Monthly Archives: November 2011

Holocaust Studies and Happiness

Posted on by

On Thursday, October 27th, I attended the seminar on Holocaust Studies and Happiness, which is part of the MAHG Lecture Series. The speaker was the Dean of the School of General Studies, Dr. Jan Colijn. It was incredibly fascinating to ponder the concept of whether intensely examining the Holocaust on an everyday basis makes one depressed, but his argument was that all of the faculty in that department are very good-humored people. He also inspired his audience to step up and get involved in anti-genocidal movements. One example of this was a girl in the times of the Holocaust who shot a Gestapo member in the head to save the lives of the Jewish refugees that were hiding on her property. That is an extreme act of taking a stand against genocide, but it is still a touching account. It causes one to feel the need to step up against menacing oppressors who prey on innocent victims.

Perhaps that is why those faculty members and countless others study the Holocaust and other genocides; not to stop genocide completely, but to help improve the world one little step at a time. Every person counts in this ongoing battle. Another woman the Dean mentioned had grandparents who were Nazi sympathizers. After a few weeks of studying the Holocaust, she risked losing her witnessing job as she told her manager that his entire kitchen staff was making anti-Semitic remarks. Knowledge in genocidal studies brings about a unique kind of grit, the stuff that true heroes are made of. These everyday people are consumed by the injustice that those victims have faced and have longed to do something, anything to help them, even if it is really small and seemingly inconsequential. These kinds of people are who I admire, and I hope that I will be able to make even the slightest difference for the good of others. The real benefit of this lecture came not from the ultra credit I received for attending, but rather in the inspiration to minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in my time here at Stockton.

Blog 7: Mutter Museum

Posted on by

On a cold rainy day we ventured into the wonderful world of Philadelphia to go to the Mutter Museum.  Despite the inclement weather, the trip turned out to be quite a blast! The museum was quite fascinating with its many oddities.  Since I am a biology major, seeing all the body parts was really cool.  They had a wide array of human skulls with their country of origin and cause of death listed below them.  It was really cool to compare and contrast the different skulls to each other.  There was also a variety of different diseases and aliments affecting different parts of the body.  It was awesome to see Siamese twin babies and small pox’s affect on the body.  Also it was neat to see how corsets affected a woman’s skeleton.  What was really neat were the drawers full of weird things that people had swallowed.  How did people swallow buttons of that size?  Since it was the time of the Day of the Dead, they offered different fun, festive things like skull cookie decorating and paper flower making which were fun crafts.  Also in the gift shop they sold little stuffed creatures molded after diseases.  I bought rabies since I aspire to be a veterinarian.  It was a great trip and I want to go again the future.

Women’s Soccer Game

Posted on by

GO OSPREYS! Well, I just got back from the soccer game and it was awesome! From the beginning, I was extremely excited. First, it was my first time watching the women’s team play. Second, it was under the lights which always increases the intensity. Third, I knew it is a talented squad (which I will get into later). For the entire game Stockton dominated. The ball was on our offensive end most of the time, we had control of possession, and they had a multitude of great opportunities. The team truly contributed to the excitement with their incredible ball movement and all together cohesiveness. I found myself up on my feet many times as they found themselves inches from the goal. Regular time ended and the score was surprisingly still tied 0-0. As a fan, I was so excited to watch overtime and I had a lot of confidence in the team to break the tie. After a period of overtime and many chances that almost converted into goals, the score remained 0-0. Here came the ultimate nail biter: double overtime! As the minutes ticked away I waited for the goal that I was sure our team would score. The minutes turned into seconds and before I knew it the game was done, the score still 0-0. Even though it ended in a tie I was still so proud of the Ospreys and I was so glad I attended the game.

I came to a realization while I was at the game. The spirit that the fans have for the game surprised me! I am really glad they have a great fervor for the sport. At my school, football was the sport that everyone paid attention too. However, our football team was not that talented and usually had a losing record. The only time the school cared about the soccer team was when we defeated our rival, Millville. Yet, if the football team beat Millville it was valued much greater. I love watching soccer and the excitement from the crowd makes it even more enjoyable. Hopefully most of the games are as exciting as this one was.

I am very excited to watch them play again. The team is full of star players and I knew this before the game even began. There are about five girls who played on teams I competed against in high school. The girls from my area who currently play here were the star players at their respective schools. Many of them were the leading goals scorers and made a huge contribution to their teams success. I specifically paid attention to them and they did not disappoint.

Watching the game made me very nostalgic. I have played soccer since I was ten and this past year I was my school’s captain. This is the first time in eight years that I am not playing soccer at this time. Seeing them play made me want to be a part of it. I miss the feeling of control you have when the ball is at your feet, the feeling of your teammates depending on you, and the accomplishment felt when you successfully tackle and steal the ball. The feeling of the cleats on my feet, my school colors sported, and the sweat on my brow signifying my accomplishment. As previously stated, I played against many of the girls who I watched play together. Usually I would be competing against them but tonight I was cheering them on. Seeing them play increased the nostalgia. Maybe I can find I way to ease it, such as playing for a club team. Even though the nostalgia is present I will not cease to cheer on my team!

In my previous blog I discussed how excited the Day of Service made me for this year at stockton. The soccer game increased my excitement even further. I now know I have another activity to participate in with my friends: cheering on the soccer team! Being surrounded by your friends and supporting your team is a great feeling. It is a way for the stockton community to become even closer. It is also a great way to meet new people. I am ready to become a fervent osprey fan. GO OSPREYS!