by Nina Campli, Assistant Student Life & Arts Editor
For the third consecutive year the DSEM classes took a trip to New York City. This past Saturday and Sunday students, professors and writing fellows went to different spots throughout the Big Apple that corresponded with the topic of their DSEM. Some of these places included: the 9/11 Memorial, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Museum of Modern Art and even Ellis Island. For the trip each of the students was provided with a round -trip train ticket and $12 for lunch. The DSEM class was cancelled Monday following the trip so the students could recuperate and catch up on homework (aren’t they lucky).
The students had the opportunity to observe what they learned in class in a real world context. Damaris Zola (‘21) said, “The trip into New York City really gave the class perspective. We got to see how the issues we talked about in class actually impacted people.”
Professor Joshua Kavaloski, who teaches a DSEM called German Fairytales and the Dark Side of Modernity explained the purpose of the DSEM trip:
“I would say that the NYC trip sought to demonstrate two things to first-year students enrolled in the DSEM. First, it showed the city’s proximity to Drew and hopefully made students a little more comfortable exploring the city on their own. Secondly and more importantly, the trip established the dynamic and meaningful role that the city can play in learning.”
One of Kavaloski’s students Sam Cocchi (‘21) stated, “I’ve been to New York City plenty of times because I live in New York state but it was fun seeing more of the midtown locations.” When asked if there was anywhere else in the city she wanted to explore she claimed, “I would definitely explore more places and go more downtown like around Union Square.”
Another student, Nasir Bly, who is in Dr. Pechilis’ DSEM called “Cultural Diversity in America” went to MoMA with his class. Bly said “We had a good time going through the city and seeing the sights. I did hear about the other DSEM trips and it would have been cool to have gone to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not or go to the Met.” Once the planned trip activities were over, students were invited to stay in the city and explore on their own. When asked if he stayed in the city Bly stated, “Yes, I did. A group of friends and I hung around Times Square for a while and got some food and went shopping.”
