Traffic Jams Mills’ Class of 2016 New York City Trip

Traffic is always a nuisance, but for the Class of 2016, it posed a real impediment for their senior class trip.  On October 14, approximately 150 students loaded onto three coach buses and began their journey to New York City.  The trip down was painfully slow as traffic on the highway caused the ride to take four seemingly endless hours.  The delay set the tone for the rest of the trip as little improved throughout the course of the day.

One senior, Jenna Sadecki, believes, “It would have been beneficial to leave an hour earlier.  It wouldn’t have been ideal, but I think we would have avoided a lot of traffic.”

When the seniors finally arrived in the city at 11:30, they were dropped off at Central Park.  While it was a gorgeous day with the high in the 70s and only partial cloud coverage, students had little time to appreciate it.  From the moment they got off the bus, they rapidly chose their groups and destinations and set off.  They only had three hours to explore the city as a mandatory physical check-in at the American Museum of Natural History was at 2:30. Originally, the seniors were supposed to meet back up with their chaperones at the museum for 2:00, but due to the time crunch, the reunion was delayed for half an hour to allow students a small increase in free-time for sightseeing.  However, despite the change, many seniors were still disappointed by the loss of two hours of free time.

Logan Worley, says, “The time crunch was an unfortunate inconvenience that really severely restricted what we could do.”

The majority of the class used the time they did have to explore Times Square.  It was the nearest major attraction and held many venues for entertainment.  Some students, excited by the prospects of larger locations and thus selections, used the trip as an opportunity to expand their wardrobes and took to stores such as Forever 21 and H&M.  Others did general sightseeing and went to places like Hershey’s Chocolate World, the Disney Store, and the Hard Rock Cafe.  A few more adventurous souls risked a longer excursion and made their way down to the Meatpacking District to see the High Line.  As free time dwindled down, students hurried to Central Park.  The Museum of Natural History was on the opposite side of the park from Times Square, so many students were able to take a brisk stroll through the green and consequently enjoy scenic trails and explore the park’s various attractions such as Strawberry Fields, a memorial for former Beatle John Lennon.

When 2:30 rolled around and check-ins were done, students were able to explore the museum.  There were numerous exhibits from the Hall of Small Mammals to the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites.  Students had an hour to go through the museum before they gathered to watch the 3D film, which provided much insight on rarely seen or studied oceanlife.  After the movie ended, students had another hour to examine the exhibits.

Worley wished “we had more time at the museum!”, a sentiment shared by many other seniors.  The film, while interesting, felt like more of a burden for students who wanted to see more of the unique artifacts and displays the museum had to offer.

The class departed from New York City at 6:00.  Traffic departing the city was much lighter than the traffic entering the city in the morning, and by 7:00, the seniors stopped at the Danbury Fair Mall for dinner.  Buses were back on the road by 8:30, and after a slight traffic jam, the seniors were once again at Mills by 10:00.  

Overall, the senior trip was not exactly what the Class of 2016 had hoped for.  The traffic and resulting delay in arriving put a damper on the group’s excitement and made the leisure period somewhat stressful as careful time management had to be done to insure students would make the check-in.  While the setbacks were a nuisance, the seniors did still have fun.  As Worley put it, “We made the most of it despite the time crunch and had a great time!”