On October 7th, 2016, the Stockton Student Development was in the midst of its annual University Weekend celebrations. On this particular night, they were hosting Chris Distefano from MTV’s Guy Code in Big Blue. I had arrived early so that I could ensure a seat in the front. I was especially excited because I had never been so close to a celebrity before. As I made my way inside, those who had organized the event were handing out free t-shirts, which made me even more excited to attend the event. Who doesn’t love a free t-shirt, right?
The night was an overall success. Chris Distefano was absolutely hilarious. He cracked jokes about the various majors of the students, his Hispanic wife and daughter, and even the elections. My favorite part of the night had to be when one of the students asked Chris, “Are you going to chop your balls off when you vote for Hilary?” to which he replied “You clearly haven’t been listening to me the whole night. My girlfriend owns my balls. Are you going to put your confederate flag up when you vote for Trump?” As freshman, I was at first surprised he could say that, but then I remembered college is a lot less filtered, and I really felt myself enjoying the event and appreciating college.
The next day was the street fair, which I was excited to bring my family to. It was nicely organized and there were many vendors to buy food from. Unfortunately, I had missed the parade due to the rain, but it was nice to see what was left of the event. Perhaps for the street fair next year, student development might consider having the vendors in a closer proximity as the trucks and table were spread out from each other. This made the event space look quite empty. Other than this, it was a fun event to the addition of the weekend, and family enjoyed it as well. It left me excited to see what is in store for next year. (Nudar Chowdhury)