Students Visit Ellis Island, Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty
There was an opportunity for University students to attend a trip set up by Student Activities to New York City on Sunday, September 25.
Megan McGowan, Assistant Director of Student Activities and the Student Center, organized the whole trip. The students departed in a bus from the Student Center around 11:00 am and were given tickets for the ferry.
For only $10 the trip included a visit to Battery Park, a ferry ride to Ellis Island, and another ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty. Tickets for a Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island alone are normally $13.
Battery Park is a public park located in the southern tip of Manhattan, right along the New York Harbor.
Years before Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty was even built, immigrants would enter the United States through Battery Park. Battery Park is a historical site filled with old war monuments as well as flower gardens.
The Ellis Island museum is actually considered a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
The Museum includes an audio tour that lasts about 45 minutes and explains the journey of an immigrant in great detail.
The descendants of the 12 million immigrants that passed through Ellis Island to get to America currently make up about half of the American population.
The museum provides visitors with videos, photographs, artifacts and prints, as well as a viewing of “Island of Hope, Island of Tears”, an award-winning documentary.
There is an Ellis Island Living Theatre, as well as The American Immigrant Wall of Honor and The
American Family Immigration History Center. The Ellis Island Museum provides sophisticated technology to help people look into family history, family documents, and genealogical investigation.
Ellis Island has temporary exhibits all year round. The current exhibits are “Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island,” and “The Spirit of America” a Gibson Les Paul Guitar.
The Statue of Liberty is a national monument located on Liberty Island, its own island, just south of Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty was given to America as a gift from France and was declared a National Monument in 1924.
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, the Statue of Liberty was closed and no one was allowed to walk up the monument. The Statue has since been reopened for tourists. There is no entry fee into the Statue of Liberty, however reservations to visit the monument must be made at least two weeks in advance.
“I thought it was interesting to learn about the ships the immigrants took to come over here and the hardships and persecution they faced,” said Alexanda Ferrara, junior, “I can’t imagine what it would be like to just pack up and leave and go to a whole new country. I haven’t been there since I was a kid so I was able to understand a lot more.”
This was the first school organized event Ferrara decided to go to.
“I attended because I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island before and thought it would be interesting to finally see them both,” she said.
Students can check for more upcoming school activities via the Student Activities Calendar. “I had a nice time. It reminded me of field trips from high school. It was a nice Sunday activity for me and my roommate to do and the weather was beautiful,” said Ferrara.
PHOTO COURTESY of Robert Accettura
