Katie Brandt

Honors Freshman Seminar

Professor Rosner

The Kahoot! Situation

            On Wednesday September 14^th, the Stockton Entertainment Team (SET) hosted Kahoot! Music Trivia Night in the Campus Center.  This event was a one-time only game night that all students were invited to.  Upon entrance to the Campus Center, SET members welcomed attendees and offered refreshments and candy.  All students were asked to combine into teams of four to work together when answering the trivia questions.  It was explained that each group should have one team captain that would use their phone to respond to the questions shown on the projector.  After each question was shown, there would be a few seconds given to discuss with teammates to decide which of the four possible answers was correct.  All of the teams were thoroughly enjoying themselves until there was a wireless connection issue.  One-by-one each team started to lose the connection between their captain’s phone and the trivia questions on the projector.  Phones were freezing left and right.  Multiple groups became frustrated and left the game entirely.  SET decided the only fair way to continue playing was to restart the whole question set.  For the groups that kept playing, it seemed like a great idea.  Everything was going smoothly during the retry game until it happened again.  Phones were losing connection again and participants started to become upset.  My team was doing great and getting all the answers right and we were all so excited.  We were in the top five on the leaderboard.  When the connection failed the second time, my team decided we were going to leave.  SET should not be blamed for the technical problems.  No one can control the strength of the wireless internet.  It was a shame about the connection issues because the event was put together so well and everyone was having a blast.

On Saturday September 17th, my friends and I ventured to the Campus Center for the free showing of the movie Central Intelligence. The movie featured the actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and comedian Kevin Hart. “The Rock” played CIA officer, Bob Stone, who was bullied in high school. Kevin Hart’s character, Calvin Joyner, did not live up to his classmates expectations of “most likely to succeed”. The movie opened with a traumatic high school memory: “The Rock” donned a fat suit and was thrown in the gym of his high school completely naked. Kevin Hart’s character saved him from embarrassment. Later, it shows the pair reconnecting for their 20th high school reunion. Hart is recruited to help Johnson with is CIA case. Of course, there were humorous scenes throughout the movie. It was the perfect brainless comedy to see during the first few weeks of college. 

The movie night was sponsored by Stockton Entertainment Team (SET), which puts on two movie showings a week. This gives students the opportunity to view movies on Thursdays and Saturdays. Their movie nights are perfect for the students who choose to stay on campus for the weekend; Stockton notoriously clears out on Fridays. Having weekend entertainment on campus sponsored by the college provides a great way to have fun! Students have the chance of winning movie posters and even two tickets, worth over $30.All movies shown by the Stockton Entertainment Team are only recently released to DVD. Upcoming movies being shown include: Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond, Sausage Party, Suicide Squad, Lights Out, War Dogs, Bad Moms, Jason Bourne, Sully, and Bridget Jones’s Baby.  A full schedule with dates and times for the rest of the semester is listed on Stockton’s website. SET’s movie nights provide a fun, and entertaining agenda for students looking to see a recently released movie with their friends!

Elyse Hazel

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

On September 15th, 2016, Stockton’s Political Science Department hosted a question and answer panel featuring the nine Stockton students who had the opportunity to be interns at both the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The RNC took place between July 18th and July 21st, and featured two Stockton students interning. The DNC had a total of seven Stockton students in attendance, and took place between July 25th and July 28th. The panel opened with each student introducing themselves and listing what their responsibilities at their conventions were. Responsibilities ranged from arranging seats and interning at CNN during the DNC to running the shuttle services at the hotel for the RNC. One student was even able to attend the DNC’s caucasus, where important politicians such as Elizabeth Warren decide policy platforms with state delegations.

Once the students finished listing off their responsibilities, they were asked questions by the two panel moderators, Professor Michael Rodriguez and Professor Claire Abernathy. Participants were asked about what the point of a convention is, and the responses varied based on which convention was attended. The consensus from the DNC was that the convention is “essentially advertising” for the candidates, while the two RNC students believed that the convention served as a “unifying factor” for the party. The questions only got more difficult from there, however, many of the students were Political Science majors, making them amply ready to field anything thrown their way. When asked about “voting your conscience” versus “the lesser of two evils” approach to this election, the panel said that if you live in one of the “hardline” states that always vote one way or the other, then you “have every right” to vote your conscience. However, if you’re in a swing state, they said, then the “lesser of two evils” approach is how you should enter the voting booth. 110 electoral votes lie within  the eight swing states, meaning voters in these states hold the most power.

After the questions, panelists presented a slideshow of photos from both conventions, which featured pictures of the students at the conventions, including pictures of students on the convention floor with important figures of each political party. The panel was then open for questions from the audience to ask questions, Once the students answered all the questions, the panel concluded with the panelists and moderators urging everyone to go out and vote in November, because “once they see that young people are coming out to vote, they’ll start to cater to us”.

Overall, the panel was very enjoyable and offered valuable information to students at Stockton. Hopefully, Stockton will continue to offer events like these and students will continue to come out and become more politically active.

– Dan Tidcombe

Jessica Klein

The event I attended this week was the first of the four presidential debate-watching parties hosted by the Political Engagement & American Democracy Project.

The event started about an hour before the actual debate did to allow everyone time to find a seat and enjoy the refreshments that were provided to us. Shortly before the debate began, everyone was given debate bingo cards. The first five to fill two rows would win a door prize.

We watched the debate online on CNN. It was projected onto a large screen, so visibility wasn’t an issue. There was also a secondary, smaller projection screen in the room projecting the popular tweets about the debate.

Overall I really enjoyed the debate-watching party. It was nice to be surrounded by other students who were politically active and shared similar views on the candidates. It was comforting to know how many people wanted to be informed about politics. My only complaint is that it seemed the organization underestimated how many students were going to attend. There were not enough tables, which meant many people needed to find chairs or just sit on the floor.

How To Survive Cross Country Preseason

My name is Destiny Foster, and I am a Cross Country preseason camp survivor.
Okay, so it wasn’t bad enough to actually kill me, but let me explain something to you. There are two things I genuinely dislike and sometimes even fear: clowns and cross country. I know exactly what you’re going to say, and I’ll respond in the phrase that I have a feeling will get me through college all in itself. “Why do you do cross country if you don’t like it?” My answer: “I don’t know; I’m crazy.” That being said, I can only hope that many other lunatics like myself partake in the hellish 9 days that is preseason camp. This is how to survive preseason.
You’re going to move into the on campus apartments, with your parents nipping at your heels and acting one of two ways: as if you’re moving away for good, completely ignoring the fact that you’ll be home in a week and a half, or as if they can’t wait to get rid of you. When you get into your room, there’s going to be another athlete who you’re going to size up by the looks of her leg muscles – don’t hesitate to tell her you’ve already stalked her Milesplit.com stats and that you know what she ran on May 26th, 2014. You’ll also notice upon your walk to your room that the average person on the team probably weighs about 110 pounds soaking wet. Keep walking, lie to yourself by saying you’re going to have a salad for dinner, and move on.
Your first unofficial practice will be the sketchiest thing you’ll ever take part in. You’ll have to spread out in small, insignificant-looking groups to hide from the athletic department, because you’re technically not supposed to start inflicting massive amounts of pain on your body until Monday. Find out who the fastest girls on your team are, and do not, I repeat DO NOT run with them on this day, or any day during preseason. As friendly as they are, and believe me they are sweethearts, the worst possible thing you could do is go for a 5 mile run at the same pace as the NJAC Rookie of the Year title holder. You’re going to look up mid-run and think to yourself: “Why does it feel like I’m having a heart attack?” Keep running, and cherish this first run, because it’ll be the easiest one of your whole preseason.
You’ll meet a couple of your coaches, but not all of them. Coach Curll will most likely be stranded in another state because his RV gave him trouble. Your first impression of coach Resch, which will definitely be a good one, will uphold itself forever – he is as friendly, sarcastic, and inwardly tough as he seems. You’ll receive your first of many motivational speeches from coach Parker, and you’ll immediately feel as if you can easily bench press a medium-sized car the second she finishes. Her words will get you through every workout, every meet, and every mile.
You’re going to sit through seemingly endless seminars about topics ranging from the importance of drinking excessive amounts of water to a thousand reasons why salt is a good thing. You’re going to register yourself as an official NCAA athlete, and you’re going to feel an unexplainable sense of entitlement while doing so. However, this process entails writing your name so many times that it looks like it’s spelled wrong after a while. Keep writing; it’ll be over soon. On the bright side, your privileges as an athlete include waving off the front desk workers at Big Blue when they ask for your ID because, “I’m with Cross Country,” is code for, “I’m not just a sporadic gymgoer.”
There will come a day when you have to do “bowl repeats” at Holmdel. If you don’t know what the Holmdel bowl is, try to visualize a right angle covered in rocks and dirt. Now, imagine running up that right angle multiple times in one morning. If you’re not scared yet, you should know that you’re about 87% more likely to twist your ankle running on this course than you are at any other time. That being said, the Holmdel workout will be one of the best ones of your life. You’re going to leave with pain in muscles you weren’t even aware you had, but you’re going to limp away with a sense of accomplishment and knowledge that you, my sweaty friend, have just dominated the bowl. No worries, the Osprey bus is air conditioned. However, do the others around you a favor and always have deodorant in your bag. No amount of central air can remedy the damage 40 plus runners post-workout will do to your nostrils.
You’re also going to partake in a lip sync battle. Do what I did: dress up as Lil Wayne (cornrows, grills, and a permanent snarling lip) and rap explicit material in front of your coaches and their children. This, by the way, will be the first time coach Curll will see you, in all your pretentious thug-looking glory, and he will never forget you henceforth.
You will discover random little things about yourself that you either didn’t previously know or didn’t care to find out. For example, you actually do enjoy high socks with sarcastic phrases or woodland creatures embroidered on them. You’re going to be physically and emotionally exhausted by 7 PM every evening, and there is no more effective way to reach your social limit for the day than to spend 18 hours straight with people just as extroverted as yourself – or better yet, trying to coax the introverted out of their shells. You’ll have at least twelve missed messages by the end of every day, and you’re going to be way too exhausted to answer these people. Unless they gave birth to you, do not answer them. Enjoy the company of those physically within proximity of your aching body.
Finally, on the last day of preseason, you’re going to be subjected to possible death by time trial. Coach Resch will have made up his mind 16 different times about the length and location of this course. There will be whispers of the top 18 making the team, and talk of cutting the unfortunate stragglers. Just run your race, and enjoy the free bagels afterwards.
Preseason was both a challenge and an adventure. The idea of subjecting young adults to a certain amount of pain daily to ween out the weakest seems like an initial step toward genocide, but I guarantee the pain is worth the memories you’ll make. My apologies for the cliché. You’re going to be stronger, faster, and significantly more exhausted upon leaving camp than you were when you first walked in. More importantly, you’re going to leave with 40 more friends than you had before, even if you don’t realize it right then. The team is there to help you and provide dry humor in times of need. Take advantage of their constant availability to you – not everybody gets to call these people their teammates. You will survive preseason if you follow all of my advice. Happy running!

Destiny Foster

Kate Doherty

Lisa Rosner

Honors Freshman Seminar

30 September 2016

Making Memories: Blog Post

“Oh look! The Student Digest email just came through!” My roommate and I call what we do “utilizing our tuition”. We always check the student digest emails to see what activities are going on around campus. We attend as many of the Stockton events as we can. There are events in the campus center coffeehouse each week hosted by different organizations like the Stockton Entertainment Team or Get Centered, an initiative to get students involved on campus.  On Monday, September 19, we attended the memory board do-it-yourself craft activity sponsored by Get Centered. Everyone lined up and received a piece of plywood, a sheet of cotton batting, and the fabric color of our choice.

Participating in crafts is therapeutic for me and I enjoy taking the time to do these events. Since moving into college I have become accustomed to staying up later at night; therefore, I start my homework around 9 or 10 p.m. Being able to relax at the evening events helps me unwind from my day of classes and mentally prepares me to sit down and do my homework. These evening events are a great opportunity for students to get involved with their friends and make new connections while bonding over how hard the craft is or how fun the events are. I enjoyed attending this event. My roommate and I were able to add décor to our room—something we are always trying to do! At home I have similar memory boards that I keep all of my pictures and tickets on. It was too much to bring them to school because of all of the things attached to them, but it is nice to be able to start fresh on a new board for college memories!

Over two hundred members of the Class of 2020 made their first memories as Ospreys during the 2016 Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat (S.O.A.R.). From August 30-September 1, The Activity Leaders of New Students (T.A.L.O.N.S.) guided Stockton University’s freshman class through the winding dirt paths of Camp Ockanickon to help prepare them for the twists and turns of life in college.

Before the journey to camp began, Stockton’s newest students moved into their dorm rooms and were sorted into their tribe colors (although some think it is up for debate, Sky is in fact a color). After some emotional goodbyes, the students were eager to meet their new classmates. While waiting for the buses, the T.A.L.O.N.S. helped minimize the awkwardness of mingling by introducing icebreakers to play and mind games to go insane over. I still don’t know why I’m the broom.

There was SOAR much to do over the next few days, with a favorite being the never-ending list of S.O.A.R. puns. From relaxing swims in the lake to pushing personal limits on the Project Adventure course, Camp Ockanickon was filled with fun opportunities. In addition to the recreational activities, the Stockton and YMCA staff also held a variety of dialogue sessions throughout the trip. These activities focused on topics like getting involved on campus and becoming more empathetic. Strategies to be successful in college and beyond were also incorporated into exciting games and challenges.

S.O.A.R. is unlike any pre-college program seen at other universities. Stockton’s freshman retreat encouraged emotional growth during the transition into college. Students had the opportunity to think deeply about what they want out of these next four years; furthermore, the high-ropes course challenged students in new ways and instilled mental toughness. The first day of S.O.A.R. was really awkward, but by the end of it, I felt more prepared than ever to start college. I was put at ease when I recognized so many faces at Welcome Week; being in on all of the inside jokes from Camp Ockanickon was SOAR much fun.

Lily Davis

On September 26, I watched a Presidential debate at the school’s viewing party in the event room.  This was the first time I have ever watched a televised debate, so this was pretty interesting for me, and this is also my first time voting in a Presidential election.  This election is a pivotal one, and it feels like my entire future is resting on it.

It was really fascinating to me to be able to watch the debate in real time, and thinking that the candidates were actually discussing these topics in real time was very amusing to me.  What peeved me about the debate was the lack of actual answers to the given questions.  Personally, I think that the moderator asked fitting questions, but they were not targeted towards the younger crowd of voters.  For example, one topic was about the security of America, especially relating to the cyber protection and defense. While this is a very important issue, I feel that this was probably not the issue that most millennials care about.   Instead of discussing  who is behind  the country’s cyber attacks, they could have spent the time talking about how to make college more affordable, or discuss the changing healthcare system and what they would do what they would do if they became president.  

Another thing that I did not appreciate about the debate is that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton almost never really ever answered the questions that were provided.  When a question would be asked, the Presidential Candidates would dodge the actual point, and pretty much just blame the the other candidate for something they did many years ago.

I turned eighteen in April, and this is my first time voting for the President of the United States. This has been really a very interesting experience for me, because I feel like I actually will have a say in what will happen in this country. Even though I am one of two hundred million or so people that are able to vote, I believe that every person’s vote counts.  

After watching this debate, I am actually really excited to watch the next Presidential Debate, because I want to see how the next moderator deals with the constant interruptions, and hopefully  asks some different questions.  I cannot wait to cast my vote in November!

   By Kenzie Hoinkis

    This past Monday, the 26th of September, was the much anticipated 2016 Presidential Debate, and what better way to celebrate than a Presidential Debate Watching Party? This event was sponsored by Stockton University’s Political Engagement & American Democracy Project and was held in the Board of Trustees Room. This party, which was accompanied with complementary popcorn and soda, began at 8 o’clock but had a steady flow of students entering the room until a few minutes after nine. As the number of people grew, extra chairs had to be placed out; it was obvious this was a bigger event than initially thought and the original guess of people attending had been greatly underestimated.

    As we settled in, the event’s organizers handed out Democracy Bingo Cards. Each block of the cards was a common phrase that would be crossed off if and when one of the candidates said it during the debate. There were some phrases that were virtual giveaways, like the “make America great again” block. This bingo was a great idea for getting people involved and encouraging us to pay close attention to what was being said in the debate.

    Another interesting aspect of this event was a large screen off to the side of the room; a livestream of tweets from people across the country about the debate were projected onto the screen. It was a cool way to feel connected, and it felt like the whole country was watching this debate together. The livestream of tweets was definitely an example of the beneficial uses of social media, a platform that usually receives harsh criticism.

    I really enjoyed this event that encouraged us to get involved and pay attention to the politics that will largely impact our lives. There will be future Debate Parties for the rest of this Presidential campaign and I can’t wait to attend them.