The Eagle Spring Edition 1

the EAGLE SPECIAL EDITION

Ready in time? p. 5

Possible delays on East Campus could cause student housing headaches THEEAGLEONLINE.COM

2

theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

INDEX

3 NEWS

3 Life as a transfer student 5 East Campus housing delays

7 THE SCENE 7 Students on SoundCloud 10 Club Feature: CLASE

12 OPINION

12 Ged Eds shouldn’t effect housing 13 Staff Ed: HDP Problems

14 SPORTS

14 Got sails?

16 Twenty years of swimming

SENIOR PORTRAITS

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FRONT COVER: KATE MAGILL / THE EAGLE

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theEAGLE

theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

NEWS

3

The truth about transfers: A look inside the sometimes difficult, often confusing, but still fulfilling experience of transferring to AU

by Maria Carrasco Contributing Writer

Just like moving from one school to another as a child is hard, the same applies to those in college. Whether it is for financial, personal or academic reasons, AU receives a large number of transfer students each year from all over the world, who often face obstacles as they transition to the university.

Sarah Thomas, a School of Communication transfer student, has faced financial and social difficulties since she transferred to AU from both Santa Monica College and Berkeley City College in August 2015. Right now, Thomas does not know whether it will take her two or three more semesters to graduate. “[AU] make[s] it really difficult. They make you jump through a lot of hoops,” Thomas said. “And I’ve had some really low blows where it’s just, I don’t have enough money or I would rather just be here for two years. It doesn’t seem like they’re making regulations that are actually for people. They’re not really looking at it with a human lens.”

Thomas made the decision to transfer to AU last semester because of its Environmental Studies and Sustainability program, but she is currently facing difficulty finishing her degree within the next two or three semesters because of AU’s transfer credit policy, which Thomas said has been the most frustrating part of her AU transfer experience.

“I could potentially have two semesters left after this, or three. I guess [I am a] junior,” Thomas said. “I transferred a ton of credits so obviously, credit-wise, I am a senior, but because of, you know, taking classes for my major and minor and then also having to take gen-eds that are specific to the school...some of my classes from my community college didn’t transfer.”

Associate Director of Admissions Jeremy Lowe, said that the University typically accepts

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academic credits that were earned with a C or higher, but that some requirements such as math are more difficult to obtain as a transfer credit.

To apply as a transfer student to AU, applicants go through a process that is similar to that of first-year students. They apply through the Common Application, with the exception of having an interruption of study statement if the student has skipped any semesters to explain what the student did during the break, provide a minimum GPA for the transfer student’s desired school of interest and send transcripts from all college and universities the student attended, according to Lowe.

“AU has done a lot in the past few years to improve the experience for transfer applicants.

Chief among those is increasing the amount of transferable credits to 75 semester hours,” Lowe said in an email. “This gives students the chance to transfer in a significant amount of work from another institution. The University has also expanded its Guaranteed Admissions program with area community colleges.”

There are currently seven guaranteed admissions schools that AU partners with for transfer students. They include Daytona State College, Green River Community College, Howard Community College, Miami Dade College, Montgomery College, Northern Virginia Community College and Tidewater Community College. Guaranteed Admissions programs allow transfer students to have a clear pathway to AU and satisfy AU’s gened requirements if the student completes an Associate’s Degree at any of the eight colleges according to AU’s Guaranteed Admission Agreements.

School of Communication and School of Public Affairs senior Chris Diamond, a transfer from De Anza College in California, came to AU in the fall of 2014. Like Thomas, Diamond had to take a lower math course at AU because of AU’s math placement exam.

“The unfortunate thing about that is you’re probably spending money on courses you already took and I, unfortunately, had a lot of credits that did not transfer or didn’t transfer entirely,” Diamond said.

Zack Monetta, another transfer student in the School of International Service, came to AU from University of Arizona in Tucson in the fall of 2013 and will graduate in the spring of 2016. However, Monetta said his transfer to AU was difficult because of personal issues and his relationship with his SIS counselor.

“I had a very rough academic first semester when I first came to American and a lot of that was the fact that I didn’t have a close relationship with my counselor,” Monetta said.

“But, I would attribute more of my struggles to me and my attitude opposed to blaming it on my first SIS counselor that I eventually changed [counselors].”

At the University of Arizona in Tucson, Monetta had a close relationship with his counselor in choosing schedules and managing school, but Monetta did not find that at AU with his first SIS counselor.

Outside of academics, both Monetta and Thomas said they experienced social changes when they transferred to AU. “There was culture shock in the beginning because people are very career driven here and very serious and very motivated, which is great,” Thomas said. “Especially just because I’m not a huge partier, so when I’m in school I really appreciate there’s not a ton going on, and I’m [not] missing out.”

Thomas and Monetta also agreed that the professors at AU have been one of the best parts of their experiences so far.

“Last semester it was nice that it was coming to an end, but bittersweet because I realized that I wasn’t able to see those professors anymore,” Thomas said.

Diamond believes his transition to AU was easier because of his involvement in multiple

student activities, including becoming a SOC Ambassador and interning for his congresswoman on Capitol Hill. Diamond’s favorite part of transferring to AU has been all the different opportunities the school has to offer.

“One thing that I really like is seeing how far and different places AU graduates go,” Diamond said. “I’m meeting people in different businesses and industries that I’m interested in working in all the time that are from AU.” While transfer students can succeed at AU, Thomas says that she would not recommend AU for transfer students. “ I do not think AU is a good school for transfer students and I cannot recommend transfer to consider completing their degree here.” Thomas said.

In his experience in Admissions, Lowe believes that the transfer process is simple enough, but roadblocks are to be expected.

“From my perspective, the transfer process is quite streamlined, and easy for students to complete,” Lowe said in an email. “I think the University does a lot in the way of new student on-boarding and orientation, but any time a student comes in as a transfer, there will be some initial challenges.”

Monetto believes that having a positive transfer experience overall depends upon someone’s willingness to make it work.

“I hear a lot that transfer students have a really hard time making the adjustment to American and they feel like the school doesn’t really care about them or they kind of get left behind by the school,” Monetta said. “But I think there’s a lack of accountability that a lot of the students have that isn’t taken into account when you ask someone what their transfer experience was like.” news@theeagleonline.com

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I hear a lot that transfer students have a really hard time making the adjustment to American and they feel like the school doesn’t really care about them or they kind of get left behind by the school.

- Zach Monetta, SIS transfer student

SAM BRADWAY / THE EAGLE

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

University College:

Program to reduce in size and selection

by Ellie Hartleb

UC will offer 16 classes this coming fall:

News Assistant

The University College program will be reduced to half of its current size beginning this fall due to financial constraints, according to UC Director Dr. Andrea Brenner.

University College is a living-learning community and first-year seminar for students who wish to explore a General Education topic through both classroom learning and weekly labs in D.C. “The University College is often a draw for students looking for a tight-knit community in which to live and learn,” Brenner said in email. “It is an active community of those who are interested in an experiential learning experience with peers, a specially-selected faculty member, and a student leader.”

Brenner said the Office of the Vice Provost made the decision to reduce the size of the UC Program based on the fact that the University will offer a pilot version of the new General Education “Complex Problems” courses to about 100 incoming first year students next fall. Like the UC Program, the Complex Problems courses could

“

Of course I’m sad to see the UC get cut down, because it’s a great program.

It always gets high remarks from students, so I think we should be growing that program alongside new programs.

- Dan Fitzgerald, Sophomore at AU

”

also function as living-learning communities, though that decision has not been finalized in the new General Education proposal.

Brenner said UC coordinators will also narrow the selection process for interested students to match the reduction in the program’s size.

This fall, University College offered 32 courses to approximately 600 first-year students on a first-come first-served basis, Brenner said. With these revisions, next fall’s program will offer 16 courses to approximately 300 students, which Brenner said is an “optimal size” for AU. “Because we’ll have a smaller cohort this year, we’re really focusing on selecting students based on a couple of different factors, and this is the first time we’re really looking at that,” she said. “Those factors are leadership, open-mindedness, and diverse backgrounds and experiences.”

Dan Fitzgerald, a sophomore double majoring in international studies and economics, worked as a Program Assistant for a section of the World Politics University College class this fall. As a Program Assistant, Fitzgerald lived on the same floor as the firstyear students taking that course, planned their labs in D.C. and served as a teaching assistant in their class.

Fitzgerald also took the World Politics UC during his freshman year and said he is disappointed to see the

Criminalisitics James Girard

Understanding Media Scott Talan

Visual Literacy Sarah Menke-Fish

Economics Walter Park Photo: American University, University College

program reduced and wishes it could grow in tandem with the new General Education curriculum.

“Of course I’m sad to see the UC get cut down, because it’s a great program,” Fitzgerald said. “It always gets high remarks from students, so I think we should be growing that program alongside new programs.”

However, Fitzgerald is hopeful the program will still function well even with a reduced number of students.

“As long as it has the living and learning aspect to it, it should be a great program because living and learning is a great experience for freshman students,” he said.

As in years past, incoming students who have committed to AU will complete an essay and an online application to show their interest in the program. The UC application opens within a few weeks, and Brenner said she expects the classes to fill quickly, especially for the World Politics course, as all seats are very limited.

“The program will certainly fill up early,” she said.

Brenner said she has also seen students choose to come to AU due to their admission to a UC program, as many students are enthusiastic about the opportunities the program provides .

“There have been quite a few students each year who choose AU over another school because of their acceptance into University College,” she said.

She added that the new selection process will allow the UC admissions committee to determine whether applicants are a good fit for the program, which had not been considered in years past as admission to the program was primarily a first-come first-served system.

“We’re looking for open minded students who are willing to think outside the box, take a course that might not be in their major and open their mind to a different learning style, learning with different people, [and] learning from a faculty member they may not have not met outside of their program of study,” Brenner said.

Since they are admitting far fewer students this year, Brenner also expects that those who are accepted to the program will commit to it for the fall. Student applicants will be notified of their admission status in the first week of May, she said.

Brenner said she cannot speculate about the future of the UC program beyond next fall, especially given AU’s plan to rehaul the general education program. However, she said she is hopeful that University College will remain an option for first year students in the future.

“The program has run successfully for 12 years and it has an absolutely wonderful track record and success rate,” she said. “We certainly hope it will not fold.” ehartleb@theeagleonline.com

Schools and Society Marilyn Goldhammer

Sustainable Earth Jessica Meiller

Theater as Protest Sybil Roberts

Western Legal Tradition Bill Davies

Critical Approach to Cinema Despina Kakoudaki

Understanding Music Nancy Snider

Religion Without Borders Martyn Oliver

World Politics Rosemary Shinko Tazreena Sajjad

Cross Cultural Communication Bram Groen

U.S. Society Michelle Newton-Francis

The American Constitution Lara Schwartz

Latin American History, Art, Literature Nuria Vilanova

Gender in Society Lauren Weis

5

theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

EAST CAMPUS UPDATE:

Construction delays could lead to housing issues

OWAIN JAMES / THE EAGLE

by Courtney Rozen Student Government Beat Reporter

Returning students planning to live in the three new East Campus residence halls this coming fall may not be able move into those dorms before the semester begins. The buildings, originally scheduled to open in August 2016, will possibly be delayed in opening until later in the fall semester according to Chris Moody, Vice President of Housing and Dining Programs. Moody did not give a specific opening date for East Campus but said he will know within the next two months.

Until East Campus is ready, dormitories on the main campus will provide one “offline floor,” or a floor that is typically used to house first-year students, to temporarily house residents intending to live on East Campus, according to Moody.

Those dormitories will potentially include Anderson, Centennial, Clark, Letts, Hughes and Leonard Halls. The temporary rooms will each house two sophomores, or for students seeking a lower priced option, three sophomores.

In the meantime, first-year students will live in triples in the remaining unoccupied rooms in the first-year dorms. Once the East Campus buildings are complete, HDP will provide moving services to relocate those sophomores to their intended halls. First-year students living in temporary triples will then be detripled to the units vacated by the sophomore students, and East Campus will be reserved for sophomore students.

“Students who meet the housing application deadlines are confirmed a space,” Moody said. “That includes returning students who meet application

deadlines up to our lottery capacity, and then new first-year students who deposit

by May 1. We’ll be able to confirm that they have a space, but we won’t be able to confirm what kind of space or where beyond that until students actually get into the process and make their own choices.”

The residence halls on East Campus, named Federal, Constitution and Congressional, will include 590 beds in total, with each room containing two beds and one bathroom, according to Robert van Hoek, the project’s manager.

Those buildings are intended to house sophomores, according to the Room Selection Guide released by HDP to the student body. There will also be two academic and administrative buildings connected to each other.

Those buildings will provide additional instructional and office space for the School of Communication and the Mathematics and Statistics, Computer Science and Physics departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. East Campus will also include an underground parking garage, according to the East Campus Fact Sheet posted on the University’s website regarding East Campus.

Prior to the start of the 2015-2016 academic year, HDP expected to house 1600 students from the class of 2019 according to Moody. HDP instead provided housing for 1780 freshmen this past August. HDP anticipates 1700 first-year students for the class of 2020, according to Moody.

According to Lisa Freeman, Director of Residence Life, HDP will be turning Centennial Hall into a freshman dormitory and will keep the number of freshmen living in triples at relatively the

same level as the 2015-2016 academic year. At the start of this academic year, 330 rooms on campus acted as triples.

That number has since decreased to 150 rooms as students have been de-tripled.

“We had hoped that East Campus, if it had been ready, we would have been able to reduce down the number of triples that new students would live in,” Moody said.

“But we’re going to have to stick to a high number again until East Campus does open. We will triple [to] about the same extent that we did this year.”

For incoming juniors and seniors, 400 on-campus spaces will be available as in previous years. In the past two years, HDP has been able to accommodate additional upperclassmen students who have not made it into those 400 on-campus spaces and have been placed on the housing waitlist. However, Moody anticipates that they will not be able to house students on the waiting list this coming academic year due to predictions that HDP will need to house a large number of first and second year students.

According to the HDP website, the housing process requires three mandatory phases: a housing application, selection of a “group name” and room selection.

Students interested in on campus housing should have already filled out the initial housing application by Jan. 29. They will then form a group of roommates, name the group and elect a leader of their group by Feb. 19. Each group will then be assigned a specific date and time to select a room from available housing between Feb. 24 and March 2.

With the current number of available beds compared to the estimated number of students who would like on campus housing, Moody anticipates that

approximately 50-60 students will not obtain a space in the room selection process, which he doesn’t consider to be “unusual.” Those students will then fill out a pending preference form, which includes preferred roommates and residence hall.

“There’s lots of people that make decisions after the first selection process that open up space,” Moody said. “We were done with the pending assignments list by early May last year. If in the third step someone doesn’t commit to a room or we run out of room, the third step for them becomes filling out that pending preference form.”

Chelsea Cirruzzo, a current RA in Hughes Hall who intends to obtain another RA position next academic year, believes that once East Campus opens, the area will develop a communal feel similar to that of South Campus for freshmen, but for sophomore students.

For the incoming freshman housed in triples, Cirruzzo believes that RAs will need to apply their training specifically to assist those students struggling with difficulties surrounding living with two other students.

“I think that the school should just be transparent with the fact that people are going to be tripled at first,” Cirruzzo said. “I think there should be additional resources to accommodate those people, because sometimes tripling is not okay for a lot of people. It can be really frustrating for them. It can make them upset. It can cause conflict sometimes. I think that the school should be open about that to them and provide the resources they need.” crozen@theeagleonline.com

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

OWAIN JAMES/ THE EAGLE

The politics behind university policing

Proposed D.C. bill could give District university police the ability to assist MPD in monitoring off-campus residences

by Courtney Rozen Student Government Beat Reporter

A bill that would potentially give D.C. university police forces the authority to monitor students living off campus has elicited conflicting interpretations and opinions from students and AU officials.

The “Special Police Officer Enhanced Security Amendment Act of 2015,” introduced by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie in December, would give D.C. universities the option to propose a “public safety plan” to MPD Chief of Police Cathy Lanier. That proposed “public safety plan” would allow MPD to contact Public Safety for assistance with off-campus situations that involve people affiliated with the University, according to Executive Director of University Police and Emergency Management Phillip Morse.

Special police officers, the term used in the bill to categorize security personnel not commissioned by the Metro Police Department, currently serve AU as public safety officers.

The bill gives what Morse calls “administrative authority” to university police, or the ability to enforce university consequences for students off-campus in violation of AU’s student conduct code, but does not give Public Safety “law enforcement authority”, or the ability to enforce legal consequences on students in violation of the law.

According to McDuffie, universities and MPD would work together to help bring more security to the communities surrounding District universities.

“It is narrowly tailored to allow them to enforce the college’s code of conduct in areas around the campuses,” McDuffie said in an interview with The Eagle in December.

“I would expect [universities] to submit a plan of what they’d like to be able to do, and I’d expect MPD to vigorously review the plan and see whether or not it is viable. This is not something that happens overnight, but it is something that would allow what I think the public

would ultimately like to see, which is more community policing by MPD.” The bill would apply to the 14 member universities of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

This includes American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Catholic University of America, whose student governments co-authored a letter sent to Councilmember McDuffie on Jan. 27 that opposes the potential expansion of public safety’s policing zones to offcampus locations. However, the letter supports the component of the bill that would expand the training of those same special police officers.

AU Student Government President Sasha Gilthorpe said she believes that the bill could potentially expand the authority of campus police officers to allow them to monitor students living off-campus.

“When you’re talking about a city, there’s so much else that happens here that Metro Police are more prepared for than a special police officer, and I think that Metro police should be out in the city and I think campus special police officers should be on campuses,” Gilthorpe said.

Public safety and other university police departments are licensed to police their respective campuses by the Security Officers Management Branch of MPD. Morse maintains that the bill does not give university police departments the same authority as MPD to knock on resident doors beyond university property.

Instead, he said that he hopes the law would formalize the process for Public Safety to pursue disciplinary action for off-campus student incidents within the Dean of Student’s office, so that students could face conduct charges through the school rather than through MPD. This would allow city police to focus on larger city-wide issues and ideally prevent students from repeated offenses, according to Morse.

“I want to be clear that the consortium[’s] chiefs and directors do not support law enforcement authority in the neighborhood, that is not what we asked for,” Morse said. “We asked for administrative changes.”

In addition to language regarding policing zones and training, the bill includes a provision that would permit special police officers employed at one of the universities in the consortium to police another university should that university’s president request assistance in a state of emergency. A state of emergency would be declared by the mayor.

Director of Community Service and Affairs for AU Student Government Alex Bradley, recently authored a report for SG to present his official position on the bill after growing concerns among student leaders about the potential effects of the bill.

In the report, Bradley poses three specific concerns: the difficulties of distinguishing AU students from community members in an off campus setting, the inadequate training provided to qualify campus officers to police students living off campus, and the lack of a clear path for students to report unfair treatment by campus police as they could for MPD. “Regardless of people’s opinions on [the bill], it’s something that is going to change dramatically how policing works around college, and I think that people have a right to know [about it],” Bradley said. “There are a bunch of different ways to do this, and we think that the course of action that is being considered by the D.C. Council right now is not in the best interest of students or schools or neighbors.”

Andie Dowd, president of the Student Association at George Washington, the university’s student government body, echoed Bradley’s concerns regarding a student’s ability to express discontent regarding the conduct of campus police.

Dowd is working toward opposing the bill on behalf of GW students, who says

her campus would not have clear police boundaries should the bill pass.

“One of the biggest problems we talked about is that special police officers do not have a complaint system as well done as Metro Police does,” Dowd said. “Metro police has a complaint system called the D.C. Office of Police Complaints, so if something does happen when you’re dealing with a metro police officer, you can file a complaint whereas with off campus university police, the system is not as clear.”

AU’s Undergraduate Senate passed its own bill on Jan. 31 to officially oppose the council’s proposed legislation. Haley Lickstein, a senator for the class of 2019, co-sponsored the Undergraduate Senate bill, which will authorize Bradley and Gilthorpe to engage in direct conversations with AU administrators and D.C. council members about the proposed legislation on behalf of the entire SG organization.

“Being idealistic and positive, you hope that the D.C. policing bill will not cause any negative experiences,” Lickstein said. “I believe that it will ultimately end up [causing negative experiences] and so we have to be cautious before it’s passed so we have the opportunity now to change it before something bad happens.”

The four signatory university student government presidents, including Dowd and Gilthorpe, invited Councilmember McDuffie and all other members of the council to a roundtable later this month to discuss the bill. Until that meeting, the student leaders intend to continue to coordinate objections to the bill and raise awareness about it on their respective campuses, according to Bradley.

“I think [the bill] will create a lot of friction in the community that we don’t need,” Gilthorpe said. “I think that we have an opportunity here to voice our opinions and I think that there are receptive ears in the D.C. City Council.” crozen@theeagleonline.com

theEAGLE theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

theSCENE

7

Sounding out the future of digital music AU students describe the benefits, downfalls of SoundCloud in regards to their music future

by Zach Ewell Music Editor

While Kogod sophomore Terrell Green spit out words during his opening performance at the Student Union Board’s fall concert, fans gathered around the stage, eager to hear more.

However, Green’s music attracts listeners well beyond Bender Arena. Through his account on SoundCloud, a digital music platform, Green connected with a producer in San Diego named Rich, who offered him the opportunity to play shows in California.

“I started to get offers to do like local shows in San Diego, but I’m from Maryland and go to school in D.C., so there was no way that was going to happen, but I did think it was dope,” Green said.

SoundCloud, a site that allows users to share their music on multiple social media platforms, helps young independent artists like Green connect

with other artists and promote their work worldwide.

Kogod junior Kevin Capasso echoed Green’s excitement about SoundCloud, and said that he uses the program to listen to music and to help him expand his repertoire as a disc jockey.

“I’d say about 70 percent of the music I currently consume can be found on SoundCloud in some way, shape or form,” Capasso said. “It’s laid out in a good format for DJs to listen, explore and find downloads of large amounts of music in professional quality.”

With the latest addition of videos and podcasts to the Swedish streaming service company Spotify and the launch of the American owned Apple Music last June, the German-based SoundCloud has also been making large advances to compete with the two large platforms.

Similar to both Spotify and Apple Music in its main service of streaming music, SoundCloud goes further than either streaming service in its ability to combine the roles of the artist and the listener. Although SoundCloud is used by

everyone from indie artists like Chance the Rapper to pop stars such as Kanye West, the service allows users to make an account and share, message and comment on music free of charge. According to the New York Times, SoundCloud is used by 175 million users around the globe.

While the service continues to be popular on campus, some students worry that recent changes to the site may create business challenges for SoundCloud.

School of Communication senior Holly Kaplan said she has also received requests via SoundCloud to play at shows because of her personal music account, but she lacks confidence in the future of the site.

“I don’t see a future for SoundCloud.

Copyright laws and music corporations are creating more and more restrictions on the website, which has been making it harder to use,” Kaplan said. “I switched to Spotify premium this year because of that and have more freedom even though I have to pay for the service.”

SoundCloud recently began a partnership with one of the world’s largest record labels, Universal Music

Group. According to the label, whose artists include Adele, Kanye West and Taylor Swift, the deal with SoundCloud will give more access to its artists and will introduce subscription services.

“I think the deal will drive more uploaders away and more mainstream consumers in,” Capasso said. “The deal makes it easier to exclusively promote a big label tune and makes it harder for producers who like to sample, a technique that is integral to many genres of American music from jazz to hip-hop.”

Although Kaplan thinks SoundCloud will ultimately lose users in the upcoming years, artists continue to use the service because of its popularity and ability to connect music lovers everywhere.

“In a perfect world SoundCloud will still be in the land it created for itself, and that’s just being a place where creative from all across the world can come and interact with each other and make dope music and share dope music,” Green said. zewell@theeagleonline.com

ZACH EWELL/THE EAGLE

Off-beat, Off-campus Options

3333 W

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ooking to live off campus next year? If you want to ditch the dorms, we encourage you to start your search with the suggestions below. Here’s an easy guide to some of the lesser-known off-campus housing options near AU for you consider as you search for the best fit for next fall.

Where Pricin Minut Ameni

- by Hannah Binder

coffee/t roof wit

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may lik variety are spac student conveni Phone:

Vaughan Place at McLean Gardens Where: 3401 38th St NW, Washington D.C. Pricing: $1,860-$2,320 (1 bedroom); $3165-$3550 (2 bedroom) Minutes/Miles From School: 21-minute walk/1 mile Neighborhood Attractions: Giant, Starbucks, CVS Amenities: Fitness facility, parking, shuttle to Tenleytown metro Description: The apartments at Vaughan Place offer pristine living, spacious complexes and modern design. The apartment provides a quiet home, with a mix of students and older people in the building. Although these apartments sit further from campus than other options, the appealing neighbor attractions make Vaughan Place a viable option for students. Phone: 202-806-8880

Alban Towers Apartments

Where: 3700 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Pricing: $2870-$3145 (2 bedroom); $1,8 Minutes/Miles From School: 20-min Neighborhood Attractions: Glover Pa Amenities: 24-hour business center, fitn

“The apartment is in good condition, and the price for a one bedroom/den is $2600, which seems average for a short-term contract. The concierge and maintenance service is excellent as well.”

-- Ricky Kleiman, senior, Kogod School of Business

and water included Description: Alban Towers, which is se a quiet living space for students. The build enabling easy commuting. Although the t more minutes than other apartment optio residents to easily travel downtown.

Phone: 844-855-8755

3 Wisconsin Ave

ere: 3333 Wisconsin Ave. NW cing: $2280 (one bedroom) $2900-$3300 (two bedroom) nutes/Miles from School: 21-minute walk/1 mile enities: Fitness facilities, lounge (TVs with cable, couches,

ee/tea and pool table), business center, screen projector and a sick with a grill ghborhood Attractions: Cactus Cantina (Tex-Mex), 2 Amy’s ian), Jetties (sandwich shop); Giant, CVS, Starbucks and bus stops cription: Students who enjoy living a bit further from campus like 3333 Wisconsin, an apartment complex located near a ety of stores and the National Cathedral. The apartments include spacious, clean and have a mix of students and adults and allow ents the opportunity to live near an array of restaurants and venient shopping opportunities. ne: 855-605-8878

W. $1,830-$2,175 (1 bedroom) minute walk/0.9 miles r Park; N2, N3, N4 and N6 bus routes fitness facilities, storage units, gas

s set up in hotel-style, provides uilding sits next to a bus stop, he travel to campus may take a few ptions, Alban Towers’ location allows

“Living at 3333 Wisconsin has been a good experience, and I really recommend living here.

The only small downside is that it takes about 20-25 minutes to take to school and the metro; so I am forced to either take a bike or take a bus to the metro.” -- Antonio Ortiz-Mena, sophomore, School of International Service

Cathedral Commons Where: 3401 Idaho Ave. NW Pricing: $3800-$4200 (2 bedroom) Minutes/Miles From School: 19-minute walk/0.9 miles Attractions: Giant, CVS and Starbucks Amenities: Lounge, library, parking garage, in-home washer and

dryer unit and garages Description: Cathedral Commons offers lofts, flats and townhouses to residents. Two-bedroom complexes at this location sell for a higher price than other locations, but the distance from campus remains the same.

Phone: 202-969-4120

BACKGROUND PHOTO BRYAN PARK/THE EAGLE OTHER PHOTOS: OWAIN JAMES/THE EAGLE

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

CLASE brings students and workers together through language and culture

by Arielle Weg Lifestyle Editor A buffet of plantains, rice and beans lined the back table in the Kay Spiritual Life Center’s lounge as men and women dressed in AU navy button-ups and nametags fill their plates with traditional Hispanic foods. These individuals, Aramark employees at AU, dine happily during their one-hour lunch break, as Spanish words spin off their tongues.

Twice a year, students honor the AU housekeeping staff with a luncheon to celebrate their work and commemorate everyone’s efforts to broaden language skills.

A student organization, Community Leaders Advancing in Spanish and English, known as CLASE, runs the event, and the group’s primary focus is bringing Spanish speaking students into the lives of housekeeping staff to tutor them in English. CLASE, which began in 2008, spent over a month planning the luncheon to recognize the Spanish-speaking staff and their student tutors.

Roshan Thomas, a junior studying international business and CLASE’s finance chair, and Catalina Calachan, a fall 2015 graduate with a degree in international studies and CLASE’s former co-chair, said CLASE’s mission helps students give back to the community and help staff members gain valuable skills.

“This is meaningful. This is making a difference,” Thomas said. “Whether it’s starting with CLASE and ending up taking the [citizenship] test later on or helping them to take a class, either way it’s just moving them through, moving them onward is what we are after.”

Workers that stood out to Calachan and Thomas included an individual who took the citizenship test and passed, thanks to CLASE’s program, and called her tutor first thing after she took her test. Another worker requested to be tutored in Spanish instead of English so she could communicate better with co-workers.

“A lady I tutored personally, Maria last year, she wanted to work on citizenship with me, and she did,” Thomas said. “At the end of the year the skills that she built up with English, as well as basic citizenship prep that we did, prepared her to formally sign up for a

Citizenship class.”

Calachan recalls a worker who she tutored in very basic English skills, like pronouncing and writing letters.

“CLASE helps me to focus on my goal of getting U.S. citizenship by allowing me to plan out specific times to devote to studying and preparing for the exam,” Maria Lopez said. “This would be so hard to do alone because I lack the skills and language needed to go through the [application] process.”

When students sign up to join CLASE, the board pairs a student tutor with an Aramark worker who is interested in learning English in different capacities. Some workers are working toward signing up for or taking a

food workers due to the professor’s protests and the “Exploited Wonk” campaign.

“For us personally, we know that is the crux of the issue, in terms of why they can’t achieve, I hate to say equality but that’s really what it is,” Thomas said. “Because they don’t have a way to express themselves in English…

It opens up so many more doors having that privilege to be able to do that.”

Calachan and Thomas expressed concern regarding the student and housing staff relationships. Calachan recalled a story where students requested housing staff to stay out of their lounges and housing halls, just because they didn’t want to see them eating there.

“A lot of people think they are there to be

“CLASE helps me to focus on my goal of getting US citizenship by allowing me to plan out specific times to devote to studying and preparing for the exam.” citizenship test, while other workers want to practice their reading, writing or basic conversational skills.

Calachan found that though citizenship may not be every worker’s goal, many have a strong interest in learning English to communicate with coworkers and practice English with their families.

“Since the language barrier can be tough, a lot of them have children, and with them growing up they want to play an active role in helping with their education too,” Calachan said.

Despite the recent buzz on AU’s campus regarding worker’s rights, following the former professor arrest in the Terrace Dining Room for protesting worker benefits, CLASE has not seen increased interest.

Many of the tutored workers are housing workers, because CLASE hasn’t found the need from Spanish speaking dining staff.

Calachan explained there is a divide between food workers and housing workers. The majority of housing workers are from Central America, and most of the food workers are not. She felt that much of the buzz is regarding

the maid and clean up the mess, and that they can leave the lounge and their rooms the way that they want, and that’s just not the case,” Thomas said. “Understand that there is really a bigger story behind each worker than just someone who supposedly cleans up everything for you.”

CLASE works to recruit new tutors every semester through outreach at involvement fairs where they table with sign up sheets and information materials. Once a student shows interest in being a tutor, they attend information sessions and orientation before they can be matched with a tutee. There are approximately 25 tutors currently signed up with the program.

The organization also struggles to grab the attention of new housekeeping staff to tutor.

The majority of their tutees come from a list of past participants passed down from 2008, in addition to general word of mouth among staff. CLASE has support from the Center for Community and Engagement Services, but no other university administration has helped with their marketing. Thomas said the language barrier makes it difficult for the

University to reach out to the workers.

The CLASE tutors contact his or her tutee personally on the telephone to organize a time to meet two or three times a week, depending on availability. Through these three hour per week sessions, relationships are developed between staff and student that are extremely meaningful in both of their lives. Occasionally two students will share time commitments to a tutee, or one student will tutor a group of housing workers during their lunch break.

At this past semester’s bi-annual luncheon, CLASE brought Sonia Umanzor, the community affairs direction at the Salvadoran embassy, to speak about her experience coming to America. In the past they have brought other prominent people, like the Maryland legislator. The luncheons generate talk among the workers, because many of the speakers are similar to celebrities. Many of them are on TV working to empower and reach out to the Hispanic community.

The event was a wonderful success, bringing together the large group of tutors and tutees to mingle and enjoy cultural foods and music. Many of the students were honored for their work over the semester, and most of the attendees were hugging each other and excited about more tutoring in the spring.

“One of the reasons that I really liked [CLASE], and I wanted to get involved is, sometimes on campus the workers are the unseen, unsung heros that nobody really pays attention to as often as they should, and they don’t get a lot of appreciation or gratitude,” Calachan said. “I guess part of what we try to work towards is creating an inclusive campus community and creating more interaction between the students and the workers in a really meaningful way so that, more and more we can build a group of people that are interacting and engaging with them. Even if it’s just a simple ‘hello’ or like ‘how’s your day?’. Just making it a little more of a home for them as well to support the goals and ambitions of everybody that is here.”

To get involved with CLASE or to learn more information, please contact au.clase@gmail. com aweg@theeagleonline.com

Photo Courtesy of CLASE

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

The Scene’s top 8 at-home workout blogs

by Alice Shih

BRYAN PARK / THE EAGLE

Contributing Writer

For those who established a New Year’s resolution, February marks either a milestone or a roadblock. While many may strive to lose weight, eat more vegetables or go to the gym, studies show that less than 8% actually keep these resolutions. The Scene, however, wants you to keep your resolution! These eight video blogs - no particular order - will keep you inspired while leading you through killer home workouts, guiding you through correct form and providing healthy meal plans. Don’t let the cold weather stop you from achieving your goals. Log on to your computer and follow these bloggers for an at-home fitness challenge.

1.

2.

3.

Blogilates

Cassey Ho, the most subscribed to female fitness YouTuber,enthusiastically teaches her audience workouts that target each part of the body. Through her videos, and her channel, she also provides a range of lifestyle videos, which teach viewers how to eat healthy. Most people recognize Ho for her “pop-pilates,” a type of workout she branded that couples together exercise with pop music.

Fitness Blender Fitness Blender shows off videos made in a professional, slick minimalistic space, but all of the fitness activities on this channel can still be done in the home.

Both females and males lead the workouts in Fitness Blender, allowing the vlog to appeal to both genders.

The videos range from one-hour gym session to a simple fiveminute burn out. Fitness Blender even provides an on-screen calorie counter and tracker of how much of the workout you’ve completed, which is especially valuable for those who want to keep track on the calorie input and output while also keeping pace throughout the workout.

Kali Muscle Kali found his passion for fitness inside a jail cell. With a goal to “inspire and motivate” viewers, Kali’s channel includes videos educating people on how to gain muscle without a gym, and the vlogger’s personal experience moves through exercises requiring minimal equipment.

4.

5.

6.

Yoga with Adriene Adriene, the leader of this program, makes yoga accessible and relevant to fitness. Like yoga itself, her videos provide a very soothing vibe that really relaxes your muscles. She includes a variety of playlists that take you on a “yoga journey,” so you can make yoga a long term activity and become a yogi yourself! Her videos are very accommodating for beginners.

6 Pack Shortcuts Everyone has different fitness goals, but it’s safe to say that a six-pack is a pretty common one. Mike Chang, host of 6 Pack Shortcuts, has one of the most highly subscribed workout channels on YouTube. If that’s not impressive enough, he also provides various tips on what to eat and how to workout in order to reduce that gut. His numerous videos will keep you busy and help you work your way to a new six-pack.

7.

8.

Body Rock Lisa Marie’s videos are all about high intensity interval training, and her workouts will give you that extreme cardio boost while also defining your muscles. You burn fat while simultaneously developing strength. Don’t forget your heart is also a muscle and with Body Rock, you’re sure to be working it out a lot.

Tone it Up For a bikini body, it’s best to heed the advice of girls who actually spend all their time on the beach. Karina and Katrina perform their workouts on their channel right on sandy beaches.

Their BIKINI SERIES includes more than 58 workout videos. This channel isn’t to provide any sort of athletic endurance or strength, but to have a toned body that’s ready for the beach!

Barstarzz Barstarzz, another channel designed to prove that great fitness doesn’t require a fancy gym, proves that fitness can be fun. Several guys lead the videos, and they typically workout shirtless, while performing tricks on telephone poles, chin up bars, and playgrounds.

But Barstarzz workouts are not just a test of strength. The guys in Barstarzz provide beginner tutorials and show correct form. If you really want the “gainzz” and defy gravity by exercising parallel to the ground on a flagpole, check them out.

With the convenience of online workout videos and vlogs, the path to a healthier lifestyle is easier than ever. Use towels as a makeshift yoga mat, water bottles for weights and stacked books for a step machine to help you workout right in your home, even during the coldest months of winter. thescene@theeagleonline.com

theEAGLE

OPINION

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

General Education shouldn’t dictate living situations Columnist Shelby Ostergaard worries that Gen Ed living learning communities could lead to problems heated example. But I’ve seen it happen so many times. Sometimes the situation is rectified with a second or third comment.

Most of the time it’s not.

Usually miscommunicating is fine.

Sometimes it isn’t. And the worst moments of miscommunication I’ve seen in college have been about the most sensitive topics.

In the fall of 2016, AU will start to roll out a new core curriculum that will further emphasize those sensitive topics in the

by Shelby Ostergaard Eagle Columnist Have you ever worried someone in class thinks you are a little racist? Have you ever said something in class that requires more explanation than you are able to give? Have you ever said nothing in class to avoid those issues? Have you ever parroted back an opinion to avoid them?

I couldn’t help but cringe at myself in class last week. I’m taking a 100-level creative writing class this semester.

We were reading Amy Tan’s “Yes and No,” which is fantastic and discusses, in addition to several other topics, the author’s feelings about a stereotype that Chinese people are polite and demure.

I raised my hand in class to comment on the fact that I had never heard of this stereotype before and that reading the essay had been a bizarre experience for me. I mentioned the stereotypes I had heard about the Chinese, trying to illustrate my point.

Before I knew it, several other students told me that this stereotype did exist, that it had long, long historical roots, that it was a real thing. And I couldn’t help but cringe. Because I hadn’t meant to imply that the stereotype wasn’t real if I’d never heard of it, I hadn’t meant to imply that I knew more about what stereotypes exist about Chinese people than the author who was, you know, Chinese and probably knew a bit about the subject. I had just meant to say that I hadn’t heard it.

But I didn’t get a chance to clarify. And we moved on. And I felt the same way I’ve felt so many times at AU….left wondering if maybe all the people in this room now thought I was a little bit racist.

What I’m describing is just the most recent of miscommunication I’ve had in college classes. It’s not even a particularly

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and being judged. Can you talk about feeling lonely in college without people in class assuming you aren’t cool enough to have friends? Can you talk about your family’s income without being dismissed as rich and sheltered or poor and dumb?

And the big one….can you wade into deeper territory? If you are misunderstood when discussing stereotypes about Chinese people, will people think you are racist? If you suggest that you don’t understand why

talk with about difficult issues. I’ve never spent too much time worrying about how the class perceives me as a student.

AU should not make AUx living-learning communities mandatory because being a freshman is hard enough. It’s hard enough to brave the path of learning and express yourself, especially if you worry that you might be misunderstood. AU shouldn’t make students stew in that stress all the time.

Because a world where I was forced to live

It’s hard enough to brave the path of learning and express yourself, especially if you worry that you might be misunderstood. AU shouldn’t make students stew in that stress all the time.

classroom. I encourage you to read the proposal for the new General Education system. But the section I want to focus on is the proposal for the AU Experience courses.

As The Eagle described them, “The first AUx course would focus on ‘social, cultural, and psychological adjustment to university life,’ and is to be taken by all first semester and transfer students. The second AUx course would serve as the first point in a three-pronged approach to bring ideas of diversity and inclusion into the classroom”.

If the budget allows, the committees recommend that all students living on campus be housed with their Complex Problems cohort.

The faculty committee responsible for drafting the new Gen-Ed program has even proposed the possibility of creating living-learning communities through groups of students enrolled in the same “Complex Problems” courses. So if you are enrolled in the course, you have to live with the people in it.

Talking about these things is good.

Being forced to live with the people you are talking about them with is not.

Topics like the social, cultural and psychological adjustment to university life are sensitive. Topics that come up when you are talking about diversity and inclusion—privilege, race, class, gender, stereotypes, ableism, slurs, you name it— are really sensitive.

These sensitive topics are the ones with the most personal weight attached to them. They are where disagreements and misunderstandings are most likely to have future social consequences.

When we talk about these topics, there is a profound fear of being misunderstood

Americans with Disabilities Act was necessary, will people call you ableist?

Maybe I’m the only one who worries about the perception of me in my classes based on my opinions. But I don’t think so.

Whenever I’ve been misunderstood in class or have misunderstood someone in class, I’ve gotten to go home. And I’ve gotten to forget about it, to hang out with other people, to not worry about it. A situation can only get so tense in 75 minutes.

I’ve never had to go home with everyone from that class. I’ve never had to try to build friendships and relationships with the very same people I’m required to

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with the people in all my classes is a world where my fear of being misunderstood or miscommunicating is bigger. Because it’s a world where students who disagree might just shut up to make their social lives easier.

If AU isn’t careful, their programs on diversity in the AU Experience might just leave us all sounding the same.

Shelby Ostergaard is a senior in the School of Public Affairs. She blogs at shelbyostergaard.com. sostergaard@theeagleonline.com

CHLOE JOHNSON / THE EAGLE

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Staff Editorial: AU’s possible delay on East Campus creates a housing mess for the upcoming Fall semester

by The Editorial Board East Campus will not be open by the beginning of next fall semester. After requesting extensions of work hours multiple times, AU is finally admitting that the timeline it initially pursued was overly ambitious. 25 inches of snow last month certainly didn’t help.

Members of the AU community have seen this movie before. Cassell Hall was

Op/Ed:

not open for students to live in by the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester, when it was scheduled to be complete.

Construction on the McKinley Building continued well after the University declared it “academically operational.”

East Campus not being done on-time is unsurprising.

But what happens next? East Campus is a much larger project, intended to house 590 beds in three residence and two academic buildings.

The contingency plan, according to Housing and Dining Programs: house the same number of students as originally expected in the existing spaces until the project is finished. Centennial Hall will become a freshman dorm and other residence halls on the main campus will dedicate one floor to sophomores who were originally supposed to live on East Campus. Around 330 freshman rooms will be triples at the start of the fall 2016 semester.

This is not optimal.

More than half of next year’s freshmen will be in triples for at least the first two months of their college careers. Living with two other people in a dorm room is workable for some students, but for many, it is difficult and frustrating. On a campus that has struggled with mental health, putting students in this position is irresponsible.

AU should inform prospective students of the housing situation when they send acceptance letters in March. They need to know what they’re getting into before it’s too late.

Additionally, for reference, AU expected 1,600 freshman to enroll for fall 2015, but instead had to provide housing for 1,780. The current triple estimate for fall 2016 is based on projections, but if more students enroll than expected as they did last year, it is possible that ultimately even more than 330 rooms be triples.

We understand that predicting the yield rate is an art, not a science. But this year

there is added incentive for Admissions not to be wrong.

We also can’t help but wonder if the East Campus situation could have played out differently. As inclement weather imperiled progress on East Campus construction, the University pushed aggressively for more construction hours.

There was another solution: request an extension from the D.C. Zoning Commission on its deadline to house at least 67 percent of the full-time undergraduate student population oncampus. The current rate is 59 percent, but is scheduled to rise at the start of the next academic year under the 2011 Campus Plan that AU negotiated with the city.

In fact, the Spring Valley Advisory Neighborhood Commission proposed this to AU back in October. We don’t know if the Zoning Commission would have approved an extension to January 2017, but it was certainly worth a shot.

At this point, AU must make the best of a bad situation. Admissions, HDP, and Planning & Project Management all need to be on the same page moving forward.

Their failure to coordinate would damage the undergraduate experience of next fall’s incoming AU students.

--E edpage@theeagleonline.com PHOTO BY SHANON SCOVEL / THE EAGLE

The Washington Misfit Program

By Simran Bal Contributing Writer When I received my AU acceptance letter, telling me that I was a spring admit in the Washington Mentorship Program, I was excited beyond belief.

After all, having a D.C. internship as a Freshman in addition to classes seems pretty appealing. Little did I know that being a part of the Washington Mentorship Program would be far from the archetypal freshman experience.

From day one, we were the students who were shoved into the “other” category. We were the ones bringing up the rear in the sea of wide-eyed, blue-shirted freshman during Welcome Week.

We reside in Leonard Hall (yes, people actually live there). It’s certainly a step up from living on Tenley Campus like Washington Mentorship Program students used to, but it’s still not ideal.

When asked which school we belonged to during that awkward introductory phase of first semester, we never really knew what to say without giving a longwinded explanation.

As the new semester unfolds, and I continue my journey as an official degree-seeking student, I can’t help but reevaluate my time in the Washington Mentorship Program.

We Mentorship students often found ourselves discouraged by the fact that we were not offered financial aid, which we knew was part of the deal of entering into the program, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Not to mention the fact that instead of taking classes we wanted to take for our desired major, like every other freshman, we were obligated to take classes that counted for nothing but extracurriculars, such as Intro to College Inquiry and Mentored Field Practicum.

As some WMP students in my former College Inquiry class half-jokingly put it, the University treated us as if we weren’t considered “real students.”

Every Tuesday and Friday, we worked at our respective internships. Whether we loved our work or hated it, we all had some common ground. We reveled in each other’s joy when someone finally accepted an internship in late September.

At the end of a long, tedious day, we quietly understood one another. We were

“

We were each other’s classmates and friends. We were misfits, but we were misfits together.

each other’s classmates and friends. We were misfits, but we were misfits together.

The only ones who understood our unique situation besides our fellow WMP peers were the fantastic professors.

I’m thrilled to say that I have witnessed Alex Cromwell’s infectious enthusiasm and musical skills, heard the charmingly southern Jerome Oetgen’s captivating intercultural tales and listened to Susan Erenrich’s endlessly fascinating research journeys. For this, I feel like one of the lucky ones.

We also learned the invaluable lessons of job hunting and resume building long before some college students typically do. Our program required us to submit a resume over the summer, prior to our arrival at AU, and submit the resume to our Mentored Field Practicum professors early in the school year, We built skills

”

and made friendships that will last us a lifetime. We built up strength, patience, and resilience. And now that we’re finally where we longed to be, starting on our own separate journeys through our majors as “real students,” I can honestly say that I’m thankful to have been a misfit for a while.

That’s definitely not to say I loved every minute of it, never felt exasperated at the whole situation on occasion or that it’s a flawless program, by any means.

However, I know that I’ll always carry a piece of it with me, and I have met people and had experiences that still bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.

Once a WMP eagle, always a WMP eagle.

Simran Bal is a freshman in the School of Communications.

SPORTS

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theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Rough Waters:

AU club sailing faces equipment struggles

by Cuneyt Dil

District Wire Editor

For months, the AU club sailing team has boasted all the bells and whistles one would expect from a sports club: custom sweatshirts, stickers with their logo, and even a flag. Everything, that is, except for boats.

Like a baseball team without bats, the club sailing members have tried making do without the one thing they need in order to practice. At the same time, the team has still competed in regattas (boat races) against other schools as part of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association.

Schools that host regattas provide their own boats for all competitors.

Yet for the AU team, sailboats, which can be expensive for a startup group, are crucial for even more than practice: team members say they need the equipment in order to attract recruits.

“We have a lot of people who have interest and people who have sailing experience, but they’re really turned off by the fact that we don’t have boats,” club president sophomore Audrey Milite said.

Danny Anderson, a sophomore and vice-president of the club, agreed.

“We can’t teach sailing without boats,” Anderson said.

However, the team had a solution. Club 420s, one of the two most commonly used collegiate sailing boats, can run up to $8,600. But the team got lucky, finding two used Club 420s costing roughly $600 each from a seller in Buffalo, New York.

“We were able to get a very good deal on these two boats (which are in good condition for our purposes) and want to be able to take advantage of the opportunity,” the team wrote in an email to Dwayne Wilkerson, assistant director of club sports.

Despite its good fortune in finding the cheaper boats, the AU club sailing team still hit a snag. Wilkerson’s reply on Nov. 10 claims that the procurement office, which has to give the greenlight to buy the boats, wasn’t convinced the boats were of high quality. The team even attached pictures of the boats to the email, but Wilkerson wrote “procurement office said the pictures weren’t sufficient and they saw what they believed to be damage in the little they could see in the pictures. … They basically said it is like buying off Craigslist.”

Now, Milite and Anderson say the University is moving forward with purchasing the boats. The procurement office and the team worked out a deal where members will go to Buffalo to inspect and buy the boats, then transport them back to D.C. “[Our] hopeful scenario is that we get the boats before April,” Milite said.

“March is a little cold, but April would be the month to practice.”

Yet the team regrets missed opportunities to practice as the buying process stretches out over the better part of the year. Originally, the team hoped to have the boats in the fall semester.

The team’s faculty sponsor, Jolie Roetter, knows the owner of the boats and the yacht club from which the team is buying them. According to Milite, Roetter has 40 years of experience, and the University should have trusted her judgement before questioning the quality of the boats.

“Now they seem kind of on board just because we pushed so much,” Milite said of the process to win approval for the boats. “It’s just frustrating the lengths you have to go to actually get involved in this campus. They should be pushing us to do it, instead of us pushing them.”

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Photo Credit: Club Sailing

15

theEAGLE FEBRUARY 12, 2016

MEET MIKE BRENNAN

AU men’s basketball head coach’s road to success was paved with hard work mater as a full-time assistant coach he probably made the biggest difference”. under Princeton’s then-head coach Bill Even with Brennan’s years of experience Carmody. The reunion was short lived, and his ability to enhance his players however, as Carmody accepted a position capabilities, Jones still expressed a slight Every afternoon in Bender Arena, Mike at Northwestern University three days hesitation that Brennan would ultimately Brennan’s sharp, hard voice cuts through later. Brennan stayed at Princeton after take on the head coach role. He said he the air, demanding perfect execution and Carmody’s departure and worked under knew the coach could handle the duties flawless technique from his athletes in his new head coach John Thompson III, a of the position, but Jones emphasized heavy New Jersey accent. He paces back and forth across the gym floor, frantically following the plays and actions of his athletes.

Playing under legendary basketball hall-of-famer Pete Carril at Princeton, Brennan learned the art of the “Princeton offense” and the meaning of hard work.

Carril ran a program full of committed athletes, but Brennan, a four-year point guard at Princeton, exceeded Carril’s demands with unrelenting hard work, and he has carried this mindset into his coaching style at AU. “He [Brennan] was very smart, he was good defensively. He played very smart, cerebral would be the word for it,” Carril said regarding Brennan’s play at Princeton. “He saw things before they happened, and he was dedicated, he wanted to be good.”

Brennan’s determination to improve began every day in practice, according to teammates and coaches. Chris Mooney and Rick Hielscher, who played with Brennan at Princeton, described their teammate as the “first to practice and last to leave.” Carril also praised Brennan for his continuous commitment to Photos Courtesy of Larry French/Princeton Athletics (left) and AU Athletics improving his basketball fundamentals, (right); Photo designed by JENNIFER REYES/THE EAGLE shooting, passing and dribbling. Carril said his athlete frequently took more than 300 shots before practice. previous Princeton assistant coach as that being a head coach involved more Brennan’s methodical and diligent well. than the on-court responsibilities. manner earned him a co-captain title, Brennan developed as an assistant coach “The one thing is Mike loves being on along with Mooney, his junior and senior under Thompson III until 2007, and then the court, and as a head coach there is so years. Brennan and Mooney welcomed Joe Scott, and his passion for hard work many other hats that you have to wear,” the responsibilities associated with the and player development continued to Jones said. “And I think when he was still leadership position, including hosting grow. [an assistant] at American he still needed recruits on visits, because of their “Certain guys see the game, think the to learn the other hats and to appreciate “investment in the program,” according game, feel the game,” Scott said. “The that that’s just part of the job.” to Mooney. On the court, both largely led game is in their blood, it’s who they are, Jones cited off the court responsibilities by example. and he’s obviously one of them.” placed on a head coach like recruiting, “Coach Pete Carril was a very singular In 2007 Brennan made the move to AU, speaking with the media, as well as presence at Princeton. He was in charge,” a new challenge for him because AU’s meeting with alums and boosters, as Mooney said. “It wasn’t the type of place where you were going to interrupt a coach or give a preachy speech or anything like that. It was about being a good player and working hard every single day.”

Princeton’s then-assistant coach Bill Jeff Jones, former AU head coach Carmody said Carril’s environment allowed Brennan, often described as “quiet” by his teammates and coaches, to head coach at the time, Jeff Jones, did reasons for his hesitation about succeed. not run the “Princeton offense,” a style Brennan being a head coach. Jones’ timid “I don’t think he ever became verbal, which Brennan adopted as both a player response to Brennan’s head coaching like ‘rah-rah, c’mon guys’,” Carmody said, and a coach. Jones, however, immediately future stemmed from their daily “but he was an unquestionable leader, and utilized Brennan’s capabilities to develop interactions or lack thereof.

Mooney too, they were very committed players, and he noticed players seeking “Mike is, off the court, and I’m stressing to basketball and winning, and they gave out personal coaching from the Princeton [the words] off the court, he is very quiet,” it their all.” alum during practice.

Jones said, “I would say maybe even After graduation, Brennan served as “The thing I think Mike gravitated shy, off the floor.” Jones said he would a volunteer assistant coach at Columbia towards, he was very very good at it but repeatedly encourage Brennan to talk University for a year, then played he also was very passionate about, player during coaching meetings and games. At international basketball for four years. development,” Jones said. ”That’s where the time, Jones said “it wasn’t always easy In 2000, Brennan returned to his alma

by Jennifer Reyes Assistant Sports Editor

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getting him [Brennan] to speak up.”

However, Jones asserts Brennan’s off the court soft-spoken nature shouldn’t be confused with a passive attitude or a lack of emotion.

“If you gave me a hundred adjectives to describe Mike Brennan, laidback would not be included in those one hundred adjectives. He is as intense of a competitor, as a coach, that I have ever been around,” Jones said. “There is a very, very hot fire inside of him in terms of his desire to play a certain way and to win.”

Carril, who has held a longtime bond with Brennan, attended countless Brennan-coached games and wholeheartedly believed in his former student’s ability to become a head coach.

“If there is such a thing as a born coach, he comes close to it,” Carril said.

Carril often compares himself to Brennan when discussing coaching philosophies and ideas about the sport of basketball. The Princeton coaches share a similar level of intensity, perfectionist attitudes, leadership and personality, both on and off the court.

“I have the same thing he does,” Carril said. “You think about things and the way you think about them affects what you see and what you see affects what you do.”

In 2009, Brennan reunited with Thompson at Georgetown University before finally receiving his first head coaching position in 2013 at AU. Once back at AU, Brennan thrived, winning a Patriot League championship in his first year and reaching back-toback Patriot League championship finals.

In his third year as head coach, the Eagles have struggled, having one of the worst records in team history. But with a core of freshman starters, Brennan aims to develop each player’s skillset as he has with former Eagles.

Players and former coaches no longer describe Brennan as quiet, at least on the court, and he has become known for yelling to convey his messages.

“As a coach, he is very demanding.

He is a perfectionist because he is a brilliant teacher. Extremely demanding and extremely competitive,” former AU assistant coach Nate Philippe said.

Often heard screaming from the bench or loudly voicing his frustration with his team during games, Brennan’s volume and tone may be interpreted as constant anger, but Philippe said the head coach is just building off his experiences and trying to create a program like the ones he came from.

“His vision for the program at American is very similar to what he has done at Princeton and at Georgetown,” Philippe said, “Us coaches are very influenced by the coaches that you have worked with and played for. He told me that the program he wanted to build at American was one similiar to the programs he has worked around and played for throughout his career.” jreyes@theeagleonline.com

D ecades of Da v i n

Celebrating 20 years of success with AU’s head swimming and diving coach

by Jess Kowal Contributing Writer

At the crack of dawn, the collegiate swimmer’s alarm clock blares, signaling the call to wake for a grueling morning workout. The swimmer crawls out of bed and trudges to the pool to prepare for a mentally and physically taxing day of training. The swimmer rises before the sun and travels more yards in the pool before breakfast than most people walk in a day. The regimen requires immense sacrifice on the part of the athlete, but often overlooked in the pathway to success is the role played by the unwavering support system found in a college program’s head coach.

Mark Davin, the head coach of AU’s men and women’s swimming and diving programs nears the end of this twentieth season this spring, and his swimmers will look to his wisdom and experience as they head into the 2016 Patriot League Championships on Feb. 17. For seniors Ali Follman, Giorgio Zenere, Toby McCarroll, Lena Mentyka, Paris Wood and Jakobi Jackson, the upcoming championships represent a challenge, a celebration and the end of their collegiate careers. Follman reflects on the past four years with positive memories, both of swimming and her coach.

“In high school I didn’t think I would swim in college, let alone a D1 program, so Mark [Davin] really introduced to me a new world of swimming that sounded much more appealing than what I experienced throughout high school at a YMCA program,” Follman said.

Now, with three and a half seasons under her belt, the School of Communication senior who thought she was not qualified to swim in college has developed into a powerhouse breastroker, and will be an integral part of the Eagles’ medley relays at the Patriot League Championships.

“Under Mark [Davin] I learned to be a more competitive swimmer and do it for myself because I deserve to swim fast,” she said.

Davin, who has coached one Olympian and ten Olympic trials qualifiers during his time at AU, came to Washington, D.C. in 1995 after a successful swimming career at Florida State University.

Davin previously held coaching positions at the University of California-Berkeley, Arizona State University, the Arizona Swim Devils and the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team at the United State Swimming Hall of Fame.

In his first six seasons, Davin and the Eagles competed as part of the Colonial Athletic Association, and the head coach garnered CAA Coach of the Year honors twice before AU ultimately moved to the Patriot League in 2002. While in the CAA, Davin also produced four Rookie of the Year swimmers and six Swimmer of the Year honorees, and he coached the men’s team to a CAA conference victory in 2001. One year later, during Davin’s Patriot League debut, he won Patriot

League Men’s Coach of the Year and has since produced at least three NCAA qualifiers.

While Davin’s accolades speak to his coaching talents on the pool deck, his senior swimmers paint a more personal picture of the veteran coach as they reflect on their collegiate swimming careers, which will come to a close at the end of February.

Toby McCarroll, a native of Nassau, Bahamas and a former member of the Bahamas National Swim Team, said he will remember Davin as an influential part of his entire career at AU. “In my regular individual meetings, we have spent hours talking about classes and future life goals,” McCarroll said.

“He realizes college is a stepping stone to a greater world experience and does his best to provide useful advice and encouragement to help us along our journey.”

McCarroll, who specializes in the breaststroke events, will graduate in May from the College of Arts and Sciences with honors, and he joins the nearly 200 other athletes coached by Davin who have earned recognition on the Patriot League Honor Roll. In the fall, McCarroll helped the men’s team earn a place on the Scholar All-America Team for the 42nd consecutive semester, a steak that Davin has kept alive during his tenure at AU. Lena Mentyka, a sprinter who hails from Seattle, echoed McCarroll’s sentiments about Davin’s personal investment in his swimmer’s lives. She reflected back on the support that Davin gave her early on in her time at AU, saying, “Mark [Davin] is without a doubt the best coach I’ve ever had.

I’ve been through lots of ups and downs in my college

TAAMEEN MOHAMMAD / THE EAGLE

swimming career: injury, changing events, coaches coming and going. I think we get along really well and he’s helped me through a lot swimming wise and in life in general.”

As the longtime head of the AU swimming and diving program, Davin has built a family on the deck and in the pool over his twenty years coaching in Bender. Paris Wood, the team’s 100yard backstroke individual record holder and part of the record holding women’s 4x100 yard freestyle relay, said she will remember the team and coach that stood by her for the last four years.

“Mark [Davin] has a knack for recruiting like-minded people who are all very similar in personalities, so there’s rarely ever conflict, which makes it a really good environment,” Wood said.

Davin prides himself on bringing in swimmers who embrace his program and work towards improvement through his workouts. Under his coaching, his seniors have dropped significant time in their events and etched their names in the AU record books. After three years with Davin, Wood has broken three school records, won the Geico Student-Athlete of the Week Award multiple times and appeared in the championship finals at the Patriot League Championships. Jakobi Jackson, another senior breastroker, has dropped fifteen seconds in his 200-yard breaststroke from his freshman to senior year. Mentyka completely switched events under Davin’s guidance, moving from the distance group to the sprint program, and she has also found herself on the Eagles ‘A’ relays this season.

While each of the senior Eagles share different memories of their head coach, they all have one small, yet favorite element of Davin: his sense of humor. “[Mark Davin] is always down to tell a punny joke,” Jackson said, “even when they weren’t that funny.”

Mentyka agrees, adding that Davin brings wit and intelligence to the pool deck and often comes ready with a pun to entertain the team during the early morning practices or the

difficult afternoon training sessions.

Davin’s legacy The successes and memories of the 2015-2016 senior class serve as just a snapshot of Davin’s illustrious career at the helm of the AU swimming and diving teams. He coached junior swimmer Caylee Watson to such improvements in the pool that she has recently been named to the U.S. Virgin Islands team roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Davin also coached Olympian Casey Legler, conference title winners and U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers including Dominic Szabo, Mark Liscinsky, Meghan Thiel, Ethan Bassett, Jessica Lidstrom, Rebecca Santos, Frank Byskov and Will Maher. Over the course of his 20-year tenure, Davin has helped his swimmers almost completely rewrite the AU swimming Top-10 times list.

Even with all of the accolades, trophies, titles, and plaques, at the end of the day, Davin is more than just a coach for the athletes who have joined and graduated from his teams. According to his seniors, he is a support system and a pillar of strength not only for graduates, but for the entire AU swimming and diving program.

As McCarroll puts it, “time and time again Coach puts his athletes before himself.” His seniors’ words and the successes seen by many in the past twenty years are a testament to the program that Mark Davin has built on and off the pool deck at AU. *Note: Jess Kowal is a former member of the AU swim team. sports@theeagleonline.com