Field Trip!

By Sydney Bennett

For most subjects, the fun experience of field trips stops in college. However, there are a few exceptions. Take art classes for example, by living in Chicago, the opportunity to visit our grand art museums or architecture downtown is one that professors are prone to take advantage of. Last year for an art class, I visited the Art Institute with my class and professor. It was interesting and enlightening. It was also good to get away from campus for a while. When I think about opportunities like this and chances to go to the Shed Aquarium or The Auto Show (funded by the school and transportation given), I’m grateful for the school I chose.

Going to a college in Chicago offers location benefits that colleges away just wouldn’t and Chicago is too beautiful to miss!

So, back to the field trip, or trip to the Contemporary Arts Museum in Chicago that I visited last week! It was funny because I had just read an article in The Xavierite that fellow blogger Genevieve wrote about Chicago’s infamous Red Line and how students and school officials seem to prefer it over the Orange Line. Her article was given from the perspective of her own personal experiences riding both of the train lines. She expressed not having bad experiences on the Red Line and preferred because of its proximity and convenience.

On the day of the visit I was accompanied by three other girls, one of them was from out of the state and trains were an experience in themselves for her! Another thing, I like about SXU is that bus passes are sold at the book store! So, we each got a one day pass to use for the bus and train. Our experience on The Red Line was interesting to say the least. I was happy that we were in a group and that would probably be my only suggestion for either line. If you are taking public transportation to and from the school and you know that you’ll be going or coming back when it’s dark, I would suggest not going alone just to be safe.

Anyway, we had a fun time touring some of the new exhibits at the MCA. One other thing I like about Chicago is that there are student discounts and free days for residents at certain museums. We got to view the MCA for free due to their resident free Tuesdays.

Our professor met us at the museum and we viewed minimal and extravagant pieces of art. We each had to pick what we thought was the masterpiece of what we saw. I ended up picking a stairwell that technically wasn’t a piece of art that we viewed. The stairwell was just a piece of the architecture, but a special piece of art to me. The structure and cohesiveness of the stairwell, along with the ceiling, and the fish tank at the bottom captivated me!

Before we left the downtown area, we stopped at the Hershey store nearby and a soup restaurant. Overall, it was a good experience and one of the many reasons I like being a Chicago college student! If your classes don’t offer opportunities to take trips you can still go!

Sydney Bennett is a junior from Chicago, Illinois. She is a Mass Communications major with minors in both Sociology and Art & Design. She is President of Ambassador's for Christ(AFC) and a member of their Gospel choir at Saint Xavier.