I attended “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” performance by the Aquila Theater Company at Stockton’s Performing Arts Center on October 2^nd, 2015. This performance brought three of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about Sherlock Holmes to life: “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”, “The Adventure of the Yellow Face”, and “A Scandal in Bohemia”.

The Aquila Theater Company made the production fun and enjoyable to watch. In order to keep the lengthy production interesting, they embellished the performance with jokes and other twists while remaining true to the source material. One interesting twist was that the iconic character of Sherlock Holmes was played by a woman dressed in men’s clothing. Even more interestingly, the other characters referred to Sherlock with feminine pronouns. She did a great job portraying Holmes’s eccentric and sociopathic personality. It was especially impressive when she played the violin just like Holmes did in the original stories.

The actors did a great job, especially since they were entertaining for around three hours. The only negative side of the production was that there were a lot of details that the audience had to pay attention to in order to understand what was going on. Consequently, it was hard to keep that kind of attention for such a long period of time. This could be the source of negative feedback, even though I thought they did their best to keep the audience’s attention with comedic relief.

Overall, I really enjoyed this performance. I had read “A Scandal in Bohemia” a long time ago and I think they did a great job bringing it to life. I thought their jokes were pretty funny, and that it was even funnier how they performed stories where Holmes was unable to solve the case. I would recommend this production if the company decides to come back to Stockton and perform it again.

On Wednesday September 16^th, in Wings B-I the Get Involved Fair took place. I was very excited for this event because I couldn’t wait to join clubs. I was overwhelmed by the amount of clubs that were represented there. The whole academic buildings were lined with tables and representatives of the clubs trying to get new students to join their club. As I walked through, I was interested in many clubs and ended up joining five. One thing I enjoyed was that there was a lot of freebies like candy, pens, and id holders! I was so excited because I never was in any club or organizations in high school because I played basketball and dedicated all my time to it. The Get Involved Fair was especially helpful to freshman because it helps them adjust to the college life and helps them know how to get involved on campus. The good things about the clubs are that there are ones that relate to almost every major and there are fun ones like S.E.T. and Stockton’s Disney Association. I joined the Occupational Therapy Club, Health Sciences Club, the Stockton Entertainment Team (S.E.T.), Stockton’s Disney Association, and Public Health Club. So far I have gone to all the meetings for each club except for Public Health Club, and I have enjoyed every one of them. I even helped out at the comedy show, which featured Carly Aquilino, on Friday October 9^th, for University Weekend. This event was run by S.E.T. which is a fun club and I would recommend anyone to join it. Overall I am glad that the Get Involved Fair was available to students because I wouldn’t know how to join the clubs if it wasn’t available.

Stockton’s University Weekend was from October 9-11. On Friday it started off with Stockton Spirit Day, where students were encouraged to wear school colors or apparel. Spirit night included a stand up comedy performance by Carly Aquilino and a chance to get a free University Weekend t-shirt. The Stockton Entertainment Team (S.E.T) set up (no pun intended) the performance that all the students loved. Carly, who is a cast member of MTV’s Girl Code, gave an unforgettable performance filled with laugh-out-loud and embarrassing stories, snarky and relatable humor, and a question and answer session to let Stockton students learn more about her.

On Saturday, Stockton had a University Weekend Parade, which people could view in the K-Wing circle. Afterwards, students could enjoy their afternoon at the Carnival in Lot 5. The day ended with the 20th Annual Osprey Ball, held in Campus Center Event Room. All throughout the night, dressed in their best semi-formal attire, students danced to their favorite music, ate a variety of delicious food, and took pictures to remember the night at the photo booth. Sunday was dedicated to Lake Fred; throughout the day, students had the opportunity to go on nature tours, giving them a chance to learn about secret pathways and just plain enjoy the scenery.

All in all, University Weekend was a great way for students to bond with their old friends, make new ones, and display their pride of being a Stockton student.

Kalyn Newbold

Professor Lisa Rosner

GEN 1033-003

18 October 2015

University Weekend at Stockton

            It may be safe to say that University Weekend is one of the liveliest times here at Stockton University. For four days, you can see family members buzzing about to and fro with the students, seeing everything that has changed since their last visit, which may have been anywhere from a few days to a few years ago. This week is especially big for freshman because all of the events going on here (unless they came previously with older siblings) will be brand new to them. After so much time spent working hard in class, this provided a much-needed break. On the other hand, if you are like myself in this sense, you may use the time between (or even during) events to review completed work or develop a study plan for the future while the buildings are quiet for the most part.

One of the events that stood out for me was the skit by “Girl Code’s” Carly Aquilino, which took place on Friday October 9^th at the Sports Center (aka “Big Blue”). She joked about many subjects (dating/drinking/embarrassing moments) that students may avoid even mentioning to friends because of the level of taboo associated with these things. She, however, seemed at least somewhat comfortable sharing her experiences with us and letting us get a good rise out of it. I do not believe that we laughed out of a “sucks to be you” sentiment, but because these subjects were relatable to us. We’ve all been oblivious to potentially embarrassing moments; we all have friends that unnerve us sometimes; we have all most likely had bad experiences on dates. Out of everything that Carly talked about, though, I must admit that it was a fart joke that got one of the biggest rises out of the audience, proving that even a mature comedian can inspire some immature humor. I truly wish I could see her return to Stockton in the near future.

The next day, Saturday October 10^th, marked the official day for families to visit and have breakfast with the students and get tours of the campus and dorms. On my way back to my dorm from breakfast, I saw a bunch of golf carts crossing ahead of me, which could only mean that the annual parade was in session and I was running late. Thankfully, I managed to sprint ahead and catch a glimpse of each of the carts as they cruised by. Many of the school’s clubs, sports teams and organizations had decorated golf carts and banners to celebrate the official kickoff of University Weekend. It was such a joy to see so many smiling faces and to hear the participants singing and cheering on their way through.

That night marked what one may call the “homecoming dance” and what we here at Stockton call the “Osprey Ball”. The turnout seemed good as far as I could tell. The DJ remixed songs in such a way that that the music seemed everlasting; the dance floor was constantly filled with lively students dancing to some extent, from a simple sway to the beat to a full-on break dance. And in case you were wondering, yes, there were line dances every now and again to break the blocks of selective genres. I found this to be highly amusing: the longest running song of the night was a mashup LMFAO’s hardcore party song “Shots” and Aretha Franklin’s classic “Respect”. In addition to dancing, there was abundant food and a photo booth with plenty of fun props.

That’s all I have to report for this year, but I assure you that there was plenty else to see and do; I just couldn’t do everything. The next time that University Weekend rolls around, I’m certainly going to immerse myself more deeply in the events. I look forward to seeing everyone out there as well. I highly recommend that you also make your way out there when you can.

Last week was the Meet the Greeks event. The event included many Greek organizations and their tables to advertise themselves. A majority of the Greeks were all dressed very professionally and were lobbying their organization to the new underclass men. Before I attended the event I had a personal checklist of fraternities I was already looking into. This event allowed me to meet all the brothers from each fraternity and gain an understanding of everyone’s lifestyle.

The Meet the Greeks event was helpful with kick starting the year on a social level. Almost all the Fraternities had flyers including information about events with the brothers all week long. Some of these events include Wing Wednesday’s, Spike Out Cancer and Board Game Night. This was not only a great way to meet upperclassmen involved in Greek life, but also a great way to find other students who are trying to become more involved in Greek Life. Without this helpful event I would have had a completely different schedule and I wouldn’t have met any members. This event helped get me more social and involved in extracurricular activities.

Although entering the stage of Greek life is not allowed until second semester, I was still interested and wanted to look at some prospects. Some specific statistics I wanted to see were simple such as grade point average and completed community service hours. The most important thing to me, however, is networking. Being able to meet and become close with other successful members of a fraternity can be a huge advantage after college. Finding out the networking behind an organization can be difficult, but with the knowledge of grade point average and service hours, I was able to make predictions about networking.Overall, Meet the Greeks was a helpful event that should be hosted every year for people like me.

On Friday, October 2^nd, 2015, I attended the play The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in the Performing Arts Center. The performers were members of the Aquila Theatre Company. The play consisted of three acts, each one being a different mystery story that Sherlock Holmes had to solve.

The first mystery was that of a young governess, who came to Holmes seeking advice on whether or not she should accept a generous job offer. After deciding to accept it, she realized some odd quirks about the family, like how they made her cut her hair short and wear a specific blue dress. Even more suspicious was that they sat her in front of a window, but would never let her turn around and look out it. There was also a room that she was to never ever go into. Holmes and his partner Watson arrived to solve the mystery, and he found that the daughter of the family had been locked up in the room that the governess was never to go in.

In the second act, a young man came to Holmes and Watson seeking advice. His wife had been acting very suspicious. First, she had asked him for a large sum of money, without offering him a reason why. Secondly, he had caught her sneaking out in the middle of the night and going to a house down the street. Holmes suspected cheating. Through investigations, they discovered that the man’s wife had been sneaking out and going to the cottage down the road because her daughter from a previous marriage was there. The wife feared that her husband would not be accepting of her child because she was black. The husband accepts the wife and child for who they are, and the mystery is solved.

The final mystery is that of the Bohemian King. He and his royal family were threatened because a woman the king used to know, Irene Adler, had a photo of them that she could use to blackmail him. The king was about to be married, and this photo could ruin the marriage if she were to see it. In an attempt to avoid a scandal, the king went to Holmes for help. The mystery ends with a letter written to Holmes by Irene Adler, explaining that she has the photograph but would never do anything to harm the king with it.

All of these characters were portrayed by just five performers. The mysteries were intriguing and there was some humor thrown in that made the performance even more enjoyable.

From Sunday, September 27^th to Friday, October 2^nd, Stockton’s Live Action Gamers held their biannual Humans Versus Zombies (HvZ) game.  Over 100 players registered for the game online, most of which were designated “human.”  Three of the players became the OZs: the Original Zombies, tasked with infecting the rest of the players by week’s end.

On the first night of the game, with the picturesque blood moon hanging overhead, three human teams set out: blue, white, and purple, of which I was a member.  It began as a basic game of “Capture the Flag…”, however, as the players wandered out into the woods, the OZs slowly began revealing themselves.  Hidden among the ranks of the human players, they jumped out and tagged their unsuspecting teammates, decimating over half of blue team and a large chunk of purple team by the night’s end.

The gameplay mechanics for HvZ were simple.  Each player wore a yellow band – on the upper arm if the player was human, and as a headband if they were a zombie.  Throughout the course of the week, gameplay would continue, with the only safe havens being buildings, classes, and sports practices.  Zombies tried to tag humans; humans stunned them with NERF guns for 10 minutes before making their escape.  Each night there were different missions: collecting supplies, discovering new locations, and so on.

Unfortunately, by Friday there were only a handful of humans remaining…in no time the zombies had won.

I thoroughly enjoyed HvZ: I played as a human for two days, and returned once to play as a zombie after I’d been “turned.”  As a human, I was constantly on edge – there could be zombies anywhere!  On the way to dinner, or heading to class, or while going to meet the rest of my team for a mission, I could be targeted.  After becoming a zombie, though, things became a bit less…entertaining.  Humans I knew I had tagged insisted they hadn’t been; someone hit me in the face; we hid in the bushes for over half an hour waiting for an ambush.  While the idea behind HvZ was a good one, the execution could have been a bit better.  Perhaps next time they could find a way to make the zombie experience more exciting.  All flaws aside, I am certain of one thing: that come next semester, I’ll be out there doing it all over again.

On Thursday, October 8^th, the Stockton Honors Program celebrated its 10^th anniversary.  The celebration, which was attended by students, staff, alumni, and current and former administrators was divided into two parts: a reflection session for students, and a gathering in the Campus Center with light refreshments.  In addition, the director of West Florida University’s Honors Program, Dr. Gregory Lanier, was invited to Stockton to write a program review and interview students about their opinions of the Honors Program.

The first part of the night was the reflection session, which began at 4:30.  About 25 honors students gathered to have a discussion with Dr. Lanier about their opinions of the Honors Program.  Most students agreed that they love the community the Stockton Honors Program has created, and that they hope to do more volunteer work and service learning in the future.

The second part of the anniversary celebration was held in the Campus Center event room, with refreshments such as fruit and mini quiches provided by Chartwell’s.  The gathering recognized many of the Honors Program’s leaders, including Dr. Rosner.  Stockton University President Dr. Harvey Kesselman also attended, and gave a short speech about how much the Honors Program has grown since its creation in 2005.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Honors Program 10^th Anniversary Celebration.  It really inspired me, as well as the other attendees, to put our all into bettering the Honors Program here at Stockton.  I also was able to meet and speak with President Kesselman, which was an honor.  Hopefully by the time the Honors Program turns twenty it will be even better, thanks to the hard work of my peers and myself.

Every Tuesday at 8 pm in room f111, American Sign Language club holds a meeting. I first found out about the club at the get involved fair three weeks ago but I went to my first meeting just last Tuesday. I really wanted to go to the meetings because I am a social work major and sign-language would be really useful in my future career. I have long been interested in learning sign-language, but I have never had the opportunity too.

The first half of the meeting was run like a lecture, where one person was in the front teaching and everyone was following along. It did not feel like a class though because after she showed us a motion we all did it too, so it was very interactive. We did not do anything too advanced. We learned words like friend and student.  We also learned all of the colors and the alphabet. After we learned all the new words, we broke off into groups so that we could practice. We asked simple questions like, “What is your name?” and “What year are you in?” It was amazing how much information I learned about people just by signing to them. At the end of the meeting they had sign-up sheets for all of the events that they were going to be doing for the rest of the year.

After the club, I felt really proud of everything that I had learned. I did not learn enough to have a full-fledged conversation with someone and I do not remember everything that we went over, but the club helped me to understand that learning basic sign-language is not that hard. When someone loses their hearing, they lose their primary form of communication. If everybody learned basic sign language, like the alphabet and simple greetings, then deaf people would have a much easier time communicating with rest of the world. I believe that ASL club is one of the most important clubs on campus because it helps students learn a skill that is very important, yet not very prevalent, in our society.