On Thursday, April 25, 2013 Stockton hosted a great event called the Celebration of Service. I wanted to go to the event because while I work in Grants, Service Learning is in the same office and I know how hard they work to plan events and projects. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect from the event, whether it would be powerpoint presentations or posters and booths, but it sounded interesting!

When I arrived at the the event, I was a little taken aback to see how few people chose to present. I suppose I missed a few people due to class schedules, but I certainly expected there to be more people volunteering to present their projects. Even though there were so few people attending, I was still able to enjoy the event in the brief time I was there.

Many of the tables had pamphlets to take home in addition to their actual boards so i was happy to have additional information for future references! The presentation boards ranged from very colorful and flashy to more subtle and simple. One of my favorite tables help the Peace Corps, which is something I’ve been interested in for some time now. Although there weren’t many tables and presentations, I think the event still went really well.

Just like presenting research on the Day of Scholarship, I think it’s really great that people who are passionate of their service projects want to spread their enthusiasm and work! I plan on attending the celebration of service again next year and I might even have something to present in year to come!

The start of the spring semester brought a lot of opportunities – new classes and friends, but also a new schedule waiting to be filled up with more activities! Because I don’t live on campus, it is more difficult for me as a commuter to be involved in a lot of activities. However, Stockton is has ways to accomadate students like myself and many others, one way to hear about new clubs and events is the Get Involved Fair.

I wasn’t able to to attend the Get Involved Fair for the fall semester, so i wasn’t sure what to expect. I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to find something interesting to join. I was surprised at how many booths there were, and even more surprised by how many clubs and activities are offered at Stockton. I was able to get more information on clubs like books without borders, MSA, Model UN, cooking club and more. It was really helpful to have so many clubs all laid out in one place!

Service is always a great way to learn humility, not matter how short or long of a time you put into it. When you’re doing a good deed, I believe it’s best not to look into how much time you put into something, or how many benefits you’ll recieve from doing something. It’s best to enjoy the experience of helping people who need you, and I think it’s ever more clear when you see the relief and gratitude on someone’s face.

When the semester began, I knew I wanted to help out at the bloog drive again. Partly, I’ll admit I wanted to get one of the required service projects out of the way, but another part was excited to help in any way i could. I worked with the Red Cross three times before, all for blood drives, and I was looking forward to being in use for something I knew.

In high school, I helped out the nurses by aiding those who had given blood. I would talk to them and distract them, especially if they were squeamish yet adamant to help in any way they could. This time however, my job wasn’t nearly as hands-on; instead I was put on the duty of giving donors snacks and drinks as they recovered. It wasn’t the most exciting job, and definitely not the most important, but it was rewarding in it’s own way. If a donor wanted to talk, they did, and if they didn’t want to talk, that was fine too – our jobs were to make sure they were stable enough to leave when they felt ready.

Although I was only able to help out for an hour, it set the tone of my involvement this semester. I ended up not even using the blood drive as one of my required service projects! I instead started volunteering every sunday at the Mosque in Atlantic City, and helped out at the Day of Scholarship for a few hours. However, being able to help in any way that I could was a great lesson and experience!

I’m weird in a way that I like old things. I don’t mean vintage, or last month kind of old, I mean hundreds of years and counting old- I like history, but more than anything I like being in a place where history has happened. It’s a really cool feeling to be conscious of the fact that you’re walking the same road as someone who was influential and important enough hundreds of years ago, to become a household name today.

Being fascinated by history has also given me a peculiar enjoyment of going to museums. And so on the morning of Saturday, October 27, 2012, Stockton presented students with the opportunity of visiting the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Once the bus ride was over and we had arrived, we set off into the Center. The Constitution Center is massive and extraordinary in stature. I’ve always loved architecture, and like I mentioned, I’ve always loved dated things, but this white modern building in the middle of old city Philadelphia was no less than impressive.

Along with impressive architecture, the center had many attractions. We first attended a 3-D video show with a live voice actor who theatrically told the story of the Constitution. It was only for about 15 minutes, but it was enough to be awe-inspiring. The effects, video, and interaction of the actor along with the historic tale that was spun, gave me chills and we left the presentation a little more bleary-eyed than we came.

After, we explored the upstairs exhibits which featured life-size cutouts of Presidential Candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, a large room with life-size statues of almost all the signers of the Constitution, interactive touch-screen trivia, and museum-life artifacts protected behind glass and spoken about by audio recordings. It was all very interesting.

My favorite exhibit would have to be the new and featured Prohibition Exhibit. It was incredibly detailed. There was so much information on nearly every wall and descriptions of protected items directly from the 1920s. There was also a fun game that made you catch boat-looters that tried to slip past the police with illegal alcohol. My favorite part of the exhibit was the lifelike sit-in bar and the 1920s dance floor which taught you the popular dance crazes of the time, like the Charleston. I also really enjoyed the realistic outfits for both men and women of the time.

After looking at the exhibits, my friends and I went off to explore nearby Philly. It was incredible! I’ve been to Philadelphia many times, especially since my sister used to attend school there, but I had never seen the old city in the fall. It was a beautiful and crisp fall day and even though we did get lost a few times, it was a great experience and I would absolutely love to do it again.

Visiting the Constitution Center gave me insight to a lot of things about the Constitution I didn’t know. I learned a lot that day, and was able to appreciate all that the museum offered. I also really enjoyed being able to leave and come back at our leisure, which made it feel less than an overbearing grade school field-trip and more like a casual experience. If there are more opportunities like this in the future, I’ll be sure to grab it!

I’ve always loved ballet.  I never joined a dance academy myself, but I remember how the stories of learning to do splits or some other choreography always sparked my interest in elementary school.

I didn’t give much thought to dance until I was in high school, where there were choreographed performances done by the different dance classes. I remember sitting and watching the performances and thinking that ballet was truly a work of art. It’s incredible what people can do with their bodies, but to see and experience an entire story comprised of only body language is incredible.

When I found out that one of our options for a compensated performance at Stockton was a ballet, the choice was ridiculously easy – I didn’t even have to look at what play or story they were doing. It would be the first official ballet I would ever attend, and I was extremely excited!

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, I arrived at the PAC to watch the Atlantic City Ballet Company perform Dracula. My expectations were pretty high, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was able to follow the whole story without getting lost. The dancers, coming from 9 countries across the world from each other, were able to work together effortlessly. Everyone, from the set makers, the costume designers and the make-up artists were just as talented.

The ballet told the story of Dracula, a story I wasn’t 100% familiar with, in incredible detail. The most impressive part of it was that there were no words spoken, and story relied solely on the movements of the dancers. It was amazing – the costumes, the dancers, and the set. I’m extremely glad I went, and it has furthered my respect for professional dancers. I’d love to go again next year!

As part of the Honors freshman seminar course Life of the Mind, we were told to read the book Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson. Now most people aren’t always thrilled with required reading in school, but I’ve been never one to shy away from reading of any kind. However, uncharacteristically I was one of those people who inwardly groaned when it came to it. Growing up in Galloway, New Jersey for the last sixteen out of eighteen years, I’ve been to Atlantic City more times than I could count and the prospect of having to read about a place that isn’t exotic seemed really tedious to me. But the more I read the book, the more I came to realize that Atlantic City isn’t at all anything I thought it was. Sure, there are casinos and gambling, bars, and even prostitutes today, but I never would have imagined the manipulation and corruption that was consistent with the formation of this city so close to home.

On Wednesday, October 24, the honors freshman had the amazing opportunity to meet Nelson Johnson, who is not only the author of another Atlantic City based book, but also a judge. In the Lakeside Lounge, Judge Johnson talked to us about the reasons and inspiration for writing Boardwalk Empire. He first came to Atlantic City knowing it was corrupt, and once he was here he was intrigued by it. He wanted to find out why it was like that. After doing some research, he found out that no one had ever written an entire book about AC’s whole store. Once he decided he would be the first to do it, it took him a year and a half to write the book. He successfully booked an agent and got it published after many tries. Later, he was able to pitch the idea to HBO after a lot of hard work and the influence of a book called The Perfect Pitch.

Nelson Johnson has had a very successful life and being able to sit in the same room and listen to his story kind of had me a little star struck. After reading the book and meeting the author, one thing is for sure, Atlantic City will probably never look the same to me again.

Coming to Stockton came with a lot of changes for me. I was suddenly no longer in high school, where it had been almost a continuous schedule for four years. I was no longer going to see the people I had gone to school with for the last twelve years. I also came to fully accept that I wouldn’t be seeing my best friends every day anymore. Having your best friends with you in almost every class is something so relaxing and almost mundane for four years, that you don’t even realize how much you’re taking that for granted. So yes, coming to Stockton came with a lot of changes and to say I was nervous was an understatement.

Besides how nervous I was my first few weeks of school, I’ve come to believe that part of the beauty of schools is the opportunities that are presented for the students. There are clubs upon clubs and sports for every single perspective. The only real work that students have to put in regarding clubs and sports is actually looking for them. When I found out about the Muslim Student Association, I was extremely excited. After going to the first meeting, I knew I would be sticking with the club. The club doesn’t only deal with religious beliefs, but deals heavily with the idea of volunteer work which is a very important thing for me.

Stockton’s MSA is very involved with a few organizations, one being the Islamic Relief fun for Aid in Africa. This past October, our MSA joined up with dozens of other university MSAs to form the MSA-United fun for the Islamic Relief cause. The MSA-united group decided on a joined fundraising event for all the clubs across the state to meet up and raise money together. However, before that, all the clubs decided to indivicually raise money first.

Stockton’s MSA set up tables in lower D-wing for three days and I was fortunate enough to table for a few hours during the days. We sold baked goods including cookies, browines (which were heavenly) and samosas. We also provided Henna art for anyone willing to pay, and I was happy to offer my services in applying the henna to customers. It was fun and a completely different experience than what I was used to when tabling for clubs. We raised a significant amount of money and the joined MSA event was a lot of fun. It felt good to have connected and made friends with people of similar beliefs, and along the way it felt even better to have done something for people in need. College might have been a big change for me, but it was a change that has gladly been accepted

Almost two weeks ago today on September 14, 2012, I attended a lecture called ‘Sex and Justice’ in the Campus Center theater. It’s not exactly the title of a lecture I could really see myself going to a year ago, so initially I wasn’t sure what to expect by going to the event, I honestly planned to go because I knew I would get extra credit for a class! I assumed that it would be kind of boring, since Anita Hill wasn’t going to be there and it would only be a video that would make me sleepy and possibly cranky before my next class.

As part of the Constitution Day Series 2012, it was obvious that the issue being discussed would have something to do with our nation’s government. However, until I saw the actual video, I never knew how much of an impact Anita Hill’s accusations against Justice Clarence Thomas had on the nation. After watching the video, a step by step documentary of the testimonies themselves, it was really evident that Professor Hill put a lot on the line accusing Justice Thomas so very publicly. It was also apparent that regardless of whom the hearings turned in favor to, the issue of sexual harassment in a workplace would never go back to where it was before.

So as I sat there for an hour and half watching the actual Supreme Court hearing that made history, I slowly forgot about how cold the theater was or how the camera close-ups in Professor Hill and Justice Thomas’ faces really bothered me. I really got into the actual context of what was being said. Anita Hill made bold accusations against Clarence Thomas; saying that he repeatedly asked her out, spoke to her of detailed pornographic visuals, and gave her vivid accounts of his own sexual life. In retaliation, Clarence Thomas opted to the use of pathos, stating he had worked for 40+ years to get to where he was and that not only was his nomination into the Supreme Court suffering, but the integrity of his name and his family were taking a toll as well.

The testimony of both parties was intense, emotional and drove nearly all watching to the edge of their seats.  Anita Hill gained a plethora of followers with the help of Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts and Clarence Thomas was a prominent and well known political figure with an army of followers. The decision was too almost too close to call. In the end, the Senate ruled 52-48 in favor of Clarence Thomas and he succeeded in obtaining his position in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Many people even today are upset by the decision of the Senate when they stop to think of it.. Some people believe that Anita didn’t win because she was a woman, some believe she didn’t win because she wasn’t as well connected as Clarence Thomas, and some people believe she didn’t win because she was lying the whole time. Regardless of Anita Hill’s defeat, the blurry lines of sexual harassment became more distinct after this historic event.

I wasn’t able to attend Anita Hill’s keynote lecture, but I know that she had a lot of courage to project her accusations so vocally. I believe that everyone has a voice and the choice to use it and because of Anita’s courage, the workplaces of America are a lot more safe and people have more courage themselves to speak up when they don’t feel safe. The Pledge of Allegiance states “Liberty and Justice for all,” and the testimony between Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas certainly played to that.

On Wednesday, April 24, I was able to go see part of the movie A Time for Drunken Horses in the Dunkin Donuts lounge. Although I wasn’t able to see the entire movie, what I saw was very interesting.

A Time for Drunken Horses is a Persian film about a boy Ayoub (almost my last name!) who becomes the head of his house and his younger brother is disabled and in need of surgery. Ayoub is an amazing older brother, regardless of his actual age. He attempts to raise enough money for his younger brother’s surgery by selling and smuggling tires but ultimately, he doesn’t reach his goal. His uncle then says that he will have the surgical expenses taken care of in exchange for Ayoub’s sister being married off. Ayoub, desperate, agrees, but when they get to the meeting, the groom’s mother won’t accept Ayoub’s disabled brother and instead gives them a mule for compensation. The movie ends with Ayoub and his brother crossing the Iran-Iraq border in hopes of a better life and medical attention even though they had lost the mule to smugglers and have no way of paying for the surgery.

Although the movie is fictional, it is hard to realize that things like this happen in real life. People live in such hardships, but when you’re surrounded by beauty like we are in America, you begin to think that the rest of the world must be like that and forget that people live in such brutal conditions. The movie showed a real life adaptation of so many struggles faced in third world countries. Even though I wasn’t able to see the entire movie, the parts that I did manage to see were remarkably done in a way that it didn’t seem dramatized.

I’ve come to realize that one of my favorite parts of Stockton is the opportunity to see different lectures. A year ago, I was sitting in a high school classroom with too many people and barely any leg room, and I would have scoffed and cringed at the news of a voluntary lecture. So much has changed in the last year, and I am forever grateful that it has! I’ve grown up in many ways, and I think it shows when I look forward to going to a different lecture every saturday in my free time, pen and notebook in hand. The lectures that I attend on saturdays are mostly on becoming a better person, and even a better muslim. These lectures are in Egg Harbor City at a community center that is quickly becoming an expected destination for me when I leave the house.

The lecture that I attended on April, 2, 2013, was similar in topic but completely different in location. Sheikh Jawad Rasul is a new member of the muslim community, but his family is one I’ve begun to know very well in between Saturday lectures and Sunday school teaching. As a sheikh, his lecture topics are based on Islam, however, the lectures are broad in the sense that they would teach anyone of any faith, how to live their lives in a more positive way. This particular topic was the teachings and habits of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. These teachings however are not solely for the islamic faith, but are on manners and social conduct that everyone should follow.

I think that it is important to keep yourself grounded, especially when everything around you seems to be changing. I’ve found over the last year that my religion is the perfect outlet for me, but that doesn’t mean it is for everyone else. It’s also important to accept differences between yourself and others, you can’t force people to see things the way you do, but you can respect their opinions the way you want them to respect yours. Keeping an open mind is also important, as it teaches you things that you would have missed out on otherwise.