REPORTS

Calling All Artists
By Allison Baldwin
Some local artists can now have their own affordable studio space, thanks to Rebecca Jampol.

Native Artist Gives Back to Newark
By Allison Baldwin
Rodney Gilbert's acting success didn't keep him from returning to the place where he grew up.

An Art Gallery on a Mission
By Allison Baldwin
"On a basic level, art helps people find their own voice and self-esteem," said Ben Goldman, executive director of City Without Walls. "Producing something of quality builds bonds. We think we can change lives."

Glass Roots
By Rosalie Jayde Uyola
GlassRoots believes that art can change and lift up a community

Graffiti: A Profitable Art
By Allison Baldwin
Graffiti has evolved from what some consider an illegal art form to a profitable business venture.

Castle Newark
By Samantha Boardman
In Newark, an aging building speaks volumes about the city's past and present.

The Presence of History in Lower Manhattan
By Vanessa Galindo
The past unfolds on a walk through Bowling Green and Battery Park.

As Long as Someone is Listening
By Jessica Bonilla
On South Street in Philadelphia, a singer finds an audience.

Conquering Fears in Newark
By Matthew Malysa
For some students, attending Rutgers-Newark means overcoming fears of New Jersey's largest city.

Finding Art on the Street
By Matthew Malysa
A performance erupts outside the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Praying in Hard Times
By Matthew Malysa
At Holy Rosary in Passaic, parishioners find a familiar language and a place to pray for a better economy.

The Recession’s Impact on Urban Journalism
By Frances A. Perez- Rodriguez
While many publications have felt the impact of the recession, urban magazines are in a special bind.

Back to Work At Last
By Ramona Alcantara
In Orange, NJ a woman balances work, unemployment and child care in hard times.

From Havana, Cuba to Rutgers-Newark
By Genise Clark
Iliana Bernal has been in the United States for almost 40 years--26 of them at the Dana Library of Rutgers-Newark..

A Place of Second Chances
By Jessica S. Flores
At Covenant House, young people find education, counseling, and a home.

A Victory and a Change
By Vanessa Martinez
A first-time voter sees the impact of an election in the tears of African Americans.

Responding to the Election
By Shahidah Burwell, Ramona Alcantara, Frances Perez-Rodriguez, Amy Patel, Glenda Montgomery, Kerra Hunter and Jonathan Keller
At Rutgers-Newark, students reacted to the election results with everything from pride to hope to concern about the problems facing the new president.

Casting a Vote and Making History
By Andria Park
The election was an amazing experience for me and those around me.

Tears, Cheers and Questions After the Election
By Heather Skolnik
Will President-elect Obama rescue the country or succumb to old divisions?

Election Reactions
By Sheena Quashie, Anne Rivera, and Jazmin Arrington
What does the election of Barack Obama mean to students and to the United States of America?

New Possibilities
By Olubukola Elegbede
Not being into politics, the election opened my eyes to new possibilities that I frankly never thought would ever happen.

An Old Lodge Faces New Times
By Damary Rivero
In a busy world, how can people find the time to do good?

HOMECorp Provides Affordable Housing in Montclair
By Lanette Espy
HOMECorp makes homes affordable and neighborhoods stable.

What Do You See on Municipal Websites?
By John Sowden, Yanique Taylor, Kareemah Harris, Mancera Harris, Andrew Schwab, Josepah Allen, Michael Vorgetts, and Rachel Weissenburger, with Professor Suzanne J. Piotrowski
Municipal websites in the Newark metropolitan area fail to provide important information about council meeting agendas, minutes and budgets, a Rutgers-Newark class has found.

Education, Enlightenment and the LGBT Center
By Mario McCalla
A visit to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York City.

Smart Policing
By Kim S. Jones
A campus police officer works his shift and reflects on the importance of learning.

From Ghana to Newark in a Life of Learning
By Kim S. Jones
The story of Edem Frank Avakame, an immigrant and university professor.

Salaries and the Gender Gap
By Mario McCalla
The salary gap between men and women appears even in professions dominated by women, such as nursing.

Dressed for Success
By Cheryl Lewis
In Newark, a nonprofit helps women of low and moderate income look their best at job interviews.

The Shadow of Crime in North Newark
By Genise Clark
When danger looms, a neighborhood takes on a new tone.

Keeping the Music Alive at Maxwell’s
By Zachary Huff
In Hoboken, NJ, an ordinary restaurant door is the entry to an extraordinary indie concert venue.

A Visit to The American Museum of Natural History
By Anne P. Rivera
The American Museum of Natural History is a top tourist attraction, a place to learn about the natural world, and a place where New Yorkers unwind.

The Prudential Center Helps Newark
By Zaib Ahmed
The Prudential Center has had an impact on Newark. Small businesses near it have seen improvements that reverberate throughout downtown.

A House with Life on Academy Street
By Selin Senyilmaz
The Academy Street Firehouse in Newark is a special place for children and for art.

Newark and Its Cherry Trees Blossom
By Ashley-Nicole Weatherington
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival puts Newark in a different light.

Parkour—Moving with the City
By Fernando Villar Jr.
Sport meets art in the daring yet graceful moves of parkour.

Three Decades of Music
By Fernando Villar Jr.
On Bloomfield Avenue, a music store thrives by offering Latin music and more.

From Haiti to Rahway to Newark
By Lanette Espy
At Rutgers-Newark, a student learns inside and outside the classroom.

Visible Dignity--The Photography of Helen M. Stummer
By Robert W. Snyder
Helen M. Stummer sees the dignity of poor people struggling to survive.

Inside a Tenement
By Jessica Alfonso
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City preserves the history behind the memories and struggles of the families that resided in apartments at 97 Orchard Street, where more than 7,000 people from 20 nations lived between 1863 and 1935.

Chinatown, New York
By Kathryn Hu
In Chinatown, you see a blend of the generation who is resisting modernization and the youngsters who are fighting to break through that wall.

The Odyssey of Miguel and Rosario
By Gianna Nicasio
A journey from Mexico to New Jersey, with hope for the future.

The African Burial Ground
By Denise Pardo
In lower Manhattan there is a landmark that reminds us of New York's slave heritage.

Remembering Charles F. Cummings, Keeper of Newark's History
By Nyvia Roman
As a librarian, a historian, a lecturer, a local tour guide and a writer, Charles F. Cummings lived to serve Newark and its citizens every single day of his life.

Newark's Pennsylvania Station
By Nyvia Roman
Newark's largest railway station is a transportation hub and a gateway into the history of Newark.

Downtown Jersey City
By Robin Laverne Wilson
Downtown Jersey City is the great compromise: one foot in New Jersey, one foot in New York City, and the best of both.

"Look! They're Going Into the School!"
By Jennifer Alicea
In 1957, in Little Rock, Ark., Relman Morin of the Associated Press witnessed a giant step in the struggle against racism.

A Female Soldier's Journey Through the Seasons in Iraq
By Katie Barry
A woman from Ohio serving in the U.S. Army patrols the streets of Baghdad and observes the holidays that she remember from home.

"You Got It, Sweetie"
By Kristy Barry
A waitress in a Newark diner balances hard work, quick talk, and a good ear.

A Journalist Who Made a Difference About AIDS
By Mario McCalla
The reporter Randy Shilts broke the silence and told the truth about AIDS.

The Naked Truth
By Aleksandra Nadolski
A Russian woman finds money, independence and mixed emotions working in a Staten Island strip club.

A Times Square Ballet
By Katrina Rowson
On a thoroughly modern corner in Manhattan, an age-old ritual is played out.

In Alzheimer's, a Double Burden
By Fernando Vazquez
Loss of memory becomes a great weight for a mother and a daughter.

Remembering and Forgetting
By Karina Vigo
After you help a loved one through a fatal illness, what do you remember?

An Interrupted Journey
By Karina Vigo
A journey from Peru to the United States is broken by deportation, interrogation and jail.

Writings on the Wall
By Fernando Villar, Jr.
On the brink of a night of tagging, a graffiti artist is arrested.

Numbering Her Days
By Katrina Rowson
"I had a hard life, but I never gave up," says Muriel Davis, 94. "I kept the faith because I knew life wasn't easy. But I can say I made it. I know one day I'll have sunshine and one day I'll have rain, hail and snow, but I have to cope with it and keep on keeping on because tomorrow there may be sun."

Yearning to Breathe in Columbus Park
By Marlo Watanabe
For over a century, immigrants have found fresh air and more in New York's Columbus Park.

What the Commuter Does Not See
By Marlo Watanabe
In Newark's Penn Station, works of art are hidden in plain sight.

A Link to the Dominican Republic
By Saida Alvarenga
Mudanzas La Nacional ships everything from food to cars to the Dominican Republic.

A Lifetime of Changes
By Anne P. Rivera
When Jerry Russo immigrated to Newark in 1957, Bloomfield Avenue was an Italian neighborhood. Today, many of the people on the street are Latinos.

A Faith that Inspires
By Genise Clark
On Bloomfield Avenue, the faith of Marta Gonzalez brightens a rainy day.

"Not As Bad as I Thought"
By Zaib Ahmed
A biology major at Rutgers-Newark considers the lessons learned by going to college in a city.

Learning from Fellow Students
By Anne P. Rivera
At Rutgers-Newark, a student's life is changed by her classmates.

How Long?
By Shayna Lym, Chris Federici, YuJeong Na, Kathryn Hu, Nicole Pfleger, Denise Pardo, Michele Ippolito, Gianna Nicasio, Jessica Alfonso, Robin Wilson, Meghan Shapiro and Katrina Rowson
To mark the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, we asked people in New Jersey and New York: How long should U.S. troops stay in Iraq?

What Does it Mean to be an American at Rutgers-Newark?
By Omid Farza
Their identities are all different. Yet they walk the same halls. Their histories are individual. Yet they take the same classes. They speak different languages. Yet they salute the same flag. The American is born and made every day at Rutgers University-Newark, “The most diverse campus in the nation,” according to U.S. News and World Report.

Vietnam - The Course of a War and the Course of a Life
By Alfred Lienau with Vanessa Flores
In Union, N.J. a veteran reflects on the place of the Vietnam war in his life.

From Now On, With Music
By Gerard Drinkard
The "From Now On" gang intervention project for youth in Newark strives to give young people a creative outlet as they learn to work together to express themselves musically. The obstacles are many—poverty, family crisis, peer pressure, drugs and violence—yet the children demonstrate resilience, hope and talent.

Between Battles
By P. Steven Ghiringhelli
Home on leave, a Marine from New Jersey recalls combat in Iraq.

Running Through the Weeds
By P. Steven Ghiringhelli
In the hustle and bustle of a bar and grill, a waiter and his customers can lose sight of each other as people.

Summertime with the Newark Bears
By Charles Lamont

Newark's Ferry Street, Where Immigrants Create Their Future
By Ammy Martinez

An Immigrant’s Culture Shock
By Linda N. Mutinda

Treat Me Like a Colleague, Not a Call Girl
By Stephanie Steward

Security Guard Keeps Himself Safe by Telling Stories
By Stephanie Steward
Harley is sensitive to and curious about the people he encounters in the emergency room. He mentions but doesn’t talk much about the amount of blood he has seen there. If he is deeply affected by it, he tries not to show it. He tells his stories in as humorous a way as possible. This is his way of coping.

Planning, Slum Clearance and the Road to Crisis in Newark
By David Levitus
The upheaval of the summer of 1967 in Newark was not spontaneous: it had deep roots in municipal policies that aggravated the problems of the city rather than alleviating them.

Worth the Wait
By Ashraf Bhalwani
In college, the American-born daughter of Indian parents finds a freedom that previously eluded her.

Sometimes the Struggle Is Worth It
By Ashraf Bhalwani
A young man from Saudi Arabia, encouraged by his mother, seeks freedom in the United States.

A Remedy of Love
By Rich Knight
Ediomi. In Nigeria it means God’s covenant. And at age 7, Ediomi Utuk, the child of Nigerian immigrants living in a moderately cozy apartment in South Orange, N.J., needs God more than ever. She has sickle cell anemia, and it rattles her insides.

Newark's Best-Kept Secret
By Meghan Shapiro
The Newark Museum is known for works of art and the historic Ballantine House, but it is also a home for the animals housed in Newark’s best-kept secret—the Mini Zoo.

Letting Go of the Gang Life
By Jason Thorpe
A lesson learned the hard way: "The most important thing in life to have is morals. If you can wake up in the morning and know that you are not doing anything to harm anyone else, it is an incredible feeling.”

Baseball, the Newark Bears and the Image of a City
By Bill Heinzelman
The city of Newark has changed over the years, but unfortunately the misconceptions regarding it have not. For many, Newark still represents a city of crime, poverty and violence. Newark’s very own minor league baseball team, the Newark Bears, is an organization trying to change these beliefs.

Booker—Predicted to Lose, Determined to Win
By P. Steven Ghiringhelli
Cory Booker roots for the underdog. His sympathies are easily aroused by those who must overcome great odds, those who are predicted to lose. For years, the activist and former Newark city council member has seen them every day, outside his Brick Towers apartment window.

Exist, A Magazine in and for Newark
By Sarah Vega
In Newark, Exist magazine strives to tell the stories that matter to young people in and around New Jersey's largest city.

A Newark Drug Dealer
By Raul Stancov
A drug dealer in Newark describes his life and his business on the city's streets.

The Newark Experience
By Natalie Borisovets and Ann Watkins

Riots-1967
By Max Herman

A Family Vigil After 9/11
By Peter DiMatteo with RoseMarie DiMatteo
Peter DiMatteo experienced September 11, 2001, as part of a close family. Together they faced the possibility that Peter’s aunt had died in the attacks.

This Bucolic Valley
By Michael Zeugin

Virtual Reality Field Trip of Harriman State Park
By Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers-Newark

What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike
By New Jersey Historical Society

He Survived Germany to Live in America
By Sergio Bichao
Joseph T. Loeb of Hillside, N.J. survived Nazi Germany to become an American by choice.

Pompeii, an Italian Deli and Cultural Center
By William Heinzelman

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center
By Lovet Obakpolor
Newark’s commitment to the arts is reflected in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the city’s largest cultural center.

Fear in Haiti, Prosperity in New Jersey
By Pierre A. Louis
"In a time when some Americans have mixed feelings about immigrants, Joseph Sylvain, born in Haiti, praises America for all of his financial achievements. And he exalts the benefits of an open-door policy on immigration."

Working in Newark, Remembering Puerto Rico
By Tricia Sartori
Lilliana Rios, born in Puerto Rico, today studies at Rutgers-Newark. She doesn't have much time for the American Dream: “I don’t dream. I have goals, goals that I set out to accomplish. Dreams are only illusions.”

From Afghanistan to New Jersey
By Yvonne Lardizabal
“The Taliban are coming.” That rumor was all Mina’s father needed in 1990 to pack up the family and flee their home in Kabul, beginning a journey that would lead her to Newark.

African Americans at Rutgers-Newark, 1968 and Now
By Samantha Perkins, interview with Professor Clement A. Price
A professor reflects on more than three decades of African American life at Rutgers-Newark and the place of protest in the history of the university.

Newark and Its Gateway Complex
By Thomas Dolan
The story of Newark's Gateway Center illuminates the weight of the past in the city's present.

A Lifetime of Teaching in Newark
By Ian O'Blenis