Long Island Students Tour Stony Brook, Curate Art Exhibition

More than 60 eighth and ninth graders visited Stony Brook University campus to explore higher education and career pathways. The students, members of the Stony Brook Future Scholars and Leaders Program, engaged in activities designed to demystify the college process for first-generation applicants from East End communities.

The program, based at Stony Brook Southampton, aims to provide exposure to university life for students who may not have previously considered higher education. Karissa Raynor, the program coordinator, stated that the visit helps instill a sense of belonging and aspiration among these young individuals.

During the visit, volunteers from Omega Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., and Jubilé Latino guided the students across campus. The groups met with current university students to discuss finding community through campus clubs and student organizations.

A central part of the visit took place at the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery at the Staller Center for the Arts. The students toured the exhibition Noel W Anderson: Black Excellence. The show examines the concept of Black excellence, a term with roots in the Civil Rights movement, and the historical pressures placed on Black individuals in academia and professional fields.

The exhibition features cotton Jacquard tapestries that serve as a touchpoint for discussions on slavery and 19th-century inventions. Students learned about the cotton gin, which increased cotton production from approximately five pounds a day per enslaved person to 50 pounds a day. Between 1790 and 1860, the enslaved population in the United States grew from roughly 790,000 to 4,000,000.

The tour also covered the Jacquard loom, patented in 1804. This invention allowed unskilled workers to manufacture complex patterns in a fraction of the time required by master weavers. Anderson connects this technology to the modern television screen, specifically referencing the static double exposure of a 1980s TV with bunny ears.

Gallery Manager Georgia LaMair Tomczak and student gallery staff member Gilana Etame led the students through the exhibition. Etame noted that the highly interpretive nature of the piece prompted the students to share good insights. The students then acted as junior curators for their own hypothetical exhibition.

Each student group selected at least five images from the online collections of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and MoMA. They curated these selections on large sheets of paper, creating themes such as Unexpected Connections: Freedom and Black Unity: Looking Out for One Another. Artworks included in their selections were Romare Bearden’s Roots, Jamal Cyrus’ Lights from the Garden, and Archibald Motley’s Tongues (Holly Rollers).

Zoe Haffner, a Future Scholars and Leaders student mentor, described the gallery visit as an immersive experience where the students handled sensitive topics with grace and maturity. The day concluded with the students attending a Stony Brook football game, where they interacted with the team mascot, Wolfie.

The Future Scholars and Leaders program will continue throughout the academic year, connecting participants with university faculty, staff, and students. The next exhibition at the Zuccaire Gallery, Material Interventions: New Faculty Exhibition 2026, opens on November 4, 2026.