As I blew out the candles to celebrate my eighteenth birthday, fear suddenly gripped my eyes and I ran to my room to scramble for my laptop. I completely forgot about my first day of “class”. An online class was new to me; however, knowing myself, I would not want to miss out on earning college credits before officially beginning my first semester. So, here I was with a piece of cake on one side of me and a classroom on the other. This course was the only cost-free course which Stockton would offer to incoming freshman and although the course did not seem all too appealing, I later found it to be extremely insightful. Without further stalling, on June 29^th, I began the course, “GoGlobal: GSS 1236 393” with Professor Rodriguez who later turned out to be my instructor for my freshman seminar. This online class focused on instructing the class on the world and discussed different aspects of it from economics to population to information.  The class was split into three different classrooms with a different professor to monitor each one to look over the assignments and discussion board. The course was approximately one month and a half long and assignments were due daily from Monday to Friday.

The topics covered were: Introduction, Population, Resources, Technology, Information, Economies, Conflict, Governance, Globally Citizenship, and Summary/ Integration. The purpose was to transform the students into globally informed and moreover globally involved citizens; a goal which I am positive was achieved based on my education from the course. For each topic, there was a lecture with videos and articles to supplement the information and three types of assignments: New York Times Blog Posts, Discussion Posts, and Global Villager Blogs. Following each topic was a quiz and after five topics, there was an examination that consisted of all open-ended questions. My favorite assignment was the Global Villager Blog since it involved researching a particular area of the globe and seeing how certain economic or health factors would affect an imaginary character which was created by you. The perspective was added when this character was compared to other characters or even the average college student. The assignment truly helped build on research skills and writing performance in my opinion, since a well-constructed response reflected on both the character and the writer.

All in all, the course was very informational and useful to take, although this was only a one-time opportunity since incoming freshman are the only ones who have a chance to enroll. Best of all, in the comfort of one’s home and in their own manageable time, an individual was able to complete their assignments with no worry. I would recommend this to anyone, regardless of their major, since it expands their mind on ongoing global issues and allows them the chance to contribute with political action; this begins with writing a letter to the senator. Finally, since my villager was from Madagascar, I even felt like I was able to visit the country by stepping in her shoes.

On January 23, in USC 221, I began my first day in the NAMS laboratory as a chemical lab assistant where my job was to prepare chemicals and prep for the chemistry labs as well as their finals. Upon walking into the lab, I was shocked at all the appliances and intense organization for all the chemicals and supplies. I was provided with lab googles and a lab coat (LAB COAT!!) and set off with simple tasks at first. However, as the weeks led on, I was given more complex tasks such as preparing 24 L of NaOH and cutting 500 strips of Magnesium. This job has taught me so much about chemistry as well as time management since I go straight from class to work and back to class. The amount of information I have learned hands-on and introductions to all the chemistry professors has definitely allowed me to place my foot in the door for which I am grateful.

I am still working at these facilities and would recommend any student to take a small-time job in their current major to truly experience it.

At 4:30 p.m. on September 19, 2016, the students at Stockton University were presented with the opportunity to listen in on a special, one-time, informational session hosted by the Holocaust and Genocide Studies department. The pronounced speaker, Doctor Stanton, introduced herself and provided background regarding herself as well as her family history which astoundingly leads to the 19^th century suffragist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a revolutionary figure. With further information, it is noted that the professor’s academic career had circled around prestigious schools beginning at Harvard University, continuing at Yale University, and ending at University of Chicago before setting up her own program at Stockton University. Thus, her credibility accounts from her multiple years of schooling and focused studies. Her major projects, as of now, include the Cambodia Project, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, George Mason project, the publication of numerous genocide- researched articles among many more. However, her purpose today was to educate the audience on her take of the ten stages of genocide watch. This lecture was a revision of her original publication, 7 Stages of Genocide which she explained was a concise two-page paper that was able to include all her points without drastically carrying out unnecessary details. An important note that is mentioned is the lack of information of studies and her new website that attempts to solve this trivial matter, www.genocidewatch.com.

The mission statement of her group reads, “ predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide a and other forms of mass murder, seek to have awareness and influence public policy concerning potential and actual genocide, purpose is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide.” Her dialogue on the prevention of genocide followed the three basic steps: 1.) Early warning, 2.) Rapid response, and 3.) Courts of accountability. The last step carried three subdivisions: A.) Lack of our international institutions to predict any potential attacks, B.) Lack of responses when a drastic event takes place, and C.) Lack of political will. The latter subdivision is exemplified by the bombed Syrian runways which invoked little to response on behalf of the country’s allies, at least to an extent to prevent an issue from such an event repeating history. Based on the third step entirely, another example of courts of accountability includes the members of the United Nations Security Council’s votes to withdraw UNAMIR troops from Rwanda. These are simply steps for prevention and examples on which these steps were not abide by for the act of genocide and other forms of mass murder.

However, the focus of the session revolves around the ten stages which are detailed below with an interpretation of each one of these case. With each stage that increases in severity and importance, there is also listed the possibility of prevention. This demonstrates that not only has Doctor Stanton identified the causes, but also used her research to seek potential solutions.

1. Classification– This begins as a division between groups in which there becomes an “us vs them” playground.
   1. Prevention– The search for common ground will deter the first step as well as the promotion of transcendent identities such as nationality and humanity.
2. Symbolization– An example of this is a blue and white checkered scarf which may be viewed as a killing sign
   1. Prevention- The best solution is to eliminate race, religion, and ethnicity on ID cards, refuse to use hate symbols, and outlaw the public display of hate symbols
3. Discrimination– This occurs when a dominant group uses laws such as the Jim Crow Segregation Laws
   1. Prevention– The best solution is to stop the political system from creating such rules.
4. Dehumanization– This occurs when one group denies humanity to another group and there is the use of hate propaganda in printed and mass media as exemplified by the classification of “Tutsis” in Rwanda as cockroaches.
   1. Prevention– Condemn hate speech
5. Organization– This is usually by the state using trained and armed militaries against state responsibility. ID cards cannot be declared unofficial without judicial review in certain areas as was the case in Rwanda in 1989
   1. Prevention– The best option is to outlaw membership in hate groups, deny leaders their visas for foreign travel, impose arms embargos, create commissions, and prosecute arms.
6. Polarization– In this case, extremists will call moderates in their own group “traitors” and arrest, imprison, and kill them. There are laws forbidding mixing with the targeted group.
   1. Prevention– The best solution is to mix the groups in order to avoid isolation of any set of people.
7. Preparation– The leaders plan their final solution such as the video with Jews before their persecution.
   1. Prevention- The use of journalism, NGO’s, government intelligence networks, and publicly exposing plans should be a good start.
8. Persecution– People are headed off to deaths, especially in camps.
   1. Prevention- There should be diplomacy using regional allies, targeted sanctions on leaders, financial sanctions, a political asylum, relief and arms assistance, and regional military association.
9. Extermination- There are organized genocidal measures, massacres, and mass rape/ torture.
   1. Prevention- The best method is rapid armed international intervention and the use of the United Nations Security Council.
10. Denial- This occurs when the perpetrators deny that the genocide took place such as the mistreatment to the Native Americans.
    1. Prevention- There must be trials of these perpetrators.

These ten stages were able to show how thoroughly researched the project was and how as the severity of the step increased, the intensity of the prevention did as well. Dr. Stanton quickly concluded the lecture after these ten stages were detailed and discussed. From this, I was able to reflect on the importance of awareness for any issue in general, not necessarily on an international scale. In my opinion, due to the information I learned and the interest which the session sparked, I would probably attend this again as well as recommend it to others. All in all, the 10 stages of genocide watch series was a great session and very educational, for any type of study or major.

At 6:30 p.m. on September 21, 2016 in the Campus Center Event Room, the Stockton students and faculty were provided with the experiential opportunity to listen to the guest speaker, Akhil Reed Amar, hosted by the Political Engagement Project/American Democracy Project, the Office of Service-Learning and the Office of the Provost. To provide some background, Mr. Amar is a professor and law and political science at Yale University and engages in many cases as well as writes for widely-known papers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. The session began with the distribution of a handheld Constitution book to all the individuals who attended and as the speaker came out, he introduced some general historical facts. A few of these include: The Declaration of Independence was penned on the Fourth of July, 1776 and National Constitution Day is on the Seventeenth of September, originally signed in 1787. These facts helped to open up the main session in which Constitutional rights and interpretations were discussed.

The Constitution is constantly being publicized to vote for or against it and there is partially a secular vision which is associated with it. In addition, as the values and morals of America continue to change, a concern is how strictly an American should abide by the laws of this document. However, in contrast, the British do not have a democratic constitution and their government seems to function in an orderly fashion which might suggest the possibility that the Constitution can be rendered useless if the same results are provided. The idea that there was a democracy revolution is fascinating in that the “big bang” of implementing such a document into the laws of the country began with America and then spread to Western Europe. Following this lecture in which the audience was supplied with an analysis on the importance of the Constitution, there was an opening for any questions.

An essential portion of this informational event was realizing that the foundation of Stockton University is built on the basis of the Constitution since Richard Stockton was one of the signers of the most important documents in American history. This connection which my school holds truly allows me to appreciate my school and education for enlightening with from a liberal arts perspective. In relation to the Debate Days and the Election which just passed, this dialogue highlighted the paper which America was built upon and how each of the presidential candidates was able to uphold these Constitutional rights through their platforms and campaigning. This session was entirely enjoyable on the basis that one was educated in preparation for the elections, as mentioned above, and was provided with an unbiased view on the Constitution. I would recommend this to any individual of any major who wishes to learn more about the history of America. Although this was a one-time event, similar organized dialogues constitute an expansion of information in the political science world. In summary, the Constitution was a document written once; however, its laws should be considered continuously throughout the days of America.

On September 15, 2016, I attended the Democratic National Convention/Republican National Convention panel which is associated with the Stockton Delegation. Here, the students who were involved with the Washington Internship discussed their experiences. Upon explanation, the eight students were each placed into separate sectors where they encountered various tasks from working as a runner for CNN (Tyler Osbourne) to interning for Free Speech TV (Maryam). After each student slightly detailed their personal role, the coordinator of the program opened to a series of questions which covered the students’ take from the unification of the representatives to their opinion on the diversity. To answer the first question, the students mentioned how protesters fought in vulgar ways at Sander’s standing during Clinton’s event and another mentioned how the convention is meant to draw people on the fence and rally behind their chosen candidate. In a sense, the supporters are treated harshly and the cameras show a biased visual by focusing on a small group of protesters rather than the overall group of supporters. To answer the latter question, the students phrased their answer around political diversity, although there was no ethnic/ racial diversity. A very essential question which allowed the audience to be placed into the internship itself questioned about the inaccuracies which the media was reporting. Based on this, the panel responded that the media’s goal is to focus on the conflict and remains unbiased by avoiding extra commentary. Furthermore, many Bernie and Trump supporters were being riled up for not covering all sides of the story and a particular student (Brittany) who listened to their voices was thanked for hearing opinions outside of mainstream media. Following these posed questions, the audience for the panel was left up to open discussion where the topic of civic education was explored.  The popular opinion holds that the more of civic education which is held by an individual, the greater contribution one can serve for their community with good intentions. Onward, a recently raised question is brought up regarding the possible fracturing into a third party. This idea is immediately dismissed on the basis that history has always held two parties and a third party concept would be too revolutionary.

Although the Washington Internship is only available every four years based on the election, these meetings by the Stockton Delegation will occur again on similar topics. The panel, in a broad sense, was able to highlight the objectives of the internship while providing personal experiences from each student. Most importantly, the audience was given insight into how the ropes of the political broadcasting system work and how the debates run. In addition, a high maintenance and constant stress environment was implied; however, a glimpse into the political world seems worth the trial. For any interested members, the event was enjoyable for individuals of all backgrounds and political views. In summation, I would attend the panel another time with choice due to the enlightenment and information that it provided both the audience and me.

~Millie Shah