Almost a month has gone by since classes started for the 2024-25 academic year, and students are already feeling the weight of classwork and extracurriculars on their shoulders. As a way to lighten the stress, Stockton has held a plethora of events to destress and enjoy the day, with a flood of ideas coming from President Joe Bertolino. For the second time during his term, Bertolino hosted an Ice Cream Social in the D/F Wing Courtyard, inviting students and staff members to come and enjoy free treats.

There was a DJ in the courtyard hyping up the guests with familiar tunes, setting the scene for the afternoon. The flavors offered at the social were vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, mango ice, and cherry ice. While vanilla had a substantial line and the ice flavors had quite a few guests, the line to the chocolate and mint chocolate chip table was overwhelmingly long — it seems that was a favorite amongst students. Along with the ice cream came many delicious toppings like caramel, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, vanilla and raspberry sauces, chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles.

Many familiar faculty and staff members volunteered to scoop ice cream at the social, like Parth Thakkar, Jovin Fernandez, and Stockton Police Department’s top cop, Chief Tracy Stuart, among others. Of course, President Joe himself volunteered to scoop, wearing a tall chef’s hat with “President Joe” written in marker. The beloved mascot, Talon the Osprey, also flew in to enjoy the free ice cream. Talon interacted with students and took plenty of pictures with a huge smile on his face.

President Joe stated, “It’s really just an opportunity to bring the community together, start the year off with a little bit of fun, a little sweet treat, and students can always use the break between classes. It’s an opportunity for the staff, the President’s Office, and the leadership of the University to serve students, serve the community, and have some community fun!” Emily Faisst, a Psychology major in her last year, stated, “I thought the event was fun and a good way to bring Stockton students together. The ice cream was delicious and they should definitely have the event every year!”

There’s always something for an Osprey to do on campus, whether one is a residential student, a commuter, full-time, part-time, or non-traditional. Keep a lookout for events on OspreyHub or in the Events Calendar at stockton.edu, and with the ongoing Hispanic Heritage Month, don’t miss out on the thematic events that many organizations are hosting all month.