On Saturday, Nov. 4, Eastern’s Student Activities Board (SAB) sponsored a trip to New York City (NYC). Many Eastern students leapt at the opportunity to take a day trip to the city. The bus left at 9 a.m., and since the drive is almost exactly two hours, students unloaded off the bus by 11 a.m. and spread out to their individual destinations from the drop off spot, which was directly in Times Square. The SAB event itself had a very open format. After the drop off at 11 a.m., students were free to roam about the city as they desired and had complete freedom to go where they wanted. Then at 8 p.m. the bus returned to the same location for pick up, and everyone boarded to get back to campus exactly at 10 p.m.
Every year SAB offers this same format for the New York City trip, and the students who participate respond with positive feedback. This year, however, the trip took place in early November, instead of its usual time closer to Christmas break. SAB member Rebecca Milano said, “Our hope for this was that the weather wasn’t too cold for people to enjoy it, and it allowed us to plan some fun events for the remainder of the semester.”
The NYC trip is one of students’ favorite recurring SAB events. Many of the students who go say the two major reasons they love the trip is the cheap cost and the open format, which allows them to go where they want within the city.
“I like this SAB event because it allows students a cheap and accessible way to explore New York City. It lets students be adventurous and become familiar with sights around them without the hassle of figuring out transportation,” Laura Bleacher said.
Students return from the diverse places they choose to explore with their friends during the day trip, and no two groups have the same story. For some students, this trip was their first exposure to NYC.
“Out of the many great places I went to in New York, the three that I liked the most were Central Park, the MET, and the 9/11 Memorial. I was able to enjoy the beauty of nature, go back into the past through witnessing different historical artifacts, and commemorate all the lives lost in the tragic event at the Twin Towers in 2001. However, what made all this so memorable was experiencing all this with great friends,” Sarai Gonzalez said.
While it was the first time experiencing New York for some, others who had been there before used the trip to try new things and travel to different parts of the city. For junior Paige Adamczak, the trip provided freedom to explore a city she’s already visited several times in a way that allows her to avoid some of the crowd.
“The past two years have been great opportunities to get off the beaten path and explore without a strict schedule,” Adamczak said.
For both the experienced and the first time visitor, the NYC trip gives students the freedom to explore wherever they want, which results in a variety of different experiences. Senior Carloyn Sigman
described the places she and her friends visited. They explored an old railroad with an elevated green space called High Line, Chelsea Market, and the Meatpacking District in Lower Manhattan.
“There’s always something new to discover. Each neighborhood in NYC has its own character, which I think is so cool. I had never been to this particular neighborhood before so it was exciting to explore it,” Sigman said.
Freshman Noah Bartel highlighted his experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“I spent most of the time at the Met looking at European art from 1300s to 1700s. I got to see some of Rembrandt’s artwork, including a self-portrait which is one of my favorite pieces of art,” Bartel said. 
While students chose to spend their time in the city in different ways, all of the participants returned with new memories and sore feet from a rewarding day of walking.