Haseeb Mahmood, a third year biology major, proves you don’t have to leave the Rutgers campus to appreciate Newark’s impact on the school and its students.
Originally from Little Falls, NJ, a mostly white suburb, Haseeb was not surprised by the responses he received when telling his friends where he was going to school. “Every time I said I was going to Rutgers, they’d say ‘New Brunswick, right?’ I had to come to Newark because both my parents were out of work at the time and the Newark campus was giving the most financial aid.”
Three years later, Haseeb spends 12 to 14 hours a day in Newark, but rarely leaves campus. “There isn’t much you can do between classes and work, except eat.” While in Newark, Haseeb has to make time for classes, research in neuroscience labs, tutoring, and work as a junior senator for the Student Governing Association (SGA).
Without public transportation, Haseeb reflects that he probably wouldn’t have time for all of his activities. “The fact that Newark is so easy to get into because of the trains and buses saves a lot of time. It’s convenient.”
Even though Haseeb only leaves campus to go home, he knows that going to Rutgers-Newark has helped reshape his old prejudices that Newark is simply a city of drugs, crime, and poverty.
“I’ve learned a lot about life and people,” he says. “I’ve met poor people; I’ve seen the struggle…the way they prioritize is different. I have a friend who’s a full time student, and works full time too because he has a family to feed since his father left.”
Haseeb notices that in the suburbs, it seemed everyone was aiming for good grades. In an urban setting, “it’s more about paying the bills.”
Thinking over the fact that he goes to school in Newark, Haseeb concludes, “It’s not as bad as I thought.”
Zaib Ahmed is a Rutgers-Newark student. Her report is part of an occasional series on the impact of Newark on the education of Rutgers-Newark students. Posted April 2008.
