On Wednesday November 4, 2015, the boys’ soccer team played Rutgers Camden home in G. Larry James Stadium on the freshman side of campus.  This game was part of the NJAC, New Jersey Athletic Conference, tournament.  Unfortunately, Stockton fell 2-0 to Rutgers, leaving their season with one more game that was ECAC, Eastern College Athletic Conference, tournament, which they also, unfortunately, lost.

I attended the NJAC tournament game against Rutgers with some of my floormates, along with some of the guys who live on the floor above me.  We wanted to support two of the guys, #15 Zach Burns and #16 Joseph Dikmak, who also live on the floor above me.  Burns didn’t have field time that game, and Dikmak’s was limited, but we were there to support them, along with our fellow Ospreys out on the field.

There are many occasions where an event occurs multiple times and is exactly the same. Sports are an exception to that.  In sports, each event that takes place throughout the season is different.  Sometimes, games will end the same, either with the same result or with the same score, but that is rare.  Each game is unique and independent of others, but can result in similar manner.

The boys played Rutgers one other time in the season: the game prior to the NJAC tournament game.  Coincidentally, both games resulted the same, with Stockton falling 2-0.  Although they had a rough ending to the season, Stockton boys’ soccer had a great season.

    The Stockton Entertainment Team held an open mic night in the Campus Center Coffeehouse on Wednesday September 9, 2015 at 8:00 pm. This open mic night gave students an opportunity to show off some of their musical talents on stage in front of whoever came to watch. Any student was eligible to sign up, all they had to do was speak to Parth, the man in charge of the sign up sheet.

    This was a really great experience, not only for the people watching, but also for the performers. It takes a lot of courage to get up on stage and sing in front of a bunch of strangers. Even with all of that hanging over their heads, every performer, or group of performers, were phenomenal. Each performer gave it all they had, and didn’t show a single ounce of fear, only bravery, ambition, and excitement.         

    The activities SET puts together for the university are always great ways to go out and support not only your friends, but also support your fellow Stockton students. Depending on what the activity is, it can also be a great way to either form a better bond with friends, or create new bonds with people.

    At open mic night, a bunch of the residents in my building, housing 2 F building, along with two of the three residential assistants, decided we were going to go up on stage and all sing a song together, and we did. That time, even though it was only a few minutes, gave us a great opportunity to have fun and strengthen the bond we had already formed up to this point.

    On Sunday, August 30, 2015, The Residence Hall Association (RHA) sponsored a building community battle. All of housing 2 and 3, along with the transfers and commuter students were put against each other in a number of events to see which building would be the best. Each building was given a color to wear that would represent their group in the many different events, which included a bouncy house obstacle course, human foosball, and a scavenger hunt. Not only were the physical abilities of the new students put to the test, but also their minds, in a Stockton trivia contest.   

    The building battles weren’t only to give the new students a good competition against their fellow students. It was also a good bonding experience. Since move-in day was only two days prior to this event, it was a good way for the new students to bond with not only their floor mates and residential assistant (RA), but also with the other students and RAs living in their building. Since all of the events required a team effort, it gave all of the new students a bonding experience and a chance to make new friends within their own building.

    This event was a great experience and a lot of fun. Even though there was competition involved, it added to the fun. Small, fun competitions become helps team bonding and forges friendships, because everyone is so supportive of each other in every event. Even if a team loses, everyone is still supportive of each other and picks each other up.

    I personally enjoyed this event. I thought it was a great way to bond with the students in F building, which are a group of people I will be spending a lot of time with over the next 9 months. I’m really glad I participated in the building battles, and I strongly recommend that all incoming freshman participate if they have the chance to.