5 Questions with David Brown
David Brown is an alum of the Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students. He graduated in 2014 with a degree in Liberal Arts.
What brought you to The New School and the BPATS program?
What initially brought me to The New School was a flyer that I received at the Brooklyn Book Festival. I am a typical and jaded New Yorker: I do not accept unsolicited materials from anyone. Yet, for some reason this time, I did. I had been looking for an Alma Mater for a couple of years, and I only found a few colleges and universities that met my criteria. I was looking for a school that had a strong Liberal Arts program, stressed strong writing and critical thinking skills, and, most importantly, welcomed and supported working adults who wanted to complete their undergraduate education. The New School’s BPATS program was the only program that met all my requirements.
What were some of your favorite classes/instructors during your time with the BPATS program?
My first class at The New School was titled “Secular Jewish Thought,” which was taught by Terri Gordon. I absolutely loved that course (Truth be told, I enjoyed every class I took at The New School!), and my classmates and instructor. We had a small class of less than fifteen students (If memory serves me correctly, I think there were twelve of us).
It was in this course that I was introduced to Spinoza. I could not wait until Monday at 4:00 PM every week to dig deeper into our readings and hear the ideas and thoughts of my classmates. During my last semester, I finally had a chance to take a class with Tracyann Williams (Reading Toni Morrison)! I had never read anything by Toni Morrison, so to have the opportunity to study Morrison’s canon with a Morrison scholar was a thrill. This was another small class, so we really read Ms. Morrison’s work closely and intimately. My final paper focused on the idea of “inheritance” in “The Song of Solomon,” which I can recite from memory to anyone interested.
Every course I took with Dr. David Fractenberg was anticipated with baited breath. I have never seen an instructor that could engage with students from various backgrounds, ideas, and beliefs as he could. His teachings are a treasure that I will never forget.
How has your time at TNS impacted you since graduating?
My experience at The New School has informed my daily interaction with students. I learned from great teachers, and my attempt to create a positive space for learning and interaction reflects my own experiences at The New School.
Although I am a native New Yorker and thought I had a wide variety of friends, TNS and BPATS introduced me to people from communities, experiences, and outlooks that I never knew, or was hesitant, if not outright opposed to approach, from whom I could learn and support.
What projects (work, hobbies, passion projects, etc) are you currently working on?
I will not burden you with all of my crazy ideas and interests, but I am engaged in a research project that focuses on the disparity in voter power and population size in poor and ethnic communities. This idea came to me when I took a Criminal Law course at The New School.
What’s one of your favorite NYC moments, places or memories?
As I previously mentioned, I am a native New Yorker, so my NYC stories are far too many to detail in this space. However, my favorite NYC-New School story took place on an elevator in 66 West 12th Street.
In my favorite job of my life,I worked at an Off-Broadway theater. I have always loved drama, and to work for a show and see it for free every day, was something I never thought would happen. I loved interacting with the patrons, staff, and actors. Although I earned a pittance of a salary for “working,” I NEVER missed a show, and quickly rose through the ranks for staff.
Because of all the time wasted waiting for nothing, I NEVER take elevators, up or down. I was coming from a meeting on the 9th floor, and was with a group of friends, so I decided to break my rule, and take the elevator with the others. When the elevator reached the 3rd floor, the doors opened, people stepped on, but the cab did not move, since nobody selected a destination. One person in the group asked “Which floor?” Some unseen person in the crowded cab replied, “One,” to which the rest of the group that entered from the Third floor sang, “Singular sensation . . .” This well-known A Chorus Line reference was sung long after everyone stepped off the elevator in the Lobby and outside the building.