Arches Students Become Part of New York City

While living together in a community in Lee Hall, freshmen in the Arches program take one class together per semester that incorporates service projects and cultural excursions in New York City.

New York City college students don’t just learn by doing; they learn by experiencing, too. In the Arches program, first-year Manhattan College students are able to supplement classroom learning with cultural and service trips in and throughout the five boroughs — a tradition that grants them access to world-renowned museums, admission to Broadway shows, and more. 

By joining the Arches program, here’s what you can expect:

  • Broadway

    An image of female professor and student looking at plants in greenhouse

    Arches students have recently ventured downtown to see the iconic musical CATS, the theatrical adaptation of the 1993 American comedy Groundhog Day, and The Play That Goes Wrong. Each year, theatrical productions on Broadway are chosen for their connection to academic subjects taught during the semester.

  • The Moth StorySlam

    Man speaking into microphone enthusiastically.
    What better way is there to learn storytelling than by watching it live? At the MOTH StorySlam, an open-mic storytelling competition held in New York City and other major cities around the world, college students can hop onstage to share a five-minute story on that evening’s theme, or simply enjoy the show. This excursion works in conjunction with an English course initiative to build community through storytelling and performance.

  • The Tenement Museum

    Black and white photo of New York City skyline
    The Tenement Museum, located in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, offers tours of two tenement buildings on historic Orchard Street that lodged approximately 15,000 immigrants between 1863 and 2011. Through this recurring trip, students gain a deeper understanding of New York City history.

  • The American Museum of Natural History

    People spectate dinosaur exhibit at museum.

    There’s always a new exhibit to explore at the Museum of Natural History, which contains more than 33 million specimens of animals, plants, minerals, rocks, meteorites and other artifacts. During the fall of 2018, an experiential and immersive exhibit “Our Senses” dared students studying psychology to test their sight, smell, touch, balance, taste, and sense of hearing.

  • Living and Learning to Serve

    Students stand in park posing with shovels.
    Visiting museums and attending Broadway shows are hardly the only ways that Arches students learn about the city. As classwork for the course they take together each semester, they volunteer at nearby soup kitchens and food pantries, clean up local parks, and more, and become part of it as well.
By Christine Loughran