On October 18^th, I attended an eye opening dialogue based on gender street harassment. The speaker, Janice Joseph, discussed incidents that occur internationally. For example, in the United States -especially in major cities like New York City and Philadelphia- street harassment is a social norm. Janice Joseph explained that street harassment should not be accepted, it only exacerbates social inequalities between the sexes. Men feel that they have the right to abuse women, whether it be through verbal or physical means, because they are the more dominant sex. Also, men may feel obligated to bother women because otherwise they will seem less masculine or maybe gay, in front of their friends.

Janice Joseph presented interesting videos that showed the perspectives from both women and men regarding street harassment. Some men claimed that women seek attention, however I believe that no woman ever wants unneeded attention. Cat calling and whistling is not the type of attention that woman seek, it is very disrespectful and demeaning. The speaker also showed videos that took place in India. Indian women described their discomfort when males would whistle at them while they walked the streets. People tend to argue that the clothes that a women wears gives men a reason to harass them. However, this is not seen in India where some women are clothed from head to toe, only showing their eyes. This dialogue included interesting perspectives on street harassment around the world which made me realize that this is a problematic issue that should be addressed globally.

On the beautiful day of August 28th, 2015, the remaining members of the incoming freshmen class moved into their new homes, Housing 2 and 3, at Stockton University. Move in times were staggered throughout the morning, starting at 8:30 AM. When students arrived at Stockton they were led to their rooms by enthusiastic Orientation Leaders. Those students who chose to go on S.O.A.R. (Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat) woke up that morning, anxious to meet their new roommates, floormates, and friends, but they also felt grateful for the lasting friendships that they made while on S.O.A.R.. This day was the beginning of Welcome Week, a college tradition used to welcome incoming freshmen to the place where they will hopefully be spending the next (and best) four years of their lives.

Heartbroken parents were assisted in the move in process by the T.A.L.O.N.S, a group of upperclassmen who also acted as “tribe leaders” at S.O.A.R. The move in day process was followed by the new students first meal plan lunch. Students used meal swipes and flex dollars to help them get used to how they will be acquiring food for the next year. This was also a good time for students to get to know the people on their floors and start new friendships. These new connections with floormates were moved to the dorms when mandatory housing meetings started at four. At these meetings students were able to meet their RAs (Resident Assistants) and learn the rules are expectations that are in place in the freshmen dorms. One of the majors rules was no alcohol in the buildings, housing 2 and 3 are dry. Punishments were explained and then students were given some free time after the meetings.

In between mandatory events many “ice breaker” games were played. Games such as ride that pony, wap, and all my friends and neighbors, were implemented as a way to ease the tension of a new group of anxious people. These ice breakers seem silly and tedious but are actually essential to the group dynamic. Icebreakers were a major part of keynote speaker Troy Stendes presentation. This presentation was used as an ultimate icebreaker, students I spoke to credited it as their, “favorite welcome week activity” and “a really good way to get everyone  to participate, without making it lame to get involved.” Stende combined fun activities with team building to create a fun environment that students felt comfortable.

After a long, new, day, students were finally free to do what they pleased. Some students went straight to bed while others chose to hang out with the new friends they made. Either way, move in day can overall be considered a success with the freshmen class beginning welcome week in Osprey style.

The Get Involved Fair, was organized during the beginning of the semester. It was a good way for the freshmen to get to know more about Stockton and it’s lifestyle. The fall Get Involved Fair was held on September 17 – 18, 2013 in the lower part of the college. Over 100 student clubs, Greek organizations, and community service agencies had put up their booths to display their what they in store for the students.

I strolled through the fair twice and, both the times saw something new, clubs I hadn’t seen during the first visit. Going to the fair was really helpful. I discovered about clubs I would not have image about. Stockton has a club about ducks, where they watch ducks. This was very fascinating and interesting. I also, didn’t knew that Stockton had a club for the commuters. I really liked the two girls on the booth about commuters. They gave away so many gold coin chocolates. The SET had also organized free popcorns for the students.

I didn’t sign up for too many clubs. But through the fair found some clubs I had been looking for. I found Circle K and Undergrad PT club. I had been looking for these two clubs but going around and looking for them on campus would have been tedious. But because of this fair it was not very hard to find them.

Some booths were very colorful and bright. They had various colorful objects like posters, shits, ribbons etc. The students at the tables were trying their best to attract the strollers. It almost felt like shopping at a Bazar while walking through the booths that were set up.

I was exposed to a completely different Stockton while walking through the fair. And, also as I went to the fair twice, with two different people, I got to see something different each time. But the fair was a very good medium for the students to connect to the Stockton community.

Mary Roach, the author of Spook: Science Tackles Afterlife, was invited to Stockton for a convocation with the freshmen class and talk to the students about her book Spook. Her convocation was in the Performing Art Centre (PAC) on 26th September, 2013. After reading Spook I was very reluctant to go and listen to a writer who had a very annoying style of wetting. But eventually I did end up going.

I had presumed Mary Roach to be someone who would be old, with her hair already turning grey and someone with a very dull personality. But when I saw her, she was nothing like that. She looked young, fresh and full of energy. She diffused positive aura in the auditorium when she stepped on the stage. Her sense of humor which was not very evident in the book could be clearly sensed in her speech. Also, she was not ashamed to confess that she had never talked in a huge auditorium with a stepwise arrangement like PAC before. She was very friendly and bombastic. Her way of talking was similar to her writing style (she got off track very frequently and easily). But her divergent stories were usually very interesting and funny.

Mary Roach kept on stressing the importance of curiosity during her entire speech and said “Curiosity opens Doors”. This explains the reason why her book Spook was so much in depth. Her curiosity had forced her to look for more and more convoluted facts about afterlife, which made the content of Spook very boring and hard to keep track of. But her speech on curiosity was very enthusiastic and pumped up my energy level.

At the end of her speech Mary Roach wasn’t ashamed to affirm the fact that most of the students didn’t like the ending of the book, and they felt like it debunked her research about afterlife. Addressing that Mary Roach confidently said that she was trying to draw a line between knowing and believing when she presented her side on afterlife, but wasn’t clear enough in doing so. And if given a chance she would like to change it.

Roach is so far one of the most interesting speaker I have encountered. It seemed like she was enjoying every bit of the convocation too. After her talk on Spook, we had questions and answers session too. Students were asking her very random question, not related to the book, and she was very friendly in answering those questions. Sadly, I had to leave the convocation half way through the questions and answers session as I had a class. I wish I could have been there for a longer period of time to be amused by Mary Roach’s enchanting sense of humor.

After her speech, when I re-read certain parts of the book, I picked up the humor behind those snarky comments in her book. This was because now I had a general idea of how Mary Roach talked. I would’ve regretted not attended the convocation. I would now like to attend other guest speakers invited by Stockton, hoping they would be as entertaining as Mary Roach.

The event that I attended was Richard Stockton College’s 10th Annual Day of Service  held on 7th September 2013, starting at 8:00 am. The event was  hosted by the Office of Service Learning. As it was the 10th Annual Day of Service it was pretty unique in the way that the services were at different locations in Atlantic City. The Day of Service was a good way for freshmen to start getting involved. Also, the upperclassmen, faculty and teachers had a good time working as a team for the betterment of the community and its residents.

A lot of service options were available at this year’s Day of Service. It allowed the participants to have the taste of perseverance and patience. It was also a great way to work voluntarily towards one’s area of interest or towards one’s career option or just fell free and pick any activity one wanted to do. Out of the many services available some were; helping out artists on boardwalk with their art exhibition, making blankets, cleaning up for Miss America pageant, painting, getting people registered to vote and many more. It was a good way to give something back to the community, learn new things, develop new skills and most importantly get a chance to make new friends and long lasting bonds.

Narrowing down to my personal experience, I was the part of Do Art group. We were helping the artists who were having an art exhibition at the boardwalk. Initially, my group was told that we were just going to help the artists set up their tables for the exhibition and give them anything if they wanted. But after reaching there I found out there was more to it than just setting up the tables. We sold t-shirts for the organizers of the Do Art event on the boardwalk, it was a hard job. Also, I had to look after a crystal jewelry designer’s table when she left her booth to get her lunch and, in the meanwhile I had to deal with some customers too. We also had to get the people from the other side of the boardwalk towards the art exhibition. As the Do Art event was on the boardwalk it required a lot of walking in the scorching sun.

Eventually it was a fun experience for me and other students who were a part of Do Art. I learned how important it was too be patient while selling those t-shirts and also how to keep customers busy and engaged while looking after the jewelry designer’s booth. After the event our group had a small reflection session and then we just took the bus back to Stockton and dispersed. Stockton arranges a couple of more Day of Services around the year which I’m looking forward to attend.

On Friday, October 4, Stockton Entertainment Team (S.E.T.) sponsored an event called One Night Stand-Up, a comedy show featuring Thomas Dale. My friends and I heard about the comedy show, which started promptly at 8:00, about 15 minutes prior to the event; needless to say, we quickly ran to the Performing Arts Center Box Office to purchase our tickets. We then settled into our balcony seats and waited for the show to begin.

Within the first five minutes of his act, Dale confessed his love for “straight boys.” He singled out a member of the audience named Nick and repeatedly made references such as, “Don’t put it on display if it’s not for sale,” to him throughout the course of the night. Dale’s material ranged from being a gay teenager and dating girls to fighting off mountain lions on hikes in Los Angeles. He certainly did not censor his material, which was somewhat awkward considering the event was part of homecoming and family weekend. Many college students were sitting with their parents, and I could sense their uneasiness when I occasionally scanned the room. Regardless, there was never a shortage of laughter in the room. By making fun of both male and female characteristics, he was relatable to everyone—even parents.

Dale’s underlying message was subtle but clear: embrace equality. He told an anecdote about pretending to want to marry a bug for his nephew’s amusement. His nephew said something along the lines of: You can’t marry that bug! He’s a boy. Dale replied, “You can marry whoever you want. Boys can marry boys. Boys can marry girls. Girls can marry girls. The real problem is that he’s a bug.” Dale’s tone and mannerisms were truly endearing, and I could not help but feel like we had a real connection by the end of the show.

After his performance, Thomas Dale stood by the entrance of the PAC and posed for pictures. My friends and I took a picture with him, followed him on twitter, and friended him on Facebook. Now, he is not just a comedian but a friend. So while the ticket may have cost two dollars, the experience was priceless.

As a Hospitality & Tourism Management major, I decided to take “Introduction to Hospitality” my freshman year. I wanted to get a head start to furthering my education in the field I’m interested in. On October 3^rd, we had a chance to visit Stockton’s Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.

Instead of going to class on campus, we all met in the lobby of Seaview. I was the first one there so I was a little nervous that I had the wrong date or time. However, one of my fellow classmates, who lives at Seaview, came down and we waited for the rest of the class together. Once the whole class had arrived, Mike Tidwell, Director of Sales and Marketing, began our tour of the hotel. We were shown the dinning hall and the many event rooms Seaview has to offer their guests and customers. The whole place was beautiful and in top shape. It was the first time since I was a child in Seaview.

Mike answered many questions about the business. He stressed the importance of data, and gave us an example of the type of budgeting he does every year. We didn’t get to see as much of the hotel as I would’ve liked to, but I learned a lot from Mike talking to us. The trip excited me more about getting into the business. I’m ready to pay my dues and work my way up the hospitality ladder.

On Tuesday, September 17, Stockton Entertainment Team (S.E.T.) sponsored an event called Silent Library. In accordance with the popular television show, the objective of the game remained the same: do not laugh, regardless of whatever ridiculous activity a teammate may undertake. When my best friend and I arrived at the event, we had no intention of actually playing the game—we consider ourselves viewers, not doers—however, we promptly learned all who attend must participate. In retrospect, I am thankful for this rule.

Lacking four more people to round off our team, I quickly called another friend I had made during Welcome Week. He was conveniently with three others, so I instructed them all to run like the wind down to the event room! Upon our entrance, we were greeted by the always friendly members of S.E.T., and they told us to help ourselves to frozen yogurt and fresh fruit. After loading up our bowls, we sat down and waited for the games to begin.

While our team anxiously anticipated our turn, we witnessed unlucky participants dancing in tutus and being subjected to pie-eating contests. Alas, it was our turn! We were the last team to go, and perhaps I am biased, but I believe we had the worst challenges. For one of the challenges, we had to play leap frog. This does not sound too embarrassing until factoring in being watched by a crowd and jumping over the heads of people met less than an hour ago. While we did laugh quite a bit during this challenge, our team was deemed successful and moved on to the next round. The final challenge was to have one person apply lipstick to each teammate’s face while blind-folded. Though I did not know the boy selected for this challenge before that night, we got acquainted pretty quickly as he stroked my face trying to find my lips. Despite his best efforts, he somehow always ended up drawing on either the chin or neck. Our team obviously lost this round.

In the end, all the humiliation was worth it because we were given prizes: a beach ball, lip balm, and a cell phone holder. A more important prize is the new friendships that were formed in the process of embarrassing ourselves. I applaud S.E.T. for helping people step out of their comfort zones. I certainly benefited from attending this event. I made new friends and was given the chance to let loose and be silly.