Viewpoints
Op-ed articles, videos, cartoons.
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 […]
Harvard Researchers Aim to Stop Teens Use of Unsafe Weight Loss Supplements
By Radiah Jamil Fueled by less than half the calories he usually consumed, 17-year-old Stanley Huang ran more than three miles a day in 2018, hoping to lose weight. Looking back, Huang, who considered himself chubby at the time, regrets the way that he lost those 30 pounds. “I was losing a lot of muscle […]
Teens Debate Whether Being “Triggered” Stops Important Conversations
By Adithi Vimalanathan Sitting in the large white halls of the Notre Dame School auditorium, Mary Sanfield observed as a NYPD officer spoke on online safety. Clicking through the slideshow, the officer eventually landed on a slide with a short clip. She then warned students she was about to play a video of a car […]
As Offices Re-open, Workers Ponder the Pros and Cons
By Katie Chang As much as she loves the convenience of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate accountant Kamila Gosiewski said some of what happens while handling clients remotely can be annoying. “Not all of our clients want to show their faces on camera,” said Gosiewski, audit and tax manager at Anchin, Block […]
Community Gardens are Feeding the Hungry and Bestowing their Bounty on Nurses
By Benjamin Raab As the 553 community gardens listed in New York City’s “Green Thumb” program begin ramping up activities after COVID-19 slowed so many things down, the Atlantic Beach Village Garden is preparing for its garlic and shallot festival and other upcoming community events that are designed to feed people and build camaraderie. “We […]
Playhouse Stages Multicultural Productions to Help Diversify the Arts
By Alefiya Presswala When the Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center reopened in June, after being closed for 15 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Tenali Raman: Folk Tales From India” was the first play it staged. Having an all-Indian cast for the reopening reflected the center’s mission of ensuring diversity in the performances it stages at a […]
Adjusting to Re-opened Public Transit
By Karen Zhang Spectrum staff As New York City continues to rebound from being an epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, public transit also is revving up again. As it maintains safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is scaling up service to accommodate returning riders and riders who are […]
How “Cancel Culture” Blasted a Boy
By Natalie Villacres Spectrum staff From where he sat on a concrete bench in a Queens park, he rocked back and forth. Nervous, his hands shook as he spoke his answers into the microphone. “It was pretty traumatic, a little bit. Pretty traumatic.” The 15-year old boy was recounting the backlash he faced after he […]
When Underwear Becomes Outerwear
By Mariyum Raina Rizwan Staff Writer High school senior Ava Kazevani was sifting through the racks at Urban Outfitters, scanning some of the clothing that her parents don’t believe she should be seen wearing on the streets. “My parents never seen me wear that [lingerie] and they wouldn’t let me because they find it’s far […]
After Hurricane, Teens Build New Lives in NY
By Marcos De Paula Staff writer After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, high school students Nestor Ortiz, 17, and Abdiel Miranda, 19, moved to New York City with their families. In their new city, life has been full of surprises and hardships. “It was a blessing,” Ortiz said recalling his thoughts when he first landed […]
Food Vendors Balk at Styrofoam Ban
By Dan Hu Spectrum staff Some food cart merchants are concerned that a Styrofoam ban, taking effect on Jan. 1, will lower their take-home pay. The higher costs of paper, aluminum and other allowed food containers will cut into their earnings, they said. Halal food cart merchant Mia Lat said his cart will be switching […]
The Changing Face of “West Side Runners”
By Daniel Han Spectrum staff Faded photos of athletes from years past, wearing red tank tops expressly made for runners, are strewn around a bedroom. In the kitchen, yellowed race bibs bearing the numbers that identified past runners, and ribbons some of those runners won, fill a poster board. A map of Central Park is […]
“I’m Just a (Muslim) American Girl”
By Siddrah Alhindi Spectrum staff My little sister and I listened to the sounds of protesters and police clashing back home in Syria. “Don’t look,” our father commanded, while his eyes were glued to his laptop computer and Facebook. It was 2011. We were at home in Staten Island, where my sister and I, native […]
Blogging About a Black Girl’s World
By Tyler Newman Spectrum staff Since kindergarten, I’ve attended a private, predominantly white, all-girls school. I’m a black girl. And, at first, that didn’t make me feel much different than anyone else of my classmates. In 8th-grade, though, a white teacher stuck her hand in my cork-screw curly, natural hair. Without asking. I was sort […]
Khachan: Chess as a Common Bond
By Tyler Newman Staff writer Imad Khachan switches off the storefront display window’s chandelier. In the near-darkness, the glass chess pieces light up. They show as orange and purple while placed on the chessboard, but not when he holds them in his hands. Because of its color and magic, this set is his favorite. Inside […]
Washington Square Park, A Constant Amid Change
By Annie Li Spectrum staff Back when Victoria Larkin was growing up, the rent her single mom—a part-time actress and liquor store cashier—paid for the family’s Upper West Side apartment was $340. Today, it’s $4,000. “Somebody like her could never make it here, now,” fiftysomething Larkin said of her working-class mother. “And that is just […]
NYU Expansions Angers Longtime Lower East Sider
By Uma Patla Spectrum staff Ask Steven Marcus, 31-year owner of Speedy Lock & Door Co., to tell you what the most important news is in his Lower East Side neighborhood, and he will give you an earful. First, he will shake a finger at New York University, which, to Marcus, has really undone Lower […]
Proposals to Further Restrict Hookah Use Angers Hookah Bar Owner
By Kaanita Iyer Spectrum Staff Two years after New York City officials cited13 hookah bars, including seven in the East Village, for selling hookah illegally laced with tobacco, two city council members have proposed further restricting what hookah bars can sell and to whom they may sell it. The legislation would increase from 18 to […]
Story time in the Park
In a world filled with iPods, iPads and laptops, seeing enjoying books is a rare site. But last Thursday, several dozen young children could be seen enjoying books in Union Square Park. The gathering was part of the “Summer in the Square” series of events held in New York’s Union Square. This year the Strand bookstore partnered with […]
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Rafael Poleo has a problem. Every morning as he gets dressed for work, he has trouble finding a well-fitting shirt that he can wear with a tie. “Big neck, big neck,” he said. Poleo hoped the Stantt pop-up store on Lexington Avenue in Midtown would offer him a solution. The online men’s dress shirt company was […]
Theater Company Celebrates Mandela Day
On Saturday, July 18th the National Black Theater in Harlem, New York performed a two-hour play chronicling Nelson Mandela’s life in honor of the city’s first ever Nelson Mandela Day. Nelson Mandela Day was created to pay tribute to the iconic South African leader, who fought against apartheid and encouraged people across the world to […]
Gender Neutral Bathrooms Are In Effect
At “The Center,” a meeting place for LGBTQ people in Greenwich Village, gender neutral bathrooms are already a reality. However, outside of this community meeting place, many trans people feel isolated because they have been restricted to only using bathrooms that reflect their biological gender. Destiny Elizabeth, who was biologically born a woman but […]
Body Painters Celebrate Self Love
Motivated by a desire to promote self love, more than 100 nude models and 75 artists gathered in New York’s Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on July 18th to participate in the second annual New York City Bodypainting Day. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R0zE3DLsOY[/youtube] “I feel that all bodies are beautiful; it doesn’t matter how big you are, how small you are, what […]
Rhodes Less Traveled
A Saxophone Player on Performing and the Love of Music A busker is a person who performs in public spaces for money—but let it be known that saxophone player Dusty Rhodes is not simply a busker. “I don’t consider myself a busker; you know, I don’t know what the f*&% that shit is anyway,” says Dusty, never […]
Dia de Reyes: Afro-Cuban Workshop
A handful of children of all races and ages dance off-beat along with their parents to the sound of four men, dressed in white, beating their drums as they sit on benches in Madison Square Park. The scene was part of the first ever Dia de Reyes celebration on July 18th, a free, public Afro-Cuban […]
Community Members Fight for Gardens
In the middle of New York City, on the corner of 9th street and Avenue B exists a garden oasis, filled with chickens, turtles, frogs and small fish swimming peacefully in a pond. Next to the pond, are rows of growing vegetables, including collard greens and pumpkins. Murals cover the walls and benches line the corners. This garden, […]
Too Tiny For Soccer?
by Tabatha Castillo
Op-Ed Cartoons
Political cartoons by Yaja Mulcare.
47 Means More than You Think – Sports Commentary
Kyle Carpenter on the state of the NFL as 47 players have faced arrests during the off-season.