Students arrived in New York on March 29, the largest group to go in the history of the program.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone that didn’t like it,” said assistant professor of art George Sipp, who accompanied the students. “They were all just exhausted because they’d taken in everything they could in four days.”
Sipp discussed how different it was to watch non-art majors take in the sites of New York.
“It is interesting for business or nursing majors and how they respond to Manhattan and its huge cultural diversity,” Sipp said.
As for the the annual trip, New York doesn’t change much for the Study Away trip. Missouri Western generally patronizes one hotel, the Newton, where they have a standing reservation, and one airline. This makes the rest of the trip more flexible and less stressful.
Although the trip doesn’t change much, the main variable is always the students.
“[The trip] is unusual because it is generated by mostly non-art majors,” Sipp said. “This makes the sights they see as a group different from year to year and why many students decide to make the trip consecutive times.”
For Jennifer Smith, a senior graphic design major, the trip went perfectly except for one thing: not enough time.
“I wish we would’ve gotten to do more, like Broadway, but the trip itself was great,” Smith said.
She was also a fan of New York at night.
“Times Square was awesome at night and there were just more people out,” Smith said. As a design major, she also enjoyed the Times Square ads. “Just to see the ads I’ll be making one day blown up so big was amazing.”
But Smith’s favorite attraction was an unexpected one.
“I loved the subway system,” Smith said. “That’s when I had the most fun. There was more entertainment than you would think, and it was very cool.”
Nathan Glynn, a senior studio art major, thinks the trip went better than he expected.
“I expected to go as a spectator, but we got involved in a project in Brooklyn, and we painted barrels that will be on the pier and the beach at Coney Island this year and will present them when it opens for the season,” Glynn said. “That was the highlight, just becoming part of the city for a while.”
Sipp was also pleased with how everyone interacted.
“There is so much for us to do and see; there is just no time for cliquishness,” Sipp said. “They are always so accommodating to one another.”
Sipp is pleased with the way the trip seems to always turn out.
”I think New York is one of the most successful Study Away Programs at Western,” he said.
*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.