On Thursday September 26th Stockton hosted a convocation with guest speaker Mary Roach. Roach is the author of multiple science based books including Stiff and this year’s required freshmen reading, Spook. At the convocation Mary Roach discussed a wide variety of topics ranging from the disputed ending to her book, the perks of being curious, and even some interesting facts about hyenas. Roach used a combination of comedy, inspirational advice, and a wide variety of intriguing subjects to keep the audience attentive and entertained.

During the extended question and answer session Roach discussed the premise behind her book stating, “It wasn’t a book to say there’s no such thing as the afterlife.” Many readers, including fellow students, have questioned the purpose behind her book. At the convocation I believe she made it clear that her book was not about finding an answer to a seemingly unanswerable question so much as investigating the beliefs and methods of others in a simple attempt to learn more about that which we know very little. Roach claimed that she is a very curious person by nature and is constantly questioning how things work and where they come from. With this notion in mind, Spook makes more sense. After hearing her discuss her curious nature and the intent of her book, claims made by students that the book did not make sense and went off on tangents seem invalid.

In my opinion, this book was not written to prove or disprove the afterlife; however, it was simply Roach’s investigation of the methods and opinions of professionals in the field, believers and skeptics. Many people expected her to give a clear answer on whether or not she believed in the afterlife and were upset by her statement at the end of the book. At the convocation she stated, “I don’t want to be in a world with no possibility of ghosts.”  Her statement at the end of Spook reaffirms the fact that her book was written with the idea of acquiring knowledge and still choosing to believe in what makes people comfortable or happy. Overall the convocation was an informative, entertaining, and eye opening experience.

Beginning at midnight on Monday October 14th and continuing through Friday the 18th the Stockton Gaming Club hosted a week long game of tag with a twist. Humans versus Zombies is a campus-wide game open to all students. Zombies are distinguished by wearing a green band around their head, whereas humans have a band around their arms. Approximately 200 students registered online to play and out of those students one was chosen as the “original zombie.”  The original zombie wears his band around his arm like a human until he is discovered and then moves his band to his head like the other zombies. Once a human is tagged by a zombie, he too becomes a zombie. Humans carry nerf guns and balled up socks to protect themselves from the hordes of zombies. Once a zombie is hit he is considered frozen for ten minutes and cannot tag any humans. Every night there are missions for the humans which include a variety of tasks for them to complete. Prior to the mission on Monday night 17 people had been turned into zombies. Although 17 is a small number in comparison to 158 humans, panic had already set in on campus. The zombies move in packs in order to increase their chances of getting a tag. Humans also quickly develop allies in an effort to survive. The first mission which led the humans down Dark Path resulted in a terrifying chase around the lake. The campus filled with paranoia as the human numbers began to dwindle. Tuesday’s mission started the humans in F court and led them to the Unified Science Center. Zombies anxiously awaited their arrival and hid along Dark and Light Path. Wednesday’s mission sent humans to Housing 2, Housing 4, and Lake Pam with an optional trek to the observatory in search of puzzle pieces. The zombies divided themselves and went in groups to the four locations. My group was sent behind Housing 2 where we waited in the woods, for 45 minutes, for humans to arrive. After Wednesday’s mission the numbers changed in favor of the zombies. There are also vaccines hidden all of over campus that allow humans to recover after a zombie tags them. On Wednesday, a new element was incorporated into the game. Anyone wearing an orange band is considered military. The military is allowed to tag humans and to stun zombies. By Thursday afternoon the human numbers have dwindled to 57 with 158 zombies. Thursday’s mission has yet to be disclosed with multiple rumors going around, but one thing is for certain; it will be a blood bath. With the end of the week quickly approaching the only real question left is, will humanity survive or will the zombies overrun the campus?

On Saturday, November 2nd, the Freshmen Honors Program went on a trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary. We took a day tour of the prison and learned about the history of the prisoners, the architecture and the means of security.

Eastern State was the first of its kind in terms of the purpose of housing prisoners. Eastern State was first developed to rehabilitate lesser criminals. Each prisoner had his own room and only had human contact for an hour each day. This arrangement allowed the prisoners plenty of time to reflect on themselves and their crimes.  Another aspect of Eastern State that made it different from other prisons was the setup of the prison. The main watchtower was located in the center with rows of cells diverging off of that. The guard in the center watchtower was able to see down all of the rows and easily spot someone trying to escape. The penitentiary had very high walls to keep the prisoners from escaping. Also, the prison was designed to resemble a castle. Many of the prisoners were immigrants from Europe and were taught to recognize castles as a symbol of royalty and power, therefore, feeling submissive in their presence. On the tour we also learned about some of the interesting prisoners who were held there, one of them being Al Capone. We were able to see Al Capone’s cell which is still intact. It was far from an ordinary cell and had a lamp, comfortable chairs, and a desk. The tour was highly informative and thoroughly entertaining.

After the tour we went to Bookhaven. It was a small bookstore that was filled to the ceiling with used books. The store was three stories and filled with a wide variety of books. Bookhaven had non-fiction, collections of Sherlock Holmes stories, and the full works of Hemingway. The second I stepped into the store the sound of classical music and the smell of books created an ambiance that is unparalleled by any other book store.

Overall, the trip to Eastern State Penitentiary was informative, entertaining, and truly delightful.