The ‘Get on the Bus’ program seems to have very few students onboard. But that’s not stopping the event’s creators from planning a second ride.

This evening, the second of five ‘Get on the Bus’ installments will depart from College Place and travel to the Delavan Art Gallery on West Fayette Street, the Point of Contact Gallery on Genesee Street and the Light Works gallery on Waverly Avenue.

The ‘Get on the Bus’ event is sponsored by the arts in action class, CRS 400, taught by professor Jan Cohen-Cruz. Her class of five students plans five ‘Get on a Bus’ events as an extension of Chancellor Cantor’s Connective Corridor initiative.

Ben Joiner, a senior in the College of Visual and Performing Arts who spearheaded tonight’s ride, said the goal of the program is to introduce people to the culture and downtown atmosphere. ‘We want to bring students to the town and bring the town to the students,’ he said. ‘It’s about a blending of SU and the Syracuse community through the use of the connective corridor.’

Joiner said approximately 30 people attended the first bus ride, which visited the Eerie Canal Museum and featured an on-board performance from Syracuse Stage’s production of Arabian Nights.

Sophomore acting major Kristian Rodriguez planned last week’s bus trip and said he was happy with the event, despite the low turnout.

‘It was pretty good for a first go,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to get more advertising, and we’re letting more people know that it’s happening. It’s free, and it’s really not that much of a time commitment. It’s really a preview of all the things that are happening.’

Despite the class’s efforts, a few students expressed skepticism about the project.

Sophomore child and family studies major Grace Hart said she doesn’t see much student interest in the program.

‘I don’t think students know about it or are really that into getting on a bus, especially not one that’s going to museums,’ she said.

Some students said they were aware of the program and would consider getting on board if they knew more about it.

‘I saw the signs for ‘Get on the Bus,’ and I thought, well, where’s it going?’ said Becca Aydelotte, a freshman broadcast journalism major.

‘I don’t think people know what the signs mean,’ she said. ‘I definitely think people want to leave campus though, and a lot of times it’s a matter of how to get out if you don’t have a car.’

While student response toward the event may be mixed, program director and class professor Jan Cohen-Cruz said the bus rides are not intended to bring in a mass number of students, but they are to attract a handful that has an interest in exploring the city.

‘We’re not set up to get a ton of people,’ she said. ‘If we got more than 40 people I don’t know what we’d do with them.’

Cohen-Cruz also addressed the student claim that the day of the event, Friday, interferes with socializing

‘No one goes out at 5:15, so we were very careful to choose a time after classes were over, but before people have evening plans,’ she said.

Some future bus rides will take place Thursday nights to accommodate students who like keeping their Fridays free.

‘It’s very hard to get this into peoples’ minds and get them to try it, but I think the more people that see it, they just might say, ‘You know what, why don’t I try it?” Cohen-Cruz said.

‘It’s only an hour and a half, and it’s actually really refreshing,’ said Ben Joiner, tonight’s event planner. ‘If someone wants to get off the Hill before dinner or before they go out on a Friday, they’ll certainly have something to talk about when they go out to the bars later that night.’

jmterrus@syr.edu

Published on February 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm