Every Tuesday from 3 to 5 PM, Stockton’s Circle K club takes members to the South Jersey Horse Rescue. This facility, located about 20 minutes from campus, is dedicated to the rehabilitation of all horse breeds. The horses come from all different backgrounds: some are abandoned pets; others are ex-racehorses. A primary goal of the rescue is to provide care for all horses, regardless of how damaged—emotionally or physical—they are when they arrive at the facility.

              The first time I went with Circle K to the horse rescue, I met Ellen. Ellen is one of the people who maintains the facility. Not only does Ellen care for the horses, she also handles administrative tasks and trains the horses. Recently, Ellen has been struggling with multiple health problems. Due to a recent operation, she cannot currently perform heavy labor. This means she can no longer muck out the stalls, fill feed bags, or rake the grounds. Most people would revel in the opportunity to rest and recuperate, but Ellen is eager to return to working. Though she may not love the smell of horse dung (who would?), she loves the positive effect her labor has on the rescue horses.

              While at the rescue, we Circle K members take care of the jobs Ellen cannot currently do. The last 15 minutes of our visit is dedicated to grooming the horses. During my last visit, I brushed two blind and deaf miniature horses. One might think to be blind and deaf would be detrimental to the morale of the horses. Yet the content nickers of the miniature horses showed me they are quite happy to be living at the rescue.

              In my visits to South Jersey Horse Rescue, we Circle K members have not only helped the horses, we have also helped Ellen. Our labor provides obvious benefit to the horses. Yet less obvious is the effect we have on Ellen. By caring for her beloved horses, we relieve her worry that the horses will be neglected. Moreover, we show her that other people share her love and respect of the rescue horses. I recommend anyone who loves animals and doesn’t mind getting a little dirty pick up a shovel and volunteer at the South Jersey Horse Rescue.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Election Day. 7 PM. Seated in the Board of Trustee’s Room of Stockton University’s campus center, I am prepared for a long night ahead. I am one of many students here for the election results party. A livestream of CNN’s election coverage plays on a large projection screen. The size of the screen only emphasizes the magnitude of this election. For many of my peers, today marks our first time voting in a presidential election. The results that will roll in tonight have our influence attached to them. For the first time, we are not silent observers but rather active participants in deciding the next president of the United States.

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Stockton has provided its students multiple opportunities to stay up-to-date with the election’s status. Every debate has been broadcasted in the Board of Trustee’s Room, the same room in which the results are being shown tonight. As someone who has attended every debate-watching party, I can conclude that tonight’s attendance trumps that of every other night. Early in the night, the room has the feel of a celebration. There is pizza, there is cake. All of the tables are filled and still more students file in. Regardless of who wins, tonight is the celebration of American democracy.

Analysts have predicted that this election will be called quickly. Earlier today, I had been casually scrolling through news headlines on my computer. One political analyst declared the election could be called as early as 9:05 PM. As the night goes on, the results begin to tell a different story. This election is going to be harder to call than many believed.

As midnight approaches, we remaining spectators are kicked out of the campus center and directed to F111. As a student of the Honors program, I find it all too appropriate to watch the election results in the same classroom in which we hosted a political debate only days earlier.

As 1 AM nears, CNN’s only breaking news is that the states that were too close to call an hour ago are still too close to call. However, shock is in the air. In Pennsylvania, Trump has just surpassed Clinton by a very narrow margin of votes.

At 1 AM, we are asked to leave. As we tiredly shuffle out of the room, we wish each other a good night, a safe trip home. Regardless of which candidate we support, we are all hanging on the results of this election. Now, we must return to our homes and our dorm rooms as the results continue to stream in. Though we all head in different directions, I’m sure we all contemplate the potential outcomes of this election and what they will mean for our America.

On September 19, 2016, Dr. Gregory H. Stanton gave a lecture entitled “The Ten Stages of Genocide”. While I was not familiar with Dr. Stanton’s work previous to the lecture, I quickly learned that he holds a significant presence in the field of Holocaust and genocide studies. This area of study is relatively new, having only emerged in the 1990’s. Dr. Stanton is at the forefront of this field. He is the current president of Genocide Watch, an organization that seeks to create an international movement to prevent and stop genocide.

The ten stages of genocide, as observed by Dr. Stanton, are as follows:

1)    Classification: identification of a specific population

2)    Symbolization: identification of races and/or religions with a symbol

3)    Discrimination: laws that separate one population from the general public

4)    Dehumanization: the use of hate propaganda to deny the humanity of a population

5)    Organization: the gathering and training of militias or other forces

6)    Polarization: the labeling of moderates as extremists and efforts to arrest, imprison, or kill them

7)    Preparation: formal plans

8)    Persecution: isolation of the victims by means of force

9)    Extermination: governmental cooperation with the planners of the genocide, allowing them to carry out genocidal massacres

10) Denial: minimization of the destruction by the perpetrators

Dr. Stanton indicated that a significant population mistakenly believes genocide no longer affects the world. While many assume genocide ended with the Holocaust, other episodes of genocide have since occurred. Lack of public awareness, however, is not the only reason it continues. A lack of authoritative international forces and political will to step in and stop genocide also perpetuate its existence.

 Currently, Dr. Stanton is working on a high school textbook to guide the development of genocide curricula. A major theme of Dr. Stanton’s presentation was that one of the greatest allies in the fight against genocide is education. Concurrent to Dr. Stanton’s presentation, our own Stockton University offers a spectrum of Holocaust and genocide resources. In doing so Stockton helps us to become global citizens. As global citizens, we have a responsibility to not only stop genocide, but to also remain vigilant as the threat of genocide is never truly extinguished.