The Column

On Tuesday, March 16th, the Whitney Museum had a digital collaboration with WHSAD to present and analyze art work with the students. This interactive event made a lasting impression on students by providing the opportunity for stimulating and entertaining discussions. Arts educator, Jano Cortijo, discussed with freshmen students various subject matters, from portraits to architectural observational drawings, each provoking its own response from students.  To provide a student perspective on the event, several students shared their opinions and overall takeaway from the Whitney Museum sessions. Nataly Hurtado The most interesting aspect was how interactive the presentation was. We all got to participate and give our opinions. It … [Read more...]

In the past month, Ms. Moos and Mr. O’Brien, the Junior Architecture teachers, assigned their students a comic book project in the Building and Design class. Students were asked to use their creativity and drawing skills as well as concepts taught in class to design a comic book with a backstory. A few students in the junior class were interviewed about their thoughts and experience with the whole thing. Read below to see the interviews. Here were the questions asked: What was your process like? What story were you hoping to convey with your art? How do you think this project affected your knowledge about the design world? Medium?- Title of comic, date created, materials used? Raiven Rowl My process during the … [Read more...]

Our team of student journalist just published the print edition of Volume 3, Issue 5 of The Column. You can read The Column here or download it as a PDF. If the document takes too long to load on your device, please select “open in new tab” at the bottom of the loading document. … [Read more...]

On March 25, 1911, a fatal fire broke out inside Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan, New York's Greenwich Village. This industrial disaster caused 146 deaths as a result of the owners' negligence. Of these 146 people, a majority were young immigrant women that were subjected to a harsh and unfair working environment. This event became a catalyst for workers' rights movements. Consequently, numerous factory laws have since been passed to improve factory conditions and ensure worker safety.  For the 4th consecutive year, students at WHSAD are participating in the living memorial to the victims of the fire, ensuring their memories and story can continue to be kept alive. Though this year not all students were able to do this … [Read more...]

WHSAD students' pandemic struggles have been lightened at times due to our incredible partnerships. One such partner, Gensler architecture firm, has provided our students with opportunities to learn more about the fields of architecture and design through regular Google Meets arranged by Freshman Architecture teacher, Abraham Rodriguez. During these sessions, students have gained greater insights as to what a professional workplace looks like, innovative projects on which Gensler team members are currently working, and exciting directions in which the professions are headed. Students also appreciate the question and answer portion of these presentations as it allows students to get feedback regarding topics and interests of special … [Read more...]

Dimitri Brown When reflecting on my experiences working with WLG, I'm proud of how much I've grown with the help of this program. Last year, when Work Learn & Grow first started I was in a CUNY College Course. During this course, we often had class discussions which I had trouble with. Given the fact that I struggle with social anxiety, it took me a while to get comfortable. Another challenge that I had to overcome was presenting work. I was required to give a speech in front of the entire class about stereotypes. A few weeks before the project, Ms. Connors, who was my instructor at the time, allowed each person to randomly pick a paper slip from the basket. Every slip had a number. Those numbers determined the order as to who was … [Read more...]

For the past four weeks, in their English class with Ms. Fields, WHSAD seniors collaborated with teaching artists from the CUNY Creative Art team or C.A.T to make art centered around theatre with the theme of immigration. This is all part of “Generation Immigration,” a project funded by NYC’s Cultural immigrant initiative. According to CAT the idea of the program is to “use drama and creative writing to explore the topic of immigration and its relationship to our communities and identities.” The creator of this partnership, Claro De los Reyes, wanted to make a curriculum centered around immigration as it's a topic that often does not get discussed much in schools. Claro, who previously served as an teaching artist for CAT, is now a Project … [Read more...]

Recently, on February 24, 2021, WHSAD announced that we won the DOE Sustainability grant with Newtown Creek Alliance, a community-based organization. For those who are unfamiliar with Newtown Creek Alliance, this organization’s mission is to restore, reveal, and revitalize community health, water quality, habitat, access, and vibrant commerce along Newtown Creek. This grant will help WHSAD beautify the Van Arsdale campus building perimeter by adding a lot more greenery. Newtown Creek Alliance, or NCA, works to “Reveal” by conducting tours that educate the public about the history of the waterway at Newtown Creek. NCA “Restores” the Creek by supporting green infrastructure investments, bioremediation, and habitat restoration, just to name a … [Read more...]