Ball Field Gets Put to a Better Use

For the last Friday seminar the CUSP fellows visited Added Value Herban Solutions. Located in a modified football field in Red Hook Brooklyn, the non-profit organization promotes urban agriculture through employing youth on the farm, visiting elementary schools, and hosting a weekly farmers market. Aley Kent, a Cornell Alumnus, also spent time with the students and informed them about her experience creating networks to connect farmers with the organization Heifer International.

The students had a hands on opportunity to learn about urban agriculture. They helped weed a vegetable patch, turn a hill of dirt into a flat area to plant in, and moved earth to into a flower bed.

Exercise your body, mind and spirit.

TRUCE fitness center is a part of the Harlem Children's Zone, non-profit, community-based organization that works to enhance the quality of life for children and families in Harlem. The center helps children and their families by hosting an after school and summer program that provides a safe environment for children to get involved in the community, receive homework help, and get exercise.

The CUSP trip to TRUCE began with a self defense workshop by Sensei Aziz. After the workshop the group watched the Sensei's pupils as they performed a karate demonstration.

Philson Warner, of Cornell Cooperative Extension, spoke to the group about his roof top garden project at HCZ. Warner works with hydroponic and aquaponic plant technology. His EarthBox project allows the children at HCZ to experience this new technology and see how agriculture is possible in the urban environment. After the plants are grown the children get the opportunity to sell the harvest at the farmers market. The proceeds of their sales goes toward their programming at HCZ.

Last but not least, the Cornell Urban Scholars also had a chance to show off their dance skills. A TRUCE staff member led the group through yoga stretches and an afro-Caribbean dance session.

Harlem Renaissance Tour

CUSP Co-Director Ken Reardon led a bus tour through Harlem on Friday July 6th. Starting at 92nd street the bus stopped at St. John the Divine Church, Striver’s Row, Columbia University, and the Apollo Theatre.

As the bus passed places such as The Cotton Club, City College, Sugar Hill, The Renaissance Casino and Ballroom, the Schomberg Center, and Bill Clinton’s Harlem office, Reardon explained the rich history of the sights and the impact it has had on Harlem.

From Homework Help to Circus Arts

Located on Hunts Point in the South Bronx, The Point is a nonprofit organization dedicated to community development, youth programming, and the arts. On Friday June 29th , the CUSP students visited The Point and learned about the after school and summer programming the center offers to elementary through teen-aged community members.

Maria, President and CEO of The Point and Cornell Alumnus, welcomed the group to the center and explained how the program started and operates. Adam, who is the A.C.T.I.O.N. Program Director and Community Development Associate, toured the group around the facility and explained some of the issues that the Hunts Point community faces; such as the Brown Field issue, asthma and employment problems, and the Green way initiative. Earl, the Youth Programs Coordinator, and Marie, the After School Program Director, also met with the group to answer questions.

After learning about The Point the students visited MUD/BONE, an art studio. The studio is a free gallery for local artists to display their work. The space also serves as a stage for actors and dancers, and art workshops.

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Mr. Fortune

“Hey Mr. Fortune!” is a phrase that Barry Cambell hears when he walks down the Million Dollar Blocks in New York City. What the Cornell Urban Scholars learned on Friday June 22nd , was that Barry is an influential mentor at the Fortune Society, a prisoner re-entry program, and that the Million Dollar Blocks refer to the streets in New York City that fuel many of New York’s State Prisons.
The Cornell Urban Scholar’s visit took place at The Fortune Academy, located in West Harlem. The beautiful Gothic Castle provides 62 beds for homeless former prisoners. The residence provides ex-offenders with a safe and supportive environment that allows them to better adjust to the world they are re-entering. The students also had the opportunity to meet and talk with Kate Rubin, a Cornell Alumna who works for the Bronx Defenders. Kate spoke about her project, Reentry Net, and her experiences working in the criminal justice field.

A New Look at New York

The Cornell Urban Scholars spent Friday June 15th learning about Brooklyn. After watching the Atlantic Yards Documentary, “Brooklyn Matters,” the group traveled to Fort Greene Brooklyn for a walking tour led by Keith Getter.


The tour included a walk through historic streets and local neighborhoods. Apart from a visit to the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Forte Green Park the group gauged community member opinions through on the spot interviews. Through conversations with local people, such as a fruit stand vendor, a bank teller, a man sitting on the sidewalk, and a park and recreation employee, the students were able to gather a different understanding of Brooklyn and the different roles that people play in the community.

Visit to Project Reach

The Cornell University Urban Scholar’s summer seminars began on Friday, June 8th with a visit to Project Reach. Project Reach is a youth organizing program that provides counseling on an individual, group and family basis. The organization conducts related advocacy work with schools, courts, detention centers/correctional institutions, health centers, city and state agencies as well as workshops with youth in schools, hospitals, community organizations and government agencies.

The visit began with a tour of the drop-in community center located in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The student intern explained that Project Reach’s facility is used to create a safe environment for individuals in the community by providing an after school hang out spot, a library, and gender specific rooms. After the tour Don Koa, the Director of Project Reach, hosted a workshop for the CUSP students. Through team building exercises and group discussions the CUSP students discussed issues of race, class, and gender biases.

Orientation

June 2, 2007

New York City has a dynamic metro region that has a powerful impact over our workplaces. As part of the Urban Scholars orientation weekend students split into small groups and toured one of five major areas of Manhattan. These areas included Chinatown, Central Harlem, Upper East Side, SOHO, and Greenwich Village.





For this ethnographic activity students were asked to walk through their assigned neighborhood and gain a sense of its history, evolution, and community. The groups were asked to identify and investigate key physical and social dimensions by observing the smells, sounds, and sights of the areas.



When the student groups returned from the 4 hour neighborhood tour they put together a poster presentation of their findings. The teams then presented their posters to the class and a panel of Expert New Yorkers.

CUSP in Brief

The Cornell Urban Scholars Program (CUSP) is dedicated to supporting the efforts of New York City's most innovative non-profit organizations and local government agencies to eliminate the fundamental causes of poverty. CUSP seeks to achieve this goal by encouraging Cornell's most talented students to pursue public service careers with organizations working with New York City's poorest children, families, and communities.

The Undergraduate Summer Research Internship

The Undergraduate Summer Research Internship offers Cornell students the opportunity to complete a paid internship with one of New York City's most innovative non-profit organizations or government agencies serving low-income children, families, and communities.