Canvas night was hosted by the Focused Educated Motivated Aspiring Ladies Empowering Society (F.E.M.A.L.E.S.) at Lakeside, and was truly an event I’ll remember throughout my stay at Stockton. Although my friend and I were one hour late to the event, there was still a multitude of paint, supplies, and blank canvases to make use of. The purpose was to bring awareness to how common domestic violence is, and the discussions that came up at my table were quite informative, and even sobering. For instance, I learned that every 107 seconds someone in sexually assaulted in the United States—that is less than two minutes!

Each of us were given a statistic or fact to paint on a canvas; mine was that sexual, psychological, emotional, economic, and physical violence are all types of domestic abuse. After painting at least one canvas relating to the theme, we were given creative freedom to paint whatever we pleased. Many of us made up to three or four paintings displaying encouraging quotes, initials, or abstract designs in about a two-hour period. At my table we talked about how stimulating, yet relaxing this activity was. I for one, saw this as a chance to de-stress and take a break from analytical thinking and immerse myself in all things abstract—it was quite liberating!

Despite being apprehensive about using the shuttle so late at night to go all the way to the other side of campus, the bus drivers, going there and back, were extremely friendly and always took the extra mile to help freshmen like me feel comfortable and safe. This event is hands down one of my favorites! I went back to my dorm with three painted mementos to decorate my walls and precious memories I will keep with me for a very long time.