I did not attend any events for the 2016 presidential election that were hosted by Stockton University. Instead, I watched the debates with my friends in our dorms. Prior to this election cycle, I had never watched a debate. I watched these debates because it was required for class and because I did not want to miss anything Donald Trump might have said. It was interesting to watch the debates with other people my age because for the most part, our political opinions were similar, even though there were some individual differences. We discussed points brought up by the candidates as we watched. Sometimes, it was like we had our own smaller debate if there was a topic we disagreed on. The people I watched the debates with were all Honors students, so we were able to continue the discussion the next day in class. We did the same thing for the election coverage on November 8th. We watched the electoral votes come in and voiced our opinions about what was occurring and about what would need to happen for Clinton to catch up. Even though I did not attend debate parties or other events, I still liked the fact that Stockton hosts these events. Elections only happen every four years and Stockton took advantage of this by hosting election events to get students more involved in American politics. I am sure it would have been interesting to attend a debate party and hear even more opinions on politics. I hope Stockton has similar events for the next election cycle. I might actually consider attending one.

Mike Heine

Professor Rodriguez

Freshman Convocation

    Stockton University held its freshman convocation on September 29th in the Performing Arts Center. The event was organized by the university and Dr. GT Lenard, the director of freshman seminars. The purpose of convocation was to discuss the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Ellen Forney, the book’s illustrator, was the speaker. Ms. Forney discussed the process of illustrating for Sherman Alexie’s book, highlighting the challenge of getting inside Arnold Spirit’s head in order to make the drawings as relevant as possible. She told us how she would pause at certain points as she read the draft and place an illustration at that point. After that, Forney discussed her own book, Marbles. Marbles is an autobiographical book discussing her experiences with bipolar disorder. In the book, she wrote about her feelings and how she dealt with mental illness on a day to day basis. Forney’s book also contained illustrations and she showed us several of them. At the end of convocation, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. I did not ask her anything, but someone asked her if it was easier to illustrate for her own book or for someone else’s. I enjoyed this question and the ensuing discussion because she eventually started talking about her bipolar disorder. I don’t know many people affected by mental illness, but it is an interesting topic that I enjoy learning about. Overall, freshman convocation was an interesting experience with meaningful discussions and topics.

Mike Heine

Professor Rodriguez

Having been involved in community service since the sixth grade, attending the Stockton Day of Service hosted by the Office of Student Development on 9/10/16 was an easy choice. I was able to make the community a better place and I got a free t-shirt at the end of the day. The morning started off with an activity designed to increase voting awareness called Text, Talk, Vote. We answered a variety of questions about prominent social issues and learned about the importance of voting. At first, I didn’t understand how this helped, but I soon realized that being politically involved and well informed is a great way to improve your community. The next activity involved making cards and bracelets for children in the hospital. I have done similar projects in the past, so I understood the impact of what we were doing. It felt good knowing that the card or bracelet I made could brighten a sick child’s entire day. The final activity we participated in was run by Stop Hunger Now and involved creating meal packets for people in third world countries. Each packet contained rice, soy, vegetables, and sauce and could feed six people. During high school, I volunteered at a foodbank and proposed a food drive as a service project for a club. Making sure that people have enough food has always been important to me, so this activity was special. During the reflection session, I made sure I mentioned that. Day of Service is a good way to get involved at Stockton and in the greater community. The people running the events are very nice and willing to answer any questions. It’s great that Stockton brings these organizations into the school to work with students and faculty and I hope they continue this tradition.