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THE RECORD FEATURES FEBRUARY 2ND, 2018
Students discuss neighborhood stigmas Lynne Sipprelle, Spencer Kahn & Gabby Kepnes Staff & Contributing Writers According to a student ambassador information packet about students in the Middle and Upper Divisions, 1,043 live in New York (736 in Manhattan), 126 live in New Jersey, and 16 live in Connecticut. Although the majority of school students come from Manhattan, each morning students arrive from all over the metropolitan area, some with commutes of over an hour and a half. Students inevitably must deal with judgements about their homes, whether confronting negative stigmas surrounding their neighborhoods or facing difficulty convincing friends to visit. Many students agree that living in Manhattan is often perceived as more prestigious and allows for a more active social life.
BRONX:
The first time Akida Joseph (11) realized there was a stigma around living in the Bronx was on her birthday. “I wanted some people to come to the Bronx for my birthday to hang out at the mall, but their parents wouldn’t let them come,” Joseph said. People often think the Bronx is far more dangerous than other parts of New York City, Joseph said. “It is definitely true that the Bronx isn’t as wealthy as other boroughs of New York,” Arriana Serrano (12) said. “There are some parts that are good and some parts that aren’t.” “When people think of New York City, they think of Manhattan and Times Square and the Empire State Building,” Eric Ohakam (11) said. “They don’t think of the Bronx.” Ohakam sometimes feels embarrassed telling other students where he lives, he said. When Faijul Rhyhan (11) began attending the school in seventh grade, he encountered micro-aggressions about his neighborhood, he said. Rhyhan, who lives in Parkchester in southeast Bronx, said he has heard students make comments such as “Oh it’s the south Bronx, it must be bad,” or “Aren’t you scared to walk home?” Once Sofia Gonzalez (12) was taking an art class at a museum when students began discussing where they lived. “When I said I lived in the Bronx, they immediately thought of a terrible neighborhood and said, ‘Oh wow, I’m so sorry.’” Joseph said she used to feel uncomfortable telling people she lives in the Bronx, but now she does not. “I feel perfectly fine about living in the Bronx, so why should I care about what other people feel?” Joseph said. Serrano doesn’t feel living in the Bronx has impacted her experience at school, she said. “Other people don’t know that I don’t have as much as other people do, but it doesn’t really make a difference because my friends don’t
make a big deal out of it,” she said. For Gonzalez, living in the Bronx close to school has been convenient, but people still make snap judgements about her for living there, she said. “There is a very specific culture of students who live on the Upper West Side versus the Upper East Side versus the Bronx and New Jersey,” Gonzalez said. Even though the school is located in the Bronx, it feels like attending school in Manhattan, Ohakam said. “It made me see that you can be born lucky. For me, I’m not rich, but I’m not poor either. I’m just not as high up there on the economic ladder as some people are,” Ohakam said. Rhyhan sometimes feels different from other students at the school, he said. “I feel like some things that people take for granted I appreciate more. I feel like the way people grow up is very different from how I grew up,” Rhyhan said.
CONNECTICUT:
L e s s cosmopolitan, more rural, predominately white, preppy, and mostly wealthy, James Chang (12) said, describing common stereotypes of his hometown, G r e e n w i c h Connecticut. “Stereotypes are often exaggerated, so even if these have some degree of truth, they’re not the full picture,” Chang said. “I think there’s definitely a perception that it’s really far and rural and disconnected from the tri-state area,” Honor McCarthy (12) said. Living in Greenwich makes it more difficult to see friends, McCarthy said, but she enjoys being close to the beach and having a retreat from the chaos of school life and the city. “It can be a little bit of a joke that some of our friends say,” Emily Yu (11) said. “Like, ‘Oh, you live out there. No one wants to go all the way to Connecticut.’” Although many students living in Connecticut said that they were sometimes teased by other students, none said they were ever made to feel embarrassed or hurt. Ben Hu (11) has enjoyed growing up closer to nature in the suburbs, he said.“Most people in the city have apartment buildings, but I have a backyard where when I was younger and had free time I could go outside,”
Hu said. “I think what it’s done is it’s really forced me to get out of my comfort zone in terms of navigating public transportation,” McCarthy said. “So I think compared to my friends from middle school who live here in Connecticut and go to school in Greenwich, I’m definitely much more open to going to new places and I’ve learned how to navigate the subway and Metro-North,” McCarthy said. Hu takes the train frequently into the city since for the most part friends aren’t willing to drive over an hour to his house in Connecticut, he said. Chang feels especially close with other students at the school who live in Connecticut since it’s also difficult for him to see friends in the city, he said. “Two of them are in my grade, so it’s like a small community over here,” he said.
NEW JERSEY:
“You always hear people refer to New Jersey as ‘the armpit of America’ or ‘the most boring place.’ They talk about it like ‘Oh, you live in New Jersey,’” Eva Fortunato (11), who lives in Fort Lee, said.
differently if you live in New Jersey,” Bae said. “It’s almost like looking down on you.” However, everyone living in New Jersey interviewed for the article said that they did not feel uncomfortable or inferior telling other students where they lived. The only part of the school experience that living in New Jersey changes is the commute, Liz Fortunato said.“Granted, I could drive into school, but I take the bus and there’s usually traffic in the morning, which can make it a little bit annoying.” “The fact that it’s a little harder to get to school limits what kind of activities I can do,” Bae said. The week before break, Bae had to stay late after the six o’clock bus for chorus rehearsal, the music concert, and then a fencing meet. “So that’s three times a week, which is a pretty big deal in terms of money and in terms of the amount of time it takes,” Bae said. All of Deveraux Mackey’s (11) extracurricular activities and closest friends are in the city, and she feels disconnected from New Jersey even though she lives there, she said. “I like to say I’m a part-time resident of New York City,” Mackey said.
UPPER EAST SIDE:
“There’s not so much as a negative stigma,” Sam Keimweiss (10) said. “In general, in any area that has high wealth, there’s a little stigma that you identify with that group.” Many people describe the area as “very pretentious,” Gaby Moussazadeh (10) said. Moussazadeh feels comfortable sharing where she lives, she said. “I do think there’s a stigma of private high schools, and Spyri Potamopoulou/Staff Artist socio-economic status,” Reina McNutt (10) said. There seems “I get made fun of for living in New to be a stereotype that only white, rich Jersey,” Eunice Bae (11), who lives people live in the area, she said. in Englewood Cliffs, said. “I don’t really understand why. I don’t really People tend to picture Gossip Girl understand the reason behind it.” with the extravagant parties when they People assume that New Jersey is think of the Upper East Side, Samantha very different or smells bad or is very Sladkus (10) said. far away when in reality New Jersey is “Everything is nearby; there’s a deli very close to New York, Allen Park (11), around the corner, subway as well, a few who also lives in Englewood Cliffs, said. nice diners, everything is really close,” “I wouldn’t really call it a stigma,” Keimweiss said. Liz Fortunato (11) said. “It’s more “I like that I’m close to Central Park,” like sometimes people tease you, but McNutt said. “There’s a large family it’s never meant in an intentionally community in my building. So it’s nice harmful way.” to live here around people I know and “It’s joking, but I do think the who I’m friendly with.” sentiment is there,” Josh Benson (11) said. “It is annoying, but not stigmatized.” UPPER WEST SIDE: The people who make comments The West Side is perceived to be a about living in New Jersey don’t actually little less fancy than the East Side, Marli know anything about New Jersey, Park Katz (10) said. said. “Some avenues and areas on the “I think kids who live in the city Upper West Side are considered less or New York just tend to look at you elegant than others,” Daisy Wheeler
(10) said. Like a typical neighborhood, the UWS has less “privileged” areas, the trendy areas, and the super high-end-specifically the deluxe Central Park West, she said. “People think it’s dangerous when in reality, it’s the same thing as the East Side” Katz said. “Whenever I tell someone where I live they always say, ‘that’s in the middle of nowhere,’” Nelson Gaillard (10) said. “The things said about where I live are totally appropriate because it’s usually the truth,” he said. “It’s almost a bit petty when people think negatively about the West Side, exclaiming it’s dangerous,” Katz said.
QUEENS:
“When HM people ask me where I’m from, they don’t add any follow up questions,” Lutie Brown (12) said. Most people are familiar with Flushing and Jamaica, but no one acknowledges the other smaller towns in Queens, she said. Eddie Ahn (11) has not heard of much stigma about his neighborhood, but he has heard people say that it is far away, he said. “It’s the only known characteristic about it,” he said. Ahn is comfortable sharing where he lives, he said. Brown attends many admission events, which gives her the opportunity to talk about where she is from, she said. “I feel singled out for being the only one answering admission questions from Brooklyn or Queens residents.” Brown said.
WESTCHESTER AND FURTHER NORTH:
“In the suburbs, there’s a ton of space; you have greenery everywhere,” Madhav Menon (9) said. “You may have to go a little bit further to get stuff and meet friends, but I still prefer the suburbs.” “I think the majority of people from Horace Mann live in Manhattan,” Shrey Sahgal (10) said. “It becomes awkward when friends are making plans that don’t include people that aren’t from Manhattan.” “There is a stigma that upstate is somehow worse than the city because people who live in the city are rather proud of where they live,” Ben Lee (9) said. Malhaar Agrawal (10) does not believe there’s a stigma around where he lives. “I like how quiet it is. I like going to the train station and visiting the small businesses there. I have a great commute getting to school; it’s only 20 or 25 minutes.” Lee’s community is essentially the opposite from the city: not loud or crowded, he said.
Ariella Greenberg/Art Director