On the evening of September 15^th, 2016, I attended a discussion panel held by Stockton’s Political Science Department.  The Stockton Delegation is comprised of nine students who were acquired internships for either the Democratic National Convention or the Republican National Convention for a 12 day seminar.  Seven students were in attendance at the DNC leaving the remaining two at the RNC.   Overall, each convention discussed policy issues and highlighted the heightened emotions that have been and are continued to be brought up about this year’s cacophonous election.

The discussion began with students expressing their designated roles appointed at the convention.  The internships and experiences each student encountered differed from one another which made this discussion board worthwhile as well as educational for me.  Myriam, the President of the Student Senate, had a role in the DNC that stood out to me the most.  Her internship was through Free Speech TV where she acted as a media intern.  Not only did she work on the convention floor, she was able to go out in the streets and have interviews with people for and against the party.  Myriam interviewed many people in opposition to the Democratic Party such as those who participated in protests and walkouts.  I find this take on the election to be thought-provoking because I do not find that protests are covered as much by media outlets.  Yes, demonstrations are shown on the TV but the viewer is not exposed to the individual beliefs and reasons why the protestors are in opposition to the candidates.

As the discussion was concluding, questions were offered to the panelist by both Professor Rodriguez and Professor Abernathy.  One questions posed asked what the reason for the convention is in general and with regards to this election in specific.  For those who attended the DNC, they found that the convention served as an advertising ground for platforms and policies of both candidates, Sanders and Clinton.  Some spoke of the heightened tensions between Sanders and Clinton supporters such as pushing and cursing.  However, the students who attended the RNC felt as if the convention unified the party.  Similar to the DNC, the RNC experienced tension, yet there was ultimate realization and backing for the party as a whole despite different candidate beliefs.  A question was also posed by a student in the audience with regards to the chance of a third-party candidate being elected.  In this particular election, many people do not wish for either party nominee to be chosen, so, they cast their vote to the third-party candidate.  However, it was suggested that it was highly unlikely for a third-party candidate to receive enough votes to win the election.  They did stress that some votes cast in favor of the third-party could affect the votes of one of the third-party candidates, as evident in Florida.

Overall, I believed this discussion panel to be educational with regards to politics and this election as a whole.  Events such as this lead me towards being more politically engaged in my community and at Stockton.

On October 13, 2016, I attended Stockton’s Afternoon of Service sponsored by Commuters on the Go.  The event was held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Board of Trustee’s Room in the Campus Center.  This activity was comprised of two sections, one of which was volunteer service stations and the other being a reflection session.  As mentioned by group leader Zeal, there will be another event hosted later in the semester.

Upon arriving at the event, I noticed that there was not a large turn-out of volunteers.  Personally I found this shocking since I had heard that there was a great deal of volunteers at the Day of Service earlier in the semester.  Although I attended along with my friends, there were other attendees who I had not met before but now had to opportunity to work alongside of and meet.  The event consisted of three service projects scattered on three tables around the room.  The first project presented was a sewing project.  At this table, colorful fabric was used to sew together teddy bears and heart shaped pillows for children who suffer from cancer. Some fragmentary bears were left on the table from previous sessions and are able to be worked on at the next Afternoon of Service later in the semester.  The second project presented was a craft of making heart-shaped baskets.  The baskets are going to be given to the elderly in nursing homes for Mother’s Day.  As well, thoughtful messages were written on construction paper to be placed into the baskets.  Both the teddy bear and the basket projects were ones I did not partake in, yet, I did partake in the third project.  The third project was the creation of birthday cards for homeless families who are not financially able to purchase gifts let alone cards for their children’s birthdays.  The designs on the outside of the cards were left up to our imaginations whereas the inside of the cards were left blank.  The purpose of the card being blank on the inside was so that the families could personalize the cards for their children.

Following the volunteer aspect of the event, a brief reflection session was held.  For the reflection activity, each participant was given three post-it notes.  We were instructed to write down a person, an object, and a trait that we deemed important to us.  Randomly, we were to switch our post-it notes with someone unfamiliar to us and then to throw away one of the person’s post-its into a bin.  Then, we received our individual post-it notes and had to see which note was missing.  The purpose of the demonstration was to have people realize the detriments of losing something important to them.  For me, I was upset with the post-it note that was discarded and I cannot imagine what it would be like to actually lose it.  Overall, I found this event and dialogue session impacting and one that I wish to be a part of in the future.

On September 27^th, Stockton Political Engagement Project sponsored Constitution Day presented by Dr. Akhil Reed Amar.  When first learning about this event, I wasn’t particularly excited to attend the event.  In my high school years, history wasn’t my favorite subject, especially in the realm of politics and government.  Still to this day, I stay away from politics mainly because I feel as if I am not educated enough in that area.  Yes, I have my beliefs on certain political issues and I stand by them firmly, yet I have the fear that my lack of education will make me appear unintelligent when trying to engage in a political conversation.  In fact, I fear that my voice will not be heard but that it will be squandered and disregarded. From the talk presented last Wednesday, I felt as though my knowledge on American political history and current events elevated and now I can hold an intellectual conversation with my peers.

For Dr. Amar to even consider coming to our institution was a big deal.  Not only is he a renowned orator and professor of law and political science at Yale College and Law School, he  was also given an award for Teaching Excellence.  In the discussion held, Dr. Amar took a very enthusiastic approach to relaying the information and knowledge of politics to his audience.  Due to this enthusiasm, I was enthralled throughout the entire duration of the program- feverishly jotting down notes as I listened to Dr. Amar speak.  Most of the information he relayed was that of which I had learned my junior year of high school in my AP US History class.  Knowledge that I had previously known was the 14th amendment, which was recently discussed in my Honors Freshman Seminar class, along with the political unrest between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists when composing the Constitution.

However, there was information presented that was news to my ears.  For instance, I was fond of the fact that Dr. Amar incorporated Richard Stockton, the man whom our institution honors, into his lecture.  What made this incorporation intriguing was that I didn’t know that Richard Stockton was alive as well as an active member in politics in colonial America.  Also, I was unaware that he was captured, tortured, and broken by the British.   In addition, there was a quote that resonated with me: “The world is becoming American.”  When first hearing this, I was puzzled. How could the world become Americanized?  Once Dr. Amar explained the meaning behind the quote though, it was no longer baffling to me.  He claims that by America declaring its independence and then by establishing its own government, the country launched the idea of democracy to the world.  To me, this gives me a great sense of pride and patriotism for our country.  It is impressive to say that our country spearheaded a take on politics yearned for by countries throughout the world.  Overall, I felt as if this experience enlightened me immensely on American politics.