This semester a group of New School students launched a website called the Antithesis, an online publication led by sophomore Petra Zarah Jarrar that puts out student written work relating to local and national issues of social justice.
Plans to propose a budget to New School’s administration and bring the website into print next semester are currently in the works.
Jarrar, a sophomore at Lang studying politics, describes the site as an online newspaper for students from all backgrounds to share their perspectives on social justice issues.
“Basically the purpose of the paper is just to allow anybody that is passionate about something– it could be feminism, it could be gay rights, it could be education, it could be so many different things,” Jarrar said. “And just to allow them to write whatever they are thinking or feeling without feeling repressed or feeling like maybe they don’t have a voice.”
The New School’s paucity of student groups, and of ways for students to engage with community, sparked the idea behind the publication, Jarrar said.
“I was really frustrated,” she said. “It’s so hard to access information here about different clubs, organizations, events.”
Jarrar began the project last fall by printing 30 flyers and posting them around school, inviting students to join her in creating the first edition of the Antithesis.
She said any issue falling within the realms of politics, economics, the environment and society inevitably raises questions of social justice, and so is worthy of discussion in the Antithesis. One caveat: the concept of social justice is open to interpretation
“In general its so hard to define what social justice is, because it means something different to everybody,” Jarrar said.
On January 21, the Antithesis began posting a monthly selection of news features, opinion pieces, and editorials online. Since March, the pace has picked up, with new articles posted every two to three days.
Antithesis staff writer Cantey Smith, a junior at Lang studying Anthropology, began posting her work on the Antithesis after being punched by a homeless man on the way from Arnold Hall to the University Center on 5th Ave.
Jarred by the experience, Smith wrote “Help the Homeless,” a piece about mental illness within the homeless population of New York City and the city’s tepid approach to addressing the issue.
“I wanted to engage with how that dealt with the social spirit of The New School, with homelessness,” Smith said.
Frustration with social inequality also inspires Ana Miljak, a freshman studying journalism and literature at Lang, to write opinion pieces for the Antithesis.
“The articles are fun to write, or maybe not fun, but they’re cathartic just because I get to write down everything I’ve been angry about, about certain trends on the internet,” she said.
Lauren Walsh, a part-time journalism professor at Lang who provides feedback to the newspaper, said student-driven projects like the Antithesis are complementary to the school’s overall activist community.
“We’ve always been teaching this, but now there’s sort of a shared language about it,” Walsh said.
Presently the Antithesis is not officially supported by the New School and operates without a budget. All activity within the newspaper’s working sphere is voluntary.
“So far, I think, for a no money publication we are doing pretty okay,” Jarrar said, laughing. “My parents print out all of the fliers every single time because they have an office printer. So shout out to mom and dad.”