The New School Free Press: Spring 2024

Content

The Roundup p. 3

SENS-UAW strike: union members cease work; begin picketing The New School p. 4 - 5

Two strikes in two years – New School students express frustrations p. 6 - 7

The New School uses humor to cope with chaos amidst SENS strike p. 8

TNS students are not amused by Biden’s “Dark Brandon” meme p. 9

Boobs, Blood, and Blame p. 10 - 11

Denim Shenim p. 12 - 13

Collina Strada calls for bulked-up femininity at New York Fashion Week p. 14 - 15

WNSM World

Domination: The New School’s student-run radio station celebrates its first birthday p. 16 - 17

Fashion on Fifth: Ode to the Tabi p. 18 - 19

Love Lucy: Roommates aren’t forever p. 20

Why ‘Hazbin Hotel’ is the perfect show for grown-up theater kids p. 21

Arts & Culture Editor: Sydney White

Series Editor: Arianna Gundlach

Head of Copy: Libby Markham

Head of Social Media: Amy Evans

Copy Editors:

Gabriella Bottomley, Wilder Grimes, Kea Humilde, Skyler Martin, Olivia Dinger, & Arianna Gundlach

Photographer: Holland De Klerk, Jordan Fong, Ramona Mauroff, Miranda Rosa & Moshe Sopher-Harelick

Editor in Chief: Aarya Kini

Managing Editors: Grace Coleman & Zoe Hussain

Creative Directors: Janet Delavan & Vidhi Kontham

Executive Editor: Sasha Fuetsch

Editor at Large: Maria Jose Gutierrez

News Editors: Agnes Applegate & Taylor Nāhulukeaokalani Cozloff

Social Media Editors: Ellie Austin, Caroline Capuano Sincere Huang, Katherine Moses & Ash Reynolds

Head of Audience Engagement: Riley Owens

Video Editor: Sofia Igoe

Photo Editor: Virginia Schweitzer

Illustrator: Sadie Wood

Opinions Editor: Caroline Gould

Features Editor: Valentina Graziosi

Illustration Editors: Leo Preston & Clara Waldheim

Web Director: Ana Whelley

Web Designers: Jordan Fong, Jax Wong, Faith Xue, & Madison Pappan

Videographers: Azi Candelaria, Holland De Klerk & Olivia Goerler

Reporters: Syyah Brown, Rowan Cahill, Kayley Cassidy, Lya Chemaly, Olivia Dinger, Ingrid Doubleday, Jazmin Estades, Jamie Hiremath, Milo Hontanosas, Kea Humilde, Jane Lewis, Andy Loftus, Skyler Martin, Ramona Mauroff, Micheal McDonald, Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Bella Piacente, Bianca Rodriguez-Mora, Miranda Rosa, J. Cav Scott, Tanya Tilokani, Zoe Wolfsen

Contributors:

Caiden Ferrigno - Reporter, Remy Grimm - Reporter, Clementine Hecker - Reporter, Ella Neve - Reporter, Tyra Ann-Marie Wilson - Reporter, Thomas McCarthy - Photo, Logan Lutton - Photo, Mihye Kang - Photo, Max Choi-Henslee- Illustrator, Jacey Chen- Illustrator, Char Gossage- Illustrator, HMAC - Illustrator, Vesta Weed - Illustrator

We know you’re only reading the headlines. A person spends, on average, between 52 and 111 seconds reading an article they clicked on from social media, according to the Pew Research Center. So, in case you’ve only glanced at our website, have been skipping through our Instagram stories–or worse–you don’t follow us at all–here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening around The New School. The university made some improvements

The Roundup

over the winter break. They renovated and are making use of the entirety of its 39 W 13th St. building. It includes new student organization spaces, lounge and meeting areas, and semi-scream-proof privacy booths. The cafeteria was given a millennial-modern makeover, complete with a bright open concept and a landlord special. A new sustainability campaign gave us water bottles engraved with the school’s narwhal mascot (that allegedly destroy

SENS-UAW strike: union members cease work; begin picketing The New School

4 - 5

Two strikes in two years – New School students express frustrations

6 - 7

The New School uses humor to cope with chaos amidst SENS strike

8

TNS students are not amused by Biden’s “Dark Brandon” meme 9

Boobs, Blood, and Blame

10 - 11

The New School is a place built on contradictions. The university boasts shiny new infrastructure, yet claims to be in the midst of a financial crisis. It prides itself on the principle of equity yet its employees need to picket outside campus buildings before they are given a contract that adequately compensates them for their work. It was built on a culture of social justice yet retaliates against its own students for peacefully demonstrating on campus.

As a student-run paper, the goal of the New School Free Press is to underscore these contradictions through empathetic and accurate reporting. Take for example, Cav Scott’s reporting on the SENS union bargaining process that highlights the tenacity with which student workers are organizing for a fairer contract. Or Bianca Rodriguez Mora’s story on a walkout organized by Students for Justice in Palestine,

Content

library books), wooden utensils, and aluminum water cans. Mark Diaz, the interim executive VP of Business and Operations, hosted meetings about the financial state of the school with the Faculty, Student, and Staff senators. He said the Fiscal Year ‘24 budget deficit is predicted to surge to $57 million. And as usual, a lot of union news…to find the latest updates, visit newschoolfreepress.com for even more coverage.

Denim Shenim

12 - 13

Collina Strada calls for bulked-up femininity at New York Fashion Week

14 - 15

WNSM World Domination: The New School’s student-run radio station celebrates its first birthday

16 - 17

Fashion on Fifth: Ode to the Tabi

18 - 19

Love Lucy: Roommates aren’t forever 20

Why ‘Hazbin Hotel’ is the perfect show for grown-up theater kids 21

Editor’s Note

that shows our community’s commitment to advocating for the greater good.

At the same time, we endeavor to hold The New School’s administration accountable for their decisions — like through Olivia Young’s story on the sale of the president’s townhouse, Rowan Cahill’s piece on students’ dissatisfaction with campus upgrades, and Andy Loftus’s reporting on the shortcomings of the university’s new sustainability campaign.

We know it’s not a particularly easy time to be a student right now and apart from keeping you up to date on TNS news, we also hope to provide some respite from the chaos. Our series, opinions, and arts and culture coverage showcases the creativity and vibrancy that exists around and through us, on and off campus. It includes everything from the best cafés around the city to get work done, see Arianna

Edited by Sasha Fuetsch

Roundup

Gundlach’s Writes and Bites, to reviews and analyses of up and coming artists and musicians, like Kayley Cassidy’s The New Review column or Skyler Martin’s piece on The Victory Seeds.

This issue, and the Free Press itself, wouldn’t be what it is without our brilliant visuals team headed by Vidhi Kontham and Janet Delavan. Special thanks to them, for always pulling out all the stops even with a tight turnaround.

With a few months of the spring 2024 semester to go, I hope you are comfortable turning to the Free Press for reliable and consistent coverage on all of the goings-on in and around The New School. Thank you for all the support you’ve given us so far.

As always, we welcome contributions from any member of the student community who would like to be involved.

- Editor in Chief, Aarya Kini

Taylor Nāhulukeaokalani Cozloff

SENS-UAW strike: union members ceased work;

At 8 a.m. on March 6, SENS-UAW Local 7902 called for a strike against The New School. Union members began honoring digital picket lines against the university that morning, while physical picketing outside campus buildings began at 12 p.m. the same day.

Officially, the strike was in response to the open Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claims the union filed against the university, alleging bad faith bargaining, direct dealing, and making unilateral contract changes.

SENS-UAW represents academic student workers, including tutors, Teaching Assistants and Fellows, Research Associates and Assistants, and Course Assistants. Workers striking in these roles

paused teaching classes and ceased all other work-related duties until the strike was called off on March 8.

Some progress was made in the bargaining session on March 5 on issues regarding legal aid for International student workers and a childcare fund, among others but the advancement wasn’t enough to prevent SENS-UAW from moving forward with the strike. “While the union is pleased by this movement, it is not enough to prevent our strike,” said SENS-UAW in a university-wide message.

At 5:34 a.m., March 6, Human Resources Vice President Sonya Williams issued a statement stating that the administration didn't believe the strike was necessary due to the progress made in the recent

began picketing The New School

negotiations. “The university worked very hard to avoid this outcome, and we will continue to do everything we can to reach agreement with SENS-UAW and to minimize disruption to our community, academic mission, and operations,” the update said.

The message also noted that the university had plans to minimize disruptions for students and would share more information later that day as it became necessary.

At a union event on Monday, March 4, SENS representative Josephine D. Baker said, “We’re going on strike because we’re

tired of this, we’re going on strike because we deserve more.” Baker went on to say that the university runs on student worker power and that a strike will show how important academic student workers are to the school.

“What we are asking for is just a drop, it is such a small percentage of their budget,” said Local 7902 President, Zoe Carey. “We are bringing in a lot of value to the university, and at the same time, our contract does not cost a lot.”

The ULP strike is one of two possible strikes the union could have held, as legally protected by the National Labor Relations

Photography

By J. Cav Scott

Act. This means that the union reserves the right to strike a second time, in what is known as an “economic strike.” If union membership sees fit, an economic strike can be called to obtain better financial compensation from the employer.

The strike continued until March 8, when the SENS-UAW Local 7902 decided sufficient progress on tentative agreements was made in negotiations, after which picketing stopped, and union members returned to work.

Two strikes in two years: New School students express frustrations

By Alexiah Syrai Olsen Additional reporting by Rowan Cahill

In the fall of 2022, the part-time faculty (PTF) union ACT-UAW Local 7902 at The New School went on strike for nearly a month. Just over a year later, the university has found itself amid another strike led by the academic student worker’s union SENS-UAW Local 7902.

During the fall of 2022, the part-time faculty (PTF) union ACT-UAW Local 7902 at The New School went on strike for nearly a month. Just over a year later, the university found itself dealing with a strike led by the academic student worker’s union SENSUAW Local 7902. The idea of experiencing an indefinite disruption of classes again left some students feeling uneasy.

The 25-day PTF strike brought the university to a virtual standstill as members of the community stopped their work in solidarity. However, the lack of formal instruction and communication from the administration left many students frustrated. Toward the end of the strike students occupied the University Center. The group later demanded tuition refunds for the classes they missed.

As the first day of picketing for the SENS strike began, Luke Gladen-Kolarsky, a third-year in contemporary music said,

“I hate the prospect of being out of school again for an extended period of time, but I definitely think that the student workers need to be paid what they’re worth.”

Another third-year contemporary music student Carson Strassman said that he felt conflicted. “I think it’s super important that the student workers and the academic workers get paid.” But he also expressed that he went into the semester wanting to do well, and the current strike stands in the way of this goal.

Gladen-Kolarsky said that his peers were struggling with mental health when the school paused during the PTF strike. “I constantly think about dropping out, but transferring from The New School is purposefully difficult,” Strassman said.“I know many people who have transferred in and out of The New School and it is very difficult because your credits don’t transfer correctly. People are losing a year of academic credit.”

Gaden-Kolarsky also said that he knew people who were considered dropping out during the SENS strike. “It's not worth it to be paying as much money as the New School is charging to not be learning stuff and not being in school.”

Strikes are not the only hurdles that students have had to overcome at The New School. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person learning opportunities for students nationwide and the university’s handling of a post-pandemic reality also brought about criticism from New School students.

“I feel like with COVID I already missed out so much and with the strike last year and now this again, I feel like I've only gotten, truly, a year and a half of schooling,” Michael Distefano, a senior at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts said. PTF members were not allowed to support the strike , while full-time faculty (FTF) members had more flexibility

in their decisions, class schedules vary depending on the faculty member. “I mostly have full-time faculty professors, and they're a little quiet about it. It's actually a little strange. But my classes have all remained the same because of that, I think,” he said.

Students expressed a change of momentum between the SENS strike and the PTF strike from three semesters ago. “I remember hearing a lot more about it before it happened. This one feels like it was a little bit less vocalized,” Gladen-Kolarsky said.

Strassman also felt a lack of communication between the student body and SENS. “During the teacher strike, the students were a lot more directly involved with it because the teachers were the ones supplying the information,” Strassman said. “But with the [SENS] strike, the student body is a lot more removed from the conversation because it’s not happening inside the classroom.”

Although Strassman felt like the two strikes were communicated differently with students, the university’s response remained the same. “It's interesting because we have experience with the one strike, the administration knows the tactics that the union is going to impose, and they know how to combat that,” he said. Layla Greene, a second-year contemporary dance student, said,

“I think last time the [PTF strike] brought into light a lot of concerns that I wasn’t aware of and now it's almost not surprising but still incredibly frustrating,”

The sentiment of unity among students was important and students like Strassman were pushing to bridge that gap during the strike. He said,

“We need to think outside the box…how we can creatively work together and have these conversations one-on-one and with the student body”

The strikes and the pandemic jeopardized the student experience, and for some, pushing through is proving to be difficult. Greene said,

“I do love this school, I love my professors so much, I love the people I’ve met here, I cherish my education so deeply that it’s really hard for me to keep supporting an institution that's not delivering on its promises.”

TNS students are not amused by Biden’s “Dark Brandon” meme

By Zoe Hussain

AFTER THE KANSAS CITY Chiefs won the Feb. 12 Super Bowl game, Instagram users scrolled through images of victory and defeat to find President Joe Biden’s post of himself with red lasers beaming from his eyes. The post with the caption, “just like we drew it up, @Chiefs” garnered over 74,000 comments expressing shock and humor at the absurdity of the image.

The meme, a reference to the rightwing persona “Dark Brandon,” has been co-opted by Biden’s campaign in his merchandise and public appearances. The campaign’s embrace of the meme is an attempt to shift public perception of Biden towards one that’s more appealing to younger, digitally-native voters. The meme also appeared to be a reaction to conspiracy theories that the White House rigged the Super Bowl in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs to encourage Taylor Swift to endorse President Biden’s reelection.

However, many New School students perceived the meme as a mockery of their greater concerns about Biden as a democratic candidate. For Sydney Levy, a fashion design major at Parsons School of Design, the meme read as a poor joke in light of many of the current failures within Biden’s campaign. Levy states, “I think that post was an attempt from the White House to appeal to young voters in a comedic way…but in reality, it is a joke. President Biden fails to realize how much Gen Z cares about real things.”

Americans appear less likely to turn out to the polls than they did for the 2020 presidential election.

At the root of frustration with Biden’s candidacy and the meme are issues such as the United States providing economic and military funding to Israel, a lack of cohesive action on climate change, and a failure to cancel all student loan debt.

Max Mckenna, a Culture and Media major at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts echoed a similar sentiment about the meme. “It’s a complete falling apart at any attempt of connecting with younger people, and I found it extremely offputting,” he said.

A Harvard national poll from this fall indicates that Biden’s approval rating is only 35% among voters between 18-29. It also concluded that young

Biden’s age was also a concern. At age 81, Biden is the oldest president to have been in the White House. The prospect of another four years with him accelerates fears that key policy decisions Gen Z is advocating for may not be delivered on.

“I think that Biden is too old to make legitimate decisions for this country, especially as Gen Z becomes a large voting population. I think that he means well as an old man but not as a politician,” said Levy.

Stella Santos, a Journalism and Design major at Lang, shared the same sentiment.

“Policy obviously overrules his age. But I do think age is something I consider,” she said.

Among those interviewed, Joe Biden’s Dark Brandon post appeared to be more of a sinister commentary on American politics than a lighthearted Super Bowl joke. Excitement to vote for Biden among TNS students felt rooted in other desires, namely to keep Trump out of office.

“I feel inspired to vote for a multitude of reasons, more for the fact to not have Trump as president,” said Sofia Gonzales, a psychology major at Lang.

“I think the only reason Gen Z would vote for Biden in this election is to not vote for Trump.” echoed Levy.

Looking forward to the 2024 presidential election, it appears President Biden will have to do more than embrace meme culture to appeal to younger voters, especially those at TNS.

Edited By Taylor Nāhulukeaokalani Cozloff &

The New School uses humor to cope with chaos amidst SENS strike

By Andy Loftus

During the SENS-UAW Local 7902 strike, many members of The New School community turned to satire to highlight the irony of TNS experiencing its second strike in two years. Memes began circulating online about the situation from several different sources instantaneously.

A new rival media presence emerged amongst the online chatter. A parody of the New School Free Press launched their first post on Instagram March 5th, before the strike had even begun. The account, named “New School Captive Press,” posted their breakout “article” headlined, “Academic Student Workers at The New School Rehearse Dance Number in Preparation For Strike.”

The popular @tnsaffirmations page on Instagram also brought attention to the strike with its recent weekly compilation of ironic and humorous meme style “affirmations.” Some of last Wednesday's affirmations read, “I am no longer surprised at the admin’s inability to learn from their mistakes,” and “I can mentally handle another strike,” a sentiment which resonated with many members of the community, with the post garnering nearly 600 likes.

“I mean it's just such a train wreck,” Parsons School of Design senior Meg Brill said.

“But all you can do is laugh at how ridiculous it's been. In fact, if I wasn't laughing about it, I would be upset.”

Brill noted that the noise online not only maintained a cheerful vibe in a time of distress, but kept students informed. “I get a lot of my news from the internet. And if I think about it too long it does get depressing,” they said, but noted that they don’t know how else they would learn.

@TNSaffirmations also shared resources, including a link to the donation page for the NewSWU solidarity strike fund, and a post tagging SENS’ account, which shares information and updates on bargaining and their picketing schedule.

For Parsons senior Emme Oliver, the use of online humor to cope with the strike has brought forth a sense of community they haven’t felt before.

“Laughter's like a very universal thing, I do think the fact that you can get online and joke around with people who go to your school that you don't even know, kind of has that unifying theme of like, ‘Hey, we're in the same situation’.”

Oliver said the collective use of humor in response to external distress was an effective way to alleviate factors outside of students’ control. They said,

“We can't control the fact that the school’s on strike. What we can do is control… how we mentally handle this. And I think that includes joking about it with your friends.”

Photography

tnsaffirmations

tnsaffirmations

thenewschoolcaptivepress

Boobs, Blood, and Blame

Professor Christen Clifford turns her eight-year battle with cancer into art and activism

“The only way you’re allowed to show a breast online is when it’s sick,” said New School Professor Christen Clifford with a laugh, referring to a picture of her breast on her Instagram feed.

Clifford posts her breasts online as a way of communicating her journey through breast cancer; a form of activism and art, she explained. In 2022, Clifford was diagnosed with breast cancer, which would be her third cancer diagnosis within the span of eight years.

Bedridden for months, she said social media apps quickly became a “lifeline to the outside world,” including her family, friends, and fellow survivors. Today, Clifford continues to aid the security she built online, using social media as a way to educate others on the truths behind cancer.

Three battles that consumed eight years.

One morning in 2016, Clifford woke up with excruciating pain in her abdomen. While trudging through extreme physical discomfort and with her partner out of town, Clifford painstakingly sent her children off to school, having them ride the subway by themselves for the very first time. She then hailed a cab to the emergency room.

The doctors ran tests and took scans. She told herself, “I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.” But the results proved a contradiction to her whispers.

Clifford was suffering from a ruptured cyst on her ovary, but the other ovary also had the potential to be cancerous. Later on, she was finally informed that she had ovarian cancer as well as uterine cancer.

By Alexiah Syrai Olsen

Blindsided by this news, Clifford would have to undergo a Radical Hysterectomy with Salpingo Oophorectomy, which meant removing her uterus plus both ovaries and fallopian tubes.

But Clifford didn’t let her diagnosis derail her from teaching.

Receiving the diagnosis and undergoing surgeries in the middle of the spring semester while teaching “What is Rape Culture?”, Clifford was comforted by her students who supported her after she had shared her illness.

Afraid that she’d lose her job, Clifford didn’t tell TNS administration about her diagnosis. Since Clifford was fairly new to the university, she thought, “I’m an adjunct faculty so I was worried that they wouldn’t hire me again if they knew I had cancer.”

She found coverage for her class and

then continued to teach 10 days after her surgery; she recounts the short recovery as “insane.” Clifford would teach her classes and then attend chemotherapy appointments after school.

Having cancer “was all new for me as an experience,” she said.

Clifford’s mentality towards cancer then changed, she accepted that a subsequent breast cancer diagnosis was suddenly a matter of when not if. She reflects that she processed that mindset with a realist perspective: “When I get breast cancer, I’ll just have my boobs chopped off. No big deal, whatever.”

By the end of 2022, Clifford was diagnosed with breast cancer. She highly debated the decision of what to do next. She was stuck between three different outcomes: keep the healthy breast and remove the cancerous one, have both breasts removed with no implantation, or have both removed and received breast implants.

“I ultimately decided to have a double mastectomy with what is called a diep flap reconstruction where they harvest fat and blood vessels from another part of your body and transfer it to your breast area,” Clifford said. This required an eight-week leave of absence from teaching in spring 2023.

In eight years, being diagnosed with three different cancers might take a toll on some people, but Clifford’s outlook on her healthcare pushed an optimistic perspective on her journey.

“I’ve learned a lot both times I’ve had cancer,” she added. The first time Clifford had cancer she decided to quit smoking and drinking. With her second battle with cancer, she said she “had to really confront my sexual assaults in a way that I hadn’t confronted them before… I had to do some more, very deep personal work.”

“[I] had to really confront my sexual assaults in a way that I hadn’t confronted them before… I had to do some more, very deep personal work.”

Bodily autonomy is seen through the lens of artwork

She first started posting on Instagram to stay connected with the outside world. But she started posting her breasts to help

“people to see the real experience of having cancer.”

But it has not been without controversy. On Instagram, photos of breasts online tend to get censored due to pornography laws, but users can bypass this guideline if they are spreading breast cancer awareness. In addition, her explicit content makes her vulnerable to online backlash. “I’ve been trolled,” she recounted, “I’ve had the police sent to my house.”

But she’s also received a lot of positive feedback. Clifford said she receives many messages from women who are going through their own cancer battles. In addition, a friend of Clifford’s told her that her posts about pink discharge helped his wife catch her cancer early on. Pink discharge is made up of blood mixing with regular discharge. This can be a sign of uterine or ovarian cancer.

Clifford’s social media covers a wide range of advocacy themes, mainly following gender and sexuality, as her art mimics the same ideas of activism. “The freedom to do whatever we want with our bodies is at the center of what I believe in and what I want to explore,” she said.

“The freedom to do whatever we want with our bodies is at the center of what I believe in and what I want to explore”

In her studio, jars of blood lined the floor in the corner. “People would come into my studio and just be like, what the fuck?” But that blood was being used for a three-part piece she called, “I Want Your Blood.” The artwork consists of collecting blood, pouring it on performers, and hundreds of perfume bottles filled with blood.

Another work Clifford exhibited in January of 2023 was “Interiors: We Are All Pink Inside.” It was shown in the Brooklyn Museum for their 50 Years Since Roe: A Convening on Reproductive Justice exhibit. Using mediums like videos, photos, and furniture, her work takes on the idea that everyone’s body parts look the same inside. To prove this, Clifford explored the inside of her genitalia with a Japanese sex toy that held a camera and a light to record.

Bringing advocacy to education

This semester, Clifford is once again teaching her What is Rape Culture? class.

And she now has a deeper connection to topics covered in the curriculum.

The class holds great significance to Clifford as she was raped when she was 15 years old. She said that she has “had to do a lot of healing.” The purpose of her class is to educate and advocate.

Although she never assumes that anyone in her class has been sexually assaulted, she said, “My real reason for teaching the rape culture class is to help the people in the class understand that it’s not their fault or to help them, help their friends understand that it’s not their fault.”

“My real reason for teaching the rape culture class is to help the people in the class understand that it’s not their fault or to help them, help their friends understand that it’s not their fault.”

Clifford recognizes “that a culture that is patriarchal that values men over women and assumes that women will be raped is the way we live,” coming to terms with this reality “really helps me as a person, as a human, as a middle-aged woman understand that it wasn’t my fault.”

“I feel honored in a way to be able to teach [the class] and to be able to get into these conversations with young people and to people to listen to them,” Clifford said.

Today

Currently, Clifford is working on the theme of abortions and is set to be a keynote speaker for the Feminist Art Project held at the College Art Association in Chicago, IL. She will be speaking at the A New Era: Art, Activism, and Abortion in Post Roe America discussion.

In remission, her journey through breast cancer made her question what she truly wanted out of life, how to love herself more. Having to slow down after her diagnosis allowed her to challenge the sadness she felt.

She said that her artwork is supposed to be, “raw and real.” Clifford’s way of documenting her battle with cancer, she sees, as a performance. She said, “Art is my life and my life is my art.”

Photography

Denim Shenim: This Parsons student-founded upcycling company is saving the planet one tote bag at a time

By Skyler Martin

IN A WORLD WHERE textile factories produce over 90 million tons of waste every year, BFA Fashion Design/Sustainable Systems student Ramisa Rouf has decided to take action. The Parsons School of Design senior created Denim Shenim, an upcycling company presented for her thesis with goals to expand post-graduation.

Denim Shenim hosts garment upcycling workshops, teaching others how to turn denim waste into functional, wearable pieces. Rouf started the company in her sophomore year at The New School to help lower the production of denim waste found in factories in Bangladesh, where Rouf is from.

“My mom has a factory in Bangladesh, so I grew up really close to this industry,” she said. Her mother’s factory produces mostly denim items, which gave her an in to the factories she’s focusing on.

Rouf started the company with the intention of it “originally being a [clothing] brand,” she said. “But I quickly realized that designing clothes isn’t something that comes naturally to me.” She then decided to focus her attention on the technical side of fashion design, acting as production manager to help others translate their designs into something they can use day-to-day.

On February 4, Rouf hosted a workshop at DhakaMakers 2.0 in Bangladesh, an arts and crafts festival that highlights the city’s creative community.

“Over winter break, I was like, okay, I’m going to host a workshop and see how that goes. And [during] those three weeks as I was working on all of this, I realized that I kind of forgot about the thesis part and it was more just making a space for creative people to come and make stuff,” she said.

Workshop participants followed along as Rouf explained how to make a tote bag out of the denim scraps. Everyone at the workshop was new to sewing and reusing materials, but left understanding how to make their own upcycled tote.

All the denim Rouf uses is sourced from her mother’s ready-made garment (RMG) factory in Bangladesh. “I go to her warehouse and ask them to send me all the C-grade waste,” she said.

C-grade waste is the lowest rating of fabric waste, with the fabric being severely damaged and unable for use. These scraps are periodically used for rags or construction purposes, but are usually sent to the landfill. A and B-grade waste is usually fixed and resold with the next wave of orders or sold to local vendors in Dhaka. Rouf decided to work

only with C-grade waste after seeing how much went unsalvaged.

“Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest manufacturer and exporter of RMG products, which stands for Ready Made Garments,” she said.

Having access to a steady supply of denim waste will ensure that she’s able to continue the company and inspires her to spread the word about denim waste to other factory owners in her hometown. In the future, Rouf plans to source C-grade waste from other factories as well, working with the owners to build a more sustainable garment industry.

“I’m going to talk to them [and ask] if they’re willing to give me their C-grade waste, because usually they just get sold in bulk to whoever takes them, or otherwise they’re just lying there in the warehouse.”

Denim Shenim began as Rouf’s thesis project for her Systems and Society major. Growing up visiting her mother’s textile factory, she often saw large quantities of wasted denim. One day, however, her mom took denim intended for a baby’s overalls and turned it into a tote bag.

“There’s a lot of waste that is generated. And a huge percentage of that does get taken care of in the local economy, but the absolute worst category of waste, which is the C-grade waste, doesn’t really get used.”

“I found that so cool,” Rouf said, “I’m like, wait, we could do stuff like that for my project. I thought there could be a lot that could be made with these waste garments.”

When it came time to choose a topic for her thesis, denim waste was the issue she felt most passionate about. Her professors, Tara Maurice and Mary Beth Mcdermott, helped her focus her talents on building community around the brand and planning events to grow the company.

“Their support is like a huge reason why I even continued this for my thesis,” she said.

When first presenting her thesis, she envisioned Denim Shenim as a long-term project, hopefully blossoming into a company with a designated studio space and employees. So far, Rouf’s friends have helped her with everything from building the website, starting a Discord server, and buying materials for workshops she’s held in Dhaka. In Bangladesh, Rouf plans to connect artists and designers to resources and materials, helping them bring their vision to life.

“I have a couple of goals. One is to just improve the art and design education and have more resources available for artists and designers in Bangladesh because there isn’t as many,” she said. “And another goal is to utilize the waste that is generated from RMG factories.”

Rouf created sewing kits she handed out at the workshop, which included everything one might need to craft a denim tote on the go. She plans to sell these kits online along with scraps that people

can order to create their own upcycling projects, introducing makers to “the world of designing using existing materials,” she said. The sky-blue kits are full of different colors of thread, a notebook, pencils, a tape measure, and a needle box. Each box comes with a Denim Shenim sticker placed on its clear lid. The kits would create an accessible approach for anyone who might want to begin their own upcycling journey.

“None of these people know how to sew or make clothes at all, so it was really fun helping them out and teaching them little sewing and pattern making stuff,” she said. “And then just seeing their reaction to when their clothes are being made or their products are being made was just the best part.”

While hosting the workshop, Rouf also gave lessons on sustainable design practices to the attendees. She led them through the different uses for textile waste, raising awareness on the waste produced by the factories she and her friends grew up around.

as long as they’re using consumer waste materials from RMG factories in Bangladesh,” she said. Rouf is also motivated by the prospect of bringing a new source of artistic expression to Bangladesh.

“Growing up I realized there aren’t that many resources for creative people back home,” she said. “Art and design education is just something that’s [viewed as], ‘Oh yeah, you can do it but it’s not going to get you anywhere.’ I want to get Bengalis more involved with that, and then show them there’s so much more that you can do with all of this.”

“I have a couple of goals. One is to just improve the art and design education and have more resources available for artists and designers in Bangladesh because there isn’t as many... And another goal is to utilize the waste that is generated from RMG factories.”

Rouf collaborated with RMG factory owners in Bangladesh to reduce waste altogether through implementing official efficient manufacturing systems in their factories. She hopes to inspire future generations of artists and designers to use more upcycled materials, rethinking extractive design practices and harmful ways of making clothes.

“We give Bangladesh artists and designers technical support so they can make whatever they like

She has connected with Bengalis of New York to help them go back to their roots while exploring creative fields they may not have access to in their home country. She said a lot of people really want to pursue fashion or the arts, but their families aren’t supportive and they don’t know where to go. Rouf also plans to start a workshop where participants would, again, upcycle denim scraps, but with a more Bengali technique flair.

“It’s more like getting people in touch with the culture, and at the same time using denim upcycling as the base of everything,” Rouf said.

After the success of hosting a workshop at DhakaMakers, Rouf is ready to continue to expand Denim Shenim and spread the message about textile waste. With goals to acquire studio space and work with other factories in the future, the company isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Edited By Grace Coleman

Illustration

Collina Strada calls for bulked-up femininity at New York Fashion Week

At New York Fashion Week, Collina Strada’s fall-winter 2024 collection was all about the gym bro. Except add fashion and subtract the bro.

“Welcome to Collina’s Gym, where your inner feminine power takes outer chiseled form,” the show notes read. Creative director Hillary Taymour has never used cisgender male models in her runway shows, but this season, it felt especially important not to.

“The femme body and mind has long been shaped by the imagination of men. It’s about time we re-sculpted that meat-headed vision into something closer to the reality of femininity.”

The show was held on February 9th at Rockefeller Center’s exhibition space HERO. Titled “STRONGER,” the collection was dominated by swole silhouettes with padding and ruching used to exaggerate the size of shoulders, arms, and abdominal muscles. Models stomped down the runway to a mashup of heavy metal, Britney Spears, Spice Girls, and a mantra that repeated: “We are the women of Collina. Our strength reflected in Collina.” Taymour’s recurring muses were present on the runway, too: models Aaron Rose Philip, Indira Scott, and Quannah Chasinghorse.

Pattern is a Collina staple, and the first three looks featured green and yellow swirls decorating velvet pants, an asymmetrical spaghetti strap gown, and a cap-sleeve draped mini dress paired with thigh-high sheer socks and frilly knee-high boots. Taymour mixed deadstock satin and lace fabrics with UGG x Collina boots made from corn husk leather. The collection was a swoon-worthy masculine-feminine juxtaposition.

One model wore a calf-length mint green button-up dress that was opened to expose her pregnant stomach, which shone with glitter. Black lacy short-shorts were a girly contrast to the model’s clenched fist and blue boxing boots.

Next down the runway came rubber muscle shirts that were so shiny it looked like the models had been body-painted only a few minutes before. One of the latex-looking tops was green, orange, and tucked into frilly white boxers serving as a waistband for an acid-trip patterned slip skirt. A few looks were finished with mini platform UGG boots printed in trippy green swirls – a comfy necessity for any fashionistas who don’t believe that beauty is pain.

Oversized slouchy green knits and matching scrunched legwarmers brought to mind a fashion girl’s hungover coffee run outfit. T-shirts were pre-sweat stained and ripped, while classic heather gray sweatpants and sweatshirts got re-cut into subversive shapes. An orange and pink patterned long-sleeved mini dress with shoulder and arm pads created the illusion of massive muscles.

Two female bodybuilders walked the runway, one wearing a long powder blue slip dress with a high slit and blue boxing boots, the other in a puffy,

Edited By Sydney White

striped muscle tee and gray gym shorts layered over black lace shorts. The model flexed her arms for the audience at the end of the runway, showing off muscles that would make any generic gym bro jealous.

One model wore a blue, purple, and gray frilly top and matching capri pants layered underneath a pleated gray mini skirt while holding dumbbells made out of gourds. She resembled a fairy who had fashioned her own weights out of tiny squashes. The models’ skin glistened like they had just finished a gnarly weight training circuit. For a collection sculpted around muscle and strength, there were lots of lace and satin pieces like halter-neck tops, slip skirts, and long gowns. Model Maddie Moon strutted in a velvet floor-length dress with her newborn baby perched on her hip.

Onlookers included models and influencers like Tommy Dorfman, Ivy Getty, Gabrielle Richardson, Clara Perlmutter (@tinyjewishgirl), Molly Blutstein (@accidentalinfluencer), TikTok chef Pierce Abernathy, athlete/model/DJ Griffin Brooks, and TikTok’s favorite bassist Blu DeTiger.

Esteemed writers and critics like Lynn Yaeger, Rachel Tashjian, Sarah Spellings, and Hannah Jackson were also in attendance.

An acid trip is not an inaccurate descriptor for the Collina Strada runway, and with enormous LED screens that showed montages of colors, nature, and galloping horses blurred together, it felt like the audience, models, and clothes alike had melted into one Collina-induced soup that submerged us all.

Taymour sent every version of femininity down the runway, prompting the audience to reckon with what defines womanhood. The fashion industry prioritizes women who are young, slim, and smooth. But Collina believes that “femme is a flex,” according to the show notes. Every version of women was sent down the runway: the young and the old, the big and the small, the frowning and the smiling, the mothers and the soon-to-be mothers. Womanhood is a spectrum as much as gender is, and in “STRONGER,” Taymour encouraged the audience to embrace everyone across the scope of expression. At New York Fashion Week, Collina Strada cemented itself as an advocate for fun, freedom, and most importantly, for femme.

Photography By Thomas McCarthy

WNSM World Domination: The New School’s student-run radio station celebrates its first birthday

The New School’s student-run radio station celebrated its first birthday exactly how you’d expect – and want.

ON SUNDAY, FEB. 25, Lucia Betelu, a fourth-year Sociology major at The New School, and Sylvia Roussis, a third-year Screen Studies major, cheered on The Break Inc.’s set at the Brooklyn Monarch while dancing and headbanging. Throughout the set, Bella Savignano, a fourth-year Design History major at Parsons School of Design, walked around the room, taking photos of audience members and the band. The room was filled with students, parents, and live music lovers, all showing support for WNSM, a New School student-run radio station, which Savignano and Betelu co-founded.

The celebration consisted of performances from four NYC local bands: Hans Garcia, The Breaks Inc, Heart Rot (a New School student band), and May Queen. The celebration ended with a happy birthday ballad from May Queen, and a birthday cake made by WNSM’s Head of Events Elizabeth Stormont. An after-party was held at 11:00 p.m. and DJed by New School student Avery MurrayGurney, aka DJ Ezra.

Savignano and Betelu, co-founders of WNSM radio, began the mission to create a music community with a college radio station late in the summer of 2021. With low expectations but filled with excitement, Savignano took on the role of Editor-in-Chief of WNSM’s blog, The Lamb, and Betelu the Radio Director. Now, the two have a fully student-run station and can revel in the station’s accomplishments.

By Bianca Rodriguez-Mora

initially sought after purchasing a frequency from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They discovered that the FCC had no frequencies to give out, and even if they did, The New School would have to purchase an antenna to connect to one. Betelu resorted to texting a music fan group chat, asking if they knew ways to get a college radio station off the ground without having a frequency. The chat directed her to Radio.co, an online platform for broadcasting a radio station online.

As the club gained stable ground, and discovered the ability to request meeting rooms in the New School buildings to avoid possible fire safety hazards, they began getting more regular listeners. One of these listeners was Melissa Kirsch, the Deputy Editor of Culture and Lifestyle and writer of “The Morning” newsletter at “The New York Times.”

“[Kirsch] had hyperlinked to our station [on The Morning newsletter] in a sentence about her new obsessions, and how she found a new college radio to be obsessed with,” Savignano said. “One of our unique challenges of being an online station is that we are like so hyper-aware of metrics in a way that a lot of college stations aren’t. One of the only reasons we could tell we actually got the shout-out in the New York Times was watching our listenership base just explode.”

Their idea didn’t come to fruition until the spring semester of 2023 when they hosted their first meeting at Savignano’s apartment. “We thought maybe 10 people would show up, and about 30 people showed up, and my front door broke,” Savignano said. “We were like locked in. I ended up calling the fire department and I had to run out and meet them because I didn’t want to see that we were severely breaking the fire code…it was a real grassroots beginning for us,” she recounted.

Savignano and Betelu described how they

Savignano and Betelu emphasized that their goal after the fall of 2022 was to create a sense of community at The New School, especially among live music fans.

“The New School has a pretty severe lack of community, which I feel like people have been trying to change in the recent year and a half. Ever since the [Part-Time Faculty Strike] there was a big push for [New School students] to try and find these spaces,” Betelu said.

Although the two didn’t have the same taste in music, they connected through their love of live shows and discovering new music. “Music was sort

By Bella Savignano

By Bella Savignano

Photo By Bella Savignano

of a driving force in our friendship,” Savignano said.

Although Savignano and Betelu have found a stable routine for WNSM, they still acknowledge common roadblocks they fear for future WNSM members, one of which is funding. While they do get allotted funding from The New School’s Student Leadership and Involvement, the co-founders acknowledge they still struggle to make ends meet. To get more funding, WNSM has to hold a meeting with The New School’s Student Senate.

“The Student Senate can turn down any request. So our funding is never guaranteed, which has happened to us before,” Savignano said. “That means our budget is just sort of incredibly finicky and at the whim of someone else, which is quite scary.”

Additionally, WNSM discussed having difficulties with finding proper club meeting rooms and places to host their 15+ radio shows. Many of their members either host shows from their homes or attempt to find a quiet place on campus in between their courses.

“I work my way down the list of opening acts to see how niche I can get, how unheard of it can be, or how unexpected it can be,”

“It is somewhat difficult to continue our mission of community. I mean we literally fought for a rat-infested basement closet once, but they couldn’t give it to us because of health code violations,” said Savignano.

By Bella Savignano

By Bella Savignano

By Remy Grimm

Edited By Sydney White

Although they continue to face these roadblocks, this doesn’t stop their love of music and exploration. WNSM member and radio host Sylvia Roussis, a third-year Screen Studies major, expressed how WNSM has allowed her to explore new music connections through her show, “Algorythm”.

In Roussis’s show, she chooses a genre or artist that has been her favorite of the week and researches the opening acts of their live shows. “I work my way down the list of opening acts to see how niche I can get, how unheard of it can be, or how unexpected it can be,” Roussis said.

Through this method, Roussis has found unexpected opening act connections, such as connecting A Tribe Called Quest with Epic Rap Battles of History or connecting Deftones to Megan Thee Stallion. “[WNSM]’s meant so much to me. It’s been a great way, personally, to discover new music and to meet new people and bond over shared interests that in other walks of the world, maybe you didn’t have many people to relate to,” Roussis said.

WNSM has also connected with musicians and bands from both in and out of the New School. Hans Garcia, a CUNY alum who hails from Astoria, Queens, expressed gratitude for the station’s constant support. Garcia originally discovered WNSM after they aired his music on one of their radio shows. He then created a connection with Stormont and jumped at the opportunity to support WNSM at their 1st anniversary. “[WNSM] has a really big variety of shows. You got shows that are like classical music or like punk music. They’re like really big on pushing local bands. They play us…which I’m fucking appreciative of, but also, it’s a community,” Garcia said.

Photos By Bella Savignano and Remy Grimm

Fashion on Fifth: Ode to the Tabi

Jasper Jeffers — @jasperjefferss

Second-year Parsons Fashion Design student

To Jasper, the tabi is erotic. “There’s a lot of media of people sticking things in between the toes,” he says, referring to images I’ve also seen of items such as credit cards, cigarettes, and even wine glasses wedged between the tabi toes. “If I met a man and he was confused by tabis I would just think that he can’t make a woman orgasm,” he said, prompting me to giggle and agree. Does it make much sense? Not particularly, but Jasper doesn’t care. “They’re a good litmus test for someone with a vibe. If you get it you get it,” he said. Jasper’s a fan of funky boots in general, and after wearing his previous pair of tabis to the ground, he leveled up to the heeled versions. He’s even indoctrinated his older sister into the split toe lifestyle. Jasper’s outfit is bookended by his leather jacket and his leather tabis, with a pair of black trousers and a turtleneck in between. It’s a classic and timeless outfit with the Margiela boots.

Andy Zhao —

@the_old_photo_book

Second-year Parsons

Communication Design student

Andy is another breath of fresh air for me. I’ve felt violently bombarded by black monochrome outfits all winter and running into this soft blue was a sigh of relief. His tabis are white sneakers that admittedly are on their last limb. The sole is peeling away from the canvas and the white is not-so-pristine. But I love them, and so does Andy. He finds tabis weirdly comfortable, so much so that he has two pairs: sneakers for everyday and heeled boots for special occasions. He’s a Margiela fan and has worn his tabis for years despite the comments they attract. (Yes, we know they look like hooves.) The blue jeans, white top, and Tekla button-up create a springy ensemble that perfectly compliments the white tabis.

Jo Gutierrez — @majodeteee

Fourth-year Lang Journalism student

Jo, the former editor-in-chief of the Free Press, also received her tabis as a birthday gift from her boyfriend. After this issue of Fashion on Fifth, I’m raising my

standards. He chose the leather heeled boots in shade merlot. They’re the perfect neutral while still adding a touch of color to the ensemble. Jo has saved for the last two years to purchase her own pair but always ended up spending it before she could. (Too relatable. This is why we keep boyfriends around.) The white frilly top, dark wash jeans, and merlot tabis are pure class.

Tabi Kass — @pap3rpl4ne Second-year Parsons Integrated Design student

Tabi named themselves Tabi before they even knew what the shoes were! It’s a match made in tabi heaven. To Tabi, the shoes feel emblematic of identity. It’s a unisex shoe, blurring the lines between gender, femininity and masculinity, and even animal and human. The shoes exist in a gray area of fashion and expression where no one seems worried about forcing the shoes into one specific category of origin. The Margiela ethos is to constantly break down and reconstruct a garment, allowing the tabi’s Japanese roots to coexist with its high fashion counterpart. Also, if you need some light reading before bed, I’d be happy to share the 200page Stockholm University thesis paper called “What lays between the toes” that Tabi shared with me. Fascinating.

Beatrix Shelton — @bbeattriix Third-year Lang Visual Studies student

Everyone say, “Happy birthday Beatrix!” She wears her cherry red tabi slippers on her 21st birthday looking absolutely gorgeous and enchantingly legal. She’s a Margiela fan but didn’t want to spend the Margiela money, so she got these on Depop for $30. She thinks they’re ergonomic and comfortable and just happen to be the cutest ruby red shoes to carry her down the yellow brick road (or Fifth Avenue, whichever Beatrix prefers). Her fit is incredibly chic, especially with the brown leather jacket layered on top.

Mareike Nebel — @mareikeelisabethnebel Fourth-year Lang Journalism student

Mareike bought her tabis last summer in England on a visit to Brighton Beach. She

By Jane Lewis Logo Illustration By HMAC

and her friend ventured into a beachside store where she found the most adorable pair of canvas tabis with rubber soles. Ever since then, the two have been inseparable: “I even wore them to the beach!” She finds them comfortable, functional, and most importantly, fashionable. Her tabis are the most darling addition to her outfit and makes me crave the spring more than I already do. I’m obsessed with her gingham capris, the red sweater layered over a classic white button-up, all topped off with the baby blue Telfar bag! Mareike gets it. I can’t wait until the weather warms, and we’re all wearing our littlest pants with our weirdest shoes.

Piper Lacy — @pipermlacy

Second-year Lang Undeclared student

Upon receiving her first pair of Margiela tabis as a Christmas gift from her boyfriend, Piper did some research. TikTok tells first time tabi owners that they need sole protectors. “I slip a lot,” Piper tells me, referring to the plastic covers she’s stuck to the bottom of her leather flats to preserve the split sole. But fashion trumps function because she thinks tabis make any outfit interesting and now wants every style and every color! Piper’s outfit is a textural dream with her oversized glasses, knit scarf, suede coat, cotton trousers, polka dot bag, and leather flats. She looks cozy but still edgy with her Christmas presents on each foot.

Lucy Kiernan — @lucykny

Fourth-year Parsons photography student

Lucy bought her first pair of Margiela tabis, black leather flats, after finishing her first big summer internship a few years ago. It was a monumental moment for her, until six months later when she decided she also needed these pink satin ballet flats (a girl is powerless against a Black Friday sale). They were almost a size too small, but now she’s worn them enough that they fit her perfectly. The pink satin is ephemeral while the black are timeless, so Lucy feels balanced out by her tabi purchases. Her style is reminiscent of Jane Birkin with the ballet flats, light wash jeans, red turtleneck, and wispy bangs. Simplicity is superior in the game of fashion, and Lucy nailed it.

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This week’s Fashion on Fifth is dedicated to my favorite subversive footwear style, the tabi! A tabi is defined by a split toe that separates a person’s big toe from the rest, just like a flip flop does. Quick history lesson before we get into the clothes: Tabis date back to 15th century Japan where they were first made as socks to be paired with Geta sandals, then later evolved to be the Japanese workers’ shoe when rubber soles were added in the 1920s. The tabi’s split toe is thought to promote agility and mobility. (Yes, they are actually comfortable!) However, in 1988, Belgian designer Martin Margiela was inspired by the Japanese tabi style and debuted it on the runway for the first time. Shock, revolt, then obsession followed. The rest is history.

Edited By Arianna Gundlach

Tabis have an “if you know you know” reputation in the fashion industry because of how jarring people find the shape of the toe to be, driving many consumers away from the shoe. They definitely don’t appeal to everyone, but with tabis now infiltrating loafer, Mary Jane, and kitten heel markets, there’s a style that appeals to everyone. While plenty of retailers like Nike, Suicoke, and Maharishi make tabi shoes for as low as $60, a brand new Margiela version requires an investment of up to $1.1k depending on your desired style.

This price point has sparked controversy as some people prefer to wear their tabis to death while others keep them in pristine condition and not-so-silently judge those who don’t. (Kidding! Am I though?) British Vogue even explored a TikTok controversy when one user posted a pair of not-sowhite white tabi kitten heels that she had glued and sewn back together over years of wear. Should we use our designer items until they literally fall apart, or should investments be preserved? Let’s see what the students think this week.

Photography By Jane Lewis

Love Lucy: Roommates aren’t forever

Dear Lucy, I stay out of the house as long as possible to avoid my roommate. She is lowkey toxic af, but I miss my home, how do I resolve this? From, Avoidant Apartment-Goer

By Lucy Loveland

Dear Avoidant Apartment-Goer,

There comes a time in a college student’s life when they are faced with a horrible roommate situation. Half of college students across American universities reported having “‘frequent’ or ‘occasional’ conflict with their roommates or housemates,” according to a study in the Journal of Public Health. Either they don’t wash their dishes, leave rotting food out, have loud sex every night, steal your clothes, are late on rent, or just straight up don’t know boundaries — regardless, it makes your home life completely unbearable.

Unfortunately, I have dealt with inconsiderate roommates more than once, and I promise there are ways to manage the situation.

I would list out all of the issues you have with your roommate first. What exactly do they do that bothers you so much? Most of them could be completely reasonable and valid, but some might just be simple communication issues. Maybe you’re mad they didn’t take out the trash before they left, but what you didn’t know is that they were already late for class and had to catch the next train.

Basic roommate issues can usually be resolved through effective communication. I understand talking through problems can be intimidating, especially when you aren’t a confrontational person. But confrontation is necessary when it comes to being comfortable in your own home. Your roommate shouldn’t (and most likely won’t) judge you for expressing your needs or concerns and will appreciate you being honest with them,

*If

rather than allowing resentment to build. When thinking about how to approach your roommate, do it in private. Don’t call them out in front of all your friends; wait until you both are home and comfortable. Then, ask if you guys can talk about some things. Before this, Take the time to consider how you are going to word your grievances.

Instead of saying “You’re disgusting, how can you let your food rot in the sink for so long,” you can say, “Do you mind throwing your food out and washing your dishes more often after you’re done with them? I just want to minimize the risk of having possible bug issues, and that would suck for us to deal with.”

Tone is everything when it comes to conflict. It can change the whole course of the conversation. Emphasizing the issue could or is impacting you both, makes it easier to come up with a joint solution. Enter these conversations with an open mind and be ready to compromise. Remember, your apartment is a shared space.

If the issue is specific issues with their behavior, emphasize how their specific actions make you feel. Being specific will help you avoid miscommunication and resolve the situation quickly. For example, I am a chronic hair shedder and so is the rest of my family, so I never really noticed hair buildup in the drain. My past roommates had asked me to clean out my hair from the bathroom. However, I thought they were talking about outside of the shower. Due to the lack of specificity, I would vacuum hair from the bathroom floor and didn’t consider the actual shower itself. It wasn’t until weeks of multiple passive-aggressive comments and confusion about what I

was doing wrong, that I realized they were talking about the drain itself, not the bathroom floor. If they were specific to begin with the problem would’ve been solved faster and with less mental anguish.

If you have already taken these steps and attempted to reason with your roommate but they are not trying to fix the issues, then what’s next?

If your roommate fails to communicate or correct issues, then unfortunately that’s on them. You have taken the right steps to move forward and you can’t make anyone change. Just know you did the best you could do and your feelings are valid. But there are still ways to reclaim your home and seek comfort, even without their cooperation.

Lean on your friends. Invite them over to your place to create a buffer. Try to figure out when your roommate won’t be home and take advantage of that alone time. Create boundaries to make yourself as comfortable as possible. If you have a partner, plan fun date nights with them or fun daytime dates with your friends. Explore the city on your own to destress, and enjoy your own company as well.

But just remember, leases always have an end! You won’t have to live with this person forever. Make new roommate plans for next year to give you something to look forward to, and look towards a better future. Bad roommates, unfortunately, are a part of life but are never forever. This will be a funny rant to tell in the future, and you hopefully will never have to deal with them again. Hang in there, Avoidant Apartment-Goer.

Love, Lucy

LOVE, LUCY is the New School Free Press’ weekly advice column, where writers anonymously share thoughtfully researched solutions to your questions about life. Send submissions through Love, Lucy’s official Google Form, and you might hear back from Lucy herself.

Why ‘Hazbin Hotel’ is the perfect show for grown-up theater kids

By Arianna Gundlach

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN watching “Hazbin Hotel,” you’ve been missing out. The Amazon Prime series appeals to anyone and everyone who has ever identified as a theater kid (whether to the whole world or just that secret place in your heart). The R-rated musical comedy series created by Vivienne Medrano premiered on Jan. 18 with vivid animation, queer-inclusive characters, and unbelievably catchy songs. Even though the series already finished its first season run on Feb. 2, you’ll need to catch up soon because a second season is already in production.

The pilot originally premiered on Medrano’s YouTube channel Viziepop back in 2019, introducing us to Princess of Hell Charlie Morningstar, who’s determined to rehabilitate sinners with her ‘Hazbin Hotel’ before they’re exterminated annually by exorcist angels. After the pilot went viral, A24 helped Medrano and her team finance and develop the project into a series.

When my boyfriend introduced me to the pilot, I didn’t think much of it. Charlie had an optimistic, “I have a dream” Rapunzel vibe going for her, and the premise of redeeming colorful, expletive-slinging demons was interesting. But I still wasn’t convinced I was the right age to be watching a cartoon, even if it was geared toward adults. The Amazon Prime adaptation changed everything for me; it revived the theater kid in me.

Truthfully, I wasn’t a traditional “theater kid” growing up, but it’s kind of hard to be when your high school is so cutthroat about it. If the other kids auditioning weren’t going to make you cry, the director of the show certainly was. I promise I’m not an imposter though; I still have one middle school acting credit to my name (that counts right?). Regardless, I love attending musicals, listening to soundtracks, and finding new pop-meets-musical artists on Spotify like Melina KB.

“Hazbin Hotel” reminded me that I can still be a theater kid, even if it’s a grown-up one, no matter how much time has passed or how much so-called “experience” I have. If a song can pull you into a story and transform you into a main character taking

their moment, it’s magical at any age.

Like anything well-crafted, a worthwhile musical has a recipe of components that hook you from the beginning, hold you through the middle, and leave you touched at the end. You walk away feeling like a different person, and then immediately add every song from the show to your Spotify playlist.

The recipe usually starts with a memorable story, but because I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll have to trust me on that one. The following are the remaining components of a worthwhile musical and how “Hazbin Hotel” delivers on each:

An underdog protagonist you can root for

Even though Charlie is Lucifer’s daughter and the technical “Princess of Hell,” no one takes her seriously. Redeeming sinners is a joke; there are murders and turf-wars and sinners selling their souls to demon overlords every day in Hell. Yet somehow, Charlie has an infectious, unyielding can-do attitude capable of lifting you from your lowest doom-and-gloom mood. Besides her heart of gold, she has the voice of a Disney princess, a smart red suit and black bowtie, and uses real, adult language from time to time — plus she’s queer, which I love.

Lovable side characters

There are SO many of these to choose from. The cast is very well-rounded with many shades of gray; everyone’s a little questionable, a little heartwarming, and a little bit of a baddie (except for Adam, as in Adam and Eve, he’s just a dick). I particularly enjoy Nifty, the one-eyed maid who has an affinity for cleaning, kinkiness, and killing bugs. Angel Dust, the fourarmed, demon porn star and OG resident of the Hazbin Hotel, and Husk, the winged cat bartender with a hard exterior and

teddy-bear center, also have my heart. Don’t even get me started on Sir Pentious who heroically — whoops, spoilers! Sorry…

A dash of romance (or the whole bottle)

Charlie and Vaggie are our main lovebirds. They’re a queer-femme couple, who are the epitome of grumpy-meetssunshine. But what’s even more adorable is how Vaggie nurtures Charlie’s sunshine spirit. As for other ships, there’s definitely a vibe between Angel and Husk during “Loser, Baby,” and Sir Pentious might just have a shot with Cherri Bomb.

Stuck-in-your-headworthy songs

The show is packed with a powerful discography of songs that cause you to involuntarily sing into the mirror using your hand as a microphone, using all the expressions your face has to offer.. Select songs (“You Didn’t Know” and “Loser, Baby”) have harmonies that scratch that perfect itch in your brain. “Respectless” will make you feel like a real baddie. “You Didn’t Know” will make you feel vindicated when you want to burn everything to the ground. And “Happy Day in Hell” will make you feel like you can do anything. You can find my favorites here (including awesome fan-songs made after the pilot).

The show is definitely adult, so if you don’t like profanity or awesome demon porn stars, this show probably isn’t for you. That’s why it’s for grown-up theater kids. But the message is golden: just because you’ve made some bad choices doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.

Book a room and check-in soon at the Hazbin Hotel. Charlie has plenty of space and always has a smile ready for new arrivals.

Illustration

Answers:

25. Bed

23. Coppola

22. Jackson

21. Honey

2 Poe's favorite word

3 Japanese synthesizer shaped like an eighth note

4 Bigfoot, Mothman, etc.

5 Beauty

Est 12. Void 13. Fibula 14. Jupiter 16. Coquette 17. Mauna Kea 18. Narwhal

Amber

7 Leader of the largest pirate fleet

9 Translucent fossilized tree resin

10 Establish (abbr.)

12 Not legally binding

13 Calf bone (one of two)

14 5th from the sun

16 Name of a popular fashion trend/A girl who flirts

21. Hojicha

17. Midnight 19. Full 20. Ube

17 Mountain technically taller than Everest

11. Camp 14. Jeter 15. Gnocchi

18 Sea animal best known for it's tooth

10. ETA

8. Leap

6. Vatican City

4. Crybaby

1. Pantophobia

21 Winnie the Pooh's favorite snack

Across:

22 First US president to face an assassination attempt

23 "Priscilla" director 25 Made in the morning

1. Fear of everything

4. Somebody who cries a lot

6. Smallest country in the world

8. Feb. 29

10. Be there around 9:30

11. 2019 Met Gala Theme

14. Shortstop famous for his “bunny-hop”

15. Italian dumping

17. 12:00 a.m

Across Down

1. Red and white

2. Poe's favorite word

3. Japanese synthesizer

4. Bigfoot, Mothman, etc.

5. Beauty

7. Leader of the largest pirate fleet

9. Translucent fossilized tree resin

10. Establish (abbr.)

12. Not legally binding

13. Calf bone (one of two)

Crossword

19. Glass half __

20. Purple yam

21. Roasted matcha

24. Cell Block Tango, "You know, some guys just can't hold their ______"

25. Pretty please?

26. Victoria's Secret models

27. Intro of a news article

14. 5th from the sun

16. Name of a popular fashion trend involving bows

17. Mountain technically taller than Everest

18. Sea animal best known for it's tooth

21. Winnie the Pooh's favorite snack

22. First US president to face an assassination attempt

23. "Priscilla" director

25. Should be made in the morning

Hey there! Thanks for picking up the first volume of the Spring 2024 Print Issue of the New School Free Press. The Free Press’s reporting wouldn’t be the same without the vibrant visuals provided by our staff of extremely talented designers, illustrators, photographers and many freelancers. As Creative Directors, we wanted to tell you a little more about what the visuals desk has been up to this semester.

The Illustration desk, headed by Clara Waldheim and Leo Preston, has been focusing on illustrations for stories as well as rebranding our series, Student Artist Showcase, in the hopes that it will give illustrators in our community a space to showcase their work and build a platform. Talented artists like Sadie Wood, Vesta Weed, Max Choi-Henslee and Sailor Mullaney have transformed the look and feel of many Free Press stories with their distinct styles.

The Video desk, headed by Sofia Igoe, has been reactivated after many dormant semesters, and has been publishing more video content than ever before. From talking to people about their worst dates in Campus Conversations by Sofia Igoe and Olivia Goerler, to spotlighting adorable bodega cats in Delicat Diaries, our videographers have a lot more yet to come.

Gigi Schweitzer, Jordan Fong, Moshe Sopher-Harelick, Mihye Kang and Holland De Klerk are just a few of the talented photographers who’ve captured some of the most defining moments in news and arts and culture at The New School. Our web capacities are expanding too. Ana Whelley crafted a custom webpage for updates during the SENS-UAW strike, making sure that integral information was easily accessible to our online readers.

With so much creativity in our community, every single member of the Visuals team has been working incredibly hard to give it the platform it deserves. We hope you had as much fun reading the magazine as we did creating it. Most importantly, we hope you felt a kinship within the New School community and that our team was a tiny part of the reason why. We can’t wait to see you in the next issue! Viva la Print!

Your Creative Directors, Vidhi and Janet

Designed By: Janet Delavan

Printing:

Mixam Printing

Typography:

Headlines set in Helvetica Neue by Max Miedinger and Body text in Newsreader by Production Type

The New School Free Press

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