Drew Bencie

The Stockton Theater Club’s Whose Line is it Anyway Performances are probably my favorite student organized events on campus. Whose Line is an improvisational comedy show in which all of the actions and dialogue are made up on the spot. They are consistently hilarious and always entertaining to the point where I have invited friends over just to come see it. One thing that made this past Whose Line especially great is the fact that two girls that live in my building were performing in it for the first time. Nearly the entire building came out to support them. They all sat front row, with signs held high, cheering on their friends. It’s amazing to think about it, really. Just a month ago, all we knew about one other was a name, major, and whatever interesting fact came up during an ice-breaker. Just a few weeks later, we all packed together into an auditorium to laugh hysterically at people that didn’t exist in our lives until a short while ago. The Whose Line nights have a way of bringing people together for a common purpose: laughter.
One of the best parts of this event is seeing how your suggestions, whether written or yelled, are incorporated into the show. The level of interaction with the audience is undoubtedly an impressive component to the show. The ability to think and adapt to new suggestions while remaining upbeat and entertaining is a true testament to how talented the actors and actresses in the Whose Line performances are.
Without a doubt, I will be going to the Whose Line nights for the rest of my time here. To anyone reading, I cannot recommend them enough. They are a great time, with great people doing some really funny stuff. They are definitely something you will regret missing.

On September the 6th I, along with many other generous Stockton students and faculty, attended Stockton’s annual Day of Service in the hopes of finding an activity that was both fun and linked to an organization that was really meaningful to me. When I arrived at the campus center that morning, I signed in and received a list of different organizations that were at the event. The list was extensive and included many organizations that dealt with many problems in the community from homelessness, to pollution, to animal abuse; all great causes that my friends and I spent a long while before hand debating which one we would choose to support.

However, I did have one charity that had been pressing on my mind for days beforehand: Books Without Borders. This organization holds a special place in my heart because books have played such a huge role in my life. I love to read because somehow reading about these people whom I feel I really know go through terrible time and come through stronger just makes reality seem a little easier. I was so excited to give the amazing gift of knowledge, entertainment and (in some small way) companionship to children who had the same lust for learning I had, but were not fortunate enough to have the opportunities I did.

So I quickly joined the Books Without Borders table and in no time we were trudging past the school to a small field by the Arts and Sciences building where we began unloading and entire storage unit filled to the brim with boxes and boxes of books. Our first task was to take all of these boxes out of the storage unit onto the lawn. This was hot sweaty work, considering the unit conserved all of the sun’s heat from that hot summer day, and some of boxes were so heavily packed with books it took two people to carry them. However, soon all of the books were out and we began sorting them into categories like fiction, biographies, politics, and psychology.

Now I had decided beforehand to do a little something special for my favorite charity and had brought colorful note cards, envelopes, a pen, and tape with me to try out my little project. As I sorted through books I kept my eye out for books I had already read and when I found one (with the permission of my supervisor) I would take a minute and write a little message to the new owner of the book. I would thank him/her for picking the book tell him/her why I loved it (it made me laugh, it made me cry, etc.) then I would ask him/her to give the book a good home and say I hoped he/she had a lovely day. Then I put the note in the envelope and taped it to the inside cover of the book.

This was an absolutely amazing experience and my only hope in doing this is that I 1.) made someone with an extremely hard life have a slightly nicer day, and 2.) that these books inspired at least one child to have a love of learning. I truly believe that if you teach a man to fish he eats for the rest of his life, but if you teach a man to read he can do what he wants to do for the rest of his life.

My friends and I just recently had the pleasure in participating in the Stockton Glow Walk and 5K on the evening of September 23, 2014. The purpose of the event was to try to draw out as many members of Stockton’s student body as possible to come out and walk or run for a good cause. Members of the Delta Zeta sorority and Alpha Chi Rho fraternity were responsible for coordinating the event and all of the proceeds went to The New Jersey Hearing Aid Campaign and the American Cancer Society.

The event began at 8pm at Big Blue, and by the time we arrived the place was already packed with hundreds of people. Despite the fact that the sun had already set and it was completely dark out, Big Blue’s track was completely lit up thanks to the hundreds of glow sticks decorated around it. After paying the $5.00 participation fee we were immediately each given a glow stick accessory and told that we would receive an additional accessory for each lap we completed. We ended up jogging/walking 8 laps around the track by the end of the night and received an additional 8 glow stick accessories to show for it.

It seemed like everyone I saw and spoke to was having a great time while I was there. Some groups of friends were trying to compete against one another to see who could get the most glow sticks by the end of the night while others simply just enjoyed being out there and getting the opportunity to meet other members of the Stockton community.  For this being the first ever Glow Walk and 5K, I would say that the event was a major success. Delta Zeta and Alpha Chi Rho should be really happy with themselves for doing such a good job planning and coordinating such a successful event and I really hope that they plan to do it again in the near future!

The first Service Learning project that I had the pleasure in taking part of was the 11^th Annual Day of Service. The Day of Service is an event here at Stockton where students and volunteers from around the area can participate in various community services. I got the opportunity to help of the Club Water Watch in their goal to clean the campus grounds. The project consisted of just over 30 people, 11 of which were from my dorm. The group was split up into small teams to efficiently and effective clean the campus grounds. Almost every member that participated in the event was happy to help and peppy while doing so. Our task was to clean up liter around the campus center. Some groups did the freshman housing area and others did the academic building. Despite the fact that it was 85 degrees and humid, when everyone in my group was done we took one last glance around what we cleaned and smiled.

The most important thing about what we did was the reflection. During the reflection we discussed ways to prevent the amount of garbage that we found. The most common piece of trash were cigarette butts. The gazeboes are the designated area for smoking and there are just the right amount of gazeboes around the school that if you have to smoke you don’t have to walk too far to do so. Adding more gazeboes is the not the solution because most of the cigarettes butts were found around the gazeboes. Our group came up with multiple solutions one of them being to have bigger areas to put the used cigarette butts. Most of the butts are surrounding the trash cans so this should drastically reduce the amount of liter.

I can honestly say that my overall experience was fun, interactive, and most importantly rewarding. The feeling that you get when you have accomplished something meaningful is like no other. Thanks to my friends that helped clean the school I had a blast and never even thought of the cleaning we were doing as a chore. Helping Water Watch made me appreciate our campus and made me more grateful towards other people who clean our school on a daily basis. I plan on helping out Water Watch in the near future and trying to make an even bigger difference.

The many lovers of volunteer work came together on the 11^th Annual Day of Service, September 6^th, 2014. It was such a great thing for all the students to be surrounded by equally motivated busy bees ready to take on what the day had in store. Coming from a high school career where I put so much time into community service, it was a relief to see that the college had dedicated a whole day just for volunteer work. The beginning of the day was set up smoothly with free breakfast and a complimentary t-shirt for those daring to wake up by 8 a.m. on a Saturday. The transition into the main hall appeared a bit hectic with everyone trying to find empty seats for a project, but the high energy welcomed everyone to try something they may have never thought to do before.

I, for one, ended up doing highway clean up with a sorority. One other freshmen accompanied me while we tried the best we could to appear confident among all the other upper-class men sorority members. We all blended well as we cleaned three miles worth of their adopted highway in the early heat. The various trash, alcohol bottles and fast-food garbage being popular, lined the grass along the side. It was a disheartening find to see the blatant disregard so many people feel for the nature around them that provides them with vital means to survive. The mountains of garbage bags we filled was a blatant reminder to how the environment is continually used and abused.

This particular service task may seem small, but it serves as a vital part in the bigger picture of environmental safety and awareness. Small high-way clean ups may not stop bigger problems, like global warming, but they are ways to educate the more immediate masses about how each individual can help on the smaller scale. Small steps fuel the need for change that all must contribute to. If no one attempts to clean up their own community, than no one will ever know how to begin to “clean up” the world.

As children, we constantly heard the saying “don’t wish the time away.” Of course, being kids who had not experienced the struggles of adulthood, we constantly wanted to be older. In elementary school, I can remember thinking how great it would to be an adult. It was a world that I thought I knew so much about- a perfect world with no worry or struggle. There was no one there to say no or yell because “grown ups” were the elders. As it turns out, I was sadly mistaken.

As I walked into my dorm room for the first time, without my mom or dad by my side, I knew that I was officially an independent adult- to an extent. Unfortunately, the feelings of happiness and excitement did not rush over me as I imagined. I was nervous about being on my own and scared of the new challenges that I would soon face. I, of course, fell into my same naive thinking and wanted nothing more than for the time to pass quickly.

On Friday September 5, 2014, the first and second floors of our residence hall gathered into one common room for our first of many RA sponsored programs. We were set to watch the film 13 going on 30– one that I had never seen. I thought this movie was going to be a classic “chick flick” with no real meaning behind it, but filled with great entertainment nonetheless. As I sat on the floor, enjoying popcorn with 30 other girls, I was pleasantly surprised by the valuable lessons that this film brought out in each new scene. The idea of never wishing time away fit perfectly into the experience that we were and still are going through. Jenna thinks that her life is so tough. She tries to be a part of the “cool group,” hurting her true friends to get her way. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and Jenna decides that she wants to be “30, flirty, and thriving.” Magically, her wish comes true. From the outside, her life as an adult may have seemed like the one that I had imagined as a child. However, from the inside, it was clearly far from perfect. After she sees what a disappointment her “adult” life turned out to be, Jenna returns to her normal, 13-year-old self. As she sits alone in the closet, Jenna realizes that she should enjoy her time as a child and be herself. This does not include being a part of the popular group, formally known as the “six chicks.”

Watching this film and discussing its meaning with all of my new friends helped me to realize that although college might seem a little scary and intimidating, it’s what a person makes of it. I can have one of the best experiences of my life here, and it’s up to me to make it happen. I shouldn’t wish my time away because, as I have found out before, I’ll live to regret it. As long as I am being myself and I am happy with the person I am, nothing can bring me down.

I’ve never been a very social adept individual, but sometimes I have to push myself to try new things so that I can grow and expand my horizons as a person. That’s why the Day of Service on Saturday, September 6^th was such an interesting and fun event, even if I had to get up early in the morning to arrive there on time and I wasn’t feeling very well. I was joined by three other girls, all upperclassmen, and we were guided by an inquisitive and friendly supervisor named Thomas. We took a van to a local park – well I slept most of the way because I have the sleep schedule of a bat – and made it earlier than expected, but not before other tents had been set up around the grounds. Unfortunately, the people who were going to help us were nowhere to be found and neither was the tent, so we camped underneath a nearby tree which overlooked a river, our hands under our chins and other blue plastic lunch bags beside us.

We decided to have an early lunch as we waited, and that soon turned into a getting-to-know-you session, with lots of stories to be shared and a few laughs to be had. I learned about places to eat, things to do, and what these girls did for fun, which made me feel happier than I had been. Finally our helpers came and we set up shop, being told that we had one job; to spread awareness of the Community Food Bank, which was the organization that we were volunteering for that day. She gave us flyers, pamphlets, fact sheets, and even a small bucket to collect donations that people may have for us. I was on the first right, feet slightly crossed, and I did what the Penguins of Madagascar had always told me to do; I smiled and waved. Several people passed by us, and I added in a friendly “hi” to my act, and that certainly got people to notice us and our stand, even if they didn’t stop by and take a look. However, when people did stop by, I gave them the general spiel that the supervisor had given to us, and my group members filled in the rest of the details.

After a while of explaining, I decided that I would write everything on one piece of paper to make it easier to explain, adding a dog and a happy smiley face doodle to it because I couldn’t help myself; I love to doodle. For the rest of the afternoon, I smiled, said hi, and held up the sign to get people attention. Overall, the people were really nice, with most already having prior knowledge of the food bank and participating in some way or another. A few people were snarky, though, joking that “you’re the food bank, so where is the food that you are giving to us?” We collected over $25 dollars in donations and even handed out flyers for Restaurant Week in November, which allowed the profits on the first day to be donated to the Community Food Bank.

Sadly, our day ended before we were able to convince everyone to donate, and we were replaced by a pair of children and their mother, which I think got even more attention than us. We were driven back – I slept again – and once we finally got back to Stockton around 2:30 PM, we said our goodbyes to each other, got our picture taken, and went our separate ways for the rest of the day. Meeting new people that day felt really great, and it felt greater to help people that are struggling to get a decent meal feed themselves through this food bank. It makes me think about how fortunate I am to have food readily available for me, either at home or school, and how my life would change if that were taken away from me.

On September 6, 2014 at 8 am, Stockton began hosting its annual Day of service, where various clubs and organizations plan various projects for us to choose to do. I arrived at the Campus Center 10 minutes before 8 to sign in, got a Stockton Serves T-shirt, and grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin. After I sat down to fill out a waiver form, I met up with my Honors classmates and asked them what project interested them. They unanimously voted on WaterWatch, an on-campus project.  Since I wanted to work with my friends, I decided on WaterWatch as well. After breakfast, we went to the Board Room where the Day of Service council members gave us a brief lecture about the various projects. After the long lecture, we knew that WaterWatch is a community service project that is designed to keep the environment healthy.

Our 11- man squad was assigned to clean around West Quad, campus buildings A-J, the gazebos, the Arts and Sciences building, and the front and back of the Campus Center. Since we know that would take long for the whole squad, we devised a plan. Our 11- man squad was broken up into 2 mini groups: one of the mini groups were to clean the Arts and Sciences buildings, the gazebos, and A- F wings while the other mini group were to clean up the rest of the assigned areas. Even though we did not find that much trash, there were minor issues about cigarette butts. The gazebos were littered with cigarette butts.

Overall, the experience was fun. We all gave 100% dedication to doing the WaterWatch, not to mention, we socially bonded with each other and shared fun moments. It was a great way to demonstrate that we cared about the environment. After a day of hard work, we settled down at the Coffee House to get lunch and do a reflection about our project. We discussed the good things and the bad things about the project. By participating in this event, we all have understood what the true meaning of service is and what we can do to change the community around us.

On September 18, 2014, I volunteered at the Red Cross Blood Drive located in the Sports Center. It was a two day event, starting on September 17, but continued to the 18th. Students, Faculty, and any other individual that wanted to donate for a great cause came in and signed in. If they were approved, the individual would move to a blood donation table where they would lay down and a nurse would prepare them for their donation. After the donation process was complete and the individual was bandaged up, they moved over to a table where myself and a group of volunteers waited for the people who donated in which we would give them a candy bar, and their choice of orange juice or water. It was a delightful experience due to the amount of people that wanted to be there for a positive change in the world, but as someone who has never really helped out at a blood drive before, it was a slightly scary experience. For example, in my hour time slot there, two people passed out and it was truly frightening. Luckily the staff at the blood drive were very attentive and aided the individuals right away, constantly checking to make sure they were okay and even helped move them to a private table with a screen so the individual would not feel embarrassed. I really enjoyed my time at the blood drive as it was truly not something I experienced before and having it go to a great cause only made it better. Regardless of the very minimal frightening events I had seen there, I would recommend the experience to anyone who enjoys helping out.

Alisa Iacovelli

Life of the Mind – MWF 9:55

On September 16th, a rather creative event was held in the campus center.  The event was called “Build Your Own Fish Tank” and it was exactly what it sounds like… you got to build your own fish tank!  At my friends and I just walked by and did not give the event a second thought.  However once we saw everyone else with their neon colored fish tanks, we thought it would be fun to make one ourselves.  While taking a closer look, we noticed that not only did they have the fish tank section put up, but there was also a food section with all fish-themed foods such as Goldfish, fish sticks, and gummies in the shape of fish.  This was a cute and innovative idea to keep people interested in the event after they got their fish, or while they were waiting in line.

There was a large number of people at this event, making it chaotic at first.  The most chaotic part of the event came when the staff realized there were more people at the event than they planned for.  At this point, the staff asked everyone to line up neatly, and they started to hand out fish bowls to everyone in line.  This allowed everyone in line to know if it was worth waiting or not.  Unfortunately, my friends and I were at the part of the line where they ran out of fish bowls and we were told that there was not enough for us.  We decided to leave since there was no point for us to stay any longer.

About an hour later, my friends and I had a craving for pizza from Primo’s in the campus center.  While walking through, we realized there was about 20 fish left, but only 3 people still in line.  We asked the staff member if we could have one of the fish and he told us that we could take as many as we wanted as long as we provided our own fish bowl.  This made our night complete!  We took three goldfish in a bag and walked them back to our dorm.  We gave it to one of our floormates to hold while we took a drive over to Target for fish supplies.

Unfortunately, the $21.30 that we spent on the fish was a waste because they only lasted several days, however it was definitely a fun experience!  We went on an emotional rollercoaster from this event:  starting out skeptical, getting excited, being disappointed, then excited again made an ordinary night something different.  I don’t know many colleges that let you build your own fish tank, and I must say that I thought this event was extremely successful and creative.