On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, Stockton University held its Sixties Concert in the Campus Center Theatre. Starting at 6:00 PM and ending at 9:30 PM, the event featured the performances of first Barry Bender and Friends, featuring 1960s classics such as “The Times They Are a Changin’” by Bob Dylan, “Dear Prudence” by the Beatles, “The Tin Man” by Barry Bender, and “Friends of the Devil” by the Grateful Dead. Student performers then performed several songs, including “Yesterday” by the Beatles, performed by Marianna Alshay.  After the student performances, the Stockton Faculty Band played many highly-anticipated songs. One such song was “Land of 1000 Dances” by Chris Kenner. This particular song featured student dancers. Other songs performed by the faculty band included “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett and “Mustang Sally” by Mack Rice. There were also special performances of The Temptations’ “My Girl” by Stockton’s American Sign Language Club and Mary Wells’ “My Guy” courtesy of Carol Pacentrilli.

Located around the periphery of the CC Theatre were many poster displays made by students in John O’Hara’s The Sixties class, highlighting many events and issues of the decade, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the first lunar landing, and the start of the Vietnam War. There were also several posters portraying the lifestyles of hippies and beatniks and their role in the anti-Vietnam movement. I feel the poster that struck me the hardest was one concerning the Kennedy assassination and its impact on the American people. The poster showed Americans acting in response, showing their patriotism as well as their grief for their President. One statistic on the poster was that 175 million people tuned in to watch the heartbreaking event. Also pasted onto the poster was the classic photo showing John Jr. saluting his father while at St. Mathew’s Cathedral in Washington D.C. This image helped to portray the sadness facing the country in the days following Friday, November 22, 1963.

Stockton’s Sixties Concert was not only a success, but it was also informative and inspiring. It taught me a lot more about the societal issues facing the United States during the decade of the 1960s and how it affected the country at large. In particular, it taught me how the assassination of President Kennedy shook the nation.