Blog 9: Hunger Dialogue Session

            As part of the curriculum for Honors Service-Learning, students must attend a dialogue session. The topics of these sessions range from hunger awareness to quantitative data to show the effects of our actions on worldwide hunger.

For my dialogue session, I attended the Hunger Awareness session, which took place in the Campus Center coffeehouse. In the coffeehouse, approximately 40 students gathered in a circle in order to maximize the number of participants. This was certainly an effective way to organize the group; if we had to sit in rows like we do in class, it would be much harder to get everyone to participate. Under the direction of the session leader, each student was able to voice their thoughts in contribution to the topic.

Everyone received a double-sided paper; on one side was a map of the world, and on the other side there were several statistics. On the side with the world map, certain colors coded for a certain amount of hunger in that area. Looking at the map, I was astonished to see how many nations are suffering from severe hunger.

The region with the most hunger seemed to be Africa. This session got me to think about what I can do to help. I remembered that in the fifth grade, I used to go on “freerice.com,” website that allows students to donate rice to those in need by answering vocabulary questions correctly. Each time you get the answer right, ten grains of rice are donated, and therefore, each time you get the answer right, it’s a piece of cake to donate lots of rice in a very little amount of time.

What can we do to change the statistics? Throughout the dialogue session, several students were given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the matter. For example, many students suggested volunteering at soup kitchens to help those in need.

Blog 8: HvZ

            For one week per semester, there is complete chaos throughout the college. “Humans Versus Zombies,” or HvZ for short, is a campus-wide event that includes nerf guns, socks, and just about anything you can think of! Preparation includes buying the best nerf gun (with tons of ammunition) from “Toys R Us,” having a green band, and prepare for LOTS of paranoia!

The green bands can stand for two things: 1) if the band is around a player’s arm, it means he or she is a “human” and 2) if the band is around the player’s head, it means he or she has turned into a ”zombie.” Every night for one week there is a mission for the players to accomplish.

For instance, one night all the humans had to make it through the dark path to the apartments without being tagged by the zombies. (Zombies tag humans, while humans either shoot zombies with a nerf gun or with socks.) As if that doesn’t provide enough paranoia, there’s a big catch! When walking around campus, humans and zombies are free game. In other words, humans must run from building to building to make it difficult to be tagged.

Most people prefer to always walk with a friend, just in case the friend sees danger coming from another direction. However, if the human hits a zombie with a nerf gun, the zombie will remain inactive for ten minutes, thus giving the human time to get away as quickly as possible. The missions get harder and harder each night, until there is a winner.

Humans Versus Zombies provides a fun way to interact with different people, since there are no rules against forming alliances. Especially as freshmen, this event allowed us to get to know as many people as possible. Rather than just getting to know people on my floor or in my building, I was able to become acquainted with people I don’t live with.

Blog 7: What is Service-Learning?

                        The service-learning dialogue session, led by Daniel Tome, proved to be a very effective way of showing students the importance of community service. Daniel Tome began the session by asking for an answer to the question, “What is service-learning?” After hearing a few opinions, two long arrows were drawn side-by-side on the chalkboard.

First, we were given two post-its each, and we had to write one service project we’ve done on each one. Tome then labeled one end of one arrows “direct” and the other end “indirect.” Before discussing the meaning of each term, we were told to stick our post-its in the appropriate spot on the line. For example, if the student felt that his or his service project was purely direct, the post-it would be place to the left. Then, we discussed the meaning of both direct and indirect service-learning. Although there are several meanings of each, it seemed as if the indirect service-learning projects included more internships and research. Meanwhile, the direct service-learning projects involved simpler activities, such as helping out with a soup kitchen.

The two activities I used were tabling for the Blood Drive and volunteering at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter. I put both near the “direct” side of the line. I consider the Animal Shelter direct because the animals are benefitting from my volunteering immediately, and I am there to see the effect of what I’m doing. However, after the discussion, I think that tabling for the Blood Drive would be an example of indirect service-learning because I don’t see the benefit of my tabling.

The board, by the end of the session, had many more post-its on the “direct” side of the arrow, since it is usually easier to participate in blood drives or Relay for Life than it is to provide research. In the future, it should be Stockton’s goal to provide more of this influential indirect work. Personally, I believe that research is one of the only ways to completely fulfill the meaning of “service-learning.” While providing a service for those in need, students would be able to provide research on treatments for diseases (such as cancer), which may broaden the medical world at the same time.

Blog 6: Mary Roach Convocation

                        Mary Roach, the author of Spook, visited Stockton soon after the freshman class finished reading her book. It was quite interesting to see the author’s views on her own work, especially when she says that she didn’t mean to upset the audience of her book with the ending. I never thought that an author would disagree with his or her own ideas, since the must edit their own work so many times. Mary Roach, through her sarcastic and humorous personalility, certainly got her point across.

After reading the book, I can’t say I was pleased by the conclusion, “What the hell. I believe in ghosts.” After discussing the blunt ending in seminar, I learned that everyone else felt the same way. However, Mary Roach apologized for the ending during the convocation, which none of us were expecting at all. She explained that the way she worded the ending was definitely misleading.

As the readers of the book, we thought she was just throwing all of her studies out the window, simple because it’s easier to say she believes in ghosts. After a whole book of going from place to place, scientist to scientist, she disregarded it all. However, Roach explained that she regrets using this statement to close the book.

In addition to discussing the book, the audience of the convocation learned quite a bit about her personality. Having read her book, I was definitely able to see her as a sarcastic person. However, I didn’t think her sarcasm was used well in the novel; for a topic as controversial as the afterlife, there is hardly room for joking. At the convocation, I was able to determine her personality much easier. Her sarcasm and light personality certainly makes her as unique as she is.

Blog 5: “Whose Line is it, Anyway?”

            One of the best Stockton events is “Whose Line is it, Anyway?” performed by Stockton’s very own drama club. This brought back memories of watching the show on television, and if it’s possible, Stockton’s version was way funnier!

The members of the drama club were able to show off their improvising skills in several skits.  While most of the skits were based off of the real show, some were made up by the students. For instance, one skit began with a single scene and one person. Then, another person came into the scene, beginning a completely different scene. The next person came to change the scene again, and so on.

When all members are in the last scene, they must leave the scene one by one, ending with the first scene that was presented. The randomness of this skit is what makes it hilarious. In addition, there is a scene in which the audience chooses three well-known celebrities for the “Dating Game.” This skit involves three contestants, who are asked questions. Their answers provide the interrogator with clues as to who they are acting out.  The accents used are usually the best hint!

Lastly, one of the best games played in the game in which the audience chooses a scenario for the actors to act out. For instance, the scenario may be a vacation in Hawaii with family. To start, one actors may say “I went on vacation, and we went swimming with dolphins,” and then the others must pose in a way which depicts the scene described. From then on, the one actors that is not posing must describe what he or she thinks each person is trying to get across. This game is fun because the actions aren’t always what they seem to be.

When I was little, after my night swim team practices, I’d watch “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” with my parents, and it certainly gave me something to look forward to. With all the laughs and fun, it was always a perfect transition into the next day. This is what the Stockton event reminded me of, and I loved every second of it!

Blog 4: Chong Night

            In the well-known N-Wing, Chong is the cashier who swipes each student’s ID card to get a meal. As we walk in, my friends and I look forward to the compliments from Chong, as well as a short conversation. As finals come to an end and stress is slowly being lifted off the students’ shoulders, this night of Christmas songs and food made by Chong is a great way to transition into winter break mode.

Chong Night, a night dedicated to the beloved cashier, was near the end of the semester, right before winter break. It involved Chong singing Christmas songs such as “Feliz Navidad,” as well as others. Not only did she provide entertainment during our meal, but she cooked everything that was served that night! The menu consisted of potato noodles, vegetables, and many other options that are not usually available to the students. This was a fun way to change it up at N-wing, and take the students out of their daily routines.

This only goes to show Chong’s dedication to her job! After sitting in the cafeteria for some time, my friends and I saw Chong’s family, who came to watch her perform. The best has yet to come- aside from the food and family, everyone was given their very own Chong face! This made the night as instant hit; everyone became Chong in a matter of seconds. In fact, my roommate and I still put them in front of our faces when we’re least expecting it! In this way, Chong night gave us a way to relax throughout the semester.

As well as being an enjoyable time, Chong Night allowed the Stockton community to give back to Chong, who always seems to enjoy her work and putting a smile on everyone’s faces. With the workload piling high toward the end of the semester, Chong Night gave me a way to relax and have fun in the middle of all the studying and stress.

New Experiences, Cuteness, and Service

Going to the Atlantic County Animal Shelter was the service project chosen by the honors program for the fall semester of 2013. Although the event wasn’t organized in the best way, I leaned many things, and got a lot out of providing service. The times that were told to the students were changed many times and were not really even final. In the end my group and I went to the campus center and waited around until the allotted time given from Facebook. Since the upperclassmen in charge of the service project did not come to the meeting place we all agreed to just go ahead. We had to provide our own transportation. This was a problem because for a bunch of college freshmen who have never driven around in this area before, getting lost was an easy task. Eventually, we were able to find the animal shelter and get to work. Since we were the last group left we had poop cleaning duty. My friends had the task for cleaning litter plans and I got off lucky with just needing to scoop litter. I also had the chance to talk to the veterinarian who worked there and was able to learn a lot about her job. She was responsible for giving the animals vaccines and medicine for when they were sick. Although I was very sad to learn that the shelter did, at times, have to euthanize some of the animals, I still admire the volunteers for working so hard to give the animals a temporary home. After about an hour, most of us had finished our tasks and were waiting around for more orders. There was not much else for us to do so we were allowed to socialize with the animals, which was absolutely the best part of the experience. My friends and I were first sent to the dogs, to let them out and play. The volunteer showed me how to put on a leash and let me pick a dog. I picked this adorable cream colored, Shino Inu. Another small dog was also allowed out and we walked them around the back yard. After letting them run around, play, and do their business we had to return them to their cages and meet for lunch. The food provided was good and much needed, since we were so hungry. In the volunteer lounge we had our reflection session and discussed the day. When that was finished we were allowed to leave, but I decided to stay. Since I was the driver, many of my friends also had to stay. In our extra time, we spent it socializing with the cats in the shelter. There were cats of all sizes and colors. There were tiny kitten and old cats too, but they were all extremely friendly and all loved to get picked up and pet. These animals, that were abandoned, lost, or stray all just wanted a home and to be loved. To be able to provide them with the service of giving them love and attention, was extremely satisfying. One of the highlights of the day was to see the precious dog that I had walked that day get adopted by this family and taken to their. By the end of the experience I was relaxed, and feeling really happy. It was such a fun experience, and I did not even mind doing the actual work of cleaning and filling the liter pans. It was frustrating in the beginning since the event was not organized I the best manner, but it was all worth it in the end. These animals only really want to be held and given love, so being around them was so fulfilling for me that I actually decided t keep coming back to the shelter to volunteer. Every Friday I take a group of my friend the shelter around three, and we just socialize with all the animals. It provided the perfect opportunity to not only de-stress, but also provide a service for animals.

Goodbye Herman

“How far can someone go for their 15 minutes of fame?” This is the question that is left with the viewers of the theater production, Hello Herman. This play was presented by Richard Stockton’s theater program from November 13-17, 2013. This was not a funny play or a happy one. It was a play that left it’s viewers speechless, thinking, and a little disgusted. Hello Herman was play a circling around a Pulitzer Prize winner journalist Lax Morales interviewing 16 year old Herman. Herman had just committed one of the greatest crimes of his time. He brought a gun to school and shot 43 students, 2 teachers, and 1 police officer. For this production, I came in expecting a drama filled story investigating the past and the reasons of how a kid could do such a hideous crime. I did not get what I was expecting. The answer and plain and simple; Herman did it, believing it was the right thing to do. He was the stereotypical nerd in school who got bullied and loved violent video games. He was psychologically affected when he was a young boy, from his father’s betrayal, his workaholic mother, and the early death of his little sister. Herman had his own twisted sense of justice. He believed that his deed would lead to a better future: a future where people were just a little nicer, and could learn to respect others. Herman was defiantly insane and most likely suffered from some sort of psychological disease but he was a character I could not bring myself to hate. There were parts of Herman that embodied every young adult who struggled through hardships. It’s no reason for what he did, but I could not help but relate to him, and leave the play wanting to be a little nicer to people.

Coming into the Human Trafficking presentation I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew the basic concept of it since I have watched the movie “Taken”. That’s just it though; it was just a movie, not something that happened in real life. To me it was such an eye opener, to learn so much more about my country, to think that something so unreal was happening just a sixty minute drive away. All of my preconceptions of human trafficking have been uneducated and naive. Human trafficking is a real and a serious issue; that’s what I got out of the presentation.

Many of my fellow classmates may say that the first two speakers were boring but I must disagree. The first two speakers served their purpose as being informative and educational, rather than the third speaker who served more to provide an emotional impact. It was interesting to learn that human trafficking is a worldwide issue and that some places even have legalized prostitution. I have come to realize that making something illegal will sometimes only worsen the problems. One of the issues with human trafficking covered was that countries that criminalize prostitution tend to assault prostitutes as criminals rather than victims.  Usually prostitutes were always portrayed as a problem and as “bad” people but to think of them as victims opened my eyes to a new perspective. One of the most shocking things for me was when the second speaker presented statistics of victim. I wasn’t surprised that 68% of the victims were women but what shocked me was that some of these girls were not only used for sex tools but for organ transplants as well. This was something I never would have expected; it’s such an inhumane, disgusting thing to think about. It’s really horrifying to imagine a young girl, a daughter, a sister, a niece, in a foreign country taken by strange men to be threatened and raped time and time again. In the process of an unqualified person removing her organs, she may even be killed. As a girl who does travel a lot to different countries, and even different states, I have come to realized how dangerous and common Human Trafficking is worldwide and in the United States.

It was the third speaker that definitely had the most impact. My first impression of her was that she seemed like such a sweet, caring, and educated woman. The way she spoke made it feel that I knew her. There was no way I would have labeled her as a foolish woman; rather she was just a hopeful optimistic person. To hear that it happened so easily, so close by to where I live is truly frightening.  When she explained that she had to escape twice and then wasn’t given help mad me angry. This program helped me realize that human trafficking is a problem not only in other countries but here in the states. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed in a way that will treat these so called illegal prostitutes as victims, not criminals.

Stockton held Wellness Day on March 4, 2014 in the Campus Center Main Event Room.  Various clubs and companies were in attendance, displaying a variety of health and safety initiatives as well as some natural treatments for hair and skin.  The Music Union provided the music.

One of the clubs in attendance was the Stockton Neighborhood Watch.  The Neighborhood Watch sought to receive signatures on their annual Spring Break Safety Pledge.  They wanted to beat the previous year’s record of 1,088 pledges.  While Wellness Day was not the only day they would be collecting pledges, they wanted to get off to a good start.  With the heavy flow of student traffic, they hoped to get a majority of students to stop by the table to sign the pledge.

The pledge stated that students would not drink and drive.  Neighborhood Watch wanted to make sure that if people did decide to drink that they would make smart decisions and participate in safe and smart behaviors.

Students were not the only ones to sign the pledges.  Professors, visitors, and other tabling companies signed the pledge.  Even if they didn’t necessarily have a Spring Break, they were still encouraged to sign to show their support for the students who were going to be on Spring Break and that they themselves would practice safe drinking habits.

The pledges that were signed were taped onto an inflatable palm tree.  By the end of the day, the tree was plastered with multiple colors of coconut-shaped pledges.  At the end of the day, all of the pledges were taken down and counted.

Another group in attendance was Atlantic County Prevention Resources.  This organization is a big part of the groups STAND and REBEL held in middle school and high school.  They were giving out information on a variety of topics relating to health and drugs.