I have plenty of things to worry about as an incoming freshman. “Where are all of my classes?” “What is my chemistry professor talking about?” and personally, “Why do I keep locking myself out of my dorm?!” These questions aside, we are all thinking about one main worry: “Will I be able to make friends?” Unlike the previous three questions, this one has a simple answer: S.O.A.R! Being able to “soar” like an osprey before starting the semester is a great way to become comfortable with new peers before setting foot on campus as an official Stockton student.

S.O.A.R (Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat) is a three-day camping trip intended to bring students together through activities such as high elements, “Big Black Pony,” and our favorites, the mind-twisters. S.O.A.R. includes eight tribes in total: green, navy, sky, red, pink, orange, yellow, and purple. After coming up with their individual chants, the tribes then split up for scheduled activities. For instance, the low elements activity was made up of various challenges, such as walking across a log to get in birthday order, without falling off. Another activity, the high elements, included more fear-inducing tasks, such as rock climbing and the tight rope. Between making up skits, meeting the T.A.L.O.N.S, and playing blind dodge ball, all tribes can agree that SOAR has proven to be one of the most effective activities at Stockton. Coming back from the trip, we were able to easily transition to our new lives here at Stockton, excited for the next step.

One more intention of this trip is to open minds; since we are all new to this setting and to each other, this is the perfect opportunity to become acquainted through new activities. Along with an open mind comes a well-rounded college experience. In other words, the skills learned in S.O.A.R. will be applied to a countless number of experiences, from learning names as freshmen to finding career interviews as seniors. Meeting people outside the classroom also proves to be influential due to the fact that each person is interested in different activities, whether it be athletic, academic, or just for fun. Each student has a way to get to know the various clubs Stockton has to offer by communicating interests.

Upon returning to Stockton at the conclusion of the trip, there is already a sense of unity. This unity will provide students with long-lasting friendships, in addition to new experiences. Communicating interests to different people, therefore, is another way in which S.O.A.R. makes the college experience at Stockton even more influential than it already is.

On the bright morning of Saturday, September 12^th, I rose from my cozy grave to start a lengthy day of Service with Stockton. The day began with loud hustle and bustle in the campus center. Pick your team, get some breakfast, find a seat and get started. I was eager to get up and go for the day, but the Day of Service turned out to be very different than I anticipated. Much of the day included information sessions on different organizations that the university works with. They discussed different ways for us to make a larger impact on our community through extensive service projects, and not just picking up trash around campus.

The purple team started their day learning about environmental impacts, conserving water and avoiding plastic bottles, and how to get involved at the Stockton farm. After that, we continued to different areas in the campus center that discussed suicide awareness, gave information about drugs, and gave training on good programs like Green Dot. The day was only half over and already, many people were well educated in different methods to make a difference around the University and other communities. The purple team continued to sort books with Books without Borders, and ended the day with learning about Civic Engagement in the C-D Atrium.

As a whole, the Day of Service was very insightful. Though some feel that more hands-on service would have been better, everyone who attended the Day of Service gained knowledge on how to make a greater impact. For next year, I would argue that it would be more efficient to combine physical activities with the discussion sessions. That way participants can get their toes wet in the different areas and become more motivated to continue projects in the future.

This week I attended my weekly Circle K meeting. Circle K is a student organization on campus that is service oriented. The meetings are every Wednesday in room L112. Meetings always start off the same way: our President, Lauren, rings the traditional Kiwanis International, our parent organization, bell to get the meeting started. From there, it is business as usual. We go over the many event we have coming up during the rest of October such the Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and our club project that is our Adopt-A-Road program on Tilton Road where we have to clean up that road every so often. Then we talked about the several social events we will be hosting soon like a movie night for the club on Friday, and the New Jersey District Club Rally at Drew University on Sunday.

After handling the business of upcoming club and district events, we talked about our weekly service projects. On Mondays club members can go to a program called Campus Kitchen at Atlantic City High School and help serve meals to people in need. On Tuesdays, there’s Project Linus in which students help make teddy bears, blankets and pillow cases that get donated to several different hospitals. Wednesdays is on-campus service that has a new service project every week, and Thursday is Salvation Army where we go to the local Salvation Army and help the kids there with their homework and alsoon Thursday and Tuesday we go to Sunrise which is an assisted living facility and we go and play games and interact with the residents. Finally, on Friday club members can go to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission and help serve dinner to the homeless.

Finally, after all of this, comes the end of the meeting. At the end of every meeting we have a tradition of introducing ourselves, saying what we are happy for that week and putting some change in a plastic piggy bank named ‘Porkahontas’. This is also usually the longest part of the meeting. At the end of the year, all of the money that was collected in Porkahontas will be donated to several charities.

Overall, I really enjoy going to the Circle K meetings. It gives me a break from the rest of college life and everyone there is very nice so I always leave having had a great time. Although some of it is just repeating the same things we hear every week it doesn’t really get old as some would imagine. I also like the idea behind Porkahontas. It really makes you think of all the positive things going on in your life. Even if people in the club are having a rough week they can always find one thing to talk about to be their happy thought for the week. Circle K is definitely a great club to be in and I am so happy I decided to join.

On October 5, the Stockton College hosted their 18^th annual Osprey Ball in the Campus Center Event Room.  Tickets were sold in advance for five dollars and for ten dollars at the door, a relatively low price for four hours of dancing, food, and friendship.

A photo booth was positioned outside of the event room complete with hilarious accessories so friends could pose together and just have a great time.  A photographer milled about the event, taking pictures of various individuals, couples, and groups of friends.  Once inside the room, dancers were greeted with a blast of music and a foggy dance floor lit up by lasers.

The Campus Center was redesigned to look like a Monopoly board come to life.  Giant cardboard cutouts of spaces from the board as well as large dice were scattered around the room.  (One die even made it into the air part way into the ball as dancers tossed it around the dance floor as though it were a volleyball.)  There was also an arch against one wall that depicted all of the streets a person could buy on the Monopoly board where people could take pictures either by themselves or with friends.

The music stayed within the pop genre, ranging from Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop” to Ylvis’s “What Does the Fox Say?”.  The dance floor was jammed packed with dancers and friends hanging out and just having fun.  It was rather noteworthy that when a line dancing song came on, the hodgepodge of people managed to quickly move into a grid-like formation to move along as one and do dances like “The Wobble” and “Cha cha Slide.”

All in all, it was an exciting and enjoyable evening that, despite not always given the highest regards by students, was worth the money to just have some good, clean fun.

On November 11, 2015, students and visitors gathered outside of the Campus Center Theater to enjoy a Sixties Concert. Professor John O’ Hara’s Sixties Class put together the concert in honor of the 60s. Along with live music, O’ Hara’s class put together a “Peace and Love” museum along the side of the theater. Artifacts and artwork from the 60s were featured, along with displays created by the students. The displays featured research done by the students based on different aspects of the 60s. Some displays had information on the Black Panther Party and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There were refreshments available in the gallery for all attendees.

Inside the theater, there was artwork placed along the walls. Students filed into rows to take their seats while Barry Bender and Friends set up before their performance. They performed first, singing covers of songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, etc. “The Tin Man” and “Gettysburg” were original songs they shared with us. Before every song cover, a brief explanation was given as to the song choice.

After Barry Bender and Friends, Stockton students performed. Most students were from the a capella group here at Stockton. After the performances by the students, the Stockton Faculty Band performed multiple covers of songs until the end of the concert. These songs seemed to be more known among the final audience members of the concert. The remaining audience members cherished the music while it lasted. In the end, the remaining listeners cheered for the performers and retired to their housing.

All in all, the concert was amazing, and it definitely took the audience back in time to the 60s.

The end is near for the students at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.  A zombie apocalypse has infected the campus, leaving students to fend for themselves. However, this apocalypse is not real and just for fun. This week-long simulation of a zombie apocalypse has students equipped with Nerf guns and sock-grenades to fend off the zombie hordes. All participants must wear a green band around their arm indicating they are not infected. If they are infected they must wear a green band around their head. There are over 150 students participating in this event which makes the battle between the living and the living dead that more intense.

Students had to register online to participate in this event. However, there are some rogue participants joining in the fun. Also with this event, students who are labeled as “humans” must partake in nightly missions to ensure their survival. Some of these missions include scavenging for food and other supplies. The missions run pretty late from 8 pm to possibly 12 am. The zombie craze is spreading rather rapidly from all of the recent movies and television shows. If one has been “infected” by this craze, this Stockton event is the anecdote.  So grab your friends, your family, some Nerf bullets and socks, and prepare yourself for the Stockton zombie apocalypse.

On Saturday, October 10, 2015, students, family, and faculty gathered in the K-Wing viewing area with noisemakers in hand. They awaited the arrival of the golf carts decorated by numerous clubs and organizations on campus. Bystanders made more noise as they grew anxious before the parade began. Some fellow freshman looked on with hopeful eyes, as they would be experiencing their first ever “University Weekend” celebration. After waiting for the parade to begin, groups of people shifted closer towards the center of the sidewalk; the parade was starting.

Cheering and clapping erupted from the crowd as the carts drove onto the sidewalk. A large number of clubs had skillfully decorated carts, not only for the amusement of the crowd, but for the cart decorating contest as well. Veteran members of said clubs drove the carts while other members walked behind cheering on their club. The carts drove through the viewing area, down to the tennis courts, to Lot 6, and finally, to Big Blue, where they parked the carts in Lot 5.

The crowd followed or walked alongside the carts towards the carnival. Tents with carnival games were set up in the center, while moon bounces, rock climbing, and tents with food surrounded the center tent. Clubs hosted several attractions in the center tent. I helped out at the game that Rotaract hosted, which was called birthday block. For the hour I volunteered, several people played and others seemed interested enough to come back and play. When my hour was up, I spent time with my family and friends. University Weekend was a very fun and relaxing event for all, and many attendees seemed to enjoy the time spent at Stockton.

Thursday, September 19^th,  was the opening day of one of Stockton’s most prestigious intermural sports, flag football. This intense version of football is a fast-paced sport with great competition and even greater intensity. Countless teams formed rather quickly and went to the required meetings for the club. Some specific teams to look out for on the field include the Gotham Rogues, the “?” team, Grandma’s boys, the Good Team, and Team ‘Merica. Relationships among fellow teammates are beginning to form, and the hunger for victory is overtaking every team in the league.

This version of football is played on a smaller field with differing rules from that of regular football. The game is fast-paced and extremely entertaining to play and watch. Thursday, September 19, was the first preseason day for many of the teams in the league. This gave some of the newer teams the time to understand the game and adapt to it to the best of their abilities. This intermural sport is a great way for new friendships to be formed, great for students to experience something different the college has to offer, and most importantly it is great for forming long-lasting memories for the future. College is the time to live life independently, to earn a quality education, and to make new friendships and memories. Flag football is a great way to take complete advantage of what Stockton College has to offer, which was demonstrated clearly during the opening preseason day on Thursday, September 19^th.

On Wednesday, September 24, 2015, the Stockton Entertainment Team worked together to set up black light mini golf in the Campus Center Event Room. Students gathered in the campus center and talked amongst each other. When S.E.T was finished setting up, they announced that there needed to be at least five people to a team. There almost seemed to be a comical panic amongst my fellow ospreys who had to find a few extra people to complete their team. Having to find more teammates (as my team had to do) gave us a chance to meet more people.

More than 15 teams signed up to participate. They called teams into the event room two at a time to play a series of nine holes. While waiting to go inside, the other teams sat around and socialized. I was on team 10 and we were finally called inside.

Inside the event room, the lights were completely off and there were UV lights strategically placed where each section was glowing. The setup wasn’t what I had expected. The courses were fairly small and not complicated in any way. Out of our team, we were given two golf clubs. We split up into groups of two and three because we had to share the golf clubs. Some courses had a straight path to the hole and others had hills, ramps, and bridges as obstacles. Up to two or three teams all rotated between the courses. Occasionally, a golfer would hit the ball too hard and it would roll across the room. The teams moved through the courses fairly quick, and turned in the golf clubs and golf balls when finished.

It was a fun event for all. Friends enjoyed each other’s company and it was definitely a peaceful break from classwork.