Recently, on October 6th, I attended the Stockton Myths and Legends event. This event was hosted by a few of Stockton University’s original staff and students. This event, which was a part of University Weekend, was held in the Campus Center Event room. The panel of original staff and students who were speaking sat at the front of the room behind a long table. As the event started, each individual member of the panel introduced themselves and then began to share their fond memories and experiences of the original Stockton.
Unfortunately, the audience turnout was not that impressive. It’s upsetting that this event wasn’t as popular as many other University Events because it really was a valuable learning experience. It was enjoyable to hear original staff members talk about how the school started out and how different the school is now. It even made me kind of sad that things are so different now because the panel discussed how much closer the staff and students were back in the original days. The Stockton they described sounded like an atmosphere that balanced a fun, laid-back attitude with hard-working academic habits. The event lasted about two hours, both of which were filled with interesting anecdotes and facts.
I really enjoyed this event and it made my love for Stockton grow. I had never really thought about the history of Stockton before, but now I am glad I know more about it. To my knowledge, they do this event every year during University Weekend, so I look forward to attending this event next year.

November 8, 2016, was considered a monumental day for me, as well as thousands of other Americans. This election was the first one in which I was old enough to vote, and as a first-generation American, this civic right was an especially significant one to exercise.

The days leading up to Election Day brought forth high levels of anxiety. It seemed as though my entire environment was an organized chaos characterized by doom, hatred, and fear. Numerous reminders called attention to Election Day madness: news reports broadcast their final analysis reports of who would win what states, Snapchat released various filters urging people to vote, and almost every conversation on campus mentioned “Trump” or “Clinton.” I had never known the election process caused so many unsettling emotions and unforeseen stress. Fortunately, the Political Engagement Project and Office of Service Learning made the voting process much easier. By providing a voter shuttle that brought students to and from a nearby voting site, there was almost no excuse for students not to vote.

It was only within half an hour before I left campus when I decided who to vote for. My nervousness gradually increased as I headed towards the Arts and Sciences circle to ride the voter shuttle. After about five minutes of waiting, a white minivan showed up, and the driver welcomed me and another student with open doors. I mentioned to the driver that this was my first time voting, and that I didn’t know what to expect. However, I was reassured that voting was a very simple process.

Upon arriving at the voting site on Pomona Road, a few tables and voting booths were set up. My name was not in the poll book since I live in a different county, but nonetheless, I filled out a provisional ballot by hand and cast my vote. I then received a patriotic “I voted” sticker from the voter shuttle and took pride in my action. It was just a matter of hours until America would find out who would be the next president.

Later that night, an Election Day Party, hosted by the Stockton Political Engagement Project, was held in the Board of Trustees Room. We ate pizza and gathered together as we watched polls close throughout the country. The restlessness grew as more results were continuously updated. Like a New Year’s Eve countdown, the news projected ticking clocks that increased angst as the seconds decreased. Each percentage, each blue number, each red number, were indicators of triumph or disappointment. America watched as the fate of our country changed right before our eyes.

By midnight, Trump was leading in electoral votes. My minority self— Asian, female, first-generation American, educated—was in shock. I tried to convince myself that maybe Clinton still had a chance at victory. But with only a handful of states whose electoral votes were still undetermined, the projected numbers just wouldn’t add up. I went to sleep dreadful of what I would wake up to hours later.

The Wellness Center’s yoga class was an event full of exercising the mind and body. This program is hosted by Stockton University’s Wellness Center. The Wellness Center hosts an array of events that encourage living a healthy lifestyle. Their events include several fun activities such as zumba, meditation, and yoga. Yoga classes are held twice a week on Tuesday from 6:30 to 7:30pm and Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:00 pm. Tuesday classes are held at the Lodge at Lakeside and Thursday classes are held at the Campus Bookstore.
I attended the Thursday yoga session on October 13th. Before starting, I was a bit hesitant because I am not flexible and have never participated in a Yoga class before. The first ten minutes were without a doubt nerve-wracking because everyone seemed to understand the different stretches. I was unsure what to expect and showed up in the comfiest clothes I owned and my grandmother insisted I bring her old yoga mat. Once I saw a familiar face, I felt confident and finished the remaining twenty minutes. The class definitely taught me to try new things and that stepping out of my comfort zone can be okay. Yoga, I learned, can be a healthy way to relieve stress which is important to me while I attend college. The week of the 13th, for me, was full of essays and tests that made my week feel full of havoc. The session certainly was relaxing and I found it a positive way to calm my mind. In only thirty minutes, I was able to learn new poses such as the warrior stance and downward dog. I am more conscious of my breathing techniques and feel more prepared for future classes.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Stockton event and will strive to attend more yoga classes and try new activities hosted by the Wellness Center too.

The Troy Stende Keynote Social was an event full of ice breakers and the opportunity for socialization. This program was part of Stockton’s Welcome Week, which is a week-long series of events designed for incoming freshman. The social was held on Friday, September 2^nd, 2016 and hosted by Stockton’s T.A.L.O.N.S and R.As. The interactive event was led by Troy Stende, the three-time recipient of the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities’ “Best Campus Speaker.” Stende walked the students through several ice breakers such as small group activities and rock-paper-scissors. Within the 90-minute event, students were shuffled around the room while testing their memory of previous interactions with other incoming freshman. The overall experience was very upbeat and energetic.

               The event began in the Campus Event Room where all of the students were seated on the floor. Music was playing and a large group of people were dancing to the music in the middle of the room. As the event began and everyone settled down, Troy Stende introduced himself and discussed the importance of college. He asked everyone to participate in several small and large group events which were designed to encourage socialization. A main focus during the event was the high five. Stende instructed that whenever a person met someone new, the two would give each other a high five. This social connection was a major tool in helping students feel less tense and nervous.

               In my person opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. I am a shy person and am hesitant when it comes to meeting new people. The overall atmosphere of the program was very welcoming which eased my nerves. I found the event to be very helpful and encourage that the event continues to be a part of Welcome Week at Stockton University.

       Yesterday, November 8th, 2016, I attended an “Election Party” in the Campus Center Board of Trustees Room.  It was a huge event: at least a hundred students gathered together (with pizza and soda!) to watch the votes be counted to declare the 45th president of the United States.  Students debated political views/ideologies on specific topics, played a “Who Said That?” quote game with sayings from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and just had a good time in each other’s company.  We had no idea about the storm that was brewing.

       At the beginning of the party, at around 7 o’clock, Clinton was destroying the election.  It seemed like her name was constantly lit up on the screen, highlighting a win in a progressive state.  Even as I left, around 10 or so, her name was still flashing, and people were still cheering “Hillary! Hillary!”  

       I was very excited for Hillary Clinton’s win.  I classify myself as a Libertarian: I believe in a majority of the things that that party stands for.  I’m not a huge fan of Gary Johnson, given his lack of knowledge when it comes to global affairs, so I associated myself #WithHer.  All I knew for sure was that I did not want the homophobic, xenophobic, islamophobic bully that is Donald J. Trump to win the presidency.

       Eventually, around 2 a.m., I couldn’t stay up any longer, so I fell asleep.  I woke up a few hours later to the news that Donald Trump won the presidency.  I was completely baffled: a man without any political experience won the slot as the face of this nation.  A man that does not care about women, minorities, or the disabled, now is the executive of the United States.  I am still in shock as I type this essay.  I feel as though this event has pushed aside all of the efforts of civil activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Lady GaGa, and put a halt on our progress as a nation.

       I will not use this space to bash Donald Trump, but I just would like to express how disappointed I am in America.  I thought we were more progressive and loving than we really are.  It seems as though this nation is more hateful, vengeful, and racist than it seemed.  I think it is imperative that if we (anyone other than straight white males, I mean) wish to retain the rights we have been granted, we need to stand together and keep our voices loud.  We cannot allow Trump and Pence to strip us of any liberties they deem unjust.  We cannot allow common people to attempt to infringe upon the rights of others, because the “Trump Effect” is real.  Trump’s behavior has not only affected adults, but children as well, and I fear that the impressionability of children with breed more and more Donald Trumps.  

        In conclusion, I pray that Trump’s whole campaign was a joke, and that once he sits in the Oval Office, he’ll shape himself up and make the right moves.  If there’s one thing I’m happy about when it comes to this election, I am happy that I am on a campus that allows me to exercise my right of free speech and allows me to communicate with other people that feel as I do.  

Surprise, surprise – it’s another sports-related article!
When you attend a sporting event at a large school (i.e. Rutgers, LSU, UDel) there’s a large likelihood that a good portion of the spectator population was attracted by things other than the love of the game. T-shirt cannons, scantily clad cheerleaders, free merchandise at the entrance – there are countless outliers that draw in crowds at games. However, that fact almost guarantees the absence of actual attention paid to the competition at hand. The fact of the matter is, larger schools draw in less athletic fans and more merchandise fans.
Stockton University’s men’s soccer team has accomplished great things so far this season. They have worked with determination at every practice and game. However, we are a small school, void of confetti machines and t-shirt cannons at every game. Therefore, the stands are rarely filled during game days. One particular evening, the men’s team played a game in the frigid rain. The game went as any other soccer game would. The boys played hard, and they acted as if the rain and slowly dropping temperature were no different than a sunny 65 degree day. The fans, however, are what caught my eye.
As I sat in the front row of the fan section, which was sparse enough for me to turn around and see most of the bleachers, the cheers and screeches rose from behind me. When the temperature dropped, no one moved. When it started drizzling, Stockton spectators only budged to pull up their hoods and continue cheering. We cheered loudly for the boys, and up rose the occasional hiss at the opposing team.
This particular crowd is one I’ll never forget. I knew almost none of their names, but I knew they were present out of love – for the game or for the school, I couldn’t tell. Their unwavering support was true, unmotivated by bribery with merchandise or shivering dancers on the field. We spectators sat in the frigid rain, on a Wednesday night, without music or shiny trinkets as a reward, just purely out of support for the boys. Now, this is in no way surpassing the effort the boys put forth to actually play in the rain rather than sit through it, but it was pretty beautiful to watch a bond form between forty some-odd strangers who really loved Stockton.

On October 18th, 2016, I was a spectator at a Stockton University women’s volleyball game. This isn’t going to be a sports narrative about how many kills a player has, or about the history of the Stockton Ospreys in volleyball, or even about the results of the game. This blog post is about how beautiful athletes are when they are doing what they do best.
Let me start by saying that I know nothing about volleyball, so my sheer enjoyment was due only to my love for athletics as a whole, not to any attachment I have to the game. That being said, this post will be written using my limited – and by limited I mean nonexistent – knowledge about volleyball. As lost as I was to how the game works, I had nothing but the purest admiration for the way the athletes moved, swiftly and knowingly. It was like an ocean that had purpose in its waves, the way the women’s team covered each other. When one girl moved toward the front line to execute a play, the athletes behind her fell into line, knowing exactly where they had to be to support her.
It’s moments like those that I can reflect on and relate teams to families and their undying support systems. Families put issues, quarrels, and grudges aside when one of their own is at risk, as did this team. If there had been a dispute between teammates at any point this season leading up to this game, I would never have been able to tell. These ladies worked with precision and effervescent words of encouragement. After every well-executed play, they quickly circled up and tapped each other on the backs, both congratulating and encouraging each other with as many words as one can cram into two seconds. This was to be expected after a successful play. However, these ladies culminated quickly in this exact same manor, even after bad plays were made.
The athletic ability of these women was outstanding. The women on the front line soared high in the air in preparation to spike the ball, as if her fluorescent Nike sneakers had wings. It’s incredible that their time in the air could be solely accredited to the power in their long legs. The player who served the ball moved her body with such precision, knowing exactly where she wanted the ball to go and marking that spot with her eyes before swiftly sending it sailing over the net. Athletes had to rotate between setting their teammates up for a spike and being the person to execute such a play, and this beautiful volatility is what makes athletics both an art form and comparable to being on the front line. You never really know what your next move will be, because you can’t predict how the opposing party will act, but you know for sure that you have to make your counter attack effective. An effective counter attack is, in many cases, a beautifully executed one, especially to another fellow athlete.
There is such beauty in how both the body and mind of an athlete works. I’m not going to reveal the outcome of this game, because truthfully, my opinion of these young women wouldn’t change no matter the score. They played with clear determination and genuine adoration for the sport, and is that not the goal of collegiate athletics? If you ever want to see beauty in its truest form, go watch the Stockton women’s volleyball team play.

Paige Weisman

Although this was not the reflection session I thought I would be attending on October 10, I was glad that I got to listen to Gregory Pardlo’s poetry. A hometown hero who grew up in New Jersey, it was refreshing to hear stories about him and his family venturing the streets of Philadelphia. When he was introduced, he was portrayed as a complex writer. The Stockton faculty member highlighted the fact that he wrote about world issues like racism and poverty, yet also incorporated other art mediums into his work. Pardlo said that Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Page have made appearances in his prose.
When Pardlo took the stage, I felt immediately connected to him when he asked “Does anybody even know who Jimmy Page is?” I raised my hand with pride.
Beaming, he asked, “Can you tell me what he’s known for?! I just need to hear you say it out loud.” I replied, “Led Zeppelin!”
It was very relaxing to listen to a craft with which I am not familiar. His flowery word choice thrilled my inner-writer. The poet was a captivating speaker. I was engrossed in his performance. If he returned to Stockton, I would make every effort to attend because I appreciate when people can articulate their thoughts with ease and with beautiful metaphors. His public speaking skills are admirable and I can see why he is a Pulitzer Prize winner.