Honors students immersed in New York City

 The anticipation built as the wind whipped the faces of 16 female Viterbo students and three faculty members as the New York subway screeched to a halt. The sliding doors opened and a rush of people crowded into the small boxcar to begin their journey to Brooklyn, marking the Viterbo student's first experience of public transportation in New York City.

March 24-28, the Viterbo Honors class, "City as a Text," traveled to New York City to learn about the city's heritage, history and culture through immersion, Emily Dykman, assistant professor of religious studies and philosophy, co-director of Viterbo Honors Program, and professor of "City as a Text" told Lumen. 

After traveling seven hours from La Crosse to New York, students took the subway to Brooklyn. Cassie Torkelson, freshmen psychology major from Pine Island, Minn., enjoyed using public transportation. "I loved the feeling of accomplishment I got from successfully navigating the immense subway system and arriving at the destination I hoped to," Torkelson said. 

Emily Aerts, freshmen social work major from Marshfield, Wis., was surprised by how New Yorkers interacted with each other on the subway.

"No matter how crunched people get on the subway, no one really talks to each other," Aerts said. "New Yorkers kept to themselves; either sleeping, reading or listening to music."

Stepping off the subway in Brooklyn, the group was greeted by heckling teenagers, Aerts said, reminding the all-white female group that they stuck out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood.

Dykman used connections with the North American Conference of Associates and Religious (NACAR) to set up a visit to a youth program in Brooklyn.

"I was looking for some way to focus students on the social justice issue at stake in New York City, to draw awareness of the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the City," Dykman said. 

The group met with Father Jim O'Shea, pastor of Our Lady of Montserrat church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area, who helped run an afterschool program for youth in the neighborhood to give them a positive environment in which to grow. 

Fr. Jim set up a tour with a group leader who had spent time in prison for drug trafficking, and upon release dedicated his life to trying to better the neighborhood he grew up in. The group leader gave the Viterbo students a tour of the neighborhood that was high in high school drop-outs, crime and drug-trafficking. Following the tour, the Viterbo group interacted with the youth of the neighborhood during the afterschool program. 

Jessica Hassing, freshmen nursing major from Easton, Minn., was impressed by the strong sense of community the group witnessed in Brooklyn. The youth showed the community leaders respect, shaking hands and hugging as a greeting. "Everyone is there to better their community," Hassing said. 

"They were so willing to help each other as well as others even though they may have been struggling financially themselves," Aerts said. The youth were working on a t-shirt fundraiser to raise money for Haiti.

The Viterbo group spent the remainder of their trip exploring Manhattan. Students spent time walking down Fifth Avenue to check out the shopping, traveling 86 stories up to the top of the Empire State Building Observatory, visiting Rockefeller Plaza to watch the ice skaters, or meandering through Central Park. 

The group also spent time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, reflected at the now empty space in the financial district where the twin towers stood prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and saw the "Lion King" on broadway.

Aerts enjoyed her first broadway show in New York as she watched the "Lion King."  The costumes, animal imitations, and music made an enjoyable show for Aerts. "I was so shocked in the beginning of the broadway show when an elephant came trotting down the aisle," Aerts said.

The Viterbo group also met up with President Rick Artman of Viterbo to have dinner at the Carnegie Deli in New York. Hassing was impressed Artman took time to visit with students. "It was really cool to get to know him a little and hear about his stories," Hassing said. "He really wanted to get to know each and everyone of us."                     

This was the first year a "City as a Text" course was offered at Viterbo. Two years ago, Dykman and Susan Cosby Ronnenberg, assistant professor of English and co-director of Viterbo Honors Program, attended a National Collegiate Honors Council's conference in Texas where the class concept was introduced. Dykman and Ronnenberg decided the class would be a great learning experience and planned the first immersion in New York, Dykman said. 

During the trip, students were required to keep a journal of their experiences and pick one topic of the city to do further research on and develop a poster to present at Scholar's Day on April 30 at Viterbo, Dykman said. 

Dykman enjoyed taking part as an instructor of the class. "I really enjoyed hearing about the meaningful events that students pointed out," Dykman said.

Dykman enjoyed walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. "The Brooklyn Bridge is such a beautiful piece of architecture and offers a very interesting perspective on the City," Dykman said.