A bulletin board display outside of room 315 describing the benefits of
using our Global Research Center--- before and after Stark's order to
dismantle.
For nearly eight years, our Center received documents from around the
world. Our students administered the Center. They evaluated these
documents, coded and filed them for student use.
Our Center was the scene of original student-produced dramas where the
"players" used our document collection to come up with ideas for their
stories and scripts.
Over the years, our Center was the site for the creation of
document-based simulation games--The Situation in Portela is an example.
In addition to a vast array of Global Studies materials,our Global Research Center housed entrepreneurial-related documents which helped the students create their own "virtual" New York City businesses, which included feasibility studies and business plans. This project was called "Doing Business in New York: Entrepreneurial Dream or Nightmare?" It was the recipient of national, state, and city awards. 
Once Stark gave the order, the process of dismantling began. The
computer, essential to the completion of these projects, sits
abandoned--not to be used again until September, l997 when the Research
Center was resurrected by the order of a new supervisor. The rooms where
Stark assigned me to teach had no computers.
 Student projects held on file for future students to use for research, were boxed up and stored in the U-Haul facility on West 230th Street. 
 All that was left of our Center were bare walls, empty bookcases, vacant files. 
On the way to the last Stop-- U-Haul locker #5113
Back |