Stockton News - Sept. 15, 2023 - University Relations & Marketing

Stockton News - Sept. 15, 2023

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Meditation Room Gets a New Home

In addition to hanging out at the Multicultural Center, perusing for books and supplies in the bookstore and picking up mail in the Mail Room, students will now have the option to enjoy a quiet moment to themselves in the new Meditation Room in F-012.

The Meditation Room was previously neighbors with the Food Hall at the Nest in N-Wing, where it provided a quiet space for students to meditate, pray and silently reflect on their days on campus. The room change will now make the space more accessible and easier to find on the Galloway campus.

The Muslim Student Association (MSA), which utilizes the space for their five daily prayers (Salah), celebrated the opening of the new space on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

More Than A Month: Multiculturalism at Stockton

“Celebration is much more than cake and balloons. It can be a daily decision and determination to honor your unique identity and make space for the identities of others.”

Oluwatoyosi “Toyo” Aboderin, an Africana Studies faculty member and alumna of the Communication Studies program, gave a keynote speech that highlighted how Stockton's celebration of diversity is “a key form of resistance” on Wednesday, Sept. 13’s event.

“This takes not only events and dynamic programming but a real-life commitment. A commitment to protecting spaces like this, to actually creating and showing up to these events. Acknowledging what we have and will accomplish and envisioning more than we ever could have dreamed. Real diversity is felt, not just seen.”

Event Highlights Importance of Service for New Students

Around 80 students, staff and faculty traded half of their weekend for a full day of combatting food insecurity in the annual New Student Day of Service on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Robert Barney, associate professor of Social Work, gave the keynote address, which focused on his research on food insecurity and how service efforts are created in order to help alleviate some of the problems that people are experiencing.

“It feels like my focus as a researcher parallels what Merydawilda (Colón) and Jeff (Wakemen) have been organizing,” Barney said, referencing the day’s organizers. “I’m going to be presenting on the topic of food insecurity as it relates to COVID-19, specifically what was going on in the first few months of the pandemic and comparing food insecurity in South Africa with South Jersey.”

STOCKTON UNIVERSITY ATLANTIC CITY

New Engelberg Scholars Feature First-Generation Students

The latest Stockton students selected for the Engelberg Leadership Scholarship Program (ELSP) all understand the sacrifices others have made for them to get a higher education.

All four are first-generation students — meaning they are the first in their families to go to a college or university in the United States.

“Pursuing a college education is about more than just my own future, it’s a tribute to the sacrifices my parents have made for me,” Dayanara Villanueva said. “Their hard work and dedication deserve to be met with my commitment to learning and growth.”

PHOTO: Engelberg scholars from left to right, Sadia Mahi, Betsaida Viljoint, Ziaul Hoque and Dayanara Villanueva.

FRAME-WORTHY

Ospreys Enjoy a Sweet, Cool Treat

Students had the opportunity to cool off with a sweet treat at President Joe Bertolino’s Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the Galloway campus.

Check out more photos on Flickr.

WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU

whats trending sept. 15, 2023 Instagram: Ospreys soared through rainbow-colored powder at last week’s color 🌈 run.

Facebook: Make it a paw-some day and stop by the Library entrance to meet our pet therapy fur-riends.

X: Week one down. 🦅 Go Ospreys!

FROM THE SIDELINES

Stockton Sweeps Drew

The volleyball team used a strong overall performance to sweep Drew University on Sept. 12 in three sets: 25-16, 25-21, 25-22. The Ospreys registered a .243 hitting percentage on offense and 14 blocks on defense, with several players contributing to the victory.

Rileigh Wilson established a career-high with 11 kills to lead all players, followed by Nicole Palmer with nine kills and a torrid .667 hitting percentage.

Stockton Collects Fourth Straight Win, 5-1

The field hockey team scored three goals in the first half and defeated Albright College by a 5-1 score for its fourth consecutive win. The Ospreys have outscored their opponents 16-1 during the winning streak.

Allie Palumbo continued her blistering offensive pace with two goals and an assist. Palumbo now has five goals and four assists for 14 points in the last three games. Kirsten Bailey tallied a goal and an assist.

🗓️ View the full schedule of upcoming athletic events here.

OSPREY NOTES

Bi-Annual Address to Staff Held Sept. 14

Executive Vice President Terricita Sass and President Joe Bertolino hosted the Bi-Annual Address to Staff on Sept. 14 in the Campus Center Event Room of the Galloway campus. Attendants enjoyed a continental breakfast while listening to Sass and Bertolino provide remarks about their time at Stockton so far and gearing up for the year ahead.

📸 View more photos on Flickr.

Photo Exhibit Explores White Supremacy Groups

A new exhibit at Stockton takes a closer look at white supremacy groups in the United States and examines the lives and experiences of ordinary individuals who join and sometimes leave these groups.

“Within and Beyond Exclusionary Communities: White Supremacy and Racism in the United States” is on display at the Galloway campus through the fall semester. It is free and open to the public; however, individual and group visits require registration by calling 609-652-4699.

Raz Segal, associate professor and director of Stockton’s Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG) program, one of the sponsors of the exhibit, explained that “the exhibit asks visitors, students, and teachers to consider a number of key questions: Who are the people in white supremacy groups and organizations? Why did they join? Why, in some cases, do they leave?”

Roster Verification Reminder for Faculty

Welcome back, faculty! As the fall semester is underway, it's almost time to Verify your Ospreys!

Faculty are reminded to now complete the Roster Verification process by confirming student attendance/academic activity. The Roster Verification process is to be completed by Wednesday, Sept. 20. The Office of Financial Aid will use this information to make adjustments to student financial aid disbursements based upon each student's confirmed number of credits.

Each instructor will be responsible for verifying student attendance or participation in an academic activity. For online courses, faculty are reminded to include an assignment or discussion activity during the add/drop period so that the student's attendance can be confirmed.

The link to complete Roster Verification can be found under the faculty tab within the goStockton portal.

For more information and a list of frequently asked questions, visit stockton.edu/rosterverification.

Changes to the 2024-25 FAFSA

The U.S. Department of Education is implementing a major overhaul of the processes and systems that offer federal student aid, starting with the 24-25 aid year.

As our faculty and staff work closely with our students, we want to make sure you’re aware of the updates being made to the FAFSA, not only to inform students but also because these updates could affect some of your processes.

📅 Join Financial Aid staff from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, for a virtual presentation detailing the 24-25 FAFSA changes and how these changes may impact faculty and staff. During the presentation, questions faculty and staff may have after learning about the new changes to the FAFSA will be answered. All faculty and staff are invited to attend. For those unable to attend, the presentation will be recorded. Register for the event here.

Visit stockton.edu/fafsa to view a list of many of the changes you can expect to see on the 24-25 FAFSA.

Please note that the 24-25 FAFSA will not be available by Oct.1, 2023, due to the updates being made. Students and families can expect that the 24-25 FAFSA will be available on or before Dec. 31, 2023.