On Saturday, August 29th, 2015, I attended the Osprey Kickoff in the quad at the Residential Life Center (TRLC). The Stockton Entertainment Team (SET) and the United Black Students Society (UBSS) co-hosted the event during the second day of Stockton University’s Welcome Week. The event began at 3:00 pm, shortly after the mandatory/passport events earlier in the afternoon. The quad was quickly crowded with both incoming freshmen and T.A.L.O.N upperclassmen. Music boomed from the DJ’s giant speakers and there were people everywhere. Accompanied by two friends, I eagerly wandered around to see everything.
On one side of the quad, there were rows of tables and scattered boxes, where students were browsing through posters that were for sale. On the other side, there were booths offering free items; they already had lines forming besides them. We first grabbed some Dippin’ Dots and walked around to see the rest of the vendors. There was a Tiki Bar, a photo booth, a caricaturist, a Make-Your-Own-Sign stand, and a Make-Your-Own-Bear table. The longest line was for the teddy bear table, so my friends and I decided to do that first. The wait was long but definitely worth it. The bears were very cute and it was fun to stuff them ourselves. They even came with little birth certificates!
After we made our bears, we noticed there were some tables on the far right of the quad. Walking past the ongoing volleyball game, we saw that SET and UBSS had set up an area where they could offer more information about their clubs and tell new freshmen about what they do. SET was giving out blue Stockton foam fingers so my friends and I each took one. Then, we stood in line to wait for the caricaturist, however by then, the line was relatively large. People that had finished up at the teddy bear table were in the line for the caricaturist. While my friends and I were waiting, the people at the teddy bear table had to put everything away because they had run out of bears. We were definitely glad we chose to make the bears first!
We ended up leaving before getting our caricatures done, because the wait would have been another hour and a half. However, we had a lot of fun together. It was a great event that SET and UBSS had hosted and there was a huge turnout. The Osprey Kickoff was an excellent way for both residential and commuter freshmen to socialize, get acclimated to the campus, and adjust themselves to life at Stockton. It was like the college version of a neighborhood block party. SET and UBSS did an excellent job of helping Stockton students make that transition into college life. Four years from now, I can look back at my first time at college as a freshman and have amazing memories to remember that day.