On Friday, December 8th, the Morgan Social Justice Club took a field trip to New York City. We took the 7:08 AM train to New Haven, arriving at Grand Central around 10:00 AM.we were able to enjoy many views, such as the sun rising and entering the city. We shopped around at Grand Central Station, ate food, and looked through the Holiday Fair.
We then walked down to the United Nations Headquarters. We were able to observe the city. We saw many buildings, flower stands, food stores, and more. Right before we arrived at the UN, we saw a beautiful mural. We also saw a protest for action to protect Palestine in front of the UN Headquarters.
When we arrived at the UN Headquarters, it seemed as if we were not in New York City anymore. We were by the water. Seeing all the flags of each nation displayed along the entrance was very educational and a great display of what the UN represents. We then entered through security, going through metal detectors, having all our belongings checked. After that, we were able to enter and saw many different statues and displays. We learned many facts about the establishment of the UN, the committees, and about their peacekeeping processes.
Many members of the Social Justice Club thoroughly enjoyed the field trip. They all learned many new facts and believed the UN was a cool, new, and educational experience. Sophomore Camryn Mazzarella said, “My favorite part of the field trip was being in New York City. My favorite part of the tour was probably when we saw all the burned items from the atomic bombs. It was cool and educational.” She also said she learned new facts and shared, “A landmine only costs $3 to make. I learned about all the Human Rights rules. That was very educational and very important for everyone to know.” Overall, she said, “I believe the UN was a great learning experience for me and my fellow peers, and I am grateful to have this opportunity.”
Freshman Hernika Singh shared that her favorite part of
the tour was walking through the UN meetings. She enjoyed walking around New York City and how aesthetic it is. She said she learned new facts and said, “I learned that North Korea is not part of the UN.” Junior Katie Nguyen said, “my favorite part was walking through the room where they were having the discussion. They told us there was a room we could not walk through. They were talking about Palestine and then NY Times posted about it. She also said, “I learned that all of them come to New York except the one in Norway. All the delegates come to New York for the meetings, which is super cool.”
Junior Josephine Simon said, “being able to walk through and see the history of what the UN has done for all of the nations has been impressive.” She was impressed with how huge the headquarters is and how many councils it consists of. Senior Daniel Highkin said his favorite part of the trip was “going up all the escalators.” Danny said he learned “A lot of history. It was all interesting. I liked the wall with all the Human Rights posters.”
Junior Isabella Johnson said her favorite part of the UN was “probably seeing where everything happens. I loved that one assembly we had to go through really fast and duck. The set-up was cool, and it was cool to see where everything happens. They said they could solve world hunger if they could use one percent of the gross income of the total amount spent on military in a year.” She thoroughly enjoyed all the information she was given throughout the tour.
Senior Noelle Maine said her favorite part of the UN was “the viewing room above so we could see the meeting.” She also held an admiration for the different exhibits and said, “the exhibits were really cool and well-thought-out.” Sophomore Lena Flaherty said she genuinely enjoyed the field trip. Her favorite parts were walking in the rooms and gift shops and the train ride home. She said, “I learned a landmine is only $3.” Sophomore Anadaly Lopez said, “My favorite part was witnessing the actual meeting happening. I felt really inspired and like it was a really cool opportunity. It motivated me because I want to go into the business and law field.” She also shared, “I came up with a new idea that we should replicate the tree with flags and do it in our school. I didn’t learn much more because I was already educated on this topic.”
This field trip was a thrilling and educational experience for all in attendance. The UN was fascinating and a great way for us to become well-educated with our world.
