By Jack Kelly, Business and Publishing Editor
An orchestra of screeching metal fades into the background as we exit the subway, climbing into the stark city. The white snow contrasts with the dark of night as clusters of tired students joyfully chatter, discussing their captivating, yet draining, day at Columbia University.
On March 12, a convoy of parent volunteers pulled out of the high school parking lot with cars full of eager adolescents. After months of exhaustive fundraising — mostly consisting of snowy car washes and torrential bake sales — the 12 students from the Riptide and Yearbook classes achieved their goal of raising over $11,000 to attend the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Spring Scholastic Convention in New York, New York.
However, this was only the beginning of our adventure.
On Monday, after a night of little-to-no sleep on the red-eye flight, we struggled to keep our feet trudging down the street as we searched for our apartments in South Harlem.
After dropping off our bags, we found a small diner for breakfast. While the food was exquisite, it was certainly not cheap — my wallet’s first taste of New York City.
With our hunger sated, we hopped on the subway to Times Square, where we broke up into small groups to explore the retail stores and marvel at the iconic Harry Potter-esque advertisements.
After a few hours, our advisors — Steven Denlinger and Mary Kay Rauma — gathered us to walk 5th Avenue, making a detour at the New York Public Library to gaze at their magnificent vaulted ceilings.
It was the next morning that we were hit with snowmageddon.
With the news predicting almost 20 inches of snow, we were all worried that the weather would interfere with our busy schedule; however, as we looked out of our apartment windows on Tuesday morning, we quickly found that this concern was slightly unfounded. We had only gotten 8 inches.
Only 8 inches…
I had never seen that much snow in one place. I was sure that the city would shut down, yet even before 10 a.m. many of the sidewalks were cleared by shopkeepers and city workers.
It was a hectic day in the city. We rushed out into the snow to catch our tour of the New York Times building. Lots of subway lines were shut down, so we had to improvise. It turns out the snow was advantageous, as the building was almost entirely empty, allowing for an unrestricted tour.
As we approached the end of the tour, Denlinger noticed a man standing in the back of the conference room, watching and waiting before exiting. After a few minutes, he strolled in and introduced himself as Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.
Few of us really understood his significance as he told stories of his ancestors and their battle to keep the paper afloat in the early 19th century.
The elevator ride down was a shocking realization as we pulled out our phones and searched his name. We had just met the publisher of the New York Times.
After the tour, we split into two groups for lunch in Times Square before touring the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and walking around the Central Union Station. The two groups met downtown to attend “Chicago,” my first Broadway musical.
Wednesday was the first day of the CSPA conference. After a trek to Columbia University, we scattered to attend a variety of classes, from How to Cover Scandal to Advanced Photoshop Tips.
After a day of classes, we made our way over to the American Museum of Natural History, only to find out the building would be closing in 30 minutes. We scrambled around, managing to climb an escalator the wrong way before checking out the dinosaur exhibit.
Our next stop was one of the most memorable: a high-end restaurant that combined the cultural dishes of China and Spain. Of course, I ordered the steak. Full of culturally-ambiguous food, we all plodded our way back to the apartments.
Then my epiphany hit.
We were walking out of the subway station nearest our residence when I realized where I actually was: the New York City. Not only that, but I surrounded by a group of people whom I had only known for the past few months yet now consider close friends.
That night, we sat in a circle and shared our experiences of the day before clambering into bed, excited for the days to come.
By Thursday, we had the routine down. We were out the door early, coffee in hand, ready to attend classes. The day went smoother than the previous, with each class proving more interesting than the last.
That afternoon, we made the trip down to the southern tip of Manhattan to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. After a magical art tour — described in depth on page 6 — we took some time to pay our respects to those who lost their lives and loved ones on 9/11.
Friday had a sense of finality as we preemptively packed our bags in preparation for our departure early the next morning. After getting everything together, we made our way to our third and final day of classes at Columbia University.
There, the Riptide was offered a unique opportunity to receive a critique of our paper from John Tagliareni, a renowned high school newspaper advisor. We walked away with a lot of useful information about updating our design and organizing the class.
After the final day of the conference, we split into two groups, one of which loaded up on cheesecake and ice cream and went back to the appartments for a lazy afternoon, while the other walked around the Lower East Side.
We ended the night as we did on Monday: lazily eating ordered-in pizza while watching a movie.
With a 3 a.m. departure time the next morning, many of us decided to stay up in hopes of catching some sleep on the plane, though only some succeeded.
Early the next morning, a line of sleep-deprived Vashon Island High schoolers dragging suitcases clogged down the still snow-covered street on the way to the subway station. Despite several delays, we managed to just make the plane — the only casualty being my favorite scarf.
Surrounded by sleeping classmates as the plane climbed into the sky, I realized how fortunate I have been to experience such an amazing trip with a group of dedicated people, and that, though most of us came back with colds, it was well worth it!