Cooper Squared

Multimedia and multidimensional storytelling from NYU undergraduate students

Post Archive

“The Divide is Clear”: Young voters on edge on Election Night following recent court rulings

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Young Minnesotans fear that voter suppression may impact votes for Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden and continue the state’s pattern of discrimination against its marginalized groups. Following months of Black Lives Matter protests and incidents of police brutality, Minnesota college voters are worried their state will ‘swing Red’ in favor of President Donald Trump after […]

A Looming Election Casts Shadows Over College Iowans

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Andrew Thompson, a junior at Drake University studying Political Science, is yearning for a return to normalcy after four chaotic years of the Trump presidency.  “I hope that when I listen to a daily news podcast I can go a week without hearing anything from the Oval Office. That would be lovely,” said Thompson, who […]

Texas Becomes More Blue in 2020 as Demographics Shift

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The rising number of young American voters in Texas are tipping the Lone Star State to the left in this year’s election as fewer older generation voters headed to the polls on Tuesday night.  With many more young voters casting ballots for former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, compared to the 2016 election, […]

First-Time Wisconsin Voters Caught in Bipartisan Fight Hope for a Better Future

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On the night of a Presidential Election unlike any other, student voters across Wisconsin expressed discontent over restrictions like voiding any mail-in ballots received after 8pm on Election Day. “To me, it’s so obvious the people in power right now do not care about their constituents.” said Macie Daley, a sophomore studying Political Science at […]

First-time Voters in Pennsylvania Feel Anxious as They Await Election Results

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College students across Pennsylvania are anxiously awaiting the results of the 2020 Presidential Election to filter in this evening and in the days ahead, as polls close and votes are counted. During most election years in recent history, the state of Pennsylvania has been thrust into the spotlight as a battleground state that former Presidential […]

Young Nevadans Hope to Combat National Divisiveness With Their First Votes

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In Nevada, many young voters have cast their ballots in their first presidential election, which will likely be the most consequential of their lifetimes. The past four years have deeply divided the country, and with this year’s Presidential Election many voters tired of the political divisiveness are hoping to change the country’s trajectory. That’s especially […]

First-time College Voters Cast Their Votes in 13 Battleground States, and Now Wait for the Results

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Across the country, millions of American college students in Red states and Blue states cast their vote for the first time in a pivotal election, marked with a sense of unease and unpredictability.  Issues like racial equality, reproductive rights, climate, and others, drove young voters across the country to turn out in historic numbers for […]

Young Voters in Florida are Coming Face-to-Face with the Challenge of Voting in a Swing State

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First-time voters in Florida are bracing themselves that they may not know the results of the Presidential Election in the days, and maybe even weeks, to come.  This uncertainty is not a new feeling for Floridians in this election cycle, who reside in a critical battleground state. They have worried about everything from whether mail-in […]

College Students Wrestle with the Decision to Vote In-Person or By Mail on Election Day

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Students at universities across the country are grappling with the time-sensitive decision regarding whether to vote in person or by mail in the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 3. With the election days away and the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in many regions, Americans are faced with two important decisions this November. Not only must […]

Are Presidential Debates Even Necessary Anymore?

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An unruly first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden raised serious questions about the efficacy of traditional debates, prompting a call for stringent rules to maintain decorum. It appears it may have worked—at least this time. Last week’s Thursday night debate, the last ahead of the Presidential election on Tuesday, […]

For Young, Progressive Black Women, Harris’s Race And Gender Are Not Enough

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Young, Black women voters in America are not convinced that Kamala Harris will save them. While the California senator’s historic nomination as the first Black woman to serve as the Democratic vice presidential nominee came as a welcomed “shock” to some, not all have fully embraced her candidacy, pointing to her past record as district […]

‘Settle for Biden’: Gen Z Voters Support the Democratic Party with Hopes of Reforming from Within

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With the presidential election less than a week away, Gen Z voters are urging one another to ‘Settle for Biden’ and avoid third-party voting despite disagreeing with some of the Democratic Party’s platform and policies. While former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, may not be their first choice, Gen Z voters have […]

Desperate Gen Zers look for ways to keep TikTok despite looming ban

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Some teens and young adults across the U.S. have purchased Virtual Private Networks (VPN) in response to the Trump Administration’s order to ban TikTok which is currently waiting for a judge to decide. “I am considering getting a VPN,” said Jay Izzo, 21, of the Bronx. “If Trump is scared enough to ban TikTok, what’s […]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a “hero” to many young women

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at 87 after complications with metastatic pancreatic cancer, changed the way the law sees gender and in doing so, inspired generations of women to fight for their ideals.  Ginsburg became an unlikely pop culture icon in her 80s. She was affectionately dubbed the “Notorious RBG” which allowed her […]

Constant bad news for Black America is taking a toll

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What is Blackness: Who owns it?  Cassi Quayson,19, a Ghanian-American writer studying “Language and Liberation” at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study muses on these questions.  She’s often caught up with innermost examinations of Black life while the rest of the world watches. In 2020’s cataclysm of the coronavirus pandemic and pervasive racial injustice, it’s […]

Minnesota teens of color are stressed out and struggling, but find glimmers of hope

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The police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, have spurred protests globally and left Minnesotan teens of color stressed out and struggling. But the support from their community has renewed their hope for change. “The exhaustion comes from when everyone wants to now understand and puts the effort on the people of color, the […]

Fraternities hold online rushes during pandemic

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As the Covid-19 pandemic looms large, New York University fraternities are keeping the rush process alive by using social media and online platforms like Zoom.  According to the NYU Interfraternity Council (IFC), the governing body for most fraternities, all official fraternity events and activities must be done online to stop the spread of Covid-19. Delta […]

Online classes are a struggle for many international students

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Back to school for international students in their home countries means Zoom classes in the middle of the night and a fight to stay awake.  Vish Yadav, an New York University student  is back home in Pune, India and dealing with time zone changes that make attending and being alert for classes a struggle. He […]

NYU students of color struggle under the weight of racial injustice

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NYU students of color  are struggling months after the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and having to face head on the cries of racial injustice that are sweeping the country and the backlash.  Sonali Burns, a junior,  said that the heaviness of the murders didn’t impact her at first because she […]

Teaching is not easy during the COVID-19 pandemic

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When 26-year-old Teesha Robinson logged on to Zoom for her first day of remote teaching, on August 24, she was hesitant. As she prepared to welcome her fifth grade students to their virtual classroom, a sudden crash on the east coast Zoom network halted all operations. This left Robinson unnerved, scrambling to reassure parents and […]

COVID-19 Worsens Digital Inequities along the Southern Border

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Laredo, Tx- After dormitories closed across the country, a returning college student was forced to complete an online semester using his cellular hotspot, but tightening COVID-19 restrictions and a lack of access to a stable internet connection made life difficult.  Gilberto de Leon, 20,  returned home in February to find his parents had ended their […]