Wagner College students settle in as 2023-24 academic year begins

By Max Dickstein

Hundreds of Wagner College students made their way through campus on the first day of classes on Monday, among them 410 new students and 100 transfers.

History professor Lori Weintrob leads a discussion during the first class of her “The Holocaust in Film, Theater, Video and the Arts” course on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Max Dickstein)

Four days of New Student Orientation had prepared these newcomers to navigate the sprawling, rolling hilltop campus when there were classes to reach on time.

From her perch behind the counter at the Wagner College Bookstore in Union Hall, Megan Schnur ’26, an education major, watched students pick away at shelves stocked with textbooks and Wagner gear. A commuter, she would begin classes that evening.

Mo Toure ’27 decompressed on a bench overlooking a flower garden, having successfully attended two classes (Child Psychology and Reflective Tutorial). The first-year from Hagerstown, Maryland, had the advantage of coming to campus early to prepare for his role as a defensive back on the Wagner football team.

Mo Toure ’27 relaxes on a bench after attending his first two classes. (Photo by Max Dickstein)

“I’ve already been here a month,” Toure said.

Once students got to their classes, they moved quickly to expanding their minds.

In “The Holocaust in Film, Theater, Video and the Arts,” history professor Lori Weintrob challenged students to analyze a surviving painting of a ghetto by a 13-year-old who later perished in the Holocaust. Further underlining the power of memory, Weintrob then reminded her students that Monday also happened to be the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Back outside, Pol Roch, a graduate assistant in swimming, and his friend Mark Ferenczi-Bako strolled casually through Forchelli Terrace (the recently renamed former Union Patio). Both are pursuing an MBA at the Nicolais School of Business. Their first class, Business Analytics, was still hours away.

“It’s a pretty relaxed schedule,” said Ferenczi-Bako, a graduate assistant in fitness. “I work during the day and take classes at night.”

The Wagner College Choir sings "Beautiful Upon a Hill" at a retirement party for former media relations director Lee Manchester on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Max Dickstein)

As the day reached the early evening, faculty and staff, including President Angelo Araimo, gathered in the Faculty Dining Room to honor longtime media relations director Lee Manchester with a retirement reception.

A couple of dozen students found their way there, too: The College Choir serenaded Manchester with a rendition of “Beautiful Upon a Hill,” successfully putting on their first performance of the 2023-24 academic year.