An exhausted group of travelers from SHSU’s Art Department stumbled intoHuntsville early Monday, after a three and a half day excursion to New York City. The trip was chaperoned by professors Tony Shipp and Sharon King, who saw to it that 20 art students got an exciting view of the “city that never sleeps” last weekend.”The idea of going to New York, it’s fun,” said Shipp. “I think one of the most important things to come out of this is some of the dialogue that’s starting to happen with students here at Sam. I think maybe what’s more important is what happened here at Sam than what happened in New York.”The group managed to hit many of the major sites, with several students experiencing for the first time some of the world’s most famous museums and theatre, while getting the opportunity to experience a few of New York’s more flavorful characteristics. According to Shipp, every student found something different to appreciate.”I think for some of them it was just getting out of Texas. Walking down Times Square, people passing them wearing turbans, seeing the homeless people; the juxtaposition of the rich and the poor,” Shipp said.Along with enjoying the Broadway show “Rent” and visiting the Museum ofModern Art, The Whitney Biennial Exhibition, the Guggenheim and a few other art related sites, Shipp also planned a dinner at an authentic family run Italian restaurant, “The Luna,” in Little Italy.A major highlight for the group was a studio visit with one of the few Daguerreotypists in the country, Jerry Spagnoli. Daguerreotyping is one of the earliest forms of photography, using silver-plated copper sheets and iodine to produce a light-sensitive silver iodide compound, which is then exposed, forming an image. Due to the extreme toxicity of the chemicals, modern-day photographers have generally abandoned the technique. Spagnoli did an image of one of the students, creating a one-of-a-kind treasure for her. He can also be noted as most likely the only person to capture a true daguerreotype of the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.Another notable experience for the students was a boat tour around Manhattan Island. “I think a lot of people enjoyed the perspective of looking at this city,” Shipp said. “It’s just incredible. It’s like the emerald city The lights, everything really blew people away.”Shipp has had this trip in mind for SHSU students since his arrival here four years ago, having been inspired by a friend at the University of Florida who’s done an annual trip to New York with his students for over 20 years. A change in the administrative climate at SHSU helped to make the trip happen for the first time.”It seems like we have a president who really likes this kind of thing. He wants to create some excitement, you know, change our image a little bit…It’s nice to get that kind of backing, enthusiastic backing,” Shipp said.”We hope to make this an annual thing,” Shipp said, adding that students are already attempting to offer him money to reserve their spot for next year.