Danieley Neighborhood takes the train to Durham

In the second neighborhood “Immersion Excursion” of the year, a group of Danieley Center students and Faculty Director Matthew Buckmaster took the train from Burlington to Durham on Oct. 5. 

In the second neighborhood “Immersion Excursion” of the year, a group of Danieley Center students and Faculty Director Matthew Buckmaster took the train from Burlington to Durham on Oct. 5.

Meeting Danieley faculty affiliate Ryan Johnson at the Durham station, the group toured the downtown area, spoke with local leader Nicole Thompson (President and CEO of Downtown Durham Inc.), visited art galleries and a bookstore, and sampled local cuisine.

Danieley Neighborhood students in the Burlington train station.

“As car-centered Americans, riding a train isn’t necessarily the first thing that pops into our minds, so Ryan and I wanted to show students they could easily access most major cities in North Carolina in a safe, affordable, and more environmentally conscious way,” Buckmaster said.  “Durham in particular is a fascinating city to explore, with a complex history and community-centered urban development plan, so it was really a sort of mini-Study USA experience for us.”

Students learned about the history of Durham, including Black Wall Street, a thriving business and residential area where the first African-American-owned bank in the United States was founded.

Assistant Professor Ryan Johnson explains the history of the Durham train station.

Thompson spoke on the history and politics of the urban development in the downtown area, including the influence of nearby Duke University and how community leaders are continuing to grow in a community-centered way.

Students also learned about the impact of public transportation in North Carolina, including Elon College’s own train station (demolished in 1961), which was one of the main contributors to Elon’s early history and development. They pondered the meaning of the historical plaque outside Belk Library and the real impact of automobile emissions on the environment.  After the day-long excursion, students traveled back to Elon the way many alumni during Elon’s first seven decades did — by taking a ride on the train.

What “serious impact” do automobile emissions truly have?

The Danieley Center’s monthly Immersion Excursions are a new initiative aimed at deepening living and learning in this residential neighborhood.  The excursions are designed by faculty to align with the neighborhood’s learning outcomes and Elon’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.  Students self-select and apply for each excursion, and all expenses are covered by the Danieley Neighborhood.

A previous excursion took students to the Greensboro Folk Festival, and future planned excursions include a trip to a Raleigh comedy club and to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro.