What Is Nassau Weekly?

Updated

Nassau Weekly is Princeton's alternative weekly magazine, published every Sunday and described on its site as serving Princeton since 1976. It is a student-oriented publication that blends campus, local, and national content, and it publishes a wide mix of forms: essays, fiction, poetry, cartoons, crosswords, and audiovisual work. If you want to know whether it's a news source, a literary magazine, or something to submit to, the answer is that it functions as all three to varying degrees.

Who it's for and what it covers

The publication describes itself as "Princeton's alternative weekly newspaper" and, elsewhere on the same page, "Princeton's weekly alternative magazine since 1976." That dual framing is a fair summary of its range. Its content sections include:

  • Essays — including a "Nass Recommends" column and archival pieces
  • Fiction and Poetry — original student creative writing
  • Second Look — a section revisiting or reexamining prior subjects
  • Soapbox — opinion-style pieces
  • Audiovisual — video and multimedia content, including a "WATCH" section
  • Crosswords, Cartoons, and Art
  • Verbatim — overheard quotes from campus and beyond, such as "Overheard at Move-In" and "Overheard in Midtown Manhattan"

The mix of campus, local, and national material means it isn't strictly a Princeton news wire. A reader looking for breaking campus news should treat it as one voice among several; a reader looking for student writing, humor, and cultural commentary will find more of that here.

Publication schedule and format

The site states the paper is published every Sunday. Issues are collected under a "Recent Issues" section with a "View All Issues" link, and the latest issue shown is titled "Demons." Individual pieces are also published as standalone articles, so you can read by section rather than by issue.

How to use the site

The navigation is organized around content type and participation:

  1. Reading — browse by section (Essays, Fiction, Poetry, Soapbox, Second Look, Audiovisual, Crosswords, Cartoons, Art) or open a recent issue.
  2. Submitting — the "Submit" menu offers options to submit a piece, submit a Verbatim, or enter the poetry/fiction competition.
  3. Following — the site links to YouTube and Instagram for updates.
  4. Supporting — the About menu includes Donate, Advertise, and Join Us.

If your goal is to contribute, the submission routes are explicit: general pieces, Verbatim quotes, and a poetry/fiction competition are listed separately, so choose the one matching your work rather than sending everything through a single channel.

What it is not

The site provides no pricing information and no indication that reading requires an account or payment; the presence of a Donate option suggests reader support is part of its model, but nothing on the page confirms access terms either way. It also does not present itself as a professional news organization with editorial independence claims beyond its "alternative" positioning. Treat it as a student-run campus publication with a literary and satirical streak, not as a primary source for institutional news.

Bottom line

Nassau Weekly is a Princeton student publication running since 1976, published Sundays, covering campus, local, and national topics through essays, creative writing, humor, art, and video. Read it for student perspective and culture coverage; submit to it if you write, draw, or have an overheard quote worth printing.