The Anticlimactic Concert at Lakeside Lodge

Lloyd Shanahan

04/21/2018

               The Anticlimactic Concert at Lakeside Lodge

At Stockton’s Lakeside Lodge on Wednesday, April 18th there was a cancer awareness event that was being held on the shore of Lake Fred. There was special portfolios on cancer research being displayed along with some free pizza, iced tea, and wings. There was also a funny game that is a parody of the game pin the tail on the donkey, only this time it was called pin the condom on the stud.  

While there were no cancer awareness speeches being held at this event, there was instead a local band named the Seven Stone who performed covers of famous songs in the Lakeside Lodge auditorium. The show lasted from 6:00pm to 9:00 pm with an intermission. The songs that were covered are largely modern alternative-rock songs, as well as some classics like American Girl by Tom Petty, I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick, Basket Case by Green Day, and Don’t Stop Believing by Journey.  Unfortunately, during the whole concert, hardly anyone showed up to this show. Most of their audience consisted of the portfolio stand attendees and some local employees. The maximum number of those who showed up was about ten to fifteen people.

The quality of the music was solid, but why was this show, as well as the rest of the event, ignored? As said before, it was certainly not because of the quality of the music. In fact, there was even a DJ who worked for WLFR who offered to play their music on the air. But considering that there was enough people who showed up to eat the free food but not stay around, it is easy to assume that the reason that the event was so ignored was due to the time of day the event was scheduled. It was on a Wednesday, at a time where many classes had begun preparing for finals. It has even been confirmed that there were more students in the computer lab then there were in the Lodge auditorium. Even though this event could be deemed as unsuccessful, it was for a good cause.  Hopefully, the planners for this event next year can learn from their shortcomings and plan a more successful event for cancer awareness.

Ospreys Learn 'Politics of Divination'

Ospreys Learn ‘Politics of Divination’

BY SHANNON JOYCE

Recently, a professor visited Stockton University to discuss his book about divination in the contemporary world of finance.

   Dr. Joshua Ramey, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Grinnell College, wrote Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency. He lectured about topics in the book, especially divination. The Oxford Dictionary defines “divination” as “the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.” Diviners are “called upon by leaders to help make decisions in the face of uncertainty,” he explained.

Divination has been practiced for centuries and is still used today for serious purposes, even in the United States. For example, in some states, a tied election result is legally decided by “the draw of a card from a deck,” as Dr. Ramey explained. Major Wall Street firms also use divination by regularly employing mediums and psychics for research contributions.

“We need to ask ourselves whether we can really have a democracy, have a society based on popular sovereignty . . . when so much of our lives are controlled by the power of investors,” Dr. Ramey stated. Divination is in the hands of few financial speculators with a profit motive “indifferent or hostile to social or ecological needs,” he specified.

Regarding the risks associated with today’s financial speculation, he said it “is not really making a fortune, but . . . opening or closing the future for some people rather than others.”

Dr. Ramey visited Stockton because he was invited by Dr. Privitello, Coordinator and Associate Professor of Stockton’s Philosophy and Religion program. The two met in graduate school and have been friends for almost 20 years.

If anyone is interested in learning more about Dr. Ramey’s research, his book can be purchased from several major retailers, such as Barnes and Noble, Target, or Amazon.

The NBA is Back

Zach Freihofer

23 April 2018

COMM-2103 Writing for the Media

Professor O’Hanlon

The NBA Is Back! No Cake Walk for Anyone

In 2016, after the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 3-1 deficit to beat the reigning NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, a superstar that was currently on the Oklahoma City Thunder, decided to join the Warriors, which put their team over the top. Many people were infuriated with Durant because he “hopped on the bandwagon.” “He ruined the NBA season for me. I have no intention to watch NBA basketball this season because we know the outcome, the Golden State Warriors are winning the NBA Championship,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take, a national television show airing on ESPN.

This season, everything has changed. Superstars joined other NBA superstars to compete with the Golden State Warriors, They succeeded. Obviously, the Warriors are still a favorite to win the title again, but that may change. In the Western Conference, we have teams like the Houston Rockets, who have James Harden and Chris Paul, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who has Russell Westbrook and acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, the Utah Jazz, who some think aren’t as big of a threat, but they are playing great, who have a future superstar in Donovan Mitchell and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Rudy Gobert. In the Eastern Conference, we have the Philadelphia 76ers, with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid who are playing lights out. The Toronto Raptors, who have an amazing backcourt in Demar Derozan and Kyle Lowry and finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the best player on the planet in LeBron James.

Alton Hits a High Note for Local Bands

Alton Hits a High Note for Local Bands

Written by: CJ Coyle

   Photo by: undetermined shots ©

Stockton University’s annual concert, Woodstockton, returned last week on April 20th with headliners The All-American Rejects rocking the night away. The event is the climax of every calendar year at Stockton University, as big names come in every year shortly before summer vacation. Along with the big named rockstars, WoodStockton has openers every year that consist of its very own students. This year, South Jersey band Alton, earned their chance to play a once in a lifetime show in front of their entire student body.

Alton, an ambitious cover-band made up of lead singer and bassist Zachary Pacheco, guitarist Jake Aulffo, guitarist Collin Crimins, and drummer Adrian Padayhag, are all students at Stockton who came together serendipitously through a club at school. “Alton officially formed back in February of this year  with the sole purpose of getting a video together to audition for Woodstockton. Unofficially though, we’ve all been playing music together for awhile. Last semester we were all in a band in Stockton’s Music Union, and me, Jake, and Adrian were doing some acoustic open mic sets here and there,” says guitarist Collin Crimins, “When the time came to get something together to audition, we realized we needed a singer, and the first person to come to our minds was zack. We all got together one night to play at Alton Auditorium and it all clicked.” He elaborates on the origin of the bands unique name here, “The name Alton obviously came from the theater/auditorium on campus with the same name. When we were getting our audition video together all of schedules were pretty hectic. Pretty much all of us were working full time and in school full time so that left us with nights to practice. I think the idea came from Jake to practice in Alton because he had a jazz band class in there and knew it was open at night. Looking back we probably had no right to be in there, but we set up our stuff and were playing in there almost every night we could, sometimes until 3 or 4 am. The night we shot our audition video I know we were in there from like 8pm to 3am. The night time cleaning staff would come in and listen sometimes, and one, her name was Maria, was really friendly and encouraging. So much so that our band name almost ended up being Maria. I know Adrian and Zack still want it to be that, but we decided on Alton because it’s where we started.”

Crimins goes on to explain how his big night went at WoodStockton,”Opening for The All-American Rejects was a surreal experience. Ever since I started playing guitar, I had always dreamed of the chance to get up on stage and play a real concert. I feel like this show really made that dream come true. At first, I think we were all super nervous, or at least I know I was. But once they called us up, and that first song started, all those nerves went away, and the only thing on my mind was putting on the best show we possibly could. I think it was something like 1,200 people in the audience, 95% of which had never even heard of us, and to get up on that stage, and for it to be our first show as a band, I can’t think of a more exciting experience I’ve had in my life. The crowd was awesome, responded well to us, and it brought the biggest smile to my face to hear people cheering our band name and clapping as we wrapped up our set. I think I’ll remember that night forever.”

Crimins goes on to talk about the future plans of Alton, “As far as new music, I can’t say anything for sure. We don’t even truly have any old music, we’re just a cover band as of now. But I’m always writing, and I know the other guys definitely want to keep going with this, whether that means sitting down to write a few originals or doing gigs over the summer playing covers. All I can say for sure is that me, Jake, Adrian, and Zack love music. And that’s never gonna change. So whether we’re writing songs, playing gigs, or staying up way too late listening to mid-2000s Fall Out Boy in H102 (the other classroom we spend way too long practicing in), we’re gonna be around doing what we love to do. And that’s music.” Stay tuned to hear what is next from Stockton’s latest hit cover band, Alton.

A Run Down of Wood Stockton 2018

A Run Down of WoodStockton 2018

By Carly Caporrino

This past Friday, April 20th, Stockton University hosted its annual Spring concert, WoodStockton. This year’s voted artist were the All-American Rejects. The event was orchestrated by Stockton’s Entertainment Team, also known as S.E.T. the concert was held on campus in the university’s Sports Center, Big Blue. Doors opened at 7 p.m. and the show started at 8 p.m. There were two opening acts, one of which were Stockton students themselves. The band ‘Alton’, consisting of four Stockton freshmen,  performed for the crowd including a cover of the popular song ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ by Panic! At the Disco. The second opening act was Keelan Donovan, a solo, country/folk artist who performed with only his acoustic guitar. Donovan sang a few of his original songs. At approximately 10 p.m., the All-American Rejects took on the crowd and performed all of the fan favorites and top hits including ‘Dirty Little Secret’, ‘Move Along’, ‘Swing, Swing’, and more. Their energetic and lively performance definitely kept the crowd alive and having a good time. The concert ended roughly around 11 p.m.

Jack Maniscalco, a freshman a part of Stockton Entertainment Team, shared his thoughts about how the event turned out and his first WoodStockton a part of S.E.T, “I think it was very successful and it ran a lot better than expected. The All-American Rejects aren’t that popular as they were years ago, but they pulled off a great show and everyone seemed to love it. I’m glad when people look back on this concert I can say that I was there and was part of making it happen”. Overall, WoodStockton was a success and will continue to be an event that all Stockton students can come together and enjoy!

Stockton Sorority Ends the Semester with Community Service

Stockton Sorority Ends the Semester with Community Service

Written By: Jocelyn Quinones

Stockton sorority Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc. held their 6th annual St. Jude walk to fight childhood cancer. Held on Saturday, April 21st at the Lakeside Lodge Oasis, they managed to raise a total of $350. With this year’s theme being superheros, the sorority promoted this event by calling for all superheros of the student body. Their captions read, “Help us on our mission to help fight childhood cancer! Throw on your superhero capes and join our walk because every little hero needs a sidekick!” With a total of 70 people in attendance, not including the sisters, the event was surprisingly successful given all of the students moving back home that weekend for the summer.

With its child-friendly environment, the sorority managed to include multiple bouncy houses scattered across the oasis all thanks to the charitable K & M Party Bouncers.

LTA also provided an authentic popcorn kettle machine, snow cones, and catered Hispanic food that was included with admission. This event created a sense of nostalgia among students as they sat at tables decorated with their childhood superheros and played with table gifts such as yoyo’s and spin tops. Vianka Torres, a junior here at Stockton University, stated, “I had a lot of fun! It was like being a little kid again, I got my face painted and I sat at the tables eating candy that I haven’t had in years.”

St. Jude being the sorority’s chapter philanthropy, each year all of their fundraising efforts go directly to the hospital as one chapter check. Kelly Tran, the newest initiate to LTA joining in the Fall of 2017 stated, “It just brings joy to my heart to know that this is what we’ve been working so hard for. If my siblings were fighting the same battle, I would want others to help too.” Although this end of the year community service was a successful one, members of the sorority can only hope for more success in the years to come.

$1000 Student: A Prime Example of Stockton Excellence

Jackson Boisvert

$1000 Student: A Prime Example of Stockton Excellence

Shannon Joyce is a junior at Stockton University, majoring in Communication Studies with a concentration in Media Production. Shannon is also a proud recipient of the 2018 Broadcast Pioneers Scholarship. “The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia are basically historians of radio and TV in the greater Philadelphia area. They are the largest organization of that type in the world.” She detailed about the organization, who have well over 500 active members in both Radio and Television Stations in the area.

   Joyce went on to state, “They raise money every year to give away scholarships to students who are interested in similar work. “She can personally thank Harry Hurley for making her scholarship possible.  Harry Hurley is a nationally recognized talk show host based in the local area. He does a charitable golf outing annually that underwrites for one of the scholarships each year. “He dedicates it to a Stockton Student.”  With this year’s being honored to Shannon. It’s no surprise either, as she is a dedicated student going for her bachelor’s degree. Currently thriving with a 4.0 GPA, Joyce also adds to the Stockton Community as an Argo Staff Writer. “I have been sending something in almost every week”.

   This year, The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia raised an impressive total of $20,000, giving out $1,000 to twenty total students. “A couple hundred applicants applied.”  Joyce informed furthermore adding “I was totally shocked in all honesty” when discovering that she was one of the twenty to be praised for her work. Joyce detailed what the application status for this scholarship was like. “They have you send in your actual transcript because they want to see your GPA and the classes you have taken. They were looking for students in Communications, Journalism, or Broadcast, or anything similar to that.” Questioned on what this meant to be one of the few receiving this scholarship, Joyce opened up, “It means a lot because besides sending in our transcripts, we had to send in a 300-word essay. It meant a lot that professionals sat down, read my essay, and actually thought it was worth a $1000.”

When asked where her journey in the field all started, Joyce when on to explain, “When I first started at Atlantic Cape, I was a Media Studies major. I did like that, but what I kind of found out along the way was that I wasn’t a technically kind of person.” Finding her way, Joyce said, “I realized that I am more into storytelling and writing, that’s kind of my niche.” She expects to continue on in the future doing this, “Right now I am looking at journalism. I really like the idea of advocacy work, like telling other peoples’ stories, like LGBTQ stories, women’s rights, all those types.” When it came to what motivates her in journalism she answered, “My favorite kind of story to tell is a profile. People out there have really fascinating stories and really fascinating backgrounds, and personal stories that are worth sharing. What motivates me is being able to hear those personal stories and being able to write them down on paper where other people can hear those stories.” Shannon Joyce is a prime example of a successful college student pursuing her goal, along with making her University proud.

National Society of Leadership and Success Chapter established at Stockton University

By Michael Heilman

The National Society of Leadership and Success was established in 2001 in Hoboken, NJ. The society is the nation’s largest leadership honors society. The NSLS has over 869,000 members at 596 colleges nationwide. Those invited to join will go through a step by step program to work on their leadership skills through an induction process that once completed will give them the honor of being inducted into the NSLS.

Christina Crenny, who is the student president for the National Society of Leadership and Success chapter at Stockton University, discusses how she heard of the NSLS and how she got involved, “At the end of my sophomore year at Stockton, I realized I had a lot of extra time on my hands. I had transferred from a different university and commuted to school with a part-time job. Last year, I was looking online for internship opportunities or a possible second job and this came up as an internship opportunity. As the intern, you bring the society to a university that doesn’t have one. The society coming to our university has been in the works since last May when I was selected to be the founder. To become inducted, you have to complete the induction steps/events. These include one Orientation, one Leadership Training Day, the viewing of three Speaker Broadcasts and the completion of three Success Networking Team meetings.”

How do student’s get nominated to join NSLS? Crenny says “Being that the National Society of Leadership and Success was brand new to everyone this past semester, we wanted to make sure we could include enough individuals who presented leadership skills or do well in their academics but have it be selective enough as a leadership society. Next semester’s requirements will change, but this year we decided to invite sophomores and juniors with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.”

Joining the NSLS has many benefits for both the pre-inducted and inducted member. Those benefits include access to society scholarships and awards, a job bank from employers that seek to hire society members, resume enhancer, customized recommendation letter, leadership training certificate, access to broadcast and interviews from speakers whose inspirational stories and career advice are invaluable. Once inducted you will also receive a kit of items from the society such as the leadership certificate, society t-shirt, car decal, and society insignia pin.

With all of these advantages offered to students, some students may still not be convinced that the NSLS will benefit them, Crenny, having gone through the society herself says “I believe the NSLS will benefit future careers in that you receive many benefits as both a pre-inducted member or inducted member. You also gain a lot of skills and leadership experiences through going through the steps to induction. Through going through the steps to induction myself, I have learned a lot about myself as a leader and skills that help me at work and with my relationships with others. The skills and experience you learn through the society can only help benefit you as a powerful leader and as a well-qualified employee for your future career. For example, on Leadership Training Day, we learned about how we can work with others with different leadership personalities, while also evaluating our own, from a DISC assessment.”

During this semesters induction, the three broadcast speakers were Thaddeus Ballard from the WWE better known as Titus O’Neill, Kathryn Minshew founder of The Muse, and Scott Hamilton Olympic Gold Medalist in Figure Skating who told their stories and gave encouraging speeches.

The National Society of Leadership and Success held its inaugural ceremony on April 22nd with those inducted receiving their certificates, t-shirts, and pins. Good luck to all the newly inducted. To find out more about the National Society of Leadership and Success visit www.societyleadership.org.

Raphael Xavier’s Hip-Hop Class At Stockton

By Stephanie Russell

Raphael Xavier, a professional hip-hop dancer, visited Stockton University’s campus on Friday, April 6th to teach students hip-hop’s signature dance moves. The culture of hip-hop was said to be started in New York in the 1970s with the inspiration of “street dancing” styles. Hip-hop dancing became extremely popular after being seen in well-known movies and in pop culture at that time. Raphael explained in more detail how the culture of this dance started, “It was mainly the concept of hip-hop that started the culture. Where a DJ brought in different elements including the dance, DJ, graffiti writers, and the rappers all together in one space, all elements combined created one conglomerate which started the hip-hop culture.”

Raphael Xavier taught students dance moves like the corkscrew, where the foot hits the back of the knee, forcing the body to fall forward, and the hands catch the fall followed by the body unwinding as it turns.

A lot of the moves seen in original hip-hop dance correlates to political tensions happening at that time. Another dance move that Raphael Xavier taught students was the wrist roll, which was a dance move that was influenced by the political Black Power Movement symbol of the fist. The wrist roll was shown to be putting the hand in a fist near the head, rolling the wrist and meeting the other hand for a clap.

Raphael Xavier discussed how the Civil Rights Movement and hip-hop is related “Music from that time period [1970’s], had bands with just Black musicians and when Puerto Rican musicians became involved in the development of this hip-hop music, it changed the rhythms to be more percussive, which then brought a broad range of audience and cultures. This music broke cultural barriers. The music triggered hip-hop dancing, something about it made you move. With what was going on politically in that time period, like racial tension, the dance reflected that because the people were a part of that. 

The dance move called the macho-man, both hands are above your head, and that symbolizes African Americans surrendering to the police.” Raphael Xavier came to teach students a hip-hop dance class, but the students took a lot more than just the dance moves away with them when they left the dance studio. After learning the true symbolism of hip-hop dance, many students agreed they had a deeper appreciation for hip-hop culture and a better understanding of the history of hip-hop.

Pancakes for a Purpose with the Tri Delta Sorority

by Carly Caporrino &Jackson Boisvert

This last Sunday, the Delta Delta Delta sorority of Stockton University hosted their annual TriHop Pancake Breakfast. This event was held on campus at the Lakeside Lodge. The event was open for anyone to attend and was a great time to spend with family, friends, and fellow Stockton students.
Demi DeAngelis, a sister of Delta Delta Delta and their Philanthropy Chair, who organized the event, described the event in her own words: “TriHop is a fundraiser that Tri Delta hosts once a year! It’s basically a buffet-style pancake breakfast. Our sisters provide the food and they make it fresh while we’re there!”

All week prior to TriHop, the sisters of the sorority were tabling to spread the word about the event. From the money that was collected at tabling, to the money collected at the event, the event gathered a grand total of approximately $2,000. All of the proceeds go to Tri Delta’s national philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The sorority also held a raffle for the chance to win different themed baskets filled with different items. There were also fun activities that also help the philanthropy with a ‘Pie a Delta’ in the face for $1!

DeAngelis then shared her thoughts on the event and why she personally enjoys it: “I really like this event because everyone’s families and friends come! We’re so passionate about fundraising for St. Jude, and I love that we get to show our family and friends how much it means to us and all of our accomplishments. It’s really nice spending the day with everyone, raising money for a great cause and eating lots of food!”

New Fraternity on Campus: Welcome Phi Delta Theta

by Jackson Boisvert

Each spring semester, Greek life becomes a new experience for many Stockton students. Stockton’s fraternities and sororities make up 10% of the undergraduate community. Previously, 27 different organizations were recognized at Stockton. As of recently, there is a new fraternity found its way onto Stockton’s campus. They are Phi Delta Theta, recently recognized on March 30th, the same day as their colonization ceremony.

Jelani Gardy, a first-year student studying political science here at Stockton, holds the position of president for the newly colonized organization. He described how the idea of bringing a new fraternity to Stockton came to be. “ We saw that because the new freshmen class that came in was the largest, and Stockton is expanding to Atlantic City, as well as the two new buildings (on campus), we thought it would be a good idea to help out with that expansion, and create a new fraternity that offers something new and different than the ones that are already here.” When asked why Phi Delta Theta, Jelani informed, “We happened to choose Phi Delta Theta because of the qualities it has as a fraternity, such as non-alcoholic housing and a very nice philanthropy, which is the foundation Live Like Lou, which raises awareness for ALS and raises money for families affected by ALS and puts money towards research.”

However, the process of bringing this new organization was not just a task for Jelani himself. He accomplished this with his brothers. “We currently have 30 members,” he detailed, further stating, “A pretty unique thing about all of us is that we are all leaders. It takes a lot for a person to say, ‘I’m going to change the status quo, do something different, and make something from the ground up”. That is exactly what this group of men did.

Stockton’s Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority Hosts Tea for Two

Written by: Jake Levitz

Tuesday, April 10th at 8pm, Stockton University's chapter of Mu Sigma Upsilon hosted its first ever tea party. This event was part of their community communication initiative in order to host a free event that the whole school could attend. They call it Tea for 2, an opportunity for students to connect and get to know a stranger and create new friends and bonds with their fellow students. The president of the chapter, Kelly Sounthavong, said the event was “something for the school and not just the sorority… a way for us to mingle and get to know everybody,” the sisters of Mu Sigma Upsilon wanted to create an more intimate opportunity for dialogue between them and their fellow students.

President Sounthavong was encouraging about the influence this event might have on other greek organizations, she hopes that it will create a platform for groups to get together and share a dialogue to possibly create more free events that are not just mandatory, so that people can get together and just simply talk. Being a smaller sorority, the sisters of Mu Sigma Upsilon wanted to engage with the Stockton community

Mu Sigma Upsilon encourages all students and members of the community to participate in their relationship building event. Tea for 2 is described by the sorority as “an opportunity to engage with students from all areas of the schools campus life,” describing it as, “speed dating but for friendship.” The sisters of the sorority always enjoy being able to participate within the community especially in the Stockton community which is an opportunity to build with their sisters as a whole in a team building experience. Being a smaller sorority creates an introverted environment so by participating in events such as this helps. President Sounthavong says, “Expand on greek unity together and expand on our other connections besides greek life.” By coming to the sorority, Southavong says, “ I just met this stranger, but I feel safe with them. I just spilled some of my secrets with them but I’m ok with that. I'm in a safe space right now to be myself.”

The sisters of Mu Sigma Upsilon hope to participate in more Stockton community based events in order to further engage relationship building development. Other events planned for the sorority include educational based events and many future philanthropic planned functions. The sisters hope to promote more free thinking functions in the future.

LGBT PROM SEQUEL

By Amanda Genovese

The Creator’s Collective Organization will be hosting their second annual LGBT Prom.  This event will take place on April 21st at 8 pm and will run until midnight. The prom location will be in the Campus Center Event Room A. There will be food, music, prizes, and a candybar. “This prom was successful last year and I enjoyed it. I am happy this organization decided to host a second Prom. I hope this event continues for many years.” Junior, Anthony Bastos said.  There should be a headcount of 100 students attending this year.

“This is an event that students can just enjoy themselves and eat, dance, and have a fun time without feeling judged.”  Bastos said. Entry will be free but the Creator’s Collective Organization will be accepting donations that will go towards the Trevor Project. Come out and have fun for a night with refreshments, music, and prizes!

Artful Souls on Stockton Walls

BY SHANNON JOYCE

Souls are displayed on the walls of Stockton University’s Art Gallery for the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Exhibition.

This includes artwork from 21 B.F.A. seniors concentrating in photography, painting, print-making, visual communications, and graphic design.

Note: Harley Jarrett identifies as non-binary; a term for those who do not classify themselves as exclusively masculine or feminine. This artist prefers they/them pronouns.

Painting Major Harley Jarrett passionately shared their love for art. “I feel like the thing that sets us apart from other animals is our urge to sing, tell stories, and make marks with stuff,” they said.

This senior is fascinated with abstract art and psychological landscapes, as seen in their piece, “Decaying Leaf.” Jarrett commented that similar concepts are often shared on Instagram. “It seems kind of magical to me,” they added. Jarrett’s woodsy property in South Jersey was the inspiration for their nature canvases.  

This senior “has an urge” to one day attend graduate school for painting. For now, Jarrett is interested in a painting, typography, or possibly graphic design career.

Photography Major Alex Blundetto created portraits of loved ones, titled “People Along the Way,” after realizing, “These people really mean a lot to me, and I want to use my project to show that.” He received most positive feedback for “Carmen,” a photograph of his father in a construction workspace.

After graduation, Blundetto wants to become a professional freelance photographer. He heartily said, “The dream, honestly, is to just be able to travel . . .”

Print-Making Major Christian Bostwick believes being bold is “better than being boring,” as shown with his installation piece titled, “Nonsensical Fallout.” He stated, “My work simplifies a lot of the problems in society without trying to marginalize them . . . I just try to bring out the absurdity in the inherent issues in the world.”

Christian explained print-making involves making duplicates of art such as painting or photography. Think illustrations and photographs found in school textbooks. “I would love to run my own print-making studio at some point in my life . . . the end goal would be to print my own artwork,” he excitedly said.

June 22-24, 2018, Christian will create artwork for Atlantic City’s 48 Blocks Festival. According to 48blocksac.com, this “is a celebration of the artistic talents, creativity, community, culture, and history of Atlantic City.”

Painting Major Vanessa Spollen said she learned a lot about herself while creating her project, called “Visions of a Life.” When asked what prompted her exhibition, she said, “Everybody in this life is connected within each other.” Spollen mentioned another inspiration was the work of Carl Jung, a twentieth-century famous psychologist. “I used painting to express him . . . his theories are all . . . interconnected . . . unconsciously.” Next, Spollen hopes to earn her M.F.A. in Painting.

New Fraternity on Campus: Welcome Phi Delta Theta

By: Jackson Boisvert

Each spring semester, Greek life becomes a new experience for many Stockton students. Stockton’s fraternities and sororities make up 10% of the undergraduate community. Previously, 27 different organizations were recognized at Stockton. As of recently, there is a new fraternity found its way onto Stockton’s campus. They are Phi Delta Theta, recently recognized on March 30th, the same day as their colonization ceremony.

Jelani Gardy, a first-year student studying political science here at Stockton, holds the position of president for the newly colonized organization. He described how the idea of bringing a new fraternity to Stockton came to be. “ We saw that because the new freshmen class that came in was the largest, and Stockton is expanding to Atlantic City, as well as the two new buildings (on campus), we thought it would be a good idea to help out with that expansion, and  create a new fraternity that offers something new and different than the ones that are already here.” When asked why Phi Delta Theta, Jelani informed, “We happened to choose Phi Delta Theta because of the qualities it has as a fraternity, such as non-alcoholic housing and a very nice philanthropy, which is the foundation Live Like Lou, which raises awareness for ALS and raises money for families affected by ALS and puts money towards research.”

However, the process of bringing this new organization was not just a task for Jelani himself. He accomplished this with his brothers. “We currently have 30 members,” he detailed, further stating, “A pretty unique thing about all of us is that we are all leaders. It takes a lot for a person to say, ‘I’m going to change the status quo, do something different, and make something from the ground up”. That is exactly what this group of men did.  

How Reliable and Impactful is Rate My Professors?

By Michael Donne

When it comes time to pick classes for the upcoming semester, many students will flock to Rate My Professors to get a first impression of who they may be learning from for the next few months. Rate My Professors allows students to rate their instructors on the level of difficulty and overall quality of the class on a scale of one to five. They are also given three tags to describe the teacher such as if they are a tough grader, whether or not they give extra credit, or their overall personality. While this can be a big help to students and a confidence booster for teachers, many reviews can be biased.

A student receiving a bad grade in the class could result in a negative review for the teacher, whether or not it was deserved. Unfortunately, many reviews of professors at Stockton is that the higher difficulty courses often correlates to a low quality rating. This trend is the most prevalent in general courses, as there is little to no chance for professors who are challenging in general courses to also receive a good rating. Freshmen Brandon Bess comments on why this is the case,  “How am I going to use any of this information? Individuals use rate my professor to select easier classes based on ratings, in hopes to get an easy A. It's so biased in my opinion, i've taken classes with professors who had low ratings and they were the complete opposite from their reviews.” With all of Rate My Professors pros and cons, the expectation for general courses is one of the more worrying things about the website. Rather than taking a interesting or possibly career changing class, students may miss these opportunities to instead take a class that poses no challenge to them.

To Professors, Rate My Professors is a website that many teachers look at seriously or avoid at all costs. Professor Erin O’Hanlon recently visited Rate My Professors for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised at the rating she received, with only being upset about one thing, her hotness,  “Personally, I’m shocked, because I think I should have more red peppers.” To many professors, the rating that really matters is the feedback students give on I.D.E.A forms. “They look at the I.D.E.A scores more closely because they are validated,” Professor O’Hanlon speaking about why she believes Rate My Professors doesn’t impact teachers like it can for students.

While Rate My Professors does have its drawback, it is not too powerful and many of the problems disappear when looking at higher level courses, when students begin to appreciate a difficult class that challenges them. For O’Hanlon, Rate My Professors is just one of the many variables students account for when picking classes, “If students rely so heavily on Rate My Professors that they make a choice based on that factor alone, they might be missing out on some great faculty and great courses. But I think that students make choices on their classes based on a lot of things, how does it fit into their schedule, will it impact their Thirsty Thursdays, have they had this professor before?”

While Rate My Professor can be a good resource, many reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, and students should instead make sure that they are learning and taking the classes that can allow them to leave Stockton with the best education possible.

Meet the South Jersey Film Nerds

By Luke Miller

At Stockton University there is a variety of clubs you can choose from, covering
all kinds of hobbies and interests. Each semester students are encouraged to put
themselves out there and find a club that works for them. But until the Spring 2018
Semester, Stockton lacked the presence of a film club. But as of this semester the
South Jersey Film Nerds are a new club, looking for anyone from any major to join!

Mike Gencarelli, a junior at Stockton and a communications major, said about the
club, “South Jersey Film Nerds is about collectiveness and bringing members together
to work on projects, as well as getting new people involved.” Mike spoke about how
through the club he has gained new friends with similar interests, all while gaining
valuable work experience.

They work on their own independent projects, work with each
other on projects, or film other club events. “I have done projects, fundraising, making
films, filming events, and planning the future of the club.”

Mike also took the initiative
and ran for the club’s Treasurer position, and won. Mike has truly taken advantage of
this new club, and new opportunities.

If you are interested in working on your own projects, working on projects with
other people, or filming events for clubs, then this club is for you. They meet twice a
week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the main campus.

Regardless of whether you
want to film your own movies or just help people with theirs, this club is a great
networking opportunity. This is a young club, and with time will only get better. The more
members they get, the more the club will grow. Before they came along, Stockton was

missing a film club, but now that the South Jersey Film Nerds are here take advantage
of it.