So You’re Going to The New School, Part II
Campus Culture
Congrats — you’re officially a New Schooler! You, like many of your friends, are probably spending a good portion of your summer preparing for The Big Move to college; advice on this topic isn’t hard to come by. But you’re going to The New School, so, like your educational experience, the advice you’ll need should be a little different than generic. To help you transition into life in New York City, we’re breaking down our advice into three parts: Before You Arrive, Campus Culture, and Welcome to NYC.
Welcome to the second installment of “So You’re Going to The New School” (if you haven’t already, check out Part I, “Before You Arrive”) Here, you can absorb The New School’s past and present in the form of readings, videos, maps, advice givings, and more, essential to your transition into this major life moment.
ON-CAMPUS LIVING
Moving into a shared space with roommates that you might not know well can certainly be intimidating.
But it could end up resulting in the friendship of a lifetime, the Proenza to your Schouler. After all, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez did meet at Parsons and subsequently launched their uber-successful brand together. Nevertheless, if you ever have a concern about your living arrangements, the staff of Housing and Residential Education are there to support you. In the residence halls, each floor has a Resident Advisor (RA) who serves as your first point of contact for any issue you might encounter. Be sure to attend your floor meetings to connect with your RA and the rest of the community!
Consider talking about suite responsibilities as soon as all roommates are available to do so. Who cleans what, and when? Do you have quiet hours you want to set up? Having conversations like these early will keep your living space harmonious.
With all of the New Student Orientation events taking place, you’ll have plenty of time to meet and connect with other students who might be feeling the same as you.
STUDENT LIFE
“What students are like” here is hard to define. Our community’s unique ethos, highly creative culture, and rigorous, future-oriented thought processes mean that it’s constantly evolving. Currently, we ask a New School student each week on Instagram to recommend something to listen to, read, eat, use, and a place to go. Here’s a taste of what they’re into:
And, since you’re now a New School student, get to know yourself. There’s literally no better way to accomplish this task than perusing the course catalog. It’s basically Narnia, but for education.
Another good way to anticipate your new community: seeing how a graduating class takes traditional commencement and shakes up celebration.
Unlike traditional commencement ceremonies, we prefer a range of people sharing different ideas to having one person give a long speech. You can watch activists Ai-jen Poo and Barbara Hillary, and iconic fashion designer Anna Sui from our 2017 ceremony, and Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox, #BlackLivesMatter leader DeRay Mckesson, and (another) iconic fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg at our 2016 ceremony.
Social Justice at The New School
Because each new student arrives with different levels of familiarity and experience with the term, we believe the best social justice learning tool is your ability to listen (Maya Wiley, a faculty member and our Sr. Vice President of Social Justice, has some exceptional thoughts on this very subject). Additionally, there are a number of social justice resources available to you on campus, both physical and emotional.
- Consider joining the Social Justice Committee, a university-wide committee dedicated to social justice (check out the Social Justice Facebook page as well)
- Because social justice and health are inextricably linked, consider familiarizing yourself with all that the Office of Student Health Services has to offer (everything from Medical Services, Counseling Services, Health Insurance, Wellness and Health Promotion, Safe Zone, Anti-Violence, Suicide Prevention, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Services)
- Some other good info on sexual and/or gender identity and sexual violence: PGPs (preferred gender pronouns), The New School Queer Collective Facebook page, and The New School YesMeansYes Facebook page (sexual violence prevention and sex positivity)
- This page details NYC-wide social justice organizing and related themes
- This map details all of our non-binary restrooms on campus:
READING
Voracious readers and writers abound on college campuses, but those who study at The New School know that books are truly magic. Check out books by faculty and alumni of our Creative Writing Program, especially contemporary writers like Stephanie Danler, Sarah Gerard, and David Lehman. In addition to the books our deans and faculty recommend you read this summer, the reading list below highlights a few of our favorites that explicitly address social issues or narrate stories of New York City.
Beyond the New York City/New School “canon,” readers can find adventure and comfort in browsing the city’s plethora of small, independent bookstores for new books. With new and used books, chaotic shelves, knowledgeable staff, and free readings of famed authors, each of these locations are vehicles that can immerse one into The Literary World:
Unnameable Books | Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
How to get there from campus: take the Q to 7th Avenue
The Strand (noted New School staple) | Manhattan
How to get there from campus: walk
Mast Books | Avenue A, Alphabet City
How to get there from campus: take the L to 1st Avenue or walk
Books Are Magic | Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
How to get there from campus: take the F to Bergen Street
Molasses Books | Bushwick, Brooklyn
How to get there from campus: take the L to DeKalb Avenue
NEW SCHOOL HISTORY
Since its inception as The New School for Social Research in 1919, The New School’s greatest consistency is its reinvention of the classroom. Take a look at our (almost) 100 years of history here.
SPEAKERS + EVENTS ON CAMPUS
Each year, our line-up of Public Programs, guest lecturers, and conferences is bold, diverse, and thought-provoking. If your ideal Friday night is keeping your brain charged, there’s likely something happening on campus that you can attend (and maybe snag some free snacks, too).
If you can’t make it irl, almost every talk given at The New School is accessible to watch on our YouTube channel (catch up with bell hooks, Rihanna, Noam Chomsky, and more.) If you could technically make it, but you don’t feel like changing out of our pajamas, many events stream live, so watch from your bed.
We also host ongoing Facebook Live conversations with students, faculty, staff, and alumni, which provide a glimpse into what we have going on in the day to day:
Tour through past exhibitions at Parsons’ famed Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (2 West 13th Street), like this tour of “memory is a tough place,” an exhibit that explores the relationship between photography and race, or this one of States of Exception, a heart-wrenching exhibition on crossing the Mexico/U.S. border. Learn about the difference between fascism vs. populism with expert Professor Federico Finchelstein, or hear famed scientist Brian Greene talk about invisibility. See how Parsons students designed Street Seats, an annual project to create green, functional public seating space on campus. Listen to New School Jazz alumni play live at NYC-staple (le) Poisson Rouge or classical music with Mannes students for their centennial celebration. Catch a gorgeous oil painting demo from Parsons Professor Sonya Sklaroff. Sit in on a Lang class that worked all semester with Verso Books. Go trawling in the Gowanus Canal. Explore the university-wide Parsons Making Center Material Store (where you can buy bugs that eat styrofoam!) Sort out economic theory in the Trump era. Listen to sustainability expert Joel Towers, Dean of Parsons, or Professor David Plotke explain why The New School should move to Texas. See “leather” grown from kombucha and made into a jacket at Biofabricate. Go on the rooftop with a campus sustainability tour. Listen to Senior VP of Social Justice Maya Wiley talk about race, or Professor Natalia Petrzela talk the politics of wellness. Go inside a Parsons Graphic Design classroom (and a real crit!) Hear history professors contextualize the day after Trump’s election. Watch student performing at the Bushwick Art Collective. Take a tour of the incredible Kailash Cartographies exhibit. Watch Parsons MFA Design and Technology students present their designs in the Panasonic room SXSW 2017. Check out Parsons’ Healthy Materials Lab screen printing on recycled tees. See all of the incredible work that comes out of the annual #ParsonsFestival: Art, Design, History and Theory Grad students present work; BFA Photography seniors showing at MILK studios; how to really recycle, BBA Strategic Design and Management students present their final theses; School of Fashion students at their exhibition; MFA Design + Technology showcase; the School of Constructed Environments final showcase.
Needless to say, we’ve got a lot going on.
GET EXCITED
Before you know it, you’ll truly be living all that The New School and New York City have to offer. In part three of “So You’re Going to The New School” we’ll provide some tips on how to make the most of summer’s end (aka, free fun activities) upon your arrival. Be sure to keep up with us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
