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Difference Makers

Rutgers Magazine just scratched the surface of how two alumni are making a difference in the world around them. From crime-prevention strategies in New Jersey to a documentary film about Asian Americans' struggles to make it in pop culture, there are deeper stories to tell.

Crime Prevention through Youth Development
Documentary Explores Entertainers' Struggles to Succeed


Crime Prevention through Youth Development
By Shannon Rossman Allen

Creighton Drury is the State of New   Jersey's first director of gang- and   crime-prevention strategies.

For Creighton Drury RC'92, breaking the cycle of youth violence means providing the right thing at the right time. "Even kids in the most dire circumstances will respond positively if the right opportunity comes along in a meaningful way," he says.

The state's first director of gang- and crime-prevention strategies, Drury is focused on Governor Jon S. Corzine's anti-crime strategy, which takes a three-pronged approach in attacking gangs, guns, and violent crime in New Jersey. Drury and his team are responsible for the prevention aspect. "Prevention begins by offering options and, in some cases, interventions that help young people move down the right path in life," he says, "and it starts at the community level."

Youth development efforts, including after-school programs, workforce training initiatives, mentoring, school-based social services, and leadership councils, are essential to the cause. "Building communities—by strengthening the children, families, and stakeholders who live and work there—is critical to countering violence and reducing or eliminating risk factors that lead to problems down the road."

Keeping young people engaged and in school is a high priority, Drury explains. Paterson, Newark, Trenton, Asbury Park, Vineland, and Camden were recently chosen as part of a statewide pilot program to work with school and community officials to develop improved policy and practices that address truancy issues as soon as students begin missing school. The lessons learned will be shared with a broader audience as part of the New Jersey High School Graduation Campaign and Summit.

Drury's plan to reduce and prevent youth violence includes a review of current programs and services. "We want to organize and better coordinate all the great work currently being done and find more ways to work together," Drury says. As a result of this approach, Drury will highlight initiatives that have proven effective and reveal gaps that may show the need for new programs.

This type of examination is nothing new to Drury. His interest in civil rights and urban social justice issues was sparked at Rutgers by professors, including Roland Anglin (now a faculty fellow and executive director of the Initiative for Regional and Community Transformation at Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy), and through his experience as a varsity basketball player. As Drury (who played point guard for Rutgers from 1988–92) got to know his teammates and their circumstances, he observed significant disparities between student-athletes who came from urban and suburban areas.

This realization spawned a Henry Rutgers thesis topic about the disparate graduation rates of Division I student-athletes. "I wanted to find a way to level the playing field for those coming from different backgrounds," he remembers. "This experience launched a career path for me."

Then and now, Drury says the key to success is keeping kids engaged and in school, as well as providing opportunities for growth. "We cannot arrest our way out of this problem," he says. "Rather, we must be coordinated, intelligent, and persistent in our commitment to today's youth."


Documentary Explores Entertainers' Struggles to Succeed
By Shannon Rossman Allen

That Asian Thing writer, director, and producer   Jonald Reyes (center) clutches the Audience Choice   Award for Best Documentary at the 2008 NYC   Independent Features Film Festival.

With camcorder in tow, Jonald Reyes LC'01 followed the plight of three Asian-American artists for two years as they tried to break into the music business. The result: his first film, That Asian Thing, which debuted at the 2008 NYC Independent Features Film Festival.

Originally a sketch-comedy review pertaining to Asian-American stereotypes, the film morphed into a documentary when Reyes realized he was the only Asian-American writer in his class at the renowned Second City Training Center in Chicago, and that "those tired Asian-American stereotypes, such as the Chinese man who is always so wise, just weren't that original and funny anymore," he says.

Though Reyes says he never infused his race or culture into his writing, he says he found the lack of Asian-American talent in American pop culture interesting. "You have to dig deep to find it today," he says. Learning more about his Filipino-American heritage was also a driving force in the film. "I wanted to learn about who I am and how I'm perceived by others," Reyes shares.

That Asian Thing follows three   talented Asian-American artists   struggling to break into the music   business.

Honored with the festival's Audience Choice for Best Documentary, That Asian Thing highlights interviews with Chicago-based artists Jesch Reyes of the R&B group Flipside; Cynthia Lin, a folk/jazz musician; and singer/songwriter Stephen Munoz as they struggle through auditions and meetings with music executives. "The film finds that people—audiences and music execs alike—are not taking a risk with these artists, regardless of their talent," Reyes says.

Reyes admits the film doesn't identify the reasons that these artists aren't given more than a fleeting chance in the entertainment business. "My goal was to expand horizons and make the audience see Asians in a new light," he explains. Reyes hopes the film's impact will be broadly heard; it is now available to colleges and universities across the country for screening. (Visit thatasianthing.com to learn more.)

While the film's stars continue in their hopeful rise to fame, Reyes is focusing on other projects. He hopes to see his first screenplay, The Coming, a Project Greenlight competition piece written in 2003, make it to the big screen, even if it means backing the film himself. He's also writing a new screenplay and working on a music video with the hip-hop band Contriband.

"There's a real surge to be a filmmaker," Reyes says. "There are so many good stories out there for aspiring artists to share. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I put pen to paper or get behind the camera. Art is a form of activism, and I have a story to tell."