On September 7, 2013, the Campus Center Event Room was filled to the brim with students clad in black t-shirts, all clamoring for a seat at their desired service project’s table. This frenzied scene can only be Stockton’s 10th annual Day of Service. Luckily, my two friends and I had gotten there early enough to receive our desired service project helping Shore Park Tenant Association with an end-of-summer barbeque. We were going to be working with three other girls and our two project leaders.
A half hour later the army of buses were packed and set off for Atlantic City. We arrived at our destination ten minutes later and were greeted by the president of Shore Park Tenant Association. She told us a little about the residents and how many of them are disabled, elderly, or previously homeless. Shore Park provides them with housing and makes it easy for them to get around. The president also filled us in on all the events, from bingo to music nights, which Shore Park puts on for its residents. The end of summer barbeque, however is by far a crowd favorite.
We then received a tour of the main hall and garden where the barbeque would take place. After that, for the first hour or so, it seemed as if the organization didn’t need our help cooking, grilling ribs, or doing any heavy grunt work. My group and I stood at ease, ready to jump and seize any opportunity to help, even with small things like rolling utensils or moving a table.
When the food came out, it was definitely a sight to behold. With hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, fresh crabs, corn on the cob, ribs, salad, and a plethora of cakes, there was enough food to feed an army. Our job was to help serve all of it, and I got put on crab duty.
Immediately after the residents started to trickle into the hall, our idleness was no more. Each one of us was busy serving food and helping residents, especially those who were disabled, receive the food they wanted. As the person in charge of the crabs, I was to take exactly four freshly cooked crabs out of a wooden barrel, wrap them in newspaper, and dole them out to whoever wanted them, which was almost everyone. Many people were eager to make sure I gave them the right amount of crabs, especially the legs.
All of the residents were extremely grateful for our help and of course the free food. They could not stop saying “thank you” and it was heartwarming to see the smiles on their faces. Even though I clearly smelt of crabs the rest of the day, I enjoyed my time there and realized that the day was not just about serving food, but making people feel loved and cared about. Though I wish we could have done more to help at first, my first Day of Service at Stockton was a memorable and enlightening experience; it is definitely something I would participate in again.

I was skeptical upon seeing students with bright orange Nerf guns, balled up socks, and neon green bands around their arms and heads running around chasing each other on Honors Scholars Day in the spring before I moved into Stockton. The whole notion of college students playing such a game as something called Humans Vs. Zombies (or HVZ, as it’s affectionately called) kind of surprised me. College, to me, was supposed to be a serious, pedantic place where you were not allowed to have time for seemingly childish activities. After moving into Stockton and making friends that were ecstatic to participate in this event, lasting from October 13-18, 2013, however, resulted in me apprehensively joining in and completely changing my opinion, while having tons of fun in the process.

An essential part of HVZ is the Nerf gun, as it is a human’s only defense, save for balled up socks, against being tagged by a zombie, which turns you into a zombie yourself. Shooting a dart or throwing a sock at a zombie stuns them for ten minutes, allowing you ample time to run away and stay human. Soon after signing up, I went to buy myself my very own gun and dig for old socks and the bottom of my drawer. Then strapping on the green band around my arm the next day, I was officially ready for HVZ to begin.

Besides the constant paranoia of having to watch out for my headband wearing classmates lurking around outside (as weare not allowed to be tagged inside), most of my first day of HVZ was successful as a human. It wasn’t until later at the nightly mission that my back was turned and I was tagged by a zombie. I somewhat begrudgingly gave up my status as a human and joined the zombie ranks.

Being a zombie was even more fun than being a human, as I discovered throughout the week. I got to chase humans and scare them merely by walking by. Later that week, I even found myself hiding in bushes in anticipation of humans walking by. There was also a higher sense of comradery amongst the zombies. Humans tended to have the mentality of “better you than me”. Being a zombie, on the other hand, means watching your fellow zombies’ backs and helping each other obtain tags by turning more humans into zombies. I even got my own tag when I was walking out of the Unified Science Center and noticed a human with her back turned to me.

HVZ was ultimately an extremely amusing experience for me that resulted in many new friends. The unexpected teamwork and comradery involved helped improved how I work with others and banded the Stockton community together. I also realized that college does not always mean leaving behind childish ways, but embracing them with a new outlook. It is something distinctive that sets Stockton apart from many other colleges in the country. Not everyone gets to spend a week at college playing with Nerf guns and hunting and chasing fellow classmates while still attending class, as I like brag to my friends back home.