Stockton Shootout

Blog 15: Stockton Shootout

            On April 26th, the Stockton Shootout took place in the I-wing gym from noon until 4:00. This event was made for children with disabilities to play basketball with honors volunteers, who all decorated a Stockton Shootout 2014 green t-shirt for the event.

During the reflection session that was held afterwards, we were asked about the deeper meaning of the program, as well as any improvements that should be made for next year’s event. For the deeper meaning, I wrote down that taking a few hours out of someone’s day to participate really pays off, and it makes the volunteer feel as if he or she made a big difference in doing so. There were six athletes that came to participate, all ranging from the age of twelve to forty-one. Their names were Jeffrey, Dylan, Natalie, Dan, Chris, and Joe. Starting with stretches, jumping jacks, several dribbling drills and lay-ups, we were all ready to be part of a real basketball game! It was so much fun, and we were helping the community in doing so. What I loved about this event was that it didn’t feel like service.

As for improvements to be made, there was one major problem that everyone agreed on. For the event to be more successful, there should be much more advertising, since it is a great cause and a lot of fun in the meantime. The flyers that went out for the event were also misleading, stating that the volunteers would be playing basketball with honors students rather than honors students playing basketball with the athletes that came.

All in all, the event showed that people with disabilities are fully capable of doing the same things that everyone else does, and that these disabilities shouldn’t be a label to anyone. My mom works with children of special education, and I remember watching them play in gym class separately from most of the other kids. Playing basketball with everyone today really showed that we can make a big difference.

NAMS Poster Viewing

Blog 14: NAMS Poster Viewing

On April 26th, several students presented their research and findings on the projects they’ve been working on for anywhere between one semester and three years.

After walking around the atrium about three times, a few posters caught my eye, especially the one that focused on the effect of a protein called TACE of Alzheimer’s disease. Another poster focused on the mathematical aspects of ecology by representing graphs, both 2 and 3 dimensional. Several equations were used to calculate different aspects of an environment. In addition, there was another student who focused on raccoon diseases, but more importantly, the vaccines that help prevent these lethal diseases. Finally, there was one student who focused on coral and their growth. Two years in the making, this poster was called, “Analysis of the Effects of External Electrochemical Charge on the Astrangia poculata Transcriptome.” The student took the DNA sequence of the coral at several stages in the experiment to find out the effect of injecting electricity into the coral.

Apart from making advancements in fields of varying fields of research, the posters also allowed students, especially freshmen, realize the extent to which Stockton can reach out to a multitude of ideas and interests. The poster that caught my eye the most, I realized, was the one most related to the medical field and mental illnesses, and this helped me ensure that I’m making the right decision in going into the medical field after graduate school ,medical school, or wherever else I may wind up.

This event covered biology topics (which I found to be most interesting), as well as chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Walking by all the posters inspired me to do research of my own, which would help me in deciding on a future career.

Taylor II

Blog 13: Taylor II Ballet

            Lights, camera, action! After everyone settles in, the music begins and the curtains open, revealing six dancers, dressed in either flowing white dresses or white leotards. The excitement begins right off the bat, with upbeat music to get the ballet started. Beginning with a classic ballet, Aureole set the stage for the remaining two pieces, one entitled Company B and the othe entitled Esplanade. Each dance flowed together perfectly, transitioning from one “scene” to the next by gracefully running on and off stage. The three dances, although they consisted of the same style of dance, captured my attention in different ways. The distinguishing feature of being theatrical is what drew me to the second piece.

On February 6th, a story was told on the stage of the Performing Arts Center. The Paul Taylor II Dance Company put unique twists on ordinary ballet techniques in attempt to capture the attention of the audience, while being dramatic enough to give their dances a theatrical theme. However, a ballet doesn’t just consist of dancing; there are a variety of factors that go into producing an effective ballet. For example, the costumes must be reflective of the piece in which they are paired with. If the performers wore their 1920s outfits in the first piece, I doubt I would think the ballet was affecting. There would be a sense of confusion, since the costumes and dancing would represent two different styles of ballet.

Each piece consisted of its own style and technique, which is how the dancers try to capture the attention of the audience and to keep them on the edge of their seats. I was able to realize how much work goes into each and every skill. Flexibility, as well as strength is needed to perform in a ballet, as well as a theatrical appeal. Taylor II successfully executed every aspect of a ballet, despite any viewer’s preference of one over the others.

Get Involved!

Blog 12: Get Involved Fair

            At the Get Involved Fair, several tables are set up in order to get students involved on campus. Although the fair is open to anyone who is interested in joining clubs, I found the fair extremely useful as a freshman, since I was not too familiar with the clubs here at Stockton. I signed up for the American Sign Language Club, fencing club, the Biology Society, and Occupational Therapy Club.

The fair is handy in that you can sign up for as many clubs as you want, and this gives you a way to find what fits into your schedule for the upcoming semester. When I first decided to come to Stockton, I knew there were lots of clubs, but I was not aware that some clubs aim to help aid the decision of a career.

I’ve developed an interest in occupational therapy ever since my high school anatomy teacher recommended it to me, but it was hard to have my own opinion on it just by looking at the Wikipedia page for occupational therapy. After going to a meeting for the club, the graduate students answered any and all questions I had for them, like the aim of an occupational therapist or the types of classes they take as graduate student. There was strip the club went on, but I was unable to participate, and therefore I have even more of a reason to put my email address on the list to re-join the club.

As a sophomore, I plan to join the Quidditch team, which I would never think of joining before coming to Stockton. I also plan to work my schedule around the Biology Society and Occupational Therapy Club, and it would be extremely difficult to find out information about either of these clubs if I couldn’t put my name down on the sign-up list at the Get-Involved Fair that occurs at the beginning of each semester.

Woodstockton

Blog 11: Woodstockton: Goo Goo Dolls

            Toward the end of the Spring 2014 semester, the Goo Goo Dolls came to Stockton! The Goo Goo Dolls had perfect timing; just as the workload is getting heavier in classes in preparation for finals, they gave students a way to free their minds of biology, chemistry, or whatever else is becoming more stressful than usual.

In addition to the lesser known songs, the Goo Goo Dolls performed songs that are commonly heard on the radio. The only concert I’ve been to was Maroon 5, and from the lawn seats, it was hard to even tell that it was them singing. However, at the Goo Goo Dolls concert, I was able to get much closer.

Personally, my favorite songs were “Iris” and “Slide.” Whenever I’m in the car with my mom, 106.7 is playing on the radio. For some reason, it always seemed as if “Iris” was the most popular song on the station. To see them in person (as well as video tape a few songs to show my mom), reminded me that some of the artists I hear on the radio still sound the same way in person. The ten dollars was absolutely worth it, and I was shocked to find out that the Goo Goo Dolls were the ones singing familiar songs like “Iris;” it was not expected at all!

After the concert, t-shirts and CDs were sold, not just for the Goo Goo Dolls, but for one of the groups that went on as an opening act as well as the Battle of the Bands winner. One of the opening acts included a violin, which I found surprising. However, I thought it was a great addition to the group.

SET did a great job organizing the event, and I can’t wait for next year’s Woodstockton concert! Not only did this event show me the awesome things the Stockton Entertainment Team is capable of, but it allowed me to forget about all the studying I’ve been doing, and to remind myself that having fun is also an important part of being successful at Stockton.

Civil War Reenactment

Blog 10: Civil War Reenactment

            A former student of Stockton College came to Freshmen Seminar to show off his hobby of Civil War reenacting. As part of a reenactment group, the actor explained to the honors freshmen what his hobby is like.

As a biology major, I’ve never really had an interest in history. However, bringing history to the present gives new perspectives on the history lessons I’ve learned about countless times from a textbook. The actor, who was completely open to answering any question we had, notified us of the accuracy, down to his uniform. Apart from the heavy clothes he had to wear and the bag he had to carry with false weapons, for some reason I remember the shoes the most clearly. They were big, clunky, and they must have been difficult to walk in. Not only does the Civil War Reenactment give an extremely accurate portrayal of the factual history, but it also provides a fun way of learning.

In addition to learning a lot about the Civil War, this class was a great way to change it up a little, rather than having discussions only on the books we read in class. This was a perfect example of a more hands-on activity that is educational without even feeling like it’s a lesson. In high school, I usually just read the history textbook to learn, and then the teacher would spark up a discussion on the material. If the teachers took a break from this every so often, I probably would’ve found history class much more enjoyable.

If the actor comes back for the next freshmen honors classes, I would recommend that the actor brings a video or two of his work to show the class exactly what it’s like, and to give a better idea as to what it’s all about. When the actors was talking about his hobby, it seemed as if the actors joked around a lot while learning about history, and I thought that would be a great way to present history to a class a non-history buffs like me.

Hunger Dialogue

Blog 9: Hunger Dialogue Session

            As part of the curriculum for Honors Service-Learning, students must attend a dialogue session. The topics of these sessions range from hunger awareness to quantitative data to show the effects of our actions on worldwide hunger.

For my dialogue session, I attended the Hunger Awareness session, which took place in the Campus Center coffeehouse. In the coffeehouse, approximately 40 students gathered in a circle in order to maximize the number of participants. This was certainly an effective way to organize the group; if we had to sit in rows like we do in class, it would be much harder to get everyone to participate. Under the direction of the session leader, each student was able to voice their thoughts in contribution to the topic.

Everyone received a double-sided paper; on one side was a map of the world, and on the other side there were several statistics. On the side with the world map, certain colors coded for a certain amount of hunger in that area. Looking at the map, I was astonished to see how many nations are suffering from severe hunger.

The region with the most hunger seemed to be Africa. This session got me to think about what I can do to help. I remembered that in the fifth grade, I used to go on “freerice.com,” website that allows students to donate rice to those in need by answering vocabulary questions correctly. Each time you get the answer right, ten grains of rice are donated, and therefore, each time you get the answer right, it’s a piece of cake to donate lots of rice in a very little amount of time.

What can we do to change the statistics? Throughout the dialogue session, several students were given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the matter. For example, many students suggested volunteering at soup kitchens to help those in need.

HvZ

Blog 8: HvZ

            For one week per semester, there is complete chaos throughout the college. “Humans Versus Zombies,” or HvZ for short, is a campus-wide event that includes nerf guns, socks, and just about anything you can think of! Preparation includes buying the best nerf gun (with tons of ammunition) from “Toys R Us,” having a green band, and prepare for LOTS of paranoia!

The green bands can stand for two things: 1) if the band is around a player’s arm, it means he or she is a “human” and 2) if the band is around the player’s head, it means he or she has turned into a ”zombie.” Every night for one week there is a mission for the players to accomplish.

For instance, one night all the humans had to make it through the dark path to the apartments without being tagged by the zombies. (Zombies tag humans, while humans either shoot zombies with a nerf gun or with socks.) As if that doesn’t provide enough paranoia, there’s a big catch! When walking around campus, humans and zombies are free game. In other words, humans must run from building to building to make it difficult to be tagged.

Most people prefer to always walk with a friend, just in case the friend sees danger coming from another direction. However, if the human hits a zombie with a nerf gun, the zombie will remain inactive for ten minutes, thus giving the human time to get away as quickly as possible. The missions get harder and harder each night, until there is a winner.

Humans Versus Zombies provides a fun way to interact with different people, since there are no rules against forming alliances. Especially as freshmen, this event allowed us to get to know as many people as possible. Rather than just getting to know people on my floor or in my building, I was able to become acquainted with people I don’t live with.

Service-Learning Dialogue

Blog 7: What is Service-Learning?

                        The service-learning dialogue session, led by Daniel Tome, proved to be a very effective way of showing students the importance of community service. Daniel Tome began the session by asking for an answer to the question, “What is service-learning?” After hearing a few opinions, two long arrows were drawn side-by-side on the chalkboard.

First, we were given two post-its each, and we had to write one service project we’ve done on each one. Tome then labeled one end of one arrows “direct” and the other end “indirect.” Before discussing the meaning of each term, we were told to stick our post-its in the appropriate spot on the line. For example, if the student felt that his or his service project was purely direct, the post-it would be place to the left. Then, we discussed the meaning of both direct and indirect service-learning. Although there are several meanings of each, it seemed as if the indirect service-learning projects included more internships and research. Meanwhile, the direct service-learning projects involved simpler activities, such as helping out with a soup kitchen.

The two activities I used were tabling for the Blood Drive and volunteering at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter. I put both near the “direct” side of the line. I consider the Animal Shelter direct because the animals are benefitting from my volunteering immediately, and I am there to see the effect of what I’m doing. However, after the discussion, I think that tabling for the Blood Drive would be an example of indirect service-learning because I don’t see the benefit of my tabling.

The board, by the end of the session, had many more post-its on the “direct” side of the arrow, since it is usually easier to participate in blood drives or Relay for Life than it is to provide research. In the future, it should be Stockton’s goal to provide more of this influential indirect work. Personally, I believe that research is one of the only ways to completely fulfill the meaning of “service-learning.” While providing a service for those in need, students would be able to provide research on treatments for diseases (such as cancer), which may broaden the medical world at the same time.

“I Believe in Ghosts?” – Mary Roach Convocation

Blog 6: Mary Roach Convocation

                        Mary Roach, the author of Spook, visited Stockton soon after the freshman class finished reading her book. It was quite interesting to see the author’s views on her own work, especially when she says that she didn’t mean to upset the audience of her book with the ending. I never thought that an author would disagree with his or her own ideas, since the must edit their own work so many times. Mary Roach, through her sarcastic and humorous personalility, certainly got her point across.

After reading the book, I can’t say I was pleased by the conclusion, “What the hell. I believe in ghosts.” After discussing the blunt ending in seminar, I learned that everyone else felt the same way. However, Mary Roach apologized for the ending during the convocation, which none of us were expecting at all. She explained that the way she worded the ending was definitely misleading.

As the readers of the book, we thought she was just throwing all of her studies out the window, simple because it’s easier to say she believes in ghosts. After a whole book of going from place to place, scientist to scientist, she disregarded it all. However, Roach explained that she regrets using this statement to close the book.

In addition to discussing the book, the audience of the convocation learned quite a bit about her personality. Having read her book, I was definitely able to see her as a sarcastic person. However, I didn’t think her sarcasm was used well in the novel; for a topic as controversial as the afterlife, there is hardly room for joking. At the convocation, I was able to determine her personality much easier. Her sarcasm and light personality certainly makes her as unique as she is.