New School: News & Politics

As The New School College students and faculty return to the New York City streets, they also return to the new guidelines set in place in order to keep the community safe. Students talk about their experiences with testing protocols and trouble with campus access and administrators make certain decisions in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Produced by Marley Collins, Katie Pruden, Maci Zakarin, Kathryn Munro and Rachel Opert

During the pandemic lockdown, gyms struggled with closures, while people struggled to maintain fitness regimes in their homes. We spoke with students, instructors, and staff about being physical in sequestered world.

Co-Vid has affected different generations in different ways. This interview-based feature looks at some of the challenges and coping mechanisms from the past year. Narrated by Elissa Robinson and produced by Elissa Robinson, Amanda Hemminger, Vanya Suchan, Christian Nesfield, and Daniel Ramirez.

New School president Dwight McBride joined The New School in April of 2020, stepping into a leadership role in the middle of the pandemic crisis. Aja Simpson, a graduate of the New School's Journalism & Design program, speaks with McBride about his role, and his vision for the school.

Thrift shopping has grown in popularity own to the presence of young shoppers on social media. Thrifting is sustainable, and decreases reliance on fast fashion, but also cuts into what has been a key resource for low-income individuals and families. In the midst of Co-Vid, is it safe, and is it ethical?

As Co-Vid 19 has shifted most academic operations into the realm of virtual learning, upending routine and normality, what impact has it had on schooling and early development? In the feature we speak to students (ages 6-18), teachers, and parents regarding their limitations, and hardships as a result of remote learning.

Produced by Ann Kristine Estaris, Mitchell Sanford, Kylie Leon, Elia Griffin, Claire Ryan, Tasmia Islam.

The North Brooklyn Pipeline will serve as a channel to bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to Brooklyn. To do so, the seven-mile pipeline will extend through predominantly low-income

areas in the borough. Activists and community members ask: at what cost?

Produced by Sonya Lustig, Amanda Hemminger, Ariana Guerra, Maya Lee, and David Moore

On October 2nd the New School announced the layoff of 122 staff members, among them Eugene Lang’s director of finance, Alex Draifinger, and the curator of the school’s important collection of contemporary art, Silvia Rocciolo; vital services at every level were affected.

In a memo to the University, President Dwight McBride called it a “difficult but necessary decision.” The action spotlighted not only the university’s fiscal crisis, but long-established gaps in communication between faculty, staff, and the administration. Going forward, the school will need to rebuild trust, and remain true to its vision.

On September 1 the Provost’s Office announced that Jennifer Wilson had been appointed Interim Dean of Eugene Lang College, replacing Stephanie Browner, now who is stepping into the leadership role in the Provost’s Office.  Wilson is an Associate Professor of Mathematics and had also been acting as Lang’s Associate Dean of Faculty.   WNSR’s Ruby Seiwert spoke to Wilson about her new role, her history at Lang College, and how math has helped shape her life.  Spoiler alert: she thought she wanted to be an art historian.