Crime, trade and the Trump administration — today’s top issues took center stage at this semester’s debate between the NYU College Republicans and College Democrats on Thursday. At the event, the College Republicans introduced its new president, who took over as head of the group when its previous leader resigned after making national headlines for comments about Stern first-year Barron Trump.  The debate, hosted by the Politics Society at NYU in the Kimmel Center for University Life, featured three representatives from each club who discussed heightened security on the subway, tariff policies and the Russia-Ukraine war. Gallatin senior Isabella Karpuzyan, the Politics Society’s events director, said the group encouraged each…

The U.S. Department of Education will investigate NYU for alleged civil rights violations, citing the university’s partnership with a nonprofit aiming to diversify Ph.D. programs at business schools. The department did not disclose when the investigations will take place or what they will entail.  NYU was among 52 universities targeted in the Trump administration’s most recent attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on college campuses. Each of the schools listed are under fire for their collaboration with The PhD Project — a higher education nonprofit that offers networking and resources for Black, Hispanic and Indigenous students pursuing doctorates in business in an effort to amplify racial diversity among U.S.…

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Empire AI initiative has expanded rapidly over the past several weeks, with three more New York colleges slated to join the consortium of research institutions — which includes NYU — if budgetary plans are approved. Amid ongoing efforts at NYU to expand programming in science and technology, the $400 million initiative bolsters artificial intelligence research at the university. In October, Hochul launched the first stage of Empire AI with a center housing 96 advanced computer processors in upstate New York. The seven founding institutions — including Columbia University, the State University of New York and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute —  along with other private partners, collectively invested $125…

Dozens of students and faculty prepared about 1,800 pounds of discarded medical supplies for dispersal to Ukraine, Ghana and other countries facing humanitarian crises in the Kimmel Center for University Life Thursday afternoon. The session was one of several hosted as part of the “NYU in Dialogue” series, with the university having prepared more than 10,000 pounds of supplies over the past year. At the event, representatives from local nonprofit the Afya Foundation guided attendees through the sorting process — which entails checking expiration dates and repackaging batches of unused oxygen tubes, gauze and sutures. The foundation then ships the supplies to countries facing humanitarian crises, according to the needs…

Sony launched a $7.5 million partnership with NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development to establish the Sony Audio Institute — a new initiative aimed at advancing innovation in audio technology and music business. The Sony Institute, set to begin programming this semester, aims to modernize Steinhardt’s approach to Music Business and Music Technology majors by facilitating research, increasing networking opportunities and revamping classrooms with professional equipment from the company. The program is spearheaded by Larry Miller, director of NYU’s Music Business program, who will step down from his current position to run the institute when it officially opens this fall.  “I am so proud of what we…

Dozens of community members are urging the university to establish a committee of students, faculty and administrators to research and report ways that NYU can mitigate racial disparities on campus. The resolution was initially slated for a vote at the Student Government Assembly next week, but it is currently paused due to concerns amid a federal crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.  The NYU Reparations Committee movement, spearheaded by the youth-led organization Get Free NYC, calls for the university to broaden its efforts to combat racial injustices on campus. The proposed committee would investigate current and historical university practices to assess what policies perpetuate racial disparities, and how they…

NYU researchers found they could measure an animal’s consciousness by comparing how similarly it behaves to humans when encountering different circumstances. Detailed in a Feb. 20 report, their findings asserted that more animal-centered research could lead to a new understanding of consciousness in both humans and artificial intelligence.  The paper’s authors, environmental studies professor Jeff Sebo, philosophy professor Kristin Andrews and London School of Economics professor Jonathan Birch, focused on how specific indicators of consciousness — such as pain or laughter — presented itself in humans and compared the behavioral and physical reaction to that of another species. In an interview with WSN, Sebo said that because “consciousness” does not…

NYU received a B grade in a recent report compiled by the Anti-Defamation League rating responses to antisemitism on 135 college campuses — labeling the university as “better than most.”  The ADL, a prominent Jewish advocacy group aimed at combating antisemitism on college campuses since October 2023, assessed how each university performed across 30 criteria including conduct policies, resources for Jewish community members and severity of “antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents.” The score came three days after the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of a Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to investigate NYU, along with nine other colleges — each of which received a C grade or lower…

Hundreds of protesters from Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across New York City joined NYU students in Washington Square Park on Tuesday to condemn the Saturday detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and leading pro-Palestinian activist.  The demonstration started in Garibaldi Plaza with speeches from an NYU professor and student addressing Khalil, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite being a legal permanent resident. The detainment comes amid President Donald Trump’s threats to deport international students who have engaged in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.  “Anyone in the legal profession knows that that kind of arrest is flagrantly illegal and unconstitutional,” said…

NYU was not listed among the 60 universities said to be investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for complaints alleging antisemitic harassment, despite being one of 10 colleges slated for investigation by the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. The department’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters to each of the 60 colleges two days ago warning them of “potential enforcement actions” if they fail to “fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus.” NYU, George Washington University and University of California, Los Angeles are the only three schools targeted by President Donald Trump’s antisemitism task force that were not…