Arts Alive expands to include seven northern N.J. schools in cultural trips

A new phase of Arts Alive was launched Friday when 130 students from Hoboken and Jersey City schools toured the Newark Museum, guided by 15 University students trained as docents.

The visit marked an expansion of Arts Alive to include seven New Jersey schools to help heal those impacted by Sept. 11 through cultural experiences.

The program also sponsored Friday's trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, with University volunteers accompanying 400 students from city schools through the exhibits.

The newly incorporated schools, including Frank R. Conwell School in Jersey City and Wallace Primary, A.J. Demarest and Thomas G. Connors schools in Hoboken, were chosen for their location in areas heavily affected by the tragedy.

"The New Jersey kids had the clearest view of the event from across the river of the building's falling and the fires," said Daniel Siegfried '05.

Hoboken also suffered the highest per capita death rate, losing 39 residents, or at least one out of every 1,000, according to the New York City medical examiner office. Officials in Hoboken report the loss at 53, which includes recent college graduates still listed at their parents' addresses.

"The kickoff at the museum was the most interactive event we'll have all year because we acted as tour guides," said Sun Kim '04, a co-leader of the New Jersey team. "It was a good way to establish a direct connection between the students and the schools we worked with."

The Newark event was a success, said Patty Reitkoph, Director of Arts Alive at Hospital Audiences Inc., a nonprofit organization that has worked with Princeton to run the program.

"We had 100 percent attendance," she said. "The post-traumatic stress has caused a general malaise in the schools. The trips bring together the students as a community and show that goodwill still exists."

The Arts Alive program will continue to sponsor 25 schools with the $150,000 it received to send 4,000 students to cultural arts events this semester.

But there are currently no plans to continue the program past the end of the year, said Karen Woodbridge, associate director of community and state affairs.