It is almost 6:00pm and the sun is setting in Newark. A young college
student named Christine Moukazis stands at the train stop, waiting. A dark
figure approaches from her left. She thinks nothing of it; suddenly the man
turns to her and asks if there was any work assigned today in class.
Every year more and more students from all over
the country come to Newark to attend one of its many prestigious colleges and
universities. However, Newark’s
reputation still frightens prospective
students.
Moukazis, 20 is one of many Rutgers-Newark
students who on occasion find themselves defending the city of Newark to
friends attending other colleges. Yet, even Moukazis admits to being somewhat intimidated
by the city before enrolling in her first semester, a thought that she now
laughs off after three years of attending college in Newark.
Growing up only an hour away from Newark in the predominantly white middle class township of Roselle
Park, NJ, Moukazis heard many rumors and stories about Newark. To her, the city was only what she
saw on nightly news; a city hardened with turmoil- not exactly an ideal place
to go to school, though, with a little encouragement from her father, Christine
decided to give it a try.
“My friends thought I was crazy,” she recalled,
“Newark has a certain stigma about it, something you can’t really overcome
unless you spend some time here.”
Moukazis admits it took some time before she was
comfortable walking the streets of Newark’s University Heights by herself.
Being a journalism major with dreams of working in New York
City, she feels Newark
is an ideal environment for anyone looking to further their education and
expand their horizons.
Matthew Malysa is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted September 2009.
