Throughout the life of the average high school student, one nagging question incessantly plagues the mind: why go to university? Upon hearing that question, we would expect the response to include something related to attaining a degree, enabling us to either move forward into a desired career or to pursue higher studies. Despite the exceedingly apparent banal quality of this answer, it is both natural and warranted: there is no doubt that this justification for college is cogent.

But there is more to attending university than simply procuring a higher education. Through participating in the very experience of going to university, we discover aspects about ourselves that were previously ambiguous or altogether unknown. From the supposedly mundane conversations that occur as we walk through the halls to the transmission of information in a lecture, we are learning more and more about ourselves. Yet, how can we gain this precious yet seemingly inaccessible information about ourselves?

As far as we can see, the evident answer can be discovered through interacting with our surroundings. Every action we take exists within a context. Every component of the story we aim to share occurs in some setting. Therefore, our attendance at university also continues in the midst of our surroundings: the city of Newark.

Since its conception as a species, humankind has always attempted to bend its surroundings to its will, yearning to maximize its potential benefit. Although we are aware of the literally environmental consequences of such action, some aspects of this perspective are indispensable for the gradual improvement of our surroundings. The defining qualities of the city of Newark have unfortunately been blurred by the stigma associated with it, offering a totally fractured perception of the city as a whole. There are some regrettable truths to such an assessment that cannot be ignored. However, the city in which we reside and carry out the prime of our lives has so much more to offer than we previously thought. Alterations in conception are the byproducts of actions, guided by a stable proposal; we must take the initiative to explore the city to repaint the canvas and replace the dark blotches with bright and vivid bursts of change.

This is our role: to provide the roadmap to a new future, offering unique and intriguing prospects that are present right here in this great city. So we invite you, the reader, to join us in this grand endeavor as we re-envision Newark.