On Tuesday, November 20, Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies (WGSS) sponsored a film screening and panel discussion of GirlRising, a feature film and global action campaign for girls’ education. I have always been passionate about women’s rights, so this event was obviously in my realm of interest. This is likely why I showed up thirty minutes early and claimed the first seat in an empty Alton Auditorium.

Little by little, more people trailed in until Alton was nearly three-fourths full. I was pleased to see that so many people were showing an interest in the issue of girls’ education—or rather the lack thereof. We all sat in silence as we watched a condensed version of the feature film GirlRising. From the film, I learned a few very startling facts:

1. There are 33 million fewer girls than boys in primary school.
2. In a single year, an estimated 150 million girls are victims of sexual violence.
3. The #1 cause of death for girls 15-19 is childbirth.

I also learned that modern slavery still exists in the form of debt bondage. In places such as Nepal, brave teachers seek to liberate young girls trapped in the kamlari system (which has been illegal since 2000). They seek to give these girls the education they deserve—the education their brothers are receiving. In other Sub-Saharan regions, families marry their daughters off because this is their only prospect of achieving better lives.

After the film, 5 female discussion panelists answered several questions from the audience. They also discussed their initiative to bring a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Center to Stockton. There is currently a petition circulating to establish such a center, and it can be signed by going to http://tinyurl.com/stocktonwgsc. Overall, attending GirlRising was fulfilling in several ways. I learned about an issue that plagues girls and women in Sub-Saharans regions, and I am now in a position to educate others about the lack of education these girls receive. I also learned more about the objectives and goals of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality program, and I look forward to seeing progress with the center.

On November 2, the Honors Program hosted a trip to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia for the Freshman class. I was lucky enough to get off work and be able to go. I’ve always want to tour the prison and I was excited to go on this trip. We left Stockton just after 10am and it was a short bus ride to Philly. I remember looking out the window as we pulled up and saw Dr. Rosner and G.T. waving to us.

Once off the bus, we split up into two groups and were given a tour guide who knew a lot about the prison history. I brought my camera with me so I was able to get a lot of awesome pictures. We were able to see prison cells, the ball field, artist instillations, and much more. I walked into some of the cells and they had a really eerie feeling to them. After we finished our guided tour, our guide pointed us in the direction of Al Capone’s cell. His cell was nicely furnished with a bed, armchair, radio and lamp. He was living in luxury even in prison.

Many of the other students wanted to leave and explore the streets of Philly,but a friend of mine and I really wanted to see more of the prison. We walked down wings that weren’t on the tour and took our time just enjoying the building and its history. I’ll admit, I was hoping to at least see a ghost or catch something on my camera. (I unfortunately didn’t) Of course, we ended our tour in the gift shop. I bought an Al Capone shirt for myself.

After we left the prison, we met up with our other friends at a bookstore across the street called “Bookhaven.” GT had recommended it to us so we had to check it out. That place was amazing. It was a giant used bookstore and had anything you could ever ask for. We spent a good deal of our time in that store until we realized we were all hungry. So we left the store, new books in hand, and found a pizza/sandwich shop down a few blocks. It was busy but we got our food fairly quickly. Then some of us got ice cream from a shop next door to where we ate lunch. It was so good.

We then went back to the bookstore for the rest of our time and when it got close to 4, we walked back to the front of the prison. After a group picture, we filed back onto the bus and returned to Stockton in no time. I had such a great time learning the history of the prison and being able to hang out with friends. I’m a commuter so I sometimes feel disconnected to the school. The Honors Program helps me feel a part of something and has given me the greatest friends. It’s only my first semester here but I can’t wait to see what else is inshore for me here at Stockton.

Today, November 22, 2013, a senior at Stockton named Adam came into the honors freshman seminar class and talked to us about Civil War Reenactments.  He came in wearing his uniform that he wears to the battles which was pretty cool and easily got everyone’s attention.

He started out by talking to us about what he was wearing and the whole uniform is completely authentic.  It was all wool and leather just like what soldiers used to wear when they were in the army.  He said the uniform is really hot and doing reenactments in the summer is hard because of this.  He also told us that the uniform is extremely expensive and when you join a group that does reenactments you have to buy your own clothes and weapons.

After he talked about his outfit he explained what happens when you’re doing reenactments.  He said a lot of people get really into the battles and it’s easy to get lost in character.  He also explained that there are two main types of reenactments.  There is one where it’s very accurate and follows history meaning that the side who really won the battle wins the battle during the reenactment.  On the other hand, there are battles where the both sides go into the battle not knowing what the result is going to be and they just fight until one side wins.

A lot of people were really confused at how they determine who wins because they can’t really shoot each other so how do they know when they’ve been shot or when to die?  Well, Adam said that they just kind of fall over and die or “get shot” whenever they feel like it.  If you get shot at and it’s clear they were shooting at you then you just die.  Then the question of theatrical deaths came about and he said that because the uniforms are so expensive they don’t typically tend to die in a theatrical manner.

After a few more questions had been asked, he concluded with some information on local groups that engage in reenactments.  He also left some business cards for a few of the local groups so that anyone who was interested could go up and grab one.  It was a really neat experience.

During Welcome Week, on Monday, August 31, the Stockton freshman and transfer students attended the Diversity Presentation event held by Sam Offer, a member of the Washington Consulting Group. The main aim of the event was to address the importance of diversity and acceptance of one another.

The first thing Offer asked the students to do was to form groups of threes and discuss whether their high schools had a diverse community and what they thought about it. Then he asked a couple of students to share these experiences with everyone in the room. After that, he told us to describe what it feels like to be in a diverse community.

Before asking further questions, Offer shared his own experience about how he was different and what struggles he faced. He told us that he is African American, Christian, and gay, and when he came out to his family, they immediately cut ties with him. Even though he hasn’t seen them in years, he still didn’t give up on them and did what he could do to reunite with them.

After sharing his experience, Offer asked the students questions about their differences such as religion, race, sexual orientation, economic class, family history, struggles, illnesses and etc. He told the students to answer by either standing up or raising hands and to look around for others similar to them. However, if anyone felt uncomfortable answering a certain question, they didn’t have to answer. Offer then asked the students to describe how they felt in one word after answering these questions. A few answers were  relaxed, accepted, and empowered.

I personally believe that this event was mandatory for a reason. Diversity is not only present at Stockton but around the globe. I believe that by learning about diversity and to accept each other, regardless everyone’s differences, during college years is a perfect way to prepare for life after graduation.

Tasbeeh Muhamed

Tonight my RA had our final floor program for the year titled “Plant Seeds for the Future”. Most of the girls on my floor attended the program along with people who are here so often they might as well live on D200 with us. This program was a great way to reflect on our freshman year of college.

The activity that we did for the program was adorable. Every person received his or her own flowerpot. Everyone painted their flowerpots however they chose to do so. I painted my flowerpot pink with a blue rim. I put green polka dots within the blue, but it still needed one more thing. I decided to write “Stay Positive” in purple because those words are what got me through this year. When things are looking down I try to continue looking up. While it is sometimes a struggle, it is effective and everything always works out in the end. I also put a smiley face on the flowerpot as a finishing touch.

Once we were done painting, we put soil into the flowerpots and picked out the type of flowers that we wanted to plant. When we were planting our flowers everyone seemed to be confused about the proper way to plant. I was clueless, so I just stuck the seeds wherever and then watered them. After we watered our flowers, everyone’s flowerpots started to leak. That’s when we realized all of the flowerpots had small holes in the bottom. You would think a group of honors students would be able to figure out this problem to begin with.

Throughout the program people shared their best memories of their time on the floor. Everyone seems to have had a great time this year. While it is sad to see this year end, I am excited to see what the seeds of my future grow into.

Stockton University is bringing a new sorority to campus next semester, Delta Phi Epsilon, which is also known as DPhiE. On Tuesday, I went to an interest meeting about being a founding member of this sorority at Stockton.

The opportunity to be a founder of a sorority is amazing. As a founder, you would get to decide how you want the sorority to be seen here on campus. You would be able to create a lasting impression about what it means to be a sister of this sorority on the Stockton campus. Founders get to choose things such the annual events of the sorority and how the process recruitment will be done each year.

Even more amazing than being the founder of a sorority is the opportunity to be a sister of DPhiE. The sorority’s motto is “Esse Quam Videri” which means, “To be rather than seem to be”. DPhiE sisters aim to be the best possible versions of themselves. They do not want people to change in order to fit into some kind of “sorority girl mold”. They know that every person is wonderful in their own way and they strive to bring out the best in everyone.

DPhiE works with two philanthropies: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). Both of these philanthropies are dear to the hearts of the DPhiE sisters as they personally relate to alumni of the sorority. When raising money for ANAD, DPhiE sisters host events that are all about loving yourself. The huge emphasis that they put on being comfortable in your own skin really makes DPhiE stand out. This idea draws people to the sorority who otherwise would have never even considered being involved in Greek life.

On top of that, their mascot is the unicorn.

DPhiE will start recruitment events in search for founding members at the beginning of the Fall 2015 semester.

For the past two weeks I have attended the Thursday yoga class sponsored by the Wellness Center. This class is held every Thursday in the TRLC from 6:30 to 7:30. This is a free class opened to all Stockton students.

I went to my first class without a mat, but luckily the instructor had a few extra ones for people like me. If anyone is planning on attending a yoga class I suggest bringing your own mat, as mats are limited.

We started both classes with the Tibetan Five Rites. This exercise consists of five poses and quickly raises your heartbeat. The instructor told us to try to do the Five Rites every day as it is a quick exercise that will gradually make your body stronger.

In the first yoga class I went to, we did a form of yoga that is meant to make you sweat. The poses were challenging for me, and at times it felt like I was in an aerobics class. By the end of the class I was definitely sweating. However, there were still several times when we were doing poses and staying in them for a while. My favorite pose was heart bench. In this pose, you place one foam block between your shoulder blades and one under your head. Then you lie still for several minutes. This pose felt great for my back.

In the second class that I went to, we did Yin Yoga. This form of yoga is intended to channel your connecting tissue. It is done by getting into a pose and then releasing all of the tension in your body. Once you are in the pose with no tension, you stay still for several minutes. By the end of the class I felt relaxed, my body felt stretched, and it was just wonderful overall.

I would recommend this yoga class to anyone interested in the free fitness classes offered by Stockton.

On March 24, I attended a drag queen show sponsored by the Stockton University Pride Alliance. The show was intended to build awareness of AIDS and HIV.

The day before the show, members of the Price Alliance walked around the Campus Center food court with bags of candy. They had wrapped a piece of paper around each individual piece of candy that advertised their event. I thought this was the best way that you could advertise an event to college students.

My friend and I decided that we would go to the show the next day. We got to the show and donated to the cause before going inside. When we got into the auditorium, it was much emptier than I had expected. I believe this was due to people not knowing about the event rather than disinterest in the event. When I was telling some of my friends that hadn’t been with me when Pride Alliance members came to our table about the event, they were sad that they had not heard about it. If this event is done in the future, I hope they advertise more, because they could get much more people to the event and donating to the cause.

There were two queens who performed several dance numbers for the length of the show. Their costumes were fantastic and I’m jealous of how well they were able to dance in heels. I can’t even confidently walk in heels.

In the middle of the show, there was a break to talk about how to prevent the spread of diseases such as AIDS and HIV, since awareness was the purpose of this event. We were informed of the preventative measures available and the proper way to use them.