On Thursday November 12, I attended rehearsal for Stockton University’s basketball pep band. This was my first time attending, as I have just recently joined the group. The rehearsal was led by the director, Mr. Keith Hodgson. He started the meeting by announcing that our quickly-approaching debut performance will be on Wednesday December 2, at Stockton University’s basketball game against The College of New Jersey. Mr. Hodgson then informed the student members about where they will be seated throughout the event in Big Blue, the school’s gymnasium. He expressed the excitement of the coaches and the student body regarding this first basketball game and the band’s presence. The director then handed out decorative bumper stickers bearing the logo and name of the group, and announced that we will soon be receiving our uniforms, which will be blue and white rugby shirts, also bearing the same logo.

After that, the band began rehearsing the Star Spangled Banner, which they will play at the start of the game on Wednesday. Director Hodgson explained that this song is one of the most important songs that we will play, and that much time must be devoted to its perfection. After rehearsing the national anthem for a sufficient amount of time, the band then moved on to practice many of the other songs that may be played throughout the game to excite and rally the crowd and the players. Director Hodgson then closed the rehearsal by explaining that the pep band is creating quite an exciting positive buzz here on campus, and that he looks forward to our next meeting, and our debut performance.

On Tuesday October 6, the American Sign Language Club hosted a weekly meeting in classroom F111. The gathering began with sign in, and the announcement of upcoming events and trips that the club will be attending, such as “Signing and Singing”, where members will sign along at a Stockton a Capella performance, and “Paint a Pot”, where students will travel to a pottery store owned by a deaf woman to witness sign language as a part of everyday life.

Next, the agenda for the meeting and the vocabulary from the previous week was reviewed with the group. Students reviewed practiced the signs for greetings, colors, numbers, questions, and the alphabet. Then, to further study and memorize the signs, students played an activity. The members divided themselves into four smaller groups where they practiced signing various statements and questions in order to get to know the other members of the club, and to perfect the hand motions. Members practiced asking each other about their clothing, what their name is, where they live, and what they like.

To reflect upon the activity, students then returned to their seats and members took turns to inform the club, through sign language, about something new that they learned about other members of the group. At the close of the gathering, members viewed a video of two girls signing along to the song “Free Falling” by John Mayer. This video demonstrated the versatility of American Sign Language and its power to convey emotion. The video also served as a preview for students interested in taking part in the club’s upcoming “Singing and Signing” event.

On Saturday, September 12^th, Stockton University hosted an event called the Day of Service. This event was open to all students that hoped to become more involved in the community and to gain insight about possible opportunities to serve.

The gathering began with opening remarks by the keynote speaker, Todd Bernstein. He introduced the message of the day with quotes and anecdotes about service and its power. Next, students broke off into different sections and proceeded to various seminars and programs. One of the most prominent programs was hosted by Stockton’s Books without Borders. Here, students were able to learn about fellow students that are working to attain an education but have limited access to necessary books. Students were called to action, aiding in the organizing and packing of hundreds of workbooks, textbooks, and novels that would be sent away to countries in need. A speaker from the Covenant House in Atlantic City also spoke during this program, informing students about the work that is done at the house, and ways in which others can assist and improve the lives of the many unfortunate local children that the organization supports. Another striking component of the Day of Service was a lecture by Brian Pluchino. This discussion introduced the role of “green dots” on campus. Here, students were informed of the important actions that they should take to reduce violence around Stockton and to promote an atmosphere of community and cooperation.

The day ended with a reflection session in which students were grouped at tables, each table paired with a discussion leader to prompt conversation. Participants discussed the importance of the knowledge that they gained throughout the day, and conversed about what actions they planned on taking in the future to promote service on and off the campus of Stockton University. Many state that the Day of Service did not include much hands-on service at all, but throughout the reflection session, students learned that the hands-on service is not what is the most important, and it is not the first step. The Day of Service presented the idea that the most meaningful aspect of service is its effect, and it cannot take effect if it is not first understood.