On November 11, 2015, students and visitors gathered outside of the Campus Center Theater to enjoy a Sixties Concert. Professor John O’ Hara’s Sixties Class put together the concert in honor of the 60s. Along with live music, O’ Hara’s class put together a “Peace and Love” museum along the side of the theater. Artifacts and artwork from the 60s were featured, along with displays created by the students. The displays featured research done by the students based on different aspects of the 60s. Some displays had information on the Black Panther Party and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There were refreshments available in the gallery for all attendees.

Inside the theater, there was artwork placed along the walls. Students filed into rows to take their seats while Barry Bender and Friends set up before their performance. They performed first, singing covers of songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, etc. “The Tin Man” and “Gettysburg” were original songs they shared with us. Before every song cover, a brief explanation was given as to the song choice.

After Barry Bender and Friends, Stockton students performed. Most students were from the a capella group here at Stockton. After the performances by the students, the Stockton Faculty Band performed multiple covers of songs until the end of the concert. These songs seemed to be more known among the final audience members of the concert. The remaining audience members cherished the music while it lasted. In the end, the remaining listeners cheered for the performers and retired to their housing.

All in all, the concert was amazing, and it definitely took the audience back in time to the 60s.

On Saturday, October 10, 2015, students, family, and faculty gathered in the K-Wing viewing area with noisemakers in hand. They awaited the arrival of the golf carts decorated by numerous clubs and organizations on campus. Bystanders made more noise as they grew anxious before the parade began. Some fellow freshman looked on with hopeful eyes, as they would be experiencing their first ever “University Weekend” celebration. After waiting for the parade to begin, groups of people shifted closer towards the center of the sidewalk; the parade was starting.

Cheering and clapping erupted from the crowd as the carts drove onto the sidewalk. A large number of clubs had skillfully decorated carts, not only for the amusement of the crowd, but for the cart decorating contest as well. Veteran members of said clubs drove the carts while other members walked behind cheering on their club. The carts drove through the viewing area, down to the tennis courts, to Lot 6, and finally, to Big Blue, where they parked the carts in Lot 5.

The crowd followed or walked alongside the carts towards the carnival. Tents with carnival games were set up in the center, while moon bounces, rock climbing, and tents with food surrounded the center tent. Clubs hosted several attractions in the center tent. I helped out at the game that Rotaract hosted, which was called birthday block. For the hour I volunteered, several people played and others seemed interested enough to come back and play. When my hour was up, I spent time with my family and friends. University Weekend was a very fun and relaxing event for all, and many attendees seemed to enjoy the time spent at Stockton.

On Wednesday, September 24, 2015, the Stockton Entertainment Team worked together to set up black light mini golf in the Campus Center Event Room. Students gathered in the campus center and talked amongst each other. When S.E.T was finished setting up, they announced that there needed to be at least five people to a team. There almost seemed to be a comical panic amongst my fellow ospreys who had to find a few extra people to complete their team. Having to find more teammates (as my team had to do) gave us a chance to meet more people.

More than 15 teams signed up to participate. They called teams into the event room two at a time to play a series of nine holes. While waiting to go inside, the other teams sat around and socialized. I was on team 10 and we were finally called inside.

Inside the event room, the lights were completely off and there were UV lights strategically placed where each section was glowing. The setup wasn’t what I had expected. The courses were fairly small and not complicated in any way. Out of our team, we were given two golf clubs. We split up into groups of two and three because we had to share the golf clubs. Some courses had a straight path to the hole and others had hills, ramps, and bridges as obstacles. Up to two or three teams all rotated between the courses. Occasionally, a golfer would hit the ball too hard and it would roll across the room. The teams moved through the courses fairly quick, and turned in the golf clubs and golf balls when finished.

It was a fun event for all. Friends enjoyed each other’s company and it was definitely a peaceful break from classwork.

On the afternoon of Sunday November 15^th, 2015, the Stockton girl’s volleyball team competed in the regional finals. With that weekend being filled with many games hosted in Big Blue, our girl’s team won their semi final game and for the first time in the history of Stockton, they made it to the regional finals. It was a long weekend for the girls and they played their hearts out and worked extremely hard to make it to where they were.

The final game was played against Randolf-Macon from 2-4pm. Walking into big blue, Stockton gear was dispersed throughout the gymnasium. Many students came out to show our team support and with that came a lot of school spirit and cheering from the crowd. Parents and family members also showed up to support the girls. Throughout each game, you could hear cheers of “Let’s go Stockton, let’s go!” and yells to the girls to keep it up and get back into the game. Ultimately, the girls lost the game coming really close in all 3 matches.

The intensity of the game could be seen in the faces of the girls. Although they lost, they put up a good fight and had support all around. It was an accomplishment in itself to have made it as far as they did. This being the first year ever that they made it to the finals, that in itself was a win for Stockton. The season may be over but the girls will continue to fight and with hopes high, we hope to make it to the finals again next season. The school spirit that was shown at that final game should be the same spirit that should be given to all our teams and as it is basketball season, we must give our basketball team the same support.

The Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, also known as SOAR is a 3 day, 2-night camping trip that happens a few days prior to regular move-in day. This trip is meant for 500 incoming freshmen to get to know each other better as well as know their T.A.L.O.N.S better as well. The T.A.L.O.N.S, also known as The Activity Leaders Of New Students, are also Stockton students who are put in charge of a group of freshmen. The T.A.L.O.N.S are responsible for getting their groups to connect on a personal level as well as bring them from activity to activity. During move-in day, families and students are greeted with many welcoming and happy faces of Stockton students. After everyone has moved in and all the goodbyes have been said, new students get to meet those on their tribe, their T.A.L.O.N.S, receive bandanas for their color tribe and their bags. The first day/night at S.O.A.R is spent getting to know tribe members as well as getting situated in the cabins. Dinner is then served with some of the campers serving as cruisers, bringing food to the table as well as cleaning it up. After dinner, everyone heads out to the field where different games are set up and the faculty band is playing. It’s at this time that everyone gets to socialize and mingle with each other. The next two days are blurred together as they both are filled with many different activities. They’re days full of ice breakers and mingling with each other. Campers get accustomed to the “hey SOAR!” call and can finally respond in unison, “hey what!” Names and faces are put together and everyone familiar with each other. The last day is the day campers are supposed to “chase their lions” on multiple challenge courses. With high ropes and rock climbing, campers get to face their fears. SOAR is a retreat that really connects you with your fellow classmates and when school starts, you’ll be more than grateful to have went on this camping trip.

On the weekend of October 9^th-11^th, Stockton University had its annual University Weekend, formally known as Family Weekend. These 3 days were packed and filled with many fun activities and events for both students and families. Friday was the beginning of this great weekend with Stockton Spirit Day. On this day, students were encouraged to wear Stockton gear and in return receive treats such as cookies. Students with gear from other schools were also encouraged to trade them in for Stockton T-Shirts.  On Friday there was also other events such as stroll, strum and yum, twist it like a pretzel: a family yoga workshop, the float decorating party, and a few other events. However, the most memorable event of that day was undoubtedly the comedy show hosted by SET. This comedy show was with MTV Girl Code’s Carly Aquilino. This event was in Big Blue and was packed with people. Carly grabbed everyone’s attention with her choice of jokes and made the whole building laugh.

Although some family and friends came on Friday, Saturday was the day that most family and friends came. Waking up Saturday morning and looking around was very similar to move-in day with all the parents, siblings and families around campus. Saturday was also a day full of events. There was an alumnae breakfast hosted by Zeta Tau Alpha, a breakfast for parents hosted by the Parents & Family association, the University Weekend Parade, the carnival, the men’s lacrosse alumni game, the honors 10-year celebration and a few other events as well. The event that most freshmen were looking forward to, however, was the 20^th annual Osprey Ball hosted Saturday night. This semi formal event was food filled, dance filled and many students had a great night with their friends.

Sunday was a more relaxing day as families got ready to go. There were few events such as the lake Fred nature tour, a professional Achievement Award Ceremony, a softball alumnae game, and to end the night there was a campus center movie night with Max being the movie for the night. Those that had family come down took this day to spend quality time with them and show them around before they headed off. This was a very relaxing day with the osprey ball the night before so other students took this day to sleep off the busy weekend. All in all, University Weekend was a weekend well spent. It was great to show off Stockton Spirit and participate in different events with my fellow Ospreys and their families. I’m thrilled to see what next year’s University Weekend holds.

On Monday September 14, 2015, all Stockton students were welcome to try out for the Stockton University cheerleading team. That day was an opportunity for participants to learn a dance, cheer, stunts, and tumbling to prepare for the actual tryout in front of the coaches and captains on Wednesday September 16. The captains taught everyone the things they needed to know. The captains were two nice girls that would help you with anything and answered any questions. Whether you had cheered before or it was a totally new thing, everyone felt welcomed. After leaving that Monday, everyone felt pretty confident.

On Wednesday, it was the big day. Everyone was nervous and practicing everything together before the tryouts begun. They split us into groups of 4 and the tryouts were underway. Everything ran smoothly and before you knew it, tryouts were over. Afterwards, we stayed and flipped and stunted. Everyone there was so nice and friendly. It was an awesome way to make really cool friends that you had something in common with. It was a lot of fun.

Overall, cheerleading at Stockton seemed to be a great experience. It was a great way to make friends, get involved and do something you enjoy doing. I would personally recommend trying out for a team or joining a club here at Stockton. I am sure that just like cheerleading, other teams or clubs would be welcoming and fun. It was truly an awesome experience all around.

On Tuesday November 17, I got to attend my first college basketball game. It was a really good time. As a cheerleader, I do not get to really attend games without cheering so this was a great experience for me. I thought that it was going to be like my high school basketball games, but it was totally different. Stockton’s game was like a high school game on steroids. Even if people are not really into basketball, I would still suggest going. The game I got to attend was a men’s game and it was an exciting experience that I would love to share with others.

When I first got there, I was initially shocked by the fact that with your student id you did not need to pay. Even though we pay mega bucks to attend school here at Stockton, I still would have thought they would make us pay at least two dollars. Once entering the courts, it was very loud. There were people all over the place. The bleachers were packed like sardines in a can. I am not sure if every game is going to be like this or if it was just because it was the first home game. I hope it is always like this because I love to see school spirit like that.

As the game began, the crowd was really wild. Everyone was having a great time that I could see. When halftime came, there was a great concession stand that people could go to. The money went towards the teams, which is a great way to raise money. There was hotdogs, pretzels, candy, and drinks. The stuff was good, but I was hoping there would be pizza or fries. The line to get the food was very long, but I could have guessed it would be that way. During the half, I also used the restroom. I am a huge critic of bathrooms and I must say this bathroom was one of the best I have seen. It was very clean and big and I did not mind using it at all.

The men’s basketball team did well. I can tell that they have been practicing and have a chance at winning their conference once again this year. They played to the best of their ability and were a complete pleasure to watch. They did not play dirty at all and I was very happy to see that. Although they did not end up winning, it was a great game to go to. I cannot exactly remember, but I believe that they only lost by three points, which is really good.

Overall, the game was a complete joy to be at. Everyone there was so nice, the environment was enjoyable, and the team did great. I hope to see the school spirit stay the way it was at that game. That means that everyone should come out and support the teams! I wish the best of luck to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams this season. It is going to be a amazing time cheering for them both. I hope to see you all there!

Over the weekend of October 8th through 11th, Stockton celebrated university weekend. It was the first one celebrated since the college became a university. There was a bunch of activities to participate in for students, families, and alumnis. Also, for the first time ever, they awarded a Stockton student with the golden osprey award. There was a lot of participants in all of the events that were provided. With all the activities and people, it turned out to be an awesome weekend filled with games, a t-shirt swap, a spirit night, a comedy show, a parade and a carnival. Personally, I attended a lot of the events that took place. My three favorites were spirit night, the comedy show, and the carnival.

Spirit night was a fun filled night of music and entertainment.  All of the clubs, sports and organizations were announces and some even performed. The cheerleaders, the dance team, and a capella group were of those who performed. They were all really awesome and entertaining. It was there where the gold Osprey winner was announced. The winner was an absolute inspiration and deserved the award 100%. Those in attendance received a University Weekend t-shirt and pizza. In addition to all of those parts, all those who were at spirit night, got to stay after and get very good seats for the comedy show.

The comedy show was another one of my favorite events. Carly Aquilino, from MTV’s Girl Code, was the star of the show. She was absolutely hilarious. I do not think there was even one word that came out of her mouth that I did not laugh at. There were many people that attended this event. It was a big thing because the comedian was famous. At the end of the show, she ended up doing a Q and A. Even during this, she was making me laugh. The SET did an awesome job with providing this event and I can not wait to see what they have in store for the university weekends to come.

Lastly, the carnival was also a great event. This event was great for families to attend because there was something for every family member to enjoy. If students did not see their families for a while, this was a nice place to catch up. There was food, games, music and different organizations set up tables. The food was fresh off the grill and delicious. The games includes a rock climbing wall, a trampoline, a dunk tank, and an inflatable obstacle course.  The music was played by a DJ and all of the songs were up to date and well known.

Overall, university weekend was a great experience. There was so many different things to do for students, all members of the family, and alumni. It is awesome to see how much school spirit Stockton University has. I hope that university weekend will continue being this well done for the rest of my years here at Stockton. If students did not participate in this one, I would highly suggest attending an event next year.

A few weeks ago I attended a SET event it was ran by individuals who sought to educate the public on important issues. This one was one of health. It discussed how to properly eat food in a healthy manner. This is very important especially in today’s society where the vast majority of people do not eat right. This occurs because many products that are available on store shelves are not healthy for the people buying and eating them.

The presentation discussed how an individual might diet in a proper manner. It told the viewers that many diet options are not smart, ways such as counting calories. The presentation disavowed this ways citing evidence that counting calories alone cannot guarantee that an individual will be healthy. The Presenter told us that if one wanted to be healthy they need to have a balanced diet that included large amounts of fruits and vegetables, medium amounts of carbohydrates and small amounts of meat and dairy. The presenter went on to dive deeper into each category. She explained that when an individual eats fruits and vegetables it is important to eat a wide variety of types and colors. When you eat carbohydrates one should stick to eating primarily whole grains and avoid processed foods.   Finally when consuming meat products it is important to trim off the fat and buy low fat mean such as chicken.

She also explained the actual portion sizes for this foods which took me and many people by surprised, because apparently when you eat mean you should only eat as much as a deck of playing cards to be heathy. Other parts of the event were the free thanksgiving dinner served alongside the discussion. It included turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and broccoli for dinner, and apple and pumpkin pie for dessert. I only had the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and apple pie; all of which were delicious.