This article is part of an occasional FOCUS series on the Byrne Family First-Year Seminar Program. The one-credit courses offer students a chance to explore science, art, politics, and other topics as they learn firsthand from professors who are deeply – and often passionately – immersed in research. In its second year, the seminars program is a central part of the transformation of undergraduate education in New Brunswick.


Byrne seminar
Associate Professor Judith Friedman is writing a book about the changes in her hometown, Elyria, Ohio, using the tools of her trade as a sociologist – informal interviews, census records, city directories, newspaper archives, scrapbooks, and any other documents people are willing to share.

Her students this semester used the same tools to learn about New Brunswick. In the Byrne Seminar, “Welcome to New Brunswick! How to ‘Read’ a City Like a Sociologist,” students employ social science methods to study Rutgers’ hometown. Through site visits and individual and group projects, they developed their analytic, research, and interpersonal skills. And there was an unexpected outcome: The students found entry points for their own role in the community.

Some students got ideas about where they might like to live while at Rutgers. Others expressed a desire to get more involved with the city. During a visit to the Unity Square Revitalization Project, students learned about volunteer opportunities and are eager to sign up. Jennifer Hsieh hopes to volunteer at one of the city’s hospitals. Ben Sugarman wrote an article for the Daily Targum’s “Inside Beat” on the Crossroads Theatre Company.

Friedman has been impressed by her students’ energy and commitment. “When they break into their separate groups, it’s hard to stop the conversation,” Friedman said. “They talk after class, online, and arrange to meet on weekends. It’s great to see them so involved in the community where they go to school.”

The seminar addressed changes that have come to New Brunswick, such as urban renewal, as well as the city’s problems. Several students were stunned by the poverty in New Brunswick. During a trip to the Christ Church Food Pantry, Jenny Wang learned that a large number of New Brunswick’s population is either unemployed or cannot speak English. “I definitely became more aware of everything and everyone around me in New Brunswick,” Wang said. “More people need to start becoming responsive to the flaws, such as hunger and unemployment, of this great city.”

The class of approximately 20 students divided into groups. One focused on the area around Rockoff Hall and The Heldrich, investigating how Rutgers is affecting this part of the downtown. The students interviewed store owners, Rockoff Hall residents, and the marketing directors at The Heldrich and George Street Playhouse. For their report, they produced a video.

Another group studied the George Street theater district. One student looked specifically at how the new credit environment will affect district financing. A third group examined city housing options, from the higher-end condos and new town houses at Unity Square to traditional student housing off campus.

In one of their last assignments, students captured images of public art on their cell phones. "Keep your eyes open and look for things that you haven’t noticed before – the tops of buildings, what’s in the storefronts when the bus passes,” Friedman instructed her students. She later collected the photos and displayed them on Sakai, an online tool that the class has used for coordinating group activities, receiving and discussing assignments, and listing helpful resources.

Registration for next semester’s Byrne seminars already has begun, and students will have their choice of about 65 courses in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.