I almost didn’t go to see Nicole Byer and Kevin Barnett, but I am so happy that I did. It was so great to see how many people came out to support homecoming weekend. I got there exactly one hour before so that I could get a front row seat; so naturally I ended up in the back of the bleachers. Looking, no begging for and way to sit closer, my group of friends and I were approached by the coordinator of the event. He offered us a deal; if we helped move the chairs up towards the stage, we could get a front row seat. Suddenly a group of lazy college freshman transformed into a highly motivated workforce. Our valiant efforts were rewarded with a front row seat.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such offensive material in my life; I loved every minute of it. From distasteful genitalia jokes, to racial stereotypes, to mocking drugs and weight issues; I was shocked that some people didn’t get up and walk out. While Byer and Barnett might not have been the best choice for homecoming and “family” weekend, they certainly appealed to a gymnasium full of college students. Being in the front row, it was inevitable that we would be picked on by at least one of the comedians. So naturally Nicole Byer singled me out for a few rather inappropriate jokes that would be unfit for a tasteful honors blog post.

Regardless of how crude or offensive the comedy was (I know some found it extremely offensive) it was all in good fun and it proved a hilarious night for most.

Atlantic County Animal Shelter

As a part of the honors program, I was given the opportunity to volunteer at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter in Pleasantville on September 27.  It is a service project done once a semester, but we have the option to do it more often; the shelter is always looking for more volunteers.

When we arrived at the animal shelter, we were given consent forms to fill out and we introduced ourselves.  I told Terry, the volunteer director, that I had previously worked in a veterinary office, so she asked me to help in the feline infirmary.  My friend, Josh, offered to be my partner and we headed towards to back of the building where the sick cats were located.  Terry told us that the cats all had colds and were being treated for their illnesses; therefore they had to be kept away from the healthy cats.  Our job was to clean out each of the cages especially well since they tend to sneeze all over the cages. Once we finished cleaning, we were to feed them lunch.

Josh and I started by taking each kitten and moving them into holding cages while we cleaned their original cages.  We sprayed the cages with a mixture Terry gave us, we waited for 5 minutes, and then we wiped them down with water and dried them.  Next, we placed newspaper, a blanket, and a litter pan in each cage.  While we waited for the mixture to take effect, we played with the kittens and gave them love, since most of them did not come out of the cages very often. This was the best part because we were able to give the kittens attention that they do not normally receive, and we had fun because they liked to climb up our backs and run around the room, which was very entertaining.  Once we finished cleaning all sixteen of the cages, we scooped dry and wet food into their bowls, which my other friend Nancy came in to help us with.  We made an assembly line where Josh put in the dry food, I put in the wet food and water, and Nancy placed a bowl in every cage for the cats.  After we finished in the infirmary, we said good bye to the kittens and went to play outside with some of the dogs.  Again, it was really nice to give the dogs some attention and exercise; they jumped up and down and ran around the enclosed area.

Overall, I really enjoyed volunteering at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter.  I love animals and helping others, so this was a great opportunity for me.  I benefited from it not only because I felt good that I was helping others, but because it was extremely satisfying and entertaining to play with the kittens and see them run around having fun.  Moreover, I gained a sense of appreciation for the veterinarians that care for those animals every day; it took me and Josh about two and a half hours to clean sixteen cages, but the shelter has hundreds of animals that need to be cared for.  Because of the great experience and the impact it had on me, I definitely want to go back and help at the animal shelter again!

By: Lauren Roesch

On Saturday, October 18, I attended the Honors Afternoon of Service. For three hours, a number of us completed several service projects. I began my service at a table set up with materials to make coloring books, cards for soldiers, and coloring pages. The 21 coloring books we assembled will be sent to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. We also created 3 cards to be sent to our heroes overseas. The 40 coloring pages we completed will be sent to the Color-A-Smile organization that will then be distributed to individuals such as senior citizens and our troops overseas.

The next table I moved to was equipped with several old t-shirts ready to be cut into long strips and braided in order to create dog toys. The 138 dog toys we made will be sent to a nearby animal shelter. Another project being completed at this table was the crafting of door hangers out of colored paper. We created 27 of these door hangers that will be sent to the Ronald McDonald House Charity.

There we two other tables prepared with service activities. One of the tables had all of the ingredients to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We made 52 of these sandwiches and they will be sent to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. The last table was set up with materials necessary for making wreaths and small bears. The 2 beautiful fall wreaths that were assembled will be sent to the Ronald McDonald House Charity along with the 9 bears we made for children at the Ronald McDonald House and other children in need.

Once our three hours of service was finished we took a moment to reflect. We all agreed that we enjoyed all of the different activities and would not have desired to complete our Afternoon of Service any other way. The afternoon showed us that it does not take much to do something good for someone else. Although all of the projects we completed were very simple and accomplished in just a few short hours, they are going to make so many people feel good. It is important to think about the recipients of the things you are creating during these service projects and how much the finished products will mean to them. All in all, The Honors Afternoon of Service was a great, simple way to contribute to the community.

Christina Baker Kline is a woman who wrote an incredible book called Orphan Train and came to our college in order to share her story behind the novel. On September 25, 2014, Richard Stockton College held Freshman Convocation at 4:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center. It is an event held once a year run by the Freshman Year Experience Team. The book was selected by a team including GT Lenard, Tom Grites, Jack Connor, and Shelly Meyers. During this event, Christina Baker Kline came to Stockton and spoke about her book and her struggles and time working on this piece of work until it became what it is today.

To start off, the author gives a brief tale as to how this idea for a book started, and why she became interested in orphan trains. It all started on a wintery day, when Baker Kline and her family were stranded at her in-law’s house for the holidays by snow. Baker Kline’s son and her mother in-law were looking at an old book of stories, and found out that her husband’s grandfather was an orphan train rider. This was news to the mother-in-law, for she never knew about this information, and neither did anyone else in the family. This puzzled Baker Kline, for how can someone keep such a big secret from family for so long, and why would they? Thus, began her curiosity on orphan trains, which would eventually lead to her best-selling novel.

This presentation was very interesting, giving an in-depth history lesson of what started and became of the orphan trains. Baker Kline clearly showed her passion for this topic and her dedication and effort she put into this book. I was writing a research paper on the topic at this time, and I was still able to obtain new information from her presentation. She spoke of Charles Loring Brace and his plan to help save these orphaned, homeless children off the New York streets from themselves and from the city. He truly believed that he was doing these children a service, taking them to the countryside for a better life that would teach them values through hard work.

The author further explains her research on the subject, and of the people she met who were orphan train riders. She had interviewed many people during the process of writing this book, and she found that while many faced some hardships under this system, most were grateful for what they endured. If they had not been on that train, they would not have the families and the lives they had now. They would probably still be living on the streets, making a living through stealing or working in gangs, with only death or jail as their outcome.

To end, I enjoyed the Freshman Convocation very much. I found this event very informative and eye-opening to see the book through the author’s eyes. I now have a new appreciation for this novel, after hearing the author express her reasoning behind the book and gaining an understanding about the novel’s history. This event aided in my achievement of being able to see what the author’s purpose was, and I actually witnessed the amount of hard work she put into her final product, and how much this actually meant to the author. I highly recommend going to future convocations at Stockton.

Not knowing what to expect, I walked into the audition room. I had my monologue in mind—something humorous about aliens and fried clams; it was perfect for a show as out-of-the-box as “Crumble (lay me down Justin Timberlake)”. I excitedly introduced myself to the near-stranger with dark curly hair and smiling eyes sitting at a small table behind a laptop. That is Kate Sparacio, president of the Stockton Theatre club. Years of auditioning for high school shows had prepared me for this much: the walking in, telling your name and what you would be reading, and the way you are supposed to fill the space with your body and your voice.

I didn’t go in with very high hopes. The cast of “Crumble” is small, five people in all, and only three of those characters are females. I thought being a freshman and a biology major would put me at an extreme disadvantage for being cast. With all this in mind, I straightened up and turned into Trudy, a bag lady who has become an assistant to aliens coming to Earth in search of signs of intelligent life. Forgetting a few of the words was no issue; Kate laughed—at the appropriate times—just the same. I finished, she told me thank you, and I left the room, giggling and full of adrenaline.

The wait for the call back list was agonizing. They promised it would be up shortly, so my friends and I waited patiently for that list of names to show up.

After twenty minutes, a hand peeked out the door and stuck the neatly typed list of names to the wall next to it. We all looked at each other, nervous and unsure, and slowly we flocked to the list. As soon as I stood up I could see my name—but of course I had to get closer to make sure; it was unreal. A part of me wanted to take a picture to savor the moment, to send to my family, to look at it later and congratulate myself when nobody else was around—when I wasn’t surrounded by people who had the title of both friend and enemy, all at once. But I didn’t. I reminded myself this was only the half of it. I made it through the first stage, but call backs are a whole other story.

Those of us who made it to the next step congratulated each other, and were handed sides from the show to read. At this point, the object is to show the director how well you can work with the other candidates for the roles, and how you play the part. The director goes into the audition with clear images in mind about each character, and she must find these characteristics in each person she sees. This is perhaps the most exciting and the most frustrating step. You get to read for any number of characters and with any number of people. Every new side is a new experience, a new mask to wear. Despite the apparent excitement in the nature of this activity, it can be a long and tedious process. The end result, however—seeing your name on that final cast list—makes it completely worthwhile.

More exciting than anything else will be actually performing in this production for my friends and family. However, the audition process is one I will not forget and one I will not hesitate to take part in again. With each audition I have, my skills as an actress improve, because of the inherent difficulty and stress that comes with such an event. Through it all, the positive and motivational people who journey with me make it an unbelievable experience.

On September 17th, 2014, Stockton held its once-a-semester event, the Get Involved Fair, that helps clubs and organizations become known, especially to new students such as myself, become more involved in their time at Stockton. Each club at the event tries to appeal to students with different approaches, whether it be candy or a spin the wheel and win a prize set-up. Many clubs appealed to myself, and being a commuter I had doubts whether or not it was something I could do. I spoke to the club that organizes students to help with the people who are now poverty stricken as many lost their jobs with the mass casino closings. The man I spoke to was informative, and he even brought along a resident of the district and it was extremely heartfelt to me as I live right outside of the city. In addition to the more community service clubs, such as Circle K, there are clubs that appeal for entertainment and sport, such as the Fencing Club, or the Gaming Club. Overall the experience was rewarding in the fact that, as a Stockton commuter, it increased my knowledge and notice in clubs that I would rather likely not hear about due to my non residency at the college, where many meetings and events are held at times I am not there. I also enjoyed the fact every club table I went to was engaging to the any student, whether they live on campus or off, and I enjoyed meeting other students that had similar hobbies as I do.

This past Wednesday (9/17/14), Stockton held the Get Involved Fair, an event held every semester that showcases the many student run clubs and organizations at Stockton. I attended this event along with several other classmates. The event is designed to help students, primarily freshmen, get involved (as the name of the fair suggests) with the school by allowing them to find organizations that interest them.

Many of the clubs at this event are geared towards academics such as the Marine Science Club or the Stockton Biology Society. Some are geared towards community service, such as Circle K, and others are simply about having fun, like the Gaming Club or Quidditch Team. In addition to setting up creative and informative stands, clubs often give away free gifts and food to further sway students to join. Some clubs may also try a more aggressive approach to recruiting. One such approach is having a person run up and tell passerby’s face to face how great their program is and how perfect it would be for them to join. When this occurs, most of the time it is followed by a plea from the recruiters that play on the students’ heart strings. Since the students don’t want to hurt the recruiters’ feelings, they feel obligated to come to the organizations’ interest meeting.

All in all, I found the Get Involved Fair to be both informative and interesting. I joined 5 clubs and will be attending meetings throughout the week. This event definitely accomplished its goal of getting students involved, and I believe that every student should at least stop by one of these fairs. Something that I did find that could be improved on is that not all the clubs listed were actually at the event or some were only around for a short time. This makes students that couldn’t find the club have to find other means to contact them or else give up on joining it all together.

I found that the Get Involved Fair got me interested in things I would have never thought about joining. In a way, it kind of brought me out of my comfort zone and made me want to try new things. Because of the Get Involved Fair, I am joining the Quidditch Team, the Gaming Club, the Marine Science Club, the Deep Sea Fishing Club and I might even try to become an Ambassador. This event is a useful and engaging way for students to get involved and meet people with common interests.