D’Angelo Williams Co-Editor
TheCampusCurrent.com @Campus_CurrentCampusCurrentPaper CampusCurrentAACC Jan/Feb 2022 The award-winning newspaper of Anne Arundel Community College Page Page4 12 2 campus theaters undergo renovations for spring. New building opens for students studying trades. News Sports Arts First season begins for Athletic Department's new esports team. Page 8 Newspaper prints for 1st time since COVID
according to Melissa Beard more, AACC’s vice president for learning resources man agement.Beardmore cited student preferences and ongoing safety concerns during the pandemic for the schedule.
The new variant started spiking COVID rates in No vember.Some students said they wear masks everywhere now.
“I feel, you know, after COVID happened it kind of was a reality snap al most,” Mariah Bethea, a second-year visual arts stu
Students say COVID causes stress. Photo courtesy of Jenna Baker
Photo by Laniya Harris
AACC to offer 50% of classes face-to-face
“We know that stu dents need in-person,
Campus Current stopped publishing the monthly print edition in March 2020 when the college closed because of the pandemic. Since then, the student ed itors have published a daily
Continued on page 3
“There was no point in publishing a print ed newspaper on campus
has become dominant.
“I’m more paranoid than ever,” Mobolaji Ogunlaja, a first-year computer science student, said. “I just feel I can’t really live my life as I did before. ... It’s just overwhelm ing for my mental health.”
Laniya Harris Co-Editor
Others said they worry their classmates are not safe to be around.
In interviews with Cam pus Current, students said they have become more care ful and worried about their safety as the Omicron variant
Feb 7 Feb 8 Feb 10Feb 9 Feb 11 Brunch with Arts & Crafts Self-Care DayBudgetingFinancial PresentationAidStuff-A-Buddy ¢¢$10 1010 10 $
want in-person and prefer in-person classes, so we are trying to balance safe ty with what’s important and needed for student success," Beardmore said.
Virus causes stress, anxiety
AACC will offer hybrid classes, which meet both
Sydney Klabnik Contributor
digital edition of the paper and a weekly newsletter.
Campus Current revives its print edition after almost two years.
AACC students said they feel stressed by another COVID variant that is spread ing so quickly as school starts back up again.
“In the classroom ... if we use a yoga mat or [are] on the floor, we wipe it down or just keep up with hand sani tizer," Baker said.
Continued on page 3
“I feel there’s still people out there who choose not to wear a mask and be vac cinated,” Messiah Rogers, a first-year psychology stu dent, said. “So I don’t think it’s very safe to go back to school now.”
dent, said. “It just made me more motivated and I’ve been really trying to build my portfolio up.”
Photo by Dan Elson
Jenna Baker, a sec ond-year dance student, said masking up and wiping down surfaces makes her feel a bit safer.
AACC will offer up to 50% of its course sections on campus for the spring se mester.Faculty and deans built the spring course schedule to reach that benchmark,
Communications students Zack Buster and Maggie Brown meet in person during a winter class.
The staff of AACC’s stu dent newspaper revived the print edition of the awardwinning paper on Jan. 24.
Maggie Brown is a com munications student and a reporter for Campus Current.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb Editorial 2 MeetStaffthe Twitter @campus_current Facebook CampusCurrentPaperFacebook.com/ Instagram @campuscurrentaacc Co-Editors Maggie Brown Zack Buster Dan D'AngeloLaniyaElsonHarrisWilliams Contributors Sydney Klabnik Kaylah ChristianRashidRicheyLillyRoserDominicSalacki Graphic Designers Mackenzie Airey Tamiya Phillips Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley Photographers on Page 1, top D'Angelo Williams Dominic Salacki Laniya Harris Contact CampusCurrent410-777-2296@gmail.com
With school starting back up for the spring se mester and students coming back to in-person classes, now more than ever it’s im perative that we all do what we need to do to keep each otherThatsafe.means every one of us needs to be vaccinat ed. That means the college needs to require that every one of us is vaccinated be fore we set foot on campus.
We deserve to be in a safe and healthy environment. Students should be able to come on campus if they need to without worrying about being in close contact with unvaccinated classmates.
The total confirmed cas es of COVID in Anne Arundel county is 78,490 as of Jan. 14, according to the county. One in six people who get COVID will experience severe COVID symptoms, which in clude trouble breathing and chest pains, health officials have
The skills I have learned have taken me quite some time to apply to my everyday life because I was always in a rush and wanted things done thatHavingminute. patience can sometimes improve your mental clarity and help you make more positive and in formed decisions.
Next tip: Don’t overdo it. Overworking yourself in any capacity is harmful.
If you are not mentally or emotionally stable, then you are no help to anyone. That includes your children. And that includes you.
Campus Current reporter Maggie Brown has tips for students that she learned from being a mom. Photo courtesy of Brittany Hector
I am a mom and a stu dent who is involved in cam pus life. My schedule can sometimes become hectic.
Even if you’re not a mom, your schedule as a student may be hectic, too.
To do that, you could talk to your peers, schedule a meeting with your therapist if you have one, make an ap pointment with school coun selors, or even talk to your teachers if you feel comfort able.I strongly advise against holding things in and trying to deal with everything on your own because what was once a small issue has the potential to manifest into something larger if you do not address it.
Finally: Be patient with yourself and others because nothing happens overnight.
We’re not saying that the college shouldn’t accommo
I don’t recommend taking on more tasks than you are available for because it can throw you off track and cause you to forget something im
I would like to share some of the things I have learned with you. I think this might help you navigate student life as we start a new semester.
Mandate for vaccine? Yes!
But not having a vaccine mandate infringes on the rights of everyone else to be protected, which is far more important.People are suffering from this virus more and more and the longer we wait to make vaccinations mandatory, the more at risk we all become.
5Student-mom:tipsforlife
The play-by-play direc tion a schedule provides for me also helps me organize my thoughts and improves my time management skills a lot.Use your phone remind ers and Google calendars, or set periodic alarms for your self to remind you of daily tasks.My next biggest tip is to ask for Thehelp.help that others offer me at times plays a huge part in how I can move through out my days a little better.
The editors of Campus Current believe the college should mandate the vaccine for anyone entering campus buildings.
from an editor 101 College Parkway Arnold, MD 21012 Advertising CampusCurrentAdverts410-777-2803@gmail.com
While help is not always readily available, any time it is offered I accept it without feeling like I am somehow letting myself or my children down.Just say yes to the help.
Thesaid. fear surrounding COVID has not gone away. Students are concerned about whether their class mates have been vaccinated, if they are wearing masks outside of school, or just how careful they have been.
The COVID-19 virus has affected all of us in one way or another, which is why AACC should require that all students have the COVID vaccine in order to attend classes in person.
I have found some ways to organize my daily life to bring balance into my world since 2008 when I first be came a mom.
Next, prioritize your mental and emotional health.
Editorial Board
My top five tips are: Make a schedule, accept help from others, prioritize your mental and emotional health, do not overdo it and be patient.First,making a schedule will be a lifesaver most days because it will help organize your daily tasks.
portant or slack on some thing you have the potential to achieve if time allows.
My schedule has helped me manage multiple meet ings, my work to-do list, and my kids’ school activities all in one day.
Letter
date people who have a reli gious or medical reason for not getting the vaccine. The collegeSomeshould.people are appre hensive about getting the vaccine. Maybe they feel a vaccine mandate will infringe on their right to choose what they put in their bodies.
Maggie Brown Co-Editor
Pexels photo.
Say no and set boundar ies for yourself and others to always follow without bend ing the rules.
From having to be con scious of how we interact with others when we go out, to changing the way we go about our day-to-day ac tivities, to having to spend time attending classes on line when we’d rather be in person, these last two years have not been easy.
Being overwhelmed is normal; however, you should manage it as much as possi ble when it arises.
AACC will continue to require students taking in-person classes to be vac cinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing, which is free on Thecampus.collegewill also con tinue to require everyone who comes to campus to wear a mask indoors.
“When it comes to view ing things, it’s a lot easier for me to view it when it’s phys ically in my hands, and I’ll be more inclined to read it, too,” Harris, a first-year transfer studies student, said.
O’Malley pointed to an other benefit of having a printed version of the stu dent“Therenewspaper.areso many skills that you can learn working on a print newspaper that you don’t learn working on a digi tal newspaper,” O’Malley said. “In a digital newspaper, you might do your reporting and
COVID-19 may force the college to cancel some events or move them online, Cheatham said.
Journalism students take an in-person class during the winter semester.
“I think there’s some thing about being able to see the news for it to be tangible, for it to be just right in your face,” Richey, a senior at The New School in New York, said. “When students see that newspaper on the news rack, I think that really interests them. It really makes them
Dance Coordinator Rob ert Kleinendorst said he hopes to have a spring dance concert in the Kauffman The ater at the beginning of May.
School to allow 50% of classes in person
their only option, so I feel like we should definitely still focus on online stuff,” Billo vits-Hayes said. “But also, providing more in-person classes would be great.”
rent in 2020 when the print edition stopped.
Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb | News 3
want to go … get it.”
During the first week of February, the Student Gov ernment Association will host a brunch where stu dents can play games and create crafts, make a stuffed animal, and learn about fi nancial aid, budgeting and self-care.“SGA is looking forward to hosting different events,” KyAnna Peterson, SGA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said. “I am excited to build off of last semester and see what events we can
Printed news returns again
tancing will not be required on campus, though students are encouraged to stay six feet away from others when possible.
AACC President Dawn Lindsay “has set a goal for us to be the premier online in stitution in Maryland, so she wants us to have an appro priate balance of both in-per son and online,” Beardmore explained.
AACC to present new spring school events
if no students were around to pick it up,” Sharon O’Mal ley, Campus Current’s faculty adviser, said. “I’m so glad it’s time to bring it back.”
Beardmore encouraged students to regularly check their AACC emails and the college's website for up-todate COVID-19 rules.
The first print edition in 22 months has a new editor, first-year communications student Dan Elson (see relat ed story on Page 6). And the newspaper’s staff of student journalists is waiting to move into a new newsroom in the Humanities building.
meet some elected state rep resentatives and to advocate for the college.
don’t get information about the campus.“It’sessential that peo ple will read the newspaper because they may not know about the online” edition, El son Campussaid.
The Performing Arts De partment is planning a few
Maggie Brown Co-Editor
Richey agreed.
In addition, the Office of Student Engagement will partner with the Black His tory Month Planning Com mittee to host “Telling Our Stories: An Evening With the Arts,” featuring student and guest performances in Feb ruary.Also, that month, the college will bring back the annual Race Card Project, which invites students to write their definitions of race and post them on des ignated boards around cam pus for Black History Month.
“I’m always happy about all of the events that we have because we are wholly in vested in them,” Amberdawn Cheatham, OSE’s director, said. “I’m particularly excited about our Diversity Series.”
Continued from page 1
Conor Curran, a first-
Another event, virtual Advocacy Day on Feb. 15, will give students a chance to
Curran continued, “As an all-virtual student [last] semester, I’m excited to get back on Abigailcampus.”Billovits-Hayes, a second-year marketing and advertising student, ex pressed support for the col lege’s decision but hopes the focus will remain on offering online“Forclasses.some people, it’s
As in the fall, social dis
Elson said many students do not know Campus Current has an online edition, so they
Current reporter Laniya Harris agreed.
“It kind of brought us all together,” Richey said. “It was a lot of work but it was a lot of fun at the same time.”
Campus Current returns in print for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Shown, Editor-in-Chief Dan Elson. Photo by Laniya Harris
AACC students will have a variety of events to attend this semester.
get students to be more in volved in.”
In March and April, OSE will offer a four-event Diver sity Series, featuring a book club, a speaker on ethnog raphy; an ethnic art activity and a student panel.
Continued from page 1 year secondary Spanish edu cation student, said the col lege’s decision to offer 50% of course sections is “the correct step to take.”
your writing, but you don’t necessarily do production. You don’t get the teamwork. You don’t get the experience in leadership and persistence that you do during late nights putting the paper to bed.”
Photo by Dan Elson
online and on campus; on line synchronous classes, which are mostly online but meet virtually once or twice a week; and asynchronous classes, which are online only.
students back in front of an audience this semester with a live performance on campus.
AACC graduate Chris tian Richey was the edi tor-in-chief of Campus Cur
Cheatham said OSE chooses events based on stu dent surveys and feedback about past events.
“OSE is trying to navi gate [the COVID outbreak] and find the safest course of action for students while al lowing them to connect with others,” Marlea Brisbane, an OSE leadership and involve ment specialist, said.
events as well. (See related story on Page 11.)
SGA will hold events featuring brunch and crafts. Pexels photo
And music coordinator Doug Byerly said he’s plan ning a Black History Month performance for the opera company, which he said he hopes will be in person. The ater director Sean Urbantke said he’s hoping to get his
The Clauson Center opened in early January for students learning the trades.
Three delegates repre sent each of Maryland’s 47 voting districts. Candidates will compete in a primary election on June 28 and in a general election on Nov. 8.
Photo by Zack Buster
Police chief gives safety tips
Zack Buster Co-Editor
voters in her community.
in their districts in the Mary land House of Delegates.
Maggie Brown Co-Editor
Similarly, Nkongolo, a therapist, said her helping nature is one of the reasons she decided to run for state delegate.“After hearing stories and talking to clients from different backgrounds about the distress they were facing as a result of politics, society and the economy, plus how it was fueling depression or anxiety, I just felt like people
AACC builds Clauson Center for all trades
“Once I start talking, I know how to [make] a per suasive argument to really be the voice of my communi ty,” Nkongolo said.
Photo By D'Angelo Williams
The building contains four laboratories where students will take welding, apartment maintenance tech, forklift, HVAC-R, plumbing, sprinkler fitter, electrical, low voltage tech, and finish and framing carpentry classes.
Delegates vote on statewide laws, share the concerns of their communities, intro duce legislation and deter mine how the state spends taxpayer dollars.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb News 4
“We found that there is a significant shortage of em ployees for professions or companies who seek to hire skilled trades employees,” said Vollie Melson, the exec utive director of the AACC Foundation, which raises money for college needs.
Photo courtesy of Courtney Buiniskis
“Helping people and put ting resources together is nothing new to me,” Buini skisBuiniskissaid. said she decid ed to run during a fundrais er for Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman when someone told her she
didn’t feel heard,” she said. “They needed someone to represent them and I felt like I was in the best position to do that.”Nkongolo said she plans to win her election by doing a lot of research and know ing the data so she can un derstand the needs of the
non-credit courses.
Both state delgate candi dates said they plan to con tinue teaching at AACC after the election.
The college will help those students find jobs, Ma ryLou McQuaide, AACC’s di rector of apprenticeship and applied learning, said.
2 adjunct professors run for state delegate
Adjunct professor Courtney Buiniskis speaks to vot ers while campaigning for office.
“And then those indus try partners will then turn around and sponsor the stu dents through their next ap prenticeship training, which is where they would get a state credential to be able to perform work on-site,” Mc Quaide
Students can call AACC police using blue phones.
like laptops and smart phones, that students leave unattended."Ifyouleave a valuable phone, someone might see it, and walk off with it,” Kap fhammer said. He said most thefts are preventable.
The deadline for candi dates to file to run for dele gate is Feb. 22. So far, Buini skis and Del. Seth Howard, a Republican who has held the seat since 2015, filed. Nkon golo said she intends to file before the deadline.
If they win their elec tions later this year, Buini skis and Nkongolo will rep resent the people who live
tically non-existent,” Kapf hammer said. “As we open up more, some crimes would be expected to increase.”
“I am proud to say that I will be the first African American woman to ever run for this position in [southern Anne Arundel County],” Bui niskis said.
grams will learn entry-level skills they need for jobs in the trades, Melson said.
“And the Clauson Center was developed to be able to ad dress this Studentsneed.”who take pre-apprenticeship pro
Because more students are going back to in-person classes this spring semes ter, the crime level on cam pus could increase slightly,
Trade students taking classes like welding and plumbing will meet in a new building on campus starting on the first day of the spring semester.The college built the $5 million Clauson Center for Innovation and Skilled Trades with donations from the community, including a $1 million gift from longtime AACC supporters Janet and JamesTypically,Clauson.the state and county chip in for the con struction of new college buildings.
First-yearsaid. electrical stu dent Gabriel Scobey said the building "gives the opportu nity for many people like me to ... get onto a path of life that I am happier doing."
However, Sean Kapfham mer explained the levels of crime on campus are consis tently"Sincelow. we have limited students here, crime is prac
Republican LaToya Nkon golo, who has taught human service courses at AACC for seven years, said she intends to enter the race in District 31B, which includes Severna Park, where her home is.
On campus, he said, the most common offenses are crimes of opportunity, such as petty theft of valuables,
Lilly Roser Contributor
Two AACC adjunct pro fessors are running for state delegate from Anne Arundel County.Democrat Courtney Bui niskis, who has taught com munications part-time at AACC for five years, has filed to run for election in District 30B, which includes Shady Side where she lives.
“I like to get stuff done,” Buiniskis said. “I like talking, but after that, I want action to followBuiniskisup.” said she is the best candidate for her com munity because “I am open, caring, kind and boister ous for my community. I am multi-cultured with a view that is different from others as a woman of mixed race. I understand our citizens and our community. I under stand education and what it can do for individuals in changing their lives.”
would be a good candidate.
The first classes in the Clauson Center will be
AACC’s police chief said ear lier this month.
Zack Buster Co-Editor
always student focused, stu dent centered and student based. I never make a deci sion without thinking about how my students ... are going to beBarlow-Hughleyimpacted.” said she loves this year’s award theme, named af ter an MLK quote: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great “Iway.”think the award is to honor people who have worked to advance students of color,” Barlow-Hughley said. “And I think I have done that pretty much my whole career.”Barlow-Hughley, who has been with AACC for 25 years, said her one-on-one interac tions with students may be what earned her a nomina tion.“I kind of see myself in
the snow days interrupted his winter-session journal ism class, which had been scheduled for in-person meetings from Jan. 3 to 14.
AACC staff members receive MLK awards
Cold stopsweatherclasses
Before the semester even began, the college closed three times in January for snowEachdays.time, the college closed its gates, revved up its snowplows and canceled in-person classes.
Waterman, who has worked at AACC for 19 years, said his work with organiza tions like the Department of Juvenile Justice, the National Urban League and Technolo gy Works for Good through
Professor Antione Tomlin
Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb | News 5
“Our one and only goal is to make sure campus is as safe as possible for [stu dents],” Maurice Chaput, the executive director of ad ministrative services, said. “They’re our customers. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have a job.”
AACC closed all of its campuses after the first snowfall of the season. Photo courtesy of Tim Tumelty
“When I found out I won, there was definitely excite ment,” Tomlin said. “Then there was this feeling of shy ness [because] I do this work for the love of it and I believe in my students. I feel hum bled to receive it.”
The officials base their decision on how much snow falls on the Arnold campus’s parking lots and roads, Cha put Oncesaid. the snow stops, Chaput said, his department prepares the college’s snow plows to start clearing park ing lots and roads.
theworkingingeraciesacademicwritingreadingstudentssaidTomlinhehelpswithandinthelittutorlab."Whileintutoring
The winners of this year’s MLK Zeitgeist Award are: professor Antione Tom lin, the chair of academic literacies; Leslie Parker-Bly ther, former interim director of AACC’s Homeland Secu rity and Criminal Justice In stitute; Harold Waterman, a professor of computer infor mation systems; and Sharon Barlow-Hughley, an academ ic adviser.
He added: “I think what I do is important because it’s
Photo by Maggie Brown
On Jan. 3, a storm dumped more than eight inches of snow on the 260acre Arnold campus, which already was mostly closed for the week as a precaution againstTheCOVID-19.nextdaywas a snow day as well. Crews continued to clear the parking lots and roads. Three days later, an other storm left the campus closedWheneveragain. the college closes because of snow, the college follows the same pro
“We won’t bring anyone on campus until we [clear] all the snow,” Chaput said. “We don’t start clearing snow un til the snow stops, and with a snowstorm like we just had, eight or nine inches, that’d be done tomorrow. It takes two full days to clear the campus.”Chaput said the campus is ready by Dec. 1 every year to put its fleet of snowplows intoSecond-yearaction. creative writing and literature stu dent D’Angelo Williams said
cess, according to Chaput. First, Chaput and his team monitor weather reports for Anne Arundel County. By ap proximately 4:30 a.m., college officials make the call about whether to cancel face-toface classes and on-campus work for the day.
lab, I found a majority of the students that were in need are Afri can American and I wanted to make sure they are get ting the resources needed to achieve the next level of learning,” Tomlin said. “[We] achieved this through work shops, professional training and hiring qualified staff.”
out his career led him to win this award. He also has worked with black students as a computer technologies professor.
The class wound up meeting on Zoom four of the five days of the first week, Williams said, adding, “I do
“I think what I do is important because it’s always student focused,studentcenteredstudentandbased.
AACC honored faculty and staff for their diversity efforts on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in Janu ary. Shown, the Arnold campus has the state's only statue of the civil rights leader.
Maggie Brown Co-Editor
AACC honored four fac ulty and staff members for their work in equity, diver sity and inclusion during the 41st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memori al Breakfast on Jan. 17.
[the] students in terms of what they are trying to achieve,” Barlow-Hughley said. “I can really relate [to them].”
tend to feel a little bit more unproductive on Zoom rath er than I do in person.”
School policy requires online classes to continue on snow days and allows in-person classes to contin ue virtually.Williams’face-to-face
The Zeitgeist Award rec ognizes faculty and staff who support students of color and advance affirmative ac tion, diversity, equity and inclusion, Dean of Student Development Deneen Dan gerfield said.
class wound up occurring partly on Zoom and partly in the classroom."Ifeellikewinter weather makes me feel less motivat ed," Williams said. "If it were nice outside, I’d be more in clined to get my work done and then go and enjoy it."
“I was floored,‘’ Water man said. “I don’t get awards like this and especially for helping my people or people of color [in] any economical ly challenged community.”
Elson is the only firstyear student to lead the stu dent newspaper since facul ty adviser Sharon O’Malley joined the AACC staff six years ago.
“Dan is a great writer and reporter, and he’s pas sionate O’Malleyjournalism,”about
D'Angelo Williams Co-Editor
“It’s a great opportuni ty,” Elson said. “I’m a little nervous. That’s expected with every new job."
said. “He was the obvious choice, even though he’s not as experienced as some past editors.”
Elson, who lives in Arnold, said his first goal as editor is to revive the print edi tion of Cam pus digitalbeenwhichCurrent,hasentirelysincethe
“I don’t think a lot of people know there is a dig ital newspaper as well,” El son said. “Since the print
Professor Sharon O'Malley
First-year communications student Dan Elson joins Campus Current as the new editor-in-chief.
GamesandFun Looking for answers? Check TheCampusCurrent.comonFebruary28.? ? SudokuDidknow?you
A first-year communica tions student will become the editor of AACC's award-win ning campus newspaper on Jan. Dan24.
Elson replaced former Editor-in-Chief Dominic Sa lacki, a fourth-year media production student.
AACC's Arnold Campus is 260 acres large.
newspaper is laid out in all the buildings, I think people will just pick it up and read it.”
Photo by Tim Tumelty
“He seems like he's real ly into it,” Buster said, “and just really wants to get stuff done, and is ambitious about it. He has big goals. That's what I love about him.”
“Dan is a great writer and reporter, and he’s passionate about journalism.”
Photo by D'Angelo Williams
Editor joins in January 2022
Zack Buster, a first-year communications student and associate editor of Cam pus Current, agreed.
beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb Campus Life 6
Former editor gets WSJ job
Before Richey graduat ed from AACC in 2020 with a degree in transfer studies, he oversaw the transition of Campus Current from a monthly print newspaper to a daily digital edition when the college closed because of the“Mypandemic.experience with the Campus Current was great,” Richey said. “This is where I fell in love with journalism, where I became interested in it and where I learned so many lessons that I take with me still today. It’s where I learned most of the things I’d say that I know and use on a daily basis re garding journalism.”
“I’m really excited to get started,” said Richey, a senior studying journal ism and design at The New School in New York. “It’s just such a renowned place, such an amazing publica tion and personally, it’s genuinely one of my favor ite publications. It’s where I go to get daily news. So hav ing an opportunity to work there. … I’m just incredibly shocked, surprised and just happy.”
“I knew he was going to do well,” professor Sha ron O’Malley, Campus Cur rent’s faculty adviser, said. “I just didn't know he was going to be at the top so quickly. But now that he is, I'm really not surprised. … I think he’s going to go plac es. We’re going to be read
Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb | Campus Life 7
D'Angelo Williams Co-Editor
Amber Nathan, who was Campus Current’s ed itor-in-chief the semester before Richey took over, agreed.“I’m happy for him,” Nathan said of Richey, who was Campus Current’s as sociate editor when she was
the editor. “He seems to re ally want to do big things withNathanjournalism.” described Richey, who was co-man aging editor of The New School’s student paper last year, as quiet, reliable and passionate about journal ism.O’Malley agreed.
A former editor-in-chief of AACC’s student newspa per accepted a 15-week in ternship at The Wall Street Journal for the spring se mester.Christian Richey, who worked on Campus Cur rent in fall 2019 and spring 2020, will report and write sports articles and pitch story ideas to Wall Street Journal editors.
ing his byline in the best newspapers.”
“He has really good re porting and writing skills,” O’Malley said. “He has good instincts. He is reliable. He's conscientious. He's nice to be Richeyaround.”saidhe hopes to have a career as a pro fessional journalist after he graduates from The New School in May.
GamesandFun Looking for answers? Check TheCampusCurrent.comonFebruary28.? ?
Christian Richey's Wall Street Journal internship will span 15 weeks. Photo by D'Angelo Williams
Second-year transfer studies student Lilly Roser spent the fall semester studying, learning Spanish and touring Costa Rica.
An AACC student has turned virtual learning into a travel waii,worldadventureportantandfall,AACCmesterspenttransferLillyadventure.Roser,asecond-yearstudiesstudent,thespring2021seinHawaiitakingclassesonline.IntheshemovedtoCostaRicatookagapsemester.“Ithinkit’sjustreallyimformetobeabletoandseealotoftheifIcan,”Rosersaid.TobeabletoliveinHaRoserworkedatacof
that I am keeping this club alive and making sure that I can move on in the future.”
Roser added: “I wanted to go to college, but I knew it would be really hard for me because of the financial resources that you need. ... I was like, ‘How can I still get this opportunity while also experiencing other things?’”
waii after completing a se mester at Elon University in North Carolina in fall 2020.
After returning home from her semester in Hawaii,
“I’m feeling pretty good about [the team],” Johnson said.“I think we’re going to have a great first season. We’re just going to be fo cusing on building out the program, getting ourselves
Johnson said the team will practice in the esports lab in CALT once a week for three hours for each of the three“[Wegames.want] to go out there and do the best that we can,” Athletic Director Duane HerrThesaid.esports lab includes 12 gaming stations for prac
Separate from the athlet ic team, AACC has an eightyear-old ESports Club.
tice and for participating in competitions against other colleges. Still, Herr said, the plan is to expand the team’s roster beyond 12 players.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb8
Photo courtesy of Lilly Roser
Roser explained the challenges she experienced while traveling as a student.
“While it is amazing to live in a wonderful place and be able to travel, there’s a lot of self responsibility,” Ros er said. “It was kind of like work hard, play hard.”
The players will compete in two leagues: National Ju nior College Athletic Associa tion Esports and the Mid-At lantic Esports Conference.
Mason said he did not join the athletic esports team because he is a part-time student and college athletes must enroll full time.
Esports coach Conway Johnson checks out the new team's lab in CALT during an open house last semester.
Life
out where she will live this spring—her final semester at AACC before she gradu ates.“I am hoping to travel somewhere when I can,” Ros er said. “I’m taking all online classes again at AACC, which allows me to be flexible with traveling. I’ll probably go to Europe or something.”
“It’s great, but it’s also really hard,” she noted. “I go to all these places, and then I leave, and then I go some where new and I settle, and then I leave. So the constant back and forth is difficult, but it’s really worth it.”
Esports team starts in Feb.
Players will tackle the video game Overwatch during a Feb. 11 tournament, and after that, they will play League of Legends, esports coach Conway Johnson said.
off to a good start. We’ve got everything going in the right direction, because you know, getting that foundation built is the most important part.”
Being at Elon “was the most amazing experience ever,” Roser explained. “I met a bunch of friends there, and I didn’t want to leave. But then it was just really expensive.”
“If I was able to be all on line, I could live somewhere and travel,” Roser said. “If I was going to pay rent some where, why not somewhere cool, you know? So [AACC] kind of gave me that oppor tunity to do that.”
Campus
Sydney Klabnik Contributor
Roser realized she wanted to live in Costa Rica for fall 2021.She worked a part-time job to save money for her Costa Rica trip. She took three AACC summer courses so she could take a gap se mester.“Iknew that if I wanted to go to Costa Rica, I didn’t want to be doing AACC online classes while I was there,” Roser noted. “I really wanted to try and learn Spanish, so it would have been confusing.”
Roser lived with her sis ter and two other roommates in Hawaii. She moved to Ha
Online student takes classes from Hawaii
Roser is still figuring
AACC’s new athletic es ports team will kick off its first season on Feb. 7 with a tournament featuring the video game Rocket League.
In fact, Johnson said, 13 players are already on the roster and recruiting stays open until Jan. 25.
Sports
Because her classes were virtual during the pandemic, Roser said, she could take them from anywhere.
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“I have been a part of this club for a very long time,” said club President Daniel Mason, a game art design and development student who plans to graduate this spring. “I work very closely with very good friends … so it means a lot to me knowing
that. I wouldn’t be able to do any of the travel that I’ve done without her.”
Roser noted her mom has “been really supportive, and I’m super grateful for
While in Costa Rica, Ros er lived with a host family and went to a local school during the week to learn Spanish.Roser arrived back in the U.S. in late November. “I’m just kind of taking a breath er,” she explained. “And during these few months of the holiday season, I need to get together all of my trans fer applications to figure out where I’m going for junior and senior year of college.”
Mason described the stu dent club as “a place to ... get together and improve your skills to try to get better at what games you want to im prove upon while connect ing [with] other players with like-minded goals.”
fee shop five days a week. She did her school work in the afternoons and reserved her weekends for exploring.
Photo by Dominic Salacki
Even before the pan
Middleton said. “Everybody should have a relationship with [God]. Don’t feel ner vous or shy if you don’t know anything because no body [in the club will] judge
he wants the lives of club members to improve be cause of their oldGurkthatreal[is]andandpeopleCOVID-19,“Especiallyparticipation.duringthere’ssomanywhoaredealingwithstrugglingwithstuffeverybodyinthisworldlookingforsomethingandwe’regoingtogiveto[them],"Carrollsaid.FormerstudentMikeMccreatedthis20-year-club,whichCarrolland
Bourne added that any one who has an interest in science is welcome to join the club, regardless of ma jor.
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we ever did as individual clubs.”Meetings consist of fac ulty- and student-led pre sentations on STEM topics, such as research, history or news.“I enjoy the variety of just fun geeky stuff that we can cram in 45 minutes,” Porcelli said. “It’s one of my favorite things because ev
[and we] just spread love and more. The more the merrier.”Lewis said he plans to continue to help grow the club.
Four AACC science clubs have merged into one stu dentTheorganization.SuperScience Club includes once stand-alone groups that focus on earth science, biology and envi ronmental science, astrono my and chemistry, according to Elise Porcelli, an electrical engineering student and the club's“We’reco-president.sortofthe black hole for all science clubs,” co-president Grace Bourne, a second-year communica tions student, said. “Everyone eventually gets sucked in.”
Students bond, pray together on campus
Fifteen to 20 students gather in the cafeteria, on the Quad or in the library every Wednesday for about two hours to discuss God, spread love and pray to gether.They are members of a club called Experience Ap ostolic Campus Ministries.
“I feel like it’s more special when there’s more people around,” first-year computer science student Ian Middleton said. “Trying to learn more about the Bi ble, or more about God [for] myself, it’s pretty cool to be praying for more people, definitely.”
erybody’s willing to share.”
The club meets virtually every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The first meeting of the spring semester is scheduled for Jan. 25.
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First-year computer software engineering stu dent Jaron Carroll, one of the students in charge, said
Bourne noted that con solidating the STEM clubs resulted in higher atten dance at weekly meetings.
first-year business admin istration student Matthew Lewis run together.
The leaders said stu dents of all religions are welcome to join.
Middleton said he made new friends when he joined the “It’sclub.a great thing to do,”
“Combining disciplines typically means we can have up to around 30 people in a meeting,” she explained. “In that way, I feel like we prob ably work far better togeth er as a combined club than
“You literally don’t have to know anything about sci ence, and it’s OK,” Bourne said. “You can just come and learn in a stress-free envi ronment.”
First-year student Jaron Carroll is a leader in the Ex perience Apostolic Campus Ministries Club. Photo courtesy of Chiara Carroll
demic, some of the science clubs struggled to main tain membership and start ed merging, according to Bourne.“When COVID did hit, it kind of became a bid for sur vival as clubs,” Bourne said. “Individually, the member ship just wasn’t there to keep up.”
Science clubs merge into 1
Electrical engineering student Elise Porcelli, the co-president of the Super Sci ence Club, poses with a colony of penguins while on a trip to Antarctica. Photo courtesy of Elise Porcelli
“This club, in terms of the number of active stu dents and officers, is the best I’ve ever worked with,” physical science professor Anthony Santorelli, lead ad viser of the club, said.
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When the weather does not allow for outdoor activ ities, Adventure Society members do events inside, such as indoor skydiving.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb10 Clubs
Members of one student club camped at Shenandoah National Park and went in door skydiving in Baltimore last Thissemester.semester, Adventure Society members are plan ning a skiing and snowboard ing trip to Whitetail Resort in February, Hannah Claggett, the club’s president, said. The
Adventure Club holds off-campus activities
“It’s just a great way to meet new people and expe rience new things that you might not have otherwise tried,” Claggett said.
“We try to do adven ture-based activities,” she said.She said members can come to events without at tending planning meetings.
Adventure Society members clean up a beach.
club also takes a hiking trip once a month and has weekly meetings to plan events.
The club has gone indoor rock climbing, go-karting and touring in Washington and New York City.
Mattingly said these friendships have the poten tial to last for years.
“They have built great friendships that have car ried on through the years," Mattingly said. "Two of my former members are now engaged.”Claggett said although classes were online this fall, the Adventure Society found ways to have events.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Claggett
“Our goal is really to get a chance to expose our stu
“Students can absolute ly participate without ever attending a meeting,” Mat tingly said.
The club focuses on events that give the students new, unique experiences, Mattingly said.
dents to lots of different ac tivities that they might not have ever done … a chance for students to meet others,” pro fessor Jessica Mattingly, the club’s faculty adviser, said.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Claggett
Along with directing the AACC Dance Company, he taught two independent study classes; an online dance history course; and an on-campus section of Begin ning Modern Dance 1 in the fall.
“He does it all,” she said. “I’m so impressed [because] there were things that I didn’t know about [Kleinen dorst] that I’m learning now that make me even more thrilled that he’s here."
Kleinendorst said he en joys working with AACC stu dents, calling them “super open” when compared with the dancers he taught in the past at four-year colleges.
Anthony called Kleinen dorst “adaptable” to the var
Photo by Dominic Salacki
Fitzgerald said she is “thrilled” that Kleinendorst has taken over dance at AACC partly because the “ex
perience that he had could translate to academia.”
AACC's new coordinator of dance, Robert Kleinendorst, jumps to demonstrate a move to his students.
He choreographed and wrote music for the event, Fitzgerald said.
Kleinendorst is “really great,” Margot Anthony, a first-year education student, said. “He always encourages us to loosen up, break out of our shells and to not worry about if we’re perfect.”
AACC's new dance coordinator has more than two decades of dance experience. Photo by Dominic Salacki
“I wanted to get a chance to talk with [Kleinendorst] and meet him, and I came out of that meeting feeling very confident about [hav ing] a new person taking over the dance department,” WardenskiKleinendorstsaid. prepared the Dance Company for a December performance at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park.
Some of his students said they enjoy his teaching style.
She added: “He's a natural teacher. He's encouraging and he's [teaching at AACC] for the right reasons. He wants [his students] to improve and be their best, and he's [working with them] to help them in thatKleinendorstregard.” began his career in the arts when he
!
A professional danc er with more than two de cades of experience became AACC’s new coordinator of dance last Robertsemester.Kleinendorst, an alum of the prestigious Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York, began working at the college in August.
New director is pro dancer
mittee chose Kleinendorst, in part, because “his back ground is incredible.” She de scribed the new coordinator as “incredibly talented [and] a genuinely nice guy.”
“I feel that with his expe rience, [he has] a lot of con nections, and I think that’s going to be really beneficial to our students as they [are] continuing dance,” Fitzger ald said. “I don’t think I could have left the program in bet ter hands.”Professor Ian Wardenski, chair of AACC’s Performing Arts Department, said he was “incredibly impressed” after learning about Kleinendorst’s professional background.
EMOC
AACC’s former dance co ordinator, Lynda Fitzgerald, chaired the hiring committee that brought Kleinendorst to the college.Thecommittee “nar rowed it down to four [can didates], and we had them teach virtual classes to the students in my classes, so that was pretty cool,” said Fitzgerald, who retired from AACC in September after 33 years.Fitzgerald started AACC’s Dance Company in 1989.Fitzgerald said the com
“If I'm going to go into Broadway,” he recalled thinking, “there's always go ing to be a dance element, so I started taking dance class es in college, and it blew me away.”Melodie MacKall, a firstyear undecided student, said Kleinendorst is a “fresh and fun”“Thisteacher.class is really fun, and we get goofy,” MacKall said. “Towards the end of class, we always get really giggly and laugh a lot at all the mistakes [we made], so it’s a lot more fun to learn when we’re laughing about it.”
AACC students, he said, “have to work jobs and they have family responsibilities, so I find the students to be really down to earth and easy to work with.”
C
was cast in a leading role in a production of the musical “Once Upon a Mattress” in his sophomore year of high school, playing Prince Dauntless.When he enrolled in Luther College in Iowa, Kleinendorst decided to pair his love of singing and acting with an education in dance.
Dominic Salacki Contributor
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Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb | 11 Arts
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Ray Bradley, a first-year plant sciences student, said Kleinendorst is “not too up tight about doing things ex actly, which is nice.”
ious levels of experience his students bring to his classes.
The theater has not been updated since it opened, Ur bantkeThesaid.improvements to the seats and flooring in the Kauffman Theater cost about $274,000, Urbantke said. The renovations back stage cost about $148,000. The updates to the Human ities Recital Hall cost around $107,000.Theworkers put an ep oxy floor down, repainted the back wall, and are install ing a new handicap ramp in the audience up to the stage, Kaiser“Butsaid.the construction is supposed to be finished be fore any of our performanc es start loading in,” Urbantke said.The technical theater classes that were in person in the fall had to work along side the “Manconstruction.wasitsmelly,” Ur bantke said. “There was one day we were going to have class and I said, ‘Hey, guys,
“Right now, I think we can only continue what we have been doing. I feel confident.”
ity to see facial expressions,” UrbantkeTheatersaid.students last se mester did an in-person per formance for their friends and families, who signed waivers attesting they did not have COVID symptoms, he said.The directors agreed that climbing back to pre-pan demic enrollments and reg ular performances will take work and “We’retime.getting back into [it] slowly,” Urbantke said.
“Right now, I think we can only continue what we have been doing,” he said. “I feel confident.”
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“With every new wave, you know, it throws us new cur
“I’m super excited about some of these renovations,” Urbantke said. “We love en abling [students] to be able to come in and do your thing. And we’re going to have a nic er facility now to be able to continue doing that.”
Professor Robert Kleinendorst
Laniya Harris Co-Editor
2 of AACC’s theaters undergo renovations
In the spring, about 50% of dance, theater and music classes will be on campus, the directors of those pro grams have said.
Photo by Laniya Harris
AACC is currently reno vating two of its theaters.
Performers adapt to COVID-19 protocols
shows.
“There are a really healthy number of students who want to continue to sing, to lyByeralthetoandorchestramentsinstruplayinjazz,studyvisuarts,”said.
Likewise, AACC’s new dance coordinator Robert Kleinendorst said he hopes to have a spring dance con cert in the Kauffman The ater at the beginning of May. And music coordinator Doug Byerly said he’s planning a Black History Month perfor mance for the opera compa ny, which he said he hopes will be in person.
like shows. And many students are foregoing performing arts electives in favor of courses that fulfill general education requirements, he said.
“COVID has canceled so many things in our lives that people and students in par ticular are really interested in continuing to pursue the arts.”The directors said they are taking precautions so student and community per formers can safely partici pate in classes, rehearsals and public shows.
mance in the theater.
“One of the things with live performance is the abil
The Humanities Recital Hall gets updated with new seats and floors.
| Campus Current | 2022 | Jan/Feb Arts 12
The Kauffman Theater located inside the Pascal Center for Performing Arts is in the process of getting new dressing rooms backstage and updated Renovationslighting.are also happening in the Humanities Recital Hall, which include new seats and flooring.
After a year online during the pandemic, some performing arts students were able to come to campus for classes and rehearsals during the fall semester.
And they said they’re hoping to schedule live shows this semester, even if the performers and audience members have to mask up to make them happen.
Still, a greater challenge than danc ing or sing ing populatestudentsenoughrecruitingmightsemestermaskswearingwhilethisbetothe
Still, Byerly said he is hopeful that enough stu dents and community mem bers will return to campus to put on a show this semes ter.
veballs.”Kleinendorst agreed.
“If you were sitting in one of the special seats, the back of the chair in front of you would just fall off,” Sean Urbantke, coordinator of the theater program, said. “The person would not be affected but it was jarring to say the least.”These renovations have been happening for more than eight months. The Kauffman Theater was opened on campus in 1982, Peter Kaiser, manager of event services, said.
“Since we did it at the [Chesapeake Arts Center], we had to [rehearse and per form] all in one day,” Jenna Baker, a second-year dance student, said. “We were there from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.”
let’s do this virtually because today, I’m getting lighthead ed.’”Because of the renova tions, concert band, orches tra, and theater and dance companies performed in No vember and December at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, Ian Wardens ki, chair of the performing arts department, said.
“One of the things I’ve noticed has just been a gen eral sort of desire from ev erybody … for getting back into the space, doing it safe ly,” Sean Urbantke, AACC’s theater coordinator, said. “And getting their hands-on stuff again, and getting in front of an audience again. … For a lot of folks, it is a pas sion, it’s a Urbantkerelease.”said he’s hop ing to get his students back in front of an audience this semester with a live perfor
These renovations not only help improve the the ater but anyone who’s going to be using it, Urbantke said.
The Chamber Singers perform while wearing masks. Photo courtesy of Tracy Gill
“AACC is being very pro active in student safety,” ByerlyForsaid.example, opera and theater performers last fall wore masks specially de signed for singers and ac tors.Still, Byerly said, “Any body who’s done pub lic speaking or singing in church or singing in general knows that it’s almost im possible [for a masked per former] to sing for a long period of time because at a certain point, you just can’t breathe. So, these masks re ally helped Theaterout.”performers also used special clear masks cre ated by a deaf designer.
“We’re sort of at a skel eton crew,” Urbantke said. “The … other effect, I think, of the pandemic is we’re … runningDuringlow.” the pandemic, “performing arts took a huge hit,” Kleinendorst agreed. He said the pandemic led people to spend their money on ne cessities rather than luxuries