With the advent of a primarily online and asynchronous semester, many Stockton students have found themselves bound to their dorm rooms and a significantly less active campus. Boredom being an illness I frequently suffer from myself, I exhort my fellow students to reexamine their environment.

Even though it may be too late for days at the beach, remember that the Pine Barrens is home to an exuberant and lively ecosystem full of many activities and fun things to do. This includes everything from kayaking or fishing in the Mullica River to visiting historical sites that are dispersed around the county.

As a hunter, I personally love my outings to our local forests. This area boasts a wide variety of game, including pheasant, quail, white-tailed deer, and sometimes even black bear. But it’s not just the wildlife that compels me to rise before dawn and beat about thickets in freezing weather. Something about seeing the sun’s many beams gleaming through the tall and verdant grass as my dog hauls me through the various foliage gives me a familiar sense of belonging. In brief, absorbing nature is extremely revitalizing. 

Of course, hunting is not everyone’s favorite pastime. I mean only to say that our weekends need not be absent of excitement. If one finds that he or she has nothing to do on campus, there is certainly something to do just outside of it.