The New Brunswick Community Walk
Mentoring for Social Justice and Community-Building
Douglas Residential College
New Brunswick, New Jersey—the home to Rutgers University flagship campus—is 46% Latinx, with 32% of the population born abroad (United States Census Bureau, 2022). Yet, this campus’ student population is only 13% Latinx—the lowest of all three Rutgers campuses (Institute of Educational Sciences, 2021).
As part of a mentoring for social justice program, we walked through the urban, majorly Latine community surrounding our campus, discussing systemic issues it faces and learning from community organizers fighting for change. This self-guided tool is the result of our efforts to convey some of our questions about the university-community divide in New Brunswick while also showcasing some of the amazing art, food, community resources, and organizing we encountered.
Marina Feldman, Post Doc Fellow, Rutgers Graduate School of Education
Rashel Bernal-Reyes, Public Health Professional, Health Educator, Douglass 23’
Julia Katz, Social Work Major, MSW student, Douglass 24’
Amisha Mukhopadhyay, Clean Energy Coordinator, Public Policy Professional, Douglass 23’
Aniyah Muldrow, Public Health & Sociology Major, Douglass 24’
After going on a community walk together, the co-mentoring team decided to share what they learned with others. Here you can access their self-guided community walk tool. You can go on your own or invite a friend.
Please watch the orientation video for structural, asset-based approaches to keep in mind during the walk.
New Brunswick Community Walk Orientation Video
To navigate the interactive Community Walk Map using a smartphone:
- Open the link in a new tab (do not use Google Maps app).
- Click on each icon to see the title, then click on title to read description and/or watch a video for that location.
- Click back on the map when you are done.
New Brunswick Community Walk Map