{"id":664,"date":"2023-03-23T08:30:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T08:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/mentoring-for-sj\/?p=664"},"modified":"2023-03-23T02:26:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T02:26:36","slug":"our-new-brunswick-community-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/mentoring-for-sj\/our-new-brunswick-community-walk\/","title":{"rendered":"Our New Brunswick Community Walk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our New Brunswick Community Walk<\/h3>\n

by Marina Feldman, Julia Katz, Rashel Bernal Reyes, Aniyah Muldrow, and\u00a0<\/span>Amisha Mukhopadhyay<\/span><\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 2, 2022, our group met for a community walk to learn about New Brunswick. In previous meetings, we had been discussing urban development, the livability of New Brunswick, town-and-gown relationships, and community organizing. Hence, our community walk was focused on community struggles for the city as well as community assets and strengths\u2014particularly the strengths of organizations and institution serving the community. We chose not to walk through many residential areas, as we did not want to pry into people’s daily lives, but instead discuss structural issues potentially affecting them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We started our walk at the square locally known as Placita Oaxaca<\/strong>\u2014a place where demonstrations sometimes happen, and where daily laborers used to gather before the square was fenced and they moved to a nearby parking lot. We walked by that parking lot to see the progress of the new school being built in that area. We would later visit the old school it is replacing, Lincoln Annex School, which was displaced to give space to an expansion of RWJ’s Cancer Institute of NJ. Currently, Lincoln Annex students are attending school in a provisional space on the outskirts of town, but we did not visit that space since it is not within walking distance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, we walked through French Street<\/strong>, the heart of the Mexican community in town. In the spirit of not prying into people’s lives, we moved swiftly\u2014but were still able to observe the abundance of places where people can send remittances to their home countries as well as of work agencies. When we visited New Labor, they told us a lot about their struggles to regulate those work agencies and keep them accountable, as so many New Labor’s members have faced abusive working conditions through them. New Labor is a community organization with more than 20 years of history supporting workers, particularly recent immigrants who so often face abuses in their workplace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, we walked over to the New Brunswick Free Public Library<\/strong>, where we learned about all their many programs that serve the local community. We wrapped up our walk but grabbed snacks from George Street Co-op, who is one of the efforts in place to address the fact that New Brunswick is a “food desert”. There, we shared some final thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

View the map of our route<\/a><\/p>\n

View the map of our thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n

View the video from our walk<\/a><\/h5>\n
Post-Walk Reflections<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Marina Feldman<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

When organizing this walk, one of the first things I did was check with New Labor staff. I knew we had to talk them before deciding anything else. They do such important work educating, advocating, and building leadership among the local working-class community. They build capacity and power, and draw on that to fight, via direct actions and legislative campaigns. They work together to protect the basic rights of people who are doing so much of the essential labor in this area. Most of what I know about New Brunswick, I learned with and from New Labor. I think Rutgers-affiliated folks can learn so much from organizations like New Labor, if only they are willing to listen!<\/span><\/p>\n

Julia Katz<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Doing this community walk was eye-opening, humbling, and inspiring. French street is only a couple minute\u2019s walk from the Yard at College ave, and yet it is its own community alive with culture and strength. My favorite part was going to New Labor to hear about the work they do as advocates for the community. As a social work student, I hope to be a community leader like them one day who fights for and empowers the people in my neighborhood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashel Bernal Reyes<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a lifelong resident of New Brunswick, I am always delighted to speak about my experiences here and the change that has come to the city. The community walk was an opportunity to show Rutgers students areas of New Brunswick that students only know about if they are invasive to the residents. As someone who identifies as both a resident and a student, I struggle with ways to bridge the gap between the two communities. Our conversation during the walk sparked excellent ideas on engaging the community, like the community walk we are planning to share with the Rutger community. I hope that we can create something sustainable that can foster a relationship or understanding between college students and city residents on a bigger scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aniyah Muldrow<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Experiencing a community walk for the first time was a new learning experience for me. Participating with my peers on the community walk allowed us to choose a non-invasive area of New Brunswick to observe, because they had prior knowledge about the area. As a public health and sociology major, I paid more attention to the staffing agencies that were present on every corner because they are known for exploiting their blue collar workers. This was something that I had learned during the community walk, and this is why I believe it\u2019s crucial to participate in community walks. Engaging in community walks can offer individuals a beneficial way to comprehend and, ultimately, support communities through advocacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amisha Mukhopadhyay<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

I really appreciated going on this community walk. As a Rutgers student, most of my interaction with the city has been centered around campus, so I was grateful to have the opportunity to learn about New Brunswick from a community-focused perspective. We visited New Labor, where we learned about the worker exploitation that many residents face and the efforts that community organizers have taken to fight back. New Brunswick\u2019s organizers and activists are such an integral part of the city, and having this idea be one of the main focuses of the community walk was extremely valuable. I am eager to continue learning about New Brunswick, and hope that other students engage with future community walks to learn from the people and organizations that make New Brunswick what it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Call to action<\/strong><\/h5>\n

So, why should you do a community walk on your campus? Whether you\u2019re a student at Rutgers or a staff member, familiarizing yourself with the beautiful community around you will not only heighten your respect for the people of New Brunswick, but also enrich your college experience and understanding of what true community looks like. While you may just feel like a \u2018temporary\u2019 New Brunswick\/ Piscataway resident in your time at school, your time here is meaningful and impactful both to yourself and the residents around you.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we consider how to design a community walk that others can engage in, we have realized that we want everyone to:<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/span> Engage respectfully and thoughtfully with the community around us<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/span> Avoid residential areas so as not to pry into people’s daily lives<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/span> Highlight community assets and not deficits<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span> Discuss structural issues affecting the local community<\/span><\/p>\n

– Include voices of community members and, particularly, community organizers<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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