainly guys, but also one girl. […]
Supply chain, social media and brand pricing
By Tatiana Allen As the saying goes, “everything old is new again.” That’s shown, for example, in how brands such as Puma, New Balance, Crocs, and Champion, once again, are popular. Their popularity is driven by several factors, including the influence of social media, marketing, and celebrity endorsements. The price increases, however, are supply chain […]
Managing pet anxiety as life returns to normal
By Audrey Yoo While staying home all day may have been the worst part of the pandemic for some, it was a real treat for many pets. “They loved having somebody home all the time because they got tons of attention,” Magdalena Kusio, founder of My Wagging Gang, said of the four-legged creatures her staff […]
Rising ranks of young Democratic Socialists
By Mary Huerta Frustrated over how the two main political parties operate, some younger voters are looking for alternatives. Some are turning to Democratic socialism, with Democratic Socialists of America counting 6,000 members in 2015 but 94,000 members in July 2021. Among them is Mary Elizabeth Murphy, 21, a Fordham University student majoring in film […]
NYU, New School adjuncts want more pay
By Aida Sall Wages for adjunct professors at NYU are so low that some of them cannot afford health care. That’s according to leaders of the adjuncts’ union, which organized a recent protest to urge higher wages for those part-time instructors. “What do we want? … Contracts!” “If we don’t get it? … Shut it […]
An affordable housing fight in financial district
By Samuel Espinobarros The 80-story high-rise slated for what not is a bare plot at Cedar and Greenwich Streets will host 5 World Trade Center, whose developers have committed to reserving 25%, or 330, of 1,325 proposed residential units as affordably priced apartments. “That’s not enough,” said Jill Goodkind, co-founder for 100% Affordable 5WTC, a […]
Yoga, arts, community on St. Mark’s Place
By Jessica Romero Silver On the fourth floor, some among the dancers who’d assembled for a fundraiser made small talk, while a dachshund scurried about, darting from room to room. On the third floor, the two instrumentalists of The Royal Green Rangers, with their concert over, were trying to hug each and every person in […]
A worker-owned LGBTQ bookstore
By Carl Tsegah The air is crisp as Merlin Sabal opens the door to the BlueStockings Cooperative Bookstore. The morning sun illuminates a flag near the entrance whose rainbow colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, signifying the LGBTQ community. Sabal, 28, has spent the last four years as one of the owners […]
Crocheting, life-coaching from a park bench
By Laiba Lakhani At 9 o’clock on most mornings, he said, Bob Matthews sits on the same bench in Washington Square Park, just northeast of where the park’s stone walkway veers toward West Fourth Street. He pulls his pink and green needles from the crocheted hat, made from recycled material, covering his dreadlocks. “Crochet is […]
Aiming for mental wellness at NYU
By Aaron Baluyot “I think we are still coping and we are not yet there,” said grad student Chrysolite Mongoly when asked if the pandemic affected the mental health of individuals, mainly youth and young adults. ”It’s still a long way to go because mental health is a challenge for every single individual.” As a […]
Screentime: How much is too much?
By Christian Payne Eighty-seven percent of Americans owned a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center. They spend an average of 5.4 hours a day on those devices, according to Verizon, which also warns of smartphone addiction and notes research linking smartphone overuse to anxiety and other behavioral health problems. And 47% of Americans admitted that […]
Weed sales soar on sidewalks, in storefronts
By Abraham Dume As Jonathan Perez, 28, sees it, his sales of cannabis gummies, cookies, cereal and other sweet treats and of pre-rolled marijuana joints, selling for $10 each, is a community service. “We’ve saved lives … Ever since we’ve come here there’s been more peace and harmony in this park,” said Perez, offering his […]
“Flushing Community Fridge” Bonds Neighbors, While Filling Hungry Bellies
By Nicole Wong Thrilled to provide fresh produce, hygiene products, and other necessities to community members free of charge, rising high school seniors Kaitlyn Noemi and Isabel Noemi are celebrating the launch of the Flushing Community Fridge. Mutual aid finds strength in communities by ensuring that those most affected by issues like poverty are also […]
Even as Teen Births Drop, Teen Moms Still Exist and Sometimes Struggle
By Emmanuella Agyemang The second and last time her father kicked her out of the house, 17-year-old Melody Mota and her son, Aiden, who was 6-months-old, got sent to live with relatives in the Dominican Republic. She’s been there since January, mostly cut off from her New York family and struggling to get by on […]
When Choosing Careers, Should Students Follow their Hearts or the Money?
By Yumna Qasim When she was 10 and told an inquiring family friend that she planned to write books someday, that grown-up’s response “was unforgettable,” said Morgan, 17, a senior at Brooklyn Latin High School. “He told me that I shouldn’t become an author and that I shouldn’t do writing because I won’t make […]
Public Housing Tenants Made 200K Complaints About Bedbugs and Roaches
By Brandon Sanchez For the 19 years that he’s lived in public housing, Jaylen Ramos has dealt with a range of problems, including having to boil water and, then, stand in his tub to bathe. “Just this month, there was no hot water for like two days,” said Ramos, 38, a barber, who lives in […]
Social Media Sites Can Be a Safe Haven and a Place to Show-and-Tell
By Felicity Robles Within a span of about 20 minutes, Hala Kurbeh watched her TikTok video showing the jeans, shirts, tops and necklaces she’d bought at an online clothing store rack up 79,000 likes and 280,000 views. “I was not used to my videos blowing up … ” said New Jerseyite Kurbeh, 16. “So many […]
Teen’s “Project Involve” Connects Youth to Local and World Concerns
By Edward Kim Since her June 2021 launch of Project Involve, an online platform aimed at encouraging students to become more aware of and involved in issues around the world, 16-year-old Aashi Chandna has attracted 1,300 followers. “People turn away from reading the news because it is associated with a lot of negativity and anger,” […]